| Title | Alt Title | Year | Director | Rating | Runtime | Review | IMDb | MPAA Rating | Cast | Country | Genre | Review Plain Text |
| $(Dollars) | 1971 | Richard Brooks | ★★★½ | 119 | Top-notch caper thriller (scripted by the director) set in Germany with unusual chase that goes on for more than a fifth of the film. Awfully similar to PERFECT FRIDAY. Bouncy Quincy Jones score. | tt0068152 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn, Gert Frobe, Robert Webber, Scott Brady | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| $5 a Day | 2009 | Nigel Cole | ★★ | 98 | Minor-league road movie involving Nivola and his relationship with his irresponsible scam-artist father (Walken), who claims to be dying. Tries to be outrageous and endearing, with Walken gamely attempting to bring depth to his character, but the end result is inconsequential. | tt1024733 | [PG-13] | Christopher Walken, Alessandro Nivola, Sharon Stone, Dean Cain, Peter Coyote, Amanda Peet | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| $9.99 | 2009 | Tatia Rosenthal | ★★★ | 78 | Several seriocomic stories are woven together involving inhabitants of a Sydney apartment complex who are searching for meaning in their lives and finding it in unique ways. Most interesting story revolves around lonely widower (Otto) who allows a burnt-out guardian angel (Rush) to share his flat. Title refers to one young resident who finds happiness in a paperback book, called The Meaning of Life, purchased for $9.99. Clever screenplay cowritten by director Rosenthal with acclaimed Israeli writer Etgar Keret, based on his short stories. Stop-motion animated film is decidedly not suitable for children. | tt0790799 | [R] | Voices of Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Samuel Johnson, Claudia Karvan, Joel Edgerton, Barry Otto, Leeanna Walsman | Australian-Israeli | Animation | NULL | |
| (500) Days of Summer | 500 Days of Summer | 2009 | Marc Webb | ★★½ | 95 | Unconventional boy-meets-girl story jumps back and forth in time to trace the relationship between two office workers: he's smitten with her, but she doesn't want to commit to a serious relationship, even though she likes him. Clever at times, with two very appealing stars, but heavy-handed narration and self-conscious gimmickry wear out their welcome. Makes wondrous use of downtown L.A. | tt1022603 | [PG-13] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Rachel Boston, Minka Kelly | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| (Untitled) | Untitled | 2009 | Jonathan Parker | ★★★ | 96 | Sound artist Goldberg, who usually defends his highly individual mode of creativity, finds himself on the other side of the art world when he becomes involved with gallery owner Shelton. Director Parker, who coauthored script with Catherine di Napoli, gives equal weight to all points of view, teasing while simultaneously taking it all seriously in this "but-is-it-art?" dramedy. Goldberg's passive performance is a hoot. | tt1132193 | [R] | Adam Goldberg, Marley Shelton, Eion Bailey, Lucy Punch, Zak Orth, Vinnie Jones, Ptolemy Slocum, Svetlana Efremova, Michael Panes, Janet Carroll | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| -30- | 1959 | Jack Webb | ★½ | 96 | Hackneyed, overwritten tale of a typical night on a big-city newspaper. Conrad chews the scenery as city editor, but the script's the main villain, abetted by atrocious music score. Title, by the way, is journalists' way of indicating 'the end.' | tt0052526 | Jack Webb, William Conrad, David Nelson, Whitney Blake, Louise Lorimer, Joe Flynn, James Bell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse | The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse | 1960 | Fritz Lang. | ★★★ | 105 | Fast-paced, witty thriller, intricately plotted but crystal clear: using the secrets of the original Dr. Mabuse, a modern-day criminal genius blackmails the wealthy, resorting to murder as necessary. Lang's last film as director, marking a strong return to form. Beware of alternate versions still in circulation: THE SECRET OF DR. MABUSE and THE DIABOLICAL DR. MABUSE. | tt0054371 | Dawn Addams, Peter van Eyck, Gert Frobe, Wolfgang Preiss, Werner Peters, Andrea Checchi. | West German-French-Italian | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| 10 | 1979 | Blake Edwards | ★★ | 122 | Middle-aged songwriter finds himself hung up on sex, especially when he sets eyes on beautiful Derek. Blake Edwards' idea of a real sophisticated movie; sporadically funny but tiresome, glib, and pompous. | tt0078721 | [R] | Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek, Robert Webber, Dee Wallace, Sam J. Jones, Brian Dennehy, Max Showalter, Don Calfa, Nedra Volz, James Noble, Doug Sheehan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 10 Items or Less | 2006 | Brad Silberling | ★★½ | 82 | Slight but disarming character study of a movie actor who goes to a supermarket to research a role and winds up spending the day with checker Vega. Something of a lark for writer-director Silberling and actor-producer Freeman, who's seldom given a chance to be this lighthearted on-screen. His charm and charisma (and some sly in-jokes about Hollywood) make this worth seeing. | tt0499603 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega, Bobby Cannavale, Anne Dudek, Kumar Pallana, Leonardo Nam, Jennifer Echols. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 10 Rillington Place | 1971 | Richard Fleischer. | ★★★ | 111 | Low-key presentation of famous John Christie-Timothy Evans murder case that rocked Great Britain in the late 1940s. No overt editorializing but psychological undertone exists; outstanding performances by entire cast and location filming inseparable with film's total effect. | tt0066730 | [PG] | Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, Pat Heywood, Andre Morell, Bernard Lee. | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| 10 Things I Hate About You | 1999 | Gil Junger | ★★½ | 97 | Overprotective dad rules that his pretty, popular daughter Bianca can only date when his hostile older daughter Katerina does. Several guys interested in Bianca therefore hire someone to pursue her doggedly unfriendly sister. Cute teen-comedy takeoff of The Taming of the Shrew set at Padua High School. Janney is great fun as Ms. Perky. | tt0147800 | [PG-13] | Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt, Larry Miller, Daryl Mitchell, Allison Janney, David Leisure, Letters to Cleo, Save Ferris | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 10,000 BC | 2008 | Roland Emmerich | ★★ | 109 | Tale of prehistoric life follows a small group who leave their tribe of mammoth hunters in an effort to rescue others captured by slavers. This leads them to a pre-Egyptian city of ruthless pyramid-builders and much adventure. Earnest, well produced on rugged locations with occasionally good effects, but for the most part as ludicrous as other films of this type. Features cinema’s first superfluous saber-tooth tiger. | tt0443649 | [PG-13] | Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Virgel, Affif Ben Badra, Mo Zinal, Nathanael Baring, Mona Hammond, Marco Khan; narrated by Omar Sharif | Romance | NULL | ||
| 100 Rifles | 1969 | Tom Gries | ★★ | 110 | Overripe Western saga has deputy Brown going after Reynolds, fleeing with shipment of guns into Mexico, but meeting and falling for guerrilla leader Welch. Reynolds easily steals film. | tt0063970 | [PG] | Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds, Fernando Lamas, Dan O'Herlihy, Hans Gudegast (Eric Braeden) | Western | NULL | ||
| 1001 Arabian Nights | 1959 | Jack Kinney. | ★★½ | 75 | Elaborate updating of Arabian Nights tales featuring nearsighted Mr. Magoo has a nice score, pleasing animation. | tt0052527 | Voices of Jim Backus, Kathryn Grant (Crosby), Dwayne Hickman, Hans Conried, Herschel Bernardi, Alan Reed. | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| 101 Dalmatians | 1996 | Stephen Herek | ★★½ | 103 | Remake of the Disney animated favorite starts out charmingly well, with Daniels and Richardson a perfect pair (along with their dogs Pongo and Perdita), and Close a flamboyantly funny Cruella De Vil. But once the dalmatian puppies are stolen and Cruella's bumbling henchmen take over, this John Hughes's script becomes yet another heavy-handed HOME ALONE retread, full of mechanical slapstick gags. Followed by a sequel. | tt0115433 | [G] | Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Joely Richardson, Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, Mark Williams, John Shrapnel | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| 102 Dalmatians | 2000 | Kevin Lima | ★★ | 100 | Excruciatingly shrill Disney sequel about the further adventures of Cruella De Vil (Close) as she continues her evil quest to acquire a Dalmatian-skin coat, this time with the help of a nefarious fur designer (Depardieu). Close's high-camp performance and wardrobe are fun for a while, and young children are sure to take to all those adorable puppies, but the results are spotty at best. | tt0211181 | [G] | Glenn Close, Gérard Depardieu, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny, Ben Crompton, Carol Macready, Ian Richardson, Timothy West; voice of Eric Idle | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| 10:30PM Summer | 1966 | Jules Dassin. | ★★ | 85 | A couple traveling in a foreign country encounters problems and complications in their relationship. Largely unknown, all but forgotten Dassin film made in Spain is typical of similarly pretentious and mostly incoherent '60s fare. Mercouri is watchable as always; her scenes with Schneider pop off the screen. Scripted by Dassin and Marguerite Duras, from her novel. | tt0060045 | Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Peter Finch, Julián Mateos, Isabel Maria Pérez, Beatriz Savón. | U.S.-Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| 11 Harrowhouse | Fast Fortune | 1974 | Aram Avakian | ★★★ | 98 | Funny action spoof of heist films, as diamond merchant Grodin robs the world clearinghouse for gems. Grodin also adapted Gerald A. Browne's best-selling novel. Aka ANYTHING FOR LOVE and FAST FORTUNE. | tt0071080 | [PG] | Charles Grodin, Candice Bergen, James Mason, Trevor Howard, John Gielgud, Helen Cherry | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL |
| 11:14 | 2005 | Greg Marcks | ★★½ | 86 | At 11:14 p.m. a body lands on the windshield of a car and the tipsy driver tries to hide the corpse. Intersecting flashbacks reveal the mishaps immediately before and after the incident and how they converge to change the lives of several people one night in a small town. Despite the clever structure of the screenplay (by the director) and some amusing black comedy, it's hard to care about this collection of dumb, morally bankrupt characters. Without the time-juggling gimmick, the story would add up to very little. Swank coexecutive produced. Filmed in 2002. | tt0331811 | [R] | Henry Thomas, Blake Heron, Clark Gregg, Hilary Swank, Shawn Hatosy, Barbara Hershey, Stark Sands, Colin Hanks, Ben Foster, Patrick Swayze, Rachael Leigh Cook | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The 11th Hour | 2007 | Leila Conners Petersen, Nadia Conners | ★★½ | 95 | Coproducer Leonardo DiCaprio’s intense sincerity serves him well as on- and off-screen narrator of this sprawling, frequently distressing documentary about the various ways mankind is despoiling our planet. In addition to footage of melting icecaps, widespread deforestation, overflowing landfills, etc., the directors include cogent testimony by disparate experts and activists, from Stephen Hawking to Mikhail Gorbachev, who suggest specific steps that can be taken to keep Earth inhabitable. | tt0492931 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| 12 | 2007 | Nikita Mikhalkov | ★★★ | 159 | The fate of a Chechen youth on trial for murdering his adoptive father is passionately debated by 11 jurors who want to convict him and the 1 holdout among the group. Mikhalkov’s expanded and updated adaptation of Reginald Rose’s screenplay for Sidney Lumet’s 1957 classic 12 ANGRY MEN is long and talky but superbly acted. Absorbing both as drama and as a metaphor for the breakup of post-Soviet Russian society. | tt0488478 | [PG-13] | Sergey Makovetsky, Nikita Mikhalkov, Sergei Garmash, Valentin Gaft, Alexei Petrenko, Yuri Stoyanov, Sergey Gazarov, Mikhail Efremov, Alexei Gorbunov, Sergey Artsibashev, Victor Verzhbitsky, Roman Madyanov, Alexander Adabashian, Apti Magamaev | Russian | NULL | ||
| 12 Angry Men | 1957 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★★ | 95 | Brilliant film about one man who tries to convince 11 other jurors that their hasty guilty verdict for a boy on trial should be reconsidered. Formidable cast (including several character-stars-to-be); Lumet's impressive debut film. Script by Reginald Rose, from his television play. Remade for TV in 1997. | tt0050083 | Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, George Voskovec, Robert Webber, Edward Binns, Joseph Sweeney | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| 12 Angry Men | 1997 | William Friedkin | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Stellar, contemporized version of the memorable tale of jury haggling on a stuffy afternoon in N.Y.C., with a bunch of cranky men. New to this version are the defendant (who is Latino), a female judge (Mary McDonnell, in a cameo), and a more ethnically diverse jury. Reginald Rose revised his own teleplay and movie script. Made for cable. | tt0118528 | Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Ossie Davis, Courtney B. Vance, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Dorian Harewood, Tony Danza, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, William Petersen, James Gandolfini | Drama | NULL | |||
| 12 Rounds | 2009 | Renny Harlin | ★★½ | 108 | Utterly preposterous but enjoyably fast-paced thriller finds World Wrestling Entertainment star Cena cast as a hard-charging New Orleans cop forced into a series of beat-the-clock, life-or-death challenges by a vengeful arms dealer (Gillen) who has kidnapped the cop’s sweetheart (Scott). Director Harlin keeps pedal to metal throughout, so that nothing—not even Cena’s obvious limitations as an actor—ever decelerates the high-velocity spectacle. Clever use of N.O. locations (many still bearing marks of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina) is a plus. | tt1160368 | [PG-13] | John Cena, Aidan Gillen, Ashley Scott, Steve Harris, Brian White, Gonzalo Menendez | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 12 to the Moon | 1960 | David Bradley | 💣 | 74 | International expedition to the moon encounters hostile aliens who freeze North America solid. An ambitious failure. | tt0054415 | Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, Tom Conway, Tony Dexter, John Wengraf, Anna-Lisa | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| 127 Hours | 2010 | Danny Boyle | ★★★ | 94 | True story of Aron Ralston, a free spirit who set out on a mountain-biking adventure in 2003 without telling anyone where he was going. He slipped down a crevice, followed by a boulder that pinned his arm in place against a rock wall. The film follows his five-day struggle to survive, using inventive storytelling devices, including his video camera, memory flashbacks, and even hallucinations. Franco gives a fearless and emotionally engaging performance in this unusual film from Boyle, who also cowrote the script with Simon Beaufoy and drew on others from his SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE team, including composer A. R. Rahman. Squeamish viewers may want to avert their eyes during one key scene. | tt1542344 | [R] | James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Clémence Poésy, Kate Burton, Lizzy Caplan, Sean A. Bott, Treat Williams | U.S.-British | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| 12:08 East of Bucharest | 2006 | Corneliu Porumboiu | ★★★ | 89 | Smart, funny, engaging comedy finds a history teacher, a senior citizen, and a TV commentator spending the bulk of a Christmastime local broadcast debating whether a revolution actually occurred in their small town 16 years earlier. With echoes of everyone from Billy Wilder to Milos Forman, this sharply effective film deals with Romanian politics by emphasizing the human factor. Impressive feature debut for writer-director Porumboiu. | tt0809407 | Mircea Andreescu, Teo Corban, Ion Sapdaru | Romanian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| 13 | 2010 | Géla Babluani | 💣 | 91 | Young electrician Riley, whose family is deeply in debt, hopes to make some quick easy cash but instead finds himself an unwitting participant in a Russian roulette–type contest. Soulless, heartless film about soulless, heartless people is an ordeal to sit through. The actors collectively scowl their way through this mishmash, and the leaden direction is no help. Georgian filmmaker Babluani originally made this in France as the far-superior 13 TZAMETI (2005). | tt0798817 | [R] | Sam Riley, Ray Winstone, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Michael Shannon, Ben Gazzara, Emmanuelle Chriqui, David Zayas, Alexander Skarsgård, Ronald Guttman, John Bedford Lloyd, Alan Davidson, Gaby Hoffmann | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 13 Assassins | 2010 | Takashi Miike | ★★★ | 125 | Rousing samurai film (a remake of a 1963 movie), focuses on a group of warriors brought together in 1840s Japan to assassinate the Shogun's bloodthirsty and sadistic illegitimate brother. Prolific cult director Miike, better known for his over-the-top shockers, plays it fairly straight here, albeit with lots of spraying blood and graphically severed body parts during the bravura battle scenes. Japanese version runs 141m. | tt1436045 | [R] | Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Gorô Inagaki, Ikki Sawamura, Arata Furuta | Japanese-British | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| 13 Fighting Men | 1960 | Harry Gerstad. | ★½ | 69 | Minor film about Union soldiers fighting off Rebel troops to protect gold shipment. | tt0053558 | Grant Williams, Brad Dexter, Carole Mathews, Robert Dix, Richard Garland, Rayford Barnes, John Erwin. | Western | NULL | |||
| 13 Frightened Girls | 1963 | William Castle | 💣 | 89 | One of Castle's weirdest films (no mean feat), set in Swiss boarding school catering to daughters of diplomats; after trading bits of info they picked up from Daddy during the holidays, the girls decide to go off and do spy stuff. Castle held a worldwide talent search to find his 'stars,' for whom this was their first— and no doubt last— film. A side-splitting camp classic awaiting rediscovery. | tt0056796 | Charles Herbert, Donald Woods, Martin Milner, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton, John Van Dreelen | Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |||
| 13 Ghosts | 1960 | William Castle | ★★½ | 88 | Typically tongue-in-cheek Castle spook opera, about nice, all-American family (with children named Buck and Medea!) that inherits a haunted house. Plenty of chills and chuckles, with Hamilton cleverly cast as sinister housekeeper. TV prints run 85m., minus footage of Castle introducing 'Illusion-O'— movie patrons were given 'ghost viewers' enabling them to see (or not see) the spirits. Remade in 2001. | tt0053559 | Charles Herbert, Donald Woods, Martin Milner, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton, John Van Dreelen | Horror | NULL | |||
| 13 Going on 30 | 2004 | Gary Winick | ★★½ | 97 | A 13-year-old girl with typical adolescent problems wishes she were a grown-up and magically awakens inside a 30-year-old body. Now she has to deal with a high-powered job as a magazine editor and figure out why she's no longer friendly with her onetime soul mate, the boy who lived next door. Variation on (rip-off of?) BIG is plottier than it needs to be but is energized by the irresistible charm of Garner, in her first starring vehicle; Ruffalo is also good as her childhood pal grown up. | tt0337563 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Christa B. Allen, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves, Alex Black, Alexandra Kyle | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| 13 Lead Soldiers | 1948 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 64 | Ancient toy soldiers hold the key to buried treasure in this minor Bulldog Drummond yarn. | tt0040063 | Tom Conway, Maria Palmer, Helen Westcott, John Newland, Terry Kilburn, William Stelling | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| 13 Rue Madeleine | 1946 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 95 | OK documentary-style story of O.S.S. agents' attempt to locate German missile site in France during WW2. Good cast also includes young E. G. Marshall, Karl Malden, Red Buttons. | tt0038279 | James Cagney, Annabella,Richard Conte, Frank Latimore, Walter Abel, Melville Cooper, Sam Jaffe | Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| 13 West Street | 1962 | Philip Leacock. | ★★½ | 80 | Early version of DEATH WISH has Ladd out to get gang of hoodlums; taut actioner with most capable cast. Based on novel The Tiger Among Us by Leigh Brackett. | tt0055718 | Alan Ladd, Rod Steiger, Jeanne Cooper, Michael Callan, Dolores Dorn. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The 13th Letter | 1951 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 85 | Interesting account of effect of series of poison pen letters on townsfolk, set in Canada. Remake of Henri Georges Clouzot's LE CORBEAU. | tt0043251 | Linda Darnell, Charles Boyer, Michael Rennie, Constance Smith, Judith Evelyn. | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The 13th Warrior | 1999 | John McTiernan | ★★★ | 102 | In ancient times, exiled Arabian nobleman Banderas travels with some Norsemen to their homelands, there to face possibly supernatural nighttime marauders, who eat their victims. Sturdy, action-packed adventure with horror overtones, realistic but in the heroic tradition, shot on spectacular Canadian locations. Based on Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead, itself inspired by true travel writings and the medieval tale of Beowulf. | tt0120657 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Dennis Storhoi, Vladimir Kulich, Omar Sharif | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| 1408 | 2007 | Mikael Håfström | ★★★ | 104 | There have been 56 deaths, natural and otherwise, in the title room, located in a Kafkaesque N.Y.C. hotel-from-hell. Intrepid occult writer Cusack is determined to spend the night there. Genuinely scary chiller, nicely paced with clever touches, brings new meaning to the Carpenters’ song “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Based on a Stephen King short story. Unrated director’s cut runs 112m. | tt0450385 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub, Len Cariou, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Kevin Dobson | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| 1492: Conquest of Paradise | 1992 | Ridley Scott | ★★ | 145 | The second of 1992's Christopher Columbus epics, this effort is beautifully mounted, but a long haul in steerage. The burden falls on Depardieu as the famed explorer, a French actor cast as an Italian working for Spain in an English-language movie— and an actor who speaks English like Bela Lugosi reading from cue cards. Might have been better had the action aped director Scott's finale to THELMA & LOUISE, by having Columbus and crew sail off the edge of the world. | tt0103594 | [PG-13] | Gérard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, Armand Assante, Frank Langella, Loren Dean, Angela Molina, Fernando Rey, Michael Wincott, Tchéky Karyo | U.S.-British-French-Spanish | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| 15 Maiden Lane | 1936 | Allan Dwan. | ★★ | 65 | Trevor lures Romero in order to crack his underworld gang in this satisfactory programmer. | tt0027617 | Claire Trevor, Cesar Romero, Douglas Fowley, Lloyd Nolan, Lester Matthews. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| 15 Minutes | 2001 | John Herzfeld | ★★★ | 120 | Headline-grabbing N.Y.C. detective finds himself with an unlikely partner— a young fire department arson investigator— as they track a series of grisly murders. The culprits are an immigrant duo who smugly seek to manipulate the American media/celebrity machine. Highly charged, in-your-face, sometimes over-the-top moviemaking with attitude to spare. Written by the director. | tt0179626 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer, Avery Brooks, Melina Kanakaredes, Karel Roden, Oleg Taktarov, Vera Farmiga, John DiResta, Charlize Theron, Kim Cattrall, Darius McCrary, David Alan Grier | Crime, Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| 16 Blocks | 2006 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 101 | A burnt-out N.Y.C. cop is given the no-brainer job of escorting a witness from lockup to the courthouse, but their 16-block journey is interrupted by assassins who want the witness dead. It turns out there are no clear-cut good guys or bad guys in this suspenseful yarn laced with incisive character snapshots and the irresistible ingredient of a man in need of redemption. Action scenes are pulse-pounding, and the performances first-rate. | tt0450232 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse, Jenna Stern, Casey Sander, Cylk Cozart, David Zayas, Robert Racki | U.S.-German | Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| 16 Days of Glory | 1986 | Bud Greenspan | ★★★ | 145 | Expansive look at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, with enough natural excitement and irresistible moments to make up for overwritten narration and overbearing score. | tt0090559 | [G] | Narrated by David Perry | Documentary | NULL | ||
| 16 Fathoms Deep | 1948 | Irving Allen. | ★★ | 82 | Harmless story of sponge fishing in Florida, with a pre-Sea Hunt Bridges appropriately cast as a diver. Chaney is the heavy here. In a 1934 version he played the hero. | tt0040797 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Lloyd Bridges, Arthur Lake, Eric Feldary, Tanis Chandler, John Qualen, Dickie Moore. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| 17 Again | 2009 | Burr Steers | ★★½ | 102 | Twenty years after a life-altering decision, a former high school basketball star (Perry) is given the opportunity to become a teenager again in order to change his future—and his lousy marriage. Efron's nuanced, intriguing performance (and a talented cast) make this otherwise predictable and uneven film enjoyable. | tt0974661 | [PG-13] | Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon, Melora Hardin, Sterling Knight, Michelle Trachtenberg, Hunter Parrish, Jim Gaffigan, Nicole Sullivan, Margaret Cho | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 1776 | 1972 | Peter H. Hunt | ★★★ | 141 | America's first Congress in struggle for independence from Britain provides framework for this unique musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone. Almost all of the original Broadway cast remain, with Daniels as John Adams and da Silva as Benjamin Franklin leading the pack. Laserdisc version ran 176m., incorporating footage director Hunt was forced to cut from original release; he then surpervised a revised edition for DVD running 166m. | tt0068156 | [G] | William Daniels, Howard da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden, Ron Holgate, David Ford, Blythe Danner, Roy Poole, Virginia Vestoff, John Cullum | Musical | NULL | ||
| 18 Again! | 1988 | Paul Flaherty. | ★★½ | 100 | 81-year-old Jack Watson (92-year-old Burns) becomes 18 again via his grandson's body and a bump on the head. Sound familiar? What it lacks in originality is made up in part by Schlatter's utterly charming performance as the young George, and that fountain of youth Burns (who, alas, we see precious little of). | tt0094593 | [PG] | George Burns, Charlie Schlatter, Tony Roberts, Anita Morris, Red Buttons, Miriam Flynn, Jennifer Runyon. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 1900 | 1977 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★½ | 311 | Sweepingly sexy, violent Bertolucci epic, with rapturous Vittorio Storaro cinematography, begins with the same-day birth of sons respectively sired by a landowner and a laborer who works his estate. The rest runs the gamut of 20th-century political bases, starting with the respective fascistic and socialistic leanings these two friendly protagonists develop on their road to middle age. Chain-sawed down to 243 minutes for an initial U.S. release that pleased no one, this flawed, one-of-a-kind epic of great sweep, humanity, and power doesn't seem fully realized even at its original running time. Yet aiming for the fences, it reaches them often enough to have become one of its era's most notable cult movies. | tt0074084 | [NC-17] | Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Donald Sutherland, Burt Lancaster, Dominique Sanda, Stefania Sandrelli, Sterling Hayden | Italian-French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| 1918 | 1984 | Ken Harrison. | ★★½ | 94 | Stagy, PBSy Horton Foote drama concerns the catastrophic late teens influenza epidemic that hit America— and its tragic effect on a small Texas town. Will probably be seen to best advantage on the small screen; Hallie Foote (the playwright's daughter) is excellent as a woman (based on her own real-life grandmother) whose husband and infant are both stricken. Produced for American Playhouse; followed by prequels ON VALENTINE'S DAY and CONVICTS. 1918 and ON VALENTINE'S DAY were telecast as STORY OF A MARRIAGE. | tt0088645 | William Converse-Roberts, Hallie Foote, Matthew Broderick, Rochelle Oliver, Michael Higgins, Jeannie McCarthy, Bill McGhee, Horton Foote/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| 1941 | 1979 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 118 | Gargantuan comedy from the bigger-is-funnier school of filmmaking. Some excellent vignettes and dazzling special effects in freewheeling story of war panic in L.A. following Pearl Harbor attack, but on the whole suffers from overkill. Written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. 26m. of footage added for network TV and special laserdisc editon. | tt0078723 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Treat Williams, Nancy Allen, Robert Stack, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee, Warren Oates, Bobby DiCicco, Dianne Kay, Murray Hamilton, Lorraine Gary, Slim Pickens, Eddie Deezen, John Candy | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| 1969 | 1988 | Ernest Thompson. | ★★ | 93 | Sutherland is terrific as a sensitive antiwar youth, and Hartley fine as his understanding mother, in this story of troubled times and troubled lives. But playwright Thompson's earnest directorial debut is disconnected and ultimately disappointing. | tt0094594 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, Bruce Dern, Mariette Hartley, Joanna Cassidy, Winona Ryder. | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| 1984 | 1956 | Michael Anderson. | ★★★ | 91 | Thought-provoking version of George Orwell's futuristic novel. Lovers O'Brien and Sterling trapped in all-powerful state, try valiantly to rebel against 'Big Brother.' Remade in 1984. | tt0048918 | Edmond O'Brien, Michael Redgrave, Jan Sterling, David Kossoff, Mervyn Johns, Donald Pleasence. | British | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| 1990: The Bronx Warriors | 1983 | Enzo G. Castellari. | 💣 | 84 | Bronx gang leaders vs. nasty corporation agent Morrow. Gregory plays a character named Trash, which is the best way to describe this movie. Filmed in the Bronx and Rome. Sequel: ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX. | tt0085124 | [R] | Vic Morrow, Christopher Connelly, Fred Williamson, Mark Gregory, Stefania Girolami. | Italian | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| 2 Days in Paris | 2007 | Julie Delpy | ★★★ | 96 | First-time director Delpy gets a boost from her own screen chemistry with costar Goldberg, as they play an N.Y.C.-based couple using travel to mend their relationship. The two end up feeling smothered in Paris-bred Delpy's apartment when they’re not running into another of her former squeezes (who seem to loom around every corner). Small-scale but breezy, smart, and assured comedy milks Goldberg's increasingly funny fits of exasperation. Delpy's real-life parents play themselves. Delpy wrote, coproduced, edited, and composed the score. | tt0841044 | [R] | Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Daniel Brühl, Marie Pillet, Albert Delpy | French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| 2 Days in the Valley | 1996 | John Herzfeld | ★★★ | 107 | Wry crime thriller with gnarled plot involving a murder for hire, a betrayed crook, his slick partner, a dogged cop, a deadly wife, and others caroming off each other in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. Entertaining and stylish, with fine performances, but more than a little contrived. Written by the director. | tt0115438 | [R] | Danny Aiello, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, Greg Cruttwell, Jeff Daniels, Teri Hatcher, Glenne Headly, Peter Horton, Marsha Mason, Paul Mazursky, Charlize Theron, Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher, Austin Pendleton, Lawrence Tierney | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| 2 Fast 2 Furious | 2003 | John Singleton | ★★½ | 108 | All but abandoning the street-racing milieu of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (except for a high-energy opening sequence), this sequel takes Walker to Florida, where he's recruited as an undercover fed to help capture a drug lord who hires fast drivers. Enough action to please undiscriminating fans, but the script leaves a lot to be desired. | tt0322259 | [PG-13] | Paul Walker, Tyrese, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, James Remar, Thom Barry, Michael Ealy, Devon Aoki | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 2 Friends | 1986 | Jane Campion | ★★½ | 76 | Campion's debut feature, produced for Australian television, is the slice-of-life portrait of a friendship between two adolescent girls, and the subtle changes in their relationship. Not without inspired moments, but lacks the assurance of Campion's later work. The scenario unravels in reverse time, a dramatic structure that seems more gimmicky than inspired. Released in the U.S. in 1996. | tt0092123 | Kris Bidenko, Emma Coles, Kris McQuade, Peter Hehir, Kerry Dwyer, Stephen Leeder, Deborah May, Tony Barry, Steve Bisley. | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| 20 Dates | 1999 | Myles Berkowitz | ★★½ | 88 | Wannabe filmmaker Berkowitz concocts the idea of filming 20 dates— as the hook to make a movie and as a means of finding love. Contemporary comedy, told in documentary style, is original and fun to watch, with a resolution neither Berkowitz nor the audience could have foreseen. | tt0138987 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary, Romance | NULL | |||
| 20 Million Miles to Earth | 1957 | Nathan Juran | ★★★ | 82 | First spaceship to Venus crashes into the sea off Sicily, with two survivors: pilot Hopper and a fast-growing Venusian monster that just wants to be left alone (but fights back when frightened). Climax takes place in the Colosseum in Rome. Intelligent script, fast pace, and exceptional special effects by Ray Harryhausen make this one of the best monster-on-the-loose movies ever. Unnamed monster is known as 'the Ymir' to its fans. | tt0050084 | William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Frank Puglia, Thomas Browne Henry, John Zaremba, Tito Vuolo, Bart Bradley | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| 20 Mule Team | 1940 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 84 | Minor Western of borax-miners in Arizona with usual Beery mugging and standard plot. Baxter's first film. | tt0032178 | Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo, Marjorie Rambeau, Anne Baxter, Douglas Fowley | Western | NULL | |||
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | 1954 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★★ | 127 | Superb Disney fantasy-adventure on grand scale, from Jules Verne's novel. 19th-century scientist Lukas and sailor Douglas get involved with power-hungry Captain Nemo (Mason) who operates futuristic submarine. Memorable action sequences, fine cast make this a winner. Won Oscars for Art Direction and Special Effects. First filmed in 1916. Remade in 1997 as both a miniseries and made-for-TV movie. | tt0046672 | Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Robert J. Wilke, Carleton Young | Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The 20,000 Pound Kiss | 1963 | John Moxey | ★★½ | 57 | Edgar Wallace tale of blackmail, with a most intricate plot. | tt0056798 | Dawn Addams, Michael Goodliffe, Richard Thorp, Anthony Newlands | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| 20,000 Years in Sing Sing | 1933 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 81 | Still-powerful prison drama has only teaming of Tracy and Davis. He's a hardened criminal, she's his girl. Based on Warden Lewis E. Lawes' book. Remade as CASTLE ON THE HUDSON. | tt0023731 | Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Arthur Byron, Lyle Talbot, Warren Hymer, Louis Calhern, Grant Mitchell, Sheila Terry | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| 200 Cigarettes | 1999 | Risa Bramon Garcia | ★½ | 101 | It's New Year's Eve 1981, in N.Y.C.'s East Village, with an assortment of young people trying (not too hard) to reach a loft party thrown by frantic Plimpton. Merits some sort of prize for Most Obnoxious Ensemble . . . and sorely lacks a coherent script. Hudson is Goldie Hawn's daughter. | tt0137338 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Jennifer Albano, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Angela Featherstone, Janeane Garofalo, Gaby Hoffmann, Kate Hudson, Catherine Keener, Courtney Love, Brian McCardie, Jay Mohr, Nicole Parker, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci, Paul Rudd, David Johansen, Elvis Costello | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| 200 Motels | 1971 | Frank Zappa, Tony Palmer | ★★½ | 98 | Visual, aural assault disguised as movie; completely berserk, freeform film (shot on videotape in England) featuring bizarre humor of Zappa and the Mothers. Some of it ingenious, some funny, but not enough to maintain entire film. Funny, raunchy animation sequence. | tt0066732 | [R] | Frank Zappa, Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon | Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| 2000 Years Later | 1969 | Bert Tenzer | ★★ | 80 | Amusing story of 20th-century man exploiting a Roman soldier who comes back to life after 2000 years. | tt0063972 | [R] | Terry-Thomas, Edward Everett Horton, John Abbott, Pat Harrington, Lisa Seagram, Monti Rock III, Rudi Gernreich | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★★ | 139 | A unique masterpiece, immensely influential; Kubrick starkly depicts several encounters mankind has with never-glimpsed aliens, from the dawn of Man four million years ago to the title year, when an alien artifact is found on the Moon. An expedition tracking its radio signal is launched to Jupiter, with mysterious, haunting results. A visual feast, film also boasts distinction of having put Richard Strauss into the Top 40 with 'Also Sprach Zarathustra.' Cut by 17 minutes after premiere, by Kubrick himself, to present length. Oscar-winning special effects. Screenplay by Arthur C. Clarke and the director, from Clarke's The Sentinel. Followed by 2010 in 1984. | tt0062622 | [G] | Keir Dullea, William Sylvester, Gary Lockwood, Daniel Richter; voice of Douglas Rain | British | Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | |
| 2010 | 1984 | Peter Hyams | ★★★ | 114 | Ambitious sequel to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY written by director Hyams from the follow-up novel by Arthur C. Clarke (who has a cameo on Washington park bench). Scheider is perfect Everyman who journeys into space on joint American-Soviet mission to solve mystery of what went wrong on original Discovery flight. More concrete and therefore less mystical than 2001, with an ending that's much too literal, but still an entertaining journey, with state-of-the-art visual effects by Richard Edlund. | tt0086837 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Dana Elcar, Elya Baskin, Savely Kramarov; voice of Douglas Rain | Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| 2012 | 2009 | Roland Emmerich | ★★ | 158 | After solar flares upset Earth's balance, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes destroy cities and decimate citizenry across the globe, seemingly in fulfillment of ancient Mayan prophecy. State-of-the-art CGI wizardry is employed to eye-popping effect in this latest apocalyptic extravaganza from the director of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. But the pace too often is plodding, the performances wildly uneven, and the script crammed with laughable clichés and preposterous coincidences. Despite game efforts by Harrelson, Ejiofer, and Platt, this amped-up version of a '70s disaster film offers little more than very expensive cheap thrills. | tt1190080 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson, Tom McCarthy, George Segal, Stephen McHattie, Patrick Bauchau, Beatrice Rosen, Johann Urb | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| 2046 | 2004 | Wong Kar Wai | ★★★½ | 130 | A writer is penning a science-fiction novel presumably titled 2046, which also happens to be the number of the hotel room next door to him, where many events unfold in this dense, atmospheric film about sexual relationships. In the film/novel a mysterious train takes its passengers to the year 2046 (the year China has set for the end of Hong Kong' s current state of independence), but whether in the past, present, or future, the protagonist must deal with love, loss, and regret. A sinuous, romantic, elliptical film that seems to exist in a dream state. Leung plays a darker version of the character he introduced in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. | tt0212712 | [R] | Tony Leung, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Takuya Kimura, Faye Wong, Maggie Cheung, Chen Chang | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| 21 | 2008 | Robert Luketic | ★★½ | 122 | Working-class whiz kid (Sturgess) who’s wondering how he’s going to pay his way through M.I.T. is recruited by professor Spacey to join his elite team: a small group of supersmart students who’ve learned how to count cards and beat the blackjack tables in Las Vegas. Entertaining wish-fulfillment yarn, taken from a true story, starts to deflate toward the climax when—inevitably—Sturgess goes riding for a fall. Based on Ben Mezrich’s book Bringing Down the House. HD Widescreen. | tt0478087 | [PG-13] | Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, Jack McGee, Josh Gad | Drama | NULL | ||
| 21 Days Together | 1939 | Basil Dean | ★★½ | 75 | John Galsworthy's play of lovers with three weeks together before man goes on trial for murder; Olivier and Leigh are fine in worthwhile, but not outstanding, film. Script by Graham Greene. Original title: 21 DAYS. | tt0032179 | Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Hay Petrie, Leslie Banks, Francis L. Sullivan | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| 21 Grams | 2003 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | ★★★ | 125 | Three disparate people— an ex-con who has found religion, a woman who has lost her family, and a professor given a second chance at life— are brought together through unforeseen circumstances. Arresting drama told in fragmented, nonlinear fashion (not surprising from the creators of AMORES PERROS, director Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga) that does not quite illuminate the heavy material as much as the filmmakers would like to think. Beautifully acted by the three leads. | tt0315733 | [R] | Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Melissa Leo, Clea DuVall, Danny Huston, Paul Calderon | Drama | NULL | ||
| 21 Jump Street | 2012 | Phil Lord, Christopher Miller | ★★½ | 109 | Somewhat ragged parody of the late-'80s TV show has teenage adversaries Hill (a nerdy star student) and Tatum (a dumb jock) meeting again years later as police academy recruits, where they form a friendship. When they're assigned to go undercover at a high school to bust an underground drug ring, they revert to their high school personalities and take their roles a bit too seriously. Amusing premise, with expected raunchy humor, is well played by its stars; goes astray toward the end when it tries to become an action movie. Gag cameos will please fans of the vintage TV series. | tt1232829 | [R] | Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Ice Cube, Dax Flame, Chris Parnell, Ellie Kemper, Holly Robinson Peete, Jake Johnson, Nick Offerman | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| 23 Paces to Baker Street | 1956 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 103 | Absorbing suspenser filmed in London has blind playwright Johnson determined to thwart crime plans he has overheard. | tt0048919 | Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker, Patricia Laffan, Maurice Denham, Estelle Winwood | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| 24 Hour Party People | 2002 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 113 | Smart, sharp, funny, evocative film about the punk rock scene in Manchester, England, in the early 1970s, and one of its progenitors— who disarmingly tells his own story to us on camera (even commenting on the film itself). Entertaining even if you don't know much about the subject. Coogan is dynamic in the leading role. | tt0274309 | [R] | Steve Coogan, Lennie James, Shirley Henderson, Paddy Considine, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Simm, Chris Coghill | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The 24 Hour Woman | 1999 | Nancy Savoca | ★★ | 95 | Producer of a morning TV show discovers she's pregnant, and begins to deal with the conflicts facing a career woman who's also trying to start a family. Meanwhile, a mother of three returns to the workforce as her new assistant. Credible and energetic, but the 'lesson' it teaches is obvious from the start. A disappointment from talented filmmaker Savoca. | tt0138279 | [R] | Rosie Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Patti LuPone, Karen Duffy, Diego Serrano, Wendell Pierce, Aida Turturro, Rosana De Soto, Chris Cooper | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 25th Hour | 2002 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 134 | A convicted Manhattan drug dealer (Norton) confronts the choices he has made in life on his last day before serving a seven-year prison sentence. Ambitious attempt to fuse intimate character studies with a larger examination of post-9/11 N.Y.C. never quite succeeds, despite powerful moments and good acting, especially by Norton and Pepper. David Benioff adapted his own novel. | tt0307901 | [R] | Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Tony Siragusa, Levani Outchaneichvili, Tony Devon | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The 25th Hour | 1967 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 119 | Story of Rumanian peasant's Nazi-enforced eight-year separation from his beautiful wife is indifferently done, in spite of capable acting by stars. | tt0062445 | Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, Michael Redgrave, Gregoire Aslan, Marcel Dalio, Serge Reggiani | French-Italian-Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | ||
| 27 Dresses | 2008 | Anne Fletcher | ★★½ | 106 | Having played the role of bridesmaid in far too many weddings, Heigl finally decides to tell her boss (Burns) that she loves him. Just then, he meets and falls in love with her beautiful sister (Akerman) and Heigl is left to plan her dream wedding for her sibling. Heigl and Marsden are fun to watch in this amiable (if conventional) film. | tt0988595 | [PG-13] | Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Judy Greer, Melora Hardin, Brian Kerwin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The 27th Day | 1957 | William Asher | ★★½ | 75 | Imaginative sci-fi study of human nature with five people given pellets capable of destroying the world. Based on John Mantley's novel. | tt0050085 | Gene Barry, Valerie French, Arnold Moss, George Voskovec | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| 28 Days | 2000 | Betty Thomas | ★★½ | 104 | Drunken N.Y. writer with an equally boozy boyfriend checks into rehab after an alcohol-induced accident. She gradually conforms to the program after the institution's seen-it-all patients swing their hatchets at the chip on her shoulder. After a strong beginning, film takes a quick nosedive by going for too many cheap belly-laughs. Helping to a point are generally strong performances, including Bullock's best to date. | tt0191754 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi, Alan Tudyk, Azura Skye, Michael O'Malley, Reni Santoni, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Margo Martindale | Drama | NULL | ||
| 28 Days Later | 2002 | Danny Boyle | ★★★ | 112 | Truly frightening film that begins with an incident at a laboratory where animals are being used for medical research and leads to a deadly virus spreading like wildfire throughout England. Twenty-eight days later, it's up to a handful of still-healthy individuals to band together— and avoid contact with their rabid fellow humans before it's too late. Grim, uncomfortably believable, and scary as hell. Also released theatrically with alternate, more downbeat, ending. Written by Alex Garland. | tt0289043 | [R] | Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, Christopher Eccleston, Noah Huntley | U.S.-British | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| 28 Up | 1985 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 133 | Unique documentary in which Apted interviews a diverse group of individuals at ages 7, 14, 21, and 28. A one-of-a-kind portrayal of dreams, aspirations, and realities; fascinating to see the subjects literally age before your eyes. Raise this rating to ***1/2 if viewed in separate installments— the way it was originally made for TV. Followed by 35 UP. | tt0088650 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| 29th Street | 1991 | George Gallo | ★★½ | 101 | Richly seasoned look at N.Y.C. Italian-Americans through the eyes of Frank Pesce, who sees his life as blessed with luck, even though it presents itself in strange ways; the story is told in flashback on the night of New York State's first lottery drawing. Aiello and LaPaglia are dynamite as father and son, and that's the real Frank Pesce as older brother Vito; he also cowrote the story, based on his life. Directing debut for MIDNIGHT RUN screenwriter Gallo. | tt0101252 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, Lainie Kazan, Frank Pesce, Donna Maghani, Rick Aiello, Vic Manni, Ron Karabatsos, Robert Forster, Pete Antico, Joe Franklin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 3 Bad Men | 1926 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 92 | Three gruff outlaws become benevolent protectors of young woman whose father is killed during Western settlement period. Beautiful mixture of action, drama, comedy, and sentiment in one of Ford's best silents. An obvious variation on 3 GODFATHERS. | tt0017463 | George O'Brien, Lou Tellegen, J. Farrell MacDonald, Tom Santschi, Frank Campeau | Western | NULL | |||
| 3 Godfathers | 1949 | John Ford | ★★★ | 105 | Sturdy, sentimental, sometimes beautiful rendition of Peter B. Kyne's oft-filmed saga of three bandits who 'adopt' a baby born in the desert. Final scene doesn't ring true, but Ford makes up for it in balance of film. Dedicated to the director's first star, Harry Carey, Sr. Remade for TV as THE GODCHILD and as a Japanese animated feature, TOKYO GODFATHERS. | tt0040064 | John Wayne, Pedro Armendáriz, Harry Carey/Jr., Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson, Mildred Natwick | Western | NULL | |||
| 3 Men and a Baby | 1987 | Leonard Nimoy | ★★★ | 102 | Enjoyable remake of France's big hit THREE MEN AND A CRADLE, about a trio of swinging bachelor roommates who suddenly find themselves custodians of an infant. Winning performances all around help keep this buoyant comedy on-track from start to finish. Followed by 3 MEN AND A LITTLE LADY. | tt0094137 | [PG] | Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Nancy Travis, Margaret Colin, Philip Bosco, Celeste Holm, Derek de Lint, Cynthia Harris, Lisa & Michelle Blair | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| 3 Men and a Little Lady | 1990 | Emile Ardolino | ★★½ | 100 | Pleasant (if unexceptional) followup to hit comedy has the growing tyke's mother (Travis) deciding to marry British actor Cazenove, and move to England . . . forcing the three bachelor fathers to prove that the prospective husband and father is really a rotter before it's too late. | tt0098966 | [PG] | Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Nancy Travis, Robin Weisman, Christopher Cazenove, Sheila Hancock, Fiona Shaw, John Boswall, Jonathan Lynn, Sydney Walsh | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| 3 Murderesses | Women Are Weak | 1960 | Michel Boisrond | ★★½ | 96 | Most diverting cast in standard playboy yarn with Delon romancing trio of contrasting females. Originally titled WOMEN ARE WEAK. | tt0052795 | Alain Delon, Mylene Demongeot, Pascale Petit, Jacqueline Sassard, Anita Ruf, Simone Renant | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| 3 Needles | 2006 | Thom Fitzgerald | ★★½ | 129 | Fitzgerald also scripted this three-part opus, which attempts to humanize the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic by portraying individuals from different cultures who become HIV-positive. The scenarios follow Chinese farmers who are infected by tainted needles as they give blood, a Montreal porn actor, and three missionaries who come to Africa to save the souls of those afflicted with the virus. Raw and poignant in its best moments, but also slow moving, unevenly paced, and not as emotionally involving as it ought to be. | tt0395424 |
|
Shawn Ashmore, Stockard Channing, Tanabadee Chokpikultong, Olympia Dukakis, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Ian Roberts, Chloë Sevigny, Gary Farmer | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| 3 Ninjas | 1992 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★ | 87 | Three young brothers take their hard-earned ninja skills and put them to use against big-time baddies who are out to kidnap them. Harmless Disney release borrows ideas from every kiddie hit of its era. A surprising box-office success. Followed by three sequels. | tt0103596 | [PG] | Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade, Chad Power, Rand Kingsley, Alan McRae, Margarita Franco, Patrick Laborteaux | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| 3 Ninjas Kick Back | 1994 | Charles T. Kanganis | ★★ | 99 | More silliness aimed straight for the sub-teen crowd, as the three brothers (two of them recast from the original film) sacrifice a championship baseball game to fly to Japan to help their grandfather, who's been targeted by an age-old rival. A few moralistic lessons are sprinkled among the slapstick and toilet humor. | tt0109015 | [PG] | Victor Wong, Max Elliott Slade, Sean Fox, Evan Bonifant, Caroline Junko King, Dustin Nguyen, Alan McRae, Margarita Franco, Jason Schombing, Angelo Tiffe, Sab Shimono, Joey Travolta | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up | 1995 | Simon S. Sheen | ★½ | 85 | Rocky, Tum Tum, and Colt join their grandfather to help an Indian tribe whose land is being abused by a corrupt business tycoon (Napier). This artless blend of juvenile slapstick and martial arts was filmed in 1992, before 3 NINJAS KICK BACK, with the youthful star trio from the first film intact, but only released (barely, at that) in 1995. Followed by 3 NINJAS: HIGH NOON AT MEGA MOUNTAIN. | tt0112255 | [PG-13] | Victor Wong, Charles Napier, Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade, Chad Power, Crystle Lightning, Patrick Kirkpatrick | Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain | 1998 | Sean McNamara | ★★ | 93 | Latest adventures of the three would-be ninjas (with new cast members) finds them putting their prowess to work unexpectedly when Anderson and a team of commando types take over an amusement park, holding the families inside hostage. Pretty much what you'd expect; OK kids' fare. | tt0118539 | [PG] | Loni Anderson, Hulk Hogan, Jim Varney, Victor Wong, Mathew Botuchis, Michael J. O'Laskey II, J. P. Roeske II, Chelsey Earlywine, Alan McRae | Family, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The 3 Penny Opera | 1931 | G. W. Pabst | ★★★½ | 112 | Fine musical satire chronicling activities of dashing gangster Forster, his cohorts, and antagonists, with Lenya outstanding as Pirate Jenny. From Bertolt Brecht's play, with music by Kurt Weill, adapted from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. Remade many times since. | tt0021818 | Rudolf Forster, Lotte Lenya, Carola Neher, Reinhold Schunzel, Fritz Rasp, Valeska Gert | German | NULL | |||
| 3 Ring Circus | Jerrico, The Wonder Clown | 1954 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 103 | So-so Martin and Lewis comedy has them as discharged servicemen up to trouble in a circus. Reissued in shorter version as JERRICO, THE WONDER CLOWN. Remade as ROUSTABOUT. | tt0047582 |
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Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Joanne Dru, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Wallace Ford, Sig Ruman, Nick Cravat, Elsa Lanchester | Comedy | NULL | |
| 3 Strikes | 2000 | D. J. Pooh | ★½ | 82 | Alleged comedy about a newly minted ex-con (Hooks) with two felony convictions to his name; he knows that a third will land him in jail for 25 years, but he can't seem to avoid trouble. A must for fanciers of flatulence jokes and general idiocy. | tt0199290 | [R] | Brian Hooks, N'Bushe Wright, Faizon Love, Starletta DuPois, George Wallace, David Alan Grier, Antonio Fargas, De'aundre Bonds, Vincent Schiavelli, David Leisure, Gerald S. O'Loughlin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 3 Women | 1977 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 125 | Brilliant, moody, thought-provoking film about a strange young girl (Spacek) who gets a job in an old-age convalescent home and attaches herself to coworker Duvall, who fancies herself a social butterfly. Their interrelationship, and involvement with a quiet, embittered woman (Rule) forms the 'plot.' Hypnotic film for Altman fans, heavy going for others; a completely unconventional movie. | tt0075612 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Shelley Duvall, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier, Ruth Nelson, John Cromwell | Drama | NULL | ||
| The 3 Worlds of Gulliver | 1960 | Jack Sher | ★★★ | 100 | Hero is washed overboard and finds himself in the Land of Lilliput . . . but that's just the beginning. Well-made adventure/fantasy designed for kids, fun for older viewers, too. Fine special effects by Ray Harryhausen, charming Bernard Herrmann score. | tt0053882 | Kerwin Mathews, Jo Morrow, June Thorburn, Lee Patterson, Gregoire Aslan, Basil Sydney, Peter Bull | British | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| 3-Iron | 2004 | Kim Ki-duk | ★★★½ | 88 | Eerie, captivating fable about a young transient who sneaks into and lives in houses whose inhabitants are out of town. He forms an unusual bond with a woman who is patronized and battered by her husband. Quietly powerful film with a main character who doesn’t speak a word of dialogue. The title refers to his obsession with hitting golf balls. | tt0423866 | [R] | Lee Seung-yeon, Jae Hee, Kwon Hyuk-ho, Joo Jin-mo, Choi Jeong-ho | South Korean-Japanese | Drama, Romance, Crime | NULL | |
| 30 Days of Night | 2007 | David Slade | ★★½ | 113 | Barlow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the U.S., undergoes 30 days without sun every year. The residents take it in stride, until a horde of ravenous vampires arrives one sunless day. Intensely grim, this well-crafted thriller isn’t for the faint of heart, as it delivers yet another movie view of vampires. Huston is outstanding as the head bloodsucker. Based on the graphic novel by Ben Templesmith and Steve Niles (who cowrote the film). | tt0389722 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, Danny Huston, Ben Foster, Mark Boone Junior, Mark Rendall, Amber Sainsbury, Manu Bennett | U.S.-New Zealand | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia | 1968 | Joseph McGrath. | ★★½ | 98 | Man who has frittered away his life decides that within six weeks he wants to be married and famous. Funny, but sometimes falls flat. Dudley also composed the score and cowrote the screenplay. | tt0062625 | Dudley Moore, Eddie Foy/Jr., Suzy Kendall, John Bird. | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 30 Minutes or Less | 2011 | Ruben Fleischer | ★½ | 83 | Slacker (a miscast Eisenberg) who delivers pizza is abducted by two lowlifes (McBride and Swardson) who strap a bomb to his chest and force him to rob a bank. Why? So they can get enough cash to hire a hit man to bump off McBride's wealthy father. Desperate attempt at comedy thinks it has a free pass to be foulmouthed, racist, and sexist because it isn't meant to be taken seriously. But it ought to be funny, and it isn't. | tt1622547 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Fred Ward, Michael Peña, Bianca Kajlich, Dilshad Vadsaria | U.S.-German-Canadian | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| 30 Years of Fun | 1963 | Robert Youngson | ★★★★ | 85 | Compiled by Robert Youngson. Without repeating from previous films, Youngson presents hilarious silent comedy footage. Included is rare sequence of Laurel and Hardy performing together for the first time in 1917's LUCKY DOG. | tt0056799 | Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Sydney Chaplin, Charley Chase | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The 30-Foot Bride of Candy Rock | 1959 | Sidney Miller | ★★ | 75 | Lou Costello's only starring film without Bud Abbott is nothing much, mildly entertaining, with Provine enlarged to gigantic proportions. | tt0052529 | Lou Costello, Dorothy Provine, Gale Gordon, Charles Lane, Jimmy Conlin, Peter Leeds | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| 300 | 2007 | Zack Snyder | ★★★ | 116 | Frank Miller's graphic novel becomes a living comic book, using cutting-edge computer technology. Butler is commanding as King Leonidas, who leads his elite corps of Spartans into battle against Xerxes of Persia at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Though greatly outnumbered they use cunning, strategy, and sheer courage to hold off the invaders . . . while Leonidas' wife fights a psychological battle on the home front. Not a history lesson but an adrenaline-pumped, larger-than-life interpretation of this famous battle, drenched in comic-book blood. | tt0416449 | [R] | Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender, Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, Rodrigo Santoro, Stephen McHattie. | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| The 300 Spartans | 1962 | Rudolph Maté | ★½ | 114 | Events leading up to heroic Greek stand against the Persian Army at Thermopylae; strictly cardboard, despite Mediterranean locations filmed in widescreen by Geoffrey Unsworth. However, this did have a profound effect on Frank Miller, who later created the graphic novel 300. | tt0055719 |
|
Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson, Diane Baker, Barry Coe | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| 3000 Miles to Graceland | 2001 | Demian Lichtenstein | 💣 | 125 | A gang of Elvis impersonators pulls off a heist in Las Vegas. Potentially clever idea degenerates into an overlong, bloody (and bloody awful) bore. All the violence is mindless; all the plot developments are brainless. Russell actually once played Presley, in the TV movie ELVIS. | tt0233142 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Courteney Cox, Christian Slater, Kevin Pollak, David Arquette, Jon Lovitz, Howie Long, Thomas Haden Church, Bokeem Woodbine, Ice-T, David Kaye, Paul Anka | Action, Thriller, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| 35 Up | 1991 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 122 | Still compelling continuation of 28 UP, in which Apted again peeks in on the lives of the subjects he has been filming at seven-year intervals, beginning at age seven. A thoughtful, revealing look at lives lived, and dreams fulfilled and unfulfilled within the British class system. As with all prior entries, this was originally produced for British TV. Followed by 42 UP. | tt0101254 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| 36 Fillette | 1988 | Catherine Breillat | ★★½ | 88 | Annoyingly uneven account of a restless, amply endowed 14-year-old (well played by Zentout): will she or won't she lose her virginity while on vacation at the beach with her family? Some effective moments, but the film goes nowhere. | tt0094596 | Delphine Zentout, Etienne Chicot, Olivier Parniere, Jean-Pierre Léaud | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| 36 Hours | 1964 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 115 | Intriguing WW2 yarn with Garner as captured spy brainwashed into thinking the war is over begins well, but peters out fast. Taylor as German officer is interesting casting. Remade for cable TV as BREAKING POINT in 1989 with Corbin Bernsen. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0126562 | James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Taylor, Werner Peters, Celia Lovsky, Alan Napier | War | NULL | |||
| 365 Nights in Hollywood | 1934 | George Marshall | ★★ | 74 | Cheerfully mediocre musical about a girl (Faye, in her Jean Harlow look-alike period) who enrolls at a phony Hollywood talent school, where ex-big-shot director Dunn now teaches. Songwriter Richard Whiting appears briefly as himself. | tt0024808 | James Dunn, Alice Faye, Frank Mitchell, Jack Durant, Grant Mitchell, John Bradford | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The 39 Steps | 1935 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 87 | Classic Hitchcock mystery with overtones of light comedy and romance, as innocent Donat is pulled into spy-ring activities. Memorable banter between Donat and Carroll, who thinks he's a criminal, set style for sophisticated dialogue for years. John Buchan's novel was adapted by Charles Bennett and Alma Reville; additional dialogue by Ian Hay. Remade twice. | tt0026029 | Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, Wylie Watson | British | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The 39 Steps | 1959 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 93 | Young man is accidentally involved in murder and espionage and ensnares the aid of disbelieving young woman. More and Elg are delightful in this replica of 1935 classic; though not nearly as good, it's still entertaining. | tt0053354 | Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda de Banzie, Barry Jones, Reginald Beckwith, Sidney James, James Hayter | British | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 3:10 to Yuma | 1957 | Delmer Daves | ★★★½ | 92 | Extremely suspenseful Western, one of the best of the 1950s. Farmer Heflin, needing the money, agrees to hold captured outlaw Ford until the train arrives, but Ford starts to psych him out. Gripping every step of the way, with memorable George Duning theme sung by Frankie Laine. Script by Halsted Welles from an Elmore Leonard story. | tt0050086 | Van Heflin, Glenn Ford, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana, Henry Jones, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Emhardt | Western | NULL | |||
| 3:10 to Yuma | 2007 | James Mangold | ★★★ | 117 | Farmer Bale, desperate for money (and for his older son’s respect), agrees to help escort notorious outlaw Crowe to a train that will send him off to trial . . . but the captor counts on his gang to rescue him. Well-filmed adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s story, expanded and altered from its 1957 film version. The new ending is a mixed blessing, and the story goes on longer than it needs to, but it’s still very entertaining, with fine work from Bale, Fonda, and Foster, and a charismatic performance by Crowe as the bad guy who can quote from the Bible. | tt0381849 | [R] | Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol, Alan Tudyk, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Vinessa Shaw, Luce Rains, Luke Wilson | Action, Drama, Crime, Western | NULL | ||
| 3:15 | 1986 | Larry Gross | ★★ | 95 | Good cast in lackluster, low-budget teenage gang film, filmed in 1984. | tt0090564 | [R] | Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Lauter, Scott McGinnis, Danny De La Paz, John Scott Clough, Mario Van Peebles | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| 4 Clowns | 1970 | Robert Youngson | ★★★★ | 97 | A must for viewers of all ages: some of the best silent comedy ever. Interesting solo footage of Laurel and Hardy; Keaton's classic SEVEN CHANCES; hilarious sequences with under√ rated Chase including his best short, LIMOUSINE LOVE. One of compiler Youngson's very best efforts. | tt0146398 | [G] | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 4 Little Girls | 1997 | Spike Lee | ★★★★ | 102 | Shattering documentary about the fatal bombing of a black Birmingham, Alabama church on September 15, 1963, which not only killed four innocent children but galvanized the entire nation and accelerated the civil rights movement. Remembering its young (ages 11 to 14) victims are families, now-grown-up friends, ministers, reporters, political activists, and the lawyer who, years later, helped convict the key perpetrator. One of filmmaker Lee's finest hours. Produced for HBO but also given theatrical release. | tt0118540 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | 2007 | Cristian Mungiu | ★★★½ | 113 | In totalitarian Romania, 1987, a student agrees to help her roommate obtain an illegal abortion, never suspecting that it will turn into an emotional ordeal, as much for her as for her friend. Told in a series of long, unbroken takes with a fly-on-the-wall camera, this forceful film illustrates a society’s moral decay, as well as one woman’s awakening to reality. Its matter-of-fact tone makes it all the more devastating. Written by the director. Winner of the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. | tt1032846 | Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alex Potocean, Ioan Sapdaru, Teo Corban, Tania Popa | Romanian | Drama | NULL | ||
| 4 for Texas | 1963 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 114 | Nonsensical Sinatra-Martin romp set in the old West, with their antics only outdone by Buono as villainous banker. Ekberg and Andress both outstanding scenery attractions. | tt0057071 | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg, Ursula Andress, Charles Bronson, Victor Buono, Richard Jaeckel, Mike Mazurki, Jack Elam, The Three Stooges, Yaphet Kotto | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| 40 Carats | 1973 | Milton Katselas | ★★½ | 110 | Bright Broadway comedy adapted from French farce suffers in transference to screen, mainly from miscasting of Ullmann as 40-ish New York divorcee, pursued by 20-ish Albert. Glossy, mildly amusing; pepped up by Barnes and Kelly. | tt0070068 | [PG] | Liv Ullmann, Gene Kelly, Edward Albert, Binnie Barnes, Deborah Raffin, Billy Green Bush, Nancy Walker, Don Porter, Rosemary Murphy, Natalie Schafer, Claudia Jennings, Brooke Palance | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 40 Days and 40 Nights | 2002 | Michael Lehmann | ★½ | 95 | Young stud with an insatiable appetite for women— but no idea how to build a relationship— is so stung by his latest dumping that he decides to give up sex for Lent. Then he meets Miss Right— and can't explain to her why he's unable to consummate their relationship. Inane comedy, full of stupid, obnoxious characters. | tt0243736 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, Vinessa Shaw, Paulo Costanzo, Griffin Dunne, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Maronna, Glenn Fitzgerald, Mary Gross, Stanley Anderson, Adam Trese, Barry Newman | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 40 Guns to Apache Pass | 1966 | William Witney | ★★ | 95 | Standard Murphy Western with every horse-opera cliché intact: plot centers around missing shipment of rifles. | tt0060048 | Audie Murphy, Michael Burns, Kenneth Tobey, Laraine Stephens, Michael Blodgett, Michael Keep | Western | NULL | |||
| 40 Pounds of Trouble | 1963 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 106 | 'Cute' Curtis comedy of casino manager who 'adopts' little girl with endless complications occurring. Disneyland locations and fine character actors pep it up. Carbon copy of LITTLE MISS MARKER. | tt0057069 | Tony Curtis, Phil Silvers, Suzanne Pleshette, Larry Storch, Howard Morris, Stubby Kaye, Claire Wilcox, Jack La Rue | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The 40 Year-Old Virgin | 2005 | Judd Apatow | ★★½ | 116 | When some rowdy, randy coworkers at an electronics store discover that the nerd in their midst is still a virgin, they make it their mission to coach him to manhood. Meanwhile, he awkwardly begins a relationship with a nice woman (who's got three kids) and doesn't want sex to be a stumbling block. Carell's first starring vehicle, which he cowrote with director Apatow, is funny, but its startlingly raunchy gags clash with the sweet romantic-comedy approach to its love story. | tt0405422 | [R] | Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Nancy Walls, Mo Collins, Cedric Yarbrough, David Koechner | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 42 Up | 1999 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 130 | Picking up where 35 UP left off, Apted revisits all but three of his lifelong subjects as they settle into middle age. As compelling as ever. | tt0164312 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| 42nd Street | 1933 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★★ | 89 | The definitive backstage musical still has plenty of sass— along with its clichés. Ailing director Baxter puts everything into what may be his final show, then leading lady Daniels twists her ankle! Good thing Ruby Keeler's on hand. Harry Warren-Al Dubin songs include title tune, 'Young and Healthy,' 'You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me,' 'Shuffle Off to Buffalo.' Busby Berkeley's ground-breaking production numbers are sensational. Scripted by Rian James and James Seymour, from Bradford Ropes' story. Adapted for the Broadway stage 50 years later. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024034 | Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, George Brent, Bebe Daniels, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Una Merkel, Ginger Rogers, Ned Sparks, George E. Stone | Musical | NULL | |||
| 44 Inch Chest | 2009 | Malcolm Venville | ★★½ | 95 | A cuckold's four sympathetic pals snatch his wife's lover so he can avenge his lost manhood any way he wants. Misogynistic exercise in male bravado launches a Mametesque blitz of F- and C-bombs over London, yet is, at its base, a love story (though a profane one) about a hard man with a soft heart. Some will find it gritty; others, simply vile. Clips from DeMille's SAMSON AND DELILAH form a curious interlude. | tt0914837 | [R] | Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Dillane, Joanne Whalley, Melvil Poupaud, Steven Berkoff | U.S.-British-Australian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The 47 Ronin, Part I | 1941 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★½ | 112 | Legendary samurai warriors scheme to gain revenge for the death of their leader, who was tricked and forced to commit suicide. Based on a famous Japanese story, and fascinating as both cinema and as propaganda (remember, this was made during WW2). First of Mizoguchi's two-part epic, also known as THE LOYAL 47 RONIN. Several dozen versions of this same story have been filmed in Japan. | tt0033654 | Chojuro Kawarazaki, Yoshizaburo Arashi, Utaemon Ichikawa, Mieko Takamine | Japanese | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The 47 Ronin, Part II | 1942 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★½ | 113 | The 47 Ronin gain vengeance for their master's death. Together with its predecessor, this was the most impressive Japanese film produced during WW2; the finale is especially stirring and revealing. | tt0033654 | Chojuro Kawarazaki, Yoshizaburo Arashi, Utaemon Ichikawa, Mieko Takamine | Japanese | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| 48HRS. | 1982 | Walter Hill | ★★★½ | 97 | Slam-bang mix of action and comedy; weary cop Nolte springs Murphy out of the jug for two days to help him catch Murphy's escaped (and really disturbed) partner. Naturally, they hate each other's guts at first, but. . . . Murphy, in his screen debut, is nothing short of sensational, but so is Nolte in his low-key, raspy way; scene where Murphy terrorizes a redneck bar is the standout. Written by Roger Spottiswoode, Larry Gross, Steven E. de Souza, and Hill. Sequel: ANOTHER 48HRS. | tt0083511 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, James Remar, Frank McRae, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, James Keane, Jonathan Banks, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Jim Haynie, The Busboys | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 49 Up | 2006 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 135 | Seventh installment in the unique and remarkable series that began with the TV documentary 7 UP in 1964. Apted revisits most of the young people who first participated in the series and brings us up to date on their lives, which in some cases have taken highly unexpected turns. Several of the interviewees talk about the impact these documentaries have had on their privacy and sense of self. Thoroughly absorbing. | tt0473434 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The 49th Man | 1953 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 73 | Cold War espionage thriller with Ireland and Denning trying to track down smugglers who are bringing A-bomb parts into the U.S. Decent but unexceptional, this Sam Katzman production makes the most of its low budget. | tt0045463 | John Ireland, Richard Denning, Suzanne Dalbert, Touch (Michael) Connors, Peter Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| 49th Parallel | The Invaders | 1941 | Michael Powell | ★★★½ | 107 | Taut, exciting WW2 yarn of Nazi servicemen whose U-boat is sunk off the Canadian coast. Top-notch cast, rich suspense and characterizations. Oscar winner for Best Story (Emeric Pressburger); screenplay by Pressburger and Rodney Ackland. U.S. title: THE INVADERS. Original British running time: 123m. | tt0033627 | Anton Walbrook, Eric Portman, Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, Laurence Olivier, Glynis Johns, Niall MacGinnis, Finlay Currie | British | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| 4D Man | 1959 | Irvin S. Yeaworth/ Jr | ★★½ | 85 | Well-handled sci-fi of scientist who learns art of transposing matter, thus giving him power to pass through any barrier— but each time ages him horribly. | tt0052530 | Robert Lansing, Lee Meriwether, James Congdon, Guy Raymond, Robert Strauss, Patty Duke | Sci-Fi, Horror, Romance | NULL | |||
| 5 Against the House | 1955 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 84 | College buddies plan a "perfect crime" to rob a Reno, Nevada, casino. Dated film still has its moments. Stirling Silliphant and William Bowers adapted Jack Finney's story. | tt0048077 | Guy Madison, Kim Novak, Brian Keith, Kerwin Mathews, William Conrad, Alvy Moore | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| 5 Branded Women | 1960 | Martin Ritt | ★★ | 106 | Overambitious production, badly miscast, set in WW2 Middle Europe. Five girls scorned by partisans for consorting with Nazis prove their patriotism. | tt0053561 | Van Heflin, Silvana Mangano, Jeanne Moreau, Vera Miles, Barbara Bel Geddes, Richard Basehart, Harry Guardino, Carla Gravina, Alex Nicol, Steve Forrest | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| 5 Card Stud | 1968 | Henry Hathaway | ★½ | 103 | Dino is a gambler and Mitchum virtually repeats his NIGHT OF THE HUNTER role in surprisingly disappointing Western; Maurice Jarre's Dr. Zhivago-on-the-range musical score doesn't help. Probably Hathaway's worst Western. | tt0062626 | [M] | Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Katherine Justice | Western | NULL | ||
| 5 Days of War | 2011 | Renny Harlin | ★★½ | 113 | Veteran war correspondent and his cameraman, after barely surviving a bloody ambush in Iraq, cover an impending struggle in Georgia, the former Soviet republic, and find themselves in the eye of a very violent storm. Well-intentioned take on the psychological makeup of war correspondents, the way the media reports (and doesn't report) war news, and the plight of innocent civilians caught in the cross fire is hampered by an overload of explosions and battle scenes. Based on actual events; the finale, in which real Georgians offer testimony regarding their loved ones killed during the conflict, is heartbreaking. | tt1486193 | [R] | Rupert Friend, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Richard Coyle, Heather Graham, Johnathon Schaech, Rade Sherbedgia, Ken (Kenneth) Cranham, Antje Traue, Mikko Nousiainen, Dean Cain, Andy Garcia, Val Kilmer | U.S.-Georgian | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| 5 Fingers | 1952 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 108 | Exceptionally intelligent spy thriller with Mason as a cool customer selling high-priced secrets right under the noses of his British government employers during WW2. Based on a novel that was purportedly true! Followed by a short-lived TV series. | tt0044314 | James Mason, Danielle Darrieux, Michael Rennie, Walter Hampden, Oscar Karlweis, Herbert Berghof, John Wengraf, Michael Pate | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. | 1953 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 88 | A boy who hates to practice the piano has a vivid nightmare about a land where his officious teacher, Dr. Terwilliger (Conried), rules over hundreds of boys and a gigantic keyboard. Imaginative fantasy conceived by Dr. Seuss with clever songs by Seuss and Frederick Hollander. Major weakness: conventional “grown-up” leads played by then-popular performers Healy and Hayes. Look for George Chakiris among the dancers. | tt0045464 | Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Tommy Rettig, Hans Conried | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| 50 First Dates | 2004 | Peter Segal | ★★ | 96 | A veterinarian living in Hawaii who's known for quickie relationships falls in love with a woman who— it turns out— has short-term memory loss. That means he has to win her over every single day! Not-bad premise for an offbeat romantic comedy gets typical Sandler treatment, portraying him as a lovable guy while purveying a stream of crude jokes at the same time. | tt0343660 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, Dan Aykroyd, Amy Hill, Allen Covert, Pomai Brown | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| 50/50 | 2011 | Jonathan Levine | ★★★ | 99 | Clean-living 27-year-old man suddenly learns he has a rare form of spinal cancer and a 50/50 chance of survival. How his girlfriend (Howard), best pal (Rogen), and perpetually worried mother (Huston) deal with the news is the crux of the film. Gordon-Levitt and especially Rogen use humor to deflect their fears, while Kendrick, as a trainee therapist, tries to get her patient to open up about his true feelings. Based on screenwriter Will Reiser's own experiences, this remarkably sure-footed film manages to blend comedy and drama with satisfying results. Gordon-Levitt is perfect in the leading role. | tt1306980 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Matt Frewer, Philip Baker Hall, Jessica Parker Kennedy | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| 52 Pick-Up | 1986 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 110 | Self-made businessman is caught in web of blackmail and murder— and determines to break free by himself. Elmore Leonard's story is good, but the lead characters are cold, and film wallows too long in the sleazy, voyeuristic world of the bad guys. It also would have been better shorter. Same novel was adapted just two years earlier as THE AMBASSADOR. | tt0090567 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, Vanity, John Glover, Robert Trebor, Lonny Chapman, Kelly Preston, Clarence Williams III, Doug McClure | Action, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 52nd Street | 1937 | Harold Young | ★★ | 80 | Fictionalized story of how 52nd St. became nightclub row in the 1930s; soggy drama punctuated by appearances of some 52nd St. entertainers like Jerry Colonna, Georgie Tapps, Pat Harrington, Sr. | tt0028544 | Ian Hunter, Leo Carrillo, Pat Paterson, Kenny Baker, Ella Logan, ZaSu Pitts | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| 54 | 1998 | Mark Christopher | ★★ | 93 | Dreary drama attempts to capture the spirit of hedonistic nightclub Studio 54, which flourished in the 1970s and attracted naive young people like Phillippe, who thought entry meant a stepping-stone to success and self-esteem. Clichéd story takes focus off the most interesting person onscreen— Myers, in a canny performance as Steve Rubell, the ringmaster of this nightly drug-and-sex party. Various celebrities appear as themselves. | tt0120577 | [R] | Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers, Sela Ward, Breckin Meyer, Sherry Stringfield, Ellen Albertini Dow, Heather Matarazzo, Lauren Hutton, Michael York, Daniel Lapaine, Ron Jeremy | Drama | NULL | ||
| 55 Days at Peking | 1963 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 150 | Stars provide most of the interest in confusing historical account of Boxer Rebellion in 1900s China. | tt0056800 | Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, David Niven, Flora Robson, John Ireland, Paul Lukas, Jacques Sernas | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| 5th Ave. Girl | 1939 | Gregory La Cava | ★★ | 83 | Tiresome social comedy with Rogers as homeless girl taken in by unhappy millionaire Connolly; even Ginger is lifeless in this film that purports to show that poor is better than rich if you've got a head on your shoulders. | tt0031302 | Ginger Rogers, Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, James Ellison, Tim Holt, Kathryn Adams, Franklin Pangborn, Louis Calhern, Jack Carson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The 5th Musketeer | 1979 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 103 | Lavish, well-cast remake of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK offers nothing new, but retells Dumas' story in capable fashion. Major points of interest: Austrian location, veteran cast. Filmed in 1977. | tt0079152 | [PG] | Beau Bridges, Sylvia Kristel, Ursula Andress, Cornel Wilde, Ian McShane, Lloyd Bridges, Alan Hale/Jr., Jose Ferrer, Helmut Dantine, Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland | Austrian | Adventure | NULL | |
| 5x2 | 2004 | François Ozon | ★★★ | 90 | Simple, effective drama charting the anatomy of a marriage; the gimmick is that the story is told in five episodes and in reverse chronological order, starting with the characters' divorce proceeding and ending with their initial meeting at a vacation resort. With a wisp of sadness, Ozon peels away the gradations of the relationship and the secrets and lies that tear it apart. | tt0354356 | [R] | Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Stéphane Freiss, Géraldine Pailhas, Françoise Fabian, Michael Lonsdale, Antoine Chappey, Marc Ruchmann | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| 6,000 Enemies | 1939 | George B. Seitz. | ★★½ | 62 | Above-average programmer with Pidgeon as a crusading D.A. who's framed by the mob and sentenced to prison, where he seemingly runs into every thug he ever convicted. Combination gangster and prison movie delivers the goods on both counts. | tt0031014 | Walter Pidgeon, Rita Johnson, Paul Kelly, Nat Pendleton, Harold Huber, Grant Mitchell, John Arledge, Tom Neal. | Crime | NULL | |||
| 61* | 2001 | Billy Crystal | Above Average TV Movie | 129 | Involving, insightful recollection of the 1961 baseball season, when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chased Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Pepper and Jane are eerily on target as M&M, who are portrayed as complex human beings. Made with care by baseball— and N.Y. Yankee— fan Crystal, whose daughter Jennifer plays Maris' wife. Written by Hank Steinberg. Made for cable TV. | tt0250934 | Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Chris Bauer, Christopher McDonald, Jennifer Crystal Foley, Bob Gunton, Donald Moffat, Joe Grifasi, Peter Jacobson, Robert Joy, Michael Nouri, Seymour Cassel, Anthony Michael Hall, Renee Taylor, Pat Crowley | Drama | NULL | |||
| 633 Squadron | 1964 | Walter Grauman | ★★½ | 101 | Pretentious WW2 aviation film about the group's air mission to bomb German-run factory in Norway. Robertson and Chakiris are stiff-lipped throughout; script by James Clavell and Howard Koch. | tt0057811 | Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy, Harry Andrews | British | War | NULL | ||
| The 6th Day | 2000 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★★ | 124 | Interesting sci-fi premise set in the near future, when cloning animals is common but cloning human beings is illegal. After ordering a hit on helicopter pilot Schwarzenegger, megalomaniac tycoon Goldwyn has a 'copy' made; instead, there are two Arnolds on the loose, seeking revenge. Entertaining if overly plotty film benefits from a sharp sense of humor. | tt0216216 | [PG-13] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Robert Duvall, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, Wendy Crewson, Ken Pogue, Christopher Lawford | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 7 Capital Sins | 1961 | Jean-Luc Godard, Roger Vadim, Sylvaine Dhomme, Edouard Molinaro, Philippe De Broca, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Demy | ★★ | 113 | Potpourri of directors and talents play out modern parables concerning anger, envy, gluttony, greed, laziness, lust, and pride. Aka SEVEN DEADLY SINS and LES SEPT PECHES CAPITAUX. | tt0056467 | Marie-Jose Nat, Dominique Paturel, Jean-Marc Tennberg, Perrette Pradier | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| 7 Faces of Dr. Lao | 1964 | George Pal | ★★★ | 100 | Engaging fantasy of Western town brought to its senses by parables performed by mysterious traveling circus; tour de force for Randall, who plays six roles. William Tuttle won special Oscar for makeup creations. Based on Charles G. Finney's novel The Circus of Dr. Lao. | tt0057812 | Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Arthur O'Connell, John Ericson, Kevin Tate, Argentina Brunetti, Noah Beery/Jr., Minerva Urecal, John Qualen, Lee Patrick | Fantasy | NULL | |||
| 7 Women | 1966 | John Ford | ★★ | 87 | Flat soaper of dedicated missionaries in China in 1935, menaced by warrior cutthroats. Despite cast and director, a dull film. Ford's last feature. | tt0060050 | Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Margaret Leighton, Flora Robson, Mildred Dunnock, Anna Lee, Betty Field, Eddie Albert, Mike Mazurki, Woody Strode | Drama | NULL | |||
| 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance | 1994 | Michael Haneke | ★★★ | 95 | Chilling, challenging tapestry-like portrait of isolated, alienated people whose lives are presented in snippets, including a scruffy runaway boy, a sullen orphaned girl, a solitary old man, and an unhappily married couple. Mixed in are TV news reports involving violence and conflict across the globe, and Michael Jackson being accused of child abuse. Not unexpectedly, these 'fragments' are bookended by a tragedy. A celluloid treatise on the manner in which TV numbs the senses. Third in a trilogy, written by the director, following THE SEVENTH CONTINENT and BENNY'S VIDEO. | tt0109020 |
|
Gabriel Cosmin Urdes, Lukas Miko, Otto Grünmandl, Anne Bennent, Udo Samel, Branko Samarovski, Claudia Martini, Georg Friedrich | Austrian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| 711 Ocean Drive | 1950 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 102 | Tidy racketeer yarn of the bookie syndicate in the U.S. with exciting climax at Hoover Dam. | tt0042176 | Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru, Otto Kruger, Bert Freed | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| 7th Cavalry | 1956 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 75 | Scott plays an officer who must prove that he didn't desert Custer at the Little Bighorn battle. | tt0049745 | Randolph Scott, Barbara Hale, Jay C. Flippen, Jeanette Nolan, Frank Faylen | Western | NULL | |||
| The 7th Dawn | 1964 | Lewis Gilbert | ★½ | 123 | Dreary tale of personal and political conflict among WW2 allies— now adversaries— in postwar Malaya. | tt0057813 | William Holden, Susannah York, Capucine, Tetsuro Tamba, Michael Goodliffe | British | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| 7th Heaven | 1927 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 119 | One of the most famous screen romances of all time does not hold up as perfectly as one would like; Gaynor won first Academy Award as Diane, mistreated Paris waif redeemed and revived by cocky sewer-worker Chico (Farrell). His performance weakens film, as does terrible war subplot and finale. Still interesting, though; beautifully filmed, with lovely theme 'Diane.' Gaynor received her Oscar for this film, SUNRISE, and STREET ANGEL. Also won Oscars for Screenplay (Benjamin Glazer) and Director. Remade in 1937. | tt0018379 | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Ben Bard, David Butler, Marie Mosquini, Albert Gran | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The 7th Voyage of Sinbad | 1958 | Nathan Juran | ★★★½ | 87 | Top-notch adventure/ fantasy pits hero Sinbad against unscrupulous magician (Thatcher) who has reduced Princess Grant to miniature size. Good pacing, eye-popping special effects by Ray Harryhausen (including famed duel with skeleton), music score by Bernard Herrmann. A winner all the way. | tt0051337 | Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, Torin Thatcher | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| 8 1/2 | 1963 | Federico Fellini | ★★★★ | 135 | Fellini's unique self-analytical movie casts Mastroianni as a filmmaker trying to develop a new project, amid frequent visions and countless subplots. A long, difficult, but fascinating film, overflowing with creative and technical wizardry. Certainly one of the most intensely personal statements ever made on celluloid. Screenplay by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi. Oscar winner for Costume Design and as Best Foreign Language Film. | tt0056801 | Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Barbara Steele, Rossella Falk, Madeleine LeBeau, Caterina Boratto, Edra Gale, Mark Herron | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| 8 1/2 Women | 1999 | Peter Greenaway | ★½ | 121 | When a successful businessman is widowed, his son tries to help him through his grief by taking him on a sexual odyssey. The women range from a former nun (Collette) to a horsewoman/pig fancier (Plummer) who wears a bizarre see-through harness. Copious male and female nudity can't keep this from being a colossal bore. A supposed homage to Fellini, this isn't in his league. | tt0154443 | [R] | John Standing, Matthew Delamere, Vivian Wu, Shizuka Inoh, Barbara Sarafian, Kirina Mano, Toni Collette, Amanda Plummer, Natcha Amal, Manna Fujiwara, Polly Walker | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag | 1997 | Tom Schulman | ★★½ | 95 | Mob hit man Pesci's bag of the title is accidentally swapped with that of a medical student on the way to a Mexican vacation. Many black-comedy complications ensue. Occasionally very funny, but not often enough, and debuting director Schulman's timing is limp; Spade and Louiso have the best moments. | tt0118541 | [R] | Joe Pesci, Andy Comeau, Kristy Swanson, Todd Louiso, George Hamilton, Dyan Cannon, David Spade, Frank Roman, Ernestine Mercer | U.S.-British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| 8 Mile | 2002 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 110 | Angry young white rapper tries to use his music to escape the grimness of life in Detroit but freezes when forced to compete in a public forum with his glib black counterparts. Familiar underdog formula is given grit and resonance, and makes a convincing case for the power of self-expression. Real-life rapper Eminem is impressive in a tailor-made film that echoes his own life story. Oscar winner for Best Song, 'Lose Yourself.' | tt0298203 | [R] | Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, Evan Jones, Omar Benson Miller, Eugene Byrd, De' Angelo Wilson, Anthony Mackie, Taryn Manning | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| 8 Million Ways to Die | 1986 | Hal Ashby | 💣 | 115 | Dreary tale of alcoholic ex-cop who gets involved with high-priced call girl and her 'friends' (a powerful pimp and a sleazy drug dealer). Slow, arid film populated by unpleasant and uninteresting characters. Remarkably poor script (cowritten by Oliver Stone) has only faint resemblance to Lawrence Block's fine novel. | tt0090568 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette, Alexandra Paul, Randy Brooks, Andy Garcia | Adventure | NULL | ||
| 8 Seconds | 1994 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 104 | OK bio of rodeo legend Lane Frost gets standard Avildsen ROCKY rah-rah treatment. Perry and Geary (as his wife) put the film over, up to a point, with natural, winning performances, but day-to-day rodeo life was captured with far more flavor in THE LUSTY MEN and JUNIOR BONNER. | tt0109021 | [PG-13] | Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, Cynthia Geary, James Rebhorn, Carrie Snodgress, Red Mitchell, Ronnie Claire Edwards, Linden Ashby, Renée Zellweger | Drama | NULL | ||
| 8 Women | 2002 | François Ozon | ★★½ | 113 | Wonderful opportunity to watch some of France's most formidable females in an odd whodunit-melodrama-musical set in the 1950s (and inspired, Ozon says, by the lush, artificial Technicolor films of Douglas Sirk and Vincente Minnelli). The story, a deliberate contrivance, involves a murder in an isolated mansion in winter, and the various secrets being hidden by the women of the household. Fun to a degree, especially when the actresses sing and dance, but awfully forced. | tt0283832 | [R] | Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Virginie Ledoyen, Firmine Richard, Ludivine Sagnier | French | Comedy, Crime, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |
| 80 Steps to Jonah | 1969 | Gerd Oswald | ★★ | 107 | A loner, running from the police, stumbles upon camp for blind children; new world changes his outlook on life. Major liability: casting of Newton in leading role. Music score by George Shearing. | tt0063976 | [G] | Wayne Newton, Mickey Rooney, Jo Van Fleet, Keenan Wynn, Diana Ewing, Slim Pickens, Sal Mineo | Drama | NULL | ||
| 80,000 Suspects | 1963 | Val Guest | ★★ | 113 | Capable cast saddled with yarn of doctor (Johnson) and wife (Bloom) finding new love together while combating local small-pox outbreak. | tt0056802 | Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Yolande Donlan, Cyril Cusack | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| 84 Charing Cross Road | 1987 | David Hugh Jones | ★★★½ | 97 | Loving, literate, and totally disarming film about the longtime correspondence, and growing friendship, between a feisty N.Y.C. woman and the British bookseller who provides her with the rare volumes she cherishes more than anything else in life. Affectionately detailed evocation of N.Y.C. and London over 20 years' time is capped by ideal performances. Based on the memoirs of Helene Hanff and the play adapted from her book. Screenplay by Hugh Whitemore. | tt0090570 | [PG] | Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Jean De Baer, Maurice Denham, Eleanor David, Mercedes Ruehl, Daniel Gerroll | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| 84 Charlie Mopic | 1989 | Patrick Duncan | ★★★ | 95 | Imaginative low-budget film provides fresh approach to life on the front line in Vietnam. Writer-director Duncan tells his story completely from the point of view of a combat cameraman who's assigned to follow a special seven-man reconnaissance unit on a dangerous mission. Lulls in pace made up for by film's overall vitality, commanding performances by cast of unknowns. | tt0096744 | [R] | Jonathan Emerson, Nicholas Cascone, Jason Tomlins, Christopher Burgard, Glenn Morshower, Richard Brooks, Byron Thomas | War | NULL | ||
| 88 Minutes | 2008 | Jon Avnet | 💣 | 108 | Dreadful thriller about a forensic psychiatrist (and college professor) who’s received an all-too-palpable death threat from a man he helped send to Death Row (McDonough). Lumbering, heavy-handed theatrics and clumsy attempts at suspense make this a total waste of time. | tt0411061 | [R] | Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, Neal McDonough, William Forsythe | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 8MM | 1999 | Joel Schumacher | ★★ | 123 | Private detective accepts an unusual assignment: to learn whether or not a 'snuff' film in which a girl apparently dies is genuine. Despite himself, he becomes obsessed with the case and mired in a netherworld he cannot stand. An intensely grim, often unpleasant film, somewhat reminiscent of HARDCORE, is weakened by serious issues of credibility in Cage's character and motivation. | tt0134273 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Anthony Heald, Catherine Keener, Chris Bauer, Myra Carter, Amy Morton | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| 9 | 2009 | Shane Acker | ★★ | 79 | In a bleak future world, a handful of creatures battle monster-like machines, but one plucky survivor—numbered 9—refuses to accept defeat. Animated science-fiction yarn is imaginatively designed and well staged, but never becomes emotionally engaging as its too-familiar story plays out. Based on Acker’s student Academy Award–winning short of the same name. | tt0472033 | [PG-13] | Voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Fred Tatasciore, Alan Oppenheimer | Drama, Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| 9 Songs | 2005 | Michael Winterbottom | ★½ | 71 | A British geologist and an American student hook up in London; in between attending rock concerts, they indulge in sex. That's the sum total of this ponderous, erotic drama featuring realistic, graphically depicted sex. Means to be profound, but the result is profoundly boring. Alternate version runs 64m. | tt0411705 | Unrated | Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley | British | Drama, Music, Romance | NULL | |
| 92 in the Shade | 1975 | Thomas McGuane | ★★★ | 93 | National Book Award-nominated novel about rival fishing boat captains in Florida Keys; directed by the author. Wildly uneven but well cast and frequently hilarious. | tt0072594 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Margot Kidder, Burgess Meredith, Harry Dean Stanton, Sylvia Miles, Elizabeth Ashley, William Hickey, Louise Latham | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| 95 Miles to Go | 2006 | Tom Caltabiano | ★½ | 77 | If you’ve ever wondered whether Everybody Loves Raymond’s easygoing star comedian has a cranky, neurotic side off-camera, this movie’s for you. Romano and his pal/warm-up act Tom Caltabiano (a Raymond TV writer) drive from gig to gig through Florida and Georgia while an intern captures their mundane adventure on video. There’s a certain fascination in a multimillionaire stressing over having to foot his buddy’s room-service meal, but this comes across mostly as a vanity project for Caltabiano (who coproduced with Romano and also directed). The nadir: Ray gets indigestion. | tt0428196 | [R] | Ray Romano, Tom Caltabiano | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| 976-Evil | 1989 | Robert Englund | ★★½ | 89 | Snappy CARRIE-like outsider's-revenge horror flick. Introverted teenager Geoffreys calls 976 number that provides him with satanic powers. Story is confusing, and script too jokey, but as often as not, it delivers the goods. Director Englund is Freddy Krueger in the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series. | tt0094597 | [R] | Stephen Geoffreys, Patrick O'Bryan, Sandy Dennis, Jim Metzler, Maria Rubell, Robert Picardo, Lezlie Deane, J.J. Cohen, Darren Burrows | Horror | NULL | ||
| 99 River Street | 1953 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 83 | Rugged crime caper with Payne caught up in tawdry surroundings, trying to prove himself innocent of murder charge. Unpretentious film really packs a punch. | tt0045465 | John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Peggie Castle, Ian Wolfe, Frank Faylen | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| 99 Women | Isle of Lost Women | 1969 | Jess Franco | ★½ | 90 | Absurd drama about lesbianism in women's prison may have some scenes cut for some TV stations, unless film puts the censors to sleep. Also known as ISLE OF LOST WOMEN. | tt0063977 | [R] | Maria Schell, Luciana Paluzzi, Mercedes McCambridge, Herbert Lom | Spanish-German-British-Italian | Drama | NULL |
| 99 and 44/100% Dead | 1974 | John Frankenheimer | 💣 | 98 | Idiotic, poorly made gangster melodrama with satirical overtones: hit-man Harris is hired by mobster O'Brien to knock off rival Dillman. The pits. | tt0071089 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Chuck Connors, Edmond O'Brien, Bradford Dillman, Ann Turkel | Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Brivele der Mamen | 1938 | Joseph Green | ★★ | 100 | Overly sentimental Yiddish-language soaper that examines the effect of immigration on the family; the scenario focuses on a Polish-Jewish mother and son, and what happens when the latter heads off to America. The title's English translation is A LETTER TO MOTHER; also known as THE ETERNAL SONG. | tt0029946 | Lucy Gehrman, Misha Gehrman, Max Bozyk, Edmund Zayenda, Alexander Stein | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| A-Haunting We Will Go | 1942 | Alfred L. Werker | ★½ | 68 | One of Stan and Ollie's poorest films, involving them with gangsters, a troublesome coffin, and a hokey stage magician. No magic in this turkey. | tt0034424 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dante the Magician, Sheila Ryan, John Shelton, Don Costello, Elisha Cook/Jr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The A-Team | 2010 | Joe Carnahan | ★★½ | 119 | A B-movie tricked out with big-budget production values, inspired by the 1980s TV series about special-ops soldiers turned good-guy mercenaries. The original band of Vietnam vets are transformed here into Iraq War heroes, but the basic premise remains: convicted of a crime they didn’t commit, four freewheeling, wisecracking antiheroes bust out of military prison to clear their names, smite some villains, and blow up a lot of stuff. As their commander, Neeson establishes the seriocomic tone with self-mocking sass and steely-eyed authority. Overdone, to be sure, but surprisingly entertaining. Unrated version runs 133m. | tt0429493 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Patrick Wilson, Gerald McRaney | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A.K.A. Cassius Clay | 1970 | Jim Jacobs | ★★½ | 85 | Interesting documentary about the controversial heavyweight champion. | tt0181275 | [PG] | Narrated by Richard Kiley | Documentary | NULL | ||
| AI Artificial Intelligence | 2001 | Steven Spielberg | ★★ | 145 | In the near future, scientist Hurt and his team develop a highly sophisticated robot child who can experience emotions, including love, but his adoption by a loving couple who have lost a son is fraught with problems. Intriguing story draws us in, thanks in part to Osment's exceptional performance, but takes several wrong turns; ultimately, it just doesn't work. Spielberg rewrote the adaptation Stanley Kubrick commissioned of the Brian Aldiss short story 'Super Toys Last All Summer Long'; result is a curious and uncomfortable hybrid of Kubrick and Spielberg sensibilities. Striking music score by John Williams. Robin Williams, Chris Rock, and Meryl Streep are unbilled for the use of their voices. | tt0212720 | [PG-13] | Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Robards, William Hurt, Jake Thomas, Ken Leung, Michael Mantell, Adrian Grenier; narrated by Ben Kingsley | Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| AKA | 2002 | Duncan Roy | ★★½ | 123 | Effective story of a young, gay, working-class boy who manages to infiltrate England's upper crust, posing as a lord and almost getting away with it. Shot on digital video, story is told via a triptych, simultaneously offering three views of each scene. Technique takes getting used to but ultimately the gimmick pays off. A mixed bag, but still worth checking out. Written by Roy, and based on his own experiences. | tt0317052 | Matthew Leitch, Diana Quick, George Asprey, Lindsey Coulson, Blake Ritson, Bill Nighy, Geoff Bell, Peter Youngblood Hills | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| AMEN. | 2002 | Costa-Gavras | ★★★ | 130 | Compelling tale of an SS officer who discovers that the chemicals he's using to purify water for troops at the front are being used for Hitler's Final Solution. He turns to the Vatican for help and finds a willing priest but a reluctant hierarchy. Slow going at first, and not the biting indictment of the Roman Catholic Church you might expect from the director; instead, a tempered examination of self-preservation, sacrifice, and fear. Adapted by Costa-Gavras and Jean Claude Grumberg from Rolf Hochhuth's play The Deputy. | tt0280653 | Ulrich Tukur, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ulrich M_he, Michel Duchaussoy, Ion Caramitru, Marcel Lures | French-German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| ATL | 2006 | Chris Robinson | ★★ | 105 | Another film about skatin' in the hood (after ROLL BOUNCE), featuring Harris, better known as recording star T.I. Pretends to be a coming-of-age story about young people trying to make it out of the ghetto, but takes itself way too seriously. It's clear the screenwriters aren't channeling Hemingway, and when one girl tells a boy, 'I've seen you skate and that's all I need to know about a man,' we know we're in for a long sit. From a story by Antwone Fisher (yes, that Antwone Fisher). Coproduced by Will Smith. | tt0466856 | [PG-13] | Tip Harris, Lauren London, Antwan Andre Patton, Mykelti Williamson, Keith David, Lonette McKee, Evan Ross, Lauren Leah Mitchell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Aaron Loves Angela | 1975 | Gordon Parks/ Jr | ★★★ | 98 | New York-made variation on Romeo and Juliet set in Harlem, with black boy (Kevin) in love with Puerto Rican girl (Cara). OK combination of comedy, drama, violence, and Feliciano's music. | tt0072596 | [R] | Kevin Hooks, Irene Cara, Moses Gunn, Robert Hooks, Ernestine Jackson, José Feliciano | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick | 1952 | Claude Binyon | ★★ | 95 | Innocuous musical of dreamy farm widow Shore, obsessed with moving to the city; she's courted by shy-bumpkin neighbor Young, and is taken by on-the-lam crooks Merrill and Jergens. Based on a 1919 play— and it shows. Unmemorable score. | tt0044319 | Alan Young, Dinah Shore, Adele Jergens, Robert Merrill, Minerva Urecal, Veda Ann Borg | Musical | NULL | |||
| Aaron's Magic Village | 1995 | Albert Hanan Kaminski | ★★ | 78 | Animated adaptation of four fables by Isaac Bashevis Singer features an orphan, a talking goat, and an amnesiac elf trying to save a Moldavian town from sorcery and its own foolishness. Earnest but rather flat cartoon. Forgettable Michel Legrand-Sheldon Harnick songs. Additional animation by Buzz Potamkin. | tt0114349 | [G] | Voices of Tommy Michaels, Ronn Carroll, Tovah Feldshuh, Steven Newman, Ivy Austin, Harry Goz, Lee Wilkof, Chip Zien, Lewis J. Stadlen; narrated by Fyvush Finkel | French-German | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | |
| Abandon | 2002 | Stephen Gaghan | ★★ | 99 | Police detective with a checkered past is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a college boy but finds himself attracted to the missing student's girlfriend. Murky whodunit with paranormal ingredients that, annoyingly, don't pay off. Directing debut for the Oscar-winning screenwriter of TRAFFIC. | tt0267248 | [PG-13] | Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, Charlie Hunnam, Zooey Deschanel, Gabrielle Union, Gabriel Mann, Mark Feuerstein, Melanie Jayne Lynskey, Will McCormack, Philip Bosco, Tony Goldwyn, Fred Ward | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Abandon Ship | Seven Waves Away | 1957 | Richard Sale | ★★★ | 100 | Tyrone is officer suddenly in command of lifeboat holding survivors from sunken luxury liner. Tense, exciting study of people fighting to stay alive while exposed to savage seas and each other. British title: SEVEN WAVES AWAY. | tt0050091 | Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, Lloyd Nolan, Stephen Boyd, Moira Lister, James Hayter | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| Abandoned | Abandoned Woman | 1949 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 79 | Pretty good grade-B crime drama about unwed mothers forced to sell their babies for adoption. Burr is an impressive heavy. Aka ABANDONED WOMAN. | tt0041084 | Gale Storm, Dennis O'Keefe, Raymond Burr, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeff Chandler | Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| The Abandoned | 2007 | Nacho Cerdà | ★★½ | 96 | American adoptee gets trapped in an endless labyrinth of horror when, after receiving a mysterious invitation, she returns to Russia to learn more about her roots. In her dank, oppressively creepy childhood home, she must confront various evil forces, a murderous clone, and the disturbing secrets of her past. Anybody looking for a coherent narrative will find this throwback to surreal Euro-horror films of the '70s maddening. Fails to build fear and tension, but Cerdà fills the screen with enough gorgeous, chilling imagery to satisfy fans of nonlinear horror fare. | tt0475937 | [R] | Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden, Valentin Ganev, Paraskeva Djukelova, Carlos Reig-Plaza. | Spanish-Bulgarian-British | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Abbott and Costello Go to Mars | 1953 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 77 | Unimaginative vehicle has Bud and Lou sailing through space with escaped gangsters, landing on Venus, a planet populated with scantily clad women. Look quickly for Anita Ekberg. | tt0045468 | Robert Paige, Mari Blanchard, Martha Hyer, Horace McMahon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd | 1952 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 70 | Middling pirate spoof with too many lousy songs, worth catching to see Laughton having the time of his life in atypical low comedy. | tt0044320 | Charles Laughton, Hillary Brooke, Fran Warren, Bill Shirley, Leif Erickson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 1953 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 77 | Disappointing attempt to mix A&C with Jekyll (Karloff) and Hyde (stuntman Eddie Parker), with too few funny scenes. Special effects are film's main asset. | tt0045469 | Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, Reginald Denny, Helen Westcott, John Dierkes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | 1948 | Charles Barton | ★★★½ | 83 | Dracula (Lugosi) plans to put Lou's brain in Frankenstein's monster; werewolf Larry Talbot (Chaney) has his paws full convincing the boys they're in danger. All-time great horror-comedy still works beautifully, mainly because the monsters play it straight. Yes, that is Vincent Price's voice at the end. | tt0040068 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph, Glenn Strange, Frank Ferguson | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man | 1951 | Charles Lamont | ★★★ | 82 | One of the team's best vehicles, with Bud and Lou as detectives helping boxer (Franz) who's been framed by mobster Leonard, with aid of invisibility formula. The effects are top-notch. | tt0043255 | Nancy Guild, Arthur Franz, Adele Jergens, Sheldon Leonard | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops | 1955 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 79 | Low-budget comedy could have been better. Clark is fine as conniving producer in this synthetic period piece of silent-slapstick movie days. | tt0047794 | Fred Clark, Lynn Bari, Mack Sennett, Maxie Rosenbloom, Frank Wilcox, Henry Kulky, Sam Flint | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff | 1949 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 84 | Pleasant blend of comedy and whodunit with bodies hanging in closets perplexing hotel dick Abbott, and phony mystic Karloff trying to do away with klutzy bellboy Costello. | tt0041085 | Lenore Aubert, Gar Moore, Donna Martell, Alan Mowbray | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy | 1955 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 79 | Amusing adventure with A&C mixed up with villainess Windsor, a valuable tomb, and a mummy who's still alive. | tt0047795 | Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Dan Seymour, Kurt Katch, Richard Deacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abbott and Costello in Hollywood | Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood | 1945 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 83 | Uneven comedy with A&C as barber and porter in Tinseltown. A few peeks behind the scenes at MGM with Rags Ragland, Lucille Ball, Preston Foster, Butch Jenkins, and director Robert Z. Leonard. Officially titled BUD ABBOTT AND LOU COSTELLO IN HOLLYWOOD. | tt0037492 | Frances Rafferty, Robert Stanton, Jean Porter, Warner Anderson, Dean Stockwell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion | 1950 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 80 | Unexceptional vehicle pitting A&C against nasty sergeant Slezak. Best scene involves mirages in the desert. | tt0042179 | Patricia Medina, Walter Slezak, Douglass Dumbrille | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Abby | 1974 | William Girdler | ★★½ | 92 | Not-bad black variation on THE EXORCIST. Speed, wife of minister Carter and daughter-in-law of minister Marshall, is the possessed Abby. Out of circulation for years because of a lawsuit that claimed it was a ripoff of THE EXORCIST. | tt0071095 | Carol Speed, William Marshall, Terry Carter, Austin Stoker, Juanita Moore | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Abdication | 1974 | Anthony Harvey | ★★ | 103 | Plodding historical drama of what happened to Sweden's Queen Christina when she abdicated to convert to Catholicism. Finch is the cardinal who must test her sincerity and with whom she falls in love. | tt0071096 | [PG] | Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Cyril Cusack, Paul Rogers, Michael Dunn | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Abduction | 1975 | Joseph Zito | ★½ | 100 | Wealthy California coed is kidnapped by a group of leftists. Could be retitled 'The Patty Hearst Story,' though based on a novel (Harrison James' Black Abductors) written before the Hearst kidnapping. | tt0072597 | [R] | Gregory Rozakis, Judith-Marie Bergan, David Pendleton, Leif Erickson, Dorothy Malone, Lawrence Tierney | Crime | NULL | ||
| Abduction | 2011 | John Singleton | ★★ | 106 | Teenage BOURNE IDENTITY rip-off gives TWILIGHT star Lautner a chance to show off his action, if not acting, chops and run a lot when he opens a can of worms upon discovering his baby photo on a missing persons' website. After his "parents" are brutally murdered he takes off in search of his true identity—with the bad guys in pursuit. Nothing memorable here, but the pace is intense and the movie doesn't try to be more than a filler for Lautner fans. | tt1600195 | [PG-13] | Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Denzel Whitaker, Dermot Mulroney | Drama, Action, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Abductors | 1957 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★½ | 80 | Boring account of McLaglen and Macready's scheme to steal and hold for ransom the remains of Abraham Lincoln; based on fact. Director McLaglen is the star's son. | tt0050092 | Victor McLaglen, George Macready, Fay Spain, Gavin Muir | Crime | NULL | |||
| Abe Lincoln in Illinois | 1940 | John Cromwell | ★★★★ | 110 | First-rate Americana; sincere story of Lincoln's life and career is beautifully acted by Massey, with top support from Gordon as Mary Todd. Based on Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. | tt0032181 | Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard, Dorothy Tree, Minor Watson, Alan Baxter, Howard da Silva | Drama | NULL | |||
| Aberdeen | 2000 | Hans Petter Moland | ★★★ | 106 | Raw, extremely well acted road movie in which two addictive personalities— a fast-and-loose-living cokehead (Headey) and her alcoholic wreck of a father (Skarsgård), from whom she has been long estranged— endure each other's company as she escorts him from Norway to Scotland. Sometimes tough to watch, as the characters wallow in their dysfunction, but they are vividly etched and their multilayered relationship is wholly believable. | tt0168446 | Stellan Skarsgård, Lena Headey, Ian Hart, Charlotte Rampling | Norwegian-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Abilene Town | 1946 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 89 | Above-average Scott vehicle as patient sheriff tries to straighten out homesteader conflict out West after the Civil War. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038284 | Randolph Scott, Ann Dvorak, Edgar Buchanan, Rhonda Fleming, Lloyd Bridges | Western | NULL | |||
| The Abominable Dr. Phibes | 1971 | Robert Fuest. | ★★★ | 94 | Above average camp horror film in which Price, disfigured in a car wreck, seeks revenge on those he believes responsible for the death of his wife. Sequel: DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN! | tt0066740 | Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Peter Jeffrey, Hugh Griffith, Terry-Thomas, Virginia North. | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas | 1957 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 90 | Intelligent tale of good man (Cushing) and corrupt man (Tucker) seeking the elusive title creature, with surprising results. Aka THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN. Original U.S. running time 85m. Widescreen. | tt0050095 | Forrest Tucker, Peter Cushing, Richard Wattis, Maureen Connell, Robert Brown | British | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| About Adam | 2001 | Gerard Stembridge | ★★½ | 105 | Cute romantic comedy about a duplicitous charmer who woos all three sisters of an eccentric, close-knit Dublin family. Slight but charming fare has a refreshingly hedonistic attitude but never really convinces us why these robust Eves are so smitten by such a cipher of a man. Good showcase for its trio of leading ladies (Hudson, O'Connor, Bradley). | tt0199314 | [R] | Kate Hudson, Frances O'Connor, Stuart Townsend, Charlotte Bradley, Alan Maher, Rosaleen Linehan | British-U.S.-Irish | Comedy | NULL | |
| About Face | 1952 | Roy Del Ruth | ★½ | 94 | Dull comedy-musical remake of BROTHER RAT, about three friends in military academy, one of them secretly married. Grey's film debut. | tt0044323 | Gordon MacRae, Eddie Bracken, Dick Wesson, Phyllis Kirk, Joel Grey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| About Last Night . . . | 1986 | Edward Zwick | ★★ | 113 | True-to-life look at problems faced by a young couple fleeing the singles scene, biggest problem being his inability to make genuine emotional commitment to her. True-to-life doesn't make it terribly interesting, however. Expanded (and diluted) from David Mamet's one-act play Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Coscenarist Tim Kazurinsky appears briefly. | tt0090583 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi, Elizabeth Perkins, George DiCenzo, Michael Alldredge, Robin Thomas | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| About Mrs. Leslie | 1954 | Daniel Mann | ★★★ | 104 | Flashbacks reveal romance between chanteuse (Booth) and mysterious, lonely magnate (Ryan). Well-acted soaper; forgivable illogical coupling of stars. | tt0046676 | Shirley Booth, Robert Ryan, Marjie Millar, Alex Nicol, Sammy White, James Bell, Eilene Janssen, Harry Morgan, Gale Page, Ellen Corby, Amanda Blake, Joan Shawlee, Benny Rubin, Jack Larson, Jerry Paris | Drama | NULL | |||
| About Schmidt | 2002 | Alexander Payne | ★★★½ | 124 | Superb human comedy about a newly retired insurance actuary in Nebraska who begins— for the first time— to question the choices he has made in life. Subtle, deliberately paced, and splendidly acted, with as many sad moments as funny ones. Nicholson's magnificently quiet, true performance may be the best of his career. Enhanced by Rolfe Kent's perfectly nuanced score. Payne and Jim Taylor (loosely) adapted Louis Begley's novel. | tt0257360 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates, Len Cariou, Howard Hesseman, June Squibb | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| About a Boy | 2002 | Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz | ★★★ | 101 | Self-absorbed bachelor Grant, who happily lives a hedonistic existence, comes into the life of an isolated, misfit 12-year-old boy whose mom is chronically depressed. Out of this unlikely situation a friendship slowly develops in which the boy and the man fill voids in each other's lives. Bright, unpredictable, and refreshingly humanistic comedy-drama doesn't hew to any formula, and though it skirts credibility at times it comes up a winner. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, coscripted by the directors. | tt0276751 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Victoria Smurfit | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Above Suspicion | 1943 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 90 | Crawford and MacMurray asked to do spy mission during European honeymoon on the eve of WW2. Pure escapism, with Joan more than a match for the Nazis. | tt0035605 | Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt, Basil Rathbone, Reginald Owen, Richard Ainley | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Above Us the Waves | 1956 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 92 | Utilizing documentary style, film relates account of unrelenting British attempt to destroy Nazi warship. Fine cast in exciting submarine drama. | tt0047797 | John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice | British | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Above and Beyond | 1952 | Melvin Frank, Norman Panama | ★★★ | 122 | Meaningful account of U.S. pilot who flew over Hiroshima with first atomic bomb; film focuses on his training and its effect on his personal life. Story also told in 1980 TV movie ENOLA GAY. | tt0044324 | Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, James Whitmore, Jim Backus | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Above the Law | 1988 | Andrew Davis | ★★ | 99 | Chicago cop doesn't hesitate to use his martial arts skills as he battles police corruption and drug dealing. Seagal's film debut reveals the real-life Aikido master to be more of the Chucknorrisian than the Stanislavskian school of acting. Seagal also cowrote and coproduced; slick but stupid actioner. | tt0094602 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Sharon Stone, Henry Silva, Ron Dean, Daniel Faraldo, Thalmus Rasulala | Action | NULL | ||
| Above the Rim | 1994 | Jeff Pollack | ★★½ | 93 | By-the-numbers tale of a promising high school basketball player (Martin) and his conflicting relationships with two very different brothers: one a drug dealer (Shakur), the other a troubled ex-scholastic hoop star (Leon) employed as a school security guard. Despite insightful moments, film wallows in clichés and plot contrivances. | tt0109035 | [R] | Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur, David Bailey, Tonya Pinkins, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac | Drama | NULL | ||
| Abraham Lincoln | 1930 | D. W. Griffith | ★★½ | 97 | Huston is excellent in this sincere but static biography of Lincoln; can't match Griffith's silent masterpieces. | tt0020620 | Walter Huston, Una Merkel, Edgar Dearing, Russell Simpson, Cameron Prud'homme, Oscar Apfel, Henry B. Walthall | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | 2012 | Timur Bekmambetov | ★★½ | 105 | A lifelong hatred for slavery sparks young Abe Lincoln's recruitment as a vampire slayer in this wacky, extremely bloody, and straight-faced narrative by Seth Grahame-Smith (who adapted his best-selling novel for the screen). As the story parallels key moments in U.S. history it gets crazier, leading to a deliriously absurd reinterpretation of the Civil War with the Confederate Army populated by the undead! Visually arresting and exhausting, especially a huge action climax on board a train. History buffs may take offense, but it's just screwy enough to be amusing—in spurts. Alan Tudyk appears unbilled as Stephen Douglas. Produced by Tim Burton. | tt1611224 | [R] | Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Marton Csokas, Jimmi Simpson, Joseph Mawle, Robin McLeavy, Erin Wasson | Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Abroad With Two Yanks | 1944 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 80 | Bendix and O'Keefe are Marines on the loose in Australia, both chasing Walker; breezy comedy. | tt0036578 | William Bendix, Helen Walker, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder, John Abbott | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Absence of Malice | 1981 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 116 | A reporter (Field) is duped by a scheming government investigator into printing a story that discredits innocent Newman; while she hides behind the privilege of the press, he determines to get even. Absorbing drama by former reporter Kurt Luedtke with two charismatic star performances. Filmed in Miami. | tt0081974 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Luther Adler, Barry Primus, Josef Sommer, John Harkins, Don Hood, Wilford Brimley | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Absent Minded Professor | 1961 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 97 | MacMurray discovers flubber (flying rubber) in this Disney audience-pleaser, but no one will believe him except Keenan Wynn, who tries to steal the substance. Broad comedy and bright special effects make this a lot of fun. Also shown in computer-colored version. Sequel: SON OF FLUBBER. Remade in 1995 (as a TVM) and in 1997 as FLUBBER. | tt0054594 | Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Ed Wynn, Leon Ames, Elliott Reid | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Absolute Beginners | 1986 | Julien Temple | ★★½ | 107 | Energetic, original musical set in London, 1958, when teenagers first came into their own. Highly stylized film (directed by music-video veteran Temple) suffers from two-dimensional characters and a misguided attempt to add substance by dealing with the rise of racism in England . . . but its virtues almost outweigh its shortcomings. Pulsating score supervised by jazz great Gil Evans; musical highlights from Sade ('Killer Blow') and jazz veteran Slim Gaillard ('Selling Out'). And don't miss that incredible opening shot! Adapted from Colin MacInnes' 1959 novel. | tt0090585 | [PG-13] | Eddie O'Connell, Patsy Kensit, David Bowie, James Fox, Ray Davies, Eve Ferret, Anita Morris, Lionel Blair, Steven Berkoff, Mandy Rice-Davies, Sade Adu | British | Musical | NULL | |
| Absolute Power | 1997 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 120 | Aging thief pulls off one valedictory jewel heist, but along the way accidentally witnesses a sexual assault and murder involving none other than the President of the United States (Hackman). Barely credible (and fatally diluted) adaptation of David Baldacci's best-seller by William Goldman. Eastwood and Harris (as a wily cop) play a fun game of cat and mouse, but Hackman is over the top, and the whole thing runs aground in the second half. | tt0118548 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Judy Davis, E.G. Marshall, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, Melora Hardin | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Absolute Quiet | 1936 | George B. Seitz. | ★★★ | 70 | A great group of character actors portray a planeload of disparate types who make a forced landing on a ranch owned by ruthless financier Atwill, just as he is being held hostage by fugitives. Entertaining potboiler mixes melodrama and comedy quite nicely. | tt0027250 | Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Raymond Walburn, Stuart Erwin, Ann Loring, Louis Hayward, Wallace Ford, Bernadene Hayes, Harvey Stephens, J. Carrol Naish | Drama | NULL | |||
| Absolution | 1981 | Anthony Page | ★★½ | 105 | Burton gives a commanding performance as a humorless, by-the-book priest who teaches at a boys' school, and falls victim to a snowballing practical joke played upon him by his pet student. Straightforward melodrama loses credibility toward the end. Written by Anthony Shaffer. Filmed in 1978, unreleased in the U.S. until 1988, four years after Burton's death. | tt0081975 | [R] | Richard Burton, Dominic Guard, Dai Bradley, Billy Connolly, Andrew Keir, Willoughby Gray | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Absurdistan | 2008 | Veit Helmer | ★★½ | 84 | Whimsical comic fable about a boy and girl from a remote Eastern European village who are destined to make love on a night when certain stars are in alignment. Their plans are threatened when the community's water supply runs dry, and the women stage a sex strike against their lazy menfolk, who refuse to fix the problem. Fanciful and lightly amusing, if not as good as the same filmmaker's TUVALU. | tt1027658 | Unrated | Kristýna Malérová, Maximilian Mauff, Nino Chkheidze, Vano Ivantbelidze, Ani Amiridze, Ilko Stefanovski | German-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Abyss | 1989 | James Cameron | ★★★ | 145 | Spectacular underwater saga about an oil-rig crew that gets involved in a perilous mission to rescue a sunken nuclear sub. Better as underwater adventure than futuristic sci-fi, with a couple of crises too many, but still a fascinating, one-of-a-kind experience. Great score by Alan Silvestri; Oscar winner for Visual Effects. Special edition includes 27m. of extra footage, some of it all-too-obviously cut from theatrical release. It fleshes out characters, amplifies plot points, and includes some spectacular special effects— but 'literalizes' the other-worldly finale. | tt0096754 | [PG-13] | Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff, John Bedford Lloyd, J.C. Quinn, Kimberly Scott, Jimmie Ray Weeks, Chris Elliott | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Acapulco Gold | 1978 | Burt Brinckerhoff | ★★ | 105 | Ordinary drug-smuggling tale benefits from attractive location shooting on Hawaiian island of Kauai. | tt0077118 | [PG] | Marjoe Gortner, Robert Lansing, Ed Nelson, John Harkins, Randi Oakes | Crime | NULL | ||
| Accatone | 1961 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★★ | 120 | Pasolini's first film is a vivid, unsentimental look at the desperate (and depressing) existence of pimps and petty thieves living in the slums of Rome. Bernardo Bertolucci was one of the assistant directors. Released in the U.S. in 1968. | tt0054599 | Franco Citti, Franca Pasut, Roberto Scaringella, Adele Cambria, Paolo Guidi, Silvana Corsini | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Accent on Youth | 1935 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 77 | Trim comedy from Samson Raphaelson's play about middle-aged playwright pursued by his young secretary. A bit talky by modern standards, but quite watchable. Remade as MR. MUSIC and BUT NOT FOR ME. | tt0026034 | Sylvia Sidney, Herbert Marshall, Phillip Reed, Holmes Herbert, Catherine Doucet, Astrid Allwyn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Accepted | 2006 | Steve Pink | ★★ | 93 | A group of teenagers who've been rejected by various colleges start their own in an abandoned mental institution. Premise is so far-fetched that it keeps you watching just to find out how it's going to resolve itself. Its message that a college education kills the creative genius that teenagers would otherwise cultivate on their own is hard to swallow after seeing the 'self-made students' do nothing but drink and party. Soundtrack is full of cover songs paying homage to other, better teen-revolution movies. | tt0384793 | [PG-13] | Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Adam Herschman, Blake Lively, Columbus Short, Maria Thayer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Accident | 1967 | Joseph Losey | ★★★½ | 105 | Complex, thought-provoking script by Harold Pinter uses story (about Oxford professor who falls in love with a student) as just a foundation for examination of characters' thoughts and actions. A challenging film that operates on many levels; entire cast superb, including York in his first major film role. Based on a novel by Nicholas Mosley, who plays Don. Pinter is amusing as a TV producer. | tt0061328 | Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Jacqueline Sassard, Delphine Seyrig, Alexander Knox, Michael York, Vivien Merchant, Harold Pinter, Freddie Jones | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Accidental Husband | 2009 | Griffin Dunne | ★½ | 91 | Blue-collar guy (Morgan) sets out to get even with talk radio love expert (Thurman) after his fiancée dumps him due to the doc's glib on-the-air advice. Insipid, aching-to-be-romantic comedy is a waste of talent on all fronts. | tt0809504 | [PG-13] | Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth, Sam Shepard, Isabella Rossellini, Keir Dullea, Brooke Adams, Lindsay Sloane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Accidental Tourist | 1988 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★★ | 121 | Hurt gives an exquisite performance as a man shattered by the death of his son, who comes out of his shell when he meets a kooky, aggressive young woman (Oscar winner Davis) who couldn't be less his type. Finely wrought, extremely faithful adaptation of Anne Tyler's novel dares to take its time; may be too slow and quiet for some viewers, but offers many rewards. | tt0094606 | [PG] | William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Amy Wright, Bill Pullman, Robert Gorman, David Ogden Stiers, Ed Begley/Jr | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Accidents Will Happen | 1939 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 62 | Good little B picture about a young go-getting insurance claims adjuster who tries to blow the whistle on a phony-accident racket. | tt0029836 | Ronald Reagan, Gloria Blondell, Sheila Bromley, Dick Purcell, Addison Richards | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Accompanist | 1992 | Claude Miller | ★★ | 111 | Somber drama of deceit (toward oneself and one's country) set during WW2. An unworldly young woman (Bohringer) is hired as accompanist to a famous Parisian singer who, with her husband, has been collaborating with the enemy. Potentially potent story but the result is too often bland and. | tt0103616 | Richard Bohringer, Elena Safonova, Romaine Bohringer, Samuel Labarthe, Bernard Verley | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Accomplices | 1959 | Gianni Vernuccio. | ★½ | 93 | Lurid, minor film of love triangle, with resulting murder; unconvincing and pat. | tt0052534 | Sandro Luporini, Sandro Fizzotro, Annabella Incontrera, Jeannie | Italian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Accursed | 1958 | Michael McCarthy | ★½ | 78 | Tepid whodunit involving the extinction of veterans of British military unit, and survivors' attempt to find killer. | tt0051105 |
|
Donald Wolfit, Robert Bray, Jane Griffiths, Anton Diffring, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Accused of Murder | 1956 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 74 | Interesting cast in bland murder mystery-melodrama of police detective Brian involved in underworld killing. | tt0048924 | David Brian, Vera Ralston, Sidney Blackmer, Virginia Grey, Warren Stevens, Lee Van Cleef, Claire Carleton, Wally Cassell, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Accused | 1948 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 101 | Professor Young is sexually attacked by a student, accidentally kills him in self-defense, and then tries to cover it up. Taut thriller, with good support from Cummings. | tt0040071 | Loretta Young, Robert Cummings, Wendell Corey, Sam Jaffe, Douglas Dick | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Accused | 1988 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★★ | 110 | Public prosecutor McGillis deals with a gang-rape case in cut-and-dried fashion, until the victim demands full retribution for what she has suffered. Compelling drama inspired by a notorious real-life case and propelled by Foster's powerhouse, Oscar-winning performance as the provocative, foul-mouthed woman who gets her day in court. Only quibble: Was the climactic reenactment really necessary? | tt0094608 | [R] | Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Leo Rossi, Ann Hearn, Carmen Argenziano | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies | 1973 | Bill Sampson (John Erman) | ★★ | 92 | Tepid tale of 1920s stunt flyer and son who tags along. Muddled film sat on shelf a long time; doctoring didn't help. Story by Steven Spielberg. Peters' film debut. | tt0069676 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Pamela Franklin, Eric Shea, Rosemary Murphy, Bernadette Peters, Alice Ghostley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ace High | 1969 | Giuseppe Colizzi | ★★ | 123 | Awkwardly dubbed spaghetti Western tries to imitate Clint Eastwood-Sergio Leone epics, but director Colizzi lacks Leone's style. Hill plays a character named Cat Stevens, but there are no rock songs here. | tt0064860 | [M] | Eli Wallach, Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Brock Peters, Kevin McCarthy, Steffen Zacharias | Italian | Short | NULL | |
| Ace Ventura, Pet Detective | 1994 | Tom Shadyac | ★★ | 86 | Miami-based 'pet detective' is hired to find the kidnapped mascot of the Dolphins football team. No-brainer comedy/whodunit was the breakout role for Carrey, who mugs non-stop (and we mean nonstop). Some good gags, but runs out of steam— which Carrey never does. Real-life members of the Miami Dolphins appear. A minute of new footage added for video. Followed by a sequel and an animated TV series. | tt0109040 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc, Dan Marino, Noble Willingham, Troy Evans, Randall 'Tex' Cobb | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | 1995 | Steve Oedekerk | ★★ | 105 | Sloppy assemblage of gags (with most of the good ones weighted near the beginning) ostensibly about Ace's anti-p.c. hijinks with battling African tribes while trying to locate a rare white bat. A clever opening spoof of CLIFFHANGER and a funny sight gag involving asparagus; otherwise, more of the same. | tt0112281 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi, Bob Gunton, Sophie Okonedo, Tommy Davidson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ace of Aces | 1933 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★ | 76 | Sculptor Dix has no use for flagwaving as America enters WW1; after being admonished by girlfriend Allan, he becomes a fighter pilot . . . and undergoes a personality change. Sincere antiwar tract, but far too melodramatic. Coscripted by John Monk Saunders. | tt0023737 | Richard Dix, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Bellamy, Theodore Newton, Frank Conroy, William Cagney. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Ace of Hearts | 1921 | Wallace Worsley. | ★★★ | 75 | An anarchist suffers professional and personal crises when he discovers his bomb will slay innocent bystanders dining next to his target . . . who just happens to be 'the other man' in a current love affair. Good mid-career Chaney vehicle, a relic of the early Red Scare era, relies more on characterization than on makeup effects. | tt0011904 | Lon Chaney, Leatrice Joy, John Bowers, Hardee Kirkland, Raymond Hatton, Edwin Wallock. | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Aces High | 1976 | Jack Gold | ★★★ | 104 | Strong antiwar statement focusing on indoctrination of WW1 pilot Firth and his disillusioned squadron leader (McDowell). Solid cast (with cameos by John Gielgud, Ray Milland, Trevor Howard, and Richard Johnson) and exciting aerial dogfights highlight this remake of R. C. Sherriff's JOURNEY'S END. | tt0075627 | [PG] | Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, Peter Firth | British | War, Drama | NULL | |
| Aces: Iron Eagle III | 1992 | John Glen | ★½ | 93 | This time, maverick pilot Gossett and a group of WW2 veteran pilots stage an air raid on a Peruvian cocaine factory (having run out of targets in the Middle East). Unsatisfying mélange of flyboy machismo, unintentional slapstick, and inane action— with novelty of female bodybuilder McLish in cast. | tt0103617 | [R] | Louis Gossett/Jr., Rachel McLish, Christopher Cazenove, Horst Buchholz, Sonny Chiba | Action | NULL | ||
| Across 110th Street | 1972 | Barry Shear | ★★★ | 102 | N.Y.C. police race the mobs to catch three blacks who, disguised as cops, stole $300,000 from a Mafia-controlled bank; mutual distrust of both black and Italian hoods is mirrored by differences between cops Quinn and Kotto. Exciting, well paced, and extremely violent, with fine use of Harlem locations. Quinn was also coexecutive producer. | tt0068168 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Richard Ward, Paul Benjamin, Ed Bernard, Antonio Fargas, Norma Donaldson, Gilbert Lewis | Crime | NULL | ||
| Across the Bridge | 1957 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 103 | Smug German business magnate flees his home base in England when Scotland Yard investigates his corrupt dealings. His only hope is to get to Mexico through the U.S., but en route he switches identities with a fellow train passenger. Engrossing yarn based on a Graham Greene novella. Shot mostly in Spain. Later remade as DOUBLE TAKE. | tt0050097 | Rod Steiger, David Knight, Maria Landi, Noel Willman, Bernard Lee, Bill Nagy, Eric Pohlmann | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Across the Great Divide | 1977 | Stewart Raffill | ★★½ | 100 | Innocuous tale of conman Logan and reluctant orphans Rattray and Hall, intent on traveling across the west to Oregon. Lots of horses, bears, deer, pretty scenery. From the makers of the WILDERNESS FAMILY films. | tt0075629 | [G] | Robert Logan, Heather Rattray, Mark Edward Hall, George 'Buck' Flower | Western | NULL | ||
| Across the Pacific | 1942 | John Huston | ★★½ | 97 | Three MALTESE FALCON leads reteamed for enjoyable WW2 adventure. Bogart trails spies to Panama, has running battle of wits with Greenstreet, while romancing enticing Astor. Despite title, the movie never gets to the Pacific, much less across it. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034428 | Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Victor Sen Yung, Keye Luke, Richard Loo | Adventure, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| Across the Tracks | 1991 | Sandy Tung | ★★½ | 101 | Reasonably compelling teen sports drama with Schroder returning from reform school stint to compete on high school track team and outperforming straight-A track star brother (Pitt). Realistic portrayal of teen problems and aspirations make this best suited for young people, although the R rating (for normal raunchy high school language) may make this film inaccessible to its key audience. | tt0101268 | [R] | Rick Schroder, Brad Pitt, Carrie Snodgress, David Anthony Marshall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Across the Universe | 2007 | Julie Taymor | ★★½ | 131 | A young Brit comes to the U.S. in search of his father, and falls in love with an all-American girl, just as she (and her entire generation) experience the mind-bending changes of the Vietnam era. Routine story is just an excuse to pictorialize—and attempt to contextualize—more than thirty landmark Beatles songs. Imaginative at times but increasingly wearying as the song cues line up (yes, there’s a character named Prudence), famous faces appear, and the plotline bogs down. Our favorite number: Joe Cocker singing “Come Together.” | tt0445922 | [PG-13] | Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, T. V. Carpio, Spencer Liff, Lisa Hogg, Bill Irwin, James Urbaniak, Joe Cocker, Bono, Salma Hayek, Harry J. Lennix, Eddie Izzard | Drama, Romance, Musical, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Across the Wide Missouri | 1951 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 78 | Location filming helps pedestrian frontier adventure about explorer Gable and other pathfinders moving westward in 19th century. | tt0043262 | Clark Gable, Ricardo Montalban, John Hodiak, Adolphe Menjou, Maria Elena Marques, J. Carrol Naish, Jack Holt, Alan Napier, George Chandler, Richard Anderson | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Act One | 1963 | Dore Schary | ★★½ | 110 | Interesting for oddball cast, this fabrication of writer Moss Hart's autobiography lacks finesse or any sense of reality, but Robards is ideally cast as George S. Kaufman. | tt0056810 | George Hamilton, Jason Robards, George Segal, Eli Wallach, Sam Levene, Ruth Ford, Jack Klugman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Act of Love | 1953 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 108 | Entertaining if unremarkable chronicle of the romance between lonely American soldier Douglas and down-and-out French girl Robin in Paris. Scripted by Irwin Shaw, based on Alfred Hayes' novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia. | tt0046480 | Kirk Douglas, Dany Robin, Barbara Laage, Robert Strauss, Gabrielle Dorziat, Serge Reggiani, Brigitte Bardot | Documentary | NULL | |||
| An Act of Murder | 1948 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 91 | March is excellent as strict jurist who must judge himself for saving his wife the anguish of illness by killing her; absorbing drama. | tt0040072 | Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Edmond O'Brien, Geraldine Brooks | Drama | NULL | |||
| Act of Valor | 2012 | Mike (Mouse) McCoy, Scott Waugh | ★★ | 110 | Merging several stories of derring-do by the Navy SEALs and putting them all in the service of a global terror plot, this well-meaning but meandering action film does give us glimpses into the remarkable efforts of these brave military heroes but is too convoluted to hold much interest. What gives the film distinction—the casting of actual SEALs in key leading roles—is also part of its undoing as they clearly aren't professional actors. Where is Chuck Norris when you need him? | tt1615918 | [R] | Roselyn Sanchez, Jason Cottle, Alex Veadov, Nestor Serrano, Ailsa Marshall, Gonzalo Menendez, Emilio Rivera, Dimiter Marinov | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Act of Vengeance | 1986 | John Mackenzie | Average TV Movie | 96 | Bronson, sans mustache, in a rare television performance, is Jock Yablonski, the United Mine Workers official whose challenge to incumbent president Tony Boyle (Brimley) led to his and his family's murder. Passionless based-on-fact drama scripted by Scott Spencer. Made for cable. | tt0090588 | [PG-13] | Charles Bronson, Ellen Burstyn, Wilford Brimley, Hoyt Axton, Robert Schenkkan, Ellen Barkin, Keanu Reeves | Drama | NULL | ||
| Act of Violence | 1949 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★ | 82 | Stark, well-acted drama, with crippled, embittered Ryan stalking former senior officer Heflin, who betrayed his men while a POW. Fine vignette by Astor as a sympathetic call girl. | tt0041088 | Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor, Phyllis Thaxter, Berry Kroeger, Taylor Holmes | Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Act of the Heart | 1970 | Paul Almond | ★★★ | 103 | Fascinating study of religious fanaticism manifesting itself in one young woman and her love for a Catholic priest. Beautifully atmospheric but ending deeply hurts film. | tt0065370 | [PG] | Geneviève Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Bill Mitchell, Monique Leyrac | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Acting on Impulse | 1993 | Sam Irvin | Average TV Movie | 93 | Seriocomic movie-on-movies thriller about a slasher star on the lam after her overbearing producer is found cut up. Loaded with film old-timers as well as one-time TV names like Peter Lupus (Mission: Impossible) and Don Most (Happy Days). Made for cable. | tt0106216 | [PG] | Linda Fiorentino, C. Thomas Howell, Nancy Allen, Judith Hoag, Paul Bartel, Isaac Hayes, Patrick Bauchau, Mary Woronov, Dick Sargent, Miles O'Keeffe, Cassandra Peterson | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Action Jackson | 1988 | Craig R. Baxley | ★★ | 95 | Strictly standard B-movie fare pitting good guy Weathers (a cop) vs. bad guy Nelson. Plenty of explosions, car chases, corpses and noise. | tt0094612 | [R] | Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone, Thomas F. Wilson, Bill Duke, Robert Davi, Jack Thibeau | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Action for Slander | 1938 | Tim Whelan. | ★★½ | 83 | Adequate drama about suave, stiff-upper-lip cavalry officer Brook, who feels his life is ruined when he's falsely accused of cheating at cards. Sparked by Sullivan's forceful presence as Brook's lawyer. | tt0029838 | Clive Brook, Ann Todd, Margaretta Scott, Arthur Margetson, Ronald Squire, Athole Stewart, Percy Marmont, Francis L. Sullivan, Felix Aylmer, Googie Withers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Action in Arabia | 1944 | Leonide Moguy. | ★★½ | 72 | OK drama in which troubleshooting reporter Sanders tangles with assorted characters in Damascus, where Nazis and Allies are jockeying for Arab support on the eve of WW2. Desert footage was shot by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack for an unmade film. | tt0036579 | George Sanders, Virginia Bruce, Gene Lockhart, Robert Armstrong, Lenore Aubert, H. B. Warner, Alan Napier, Marcel Dalio, Michael Ansara | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Action in the North Atlantic | 1943 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 127 | Rousing tribute to WW2 Merchant Marine, with officers Bogart and Massey, seamen Hale and Levene, usual hothead Clark, and Gordon as Massey's wife. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035608 | Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale/Sr., Julie Bishop, Ruth Gordon, Sam Levene, Dane Clark | War | NULL | |||
| Action of the Tiger | 1957 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 94 | Action-packed, clichéd adventure story with Johnson the virile Amer√ ican rescuing pro-Western refugees from Albania. | tt0050099 | Van Johnson, Martine Carol, Herbert Lom, Anna Gerber, Sean Connery | British | Action | NULL | ||
| An Actor's Revenge | The Revenge of Ukeno-Jo | 1963 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★½ | 114 | Confusing tale of Kabuki actor Hasagawa getting back at a lord (Nakamura) responsible for the demise of his parents. Unevenly directed. Aka THE REVENGE OF UKENO-JO. | tt0057710 | Kazuo Hasegawa, Ayako Wakao, Fujiko Yamamoto, Ganjiro Nakamura, Raizo Ichikawa | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Actors and Sin | 1952 | Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes | ★★½ | 82 | Uneven two-part film: the overly melodramatic 'Actor's Blood' concerns has-been thespian Robinson and his hard-hearted (and murdered) Broadway star daughter Hunt; the more successful 'Woman of Sin' details the plight of agent Albert, whose newest client is a 9-year-old (Hecht, Ben's daughter), who's penned a lascivious book. | tt0044327 | Edward G. Robinson, Eddie Albert, Marsha Hunt, Alan Reed, Dan O'Herlihy, Tracey Roberts, Rudolph Anders, Paul Guilfoyle, Jenny Hecht, John Crawford | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Actress | 1953 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 91 | Flavorful account based on Ruth Gordon's experiences as a teenager in early 20th-century Massachusetts, determined to become an acting star; Tracy is the irascible father. Perkins' film debut. | tt0045471 | Spencer Tracy, Jean Simmons, Teresa Wright, Anthony Perkins, Mary Wickes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ada | 1961 | Daniel Mann | ★★★ | 109 | Rags-to-riches soaper of poor Hayward maneuvering easy√ going Martin to governor's mansion, using hellbent stamina to overcome political corruption. Hayward vs. Hyde-White in state senate is highlight. | tt0054601 | Susan Hayward, Dean Martin, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Martin Balsam | Drama | NULL | |||
| Adalen 31 | 1969 | Bo Widerberg | ★★★ | 115 | Strikers in a Swedish paper mill disagree over whether or not to make their case with violence; matters are further com√ plicated when a striker's son falls in love with— and impregnates— the factory manager's daughter. Generally appealing mix of romance and history, though no one will ever mistake Widerberg (the director of ELVIRA MADIGAN) for a gritty filmmaker of social realism. | tt0065261 | [X] | Peter Schildt, Kerstin Tidelius, Roland Hedlund, Stefan Feierbach | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Adam | 2009 | Max Mayer | ★★★ | 99 | Sweet contemporary love story about a man with Asperger's syndrome who has little control over what he says or how he reacts to people; when his father dies he's left to face the world by himself for the first time. Then he meets a new neighbor in his N.Y.C. apartment building and a tentative relationship blossoms. Writer-director Mayer avoids cliché and formula in this winning, well-acted film. | tt1185836 | [PG-13] | Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison, Mark Linn-Baker | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Adam Had Four Sons | 1941 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 81 | Handsome but predictable family saga about French governess Bergman watching over Baxter's household after his wife's death. Bergman gives warm performance, and Hayward plays bad girl to the hilt. | tt0033314 | Ingrid Bergman, Warner Baxter, Susan Hayward, Fay Wray, Richard Denning, Johnny Downs, June Lockhart | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Adam Resurrected | 2008 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 106 | Take a dash of Kirk Douglas in THE JUGGLER, sprinkle in what you've heard about Jerry Lewis' THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED, then imagine what Schrader at his most left-field-ish could bring to a Holocaust story. Flashback film from Yoram Kaniuk's eponymous 1968 novel finds a once-popular prewar Berlin clown (Goldblum) in a postwar Israeli mental facility recalling concentration camp life—where he was forced to walk around on all fours like a dog by a commandant (Dafoe) who remembered him from his performing days. This merely scratches the weird surfaces of a brave, barely released movie (with a Goldblum performance tough to fault) that's at once flamboyant yet too chilly to engage many viewers. | tt0479341 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, Ayelet Zurer, Hana Laslo, Joachim Krol | U.S.-German-Israeli | War | NULL | |
| Adam and Evalyn | 1949 | Harold French | ★★½ | 92 | Pleasant but ordinary tale of gambler Granger and the daughter he adopts when a friend dies. British title: ADAM AND EVELYNE. | tt0041089 | Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Helen Cherry, Raymond Young | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Adam at 6 A.M. | 1970 | Robert Scheerer | ★★★ | 100 | Underrated film about young college professor from California who spends summer in Missouri working as a laborer. Authentic location footage and good performances by Purcell and Baker give rare, genuine feeling for the Midwest. | tt0065371 | [PG] | Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, Joe Don Baker, Grayson Hall, Charles Aidman, Meg Foster | Drama | NULL | ||
| Adam's Apples | 2005 | Anders Thomas Jensen | ★★ | 91 | Ineffectual black-comedy allegory about a clash of wills between Ivan (Mikkelsen), a hard-luck soul who embraces religion and is in denial about the existence of evil, and Adam (Thomsen), a hardened career criminal and neo-Nazi. Means to be profound, as it deals with the nature of good and evil, but it's merely overwrought. | tt0418455 | [R] | Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Paprika Steen, Ali Kazim, Ole Thestrup, Nikolaj Lie Kaas. | German-Danish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Adam's Rib | 1949 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 100 | Smart, sophisticated comedy (by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin) about husband and wife lawyers on opposing sides of the same attempted-murder case. One of Hollywood's greatest comedies about the battle of the sexes, with peerless Tracy and Hepburn supported by movie newcomers Holliday, Ewell, Hagen, and Wayne. Cole Porter contributed the song 'Farewell, Amanda.' Remade in Bulgaria in 1956 (in this version the heroine rebels against tradition as a result of her conversion to Marxism-Leninism!). Later a TV series. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041090 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, David Wayne, Jean Hagen, Hope Emerson, Polly Moran, Marvin Kaplan, Paula Raymond, Tommy Noonan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Adam's Woman | 1970 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 116 | Interesting if not altogether successful story of innocent Bridges suffering in 19th-century Australian penal colony. Although put on probation, he's still determined to escape. | tt0065372 | [M] | Beau Bridges, John Mills, Jane Merrow, James Booth, Andrew Keir, Tracy Reed | U.S.-Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Adaptation. | 2002 | Spike Jonze | ★★★½ | 115 | Super-neurotic screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) is hired to adapt Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief as a movie, but finds it a torturous process. His carefree twin brother, Donald, has no such problems, and even tries his hand at screenwriting. We also meet author Orlean (Streep) and her main subject, a colorful Southern character who knows everything there is to know about plants (Cooper, in an Oscar-winning performance). Surreal, dazzling, dizzying, often perplexing but brilliant film about the creative process; Cage (in two distinct performances as the twin brothers), Streep, and Cooper are all great. Cameos by John Malkovich, Catherine Keener, John Cusack, David O. Russell, and Curtis Hanson (as Streep's husband). Screenplay is credited to Charlie and (the late) Donald Kaufman. | tt0268126 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Judy Greer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ron Livingston, Stephen Tobolowsky | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Addams Family Values | 1993 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★★ | 93 | Funny follow-up to the 1991 hit has scheming Cusack invading the Addams household, plotting to marry Fester for his money, then bump him off. Full of hilarious one-liners (delivered with gusto by Julia and Lloyd), but the real star is Ricci as the stone-faced Wednesday, who finally exacts her revenge for being sent to a summer camp run by a pair of giddy grown-ups (MacNicol and Baranski). Runs out of steam toward the end. Direct-to-video sequel: ADDAMS FAMILY REUNION. | tt0106220 | [PG-13] | Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack, Christina Ricci, Carol Kane, Jimmy Workman, Carel Struycken, Dana Ivey, Peter MacNicol, Christine Baranski, Mercedes McNab, Nathan Lane, Peter Graves, Tony Shalhoub, David Hyde Pierce | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Addams Family | 1991 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★★ | 101 | Piquant comedy based on Charles Addams' macabre cartoon family (later popularized on the same-named TV series), whose greedy lawyer tries to plunder their fortune by planting an impostor in the household who claims to be their long-lost Uncle Fester. Huston and Julia are absolutely perfect as Morticia and Gomez, and maintain a light touch while dispensing their gleefully ghoulish black humor. Impressive directorial debut for cinematographer Sonnenfeld. Followed by two sequels. | tt0101272 | [PG-13] | Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Wilson, Judith Malina, Carel Struycken, Dana Ivey, Paul Benedict, Christina Ricci, Jimmy Workman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Addicted to Love | 1997 | Griffin Dunne | ★★ | 100 | Jilted lover Broderick settles in an abandoned N.Y.C. building across the street from his ex-girlfriend's apartment so he can watch her and her new lover. Then he's joined by the lover's ex-g.f., whose agenda is even more extreme: she wants revenge. Dark, twisted comedy has its moments, and a likable cast, but Ryan's seriously disturbed character makes it hard to 'root' for her, and renders the inevitable fadeout scene less than ideal. Feature directing debut for actor-producer Dunne; his famous father, author Dominick Dunne, plays a restaurant critic. | tt0118556 | [R] | Meg Ryan, Matthew Broderick, Kelly Preston, Tcheky Karyo, Maureen Stapleton, Nesbitt Blaisdell, Remak Ramsay | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Addiction | 1995 | Abel Ferrara | ★★★ | 82 | Intelligent, allegorical vampire movie, shot in beautiful black-and-white, about an NYU philosophy student (well played by Taylor), a decent human being who is horrified by the atrocities of history. Her good intentions do not protect her from evil, as she is bitten by a vampiress and goes on to crave the blood of any-and everyone she meets. Not nearly as bloody and outrageous as some of Ferrara's earlier films; this one says the only hope for mankind is in spirituality. An interesting companion piece to Ferrara's KING OF NEW YORK and BAD LIEUTENANT. | tt0112288 | Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Imperioli | Horror, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Adding Machine | 1969 | Jerome Epstein | ★★½ | 100 | Accountant becomes desperate upon learning he's to be replaced by a computer. This Elmer Rice comedy-fantasy is flawed but interesting. Diller has unusual straight role as harridan. | tt0063985 | [M] | Milo O'Shea, Phyllis Diller, Billie Whitelaw, Sydney Chaplin, Julian Glover | U.S.-British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Address Unknown | 1944 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★ | 72 | Longtime American resident Lukas returns to his native Germany, and is all too easily swept up by Naziism. Offbeat visual style of director Menzies doesn't alleviate hollowness of this heavy-handed parable. | tt0036581 | Paul Lukas, Mady Christians, Morris Carnovsky, Carl Esmond, K.T. Stevens, Peter Van Eyck | Drama | NULL | |||
| Adios Amigo | 1975 | Fred Williamson | ★★ | 87 | Offbeat Western comedy, written, produced, and directed by Williamson, who plays perennial patsy to con man Pryor. No sex or violence in this innocuous film; too bad it doesn't pull together. | tt0072604 | [PG] | Fred Williamson, Richard Pryor, Thalmus Rasulala, James Brown, Robert Phillips, Mike Henry | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Adios, Sabata | 1971 | Gianfranco Parolini | ★½ | 104 | Gunslinger gets involved with Mexican revolutionaries, helping himself to a cache of gold along the way. Ersatz sequel to SABATA (with Brynner instead of Lee Van Cleef) was titled INDIO BLACK until dubbed and retitled for U.S. release. Genuine sequel, THE RETURN OF SABATA, showed up in 1972. | tt0066745 | [PG] | Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, Ignazio Spalla, Gerard Herter | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| The Adjuster | 1991 | Atom Egoyan | ★★★ | 102 | Audacious, provocative examination of voyeurism and the power of images. Among the characters are an insurance adjuster (Koteas) who plays peekaboo with the lives of those he deals with professionally and his wife (Khanjian), a censor who secretly tapes the pornographic material she's classifying. | tt0101273 | [R] | Elias Koteas, Arsinee Khanjian, Maury Chaykin, Gabrielle Rose, Jennifer Dale, David Hemblen, Don McKellar | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Adjustment Bureau | 2011 | George Nolfi | ★★½ | 106 | Hotshot politician Damon, who has a self-destructive streak, chances to meet dancer Blunt one fateful evening and falls in love at first sight. But this was not part of “the plan,” as he learns from the fedora-topped members of The Adjustment Bureau, who control such matters for the Big Boss. Undeterred, Damon struggles against fate in order to spend his life with Blunt. Unusual fantasy, based on a Philip K. Dick story, “Adjustment Team,” is staged against the expansive backdrop of N.Y.C., but doesn’t carry its momentum to a satisfying conclusion. Too bad; Damon and Blunt give it their best shot. | tt1385826 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp, Jennifer Ehle | Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Admirable Crichton | 1957 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★ | 94 | Oft-filmed James Barrie classic wears thin: impeccable servant proves to be most resourceful when he and his aristocratic employers are shipwrecked on an island. Retitled PARADISE LAGOON; previously made in 1918 and 1919 (as MALE AND FEMALE). | tt0050100 | Kenneth More, Diane Cilento, Cecil Parker, Sally Ann Howes, Martita Hunt | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Admiral Was a Lady | 1950 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 87 | Ex-WAVE Hendrix encounters quartet of fun-loving, work-hating men, all interested in courting her; weak. | tt0042182 | Edmond O'Brien, Wanda Hendrix, Rudy Vallee, Steve Brodie | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Adorable Creatures | 1956 | Christian-Jaque | ★★ | 108 | Saucy, inconsequential study of life and love in Gallic country, focusing on bedroom romances. | tt0044328 |
|
Daniel Gelin, Martine Carol, Edwige Feuillère, Danielle Darrieux, Marilyn Buferd, Louis Seigner | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Adorable Julia | 1962 | Alfred Weidenmann | ★★★ | 94 | Charming rendering of Somerset Maugham's novel Theatre, and the play of the same title he penned with Guy Bolton. Palmer is an aging stage star who becomes the mistress of young Sorel (despite being wed to director-producer Boyer). Bolton also cowrote the script. | tt0056129 | Lilli Palmer, Charles Boyer, Jean Sorel, Thomas Fritsch | French-Austrian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Adoration | 2009 | Atom Egoyan | ★★ | 101 | After hearing his French teacher read an article about a man who sent his pregnant wife onto a plane with a bomb, a student writes an essay imagining the man and woman as his parents (who died some years ago) and presents it as the truth. This initiates a multilevel series of conversations, confrontations, and revelations about terrorism, personal responsibility, and family dynamics. Provocative at first, Egoyan’s puzzle-like story actually becomes less interesting as the pieces fit together. | tt1074929 | [R] | Arsinée Khanjian, Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard, Noam Jenkins, Devon Bostick, Kenneth Welsh, Maury Chaykin | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Advance to the Rear | 1964 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 97 | During Civil War, Northern soldier rejects are sent to Western territory. Stevens as Reb spy and Blondell as saucy worldly woman add only spice to predictable slapstick comedy. | tt0057820 | Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell, Jim Backus, Andrew Prine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Adventure | 1945 | Victor Fleming | ★★ | 125 | Gable's back, Garson's got him; they both sink in cumbersome comedy of seagoing roustabout and meek librarian. Not even breezy Blondell can save it. | tt0037494 | Clark Gable, Greer Garson, Joan Blondell, Thomas Mitchell, Tom Tully, John Qualen, Richard Haydn | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Adventure Island | 1947 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 66 | Too much talk and too little action sink this weak remake of EBB TIDE, about three men and a woman who find themselves marooned on a tropical island ruled by maniacal Napier. | tt0039133 |
|
Rory Calhoun, Rhonda Fleming, Paul Kelly, John Abbott, Alan Napier | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Adventure in Baltimore | 1949 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 89 | Mild (and, some might say, reactionary) comedy, set in the horse-and-buggy era. Temple plays a spunky miss whose independent spirit and feminist leanings are depicted as youthful folly. Young, auditioning for Father Knows Best, plays Shirley's understanding pastor-father. | tt0041093 | Shirley Temple, John Agar, Robert Young, Josephine Hutchinson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Adventure in Diamonds | 1940 | George Fitzmaurice. | ★★ | 76 | Tepid formula programmer dealing with jewel robberies in Africa. | tt0032183 | George Brent, Isa Miranda, John Loder, Nigel Bruce | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Adventure in Iraq | 1943 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★½ | 64 | Yank pilot and two British passengers crash-land in the desert and are taken hostage by a sheik (Cavanagh) who wants to exchange them for brothers being held by the British as Nazi spies. Subpar rehash of 1930's THE GREEN GODDESS updated to WW2. Cavanagh is good but no match for George Arliss in the original. | tt0035610 | John Loder, Ruth Ford, Warren Douglas, Paul Cavanagh, Barry Bernard, Peggy Carson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Adventure in Manhattan | 1936 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 73 | Bizarre blend of comedy and melodrama with the stars foiling planned bank robbery. Doesn't always work, but interesting. | tt0027258 | Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Reginald Owen, Thomas Mitchell, Herman Bing | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Adventure in Washington | 1941 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 84 | Misleading title for tame account of Senator Marshall and his attempts to reform a delinquent youth who is working as a Senate page boy. | tt0033315 |
|
Herbert Marshall, Virginia Bruce, Gene Reynolds, Samuel S. Hinds, Ralph Morgan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother | Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother | 1975 | Gene Wilder | ★★½ | 91 | Wilder's first film as writer-director-star is mild spoof of Sherlockian adventures, as Sigerson Holmes becomes involved with music-hall songstress Kahn, a damsel in distress. DeLuise, as hammy opera star, adds film's liveliest moments. Made in England. | tt0072608 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Leo McKern, Roy Kinnear, John LeMesurier | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| Adventureland | 2009 | Greg Mottola | ★★½ | 106 | In 1987, a brainy (and virginal) college graduate (Eisenberg) plans a trip to Europe before attending grad school, but a change in family finances forces him to take a menial summer job at a run-down amusement park in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Things take an interesting turn when he falls for a pretty coworker (Stewart). Seriocomic coming-of-age tale boasts strong acting and moments of insight, but covers familiar territory and drags in several spots. Mottola also wrote the semiautobiographical script. | tt1091722 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Reynolds, Margarita Levieva, Matt Bush, Jack Gilpin, Wendie Malick, Josh Pais, Mary Birdsong | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Adventurers | 1970 | Lewis Gilbert | 💣 | 171 | Three-hour challenge to the kidneys based on Harold Robbins' best-seller about fictional South American republic that has a new revolution every two minutes. Incredible mess wastes attractive cast. | tt0065374 | [PG] | Bekim Fehmiu, Candice Bergen, Ernest Borgnine, Olivia de Havilland, Leigh Taylor-Young, Thommy Berggren, Rossano Brazzi, Jaclyn Smith | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Adventures in Babysitting | 1987 | Chris Columbus | ★★ | 99 | Shue, extremely winning in her first lead role, plays a teenager who takes her two babysitting charges into downtown Chicago to help get a friend out of a jam— and winds up in a snowballing series of wild adventures, à la FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. Young teens might go for it, but it's mediocre at best. Screenwriter Columbus' directing debut. | tt0092513 | [PG-13] | Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Calvin Levels, Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio, Penelope Ann Miller, Albert Collins, George Newbern, John Ford Noonan, Lolita Davidovich | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Adventures in Silverado | 1948 | Phil Karlson. | ★★★ | 75 | Author Robert Louis Stevenson takes a trip to Napa Valley, California, in 1880 and gets involved in the exploits of a stagecoach driver who captures a hooded highwayman called The Monk. Supposedly inspired by a true incident, this offbeat Western based on Stevenson's The Silverado Squatters is a dandy, high-spirited adventure yarn. | tt0040074 | William Bishop, Gloria Henry, Forrest Tucker, Edgar Buchanan, Edgar Barrier, Irving Bacon | Western | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Baron Munchausen | 1989 | Terry Gilliam | ★★★ | 126 | The legendary tale spinner returns in a new interpretation of his exploits by director-cowriter Gilliam. Breathtaking special effects go hand in hand with Gilliam's outlandishly funny and far-out ideas; a visual feast that's worth staying with through its occasional lulls. The Baron's exploits were previously filmed in 1943 and (as THE FABULOUS BARON MUNCHAUSEN) in 1961. | tt0096764 | [PG] | John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Charles McKeown, Winston Dennis, Jack Purvis, Valentina Cortese, Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Peter Jeffrey, Uma Thurman, Alison Steadman, Sting, Robin Williams | Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Barry McKenzie | 1972 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 114 | Melbournian Crocker, not particularly fond of the British, finds himself displaced in England. Broad, gross comedy, overlong, and a bit much for American audiences. Beresford's first film, from a cartoon strip by Humphries and Nicholas Garland. Sequel: BARRY MCKENZIE HOLDS HIS OWN. | tt0068173 | Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, Peter Cook, Spike Milligan | Australian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension | Buckaroo Banzai | 1984 | W. D. Richter | ★★ | 103 | Off-the-wall pulp fiction by Earl Mac Rauch about a hero who's a neurosurgeon, physicist, rocket-car driver, rock singer, and government troubleshooter. Should be fun, but it's incoherent, like coming in at the second chapter of a Saturday matinee serial. Still, it has a fervent following. Aka BUCKAROO BANZAI. | tt0086856 | [PG] | Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin | 1967 | James Neilson | ★★★ | 110 | Bright Disney spoof of gold-rush sagas, with McDowall as Bostonian butler who learns to fend for himself in the wild and woolly West. Clever comic ideas and visual gimmickry make this fun. | tt0061333 | Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, Karl Malden, Harry Guardino, Richard Haydn, Hermione Baddeley, Bryan Russell | Family, Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Adventures of Captain Fabian | 1951 | William Marshall | ★½ | 100 | Soggy sea yarn has Flynn involved with accused murderess. Set in 1840 New Orleans but filmed in France; screenplay by Flynn. | tt0043264 | Errol Flynn, Micheline Presle, Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Adventures of Casanova | 1948 | Roberto Gavaldon | ★★ | 83 | Very ordinary swashbuckler of Casanova de Cordova leading the oppressed people of Sicily against tyrannical rule; this one cries for color. | tt0040075 | Arturo de Cordova, Lucille Bremer, Turhan Bey, John Sutton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Adventures of Don Juan | 1948 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 110 | Handsome tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler has Errol stringing along countless maidens and even enticing the Queen (Lindfors); Oscar winner for Best Costumes. | tt0040076 | Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale/Sr., Ann Rutherford, Raymond Burr | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | 1999 | Gary Halvorson | ★★½ | 73 | TV's Elmo (the red, furry three-year-old monster from Sesame Street) loses his precious blanket and his search leads him to Grouchland, where he tangles with the villainous Huxley (Patinkin). Fine fare for young fans, but little else for older viewers. Elmo, Patinkin, and Williams seem to be having fun. | tt0159421 | [G] | Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa L. Williams; voices of Kevin Clash, Fran Brill, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Jerry Nelson, Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Adventures of Felix | 2000 | Jacques Martineau, Olivier Ducastel | ★★★ | 95 | An HIV-positive young man travels to Marseilles to find the father he never knew, and along the way meets a variety of people whom he imagines as his ideal family. Tackles hard-hitting issues (AIDS, racism, homophobia) in the guise of a gentle social comedy. Beautifully photographed by Matthieu Poirot-Delpech. Soundtrack features sweet jazz vocals from Blossom Dearie. | tt0228242 | Sami Bouajila, Patachou, Ariane Ascaride, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Charly Sergue | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Ford Fairlane | 1990 | Renny Harlin | ★½ | 96 | Clay's got what it takes, but the film is clumsy, crude, and immature (just like his character). For rabid Clay fans only. | tt0098987 | [R] | Andrew Dice Clay, Wayne Newton, Priscilla Presley, Morris Day, Lauren Holly, Maddie Corman, Gilbert Gottfried, David Patrick Kelly, Brandon Call, Robert Englund, Ed O'Neill, Tone Loc, Sheila E | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Adventures of Gallant Bess | 1948 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 73 | Mitchell is torn between his girl and his horse in this colorful but routine equestrian drama. | tt0040078 | Cameron Mitchell, Audrey Long, Fuzzy Knight, James Millican | Western | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Gerard | 1970 | Jerzy Skolimowski | 💣 | 91 | Clumsy farce from Arthur Conan Doyle story about cocky but stupid officer who becomes fall guy for Napoleon's (Wallach) wartime strategy. | tt0065375 | Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins, John Neville | British-Italian-Swiss | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Hajji Baba | 1954 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 94 | Derek adds spark to OK desert tale of his romancing sheik's daughter, who's out to marry heir of rival kingdom. | tt0046683 | John Derek, Elaine Stewart, Thomas Gomez, Amanda Blake | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Huck Finn | 1993 | Stephen Sommers | ★★ | 108 | Utterly unimaginative rendering of Mark Twain's perennial, which should remain off-limits to Hollywood from this point on unless Robert Altman wants to take a crack. As Huck, young Wood looks and acts too contemporary by decades, while Vance (as Jim) seems too young. Early scenes involving Huck's brutal father may be too intense for very young children . . . and this a Disney release! | tt0106223 | [PG] | Elijah Wood, Courtney B. Vance, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Robards, Ron Perlman, Dana Ivey, Anne Heche, James Gammon, Paxton Whitehead, Tom Aldredge, Curtis Armstrong, Mary Louise Wilson, Frances Conroy | Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | 1985 | Peter H. Hunt | ★★★ | 105 | Literate, enjoyable version of the Twain classic, with Day a smart, energetic Huck. Centers mostly on his relationship with Jim, the runaway slave (Williams); as richly rewarding for adults as for kids. Edited down from 240m. version, broadcast on PBS's American Playhouse. | tt0088677 | Patrick Day, Jim Dale, Frederic Forrest, Lillian Gish, Barnard Hughes, Richard Kiley, Geraldine Page, Sada Thompson, Samm-Art Williams, Butterfly McQueen | Adventure, Family | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | 1960 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 107 | Good version of Twain's story with an appealing Hodges (Huck) and excellent Archie Moore (Jim). Assorted characters played by veterans Buster Keaton, Andy Devine, Judy Canova, John Carradine, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Sterling Holloway. | tt0053571 | Tony Randall, Eddie Hodges, Archie Moore, Patty McCormack, Neville Brand | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | 1949 | Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, James Algar | ★★★ | 68 | Very entertaining animated doubleheader from Disney: a witty adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, about the puckish residents of Toad Hall centering on Toad's infatuation with motorcars, narrated by Basil Rathbone; and a broad, cartoony version of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with a genuinely scary climax, narrated (and sung) by Bing Crosby. | tt0041094 | Voices of Eric Blore, Pat O'Malley, John Ployardt, Colin Campbell, Claude Allister, The Rhythmaires | Family, Animation | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Marco Polo | 1938 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 100 | Lighthearted approach to famed explorer's life doesn't always work, but Cooper is pleasant and Rathbone's a good villain; sumptuous production. Look for Lana Turner as one of the handmaidens. | tt0029842 | Gary Cooper, Sigrid Gurie, Basil Rathbone, George Barbier, Binnie Barnes, Ernest Truex, Alan Hale/Sr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Mark Twain | 1944 | Irving Rapper | ★★★ | 130 | This Hollywoodized story of Samuel Clemens' colorful life may not be great biography, but it's consistently entertaining— despite some biopic clichés. March is fine in title role. Filmed in 1942. | tt0036582 | Fredric March, Alexis Smith, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale/Sr., C. Aubrey Smith, John Carradine, Percy Kilbride | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Mark Twain | 1985 | Will Vinton | ★★ | 90 | Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Becky Thatcher stow away on Mark Twain's amazing flying machine, heading for Halley's Comet in this clay-figure animated feature. Strangely disjointed and ineffectual, incorporating pieces of Twain stories with interesting (but unsettling) look at darker side of his personality. Still, impressive use of Claymation. | tt0088678 | [G] | Voices of James Whitmore, Chris Ritchie, Gary Krug, Michele Mariana | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Martin Eden | 1942 | Sidney Salkow | ★★★ | 87 | Sturdy Jack London tale of seaman aboard terror of a ship, writing account of sailing, fighting for literary recognition. | tt0034431 | Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Evelyn Keyes, Stuart Erwin, Dickie Moore | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Milo and Otis | 1989 | Masanori Hata. | ★★½ | 76 | Cute film for kids about a dog and a cat who venture away from their farm and experience a variety of adventures. Not very strong on story but buoyed (in the U.S. release version) by Moore's delightful narration. Original version, released in 1986, ran 90m. | tt0097050 | [G] | Narrated by Dudley Moore. | Japanese | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Adventures of Picasso | 1978 | Tage Danielsson | ★★½ | 92 | Frantic slapstick, with actors impersonating the likes of Picasso, Dali, Apollinaire, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas (the last two played by Cribbins and Brambell); often funny but misses the mark. | tt0078084 | Gosta Ekman, Hans Alfredson, Margaretha Krook, Bernard Cribbins, Wilfred Brambell, Per Oscarsson, Lena Nyman, Lennart Nyman, Lena Olin | Swedish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Pinocchio | 1996 | Steve Barron | ★★★ | 96 | Appealing live-action rendition of the Collodi fable about a wood-carver who creates the magical, mischievous marionette Pinocchio . . . who wants only to be a real boy. Some variations from the Disney version, but gentle of spirit and enjoyable throughout. Only adults are likely to question the variety of accents (American, British, German, Italian) in a story supposedly set in Italy. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0115472 | [G] | Martin Landau, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Geneviève Bujold, Udo Kier, Bebe Neuwirth, Rob Schneider, Corey Carrier, John Sessions, voice of David Doyle | British-French-German | Fantasy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Adventures of Pluto Nash | 2002 | Ron Underwood | ★½ | 95 | Murphy sleepwalks through this dumb comedy as a nightclub owner on a moon colony in the year 2087 who tries to prevent a Mafia-type kingpin from turning his establishment into a gambling casino. Expensive misfire became Murphy's biggest box-office bomb, earning comparisons with HOWARD THE DUCK and ISHTAR. Alec Baldwin appears unbilled. | tt0180052 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson, Joe Pantoliano, Jay Mohr, Luis Guzman, James Rebhorn, Peter Boyle, Pam Grier, John Cleese, Burt Young, Miguel A. Nunez/ Jr., Illeana Douglas | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Prince Achmed | 1926 | Lotte Reiniger. | ★★★½ | 66 | Captivating 'silhouette film' (often cited as the first animated feature) based on various Arabian Nights tales involving the title prince and his experiences during a journey on a flying horse. A treat for children and adults alike, with the plot taking a backseat to the nonstop flow of eye-popping images. The video/DVD is a reconstruction derived from an existing tinted and toned nitrate print. | tt0015532 | German | Animation, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | 1994 | Stephan Elliott | ★★★ | 102 | Cheerfully outrageous comedy about three flamboyant lip-sync performers— two drag queens and a transsexual— who journey to a remote desert gig on a converted schoolbus named Priscilla. Diverting, if you can get past the bitchy banter, and anchored by Stamp as the transsexual. A must for ABBA fans. Oscar winner for Costume Design. | tt0109045 | [R] | Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter, Sarah Chadwick, Mark Holmes | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL |
| The Adventures of Robin Hood | 1938 | Michael Curtiz, William Keighley | ★★★★ | 102 | Dashing Flynn in the definitive swashbuckler, winning hand of de Havilland (never lovelier as Maid Marian), foiling evil prince Rains, dueling wicked Rathbone. Erich Wolfgang Korngold's outstanding score earned an Oscar, as did the art direction and editing. Scripted by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller. Arguably Flynn's greatest role. | tt0029843 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, Alan Hale/Sr., Herbert Mundin, Una O'Connor, Melville Cooper, Ian Hunter, Montagu Love | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Adventures of Robinson Crusoe | 1952 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 90 | Colorful, entertaining adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic story about a resourceful shipwreck victim, with some distinctive Buñuel touches; vivid performance by O'Herlihy. Screenplay by Philip Ansell Roll (Hugo Butler) and Buñuel. Excellent music score by Anthony Collins. Main title on film is ROBINSON CRUSOE. | tt0044386 | Dan O'Herlihy, Jaime Fernandez | Mexican | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | 2000 | Des McAnuff | ★★½ | 88 | FBI agent yanks Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose out of cartoon reruns in order to foil world-domination plans of Fearless Leader (De Niro). Fans of Jay Ward's cartoons will probably cut this more slack than others, but in trying to please both us and contemporary kids this benign comedy winds up neither fish nor fowl. De Niro (who also coproduced the film) has fun and even spoofs Travis Bickle! A number of stars appear in gag cameos. | tt0131704 | [PG] | Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, Robert De Niro, Piper Perabo, James Rebhorn, Randy Quaid; voices of Keith Scott, June Foray | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Sadie | 1954 | Noel Langley | ★★½ | 88 | Obvious sex satire relying on premise of Collins stuck on desert isle with love-hungry men. From an Ernest K. Gann novel. Original British title: OUR GIRL FRIDAY. | tt0048458 | Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More, Robertson Hare, Hermione Gingold, Walter Fitzgerald, Hattie Jacques | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Sebastian Cole | 1999 | Tod Williams | ★★★ | 104 | Compassionate coming-of-age story about an introverted adolescent and the impact on him and his family when his stepfather (Gregg) announces he is planning a sex-change operation. Despite this offbeat premise, the film is more true to life than many other teen-angst tales. | tt0168449 | [R] | Adrian Grenier, Clark Gregg, Aleska Palladino, Margaret Colin, John Shea, Marni Lustig, Joan Copeland, Tom Lacy, Rory Cochrane, Levon Helm, Famke Janssen | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl 3-D | 2005 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★½ | 92 | A daydreaming boy named Max is visited by two characters he created-Sharkboy and Lavagirl-who need his help to keep Planet Drool from being taken over by dark forces, including a nasty kid named Minus (who resembles Max's schoolyard tormentor) and his henchman Mr. Electric (who looks just like his teacher). Inspired by the drawings and dreams of his 7-year-old son Racer, Rodriguez uses computer wizardry to create an eye-popping world of wonder for young viewers . . . though his script and dialogue remain strictly earthbound. | tt0424774 | [PG] | Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, Cayden Boyd, George Lopez, David Arquette, Kristin Davis, Jacob Davich | Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes | 1939 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★½ | 85 | The master sleuth faces one of his greatest challenges when the nefarious Professor Moriarty (Zucco) plots to steal the Crown Jewels. The second and last of Fox's excellent Rathbone-Bruce period pieces, which predated Universal's entertaining modern series. | tt0031022 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ida Lupino, Alan Marshal, Terry Kilburn, George Zucco, E. E. Clive, Mary Gordon | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Adventures of Tartu | 1943 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★★ | 103 | Well-turned spy drama with intrepid British soldier Donat dispatched incognito into Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to blow up a German poison gas plant. Donat's lively performance makes this one worth watching. Retitled: TARTU. Also shown in alternate British release version, SABOTAGE AGENT. | tt0035612 | Robert Donat, Valerie Hobson, Walter Rilla, Phyllis Morris, Glynis Johns | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of Tintin | 2011 | Steven Spielberg | ★★ | 107 | Old-fashioned adventure yarn derived from a number of Hergé's popular comic-book yarns featuring reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy. When Tintin purchases a ship model at a flea market that contains a valuable map to hidden treasure, he becomes a target of various bad guys and winds up at sea with the eccentric and unreliable Captain Haddock. Using performance-capture technology to precisely reproduce the look of Hergé's drawings (no matter how odd), Spielberg and coproducer Peter Jackson deliver a relentless video game–like film that never stops to take a breath. It starts out as fun, but by the end you're not so much excited as exhausted. | tt0983193 | [PG] | Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Daniel Mays, Gad Elmaleh, Cary Elwes | U.S.-New Zealand | Animation, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | 1938 | Norman Taurog | ★★★½ | 77 | Entertaining David O. Selznick production of Mark Twain classic with more slapstick than Twain may have had in mind. Cave sequence with Injun Joe is unforgettable. Original running time 93m. Previously filmed in 1930, and again in 1973 (twice that year)— all under the title TOM SAWYER. Refilmed in 1995 as TOM AND HUCK. | tt0029844 | Tommy Kelly, Jackie Moran, Ann Gillis, May Robson, Walter Brennan, Victor Jory, Spring Byington, Margaret Hamilton | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Adventures of a Taxi Driver | 1976 | Stanley Long | 💣 | 89 | Tasteless, unfunny comedy about put-upon young cabdriver, his sexual exploits, and his involvement with jewel thieves. | tt0074094 | Barry Evans, Judy Geeson, Adrienne Posta, Diana Dors, Liz Fraser | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Adventures of the Wilderness Family | 1975 | Stewart Raffill | ★★★ | 100 | Good human-interest drama. Modern couple with two children forsake big city for life in magnificent but sometimes dangerous Rocky Mountain region. Followed by two look-alike sequels. | tt0072610 | [G] | Robert F. Logan, Susan Damante Shaw, Hollye Holmes, Ham Larsen, George 'Buck' Flower, William Cornford | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Adventuress | I See a Dark Stranger | 1946 | Frank Launder | ★★★ | 98 | A feisty Irish lass is persuaded to help a German agent during WW2— because it will hurt her sworn enemies, the British. Well-made, low-key film with touches of droll humor. British prints were originally 114m., which explains some abruptness in exposition. British title: I SEE A DARK STRANGER. | tt0038289 | Deborah Kerr, Trevor Howard, Raymond Huntley, Liam Redmond, Harry Webster | British | Short | NULL | |
| Adventurous Blonde | 1937 | Frank McDonald | ★★½ | 60 | One of the better Torchy Blane entries, with sardonic crime reporter Farrell interrupting her wedding to cantankerous cop MacLane in order to probe the murder of a publicity-seeking actor. | tt0028555 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Anne Nagel, Tom Kennedy, George E. Stone, Natalie Moorhead, William Hopper | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Advice to the Lovelorn | 1933 | Alfred Werker. | ★★½ | 62 | Engaging comedy-drama capitalizing on Tracy's success in BLESSED EVENT; here he parlays a lonelyhearts column into business enterprise, with unexpected results. Loosely based on Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts. Holloway excellent in key supporting role. Filmed again as LONELYHEARTS. | tt0023741 | Lee Tracy, Sally Blane, Sterling Holloway, Jean Adair, Paul Harvey | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Advise & Consent | 1962 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 139 | Long but engrossing drama of Washington wheeling and dealing, from Allen Drury novel. Cast is fine, with effective underplaying by Ayres and Tone standing out among more flamboyant performances by Laughton (his last film) and Grizzard. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0055728 | Henry Fonda, Don Murray, Charles Laughton, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Betty White | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Advocate | 1994 | Leslie Megahey | ★★★ | 101 | Lawyer Firth abandons the bustle of 15th-century Paris for the supposedly more pastoral pace of rural France, only to get involved in a murder cover-up that culminates in his defending a pig— back when animals actually used to stand trial. Very offbeat but very accessible drama of courtroom intrigue with vivid characterizations. Aka HOUR OF THE PIG. | tt0107146 | [R] | Colin Firth, Amina Annabi, Jim Carter, Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm, Nicol Williamson, Lysette Anthony | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Aeon Flux | 2005 | Karyn Kusama | ★½ | 93 | Brainless sci-fi thriller in which a sexy rebel/assassin (Theron) battles to liberate a walled city from its dictatorial rulers. This nonsensical, sleep-inducing live-action cartoon is based on Peter Chung's animated MTV series; the material is far better served in its original format. | tt0402022 | [PG-13] | Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand, Pete Postlethwaite, Amelia Warner, Nikolai Kinski | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Aerial Gunner | 1943 | William H. Pine. | ★★ | 78 | Formula WW2 action propaganda, pitting old rivals Arlen and Morris during basic training and competing for Ward's love. Partially salvaged by some energetic combat scenes. Look quick for Robert Mitchum. | tt0035614 | Richard Arlen, Chester Morris, Lita Ward, Jimmy Lydon, Keith Richards, Dick Purcell | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Affair With a Stranger | 1953 | Roy Rowland | ★★ | 89 | Bland romantic drama, mostly told in flashback, chronicling relationship between struggling playwright Mature (who is sorely miscast) and model Simmons. | tt0045477 | Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Mary Jo Tarola, Monica Lewis, Jane Darwell, Dabbs Greer, Olive Carey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Affair in Havana | 1957 | Laslo Benedek | ★½ | 77 | Unexciting tale of songwriter in love with crippled man's wife. Filmed in Cuba. | tt0050103 | John Cassavetes, Raymond Burr, Sara Shane, Lila Lazo | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Affair in Monte Carlo | 1953 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 75 | Rich widow tries to convince gambler that romance is more rewarding than roulette. Monte Carlo backgrounds don't help. | tt0044330 | Merle Oberon, Richard Todd, Leo Genn, Peter Illing | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Affair in Reno | 1957 | R. G. Springsteen. | ★½ | 75 | Inoffensive little film about detective Singleton falling in love with PR-man Lund. | tt0050104 | John Lund, John Archer, Doris Singleton, Alan Hale | Crime | NULL | |||
| Affair in Trinidad | 1952 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 98 | Hayworth and Ford sparkle as cafe singer and brother-in-law seeking her husband's murderer. Hayworth is most enticing. | tt0044331 | Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Alexander Scourby, Torin Thatcher, Juanita Moore, Steven Geray | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| An Affair of Love | 1999 | Frédéric Fonteyne | ★★★ | 80 | Provocative and interesting film about a woman who places an ad in a magazine to find a man who will participate in her sexual fantasy. Soon the couple is meeting on a weekly basis, but she is reluctant to take the next step and get to know him as a person. French title is UNE LIAISON PORNOGRAPHIQUE (A PORNOGRAPHIC AFFAIR), which refers to Baye's definition of their relationship; the film itself is fairly discreet. | tt0204709 | Nathalie Baye, Sergi Lopez | French-Belgian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Affair of the Necklace | 2001 | Charles Shyer | ★★ | 120 | Handsome but ponderous historical drama— based on real-life events— in which a young woman, seeking to restore her family name and reclaim her home, dares to scheme against Marie Antoinette and the power-hungry Cardinal Louis de Rohan. Swank's performance lacks fire and charisma, however, and the film itself never ignites. Narration, by King Louis' house minister (Cox), is heavy-handed and often unnecessary. | tt0242252 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Baker, Adrien Brody, Brian Cox, Joely Richardson, Christopher Walken, Hayden Panettiere | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| An Affair to Remember | 1957 | Leo McCarey | ★★½ | 115 | Middling remake of McCarey's LOVE AFFAIR. Bubbling shipboard comedy in first half, overshadowed by draggy soap-opera clichés and unnecessary musical numbers in N.Y.C. finale. Vic Damone croons title tune on soundtrack. Film was to turn up decades later as a major plot device in 1993 hit SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. Remade again as LOVE AFFAIR in 1994. | tt0050105 | Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Richard Denning, Neva Patterson, Cathleen Nesbitt, Robert Q. Lewis, Charles Watts, Fortunio Bonanova | Romance | NULL | |||
| The Affair | 1973 | Gilbert Cates | Above Average TV Movie | 74 | Sensitive, careful handling of 30-ish female songwriter with polio (Wood) experiencing first love affair with lawyer (Wagner). Excellent cast, expert script by Barbara Turner. | tt0069681 |
|
Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Bruce Davison, Jamie Smith Jackson, Kent Smith, Frances Reid, Pat Harrington | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Affairs of Anatol | 1921 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★★ | 117 | Battle of the sexes is waged in this amusing tale of Anatol De Witt Spencer (Reid), a modern-day knight who naively tries to rescue several ladies-in-distress, much to the consternation of his new wife (Swanson). Daniels is not to be missed as the notorious Satan Synne! William Boyd, Julia Faye, Raymond Hatton, Lucien Littlefield, and Polly Moran have small parts; Elinor Glyn, of 'It' girl fame, is one of the bridge players. Scenario by Jeanie Macpherson, suggested by an Arthur Schnitzler novel and play. | tt0011909 | Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, Bebe Daniels, Wanda Hawley, Theodore Roberts, Elliott Dexter, Theodore Kosloff, Agnes Ayres, Monte Blue | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Affairs of Annabel | 1938 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★½ | 68 | Fair film industry satire, with Ball scoring as an actress and Oakie her scheming press agent whose publicity gimmicks always backfire. Followed by ANNABEL TAKES A TOUR. | tt0029845 | Jack Oakie, Lucille Ball, Ruth Donnelly, Bradley Page, Fritz Feld, Thurston Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Affairs of Cellini | 1934 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★ | 80 | March is excellent as roguish Renaissance artist who falls in love with duchess. Lavish production, fine cast make this most entertaining. Lucille Ball plays a lady in waiting. | tt0024816 | Constance Bennett, Fredric March, Frank Morgan, Fay Wray, Jessie Ralph | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Affairs of Dobie Gillis | 1953 | Don Weis | ★★★ | 74 | Entertaining musicomedy based on Max Shulman's book of college kids. Debbie and Van make a cute couple; Conried is their dour professor. Later a TV series. | tt0045479 | Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Hans Conried, Lurene Tuttle, Bob Fosse | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Affairs of Susan | 1945 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 110 | Fairly entertaining comedy of actress Fontaine who does more acting for her beaus than she does onstage. | tt0037498 | Joan Fontaine, George Brent, Dennis O'Keefe, Don DeFore, Rita Johnson, Walter Abel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Affectionately Yours | 1941 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 90 | Attractive triangle flounders in weak comedy of Morgan trying to win back wife Oberon, with interference from Hayworth. Bellamy is the poor sap again. | tt0033319 | Merle Oberon, Dennis Morgan, Rita Hayworth, Ralph Bellamy, George Tobias | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Affliction | 1998 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 114 | Portrait of a man whose screwed-up life— and mental imbalance— can be laid at the feet of his abusive father; the son (Nolte) tries to stay afloat, as traffic cop/jack-of-all-trades (and miserable part-time dad) in a small, wintry New Hampshire town. Bleak in the extreme, with no light or hope for any of its principal characters, but extremely well acted; Coburn won a Best Supporting Oscar. Schrader adapted Russell Banks's novel. | tt0118564 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt, Marian Seldes, Jim True | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Afghan Star | 2009 | Havana Marking | ★★★ | 88 | We follow several finalists and learn the risks the female contestants face by flouting tradition, singing and dancing in public. Director Marking provides context by showing the modern culture of Afghanistan before the Taliban came to power in the 1980s. A thoughtful look at the conflict between a modern-thinking young population and its oppressive government. | tt1334510 | Unrated | Interesting documentary about an American Idol–like TV show that's a sensation with the people of Afghanistan, although it rankles their fundamentalist rulers | British-Afghanistan | Documentary | NULL | |
| Afraid of the Dark | 1991 | Mark Peploe | ★★½ | 92 | Offbeat psychological thriller, loaded with plot twists, about imaginative boy (Keyworth) whose father is a cop and whose mother is blind. The latter is at risk during a killing spree in which the victims are sightless females. Result is alternately gripping and ponderous. Feature directing debut for cowriter Peploe (THE LAST EMPEROR). | tt0101276 | [R] | James Fox, Fanny Ardant, Paul McGann, Clare Holman, Robert Stephens, David Thewlis, Susan Wooldridge, Ben Keyworth | British-French | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Africa Screams | 1949 | Charles Barton | ★★★ | 79 | A&C go on safari in this funny outing full of wheezy but often hilarious gags and routines. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041098 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Max Baer, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Africa- Texas Style | 1967 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 106 | Feature (which later spun off a TV series, Cowboy in Africa) doesn't offer much excitement, with O'Brian helping Mills preserve wild game in the dark continent. Hayley Mills has a cameo. | tt0061334 | Hugh O'Brian, John Mills, Nigel Green, Tom Nardini, Adrienne Corri | Adventure | NULL | |||
| African Cats | 2011 | Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey | ★★ | 89 | Third in Disney’s contemporary “nature” series focuses on two mothers, a cougar raising her cubs and an aging lioness tending to her offspring while trying to maintain her place in the pride. First-rate footage is undermined by Disneyfied narration that emphasizes the mothers’ love and courage, while the images we see deal with the often-desperate struggle to survive in a kill-or-be-killed society. Although it’s rated G, this is much too intense for younger children. Try Walt Disney’s THE AFRICAN LION instead. | tt1223236 | [G] | Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson | Documentary, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The African Lion | 1955 | James Algar | ★★★½ | 75 | Outstanding True-Life documentary is perhaps Disney's best. Naturalists Alfred and Elma Milotte filmed the African lion in his native habitat through a year's cycle of seasons. Filled with drama, excitement, color, humor. A gem. | tt0047803 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Family, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The African Queen | 1951 | John Huston | ★★★★ | 105 | Superb combination of souse Bogart (who won an Oscar) and spinster Hepburn traveling downriver in Africa during WW1, combating the elements and the Germans, and each other. Script by James Agee and director Huston from C. S. Forester's novel; gorgeously filmed on location in the Belgian Congo by Jack Cardiff. | tt0043265 | Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell | Adventure, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| African Treasure | 1952 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 70 | Bomba the Jungle Boy vs. diamond smugglers posing as geologists. Formulaic jungle intrigue. Look for Woody Strode as a native mailman. | tt0044332 | Johnny Sheffield, Laurette Luez, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Space, Martin Garralaga, Robert 'Smoki' Whitfield, Leonard Mudie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| After Dark, My Sweet | 1990 | James Foley | ★★½ | 114 | Piquant modern-day film noir based on a Jim Thompson novel, about a drifter who becomes involved with a beautiful but troubled woman and her criminally scheming friend. Interesting at first, but eventually you catch on that it's heading nowhere— 10 miles per hour, at that. Both Patric and Dern are excellent. | tt0098994 | [R] | Jason Patric, Rachel Ward, Bruce Dern, George Dickerson, James Cotton, Rocky Giordani, Corey Carrier | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| After Hours | 1985 | Martin Scorsese | ★★½ | 97 | Ordinary guy goes through a series of bizarre experiences during one incredible night in N.Y.C. How much you enjoy this comic nightmare will depend on how closely you identify with Dunne— the only normal person in the picture! | tt0088680 | [R] | Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Thomas Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Teri Garr, John Heard, Cheech Marin, Catherine O'Hara, Dick Miller, Bronson Pinchot | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| After Life | 1998 | Koreeda Hirokazu | ★★★½ | 118 | Beautifully told story of caseworkers at a way station between heaven and earth, who help the recently deceased choose a single moment from their pasts to live inside for the rest of eternity. Quiet, poetic examination of life, death, and memory, filled with gentle humor and blessedly free of any feel-good bromides. A plea to Hollywood: do not remake this. Written by the director. | tt0165078 | Aarata, Erika Oda, Susuma Terajima, Taketoshi Naito, Kyoko Kagawa, Kei Tani, Takashi Naito, Yusuke Iseya | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| After Midnight | 1989 | Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat | ★½ | 90 | Four coeds take turns telling the scariest story they know in this weak and predictable horror anthology . . . with a high violence quotient. This got limited theatrical release before heading to videoland. | tt0096769 | [R] | Jillian McWhirter, Pamela Segall, Ramy Zade, Nadine Van Der Velde, Marc McClure, Marg Helgenberger, Billy Ray Sharkey | Horror | NULL | ||
| After Midnight With Boston Blackie | 1943 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 64 | Blackie helps a jailbird's daughter retrieve some hidden diamonds and winds up being accused of the old man's murder. Minor but quite enjoyable entry. | tt0035615 | Chester Morris, Ann Savage, George E. Stone, Richard Lane, Cy Kendall, George McKay, Walter Sande, Lloyd Corrigan | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| After Office Hours | 1935 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 75 | Editor Gable tries to manipulate society girl Bennett while investigating shady Stephens. Gable's charm cannot overcome forgettable script (written by Herman J. Mankiewicz). | tt0026043 | Constance Bennett, Clark Gable, Stuart Erwin, Billie Burke, Harvey Stephens, Henry Travers, William Demarest, Katherine Alexander | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| After Tomorrow | 1932 | Frank Borzage. | ★★½ | 79 | Sincere, well-acted story of young Depression-era couple dealing with family problems while trying to make enough money to get married. Nicely shot by James Wong Howe and featuring some unusually frank talk about premarital sex. | tt0022613 | Charles Farrell, Marian Nixon, Minna Gombell, William Collier/Sr., Josephine Hull, William Pawley. | Drama | NULL | |||
| After Tonight | 1933 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 72 | Russian spy Bennett falls for Austrian captain Roland in this derivative but handsomely mounted WW1 romance in the wake of MATA HARI and DISHONORED. Bennett even sings and does a fan dance! She and Roland later married in real life. | tt0023742 | Constance Bennett, Gilbert Roland, Edward Ellis, Sam Godfrey, Lucien Prival, Mischa Auer | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| After the Fox | 1966 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★½ | 103 | Not always successful comedy of Italian con man Sellers, who poses as a movie director. A must-see for Mature's performance as a fading romantic star with tremendous ego. Script by Neil Simon. | tt0060200 | Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Britt Ekland, Martin Balsam | British-Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| After the Rehearsal | 1984 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 72 | While staging the production of a Strindberg play a womanizing director is browbeaten by the actress daughter of an old lover, then a middle-aged actress/ex-lover who has fallen on tougher times. Short running time or not, you can exhaust yourself trying to figure out the relationships here. Small-screen viewing should make this original telefilm easier to take than it was in theatrical screenings. Fine acting. | tt0087193 | [R] | Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Lena Olin, Nadja Palmstjerna-Weiss, Bertil Guve | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| After the Sunset | 2004 | Brett Ratner | ★★ | 93 | Master thief Brosnan and sexy accomplice Hayek escape to a sun-drenched paradise after pulling one final diamond heist, but FBI agent Harrelson (who's been thwarted by Brosnan before) tracks them down, seeking retribution— and hoping to prevent another theft. Aspires to be TO CATCH A THIEF but can't come close; attractive cast and scenery don't generate enough heat. | tt0367479 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle, Naomie Harris, Chris Penn, Mykelti Williamson, Obba Babatundé | Crime, Thriller, Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| After the Thin Man | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★½ | 113 | Delightful second entry in the series finds the urbane Charleses in San Francisco and, when not inordinately inebriated, investigating murder charges brought against Loy's unstable cousin (Landi). Slightly overlong but first rate, with a truly surprising culprit. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027260 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia, Jessie Ralph, Alan Marshal, Penny Singleton, William Law, Sam Levene, George Zucco | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| After the Wedding | 2006 | Susanne Bier | ★★★ | 120 | Dedicated social worker (Mikkelsen) who runs an orphanage in rural India is summoned home to Copenhagen to meet a wealthy man who may fund his projects. He arrives just as the industrialist's daughter is getting married, and at the wedding makes a shocking discovery. Bier (who cowrote this with Anders Thomas Jensen) explores her characters' moral dilemmas in ultra close-up. Stern, intense drama with superior performances. | tt0457655 | [R] | Mads Mikkelsen, Rolf Lassgård, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Stine Fischer Christensen, Christian Tafdrup, Mona Malm | Danish-British | Drama | NULL | |
| After.Life | 2010 | Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo | ★½ | 104 | In this dreary psychological horror tale, a young woman seems to be hovering between life and death as she carries on conversations with a sinister undertaker who may have other plans for her. Or not. What Neeson is doing in this low-rent mumbo jumbo is a bigger mystery than anything in the script. Nothing here makes any sense, with a premise that wouldn't hold up as a half-hour Twilight Zone episode, much less an overlong, indulgent feature film that's as pretentious as its title. | tt0838247 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci, Josh Charles, Justin Long, Chandler Canterbury, Celia Weston, Rosemary Murphy, Shuler Hensley | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Afterglow | 1997 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 113 | Typically odd Rudolph fare, set in Montreal: longtime marrieds Nolte and Christie have hit an emotional roadblock; he's a handyman (named Lucky) who cats around while she seeks to relive her days as a movie actress. Meanwhile, businessman Miller has given his young, beautiful wife the cold shoulder— leaving her vulnerable to the charms of Nolte. Dense, slow, not entirely satisfying, but Christie is impressive as a woman who's drowning in sorrow. Written by Rudolph, produced by Robert Altman. | tt0118566 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Jay Underwood, Domini Blythe, Yves Corbeil | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Afurika Monogatari | A Tale of Africa | 1981 | Susumu Hani | 💣 | 120 | Pilot Sayer crashes plane in wilds of Africa, comes upon game preserve occupied by Stewart and granddaughter. Even old Jimmy is boring. Filmed in Kenya. Aka A TALE OF AFRICA and THE GREEN HORIZON. | tt0081987 | James Stewart, Philip Sayer, Kathy, Eleanora Vallone, Heekura Simba | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Against All Flags | 1952 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 83 | Flynn found his forte again as dashing British soldier who maneuvers way into pirate fortress, while managing to flirt with O'Hara. Although not Flynn's final swashbuckler, this was his last good entry in that genre. Remade as THE KING'S PIRATE. | tt0044333 | Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Mildred Natwick | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Against All Odds | 1984 | Taylor Hackford | ★★½ | 128 | Unemployed jock accepts a job from a sleazy ex-teammate to find his girlfriend, who's run off to Mexico. The plot thickens, in several directions, in this loose remake of OUT OF THE PAST (with Greer playing the mother of her character in the original). Good stab at film noir feeling, but script is plot-heavy and unsatisfying. Best scene— a hair-raising race along Sunset Boulevard— is completely out of step with the rest of the film. An interesting misfire. Haunting title song by Phil Collins. | tt0086859 | [R] | Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods, Alex Karras, Jane Greer, Richard Widmark, Dorian Harewood, Swoosie Kurtz, Saul Rubinek, Pat Corley, Bill McKinney, *** Kid Creole and the Coconuts | Adventure, Romance, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Against a Crooked Sky | 1975 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 89 | A boy searches for his sister, who's been kidnapped by Indians; simplistic, old-fashioned family western. | tt0072615 | [G] | Richard Boone, Stewart Petersen, Geoffrey Land, Jewel Blanch, Henry Wilcoxon, Clint Ritchie | Western | NULL | ||
| Against the Current | 2009 | Peter Callahan | ★★★ | 96 | Thirtysomething Fiennes, still grieving over the death of his wife and child five years before, decides to swim the Hudson River from upstate New York to N.Y.C. Leisurely paced, extremely downbeat film builds in intensity as it goes along and asks a provocative question: Is it possible to find meaning in life when fate has dealt you the cruelest of blows? Moore steals the film in her brief scenes as Reaser’s royal pain of a mother. Callahan also scripted. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1131727 | [R] | Joseph Fiennes, Justin Kirk, Elizabeth Reaser, Michelle Trachtenberg, Pell James, Constance Barron, Amy Hargreaves, Mary Tyler Moore | Drama | NULL | ||
| Against the Ropes | 2004 | Charles S. Dutton | ★★ | 111 | Jackie Kallen (Ryan), exposed to boxing since childhood, sets out to make a name for herself by promoting street brawler Epps as a potential champion. To do this, she has to buck some heavy-duty criminals and a pervasive prejudice against women in the business. Shaky script changes tone from one round to the next; surely the real-life Kallen's story wasn't this clichéd. | tt0312329 | [PG-13] | Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Tony Shalhoub, Tim Daly, Charles S. Dutton, Kerry Washington, Joe Cortese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Against the Wind | 1948 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 96 | Taut, engrossing tale of British spies trained for mission inside occupied Belgium during WW2. Documentary-style training scenes complement the dramatic story of resistance fighters. | tt0040080 | Robert Beatty, Simone Signoret, Jack Warner, Gordon Jackson, Paul Dupuis, James Robertson Justice | British | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Agatha | 1979 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 98 | Fictional speculation on writer Agatha Christie's famous 11-day disappearance in 1926; Redgrave is superb in this absorbing yarn, Hoffman oddly miscast as smooth American reporter who tracks her down. | tt0078736 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Timothy Dalton, Helen Morse, Celia Gregory, Paul Brooke | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Age of Consent | 1969 | Michael Powell | ★★½ | 103 | A put-upon artist escapes to the quietude of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, where he's inspired by a feisty young girl whom he persuades to pose (often nude) for him. General amiability and pretty scenery help make up for clumsy comedy relief and gaps in story and characterization. Based on life of Norman Lindsay, later the subject of SIRENS. | tt0063991 | [R] | James Mason, Helen Mirren, Jack MacGowran, Neva Carr-Glyn, Frank Thring | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Age of Innocence | 1934 | Philip Moeller | ★★½ | 81 | Modest but effective version of Edith Wharton's novel about a thwarted romance between an engaged attorney and a divorcée, in rigid 1870s Manhattan society. Starts off with a terrific Jazz Age montage prologue, then gets bogged down in static, stagy treatment as elderly Boles relates the story of his ill-fated affair to his grandson. Dunne gives a luminous and touching performance. Remade in 1993. | tt0024819 | Irene Dunne, John Boles, Lionel Atwill, Helen Westley, Laura Hope Crews, Julie Haydon | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Age of Innocence | 1993 | Martin Scorsese | ★★½ | 133 | In 1870s N.Y. society, well-bred young man (Day-Lewis), engaged to marry well-bred young woman (Ryder), is smitten by notorious beauty (Pfeiffer) with a somewhat scandalous background and an independent spirit. Sumptuous adaptation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about repressed emotions in a convention-bound society, but amidst the meticulous detail and opulent settings, it's hard to connect with these characters on an emotional level. Oscar winner for Costume Design. Filmed previously in 1924 and 1934. | tt0106226 | [PG] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant, Alec McCowen, Geraldine Chaplin, Mary Beth Hurt, Miriam Margolyes, Sian Phillips, Michael Gough, Alexis Smith, Norman Lloyd, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Sean Leonard, Carolyn Farina; narrated by Joanne Woodward | Drama | NULL | ||
| Agency | Mind Games | 1981 | George Kaczender | ★½ | 94 | Shifty Mitchum plots to gain political clout via information transmitted subliminally in television ads. Fascinating idea, but result is dull and unconvincing. Aka MIND GAMES. | tt0081989 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Lee Majors, Valerie Perrine, Saul Rubinek, Alexandra Stewart | Canadian | Drama | NULL |
| Agent 8 3/4 | Hot Enough for June | 1964 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 98 | Released at height of James Bond craze, this spoof features Bogarde as a bumbling secret agent working in Czechoslovakia. Sometimes witty, bright comedy. Originally released in U.S. at 77m. Original British title: HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE. | tt0059282 | Dirk Bogarde, Sylva Koscina, Leo McKern, Robert Morley, Roger Delgado, John LeMesurier | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Agent Cody Banks | 2003 | Harald Zwart | ★★★ | 102 | A geeky, girl-shy 15-year-old (Muniz) who is secretly a junior agent for the CIA is assigned to befriend the cute daughter of a scientist developing a secret weapon for a sinister organization. This good-natured, broadly comic blend of Bond, SPY KIDS, and MEN IN BLACK is a teenage boy's dream come true, packed with hot babes, cool cars, extreme sports action, and high-tech gadgets galore. Followed by a sequel. | tt0313911 | [PG] | Frankie Muniz, Hilary Duff, Angie Harmon, Keith David, Ian McShane, Arnold Vosloo, Cynthia Stevenson, Daniel Roebuck, Darrell Hammond, Martin Donovan | Comedy, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Agent Cody Banks: Destination London | 2004 | Kevin Allen | ★★ | 99 | That juvenile secret agent is back for a U.K. adventure, with Anderson all too obviously shoehorned into the proceedings for comedy relief as his watchdog. Muniz and perky Spearritt are game, but the characters and plotting are just plain dull. P.S. Madonna and Jason Alexander are among the executive producers! | tt0358349 | [PG] | Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, Hannah Spearritt, Cynthia Stevenson, Daniel Roebuck, Anna Chancellor, Keith Allen, David Kelly, Keith David | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Agent for H.A.R.M. | 1966 | Gerd Oswald | ★½ | 84 | Yet another secret agent adventure, definitely a lesser one, about investigation of scientist who is trying to combat spores that turn people into fungi. Shot as a TV pilot, but released to theaters instead. | tt0060074 | Peter Mark Richman, Wendell Corey, Carl Esmond, Barbara Bouchet, Martin Kosleck, Rafael Campos, Alizia Gur | Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Agnes Browne | 1999 | Anjelica Huston | ★★½ | 92 | Good-natured film about a working-class stiff in late 1960s Dublin whose husband has just died, leaving her to raise seven children on her own. Fortunately, her best friend (O'Dwyer) is always there to lend a hand. Comedy is rich in atmosphere but pat, with a subplot involving singer Tom Jones pushing things a bit too far. | tt0160509 | [R] | Anjelica Huston, Marion O'Dwyer, Ray Winstone, Arno Chevrier, Gerard McSorley, Tom Jones | U.S.-Irish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Agnes of God | 1985 | Norman Jewison | ★★★½ | 98 | A young nun apparently became pregnant, then murdered the baby in the cloistered atmosphere of a convent, but court-appointed psychiatrist finds no easy explanations. Disturbing, not always satisfying, but electrified by three lead performances, and beautifully photographed by Sven Nykvist. Screenplay by John Pielmeier, from his play. | tt0088683 | [PG-13] | Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly, Anne Pitoniak, Winston Reckert, Gratien Gelinas | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Agony and the Ecstasy | 1965 | Carol Reed | ★★½ | 140 | Huge spectacle of Michelangelo's artistic conflicts with Pope Julius II has adequate acting overshadowed by meticulous production. Short documentary on artist's work precedes fragmentary drama based on bits of Irving Stone's novel. | tt0058886 | Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento, Harry Andrews, Adolfo Celi | Drama | NULL | |||
| Agora | 2009 | Alejandro Amenábar | ★★ | 127 | It’s pagans versus Christians in 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt, with beautiful, controversial teacher-philosopher-astronomer Hypatia (Weisz) at center stage. Potentially interesting tale of science and humanism in conflict with religious intolerance (with obvious parallels to the present day) is too simplistic and melodramatic to make an impression. | tt1186830 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom, Rupert Evans, Homayoun Ershadi, Michael Lonsdale, Sami Samir, Richard Durden | Spanish | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Agronomist | 2004 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★½ | 91 | Powerful, uncompromising documentary portrait of a fascinating individual: Jean Dominique, a leading Haitian radio personality and prominent figure in the country's struggle for human rights. While the film offers insight into the politics and history of (and U.S. influence in) Haiti during the latter 20th century, its primary purpose is to give us a vivid portrait of one man's fierce determination, deep-seated humanism, and passionate love of country. The finale is shattering. | tt0377031 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Aguirre: The Wrath of God | Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes | 1972 | Werner Herzog | ★★★½ | 94 | Powerful, hypnotic tale of deluded conquistador who leads a group of men away from Pizarro's 1560 South American expedition in search of seven cities of gold. Dreamlike film was shot on location in remote Amazon jungles; Kinski is perfect as the mad Aguirre. Filmed in both German-and English-language versions; try to avoid the latter. | tt0068182 | Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Del Negro, Helena Rojo, Cecilia Rivera, Peter Berling | German | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Ah, Wilderness! | 1935 | Clarence Brown | ★★★½ | 101 | Rich Americana in this adaptation of Eugene O'Neill play about turn-of-the-century small-town life, focusing on boy facing problems of adolescence. Rooney, playing younger brother, took the lead in musical remake SUMMER HOLIDAY. Screenplay by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. | tt0026046 | Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Aline MacMahon, Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney, Frank Albertson, Bonita Granville | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Aida | 1953 | Clemente Fracassi | ★★½ | 96 | Medium adaptation of the Verdi opera, of interest mostly for casting of Loren, in one of her earlier screen appearances, as the tragic Ethiopian princess. Her singing is dubbed by Renata Tebaldi. | tt0045483 | Sophia Loren, Lois Maxwell, Luciano Della Marra, Afro Poli, Antonio Cassinelli | Italian | Musical | NULL | ||
| Aimée & Jaguar | 1999 | Max Färberböck | ★★★ | 125 | Felice (Schrader) is a Jewish lesbian who's employed, 'underground' fashion, by the Germans in 1943 Berlin, while Lilly (Köhler) has four children by the Nazi husband on whom she cheats— with other Nazis. The two women fall in love, which would seem awfully contrived if it weren't based on a true story. Production values are surprisingly detailed and lush, and the acting is first-rate. Title alludes to the affectionate nicknames the women have for each other. | tt0130444 | Maria Schrader, Juliane Köhler, Johanna Wokalek, Heike Makatsch, Elisabeth Degen, Detlev Buck | German | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ain't Misbehavin' | 1955 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 82 | Pleasant musical fluff about rowdy Laurie crashing high society when wealthy Calhoun falls in love with her. | tt0047804 | Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, Jack Carson, Mamie Van Doren, Reginald Gardiner, Barbara Britton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Air America | 1990 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★ | 112 | Pilots Mel and Bob are part of the C.I.A.'s smuggling operation in Laos during the Vietnam War. They crate anything and anyone anywhere— too bad they couldn't fly in a script doctor. Alleged action-comedy has few laughs and makes little sense. Even Gibson's patented swagger can't keep this one airborne. No relation to the 1998 TV series. | tt0099005 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Robert Downey/Jr., Nancy Travis, David Marshall Grant, Lane Smith, Ken Jenkins, Burt Kwouk, Art La Fleur, Tim Thomerson | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Air Bud | 1997 | Charles Martin Smith | ★★½ | 97 | Innocuous Disney kiddie film about a new boy in town who befriends a lovable stray dog with the uncanny ability to shoot hoops. Jeter is malevolent fun as Bud's former owner, a terrible children's party clown who tries to cash in on the dog's celebrity. Mildly entertaining. Director Smith starred in NEVER CRY WOLF, a much superior Disney film about animals. Followed by a sequel. | tt0118570 | [PG] | Kevin Zegers, Michael Jeter, Wendy Makkena, Bill Cobbs, Eric Christmas | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Air Bud: Golden Receiver | 1998 | Richard Martin | ★★½ | 90 | Title canine catches pigskins rather than shoots hoops. He and his young owner (Zegers, the lone cast member from the original) join the school football team— plus, a pair of Boris and Natasha- like villains plot to abduct the pooch for their traveling circus. Predictable but harmless fun. Followed by several direct-to-video sequels. | tt0140796 | [G] | Kevin Zegers, Gregory Harrison, Shayn Solberg, Cynthia Stevenson, Nora Dunn, Robert Costanzo, Tim Conway, Dick Martin | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Air Cadet | 1951 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 94 | Familiar account of Air Force recruits training to become fighter pilots; McNally plays their tough but troubled flight commander. It's fun to see Hudson barking orders at the recruits. | tt0043270 | Stephen McNally, Gail Russell, Alex Nicol, Richard Long, Charles Drake, Robert Arthur, Rock Hudson, Peggie Castle, James Best, Parley Baer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Air Force | 1943 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 124 | Archetypal WW2 movie, focusing on archetypal bomber crew. Tough to stomach at times ('Fried Jap going down,' chimes Tobias after scoring a hit), but generally exciting, well done. | tt0035616 | John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, Charles Drake, Harry Carey, George Tobias, Faye Emerson | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Air Force One | 1997 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★★ | 124 | Supercharged thriller about brutal Kazakhstani terrorists taking over Air Force One and holding the President, his family, and his entourage hostage in midair. Intense, violent, edge-of-your-seat popcorn fodder, anchored by Ford as a two-fisted president who's not afraid to fight. Requires the usual suspension of disbelief, but pays back in spades. Thundering score by Jerry Goldsmith. | tt0118571 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Dean Stockwell, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews, Xander Berkeley, Bill Smitrovich, Elya Baskin, Jürgen Prochnow | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Air Hawks | 1935 | Albert S. Rogell. | ★★½ | 68 | Just when you think you know where this movie about barnstorming pilots is headed, it goes completely screwy, bringing in a mad scientist, a disintegration ray, a mysterious Mr. Big behind all the scheming, and real-life pilot extraordinaire Wiley Post! A fun, fast-paced B movie with plenty of surprises to go along with its expected clichés. Post, of course, died in a crash later that year with Will Rogers. | tt0026047 | Ralph Bellamy, Tala Birell, Douglass Dumbrille, Robert Allen, Billie Seward, Victor Kilian, Geneva Mitchell, Edward Van Sloan | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Air I Breathe | 2008 | Jieho Lee | ★½ | 97 | Four overlapping, connect-the-dots storylines, based on a Chinese proverb and titled “Happiness,” “Pleasure,” “Sorrow,” and “Love,” comprise this mess of a movie. Starts out promisingly, as a disgruntled office drone (Whitaker) accidentally learns that a horse race has been fixed, then degenerates into a cartoonish train wreck. Pounding music score, jerky editing, and pretentious narration are no help. | tt0485851 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Clark Gregg, Emile Hirsch, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Hu, Evan Parke, Taylor Nichols, Victor Rivers, Jon Bernthal | U.S.-Mexican | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Air Raid Wardens | 1943 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 67 | Weak, later Laurel and Hardy comedy. One potentially good scene with slow-burn expert Kennedy doesn't meet expectations. | tt0035617 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Jacqueline White, Stephen McNally, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Air Up There | 1994 | Paul Michael Glaser | ★★ | 102 | Brash ex-hoopster with college coaching aspirations journeys to Africa in search of the perfect prospect, leading to the standard culture-clashing situations one might expect. As affably minor as director Glaser's previous THE CUTTING EDGE, but not as deftly put together. | tt0109067 | [PG] | Kevin Bacon, Charles Gitonga Maina, Yolanda Vazquez, Winston Ntshona, Mabutho 'Kid' Sithole, Sean McCann, Dennis Patrick | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Airborne | 1993 | Rob Bowman | ★½ | 91 | Pedestrian teen film about a surfer who's shipped off to Cincinnati, where, away from the waves, he seeks to gain respect through his amazing skill on rollerblades. Tough skating for anyone but kids; some truly spectacular rollerblading stunts are the film's sole grace. | tt0106233 | [PG] | Shane McDermott, Seth Green, Brittney Powell, Edie McClurg, Patrick O'Brien, Chris Conrad | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Airheads | 1994 | Michael Lehmann | ★★ | 91 | Three metalheads with toy guns reluctantly take a rock radio station hostage, hoping to get play for their one existent demo tape. Not exactly the toughest subject to satirize, but the script is dull-witted anyway; fairly energetic direction and compact running time help a bit. | tt0109068 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Joe Mantegna, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Ernie Hudson, Amy Locane, Nina Siemaszko | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Airmail | 1932 | John Ford | ★★★ | 83 | Routine story of pioneer airmail pilots supercharged by fine aerial scenes and good cast. First-rate. From a Frank 'Spig' Wead story. | tt0022615 | Pat O'Brien, Ralph Bellamy, Russell Hopton, Slim Summerville, Frank Albertson, Gloria Stuart | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Airplane II: The Sequel | 1982 | Ken Finkleman | ★★½ | 85 | Mildly funny rehash of AIRPLANE (by a new writer-director), but can't match the quantity, or quality, of laughs in the original. Many cameos include Raymond Burr, Chuck Connors, Sonny Bono, Rip Torn. | tt0083530 | [PG] | Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, William Shatner, Chad Everett, David Paymer | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Airplane! | 1980 | Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | ★★★ | 86 | Very funny spoof of AIRPORT-type pictures (and Arthur Hailey's ZERO HOUR in particular), with a nonstop string of gags that holds up almost to the end (why carp?). Our favorite: the strange plight of Lt. Hurwitz. Stay tuned through final credits. Followed by a sequel. | tt0080339 | [PG] | Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Leslie Nielsen, Lorna Patterson, Stephen Stucker | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Airport | 1970 | George Seaton | ★★★½ | 137 | GRAND HOTEL plot formula reaches latter-day zenith in ultraslick, old-fashioned movie that entertains in spite of itself, detailing hectic winter night at metropolitan airport. Plastic performances dominate, with down-to-earth Kennedy, touching Stapleton, and nervous Heflin standing out. Helen Hayes won Oscar as impish stowaway. Based on the Arthur Hailey bestseller; followed by three sequels— so far. | tt0065377 | [G] | Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Van Heflin, Maureen Stapleton, Barry Nelson, Dana Wynter, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Hale, Gary Collins | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Airport '77 | 1977 | Jerry Jameson | ★★½ | 113 | All the clichés and stock characters are trucked out for another made-to-order disaster epic, not bad as these things go: Stewart's private luxury jet is sabotaged and sinks in the ocean, forcing daring rescue attempt. Lemmon brings conviction to his role as dedicated pilot. New footage added for network showing. | tt0075648 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Brenda Vaccaro, George Kennedy, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, Olivia de Havilland, Darren McGavin, Christopher Lee, Robert Foxworth, Robert Hooks, Monte Markham, Kathleen Quinlan, Gil Gerard, Pamela Bellwood, Arlene Golonka, M. Emmet Walsh, Chris Lemmon | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Airport 1975 | 1974 | Jack Smight | ★½ | 106 | Yet another jetliner disaster epic, not worth your time unless you get your kicks watching a Hollywood Squares-type cast that includes Helen Reddy as a (singing) nun. Swanson plays herself in her final film. Look quickly for Sharon Gless. | tt0071110 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Susan Clark, Helen Reddy, Gloria Swanson, Linda Blair, Dana Andrews, Sid Caesar, Myrna Loy, Nancy Olson, Roy Thinnes, Martha Scott | Drama, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Akeelah and the Bee | 2006 | Doug Atchison | ★★★ | 112 | Irresistible story of an 11-year-old black girl from L.A. who's learned to suppress her intelligence in order to get along at school . . . until a teacher and the principal discover her talent for spelling. They introduce her to a demanding coach (Fishburne), who, it turns out, can learn a few things from her. A feel-good movie that actually makes you feel good, told with heart (and canny precision) by writer-director Atchison. Palmer is wonderful as Akeelah. Fishburne also coproduced. | tt0437800 | [PG] | Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer, Curtis Armstrong, Tzi Ma, Lee Thompson Young, J. R. Villarreal | Drama | NULL | ||
| Akira | 1988 | Katsuhiro Otomo | ★★★ | 124 | Bloody and violent animated science-fiction feature based on Japanese comic-book novel. A group of motorcycle-riding teenagers living in post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo tries to stop one of the gang who has run amok after becoming empowered with telekinetic powers in a government experiment. Technically spectacular, with colorful animation somewhat derailed by confusing storytelling and a cryptic ending. A must-see for adult animation buffs. | tt0094625 | [R] | Voices of Jimmy Flanders, Drew Thomas, Lewis Lemay, Barbara Larsen, Stanley Gurd/Jr | Japanese | Adventure, Animation, Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Akira Kurosawa's Dreams | Dreams | 1990 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 120 | Eight vignettes— increasingly apocalyptic— as 'dreamt' by an 80-year-old widely regarded as the greatest living filmmaker of the era. Results vary in quality, though any three viewers are likely to rate the episodes in widely shuffled order. At least one— mountain climbers caught in an all-consuming blizzard— is vintage 'K.' Scorsese portrays Van Gogh in one segment. (Do you detect any Burt Lancaster in his speech patterns?) | tt0100998 | [PG] | Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Mieko Harada, Chishu Ryu, Hisashi Igawa, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Toshie Negishi, Martin Scorsese | Japanese | Fantasy | NULL |
| Aku Aku | 1961 | ★★½ | 86 | Documentary of anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl's trip to Easter Island and his encounters with the natives. | tt0142071 |
|
Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Al Capone | 1959 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 105 | Good latter-day gangster biography with Steiger tirading as scarfaced Capone; good supporting cast, bringing back memories of Cagney-Robinson-Bogart films of the '30s. | tt0052543 | Rod Steiger, Fay Spain, James Gregory, Martin Balsam, Nehemiah Persoff, Murvyn Vye | Crime | NULL | |||
| Al Jennings of Oklahoma | 1951 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 79 | Modest Western enhanced by Duryea in title role of gangster who serves his time and goes straight; sporadic action. | tt0043272 | Dan Duryea, Gale Storm, Dick Foran, Gloria Henry | Western | NULL | |||
| Aladdin | 1992 | John Musker, Ron Clements | ★★★ | 90 | Disney's animated Arabian Nights tale is filtered through the sensibility of an old Warner Bros. cartoon, as Aladdin conjures up a Genie who's bursting with shtick. Williams' hilarious rapid-fire patter (with equally rapid-fire animation by Eric Goldberg) forms the centerpiece of this otherwise conventional story, colorfully (and tunefully) presented. Music and lyrics by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice; Oscar winner for Best Music Score (Menken) and Best Song ('A Whole New World,' by Menken and Rice). Followed by direct-to-video sequels, THE RETURN OF JAFAR, ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES, and an animated TV series. | tt0103639 | [G] | Voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale, Brad Kane, Lea Salonga | Animation, Family, Musical, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Aladdin and His Lamp | 1952 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 67 | Poppycock, based on the juvenile fable, that will bore even the least discriminating children. | tt0044340 | Patricia Medina, Richard Erdman, John Sands, Noreen Nash | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Alakazam the Great | 1961 | ★★½ | 84 | Japanese-made cartoon is good children's entertainment; story centers on magical monkey's ambitious adventures, from bullfight in the pit of a volcano to an epic battle with Hercules. | tt0054265 | Voices of Jonathan Winters, Frankie Avalon, Arnold Stang, Sterling Holloway | Animation, Family | NULL | ||||
| Alambrista! | 1977 | Robert M. Young | ★★★½ | 110 | Boyish, naive Ambriz illegally crosses the U.S.-Mexican border and is exploited as he seeks work to support his family. Touching, fresh, insightful; director Young's first feature. | tt0075654 | Domingo Ambriz, Trinidad Silva, Linda Gillin, Ned Beatty, Julius Harris, Paul Berrones, Edward James Olmos | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alamo Bay | 1985 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 98 | Well-made but strangely uninvolving film based on real-life conflict between Vietnamese immigrants and American fishermen on the Texas Gulf Coast. | tt0088689 | [R] | Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, Ho Nguyen, Donald Moffat, Truyer V. Tran, Rudy Young | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Alamo | 1960 | John Wayne | ★★★ | 161 | Long, and long-winded, saga of the Alamo, with plenty of historical name-dropping and speechifying. Worthwhile for final attack, a truly memorable movie spectacle. Fine score by Dimitri Tiomkin includes popular 'The Green Leaves of Summer.' Filmed on location in Brackettville, Texas. Cut by 26m. after its L.A. premiere; restored for home video reissue. | tt0053580 | John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Richard Boone, Carlos Arruza, Frankie Avalon, Pat Wayne, Linda Cristal, Chill Wills, Ken Curtis, Hank Worden, Denver Pyle, Olive Carey, Veda Ann Borg, John Dierkes, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams | Action, Adventure, Drama, War, Western | NULL | |||
| The Alamo | 2004 | John Lee Hancock | ★★★ | 135 | Impassioned re-creation of events leading up to the legendary 1836 siege in San Antonio, Texas; more accurate than earlier renderings of the story, it still struggles to deal with the many facets of this historical event. Cowriter-director Hancock stresses the human element and captures the defenders' nobility in defeat. Thornton is the heart and soul of the film as Davy Crockett, who wasn't larger than life but became a hero just the same. Battle scenes are especially well photographed, staged, and edited— and frighteningly believable. | tt0318974 | [PG-13] | Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson, Emilio Echeverría, Jordi Mollá, Leon Rippy, Marc Blucas, Rance Howard | Action, Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory | 1987 | Burt Kennedy | Average TV Movie | 145 | Clichéd rehash of the last days of Jim Bowie (Arness), Davy Crockett (Keith), Col. William Travis (Baldwin) and the valiant band of doomed Texans at the Alamo, with Lorne Greene doing a throwaway as Sam Houston. Raul Julia's flamboyant performance as Santa Anna and robust battle scenes filmed by John Elsenbach are on the plus side in this adaptation of J. Lon Tinkle's book, Thirteen Days to Glory. | tt0092527 | [NR] | James Arness, Brian Keith, Raul Julia, Alec Baldwin, Lorne Greene, Isela Vega, Gene Evans, David Ogden Stiers, Ethan Wayne | Drama, Action, Western, War | NULL | ||
| An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | 1998 | Alan Smithee (Arthur Hiller) | 💣 | 86 | Any film with Robert Evans and Billy Barty in its cast can't be ignored— but this leaden, sophomoric Hollywood satire ought to be. Idle plays a filmmaker named Alan Smithee— but since that's also the pseudonym directors must use when they don't want screen credit, he's stuck when he wants to disown his latest movie. As one character says of the film-within-a-film, 'It's worse than SHOWGIRLS.' The ultimate irony: this film's director, Arthur Hiller, removed his name after squabbling with writer-producer Joe Eszterhas. | tt0118577 | [R] | Ryan O'Neal, Eric Idle, Coolio, Chuck D, Richard Jeni, Leslie Stefanson, Sandra Bernhard, Harvey Weinstein, Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, Jackie Chan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Alarmist | 1998 | Evan Dunsky | ★★ | 93 | Offbeat but uneven black comedy about a novice door-to-door security alarm salesman (Arquette) who discovers that his boss and self-styled mentor (Tucci) actually breaks into people's homes to stir up business. Then the young man falls in love with his first customer (Capshaw). Never the sharp satire on modern paranoia it strives to be, though Tucci is terrific. Arquette's father Lewis and brother Richmond appear as his onscreen family. | tt0119534 | [R] | David Arquette, Stanley Tucci, Kate Capshaw, Mary McCormack, Ryan Reynolds, Tricia Vessey, Michael Learned | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Alaska | 1996 | Fraser C. Heston | ★★½ | 110 | Juvenile adventure yarn on a grand scale, as a brother and sister take off in search of their father and his downed airplane. Plotted like an old grade-B melodrama, but carried out with conviction against magnificent, snowy scenery . . . and featuring an irresistible polar bear who befriends the young people. Heston (whose son directed the picture) plays a mean, wily bad guy. | tt0115493 | [PG] | Thora Birch, Vincent Kartheiser, Dirk Benedict, Charlton Heston, Duncan Fraser, Gordon Tootoosis | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Alaska Seas | 1954 | Jerry Hopper | ★★ | 78 | Crooks will be crooks, in insipid tale of north-country salmon canner who regrets rehiring former partner, now an ex-con. Remake of SPAWN OF THE NORTH. | tt0046692 | Robert Ryan, Jan Sterling, Brian Keith, Gene Barry, Ross Bagdasarian | Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Albatross | 2011 | Niall MacCormick | ★★½ | 90 | Rebellious, sexy 17-year-old (Findlay) takes a job as a maid at a seaside B&B on the coast of England and is soon taking writing lessons from—and sleeping with—the owner (Koch), a frustrated middle-aged author married to a bitter ex-actress (Ormond), while also befriending their bookish young daughter (Jones). Strong performances and striking scenery (shot on the Isle of Man) help overcome the predictable coming-of-age plot and the awkward shifts between comedy and melodrama. | tt1541149 | Sebastian Koch, Julia Ormond, Felicity Jones, Jessica Brown Findlay, Peter Vaughan, Harry Treadaway, Thomas Brodie Sangster | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Albert Nobbs | 2011 | Rodrigo García | ★★★ | 113 | At a shabby-genteel hotel in Victorian Dublin, the hall butler Albert Nobbs (Close) quietly goes about his daily routine; no one suspects he is actually a woman living as a man. Then circumstances cause Albert to think about possibilities for a better, more satisfying life he never dared to dream of. Lovingly rendered period piece is exceptionally well cast, with Close's tour de force matched by McTeer's. Close cowrote the script (from an off-Broadway play she first performed in 1982) and a song heard over the closing credits, sung by Sinéad O'Connor. | tt1602098 | [R] | Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Phyllida Law | U.S.-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Albino Alligator | 1997 | Kevin Spacey | ★★ | 97 | Disappointing chamber piece about a trio of dysfunctional criminals who hide out in a basement bar in New Orleans, inadvertently initiating a hostage siege. Meanwhile, the Feds gather outside, thinking a much more dangerous (and wanted) criminal is holed up inside. Spacey's directorial debut presents a good cast and gets off to a good start, but it sputters to a dramatic halt halfway through. | tt0115495 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M. Emmet Walsh, Joe Mantegna, Frankie Faison, Melinda McGraw | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Albuquerque | 1948 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 89 | Good Western for Scott fans, with young man finally rebelling against overly strict uncle. | tt0040082 | Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Lon Chaney/Jr., Russell Hayden | Western | NULL | |||
| Alcatraz Island | 1937 | William McGann. | ★★ | 64 | Watchable Warner Bros. prison yarn with Litel a racketeer sent up on a tax rap, trying to keep innocent daughter Sheridan unaware of his criminal activities. | tt0028564 | John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Addison Richards, Mary Maguire, George E. Stone, Dick Purcell, Ben Welden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alex & Emma | 2003 | Rob Reiner | ★★ | 96 | Anemic romantic comedy about a novelist who has 30 days to complete a manuscript and his budding relationship with the stenographer he hires to help him do the job. She also turns up, in various guises, as we see his fantasy vision of the story— set in the 1920s— unfold. The two leads are OK, but the big laughs never come. Inspired, believe it or not, by real-life experiences of Feodor Dostoyevsky while he was writing The Gambler. | tt0318283 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, Luke Wilson, Sophie Marceau, David Paymer, Rob Reiner, François Giroday, Lobo Sebastian, Cloris Leachman, Rip Taylor | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker | 2006 | Geoffrey Sax | ★½ | 93 | When his superspy uncle dies under mysterious circumstances, young Alex is thrust into the world of the British Secret Service and must foil a plot to take over the world's supercomputers. Based on the first of Anthony Horowitz's best-selling books, this could have been a clever junior James Bond outing but gets caught up in its own cuteness. Takes off in unattractive directions and comes up a big double-zero. Original British title: STORMBREAKER. | tt0457495 | [PG] | Alex Pettyfer, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Damian Lewis, Bill Nighy, Ewan McGregor, Sophie Okonedo, Mickey Rourke, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, Ashley Walters, Sarah Bolger, Missi Pyle | British-German | Action, Adventure, Family | NULL | |
| Alex and the Gypsy | 1976 | John Korty | ★★½ | 99 | Meandering story of romance between bailbondsman Lemmon and gypsy Bujold who's accused of attempted murder. Some interesting ideas lost in the muddle of an indecisive film. | tt0074112 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Geneviève Bujold, James Woods, Gino Ardito, Robert Emhardt, Titos Vandis | Action | NULL | ||
| Alex in Wonderland | 1970 | Paul Mazursky | ★★ | 109 | Camera follows young film director Sutherland through tedium of his everyday life. Self-indulgent imitation of Fellini (who appears briefly) caused some wags to dub this film 11/2. Burstyn stands out as Sutherland's wife. | tt0065380 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn, Viola Spolin, Federico Fellini, Jeanne Moreau | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Alexander | 2004 | Oliver Stone. | ★½ | 175 | Lumbering historical epic about the life of Alexander the Great, as dictated some years after his demise by Ptolemy. Attempt to explore the many conflicts— from the moment of his birth onward— that shaped this fabled warrior sheds very little light and makes one wish the elephants who attack in a climactic scene would do their worst. Only Jolie, as Alexander's mother, Olympias, brings any spark to the film. Perhaps the first Oliver Stone movie one can honestly describe as boring. | tt0346491 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Christopher Plummer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brian Blessed, Tim Pigott-Smith. | French-British-Dutch | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Alexander Hamilton | 1931 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 73 | Arliss cowrote the story for this vehicle that focuses on one crucial period in the political (and personal) life of the American patriot, who refuses to surrender his ideals. Typical Arliss theatrics, and enjoyable. | tt0021595 | George Arliss, Doris Kenyon, Montagu Love, Dudley Digges, June Collyer, Alan Mowbray | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alexander Nevsky | Aleksandr Nevsky | 1938 | Sergei Eisenstein | ★★★★ | 107 | Epic tale of Cherkassov and Russian army repelling German invasion during the 13th century, a disturbing parallel to world situation at time of production. Magnificently visualized battle sequences, wonderful Prokofiev score. A masterpiece. | tt0029850 | Nikolai Cherkassov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Alexander Abrikossov, Dmitri Orlov, Vassily Novikov | Russian | War | NULL | |
| Alexander the Great | 1956 | Robert Rossen | ★★★ | 141 | Remarkable cast, intelligent acting, but a static epic, lacking essential sweep to make tale of Greek conqueror moving. | tt0048937 | Richard Burton, Fredric March, Claire Bloom, Danielle Darrieux, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, Michael Hordern, Helmut Dantine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alexander's Ragtime Band | 1938 | Henry King | ★★★ | 105 | Corny but entertaining musical chronicling the professional and romantic ups and downs of hot-headed aristocrat bandleader Power, nice-guy pianist-composer Ameche, and tough-but-vulnerable singer Faye (in one of her best performances). Sparked by Irving Berlin songs 'Blue Skies,' 'Easter Parade,' title tune. | tt0029852 | Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, Jack Haley, Jean Hersholt, Helen Westley, John Carradine | Musical | NULL | |||
| Alfie | 1966 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★½ | 114 | Well-turned version of Bill Naughton play (he also scripted). Caine is superb as philandering Cockney playboy who can't decide if bachelor life is so bloody marvelous. Cher sings title tune. Followed by ALFIE DARLING. Remade in 2004. | tt0060086 | Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Shirley Anne Field, Vivien Merchant, Eleanor Bron, Denholm Elliott, Alfie Bass, Graham Stark, Murray Melvin | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Alfie | 2004 | Charles Shyer | ★★½ | 106 | N.Y.C. limo driver Alfie, an ex-Londoner, loves women but only on his own terms, meaning sex when he feels like it without any strings attached . . . but lately he's starting to think there may be something missing in his life. Law is saucy, the women are well cast, but it doesn't add up to much, especially compared to the 1966 original, which was darker and more misogynistic. | tt0375173 | [R] | Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Jane Krakowski, Sienna Miller, Susan Sarandon, Renee Taylor, Dick Latessa, Gedde Watanabe | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Alfie Darling | Oh, Alfie | 1975 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 102 | Forgettable sequel to ALFIE, with Price a most inadequate replacement for Michael Caine. This time around our hero falls for a chic magazine editor. Video title: OH, ALFIE. | tt0072623 | Alan Price, Jill Townsend, Joan Collins, Annie Ross, Sheila White, Rula Lenska | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Alfred the Great | 1969 | Clive Donner | ★★ | 122 | Story of young leader of 9th-century England can't decide if it's a serious historical chronicle or broad swashbuckler; succeeds in neither department. Only highlight is series of meticulously filmed battle scenes; otherwise, ambitious script is boring. McKellen's film debut. | tt0064000 | [M] | David Hemmings, Michael York, Prunella Ransome, Colin Blakely, Julian Glover, Ian McKellen | British | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Alfredo, Alfredo | 1972 | Pietro Germi | ★½ | 98 | All-too-typical Italian comedy about a milquetoast who wins and weds a sexy woman, only to regret his conquest. Sole interest is observing Hoffman in this unusual setting (with a dubbed voice!). Originally 110m. | tt0068189 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Stefania Sandrelli, Carla Gravina, Clara Colosimo, Daniele Patella, Duilio Del Prete | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Algiers | 1938 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 95 | Alan Hale, Gene Lockhart, Johnny Downs, Paul Harvey. Boyer as Pepe Le Moko falls in love with alluring Lamarr visiting Casbah district of Algiers: Calleia as police official, Lockhart as informer, stand out in well-cast romance. Remake of French PEPE LE MOKO, remade as CASBAH. | tt0029855 | Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, Hedy Lamarr, Joseph Calleia | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ali | 2001 | Michael Mann | ★★½ | 158 | Disappointing bio of the extraordinary prizefighter, born Cassius Clay, covering the years 1964 to 1974. Despite its length, film is surprisingly sketchy; we learn very little about the man except his conversion to Islam and his determination to win in the ring. The 'Rumble in the Jungle' finale, which ought to be triumphant, plays out as just one more fight, since we've seen so many others reenacted by then. Smith does a good job— but the real Ali was even more charismatic. Director's cut runs 165m. | tt0248667 | [R] | Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, Mykelti Williamson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Bruce McGill, Barry 'Shabaka' Henley, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Mason, LeVar Burton | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ali Baba Goes to Town | 1937 | David Butler | ★★★ | 81 | Entertaining musical comedy sends Cantor back in time but retains topical jokes of 1937; nice production with Cantor in top form. Ends with modern-day movie premiere and glimpses of many stars, from Shirley Temple to Tyrone Power. | tt0028566 | Eddie Cantor, Tony Martin, Roland Young, June Lang, John Carradine, Gypsy Rose Lee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | 1944 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 87 | Straightforward retelling of classic Arabian Nights story, with young Ali (Beckett) pledging his love to young princess, then witnessing his father's betrayal and murder. He hides out with the Forty Thieves and returns years later to save the same princess from a forced marriage to Mongol plunderer Hulagu Khan (Katch). Lavish, exquisite production design and costumes in glorious Technicolor. The stars are beautiful, too! Remade (with stock footage) as SWORD OF ALI BABA (1965). | tt0036591 | Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Turhan Bey, Andy Devine, Kurt Katch, Frank Puglia, Fortunio Bonanova, Scotty Beckett, Ramsay Ames | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Ali G Indahouse | 2002 | Mark Mylod | ★★½ | 88 | Before he brought Borat to the big screen, Baron Cohen's other TV alter ego made his feature debut in this raunchy farce in which the white British gangsta-rapper wannabe searches for 'realness' and 'respek' while trying to thwart a plot to overthrow the Prime Minister. Silly, scatological, and tasteless, but also sometimes sharply satirical and quite funny. And keep an eye out for a quick cameo by Borat. Released direct to video in the U.S. | tt0284837 | [R] | Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Gambon, Charles Dance, Kellie Bright, Martin Freeman, Rhona Mitra, Barbara New, Emilio Rivera | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Ali-Fear Eats the Soul | Angst essen Seele auf | 1974 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 94 | Widow Mira, in her 60s, falls in love with and marries an Arab 30 years her junior. Interesting, quietly effective Fassbinder film, a remake of Douglas Sirk's ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS. | tt0071141 | Brigitte Mira, El Hedi Ben Salem, Barbara Valentin, Irm Hermann, Rainer Werner Fassbinder | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Alias Betty | 2001 | Claude Miller | ★★½ | 101 | So-so drama-thriller charting the spiraling events that occur when a little boy dies in an accident and his emotionally disconnected grandmother kidnaps another child to take his place. Opening scenes are riveting, but story bogs down as it gets involved with too many extraneous characters. Based on the Ruth Rendell novel The Tree of Hands. | tt0269329 | Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia, Mathilde Seigner, Luck Mervil, Edouard Baer, Stéphane Freiss. | French-Canadian | Crime | NULL | ||
| Alias Boston Blackie | 1942 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 67 | When Blackie stages a magic act as part of a prison Christmas show, an innocent con (Parks) escapes to track down the men who framed him. (Incidentally, Morris was a magic enthusiast in real life.) Look fast for Lloyd Bridges as a bus driver. | tt0034445 | Chester Morris, Adele Mara, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Walter Sande, Larry Parks | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Alias Jesse James | 1959 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 92 | One of Hope's funniest has him an insurance salesman out West, mistaken for sharpshooter. Fleming is a lovely Western belle; the two do a cute song together. Many guests appear at the climax. | tt0052545 | Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey, Jim Davis, Gloria Talbott | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Alias John Preston | 1956 | David MacDonald. | ★★ | 66 | Wealthy Preston (Lee) buys a business and land in a small English city and soon begins courting St. John, upsetting her longtime beau (Grant). Then psychoanalyst Knox discovers that Lee is hiding a dark secret, even from himself. Low-key, intelligent psychological drama is well played but takes too long to get going. An early starring role for Lee. | tt0048938 | Alexander Knox, Betta St. John, Christopher Lee, Peter Grant, John Longden, Betty Ann Davies, Bill Fraser, Sandra Dorne, Patrick Holt. | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Alias Nick Beal | 1949 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 93 | Allegory of Devil (Milland) corrupting honest politician Mitchell with help of trollop Totter. Interesting drama with unusually sinister Milland. | tt0041107 | Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell, George Macready, Fred Clark | Mystery, Drama | NULL | |||
| Alias a Gentleman | 1948 | Harry Beaumont | ★★ | 76 | Minor saga of aging jailbird who doesn't want to see his daughter involved with shady characters like himself. | tt0040085 | Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, Dorothy Patrick, Gladys George, Leon Ames | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Alias the Doctor | 1932 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★½ | 62 | Austrian medical student, in love with his foster sister, wants to be a farmer but takes the rap for ne'er-do-well foster brother's illegal operation. When he gets out of jail, he assumes his brother's identity, then has to operate to save the life of his foster mom! Contrived pre-Code melodrama is notable for stylish display of Teutonic expressionism by Curtiz and art director Anton Grot. Boris Karloff is said to have a small role, but we couldn't find him. | tt0022619 | Richard Barthelmess, Marian Marsh, Lucille La Verne, Norman Foster, Adrienne Dore, Oscar Apfel, Claire Dodd | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alibi | 1929 | Roland West | ★★ | 84 | Creaky, early-talkie gangster melodrama about a hood (Morris), just released from jail, who feigns honesty, weds a police sergeant's daughter, and then is suspected of killing a cop. Highly regarded in its time— this earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Actor— it pales beside such bona-fide classics as THE PUBLIC ENEMY and LITTLE CAESAR. Still, it's of note for its striking visuals and sets. | tt0019630 | Chester Morris, Harry Stubbs, Mae Busch, Eleanor Griffith, Irma Harrison, Regis Toomey, Al Hill | Crime | NULL | |||
| Alibi Ike | 1935 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 73 | Brown is aces as the title character, a brash Chicago Cubs rookie hurler who's always ready with excuses for his mistakes. He becomes involved with pretty de Havilland, and tangles with gamblers who try to bribe him. Based on a story by Ring Lardner; the last of Brown's baseball trilogy, following FIREMAN, SAVE MY CHILD and ELMER THE GREAT. | tt0026055 | Joe E. Brown, Olivia de Havilland, William Frawley, Ruth Donnelly, Roscoe Karns | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Alice | 1990 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 106 | One of Woody's 'chamber films' with Farrow as the mousy, pampered wife of wealthy Hurt, trying to find herself, and contemplating the unthinkable— an extramarital affair. With that cast, it's certainly watchable, but the whimsy seems forced, the story overly familiar. Even Allen's usually infallible choice of soundtrack music is heavy-handed. Nice screen farewell for character actor Keye Luke, however. Judith Ivey has an unbilled cameo. | tt0099012 | [PG-13] | Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Judy Davis, William Hurt, Keye Luke, Joe Mantegna, Bernadette Peters, Cybill Shepherd, Gwen Verdon, Patrick O'Neal, Julie Kavner, Caroline Aaron, Holland Taylor, Robin Bartlett, Bob Balaban, Elle Macpherson | Romance, Drama, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Alice Adams | 1935 | George Stevens | ★★★½ | 99 | Excellent small-town Americana with social-climbing girl finally finding love in person of unpretentious MacMurray. Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize- winning novel becomes fine film, if not altogether credible. The dinner-table scene is unforgettable. Screenplay by Dorothy Yost, Mortimer Offner, and Jane Murfin. Filmed before in 1923. | tt0026056 | Katharine Hepburn, Fred MacMurray, Fred Stone, Evelyn Venable, Ann Shoemaker, Frank Albertson, Hattie McDaniel, Charley Grapewin, Grady Sutton, Hedda Hopper | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | 1974 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 113 | Excellent look at a woman's odyssey to find herself and some measure of happiness after her husband dies, leaving her and a young son penniless. Kristofferson is gentle, well-meaning man who tries to win her love. Burstyn won well-deserved Oscar for Best Actress. Rich screenplay by Robert Getchell. Look very carefully in the final diner scene for Ladd's daughter Laura Dern eating ice cream cone at counter. Later reworked into a long-running TV sitcom called Alice. | tt0071115 | [PG] | Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Green Bush, Alfred Lutter, Diane Ladd, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Vic Tayback, Valerie Curtin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Alice and Martin | 1998 | André Téchiné | ★★ | 123 | A young man, tormented by his childhood, meets his half-brother's companion (Binoche), who is drawn to him in spite of his severe emotional wounds. His troubled past is gradually revealed in flashbacks, but it's difficult to care about him or his future in this off-putting film. | tt0176422 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, Alexis Loret, Mathieu Amalric, Carmen Maura, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Marthe Villalonga | French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Alice in Wonderland | 1933 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 77 | Top Paramount stars appear, disguised as Lewis Carroll characters, in this slow-moving adaptation of the classic story. Fascinating for its casting— Cooper as White Knight, Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Grant as Mock Turtle— but, overall, a bore. Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies. | tt0023753 | Charlotte Henry, Richard Arlen, Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields, Cary Grant, Edward Everett Horton, Baby LeRoy, Edna May Oliver, Jack Oakie | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Alice in Wonderland | 1950 | Dallas Bower | ★★ | 83 | Static adaptation of Lewis Carroll classic with gimmick of mixing live action and puppets; most of the wit and charm are missing. | tt0042189 | Carol Marsh, Stephen Murray, Pamela Brown, Felix Aylmer, Ernest Milton | British | Family, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Alice in Wonderland | 1951 | Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson | ★★★ | 75 | Entertaining, if somewhat aloof, rendering of Lewis Carroll's classic, with the Walt Disney animation team at its best bringing the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter to life. Episodic film is given major boost by strong personalities of Wynn, Colonna, Holloway, et al., and such tunes as 'I'm Late' and 'The Unbirthday Song.' | tt0043274 | Voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, Bill Thompson | Drama, Family, Animation, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Alice in Wonderland | 2010 | Tim Burton | ★★★ | 108 | Reinvention of Lewis Carroll's story (by Linda Woolverton, who wrote Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) has Alice as a willful 19-year-old who, faced with a loveless marriage, falls down a rabbit hole to "Underland," forgetting that she's been there before. Eventually she'll have to find both inner and outer strength to save the kingdom. Imaginative, if inconsistent, this ambitious visualization is anchored by Wasikowska's likable performance as Alice and sparked by a hilarious Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. 3-D. | tt1014759 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Marton Csokas, Tim Pigott-Smith; voices of Michasel Sheen, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Barbara Windsor, Paul Whitehouse, Timothy Spall, Christopher Lee, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gough | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Alice in the Cities | 1974 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 110 | After wandering aimlessly across America, alienated journalist Vogler meets a woman— and finds himself saddled with her 9-year-old daughter when she mysteriously disappears. Intelligent, often hypnotic film reflects on the effect of American pop culture on postwar Europeans. The first in Wenders' 'road movie' trilogy, followed by WRONG MOVE and KINGS OF THE ROAD. | tt0069687 | Rudiger Vogler, Yella Rottlander, Lisa Kreuzer, Chuck Berry | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | 1972 | William Sterling | ★½ | 96 | Tedious British film version of Lewis Carroll's classic proves Americans don't have a monopoly on making bad children's musicals. Waste of a good cast. | tt0068190 | [G] | Fiona Fullerton, Michael Crawford, Ralph Richardson, Flora Robson, Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore, Michael Jayston | Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Alice's Restaurant | 1969 | Arthur Penn | ★★★ | 111 | Guthrie's popular record inspired this odd blend of satire, whimsy, melodrama, and social commentary. Generally fun, with quizzically downbeat ending, showing freeform lifestyle of group of friends headed by Broderick and Quinn (as Alice). Also shown in PG-rated version. | tt0064002 | [R] | Arlo Guthrie, Pat Quinn, James Broderick, Michael McClanathan, Geoff Outlaw, Tina Chen | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Alien | 1979 | Ridley Scott | ★★★½ | 117 | Commercial spacecraft unwittingly takes on an alien being that wreaks merciless havoc on the crew. Space-age horror film reverts to 1950s formula, but unfolds at a deliberate pace, populates the story with interesting, colorful characters, and plants its (genuine) shock moments with exceptional skill. Imitated but seldom equaled. Screenplay by Dan O'Bannon, from his and Ronald Shusett's story; inspired by IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. For 2003 reissue, Scott trimmed some material and added 41/2m. of new footage, resulting in a 115m. movie. Followed by ALIENS. | tt0078748 | [R] | Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright | Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Alien 3 | 1992 | David Fincher | ★★ | 115 | More-of-the-same sequel has Weaver and other survivors of ALIENS on isolated prison planet where (you guessed it) the alien regenerates itself and runs amok. Good performances, some scares, but a definite feeling of déjà vu hangs over the proceedings. Special edition runs 144m. Followed by ALIEN RESURRECTION. | tt0103644 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Paul McGann, Brian Glover, Ralph Brown, Danny Webb, Lance Henriksen, Pete Postlethwaite | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alien From L.A. | 1987 | Albert Pyun | ★½ | 87 | California Valley Girl falls down hole, finds herself in the lost city of Atlantis. As silly as it sounds. | tt0092532 | [PG] | Kathy Ireland, Thom Matthews, William R. Moses, Don Michael Paul, Richard Haines, Linda Kerridge, Janie du Plessis | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alien Nation | 1988 | Graham Baker | ★★½ | 94 | In the near future, a race of odd-looking aliens is slowly (and grudgingly) being integrated into society. World-weary L.A. cop Caan agrees to take one on as his partner, so he can track down the alien who killed his former sidekick. A great concept that doesn't quite pay off, despite many clever touches and terrific performances by Caan and Patinkin. Followed by a TV series and three made-for-TV movies. | tt0094631 | [R] | James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevin Major Howard, Leslie Bevis | Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alien Resurrection | 1997 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | ★★ | 108 |
Two hundred years after ALIEN |
tt0118583 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan, Michael Wincott, Kim Flowers, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif | Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Alien Thunder | Dan Candy's Law | 1973 | Claude Fournier | ★★ | 90 | Mountie Sutherland chases Cree Indian accused of a sergeant's murder in this handsome but tedious actioner. Video title: DAN CANDY'S LAW. | tt0069688 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Kevin McCarthy, Chief Dan George, Jean Duceppe, Jack Creely, Francine Racette | Canadian | Western | NULL |
| Alien Trespass | 2009 | R. W. Goodwin | ★★½ | 88 | Amusing straight-faced spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies has a spacecraft crash-landing just outside a typical American town; before long an unseen force overtakes many of the residents, including pipe-smoking scientist McCormack. It's all been parodied before but this amiable film gets the look and feel just right. Opens with a faux newsreel that sets up the movie as a long-lost nugget of film history. | tt1122836 | [PG] | Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick, Jody Thompson, Dan Lauria, Aaron Brooks, Sarah Smyth | Canadian | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Alien vs. Predator | AVP: Alien vs. Predator | 2004 | Paul W. S. Anderson. | ★½ | 101 | Lame attempt to attract fans of the ALIEN and PREDATOR films, with the scenario involving an archeological expedition to the ends of the earth, a bizarre underground world, and the presence of the deadly ALIEN and PREDATOR monsters. A waste. 'Extended' version on DVD is one minute longer! Aka AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR. | tt0370263 | [PG-13] | Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon, Tommy Flanagan, Joseph Rye, Agathe de la Boulaye, Carsten Norgaard. | Czech-British-German-U.S. | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Alienator | 1989 | Fred Olen Ray | ★★ | 92 | Gimlet-eyed Vincent, a cruel alien prison warden, sends unstoppable, Amazonian 'hunter unit' Teagan after fugitive Hagen, who's crash-landed on Earth. OK sci-fi from the prolific Ray, with a great B movie cast, but looks like two movies overlapping. | tt0096786 | [R] | Jan-Michael Vincent, John Phillip Law, Ross Hagen, Teagan, Dyann Ortelli, Jesse Dabson, Dawn Wildsmith, P. J. Soles, Robert Clarke, Richard Wiley, Leo V. Gordon, Robert Quarry | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Aliens | 1986 | James Cameron | ★★★½ | 137 | Weaver, the sole human survivor from ALIEN, returns to planet that spawned the yukky creatures with a Marine squadron that's ready to wipe them out. Intense, exciting sequel directed by Cameron the same way he did THE TERMINATOR— once it gets going there's just no letup! Weaver is sensational in compelling lead role. The special effects won an Oscar. 'Director's cut' version runs 154m. Followed by ALIEN 3. | tt0090605 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Aliens in the Attic | 2009 | John Schultz | ★★ | 86 | Close encounters of the frenetic kind ensue when youngsters vacationing with their parents find pint-sized extraterrestrials—advance scouts for a full-scale alien invasion—have taken over the upper floor of their summer home. Funniest scenes involve wild and crazy behavior by older vacationers, including a doting grandmother (Roberts) and a lecherous boyfriend (Hoffman). The aliens' resemblance to the critters from GREMLINS surely isn't coincidental. | tt0775552 | [PG] | Carter Jenkins, Kevin Nealon, Robert Hoffman, Doris Roberts, Tim Meadows, Ashley Tisdale, Austin Butler; voices of Thomas Haden Church, J. K. Simmons, Kari Wahlgren, Josh Peck | Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Aliens vs. Predator�Requiem | 2007 | The Brothers Strause | ★★ | 94 | Follow-up to 2004’s monster matchup brings the iconic extraterrestrials together for an earthbound smackdown in a small Colorado town. More graphically violent, yet significantly less atmospheric, than ALIEN VS. PREDATOR, sequel offers undemanding, occasionally exciting B-movie thrills. Expectant mothers might do well to avert their eyes during an ingeniously creepy maternity-ward sequence. Full significance of the final scene will be lost on anyone not intimately familiar with arcane aspects of the ALIEN movie mythos. Unrated version runs 101m. | tt0758730 | [R] | Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Robert Joy | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alimony | 1949 | Alfred Zeisler. | ★★ | 70 | Final work by a minor German expatriate director typecasts pouty Vickers as a professional schemer who lures, weds, and dumps (formerly) successful men, all for cold cash. Her latest target: tormented songwriter Beal. Sordid but uninspired time killer. | tt0041109 | Martha Vickers, John Beal, Hillary Brooke, Laurie Lind, Douglass Dumbrille, James Guilfoyle, Marie Blake, Leonid Kinskey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alive | 1993 | Frank Marshall | ★★★ | 125 | Queasy movie about the rugby team that survived 72 days in the Andes Mountains when their plane crashed on its way from Uruguay to Chile. A half-good movie encumbered by clunky dialogue (or its delivery)— but physically impressive beyond the astonishing particulars of its story (which involves cannibalism). Unquestionably the most chilling portrayal of a plane crash in movie history. Scripted by John Patrick Shanley, from the book by Piers Paul Read. John Malkovich appears unbilled. Same story previously filmed as SURVIVE! | tt0106246 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton, Bruce Ramsay, John Haymes Newton, David Kriegel, Kevin Breznahan, Sam Behrens, Illeana Douglas, Jack Noseworthy | Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Alive and Kicking | Indian Summer | 1997 | Nancy Meckler | ★★★ | 98 | Martin Sherman (author of the play Bent) scripted this touching drama about a self-involved gay dancer (Flemyng) who refuses to let the fact that he is afflicted with AIDS disrupt his career; he also becomes romantically involved with a therapist (Sher) who treats HIV-positive patients. The scenario may be familiar, but it's sincere and extremely well acted, and the world of dance is nicely rendered. Original British title: INDIAN SUMMER. | tt0116631 | [R] | Jason Flemyng, Antony Sher, Dorothy Tutin, Anthony Higgins, Bill Nighy, Philip Voss, Diane Parish | British | Comedy | NULL |
| All About Eve | 1950 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★★ | 138 | Brilliantly sophisticated (and cynical) look at life in and around the theater, with a heaven-sent script by director Mankiewicz (based on the story 'The Wisdom of Eve' by Mary Orr). Davis is absolutely perfect as an aging star who takes in an adoring fan (Baxter) and soon discovers that the young woman is taking over her life. Witty dialogue to spare, especially great when spoken by Sanders and Ritter. Six Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor (Sanders). Later musicalized on Broadway as Applause. | tt0042192 | Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Gary Merrill, Thelma Ritter, Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Marlowe, Gregory Ratoff | Drama | NULL | |||
| All About My Mother | Todo sobre mi madre | 1999 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★½ | 101 | When a woman loses her son, she returns to Barcelona, rekindles a dormant friendship with a transvestite pal, and becomes involved with a stage actress her son admired. Almodóvar's most moving film to date— more serious than most, but not without his trademark humor— and distinguished by exceptional performances all around. A paean to women, in real life and on stage and film. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. | tt0185125 | [R] | Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Antonia San Juan, Candela Peñta, Rosa Maria Sardá, Eloy Azorin | Spanish-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| All About Steve | 2009 | Phil Traill | ★½ | 98 | Blond Bullock plays a relentlessly perky woman who creates crossword puzzles for a living and becomes obsessed with TV news cameraman Cooper. In fact, she stalks him around the country as he follows a variety of breaking news stories with his ego-driven lunkhead reporter (Church). Slim pickings for comedy in this script, which seems to advocate empowerment for loonies like Bullock's character! | tt0881891 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong, DJ Qualls, Keith David, Howard Hesseman, Beth Grant, Katy Mixon, M. C. Gainey, Jason Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| All About the Benjamins | 2002 | Kevin Bray | ★★ | 98 | Miami bounty hunter is determined to bring in petty con man Epps, but they both get caught in the cross fire of a diamond theft gone haywire. Attempt at an action-comedy in the 48HRS vein benefits from Epps' nonstop chatter, but doesn't sustain its thin, worn-out premise. Ice Cube cowrote the screenplay. | tt0278295 | [R] | Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Eva Mendes, Tommy Flanagan, Carmen Chaplin, Valarie Rae Miller, Roger Guenveur Smith, Anthony Michael Hall | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| All American | 1953 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★ | 83 | Ordinary drama in which college football hero Curtis gives up the game after his parents' death and accepts an architecture scholarship at a snooty Ivy League-type school. Of note for appearances of several all-Americans (including Frank Gifford). Look fast for football great Tom Harmon in the announcing booth. | tt0045490 | Tony Curtis, Lori Nelson, Richard Long, Mamie Van Doren, Gregg Palmer, Stuart Whitman | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| All Ashore | 1953 | Richard Quine | ★½ | 80 | Musical yarn of three gobs on shore leave finding gals, sinks despite Rooney's sprightly spirit. | tt0045491 | Mickey Rooney, Dick Haymes, Peggy Ryan, Ray MacDonald | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| All Creatures Great and Small | 1974 | Claude Whatham. | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | Gentle drama about rural English life, taken from James Herriot's autobiographical best-sellers (If Only They Could Talkand It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet). Ward plays the author in his younger days as apprentice to an eccentric veterinarian, wonderfully acted by Hopkins. Rich period piece. Script by Hugh Whitemore. Followed by a British TVseries. Sequel: ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. | tt0071118 | Simon Ward, Anthony Hopkins, Lisa Harrow, Brian Stirner, Freddie Jones, T. P. McKenna. | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| All Dogs Go to Heaven | 1989 | Don Bluth | ★½ | 85 | Bluth's colorful animation is only saving grace of this downbeat musical cartoon about an orphan 'adopted' by an unlovable mutt (Reynolds) who has returned from heaven to do a good deed. Misguided film has some good moments (a musical sequence with a Cajun alligator), but hurt by unappealing characters, confused storytelling, and forgettable songs. Followed by three sequels and an animated TV series. | tt0096787 | [G] | Voices of Burt Reynolds, Loni Anderson, Judith Barsi, Dom DeLuise, Vic Tayback, Charles Nelson Reilly, Melba Moore | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 | 1996 | Paul Sebella, Larry Leker | ★★½ | 84 | Cartoon canine Charlie Barkin (Sheen), bored with life in heaven, volunteers a return to earth in an effort to retrieve Gabriel's horn, which was stolen by evil dog Carface (Borgnine). Big improvement over the first picture in terms of story and music, but fails to match the original's lush animation. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0115509 | [G] | Voices of Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, Dom DeLuise, Ernest Borgnine, George Hearn, Bebe Neuwirth, Adam Wylie, Dan Castellaneta, Wallace Shawn, Pat Corley, Bobby DiCicco, Jim Cummings, Maurice La Marche | U.S.-British | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | |
| All Fall Down | 1962 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 110 | Improbable but absorbing William Inge script about narcissistic young man (Beatty), his admiring younger brother (de Wilde), indulgent parents (Lansbury and Malden), and the older woman (Saint) with whom he becomes involved. Fine performances. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0055738 | Warren Beatty, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Angela Lansbury, Brandon de Wilde | Drama | NULL | |||
| All Good Things | 2010 | Andrew Jarecki | ★★ | 101 | Fictionalized account of real-life N.Y.C. Durst family and its headline-making scandals over several decades, beginning in 1971. Gosling, the son of real estate mogul Langella, falls in love with Dunst and marries her, hoping to avoid going into the family business, but his father forces the issue. That’s when the dark side of his character comes out. Well made and well acted, but it’s impossible to care much about the central character, an enigma from start to finish who perpetrates some truly nasty deeds. | tt1175709 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Philip Baker Hall, Kristen Wiig, Lily Rabe, John Cullum, Trini Alvarado, David Margolies, Michael Esper, Diane Venora, Nick Offerman, Stephen Kunken | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| All Hands on Deck | 1961 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 98 | Innocuous musical comedy of free-wheeling sailors, Boone and Hackett, is lightweight entertainment. | tt0054613 | Pat Boone, Buddy Hackett, Dennis O'Keefe, Barbara Eden | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| All I Desire | 1953 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 79 | Family togetherness and home-town approval is answer to title, in period piece uplifted by Stanwyck's valiant performance as erring mother of three who returns to her husband. | tt0045492 | Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Lyle Bettger, Lori Nelson, Maureen O'Sullivan | Drama | NULL | |||
| All I Wanna Do | Strike! | 1998 | Sarah Kernochan | ★★★ | 97 | Clever, funny comedy with serious undertones about a girls' boarding school in 1963— in the years just before women's lib— where newcomer Hoffmann bonds with a group of mischief-makers. Good showcase for its talented young cast, though somehow this never got a wide theatrical release. Written by the director. Originally screened as STRIKE! | tt0120692 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Lynn Redgrave, Rachael Leigh Cook, Thomas Guiry, Vincent Kartheiser, Monica Keena, Matthew Lawrence, Heather Matarazzo, Hayden Christensen | Comedy | NULL | |
| All I Want | Try Seventeen | 2002 | Jeffrey Porter | ★★ | 92 | Strictly derivative coming-of-age comedy about a quirky teenage boy who moves into a boardinghouse peopled exclusively by eccentrics— including two women who show more than casual interest in him. Attractive cast makes this watchable, but it has too many echoes of other, better movies. Never released theatrically. Aka TRY SEVENTEEN. | tt0311941 | [R] | Elijah Wood, Franka Potente, Mandy Moore, Chris William Martin, Elizabeth Perkins, Deborah Harry, Aaron Pearl, Aloma Wright | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| All I Want for Christmas | 1991 | Robert Lieberman | ★½ | 92 | Slapdash tale of kids' efforts to get their divorced parents back together for the title holiday. A feel-good movie whose emotion seems as authentic as a plastic Christmas tree. A waste of time for all concerned (including Bacall, as the children's grandmother). | tt0101301 | [G] | Harley Jane Kozak, Jamey Sheridan, Ethan Embry, Kevin Nealon, Thora Birch, Leslie Nielsen, Lauren Bacall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| All Mine to Give | 1957 | Allen Reisner | ★★½ | 102 | Often touching story of pioneer family in Wisconsin determined to overcome all obstacles. | tt0050112 | Cameron Mitchell, Glynis Johns, Patty McCormack, Hope Emerson | Drama | NULL | |||
| All My Sons | 1948 | Irving Reis | ★★★ | 94 | Arthur Miller's compelling drama of returning soldier (Lancaster) discovering that his father (Robinson) cheated on a war matériel order, with tragic results. Post-WW2 drama is well acted, but verbose and preachy. | tt0040087 | Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Mady Christians, Louisa Horton, Howard Duff, Arlene Francis, Lloyd Gough, Harry Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| All Night Long | 1961 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 95 | Fair updating of Othello, about an interracial couple, a white singer and black bandleader, and their Iago, a drummer (amusingly played by McGoohan). Guest musicians include Dave Brubeck, Charlie Mingus, John Dankworth. | tt0054614 | Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, Betsy Blair, Keith Michell, Richard Attenborough | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| All Night Long | 1981 | Jean-Claude Tramont | ★★★½ | 88 | Married Hackman takes up with neighbor's wife Streisand after he's demoted to managing a downtown all-night drugstore, the clientele of which has torridly high weirdo quotient. Streisand is badly, if rather endearingly, miscast (she replaced Lisa Eichhorn after film was already in production), but Hackman is at the peak of his charm in this gentle, underrated comedy. | tt0082001 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Barbra Streisand, Diane Ladd, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Dobson, William Daniels, Ann Doran | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| All Over Me | 1997 | Alex Sichel | ★★★ | 90 | Dark, brooding but absorbing coming-of-age drama about two girls— one gay, one straight— whose friendship unravels after a fatal gay-bashing in their Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. The whole cast is excellent, but Folland as the shy budding lesbian is the emotional center. Powered by a terrific soundtrack featuring Patti Smith and Ani DiFranco, among others. Film's costars are also indie rockers: Briggs is the frontman of Psychotica, Hailey sings with The Murmurs. Written by director Sichel's sister, Sylvia. | tt0118586 | [R] | Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Wilson Cruz, Cole Hauser, Ann Dowd, Pat Briggs, Leisha Hailey, Shawn Hatosy | Drama | NULL | ||
| All Over Town | 1937 | James W. Horne | ★★½ | 62 | Low-budget shenanigans, with Olsen and Johnson trying to stage a show in a 'jinxed' theater. Spotty, but has some funny moments. | tt0028568 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Mary Howard, Harry Stockwell, Franklin Pangborn, James Finlayson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| All Over the Guy | 2001 | Julie Davis | ★★★ | 92 | Likable comedy about two gay guys who survive a disastrous blind date and settle into friendship, not realizing true love is staring them right in the face. Loaded with smart one-liners and clever potshots at sexless gay studio movies like IN & OUT. Terrific supporting cast includes Martin as a touchy-feely therapist mom and THE OPPOSITE OF SEX costars Ricci and Kudrow (whose director, Don Roos, executive-produced). Written by Bucatinsky, who adapted his stage play. | tt0250202 | [R] | Dan Bucatinsky, Richard Ruccolo, Sasha Alexander, Adam Goldberg, Andrea Martin, Doris Roberts, Christina Ricci, Lisa Kudrow, Joanna Kerns | Comedy | NULL | ||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 1930 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★★ | 133 | Vivid, moving adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's eloquent pacifist novel about German boys' experiences as soldiers during WW1. Time hasn't dimmed its power, or its poignancy, one bit. Scripted by Milestone, Maxwell Anderson, Del Andrews, and George Abbott. Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Director. Originally shown at 140m., then cut many times over the years; restored in 1998. It's 130m. on home video. Sequel: THE ROAD BACK. Remade for TV in 1979. | tt0020629 | Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Slim Summerville, Russell Gleason, Ben Alexander, Beryl Mercer | War, Drama | NULL | |||
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 1979 | Delbert Mann | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Solid remake of the vintage classic about young German soldiers in WW1 and the grizzled veteran who teaches them to grow up fast in the trenches. Borgnine and Neal received Emmy nominations as did the film itself, adapted by Paul Monash from the Remarque novel. | tt0078753 | [NR] | Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Patricia Neal, Ian Holm, Donald Pleasence | War | NULL | ||
| All Screwed Up | 1974 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★ | 105 | Appealing tragicomedy of various young working-class men and women, and what happens when they move into a Milan apartment. Released in the U.S. in 1976. | tt0070844 | [PG] | Luigi Diberti, Nino Bignamini, Lina Polito, Sara Rapisarda | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| All That Heaven Allows | 1955 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 89 | When middle-class widow Wyman allows gardener Hudson— a younger man— to romance her, she faces the ire of her children, friends, and society. Typically sleek Sirk soaper. Remade by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as ALI— FEAR EATS THE SOUL. | tt0047811 | Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, Virginia Grey, Gloria Talbott, William Reynolds, Charles Drake, Merry Anders | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| All That Jazz | 1979 | Bob Fosse | ★★½ | 123 | Director-choreographer Fosse's own 81/2 casts a self-indulgent and largely negative look at his life; great show biz moments and wonderful dancing are eventually buried in pretensions, and an interminable finale which leaves a bad taste for the whole film. But that opening number (set to George Benson's recording of 'On Broadway') is a wow! | tt0078754 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen, Erzsebet Foldi, Sandahl Bergman, John Lithgow, Keith Gordon, Ben Masters, Nicole Fosse, Theresa Merritt, Wallace Shawn | Musical | NULL | ||
| All These Women | Now About All These Women | 1964 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 80 | Satirical frolic involving woman-chasing cellist. He bargains with music critic to have biography written by agreeing to play writer's composition. Notable only as Bergman's first film in color. Aka NOW ABOUT THESE WOMEN. | tt0058124 | Jarl Kulle, Harriet Andersson, Bibi Andersson, Allan Edwall | Swedish | Comedy | NULL | |
| All Things Bright and Beautiful | It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet | 1979 | Eric Till. | ★★½ | 94 | Pleasant, inoffensive film for kids who like animals and can appreciate an entertainment devoid of car crashes. Kind-hearted veterinarian James Herriot (Alderton) tends to under-the-weather animals in Yorkshire at the end of the '30s. Based on two of Herriot's books, Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vet in Harness, published in the U.S. as All Things Bright and Beautiful. A sequel to ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, made for American television. Aka IT SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO A VET. | tt0079353 | [G] | John Alderton, Lisa Harrow, Colin Blakely, Bill Maynard, Richard Pearson, Paul Shelley. | British | Drama | NULL |
| All Things Fair | 1995 | Bo Widerberg | ★★★½ | 128 | In 1943 Sweden a recently transferred high school student falls for his attractive new teacher; their subsequent affair is both passionate and deceitful on many levels. Extremely well made film is exquisitely performed by the two leads (young Johan Widerberg is the director's son) and Swedish star Von Brömssen is equally adept in the role of an unorthodox cuckolded husband. Director Widerberg (of ELVIRA MADIGAN fame) also wrote the screenplay and edited this, his final film. This can stand alongside the best coming-of-age films. | tt0113720 | Johan Widerberg, Marika Lagercrantz, Tomas Von Brömssen, Karin Huldt, Nina Gunke, Bjorn Kjellman, Kenneth Milldoff | Swedish-Danish | Drama | NULL | ||
| All This, and Heaven Too | 1940 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 143 | Nobleman Boyer falls in love with governess Davis, causing scandal and death; stars do very well in elaborate filmization of Rachel Field book set in 19th-century France. | tt0032194 | Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Jeffrey Lynn, Barbara O'Neil, Virginia Weidler, Helen Westley, Walter Hampden, Henry Daniell, June Lockhart | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| All Through the Night | 1942 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 107 | Bogart's gang tracks down Fifth Columnists (Veidt, Lorre, Anderson) in WW2 N.Y.C. Interesting blend of spy, gangster, and comedy genres, with memorable double-talk and auction scenes. | tt0034449 | Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Veidt, Kaaren Verne, Jane Darwell, Frank McHugh, Peter Lorre, Judith Anderson, William Demarest, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, Barton MacLane, Martin Kosleck | Action, Comedy | NULL | |||
| All at Sea | Barnacle Bill | 1957 | Charles Frend | ★★★ | 87 | Robust comedy that holds its own throughout. Guinness is admirable as seaman who can't bear sight of water but buys run-down house-laden pier, turning it into an amusement palace. Original title: BARNACLE BILL. | tt0050168 | Alec Guinness, Irene Browne, Percy Herbert, Harold Goodwin | British | Comedy, Short | NULL | |
| All in a Night's Work | 1961 | Joseph Anthony | ★★½ | 94 | Featherweight (and often featherbrained) comedy about innocent office worker caught in compromising position with big-business exec, leading to a series of misunderstandings. Filled with familiar character actors (Gale Gordon, Jerome Cowan, Jack Weston, et al.). | tt0054615 | Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine, Charlie Ruggles, Cliff Robertson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| All of Me | 1984 | Carl Reiner | ★★★ | 93 | The soul and spirit of a crotchety millionairess (Tomlin) enter the body of a young, idealistic lawyer (Martin) with often hilarious results. Uneven comedy-fantasy actually gets better as it goes along, and characters become more endearing. Martin's performance is a comic tour-de force. | tt0086873 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Richard Libertini, Dana Elcar, Jason Bernard, Selma Diamond | Comedy | NULL | ||
| All of Me | 1934 | James Flood | ★★ | 75 | Ineffectual melodrama of professor March yearning for open spaces and lover Hopkins learning about true devotion from gun moll Mack. | tt0024822 |
|
Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, George Raft, Helen Mack, Blanche Frederici | Drama | NULL | ||
| All or Nothing | 2002 | Mike Leigh | ★★ | 128 | Dim, drab slice of working-class life, with cabdriver Spall barely ekeing out a living, earning no thanks from his common-law wife (who gave up on him years ago), his hostile son, or his silent daughter. Neighbors in their housing project seem to be in similar doldrums, but for one doggedly optimistic soul (Sheen). Tough going, without the rich, rounded characterizations that have marked Leigh's better films. | tt0286261 | [R] | Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Alison Garland, James Corden, Ruth Sheen, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Helen Coker, Daniel Mays | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| All the Boys Love Mandy Lane | 2006 | Jonathan Levine | ★½ | 90 | Good-looking blonde high school girl attracts the wrong kind of attention from the wrong kind of boys. Then she heads off with some new "friends" for a weekend at one boy's parents' ranch and terrible things start to happen. Variation on a typical slasher film is boring and its characters obnoxious until a (sick) twist at the end, if you last that long. Mandy's character isn't explored or explained. Never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0490076 | [R] | Amber Heard, Anson Mount, Whitney Able, Michael Welch, Edwin Hodge, Aaron Himelstein, Luke Grimes, Melissa Price | Romance, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| All the Brothers Were Valiant | 1953 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 101 | Waterlogged adventure based on Ben Ames Williams' novel. Taylor and Granger lack conviction as New Bedford whalers having career and romantic conflicts. | tt0045494 | Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Lewis Stone | Adventure | NULL | |||
| All the Fine Young Cannibals | 1960 | Michael Anderson | ★½ | 112 | Clichés abound in this romantic soap opera that was actually inspired by the life of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker (whose role is played here, somewhat improbably, by Wagner). British music group Fine Young Cannibals took its name from this film. | tt0053582 | Robert Wagner, Natalie Wood, Susan Kohner, George Hamilton, Pearl Bailey, Anne Seymour | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| All the King's Horses | 1934 | Frank Tuttle. | ★★ | 87 | Mediocre musical about movie star who exchanges places with lookalike king, causing complications for both men, especially where l'amour is concerned. | tt0024823 | Carl Brisson, Mary Ellis, Edward Everett Horton, Katherine DeMille, Eugene Pallette | Musical | NULL | |||
| All the King's Men | 1949 | Robert Rossen | ★★★★ | 109 | Brilliant adaptation (by director Rossen) of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the rise and fall of a Huey Long-like senator, played by Crawford in the performance of his career. He and McCambridge (in her first film) won well-deserved Oscars, as did the film, for Best Picture. Campaign montages directed by Don Siegel. | tt0041113 | Broderick Crawford, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, John Derek, Shepperd Strudwick, Anne Seymour | Drama | NULL | |||
| All the King's Men | 2006 | Steven Zaillian | ★★ | 128 | Remake of the 1949 classic traces the story of grassroots Southern politician Willie Stark (inspired by the real-life Louisiana governor Huey Long), his unlikely rise to power, and how it not only corrupts him but those around him. Penn's histrionics never ring true, and his talented costars are wasted in this disappointing production. Clarkson's role as Stark's savvy campaign strategist-and mistress-won Mercedes McCambridge an Oscar in the original film, but the character is barely sketched this time around. | tt0405676 | [PG-13] | Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Kathy Baker, Jackie Earle Haley, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Dunn, Tom McCarthy, Frederic Forrest | Drama | NULL | ||
| All the Marbles | The California Dolls | 1981 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 113 | There's no reason why this sloppily constructed, shallowly written movie— about a pair of beautiful female wrestlers and their two-bit manager— should be so entertaining, but it is. The climactic championship bout is a real audience-rouser. Retitled THE CALIFORNIA DOLLS. Aldrich's final film. | tt0081964 | [R] | Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick, Laurene Landon, Burt Young, Tracy Reed, Ursaline Bryant-King, Claudette Nevins, Richard Jaeckel | Drama | NULL | |
| All the President's Men | 1976 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★★ | 138 | Redford and Hoffman play real-life Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who persevered in their investigation of Watergate break-in that led to earthshaking scandal. Best elements of newspaper pictures, detective stories, and thrillers rolled into one superb movie. Won Oscars for Supporting Actor (Robards), Screenplay (William Goldman), Art Direction, and Sound. | tt0074119 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander, Stephen Collins, Meredith Baxter, Ned Beatty, Robert Walden, Polly Holliday, F. Murray Abraham, Lindsay Crouse | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| All the Pretty Horses | 2000 | Billy Bob Thornton | ★★½ | 117 | Ambitious but uneven adaptation (by Ted Tally) of Cormac McCarthy's prize-winning novel. A young man and his best friend, sensing no future in post-WW2 Texas, drift across the border in search of the cowboy life that's disappearing around them. Alternately leisurely and lurching in its storytelling, the film looks good, but never gels; signs of post-production cutting are painfully obvious. Damon and Thomas are quite good. | tt0149624 | [R] | Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Penélope Cruz, Rubén Blades, Robert Patrick, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Miriam Colon, Bruce Dern, Sam Shepard | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| All the Queen's Men | 2002 | Stefan Ruzowitzky | 💣 | 105 | Dreadful comedy, ostensibly based on the true story of a hotshot American undercover agent who's saddled with three ill-prepared British colleagues behind German lines— in drag— during WW2. Clunky film never finds the right tone, so it isn't funny or believable. Even Izzard doing a Dietrich turn isn't interesting. | tt0252223 | [PG-13] | Matt LeBlanc, Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo, Nicolette Krebitz, Udo Kier, David Birkin, Edward Fox | U.S.-Austrian-German-Hungarian | Comedy, War | NULL | |
| All the Real Girls | 2003 | David Gordon Green | ★★½ | 108 | Life in a small southern town is revealed in this slowly paced love story about a young man taking baby steps in a quest for his first meaningful relationship. Story complications disrupt the film's tone, and the film is never as satisfying as it promises to be. Good performances and evocative atmosphere overcome most obstacles, but this is no LAST PICTURE SHOW. Leading actor Schneider cowrote the story with Green. | tt0299458 | [R] | Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Patricia Clarkson, Maurice Compte, Danny McBride, Benjamin Mouton, Shea Whigham | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| All the Right Moves | 1983 | Michael Chapman | ★★½ | 91 | Amiable youth film about a goal-oriented high-school football player (Cruise) who runs afoul of his hotheaded— and equally ambitious— coach (Nelson). Location filming in Johnstown, Pa., adds flavor. | tt0085154 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson, Charles Cioffi, Paul Carafotes, Christopher Penn | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| All the Vermeers in New York | 1990 | Jon Jost | ★★★ | 87 | Provocative drama with a singular cinematic sensibility, about a stressed-out Wall Street wheeler-dealer (Lack); while at the Metropolitan Museum, he meets a beautiful, mysterious French actress (Chaulet) who resembles a Vermeer portrait. Loaded with lingering shots, carefully composed images, and improvised dialogue; the scenario examines the relationship between art and commerce, and the hypocrisy beneath the surface of N.Y.C.'s high-powered art and financial worlds. 'Conceived, photographed, directed, and edited' by avant-garde filmmaker Jost. | tt0099014 | Emmanuelle Chaulet, Stephen Lack, Grace Phillips, Laurel Lee Kiefer, Gordon Joseph Weiss, Katherine Bean, Gracie Mansion, Roger Ruffin | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| All the Way Home | 1963 | Alex Segal | ★★★½ | 97 | Outstanding filmization of the Tad Mosel play, set in 1915 Tennessee, an adaptation of James Agee's A Death in the Family. Preston is subdued in the pivotal role of a father and husband who is accidentally killed, leaving his loved ones to interpret the meaning of their lives before and after his death. Beautifully done, with Simmons offering an award-caliber performance as Preston's wife. Fine script by Philip Reisman, Jr. | tt0056818 | Jean Simmons, Robert Preston, Aline MacMahon, Pat Hingle, Michael Kearney, John Cullum, Thomas Chalmers | Drama | NULL | |||
| All the Young Men | 1960 | Hall Bartlett | ★★½ | 87 | Hackneyed Korean war story with all the stereotypes present, mouthing the same old platitudes. | tt0053583 | Alan Ladd, Sidney Poitier, James Darren, Glenn Corbett, Mort Sahl | War | NULL | |||
| All's Fair | 1989 | Rocky Lane | 💣 | 89 | Dreadful comedy about some good-old-boy executives who spend their weekends playing macho war games, and end up taking on their wives and female counterparts in 'battle.' It'd be hard to find a comedy as unfunny as this. | tt0096789 | [PG-13] | George Segal, Sally Kellerman, Robert Carradine, Jennifer Edwards, Jane Kaczmarek, John Kapelos, Lou Ferrigno | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The All-American Boy | 1973 | Charles Eastman | ★★ | 118 | Muddled drama about Olympic hopeful Voight's attempt to succeed as a boxer; striking locations of northern California, but that's all. | tt0069689 | [R] | Jon Voight, E. J. Peaker, Ned Glass, Anne Archer, Carol Androsky | Drama | NULL | ||
| All-American Chump | 1936 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★½ | 63 | Erwin is funny, in his usual country bumpkin way, as a small-town math whiz known as 'the human adding machine' who is exploited by card sharks and hustlers. Fairly diverting double-feature item. | tt0027272 | Stuart Erwin, Robert Armstrong, Betty Furness, Edmund Gwenn, Harvey Stephens, Edward Brophy, E. E. Clive, Dewey Robinson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| All-American Murder | 1992 | Anson Williams | ★★ | 93 | Rebellious college student Schlatter is suspected of murdering the virginal girl he loved, but cop Walken's not so sure. Highly guessable plot studded with slasher-movie murders cheats viewers; frequent tilted camera angles may make you seasick. | tt0103652 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Charlie Schlatter, Josie Bissett, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Kind, Woody Watson, J.C. Quinn | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold | 1987 | Gary Nelson, Newt Arnold | 💣 | 99 | Cheapjack followup to 1985 version of KING SOLOMON'S MINES with the same stars; Chamberlain returns to Africa in search of his brother, who's been tracking a lost white tribe. Post-production patchups are all too obvious. Remake of the 1977 KING SOLOMON'S TREASURE. | tt0092534 | [PG] | Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, James Earl Jones, Henry Silva, Robert Donner, Doghmi Larbi, Cassandra Peterson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Allegheny Uprising | 1939 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 81 | Wayne leads band of brave men against crooked Donlevy, tyrannical British captain Sanders in pre-Revolutionary colonies. Fine, unpretentious film; Trevor appealing as girl who goes after Wayne. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031033 | John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Sanders, Brian Donlevy, Robert Barrat, Moroni Olsen, Chill Wills | Action | NULL | |||
| Allegro Non Troppo | 1976 | Bruno Bozzetto | ★★★ | 75 | Animator Bozzetto's answer to Disney's FANTASIA is an uneven but imaginative collection of vignettes set to music by Debussy, Dvorak, Vivaldi, Stravinsky, and others, framed by heavy-handed live-action slapstick featuring an oafish orchestra-conductor. Best sequences: Sibelius' 'Valse Triste,' with a melancholy cat, and a chronicle of evolution set to Ravel's 'Bolero.' | tt0074121 | Italian | Animation, Musical, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Alligator | 1980 | Lewis Teague | ★★★ | 94 | If you've got to make a film about a giant alligator that's terrorizing Chicago, this is the way to do it— with a sense of fun to balance the expected violence and genuine scares. The knowing screenplay is by John Sayles; Silva does a hilarious self-parody as an egomaniacal Great White Hunter. Don't miss the graffiti in the final scene. Followed by a sequel. | tt0080354 | [R] | Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael Gazzo, Perry Lang, Jack Carter, Henry Silva, Bart Braverman, Dean Jagger, Angel Tompkins, Sue Lyon, Pat Petersen | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alligator II: The Mutation | 1991 | Jon Hess | 💣 | 92 | Another big alligator menaces another big city, with only cops Bologna and Brown, plus Cajun alligator hunter Lynch, to stop it from gobbling up the revelers at a lake. Lame-brained and dreary. | tt0101309 | [PG-13] | Joseph Bologna, Dee Wallace-Stone, Richard Lynch, Woody Brown, Holly Gagnier, Bill Dailey, Steve Railsback, Brock Peters, Julian Reyes. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| An Alligator Named Daisy | 1957 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 88 | Dors reveals pleasing comic talent in fabricated account of salesman who mistakenly picks up someone else's alligator suitcase, leading to complications. | tt0047813 | Diana Dors, Donald Sinden, Stanley Holloway, Roland Culver, Margaret Rutherford, Stephen Boyd | British | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Alligator People | 1959 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 74 | Garland searches for runaway husband and finds him at his family's Southern mansion— partly transformed into an alligator! Obviously inspired by the success of THE FLY. Strictly routine. | tt0052549 | Beverly Garland, George Macready, Lon Chaney/Jr., Richard Crane, Frieda Inescort, Bruce Bennett | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Allnighter | 1987 | Tamar Simon Hoffs | 💣 | 108 | Three female airheads stumble through assorted sexual hijinks during the final senior weekend at a Pacific party college. Grotesque in the AIDS era, though it would be a stinker anytime. Director Hoffs is the mother of the star, a member of The Bangles rock group. | tt0092537 | [PG-13] | Susanna Hoffs, Dedee Pfeiffer, Joan Cusack, Michael Ontkean, John Terlesky, James Anthony Shanta, Pam Grier, Meshach Taylor | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Allotment Wives | 1945 | William Nigh. | ★★ | 83 | Mild sensationalism involving women who marry servicemen to collect their military pay; not one of Francis' better films. | tt0037505 | Kay Francis, Paul Kelly, Otto Kruger, Gertrude Michael, Teala Loring | Drama | NULL | |||
| Almost Angels | 1962 | Steve Previn | ★★½ | 93 | Schmaltzy but entertaining Disney film about two youngsters who become friends in the Vienna Boys Choir. Pleasant story, fine music. | tt0055740 | Peter Weck, Hans Holt, Fritz Eckhardt, Bruni Lobel, Vincent Winter, Sean Scully | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Almost Famous | 2000 | Cameron Crowe | ★★★½ | 122 | Crowe won an Oscar for writing this appealing autobiographical story about a guileless 15-year-old boy who wants to write about rock music and goes on the road with a band for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s. Newcomer Fugit is perfect as the boy, McDormand a delight as his overprotective mother, Hudson adorable as the band follower who wins him over, and Crudup right on target as a charismatic musician. Layered with telling details; this one's from the heart. Alternate version (the so-called 'bootleg cut') runs 159m. | tt0181875 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk, Noah Taylor, Zooey Deschanel, Bijou Phillips, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Peter Frampton | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Almost Heroes | 1998 | Christopher Guest | ★½ | 90 | A would-be explorer hires a rowdy tracker in the hope of beating Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean in 1804. Farley (in his last starring film, shot in 1996 and released six months after his death) is as bombastic as ever, but the gags are either flat or nonexistent in this misbegotten comedy. Levy and Dunn have all the best moments, in colorful supporting roles. | tt0119053 | [PG-13] | Chris Farley, Matthew Perry, Eugene Levy, Kevin Dunn, Lisa Barbuscia, Bokeem Woodbine, Steve M. Porter, David Packer, Hamilton Camp, Lewis Arquette; narrated by Harry Shearer | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| An Almost Perfect Affair | 1979 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 93 | Romantic comedy-drama about affair between naive American filmmaker and worldly wife of film producer; set against backdrop of Cannes Film Festival, it will appeal mostly to film buffs and insiders. | tt0078757 | [PG] | Keith Carradine, Monica Vitti, Raf Vallone, Christian De Sica, Dick Anthony Williams | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Almost Summer | 1978 | Martin Davidson | ★½ | 88 | End-of-term frolics, and a cutthroat school election, are presented here in much the same fashion as BEACH BLANKET BINGO. | tt0077152 | [PG] | Bruno Kirby, Lee Purcell, John Friedrich, Didi Conn, Thomas Carter, Tim Matheson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Almost You | 1984 | Adam Brooks | ★½ | 96 | Muddled, overlong, self-satisfied 'romantic comedy' about Dunne's attempts to break out of his plodding existence with wife Adams in N.Y.C. Originally shown at 110m, which only made matters worse. | tt0086876 | [R] | Brooke Adams, Griffin Dunne, Karen Young, Marty Watt, Christine Estabrook, Josh Mostel, Laura Dean, Dana Delany, Miguel Pinero, Joe Silver, Joe Leon, Spalding Gray | Drama | NULL | ||
| Almost an Angel | 1990 | John Cornell | ★★ | 95 | Hokey, paper-thin afterlife fantasy with Hogan a thief who turns do-gooder after an otherworldly confrontation with God (Heston, naturally). Hogan's effortless charisma cannot salvage it. He also scripted and executive produced. | tt0099018 | [PG] | Paul Hogan, Elias Koteas, Linda Kozlowski, Charlton Heston, Doreen Lang, Joe Dallesandro, David Alan Grier, Stephanie Hodge | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Aloha Summer | 1988 | Tommy Lee Wallace | ★★ | 98 | Well-meaning but bland story about six young American, Japanese, and Hawaiian boys coming of age on surfboards in Waikiki during the summer of 1959. There's nothing fresh; the waves, however, are outtasight. | tt0094637 | [PG] | Chris Makepeace, Yuji Okumoto, Don Michael Paul, Tia Carrere, Andy Bumatai, Lorie Griffin, Sho Kosugi | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Aloma of the South Seas | 1941 | Alfred Santell | ★★ | 77 | Still another sarong saga with native Hall sent to U.S. for education, returning when father dies to stop revolution on once peaceful island. Filmed before in 1927, with Gilda Gray. | tt0033331 | Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Lynne Overman, Philip Reed, Katherine DeMille | Drama | NULL | |||
| Alone in the Dark | 2005 | Uwe Boll. | 💣 | 96 | Paranormal investigator Slater tangles with a mad scientist in this unintelligible time-waster based on an Atari video game. The opening crawl is dopey and overlong; what follows is mind-numbingly awful. Casting Reid as an anthropologist is like assigning Curly Howard the role of a neurosurgeon. | tt0369226 | [R] | Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff, Will Sanderson, Mark Acheson, Frank C. Turner. | Action, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Along Came Jones | 1945 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 90 | Three stars are most ingratiating in very low-key, leisurely Western spoof, with Cooper (who also produced) mistaken for notorious outlaw Duryea. | tt0037508 | Gary Cooper, Loretta Young, William Demarest, Dan Duryea, Frank Sully, Russell Simpson | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Along Came Polly | 2003 | John Hamburg | ★★ | 90 | An insurance risk manager gets married, only to have his wife cheat on him before their honeymoon is over. Back home in N.Y.C. he meets a cute but flaky woman and decides she's the right one for him— but she's the one who's scared of commitment. Yet another Ben Stiller comedy of embarrassment; if you're looking for a story about a man with irritable bowel syndrome, search no further! Azaria all but steals the film as a French stud who teaches scuba diving in St. Barts. | tt0343135 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown, Alec Baldwin, Jsu Garcia, Michele Lee, Bob Dishy, Missi Pyle, Judah Friedlander, Cheryl Hines, Caroline Aaron, Rabbi David Baron | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Along Came a Spider | 2001 | Lee Tamahori | ★½ | 104 | As if he were doing us any great favors, Freeman reprises his role from KISS THE GIRLS as psychologist/detective Dr. Alex Cross, from James Patterson's novels. Case here involves the day-school abduction of a U.S. senator's young daughter, and Freeman's sleuthing with guilt-ridden Secret Service agent Potter. Premise is unpleasant, its execution unspeakably dull, and a 'big' plot twist just doesn't cut it. | tt0164334 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Mika Boorem, Dylan Baker, Michael Moriarty, Jay O. Sanders, Penelope Ann Miller | Thriller, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Along the Great Divide | 1951 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 88 | Douglas is appropriately tight-lipped as lawman determined to bring in his man, despite desert storm; some spectacular scenery. | tt0043276 | Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, John Agar, Walter Brennan | Western | NULL | |||
| Along the Navajo Trail | 1945 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 66 | Evil rancher Fowley covets the spread owned by Dale's father, as it's in demand by a drilling company that wants to run a pipeline across the property. Great stunts by Yakima Canutt, a wonderful rendition of 'Cool Water' by the Sons, and a charming song called 'Savin' for a Rainy Day' by Roy and Dale help make this a winner. | tt0037509 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, Douglas Fowley, Nestor Paiva, Roy Barcroft, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers | Western | NULL | |||
| Alpha Dog | 2006 | Nick Cassavetes | ★½ | 122 | Two fun-filled hours about the cretins who orbit around amoral drug dealer Hirsch. The nihilistic fun and games turn serious when they snatch the kid brother of a 'friend,' then realize they've actually perpetrated a kidnapping. Cassavetes' screenplay is based on real-life events but the film is pointless . . . as is the framing device of a documentary about the case (using split-screen) which disappears after the opening scenes and returns abruptly at the end. | tt0426883 | [R] | Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Christopher Marquette, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Lukas Haas, Alex Kingston, Harry Dean Stanton, Alex Solowitz, Dominique Swain, Alan Thicke, Vincent Kartheiser, Fernando Vargas | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Alpha and Omega | 2010 | Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck | ★½ | 88 | Two wolves, a male and female with opposite personalities named Humphrey and Kate (get it?), are transported to Idaho to mate and expand the wolf population. Instead, they band together to trek back home to Canada, encountering numerous perils along the way; later, they work together to stop their packs from having a turf war. Animated film is aimed at the youngest members of the family, with slapstick antics and clichéd characters that will have parents squirming. Produced on a low budget and animated primarily in Mumbai, India. 3-D. | tt1213012 | [PG] | Voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Danny Glover, Dennis Hopper, Larry Miller, Vicki Lewis, Christina Ricci | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Alphabet City | 1984 | Amos Poe | ★★ | 98 | Slick, arty but shallow and almost plotless portrait of teenage hood Spano and his life on N.Y.C.'s Lower East Side. All imagery, no content. | tt0086877 | [R] | Vincent Spano, Kate Vernon, Michael Winslow, Zohra Lampert, Jami Gertz, Raymond Serra | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Alphabet Killer | 2008 | Rob Schmidt | ★★ | 98 | A young girl is raped and strangled, and Rochester, N.Y., police detective Dushku, who has all sorts of psychological issues, becomes obsessed with solving the case. By-the-letters thriller poses one burning question: Who let this woman on the police force? Loosely based on a series of murders that took place in Rochester in the 1970s. Scripted by Malloy, who plays Officer Stephen Harper. | tt0818165 | [R] | Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, Timothy Hutton, Tom Malloy, Michael Ironside, Bill Moseley, Carl Lumbly, Brian Scannell, Larry Hankin, Jack McGee, Melissa Leo, Tom Noonan, Martin Donovan | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Alphabet Murders | The ABC Murders | 1966 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 90 | Odd adaptation of Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders (the film's original British title), with Hercule Poirot after a killer who seems to be doing in his victims in alphabetical order. Strange casting of Randall as the Belgian sleuth and a little too much slapstick make this more a curiosity than anything else. Margaret Rutherford makes a gag appearance as Miss Marple. | tt0060094 | Tony Randall, Anita Ekberg, Robert Morley, Guy Rolfe, James Villiers | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Alphaville | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★ | 95 | Constantine, as super private-eye Lemmy Caution, is sent to futuristic city run by electronic brain to rescue scientist trapped there. Jumbled Godard epic, recommended for New Wave disciples only. | tt0058898 | Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Howard Vernon | French | Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Alsino and the Condor | 1982 | Miguel Littin | ★★★ | 89 | Idealistic young peasant (Esquivel) jumps out of a tree in the hope of flying; he becomes a hunchback, but learns to stand tall when he joins guerillas fighting in a Central American country. Certainly unsubtle, but far from uninteresting allegory, filmed in Nicaragua. | tt0083543 | [R] | Dean Stockwell, Alan Esquivel, Carmen Bunster, Alejandro Parodi, Delia Casanova | Nicaraguan-Mexican-Cuban-Costa Rican | Drama | NULL | |
| Altered States | 1980 | Ken Russell | ★★½ | 102 | A scientist (Hurt, in his film debut) becomes involved with primal research, using himself as guinea pig with mind-bending results. Talky and cerebral at first, then turns into a cross between THE WOLF MAN and THE TIME MACHINE, using state-of-the-art special effects. More successful as an assault on the senses than as a film, with thoroughly unappealing protagonists and a ludicrous story resolution. Paddy Chayefsky disowned his adaptation of his novel, and the script is now credited to his given name, 'Sidney Aaron.' Barrymore's film debut. Look for John Larroquette as an X-ray technician. | tt0080360 | [R] | William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis, Dori Brenner, George Gaynes, Drew Barrymore | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alvarez Kelly | 1966 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 116 | Slow-moving Civil War tale. Holden is cattle driver who sells herd to Yankees, then is kidnapped by Reb Widmark who wants him to steal cattle for the South; incongruous love scenes thrown in. | tt0060095 | William Holden, Richard Widmark, Janice Rule, Victoria Shaw, Patrick O'Neal | Western | NULL | |||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | 2007 | Tim Hill | ★★½ | 91 | The musical mythos of Ross Bagdasarian’s singing chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore) is amusingly re-imagined in this kid-friendly mix of cartoonish live-action and impressive CG animation. Lee is the nominal star, as the critters’ David Seville–like surrogate father, but Cross grabs every scene that isn’t bolted to the floor as a snarky record producer. | tt0952640 | [PG] | Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Jane Lynch; voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked | 2011 | Mike Mitchell | ★★½ | 87 | The famous singing chipmunks (and Chipettes) return for a third animated/live-action outing, accompanying their owner, Dave (Lee), on a cruise to the International Music Awards. Their mischief gets them stranded on a tropical desert island, with hapless Dave and record producer Ian (Cross, stuck in a pelican mascot costume) in hot pursuit. Story is simply an excuse for a series of musical numbers. Aimed at younger kids, though cutaways to Lee and Cross, along with kooky treasure hunter Slate, make it somewhat tolerable for parents. Climactic volcano eruption provides a few more visual thrills than the two earlier movies—but not much. | tt0848228 | [G] | Jason Lee, David Cross, Jenny Slate, Andy Buckley, Phyllis Smith; voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Alan Tudyk | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | 2009 | Betty Thomas | ★★ | 89 | Follow-up to 2007 hit tracks the chipmunks' high school experiences after their antics put human authority figure David Seville (Lee) into the hospital. Harassing jocks treat the trio to men's room "swirlies," the chipmunks themselves prove adept at giving "wedgies," and hormonal considerations become an unexpected issue once a rival girl group (the Chipettes) arrives on the scene. Dubious material gets elevated a few inches by filmmakers keen on going with the flow, but the demographic for this film peaks around the age where one's thumb no longer has quite the succulent taste it did in previous years. | tt1231580 | [PG] | Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, Wendie Malick, Anjelah Johnson, Kathryn Joosten; voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Sean Astin | Comedy, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Always | 1985 | Henry Jaglom | ★★★ | 105 | Often hilarious, but also insightful, comedy about what it means to be a couple. A trio of them— one about to get divorced, one about to get married, one solidly married— spend a July 4th weekend together. The first is played by the director and Townsend, his own ex-wife. Like all of Jaglom's stream-of-consciousness films, this one's not for all tastes. | tt0088701 | [R] | Henry Jaglom, Patrice Townsend, Joanna Frank, Alan Rachins, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Kaufer, Bob Rafelson, Michael Emil, Andre Gregory | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Always | 1989 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 121 | Slick remake of 1943's A GUY NAMED JOE, with Dreyfuss as a cocky pilot who specializes in dousing forest fires from the air, and Hunter as the dispatcher who loves him— and fears for his life. When he does in fact die, he returns in spirit form to guide a young pilot (Johnson) who wants to pursue the same career and the same woman. Certainly entertaining but suffers from a serious case of The Cutes. Hepburn, in her final film appearance, plays an angel. | tt0096794 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson, Audrey Hepburn, Roberts Blossom, Keith David, Marg Helgenberger | Fantasy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Always Goodbye | 1938 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 75 | Still another sacrificing mother tale— specifically, a remake of GALLANT LADY. Stanwyck is forced to give up her illicit child. Nicely done, but the same old story. | tt0029861 | Barbara Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Lynn Bari, Binnie Barnes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Always Leave Them Laughing | 1949 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 116 | Berle is at home in tale of cocky comedian's ups and downs. Unfortunately, zesty opening leads into soggy drama. Lahr does his classic 'stop in the name of the stationhouse' routine. | tt0041115 | Milton Berle, Virginia Mayo, Ruth Roman, Bert Lahr, Alan Hale/Sr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Always Together | 1948 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 78 | Innocuous fluff of dying millionaire Kellaway giving money to young Reynolds, then discovering he's quite healthy. Worthwhile only for amusing cameos by many Warner Bros. stars throughout film. | tt0040089 | Robert Hutton, Joyce Reynolds, Cecil Kellaway, Ernest Truex; guest stars Humphrey Bogart, Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, Alexis Smith | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Always a Bride | 1954 | Ralph Smart. | ★★ | 83 | Mild comedy of treasury officer romancing girl, aiding her dad to fleece others. | tt0045498 | Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Ronald Squire, James Hayter | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Always in My Heart | 1942 | Jo Graham | ★★½ | 92 | Cast adds zest to this musical soaper of nice-guy ex-con Huston, his ex-wife (Francis), who is about to remarry, and their son and daughter (Warren, a Deanna Durbin wannabe), who think he’s dead. | tt0034454 |
|
Kay Francis, Walter Huston, Gloria Warren, Patty Hale, Frankie Thomas, Una O�Connor, Sidney Blackmer, Borrah Minevitch | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Amadeus | 1984 | Milos Forman | ★★½ | 158 | Abraham won well-deserved Oscar as composer Salieri, whose music never surpasses mediocrity, while a hedonistic young boor named Mozart expresses musical genius almost without trying! Literate, intelligent, exquisitely filmed (in Prague, by Miroslav Ondricek) . . . but fatally overlong and missing dramatic fire that distinguished Peter Shaffer's play (Shaffer rethought and rewrote it for the screen). Worth noting: Jones' wonderful performance as musical dilettante Emperor Joseph II. Winner of seven other Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Art Direction. Reissued in 2002 with an additional 30m. | tt0086879 | [PG] | F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| Amal | 2008 | Richie Mehta | ★★★ | 105 | Heartwarming story of a poor rickshaw driver in New Delhi, India, whose humanity triumphs over tragedy and treachery. Amal’s kindness to two strangers—a street beggar and a cantankerous passenger—has unusual repercussions. The story may be contrived, but its sincerity, and the warmth of its actors, make it difficult to resist. Debut feature for director Mehta, who expanded it from a 2004 short he wrote with his brother Shaun. | tt0907674 | Unrated | Rupinder Nagra, Naseeruddin Shah, Seema Biswas, Koel Purie, Vik Sahay, Roshan Seth, Tanisha Chatterjee, Amardeep Jha, Dr. Shiva | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Amarcord | 1974 | Federico Fellini | ★★★½ | 127 | Fellini's nostalgia trip to the Italy of his youth in the 1930s; warm, funny, poignant, bawdy episodes about love, sex, politics, family life, and growing up. Academy Award winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0071129 | [R] | Magali Noel, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia, Giuseppe Lanigro, Josiane Tanzilli | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley | 1918 | Marshall Neilan. | ★★½ | 67 | Mary is Amarilly, a working-class Irish girl who proudly toils as a 'scrub lady.' Complications arise when she goes to work for wealthy Kerry. Solid (albeit by-the-numbers) Pickford vehicle teaches us that it's better to be poor and happy than rich and pompous. | tt0008827 | Mary Pickford, William Scott, Kate Price, Ida Waterman, Norman Kerry, Fred Goodwins, Margaret Landis, Tom Wilson, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Amateur | 1994 | Hal Hartley | ★★½ | 105 | Typically quirky Hartley tale about an ex-nun (Huppert) who writes pornographic fiction (!) and hooks up with a seemingly harmless amnesiac (Donovan) with a disturbing past. As in all of the director's films, this one is filled with offbeat characters who do and say the weirdest things; among them are a pair of hit men who look like Wall Street yuppies. Interesting, but decidedly not for all tastes. An American Playhouse coproduction. | tt0109093 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Martin Donovan, Elina Löwensohn, Damian Young, Chuck Montgomery, David Simonds, Parker Posey | U.S.-French | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Amateur | 1982 | Charles Jarrott | 💣 | 111 | Savage is grossly miscast as a CIA computer whiz who hunts down the terrorists who seized the American Consulate in Munich and murdered his girlfriend. Complex and ultimately ridiculous spy thriller. | tt0082005 | [R] | John Savage, Christopher Plummer, Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Ed Lauter, Nicholas Campbell, Graham Jarvis, John Marley | Canadian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Amateurs | 2007 | Michael Traeger | ★★½ | 96 | Group of small-town losers decide to turn their lives around and make the world’s first community-sponsored porno film. With Bridges’ character leading the way they enlist an unlikely group of participants. Hilarious, if uneven, comedy delivers on its amusing premise with a sterling group of actors. Screened on the film festival circuit as THE MOGULS. | tt0405163 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, Ted Danson, Patrick Fugit, John Hawkes, Glenne Headly, Lauren Graham, Alex D. Linz, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Steven Weber, Isaiah Washington, Valerie Perrine, Judy Greer, Eileen Brennan, Brad Garrett | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Amati Girls | 2001 | Anne DeSalvo | ★★ | 91 | Schmaltz-fest about a close-knit Italian-American family, focusing on a death-obsessed matriarch (Leachman) and her four daughters (Ruehl, Young, Manoff, Knight). In her directorial debut, actress DeSalvo juggles soapy stories, has a sense of humor and an unabashed reverence for Catholicism, but the results are not quite MOONSTRUCK. | tt0213446 | [PG] | Cloris Leachman, Mercedes Ruehl, Paul Sorvino, Sean Young, Dinah Manoff, Mark Harmon, Jamey Sheridan, Lily Knight, Lee Grant | Drama | NULL | ||
| Amazing Adventure | 1936 | Alfred Zeisler | ★★½ | 70 | Grant inherits a fortune and, feeling guilty, sets out to earn his living instead. One of those The-Poor-Are-Smarter comedies typical of the era, and a rare opportunity to see Cary working on his home turf. Originally titled THE AMAZING QUEST OF ERNEST BLISS in Britain, ROMANCE AND RICHES in the U.S. E. Phillips Oppenheim's novel filmed before in England in 1920. | tt0027286 | Cary Grant, Mary Brian, Henry Kendall, Leon M. Lion, Garry Marsh, John Turnbull | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Amazing Colossal Man | 1957 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★½ | 80 | Army officer who survives an atomic explosion starts growing; at 60 feet he attacks Las Vegas! Starts well but ends up as your standard monster-on-the-loose flick. Sequel: WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST. | tt0050118 | Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, James Seay, Larry Thor | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Amazing Dobermans | 1976 | David Chudnow, Byron Chudnow | ★★½ | 94 | Engaging action comedy that has Bible-quoting ex-con-man Astaire's five remarkable Doberman pinschers helping treasury agent Franciscus thwart a racketeer and his gang. Higher-budgeted sequel to THE DOBERMAN GANG and THE DARING DOBERMANS, aided by offbeat casting of Astaire. | tt0074130 | [PG] | James Franciscus, Barbara Eden, Fred Astaire, Jack Carter, Billy Barty | Family, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse | 1938 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 87 | Amusing film of 'method doctor' Robinson trying to discover what makes a crook tick; he joins Bogart's gang and becomes addicted. | tt0029864 | Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart, Allen Jenkins, Donald Crisp, Gale Page | Comedy, Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Amazing Grace | 1974 | Stan Lathan | ★★ | 99 | A few laughs in Philadelphia-made comedy about an elderly busybody who disrupts corrupt Baltimore politics. Mabley's only starring film; cameos by Butterfly McQueen, unrecognizable Stepin Fetchit. | tt0071130 | [G] | Moms Mabley, Slappy White, Moses Gunn, Rosalind Cash, Dolph Sweet | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Amazing Grace | 2007 | Michael Apted | ★★½ | 116 | Earnest and enlightening historical drama about William Wilberforce, who spent 20 exhausting years in the late 1700s trying to convince his fellow members of Parliament to ban slavery in the British Empire. Impressive roster of actors lends weight to this well-made film, but somehow it never reaches the dramatic heights it should, considering the passionate nature of its protagonist and the nobility of his cause. | tt0454776 | [PG] | Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N'Dour, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Bill Paterson | British | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| Amazing Grace and Chuck | 1987 | Mike Newell | ★½ | 115 | A 12-year-old Little League whiz decides to stop playing baseball until the world agrees to complete nuclear disarmament . . . and soon, other athletes around the world follow suit, as the protest escalates. Producer-writer David Field's Capraesque wish-fufillment fantasy is one of those films you either swallow wholeheartedly, or don't. It's dripping with good intentions. | tt0092545 | [PG] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Alex English, Gregory Peck, William L. Petersen, Joshua Zuehlke, Dennis Lipscomb, Lee Richardson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Amazing Mr. Blunden | 1972 | Lionel Jeffries | ★★★ | 99 | Dickensian fantasy about a genial ghost who takes two children back in time to help two mistreated tots. Colorful family film whose only liability is somewhat muddled storyline. | tt0068200 | [G] | Laurence Naismith, Lynne Frederick, Garry Miller, Rosalyn Landor, Marc Granger, Diana Dors, James Villiers | British | Family, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Amazing Mr. Williams | 1939 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 80 | Douglas holds up his marriage to investigate murder in this satisfying comedy-mystery. | tt0031038 |
|
Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell, Clarence Kolb, Ruth Donnelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Amazing Mr. X | 1948 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 78 | Intriguing little chiller in which wealthy, vulnerable widow Bari desperately misses her late husband. Will she be able to contact him via the powers of psychic Bey? Aka THE SPIRITUALIST. | tt0040829 | Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell, Richard Carlson, Donald Curtis, Virginia Gregg | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Amazing Mrs. Holliday | 1943 | Bruce Manning | ★★½ | 96 | Lukewarm WW2 comedy-drama about dedicated missionary Durbin trying to sneak Chinese orphans into U.S. Deanna's song interludes offer respite from silly plot. Much of this was directed by Jean Renoir, but his and Durbin's plans for the film went awry. | tt0035631 | Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Treacher, Frieda Inescort | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Amazing Panda Adventure | 1995 | Christopher Cain | ★★½ | 85 | Time-honored 'boy and his dog' story, except in this case it's a boy and his panda. Ten-year-old American boy and a Chinese girl trek through China in order to rescue the cub from poachers. Too predictable for adult viewers, but the spectacular Chinese scenery makes it worthwhile. Slater is Christian's younger brother. | tt0112342 | [PG] | Ryan Slater, Stephen Lang, Yi Ding, Huang Fei, Zhou Jiugou, Yao Erga | U.S.-Chinese | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Amazing Transparent Man | 1960 | Edgar G. Ulmer | 💣 | 58 | Tawdry cheapie in which a mad scientist makes a convict invisible to steal radioactive materials for him, but the subject is more interested in testing his new power on a nearby bank. Disappointed Ulmer fans will wish they had the formula themselves. | tt0053593 | Douglas Kennedy, Marguerite Chapman, James Griffith, Ivan Triesault | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Amazon Women on the Moon | 1987 | Joe Dante, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Horton, John Landis, Robert K. Weiss | ★½ | 85 | Series of unrelated skits in the KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE vein, most of them astonishingly unfunny. Parody of CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON that punctuates the film is so exact that you might as well watch the original— it's just as funny. Best of all is the 1930s sex-film spoof with Bartel and Fisher, but that comes at the very end. | tt0092546 | [R] | Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, Carrie Fisher, Griffin Dunne, Steve Guttenberg, Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Horton, Sybil Danning, Ed Begley/Jr., Henny Youngman, Paul Bartel, Lou Jacobi, Howard Hesseman, B.B. King, Steve Allen, Steve Forrest, Russ Meyer, Arsenio Hall, Phil Hartman, Joe Pantoliano, Rip Taylor, David Alan Grier, Angel Tompkins, Kelly Preston, Andrew Dice Clay, Mike Mazurki, Corinne Wahl | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Ambassador Bill | 1931 | Sam Taylor | ★★½ | 68 | Tailor-made Rogers vehicle about a U.S. ambassador who's dispatched to a country torn by civil strife and conspiracy; he makes friends with the boy-king who will eventually rule the kingdom and teaches him to be a 'regular guy.' | tt0021606 |
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Will Rogers, Greta Nissen, Marguerite Churchill, Tad Alexander, Ray Milland, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Ambassador's Daughter | 1956 | Norman Krasna | ★★½ | 102 | Oomph is missing even though stars give all to uplift sagging comedy of de Havilland out for a fling in Paris, romanced by soldier Forsythe. | tt0048944 | Olivia de Havilland, John Forsythe, Myrna Loy, Adolphe Menjou, Edward Arnold, Francis Lederer, Tommy Noonan, Minor Watson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Ambassador | 1984 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 90 | Intelligent, entertaining thriller of American ambassador Mitchum, his adulterous wife Burstyn, and his attempts to peacefully mediate the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Based on Elmore Leonard's novel 52 Pick-Up, and remade just two years later under that name. Hudson's final theatrical film. | tt0086884 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Ellen Burstyn, Rock Hudson, Fabio Testi, Donald Pleasence, Michal Bat-Adam | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Ambition | 1991 | Scott D. Goldstein | 💣 | 100 | Awful thriller about a writer who becomes totally obsessed with his subject— a man who happens to be a convicted murderer. Phillips makes his screenwriting debut here but he's bitten off more than he can type. A bust! | tt0101320 | [R] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Clancy Brown, Cecilia Peck, Richard Bradford, Willard Pugh, Grace Zabriskie, Katherine Armstrong, JD Cullum, Haing S. Ngor | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ambulance | 1990 | Larry Cohen | ★★ | 95 | Muddled thriller which tells the story of what happens when innocent people begin disappearing off the streets of N.Y. Routine stuff, but look for an especially fine performance by Buttons. Roberts plays a comic book artist, and Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee appears as himself. | tt0099026 | [R] | Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, Richard Bright, Janine Turner, Eric Braeden, Red Buttons | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ambush Bay | 1966 | Ron Winston | ★★½ | 109 | Lackluster adventures of Marine group on Japanese-held island during WW2 trying to help partisans— good cast wasted. | tt0060098 | Hugh O'Brian, Mickey Rooney, James Mitchum, Harry Lauter | War | NULL | |||
| Ambush at Cimarron Pass | 1958 | Jodie Copelan | ★★ | 73 | Stranded cowboys and cavalrymen try to protect shipment of guns from Indians— though they disagree strongly on strategy. Post-Civil War Western features young Eastwood, who continually flies into a white-hot rage whenever he hears the word 'Yankee.' | tt0051349 | Scott Brady, Margia Dean, Clint Eastwood, Baynes Barron, William Vaughn | Western | NULL | |||
| Ambush at Tomahawk Gap | 1953 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 73 | Standard oater has quartet of ex-convicts caught by Indian attack. | tt0045502 | John Hodiak, John Derek, David Brian, Percy Helton, Maria Elena Marques | Western | NULL | |||
| The Ambushers | 1968 | Henry Levin | 💣 | 102 | Do you really care that the first U.S. flying saucer will be sabotaged in space unless Matt Helm comes to the rescue? Third entry in the series may be the weakest, but few film scholars will want to take time making certain. Sequel: THE WRECKING CREW. | tt0062657 | Dean Martin, Senta Berger, Janice Rule, James Gregory, Albert Salmi, Kurt Kasznar, Beverly Adams | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Amelia | 2009 | Mira Nair | ★★ | 111 | Old-fashioned biopic traces the high-flying career of aviator Amelia Earhart, her relationship with publisher George Putnam (first her sponsor and booster, then her husband), and her lingering affair with fellow airman Gene Vidal. It all leads up to that fateful flight across the Pacific in 1937. While the facts may be true, they play like clichés from an old, not particularly inspired Hollywood movie, negating the film's good qualities and its handsome production. Hawk Scope. | tt1129445 | [PG] | Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson, Cherry Jones, Mia Wasikowska | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight | 1994 | Yves Simoneau | Average TV Movie | 100 | Keaton's single-minded Earhart is the center of this stunningly photographed, beautifully appointed, though indifferently acted bio, an episodic recreation of the aviatrix's lifelong fascination with aviation ending with her luckless last flight in 1937. Dern does a nice turn as publisher G. P. Putnam, her impresario husband/ manager/press agent. Earhart's story was tackled before as a similarly titled TVM in 1976 with Susan Clark. Made for cable. | tt0109096 |
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Diane Keaton, Rutger Hauer, Bruce Dern, Paul Guilfoyle, Denis Arndt, David Carpenter, Diana Bellamy | Drama | NULL | ||
| America | 1924 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★ | 141 | Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster, Erville Alderson, Charles Emmett Mack, Lee Beggs, Frank McGlynn, Lionel Barrymore, Louis Wolheim. Impressive silent-film treatment of Revolutionary War, with fine battle scenes, period flavor, marred somewhat by silly love story; florid villainy by Barrymore. Still quite good. | tt0014672 | Neil Hamilton, Carol Dempster, Erville Alderson, Charles Emmett Mack, Lee Beggs, Frank McGlynn, Lionel Barrymore, Louis Wolheim | Drama | NULL | |||
| America | 1986 | Robert Downey | 💣 | 83 | Downey lamely attempts to recapture the freewheeling satires of the 1960s (such as his classic PUTNEY SWOPE) with this amateurish tale of the loonies at a N.Y. cable TV station, whose signal is accidentally bounced off the moon, bringing them worldwide fame. Hopelessly dated; filmed in 1982. | tt0090629 | [R] | Zack Norman, Tammy Grimes, Michael J. Pollard, Monroe Arnold, Richard Belzer, Liz Torres, Howard Thomashefsky, Laura Ashton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| America's Heart & Soul | 2004 | Louis Schwartzberg | ★★★ | 84 | An unsentimental portrait of America as seen through images, sounds, and the stories of some colorful people who represent individualism at its best— from a weaver carrying on a generations-old tradition to a disabled boy who competes in marathons in tandem with his father. This final story is so moving, nothing could follow it. | tt0381006 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| America's Sweethearts | 2001 | Joe Roth | ★★½ | 102 | Slick if forgettable comedy about a much-loved Hollywood couple— now split— who agree to come together to promote their final film at a press junket. Crystal is the can-do publicist, Roberts is the sister and assistant to a very spoiled Zeta-Jones. No particular hilarity or insights here, but an easy-to-take mix of romantic comedy and farce, with some knowing jibes at the ritual of movie publicity. Crystal produced and cowrote with Peter Tolan. | tt0265029 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack, Hank Azaria, Stanley Tucci, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Seth Green | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| America, America | 1963 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 168 | The dream of passage to America— as it unfolded for late 19th-century immigrants— is movingly captured by writer-director Kazan in this long, absorbing film, based on his uncle's experiences. Heartfelt and heart-rending, with impressive Oscar-winning art direction/set decoration by Gene Callahan. | tt0056825 | Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Elena Karam, Lou Antonio, John Marley, Estelle Hemsley | Drama | NULL | |||
| An American Affair | 2009 | William Sten Olsson | ★½ | 92 | Laughably bad drama about a 13-year-old boy (Bright) who develops a crush on the glamorous blond woman across the street in Washington, D.C.—little dreaming that she is the mistress of President John F. Kennedy. Mol is sexy but that’s all one can say for this absurd mix of conspiracy yarn and teenage hormonal fantasy, which at one time carried the fanciful title BOY OF PIGS. | tt0899138 | [R] | Gretchen Mol, Cameron Bright, Noah Wyle, James Rebhorn, Mark Pellegrino, Perrey Reeves | NULL | |||
| American Anthem | 1986 | Albert Magnoli | ★½ | 100 | Supremely corny, badly written tale of a gymnast with family problems which keep him from fulfilling his destiny. Inauspicious movie debut for Olympic gymnast Gaylord is strangely reminiscent of PURPLE RAIN, with the same music video approach to drama; Magnoli directed them both. | tt0090631 | [PG-13] | Mitch Gaylord, Janet Jones, Michelle Phillips, R.J. Williams, Michael Pataki, Patrice Donnelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Beauty | 1999 | Sam Mendes | ★★★½ | 121 | Exceptional and original look at the American Dream gone sour. Spacey is having a midlife crisis, and decides to throw caution to the winds; his wife, Bening, who's forsaken him for her real estate career, seeks sexual fulfillment elsewhere. And their alienated teenage daughter is attracted to a strange young man next door. Amusing, bittersweet, and insightful script by Alan Ball is perfectly realized by a superb cast and first-time film director. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Screenwriter, Actor (Spacey), and Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall). | tt0169547 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper, Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney, Scott Bakula, Sam Robards | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Boyfriends | 1989 | Sandy Wilson | ★★ | 90 | Dull, overly sentimental followup to MY AMERICAN COUSIN. It's now the 1960s and the heroine of the earlier film (Langrick) is a teenybopper who heads off to Oregon for American cousin Wildman's wedding. Lacks the spark of the original. | tt0096801 | [PG-13] | Margaret Langrick, John Wildman, Jason Blicker, Liisa Repo Martell, Michael Bardeaux, Delia Brett | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| American Buffalo | 1996 | Michael Corrente | ★★★ | 87 | Arresting film version of David Mamet's profane, provocative three-character play. Hoffman plays Teach, a self-enobled world expert who horns in on the plans of his friend, junk shop owner Don (Franz), to commit a robbery with the help of a teenaged protégé (Nelson). A simple character study, with perfectly cast actors bringing Mamet's own screen adaptation to life. One of the rare photographed stage plays that works. | tt0115530 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz, Sean Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| An American Carol | 2008 | David Zucker | ★½ | 83 | A slobbering, sarcastic “liberal” filmmaker (and Michael Moore clone) wants to abolish the Fourth of July. Several ghosts drop in to instill within him the true American spirit. Whatever your politics, this simpleminded, mean-spirited comedy deals in generalities—and has very few laughs to offer. Some familiar faces make cameo appearances. | tt1190617 | [PG-13] | Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins, Robert Davi, Jon Voight, Chriss Anglin, Geoffrey Arend, Serdar Kalsin, Leslie Nielsen, Dennis Hopper, James Woods, Kevin Sorbo, Fred Travalena, Gary Coleman, David Alan Grier, Gail O’Grady | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| American Chai | 2002 | Anurag Mehta | ★★½ | 92 | First-generation Indian-American can't wait to go to college so he can free himself from his family's old-world traditions and constraints. Familiar story of a culture clash between generations is told with humor and the ring of truth in this very modest, ultra-low-budget film. The leading actor is the filmmaker's brother; first-time director Mehta also scripted. | tt0264355 | [R] | Aalok Mehta, Paresh Rawal, Sheetal Sheth, Ajay Naidu, Aasif Mandvi, Josh Ackerman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| American Dream | 1989 | Barbara Kopple | ★★★½ | 100 | Gripping, Academy Award-winning documentary about the hows, whats and whys of a labor strike at the Hormel meat plant in the small town of Austin, Minnesota. It's the story of a profitable company attempting to reduce wages and break a union just for the sake of doing so. This is the stuff of high drama. | tt0099028 | Short | NULL | ||||
| An American Dream | 1966 | Robert Gist | ★★½ | 103 | Distorted, watered-down Norman Mailer novel, dealing superficially with TV commentator wanted by underworld and police for murdering his wife; nightmare sequences are sterile. | tt0060099 | Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Eleanor Parker, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton, J. D. Cannon, Les Crane, Paul Mantee, Harold Gould, George Takei | Drama | NULL | |||
| American Dreamer | 1984 | Rick Rosenthal | ★★ | 105 | Misguided, miscast comedy-adventure yarn about a housewife who wins trip to Paris and (through circumstance) believes herself to be the daring heroine of a series of adventure thrillers. Cute idea (not dissimilar to ROMANCING THE STONE) that an otherwise able cast can't pull off. | tt0086886 | [PG] | JoBeth Williams, Tom Conti, Giancarlo Giannini, Coral Browne, James Staley, Huckleberry Fox, C.B. Barnes | Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| American Dreamz | 2006 | Paul Weitz | ★★★ | 107 | Self-loathing host of a hugely popular American Idol-like TV talent show meets a kindred spirit in deceptively sweet-faced contestant Moore. Then he's offered the President of the U.S. as a guest judge-little dreaming that the Chief Executive has been going through a near breakdown and crisis of confidence. Weitz's script veers between satire and farce but still treats its key characters as human beings. Entertaining and funny, with surprisingly dark, even subversive, elements. | tt0465142 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein, Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Golzari, Marcia Gay Harden, Seth Meyers, John Cho, Judy Greer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Tony Yalda, Marley Shelton | Comedy, Music | NULL | ||
| American Empire | 1942 | William McGann | ★★½ | 82 | Dix and Foster join forces to develop cattle empire in Texas after Civil War, but not without problems. Pretty good outdoor actioner. | tt0034455 | Richard Dix, Leo Carrillo, Preston Foster, Frances Gifford, Guinn Williams | Western | NULL | |||
| American Flyers | 1985 | John Badham | ★★★ | 114 | Two brothers— one of whom is dying— enter a grueling bicycle race marathon. Likable, sweet-natured, root-for-the-good-guys film, if a bit too pat and manipulative at times. Written by Steve Tesich, whose cycle theme fared even better in BREAKING AWAY. | tt0088707 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, David Grant, Rae Dawn Chong, Alexandra Paul, Janice Rule, Luca Bercovici, Robert Townsend, John Amos, Jennifer Grey | Drama | NULL | ||
| The American Friend | 1977 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 127 | Vague but suspenseful statement about American gangster films and the Americanization of European cinema and lifestyles, centering on a young German picture-framer (Ganz) hired to assassinate a mobster. Hopper is the title character, a mystery man; film directors Ray and Fuller appear as heavies. Based on Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game; remade under that title in 2003. Hopper's character, Tom Ripley, also appears in PURPLE NOON and its remake, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. | tt0075675 | Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gerard Blain, Jean Eustache, Sam Fuller, Nicholas Ray | U.S.-French-German | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| American Friends | 1991 | Tristram Powell | ★★½ | 95 | A very proper (and very repressed) senior tutor at Oxford chances to meet a young American girl during a holiday in the Swiss Alps and finds his outlook on life undergoing some dramatic changes. Slight, slowly paced, but diverting; Palin coscripted the film, based on journals left behind by his great-grandfather. | tt0101324 | Michael Palin, Trini Alvarado, Connie Booth, Alfred Molina, David Calder, Simon Jones, Robert Eddison, Alun Armstrong | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| American Gangster | 2007 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 157 | Two parallel stories begin in the late 1960s. Washington is Frank Lucas, who figures the way to rule Harlem is to import heroin directly from Southeast Asia. But scrupulously honest cop Crowe can’t bring down the man who’s spreading pure heroin around the streets until he can identify him. Not the visceral gangland movie you might expect, but a methodical saga of two determined men who use their brains—and know when to bend the rules. Screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on Marc Jacobson’s article “The Return of Superfly.” Clarence Williams III appears unbilled. | tt0765429 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Ruby Dee, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, RZA, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, Ted Levine, Yul Vazquez, Armand Assante, Joe Morton, Common, Tip Harris (T.I.), Carla Gugino, Roger Bart, KaDee Strickland, Jon Polito | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| American Gigolo | 1980 | Paul Schrader | 💣 | 117 | Schrader presents his weakest variation yet on his favorite theme, the seamy side of American life. Feeble morality play, posing as a thriller, is further undermined by neurasthenic acting and some of the unsexiest sex scenes ever. | tt0080365 | [R] | Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina Van Pallandt, Frances Bergen, Bill Duke | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Gothic | 1988 | John Hough | 💣 | 90 | Three couples off for an island weekend off the Seattle coast are forced to land at an unknown island dominated by murderous Ma and Pa (DeCarlo and Steiger) and their 'kids' (grown-ups who've been kept mentally adolescent by their backward, backwoods parents). Populated exclusively by obnoxious characters; even Steiger can't help this one. | tt0094642 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Yvonne De Carlo, Michael J. Pollard, Fiona Hutchison, Sarah Torgov, Mark Lindsay Chapman | Horror | NULL | ||
| American Graffiti | 1973 | George Lucas | ★★★½ | 110 | Highly entertaining, insightful mosaic about youngsters 'coming of age' after high school graduation in 1962. Often hilarious, always on-target, this film made Dreyfuss a star and boosted many other careers. Reedited to 112m. for 1978 reissue to play up latter-day stars. Look fast for Kay Lenz at the dance. Sequel: MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI. | tt0069704 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Wolfman Jack, Harrison Ford, Bo Hopkins, Kathy Quinlan, Suzanne Somers, Joe Spano, Debralee Scott. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| American Guerrilla in the Philippines | 1950 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 105 | Interesting but flawed account of resistance to Japanese after the fall of the Philippines during WW2, focusing on the activities of American naval officer Power. Marred by clichéd, jingoistic script, predictable romantic subplot involving Prelle. On-location filming adds authentic flavor. Based on Ira Wolfert's novel. | tt0042195 | Tyrone Power, Micheline Presle, Tom Ewell, Bob Patten, Tommy Cook, Jack Elam | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| American Gun | 2005 | Aric Avelino | ★★ | 95 | Ambitious but unsuccessful film offers multiple storylines about people in different states coming to grips with the effect of gun violence on their lives. Serious and well-intentioned treatise eschews melodrama where it can, but adds up to very little. Good cast tries hard. Fisk was one of the film's composers. Whitaker coexecutive produced. | tt0416471 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden, Linda Cardellini, Tony Goldwyn, Christopher Marquette, Nikki Reed, Arlen Escarpeta, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Melissa Leo, Schuyler Fisk, Daniel Hugh Kelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| An American Haunting | 2006 | Courtney Solomon | ★½ | 90 | In early 19th-century rural Tennessee, the devout Bell family is driven increasingly batty by a spirit that takes over their house-and specifically targets their teenaged daughter in her bedroom. Based on a purportedly real incident, and briefly framed by a contemporary family's tale, the only real horror here is the film's meager story and one-note screenplay. | tt0429573 | [PG-13] | Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Rachel Hurd-Wood, James D'Arcy, Matthew Marsh, Thom Fell, Sam Alexander | U.S.-British-Canadian-Romanian | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| American Heart | 1993 | Martin Bell | ★★★ | 113 | Sobering, sometimes brilliant drama of gruff ex-con who is reunited with his son, an alienated teen in desperate need of a dad. Jarring, credible portrait of lost souls in urban America, with riveting performances by its stars. First fiction feature for Bell, who directed the documentary STREETWISE. Bridges also coproduced. | tt0103670 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Edward Furlong, Lucinda Jenney, Tracey Kapisky, Don Harvey, Maggie Welsh | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| American History X | 1998 | Tony Kaye | ★★★ | 118 | Hard-hitting drama of a young man who's seduced into a white supremacy movement in Venice, California, goes to prison after committing a heinous crime, and has his head straightened out. When he's released, his only thought is to steer his younger brother away from that same existence. Frighteningly powerful— and believable— performance by Norton sparks this intense drama of a family torn apart. | tt0120586 | [R] | Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Fairuza Balk, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Stacy Keach, Jennifer Lien, Elliott Gould, William Russ, Joseph Cortese | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| American Hot Wax | 1978 | Floyd Mutrux | ★★★ | 91 | Rose-colored story of controversial 1950s disc jockey Alan Freed. Uneven dramatically, but McIntire is excellent, period flavor is strong, and the original rock 'n' roll acts are fun to see. Freed's life also is chronicled in MR. ROCK AND ROLL (in which the DJ plays himself) and the TVM MR. ROCK 'N' ROLL: THE ALAN FREED STORY. | tt0077158 | [PG] | Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, John Lehne, Laraine Newman, Jeff Altman, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| American Madness | 1932 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 81 | Huston is dynamic as a put-upon bank president in the depths of the Great Depression; vivid, upbeat film marred only by idiotic romantic subplot. | tt0022626 | Walter Huston, Pat O'Brien, Kay Johnson, Constance Cummings, Gavin Gordon | Drama | NULL | |||
| American Me | 1992 | Edward James Olmos | ★★½ | 126 | Ambitious look at the so-called 'Mexican Mafia' reflected through the life of a crime lord (Olmos), and the cycle of gang violence which extends from prison to the Southwest's Hispanic barrio communities. Attempts to be epic in scope and subject, but is too unfocused to really score, despite many tough, powerful moments. Olmos— who made his directorial debut here— and Forsythe stand out in the large cast. The prison scenes at Folsom were actually shot there. | tt0103671 | [R] | Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, Pepe Serna, Danny De La Paz, Evelina Fernandez, Sal Lopez, Daniel Villarreal, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Movie | 1999 | Chris Smith | ★★★½ | 104 | Thoroughly engaging documentary about Mark Borchardt, an obsessive independent filmmaker whose aspirations clearly outweigh his talent. Unable to fund his most recent project, he sets out to complete the cheesy horror film he started but abandoned years earlier. Funny and revealing, but director Smith is never condescending toward his subject's dreams and desire for acknowledgment. | tt0181288 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| American Ninja | 1986 | Sam Firstenberg | ★½ | 95 | Low-grade martial-arts entry series set at U.S. Army base in Philippines, with beefy Dudikoff as a soldier who finds ample reason to use his deadly skills. James comes off well as Dudikoff's equally proficient Army pal. Followed by four crummy sequels. | tt0088708 | [R] | Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson, Guich Koock, John Fujioka, Don Stewart, John LaMotta | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| American Outlaws | 2001 | Les Mayfield | ★½ | 93 | Awful oater, designed for brainless teens, which tells (yet again) the story of Jesse James (Farrell), Cole Younger (Caan), and their gang, who become Robin Hood- like outlaws while battling a greedy railroad tycoon. Plodding and predictable. | tt0244000 | [PG-13] | Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Gabriel Macht, Gregory Smith, Harris Yulin, Will McCormack, Ronny Cox, Terry O'Quinn, Kathy Bates, Timothy Dalton | Western, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| American Pie | 1999 | Paul Weitz | ★★★ | 95 | Good-natured teen comedy about four guys who vow to lose their virginity by the night of the high school prom. Raunchy gags gave this film its reputation, but they grow honestly out of its believable characters and situations. In fact, its values are old-fashioned, even if its sense of humor is not. Also available in unrated version. Followed by two sequels. | tt0163651 | [R] | Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Lawrence Pressman, Mena Suvari, Jennifer Coolidge | Comedy | NULL | ||
| American Pie 2 | 2001 | James B. Rogers | ★★ | 104 | Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy, Chris Owen, Denise Faye, Lisa Arturo, Casey Affleck. Lazy sequel to comedy hit reunites the male friends for a summer at the beach after their first year of college; most of the female costars make only token appearances. Crude and obvious where the first film was clever and original, this squeezes all it can from echoes of the original movie and the likability of its cast. Jennifer Coolidge appears unbilled. Unrated version runs 111m. Followed by AMERICAN WEDDING. | tt0252866 | [R] | Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy, Chris Owen, Denise Faye, Lisa Arturo, Casey Affleck | Comedy | NULL | ||
| American Pimp | 2000 | The Hughes Brothers | ★★★ | 90 | Hard-hitting documentary focuses on 30 real-life black male 'entrepreneurs' and their experiences in 'the life.' The filmmakers wisely let their flashy subjects speak for themselves, and they do so with amazing candor, stripping away the Hollywood image and revealing them as misogynist capitalists. Makes witty use of classic blaxploitation movie images of pimps to juxtapose fantasy with cold, hard reality. | tt0179074 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| American Pop | 1981 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★½ | 97 | Ambitious animated film, which follows 20th-century American music through pivotal characters in four generations. Bold graphics and a challenging narrative keep this interesting, if not always successful; animation buffs may wince at awkward rotoscoping (tracing from live action). Ultimate dilemma: the culmination of this heavily dramatic, multigenerational saga is the creation of punk rock! | tt0082009 | [R] | Voices of Ron Thompson, Marya Small, Jerry Holland, Lisa Jane Persky, Roz Kelly | Animation, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The American President | 1995 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 113 | Slick, entertaining Hollywood concoction about a widowed president who's attracted to a lobbyist and decides to pursue her— naively ignoring the political impact this liaison may have during an election year. Appealing performances and a bright screenplay (by Aaron Sorkin) help this likable movie glide along past its considerable gaps in credibility. This is the ultimate wish-fulfillment movie, with a president who's handsome, funny, forthright, decisive, and honest. If only! | tt0112346 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, John Mahoney, Samantha Mathis, Shawna Waldron, David Paymer, Anne Haney, Richard Dreyfuss, Nina Siemaszko, Wendie Malick, Gail Strickland | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| American Psycho | 2000 | Mary Harron | ★½ | 97 | A 1980s Wall Street yuppie has all the trappings of success— and the need to fit in— but also has an uncontrollable drive to kill people. Intense adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 novel makes its satiric points early on, then has nothing to add. Bale gives a dynamic performance in this turgid film. Unrated version also available. Followed in 2002 by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0144084 | [R] | Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Chloë Sevigny, Justin Theroux, Guinevere Turner, Matt Ross | Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| American Reunion | 2012 | Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg | ★★½ | 113 | After three theatrical films and four straight-to-DVD attempts at cashing in on AMERICAN PIE, the series has been rebooted for the big screen. Results are often funny, if predictable, as the gang attends its high school reunion. The main idea is to show how far they haven't come and, of course, find excuses to put them in gross-out and/or embarrassing sexual situations. There's nothing as memorable as the gags in the original but Biggs and Scott, who seem game for just about any humiliation, still find comic mileage in their characters. Rebecca De Mornay appears unbilled. | tt1605630 | [R] | Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, John Cho, Dania Ramirez, Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Katrina Bowden, Shannon Elizabeth, Neil Patrick Harris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| An American Rhapsody | 2001 | Éva Gardos | ★★½ | 106 | A couple fleeing from Hungary in 1956 is forced to leave an infant daughter behind. At age six she's torn from the only mother and father she's ever known to join her real parents in America. Heartfelt film based on writer-director Gardos' own life doesn't really gel until its heroine becomes a teenager (Johansson) and rebels against her overprotective mother. Coproducer Colleen Camp appears briefly as a friendly neighbor. | tt0221799 | [PG-13] | Nastassja Kinski, Tony Goldwyn, Scarlett Johansson, Kelly Endrész Banláki, Ági Bánfalvy, Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Mae Whitman, Lisa Jane Persky, Larisa Oleynik | Drama | NULL | ||
| An American Romance | 1944 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 122 | Long, flavorful story of immigrant steelworker's rise to wealth and power. Might have been a better film with someone more magnetic than Donlevy in the lead. Originally released at 151m. | tt0036596 | Brian Donlevy, Ann Richards, Walter Abel, John Qualen, Stephen McNally | Drama | NULL | |||
| American Roulette | 1988 | Maurice Hatton | 💣 | 102 | Dreadful political thriller about the president of a Latin American country (Garcia), who also doubles as a poet, and his plight as he's hunted by a death squad while in exile in London. Poorly directed and crammed with plot holes; padded with scenes of Garcia racing through the London Underground, yet it's unclear as to who's chasing him. | tt0094644 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Kitty Aldridge, Robert Stephens, Al Matthews, Susannah York | British-Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The American Soldier | 1970 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★½ | 80 | Fassbinder sacrifices believability for mood in this dour film noir about a Vietnam vet (Scheydt) who becomes a hired assassin in the Munich underworld. Not so much an ode to the celluloid American gangster or allegory about the Vietnam war as a character study, loaded with in-jokes and absurdist references (such as the duplicitous moll named Rosa von Praunheim). Fassbinder also scripted. | tt0065391 | Karl Scheydt, Elga Sorbas, Jan George, Margarethe von Trotta, Hark Bohm, Ingrid Caven, Kurt Raab | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Splendor | 2003 | Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini | ★★★½ | 101 | Innovative film blends real life and dramatization in telling the story of Cleveland, Ohio, cynic Harvey Pekar, who becomes an unlikely celebrity by chronicling his mundane life in a series of comic books. The filmmakers manage to fuse footage of Pekar, his family, and friends with their movie alter egos in a fresh and constantly surprising way. Giamatti is perfect as the unrepentant curmudgeon. Written by the directors. | tt0305206 | [R] | Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Earl Billings, Donal Logue, Molly Shannon | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The American Success Company | Success | 1979 | William Richert | ★★ | 94 | A contemporary fable about a young loser— in business and marriage— who decides to change his luck by emulating a macho prince. Offbeat in the extreme, often funny, but decidedly uneven. Filmed in Germany; based on a story by Larry Cohen. Richert has twice reedited and reissued the film: in 1981 as AMERICAN SUCCESS, then in 1983 simply as SUCCESS. | tt0078765 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Belinda Bauer, Ned Beatty, Steven Keats, Bianca Jagger, John Glover | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| An American Tail | 1986 | Don Bluth | ★★½ | 80 | A young Russian mouse is separated from his family as they're about to arrive at their new homeland, America, in the late 19th century. Handsome, occasionally heart-tugging cartoon feature with a cute main character— but serious story flaws (why are there three climaxes?). Producer Steven Spielberg's first foray into animation. Followed by three sequels and an animated TV series, Fievel's American Tails. | tt0090633 | [G] | Voices of Dom DeLuise, Christopher Plummer, Nehemiah Persoff, Madeline Kahn, Phillip Glasser, John Finnegan, Cathianne Blore, Will Ryan | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| An American Tail: Fievel Goes West | 1991 | Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells | ★★½ | 74 | Pleasant enough animated feature for small fry follows immigrant Fievel the mouse and his family on a trek to the American West. Mediocre songs and uninspired character animation make it less than memorable— but Stewart's performance as over-the-hill sheriff Wylie Burp is a treat. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0101329 | [G] | Voices of Philip Glasser, James Stewart, Erica Yohn, Cathy Cavadini, Nehemiah Persoff, Dom DeLuise, Amy Irving, John Cleese, Jon Lovitz | Family, Animation, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| American Teen | 2008 | Nanette Burstein | ★★★ | 102 | Enjoyable documentary follows five prototypical teenagers during their senior year of high school in Warsaw, Indiana. Almost too conveniently they fit into pigeonholes (a rich girl who’s also the most popular, a basketball star, an artsy girl who doesn’t fit in, a hunk, and a total dweeb), but it’s impossible to predict how they will respond to various pressures that arise during this crucial year in their lives. Slickly packaged (and widely criticized for that) but undeniably entertaining. | tt0486259 | [PG-13] | NULL | ||||
| An American Tragedy | 1931 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★ | 95 | Straightforward telling of Theodore Dreiser story about weak young man torn between poor girlfriend and beautiful, wealthy girl who falls in love with him. Sidney is ideally cast, but film is cold and uninvolving; certainly not as florid as remake, A PLACE IN THE SUN. | tt0021607 | Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Frances Dee, Irving Pichel, Frederick Burton, Claire McDowell | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| American Violet | 2009 | Tim Disney | ★★★ | 103 | Forthright, emotion-packed account of Dee Roberts (Beharie), an African-American single mother living in Texas. After being unjustly busted for drugs, she determinedly fights the system rather than accept a plea bargain for a crime she did not commit. Fact-based story is both an eye-opener and crowd-pleaser, with the 2000 presidential election tellingly playing out in the background. Beharie is a real find. | tt1152397 | [PG-13] | Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Michael O’Keefe, Xzibit, Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Malcolm Barrett, Tim Ware, Paul David Story, David Warshofsky, Lucinda Jenney | Drama | NULL | ||
| American Wedding | 2003 | Jesse Dylan | ★★ | 97 | Biggs and Hannigan are getting married, but things start to go wrong in this second sequel to AMERICAN PIE . . . especially when Scott (as the ever-obnoxious Stifler) shows up. Some good farcical moments are offset by gross-out gags designed to see just how far one can go in search of laughs. | tt0328828 | [R] | Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, January Jones, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Deborah Rush, Molly Cheek, Angela Paton, Jennifer Coolidge, Nikki Ziering, Lawrence Pressman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| An American Werewolf in London | 1981 | John Landis | ★★★ | 97 | A young man is bitten by a wolf on the British moors, with terrifying results. Not a spoof, but a full-blooded horror film that happens to have a sharp sense of humor— as well as a reverence for horror films past. Dynamite direction and script by Landis, startling Oscar-winning makeup effects by Rick Baker. Followed by an in-name-only sequel. | tt0082010 | [R] | David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne, John Woodvine, Brian Glover | Comedy, Horror, Romance | NULL | ||
| An American Werewolf in Paris | 1997 | Anthony Waller. | ★½ | 97 | Thrill-seeking American Scott falls for Parisienne Delpy, but she's a werewolf, and soon he's one, too, pitted against a group of leering lycanthropes bent on wiping out the unfit— such as American tourists. Begins well, but soon goes awry, with too much comedy and romance, and too much plot; the werewolf effects are plentiful but second-rate at best. No plot connections to the superior John Landis original. | tt0118604 | [R] | Tom Everett Scott, Julie Delpy, Vince Vieluf, Phil Buckman, Julie Bowen, Pierre Cosso, Tom Novembre, Thierry Lhermitte. | British-U.S.-Luxembourg-Dutch-French | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| An American in Paris | 1951 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★½ | 115 | Joyous, original musical built around Gershwin score; dazzling in color. Plot of artist Kelly torn between gamine Caron and wealthy Foch is creaky, but the songs, dances, production are superb. Oscars include Best Picture, Story and Screenplay (Alan Jay Lerner), Cinematography (Alfred Gilks and John Alton), Scoring (Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin), Art Direction, Costume Design, and a special citation to Kelly. Look fast for Noel Neill as an art student. | tt0043278 | Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The American | 2010 | Anton Corbijn | ★★★ | 105 | Intriguing mood piece features Clooney as a weapons expert (and assassin) who’s forced to hide out, temporarily, in a small Italian town. He doesn’t keep a low profile for long, interacting with a talkative priest and becoming seriously attracted to a beautiful prostitute. Provocative and satisfying adult yarn is European in its approach and leisurely pacing; in fact, Clooney is the only American ingredient. | tt1440728 | [R] | George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Americana | 1981 | David Carradine | ★★½ | 91 | Vietnam veteran Carradine attempts to rebuild a merry-go-round in rural Kansas town. Odd, thoughtful little drama, adequately directed by its star. Filmed in 1973. | tt0082011 | [PG] | David Carradine, Barbara Hershey, Michael Greene | Drama | NULL | ||
| Americaner Schadchen | 1940 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 87 | Slight romantic satire about a movie star (Fuchs) whose fiancées keep breaking their engagements, and who opens a marriage bureau. The last of four Yiddish-language features made by cult director Ulmer. Aka AMERICAN MATCHMAKER. | tt0032201 | Leo Fuchs, Judith Abarbanel, Yudel Dubinsky, Wolf Mercur, Rosetta Bialis | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Americanization of Emily | 1964 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★½ | 117 | Garner is fall guy for U.S. admiral's master plan to have American naval officer first Normandy invasion victim, with predictable results. Cynical Garner-Andrews romance blends well with realistic view of life among U.S. military brass. Script by Paddy Chayefsky, from William Bradford Huie's novel. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0057840 | James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn, Joyce Grenfell, Keenan Wynn, Judy Carne, Liz Fraser, Edward Binns, William Windom, Alan Sues | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Americano | 1955 | William Castle | ★★½ | 85 | American cowboy Ford delivers a herd of cattle to Brazil, but stays on when he gets caught up in a quarrel between rancher Lovejoy and local peasants. He falls for Thiess and becomes friendly with bandit Romero (fun in a flamboyant role). Standard Western set in 1955 Brazil benefits from South American shooting and colorful characters. | tt0047820 | Glenn Ford, Cesar Romero, Frank Lovejoy, Ursula Thiess, Abbe Lane | Western | NULL | |||
| Americathon | 1979 | Neal Israel | 💣 | 86 | Unfunny comedy wastes great premise: in 1998, America must hold a telethon in order to raise money to save itself. Only spark is set by Buzby as Vietnamese punk-rocker. Narrated by George Carlin. | tt0078766 | [PG] | Harvey Korman, John Ritter, Nancy Morgan, Peter Riegert, Fred Willard, Zane Buzby, Richard Schaal, Elvis Costello, Chief Dan George, Tommy Lasorda, Jay Leno, Peter Marshall, *** Meat Loaf, Howard Hesseman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Amigo | 2011 | John Sayles | ★★½ | 128 | When the U.S. invades the Philippines in 1900, unworldly American soldiers find themselves dealing with natives they can't relate to and a rebel army that's out there somewhere in the jungle. One village's leader (Torre) is torn between appeasing the Americans and not betraying his brother, who's a rebel fighter. Fascinating subject matter should have made for a more compelling film, though there are interesting vignettes, as you'd expect from writer-director (and editor) Sayles. Shot entirely on location; Torre is a major Filipino star. | tt1562847 | [R] | Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt, Chris Cooper, Dane DeHaan, DJ Qualls, Rio Locsin, Ronnie Lazaro, Yul Vázquez, Bembol Roco | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Amistad | 1997 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★ | 152 | Little-known saga of the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, whose 'cargo' broke their chains in 1839— and wound up in a U.S. courtroom, ultimately attracting the attention of ex-president John Quincy Adams (Hopkins). A good film that's frustratingly uneven: the slave ship scenes are wrenching (and unavoidably reminiscent of Spielberg's SCHINDLER'S LIST), and Adams' final summation is a showcase speech. But the film is long, and the dramatic gaps too many. Hounsou offers a powerful presence as Cinque, the leader of the slave revolt. | tt0118607 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, Djimon Hounsou, David Paymer, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Skarsgård, Anna aquin, Tomas Milian, Austin Pendleton, Allan Rich, Paul Guilfoyle, Peter Firth, Xander Berkeley, Jeremy Northam, Arliss Howard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Amityville 3-D | 1983 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 105 | Thoroughly familiar retread of spirit-in-the-house formula, with Roberts as a Doubting Thomas who buys the dreaded Amityville house (seen in two otherwise unrelated films). Competence at every level keeps this from being trash; excellent 3-D effects too. Shown on TV as AMITYVILLE: THE DEMON; followed by TV movie AMITYVILLE 4: THE EVIL ESCAPES. | tt0085159 | [PG] | Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, Robert Joy, Candy Clark, John Beal, Leora Dana, John Harkins, Lori Loughlin, Meg Ryan | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Amityville Horror | 1979 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★½ | 117 | Family moves into supposedly haunted Long Island home, finds that 'supposedly' is inoperative. Based on Jay Anson's (supposedly) nonfiction best-seller, film is yawn-inducing rehash of all the old schticks; not even good for laughs, with Steiger mercilessly hamming it up as local priest. Followed by a prequel, AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION, a TV movie, and several so-called sequels. Remade in 2005. | tt0078767 | [R] | James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud, Murray Hamilton, Michael Sacks, Helen Shaver, Natasha Ryan, Val Avery, John Larch, Amy Wright, James Tolkan | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Amityville Horror | 2005 | Andrew Douglas. | ★★ | 89 | Reynolds, his new wife, and stepchildren move into an old Long Island house where multiple murders occurred a year before. The youngest child is befriended by a ghost, while the husband is slowly driven into a homicidal rage. Professionally made, well-acted, but uninvolving tale is both familiar and overdone. Based on the same supposedly true story as the 1979 movie, but ends up resembling THE SHINING. | tt0384806 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloë Grace Moretz, Rachel Nichols, Philip Baker Hall. | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Amityville II: The Possession | 1982 | Damiano Damiani | 💣 | 104 | Officially a prequel to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, but actually just a ripoff. A loathsome lout (Young) moves into notorious Long Island house with his troubled family and all hell breaks loose. Alternately dull and disgusting. | tt0083550 | [R] | Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, James Olson, Jack Magner, Diane Franklin, Andrew Prine, Ted Ross, Moses Gunn | Horror | NULL | ||
| Among Giants | 1998 | Sam Miller | ★★½ | 96 | A rough-hewn contractor hires a rowdy lot to paint the huge electric pylons that dot the British countryside. They become a sort of outlaw family, and are joined by an adventurous Aussie woman who likes heights. Good performances and rich atmosphere help, but it's a less successful dip into working-class life by the writer of THE FULL MONTY, Simon Beaufoy. | tt0122906 | [R] | Pete Postlethwaite, Rachel Griffiths, James Thornton, Lennie James, Andy Serkis, Rob Jarvis, Alan Williams | British | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Among the Living | 1941 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 68 | Intriguing little B film about a deranged man, one of twins, kept isolated for years, who breaks loose and stirs up trouble. Some great moments, but film is a little too hurried and simplistic; Dekker is excellent in dual role. | tt0033337 | Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward, Frances Farmer, Harry Carey, Gordon Jones | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Amongst Friends | 1993 | Rob Weiss | ★★½ | 86 | Superficial (and, by now, all-too-familiar) tale of young male punks coming of age on America's mean streets, only these are suburban rather than urban and the boys are wealthy instead of working-class. Well made and not uninteresting, but Martin Scorsese did it— and did it better— 20 years earlier. | tt0106264 | [R] | Joseph Lindsey, Patrick McGaw, Steve Parlavecchio, Mira Sorvino, Brett Lambson, Michael Artura | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Amor Bandido | 1979 | Bruno Barreto | ★★★ | 95 | Tough drama of 17-year-old dancer-hooker Ache, estranged from cop father Gracindo, who takes up with baby-faced killer Guarnieri. Uncompromising and, ultimately, sad; based on one of Brazil's most notorious criminal cases. | tt0078768 | Paulo Gracindo, Cristina Ache, Paulo Guarnieri, Ligia Diniz, Flavio Sao Thiago | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Amores Perros | 2000 | Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu | ★★★ | 153 | Arresting look at divergent lives that intersect in a Mexico City car crash. Broken into three sections, film traces several different characters and their relationships, all connected in one way or another by their dogs, raising tough questions about the human condition in an unforgiving city. Brutally realistic (but judiciously edited) depiction of dogfights and their outcomes will make this tough for some viewers; for others there are considerable rewards here. Feature debut for TV commercial director Inarritu. English title: LOVE'S A BITCH. | tt0245712 | [R] | Emilio Echevarria, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Alvaro Guerrero, Vanessa Bauche, Jorge Salinas, Marco Perez, Rodrigo Murray | Mexican | Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders | 1965 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 126 | Billed as female Tom Jones, Moll is far from thrilling. Fine cast romps through 18th-century England from bedroom to boudoir, but film needs more spice than Novak can muster. The two leads were married briefly in real life. | tt0058905 | Kim Novak, Richard Johnson, Angela Lansbury, George Sanders, Vittorio De Sica, Lilli Palmer, Leo McKern, Cecil Parker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Amorous Mister Prawn | 1962 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★½ | 89 | Diverting fluff finds wife (Greenwood) of general (Parker) devising a scheme to obtain badly needed money so they can retire in style. | tt0055746 | Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Ian Carmichael, Robert Beatty | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Amos & Andrew | 1993 | E. Max Frye | 💣 | 94 | Agonizing comedy about a professionally distinguished black man who moves into a new home, only to be harassed by white neighbors who assume he's a prowler. Intended social satire is as broadly silly as a '60s Disney comedy; maybe they should have called this THAT DARN AFRO-AMERICAN. | tt0106266 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Dabney Coleman, Brad Dourif, Michael Lerner, Margaret Colin, Chelcie Ross, I. M. Hobson, Jodi Long, Giancarlo Esposito, Loretta Devine, Bob Balaban, Tracey Walter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Amreeka | 2009 | Cherien Dabis | ★★½ | 97 | Well-intentioned account of a Palestinian woman (Faour), reeling from the pressures of everyday life in the West Bank, who moves to Illinois (along with her teenage son) to live with relatives. Depiction of the struggles of immigrants in a new land is overly familiar and occasionally wallows in soap opera, but writer-director Dabis still manages to make you care about the characters. | tt1190858 | [PG-13] | Nisreen Faour, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Melkar Muallem, Yussef Abu Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Amer Hlehel | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Amsterdam Kill | 1977 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 90 | Tired drug bust movie gets a shot from Mitchum's presence as a retired narc who's lured back by a former colleague suspected of being part of an international dope ring. | tt0075677 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Bradford Dillman, Richard Egan, Leslie Nielsen, Keye Luke | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Amsterdamned | 1988 | Dick Maas | ★★ | 113 | Elusive killer emerges by night from Amsterdam's canals to murder people at random; he's hunted by a police detective as determined as he is. Unusual setting and sleekness of production help disguise the fact that it's just another urban cop thriller, with slasher-movie overtones. Director Maas also wrote the script. | tt0094651 | [R] | Huub Stapel, Monique van de Ven, Serge-Henre Valcke, Hidde Maas, Wim Zomer | Dutch | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Amy | 1981 | Vincent McEveety | ★★★ | 100 | Sincere, entertaining Disney tale of Agutter leaving her husband in the early 1900s, teaching at a school for the handicapped. Though the film is targeted at kids, parents won't be bored. Made for TV, released to theaters instead. | tt0082017 | [G] | Jenny Agutter, Barry Newman, Kathleen Nolan, Chris Robinson, Lou Fant, Margaret O'Brien, Nanette Fabray, Lance LeGault, Lucille Benson | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Amy | 1998 | Nadia Tass | ★★½ | 103 | Unusual film about a little girl who's been traumatized into silence and her overprotective mother, the widow of a rock star. Some of the film's ingredients seem contrived, others endearing, as it shifts from quirky comedy to drama and back again. Written and photographed by Tass' partner and husband, David Parker. | tt0118614 | [PG-13] | Alana De Roma, Rachel Griffiths, Ben Mendelsohn, Nick Barker, Kerry Armstrong, Jeremy Trigatti, William Zappa, Torquil Neilson | Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Amy's Orgasm | 2001 | Julie Davis | ★★½ | 87 | Writer-director Davis stars as an Ivy League-educated self-help author who somehow manages to fall for a shock jock with a reputation for dating bimbos. Although the romance between these two opposites develops a little too quickly, the actors make the budding relationship fun to watch anyway. Warning for those expecting a hot sex romp: the title is as steamy as it gets in this indie comedy. Aka AMY'S O. | tt0280424 | [R] | Julie Davis, Nick Chinlund, Caroline Aaron, Jeff Cesario, Mitchell Whitfield, Jennifer Bransford, Mark Brown | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Amélie | Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le | 2001 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | ★★★½ | 121 | Clever, charming comedy about a sheltered young woman who, in her first foray into 'real life,' decides to manipulate the people around her to make their lives happier. But when she encounters a man who is attracted to her, she can't figure out how to deal with the situation. Told with visual flair and originality, with a star-making performance by Tautou. Written by the director and Guillaume Laurant. Full title is LE FABULEUX DESTIN D'AMÉLIE POULAIN, or AMÉLIE FROM MONTMARTRE. | tt0211915 | [R] | Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Yolande Moreau, Artus de Penguern, Urbain Cancelier, Dominique Pinon, Maurice Benichou | French-German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL |
| Anaconda | 1997 | Luis Llosa | ★★ | 90 | Documentary film crew adrift on the Amazon is besieged by a giant killer snake. Hokey special effects and an expositionless script detract, but there's campy fun in the form of Voight's demonic snake poacher, who speaks with a bad Brandoesque drawl and strangles human victims between his knees. Film makes most of beautiful Brazilian rainforest locale, yet the big serpentine climax looks strangely like deepest, darkest Arcadia. (In fact, it's the Arboretum in L.A. County.) Followed by ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID. | tt0118615 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, *** Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, Kari Wuhrer, Owen Wilson, Vincent Castellanos | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | 2004 | Dwight H. Little | ★★ | 96 | The original ANACONDA had Jennifer Lopez tied up to Ice Cube and a snake-regurgitated Jon Voight; in this sequel, we have Chestnut getting woozy after a rare spider gives him a 151-proof bite. Still, that's an apparent occupational hazard for anyone trekking the Borneo jungle seeking a fountain-of-youth plant right near the spot where snakes converge for mating season. There's a jolt or two to satisfy diehards. | tt0366174 | [PG-13] | Morris Chestnut, Johnny Messner, KaDee Strickland, Matthew Marsden, Nicholas Gonzalez, Eugene Byrd, Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Adventure, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Analyze That | 2002 | Harold Ramis | ★★ | 95 | De Niro is sprung from Sing Sing into the custody of psychiatrist Crystal, who actually believes the mob boss is going to go straight. Another good argument for outlawing sequels; all the novelty and freshness of ANALYZE THIS is gone, replaced by contrived plotting and just a handful of laughs. Even watching De Niro sing tunes from West Side Story wears thin pretty fast. Anthony LaPaglia appears unbilled. | tt0289848 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Cathy Moriarty-Gentile, Reg Rogers, Callie Thorne, Pat Cooper | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Analyze This | 1999 | Harold Ramis | ★★★ | 103 | Amusing comedy about a mob boss who's losing his grip and is persuaded to talk to a psychiatrist— which causes him great embarrassment. A small idea stretched out too far but made worthwhile by De Niro's wonderful comic performance as the foulmouthed mobster who feels 'conflicted.' Followed by ANALYZE THAT. | tt0122933 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Chazz Palminteri, Bill Macy, Leo Rossi, Max Casella, Molly Shannon, Pat Cooper, Elizabeth Bracco | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Anastasia | 1956 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★★ | 105 | Inspired casting makes this film exceptional. Bergman won Oscar as amnesiac refugee selected by Brynner to impersonate surviving daughter of Russia's last czar. High point: confrontation scene in which Hayes as grand duchess must determine if girl is her relative. Screenplay by Arthur Laurents based on Marcelle Maurette's play. | tt0048947 | Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, Helen Hayes, Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, Felix Aylmer, Natalie Schafer, Ivan Desny | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anastasia | 1997 | Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | ★★½ | 88 | Elaborate but uneven cartoon musical about the daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, who supposedly survived in Russia in 1917 only to reappear in Paris a decade later— where two schemers try to collect part of her inheritance from her grandmother, the Dowager Empress. Innocuous enough for kids, but adults may question the '90s American dialogue (and readings). Animation style is also inconsistent— some of it realistic, some of it wildly fanciful. Loosely based on the 1956 movie. Followed in 1999 by a direct-to-video sequel: BARTOK THE MAGNIFICENT. | tt0118617 | [G] | Voices of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lloyd, Hank Azaria, Bernadette Peters, Kirsten Dunst, Andrea Martin, Jim Cummings, Liz Callaway, Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Dokuchitz | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | ||
| Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna | 1986 | Marvin J. Chomsky | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Sumptuous retelling of the story of Anna Anderson, who claimed to have been the surviving daughter of Czarist Russia's Nicholas and Alexandra (played by Sharif and Bloom). James Goldman's literate script was based not on the familiar stage and screen tale of Anastasia of the 1950s but on Peter Kurth's book Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0090638 |
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Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland, Omar Sharif, Jan Niklas, Claire Bloom, Edward Fox, Elke Sommer, Susan Lucci, Nicolas Surovy, Rex Harrison | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Anatomist | 1961 | Leonard William | ★★ | 73 | Respected surgeon encourages corpse-stealing for experiments, causing rash of murders. Sim is wry in tame spooker. | tt0054626 | Alastair Sim, George Cole, Jill Bennett, Margaret Gordon | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Anatomy of Hell | 2004 | Catherine Breillat | 💣 | 80 | After attempting suicide in the bathroom of a gay disco, a woman hires the man who rescues her to spend four nights in her company, challenging him to 'watch me where I'm unwatchable.' Meant to be provocative and controversial, but mostly it's pretentious and homophobic. There's plenty of XXX footage, which is alternately monotonous and unintentionally funny. The title is apt. | tt0348529 | Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi | French | Drama, Adult | NULL | ||
| Anatomy of a Marriage | 1964 | André Cayatte | ★★½ | 193 | Comprised of: 'My Days with Jean-Marc' and 'My Nights with Françoise.' Well-intentioned film which through its two parts attempts to analyze problems of young married couple from each one's point of view; becomes repetitious. | tt0057656 |
|
Jacques Charrier, Marie-Jose Nat, Georges Rivière, Macha Meril | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Anatomy of a Murder | 1959 | Otto Preminger | ★★★★ | 160 | Long, exciting courtroom drama; daring when released, tamer now. Sterling cast: O'Connell as drunken lawyer inspired by Stewart, Scott as prosecuting attorney, Joseph Welch as judge (Welch was the famous Army-McCarthy hearings lawyer who later became a judge in real life). Stewart towers over all as witty, easygoing, but cagy defense lawyer. Script by Wendell Mayes, from novel by Robert Traver (Judge John D. Voelker). Duke Ellington composed the score and also appears on-screen. | tt0052561 | James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C. Scott, Orson Bean, Murray Hamilton | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | 2004 | Adam McKay | ★★ | 95 | In the 1970s, TV news anchor Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) 'owns' San Diego, until an attractive and ambitious female reporter arrives on the scene. A sketch comedy inflated to feature length, with occasional laughs and a number of gag appearances that try to camouflage a threadbare, one-note script. Ferrell and director McKay coscripted. Unrated version runs 103m. | tt0357413 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Danny Trejo, Missi Pyle, Holmes Osborne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Anchors Aweigh | 1945 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 140 | Popular '40s musical of sailors on leave doesn't hold up storywise, but musical numbers still good: Sinatra's 'I Fall in Love Too Easily,' Kelly's irresistible dance with Jerry the cartoon mouse. | tt0037514 | Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Jose Iturbi, Dean Stockwell, Pamela Britton | Adventure, Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| And Baby Makes Three | 1949 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 84 | OK comedy has Hale about to marry for second time, only to discover she's pregnant, and she really does want to stay married to Hubby #1 (Young). | tt0041122 | Robert Young, Barbara Hale, Robert Hutton, Billie Burke, Melville Cooper | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| And God Created Woman | 1956 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 92 | Location shooting (at St. Tropez) and famous Bardot figure on display in simple tale of man-teaser finding it hard to resist temptation. Great cast clicks in Brigitte's best-known vehicle. Beware edited prints. Remade (in name only) by Vadim in the U.S. in 1987. | tt0049189 | Brigitte Bardot, Curt Jurgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Christian Marquand, Georges Poujouly, Jean Tissier | French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| And God Created Woman | 1987 | Roger Vadim | ★½ | 100 | Surprisingly tepid 'variation' on director Vadim's one-time scandale international (see above). Luscious De Mornay marries carpenter Spano merely to secure her release from prison, then keeps him panting as she frolics with gubernatorial candidate Langella. Not all that different from Goldie Hawn's OVERBOARD; beware rock 'n' roll subplot. | tt0092559 | [R] | Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent Spano, Frank Langella, Donovan Leitch, Judith Chapman, Jaime McEnnan, Benjamin Mouton, David Shelley | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| And God Spoke (the making of . . .) | 1993 | Arthur Borman | ★★★ | 83 | Occasionally clever satire in the THIS IS SPINAL TAP mold, only the subject here is the casting and production of a numbingly awful multi-million-dollar biblical epic. After one day the production is behind schedule. Lou (The Incredible Hulk) Ferrigno plays Cain; Eve (The Brady Bunch) Plumb is Mrs. Noah; and Soupy Sales is Moses! An amusing little sleeper. | tt0107492 | Michael Riley, Stephen Rappaport, Lou Ferrigno, Soupy Sales, Eve Plumb, Fred Kaz, Michael Medved | Comedy | NULL | |||
| And Hope to Die | 1972 | René Clément | ★★★ | 99 | Above-average caper with offbeat touches; gang hired to kidnap girl goes through with scheme even though she's already dead. | tt0068420 | [PG] | Robert Ryan, Tisa Farrow, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Lea Massari, Aldo Ray | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| And Justice for All | 1979 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 117 | Lawyer Pacino single-handedly battles Maryland's judicial system. Outrageous satire mixes uncomfortably with painfully sad moments, in attempt to make biting statement on buying and selling of justice. Strong performances and good location photography cannot overcome weak script. Written by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. Lahti's feature debut. | tt0078718 | [R] | Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, Sam Levene, Craig T. Nelson, Joe Morton | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| And Nothing But the Truth | Giro City | 1982 | Karl Francis | ★★½ | 90 | An examination of the role and responsibility of the media, focusing on documentary filmmaker Jackson and reporter Finch at work on a TV magazine show. Earnest, not without merit, but ordinary; originally titled GIRO CITY, and released at 102m. | tt0084006 | Glenda Jackson, Jon Finch, Kenneth Colley, James Donnelly, Emrys James, Karen Archer | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| And Now . . . Ladies and Gentlemen . . . | 2002 | Claude Lelouch | ★★ | 129 | Thief Irons suffers from a memory disorder that complicates any recollection of having pulled off a robbery for which he's accused. Kaas (in real life a French recording star) has the same affliction and becomes a soul mate. Story seems to start in the middle but eventually straightens itself out; still longer than it needs to be. Large cast of characters rushes in and disappears as if they were merely showing up to plunk an extra quarter in a parking meter. Lelouch hasn't lost his eye; the photography by Pierre-William Glenn (DAY FOR NIGHT and other Truffauts) is luscious. | tt0283883 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Irons, Patricia Kass, Thierry Lhermitte, Alessandra Martines, Claudia Cardinale, Ticky Holgado, Yvan Attal, Amidou | French | Romance, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| And Now For Something Completely Different | 1971 | Ian McNaughton | ★★★ | 89 | First feature by the Monty Python troupe is a kind of 'Greatest Hits' album, with some of the most popular sketches and animated bits from their long-running TV series. Fine introduction to their peculiar brand of humor includes Dead Parrot, The World's Deadliest Joke, Upper-Class Twit of the Year, and memorable Lumberjack Song. | tt0066765 | [PG] | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| And Now Miguel | 1966 | James B. Clark | ★★★ | 95 | Flavorful, leisurely paced account of young boy who wants to join his father on his summer mountain trip to graze sheep; set in New Mexico. Produced by Robert Radnitz. | tt0060106 | Pat Cardi, Michael Ansara, Guy Stockwell, Joe De Santis | Drama | NULL | |||
| And Now My Love | 1975 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★½ | 121 | A what'll-he-do-next kind of extravaganza, in which Lelouch salutes life, love and the 20th century, using comedy, drama, and music to bring wealthy Keller and ne'er-do-well Dussollier together for the fadeout. Opens in b&w. | tt0072307 | [PG] | Marthe Keller, Andre Dussollier, Charles Denner, Carla Gravina, Gilbert Becaud, Charles Gerard | French | Drama | NULL | |
| And Now Tomorrow | 1944 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 85 | Poor doctor Ladd falls in love with deaf socialite patient Young in this Rachel Field romance; sticky going at times. | tt0036599 | Alan Ladd, Loretta Young, Susan Hayward, Barry Sullivan, Beulah Bondi, Cecil Kellaway | Drama | NULL | |||
| And Now the Screaming Starts! | 1973 | Roy Ward Baker. | ★★ | 87 | Beacham weds Ogilvy and finds that she's living in a house that has been under a curse for years; OK horror drama with a good cast. | tt0069715 | [R] | Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Ian Ogilvy. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| And Quiet Flows the Don | 1957 | Sergei Gerasimov | ★★★ | 107 | Faithful realization of Mikhail Sholokhov's novel revolving around life of small village family during WW1 and after. Absorbing study of social upheavals caused by revolution and war. Originally a multi-part film; only one segment was released in the West. | tt0051082 | Ellina Bystritskaya, Pyotr Glebov, Zinaida Kirienko, Danilo Ilchenko | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| And So They Were Married | 1936 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 74 | Predictable but amusing little comedy with good co-stars. | tt0027293 |
|
Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor, Edith Fellows, Dorothy Stickney, Jackie Moran, Donald Meek | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| And Soon the Darkness | 1970 | Robert Fuest | ★★ | 98 | Moody thriller with sexual undertones. Franklin is one of two vacationing British nurses bicycling through rural France, menaced by mysterious sex murderer. | tt0065398 | [PG] | Pamela Franklin, Michele Dotrice, Sandor Eles, John Nettleton, Clare Kelly | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself | 2003 | Bruce Beresford | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Energetic, fanciful drama from a wry script by Larry Gelbart about how Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (Banderas), seeking publicity and money for his cause, struck a deal with early film giants D.W. Griffith and partner Harry Aitken to allow them and their cameras frontline access to the war he was waging with dictator Victoriano Huerta. The result, told through the eyes of Aitken's nephew, idealistic production assistant Frank Thayer, became a pioneering action movie, the now-lost 1914 THE LIFE OF GENERAL VILLA. Made for cable. | tt0337824 | Antonio Banderas, Eilon Bailey, Matt Day, Michael McKean, Alan Arkin, Colm Feore, Alexis Davalos, Anthony Stewart Heald, Kyle Chandler, Saul Rubinek, Jim Broadbent, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| And Then There Were None | 1945 | René Clair | ★★★★ | 98 | Highly suspenseful Agatha Christie yarn of ten people invited to lonely island where one by one they're murdered. Great script by Dudley Nichols complemented by superb visual ideas. Remade three times as TEN LITTLE INDIANS. | tt0037515 | Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston, Louis Hayward, Roland Young, June Duprez, C. Aubrey Smith, Judith Anderson, Mischa Auer, Richard Haydn | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| And the Angels Sing | 1944 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 96 | Agreeable musical of singing sister act trying to make it big; MacMurray gives them their break. Brassy Hutton tries to steal the show. | tt0036600 | Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, Betty Hutton, Diana Lynn, Raymond Walburn, Eddie Foy/Jr. | Musical | NULL | |||
| And the Band Played On | 1993 | Roger Spottiswoode | Average TV Movie | 155 | Respectable if uninspired all-star dramatization by Arnold Schulman of the Randy Shilts best-seller about the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Particularly noteworthy are Gere, in a heartfelt turn as a dying dance director (based on Michael Bennett); Martin, who's nearly unrecognizable in one scene; McKellen, as a victim; and Tomlin, as a San Francisco public health doctor. Well done, but doesn't deliver the emotional wallop many viewers were expecting from this much-anticipated production. Made for cable. | tt0106273 | Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, Anjelica Huston, Swoosie Kurtz, Ian McKellen, Bud Cort, Phil Collins, David Dukes, Glenne Headly | Drama | NULL | |||
| And the Ship Sails On | 1984 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 138 | Uniquely Felliniesque ocean voyage, circa 1914, with an earnest journalist (Jones) acting as our 'host' and introducing us to a variety of celebrated guests who have gathered for funeral voyage of great opera star. Flagrantly unrealistic, deliciously absurd, and somewhat uneven, but full of striking images and those indelible Fellini faces . . . plus an opening sequence that's absolutely mesmerizing. | tt0087188 | [PG] | Freddie Jones, Barbara Jefford, Victor Poletti, Peter Cellier, Janet Suzman, Elisa Mai Nardi, Norma West, Paolo Paoloni | Italian | Comedy, War | NULL | |
| The Anderson Platoon | 1967 | Pierre Schoendoerffer | ★★★½ | 65 | Superior chronicle of soldiers in American Army platoon fighting, living, and dying in Vietnam. Vivid, striking images, photographed at the front line. A Best Documentary Academy Award winner. | tt0062244 | French | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| The Anderson Tapes | 1971 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 98 | Fast-paced thriller of ex-con's master holdup plan, and strange electronic surveillances that have tracked him since he left prison. Climax is particularly exciting. Fine Quincy Jones score; Walken's debut. | tt0066767 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Ralph Meeker, Alan King, Margaret Hamilton, Christopher Walken, Garrett Morris | Crime | NULL | ||
| Andersonville | 1996 | John Frankenheimer | Average TV Movie | 168 | Ambitious Civil War saga, focusing on the notorious Confederate POW camp where nearly 13,000 prisoners died in 1864. Unremittingly grim, and too long by a third. Triska gives an over-the-top performance as Wirtz, the crazed camp commandant. (Diehards might want to search out a 1970 PBS tape of The Andersonville Trial with Richard Basehart as Wirtz, and an all-star cast.) Written and produced by David W. Rintels. Made for cable; originally shown in two parts. | tt0115097 | Jarrod Emick, Frederic Forrest, Ted Marcoux, Tom Aldredge, Carmen Argenziano, Jayce Bartok, Frederick Coffin, Cliff De Young, William H. Macy, Justin Henry, Jan Triska, William Sanderson | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Andre | 1994 | George Miller | ★★★ | 94 | Agreeably old-fashioned family film, set in a coastal town in Maine in the early 1960s, about an animal-loving clan who adopts a baby seal that adopts them in return, and refuses to leave. Aimed at children, but amiable enough for parents, with a soundtrack full of 1960s pop music. Based on a true story; watch that vintage home-movie footage of Andre during the closing credits. | tt0109120 | [PG] | Keith Carradine, Tina Majorino, Chelsea Field, Aidan Pendleton, Shane Meier, Keith Szarabajka, Joshua Jackson | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Andrei Roublev | Andrei Rublyov | 1966 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★★ | 185 | Brilliantly devised and directed account of the famous 15th-century icon painter, focusing on an age-old conflict: should an artist participate in the political and social upheavals of the time, or should he simply record history with his brush? This magnificent film is worthy of comparison with the best of Eisenstein's historical dramas. Scripted by Tarkovsky and Andrei Milchakov-Konchalovsky; shelved by the Soviet authorities, and unseen until 1971. Restored original version runs 20m. longer. Sovscope. | tt0060107 | Anatoli Solonitzine, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Grinko, Nikolai Sergueiev | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Androcles and the Lion | 1952 | Chester Erskine | ★★★ | 98 | Shaw's amusing satire of ancient Rome can't be dampened by dull production retelling fable of Christian and lion he befriends. | tt0044355 | Jean Simmons, Alan Young, Victor Mature, Maurice Evans, Elsa Lanchester, Robert Newton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Android | 1982 | Aaron Lipstadt | ★★★ | 80 | Entertaining sci-fi story about an almost-human android who's been working as assistant to mad scientist Kinski on a remote space station and learns he is about to be put out of commission. Charming, quirky ultra-low-budget film made on leftover sets from Roger Corman's BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Opper, who plays Max 404, also cowrote screenplay. | tt0083557 | [PG] | Klaus Kinski, Don Opper, Brie Howard, Norbert Weisser, Crofton Hardester, Kendra Kirchner | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Andromeda Strain | 1971 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 130 | Overlong sci-fi thriller in which small team of superscientists tries to isolate deadly strain of virus from outer space, racing against time and nuclear detonation. From Michael Crichton's novel. | tt0066769 | [G] | Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid, Paula Kelly | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Andy Hardy Comes Home | 1958 | Howard W. Koch | ★★ | 80 | Andy, now a middle-aged married man with children, returns to Carvel on business and gets involved in local politics. Belated, undistinguished reunion for the Hardy clan, with a conspicuously absent Lewis Stone. Teddy Rooney, Mickey's son, plays Andy Hardy, Jr. | tt0051360 | Mickey Rooney, Patricia Breslin, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, Sara Haden, Joey Forman, Jerry Colonna | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever | 1939 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 85 | Amusing series entry as Andy falls for his high school drama teacher and writes a play for himself to star in. | tt0031043 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Helen Gilbert, Terry Kilburn, Sidney Miller | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Andy Hardy Meets Debutante | 1940 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 89 | Heartache and disillusionment result when Andy is smitten by a Manhattan socialite. Garland sings 'Alone' and 'I'm Nobody's Baby.' | tt0032206 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, Judy Garland, Sara Haden, Ann Rutherford, Tom Neal, Diana Lewis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble | 1944 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 107 | Starting college, Andy has his hands full with precocious twins (Lee and Lyn Wilde). Well-produced but overlong entry. | tt0036602 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Sara Haden, Bonita Granville, Jean Porter, Keye Luke, Herbert Marshall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Andy Hardy's Double Life | 1942 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 92 | Andy, finished with high school, turns his attention to girls, including the aquatic charms of Williams. Look for Bobby (Robert) Blake in a small role. | tt0034458 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Esther Williams, William Lundigan, Susan Peters | Comedy, Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Andy Hardy's Private Secretary | 1941 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 101 | As he's about to graduate from high school, Andy gets a swelled head and hires Grayson (who gets to sing Strauss's 'Voices of Spring') to be his social secretary. | tt0033342 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Ian Hunter, Sara Haden, Kathryn Grayson, Todd Karns, Gene Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Andy Warhol's Bad | 1977 | Jed Johnson | ★★½ | 100 | Queens housewife supplements her facial-hair-removal business by running a murder-for-hire concern specializing in children and animals. Goes without saying that Warhol's most expensive film is in execrable taste, but it frequently succeeds as a sick joke; Baker, at least, seems to be having a good time. | tt0075679 | [R] | Carroll Baker, Perry King, Susan Tyrrell, Stefania Cassini, Cyrinda Foxe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Andy Warhol's Dracula | Young Dracula | 1974 | Paul Morrissey | ★★ | 93 | Dracula (Kier) learns he must have blood of virgins (pronounced 'where-gins') in order to survive. Companion piece to ANDY WARHOL'S FRANKENSTEIN is far less bloody and has some amusing bits . . . but a long way from LOVE AT FIRST BITE. Originally released at 106m.; aka BLOOD FOR DRACULA and YOUNG DRACULA. | tt0071233 | [R] | Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Arno Juerging, Vittorio De Sica, Maxime McKendry, Roman Polanski | Italian-French | Drama, Horror | NULL |
| Andy Warhol's Frankenstein | Flesh for Frankenstein | 1974 | Paul Morrissey | 💣 | 94 | Mad baron Kier clones body-beautiful monsters out of bloody human innards. Campy and disgusting, with severed heads and hands galore. Originally shown in 3-D. Aka FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0071508 | [R] | Joe Dallesandro, Monique Van Vooren, Udo Kier, Srdjan Zelenovic, Dalila di Lazzaro | Italian-German-French | Drama, Horror | NULL |
| Angel | 1937 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★ | 91 | Disappointing film for Dietrich-Lubitsch team about Marlene leaving husband Marshall for vacation, falling in love with Douglas. Not worthy of star trio. | tt0028575 | Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Melvyn Douglas, Edward Everett Horton, Laura Hope Crews | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Angel | 1984 | Robert Vincent O'Neil | ★½ | 92 | Wilkes is a straight-A high school student by day, Hollywood hooker by night— but despite 'colorful' characters like drag queen Shawn, film goes nowhere, and remains inexplicably tame in terms of what it shows. Sequel: AVENGING ANGEL. | tt0086896 | [R] | Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, Rory Calhoun, John Diehl, Donna Wilkes | Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Angel Baby | 1961 | Paul Wendkos, Hubert Cornfield | ★★★ | 97 | Penetrating exposé of evangelistic circuit plying backwood country; Jens in title role, Hamilton the promoter, McCambridge his shrewish wife— marvelous cameos by Blondell and Jones. Reynolds's film debut. | tt0054628 | George Hamilton, Salome Jens, Mercedes McCambridge, Joan Blondell, Henry Jones, Burt Reynolds | Drama | NULL | |||
| Angel Baby | 1995 | Michael Rymer | ★★½ | 105 | Lynch and MacKenzie play an emotionally fragile Melbourne couple who meet and fall in love in a rehabilitation center, throwing his family for a loop when she gets pregnant and can't subject the fetus to her medication. Well-acted but overelaborate treatment of the subject matter; won Australian Film Institute awards for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, and Editing. | tt0112362 | John Lynch, Jacqueline MacKenzie, Colin Friels, Deborra-Lee Furness | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angel Eyes | 2001 | Luis Mandoki | ★★½ | 103 | Lopez plays a Chicago cop who's cut off from her family; then a lost soul comes into her life, a man who's running from his past. Neither he nor she realizes that they share a special connection. Sincere performances by the two leads make this watchable, though the story is predictable and familiar. | tt0225071 | [R] | Jennifer Lopez, James Caviezel, Terrence Howard, Sonia Braga, Jeremy Sisto, Monet Mazur, Shirley Knight, Victor Argo. | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Angel Face | 1952 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 91 | Slow-building but engrossing film noir provides uncharacteristic role for Simmons as wealthy Marshall's impulsive daughter, who lures Mitchum away from his job as an ambulance driver (and girlfriend Freeman) and into a job as a chauffeur. But as he falls for her, he's initially unaware that she's nuts and has dark plans for her hated stepmother (O'Neil). Preminger's best movie in this vein after LAURA; its reputation has steadily increased over the decades. | tt0044357 |
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Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Herbert Marshall, Mona Freeman, Leon Ames, Barbara O'Neil, Kenneth Tobey, Jim Backus | Drama, Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | ||
| An Angel From Texas | 1940 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 69 | Stage producers Morris and Reagan con innocent Albert into backing their show. Pleasant farce, nicely acted by the stars of BROTHER RAT. Based on George S. Kaufman's The Butter and Egg Man, filmed many times under different titles. | tt0032207 |
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Eddie Albert, Wayne Morris, Rosemary Lane, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Ruth Terry, John Litel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Angel Heart | 1987 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 113 | Two-bit private eye Rourke is hired by mysterious De Niro to track down a missing man, which leads him into a serpentine investigation— and a kind of emotional quicksand. An American Gothic yarn, full of striking, sensual, and frightening images, though after a while it bogs down. Intriguing, if not terribly appealing. Script by director Parker, based on the novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. A steamy sex scene was snipped (by seconds) to avoid an X-rating in the U.S.; it's restored on video. | tt0092563 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Stocker Fountelieu, Brownie McGhee, Michael Higgins, Charles Gordone, Kathleen Wilhoite, Pruitt Taylor Vince | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Angel Levine | 1970 | Ján Kadár | ★★★½ | 104 | Touching, humorous, and sad. Black angel named Levine, on the outs in Heaven, tries to help poor old Morris Mishkin. A tale often told— seldom this well. Based on a story by Bernard Malamud; script by Bill Gunn and Ronald Ribman. | tt0065400 | [PG] | Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, Ida Kaminska, Milo O'Shea, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Gloria Foster | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angel Unchained | 1970 | Lee Madden | ★★ | 92 | Biker Stroud joins a hippie commune. Dune buggy-riding cowboys don't like hippies, so it's Stroud's ex-buddies to the rescue. Anyway, the cast is interesting. | tt0065401 | [PG] | Don Stroud, Luke Askew, Larry Bishop, Tyne Daly, Aldo Ray, Bill McKinney | Action | NULL | ||
| The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp | 1954 | Alan Bromly | ★★ | 76 | Cilento, in her film debut, stars as an angel who visits earth and becomes involved in various people's lives. Slight, forgettable fare. | tt0047830 | Felix Aylmer, Diane Cilento, Jerry Desmonde, Joe Linnane, Alfie Bass, David Kossoff, Sheila Sweet | British | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Angel Wore Red | 1960 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★½ | 99 | Sometimes engrossing tale of clergyman who joins the Spanish loyalist cause and his romance with a good-natured entertainer. | tt0053601 | Ava Gardner, Dirk Bogarde, Joseph Cotten, Vittorio De Sica | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Angel and the Badman | 1947 | James Edward Grant | ★★★ | 100 | First-rate Western with Russell humanizing gunfighter Wayne; predictable plot is extremely well handled. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039152 | John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey, Irene Rich, Bruce Cabot | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| An Angel at My Table | 1990 | Jane Campion | ★★★½ | 158 | Wilson, Martyn Sanderson. Stunning, biting autobiography of Janet Frame, a roly-poly, repressed little girl who grew up to become New Zealand's most famous novelist/poet— but not before being misdiagnosed a schizophrenic, spending eight years in a mental hospital. Campion beautifully portrays the various stages of Frame's life, and captures the writer's inner world. Fox is riveting as the adult Janet. Scripted by Laura Jones; adapted from a trio of Frame's autobiographies. Originally produced as a three-part television series. | tt0099040 | Kerry Fox, Alexia Keogh, Karen Fergusson, Iris Churn, K.J. Wilson, Martyn Sanderson | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angel in My Pocket | 1969 | Alan Rafkin | ★★ | 105 | Fans of Griffith's TV series may enjoy homespun story of young minister trying to win confidence of new small-town parish. Predictable situations, cliché dialogue, with Van Dyke intolerable as obnoxious brother-in-law. | tt0064026 | [G] | Andy Griffith, Lee Meriwether, Jerry Van Dyke, Kay Medford, Edgar Buchanan, Gary Collins | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Angel in a Taxi | 1959 | Antonio Leonviola. | ★★½ | 95 | Marietto is the whole show in this cute if predictable comedy-fantasy of a six-year-old orphan who sees a photo of pretty ballerina Cecova— and decides that she's his mother. De Sica appears in three small but important roles. | tt0051396 | Vera Cecova, Vittorio De Sica, Marietto, Gabriele Ferzetti, Roberto Risso | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Angel on My Shoulder | 1946 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 101 | Entertaining fantasy of murdered convict Muni sent to earth by Devil as respected judge, and his efforts to outwit Satan while still in mortal form. Remade for TV in 1980 with Peter Strauss and Richard Kiley. | tt0038300 | Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains, George Cleveland, Onslow Stevens | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Angel on the Amazon | 1948 | John H. Auer | ★½ | 86 | Ludicrous 'romance' with Vera in a state of eternal youth; good cast can't rescue clumsy story. | tt0040095 |
|
George Brent, Vera Ralston, Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, Fortunio Bonanova | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Angel, Angel, Down We Go | Cult of the Damned | 1969 | Robert Thom | ★½ | 103 | Awesomely dated tale of corruption, sex, drugs, and fame. Overweight teenager (Near) is distraught when her rock 'n' roll lover (Christopher) begins an affair with her jewelry-obsessed mother (Jones). Reissued as CULT OF THE DAMNED. | tt0065602 | [R] | Jennifer Jones, Jordan Christopher, Holly Near, Roddy McDowall, Lou Rawls, Charles Aidman | Crime | NULL | |
| Angel-A | 2005 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 91 | Small-time swindler with endless debts and the mob on his tail decides to end it all by jumping off a bridge. A beautiful girl has the same idea and beats him to it, so he jumps in to rescue her; she returns the favor by turning his luck around. Besson's first time behind the camera since 1999 is a love letter to Paris, filmed in gorgeous widescreen black and white . . . but his foray into romantic comedy is a misstep, taking a sledgehammer approach to a very slight premise. Besson also wrote the screenplay. | tt0473753 | [R] | Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze, Gilbert Melki, Serge Riaboukine, Akim Chir, Erik Balliet. | French | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Angela | 1984 | Boris Sagal | ★★ | 100 | Dreary story of the relationship between a woman and a younger man who turns out to be her son. Made in 1978. | tt0075681 | Sophia Loren, Steve Railsback, John Huston, John Vernon | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angela | 1955 | Dennis O'Keefe | ★★ | 81 | Poor man's DOUBLE INDEMNITY has O'Keefe drawn into murder and double-dealing by seductive Lane. Standard programmer, filmed in Italy. O'Keefe also scripted. | tt0047831 |
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Dennis O'Keefe, Mara Lane, Rossano Brazzi, Arnold Foa, Nino Crisman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angela's Ashes | 1999 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 146 | Competent but uninspired adaptation of Frank McCourt's hugely popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about growing up in the dire poverty of Dublin in the 1930s and '40s, with a large family, a ne'er-do-well father, and an indomitable mother. Has the right look and feel, but lacks resonance and humor. | tt0145653 | [R] | Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, Michael Legge, Ronnie Masterson, Pauline McLynn, Eanna Macliam, Gerard McSorley, Eamonn Owens; narrated by Andrew Bennett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angelo, My Love | 1983 | Robert Duvall | ★★★ | 115 | Fascinating journey into world of modern-day gypsies, with 'story' loosely wrapped around precocious Angelo Evans, a remarkable young street hustler. Surprisingly successful attempt by Duvall to weave fictional story into real settings with nonprofessional cast. Incidentally, the two men who sing 'Golden Days' in a restaurant scene are Duvall's brothers. | tt0085168 | [R] | Angelo Evans, Michael Evans, Steve 'Patalay' Tsigonoff, Millie Tsigonoff, Cathy Kitchen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angels & Demons | 2009 | Ron Howard | ★★½ | 138 | In this prequel to THE DA VINCI CODE (based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel), Harvard symbologist Hanks is recruited by the Vatican to help unravel a mystery with a ticking clock: four cardinals have been kidnapped and will die before midnight in ritualistic fashion before a stolen canister of powerfully explosive antimatter is detonated in St. Peter’s Square. Is this the work of the ancient society known as the Illuminati? Or are the real enemies within the Vatican itself? Fast-paced thriller is engaging for a while, then turns repetitive, ponderous, and downright silly. As with THE DA VINCI CODE, this movie diminishes the power of the book. | tt0808151 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Rance Howard, Gino Conforti | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Angels Die Hard | 1970 | Richard Compton | ★★ | 86 | Average biker picture has Angels turning out to be good guys for a change as they save people in a mine disaster. Boasts an impressive cast of regulars from this genre. | tt0065405 | [R] | Tom Baker, William Smith, Connie Nelson, R. G. Armstrong, Beach Dickerson, Rita Murray, Dan Haggerty, Bambi Allen, Michael Stringer, Gary Littlejohn | Action | NULL | ||
| Angels Hard as They Come | Angels | 1971 | Joe Viola | ★½ | 90 | Loosely structured road movie satirizes the format, but can't escape the clichés. Produced and cowritten by Jonathan Demme (who claims it's a biker version of RASHOMON); Busey's film debut. Aka ANGELS. | tt0066771 | [R] | James Iglehart, Gilda Texter, Gary Busey, Charles Dierkop, Gary Littlejohn, Larry Tucker, Sharon Peckinpah, Scott Glenn | Action | NULL | |
| Angels One Five | 1954 | George More O'Ferrall | ★★ | 98 | Grounded for accidental plane mishap, British war pilot rebels against officers and friends, seeking to fly again. | tt0046714 | Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, John Gregson | British | War | NULL | ||
| Angels Over Broadway | 1940 | Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes | ★★½ | 80 | Mordant, ahead-of-its-time black comedy in which hustler Fairbanks decides to do 'one good deed'— rescuing suicidal embezzler Qualen— aided by chorus girl Hayworth and boozy Mitchell (who spouts reams of sardonic dialogue in a bravura performance). Hecht buffs will undoubtedly rate this higher, but despite impeccable production, it's just too offbeat (and pleased with itself about it) for most viewers. | tt0032209 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, John Qualen, George Watts | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Angels Wash Their Faces | 1939 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 84 | Protective sister Sheridan tries to clear brother Thomas' police record, but he joins Dead End Kids for more trouble. OK juvenile delinquent drama. | tt0031045 | Ann Sheridan, Dead End Kids, Frankie Thomas, Bonita Granville, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, Eduardo Ciannelli | Drama | NULL | |||
| Angels With Dirty Faces | 1938 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 97 | Superior cast in archetypal tale of two playmates; one (Cagney) becomes a gangster, the other (O'Brien) a priest. The Dead End Kids idolize Cagney, much to O'Brien's chagrin. Rowland Brown's story was scripted by John Wexley and Warren Duff. Quintessential Warner Bros. melodrama, a favorite of parodists for decades. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029870 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, George Bancroft, Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabe Dell, Bobby Jordan, Bernard Punsley | Crime | NULL | |||
| Angels and Insects | 1995 | Philip Haas | ★★★ | 116 | Fascinating, mature drama, set in Victorian England, with impoverished naturalist Rylance taken in by Kemp's wealthy family and falling for his lovely, soft-spoken daughter (Kensit). While the man of science studies the social order of the insect world, the humans around him appear increasingly eccentric. Film methodically builds to devastating conclusion; Scott Thomas (playing a poor relation assisting Rylance with his work) delivers an award-caliber performance. A. S. Byatt's novella Morpho Eugenia was adapted by the director and his wife, Belinda Haas. A PBS American Playhouse presentation. | tt0112365 | [R] | Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patsy Kensit, Jeremy Kemp, Douglas Henshall, Saskia Wickham, Chris Larkin, Anna Massey | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Angels in Disguise | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 63 | The Bowery Boys go undercover to help catch some Runyonesque gangsters. | tt0041124 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Bennie Bartlett, Mickey Knox, Jean Dean, Bernard Gorcey | Crime, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Angels in the Outfield | 1951 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 102 | Cute comedy-fantasy with Douglas ideally cast as the Pittsburgh Pirates' hot-tempered, foul-mouthed manager, whose hard-luck team goes on a winning streak thanks to some heavenly intervention. Amusing cameos from the worlds of baseball and show business. Remade in 1994. | tt0043286 | Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Donna Corcoran, Spring Byington, Ellen Corby, Lewis Stone, Bruce Bennett, voice of James Whitmore | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Angels in the Outfield | 1994 | William Dear | ★★½ | 102 | Inoffensive remake, with the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates of the original now the last-place California Angels. Glover replaces Paul Douglas as the team's scowling manager; the invisible angels of the original are now depicted with glitzy special effects; and the prayers of a boy (Gordon-Levitt), rather than a girl, result in the title miracle. A satisfactory entertainment for kids, but the original was better. Followed by two TV sequels: ANGELS IN THE ENDZONE and ANGELS IN THE INFIELD. | tt0109127 | [PG] | Danny Glover, Tony Danza, Brenda Fricker, Ben Johnson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milton Davis/Jr., Christopher Lloyd, Jay O. Sanders, Taylor Negron, Matthew McConaughey, Dermot Mulroney, Adrien Brody | Family, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Angels of Darkness | 1953 | Giuseppe Amato | ★★ | 84 | Aimless account of life and love among unhappy inhabitants of Rome; a waste of stars' abilities. | tt0045698 | Linda Darnell, Anthony Quinn, Valentina Cortese, Lea Padovani | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angels' Alley | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 67 | Slip's ex-con cousin (Darro) comes to visit and gets the Bowery Boys into predictable scrapes with the law. | tt0040097 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Frankie Darro, Nestor Paiva, Rosemary La Planche, Bennie Bartlett | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Angels' Brigade | 1979 | Greydon Clark | ★★ | 87 | Mindless entertainment about seven young women who team up and outfit a 'super-van' to combat drug dealing. Lots of action. Aka ANGELS' REVENGE. | tt0078778 | [PG] | Jack Palance, Neville Brand, Jim Backus, Pat Buttram, Alan Hale/Jr., Peter Lawford, Jacqueline Cole, Susan Kiger, Sylvia Anderson | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Anger Management | 2003 | Peter Segal | ★★ | 106 | Sentenced to undergo therapy after an airline altercation that really wasn't his fault, Sandler is further bewildered when his therapist turns out to be the loosest cannon in New York (Nicholson with a Brillo beard). Comedy offers a dream cross-generational teaming but delivers nothing beyond it, with Nicholson giving a surprisingly one-note performance. Even surprise cameo appearances aren't as funny as they ought to be. | tt0305224 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Allen Covert, Lynne Thigpen, Kurt Fuller, Krista Allen, January Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Nealon, Harry Dean Stanton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Angie | 1994 | Martha Coolidge | ★★★ | 107 | Davis shines in this star vehicle about an Italian-American from Brooklyn who's always marched to her own drum, and finds— when she's on the verge of marriage and motherhood— that something significant is missing from her life. Todd Graff's script runs the gamut from romantic comedy to melodrama, but Davis' character— both assertive and vulnerable— has the glue to keep it all together. She's surrounded by a fine supporting cast. | tt0109129 | [R] | Geena Davis, Stephen Rea, James Gandolfini, Aida Turturro, Philip Bosco, Jenny O'Hara, Michael Rispoli, Betty Miller, Charlaine Woodard, Bibi Osterwald | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Angry Breed | 1969 | David Commons | 💣 | 89 | Vietnam veteran comes to Hollywood after discharge, gets mixed up with a group of motorcyclists. Twelfth-rate in all departments. | tt0064027 | [PG] | Jan Sterling, James MacArthur, William Windom, Jan Murray, Murray McLeod, Lori Martin, Melody Patterson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Angry Harvest | 1985 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★ | 102 | Discerning drama, set during WW2, highlighting the intricacies in the relationship between a working-class Polish farmer (Stahl, who is outstanding) and the upper-class Viennese Jewish refugee (Trissenaar) he shelters. Scripted by director Holland (who later made EUROPA, EUROPA). | tt0088811 | Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Kathe Jaenicke, Hans Beerhenke, Isa Haller, Margit Carstensen, Wojciech Pszoniak, Kurt Raab | West German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Angry Hills | 1959 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 105 | Mitchum shows vim in WW2 actioner as war correspondent plotting escape from Greece with valuable data for Allies. | tt0052563 | Robert Mitchum, Elisabeth Mueller, Stanley Baker, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel, Sebastian Cabot | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Angry Red Planet | 1959 | Ib Melchior | ★★ | 83 | Martians sic incredible monsters on first Earth expedition to Mars. Lots of wild-eyed effects have given this film cult status. Filmed in odd 'Cinemagic' process, which mostly turns everything pink. | tt0052564 | Gerald Mohr, Nora Hayden, Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen, Paul Hahn | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Angry Silence | 1960 | Guy Green | ★★★ | 95 | Rewarding, unheralded film about brave stand by a simple Britisher who refuses to join wildcat strike, the repercussions he endures. | tt0053602 | Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, Michael Craig, Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Oliver Reed | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anguish | 1987 | Bigas Luna | ★★½ | 89 | Imaginative but overly violent horror film turns the action in on itself, as a mad-killer film unspools inside a theater where another mad killer is loose in the audience. Theatrical release carried warnings regarding use of subliminal effects on soundtrack. Well-recorded English dialogue. | tt0090644 | [R] | Zelda Rubinstein, Michael Lerner, Talia Paul, Clara Pastor | Spanish | Horror | NULL | |
| Angus | 1995 | Patrick Read Johnson | ★★ | 89 | Ostensibly well-meaning— but obvious and superficial— film about an overweight teenager with low self-esteem and a lifelong crush on a cute blond schoolmate. Amidst its upbeat, self-affirming messages, however, we get too many crude jokes and incompetently staged comic scenes that deflate film's impact. Scott's chess-playing partner is played by veteran director Irvin Kershner. | tt0112368 | [PG-13] | Charlie Talbert, George C. Scott, Kathy Bates, Ariana Richards, Chris Owen, James Van Der Beek, Lawrence Pressman, Rita Moreno | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Animal Behavior | 1989 | H. Anne Riley | 💣 | 88 | A man, a woman, a chimp, a campus— and let us all be thankful that Bonzo didn't live to see this. Allen, as a monkey researcher sweating out funding, delivers a most discomforting lemme-outa-here performance. Director's name is a pseudonym; Jenny Bowen started the picture in 1984; producer Kjehl Rasmussen finished it. | tt0096820 | [PG] | Karen Allen, Armand Assante, Holly Hunter, Josh Mostel, Richard Libertini, Alexa Kenin, Jon Matthews, Nan Martin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Animal Crackers | 1930 | Victor Heerman | ★★★ | 98 | Marx Brothers' second movie, adapted from Broadway success, suffers from staginess and musical comedy plotting, but gives the zany foursome plenty of comic elbow-room. 'Story' has to do with stolen painting, but never mind: Groucho performs 'Hooray for Captain Spaulding,' Chico and Harpo play bridge, Groucho shoots an elephant in his pajamas, etc. | tt0020640 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Lillian Roth, Louis Sorin, Hal Thompson, Robert Greig | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Animal Factory | 2000 | Steve Buscemi | ★★★ | 95 | Compelling drama of prison life, with Furlong, locked up for marijuana dealing, becoming the protégé of Dafoe, who virtually runs the place. Dafoe is powerful, as always, but the film's distinction is the matter-of-fact way it deals with the horrors of life behind bars. Based on a novel by ex-con Edward Bunker, who coscripted. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0204137 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Mickey Rourke, Tom Arnold, Steve Buscemi, John Heard, Danny Trejo, Seymour Cassel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Animal Farm | 1955 | John Halas, Joy Batchelor | ★★★ | 75 | Good straightforward animated-feature version of George Orwell's political satire. Ending changed from original to make it more upbeat, but trenchant views of government still hold fast. Not a kiddie film. Remade for cable TV in 1999. | tt0047834 | British | Animation, Drama | NULL | |||
| Animal Kingdom | 2010 | David Michôd | ★★★ | 113 | When a 17-year-old boy’s mother dies of a drug overdose, he (Frecheville) is taken in by his grandmother (Weaver), who mother-hens her three grown sons, who are all dangerous criminals. It’s inevitable that the quiet boy will be dragged into this life, but first-time director Michôd’s screenplay keeps us wondering when, and how he will respond, especially to his psychopathic uncle (Mendelsohn). Tough, uncompromising drama always has one more surprise up its sleeve than you expect. | tt1313092 | [R] | Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver, Sullivan Stapleton, James Frecheville, Dan Wyllie, Anthony Hayes | Australian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Animal Kingdom | 1932 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 85 | Publisher Howard, undergoing a crisis in values, has had a relationship with free-spirited artist Harding but marries manipulative, middle-class Loy. Sophisticated entertainment, still adult by today's standards, adapted from the Philip Barry play. Remade as ONE MORE TOMORROW. | tt0022628 | Ann Harding, Leslie Howard, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, Neil Hamilton, Ilka Chase, Henry Stephenson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Animal | 2001 | Luke Greenfield | 💣 | 84 | A pathetic nobody awakens after a car accident to find that his body organs have been replaced by those of animals (a dog, a dolphin, a horse, etc.). Filled to the brim with bathroom humor, offensive dialogue, gratuitous nudity . . . everything but genuine comedy. Schneider cowrote; Sandler co-executive produced. | tt0255798 | [PG-13] | Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Edward Asner, Michael Caton, Louis Lombardi, Guy Torry, Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Animalympics | 1979 | Steven Lisberger | ★★ | 80 | Animated spoof of Olympics events and ubiquitous TV coverage by various anthropomorphic characters. Enough clever, funny material for a good short subject, but stretched to feature length. Cut to 48m. for network showings. | tt0078780 | Voices of Gilda Radner, Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer, Michael Fremer | Animation | NULL | |||
| Ann Carver's Profession | 1933 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★½ | 71 | Law school grad Wray and would-be architect Raymond get married; she agrees to play housewife, until a juicy case lures her into the courtroom. Her career soars while his stalls, leading to marital strife and misunderstandings. Starts out well, with lots of banter, then gets much too soapy and serious. Interesting racial material in this pre-Code film. Screenplay by Robert Riskin, who later married Wray. | tt0023758 | Fay Wray, Gene Raymond, Claire Dodd, Arthur Pierson, Claude Gillingwater, Frank Albertson, Frank Conroy, Jessie Ralph, Robert Barrat | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ann Vickers | 1933 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 72 | Feminist-social worker-prison reformer Dunne has an affair with heel Cabot, eventually finds love with charismatic, controversial judge Huston. Leads are fine in this cut-down adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel; more episodic than any movie has a right to be. | tt0023759 | Irene Dunne, Walter Huston, Bruce Cabot, Edna May Oliver, Conrad Nagel, Sam Hardy, Mitchell Lewis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna | 1951 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★½ | 95 | Thoughtful study of confused young woman who enters convent to avoid deciding which man she really loves; fate forces her to decide. Look quick for Sophia Loren. | tt0043287 | Silvana Mangano, Raf Vallone, Vittorio Gassman, Gaby Morlay | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anna | 1987 | Yurek Bogayevicz | ★★½ | 100 | Middle-aged Czech actress, once a star in her native country but now struggling to survive in N.Y.C., takes in an impoverished young immigrant and teaches her the ropes— only to see her succeed where she has failed. Intriguing little film misses the bull's-eye but still has much to offer, especially a riveting and heart-rending performance by Kirkland (who is not Czech). Supermodel Porizkova (who is) makes an impressive screen debut. | tt0092569 | [PG-13] | Sally Kirkland, Paulina Porizkova, Robert Fields, Ruth Maleczech, Stefan Schnabel, Larry Pine | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anna Christie | 1930 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 90 | Garbo is effective in her first talkie as girl with shady past finding love with seaman Bickford. Film itself is rather static. From the play by Eugene O'Neill. Beware of 74m. prints. Filmed simultaneously in a German-language version, with Garbo and a different supporting cast. Filmed before in 1923, with Blanche Sweet. | tt0020641 | Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Marie Dressler, Lee Phelps, George Marion | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna Karenina | 1935 | Clarence Brown | ★★★★ | 95 | Tolstoy's tragic love chronicle makes excellent Garbo vehicle, with fine support from March as her lover, Rathbone her husband, and Bartholomew, her adoring son. Filmed before with Garbo as LOVE; remade three times. | tt0026071 | Greta Garbo, Fredric March, Freddie Bartholomew, Maureen O'Sullivan, May Robson, Basil Rathbone | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna Karenina | 1948 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 123 | Despite its stellar cast, this is a mostly turgid adaptation of the Tolstoy classic about a woman married to stodgy bureaucrat, who falls in love with a dashing army officer. Duvivier and Jean Anouilh were among the scriptwriters. | tt0040098 | Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson, Kieron Moore, Sally Ann Howes, Niall MacGinnis, Martita Hunt, Marie Lohr, Michael Gough | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anna Karenina | 1985 | Simon Langton | Average TV Movie | 150 | Glossy but overlong remake of Tolstoy classic with Scofield (as Karenin, Anna's dispassionate husband) acting rings around his co-stars. | tt0088726 | Jacqueline Bisset, Christopher Reeve, Paul Scofield, Ian Ogilvy, Anna Massey, Judi Bowker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna Lucasta | 1949 | Irving Rapper | ★★ | 86 | Sluggish, watered-down version of Philip Yordan's Broadway play (which featured an all-black cast, as does the 1958 remake). Goddard plays the title role, a woman of the Brooklyn streets who was tossed out of her home by her alcoholic father; her oppressive brother-in-law tries to marry her off, in a money-making scheme. Scripted by Yordan (who also produced) and Arthur Laurents. | tt0041125 | Paulette Goddard, William Bishop, Oscar Homolka, John Ireland, Broderick Crawford, Will Geer, Gale Page, Mary Wickes, Whit Bissell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna Lucasta | 1958 | Arnold Laven | ★★ | 97 | Tepid remake of Philip Yordan's play about a prostitute who tries to leave her past behind. Kitt doesn't so much act as pose, but Ingram is excellent as her father. | tt0051362 | Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis/Jr., Frederick O'Neal, Henry Scott, Rex Ingram | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anna and the King | 1999 | Andy Tennant | ★★½ | 147 | Lavish remake of the now-familiar story (memorably musicalized as THE KING AND I) about a young British widow who travels to Siam in 1862 to work as schoolteacher for the King's 58 children. Put off at first, she and the imperious monarch soon develop an understanding and an unspoken attraction. Unfortunately, film goes on too long, with at least one subplot too many and a terribly contrived action climax. Foster and Yun-Fat are fine. | tt0166485 | [PG-13] | Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Syed Alwi, Randall Duk Kim, Deanna Yusoff, Geoffrey Palmer | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Anna and the King of Siam | 1946 | John Cromwell | ★★★½ | 128 | Sumptuous production chronicling the experiences of a British governess in 19th-century Thailand, and her battle of wits with strong-willed ruler. Based on Margaret Landon's book about real-life Anna Leonowens (renamed Anna L. Owens in the movie). Dunne and Harrison (in his Hollywood debut) are superb; won Oscars for Cinematography (Arthur Miller) and Art Direction/Set Decoration (then known as 'Interior Decoration'). Screenplay by Talbot Jennings and Sally Benson. Later musicalized as THE KING AND I; remade as ANNA AND THE KING. | tt0038303 | Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Lee J. Cobb, Gale Sondergaard, Mikhail Rasumny | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Annabel Takes a Tour | 1938 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 67 | Disappointing follow-up to THE AFFAIRS OF ANNABEL, with actress Ball going on tour with press agent Oakie. Second and last entry in series. | tt0029872 | Lucille Ball, Jack Oakie, Ruth Donnelly, Bradley Page, Ralph Forbes, Frances Mercer, Donald MacBride | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Annapolis | 2006 | Justin Lin | ★★ | 103 | Boilerplate peacetime service pic about blue-collar boxer Franco and his long-shot selection to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he rooms with a perfect ethnic mix of cohorts, who are only occasionally seen in class or cracking books. Co-cadet Brewster, seen at ringside during bouts or when Franco is punching the bag, takes on the equivalent of Burgess Meredith's role in ROCKY, though she looks cuter in khaki. A non-starter. | tt0417433 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Donnie Wahlberg, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Chi McBride, Roger Fan, McCaleb Burnett, Wilmer Calderon | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Annapolis Story | 1955 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 81 | Uninspired reuse of old service-school formula with Derek and McCarthy undergoing rigid training, both romancing Lynn. | tt0047835 | John Derek, Diana Lynn, Kevin McCarthy, Pat Conway | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anne Frank Remembered | 1995 | Jon Blair | ★★★½ | 117 | Deeply moving documentary on the young Jewish girl whose diary became an international best-seller. The filmmakers interview many who knew Anne and even turn up a brief home-movie scene of the girl herself. Perhaps the greatest impression is made by Miep Gies, the matter-of-fact Dutch woman who helped hide the Franks, and who found the diary. Oscar winner for Best Documentary. | tt0112373 | [PG] | Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, Glenn Close | British | Documentary | NULL | |
| Anne of Avonlea | 1987 | Kevin Sullivan | Above Average TV Movie | 227 | Rare case of a sequel matching the original in near-perfection, focusing on Anne Shirley (Follows) at 18 as a teacher at Avonlea and dreaming of meeting her ideal man. Adapted by Sullivan from three Lucy Maud Montgomery books bringing the title character into adulthood: Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island and Anne of Windy Poplars. Originally shown in two parts. Also called ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: THE SEQUEL. | tt0092571 | Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Frank Converse, Schuyyler Grant, Jonathan Crombie, Patricia Hamilton, Rosemary Dunsmore | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anne of Green Gables | 1934 | George Nicholls/ Jr | ★★★ | 79 | Utterly charming adaptation of L. M. Montgomery's book (filmed before in 1919) about a spirited orphan with a vivid imagination who endears herself to the older couple who take her in . . . and everyone else around her. Only the conclusion seems hurried and contrived. Anne Shirley took her professional name from the character she played in this film (until then she was known as Dawn O'Day). Followed by ANNE OF WINDY POPLARS. Remade for TV in 1985. | tt0024831 | Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O. P. Heggie, Helen Westley, Sara Haden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anne of Green Gables | 1985 | Kevin Sullivan | Above Average TV Movie | 195 | Lovely adaptation of the classic children's story chronicling young life of title character (Follows), from her adoption by bachelor farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla to her blossoming love for Gilbert Blythe. Shown in two parts, as ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW HOME and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A BEND IN THE ROAD. Followed by ANNE OF AVONLEA. Remade for TV. | tt0088727 | Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Patricia Hamilton, Marilyn Lightstone, Charmion King, Rosemary Radcliffe, Jackie Burroughs, Richard Farnsworth | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anne of Windy Poplars | 1940 | Jack Hively | ★★ | 88 | Uninspired sequel to ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. Anne has grown up and become a dedicated, kind-hearted schoolteacher, but has to contend with local politics and hypocrisy in the small town where she lives and works. Remade for TV. | tt0032211 | Anne Shirley, James Ellison, Henry Travers, Patric Knowles, Slim Summerville, Elizabeth Patterson, Marcia Mae Jones | Drama | NULL | |||
| Anne of the Indies | 1951 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 81 | Peters isn't always believable as swaggering pirate, but surrounded by professionals and good production, actioner moves along. | tt0043288 | Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Debra Paget, Herbert Marshall | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Anne of the Thousand Days | 1969 | Charles Jarrott | ★★★ | 145 | Often inaccurate but totally engrossing, well-acted historical drama centering on Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. Lovely scenery, brilliant performance by Bujold, and Oscar-winning costumes by Margaret Furse. | tt0064030 | [M] | Richard Burton, Geneviève Bujold, Irene Papas, Anthony Quayle, Peter Jeffrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Annie | 1982 | John Huston | ★★½ | 128 | Overblown adaptation of the Broadway musical hit about the Depression's most famous foundling (based on Harold Gray's 'Little Orphan Annie' comic strip). Appealing performances by Quinn, as Annie, and Finney, as Daddy Warbucks, help buoy an uninspired— and curiously claustrophobic— production. Followed by made-for-TV sequel, ANNIE: A ROYAL ADVENTURE! Remade for TV in 1999. | tt0083564 | [PG] | Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn, Bernadette Peters, Tim Curry, Ann Reinking, Geoffrey Holder, Edward Herrmann | Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Annie Get Your Gun | 1950 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 107 | Lively filming of Irving Berlin's Wild West show musical about Annie Oakley getting her man— sharpshooter Frank Butler. Songs include 'Anything You Can Do,' 'Doin' What Comes Naturally,' 'There's No Business Like Show Business.' | tt0042200 | Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern, Edward Arnold, Keenan Wynn, Benay Venuta, J. Carrol Naish | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Annie Hall | 1977 | Woody Allen | ★★★★ | 94 | Woody's best film, an autobiographical love story with incisive Allenisms on romance, relationships, fame, N.Y.C. vs. L.A., and sundry other topics. Warm, witty, intelligent Oscar winner for Best Picture, Actress, Direction, Screenplay (Allen and Marshall Brickman). Look sharp and you'll spot future stars Jeff Goldblum (at the L.A. party), Shelley Hack (on the street), Beverly D'Angelo (on a TV monitor), and Sigourney Weaver (as Woody's date seen in extreme long-shot near the end of the picture). | tt0075686 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Paul Simon, Shelley Duvall, Carol Kane, Colleen Dewhurst, Christopher Walken, Janet Margolin, John Glover | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Annie Laurie | 1927 | John S. Robertson. | ★★★ | 97 | A forbidden romance only fuels the flames of hatred between the warring Macdonald and Campbell clans in Scotland. Gish is quite good in an unusually warm characterization. Film gets better and better as it goes along, climaxed by battle scenes that are forceful and frightening; only a tacked-on ending (in two-color Technicolor) doesn't ring true. | tt0017632 | Lillian Gish, Norman Kerry, Creighton Hale, Joseph Striker, Hobart Bosworth, Patricia Avery, Russell Simpson, Brandon Hurst, David Torrence | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Annie Oakley | 1935 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 88 | Lively biography of female sharpshooter Stanwyck and her on-again off-again romance with fellow-performer Foster. Tight direction within episodic scenes gives believable flavor of late 19th-century America. Moroni Olsen plays Buffalo Bill. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026073 | Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas, Pert Kelton, Andy Clyde | Comedy, Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Annihilation of Fish | 2001 | Charles Burnett | ★★ | 108 | Fish (Jones), a former mental patient who is harassed by a demon named Hank, moves into a dingy L.A. boardinghouse and gradually befriends an alcoholic flake (Redgrave), who is obsessed by Puccini. Ambitious portrait of two nutty, lonely souls means to be poignant but doesn't really gel. Kidder— surprisingly— plays an elderly landlady. Shot in 1999. | tt0212772 | [R] | James Earl Jones, Lynn Redgrave, Margot Kidder | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Anniversary Party | 2001 | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alan Cumming | ★★★ | 115 | Cumming and Leigh conceived, directed and star in this seriocomedy about an L.A. couple (he's a writer about to make his movie directing debut, she's an actress) who have an eventful and emotional anniversary party. Supporting parts were tailored for the filmmakers' actor friends, and they're all good, but the two children of real-life couple Kline and Cates almost steal the show. Beautifully shot on digital video by John Bailey. | tt0254099 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alan Cumming, Jane Adams, Mina Badie, Jennifer Beals, Phoebe Cates, John Hickey, Parker Posey, Kevin Kline, Denis O'Hare, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Panes, John C. Reilly | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Anniversary | 1968 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 95 | Human monster Davis uses date of wedding anniversary as excuse to reunite family, continue her stranglehold on them. Adapted from MacIlwraith stage play, black comedy emerges as vehicle for Davis' hammy performance. | tt0062671 | Bette Davis, Sheila Hancock, Jack Hedley, James Cossins, Christian Roberts, Elaine Taylor | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Anonymous | 2011 | Roland Emmerich | ★★½ | 130 | Intriguing film offers its theory of who really wrote Shakespeare's plays: the Earl of Oxford (Ifans), who cajoles struggling playwright Ben Jonson (Armesto) into being his front man. Jonson then passes the baton to screw-loose actor Shakespeare (Spall). Alas, film gets bogged down in a larger, labyrinthine story of court intrigues surrounding Queen Elizabeth, and jumps back and forth in time just to make it more confusing. There are great moments—especially the first performances of the immortal plays, before a rapt audience—but the movie almost sinks under its own weight. Redgrave and real-life daughter Richardson play Elizabeth at two stages of her life. | tt1521197 | [PG-13] | Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Sebastian (Sam) Reed, Jamie Campbell Bower, Derek Jacobi, Mark Rylance | U.S.-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Another 48HRS. | 1990 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 95 | Strictly by-the-numbers rehash of 48HRS., without its spontaneity, pizzazz, or humor: Nolte is forced to turn to Murphy (who's just being sprung from jail) to help him solve a case and save his police career. Watchable, but not terribly invigorating; must set some sort of record, however, for breaking more panes of glass than any movie in history. | tt0099044 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Kevin Tighe, Ed O'Ross, David Anthony Marshall, Bernie Casey | Crime, Action, Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Another Country | 1984 | Marek Kanievska | ★★½ | 90 | Faithful adaptation of Julian Mitchell's hit London play that speculates about the 1930s private-school experiences of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, who 20 years later were found to be spying for the Russians. Arguably more meaningful to British audiences, this examination of an oppressive existence that shuns any nonconformity makes for a pretty oppressive movie. | tt0086904 | [PG] | Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Michael Jenn, Robert Addie, Cary Elwes, Anna Massey, Betsy Brantley | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Another Dawn | 1937 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 73 | Francis is torn between devotion to husband Hunter and officer Flynn in well-paced adventure story set at British army post in African desert. | tt0028579 | Kay Francis, Errol Flynn, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Mary Forbes | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Another Day in Paradise | 1998 | Larry Clark | ★★★ | 100 | Arresting drama about a teenage junkie/thief who, with his girlfriend, goes on the road with a slick, experienced criminal and becomes part of his extended family. Woods is dynamite as the frighteningly intense, mood-swinging crime daddy, and Griffith is equally good as his nurturing girlfriend. Clark invests the film with a sense of immediacy and truth, even as its emotional peaks grow larger than life. Lou Diamond Phillips appears unbilled. | tt0127722 | [R] | James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, Natasha Gregson Wagner, James Otis, Paul Hipp, Brent Briscoe, Clarence Carter, Peter Sarsgaard | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Another Earth | 2011 | Mike Cahill | ★★½ | 92 | Gifted composer Mapother is a rising star in his field. On the evening the world discovers the existence of a twin planet, he crosses paths with bright 17-year-old Marling (out celebrating graduating high school with honors and acceptance to MIT) and both lives are abruptly altered. Thin story line, structured around the capricious interconnectedness of all living things, is mildly interesting but mostly held together by the likability and absorbing performances of the two leads. Coscripted by Marling and the director. | tt1549572 | [PG-13] | William Mapother, Brit Marling | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Another Face | 1935 | Christy Cabanne. | ★★½ | 69 | Notoriously ugly gangster Donlevy has plastic surgery, heads to Hollywood, and breaks into the movies. Funny premise clicks most of the time and has some real laughs. | tt0026075 | Brian Donlevy, Wallace Ford, Phyllis Brooks, Erik Rhodes, Molly Lamont, Alan Hale, Hattie McDaniel | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Another Gay Movie | 2006 | Todd Stephens | ★★ | 92 | Four gay high school guys embark on a mission to lose their virginity before graduation, sending up every gay and teen comedy movie cliché along the way. Predictably dumb genre spoof, somewhat funnier and more engaging than many of its ilk. Hilariously meticulous reenactment of the prom scene from CARRIE makes one wish that the rest of the film were so clever. Features cameos by cult celebrities including Graham Norton, Lypsinka, and Survivor's Richard Hatch (who reveals more than most would want to see). | tt0443431 | Unrated | Michael Carbonaro, Jonah Blechman, Jonathan Chase, Mitch Morris, Ashlie Atkinson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Another Happy Day | 2011 | Sam Levinson | ★★ | 119 | Darkly cynical account of jittery Barkin, who heads off with two of her children to attend the wedding of an older son and is further stressed out by her dysfunctional family. Depressing, barely watchable film about depressing, sadistically cruel people; mildly effective as a treatise on how bad parenting may be passed from generation to generation. There is, however, one clever line: "How come Alice doesn't live here anymore?" Writer-director Levinson is the son of Barry Levinson, making his directorial debut. | tt1719071 | [R] | Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey DeMunn, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, George Kennedy, Ezra Miller, Demi Moore, Michael Nardelli, Diana Scarwid, Daniel Yelsky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Another Language | 1933 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 77 | Vivid, devastating picture of American family life (based on Rose Franken's play), with Hayes as an outsider who marries Montgomery and faces hostility from matriarch Hale and her gossipy offspring. | tt0023761 | Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery, Louise Closser Hale, John Beal, Margaret Hamilton, Henry Travers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Another Man's Poison | 1951 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 89 | Bette is feisty, man-hungry novelist on isolated Yorkshire farm who won't let her criminal husband, or his crony Merrill, get in her way. Well-paced melodrama can't hide its stage origins, but Davis wrings every drop out of a showy role. Coproduced by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. | tt0044364 | Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel, Barbara Murray, Reginald Beckwith | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Another Man, Another Chance | 1977 | Claude Lelouch. | ★★½ | 132 | Virtual remake of Lelouch's A MAN AND A WOMAN, with late-1800s Western setting; Bujold and Caan are widow and widower who fall in love after losing their spouses. Mild-mannered to the point of distraction, and much too long. | tt0076847 | [PG] | James Caan, Geneviève Bujold, Francis Huster, Jennifer Warren, Susan Tyrrell, Richard Farnsworth. | French-U.S. | Western | NULL | |
| Another Part of the Forest | 1948 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 107 | Lillian Hellman's story predates THE LITTLE FOXES by tracing the Hubbard family's ruthlessness; unpleasant but well-acted movie. | tt0040102 | Fredric March, Dan Duryea, Edmond O'Brien, Ann Blyth, Florence Eldridge, John Dall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Another Stakeout | 1993 | John Badham | ★★½ | 109 | Lots of fun here for fans of the first STAKEOUT, but little for anyone seeking substance or Shavian wit. The inept cop partners return to track down no-good Moriarty, but are saddled with assistant D.A. O'Donnell and her dog, who are both along for the ride. Highlight: dinner party that goes from bad to worse to hysterical. Madeleine Stowe (costar of the original film) briefly re-creates her role but takes no billing. | tt0106292 | [PG-13] | Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Rosie O'Donnell, Dennis Farina, Marcia Strassman, Cathy Moriarty, John Rubinstein, Miguel Ferrer, Dan Lauria, Sharon Maughan | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Another Thin Man | 1939 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 105 | Murder strikes at a Long Island estate and the screen's favorite lush-detective couple (along with Asta and newborn son Nick, Jr.) move in to solve it, although motherhood has slowed down Nora's drinking a bit. Enjoyable third entry in the series and the last to be based on a Dashiell Hammett story. | tt0031047 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, C. Aubrey Smith, Otto Kruger, Nat Pendleton, Virginia Grey, Tom Neal, Marjorie Main, Ruth Hussey, Sheldon Leonard | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Another Time, Another Place | 1958 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 98 | Unconvincing melodrama; Turner suffers nervous breakdown when her lover is killed during WW2. Filmed in England. | tt0051364 | Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns, Sean Connery | Drama | NULL | |||
| Another Woman | 1988 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 84 | Woody ventures into Bergman territory again (with Ingmar's cameraman, Sven Nykvist, no less) with tremendous success. Rowlands plays a woman who has managed to live her life shielding herself from all emotions, until a series of incidents force her to take stock. Searing, adult drama with a magnificent cast and many memorable moments . . . though like Allen's other dramas, it's not to everyone's taste. | tt0094663 | [PG] | Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner, Gene Hackman, Betty Buckley, Martha Plimpton, John Houseman, Sandy Dennis, David Ogden Stiers, Philip Bosco, Harris Yulin, Frances Conroy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Another Year | 2010 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 130 | Four seasons pass in the lives of a genial married couple (Sheen and Broadbent), who take life as it comes and who have passed on their sensibilities—and sense of humor—to their son (Maltman), who hasn’t yet settled down. That’s more than can be said of Sheen’s desperately neurotic office-mate (Manville), who tests their friendship with her increasingly outlandish behavior. Not so much a story as a character portrait of “ordinary people,” beautifully painted by writer-director Leigh and his superlative actors. Likable, funny, and ultimately quite moving. | tt1431181 | [PG-13] | Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage, Imelda Staunton | British-U.S. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Another You | 1991 | Maurice Phillips | ★½ | 98 | Compulsive liar Wilder is released from a sanitarium into the care of parolee Pryor, a street hustler who's got to perform community service; together they become embroiled in an elaborate scam. Anemic comedy relies entirely on its stars to support third-rate material. Sadly, Pryor's real-life health problems are all too apparent. | tt0101356 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Mercedes Ruehl, Stephen Lang, Vanessa Williams, Phil Rubenstein, Peter Michael Goetz, Kevin Pollak, Vincent Schiavelli | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Answer Man | 2009 | John Hindman | ★★★ | 96 | Daniels plays an author who wrote about his conversations with God in a bestseller twenty years ago—but now lives as a recluse in his Philadelphia brownstone. As an attractive chiropractor (Graham) and a troubled used-book store owner (Pucci) come into his orbit, they discover that "the man with the answers" can't seem to get his own life in order. Likable, small-scale comedy written by the director; Daniels, Graham, and Pucci are a treat to watch. | tt1187041 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings, Nora Dunn, Tony Hale | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Ant Bully | 2006 | John A. Davis | ★★ | 88 | A boy who's always bullied by the neighborhood kids takes out his frustration on an ant colony in his front yard-until he's shrunk to their size and put to work in their environment. Here he learns hard-won lessons about the value of teamwork and sacrifice. Uninspired morality tale has the novelty of human characters that are designed to look as grotesque as possible. From the children's book by John Nickle. Coproduced by Tom Hanks. | tt0429589 | [PG] | Voices of Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, Zach Tyler Eisen, Regina King, Bruce Campbell, Lily Tomlin, Cheri Oteri, Larry Miller, Ricardo Montalban, Allison Mack, Rob Paulsen | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Anthony Adverse | 1936 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 141 | Blockbuster filmization of Hervey Allen bestseller (scripted by Sheridan Gibney) of young man gaining maturity through adventures in various parts of early 19th-century Europe, Cuba, and Africa. Sondergaard won Oscar as Best Supporting Actress in her film debut; rousing musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Tony Gaudio's cinematography also won. | tt0027300 | Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Woods, Anita Louise, Edmund Gwenn, Claude Rains, Louis Hayward, Gale Sondergaard, Akim Tamiroff, Billy Mauch, Ralph Morgan, Henry O'Neill, Scotty Beckett, Luis Alberni | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Antichrist | 2009 | Lars von Trier | ★★ | 105 | In grief because their infant son fell to his death while they were making love, a couple retreats to a remote cabin in a forest in order to work through their feelings. Intense, gorgeously designed drama becomes increasingly gruesome, with some scenes so brutally graphic they're nearly impossible to watch. This isn't SAW-type torture porn; it's grimly serious, but also very difficult to decipher, with touches of fantasy thrown in. To say it's not for all tastes is an understatement, but those interested in writer-director von Trier may well find something to their liking. | tt0870984 | Unrated | Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Danish-German-French-Swedish-Italian-Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| Antigone | 1960 | George Tzavellas. | ★★½ | 85 | In ancient Thebes, Oedipus' daughter Antigone (Papas) risks royal retribution from King Creon (Katrakis) when she loudly demands a hero's funeral for her slain warrior brother. Literal, by-the-numbers rendering of Sophocles' 442 B.C. tragedy. | tt0055375 | Irene Papas, Manos Katrakis, Maro Kodou, Nikos Kazis, Ilia Livykou, John Argiris, Byron Pallis. | Greek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Antitrust | 2001 | Peter Howitt | ★★★ | 108 | Young computer whiz leaves his idealistic, computer-geek pals to work for the biggest software company in the world, after being recruited by its charismatic, highly persuasive chief (Robbins). He soon discovers that the company's take-no-prisoners approach to business hides many nefarious deeds. Cleverly plotted, mostly believable conspiracy yarn, a bit heavy-handed at times. David Clennon appears unbilled. | tt0218817 | [PG-13] | Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins, Douglas McFerran, Richard Roundtree, Tygh Runyan, Yee Jee Tso, Nate Dushku, Ned Bellamy | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Antoine et Antoinette | 1947 | Jacques Becker. | ★★★ | 78 | Charming romantic comedy about a young working-class couple in post-WW2 Paris who mislay a lottery ticket. The scenario, cowritten by Becker, deals with the effects of social standing on the lives of its leading characters. | tt0039155 | Roger Pigaut, Claire Mafféi, Noël Roquevert, Gaston Modot, Made Siamé, Pierre Trabaud, Jacques Meyran, François Joux, Gérard Oury, Louis de Funès. | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Antonia & Jane | 1991 | Beeban Kidron | ★★★ | 77 | Pleasingly quirky, clever chronicle of the relationship between two friends from school. Antonia (Reeves) is attractive and arrogant; Jane (Staunton) is plump, but adventuresome. They share mutual envy (as well as the same therapist) . . . and Antonia's husband is Jane's ex-boyfriend. Very funny little sleeper made for British television. | tt0101358 | Saskia Reeves, Imelda Staunton, Brenda Bruce, Bill Nighy, Lila Kaye, Alfred Marks, Richard Hope | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Antonia's Line | 1995 | Marleen Gorris | ★★★ | 105 | Spirited woman returns to her provincial Dutch village after WW2 and takes up residence there with her daughter. Then, over a span of years, she raises not only her own child but an extended family which comes under the shelter (and aura) of this unusual woman who defies convention. Disarmingly unpredictable comedy-drama is a treat from start to finish. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0112379 | [R] | Willeke van Ammelrooy, Els Dottermans, Jan Decleir, Mil Seghers, Marina de Graaf, Jan Steen, Veerle Van Overloop, Elsie de Brauw, Thyrza Ravesteijn, Wimie Wilhelm | Dutch-Belgian-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 1973 | Charlton Heston | ★½ | 160 | Labor-of-love undertaking by Heston results in sluggish treatment of Shakespearean play, hampered by severe budgetary limitations. | tt0068920 | Charlton Heston, Hildegard Neil, Eric Porter, John Castle, Fernando Rey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Antwone Fisher | 2002 | Denzel Washington | ★★★ | 120 | Newcomer Luke is excellent as the hero of this remarkable true-life memoir, a quick-tempered seaman who reaches a turning point when a Navy psychiatrist forces him to examine his life and confront his troubled childhood. A creditable directing debut for Washington, who also delivers a strong, compassionate performance as a doctor whose own life can use some healing. Cynics may find this sentimental or simplistic, but we bought into it one hundred percent. Screenplay by Antwone Fisher, based on his book. James Brolin appears unbilled. | tt0168786 | [PG-13] | Derek Luke, Denzel Washington, Joy Bryant, Salli Richardson, Earl Billings, Kevin Connolly, Viola Davis, Rainoldo Gooding, Novella Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Antz | 1998 | Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson | ★★★ | 83 | Entertaining computer-animated feature about an ant named Z (with the voice and personality of Woody Allen) who doesn't respond well to regimentation— especially after he's smitten with the queen ant's daughter, Princess Bala. Meanwhile, the colony is threatened, not only by termites but by a megalomaniacal general with his own agenda. Clever and enjoyable (all the more so for Woodyphiles), but too sophisticated and violent for young kids. | tt0120587 | [PG] | Voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, Anne Bancroft, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Danny Glover, Jennifer Lopez, John Mahoney, Paul Mazursky | Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Any Given Sunday | 1999 | Oliver Stone | ★★ | 162 | Strident, one-note concoction about the world of pro football, on and off the field. Pacino is an aging coach who's given his all to the game, Diaz a demanding, mercurial team owner, Foxx an up-and-coming quarterback who gets a big head. Loud and obvious from the word go. Various sports figures play themselves; Stone appears as a booth announcer. Stone removed 11m. and added 6m. for 157m. video version. | tt0146838 | [R] | Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, *** LL Cool J, Charlton Heston, Matthew Modine, Jim Brown, Ann-Margret, Aaron Eckhart, John C. McGinley, Lauren Holly, Lela Rochon, Lawrence Taylor, Bill Bellamy, James Karen, Elizabeth Berkley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Any Gun Can Play | For a Few Bullets More | 1967 | Enzo G. Castellari | 💣 | 103 | Bounty hunter Hilton, bandit Roland and bank official Byrnes vie for gold treasure. Silly spaghetti Western, filmed in Spain. Aka FOR A FEW BULLETS MORE. | tt0062429 | Edd Byrnes, Gilbert Roland, George Hilton, Kareen O'Hara, Ignazio Spalla, Gerard Herter | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| Any Man's Death | 1990 | Tom Clegg | ★½ | 110 | Stultifying tale of a reporter who stumbles onto a Nazi war criminal in Africa, and has to deal with the issues raised by his discovery. Pretty interesting cast, but nothing else to recommend in this hollow moralistic drama. | tt0094666 | [R] | John Savage, William Hickey, Mia Sara, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Lerner, James Ryan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Any Number Can Play | 1949 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★ | 112 | Low-key drama of gambling-house owner Gable, estranged from wife Smith and son Hickman. Good character roles breathe life into film. | tt0041127 | Clark Gable, Alexis Smith, Wendell Corey, Audrey Totter, Mary Astor, Lewis Stone, Marjorie Rambeau, Darryl Hickman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Any Number Can Win | 1963 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 108 | Aging ex-con Gabin enlists ne'er-do-well Delon in a plot to rob the impregnable vault of a plush Riviera casino. Some tense climactic moments. | tt0057344 | Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Viviane Romance, Carla Marlier | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Any Wednesday | 1966 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★★ | 109 | Bedroom farce of N.Y.C. executive using his mistress' apartment for business deductions. Fonda is appropriately addled in unstagy sex comedy. | tt0060112 | Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, Dean Jones, Rosemary Murphy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Any Which Way You Can | 1980 | Buddy Van Horn | ★★½ | 116 | This sequel to EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE is funnier, if no more intelligent. Clint's climactic bare-fisted fight with Smith is a highlight, but the filmmakers wisely gave most of the laughs to the star's orangutan friend, Clyde. | tt0080377 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith, Harry Guardino, Ruth Gordon, Glen Campbell, Anne Ramsey, Logan Ramsey, Barry Corbin, James Gammon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Anyone Can Play | 1968 | Luigi Zampa | ★★ | 88 | Aside from obvious good looks of four leading actresses, tale of adultery in Italy is not one of that country's better farces. | tt0061586 | [R] | Ursula Andress, Virna Lisi, Claudine Auger, Marisa Mell, Brett Halsey, Jean-Pierre Cassel | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Anything But Love | Standard Time | 2003 | Robert Cary | ★½ | 99 | Labored attempt to recall the charm of old MGM musicals, with a love triangle involving a lawyer, a cabaret singer, and a fledgling songwriter. Clearly a heartfelt, loving salute to those '50s films, but some soufflés just fall flat, despite the presence of Kitt. It shows just how skillful those old moviemakers were in making what they did seem effortless. Cary cowrote this with his leading lady. Aka STANDARD TIME. | tt0265803 | [PG-13] | Andrew McCarthy, Isabel Rose, Cameron Bancroft, Alix Korey, Ilana Levine, Sean Arbuckle, Victor Argo, Michael J. Burg, Eartha Kitt | Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| Anything Can Happen | 1952 | George Seaton | ★★ | 107 | Intriguingly awful comedy/propaganda piece with Ferrer as a wide-eyed Russian who emigrates to the U.S. Very much a product of its time. | tt0044366 | Jose Ferrer, Kim Hunter, Kurt Kasznar, Eugenie Leontovich, Oscar Beregi, Nick Dennis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Anything Else | 2003 | Woody Allen | 💣 | 108 | Acerbic schoolteacher and would-be comedy writer Allen is mentor and advisor to a young man who's caught in an unfathomable relationship with the most obnoxious woman on earth (Ricci). Allen passes the torch to Biggs, who plays a younger version of Woody's archetypal character. The filmmaker's all-time worst movie; you know you're in trouble when it opens with Woody telling a couple of old jokes and even they aren't funny. | tt0313792 | [R] | Woody Allen, Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Danny DeVito, Stockard Channing, KaDee Strickland, Jimmy Fallon, William Hill, Fisher Stevens, Diana Krall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Anything Goes | 1936 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 92 | Pleasant Crosby shipboard musical retains Merman from the cast of the Broadway show, but scuttles much of the plot and most of Cole Porter's songs (except 'You're the Top' and 'I Get a Kick Out of You'). Remade (again with Bing) in 1956. | tt0027302 | Bing Crosby, Ethel Merman, Charlie Ruggles, Ida Lupino, Grace Bradley, Arthur Treacher | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Anything Goes | 1956 | Robert Lewis | ★★ | 106 | Flat musical involving show business partners Crosby and O'Connor each signing a performer for the leading role in their next show. Sidney Sheldon's script bears little resemblance to the original Broadway show, though some Cole Porter songs remain. Crosby fared better in the 1936 film. | tt0048954 | Bing Crosby, Jeanmaire, Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Phil Harris, Kurt Kasznar | Musical | NULL | |||
| Anywhere But Here | 1999 | Wayne Wang | ★★ | 114 | Optimistic single mom who can still turn heads and a wearily-seen-it-all adolescent daughter leave small-town Wisconsin to seek a new beginning in Beverly Hills, commencing a series of episodic adventures that never take emotional hold. Sizzleless adaptation of Mona Simpson's best-seller pales not only next to ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE and MEN DON'T LEAVE, but to the low-budget indie TUMBLEWEEDS. | tt0149691 | [PG-13] | Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner, Shawn Hatosy, Bonnie Bedelia, John Diehl, Paul Guilfoyle, Caroline Aaron | Drama | NULL | ||
| Anzio | The Battle for Anzio | 1968 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★ | 117 | Undistinguished retelling of Allied invasion of Anzio; all-star cast, large-scale action, but nothing memorable. Aka THE BATTLE FOR ANZIO. | tt0062673 | [M] | Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk, Robert Ryan, Earl Holliman, Mark Damon, Arthur Kennedy, Reni Santoni, Patrick Magee | French-Italian-Spanish | War | NULL |
| Apache | 1954 | Robert Aldrich | ★★ | 91 | Pacifist Indian (Lancaster) learns might makes right from U.S. cavalry; turns to fighting one man crusade for his tribe's rights. Overacted and improbable (though based on fact). | tt0046719 | Burt Lancaster, Jean Peters, John McIntire, Charles Bronson | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Country | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 62 | Cavalry scout Autry is assigned to break up an outlaw gang that's staging phony Indian raids. Gene sings Hank Williams' 'Cold, Cold Heart' and duets with Cotton, but the story stops dead at several points for authentic Indian dances. | tt0044367 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Carolina Cotton, Harry Lauter, Mary Scott, Sydney Mason, Francis X. Bushman, Gregg Barton, Iron Eyes Cody, The Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Drums | 1951 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 74 | Zesty little Western in which gambler 'Sam Slick' (McNally) is kicked out of the town of Spanish Boot. What will happen to him when he returns to warn its citizens of an impending Apache attack? Attacking Indians are mostly, eerily, unseen, identifying this as a Val Lewton production. | tt0043291 | Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Willard Parker, Arthur Shields, James Griffith, Georgia Backus, James Best, Clarence Muse | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Rifles | 1964 | William Witney | ★★½ | 92 | Audie is stalwart cavalry captain assigned to corral renegading Apaches. Stock footage and plot mar potentials of actioner. | tt0057851 | Audie Murphy, Michael Dante, Linda Lawson, John Archer, J. Pat O'Malley | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Rose | 1947 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 75 | Roy plays an oil prospector seeking drilling rights to a Spanish land grant, but Meeker and his henchmen are trying to gain control of the same property by running up the owners' gambling debts. First of Roy's more serious late-1940s Westerns directed by Witney (in Trucolor) is pretty good, but the best was yet to come. | tt0039157 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Olin Howlin, George Meeker, John Laurenz, Russ Vincent, Minerva Urecal, LeRoy Mason, Donna de Mario (Martell), Terry Frost, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Territory | 1958 | Ray Nazarro | ★½ | 75 | Calhoun almost single-handedly routs rampaging Apaches and rescues defenseless Bates. | tt0051369 | Rory Calhoun, Barbara Bates, John Dehner, Carolyn Craig | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Uprising | 1966 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 90 | No production values, but cast of familiar names may make it possible for some to sit through standard Western where Rory fights both Indians and outlaws. | tt0060117 | Rory Calhoun, Corinne Calvet, John Russell, Lon Chaney/Jr., Gene Evans, Richard Arlen, Arthur Hunnicutt, DeForest Kelley, Johnny Mack Brown, Jean Parker, Don 'Red' Barry | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache War Smoke | 1952 | Harold F. Kress | ★½ | 67 | Pat Western involving stagecoach robbery and Indian attack on stage-line station. Good supporting cast wasted. | tt0044369 | Gilbert Roland, Robert Horton, Glenda Farrell, Gene Lockhart, Robert Blake | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Warrior | 1957 | Elmo Williams. | ★★ | 74 | When an Indian leader's brother is killed, Apaches go on the warpath. Nothing new. | tt0050131 | Keith Larsen, Jim Davis, Michael Carr, Eddie Little. | Western | NULL | |||
| Apache Woman | 1955 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 83 | Government affairs expert Bridges attempts to ease tension between Apaches and whites, tangles with hellcat half-breed Taylor. Sometimes hilariously bad, but mostly a bore. | tt0047837 | Lloyd Bridges, Joan Taylor, Lance Fuller, Morgan Jones, Paul Birch, Dick Miller, Chester Conklin | Western | NULL | |||
| Aparajito | The Unvanquished | 1956 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★½ | 108 | The second of Ray's Apu trilogy is a moving, beautifully filmed story of life and death in a poor Indian family, with the son, Apu (Ghosal), trekking off to college in Calcutta. Aka THE UNVANQUISHED. | tt0048956 | Pinaki Sen Gupta, Smaran Ghosal, Karuna Banerji, Kanu Banerji, Ramani Sen Gupta | Indian | Drama | NULL | |
| Apartment Zero | 1988 | Martin Donovan | ★★★ | 124 | Odd, intriguing psychological drama with political, moral, and sexual overtones. Fastidious film buff Firth's life is profoundly altered when he takes in freewheeling— and mysterious— Bochner as a boarder. Not for all tastes but extremely well acted and definitely worth a look. Set in Buenos Aires; scripted by Donovan and David Koepp. Shortened by 8m. for video by director. | tt0094667 | [R] | Colin Firth, Hart Bochner, Dora Bryan, Liz Smith, Fabrizio Bentivoglio | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Apartment for Peggy | 1948 | George Seaton | ★★★ | 99 | Breezy story of newlyweds trying to live on college campus; old pros Gwenn and Lockhart steal film from young lovers. | tt0040104 | Jeanne Crain, William Holden, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Apartment | 1960 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 125 | Superb comedy-drama that manages to embrace both sentiment and cynicism. Lemmon attempts to climb corporate ladder by loaning his apartment key to various executives for their extramarital trysts, but it backfires when he falls for his boss's latest girlfriend. Fine performances all around, including MacMurray as an uncharacteristic heel. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond), Editing (Daniel Mandell), Art Direction-Set Decoration (Alexander Trauner, Edward G. Boyle). Later a Broadway musical, Promises, Promises. | tt0053604 | Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams, David Lewis, Joan Shawlee | Romance, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ape Man | 1943 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 64 | Minor horror effort with Lugosi and cast overacting in story of scientist becoming part ape, embarking on murder spree (accompanied by an ape). Followed by non-sequel, RETURN OF THE APE MAN. | tt0035640 | Bela Lugosi, Louise Currie, Wallace Ford, Henry Hall, Minerva Urecal | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Ape | 1940 | William Nigh | ★★ | 62 | Low-budget shocker with mad doctor Karloff donning pelt of slain circus ape so he can kill his neighbors for their spinal fluid. | tt0032215 | Boris Karloff, Gertrude W. Hoffman, Henry Hall, Maris Wrixon | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Apocalypse Now | 1979 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 150 | Coppola's controversial Vietnam war epic, based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Special agent Sheen journeys upriver into Cambodia with orders to find and kill errant officer Brando, leading him (and viewer) on a mesmerizing odyssey of turbulent, often surreal encounters. Unfortunately, film's conclusion— when he does find Brando— is cerebral and murky. Still, a great movie experience most of the way, with staggering, Oscar-winning photography by Vittorio Storaro. Reissued and revised in 2001. The documentary HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE chronicles the film's production. | tt0078788 | [R] | Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, G. D. Spradlin, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Tom Mason, Colleen Camp | Action, Drama, War, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Apocalypse Now Redux | 2001 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 197 | This is now the 'official' version of his still-powerful film. Francis Coppola reedited his 1979 film and put back in footage he'd cut at the time, including a major sequence set at a plantation (featuring Christian Marquand). | [R] | Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, G. D. Spradlin, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Tom Mason, Colleen Camp | Action, Drama, War, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Apocalypto | 2006 | Mel Gibson | ★★★ | 139 | It's the early 16th century, Mayan culture is in decline, and hero Jaguar Paw (a terrific Youngblood) gets it from all directions from a rival raiding party. With his family imperiled and father assaulted, he's abducted to the city for intended slave labor. What follows is a huff-and-puff sprinter's marathon and transparent throwback to Cornel Wilde's THE NAKED PREY (to say nothing of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME). Bolstered by today's state-of-the-art camerawork and sound technology, it's visceral and exciting despite a tendency to go over the top. Thanks to cutaways at crucial times, it's not always as violent as advertised or feared-but it's still pretty potent. Gibson coproduced and cowrote with Farhad Safinia. | tt0472043 | [R] | Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Raoul Trujillo, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez | Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Apollo 13 | 1995 | Ron Howard | ★★★½ | 139 | Exhilarating story of ill-fated Apollo 13 moon mission, and how the heroic work of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, combined with the dogged persistence of the NASA team in Houston, averted tragedy. A rare instance where special effects actually serve the story and help make it completely credible; perfect 1970s period detail is another asset. Screenplay by William Broyles, Jr., and Al Reinert, from the book Lost Moon by Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. Director Howard's brother Clint has a good role as one of the Houston eggheads; father, Rance, plays a priest; and mother, Jean, is a treat as Jim Lovell's mom. The real Lovell appears as an officer on the aircraft carrier in the final sequence. Winner of Oscars for Film Editing and Sound. Edited to 116m. for its 2002 release in IMAX. | tt0112384 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Miko Hughes, David Andrews, Chris Ellis, Joe Spano, Xander Berkeley, Marc McClure, Tracy Reiner, Brett Cullen; narration by Walter Cronkite | Drama | NULL | ||
| Apollo 18 | 2011 | Gonzalo López-Gallego | ★★ | 86 | Plodding sci-fi thriller attempts to inject fresh life into familiar scenario—three U.S. astronauts encounter unfriendly life forms while on a secret lunar mission—by mimicking the "found footage" semidocumentary approach of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. Viewers old enough to have watched original Apollo space flights on black-and-white TV may be mildly amused by moments of visual verisimilitude. Overall, though, entire production comes off as little more than a modestly clever stunt. | tt1772240 | [PG-13] | Lloyd Owen, Warren Christie, Ryan Robbins | U.S.-Canadian | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Apology for Murder | 1945 | Sam Newfield. | ★★ | 65 | Reporter Beaumont falls for femme fatale Savage and helps bump off her rich, elderly husband; then he's assigned to write a story about the case. Poverty Row rip-off of DOUBLE INDEMNITY is so similar that Paramount sued to get it pulled from theaters. Not too bad in its tawdry, two-bit way, and a prime showcase for noir icon Savage, replete with Stanwyckesque ankle bracelet. | tt0037518 | Ann Savage, Hugh Beaumont, Russell Hicks, Charles D. Brown, Pierre Watkin, Sarah Padden, Norman Willis. | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Apostle | 1997 | Robert Duvall | ★★★ | 134 | Duvall— in an obvious labor of love as writer, director, producer, and star— is superb as a womanizing Pentecostal minister who is forced to leave his Texas home (and church) after committing a violent act. Fascinating study of a wayward man's journey to understand his life, and the many people who help him find his way. Wonderful small-town Southern atmosphere. Lags a bit, but the performances by Duvall and his supporting cast make up for it. James Gammon appears unbilled. | tt0118632 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash, Todd Allen, John Beasley, Billy Joe Shaver | Drama | NULL | ||
| Appaloosa | 2008 | Ed Harris | ★★ | 115 | Western town under the thumb of a despotic ranch owner (Irons) brings in a hired gun (Harris) and his partner (Mortensen) to straighten things out—which they will only do on their own terms. Fairly simple story (from a novel by Robert B. Parker) takes an awfully long time to spin out. Harris and Mortensen make a great team, and their friendship is the most interesting aspect of this longwinded film. Harris coscripted and sings a Western song he cowrote over the closing credits . . . and that’s his father Bob playing the judge. | tt0800308 | [R] | Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Timothy Spall, Lance Henriksen, James Gammon, Tom Bower, Ariadna Gil, Rex Linn | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The Appaloosa | 1966 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★½ | 98 | Brooding Western set in 1870s with Brando trying to recover horse stolen from him by Mexican bandit; slowly paced, well photographed by Russell Metty. | tt0060120 | Marlon Brando, Anjanette Comer, John Saxon, Alex Montoya, Frank Silvera | Western | NULL | |||
| Applause | 1929 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 78 | Revolutionary early talkie may seem awfully hokey to modern audiences (Morgan plays a fading burlesque queen with a two-timing boyfriend and an innocent young daughter just out of a convent), but Morgan's heart-rending performance, and innovative use of camera and sound by Mamoulian (in his film directing debut), make it a must for buffs. | tt0019644 | Helen Morgan, Joan Peers, Fuller Mellish/ Jr., Henry Wadsworth, Dorothy Cumming | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again | 1979 | Vincent McEveety | ★★ | 88 | More of the same, with Knotts and Conway as bumbling outlaws in the Old West; usual Disney slapstick, without much zip or originality. | tt0078790 | [G] | Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Tim Matheson, Kenneth Mars, Elyssa Davalos, Jack Elam, Robert Pine, Harry Morgan, Ruth Buzzi | Family, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Apple Dumpling Gang | 1975 | Norman Tokar | ★★ | 100 | Disney Western comedy with gambler Bixby inheriting three children. Predictable doings sparked by Knotts and Conway as bumbling crooks. | tt0072653 | [G] | Bill Bixby, Susan Clark, Don Knotts, Tim Conway, David Wayne, Slim Pickens, Harry Morgan | Family, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Apple | 1980 | Menahem Golan | 💣 | 90 | Futuristic musical set in 1994, when a young couple's entry in songwriting contest is sabotaged by devilish Mr. Boogalow. As bad as it sounds— possibly worse. | tt0080380 | [PG] | Catherine Mary Stewart, Allan Love, George Gilmour, Grace Kennedy, Joss Ackland, Vladek Sheybal | Musical | NULL | ||
| Appointment With Danger | 1951 | Lewis Allen | ★★★ | 89 | Ladd is a U.S. postal inspector aided by nun Calvert in cracking a case. Forget that part of the story; Webb and Morgan are the villains here, and Dragnet fans will be extremely amused. Best bit: Ladd 'dropping' Webb on a handball court. | tt0043292 | Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, Jan Sterling, Jack Webb, Harry Morgan | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Appointment With Death | 1988 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 108 | Ustinov returns yet again as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot in this obvious, depressingly unsuspenseful mystery. It seems that greedy Laurie wants her late husband's money all for herself. How soon will she be murdered? And how soon will Poirot name her killer? Another loser from Winner; scripted by Anthony Shaffer, Peter Buckman, and the director. | tt0094669 | [PG] | Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, John Gielgud, Piper Laurie, Hayley Mills, Jenny Seagrove, David Soul | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Appointment With Murder | 1948 | Jack Bernhard | ★½ | 67 | Appointment with boredom is more like it in this quickie Falcon mystery centering on international art thieves. | tt0040106 | John Calvert, Catherine Craig, Jack Reitzen, Lyle Talbot, Robert Conte | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Appointment With a Shadow | 1958 | Richard Carlson | ★★ | 73 | Former ace reporter swears off alcohol and scoops big story. | tt0051370 | George Nader, Joanna Moore, Brian Keith, Virginia Field, Frank De Kova | Crime | NULL | |||
| Appointment for Love | 1941 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 89 | Frothy comedy showcasing delightful stars: husband and wife with careers find happy marriage almost impossible. | tt0033348 | Charles Boyer, Margaret Sullavan, Rita Johnson, Reginald Denny, Ruth Terry, Eugene Pallette | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Appointment in Berlin | 1943 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 77 | Another WW2 intrigue film, better than most, with Sanders joining Nazi radio staff to learn secret plans. | tt0035643 | George Sanders, Marguerite Chapman, Onslow Stevens, Gale Sondergaard, Alan Napier | War | NULL | |||
| Appointment in Honduras | 1953 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 79 | Idealistic American (Ford) out to save Latin-American country, corrals villainous companions into helping crusade. Sheridan is not focal point, and a pity. | tt0045512 | Ann Sheridan, Glenn Ford, Zachary Scott, Jack Elam | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Appointment in London | 1953 | Philip Leacock | ★★★ | 96 | Engrossing story of British bomber squadron in WW2 and high-pressured officer Bogarde, who insists on flying dangerous mission in spite of orders to the contrary. | tt0045513 | Dirk Bogarde, Ian Hunter, Dinah Sheridan, William Sylvester, Walter Fitzgerald, Bryan Forbes | British |
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| The Appointment | 1969 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 100 | Brilliant attorney falls in love with a girl who eventually ruins him. Soapy and long. | tt0064035 | [R] | Omar Sharif, Anouk Aimée, Lotte Lenya | Drama | NULL | ||
| Apprentice to Murder | 1988 | Ralph L. Thomas | ★★ | 94 | Odd, affected, fact-based account of a practitioner of medieval medicine (Sutherland, in a disappointing performance), and his complex relationship with young Lowe. Filmed in Norway. | tt0094671 | [PG-13] | Donald Sutherland, Chad Lowe, Mia Sara, Knut Husebo, Rutanya Alda | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | 1974 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★½ | 121 | Mordecai Richler's vivid comedy-drama of an ambitious kid from Montreal's Jewish ghetto in the 1940s, determined to make good no matter how many toes he steps on. Pretentious bar mitzvah movie made by Duddy's 'client,' artsy director Elliott, is just one comic highlight. | tt0071155 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Micheline Lanctot, Jack Warden, Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman, Denholm Elliott, Joe Silver | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| April Fool's Day | 1986 | Fred Walton | ★★ | 88 | Practical joker (Foreman) invites college pals to spend a weekend in her family's mansion on an off-coast island; one by one they're threatened and killed. Attempt to bring humor to FRIDAY THE 13TH formula isn't a total washout but doesn't quite click, either. | tt0090655 | [R] | Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, Clayton Rohner, Thomas F. Wilson, Deborah Goodrich | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The April Fools | 1969 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★ | 95 | Attempt at old-fashioned romantic comedy is forced, unbelievable, unfunny. Lemmon is married businessman who decides to chuck it all to run away with Deneuve, who's wasted, along with Loy and Boyer. | tt0064036 | [M] | Jack Lemmon, Catherine Deneuve, Peter Lawford, Harvey Korman, Sally Kellerman, Myrna Loy, Charles Boyer, Melinda Dillon, Kenneth Mars, Jack Weston, David Doyle | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| April Love | 1957 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 97 | Engaging musical with wholesome Boone visiting relatives' Kentucky farm, falling in love with neighbor Jones. Pat had a hit with the title tune. Previously filmed as HOME IN INDIANA. | tt0050135 | Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, Dolores Michaels, Arthur O'Connell, Matt Crowley | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| April Showers | 1948 | James V. Kern | ★★ | 94 | Hackneyed backstage vaudeville yarn with Carson-Sothern teaming, splitting, reteaming, etc. | tt0040107 | Jack Carson, Ann Sothern, Robert Alda, S. Z. Sakall, Robert Ellis | Animation, Short | NULL | |||
| April in Paris | 1952 | David Butler | ★★½ | 101 | Diplomatic corps bureaucrat tries to boost Franco-American relations and falls in love with a showgirl mistakenly chosen to appear in the 'April in Paris' show he's staging. Mediocre Warner Bros. musical buoyed by the personalities of Day and Bolger— who make an unconvincing romantic couple. | tt0044370 | Doris Day, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin, Eve Miller, George Givot, Paul Harvey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Après Vous . . . | 2003 | Pierre Salvadori | ★★½ | 110 | Agreeable French comedy about a good-hearted maitre d' who comes across a suicidal man one night and agrees to help him turn his life around by getting him a job as a wine steward in his restaurant. Of course, this act of kindness causes all sorts of complications in the lives of both men, but the farcical nature of the story is never overplayed. Auteuil is the perfect foil to Garcia, who is a total delight to watch. A minor but entertaining comedy. | tt0344604 | [R] | Daniel Auteuil, José Garcia, Sandrine Kiberlain, Marilyne Canto, Michèle Moretti, Garance Clavel, Fabio Zenoni | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Apt Pupil | 1998 | Bryan Singer | ★½ | 111 | A student studying the Holocaust becomes overly absorbed in the subject. When he spots an old man on the bus and realizes that he's a former Nazi war criminal, he cultivates a curious 'friendship' with the unrepentant elder. Fascinating premise, from a Stephen King novella, soon grows untenable— and doesn't know when to quit. Good performances by McKellen and Renfro can't save this extremely unpleasant film. | tt0118636 | [R] | Ian McKellen, Brad Renfro, Bruce Davison, Elias Koteas, Joe Morton, Jan Triska, Michael Byrne, Heather McComb, David Schwimmer, Joshua Jackson, James Karen | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters | 2007 | Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis | 💣 | 79 | Three fast-food icons, Master Shake (a milk-shake cup), Frylock (a large side of French fries), and Meatwad (a stupid meatball), tackle an immortal piece of exercise equipment, the Insanoflex, which threatens the balance of galactic peace. Feature version of Adult Swim cable TV cartoon series is strictly for stoners . . . and even they may demand a refund. Artless and unfunny, with a fart joke every ten minutes. Hanna Barbera's Space Ghost makes a cameo appearance. A complete waste of time. | tt0455326 | [R] | Voices of Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Carey Means, Andy Merrill, C. Martin Croker, Chris Kattan, Bruce Campbell | Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Aquamarine | 2006 | Elizabeth Allen | ★★ | 103 | A mermaid escapes her overbearing father and arrives on land, where she needs to make a man fall in love with her or succumb to an arranged marriage to a merman back home. Meanwhile, her two new human girlfriends have to figure out how to stay together when one of their parents wants to move to another country. They all face the usual 'fish out of water movie' calamities, but the infectiously sweet leads keep this from being a total bore. Based on a book by Alice Hoffman. | tt0429591 | [PG] | Emma Roberts, Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque, Sara Paxton, Jake McDorman, Arielle Kebbel | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Arabella | 1969 | Adriano Barocco | ★½ | 91 | Silly drawing-room black comedy in which Thomas plays four different roles, as various victims of Lisi's larceny. Filmed in wide-screen Panoramica. | tt0061365 | [M] | Virna Lisi, James Fox, Margaret Rutherford, Terry-Thomas | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Arabesque | 1966 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 105 | Modern secret-agent escapism as Peck is drawn into espionage with Sophia, who was never more beautiful. Exciting, beautifully photographed, minus any message or deep thought. | tt0060121 | Sophia Loren, Gregory Peck, Alan Badel, Kieron Moore, George Coulouris | Thriller | NULL | |||
| An Arabian Adventure | 1979 | Kevin Connor | ★★½ | 98 | Just what the title says; colorful enough to entertain kids, with enough effects gimmicks and cameo performances to intrigue older viewers as well. | tt0078792 | [G] | Christopher Lee, Milo O'Shea, Puneet Sira, Oliver Tobias, Emma Samms, Peter Cushing, Mickey Rooney, Capucine, John Ratzenberger | British | Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Arabian Knight | The Thief and the Cobbler | 1995 | Richard Williams | ★★ | 72 | Colorful but disappointing (and ultimately, boring) yarn of a lowly cobbler who falls in love with a princess and does battle with a wily wizard named Zig Zag. Some engaging and amusing scenes for kids, with exceptionally interesting graphics and color schemes, but the story is too fragmented to really take hold; the songs are instantly forgettable. This film shows the scars of major production woes; it was begun by Williams in 1968(!), then taken out of his hands in the early 1990s. Retitled THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER (the film's original name while in production) for video. | tt0112389 | [G] | Voices of Vincent Price, Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Beals, Eric Bogosian, Toni Collette, Jonathan Winters, Bobbi Page, Clive Revill, Kevin Dorsey, Kenneth Williams | Animation, Musical | NULL | |
| Arabian Nights | 1942 | John Rawlins | ★★½ | 86 | Colorful, corny escapist stuff— beautifully mounted in Technicolor— about a dashing hero, an enslaved Sherazade, and an evil caliph. Shemp also memorable as a retired Sinbad the Sailor. First teaming of Montez, Hall, and Sabu. | tt0034465 | Jon Hall, Maria Montez, Sabu, Leif Erickson, Turhan Bey, Billy Gilbert, Shemp Howard, John Qualen, Thomas Gomez | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Arabian Nights | 1974 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★★ | 130 | Several Thousand and One Nights tales are framed by the story of slave-girl Pellegrini, who becomes 'king' of a great city. Dreamlike, exotic; the last and best of Pasolini's medieval trilogy. Running time originally 155m. | tt0071502 | Ninetto Davoli, Ines Pellegrini, Franco Citti, Tessa Bouche, Margarethe Clementi, Franco Merli | Italian-French | Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Arachnophobia | 1990 | Frank Marshall | ★★★ | 109 | Fear of spiders is taken to extremes in this slick comic thriller from Steven Spielberg and Co. Small-town doctor Daniels (who hates spiders) and family play host to a wayward tropical arachnid that promptly sets up web in the barn out back. Essentially Grade Z movie fodder is socked across here by a big budget and spirited performances. Directorial debut of longtime Spielberg producer Marshall. Not recommended for anyone who's ever covered their eyes during a movie. | tt0099052 | [PG-13] | Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands, Stuart Pankin, Brian McNamara, Mark L. Taylor, Henry Jones, Peter Jason, James Handy | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Ararat | 2002 | Atom Egoyan | ★★½ | 126 | Movie-within-a-movie about Turkey's 1915 genocide against Armenia has its moments, and as many subplots. Toronto filmmakers shoot a lame-looking historical epic about the incident, which is contrasted against a modern-day story dealing with sex between step-siblings, a disapproving dad with a gay son, and a lengthy incident involving a customs agent and a member of the film's crew. Heavy breathing, pedantic at times, but interesting and obviously heartfelt, given Egoyan's Armenian background. | tt0273435 | [R] | Bruce Greenwood, Arsinée Khanjian, Christopher Plummer, Elias Koteas, Charles Aznavour, Brent Carver, David Alpay, Marie-Josee Croze, Eric Begosian, Simon Abkarian | Canadian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Arch of Triumph | 1948 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 114 | Sluggish drama of doctor-refugee Boyer becoming involved with Bergman in pre-WW2 Paris. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel. William Conrad appears unbilled. Archivally restored to 131m. Remade for TV in 1985 with Anthony Hopkins and Lesley-Anne Down. | tt0040109 | Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Louis Calhern, Ruth Warrick, Roman Bohnen, J. Edward Bromberg, Ruth Nelson, Stephen Bekassy | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Architect | 2006 | Matt Tauber | ★★½ | 81 | Chicago architect is unaware that the urban housing project he designed years ago is now a hellhole that one aggrieved mother (Davis) wants to tear down . . . or even that his wife and children aren't at peace in the modern-living space that is their home. Each character is in crisis here, and the brief screenplay (adapted by Tauber from David Greig's play) introduces more dilemmas than it resolves. Still, strong performances make this worth a look. La Paglia also coexecutive produced. | tt0466665 | [R] | Anthony LaPaglia, Viola Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Hayden Panettiere, Sebastian Stan, Paul James | Drama | NULL | ||
| Arctic Tale | 2007 | Adam Ravetch, Sarah Robertson | ★★ | 96 | Quasi-documentary six years in the making follows the parallel stories of a walrus and her calf and a group of polar bears as they try to survive in the frozen arctic. While the footage itself is impressive, the “story” wrapped around it is strictly for very young kids. With cloying narration by Queen Latifah the film is clearly trying to emulate the success of a much more honest doc, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. Too bad they didn’t stick to the facts instead of trying to be BAMBI OF THE NORTH. | tt0488508 | [G] | Narrated by Queen Latifah | Family, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Are Husbands Necessary? | 1942 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 79 | And what about this film. | tt0034467 | Ray Milland, Betty Field, Patricia Morison, Eugene Pallette, Cecil Kellaway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Are Parents People? | 1925 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★½ | 60 | Enjoyable silent with good cast; innocuous story of young Bronson bringing her estranged parents together. | tt0015577 | Betty Bronson, Adolphe Menjou, Florence Vidor, Lawrence Gray. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Are We Done Yet? | 2007 | Steve Carr | ★½ | 92 | Inevitable sequel to ARE WE THERE YET? is also an official remake of the 1948 comedy MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE (complete with RKO Radio Pictures logo), but Ice Cube isn't Cary Grant and this script is much more bland than BLANDINGS. Premise is basically the same: a man moves his growing family out of the crowded city and into his 'dream house' in the suburbs, where everything goes wrong. Endlessly unfunny slapstick antics may have you looking at your watch asking the real question: 'Is it over yet?' | tt0422774 | [PG] | Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley, Aleisha Allen, Philip Bolden, Jonathan Katz, Linda Kash, Alexander Kalugin, Don Joffre, Pedro Miguel Arce, Tahj Mowry, Jacob Vargas | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Are We There Yet? | 2005 | Brian Levant. | ★½ | 95 | If you wait long enough, just about anything can happen, including Ice Cube turning into Fred MacMurray. Actor Cube isn't the problem here, but a stale premise is: the child-hating owner of a sports memorabilia store transports two headstrong kids over a long, disaster-prone trip to Vancouver, all to help hottie-mama Long out of a scheduling jam while getting into her good graces. Before turning in this box-office success, director Levant did PROBLEM CHILD 2 and SNOW DOGS. Forewarned is forearmed. | tt0368578 | [PG] | Ice Cube, Nia Long, Jay Mohr, Aleisha Allen, M. C. Gainey, Philip Daniel Bolden, Nichelle Nichols. | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Are You With It? | 1948 | Jack Hively | ★★½ | 90 | Bright little musical of math-whiz O'Connor joining a carnival. | tt0040111 | Donald O'Connor, Olga San Juan, Martha Stewart, Lew Parker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Arena | 1953 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 83 | Colorful if utterly predictable story of rodeo star Young, on the verge of divorce from Bergen, falling under the spell of sexy Lawrence. Morgan is a standout as a onetime star reduced to taking a job as rodeo clown. Action scenes skillfully integrated. Filmed in Tucson, Arizona. Originally in 3-D. | tt0045515 | Gig Young, Jean Hagen, Polly Bergen, Henry (Harry) Morgan, Barbara Lawrence, Lee Aaker, Robert Horton, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| The Arena | Naked Warriors | 1973 | Steve Carver | ★★ | 83 | Lavish (by Roger Corman standards) spectacle set in an ancient Rome in which all the gladiators are women. Rather surprisingly pro-feminist point of view, but Grier's and Markov's physiques remain the chief attractions. Retitled NAKED WARRIORS. Remade in 2001. | tt0069729 | [R] | Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Lucretia Love, Paul Muller | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Argentine Nights | 1940 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★½ | 74 | Boisterous musical comedy with the Ritzes fleeing the U.S., hooking up with troupe of entertainers in Argentina. Incoherent plotwise, but diverting. | tt0032218 | Ritz Brothers, Andrews Sisters, Constance Moore, George Reeves, Peggy Moran, Anne Nagel | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Aria | 1987 | Bill Bryden, Nicolas Roeg, Charles Sturridge, Jean-Luc Godard, Julien Temple, Bruce Beresford, Robert Altman, Franc Roddam, Ken Russell, Derek Jarman | 💣 | 90 | Godawful collection of short films, each one supposedly inspired by an operatic aria. Precious few make sense, or even seem to match the music; some are downright embarrassing. Roddam's bittersweet Las Vegas fable (set to Tristan und Isolde), Beresford's sweet and simple rendering of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Die Totestadt are among the better segments— relatively speaking. A pitiful waste of talent. Fonda's first film. | tt0092580 | [R] | John Hurt, Theresa Russell, Nicola Swain, Jack Kayle, Buck Henry, Anita Morris, Beverly D'Angelo, Elizabeth Hurley, Peter Birch, Julie Hagerty, Genevieve Page, Bridget Fonda, Tilda Swinton, Spencer Leigh, Amy Johnson | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Ariel | 1988 | Aki Kaurismäki | ★★★ | 74 | Surreal, dryly hilarious road movie from one of the most talented directors to emerge on the international film scene in the late 1980s. The scenario chronicles the plight of a mine worker (Pajala) who loses his job and sets out on a cross-country odyssey. | tt0094675 | Turo Pajala, Susanna Haavisto, Matti Pellonpää | Finnish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Arise, My Love | 1940 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 113 | Reporter Colbert rescues flyer Milland from a Spanish firing squad in the days before WW2 breaks out in Europe. Bright stars make Billy Wilder-Charles Brackett script seem better than it is; Benjamin Glazer and John S. Toldy received Oscars for their original story. | tt0032220 | Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Walter Abel, Dennis O'Keefe, Dick Purcell | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Aristocats | 1970 | Wolfgang Reitherman | ★★★ | 78 | A cat and her offspring will inherit a fortune from their mistress, which makes them prime targets for her scheming butler, who'll collect the money if they're out of the picture. Enter Thomas O'Malley Cat (voiced by the inimitable Phil Harris) to the rescue. Derivative of earlier Disney animated features but entertaining just the same. | tt0065421 | [G] | Voices of Eva Gabor, Phil Harris, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, Paul Winchell, Lord Tim Hudson, Vito Scotti, Thurl Ravenscroft, Nancy Kulp, Pat Buttram, George Lindsey, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley | Animation, Family, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Aristocrats | 2005 | Paul Provenza | ★★½ | 89 | Stand-up comic Provenza and Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller) set out to examine a notorious dirty joke that's become a touchstone for comedians of all ages. Comedy aficionados will find this irresistible, as a formidable parade of more than one hundred performers (Robin Williams, Phyllis Diller, George Carlin, Gilbert Gottfried, Larry Storch, to name just a few) cuts loose and dissects the appeal of the gag. Not surprisingly, some of the older comics get some of the biggest laughs . . . including an unannounced guest at the end of the credits. Not recommended for children or anyone easily offended. | tt0436078 | Unrated | Documentary, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Arizona | 1940 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 127 | Lively story of determined woman battling corruption and plundering while trying to settle in new Arizona territory. Well done, but seems to go on forever. | tt0032221 | Jean Arthur, William Holden, Warren William, Porter Hall, Paul Harvey | Western | NULL | |||
| Arizona Bushwhackers | 1968 | Lesley Selander | ★½ | 86 | Confederate spy Keel takes job as sheriff in Arizona and routs Brady, who has been selling weapons to Apaches. Routine Western. Narration by James Cagney. | tt0062676 | Howard Keel, Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Brian Donlevy, Roy Rogers/Jr., James Craig | Western | NULL | |||
| Arizona Dream | 1993 | Emir Kusturica | ★★½ | 119 | Odd but intriguing film about a young dreamer (Depp) who's shanghaied into a trip to Arizona, where he catches up with a favorite uncle (Lewis) who wants him to settle down, and falls madly in love with an emotionally frail, childlike woman (Dunaway). European-styled film (from the Yugoslav director of WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS) boasts exceptionally good performances— one of Dunaway's best in years, one of Lewis' most impressive— though the often pathetic characters wear out their welcome after a while. Filmed in 1991; 142m. European version earned a brief U.S. theatrical release in 1995; shorter version is available on video. | tt0106307 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Lili Taylor, Paulina Porizkova, Vincent Gallo, Michael J. Pollard | French-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| The Arizona Kid | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 61 | Roy and Gabby track down an outlaw guerrilla leader (Hamblen) in the days of the Civil War. Solid Rogers vehicle captures Civil War atmosphere better than some major Hollywood movies. | tt0031051 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Sally March, Stuart Hamblen, Dorothy Sebastian, Earl Dwire, David Kerwin. | Western | NULL | |||
| Arizona Raiders | 1965 | William Witney | ★★½ | 88 | Murphy is Confederate army officer heading Arizona rangers after Civil War, battling Quantrill's raiders. | tt0058917 | Audie Murphy, Michael Dante, Ben Cooper, Buster Crabbe, Gloria Talbott | Western | NULL | |||
| Arizona to Broadway | 1933 | James Tinling. | ★★ | 66 | Joan enlists carnival con man Dunn's help in reclaiming money lost to gang of swindlers; predictable tale, remade as JITTERBUGS. | tt0023764 | James Dunn, Joan Bennett, Herbert Mundin, Sammy Cohen, Theodore von Eltz, J. Carrol Naish. | Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Arizonian | 1935 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 75 | Entertaining B-plus Western programmer with marshal Dix teaming with outlaw Foster to rid town of corrupt Calhern. Script by Dudley Nichols. | tt0026082 | Richard Dix, Margot Grahame, Preston Foster, Louis Calhern, James Bush, Willie Best, Joe Sawyer, Ray Mayer, Francis Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Arkansas Traveler | 1938 | Alfred Santell. | ★★ | 85 | Burns rambles into small town, keeps the local paper afloat, and plays Cupid. Pleasant entertainment relies on the charm of Bazooka Bob. | tt0029879 | Bob Burns, Fay Bainter, Jean Parker, Irvin S. Cobb, John Beal, Lyle Talbot, Dickie Moore, Porter Hall. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Arlington Road | 1999 | Mark Pellington | ★★ | 119 | Labored conspiracy thriller about a history professor (Bridges) haunted by his wife's death, who becomes suspicious of his new neighbor (Robbins) and starts investigating his curious past. Obvious and overdone. | tt0137363 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis, Robert Gossett, Spencer Treat Clark, Mason Gamble | Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Armageddon | 1998 | Michael Bay | ★★ | 151 | Opens with a bang, and sets up an exciting (if improbable) story about NASA and the U.S. government turning to a veteran oil-well driller and his motley team to save humanity by flying to an asteroid and planting a nuclear bomb. After a while it becomes so routine, so predictable, and so redundant that all the fun is drained away. Unrated director's cut runs 153m. | tt0120591 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, Keith David, Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, William Fichtner, Udo Kier, Michael Clarke Duncan; narrated by Charlton Heston | Action, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Armed Response | 1986 | Fred Olen Ray | ★★ | 85 | Modest actioner of Carradine and family becoming involved in a Chinatown war over a stolen jade art object. Cheapie benefits from a solid cast of both new and old B-movie favorites. | tt0090659 | [R] | David Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, Mako, Lois Hamilton, Ross Hagen, Brent Huff, Laurene Landon, Dick Miller, Michael Berryman | Action | NULL | ||
| Armed and Dangerous | 1986 | Mark L. Lester | ★½ | 88 | Lame comedy sticks talented costars with unappealing script about two bozos who wind up working for an armed security company— and tangling with a gangland boss (Loggia, wasted in a stereotype role). Even the chase finale is weak. | tt0090660 | [PG-13] | John Candy, Eugene Levy, Robert Loggia, Kenneth McMillan, Meg Ryan, Brion James, Jonathan Banks, Don Stroud, Steve Railsback | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Armored | 2009 | Nimród Antal | ★★ | 88 | Iraq War vet Short is trying to eke out a living and a life, serving as surrogate parent to his teenage younger brother and preventing the foreclosure of their house. When his colleagues in security at an armored-truck company band together for a large heist, he must decide whether to risk everything to join them. A throwback to low-budget B movies of yore, this OK actioner will neither overly impress nor greatly disappoint genre fans. | tt0913354 | [PG-13] | Matt Dillon, Columbus Short, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Amaury Nolasco, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia, Skeet Ulrich, Andre Jamal Kinney | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Armored Car Robbery | 1950 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 68 | Crackerjack crime drama in which Talman masterminds the title theft; he and his gang are pursued by determined cop McGraw. | tt0042206 | Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Steve Brodie, Douglas Fowley, Don McGuire, Gene Evans | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Armored Command | 1961 | Byron Haskin | ★★ | 99 | Bland war film with stars merely going through their paces. | tt0054636 | Howard Keel, Tina Louise, Warner Anderson, Burt Reynolds | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Armour of God | 1986 | Jackie Chan | ★★½ | 94 | Jackie plays an Indiana Jones-style adventurer who must find legendary suit of armor to rescue his girlfriend from a cult. Enjoyable film marred by slow spots and obviously cheated final stunt. Fight with four leather-clad women is a blast. Watch the outtakes at the end to see the mishap that nearly killed Chan. Followed by a sequel. | tt0091431 | Jackie Chan, Rosamund Kwan, Alan Tam, Lola Forna, Maria Dolores | Hong Kong | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Armour of God 2: Operation Condor | Operation Condor | 1991 | Jackie Chan | ★★★ | 112 | Lavish adventure epic sends Chan off to Europe and Africa in search of huge Nazi gold cache, with three female companions in tow. Crackerjack comedy-adventure filled with great fights, stunts, and slapstick; final battle in a wind tunnel is a knockout. One of Jackie's best. Recut, dubbed, and trimmed to 89m. for 1997 U.S. release as OPERATION CONDOR— which isn't as good as the original. | tt0099558 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Carol 'Do do' Cheng, Eva Cobo deGarcia, Ikeda Shoko, Aldo Sanchez, Ken Lo | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL |
| Army of Darkness | 1993 | Sam Raimi | ★★ | 81 | Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee is crossed here with Bob Vila, as a hardware store employee is transported back (with his '73 Olds and a chainsaw) to King Arthur's 14th-century turf. Chiseled-grin Campbell's comic book features serve this movie well, as do a few witty bits and an army of skeletons obviously inspired by JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. Doldrums set in when nifty special effects and verbal exchanges are out grabbing a smoke. Campbell also coproduced. Third in the EVIL DEAD series. Director's cut runs 96m. | tt0106308 | [R] | Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert, Ian Abercrombie, Richard Grove, Michael Earl Reid, Timothy Patrick Quill, Bridget Fonda, Patricia Tallman, Theodore Raimi, Ivan Raimi | Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Army of Shadows | 1969 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★★ | 145 | Vivid period piece about the exploits of French Resistance agent Philippe Gerbier (Ventura) and the work he and his cohorts accomplish during WW2. Episodic but compelling, all the more so for Melville's matter-of-fact presentation of extraordinary feats. Signoret is featured as an especially ingenious and dedicated Parisian comrade. Based on Joseph Kessel's 1943 book, adapted by the director, who in real life worked for the Resistance. | tt0064040 |
|
Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Mann, Paul Crauchet, Christian Barbier, Serge Reggiani | French-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Arnelo Affair | 1947 | Arch Oboler | ★★ | 86 | Neglected wife drawn hypnotically to husband's client finally learns of his involvement in girl's murder. | tt0039160 | John Hodiak, George Murphy, Frances Gifford, Dean Stockwell, Eve Arden | Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Arnold | 1973 | Georg Fenady | ★★½ | 100 | Bizarre horror comedy features novel deaths and offbeat humor, centering around luscious Stevens' marriage to corpse Norman Stuart. | tt0069732 | [PG] | Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, Shani Wallis, Farley Granger, Victor Buono, John McGiver, Patric Knowles | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Around the Bend | 2004 | Jordan Roberts. | ★★½ | 83 | Amiable-enough film about a man, separated from his wife, who takes care of his young son and his aged, eccentric grandfather when suddenly his own dad (who walked out when the boy was two) shows up on his doorstep. Culminates in a road trip through the Southwest. Generational story of forgiveness covers familiar emotional turf, but watching Walken is a treat. Written by the director. | tt0384810 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Michael Caine, Josh Lucas, Glenne Headly, Jonah Bobo. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Around the World | 1943 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 79 | Hokey fare with Kyser and band traveling the globe, putting on shows for soldiers (and, in a silly subplot, battling Nazis). | tt0035648 | Kay Kyser and His Band, Mischa Auer, Joan Davis, Marcy McGuire, Wally Brown, Georgia Carroll, Alan Carney, Ish Kabibble, Robert Armstrong, Barbara Hale, Rosemary La Planche | Short | NULL | |||
| Around the World Under the Sea | 1966 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 117 | Several TV personalities appear in this undistinguished underwater tour about testing earthquake warnings. | tt0060126 | Lloyd Bridges, Shirley Eaton, David McCallum, Brian Kelly, Keenan Wynn, Marshall Thompson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Around the World in 80 Days | 2004 | Frank Coraci | ★½ | 119 | Absentminded Victorian inventor Phileas Fogg embarks on a global journey with a fugitive from justice (Chan) as his valet. Stumblebum remake of the Jules Verne saga is devoid of wit, and with so many CG effects shows no evidence of globetrotting in spite of having used several international locations. The 1956 movie had cameos by the likes of Sinatra and Dietrich; this one gives us Schwarzenegger in a funny wig. | tt0327437 | [PG] | Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cécile de France, Jim Broadbent, Ewen Bremner, Ian McNeice, Karen Joy Morris, Mark Addy, Will Forte, John Cleese, Macy Gray, Sammo Hung, Rob Schneider, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Arnold Schwarzenegger | British-Irish-German | Adventure, Comedy, Action, Romance | NULL | |
| Around the World in 80 Ways | 1986 | Stephen MacLean. | ★★½ | 90 | Off-center Aussie farce about two brothers who contrive to spring their aging dad from his stultifying rest home and take him on an imaginary trip around the world. Wacky, and more than a bit crude at times, but likable throughout. | tt0092581 | [R] | Philip Quast, Allan Penney, Diana Davidson, Kelly Dingwall, Gosia Dobrowolska. | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Around the World in Eighty Days | 1956 | Michael Anderson | ★★★ | 167 | Oscar-winning favorite has lost much of its charm over the years, but even so, Mike Todd's version of the Jules Verne tale offers plenty of entertainment, and more than 40 cameo appearances offer plenty of star-gazing for buffs. Great Victor Young score was also an Oscar winner, as was the screenplay (James Poe, John Farrow, S. J. Perelman), cinematography (Lionel Lindon), and editing (Gene Ruggiero, Paul Weatherwax). Remade in 1989 (as a TV miniseries) and in 2004. | tt0048960 | David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton, Buster Keaton, Jose Greco, John Gielgud, Robert Morley, Marlene Dietrich | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Arousers | Sweet Kill | 1970 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 90 | Little-known, case-history B movie with topnotch performance by Hunter as lonely Venice, California, psychopath who can't make love to women, so he ends up killing them. Unsung thriller packs a wallop; worth searching out. Originally released as SWEET KILL; aka A KISS FROM EDDIE. | tt0065424 | Tab Hunter, Nadyne Turney, Roberta Collins, Isabel Jewell | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Arrangement | 1969 | Elia Kazan | 💣 | 120 | Muddled, unpleasant film from Kazan's own novel about man fed up with Madison Avenue rat race who suddenly goes berserk, reevaluates his life, family, surroundings. Good cast down the drain; Kerr's role is particularly demeaning. | tt0064041 | [R] | Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway, Deborah Kerr, Richard Boone, Hume Cronyn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Arrest Bulldog Drummond | 1939 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 57 | Drummond is framed in the murder of a ray-gun inventor and tracks down the real culprits in this zippy entry. | tt0031054 | John Howard, Heather Angel, H. B. Warner, George Zucco, E. E. Clive, Reginald Denny | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Arrival | 1996 | David N. Twohy | ★★★ | 109 | Radio astronomer is fired when he tells his boss that he's picked up signals proving there's intelligent life in space. Then he learns that the aliens are already here and up to no good. Clever, intelligent sci-fi thriller of the old school, with many bright ideas; suffers from flaccid pacing in the last third but remains fun throughout. Written by the director. Followed by a video sequel. | tt0115571 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Ron Silver, Lindsay Crouse, Teri Polo, Richard Schiff, Tony T. Johnson, Leon Rippy, Buddy Joe Hooker | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery, Action | NULL | ||
| Arrivederci, Baby! | 1966 | Ken Hughes | ★½ | 105 | Comic theme about Bluebeard type who murders his wives for their money has been handled more successfully by others. Not very funny. | tt0060128 | Tony Curtis, Rosanna Schiaffino, Lionel Jeffries, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Nancy Kwan | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Arrow in the Dust | 1954 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 80 | Deserting horse soldier (Hayden) learns sterling virtues when he assumes identity of dead commanding officer, warding off Indian attack on passing wagon train. | tt0046722 | Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully | Western | NULL | |||
| Arrowhead | 1953 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★½ | 105 | Well-paced account of cavalry scout Heston, who despises Indians, and his response when Apaches return to their reservation and Apache chief Palance arrives on the scene. Watch this, and you will understand why Native Americans have lambasted the manner in which they have been depicted by Hollywood. Keith's first film appearance since his screen debut in 1924, at age three. | tt0045518 | Charlton Heston, Jack Palance, Katy Jurado, Brian Keith, Milburn Stone | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Arrowsmith | 1931 | John Ford | ★★½ | 99 | Seriously flawed and illogical adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' novel about a dedicated young research doctor who spends most of his life facing the temptation of selling out. Worth seeing for some fine performances and stirring moments. Screenplay by Sidney Howard (who fared better with Lewis' Dodsworth). Originally 110m.; cut to 101m. for reissue, restored in recent years to 99m. | tt0021622 | Ronald Colman, Helen Hayes, Richard Bennett, A. E. Anson, Claude King, Russell Hopton, Myrna Loy, Beulah Bondi, John Qualen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Arruza | 1972 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 75 | Interesting documentary, many years in production, about bullfighter Carlos Arruza. Well made, but the impact is nowhere near that of Boetticher's own fictional BULLFIGHTER AND THE LADY. | tt0068223 | [M] | Narrated by Anthony Quinn | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Arsenal | 1928 | Alexander Dovzhenko. | ★★★½ | 75 | Vivid, bone-chilling imagery highlights this powerful account of a 1918 Ukrainian/Bolshevik revolt against anti-revolutionary Russians, culminating in the spirited defense of a munitions plant. Packed with symbolism, the film at once glorifies revolutionary action and vividly portrays the violence and human misery resulting from that action. | tt0019649 | Semyon Svashenko, Amvrosi Buchma, Mykola Nademsky, Dmitri Erdman, Sergei Petrov. | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Arsenal Stadium Mystery | 1939 | Thorold Dickinson. | ★★★ | 85 | Who is responsible for the murder of football star Bushell— right in the middle of a game? Eccentric, crackerjack Scotland Yard inspector Banks finds out. Neat little whodunit, and very British. | tt0031055 | Leslie Banks, Greta Gynt, Ian MacLean, Liane Linden, Anthony Bushell, Esmond Knight. | British | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Arsene Lupin | 1932 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 84 | Ripe detective yarn set in Paris: John is a gentleman, Lionel a detective, Morley a mystery woman. Which one is the title jewel thief? John and Lionel B. make a marvelous team in their first film together. | tt0022639 | John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley, John Miljan, Henry Armetta, Tully Marshall | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Arsene Lupin Returns | 1938 | George Fitzmaurice. | ★★★ | 81 | Douglas takes over John Barrymore's role as the famed Parisian jewel thief. Lupin, now retired as a gentleman farmer, pretends to make a comeback in order to catch a copycat crook. Slick, satisfying comedy-thriller, deftly handled by a fine cast. | tt0029884 | Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Warren William, John Halliday, Nat Pendleton, Monty Woolley, E. E. Clive, George Zucco, Vladimir Sokoloff. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Arsenic and Old Lace | 1944 | Frank Capra | ★★★½ | 118 | Hilarious adaptation of Joseph Kesselring's hit play (scripted by the Epstein Brothers) about two seemingly harmless old ladies who poison lonely gentleman callers. Frantic cast is excellent, especially Lorre and Massey as unsuspecting murderers holed up in Brooklyn household. Made in 1941. Hull, Adair, and Alexander repeat their Broadway roles. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0036613 | Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Peter Lorre, Jack Carson, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, James Gleason, Grant Mitchell, John Alexander, Edward Everett Horton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Art School Confidential | 2006 | Terry Zwigoff | ★★★ | 102 | Freshman at an arts college wants desperately to be accepted, if not applauded, but no one will take his drawings or paintings seriously-while charlatans and showoffs thrive. More than anything he wants to impress a beautiful girl who models for his class. As darkly comic as GHOST WORLD (from the same director and writer, graphic novelist and comic book artist Daniel Clowes) but more human; we feel this young man's pain. Malkovich coproduced. Steve Buscemi and Michael Lerner appear unbilled. | tt0364955 | [R] | Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Anjelica Huston, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Dick Bakalyan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Art of Getting By | 2011 | Gavin Wiesen | ★★½ | 84 | Privileged Manhattan high school student (Highmore) is paralyzed with fears about life and can’t do any work, to the chagrin of his teachers and principal, who know he’s smart. Then he’s befriended by a girl (Roberts) who finds him interesting but is unaware that he’s becoming infatuated with her. Quirky slice of life from debut writer-director Wiesen covers familiar ground but is given weight by his two youthful stars, who make up for the film’s missteps. | tt1645080 | [PG-13] | Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Rita Wilson, Blair Underwood, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Sasha Spielberg, Marcus Carl Franklin, Alicia Silverstone | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Art of Love | 1965 | Norman Jewison | ★★ | 99 | Ordinary comedy set in France, with a bemused cast headed by Van Dyke as a struggling artist who fakes death to increase the value of his work. Sommer is his virtuous girl, boisterous Merman a local madam with a yen for singing. | tt0058920 | James Garner, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer, Angie Dickinson, Ethel Merman, Carl Reiner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Art of War | 2000 | Christian Duguay | ★★½ | 117 | Unexceptional action thriller. Snipes is a secret agent for the U.N. who's framed for an assassination, so he tries to unsnarl a tangled plot centering on Chinese trade negotiations. Hong Kong-style fights and good cinematography (by Pierre Gill) help, but you've seen it all before. Title derives from Sun-Tzu's 2,500-year-old treatise on war. | tt0160009 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Maury Chaykin, Marie Matiko, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Michael Biehn, Donald Sutherland, James Hong | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Artemisia | 1997 | Agnès Merlet | ★★½ | 96 | Biopic of one of the earliest women painters in history, 17th-century Italian Artemisia Gentileschi. Her desire to express herself is tempered by her relationships with two strong men: her loving but rigid father (Serrault) and her mentor (Manojlovic), whose seduction and rape of his protégée leads to a notorious trial. An accomplished if uninspired depiction of this historical figure, whose fate is still debated by scholars and feminists. | tt0123385 | [R] | Valentina Cervi, Michel Serrault, Miki Manojlovic, Luca Zingaretti, Emmannuelle Devos, Frederic Pierrot, Yahn Tregouet | French-Italian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Arthur | 1981 | Steve Gordon | ★★★½ | 97 | Winning 1930s-style comedy, written by first-timer Gordon, who died the following year. Spoiled millionaire must choose between continued wealth (in a planned marriage) and true love (with working-class waitress Minnelli). More genuine laughs than most recent comedies put together, and a memorable, Oscar-winning performance by Gielgud as a protective, acid-tongued valet; title song 'Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)' also earned a statuette. Followed by ARTHUR 2: ON THE ROCKS. | tt0082031 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jill Eikenberry, Stephen Elliott, Ted Ross, Barney Martin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Arthur | 2011 | Jason Winer | ★★½ | 110 | Remake of the 1981 hit about a childlike N.Y.C. billionaire (Brand) who lives in a constant alcoholic stupor, tended to by his lifelong nanny (Mirren, taking on John Gielgud’s butler role). His tycoon mother threatens to cut him off without a cent unless he marries her business-savvy associate (Garner, in a thankless role as a viper). That’s when he meets Gerwig, a free spirit who doesn’t care about money. Unattractively shot romantic comedy isn’t terribly inspired but also isn’t terrible, unless you compare it with the original. | tt1334512 | [PG-13] | Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Jennifer Garner, Geraldine James, Luis Guzmán, Nick Nolte, John Hodgman, Scott Adsit | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Arthur 2: On the Rocks | 1988 | Bud Yorkin | ★★ | 110 | Arthur goes broke and his wife wants to adopt a baby. The cast tries, and there are scattered laughs, but this schmaltzy sequel (executive produced by Moore) is a disappointment. Gielgud 'appears' briefly as a ghost. That's Dudley's then-wife, Brogan Lane, as Liza's hash-slinging colleague. | tt0094678 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Stephen Elliott, Paul Benedict, Cynthia Sikes, Kathy Bates, Jack Gilford, Ted Ross, Daniel Greene | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Arthur Christmas | 2011 | Sarah Smith | ★★★½ | 97 | An aging Santa Claus (Broadbent) leaves the logistics of delivering millions of toys in one night to his super-efficient son Steve (Laurie), allowing his other son, the sweet, sincere Arthur (McAvoy), to answer children's letters. But when one toy is left behind, it's up to Arthur and his dotty Grand-Santa (Nighy) to solve the dilemma, the old-fashioned way. Clever, delightfully funny animated feature from Aardman and Sony ImageWorks, with an outstanding, mostly British voice cast. Written by director Smith and Peter Baynham. | tt1430607 | [PG] | Voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Michael Palin, Robbie Coltrane, Joan Cusack, Jane Horrocks, Andy Serkis, Jasmine Greig | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy, Animation | NULL | |
| Arthur and the Invisibles | 2006 | Luc Besson | ★½ | 94 | Ten-year-old Arthur (Highmore) enters a fantasy world to find a hidden treasure. Rambling, confusing blend of live-action and below-par computer-generated animation. All-star cast of English-speaking actors dubbed the original French dialogue in the animated sequences. Besson coscripted, based on his children's book. | tt0344854 | [PG] | Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow, Penny Balfour, Doug Rand, Adam LeFevre; voices of Freddie Highmore, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Chazz Palminteri, Emilio Estevez, Snoop Dogg, Anthony Anderson, Jason Bateman, David Bowie | French | Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Arthur the King | 1985 | Clive Donner | Below Average TV Movie | 150 | The Arthurian saga, filtered through Lewis Carroll and a contemporary twist as Cannon tumbles down a rabbit hole into Camelot while wandering around Stonehenge. A bizarre adventure (glom Candice's fright wig!) and an unintentional hoot that sat for nearly three years before initial airing. Video title: MERLIN AND THE SWORD; cut to 94m. | tt0088739 | Malcolm McDowell, Candice Bergen, Edward Woodward, Dyan Cannon, Lucy Gutteridge, Rupert Everett, Liam Neeson, Michael Gough, Maryam D'Abo | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Article 99 | 1992 | Howard Deutch | ★★½ | 99 | Heartfelt but disappointingly one-dimensional, 'lighthearted' exposé of Veterans' Administration hospital abuse, focusing on spunky surgeon Liotta and his compatriots, who try to thwart the bureaucracy; Sutherland is the new doc on the block. Hijinks are more reminiscent of DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE than THE HOSPITAL— and that's the problem. | tt0101371 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Lea Thompson, John C. McGinley, John Mahoney, Keith David, Kathy Baker, Eli Wallach, Noble Willingham, Julie Bovasso, Troy Evans, Lynne Thigpen, Jeffrey Tambor, Rutanya Alda | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Artist | 2011 | Michel Hazanavicius | ★★★½ | 100 | Loving re-creation of a silent film, shot in L.A., tells the story of brashly confident 1920s movie star George Valentin (Dujardin), who scoffs at the coming of talking pictures. Then he watches his career crumble while a cute extra he chances to meet (Bejo) becomes a screen sensation. Ingenious and irresistible, this is a great showcase for Dujardin (who won a Best Actor Oscar) and Bejo, and a tour de force for writer-director-coeditor Hazanavicius (winner as Best Director), whose craftsmanship is as impressive as his storytelling skills. And let's hear it for Uggie the dog! Oscar winner for Best Picture, Original Score, and Costume Design. | tt1655442 | [PG-13] | Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, John Goodman, Penelope Ann Miller, Malcolm McDowell, Missi Pyle, Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Uggie | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Artists & Models | 1937 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 97 | Lupino pretends to be a socialite in flimsy plot with uncharacteristic Benny and songs 'Stop You're Breaking My Heart,' 'Whispers in the Dark.' Vintage fun. | tt0028587 | Jack Benny, Ida Lupino, Judy Canova, Gail Patrick, Richard Arlen, Martha Raye, Connee Boswell, Ethel Clayton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Artists and Models | 1955 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★ | 109 | Cartoonist Martin uses Lewis's far-out dreams as inspiration for his comic strips in this deliciously garish Technicolor outing. | tt0047840 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Shirley MacLaine, Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Artists and Models Abroad | 1938 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 90 | Breezy, entertaining froth of musical troupe stranded in Paris, perennially saved by conniving boss Benny. Yacht Club Boys sing incredible song, 'You're Broke, You Dope. | tt0029885 | Jack Benny, Joan Bennett, Mary Boland, Charley Grapewin, Yacht Club Boys, Joyce Compton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| As Good As It Gets | 1997 | James L. Brooks | ★★★½ | 138 | Professional malcontent (and full-time phobic) Nicholson is unavoidably drawn into the lives of his favorite waitress and his gay next-door neighbor. Gradually, and against his own judgment, he begins to show signs of humanity. Wonderful comedy-drama (written by Mark L. Andrus and Brooks) takes the viewer on an emotional journey, with laughs and tears along the way. Both Nicholson and Hunt won Oscars for their roles. Writer-directors Harold Ramis, Lawrence Kasdan, Shane Black, and Todd Solondz all have small roles. | tt0119822 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Shirley Knight, Yeardley Smith, Lupe Ontiveros, Bibi Osterwald, Randall Batinkoff, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| As Long As They're Happy | 1957 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 76 | Mini-musical involving daughter of staid British stockholder who falls for visiting song-and-dance man. | tt0047841 | Janette Scott, Jean Carson, Diana Dors, Hugh McDermott, Jack Buchanan | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| As Summers Die | 1986 | Jean-Claude Tramont | Average TV Movie | 87 | Louisiana, 1959. Smalltown lawyer Glenn clashes with powerful local family when he tries to help a destitute black woman save her property. He finds unlikely allies in an eccentric old lady and her niece, both members of the greedy clan. Leisurely adaptation of Winston Groom's novel. The old Davis fire returns in her few scenes. | tt0090663 | Scott Glenn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bette Davis, John Randolph, Penny Fuller, Beah Richards, Ron O'Neal, John McIntire | Drama | NULL | |||
| As You Desire Me | 1932 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★½ | 71 | OK version of Pirandello play about amnesiac (Garbo) returning to husband she doesn't really remember. Never as compelling as it should be. | tt0022641 | Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Erich von Stroheim, Hedda Hopper, Owen Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| As You Like It | 1936 | Paul Czinner | ★★★ | 96 | Olivier is solid (and handsome) as Orlando in his first attempt at the Bard on celluloid, but Bergner's Rosalind is more a matter of taste. Overall, an enjoyable production of this Shakespeare comedy. | tt0027311 | Elisabeth Bergner, Laurence Olivier, Sophie Stewart, Henry Ainley, Leon Quartermaine, Felix Aylmer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| As Young As You Feel | 1951 | Harmon Jones | ★★½ | 77 | Printing company employee Woolley is 'retired' when he turns 65, and he just won't sit still for it. Amiable satire of corporate bureaucracy, with a first-rate cast, based on a story by Paddy Chayefsky. | tt0043299 | Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, David Wayne, Jean Peters, Constance Bennett, Marilyn Monroe, Allyn Joslyn, Albert Dekker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| As the Sea Rages | 1960 | Horst Haechler | ★★ | 74 | Seaman Robertson arrives in Greece planning a sponge-diving business and meets resistance from townfolk and the elements; muddled script. | tt0052582 | Maria Schell, Cliff Robertson, Cameron Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ascent | 1994 | Donald Shebib | ★★ | 96 | Beautiful scenery cannot save this unexceptional WW2 drama, set in a POW camp where Italian prisoners challenge their British captors to a race in which both sides will scale nearby Mount Kenya. If they win, they will regain a measure of honor; however, freedom-loving prisoner Spano is intent on escaping. Based on a true story. | tt0109157 | [PG] | Vincent Spano, Ben Cross, Tony Lo Bianco, Rachel Ward, Mark Ingall, John De Veillers | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Ash Wednesday | 1973 | Larry Peerce | 💣 | 99 | Liz undergoes a facelift to regain her youth, but she still looks older than Fonda. Sit through this one and you'll need surgery on your posterior. | tt0069736 | [R] | Elizabeth Taylor, Henry Fonda, Helmut Berger, Keith Baxter, Margaret Blye | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ash Wednesday | 2002 | Edward Burns | ★½ | 98 | Writer-director-star Burns tackles grimmer material than usual in this story of two brothers who reluctantly get mixed up with gangsters in early 1980s N.Y.C. Burns is good as the older sibling, but Wood fails to convince us that he is from the same family. Uninvolving story looks as if it was made on a shoestring. | tt0280438 | [R] | Edward Burns, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt, Pat McNamara, James Handy, Michael Mulheren, Malachy McCourt, Julie Hale | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ashanti | 1979 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 117 | Beautiful wife Johnson of missionary-doctor Caine is kidnapped by slave trader Ustinov, prompting hot pursuit through the mideast. Tepid adventure yarn, despite great cast and promising story elements. Aka ASHANTI: LAND OF NO MERCY. | tt0078801 | [R] | Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov, Beverly Johnson, Kabir Bedi, Omar Sharif, Rex Harrison, William Holden | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ashes and Diamonds | 1958 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★½ | 96 | Stark, intelligent, perceptive account of the Resistance movement in Poland during the closing days of WW2. Cybulski, the Polish James Dean, came into his own with his portrayal of a young Resistance fighter. The last of Wajda's War trilogy, following A GENERATION and KANAL. | tt0052080 | Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzanowska, Adam Pawlikowski, Bogumil Kobiela, Waclaw Zastrzezynski | Polish | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Ask Any Girl | 1959 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 101 | Effervescent gloss of naive MacLaine coming to N.Y., discovering most men have lecherous designs on girls; she wants a husband, however. | tt0052583 | David Niven, Shirley MacLaine, Gig Young, Rod Taylor, Jim Backus, Elisabeth Fraser | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ask the Dust | 2006 | Robert Towne | ★★ | 117 | Would-be novelist Arturo Bandini arrives in Los Angeles in the early 1930s full of ambition, but the reality of day-to-day living smothers his inner fire. He can't even give himself to a woman who might make him happy, a Mexican waitress. Intriguing, handsomely made, but unforgivably dreary adaptation of John Fante's 1939 novel, written by Towne as a kind of companion piece to CHINATOWN. | tt0384814 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, Donald Sutherland, Eileen Atkins, Idina Menzel, Justin Kirk, Jeremy Crutchley, William Mapother; narrated by Richard Schickel | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Aspen Extreme | 1993 | Patrick Hasburgh | ★½ | 115 | For two Detroit buddies, the Motown slopes are not enough— so it's off to the Colorado Rockies for sex, tragedy, and skiing success amid the lifestyles of the rich and banal. Satisfactory outdoor scenes, but little else beyond jarring lapses in plot continuity. Hollywood Pictures, which opened this a week after ALIVE, must have gotten a deal on some parkas. | tt0106315 | [PG-13] | Paul Gross, Peter Berg, Finola Hughes, Teri Polo, William Russ, Trevor Eve, Martin Kemp, William McNamara, Nicolette Scorsese | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Asphalt Jungle | 1950 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 112 | The plotting of a crime, and the gathering of a gang to pull it off; a taut, realistic film full of fine characterizations (especially Jaffe, and Monroe in a memorable bit). A model of its kind, frequently copied, and remade no less than three times (as THE BADLANDERS, CAIRO, COOL BREEZE). Scripted by Ben Maddow and Huston, from a W. R. Burnett novel. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042208 | Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Marilyn Monroe | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Asphyx | Spirit of the Dead | 1972 | Peter Newbrook | ★★★ | 99 | Good fantasy plot has 19th-century scientist Stephens isolating the Asphyx, the spirit of death that appears around a person's body at times of imminent danger. In so doing, he becomes immortal. Lapotaire, who scored internationally on stage in Piaf, appears here as Stephens's daughter. Aka SPIRIT OF THE DEAD. | tt0069738 | [PG] | Robert Stephens, Robert Powell, Jane Lapotaire, Ralph Arliss, Alex Scott | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL |
| The Assam Garden | 1985 | Mary McMurray | ★★★ | 92 | Quietly rewarding drama with Kerr in her best role in years (and first theatrical release since 1969's THE ARRANGEMENT), as a stuffy, long-repressed, just-widowed woman. While tending her husband's garden and dealing with his memory, she strikes up a curious complex friendship with Indian neighbor Jaffrey. | tt0088744 | Deborah Kerr, Madhur Jaffrey, Alec McCowen, Zia Mohyeddin, Anton Lesser | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Assassin | 1973 | Peter Crane | ★★ | 83 | Routine cold war espionage film, or, the loneliness of the long-distance assassin. | tt0069739 | Ian Hendry, Edward Judd, Frank Windsor, Ray Brooks | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Assassin of Youth | 1937 | Elmer Clifton | ★½ | 80 | Another hokey marijuana exposé (this one a notch above the rest), about some fun-loving teens who smoke one too many reefers at one too many reefer parties. An intrepid investigative reporter poses as a soda jerk to expose their decadence. The short film within a film, THE MARIJUANA MENACE, is a hoot. | tt0028589 | Luana Walters, Arthur Gardner, Dorothy Short, Earl Dwire, Fern Emmett | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Assassin | 1961 | Elio Petri | ★★½ | 105 | Engaging study of scoundrel Mastroianni implicated in a murder, broken by the police, proven innocent, with a wry ending. | tt0054640 | Marcello Mastroianni, Salvo Randone, Micheline Presle, Cristina Gajoni | Italian | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Assassination | 1987 | Peter R. Hunt | ★½ | 88 | Bronson is a Secret Service bodyguard, Ireland the wife of the President, in this ridiculous, slapdash political thriller with more explosions than anything else. The First Lady is referred to here as One Mama! | tt0092585 | [PG-13] | Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Stephen Elliott, Jan Gan Boyd, Randy Brooks, Erik Stern, Michael Ansara, James Staley, Kathryn Leigh Scott | Action | NULL | ||
| The Assassination Bureau | 1969 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 110 | Fun tale based on Jack London story of secret club that eliminates unworthy people, until greed more than dedication begins to cloud the operation. | tt0064045 | [M] | Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Curt Jurgens, Clive Revill | British | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| Assassination Tango | 2003 | Robert Duvall | ★★½ | 114 | Hit man from Brooklyn is forced to disrupt his happy domestic life to travel to Argentina and carry out an assassination . . . but while he's waiting for the right moment, he takes up with a sexy tango dancer who introduces him to her world. Duvall is great to watch, and so are the tango sequences (some of them involving real-life masters of the art), but the results don't quite make a cohesive movie. Pedraza is Duvall's real-life companion. Duvall wrote and coproduced. | tt0283897 | [R] | Robert Duvall, Rubén Blades, Kathy Baker, Luciana Pedraza, Julio Oscar Mechoso, James Keane, Frank Gio, Frank Cassavetes, Michael Corrente | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | 2007 | Andrew Dominik | ★★½ | 160 | Retelling of the history leading up to the titular event and the strange relationship between the legendary—and moody—outlaw (Pitt) and his eventual killer (Affleck), who’s consumed with hero worship. Well acted, beautifully made (with exquisite cinematography by Roger Deakins), but crippled by overlength—which is not matched by commensurate character development or the intended thematic insight into the nature (and effects) of myth and celebrity. | tt0443680 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Garret Dillahunt, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Parks, Ted Levine, Sam Rockwell, Alison Elliott, James Carville, Tom Aldredge | Drama, Crime, Western, Biography | NULL | ||
| The Assassination of Richard Nixon | 2004 | Niels Mueller | ★★★ | 95 | Penn is brilliant as Sam Bicke (in real life Byck), who channeled his mounting frustrations with society into a doomed attempt to assassinate the President in 1974. The saga of a loser, made interesting by observational detail in the script (by Mueller and Kevin Kennedy) and Penn's incisive performance. Thompson is terrific as his bear of a boss; Watts is excellent in a low-key turn as Penn's estranged wife. Coproduced by Alfonso Cuarón, and partly filmed in Mexico. Executive producers include Alexander Payne and Leonardo DiCaprio. | tt0364961 | [R] | Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Michael Wincott, Mykelti Williamson, Naomi Watts, Nick Searcy, Brad Henke | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| The Assassination of Trotsky | 1972 | Joseph Losey. | ★★½ | 103 | Last days of Russian rebel make for uneven melodrama of hunters and hunted. Burton's performance is strong but unconvincing. | tt0068226 | [R] | Richard Burton, Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Valentina Cortese. | French-Italian-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Assassination of a High School President | 2008 | Brett Simon | ★½ | 99 | High school newspaper reporter's investigation of stolen SAT tests from the principal's safe has repercussions across the entire campus. Following in the same high school noir territory as the far more successful BRICK, this attempt to show the dark side of student affairs is a loud, jumbled mess. | tt1018818 | [R] | Reece Thompson, Mischa Barton, Bruce Willis, Melonie Diaz, Zach Roerig, Josh Barclay Caras, Patrick James Taylor, Michael Rapaport, Josh Pais, Kathryn Morris, Luke Grimes | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Assassins | 1995 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 132 | World's number one paid hit man is dogged at every turn by a young rival. Then he (inexplicably) falls in love with a female 'mark.' Stallone is in good form, but this big-scale action yarn/star vehicle suffers from rampant stupidity. | tt0112401 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore, Anatoly Davydov | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Assault on Agathon | 1975 | Laslo Benedek | ★★½ | 96 | Tepid drug-dealing thriller with spectacular Greek scenery overshadowing CIA man Minardos' efforts to nab Mr. Big. | tt0072663 | [PG] | Nico Minardos, Nina van Pallandt, Marianne Faithfull, John Woodvine | British-Greek | Crime | NULL | |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | John Carpenter | ★★★½ | 90 | A nearly deserted L.A. police station finds itself under a state of siege by a youth gang in this riveting thriller, a modern-day paraphrase of Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO. Writer-director Carpenter also did the eerie music score for this knockout. Remade in 2005. | tt0074156 | [R] | Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Nancy Loomis, Kim Richards, Henry Brandon | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 2005 | Jean-François Richet. | ★★ | 109 | On a snowy New Year's Eve an old Detroit police station prepares to shut down, but the storm forces cops to deposit a handful of prisoners there, including a local crime boss who just killed an undercover officer. Violent remake of the lean, mean John Carpenter B movie adds a variety of plot complications— and with each one, another layer of disbelief. Well crafted but laughable at times. | tt0398712 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Jeffrey 'Ja Rule' Atkins, Drea de Matteo, Gabriel Byrne, Brian Dennehy, Matt Craven, Dorian Harewood, Aisha Hinds, Kim Coates, Currie Graham. | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Assault on a Queen | 1966 | Jack Donohue | ★★½ | 106 | Sloppy Sinatra vehicle about big heist of H.M.S. Queen Mary's vault. Script by Rod Serling from novel by Jack Finney. | tt0060135 | Frank Sinatra, Virna Lisi, Anthony Franciosa, Richard Conte, Alf Kjellin, Errol John, Murray Matheson, Reginald Denny | Action, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Assault | 1986 | Fons Rademakers | ★★★½ | 149 | A 12-year-old's family is liquidated in the final days of WW2, and he represses his memories and feelings while growing into manhood. Evocative performances and fine direction enhance a story that is both truthful and heartbreaking. Long, but suspenseful, with many thought-provoking moments. Screenplay by Gerard Soeteman based on a novel by Harry Mulisch. Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. A film not easy to forget. | tt0090576 | [PG] | Derek de Lint, Marc van Uchelen, Monique van de Ven, John Kraaykamp, Huub van der Lubbe, Elly Weller | Dutch | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Assignment K | 1968 | Val Guest | ★½ | 97 | Still another spy drama— this one a dull story about secret agent's disillusionment upon discovering that his girl and seemingly everyone he knows is a double agent. | tt0062683 | Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, Michael Redgrave, Leo McKern, Jeremy Kemp, Robert Hoffman | British | Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Assignment Terror | Dracula vs. Frankenstein | 1970 | Tulio Demicheli | 💣 | 86 | Alien invader Rennie revives various earth monsters (including ersatz Frankenstein, Dracula, and Mummy) but socially conscious werewolf (Naschy) helps to combat his evil forces. Unwatchable stupidity. Aka DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0064687 | Michael Rennie, Karin Dor, Craig Hill, Paul Naschy, Patty Shepard | Spanish-German-Italian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Assignment in Brittany | 1943 | Jack Conway | ★★ | 96 | Aumont is lookalike for Nazi leader, uses this to his advantage working for French underground; patriotic WW2 melodrama. | tt0035651 | Jean-Pierre Aumont, Susan Peters, Richard Whorf, Margaret Wycherly, Signe Hasso, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Assignment to Kill | 1968 | Sheldon Reynolds | ★★ | 102 | Private eye checks out shady corporation in Switzerland in this unrewarding thriller from the writer-director of TV's Foreign Intrigue series. | tt0062684 | Patrick O'Neal, Joan Hackett, John Gielgud, Herbert Lom, Eric Portman, Peter Van Eyck, Oscar Homolka | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Assignment | 1977 | Mats Arehn | ★★½ | 94 | Modest drama of Swedish diplomat sent to mediate turbulent political situation in Latin American country. | tt0076861 | Christopher Plummer, Thomas Hellberg, Carolyn Seymour, Fernando Rey, Per Oscarsson, Walter Gotell | Swedish | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Assignment | 1997 | Christian Duguay | ★★½ | 115 | Well-directed, violent thriller with Quinn in a dual role as notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal and a lookalike U.S. naval officer recruited to participate in an elaborate scheme to capture the terrorist. Sutherland is the CIA man who is obsessed with nabbing Carlos. | tt0118647 | [R] | Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, Ben Kingsley, Liliana Komorowska, Céline Bonnier, Claudia Ferri, Vlasta Vrana, Von Flores, Al Waxman | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Assignment- Paris | 1952 | Robert Parrish | ★★ | 85 | Fitfully entertaining drama of reporter Andrews trying to link together threads of plot between Communist countries against the West. Filmed in Paris. | tt0044379 | Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, George Sanders, Audrey Totter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Assisi Underground | 1985 | Alexander Ramati | ★★ | 115 | Good cast is wasted in this overblown thriller, with a based-on-fact scenario. Cross plays a courageous young minister in charge of disguising Jews in Assisi, Italy, during WW2. Mason's last film. Originally released at 178m. | tt0088746 | [PG] | Ben Cross, James Mason, Irene Papas, Maximilian Schell, Edmund Purdom, Karl Heinz Hackl, Delia Boccardo, Riccardo Cucciolla | War | NULL | ||
| The Associate | 1996 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 114 | Wall St. whiz Whoopi has hit the glass ceiling at her company, so she breaks off on her own, but can't make it without inventing a white male partner. Designed as a comedy, but laughs are few. Still, it's an interesting look at corporate America and the obstacles and slights that women and minorities endure. Wiest is terrific. Remake of the 1979 French film L'ASSOCIE; based on the novel El Socio. | tt0115580 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, Eli Wallach, Timothy Daly, Bebe Neuwirth, Austin Pendleton, Lainie Kazan, Colleen Camp Wilson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Astonished Heart | 1950 | Terence Fisher, Anthony Darnborough | ★★½ | 92 | Drawing-room melodrama about a married psychiatrist who succumbs to the wiles of anotherwoman— an old schoolmate of his wife's— with unhappy results. One of Coward's lesser stories. | tt0041134 | Noel Coward, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Joyce Carey | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Astounding She-Monster | 1958 | Ronnie Ashcroft | 💣 | 62 | Awesomely cheap little film about an apparently evil female alien who kills with a touch, interacting with kidnappers and the kidnappees out in the woods. Has developed a kind of perverse fan following. ALIENATOR is a semi-remake. | tt0050143 | Robert Clarke, Kenne Duncan, Shirley Kilpatrick, Marilyn Harvey, Jeanne Tatum, Ewing Brown | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Astro Boy | 2009 | David Bowers | ★★ | 94 | In the future, a brilliant scientist creates a super-powered robot duplicate of his son, who died in a lab accident. Falling short of his father’s expectations, the boy robot leaves home and soon finds himself an object of desire for both a warmongering politician and a ruthless robot scavenger. Adapted from classic anime and manga by Osamu Tezuka, this iconic character has been homogenized here; result is a generic superhero story without humor, emotion, or heart. Action and explosions may keep 4-to-7-year-old boys enthralled, but fans of the original ’60s TV cartoon series will be sorely disappointed. Digital Widescreen. | tt0375568 | [PG] | Voices of Freddie Highmore, Nicolas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Bill Nighy, Samuel L. Jackson | Hong Kong-Japanese-Chinese | Animation, Family, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Astro-Zombies | 1967 | Ted V. Mikels | 💣 | 83 | Demented Carradine creates title monsters in yet another nominee for worst picture of all time. Script by Mikels and Wayne Rogers (the same). | tt0064048 | [PG] | Wendell Corey, John Carradine, Tom Pace, Joan Patrick, Rafael Campos | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Astronaut Farmer | 2007 | Michael Polish | ★★½ | 104 | Thornton is ideal as a proud, independent-thinking Texas farmer who's built a rocket in his barn and has convinced himself (and his loving family) that he's going to fly into outer space . . . until the U.S. government gets wind of his scheme. Capraesque story about a 'little guy' who believes in a dream is beautifully rendered; only problem is that the guy in question is nuts! Written by Michael and Mark Polish; the latter plays one of the FBI agents on the case, and their adorable daughters Jasper and Logan play two of Thornton's kids. Bruce Willis appears unbilled. | tt0469263 | [PG] | Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, J. K. Simmons, Tim Blake Nelson, Max Thieriot, Jon Gries, Mark Polish, Richard Edson, Sal Lopez | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Astronaut's Wife | 1999 | Rand Ravich | ★½ | 109 | Happily married astronaut has a strange experience during a space mission. Has he changed somehow, or is it his young wife's imagination? ROSEMARY'S BABY- style thriller is just a big tease; sluggish and unsatisfying, with an especially stupid finale. | tt0138304 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Joe Morton, Clea DuVall, Donna Murphy, Nick Cassavetes, Samantha Eggar, Gary Grubbs, Blair Brown, Tom Noonan | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Asylum | House of Crazies | 1972 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 92 | Four fun chillers by Robert Bloch woven into puzzle that is solved at the conclusion of the fourth tale. Reissued in 1980 as HOUSE OF CRAZIES, trimmed to 86m. | tt0068230 | [PG] | Barbara Parkins, Sylvia Syms, Richard Todd, Peter Cushing, Robert Powell, Barry Morse, Britt Ekland, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Charlotte Rampling | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Asylum | 2005 | David Mackenzie | ★★½ | 99 | Psychiatrist's wife gets involved with one of her husband's patients, a prison inmate who was found guilty of the brutal murder of his wife. Uneven melodrama serves as a fine showcase for Richardson, playing a conflicted woman whose emotions begin to trump her logic. Csokas, as the object of her fatal attraction, does the best he can with what is essentially a one-dimensional role. The sum of this film's parts don't add up to a satisfying whole. From a novel by Patrick McGrath. | tt0348505 | [R] | Natasha Richardson, Hugh Bonneville, Marton Csokas, Gus Lewis, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Judy Parfitt, Wanda Ventham | British | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| At Close Range | 1986 | James Foley | ★★½ | 115 | Brooding, but curiously unmoving, story about teenage half-brothers who first get to know their no-account father, and come to realize what a dangerous person he is. Downbeat drama is marked by good acting, thoughtful filmmaking, but emotional impact is muted. Based on a true incident. | tt0090670 | [R] | Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Millie Perkins, Eileen Ryan, Alan Autry, Candy Clark, Tracey Walter, David Strathairn, Crispin Glover, Kiefer Sutherland | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| At First Sight | 1998 | Irwin Winkler | ★★½ | 128 | Driven N.Y.C. career woman falls in love with a self-reliant blind man. Then she finds a doctor who can restore his sight— but is this necessarily a good thing? Overtly soapy romantic drama doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is, and the stars are likable . . . but it goes on too long. Based on a true story chronicled by Dr. Oliver Sacks (AWAKENINGS). Having a George Shearing cut on the soundtrack is a nice touch. | tt0132512 | [PG-13] | Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis, Steven Weber, Bruce Davison, Nathan Lane, Ken Howard, Diana Krall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| At Gunpoint | 1955 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★½ | 81 | MacMurray is well suited to role of peace-loving man drawn into gunplay by taunting outlaws. | tt0047844 | Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Malone, Walter Brennan, Tommy Rettig, Jack Lambert | Western | NULL | |||
| At Long Last Love | 1975 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★½ | 118 | Burt and Cybill are no Fred and Ginger. Bogdanovich's homage to 1930s Hollywood musicals has everything money can buy— including lavish sets and a Cole Porter score— but lacks the proper stars to put it over. Reedited (and ostensibly improved) for TV by the director; that version runs 115m. | tt0072665 | [G] | Burt Reynolds, Cybill Shepherd, Madeline Kahn, Duilio Del Prete, Eileen Brennan, John Hillerman, Mildred Natwick | Musical | NULL | ||
| At Play in the Fields of the Lord | 1991 | Hector Babenco | ★★★ | 187 | Long, at first lumbering, but ultimately powerful rainforest epic of two Protestant missionaries (one a charlatan, one sincere) who end up doing about equal damage to the jungle Indians they are supposed to serve. Faithful, well-cast film of Peter Matthiessen's great (though admittedly difficult) novel; pace picks up a lot in the second half, leading to memorable finale. | tt0101373 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Aidan Quinn, Kathy Bates, John Lithgow, Daryl Hannah, Tom Waits, Stenio Garcia, Nelson Xavier | Drama | NULL | ||
| At Sword's Point | 1952 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 81 | Silly but likable variation on THE THREE MUSKETEERS, with Wilde, O'Herlihy, Hale, and O'Hara playing the sons and daughter of the original Musketeers. Energetic cast, vivid Technicolor settings. | tt0044380 | Cornel Wilde, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Douglas, Dan O'Herlihy, Alan Hale/Jr., Blanche Yurka | Adventure | NULL | |||
| At War with the Army | 1950 | Hal Walker | ★★½ | 93 | In their first starring feature, Dean and Jerry are in the service, with some funny sequences, including memorable soda machine gag. | tt0042209 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Polly Bergen, Angela Greene, Mike Kellin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| At the Circus | 1939 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 87 | Not top-grade Marx Brothers, but some good scenes as they save circus from bankruptcy. Highlight: Groucho singing 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady.' | tt0031060 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Eve Arden, Nat Pendleton, Kenny Baker, Fritz Feld, Florence Rice | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| At the Earth's Core | 1976 | Kevin Connor | ★★½ | 90 | Colorful fantasy-adventure based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel. Inventor Cushing and protégé McClure bore their way from Victorian England to the center of the earth and encounter a lost world of prehistoric beasts and subhuman warriors. Competent special effects make this yarn palatable. | tt0074157 | [PG] | Doug McClure, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro, Cy Grant, Godfrey James, Sean Lynch | British | Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | |
| Athena | 1954 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 96 | Back Bay lawyer (Purdom) and singer (Damone) romance two sisters living with eccentric grandparents. Wispy plot, average tunes. | tt0046728 | Jane Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Edmund Purdom, Vic Damone, Louis Calhern, Evelyn Varden, Steve Reeves, Linda Christian | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Atlantic City | 1944 | Ray McCarey | ★★½ | 87 | Plethora of good musical numbers compensates for unoriginal plot about promoter who turns the Atlantic City pier into 'the playground of America,' starting pre-WW1. Taylor, who took his name from this (he was Stanley Brown at Columbia), and Moore are Republic Pictures' John Payne-Alice Faye counterparts. | tt0036619 | Stanley Brown, Constance Moore, Charley Grapewin, Jerry Colonna, Adele Mara, Paul Whiteman and Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and Orchestra, Buck and Bubbles, Belle Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Joe Frisco | Musical | NULL | |||
| Atlantic City | 1980 | Louis Malle | ★★★★ | 104 | Rich character study of a city in transition, focusing on small-time losers who've stayed there too long and big-time dreamers who are just arriving. European in its ambience and storytelling approach, though its setting is an American resort. Lancaster gives one of his finest performances as an aging two-bit hood who's all style and no substance. Screenplay by John Guare. First shown abroad with the title ATLANTIC CITY, U.S.A. | tt0080388 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli, Hollis McLaren, Robert Joy, Al Waxman, Wally Shawn | Canadian-French | Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Atlantis, the Lost Continent | 1961 | George Pal | ★½ | 90 | Famed sci-fi producer George Pal's worst film is set on the island of Atlantis, in the time of ancient Greece. Heroic young fisherman becomes involved in tedious intrigue before, finally, the place sinks. Lots of stock footage, poor effects. Occasionally funny— but not on purpose. | tt0054642 | Anthony Hall, Joyce Taylor, John Dall, Frank de Kova | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | 2001 | Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale | ★★★ | 95 | Good, old-fashioned animated-fantasy/ adventure yarn about a young dreamer who tries to make good his father's attempts to find the lost underwater city of Atlantis and locate the key to its advanced civilization. Styled like a comic book, this Disney feature got a bum rap in theaters; it's good family entertainment. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0230011 | [PG] | Voices of Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Leonard Nimoy, Don Novello, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, John Mahoney, Corey Burton, David Ogden Stiers, Jim Varney | Animation, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| Atlas | 1961 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 80 | Praximedes convinces Olympic champion Atlas to represent him in battle, but Atlas eventually fights for the common folk. Slightly hilarious low-budget nonsense, filmed in Greece. | tt0053610 | Michael Forest, Frank Wolff, Barboura Morris, Walter Maslow, Christos Exarchos | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Atlas Shrugged | 2011 | Paul Johansson | ★ | 97 | Dismal adaptation of Ayn Rand’s influential novel (or, at least, the first ten chapters) sets events in 2016, when America is in economic turmoil and Big Government staunchly opposes efforts by railroad executive Schilling and steel magnate Bowler to build a railway with a revolutionary new metal alloy. Also, business leaders are mysteriously disappearing while our heroes ponder, “Who is John Galt?” Earnest enterprise is flattened by chunks of boring exposition, amateur soap opera, cardboard characters (with acting to match), and a lifetime’s worth of railroad footage. First of a planned trilogy. Rand enthusiasts may rate this higher. | tt0480239 | [PG-13] | Taylor Schilling, Grant Bowler, Matthew Marsden, Edi Gathegi, Graham Beckel, Jsu Garcia, Jon Polito, Michael Lerner, Rebecca Wisocky, Neill Barry, Christina Pickles, Geoff Pierson, Michael O’Keefe, Armin Shimerman, Paul Johansson | Drama, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Atom Age Vampire | 1960 | Anton Giulio Majano. | 💣 | 87 | Mad professor restores dancer's disfigured face, then kills other women to obtain cells that will maintain her beauty. Hilariously bad; original running time 105m., video version 72m. | tt0054285 | Alberto Lupo, Susanne Loret, Sergio Fantoni, Franca Parisi Strahl, Ivo Garrani. | Italian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Atomic Cafe | 1982 | Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty | ★★★ | 88 | Consistently chilling, occasionally hilarious, arguably monotonal compilation of U.S. government and 'educational' propaganda shows how Americans of the 1950s Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. One-of-a-kind is undeniably provocative, to say nothing of topical, but argues its point a little longer than necessary. | tt0083590 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Atomic City | 1952 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 85 | Tightly knit caper involving kidnapping of atomic scientist's son, well played by young Aaker. | tt0044382 | Gene Barry, Nancy Gates, Lydia Clarke, Lee Aaker | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Atomic Kid | 1954 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★½ | 86 | Rooney survives desert atomic blast, discovering he's radioactive. Slight spy comedy. Davis was Mrs. Rooney at the time. Story by Blake Edwards. | tt0046729 | Mickey Rooney, Robert Strauss, Elaine Davis, Bill Goodwin | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Atomic Man | 1955 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 78 | Bland narrative of reporter and girlfriend involved in a mystery in which title character's experiments with radioactive materials have put him a few seconds into the future (allowing him to answer questions before they are asked). Still, this is basically a spy melodrama. | tt0048964 | Gene Nelson, Faith Domergue, Joseph Tomelty, Peter Arne | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Atomic Submarine | 1959 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★★ | 72 | Title sub investigates mysterious goings-on in the Arctic Circle. The culprit is an underwater flying saucer piloted by an alien! Typical Alex Gordon production, boasting lots of familiar character actors, is appealing and atmospheric. Mainly for buffs. | tt0052587 | Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Brett Halsey, Tom Conway, Bob Steele, Victor Varconi, Joi Lansing | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Atonement | 2007 | Joe Wright | ★★ | 123 | In the 1930s, spoiled young woman (Knightley) who has grown up in one of England’s stately homes tries to deny her attraction to the housekeeper’s son (McAvoy); when she finally gives in, it triggers great resentment in her younger sister (Ronan), who goes in for theatrics, and alters the course of McAvoy’s life. Handsome but portentous adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel (by Christopher Hampton) never delivers the emotional impact it should, given its intriguing premise. The interviewer in the final scene is played by filmmaker Anthony Minghella. | tt0783233 | [R] | James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Juno Temple, Patrick Kennedy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Harriet Walter, Gina McKee | British-U.S. | Romance, Mystery, War | NULL | |
| The Atonement of Gosta Berling | The Story of Gosta Berling | 1924 | Mauritz Stiller. | ★★★ | 91 | Memorable drama, from the Selma Lagerlof novel, about a defrocked priest (Hanson) and his love for a young married woman (a pleasingly plump Garbo, in the role which brought her to world attention). Stiller was, of course, Garbo's discoverer and mentor. Several longer versions run between 105m. and 165m. Aka GOSTA BERLING'S SAGA, THE SAGA OF GOSTA BERLING, THE LEGEND OF GOSTA BERLING, and THE STORY OF GOSTA BERLING. | tt0014109 | Lars Hanson, Greta Garbo, Ellen Cederstrom, Mona Martenson, Jenny Hasselquist, Gerda Lundequist. | Swedish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Ator, the Fighting Eagle | 1983 | David Hills | 💣 | 100 | Ridiculous Italian-made imitation of CONAN THE BARBARIAN has muscular O'Keeffe as the mythical title warrior, with beautiful blonde Siani along for the ride on his trek against evil. Followed by two sequels: THE BLADE MASTER and ATOR III: THE FIGHTING EAGLE aka QUEST FOR THE MIGHTY SWORD. | tt0085183 | [PG] | Miles O'Keeffe, Sabrina Siani, Ritza Brown, Edmund Purdom, Laura Gemser | Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Atragon | 1963 | Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 96 | World is threatened by undersea kingdom in this juvenile sci-fi adventure, with enjoyable (if not believable) special effects. Title refers to giant submarine rather than a monster. | tt0057215 | Tadao Takashima, Yoko Fujiyama, Yu Fujiki, Horisho Koizumi | Japanese | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Attack | 1956 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 107 | Reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge, emphasizing a group of American soldiers 'led' by cowardly captain Albert; tightly directed, avoids war movie clichés. | tt0048966 | Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen, William Smithers | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Attack Force Z | 1981 | Tim Burstall | ★★½ | 84 | Taut little war drama: commandos set out to rescue survivors of a plane crash on a Japanese-held island during WW2. | tt0083591 | John Phillip Law, Sam Neill, Mel Gibson, Chris Haywood, John Waters | Australian-Taiwanese | War | NULL | ||
| Attack of the 50 Foot Woman | 1958 | Nathan Juran | 💣 | 66 | A harridan with a philandering husband has an alien encounter and grows to mammoth proportions, seeks revenge on hubby. Hilariously awful sci-fi with some of the funniest special effects of all time. Remade for TV in 1993 with Daryl Hannah. | tt0051380 | Allison Hayes, William Hudson, Yvette Vickers, Roy Gordon | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Attack of the Crab Monsters | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 68 | People are trapped on a shrinking island by intelligent, brain-eating giant crabs. Interesting early Corman thriller is hampered by a low budget— and some very silly monsters— but Charles B. Griffith's script has many ingenious ideas. | tt0050147 | Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley, Mel Welles, Ed Nelson | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Attack of the Giant Leeches | 1959 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★½ | 62 | Giant leeches in back waters of a Southern swamp take prisoners and suck their blood. Ludicrous hybrid of white trash and monster genres; screenplay by actor Leo Gordon. Aka THE GIANT LEECHES. | tt0053611 | Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, Jan Shepard, Michael Emmet, Gene Roth, Bruno Ve Sota | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! | 1980 | John De Bello | ★½ | 87 | Title and opening credits are the funniest things in this low-budget spoof of low-budget science-fiction, which cracks its one joke and then beats it to death for another 85 minutes. A staple at Worst Film Festivals, but nowhere nearly as hilarious as movies that aren't supposed to be. Followed by RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!, KILLER TOMATOES STRIKE BACK, KILLER TOMATOES EAT FRANCE!, and an animated TV series. | tt0080391 | [PG] | David Miller, Sharon Taylor, George Wilson, Jack Riley, Rock Peace, The San Diego Chicken | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Attack of the Mayan Mummy | 1963 | Jerry Warren | 💣 | 77 | Scientist gets patient to revert to former life and reveal site of ancient tomb in this grade-Z outing, comprised largely of Mexican horror-film footage. | tt0057862 | Richard Webb, Nina Knight, John Burton, Steve Conte | Horror | NULL | |||
| Attack of the Puppet People | 1958 | Bert I. Gordon | ★½ | 78 | Low-class shocker about mad dollmaker who shrinks people; good performance by Hoyt, otherwise predictable and amateurish. | tt0051381 | John Agar, John Hoyt, June Kenney, Scott Peters | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Attack the Block | 2011 | Joe Cornish | ★★★ | 88 | A tough gang of teen boys from a rough neighborhood in South London find themselves defending their home from extraterrestrial invasion. Young, mostly unknown cast breathes life into this simple story, proving that formulas were devised for a reason and a filmmaker doesn't have to reinvent the wheel to provide an audience with good entertainment. Written by the director. | tt1478964 | [R] | John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard, Jumayn Hunter, Luke Treadaway, Danielle Vitalis, Nick Frost | British | Comedy, Action, Horror | NULL | |
| The Attic | 1979 | George Edwards | ★★½ | 97 | Good cast helps this psychological thriller about a sheltered spinster's revolt against her tyrannical invalid father. A notch or two above routine. | tt0078806 | [PG] | Carrie Snodgress, Ray Milland, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth Cox, Francis Bay, Marjorie Eaton | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Attila | 1954 | Pietro Francisci | ★½ | 83 | Inept spectacle with ridiculous script of Attila readying to conquer Rome. | tt0046731 | Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren, Henri Vidal, Irene Papas | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Au Hasard Balthazar | 1966 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★ | 95 | The sad, cruel life and death of a donkey that passes from owner to owner is used as a symbol for all the misery and inhumanity in the world in this stark and poetic allegory. Bresson also explores crime, adolescence, and family life with customary sensitivity and subtlety. | tt0060138 | Anne Wiazemsky, François Lafarge, Philippe Asselin, Nathalie Joyaut, Walter Green. | French-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Au Revoir, Les Enfants | Goodbye, Children | 1987 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 103 | Deeply felt film based on an incident from Malle's youth, during WW2, when the headmaster of his Catholic boarding school decided to shield several Jewish children in the midst of Nazi-occupied France. Filled with telling details, the story unfolds at a deliberate pace, leading up to an emotionally devastating finale. | tt0092593 | [PG] | Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejto, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carre de Malberg, Philippe Morier-Genoud, François Berléand, Irène Jacob | French | Drama | NULL |
| Audrey Rose | 1977 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 113 | Overlong, underplayed reincarnation thriller. Mason and Beck are happily married couple until a stranger (Hopkins) tells them that their 12-year-old girl is his dead daughter returned to life. Script by Frank DeFelitta, from his novel. | tt0075704 | [PG] | Marsha Mason, John Beck, Anthony Hopkins, Susan Swift, Norman Lloyd, John Hillerman | Horror | NULL | ||
| Auggie Rose | Beyond Suspicion | 2001 | Matthew Tabak | ★★ | 108 | A slick yuppie insurance salesman (Goldblum) drops out of the game and assumes the identity of an ex-con he saw shot to death. He feels so obliged to pay the man tribute that he seeks out and falls in love with his sweet prison pen pal (Heche). Begins like a good short story, but becomes contrived and preachy about the nobility of the working class. Debuted in the U.S. on cable TV. Aka BEYOND SUSPICION. | tt0219519 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Anne Heche, Nancy Travis, Timothy Olyphant, Joe Santos, Richard T. Jones, Kim Coates | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| August | 1996 | Anthony Hopkins | ★½ | 90 | Uncle Vanya comes to Wales in yet another version of the oft-adapted Chekhov play, with real-life Welshman Hopkins (in his directorial debut) misdirecting himself in the lead. Boring rendition with inaccessible characters about whom we do not care. Incidentally, Hopkins also composed the score. | tt0115591 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Kate Burton, Gawn Grainger, Rhian Morgan, Rhoda Lewis | British | Drama | NULL | |
| August Rush | 2007 | Kirsten Sheridan | ★½ | 113 | Treacly fable of orphan Highmore’s trek to find out where, and to whom, he may belong. Set mainly in N.Y.C., film is flooded with music of many types, since the boy is a prodigy. (It was a chance meeting between cellist Russell and Irish rocker Meyers that led to his birth—and his gift—in the first place.) The less said about Williams’ new-millennium rendition of Dickens’ Fagin the better. | tt0426931 | [PG] | Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams, William Sadler, Marian Seldes, Leon G.Thomas III, Mykelti Williamson, Alex O’Loughlin | Romance | NULL | ||
| Auntie Mame | 1958 | Morton DaCosta | ★★★½ | 143 | Colorful film version of Patrick Dennis' novel about his eccentric aunt, who believes that 'life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.' Episodic but highly entertaining, sparked by Russell's tour-de-force performance. Betty Comden-Adolph Green script was adapted from the Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee Broadway play. Musicalized as MAME. | tt0051383 | Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Fred Clark, Roger Smith, Patric Knowles, Peggy Cass, Joanna Barnes, Pippa Scott, Lee Patrick, Willard Waterman, Connie Gilchrist | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Aurora Borealis | 2006 | James Burke | ★★★ | 110 | At 25, Jackson is still acting like an adolescent, hanging out with his old pals and screwing up one dead-end job after another . . . until his brother nudges him to visit their grandfather, who's suffering from Parkinson's disease. His fondness for the old man-and the cute visiting nurse (Lewis) who takes care of him-inspires him to get his act together, as best he can. Sutherland is terrific in a showy part, but Jackson and Lewis are also quite good in this sincere, well-written film set in snowy Minneapolis. Made in 2004. | tt0387037 | [R] | Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, Louise Fletcher, Zack Ward, John Kapelos, Steven Pasquale, Tyler Labine | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | 2002 | Jay Roach | ★★ | 94 | Third outing for the shagadelic spy opens with such a hilarious, surprising sequence that nothing can top it— and nothing does. No real story follows, as Austin travels to 1975 and hooks up with Foxxy Cleopatra (pop singer Knowles). The novelty of seeing Dr. Evil and Mini-Me is gone, Myers' new Goldmember character (sporting a Dutch accent) is more odd than funny; what's left are a lot of really crude jokes and missed opportunities. Worst of all, Caine is wasted as Austin's dad. Lots of stars appear in cameos. | tt0295178 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Beyoncé Knowles, Michael Caine, Seth Green, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, Fred Savage | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | 1997 | Jay Roach | ★★ | 89 | Swinging '60s spy is cryogenically frozen, then thawed out in the '90s to do battle with megalomaniac Dr. Evil— but he can't quite shake his mod '60s style or argot ('Groovy, baby!'). Myers (who also wrote and coproduced) is fun, especially as Dr. Evil, but this one-joke premise is stretched far beyond its limits. Carrie Fisher and Tom Arnold appear in unfunny cameos. Coproduced by Demi Moore. Followed by two sequels. | tt0118655 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Fabiana Udenio, Charles Napier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 1999 | Jay Roach | ★★½ | 92 | More swingin' '60s lunacy as Dr. Evil returns to Earth with a time-travel machine and goes back to 1969 to steal Austin's mojo. More laughs than the original— and more than enough gross-out gags— though it's still spotty. Several star cameos, though Troyer, as Mini-Me, steals the film. Myers cowrote and coproduced; Demi Moore coproduced. Followed by AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER. | tt0145660 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Rob Lowe, Michael York, Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Gia Carides, Seth Green, Verne Troyer, Mindy Sterling, Kristen Johnson, Will Ferrell, Fred Willard, Charles Napier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Australia | 2008 | Baz Luhrmann | ★★★ | 165 | Long, sprawling, deliberately old-fashioned romantic drama is also designed as a tribute to Australia. Britisher Kidman travels there in 1939 to settle her husband’s estate and winds up staying, determined to make something of his barren ranch with the help of a cattle drover (Jackman) who refuses to settle down. She also adopts an aboriginal boy (Walters) to save him from being rounded up by the government. If you’re looking for subtlety, look elsewhere—but it is entertaining. Cast is filled with Aussie icons, including Thompson, Brown, and Gulpilil. | tt0455824 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters, David Ngoombujarra, Ben Mendelsohn, Essie Davis, Barry Otto, Kerry Walker | Australian-U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Western, War | NULL | |
| Author! Author! | 1982 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 110 | Pacino's flaky wife walks out on him and their kids (most from her previous marriages) just as his play is about to open on Broadway. Slight but winning little comedy; likable performances all around. Written by playwright Israel Horovitz. | tt0083598 | [PG] | Al Pacino, Dyan Cannon, Tuesday Weld, Eric Gurry, Alan King, Bob Dishy, Bob Elliott, Ray Goulding, Andre Gregory, Ari Meyers | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Auto Focus | 2002 | Paul Schrader | ★★★ | 104 | Kinnear gives an excellent performance as clean-cut radio-host-turned-1960s-TV-star Bob Crane, of Hogan's Heroes fame, whose life, career, and happy marriage fall apart as he becomes literally addicted to sex. His pimp/partner in these escapades (Dafoe) also contributes to his decline by getting him hooked on the new technology of home video, which only fuels his obsession. A well-told story of one man's ruination, although it's not clear what the moral (if any) may be. | tt0298744 | [R] | Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson, Maria Bello, Ron Leibman, Kurt Fuller, Ed Begley/ Jr., Michael Rodgers, Michael McKean | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | 1974 | John Korty | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Acclaimed drama from Ernest J. Gaines' epic novel covering, through the memories of a fictional 110-year-old slave (Tyson), the black experience from the Civil War to the civil rights movement. Tyson's tour-de-force performance, Korty's subtle direction, and Tracy Keenan Wynn's intelligent script received three of the film's nine Emmy Awards. One of TV's all-time best. | tt0071175 | Cicely Tyson, Barbara Chaney, Richard Dysart, Katherine Helmond, Michael Murphy, Odetta, Thalmus Rasulala | Drama | NULL | |||
| Autobiography of a Princess | 1975 | James Ivory | ★★½ | 60 | Uneven (but not uninteresting) little film about an exiled Indian princess (Jaffrey) and an Englishman (Mason), who come together once a year to sip tea and watch home movies of their life in feudal India. Notable as a look at a time and place that no longer exist, but too often bogged down in talk. Scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. | tt0072674 | James Mason, Madhur Jaffrey, Keith Varnier, Diane Fletcher, Timothy Bateson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Autumn Afternoon | 1962 | Yasujiro Ozu | ★★★ | 115 | Contemplative study of loneliness and the fleeting nature of life, about a middle-class widower (Ryu) who dutifully arranges the marriage of his daughter. A series of subplots focus on various characters who are in some way connected to the nuptials. Ozu's final film. | tt0056444 | Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Shinichiro Mikami, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Autumn Leaves | 1956 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 108 | Middle-aged typist marries younger man (Robertson), only to discover he is mentally disturbed and already married. Stalwart performance by Crawford as troubled woman. | tt0048967 | Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, Vera Miles, Lorne Greene | Drama | NULL | |||
| Autumn Sonata | 1978 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 97 | Ingrid, a famed concert pianist, locks horns with daughter Ullmann when they visit for the first time in seven years. Director Bergman's drama is full of déjà vu, but Ingrid (in her final theatrical film) keeps it on the track most of the time. Sven Nykvist's photography is peerless. | tt0077711 | [PG] | Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Bjork, Gunnar Bjornstrand | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Autumn Tale | 1998 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 112 | Delicious adult comedy dealing with two lifelong female friends, now in their 40s: one is happily married and would like to see her friend (a moody, independent vineyard owner) settle down, so she places a personals ad in the paper and 'auditions' a proper suitor. Meanwhile, the younger generation gets involved providing comic complications. This is Rohmer at his best; glorious fun with a most appealing cast. | tt0137439 | [PG] | Marie Rivière, Béatrice Romand, Alain Libolt, Didier Sandre, Alexia Portal, Stéphane Darmon | French | Romance | NULL | |
| Autumn in New York | 2000 | Joan Chen | ★★ | 105 | Cornball May-December soaper in which a womanizing, 48-year-old restaurateur (Gere) falls for a gravely ill, Emily Dickinson-loving 21-year-old hat designer (Ryder). Some interesting supporting characters liven this up, and the cinematography (by Changwei Gu) is lovely, but Gere and Ryder lack chemistry; it's a wonder they could read some of their lines with a straight face. | tt0174480 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, Vera Farmiga, Sherry Stringfield, Jill Hennessy, Mary Beth Hurt, J.K. Simmons | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Avalanche | 1978 | Corey Allen | ★★ | 91 | Disaster at the newly opened ski resort where hard-driving tycoon Hudson is determined to double his not insubstantial investment while his ex-wife Mia is making whoopee with one of the locals championing ecology. Stodgy performances almost outweighed by special effects. | tt0077189 | [PG] | Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow, Robert Forster, Jeanette Nolan, Rick Moses, Barry Primus | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Avalanche Express | 1979 | Mark Robson | 💣 | 88 | KGB head Shaw tries to defect on a Dutch train that's threatened by lots and lots of falling snow. Cast has enough stiffs in it to resemble audition time at the Hollywood Wax Museum. Sadly, final film for both Shaw and director Robson; in fact, most of Shaw's dialogue had to be dubbed by a mimic. | tt0078812 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Robert Shaw, Linda Evans, Maximilian Schell, Joe Namath, Mike Connors, Horst Buchholz | Action | NULL | ||
| Avalon | 1990 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 126 | Deeply felt, personal story by writer-director Levinson of an immigrant's life and times in Baltimore, and the changes the years bring to his large and boisterous family. Long, deliberately paced, and not always successful, but filled with telling moments and loving visual reminders of a way of life that's disappeared from our midst. The third of Levinson's Baltimore chronicles, following DINER and TIN MEN. Melancholy and evocative score by Randy Newman. | tt0099073 | [PG] | Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Joan Plowright, Lou Jacobi, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon, Kevin Pollak, Israel Rubinek, Elijah Wood, Grant Gelt, Bernard Hiller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Avalon | 2001 | Mamoru Oshii | ★★½ | 106 | Video gamers zap between vibrant illusion and grim reality as they earn their livings and risk true death to win entrance to a hallowed heroes' hall. Made by an Asian crew on the WW2-blasted terrain of Eastern Europe, this bleak techno-blitz— alternately mesmerizing and boring— unspools like Andrzej Wajda directing TRON. | tt0267287 | [R] | Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski, Bartek Swiderski, Katarzyna Bargielowska | Japanese-Polish | Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Avanti! | 1972 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 144 | Sadly underrated comedy about stuffy Baltimore millionaire who falls in love with daughter of his late father's mistress when he comes to Italy to claim the old man's body. Closer to LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON than Wilder's satirical comedies; lovely scenery, wonderful performances by all, especially Revill as crafty hotel manager. | tt0068240 | [R] | Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews, Gianfranco Barra, Franco Angrisano | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Avatar | 2009 | James Cameron | ★★★ | 161 | A disabled man takes the place of his late brother in a high-tech, high-stakes mining operation on the planet Pandora: he will climb into a chamber and control his twin's avatar, negotiating peaceful coexistence with the native Na'vi population. But he's torn between following the dictates of the scientists, led by Weaver, and the operation's paramilitary leader, zealous officer Lang. Innovative, futuristic fable, set in a rich, computer-generated environment and populated with strikingly designed creatures (performed by actors whose work was then enhanced by animators). Thrilling at times, with a cornucopia of wonders to behold. Cameron's parable about imperialism too often resorts to B-movie clichés, and goes on too long, but the visual experience trumps most of its flaws. Oscar winner for Cinematography (Mauro Fiore), Art Direction, and Visual Effects. 3-D. | tt0499549 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Zöe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Wes Studi, Laz Alonso | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Avenger | 1960 | Karl Anton. | ★★½ | 102 | Above-par shocker based on Edgar Wallace tale of bestial villain beheading several people, mailing their severed heads to appropriate recipients. | tt0054257 | Ingrid Van Bergen, Heinz Drache, Ina Duscha, Maria Litto. | German | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Avengers | 1998 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | ★★ | 89 | Retread of the popular British TV show of the '60s about two saucy secret agents tries in vain to capture its stylishness and insouciance— but Fiennes is woefully miscast, Connery gives a one-note performance as a bad guy who wants to control the earth's weather, and a fine supporting cast is wasted. Thurman is likable enough, but the film is utterly flat. Patrick Macnee, star of the original series, has an amusing voice-only cameo. | tt0118661 | [PG-13] | Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Shaw, Eddie Izzard, Eileen Atkins, John Wood | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Avengers | Marvel's The Avengers | 2012 | Joss Whedon | ★★★½ | 143 | When evil Loki, from Asgard, threatens the very future of humanity on Earth, agent Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. summons The Avengers to save the day—but first they have to find a way to get along with each other. Outstanding comic-book movie, based on the Marvel characters created by Stan Lee (who makes his usual cameo) and Jack Kirby, orchestrates a compelling dynamic for each of the key characters (Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye) and a great villain to fan the flames of heroism. Zak Penn collaborated on the story with writer-director Whedon, whose savvy, often very funny screenplay is perfectly served by its cast. Title onscreen is MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS. | tt0848228 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey /Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Gwyneth Paltrow, Powers Boothe, Jenny Agutter, Harry Dean Stanton, Alexis Denisof, Jerzy Skolimowski; voices of Paul Bettany, Lou Ferrigno | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Avenging Angel | 1985 | Robert Vincent O'Neil | 💣 | 93 | Ex-teen prostitute, now college material, recruits pal Calhoun (still acting like the valedictorian at the Gabby Hayes Academy of Dramatic Arts) and takes to the street as an undercover cop. Follow-up to ANGEL proves conclusively that HEAVEN'S GATE is the only '80s film that can't rate a sequel. Followed by ANGEL III: THE FINAL CHAPTER. | tt0088757 | [R] | Betsy Russell, Rory Calhoun, Susan Tyrrell, Robert F. Lyons, Ossie Davis | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Avenging Angel | 1995 | Craig R. Baxley | Average TV Movie | 100 | Little-known fact-based tale about a Mormon loner who makes it his cause to protect Brigham Young (Heston) and other church leaders from assassination by their enemies. Part intriguing look at a relatively closed society, part historical drama, part Western, and part murder mystery-thriller. Coproduced by Berenger. Made for cable. | tt0112423 | Tom Berenger, Charlton Heston, James Coburn, Fay Masterson, Kevin Tighe, Jeffrey Jones, Tom Bower, Leslie Hope, Daniel Quinn, Andrew Prine, Lisa Banes | Western | NULL | |||
| Avenging Force | 1986 | Sam Firstenberg | ★★½ | 103 | Dudikoff is retired secret agent Matt Hunter, who's forced into action when his one-time comrade (James), a black man running for office, is threatened by a right-wing terrorist group called Pentangle. A cut above the norm for the action/revenge genre, with exciting climax, and a truly heinous villain (well played by Ryan). Screenwriter James Booth also plays Dudikoff's former boss. | tt0090678 | [R] | Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, John P. Ryan, James Booth, Bill Wallace, Karl Johnson | Action | NULL | ||
| Avenue Montaigne | 2006 | Danièle Thompson | ★★★ | 106 | Sweet, naïve young woman (de France) comes to Paris and lands a job at a popular bar situated near a theater, concert hall, and auction house. Before long she finds herself involved with a famous actress, a classical pianist, and a wealthy man who's selling off his life's collection of art. These characters face very real crises-but somehow you know it's all going to turn out fine. Light and charming; Thompson's son Christopher cowrote the script with her and costars as the son of the art collector. Original French title FAUTEUILS D'ORCHESTRE. | tt0444112 | [PG-13] | Cécile de France, Valérie Lemercier, Claude Brasseur, Dani, Albert Dupontel, Laura Morante, Sydney Pollack, Suzanne Flon | French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Aviator's Wife | 1981 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 104 | Melancholy but charming story of young man's unhappy involvement with title character being interrupted by happy encounter with stranger in the park. Lovers of MAUD, CLAIRE, and CHLOE will be happy to find Rohmer in near-peak form after long layoff. | tt0080728 | [PG] | Philippe Marlaud, Marie Riviere, Anne-Laure Meury, Matthieu Carriere | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Aviator | 1985 | George Miller | ★★ | 98 | Pioneer pilot Reeve crash-lands in the middle of some 1928 nowhere with whiny adolescent Arquette. Dull Ernest Gann story barely made it (and understandably so) to theaters; director is the MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER— not MAD MAX— George Miller. | tt0088758 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Rosanna Arquette, Jack Warden, Sam Wanamaker, Scott Wilson, Tyne Daly, Marcia Strassman | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Aviator | 2004 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 170 | Audacious screen bio of Howard Hughes, the billionaire who sets out to conquer Hollywood (and as many of its glamorous actresses as possible) but makes his real mark in the world of aircraft. Along the way he is dogged by deafness, a belief that he's losing his mind, and hounding from a crooked senator. John Logan's script wisely focuses on a specific period of Hughes' life (the 1920s through the 1940s), and doesn't pretend to be literal. Scorsese stages it in grand fashion, replicating two-color, then three-strip, Technicolor, and using all forms of movie magic, with the help of cinematographer Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo, costume designer Sandy Powell, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who all won Oscars. DiCaprio is remarkably persuasive as the iron-willed aviator; Blanchett is great fun in an Oscar-winning turn as Katharine Hepburn. | tt0338751 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, Gwen Stefani, Jude Law, Adam Scott, Matt Ross, Kelli Garner, Brent Spiner, Edward Herrmann, Willem Dafoe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Awake | 2007 | Joby Harold | ★½ | 84 | Real-life condition of “anesthetic awareness” is used to concoct a preposterous story in which a patient becomes alarmed at what he hears while undergoing open-heart surgery and must find a way to wake himself up. Bigger problem for the filmmakers is finding a way to keep the audience awake. | tt0211933 | [R] | Jessica Alba, Hayden Christensen, Terrence Howard, Lena Olin, Christopher McDonald, Sam Robards, Arliss Howard, Fisher Stevens, Denis O’Hare, Georgina Chapman | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Awakening | 1980 | Mike Newell | ★½ | 102 | Archeologist Heston enters the tomb of Egyptian Queen Kara, whose spirit enters the body of his newborn daughter. Need we continue? From a novel by Bram Stoker, filmed before as BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB. | tt0080402 | [R] | Charlton Heston, Susannah York, Jill Townsend, Stephanie Zimbalist | Horror | NULL | ||
| Awakenings | 1990 | Penny Marshall | ★★★½ | 121 | Powerfully affecting true-life story of a painfully shy research doctor who takes a job at a Bronx hospital's chronic care ward in 1969— and discovers that his comatose patients still have life inside them. Williams is superb as the doctor, and De Niro is his match as a patient who awakens from a 30-year coma to deal with life as an adult for the first time. Steven Zaillian's screenplay is based on the book by (and experiences of) Dr. Oliver Sacks. | tt0099077 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Max von Sydow, Alice Drummond, Mary Alice, Anne Meara, Richard Libertini, Dexter Gordon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Away All Boats | 1956 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 114 | Strict, aloof captain Chandler must ignite spark of fighting spirit among inexperienced crew aboard WW2 attack transport Belinda. Exciting, inspiring story of battle action in Pacific Theater. Look fast for Clint Eastwood as a medical orderly near film's end. | tt0048971 | Jeff Chandler, George Nader, Julie Adams, Lex Barker, Keith Andes, Richard Boone, David Janssen | War | NULL | |||
| Away From Her | 2007 | Sarah Polley | ★★★ | 110 | After 44 years of marriage, a couple recognizes that the wife is displaying early signs of Alzheimer's disease and makes plans to move her to an extended-care facility. As difficult as this is for her, it's devastating to him, especially when he sees her developing an attachment to another patient. Intelligent, empathetic film eschews sentimentality as the characters take this difficult journey. Remarkable first feature for Polley, who adapted Alice Munro's New Yorker short story 'The Bear Came Over the Mountain.' The cast couldn't be better, but Christie is especially good. | tt0491747 |
|
Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Away We Go | 2009 | Sam Mendes | ★★★ | 98 | Two modern-day flower children, about to have their first baby, feel the need to put down roots but can't figure out where, so they embark on a road trip to visit friends and family, hoping that one of their hometowns will strike them as the perfect spot. But each destination brings its own disaster as they discover old friends' eccentricities and failures. Laid-back road movie written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida won't be everyone's cup of tea, but has a gallery of rich performances, touching moments, and laughs. | tt1176740 | [R] | John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Allison Janney, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Chris Messina, Melanie Lynskey, Paul Schneider | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Awful Dr. Orloff | 1961 | Jess Franco | ★★ | 95 | Medium spooker about deranged surgeon operating on a series of women, trying to find spare parts to revitalize his disfigured daughter. A long, disjointed Orloff series followed. | tt0056040 | Howard Vernon, Conrado Sanmartin, Diana Lorys, Ricardo Valle, Perla Cristal | Spanish | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Awful Truth | 1937 | Leo McCarey | ★★★½ | 92 | Hilarious screwball comedy; Cary and Irene divorce, she to marry hayseed Bellamy, he to wed aristocratic Lamont. Each does his best to spoil the other's plans. McCarey won an Oscar for his inspired direction. Screenplay by Vina Delmar. Based on a play by Arthur Richman previously filmed in 1925 and 1929; remade in 1953 as the musical LET'S DO IT AGAIN. | tt0028597 | Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Cecil Cunningham, Mary Forbes, Alex D'Arcy, Joyce Compton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| An Awfully Big Adventure | 1995 | Mike Newell | ★★½ | 101 | Grant's reunion with his FOUR WEDDINGS director is an ill-focused though rarely boring drama about a capriciously cruel stage director who browbeats a Liverpool rep company in the late 1940s. The screenplay, from Beryl Bainbridge's novel, is by Charles Wood, who cowrote HELP! for the Beatles. The photography— more stylized bleakness from NAKED's Dick Pope— is a plus. | tt0112427 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Georgina Cates, Rita Tushingham, Peter Firth, Alan Cox, Prunella Scales | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Ay, Carmela! | 1990 | Carlos Saura | ★★★½ | 103 | Maura shines in this clever, rapier-witted farce as a vaudevillian who entertains the partisans during the Spanish Civil War. Then she, her husband, and their mute assistant find themselves trapped behind enemy lines. Both funny and poignant. | tt0101025 | Carmen Maura, Andres Pajares, Gabino Diego, Maurizio di Razza, Miguel A. Rellan | Spanish | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Ayn Rand- A Sense of Life | 1998 | Michael Paxton | ★★½ | 145 | Examination of the popular author, screenwriter, and philosopher, tracing her historic roots in the Soviet Union, her years in Hollywood, her talk show appearances expounding her controversial theories of Objectivism and individual rights, and her testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Also incorporates dramatizations of her works and sequences illustrating her life. Too long— and pedantic— for some viewers, but a must for Rand enthusiasts. | tt0118662 | [NR] | Narrated by Sharon Gless | Documentary | NULL | ||
| B*A*P*S | 1997 | Robert Townsend | ★½ | 91 | With a dream of earning $10,000, waitresses Berry and Desselle (Black American Princesses) head for L.A. where, in contrived movie fashion, they wind up living in the mansion of fabulously wealthy Landau. This silly, fairy-tale-ish spin on the fish-out-of-water comedy formula falls flat on its face. Various sports and music personalities show up in cameos. | tt0118663 | [PG-13] | Halle Berry, Natalie Desselle, Ian Richardson, Martin Landau, Luigi Amodeo, Jonathan Fried | Comedy | NULL | ||
| B. Monkey | 1999 | Michael Radford | ★★ | 90 | Superficial fluff about a mild-mannered British schoolteacher who falls for a sultry bank robber trying to leave her criminal past behind. Radford's first film since IL POSTINO is a disappointment, particularly since most of it reportedly ended up on the cutting room floor. Still watchable, with a smoldering central performance from Argento, daughter of horrormeister Dario Argento. Completed in 1996. | tt0120594 | [R] | Asia Argento, Jared Harris, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Rupert Everett, Tim Woodward, Ian Hart | British-U.S. | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| B.F.'s Daughter | 1948 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★½ | 108 | Disastrous film of J. P. Marquand novel, with Stanwyck the domineering girl ruining marriage to professor Heflin. | tt0040141 | Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Charles Coburn, Richard Hart, Keenan Wynn, Margaret Lindsay | Drama | NULL | |||
| B.O.R.N. | 1989 | Ross Hagen | ★★ | 92 | Someone is kidnapping young people from the streets of L.A. to cut up as involuntary organ donors, but they didn't reckon with hero Hagen and his ex-cop pal Howell. Wild-eyed, bizarre action thriller has too many characters and too much gunfire but has its moments too. Title refers to 'Body Organ Replacement Network.' | tt0094693 | [R] | Ross Hagen, Hoke Howell, P. J. Soles, William Smith, Russ Tamblyn, Amanda Blake, Rance Howard, Clint Howard, Claire Hagen, Dawn Wildsmith | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| B.S. I Love You | 1971 | Steven Hilliard Stern | ★½ | 99 | Stale 'youth' comedy about young ad-man who makes it with both mother and daughter is only for those who haven't seen THE GRADUATE or YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW. | tt0066803 | [R] | Peter Kastner, Joanna Cameron, Louise Sorel, Gary Burghoff, Richard B. Shull, Joanna Barnes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| BASEketball | 1998 | David Zucker | ★★ | 103 | Sporadically funny gross-out comedy about two goofballs who invent a driveway basketball game that soon sweeps the country— and turns them into professional athletes. Some funny gags, but a surprisingly pedestrian storyline makes it sag. Starring (but not written by) the creators of TV's South Park. Recommended for anyone eager to see Borgnine sing 'I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt.' | tt0131857 | [R] | Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine, Dian Bachar, Trevor Einhorn, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Robert Stack | Comedy | NULL | ||
| BMX Bandits | 1983 | Brian Trenchard-Smith | ★★ | 88 | Two adolescent boys crash their BMX bikes. While trying to earn money to fix them, they and pal Kidman stumble onto a cache of stolen walkie-talkies. Harmless popcorn fodder, fashioned to appeal to young teens and preteens. One of Kidman’s first film appearances. | tt0085204 | David Argue, John Ley, Nicole Kidman, Angelo D’Angelo, James Lugton, Bryan Marshall | Australian | Crime, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| BUtterfield 8 | 1960 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 109 | Adaptation of O'Hara novel substitutes clichéd ending in tale of high-class prostitute wanting to go straight, convincing herself she's found Mr. Right. Film's major assets: great supporting cast and old-style performance by Taylor, who won Oscar. | tt0053622 | Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Eddie Fisher, Dina Merrill, Mildred Dunnock, Susan Oliver, Betty Field, Jeffrey Lynn, Kay Medford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baadasssss! | 2004 | Mario Van Peebles | ★★★ | 108 | After his first taste of Hollywood success in the early 1970s, Melvin Van Peebles decides to make an uncompromising film from a black man's point of view (SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAAD ASSSSS SONG) and has to use guerrilla tactics to get the job done. He spares no one along the way, including his young son Mario. The younger Van Peebles gives a great performance as his father and makes us feel as if we're eyewitnesses to this incredible true story. Filmmaker John Singleton appears as a disc jockey; Troy Garity appears unbilled. | tt0367790 | [R] | Mario Van Peebles, Joy Bryant, Terry Crews, Ossie Davis, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Saul Rubinek, Rainn Wilson, T. K. Carter, Paul Rodriguez, Vincent Schiavelli, Khleo Thomas, Len Lesser, Sally Struthers, Adam West, Glenn Plummer | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Baader Meinhof Complex | 2008 | Uli Edel | ★★½ | 149 | True story of the Red Army Faction, the radical German terrorist group of the 1970s that used extreme violent means—robberies, fire bombings, assassinations—to advance its revolutionary beliefs. Impeccably well-made historical drama (with echoes of THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS) faithfully recreates the period and has many gripping moments, but covers way too much ground and becomes mired in details that shortchange character and fail to illuminate the political motivations behind the group’s actions. Still, an often evocative look at an era and events rarely covered on the big screen. Based on the book by Stefan Aust. | tt0765432 | [R] | Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Nadja Uhl, Jan Josef Liefers, Stipe Erceg, Niels Bruno Schmidt | German | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Babar The Movie | 1989 | Alan Bunce | ★★★ | 70 | Entertaining feature-length cartoon based on the classic children's books by Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff. Strictly serviceable (and uninspired) animation is made up for by an engaging storyline that's sure to appeal to young children. | tt0096869 | [G] | Voices of Gordon Pinsent, Gavin Magrath, Elizabeth Hanna, Sarah Polley, Chris Wiggins | Canadian-French | Animation, Family | NULL | |
| Babbitt | 1934 | William Keighley | ★★ | 74 | Realtor George F. Babbitt manages to get into hot water, personally and professionally at the same time. Sinclair Lewis' landmark book about Midwestern Americans is dumbed down as a vehicle for Kibbee's familiar bombastic-idiot persona, with an artificial happy ending to boot. Filmed before in 1924. | tt0024851 | Guy Kibbee, Aline MacMahon, Claire Dodd, Maxine Doyle, Minor Watson, Minna Gombell, Alan Hale/Sr., Berton Churchill | Drama | NULL | |||
| Babe | 1995 | Chris Noonan | ★★★½ | 92 | Delightful, disarming family fodder about an orphaned pig taken in by a quietly eccentric farmer who develops a strong attachment to the little fellow. The farmyard animals all converse with one another in this endearing (and often very funny) tale, based on the book The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith. The Oscar-winning special effects, combining real animals, animatronic doubles, and computer technology, are both seamless and convincing. This is one 'family film' that adults can enjoy right along with their kids. Followed by a sequel. | tt0112431 | [G] | James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski; voices of Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes, Danny Mann, Hugo Weaving, Miriam Flynn, Russi Taylor, Evelyn Krape; narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne | U.S.-Australian | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Babe Ruth Story | 1948 | Roy Del Ruth | 💣 | 106 | Perfectly dreadful bio of the Sultan of Swat is sugar-coated beyond recognition; the Babe is depicted as an overgrown child whose behavior is constantly misunderstood. Bendix is badly miscast, and the finale is not to be believed. | tt0040142 | William Bendix, Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, Sam Levene, William Frawley, Mark Koenig, Mel Allen, Harry Wismer, H. V. Kaltenborn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Babe | 1992 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 115 | Agreeably sentimental, old-fashioned bio of the great Babe Ruth is largely a vehicle for Goodman, who's terrific in the lead. Though facts are tampered with and often ignored, the essence of this larger-than-life character (and his genuine love of baseball) still comes through. | tt0103747 | [PG] | John Goodman, Kelly McGillis, Trini Alvarado, Bruce Boxleitner, Peter Donat, James Cromwell, J.C. Quinn, Joe Ragno, Bernard Kates, Michael McGrady, Stephen Caffrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Babe: Pig in the City | 1998 | George Miller | ★★½ | 95 | Disappointing (and superfluous) sequel puts Babe and everyone around him, human and animal, in almost continual peril, as the pig is taken to America by Mrs. Hoggett. Overblown, with unpleasant images unsuitable for the youngest children, but rescued somewhat by the indomitable Babe, who's as endearing as ever, and those three singing mice, whose choice of material is quite funny. | tt0120595 | [G] | Magda Szubanski, James Cromwell, Mickey Rooney; voices of E. G. Daily, Danny Mann, Glenne Headly, Steven Wright, Stanley Ralph Ross, Russi Taylor; narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne | U.S.-Australian | Family, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |
| Babel | 2006 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | ★★★½ | 142 | Bold, riveting drama combines stories from three continents: an American tourist (Pitt) in Morocco learns about fear and isolation when his wife (Blanchett) is wounded by a stray bullet. Meanwhile, their children in L.A. are cared for by housekeeper Barraza, who brings them along to her son's wedding in Mexico, little dreaming of the consequences. In Tokyo, a mute teenage girl, traumatized by her mother's death, reaches out to a police detective. Maintains an extraordinary level of tension while pursuing its central theme about the need to communicate-and listen-in our post-9/11 world. Third of a trilogy written by Guillermo Arriaga, following AMORES PERROS and 21 GRAMS. Oscar winner for Gustavo Santaolalla's score. | tt0449467 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi, Said Tarchani, Boubker Ait El Caid, Elle Fanning, Nathan Gamble, Clifton Collins/Jr., Michael Pena | Mexican | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Babes in Arms | 1939 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 96 | Rodgers and Hart's musical, minus most of their songs, and one that's left, 'Where or When,' is trammeled to death. What remains is energetic but standard putting-on-a-show vehicle for Mickey and Judy. Dated fun. Original ending, 'My Day,' was a production number spoofing Mr. and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, which was removed for a 1948 reissue and later restored. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031066 | Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Douglas McPhail | Musical | NULL | |||
| Babes in Bagdad | 1952 | Edgar G. Ulmer | 💣 | 79 | Embarrassing, hokey costumer made even seedier by miscast veteran performers. | tt0044389 | Paulette Goddard, Gypsy Rose Lee, Richard Ney, John Boles, Sebastian Cabot, Christopher Lee | U.S.-British-Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Babes in Toyland | 1934 | Gus Meins, Charles R. Rogers | ★★★½ | 73 | L&H version of Victor Herbert operetta looks better all the time, compared to lumbering 'family musicals' of recent years. Stan and Ollie are in fine form, and fantasy element of Toyland— especially attack by Bogeymen— is excellent. Video title: MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS. Originally released at 79m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024852 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry, Henry Brandon, Felix Knight, Jean Darling, Johnny Downs, Marie Wilson | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Babes in Toyland | 1961 | Jack Donohue | ★★½ | 105 | Colorful but contrived Disneyfication of Victor Herbert operetta has no substance or heart; classic songs, visual gimmicks, clowning of Calvin and Sheldon keep it afloat. Remade for TV in 1986. | tt0054649 | Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, Annette Funicello, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, Tommy Kirk, Ed Wynn, Ann Jillian | Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Babes on Broadway | 1941 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 118 | Showcase for Mickey and Judy's talents, with duo doing everything from imitations of Carmen Miranda and Bernhardt to minstrel numbers. Standout is Judy's 'F.D.R. Jones.' Film debut of Margaret O'Brien. | tt0034485 | Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Fay Bainter, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, Ray McDonald, Donna Reed | Musical | NULL | |||
| Babes on Swing Street | 1944 | Edward Lilley. | ★★½ | 69 | Young friends have to raise money for music-school tuition; luckily, Devine offers entertainment at his barbershop. Standard Universal B musical with some bright moments: Hutton sings the hit 'Take It Easy'; cute 'Musical Chairs' number features Ryan and choreographer Louis DaPron. Miller, who plays Corny, also cowrote some of the film's original songs. | tt0036623 | Ann Blyth, Peggy Ryan, Andy Devine, Leon Errol, Anne Gwynne, Kirby Grant, June Preisser, Sidney Miller, Marion Hutton, Freddie Slack and His Orchestra. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Babette Goes to War | 1959 | Christian-Jaque | ★★½ | 106 | Bardot is not in her element playing lighthearted comedy. Flimsy WW2 account of French agent Bardot working for British, being sent back to France to kidnap a Nazi bigwig. | tt0052595 | Brigitte Bardot, Jacques Charrier, Francis Blanche, Ronald Howard | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Babette's Feast | 1987 | Gabriel Axel | ★★★★ | 102 | Exquisite, delicately told tale of two beautiful young minister's daughters who pass up love and fame to remain in their small Danish village. They grow old, using religion as a substitute for living life . . . and then take in Parisian refugee Audran, a woman with a very special secret. Subtle, funny and deeply felt, with several wonderful surprises: an instant masterpiece that deservedly earned a Best Foreign Film Academy Award. Axel wrote the screenplay, from an Isak Dinesen short story. Don't miss this one. | tt0092603 | [G] | Stephane Audran, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Gudmar Wivesson, Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, Birgitte Federspiel, Bodil Kjer | Danish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Babies | 2010 | Thomas Balmès | ★★½ | 79 | Lack of narration is refreshing, allowing us to watch these infants discover the world around them. Despite many sweet, appealing moments, this doesn't add up to much. | tt1020938 | [PG] | Mildly diverting documentary tracing the birth and first two years of life of four babies around the world: in San Francisco, Tokyo, Mongolia, and a remote village in Namibia | French-U.S. | Documentary | NULL | |
| Baby . . . Secret of the Lost Legend | Dinosaur . . . Secret of the Lost Legend | 1985 | B.W.L. Norton | ★★ | 95 | William Katt, Sean Young, Patrick McGoohan, Julian Fellowes, Kyalo Mativo. Old-fashioned yarn about discovery of a dinosaur family follows basic KING KONG outline— and the baby dino is sure to charm kids— but elements of racism, sexism, and much-too-casual violence just about kill it. TV title: DINOSAUR . . . SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND. | tt0088760 | [PG] | William Katt, Sean Young, Patrick McGoohan, Julian Fellowes, Kyalo Mativo | Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Baby Blue Marine | 1976 | John Hancock | ★★½ | 90 | Norman Rockwell's America come to life, in bucolic tale of Marine dropout during WW2 who's mistaken for hero by residents of small town. Too bland to add up. | tt0074173 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Glynnis O'Connor, Katherine Helmond, Dana Elcar, Bert Remsen, Richard Gere, Art Lund | Drama | NULL | ||
| Baby Boom | 1987 | Charles Shyer | ★★★ | 110 | Keaton is in top comic form as a supercharged business exec whose life changes dramatically when she 'inherits' a baby. Amiable comedy takes well-aimed potshots at '80s yuppie motherdom but remains agreeably sweet-natured start to finish, helping it over an occasional story lull. Written by Shyer and Nancy Meyers. Followed by a TV series. | tt0092605 | [PG] | Diane Keaton, Harold Ramis, Sam Shepard, Sam Wanamaker, James Spader, Pat Hingle, Britt Leach, Mary Gross, Victoria Jackson, Paxton Whitehead, Annie Golden, Dori Brenner, Robin Bartlett, Christopher Noth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Baby Boy | 2001 | John Singleton | ★★★ | 129 | Ambitious, insightful portrait of an immature 20-year-old African American who lives off his mother and embraces irresponsibility, even though he has fathered two children by two different women. Opens with a bang, but goes on too long, and offsets some strong characterizations— Gibson's straight-talking mother (Johnson) and her ex-con-gone-straight boyfriend (Rhames)— with sloppy storytelling. A companion piece to writer-director Singleton's BOYZ N THE HOOD, also set in South Central L.A. | tt0255819 | [R] | Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Omar Gooding, Tamara Bass, A.J. Johnson, Ving Rhames, Snoop Dogg, Candy Ann Brown | Drama, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Baby Dance | 1998 | Jane Anderson | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | A childless, well-to-do California couple comes to claim the soon-to-be-born baby they contracted for from a trailer-park couple in Louisiana, with unforeseen events for both families. Channing and Dern shine as they express second thoughts about the arrangement. Jodie Foster executive-produced; director Anderson adapted her Off-Broadway play. Made for cable. | tt0126802 | Stockard Channing, Laura Dern, Richard Lineback, Peter Riegert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baby Doll | 1956 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 114 | Starkly photographed on location in Mississippi, story revolves around a child bride, her witless and blustery husband, and a smarmy business rival bent on using both of them. Condemned by Legion of Decency when released, this Tennessee Williams story, although tame by today's standards, still sizzles. Film debuts of Wallach and Torn. | tt0048973 | Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach, Mildred Dunnock, Lonny Chapman, Rip Torn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baby Face | 1933 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 70 | Pre-Production Code item has Stanwyck bartending at a speakeasy, then literally sleeping her way floor by floor to the top of a N.Y.C. office building. Great first half gives way to sappily moralistic conclusion. Wayne's coat-and-tie bit— as one of the office help used by the heroine— is a hoot. Even harsher version discovered in 2004 runs about 5m. longer. | tt0023775 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Margaret Lindsay, Douglass Dumbrille, John Wayne | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baby Face Harrington | 1935 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 61 | Mild-mannered Butterworth gets mixed up with gangsters in this pleasant comedy vehicle that takes its time getting started. | tt0026092 | Charles Butterworth, Una Merkel, Harvey Stephens, Nat Pendleton, Eugene Pallette | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Baby Face Nelson | 1957 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 85 | Rooney gives flavorful performance in title role of gun-happy gangster in Prohibition-Depression days; low-budget product, but action-filled. | tt0050155 | Mickey Rooney, Carolyn Jones, Cedric Hardwicke, Jack Elam, Ted De Corsia | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Baby Geniuses | 1999 | Bob Clark | 💣 | 94 | Unless you want to see walking, talking toddlers hypnotizing DeLuise into picking his nose, steer clear of this almost history-making comedy clinker about power-mad child psychologist Turner, who's raising these bright babies in her lab. Technically shoddy and recipient of some of the decade's worst reviews (though people did go to see it). If these kids are such geniuses, why can't they spark even a single laugh? Followed by SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2. | tt0118665 | [PG] | Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Peter MacNicol, Kim Cattrall, Dom DeLuise, Ruby Dee | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Baby It's You | 1983 | John Sayles | ★★½ | 105 | A middle-class Jewish girl is pursued by a working-class Italian Catholic boy who calls himself The Sheik in this slice-of-life set in 1960s New Jersey. Writer-director Sayles' eye for detail and ear for dialogue give his fine cast a solid foundation— but the script loses momentum after the characters graduate from high school. Story by coproducer Amy Robinson; Modine's film debut. | tt0085208 | [R] | Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson, Nick Ferrari, Dolores Messina, Leora Dana, Sam McMurray, Tracy Pollan, Matthew Modine, Robert Downey/Jr., Caroline Aaron, Fisher Stevens | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Baby Maker | 1970 | James Bridges | ★★ | 109 | Childless couple hires young semi-hippie to have a baby by the husband when wife discovers she is sterile. Made at a time when the notion of surrogate mothers was considered bizarre. | tt0065441 | [R] | Barbara Hershey, Colin Wilcox-Horne, Sam Groom, Scott Glenn, Jeannie Berlin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Baby Mama | 2008 | Michael McCullers | ★★½ | 99 | Career-minded Fey decides it’s time to have a baby and signs up with an agency to match her with a surrogate mother: white-trash Poehler, who’s running a scam. Given the comedic talent involved this is pretty bland, though certainly watchable. Martin has fun in a glorified cameo as Fey’s boss, a New Age business mogul. | tt0871426 | [PG-13] | Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, John Hodgman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Denis O’Hare, James Rebhorn. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Baby Snakes | 1979 | Frank Zappa | 💣 | 166 | Excruciatingly overlong ego trip for musical maverick Zappa. In every fifth shot, it seems, Frankie is in close-up or a fan rushes up to him, kisses him, and screeches for joy. Zappa finally cut it down to 91m. for 1984 reissue. Bruce Bickford's clay animation is film's sole virtue. | tt0078820 | [R] | Frank Zappa, Ron Delsener, Joey Psychotic, Donna U. Wanna, Frenchy the Poodle, Ms. Pinky's Larger Sister, Angel, Janet the Planet, Diva, John, Chris, Nancy | Animation, Documentary, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Baby Take a Bow | 1934 | Harry Lachman | ★★ | 76 | Shirley's first starring vehicle seems one of her weakest today, but helped boost her career nonetheless; in typical little-miss-fixit fashion, she helps her ex-con father beat a bum rap. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024854 | Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Claire Trevor, Alan Dinehart, Ray Walker | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Baby The Rain Must Fall | 1965 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 100 | Much underrated account of ex-convict McQueen, returning to his wife and daughter, but unable to change his restless ways. Murray is sincere sheriff who tries to help. Screenplay by Horton Foote, from his play The Traveling Lady. | tt0058930 | Lee Remick, Steve McQueen, Don Murray, Paul Fix, Josephine Hutchinson, Ruth White | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Baby and the Battleship | 1956 | Jay Lewis. | ★★½ | 96 | Mildly amusing account of sailor Mills smuggling Italian baby aboard ship and his antics as he tries to keep it hidden from top brass. | tt0048974 | John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Andre Morell, Bryan Forbes, Lisa Gastoni, Michael Hordern, Lionel Jeffries, Gordon Jackson. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Baby's Day Out | 1994 | Patrick Read Johnson | 💣 | 98 | In a 'plot' reminiscent of several Swee Pea cartoons, a Chicago baby violently foils kidnappers as he embarks on a parentless Pampers odyssey to Marshall Field's, the zoo, and to the top of a skyscraper building site. A box office flop despite scripter/coproducer John Hughes' cynical HOME ALONE cloning; in standard Hughes fashion, it's full of kicked-and-torched gonads jokes, but all sweetness and light at the end. | tt0109190 | [PG] | Lara Flynn Boyle, Joe Mantegna, Jacob and Adam Worton, Joe Pantoliano, Brian Haley, Cynthia Nixon, Fred Dalton Thompson, John Neville, Eddie Bracken | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Baby | 1973 | Ted Post | ★★ | 102 | Social worker who gets in too deep with a man-child case, has to kill to keep 'baby' at home with her. | tt0069754 | [PG] | Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, Marianna Hill | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Baby-Sitters Club | 1995 | Melanie Mayron | ★★½ | 85 | Kristy (Fisk), founder and leader of the Baby-Sitter's Club, run by seven girls who are best friends, proposes starting a summer camp. Then her long-absent father shows up, and wants to spend time with her— but insists she keep his presence a secret. Good-hearted adaptation of Ann M. Martin's hugely popular books for preteen girls. Low-key, episodic, but agreeable entertainment. Director Mayron can be spotted briefly in the opening sequence. Fisk is the daughter of Sissy Spacek. | tt0112435 | [PG] | Schuyler Fisk, Bre Blair, Rachael Leigh Cook, Zelda Harris, Tricia Joe, Larisa Oleynik, Stacey Linn Ramsower, Austin O'Brien, Aaron Metchik, Christian Oliver, Brooke Adams, Peter Horton, Ellen Burstyn, Bruce Davison, Harris Yulin | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Babyfever | 1994 | Henry Jaglom | ★★½ | 110 | An array of career-women at a Malibu baby shower examine, discuss, and discuss some more their own ticking biological clocks. Meanwhile, one of the guests (Foyt) is awaiting results of her own pregnancy test! Shot in Jaglom's usual vérité style, this is best appreciated by fans of the highly personal filmmaker. With the drubbing that men take here, this is definitely not a 'first date' film. | tt0109191 | Victoria Foyt, Matt Salinger, Dinah Lenney, Eric Roberts, Frances Fisher, Elaine Kagan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Babylon A.D. | 2008 | Mathieu Kassovitz | 💣 | 90 | Futuristic story in which a mercenary (played with one expression by Diesel) is hired to escort a girl from Eastern Europe to N.Y.C. With an evil high priestess hot on his tail, he soon learns the real purpose of his mission: his charge is carrying either a deadly disease or an organism that is the new messiah. Incoherent plotting makes this attempted sci-fi epic a complete fizzle. Based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice G. Dantec. Unrated version runs 101m. | tt0364970 | [PG-13] | Vin Diesel, Gérard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry, Charlotte Rampling, Mark Strong, Lambert Wilson, Joel Kirby | U.S.-French-British | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Babysitter | 1969 | Don Henderson | ★★ | 70 | Low-budget drive-in fare is dated but still mildly enjoyable; young blonde babysitter seduces the district attorney and hilarity ensues. Lots of double duty on this one: Carey produced, McLarty wrote the script. Followed by nonsequel, WEEKEND WITH THE BABYSITTER. | tt0064055 | [R] | Patricia Wymer, George E. Carey, Ann Bellamy, Cathy Williams, Robert Tessier, James McLarty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Babysitter | 1975 | René Clément | 💣 | 111 | In misfired melodrama, Schneider is innocently duped into taking part in a kidnapping by roommate Rome. Schneider's nonacting is abysmal, as is miscasting of chubby Italian comedian Pozzetto as her boyfriend. Retitled: WANTED: BABYSITTER. Video title: THE RAW EDGE. | tt0073205 | Maria Schneider, Sydne Rome, Vic Morrow, Robert Vaughn, Renato Pozzetto, Nadja Tiller | Italian-French-German | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Babysitter | 1995 | Guy Ferland | ★★ | 90 | A beautiful teenager inspires sexual fantasies in the people around her as she babysits for Walsh and his wife. Unimaginative writing (by the director) and slow pace explain why this went straight to video, though it was released in theaters after Silverstone's great success in CLUELESS. | tt0112438 | [R] | Alicia Silverstone, Jeremy London, J. T. Walsh, Lee Garlington, Nicky Katt, Lois Chiles, George Segal, Ryan Slater | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bachelor Apartment | 1931 | Lowell Sherman | ★★½ | 77 | Sophisticated comedy about gay-blade Sherman shuffling his various girls back and forth; ancestor of COME BLOW YOUR HORN, etc. | tt0021632 | Lowell Sherman, Irene Dunne, Mae Murray, Claudia Dell, Noel Francis, Bess Flowers | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Bachelor Bait | 1934 | George Stevens. | ★★½ | 74 | After being fired from his job as a clerk at the marriage bureau, Erwin starts his own successful matchmaking agency and finds himself assailed by gold diggers and a crooked politician . . . but he doesn't even notice that secretary Hudson is in love with him. In his second feature, Stevens demonstrates a deft comic touch and turns a minor trifle into a cute romantic farce. Kelton is hilarious. | tt0024855 | Stuart Erwin, Rochelle Hudson, Pert Kelton, 'Skeets' Gallagher, Berton Churchill, Grady Sutton. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bachelor Father | 1931 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 90 | Once dashing bachelor Smith, now old and lonely, wants to know his three grown children. Staid but enjoyable adaptation of Edward Childs Carpenter's stage play. | tt0021633 | Marion Davies, Ralph Forbes, C. Aubrey Smith, Doris Lloyd, Halliwell Hobbes, Ray Milland | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bachelor Flat | 1962 | Frank Tashlin | ★★ | 91 | Weld visits her mother's beach house and finds scientist Thomas at work; she moves in anyway and creates eventual havoc. Thomas has had better material; film's entertainment is all in his lap. | tt0054651 | Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer, Celeste Holm, Terry-Thomas | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bachelor Mother | 1939 | Garson Kanin | ★★★½ | 81 | Rogers unwittingly becomes guardian for abandoned baby in this delightful comedy by Norman Krasna. Remade as BUNDLE OF JOY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031067 | Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Charles Coburn, Frank Albertson, Ernest Truex | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Bachelor Party | 1984 | Neal Israel | ★★ | 106 | Amiable comedy about preparations for a raunchy bachelor party has real laughs for a while, then gets increasingly desperate and tasteless. | tt0086927 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Tawny Kitaen, Adrian Zmed, George Grizzard, Robert Prescott | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bachelor Party | 1957 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 93 | Perceptive Paddy Chayefsky drama (originally a TV play) about bachelor party for groom-to-be Abbott, and its emotional effect on other married participants. Jones is exceptional as philosophical nympho. | tt0050156 | Don Murray, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Patricia Smith, Carolyn Jones, Larry Blyden, Philip Abbott, Nancy Marchand | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer | 1947 | Irving Reis | ★★★ | 95 | Judge Loy orders playboy Grant to wine and dine her sister Temple, so the teenager will forget her infatuation for him. Breezy entertainment earned Sidney Sheldon an Oscar for his original screenplay. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039169 | Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Shirley Temple, Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins, Harry Davenport | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bachelor in Paradise | 1961 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 109 | Hope vehicle about the only bachelor in a community of married couples. Amusing, but not great. Hope has done better; Paige is fun as always. | tt0054652 | Bob Hope, Lana Turner, Janis Paige, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Don Porter, Agnes Moorehead | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bachelor's Daughters | 1946 | Andrew L. Stone. | ★★½ | 88 | Four Manhattan shopgirls lease a Long Island mansion and enlist Menjou and Burke as temporary parents in an elaborate charade to attract wealthy suitors. Engaging but unremarkable romantic comedy has a far better cast than script. Concert pianist List's only film. Aka BACHELOR GIRLS. | tt0039168 | Claire Trevor, Gail Russell, Ann Dvorak, Adolphe Menjou, Billie Burke, Jane Wyatt, Eugene List, Damian O'Flynn, John Whitney, Russell Hicks. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bachelor | 1991 | Roberto Faenza | ★★★ | 105 | Subtle, thoughtful story of repressed emotion, about a staid, middle-aged, unmarried doctor and self-described 'nomad' (Carradine), and how he responds when his sister and long-time constant companion commits suicide. Richardson, in a dual role, plays the latter, as well as one of a trio of very different women with whom the doctor becomes involved. Based on a novel by Arthur Schnitzler. | tt0102449 | Keith Carradine, Miranda Richardson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sarah-Jane Fenton, Max von Sydow, Mario Adorf | Italian-Hungarian-British | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bachelor | 1999 | Gary Sinyor | ★½ | 101 | Hapless O'Donnell would do better aping Buster Brown than taking on the Buster Keaton role in a woeful update of the still uproarious 1925 classic SEVEN CHANCES, playing a misdirected 30-year-old youth who must find a wife immediately or forfeit a $100 million inheritance left him by his crotchety grandfather. A mistake from top to bottom. The view of women here might even offend the Rat Pack. Also available in PG version. | tt0120596 | [PG-13] | Chris O'Donnell, Renée Zellweger, Hal Holbrook, James Cromwell, Peter Ustinov, Edward Asner, Brooke Shields, Mariah Carey, Artie Lange, Jennifer Esposito | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Back Door to Heaven | 1939 | William K. Howard | ★★½ | 85 | Small-town schoolteacher awaits the arrival of former pupils for a reunion, believing they've all succeeded in life— except for the one boy who went to reform school. The truth is much harsher, however. Ambitious social drama doesn't entirely succeed but has enough originality to make you stick with it to the end. James Lydon is impressive in his screen debut. That's director Howard as the prosecuting attorney in the courtroom scene. | tt0031068 | Wallace Ford, Aline MacMahon, Stuart Erwin, Patricia Ellis, Bert Frohman, Kent Smith, George Lewis, William Redfield, Iris Adrian | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Back Door to Hell | 1964 | Monte Hellman | ★★½ | 68 | Mildly interesting film about WW2 reconnaissance mission in the Philippines; early collaboration of Nicholson and Hellman, who filmed FLIGHT TO FURY back to back with this. | tt0057864 | Jimmie Rodgers, Jack Nicholson, John Hackett, Annabelle Huggins, Conrad Maga | War | NULL | |||
| Back From Eternity | 1956 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 97 | Moderately engrossing account of victims of plane crash, stranded in South American jungle, and their various reactions to the situation. OK remake of FIVE CAME BACK. | tt0048975 | Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger, Phyllis Kirk | Drama | NULL | |||
| Back From the Dead | 1957 | Charles Marquis Warren | 💣 | 79 | Castle is earnest as wife possessed by will of husband's dead first spouse, but cliché-ridden production makes everything ridiculous. | tt0050157 | Peggie Castle, Arthur Franz, Marsha Hunt, Evelyn Scott, James Bell | Horror | NULL | |||
| Back Roads | 1981 | Martin Ritt | ★½ | 94 | Attractive leads are scant consolation for thoroughly unfunny comedy about a hooker and a drifter who find love on the road. Not as enjoyable as Hollywood's 10,000 previous derivations of the same script. | tt0082042 | [R] | Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Keith, Miriam Colon, Michael V. Gazzo, M. Emmet Walsh | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Back Street | 1932 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 89 | Dunne shines in oft-filmed Fannie Hurst soaper of spirited young woman who becomes the mistress of Boles and must forever remain in the shadows. Dated, to be sure, but still entertaining. Remade in 1941 and 1961. | tt0022651 | Irene Dunne, John Boles, George Meeker, ZaSu Pitts, Arlette Duncan, June Clyde, William Bakewell, Doris Lloyd, Jane Darwell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Back Street | 1941 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 89 | Fine team of Boyer and Sullavan breathes life into Fannie Hurst perennial soaper of woman whose love for man doesn't die when he marries another. | tt0033365 | Charles Boyer, Margaret Sullavan, Richard Carlson, Frank McHugh, Tim Holt | Drama | NULL | |||
| Back Street | 1961 | David Miller | ★★½ | 107 | Lavish, unbelievable third version of Fannie Hurst's story of a woman's love for married man. Doesn't play as well as previous versions but a fashion show for Hayward in Jean Louis designs. Ross Hunter produced. | tt0054653 | Susan Hayward, John Gavin, Vera Miles, Charles Drake, Virginia Grey, Reginald Gardiner, Natalie Schafer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Back at the Front | Willie and Joe Back at the Front | 1952 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 87 | Follow-up to UP FRONT, with Bill Mauldin's Army goof-offs Willie and Joe scampering around post-WW2 Tokyo. Retitled: WILLIE AND JOE BACK AT THE FRONT. | tt0044390 | Tom Ewell, Harvey Lembeck, Mari Blanchard, Richard Long | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Back in Circulation | 1937 | Ray Enright. | ★★ | 81 | Formula newspaper yarn has unscrupulous reporter Blondell and conniving editor O'Brien responsible for railroading Lindsay to the death house for poisoning her husband, then scrambling to free her when they learn she's innocent. Watchable, but curiously low on Warner's usual snap, crackle, and pop. | tt0028599 | Pat O'Brien, Joan Blondell, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Eddie Acuff, Craig Reynolds, George E. Stone, Walter Byron, Ben Welden, Regis Toomey. | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Back in the Saddle | 1941 | Lew Landers. | ★★★ | 73 | Foreman Autry heads West and deals with a copper mine that is poisoning stock on cattlemen's ranches, while romancing lovely Wells and her sister Lee. Another winner for Gene, with ecological theme, standout badman Richards, and a title tune that became Gene's theme. | tt0033366 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Mary Lee, Edward Norris, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Addison Richards, Arthur Loft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Back in the USSR | 1991 | Deran Sarafian | ★½ | 87 | American tourist Whaley gets involved in 'the case of the disappearing icon' on a visit to Russia. It's almost impossible to follow this loophole laden script where coincidences abound and the importance of the central object of desire— the icon— is never established. | tt0103752 | Frank Whaley, Natalya Negoda, Roman Polanski, Ravil Issyanov, Dey Young, Andrew Divoff, Brian Blessed, Harry Ditson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Back to Bataan | 1945 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 95 | Good, sturdy WW2 action film with officer Wayne leading Filipino guerrillas to victory in the South Pacific. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037522 | John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli, Richard Loo, Philip Ahn, Lawrence Tierney | War | NULL | |||
| Back to God's Country | 1953 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 78 | Sea captain Hudson and wife Henderson face rigors of nature and villainy of Cochran in the Canadian wilds. Competent programmer; from James Oliver Curwood's classic story, filmed before in 1919 and 1927. | tt0045531 | Rock Hudson, Marcia Henderson, Steve Cochran, Hugh O'Brian, Chubby Johnson | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Back to School | 1986 | Alan Metter | ★★★ | 96 | Bombastic, uneducated, self-made millionaire enrolls in college, in order to encourage his student son. Very entertaining comedy, full of hilarious Dangerfield one-liners, but key to the film's success is that Rodney's character is so likable. Kellerman shines, too, as English professor who becomes the apple of his eye. | tt0090685 | [PG-13] | Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, Keith Gordon, Robert Downey/Jr., Paxton Whitehead, Terry Farrell, M. Emmet Walsh, Adrienne Barbeau, Ned Beatty, Severn Darden, Sam Kinison, Robert Picardo, Kurt Vonnegut/Jr., Edie McClurg, Jason Hervey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Back to the Beach | 1987 | Lyndall Hobbs | ★★ | 92 | Frankie and Annette return to the scene of their youth— older but no wiser— as the parents of teens. The fun wears thin pretty fast in this uninspired comedy— despite the efforts of six writers and the presence of 1950s and 60s TV sitcom stars in cameo roles. The songs are dull, too, though Annette's 'Jamaica Ska' has its moments. | tt0092608 | [PG] | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Lori Loughlin, Tommy Hinckley, Connie Stevens, Demian Slade; guest stars Don Adams, Bob Denver, Alan Hale/Jr., Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley, Edd Byrnes, Paul Reubens, Dick Dale and The Del-Tones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Back to the Future | 1985 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★ | 116 | A teenager of the '80s travels back in time to the '50s, where he must arrange for his mismatched parents to meet— or else he won't exist! Wonderful, wacked-out time-travel comedy takes its time to get going, but once it does, it's a lot of fun, building to a frantic climax just like other Bob Gale-Robert Zemeckis scripts (USED CARS, I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND, 1941). Lloyd is a standout as crazed scientist who sets story in motion. Huey Lewis, who sings film's hit song, 'The Power of Love,' has cameo as a high-school teacher. Produced by Steven Spielberg and company. Followed by two sequels and an animated TV series. | tt0088763 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, Wendie Jo Sperber, Marc McClure, Claudia Wells, Thomas F. Wilson, James Tolkan, Casey Siemaszko, Billy Zane, Jason Hervey | Family, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Back to the Future Part II | 1989 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★ | 107 | Joyless, frenetic follow-up to Part 1 which sends mad inventor Lloyd and young Fox back into their time-traveling DeLorean. Considerable ingenuity, but hardly any laughs, and a surprising amount of unpleasantness. Works best toward the end when it creates a parallel existence to the climactic action in Part 1, but then it turns out to be a cliffhanger, advertising the upcoming Part III! Talk about a cheat . . . | tt0096874 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Harry Waters/ Jr., Charles Fleischer, Joe Flaherty, Elisabeth Shue, James Tolkan, Casey Siemaszko, Elijah Wood | Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Back to the Future Part III | 1990 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★½ | 118 | Delightful conclusion to this time-travel trilogy sends Fox back to the Old West, circa 1885, in search of Lloyd— hoping to change history and keep him from being shot in the back by a bad guy. The dormant movie Western gets a major dose of adrenaline from this high-tech, high-powered comic adventure, which offers great fun, dazzling special effects, and imagination to spare. There's real movie magic at work here. | tt0099088 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Elisabeth Shue, Matt Clark, Richard Dysart, Pat Buttram, Harry Carey/Jr., Dub Taylor, James Tolkan, ZZ Top | Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Western | NULL | ||
| Back to the Wall | 1959 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★ | 94 | As the adulterous wife, Moreau spins entertaining web of extortion and murder; satisfactory suspenser. | tt0052753 | Gérard Oury, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Nicaud, Claire Maurier, Jean Lefebvre | French | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Back-up Plan | 2010 | Alan Poul | ★★ | 106 | Pedestrian comedy is buoyed by the engaging Lopez as a romantically frustrated woman and wannabe mother who decides to get artificially inseminated. Things get uber-complicated when she finally meets Mr. Right that same day. The sequence in which she joins a single moms' support group is disastrously unfunny and brings the whole film down several notches. At least Lopez and costar O'Loughlin have nice chemistry. | tt1212436 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson, Noureen DeWulf, Linda Lavin, Tom Bosley, Robert Klein, Melissa McCarthy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Backbeat | 1993 | Iain Softley | ★★½ | 100 | Stuart Sutcliffe (Dorff) goes along with his pal John Lennon when their rock 'n' roll band tries to establish itself in early '60s Hamburg— but his ambitions lie elsewhere. Initially intriguing true story of the man who deserted the about-to-be-Beatles grows tired after a while, especially when Lennon (as played by the dynamic Hart) seems so much more interesting. The period and its music are well captured, however. | tt0106339 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart, Gary Bakewell, Chris O'Neill, Scot Williams, Kai Weisinger, Paul Humpoletz | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Backdraft | 1991 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 135 | Two brothers whose father died fighting a fire now spend their time on the force battling each other. A hoary B-movie-type script fired up by square-jawed conviction, and stunning special effects; also the first film to ever explore a sheer fascination with fire. The gifted Leigh fails miserably playing a normal young woman. Footage added for network TV showings. | tt0101393 | [R] | Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick, J. T. Walsh, Tony Mockus/Sr., Clint Howard | Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Backfire | 1950 | Vincent Sherman | ★★ | 91 | OK mystery tale has MacRae search for missing friend through maze of murder and romance. | tt0042219 | Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Edmond O'Brien, Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Ed Begley | Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Backfire | 1987 | Gilbert Cates | ★★½ | 92 | Complicated plot with several surprises is best not revealed here, but it does involve wealthy, disturbed Vietnam vet Fahey, his wrong-side-of-the-tracks wife Allen, and mysterious drifter Carradine. Familiar story but well acted; builds up a fair amount of suspense. Good use of Canadian locations. | tt0092609 | [R] | Karen Allen, Keith Carradine, Jeff Fahey, Bernie Casey, Dean Paul Martin, Dinah Manoff, Virginia Capers, Philip Sterling | U.S.-Canadian | Mystery | NULL | |
| Backfire! | 1994 | A. Dean Bell | ★½ | 89 | In the wake of AIRPLANE! and THE NAKED GUN comes this astoundingly unfunny comedy about an inept young man attempting to join an all-female fire department. Mitchum (as a semi-senile fire marshal) and Winters have come a long way since THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER! | tt0112440 | [PG-13] | Kathy Ireland, Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas, Shelley Winters, Josh Mosby, Mary McCormack | Short | NULL | ||
| Background to Danger | 1943 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 80 | Slam-bang WW2 story with Raft swept into Nazi intrigue in Turkey; terrific car chase caps fast-moving tale. | tt0035659 | George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen, Kurt Katch | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Backlash | 1956 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 84 | In the aftermath of an Apache ambush, Widmark (who believes his father was in the doomed party) and Reed (whose husband was killed in the massacre) become involved in a serpentine search for the lone survivor and some missing gold. Plotty Western written by Borden Chase. | tt0048976 | Richard Widmark, Donna Reed, William Campbell, John McIntire, Barton MacLane, Harry Morgan, Edward Platt | Western | NULL | |||
| Backlash | 1986 | Bill Bennett | ★★½ | 88 | Well-meaning but muddled account of a young aborigine barmaid who's sodomized, then charged with the murder of her assailant, and finally treks across the outback in custody of two mindlessly jabbering cops. Bits of snappy dialogue and intriguing commentary on race relations, but far too much is left unexplained. | tt0090686 | [R] | David Argue, Gia Carides, Lydia Miller, Brian Syron, Anne Smith | Australian | Crime | NULL | |
| Backroads | 1977 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★½ | 61 | Aborigine Foley joins with loutish, self-centered white criminal Hunter, with tragic results. Superior drama is an incisive commentary on racism; in private life Foley is a radical black activist. Noyce's feature directorial debut. | tt0075716 | Bill Hunter, Gary Foley, Zac Martin, Julie McGregor, Terry Camilleri | Australian | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Backstage | 2006 | Emmanuelle Bercot | ★★½ | 115 | Teenage girl is obsessed with a beautiful pop singer and manages to work her way into the star's inner circle . . . but their relationship takes many strange turns. Intriguing look at fandom gone amok and a tortured, mercurial, pampered star rings fairly true but goes on too long. Feature debut for writer-director Bercot. | tt0436091 |
|
Emmanuelle Seigner, Islid Le Besco, Noémie Levovsky, Valéry Zeitoun, Samuel Benchetrit | French | Drama, Music | NULL | |
| Backtrack | 1969 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 95 | Maverick cowboy on the range. No more than an elongated version of a 1965 Virginian TV episode (which served as a pilot for the subsequent Laredo series). | tt0064059 | [G] | Neville Brand, James Drury, Doug McClure, Peter Brown, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming, Fernando Lamas | Drama, Western, Romance | NULL | ||
| Backtrack | 1989 | Dennis Hopper | ★★½ | 98 | Contemporary melodrama about a hit man hired to rub out murder eyewitness Foster— but falling in love and taking it on the lam with her instead. Although film isn't particularly distinguished, it is entertaining— especially with that Who's Who cast. (Joe Pesci, despite a substantial role, appears unbilled.) Released first in Europe as CATCHFIRE; Hopper disowned that version. Restored to his cut (116m.) for U.S. release on cable and video in 1991. | tt0096875 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, Dean Stockwell, Vincent Price, John Turturro, Fred Ward, Charlie Sheen, G. Anthony Sirico, Julie Adams, Sy Richardson, Frank Gio, Helena Kallianiotes, Bob Dylan | Drama, Western, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bad Ass | 2012 | Craig Moss | ★★½ | 90 | Vietnam vet (Trejo), now a senior citizen, becomes a cybermedia folk hero when phone cameras snag his smackdown of two punks on an L.A. bus. Insisting "I'm really not a violent guy," he evolves into one when his old war buddy (Page) is gang-executed by order of a corrupt mayor (Perlman) and his ace henchman (Dutton). So he alone must take out the trash, in a zip code somewhere between GRAN TORINO and DEATH WISH. Grizzled Trejo acquits himself handsomely, if that's the word, but the movie's shocking gore runs counter to its overall amused tone. Director's script extrapolates on a 2010 Oakland mass transit incident. | tt1928330 | [R] | Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton, Ron Perlman, Harrison Page, Patrick Fabian, Joyful Drake, John Duffy, Richard Riehle, Winter Ave Zoli | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Bad Bascomb | 1946 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 110 | Overlong Western with fine action scenes, overshadowed by incredibly syrupy ones with Beery and O'Brien. | tt0038319 | Wallace Beery, Margaret O'Brien, Marjorie Main, J. Carrol Naish, Marshall Thompson | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Behavior | 1993 | Les Blair | ★★½ | 103 | Amusing comedy with Rea and Cusack as a couple whose marital complacency is challenged by their friends, their jobs, and a bathroom renovation. A quietly quirky slant on domestic life in the Mike Leigh mold (the actors improvised from director Blair's story outline) which rambles along nicely without ever really catching fire. Rea and Cusack are charming in the lead roles. | tt0106340 | Stephen Rea, Sinead Cusack, Philip Jackson, Clare Higgins, Phil Daniels, Mary Jo Randle, Saira Todd, Amanda Boxer | British | Adult | NULL | ||
| Bad Blood | 1981 | Mike Newell | ★★★ | 104 | Set during WW2, this provocative drama is a fact-based account of a backwoods farmer (Thompson) who shoots several people and is hunted in the New Zealand bush. The incident ends up being exploited by Lord Haw-Haw, the notorious Nazi propagandist. | tt0082043 | Jack Thompson, Carol Burns, Denis Lill, Donna Akersten, Martyn Sanderson, Marshall Napier | New Zealand-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Blood | 1987 | Léos Carax | ★★ | 128 | Pretentious film noir takeoff about two-bit con artist Lavant, who finds himself in way over his head as he becomes involved in a plot to pilfer a serum that's an antidote for an AIDS-like disease; along the way, he falls for beautiful Binoche, the lover of one of his cohorts. Highly regarded by some, but the storytelling is fatally muddled and all the close-ups of faces and legs eventually grow tiresome. Lavant plays the same character in Carax's BOY MEETS GIRL and THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE. Released in the U.S. in 2001. | tt0091497 | [R] | Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Hans Meyer, Julie Delpy, Carroll Brooks, Hugo Pratt, Mireille Perrier, Serge Reggiani | French | Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Bad Boy | 1949 | Kurt Neumann. | ★★½ | 86 | Slight BOYS TOWN variation in which Murphy, in his first starring role, plays a supposedly incorrigible teen destined to straighten out during his stay at the Variety Clubs Boys Ranch. Also known as THE STORY OF DANNY LESTER. | tt0041144 | Lloyd Nolan, Jane Wyatt, Audie Murphy, James Gleason, Martha Vickers, Stanley Clements, Rhys Williams, James Lydon, Dickie Moore, Selena Royle, Tommy Cook. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bad Boys | 1983 | Rick Rosenthal | ★★★ | 123 | Tough urban melodrama about juvenile prison, and a personal vendetta that reaches its peak within prison walls. Criticized by some as being amoral— and not always credible— but certainly scores on an emotional level. Sheedy's feature film debut. | tt0085210 | [R] | Sean Penn, Reni Santoni, Esai Morales, Eric Gurry, Jim Moody, Ally Sheedy, Clancy Brown, Alan Ruck | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Boys | 1995 | Michael Bay | ★★½ | 126 | Highly formulaic but not altogether disposable Miami actioner about two cops— one married with kids, the other equipped with a bachelor apartment— who are forced to switch roles after they're mistaken for each other during a drug-murder case. A return by producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to the kind of corpse-littered escapism that established them in the '80s; wildly uneven comedy is aided by the spin Leoni puts on her role as a material witness who's hiding undercover with the heroes. A robust half hour padded into two hours. Followed by a sequel. | tt0112442 | [R] | Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Téa Leoni, Theresa Randle, Tchéky Karyo, Marg Helgenberger, Anna Thomson | Action, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bad Boys II | 2003 | Michael Bay | ★★ | 146 | Noisy, overlong sequel pits the Miami tactical team against a Cuban drug lord, while Lawrence's DEA sister (Union) goes undercover after the same prey. This film seemingly exists for the sole purpose of blowing things up, which it does well and often, but there's nothing else to recommend it. The plot is shopworn, and the banter between the two stars is forced and unfunny. | tt0172156 | [R] | Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Jordi Mollà, Gabrielle Union, Peter Stormare, Theresa Randle, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Shannon, Jon Seda, Henry Rollins | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bad Company | 1972 | Robert Benton | ★★★½ | 93 | Highly entertaining sleeper about two young drifters of wildly differing temperaments who rob their way West during the Civil War; aided immeasurably by Gordon Willis' subdued photography, Harvey Schmidt's piano score. Written by Benton and David Newman; Benton's directorial debut. | tt0068245 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston, John Savage, Jerry Houser | Western | NULL | ||
| Bad Company | 1995 | Damian Harris | ★½ | 108 | Ex-CIA staffer is recruited to join a private firm specializing in 'covert operations'— like blackmail and murder— but there's more than meets the eye at every twist and turn. Never-ending series of double-crosses leads to a 'who cares?' finale. Only some hot-and-heavy sex scenes stand out. Michael Murphy appears unbilled as Smitty. | tt0112443 | [R] | Ellen Barkin, Laurence Fishburne, Frank Langella, Michael Beach, Gia Carides, David Ogden Stiers, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Spalding Gray, James Hong | Romance | NULL | ||
| Bad Company | 1999 | Jean-Pierre Améris | ★★★½ | 98 | Incisive drama about Delphine (Forget), a bored, inexperienced 14-year-old who becomes fast friends with the new girl in school and falls in love (or so she thinks) with a manipulative young man. Sobering look at a young person who romanticizes everything from love and sex to depression and suicide, and who confuses sexual desire with emotional need. Not to be missed. Written by Alain Layrac. | tt0211504 | Maud Forget, Lou Doillon, Robinson Stévenin, Maxime Mansion, Cyril Cagnat, Delphine Rich, François Berléand, Micheline Presle | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bad Company | 2002 | Joel Schumacher | ★½ | 116 | Artificial hybrid of spy caper and Rock comedy that serves no one well, especially the audience. Contrived plot has CIA agent Hopkins training street hustler Rock to imitate his twin brother, who was a smooth operative on the verge of closing a deal for a nuclear weapon in Europe. Needlessly overlong, building to a suspense-free climax. | tt0280486 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock, Gabriel Macht, Peter Stormare, John Slattery, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Kerry Washington, Matthew Marsh, Brooke Smith, Irma P. Hall | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bad Day at Black Rock | 1955 | John Sturges | ★★★½ | 81 | Powerhouse cast in yarn of one-armed man (Tracy) uncovering skeleton in tiny desert town's closet. Borgnine memorable as slimy heavy. Millard Kaufman expertly adapted Howard Breslin's story 'Bad Time at Hondo.' Excellent use of CinemaScope. | tt0047849 | Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bad Education | 2004 | Pedro Almodóvar. | ★★½ | 109 | A struggling actor (Bernal) approaches a successful filmmaker (Fele Martínez) with an idea for a screenplay based on events that transpired at the Catholic school they both attended as boys. Complex, challenging, highly sexual story told in film noir style; clearly meaningful to Almodóvar, but somewhat distancing for the viewer, in spite of strong performances. R-rated version also available. | tt0275491 | [NC-17] | Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lluís Homar, Javier Cámara, Petra Martínez, Nacho Pérez, Raúl García Forneiro. | Spanish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Bad For Each Other | 1953 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 83 | Doctor Heston has to choose between the needs of miners in his Pennsylvania hometown and big-city bluebloods. Predictable soap opera. | tt0045534 | Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Dianne Foster, Ray Collins, Arthur Franz, Mildred Dunnock, Marjorie Rambeau | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bad Girl | 1956 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★ | 100 | Widowed mom Neagle becomes distraught when 17-year-old daughter Syms takes up with creep Haigh. Cornball curio which serves as proof that not all bad 1950s movies about teenagers were made in the U.S. Video title: TEENAGE BAD GIRL. Original British title: MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER. | tt0049530 | Anna Neagle, Sylvia Syms, Kenneth Haigh, Norman Wooland, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Helen Haye, Julia Lockwood | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Girls | 1994 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★½ | 99 | Stowe and three other prostitutes go on the lam after a brothel shooting, eventually hooking up with a male outlaw from her past. Troubled production is an uneasy combination of feminist statement, homage to (or rip-off of) THE WILD BUNCH's finale, and an advertisement for good-looking Western duds. A collectible poster in search of a movie. Unrated version also available. | tt0109198 | [R] | Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell, Drew Barrymore, Dermot Mulroney, James Russo, Robert Loggia, Jim Beaver, Cooper Huckabee | Western | NULL | ||
| Bad Influence | 1990 | Curtis Hanson | ★★½ | 99 | Spader befriends Lowe after the latter gets him out of a tense barroom confrontation, then finds this psychopathic leech calling the shots in his romantic— and professional— life. Slick, high-tech variation on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN knows which buttons to push. Lowe is passable, but he's no Robert Walker. | tt0099091 | [R] | Rob Lowe, James Spader, Lisa Zane, Christian Clemenson, Kathleen Wilhoite, Tony Maggio, David Duchovny | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bad Jim | 1990 | Clyde Ware | ★★ | 90 | Not-bad Western has three good/ bad men purchasing Billy the Kid's horse— and using it to pass themselves off as Billy's gang. Nice locations and welcome cast of veterans help make up for leisurely pace and lack of real action. Screen debut for Clark Gable's son, as the youngest of the bandit trio. | tt0099092 | [PG] | James Brolin, Richard Roundtree, John Clark Gable, Harry Carey/Jr., Rory Calhoun, Ty Hardin, Pepe Serna, Bruce Kirby | Western | NULL | ||
| Bad Lands | 1939 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 70 | Thinly disguised Western remake of THE LOST PATROL, about a posse stranded in the Arizona wilderness and trapped by Apaches. Painless and forgettable. | tt0031071 | Noah Beery/Jr., Robert Barrat, Guinn Williams, Douglas Walton, Andy Clyde, Addison Richards, Robert Coote, Paul Hurst | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Lieutenant | 1992 | Abel Ferrara | ★★ | 98 | Also bad husband, bad substance abuser, all-around bad dude. Over-the-top Catholic guilt movie about a cop who starts to pull himself out of the abyss when he investigates the rape of a nun who refuses to press charges. More pretentious than Ferrara's earlier work, though film has substantial critical and cult following. Featured player Zoe Lund (who also coscripted with Ferrara) was formerly Zoe Tamerlis, star of Ferrara's MS. 45. At the very least, this is the first movie that offers full-frontal Keitel and a cameo by Jesus. | tt0103759 | [NC-17] | Harvey Keitel, Frankie Thorn, Paul Hipp, Victor Argo, Paul Calderone, Leonard Thomas | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call: New Orleans | 2009 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 122 | Wacky police procedural set in post-Katrina New Orleans, with Cage as a dedicated detective who winds up hopelessly addicted to drugs—which makes him more dangerous than most of the people he's hunting down. The slaughter of a family from Senegal that invaded a local drug lord's turf is the trigger for a long, tawdry, wide-ranging yarn in which the good guys and bad guys are hard to differentiate. Cage is terrific in a no-holds-barred performance. Bears no resemblance to the 1992 film BAD LIEUTENANT. | tt1095217 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Alvin Xzibit Joiner, Fairuza Balk, Shawn Hatosy, Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Bower, Vondie Curtis Hall, Brad Dourif, Irma P. Hall, Denzel Whitaker, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Lucius Baston | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Bad Little Angel | 1939 | William Thiele. | ★★½ | 72 | Weidler is most appealing as a Bible-reading waif who runs away from an orphanage with her dog (which looks suspiciously like Toto from THE WIZARD OF OZ) and goes to Egypt, New Jersey, where she's befriended by shoeshine boy Reynolds and warms the hearts of everyone in town. Well-made, effective little MGM programmer. | tt0031072 | Virginia Weidler, Gene Reynolds, Guy Kibbee, Ian Hunter, Elizabeth Patterson, Reginald Owen, Henry Hull, Lois Wilson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bad Lord Byron | 1951 | David Macdonald | ★★½ | 85 | Potentially exciting but static retelling of the life of 19th-century poet and lover, focusing on his many romances. | tt0041145 | Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Mai Zetterling, Sonia Holm | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Love | 1992 | Jill Goldman | 💣 | 94 | BAD MOVIE would be a more appropriate title. Perfectly dreadful drama about hot-tempered, two-bit hustler Sizemore and pretty loser Gidley who commence a hot-and-heavy, ill-fated romance. Poor direction and a laughable script do this one in. | tt0104766 | [R] | Tom Sizemore, Pamela Gidley, Seymour Cassel, Richard Edson, Debi Mazar, Jennifer O'Neill, Margaux Hemingway, Joe Dallesandro | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Man of Brimstone | 1938 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★ | 90 | Low-grade Western vehicle is for Beery fans, with star as outlaw who is reformed by family revelation. | tt0029892 | Wallace Beery, Virginia Bruce, Dennis O'Keefe, Joseph Calleia, Lewis Stone, Guy Kibbee, Bruce Cabot | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Man of Deadwood | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 61 | On the lam, Roy joins Gabby's traveling medicine show and becomes involved with a group of honest businessmen who've been driven out of their own town by a so-called Citizen's League led by Harolde (but controlled by a mystery man). Good, intricate, fast-moving script by James R. Webb, who went on to bigger and better things. | tt0033367 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Carol Adams, Henry Brandon, Herbert Rawlinson, Sally Payne, Hal Taliaferro, Ralf Harolde, Jay Novello, Monte Blue. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Man's River | 1972 | Eugenio Martin | ★★ | 89 | Van Cleef is head of an outlaw gang repeatedly out-smarted by devilish Lollobrigida in this pallid comedy-Western made in Spain. | tt0068246 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, James Mason, Gina Lollobrigida, Simon Andreu, Diana Lorys | Italian-Spanish | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| The Bad Man | 1941 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 70 | Slight but amusing modern-day Western with Beery chewing the scenery as a comically murderous Mexican desperado who descends upon Barrymore and Reagan's ranch. Filmed before in 1923 and 1930 and reworked in 1937 (as WEST OF SHANGHAI!). | tt0033368 | Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Ronald Reagan, Tom Conway, Henry Travers, Chris-Pin Martin, Chill Wills, Nydia Westman | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Manners | 1998 | Jonathan Kaufer | ★★★ | 90 | An egotistical musicologist and his companion spend the weekend with his ex-lover, who's now married to a college professor. Sparks fly from the start as the four flinty personalities collide; an exercise in sexual and psychological gamesmanship reminiscent of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, and splendidly acted all around. Adapted by David Gilman from his play Ghost in the Machine. | tt0118671 | [R] | David Strathairn, Bonnie Bedelia, Saul Rubinek, Caroleen Feeney, Julie Harris | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bad Medicine | 1985 | Harvey Miller | 💣 | 96 | Guttenberg can't get into any domestic medical schools, so he's forced to attend a dubious Central American institution run by Arkin. Cheap jokes and ethnic putdowns abound. Our prescription: skip it. | tt0088765 | [PG-13] | Steve Guttenberg, Alan Arkin, Julie Hagerty, Bill Macy, Curtis Armstrong, Julie Kavner, Joe Grifasi, Robert Romanus, Taylor Negron, Gilbert Gottfried | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bad Men of Missouri | 1941 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 74 | Younger brothers, enraged by Southern carpetbaggers, turn to lawless life in fictional Western, with good cast. | tt0033369 | Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Wayne Morris, Arthur Kennedy, Victor Jory, Alan Baxter | Western | NULL | |||
| Bad Moon | 1996 | Eric Red | ★★ | 79 | Hemingway is glad when her brother comes to live with her and her young son Gamble; only the family German shepherd knows that Paré is really the werewolf that has been killing locals in the Northwest woods. Good-looking horror movie with a strong performance from Paré is underpopulated and predictable, though the dog's great. From the novel Thor by Wayne Smith. | tt0115610 | [R] | Mariel Hemingway, Michael Paré, Mason Gamble, Ken Pogue, Hrothgar Mathews | Action, Horror, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Bad News Bears Go To Japan | 1978 | John Berry | ★★ | 91 | Curtis is good as a small-time hustler who sees money-making opportunity in the now-familiar baseball team. Third film was the kids' last, and it's easy to see why. | tt0077199 | [PG] | Tony Curtis, Jackie Earle Haley, Tomisaburo Wakayama, George Wyner, Lonny Chapman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training | 1977 | Michael Pressman | ★★½ | 100 | Sentimental sequel to 1976 hit, with dirty talk largely absent. Star of the kids' baseball team, Haley heads for the Houston Astrodome and enlists the aid of estranged father Devane in coaching the misfits. Sporadically funny. | tt0075718 | [PG] | William Devane, Jackie Earle Haley, Jimmy Baio, Clifton James, Chris Barnes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bad News Bears | 1976 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 102 | Bright comedy about hopeless Little League baseball team that scores with an unlikely combination: a beer-guzzling coach (Matthau) and a female star pitcher (O'Neal). Some of film's major appeal— young kids spouting four-letter words— may be lost on TV. Clever use of Bizet's music from Carmen. Followed by two sequels and a TV series. | tt0074174 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Jackie Earle Haley, Alfred W. Lutter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bad News Bears | 2005 | Richard Linklater | ★★ | 113 | Indolent, beer-guzzling exterminator (and ex-ball player) takes the job of coaching a woebegone Little League baseball team. Lackluster remake of the 1976 comedy goes through the motions, and uses foul language just as the first film did, but hasn't any zest or originality; even the reuse of themes from Carmen falls flat. Bill Lancaster's vintage script was adapted by the BAD SANTA team, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. | tt0408524 | [PG-13] | Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden, Sammi Kane Kraft, Jeffrey Davies, Timmy Deters, Brandon Craggs, Tyler Patrick Jones | Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Bad Santa | 2003 | Terry Zwigoff | ★★★ | 91 | Outrageous, flagrantly foulmouthed black comedy about a self-loathing reprobate who works as a department store Santa with a conniving African-American 'elf' who masterminds a series of robberies. Thornton's life reaches a crossroads when he encounters a hapless, isolated kid who truly believes in Santa. Provocative look at the seamiest Santa who ever lived is audaciously funny, but definitely not for all tastes. Dedicated to the late Ritter, who's very funny as an uptight store manager. Cloris Leachman appears unbilled. Unrated version available on DVD. | tt0307987 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Tony Cox, Brett Kelly, Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Bernie Mac, John Ritter, Ajay Naidu | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Bad Seed | 1956 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 129 | Stagy but spellbinding account of malicious child McCormack whose inherited evil 'causes' deaths of several people. Fine performances; Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play was adapted by John Lee Mahin, with Kelly, McCormack, Jones, and Heckart recreating their stage roles. The corny 'Hollywoodized' postscript is often cut but remains intact on the videocassette. Remade for TV in 1985. McCormack later played a bad seed grown up in MOMMY. | tt0048977 | Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden, William Hopper | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bad Sister | 1931 | Hobart Henley. | ★★ | 71 | City slicker Bogart seduces small-town girl Fox to swindle her wealthy father in this stilted early-talkie melodrama. Davis, in her film debut, is wasted in the third screen version of Booth Tarkington's The Flirt. | tt0021636 | Conrad Nagel, Sidney Fox, Bette Davis, ZaSu Pitts, Slim Summerville, Charles Winninger, Emma Dunn, Humphrey Bogart, Bert Roach, David Durand. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bad Sleep Well | 1960 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 135 | Kurosawa effectively captures the spirit of 1940s Warner Bros. crime dramas in this engrossing tale of rising executive Mifune and corruption in the corporate world. Actually, it's a variation on Hamlet. Original version runs 151m. | tt0054460 | Toshiro Mifune, Takeshi Kato, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Akira Nishimura | Japanese | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bad Taste | 1988 | Peter Jackson | ★★½ | 90 | Title is absolutely accurate in describing this gory comedy about callous alien fast-food entrepreneurs, here to harvest humanity, and battling it out with government hit squad. Quirky, fragmented direction matches subject matter and acting styles. Director Jackson also acted, wrote, edited, produced, and did the uneven but occasionally excellent makeup. A cult hit worldwide. | tt0092610 | Peter Jackson, Pete O'Herne, Mike Minett, Terry Potter, Craig Smith, Doug Wren, Dean Lawrie | New Zealand | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Bad Teacher | 2011 | Jake Kasdan | ★★ | 92 | Sleazy, unmotivated schoolteacher Diaz can’t quit because her fiancé gets wise to her gold-digging ways and dumps her . . . so she faces another year at a job she has no use for. She sets her sights on a new substitute teacher (Timberlake) because he comes from a wealthy family, and she wants to buy herself a new pair of breasts. Heavy-handed, obvious (and crass) comedy paints every adult as a clueless idiot and has all the actors mug like crazy—except Diaz and gym teacher Segel—which would be OK if the film were funny. It isn’t. | tt1284575 | [R] | Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, Phyllis Smith, Thomas Lennon, Molly Shannon, Eric Stonestreet, Dave (Gruber) Allen, Stephanie Faracy, David Paymer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession | 1980 | Nicolas Roeg. | ★★★½ | 129 | Mesmerizing melodrama triumphs over badly miscast male leads and occasional pretentiousness. Roeg's kinetic style brings the necessary passion to oddball story of a psychiatrist sexually engulfed by a self-destructive tramp. Russell is simply great, as is knockout background music from The Who, Keith Jarrett, and Billie Holiday. | tt0080408 | [R] | Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, Denholm Elliott, Daniel Massey. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Bad and the Beautiful | 1952 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★½ | 118 | Captivating Hollywood story of ambitious producer (Douglas) told via relationships with actress Turner, writer Powell, director Sullivan. Solid, insightful, witty, with Lana's best performance ever. Five Oscars include Supporting Actress (Grahame), Screenplay (Charles Schnee). David Raksin's wonderful score is another asset. Minnelli and Douglas followed this a decade later with TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044391 | Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, Dick Powell, Gloria Grahame, Barry Sullivan, Walter Pidgeon, Gilbert Roland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Badge 373 | 1973 | Howard W. Koch | ★½ | 116 | Very minor follow-up to THE FRENCH CONNECTION. Policeman Duvall tries to fight crime syndicate single-handedly in N.Y.C. Dull. | tt0069761 | [R] | Robert Duvall, Verna Bloom, Henry Darrow, Eddie Egan, Felipe Luciano, Tina Christiana | Crime | NULL | ||
| Badge of the Assassin | 1985 | Mel Damski | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Bristling police drama about real-life Manhattan assistant D.A. who directed campaign to locate a pair of cop killers of the '70s. Based by Lawrence Roman on the best-seller by Robert K. Tanenbaum (played with nervous intensity by Woods) and Philip Rosenberg. | tt0088767 | James Woods, Yaphet Kotto, Alex Rocco, David Harris, Steven Keats, Larry Riley, Pam Grier, Rae Dawn Chong, Richard Bradford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Badlanders | 1958 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 83 | Nicely handled reworking of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, set in 1898 Arizona, with ex-cons Ladd and Borgnine forming bond and becoming involved in gold robbery. | tt0051393 | Alan Ladd, Ernest Borgnine, Katy Jurado, Claire Kelly, Kent Smith, Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Emhardt | Western | NULL | |||
| Badlands | 1973 | Terrence Malick | ★★½ | 95 | Stark, moody, moderately successful thriller inspired by the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree in the '50s. Well-cast film has cult following. | tt0069762 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri, Alan Vint | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Badlands of Dakota | 1941 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 74 | Brothers Crawford and Stack fight over Rutherford, while Wild Bill Hickok (Dix) does fighting of another kind. | tt0033370 | Robert Stack, Ann Rutherford, Richard Dix, Frances Farmer, Broderick Crawford, Hugh Herbert | Western | NULL | |||
| Badlands of Montana | 1957 | Daniel B. Ullman. | ★½ | 75 | Unimaginative oater leading up to inevitable climax of former buddies, sheriff and gunslinger, having shoot-out. | tt0050159 | Rex Reason, Beverly Garland, Keith Larsen, Jack Kruschen. | Western | NULL | |||
| Badman's Country | 1958 | Fred F. Sears | ★★½ | 68 | Fictionalized Western history with name-dropping cast of characters. Sheriff Pat Garrett (Montgomery) joins with Wyatt Earp (Crabbe) and Buffalo Bill (Atterbury) for showdown with Butch Cassidy (Brand). | tt0051394 | George Montgomery, Buster Crabbe, Neville Brand, Malcolm Atterbury | Western | NULL | |||
| Badman's Territory | 1946 | Tim Whelan | ★★★ | 97 | Solid Western in which a sheriff (Scott, at his stalwart best) is forced to ride into an outlaws' haven, setting off nonstop fireworks. Rich characterizations, with Hayes fun as the Coyote Kid. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038321 | Randolph Scott, Ann Richards, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Ray Collins, James Warren, Morgan Conway, Virginia Sale, Chief Thundercloud, Lawrence Tierney, Steve Brodie, Isabel Jewell | Western | NULL | |||
| Bagdad | 1949 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 82 | Costume hijinks with O'Hara fetching if not believable as native chieftain's daughter seeking revenge for father's death in old Turkey. | tt0041149 | Maureen O'Hara, Paul Christian, Vincent Price, John Sutton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bagdad Cafe | 1988 | Percy Adlon | ★★½ | 108 | Nearly plotless charmer from the director and star of SUGARBABY has Sägebrecht stranded in the California desert, making friends with the kooky folks who hang out at Pounder's roadside cafe. Palance provides a special treat portraying an ex-Hollywood set decorator who becomes obsessed with painting Sägebrecht's portrait. German version runs 20m. longer. Later a TV series. | tt0095801 | [PG] | Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance, Christine Kaufmann, Monica Calhoun, Darron Flagg | West German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Bahama Passage | 1941 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 83 | Scenery is chief asset of routine tale of lovely Madeleine meeting handsome Sterling in beautiful Bahamas, with much hamming by Carroll and Robson. The stars later married in real life. | tt0033372 | Madeleine Carroll, Sterling Hayden, Flora Robson, Leo G. Carroll, Mary Anderson | Romance | NULL | |||
| Bailout at 43,000 | 1957 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 78 | Dilemma of Air Force pilot Payne whose relief at not having to test new safety device is outweighed by coward-guilt complex. Routine material is not enhanced by flight sequences or romantic relief. | tt0050160 | John Payne, Karen Steele, Paul Kelly, Richard Eyer, Constance Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bait | 1954 | Hugo Haas | ★½ | 79 | A mining-camp ménage à trois. Heavy-handed Haas at his worst, despite intriguing pre-credit prologue with Cedric Hardwicke as the Devil. | tt0046743 | Cleo Moore, Hugo Haas, John Agar, Emmett Lynn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bait | 2000 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★ | 119 | Woefully overlong boilerplate urban comedy. A small-time crook is surgically implanted with a tracking device that the Feds think will lead them to hoods who've plundered $42 million in gold. A real mishmash, despite occasionally amusing comic shtick by Foxx, with an ugly climax involving a bomb-threatened baby. Drawing a cinematic-to-culinary correlation, film's title is extremely well chosen. | tt0211938 | [R] | Jamie Foxx, David Morse, Kimberly Elise, Doug Hutchison, Robert Pastorelli, David Paymer, Jamie Kennedy, Mike Epps | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Baja Oklahoma | 1988 | Bobby Roth | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Lively adaptation of Dan Jenkins' funny novel of a smalltown Texas barmaid who is juggling her dreams of becoming a songwriter with her rocky romances. Loaded with local color and music stars like Billy Vera (of Billy and the Beaters), Willie Nelson (who cowrote the title song with Jenkins), Emmylou Harris, Bob Wills, Jr. (as his dad), plus South African actress Alice Krige as Patsy Cline. Written by Jenkins and director Roth. Made for cable, but also briefly released to theaters. | tt0094704 | Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Coyote, Swoosie Kurtz, Billy Vera, Anthony Zerbe, William Forsythe, Julia Roberts, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Alice Krige, Bob Wills/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baker's Hawk | 1976 | Lyman D. Dayton | ★★★ | 98 | Fine family drama about young boy (Montgomery) who befriends hermitlike Ives, and comes of age as he participates in parents' struggle against vigilante forces. Beautifully filmed on location in Utah. | tt0074176 | [G] | Clint Walker, Burl Ives, Diane Baker, Lee H. Montgomery, Alan Young, Taylor Lacher | Western | NULL | ||
| The Baker's Wife | 1938 | Marcel Pagnol | ★★★½ | 124 | Abandoned by his wife for a shepherd, baker Raimu is unable to function; villagers, who love his bread as much as he loves his wife, bring back the wayward woman. Hilarious. | tt0030127 | Raimu, Ginette Leclerc, Charles Moulin, Robert Vattier, Robert Brassac, Charpin | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Balalaika | 1939 | Reinhold Schunzel | ★★ | 102 | Plodding operetta of Russian revolution with little to recommend it. | tt0031074 | Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Charles Ruggles, Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, George Tobias | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Balcony | 1963 | Joseph Strick | ★★ | 84 | Low-budget, none-too-successful attempt to adapt Jean Genet play to the screen, with Winters as madam who maintains her brothel during a revolution. Grant stands out as Winters' lesbian confidante. | tt0056847 | Shelley Winters, Peter Falk, Lee Grant, Ruby Dee, Peter Brocco, Kent Smith, Jeff Corey, Leonard Nimoy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ball of Fire | 1941 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 111 | Burlesque dancer moves in with eight prissy professors (led by Cooper) to explain 'slang' for their new encyclopedia; delightful twist on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by screenwriters Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. Remade (by same director) as A SONG IS BORN. | tt0033373 | Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oscar Homolka, Dana Andrews, Dan Duryea, S. Z. Sakall, Richard Haydn, Henry Travers, Tully Marshall, Gene Krupa | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Ballad of Cable Hogue | 1970 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★ | 121 | Peckinpah's lyrical, wholly enjoyable fable of loner who builds a life for himself in remote part of the Old West. Stevens has one of her best roles as whore who joins Cable Hogue in quest for the good life. Overlong. | tt0065446 | [R] | Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin, Slim Pickens, L. Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez | 1982 | Robert M. Young | ★★½ | 99 | True story, told from several points of view, of 1901 incident in which a young Mexican killed an American sheriff, then managed to elude a 600-man posse for nearly two weeks! Authentic to the core— almost like being in a time capsule, in fact— but too subdued, especially in its portrayal of Cortez, whose plight isn't fully explained until the end of the film. A PBS American Playhouse presentation. | tt0083613 | [PG] | Edward James Olmos, James Gammon, Tom Bower, Bruce McGill, Brion James, Alan Vint, Rosana DeSoto, Pepe Serna, William Sanderson, Barry Corbin, Tim Scott | Crime, Drama, Western, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Ballad of Jack and Rose | 2005 | Rebecca Miller. | ★½ | 111 | Pretentious claptrap about an aging hippie environmentalist who lives in isolation on an island off the East Coast of the U.S. with his teenage daughter. He's dying of heart disease and she's about to come of age, having lived a sheltered, idyllic life; this prompts him to ask his current companion (Keener) to move in with them, her two teenage sons in tow. Attempt at an ethereal fable is clunky from the word go, despite the presence of such solid actors as Day-Lewis, husband of the film's writer-director. | tt0357110 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Camilla Belle, Catherine Keener, Paul Dano, Ryan McDonald, Jena Malone, Jason Lee, Beau Bridges. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ballad of Josie | 1967 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 102 | Uninspired Western spoof with widow Day running a ranch and trying to lead the good life. | tt0061380 | Doris Day, Peter Graves, George Kennedy, Andy Devine, William Talman, David Hartman, Don Stroud | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Ballad of Little Jo | 1993 | Maggie Greenwald | ★★★ | 120 | Fascinating tale of a genteel young woman in 1866 who, disgraced by having a child out of wedlock, flees to the American West and quickly learns that the only way to survive on her own is to pretend that she's a man. Writer-director Greenwald hits all the right notes in this convincing and well-crafted piece of fiction (inspired by a real-life woman), with a first-rate cast making the most of every incident. Amis is a revelation in the leading role. Flavorful music score composed and performed by David Mansfield. | tt0106350 | [R] | Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen, David Chung, Carrie Snodgress, Rene Auberjonois, Heather Graham, Sam Robards, Ruth Malaczech, Anthony Heald, Melissa Leo | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack | 2000 | Aiyana Elliott | ★★★ | 112 | Son of a Jewish doctor, Ramblin' Jack Elliott left home to befriend and follow Woody Guthrie, eventually becoming a folk music legend himself. Engrossing documentary directed by his somewhat estranged daughter in an honest, unsentimental style. Ultimately, the truth of the chronically footloose Elliott remains elusive. Among those appearing: Arlo Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson, Pete Seeger, Odetta and Alan Lomax. | tt0236008 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Ballad of Tam Lin | Tam Lin | 1971 | Roddy McDowall | ★★ | 107 | A wealthy, beautiful woman gathers hedonistic young people around her— and seeks to control their destinies. Based (believe it or not) on a Robert Burns poem, reset in England in the Swingin' Sixties. McDowall's only directorial effort is ambitious and unusual, but unsatisfying. Shot in 1969, recut and released under various titles including TAM LIN and THE DEVIL'S WIDOW. | tt0067822 | [PG] | Ava Gardner, Ian McShane, Stephanie Beacham, Cyril Cusack, Richard Wattis, Sinead Cusack, Joanna Lumley | Horror | NULL | |
| Ballad of a Soldier | 1959 | Grigori Chukrai | ★★★ | 89 | Effectively simple, poetic love story chronicling the plight of Russian soldier who falls in love with country girl while on leave during WW2. Works both as a romantic drama and an allegory about the sadness and stupidity of war. | tt0052600 | Vladimir Ivashov, Shanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maximova, Nikolai Kruchkov | Russian | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| The Ballad of the Sad Cafe | 1991 | Simon Callow | ★½ | 101 | Truly odd stab at filming Depression-era tale of Southerner Redgrave, a loner who rules rural hamlet like a despot— until hunchback Hubbert and ex-con husband Carradine appear. Far too theatrical in its look, tone, and pacing; Redgrave's performance may interest drama students, but nothing in film really works. Based on Carson McCullers' novella (and its stage adaptation by Edward Albee). Film directing debut of British actor/stage director Callow. | tt0101404 | Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Rod Steiger, Cork Hubbert, Austin Pendleton, Beth Dixon, Lanny Flaherty | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ballast | 2008 | Lance Hammer | ★★★ | 94 | A man's sudden suicide numbs his morose twin brother (Smith), his soon-to-be jobless widow (Riggs), and particularly his teenage druggie son (Ross). The bitter survivors reluctantly bond as a family to save their rural convenience store. Chilly, naturalistic indie doesn't have a single note of music or a smile in it, but it's got heart and a faint hope. Written and edited by the director, who shot it in Mississippi with a cast of mostly local non-pros. | tt1153690 | Unrated | Michael J. Smith, Sr., JimMyron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail, Sam Dobbins, Albert Jay Levy, Dr. Sanjib Shrestha, Zachary Coleman, Anita R. Ballard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ballets Russes | 2005 | Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine | ★★★½ | 118 | Irresistible documentary traces the rise and fall of a Russian-inspired troupe that introduced many Americans to dance in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s and launched a number of great careers. It also chronicles the creation of a rival company and the economic forces that eventually brought an end to these colorful enterprises. The dancers who appear on camera (most of them in their 80s and 90s) to recall their glory days are remarkably colorful and charismatic, making this film a treat even if you have no particular interest in ballet. | tt0436095 |
|
Documentary, History | NULL | |||
| Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever | 2002 | Kaos (Wych Kaosayananda) | 💣 | 91 | Idiotic action film boasts what may be the worst movie title ever coined. Banderas plays an ex-FBI agent still mourning the death of his wife after seven years; his former boss recruits him for a kidnapping case by telling him his wife is still alive, and the kidnapper can lead him to her. But even that sliver of logic dissolves as the story unfolds. Only devotees of cars exploding into fireballs will find any value here. | tt0308208 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu, Gregg Henry, Ray Park, Talisa Soto, Miguel Sandoval | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Balls of Fury | 2007 | Robert Ben Garant | 💣 | 90 | Inane one-joke comedy about a has-been Ping-Pong champ enlisted for an undercover FBI mission in which his table-tennis skills are required to capture an Asian archvillain (Walken, in Fu Manchu mode). Every bit as stupid as it sounds. Fogler hams it up, while Hong, as the blind Mr. Miyagi–like mentor, steals every scene he’s in, but, alas, it’s petty theft. | tt0424823 | [PG-13] | Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, James Hong, Terry Crews, Robert Patrick, Diedrich Bader, Aisha Tyler, Jason Scott Lee, Thomas Lennon, Patton Oswalt, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, David Koechner, Kerri Kenney-Silver | Action, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Baltimore Bullet | 1980 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★½ | 103 | Pleasant enough film about major-league pool hustlers Coburn and Boxleitner, and their buildup to a high noon showdown with smoothie Sharif. | tt0080412 | [PG] | James Coburn, Omar Sharif, Bruce Boxleitner, Ronee Blakley, Jack O'Halloran, Calvin Lockhart | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Balto | 1995 | Simon Wells | ★★½ | 77 | Loosely based on a true story of the 1920s, Balto is a half-dog, half-wolf who overcomes his outcast past to guide a sled carrying urgent medical supplies to a town full of sick children in Alaska. Wholesome, lovingly told, and well animated, this offers humor, romance, villainy, warmth, and gives its young viewers something to think about. You could do a lot worse. Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0112453 | [G] | Voices of Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins, Miriam Margolyes, Lola Bates-Campbell | Family, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Bambi | 1942 | David Hand | ★★★★ | 69 | Walt Disney's moving and exquisitely detailed animated feature about a deer, and how the phases of its life parallel the cycle of seasons in the forest. An extraordinary achievement, with the memorably endearing character of Thumper stealing every scene he's in. | tt0034492 | Animation, Family, Drama | NULL | ||||
| Bambole! | Four Kinds of Love | 1965 | Dino Risi | ★★ | 111 | Quartet of stories on Italian life that never sparkles. 'The Phone Call,' 'Treatise on Eugenics,' 'The Soup,' 'Monsignor Cupid.' Retitled: FOUR KINDS OF LOVE. | tt0058938 | Luigi Comencini, Franco Rossi, Mauro Bolognini, Virna Lisi, Nino Manfredi, Elke Sommer, Monica Vitti, Gina Lollobrigida, Akim Tamiroff, Jean Sorel | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Bamboo Blonde | 1946 | Anthony Mann. | ★★ | 68 | Before embarking on his series of stylish film noirs and rugged Westerns, Mann toiled on this piece of musical fluff. Langford plays a nightclub singer who has a brief fling with a B-29 pilot; the crew paints her picture on their plane and she achieves fame as they become the hottest outfit in the Air Corps. | tt0038324 | Frances Langford, Ralph Edwards, Russell Wade, Iris Adrian, Richard Martin, Jane Greer, Glenn Vernon, Paul Harvey. | Romance, Musical, War | NULL | |||
| The Bamboo Prison | 1954 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 80 | Superficial handling of loyal American soldier Francis posing as informer in North Korean P.O.W. camp to outwit enemy. | tt0046746 | Robert Francis, Dianne Foster, Brian Keith, Jerome Courtland, E.G. Marshall, Earle Hyman | War | NULL | |||
| The Bamboo Saucer | Collision Course | 1968 | Frank Telford | ★★½ | 100 | Better-than-average low-budget sci-fier about American and USSR teams investigating a UFO spotting in mainland China. Nettleton's tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a Russian scientist aids considerably. Duryea's last film. Aka COLLISION COURSE. | tt0062704 | [PG] | Dan Duryea, John Ericson, Lois Nettleton, Nan Leslie, Bob Hastings | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Bamboozled | 2000 | Spike Lee | ★★ | 135 | Heavy-handed satire has eccentric TV producer Wayans pitching a deliberately offensive idea— a minstrel show for the millennium starring characters named Mantan and Sleep 'N Eat— hoping to be fired from his network. Instead, the idea takes on a life of its own. Only the vibrant performances of Glover and Davidson make this endless polemic endurable. Several celebrities appear in cameos. | tt0215545 | [R] | Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Paul Mooney, Sarah Jones, Mos Def | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Banana Peel | 1964 | Marcel Ophüls | ★★★ | 97 | Rogues cheat millionaire out of a small fortune in this engaging comedy. | tt0057405 | Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Gert Frobe | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bananas | 1971 | Woody Allen | ★★★★ | 82 | Hilarious; the usual assortment of good jokes, bad jokes, bizarre ideas built around unlikely premise of Woody becoming involved in revolution south of the border. Funny score by Marvin Hamlisch; look for Sylvester Stallone as hoodlum, Allen Garfield as man on cross. | tt0066808 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalban, Howard Cosell, Rene Enriquez, Charlotte Rae, Conrad Bain | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Bananas Boat | What Changed Charley Farthing | 1974 | Sidney Hayers | 💣 | 82 | Heavy-handed farce about young boob's attempts to escape from troubled banana republic by piloting boat out of its harbor. Originally titled WHAT CHANGED CHARLEY FARTHING, running time 101m. | tt0071190 | Doug McClure, Hayley Mills, Lionel Jeffries, Warren Mitchell, Dilys Hamlett | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Band Plays On | 1934 | Russell Mack. | ★★ | 87 | Inconsequential college football yarn about four juvenile delinquents who are sent to a gridiron coach for counseling. He teaches them about honesty, teamwork, etc., and they grow up to make him proud. MGM production gloss makes it watchable, but it's instantly forgettable. | tt0024862 | Robert Young, Stuart Erwin, Leo Carrillo, Betty Furness, Ted Healy, Preston Foster, Russell Hardie. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Band Wagon | 1953 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★★ | 112 | Sophisticated backstage musical improves with each viewing. Astaire plays a 'washed-up' movie star who tries his luck on Broadway, under the direction of maniacal genius Buchanan. Musical highlights include 'Dancing in the Dark,' 'Shine on Your Shoes,' and 'That's Entertainment' (all by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz) and Astaire's Mickey Spillane spoof 'The Girl Hunt.' | tt0045537 | Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Band of Angels | 1957 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 127 | Flat costume epic from Robert Penn Warren's Civil War novel; Gable is Southern gentleman with shady past, in love with high-toned De Carlo who discovers she has Negro ancestors. Poitier is resolute educated slave. | tt0050166 | Clark Gable, Yvonne De Carlo, Sidney Poitier, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Patric Knowles | Drama | NULL | |||
| Band of Outsiders | 1964 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 97 | Karina enlists the aid of two male hoods to swipe her aunt's stash, but as usual the supposed plot is only a jumping-off point for Godard's commentary on Hollywood melodramas and other 20th-century artifacts. Among the more entertaining of the director's output; looks delightfully mellow today. | tt0057869 | Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur, Louisa Colpeyn | French | Crime | NULL | ||
| Band of the Hand | 1986 | Paul Michael Glaser | 💣 | 109 | Five Miami punks are whipped into shape by a Vietnam vet, then form a vigilante unit to wipe out drug dealers. Moronic, way overlong junk from the creators of Miami Vice; Bob Dylan (why, Bob?) sings the title tune. | tt0090693 | [R] | Stephen Lang, Michael Carmine, Lauren Holly, John Cameron Mitchell, James Remar, Gerrit Graham | Action | NULL | ||
| Bandidas | 2005 | Joachim Roenning, Espen Sandberg | ★★½ | 92 | In turn-of-the-century Mexico, farmhand Cruz and rich girl Hayek join forces as amateur outlaws when evil gringo Yoakam shoots their dads and grabs their lands. Light and full of action but not very funny; a pratfall-heavy EuroWestern, cowritten and coproduced by Luc Besson. Shepard cameos amusingly as the ladies' mentor in bank-robber protocol. Zahn, as the criminologist tracking the bosomy desperados, boasts the only nudity. | tt0416496 | [PG-13] | Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Denis Arndt, Audra Blaser, Sam Shepard | U.S.-French-Mexican | Action, Comedy, Crime, Western | NULL | |
| Bandido | 1956 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 92 | Mitchum is gun supplier who tries to play both sides during 1916 Mexican rebellion; constant action, endless cat-and-mouse twists with rival Scott keep this one humming. | tt0048983 | Robert Mitchum, Zachary Scott, Ursula Thiess, Gilbert Roland, Rodolfo Acosta | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| Bandido | 2004 | Roger Christian. | ★½ | 99 | English-language film made in the spirit of EL MARIACHI by the coproducer and star of that 1992 film. Here, Gallardo plays Maximiliano Cruz (aka Bandido), a master thief coerced by the CIA to retrieve a classified computer disk from the lair of a Mexican underworld czar. Also along for the ride is tough ally Everhart; La Salvia is evil Coates' stunning wife, and prone to sumptuous milk baths. There's gunplay, stunts, music, and titillation, but little sense. Bandidon't. | tt0297012 | [R] | Carlos Gallardo, Angie Everhart, Matt Craven, Kim Coates, Ana La Salvia, Karyme Lozano. | Mexican-U.S. | Action, Romance, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Bandit Queen | 1994 | Shekhar Kapur | ★★★ | 119 | Action-packed, fact-based adventure/drama/character study of the notorious female Indian outlaw Phoolan Devi (Biswas), who emerged from a life of poverty and ritual brutalization to be charged with numerous kidnappings, robberies, and killings. Yet she remains beloved by many of her country's poor as a Robin Hood-like legend. The film was as controversial as its subject; while based in part on diaries authored by Devi while in jail, she eventually repudiated the material. | tt0109206 | Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Manoj Bajpai, Rajesh Vivek, Raghuvir Yadav, Govind Namdeo | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bandit of Sherwood Forest | 1946 | George Sherman, Henry Levin | ★★½ | 86 | Colorful but standard swashbuckler with Wilde as son of Robin Hood carrying on in faithful tradition with the Merry Men. | tt0038326 | Cornel Wilde, Anita Louise, Jill Esmond, Edgar Buchanan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Bandit of Zhobe | 1959 | John Gilling | ★★½ | 80 | Moderate actioner set in 19th-century India with Mature as native chief turned outlaw combatting the British. | tt0052601 | Victor Mature, Anthony Newley, Norman Wooland, Anne Aubrey, Walter Gotell, Sean Kelly | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Bandits | Attention Bandits | 1986 | Claude Lelouch | ★★ | 98 | Yanne is a criminal, just released from prison, who's out to revenge his wife's murder and become reunited with daughter Marie-Sophie L. (director Lelouch's real-life wife). Sentimental drama downplays the thrills in favor of a nostalgic approach similar to Lelouch's superior HAPPY NEW YEAR, in which Gerard played virtually an identical sidekick role. Striking widescreen photography suffers on TV. | tt0090671 | Jean Yanne, Marie-Sophie L., Patrick Bruel, Corinne Marchand, Charles Gerard | French |
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| Bandits | 2001 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 123 | Film tells in flashback the story of two escaped convicts who become successful bank robbers, but have their lives complicated when a woman joins their roving band. Lighthearted comedy caper is a great vehicle for its three stars, and a fine showcase for Garity (son of Jane Fonda), but it becomes needlessly complicated and goes on far too long. Willis' real-life daughters play a bank manager's kids. | tt0219965 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garity, Brian F. O'Byrne, Bobby Slayton, January Jones, Stacey Travis, Azura Skye | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bandits of Corsica | 1953 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 81 | Pat costumer with Greene championing cause of the righteous. | tt0045539 | Richard Greene, Paula Raymond, Raymond Burr, Lee Van Cleef | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Bandits | 1967 | Robert Conrad, Alfredo Zacharias | ★★ | 89 | Ordinary Western about three cowboys, saved from the hangman's noose, who accompany their Mexican rescuer on various adventures south of the border. Unreleased here until 1979. | tt0061382 | Robert Conrad, Jan-Michael Vincent, Roy Jenson, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Manuel Lopez Ochoa | Mexican | Adventure, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Bandolero! | 1968 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 106 | Jimmy and Dino play outlaw brothers whose gang flees across Mexican border with Raquel as hostage. Not exactly like real life, but nice outdoor photography makes it passable escapism. | tt0062708 | [PG] | James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch, George Kennedy, Andrew Prine, Will Geer | Western | NULL | ||
| Bandslam | 2009 | Todd Graff | ★★½ | 111 | Bright teen comedy is better than you'd expect considering its generic title. Story revolves around a group of outcast kids putting together a rock group and entering a battle of the bands. Movie gets its zip and fresh-faced appeal from Connell, who plays the lead with a charming verve and originality missing from most formulaic teen movies. The music isn't half bad either. Writer-director Graff revealed his simpatico for offbeat kid culture in his debut film, CAMP. | tt0976222 | [PG] | Aly Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelan Connell, Scott Porter, Ryan Donawho, Lisa Kudrow, Charlie Saxton, Tim Jo | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Band’s Visit | 2007 | Eran Kolirin | ★★★ | 87 | Imperial Egyptian police band arrives in Israel to perform at an Arab cultural center and promptly gets lost. Stranded overnight in a remote desert town, the band members and even their stiff, formal leader (Gabai) socialize with the locals. Disarming minimalist comedy brings to mind such Czech New Wave films as THE FIREMEN’S BALL as it explores cultural differences with deftness and charm. Feature debut for writer-director Kolirin. | tt1032856 | [PG-13] | Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour, Imad Jabarin, Tarak Kopty | Israeli-French-U.S. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Bang | 1997 | Ash | ★★★ | 98 | A desperate, unemployed actress (Narita) finds personal meaning and empowerment when she masquerades as a policewoman for a day. She also gets much more than she bargains for. Provocative look at L.A. on the brink. Film's shoestring budget and handheld camera work to brutally powerful effect despite uneven performances. | tt0109266 | Darling Narita, Peter Greene, Michael Newland, Luis Guzar, Lucy Liu | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bang the Drum Slowly | 1973 | John Hancock | ★★★½ | 97 | Touching study of two professional baseball players on fictional N.Y. team drawn to each other under unusual circumstances. Outstanding performances by two leads (Moriarty as hustling star pitcher, De Niro as simpleton catcher) in slightly longish, episodic script. Screenplay by Mark Harris, based on his 1956 novel; first dramatized on TV, with Paul Newman. Aiello's film debut. | tt0069765 | [PG] | Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Ann Wedgeworth, Patrick McVey, Heather MacRae, Selma Diamond, Barbara Babcock, Tom Ligon, Nicolas Surovy, Danny Aiello | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bang, Bang, You're Dead! | 1966 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 92 | Unsuspecting Randall gets involved with Moroccan gangsters in OK spoof; good location shooting. Shown on TV as BANG BANG! | tt0060148 | Tony Randall, Senta Berger, Terry-Thomas, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Banger Sisters | 2002 | Bob Dolman | ★★½ | 98 | Onetime rock groupie who's never quite grown up goes to visit her friend and partner in crime, whom she hasn't seen in 20 years, only to find her transformed into a model wife, mother, and civic leader. Entertaining fluff is a good vehicle for Hawn and Sarandon, but can't stand up to any real scrutiny. Hawn's character makes an interesting bookend to daughter Kate Hudson's role in ALMOST FAMOUS. Amurri is Sarandon's real-life daughter. Written by the director. | tt0280460 | [R] | Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Rush, Robin Thomas, Erika Christensen, Eva Amurri | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bangkok Dangerous | 2008 | The Pang Brothers | 💣 | 99 | Unwisely choosing to remake their own 1999 Hong Kong success, the Pang Brothers drop the ball in this uninspired, incomprehensible rehash about an anonymous hit man sent to Thailand, where he teams up with an impressionable young man and falls for a local deaf girl. Typical lowbrow action merges uncomfortably with awkward romantic subplot. Cage is out of his element in this Pang-ful misfire. Call it BANGKOK BORING. | tt0814022 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Shahkrit Yamnarm, Charlie Young, Panward Hemmanee, Nirattisai Kaljaruek, Dom Hetrakul | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Banjo | 1947 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 67 | Warm little girl-and-her-dog tale, with young Moffett as a Southern orphan who loses her beloved pet when she has to move to Boston and live with her snooty aunt. Formula stuff, well handled. | tt0039174 | Sharyn Moffett, Jacqueline White, Walter Reed, Una O'Connor, Herbert Evans, Louise Beavers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Banjo on My Knee | 1936 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 96 | Stanwyck's the whole show in riverboat saga, singing with Martin, dancing with Ebsen, scrapping with Katherine DeMille. | tt0027331 | Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen, Helen Westley, Walter Catlett, Tony Martin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bank Dick | 1940 | Edward F. Cline | ★★★★ | 74 | Classic of insane humor loosely wound about a no-account who becomes a bank guard; Sutton as nitwit prospective son-in-law, Pangborn as bank examiner match the shenanigans of Fields. Screenplay by 'Mahatma Kane Jeeves.' | tt0032234 | W. C. Fields, Cora Witherspoon, Una Merkel, Evelyn Del Rio, Jessie Ralph, Grady Sutton, Franklin Pangborn, Shemp Howard, Russell Hicks, Reed Hadley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bank Job | 2008 | Roger Donaldson | ★★½ | 111 | Tired of just getting by on a series of dodgy schemes, Statham agrees to participate in a daring bank heist engineered by beautiful Burrows—but doesn’t know she’s acting on behalf of British Intelligence, which needs the contents of a particular safe-deposit box. Well-plotted caper inspired by a real-life 1971 incident known in London as the “Walkie-Talkie Robbery,” but as it grows dark and violent it ceases to be fun. | tt0200465 | [R] | Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Richard Lintern, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, Peter Bowles, Keeley Hawes, Colin Salmon, Peter de Jersey, James Faulkner, David Suchet | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Bank Robber | 1993 | Nick Mead | 💣 | 94 | If you want to kill time, this film beats it to death . . . slowly and painfully. Dempsey plays a robber who pulls one last job and ends up hiding out in a seedy hotel where his anonymity comes at a price. Whitaker and Reinhold are 'sensitive' officers looking for him; Bonet plays the good-hearted prostitute who falls for the robber. Video version trimmed for R rating. | tt0106353 | [NC-17] | Patrick Dempsey, Lisa Bonet, Olivia d'Abo, Forest Whitaker, Judge Reinhold, Michael Jeter, Joe Alaskey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bank Shot | 1974 | Gower Champion | ★★★ | 83 | Fast-paced, engagingly nutty comedy with criminal mastermind Scott planning a literal bank robbery— making off with the entire building! Based on the novel by Donald Westlake, a sequel to THE HOT ROCK (with Scott in the role played by Robert Redford in the film version of that book). | tt0071194 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Joanna Cassidy, Sorrell Booke, G. Wood, Clifton James, Bob Balaban, Bibi Osterwald | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bank | 2001 | Robert Connolly | ★★½ | 99 | Brilliant econometrist Wenham believes he's created a computer program that can predict stock-market crashes. LaPaglia is a ruthless bank executive ready to capitalize on anything (or anyone) to make a buck. Aims to be a slick intellectual financial thriller but never finds the right tone or pace, despite an interesting premise and good performances. | tt0241223 | David Wenham, Anthony LaPaglia, Sibylla Budd, Steve Rodgers, Mitchell Butel, Kazuhiro Muroyama | Australian-Italian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bannerline | 1951 | Don Weis | ★★ | 88 | Brasselle is optimistic fledgling reporter who sparks civic pride into town fighting corruption; film marred by typecasting and clichéd plotline. | tt0043317 | Keefe Brasselle, Sally Forrest, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone | Drama | NULL | |||
| Banning | 1967 | Ron Winston | ★★★ | 102 | Entertaining soap opera about corruption and infidelity in and about a swank L.A. golf club. Wagner is the pro with a past, St. John a love-hungry young woman. Music score by Quincy Jones. | tt0061383 | Robert Wagner, Anjanette Comer, Jill St. John, Guy Stockwell, James Farentino, Susan Clark, Howard St. John, Mike Kellin, Gene Hackman, Sean Garrison, Logan Ramsey | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Bar 20 | 1943 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 55 | When Wells Fargo stage is held up, Hopalong Cassidy rescues mother and daughter passengers, then helps save their ranch. Supposedly adapted from the same-named 1907 Clarence E. Mulford novel, story is actually an original coauthored by Michael Wilson. Boasts beautiful Lone Pine scenery and strong cast, though Reeves fails to score as Hoppy's newest youthful saddle pal. | tt0035663 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, George Reeves, Dustin Farnum, Victor Jory, Bob (Robert) Mitchum, Betty Blythe. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bar 20 Justice | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 65 | Setting off for a vacation, Hopalong Cassidy is recalled to aid the widow of a mine owner who's been killed by a neighbor secretly bent on ore theft. Too much time confined in dark gold mine, but vivid personalities of Bar 20 trio shine through. Adapted from 1912 Clarence E. Mulford novel Buck Peters, Ranchman. This O'Brien is not the same-named star of THE FRONT PAGE, et al. | tt0029895 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Gwen Gaze, William Duncan, Pat O'Brien, Paul Sutton, Walter Long. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bar 20 Rides Again | 1935 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★★ | 62 | When frontier neighbor is victim of cattle rustling, Bar 20 boys combat intellectual villain who has a Napoleonic complex, climaxing in exciting pitched battle. Based on Clarence E. Mulford's 1926 same-named novel. Third film in Hopalong Cassidy series was the first to cast Hayes as sidekick 'Windy.' Photography of scenic Lone Pine boulder country is exceptional. Music over credits by Chill Wills and His Avalon Boys. | tt0027332 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, Jean Rouverol, George Hayes, Harry Worth, Frank McGlynn/Jr., Al St. John | Western | NULL | |||
| Bar Girls | 1994 | Marita Giovanni | ★★½ | 95 | Amiable (if flawed) romantic comedy with a twist: all of its major characters are lesbians who congregate at L.A.'s Girl Bar. The main character is obsessive, wryly funny Loretta (Wolfe), a female Woody Allen who is forever seeking a perfect significant other while not quite understanding what it means to truly and completely love another person. The film's shortcomings are compensated for by clever dialogue and believable characters. Adapted for the screen by Lauran Hoffman from her play. | tt0109217 | [R] | Nancy Allison Wolfe, Liza D'Agostino, Camila Griggs, Justine Slater, Lisa Parker, Pam Raines | Drama | NULL | ||
| Barabbas | 1961 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 134 | Lavish production, coupled with good script (based on Lagerkvist's novel) and generally fine acting by large cast make for engrossing, literate experience. Overly long. | tt0055774 | Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, Katy Jurado | Drama | NULL | |||
| Baraka | 1992 | Ron Fricke | ★★★ | 96 | Strikingly visual, insightful National Geographic issue come to life, which tells the story of the evolution of Earth and Mankind, and the manner in which man relates to his environment. Shot on location in 24 countries. There's no dialogue, only sounds and images; this will lose much of its effect on the small screen. | tt0103767 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Baran | 2001 | Majid Majidi | ★★★½ | 94 | Terminal goof-off on a construction crew becomes a man when he experiences love from afar. Abedini is shocked to discover that the Afghanistan refugee he's been mocking is a woman in dire straits— and a pretty one at that. Crowd pleaser with strong, accessible characters also benefits from Majidi's credentials as a visual poet. | tt0233841 | [PG] | Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami | Iranian | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Barb Wire | 1996 | David Hogan | ★★ | 90 | In 2017, the U.S. is run by a fascist dictatorship. Lee is a bounty hunter and nightclub owner living in a city on the fringe of freedom. Her former lover asks her to help him spirit his wife into Canada to help the rebellion. Lots of gaudy but uninvolving action; surly, pneumatic Lee is no actress, just a 15-year-old boy's fantasy figure. Actually rips off the plot of CASABLANCA! Also available in unrated video version. | tt0115624 | [R] | Pamela Anderson Lee, Temuera Morrison, Victoria Rowell, Jack Noseworthy, Steve Railsback | Action | NULL | ||
| Barbarella | 1968 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 98 | Midnight-movie favorite based on popular French comic strip about sexy 41st-century space adventuress. Not especially funny, but watchable, with Fonda's strip-tease during opening credits the principal reason for its cult status. Trivia footnote: rock group Duran Duran took its name from O'Shea's character. Aka BARBARELLA, QUEEN OF THE GALAXY. | tt0062711 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O'Shea, David Hemmings, Marcel Marceau, Claude Dauphin, Ugo Tognazzi | French-Italian | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Barbarian Invasions | Invasion of the Barbarians | 2003 | Denys Arcand | ★★★★ | 99 | Arcand reunites the characters from his 1986 film THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE as they gather to embrace one of their group who is dying. An estranged son flies to his bedside out of a sense of duty, but winds up using his smarts (and money) to help his father through the last phase of his life as peacefully and happily as he can. Arcand's extraordinary script deals with mortality, sexuality, dreams and hopes unfulfilled, the power of money, the erosion of intelligence, and much, much more. A rare film that is both cerebral and emotional; satiric, sophisticated, witty, and profoundly moving. Original Quebec release ran 18m. longer. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt0338135 | [R] | Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze, Marina Hands, Dorothée Berryman, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Dominique Michel, Louise Portal, Yves Jacques, Pierre Curzi | Canadian-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| The Barbarian and the Geisha | 1958 | John Huston | ★★½ | 105 | Twisting of 19th-century history allows Wayne as Ambassador Townsend Harris to romance Japanese beauty (Ando). Miscasting of Wayne is ludicrous, throwing costumer amuck. | tt0051398 | John Wayne, Eiko Ando, Sam Jaffe, So Yamamura | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Barbarian | 1933 | Sam Wood | ★★ | 82 | Overbaked account of sleazy, superficially charming Arab guide Novarro, who persistently pursues tourist Loy. Set in Egypt; lots of Myrna on display here— including a nude bathing scene. Screenplay by Anita Loos and Elmer Harris. | tt0023778 | Ramon Novarro, Myrna Loy, Reginald Denny, Louise Closser Hale, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Arnold, Hedda Hopper | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Barbarians at the Gate | 1993 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Dynamite seriocomedy based on the true story of the leveraged buyout of the giant conglomerate RJR-Nabisco in the greedy '80s. Scripter Larry Gelbart and director Jordan amazingly turn corporate and financial politics into the stuff of great entertainment. Garner is ideal as F. Ross Johnson, the salesman/charmer who bites off more than he can chew. Based on the best-selling book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. | tt0106356 | James Garner, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Riegert, Joanna Cassidy, Fred Dalton Thompson, Leilani Ferrer, Matt Clark, Jeffrey DeMunn, David Rasche, Tom Aldredge, Graham Beckel, Peter Dvorsky, Peter Frechette, Rita Wilson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Barbarians | 1987 | Ruggero Deodato | ★½ | 87 | Staggeringly silly sword-and-sorcery saga starring two awesome-looking bodybuilders (brothers in real life), whose main achievement is keeping a straight face while mouthing their dialogue. | tt0092615 | [R] | David Paul, Peter Paul, Richard Lynch, Eva La Rue, Virginia Bryant, Sheeba Alahani, Michael Berryman | Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, The, Part II | Boggy Creek II | 1985 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★ | 91 | Slight, forgettable story of anthropology professor Pierce, who leads an expedition to find the Boggy Creek monster. Although titled 'Part II,' this is the third journey to Boggy Creek, following THE LEGEND OF . . . and RETURN TO . . . Filmed in 1983. Formerly titled BOGGY CREEK II. | tt0088772 | [PG] | Charles B. Pierce, Cindy Butler, Serene Hedin, Chuck Pierce, Jimmy Clem | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Barbarosa | 1982 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★ | 90 | Nelson is fine as legendary, free-spirited outlaw constantly on the lam, with able support from Busey as country boy who becomes his protégé. Solid Western, flavorfully directed by Schepisi. | tt0083619 | [PG] | Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Isela Vega, Gilbert Roland, Danny De La Paz, George Voskovec | Western | NULL | ||
| Barbary Coast | 1935 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 90 | Lusty tale of San Francisco in the late 19th century with dance-hall queen Hopkins running head-on into big-shot Robinson. David Niven can be glimpsed as an extra. | tt0026097 | Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea, Walter Brennan, Frank Craven, Brian Donlevy | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Barbary Coast Gent | 1944 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 87 | Typical Beery vehicle, with good supporting cast, about smooth-talking bandit who goes straight. | tt0036625 | Wallace Beery, Binnie Barnes, John Carradine, Noah Beery/Sr., Frances Rafferty, Chill Wills, Donald Meek | Western | NULL | |||
| Barbed Wire | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 61 | Cattle buyer Autry runs into trouble between cattlemen and homesteaders being stirred up by Penn, who is waiting to take advantage of a coming railroad. Standard entry for Gene, with good slugfest between him and Moore. Watch for Stuart Whitman. | tt0044396 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Anne James, William Fawcett, Leonard Penn, Michael Vallon, Clayton Moore, Eddie Parker. | Western | NULL | |||
| Barbershop | 2002 | Tim Story | ★★★ | 102 | Entertaining comedy about a neighborhood Chicago barbershop, which Ice Cube has inherited from his father; the burden of running this threadbare business puts a crimp in his dreams, but he begins to change his mind after one eventful day in the shop, which serves as a community gathering place. Canny screenplay manages to embrace many points of view, which counterbalances its sentimentality— and overlength. Followed by a sequel, and a spinoff, BEAUTY SHOP. | tt0303714 | [PG-13] | *** Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Keith David | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Barbershop 2: Back in Business | 2004 | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | ★★½ | 98 | Neighborhood barbershop owner Ice Cube and his staff face the imminent arrival of a flashy, upscale haircutting salon right across the street. If you liked the first film, chances are you'll enjoy revisiting the characters, even in this contrived sequel. | tt0337579 | [PG-13] | Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Harry Lennix, Robert Wisdom, Jazsmin Lewis, Kenan Thompson, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Queen Latifah | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Barcelona | 1994 | Whit Stillman | ★★½ | 100 | Young, nerdy American businessman (Nichols) living in Spain is joined by his Naval officer cousin (Eigeman); the two woo a variety of women and debate anti-American attitudes and actions that prevail among the local populace. Set in the concluding months of the Cold War, film's theme is admirably original, and often amusing, if not always compelling. Writer-director Stillman's second offbeat talkfest (following METROPOLITAN) isn't quite as focused as the first, though reteaming of male costars is a plus. | tt0109219 | Taylor Nichols, Chris Eigeman, Tushka Bergen, Mira Sorvino, Pep Munne, Nuria Badia, Hellena Schmied, Francis Creighton, Thomas Gibson, Jack Gilpin | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Barefoot Contessa | 1954 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 128 | Cynical tale of beautiful Spanish dancer Gardner and how director Bogart makes her a Hollywood star. Mankiewicz's script is full of juicy dialogue, as usual. O'Brien won an Oscar as the press agent. | tt0046754 | Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Marius Goring, Rossano Brazzi, Valentina Cortesa, Elizabeth Sellars, Warren Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Barefoot Executive | 1971 | Robert Butler | ★★ | 96 | Russell discovers chimp with ability to pick top-rated TV shows, and becomes vice-president of a network. Routine Disney slapstick. Remade for TV in 1995. | tt0066811 | [G] | Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Harry Morgan, Wally Cox, Heather North, Alan Hewitt, John Ritter | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Barefoot Mailman | 1951 | Earl McEvoy | ★★ | 83 | Potentially engaging story of a first postal route in Florida bogs down in tale of former con man (Cummings) tempted to fleece citizens of Miami with phony railroad stock; Moore is pert leading lady. | tt0043319 | Robert Cummings, Terry Moore, Jerome Courtland, Will Geer | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Barefoot in the Park | 1967 | Gene Saks | ★★★ | 105 | Plotless, entertaining Neil Simon comedy finds Fonda and Redford newlyweds in five-story walkup apartment. Running gag about climbing stairs grows thin, but film doesn't. Redford and Natwick recreate their Broadway roles; Saks' screen directing debut. Later, briefly a TV series with an all-black cast. | tt0061385 | Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick, Herb Edelman, Mabel Albertson, Fritz Feld, Doris Roberts | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Barfly | 1987 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★★ | 97 | Surprisingly enjoyable portrait of L.A. lowlife, and a boozy, foolishly macho writer played with comic bravado by Rourke. Dunaway is exceptional as his alcoholic soulmate. Based on the autobiographical writings of cult favorite Charles Bukowski, who can be glimpsed on one of the bar stools. Veteran character actor Fritz Feld has a lovely bit as a bum who gives Dunaway a light. | tt0092618 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance, J.C. Quinn, Frank Stallone | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Barkleys of Broadway | 1949 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 109 | Astaire and Rogers reteamed after ten years in this witty Comden-Green script about show biz couple who split, then make up. Songs include 'You'd Be Hard to Replace,' 'They Can't Take That Away from Me.' Ginger reading 'La Marseillaise' is a definite low point. | tt0041158 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Oscar Levant, Billie Burke, Gale Robbins | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Barnacle Bill | 1941 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 98 | Beery and Main support basically run-of-the-mill material as old salt and woman trying to snare him into marriage. | tt0033378 | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Leo Carrillo, Virginia Weidler, Donald Meek, Barton MacLane | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Barney's Great Adventure | 1997 | Steve Gomer | ★★ | 75 | Preschoolers who cannot get enough of TV's Big Purple Dinosaur will take to this, Barney's first feature, in which he mixes with some kids on a farm; together, they set off on an adventure in search of a missing egg. Inoffensive, to be sure, but for anyone over five it's a real yawn. | tt0120598 | [G] | George Hearn, Shirley Douglas, Trevor Morgan, Kyla Pratt, Diana Rice, David Joyner, Jeff Ayres | Family | NULL | ||
| Barney’s Version | 2010 | Richard J. Lewis | ★★★ | 134 | Hack TV producer Barney Panofsky hasn’t led an exemplary life, as we learn looking back at his Bohemian adventures in Rome and several marriages—not to mention the pursuit of a beautiful guest at his own (second) wedding. Colorful if free adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s novel benefits from vivid performances by Giamatti and a perfectly matched Hoffman as his socially embarrassing father. Hoffman’s real-life son Jake plays Giamatti’s son Michael. Film buffs may enjoy spotting prominent Canadian directors David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Denys Arcand, and Ted Kotcheff in cameo roles. | tt1423894 | [R] | Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Rachelle Lefevre, Bruce Greenwood, Saul Rubinek, Scott Speedman, Mark Addy, Jake Hoffman, Maury Chaykin | Canadian-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Barnyard | 2006 | Steve Oedekerk | ★★ | 90 | Animated zaniness set on a farm where, after sundown, the animals turn the barn into a raucous nightclub. James is Otis, a cow who won't mature, much to the chagrin of his father, Ben (Elliott), who keeps watch for preying coyotes while the others party. Unspectacular, though there are commendable messages for kids regarding adoption and parenting. Irrera stands out in the voice cast as Duke the Dog. Written by the director. | tt0414853 | [PG] | Voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, David Koechner, Jeff Garcia, Cam Clarke, Dom Irrera | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Baron Blood | 1972 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 90 | Descendant of evil nobleman attempts 'novel' rejuvenation principles. Standard plot livened by unusual settings and lighting. Aka THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF BARON BLOOD. Original Italian version runs longer. | tt0069048 | [PG] | Joseph Cotten, Elke Sommer, Massimo Girotti, Rada Rassimov, Antonio Cantafora, Alan Collins | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Baron Müenchhausen | 1943 | Josef von Baky | ★★★ | 110 | Lavish, impressive curio which tells of the legendary, free-spirited Baron, his exploits in Russia, Turkey, Venice, and elsewhere, and his quest for beautiful princesses and empresses. While ostensibly an escapist entertainment, the Baron is an heroic German: noble, shrewd, and ever loyal to the Fatherland. Produced on the order of Goebbels, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, to mark the 25th anniversary of UFA, the German production studio. This would make a fascinating (if overlong) double bill with Terry Gilliam's THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN. | tt0036191 | Hans Albers, Brigitte Horney, Wilhelm Bendow, Leo Slezak, Ferdinand Marian | German | Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Baron of Arizona | 1950 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 96 | Price has field day as landgrabbing scoundrel who almost gains control of Arizona in the 19th century. | tt0042229 | Vincent Price, Ellen Drew, Beulah Bondi, Reed Hadley | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Baroness and the Butler | 1938 | Walter Lang | ★★ | 75 | Powell leads double life as Annabella's butler and member of Parliament. He's fine as usual but script is rather thin. | tt0029899 | William Powell, Annabella, Helen Westley, Henry Stephenson, Joseph Schildkraut, J. Edward Bromberg | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Barquero | 1970 | Gordon Douglas | ★½ | 115 | Bad-guy Oates, on the run after wiping out a town, has to deal with Van Cleef, a feisty ferry operator, in order to escape. | tt0065451 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates, Forrest Tucker, Kerwin Mathews, Mariette Hartley | Western | NULL | ||
| The Barretts of Wimpole Street | 1934 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 110 | Handsome, well-acted, and most entertaining MGM production of classic romance between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning in 19th-century England. Director Franklin remade this two decades later. Retitled for TV: FORBIDDEN ALLIANCE. | tt0024865 | Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, Katherine Alexander, Una O'Connor, Ian Wolfe | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Barretts of Wimpole Street | 1957 | Sidney Franklin. | ★★½ | 105 | Tame interpretation of the lilting romance between poets Browning and Barrett, with actors bogged down in prettified fluff. Director Franklin fared better with this material in 1934. | tt0050169 | Jennifer Jones, John Gielgud, Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna. | U.S.-British | Biography, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Barrier | 1966 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★½ | 84 | Interesting view of youthful attitudes in Poland, combining reportage with fantasy elements. Not a total success, but still intriguing. | tt0060150 | Joanna Szczerbic, Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Maria Malicka | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Barry Lyndon | 1975 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★½ | 183 | Exquisite, meticulously detailed period piece stars O'Neal as Thackeray's 18th-century Irish rogue-hero who covets success but lets it go to his head. Long, deliberately paced but never boring. Won Oscars for John Alcott's photography, Leonard Rosenman's adaptation of period music, Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Costume Design. Screenplay by Kubrick. | tt0072684 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Steven Berkoff, Gay Hamilton, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, Andre Morell, Leonard Rossiter, Marie Kean, narrated by Michael Hordern | British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Barry McKenzie Holds His Own | 1974 | Bruce Beresford. | ★½ | 93 | Idiotic follow-up to THE ADVENTURES OF BARRY MCKENZIE, about oafish title character, his twin brother (both played by Crocker), and one Edna Everage (Humphries, in drag), who is kidnapped and taken to Transylvania. | tt0071196 | Barry Crocker, Barry Humphries, Donald Pleasence, Dick Bentley, Louis Negin. | Australian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Barry Munday | 2010 | Chris D’Arienzo | ★★ | 95 | Sexist slacker gets a shock when he’s informed that he has impregnated a woman he doesn’t even remember having sex with. Then, miraculously, he responds to the idea of being a father and tries to straighten himself out. Fine cast can only do so much with mediocre material; the film almost redeems itself toward the end, but the characters are so obnoxious, and sketchily drawn, that it’s hardly worth the effort to get there. | tt0482461 | [R] | Patrick Wilson, Judy Greer, Chloë Sevigny, Jean Smart, Cybill Shepherd, Malcolm McDowell, Billy Dee Williams, Cybill Shepherd, Shea Whigham, Missi Pyle, Christopher McDonald, Colin Hanks, Mae Whitman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bartleby | 1972 | Anthony Friedmann | ★★½ | 78 | Herman Melville's great short story about 19th-century auditing clerk who refuses to leave job after he is fired is admirably attempted in modern-day update, even though story doesn't really lend itself to filming; Scofield is fine as bewildered but sympathetic boss. Remade in 2002. | tt0065452 | Paul Scofield, John McEnery, Thorley Walters, Colin Jeavons, Raymond Mason | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bartleby | 2002 | Jonathan Parker | ★★ | 82 | Quiet Bartleby (Glover) is hired by Paymer to file public records. At first he's energetic, but in response to an innocuous request he replies, 'I would prefer not to,' and soon is saying it in response to all requests. Colorfully acted adaptation of the Herman Melville story, but cowriter-director Parker strains for effect and diminishes the already unfocused satire by making everyone loony. | tt0230025 | [PG-13] | Crispin Glover, David Paymer, Glenne Headly, Maury Chaykin, Joe Piscopo, Seymour Cassel, Carrie Snodgress, Dick Martin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Barton Fink | 1991 | Joel Coen | ★★½ | 117 | Self-important N.Y. playwright Turturro comes to Hollywood in 1941 to write a screenplay, and finds it a living hell— in more ways than one. Barbed look at vintage Hollywood, filled with incredible detail and amazing scenes; told in Joel and Ethan Coen's typically flamboyant visual style. BUT, at a crucial point the film takes a sharp left turn toward the bizarre, and never returns. Great performances all around. | tt0101410 | [R] | John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner, John Mahoney, Tony Shalhoub, Jon Polito, Steve Buscemi, David Warrilow, Richard Portnow, Christopher Murney | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Bashful Elephant | 1962 | Dorrell McGowan, Stuart E. McGowan | 💣 | 82 | Supposedly a family film, this import spends more time on an elephant trainer's divorce than anything else. Not worth your time. | tt0055777 | Molly Mack, Helmut Schmid, Kai Fischer, Buddy Baer | German | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Basic | 2003 | John McTiernan | ★★ | 95 | When things go awry during a military training exercise, base commander Daly calls in Travolta, the best interrogator he ever had, to question the remaining members of the group, whose stories don't add up. Essentially a whodunit, this film keeps adding layers of confusion so that it becomes less interesting as it goes along! The final 'twist' seems to negate the entire story, like a bad shaggy-dog joke. Travolta is in great form, however. | tt0264395 | [R] | John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van Holt, Taye Diggs, Cristián De La Fuente, Dash Mihok, Timothy Daly, Roselyn Sanchez, Harry Connick/ Jr. | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Basic Instinct | 1992 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★ | 127 | In-your-face sex thriller, with Douglas as a San Francisco cop who's fatally attracted to a key suspect in an ice-pick murder: brazenly sexy (and manipulative) Stone. Audacious, erotic, and larger-than-life— with an ending that falls short of real satisfaction. Released overseas in an unrated version that's even more sexually explicit! Both versions are available on video. The notorious eight shots of erotic grappling totaling 42 seconds were restored to 1993 laser and tape editions. | tt0103772 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt, Leilani Sarelle, Bruce A. Young, Chelcie Ross, Dorothy Malone, Wayne Knight, Stephen Tobolowsky | Mystery, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Basic Instinct 2 | 2006 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★ | 114 | Long-gestating sequel to the notorious 1992 hit isn't the embarrassment you might have expected-or hoped for. What should have been high camp is instead a rather dull psychological-sexual thriller in which slippery novelist Catherine Tramell is up to her old tricks in London when a male companion turns up dead in her car. Did she or didn't she? Stone makes the best of this and looks sensational while the impressive British cast tries hard to keep it afloat. This film is probably headed for basic cable faster than you can say 'Where's Michael Douglas?' | tt0430912 | [R] | Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, Charlotte Rampling, David Thewlis, Hugh Dancy, Anne Caillon, Iain Robertson, Stan Collymore | U.S.-German | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Basil | 1998 | Radha Bharadwaj | ★★ | 102 | Turn-of-the-20th-century tale about a young aristocrat who (with the help of a mysterious friend) becomes entangled with a beautiful but selfish temptress. Murky slice of Gothic suffers from sluggish pacing and lack of passion. Leto struggles with his British accent and the lovely Forlani has one haughty facial expression for every emotion. Based on a Wilkie Collins novel. Never theatrically released. | tt0118686 | [R] | Jared Leto, Christian Slater, Claire Forlani, Derek Jacobi, Rachel Pickup, David Ross | Drama | NULL | ||
| Basileus Quartet | 1982 | Fabio Carpi | ★★★ | 118 | A violinist suddenly dies and his colleagues, who have lived only for music, must get on with their lives— which are profoundly altered by the young replacement for the deceased. Stark, quietly absorbing, beautifully realized. | tt0084561 | Pierre Malet, Hector Alterio, Omero Antonutti, Michel Vitold, Alain Cuny, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lisa Kreuzer | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Basket Case | 1982 | Frank Henenlotter | ★★½ | 91 | Extremely self-conscious but intriguing tongue-in-cheek low-budget horror film about a twin who arrives in N.Y.C. from a small town carrying his deformed telepathic mutant brother in a basket. Some interesting animated sequences in this John Waters-ish film that boasts some effective horror moments. Followed by several sequels. | tt0083624 | [R] | Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Basket Case 2 | 1990 | Frank Henenlotter | 💣 | 89 | Van Hentenryck and his monstrously deformed twin brother take refuge in a house of freaks, but are tracked down by tabloid reporter. Arch, pseudo-hip film totally lacks the conviction of the first; icy cold. | tt0099108 | [R] | Kevin Van Hentenryck, Annie Ross, Jason Evers, Kathryn Meisle, Heather Rattray, Ted Sorel | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Basket Case 3 | 1992 | Frank Henenlotter | ★½ | 90 | Van Hentenryck is separated from his deformed brother, who fathers a set of duodectuplets when the house of freaks from previous entry moves to Georgia. Flatly photographed, with a meandering, uninvolving plot. More serious than previous entry, but still strains for laughs. | tt0103773 | [R] | Kevin Van Hentenryck, Annie Ross, Gil Roper, Tina Louise Hilbert, Dan Biggers, Jim O'Doherty | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Basketball Diaries | 1995 | Scott Kalvert | ★★ | 100 | Drably downbeat and none-too-stylish rendering of poet-musician Jim Carroll's '60s recollections of heroin abuse and on-court prowess at a N.Y.C. Catholic school. DiCaprio is well cast in role intended for River Phoenix, but imprecise updating from Carroll's very specific time frame leads to a fuzzy point of view. | tt0112461 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, Bruno Kirby, Marilyn Sokol, Mark Wahlberg, James Modio, Ernie Hudson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Basquiat | 1996 | Julian Schnabel | ★★½ | 108 | Meandering though not uninteresting bio of controversial black artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who went from unknown graffiti practitioner to spent comet between 1981 and 1987. The movie doesn't capture the presumed intensity of a rapid career ascent before death from heroin at 28. Yet the supporting cast is rich, topped by Bowie's portrayal of Andy Warhol, which is precise even down to the pasty skin. Look carefully at the chic party guests Basquiat spies through the gallery window, and you'll spot Isabella Rossellini. Directorial debut for artist Schnabel, who also scripted. | tt0115632 | [R] | Jeffrey Wright, David Bowie, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Michael Wincott, Benicio Del Toro, Claire Forlani, Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Courtney Love, Tatum O'Neal, Paul Bartel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bastard Out of Carolina | 1996 | Anjelica Huston | Above Average TV Movie | 97 | Compelling drama set in the '50s South about a preteen (Malone) who suffers emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather as white-trash mom Leigh looks the other way, afraid of losing her brutal, no-good husband (Eldard). Huston made her directorial debut with this quite violent film of Dorothy Allison's autobiographical bestseller (adapted by Anne Meredith). Made for cable. Video version is 4m. longer. | tt0115633 | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ron Eldard, Jena Malone, Glenne Headly, Dermot Mulroney, Diana Scarwid, Lyle Lovett, Michael Rooker, Grace Zabriskie, Pat Hingle, Christina Ricci; narrated by Laura Dern | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bat People | It Lives by Night | 1974 | Jerry Jameson | ★½ | 95 | A doctor is bitten by a bat while on his honeymoon, with expected results. Paltry horror entry from AIP, originally titled IT LIVES BY NIGHT. | tt0071198 | Stewart Moss, Marianne McAndrew, Michael Pataki, Paul Carr, Arthur Space | Drama, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Bat Whispers | 1930 | Roland West | ★½ | 84 | Excruciatingly archaic 'old dark house' thriller about the search for a mysterious killer known as The Bat. Of interest to buffs for its striking visuals, including some eye-popping miniature sets. Filmed in 1915 and 1926 as THE BAT, remade in 1959. Simultaneously filmed in experimental 70mm process called Magnifilm. | tt0020668 | Chester Morris, Una Merkel, Chance Ward, Richard Tucker, DeWitt Jennings, Maude Eburne, Spencer Charters, William Bakewell, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Crime, Horror, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bat*21 | 1988 | Peter Markle | ★★★ | 105 | Air Force Colonel and strategist Hackman has only seen the war from 30,000 feet, until he's shot down behind enemy lines. Now it's up to Glover to get him out before the Viet Cong get him, and before his own forces carpet-bomb the area. Taut, compelling film, based on a true story, with fine acting all around. Costar Reed was executive producer and wrote some of the songs for the soundtrack. | tt0094712 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant, Clayton Rohner, Erich Anderson, Joe Dorsey | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Bat | 1959 | Crane Wilbur | ★★½ | 80 | Faithful filming of the Mary Roberts Rinehart-Avery Hopwood play, with mystery writer Moorehead renting an eerie mansion for the summer; she and her maid soon are plagued by the title fiend. Filmed before in 1915, 1926, and (as THE BAT WHISPERS) in 1930. | tt0052602 | Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead, Gavin Gordon, John Sutton, Lenita Lane, Elaine Edwards, Darla Hood | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bataan | 1943 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 114 | Realistically made drama of famous WW2 incident on Pacific island; good combat scenes. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035664 | Robert Taylor, George Murphy, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Bowman, Robert Walker, Desi Arnaz, Barry Nelson | War | NULL | |||
| Bathing Beauty | 1944 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 101 | Esther's first starring vehicle gives Skelton and musical guest stars the spotlight most of the way, but does have a spectacular aquatic finale. Silly script, thankless role for Rathbone. | tt0036628 | Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Basil Rathbone, Ethel Smith, Xavier Cugat, Lina Romay, Harry James and Orchestra | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Batman | 1966 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★★ | 105 | Quickly made feature to cash in on then-hot TV series pulls out all stops, features the Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman trying to undo the caped crusader. Really misses the mark; the campy humor worked better in the TV series. | tt0060153 | Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Lee Meriwether, Neil Hamilton, Madge Blake, Reginald Denny | Action, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Batman | 1989 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 126 | There's razzle-dazzle to spare in this dark, intense variation on Bob Kane's comic book creation— but there's also something askew when the villain (a particularly psychotic villain, played overboard by Nicholson) is so much more potent than the hero! Still, lots to grab your attention, including Anton Furst's Oscar-winning production design and Danny Elfman's terrific score. Prince contributes several songs. Followed by BATMAN RETURNS. | tt0096895 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, Jerry Hall, Tracey Walter, Lee Wallace | Action, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Batman & Robin | 1997 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 130 | Batman #4 spotlights two colorful villains, Schwarzenegger's lusty Mr. Freeze and Thurman's deliciously nasty Poison Ivy, who (for different reasons) want to destroy Gotham City, but even their antics can't sustain an overlong, episodic film in which the 'story' often makes no sense. Clooney is OK but unremarkable as Bruce Wayne/Batman, ditto for Silverstone as the new Batgirl. The action and effects are loud, gargantuan, and ultimately numbing. | tt0118688 | [PG-13] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, John Glover, Elle Macpherson, Vivica A. Fox, Vendela K. Thommessen, Coolio | Action, Family, Crime, Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Batman Begins | 2005 | Christopher Nolan | ★★★ | 140 | Highly entertaining reinvention of the Batman legend traces the evolution of Bruce Wayne from privileged son of wealthy, generous parents to avenging crime-fighter hoping to save a corrupt Gotham City. Script (by David S. Goyer and director Nolan) also provides ingenious explanations of how the Caped Crusader came to adopt his various accoutrements. Impeccably cast (with the exception of Holmes, who seems lightweight in such heady company) and executed. | tt0372784 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Linus Roache, Rade Sherbedgia, Mark Boone Junior | Action, Adventure, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Batman Forever | 1995 | Joel Schumacher | ★★★ | 121 | Kilmer makes the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne his own in this well-written sequel in which the Caped Crusader battles Two-Face (Jones) and The Riddler (Carrey) while attempting— at least for a while— to resist the advances of a sexy psychologist (Kidman). He also acquires a partner in O'Donnell (as Robin), and it's this aspect of the film— the character relationships— that give it solidity. The loud, razzle-dazzle special effects are overkill. Ed Begley, Jr., appears unbilled. Followed by BATMAN & ROBIN. | tt0112462 | [PG-13] | Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Drew Barrymore, Debi Mazar, Rene Auberjonois, Joe Grifasi | Crime, Fantasy, Action, Family, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Batman Returns | 1992 | Tim Burton | ★★ | 126 | Nasty, nihilistic nightmare movie about an abandoned freak baby who grows up to be The Penguin— a deadly threat to Gotham City, especially when he teams up with megalomaniac Max Schreck (Walken). Meanwhile, Batman finds a more personal enemy in Catwoman. Rich performances, dazzling production design, and occasional cleverness can't make up for a dark, mean-spirited (and often incoherent) screenplay. Followed by Keatonless BATMAN FOREVER. | tt0103776 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Michael Gough, Michael Murphy, Cristi Conaway, Andrew Bryniarski, Pat Hingle, Vincent Schiavelli, Jan Hooks, Paul Reubens | Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | 1993 | Eric Radomski, Bruce W. Timm | ★★½ | 76 | Batman battles a mysterious figure who's killing the great gangsters of Gotham City, while, as Bruce Wayne, he romances his college sweetheart, just returned to town. Then the Joker turns up. . . . Excellent design (inspired by the 1940s Superman cartoons) is hampered by mediocre animation, but the story isn't bad, and the dialogue is better than you'd expect. This spinoff from the animated Batman TV series was originally intended for videotape release only, but went to theaters instead. | tt0106364 | [PG] | Voices of Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Mark Hamill, Stacy Keach/Jr., Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Abe Vigoda, Dick Miller, John P. Ryan | Action, Fantasy, Family, Animation, Drama | NULL | ||
| Baton Rouge | 1988 | Rafael Moleon | ★★ | 98 | Gigolo Banderas preys on a sexually dysfunctional wealthy woman, and winds up in a scam with her psychiatrist. Interesting sex scenes and suspense can't make up for utterly confusing plot twists. Another Banderas film taken off the shelf after he became known in the U.S. | tt0094822 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril, Carmen Maura, Andres Lopez, Laura Cepeda | Spanish | Thriller | NULL | |
| Bats | 1999 | Louis Morneau | 💣 | 91 | Hordes of mutated killer bats attack a Southwestern community. That's all the plot the movie has, but it does feature a top-of-the-line motivation for its mad scientist (Gunton): he creates the bats, he says, because he can. Deplorable. DVD is rated R. | tt0200469 | [PG-13] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton, Leon, Carlos Jacott, David McConnell | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Battle Beneath the Earth | 1967 | Montgomery Tully | ★★½ | 91 | Silly but enjoyable pulp fantasy about Chinese plan to invade U.S. through network of tunnels. | tt0061387 | Kerwin Mathews, Viviane Ventura, Robert Ayres, Peter Arne, Al Mulock, Martin Benson | British | Sci-Fi, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Battle Beyond the Stars | 1980 | Jimmy T. Murakami | ★★½ | 104 | Not-bad space saga from Roger Corman, with good special effects and a John Sayles script that uses the reliable SEVEN SAMURAI/ MAGNIFICENT SEVEN formula (with Vaughn from the SEVEN cast). Sets and special effects were reused for countless subsequent Corman cheapies. | tt0080421 | [PG] | Richard Thomas, John Saxon, Robert Vaughn, Darlanne Fleugel, George Peppard, Sybil Danning, Sam Jaffe, Morgan Woodward, Jeff Corey, Julia Duffy | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battle Beyond the Sun | 1963 | Thomas Colchart | ★★ | 75 | Soviet sci-fi film NEBO ZOVYOT (1959) is refashioned into so-so American product by producer Roger Corman; story deals with rival space missions to Mars. The names of the director and actors are all pseudonyms; Francis Ford Coppola, credited as Associate Producer, oversaw the English adaptation. His father Carmine (billed as 'Carmen' Coppola) wrote the music. | tt0053103 | Edd Perry, Arla Powell, Andy Stewart, Bruce Hunter | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Battle Circus | 1953 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 90 | OK tale of MASH unit during Korean War is well acted, and occasionally exciting, but hampered by too much emphasis on the romance between surgeon Bogart and nurse Allyson. Surprisingly ordinary, coming from writer-director Brooks. | tt0045544 | Humphrey Bogart, June Allyson, Keenan Wynn, Robert Keith, Philip Ahn | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Battle Cry | 1955 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 149 | Entertaining version of Leon Uris WW2 Marine novel, with much barracks profanity removed for film, focusing on servicemen in training, wartime romance, and frustrating battle assignments— with Heflin striving to get his men the tough combat action they yearn for. Hunter as wholesome soldier and Malone a love-hungry Navy wife stand out in episodic actioner. Ray gives good performance as rough-hewn gyrene who falls in love with 'nice girl' Olson. Film debut of Justus McQueen, who thereafter acted under the name of his character, L.Q. Jones. Musical score by Max Steiner. Screenplay by Uris. | tt0047860 | Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone, Anne Francis, William Campbell, John Lupton, Fess Parker, Rhys Williams, Allyn Ann McLerie | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Battle Flame | 1959 | R. G. Springsteen. | ★½ | 78 | Soldier Brady attempts to rescue five nurses captured by the Communists during the Korean War and romances one of them (Edwards). Undistinguished programmer. | tt0052605 | Scott Brady, Elaine Edwards, Robert Blake, Gordon Jones, Wayne Heffley, Richard Harrison. | War | NULL | |||
| Battle Hymn | 1957 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 108 | Hudson gives convincing performance as clergyman who returns to military duty in Korean War to train fighter pilots; expansive production values. | tt0050171 | Rock Hudson, Martha Hyer, Anna Kashfi, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Battle Royale | 2000 | Kinji Fukasaku | ★★★ | 114 | In a future Japan, groups of schoolchildren are periodically kidnapped to a now-deserted island, armed, and forced to kill each other until only one is left; we follow one such group. Unexpectedly convincing and involving, this tense, energetic, and very serious movie was a huge hit in Japan, but in the wake of real school shootings went unreleased in the U.S. for more than a decade. Though violent, it is clearly opposed to violence and to war. Some have claimed THE HUNGER GAMES was inspired by this, which also appeared as a novel, a manga, and in many other forms. Director's cut runs 122m. Followed by a sequel in 2003. | tt0266308 | "Beat" Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano), Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sôsuke Takaoka, Takashi Tsukamoto, Yukihiro Kotani, Masanobu Andô | Japanese | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Battle Stations | 1956 | Lewis Seiler | ★½ | 81 | Rehash about crew in WW2 Pacific and their preparation for fighting the Japanese. | tt0048989 | John Lund, William Bendix, Keefe Brasselle, Richard Boone, James Lydon, Claude Akins | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Battle Taxi | 1955 | Herbert L. Strock | ★★ | 82 | Ordinary tale of Korean War missions; strictly pedestrian. | tt0047861 | Sterling Hayden, Arthur Franz, Marshall Thompson, Joel Marston, Leo Needham | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Battle Zone | 1952 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 82 | Hodiak vies with McNally for Christian, with brief time out to fight Commies in static Korean War film. | tt0044398 | John Hodiak, Linda Christian, Stephen McNally, Philip Ahn | War | NULL | |||
| The Battle at Apache Pass | 1952 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 85 | Chandler reprises his BROKEN ARROW role as Cochise, who tries to prevent Indian wars but doesn't quite succeed. | tt0044399 | Jeff Chandler, John Lund, Beverly Tyler, Richard Egan, Hugh O'Brian, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | |||
| Battle at Bloody Beach | 1961 | Herbert Coleman | ★★½ | 83 | Sporadically exciting WW2 action with soldier Murphy locating his wife on a Pacific Island, involved with partisan cause and its leader. | tt0054671 | Audie Murphy, Gary Crosby, Dolores Michaels, Alejandro Rey | War | NULL | |||
| Battle for Terra | 2009 | Aristomenis Tsirbas | ★★ | 79 | Extraterrestrials who are the last remains of the human race threaten to annihilate a peaceful planet. When a friendship forms between a downed Earthling invader and a Terrian princess, they plot together to drive the humans away. Environmentally conscious animated film with a strong antiwar message is a tolerable sit for adults. There are several spectacular aerial action sequences, but character designs are generic and personalities clichéd. | tt0858486 | [PG] | Voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, James Garner, Chris Evans, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, David Cross, Justin Long, Dennis Quaid, Luke Wilson, Mark Hamill, Ron Perlman, Beverly D’Angelo, Danny Trejo, Rosanna Arquette, Laraine Newman | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battle for the Planet of the Apes | 1973 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 92 | Substandard; fifth (and last) apes installment attempts to bring entire series full-cycle. Good footage from earlier films helps, but not much. A TV series followed. | tt0069768 | [G] | Roddy McDowall, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden, Paul Williams, Claude Akins, John Huston | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battle in Outer Space | 1959 | Ishirô Honda | ★½ | 74 | Unexciting sci-fi as Earth prepares for attack from outer space. Plenty of special effects. | tt0053388 | Ryo Ikebe, Kyoko Anzai, Leonard Stanford, Harold Conway | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battle in Seattle | 2008 | Stuart Townsend | ★★★ | 98 | Compelling film about various people affected by the turbulent protests over the World Trade Organization conference in Seattle in 1999. Organizers Henderson, Rodriguez, and Benjamin are sincere in their goal of nonviolent demonstrations, and mayor Liotta is counting on that, but nothing goes as planned. Not all of the personal stories are equally commanding, but first-time writer-director Townsend artfully blends dramatic re-creations with actual news footage to create visceral, immediate drama. | tt0850253 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Martin Henderson, André Benjamin, Michelle Rodriguez, Ray Liotta, Connie Nielsen, Channing Tatum, Joshua Jackson, Jennifer Carpenter, Isaach de Bankolé, Tzi Ma, Ivana Milicevic, Rade Sherbedzija | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Battle of Algiers | Battaglia di Algeri, La | 1965 | Gillo Pontecorvo | ★★★½ | 125 | Straightforward drama about revolt against the French by Algerians from 1954-1962. Its impressive pseudo-documentary style helped earn it many awards, and the searing imperialism vs. independence struggle it depicts still resonates today. | tt0058946 | Yacef Saadi, Jean Martin, Brahim Haggiag, Tommaso Neri, Samia Kerbash | Italian-Algerian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Battle of Austerlitz | 1960 | Abel Gance | ★½ | 123 | International cast reenacts the epic of Napoleon's greatest battle in stultifying fashion. Drastic cutting from original 166m. and terrible dubbing doom it. Originally titled AUSTERLITZ. | tt0053638 | Claudia Cardinale, Martine Carol, Leslie Caron, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Marais, Ettore Manni, Jack Palance, Orson Welles | French-Italian-Yugoslavian-Lichtensteinian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Battle of Britain | 1969 | Guy Hamilton | ★★ | 132 | Superb widescreen aerial sequences, which will suffer on TV, hardly redeem yet another 'spot-the-star' WW2 epic, this time about British airmen who prevented threatened Nazi invasion. | tt0064072 | [G] | Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, Susannah York | British | War | NULL | |
| Battle of El Alamein | 1968 | Giorgio Ferroni | ★★ | 105 | Plenty of action as Italians and Germans, partners in an uneasy alliance, fight the British in the North African desert in 1942. Hossein plays Rommel, and Rennie does an unsympathetic Field Marshal Montgomery (the British are the villains in this one). | tt0062714 | [PG] | Frederick Stafford, Ettore Manni, Robert Hossein, Michael Rennie, George Hilton, Ira Furstenberg | Italian-French | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| The Battle of Neretva | 1970 | Veljko Bulajic | ★★ | 102 | Originally an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film, but when this $12 million spectacle about Nazi invasion of Yugoslavia was cut down from nearly three hours, it lost most of its coherency. Too bad. | tt0064091 | [G] | Yul Brynner, Sergei Bondarchuk, Curt Jurgens, Sylva Koscina, Hardy Kruger, Franco Nero, Orson Welles | Yugoslavian-U.S.-Italian-German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Battle of Rogue River | 1954 | William Castle | ★★ | 71 | Much needed action sequence never comes in lopsided Western of Montgomery negotiating Indian truce as settlers seek statehood for Oregon in 1850s. | tt0046755 | George Montgomery, Richard Denning, Martha Hyer, John Crawford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Battle of Shaker Heights | 2003 | Kyle Rankin, Efram Potelle | ★★½ | 79 | Second of the prize-winning Project Greenlight screenplays executive produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck is a comedy-drama about a high school misfit (winningly played by LaBeouf) who glibly covers the hurt he feels inside from troubles at home. A weekend war reenactor, he teams up with a preppie pal to seek revenge on his high school nemesis . . . then develops a serious crush on his new friend's older sister. Nothing startling or new, but entertaining. | tt0357470 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, Amy Smart, Billy Kay, Kathleen Quinlan, Shiri Appleby, William Sadler, Ray Wise, Anson Mount | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Battle of the Bulge | 1965 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 163 | Originally presented in Cinerama, this overinflated war drama about an important event cannot triumph over banal script. Read a good book on the subject instead. | tt0058947 | Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Dana Andrews, George Montgomery, Ty Hardin, Pier Angeli, Charles Bronson | War | NULL | |||
| Battle of the Coral Sea | 1959 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 80 | Staunch Robertson is submarine captain on Japanese-held island during WW2, seeking to send vital data to U.S. fleet. | tt0052606 | Cliff Robertson, Gia Scala, Teru Shimada, Patricia Cutts, Gene Blakely, Gordon Jones | War | NULL | |||
| The Battle of the Sexes | 1959 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 84 | Sparkling British comedy with macabre overtones; Sellers is elderly Scotsman contemplating murder. Supporting cast keeps this moving. | tt0052607 | Peter Sellers, Robert Morley, Constance Cummings, Jameson Clark | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | 1965 | Delmer Daves. | ★★½ | 111 | Unconvincing soaper with O'Hara running off to Italy to carry on with widower Brazzi; predictable interference from each's children. | tt0058949 | Maureen O'Hara, Rossano Brazzi, Richard Todd, Phyllis Calvert, Martin Stephens. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Battle of the Worlds | 1961 | Antonio Margheriti | ★½ | 84 | Rains adds some weight to this English-dubbed cheapie about scientists' frantic efforts to stop alien planet from colliding with Earth. Eerie atmosphere also helps a little. | tt0054950 | Claude Rains, Maya Brent, Bill Carter, Umberto Orsini, Jacqueline Derval | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battle: Los Angeles | 2011 | Jonathan Liebesman | ★★½ | 116 | Sudden series of meteor showers turns out to be a full-scale alien invasion. A squadron of Marines—including a career staff sergeant (Eckhart) who’s about to retire—are sent to Santa Monica to evacuate embattled residents, if they can. Adrenaline-charged mash-up of war, alien, and disaster-movie genres manages to weave personal stories about the intrepid Marines and the civilians they’re trying to rescue into the bigger picture of Earth being invaded by hordes of aliens. Sometimes-cheesy dialogue reminds you that this is a popcorn/genre piece, but Eckhart is rock solid, the action is exciting, and the visual effects are potent. | tt1217613 | [PG-13] | Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ramon Rodriguez, Lucas Till, Bridget Moynahan, Ne-Yo, Michael Peña, Will Rothhaar, Cory Hardrict | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battlefield Earth | 2000 | Roger Christian | 💣 | 117 | Psychlos (business-minded aliens) conquered Earth a century ago; what remains of humanity are slaves or ignorant savages. Gold-greedy Psychlo security chief Travolta educates bright human Pepper, hoping 'man animals' can mine the metal for him. Big mistake. . . . So is the movie, based on the novel by L. Ron Hubbard. Clumsy plot, misplaced satire, unbelievable coincidences and a leaden pace trample Travolta's weird but amusing performance. | tt0185183 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Richard Tyson, Sabine Karsenti, Michael MacRae, Kelly Preston | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battleground | 1949 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 118 | Star-studded replay of Battle of the Bulge: division of American troops, their problems and reactions to war. Robert Pirosh's slick script, which was awarded an Oscar, lacks genuine insight into the characters; Paul C. Vogel also earned a statuette for his cinematography. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041163 | Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Denise Darcel, Don Taylor, Richard Jaeckel, James Whitmore, James Arness, Scotty Beckett | Action, War | NULL | |||
| Battleship | 2012 | Peter Berg | ★★ | 130 | Perpetual screwup Kitsch is forced into uniform by his straight-arrow Naval officer brother (Skarsgård) and somehow becomes an officer, too; he even woos Admiral Neeson's daughter (Decker), but can't change his hotheaded, impulsive behavior. Then hostile alien invaders trap his ship and others inside an impenetrable barrier. Lame-brained sci-fi action yarn, full of explosions and layered with patriotic fervor; aimed at viewers who find the TRANSFORMERS series too intellectually challenging. Never boring, but incredibly silly. "Based on" the venerable board game. | tt1440129 | [PG-13] | Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Hamish Linklater, Gregory D. Gadson, Peter MacNicol, Jesse Plemons | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battleship Potemkin | Potemkin | 1925 | Sergei Eisenstein | ★★★★ | 70 | Landmark film about 1905 Revolution. Unlike many staples of film history classes, this one has the power to grip any audience. Odessa Steps sequence is possibly the most famous movie scene of all time. Aka POTEMKIN. | tt0015648 | Alexander Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Alexandrov, Mikhail Goronorov | Russian | War | NULL | |
| Battlestar: Galactica | 1979 | Richard A. Colla | ★★½ | 125 | Feature cut down from first and fifth episodes of short-lived TV series; Greene is commander of starship taking survivors of doomed planet in search of new home. Belongs on small screen, where it's moderately interesting and John Dykstra's special effects come off best. Premiere originally telecast at 148m. | tt0077215 | [PG] | Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, Lorne Greene, Ray Milland, John Colicos, Patrick Macnee, Lew Ayres, Jane Seymour, Laurette Spang, Terry Carter | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Battling Butler | 1926 | Buster Keaton | ★★½ | 71 | Pampered young millionaire falls in love with a girl during a camping trip, and then has to pretend he's actually a champion prizefighter. One of Buster's weaker silent features still has its share of funny moments. Based on a stage play. | tt0016630 | Buster Keaton, Sally O'Neil, Snitz Edwards, Francis McDonald, Mary O'Brien, Tom Wilson, Eddie Borden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones | 1976 | Cliff Owen | ★★ | 94 | Mild doings, based on London stage musical, can't hold a candle to 1963 classic (TOM JONES). This time, Tom's amorous adventures are pat and predictable, with Collins, as highwaywoman Black Bess, adding only zing. | tt0074189 | [R] | Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard, Joan Collins, Terry-Thomas, Arthur Lowe, Georgia Brown | British | Action | NULL | |
| Baxter | 1973 | Lionel Jeffries | ★★★ | 100 | Well-acted drama about young Jacoby's emotional problems and his relationship with speech therapist Neal, who tries to correct his lisp. | tt0069770 | [PG] | Patricia Neal, Scott Jacoby, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Lynn Carlin, Britt Ekland, Sally Thomsett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Baxter | 1991 | Jerome Boivin | ★★★ | 82 | Illuminating observation of the human condition as perceived through the unlikeliest of eyes: the title canine, a bull terrier who thinks and feels, and reveals what's on his mind. The most disturbing of his various masters: a seemingly average young boy who turns out to be a fascist-in-training. Boivin coscripted. | tt0094713 | Lise Delamare, Jean Mercure, Jacques Spiesser, Catherine Ferran, JeanPaul Roussillon | French | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Baxter | 2005 | Michael Showalter | ★★½ | 91 | A Brooklyn CPA (Showalter) is standing at the altar when-boom!-the ex (Theroux) of his intended (Banks) crashes the wedding. This nice schlub is characterized as a 'Baxter' who can't tell the difference between contentment and happiness. What else to do but turn to the ready advice and willing ministrations of his able temp (a cute Williams). Mild romantic comedy was written by the director, who would have benefited from a less cartoonish leading man. | tt0401244 | [PG-13] | Michael Showalter, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Theroux, Michelle Williams, Michael Ian Black, Zak Orth, Peter Dinklage, Catherine Lloyd Burns, Katharine Powell, Paul Rudd | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bay Boy | 1984 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 107 | Well-meaning but hopelessly predictable portrayal of a teenager (Sutherland, son of Donald), and his coming of age in rural Canadian community during 1930s. You've seen this one many times before; Ullmann in particular is one-dimensional as Sutherland's hardworking mother. | tt0086942 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Donat, Mathieu Carriere, Isabelle Mejias, Alan Scarfe, Chris Wiggins, Leah Pinsent | Canadian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Bay of Angels | 1963 | Jacques Demy | ★★★ | 79 | Lesser-known but no less rewarding French New Wave drama tells the story of a young man whose chronic gambling leads him into a dangerous affair with a woman he meets in the casino. Their luck at the tables mirrors their own tumultuous relationship. A vividly blonde Moreau is sensational in one of her best, least-seen performances. Z master Costa-Gavras is credited as Assistant to Director. Shot in gorgeous b&w in the South of France; restored for 2002 U.S. reissue. Score by frequent Demy collaborator Michel Legrand is one of his best. | tt0056846 | Jeanne Moreau, Claude Mann, Paul Guers, Henri Nassiet | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Be Beautiful But Shut Up | 1957 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 94 | Sexy Demongeot becomes involved with a band of youthful punks and smugglers. Of interest mainly for its cast; one of the writers is Roger Vadim. | tt0052211 | Mylene Demongeot, Henri Vidal, Isabelle Miranda | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Be Cool | 2005 | F. Gary Gray. | ★★½ | 114 | In this sequel to Elmore Leonard's GET SHORTY, Chili Palmer (Travolta) moves into the music business and chooses a promising young singer (Milian) as his protégée, despite the fact that she's already under contract to ruthless Keitel and his loose-cannon lieutenant, Vaughn. Amiable, good-looking film retains Leonard's story smarts but blunts the impact by allowing its comedic costars (Vaughn, Cedric) to riff to their heart's content. The Rock is especially funny as a bodyguard/Hollywood wannabe. James Woods appears unbilled; other music stars make cameo appearances. | tt0377471 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, André Benjamin, Steven Tyler, Christina Milian, Harvey Keitel, The Rock, Danny DeVito, Robert Pastorelli, Debi Mazar, Paul Adelstein. | Comedy, Crime, Music | NULL | ||
| Be Kind Rewind | 2008 | Michel Gondry | ★★★ | 101 | Odd but endearing film set in Passaic, N.J., where Glover’s dilapidated video-rental store—supposedly the birthplace of Fats Waller—is an anachronism, outside and in. When he leaves Def in charge, nutty pal Black (who’s become magnetized) accidentally erases all the tapes in the store, forcing the duo to reinvent the missing films (GHOSTBUSTERS; 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY; THE LION KING) with their old-fashioned video camera and the help of neighborhood allies. An eccentric ode to innocence, creativity, and community. Written by the director. | tt0799934 | [PG-13] | Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, Irv Gooch, Marcus Carl Franklin, Sigourney Weaver | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Be My Guest | 1965 | Lance Comfort | ★½ | 82 | Young Hemmings uncovers attempt to mount a phony music contest, while his family takes over a seaside guest house. Trifling musical. | tt0058951 | David Hemmings, Stephen Marriot, Andrea Monet, Avril Angers, Joyce Blair, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nashville Teens | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Be Yourself! | 1930 | Thornton Freeland | ★★ | 77 | Contrived vehicle for Fanny as nightclub entertainer who falls in love with punchy prizefighter (Armstrong); silly story, overdose of sentiment leave too few moments for star to be herself. | tt0020670 | Fanny Brice, Robert Armstrong, Harry Green, Gertrude Astor, Pat Collins | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Beach Ball | 1965 | Lennie Weinrib | ★★ | 83 | Different group tries a beach picture, but it's essentially the same. Pretty girls, surfing, Edd in drag, and performances by The Supremes, Four Seasons, Righteous Bros., Hondells, Walker Bros. | tt0058952 | Edd Byrnes, Chris Noel, Robert Logan, Gale Gilmore, Aron Kincaid | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Beach Blanket Bingo | 1965 | William Asher | ★★★ | 98 | Fifth BEACH PARTY movie is the best; amid various plot entanglements (parachuting, kidnapped singing idol Evans, mermaid Kristen), Lynde sneers at everybody, Rickles insults everybody, and Lembeck gets to sing before being cut into two halves by Carey's buzzsaw. The ultimate wallow in '60s surfing nostalgia. Sequel: HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI. | tt0058953 | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Paul Lynde, Harvey Lembeck, Don Rickles, Linda Evans, Jody McCrea, Marta Kristen, John Ashley, Deborah Walley, Buster Keaton, Bobbi Shaw, Timothy Carey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Beach Party | 1963 | William Asher | ★★ | 101 | Anthropologist Cummings studies teenagers' 'wild' behavior, but comes to learn they aren't so bad after all. First in long-running series is typical blend of slapstick and forgettable songs, as well as introduction of Lembeck's dopey Brando-biker takeoff, Eric Von Zipper. Sequel: MUSCLE BEACH PARTY. | tt0056860 | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Bob Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Harvey Lembeck, Jody McCrea, John Ashley, Morey Amsterdam, Candy Johnson, Eva Six | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Beach Red | 1967 | Cornel Wilde | ★★★ | 105 | Hard look at military life in South Pacific attempts to show ugly side of war. Likely to be watered down for TV. | tt0061389 | Cornel Wilde, Rip Torn, Burr De Benning, Patrick Wolfe, Jean Wallace | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Beach | 2000 | Danny Boyle | ★★½ | 120 | Young American looking for 'something different' goes to Bangkok, hooks up with a French couple, and together they follow a map to an elusive and secluded island beach . . . but paradise is not all it's cracked up to be. Consistently interesting if sometimes muddled adaptation of Alex Garland's novel is naive at times and leans toward purplish prose in DiCaprio's narration. | tt0163978 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, Paterson Joseph, Robert Carlyle, Peter Youngblood Hills | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Beachcomber | 1938 | Erich Pommer | ★★★ | 92 | Disheveled bum Laughton, living on island paradise, is reformed by missionary Lanchester. Two stars (married in real life) delightful in filmization of W. Somerset Maugham story originally titled VESSEL OF WRATH. The sole directorial outing of esteemed German producer (and Laughton partner) Pommer. Remade in 1955. | tt0030933 | Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Tyrone Guthrie, Robert Newton, Dolly Mollinger | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Beachcomber | 1955 | Muriel Box | ★★★ | 82 | Remake of Somerset Maugham tale of South Sea island bum entangled with strait-laced sister of missionary is still flavorful. | tt0046756 | Glynis Johns, Robert Newton, Donald Sinden, Michael Hordern, Donald Pleasence | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beaches | 1988 | Garry Marshall | ★★½ | 123 | Bittersweet saga of a thirty-year friendship that begins when two girls— one rich and pampered, the other poor and driven to show-biz success— meet on the beach at Atlantic City. OK as soap opera (not much depth to the characters and their motives, and at least two endings too many) but as a vehicle for Midler it's dynamite, and she even gets to sing. Based on a novel by Iris Rainer Dart; Midler coproduced. Director Marshall features his on-screen 'regulars' in a variety of cameo roles, including Hector Elizondo as a justice of the peace. | tt0094715 | [PG-13] | Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, Spalding Gray, Lainie Kazan, James Read, Grace Johnston, Mayim Bialik, Marcie Leeds | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Beaches of Agnès | 2008 | Agnès Varda | ★★★½ | 117 | Deeply felt, strikingly original celluloid autobiography in which Varda, the legendary 80-something filmmaker, recalls moments and incidents from her life. Varda narrates and appears on-screen throughout, blending re-created images from her past (which have haunted her across the decades) with carefully chosen film clips that reflect her artistic vision. At its most poignant when Varda deals with her memories of, and feelings for, those who have passed on (including her late husband, filmmaker Jacques Demy). Not to be missed. | tt1129435 | French | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Beachhead | 1954 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 89 | Tense WW2 drama in which a small group of Marines sets out to locate a French plantation owner, and a critical message, on a Japanese-held island. | tt0046757 | Tony Curtis, Frank Lovejoy, Mary Murphy, Eduard Franz, Skip Homeier, John Doucette | War | NULL | |||
| Bean | 1997 | Mel Smith | ★★★ | 90 | Mr. Bean, featured in a series of TV skits and specials, makes his feature-film debut as a guard at the National Gallery of Art in London who's sent to America, posing as a noted art expert, to accompany 'Whistler's Mother' as it is unveiled at a California museum. Never quite as wonderful as you'd like it to be, but often very funny. Bean's misadventures are reminiscent of silent film comedy and largely dependent on the winning silliness of Atkinson himself. | tt0118689 | [PG-13] | Rowan Atkinson, Peter MacNicol, Pamela Reed, Harris Yulin, Burt Reynolds, John Mills | British | Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| The Beans of Egypt, Maine | Forbidden Choices | 1994 | Jennifer Warren | ★★½ | 100 | Episodic, mildly interesting account of the Beans, a large, rough-and-tumble backwoods clan, and the most notorious residents of Egypt, Maine (pop. 729). Film centers on the relationship, sexual and otherwise, between Beal Bean (McGaw), a hot, prideful young stud, and the Beans' neighbor (Plimpton). Based on the best-selling novel by Carolyn Chute. An American Playhouse coproduction. Retitled FORBIDDEN CHOICES for video. | tt0109226 | [R] | Martha Plimpton, Kelly Lynch, Rutger Hauer, Patrick McGaw, Richard Sanders, Michael MacRae | Drama | NULL | |
| Bear Island | 1979 | Don Sharp | ★½ | 118 | One of Alistair MacLean's best novels became one of his worst films, mixing murder, intrigue and stolen bullion near the top of the world. Strong cast, capable director and scenic locations come to naught. Barely released to theatres. | tt0078836 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Barbara Parkins, Lloyd Bridges, Lawrence Dane | British-Canadian | Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Bear | 1984 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★ | 112 | Incredibly corny, old-fashioned Hollywood bio of famed Alabama collegiate football coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant. Busey's sincere, gravel-voiced portrayal can't compensate for episodic, repetitive, and undramatic script. | tt0086945 | [PG] | Gary Busey, Cynthia Leake, Harry Dean Stanton, Jon-Erik Hexum, Carmen Thomas, Cary Guffey, D'Urville Martin | Drama, Family, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Bear | 1989 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★★ | 93 | Captivating and unusual film about a bear cub who is orphaned and forced to fend for itself, until it finds a new protector in a giant Kodiak— the tempting target for a pair of hunters. Filmed with utmost respect for animals and a real sense of nature's magnificence, though manipulative, to be sure. Based on The Grizzly King, a 1917 novel by James Oliver Curwood. | tt0095800 | [PG] | Bart the Bear, Douce, Jack Wallace, Tch�ky Karyo, Andre Lacombe | French | Drama, Family, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Bears and I | 1974 | Bernard McEveety | ★½ | 89 | Vietnam vet Wayne tries to soothe relations in North Woods between Indians and white bigots. Mild Disney film. | tt0071199 | [G] | Patrick Wayne, Chief Dan George, Andrew Duggan, Michael Ansara | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms | 1953 | Eugène Lourié | ★★½ | 80 | Prehistoric rhedosaurus wreaks havoc when thawed after an atom-bomb blast. Good Ray Harryhausen special effects, especially in amusement park finale. Suggested by the Ray Bradbury short story 'The Fog Horn.' | tt0045546 | Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef, Ross Elliott | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Beast From Haunted Cave | 1960 | Monte Hellman | ★★ | 64 | Economically shot (to say the least) by Roger Corman's company on scenic locations near Deadwood, South Dakota, this pits fleeing robbers against a mysterious, spiderlike monster. Charles B. Griffith script has some good dialogue, and Sinatra (Frank's nephew) and Carol showed promise. Monster created and played by actor Chris Robinson. Remake of NAKED PARADISE, with monster added. | tt0052609 | Michael Forest, Sheila Carol, Frank Wolff, Richard Sinatra, Wally Campo | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Beast Must Die | 1974 | Paul Annett | ★★★ | 93 | New twists on the old werewolf theme make the difference. Millionaire sportsman Lockhart invites guests to his electronically bugged mansion, knowing one of them is a werewolf. Lockhart is overly mannered, while Cushing gains sympathy in his usual quiet but effective way. Like TEN LITTLE INDIANS, this movie gives audience a minute to guess killer's identity. From story 'There Shall Be No Darkness' by James Blish. Video title: BLACK WEREWOLF. | tt0071200 | [PG] | Calvin Lockhart, Peter Cushing, Charles Gray, Marlene Clark, Anton Diffring | British | Horror, Action, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Beast Within | 1982 | Philippe Mora | 💣 | 90 | Besch was raped by hairy-legged 'thing' while on honeymoon; her son (Clemens), now a teenager, commences killing, and killing, and killing. Oh, yes, he changes into a monster at one point, if you care. | tt0083629 | [R] | Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Don Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, L. Q. Jones, Meshach Taylor | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Beast in the Cellar | 1971 | James Kelly | ★★ | 87 | Two sisters hide their maniac brother in the cellar; performances of Reid and Robson bring movie to average level. British running time was 101m. | tt0066815 | Beryl Reid, Flora Robson, John Hamill, T. P. McKenna, Tessa Wyatt | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Beast of Budapest | 1958 | Harmon Jones. | ★½ | 72 | Professor clashes with his son over the merits of Communism. Trite family conflict, mostly of interest as an artifact of the 1950s. | tt0051403 | Gerald Milton, John Hoyt, Greta Thyssen, Michael Mills, John Banner, Robert Blake. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Beast of Hollow Mountain | 1956 | Edward Nassour, Ismael Rodriguez. | ★★½ | 80 | Unusual combination of Western and monster-on-the-loose formula works well, with clever ending. From screen story by Willis O'Brien. Filmed in Mexico. | tt0048992 | Guy Madison, Patricia Medina, Eduardo Noriega, Carlos Rivas. | Mexican-U.S. | Western, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Beast of Yucca Flats | 1961 | Coleman Francis | 💣 | 60 | Johnson becomes a disfigured monster as a result of exposure to an A-bomb test. One of the worst films ever made, presented as a virtual silent film with voice-over narration. Subplot of a succession of voluptuous women being strangled bears little relation to the main story. | tt0054673 | Douglas Mellor, Tor Johnson, Barbara Francis | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Beast of the City | 1932 | Charles Brabin | ★★★ | 87 | 'Instead of the glorification of gangsters, we need the glorification of policemen,' reads President Hoover's opening statement, and this film delivers, in W. R. Burnett's solid, surprisingly gritty story, a sort of early DIRTY HARRY with a downbeat ending. Harlow is incredibly sexy as a gang moll. | tt0022660 | Walter Huston, Jean Harlow, Wallace Ford, Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Peterson, Tully Marshall, John Miljan, Mickey Rooney | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Beast of the Dead | Beast of Blood | 1970 | Eddie Romero | 💣 | 90 | Sequel to MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND, with that film's headless monster stalking natives on Pacific island while mad doctor plans new head transplant. Filmed in the Philippines. Originally titled BEAST OF BLOOD. | tt0065456 | [PG] | John Ashley, Eddie Garcia, Beverly Miller, Celeste Yarnall | Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| The Beast with Five Fingers | 1946 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 88 | Intriguing if not entirely successful mood-piece about aging pianist and strange doings in his household. Lorre's confrontation with disembodied hand a horror highlight. | tt0038338 | Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, J. Carrol Naish | Horror | NULL | |||
| Beast with a Million Eyes | 1956 | David Kramarsky. | ★★ | 78 | Imaginative though poorly executed sci-fi melodrama with desert setting; a group of people is forced to confront an alien that can control an unlimited number of animals, hence the title. Early Roger Corman production features Paul Blaisdell's first movie monster. | tt0048991 | Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, Dona Cole, Leonard Tarver, Dick (Richard) Sargent, Chester Conklin. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Beast | 1988 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★ | 109 | Soviet tank, cut off from its battalion in Afghan desert, tries to reach safety, while pursued by vengeful Afghan rebels. Eventually, a peace-minded Russian from the tank, left to die by his brutal commander, joins the rebels himself. Serviceable (if predictable) plot is undermined by ponderous pace and stereotyped characters. Filmed in Israel. | tt0094716 | [R] | Jason Patric, Steven Bauer, George Dzundza, Stephen Baldwin, Don Harvey, Kabir Bedi | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Beastly | 2011 | Daniel Barnz | ★½ | 86 | Egocentric teenager Pettyfer, who thinks beautiful people (like him) deserve success, annoys a classmate who has magic powers, so she makes him sort of ugly. To regain his good looks, he has to find someone who will love him as he is. Retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the Beast’s viewpoint is uninvolving and unimaginative; best left to its target audience of undemanding teenage girls. | tt1152398 | [PG-13] | Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, Dakota Johnson, Erik Knudsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Peter Krause, LisaGay Hamilton | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time | 1991 | Sylvio Tabet | ★½ | 107 | Hero Dar returns (belatedly) to battle another evil wizard (Hauser)— this time, thanks to magician Douglas, in the streets of modern-day L.A. Some cleverness, but cheaply made and contrived. Nine writers are credited. Followed by a TV sequel. | tt0101412 | Marc Singer, Kari Wuhrer, Sarah Douglas, Wings Hauser, James Avery, Robert Fieldsteel, Arthur Malet, Robert Z'Dar, Michael Berryman, Larry Dobkin | Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Beastmaster | 1982 | Don Coscarelli | ★★ | 118 | Yet another sword and sandal fantasy with Conan/Tarzan-clone hero who communicates with animals (including, believe it or not, some comedic ferrets), falls in love with slave girl Roberts and seeks revenge against evil priest (Torn) who killed his father. Cinematography by John Alcott (BARRY LYNDON). Followed by several sequels. | tt0083630 | [PG] | Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn, John Amos, Rod Loomis | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Beat Generation | This Rebel Age | 1959 | Charles Haas | ★½ | 95 | Exploitation-type story of detective Cochran tracking down insane sexual assaulter; vivid sequences marred by hokey script. Retitled THIS REBEL AGE. | tt0052610 | Steve Cochran, Mamie Van Doren, Ray Danton, Fay Spain, Louis Armstrong, Margaret Hayes, Jackie Coogan, Ray Anthony, Maxie Rosenbloom, Irish McCalla, Vampira | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beat Street | 1984 | Stan Lathan | ★★½ | 106 | Urban ghetto kids find creative outlets in painting graffiti, breakdancing, rapping, and developing new disco d.j. routines. A slicker version of WILD STYLE that places the old Mickey & Judy 'let's put on a show' formula into a more realistic contemporary setting. Innocuous trend piece, coproduced by Harry Belafonte. | tt0086946 | [PG] | Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, Jon Chardiet, Leon W. Grant, Saundra Santiago, Robert Taylor | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Beat That My Heart Skipped | 2005 | Jacques Audiard | ★★★ | 108 | Entertaining reworking of James Toback's FINGERS, centering on a dour young man (Duris) who is unable to decide if he will embrace a life of classical music or lawbreaking. Not as gripping or provocative as the original, but still worthwhile. | tt0411270 | Unrated | Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Jonathan Zaccaï, Gilles Cohen, Linh-Dan Pham, Aure Atika, Emmanuelle Devos | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Beat the Devil | 1954 | John Huston | ★★★ | 89 | Huston and Truman Capote concocted this offbeat, very funny satire of MALTESE FALCON-ish movies on location in Italy. Low-key nature of comedy eluded many people in 1954 and it immediately became a cult favorite, which it remains today. | tt0046414 | Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Edward Underdown | Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Beat | 1988 | Paul Mones | ★½ | 98 | Well-meaning but painfully gauche drama of new kid Jacobson at a N.Y.C. high school dominated by gangs. He brings poetry and mystical fantasy into his classmates' lives. Earnest cast but treatment of generation gap issues is old hat. | tt0094717 | [R] | John Savage, David Jacobson, Kara Glover, William McNamara, Jeffrey Horowitz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beatrice | The Passion of Beatrice | 1988 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 128 | Moody and well-mounted, if essentially ugly saga of the Hundred Years War; a father returns home from the front to bully his weakling son and engage his tougher (and beautiful) daughter in incest. Extremely violent and not for all tastes, but obviously the work of an outstanding filmmaker; try reconciling this with Tavernier's A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY. Video title: THE PASSION OF BEATRICE. | tt0093709 | [R] | Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Julie Delpy, Nils Tavernier, Monique Chaumette, Robert Dhery, Michele Gleizer | French | Drama | NULL |
| Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest | 2011 | Michael Rapaport | ★★★ | 98 | Not a concert film, rather a postmortem by actor-director Rapaport of seminal hip-hoppers A Tribe Called Quest, consisting of loquacious Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), charismatic Q-Tip (Kamaal Fareed), turntable artist Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and affable Jarobi White. The Queens, N.Y.–based group ran for a couple of decades, released a few albums, then suddenly disbanded in 1998, largely due to bickering. Both nonpolitical and anti-gangsta, and enormously influential in their day, here the musicians reminisce, angrily but often touchingly, with contributions from practically everyone who was also there (Adam Horovitz, Ludacris, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Everlast, etc.). | tt1613023 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Beau Brummell | 1954 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 113 | Handsome cast in lavish production from Granger's rash of costume epics. Here, he's the famous 19th-century British Casanova-fop (played by John Barrymore in the 1924 version). | tt0046759 | Stewart Granger, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Ustinov, Robert Morley | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beau Geste | 1939 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 114 | Scene-for-scene remake of famous 1926 silent film (with Ronald Colman) isn't quite as good but faithfully retells story of three devoted brothers serving in the Foreign Legion and battling sadistic martinet commander (Donlevy). Nothing can top that opening sequence! Based on the novel by P.C. Wren. Remade in 1966. | tt0031088 | Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, J. Carrol Naish, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Donald O'Connor | Action, Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Beau Geste | 1966 | Douglas Heyes | ★★ | 103 | The third version of Christopher Wren's adventure about honor in the French Foreign Legion is barely adequate, with brothers battling rampaging Arabs and sadistic commander Savalas. | tt0060155 | Telly Savalas, Guy Stockwell, Doug McClure, Leslie Nielsen | Drama, War, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Beau James | 1957 | Melville Shavelson | ★★★ | 105 | Flavorful recreation of the political career of Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1920s N.Y.C., based on Gene Fowler's book. Hope is fine in basically noncomic performance. Guest appearances by Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, George Jessel, Walter Catlett. | tt0050175 | Bob Hope, Vera Miles, Paul Douglas, Alexis Smith, Darren McGavin; narrated by Walter Winchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Beau Père | 1981 | Bertrand Blier | ★★★½ | 120 | Piano player Dewaere is seduced by his determined stepdaughter, a 14-year-old child-woman (Besse), after the death of her mother. Thoughtful comedy-drama is sensitively, not exploitively, handled by director Blier. | tt0082054 | Patrick Dewaere, Ariel Besse, Maurice Ronet, Nicole Garcia, Nathalie Baye, Maurice Risch, Macha Meril | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beau Travail | 2000 | Claire Denis | ★★★ | 93 | Loose adaptation of Melville's Billy Budd is an austere tale of an ex-Foreign Legion officer (Lavant) who recalls his tenure in a dusty, impoverished East African locale, and his disdain for a young recruit (Colin). Denis expertly captures the boring existence of the legionnaires, and says something profound and deeply personal about the politics of male camaraderie. | tt0209933 | Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Gregoire Colin | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beaufort | 2007 | Joseph Cedar | ★★★½ | 126 | Beaufort Castle, a 12th-century Crusaders’ fort, was captured by the Israeli army in 1982 on the first day of its war with Lebanon, though it was of no strategic importance. Israeli soldiers have been defending it against the bombs of a faceless enemy for almost two decades, and now they are ordered to abandon Beaufort as the Israelis plan their withdrawal from Lebanon. Subtly compelling drama offers an uncompromising portrait of men in combat and the pointlessness of war. Ron Leshem adapted his novel with director Cedar. | tt0758732 | Unrated | Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Eli Eltonyo, Ohad Knoller, Itay Turgeman, Alon Aboutboul | Israeli | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Beaumarchais the Scoundrel | 1996 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★★ | 100 | Luchini gives a marvelous performance as the 18th-century playwright, wit, and defender of human rights in this episodic biopic that encompasses everything from backstage theatrical drama and royal intrigue to gun-running for the American Revolution. As light and insubstantial as a soufflé, but beautifully crafted and always entertaining. | tt0115638 | Fabrice Luchini, Manuel Blanc, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jacques Weber, Florence Thomassin, Jean Yanne, Michel Piccoli, Michel Serrault, Jean-Claude Brialy | French | Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Beautician and the Beast | 1997 | Ken Kwapis | ★½ | 105 | Stuck in the salon with her TV aspirations going nowhere, a Queens beautician readily accepts when she's hired (on a blunder) to tutor the emotionally deprived children of Slovetzia's widowed dictator. No nun sings 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' but this comedy can be taken as a warped variation on THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Drescher's beguiling loopiness carries it for a while, but the already limited chuckles halt with a full half-hour to go. | tt0118691 | [PG] | Fran Drescher, Timothy Dalton, Ian McNeice, Patrick Malahide, Lisa Jakub, Michael Lerner, Phyllis Newman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beauties of the Night | 1954 | René Clair | ★★½ | 84 | Diverting fantasy involving aspiring composer Philipe with penchant for dreams wandering through various eras of history. | tt0044409 | Gérard Philipe, Martine Carol, Gina Lollobrigida, Magali Vendeuil | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beautiful | 2000 | Sally Field | ★½ | 112 | A young girl with the ambition of being a beauty pageant queen grows up to be a win-at-all-costs career contestant (Driver). When she accidentally becomes pregnant, she has her best friend raise the child. Good cast combats an uneven script filled with one-dimensional characters; a distant runner-up to SMILE. Field's feature-film directing debut. | tt0210567 | [PG-13] | Minnie Driver, Joey Lauren Adams, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Kathleen Turner, Leslie Stefanson, Michael McKean, Colleen Rennison, Bridgette Wilson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend | 1949 | Preston Sturges | ★★½ | 77 | Film was major flop in 1949, looks somewhat better today; broad Western farce has Grable a gun-toting saloon girl mistaken for schoolmarm in hick town. Hugh Herbert hilarious as nearsighted doctor. | tt0041165 | Betty Grable, Cesar Romero, Rudy Vallee, Olga San Juan, Porter Hall, Sterling Holloway, El Brendel | Comedy, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Beautiful Boy | 2011 | Shawn Ku | ★★★ | 90 | How are parents supposed to cope when they discover that their only son is behind a mass school shooting? Bello and Sheen give powerful performances as grieving parents who must face a bevy of emotions. Tough movie tackles its subject in an interesting way: we see everything through their eyes, from the loss of their child, to the grief they feel, to having to deal with the rest of the world that is now attacking them. Written by the director. | tt1533013 | [R] | Maria Bello, Michael Sheen, Alan Tudyk, Moon Bloodgood, Austin Nichols, Kyle Gallner, Meat Loaf Aday | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Beautiful Country | 2005 | Hans Petter Moland | ★★★ | 125 | Boy who was the product of a Vietnamese mother and American G.I. becomes an outcast in his own village due to his mixed heritage. He sets off on a journey, eventually heading to Texas to find the father he never knew. Measured, well-made tale dramatizes the difficulties children of American servicemen encountered once the war was over and their biological fathers deserted them. Nguyen is touching and genuine in his first major role, while Nolte does some of his finest work in what amounts to a cameo near the film's end. | tt0273108 | [R] | Damien Nguyen, Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Tim Roth, Be He, Xuan Phuc Dinh, Phat Trieu Hoang, Than Kien Nguyen | U.S.-Norwegian | Drama | NULL | |
| Beautiful Creatures | 2001 | Bill Eagles | ★★½ | 86 | Two women in Glasgow, each with lousy taste in men, unexpectedly meet and team up in a kidnapping/extortion scheme. Far-fetched variation on a familiar theme, laced with violence and humor. Norton is great as unconventional cop. | tt0221889 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, Susan Lynch, Iain Glen, Maurice Roëves, Alex Norton, Tom Mannion | British | Comedy, Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Beautiful Dreamers | 1990 | John Kent Harrison | ★★½ | 107 | Free-spirited American poet Walt Whitman (Torn) befriends Dr. Maurice Bucke (Feore), intrigued by his progressive treatment of the mentally retarded. Their combined roguish idealism confounds their peers and sets Victorian sensibilities askew. Trite handling of interesting story, with outstanding performances by Torn and Feore. | tt0101413 | [PG-13] | Colm Feore, Rip Torn, Wendel Meldrum, Sheila McCarthy | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Beautiful Girls | 1996 | Ted Demme | ★★★ | 107 | Hutton, on the verge of marrying his girlfriend but unsure of himself, goes back to his Massachusetts hometown and hangs out with his pals from high school, whose lives— and relationships with women— haven't changed a bit. Well-observed and well-cast slice of life about the continuity of small-town working-class existence and the ruts both men and women can find themselves in. Some great moments for precocious Portman, smart-mouthed O'Donnell, and others in the ensemble. | tt0115639 | [R] | Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Noah Emmerich, Annabeth Gish, Lauren Holly, Rosie O'Donnell, Max Perlich, Martha Plimpton, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Anne Bobby, Richard Bright, Sam Robards, David Arquette | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beautiful Joe | 2000 | Stephen Metcalfe | ★★ | 98 | Good-hearted man, dumped by his wife, takes to the road in search of adventure, and finds it when he meets up with Stone, a woman with a knack for getting into trouble. Familiar and predictable through and through; Connolly deserves a better vehicle. Made for theaters; U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0200472 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Billy Connolly, Gil Bellows, Ian Holm, Jurnee Smollett, Dann Florek | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 135 | Unusual story 'inspired by incidents' in the life of John Nash, a brilliant West Virginia mathematician who flowers at Princeton in the late 1940s and then goes to work at M.I.T. But his marriage and sanity are put to a painful test. Central story twist is a doozy— and completely unexpected. Crowe is excellent as usual, and the film offers an overdue showcase for Connelly, as the student who becomes his wife. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Connelly), and Adapted Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman). | tt0268978 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer, Adam Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Josh Lucas, Anthony Rapp, Austin Pendleton | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beautiful People | 1999 | Jasmin Dizdar | ★★★ | 109 | Sharply observed film about various people— mostly Brits and Bosnians— caught in England's contemporary melting pot, but told with a sense of humor and hope in its heart instead of despair. A striking and believable film from writer-director Dizdar. | tt0159272 | [R] | Charlotte Coleman, Charles Kay, Rosalind Ayres, Roger Sloman, Heather Tobias, Danny Nussbaum, Siobhan Redmond, Gilbert Martin, Edin Dzandzanovic | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Beautiful Thing | 1996 | Hettie Macdonald | ★★★ | 89 | Amiable and insightful tale of two working-class adolescent boys (Berry and Neal), neighbors with very different home lives, who become sexually and romantically involved. Sharp bits of humor and the blue-collar setting add punch to the proceedings, resulting in a winning coming-out/coming-of-age story. Love that Mama Cass sound track! Scripted by Jonathan Harvey, based on his play. | tt0115640 | [R] | Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson, Ben Daniels, Martin Walsh | British | Romance | NULL | |
| Beauty Shop | 2005 | Bille Woodruff. | ★★½ | 105 | Latifah is back from BARBERSHOP 2 as Gina, now an Atlanta single mom/stylist. Fed up with boss Bacon (over-the-top and foreign), she all too predictably turns an eyesore into a salon of her very own, complete with attitude, plus upstairs neighbor Hounsou as a hunky handyman. The jokes fly, the tresses fall, and Silverstone plays the token role done by Troy Garity in BARBERSHOP. Ice Cube coexecutive produced; Queen Latifah coproduced. | tt0388500 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, Alicia Silverstone, Andie MacDowell, Alfre Woodard, Mena Suvari, Kevin Bacon, Djimon Hounsou, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Bryce Wilson, Golden Brooks, Sherri Shepherd, Della Reese, Wilmer Valderrama, Dondre Whitfield, Paige Hurd. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beauty and the Beast | Belle et la bête, La | 1946 | Jean Cocteau | ★★★★ | 95 | Cocteau's hauntingly beautiful, visually dazzling masterpiece, detailing what happens when, to save her father, Beauty (Day) gives herself to the Beast (Marais). Great fantasy, great filmmaking— beguiling on any level. | tt0038348 | Jean Marais, Josette Day, Marcel André | French | Short | NULL | |
| Beauty and the Beast | 1963 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 77 | Curse turns handsome prince into werewolf-like beast every night; princess defends him, while a usurper seeks his throne. Colorful but turgid. Makeup by the fabled Jack P. Pierce. | tt0055781 | Joyce Taylor, Mark Damon, Eduard Franz, Michael Pate, Merry Anders, Dayton Lummis, Walter Burke | Short | NULL | |||
| Beauty and the Beast | 1991 | Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | ★★★½ | 85 | Classic Disney cartoon version of the classic tale, with bookish Belle and a ferocious Beast learning to love one another after he makes her prisoner in his desolate castle (where the only signs of life come from humanized household fixtures). Cannily presented in the style of a Broadway musical, with a fine-tuned script by Linda Woolverton, and a rousing, Oscar-winning score by Alan Menken (with another Oscar for Menken and Howard Ashman's title tune). The first animated feature to earn an Oscar nomination as Best Picture. Reissued at 89m. in 2002 with an additional musical sequence entitled 'Human Again.' Followed by a Broadway musical, a TV series, and two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0101414 | [G] | Voices of Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Richard White, David Ogden Stiers, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart, Bradley Pierce, Jo Anne Worley, Kimmy Robertson | Animation, Family, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beauty and the Boss | 1932 | Roy Del Ruth. | ★★½ | 66 | William is in his element as a philandering banker who becomes too distracted by all his pretty secretaries, so he hires mousy Marsh . . . but she blossoms into an irresistible beauty. Saucy pre-Code Cinderella story is a notch below William's best but still amusing. Remade in 1934 as THE CHURCH MOUSE. | tt0021647 | Warren William, Marian Marsh, David Manners, Charles Butterworth, Frederick Kerr, Mary Doran, Lilian Bond. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Beauty for Sale | 1933 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★ | 87 | Entertaining soaper about girl whose job at high-society beauty salon leads to liaison with husband of wealthy customer. Evans never looked more beautiful, photographed here by James Wong Howe. Based on a Faith Baldwin story. | tt0023785 | Madge Evans, Alice Brady, Otto Kruger, Una Merkel, May Robson, Phillips Holmes, Eddie Nugent, Hedda Hopper, Florine McKinney, Isabel Jewell, Charles Grapewin | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Beauty for the Asking | 1939 | Glenn Tryon | ★★½ | 68 | Working girl Ball is jilted by money-hungry Knowles; he comes crawling back after she invents an exclusive beauty cream. Watchable programmer, with an interesting feminist viewpoint and good early Ball performance. | tt0031089 | Lucille Ball, Patric Knowles, Frieda Inescort, Donald Woods, Inez Courtney, Leona Maricle | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Beaver | 2011 | Jodie Foster | ★★½ | 91 | A man suffering from severe depression tries to commit suicide and fails. Then he begins to put the pieces of his life back together, speaking only through the Cockney accent of a furry hand puppet, The Beaver. His wife is perplexed and appalled, while his young son blossoms under the newfound attention. Meanwhile, his older boy (Yelchin) fears that he has inherited all his father’s worst traits. Intriguing, way-offbeat parable written by Kyle Killen gains traction through Gibson’s fully committed performance, though it’s hard to say what lessons are learned when it’s all said and done. | tt1321860 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Cherry Jones, Riley Thomas Stewart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beavis and Butt-head Do America | 1996 | Mike Judge | ★★½ | 80 | The unabashedly ignorant, flagrantly antisocial, hormonally charged duo from MTV's animated series find themselves on a cross-country odyssey that begins when someone steals their all-important TV set. Alternately stupid, gross, and hilarious, this modest cartoon feature is certainly true to itself and certain to please B&B fans. Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and David Letterman contribute unbilled voices, but best of all is the casting of Stack as a hard-nosed Federal agent. Huh-huh-huh. | tt0115641 | [PG-13] | Voices of Mike Judge, Robert Stack, Cloris Leachman, Eric Bogosian, Richard Linklater | Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bebe's Kids | 1992 | Bruce Smith | ★★½ | 74 | Raucous animated feature based on a routine by the late comedian Robin Harris (voiced here by Faizon Love) whose date with an attractive woman turns into a nightmare when she brings along her son— and three brats she's looking after. The first animated feature aimed squarely at a black audience is lively, often funny— but a bit protracted. | tt0103783 | [PG-13] | Voices of Faizon Love, Nell Carter, Myra J., Vanessa Bell Calloway, Tone Loc, Wayne Collins, Jonell Green, Marques Houston | Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Bebo's Girl | 1964 | Luigi Comencini | ★★½ | 106 | At times memorable love story spotlighting Cardinale's decision to leave her new lover in order to reaffirm her attachment with first love, now serving a prison term. | tt0057444 | Claudia Cardinale, George Chakiris, Mario Lupi, Dany Paris | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Because I Said So | 2007 | Michael Lehmann | ★★ | 102 | Meddlesome mother has married off two of her girls but can't leave her remaining single daughter alone; she even takes out a personals ad in order to audition prospects, then steers the likeliest candidate (Scott) her way. But Moore is more attracted to a freewheeling musician (Macht) of whom her mom doesn't approve. Contrived romantic comedy is torpedoed by Keaton's character, who is unbelievably annoying. | tt0490084 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Gabriel Macht, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, Stephen Collins, Ty Panitz, Tony Hale | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Because They're Young | 1960 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 102 | Clark made his screen acting debut in this ho-hum adaptation of John Farris' Harrison High. Mr. American Bandstand stars as an understanding do-gooder teacher, who attempts to help his troubled students. | tt0053641 | Dick Clark, Michael Callan, Tuesday Weld, Victoria Shaw, Doug McClure, James Darren, Warren Berlinger, Roberta Shore, Duane Eddy and The Rebels | Drama | NULL | |||
| Because You're Mine | 1952 | Alexander Hall | ★★ | 103 | Opera star Lanza is drafted and falls in love with Morrow, the sister of his top sergeant (Whitmore). For Lanza fans only. | tt0044402 | Mario Lanza, James Whitmore, Doretta Morrow, Dean Miller, Paula Corday, Jeff Donnell, Spring Byington, Don Porter, Eduard Franz, Bobby Van | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Because of Him | 1946 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 88 | Contrived comedy recalls Deanna's earlier (and better) vehicles as she schemes to become the protégée of Broadway star Laughton, with interference from playwright Tone. A few songs are shoehorned into the film as arbitrarily as most of the story elements. | tt0038341 | Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, Charles Laughton, Helen Broderick, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Because of Winn-Dixie | 2005 | Wayne Wang. | ★★ | 106 | Tepid adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's children's novel (and an offbeat choice for director Wang) about a 10-year-old girl and her minister father, whose wife has abandoned him . . . and a dog that changes a community. Genial to a fault, but packed with local eccentrics who seem more out of Central Casting than anyone's real life. Singer Matthews probably fares best as an ex-con who runs a pet shop, though young Robb at least has a winning smile. | tt0317132 | [PG] | AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Eva Marie Saint, Dave Matthews, Courtney Jines, Elle Fanning, Harland Williams. | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Because of You | 1952 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 95 | Loretta weds Jeff— but fails to inform him that she's a parolee; then she takes up with her ex-boyfriend, a drug smuggler. Trite and forgettable. | tt0044403 | Loretta Young, Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, Frances Dee, Mae Clarke, Alexander Scourby | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Becket | 1964 | Peter Glenville | ★★★★ | 148 | Stunning film, adapted by Edward Anhalt (who won an Oscar) from the Jean Anouilh play, centers on stormy friendship between Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas à Becket and his English King, Henry II. Superbly acted and magnificently photographed (by Geoffrey Unsworth) on location in England. | tt0057877 | Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Donald Wolfit, Martita Hunt, Pamela Brown, Felix Aylmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Becky Sharp | 1935 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 83 | Witty but sometimes ponderous adaptation of Thackeray's Vanity Fair with Hopkins as self-reliant girl whose sole concern is herself. Historically important as first full-Technicolor (3-color) feature, designed by Robert Edmond Jones (and photographed by Ray Rennahan). Long available only in inferior 67m. Cinecolor reissue prints; archivally restored in 1985. Previously filmed in 1923 and 1932, remade in 2004 (all as VANITY FAIR). | tt0026104 | Miriam Hopkins, Frances Dee, Cedric Hardwicke, Billie Burke, Alison Skipworth, Nigel Bruce | Drama | NULL | |||
| Becoming Colette | 1992 | Danny Huston | ★½ | 97 | Ridiculous tale of the famed French writer Colette (May), depicted as an inexperienced country girl who weds publisher Brandauer. He prints her writing under his name, and sets up a threesome with Madsen (but becomes outraged when the women fall in love). The director is the son of John Huston, but may as well be the protégé of Zalman King. | tt0101416 | [R] | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Mathilda May, Virginia Madsen, Paul Rhys, John van Dreelen, Jean-Pierre Aumont | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Becoming Jane | 2007 | Julian Jarrold | ★★★ | 113 | Future novelist Jane Austen (Hathaway) is from humble Hampshire means and should be looking to secure an advantageous marriage. Instead, the headstrong young woman wants life on her own terms . . . but only after falling in love with a brash Irishman (McAvoy) does her writing mature and reveal “life experience.” Entertaining film, based on Austen’s letters, indicates that this episode in her life inspired Pride and Prejudice. Hathaway fares well in the midst of a mostly British cast. | tt0416508 | [PG] | Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith, Joe Anderson, Lucy Cohu, Laurence Fox, Ian Richardson | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Bed Sitting Room | 1969 | Richard Lester | ★★½ | 91 | Moderately successful black-comedy look at distorted, devastated England three years after nuclear war. A few funny bits, great cast, but film doesn't click. Marty Feldman makes his film debut in a brief bit. | tt0064074 | Rita Tushingham, Ralph Richardson, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Harry Secombe, Arthur Lowe, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, Michael Hordern, Mona Washbourne | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bed and Board | 1970 | François Truffaut | ★★★½ | 97 | Chapter Four of the Antoine Doinel story. Here, Doinel (Léaud) is married to Christine (Jade); he is confused, immature, becomes a father, and has an affair with Berghauer. Lovingly directed by Truffaut; Jacques Tati has an amusing cameo as M. Hulot. Followed by LOVE ON THE RUN. | tt0065651 | [PG] | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Hiroko Berghauer, Daniel Ceccaldi, Claire Duhamel | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Bed and Breakfast | 1992 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★½ | 98 | A debonair stranger makes his impact on a houseful of women, who span several generations. First-rate performances, and a gorgeous setting on the Maine coast, make this modest film worth seeing, especially on the small screen; filmed in 1989. | tt0103784 | [PG-13] | Roger Moore, Talia Shire, Colleen Dewhurst, Nina Siemaszko, Ford Rainey, Stephen Root, Jamie Walters, Victor Slezak | Short | NULL | ||
| Bed of Roses | 1996 | Michael Goldenberg | ★★ | 87 | Business exec Masterson is courted by florist Slater (a young widower), but her past troubled relationships prevent her from committing to him. Attempt at a serious romantic film is emotionally off the mark, though the performers try their best. | tt0115644 | [PG] | Christian Slater, Mary Stuart Masterson, Pamela Segall, Josh Brolin, Ally Walker, Debra Monk | Romance | NULL | ||
| Bedazzled | 1967 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 107 | Cult film updating Faust legend is as sacrilegious as THE SINGING NUN and usually funnier. The laughs aren't always consistent, but the Cook-Moore team is terrific and Donen's direction stylish. And remember the magic words: 'Julie Andrews!' Remade in 2000. | tt0061391 | Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Eleanor Bron, Raquel Welch, Alba, Barry Humphries | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bedazzled | 2000 | Harold Ramis | ★★½ | 93 | Sweet-natured nerd sells his soul to a sexy Devil (Hurley) in exchange for seven wishes, but she manages to put a hitch into all of his dreams-come-true. All he really wants is for the coworker he worships from afar to fall in love with him. Funny in spots, with Fraser and Hurley hitting just the right note, but remake of 1967 film never catches fire. | tt0230030 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances O'Connor, Miriam Shor, Orlando Jones, Paul Adelstein, Toby Huss, Gabriele Casseus, Brian Doyle-Murray | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bedelia | 1946 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 92 | Naive Hunter marries a woman with a past, including (it turns out) several husbands who met mysterious ends. Absorbing but not terribly suspenseful. Based on a Vera Caspary novel. | tt0038342 | Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter, Barry K. Barnes, Anne Crawford, Jill Esmond | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bedevilled | 1955 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 85 | Bizarre yarn of chanteuse Baxter fleeing from murder scene, protected by Forrest, who's studying for priesthood; filmed in Paris. | tt0047865 | Anne Baxter, Steve Forrest, Simone Renant, Victor Francen | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Bedford Incident | 1965 | James B. Harris | ★★★ | 102 | Strong Cold War story of authoritarian Navy captain (Widmark) scouting Russian subs near Greenland and the mental conflicts that develop on his ship. Poitier is reporter too good to be true, Balsam a sympathetic doctor disliked by Widmark. Cast excels in intriguing battle of wits. | tt0058962 | Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox, Eric Portman, Donald Sutherland | Thriller, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Bedknobs and Broomsticks | 1971 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 117 | Elaborate Disney musical fantasy about amateur witch who helps British cause in WW2; no MARY POPPINS, but quite enjoyable, with Oscar-winning special effects and delightful animated cartoon sequences directed by Ward Kimball. Reissued at 98m. 141m. archival edition assembled in 1996, with more (and longer) songs, clearer plot, and more of a part for McDowall. | tt0066817 | [G] | Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe, Roy Snart, Cindy O'Callaghan, Ian Weighill | Adventure, Animation, Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bedlam | 1946 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 79 | Atmospheric chiller of courageous Lee trying to expose shameful conditions at notorious 18th-century London insane asylum run by corrupt head Karloff. Producer Val Lewton also coscripted under pseudonym Carlos Keith. Robert Clarke appears unbilled. | tt0038343 | Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Ian Wolfe, Richard Fraser, Billy House, Jason Robards/Sr | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Bedroom Window | 1987 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 112 | An innocent man offers to alibi for his boss' sexy wife, who witnessed an assault from his bedroom window after they made love. This apparently simple gesture snowballs into a web of crime and duplicity, in this attractive, sexy, and suspenseful Hitchcock homage. Guttenberg is no Cary Grant (or James Stewart), but the film is consistently enjoyable— if not always absolutely believable. | tt0092627 | [R] | Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Paul Shenar, Carl Lumbly, Wallace Shawn, Frederick Coffin, Brad Greenquist | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bedrooms & Hallways | 1999 | Rose Troche | ★★ | 95 | Ambitious but flat sex comedy about two gay roommates. One has a hot-and-heavy affair in which the emphasis is on sex; the other has a budding romance with a man who has just busted up with his longtime girlfriend. Good when it explores relationships, less successful in its silly parodies of men's groups and Jane Austen novels. | tt0126810 | Kevin McKidd, Hugo Weaving, James Purefoy, Tom Hollander, Christopher Fulford, Julie Graham, Paul Higgins, Jennifer Ehle, Simon Callow | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bedside | 1934 | Robert Florey. | ★★ | 66 | William has one of his sleaziest 'rat' roles as an expelled medical student who buys a diploma from a junkie doctor and cons his way to a lucrative career as a high-society quack. Far-fetched from start to finish and not as enjoyable as other cynical Warner Bros. pre-Code movies because the subject matter is too serious to be treated in such a flip manner. | tt0024867 | Jean Muir, Warren William, Allen Jenkins, David Landau, Kathryn Sergava, Donald Meek, Henry O'Neill, Louise Beavers. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bedtime Stories | 2008 | Adam Shankman | ★★ | 99 | Story of an underdog whose father’s homespun motel has been transformed into a super-luxury hotel where he now works as a handyman. Then he discovers that telling bedtime tales to his niece and nephew have the potential to change his fortunes. Disney film had real potential, starting out as a fable about the power of storytelling . . . but it’s been vulgarized (and needlessly cluttered) by Sandler and his writing cohorts. Young kids may still enjoy it but thoughtful parents will steer them elsewhere. | tt0960731 | [PG] | Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Courteney Cox, Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce, Lucy Lawless, Teresa Palmer, Aisha Tyler | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bedtime Story | 1941 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 85 | Fine cast in sparkling comedy of playwright March trying to stop wife Young from retiring so she can star in his next play. | tt0033382 | Fredric March, Loretta Young, Robert Benchley, Allyn Joslyn, Eve Arden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bedtime Story | 1964 | Ralph Levy | ★★½ | 99 | Offbeat casting of stars provides chief interest in lackluster comedy of con men Brando and Niven competing for Jones' affection. Remade as DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. | tt0057878 | Marlon Brando, David Niven, Shirley Jones, Dody Goodman, Marie Windsor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Bedtime Story | 1933 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 87 | Breezy Chevalier musical vehicle with Parisian playboy playing father to abandoned baby who interferes with his romancing. | tt0023787 | Maurice Chevalier, Helen Twelvetrees, Baby LeRoy, Adrienne Ames, Edward Everett Horton | Musical | NULL | |||
| Bedtime for Bonzo | 1951 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 83 | Often cited as the pinnacle of absurdity in Reagan's career, but in fact it's a cute, harmless little comedy about a professor who treats a chimp as his child for a heredity experiment. Reagan did not appear in the sequel, BONZO GOES TO COLLEGE. | tt0043325 | Ronald Reagan, Diana Lynn, Walter Slezak, Jesse White, Lucille Barkley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bee Movie | 2007 | Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith | ★★★ | 90 | It's the ABCs of being a bee, as typified by the experiences of recent college grad Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), who’s disinclined to enter the trade of every family member and friend: keeping those honey coffers going. Brisk animation and a sardonically Seinfeld-ish tone keep this fun, though the relationship between the bee-boy protagonist and a female human he befriends (Zellweger) never really catches fire. More successful around the edges than down the middle, this gleans substantial chortles from its ragging of real-life celebrities. | tt0389790 | [PG] | Voices of Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Miller, Megan Mullally, Rip Torn | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Bee Season | 2005 | Scott McGehee, David Siegel | ★★½ | 104 | Ambitious but convoluted drama about the power of words, the meaning of religion, and competition. Sixth-grader Cross almost mystically becomes a champion speller, and her success has a profound impact on the other members of her family. The filmmakers cleverly visualize the words and letters in Eliza's mind, but Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal's script (adapted from Myla Goldberg's best-selling novel) lacks cohesion. | tt0387059 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Flora Cross, Max Minghella, Kate Bosworth | Drama | NULL | ||
| Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me | 1971 | Jeffrey Young | ★½ | 90 | Bland, dated film version of Richard Fariña's novel about hip 1960s type trying to endure life on a 1958 campus. | tt0066818 | [R] | Barry Primus, Linda DeCoff, David Browning, Susan Tyrrell, Philip Shafer, Bruce Davison, Raul Julia | Drama | NULL | ||
| Been Rich All My Life | 2006 | Heather Lyn MacDonald | ★★★ | 81 | Easy-to-take documentary about the Silver Belles, a troupe of indomitable tap-dancing octogenarians formed in the 1980s long after their prime showgirl days working at the Cotton Club and the Apollo. The movie's point, though, is to question how 'prime' is defined; every woman here looks (and acts) about two decades younger than her given age. Racially inspired hardships are somewhat skimmed over, though it's intriguing to learn how just a few of these women shut down the Apollo during a strike for better wages. | tt0810768 |
|
Marion Coles, Elaine Ellis, Cleo Hayes, Fay Ray, Bertye Lou Wood | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Beer | 1985 | Patrick Kelly | ★½ | 82 | Unimaginative, ultimately tasteless spoof of Madison Avenue hype, with Swit as an ad-agency executive who devises a highly successful commercial campaign to sell beer. Not so far from reality— and not terribly funny. | tt0088781 | [R] | Loretta Swit, Rip Torn, Kenneth Mars, David Alan Grier, William Russ, Saul Stein, Dick Shawn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beer League | Artie Lange's Beer League | 2006 | Frank Sebastiano | ★★½ | 87 | Motley group of thirtysomething losers on a slow-pitch New Jersey softball team have to shape up and beat their obnoxious rivals or get booted out of the league, but they spend most of their time boozing, brawling, and carousing. You don't have to be from Jersey to enjoy this affably lowbrow, gleefully politically-incorrect update of THE BAD NEW BEARS, although downing a six-pack will certainly help. Tina Fey makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. Cowritten by Lange. Aka ARTIE LANGE'S BEER LEAGUE. | tt0453453 | [R] | Artie Lange, Ralph Macchio, Anthony De Sando, Cara Buono, Jimmy Palumbo, Joe Lo Truglio, Jerry Minor, Seymour Cassel, Michael Deeg, Laurie Metcalf | Comedy, Sport | NULL | |
| Beerfest | 2006 | Jay Chandrasekhar | ★★ | 110 | Two brothers travel to Munich for Oktoberfest and discover an underground 'fight club' devoted to ancient games involving beer drinking and other sports. They vow to recruit friends, train, and return to compete the next year. Gross-out concoction from the Broken Lizard comedy troupe goes for the most obvious, juvenile college humor, hitting an occasional bull's-eye, especially when Leachman starts in with beer and sausage jokes. Waaaaaay over the top, but harmless enough for the undemanding, possibly inebriated dudes likely to watch it. Donald Sutherland appears unbilled. Unrated version runs 112m. | tt0486551 | [R] | Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Kevin Heffernan, Jürgen Prochnow, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Mo'Nique, Eric Christian Olsen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bees | 1978 | Alfredo Zacharias | ★½ | 83 | After THE SWARM, if you sincerely want to see this low-budget disaster film about killer bees, you get what you deserve. Filmed in Mexico. | tt0075620 | [PG] | John Saxon, Angel Tompkins, John Carradine, Claudio Brook, Alicia Encinias | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Beethoven | 1992 | Brian Levant | ★★½ | 87 | Innocuous family comedy about an uptight Dad (Grodin) whose family talks him into keeping a runaway puppy that grows into a big, slobbering St. Bernard. It's fun to watch all-American, clean-cut Jones playing a slimy, raspy-voiced villain here. Followed by BEETHOVEN'S 2ND and three direct-to-video sequels. | tt0103786 | [PG] | Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile, Sarah Rose Karr, David Duchovny, Patricia Heaton, Laurel Cronin, Beethoven | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beethoven's 2nd | 1993 | Rod Daniel | ★★½ | 86 | Painless sequel, on par with its predecessor, which charts the various complications when Grodin's kids raise St. Bernard Beethoven's puppies on the sly. If you liked the original . . . Followed by three direct-to-video sequels. | tt0106375 | [PG] | Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile, Sarah Rose Karr, Debi Mazar, Christopher Penn, Ashley Hamilton, Maury Chaykin, Jeff Corey, Virginia Capers, Beethoven | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beethoven's Great Love | 1936 | Abel Gance | ★★★½ | 116 | The life of the great composer told with titanic verve. Beethoven's artistic triumphs and his tragic struggle with deafness are portrayed against the backdrop of his compositions. Gance's bravura use of images and expressionistic use of sound make this a worthy companion piece to his silent masterpiece NAPOLEON. American titles: BEETHOVEN and THE LIFE AND LOVES OF BEETHOVEN. | tt0028438 | Harry Baur, Jean-Louis Barrault, Marcel Dalio, Jany Holt, Annie Ducaux, Jean Debucourt, Sylvie Gance | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beetle Juice | 1988 | Tim Burton | ★★★ | 92 | Newly deceased couple in need of help coping with the afterlife, and obnoxious family who's moved into their home, get it in the form of renegade spirit Betelgeuse (Keaton, who pulls out all the stops). Fantastic special effects make this a sort of live-action cartoon. Added treat: Sylvia Sidney as harried case worker in the hereafter. Great fun, and surprisingly good-natured in spirit. Music by Danny Elfman, with a strong assist from Harry Belafonte. Academy Award winner for makeup. Followed by an animated TV series. | tt0094721 | [PG] | Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, Sylvia Sidney, Robert Goulet, Glenn Shadix, Dick Cavett, Annie McEnroe | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Before Dawn | 1933 | Irving Pichel. | ★★½ | 60 | Detective Erwin uses clairvoyant Wilson to solve the case of buried loot hidden in a spooky old mansion, replete with sliding doors and a floating death mask. Oland took a break from Charlie Chan to play a villainous doctor in this minor but interesting mystery-comedy. Based on an original screen story by Edgar Wallace. | tt0023790 | Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Wilson, Warner Oland, Dudley Digges, Gertrude W. Hoffman, Oscar Apfel, Frank Reicher, Jane Darwell. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Before I Hang | 1940 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 71 | Contrived but intriguing tale of prison scientist Karloff having youth serum backfire on him, driving him mad at odd moments. | tt0032245 | Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett, Pedro de Cordoba, Edward Van Sloan | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Before Night Falls | 2000 | Julian Schnabel | ★★★ | 125 | Often compelling look at the life of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, spanning several decades as he discovers his homosexuality, blossoms as a writer, then finds that in Castro's Cuba he's persecuted on both counts. Told in episodic fashion, the film has many great scenes, but goes on a bit too long. Bardem's performance is exceptional. Penn appears briefly as a Cuban peasant, Depp in two successive scenes as a transvestite prisoner and a warden. | tt0247196 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Michael Wincott, Hector Babenco, Jerzy Skolimowski | Drama | NULL | ||
| Before Sunrise | 1995 | Richard Linklater | ★★½ | 101 | Young American strikes up a conversation with a fellow train passenger and persuades her to get off in Vienna and share his last night in Europe; they do, in fact, spend the entire night talking and falling in love. A somewhat daring idea for the '90s, buoyed by two engaging performers; it is (unavoidably) awfully talky, but it's also undeniably romantic. Followed by a sequel. | tt0112471 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Before Sunset | 2004 | Richard Linklater | ★★★½ | 80 | Disarming follow-up to BEFORE SUNRISE has the two characters meeting up nine years later as he passes through Paris on a book tour. They catch up in the short time he has before having to head for the airport, walking through various neighborhoods, gradually letting down their guards about their feelings toward one another. A beguiling look at chances lost and taken, the lasting effect of impulsive decisions, and how one meaningful encounter can resonate for years to come. Script is credited to the stars and director. | tt0381681 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Before Winter Comes | 1969 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 102 | Topol is interpreter for British officer Niven in displaced persons' camp following WW2. Uneven comedy-drama with many touching moments, capturing plight of refugees. Topol's warmth shines in winning performance. | tt0064075 | [M] | David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, Anthony Quayle, Ori Levy | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Before and After | 1996 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★★ | 107 | Sober tale of a New England family torn apart— and ostracized— when the son is accused of murdering a teenage girl and then disappears. The father is willing to cover the boy's tracks, while mother and daughter want to tell the truth, in spite of the consequences. Absorbing and believable story (written by Ted Tally). Look for Paul Giamatti as a courtroom spectator. | tt0115645 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Edward Furlong, Alfred Molina, Julia Weldon, Daniel von Bargen, John Heard, Ann Magnuson, Larry Pine, Wesley Addy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Before the Devil Knows You're Dead | 2007 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 116 | Pressured payroll manager (Hoffman) convinces his ne'er-do-well brother (Hawke) to rob their parents' jewelry store for some quick (and easy) money. Naturally, things go wrong and the repercussions keep building and building. Tense, claustrophobic drama, told in time-splintered structure, is well acted and well staged by Lumet, but the utter unpleasantness of the story and the characters becomes repetitious and wearying. | tt0292963 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Bryan F. O'Byrne, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Leonardo Cimino | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Before the Rain | 1994 | Milcho Manchevski | ★★★ | 114 | Fascinating look at several intertwining lives in the newly independent, and strife-torn, Republic of Macedonia (formerly Yugoslavia), where rural poverty and violent rage are prevalent. Story links a young monk, a globetrotting photojournalist, and a stylish young woman in London who is at a crossroads in her personal life. Film's structure resembles PULP FICTION, which debuted almost simultaneously. A strong statement that unfolds slowly; stick with this one. | tt0110882 | Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Serbedzija, Gregoire Colin, Labina Mitevska | Macedonian-British-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Before the Rains | 2008 | Santosh Sivan | ★★★ | 98 | Set in 1930s India at a time of emerging nationalism, ambitious young Indian man must choose between the past and his own future when he discovers an illicit affair is taking place between his English spice-baron boss and a local woman from the village. First English-language film for Indian director Sivan captures the bustling soul of a community in transition, even if it surrenders to some soapy plotting sensibilities along the way. Based on Red Roofs, a segment in the 2001 film YELLOW ASPHALT: THREE DESERT STORIES. | tt0870195 | [PG-13] | Linus Roache, Jennifer Ehle, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Leo Benedict | Indian-British-U.S. | Thriller | NULL | |
| Before the Revolution | 1964 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 115 | Bertolucci's second feature (which he wrote when he was 22 years old) dramatizes the dilemma of young, middle-class Barilli. Will he embrace a life of social and political radicalism, or submit to the bourgeois status quo? Revealing 1960s time capsule, loaded with topical ideas, references, and fervor. | tt0056371 | Adriana Asti, Francisco Barilli, Alain Midgette, Morando Morandini, Domenico Alpi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Beggar's Opera | 1953 | Peter Brook | ★★★ | 94 | Celebrated stage director Brook made his film debut with this vivid, energetic version of John Gay's opera. Coproducer and star Olivier is somewhat miscast but more than makes up for it with his sly portrayal of a jailed highwayman who exaggerates his exploits into a musical revue. | tt0045547 | Laurence Olivier, Stanley Holloway, Dorothy Tutin, Daphne Anderson, Mary Clare, Hugh Griffith, Laurence Naismith | British | Crime, Musical | NULL | ||
| Beggars of Life | 1928 | William A. Wellman. | ★★★★ | 100 | Tramp Arlen comes upon a young girl (Brooks) who has just murdered her lecherous foster father. The two hit the road, one step ahead of the law, and soon mix with Oklahoma Red (Beery), a tough, high-spirited hobo. This empathetic, darkly realistic drama is loaded with stunning visuals, and is one of the great late-silent-era features. Originally included a sound sequence in which Beery sings! Jim Tully adapted his own novel with Benjamin Glazer. | tt0018684 | Wallace Beery, Richard Arlen, Louise Brooks, Robert Perry, Roscoe Karns, Edgar (Blue) Washington. | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Beginners | 2011 | Mike Mills | ★★½ | 105 | Highly personal story by writer-director Mills about a 38-year-old artist (McGregor) who’s never had a successful relationship. After his father’s death he reflects on his parents’ lengthy but strained marriage, how his mother shaped his view of the world, and how his father came out of the closet at age 75. Plummer’s warm embrace of his new lifestyle (shown in flashbacks) is contrasted with his son’s inability to commit to a woman he’s fallen in love with. Well acted all around, but how you respond to this quirky, nonlinear film may depend on how you relate to McGregor’s locked-up character, who isn’t nearly as interesting as his father. | tt1532503 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Lou Taylor Pucci | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beginning of the End | 1957 | Bert I. Gordon | ★½ | 73 | Awful sci-fi outing about giant grasshoppers (thanks to radiation) on the rampage; at the climax, they invade Chicago— but none too convincingly. | tt0050177 | Peggie Castle, Peter Graves, Morris Ankrum, Thomas Browne Henry | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Beginning or the End | 1947 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 112 | Engrossing account of atomic bomb development, depicting both human and spectacular aspects. | tt0039178 | Brian Donlevy, Robert Walker, Beverly Tyler, Audrey Totter, Hume Cronyn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Beguiled | 1971 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 109 | Offbeat, methodically paced story set in Civil War South. Wounded Eastwood brought to girls' school to recuperate; he becomes catalyst for flurry of jealousy and hatred. Unusual Eastwood fare, but for patient viewers, a rich, rewarding film. | tt0066819 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris, Darleen Carr, Pamelyn Ferdin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Behave Yourself! | 1951 | George Beck | ★★ | 81 | Loud, limp black comedy with Granger and Winters miscast as young marrieds who take in a dog trained to act as a link between two gangs in a smuggling scheme. Good supporting cast is wasted. The title song was cowritten by Buddy Ebsen! | tt0043327 | Farley Granger, Shelley Winters, William Demarest, Francis L. Sullivan, Margalo Gillmore, Lon Chaney/Jr., Sheldon Leonard, Marvin Kaplan, Glenn Anders, Allen Jenkins, Elisha Cook/Jr., Hans Conried | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Behind Enemy Lines | 2001 | John Moore | ★★½ | 106 | A cocky naval airman is shot down behind enemy lines in Bosnia and his commanding officer is unable to rescue him because of political constraints. Action yarn delivers a lot of excitement, but a hyperactive camera may produce motion sickness in some viewers. The corny finale seems to have come from a lesser-grade Hollywood movie of decades past. | tt0159273 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Gene Hackman, Gabriel Macht, Charles Malik Whitfield, Joaquim de Almeida, David Keith, Olek Krupa, Vladimir Mashkov | Action, Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Behind Locked Doors | The Human Gorilla | 1948 | Oscar (Budd) Boetticher | ★★½ | 62 | Pretty good grade-B film noir about a private eye who checks into a sanitarium on a tip that a wanted judge is holed up there. Johnson is put to good use as a former prizefighter kept in solitary confinement. | tt0040153 | Richard Carlson, Lucille Bremer, Douglas Fowley, Thomas Browne Henry, Dickie Moore, Tor Johnson | Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Behind That Curtain | 1929 | Irving Cummings | ★½ | 90 | Exceedingly stilted and old-fashioned early-talkie melodrama about heiress Moran victimized by her scoundrel of a husband, fleeing to arms of lover Baxter. Noteworthy only as the first sound film appearance of Charlie Chan (Park), albeit in an irrelevant five-minute part near the end. Long considered lost, this is one 'treasure' that could have stayed buried. | tt0019684 | Warner Baxter, Lois Moran, Gilbert Emery, Claude King, Philip Strange, Boris Karloff, E. L. Park | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Behind the Eight Ball | 1942 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 60 | Entertainers get tangled in murder whodunit, with Demarest as determined detective. Typical nonsense plot squeezed in between musical numbers. | tt0034500 | Ritz Brothers, Carol Bruce, Grace McDonald, Dick Foran, William Demarest, Johnny Downs | Comedy, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Behind the Front | 1926 | A. Edward Sutherland. | ★★½ | 60 | Entertaining silent army comedy, broadly played by buddies Beery and Hatton. Many devices have been reused countless times, but they're handled smoothly here. | tt0016638 | Wallace Beery, Mary Brian, Raymond Hatton, Richard Arlen, Tom Kennedy, Chester Conklin, Gertrude Astor. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Behind the High Wall | 1956 | Abner Biberman | ★★ | 85 | Intertwining yarn of grasping prison warden, his crippled wife (nicely played by Sidney), hidden money, and convict escape plan. Remake of THE BIG GUY (1939). | tt0048996 | Tom Tully, Sylvia Sidney, Betty Lynn, John Gavin | Crime | NULL | |||
| Behind the Rising Sun | 1943 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 89 | Japanese man (Naish) urges his Americanized son (Neal) to become involved in Sino-Japanese war during 1930s, but doesn't like what happens as a result. Interesting for WW2-era point of view. | tt0035669 | Margo, Tom Neal, J. Carrol Naish, Robert Ryan, Gloria Holden, Donald Douglas, George Givot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Behind the Sun | 2001 | Walter Salles | ★★★ | 93 | Lyrical, quietly absorbing fable set in rural Brazil in 1910 about two feuding families whose patriarchs dispatch their sons to kill each other's offspring in the name of honor. The unfolding events are seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old (Lacerda) who attempts to free himself and his brother from this ritual of violence. Extremely effective. | tt0291003 | [PG-13] | José Dumont, Rodrigo Santoro, Rita Assemany, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Flavia Marco Antonio, Ravi Ramos Lacerda | Brazilian-French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Behold My Wife! | 1934 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 78 | Raymond's snobbish family objects to his love for Indian maiden Sidney. Predictable wrong-side-of-the-reservation romance. | tt0026107 | Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, Juliette Compton, Laura Hope Crews, Ann Sheridan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Behold a Pale Horse | 1964 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★½ | 118 | Peck and Quinn wage an ideological battle in post-Spanish Civil War story of politics and violence that loses focus, becoming confused and talky. Valiant try by all. | tt0057879 | Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Mildred Dunnock, Christian Marquand, Raymond Pellegrin | War | NULL | |||
| Beijing Bicycle | 2001 | Wang Xiaoshuai | ★★ | 113 | Muddled account of a shy, naïve country boy (Lin), newly arrived in Beijing, who finds a job as a bicycle messenger; then, predictably, his bike is stolen. Potentially compelling allegory of the dreams and hopes of the young is done in by dullness and endless repetition. Obviously inspired by De Sica's THE BICYCLE THIEF. | tt0276501 | [PG-13] | Cui Lin, Li Bin, Zhou Xun, Gao Yuanyuan, Li Shuang, Zhao Yiwei, Pang Yan | Taiwanese-Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey | 2011 | Constance Marks | ★★★ | 76 | Thoroughly winning documentary about Kevin Clash, who pursues his boyhood dream of making puppets and forges a lifelong career. Among the highlights: working alongside his hero, Jim Henson, and taking over (and reinventing) an unsuccessful Sesame Street character named Elmo, who became a beloved figure for children of all ages. With Clash's active participation, this modest film candidly reveals the price he paid for being a workaholic—neglect of his family—but also shows him mentoring a youngster who shares his lifelong passion. | tt1787660 | [PG] | Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Being Flynn | 2012 | Paul Weitz | ★★ | 101 | Not altogether successful but well-acted father-son story is based on the autobiographical book by Nick Flynn, played here by Dano. While working in a homeless shelter he encounters his colorful, eccentric, and estranged father, nicely portrayed by De Niro, who gets a chance to dig deep in order to capture the oddball spirit of a proud, down-on-his-luck man who has a hard time acknowledging that his son became a more successful writer than he did. The two actors have nice chemistry but the screenplay sometimes wanders off in the wrong direction. Moore is wasted in her brief role. | tt0455323 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Julianne Moore, Olivia Thirlby, Eddie Rouse, Lili Taylor, Wes Studi, Victor Rasuk | Drama | NULL | ||
| Being Human | 1994 | Bill Forsyth | ★★½ | 122 | Queer duck of a movie with Williams as five different men— through five periods of time (spanning 10,000 years)— who are cosmically related. All of them are struggling and striving, without much success, to find happiness. If you can get past the off-putting narration, it's intermittently intriguing, a definite original from writer-director Forsyth. The always watchable Williams makes this journey worthwhile. | tt0106379 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, John Turturro, Anna Galiena, Vincent D'Onofrio, Hector Elizondo, Lorraine Bracco, Lindsay Crouse, Grace Mahlaba, Dave Jones, Jonathan Hyde, Lizzy McInnerny, William H. Macy | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Being John Malkovich | 1999 | Spike Jonze | ★★★½ | 112 | Remarkable, audaciously original black comedy/fantasy about an iconoclastic puppeteer (Cusack) who discovers a portal into the mind of actor John Malkovich, and decides to exploit its possibilities. A far-out premise (by writer Charlie Kaufman) is ingeniously developed into a full-blown story and acted with pizzazz. Malkovich is a marvel in an especially sly, nuanced performance. Other stars make gag cameos. Feature debut for commercial and music video director Jonze. | tt0120601 | [R] | John Cusack, John Malkovich, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, Charlie Sheen | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Being Julia | 2004 | István Szabó | ★★½ | 104 | Married, middle-aged stage star in 1930s London is rejuvenated by a fling with a younger man but has other personal and professional obstacles to overcome. Bening is radiant and shines as her character blossoms, but the story sags until a deliciously funny finale. Budapest stands in for period London. Ronald Harwood adapted W. Somerset Maugham's novel Theatre. | tt0340012 | [R] | Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Shaun Evans, Lucy Punch, Maury Chaykin, Sheila McCarthy, Michael Gambon, Leigh Lawson, Rosemary Harris, Rita Tushingham, Thomas Sturridge | Hungarian-Canadian-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Being There | 1979 | Hal Ashby | ★★½ | 130 | A childlike man (Sellers) chances to meet important, powerful people who interpret his bewildered silence as brilliance. Low-keyed black humor, full of savagely witty comments on American life in the television age, but fatally overlong. Adapted by Jerzy Kosinski from his own story. Douglas won Oscar as political kingmaker. | tt0078841 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine,Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, Richard Basehart, James Noble, David Clennon, Ruth Attaway | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Being | Easter Sunday | 1983 | Jackie Kong | ★½ | 79 | Creature spawned by nuclear waste terrorizes Idaho community. Humor is film's saving grace, but it isn't enough to overcome grade-Z script and production. Producer William Osco (Kong's then-husband) also costars under the name Rexx Coltrane. Filmed in 1980; briefly shown as EASTER SUNDAY. | tt0085224 | [R] | Martin Landau, Jose Ferrer, Dorothy Malone, Ruth Buzzi, Marianne Gordon Rogers, Murray Langston, Kinky Friedman, Johnny Dark | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Bel Ami | 2012 | Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod | ★★ | 102 | Lush but listless adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's oft-filmed novel stars Pattinson as a handsome, penniless ex-soldier who ruthlessly manipulates and seduces his way to the top of Parisian society in the 1890s. Surprisingly dull for a tale of lust, greed, and corruption; Pattinson's stilted acting style is inadvertently well suited for his hollow and empty character, though he sorely lacks the caddish charm of a George Sanders, who starred in 1947's THE PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF BEL AMI. | tt1440732 | [R] | Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, Colm Meaney, Philip Glenister, Holliday Grainger, Natalia Tena | British-French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla | The Boys From Brooklyn | 1952 | William Beaudine | 💣 | 74 | One of the all-time greats. Mitchell and Petrillo (the very poor man's Martin and Lewis) are stranded on a jungle island, where Lugosi is conducting strange experiments. Proceed at your own risk. Aka THE BOYS FROM BROOKLYN. | tt0044406 | Bela Lugosi, Duke Mitchell, Sammy Petrillo, Charlita, Muriel Landers, Ramona the Chimp | Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Believe in Me | 1971 | Stuart Hagmann | ★★ | 90 | Still another '70s film about drug addiction, and none too good; clean-cut career girl Bisset becomes addicted to speed in the East Village. Performers do their best. | tt0066822 | [R] | Michael Sarrazin, Jacqueline Bisset, Jon Cypher, Allen Garfield, Kurt Dodenhoff | Drama | NULL | ||
| Believe in Me | 2007 | Robert Collector | ★★★ | 108 | Donovan moves to a small Oklahoma town in 1964 to take a coaching job, but when he arrives he learns he's been assigned to a girls' basketball team. What's more, the girls have no self-esteem and little support from the community. Sincere heartland story rises above its familiar sports-underdog formula. Donovan and Mathis (as his supportive wife) are first-rate. Based on the real-life experiences of Jim Keith. Written by the director. | tt0419491 | [PG] | Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis, Bruce Dern, Bob Gunton, Heather Matarazzo, Alicia Lagano, Chris Ellis | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Believer | 2002 | Henry Bean | ★★★ | 98 | Ferocious examination of a yeshiva-educated young man in N.Y.C. who chooses to become a neo-Nazi skinhead. Gosling gives an award-caliber performance as a Jew (loosely based on fact) whose reasoning is questionable but whose passion is real. For mature viewers only. Veteran screenwriter Bean's directorial debut. Released overseas in 2001; U.S. debut on cable TV in 2002. | tt0247199 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Billy Zane, Theresa Russell, Glenn Fitzgerald, Ronald Guttman, Henry Bean | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Believers | 1987 | John Schlesinger | ★★½ | 114 | Gripping, genuinely frightening story of widower and son who move to N.Y.C. and become involved (in more ways than one) with cultish religion of Santeria, which believes in the sacrifice of children. Well-crafted film knows how to manipulate its audience but shows no mercy, either: a boy sees his mother electrocuted in the very first scene! | tt0092632 | [R] | Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Wilson, Lee Richardson, Harris Yulin, Richard Masur, Carla Pinza, Jimmy Smits | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Belizaire the Cajun | 1986 | Glen Pitre | ★★½ | 100 | Assante is well cast as a charismatic herbal dealer in love with the Cajun wife of a wealthy Anglo in this uneven and somewhat predictable drama about Anglo prejudice and violence against Cajuns in 19th-century Louisiana. Made with obvious enthusiasm on a low budget. Robert Duvall, credited as creative consultant, appears briefly as a preacher. | tt0090710 | [PG] | Armand Assante, Gail Youngs, Michael Schoeffling, Stephen McHattie, Will Patton, Nancy Barrett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bell Book and Candle | 1958 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 103 | John Van Druten play becomes so-so vehicle to showcase Novak as fetching witch who charms about-to-be-married Manhattan publisher Stewart. Kovacs and Gingold supply their brands of humor. | tt0051406 | James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Janice Rule, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bell Jar | 1979 | Larry Peerce | ★★½ | 107 | Sylvia Plath's virtually unfilmable novel about the crack-up of an overachiever in the '50s has a few powerful scenes and a good supporting performance by Barrie, but doesn't really come off. Hassett is well cast but fails to deliver the truly bravura performance this film needs. | tt0078843 | [R] | Marilyn Hassett, Julie Harris, Anne Jackson, Barbara Barrie, Robert Klein, Donna Mitchell, Jameson Parker, Thaao Penghlis |
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| A Bell for Adano | 1945 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 103 | John Hersey's moving narrative of American WW2 occupation of small Italian village; Hodiak is sincere commander, Bendix his aide, blonde Tierney the local girl he is attracted to. Scripted by Lamar Trotti (who also coproduced) and Norman Reilly Raine. | tt0037534 | Gene Tierney, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Glenn Langan, Richard Conte, Stanley Prager, Harry Morgan, Hugo Haas, Fortunio Bonanova, Henry Armetta, Luis Alberni, Eduardo Ciannelli, Grady Sutton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bell' Antonio | Il Bell' Antonio | 1960 | Mauro Bolognini | ★★½ | 101 | OK seriocomedy of what happens when Mastroianni is unable to consummate his marriage to Cardinale. Coscripted by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Video title: IL BELL' ANTONIO. | tt0053643 | Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Pierre Brasseur, Rina Morelli | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Bella | 2007 | Alejandro G. Monteverde | ★★★ | 92 | Sweet, disarmingly simple heart-tugger about a once-promising soccer player (Verástegui), now a chef at a N.Y.C. restaurant, who comes to the emotional rescue of a pregnant waitress (Blanchard) when she’s fired by his brother. First-time director (and cowriter) Monteverde shows admirable restraint in telling this story; a big-hearted film. | tt1095453 | [PG-13] | Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angélica Aragón, Jaime Tirelli, Ramon Rodriguez | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| The Bellboy | 1960 | Jerry Lewis | ★★★ | 72 | Amusing series of blackouts with Jerry as a bellboy at Fontainebleau in Miami Beach. No plot but a lot of funny gags. Milton Berle and Walter Winchell have guest appearances. Lewis's directorial debut. | tt0053644 | Jerry Lewis, Alex Gerry, Bob Clayton, Sonny Sands | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Belle Epoque | 1992 | Fernando Trueba | ★★★ | 108 | Set in 1931, a time of promise and optimism in pre-Franco Spain, this delightfully earthy, cheerful comedy tells of a hearty young army deserter (Sanz) who's befriended by an elderly recluse, and enchanted by his four beautiful daughters. A multi-award winner in Spain; won Best Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0103791 | Fernando Fernan Gomez, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdu, Ariadna Gil, Miriam Diaz-Aroca, Penélope Cruz, Mary Carmen Ramirez, Michel Galabru, Gabino Diego | Spanish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Belle Le Grand | 1951 | Allan Dwan | ★½ | 90 | Weak Ralston vehicle has her a Western gambler willing to play any stakes to win back rambunctious Carroll. Look for James Arness in the fire scene. | tt0043330 | Vera Ralston, John Carroll, William Ching, Muriel Lawrence | Western | NULL | |||
| Belle Starr | 1941 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 87 | Sophisticated Tierney miscast as notorious female outlaw in slowly paced account of her criminal career. Remade for TV in 1980 with Elizabeth Montgomery. | tt0033383 | Randolph Scott, Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Shepperd Strudwick, Elizabeth Patterson | Western | NULL | |||
| Belle Starr's Daughter | 1948 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 86 | Roman is title character, coming to rough Western town to avenge her mother's murder; fair Western. | tt0040154 | George Montgomery, Rod Cameron, Ruth Roman, Wallace Ford, Isabel Jewell | Western | NULL | |||
| Belle Toujours | 2006 | Manoel de Oliveira | ★★★ | 68 | In this short, sweet follow-up to BELLE DE JOUR, almost four decades have passed and Henri Husson (Piccoli) spies Séverine (Ogier, replacing Catherine Deneuve) in an auditorium during a concert. He follows her, with the intention of revealing a secret. De Oliveira, who also scripted, was 97 years old when he made this thoughtful meditation on aging and the diminishing of erotic desire as an homage to Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière, the original's creators. | tt0475224 | Michel Piccoli, Bulle Ogier, Ricardo Trepa, Leonor Baldaque, Júlia Buisel | Portuguese-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Belle de Jour | 1967 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★★ | 100 | Buñuel's wry and disturbing tale of a virginal newlywed who works the day shift in a high-class Parisian brothel, unbeknownst to her patient husband. Buñuel's straight-faced treatment of shocking subject matter belies the sharp wit of his script (cowritten with Jean-Claude Carrière). Deneuve's finest, most enigmatic performance. | tt0061395 | [R] | Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Genevieve Page, Francisco Rabal, Pierre Clementi, George Marchal, Françoise Fabian | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Belle of New York | 1952 | Charles Walters | ★★½ | 82 | Uninspired musical set in Gay 90s N.Y.C. with Astaire a rich playboy chasing mission worker Vera-Ellen; Pearce adds comic touches. Songs include 'Let A Little Love Come In.' | tt0044408 | Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Alice Pearce | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Belle of the Nineties | 1934 | Leo McCarey | ★★★ | 73 | Mae struts, sings 'My Old Flame,' and heats up a gallery of admirers in amusing example of West-ern humor. | tt0024873 | Mae West, Roger Pryor, Johnny Mack Brown, Warren Hymer, Duke Ellington and Orchestra | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Belle of the Yukon | 1944 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 84 | Minor musical of saloon-owner Scott going straight at insistence of his girl (Lee); fast-moving, forgettable. Technicolor is film's best feature. | tt0036636 | Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Bob Burns, Dinah Shore, Charles Winninger, William Marshall, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Robert Armstrong, Florence Bates | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Belles of St. Trinians | 1954 | Frank Launder | ★★★½ | 90 | Hilarious filmization of Ronald Searle's cartoons about completely crazy school for girls, run by dotty headmistress whose brother, a bookie, wants to use school to his advantage. Sim plays dual role in delightful madcap farce which spawned several sequels. | tt0046766 | Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Beryl Reid | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Belles on Their Toes | 1952 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 89 | Pleasing follow-up to CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, with a potent feminist point of view. Here, widowed engineer Loy must struggle to support (as well as raise) her maturing brood. 20th Century-Fox backlot seen at its best in recapturing early 1900s America. Clifton Webb makes a brief appearance at the finale. Scripted by Henry and Phoebe Ephron. | tt0044410 | Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, Edward Arnold, Hoagy Carmichael, Barbara Bates, Robert Arthur, Verna Felton, Martin Milner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bellflower | 2011 | Evan Glodell | ★½ | 106 | Best buds Glodell and Dawson spend most of their time building flamethrowers and preparing for an auto-fueled MAD MAX–style apocalypse until Wiseman enters the scene. This prompts a romance that turns, shall we say, dramatic. Super low-budget indie has some style but is defeated by unrelenting portentousness and characters whose emotional maturity appears to have stopped at the age of twelve. Worse, the increasingly overwrought tone becomes downright laughable, which may have been the intention of debut writer-director Glodell. Or not. | tt1242599 | [R] | Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes, Vincent Grashaw | Drama, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bellissima | 1951 | Luchino Visconti | ★★ | 112 | Obvious drama about pushy, patronizing stage mother Magnani, obsessed to the point of hysteria with getting her cute, obedient little daughter into the movies. Loud when it should be tender, and ultimately tiresome. | tt0043332 | Anna Magnani, Walter Chiari, Tina Apicella, Gastone Renzelli, Alessandro Blasetti | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bellman & True | 1988 | Richard Loncraine | ★★½ | 112 | Meek computer programmer is drawn into an elaborate bank heist scheme, without ever realizing just how dangerous the people he's associating with can be. More a character study than a caper film, very low-key and very drawn-out, but with a number of rewarding moments and vignettes. Original running time 122m. | tt0092636 | [R] | Bernard Hill, Kieran O'Brien, Richard Hope, Frances Tomelty, Derek Newark, John Kavanagh, Ken Bones | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Bells Are Ringing | 1960 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 127 | Sprightly adaptation of Broadway musical hit by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Jule Styne, with Holliday recreating her starring role as an answering-service operator who falls in love with the man she's known only as a voice on the telephone. Songs include 'Just in Time,' 'The Party's Over.' Sadly, Holliday's last film. | tt0053645 | Judy Holliday, Dean Martin, Fred Clark, Eddie Foy/ Jr., Jean Stapleton, Ruth Storey, Frank Gorshin, Gerry Mulligan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Bells of Capistrano | 1942 | William Morgan. | ★★★ | 73 | Entertaining story of rival rodeos has a good cast, including one of Gene's best leading ladies. Autry's last movie before he entered the service in WW2 ends rather abruptly with a patriotic ditty, 'Don't Bite the Hand That's Feeding You.' | tt0034504 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Virginia Grey, Lucien Littlefield, Morgan Conway, Claire Du Brey, Joe Strauch/Jr., Tristram Coffin. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bells of Coronado | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Roy tangles with crooked gang that is selling uranium to foreign buyers. Pretty good Rogers adventure from his 'serious' period, with exciting chase atop an electrical tower. | tt0042239 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Grant Withers, Leo Cleary, Clifton Young, Robert Bice, Stuart Randall, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bells of Rosarita | 1945 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 68 | Fun Western with Roy and the Sons playing themselves, movie stars who must save Dale's ranch from crooked realtor Withers, so they call on other Republic Pictures cowboy stars to help out. Original, winning, with plenty of in-jokes and guest stars Don Barry, Bill Elliott, Allan Lane, Bob Livingston, and Sunset Carson. John Wayne's absence is explained because he is out of town! | tt0037535 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Adele Mara, Grant Withers, Addison Richards, Roy Barcroft, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bells of San Angelo | 1947 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 78 | First of Roy's hard-edged Westerns casts him as a border patrol investigator going after a treacherous gang of thieves and murderers who are illegally operating a silver mine. Tough, gripping, often surprisingly violent, with Devine coming aboard as Rogers' new sidekick. One of Roy's best. | tt0039180 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Andy Devine, John McGuire, Olaf Hytten, David Sharpe, Fritz Leiber, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Bells of St. Mary's | 1945 | Leo McCarey | ★★★ | 126 | Amiable if meandering sequel to GOING MY WAY, with Father O'Malley assigned to a run-down parish where Bergman is the Sister Superior. Bing introduces the song 'Aren't You Glad You're You?' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037536 | Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper, Rhys Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bells | 1926 | James Young. | ★★★ | 67 | Well-told melodrama of greed and guilt. Barrymore is an easygoing innkeeper who's deeply in debt and in danger of losing his business to a scoundrel; in an act of desperation, he commits a heinous crime. Karloff is ideally cast as Caligari-like mesmerist. Based on oft-filmed 1869 play, Le Juif Polonaise (The Polish Jew), by Alexandre Chatrian and Emile Erckmann, and inspired by an 1849 Edgar Allan Poe poem. | tt0016640 | Lionel Barrymore, Caroline Frances Cooke, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Lorimer Johnston, Edward (Eddie) Phillips, Lola Todd, Boris Karloff. | Crime, Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Belly | 1998 | Hype Williams | ★½ | 95 | Hyper-stylized, pretentious 'gangsta' melodrama about two lifelong buddies (rappers Nas and DMX) whose friendship is violently tested when they get involved in dealing Jamaican heroin. Features some of hip-hop's finest; too bad they can't act. Clichéd script doesn't help. | tt0158493 | [R] | Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks, Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins, *** Method Man | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Belly of an Architect | 1987 | Peter Greenaway | ★★½ | 108 | Highly personalized chronicle of an architect (Dennehy) and his wife (Webb), who arrive in Rome where he's to curate an exhibition. It's about architecture and art, obsession and omens, immortality and mortality; crammed with symbolism, striking visuals and beautiful cinematography by Sacha Vierny. Some will find it pretentious; others will be fascinated. | tt0092637 | [R] | Brian Dennehy, Chloe Webb, Lambert Wilson, Sergio Fantoni, Stephania Cassini, Vanni Corbellini | British-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Beloved | 1998 | Jonathan Demme | ★★ | 171 | Excruciating (if well-crafted) adaptation of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a woman who's made her way from slavery to a free life in Ohio in 1873, and will do anything— anything— to protect her children. Filled with mysticism and mumbo jumbo, the story demands a leap of faith but doesn't reward the viewer in kind; its lead character isn't sympathetic enough to earn our empathy, even though we understand that she has suffered. Tough going, in more ways than one. Winfrey also produced with Demme. | tt0120603 | [R] | Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, Beah Richards, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Irma P. Hall, Albert Hall, Tracey Walter, Thelma Houston, Jason Robards, Wes Bentley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beloved Enemy | 1936 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 86 | High-class love story set during Irish Rebellion with Britisher Oberon in love with rebel leader Aherne. | tt0027345 | Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, Karen Morley, Henry Stephenson, Jerome Cowan, David Niven, Donald Crisp | Drama | NULL | |||
| Beloved Infidel | 1959 | Henry King | ★★ | 123 | Ill-conceived casting of Peck as F. Scott Fitzgerald makes romance with Hollywood columnist Sheilah Graham (Kerr) in late 1930s more ludicrous than real; lush photography is only virtue of blunt look at cinema capital. | tt0052617 | Gregory Peck, Deborah Kerr, Eddie Albert, Philip Ober, Herbert Rudley, John Sutton, Karin Booth, Ken Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Beloved Rogue | 1927 | Alan Crosland | ★★★½ | 99 | Rousing, stunningly filmed story of poet-adventurer François Villon, his battle of wits with Louis XI (Veidt) and his swashbuckling romance with a damsel in distress. Not history, just an eye-filling, spirited, tongue-in-cheek costume tale with Barrymore in great form. | tt0017667 | John Barrymore, Conrad Veidt, Marceline Day, Henry Victor, Lawson Butt, Mack Swain, Slim Summerville | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Below | 2002 | David Twohy | ★★ | 105 | Stultifyingly routine WW2 submarine movie that tries to incorporate elements of a whodunit, horror movie, and conspiracy thriller. Greenwood has recently taken command of his sub and buys trouble when he picks up three survivors from a torpedoed British hospital ship. One of them (Williams) soon discovers that her temporary home is awash in secrets and unexplained events. Hard to believe this was cowritten (and coproduced) by cutting-edge filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. | tt0276816 | [R] | Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Holt McCallany, Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Chinlund | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Below the Belt | 1980 | Robert Fowler | ★★★ | 98 | Waitress Baff seeks fortune and fame as a lady wrestler. Low-budget drama, filmed mostly in 1974; a sometimes fascinating portrait of people eking out existence on the edge of society. Based on a novel by Rosalyn Drexler. | tt0080427 | [R] | Regina Baff, Mildred Burke, John C. Becher, Annie McGreevey, Jane O'Brien, Shirley Stoler, Dolph Sweet | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ben | 1972 | Phil Karlson | ★½ | 95 | WILLARD sequel finds sick youth befriended by Ben the rat. Title song (sung by young Michael Jackson) summed up situation but spared gory visuals that make this film so bad. | tt0068264 | [PG] | Lee H. Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, Arthur O'Connell, Rosemary Murphy, Meredith Baxter | Horror | NULL | ||
| Ben-Hur | 1925 | Fred Niblo | ★★★ | 141 | Biggest of all silent spectacles holds up quite well against talkie remake, particularly the exciting chariot race and sea battle (both directed by B. Reeves Eason); Novarro (as Judah) and Bushman (as Messala) give the performances of their careers. Trouble-plagued film was years in production, at a then-record cost of $4,000,000, but final result, despite a slow second half, is worth it. Some sequences filmed in two-color Technicolor. Filmed once before (in one reel!) in 1907. | tt0016641 | Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Claire McDowell, Carmel Myers, Nigel de Brulier | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ben-Hur | 1959 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 212 | Epic-scale rendering of Gen. Lew Wallace's 'tale of the Christ.' Heston and Boyd are well matched as the proud Jew Ben-Hur and his boyhood friend Messala, whose blind allegiance to Rome turns him into a bitter enemy. Poky at times, but redeemed by the strength of its convictions. Some of the special effects show their age, though the galley-slave sequence, and climactic chariot race (directed by Andrew Marton and staged by the legendary stunt expert Yakima Canutt) are still great. Won a record 11 Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Heston), Supporting Actor (Griffith), Cinematography (Robert L. Surtees), Music Score (Miklos Rozsa), Art Direction, Film Editing, Sound, Costume Design, and Special Effects. | tt0052618 | Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Sam Jaffe, Cathy O'Donnell, Finlay Currie | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Benchwarmers | 2006 | Dennis Dugan | 💣 | 80 | Leaden comedy about nerds who try to reverse their grade school reputations by forming a three-man baseball team to compete against regular Little Leaguers. This Adam Sandler-produced mess starring his aging Saturday Night Live costars has all the predictable flatulence gags left on the cutting room floor of this gang's last five movies. Only honest line is saved for last as Lovitz looks into the camera and says, 'This was a complete waste of time, wasn't it?' Duh, dudes! | tt0437863 | [PG-13] | Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovitz, Craig Kilborn, Tim Meadows, Molly Sims, Nick Swardson, Norm MacDonald, Reggie Jackson, Rachel Hunter; voice of James Earl Jones | Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Bend It Like Beckham | 2002 | Gurinder Chadha | ★★★ | 115 | Winning comedy set in West London about a soccer-obsessed Anglo-Indian girl whose traditional-minded parents forbid her to play. No surprises (or subtlety) here, but the story is told with verve and filled with warm, amusing characters. A crowd pleaser in the best sense. Title refers to British soccer star David Beckham. | tt0286499 | [PG-13] | Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Juliet Stevenson, Anupam Kher, Archie Panjabi, Shaznay Lewis | U.S.-British-German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Bend of the River | 1952 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 91 | Compelling Western of 1840s Oregon, with bristling conflict between Stewart, outlaw turned wagon-train scout, and Kennedy, his one-time partner in crime who hijacks settlers' supplies for profit. | tt0044413 | James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Jay C. Flippen, Lori Nelson, Stepin Fetchit, Harry Morgan, Frances Bavier, Royal Dano | Western | NULL | |||
| Beneath the 12 Mile Reef | 1953 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 102 | Romeo-and-Juliet-ish tale of sponge-diving families on Key West, Florida. Scenery outshines all. One of the first CinemaScope films. | tt0045551 | Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Gilbert Roland, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Boone, Peter Graves | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Beneath the Planet of the Apes | 1970 | Ted Post | ★★½ | 95 | Second APES film still has great sets, makeup and ideas, but somebody let it get away as Apes battle human mutants who survived a nuclear blast many years before. Followed by ESCAPE FROM . . . | tt0065462 | [G] | James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Charlton Heston, Victor Buono, Thomas Gomez | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Benefit of the Doubt | 1993 | Jonathan Heap | ★½ | 90 | Flat thriller in which ex-con Sutherland, jailed for murdering his wife, disrupts the life of daughter Irving (whose testimony helped convict him two decades earlier). With a bit of imagination, this could have been first rate. | tt0106386 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Amy Irving, Rider Strong, Christopher McDonald, Graham Greene, Theodore Bikel, Gisele Kovach | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bengal Brigade | 1954 | Laslo Benedek | ★★ | 87 | Low-level costumer with Hudson badly miscast as a British army officer working to thwart a Sepoy rebellion in India. | tt0046767 | Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl, Ursula Thiess, Torin Thatcher, Arnold Moss, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Ansara | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Bengazi | 1955 | John Brahm | ★½ | 78 | Lackluster adventure of crooked treasure hunters Conte, McLaglen, and others entrapped in desert shrine by marauding natives. | tt0047872 | Richard Conte, Victor McLaglen, Richard Carlson, Mala Powers | Adventure, Crime | NULL | |||
| Benjamin | 1968 | Michel Deville | 💣 | 100 | Beautiful Deneuve, Morgan, cinematography; otherwise, boring tale of country boy Clementi's initiation into upper-class immorality. Also shown at 105m. and 108m. | tt0062724 | [X] | Catherine Deneuve, Michele Morgan, Pierre Clementi, Michel Piccoli, Francine Berge, Anna Gael | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Benji | 1974 | Joe Camp | ★★★½ | 86 | Instant classic of a remarkable dog (played by Higgins) who thwarts the kidnappers of two small children. Texas-made feature is ideal for family viewing. Sequel: FOR THE LOVE OF BENJI. | tt0071206 | [G] | Peter Breck, Deborah Walley, Edgar Buchanan, Frances Bavier, Patsy Garrett | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Benji Off the Leash! | 2004 | Joe Camp | ★★½ | 99 | Minor but enjoyable film for kids about a boy who has to hide his mixed-breed puppy from an abusive stepfather who sells pups for a living. Whitaker is appealing, the grown-ups are fine (with broad comedy relief from a pair of bumbling dogcatchers), but it's the dogs who steal the show. Footage during end reveals how they got these canines to perform so well. | tt0315273 | [PG] | Nick Whitaker, Nate Bynum, Chris Kendrick, Randall Newsome, Duane Stephens, Christy Summerhays, Carleton Bluford, Neal Barth | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Benji the Hunted | 1987 | Joe Camp | ★½ | 88 | Every dog has his day, but this talented canine deserves a better movie vehicle. Humans are incidental in this story of Benji surviving in the mountain wilds, and it looks as if they were incidental in making the film as well. Followed by BENJI OFF THE LEASH! | tt0092638 | [G] | Benji, Red Steagall, Frank Inn | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Benny & Joon | 1993 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | ★★★ | 98 | Sweet-natured film about put-upon auto mechanic Quinn, who tries to look after his mentally ill sister. Almost accidentally he stumbles onto the perfect companion for her: a male misfit who sees himself as a reincarnation of Buster Keaton. Endearing performances put over this fable, which otherwise would strain all credibility. Depp is impressive as he recreates silent-comedy routines by Chaplin, Keaton, et al. | tt0106387 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt, CCH Pounder, Dan Hedaya, Joe Grifasi, William H. Macy, Eileen Ryan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Benny Goodman Story | 1955 | Valentine Davies | ★★½ | 116 | Typical Hollywood gloss about the bandleader's rise to fame and his romance with Reed; not 100% factual, with cliché dialogue to spare, but the music is great. Additional guest performers include Harry James, Ziggy Elman, and Martha Tilton. Goodman himself dubbed Allen's clarinet playing. | tt0047873 | Steve Allen, Donna Reed, Herbert Anderson, Hy Averback, Berta Gersten, Robert F. Simon, Sammy Davis/Sr., Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson | Musical | NULL | |||
| Benny's Video | 1992 | Michael Haneke | ★★★ | 105 | Teenaged Benny (Frisch) is addicted to video, shooting images with his camera and endlessly watching ultra-violent tapes. While his parents are away he brings a young girl into his home and dispassionately kills her with a butcher's gun he stole from a farm. Obvious but potent allegory about the way young people can become desensitized. Second in a trilogy by writer-director Haneke, following THE SEVENTH CONTINENT and followed by 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE. | tt0103793 |
|
Arno Frisch, Angela Winkler, Ulrich Mühe, Ingrid Stassner | Austrian-Swiss | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Benson Murder Case | 1930 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 69 | An unscrupulous stockbroker is killed at his country estate and Philo Vance (Powell) is on hand to solve whodunit. Neat mystery, but slowly paced, and bearing no relationship whatsoever to the original Van Dine novel. | tt0020679 | William Powell, Natalie Moorhead, Eugene Pallette, Paul Lukas, William Boyd, E. H. Calvert, May Beatty, Mischa Auer | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bent | 1997 | Sean Mathias | ★★½ | 104 | Raw drama following the plight of a brash, manipulative gay German (Owen) under Hitler, and his eventual internment in Dachau with fellow prisoner Bluteau. Stagy film, with undeniably powerful scenes, but not the formidable depiction of Nazi-era homosexuals it might have been. Scripted by Martin Sherman, from his groundbreaking 1979 play. | tt0118698 | [NC-17] | Lothaire Bluteau, Clive Owen, Brian Webber, Ian McKellen, Mick Jagger, Nikolaj Waldau, Jude Law, Gresby Nash, Rupert Graves, Charlie Watts | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Beowulf | 2007 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★½ | 114 | The ancient poem about a kingdom in need of a warrior to protect it from a monstrous attacker is reinterpreted by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary and filmed in Zemeckis’ “performance capture” medium. Hybrid of a superhero action movie and a graphic novel is fun to watch on a no-brainer level. The action scenes are visceral and effective, but the story bogs down and the faces of the female characters (except for Jolie, seen sparsely but memorably) are lifeless. Beowulf himself is a great character who looks nothing like the actor who voiced and acted his part (Winstone). A mixed bag, best appreciated in 3-D or IMAX. Also available in unrated version. | tt0442933 | [PG-13] | Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, Costas Mandylor | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Beowulf & Grendel | 2005 | Sturla Gunnarsson | ★½ | 103 | Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Sarah Polley, Eddie Marsan, Tony Curran, Rory McCann, Ronan Vibert | tt0402057 | [R] | Canadian-British-Icelandic | Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Berkeley Square | 1933 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 84 | Intriguing fantasy of young American Howard finding himself in 18th-century London, living completely different life. Remade as I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU. | tt0023794 | Leslie Howard, Heather Angel, Irene Browne, Beryl Mercer, Samuel S. Hinds | Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Berlin Affair | 1985 | Liliana Cavani | 💣 | 96 | English-language misfire adapts Junichiro Tanizuki's novel The Buddhist Cross. Director Cavani (of THE NIGHT PORTER) is slumming in Nazi Germany again for a tale of a lesbian love affair between Landgrebe and ambassador's daughter Takaki. Lifeless film isn't even sexy, quite surprising in view of the casting of A WOMAN IN FLAMES star Landgrebe. Original European running time was 115m. | tt0088789 | [R] | Gudrun Landgrebe, Kevin McNally, Mio Takaki, Massimo Girotti, Philippe Leroy,Hanns Zischler, William Berger | Italian-West German | Drama | NULL | |
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | 1980 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★★ | 931 | Monumental adaptation of Alfred Doblin's novel about German life in the late 1920s, focusing on a simple Everyman (Lamprecht), who has just been released from prison. He yearns for respectability but is led like a sheep by forces beyond his control into criminality and insanity. An epic if there ever was one, with stunning performances, cinematography (by Xaver Schwarzenberger), and direction. Originally produced for television in 14 episodes. Filmed before in 1931. | tt0080196 | Gunter Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa, Gottfried John, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Brigitte Mira, Karin Baal, Ivan Desny | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Berlin Correspondent | 1942 | Eugene Forde | ★★½ | 70 | American reporter risks life so that his sweetheart and her professor father can escape Nazi Germany. | tt0034507 | Virginia Gilmore, Dana Andrews, Mona Maris, Martin Kosleck, Sig Ruman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Berlin Express | 1948 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 86 | Taut, suspenseful spy story set in post WW2 Europe. Members of several nations combine efforts to save German statesman kidnapped by Nazi underground. | tt0040155 | Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas, Robert Coote | Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Berlin: Symphony of a City | 1927 | Walter Ruttmann. | ★★★½ | 65 | A vast, artistically rendered panorama of Berlin in the late 1920s, before Hitler came to power: a dazzling array of lights, shadows, shapes, patterns, and movement. Ruttmann and his cinematographers (one of them Karl Freund) capture images of the title city; the filmmaker then personalizes these visuals via rapid-fire editing. Freund and Carl Meyer collaborated on the screenplay. Aka BERLIN: SYMPHONY OF A GREAT CITY. | tt0017668 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bermuda Mystery | 1944 | Benjamin Stoloff. | ★★ | 65 | Mild account of strange murder and dead man's heirs' pursuit of criminal. | tt0036638 | Preston Foster, Ann Rutherford, Charles Butterworth, Helene Reynolds. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bernardine | 1957 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 95 | Very weak look at teen-age life (all different now) marked return of Janet Gaynor to films after twenty years. Wholesome Pat Boone (in his film debut) sings and sings and sings. Eh! | tt0050184 | Pat Boone, Terry Moore, Janet Gaynor, Dean Jagger, Walter Abel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bernie | 2012 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 98 | Texas-centric film based on the true story of a good-hearted, well-liked funeral director (Black) who manages to befriend the meanest rich woman in Carthage (MacLaine) and becomes her devoted companion. Then, one day, he snaps. Engagingly offbeat, almost indescribable mixture of comedy and drama gives its two stars wonderfully juicy roles. The man who explains the various regions of Texas is Sonny Davis, costar of THE WHOLE SHOOTIN' MATCH, and the woman who expresses shock at MacLaine's behavior, while smoking up a storm, is McConaughey's real-life mother. Based on a 1998 article from Texas Monthly by Skip Hollandsworth, who wrote the screenplay with director Linklater. | tt1704573 | [PG-13] | Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman, Richard Robichaux, Rick Dial, Brandon Smith | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Berserk | 1967 | Jim O'Connolly | ★★ | 96 | Sadistic shocker with Crawford the shapely owner of a British circus, haunted by series of brutal murders. Supporting cast lacks verve. | tt0061398 | Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors, Michael Gough, Judy Geeson | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Bert Rigby, You're a Fool | 1989 | Carl Reiner | ★★ | 94 | Writer-director Reiner conceived this deliberately old-fashioned musical comedy strictly as a showcase for the talents of Lindsay (who scored such a smash on stage in Me and My Girl), and that's its only value. He's a delight to watch— singing, dancing, and clowning as a jaunty British coal miner who wants to break into show business— but the well-meaning film is silly and contrived. | tt0096911 | [R] | Robert Lindsay, Robbie Coltrane, Anne Bancroft, Corbin Bernsen, Cathryn Bradshaw, Bruno Kirby, Jackie Gayle | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Besieged | 1998 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 94 | Provocative film about an African immigrant who works as housemaid for a reclusive English pianist in Rome. She's intrigued by his mysterious ways, while he is infatuated with her and determines to find a way to prove his love. Sinuous and surprising, with fine performances by the two leads; written by Bertolucci and Clare Peploe, from a story by James Lasdun. Originally made for Italian TV. | tt0149723 | [R] | Thandie Newton, David Thewlis, Claudio Santamaria | Italian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Best Boy | 1979 | Ira Wohl | ★★★★ | 111 | Poignant, beautifully filmed documentary about Wohl's 52-year-old mentally retarded cousin Philly and his family's struggle as he learns to relate to the outside world. Sequences related to his father's death and his visit backstage with Zero Mostel— together they sing 'If I Were a Rich Man'— are especially moving. A Best Documentary Academy Award winner. Sequel: BEST MAN: 'BEST BOY' AND ALL OF US TWENTY YEARS LATER. | tt0078850 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Best Defense | 1984 | Willard Huyck | ★½ | 94 | Unpleasant and unfunny comedy about defense-industry designer who inadvertently acquires blueprint sought by the KGB. 'Strategic Guest Star' Murphy is no help. | tt0086955 | [R] | Dudley Moore, Eddie Murphy, Kate Capshaw, George Dzundza, Helen Shaver, David Rasche | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | 2012 | John Madden | ★★½ | 122 | A variety of British senior citizens who can't afford to live well at home are lured to Jaipur, India, by ads for a plush resident hotel. On arrival they find a dilapidated establishment and a well-meaning manager (Patel). Some face this reality with grace and humor, while others are defeated by it. All-too-credible premise for a mixture of comedy and drama is played out in calculated fashion, made palatable by its exceptional cast and vivid location filming in India. Based on Deborah Moggach's novel These Foolish Things. | tt1412386 | [PG-13] | Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, Dev Patel, Tena Desae, Sid Makkar | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Best Foot Forward | 1943 | Edward Buzzell | ★★★ | 95 | Entertaining film of Broadway musical about movie star Ball visiting small-town school for a lark; score includes 'Buckle Down Winsockie.' Harry James and his band do definitive 'Two O'Clock Jump.' Walker, as dynamic plain-Jane, and Allyson make their feature film debuts recreating their stage roles. Future filmmaker Stanley Donen can be glimpsed in 'The Three B's' number, holding De Haven's legs. | tt0035675 | Lucille Ball, William Gaxton, Virginia Weidler, Tommy Dix, Nancy Walker, Gloria De Haven, June Allyson | Musical | NULL | |||
| Best Friends | 1982 | Norman Jewison | ★★ | 116 | Lackluster comedy vehicle for two top stars, as screenwriters who function better as lovers than as husband and wife. Some funny vignettes with fine supporting cast (including Richard Libertini as Mexican justice-of-the-peace), but the lead characters aren't terribly interesting. Indulgent script by real-life 'best friends' Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. | tt0083641 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Goldie Hawn, Jessica Tandy, Barnard Hughes, Audra Lindley, Keenan Wynn, Ron Silver, Carol Locatell | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Best House in London | 1969 | Philip Saville | 💣 | 105 | Boring comedy about group of government officials in London who sponsor official bawdy house. Film didn't deserve 'X' rating it got at the time. Look for John Cleese in a bit part. | tt0064081 | [X] | David Hemmings, Joanna Pettet, George Sanders, Dany Robin, Warren Mitchell | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Best Intentions | 1992 | Bille August | ★★★ | 182 | Ingmar Bergman scripted this ambitious epic tale of the courtship and subsequent marriage of his own parents. Henrik Bergman (Froler) starts out as a poor theology student, and wife Anna (August, the director's wife) comes from a wealthy, bourgeois family; their fundamental differences— and stormy relationship— form the crux of the film. A six-hour version was made for Swedish television. A follow-up to FANNY AND ALEXANDER; followed by SUNDAY'S CHILDREN and PRIVATE CONFESSIONS. | tt0104350 | Samuel Froler, Pernilla August, Max von Sydow, Ghita Norby, Lennart Hjulstrom, Mona Malm, Lena Endre, Anita Bjork | Swedish | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Best Laid Plans | 1999 | Mike Barker | ★★½ | 93 | When an old pal comes back to town, a broke local and his girlfriend find themselves caught up in a web of blackmail and deceit. Convoluted film noir plays like a Gen-X USUAL SUSPECTS, but the problem is too many twists, and after a while this gimmicky thriller runs out of steam. Good acting, especially by Nivola in his first lead role. | tt0133412 | [R] | Alessandro Nivola, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Rocky Carroll, Michael G. Hagerty, Terrence Howard | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | 1982 | Colin Higgins | ★★ | 114 | Flashy but unsatisfying musical (based on Broadway hit) about pressures brought to bear on sheriff (Reynolds) to close a popular establishment called The Chicken Ranch— run by his ladyfriend. Dolly's a delight, Durning has a showstopping number as the Governor, but occasionally film actually tries to get serious and screeches to a halt. Dolly's hit song 'I Will Always Love You' (which she also wrote) had been #1 in 1974— and would be an even bigger hit for Whitney Houston in 1992's THE BODYGUARD. | tt0083642 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Dom DeLuise, Charles Durning, Jim Nabors, Robert Mandan, Lois Nettleton, Theresa Merritt, Noah Beery/Jr., Barry Corbin | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Best Man | 1964 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★ | 102 | Sharp filmization of Gore Vidal's play about political conventioning with several determined presidential candidates seeking important endorsement at any cost; brittle, engrossing drama. Screenplay by Vidal. | tt0057883 | Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Edie Adams, Margaret Leighton, Kevin McCarthy, Shelley Berman, Lee Tracy, Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Richard Arlen, Mahalia Jackson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Best Man | 1998 | Pupi Avati | ★★★ | 106 | Warm, wildly romantic comedy of manners set in a small Italian town on December 31, 1899, about a young woman who rebels against her arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman and falls in love with his best man during the wedding party. Slight but charming and evocative allegory, symbolically set on the eve of the 20th century. Written by the director. | tt0133413 | [PG] | Diego Abatantuono, Inès Sastre, Dario Cantarelli, Cinzia Mascoli, Valeria D'Obici | Italian | Comedy, Short | NULL | |
| The Best Man | 1999 | Malcolm D. Lee | ★★½ | 120 | Galley proofs are circulating for a new novel full of thinly disguised characters, causing no shortage of problems for author Diggs, who has to contend with a slew of offended participants. Overlong feature debut for Spike Lee's writer/director cousin adds nothing new to the wedding-comedy genre, but attractive characters carry it for a while. The end-credits sequence, with spiffily dressed dancers, tries to convince you that you've had a better time than you've had. | tt0168501 | [R] | Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Monica Calhoun | Comedy, Short | NULL | ||
| Best Seller | 1987 | John Flynn | ★★ | 110 | Dennehy, a cop-turned-author (à la Joseph Wambaugh), is approached by Woods to write the story of his former life as hit man for prominent businessman (Shenar) whose underworld tactics have long been covered up. Despite teaming of two terrific actors, film never quite cuts it, due to many holes in Larry Cohen's script— and Woods' largely unappealing character. | tt0092641 | [R] | James Woods, Brian Dennehy, Victoria Tennant, Allison Balson, Paul Shenar, George Coe, Anne Pitoniak | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Best Things in Life Are Free | 1956 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 104 | Typical of the antiseptic 1950s musicals, this film 'recreates' the careers of Tin Pan Alley writers DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson. Highlight: North and Jacques D'Amboise dancing to 'The Birth of the Blues.' | tt0049002 | Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, Sheree North, Tommy Noonan, Murvyn Vye | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Best Years of Our Lives | 1946 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 172 | American classic of three veterans returning home after WW2, readjusting to civilian life. Robert Sherwood's script from MacKinlay Kantor's book perfectly captured mood of postwar U.S.; still powerful today. Seven Oscars include Best Picture, Wyler, March, Russell, Sherwood, Daniel Mandell's editing, Hugo Friedhofer's score. Russell, an actual veteran who lost his hands, also took home a second Oscar, a special award for bringing hope and courage to other veterans. Remade as 1975 TVM, RETURNING HOME, with Tom Selleck and Dabney Coleman. | tt0036868 | Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Dana Andrews, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell, Hoagy Carmichael, Gladys George, Roman Bohnen, Steve Cochran | Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| Best in Show | 2000 | Christopher Guest | ★★★ | 90 | Small-scale but entertaining mockumentary from the WAITING FOR GUFFMAN team about the various characters who enter their pets in a prestigious dog show. Largely improvised comedy (officially written by Guest and Levy) offers a lot of laughs, especially for fans of the filmmakers and cast. | tt0218839 | [PG-13] | Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Larry Miller, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jane Lynch, Patrick Cranshaw, Don Lake, Ed Begley/Jr., Jim Piddock | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Best of Enemies | 1961 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★ | 104 | Nice counterplay between Niven and Sordi, as British and Italian officers who constantly, comically cross each other's paths during WW2. Their growing relationship serves to mirror the idiocy of war. | tt0054678 | David Niven, Michael Wilding, Harry Andrews, Alberto Sordi, Noel Harrison,Amedeo Nazzari, David Opatoshu | British-Italian | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Best of Everything | 1959 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 121 | Multifaceted fabrication about women seeking success and love in the publishing jungles of N.Y.C., highlighted by Crawford's performance as tough executive with empty heart of gold; from superficial Rona Jaffe novel. | tt0052619 | Hope Lange, Stephen Boyd, Suzy Parker, Diane Baker, Martha Hyer, Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Robert Evans, Louis Jourdan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Best of Times | 1986 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★½ | 104 | Williams has never lived down the moment he dropped winning pass in a high-school football game— so, 20 years later he fires up former teammate (Russell), the rival team, and his entire home town for a rematch. Some quirky, offbeat touches highlight Ron Shelton's script, and the wives (Reed, Palance) are a treat but seemingly surefire film becomes too strident (and too exaggerated) to really score. | tt0090713 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed, Holly Palance, Donald Moffat, Margaret Whitton, M. Emmet Walsh, Donovan Scott, R. G. Armstrong, Kirk Cameron | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Best of Youth | Meglio gioventù, La | 2003 | Marco Tullio Giordana. | ★★★★ | 363 | Majestically epic film, made for Italian television, deals with the loves, personal tragedies, and contrasting life choices of two brothers against a backdrop of social change in Italy from 1966 through the 1990s, involving Mafiosos, Red Brigades, and even a famed flood in Florence. Shown in two parts, this is one of the few films of which it can be said, 'The early going is pretty good, but it really kicks in during the last three hours.' A massive investment of time that amply rewards the viewer. Asti is positively luminous. Written by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. | tt0346336 | [R] | Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Adriana Asti, Sonia Bergamasco, Fabrizio Gifuni, Maya Sansa, Valentina Carnelutti. | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Best of the Badmen | 1951 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 84 | Band of outlaws (including James and Younger brothers) help former Union colonel Ryan in vendetta against detective Preston. Offbeat Western has more talk than action. | tt0043335 | Robert Ryan, Claire Trevor, Robert Preston, Jack Buetel, Walter Brennan, Bruce Cabot | Western | NULL | |||
| Best of the Best | 1989 | Bob Radler | 💣 | 97 | Yet another ROCKY-style rip-off in which five young men must overcome differences before they can unite as the U.S. Karate Team and compete in an international match. Top-drawer cast appallingly wasted. Followed by three sequels. | tt0096913 | [PG-13] | Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Christopher Penn, Louise Fletcher, Phillip Rhee, John Dye | Action | NULL | ||
| Best of the Best 2 | 1993 | Robert Radler | ★★ | 101 | Sequel to the original flop bucks the odds and actually improves on its lame predecessor. Two former U.S. Karate Team members set out to avenge the death of their friend who was killed during a shady competition. Roberts has actually said he made this film to make up for the first one. What a considerate guy! | tt0106393 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, Christopher Penn, Edan Gross, Ralph Moeller, Meg Foster, Sonny Landham, Wayne Newton | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Bethune | 1977 | Eric Till | ★★★ | 88 | Thoughtful biography with Sutherland fine as Dr. Norman Bethune, the controversial, humanistic Canadian doctor who, most intriguingly, aided Mao Tse-tung's army during its famous march. Made for Canadian television; Sutherland also played the character in Phillip Borsos' BETHUNE: THE MAKING OF A HERO, a 1990 feature (which was released in the U.S. in 1993 as DR. BETHUNE). | tt0075743 | Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, David Gardner, James Hong | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Betrayal | 1983 | David Hugh Jones | ★½ | 95 | Harold Pinter's fascinating play about a triangle relationship— progressing backward in time— falls flat on screen, despite a powerhouse cast. | tt0085234 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Hodge | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Betrayal From the East | 1945 | William Berke | ★★ | 82 | Americans vs. Japanese in usual flag-waving espionage film, no better or worse than most. | tt0037538 | Lee Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Loo, Abner Biberman, Regis Toomey, Philip Ahn | Action | NULL | |||
| The Betrayal | 2009 | Ellen Kuras | ★★★ | 96 | Arresting, highly emotional documentary about a large Laotian family whose lives are forever changed after the father is conscripted by the C.I.A. to help covert U.S. military operations there in the 1970s. The government’s promises—both implicit and explicit—are forgotten after the Communists take over Laos in 1975; the father is removed and the family is ostracized. They manage to make their way to the U.S., where they start life anew in a squalid apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y. Amazing odyssey is told through footage shot over 23 years’ time by cinematographer Kuras (in her directing debut). Her main character, the astonishingly resilient Thavisouk Phrasavath, is credited as editor, codirector, and cowriter. Aka NERAKHOON. | tt1157685 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Betrayed | 1988 | Costa-Gavras | ★½ | 127 | Appalling botch of a film about the stupidest FBI undercover agent in movie history, who's sent to sniff out white supremacists in America's heartland— but falls in love with her target instead. Important and genuinely upsetting subject matter is dealt with in pedantic terms. Even the moments of straight suspense are muffed! Winger's performance is virtually the only saving grace. Timothy Hutton can be seen fleetingly at the fairgrounds. | tt0094731 | [R] | Debra Winger, Tom Berenger, John Heard, Betsy Blair, John Mahoney, Ted Levine, Jeffrey DeMunn, Albert Hall, David Clennon, Richard Libertini | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Betrayed | 1954 | Gottfried Reinhardt | ★★ | 108 | Colonel Gable falls for Dutch Resistance member Turner, who's suspected of being in cahoots with the Nazis. Ho-hum WW2 melodrama, with some nice on-location filming in The Netherlands. Clark and Lana's fourth and final teaming. | tt0046770 | Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Victor Mature, Louis Calhern, O.E. Hasse, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ian Carmichael | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Betrayed Women | 1955 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 70 | Low-key filming of potentially volatile subject, sadistic treatment of inmates in women's prison. | tt0047875 | Carole Mathews, Beverly Michaels, Peggy Knudsen, Tom Drake, Sara Haden | Crime | NULL | |||
| Betsy's Wedding | 1990 | Alan Alda | ★★★ | 94 | Amusing social comedy about the plans, preparations, and events surrounding Ringwald's wedding— especially as they affect her father. One of writer-director-star Alda's better outings, a bit cluttered (and occasionally clumsy) but filled with enough truthful observations to strike a great many familiar chords. | tt0099128 | [R] | Alan Alda, Joey Bishop, Madeline Kahn, Anthony LaPaglia, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Burt Young, Julie Bovasso, Nicolas Coster, Bibi Besch, Dylan Walsh, Samuel L. Jackson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Betsy | Harold Robbins' The Betsy | 1978 | Daniel Petrie | ★★½ | 125 | Moderately enjoyable trash, adapted from Harold Robbins' novel about the multigenerational wheelings and dealings between an auto company patriarch and his family. Olivier's hamminess and Down's loveliness are the pluses here. | tt0077228 | [R] | Laurence Olivier, Robert Duvall, Katharine Ross, Tommy Lee Jones, Jane Alexander, Lesley-Anne Down, Kathleen Beller, Edward Herrmann | Drama | NULL | |
| Better Late Than Never | 1982 | Bryan Forbes | ★½ | 95 | Two ne'er-do-wells vie for acceptance by a 10-year-old heiress, who's a granddaughter to one of them. Nice locations in the South of France can't compensate for lightheaded script and waste of star talent. | tt0083647 | [PG] | David Niven, Art Carney, Maggie Smith, Kimberly Partridge, Catherine Hicks, Melissa Prophet | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Better Life | 2011 | Chris Weitz | ★★½ | 98 | A hardworking Mexican gardener and single father, who only wants the best for his teenage son, makes a bold move by buying his former employer’s truck and equipment to go into business for himself in L.A. An illegal immigrant, he knows the risk he’s taking, but as events unfold his son stands by his side and sees for the first time his father’s strength of character. Modern variation on BICYCLE THIEVES is sincere, credible, and well acted, but follows an all-too-predictable path. | tt1554091 | [PG-13] | Demián Bichir, José Juilián, Delores Heredia, Joaquín Cosío, Carlos Linares | Drama | NULL | ||
| Better Luck Tomorrow | 2003 | Justin Lin | ★★★ | 101 | Provocative, often disturbing look at suburban Southern California high school overachievers whose good grades buy them freedom from parental supervision . . . and the challenge of seeing just how much they can get away with. A fresh, serious-minded look at teenagers that cannily doesn't stress the fact that they are all Asian American. Flirts with melodrama toward the end, but never loses its focus. Exceptionally well filmed by editor, director and cowriter Lin. | tt0280477 | [R] | Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, John Cho, Karin Anna Cheung, Jerry Mathers | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Better Off Dead | 1985 | Savage Steve Holland | ★★½ | 98 | Off-kilter comedy about teenage boy who's just lost the girl of his dreams. Frustrating film starts off with lots of funny, original gags— it even has a terrific 'hamburger video' by clay-animation specialist Jimmy Picker— then it settles into much-too-conventional story and goes down the drain. Feature debut for writer-director Holland. | tt0088794 | [PG] | John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade, Scooter Stevens, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Better Than Chocolate | 1999 | Anne Wheeler | ★★★ | 101 | Engaging adult comedy about the evolving, hot-and-heavy relationship between college dropout/wannabe writer Dwyer and artist/drifter Cox. Loaded with wit, well-drawn characters, and perceptive commentary on such hot-button issues as censorship, and more personal ones, such as self-acceptance. Outerbridge is a standout as a transgendered lesbian. Unrated version runs 102m. | tt0168987 | [R] | Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Anne-Marie MacDonald, Peter Outerbridge, Marya Delver, Kevin Mundy | Canadian | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Better Than Sex | 2000 | Jonathan Teplitzky | ★★★ | 84 | A man and woman meet at a party and agree to a one-night stand, since he's leaving the country in just a few days and there's no chance of entanglements. Or so they think. Eye-opening look at the mating game, exploring what men and women say and don't say before, during, and after sex. A fresh, frank and very sexy film with a delightful sense of humor. | tt0236019 | David Wenham, Susie Porter, Catherine McClements, Kris McQuade, Simon Bossell, Imelda Corcoran | Australian-French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Better Tomorrow | 1986 | John Woo | ★★★ | 95 | Exciting action thriller about a gangster (Lung) who wants to go straight and his brother (Cheung), a dedicated police inspector who blames him for their father's death. Woo's breakthrough film (which became one of Hong Kong's highest grossers ever and gained international attention) is not as assured as his later work, but still has explosive set pieces and a terrific performance by Chow as a mob enforcer. Woo also coscripted. Followed by two sequels. | tt0092263 | Chow Yun-Fat, Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Waise Lee | Hong Kong | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| A Better Tomorrow | 2010 | Song Hae-sung | ★★ | 123 | Large-scale remake of John Woo's seminal 1986 action classic moves the setting from Hong Kong to Busan, while following a gun runner who reunites with his brother—now a cop—whom he had abandoned while escaping North Korea for the South. Slick and watchable, but overlong and unnecessary, considering that the original has already inspired scores of Asian crime movies that have tried to copy its operatic blend of sentimentality and kinetic action. Woo served as one of the executive producers. | tt1138442 | [R] | Joo Jin-mo, Song Seung-heon, Kim Gang-woo, Jo Han-sun | South Korean-Chinese-Japanese-Thai | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| A Better Way to Die | 2000 | Scott Wiper | ★½ | 98 | Young Chicago cop (Wiper) quits the force, intending to move to a small town to be with the one he loves, but there are predictable, violent complications. Not so much a story as a series of vignettes and set pieces that don't hold together. The result is half Eastwood, half Tarantino, and one total mess. Wiper also scripted. Released direct to video. | tt0168504 | [R] | Andre Braugher, Joe Pantoliano, Natasha Henstridge, Lou Diamond Phillips, Scott Wiper, Mirjana Jokovic, Matt Gallini, Wayne Duvall, Carmen Argenziano, John Basinger, Jeanine Basinger | Action | NULL | ||
| Betty | 1992 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 100 | Boozy Betty, 28 and long since banished from home, is taken in by an older widow (who also enjoys the grape) in the posh hotel she owns. So-so character study is not one of Chabrol's stronger works; juggling of flashbacks will either keep you on your toes or zone you out into slumber. Adapted from a Georges Simenon novel. | tt0103800 | Marie Trintignant, Stephane Audran, Jean-François Garreaud, Yves Lambrecht, Christiane Minazolli | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Betty Blue | 1986 | Jean-Jacques Beineix | ★★½ | 120 | Handyman and dangerously schizoid sexpot map-hop France practically waiting for her to crack up; when it finally happens, the grisly violence doesn't quite mesh with the light tone of what's come before. Well-photographed and sometimes quite funny, but ultimately much ado about nothing. If you're watching this for sex, don't miss the opening five minutes. Director's cut of 185m. available on video. | tt0090563 | Jean-Hugues Anglade, Beatrice Dalle, Gerard Darmon, Consuelo de Havilland, Clementine Celarie, Jaques Mathou, Vincent Lindon | French | Adult | NULL | ||
| Betty Co-ed | 1946 | Arthur Dreifuss. | ★½ | 68 | Inexplicably dull grade-B musical about a professional singer who decides to go to college, where she's snubbed by sorority girls. Cute as ever, Porter can't save this turkey. | tt0038352 | Jean Porter, Shirley Mills, William Mason, Rosemary La Planche, John Shelton, Kay Morley, Jackie Moran, Edward Van Sloan, Jan Savitt and His Orchestra. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Between 2 Women | 1937 | George B. Seitz. | ★★ | 89 | Doctor Tone loves nurse O'Sullivan but she can't bring herself to leave her abusive husband, so he marries socialite Bruce. Doesn't know when to quit, with one plot turn after another. Best line: Nurse O'Sullivan tells reporter Edwards, 'I could kiss you, but you're not sterile.' Based on a story by Erich von Stroheim. No relation to same-named 1944 film. | tt0028623 | Franchot Tone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Virginia Bruce, Leonard Penn, Cliff Edwards, Janet Beecher, Charley Grapewin. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Between Heaven and Hell | 1956 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 94 | Disjointed psychological drama about thoughtless Southerner Wagner, and how he is changed by his experiences in WW2 (especially while under the command of psycho Crawford). | tt0049004 | Robert Wagner, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Robert Keith, Brad Dexter, Mark Damon, Harvey Lembeck, Skip Homeier, L.Q. Jones, Carl Switzer, Frank Gorshin | War | NULL | |||
| Between Midnight and Dawn | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 89 | Overly familiar crime drama in which sector-car cops bust thug Buka, leading to tragedy. Storm is the woman whom both lawmen love. | tt0042242 | Mark Stevens, Edmond O'Brien, Gale Storm, Donald Buka, Gale Robbins, Anthony Ross, Roland Winters | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Between Strangers | 2002 | Edoardo Ponti | ★★ | 98 | Stellar cast founders in this stale story of three women, strangers deeply in need of liberation from their fathers or husbands. Loren is laughably miscast as a haggard grocery store clerk weighed down by her obnoxious, disabled husband; Sorvino is a rising star photographer whose life is controlled by her famous father; Unger is an embittered cellist whose dad has just been released from prison. Ponti— the son of Loren and Carlo Ponti— also coscripted. | tt0289668 | [R] | Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino, Deborah Kara Unger, Pete Postlethwaite, Julian Richings, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Malcolm McDowell, Gérard Depardieu, Robert Joy, Wendy Crewson, John Neville | Canadian-Italian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Between Time and Eternity | 1960 | Arthur Maria Rabenalt | ★★½ | 98 | Palmer makes tearjerker believable in story of middle-aged woman dying of rare disease, seeking romance and fun while she can. | tt0049984 | Lilli Palmer, Willy Birgel, Ellen Schwiers, Carlos Thompson | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Between Two Women | 1944 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★ | 83 | Dr. Adams (Johnson) gets more screen time than Gillespie himself (Barrymore) in this mild triangle tale involving Johnson, Maxwell, and DeHaven (who finds time to sing 'I'm in the Mood for Love'). Late Dr. Kildare series entry. | tt0036640 | Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore, Gloria DeHaven, Keenan Wynn, Marilyn Maxwell, Keye Luke, Alma Kruger, Walter Kingsford, Marie Blake, Nell Craig | Drama | NULL | |||
| Between Two Worlds | 1944 | Edward A. Blatt | ★★½ | 112 | Updated remake of OUTWARD BOUND, with various deceased individuals aboard a ship that will take each one to heaven or hell. Flawed, but good acting by Warner Bros. star stock company makes it worthwhile. | tt0036641 | John Garfield, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet, Faye Emerson, Paul Henreid, Sara Allgood, Isobel Elsom, George Tobias, Edmund Gwenn | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Between Us Girls | 1942 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 89 | Chic Francis and daughter Barrymore have romances at the same time in this OK comedy. | tt0034509 | Kay Francis, Diana Barrymore, Robert Cummings, Andy Devine, John Boles, Scotty Beckett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Between the Lines | 1977 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★★★½ | 101 | Thoroughly enjoyable sleeper about the emotional problems of the staff of a Boston underground newspaper which is about to be purchased by a print tycoon. The performances by a then-unknown cast are first rate all the way. Story by Fred Barron and David M. Helpern, Jr.; screenplay by Fred Barron. | tt0075744 | [R] | John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Eikenberry, Bruno Kirby, Gwen Welles, Stephen Collins, Michael J. Pollard, Lane Smith, Marilu Henner, Joe Morton, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Beverly Hillbillies | 1993 | Penelope Spheeris | ★½ | 93 | Big-screen rehash of the corny 1960s TV series, with the backwoods Clampett clan striking oil and moving to Beverly Hills, where they're prey for sharpie Schneider and his girlfriend (Thompson). The actors are earnest and enjoyable, but the script (by four writers— count 'em— four) is more lamebrained than the sitcom ever was, with smarmy sex jokes thrown in for good measure. Even worse, director Spheeris doesn't know how to stage a gag. | tt0106400 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Diedrich Bader, Erika Eleniak, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, Lea Thompson, Rob Schneider, Penny Fuller, Dolly Parton, Buddy Ebsen, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Brats | 1989 | Dimitri Sotirakis | ★½ | 90 | Annoying, pretentious so-called satire, in which a wealthy but lonely boy arranges his own kidnapping so that parents will give him attention. This one was a family affair: associate producer is Janet (daughter of Martin) Sheen; Estevez is Sheen's son. Moore coproduced, and coauthored the original story. | tt0096918 | [PG-13] | Peter Billingsley, Martin Sheen, Terry Moore, Burt Young, Ramon Estevez | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Chihuahua | 2008 | Raja Gosnell | ★★½ | 91 | Curtis has no idea what she’s in for when she asks her impulsive, irresponsible niece (Perabo) to doggysit her beloved and spoiled Chihuahua, Chloe (Barrymore). Perabo drags the pup along when she and her friends go on a Mexican vacation—and that’s when the trouble starts. Sweet, likable family film with irresistible four-legged stars and good work by the human cast, too. | tt1014775 | [PG] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Piper Perabo; voices of Drew Barrymore, Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Manolo Cardona, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Edward James Olmos, Loretta Devine, Luis Guzmán, Plácido Domingo, Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, Michael Urie, Marguerite Moreau, Nick Zano | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Cop | 1984 | Martin Brest | ★★★½ | 105 | Smart-mouthed Detroit cop, who never plays by the rules, goes to L.A. to track down an old friend's killers. Sassy, tough, and very funny vehicle for Murphy, who's in peak form as a guy who's never caught off guard. Deft blend of comedy and violent action, extremely well cast, with terrific song score. Script by Daniel Petrie, Jr. Bronson Pinchot has hilarious scene-stealing role as gay art gallery worker. Followed by two sequels. | tt0086960 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Stephen Elliott, Paul Reiser, Damon Wayans | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Cop II | 1987 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 102 | Contrived, cold-hearted (and misogynistic) sequel has few laughs, mediocre music, and a ridiculous story: it manages to coast as far as it does on the strength of Murphy alone. All credibility goes out the window at the start when B.H. Captain Cox is seen talking to Murphy about a fishing trip. Are these the same characters we saw in the first film? | tt0092644 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Jürgen Prochnow, Ronny Cox, John Ashton, Brigitte Nielsen, Allen Garfield, Dean Stockwell, Paul Reiser, Gil Hill, Robert Ridgley, Chris Rock | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Cop III | 1994 | John Landis | ★★½ | 100 | Detroiter Murphy goes back to L.A., site of a theme park whose in-house security cops have hatched a counterfeiting ring— right under the nose of the sweet old gramps figure (Young) who's nominally in charge. Fast pace and inspired setting can't camouflage the bankruptcy of the concept. Gags are subordinate to action here— which, given the gags, may not have been such a bad idea. As usual, Landis features a number of prominent directors (including George Lucas, Joe Dante, Martha Coolidge, Arthur Hiller, Ray Harryhausen, Peter Medak, George Schaefer, Barbet Schroeder, and John Singleton) in cameo roles. Pinchot makes a welcome return from the original COP movie as Serge. | tt0109254 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector Elizondo, Theresa Randle, Bronson Pinchot, Timothy Carhart, John Saxon, Alan Young, Stephen McHattie, Al Green | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Ninja | 1997 | Dennis Dugan | ★½ | 88 | Baby Farley is washed ashore Moses style in Japan, whereupon he spends a klutzy lifetime being schooled in combat (and apparently, object breakage). Sheridan then hires him for an assignment back in Beverly Hills, where the two become (just as we know they would in real life) romantically involved. Sub-routine comedy. | tt0118708 | [PG-13] | Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Robin Shou, Nathaniel Parker, Soon-Tek Oh, Keith Cookie Hirabayashi, Chris Rock | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beverly Hills Vamp | 1989 | Fred Olen Ray | ★★½ | 89 | Cheerfully cheap little film effectively spoofs itself while also being an entertaining vampire comedy. Jerry Lewis-oid Deezen is pitted against vampire madam Ekland and her three bloodsucking hookers. | tt0094734 | [R] | Eddie Deezen, Britt Ekland, Tim Conway/Jr., Jay Richardson, Michelle Bauer, Robert Quarry, Dawn Wildsmith, Pat McCormick | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Beware of Blondie | 1950 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 66 | Mr. Dithers makes the biggest mistake of his life when he takes a vacation and puts Dagwood in charge of the office. Edward Earle plays Dithers in this final series entry, which also features the Bumsteads' comic strip neighbors the Woodleys. | tt0042243 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Adele Jergens, Dick Wessel, Jack Rice, Emory Parnell, Isabel Withers, Danny Mummert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Beware of Children | 1961 | Gerald Thomas | ★½ | 80 | Young married couple transforms an inheritance of land into summer camp for all sorts of children, focusing on tedious, predictable pranks of youngsters. | tt0053648 | Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan, Julia Lockwood, Noel Purcell | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beware of Pity | 1946 | Maurice Elvey | ★★½ | 102 | Maudlin but effective drama of young Austrian lieutenant Lieven, who allows himself to become involved with crippled baron's daughter Palmer. Based on a novel by Stefan Zweig. | tt0038354 | Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven, Cedric Hardwicke, Gladys Cooper, Linden Travers, Ernest Thesiger | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beware of a Holy Whore | 1970 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★ | 103 | Fascinating early Fassbinder film about filmmaking, as the cast and crew of a trouble-ridden German production spend most of their time drinking, talking, having sex, and hating each other while holed up in a Spanish hotel. Brutally funny and honest; reportedly based on Fassbinder's experiences filming WHITY in Spain. | tt0067962 | Lou Castel, Hanna Schygulla, Eddie Constantine, Marquard Bohm, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ulli Lommel, Margarethe von Trotta, Kurt Raab. | German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beware! | 1946 | Bud Pollard. | ★★ | 64 | Bandleader Jordan comes to the rescue of the financially troubled college he once attended. Poorly made, hopelessly clichéd all-black musical is enlivened by Jordan, his musicianship, and such numbers as 'Beware, Brother, Beware,' 'Salt Pork, West Virginia,' and 'Good Morning, Heartache.' | tt0038353 | Louis Jordan, Frank Wilson, Emory Richardson, Valerie Black, Milton Woods, Joseph Hilliard, Tommy Hix. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Beware! The Blob | Son of Blob | 1972 | Larry Hagman | ★½ | 88 | They should have left it frozen in the Arctic. Weak comedy-sequel finds the gooey mess doing its thing once again. Aka SON OF BLOB; reissued in 1982 with the tag line, 'The Film That J.R. Shot!' | tt0068271 | [PG] | Robert Walker, Richard Stahl, Godfrey Cambridge, Carol Lynley, Larry Hagman, Cindy Williams, Shelley Berman, Marlene Clark, Gerrit Graham, Dick Van Patten | Sci-Fi, Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Beware, My Lovely | 1952 | Harry Horner | ★★½ | 77 | Brooding, atmospheric psychological thriller with kindly WW1 widow Lupino hiring wanderer Ryan as a handyman and discovering he's a psychopath. | tt0044417 | Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Taylor Holmes, O.Z. Whitehead, Barbara Whiting | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Beware, Spooks! | 1939 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 68 | Good fun as Brown solves mystery and becomes hero in Coney Island fun house. | tt0031095 | Joe E. Brown, Mary Carlisle, Clarence Kolb, Marc Lawrence | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bewitched | 1945 | Arch Oboler | ★★ | 65 | Ambitious B film based on Oboler's radio play 'Alter Ego,' about a woman tormented by a second personality locked inside her. Interesting idea, especially for its time, but heavy-handed. | tt0037539 | Phyllis Thaxter, Edmund Gwenn, Stephen McNally, Henry H. Daniels/Jr., Addison Richards, Kathleen Lockhart, Minor Watson | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bewitched | 2005 | Nora Ephron | ★★ | 100 | Postmodern riff on the popular 1960s TV series, with Kidman as a real-life witch who decides she wants to live a 'normal' life. Instead, egocentric actor Ferrell takes a shine to her and insists she be cast opposite him in a new version of . . . Bewitched. Inoffensive comedy allows Kidman to be cute, but has no genuine emotions or sentiments because its premise is so completely artificial. Carell channels the spirit of Paul Lynde and Shelley does the same for Marion Lorne in two of the film's brighter scenes. | tt0374536 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Kristin Chenoweth, Heather Burns, Jim Turner, Stephen Colbert, David Alan Grier, Michael Badalucco, Steve Carell, Carole Shelley, Richard Kind, Amy Sedaris | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Beyond Atlantis | 1973 | Eddie Romero | ★½ | 89 | Low-budget fantasy about lost civilization, represented by amphibious humanoids; combines feminist subplot with philosophizing about modern extinction of cultures. | tt0069783 | [PG] | Patrick Wayne, John Ashley, Leigh Christian, Lenore Stevens, George Nader, Sid Haig, Eddie Garcia, Vic Diaz | U.S.-Filipino | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | |
| Beyond Borders | 2003 | Martin Campbell | ★★ | 127 | A married woman leaves her husband behind when she learns about rescue efforts in Africa and the dedication of one passionate doctor; their relationship continues over many years on several continents. Depiction of conditions in various trouble spots around the world is so vivid, and the urgency of helping victimized people so genuine, that it only heightens the absurdity of the love story that's been pasted onto it. Owen's solid presence keeps his character strong in spite of everything. | tt0294357 | [R] | Angelina Jolie, Clive Owen, Teri Polo, Linus Roache, Yorick van Wageningen, Noah Emmerich, Kate Ashfield, Timothy West, Burt Kwouk | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Beyond Evil | 1980 | Herb Freed | ★★ | 94 | Saxon and George move into an old house occupied by the spirit of a 100-year-old woman, who does not like this intrusion into her privacy. OK of its kind. | tt0080431 | [R] | John Saxon, Lynda Day George, Michael Dante, Mario Milano, Janice Lynde, David Opatoshu | Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Beyond Glory | 1948 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 82 | Predictable account of West Point captain Ladd, a WW2 veteran, on trial for misconduct. Audie Murphy's first film. | tt0040158 | Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, George Macready, George Coulouris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Beyond Justice | 1992 | Duccio Tessari | ★½ | 113 | Preposterous action-adventure story of Chairman of the Board Alt, who employs hired-gun Hauer to retrieve her kidnapped son from his Arab grandfather, Emir Omar. Amid the machine-gun fire we often don't know who is being shot at— nor do we care. | tt0105175 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Carol Alt, Omar Sharif, Elliott Gould, Kabir Bedi, Brett Halsey, Peter Sands | Action | NULL | ||
| Beyond Mombasa | 1956 | George Marshall | ★★ | 90 | Tame African adventure tale with Wilde seeking mysterious killers of his brother and clues to hidden uranium mine. | tt0049005 | Cornel Wilde, Donna Reed, Leo Genn, Ron Randell, Christopher Lee | U.S.-British | Action | NULL | ||
| Beyond Rangoon | 1995 | John Boorman | ★★½ | 99 | Emotionally troubled American tourist puts herself at risk during a trip to Burma in 1988. She's soon fleeing from the military and heading to the Thai border with a former university professor who's now a wanted man. Hollow at times, and heavy-handed in its effort to promote awareness of the political situation in Burma (now Myanmar). Biggest problem is Arquette, who just doesn't register. Still, a fairly interesting story from an always-committed filmmaker. | tt0112495 | [R] | Patricia Arquette, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray, U Aung Ko, Adele Lutz, Victor Slezak | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beyond Reasonable Doubt | 1980 | John Laing | ★★½ | 127 | Adequate docudrama chronicling the conviction on trumped-up charges of innocent farmer Arthur Thomas (Hargreaves) for a double murder. Hemmings is good as the hard-boiled cop who plants evidence that leads to Thomas's downfall. Screenplay by David Yallop, from his book. | tt0080432 | David Hemmings, John Hargreaves, Martyn Sanderson, Grant Tilly, Diana Rowan | New Zealand | Crime | NULL | ||
| Beyond Silence | 1996 | Caroline Link | ★★★ | 105 | An eight-year-old German girl serves as the speaking voice (and a sometimes sly interpreter) for her deaf parents. When she matures and becomes a talented clarinetist, she considers heading for a Berlin conservatory, amid the repercussions of possibly leaving the nest. Nicely turned emotional tale of familial love and forgiveness, and a girl's growing pains. | tt0116692 | [PG-13] | Sylvie Testud, Tatjana Trieb, Howie Seago, Emmanuelle Laborit, Sibylle Canonica | German-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Beyond Therapy | 1987 | Robert Altman | 💣 | 93 | Dreadful adaptation of Christopher Durang's paper-thin comic play about neurotic singles and their psychiatrists. Given the director and cast, it's hard to believe how awful this is— until you see for yourself! Filmed in Paris, though set in N.Y.C. | tt0092646 | [R] | Julie Hagerty, Jeff Goldblum, Glenda Jackson, Tom Conti, Christopher Guest, Genevieve Page, Cris Campion, Sandrine Dumas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beyond Tomorrow | 1940 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 84 | Sensitive little drama of three wealthy men sharing Christmas with down-and-out Carlson and Parker, who fall in love. | tt0032247 | Richard Carlson, Jean Parker, Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Winninger, Maria Ouspenskaya, Rod LaRocque | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Beyond Victory | 1931 | John S. Robertson. | ★★ | 70 | WW1 film, told in flashback, about four comrades who go to war and the stories of the girls they leave back home. Incredibly noisy, smoke-clogged film has some good ideas and builds an antiwar sentiment, but gets to be pretty tedious by the fourth episode. Gleason. | tt0021656 | William Boyd, Lew Cody, James Gleason, Marion Shilling, ZaSu Pitts, Lissi Arna, Theodore von Eltz, Mary Carr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | 1956 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 80 | Far-fetched tale of man who pretends to be guilty of murder to get first-hand view of justice system, unable to prove himself innocent later on. Pale production values. Intriguing idea doesn't hold up. | tt0049006 | Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Philip Bourneuf, Barbara Nichols | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | 2009 | Peter Hyams | ★★ | 105 | By-the-numbers remake of the 1956 noir: a low-energy courtroom thriller about an ambitious rookie reporter who sets himself up as a supposed murderer in order to expose the unethical practices of a corrupt district attorney who is running for the governor's seat. Actors do fine with predictable material, but it plays like TV fodder. Douglas' presence as the shady D.A. elevates it a little. | tt1183251 | [PG-13] | Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas, Orlando Jones, Lawrence Beron, Sewell Whitney, Joel David Moore | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Blue Horizon | 1942 | Alfred Santell | ★★ | 76 | Sarong queen Lamour turns out to be heiress to great fortune; witless film wastes more talent than usual. | tt0034510 | Dorothy Lamour, Richard Denning, Jack Haley, Walter Abel, Elizabeth Patterson, Abner Biberman, Patricia Morison | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Beyond the Door | 1982 | Liliana Cavani | ★★ | 116 | Overbaked melodrama centering on complex relationship between jailed father Mastroianni and daughter Giorgi, complicated by arrival of American engineer Berenger. Also known as BEYOND OBSESSION. | tt0083648 | Marcello Mastroianni, Tom Berenger, Eleonora Giorgi, Michel Piccoli | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Door | 1974 | Oliver Hellman (Ovidio Assonitis) | 💣 | 94 | Mills becomes pregnant with a fetus possessed by the Devil. Vulgar EXORCIST ripoff, complete with pea-green regurgitation, head spins, and Mercedes McCambridge-like voice. Warner Bros. even took legal action against the film. Followed by the inevitable BEYOND THE DOOR II. | tt0071212 | [R] | Juliet Mills, Richard Johnson, Elizabeth Turner, David Colin/Jr. | U.S.-Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Beyond the Door II | Shock | 1979 | Mario Bava | ★½ | 92 | Corpse of dead man possesses his son, seeks vengeance on his wife. Nice directorial touches cannot save confusing, needlessly bloody EXORCIST clone; only resemblances to first film are actor Colin and 'possession' plot line. | tt0075651 | [R] | Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, David Colin/Jr., Ivan Rassimov | Italian | Horror | NULL |
| Beyond the Forest | 1949 | King Vidor | ★★ | 96 | Muddled murder story of grasping Davis, her small-town doctor husband (Cotten), and wealthy neighbor (Brian). Davis' overly mannered performance doesn't help. This is the film in which she utters the immortal line, 'What a dump!' | tt0041172 | Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian, Ruth Roman, Dona Drake, Regis Toomey | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Beyond the Gates | 2006 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★½ | 115 | Middling drama, based on the Rwandan experiences of BBC journalist David Belton, takes another screen look at the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis by the Hutu government. Unlike HOTEL RWANDA, this film traces the reactions of mostly white folks: devoted priest Hurt, teacher Dancy, and Belgian U.N. peacekeepers who remain strictly passive even under utmost provocation. Adequate in the day-to-day scenes but rises to the dramatic occasion in its most harrowing confrontations, which do carry power. Original British title: SHOOTING DOGS. | tt0420901 | [R] | John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, Dominique Horwitz, Louis Mahoney, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Nicola Walker, Steve Toussaint | British-German | Drama, History | NULL | |
| Beyond the Law | The Good Die First | 1968 | Giorgio Stegani | ★★ | 91 | Formula Western with a whole lot of Van Cleef and almost as much humor. Bad guy turns good guy, becomes sheriff long enough to get his hands on a shipment of silver, and then splits. Aka BLOODSILVER, THE GOOD DIE FIRST. | tt0169606 | Lee Van Cleef, Antonio Sabato, Lionel Stander, Bud Spencer, Gordon Mitchell, Ann Smyrner | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Beyond the Law | 1992 | Larry Ferguson | ★★½ | 108 | Traumatized cop Sheen— he was abused as a child— has just been fired by his corrupt boss. Recruited to work undercover, he joins a band of scuzzy, drug-dealing bikers. Not bad of its type, with an unusually high level of character development, but the often illogical scenario eventually does it in. Based on a true story. | tt0103805 | [R] | Charlie Sheen, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Madsen, Courtney B. Vance, Leon Rippy, Dennis Burkley, Rip Torn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Limit | 1983 | John Mackenzie | ★½ | 103 | Muddled adaptation of Graham Greene's The Honorary Consul with Gere miscast as British doctor who becomes involved with revolutionaries in South American country— and sexually involved with the ex-prostitute wife of boozy diplomat (well played by Caine). Slow, murky, completely uninvolving. | tt0085236 | [R] | Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins, Elpidia Carrillo, Joaquim De Almeida, A Martinez | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Living | Terror Hospital | 1978 | Al Adamson | ★★ | 88 | OK horrorpic in the CARRIE vein. Nurse is possessed by the spirit of a patient who died during surgery and begins killing the doctors who performed the operation. Best scene takes place in a foundry. Released to theaters as NURSE SHERRI. Video titles: HOSPITAL OF TERROR, HANDS OF DEATH, KILLER'S CURSE, BLACK VOODOO, THE POSSESSION OF NURSE SHERRI, and TERROR HOSPITAL. | tt0076478 | Jill Jacobson, Geoffrey Land, Marilyn Joi, Mary Kay Pass | Horror | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Mat | 1999 | Barry Blaustein | ★★★ | 102 | Screenwriter Blaustein (best known for his work with Eddie Murphy) indulges his lifelong passion for professional wrestling in this absorbing documentary, which tries to put a human face on the often circuslike sport. Among his subjects: Mankind (aka Mick Foley), a WWF superstar who's nothing like his ring persona; an aging but still potent Terry Funk; and a very troubled Jake the Snake (Jack Roberts). Compelling viewing even for non-wrestling fans. | tt0218043 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Beyond the Poseidon Adventure | 1979 | Irwin Allen | ★½ | 122 | Following THE SWARM, Caine teamed up with Irwin Allen for another career killer— a needless sequel about attempts to loot the vessel before it sinks. | tt0078856 | [G] | Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden, Shirley Knight, Slim Pickens, Shirley Jones, Karl Malden, Mark Harmon, Veronica Hamel | Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Purple Hills | 1950 | John English. | ★★½ | 69 | Sheriff Autry is forced to arrest his friend O'Brian for murder, then prove it's really the fault of crooked banker Beddoe. Gene sings 'Dear Hearts and Gentle People' and introduces his new horse, Little Champ, who shows off his bag of tricks. Simple and straightforward. | tt0042244 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Hugh O'Brian, Jo Dennison, Don Beddoe, James Millican. | Western | NULL | |||
| Beyond the Reef | Shark Boy of Bora Bora | 1981 | Frank C. Clark | ★★ | 91 | In the wake of THE HURRICANE, Dino De Laurentiis produced this innocuous South Seas romance with two attractive leads. Old-fashioned, to say the least. Completed in 1979. Aka SHARK BOY OF BORA BORA and SEA KILLER. | tt0082070 | [PG] | Dayton Ka'ne, Maren Jensen, Kathleen Swan, Keahi Farden, Joseph Ka'ne | Adventure | NULL | |
| Beyond the Sea | 2004 | Kevin Spacey | ★★½ | 118 | Biopic of singer-performer Bobby Darin covers his rise to success, marriage to movie star Sandra Dee, and the drive that came from knowing he didn't have long to live, after suffering rheumatic fever as a child. Takes a fanciful approach, with musical production numbers and a self-conscious device that enables grown-up Bobby to confront himself as a boy . . . all of which creates distance between the audience and the inherent emotion of the story. Spacey does his own singing, quite well, in this labor-of-love project, which he also cowrote and coproduced. | tt0363473 | [PG-13] | Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi, Caroline Aaron, Peter Cincotti, William Ullrich | British-German | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Beyond the Stars | 1989 | David Saperstein | ★½ | 87 | Excruciatingly slow story of former astronaut Sheen who once walked on the moon. Would-be astronaut Slater idolizes him, to the consternation of his ex-NASA employee dad (Foxworth). Top cast cannot rise above a poor script. | tt0096921 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Robert Foxworth, Sharon Stone, Olivia d'Abo, F. Murray Abraham | Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Time Barrier | 1960 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 75 | Test pilot zooms into the future to find society decimated by cosmic radiation seeping through damaged ozone layer. Cheap film shot in Texas has a few blinks of inspiration; baddie Arden is director Ulmer's daughter. | tt0053651 | Robert Clarke, Darlene Tompkins, Arianne Arden, Vladimir Sokoloff | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Beyond the Valley of the Dolls | 1970 | Russ Meyer | ★★★ | 109 | Female rock trio attempts to make it (and make it and make it) in Hollywood. Time has been kind to raunchy in-name-only sequel to (and spoof of) VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Screenplay by Roger Ebert, story by Meyer and Ebert, and picked by two prominent critics as one of the 10 best U.S. films 1968-78. | tt0065466 | [NC-17] | Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, David Gurian, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, Edy Williams, Erica Gavin, Phyllis Davis, Charles Napier, Strawberry Alarm Clock | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Beyond the Walls | 1984 | Uri Barbash | ★★ | 103 | This potentially powerful drama about life in an Israeli prison, centering on the explosive relationship between Jewish and Arab convicts, is just a standard, predictable, noisy men-in-the-big-house yarn. Incredibly, it earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination. | tt0087699 | [R] | Arnon Zadok, Muhamad Bakri, Assi Dayan, Rami Danon, Boaz Sharambi | Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| The Beyond | 1981 | Lucio Fulci | ★★ | 87 | A woman inherits a hotel in Louisiana situated on one of the seven gates to Hell, where it's host to an army of zombies (definitely not good for tourism.) Ultra-gory Italian splatter film has developed a cult, but it's just one bloody set-piece after another, with outlandishly gruesome makeup effects (including crucifixions, acid poured onto faces, etc.). Aka SEVEN DOORS OF DEATH, which runs 82m. | tt0082307 | Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale, Antoine Saint-John, Veronica Lazar | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Bhowani Junction | 1956 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 110 | Set in post WW2 India; Gardner is half-caste torn between love of country and love for a British colonel. Based on John Masters novel; strikingly shot on location. | tt0049007 | Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, Bill Travers, Abraham Sofaer | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bible | 1966 | John Huston | 💣 | 174 | Unsuccessful epic dealing with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, etc. (first 22 chapters of Genesis). Only Huston himself as Noah escapes heavy-handedness. Definitely one time you should read the Book instead. | tt0060164 | Michael Parks, Ulla Bergryd, Richard Harris, John Huston, Stephen Boyd, George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Peter O'Toole, Franco Nero | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bicentennial Man | 1999 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 131 | In the near future, a family buys an all-purpose robot, which turns out to have human emotions. His interactions with the family and their descendants are followed over the next 200 years. Sincere, sentimental, but goes for the jokes too often. Williams is good as the robot, too familiar when he becomes human. From a short story by Isaac Asimov and a novel by Asimov and Robert Silverberg. | tt0182789 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz, Wendy Crewson, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Stephen Root, Lynne Thigpen, Kiersten Warren, Oliver Platt | Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bicycle Thieves | Ladri di biciclette | 1947 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★★ | 89 | A man whose livelihood depends on his bicycle spends a shattering week with his son searching for the men who stole it. Stunning in its simplicity, this was one of the cornerstones of the Italian neo-realist movement, filmed entirely on natural locations with nonprofessional actors. It also vividly captures life in post-WW2 Rome. Winner of a special Academy Award, given before there was a Foreign Language Film category. One of the all-time greats. Originally released in the U.S. as THE BICYCLE THIEF. | tt0040522 | Lamberto Maggiorani, Leanella Carell, Enzo Staiola, Vittorio Antonucci | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Big | 1988 | Penny Marshall | ★★★½ | 102 | A 12-year-old boy wishes he were 'big'— and gets his wish, waking up the next morning as a 30-year-old man! Charming fantasy tackles a rare modern-day subject— innocence— and pulls it off thanks to Hanks' superb, seemingly guileless performance, and Marshall's surefooted direction. A real treat. Written by coproducers Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0094737 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, John Heard, Jared Rushton, Robert Loggia, David Moscow, Jon Lovitz, Mercedes Ruehl, Josh Clark, Tracy Reiner | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Big Bad John | 1990 | Burt Kennedy | ★★ | 92 | Dumb movie based on the long-ago hit song by costar Dean. Here, he plays a former Southern sheriff driving crosscountry to rescue his daughter— with the title character on his tail. The record was better. | tt0099134 | [PG-13] | Ned Beatty, Jack Elam, Bo Hopkins, Jimmy Dean, John Dennis Johnston, Jeff Osterhage, Ned Vaughn, Buck Taylor, Anne Lockhart | Action | NULL | ||
| Big Bad Love | 2002 | Arliss Howard | ★★★ | 111 | Offbeat but compelling tale of a frustrated writer who's trying to get his life in order— professionally and personally— having squandered his marriage and chance at fatherhood. Told in nonlinear spurts, combining reality with dreams and nightmares, the film manages to paint a rich picture of its main character, piece by piece. Not a perfect film, but emotionally true. Howard cowrote with his brother James, from Larry Brown's stories; Winger also produced. | tt0260746 | [R] | Arliss Howard, Debra Winger, Paul LeMat, Rosanna Arquette, Angie Dickinson, Michael Parks, Alex Van, Zach Moody; voice of Sigourney Weaver | Drama | NULL | ||
| Big Bad Mama | 1974 | Steve Carver | ★★★ | 83 | Sexy knock-off of BONNIE AND CLYDE has Angie and her two teen daughters spending as much time fooling around with partners Shatner and Skerritt as they do robbing banks. Angie's nude scenes make this a cable-TV favorite (and led to a sequel 13 years later!). Flavorful score by David Grisman. | tt0071216 | [R] | Angie Dickinson, Tom Skerritt, William Shatner, Susan Sennett, Robbie Lee, Dick Miller, Joan Prather, Royal Dano, Sally Kirkland | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Bad Mama II | 1987 | Jim Wynorski | ★½ | 83 | In this loosely linked sequel (more like a remake), Angie and her two daughters again shoot up rural, Depression-era America, robbing banks to avenge her husband's murder. Culp provides brief love interest. Archie Bunker's Place alumna Brisebois does a surprising topless scene. | tt0092652 | [R] | Angie Dickinson, Robert Culp, Danielle Brisebois, Julie McCullough, Bruce Glover | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Big Bang | 1990 | James Toback | ★★★ | 81 | Fascinating documentary in which Toback poses some basic philosophical questions— why were we born? who are we? and where are we going?— to a variety of people, from boxer/author José Torres to astronomer Fred Hess, basketball player Darryl Dawkins to film producer Don Simpson. Most amusing are the comments of an ex-mobster, and most sobering are those of an Auschwitz survivor. We even see Toback on camera, trying to finance the film. | tt0096923 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Big Beat | 1958 | Will Cowan | ★★ | 81 | Reynolds is a record exec, Martin his secretary. The Big Bore— except for the vintage performances of Domino ('I'm Walkin' '), The Diamonds ('Little Darlin' '), and company. | tt0051410 | William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Gogi Grant, Rose Marie, Hans Conried, Jeffrey Stone, The Del Vikings, Fats Domino, The Diamonds, The Four Aces, Harry James, Mills Brothers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Big Bird Cage | Women's Penitentiary II | 1972 | Jack Hill | ★★½ | 88 | Amusing spoof of Filipino prison films has pleasant team of Grier and Haig as thieving mercenaries who engineer a prison break from the outside. A follow-up to THE BIG DOLL HOUSE. Aka WOMEN'S PENITENTIARY II. | tt0068273 | [R] | Pam Grier, Anitra Ford, Sid Haig, Candice Roman, Vic Diaz, Carol Speed | Action | NULL | |
| The Big Blockade | 1942 | Charles Frend | ★★ | 77 | Dated propaganda chronicling Britain's economic blockade of Nazi Germany. | tt0034512 | Michael Redgrave, Leslie Banks, Will Hay, John Mills, Frank Cellier, Robert Morley, Alfred Drayton, Bernard Miles, Marius Goring, Michael Rennie, Michael Wilding | British | War | NULL | ||
| The Big Blue | 1988 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 119 | Waterlogged chronicle of famed free diver Jacques Mayol (Barr), with Arquette redoing her DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN performance as a ditsy insurance investigator who falls for him. As much a psychological study as a drama of athletic competition— but who cares? Underwater photography is the main attraction here. Original French release (now on video in U.S.) runs 163m. | tt0094738 | [PG] | Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar, Sergio Castellito, Marc Duret, Griffin Dunne | U.S.-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Big Bluff | 1955 | W. Lee Wilder. | ★★ | 70 | Ordinary melodrama about suave con man Bromfield, who sets his sights on a wealthy young widow (Vickers) with a short time to live. | tt0047877 | John Bromfield, Martha Vickers, Robert Hutton, Rosemarie Bowe, Eve Miller. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Boodle | 1957 | Richard Wilson | ★½ | 83 | Tame caper of gangsters and counterfeit money, set in Havana. Seedy programmer emphasizing Flynn's career decline. | tt0050189 | Errol Flynn, Pedro Armendáriz, Rossana Rory, Jacques Aubuchon | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Bounce | 1969 | Alex March | ★★ | 102 | Muddle-headed tale of drifter O'Neal becoming involved with vixenish Taylor-Young, who has strange ideas of what to do for kicks. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard. Remade in 2004. | tt0064087 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Leigh Taylor-Young, James Daly, Robert Webber, Lee Grant, Van Heflin | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Bounce | 2004 | George Armitage | ★★ | 89 | Ne'er-do-well Wilson takes up with the sexy mistress of a wheeler-dealer on the North Shore of Oahu, despite friendly warnings from the local district judge (Freeman). Postcard views of Hawaii and George S. Clinton's evocative music are abetted by plentiful eye-candy shots of shapely Foster, but the movie's good vibes drain away as the caper grows more convoluted. Sinise, Nelson, Neuwirth, and Stanton are wasted in throwaway roles. | tt0315824 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Sara Foster, Willie Nelson, Vinnie Jones, Bebe Neuwirth, Charlie Sheen, Harry Dean Stanton | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Big Boy | 1930 | Alan Crosland | ★★½ | 69 | Jolson energetically recreates his 1925 stage success as Gus, black stable boy who hopes to ride the title horse in the Kentucky Derby. Jolie appears in blackface until the conclusion, when he sings 'Tomorrow Is Another Day.' A real curio, extremely dated, but fascinating nonetheless. | tt0020683 | Al Jolson, Claudia Dell, Louise Closser Hale, Lloyd Hughes, Eddie Phillips, John Harron, Noah Beery/Sr. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Big Brass Ring | 1999 | George Hickenlooper | ★★ | 104 | Independent politician running for governor of Missouri— with his wife's money— is unnerved when his former mentor threatens to unveil a skeleton in his closet, with an eager investigative reporter waiting to pounce. Strong cast and impressive pedigree (based on an unproduced screenplay by Orson Welles and Oja Kodar) can't change the fact that the film sinks under its own weight. After a while the characters are simply boring. Made for theaters; debuted on cable. | tt0283261 | [R] | William Hurt, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Hawthorne, Irène Jacob, Ewan Stewart, Gregg Henry, Ron Livingston | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Brawl | Battle Creek Brawl | 1980 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 95 | The martial arts are applied to '30s gangster movie set in Chicago. Appealing cast, lots of comedy, along with director and some of the production staff from ENTER THE DRAGON, make this a moderately successful chop-socky. Aka BATTLE CREEK BRAWL. | tt0080436 | [R] | Jackie Chan, Jose Ferrer, Kristine DeBell, Mako, Ron Max | Action, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Big Broadcast of 1936 | 1935 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 97 | Curious muddle of specialty acts and nonsensical 'plot' involving radio station owner Oakie. Vignettes feature everyone from radio's original Amos 'n' Andy (Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, in blackface) to the Vienna Boys Choir. Bing Crosby sings lovely 'I Wished on the Moon. | tt0026113 | Jack Oakie, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Lyda Roberti, Henry Wadsworth, Wendy Barrie, C. Henry Gordon, Ethel Merman, Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers | Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Big Broadcast of 1937 | 1936 | Mitchell Leisen | ★½ | 102 | Almost unbearable musical about the competition between small-town discovery Ross and egocentric radio star Forest. Manages to waste the talent of its formidable cast, plus guest stars Benny Goodman, Larry Adler, Benny Fields, and Leopold Stokowski. | tt0027356 | Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Ray Milland, Frank Forest | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Big Broadcast of 1938 | 1938 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 90 | Hodgepodge of bad musical numbers from Tito Guizar to Kirsten Flagstad, notable only for Fields' few scenes, Hope and Ross' rendition of Oscar-winning 'Thanks for the Memory.' Hope's first feature. | tt0029912 | W. C. Fields, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Shirley Ross, Lynne Overman, Bob Hope, Ben Blue, Leif Erickson | Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Big Broadcast | 1932 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 87 | Failing radio station owned by Burns is taken over by millionaire Erwin, who presents an all-star show featuring Bing and many radio stars. Many offbeat, bizarre touches in standard love-triangle story make this a delight. Bing sings 'Please,' 'Here Lies Love. | tt0022675 | Bing Crosby, Kate Smith, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Stuart Erwin, Leila Hyams, Cab Calloway, Mills Brothers, Boswell Sisters | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Big Brown Eyes | 1936 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 77 | Bennett helps detective Grant trap a gang of thieves in pleasing romantic mystery. | tt0027357 | Joan Bennett, Cary Grant, Walter Pidgeon, Isabel Jewell, Lloyd Nolan | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Big Bully | 1996 | Steve Miner | ★½ | 97 | Having parlayed his newly published book into an offer to teach a course at his old school, author Moranis is horrified to discover that his long unseen childhood tormentor is now the shop instructor. Comedy is so dull in the opening childhood flashbacks that it's already d.o.a. by the time Moranis and Arnold show up. Phillips disappears abruptly in the film's second half— lucky for her. | tt0115676 | [PG] | Rick Moranis, Tom Arnold, Julianne Phillips, Carol Kane, Jeffrey Tambor, Curtis Armstrong, Faith Prince, Tony Pierce, Don Knotts, Stuart Pankin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Bus | 1976 | James Frawley | ★★½ | 88 | Funny spoof of disaster films, using a super-duper Trailways bus; all expected clichés come in for ribbing, but film doesn't sustain its promising idea. Murphy Dunne hilarious as inane cocktail pianist. | tt0074205 | [PG] | Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Lynn Redgrave, Jose Ferrer, Ruth Gordon, Richard B. Shull, Sally Kellerman, Ned Beatty, Bob Dishy, Stuart Margolin, Richard Mulligan, Larry Hagman, Howard Hesseman, Harold Gould | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Business | 1988 | Jim Abrahams | ★★½ | 97 | Two sets of twins are mismatched and separated at birth; years later the girls who've grown up in the boonies come to N.Y.C. for a showdown with the conglomerate that's going to wipe out their little town, hardly dreaming that the corporation is run by their identical twins! Agreeable farce never really catches fire, though Bette is terrific and the effects are remarkable. | tt0094739 | [PG] | Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Fred Ward, Edward Herrmann, Michele Placido, Daniel Gerroll, Barry Primus, Michael Gross, Joe Grifasi, Mary Gross | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Business Girl | 1931 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 75 | Young is cute and perky as a career-minded woman on her way up the corporate ladder, trying to help her singer-boyfriend and keep her amorous boss at arm's length. | tt0021657 | Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Frank Albertson, Joan Blondell, Frank Darien | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Big Cage | 1933 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 82 | Beatty plays himself in silly but watchable circus story; sappy love angle doesn't help, but supporting cast does, including Mickey as youngster who wants to be Just Like Beatty. Exciting animal footage was reused in countless films. | tt0023807 | Clyde Beatty, Anita Page, Mickey Rooney, Andy Devine, Vince Barnett, Raymond Hatton, Wallace Ford | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Caper | 1957 | Robert Stevens | ★★½ | 84 | Well-done account of Calhoun and Costa posing as married couple in small town in order to set up gang caper; realities of life reform them. | tt0050190 | Rory Calhoun, Mary Costa, James Gregory, Robert Harris | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Big Carnival | Ace in the Hole | 1951 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 112 | An embittered New Mexico reporter looking for the elusive brass ring finds it when he stumbles onto a story of a man trapped in an ancient Indian ruin. Unrelentingly cynical (yet mostly believable) tale of how the reporter exploits the 'human interest story' for his own benefit— and how the potential tragedy turns into a three-ring circus— has a peculiarly contemporary ring to it. Biting and extremely well acted. Originally titled ACE IN THE HOLE. | tt0043338 | Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Bob Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Ray Teal, Gene Evans | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| The Big Cat | 1949 | Phil Karlson. | ★★½ | 75 | Above-average modern Western about the hunt for a killer cougar in Depression-era Rocky Mountain country. Well made on a low budget, with one of the best (and longest) fistfights in film history. | tt0041175 | Lon McCallister, Peggy Ann Garner, Preston Foster, Forrest Tucker, Skip Homeier, Sara Haden, Irving Bacon, Gene Reynolds. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Chill | 1983 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★★ | 103 | Entertaining, surface-level look at a group of former college-radical friends who've dropped back into Society. Wonderful acting ensemble, irresistible soundtrack of '60s hits help camouflage weaknesses of script— which bears more than passing resemblance to John Sayles' RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN. (Trivia note: the deceased friend was played by Kevin Costner, whose scenes were cut from the finished film. But that's still him being dressed for his funeral under the main titles!) | tt0085244 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams, Don Galloway | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Circus | 1959 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 108 | Corny and predictable, but still entertaining hokum under the big top, with Lorre as a sardonic clown and Roland tightrope-walking over Niagara Falls. And what a cast! | tt0052626 | Victor Mature, Red Buttons, Rhonda Fleming, Kathryn Grant, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, David Nelson, Gilbert Roland, Howard McNear, Steve Allen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big City | Skyscraper Wilderness | 1937 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 80 | Cabdriver Tracy and wife Rainer are pitted against crooked taxi bosses in well-acted but average film. Retitled: SKYSCRAPER. | tt0028628 | Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer, Eddie Quillan, William Demarest, Regis Toomey, Charley Grapewin, Victor Varconi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Big City | 1948 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 103 | Syrupy Americana in which cantor Thomas, cop Murphy, and reverend Preston collectively adopt abandoned baby, who grows up to be precocious O'Brien. Irving Berlin's 'God Bless America' is featured throughout. | tt0040159 | Margaret O’Brien, Robert Preston, Danny Thomas, George Murphy, Karin Booth, Edward Arnold, Butch Jenkins, Betty Garrett, Lotte Lehmann | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big City Blues | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 65 | Polished Warner Bros. programmer of hayseed Linden encountering disillusionment and love in N.Y.C. | tt0022676 | Joan Blondell, Eric Linden, Inez Courtney, Evalyn Knapp, Guy Kibbee, Humphrey Bogart, Ned Sparks | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big City | 1963 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★ | 131 | A proud Calcutta man is forced by financial circumstances to let his wife work; soon she is the only one with a job. Warm, humorous, and astutely observed portrait of domestic life and women's roles in Indian society. Long but rewarding. | tt0057277 | Madhabi Mukherjee, Anil Chatterjee, Haradhan Banarjee, Vicky Redwood, Jaya Bhaduri, Shephalika Devi | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Clock | 1948 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 95 | Tyrannical publisher of crime magazine (Laughton) commits murder; his editor (Milland) tries to solve case and finds all the clues pointing to himself. Vibrant melodrama; taut script by Jonathan Latimer from Kenneth Fearing novel. Elsa Lanchester has hilarious vignette as eccentric artist. Remade as NO WAY OUT (1987). | tt0040160 | Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready, Rita Johnson, Dan Tobin, Harry Morgan | Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Big Combo | 1955 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★★ | 89 | Raw, violent film noir about persistent cop Wilde going up against cunning, sadistic racketeer Conte. A cult item, stylishly directed; Donlevy's demise is a highlight. | tt0047878 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Richard Conte, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Middleton, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Big Country | 1958 | William Wyler | ★★★ | 166 | Overblown Western has ex-sea captain Peck arrive to marry Baker, but forced to take sides in battle against Ives and sons over water rights. Heston as quick-tempered ranch foreman and Ives (who won an Oscar) as burly patriarch stand out in energetic cast. Jerome Moross' score has become a classic. | tt0051411 | Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, Chuck Connors, Charles Bickford | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Big Cube | 1969 | Tito Davison | ★½ | 98 | Absurd drama about relationship between beautiful young girl, her gigolo boyfriend, and her actress-mother at least offers some unintentional laughs. For camp followers only. | tt0064088 | [M] | Lana Turner, George Chakiris, Richard Egan, Dan O'Herlihy, Karin Mossberg | Drama | NULL | ||
| Big Daddy | 1999 | Dennis Dugan | ★★½ | 95 | An overgrown, irresponsible slacker tries to look after a young boy who's been dumped on his doorstep; naturally, he becomes attached to the youngster, and vice versa. Sandler vehicle is utterly contrived but delivers expected laughs; the courtroom climax is too silly for words. That's director Dugan as the man who won't cooperate on Halloween. | tt0142342 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Rob Schneider, Jon Stewart, Leslie Mann, Josh Mostel, Joseph Bologna, Kristy Swanson, Steve Buscemi, Cole and Dylan Sprouse | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Deal on Madonna Street | 1958 | Mario Monicelli. | ★★★½ | 106 | Classic account of misadventures of amateurish crooks attempting to rob a store; hilarious satire on all burglary capers. Retitled: BIG DEAL; remade as CRACKERS and in 2002 as WELCOME TO COLLINWOOD, and followed by a sequel, BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET . . . 20 YEARS LATER, which was actually released 30 years later! Also adapted for Broadway— unsuccessfully. | tt0052216 | Vittorio Gassman, Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Rossana Rory, Carla Gravina, Toto. | Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Big Doll House | Women's Penitentiary I | 1971 | Jack Hill | ★★½ | 93 | Fast paced, tongue-in-cheek adventure shot in Philippines mixes sex, comedy, and violence in confrontation between sadistic warden and female prisoners. One of the earliest, most successful and influential of women-in-prison exploitation films. Followed by THE BIG BIRD CAGE. Aka WOMEN'S PENITENTIARY I. | tt0066830 | [R] | Judy Brown, Roberta Collins, Pam Grier, Brooke Mills, Pat Woodell, Sid Haig | Action | NULL | |
| The Big Easy | 1987 | Jim McBride | ★★★ | 108 | Highly original crime yarn with steamy romance and unique New Orleans atmosphere. A stylish homicide detective (Quaid) runs afoul of the new, uptight assistant D.A. (Barkin) while investigating a local mob murder; soon they're romantically involved, even while they're at odds professionally. Sassy and sexy, with terrific Cajun music score. Written by Daniel Petrie, Jr. Later a cable TV series. | tt0092654 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Ebbe Roe Smith, Lisa Jane Persky, Charles Ludlam, Tom O'Brien, Grace Zabriskie, Marc Lawrence, Solomon Burke, Jim Garrison | Action, Drama, Mystery, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Big Empty | 2003 | Steve Anderson | ★★ | 92 | Favreau plays a loser actor who agrees to courier a suitcase to desert town peopled by loony hicks with more than a passing interest in alien visitors. Quirky, low-budget melodrama is ambitious but unsuccessful. The film is aptly titled. | tt0321442 | [R] | Jon Favreau, Joey Lauren Adams, Bud Cort, Jon Gries, Daryl Hannah, Adam Beach, Gary Farmer, Rachael Leigh Cook, Kelsey Grammer, Sean Bean, Patti Smith, Danny Trejo, Melora Walters, Brent Briscoe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Fan | 2009 | Robert Siegel | ★★★ | 86 | Portrait of a loner (played to perfection by stand-up comic Oswalt) who lives with his mother, clocks in at a dead-end job, and lives only to cheer on the N.Y. Giants football team and badmouth its rival Philadelphia Eagles on a radio phone-in show. An unexpected turn of events shakes up his life but can't alter his obsession. Dark, well-observed (and perfectly cast) character study may remind some of TAXI DRIVER—without the blood. Written by Siegel (THE WRESTLER), making his directorial debut. | tt1228953 | [R] | Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Rapaport, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Gino Cafarelli, Matt Servitto, Serafina Fiore, Polly Humphreys, Jonathan Hamm | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Big Fat Liar | 2002 | Shawn Levy | ★★½ | 87 | Perpetual liar Muniz can't get his dad to believe that one of his school assignments was ripped off by a movie producer— so, with a friend (Bynes), he sets off for Hollywood to prove it's true. There, he's forced to exact revenge on the mean-spirited, egocentric film exec. Kids may enjoy this well-paced slapstick outing; adults will find few surprises. Jaleel White appears unbilled. | tt0265298 | [PG] | Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, Amanda Bynes, Amanda Detmer, Donald Faison, Lee Majors, Sandra Oh, Russell Hornsby, Dustin Diamond | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Fella | 1937 | J. Elder Wills. | ★★ | 73 | Minor Robeson vehicle about an amiable Marseilles layabout who's enlisted to secretly investigate the disappearance of a boy from a tourist ship. Worth a look primarily for the presence— and voices— of Robeson and Welch and the easy camaraderie between the black and white characters. | tt0028629 | Paul Robeson, Elisabeth Welch, Roy Emerton, James Hayter, Lawrence Brown, Eldon Grant, Marcelle Rogez, Margaret Rutherford. | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Big Fish | 2003 | Tim Burton | ★★★½ | 125 | Reporter Crudup ends a long estrangement with his father when he learns the old man is dying, and tries to penetrate his dad's hearty, tale-spinning façade. McGregor plays the younger Finney, whose life is made up of one amazing adventure after another. John August adapted Daniel Wallace's novel, which is perfect fodder for director Burton and his sense of heightened reality— but instead of the bizarre and baroque, we get a world of wonder and amazement. Maintains a consistent and disarming tone from start to finish, with pitch-perfect performances. | tt0319061 | [PG-13] | Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito, Missi Pyle | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Big Fisherman | 1959 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 149 | Sprawling religious epic, from Lloyd Douglas' book about the life of St. Peter; seldom dull, but not terribly inspiring. Borzage's last film. Originally 184m., then cut to 164m. | tt0052627 | Howard Keel, John Saxon, Susan Kohner, Herbert Lom, Martha Hyer, Ray Stricklyn, Alexander Scourby | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Fix | 1978 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★★★ | 108 | Good vehicle for now-familiar Dreyfuss personality as 1960s-campus-radical-turned-private-eye Moses Wine, who becomes involved in tangled whodunit in which a former hippie cult leader figures prominently. Screenplay by Roger L. Simon, based on his novel. Look fast for Mandy Patinkin as a pool cleaner. Leon Redbone's 'I Want to Be Seduced' is not in video version. | tt0077233 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, Bonnie Bedelia, John Lithgow, F. Murray Abraham, Ofelia Medina, Fritz Weaver | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Big Gamble | 1961 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 100 | Not-too-convincing account of Irish adventurer and bride Greco who dally on the African Ivory Coast seeking to build their future the easy way. | tt0054679 | Stephen Boyd, Juliette Greco, David Wayne, Sybil Thorndike | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Big Girls Don't Cry . . . They Get Even | 1992 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★★ | 96 | The product of a mélange of multiple divorces and remarriages, teenager Wolf, fed up with various stepparents and half-siblings, hightails it during her current family's vacation. Bittersweet comedy is too superficial (and predictable) to say anything meaningful on a subject relevant to many teens. | tt0101444 | [PG] | Hillary Wolf, David Strathairn, Margaret Whitton, Griffin Dunne, Patricia Kalember, Adrienne Shelly, Dan Futterman, Ben Savage | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Big Green | 1995 | Holly Goldberg Sloan | ★★ | 100 | Slight Disney fare chronicling the plight of the 'Bad News Bears' and the 'Mighty Ducks' of soccer teams in a depressed Texas town. Overly familiar but inoffensive; OK for less discriminating children. | tt0112499 | [PG] | Steve Guttenberg, Olivia d'Abo, Jay O. Sanders, John Terry, Chauncey Leopardi, Patrick Renna, Anthony Esquivel, Bug Hall | Family | NULL | ||
| The Big Gundown | 1966 | Sergio Sollima. | ★★★ | 90 | Ambitious lawman Van Cleef is hired by a railroad tycoon to track down Mexican bandito Milian, who's accused of raping and murdering a young white girl, but slowly realizes he's being manipulated for a more sinister purpose. Arguably the best non-Sergio Leone spaghetti Western; an exciting, ironic yarn boasting stylish widescreen photography, a great Ennio Morricone score, and an incisive political edge that's even more pronounced in the uncut 105m. foreign-release version. Followed by BIG GUNDOWN 2. | tt0063501 | Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes, Fernando Sancho, Nieves Navarro, Luisa Rivelli. | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| The Big Guy | 1939 | Arthur Lubin. | ★★½ | 78 | Fairly interesting story of warden McLaglen given choice between wealth and saving innocent man on death row. Remade as BEHIND THE HIGH WALL. | tt0031097 | Jackie Cooper, Victor McLaglen, Ona Munson, Peggy Moran, Edward Brophy. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Big Hand for the Little Lady | 1966 | Fielder Cook | ★★★ | 95 | Excellent comedy centering on poker game in old West. Outstanding roster of character actors includes John Qualen, Paul Ford, and Robert Middleton. There's a neat surprise ending, too. | tt0060165 | Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Charles Bickford, Burgess Meredith | Comedy, Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Big Hangover | 1950 | Norman Krasna | ★★ | 82 | Ambitious but noble war veteran Johnson, whose allergy to alcohol makes him drunk at inopportune moments, joins a staid law firm. How long will he remain there? And will he hook up with wealthy Taylor? Predictable, as well as silly and boring. | tt0042247 | Van Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, Leon Ames, Edgar Buchanan, Rosemary DeCamp, Gene Lockhart | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Heat | 1953 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 90 | Time has taken the edge off once-searing story of cop determined to bust city crime ring; famous coffee-hurling scene still jolts, and Grahame is excellent as bad girl who helps Ford. | tt0045555 | Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Carolyn Jones, Jeanette Nolan | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Big Hit | 1998 | Che-Kirk Wong | ★★★ | 99 | Expert hit man Wahlberg is beset by insecurity, a confusing romantic life, and a treacherous partner (Phillips). The result is gunfire, car chases, explosions, and martial arts galore. Unique action comedy with Hong Kong flavors doesn't always work, but the cast is lively and the stunt work awesome, fueled by a blazing pace. | tt0120609 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, China Chow, Avery Brooks, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabato/Jr., Lainie Kazan, Elliott Gould, Sab Shimono, Lela Rochon | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Big House | 1930 | George W. Hill | ★★★ | 86 | The original prison drama, this set the pattern for all later copies; it's still good, hard-bitten stuff with one of Beery's best tough-guy roles. Won Oscars for Writing (Frances Marion) and Sound Recording. | tt0020686 | Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone, Karl Dane, Leila Hyams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big House, U.S.A. | 1955 | Howard W. Koch | ★★½ | 82 | Brutal account of a kidnapper/extortionist, and the FBI agents sent to track him down. | tt0047879 | Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, Reed Hadley, Charles Bronson, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Big Jack | 1949 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 85 | Beery's last film, rather flat; he and Main are vagabond thieves in colonial America, Conte a moralistic doctor. | tt0041176 | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Edward Arnold, Richard Conte, Vanessa Brown | Western | NULL | |||
| Big Jake | 1971 | George Sherman | ★★★ | 110 | Tough Westerner is called back by estranged wife to rescue their grandson from a gang of kidnappers headed by Boone (who's especially good). Underrated Western; well paced, handsomely shot. Wayne's fifth and final pairing with O'Hara; Chris Mitchum and the Duke's son Patrick play his sons. | tt0066831 | [PG] | John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Bobby Vinton, Bruce Cabot | Western | NULL | ||
| Big Jim McLain | 1952 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 90 | Wayne and Arness are HUAC investigators who go Commie-hunting in Hawaii. One of the Duke's few dull films, but fascinating as a relic of its era. | tt0044418 | John Wayne, Nancy Olsen, James Arness, Alan Napier, Veda Ann Borg, Hans Conried | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Kahuna | 2000 | John Swanbeck | ★★½ | 90 | Absorbing adaptation of Roger Rueff's play Hospitality Suite, essentially a three-character piece about two world-weary salesmen and a naive young colleague at an out-of-town convention. Their criticism clashes with the young man's religious fervor as they wait for an important customer to show up at their hotel suite. As photographed plays go this one is pretty good, with top-notch performances, but it never quite becomes a movie. Co-produced by Spacey. | tt0189584 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Knife | 1955 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 111 | Clifford Odets' cynical view of Hollywood comes across in this involving (albeit occasionally overheated) drama, chronicling a string of crises in the life of movie star Charlie Castle (Palance). Fine performances almost overcome stereotypes; Steiger chews the scenery as a despotic studio head. | tt0047880 | Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Shelley Winters, Rod Steiger, Ilka Chase, Wendell Corey | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Big Land | 1957 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 92 | Cattle owners and grain farmers join together to bring railroad link to Texas; easygoing, familiar. | tt0050192 | Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Julie Bishop | Western | NULL | |||
| Big Leaguer | 1953 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 70 | Robinson uplifts this standard baseball tale as real-life ex-major-leaguer John B. 'Hans' Lobert, who runs a baseball tryout camp. The scenario follows a group of hopefuls who dream of professional stardom under his watchful eye. | tt0045556 | Edward G. Robinson, Vera-Ellen, Jeff Richards, Richard Jaeckel, William Campbell, Carl Hubbell, Paul Layton, Al Campanis | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Lebowski | 1998 | Joel Coen | ★★½ | 117 | One big shaggy-dog joke, courtesy of the Coen brothers, about a slacker who's mistaken for a crime bigwig of the same name— and then gets hired by the guy to pay off a ransom. Mostly an excuse for off-the-wall character vignettes, some of which are amusing, some of which are just . . . strange. Minor Coen concoction with a most agreeable cast. Turturro is a standout as Jesus the bowler. | tt0118715 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, David Huddleston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Flea, Sam Elliott, John Turturro, David Thewlis, Ben Gazzara, Tara Reid | Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Big Lift | 1950 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 120 | GI flight technicians involved in post-WW2 Berlin airlift and romance with German women. More interesting for on-location photography than uneven storyline. | tt0042249 | Montgomery Clift, Paul Douglas, Cornell Borchers, O. E. Hasse | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big Miracle | 2012 | Ken Kwapis | ★★½ | 106 | Remarkable true story of the 1988 rescue attempt in a small Alaskan town of three gray whales trapped in the ice-infested waters of the Arctic Circle, which brought together media, Greenpeace workers, the Russians, and even a large oil company, which seized on the event to grab some free PR. Well meaning, heartwarming, even exciting at times, film then goes over the top. It does deliver a strong pro-environment message and leaves you rooting for the whales. | tt1430615 | [PG] | Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Vinessa Shaw, Ted Danson, Stephen Root, John Michael Higgins, Kathy Baker, James LeGros, Rob Riggle, Mark Ivanir, Gregory Jbara, Ahmaogak Sweeney | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Big Momma's House | 2000 | Raja Gosnell | ★★ | 98 | FBI agent (and disguise expert) Lawrence and partner Giamatti are sent to Georgia to stake out the home of a woman whose granddaughter may lead them to a dangerous criminal. Eventually, Lawrence pretends to be the aptly named Big Momma. Broad comedy is enthusiastically performed but thin as tissue paper. | tt0208003 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Paul Giamatti, Terrence Howard, Ella Mitchell, Jascha Washington, Anthony Anderson | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Big Momma's House 2 | 2006 | John Whitesell | ★½ | 99 | FBI agent Lawrence again dons a fat suit and transforms himself into the title character; here, he poses as a nanny to spy on the alleged designer of a deadly computer worm. Gratuitous sequel is an uneasy mixture of stale humor and goopy sentiment. Lawrence also coexecutive produced. | tt0421729 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Emily Procter, Zachary Levi, Mark Moses, Kat Dennings, Chloë Grace Moretz, Marisol Nichols, Sarah Joy Brown, Dan Lauria, Stacy Keibler | Action, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son | 2011 | John Whitesell | ★★ | 107 | Lawrence dons fat suit and female attire once again in second sequel to BIG MOMMA’S HOUSE. This time, Lawrence’s cross-dressing FBI agent goes undercover with his similarly disguised teenaged son (Jackson) to find evidence incriminating a Russian mobster hidden somewhere on campus of an Atlanta girls’ high school for performing arts. Frantic slapstick and action-comedy flourishes may please some fans, but a couple of spirited song-and-dance sequences indicate that this might have worked better as—no kidding!—a musical. | tt1464174 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson, Jessica Lucas, Michelle Ang, Portia Doubleday Ana Ortiz, Ken Jeong, Max Casella, Susan Walters, Sherri Shepherd | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Big Mouth | 1967 | Jerry Lewis | ★★½ | 107 | Typical Lewis effort, with Jerry involved in murder and search for missing treasure in California. | tt0061401 | Jerry Lewis, Harold Stone, Susan Bay, Buddy Lester, Del Moore, Paul Lambert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Big Night | 1996 | Stanley Tucci, Campbell Scott | ★★½ | 107 | Endearing story of Italian immigrant brothers trying to survive as restaurateurs in 1950s America; one is an artist in the kitchen, the other a would-be businessman. Their bombastic rival (Holm) gives them a shot at the brass ring by inviting Louis Prima to be their guest one night. Finely tuned performances, amusing vignettes and observations make this small endeavor worthwhile, but it's too slow and quiet for its own good. Tucci also coscripted; codirector Scott has a small but funny part as a Cadillac salesman. The feast on-screen is mouthwatering! | tt0115678 | [R] | Stanley Tucci, Minnie Driver, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm, Isabella Rossellini, Campbell Scott, Allison Janney, Caroline Aaron | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Night | 1951 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 75 | Brooding account of rebellious teenager Barrymore's emotional flare-up with humanity at large; well done. | tt0043340 | John Barrymore/Jr., Preston Foster, Howland Chamberlain, Joan Lorring, Dorothy Comingore, Howard St. John | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Big Noise | 1944 | Malcolm St. Clair | 💣 | 74 | L&H's worst film, about them delivering a bomb . . . and they do. | tt0036644 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Arthur Space, Veda Ann Borg, Robert Blake, Jack Norton. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Big One | 1998 | Michael Moore | ★★½ | 96 | Puckish pest Moore chronicles the real-life events that occur (mostly at his own instigation) while on a book tour to promote his best-selling Downsize This! Self-aggrandizing documentary is sometimes smarmy, sometimes as invasive as anything on Candid Camera . . . but it's also fast and consistently funny, as Moore routinely shows up at someone's corporate headquarters to launch some mischief. | tt0124295 | [PG-13] | U.S.-British | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Big Operator | Anatomy of a Syndicate | 1959 | Charles Haas | ★★ | 91 | Ray Anthony, Jackie Coogan. Rooney tries to add vim and vigor to title role as tough hood who goes on violent rampage when federal agents investigate his business activities. Paul Gallico story filmed before as JOE SMITH, AMERICAN. Retitled: ANATOMY OF A SYNDICATE. | tt0052629 | Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Mamie Van Doren, Mel Torme, Ray Danton, Jim Backus, Ray Anthony, Jackie Coogan | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Big Parade | 1925 | King Vidor | ★★★★ | 141 | One of the best WW1 films ever; clean-shaven Gilbert a wonderful hero, Adoree an unforgettable heroine. Filled with memorable vignettes, and some of the most harrowingly realistic battle scenes ever filmed. A gem. | tt0015624 | John Gilbert, Renee Adoree, Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell, Claire Adams, Karl Dane, Tom O'Brien | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The Big Picture | 1989 | Christopher Guest | ★★½ | 100 | Slight but good-natured comedy about Hollywood wheeling and dealing. Bacon is a naive student filmmaker courted by a movie studio exec and swallowed whole into The System. Lots of inside jokes for Hollywood audiences. Very funny performance by Leigh as an arty dingbat, and many amusing cameos, including unbilled Martin Short as an agent. Guest's first feature directing (he also scripted with costar McKean and Michael Varhol). | tt0096926 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Emily Longstreth, J. T. Walsh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael McKean, Kim Miyori, Teri Hatcher, Dan Schneider, Jason Gould, Tracy Brooks Swope | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Pond | 1930 | Hobart Henley | ★★½ | 75 | Claudette brings Maurice to America, where to make good he works in chewing gum factory. Chevalier charm overcomes trivia; song: 'You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me.' Dialogue by Preston Sturges. | tt0020690 | Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, George Barbier, Nat Pendleton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Big Punch | 1948 | Sherry Shourds. | ★★ | 80 | Boxer MacRae is falsely accused of murder, finds refuge with Morris, who has spurned ring for the pulpit. Serviceable melodrama. | tt0040161 | Wayne Morris, Gordon MacRae, Lois Maxwell, Mary Stuart, Jimmy Ames, Anthony Warde. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big Red | 1962 | Norman Tokar | ★★★ | 89 | Charming, understated Disney drama of young boy who goes to work for wealthy dog fancier (Pidgeon) and becomes devoted to prize Irish setter. Fine family fare. Filmed in Canada. From popular novel by Jim Kjelgaard. | tt0055793 | Walter Pidgeon, Gilles Payant, Emile Genest, Janette Bertrand, Doris Lussier | Adventure, Family | NULL | |||
| The Big Red One | 1980 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★½ | 113 | Fuller returned to filmmaking after a long hiatus with this vivid, autobiographical account of a special infantry squadron and its intrepid sergeant during WW2. Hard to believe one film could pack so much into its narrative; a rich, moving, realistic, and poetic film. Carradine narrates and plays Fuller's alter ego, complete with cigar. Reconstructed in 2004 to more closely resemble Fuller's intended cut, at 163m. | tt0080437 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco, Kelly Ward, Siegfried Rauch, Stephane Audran | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Big Risk | 1960 | Claude Sautet. | ★★ | 111 | Too-leisurely paced— not to mention all-too-familiar— film noir that chronicles the plight and fate of aging gangster Ventura. | tt0052698 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, Marcel Dalio, Sandra Milo. | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Big Score | 1983 | Fred Williamson | ★★ | 85 | Barely adequate DIRTY HARRY clone with narc Williamson ignoring the rules and taking on thug Spinell. (In fact, this script was originally commissioned by Clint Eastwood for a Dirty Harry vehicle that never got made.) | tt0085245 | [R] | Fred Williamson, John Saxon, Richard Roundtree, Nancy Wilson, Ed Lauter, D'Urville Martin, Michael Dante, Joe Spinell | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Big Shakedown | 1934 | John Francis Dillon | ★★ | 64 | Inconsequential tale. Davis rejects husband Farrell when he joins forces with mobster Cortez in cosmetic fraud. | tt0024890 | Bette Davis, Ricardo Cortez, Glenda Farrell, Charles Farrell, Adrian Morris | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Shot | 1942 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 82 | OK grade-B gangster yarn with Bogey a three-time loser involved in robbery frameup and prison break. | tt0034513 | Humphrey Bogart, Irene Manning, Susan Peters, Minor Watson, Chick Chandler, Richard Travis, Stanley Ridges, Howard Da Silva | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Big Shots | 1987 | Robert Mandel | ★★½ | 90 | So-so juvenile adventure about an inexperienced white boy and streetwise urban black who come together and become involved with dead bodies, hired killers and other mayhem. | tt0092655 | [PG-13] | Ricky Busker, Darius McCrary, Robert Joy, Robert Prosky, Jerzy Skolimowski, Paul Winfield | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Big Show | 1961 | James B. Clark | ★★½ | 113 | Drama of family conflict, similar to 1949's HOUSE OF STRANGERS, somehow set in a circus with Williams in a rare dramatic role. Glug! | tt0054681 | Esther Williams, Cliff Robertson, Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Vaughn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big Sky | 1952 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 122 | Camaraderie and conflict as fur-trapper Douglas leads expedition up the Missouri River. Eventful, evocative film adapted from A. B. Guthrie, Jr. book by Dudley Nichols; well directed by Hawks. Originally released at 141m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044419 | Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt, Arthur Hunnicutt, Buddy Baer, Steven Geray, Hank Worden, Jim Davis | Western | NULL | |||
| The Big Sleep | 1978 | Michael Winner | ★★ | 100 | Follow-up to FAREWELL, MY LOVELY is less a remake of the Hawks classic than a more faithful rendering of the Chandler novel, albeit updated and set in London. If you can get by that, it's tolerable, with a strong cast, fresh locations, and thankful lack of camp. | tt0077234 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Oliver Reed, Richard Boone, James Stewart, Joan Collins, Edward Fox, John Mills, Harry Andrews, Richard Todd, Colin Blakely | British | Mystery | NULL | |
| The Big Sleep | 1946 | Howard Hawks | ★★★★ | 114 | Classic mystery thriller from Raymond Chandler's first novel; detective Philip Marlowe (Bogart) becomes involved with wealthy Bacall and her uncontrollable little sister Vickers. So convoluted even Chandler didn't know who committed one murder, but so incredibly entertaining that no one has ever cared. Powerhouse direction, unforgettable dialogue; script by William Faulkner, Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett. Pre-release version (shown to Armed Forces overseas in 1945) runs 116m., with 18m. of scenes reshot or unused in the official release. This version has less of Bogie and Bacall and a more linear plot, but is somehow less exotic and interesting. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038355 | Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Louis Jean Heydt, Regis Toomey, Peggy Knudsen, Dorothy Malone, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Big Sombrero | 1949 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 80 | Gene woos Verdugo and helps to prevent crooks from evicting her tenants off her Big Sombrero rancho. Gene's second, and last, in color is a treat for the eye and ear. | tt0041177 | Gene Autry, Elena Verdugo, Stephen Dunne, Vera Marshe, George J. Lewis, Martin Garralaga, Gene Roth. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Big Squeeze | Body of a Woman | 1996 | Marcus De Leon | ★½ | 98 | Boyle works in a bar to support her injured ballplayer husband (Bercovici)— then learns he's neglected to inform her of a $130,000 settlement he's received, so she enlists a drifter-hustler (a miscast Dobson) to get the money. Pretty poor. Video version is 7m. longer, if you care. Aka BODY OF A WOMAN. | tt0115680 | [R] | Lara Flynn Boyle, Peter Dobson, Danny Nucci, Luca Bercovici, Teresa Despina, Michael Chieffo | Drama | NULL | |
| The Big Stampede | 1932 | Tenny Wright. | ★★ | 55 | Formula sagebrush saga of new deputy sheriff in pursuit of cattle rustlers who dispatched town's lawman predecessor. Reworking of 1927 Ken Maynard Western, remade in 1937 as a Dick Foran vehicle. | tt0022681 | John Wayne, Noah Beery, Paul Hurst, Mae Madison, Luis Alberni, Berton Churchill. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Big Steal | 1949 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 71 | Mitchum is on the trail of Army payroll thief Knowles; he in turn is chased by Bendix, and becomes involved with enticing Greer. Well-made robbery caper, set in Mexico and shot on location, is full of terrific plot twists. | tt0041178 | Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix, Patric Knowles, Ramon Novarro | Film-Noir, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Big Store | 1941 | Charles Riesner | ★★ | 80 | Big comedown for Marxes in weak film of detective Groucho investigating crooked Dumbrille's department store. Low spot is Martin's 'The Tenement Symphony.' | tt0033388 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Tony Martin, Virginia Grey, Margaret Dumont, Douglass Dumbrille, Henry Armetta | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Big Street | 1942 | Irving Reis | ★★½ | 88 | Damon Runyon produced this treacly adaptation of his own Collier's magazine story 'Little Pinks,' about a timid busboy who devotes himself to a self-centered nightclub singer. Odd (and oddly watchable), with very unconventional roles for both Fonda and Ball. | tt0034514 | Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane, Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead, Sam Levene, Ray Collins, Hans Conried, Ozzie Nelson and Orchestra | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Big T.N.T. Show | 1966 | Larry Peerce | ★★ | 93 | Follow-up to THE T.A.M.I. SHOW casts a wider musical net, with lesser results, but Diddley, Tina Turner, and Ronnie Spector keep it pumping. Shot on tape, transferred to film; footage reused in THAT WAS ROCK. | tt0060167 | David McCallum, Roger Miller, Joan Baez, Ike and Tina Turner, Bo Diddley, The Ronettes, Ray Charles, The Lovin' Spoonful | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Big Tease | 2000 | Kevin Allen | ★★½ | 86 | Scottish hairdresser mistakenly thinks he's been invited to L.A. to take part in the World Freestyle Hairdressing Championship, but won't be deterred from competing for the Platinum Scissors award. Amusing if lightweight romp through the tresses of Tinseltown. Drew Carey (Ferguson's costar on TV's The Drew Carey Show) is among a handful of celebrity cameos. Cowritten by Ferguson. | tt0156639 | [R] | Craig Ferguson, Frances Fisher, Mary McCormack, David Rasche, Chris Langham, Sara Gilbert, John Pankow, Donal Logue, Charles Napier, Larry Miller, Ted McGinley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Time | 1988 | Chris Blum | ★★★ | 87 | Concert footage filmed at L.A.'s Wiltern Theater is combined with scenes of the chameleonlike Waits as various and sundry characters: you'll see Waits the sleazy lounge lizard, Waits the gravel-voiced crooner, and Waits the truly amazing performer. For Tom Waits fans, this is the next best thing to seeing him live. | tt0094743 | [PG] | Tom Waits | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Big Tip Off | 1955 | Frank McDonald | ★½ | 79 | Forgettable programmer about newspaper columnist Conte and his dealings with hood Bennett and a fund-raising scam. | tt0047881 | Richard Conte, Constance Smith, Bruce Bennett, Cathy Downs, James Millican, Dick Benedict | Crime | NULL | |||
| Big Top Pee-wee | 1988 | Randal Kleiser | ★★½ | 90 | Farmer Pee-wee allows a traveling circus to stay on his property, and quickly develops circus fever— as well as a romance with the pretty trapeze artist (Golino). Quirky if overly bland comedy (cowritten and produced by Pee-wee's alter ego, Paul Reubens) has many clever moments, along with some curious ones. Ought to please kids and family audiences. | tt0094744 | [PG] | Paul Reubens, Penelope Ann Miller, Kris Kristofferson, Valeria Golino, Susan Tyrrell, Albert Henderson, Kevin Peter Hall, Kenneth Tobey, Stephanie Hodge, Benicio Del Toro, voice of Wayne White | Adventure, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Town | 1947 | William C. Thomas | ★★ | 60 | Forceful Steve Wilson (Reed) shakes things up as the new editor of the Illustrated Press, forcing reporter Lorelei Kilbourne (Brooke) to operate his way or not at all. First in a short-lived series based on the popular Big Town radio show. Retitled GUILTY ASSIGNMENT. Followed by I COVER BIG TOWN. | tt0039186 | Philip Reed, Hillary Brooke, Veda Ann Borg, Robert Lowery, Byron Barr, Charles Arnt, Nana Bryant, Frank Fenton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Big Town After Dark | 1947 | William C. Thomas | ★★ | 70 | Lorelei (Brooke) quits her job at the Illustrated Press, so Steve Wilson (Reed) hires, and starts wooing, the publisher's niece to make Lorelei jealous. Third in the short-lived series based on the Big Town radio show. Retitled UNDERWORLD AFTER DARK. Followed by BIG TOWN SCANDAL. | tt0039187 | Philip Reed, Hillary Brooke, Richard Travis, Anne Gillis, Vince Barnett, Joe Sawyer | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Big Town Scandal | 1948 | William C. Thomas. | ★★ | 61 | Reporter Brooke convinces her editor (Reed) to take responsibility for a gang of teenagers— including her nephew— who've been caught looting a store. Final film in short-lived series based on the Big Town radio show reunites Our Gang favorites Alfalfa and Butch (Bond). Retitled UNDERWORLD SCANDAL. | tt0040162 | Phillip Reed, Hillary Brooke, Stanley Clements, Darryl Hickman, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Roland Dupree, Tommy Bond, Vince Barnett, Charles Arnt. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Big Town | 1987 | Ben Bolt | ★★ | 109 | Small-town crapshooter with a 'golden arm' comes to Chicago in the 1950s to become a big-time gambler, but still has a lot to learn. With that cast (and Lane as a stripper) it's easy to watch . . . but just as easy to forget. | tt0092656 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Skerritt, Lee Grant, Bruce Dern, Suzy Amis, David Marshall Grant, Lolita Davidovich, Cherry Jones, Gary Farmer, Sarah Polley | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Big Trail | 1930 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 121 | Epic Western may seem creaky to some viewers, but remains one of the most impressive early talkies, with its grand sweep and naturalistic use of sound. John Wayne was 'discovered' for starring role, and already shows easygoing charm. Originally filmed in pioneer 70mm widescreen process called Grandeur. | tt0020691 | John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power/Sr., David Rollins, Ian Keith | Adventure, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Big Trees | 1952 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 89 | Brutally ambitious lumberman Douglas runs afoul of a religious sect— and practically everybody else around him— in this cornball outdoor melodrama. A remake of VALLEY OF THE GIANTS with stock footage from that earlier color movie. | tt0044420 | Kirk Douglas, Eve Miller, Patrice Wymore, Edgar Buchanan, John Archer, Alan Hale/Jr., Roy Roberts, Ellen Corby | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Big Trouble | 1985 | John Cassavetes | ★★ | 93 | Harried insurance salesman Arkin needs money to put his three sons through Yale, so he becomes involved with ditsy D'Angelo in a plot to kill her loony husband (Falk). Pretty silly stuff, although the sardine-flavored liqueur does provide a couple of chuckles. Reteaming of talents from THE IN-LAWS (1979) had a troubled production and barely received theatrical release. Andrew Bergman wrote the script under the name Warren Bogle. | tt0090727 | [R] | Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Beverly D'Angelo, Charles Durning, Robert Stack, Paul Dooley, Valerie Curtin, Richard Libertini | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Trouble | 2002 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★½ | 85 | Farcical comedy set in Miami, where various characters' lives collide as two hit men from N.J. (Kehler and a very funny Farina) try to take out a local hotshot (Tucci), while his wife (Russo) falls in love with an ex-newspaperman (Allen). Meanwhile, a stolen nuclear device is being peddled by a couple of transplanted Russians. Lots of funny lines and situations, but goes flat somewhere along the way. Based on a novel by humorist Dave Barry. | tt0246464 | [PG-13] | Tim Allen, Rene Russo, Stanley Tucci, Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville, Dennis Farina, Jack Kehler, Janeane Garofalo, Patrick Warburton, Ben Foster, Zooey Deschanel, Heavy D, Omar Epps, Jason Lee, Sofía Vergara, Andy Richter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Big Trouble in Little China | 1986 | John Carpenter | ★½ | 99 | Blowhard trucker Russell finds himself knee-deep in Chinatown intrigue (and mumbo-jumbo) when a friend's fiancée is kidnapped right in front of his eyes. High-tech INDIANA JONES-style adventure has heavy tongue-in-cheek attitude, but everything else about it is heavy, too . . . including Russell's John Wayne-ish swagger. Good electronic music score by director Carpenter. | tt0090728 | [PG-13] | Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong, Kate Burton, Suzee Pai | Action, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Big Wave | 1960 | Tad Danielewski | ★½ | 60 | Slowly paced account from Pearl Buck novel involving two boys who are childhood friends but later in life clash over their love for a local girl. | tt0189391 | Sessue Hayakawa, Ichizo Itami, Mickey Curtis, Koji Shitara | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Big Wednesday | Summer of Innocence | 1978 | John Milius | ★★½ | 120 | Half of a good flick on surfing, Pacific Coast-style, early '60s. Up to midway point, a ridiculous comedy about macho Vincent and his fun-loving, destructive ways. As he and buddies Katt and Busey get older and action is brought up to '70s, dramatic content improves. Hale (who plays Mrs. Barlow) and Katt are real-life mother and son. Milius recut to 104m. for pay-TV release. Retitled SUMMER OF INNOCENCE for TV. | tt0077235 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey, Lee Purcell, Patti D'Arbanville, Sam Melville, Robert Englund, Barbara Hale, Reb Brown, Steve Kanaly, Michael Talbott, Charlene Tilton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Big Wheel | 1949 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 92 | Rooney is determined race-car driver following in father's footsteps despite dad's death on track; familiar plot well done. | tt0041179 | Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Spring Byington, Mary Hatcher, Allen Jenkins, Michael O'Shea | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Big White | 2005 | Mark Mylod | ★★½ | 94 | Minor but amusing black comedy set in snowy Alaska, where desperate travel agent Williams concocts a scheme to collect insurance on his supposedly dead brother-and then stumbles onto a body just right for the purpose at hand. Ribisi is terrific as an insurance investigator who obsesses over the obvious fraudulence of the case. | tt0402850 | [R] | Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Alison Lohman, Tim Blake Nelson, Woody Harrelson, W. Earl Brown | U.S.-German-Canadian-New Zealand | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Big Year | 2011 | David Frankel | ★★½ | 100 | Leisurely film follows three disparate men: prosperous businessman Martin, who's near retirement; struggling Black, who barely makes ends meet; and ambitious Wilson, who never has enough time for his wife. They are all avid birders who commit to a Big Year, in which they compete to see who can spot the most species. Wanders for a while but clicks when it (gradually) reveals that it isn't really about birding at all, but the quest for happiness and fulfillment. Benign in the extreme, but sneaks up on you to work its charms. | tt1053810 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Brian Dennehy, Anjelica Huston, Rashida Jones, Rosamund Pike, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Anthony Anderson, Corbin Bernsen, Barry Shabaka Henley, Joel McHale, Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parsons, Kevin Pollak, Nate Torrence, Steven R. Weber; voice of John Cleese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bigamist | 1953 | Ida Lupino | ★★★ | 80 | Compassionate look at lonely man who finds himself married to (and in love with) two different women. Extremely well acted; one of Lupino's best directorial efforts and the only time she ever directed herself. | tt0045557 | Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Jane Darwell, Kenneth Tobey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bigger Stronger Faster* | 2008 | Christopher Bell | ★★★ | 106 | Compelling documentary investigates performance-enhancing drugs, presenting many points of view, which yield often-surprising results. First-time filmmaker Bell has personal involvement with the topic (and the film) since he and his brothers grew up idolizing wrestlers and movie musclemen who, in most cases, later turned out to be using steroids. An eye-opening look at a subject that usually provokes knee-jerk responses. Film’s asterisked subtitle is THE SIDE EFFECTS OF BEING AMERICAN. | tt1151309 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bigger Than Life | 1956 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 95 | Compelling drama of teacher Mason who becomes hooked on drugs, and its devastating effects on him and his family. Mason also produced the film. Quite bold for its time. | tt0049010 | James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau, Robert Simon, Roland Winters | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Biggest Bundle of Them All | 1968 | Ken Annakin | ★½ | 110 | Supposedly a comedy, film is slapdash tale of amateur criminals who try to kidnap American gangster. Filmed in France and Italy. | tt0062731 | Robert Wagner, Raquel Welch, Vittorio De Sica, Edward G. Robinson, Godfrey Cambridge | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Biggles: Adventures in Time | 1986 | John Hough. | ★★ | 108 | Curious, occasionally entertaining sci-fi adventure with Hyde-White inexplicably traveling through time from 1986 N.Y.C. to WW1 Europe . . . where he assists British flyboy Dickson. Based on characters created by Capt. W. E. Johns. Original British title: BIGGLES. | tt0090729 | [PG] | Neil Dickson, Alex Hyde-White, Fiona Hutchinson, Peter Cushing, Marcus Gilbert. | British | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Biker Boyz | 2003 | Reggie Rock Bythewood | ★★ | 110 | By-the-numbers action drama about the subculture of California motorcycle clubs, spotlighting males of various ages who are addicted to fancy bikes and challenge each other in illegal road races. Fishburne is the longtime undefeated champ, Luke the ambitious young challenger. Attempts to focus on characters and relationships instead of just action, but the results are uninspired. | tt0326769 | [PG-13] | Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Lisa Bonet, Brendan Fehr, Larenz Tate, Kid Rock, Rick Gonzalez, Meagan Good, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Kadeem Hardison, Eriq La Salle, Tyson Beckford | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Bikini Beach | 1964 | William Asher | ★★½ | 100 | Third BEACH PARTY movie is second best, with Avalon in dual role as Frankie and a British singing rage called 'The Potato Bug' (get it?). Relic of bygone era. Followed by PAJAMA PARTY. | tt0057887 | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Keenan Wynn, Martha Hyer, Harvey Lembeck, Don Rickles, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Meredith MacRae, Donna Loren, Candy Johnson, Timothy Carey, 'Little' Stevie Wonder, Michael Nader | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bilitis | 1977 | David Hamilton | ★★ | 95 | Superficial story of young student D'Arbanville and her first romance. All imagery, no substance. Director Hamilton is better-known for his lush coffeetable photo books of nude women. | tt0075753 | [R] | Patti D'Arbanville, Mona Kristensen, Bernard Giraudeau, Mathieu Carriere, Gilles Kohler | French |
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| Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey | 1991 | Peter Hewitt | ★★½ | 98 | In this sequel, the dimwitted duo travel to Heaven, Hell, and points in between as they duel with an evil pair of robots who are posing as Bill and Ted. Along the way they meet (among others) Albert Einstein, the Easter Bunny, and the Grim Reaper! Special effects almost take over in this outing, but B&T are even dumber here than in the original film. One more sequel and they qualify as the Hope and Crosby of the '90s, dudes! | tt0101452 | [PG] | Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, William Sadler, Joss Ackland, George Carlin, Hal Landon/Jr., Pam Grier, Amy Stock-Poynton, Sarah Trigger | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | 1989 | Stephen Herek | ★★ | 90 | Inseparable teenage airheads, who are about to flunk their history course, are given the opportunity to go traveling through time to meet (and round up) such historical figures as Napoleon, Joan of Arc, and Abraham Lincoln. Radical! Reeves and Winter are great fun as Bill and Ted, but this goofy comedy never takes off as it should. Followed by an animated TV series, a live-action TV series, and BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY. | tt0096928 | [PG] | Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Bernie Casey, Amy Stock-Poynton, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor | Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bill Cosby- 'Himself' | 1982 | Bill Cosby | ★★½ | 105 | Likable in-concert film, featuring Cosby on the subjects of child rearing, human nature, family life. Pleasant but hardly 'an event.' | tt0083652 | [PG] | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bill Cunningham New York | 2011 | Richard Press | ★★★ | 84 | Irresistible portrait of the Manhattan-based photographer who has spent much of his life chronicling fashion as worn by real people on the streets of the City, for a long-running feature in the New York Times. This fly-on-the-wall documentary shows the unassuming, old-school shutterbug at work, dealing with his colleagues, and mingling with the upper crust, including fashion stars who hold him in the highest regard. Even if you've never seen his work, this briskly paced film is likely to win you over. | tt1621444 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Bill and Coo | 1947 | Dean Riesner | ★★★ | 61 | Charming, unique live-action film using trained birds in a story situation. A special Oscar winner, later reedited with new introductory material by Murray. | tt0039188 | Narrated by Ken Murray |
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| A Bill of Divorcement | 1932 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 69 | Barrymore gives sensitive performance as man released from mental institution who returns to wife Burke and gets to know his daughter for the first time. Dated but worth seeing; notable as Hepburn's screen debut. Originally released at 75m. Remade in 1940. | tt0022685 | John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke, David Manners, Henry Stephenson | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Bill of Divorcement | 1940 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 74 | Adequate remake with Menjou as mentally ill man who suddenly regains his sanity and returns home, with resulting dramatic fireworks. Scripted by Dalton Trumbo. Retitled NEVER TO LOVE. | tt0032252 | Maureen O'Hara, Adolphe Menjou, Fay Bainter, Herbert Marshall, Dame May Whitty, C. Aubrey Smith, Patric Knowles | Drama | NULL | |||
| Billie | 1965 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 87 | Airy comedy of tomboyish Duke and her athletic aspirations. Backus and Greer are her perplexed parents, Berlinger her boyfriend. Duke sings, runs, prances. | tt0058972 | Patty Duke, Warren Berlinger, Jim Backus, Jane Greer, Billy DeWolfe, Charles Lane, Dick Sargent | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Billion Dollar Brain | 1967 | Ken Russell | ★★★ | 111 | Third in series that began with THE IPCRESS FILE finds Harry Palmer (Caine) again up to his neck in exciting espionage, this time in Scandinavia. Based on Len Deighton's novel. Followed thirty years later by a pair of cable TV sequels. | tt0061405 | Michael Caine, Karl Malden, Ed Begley, Oscar Homolka, Françoise Dorléac | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Billion Dollar Hobo | 1978 | Stuart E. McGowan | ★½ | 96 | Dreary comedy about bumbling Conway becoming a hobo to qualify for inheritance. | tt0077238 | [G] | Tim Conway, Will Geer, Eric Weston, Sydney Lassick, John Myhers, Frank Sivero | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Billy Bathgate | 1991 | Robert Benton | ★★½ | 106 | Absorbing, exceptionally good-looking adaptation of E. L. Doctorow's fanciful novel about young man who hooks up with gangster Dutch Schultz in the waning days of his crime career in the 1930s. Hoffman's commanding performance makes this flawed film worth watching, though the story's momentum erodes toward the end. Photographed by Nestor Almendros, with remarkable production design by Patrizia von Brandenstein. Screenplay by Tom Stoppard. | tt0101453 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Loren Dean, Bruce Willis, Steven Hill, Steve Buscemi, Billy Jaye, John Costelloe, Tim Jerome, Stanley Tucci, Mike Starr, Katharine Houghton, Rachel York, Moira Kelly | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Billy Budd | 1962 | Peter Ustinov | ★★★½ | 122 | Melville's classic good vs. evil novella set in British Navy, 1797. Naive, incorruptible seaman is court-martialed for murder of sadistic master-at-arms. Film deals simply with heavier issues of morality. Sterling performances by all. Ustinov also produced and coscripted with DeWitt Bodeen. Stamp's film debut. Scope. | tt0055796 | Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas, Terence Stamp, Paul Rogers, David McCallum | U.S.-British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Billy Elliot | 2000 | Stephen Daldry | ★★★½ | 110 | Beautifully realized story, set in 1984, about an 11-year-old boy (Bell, in a glorious debut) growing up in a motherless household in a harsh English mining town where most of the workers are on strike. An inadvertent encounter with a dance class opens a new door in his life. A feel-good movie in the very best sense; Lee Hall's script dodges the formulaic ingredients you expect to find. Impressive film debut for theater director Daldry. Later a stage musical. | tt0249462 | [R] | Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Mike Elliot, Janine Burkett | British | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Billy Galvin | 1986 | John Gray | ★★½ | 95 | Well-meaning, fairly effective meat-and-potatos drama about title character (Von Dohlen), who wants to be a construction worker like his old man (Malden), a tough, obstinate codger who does everything to discourage him. Not without its share of moments, but also a bit too obvious. Good performances. An American Playhouse presentation. | tt0090730 | [PG] | Karl Malden, Lenny Von Dohlen, Joyce Van Patten, Toni Kalem, Keith Szarabajka, Alan North, Paul Guilfoyle, Barton Heyman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Billy Jack | 1971 | Tom Laughlin (T. C. Frank) | ★½ | 114 | Half-breed karate expert protects a free school imperiled by reactionary townspeople in this grass-roots hit. Its politics are highly questionable, and its 'message' of peace ridiculous, considering the amount of violence in the film. Memorable title sequence depicting slaughter of wild mustangs introduced hit song 'One Tin Soldier' by Coven. Preceded by BORN LOSERS; followed by THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK and BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON. | tt0066832 | [PG] | Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Clark Howat, Kenneth Tobey, Bert Freed, Julie Webb | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Billy Jack Goes to Washington | 1977 | Tom Laughlin (T. C. Frank) | ★★ | 155 | Contrived update of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, with writer-director-star Laughlin, a supposed 'everyman,' fighting big-time corruption in the Senate. Basic story is still good, but it goes on forever. | tt0075754 | Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Sam Wanamaker, Lucie Arnaz, E.G. Marshall, Pat O'Brien | Drama | NULL | |||
| Billy Liar | 1963 | John Schlesinger | ★★★½ | 98 | Cast excels in story of ambitious but lazy young man caught in dull job routine who escapes into fantasy world, offering some poignant vignettes of middleclass life. Based on Keith Waterhouse novel and play; scripted by Waterhouse and Willis Hall (who also cowrote stage version). | tt0056868 | Tom Courtenay, Julie Christie, Wilfred Pickles, Mona Washbourne, Ethel Griffies, Finlay Currie, Leonard Rossiter | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Billy Madison | 1995 | Tamra Davis | ★½ | 89 | Another comic celebration of infantilism and crudity, as spoiled rich kid Sandler must repeat grades 1-12 in order to take over his millionaire father's business. A little of this goes a long way. Sandler (who can be funny and endearing when he wants to be) also cowrote the script. His Saturday Night Live castmate Chris Farley and Steve Buscemi appear unbilled. | tt0112508 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Darren McGavin, Bridgette Wilson, Bradley Whitford, Josh Mostel, Norm Macdonald, Mark Beltzman, Larry Hankin, Theresa Merritt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Billy Rose's Jumbo | Jumbo | 1962 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 125 | OK circus picture, at best during Rodgers and Hart songs, well staged by Busby Berkeley. Durante (who had starred in the 1935 Broadway production) and Raye are marvelous. Songs include 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,' 'My Romance,' 'This Can't Be Love.' Aka JUMBO. | tt0055797 | Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, Dean Jagger | Musical | NULL | ||
| Billy Two Hats | 1974 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★½ | 99 | Offbeat Western filmed in Israel, about a middle-aged Scot and a young half-Indian pursued by the law for bank robbery. Peck is appealing in unusual character role. Retitled THE LADY AND THE OUTLAW. | tt0069786 | [PG] | Gregory Peck, Desi Arnaz/Jr., Jack Warden, Sian Barbara Allen, David Huddleston | Western | NULL | ||
| Billy the Kid | 1930 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 90 | Realistic early talkie Western with marshal Beery trying to capture outlaw Brown; some performances seem badly dated today. Retitled: THE HIGHWAYMAN RIDES. Originally shown in early Realife 70 mm. widescreen process. | tt0020693 | Johnny Mack Brown, Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Karl Dane, Roscoe Ates | Western | NULL | |||
| Billy the Kid | 1941 | David Miller | ★★½ | 95 | Cast looks uncomfortable in remake of 1930 Western, but plot is sturdy enough for OK viewing, with Taylor in title role and Donlevy as marshal. | tt0033389 | Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Ian Hunter, Mary Howard, Gene Lockhart, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Billy the Kid Returns | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 53 | After Pat Garrett kills notorious Billy the Kid (Rogers), he employs a lookalike (Rogers, again) to help find villains, who are unaware Billy is dead and are trying to oust homesteaders from their land. Fast-moving B Western, with Roy singing seven songs, including 'Born to the Saddle.' | tt0029915 | Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Morgan Wallace, Fred Kohler, Wade Boteler, Edwin Stanley, Joseph Crehan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Billy the Kid vs. Dracula | 1966 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 74 | Famed outlaw decides it's time to get married— but doesn't realize that his bride's 'uncle' is a vampire. Campy nonsense. | tt0060168 | Chuck Courtney, John Carradine, Melinda Plowman, Virginia Christine, Walter Janovitz, Bing Russell, Olive Carey, Harry Carey/Jr. | Western, Horror | NULL | |||
| Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss | 1998 | Tommy O'Haver | ★★½ | 92 | Unemployed L.A. photographer Billy (Hayes) decides to recreate a series of classic movie kisses from Hollywood's golden age, utilizing drag queens and other gay pals. He immediately gets sidetracked upon meeting gorgeous Gabriel (Rowe). Flashy low-budget effort that manages to be both humorous and sensitive, though the writer-director isn't kidding when he calls it 'A Tom O'Haver Trifle.' He says his inspiration came from the ambiguity of the Clift-de Havilland romance in THE HEIRESS! | tt0137386 | [R] | Sean P. Hayes, Brad Rowe, Richard Ganoung, Meredith Scott Lynn, Paul Bartel, Armando Valdes-Kennedy, Annabelle Gurwitch, Holly Woodlawn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Biloxi Blues | 1988 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 106 | The further adventures of Eugene Jerome, Neil Simon's youthful alter ego introduced in BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS. Here, WW2 is winding down, and Eugene (Broderick) forsakes Brooklyn for Biloxi, Miss., and ten grueling weeks of army basic training, where he comes that much closer to manhood. Quite wonderful, in its best moments. Followed by TV movie BROADWAY BOUND. | tt0094746 | [PG-13] | Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken, Matt Mulhern, Corey Parker, Casey Siemaszko, Markus Flanagan, Michael Dolan, Penelope Ann Miller, Park Overall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bingo | 1991 | Matthew Robbins | ★½ | 87 | Basic update of the 'boy wants a dog, boy can't have a dog, boy finds a dog who has run away from the circus, boy hides the dog from his parents, boy must move out of town and leave the dog behind, boy finds dog again' genre. Kids might like it, but it's a real bow-wow. | tt0101455 | [PG] | Cindy Williams, David Rasche, Robert J. Steinmiller/Jr., David French, Kurt Fuller, Joe Guzaldo, Glenn Shadix | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings | 1976 | John Badham | ★★★ | 110 | Bright, original comedy about baseball player Williams trying to buck owners of Negro National League in 1939 by starting his own razzle-dazzle team. Williams' character is modeled after Satchel Paige, while Jones' is based on Josh Gibson. | tt0074207 | [PG] | Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor, Ted Ross, DeWayne Jessie, Stan Shaw | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bio-Dome | 1996 | Jason Bloom | 💣 | 95 | Two layabouts from Tucson are sealed up for a year inside a Biosphere-like experimental habitat and drive the scientists in charge bonkers. A good comedy premise is trashed through crude writing, inept plotting, and having as heroes two worthless jerks we're supposed to find lovable. | tt0115683 | [PG-13] | Pauly Shore, Stephen Baldwin, William Atherton, Joey Lauren Adams, Teresa Hill, Henry Gibson, Kevin West, Kylie Minogue, Patricia Hearst, Roger Clinton, Rose McGowan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Biography of a Bachelor Girl | 1935 | Edward H. Griffith | ★½ | 82 | A notorious woman is persuaded to write her memoirs by an aggressive magazine editor— who falls in love with her in spite of the fact that she represents everything he loathes. Dreary, endlessly talky adaptation of S. N. Behrman play. | tt0026117 | Ann Harding, Robert Montgomery, Edward Everett Horton, Edward Arnold, Una Merkel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Birch Interval | 1977 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 104 | Eleven-year-old girl, sent to live with relatives in Amish country, finds out about life, love, suffering and compassion. Beautiful, sensitive film. | tt0075756 | [PG] | Eddie Albert, Rip Torn, Ann Wedgeworth, Susan McClung, Brian Part | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bird | 1988 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 160 | Heartfelt but overlong biography of legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker, who revolutionized jazz music in the 1940s. While there's much music on hand, this is mostly the story of one man's drug addiction and self-destructive life. Fails to balance its story with any explanation of Parker's influence in the world of music. Excellent and believable performances help. Parker plays on the soundtrack, though all accompanying music was rerecorded in 1988. (The film won an Oscar for sound recording.) | tt0094747 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright, Keith David, Michael McGuire, James Handy | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bird With the Crystal Plumage | The Phantom of Terror | 1969 | Dario Argento | ★★½ | 98 | American writer living in Rome witnesses attempted murder in gallery; he and his mistress become involved in case. Uneven; best viewed on large screen. Reissued as THE PHANTOM OF TERROR. | tt0065143 | [PG] | Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Eva Renzi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Mario Adorf, Renato Romano, Umberto Rano, Werner Peters | Italian-West German | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| Bird of Paradise | 1951 | Delmer Daves | ★★ | 100 | Jourdan's marriage to South Sea isle chief's daughter causes native uprising in grandly filmed but vapid tale. Remake of 1932 film. | tt0043343 | Louis Jourdan, Debra Paget, Jeff Chandler, Everett Sloane | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bird of Paradise | 1932 | King Vidor | ★★ | 80 | Exotic but empty South Seas romance with McCrea as adventurer who falls in love with native-girl Del Rio. Handsome but unmoving; remade in 1951. | tt0022689 | Joel McCrea, Dolores Del Rio, John Halliday, Skeets Gallagher, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Romance | NULL | |||
| Bird of Prey | 1996 | Temistocles Lopez | 💣 | 101 | Preposterous thriller about a Bulgarian dissenter and an American photojournalist who unite to battle a slimy businessman. Tilly, playing Chamberlain's daughter (and Milushev's love interest), seems to be in another movie. It took four writers to concoct this clinker, which barely earned a theatrical release. | tt0115684 | [R] | Jennifer Tilly, Boyan Milushev, Richard Chamberlain, Lenny Von Dohlen, Robert Carradine, Lesley Ann Warren | U.S.-Bulgarian |
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| Bird on a Wire | 1990 | John Badham | ★★ | 110 | Star power is about all this lame action-comedy has going for it, as drug-running murderers force Mel, who's been hiding in the F.B.I. witness relocation program, and Goldie, his onetime sweetheart, to take it on the lam. Script on a shoestring. | tt0099141 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, David Carradine, Bill Duke, Stephen Tobolowsky, Joan Severance, Jeff Corey | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Birdman of Alcatraz | 1962 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 143 | Pensive study of prisoner Robert Stroud who during his many years in jail became a world-renowned bird authority. Film becomes static despite imaginative sidelights to enlarge scope of action. 148m. version used for overseas release now turning up here. | tt0055798 | Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter, Betty Field, Neville Brand, Edmond O'Brien, Hugh Marlowe, Telly Savalas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Birds Do It | 1966 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 95 | Soupy's first starring vehicle has him under the spell of serum that enables him to fly. Fairly entertaining for kids. | tt0060169 | Soupy Sales, Tab Hunter, Arthur O'Connell, Edward Andrews, Beverly Adams, Frank Nastasi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Birds and the Bees | 1956 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 94 | Bland remake of THE LADY EVE about rich playboy who breaks off romance with cardshark girlfriend, but later decides he still loves her. Screenplay by Sidney Sheldon (and Preston Sturges). | tt0049011 | George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor, David Niven, Reginald Gardiner, Fred Clark, Hans Conried | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Birds | 1963 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 120 | Hitchcock's classic about a woman (Hedren) and mass bird attacks that follow her around isolated coastal California community. Not for the squeamish; a delight for those who are game. Hold on to something and watch. Script by Evan Hunter, loosely based on Daphne du Maurier's story. Followed by a terrible TV sequel in 1994. | tt0056869 | Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Joe Mantell, Elizabeth Wilson, Doodles Weaver, Richard Deacon, Morgan Brittany | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Birds, The Bees and the Italians | 1966 | Pietro Germi | ★★★ | 115 | Very funny bedroom farce chronicling the sexual and romantic exploits of various residents in a small Italian town. | tt0062271 | Virna Lisi, Gastone Moschin, Nora Ricci, Alberto Lionello, Franco Fabrizi | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Birdy | 1984 | Alan Parker | ★★★½ | 120 | Cage, reunited with schizophrenically silent Modine in an army hospital, flashes back to their adolescence in working-class Philadelphia and on Modine's lifelong desire to be a bird. William Wharton's allegorical novel, updated from WW2 to Vietnam, makes a surprisingly workable movie despite a weak 'gag' ending. Terrific performances, with Modine a standout in a tricky, physically demanding role. Screenplay by Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr. | tt0086969 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron, Karen Young, Bruno Kirby | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Birgit Haas Must Be Killed | 1981 | Laurent Heynemann | ★★½ | 105 | Unscrupulous police officer Noiret dupes innocent Rochefort into romancing former left-wing terrorist Kreuzer, intending to have her assassinated and hang the blame on Rochefort! Intriguing idea never really catches fire, despite honorable efforts; might have worked better if the two male stars had switched roles. | tt0082547 | Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Lisa Kreuzer, Bernard Le Coq | French | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Birth | 2004 | Jonathan Glazer | ★★★ | 100 | A man dies while jogging in Manhattan's Central Park, and a baby is born. Ten years later, as the man's widow is about to remarry, she is confronted by a 10-year-old boy who claims to be her husband. Eerie, riveting drama is remarkably effective in building and sustaining a mood of unease— and uncertainty. Striking score by Alexandre Desplat and cinematography by Harris Savides. Kidman is marvelous. Glazer wrote the screenplay with Jean-Claude Carrière and Milo Addica (who appears as a doorman). | tt0337876 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard, Anne Heche, Peter Stormare, Ted Levine, Cara Seymour, Zoe Caldwell | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Birth of a Nation | 1915 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★★ | 186 | The landmark of American motion pictures. Griffith's epic story of two families during Civil War and Reconstruction is still fascinating. Sometimes the drama survives intact; other times, one must watch in a more historical perspective. Griffith's portrayal of Ku Klux Klan in heroic role has kept this film a center of controversy to the present day. Running time varies from print to print. | tt0004972 | Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Robert Harron, Wallace Reid, Joseph Henabery | Drama | NULL | |||
| Birth of the Blues | 1941 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★★ | 85 | Fiction about Crosby organizing jazz band in New Orleans has great music like 'St. Louis Blues,' 'St. James Infirmary,' 'Melancholy Baby' and title tune to uplift fair story. | tt0033396 | Bing Crosby, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Mary Martin | Musical | NULL | |||
| Birthday Girl | 2002 | Jez Butterworth | ★★ | 93 | Nerdy, sexually repressed British bank clerk (Chaplin) orders a Russian bride over the Internet; when she arrives he discovers (to his dismay) that she doesn't speak a word of English . . . but that turns out to be the least of his troubles. The woman's 'cousin' and a friend soon show up and turn Chaplin's life inside out. Amusing at first, then unexpectedly dark: either way, the story is unbelievable— and unsatisfying. | tt0188453 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz | British-U.S. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Birthday Party | 1968 | William Friedkin | ★★★ | 127 | Uncinematic film version of Harold Pinter's play about boarding house and its mysterious tenant (Shaw) is helped by good acting and playwright's usual superior dialogue. | tt0062732 | [G] | Robert Shaw, Patrick Magee, Dandy Nichols, Sydney Tafler, Moultrie Kelsall, Helen Fraser | British | Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Biscuit Eater | 1940 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 83 | Warm, winning adaptation of James Street story about two boys— one white, one black— who take unwanted dog from litter and try to turn him into champion bird dog. A B picture that was regarded as the sleeper of the year. Remade in 1972. | tt0032254 | Billy Lee, Cordell Hickman, Helene Millard, Richard Lane, Lester Matthews | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Biscuit Eater | 1972 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 90 | Wholesome, uninspired Disney remake with Whitaker and Spell as the young friends who devote themselves to training a champion bird dog. | tt0068276 | [G] | Earl Holliman, Lew Ayres, Godfrey Cambridge, Pat Crowley, Beah Richards, Johnny Whitaker, George Spell | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bishop Misbehaves | 1935 | E. A. Dupont | ★★½ | 86 | Tongue-in-cheek mystery with Gwenn (in his first American film) as an English bishop with a taste for detective stories who gets mixed up in a real jewel heist. Enjoyable but slow paced. | tt0026120 | Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Sullivan, Norman Foster, Lucile Watson, Reginald Owen, Dudley Digges, Lillian Bond, Melville Cooper | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Bishop Murder Case | 1930 | Nick Grinde | ★★ | 91 | Philo Vance investigates a crafty killer whose murders are patterned after Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Rathbone is disappointingly ordinary as Vance, and while the story itself is clever, it moves at a snail's pace. | tt0020695 | Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, Roland Young, George Marion, Alec B. Francis, Zelda Sears, Bodil Rosing, Carroll Nye, Delmer Daves | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Bishop's Wife | 1947 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 108 | Christmas fantasy of suave angel (Grant) coming to earth to help Bishop Niven and wife Young raise money for new church. Engaging performances by all— and fun to see children from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, Karolyn Grimes and Bobby Anderson, appearing together. Also shown in computer-colored version. Remade as THE PREACHER'S WIFE. | tt0039190 | Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley, James Gleason, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Bitch | 1979 | Gerry O'Hara | 💣 | 93 | Weak entry in the Bimbo Chic genre, a follow-up to THE STUD, based on a book by Joan's sister, Jackie Collins. Joan gets involved in everything from smuggling to fixed horse racing in attempts to save her failing London disco, but who cares? And, yes, there is a title song. | tt0078867 | [R] | Joan Collins, Kenneth Haigh, Michael Coby, Ian Hendry, Carolyn Seymour, Sue Lloyd, John Ratzenberger | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Bite the Bullet | 1975 | Richard Brooks | ★★★★ | 131 | Grand adventure in the classic tradition. Disparate types compete in a grueling, 700-mile horse race at the turn of the century; the finalists develop a grudging— and growing— respect for each other. Script by director Brooks. Beautifully filmed on magnificent locations by Harry Stradling, Jr., in Panavision. | tt0072705 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Ben Johnson, Ian Bannen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Robert Donner, Paul Stewart, Dabney Coleman, Sally Kirkland | Western | NULL | ||
| Bitter Creek | 1954 | Thomas Carr. | ★½ | 74 | Tame happenings as Elliott seeks revenge for his brother's untimely death in the Old West. | tt0046782 | Bill Elliott, Carleton Young, Beverly Garland, Claude Akins, Jim Hayward. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bitter Moon | 1992 | Roman Polanski | ★★½ | 139 | Deliciously trashy tale of wealthy, wheelchair-bound jerk Coyote, a failed American writer who's been living in Paris with voluptuous French wife Seigner. Once they were ecstatically in love, but their relationship has taken on a bizarre, sadistic bent; they go on an ocean voyage, and beguile a very proper British couple (Grant, Scott Thomas). Often overwrought, with laughable dialogue and not-to-be-believed sex scenes. A guilty pleasure, to be sure. Polanski also produced and coscripted. Stockard Channing appears unbilled. | tt0104779 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Victor Banerjee, Sophie Patel | French-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Bitter Rice | 1948 | Giuseppe De Santis | ★★★ | 107 | Effective portrayal of the dreary, backbreaking existence of women toiling in the Po Valley rice fields, exploited by the rice growers and their go-betweens. The seductive Mangano, as a worker who betrays her comrades, became an international star. | tt0040737 | Silvana Mangano, Vittorio Gassman, Raf Vallone, Doris Dowling, Lia Corelli | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bitter Sweet | 1940 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 92 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders, Felix Bressart, Lynne Carver, Ian Hunter, Sig Ruman. Ignore plot, enjoy Noel Coward's songs in lavishly filmed operetta. Wonderful Herman Bing provides funniest scene as shopkeeper who hires Nelson and Jeanette to give his daughter music lessons. Filmed before in England in 1933. | tt0032256 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, George Sanders, Felix Bressart, Lynne Carver, Ian Hunter, Sig Ruman | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Bitter Tea of General Yen | 1933 | Frank Capra | ★★★½ | 89 | May seem antiquated to modern audiences, but Capra's sensuous story of American woman's strange fascination with a Chinese warlord is still dazzling. A moody, beautifully atmospheric, sensitively performed film. | tt0023814 | Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther, Gavin Gordon, Toshia Mori, Richard Loo, Lucien Littlefield, Clara Blandick, Walter Connolly | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant | 1973 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★ | 119 | Wealthy lesbian fashion designer Petra Von Kant (Carstensen) worries over habits of inconsistent lover Schygulla and unmercifully bosses secretary Hermann. The action is limited to Petra's apartment, and the pace is annoyingly slow. Based on a Fassbinder play; overrated by some. | tt0068278 | Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Irm Hermann, Eva Mattes, Katrin Schaake, Gisela Fackeldey | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bitter Vengeance | 1994 | Stuart Cooper | ★★ | 90 | Disappointing thriller about a self-pitying bank security guard (Greenwood) who takes out his anger on his supportive wife (Madsen). He eventually begins cheating on her, and concocts a robbery scheme in which his mate will take the fall. Holds your interest for a while, but eventually becomes much too implausible. | tt0109278 | [R] | Virginia Madsen, Bruce Greenwood, Kristen Hocking, Eddie Velez, Gordon Jump, Carlos Gomez, Tim Russ | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bitter Victory | 1957 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 82 | Strong WW2 story with Jurgens as unfit commander who receives undeserved citation for mission against Rommel's desert headquarters; Roman is his wife who's had prior affair with officer Burton. 103m. versions now in circulation are from British release of this film. | tt0050126 | Richard Burton, Curt Jurgens, Ruth Roman, Raymond Pellegrin, Anthony Bushell, Christopher Lee | French | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| Bittersweet Love | 1976 | David Miller | ★½ | 92 | Excellent cast wasted on improbable story of young married couple (expecting a baby) suddenly discovering they are half-brother and sister. Termination of pregnancy and marriage are then talked to death. | tt0074209 | [PG] | Lana Turner, Robert Lansing, Celeste Holm, Robert Alda, Scott Hylands, Meredith Baxter Birney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Biutiful | 2010 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | ★★★ | 148 | Uxbal (Bardem) engages in shady business involving illegal immigrants in Barcelona, trying to stay one step ahead of the law while looking out for his two young children and his mercurial estranged wife. Then he learns he has terminal cancer. Again and again, Uxbal is tested, almost like Job, and just when it seems things couldn’t get worse, they do. Personal, passionate film benefits from a heartfelt performance by Bardem, but it’s extremely difficult to watch and unrelentingly downbeat. Some people found it uplifting; we didn’t. The title reflects the way in which a young child might spell the word “beautiful.” Based on a story by Iñárritu, who also coscripted. | tt1164999 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella, Eduard Fernández, Cheikh Ndiaye, Diaryatou Daff, Taisheng Cheng, Luo Jin | Spanish-Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| Bix: An Interpretation of a Legend | 1990 | Pupi Avati | ★★½ | 100 | Fragmented bio of 1920s jazz legend Bix Beiderbecke, who skyrocketed to fame— and burned out just as fast. Dramatically uneven, but enhanced by loving recreation of the period (using many authentic locations in and around Bix's home town of Davenport, Iowa) and great reproductions of his music by Bob Wilber and some first-class musicians. Originally 20m. longer. | tt0101460 | Bryant Weeks, Emile Levisetti, Sally Groth, Mark Collver, Ray Edelstein, Julia Ewing, Barbara Wilder, Romano Luccio Orzari | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Angel | 1946 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 80 | First-rate whodunit (by Cornell Woolrich) of Vincent trying to clear husband of charge that he murdered Duryea's wife. Imaginative film will have you glued to the screen all the way. | tt0038360 | Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford, Wallace Ford | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Black Arrow | 1948 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 76 | Superior swashbuckler with dashing knight Hayward, lovely heroine Blair, and villain Macready. Truly exciting finale with hero vs. villain in jousting tournament. Based on a Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Remade for TV in 1985. | tt0040166 | Louis Hayward, Janet Blair, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan, Paul Cavanagh | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Black Bart | 1948 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 80 | Enticing De Carlo steps between outlaws Duryea and Lynn, foiling their attempt to overthrow Wells Fargo company. | tt0040167 | Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Jeffrey Lynn, Percy Kilbride | Western | NULL | |||
| Black Beauty | 1971 | James Hill | ★★½ | 106 | The story of a horse who passes from owner to owner; fails to capture the qualities that make Anna Sewell's novel a classic, but it's not bad. Filmed before in 1946. | tt0066834 | [G] | Mark Lester, Walter Slezak, Peter Lee Lawrence, Ursula Glas | British | Family, Drama | NULL | |
| Black Beauty | 1994 | Caroline Thompson | ★★★ | 85 | Handsome remake of the Anna Sewell family classic about a horse's trials and tribulations as it passes from one owner to another in 19th-century England, experiencing everything from benevolent guardianship to ignorant abuse. Narrated, quite engagingly, by the horse itself. Evocative score by Danny Elfman. Screenwriter Thompson's directing debut. Made in England. | tt0109279 | [G] | Sean Bean, David Thewlis, Jim Carter, Peter Davison, Alun Armstrong, John McEnery, Eleanor Bron, Peter Cook, Andrew Knott; voice of Alan Cumming | Adventure, Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Belly of the Tarantula | 1972 | Paolo Cavara | ★½ | 88 | Folks are being murdered in mysterious ways at health and beauty salon; none too exciting. | tt0069343 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Stefania Sandrelli, Barbara Bouchet | Italian | Crime | NULL | |
| Black Belt Jones | 1974 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 87 | Black-oriented kung-fu mayhem from the team that made ENTER THE DRAGON. Kelly battles the Mafia to save his school of self-defense in Watts area of L.A. No gore, but lots of action and comedy. | tt0071221 | [R] | Jim Kelly, Gloria Hendry, Scatman Crothers, Alan Weeks, Nate Esformes | Action | NULL | ||
| The Black Bird | 1975 | David Giler | 💣 | 98 | Horrendously bad, unfunny takeoff on THE MALTESE FALCON, with Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., not saved by the presence of Patrick and Cook from the '41 cast. | tt0072706 | [PG] | George Segal, Stephane Audran, Lionel Stander, Lee Patrick, Elisha Cook/ Jr., Felix Silla, Signe Hasso | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Black Book | 2006 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★½ | 145 | Expansive saga of beautiful Jewish woman who goes to work for the Dutch resistance movement during WW2 and has to cozy up to a Nazi officer to carry out her most vital assignment. Fast-paced film, dotted with action, covers a lot of ground but quickly turns heavy-handed, punctuating its engrossing story with old-fashioned music cues and close-ups of sneering SS officers. Buoyed considerably by van Houten's charismatic and sexy performance. Verhoeven scripted with his longtime Dutch colleague Gerard Soeteman. | tt0389557 | [R] | Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn, Waldemar Kobus, Derek de Lint, Christian Berkel, Dolf de Vries, Peter Blok | Dutch-British-German-Belgian | Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Black Caesar | 1973 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 96 | Better-than-average gangster film follows rise to the top of shrewd, bloodthirsty black baddie. Sequel: HELL UP IN HARLEM. | tt0069792 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Art Lund, Julius W. Harris, Gloria Hendry, D'Urville Martin | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Black Camel | 1931 | Hamilton MacFadden | ★★½ | 71 | Interesting early-talkie Charlie Chan whodunit, with Oland probing the murders of an actress and a beachcomber on his home turf of Hawaii, with cute scenes of his domestic life with ten kids. Picturesque locations and exceptional cast highlight this entry, based on Earl Derr Biggers novel. | tt0021668 | Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, Bela Lugosi, Dorothy Revier, Victor Varconi, Robert Young, Dwight Frye, Marjorie White, C. Henry Gordon, Mary Gordon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Black Castle | 1952 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 81 | Uninspired gothic melodrama has Greene investigating disappearance of two friends who were guests of sinister Austrian count (McNally). Karloff reduced to colorless supporting role. | tt0044423 | Richard Greene, Boris Karloff, Stephen McNally, Paula Corday, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Hoyt | Drama, Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Black Cat | 1934 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★★½ | 65 | Polished horror film with bizarre sets, even more bizarre plot. Confrontation of architect/devil-worshiper Karloff and doctor Lugosi is still fascinating. The first of Boris and Bela's many teamings. Look fast for John Carradine as an organist at Satanic Mass. Film bears absolutely no resemblance to eponymous Edgar Allan Poe tale. | tt0024894 | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Lucille Lund, Henry Armetta, Harry Cording | Horror, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Black Cat | 1941 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★½ | 70 | Herbert and Crawford provide laughs, the others provide chills, in lively comedy-mystery not to be confused with earlier horror film. Look for Alan Ladd in a small role. Atmospheric photography by Stanley Cortez. | tt0033397 | Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard, Anne Gwynne, Gladys Cooper | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Black Cat, White Cat | 1998 | Emir Kusturica | ★★★ | 129 | Dizzying farce about gypsy families who live on the Danube and a bitter rivalry between two elders whose offspring cause them no end of headaches. Kusturica (who also coscripted) builds to a crescendo of slapstick action in this exuberant film that reminds us how much we all have in common, regardless of nationality. | tt0118843 | [R] | Bajram Severdzan, Florijan Ajdini, Jas'ar Destani, Adnan Bekir, Zabit Mehmedovski, Sabri Sulejmani | Yugoslavian-French-German | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Black Cauldron | 1985 | Ted Berman, Richard Rich | ★★½ | 80 | Disney's expensive, ambitious animated feature is a pretty good but unmemorable sword-and-sorcery tale about a young boy who must find powerful black cauldron before it falls into the hands of evil Horned King. Good storytelling for kids, with impressive effects animation for buffs. Supporting characters Gurgi (a good guy) and Creeper (a baddie) have all the best moments. | tt0088814 | [PG] | Voices of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, John Byner, John Hurt | Fantasy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Black Christmas | Stranger in the House | 1975 | Bob Clark | ★★½ | 98 | Bizarre horror thriller about warped murderer in sorority house on Christmas Eve and two days following. Not bad; Kidder steals it as a nasty, foul-mouthed sorority sister. Aka SILENT NIGHT, EVIL NIGHT and STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. | tt0071222 | [R] | Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, John Saxon, Art Hindle, Douglas McGrath, Andrea Martin | Canadian | Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| Black Christmas | 2006 | Glen Morgan | 💣 | 90 | Someone just had to remake the 1975 frightfest for the blood-and-gore generation. With no fresh ideas in sight, this version sets up a group of celebrating sorority sisters as the next victims of a nutcase who's headed for his childhood home for a little merry slay time. Might have been bearable if we hadn't seen it all a hundred times before. At least the diabolical elf of terror makes clever use of ornaments. Look for Andrea Martin (who appeared in the 1975 version) as a soothing force of sanity for the girls. Unrated version runs 94m. | tt0454082 | [R] | Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Kristen Cloke, Crystal Lowe, Lacey Chabert, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Andrea Martin, Oliver Hudson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Black Cross | 1960 | Aleksander Ford. | ★★ | 175 | Sterile, unremarkable account of Teutonic knights raiding Poland is notable only for its detailed medieval settings. | tt0054004 | Urszula Modrzynska, Grazyna Staniszewska, Andrzej Szalawski, Henryk Borowski. | Polish | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Black Dahlia | 2006 | Brian De Palma | ★½ | 121 | Torpid story of two L.A. cops in the 1940s whose partnership is strained by reverberations from the grisly murder of would-be starlet Elizabeth Short (Kirshner). Ostensibly based on James Ellroy's novel and the notorious real-life 'Black Dahlia' killing, this boring, muddled film turns the case into a sidebar for a much duller tale of two damaged men and the women in their lives. Makes curious use of footage from the silent film THE MAN WHO LAUGHS. Kevin Dunn and k. d. lang appear unbilled. | tt0387877 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, Patrick Fischler, James Otis, John Kavanagh, Pepe Serna, Rachel Miner, Gregg Henry, Rose McGowan, Anthony Russell | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Black Dakotas | 1954 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 65 | Bland oater of greedy men who try to outwit the redskins and incite a war. | tt0046783 | Gary Merrill, Wanda Hendrix, John Bromfield, Noah Beery/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Black Death | 2010 | Christopher Smith | ★★½ | 102 | Mean-spirited tag-team match pits wandering 14th-century Christians against pagans when the latter villagers are suspected of using sorcery to rid their community of pervasive pestilence and disease. Minus point-of-view rooting interest or star power, plus a decidedly clinical approach to dismemberments and other brands of torture, it’s a credit to the film’s courage of its convictions that it maintains the mild interest it does. Pace picks up some when unseasoned monk Redmayne and brutal knight Bean finally meet up with a deceptively comely redhead (van Houten). | tt1181791 | [R] | Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Carice van Houten, John Lynch, Kimberley Nixon, Andy Nyman, Tim McInnerny, David Warner | British-German | Drama, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |
| Black Dog | 1998 | Kevin Hooks | ★½ | 88 | An ex-con trucker with a suspended license makes one last run to avoid foreclosure, and his rig turns out to be full of concealed assault weapons that his corrupt boss is planning to sell. There's no dirty dancing for Swayze here but lots of dirty driving. Heavier on crashes than coherency. | tt0120610 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, *** Meat Loaf, Gabriel Casseus, Brian Vincent, Brenda Strong, Stephen Tobolowsky, Charles S. Dutton | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Black Dragons | 1942 | William Nigh | ★½ | 61 | Nazi doctor Lugosi has been altering the faces of some Japanese, to make them pass as Americans for future terrorist activity. Then-topical chiller is now a sleep-inducing bore. | tt0034521 | Bela Lugosi, Joan Barclay, Clayton Moore, George Pembroke, Robert Frazer | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Black Dynamite | 2009 | Scott Sanders | ★★ | 84 | Good-natured parody of blaxploitation movies features White as a no-nonsense character named Black Dynamite who sets out to avenge his brother's death at the hands of drug pushers. Has the look, the feel, and the sound of a '70s genre piece, and offers some laughs, but they peter out after a while; the finale is a mess. You can get most of this film's amusement value out of the trailer. | tt1190536 | [R] | Michael Jai White, Kym Whitley, Tommy Davidson, Kevin Chapman, Byron Minns, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Cedric Yarbrough, Mike Starr, Mykelti Williamson, Obba Babatunde, Nicole Sullivan, Bokeem Woodbine, Arsenio Hall, John Salley, Brian McKnight, Miguel Nunez, Roger Yuan | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Black Eagle | 1988 | Eric Karson | ★★½ | 93 | Standard martial arts adventure. Kosugi's the secret-agent hero, Van Damme's the Russian villain, and there's plenty of action. Kosugi's real-life children, Kane and Shane, appear in cameos as his screen character's kids. | tt0094750 | [R] | Sho Kosugi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Vladimir Skontarovsky, Doran Clark, Bruce French, William H. Bassett | Action | NULL | ||
| Black Eye | 1974 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 98 | Involved action-mystery has black private detective Williamson investigating murders connected with a dope ring in Venice, Cal. Bret Morrison, radio's 'The Shadow,' plays a porno movie-maker. Standard fare. | tt0071224 | [PG] | Fred Williamson, Rosemary Forsyth, Richard Anderson, Teresa Graves, Cyril Delevanti | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Black Fist | Homeboy | 1976 | Timothy Galfas, Richard Kaye | ★★½ | 105 | Coleman's gritty performance as a crooked cop elevates this standard blaxploitation drama about tough Lawson, hired by a crime boss as a streetfighter. Aka THE BLACK STREETFIGHTER and HOMEBOY. | tt0074210 | [R] | Richard Lawson, Philip Michael Thomas, Annazette Chase, Dabney Coleman, Robert Burr | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| The Black Fox | 1962 | Louis Clyde Stoumen | ★★★½ | 89 | Exceedingly taut, grim documentary tracing the rise and fall of Adolph Hitler, focusing on his use of power during Third Reich. Academy Award winner as Best Documentary Feature. | tt0055801 | Narrated by Marlene Dietrich | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Black Friday | 1940 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 70 | Well-made little chiller with Karloff putting gangster's brain into a professor's body. Jekyll-Hyde results are fascinating; Ridges excellent as victim. Lugosi has small, thankless role as gangster. | tt0032258 | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel, Anne Gwynne, Virginia Brissac | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Crime | NULL | |||
| Black Fury | 1935 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 92 | Hard-hitting Warner Bros. melodrama about exploitation of coal miners, with Muni as robust 'bohunk' who gets in over his head. Realistic, strikingly filmed, if a bit uneven dramatically. Muni's accent makes it tough to understand him at times. Based on a true story. | tt0026121 | Paul Muni, Karen Morley, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, John Qualen, J. Carrol Naish, Vince Barnett | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Black Girl | 1972 | Ossie Davis | ★★★ | 97 | One of the best black-oriented films of the 1970s spotlights the complex relationship between the title character (Pettitt), an aspiring dancer, and her emotionally clueless mother (Stubbs). Well acted by the entire cast; scripted by J. E. Franklin, and based on her play. | tt0068280 | [PG] | Brock Peters, Leslie Uggams, Claudia McNeil, Louise Stubbs, Gloria Edwards, Peggy Pettitt, Ruby Dee | Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Gold | 1947 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 92 | Effective, if sentimental, tale of Indian Quinn who discovers oil on his land and trains a Chinese orphan (Louie) to be the jockey for his beloved thoroughbred. Low-budget, but warmly acted, with excellent use of Cinecolor process. Quinn and DeMille were then husband and wife. | tt0039191 | Anthony Quinn, Katherine DeMille, Elyse Knox, Ducky Louie, Kane Richmond, Moroni Olsen, Raymond Hatton, Thurston Hall, Darryl Hickman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Black Gold | 1963 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★★ | 98 | Predictable search for oil set in Oklahoma, with standard villain and supposedly ironic outcome. | tt0056871 | Philip Carey, Diane McBain, James Best, Claude Akins, Iron Eyes Cody | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Black Gunn | 1972 | Robert Hartford-Davis | ★★ | 98 | Black nightclub owner goes after the Man when his brother is killed. Routine black actioner. | tt0068281 | [R] | Jim Brown, Martin Landau, Brenda Sykes, Luciana Paluzzi | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Black Hand | 1950 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 93 | If you can buy Kelly as an Italian immigrant in N.Y.C. (circa 1908), you'll probably go along with this naive but entertaining story about a young man's attempt to avenge his father's murder by the infamous— and seemingly unstoppable— Italian crime syndicate known as the Black Hand. | tt0041181 | Gene Kelly, J. Carrol Naish, Teresa Celli, Marc Lawrence, Frank Puglia | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Black Hawk Down | 2001 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 143 | Harrowing dramatization of the disastrous 1993 U.S. mission in Somalia, which resulted in the deaths of 18 American soldiers. Characters and political context take a backseat (intentionally) to the ferocious battle scenes, re-created in brutal detail by Scott, cinematographer Slawomir Idziak, and a team of technical wizards. Not for the faint of heart. Based on the book by Mark Bowden. Won Oscars for Film Editing (Pietro Scalia) and Sound. | tt0265086 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard, Gabriel Casseus, Kim Coates, Ron Eldard, Thomas Guiry, Danny Hoch, Zeljko Ivanek, Jeremy Piven, Orlando Bloom | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Black Hole | 1979 | Gary Nelson | ★★½ | 97 | U.S. expedition finds long-lost madman in space about to explore a 'black hole.' Disney studios' ambitious sci-fi effort is a throwback to 1957 Saturday matinee fodder, with thin story, cardboard characters. OK on that level— with great special effects— but should have been much better. | tt0078869 | [PG] | Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine; voices of Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Black Horse Canyon | 1954 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 81 | Diverting, gentle Western about rebellious black stallion and those who recapture him. | tt0046785 | Joel McCrea, Mari Blanchard, Race Gentry, Murvyn Vye | Western | NULL | |||
| Black Ice | 1992 | Neill Fearnley | ★★ | 90 | Following the accidental death of her politician lover, Pacula has philosophical cabbie Nouri drive her from Detroit to Seattle during the winter; they're pursued by murderous Ironside. Good performances, and handsome wintry landscapes, can't overcome a complicated plot— and its unsatisfactory resolution. Unrated video version runs 92m. | tt0103818 | [R] | Michael Nouri, Michael Ironside, Joanna Pacula, Mickey Jones, Brent Heale, Arne Olsen, Rick Skene | Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Black Knight | 2001 | Gil Junger | ★★½ | 95 | A 21st-century homeboy who works at a run-down medieval theme park is magically transported back to 14th-century England, where he must use his wits to survive, and forms an alliance with a disgraced knight (Wilkinson) to help restore a deposed queen to the throne. Comedy vehicle for Lawrence gives you pretty much what you expect, though it would have meant a lot more if a better, more famous actress had played the queen. | tt0265087 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Marsha Thomason, Tom Wilkinson, Vincent Regan, Daryl Mitchell, Kevin Conway, Michael Burgess, Isabell Monk | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Black Knight | 1954 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 85 | Ladd lends some bounce to small budgeter about mysterious horseman championing King Arthur's cause in merry old England. | tt0046786 | Alan Ladd, Patricia Medina, Andre Morell, Harry Andrews, Peter Cushing | U.S.-British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Black Legion | 1936 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 83 | Factory worker Bogart, disappointed at losing a promotion to a coworker named 'Dombrowski,' becomes involved with a Ku Klux Klan-ish group. Powerful, still-relevant social drama, compactly told. | tt0027367 | Humphrey Bogart, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Joe Sawyer, Helen Flint, Dickie Jones, Henry Brandon | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Black Like Me | 1964 | Carl Lerner | ★★★ | 107 | Strong drama based on actual history of reporter who took drugs that allowed him to pass for black so he could experience racial prejudice firsthand. Some aspects of presentation are dated, but themes are still timely. | tt0057889 | James Whitmore, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lenka Petersen, Sorrell Booke, Will Geer, Al Freeman/Jr., Dan Priest, Raymond St. Jacques | Drama | NULL | |||
| Black Magic | 1949 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 105 | Welles is predictably florid in chronicle of famous charlatan Cagliostro who seeks to rise to power in 18th-century Italy. (He codirected this handsome film, uncredited.) | tt0041182 | Orson Welles, Akim Tamiroff, Nancy Guild, Raymond Burr, Frank Latimore | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Black Mama, White Mama | 1972 | Eddie Romero | ★★ | 87 | Clichéd, violent female rehash of THE DEFIANT ONES, as blonde Markov and black Grier escape chained together from a Filipino prison camp. Haig is hammy in cowboy costume. Story co-written by Jonathan Demme. | tt0068282 | [R] | Pam Grier, Margaret Markov, Sid Haig, Lynn Borden | U.S.-Filipino | Action | NULL | |
| The Black Marble | 1980 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 113 | Insightful but curiously unmemorable love story about sexy cop Prentiss and her new partner (Foxworth), an alcoholic romantic drowning in the reality of his job. Misses much of the humor that marked Joseph Wambaugh's novel. | tt0080442 | [PG] | Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss, Harry Dean Stanton, Barbara Babcock, John Hancock, Raleigh Bond, Judy Landers, James Woods, Michael Dudikoff, Anne Ramsey, Christopher Lloyd | Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Black Mask | 1997 | Danny Lee | ★★★ | 96 | Biologically engineered super-soldier Li gives up a peaceful life to battle his equally enhanced former comrades, who are trying to take over the Hong Kong drug rackets. Smart, stylish, lightning-paced thriller is an ideal showcase for the dazzling skills of Li (who, in his disguise, resembles the Green Hornet's Kato). Recut and revised from 106m. Hong Kong version. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0115693 | [R] | Jet Li, Karen Mok, Françoise Yip, Lau Ching Wan, Patrick Lung Kang, Anthony Wong | Hong Kong | Crime, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Black Moon | 1934 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 68 | N.Y. businessman takes his family to the West Indies, where his wife becomes immersed in sacrificial voodoo rituals. Very odd, dark, downbeat film is too sluggish to have the impact it promises early on, but still interesting. Moodily photographed by Joseph August. | tt0024895 | Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Dorothy Burgess, Cora Sue Collins, Arnold Korff, Clarence Muse | Horror | NULL | |||
| Black Moon | 1975 | Louis Malle | ★★ | 101 | Innocent young Harrison, adrift in a war-torn landscape in which the combatants are men and women, finds refuge in a country cottage that houses a bevy of bizarre characters. Surreal, futuristic Alice in Wonderland–like tale combines fantasy and reality and is very much of its time; ambitious and challenging, but decidedly not for all tastes. Malle coscripted. | tt0072709 | [R] | Cathryn Harrison, Thérèse Giehse, Alexandra Stewart, Joe Dallesandro | French-German | Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Black Moon Rising | 1986 | Harley Cokliss | 💣 | 100 | Vaughn's hot-car ring steals the Black Moon, one of those zoom-across-the-salt-flats dream machines no taller than a munchkin's shin; high-tech thief Jones pursues. Punk-rocker-turned-actor Ving wears a coat and tie, but that's about it for novelty value; this one deserves to get a Big Moon Rising. From a story by John Carpenter. | tt0090735 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, Robert Vaughn, Richard Jaeckel, Bubba Smith, Lee Ving, William Sanderson | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Black Narcissus | 1947 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★★ | 99 | Visually sumptuous, dramatically charged movie, from Rumer Godden novel, about nuns trying to establish a mission in a remote Himalayan outpost amid formidable physical and emotional challenges. One of the most breathtaking color films ever made (winning Oscars for cinematographer Jack Cardiff and art director Alfred Junge). Scenes in which Sister Superior Kerr recalls her former life, a key plot element, were originally censored from American prints. | tt0039192 | Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Sabu, Jean Simmons, Kathleen Byron, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Oak Conspiracy | 1977 | Bob Kelljan | ★★½ | 92 | Predictable action drama pitting an 'average Joe' (Vint) against a crooked sheriff and unscrupulous land grabbers. Situations and dialogue are written to formula. | tt0075763 | [R] | Jesse Vint, Karen Carlson, Albert Salmi, Seymour Cassel, Robert F. Lyons | Action | NULL | ||
| The Black Orchid | 1959 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 96 | Fabricated soaper of bumbling businessman (Quinn) romancing criminal's widow (Loren) and the problem of convincing their children that marriage will make all their lives better. | tt0052631 | Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Ina Balin, Jimmie Baird, Peter Mark Richman, Naomi Stevens, Frank Puglia | Drama | NULL | |||
| Black Orpheus | 1959 | Marcel Camus | ★★★½ | 103 | Street-car conductor Mello and country-girl Dawn fall in love in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Lyrical updating of the Orpheus and Eurydice legend is beautifully acted and directed. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film; rhythmic score by Luis Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Remade as ORFEU. | tt0053146 | Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lea Garcia, Adhemar Da Silva, Lourdes De Oliveira | French-Brazilian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Black Patch | 1957 | Allen H. Miner | 💣 | 83 | Inconsequential trivia with Montgomery as gun-toting sheriff out to clear his name. | tt0050196 | George Montgomery, Diane Brewster, Leo Gordon, Sebastian Cabot | Western | NULL | |||
| The Black Pirate | 1926 | Albert Parker | ★★★ | 85 | Robust silent swashbuckler with Fairbanks a nobleman who turns pirate after being victimized by cutthroats. Filmed in early Technicolor process. | tt0016654 | Douglas Fairbanks/Sr., Billie Dove, Anders Randolf, Donald Crisp, Tempe Piggott, Sam De Grasse | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Black Pirates | 1954 | Allen H. Miner. | ★★½ | 72 | Uninspired account of pirates searching for gold. | tt0046787 | Anthony Dexter, Martha Roth, Lon Chaney/Jr., Robert Clarke, Alfonso Bedoya. | Mexican-Salvadoran | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Black Rain | 1989 | Ridley Scott | ★★½ | 126 | Tough, violent, foulmouthed action yarn about street-worn N.Y.C. cop and his partner who are supposed to deliver a Japanese mobster to cops in Osaka— then wind up pursuing him on his own turf. Too long, too predictable at times, but slick and entertaining. | tt0096933 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, Yusaku Matsuda, Shigeru Koyama, John Spencer | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Rain | 1989 | Shohei Imamura | ★★★ | 123 | Somber, restrained, and very moving story detailing five years in the life of a family which survived Hiroshima, and the ways their bodies and souls are poisoned by the fallout— or 'black rain.' A quietly observant character study with a number of haunting black and white images. | tt0097694 | Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shoichi Ozawa, Norihei Miki, Keisuke Ishida | Japanese | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Black Rainbow | 1991 | Mike Hodges | ★★★ | 100 | Offbeat, intriguing psychological drama-chiller with Arquette impressive as a medium who offers public exhibitions of her abilities. During one of them, she 'sees' a murder and the killer— just before the crime is committed. Robards is her besotted father, a character worthy of Eugene O'Neill. Occasionally loses its way, but there's more than enough originality and good acting to compensate. Hodges also scripted; filmed in North Carolina. | tt0099143 | [R] | Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards, Tom Hulce, Mark Joy, Ron Rosenthal, John Bennes, Linda Pierce | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Black Raven | 1943 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 64 | Paltry (and obvious) whodunit, with various people stranded at Zucco's inn during a storm. Glenn Strange is the comedy relief! | tt0035679 | George Zucco, Wanda McKay, Noel Madison, Bob Randall (Bob Livingston), Byron Foulger | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Black Robe | 1991 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 101 | Epic look at a 17th-century Jesuit priest who goes to Quebec to colonize the 'Indian' tribes. Director Beresford travels much the same territory as DANCES WITH WOLVES, but paints a much bleaker picture. Beautifully photographed (by Peter James) but graphically violent, this flawed, fascinating film is for demanding viewers. | tt0101465 | [R] | Lothaire Bluteau, August Schellenberg, Aden Young, Sandrine Holt, Tantoo Cardinal | Canadian-Australian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Black Rodeo | 1972 | Jeff Kanew | ★★½ | 87 | Offbeat, frequently interesting documentary about a rodeo that takes place largely in Harlem; background music is performed by such stars as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Dee Dee Sharpe. | tt0068283 | [G] | Archie Wycoff, Clarence Gonzalez, Pete Knight, Marval Rogers, Reuben Heura | Documentary, Western | NULL | ||
| The Black Room | 1935 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 67 | Excellent, understated thriller of twin brothers (Karloff) and the ancient curse that dominates their lives in 19th-century Hungary. Features one— no, two— of Karloff's best performances. | tt0026123 | Boris Karloff, Marian Marsh, Robert Allen, Katherine DeMille, John Buckler, Thurston Hall | Crime, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Black Rose | 1950 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 120 | Sweeping pageantry follows Norman-hating Power on Oriental adventures during 1200s; plodding film only somewhat redeemed by dynamic action scenes. Filmed in England and North Africa by Jack Cardiff. | tt0042256 | Tyrone Power, Cecile Aubry, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins, Michael Rennie, Herbert Lom, James Robertson Justice, Finlay Currie, Robert Blake, Laurence Harvey | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Black Sabbath | 1963 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 99 | Italian three-part film hosted by Karloff, who appears in final episode about a vampire controlling an entire family. Other sequences are good, atmospheric. | tt0057603 | Boris Karloff, Mark Damon, Suzy Anderson, Jacqueline Pierreux | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Black Scorpion | 1957 | Edward Ludwig | ★½ | 88 | Outstanding animation by KING KONG's Willis O'Brien is the highlight of this sci-fi thriller about giant arachnids popping out of a volcanic fissure in Mexico. Basically a remake of the superior THEM! | tt0050197 | Richard Denning, Carlos Rivas, Mara Corday, Mario Navarro | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Black Sheep | 1996 | Penelope Spheeris | 💣 | 87 | Gubernatorial candidate Matheson needs to keep his bumbling brother (Farley) out of the public eye, and Spade volunteers for the job. Insulting 'comedy' reunites the stars of TOMMY BOY for virtually the same movie, which attempts to mine all the humor it can out of Farley's mugging and endless pratfalls, plus Spade's sarcasm. Pitiful and shameless. | tt0115697 | [PG-13] | Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Matheson, Christine Ebersole, Gary Busey, Grant Heslov, Timothy Carhart, Bruce McGill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Black Sheep | 2007 | Jonathan King | ★★★ | 87 | Young man (Meister) with a morbid fear of sheep returns to his sprawling family farm (naturally, a sheep ranch) to sell his portion of the estate to his tweedy, greedy older brother (Feeney). Everything and more goes wrong and bloody hell breaks out as ecoterrorists, evil scientists, visiting foreign investors, and our hero are attacked by genetically altered rampaging rams and ewes. Horrifically funny and gruesome Monty Python–esque satire recalls early Peter Jackson. Written by the director. | tt0779982 | Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, Peter Feeney, Tammy Davis, Glenis Levestam, Tandi Wright, Oliver Driver, Nick Fenton | New Zealand | Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Black Shield of Falworth | 1954 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 99 | Juvenile version of Howard Pyle novel, Men of Iron; Curtis unconvincing as nobility rising through ranks to knighthood in medieval England. Settings, supporting cast bolster production. | tt0046789 | Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, David Farrar, Barbara Rush, Herbert Marshall | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Black Sleep | Dr. Cadman's Secret | 1956 | Reginald Le Borg | ★½ | 81 | Big horror cast cannot save dull, unatmospheric tale of doctor doing experimental brain surgery in remote English castle. Laughable. Reissued as DR. CADMAN'S SECRET. | tt0049013 | Basil Rathbone, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney/ Jr., John Carradine, Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Herbert Rudley | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Black Snake Moan | 2007 | Craig Brewer | ★★½ | 115 | Pent-up farmer and blues musician Jackson finds the town nympho (Ricci) beaten and unconscious, takes her in, and decides to heal her spiritually as well as physically-even if it means chaining her to his radiator. Honest. Steamy, sexy Southern Gothic tale benefits from robust, go-for-it performances, but the third act drags and the finale is somewhat ludicrous. Ricci's mother is played by former child actor Richards (ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN). Exceptionally well shot by Amelia Vincent. | tt0462200 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cothran, David Banner, Kim Richards | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Black Spurs | 1965 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 81 | Ordinary Western with attraction of one-time movie stars including Darnell (her last film). Standard horse opera. | tt0058976 | Rory Calhoun, Terry Moore, Linda Darnell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney/Jr., Bruce Cabot, Richard Arlen, Patricia Owens, James Best, Jerome Courtland, DeForest Kelley | Western | NULL | |||
| The Black Stallion Returns | 1983 | Robert Dalva | ★★½ | 93 | Fair action sequel with Reno, now a teenager, searching the Sahara for his Arabian horse. Those expecting the magic of the original will be disappointed. First-time director Dalva edited the 1979 film. Followed by THE YOUNG BLACK STALLION. | tt0085248 | [PG] | Kelly Reno, Vincent Spano, Allen Garfield, Woody Strode, Ferdinand Mayne, Jodi Thelen, Teri Garr | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| The Black Stallion | 1979 | Carroll Ballard | ★★★ | 118 | Exquisitely filmed story of a young boy's adventures with a magnificent black stallion— from a dramatic shipwreck to a racing championship. Too slow at times, but still worthwhile, with many precious moments, stunning cinematography by Caleb Deschanel, Rooney's lovely performance as veteran horse trainer. Based on classic children's novel by Walter Farley. Followed by 1983 sequel, a TV series (with Rooney), and a prequel in 2003. | tt0078872 | [G] | Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse, Hoyt Axton, Michael Higgins | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Black Sunday | 1961 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 83 | Intriguing story of the one day each century when Satan roams the earth. Steele is a witch who swears vengeance on the descendants of those who killed her hundreds of years ago. Beautifully atmospheric. | tt0054067 | Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Ivo Garrani, Andrea Checchi | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Black Sunday | 1977 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 143 | International terrorist organization plots to blow up the Super Bowl, enlists the aid of former Vietnam POW Dern, who pilots the TV blimp. Generally compelling adaptation (by Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, Ivan Moffat) of the Thomas Harris best-seller, with Dern at his unhinged best. Splendid aerial photography. | tt0075765 | [R] | Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Steven Keats, Bekim Fehmiu, Michael V. Gazzo, William Daniels | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Black Swan | 2010 | Darren Aronofsky | ★★ | 108 | Ballerina Portman, who lives a cloistered life with her overprotective mother (Hershey), is eager to win over her imperious, controlling ballet master (Cassel) and convince him to cast her in the leading role of Swan Lake. He doesn’t think she has what it takes to play the black swan, which sends her spiraling into a hallucinatory world of paranoia, masturbation, sexual experimentation, and self-mutilation. Vividly realized fever-dream of a movie—with an Oscar-winning performance by Portman—gives new meaning to the word “overwrought,” though some people found it brilliant. Matthew Libatique’s cinematography is definitely worthy of praise. Super 16/HD Widescreen. | tt0947798 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Sebastian Stan, Toby Hemingway, Marcia Jean Kurtz | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Black Swan | 1942 | Henry King | ★★★ | 85 | Power is at his dashing best in this lively swashbuckler from the Rafael Sabatini novel about rival pirate gangs in the Caribbean. Sanders seems to be having fun cast against type as a scurrilous brigand. Enhanced by Alfred Newman's music and Leon Shamroy's Oscar-winning Technicolor cinematography. | tt0034522 | Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, Anthony Quinn | Family, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Black Tent | 1957 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★ | 93 | Passable mixture of romance and action in the African desert as British soldier Steel romances native chief's daughter, helps tribe fight off Nazi attack. | tt0049014 | Anthony Steel, Donald Sinden, Anna Maria Sandri, Donald Pleasence | British | War | NULL | ||
| Black Tights | 1960 | Terence Young | ★★★ | 120 | Ballet fans will feast on this quartet of stunning performances, featuring some of the era's top dance talent. Our favorite: the ballet of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, with Shearer a lovely Roxanne. | tt0053726 | Cyd Charisse, Moira Shearer, Zizi Jeanmaire, Dirk Sanders, Roland Petit. Narrated by Maurice Chevalier | French | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Black Tuesday | 1954 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★★ | 80 | Throwback to 1930-ish gangster films, with Robinson and Graves as escaped convicts being hunted by cops. Nice gunplay, with Parker good as the moll. | tt0046790 | Edward G. Robinson, Peter Graves, Jean Parker, Milburn Stone | Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Black Whip | 1956 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★½ | 77 | Only spice to this oater is bevy of beautiful girls who are rescued by Marlowe. | tt0049015 | Hugh Marlowe, Coleen Gray, Angie Dickinson, Sheb Wooley | Western | NULL | |||
| Black Widow | 1954 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★ | 95 | Broadway producer Heflin takes young writer Garner under his wing, is naturally suspected when she turns up dead in his apartment. Glossy but dull adaptation of Patrick Quentin mystery, with remarkably poor performances by Rogers as bitchy star and Raft as dogged detective. Johnson also produced and wrote the screenplay. | tt0046791 | Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Black Widow | 1987 | Bob Rafelson | ★★½ | 103 | Female investigator for the Justice Dept. becomes intrigued— then obsessed— by young woman who seduces, marries, and murders wealthy men. Handsome, stylishly crafted yarn, loaded with sexual tension, that stops just short of hitting the mark. Winger and Russell are both terrific. Photographed by Conrad Hall; effective music score by Michael Small. Amusing cameo by playwright David Mamet as one of Winger's poker-playing colleagues. | tt0090738 | [R] | Debra Winger, Theresa Russell, Sami Frey, Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson, Terry O'Quinn, D.W. Moffett, Lois Smith, Mary Woronov, Rutanya Alda, James Hong, Diane Ladd | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Black Windmill | Drabble | 1974 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 106 | Slick, craftsmanlike but generally undistinguished thriller, as espionage agent Caine tries to locate his son's kidnappers. Siegel has done better. Aka DRABBLE. | tt0071229 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Joseph O'Conor, Donald Pleasence, John Vernon, Janet Suzman, Delphine Seyrig | British | Thriller | NULL |
| Black Zoo | 1963 | Robert Gordon | ★½ | 88 | Gough, head of private zoo, doubles as leader of cult of animal worshipers. Good cast flounders, but film has a moment or two. From the man who gave you I WAS A TEEN-AGE WEREWOLF. | tt0056872 | Michael Gough, Virginia Grey, Jerome Cowan, Elisha Cook/ Jr., Jeanne Cooper | Horror | NULL | |||
| Black and White | 2000 | James Toback | ★★★ | 100 | Edgy N.Y.C. slice-of-life about social and sexual interaction between blacks and whites of various backgrounds, including a white teen hipster (Phillips) who hangs out in Harlem with an ambitious rap artist, a basketball player (real-life hoop star Houston) who's manipulated by his beautiful white girlfriend (Schiffer) and a documentary filmmaker (Shields) who's shooting a film on why white kids are so fascinated by hip-hop culture. Crammed with interesting ideas and observations. Toback also scripted. | tt0165643 | [R] | Bijou Phillips, Brooke Shields, Robert Downey/Jr., Allan Houston, Ben Stiller, Claudia Schiffer, Stacy Edwards, Gaby Hoffmann, Elijah Wood, Scott Caan, Jared Leto, Marla Maples, *** Method Man, Power, Raekwon, Joe Pantoliano, James Toback, Mike Tyson | Drama, Musical, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Black and White in Color | 1977 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★★½ | 90 | Unusual and witty story of self-satisfied Frenchmen at remote African trading post who are fired by sudden patriotism at outbreak of WW1 and decide to attack nearby German fort. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0074972 | [PG] | Jean Carmet, Jacques Dufilho, Catherine Rouvel, Jacques Spiesser, Dora Doll | French-African | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story | 2004 | Brant Sersen | ★★½ | 91 | Daily Show correspondent Corddry stars as a paintball champion who fell from grace when he was caught cheating. Mockumentary follows his efforts to rescue his reputation by gathering a team of underdogs and attempting to win an important competition. Uneven but sweet, with a few laugh-out-loud moments and well-improvised characterizations. | tt0379184 |
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Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, Dannah Feinglass, Rob Riggle, Curtis Gwinn, Seth Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blackbeard's Ghost | 1968 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 107 | Jones conjures up title character (Ustinov) who helps protect his descendants' home from being taken over by racketeers who want to make it a casino. Engaging slapstick comedy from Disney. | tt0062737 | Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Elsa Lanchester, Joby Baker, Elliott Reid, Richard Deacon | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Blackbeard, the Pirate | 1952 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 99 | Newton is rambunctious as 17th-century buccaneer, with lovely Darnell his captive; fun for a while, but Newton's hamming soon grows tiresome. | tt0044426 | Robert Newton, Linda Darnell, William Bendix, Keith Andes, Richard Egan, Irene Ryan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Blackboard Jungle | 1955 | Richard Brooks | ★★★½ | 101 | Excellent adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel (scripted by the director) of a teacher's harrowing experiences in N.Y.C. school system. Poitier memorable as a troubled youth. Hard-hitting entertainment. This was the first film to feature rock music— Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' is played over the opening credits. Look for a young Jamie Farr (billed as Jameel Farah). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0047885 | Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Vic Morrow, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier, Richard Kiley, Warner Anderson, Margaret Hayes, Emile Meyer, John Hoyt, Rafael Campos, Paul Mazursky | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blackjack Ketchum, Desperado | 1956 | Earl Bellamy | ★½ | 76 | Former gunslinger must endure another shoot-out before returning to a peaceful way of life. | tt0049016 | Howard Duff, Victor Jory, Maggie Mahoney, Angela Stevens | Western | NULL | |||
| Blackmail | 1929 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 86 | Young woman kills man who tries to rape her, then finds herself caught between investigating detective (who happens to be her boyfriend) and a blackmailer. Hitchcock's— and England's— first talking picture is still exciting, especially for fans and students of the director's work. Originally shot as a silent; that version, running 75m., also exists (and is significantly better). Leading lady Ondra had a heavy accent, so her voice was dubbed for the talkie. | tt0019702 | Anny Ondra, Sara Allgood, John Longden, Charles Paton, Donald Calthrop, Cyril Ritchard | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blackmail | 1939 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 81 | Well-respected Robinson, an expert at putting out oil fires, has a secret past: he escaped from jail after being falsely convicted of robbery. Slimy Lockhart shows up and threatens blackmail. Taut, clever drama-thriller, marred only by a pat finale. | tt0031102 | Edward G. Robinson, Gene Lockhart, Guinn Williams, Ruth Hussey, Esther Dale | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Blackout | 1978 | Eddy Matalon | ★★ | 89 | Violent story of criminals who terrorize apartment dwellers during N.Y.'s 1977 power blackout. Balanced with black comedy for so-so results. | tt0077241 | [R] | Jim Mitchum, Robert Carradine, Belinda J. Montgomery, June Allyson, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Ray Milland | Canadian-French | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Blackthorn | 2011 | Mateo Gil | ★★★ | 102 | Nineteen years after the shootout between the Bolivian army and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, tales of Cassidy's death, it seems, were greatly exaggerated. In this what- if tale the older bandit (Shepard), quietly living as a rancher in the Bolivian mountainside, receives news of Etta Place's death, which prompts his decision to return to America and the son (who may or may not be his) she left behind. Intelligently drawn characterization—introspective flashbacks threaded throughout—makes for a pleasurable accounting. | tt1629705 | [R] | Sam Shepard, Eduardo Nuriega, Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier, Nickolaj Coster-Waldau, Padraic Delaney, Dominique McElligott | Spanish-French-Bolivian-U.S. | Western | NULL | |
| Blackwell's Island | 1939 | William McGann | ★★½ | 71 | Peppy little based-on-fact gangster film with crusading reporter Garfield attempting to nail tough but dimwitted mobster Fields. | tt0031103 | John Garfield, Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell, Victor Jory, Stanley Fields, Peggy Shannon, Leon Ames, Milburn Stone | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Blacula | 1972 | William Crain | ★★★ | 92 | Dracula bit a Black Prince and now black vampire is stalking the streets of L.A. Some terrific shocks, and some very lively dialogue. Sequel: SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM. | tt0068284 | [PG] | William Marshall, Denise Nicholas, Vonetta McGee, Thalmus Rasulala, Ketty Lester, Elisha Cook/Jr., Gordon Pinsent | Horror | NULL | ||
| Blade | 1973 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★½ | 90 | N.Y.-made actioner about female-hating Cypher, who indulges in violent killings, and tough policeman Marley, who tracks him down. A bit pretentious and involved; fairly absorbing. | tt0069797 | [R] | John Marley, Jon Cypher, Kathryn Walker, William Prince, John Schuck, Rue McClanahan, Morgan Freeman | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blade | 1998 | Stephen Norrington | ★★½ | 123 | If you think you've seen bloody urban-vigilante pics before . . . well, you haven't. Snipes is part human and part vampire, which means he's the perfect warrior to combat a megalomaniacal bloodsucker who's plotting world domination. A potentially rousing 90m. gorefest bloated by a half hour, film never tops its spectacularly gross opening set piece in a vampire disco. Snipes coproduced. Based on the character created for Marvel Comics by Marv Wolfman. Followed by two sequels. | tt0120611 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'bushe Wright, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, Arly Jover, Traci Lords, Tim Guinee | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Blade II | 2002 | Guillermo del Toro | ★★ | 116 | Our half-human, half-vampire hero makes a highly unlikely move, joining forces with his vampiric enemies in order to wipe out a virulent band of mutants. Not much story here, and not much in the way of character; that leaves action and special effects, which are certainly slick, with lots of visceral violence, but the movie runs out of energy surprisingly early. Snipes coproduced. Followed by BLADE: TRINITY. | tt0187738 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Thomas Kretschmann, Luke Goss, Donnie Yen | Action, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Blade Master | Cave Dwellers | 1984 | David Hills | ★½ | 92 | Silly sequel to ATOR THE FIGHTING EAGLE has O'Keeffe as the prehistoric warrior on a quest to protect the Earth from a primitive atomic bomb called the 'Geometric Nucleus.' As in TARZAN, THE APE MAN, O'Keeffe wrestles with an oversize rubber snake, but silliest scene has him hang-gliding to storm an enemy castle. Original title: ATOR THE INVINCIBLE. TV title: CAVE DWELLERS. | tt0086972 | [PG] | Miles O'Keeffe, Lisa Foster, Charles Borromel, David Cain Haughton, Chen Wong | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| Blade Runner | 1982 | Ridley Scott | ★½ | 118 | In 21st-century L.A., a former cop (Ford) is recruited to track down androids who have mutinied in space and made their way to Earth. A triumph of production design, defeated by a muddled script and main characters with no appeal whatsoever. However, the film has a fervent following. Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Futuristic stylings by Syd Mead and Lawrence G. Paull. At least two alternate versions have been released since the original, followed in 1993 by the 'director's cut,' which the film's champions hail as a vast improvement: Ford's voice-over has been dropped, footage has been added, and the ending has changed. It runs 117m. | tt0083658 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, William Sanderson, Daryl Hannah, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, Brion James | Action, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Blade: Trinity | 2004 | David S. Goyer | ★½ | 113 | Blade (Snipes) and the Night Stalkers, a band of vampire hunters, strain to save humanity from the grip of bloodsucking villains and a resurrected Dracula (Purcell). Poorly directed, lackadaisically plotted high-tech actioner may please BLADE fans, but it's pretty lame. Posey is campy fun as a scheming bloodsucker. Unrated DVD version runs 124m. | tt0359013 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Dominic Purcell, Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds, Parker Posey, Mark Berry, John Michael Higgins, Callum Keith Rennie, Triple H (Paul Michael Levesque), James Remar, Natasha Lyonne, Eric Bogosian | Action, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Blades of Glory | 2007 | Josh Gordon, Will Speck | ★★★ | 93 | Two brawling superstar figure skaters are banned for life in the men's singles competitions after one fight too many. Years later these polar opposites reluctantly team up as the first male pairs skating team, much to the chagrin of a twisted brother-and-sister duo who consider them archrivals. Milking every moment on the ice and exhausting every crotch joke in their canon, Ferrell and Heder fill the rink with laughs. Look for a Luke Wilson cameo and a slew of real-life skating stars. | tt0445934 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, William Fichtner, Jenna Fischer, Craig T. Nelson, Andy Richter, Nick Swardson, Scott Hamilton, William Daniels, Rob Corddry, Tom Virtue, Rémy Girard | Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Blair Witch Project | 1999 | Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez | ★★½ | 87 | Young woman hires a film crew to accompany her into the Maryland woods to chronicle local, age-old yarns and superstitions about witchcraft. Soon the threesome get lost, and with each day grow more desperate as spooky goings-on at night begin to frazzle their nerves. Largely ad-libbed, this comes off more as a student exercise than a movie, but by the end does create an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. Followed by BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2. | tt0185937 | [R] | Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blame It on Rio | 1984 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 100 | Caine has a fling with his best friend's sexy teenage daughter while vacationing in Rio de Janeiro. Caine's terrific, Johnson is voluptuous, Demi is obviously intimidated in topless beach scenes, and the script is kind of a sniggering TV sitcom, with a heavy-handed music score of too-familiar records. Written by Charlie Peters and Larry Gelbart. Remake of the French film ONE WILD MOMENT. | tt0086973 | [R] | Michael Caine, Joseph Bologna, Valerie Harper, Michelle Johnson, Demi Moore, Jose Lewgoy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blame It on the Bellboy | 1991 | Mark Herman | ★★ | 78 | Behind the dynamic title lies an old-fashioned farce: three guys, named Orton, Lawton, and Horton, check into a Venice hotel, leading to the expected mix-ups after bellboy Pinchot confuses their messages. Brown (as a hit man) and the short running time keep this sometimes sleazy comedy from being a complete ordeal; even at 78m., though, you can feel the padding. | tt0103827 | [PG-13] | Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Richard Griffiths, Andreas Katsulas, Patsy Kensit, Alison Steadman, Bronson Pinchot, Lindsay Anderson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Blame It on the Night | 1984 | Gene Taft | ★½ | 85 | Plodding tale of rock star Mancuso, who attempts to buy the love of his ultrastraight, illegitimate, military cadet son. Based on a story by Taft and Mick Jagger. | tt0086974 | [PG-13] | Nick Mancuso, Byron Thames, Leslie Ackerman, Dick Bakalyan, Merry Clayton, Billy Preston, Ollie E. Brown | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Blanche Fury | 1948 | Marc Allégret | ★★★ | 95 | Beautifully mounted gothic melodrama about a governess who marries into wealthy family, and the headstrong steward (Granger) who aspires to run the estate. | tt0039195 | Stewart Granger, Valerie Hobson, Walter Fitzgerald, Michael Gough, Maurice Denham | British | Drama, Crime, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blank Check | 1994 | Rupert Wainwright | ★½ | 93 | Comedy for blank minds shamelessly rips off HOME ALONE. 11-year-old manages to cash thug Ferrer's check for a million dollars, parlaying it into such life necessities as a dishy grownup girlfriend and a backyard water slide. Hard to swallow even on its own slumming-Disney level, but likely to hit very young children where they live. | tt0109287 | [PG] | Brian Bonsall, Karen Duffy, Miguel Ferrer, Michael Lerner, James Rebhorn, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Faustino, Chris Demetral, Tone Loc, Rick Ducommun, Debbie Allen, Lu Leonard | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Blankman | 1994 | Mike Binder | ★½ | 92 | Shrill, witless comedy in which Wayans becomes a crimefighting superman in a crime-ridden metropolis. He has no super powers; he's aided instead by his own homemade contraptions. Might have some appeal to less-discriminating five-year-old boys. Wayans coscripted. | tt0109288 | [PG-13] | Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Robin Givens, Christopher Lawford, Lynne Thigpen, Jon Polito, Jason Alexander | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blast From the Past | 1999 | Hugh Wilson | ★★½ | 111 | Young man emerges after spending his entire 35 years in a fallout shelter with his loving parents, only to find that contemporary life in L.A. is not the way he pictured it to be. Cute-enough comedy benefits from Fraser's enthusiasm, but Silverstone's character is fuzzily defined at best. Spacek and especially Walken are wonderful as the early '60s parents who remain in a time warp. Also available in PG version. | tt0124298 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Dave Foley, Jenifer Lewis, Rex Linn | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blaze | 1989 | Ron Shelton | ★★½ | 119 | Newman gives a flashy, uninhibited performance as Earl Long, the flamboyant governor of Louisiana in the 1950s who fell headlong in love with stripper Blaze Starr (Davidovich, in her first lead role). Seemingly surefire story, peppered with colorful characters and incidents, falls alarmingly flat after a while and never recovers. Real-life Blaze Starr appears fleetingly as Lily, the stripper whose shoulder Newman kisses backstage. | tt0096943 | [R] | Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin, Gailard Sartain, Jeffrey DeMunn, Garland Bunting, Richard Jenkins, Robert Wuhl | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blaze of Noon | 1947 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 91 | Hokey story of Holden torn between his wife (Baxter) and his true love, flying. | tt0039196 | Anne Baxter, William Holden, Sonny Tufts, William Bendix, Sterling Hayden | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Blazing Forest | 1952 | Edward Ludwig | ★½ | 90 | Felling trees and romancing Moorehead's niece (Morrow) occupies Payne till big fire diverts him, but not the bored viewer. | tt0044428 | John Payne, Agnes Moorehead, Richard Arlen, William Demarest, Susan Morrow | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Blazing Saddles | 1974 | Mel Brooks | ★★★½ | 93 | Brooks' first hit movie is a riotous Western spoof, with Little an unlikely sheriff, Korman as villainous Hedley Lamarr, and Kahn as a Dietrich-like chanteuse. None of Brooks' later films have topped this one for sheer belly laughs. Scripted by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger; story by Bergman. Title song sung by Frankie Laine. Network TV version substitutes cutting-room-floor footage for some of the raunchier gags. | tt0071230 | [R] | Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, David Huddleston, Alex Karras, Burton Gilliam, Mel Brooks, John Hillerman, Liam Dunn, Carol Arthur, Dom DeLuise, Robert Ridgely, George Furth | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Blazing Sun | 1950 | John English. | ★★ | 70 | A couple of exciting action sequences aboard a speeding freight train and an engaging dual role for Duncan (as good and bad brothers) liven up this otherwise routine modern-day Autry Western in which he tracks down a crafty bank robber. Gene gets to serenade two leading ladies, Roberts and Gwynne. | tt0042260 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Lynne Roberts, Anne Gwynne, Edward Norris, Kenne Duncan, Alan Hale/Jr., Gregg Barton, Tom London. | Western | NULL | |||
| Bleak Moments | 1971 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 111 | Leigh's debut feature is a potent, deeply human drama, which charts the plight of a lonesome officeworker (Raitt) who looks after her mentally retarded sister and hopes that her relationship with a schoolteacher will lead to marriage. Leigh (who also scripted) offers knowing insight into his characters. | tt0066842 | Anne Raitt, Sarah Stephenson, Eric Allan, Joolia Cappleman, Mike Bradwell, Liz Smith | British |
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| Bless the Beasts & Children | 1972 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★ | 109 | Exciting and well-intentioned, if repetitious, story of six young misfit boys, campers at a ranch, who attempt to free a captive herd of buffalo scheduled for slaughter. The Barry DeVorzon-Perry Botkin music that later became known as 'Nadia's Theme' and the Young and the Restless theme originated here. | tt0068286 | [PG] | Bill Mumy, Barry Robins, Miles Chapin, Ken Swofford, Jesse White, Vanessa Brown | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bless the Child | 2000 | Chuck Russell | ★½ | 108 | Basinger has raised her addict sister's daughter (Coleman) to the age of six; when she shows signs of spiritual powers, the child is sought by millionaire Satanist Sewell, who's involved in a series of child killings. Smits is the detective on the case. Religious horror thriller veers wildly from the promising to the ludicrous, and is never remotely convincing. Based on the novel by Cathy Cash Spellman. | tt0163983 | [R] | Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Holliston Coleman, Rufus Sewell, Angela Bettis, Christina Ricci, Michael Gaston, Ian Holm | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Blessed Event | 1932 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 81 | Tracy's most famous role has him a Walter Winchell prototype whose spicy column makes him famous but also gets him in hot water; Powell makes film debut as crooner. Fast-moving, delightful. | tt0022696 | Lee Tracy, Mary Brian, Dick Powell, Emma Dunn, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins, Ned Sparks, Ruth Donnelly | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blind Adventure | 1933 | Ernest B. Schoedsack. | ★★★ | 63 | Armstrong is an American in London who stumbles into the midst of international intrigue, with Mack an innocent dupe; together they try to unravel the mystery, enlisting the aid of cat burglar Young. Modest but entertaining yarn in the vein of THE THIN MAN and THE 39 STEPS. Overlooked credit for Schoedsack, paired again with Armstrong, from KING KONG and THE SON OF KONG, and Mack, the latter film's leading lady. | tt0023816 | Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Ralph Bellamy, Roland Young, John Miljan, Laura Hope Crews. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Blind Date | 1984 | Nico Mastorakis | ★★½ | 100 | Dr. Dullea tests a portable machine that stimulates vision on blind Bottoms, causing Bottoms to become obsessed with capturing a psycho killer who's on the loose. Solid cast perks up a contrived thriller, filmed in Greece. | tt0086978 | [R] | Joseph Bottoms, Kirstie Alley, James Daughton, Lana Clarkson, Keir Dullea | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blind Date | 1987 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 93 | Tiresome retread of all-too-familiar farcical material by Blake Edwards. Yuppie Willis takes Basinger out on a blind date, warned that she can't tolerate alcohol— and immediately gives her champagne. Alternately boring and grating. This was Willis' starring debut; guitarist Stanley Jordan makes a musical appearance. | tt0092666 | [PG-13] | Kim Basinger, Bruce Willis, John Larroquette, William Daniels, Phil Hartman, Stephanie Faracy, Joyce Van Patten, Alice Hirson, George Coe, Mark Blum, Graham Stark | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blind Date | 2008 | Stanley Tucci | ★★★ | 80 | Small-time nightclub magician Tucci and retired dancer Clarkson respond to a personals ad and agree to meet in a bar. But in truth they're a married couple play-acting various roles (a blind man, a psychiatric patient, a reporter) for private, bittersweet reasons. Nine-chapter drama unfolds on a single set, melding deft acting with stabbing poignancy, in this only slightly Americanized remake of the 1996 Dutch original by Theo van Gogh. Tucci adapted the screenplay with David Schecter. | tt0480268 | Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Thijs Römer, Gerdy De Decker, Georgina Verbaan, Robin Holzhauer, Sarah Hyland, Peer Mascini | U.S.-Dutch | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blind Dating | 2007 | James Keach | ★★½ | 99 | Self-reliant young man (Pine) who's been blind all his life wants to find a woman to love who won't pity him. After endless dead-end dates he finds himself attracted to an Indian-American woman who works for his eye doctor . . . but she brings her own baggage to the relationship. Comedy-drama shifts tone from sweet sincerity to gross-out comedy, with mixed results. (Seymour, as Pine's psychiatrist, is so turned on during their sessions she feels impelled to shed her clothes!) | tt0454084 | [PG-13] | Chris Pine, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Anjali Jay, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jane Seymour, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Frank Gerrish, Pooch Hall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blind Faith | 1998 | Ernest Dickerson | ★★½ | 107 | Two brothers, one a police captain and the other a defense attorney, find their relationship— and their own sense of self-worth as black men in 1950s America— turned upside down when the captain's son is accused of murder. Hard-hitting drama, which opens in the late '80s, focuses on the racial divide and unjust justice system. Solid performances, especially from the two leads. Released theatrically (at 118m.) after debut on U.S. cable TV. | tt0135166 | [R] | Courtney B. Vance, Charles S | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blind Fury | 1990 | Phillip Noyce | ★★½ | 86 | Smiling, sword-wielding, blind Vietnam vet Hauer carves up bad guys, saves a kid, and even duels with his mentor in this brash, lively (but failed) attempt to Americanize Japanese 'Zato-ichi' movies. Hauer is perfectly cast, and the film is amusingly tongue-in-cheek, but it doesn't altogether work. | tt0096945 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Terry O'Quinn, Brandon Call, Lisa Blount, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Noble Willingham, Meg Foster, Sho Kosugi, Nick Cassavetes, Charles Cooper, Rick Overton | Action | NULL | ||
| Blind Husbands | 1919 | Erich von Stroheim. | ★★★ | 93 | Von Stroheim plays a decadent Austrian military officer on holiday in the Alps who sets out to seduce the wife of a rich American doctor. Von Stroheim's directorial debut already reveals his predilection toward sexual frustration and moral corruption and still holds interest through arresting visuals and perverse psychological details. | tt0009937 | Erich von Stroheim, Gibson Gowland, Sam De Grasse, Francelia Billington, Fay Holderness. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Blind Side | 2009 | John Lee Hancock | ★★★ | 129 | Remarkable story of a large, introverted black boy in Memphis who is taken in by a well-to-do white family and nurtured toward success and eventual fame as football star Michael Oher. Writer-director Hancock plays to the crowd and wrings every ounce of emotion out of a story that often seems too good to be true—but apparently is. Bullock is ideal as the feisty woman who always gets her way. Based on Michael Lewis' book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. | tt0878804 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Jae Head, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, Kathy Bates | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blind Spot | 1993 | Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Woodward (who coproduced) was Emmy-nominated for her gritty portrayal of an ambitious congresswoman whose life is affected by drug addiction in her family. Good script by Nina Shengold. | tt0106427 | Joanne Woodward, Laura Linney, Reed Diamond, Fritz Weaver, Patti D'Arbanville | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary | 2002 | André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer | ★★★½ | 87 | Intense, fascinating documentary in which 81-year-old Traudl Junge recalls her life as Adolf Hitler's private secretary from 1942 until his death (later dramatized in DOWNFALL). There is no archival footage; the film consists of Junge talking, and what she says is so compelling that one can only watch, and listen, in stunned silence as she contrasts personal memories of her boss with the reality of who he was. She also reveals her subsequent guilt about working for him. Junge's recollections of Hitler's final days are especially gripping. She died just as the film debuted in Berlin. | tt0311320 | [PG] | Austrian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Blindfold | 1966 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 102 | Attractive cast falters in film that wavers from comedy to mystery. Slapstick scenes seem incongruous as Hudson engages in international espionage with a noted scientist. | tt0058977 | Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, Jack Warden, Guy Stockwell, Anne Seymour | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Blindman | 1972 | Ferdinando Baldi | ★★ | 105 | Blindman (Anthony) seeks revenge on man who stole 50 mail-order brides. Mindless entertainment, though any movie with Ringo as a slimy Mexican bandit can't be all bad. | tt0066844 | [R] | Tony Anthony, Ringo Starr, Agneta Eckemyr, Lloyd Batista | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Blindness | 2008 | Fernando Meirelles | ★★ | 121 | Dreary, pointless parable about people suddenly and randomly going blind including, ironically enough, an eye doctor (Ruffalo) but not his wife (Moore), who retains her sight. As they and other victims are herded into captivity by the government, all the worst elements of human nature rise to the surface in a bare-knuckle struggle for survival. Off-putting and ugly, to say the least. Based on a novel by José Saramago. | tt0861689 | [R] | Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, Gael García Bernal, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya, Yoshino Kimura, Maury Chaykin, Don McKellar, Mitchell Nye, Sandra Oh | Canadian-Brazilian-Japanese | Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Blink | 1994 | Michael Apted | ★★½ | 106 | Did she or didn't she see a murderer leaving the scene of the crime? That's the central question when beautiful, strong-willed musician Stowe, blind since childhood, has her sight restored. Story relies on viewer's acceptance of screenwriter's gimmick of 'retroactive vision,' a post-surgery delayed reaction. Best thing in film is Stowe; otherwise this treads on too familiar blind-woman-in-jeopardy territory. Alternative Irish-American band The Drovers appear as themselves. | tt0109297 | [R] | Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, Laurie Metcalf, James Remar, Peter Friedman, Bruce A. Young, Matt Roth, Paul Dillon | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bliss | 1985 | Ray Lawrence | ★½ | 111 | High-powered businessman has a major heart attack, sees himself dying, then revives— which changes his entire outlook on life. After a dynamic opening this stylized satire slows to a snail's pace and loses its thrust. Nevertheless, it was an Australian Academy Award winner and an international film festival favorite, so judge for yourself. | tt0088821 | [R] | Barry Otto, Lynette Curran, Helen Jones, Miles Buchanan, Gia Carides, Tim Robertson | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Bliss | 1997 | Lance Young | ★★½ | 103 | Unusual film about a young married couple's emotional journey into sexual awakening with the help of a sex therapist. Stamp excels as teacher and mentor to the husband, who unwittingly unlocks the door to his wife's forgotten past. Melodramatic story gets in the way of some genuinely interesting and even educational dialogue, though it's almost too clinical at times. Actress Taylor-Young is the sister of the writer-director. Filmed in 1995. | tt0118742 | [R] | Craig Sheffer, Terence Stamp, Sheryl Lee, Spalding Gray, Casey Siemaszko, Ken Camroux, Pamela Perry, Leigh Taylor-Young, Lois Chiles, Theresa Saldana, Molly Parker | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom | 1968 | Joe McGrath | ★★★ | 93 | Oddball, original comedy with delicious performances. Wife of brassiere manufacturer keeps a lover in their attic for five years. Bogs down toward the end, but for the most part a delight. | tt0062739 | [M] | Shirley MacLaine, Richard Attenborough, James Booth, Freddie Jones, Bob Monkhouse, John Cleese | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Blithe Spirit | 1945 | David Lean | ★★★½ | 96 | Delicious adaptation of Noel Coward's comedy-fantasy about a man whose long-dead first wife appears to haunt— and taunt— him in his newly married life. Rutherford is wonderful as Madame Arcati, the spiritual medium; this earned an Oscar for its special effects. Scripted by the director, the producer (Anthony Havelock-Allan), and the cinematographer (Ronald Neame). | tt0038363 | Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond, Margaret Rutherford, Hugh Wakefield, Joyce Carey | British | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Blitz | 2011 | Elliott Lester | ★½ | 98 | Statham grunts and snarls his way through this one-note account of a smart-alecky, violence-prone south London police sergeant, a 21st-century Dirty Harry who goes up against a serial cop-killer known as "the Blitz." From a novel by Ken Bruen. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1297919 | [R] | Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, Zawe Ashton, David Morrissey, Ned Dennehy, Mark Rylance, Luke Evans, Nicky Henson | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Blob | 1958 | Irvin S. Yeaworth / Jr | ★★ | 86 | Endearingly campy classic of cheap '50s sci-fi has 'Steven' (in his first starring role) leading teenagers into battle to save their small town from being swallowed up by giant glop of cherry Jell-O from outer space. Not really all that good, but how can you hate a film like this? (Especially when Burt Bacharach composed the title song.) Later redubbed for comic effect as BLOBERMOUTH. Sequel: BEWARE! THE BLOB. Remade 30 years later. | tt0051418 | Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, Olin Howlin | Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Blob | 1988 | Chuck Russell | ★★ | 95 | Needless, if undeniably gooey, remake about a man-made what's-it that wipes out the standard number of vagrants and oversexed teenagers on its way to enveloping a small town. Showstopper finds a restaurant employee getting pulled head first down a kitchen drain after foolishly attempting to 'plunge' the Blob. | tt0094761 | [R] | Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Ricky Paull Goldin, Kevin Dillon, Billy Beck, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Block Busters | 1944 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 60 | Muggs fights a new French kid in town, but all is forgiven when he helps the East Side Kids win the big baseball game. Raucous comedy; a sad comedown for silent clown Harry Langdon in a bit part. | tt0036650 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Jimmy Strand, Minerva Urecal, Noah Beery/Sr., Billy Benedict, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Block-Heads | 1938 | John G. Blystone | ★★★ | 55 | Stan's been marching in a trench for 20 years— nobody told him WW1 was over! Ollie brings him home to find he hasn't changed. Top L&H. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029923 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Minna Gombell, Billy Gilbert, James Finlayson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blockade | 1938 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 85 | Vivid romance drama of Spanish Civil War with globe-trotting Carroll falling in love with fighting Fonda. | tt0029924 | Madeleine Carroll, Henry Fonda, Leo Carrillo, John Halliday, Vladimir Sokoloff, Reginald Denny | War | NULL | |||
| The Blockhouse | 1973 | Clive Rees | ★½ | 90 | Dismal, downbeat story of laborers trapped in underground bunker when the Allies land at Normandy on D-Day. | tt0069803 | Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Per Oscarsson, Peter Vaughan, Jeremy Kemp, Alfred Lynch | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blond Cheat | 1938 | Joseph Santley. | ★★ | 62 | Actress Fontaine is hired by the father of heiress Bond to break up her engagement to playboy de Marney. Radiant young Fontaine's charm boosts this harmless romantic-comedy trifle, one of five quickies she made in 1938. | tt0029925 | Joan Fontaine, Derrick de Marney, Cecil Kellaway, Lilian Bond, Cecil Cunningham, Robert Coote, Olaf Hytten, John Sutton. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blonde Ambition | 2007 | Scott Marshall | ★★ | 93 | Lightweight fluff about a small-town innocent (Simpson) who follows her unfaithful boyfriend to N.Y.C., where she lucks into a job as secretary for the president of a large construction company. Although obviously inspired by WORKING GIRL and LEGALLY BLONDE, this trifle actually plays more like some innocuous GIDGET or TAMMY comedy of yore. Simpson isn’t half bad, and Larry Miller (as her boss) underplays amusingly. Look for a cameo by Penny Marshall, aunt of the movie’s director. | tt0887719 | [PG-13] | Jessica Simpson, Luke Wilson, Rachael Leigh Cook, Penelope Ann Miller, Andy Dick, Larry Miller, Willie Nelson | Romance | NULL | ||
| Blonde Bait | Women Without Men | 1956 | Elmo Williams | ★★ | 70 | Cheap, toothy blond bombshell Michaels excels as a Yank showgirl breaking out of a sedate British prison for women. British film, originally titled WOMEN WITHOUT MEN, was retitled, reedited, and reshot (with Davis, Travis, and Cavanagh added to cast) for U.S. release. | tt0049018 | Beverly Michaels, Jim Davis, Joan Rice, Richard Travis, Paul Cavanagh, Thora Hird, Avril Angers, Gordon Jackson | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Blonde Crazy | 1931 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 79 | Dated fun with Cagney as small-time con man who plays cat-and-mouse with big-time sharpie Calhern. Young Milland appears as businessman who marries Jimmy's girlfriend, Blondell. | tt0021673 | James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, Polly Walters, Nat Pendleton | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Blonde Dynamite | 1950 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 66 | The Bowery Boys go into the escort service business and predictably get mixed up with crooks. | tt0042262 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Adele Jergens, Harry Lewis, Murray Alper, Bernard Gorcey, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Jody Gilbert | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Blonde Fever | 1944 | Richard Whorf | ★★ | 69 | Astor lends class to this mild account of married woman whose husband (Dorn) is vamped by sultry Grahame. Based on a play by Ferenc Molnár. Look for Ava Gardner in a bit. And yes, that's Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, appearing briefly (without billing). | tt0036651 | Philip Dorn, Mary Astor, Felix Bressart, Gloria Grahame, Marshall Thompson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blonde Venus | 1932 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 97 | Episodic story of performer Dietrich returning to the stage while her chemist husband is off seeking a cure for his illness; plenty of complications ensue, including her evolving relationship with wealthy, powerful Grant. | tt0022698 | Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Cary Grant, Dickie Moore, Sidney Toler | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blonde for a Day | 1946 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 67 | Negligible Michael Shayne murder mystery, centering on a female crime reporter targeted for death by the crooks she's exposing. | tt0038366 | Hugh Beaumont, Kathryn Adams, Cy Kendall, Marjorie Hoshelle, Richard Fraser, Paul Bryar | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Blondes at Work | 1938 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 63 | Farrell is back as indefatigable reporter Torchy Blane, confounding her colleagues with scoops stolen directly from her cop boyfriend MacLane. Reworking of the 1935 Bette Davis FRONT PAGE WOMAN. | tt0029926 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, Rosella Towne, Donald Briggs, John Ridgely, Carole Landis | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Blondie | 1938 | Frank Strayer | ★★★ | 68 | First in the series of 28 Blondie films, introducing the farcical Bumstead family with a typically amusing plot: Dagwood is sacked from his job and Blondie thinks he's running around on her on the eve of their fifth anniversary. | tt0029927 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Gene Lockhart, Ann Doran, Jonathan Hale, Gordon Oliver, Danny Mummert, Irving Bacon, Fay Helm | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Brings Up Baby | 1939 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 67 | Standard screwball antics when Baby Dumpling starts school and promptly disappears, sending bumbling Dagwood in hot pursuit. Robert Sterling and Bruce Bennett have bits. | tt0031106 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Danny Mummert, Jonathan Hale, Fay Helm, Peggy Ann Garner, Helen Jerome Eddy, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Goes Latin | 1941 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 69 | Silliness on a South American cruise as Dagwood joins Tito Guizar's conga band and Blondie cuts loose in some song-and-dance routines. Look for future 'Sky King' Kirby Grant in a small role as a band singer. | tt0033403 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Tito Guizar, Ruth Terry, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Irving Bacon, Janet Burston | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Blondie Goes to College | 1942 | Frank Strayer | ★★ | 74 | Predictable complications occur when the Bumsteads go back to school (where most of the students are Columbia's young contract players) and pretend they're not married. | tt0034525 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Larry Parks, Janet Blair, Lloyd Bridges, Esther Dale, Adele Mara | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Has Servant Trouble | 1940 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 70 | Enjoyable haunted-house comedy, as the Bumsteads stay in a creepy mansion replete with strange servants and 'ghosts.' | tt0032261 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Danny Mummert, Jonathan Hale, Arthur Hohl, Esther Dale, Irving Bacon, Fay Helm | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Hits the Jackpot | 1949 | Edward Bernds | ★½ | 66 | Dagwood is rescued from manual labor at a construction company when Blondie wins a radio quiz show in this threadbare entry. | tt0041188 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jerome Cowan, Lloyd Corrigan, Ann Carter, George Humbert, David Sharpe, Danny Mummert, James Flavin, Dick Wessel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Johnson | 1933 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 68 | When a relief agency turns a deaf ear to Blondell's pleas to help her ailing mother, she vows to make money from that point on, any way she can, and becomes a con artist who even dares to step on the toes of a gangland bigwig. Punchy Warners Depression-era film shifts tone too often, though Blondell and Morris are very good. | tt0023817 | Joan Blondell, Chester Morris, Allen Jenkins, Claire Dodd, Earle Foxe, Arthur Vinton, Sterling Holloway, Mae Busch | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blondie Knows Best | 1946 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 69 | Dagwood pretends to be his boss, Mr. Dithers, causing predictable complications in this minor entry enlivened by Shemp as a myopic process server. | tt0038367 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Steven Geray, Shemp Howard, Ludwig Donath, Jerome Cowan, Danny Mummert, Jack Rice | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Meets the Boss | 1939 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 75 | Second entry in the series has Blondie taking over at the office for Dagwood when he goes on a fishing trip. Look for James Craig and Robert Sterling in bits. | tt0031107 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Dorothy Moore, Jonathan Hale, Stanley Brown, Inez Courtney, Don Beddoe, Danny Mummert, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Plays Cupid | 1940 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 68 | Blondie helps a young couple elope, but the course of true love does not run smoothly. Cute entry notable for early appearance by Ford. | tt0032262 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Glenn Ford, Larry Simms, Danny Mummert, Jonathan Hale, Irving Bacon, Luana Walters | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie Takes a Vacation | 1939 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 68 | Blondie and family take over a mountain lodge to save it from bankruptcy and get into plenty of hot water in this diverting entry. | tt0031108 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Danny Mummert, Donald Meek, Donald MacBride, Elizabeth Dunne, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie for Victory | 1942 | Frank Strayer | ★★ | 70 | Dagwood and the other neighborhood husbands suffer when Blondie organizes a housewives' war effort. Cast strains for laughs in this topical series entry. | tt0034526 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Majelle White, Stuart Erwin, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Edward Gargan, Renie Riano, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie in Society | 1941 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 75 | Blondie enters a pedigreed Great Dane in a dog show but gets Dagwood into trouble with a client who also has a dog in the running. Pretty funny entry with the added bonus of old pros Frawley and Kennedy. | tt0033404 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, William Frawley, Edgar Kennedy, Chick Chandler, Irving Bacon, Robert Mitchell Boys Choir | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie in the Dough | 1947 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 69 | Blondie's in the dough up to her neck when she starts a baking business which attracts the attention of a cookie tycoon (Herbert). | tt0039200 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jerome Cowan, Hugh Herbert, Clarence Kolb, Danny Mummert, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie of the Follies | 1932 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 90 | Davies and Dove vie for the affection of Montgomery, while ascending to stardom in the Follies. Dramatically wobbly, but the musical numbers are fun. James Gleason fine as Marion's dad. Best are Davies and Durante spoofing Garbo and Barrymore in GRAND HOTEL. | tt0022700 | Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Billie Dove, Jimmy Durante, ZaSu Pitts, Sidney Toler, Louise Carter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie on a Budget | 1940 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 73 | Columbia ingenue Hayworth drops by as Dagwood's ex-sweetheart, which not surprisingly makes Blondie jealous. Lovely Rita helps perk up this entry. | tt0032263 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Rita Hayworth, Larry Simms, Danny Mummert, Don Beddoe, John Qualen, Fay Helm, Irving Bacon, Thurston Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Anniversary | 1947 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 75 | Dagwood brings home a fancy watch for a client's wife, which Blondie naturally believes is her anniversary gift. | tt0039201 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Adele Jergens, Jerome Cowan, Grant Mitchell, William Frawley, Jack Rice, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Big Deal | 1949 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 66 | Dagwood gets a shellacking when he invents a nonflammable paint and tests it out on his boss's house. Naturally, unscrupulous competitors switch the paint. | tt0041189 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Jerome Cowan, Marjorie Kent, Collette Lyons, Ray Walker, Eddie Acuff, Jack Rice, Danny Mummert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Big Moment | 1947 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 69 | Dagwood gets into trouble with his new boss, throwing the whole Bumstead household into chaos. Nothing new. | tt0039202 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jerome Cowan, Anita Louise, Danny Mummert, Jack Rice, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Blessed Event | 1942 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 69 | Dagwood wreaks havoc at a convention while Baby Dumpling gets a new sister, Cookie, in this typically frantic series entry. Look for a young Arthur O'Connell as an intern. | tt0034527 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Norma Jean Wayne, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Hans Conried, Mary Wickes, Stanley Brown, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Hero | 1950 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 67 | Penultimate series entry is a stock service farce, as Dagwood accidentally joins the Army reserve. | tt0042263 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, William Frawley, Danny Mummert, Joe Sawyer, Teddy Infuhr, Alyn Lockwood, Frank Jenks, Iris Adrian, Edward Earle, Dick Wessel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Holiday | 1947 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 67 | Dagwood gets involved with gamblers and winds up in jail when he decides to play the ponies for some quick money. Bobby Larson replaced Danny Mummert as Alvin for this one entry. | tt0039203 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jerome Cowan, Grant Mitchell, Sid Tomack, Jeff York, Alyn Lockwood, Jack Rice, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Lucky Day | 1946 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 75 | Dagwood gets fired (again), and decides to go into business with the help of a WAC, which naturally makes Blondie nervous. | tt0038368 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Robert Stanton, Angelyn Orr, Frank Jenks, Paul Harvey, Charles Arnt, Jack Rice, Frank Orth | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Reward | 1948 | Abby Singer | ★★ | 67 | Dagwood the bonehead is demoted to office boy when he purchases the wrong real estate property. Very mild entry with the gags (and all concerned) showing their age. | tt0040173 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jerome Cowan, Gay Nelson, Ross Ford, Danny Mummert, Paul Harvey, Frank Jenks, Chick Chandler, Jack Rice, Eddie Acuff, Alyn Lockwood | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blondie's Secret | 1948 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 68 | Dagwood's boss doesn't want him to take a vacation, so he hires some bumbling crooks to steal the Bumsteads' luggage. Trivial fluff, with the tired series coming into the home stretch. | tt0040174 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jerome Cowan, Thurston Hall, Jack Rice, Danny Mummert, Frank Orth, Alyn Lockwood, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Blood & Donuts | 1995 | Holly Dale | ★★★ | 89 | Reluctant vampire Currie crawls into his bag when man first walks on the moon, reemerging in contemporary Toronto, where he holes up in a 24-hour donut shop. Characterful comedy/drama plays colloquially, like DINER, but at night and with fangs. Cronenberg plays a gangster. | tt0112527 | [R] | Gordon Currie, Justin Louis, Helene Clarkson, Fiona Reid, Frank Moore, David Cronenberg | Canadian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Blood Alley | 1955 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 115 | Enjoyable escapism with Wayne, Bacall, and assorted Chinese escaping down river to Hong Kong pursued by Communists. | tt0047889 | John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Paul Fix, Mike Mazurki, Anita Ekberg | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Blood Arrow | 1958 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★½ | 75 | Uninspired tale of Mormon girl Coates trudging through Indian territory to obtain medicine, with usual Indian attacks. | tt0051420 | Scott Brady, Paul Richards, Phyllis Coates, Don Haggerty | Western | NULL | |||
| Blood Barrier | 1979 | Christopher Leitch | ★★½ | 86 | Savalas plays a maverick border-patrolman who hates slimy Gazzo's exploitation of poor Mexicans, illegally trucked by Gazzo to California to be day laborers. Interesting drama isn't fully developed and suffers from pointless finale. Exteriors filmed in Mexico. Originally titled THE BORDER. | tt0078895 | [R] | Telly Savalas, Danny De La Paz, Eddie Albert, Michael Gazzo, Cecilia Camacho | British | Action | NULL | |
| Blood Bath | Track of the Vampire | 1966 | Stephanie Rothman, Jack Hill | ★½ | 80 | Another AIP paste-job, with half an hour from a Yugoslavian vampire film worked into tale of California artist who murders his models. Eerie atmosphere, some occasional frissons, but overall a mishmash. Shown on TV as TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE. | tt0060174 | William Campbell, Jonathan Haze, Sid Haig, Marissa Mathes, Lori Saunders, Sandra Knight | Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood Beach | 1981 | Jeffrey Bloom | ★★ | 89 | People are mysteriously disappearing into the sand at the local beach. Not very bloody, thank heavens, but not very good either. | tt0082083 | [R] | John Saxon, David Huffman, Mariana Hill, Otis Young, Stefan Gierasch, Burt Young | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood Diamond | 2006 | Edward Zwick | ★★½ | 143 | Loud, intense action drama with an Agenda: mercenary DiCaprio learns that a poor fisherman (Hounsou) who's been separated from his family in Sierra Leone has hidden a huge pink diamond . . . and he means to find it, by any means necessary. Strong performances and well-staged action scenes would normally equal good entertainment, but extreme carnage and the heavily pounded message about 'conflict diamonds' and their human toll make it difficult to take. Hounsou is outstanding as the simple man whose life is made a living hell in civil war-torn Sierra Leone, circa 1999. | tt0450259 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Kagiso Kuypers, Arnold Vosloo, Michael Sheen, David Harewood, Basil Wallace, Ntare Mwine, Marius Weyers, Stephen Collins, Jimi Mistry | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blood Feud | Revenge | 1979 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★ | 112 | Lawyer Mastroianni and hood Giannini both love Sicilian widow Loren, and she returns their favors. Loud, overblown, ineffective; set during the Fascist '20s. Also known as REVENGE, cut to 99m. | tt0078256 | [R] | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Giancarlo Giannini, Turi Ferro | Italian | Thriller | NULL |
| Blood From the Mummy's Tomb | 1972 | Seth Holt, Michael Carreras. | ★★★ | 94 | Surprisingly satisfying chiller dealing with attempt at reincarnating ancient Egyptian high priestess. Based on Bram Stoker's Jewel of the Seven Stars. Remade as THE AWAKENING. | tt0068290 | [PG] | Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, James Villiers, Hugh Burden. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Blood Legacy | 1971 | Carl Monson | ★★ | 90 | To claim inheritance, heirs to a fortune must spend a night in a 'haunted' house. Awfully familiar stuff, helped by a few good scenes, and a familiar cast of veterans. Aka LEGACY OF BLOOD. | tt0066845 | [R] | John Carradine, Faith Domergue, John Russell, Merry Anders, Jeff Morrow, Richard Davalos | Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood Money | 1933 | Rowland Brown | ★★★ | 65 | Lively, implausible story of underworld bail-bondsman Bancroft falling for thrill-a-minute socialite Dee, causing friction with Bancroft's female cohort (played by Anderson in incongruously gutsy, glamorous role). Dee's closing scene is a knockout. Look fast for Lucille Ball as Chandler's girlfriend at the racetrack. | tt0023818 | George Bancroft, Frances Dee, Judith Anderson, Chick Chandler, Blossom Seeley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blood Red | 1988 | Peter Masterson | 💣 | 91 | Ruthless, Irish-born Hopper wants to build his railroad through the land of Sicilian immigrant Giannini and his fellow wine-growers in 1890s California. Dreadful film, with lots of explosions; huge, good cast can't save it. Julia Roberts, Eric's kid sister, makes her screen debut as his sibling (and Giannini's daughter). | tt0096951 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, Dennis Hopper, Burt Young, Carlin Glynn, Lara Harris, Joseph Running Fox, Al Ruscio, Michael Madsen, Elias Koteas, Marc Lawrence, Frank Campanella, Aldo Ray, Susan Anspach, Horton Foote/Jr., Julia Roberts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blood Relatives | 1978 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 100 | Barely released thriller about a secret, incestuous relationship with deadly consequences. Interesting cast and Chabrol's cold, scientifically masterful direction make this less unpleasant and gory than it might have been. Not released until 1981 in U.S. | tt0076313 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Aude Landry, Lisa Langlois, Laurent Malet, Micheline Lanctot, Stephane Audran, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings | French-Canadian | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Blood Salvage | 1990 | Tucker Johnston | ★★ | 98 | Grisly gorefest (with humorous touches splattered throughout) has religious nutso Nelson running a body parts junkyard and preying on waylaid tourists. Not for the weak-stomached. Coexecutive producer of film, heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield, challenged his pugilist peers to sit through this one without flinching; he reportedly had no takers. | tt0099153 | [R] | Danny Nelson, Lori Birdsong, John Saxon, Ray Walston, Evander Holyfield | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood Simple | 1984 | Joel Coen | ★★★ | 96 | Flamboyant homage to film noir made on a shoestring by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen in Texas. A cuckolded husband hires slimy character to kill his wife and her boyfriend . . . but that's just the beginning of this serpentine story. A visual delight, full of show-offy stylistics; just a bit 'cold around the heart,' to quote an earlier noir classic. McDormand's film debut. Recut, remixed, restored, and reissued in 2000 with a new 5m. introduction. | tt0086979 | [R] | John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, Samm-Art Williams, M. Emmet Walsh | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blood Tide | The Red Tide | 1982 | Richard Jeffries | ★½ | 82 | Lovely Greek scenery is the only distinction of this substandard programmer in which a monster from the deep is unleashed, causing predictable mayhem. Good cast shamelessly wasted. Aka THE RED TIDE. | tt0083661 | [R] | James Earl Jones, José Ferrer, Lila Kedrova, Mary Louise Weller, Martin Kove, Deborah Shelton | Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| Blood Ties | 1986 | Giacomo Battiato | ★★★ | 120 | Uncompromising crime actioner about an innocent American (Davis), coerced by the mob into assassinating his Sicilian cousin (Lo Bianco), who's been investigating Mafia activities. Good job all around. Originally a four-hour television movie; video version runs 98m. | tt0090894 | Brad Davis, Tony Lo Bianco, Vincent Spano, Barbara De Rossi, Delia Boccardo, Ricky Tognazzi, Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Gazzo | Italian | Crime | NULL | ||
| Blood Wedding | 1981 | Carlos Saura | ★★★ | 72 | Gades' adaptation for ballet of Federico Garcia Lorca's classic tragedy, performed in full costume in a bare rehearsal hall. Saura's direction is best described as intimate in this happy union of dance and film. | tt0082088 | Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos, Juan Antonio Jimenez, Pilar Cardenas, Carmen Villena | Spanish |
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| Blood Work | 2002 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 111 | FBI profiler, who was forced to retire after heart transplant surgery, is persuaded to take on a murder case by the sister of the woman whose heart he inherited. Eastwood has never been more relaxed on-screen, and this movie fits him like a glove, but the buildup of the story is much better than the payoff, with a perfunctory finale and an all-too-obvious revelation about the bad guy. Adapted from the novel by Michael Connelly, which has a more satisfactory ending. | tt0309377 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Jeff Daniels, Anjelica Huston, Wanda De Jesus, Tina Lifford, Paul Rodriguez, Dylan Walsh | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blood and Black Lace | 1964 | Mario Bava | ★½ | 88 | Gruesome thriller about a sex murderer doing in fashion models. Wooden script and performances don't help. Fans of the genre will at least enjoy Bava's imaginative direction. | tt0058567 | Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Mary Arden | Italian-French-German | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blood and Chocolate | 2007 | Katja von Garnier | ★★ | 98 | A teenage werewolf Juliet is torn between loyalty to her pack and love for a human Romeo, while clan leaders violently disapprove. Pallid adaptation of Annette Curtis Klause's 1997 palpably erotic young-adult novel inexplicably (and pointlessly) moves the drastically altered storyline from West Virginia to Romania! Results are thin and semisweet, albeit scenic. | tt0397044 | [PG-13] | Agnes Bruckner, Olivier Martinez, Hugh Dancy, Bryan Dick, Katja Riemann, Chris Geere, Tom Harper, John Kerr, Jack Wilson | British-German-Romanian-U.S. | Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance | NULL | |
| Blood and Concrete | 1991 | Jeffrey Reiner | ★★½ | 97 | Offbeat but way overbaked comic thriller about third-rate car thief Zane and troubled singer Beals, who fall in love and become involved in murder and mayhem. Tries to be hip and stylish, and occasionally succeeds, but too self-conscious for its own good. The full title is BLOOD AND CONCRETE, A LOVE STORY. | tt0101478 | [R] | Billy Zane, Jennifer Beals, Darren McGavin, James Le Gros, Nicholas Worth, William Bastiani, Harry Shearer | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Blood and Lace | 1971 | Philip Gilbert | 💣 | 87 | Rock-bottom cheapie about murders tied in to corrupt orphanage. Don't bother. | tt0066848 | [PG] | Gloria Grahame, Melody Patterson, Milton Selzer, Len Lesser, Vic Tayback | Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood and Roses | 1961 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 74 | This story of a jealous girl's obsession with her family's history of vampirism was based on Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. Despite effective moments, film does not succeed. Same story refilmed as THE VAMPIRE LOVERS and THE BLOOD-SPATTERED BRIDE. | tt0053802 | Mel Ferrer, Elsa Martinelli, Annette Vadim, Marc Allegret | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Blood and Sand | 1922 | Fred Niblo | ★★½ | 80 | Dated but still absorbing story of bullfighter Valentino torn between good-girl Lee and vampish Naldi. Scenes of hero being seduced are laughable, but bullfight material holds up well. Remade in 1941 and 1989. | tt0012952 | Rudolph Valentino, Lila Lee, Nita Naldi, George Field, Walter Long, Leo White | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Blood and Sand | 1941 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★ | 123 | Pastel remake of Valentino's silent film about naive bullfighter who ignores true-love (Darnell) for temptress (Hayworth). Slow-paced romance uplifted by Nazimova's knowing performance as Power's mother; beautiful color production earned cinematographers Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan Oscars. | tt0033405 | Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Nazimova, Anthony Quinn, J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, George Reeves | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blood and Sand | 1989 | Javier Elorrieta | ★★ | 95 | Cocky young bullfighter achieves success in the arena and forsakes his loving wife for a sexy siren. Authentic Spanish locations and good bullfighting footage compensate for predictability of this drama; hot sex scenes are what distinguish it from the earlier versions. | tt0098251 | Chris Rydell, Sharon Stone, Ana Torrent, Guillermo Montesinus, Albert Vidal, Simon Andreu, Antonio Glez Flores | Spanish | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blood and Wine | 1997 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★ | 98 | Juicy film noir about a Florida no-good with an embittered wife, a resentful stepson, and a sexy Cuban mistress, who takes on an unlikely partner (an oily, consumptive Caine) for a high-risk jewel robbery. Delicious detail fills this well-thought-out melodrama; only fault is that it goes on a bit too long. Nicholson and Caine make a marvelous team. | tt0115710 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Judy Davis, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Harold Perrineau/Jr. | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blood of Dracula | 1957 | Herbert L. Strock | ★½ | 68 | Inoffensive programmer about troubled teenage girl being hypnotized into a life of vampirism. | tt0050201 | Sandra Harrison, Gail Ganley, Jerry Blaine, Louise Lewis | Horror | NULL | |||
| Blood of Dracula's Castle | 1967 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 84 | Tacky low-budget mixture of vampirism and kinky sex, with Dracula and his bride 'collecting' girls and chaining them up. | tt0061412 | [M] | John Carradine, Paula Raymond, Alex D'Arcy, Robert Dix, Barbara Bishop | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Blood of Fu Manchu | Against All Odds | 1968 | Jesus Franco (Jess Frank) | ★★ | 91 | Fourth in Lee's FU MANCHU series, several pegs below its predecessors, finds him in the heart of the Amazon, injecting ten beautiful girls with a deadly potion and dispatching them to give the kiss of death to his enemies in various capitals. Aka KISS AND KILL and AGAINST ALL ODDS. Sequel: THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU. Released theatrically in the U.S. in b&w. Video title: KISS OF DEATH. | tt0062741 | [M] | Christopher Lee, Tsai Chin, Richard Greene, Gotz George, Howard Marion Crawford, Shirley Eaton, Maria Rohm | Adventure, Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Blood of Ghastly Horror | Psycho a Go-Go! | 1972 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 87 | Carradine stars as Dr. Van Ard, whose brain-transplant experiments lead to murder and mayhem. Ghastly indeed! Made in 1969; also known as THE FIEND WITH THE ATOMIC BRAIN, PSYCHO A GO-GO!, THE LOVE MANIAC, THE MAN WITH THE SYNTHETIC BRAIN, and THE FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN. | tt0068291 | John Carradine, Kent Taylor, Tommy Kirk, Regina Carrol | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Blood of Heroes | Salute of the Jugger | 1990 | David Peoples | ★½ | 90 | In the usual desolate post-nuclear war world one-eyed Hauer and apprentice Chen are specialists at 'juggers'— a kind of futuristic rugby where the scorer places a dog's skull atop a vertical stick on the opposing team's goal line. Stick to Home Run Derby reruns on ESPN instead; this may be the grimiest movie since C.H.U.D., which did, after all, take place in a sewer. Australian title: SALUTE OF THE JUGGER. | tt0094764 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio, Anna Katarina, Delroy Lindo | Australian-U.S. | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| The Blood of a Poet | 1930 | Jean Cocteau | ★★★ | 52 | Cocteau's first feature is a highly personal, poetic, symbolic fantasy, which supposedly transpires in a split second: the time it takes for a chimney to crumble and land. Imaginative, dreamlike, and still a visual delight. The commentary is spoken by Cocteau. | tt0021331 | Lee Miller, Pauline Carton, Odette Talazac, Enrique Rivero, Jean Desbordes | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Blood of the Vampire | 1958 | Henry Cass | ★★ | 87 | Potentially vivid horror film weakened by slack production: doctor sent to prison hospital finds the warden (Wolfit, made up to resemble Bela Lugosi) is an anemic mad scientist. Need more be said? | tt0051422 | Donald Wolfit, Barbara Shelley, Vincent Ball, Victor Maddern | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Blood on Satan's Claw | Satan's Skin | 1971 | Piers Haggard | ★★★ | 93 | In 17th-century Britain a demon is unearthed which a group of evil farm children begin worshipping, sacrificing other children to it. Richly atmospheric horror film with erotic undertones, somewhat gruesome at times. Original title: SATAN'S SKIN, running 100m. Retitled SATAN'S CLAW. | tt0066849 | [R] | Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice, Tamara Ustinov | British | Horror | NULL |
| Blood on the Arrow | 1964 | Sidney Salkow | ★½ | 91 | Humdrum Western dealing with Apache massacre and survivors' attempt to rescue son who is held captive. | tt0057891 | Dale Robertson, Martha Hyer, Wendell Corey, Elisha Cook/ Jr., Ted de Corsia | Western | NULL | |||
| Blood on the Moon | 1948 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 88 | Straightforward Western tale (from a novel by Luke Short) about a drifter who's hired by his former partner to help him bilk some naive landowners. Mitchum sizes up the situation and decides he doesn't like it; Preston is an unrepentant villain. Watch for that great confrontation scene in a darkened barroom. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040175 | Robert Mitchum, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Preston, Walter Brennan, Phyllis Thaxter, Frank Faylen, Tom Tully, Charles McGraw, Tom Tyler | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Blood on the Sun | 1945 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 98 | Newspaper editor Cagney, in Japan during the 1930s, smells trouble coming but is virtually helpless; good melodrama. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037547 | James Cagney, Sylvia Sidney, Wallace Ford, Rosemary DeCamp, Robert Armstrong | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Blood-Spattered Bride | Til Death Do Us Part | 1969 | Vicente Aranda. | ★½ | 83 | Newlyweds in secluded mansion are terrorized by a strange guest, the reincarnation of a murderess dead 200 years. Based on LeFanu's Carmila, but poorly done. Aka TIL DEATH DO US PART. | tt0069029 | [R] | Maribel Martin, Simon Andreu, Alexandra Bastedo, Dean Selmier, Montserrat Julio. | Spanish | Horror | NULL |
| Bloodbrothers | A Father's Love | 1978 | Robert Mulligan | ★★½ | 116 | Interesting if somewhat overblown drama about big-city construction workers. Best when actors have opportunity to underplay, e.g., Sorvino's touching story of baby son's death, Gere's interplay with young hospital patients. Gere stands out as son who wants to break away from family tradition. Recut to 98m. by Mulligan for pay-TV release; retitled A FATHER'S LOVE for network TV. | tt0078878 | [R] | Richard Gere, Paul Sorvino, Tony Lo Bianco, Lelia Goldoni, Yvonne Wilder, Kenneth McMillan, Marilu Henner, Danny Aiello | Drama | NULL | |
| Bloodfist | 1989 | Terence H. Winkless | ★½ | 85 | Any action film with opening credits more exciting than the balance of the movie is bound to be a disappointment. Virtually the same plot as KICKBOXER, this one has violence aplenty, as kicker Wilson puts the foot to the bad guys who killed his brother. Followed by six sequels, all with Wilson. | tt0096952 | [R] | Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, Joe Marie Avellana, Michael Shaner, Riley Bowman, Rob Kaman | Action | NULL | ||
| Bloodhounds of Broadway | 1952 | Harmon Jones | ★★½ | 90 | Hick Gaynor becomes slick gal in N.Y.C., involved with pseudo-Damon Runyon folk; funny Green has too small a role. Songs include 'I Wish I Knew.' Runyon stories used as basis for 1989 film of the same name. | tt0044431 | Mitzi Gaynor, Scott Brady, Mitzi Green, Michael O'Shea, Marguerite Chapman, Charles Bronson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Bloodhounds of Broadway | 1989 | Howard Brookner | ★★ | 93 | Bland Damon Runyon tale chronicling the escapades of a gallery of gangsters, gamblers, and showgirl types on the Great White Way during New Year's Eve, 1928. The cast is game and there are some funny bits, but it's mostly a snooze. Documentary director Brookner's sole fiction feature; he died prior to its release. William Burroughs— the subject of one of his earlier films— appears in a small role as a butler. A PBS American Playhouse theatrical production. | tt0096953 | [PG] | Matt Dillon, Madonna, Jennifer Grey, Rutger Hauer, Randy Quaid, Julie Hagerty, Esai Morales, Anita Morris, Madeleine Potter, Ethan Phillips, Steve Buscemi, Michael Wincott | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bloodline | Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline | 1979 | Terence Young | 💣 | 116 | Hepburn finds her life endangered after inheriting a Zurich-based pharmaceutical company. Unbearable adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's novel (one of those best-sellers California blondes read on the beach when no one wants to play volleyball). Nearly 40m. of footage added for network showing. Officially released as SIDNEY SHELDON'S BLOODLINE. | tt0078879 | [R] | Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Michelle Phillips, Omar Sharif, Romy Schneider, Irene Papas, Gert Frobe, Beatrice Straight, Maurice Ronet | Mystery | NULL | |
| Bloodsport | 1987 | Newt Arnold | ★★ | 92 | Belgian-born Van Damme joins the movie macho brigade in this story (based on true events) of American Ninja Frank Dux, the first westerner to win the Kumite, an international martial arts competition that tests its participants to their limits. Violent, low-budget action film has its moments. Followed by three direct-to-video sequels. | tt0092675 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton, Forest Whitaker, Bolo Yeung | Action | NULL | ||
| Bloodsuckers | Incense for the Damned | 1970 | Robert Hartford-Davis | ★½ | 87 | Confusing horror yarn about ancient vampire cult on Greek island of Hydra, somehow linked to sinister Oxford dons. Mishmash includes many narrated silent sequences and other evidence of considerable post-production tampering. Aka INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED and DOCTORS WEAR SCARLET. | tt0065887 | [R] | Patrick Macnee, Peter Cushing, Alex Davion, Patrick Mower, Johnny Sekka, Medeline Hinde, Imogen Hassall, Edward Woodward | British | Horror | NULL |
| Bloody Birthday | 1986 | Ed Hunt | ★★ | 85 | Three 10-year-old killer kids go on a rampage; they were born during a lunar eclipse. Formula horror fare 'boasts' very tasteless premise but lapses into the usual killing spree. Filmed in 1980. | tt0082084 | [R] | Susan Strasberg, Jose Ferrer, Lori Lethin, Melinda Cordell, Julie Brown, Joe Penny, Billy Jacoby, Michael Dudikoff | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Bloody Brood | 1959 | Julian Roffman | ★★ | 80 | Mind-boggling time capsule with Falk most impressive in his second screen role as Nico, a deranged 'beatnik' who gets his kicks by feeding a hamburger laced with broken glass to an unsuspecting kid! Laughable, thoroughly cynical depiction of the Beat Generation. | tt0052637 | Jack Betts, Barbara Lord, Peter Falk, Robert Christie, Ronald Hartmann | Canadian | Crime | NULL | ||
| Bloody Mama | 1970 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 90 | Excellent performances cannot save sordid story of Ma Barker and her ugly brood. Film unsuccessfully mixes action narrative with psychological study. | tt0065481 | [R] | Shelley Winters, Don Stroud, Pat Hingle, Robert De Niro, Clint Kimbrough, Robert Walden, Diane Varsi, Bruce Dern, Pamela Dunlap | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bloody Sunday | 2002 | Paul Greengrass | ★★★ | 110 | British soldiers and Irish civil rights workers clash in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1972, with ramifications that extend to this day. Painstaking re-creation, on the cool side but cumulatively powerful, covers the preliminary events and awful aftermath of what was intended to be a peaceful protest. Documentary-like chronicle is obviously pro-Irish but shows faults on both sides of the conflict. U2's same-named anthem plays over the final credits. | tt0280491 | [R] | James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Gerard McSorley, Kathy Kiera Clarke | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Blossoms in the Dust | 1941 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 100 | Slick tear-jerker of Texas orphanage founded by Garson when she loses her own child; tastefully acted. | tt0033407 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Blot | 1921 | Lois Weber. | ★★★ | 91 | Earnest, humanistic account of economic barriers between the classes, spotlighting the pretty daughter (Windsor) of a grievously underpaid college professor who is courted by three men, including wealthy, spoiled student Calhern. Meanwhile, the professor's wife has trouble with her nouveau riche immigrant neighbors. Overly melodramatic at times, but still a notable work for its long-ignored director. | tt0011979 | Claire Windsor, Louis Calhern, Philip Hubbard, Margaret McWade, Marie Walcamp. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blow | 2001 | Ted Demme | ★★ | 124 | Episodic flashback saga of a working-class kid who, having seen his father struggle and his mother nag, vows never to be poor. When he moves to Southern California in the swingin' '60s, he quickly learns that selling drugs is an easy way to make money, and rapidly becomes America's leading cocaine dealer— in between prison terms. Well-acted film based on a real-life figure; only problem is finding a reason to care about him. | tt0221027 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente, Paul Reubens, Ray Liotta, Rachel Griffiths, Jordi Molla, Max Perlich, Cliff Curtis, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Noah Emmerich, Bob Goldthwait | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Blow Dry | 2001 | Paddy Breathnach | ★★ | 90 | A small Yorkshire town hosts the National Hairdressing Championship, forcing an ex-husband-and-wife team to put aside their differences for the big wash and curl. The actors try their best but the material (by FULL MONTY writer Simon Beaufoy) is too contrived and calculated, veering wildly from wacky comedy to tearjerker. | tt0212380 | [R] | Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Rachel Griffiths, Josh Hartnett, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rosemary Harris, Bill Nighy, Heidi Klum | British-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Blow Out | 1981 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 107 | Intriguing variation on Antonioni's BLOWUP (with a similar title, no less!) set in Philadelphia, about a sound-effects man who records a car accident that turns out to be a politically motivated murder. Absorbing most of the way, but weakened by show-off camerawork and logic loopholes. | tt0082085 | [R] | John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blowing Wild | 1953 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★ | 90 | Tempestuous Stanwyck is married to oil tycoon Quinn, but sets her sights on wildcatter Cooper, who's fully recovered from their one-time affair. Heated emotions can't warm up this plodding story, filmed in Mexico. | tt0045563 | Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Roman, Anthony Quinn, Ward Bond | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Blown Away | 1994 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★ | 121 | Dreary action thriller with Irish wacko Jones targeting Boston's bomb removal squad— and one member in particular (Bridges, a former IRA crony)— with his insidious explosions. Irish accents come and go, and so does story interest, which trods on all-too-familiar turf. Bridges Sr. is fun to watch as a wily old son of Eire. Cuba Gooding, Jr., appears unbilled. | tt0109303 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Forest Whitaker, Suzy Amis, John Finn, Stephi Lineburg, Loyd Catlett, Caitlin Clarke, Chris De Oni, Ruben Santiago-Hudson | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blowup | 1966 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★★½ | 111 | Writer-director Antonioni's hypnotic pop-culture parable of photographer caught in passive lifestyle. Arresting, provocative film, rich in color symbolism, many-layered meanings. Music by Herbie Hancock. | tt0060176 | Vanessa Redgrave, David Hemmings, Sarah Miles, Jill Kennington, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Peter Bowles, Jane Birkin, Gillian Hills, The Yardbirds | British-Italian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Blue | 1968 | Silvio Narizzano | ★½ | 113 | Undistinguished, poorly written Western about American-born, Mexican-raised boy who trusts no one until bullet wounds force him to trust a woman. See also: FADE-IN. | tt0062742 | Terence Stamp, Joanna Pettet, Karl Malden, Ricardo Montalban, Joe DeSantis, Sally Kirkland | Western | NULL | |||
| Blue | Trois couleurs: Bleu | 1993 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | ★★½ | 100 | Binoche loses her family in a tragic accident and decides to radically change her world; she leaves behind any memories of her husband, a renowned composer, and moves into a Paris flat to contemplate life. Slow-moving drama is borderline interesting but remains more a showcase for its leading lady than anything else. First of Polish director Kieslowski's 'Three Colors' trilogy probing life in contemporary Europe: BLUE/'Liberty'; WHITE/'Equal√ ity'; RED/'Fraternity.' | tt0108394 | Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent, Florence Pernel, Charlotte Véry, Helene Vincent, Philippe Volter, Hugues Quester, Emmanuelle Riva, Julie Delpy | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Blue Angel | Blaue Engel, Der | 1930 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★½ | 103 | Ever-fascinating film classic with Jannings as stuffy professor who falls blindly in love with cabaret entertainer Lola-Lola (Dietrich), who ruins his life. Dietrich introduces 'Falling in Love Again'; this role made her an international star. Robert Liebman scripted, from Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrath. Simultaneously shot in German and English versions; the former is obviously superior. Remade in 1959. Restored on video and laserdisc to 106m. | tt0020697 | Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti, Hans Albers | German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Blue Angel | 1959 | Edward Dmytryk | ★½ | 107 | Disastrous remake of Josef von Sternberg-Marlene Dietrich classic, from Heinrich Mann's novel of precise professor won over by tawdry nightclub singer. | tt0052638 | Curt Jurgens, May Britt, Theodore Bikel, John Banner, Ludwig Stossel, Fabrizio Mioni | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Blue Bird | 1940 | Walter Lang | ★★ | 88 | Released one year after THE WIZARD OF OZ, this lavish Technicolor fantasy (based on the famous play by Maurice Maeterlinck) has everything but charm. Even Shirley seems stiff. Filmed before in 1918, remade in 1976. | tt0032264 | Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Eddie Collins, Sybil Jason | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Blue Bird | 1976 | George Cukor | ★★ | 99 | Posh, star-studded but heavy-handed fantasy based on Maeterlinck's play about children seeking the bluebird of happiness. First coproduction between U.S. and Russia is unbelievably draggy. | tt0074225 | [G] | Todd Lookinland, Patsy Kensit, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Ava Gardner, Cicely Tyson George Cole, Will Geer, Robert Morley, Harry Andrews | Russian-U.S. | Fantasy | NULL | |
| Blue Blood | 1951 | Lew Landers. | ★½ | 72 | Lackluster racehorse story with a few good moments by Shields as elderly trainer seeking comeback. | tt0043349 | Bill Williams, Jane Nigh, Arthur Shields, Audrey Long. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blue Canadian Rockies | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 58 | Montana rancher unhappy about his daughter's impending marriage sends his foreman (Autry) to Canada to break up the romance, but when Gene arrives he has to solve a murder as well. Strictly routine. | tt0044432 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Carolina Cotton, Ross Ford, Tom London, Don Beddoe, John Merton, Gene Roth, The Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Blue Car | 2003 | Karen Moncrieff | ★★★ | 96 | Well-told story of an adolescent girl (Bruckner) who's never recovered from the blow of her father walking out on the family. She finds an outlet in writing poetry, encouraged by her English teacher (Strathairn), who also becomes a kind of father figure— for a while. Impressive feature debut for writer-director Moncrieff. | tt0290145 | [R] | David Strathairn, Agnes Bruckner, Margaret Colin, A. J. Buckley, Regan Arnold, Frances Fisher | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blue Chips | 1994 | William Friedkin | ★★½ | 101 | After his first losing season, hard-driving collegiate basketball coach Nolte agrees to look the other way while fat-cat recruiters bribe new talent to join his team. Reasonably compelling at first, then all too obvious and predictable. Written by Ron Shelton. Towering NBA superstar O'Neal is engaging as one of the recruits; other hoop stars like Larry Bird have small parts, while legendary champion Cousy plays the college athletic director. Louis Gossett, Jr., appears unbilled. | tt0109305 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J. T. Walsh, Ed O'Neill, Alfre Woodard, Bob Cousy, Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway, Matt Nover, Anthony C. Hall, Robert Wuhl, Jerry Tarkanian, Bobby Knight, Richard Pitino, George Raveling | Drama | NULL | ||
| Blue City | 1986 | Michelle Manning | 💣 | 83 | Perfectly awful film about wiseguy kid who returns to Florida hometown after five years, discovers that his father was killed, and vows to avenge (and solve) his murder. Senseless and stupid; Nelson's unappealing character seems to possess a one-word vocabulary, and the word isn't fudge. Based on a good book by Ross Macdonald. | tt0090753 | [R] | Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, David Caruso, Paul Winfield, Scott Wilson, Anita Morris | Crime | NULL | ||
| Blue Collar | 1978 | Paul Schrader | ★★★½ | 114 | Punchy, muckraking exposé melodrama with Pryor, Keitel, and Kotto delivering strong performances as auto workers who find that it isn't just management ripping them off— it's their own union. Schrader's directing debut. | tt0077248 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley/Jr., Harry Bellaver, George Memmoli | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Blue Crush | 2002 | John Stockwell | ★★ | 104 | Young woman dreams of winning a surfing championship in Hawaii— in spite of prejudice against females in the sport and other assorted obstacles in her path, such as having to make a living and raise her kid sister. Then Mr. Right comes along (a handsome football star who's vacationing on the island) just in time to blur her focus. Bosworth is very watchable, but this sappy story never leaves shallow water. Several professional surfers appear as themselves. | tt0300532 | [PG-13] | Kate Bosworth, Matthew Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem, Chris Taloa, Kala Alexander, Faizon Love | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Blue Dahlia | 1946 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 99 | Exciting Raymond Chandler-scripted melodrama has Ladd returning from military service to find wife unfaithful. She's murdered, he's suspected in well-turned film. Produced by John Houseman. | tt0038369 | Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard da Silva, Hugh Beaumont, Doris Dowling | Drama, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Blue Denim | 1959 | Philip Dunne | ★★★ | 89 | De Wilde and Lynley are striking as teenagers faced with Carol's pregnancy. Dated and naive, but well-acted adaptation of Broadway play. | tt0052639 | Carol Lynley, Brandon de Wilde, Macdonald Carey, Marsha Hunt, Warren Berlinger, Roberta Shore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blue Denim | 1959 | Philip Dunne | ★★★ | 89 | De Wilde and Lynley are striking as teenagers faced with Carol's pregnancy. Dated and naïve but a well-acted adaptation of the Broadway play by James Leo Herlihy and William Noble. | tt0052639 | Carol Lynley, Brandon de Wilde, Macdonald Carey, Marsha Hunt, Warren Berlinger, Roberta Shore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Blue Eagle | 1926 | John Ford. | ★★★ | 68 | Waterfront rivals O'Brien and Russell are both in love with Gaynor and continue their feud when they join the Navy. After the war they call a temporary truce to take on dope peddlers who are destroying their neighborhood. Silent Ford film is an enjoyable mix of brawling action and roughhouse comedy that turns into a gritty gangster melodrama. | tt0016664 | George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, William Russell, Robert Edeson, David Butler, Phil Ford, Ralph Sipperly, Margaret Livingston. | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Blue Fin | 1978 | Carl Schultz | ★★ | 90 | Mild (but scenic) family outing about a father and son, not on the best of terms, who sail together in search of elusive tuna catch off Australia's southern coast. | tt0077249 | [PG] | Hardy Kruger, Greg Rowe, Elspeth Ballantyne, Liddy Clark, John Jarratt | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Blue Gardenia | 1953 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 90 | Engaging murder caper with 1940s flavor. Baxter is accused of murdering wolfish Burr, decides to take columnist Conte's offer of help. Solid film with twist ending. | tt0045564 | Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr, Jeff Donnell, George Reeves, Nat 'King' Cole | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Blue Grass of Kentucky | 1950 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 71 | Routine account of horse-breeding families, their rivalry and eventual healing of old wounds when romance blooms between the younger generations. | tt0042264 | Bill Williams, Jane Nigh, Ralph Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blue Hawaii | 1961 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 101 | Agreeable Presley vehicle bolstered by Lansbury's presence as mother of ex-G.I. (Presley) returning to islands and working with tourist agency. Elvis performs one of his prettiest hits, 'Can't Help Falling in Love.' | tt0054692 | Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury, Roland Winters, Iris Adrian | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Blue Ice | 1992 | Russell Mulcahy | ★★½ | 105 | Retired British agent Caine is dragged out of his beloved jazz club and back into service to help crack an illegal arms ring. Cabaret legend Bobby Short has an acting role here, and unbilled Bob Hoskins turns up briefly as Caine's chum from the old days. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0103848 | Michael Caine, Sean Young, Ian Holm, Alun Armstrong, Sam Kelly, Jack Shepherd | British-U.S. | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Blue Iguana | 1988 | John Lafia | 💣 | 88 | Amateurish spoof is a hybrid of B Western and film noir, with a down-and-out bounty hunter on a suicide mission to recover $20 million in contraband money from a gaggle of bad guys south of the border. This turkey barely made it to theaters; even an amusing cameo by Stockwell can't save it. | tt0094768 | [R] | Dylan McDermott, Jessica Harper, James Russo, Pamela Gidley, Tovah Feldshuh, Dean Stockwell, Yano Anaya, Flea, Michele Seipp | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blue Juice | 1995 | Carl Prechezer | ★★ | 99 | Low-octane tale of aging, self-absorbed surfer boy Pertwee, who's constantly putting off practical-minded (and increasingly flustered) girlfriend Zeta-Jones to hang with his mates. Superficial and predictable to an extreme; of note only for the early-career presence of Zeta-Jones and McGregor (as an obnoxious, pathetic slacker/drug dealer). | tt0112537 | [R] | Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Peter Gunn, Ewan McGregor, Heathcote Williams, Colette Brown, Jenny Agutter | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Blue Kite | 1993 | Tian Zhuangzhuang | ★★★ | 140 | Absorbing, uncompromising saga of the life and times of— and emotional upheaval within— one Chinese family during the tumultuous 1950s and '60s, told from the point of view of a child. An unsubtle condemnation of blind revolution and the political system in Communist China. It was (unsurprisingly) highly controversial back home; at one point its filming was halted because of the scenario's 'political leanings.' | tt0107358 | Yi Tian, Zhang Wenyao, Chen Xiaoman, Lu Liping, Pu Quanxin, Li Xuejian | Chinese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Blue Lagoon | 1949 | Frank Launder | ★★★ | 101 | Idyllic romance of Simmons and Houston, shipwrecked on tropic isle, falling in love as they grow to maturity; slowly paced but refreshing. Remade in 1980. | tt0041190 | Jean Simmons, Donald Houston, Noel Purcell, Cyril Cusack, Maurice Denham | British | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Blue Lagoon | 1980 | Randal Kleiser | ★½ | 104 | Remake of the 1949 film is little more than softcore cinema for the heavy-petting set, as two children become sexually aware of each other after being shipwrecked on an island for several years. Nestor Almendros' photography can't save it. Followed over a decade later by RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON. | tt0080453 | [R] | Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Blue Lamp | 1950 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 84 | Crackerjack manhunt thriller about Scotland Yard's search for murderer of policeman. Unpretentious and exciting— a key British postwar film. Music hall star Tessie O'Shea appears as herself. | tt0042265 | Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Peggy Evans, Patric Doonan, Gladys Henson, Meredith Edwards | British | Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Blue Light | 1932 | Leni Riefenstahl | ★★ | 77 | Mysterious mountain maiden Riefenstahl is loved and destroyed by artist Weimann. Slow, pretentious fable, also produced and cowritten by Riefenstahl. She recut film in 1952, and it is this version that's usually shown today. | tt0022694 | Leni Riefenstahl, Mathias Weimann, Beni Fuhrer, Max Holzboer | German | Drama, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Blue Max | 1966 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 156 | Fantastic aerial photography and memorable Jerry Goldsmith score are the assets of this silly drama, taken from German point of view, about dogfighting in WW1. Steamy Peppard-Andress love scenes aren't bad either. | tt0060177 | George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Jeremy Kemp, Carl Schell | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Blue Monkey | Insect | 1987 | William Fruet | 💣 | 98 | Silly monster film set at hospital that's quarantined after a monster escapes. Poorly filmed in semi-darkness. Title is meaningless and randomly selected; it was originally called GREEN MONKEY! Laser title: INSECT. | tt0092677 | [R] | Steve Railsback, Gwynyth Walsh, Susan Anspach, John Vernon, Joe Flaherty, Robin Duke, Sarah Polley | Horror | NULL | |
| Blue Montana Skies | 1939 | B. Reeves Eason. | ★★ | 56 | Cattlemen Gene and Frog try to find the fur smugglers who murdered their partner (Marshall), unaware that the smugglers are using Storey's guest ranch as a front for their illegal activities. Rather bland Autry vehicle; even the songs are below par. | tt0031110 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Harry Woods, Tully Marshall, Al Bridge, Glenn Strange, Dorothy Granger, Edmund Cobb, Walt Shrum and His Colorado Hillbillies. | Western | NULL | |||
| Blue Murder at St. Trinian's | 1957 | Frank Launder. | ★★½ | 86 | OK entry in the series of farces set at the St. Trinian's School for Girls. Ever-mischievous students win a trip to the continent and become immersed in various hijinks. Sim appears too briefly (in drag) as Miss Amelia Fritton, the school's headmistress. | tt0051423 | Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Joyce Grenfell, Lionel Jeffries, Eric Barker, Lisa Gastoni, Ferdy Mayne, Alastair Sim. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blue Skies | 1946 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 104 | Astaire and Crosby play onetime show-biz partners and rivals in this paper-thin vehicle kept aloft by lots and lots of Irving Berlin songs. Highlights: Astaire's terrific 'Puttin' on the Ritz,' star duo's 'A Couple of Song and Dance Men.' | tt0038370 | Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Joan Caulfield, Billy De Wolfe, Olga San Juan, Frank Faylen | Musical, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Blue Skies Again | 1983 | Richard Michaels | ★★½ | 90 | Friendly, well-meaning but ultimately minor-league chronicle of a young woman (Barto) attempting to play professional baseball. | tt0085254 | [PG] | Harry Hamlin, Robyn Barto, Mimi Rogers, Kenneth McMillan, Dana Elcar, Andy Garcia, Marcos Gonzales | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blue Sky | 1994 | Tony Richardson | ★★½ | 101 | A dedicated military man endures continual embarrassment by his teasingly sexy (and emotionally unstable) wife, for one simple reason: he loves her. Intelligent and compassionate drama, set in the early 1960s, loses its way as it gets involved in a nuclear cover-up subplot, but rates as a must-see for anyone who admires its stars: both Jones and Lange (in an Oscar-winning performance) are extraordinarily good. Shot in 1990; director Richardson died the following year. Timothy Bottoms appears unbilled. | tt0109306 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Powers Boothe, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Locane, Chris O'Donnell, Mitchell Ryan, Dale Dye, Tim Scott, Annie Ross, Anna Klemp | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Blue Steel | 1990 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★½ | 102 | Stupid thriller with Curtis as a rookie cop stalked by a slick psycho (Silver) in N.Y.C. Laughably ludicrous dialogue is matched by preposterous story turns. | tt0099160 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pena, Louise Fletcher, Philip Bosco | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blue Streak | 1999 | Les Mayfield | ★★ | 94 | Loud boilerplate action comedy casts Lawrence as a so-called master thief who has socked away a stolen jewel in the innards of a construction site— only to discover, upon his release from jail, that the completed structure is a police precinct. The solution is to become a cop, just as the solution for Lawrence might be to stay away from moldy scripts like this. | tt0181316 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, William Forsythe, Nicole Ari Parker, Peter Greene | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Blue Sunshine | 1976 | Jeff Lieberman | ★★½ | 97 | Young man accused of murders eludes cops, discovers that apparently 'random' killings derive from delayed drug reactions of 10-year-old college class. Offbeat psychological thriller, quite violent at times. | tt0074226 | [R] | Zalman King, Deborah Winters, Mark Goddard, Robert Walden, Charles Siebert | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blue Thunder | 1983 | John Badham | ★★ | 108 | Slick action film built around L.A.'s police helicopter surveillance team. Fun at first, but gets stupider (and crueler) as film goes on— with villainous McDowell character especially ludicrous. Even escapist fare has to be believable on its own terms. Later a TV series. | tt0085255 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern, Warren Oates, Paul Roebling, Joe Santos | Action | NULL | ||
| Blue Valentine | 2010 | Derek Cianfrance | ★★★ | 112 | Compelling look at both the beginning and end of a relationship, from the first flush of attraction to the dissolution of a marriage. Film seamlessly hops back and forth in time, from the moment free-spirited, working-class Gosling woos med student Williams to the day they make their last attempt to reconnect as a couple—and as the parents of a sweet little girl. Sparked by striking, emotionally raw performances from its stars in a Cassavetes vein. Longish but well done. | tt1120985 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Faith Wladyka, John Doman, Mike Vogel, Ben Shenkman, Jen Jones, Maryann Plunkett | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Blue Veil | 1951 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 113 | Wyman is self-sacrificing nursemaid whose life story is chronicled with intertwined episodes of her charges and their families. Well done. | tt0043350 | Jane Wyman, Charles Laughton, Joan Blondell, Richard Carlson, Agnes Moorehead, Don Taylor, Audrey Totter, Everett Sloane, Cyril Cusack, Natalie Wood, Warner Anderson, Vivian Vance, Philip Ober | Drama | NULL | |||
| Blue Velvet | 1986 | David Lynch | ★★ | 120 | Terminally weird, though flamboyantly original film about a young man's involvement in a small-town mystery involving a kinky nightclub singer, a sadistic kidnapper/drug dealer, and other swell folks. A highly individual look at the bizarre elements just behind the facade of a picture-perfect American town. Too audacious to be easily dismissed, but too strange to be easily enjoyed . . . yet this was one of the most critically praised movies of 1986! Lynch's use of widescreen will suffer on TV; the director also wrote this one. | tt0090756 | [R] | Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Hope Lange, Dean Stockwell, Jack Nance, Brad Dourif | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Blue Water, White Death | 1971 | Peter Gimbel, James Lipscomb | ★★★ | 99 | Vivid documentary on one of the sea's most voracious and feared predators, the great white shark; terrifying underwater scenes but somewhat overstated. | tt0146496 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Blue in the Face | 1995 | Wayne Wang, Paul Auster | ★½ | 84 | Meandering, overindulgent mess filmed immediately after SMOKE and improvised from sketches developed by Wang and Auster in collaboration with the actors. Set mostly in and around the Brooklyn cigar store managed by Keitel. In desperate need of a script. | tt0112541 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Michael J. Fox, Roseanne, Mel Gorham, Jim Jarmusch, Lily Tomlin, Jared Harris, Giancarlo Esposito, Jose Zuniga, Victor Argo, Madonna, Mira Sorvino, Keith David, RuPaul | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Blue, White and Perfect | 1941 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★½ | 73 | Slick espionage action, with tough shamus Michael Shayne (Nolan) turning patriotic to catch enemy agents trying to smuggle industrial diamonds to their countries. Reeves is notable as glib mystery man who may or may not be the ringleader. | tt0033408 | Lloyd Nolan, Mary Beth Hughes, Helene Reynolds, George Reeves, Steven Geray, Curt Bois | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bluebeard | 1944 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★★ | 73 | Surprisingly effective story set in 19th-century Paris. Incurable strangler Carradine falls for smart girl Parker, who senses that something is wrong. | tt0036653 | Jean Parker, John Carradine, Nils Asther, Ludwig Stossel, Iris Adrian, Emmett Lynn | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bluebeard | 1962 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 114 | Retelling of life of French wife-killer, far less witty than Chaplin's MONSIEUR VERDOUX. Original French title: LANDRU. | tt0168523 | Charles Denner, Michele Morgan, Danielle Darrieux, Hildegarde Neff, Stephane Audran, Catherine Rouvel, Françoise Lugagne | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bluebeard | 1972 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★ | 125 | Burton doesn't make much of an impression as world's most famous ladykiller. Women are all beautiful, but script gives them little to do. International production. | tt0068294 | [R] | Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, Virna Lisi, Joey Heatherton, Nathalie Delon, Karin Schubert | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Bluebeard's Eighth Wife | 1938 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★ | 80 | Contrived comedy about a woman determined to gain the upper hand over an oft-married millionaire. One of Lubitsch's weakest films, notable mainly for the way its two stars 'meet cute.' Script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. Previously filmed in 1923. | tt0029929 | Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, David Niven, Edward Everett Horton, Elizabeth Patterson, Herman Bing | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons | 1960 | W. Lee Wilder. | ★★ | 93 | Sanders enlivens OK chronicle of fortune hunter who decides that marrying and murdering a series of women is the key to financial success. | tt0053660 | George Sanders, Corinne Calvet, Jean Kent, Patricia Roc. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Blueprint for Murder | 1953 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 76 | Whodunit has Peters as prime suspect of poison killings, with Cotten seeking the truth. | tt0045566 | Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Gary Merrill, Jack Kruschen, Mae Marsh | Thriller, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Blueprint for Robbery | 1961 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 87 | Deliberately offbeat, low-key film of heist engineered by old-timer O'Malley; good moments put this above average, but overall result is unmemorable. | tt0054693 | J. Pat O'Malley, Robert Wilke, Robert Gist, Romo Vincent, Tom Duggan | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Blues Brothers 2000 | 1998 | John Landis | ★★½ | 123 | Just sprung from prison, Elwood Blues reunites his old band (minus brother Jake— the late John Belushi), with a young orphan (Bonifant) in tow. Silly 'plot' goes on too long, but high spirits prevail, especially during infectious music numbers like '634-5789' and Aretha Franklin's 'Respect.' Incredible lineup of guest musicians includes B.B. King, James Brown, Junior Wells, Isaac Hayes, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Wilson Pickett, Bo Diddley, Eddie Floyd, Jonny Lang, Billy Preston, Travis Tritt, and music supervisor Paul Shaffer. Aykroyd and Landis coproduced and scripted. | tt0118747 | [PG-13] | Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Joe Morton, Nia Peeples, Kathleen Freeman, J. Evan Bonifant, Frank Oz, Steve Lawrence, Darrell Hammond, Erykah Badu | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Blues Brothers | 1980 | John Landis | ★★★ | 130 | Engagingly nutty comedy about the title characters (deadpan musical performers introduced on TV's Saturday Night Live) trying to raise money to save their orphanage by reuniting their old band— and nearly destroying Chicago in the process. Off the wall from start to finish, with some fine music woven in, including wonderful numbers by Franklin and Calloway. Numerous cameos include Steven Spielberg, Frank Oz, Steve Lawrence, John Lee Hooker, Twiggy, and Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman). Special edition runs 147m. Followed by a sequel. | tt0080455 | [R] | John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, The Blues Brothers Band, Cab Calloway, John Candy, Henry Gibson, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, Jeff Morris, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Kathleen Freeman | Action, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Blues Busters | 1950 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 67 | Louie's Sweet Shop is turned into a nightclub when Sach's tonsillectomy turns him into a swooning crooner. Amusing Bowery Boys comedy, with Hall a standout. | tt0042266 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Adele Jergens, Gabriel Dell, Craig Stevens, Phyllis Coates, Billy Benedict, Bernard Gorcey, David Gorcey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Blues for Lovers | Ballad in Blue | 1966 | Paul Henreid | ★★ | 89 | Story of Charles (playing himself) and blind child is maudlin, but fans will like generous footage devoted to Ray's song hits, including 'I Got a Woman' and 'What'd I Say?' Aka BALLAD IN BLUE. | tt0058935 | Ray Charles, Tom Bell, Mary Peach, Dawn Addams, Piers Bishop, Betty McDowall | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Blues in the Night | 1941 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 88 | Intriguing musical drama abandons early promise for soapy, silly melodramatics, in story of self-destructive musician (Whorf) and his band (young Kazan is featured as clarinetist). Good moments, wonderful Warner Bros. montages, but the great title song is never played once in its entirety. | tt0033409 | Priscilla Lane, Richard Whorf, Betty Field, Lloyd Nolan, Jack Carson, Elia Kazan, Wallace Ford, Billy Halop, Peter Whitney | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Blume in Love | 1973 | Paul Mazursky | ★★½ | 117 | Self-indulgent film about divorce-lawyer Segal refusing to accept fact that his wife (Anspach) has walked out on him, determining to win her back. Good look at modern marriages, but overlong, rambling; Kristofferson delightful as man who moves in with Anspach. | tt0069808 | [R] | George Segal, Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson, Marsha Mason, Shelley Winters, Paul Mazursky | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Boarding Gate | 2007 | Olivier Assayas | ★½ | 105 | Argento plays an unscrupulous former hooker involved in corporate espionage and international drug smuggling in Paris and the Far East. She has little interest in her ex (shady businessman Madsen) but has the hots for her tough boss (Ng). Argento is rarely off-screen in this Eurotrashy thriller that had potential, but story of jet-set criminal lowlifes isn’t as fascinating or meaningful (or coherent or intelligible) as intended, and this globetrotting film goes nowhere. | tt0493402 | [R] | Asia Argento, Michael Madsen, Carl Ng, Kelly Lin, Joana Preiss, Alex Descas, Kim Gordon | French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Boarding School | The Passion Flower Hotel | 1977 | Andre Farwagi | ★½ | 98 | Sex comedy with Kinski in one of her first starring roles, as an American girl in an exclusive Swiss boarding school, circa 1956. She devises a ruse of the girls pretending to be prostitutes in order to seduce cute guys at nearby boys' school. Original title: THE PASSION FLOWER HOTEL. | tt0076306 | Nastassja Kinski, Gerry Sundquist, Kurt Raab, Sean Chapman | German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Boardwalk | 1979 | Stephen Verona | ★★½ | 98 | Poignant view of elderly couple struggling to survive in decaying neighborhood missteps into DEATH WISH melodramatics for its finale. Fine performances, including Leigh as duty-bound daughter. | tt0078886 | Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, Janet Leigh, Joe Silver, Eli Mintz, Eddie Barth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boat People | 1983 | Ann Hui | ★★★½ | 106 | Harrowing, heartbreaking, highly provocative account of Japanese photojournalist Chi-Cheung's experiences in Vietnam after Liberation, particularly his friendship with 14-year-old Ma and her family. | tt0084807 | [R] | Lam Chi-Cheung, Cora Miao, Season Ma, Andy Lau, Paul Ching | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| Boat Trip | 2003 | Mort Nathan | 💣 | 95 | Appallingly bad comedy about two friends who book a cruise in order to meet women— unaware that they're heading out on a ship full of gay men. Gooding is as likable as ever, but the cumulative effect of this unfunny, tasteless, derivative film is deadening. Will Ferrell appears unbilled. | tt0285462 | [R] | Cuba Gooding/ Jr., Horatio Sanz, Roselyn Sanchez, Vivica A. Fox, Maurice Godin, Roger Moore, Lin Shaye, Victoria Silvstedt, Richard Roundtree, Bob Gunton, Thomas Lennon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice | 1969 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★ | 104 | Glossy look at modern lifestyles; ultrasophisticated couple (Wood & Culp) try to modernize thinking of their best friends (Gould & Cannon) about sexual freedom. Sharp observations, fine performances, marred by silly, pretentious finale. Written by Mazursky and Larry Tucker; Mazursky's directorial debut. Later a short-lived TV series. | tt0064100 | [R] | Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon, Horst Ebersberg, Greg Mullavey, Lee Bergere | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bob Le Flambeur | 1955 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★★ | 102 | Witty inversion of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE: hard-luck gambler Duchesne enlists pals in intricate plan to knock over Deauville casino, but everything is so stacked against them that we almost hope he'll call it off. Clever and atmospheric, blessed with eerily sexy Corey and a great closing line. Unreleased in the U.S. until 1982. Remade as THE GOOD THIEF. | tt0047892 | [PG] | Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy, Guy Decomble, Andre Garet, Gerard Buhr, Howard Vernon | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Bob Mathias Story | 1954 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★★ | 80 | Agreeable biography of Olympic star athlete, his sports career, military duty, family life. Mathias turns in an engaging portrayal of himself. | tt0046795 | Bob Mathias, Ward Bond, Melba Mathias, Paul Bryar, Ann Doran |
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| Bob Roberts | 1992 | Tim Robbins | ★★★ | 101 | Smart, funny political satire about a right-wing, folk-singing Senatorial candidate who knows how to manipulate an audience— and the media. Turns into a political polemic near the end, using speechifying instead of incident and dialogue to make its points. Still, a stimulating ride, and an impressive writing-directing debut for Robbins, who also composed the songs with his brother David. Funny cameos by a variety of famous actors as air-headed TV news anchors and reporters; Bob Balaban and John Cusack add verisimilitude to a pseudo-Saturday Night Live sequence. | tt0103850 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Rebecca Jenkins, Harry J. Lennix, John Ottavino, Robert Stanton, Alan Rickman, Gore Vidal, Brian Murray, Anita Gillette, David Strathairn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw | 1976 | Mark L. Lester | ★★ | 89 | Competent but excessively violent drive-in fare; bored carhop Carter hooks up with Marjoe and his gang for a robbing and killing spree. Noteworthy for a couple of glimpses of Lynda's left breast and the occasional film-buff in-joke (e.g., a tobacco-chewing deputy named Abel Gance), courtesy scripter Vernon Zimmerman. | tt0074228 | [R] | Marjoe Gortner, Lynda Carter, Jesse Vint, Merrie Lynn Ross, Belinda Balaski, Peggy Stewart | Crime | NULL | ||
| Bobbikins | 1960 | Robert Day | ★★ | 89 | Gimmicky comedy with British singer Bygraves and Jones the parents of an infant who talks like an adult. Not bad . . . but that awful title! | tt0053661 | Max Bygraves, Shirley Jones, Steven Stocker, Billie Whitelaw | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bobby | 2006 | Emilio Estevez | ★★½ | 120 | Twenty-two lives are interwoven during the course of one day-June 4, 1968-at L.A.'s fabled Ambassador Hotel, from kitchen workers to affluent guests to idealistic campaigners for Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The story ends tragically with the assassination of RFK, who has just won California's Democratic primary. Writer-director Estevez skillfully captures the period and the atmosphere of this grand hotel, but some of his characters' stories aren't terribly interesting or relevant. An emotional finale helps. | tt0308055 | [R] | Harry Belafonte, Joy Bryant, Nick Cannon, Emilio Estevez, Laurence Fishburne, Brian Geraghty, Heather Graham, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Joshua Jackson, David Krumholtz, Ashton Kutcher, Shia LaBeouf, Lindsay Lohan, William H. Macy, Svetlana Metkina, Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Jacob Vargas, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Elijah Wood | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bobby Deerfield | 1977 | Sydney Pollack | 💣 | 124 | Grand Prix race-car driver Pacino romances Florentine aristocrat Keller, who is dying of that unnamed disease that seems disproportionately to afflict movie heroines. Her suffering is nothing compared to the audience's; even Pacino is deadening. Recut to 99m. by Pollack for cable TV release. | tt0075774 | [PG] | Al Pacino, Marthe Keller, Anny Duperey, Walter McGinn, Romolo Valli, Stephen Meldegg | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius | 2004 | Rowdy Herrington | ★★ | 126 | Overlong sports bio about the celebrated Southern gentleman golfer who was the idol of millions during the 1920s. Scenario lambastes athletes who dare to expect payment for their labors; Jones is depicted as a deity simply because he chose to maintain his amateur standing. Northam is well cast as Walter Hagen, Jones' links rival. | tt0375104 | [PG] | James Caviezel, Claire Forlani, Jeremy Northam, Malcolm McDowell, Connie Ray, Brett Rice, Aidan Quinn. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bobby Ware Is Missing | 1955 | Thomas Carr. | ★½ | 67 | Title tells all in this tedious melodrama of a cop (Brand) helping parents find their kidnapped boy. | tt0047893 | Neville Brand, Arthur Franz, Kim Charney, John Hamilton, Peter Leeds, Paul Picerni, Walter Reed, William Schallert, Jean Willes. | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Bobo | 1967 | Robert Parrish | ★★ | 105 | Misfire comedy casts Sellers as aspiring singing matador who's promised a booking if he can seduce Ekland, the most desirable woman in Barcelona, within three days. Filmed in Spain and Rome. | tt0061414 | Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland, Rossano Brazzi, Adolfo Celi, Ferdy Mayne | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Boccaccio '70 | 1962 | Vittorio De Sica, Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 165 | Trio of episodes: 'The Raffle'— timid soul wins a liaison with a girl as prize; 'The Job' — aristocrat's wife takes a job as her husband's mistress; 'The Temptation of Dr. Antonio'— fantasy of puritanical fanatic and a voluptuous poster picture which comes alive. A fourth episode, directed by Mario Monicelli, was dropped for U.S. release. | tt0055805 | Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren, Romy Schneider, Peppino De Filippo, Dante Maggio, Tomas Milian | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bodies, Rest & Motion | 1993 | Michael Steinberg | ★★½ | 93 | Low-key vignette about four young people trying to connect with each other— and with their own feelings— in a bleak Arizona town. Too obviously based on a stage play (by Roger Hedden), this laid-back film is often inert, but appealing performances— especially by Fonda and Stoltz— give it some spark. Amusing cameo by Bridget's father Peter Fonda. Stoltz also coproduced. | tt0106447 | [R] | Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Alicia Witt, Rich Wheeler | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Body Count | 1998 | Robert Patton-Spruill | 💣 | 80 | Good cast in an irredeemably awful film that (understandably) didn't make it to theaters in the U.S. A daring museum heist goes bad, leaving the volatile partners to drive to Miami to make their dropoff— if they can avoid killing each other along the way. A more despicable bunch of characters would be hard to imagine. | tt0120186 | [R] | David Caruso, Ving Rhames, Linda Fiorentino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Forest Whitaker | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Body Disappears | 1941 | Ross Lederman | ★★ | 72 | Not a very inspired mixture of comedy, suspense, and sci-fi, as Lynn is involved in invisible-making formula causing havoc with the police. | tt0033414 | Jeffrey Lynn, Jane Wyman, Edward Everett Horton, Marguerite Chapman | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Body Double | 1984 | Brian De Palma | ★½ | 109 | Gullible (and brainless) actor Wasson becomes obsessed with beautiful woman he's been eyeing through telescope and soon finds himself embroiled in labyrinthine murder plot. Another sleazy fetish film from De Palma, who not only rips off Hitchcock (again) but even himself (OBSESSION, DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT). Some clever moments amid the sleaze, and a good performance by Griffith as porno actress. | tt0086984 | [R] | Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith, Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd, Dennis Franz | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Body Heat | 1981 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★★ | 113 | Hurt is a Florida lawyer whose brains work at half speed; Turner is a married socialite who turns on the heat and inspires him to bump off her husband. Over-derivative of 1940s melodramas at first, then goes off on its own path and scores. Turner's first film; Kasdan's directorial debut. | tt0082089 | [R] | William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, Mickey Rourke | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Body Parts | 1991 | Eric Red | ★½ | 88 | Attempt at a hyperkinetic sci-fi/horror shocker is just another variation on the same old 'Hands of Orlac' plot: this time, several key body parts of a killer are grafted onto people, with violent results. Escalating plot also escalates viewer's disbelief. | tt0101492 | [R] | Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Duncan, Kim Delaney, Brad Dourif, Zakes Mokae, John Walsh, Paul Benevictor | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Body Rock | 1984 | Marcelo Epstein | ★½ | 93 | Formula break-dancing movie (shot by the great Robby Muller!) casts beefy Lamas as hero/heel who dumps his best friend, his bf's quietly voluptuous sis, and other pals when he's hired to emcee a chic uptown club. Watching L.L. clomp to the beat is like watching Victor Mature boogaloo. | tt0086985 | [PG-13] | Lorenzo Lamas, Vicki Frederick, Cameron Dye, Ray Sharkey, Michelle Nicastro | Musical | NULL | ||
| Body Shots | 1999 | Michael Cristofer | 💣 | 105 | Trying to shed light on the state of sex and dating in the 1990s, film follows eight twentysomethings as they explore the wild L.A. nightlife. Dark, dreary and derivative attempt to say something 'important' about relationships. If this is truly where the world is heading, it's time to get off! Also available in 108m. unrated version. | tt0172627 | [R] | Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Tara Reid, Ron Livingston, Emily Procter, Brad Rowe, Sybil Temchen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Body Slam | 1987 | Hal Needham | ★★½ | 89 | Lou Albano, Barry Gordon, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty, John Astin. Barely released comedy, based on the successful rock 'n' roll/wrestling connection of the early 1980s, deserved better. Benedict is charming as an unscrupulous music promoter who latches onto wrestling as his meal ticket; 'Rowdy' Roddy makes an engaging screen debut. Watch for cameos by many grapplers, including the Wild Samoans, Ric Flair, and Bruno Sammartino. | tt0092684 | [PG] | Dirk Benedict, Tanya Roberts, Roddy Piper, Captain Lou Albano, Barry Gordon, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty, John Astin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Body Snatcher | 1945 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 77 | Fine, atmospheric tale from Robert Louis Stevenson short story of doctor (Daniell) who is forced to deal with scurrilous character (Karloff) in order to get cadavers for experiments in 19th-century Edinburgh. Last film to team Karloff and Lugosi, their scenes together are eerie and compelling. Classic Val Lewton thriller. Screenplay by Philip MacDonald and Carlos Keith (Lewton). | tt0037549 | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell, Edith Atwater, Russell Wade, Rita Corday | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Body Snatchers | 1994 | Abel Ferrara | ★★½ | 87 | Teenage Anwar moves to a military base with her family and soon discovers that pods from outer space are duplicating and replacing everyone there. Third version of Jack Finney's eerie novel is the least satisfactory; impatience, rather than tension, is aroused, and the horror is diminished because it's strangers who are being replaced. (Setting the story at a military base— where everyone is supposed to act alike— may not have been a good idea, either.) Both earlier versions titled INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. | tt0106452 | [R] | Gabrielle Anwar, Meg Tilly, Forest Whitaker, Terry Kinney, Billy Wirth, Reilly Murphy, Christine Elise, R. Lee Ermey | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Body and Soul | 1947 | Robert Rossen | ★★★★ | 104 | Most boxing films pale next to this classic (written by Abraham Polonsky) of Garfield working his way up by devious means, becoming famous champ. Superb photography by James Wong Howe, and Oscar-winning editing by Francis Lyon and Robert Parrish. Remade in 1981 and for TV in 1998. | tt0039204 | John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, Hazel Brooks, Anne Revere, William Conrad, Joseph Pevney, Canada Lee | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Body and Soul | 1981 | George Bowers | ★½ | 100 | Poor remake of the 1947 classic, with welterweight boxer Kennedy shunning corruption and becoming champion. Leon tries, but is defeated by his paper-thin screenplay. Muhammad Ali appears briefly as himself. | tt0082090 | [R] | Leon Isaac Kennedy, Jayne Kennedy, Peter Lawford, Michael V. Gazzo, Perry Lang, Kim Hamilton |
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| Body of Evidence | 1993 | Uli Edel | ★★ | 99 | Lawyer Dafoe— the kind of guy you don't want handling your case— falls under the spell of his client (Madonna), who's accused of killing her wealthy lover with too much rough sex. One-note melodrama with 'hot' lovemaking scenes that inspire more discomfort than titillation. Also released in unrated version and an explicit NC-17 edition. | tt0106453 | [R] | Madonna, Willem Dafoe, Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Jürgen Prochnow, Julianne Moore, Frank Langella, Stan Shaw, Charles Hallahan, Lillian Lehman | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Body of Lies | 2008 | Ridley Scott | ★★½ | 129 | High-energy cloak-and-dagger yarn about hotshot CIA operative DiCaprio, who puts his life on the line every day in the Middle East. His cynical, emotionally detached superior in Langley (Crowe) surveys his every move but keeps valuable information from him that might affect his actions. Entertaining, but lets down and becomes all too conventional toward the climax. Strong makes a vivid impression as DiCaprio’s high-level connection in Amman. William Monahan adapted David Ignatius’ novel. | tt0758774 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Simon McBurney, Alon Aboutboul, Ali Suliman, Vince Colosimo | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Body | 2001 | Jonas McCord | ★★ | 100 | Vatican priest Banderas and Israeli archeologist Williams go head-to-head when they discover an ancient skeleton that just might be the body of Christ. Spiritual thriller isn't quite as hokey as it sounds but it isn't all that great either, especially with its cheesy shoot-out action climax. Shimmering cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond helps. Shot on location in Jerusalem. | tt0201485 | [PG-13] | Antonio Banderas, Olivia Williams, Derek Jacobi, John Wood, John Shrapnel, Jason Flemyng, Muhamed Bakri | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bodyguard | 1948 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 62 | Hard-boiled homicide cop Tierney is suspended; he reluctantly takes a job as a bodyguard and is promptly framed on a murder rap. Solid little B film, strikingly directed. Based on a story coauthored by 23-year-old Robert Altman. | tt0040178 | Lawrence Tierney, Priscilla Lane, Philip Reed, June Clayworth, Elizabeth Risdon, Steve Brodie | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Bodyguard | 1992 | Mick Jackson | ★★½ | 129 | Cold-as-steel professional bodyguard signs on to protect a music superstar (against his better judgment)— then falls in love with her. Overblown dual-star vehicle makes no sense, but has many crowd-pleasing ingredients— as well as moments of high kitsch. Solid film debut for Houston, who's most effective singing Dolly Parton's old song 'I Will Always Love You.' Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay was written years earlier— reportedly as a Steve McQueen vehicle. Remade in Hong Kong with Jet Li as THE DEFENDER (1994). | tt0103855 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Gary Kemp, Bill Cobbs, Ralph Waite, Tomas Arana, Michele Lamar Richards, Mike Starr, DeVaughn Nixon, Robert Wuhl, Bert Remsen, Stephen Shellen, Debbie Reynolds | Romance, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bodyhold | 1949 | Seymour Friedman. | ★½ | 63 | Plumber Parker becomes a pro wrestler, rebels when pressured to throw a match. Dull programmer. | tt0041191 | Willard Parker, Lola Albright, Hillary Brooke, Allen Jenkins, Roy Roberts, Iris Adrian, John Dehner, Henry Kulky. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boeing Boeing | 1965 | John Rich | ★★★ | 102 | A surprisingly subdued Lewis is paired with Curtis in story of American newspaperman who runs swinging pad in Paris, constantly stocked with stewardesses, to the chagrin of housekeeper Ritter. Amusing. | tt0058981 | Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis, Dany Saval, Christiane Schmidtmer, Suzanna Leigh, Thelma Ritter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Boesman & Lena | 2000 | John Berry | ★★½ | 88 | A once-happy, now-embittered couple is forced to survive on the road after the destruction of their shanty home. Rich performances (especially by Bassett) distinguish this faithful adaptation of Athol Fugard's play, filmed in South Africa, but it's all dialogue. Final film for director Berry, who died during postproduction. | tt0197311 | Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Willie Jonah | French-South African | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bofors Gun | 1968 | Jack Gold | ★★★ | 106 | British soldier, on the eve of his return home in 1950s, comes tragically face-to-face with a rebellious Irish gunner. Engrossing, well acted. | tt0062746 | Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm, David Warner, Peter Vaughn, John Thaw, Richard O'Callaghan, Barry Jackson, Donald Gee, Barbara Jefford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bog | 1984 | Don Keeslar | 💣 | 87 | Man in monster suit rises from bottom of lake and goes on rampage, sucking the blood from his victims. Ultra-cheap, ultra-bad time-killer. Filmed in Wisconsin in 1978. De Haven displays her versatility by appearing in a dual role. | tt0077254 | Gloria De Haven, Aldo Ray, Marshall Thompson, Leo Gordon, Glen Voros, Rojay North, Ed Clark | Horror | NULL | |||
| Bogus | 1996 | Norman Jewison | ★★ | 111 | Curious fable about a boy whose single mom dies in an accident; his closest relative, a foster aunt (Goldberg), turns out to be an uptight businesswoman with no motherly instincts whatsoever. So he invents a friend, Bogus (Depardieu), who cheers him up and sticks by his side. Odd, melancholy, and vaguely unsatisfying— not to mention long and slow. | tt0115725 | [PG] | Whoopi Goldberg, Gérard Depardieu, Haley Joel Osment, Nancy Travis, Denis Mercier, Andrea Martin, Ute Lemper, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Al Waxman, Don Francks, Mo Gaffney | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Bohemian Girl | 1936 | James W. Horne, Charles R. Rogers | ★★★ | 71 | Nifty comic opera with Stan and Ollie part of gypsy caravan. They adopt abandoned girl who turns out to be a princess. | tt0027376 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Thelma Todd, Antonio Moreno, Darla Hood, Julie Bishop, Mae Busch | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Boiler Room | 2000 | Ben Younger | ★★★ | 117 | Young man — like most of his generation, to hear him tell it— wants success without having to work for it. This puts him at odds with his judgmental father (who happens to be a judge) until he signs on at a maverick brokerage house where the money flows freely . . . too freely. Naive at times, but entertaining. Tyro writer-director Younger makes disarming reference to WALL STREET and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, which this movie echoes in certain ways. | tt0181984 | [R] | Giovanni Ribisi, Nia Long, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, Ron Rifkin, Tom Everett Scott, Scott Caan, Jamie Kennedy, Nicky Katt, Taylor Nichols | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Boiling Point | 1993 | James B. Harris | ★★ | 92 | Snipes plays a federal agent determined to nail the man responsible for killing his colleague and friend during a sting operation. Misnamed crime yarn is tepid at best, but well shot on L.A. locations, and filled with familiar faces. | tt0106455 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Dennis Hopper, Lolita Davidovich, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Seymour Cassel, Jonathan Banks, Christine Elise, Tony LoBianco, Valerie Perrine, James Tolkan, Paul Gleason | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bojangles | 2001 | Joseph Sargent | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Ideally cast, Hines plays Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, the legendary tap dancer and entertainer best known by today's generation as Shirley Temple's genial dancing partner in a string of '30s films. Bojangles headlined vaudeville and Broadway in an era when blacks were not allowed to perform alone on stage, and later became embroiled in the Hollywood racism of the day. Hines is joined by real-life protégé Glover in a couple of energized dance-contest scenes. Choreographer Henry LeTang re-created Bojangles' routines, one of which (his famed staircase number) is shown at the film's end, the real dancer side by side with a mirror image of Hines. Made for cable. | tt0252287 | Gregory Hines, Peter Riegert, Savion Glover, Kimberly Elise, Maria Ricossa, Lea Golde | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bold and the Brave | 1956 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★★ | 87 | Routine WW2 study of soldiers fighting in Italy, greatly uplifted by unstereotyped performances; Rooney is outstanding. | tt0049022 | Wendell Corey, Mickey Rooney, Don Taylor, Nicole Maurey | War | NULL | |||
| Bolero | 1934 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 83 | Silly, protracted story of cocky dancer's rise to fame is made fun by good stars and production values; dance sequences are first-rate, although much of Raft and Lombard's footwork is 'doubled' by professionals. Rand, in a rare film appearance, performs her famous fan dance. Raft and Lombard reteamed for RUMBA. | tt0024903 | George Raft, Carole Lombard, Sally Rand, Gertrude Michael, William Frawley, Ray Milland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bolero | 1981 | Claude Lelouch | ★½ | 173 | Boring tale of various characters of different nationalities and their love of music, set during a 50-year time span. The actors play more than one character, and the result is confusion. | tt0083260 | James Caan, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert Hossein, Nicole Garcia, Daniel Olbrychski, Evelyne Bouix | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bolero | 1984 | John Derek | 💣 | 104 | Colossally boring sexual drama, for Bo-peepers only . . . though even voyeurs will be yawning during long stretches between nude scenes. Bo also produced the picture. | tt0086987 | [R] | Bo Derek, George Kennedy, Andrea Occhipinti, Ana Obregon, Olivia d'Abo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bolt | 2008 | Chris Williams, Byron Howard | ★★★ | 96 | The canine star of a hit TV series knows no other world than the make-believe environment in which he plays a doggie superhero. Then he’s accidentally shipped in a crate to N.Y.C. and gets his first taste of reality. At first the film threatens to choke on show-biz talk, but it develops a heart as it takes to the road. The character of Rhino, a hamster in a plastic ball (voiced by Disney artist Walton), is one of the all-time great Disney sidekicks. | tt0397892 | [PG] | Voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell, Diedrich Bader, Nick Swardson, Chloe Moretz, Greg Germann, James Lipton | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bomba and the Elephant Stampede | 1951 | Ford Beebe | ★★ | 71 | A politically correct Bomba the Jungle Boy combats ivory poachers who are slaughtering elephants. One of the most bearable of this minor series. Also known as THE ELEPHANT. | tt0043352 | Johnny Sheffield, Donna Martell, Edith Evanson, Martin Wilkins, Myron Healey, Leonard Mudie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bomba and the Jungle Girl | 1952 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 70 | Jungle Boy meets Jungle Girl (Sharpe) and Jungle chimp (Kimba) on a quest to discover the true identity of Bomba's parents. | tt0044435 | Johnny Sheffield, Karen Sharpe, Walter Sande, Suzette Harbin, Martin Wilkins, Leonard Mudie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bomba on Panther Island | 1949 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 76 | Bomba battles a deadly black panther and superstitious natives in this trite entry. | tt0041195 | Johnny Sheffield, Allene Roberts, Lita Baron, Charles Irwin, Smoki Whitfield | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bomba, The Jungle Boy | 1949 | Ford Beebe | ★★ | 70 | First in the series has Bomba helping a photographer and his daughter on a perilous safari. | tt0041196 | Johnny Sheffield, Peggy Ann Garner, Smoki Whitfield, Onslow Stevens, Charles Irwin | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bombardier | 1943 | Richard Wallace | ★★★ | 99 | Familiar framework of fliers being trained during WW2 comes off well with fast-moving script. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035689 | Pat O'Brien, Randolph Scott, Anne Shirley, Eddie Albert, Walter Reed, Robert Ryan, Barton MacLane | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Bombay Talkie | 1970 | James Ivory | ★★½ | 105 | A bored, pleasure-seeking British writer (Kendal) becomes romantically involved with an Indian movie actor (Kapoor). The subject— the interaction between different cultures— has been a staple in Ivory's films, but the presentation here is less than memorable. Scripted by Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. | tt0065484 | [PG] | Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendal, Zia Mohyeddin, Aparna Sen, Utpal Dutt | Indian | Drama | NULL | |
| Bombers B-52 | 1957 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 106 | Ordinary love story between army pilot Zimbalist and Wood, with latter's sergeant father objecting, intertwined with good aerial footage of jet plane maneuvers. | tt0050204 | Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Marsha Hunt, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Dean Jagger | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Bombs Over Burma | 1942 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 65 | Interesting if failed attempt to make a hard-hitting, topical film. Wong plays a schoolteacher, working as an undercover agent, who accompanies a truckload of international passengers (one of whom is a spy) on their way to Chungking. Director/cowriter Lewis' visual flair can't save a talky, pedestrian script. Wong comes off well, as usual. | tt0034538 | Anna May Wong, Noel Madison, Dan Seymour, Richard Loo, Nedrick Young | War | NULL | |||
| Bombshell | Blonde Bombshell | 1933 | Victor Fleming | ★★★½ | 95 | Devastating satire of 1930s Hollywood, with Harlow a much-abused star, Tracy an incredibly unscrupulous publicity director making her life hell. No holds barred. Scripted by John Lee Mahin and Jules Furthman, from a play by Caroline Francke and Mack Crane. Retitled BLONDE BOMBSHELL. | tt0023825 | Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, Franchot Tone, Una Merkel, Pat O'Brien, C. Aubrey Smith, Ted Healy, Isabel Jewell | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Bon Voyage | 2003 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | ★★½ | 114 | A self-centered film star (Adjani), a government minister (Depardieu), and a frail scientist and his determined protégée (Stehlé and Ledoyen) are a few of the disparate people who converge on Bordeaux on the eve of WW2. Film's real lead is the actress's bourgeois former lover (Dérangère), who is drawn into the story and finds himself playing the hero. Unusual blend of CASABLANCA-esque intrigue with farce doesn't quite come off as well as intended, but it's fast-paced, fairly broad fun. | tt0310778 | [PG-13] | Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Virginie Ledoyen, Yvan Attal, Grégori Dérangère, Peter Coyote, Jean-Marc Stehle | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!) | 1980 | Bill Melendez | ★★★ | 75 | Charlie Brown and company travel to France as exchange students. Cute animated entertainment for Peanuts devotees. | tt0080461 | [G] | Voices of Daniel Anderson, Casey Carlson, Patricia Patts, Arrin Skelley | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Bon Voyage! | 1962 | James Neilson | ★½ | 130 | Slow, drawn-out Disney comedy about 'typical' American family's misadventures on trip to Europe. Aimed more at adults than kids, but too draggy and simple-minded for anyone. | tt0055807 | Fred MacMurray, Jane Wyman, Michael Callan, Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bone Collector | 1999 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 117 | The NYPD's leading forensics expert, now a bedridden quadriplegic, enlists the help of a reluctant cop (Jolie) to be his eyes and ears in tracking down a games-playing serial killer. First-rate suspense thriller/whodunit, based on a novel by Jeffery Deaver. Not for the squeamish. | tt0145681 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, John Benjamin Hickey, Ed O'Neill | Mystery, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bones | 2001 | Ernest Dickerson | ★★ | 96 | Two young suburban brothers (in both senses) buy a dilapidated ghetto brownstone in hopes of turning it into a trendy nightspot . . . but their entrepreneur father is panicked about the house's sinister history and his own participation in the 1979 slaying of its original owner (Dogg), who's now a ghost. If grossness makes you giggle, this speedy junk has a few grotesque jolts, plus the sight of still-shapely Grier to keep your own dad's heart beating adequately. | tt0166110 | [R] | Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, Clifton Powell, Bianca Lawson, Michael T. Weiss, Khalil Kain, Merwin Mondesir | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Bonfire of the Vanities | 1990 | Brian De Palma | 💣 | 125 | Appallingly heavy-handed 'comedy' about a cocky Wall Street wheeler-dealer whose well-insulated life begins to crumble when his wife learns he's fooling around, and he and his paramour are involved in a hit-and-run accident. With all the power— and nuance— of Tom Wolfe's novel removed, and all the characters turned into caricatures (racist and otherwise), what's left is a pointless charade, and a pitiful waste of money and talent. F. Murray Abraham appears unbilled as the Bronx D.A. | tt0099165 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Kim Cattrall, Saul Rubinek, Morgan Freeman, John Hancock, Kevin Dunn, Clifton James, Louis Giambalvo, Barton Heyman, Donald Moffat, Alan King, Mary Alice, Andre Gregory, Richard Libertini, Robert Stephens, Kirsten Dunst, Rita Wilson, Malachy McCourt, Camryn Manheim, Richard Belzer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bonjour Tristesse | 1958 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 94 | Teenager does her best to break up romance between playboy widowed father and his mistress, with tragic results. Francoise Sagan's philosophy seeps through glossy production; Kerr exceptionally fine in soaper set on French Riviera. | tt0051429 | Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Jean Seberg, Geoffrey Horne, Mylene Demongeot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bonneville | 2008 | Christopher N. Rowley | ★★½ | 93 | Recently widowed Lange finds herself at odds with her resentful stepdaughter over her husband’s ashes. Feeling lost and confused, she winds up taking a road trip in his vintage convertible with two close friends. The presence of three skilled actresses elevates this pleasant but minor female-bonding tale. | tt0487195 | [PG] | Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, Tom Skerritt, Christine Baranski, Victor Rasuk, Tom Amandes, Tom Wopat | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bonnie Parker Story | 1958 | William Witney | ★★½ | 81 | With the success of BONNIE AND CLYDE, this film takes on added luster, recounting the lurid criminal life of the female crook (Provine)— though Clyde Barrow isn't even mentioned in this low-budget saga. | tt0051430 | Dorothy Provine, Jack Hogan, Richard Bakalyan, Joseph Turkel | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Bonnie Prince Charlie | 1948 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★ | 118 | Niven is Prince Charles of 18th-century Scotland in this draggy, overlong historical drama. The battle scenes are well staged and the photography of Robert Krasker is excellent, but when film was first released in England, it was considered a total disaster. Released at 140m., then cut to 118m. U.S. TV prints run 100m. and are in black and white. | tt0040183 | David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Jack Hawkins, Judy Campbell, Morland Graham, Finlay Currie | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bonnie Scotland | 1935 | James W. Horne | ★★½ | 80 | Plot sometimes gets in the way of L&H, but their material is well up to par; Stan and Ollie inadvertently join a Scottish military regiment stationed in the desert. | tt0026126 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, June Lang, William Janney, Anne Grey, Vernon Steele, James Finlayson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bonnie and Clyde | 1967 | Arthur Penn | ★★★★ | 111 | Trend-setting film about unlikely heroes of 1930s bank-robbing team has spawned many imitators but still leads the pack. Veering from comedy to melodrama and social commentary, it remains vivid, stylish throughout. When released, violent conclusion was extremely controversial. Screenplay by David Newman and Robert Benton. Parsons and cinematographer Burnett Guffey were Oscar winners. Wilder's first film. | tt0061418 | Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Gene Wilder, Dub Taylor | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bonzo Goes to College | 1952 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 80 | Follow-up to BEDTIME FOR BONZO has brainy chimp lead college football team to victory; good cast takes back seat to monkey-shines. | tt0044436 | Maureen O'Sullivan, Charles Drake, Edmund Gwenn, Gigi Perreau, Gene Lockhart, Irene Ryan, David Janssen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Boob | 1926 | William A. Wellman. | ★★ | 61 | A buffoonish yokel finally wins the dream girl who keeps rejecting him by rescuing her from bootleggers. Silly bit of nonsense notable as an early credit for Wellman and Crawford (playing a revenue agent!). | tt0016672 | George K. Arthur, Gertrude Olmstead, Joan Crawford, Charles Murray, Antonio D'Algy, Hank Mann, Babe London. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Boogens | 1981 | James L. Conway | 💣 | 95 | The Boogens are scaly monsters who do away with character after character when a Colorado silver mine is reopened. As unappealing as its title. | tt0082094 | [R] | Rebecca Balding, Fred McCarren, Anne-Marie Martin, Jeff Harlan, John Crawford, Med Flory | Horror | NULL | ||
| Boogeyman | 2005 | Stephen T. Kay. | ★★ | 89 | You already know the story: a young man returns to his childhood home, the setting of a traumatic experience where as a kid he either saw— or didn't see— a creepy guy/thing suck his loving father into eternal oblivion by way of the closet in his room. Now, years later, he must confront his fears alone . . . and you can guess the rest. Despite its predictable blueprint there are a couple of pretty decent scares to be had here. You might consider chapter-skipping on your DVD to get to the good stuff. | tt0357507 | [PG-13] | Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Lucy Lawless, Tory Mussett. | U.S.-New Zealand | Drama, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Boogeyman II | 1983 | Bruce Starr | 💣 | 79 | Survivor of BOOGEYMAN goes to Hollywood to live with producer who is going to turn her life story into a movie. Moronic slasher film depends mostly on footage from BOOGEYMAN, amply used in flashbacks. Almost laughable. | tt0085266 | Suzanna Love, Shana Hall, Ulli Lommel | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Boogeyman | 1980 | Ulli Lommel | ★★★ | 86 | Shards of mirror that 'witnessed' horrible murder cause gruesome deaths. German art film actor-director Lommel lends unconventional angle to this combination of THE EXORCIST and HALLOWEEN. Effects are quite colorful, if somewhat hokey. Followed by BOOGEYMAN II. | tt0080464 | [R] | Suzanna Love, Ron James, Michael Love, John Carradine, Raymond Boyden | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Boogie Man Will Get You | 1942 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 66 | Good cast in lightweight cash-in on ARSENIC AND OLD LACE. Karloff is dotty scientist attempting to make supermen out of traveling salesmen while Donnell tries to turn his home into Colonial tourist trap; Lorre is screwy doctor/sheriff/notary/loan shark. No great shakes, but pleasant. | tt0034540 | Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Jeff Donnell, Larry Parks, Slapsy Maxie Rosenbloom, Maude Eburne, Don Beddoe, Frank Puglia | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Boogie Nights | 1997 | Paul Thomas Anderson | ★★★½ | 152 | Extraordinary, intense re-creation of life among a 'family' of pornographers in the San Fernando Valley, from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Wahlberg plays a disaffected 17-year-old with no brains but a formidable sex organ who becomes a porn-movie sensation; Reynolds is perfect as the director/paterfamilias who makes him a star. Writer-director Anderson doesn't judge his characters, but makes them— and their actions— seem utterly real. Tough going at times, but gripping and funny as well. | tt0118749 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Philip Baker Hall, Robert Ridgely, Ricky Jay, Jack Riley, Joanna Gleason | Drama | NULL | ||
| Boogie Woogie | 2010 | Duncan Ward | ★★½ | 94 | Altman-like ensemble charbroils London's gallery scene, with high-class artists/buyers/sellers behaving classlessly. Title refers to a priceless Mondrian canvas owned by Lee and Lumley, coveted by Anderson and Skarsgård, and brokered by a dealer named Art. Mixed trysts sex up the venality, while real works by Brancusi, Hockney, et al. decorate the sets. Adapted by Danny Moynihan, only somewhat artfully, from his 2001 novel. | tt1134664 | [R] | Gillian Anderson, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, Danny Huston, Jack Huston, Christopher Lee, Joanna Lumley, Simon McBurney, Meredith Ostrom, Charlotte Rampling, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, Jaime Winstone | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Book of Eli | 2010 | Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | ★★½ | 118 | Washington does his best Clint Eastwood in this violent but entertaining postapocalyptic tale about a man of few words roaming the country, clutching a book that may hold all the answers for the future of mankind. As he makes his way across the desolate landscape, killing anyone who gets in his way, he must battle the evil forces of Oldman, who desperately wants this prized possession. Taking the end of days genre and wrapping it in the guise of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western, the Hughes brothers create a lurid guilty pleasure, with a message thrown in for good measure. | tt1037705 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Frances de la Tour, Michael Gambon, Tom Waits, Chris Browning, Evan Jones | Drama, Thriller, Adventure, Western, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Book of Love | 1990 | Robert Shaye | ★½ | 82 | Offensively inconsequential '50s teen romance about the usual clichés: James Dean, dilapidated cars, and greasy hair dressings. Standard anachronisms abound, starting with the use of the title oldie (a 1958 hit) in a film set in 1956. Inauspicious directorial debut for New Line Cinema's founder/CEO. Fisher (daughter of Connie Stevens and Eddie Fisher) is the sole standout as a tough girl with a soft heart. | tt0099166 | [PG-13] | Chris Young, Keith Coogan, Aeryk Egan, Josie Bissett, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Michael McKean, Danny Nucci, John Cameron Mitchell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Book of Numbers | 1973 | Raymond St. Jacques | ★★½ | 80 | Uneven but sometimes enjoyable story of a black numbers-racket operation in a rural town during the Depression. | tt0069816 | [R] | Raymond St. Jacques, Phillip Thomas, Freda Payne, Hope Clarke, D'Urville Martin, Gilbert Green. | Crime | NULL | ||
| Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 | 2000 | Joe Berlinger | ★½ | 90 | Some student filmmakers visit Burkittsville, Maryland, hoping to find out what happened to the documentarians who made THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. A straight melodrama, not a faux documentary like the first; clever at times, but plodding, gabby and highly uninvolving, with all the spooky stuff confined to the last couple of reels. Fictional filmmaking debut of documentarian Berlinger. | tt0229260 | [R] | Stephen Barker Turner, Tristen Skyler, Erica Leerhsen, Kim Director, Jeffrey Donovan | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Book of Stars | 2000 | Michael Miner | ★★★ | 98 | Beautifully acted and directed drama about two parentless sisters, a sweet 15-year-old who is dying of cystic fibrosis and a vulnerable cynic who once published a book of poetry but now pops pills and toils as a hooker. This is no disease-of-the-week tearjerker, but a multileveled exploration of sisterly love and guilt. | tt0163559 | Mary Stuart Masterson, Jena Malone, Karl Geary, D.B. Sweeney, Delroy Lindo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boom | 1968 | Joseph Losey | ★★ | 113 | Thud: Only film buffs who admire Losey's very original directorial style are likely to appreciate fuzzy adaptation of Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore. Fine location photography in Sardinia and Rome; good performance by Shimkus can't save this. | tt0062751 | [M] | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Noel Coward, Joanna Shimkus, Michael Dunn | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Boom Town | 1940 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 118 | No surprises in tale of get-rich-quick drilling for oil, but star-studded cast gives it life. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032273 | Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert, Hedy Lamarr, Frank Morgan, Lionel Atwill, Chill Wills | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Boom in the Moon | 1946 | Jaime Salvador | 💣 | 83 | Rock-bottom 'comedy' vehicle for poor Buster as an innocent thought to be a modern-day Bluebeard, who then gets shanghaied to fly a rocketship to the moon. Filmed as A MODERN BLUEBEARD, and barely seen until its video release in the 1980s. | tt0038374 | Buster Keaton, Angel Garasa, Virginia Serret, Fernando Soto, Luis Barreiro | Mexican | Comedy, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| Boomerang | 1992 | Reginald Hudlin | ★★ | 118 | Murphy makes a lumpy transition from comic to leading man, as a lifelong womanizer who finally meets his counterpart in his new boss (Givens). The women are fun to watch, but the humor is surprisingly crude at times, and the story is virtually nonexistent. A mixed bag at best, ridiculously padded out to two hours. | tt0103859 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Robin Givens, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Geoffrey Holder, Eartha Kitt, Chris Rock, Tisha Campbell, John Witherspoon, Melvin Van Peebles | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Boomerang! | 1947 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 88 | Minister's murder brings rapid arrest of an innocent man; prosecuting attorney determines to hunt out real facts. Brilliant drama in all respects. Richard Murphy's taut screenplay, from Anthony Abbott's article 'The Perfect Case,' is based on a factual incident. Playwright Arthur Miller appears as one of the line-up suspects. | tt0039208 | Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Sam Levene, Robert Keith, Taylor Holmes, Ed Begley, Karl Malden, Cara Williams, Barry Kelley | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day | 2009 | Troy Duffy | ★½ | 117 | Brainless sequel, with siblings Flanery and Reedus returning to Boston from Ireland to avenge the ritualistic murder of a priest. Loud, bloody . . . and bloody awful. Willem Dafoe appears unbilled, reprising his role from the first film. | tt1300851 | [R] | Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Clifton Collins, Jr., Julie Benz, Judd Nelson, Billy Connolly, Bob Marley, Brian Mahoney, David Ferry, David Della Rocco, Peter Fonda | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Boondock Saints | 1999 | Troy Duffy | ★★ | 110 | Ultra-violent, low-budget Tarantino wannabe focuses on two Irish-American brothers who decide to rub out what they perceive to be evil forces in Boston. With off-the-wall humor and Dafoe's loony, gay FBI agent thrown in for good measure, this ain't no Tea Party. A hit-or-miss affair. Duffy's trials in making this film were chronicled in the documentary OVERNIGHT. | tt0144117 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, Billy Connolly, Ron Jeremy Hyatt, David Ferry | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Boost | 1988 | Harold Becker | ★½ | 95 | An anti-drug movie that's on the screen nearly an hour before you even realize it is an anti-drug movie. Woods is the hotshot salesman who goes to hell (and bankruptcy) via cocaine, with Young the sometime user who tries to stand by him. As with Jack Nicholson in THE SHINING, it's difficult to distinguish the 'before' Woods from the 'after' in this misfire. | tt0094783 | [R] | James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, Kelle Kerr, John Rothman, Amanda Blake, Grace Zabriskie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Boot Hill | Trinity Rides Again | 1969 | Giuseppe Colizzi | ★★ | 87 | Western ravioli representing another of the traditional teamings of blue-eyed, rock-jawed Hill and his bear of a sidekick Spencer. Uneven pasta of violence and comedy. Aka TRINITY RIDES AGAIN. | tt0064175 | [PG] | Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Woody Strode, Victor Buono, Lionel Stander, Eduardo Ciannelli | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Action, Western | NULL |
| Bootleggers | 1974 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★ | 101 | Typical yahoo action comedy set in 1930s Arkansas with Koslo and Fimple trying to outsmart and outdo rival moonshining family while running their supplies to Memphis. Retitled BOOTLEGGERS' ANGEL to capitalize on Smith's later TV stardom. | tt0071237 | [PG] | Paul Koslo, Dennis Fimple, Slim Pickens, Jaclyn Smith, Chuck Pierce/Jr. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Bootmen | 2000 | Dein Perry | ★★ | 93 | Novice director Perry (of the dance group Tap Dogs) used his own steelworking background to create this toe-tapping look at a young man's escape into big-time show business— and then back again— as he rallies his blue-collar tap-dancing cronies to create his own contemporary dance show. Sort of a male FLASHDANCE, with just as lame a script but impressive footwork. | tt0210584 | [R] | Adam Garcia, Sam Worthington, Sophie Lee, Christopher Horsey, Lee McDonald, William Zappa, Richard Carter | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Boots Malone | 1952 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 103 | Holden comes alive in role of shady character who reforms when he trains Stewart to become a jockey. | tt0044437 | William Holden, Johnny Stewart, Ed Begley, Harry Morgan, Whit Bissell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boots and Saddles | 1937 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 60 | Twofold plot has Gene supplying horses to the Army and holding on to young, spoiled Ra Hould's ranch while teaching him Western ways and tolerance. Ending is a bit mild. One year later Gordon Elliott became a Western star himself, as Bill Elliott. | tt0028646 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Judith Allen, Ra Hould (Ronnie Sinclair), Guy Usher, Gordon Elliott. | Western | NULL | |||
| Booty Call | 1997 | Jeff Pollack | ★★ | 77 | Or, Two Guys in Search of Condoms. Raunchy comedy is definitely PC (politically correct and pro-condom) as these two hapless souls just can't seem to please their hot-to-trot girlfriends until they find the perfect latex helper. Just a couple of genuinely funny scenes in this broad, lowbrow comedy. | tt0118750 | [R] | Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, Tamala Jones, Scott LaRose, Kam Ray Chan, Ric Young | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bop Girl | 1957 | Howard W. Koch | ★½ | 79 | Psychologist Troup predicts that rock 'n' roll will lose its popularity to calypso. He was wrong. Aka BOP GIRL GOES CALYPSO. | tt0050205 | Judy Tyler, Bobby Troup, Margo Woode, Lucien Littlefield, Mary Kaye Trio, Nino Tempo | Musical | NULL | |||
| Bopha! | 1993 | Morgan Freeman | ★★★ | 120 | Tense, involving drama with Glover and Woodard (who played Nelson and Winnie Mandela in the TV movie MANDELA) starring as a married couple residing in a peaceful South African township. He's a police officer who upholds the status quo; their world is sure to crumble when their son (Eziashi) takes part in a rebellion against the discipline and curriculum of the local white-run school. Freeman's directorial debut; Arsenio Hall executive produced. | tt0106464 | [PG-13] | Danny Glover, Malcolm McDowell, Alfre Woodard, Marius Weyers, Maynard Eziashi, Malick Bowens, Grace Mahlaba | Drama | NULL | ||
| Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan | 2006 | Larry Charles | ★★★½ | 82 | Writer-producer-performer Cohen adopts the alter ego of Borat Sagdiyev, well-meaning but clueless Kazakhstani television reporter who travels across the U.S. to learn about our country in this mock documentary. His bull-in-a-china-shop approach gets him into all kinds of trouble as he encounters a wide variety of Americans. Cohen and company reveal elements of racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia but envelop them in the context of an audaciously funny, gross-out, one-of-a-kind comedy. | tt0443453 | [R] | Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bordello of Blood | Tales From the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood | 1996 | Gilbert Adler | ★★ | 87 | Private eye Miller tries to locate Eleniak's brother, who's wound up at a mortuary brothel staffed by gorgeous vampires and run by Everhart. Fitfully amusing juvenile horror comedy with a heavy t&a quotient; Miller created much of his wise-guy dialogue. Whoopi Goldberg has a cameo. Onscreen title: TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS BORDELLO OF BLOOD. | tt0117826 | [R] | Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak, Angie Everhart, Chris Sarandon, Corey Feldman, William Sadler, Aubrey Morris | Horror, Comedy | NULL | |
| Border Incident | 1949 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 92 | Tension-packed story of U.S. agents cracking down on smuggling of immigrants across Texas-Mexico border. Well directed, and uncompromisingly violent. | tt0041198 | Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Howard da Silva, Teresa Celli, Charles McGraw | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Border Legion | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 63 | Roy is an Eastern doctor fleeing west from a robbery charge who lands a job as a saloon singer and gets involved with villainous Sawyer's gang. Clever script (from a Zane Grey novel), expert direction, with humor, action, and Roy's youthful charm. Aka WEST OF THE BADLANDS. | tt0032274 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Carol Hughes, Joe Sawyer, Maude Eburne, Jay Novello, Hal Taliaferro. | Western | NULL | |||
| Border Patrol | 1943 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 64 | In this hands-across-the-border saga, Hopalong Cassidy and sidekicks serve as Texas Rangers who work with Mexican authorities to combat outlaw gang there led by American menace Simpson. Strong cast, rapid pace, with fierce retribution for the climax. This story of oppression and revolt was penned by subsequently blacklisted Michael Wilson. | tt0035692 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Russell Simpson, Claudia Drake, George Reeves, Duncan Renaldo, Bob (Robert) Mitchum. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Border River | 1954 | George Sherman | ★★ | 80 | Mildly intriguing Western about Rebel officer McCrea's mission to buy much-needed weapons from Mexicans to continue fight against Yankees. | tt0046800 | Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo, Pedro Armendáriz, Howard Petrie | Western | NULL | |||
| Border Shootout | 1990 | C. J. McIntyre | ★½ | 110 | Naive rancher is made deputy in Arizona border town that's fed up with aging sheriff Ford, but the townspeople's lynching of alleged rustlers brings about immediate conflict. Good Western plot (from Elmore Leonard novel) ruined by amateurish production. Ford seems to be walking through his role. | tt0099168 | Cody Glenn, Jeff Kaake, Glenn Ford, Lizabeth Rohovit, Michael Horse, Russell Todd, Michael Ansara, Michael Forrest | Western | NULL | |||
| Border Vigilantes | 1941 | Derwin Abrahams. | ★★★ | 62 | Summoned by rancher friend Ankrum, the Bar 20 trio travels to a frontier mining community to aid locals being robbed of their silver, despite supposed efforts of the Border Vigilantes. Interesting role reversal in the casting of Ankrum as a good guy but Jory, Tyler, and former Hopalong Cassidy sidekick Britt Wood as villains. Lots of gunplay and furious action. Scenic exteriors lensed in Lone Pine. Hayden makes a disparaging remark about singing cowboys! | tt0033425 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Frances Gifford, Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, Tom Tyler. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Border | 1982 | Tony Richardson | ★★½ | 107 | Border patrolman Nicholson, spurred on by money-hungry spouse Perrine, begins taking payoffs from illegal Mexican aliens he's supposed to be arresting, eventually becomes emotionally involved with young mother Carrillo. Cast and storyline beg for Sam Peckinpah in his prime; mildly interesting, but never really takes off. Nice music by Ry Cooder. | tt0083678 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Valerie Perrine, Warren Oates, Elpidia Carrillo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Borderland | 1937 | Nate Watt. | ★★★ | 82 | A bandit named The Fox is too slick for the Texas Rangers, so they enlist Hopalong Cassidy to go undercover across the Mexican border and apprehend him. Shooting at Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert adds distinction. Notable as the longest Western ever made for a B cowboy series . . . but sadly, the last entry with Ellison. Followed by sequel IN OLD MEXICO. | tt0028650 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, George Hayes, Stephen Morris (Morris Ankrum), Nora Lane, Al Bridge. | Western | NULL | |||
| Borderline | 1950 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 88 | Odd thriller-comedy in which L.A. cop Trevor attempts to gather evidence against wily drug smuggler Burr while mixing with tough guy MacMurray in Mexico. Starts out promisingly but soon bogs down in silliness. Burr makes a vivid villain. | tt0042274 | Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr, Jose Torvay, Morris Ankrum, Roy Roberts | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Borderline | 1980 | Jerrold Freedman | ★★ | 105 | Bronson, minus Jill Ireland this time, is a Border Patrol officer searching for a killer. Undistinguished formula vehicle for Old Stone Face. | tt0080465 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Bruno Kirby, Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Ed Harris, Wilford Brimley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bordertown | 1935 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 90 | Fine drama of unusual triangle in bordertown cafe, with Davis as flirtatious wife of Pallette with designs on lawyer Muni; her overwrought scene on the witness stand is not easily forgotten. Used as basis for later THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT, but more serious in tone. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026129 | Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Eugene Pallette, Margaret Lindsay | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bordertown | 2006 | Gregory Nava | ★½ | 112 | In contemporary Ciudad Juárez, ambitious Chicago reporter Lopez tries to find out why thousands of female factory workers have disappeared over time. Befriending a survivor who crawled out of the grave places her in the gun sights of smarmy rich villains who casually rape and coldly murder. Director's script wants to be a bleak bilingual thriller, but is only brutal exploitation. Shot in Old and New Mexico. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0445935 | [R] | Jennifer Lopez, Martin Sheen, Maya Zapata, Juan Diego Botto, Sonia Braga, Antonio Banderas | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Boris and Natasha: The Movie | 1992 | Charles Martin Smith | ★★ | 88 | Silly live-action version of the fondly remembered 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' cartoon series with our dastardly (but dated) Russian spies up to no good as usual. Spirited, but not enough. John Candy, John Travolta, and director Smith pop up in cameos. Made as a theatrical feature in 1988 (when the Cold War was still topical). It debuted on cable TV instead. | tt0101500 | [PG] | Sally Kellerman, David Thomas, Paxton Whitehead, Andrea Martin, Alex Rocco, Larry Cedar, Arye Gross, Christopher Neame, Anthony Newley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Born Again | 1978 | Irving Rapper | ★½ | 110 | If one is inspired by the religious rebirth of Pres. Nixon's Special Counsel (Charles Colson) after his Washington skullduggery, one might be absorbed by this one-dimensional film account. Others beware! | tt0077261 | [PG] | Dean Jones, Anne Francis, Jay Robinson, Dana Andrews, Raymond St | Drama | NULL | ||
| Born American | 1986 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 95 | The Cold War lives on as three young Americans vacationing in Finland accidentally cross the border into Russia, where they fight it out with the local troops. OK action scenes and personable young cast sugarcoat the heavy-handed political overtones. | tt0091313 | [R] | Mike Norris, Steve Durham, David Coburn, Thalmus Rasulala, Albert Salmi | U.S.-Finnish | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Born Free | 1966 | James Hill | ★★★½ | 96 | Exceptional adaptation of Joy Adamson's book about Elsa the lioness, who was raised as a pet by two Kenya game wardens (played by real-life couple McKenna and Travers). Sincere, engrossing film, a must for family viewing. Oscars for Best Original Score (John Barry) and Title Song (Barry and Don Black). Screenplay by Gerald L.C. Copley (Lester Cole). Followed by a sequel (LIVING FREE) and a brief TV series. Remade for TV in 1996. Story is continued in TO WALK WITH LIONS (1999). | tt0060182 | Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Lukoye | British | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Born Into Brothels | 2004 | Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman | ★★★½ | 85 | Photographer Briski, wanting to document Calcutta's red light district, gets the cold shoulder until she makes friends with the children of the prostitutes. Then inspiration strikes: she teaches these often-abused kids to take pictures. Oscar-winning documentary built on the foundation of a great idea; the results are unexpected and genuinely inspiring. | tt0388789 | [R] | Indian-U.S. | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Born Losers | 1967 | Tom Laughlin (T. C. Frank) | ★★½ | 112 | What seemed at the time just another biker film gained new interest in the '70s as the introduction of Billy Jack; he helps free young dropout James from the clutches of Slate's gang. Good action scenes, but Laughlin's use of violence as an indictment of violence is already present. Jane Russell makes a guest appearance as a mother. Followed by BILLY JACK. | tt0061420 | [PG] | Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jeremy Slate, William Wellman/Jr., Robert Tessier | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Born Reckless | 1959 | Howard W. Koch | ★½ | 79 | Rodeo star Richards divides his time between busting broncos and busting heads of lecherous old cowpokes trying to paw Mamie. Not bad enough to be really funny, but it has its moments; Mamie sings five of film's eight songs, including unforgettable 'I'm Just a Nice, Sweet, Home-Type of Girl. | tt0051431 | Mamie Van Doren, Jeff Richards, Arthur Hunnicutt, Carol Ohmart, Tom Duggan, Jeanne Carmen | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Born Romantic | 2001 | David Kane | ★★½ | 96 | Three lovelorn Londoner couples meet up at a local salsa dance club, but they're all left feet when it comes to matters of the heart. Enter Cupid-playing cabbie Lester. Slight, predictable romantic comedy works because of its terrific cast. It's especially fun to see the usually brazen McCormack and meek Horrocks playing against type. | tt0236034 | [R] | Craig Ferguson, Olivia Williams, David Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, Jimi Mistry, Catherine McCormack, Adrian Lester, Ian Hart | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Born Wild | 1994 | Duncan McLachlan | ★★ | 98 | The story of real-life conservationist Varty, who plays himself, and his multiyear relationship with a family of leopards. When documentarian Shields wants to make a film of his experiences, her efforts are predictably sabotaged by jealous colleagues and corrupt game wardens. Set in South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia; extraordinary footage of animals in the wild is trivialized by the Hollywoodization of the movie within the movie. | tt0105298 | [PG] | Brooke Shields, John Varty, Martin Sheen, David Keith, Elmon Mhlongo, Norman Ansty, Thembe Ndaba, Renée Estevez | Drama | NULL | ||
| Born Yesterday | 1950 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 103 | Junk-dealer-made-good Crawford wants girlfriend (Holliday) culturefied, hires Holden to teach her in hilarious Garson Kanin comedy set in Washington, D.C. Priceless Judy repeated Broadway triumph and won Oscar for playing quintessential dumb blonde. Remade in 1993. | tt0042276 | Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford, Howard St. John | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Born Yesterday | 1993 | Luis Mandoki | ★★½ | 101 | Amiable remake of Garson Kanin comedy, set in Washington, D.C., about boorish tycoon who hires bookish reporter to give his mistress some education and couth. The three leads are well cast, but the movie sags after a while, losing its comic punch. | tt0106466 | [PG] | Melanie Griffith, John Goodman, Don Johnson, Edward Herrmann, Max Perlich, Michael Ensign, Benjamin C. Bradlee, Sally Quinn, William Frankfather, Fred Dalton Thompson, Celeste Yarnall, Nora Dunn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Born in East L.A. | 1987 | Cheech Marin | ★½ | 87 | Third-generation American Hispanic gets caught in an immigration raid minus I.D. and is deported to Tijuana; it takes a tiresome hour and a half of screen time to get back. Nothing offensive but also nothing special; Rodriguez's dim-witted comedy relief is a particular drag. Based on Marin's popular Bruce Springsteen parody record. Expanded to 93m. for TV. | tt0092690 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Daniel Stern, Paul Rodriguez, Jan-Michael Vincent, Kamala Lopez, Alma Martinez, Tony Plana | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Born on the Fourth of July | 1989 | Oliver Stone | ★★★½ | 144 | Relentlessly realistic and powerful saga of real-life Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, who joined the Marines as a gung-ho recruit in the 1960s and came home paralyzed from the chest down— only to endure an even greater ordeal of physical and mental rehabilitation before emerging as an antiwar activist. Stone cowrote the screenplay with Kovic, and spares us nothing in recreating some of America's most painful years. Stone's finest film to date. Cruise delivers a top-notch performance; enhanced by a great John Williams score. Kovic can be seen in opening parade scene; Stone plays a TV reporter. Oscar winner for Best Director and Film Editing. | tt0096969 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Kyra Sedgwick, Bryan Larkin, Jerry Levine, Josh Evans, Frank Whaley, Stephen Baldwin, John Getz, Lili Taylor, Tom Berenger, Abbie Hoffman, Jason Gedrick, Ed Lauter, Michael Wincott, Tom Sizemore, Mike Starr, James Le Gros, John C. McGinley, Wayne Knight, Bob Gunton | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Born to Be Bad | 1950 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 94 | 'Little fake' Fontaine, despite attraction to writer Ryan, schemes to win wealthy Scott away from fiancée Leslie. And that's just for openers. Good cast in somewhat overwrought, predictable drama. | tt0042275 | Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie, Mel Ferrer, Harold Vermilyea | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| Born to Be Loved | 1959 | Hugo Haas | ★★ | 82 | Low-key yarn of poor-but-honest Morris and rich widow Vague seeking romance, helped by elderly music instructor Haas. | tt0052643 | Carol Morris, Barbara Jo Allen, Hugo Haas, Dick Kallman, Jacqueline Fontaine | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Born to Be Wild | 1995 | John Gray | ★★ | 100 | OK family film grafts a gorilla onto the FREE WILLY formula: a teenage boy forms a bond with an ape on the lam in Seattle, helping her in quest for freedom. Kids might go for it, even if they figure out that the lead 'actor' is just an animatronic thespian passing for the real thing. | tt0113533 | [PG] | Will Horneff, Helen Shaver, Peter Boyle, Jean Marie Barnwell, John C. McGinley, Marvin J. McIntyre | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Born to Dance | 1936 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 105 | Powell bears out title in good Cole Porter musical with sensational footwork and fine songs: 'Easy To Love,' 'I've Got You Under My Skin.' | tt0027387 | Eleanor Powell, James Stewart, Virginia Bruce, Una Merkel, Sid Silvers, Frances Langford, Raymond Walburn, Buddy Ebsen, Reginald Gardiner | Musical | NULL | |||
| Born to Kill | 1947 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 92 | Murderer Tierney marries insecure Long, but can't stay away from her divorced sister Trevor. Super-tough film noir is uncharacteristically mean-spirited for director Wise, but is well put together nonetheless. A cult item. | tt0039211 | Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Audrey Long, Elisha Cook/Jr., Phillip Terry | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Born to Race | 1988 | James Fargo | 💣 | 98 | Silly tripe set against backdrop of North Carolina stock car races, where Heasley has brought her revolutionary prototype engine, and the 'bad guys' set out to steal her blueprints. | tt0094785 | [R] | Joseph Bottoms, Marc Singer, George Kennedy, Marla Heasley, Antonio Sabato, Robert F. Logan, Dirk Blocker, Michael McGrady | Action | NULL | ||
| Born to Sing | 1942 | Edward Ludwig. | ★★½ | 82 | Second-string let's-put-on-a-show musical about kids who stage a patriotic Broadway revue is fast, funny, and amiable. Busby Berkeley directed the lavish production number finale, 'Ballad for Americans. | tt0034543 | Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, Leo Gorcey, 'Rags' Ragland, Douglas McPhail, Sheldon Leonard, Henry O'Neill, Larry Nunn, Margaret Dumont, Darla Hood, Joe Yule. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Born to Win | Addict | 1971 | Ivan Passer | ★★½ | 90 | Unjustly neglected, but not altogether successful comedy-drama about ex-hairdresser in N.Y.C. and his $100-a-day heroin habit. Very well acted, particularly by Segal. Aka ADDICT. | tt0066856 | [R] | George Segal, Karen Black, Paula Prentiss, Jay Fletcher, Hector Elizondo, Robert De Niro | Drama | NULL | |
| Born to the West | 1937 | Charles Barton. | ★★½ | 52 | Boyhood feud is revived after two cousins grow up; dependable cowpuncher Brown foolishly gives less reliable Wayne a trail-boss job. Loosely based on same-named Zane Grey novel, filmed before in 1926. Lots of action and well photographed. Reissued as HELL TOWN with additional stock footage at the outset to extend running time to an hour. | tt0028653 | John Wayne, Marsha Hunt, Johnny Mack Brown, John Patterson, Monte Blue, Lucien Littlefield, James Craig. | Western | NULL | |||
| Borrowed Trouble | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 58 | Spinster teacher who objects when saloon operates near her school is kidnapped; it's up to Hopalong Cassidy to rescue her and solve a related mystery. This unremarkable, slow-paced series entry doesn't have much action and depends on its stars' personalities. Reissued as LAW OF THE TRAIL. | tt0039213 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Anne O'Neal, John Parrish, Cliff Clark. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Borrower | 1991 | John McNaughton | ★★½ | 97 | An alien criminal is 'devolved' to human shape and exiled on Earth; when his head explodes, he starts ripping the heads off human beings (and others) and donning them until they go bad, too. Understandably confused cops Chong and Gordon are on his trail. Gleefully outrageous horror premise supported by strong, stylish direction and a well-written script. | tt0101502 | [R] | Rae Dawn Chong, Don Gordon, Tom Towles, Antonio Fargas, Neil Giuntoli, Larry Pennell, Tony Amendola, Pam Gordon, Mädchen Amick, Stuart Cornfeld | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Borrowers | 1997 | Peter Hewitt | ★★½ | 83 | Just OK rendering of Mary Norton's children's novels about a household of tiny human pilferers who reduce baddie Goodman to rubble after he cheats a nice family out of their inherited house. Actors acting against oversized sets remains an irresistible concept, but the movie won't make anyone forget THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN or the wonderful fantasy scenes in Nicolas Roeg's THE WITCHES. A bit too much HOME ALONE-style slapstick violence, but the short running time helps. Filmed before as a TVM in 1973 and as a British miniseries in 1993. | tt0118755 | [PG] | John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Mark Williams, Hugh Laurie, Bradley Pierce, Flora Newbigin, Tom Felton, Celia Imrie, Ruby Wax | British | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Borsalino | 1970 | Jacques Deray | ★★★ | 125 | PUBLIC ENEMY, French-style; delightful seriocomic film of two likable hoods who become gangland chieftains in 1930s Marseilles. Stars in top form; Claude Bolling's infectious music helps. Sequel: BORSALINO & CO. | tt0065486 | [PG] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Michel Bouquet, Catherine Rouvel, Francoise Christophe | French | Crime | NULL | |
| Borstal Boy | 2000 | Peter Sheridan | ★★½ | 91 | Nostalgia-soaked, revisionist coming-of-age portrait of an artist as a young man. Loosely based on the memoir of the same name by Brendan Behan, the fabled Irish writer-drunkard, the scenario depicts Behan (American actor Hatosy) as an idealistic 16-year-old I.R.A. member who lands in a British borstal (reform school). York has his best role in years as the borstal's warden. Debut feature for theater director Sheridan, who coscripted; he is the brother of Jim Sheridan, who co-executive produced. | tt0221838 | Shawn Hatosy, Danny Dyer, Lee Ingleby, Robin Laing, Eva Birthistle, Michael York | Irish-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Boss Nigger | Boss | 1975 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 92 | Clichéd blaxploitation Western with Williamson as a bounty hunter who predictably outhustles every white man in sight. In spite of its title, not as offensive as others of the genre (mainly because there's no graphic violence). Williamson scripted; also known as BOSS and THE BLACK BOUNTY KILLER. | tt0072725 | [PG] | Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, R. G. Armstrong, William Smith, Barbara Leigh, Carmen Hayworth | Crime, Action, Western | NULL | |
| The Boss Of It All | 2006 | Lars von Trier | ★★★ | 99 | Out-of-work actor (Albinus) signs on to impersonate a company CEO and becomes involved in a contentious negotiation. Insightful satire of corporate chicanery, employer-employee relations, and the psychology/egomania of actors. One of von Trier’s more accessible films, but some may find his excessive use of jump cuts disconcerting. Filmed in Automavision, which allows a computer to determine camera angles and movement. | tt0469754 | Jens Albinus, Peter Gantzler, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, Benedikt Erlingsson, Iben Hjejle, Henrik Prip, Mia Lyhne, Casper Christensen, Louise Mieritz, Jean-Marc Barr, Lars von Trier | Danish-Swedish-Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Boss' Wife | 1986 | Ziggy Steinberg | ★½ | 83 | Interesting cast falters in this tepid will-he-or-won't-he comedy about an ambitious young stockbroker (Stern) and the title lady (Dombasle), who's out to seduce him. | tt0090767 | [R] | Daniel Stern, Arielle Dombasle, Fisher Stevens, Melanie Mayron, Lou Jacobi, Martin Mull, Christopher Plummer, Thalmus Rasulala, Robert Costanzo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Boss's Son | 1978 | Bobby Roth | ★★★ | 97 | Good little independent feature by writer-director Roth about a young man reluctantly going into his father's carpet factory business. Credible, engaging. | tt0077265 | Asher Brauner, Rudy Solari, Rita Moreno, Henry G. Sanders, James Darren, Richie Havens, Piper Laurie, Elena Verdugo | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Boss | 1956 | Byron Haskin | ★★★ | 89 | Effective study of WW1 veteran returning to St. Louis and combatting corruption and crime; one of Payne's best performances as the city's underworld boss. | tt0049026 | John Payne, William Bishop, Gloria McGhee, Doe Avedon, Joe Flynn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bossa Nova | 1999 | Bruno Barreto | ★★ | 95 | Airy romantic comedy-of-errors involving Brazilian-based widow and English tutor (Irving), the successful older businessman who falls in love with her (Fagundes), and a variety of friends and family members whose love lives crisscross around them. Pleasant enough, with attractive scenery, but resolutely ordinary. | tt0180837 | [R] | Amy Irving, Antonio Fagundes, Alexandre Borges, Débora Bloch, Drica Moraes, Giovanna Antonelli, Alberto de Mendoza, Stephen Tobolowsky | Brazilian-U.S. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion | 1945 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★½ | 66 | Blackie becomes a prime suspect when he helps out an auctioneer friend and discovers counterfeit rare books— and murder. Fair mystery brightened by jaunty playing. | tt0037553 | Chester Morris, Lynn Merrick, Richard Lane, Frank Sully, Steve Cochran, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood | 1942 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 68 | Classy entry with the nimble Blackie transporting $60,000 for a friend to California. The cops follow him in hope of finding the lost Monterey diamond. | tt0034545 | Chester Morris, George E. Stone, Richard Lane, Forrest Tucker, Constance Worth, William Wright, Lloyd Corrigan, Walter Sande | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Boston Blackie and the Law | 1946 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 70 | Blackie uses his skill at prestidigitation to catch a killer who escaped from a women's prison during one of his magic shows. Mediocre entry utilizing a distaff version of the ALIAS BOSTON BLACKIE plot. | tt0038377 | Chester Morris, Trudy Marshall, Constance Dowling, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Frank Sully | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture | 1949 | Seymour Friedman | ★★ | 59 | Last, and least, of the Blackie mysteries finds our hero probing Chinatown murders, which he's naturally been accused of. George E. Stone is sorely missed as sidekick 'Runt,' replaced by Tomack for this final entry. | tt0041199 | Chester Morris, Joan Woodbury, Maylia, Richard Lane, Don McGuire, Sid Tomack, Frank Sully, Charles Arnt, Philip Ahn, Benson Fong | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Boston Blackie's Rendezvous | 1945 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★½ | 64 | Fairly tense entry, with Blackie on the trail of Cochran, a psycho killer who escapes from an asylum and goes on a murder spree. | tt0037554 | Chester Morris, Nina Foch, Steve Cochran, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Frank Sully, Iris Adrian, Harry Hayden | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Boston Strangler | 1968 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 116 | Absorbing drama, semidocumentary-style, detailing rise, manhunt, capture, prosecution of notorious criminal. Curtis gives startling performance as killer. Complex multi-image technique may be lost on TV screen. | tt0062755 | [R] | Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Hurd Hatfield, Murray Hamilton, Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, William Marshall, George Voskovec, William Hickey, James Brolin | Thriller, Drama, Mystery, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Bostonians | 1984 | James Ivory | ★★ | 120 | Redgrave is perfectly cast as Henry James' 19th-century feminist heroine in this careful adaptation of his novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala . . . but the film itself, for all its period detail, is deadly slow and uninvolving. Reeve is in over his head as Redgrave's contrary cousin. | tt0086992 | Christopher Reeve, Vanessa Redgrave, Madeleine Potter, Jessica Tandy, Nancy Marchand, Wesley Addy, Linda Hunt, Wallace Shawn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Botany Bay | 1953 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 94 | Based on Charles Nordhoff novel set in 1790s, picturesque yarn tells of convict ship bound for Australia, focusing on conflict between prisoner Ladd and sadistic skipper Mason, with Medina as Ladd's love interest. | tt0045574 | Alan Ladd, James Mason, Patricia Medina, Cedric Hardwicke | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Both Sides of the Law | 1954 | Muriel Box | ★★★ | 94 | Documentary-style account of London policewomen and their daily activity. Unpretentious production allows for good natural performances. | tt0046378 | Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Anne Crawford, Rosamund John | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bottle Rocket | 1996 | Wes Anderson | ★★½ | 95 | Original, low-key comedy about two young friends— and chronic screw-ups— who attempt to embark on a life of crime. Engaging performances by Owen C. Wilson (who cowrote the film), as Dignan, and his real-life brother Luke, as Anthony, stand out. (A third brother, Andrew, plays their friend's bullying older sibling.) Expanded from a 13m. short subject. | tt0115734 | [R] | Owen C. Wilson, Luke Wilson, Robert Musgrave, Andrew Wilson, Lumi Cavazos, James Caan, Teddy Wilson, Jim Ponds | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bottle Shock | 2008 | Randall Miller | ★★½ | 108 | In 1976, Paris wine-shop owner Rickman travels to Napa Valley, California, to see if there is anything worth importing for a blind taste test he is planning. Meanwhile, struggling vineyard owner Pullman and his footloose son (Pine) may be on the verge of making their first really good wine. Great real-life story should have yielded a better film; there are good vignettes, and Rickman is a treat to watch, but subplot involving Pine’s love life is a distraction. | tt0914797 | [PG-13] | Bill Pullman, Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Freddy Rodriguez, Rachael Taylor, Dennis Farina, Miguel Sandoval, Eliza Dushku, Bradley Whitford | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bottom of the Bottle | 1956 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 88 | Hot-and-heavy soaper detailing fireworks after alcoholic fugitive Johnson appears on the doorstep of his respectable lawyer-rancher brother (Cotten). Based on a novel by Georges Simenon. | tt0049027 | Van Johnson, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Roman, Jack Carson, Margaret Hayes, Bruce Bennett, Brad Dexter, Jim Davis, Margaret Lindsay, Henry (Harry) Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bottoms Up | 1934 | David Butler. | ★★★ | 85 | Sharp, knowing comedy with music about a smooth-talking con man (Tracy) and his two cronies, who pass off movie extra Paterson as royalty, allowing her a shot at Hollywood stardom. Great fun, especially for film buffs. If you blink, you'll miss Lucille Ball in a bit. Silvers, who plays Spud, cowrote the story. | tt0024910 | Spencer Tracy, Pat Paterson, John Boles, Sid Silvers, Herbert Mundin, Harry Green, Thelma Todd, Robert Emmett O'Connor. | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Boudu Saved From Drowning | 1932 | Jean Renoir. | ★★★ | 87 | Title tramp is rescued from the Seine and taken home by well-meaning book dealer; he eventually takes over household, then seduces both the wife and maid. Classic attack on complacency still holds up, with ratty-bearded Simon giving the performance of a lifetime. U.S. remake: DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS. | tt0022718 | Michel Simon, Charles Granval, Marcelle Hania, Severine Lerczynska. | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bought! | 1931 | Archie Mayo. | ★★½ | 92 | Working-class girl dreams of living a better life and forsakes her friends when she has a chance to break into high society. One scene in which Milland comes to Bennett's room at night is fairly explicit for its time. Fairly good soap opera marks the only time Bennett worked with her famous father, playing an older man who takes an interest in her. | tt0021691 | Constance Bennett, Ben Lyon, Richard Bennett, Dorothy Peterson, Ray Milland, Doris Lloyd, Maude Eburne, Clara Blandick. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Boulevard Nights | 1979 | Michael Pressman | ★★ | 102 | Sincere but uninspiring story of Chicano youth who yearns to move away from street-gang life, but drawn back because of hot-blooded young brother. Filmed in the barrios of L.A. | tt0078898 | [R] | Richard Yniguez, Marta Du Bois, Danny De La Paz, Betty Carvalho, Carmen Zapata, James Victor, Victor Millan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bounce | 2000 | Don Roos | ★★½ | 106 | Hotshot ad exec gives his coveted airline ticket to a chance airport acquaintance who's eager to get home to his family . . . then the plane crashes. A year later, the guilt-ridden adman looks up the man's widow, and quickly finds himself attracted to her. So-so soap opera has appealing stars but suffers from a heavy air of contrivance, which is especially surprising from writer-director Roos. David Paymer appears unbilled. | tt0186894 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Joe Morton, Natasha Henstridge, Tony Goldwyn, Johnny Galecki, Alex D. Linz, Jennifer Grey, Caroline Aaron, Sam Robards | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bound | 1996 | Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski | ★★★ | 109 | Sexy, stylishly violent noir with a Sapphic twist, about a handywoman (Gershon) and a gangster's moll (Tilly) who conspire to run off together with a suitcase containing two million bucks. The women have chemistry to burn, but Pantoliano steals the movie as the mobster caught in the middle. Impressive directorial debut from the screenwriting-brother duo. Lesbian-erotica author Susie Bright appears in the film, and served as technical adviser. | tt0115736 | [R] | Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, John Ryan, Christopher Meloni, Richard C. Sarafian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bound and Gagged: A Love Story | 1993 | Daniel Appleby | ★½ | 101 | Yet another road movie; this one explores the sexual trials and tribulations of two bisexual women and a rather confused straight guy who's despondent over the breakup of his marriage. Quirky, rather than interesting. Was supposed to usher ex-porn queen Allen into a mainstream movie career. Better luck next time. | tt0103867 | [R] | Ginger Lynn Allen, Karen Black, Chris Denton, Elizabeth Saltarrelli, Mary Ella Ross, Chris Mulkey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bound by Honor | Blood In Blood Out | 1993 | Taylor Hackford | ★★ | 180 | Ambitious look at Chicano gang life concerns two half-brothers and a half-white cousin who evolve into a drug-addicted artist, a narcotics detective, and a repeat-offender prisoner. Despite lots of screen time (and a passable beginning), this violent film gives top-heavy emphasis to the cellblock portion of the saga. Script was predominantly written, with shared credit, by acclaimed poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. Video title: BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT. | tt0106469 | [R] | Damian Chapa, Jesse Borrego, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo, Victor Rivers, Delroy Lindo, Tom Towles, Carlos Carrasco, Teddy Wilson, Raymond Cruz, Lanny Flaherty, Billy Bob Thornton, Natalija Nogulich, Ving Rhames | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Bound for Glory | 1976 | Hal Ashby | ★★★½ | 147 | Life of folk singer-composer Woody Guthrie, superbly played by Carradine, with great feeling for 1936-40 period as Guthrie travels the country fighting and singing for the underdogs, victims of the Great Depression. Haskell Wexler's Oscar-winning photography is tops throughout, as is Leonard Rosenman's score adaptation (also an Oscar-winner). Beware of shorter prints. | tt0074235 | [PG] | David Carradine, Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon, Gail Strickland, John Lehne, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Randy Quaid, M. Emmet Walsh | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bounty Hunter | 1954 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 79 | Scott is on his horse again, this time tracking down three murderers. Packed with 'comin'-at-ya!' 3-D-type moments even though it was not made in 3-D. | tt0046801 | Randolph Scott, Dolores Dorn, Marie Windsor, Howard Petrie | Western | NULL | |||
| The Bounty Hunter | 2010 | Andy Tennant | 💣 | 110 | Relentlessly charmless and frequently obnoxious romantic comedy about an investigative reporter (Aniston) who skips a court date to follow a story, only to be pursued by her bounty-hunting ex-husband (Butler). Even avid fans of the two leads will be disappointed, if not dismayed. | tt1038919 | [PG-13] | Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Jeff Garlin, Cathy Moriarty, Peter Greene, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Carol Kane, Christine Baranski | Comedy, Crime, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bounty Killer | 1965 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★★½ | 92 | Chief interest is cast of old-timers from Hollywood Westerns. Unlike their previous vehicles, this is adult, low key, and minus happy ending. Interesting on all three counts. | tt0058988 | Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, Audrey Dalton, Richard Arlen, Buster Crabbe, Fuzzy Knight, Johnny Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Bronco Billy Anderson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Bounty | 1984 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 130 | Handsome, well made retelling of history's most famous mutiny (not based on the Nordhoff-Hall book) paints Bligh as repressed and stubborn, not mad, and Christian as a dilettante with no real substance. Interesting all the way, but emotionally aloof. Great use of widescreen will suffer badly on TV. | tt0086993 | [PG] | Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Daniel DayLewis, Bernard Hill, Liam Neeson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bourne Identity | 2002 | Doug Liman | ★★★½ | 121 | Crackling spy thriller, from the Robert Ludlum novel, about a CIA operative who's fished out of the ocean and has no memory of his identity or his mission. Soon, circumstances force him to take it on the lam, alongside a woman he chances to meet who happens to have a car. Kudos to Liman for keeping the action taut, the characters believable, and the excitement at a high pitch throughout. Filmed before as a TV miniseries in 1988. Alternate edition runs 119m. Followed by THE BOURNE SUPREMACY. | tt0258463 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Clive Owen, Julia Stiles | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Bourne Supremacy | 2004 | Paul Greengrass | ★★½ | 108 | When an assassin tracks down Jason Bourne and his girlfriend, who are living in exile in India, the CIA-trained killer is forced back into action to find out why he's being hunted. Filled with nail-biting car chases and fight scenes, edited in a rat-tat-tat manner, but lacks the humor and sexual spark that made THE BOURNE IDENTITY so good. Brutal and cold-blooded, like its leading character; we're rooting for Bourne not because he's a hero but simply by default. Chris Cooper appears unbilled, briefly reprising his role from the earlier film. | tt0372183 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann, Marton Csokas, Tom Gallop, John Bedford Lloyd, Michelle Monaghan, Karel Roden | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bourne Ultimatum | 2007 | Paul Greengrass | ★★★ | 115 | Third chapter in Robert Ludlum's Bourne series has the CIA-trained operative traversing the world as he continues to search for his identity and decide how to settle old scores. All you could ask from an action film, with well-chosen international locales, an intelligently wrought cat-and-mouse narrative, and one breathless action set-piece after another. Damon, again, is right on target as Bourne, but his character's virtual indestructibility drains some of the humanity from the proceedings. | tt0440963 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine, Edgar Ramirez, Albert Finney, Joey Ansah, Daniel Brühl | Thriller, Adventure, Mystery, Action | NULL | ||
| Bowery Battalion | 1951 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 69 | Serviceable service romp, as the Bowery Boys join the Army to catch some spies. | tt0043356 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Donald MacBride, Virginia Hewitt, Russell Hicks, William 'Billy' Benedict, Bernard Gorcey, David Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bowery Blitzkrieg | 1941 | Wallace Fox | ★½ | 62 | Cliché-ridden East Side Kids entry about good kid Jordan torn between boxing and school, mixed up with the requisite gangsters. | tt0033428 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Donald Haines, David Gorcey, Warren Hull, Charlotte Henry, Keye Luke, Bobby Stone, Dennis Moore | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bowery Bombshell | 1946 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 65 | The boys track down some bank robbers when Sach becomes a suspect in this amusing entry with perennial nightclub gangster Leonard in fine form. | tt0038378 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Warren Hull, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Teala Loring, James Burke, Sheldon Leonard, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters | 1954 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 65 | Efficient blend of laughs and chills as the gang gets mixed up with a family of transplant-happy mad scientists. | tt0046802 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Lloyd Corrigan, Ellen Corby, John Dehner | Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Bowery Buckaroos | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 66 | Mild spoof, with the boys getting into all sorts of trouble out West in Hangman's Hollow. | tt0039216 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Julie Gibson, Bernard Gorcey, Minerva Urecal, Russell Simpson, Iron Eyes Cody | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Bowery Champs | 1944 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 62 | Newshound Muggs (Gorcey) gets embroiled in a murder investigation in this frantic East Side Kids outing. Former costar Bobby Jordan appears as himself in an amusing running gag. | tt0036667 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Jimmy Strand, Bud Gorman, Gabriel Dell, Anne Sterling, Evelyn Brent, Ian Keith | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bowery at Midnight | 1942 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 63 | Lugosi is kindly psychiatrist who leads double life as criminal mastermind in the Bowery. An inexplicable subplot involves reviving the dead. Mild but atmospheric. | tt0034546 | Bela Lugosi, John Archer, Wanda McKay, Tom Neal, Dave O'Brien | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Bowery to Bagdad | 1954 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 64 | N.Y. gangsters and Bagdad baddies are on the trail of Slip and Sach after a magic lamp falls into the boys' hands. Unsubtle, to say the least. Veteran scene-stealer Blore appears as the genie. | tt0044388 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Bernard Gorcey, Joan Shawlee, Eric Blore, Robert Bice, Rick Vallin, Jean Willes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bowery to Broadway | 1944 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 94 | Film depends solely on its many guest stars for what entertainment it has; limp story of rival theatrical producers (Oakie, Cook) doesn't make it. | tt0036668 | Jack Oakie, Donald Cook, Maria Montez, Louise Allbritton, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Andy Devine, Rosemary DeCamp, Frank McHugh, Ann Blyth, Leo Carrillo, Evelyn Ankers, Peggy Ryan, Donald O'Connor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bowery | 1933 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 90 | Raft is Steve Brodie, Beery a notorious saloon owner, Cooper his young nemesis in rowdy story of N.Y.C.'s Bowery during the Gay '90s. Kelton is marvelous as Beery's saloon soubrette. | tt0023838 | Wallace Beery, George Raft, Jackie Cooper, Fay Wray, Pert Kelton, Herman Bing | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bowfinger | 1999 | Frank Oz | ★★½ | 97 | Desperate, down-and-out filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger (Martin) schemes to make a movie with the top action star in Hollywood (Murphy)— without bothering to tell him that he's in the picture! Likable costars carry this comedy a long way; there are some good laughs throughout, but it's never as satisfying as you'd like it to be. Murphy has fun playing a doofus look-alike for the action hero. Written by Martin. | tt0131325 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Jamie Kennedy, Robert Downey/Jr., Terence Stamp, Adam Alexi-Malle, Barry Newman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bowling for Columbine | 2002 | Michael Moore | ★★★ | 123 | Onetime sharpshooting champion and lifelong NRA member Moore uses his confrontational, highly personal filmmaking style to examine America's love affair with guns. Depending on your point of view, you will find this wide-ranging film to be illuminating or infuriating. Our favorite segment is a condemnation of fear-mongering on TV newscasts . . . but a climactic interview with NRA president Charlton Heston isn't the showdown it should have been. Oscar winner for Best Documentary. | tt0310793 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Box of MoonLight | 1997 | Tom DiCillo | ★★½ | 107 | A very slight slice of whimsy about an uptight engineer, supervising a construction project out of town, who quite by chance falls in with a free spirit who lives in the woods . . . and finds that he feels liberated as he spends time away from the precision of his normal life. Turturro is excellent, as always, and so is Rockwell as Kid, but the story has few surprises, and its charms are stretched pretty thin. DiCillo also scripted. | tt0115738 | [R] | John Turturro, Sam Rockwell, Catherine Keener, Lisa Blount, Annie Corley, Dermot Mulroney | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Box | 2009 | Richard Kelly | ★★ | 113 | From the director of DONNIE DARKO, another fable percolating with apocalyptic portents. In '70s suburbia, an attractive, cash-strapped couple (Diaz, Marsden) can't resist temptation when a disfigured stranger (Langella) offers them a million dollars if they push a button that will trigger the death of a complete stranger. Not surprisingly, nothing good comes of this. Appreciably more coherent than Kelly's earlier efforts, but frustrating in its pretentiousness. Still, a few scenes have an undeniable power to unsettle, and the lead performances are spot-on. Freely adapted from "Button, Button," a Richard Matheson story that inspired a1986 episode of the Twilight Zone TV series. | tt0362478 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn, Holmes Osborne, Sam Oz Stone | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Boxcar Bertha | 1972 | Martin Scorsese | ★★½ | 88 | Scorsese's first studio film is yet another BONNIE AND CLYDE cash-in, with small-town girl Hershey falling in with Carradine and his band of train robbers. Good of its kind, but buffs looking for embryonic Scorsese stylistics may be a little let down . . . although there are two minor characters named Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger! | tt0068309 | [R] | Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Boxer | 1997 | Jim Sheridan | ★★★ | 113 | Powerful, straightforward story of a boxer and former IRA member released from prison after 14 years, trying to rebuild his life in troubled Belfast and becoming involved with his old sweetheart, who's married to a political prisoner. Third teaming of Day-Lewis and director/cowriter Sheridan lacks the complexity and resonance of MY LEFT FOOT and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, but is still compelling human drama, anchored by Day-Lewis and the luminous Watson. Stunningly filmed by Chris Menges in Dublin. | tt0118760 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Brian Cox, Ken Stott, Gerard McSorley, Eleanor Methven, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Kenneth Cranham | U.S.-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Boxing Gym | 2010 | Frederick Wiseman | ★★★ | 91 | Absorbing documentary about the title gymnasium—a facility in Austin, Texas, run by former professional-boxer-turned-trainer Richard Lord—and the diverse people who work, and work out, there. Director-editor Wiseman, one of the grand masters of cinema verité, employs his usual straightforward style—no talking heads, music, or narration—which allows the film (and viewers) to slowly, quietly build connections between the people on-screen and more meditative concerns about social interaction, physical and mental conditioning, and violence. | tt1653827 | Unrated | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Boxing Helena | 1993 | Jennifer Chambers Lynch | ★½ | 107 | Perfectly dreadful debut feature from the 24-year-old daughter of David Lynch, about an esteemed surgeon (Sands) whose obsession with sexpot Fenn leads to a most bizarre set of circumstances. Tries to be provocative and shocking, but the result is unintentional laughter (when it's not boring). Originally NC-17, rerated after appeal. | tt0106471 | [R] | Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn, Bill Paxton, Art Garfunkel, Kurtwood Smith, Betsy Clark, Nicolette Scorsese | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Boy | 2010 | Taika Waititi | ★★★ | 87 | While the grandmother who's raising him is off attending a funeral, a New Zealand youngster (Rolleston) is left to fend for himself and a younger sibling who, like him, has an active imagination that provides a buffer against life's hard knocks and inspires many of the film's fantasy asides. Borderline precious but measured enough not to cross that line. Writer-director Waititi (who plays the motherless boy's drug-dealer father) offers a not-unconvincing portrayal of how to let your mind take over when the best real life can offer is helping the father who has just materialized dig for a stash of cash he buried in the ground but can no longer find. Well-cast actors and handsome Waihau Bay locations help. Believe it or not, Michael Jackson is a key component of the story. | tt1560139 | James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi, Moerangi Tihore, Cherilee Martin | New Zealand | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Boy A | 2007 | John Crowley | ★★½ | 106 | In northern England, a taciturn young man (Garfield) has been released from penitentiary and is starting life anew, guided by a dedicated, fatherly social worker (Mullan). While he attempts to build new personal and professional relationships we learn—via small flashback bits—how the former schoolboy got into trouble. Intentionally bleak and a bit contrived, grim film is still quite involving and well acted. Based on a novel by Jonathan Trigell. Debuted on British TV prior to theatrical release. | tt1078188 | [R] | Andrew Garfield, Peter Mullan, Katie Lyons, Shaun Evans, Jeremy Swift, Alfie Owen, Taylor Doherty, Anthony Lewis | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Boy Cried Murder | 1966 | George Breakston | ★★½ | 86 | A reworking of THE WINDOW set in Adriatic resort town. Youngster noted for his fabrications witnesses a murder; no one but the killer believes him. | tt0060185 | Veronica Hurst, Phil Brown, Beba Loncar, Frazer MacIntosh, Tim Barrett | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Boy Friend | 1971 | Ken Russell | ★★★ | 135 | Director Russell's homage to Hollywood musicals works on several levels, from tacky matinee performance of a show to fantasy-world conception of same material, all loosely tied to Sandy Wilson's cunning spoof of 1920s musical shows. Busby Berkeley-ish numbers (choreographed by Gable) come amazingly close to spirit and execution of the Master himself. Originally released in U.S. at 110m. | tt0066858 | [G] | Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Moyra Fraser, Max Adrian, Vladek Sheybal, Georgina Hale, Tommy Tune; cameo by Glenda Jackson | British | Musical | NULL | |
| Boy From Indiana | 1950 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 66 | Modest horseracing yarn, with McCallister grooming his beloved horse while romancing Butler. | tt0042278 | Lon McCallister, Lois Butler, Billie Burke, George Cleveland | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Boy From Oklahoma | 1954 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 88 | Quiet Western film with Rogers as pacifist sheriff who manages to keep the town intact and romance Olson; good production values. Spun off as TV series Sugarfoot. | tt0046804 | Will Rogers/Jr., Nancy Olson, Lon Chaney/Jr., Anthony Caruso, Wallace Ford, Merv Griffin | Western | NULL | |||
| Boy Meets Girl | 1938 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 86 | Screwball spoof of Hollywood sometimes pushes too hard, but has enough sharp dialogue, good satire in tale of two sharpster screenwriters to make it worthwhile. Script by Samuel and Bella Spewack, from their Broadway play. | tt0029940 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Marie Wilson, Ralph Bellamy, Frank McHugh, Dick Foran, Penny Singleton, Ronald Reagan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Boy Named Charlie Brown | 1969 | Bill Melendez | ★★★ | 85 | Peanuts gang makes surprisingly successful feature-film debut, with ingenious visual ideas adding to usual fun. Only debit: Rod McKuen's absurd songs. | tt0064107 | [G] | Voices of Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, Andy Pforsich | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Boy Slaves | 1939 | P. J. Wolfson. | ★★½ | 70 | Grim social drama about a gang of impoverished runaways who are promised work by oily businessman Lane, only to end up behind barbed wire in a forced labor camp. Scrappy grade-B hybrid of WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD and I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG is dated but still packs a punch. | tt0031117 | Anne Shirley, Roger Daniel, James McCallion, Walter Ward, Charles Powers, Johnny Fitzgerald, Walter Tetley, Charles Lane. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Boy Ten Feet Tall | Sammy Going South | 1963 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★ | 118 | Colorful, charming film about orphaned boy traveling through Africa alone to reach his aunt, who lives in Durban. Cut to 88m. for American release, footage was restored for TV print. Originally titled SAMMY GOING SOUTH. | tt0056886 | Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland, Constance Cummings, Harry H. Corbett | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Boy Who Could Fly | 1986 | Nick Castle | ★★½ | 114 | Sensitive girl moves to a new neighborhood and befriends an autistic (and mysterious) boy next door. Warm, well-intentioned film moves very slowly and makes uncomfortable turn from believable drama to fantasy— undermining much of its effectiveness. Good feelings and good performances (especially Bedelia and newcomer Deakins) help keep it aloft. Written by director Castle. | tt0090768 | [PG] | Lucy Deakins, Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia, Fred Savage, Colleen Dewhurst, Fred Gwynne, Louise Fletcher, Jason Priestley | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Boy Who Cried Bitch | 1991 | Juan José Campanella | ★★★ | 101 | Thoughtful, unsettling drama about violent, psychotic 12-year-old Cross, whose mother hasn't given him proper parental attention, and whose psychiatric care is inadequate at best. Well made, extremely well acted, but be forewarned: it's unrelentingly grim and sad. | tt0101504 | Harley Cross, Karen Young, Dennis Boutsikaris, Adrien Brody, Gene Canfield, Moira Kelly, Jesse Bradford, J. D. Daniels, Kario Salem, Samuel Wright | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Boy Who Cried Werewolf | 1973 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 93 | Boy discovers his own father has become a werewolf and is on the prowl. More like an adventure thriller than a horror movie, but not much good as anything. Odd werewolf makeup. | tt0069820 | [PG] | Kerwin Mathews, Elaine Devry, Scott Sealey, Robert J. Wilke, Susan Foster | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Boy Who Had Everything | 1984 | Stephen Wallace. | ★★ | 94 | Uneven, inconsequential account of sensitive first-year university student Connery, his relationships with his mother and girlfriend, and his growing pains. Jason is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento (who plays his mom here). | tt0086995 | [R] | Jason Connery, Diane Cilento, Laura Williams, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Ian Gilmour. | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Boy Who Stole a Million | 1960 | Charles Crichton. | ★★ | 64 | Family-type film of youth who gets involved in bank theft to help father with oppressive debts. | tt0054696 | Maurice Reyna, Virgilio Texera, Marianne Benet, Harold Kasket, George Coulouris. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Boy With Green Hair | 1948 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 82 | Thought-provoking allegory of war orphan Stockwell, who becomes a social outcast when his hair changes color. Controversial on its release because of its pacifistic point of view. Dale Robertson and Russ Tamblyn appear uncredited. | tt0040185 | Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Barbara Hale, Dean Stockwell, Dwayne Hickman | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Boy and His Dog | 1975 | L. Q. Jones | ★★½ | 87 | Cult black comedy is definitely not a kiddie movie, despite its title. In the post-holocaust future, young punk Johnson, aided by his telepathic (and much smarter) dog, forages for food and women, then is lured into bizarre underground civilization. Faithful adaptation of Harlan Ellison's novella. Revised in 1982 to include a 1m. prologue. | tt0072730 | [R] | Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Jason Robards, Alvy Moore, Helene Winston, Charles McGraw, Tiger, voice of Tim McIntire | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Boy and the Pirates | 1960 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★½ | 82 | OK fantasy-adventure for kids about a boy who is magically transported back to the days of pirates on the high seas. Vye is well cast as the main cutthroat. | tt0053672 | Charles Herbert, Susan Gordon, Murvyn Vye, Paul Guilfoyle | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Boy in Blue | 1986 | Charles Jarrott | ★★ | 98 | Humdrum tale of real-life 19th-century Canadian rowing champ Ned Hanlan; filled with stock characters, from faithful manager to 'unattainable' love interest. Barely stays afloat. | tt0090769 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Cynthia Dale, Christopher Plummer, David Naughton, Sean Sullivan, Melody Anderson | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | 2008 | Mark Herman | ★★★ | 94 | Unique Holocaust fable (from John Boyne’s novel for young readers) about the 8-year-old son of an SS officer who moves with his family to a new home in the country. He can’t help being curious about the “farm” nearby with a barbed-wire fence—and a boy about his age on the other side. Quietly powerful drama personalizes the qualms and contradictions facing German families during the Nazi era. Screenplay by the director. | tt0914798 | [PG-13] | David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Friend, David Hayman, Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, Sheila Hancock, Richard Johnson, Jim Norton | U.S.-British | Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Boy of the Streets | 1937 | William Nigh | ★★½ | 75 | Atmospheric little programmer with Cooper a cocky young punk who hero-worships his dad, a slimy political hack. Awfully sentimental at times. | tt0029941 | Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, Kathleen Burke, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Marjorie Main, George Cleveland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boy on a Dolphin | 1957 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 111 | Loren's Hollywood debut understandably caused a sensation for her initial appearance in a wet, clingy blouse; thereafter, it's an OK adventure about rival teams of divers racing to locate the titular statue, sunk centuries ago off the island of Hydra. Spectacular Greek locations are the real stars; Webb's droll villainy is another asset. | tt0050208 | Alan Ladd, Clifton Webb, Sophia Loren, Laurence Naismith | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Boy! What a Girl | 1946 | Arthur Leonard | ★★★ | 70 | Wonderfully entertaining musical comedy featuring all-black cast (with the exception of Gene Krupa). Scenario centers on a couple of producers attempting to win backing for their show. Moore is funny in drag; the jitterbugging is quite X-rated for 1946. | tt0135169 | Tim Moore, Duke Williams, Elwood Smith, Sheila Guyse, Betti Mays, Deek Watson and His Brown Dots, Big Sid Catlett, International Jitterbugs, Slam Stewart, Ann Cornell | Musical | NULL | |||
| Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! | 1966 | George Marshall | 💣 | 99 | They sure did; result is worthless film that should be avoided. Absolutely painful. | tt0060186 | Bob Hope, Elke Sommer, Phyllis Diller, Cesare Danova, Marjorie Lord | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Boycott | 2001 | Clark Johnson | Above Average TV Movie | 118 | Excellent depiction of the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott by African Americans instigated by Rosa Parks. Focus here is on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Wright), a young family man whose natural leadership abilities are undeniable. Well made, with MTV-type flourishes that should help pique the interest of young people. Written by Herman Daniel Farrell III and Timothy J. Sexton, based on a book by Stewart Burns. | tt0255851 | Jeffrey Wright, Terrence Dashon Howard, CCH Pounder, Carmen Ejogo, Reg E. Cathey, Brent Jennings, Shawn Michael Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Boyfriends and Girlfriends | 1987 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 102 | The sixth of Rohmer's 'Comedies and Proverbs' is a typically witty, perceptive, ironic account of two very different young women who strike up a friendship . . . and commence playing romantic musical chairs with a couple of men. Nobody can direct characters who are forever falling in and out of love quite like Eric Rohmer. Originally shown as MY GIRLFRIEND'S BOYFRIEND. | tt0092550 | [PG] | Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir, Anne-Laure Meury, Eric Viellard, Francois-Eric Gendron | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Boynton Beach Club | 2006 | Susan Seidelman | ★★★ | 105 | Affecting, funny look at love among senior citizens in a Florida retirement community. Vaccaro is the newest (reluctant) recruit for the Boynton Beach Bereavement Club after her husband's sudden demise; in addition to companionship she needs to vent her anger over his needless death. Appealing performances by all the leading actors propel this minor but good-hearted film, one of the few to deal with older people without being coy or condescending. | tt0439478 | [R] | Dyan Cannon, Brenda Vaccaro, Sally Kellerman, Joseph Bologna, Len Cariou, Michael Nouri, Renee Taylor, Mal Z. Lawrence | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Boys | 1996 | Stacy Cochran | ★★ | 88 | Moody but muddled coming-of-age story about a prep school boy (Haas) who helps a woman (Ryder) after an accident and then becomes entangled in her mysterious past. Frustrating plot takes time getting started, but has no real story to tell. Attractive New England locations and good performance by Haas can't make up for lapses in logic . . . and a tacked-on happy ending. This sat on the shelf for over a year. | tt0115742 | [PG-13] | Winona Ryder, Lukas Haas, John C. Reilly, James LeGros, Skeet Ulrich, Wiley Wiggins, Russell Young, Chris Cooper, Jessica Harper, Catherine Keener | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Boys Are Back | 2009 | Scott Hicks | ★★½ | 104 | Busy sports reporter's wife suddenly dies, leaving him to raise their 6-year-old son . . . but he's never spent much time as a hands-on dad. Then an older son from an earlier marriage comes to visit from England, which further complicates the family dynamic. Well-intentioned drama never reaches the emotional peak it ought to—or might have had on the printed page. Based on a memoir by Simon Carr. | tt0926380 | [PG-13] | Clive Owen, Emma Booth, Laura Fraser, George MacKay, Nicholas McAnulty, Julia Blake, Chris Haywood, Natasha Little, Erik Thomson | Australian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Boys Don't Cry | 1999 | Kimberly Peirce | ★★½ | 119 | Searing drama based on the 1993 case of Brandon Teena (Swank, in an Oscar-winning performance), a girl who passes herself off as a boy in rural Nebraska. Moving to a new town, she/he finds a soul mate who deliberately doesn't ask too many questions . . . but infuriates the girl's trailer-trash friends and family. Well made in every respect, but fails to get inside the characters' heads; the violent conclusion is almost unbearable to watch. Same material explored in the documentary THE BRANDON TEENA STORY. | tt0171804 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III, Alison Folland, Alicia Goranson, Jeannetta Arnette | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Boys From Brazil | 1978 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★½ | 123 | Former Nazi chieftain Dr. Josef Mengele (Peck) has insidious plan to breed new race of Hitlers. Interesting but ultimately silly and unbelievable; worth watching, though, for Olivier's brilliant, credible performance as aging Jewish Nazi-hunter. Based on Ira Levin novel. | tt0077269 | [R] | Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen, John Dehner, Rosemary Harris, Anne Meara, John Rubinstein, Denholm Elliott, Steve Guttenberg, David Hurst, Jeremy Black, Bruno Ganz, Walter Gotell, Michael Gough, Prunella Scales | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Boys From Syracuse | 1940 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 73 | Disappointingly ordinary adaptation of Rodgers & Hart's Broadway musical based on Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, but set in ancient Greece. Songs: 'This Can't Be Love,' 'Falling in Love with Love. | tt0032276 | Allan Jones, Joe Penner, Martha Raye, Rosemary Lane, Irene Hervey, Eric Blore | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Boys Next Door | 1985 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★ | 88 | Alienated teens Caulfield and Sheen, just about to graduate high school, go on a murder spree. A not-uninteresting portrait of desperation and hopelessness that ultimately fails because there's no real insight into the boys' behavior. | tt0090770 | [R] | Maxwell Caulfield, Charlie Sheen, Christopher McDonald, Hank Garrett, Patti D'Arbanville, Moon Zappa | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Boys Town | 1938 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 96 | Tracy won Oscar as Father Flanagan, who develops school for juvenile delinquents; Rooney is his toughest enrolee. Syrupy but well done; Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary also earned Oscars for their original story. Sequel: MEN OF BOYS TOWN. Almost 60 years later, Rooney played Father Flanagan in the direct-to-video feature THE ROAD HOME. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029942 | Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Henry Hull, Gene Reynolds, Leslie Fenton, Addison Richards, Edward Norris, Sidney Miller, Bobs Watson, Frankie Thomas | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Boys and Girl From County Clare | 2005 | John Irvin | ★★★ | 90 | Two brothers (Meaney, Hill) who haven't seen each other in years revive a longtime rivalry when their bands compete in a traditional Ceili music festival. Entertaining comedy set in the 1960s stops just short of being too cute; sentimental, undemanding entertainment with canny performances by the leading actors. Corr, of the Irish pop group The Corrs, is an engaging love interest for Evans. Made in 2003. | tt0337631 | Colm Meaney, Bernard Hill, Andrea Corr, Philip Barantini, Charlotte Bradley, Shaun Evans, Patrick Bergin | Irish | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Boys and Girls | 2000 | Robert Iscove | 💣 | 94 | Two students (Prinze and Forlani) find their paths constantly crossing; then a friendship develops. Tiresome rehash of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY among the college set, with grating characters you just want to slap silly. | tt0204175 | [PG-13] | Freddie Prinze/Jr., Claire Forlani, Jason Biggs, Amanda Detmer, Alyson Hannigan, Heather Donahue, Lisa Eichhorn | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Boys in Company C | 1978 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★★ | 127 | Shaw (in a standout performance) whips a bunch of green Marine recruits into shape for combat in Vietnam; good, tough film focuses on stupidity of military brass and demoralization of the soldiers. | tt0077270 | [R] | Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, James Canning, Michael Lembeck, Craig Wasson, Scott Hylands, James Whitmore/Jr., Lee Ermey | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Boys in the Band | 1970 | William Friedkin | ★★★½ | 119 | Excellent filmization of Mart Crowley's landmark play about nine men at a birthday party: eight are gay, the ninth insists he's not. Often hilarious, frequently sad, but always thought provoking, and sensationally acted by the original stage cast; a rare case where a single, claustrophobic set is actually an asset. Avoid the shredded 108m. version released to commercial TV. | tt0065488 | [R] | Kenneth Nelson, Peter White, Leonard Frey, Cliff Gorman, Frederick Combs, Laurence Luckinbill, Keith Prentice, Robert LaTourneaux, Reuben Greene | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Boys of Paul Street | 1969 | Zoltan Fabri | ★★★ | 108 | Allegory of children's battle for control of vacant lot in Budapest, from Ferenc Molnar's novel; eloquent statement on war. Filmed before in Hollywood as NO GREATER GLORY. | tt0062164 | [G] | Anthony Kemp, Robert Efford, Gary O'Brien, Mark Colleano, John Moulder Brown | Hungarian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Boys of the City | 1940 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 65 | Muggs (Gorcey) and his gang are sent to the country where they get mixed up with murder in a 'haunted' house. OK follow-up to EAST SIDE KIDS and the first official entry in the series. | tt0032277 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, David Gorcey, Dave O'Brien, Vince Barnett, Dennis Moore, Donald Haines, Hally Chester, Frankie Burke | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Boys on the Side | 1995 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 117 | Extremely likable film about three disparate women who travel cross-country and become involved in each other's lives. Any film incorporating physical abuse, premarital pregnancy, AIDS, and lesbianism has got its work cut out for it; three strong, appealing performances make up for story contrivances (and credibility gaps). | tt0112571 | [R] | Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker, Drew Barrymore, Matthew McConaughey, James Remar, Billy Wirth, Anita Gillette, Estelle Parsons, Dennis Boutsikaris, Gedde Watanabe | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Boys' Night Out | 1962 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 115 | Trio of married men and bachelor Garner decide to set up an apartment equipped with Novak. Some interesting innuendos, with comic relief from Blair, Page, and Gabor. | tt0055809 | Kim Novak, James Garner, Tony Randall, Howard Duff, Janet Blair, Patti Page, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Howard Morris | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Boys | 1961 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★★ | 123 | Engrossing study of attorney who tries to uncover motives for crimes allegedly committed by four teenagers. | tt0211990 | Richard Todd, Robert Morley, Felix Aylmer, Wilfred Brambell | British | Adult, Short | NULL | ||
| Boyz N the Hood | 1991 | John Singleton | ★★★ | 107 | Sober, thoughtful look at life in the black section of South Central L.A. A divorced father strives to raise his son with values— and steer him away from the ignorance and aimlessness that has led to an epidemic of senseless violence in the neighborhood. Impressive debut for 23-year-old writer-director Singleton; longish, and not always on-the-money, but overall quite potent and effective. Singleton has a bit part as a mailman. | tt0101507 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, *** Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Tyra Ferrell, Angela Bassett, Whitman Mayo | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Braddock: Missing in Action III | 1988 | Aaron Norris | 💣 | 101 | Dreary comic book sequel with Colonel Norris returning to Vietnam yet again, this time to look for his wife. Chuck even coscripted, with brother Aaron serving as director. | tt0094792 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Roland Harrah III, Miki King | Action | NULL | ||
| The Brady Bunch Movie | 1995 | Betty Thomas | ★★½ | 90 | Dead-on parody of the enduringly popular early '70s TV sitcom, with America's favorite white-bread family unaware that values and mores have changed all around them. Long and Cole are a hoot as the parents, but if you're not a series devotee, many of the gags and story references will have no meaning whatsoever. Predictably, there are cameos by veterans of the original show. Followed by A VERY BRADY SEQUEL. | tt0112572 | [PG-13] | Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Michael McKean, Jean Smart, Henriette Mantel, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Christine Taylor, Paul Sutera, Jennifer Elise Cox, Jesse Lee, Olivia Hack, Reni Santoni | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Brady's Escape | 1984 | Pal Gabor | ★★ | 96 | Bland adventure yarn about a flier (Savage) shot down over Hungary during WW2, and how some Magyar cowboys help him to elude the Nazis. | tt0085688 | John Savage, Kelly Reno, Ildiko Bansagi, Laszlo Mensaros, Ferenc Bacs | U.S.-Hungarian | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Brain Candy | Kids in the Hall Brain Candy | 1996 | Kelly Makin | ★★½ | 88 | New wonder drug that cures depression has devastating side effect on the population now addicted to the product. This premise intertwines the lives of over thirty characters played by Kids in the Hall, the Canadian TV sketch troupe in their feature-film debut. Funny sequences and bizarre characters don't add up to a satisfying whole, but the cast is energetic in many original and unusual guises, often in drag. Standout moment has Thompson 'coming out' in splashy Hollywood musical production number. Brendan Fraser appears unbilled. Onscreen title is KIDS IN THE HALL BRAIN CANDY. | tt0116768 | [R] | Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, Kathryn Greenwood, Janeane Garofalo | Comedy | NULL | |
| Brain Damage | 1988 | Frank Henenlotter | ★★★ | 94 | Extremely strange, oddly effective horror film about Herbst and a monster parasite that gives him psychedelic 'highs' by injecting fluid into his brain. And that's not the half of it! Clever parable about drug addiction features a funny cameo by the star of Henenlotter's first film, BASKET CASE. | tt0094793 | [R] | Rick Herbst, Gordon MacDonald, Jennifer Lowry, Theo Barnes, Lucille Saint-Peter, Vicki Darnell | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Brain Donors | 1992 | Dennis Dugan | ★★ | 80 | Three social misfits team up to bilk a wealthy matron who wants to establish her own ballet company. Full-bore attempt to recreate an old-time movie comedy, officially 'suggested' by A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, with Turturro as Groucho, Nelson as Harpo, Smith as Chico, and Marchand as Margaret Dumont. Scores high marks for good intentions but pretty much falls flat. Great Claymation title sequence by Will Vinton's studio. Written by Pat Proft. | tt0103872 | [PG] | John Turturro, Bob Nelson, Mel Smith, Nancy Marchand, John Savident, George De La Pena, Juli Donald, Spike Alexander, Teri Copley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Brain Eaters | 1958 | Bruno VeSota | ★★ | 60 | Loosely based (without credit) on Robert Heinlein's Puppet Masters, this has spongy brain creatures boring up from inner earth in a ship, attaching themselves to people's heads and turning them into mindless zombies. Some mildly scary moments. Look for Leonard Nimoy. | tt0051432 | Joanna Lee, Jody Fair, Edwin Nelson, Alan Frost | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Brain From Planet Arous | 1958 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 70 | Giant floating brain (with eyes) takes over the body of scientist Agar as its first step in conquering Earth; meanwhile, an alien policeman's brain hides out in Agar's dog while waiting for the right moment to make the arrest. Fun in an idiotic sort of way, and Agar is pretty good under the circumstances. | tt0050210 | John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Robert Fuller, Henry Travis, Morris Ankrum, Tom Browne Henry | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Brain Machine | 1956 | Ken Hughes. | ★★ | 72 | Average yarn about drug smuggling and those involved, one of them as the result of mind-shattering machine. | tt0049028 | Patrick Barr, Elizabeth Allan, Maxwell Reed, Vanda Godsell. | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Brain Smasher . . . A Love Story | 1993 | Albert Pyun | ★½ | 88 | One night in Portland, Oregon, nightclub bouncer Clay helps model Hatcher combat a mob of evil Chinese monks who are after the Red Lotus of Ultimate Power. Failed attempt to turn Clay into a Stallone-like action star is a slow, foggy bore. Hatcher is cute in hot pants, though. | tt0106475 | [PG-13] | Andrew Dice Clay, Teri Hatcher, Yuji Okumoto, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Brion James, Tim Thomerson, Charles Rocket, Nicholas Guest | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Brain That Wouldn't Die | 1963 | Joseph Green | ★½ | 81 | Poorly produced tale of surgeon trying to find body to attach to fiancée's head (she was decapitated but still lives). Beware of shorter version, which eliminates most of the gore. | tt0052646 | Jason Evers, Virginia Leith, Adele Lamont, Leslie Daniel, Paula Maurice | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Brain | 1962 | Freddie Francis | ★★★ | 85 | Good remake of DONOVAN'S BRAIN, about scientist overtaken by the brain of a vengeance-seeking dead man that is being kept 'alive' in his laboratory. Original British title: VENGEANCE. | tt0056601 | Anne Heywood, Peter Van Eyck, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Maxine Audley, Jeremy Spenser, Jack MacGowran | British-German | Drama, Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Brain | 1969 | Gerard Oury | ★★ | 100 | Fine international cast in OK caper comedy about a train heist masterminded by Niven. | tt0064146 | [G] | David Niven, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, Eli Wallach, Silvia Monti, Fernand Valois | French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| BrainWaves | 1982 | Ulli Lommel | ★★ | 80 | Young woman, injured in an accident, receives the brain (and brainwaves) of a murdered girl and then is stalked by her killer. A glum-looking Tony Curtis is the modern-day Dr. Frankenstein in this pedestrian thriller. | tt0083690 | [PG] | Keir Dullea, Suzanna Love, Tony Curtis, Vera Miles, Percy Rodrigues, Paul Willson | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Brainscan | 1994 | John Flynn | ★★ | 95 | Teenaged Furlong has few friends, still grieves over the accident that killed his mother, and is obsessed by horror movies and computer games. All of which makes him ripe for the new game, Brainscan— which seems to be turning him into an unwitting murderer. A good cast and director do what they can with mediocre material. | tt0109327 | [R] | Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, T Rider-Smith, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh, David Hemblen | U.S.-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Brainstorm | 1965 | William Conrad | ★★ | 114 | Fair thriller about a determined man (Hunter) who attempts the perfect crime in order to eliminate Andrews and marry Francis. Contrived. | tt0058990 | Jeff Hunter, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, Viveca Lindfors, Stacy Harris, Kathie Brown | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Brainstorm | 1983 | Douglas Trumbull | ★★★ | 106 | Research scientists Walken and Fletcher perfect a sensory experience device— in the form of a headset— with explosive potential. Entertainingly old-fashioned 'mad scientist' type tale brought up to date, though it's best not to examine story too closely. Fletcher gives film's standout performance, but Wood, in her last film (she died during production in 1981) has a basically thankless role. Sure to lose most of its impact on TV, since Trumbull's state-of-the-art visual effects were designed for 70mm Super Panavision. | tt0085271 | [PG] | Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher, Cliff Robertson, Joe Dorsey, Jordan Christopher | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Brainwashed | 1961 | Gerd Oswald | ★★ | 102 | Austrian Jurgens' struggle to retain sanity while undergoing intense Nazi interrogation is basis of this psychological drama. Strong performances but weak story mars film. | tt0054272 | Curt Jurgens, Claire Bloom, Hansjorg Felmy, Albert Lieven | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bram Stoker's Dracula | Dracula | 1992 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 123 | Sumptuous retelling of the Dracula legend as originally conceived by Stoker in his 1897 novel. Avenging the death of his beloved wife, a 15th-century Romanian warrior lives on through the ages . . . and sets his sights on Victorian London. Sexual, sinuous, exquisitely realized (using every movie artifice imaginable); occasionally let down by story lags . . . but always has one more goodie up its sleeve. Written by James Victor Hart. Kudos to Thomas Sanders' production design, Michael Ballhaus' cinematography, and Wojciech Kilar's powerful music. Won Oscars for makeup, sound effects editing, and costume design. | tt0103874 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits, Jay Robinson, Monica Bellucci | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Bramble Bush | 1960 | Daniel Petrie | ★★½ | 105 | Charles Mergendahl's potboiler becomes superficial gloss with Burton, totally ill at ease, playing New England doctor returning to Cape Cod, where he falls in love with his dying friend's wife. | tt0053673 | Richard Burton, Barbara Rush, Jack Carson, Angie Dickinson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bran Nue Dae | 2010 | Rachel Perkins | ★★★ | 81 | Infectiously cheerful adaptation of the 1990 stage musical (by Jimmy Chi and Kuckles) set in 1969. Willie (McKenzie) is an aboriginal boy who’s too shy to tell a girl he loves her, too weak to stand up to his mother, and too frightened to do anything but run away from the seminary school in Perth presided over by the exacting Father Benedictus (Rush). This sets him on a road trip that becomes a voyage of discovery. A knowing wink back at a not-so-distant time in Australia, with tuneful songs and an upbeat spirit. | tt1148165 | [PG-13] | Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins, Geoffrey Rush, Deborah Mailman, Tom Budge, Magda Szubanski | Australian | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Branded | 1950 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 95 | Outlaws use carefree Ladd to impersonate rancher Bickford's long-missing son, leading to much different outcome than anticipated; action and love scenes balanced OK. | tt0042279 | Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, Milburn Stone | Western | NULL | |||
| Branded to Kill | 1967 | Seijun Suzuki. | ★★★ | 91 | Stylish and surreal deconstruction of the Yakuza genre, chronicling the bizarre exploits of 'Number Three Killer,' a hit man with a fetish for smelling boiled rice who finds himself being stalked by 'Number One Killer' after he botches an assignment. Typically irreverent and subversive film from cult director Suzuki is also fairly incoherent but technically dazzling. | tt0061882 | Jo Shishido, Koji Nambara, Annu Mari, Mariko Ogawa. | Japanese | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Brannigan | 1975 | Douglas Hickox | ★★½ | 111 | A criminal flees to London to avoid extradition, and Chicago cop Wayne pursues him. Overlong, but change of locale serves Duke well; highlight is amusing brawl in pub. | tt0072732 | [PG] | John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Vernon, Mel Ferrer, Ralph Meeker, Lesley-Anne Down | British | Action | NULL | |
| The Brasher Doubloon | 1947 | John Brahm | ★★ | 72 | Rare coin seems to be object of several murders in very uneven version of Philip Marlowe detective mystery. Filmed before as TIME TO KILL. | tt0039217 | George Montgomery, Nancy Guild, Conrad Janis, Roy Roberts, Fritz Kortner | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Brass Bottle | 1964 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 89 | Juvenile comedy-fantasy about genie Ives coming out of magic bottle to serve Randall. Eden fared better when she went into a lamp herself on TV. | tt0057897 | Tony Randall, Burl Ives, Barbara Eden, Edward Andrews, Ann Doran | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Brass Legend | 1956 | Gerd Oswald | ★½ | 79 | Routine Western uplifted by Burr's villain role. | tt0049029 | Hugh O'Brian, Nancy Gates, Raymond Burr, Reba Tassell | Western | NULL | |||
| The Brass Monkey | 1948 | Thornton Freeland. | ★★ | 81 | A radio personality (Canadian-born BBC host Levis, as himself) gets tangled up in a real-life crime, the theft of the title sculpture. Film interrupts suspense for broadcast skits. Unlikely overlap has Landis near the end of her career and T-T at the start of his. Aka LUCKY MASCOT. | tt0040186 | Carroll Levis, Carole Landis, Herbert Lom, Avril Angers, Ernest Thesiger, Edward Underdown, Henry Edwards, Henry Worthington, Terry-Thomas. | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Brass Target | 1978 | John Hough | ★★ | 111 | Rambling thriller speculates that Gen. Patton (Kennedy) was assassinated just after WW2 because of major gold heist perpetrated by his subordinates. Unfocused storyline is major liability; von Sydow is major asset as the killer. | tt0077272 | [PG] | John Cassavetes, Sophia Loren, George Kennedy, Max von Sydow, Robert Vaughn, Bruce Davison, Patrick McGoohan | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Brassed Off | 1996 | Mark Herman | ★★★ | 109 | Yorkshire mine workers eke out a living but find solace as members of an amateur, all-male brass band. They are threatened by the not unrelated factors of (a) the mining pit's possible closure and (b) a young woman invading their territory. Seriocomic drama provides an emotional tour de force for Postlethwaite as dogged bandleader, and also for Tompkinson as his beleaguered son. Those are the real-life musicians— members of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band— on the soundtrack. | tt0115744 | [R] | Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, Stephen Tompkinson, Jim Carter, Philip Jackson, Peter Martin, Sonue Johnston | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Brat | 1931 | John Ford. | ★★½ | 81 | Wealthy novelist takes a waif home to stay with him in order to research his next book. Naturally, they fall in love, much to the chagrin of his snooty family and socialite girlfriend. Change of pace for Ford is a stylish, pleasing foray into satire and light comedy. | tt0021695 | Sally O'Neil, Alan Dinehart, Frank Albertson, Virginia Cherrill, June Collyer, J. Farrell MacDonald, William Collier/Sr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bratz | 2007 | Sean McNamara | ★½ | 102 | Silly live-action trifle, based on a popular line of fashion dolls, about four pretty, perky high schoolers whose friendships are strained by allegiances to rival cliques. May—repeat, may—appeal to preteen girls who treasure their Bratz collections. | tt0804452 | [PG] | Nathalia Ramos, Janel Parrish, Logan Browning, Skyler Shaye, Chelsea Staub, Lainie Kazan, Jon Voight, Kadeem Hardison | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Bravados | 1958 | Henry King | ★★★ | 98 | Compelling Western starring Peck, seeking four men who raped and killed his wife, discovering that he has become no better than those he hunts. Joe De Rita (later Curly Joe of The Three Stooges) plays the hangman. | tt0051433 | Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi | Western | NULL | |||
| Brave | 2012 | Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman | ★★½ | 94 | In ancient times, a Scottish princess named Merida resists her mother's constant training to become a future queen, preferring a boisterous existence roaming the forest with her trusty bow and arrow. When it comes time for her to choose a suitor, she runs away and stumbles onto a witch who agrees to change her fate through a magical dark spell. Typically handsome Pixar animated feature has robust characters but a formulaic feel—until the story takes a very strange turn. A final burst of emotion almost redeems it. | tt1217209 | [PG] | Voices of Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson, John Ratzenberger | Animation, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Brave Bulls | 1951 | Robert Rossen | ★★★ | 108 | Flavorful account of public and private life of a matador, based on Tom Lea book. Film admirably captures atmosphere of bullfighting. Some prints now available run 114m., with bullfight footage originally deemed too gruesome for U.S. audiences. | tt0043359 | Mel Ferrer, Miroslava, Anthony Quinn, Eugene Iglesias | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Brave Little Toaster | 1987 | Jerry Rees | ★★★ | 90 | Entertaining animated feature about a group of humanized household appliances who embark on a perilous journey to find their young master. A welcome throwback to the cartoons of yore, with equal doses of heart and hip humor to please both kids and their parents. Some nice songs by Van Dyke Parks, too. Based on the novel by Thomas M. Disch. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0092695 | Voices of Jon Lovitz, Tim Stack, Timothy E. Day, Thurl Ravenscroft, Deanna Oliver, Phil Hartman | Family, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Brave One | 1956 | Irving Rapper | ★★★ | 100 | Predictable but charming tale of peasant-boy Ray and his love for Gitano, a valiant bull destined to meet his fate in the arena. Filmed in Mexico. 'Robert Rich' (a pseudonym for blacklisted Dalton Trumbo) received a Best Original Story Academy Award, which went unclaimed until 1975. | tt0049030 | Michel Ray, Rodolfo Hoyos, Fermin Rivera, Elsa Cardenas, Carlos Navarro, Joi Lansing | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Brave One | 2007 | Neil Jordan | ★★½ | 122 | N.Y.C. radio host Foster turns troubled, gun-toting vigilante after she is attacked and her fiancé killed by hoods in Central Park. As the body count rises, she forms an unusual bond with the detective (Howard) who is investigating her handiwork. Serious attempt to examine a post-9/11 world of violence and paranoia becomes more unhinged (and more improbable) as it goes along and stubbornly remains a high-toned DEATH WISH, for better and worse. Typically strong work from Foster and Howard helps. | tt0476964 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Carmen Ejogo, Nicky Katt, Mary Steenburgen, Jane Adams, Zoë Kravitz | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Brave Warrior | 1952 | Spencer G. Bennet. | ★½ | 73 | Inept yarn, set in 1800s Indiana, has Hall preventing Indian hostilities. | tt0044444 | Jon Hall, Jay Silverheels, Michael Ansara, Christine Larson. | Western | NULL | |||
| Braveheart | 1995 | Mel Gibson | ★★★½ | 177 | Big, booming, epic tale of 13th-century Scottish rebel warrior William Wallace, who builds a grass-roots resistance to the tyranny of English King Edward I (McGoohan). Manages to tell a gripping personal story that grows in scale through a series of eye-popping (and bloody) battle scenes. Only the denouement starts to drag. A powerful, passionate film about a powerful, passionate man. Winner of Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography (John Toll), Makeup, and Sound Effects Editing. | tt0112573 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson, James Cosmo, David O'Hara, Angus McFadyen, Peter Henly, James Robinson, Alun Armstrong, Ian Bannen | Drama, War, Romance, Action | NULL | ||
| Brazil | 1985 | Terry Gilliam | ★★★ | 131 | Dazzlingly different look at bleak future society (kind of a cross between 1984 and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) where one hapless clerk (Pryce) clings to his ideals and dreams, including his Dream Girl (Greist). A triumph of imagination and production design, full of incredible black comedy . . . but also a relentless film that doesn't know when to quit: second half is often redundant and ineffectual. Gilliam cut film from 142m. for American release. Screenplay by Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, and Charles McKeown. | tt0088846 | [R] | Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Ian Richardson, Peter Vaughan | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Breach | 2007 | Billy Ray | ★★★ | 110 | Real-life espionage tale seen through the eyes of ambitious FBI man Eric O'Neill (Phillippe), who's given a thankless assignment. He must earn the confidence of agency veteran Robert Hanssen (Cooper), a devout Catholic and family man who's been selling high-level secrets to the Russians. Solid, straightforward drama with a superior performance by Cooper that reflects the many facets of Hanssen's personality . . . although we never really understand what makes him tick. | tt0401997 | [PG-13] | Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas, Gary Cole, Bruce Davison, Kathleen Quinlan | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bread and Chocolate | 1978 | Franco Brusati | ★★★½ | 107 | Manfredi is marvelous as a Chaplinesque everyman, an optimistic lower-class worker who treks to Switzerland to make his fortune yet remains the eternal outsider. Memorable sequence in a chicken coop. Original running time: 111m. | tt0070506 | Nino Manfredi, Anna Karina, Johnny Dorelli, Paolo Turco, Max Delys | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bread and Roses | 2001 | Ken Loach | ★★★½ | 110 | Gripping fictionalized account of the 2000 L.A. janitors' strike focuses on a Latina illegal immigrant (Padilla) who stands up to her corrupt employers and struggles to convince her coworkers to join the union. Plays a bit like an indie NORMA RAE (with Brody in the Ron Leibman role) but even more realistic. Loach's first American-based film stands among his best at capturing the plight of hard-working, disenfranchised people. Written by Paul Laverty. Features cameos from real-life Latino activists; actors William Atherton, Benicio Del Toro, Tim Roth, and Ron Perlman appear briefly as themselves. | tt0212826 | [R] | Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Jack McGee, Alonso Chavez, Monica Rivas, Frank Davila | British-German-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Bread and Tulips | 2000 | Silvio Soldini | ★★★ | 114 | Lighthearted drama of a woman's liberation, as a suburban housewife-mother, stranded while on vacation, finds a new, rewarding life in exotic Venice. Sweet-natured wish-fulfillment fantasy manages to convince thanks to the story's attention to detail and assured lead performance by Maglietta. | tt0237539 | [PG-13] | Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz, Marina Massironi, Giuseppe Battiston, Felice Andreasi, Antonio Catania | Italian-Swiss | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Bread, Love and Dreams | 1954 | Luigi Comencini | ★★★ | 90 | Peppery comedy with spicy Gina vying for attention of town official De Sica. | tt0046159 | Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Marisa Merlini, Roberto Risso | Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Break in the Circle | 1957 | Val Guest | ★½ | 69 | Unexciting chase tale has Tucker a brash adventurer hired by greedy Goring to smuggle a Polish physicist out of East Germany. | tt0050211 | Forrest Tucker, Eva Bartok, Marius Goring, Guy Middleton, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Break of Hearts | 1935 | Philip Moeller | ★★ | 80 | Temperamental orchestra conductor Boyer, who has been spoiled by success, weds unknown composer Hepburn . . . then there are complications. Stars try hard but can do nothing with sappy, sub-par material. | tt0026134 | Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer, John Beal, Jean Hersholt, Sam Hardy, Susan Fleming, Jean Howard | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Break to Freedom | 1955 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★ | 88 | Typical POWs escape-from-German-camp, uplifted by restrained acting. | tt0045487 | Anthony Steel, Jack Warner, Robert Beatty, William Sylvester, Michael Balfour | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Break | 1998 | Robert Dornhelm | ★★½ | 96 | Rea is excellent, as usual, as an IRA terrorist who unexpectedly becomes part of a Belfast prison break. Before long he's living in N.Y.C., where his long-ago training finds a new outlet as he becomes involved with Guatemalan immigrants. Engrossing if not terribly inspired film based on an idea by Rea. | tt0116379 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Alfred Molina, Rosana Pastor, Brendan Gleeson, Jorge Sanz, Pruitt Taylor Vince | British-Irish-German-Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| The Break-Up | 2006 | Peyton Reed | ★★½ | 106 | Typical of what passes for romantic comedy these days: neither Vince nor Jen wants the other to end up with the condo they shared during happier times. Not without laughs, but this odd, unsatisfying film is mainly for viewers who find carping and bickering entertaining. That's Vince's real-life dad, Vernon Vaughn, playing Aniston's father. Stay for a rendition of 'The Rainbow Connection' by Higgins' a cappella group, The Tone Rangers, during the credits. Vaughn cowrote the story and coproduced. | tt0452594 | [PG-13] | Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Judy Davis, Justin Long, Ivan Sergei, John Michael Higgins, Cole Hauser, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ann-Margret | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Breakdown | 1997 | Jonathan Mostow | ★★★ | 93 | Married couple moving west have car trouble in the midst of the wide open spaces; a trucker picks up the wife so she can phone for help, but that's the last her husband sees of her . . . and no one seems willing or able to help. Superior thriller delivers the goods with airtight plot and all-too-believable situations. Hang on! Cowritten by director Mostow. | tt0118771 | [R] | Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, Kathleen Quinlan, M. C. Gainey, Jack Noseworthy, Rex Linn, Ritch Brinkley. | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Breaker Morant | 1979 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★½ | 107 | Potent drama based on the true story of three soldiers whose actions during the Boer War are used as fodder for a trumped-up court martial— in order to satisfy the political plans of the British Empire. Based on a play by Kenneth G. Ross. Winner of several Australian Academy Awards. | tt0080310 | [PG] | Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown, Charles Tingwell, Vincent Ball, Lewis Fitz-Gerald | Australian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Breaker! Breaker! | 1977 | Don Hulette | 💣 | 86 | Cheap, stupid actioner with some (occasional) intentional comedy. Little made of the CB craze as trucker Norris searches for kid brother Michael Augenstein in corrupt judge Murdock's speedtrap town. | tt0075783 | [PG] | Chuck Norris, George Murdock, Terry O'Connor, Don Gentry | Action | NULL | ||
| The Breakfast Club | 1985 | John Hughes | ★★½ | 97 | A bold experiment in the era of teen raunch movies (written and directed by a man who's made more than his share): five kids sit and talk about themselves, during day-long detention. Alternately poignant, predictable, and self-important, but filled with moments of truth and perception. | tt0088847 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Paul Gleason | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Breakfast at Tiffany's | 1961 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 115 | Charming film from Truman Capote's story, with Hepburn as Holly Golightly, backwoods girl who goes mod in N.Y.C. Dated trappings don't detract from high comedy and winning romance. Screenplay by George Axelrod. Oscar winner for Score (Henry Mancini) and Song, 'Moon River' (Mancini and Johnny Mercer). | tt0054698 | Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Mickey Rooney, Martin Balsam, John McGiver | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Breakfast for Two | 1937 | Alfred Santell. | ★★½ | 67 | Silly but enjoyable screwball comedy about Texas heiress Stanwyck trying to reform womanizing playboy Marshall. Adding to the fun are Blore as a wry butler, Farrell as Marshall's brassy girlfriend, and a humongous Great Dane. | tt0028659 | Barbara Stanwyck, Herbert Marshall, Glenda Farrell, Eric Blore, Donald Meek, Frank M. Thomas, Etienne Girardot. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Breakfast in Hollywood | 1946 | Harold D. Schuster | ★½ | 91 | Uninspired film derived from radio series of the same name; romantic plot offset by musical numbers with Spike Jones, The (Nat) King Cole Trio, and others. | tt0038382 | Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Edward Ryan, Raymond Walburn, ZaSu Pitts, Billie Burke, Hedda Hopper | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Breakfast of Champions | 1999 | Alan Rudolph | ★½ | 110 | Lives in confusion: Car dealer Willis is suicidal, his salesman Nolte is a secret transvestite, and obscure sci-fi writer Kilgore Trout (Finney) is hitching cross-country to be honored for the first time. Rudolph's go-for-broke, in-your-face style does no favors to Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s already bizarre novel, which Rudolph adapted and Willis self-financed as a labor of love. Haas and Hershey are excellent. Vonnegut briefly appears. | tt0120618 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Glenne Headly, Lukas Haas, Omar Epps, Buck Henry, Vicki Lewis, Jake Johannsen, Will Patton, Owen Wilson, Chip Zien, Alison Eastwood | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Breakfast on Pluto | 2005 | Neil Jordan | ★★½ | 135 | Episodic account of Murphy, who was abandoned as a baby in Ireland and taken in by a Catholic priest (Neeson). He grows up to be a flagrantly gay cross-dresser who calls himself Kitten, and sets off in search of his real mother. Jordan revisits themes he previously explored in THE CRYING GAME, including sexual identity and British-Irish politics, but the film is meandering and memorable only for Murphy's performance. Jordan scripted from Patrick McCabe's novel. | tt0411195 | [R] | Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea, Brendan Gleeson, Ruth Negga, Laurence Kinlan, Conor McEvoy, Gavin Friday, Ian Hart, Ruth McCabe, Steven Waddington, Eamonn Owens, Bryan Ferry | Irish-British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Breakheart Pass | 1976 | Tom Gries | ★★★ | 95 | Slambang action Western, with second unit work by Yakima Canutt. Based on Alistair MacLean novel and set mainly on a train, it has Bronson as an undercover agent seeking gun runners and confronting a false epidemic. Highlight: incredible fight between Bronson and former boxing champ Archie Moore. | tt0072735 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, Jill Ireland, Charles Durning, Ed Lauter, Roy Jenson, Bill McKinney, Sally Kirkland, Casey Tibbs | Action | NULL | ||
| Breakin' | 1984 | Joel Silberg | ★★ | 90 | Harmless FLASHDANCE clone, but with the emphasis on break dancing. Here, heroine Dickey waitresses rather than welds. Look for Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lela Rochon as extras in the opening scenes. A sequel followed before the year was out. | tt0086998 | [PG] | Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Michael Chambers, Ben Lokey, Christopher McDonald, Phineas Newborn 3rd, Ice-T | Musical, Drama | NULL | ||
| Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo | 1984 | Sam Firstenberg | ★½ | 94 | Two worthy adversaries— a toothy WASP developer who could rate a centerfold in Forbes and a young urban black whose earring is longer than a bola— clash when the former tries to bulldoze a community rec center. The 18 break dancing standards include 'Do Your Thang' and 'Oye Mamacita.' | tt0086999 | [PG] | Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Michael Chambers, Susie Bono | Musical | NULL | ||
| Breakin' All the Rules | 2004 | Daniel Taplitz | ★★ | 85 | Magazine editor gets dumped by his fiancée and writes a survival guide on the subject. Then his cousin, a self-styled player (Chestnut), asks for his help in losing a girlfriend (Union) who's getting too serious— and things start getting complicated. Slick comedy of errors has a lively, likable cast, but plays flat; the story is better told in the coming attractions trailer. | tt0349169 | [PG-13] | Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Esposito, Peter MacNicol, Bianca Lawson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Breaking Away | 1979 | Peter Yates | ★★★½ | 100 | Winning, unpretentious film about four college-age friends in Bloomington, Indiana, who don't know what to do with their lives; Dooley stands out in first-rate cast as Christopher's bewildered father. This sleeper hit really comes to life with an audience, may not play as well on TV. Steve Tesich's original screenplay won well-deserved Oscar; later spawned a brief TV series. | tt0078902 | [PG] | Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, Robyn Douglass, Hart Bochner, Amy Wright, John Ashton, Pamela Jayne, P.J. Soles | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Breaking Dawn - Part 1 | 2011 | Bill Condon | ★★ | 117 | In part 4 of the TWILIGHT saga, Bella (Stewart) and Edward (Pattinson) are about to be married and everyone is brought together, for better or worse. Even Jacob (Lautner) wishes her well, though he fears for her safety and survival once she consummates her marriage. Several days into their honeymoon Bella realizes that she's pregnant and discovers that her human body can't carry this half-vampire baby. Slow-paced, often boring soap opera has less action and more furtive looks than usual; it only gets interesting toward the end. | tt1324999 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Michael Sheen, Anna Kendrick, Sarah Clarke, Christian Camargo, Gil Birmingham, Julia Jones, BooBoo Stewart, Michael Welch, Jamie Campbell Bower | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Breaking Glass | 1980 | Brian Gibson | ★★½ | 104 | Rocker O'Connor rises from playing small London clubs to superstardom, finds success isn't everything. Good performances by O'Connor, Daniels (as her youthful manager), Pryce (as a junkie saxophone player) offset predictable story line. | tt0080469 | [PG] | Phil Daniels, Hazel O'Connor, Jon Finch, Jonathan Pryce, PeterHugo Daly, Mark Wingett | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Breaking In | 1989 | Bill Forsyth | ★★½ | 91 | Low-key, off-center comedy about an aging safecracker who takes on a young protégé who's got a lot to learn about life, as well as his new profession. John Sayles' script, as interpreted by director Forsyth, is inventive and often quite funny . . . but not enough to keep this wispy film afloat. Reynolds is extremely good in his first character role. | tt0096976 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley, Lorraine Toussaint, Albert Salmi, Harry Carey, Maury Chaykin, Steve Tobolowsky, David Frishberg | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Breaking Point | 1976 | Bob Clark | 💣 | 92 | Svenson is pursued by Mafiosos after he testifies against them in court. Nothing new here. | tt0074238 | [R] | Bo Svenson, Robert Culp, John Colicos, Belinda J. Montgomery, Stephen Young, Linda Sorenson | Canadian | Crime | NULL | |
| Breaking Point | 1993 | Paul Ziller | ★★ | 96 | After a serial killer known as 'The Surgeon' strikes close to home, haunted cop Busey is asked to capture him. This grisly and erotic thriller is titillating, mildly surprising at first, but ultimately predictable. | tt0106479 | [R] | Gary Busey, Kim Cattrall, Darlanne Fluegel, Jeff Griggs | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Breaking Point | 1950 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 97 | High-voltage refilming of Hemingway's TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, with Garfield as skipper so desperate for money he takes on illegal cargo. Garfield and mate Juano Hernandez give superb interpretations. Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall. Remade again as THE GUN RUNNERS. | tt0042281 | John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Wallace Ford, Sherry Jackson | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Breaking Up | 1997 | Robert Greenwald | ★½ | 90 | Tiresome treatise on love in the 90s, showing how many times two self-centered adults can break up, reunite, and break up again. They can't stand each other, and we can't stand them! Screenplay by Michael Cristofer, from his play. Filmed in 1995. | tt0118772 | [R] | Salma Hayek, Russell Crowe | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Breaking and Entering | 2006 | Anthony Minghella | ★★★ | 116 | Architect Law opens a new high-tech office with his partner in a dodgy London neighborhood, where they are repeatedly burglarized. He follows a teenage thief home one night, then finds an excuse to talk to his mother, an Eastern European immigrant (Binoche). This blossoms into a surprising relationship that reflects on the malaise of his marriage to Penn. Writer-director Minghella explores issues of morality in a world where absolutes don't stand up anymore. Provocative and original. | tt0443456 | [R] | Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn, Martin Freeman, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Rafi Gavron, Poppy Rogers, Juliet Stevenson | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Breaking the Rules | 1992 | Neal Israel | ★½ | 100 | Yet another road movie in which two friends take their dying buddy on one last 'journey of life.' The story is meant to make you laugh and cry, but it's so manipulative it only induces yawns. Potts is the single standout, as a free-spirited waitress. Filmed in 1989. | tt0103877 | [PG-13] | Jason Bateman, C. Thomas Howell, Jonathan Silverman, Annie Potts, Kent Bateman, Shawn Phelan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Breaking the Sound Barrier | 1952 | David Lean | ★★★½ | 109 | Grade-A documentary-style story of early days of jet planes, and men who tested them; Richardson particularly good. Originally shown in England as THE SOUND BARRIER at 118m. | tt0044446 | Ralph Richardson, Ann Todd, Nigel Patrick, John Justin, Dinah Sheridan, Denholm Elliott | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Breaking the Waves | 1996 | Lars von Trier | ★★★½ | 156 | Extraordinary story of a young, simple-minded, God-fearing Scottish woman who willingly takes lovers in the belief that it will cure her paralyzed husband. A bold, often unsettling examination of love and faith, given immediacy and power by von Trier's documentarylike approach and cinematographer Robby Müller's faded visual scheme, which root the miraculous in the everyday world. Watson, in her film debut, is absolutely unforgettable in the lead role. Von Trier also wrote the screenplay. | tt0115751 | [R] | Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Adrian Rawlins, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr, Jonathan Hackett, Sandra Voe, Udo Kier | Danish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Breakout | 1959 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 99 | Although format is now familiar, this remains an exciting story of British POWs attempting escapes from Axis prison camp during WW2. Fine performances all around. Original title: DANGER WITHIN. | tt0052648 | Richard Todd, Richard Attenborough, Michael Wilding, Dennis Price, Bernard Lee, Donald Houston, Michael Caine | British | Family, War | NULL | ||
| Breakout | 1975 | Tom Gries | ★★★ | 96 | Crisp action film generously laced with comedy touches has devil-may-care bush pilot Bronson taking on the job of spiriting Duvall, framed for murder, from a seedy Mexican prison. Awfully violent, though. | tt0072737 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall, Jill Ireland, John Huston, Sheree North, Randy Quaid | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Breakthrough | 1978 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★½ | 115 | Superficial sequel to CROSS OF IRON, with the focus on the western front during WW2. German sergeant Burton becomes entangled in anti-Hitler conspiracy, saves the life of U.S. colonel Mitchum. Particularly disappointing, considering cast. Also known as SERGEANT STEINER. | tt0078320 | [PG] | Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Curt Jurgens, Klaus Loewitsch, Helmut Griem, Michael Parks | West German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Breath of Life | 1992 | Beppe Cino | ★★ | 96 | Grim, episodic psychological study of the wounded lives of a group of Italians in a post-WW2 sanitarium. Nero gives a solid performance as a tubercular professor in love with a mentally troubled ballerina (Rovere). Unfortunately he has little to do with Redgrave here— his former CAMELOT costar and one-time real-life lover. | tt0104103 | Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Fernando Rey, Lucrezia Rovere, Salvatore Cascio | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Breath of Scandal | 1960 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 98 | Molnar's play Olympia is limp costume vehicle for Loren, playing a princess romanced by American Gavin. Chevalier and Lansbury vainly try to pump some life into proceedings. | tt0053675 | Sophia Loren, John Gavin, Maurice Chevalier, Isabel Jeans, Angela Lansbury | Drama | NULL | |||
| Breathing Lessons | 1994 | John Erman | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Wry, nicely paced road movie following an often bickering middle-aged couple on their one-day detour-filled odyssey to a friend's funeral. Adapted by Robert Lenski from Anne Tyler's Pulitzer Prizewinning novel. | tt0109335 | Joanne Woodward, James Garner, Kathryn Erbe, Joyce Van Patten, Eileen Heckart, Paul Winfield, Henry Jones, Tim Guinee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Breathing Room | 1996 | Jon Sherman | ★★½ | 90 | Sweet film of contemporary N.Y.C. couple deciding on their future together by separating between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The issue of commitment is honestly explored and feels universal. A 'date' movie with more food for thought than might be comfortable for unmarried couples. | tt0115754 | Susan Floyd, Dan Futterman, Nadia Dajani, Edie Falco, Saverio Guerra, David Thornton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Breathless | 1959 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★½ | 89 | Belmondo is ideally cast as a Parisian hood who, accompanied by American girl (Seberg), is chased by police after stealing a car and killing a cop. Groundbreaking, influential New Wave tale with a classic romanticized gangster-hero and great candid shots of Paris life. Dedicated to Monogram Pictures, with a story by François Truffaut. Remade in 1983. | tt0053472 | Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Daniel Boulanger, Liliane David | French | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Breathless | 1983 | Jim McBride | ★★ | 100 | Remake of landmark 1959 Godard film follows basic outline of the original— an amoral punk on the lam from police— but lacks its sociological potency. Gere's kinetic performance is something to see, but his character, hooked on Jerry Lee Lewis music and 'Silver Surfer' comics, soon grows tiresome. | tt0085276 | [R] | Richard Gere, Valerie Kaprisky, Art Metrano, John P. Ryan, William Tepper, Gary Goodrow | Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Breed Apart | 1984 | Philippe Mora | ★★ | 101 | Picturesque but illogical, uninvolving tale of famed mountain climber Boothe, hired to pilfer specimens of a new bald-eagle breed, and his entanglement with conservationist Hauer and fishing-supply store owner Turner. | tt0087001 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Powers Boothe, Kathleen Turner, Donald Pleasence, John Dennis Johnston, Brion James | Drama | NULL | ||
| Breezy | 1973 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 108 | Jaded middle-ager finds Truth with a teenaged hippie in sappy romance. Fine performances by the leads only help up to a point. | tt0069822 | [R] | William Holden, Kay Lenz, Roger C. Carmel, Marj Dusay, Shelley Morrison, Joan Hotchkis | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Brenda Starr | 1992 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★½ | 87 | This fiasco, based on Dale Messick's comic strip, sat on the shelf for years, and no wonder. Artist Peck enters the strip to talk Brenda out of quitting the paper, is drawn into her adventuresome life. Aimless and uninvolving. The creators have contempt for their source, always deadly in films like this. Filmed in 1986. | tt0096978 | [PG] | Brooke Shields, Tony Peck, Timothy Dalton, Diana Scarwid, Jeffrey Tambor, June Gable, Nestor Serrano, Kathleen Wilhoite, Charles Durning, Eddie Albert, Henry Gibson, Ed Nelson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Brewster McCloud | 1970 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 101 | Patently indescribable movie following exploits of owlish boy (Cort) whose ambition is to take wing and fly inside Houston Astrodome. Extremely bizarre; for certain tastes, extremely funny. Altman fans have head start. | tt0065492 | [R] | Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, William Windom, Shelley Duvall, Rene Auberjonois, Stacy Keach, John Schuck, Margaret Hamilton | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Brewster's Millions | 1945 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 79 | Bright, energetic filming of venerable George Barr McCutcheon comedy about ordinary guy (this time, a returning G.I.) who must spend $1 million in a month's time in order to receive major inheritance. First filmed in 1914; remade in 1985. | tt0037557 | Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, June Havoc, Gail Patrick, Mischa Auer, Joe Sawyer, Herbert Rudley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Brewster's Millions | 1985 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 97 | Seventh film version of venerable novel and play; here baseball player Pryor has one month to spend $30 million. Surefire premise squelched by unfunny script and wooden direction. When Pryor and Candy can't make it work, you know there's something wrong. | tt0088850 | [PG] | Richard Pryor, John Candy, Lonette McKee, Stephen Collins, Jerry Orbach, Pat Hingle, Tovah Feldshuh, Joe Grifasi, Hume Cronyn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Brian's Song | 1971 | Buzz Kulik | Above Average TV Movie | 73 | Exceptional film relating real-life relationship between Chicago Bears football players Brian Piccolo (Caan) and Gale Sayers (Williams), and tragedy which affects entire team when Piccolo develops cancer. Outstanding teleplay by William Blinn from Sayers' I Am Third. Beautiful score by Michel Legrand. A milestone of excellence in made-for-TV movies. Pointlessly remade for TV in 2001. | tt0068315 | [G] | Billy Dee Williams, James Caan, Jack Warden, Judy Pace, Shelley Fabares | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bribe | 1949 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 98 | Taylor looks uncomfortable playing federal man who almost sacrifices all for sultry singer Gardner. | tt0041207 | Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, John Hodiak | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Brick | 2006 | Rian Johnson | ★★★ | 117 | Teenaged Gordon-Levitt discovers the dead body of his ex-girlfriend and makes it his business to learn what happened to her. Clever, stylized film noir involving high school kids who speak in a hard-boiled 1930s argot (hard to understand at times but appealing just the same). A bit protracted but still an audacious, original piece of work. Haas turns up well into the story as a flamboyant drug kingpin and steals the show. Neat music score by Nathan Johnson is as offbeat as the film itself. | tt0393109 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary, Noah Sagan, Meagan Good, Emilie de Ravin, Brian White, Richard Roundtree | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Brick Lane | 2007 | Sarah Gavron | ★★★ | 101 | Compassionate portrait of a Bangladeshi girl whose carefree life with her sister is curtailed after her mother dies and she is sent to London to enter into an arranged marriage. Now she’s got a surly teenage daughter and suffers a daily existence with a pompous, ne’er-do-well husband. Then she chances to meet a young man who inspires her to assert herself for the first time in her life. Poignant and believable at every turn; even the husband is portrayed as a three-dimensional character. Abi Morgan and Laura Jones adapted Monica Ali’s novel. | tt0940585 | [PG-13] | Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Naeema Begum, Lana Rahman, Zafeen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Bridal Path | 1959 | Frank Launder | ★★★½ | 95 | Charming film of young islander who goes to Scottish mainland in search of a wife. Enhanced by beautiful scenery in color. | tt0052649 | Bill Travers, Bernadette O'Farrell, Alex MacKenzie, Eric Woodburn, Jack Lambert, John Rae | Scottish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bride & Prejudice | 2004 | Gurinder Chadha. | ★★½ | 111 | Jane Austen goes ethnic in this cliché-laden but lightly entertaining update of Pride and Prejudice involving a desperate Indian mother's attempts to find husbands for her four daughters. Rai is a stunning presence as Lalita, the Elizabeth Bennet character, who becomes involved with an American hotel magnate named Darcy (Henderson). Interesting attempt to produce a Bollywood musical for Western audiences. | tt0361411 | [PG-13] | Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Daniel Gillies, Naveen Andrews, Alexis Bledel, Namrata Shirodkar, Nitin Chandra Ganatra, Marsha Mason, Ashanti. | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| The Bride Came C.O.D. | 1941 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 92 | Unlikely comedy team in vehicle made enjoyable only by their terrific personalities; he's a flier, she's an abducted bride. | tt0033432 | James Cagney, Bette Davis, Stuart Erwin, Eugene Pallette, Jack Carson, George Tobias | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bride Comes Home | 1935 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 82 | Breezy fluff with wealthy Young competing against roughneck MacMurray for Claudette's affections in vintage comedy. | tt0026137 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Robert Young, William Collier/Sr., Edgar Kennedy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bride Goes Wild | 1948 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 98 | Silly, predictable farce in which irresponsible children's book author Johnson pretends to be Jenkins' widowed father in order to keep illustrator Allyson from exposing his shenanigans. | tt0040187 | Van Johnson, June Allyson, Butch Jenkins, Hume Cronyn, Una Merkel, Arlene Dahl, Richard Derr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful | Her Bridal Night | 1956 | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | ★★ | 85 | Paper-thin sex farce with Bardot a country girl who becomes a famous model, finds herself the 'bride' in a fake marriage. Aka HER BRIDAL NIGHT. | tt0049483 | Louis Jourdan, Brigitte Bardot, Micheline Presle, Marcel Amont, Jean-Francois Calve | French | Romance | NULL | |
| The Bride Walks Out | 1936 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 81 | Flat comedy of model Stanwyck who, against her better instincts, goes domestic and weds brash, struggling engineer Raymond. Buffs will enjoy spotting Ward Bond as a taxi cab-driving extra in the 'Fifth Avenue and 45th Street' scene. | tt0027395 | Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Raymond, Robert Young, Ned Sparks, Helen Broderick, Hattie McDaniel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bride Wars | 2009 | Gary Winick | ★½ | 89 | Dreadful comedy pits lifelong best friends against each other when their dream weddings at N.Y.C.’s Plaza Hotel are inadvertently double-booked for the same day and neither will budge. Both women scheme to destroy the other’s golden day as they blame each other for the not-so-merry mix-up and act like 8-years-olds. Witless, contrived, and unfunny tale sets the women’s movement back about four decades. It’s a shame to see such attractive talents as Hudson and particularly Hathaway doing this kind of juvenile slapstick (and Hudson was one of the producers). Only Johnston manages to mine any laughs as Hathaway’s desperate choice for her maid of honor. | tt0901476 | [PG] | Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenberg, Chris Pratt, Steve Howey, Candice Bergen, Kristen Johnston, Michael Arden, Victor Slezak | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bride With White Hair | 1993 | Ronny Yu | ★★★ | 89 | Beautifully made tale based on a famous Chinese fable about rival Ming Dynasty clans and a forbidden love affair between a swordsman and a 'wolf girl' who possesses supernatural powers. Highly effective blend of myth, romance and super-stylized violence, plus elegant use of color and widescreen, puts this a cut above the usual Hong Kong actioner. Followed by a sequel the same year. | tt0106342 | Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Ng Chun-yu, Elaine Lui, Nam Kit-ying | Hong Kong | Action, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Bride Wore Black | 1968 | François Truffaut | ★★★½ | 107 | Hitchcockian suspenser about Moreau tracking down and killing the quintet of men who accidentally killed her husband on their wedding day. Exciting, entertaining homage to The Master, right down to the Bernard Herrmann score (although Truffaut omitted the twist ending of the novel by William Irish, aka Cornell Woolrich). | tt0061955 | Jeanne Moreau, Claude Rich, Jean-Claude Brialy, Michel Bouquet, Michael Lonsdale, Charles Denner | French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Bride Wore Boots | 1946 | Irving Pichel | ★★ | 86 | Witless comedy of horse-loving Stanwyck saddled by Cummings, who does his best to win her total affection; they all try but script is weak. | tt0038383 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings, Diana Lynn, Peggy Wood, Robert Benchley, Natalie Wood, Willie Best | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Bride Wore Red | 1937 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 103 | Lowly Crawford is thrust into society on the whim of a count and becomes the romantic object of aristocrat-playboy Young and soulful peasant Tone. Glossy soaper based on a play by Ferenc Molnár. | tt0028661 | Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Robert Young, Billie Burke, Reginald Owen, Lynne Carver, George Zucco, Dickie Moore | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Bride and the Beast | 1958 | Adrian Weiss | 💣 | 78 | A gorilla fancies the wife of an explorer who may have been a gorilla herself in a past life. Screenplay by Edward D. Wood, Jr.; aka QUEEN OF THE GORILLAS. | tt0051434 | Charlotte Austin, Lance Fuller, Johnny Roth, Steve Calvert | Horror | NULL | |||
| Bride for Sale | 1949 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 87 | Veteran star trio carries on despite thin story of female tax expert seeking wealthy spouse. | tt0041208 | Claudette Colbert, Robert Young, George Brent, Max Baer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bride of Chucky | 1998 | Ronny Yu | ★★ | 89 | Wicked trailer trash Tilly works voodoo to revive Chucky (the killer doll from three earlier CHILD'S PLAY movies), and ends up a literal living doll herself. Better than you'd expect, with good lines and an impressively raunchy performance by Tilly, but it's let down by clumsy plotting. Followed by SEED OF CHUCKY. | tt0144120 | [R] | Jennifer Tilly, Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, John Ritter, Alexis Arquette, Gordon Michael Woolvett, Kathy Najimy, voice of Brad Dourif | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Bride of Frankenstein | 1935 | James Whale | ★★★★ | 75 | Eye-filling sequel to FRANKENSTEIN is even better, with rich vein of dry wit running through the chills. Inimitable Thesiger plays weird doctor who compels Frankenstein into helping him make a mate for the Monster; Lanchester plays both the 'bride' and, in amusing prologue, Mary Shelley. Pastoral interlude with blind hermit and final, riotous creation scene are highlights of this truly classic movie. Scripted by John L. Balderston and William Hurlbut. Marvelous Franz Waxman score, reused for many subsequent films. Followed by SON OF FRANKENSTEIN; reworked in 1985 as THE BRIDE. | tt0026138 | Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Una O'Connor, E. E. Clive, Gavin Gordon, Douglas Walton, O.P. Heggie, Dwight Frye, John Carradine | Horror | NULL | |||
| Bride of Re-Animator | 1990 | Brian Yuzna | ★★ | 99 | Follow-up to RE-ANIMATOR with more gory fun from that wacky pair of Dr. Frankenstein wannabes, Combs and Abbott. Strong stuff, with much splicing of bloodied body parts; wait till you see the crawling eyeball! This sort-of homage to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN isn't nearly as successful as original RE-ANIMATOR. Nominally based on H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West— Re-Animator. Unrated director's cut also available. Followed in 2003 by BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR. | tt0099180 | [R] | Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiana Udenio, David Gale, Kathleen Kinmont | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Bride of Vengeance | 1949 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 91 | Medium-warm costumer of medieval Italy with Goddard as a Borgia sent to do mischief but instead falling in love. | tt0041209 | Paulette Goddard, John Lund, Macdonald Carey, Raymond Burr, Albert Dekker, Rose Hobart | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bride of the Gorilla | 1951 | Curt Siodmak | ★★ | 76 | Surprisingly watchable trash set on a South American jungle plantation, where hulking Burr marries sexy Payton— only to find himself the victim of a voodoo curse. Terrible but fun. | tt0043360 | Raymond Burr, Barbara Payton, Lon Chaney/Jr., Tom Conway, Paul Cavanagh | Horror | NULL | |||
| Bride of the Monster | 1955 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | 💣 | 69 | A dissipated Lugosi creates giant rubber octopus that terrorizes woodland stream. Huge Swedish wrestler Johnson provides added laughs as hulking manservant Lobo. Another hilariously inept Grade Z movie from the king of bad cinema. Sequel: REVENGE OF THE DEAD (aka NIGHT OF THE GHOULS). | tt0047898 | Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy, Loretta King, Harvey B. Dunn, George Becwar, Don Nagel, Bud Osborne | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bride of the Wind | 2001 | Bruce Beresford | ★½ | 99 | Passions run low in this drab period drama set in fin-de-siècle Vienna about Alma Schindler, the real-life muse for many celebrated men, including composer Gustav Mahler (played as a milquetoast by Pryce). Slow as a funeral dirge, the movie features a blur of a central performance from Wynter. All talk about art and obsession without anything to show for it. | tt0212827 | [R] | Sarah Wynter, Jonathan Pryce, Vincent Perez, Simon Verhoeven, Gregor Seberg | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bride | 1985 | Franc Roddam | ★★½ | 118 | Revisionist remake of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN brilliantly captures look and feel of a great gothic horror film— but fails to deliver on its promise of enlightened psychological approach to the story. Both Sting and Beals give one-note performances. Film is easily stolen by Rappaport, as dwarf who befriends Dr. Frankenstein's male monster (Brown); their sequences make film worth watching. | tt0088851 | [PG-13] | Sting, Jennifer Beals, Clancy Brown, David Rappaport, Geraldine Page, Anthony Higgins, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Quentin Crisp, Cary Elwes | Romance, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Brides of Dracula | 1960 | Terence Fisher | ★★★ | 85 | Above-average entry in Hammer horror series, with the famed vampire's disciple (Peel) seeking female victims. | tt0053677 | Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur, Freda Jackson, David Peel, Miles Malleson, Andree Melly | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Brides of Fu Manchu | 1966 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 94 | Fu doesn't give up easily, still bent on conquering the world by forcing scientists to develop powerful ray gun. Sequel to FACE OF FU MANCHU, not as good, still diverting; followed by VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU. | tt0060188 | Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Marie Versini, Tsai Chin | British | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Brideshead Revisited | 2008 | Julian Jarrold | ★★½ | 133 | Rethinking of Evelyn Waugh’s 1945 novel, dramatized so memorably in a 1981 British TV miniseries. An unworldly working-class boy (Goode) arrives at Oxford and is befriended by flamboyant Sebastian Flyte (Whishaw), who reluctantly introduces him to his sister (Atwell) and their imperious mother, who rules over their massive estate—and their lives. Ragged at times as it tries to compress many complexities into two hours’ length, but impeccably performed. Thompson is subtly brilliant as Lady Marchmain. Screenplay by Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock. | tt0412536 | [PG-13] | Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi, Jonathan Cake, Patrick Malahide, Ed Stoppard, Felicity Jones, Joseph Beattie | British | Romance | NULL | |
| The Bridesmaid | 2004 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 111 | It's happened to almost everyone, and it happens to upwardly mobile career man Magimel: instant attraction to a stranger while attending a wedding. Premise is served with a typical Chabrol twist when the woman he meets turns out to be a sociopath . . . or even worse. The extent to which she (Smet) cajoles him to 'prove his love' by committing a fateful act ratchets up suspense little by little. May not be up to the director's masterpieces of the '60s but it's engrossing all the way. Based on a novel by Ruth Rendell. | tt0405866 | Benoit Magimel, Laura Smet, Aurore Clement, Bernard Le Coq, Solene Bouton | French | Thriller, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bridesmaids | 2011 | Paul Feig | ★★ | 125 | Wiig has made a wreck of her love life and career, so when lifelong friend Rudolph asks her to be maid of honor at her upcoming nuptials, she wants to do a great job. Then she becomes insanely jealous of Rudolph’s new gal-pal Byrne, a “Little Miss Perfect” who’s used to getting her way. Raunchy, female-centric comedy (written by Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who plays one of the airplane passengers) is alternately funny, serious, heartfelt, dull, plodding, and out of control. Its best moments were apparently improvised, but that must also account for its slow stretches and detours. Jon Hamm appears unbilled. Produced by Judd Apatow. Clayburgh’s final film. | tt1478338 | [R] | Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Terry Crews, Franklyn Ajaye, Ben Falcone | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Bridge Too Far | 1977 | Richard Attenborough | ★★ | 175 | Lifeless, overproduced version of the fine Cornelius Ryan book about disastrous 1944 Allied airdrop behind German lines in Holland. Some prints run 158m. | tt0075784 | [PG] | Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell, Liv Ullmann, Arthur Hill, John Ratzenberger | British | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Bridge at Remagen | 1969 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 115 | Well-acted film about group of Allies defending bridge toward the end of WW2 can't quite overcome familiar plot line; lots of good explosions for those who care. | tt0064110 | [M] | George Segal, Robert Vaughn, Ben Gazzara, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall, Peter Van Eyck | Action, War | NULL | ||
| The Bridge of San Luis Rey | 1944 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★ | 89 | Thornton Wilder's moody, unusual story of five people meeting doom on a rickety bridge makes a slow-moving film. Previously filmed in 1929. | tt0036672 | Lynn Bari, Nazimova, Louis Calhern, Akim Tamiroff, Francis Lederer, Blanche Yurka, Donald Woods | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bridge of San Luis Rey | 2004 | Mary McGuckian | ★★ | 120 | Five people die when a rickety bridge collapses in 18th-century Peru; a priest investigates their lives to find out what brought them all together on that tragic day. Previously filmed in 1929 and 1944, this visually plush version of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel exploring fate, reason, and religion is emotionally inert and overlong, with most of its illustrious cast giving surprisingly lifeless performances. | tt0356443 | [PG] | F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Èmilie Dequenne, Adriana Domínguez, Harvey Keitel, Samuel Le Bihan, Pilar Lopez De Ayala, John Lynch, Dominique Pinon, Mark Polish, Michael Polish | British-French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Bridge on the River Kwai | 1957 | David Lean. | ★★★★ | 161 | British soldiers in Japanese prison camp build a bridge as a morale exercise— under single-minded leadership of British colonel Guinness— as Holden and Hawkins plot to destroy it. Psychological battle of wills combined with high-powered action sequences make this a blockbuster. Seven Oscars include Picture, Director, Actor (Guinness), Cinematography (Jack Hildyard), Editing (Peter Taylor), Scoring (Malcolm Arnold— who used the famous WWI whistling tune 'Colonel Bogey March'), and Screenplay (by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, based on Pierre Boulle's novel). The writers were blacklisted, so Boulle— who spoke no English— was credited with the script! Filmed in Ceylon. | tt0050212 | William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, Geoffrey Horne, James Donald, Andre Morell, Ann Sears. | British | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Bridge to Nowhere | 1986 | Ian Mune | ★½ | 86 | Kiwi variation on a familiar theme: backpacking kids raise the ire of hermit Lawrence, causing a war for survival. Well made but trite; features a solid role for Lawrence, the ubiquitous star of New Zealand films. | tt0090773 | Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Philip Gordon, Margaret Umbers, Stephen Judd, Shelley Luxford, Matthew Hunter | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bridge to Terabithia | 2007 | Gabor Csupo | ★★½ | 94 | Faithful adaptation of Katherine Paterson's much-admired juvenile novel depicts a young loner (Hutcherson) who finds a soul mate in a free-spirited girl who moves in next door (Robb). Her generous nature has a profound effect on Jess; together they fashion a hideaway in the nearby woods and imagine it to be a magic kingdom. Then reality intrudes. Nicely captures the heightened emotions of sensitive young people, and boasts fine performances, but by literally showing the world they envision, the film undermines the book's celebration of imagination. | tt0398808 | [PG] | Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Robert Patrick, Zooey Deschanel, Bailey Madison, Lauren Clinton | Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bridge to the Sun | 1961 | Etienne Perier | ★★★ | 113 | Well-intentioned telling of Southern girl Baker who marries Japanese diplomat Shigeta and moves to Japan at outbreak of WW2. Based on Gwen Terasaki's autobiography. | tt0054701 | Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, James Yagi | U.S.-French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Bridge | 1960 | Bernhard Wicki | ★★★ | 100 | Unrelenting account of teenage boys drafted into the German Army in 1945, as last-resort effort to stem Allied invasion. | tt0052654 | Folker Bohnet, Fritz Wepper, Michael Hinz, Frank Glaubrecht | German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Bridge | 1999 | Gérard Depardieu, Frederic Auburtin | ★★½ | 90 | Normandy, 1962. A housewife/mother (Bouquet, never lovelier) finds release from her working-class existence in the arms of a handsome engineer (Berling). Adultery is not exactly new subject material for French cinema, but this is a subtle treatment of the dissolution of a marriage. Co-director Depardieu shows a sure hand with his actors and acquits himself well as the meek husband. Film's biggest flaw is its lack of resolution. Original title: UN PONT ENTRE DEUX RIVES. | tt0191610 | Gérard Depardieu, Carole Bouquet, Charles Berling, Stanislas Crevillen, Dominique Reymond | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | 1954 | Mark Robson | ★★★½ | 103 | Powerful, thoughtful drama, based on the James Michener best-seller, focusing on the conflicts and exploits of lawyer Holden after he is recalled by the Navy to fly jets in Korea. While the flying sequences are exciting— the special effects earned an Oscar— the ultimate futility of the Korean War is in no way deemphasized. | tt0046806 | William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, Robert Strauss, Earl Holliman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Bridges of Madison County | 1995 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 135 | In the 1960s, an itinerant National Geographic photographer comes to Iowa to shoot covered bridges and chances to meet a woman who's vaguely dissatisfied with life as farm-bound wife and mother. Modern spin on BRIEF ENCOUNTER (based on Robert James Waller's hugely popular book) features a winning and vulnerable Eastwood and a wondrous Streep as an unlikely but convincing couple. A satisfying and romantic film, if a bit long and slow at times. That bass player in the blues band who gets a closeup is Eastwood's son, Kyle. | tt0112579 | [PG-13] | Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak, Jim Haynie | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bridget Jones's Diary | 2001 | Sharon Maguire | ★★★ | 94 | Entertaining, often hilarious adaptation of Helen Fielding's book about a 32-year-old single woman and her misadventures with a pair of men— her scoundrel of a boss and a tight-lipped barrister who seems to be a snob. Zellweger, sporting a perfect British accent and extra pounds, is delightful as the self-deprecating title character. Followed by a sequel. | tt0243155 | [R] | Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Sally Phillips, Shirley Henderson, James Callis, Embeth Davidtz, Celia Imrie, Honor Blackman | U.S.-British-French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | 2004 | Beeban Kidron | ★★ | 108 | Pointless sequel to the hit romantic comedy, centering on the title character's involvement with boyfriend Firth and ex-suitor Grant, and her endless mishaps. Appeal of the original has largely evaporated, with likable, pleasingly chunky Bridget transformed into a charmless dunce. Only comes alive when Grant is on-screen, which isn't often enough. Coscripted by Helen Fielding, based on her published sequel to BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY. | tt0317198 | [R] | Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Jacinda Barrett, Sally Phillips, James Callis, Shirley Henderson, James Faulkner, Celia Imrie | U.S.-British-French-German-Irish | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Brief Crossing | 2003 | Catherine Breillat | ★★ | 80 | A thirtysomething Englishwoman and a 16-year-old French boy meet, converse, and engage in a one-night stand while on board a ferry crossing the English Channel. Another of Breillat's cynical forays into male-female expectation and manipulation, this one offering her usual generalizations about male sexuality. Leaves a bitter aftertaste. | tt0299594 | Sarah Pratt, Gilles Guillain | French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Brief Encounter | 1945 | David Lean | ★★★★ | 85 | Two ordinary strangers, both married, meet at a train station and find themselves drawn into a short but poignant romance. Intense and unforgettable, underscored by perfect use of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. Adapted by Noel Coward from his one-act play 'Still Life' (from Tonight at Eight-thirty); screenplay by director Lean and Ronald Neame. A truly wonderful film. Remade as a TV movie in 1974 with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren. | tt0037558 | Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Cyril Raymond, Joyce Carey | British | Romance | NULL | ||
| A Brief History of Time | 1992 | Errol Morris | ★★★½ | 84 | Another outstanding documentary from Morris (GATES OF HEAVEN, THE THIN BLUE LINE), this one a portrait of cosmologist Stephen Hawking, who's afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and communicates verbally with a voice synthesizer. In Hawking's best-selling book, for which the film is named, he explains the nature of the universe in layman's terms; even those who are bored or perplexed by science will enjoy this unique film. | tt0103882 | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Brief Interviews With Hideous Men | 2009 | John Krasinski | ★½ | 80 | Grad student Nicholson, studying the effects of the feminist movement, interviews (and listens in on the conversations of) a cross-section of men, most of whom are patronizing, pompous idiots. Dull, one-note film comes off as little more than an acting exercise. One sequence, involving a black man's feelings about his bathroom-attendant father, seems to be from an entirely different film. Krasinski's directing debut; he also adapted David Foster Wallace's collection of short stories. | tt0790627 | Unrated | Julianne Nicholson, Will Arnett, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Cerveris, Josh Charles, Dominic Cooper, Frankie Faison, Will Forte, Benjamin Gibbard, Malcolm Goodwin, Timothy Hutton, John Krasinski, Christopher Meloni, Chris Messina, Max Minghella, Denis O'Hare, Clarke Peters, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ben Shenkman, Joey Slotnick, Corey Stoll, Rashida Jones | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Brief Moment | 1933 | David Burton. | ★★ | 70 | Wealthy Raymond marries nightclub singer Lombard against his snobbish family's wishes, but she's the one who objects when he won't stop partying and get a job. Starts as a breezy romance but bogs down into soapy histrionics. | tt0023842 | Carole Lombard, Gene Raymond, Monroe Owsley, Donald Cook, Arthur Hohl, Reginald Mason, Irene Ware. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Brief Vacation | 1973 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★ | 106 | Poorly educated woman leaves terrible job, despicable in-laws, and callous husband for a comparatively pleasant stay in a TB sanitorium. De Sica's sure-handed direction and Bolkan's knowing performance make this worth watching. | tt0069823 | [PG] | Florinda Bolkan, Renato Salvatori, Daniel Quenaud, Jose Maria Prada, Teresa Gimpera | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Brigadoon | 1954 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 108 | Americans Kelly and Johnson discover magical Scottish village in this entertaining filmization of Lerner & Loewe Broadway hit. Overlooked among 1950s musicals, it may lack innovations but has its own quiet charm, and lovely score, including 'The Heather on the Hill.' | tt0046807 | Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse, Elaine Stewart, Barry Jones, Hugh Laing | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Brigand of Kandahar | 1965 | John Gilling | ★★½ | 81 | Nonsense set on British outpost in 1850s India with rampaging natives. | tt0058991 | Ronald Lewis, Oliver Reed, Duncan Lamont, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Woodville | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Brigand | 1952 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 94 | Dexter is lookalike for king and becomes involved with court intrigue; flat costumer. | tt0044449 | Anthony Dexter, Anthony Quinn, Gale Robbins, Jody Lawrance | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Brigham Young | 1940 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 114 | Well-intentioned but ludicrous depiction of Mormon leader with Jagger nominally in the lead, focus shifting to tepid romance between Power and Darnell; Astor all wrong as homespun wife. | tt0032281 | Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Dean Jagger, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine, Jane Darwell, Jean Rogers, Mary Astor, Vincent Price | Western | NULL | |||
| Bright Angel | 1991 | Michael Fields | ★★½ | 94 | Teenaged Montana boy, shaken by events at home, agrees to take a runaway girl to Wyoming so she can bail her brother out of jail. Uneven, sometimes affecting slice of life, with a very stylized script by novelist Richard Ford and a cast full of familiar faces. Mulroney is first-rate in the lead. | tt0101510 | [R] | Dermot Mulroney, Lili Taylor, Sam Shepard, Burt Young, Valerie Perrine, Bill Pullman, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Tighe, Sheila McCarthy, Delroy Lindo, Benjamin Bratt | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bright Eyes | 1934 | David Butler | ★★½ | 83 | Early Shirley, and pretty good, with juvenile villainy from Withers in tale of custody battle over recently orphaned Temple. Includes 'On the Good Ship Lollipop.' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024914 | Shirley Temple, James Dunn, Judith Allen, Jane Withers, Lois Wilson, Charles Sellon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Bright Leaf | 1950 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 110 | Loose chronicle of 19th-century tobacco farmer (Cooper) building successful cigarette empire, seeking revenge on old enemies and finding romance. | tt0042285 | Gary Cooper, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Neal, Jack Carson, Donald Crisp | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bright Leaves | 2004 | Ross McElwee. | ★★★ | 107 | Another filmic essay by McElwee, this one about investigating his family's roots in North Carolina. On the one hand, there is the intriguing discovery that his great-grandfather (supposedly portrayed, in fictional guise, by Gary Cooper in the 1950 movie BRIGHT LEAF) may have been an unsung hero of the tobacco industry. Then again, there is terrible guilt in pondering the damage that tobacco has wrought on the human race. Amusing, ironic, thoughtful, and highly personal. Patricia Neal, costar of BRIGHT LEAF, appears briefly. | tt0372806 | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bright Lights, Big City | 1988 | James Bridges | ★★½ | 110 | Everyone gets an A for effort on this adaptation of Jay McInerney's popular novel. Fox gives a good performance as the young Midwesterner whose life has started coming apart at the seams in N.Y.C., where he gets caught up in an endless cycle of drugs and nightlife. But the more cerebral aspects of the book (and some of its purple prose) don't translate to film . . . and it takes a long time to develop any real sympathy for Fox and his plight. Sutherland is convincingly smarmy as his druggie pal. | tt0094799 | [R] | Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, Swoosie Kurtz, Frances Sternhagen, Tracy Pollan, John Houseman, Charlie Schlatter, Jason Robards, Dianne Wiest, William Hickey, Kelly Lynch, David Hyde Pierce | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bright Road | 1953 | Gerald Mayer | ★★ | 69 | Well-intentioned but labored tale of black teacher in small Southern town trying to solve her young pupils' problems. Belafonte's film debut. | tt0045578 | Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Robert Horton, Philip Hepburn | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Bright Shining Lie | 1998 | Terry George | Average TV Movie | 115 | The odyssey of John Paul Vann, one of the first senior U.S. military advisers sent to Vietnam, a brilliant militarist turned skeptic who wound up violently anti-war. Based on Neil Sheehan's 1988 Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Made for cable. | tt0126220 | Bill Paxton, Amy Madigan, Vivian Wu, Donal Logue, Eric Bogosian, Kurtwood Smith, Ed Lauter, Harve Presnell, James Rebhorn | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Bright Star | 2009 | Jane Campion | ★★½ | 119 | Romance poet John Keats falls in love with his muse, vivacious, clever Fanny Brawne, but since he is a poor man with no prospects, marriage is out of the question. Brawne's affections remain steadfast, while Keats wafts back and forth at once totally besotted, next distancing himself from her to make way for well-heeled suitors. Handsome production has lots of tears and reciting of verse, but somehow falls short. | tt0810784 | [PG] | Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox, Edie Martin, Thomas Sangster, Antonia Campbell-Hughes | French-Australian-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Bright Victory | 1951 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 97 | Touching account of blinded ex-soldier who slowly readjusts to civilian life, even finding love. Potentially sticky subject handled well, with Kennedy excellent in lead role. Rock Hudson can be glimpsed as a soldier. | tt0043361 | Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, James Edwards, Will Geer, Nana Bryant, Jim Backus, Murray Hamilton, Richard Egan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bright Young Things | 2004 | Stephen Fry | ★★ | 105 | Fry's adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies tries to draw parallels between contemporary society and its obsession with celebrity and the hedonism of the 1930s. These 'bright young things' live in a nonstop party atmosphere even while flames are igniting throughout Europe. Curiously annoying, despite a strong cast (including 94-year-old Mills, in a silent cameo). Fry, making his directorial debut, appears briefly as a chauffeur. | tt0325123 | [R] | Emily Mortimer, Stephen Campbell Moore, James McAvoy, Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Fenella Woolgar, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Jim Carter, Stockard Channing, Richard E. Grant, Julia McKenzie, Peter O'Toole, Imelda Staunton, Margaret Tyzack, Bill Paterson, John Mills | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Brighton Beach Memoirs | 1986 | Gene Saks | ★★½ | 110 | Pleasant, if mostly undistinguished, adaptation of Neil Simon's celebrated autobiographical play about two families living under the same roof in 1937 Brooklyn. Oddly cast— Danner and Ivey play Jewish sisters— with attractive production design; Dishy underplays nicely as narrator Silverman's father. Followed by BILOXI BLUES and (on TV) BROADWAY BOUND. | tt0090774 | [PG-13] | Blythe Danner, Bob Dishy, Jonathan Silverman, Brian Drillinger, Stacey Glick, Judith Ivey, Lisa Waltz, Jason Alexander, Steven Hill, Fyvush Finkel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Brighton Rock | Young Scarface | 1947 | John Boulting | ★★★ | 86 | Tour-de-force role for young Attenborough as loathsome, baby-faced gangster who finally gets his comeuppance. Notable for incredibly cynical trick ending. Screenplay by Terence Rattigan and Graham Greene from Greene's novel. U.S. title: YOUNG SCARFACE. | tt0039220 | Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Harcourt Williams, Nigel Stock | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Brighton Rock | 2011 | Rowan Joffe | ★★ | 111 | Sometimes affecting but too often clinical revision of Graham Greene's 1938 novel, reset in 1964 at the time of the Mods and Rockers riots, about a naïve working girl (Riseborough) who believes a young hood (Riley) is in love with her. In truth, he's concerned that she may have witnessed him committing a murder. Mirren steals the show as the girl's worldly employer. Writer-director Joffe manages to appropriate many film noir tropes but the leading characters are so off-putting it's to no avail. Previously filmed in 1947. | tt1233192 | [R] | Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Phil Davis, Sean Harris, Helen Mirren, John Hurt, Andy Serkis, Nonso Anonzie | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Brighton Strangler | 1945 | Max Nosseck | ★★½ | 67 | Eerie little thriller, similar to A DOUBLE LIFE, set in WW2 England. Actor Loder has made a hit as 'The Brighton Strangler' on the stage, but when he's conked on the head during an air raid, he begins to live the part. | tt0037559 | John Loder, June Duprez, Michael St. Angel, Miles Mander, Rose Hobart, Gilbert Emery | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Brighty of the Grand Canyon | 1967 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 89 | Harmless tale of a burro in the title locale; best for the kids. | tt0061424 | Joseph Cotten, Pat Conway, Karl Swenson, Dick Foran, Jason Clark | Drama | NULL | |||
| Brilliant Lies | 1996 | Richard Franklin | ★★★ | 93 | As testimony is given in a woman's sexual harassment suit, her boss is shown to be a chauvinist pig . . . but she's revealed as promiscuous gold digger whose own sister doubts her. The ultimate truth proves to be more complicated than it appears. Absorbing, well-acted adaptation of David Williamson's play about the subjective nature of truth, which unfolds in fragmented flashbacks as each party gives their side of the story. LaPaglia and Gia Carides are a couple in real life. | tt0115756 | Anthony LaPaglia, Gia Carides, Zoe Carides, Ray Barrett, Michael Veitch, Catherine Wilkin, Neil Melville, Grant Tilly | Australian |
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| Brimstone | 1949 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 90 | Usual account of cattle-rustling and law enforcer who brings outlaws to justice. | tt0041210 | Rod Cameron, Walter Brennan, Adrian Booth, Forrest Tucker, Jack Holt | Western | NULL | |||
| Brimstone & Treacle | 1982 | Richard Loncraine | ★★½ | 85 | Strange, intriguing (but often unpleasant) film about a young man who worms his way into the lives of a vulnerable middle-class couple, whose daughter lies in a coma. Good performance by Sting. | tt0083693 | [R] | Sting, Denholm Elliott, Joan Plowright, Suzanna Hamilton | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Bring 'Em Back Alive | 1932 | Clyde Elliott | ★★½ | 65 | Frank Buck plays Great White Hunter (and narrator) in this documentary curio, a great hit in its day and still interesting for its exciting jungle footage, as well as its often blatant phoniness. The inspiration for a same-named TV series 50 years later. | tt0023843 | Adventure, Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Bring It On | 2000 | Peyton Reed | ★★★ | 99 | High-spirited, high-energy movie about a championship high school cheerleading squad and its new captain (Dunst), who learns that their routines were stolen from a black, inner-city school. Sharp writing (by Jessica Bendinger), driving direction, and likable performances make this a winner. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0204946 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, Gabrielle Union, Clare Kramer, Nicole Bilderback, Rini Bell, Lindsay Sloane, Richard Hillman, Ian Roberts, Holmes Randolph | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | 1974 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★ | 112 | American piano player in Mexico gets involved with a smorgasbord of psychos; sub-par bloodbath doesn't even have the usual Peckinpah fast pace. | tt0071249 | [R] | Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Gig Young, Robert Webber, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernandez, Kris Kristofferson | Crime | NULL | ||
| Bring On the Girls | 1945 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 92 | Wealthy Bracken is unable to find a girl who isn't a gold-digger, so he joins the Navy. Slight comedy, with music; best are numbers by dancer Johnny Coy and Spike Jones and His City Slickers. That's Yvonne De Carlo as the hat-check girl. | tt0037560 | Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, Eddie Bracken, Marjorie Reynolds, Alan Mowbray, Grant Mitchell, Frank Faylen, Huntz Hall | Musical | NULL | |||
| Bring On the Night | 1985 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 97 | First-rate musical documentary about the formation of Sting's rock-jazz band, culminating in their first concert performance (performing the serious, often politically oriented material on the Dream of the Blue Turtles album). More than just a concert movie, thanks in large part to director Apted. Handsomely photographed by Ralf Bode. | tt0088855 | [PG-13] | Sting, Omar Hakim, Darryl Jones, Kenny Kirkland, Branford Marsalis, Dolette McDonald, Janice Pendarvis, Trudie Styler, Miles Copeland | British | Documentary | NULL | |
| Bring Your Smile Along | 1955 | Blake Edwards | ★★ | 83 | Thin musical comedy of schoolteacher/songwriter Towers coming to N.Y.C. and hooking up with Brasselle both professionally and romantically. Laine records their songs, and he perks up the proceedings. This was Edwards' directing debut; he also wrote the script. | tt0047899 | Frankie Laine, Keefe Brasselle, Constance Towers, Lucy Marlow, William Leslie, Jack Albertson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Bringing Down the House | 2003 | Adam Shankman | ★★ | 105 | Martin is wasted in this crude collection of racial and sexual comic stereotypes as an uptight WASP tax attorney whose Internet chat-room mate turns out to be a black convict (Latifah) who wants him to clear her name. Naturally she loosens him up while straightening out his kids and helping him land a big deal at work. Strictly a routine big-screen sitcom, unless you find the prospect of Martin talking jive and bustin' a groove in hip-hop garb to be the height of hilarity. Latifah coexecutive-produced. | tt0305669 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart, Kimberly J. Brown, Angus T. Jones, Missi Pyle, Michael Rosenbaum, Betty White, Steve Harris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bringing Out the Dead | 1999 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★ | 121 | Life on the N.Y.C. streets from the point of view of a paramedic: a surreal, episodic film about a burntout case whose only hope for sanity and salvation is to save someone's life. Based on the book by former EMS driver Joe Connelly, told in harrowing and visually arresting fashion. Script by Paul Schrader; remarkable cinematography by Robert Richardson. | tt0163988 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, Cliff Curtis, Aida Turturro | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bringing Up Baby | 1938 | Howard Hawks | ★★★★ | 102 | In her sole venture into slapstick, Hepburn plays a madcap heiress— 'Baby' is her pet leopard— who sets her sights on absentminded zoologist Grant and inadvertently (?) proceeds to make a shambles of his life. Not a hit when first released, this is now considered the definitive screwball comedy and one of the fastest, funniest films ever made; grand performances by all. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde, from Wilde's original story. More or less remade as WHAT'S UP, DOC? Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029947 | Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Ruggles, May Robson, Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Catlett, Fritz Feld, Ward Bond | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Brink of Life | 1958 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 84 | Realistic, almost documentary-like chronicle of the lives of three women in a maternity ward. Meticulously filmed, but also gloomy and static; one of Bergman's lesser efforts. | tt0052017 | Eva Dahlbeck, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson, Barbro Hiort af Ornäs, Erland Josephson, Max von Sydow, Gunnar Sjoberg | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Brink's Job | 1978 | William Friedkin | ★★★ | 103 | Entertaining, comically oriented account of the infamous 1950 Boston heist, masterminded by Falk and motley gang of accomplices. Excellent period and location flavor. | tt0077275 | [PG] | Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Garfield, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Sheldon Leonard | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Britannia Hospital | 1982 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★½ | 115 | Absurdist comedy about a hospital beleaguered by labor woes, protest groups, impatient patients, a resident mad doctor, and an impending visit by the Queen Mother. Heavy-handed satire, but entertaining nonetheless, with some actors in continuing roles from Anderson's IF . . . and O LUCKY MAN! Written by David Sherwin. | tt0083694 | [R] | Leonard Rossiter, Graham Crowden, Malcolm McDowell, Joan Plowright, Jill Bennett, Marsha Hunt, Frank Grimes, Roland Culver, Fulton Mackay, Vivian Pickles, Mark Hamill, Liz Smith, Alan Bates, Arthur Lowe | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| British Agent | 1934 | Michael Curtiz | ★½ | 81 | British diplomat Howard falls for staunch Soviet Francis in 1917 Russia; a trite script sinks this turkey, which tries to combine romance and international intrigue. | tt0024915 | Kay Francis, Leslie Howard, William Gargan, Philip Reed, J. Carrol Naish, Cesar Romero | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| British Intelligence | 1940 | Terry Morse | ★★½ | 62 | Not-bad programmer gives Karloff a good part as Valdar, a scar-faced butler who works for a British cabinet minister during WW1, and who may just be a spy. He tangles with alluring secret agent Lindsay— who may just be a double agent. Filmed before as THREE FACES EAST in 1925 and 1930. | tt0032283 | Boris Karloff, Margaret Lindsay, Maris Wrixon, Holmes Herbert, Leonard Mudie | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Broadcast News | 1987 | James L. Brooks | ★★★ | 131 | Appealing and intelligent comedy about a highly charged, neurotic woman who's a successful TV news producer, and her attraction to a pretty-boy anchorman who joins her network— and represents everything she hates about TV news. All three stars are fine, but Brooks is a special standout as an ace reporter, and Hunter's best friend, who's really in love with her. Nicholson contributes a funny unbilled performance as the network's star anchorman. Written by the director; set and filmed in Washington, D.C. | tt0092699 | [R] | William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles, Joan Cusack, Peter Hackes, Jack Nicholson | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Broadminded | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 72 | Pleasant Brown comedy with added spice of lovely Todd and presence of Lugosi in a supporting role. | tt0021697 | Joe E. Brown, William Collier/Jr., Margaret Livingston, Thelma Todd, Bela Lugosi, Ona Munson, Holmes Herbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Broadway | 1942 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 91 | Raft recalls his days as a nightclub hoofer in this Prohibition yarn (remake of 1929 film), full of colorful characters and incidents but without an eye toward believability. O'Brien is tough copper, Crawford a ruthless gangster. | tt0034549 | George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Broderick Crawford, Marjorie Rambeau, S.Z. Sakall | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Bad | 1933 | Sidney Lanfield. | ★★½ | 61 | Chorus girl Blondell is unjustly maligned by husband, decides to milk bad publicity for all its worth. A 1930s soap given first-class treatment. | tt0023846 | Joan Blondell, Ricardo Cortez, Ginger Rogers, Adrienne Ames. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Broadway Bill | 1934 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 102 | Baxter, who's 'sold out' and married money, risks his marriage and his future on a racehorse; Loy, his wife's sister, seems to be the only one who believes in him. The unremitting good cheer of this Capra concoction overcomes its flaws. Script by Robert Riskin, from the Mark Hellinger story 'On the Nose.' Remade (by Capra) in 1950 as RIDING HIGH— using some of the same actors, and even some of the same footage. Look fast for a young, blonde Lucille Ball as a telephone operator. | tt0024916 | Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Walter Connolly, Helen Vinson, Lynne Overman, Raymond Walburn, Clarence Muse, Douglass Dumbrille, Charles Lane, Ward Bond, Margaret Hamilton, Clara Blandick, Frankie Darro, Jason Robards/Sr., Broadway Bill | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Broadway Danny Rose | 1984 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 86 | Allen is wonderful as pathetic small-time manager who tries to boost career of over-the-hill singer Forte. Terrific casting, funny show-biz jokes but eventually wears a bit thin; a slight but amusing film. | tt0087003 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron, Corbett Monica, Morty Gunty, Will Jordan, Milton Berle, Joe Franklin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Broadway Gondolier | 1935 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 98 | Powell goes globetrotting so he'll be discovered by famous producer. Songs include: 'Lulu's Back in Town. | tt0026142 | Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Adolphe Menjou, Louise Fazenda, William Gargan, Grant Mitchell | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Limited | 1941 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 74 | Considering cast, a big disappointment, though innocuous entertainment: florid director Kinskey makes his new star (Woodworth) the center of publicity stunt that backfires. | tt0033435 | Dennis O'Keefe, Victor McLaglen, Marjorie Woodworth, ZaSu Pitts, Patsy Kelly, George E. Stone, Leonid Kinskey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Broadway Melody of 1936 | 1935 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 101 | Pleasant musi-comedy with Winchell-like columnist Benny trying to frame producer Taylor via dancer Powell, whose solo spots are pure delight. Arthur Freed-Nacio Herb Brown songs: 'You Are My Lucky Star,' 'Broadway Rhythm,' 'I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin' ' (which earned an Oscar for Dave Gould's dance direction). | tt0026144 | Jack Benny, Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Una Merkel, Sid Silvers, Buddy Ebsen | Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Melody of 1938 | 1937 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 110 | Not up to 1936 MELODY, with tuneful but forgettable songs, overbearing Tucker, and elephantine finale. Powell's dancing is great and Garland sings 'Dear Mr. Gable.' | tt0028665 | Robert Taylor, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Binnie Barnes, Buddy Ebsen, Judy Garland, Sophie Tucker, Charles Igor Gorin, Raymond Walburn, Robert Benchley, Willie Howard, Billy Gilbert | Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Melody of 1940 | 1940 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 102 | Friendship and rivalry between dance partners Astaire and Murphy spark delightful, underrated MGM musical, with hilarious vignettes, fine performance from Astaire, outstanding Cole Porter songs, and matchless Astaire-Powell numbers like 'Begin the Beguine' (danced twice in the finale). If only they'd tie up the plot a bit sooner. Douglas McPhail (unbilled) introduces the Porter standard 'I Concentrate On You.' | tt0032284 | Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, George Murphy, Frank Morgan, Ian Hunter, Florence Rice, Lynne Carver, Ann Morriss | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Broadway Melody | 1929 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 100 | Early talkie musical curio about a pair of stage-struck sisters who seek fame on the Great White Way and fall for a charming song-and-dance man. This was the first musical to win a Best Picture Academy Award. Awfully dated today, but there's still a good score by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown: Title tune, 'You Were Meant for Me,' and 'The Wedding of the Painted Doll.' Some sequences originally in Technicolor; remade as TWO GIRLS ON BROADWAY. | tt0019729 | Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Jed Prouty, Kenneth Thomson, Edward Dillon, Mary Doran | Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Musketeers | 1938 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 62 | Three women who grew up together in an orphanage meet up again as adults, having taken very different paths in life. Snappy remake of the melodramatic THREE ON A MATCH, with some interesting plot variations and a couple of songs from Sheridan. | tt0029948 | Margaret Lindsay, Ann Sheridan, Marie Wilson, John Litel, Janet Chapman, Richard Bond | Drama | NULL | |||
| Broadway Rhythm | 1944 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 114 | Tedious, overlong MGM musical with plot (ex-vaudevillian Winninger at odds with producer-son Murphy) getting in the way of good songs like 'Amor,' 'All the Things You Are.' | tt0036673 | George Murphy, Ginny Simms, Charles Winninger, Gloria DeHaven, Nancy Walker, Ben Blue, Tommy Dorsey and Orchestra | Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Serenade | 1939 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 114 | Mediocre musical of songwriter Ayres and wife, singer MacDonald, having careers split up their marriage. | tt0031121 | Jeanette MacDonald, Lew Ayres, Ian Hunter, Frank Morgan, Rita Johnson, Virginia Grey, William Gargan, Katharine Alexander | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway Thru a Keyhole | 1933 | Lowell Sherman. | ★★★ | 90 | Once-in-a-lifetime cast enlivens this colorful tale of nightclub performer Cummings, who attracts the attention of racketeer Kelly and singer-bandleader Columbo. Based on a story by Walter Winchell, the characters supposedly modeled after Ruby Keeler, Al Jolson, and N.Y.C. gangster Larry Fay; nice showcase for crooner Columbo, who died in 1934. Lucille Ball is noticeable in a bit. | tt0023847 | Constance Cummings, Paul Kelly, Russ Columbo, Blossom Seeley, Gregory Ratoff, Texas Guinan, Abe Lyman and His Band, Hugh O'Connell, Eddie Foy/Jr. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway to Hollywood | 1933 | Willard Mack | ★★ | 85 | Three generations of show biz (Cooper grows up to be Hardie, whose son, Rooney, grows up to be Quillan) in a story that's for the birds— but the acting is good, and some of the production numbers (lifted from MGM's famous 1930 extravaganza THE MARCH OF TIME) interesting to see. | tt0023848 | Alice Brady, Frank Morgan, Jackie Cooper, Russell Hardie, Madge Evans, Mickey Rooney, Eddie Quillan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Broadway: The Golden Age | 2004 | Rick McKay. | ★★★½ | 109 | Combining interviews with more than one hundred veterans of Broadway during its heyday (roughly the 1930s through the 1960s), archival footage of N.Y.C., and rarely seen performance excerpts, this simple, straightforward film succeeds in capturing both an era and a way of life for a generation of performers and theatergoers. Highlights include a tribute to the revered Laurette Taylor and a television performance of John Raitt singing the 'Soliloquy' from Carousel. A rich, deeply moving experience for anyone who loves Broadway theater or wants to introduce its wonders to a new generation. | tt0303797 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Brokeback Mountain | 2005 | Ang Lee | ★★★ | 134 | In 1963, two young cowboys meet while sheepherding in Wyoming and unexpectedly fall in love. Despite each subsequently marrying and raising a family, they continue their relationship through the years, always aware of the external limits placed on their true feelings. Bold subject matter (for mainstream audiences) is given sensitive if traditional treatment by director Lee; slow, stately, and often moving, but also a bit distant. Ledger is excellent in a complex, brooding role, and the whole cast matches him. Oscar winner for Director, Adapted Screenplay (by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, from Annie Proulx's short story), and Original Score (Gustavo Santaolalla). | tt0388795 | [R] | Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Graham Beckel, Anna Faris, Linda Cardellini, Roberta Maxwell, Peter McRobbie | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Brokedown Palace | 1999 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★ | 100 | By-the-numbers cautionary melodrama in which naive best pals Danes and Beckinsale, on a trip to Thailand to celebrate their high school graduation, are set up by a drug smuggler and tossed into prison. Done in by its sheer predictability— and lack of chemistry between the stars. | tt0120620 | [PG-13] | Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman, Jacqueline Kim, Lou Diamond Phillips, Daniel Lapaine, Tom Amandes, Aimee Graham, John Doe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Broken Arrow | 1950 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 93 | Authentic study of 1870s Apache Chief Cochise (Chandler) and ex-Army man (Stewart) trying to seek accord between feuding Indians and settlers. Flavorful and effective; good action sequences. Screenplay, credited to Michael Blankfort, was actually written by Albert Maltz, then a blacklistee. Chandler played Cochise again in THE BATTLE AT APACHE PASS. Later a TV series. | tt0042286 | James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget, Will Geer, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | |||
| Broken Arrow | 1996 | John Woo | ★★ | 108 | Extraordinarily stupid action movie about a high-security, high-tech Air Force pilot who deliberately crashes a U.S. plane in the midst of Utah and plans to hold its nuclear weapons for ransom. He doesn't reckon with his younger copilot (Slater) or the U.S. park ranger (Mathis) who join in a determined pursuit to thwart him. Packed with director Woo's expected action set pieces and stunts, but Travolta's over-the-top bad guy is fairly monotonous, and story continuity/credibility is almost nonexistent. Did it have to be this dumb? | tt0115759 | [R] | John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton, Frank Whaley, Howie Long, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Jack Thompson, Kurtwood Smith, Daniel von Bargen | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Broken Blossoms | 1919 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★ | 95 | Dated but lovely film of Chinaman Barthelmess protecting frail Gish from clutches of brutal father Crisp; still creates a mood sustained by sensitive performances. One of Griffith's more modest, and more successful, films. Remade in England in 1936. | tt0009968 | Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard, Edward Piel | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Broken Bridges | 2006 | Steven Goldmann | ★½ | 105 | The deaths in a training accident of five GIs from the same small Tennessee town set in motion a series of events involving two of the town's natives: Miami TV reporter Preston, who is long estranged from her family, and troubled, fading country-western singer Keith, the father of her adolescent daughter. Languid tale of regret and reconciliation offers a rose-colored view of small-town America. Country singer Keith's debut; produced by Country Music Television. | tt0477392 | [PG-13] | Toby Keith, Kelly Preston, Lindsey Haun, Tess Harper, Anna Maria Horsford, Katie Finneran, Josh Henderson, Willie Nelson, BeBe Winans, Burt Reynolds | Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| The Broken Chain | 1993 | Lamont Johnson | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Striking and vastly entertaining history lesson about one of the lesser-known chapters of American history: the tearing apart of the Iroquois Confederacy in the Northeast during the French and Indian Wars of the 1700s. Told through the splintered friendship of two Mohawk braves, this second entry in Ted Turner's 'Native Americans' series improved on the earlier GERONIMO. Made for cable. | tt0106486 | Eric Schweig, Wes Studi, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Pierce Brosnan, Graham Greene, J.C. White Shirt, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Nathan Chasing His Horse | Drama, War, Action | NULL | |||
| Broken Embraces | 2009 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★½ | 127 | Blind writer (Homar) cares for his secretary's son after he's injured, and while nursing him reveals the true story of his life, up until the night he lost his sight fourteen years ago. A movie director, he fell in love with a beautiful woman (Cruz) he cast in his latest film—unaware that she was in the grip of a powerful man who refused to share her affections. Sinuous, mesmerizing story plays out in two time frames; along the way Almodóvar pays homage to Audrey Hepburn, Roberto Rossellini, and film noir. He's also fashioned another perfect vehicle for Cruz's talent and beauty. | tt0913425 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, José Luis Gómez, Rubén Ochandiano, Tamar Novas, Ángela Molina | Spanish | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Broken English | 1996 | Gregor Nicholas | ★★★ | 92 | A Croatian tyrant living in New Zealand goes ballistic when his daughter becomes romantically involved with a hunkish Maori cook. Consistently absorbing drama— and an interesting thematic companion piece to ONCE WERE WARRIORS— gets its surprising NC-17 rating from an exuberant bed-breaking scene of young lovers in love. Seconds were shaved for R version available on video. | tt0115760 | [NC-17] | Aleksandra Vujcic, Julian Arahanga, Rade Serbedzija, Marton Csokas, Madeline McNamara | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Broken English | 2007 | Zoe Cassavetes | ★★½ | 97 | N.Y.C. career woman Posey makes consistently bad choices in men, so when a genuinely nice, freewheeling Frenchman (Poupaud) is attracted to her she doesn’t know how to respond. Uneven romantic comedy is salvaged by Posey’s empathetic performance, in a rounded portrait of a woman who keeps screwing up her life because she has no self-esteem. Feature writing-directing debut for Cassavetes, whose mother (Rowlands) plays Posey’s mom. | tt0772157 | [PG-13] | Parker Posey, Melvil Poupaud, Drea de Matteo, Justin Theroux, Gena Rowlands, Peter Bogdanovich, Tim Guinee, James McCaffrey, Josh Hamilton, Phyllis Somerville, Dana Ivey | U.S.-French | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Broken Flowers | 2005 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★ | 106 | Deadpan Don Juan (Murray) receives an unsigned letter from a former lover telling him he has a 19-year-old son. His neighbor (Wright), an amateur sleuth, convinces him that he should look up all his old girlfriends to learn who sent the note, and, reluctantly, he does. Writer-director Jarmusch, the ultimate movie minimalist, is as inscrutable as ever, even with an A-list cast. Intriguing but not really satisfying. That's Murray's real-life son Homer near the end of the film. | tt0412019 | [R] | Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Frances Conroy, Christopher McDonald, Julie Delpy, Chloë Sevigny, Heather Alicia Simms, Alexis Dziena, Mark Webber | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Broken Hearts Club- A Romantic Comedy | 2000 | Greg Berlanti | ★★½ | 94 | Comedy-drama about gay friends in West Hollywood who harass each other as much as they support one another . . . and seemingly spend every waking moment talking about their troubled relationships. Veers from empathic and well observed to self-consciously clever and tiresome. | tt0222850 | [R] | Zach Braff, Dean Cain, Andrew Keegan, Nia Long, John Mahoney, Mary McCormack, Matt McGrath, Timothy Olyphant, Billy Porter, Justin Theroux, Jennifer Coolidge, Chris Weitz | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Broken Lance | 1954 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★½ | 96 | Tracy is superlative in tight-knit script (by Richard Murphy, from an Oscar-winning Philip Yordan story) about patriarchal rancher who finds he's losing control of his cattle empire and his family is fragmenting into warring factions. Remake of HOUSE OF STRANGERS (although it owes more to King Lear!). | tt0046808 | Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Katy Jurado, Hugh O'Brian, Eduard Franz, Earl Holliman, E.G. Marshall | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Broken Land | 1962 | John Bushelman | ★★ | 60 | Routine low-budget Western about a sadistic sheriff who browbeats just about everybody, including his deputy and the harmless son (Nicholson) of a notorious gunman. | tt0055811 | Kent Taylor, Dianna Darrin, Jody McCrea, Robert Sampson, Jack Nicholson | Western | NULL | |||
| Broken Lullaby | The Man I Killed | 1932 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 77 | Excellent drama of French soldier who feels guilty for killing German during war, then falls in love with dead man's sweetheart. Retitled: THE MAN I KILLED. | tt0022725 | Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes, ZaSu Pitts, Lucien Littlefield, Emma Dunn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Broken Rainbow | 1985 | Maria Florio, Victoria Mudd | ★★★ | 70 | Historical voices: Burgess Meredith. Translator: Buffy Sainte-Marie. Touching, biting, appropriately one-sided, yet sometimes unnecessarily romanticized documentary about the relocation— and resistance— of Navajo Indians in Arizona. A Best Documentary Academy Award-winner. | tt0088857 | Narrated by Martin Sheen | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Broken Sky | 1982 | Ingrid Thulin | ★★½ | 96 | Ambitious but uneven account of 13-year-old Kall, in the process of breaking free from her childhood, and her relationships with various family members. Thulin also wrote the script. | tt0083697 | Susanna Kall, Thommy Berggren, Agneta Eckemyr, Margaretha Krook | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Broken Strings | 1940 | Bernard B. Ray. | ★½ | 60 | A celebrated violin virtuoso's life is shattered when his hand is paralyzed after an auto accident, then his violin-playing son veers toward swing instead of the classics. All-black-cast independent is well intentioned but poorly acted and directed, and slow as molasses. | tt0135173 | Clarence Muse, Sybil Lewis, William Washington, Tommiwitta Moore, Stymie Beard, Pete Webster, Edward Thompson, Buck Woods. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Broken Tower | 2011 | James Franco | 💣 | 108 | Having played Allen Ginsberg in HOWL, Franco takes on avant-garde poet Hart Crane, whose life came to an end in 1932 when he leaped off a ship into the Gulf of Mexico. Actor-director-screenwriter Franco gives the story his best shot but fails to make it work dramatically. Divided into a dozen sections that deal with Crane's homosexuality, odd-job employment history, and bad-fit relationship with his wealthy family, already stillborn narrative further tests audience endurance with lengthy on-screen poetry readings that even F.W. Murnau probably couldn't make visually interesting. By all indications heartfelt, result all but defines the film you can't believe was ever released. | tt1756791 | James Franco, Michael Shannon, Stacey Miller, Vince Jolivette, Dave Franco | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bronco Billy | 1980 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 119 | Enjoyable yarn about self-styled cowboy hero who runs a fly-by-night Wild West show and the spoiled heiress who joins his entourage of escapees from reality. Locke's rich-bitch character is a bit hard to take, but neither she nor some superfluous subplots can sour the charm of this film. Look fast for Hank Worden! | tt0080472 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Scatman Crothers, Bill McKinney, Sam Bottoms, Dan Vadis, Sierra Pecheur, Juliette Lewis | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bronco Buster | 1952 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 81 | Minor story of rodeo star Lund helping Brady learn the ropes, forced to fight him for Holden's love. Good rodeo action. | tt0044452 | John Lund, Scott Brady, Joyce Holden, Chill Wills, Casey Tibbs | Western | NULL | |||
| Bronk | 1975 | Richard Donner | Average TV Movie | 74 | Honest cop Palance takes on mobsters and corrupt officials after accidental death of partner during narcotics investigation. Palance makes like Clint Eastwood in this OK actioner. Pilot for the TV series, partially conceived by Carroll O’Connor. | tt0072741 | Jack Palance, Henry Beckman, Tony King, David Birney, Joseph Mascolo, Joanna Moores, Dina Ousley, Chelsea Brown | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |||
| Bronson | 2009 | Nicolas Winding Refn | ★★★ | 92 | Impressionistic biopic delves into the life of Michael Peterson (Hardy, in a bravura performance), Britain's most famous convict, a very angry young man who becomes a celebrity of sort for his animalistic brutality. He is so obsessed with fame that he even chooses to call himself "Charles Bronson" (who, of course, once starred in a film titled DEATH WISH). Stark, potent tale is nonetheless difficult to watch because "Bronson" is so unlikable and his violent nature is portrayed in graphic detail. | tt1172570 | [R] | Tom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance, Amanda Burton, Juliet Oldfield | British | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Brontë | 1983 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 88 | Engrossing performance by Harris portraying Charlotte Brontë in one-woman show recounting her life and family troubles via intimate, first-person monologues. Unusual, literate film benefits from all-location filming in Ireland. Script by William Luce from his radio play based on Brontë's own writings. | tt0202822 | Julie Harris | Irish-U.S. |
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| The Brontë Sisters | 1979 | André Téchiné | ★★½ | 115 | Well-mounted but slightly sluggish portrait of the famous literary sisters and their repressed lives. Worth a look mainly to see three of France's most appealing actresses in one film. Also shot in English-language version, which doesn't play as well. | tt0079920 | Isabelle Adjani, Marie-France Pisier, Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Gregory, Patrick Magee | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Bronx Tale | 1993 | Robert De Niro | ★★★½ | 122 | Longish but well-observed slice of life, as a boy grows up with two heroes of conflicting nature and beliefs— his loving, hard-working father, and the neighborhood capo, who takes him as a personal protégé. Written by Palminteri, and based on his play; an impressive directorial debut for De Niro, who brings a keen eye and equally strong sensibility to this potent (but ultimately upbeat) material. Incidentally, to re-create the Bronx of the 1960s, De Niro had to shoot this in Brooklyn and Queens! | tt0106489 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato, Francis Capra, Taral Hicks, Kathrine Narducci, Clem Caserta, Alfred Sauchelli/Jr., Frank Pietrangolare, Joe Pesci | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bronx War | 1990 | Joseph B. Vasquez | ★★ | 91 | Ambitious, gritty but annoyingly uneven actioner chronicling the plight of Tito Sunshine (Joseph), a product of the mean streets of The Bronx, whose good intentions are obscured by the fact that he's a crack dealer. Dramatically overwrought, unrelentingly violent and profane, but not without its moments. Available on video in R and unrated versions. | tt0099183 | Joseph B. Vasquez, Fabio Urena, Charmaine Cruz, Andre Brown, Marlene Forte, Frances Colon, Miguel Sierra, Kim West | Action, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Brood | 1979 | David Cronenberg | 💣 | 90 | Eggar eats her own afterbirth while midget clones beat grandparents and lovely young schoolteachers to death with mallets. It's a big, wide, wonderful world we live in! | tt0078908 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, Cindy Hinds, Nuala Fitzgerald, Susan Hogan | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Brooklyn Rules | 2007 | Michael Corrente | ★★ | 99 | Coming-of-age story set in Brooklyn of 1985 about three friends and their relationship with the local Mafia figures who dominate their neighborhood. When tragedy strikes, their lives are irreversibly changed. Screenplay by Terrence Winter, a key creative force of The Sopranos, but the movie is Sopranos lite at best. Baldwin could play the local mob boss in his sleep; only Ferrara (of Entourage) stands out in the young cast. | tt0283503 | [R] | Freddie Prinze, Jr., Alec Baldwin, Scott Caan, Jerry Ferrara, Mena Suvari, Robert Turano, Phyllis Kay, Monica Keena | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Brooklyn’s Finest | 2010 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★★ | 123 | Impressively gritty, sometimes shockingly violent urban drama follows the largely separate but ultimately intertwined stories of three stressed-out N.Y.C. cops: a detective (Hawke) who robs drug dealers to provide for his ailing wife (Taylor) and children; an undercover vice cop (Cheadle) ordered to build a case against an old friend (Snipes); and a cynical uniformed officer (Gere) who gets a shot at redemption just a few days before retirement. Covers familiar ground, but strong performances (especially from Gere and Cheadle) and punchy direction breathe fresh life into clichés and conventions. | tt1210042 | [R] | Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Will Patton, Lili Taylor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Ellen Barkin, Brian F. O’Byrne, Shannon Kane, Vincent D’Onofrio. | 1 | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Broth of a Boy | 1959 | George Pollock | ★★½ | 77 | British TV producer hits upon scheme of filming birthday celebration of oldest man in the world, Irish villager Fitzgerald. The latter's battle to get cut of the pie is vehicle for study of human nature; quietly effective. | tt0052652 | Barry Fitzgerald, Harry Brogan, Tony Wright, June Thorburn, Eddie Golden | Irish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Brother | 2000 | Takeshi Kitano | ★★★ | 107 | Stoic Japanese gangster Takeshi becomes the Fastest Gun in the West as he arrives in L.A. and becomes immersed in gang rivalries while bonding with a young African American (Epps). Ultraviolent, to be sure, but this is no mindless actioner; rather, it is a meditation on the meaning of loyalty, and deftly contrasts the tough, anarchic urban-American subculture and the rituals of Japanese Yakuza. Signature bits of Kitano's wry humor are added to the mix; he also scripted and edited. | tt0222851 | [R] | Beat Takeshi (Kitano), Omar Epps, Kuroudo Maki, Masaya Kato, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima, Ryo Ishibashi, James Shigeta | U.S.-Japanese-French-British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Brother Bear | 2003 | Aaron Blaise, Bob Walker | ★★★ | 81 | The life of a Native American boy takes an unexpected turn when the Great Spirits transform him into the creature he hates the most: a bear. As he sets out to regain his human form, he sees things from a different perspective (even befriending a bear cub) while trying to evade his brother, who's pursuing him on a mission of revenge. Absorbing, beautifully executed animated feature infuses a highly unusual tale with ingredients of traditional Disney storytelling. It's fun to have Moranis and Thomas do a variation on their McKenzie Brothers characters— as moose! | tt0328880 | [G] | Voices of Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, D.B. Sweeney, Michael Clarke Duncan, Harold Gould, Estelle Harris. | Animation, Family, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Brother Can You Spare a Dime | 1975 | Philippe Mora | ★★½ | 103 | Documentary on 1930s has fuzzy point of view, and no narration to tie footage together; it also mixes newsreels and Hollywood clips. If you know and like the period, the footage will speak for itself and provide a certain measure of entertainment. | tt0072742 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Brother From Another Planet | 1984 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 104 | Amiable, ingenious contemporary fantasy, filmed on a shoestring, about a black visitor from another planet who (like Chance in BEING THERE) impresses most of the people he meets because he doesn't say a word— and lets them do all the talking! Falls apart toward the end with a subplot about drug dealers, but still worthwhile. Fine dialogue by writer-director Sayles, who, as usual, gives himself a funny role (as one of the Brother's outer-space pursuers). | tt0087004 | Joe Morton, Darryl Edwards, Steve James, Leonard Jackson, Maggie Renzi, Rosetta Le Noire, David Strathairn, Bill Cobbs | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Brother John | 1972 | James Goldstone | ★★★ | 94 | Highly entertaining tale of the Messiah's return— only no one knows that he's come, and that he's black. | tt0068317 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Will Geer, Bradford Dillman, Beverly Todd, Ramon Bieri, Warren J. Kemmerling, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Paul Winfield | Drama | NULL | ||
| Brother Orchid | 1940 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 91 | Farfetched but entertaining yarn of racketeer Robinson who seeks 'the real class' in life. When he tries to rejoin his old mob, they throw him out and Robinson joins a monastery to plot his next move! Sothern delightful as his ever-faithful girlfriend. | tt0032285 | Edward G. Robinson, Ann Sothern, Humphrey Bogart, Ralph Bellamy, Donald Crisp, Allen Jenkins | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Brother Rat | 1938 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 90 | Comedy of three pals at Virginia Military Institute isn't as fresh as it was in the 1930s, but still remains entertaining, with enthusiastic performances by all. Albert stands out in his screen debut, in a role he played on the stage. Sequel: BROTHER RAT AND A BABY. Remade as ABOUT FACE. | tt0029949 | Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, Johnnie Davis, Jane Bryan, Eddie Albert, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, William Tracy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Brother Rat and a Baby | 1940 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 87 | Sassy follow-up to BROTHER RAT is not the same success, but is still fun. Morris, Reagan, and Albert have graduated the Virginia Military Institute; the first two come to the latter's aid when he's up for VMI baseball coach job. Look quickly for Alan Ladd as a cadet. | tt0032286 | Priscilla Lane, Wayne Morris, Eddie Albert, Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Brother Sun, Sister Moon | 1973 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★½ | 121 | Zeffirelli's wide-eyed youth-oriented slant on Francis of Assisi story runs hot and cold; some delicate, lovely scenes, but other ideas don't always come across. Songs by Donovan. | tt0069824 | [PG] | Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Alec Guinness, Valentina Cortese, Kenneth Cranham | Italian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Brother's Keeper | 1992 | Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | ★★★½ | 104 | Exceptional documentary/slice-of-life which offers a portrait of backwoods America rarely seen in mainstream movies. It's the story of Delbert Ward, a reserved, uneducated upstate New York farmer who was thrown into jail after being accused of murdering his sickly brother. When he goes on trial, his neighbors, who barely know him, rally to his defense. An intriguing treatise on human nature and a telling look at how the media plays a role in a controversial case like this. | tt0103888 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| A Brother's Kiss | 1997 | Seth Zvi Rosenfeld | ★★★ | 92 | Raw, riveting drama depicting the complex relationship between brothers, Lex (Chinlund) and Mick (Raynor), who came of age on the mean streets of N.Y.'s East Harlem. Mick, the younger, has become a cop, while Lex, who's never been able to catch a break, is a drug addict. Flashbacks to the brothers' childhood are especially effective— and heartbreaking. Based on Rosenfeld's stage play. | tt0118783 | [R] | Nick Chinlund, Michael Raynor, Talent Harris, John Leguizamo, Cathy Moriarty, Adrian Pasdar, Rosie Perez, Justin Pierce, Marisa Tomei, Michael Rapaport, Joshua Danowsky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Brotherhood | 2011 | Will Canon | ★½ | 76 | All hell breaks loose when an initiation ritual for a college fraternity goes terribly wrong and the pledges must decide whether it’s more important to save their friend or be loyal to their future brothers. While the acting isn’t bad, it’s hard to become genuinely involved in the story (which is quite complicated), and the nonstop barrage of expletives becomes tiresome. A clever twist at the end doesn't make up for the rest of the film's flaws. | tt0457229 | [R] | Trevor Morgan, Jon Foster, Lou Taylor Pucci, Arlen Escarpeta | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Brotherhood of Satan | 1971 | Bernard McEveety | ★★½ | 92 | Witches' coven takes over town in this horrifying little terror tale. | tt0066863 | [PG] | Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones, Charles Bateman, Ahna Capri, Charles Robinson | Horror | NULL | ||
| Brotherhood of the Wolf | 2001 | Christophe Gans | ★★ | 142 | Based on a famous legend, this very strange film chronicles the attempt to track down a mysterious wolflike creature that is terrorizing the French countryside in 1765. A scientist and his Iroquois 'blood brother' take on the job for King Louis XV, but they meet resistance at every turn. Bizarre, unsatisfying mélange of costume piece, occult drama, sexual fantasy, and horror film! | tt0237534 | [R] | Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Emilie Dequenne, Jérémie Renier | French | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| The Brotherhood | 1968 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 98 | Excellent story of Mafia in changing times; tradition-bound Douglas clashes with younger brother Cord who feels no ties to old-fashioned dictates. Pre-GODFATHER, but in the same league. | tt0062760 | [M] | Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas, Luther Adler, Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Brotherly Love | 1970 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 112 | Very funny study of relationships in upper-class British household. O'Toole and York are delightful. Original British title: COUNTRY DANCE. | tt0065581 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Susannah York, Michael Craig, Harry Andrews, Cyril Cusack, Judy Cornwell, Brian Blessed | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Brothers | 1977 | Arthur Barron | ★★½ | 104 | Well-intentioned story based on relationship between militant professor Angela Davis and literate black convict George Jackson during 1960s. Sloppy filmmaking and awkward scripting diminish impact of film's better moments. | tt0075787 | [R] | Bernie Casey, Vonetta McGee, Ron O'Neal, Renny Roker, Stu Gilliam, John Lehne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Brothers | 2004 | Susanne Bier. | ★★★½ | 110 | A man leaves his wife and two daughters to fight in Afghanistan, just as his chronic screwup brother is released from prison. The family does its best, feeling the pain of the 'good' brother's absence and the tension of the 'bad' brother's presence. Subsequent events reveal the true nature of the leading characters. Searing, intense, adult drama; Nielsen (in her Danish feature debut) heads a superb cast. Intimately photographed by Morten S¿borg on digital video. Screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen from a story he cowrote with director Bier. | tt0386342 | [R] | Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Bent Mejding, Solb¿rg H¿jfeldt, Paw Henriksen. | Danish | Drama | NULL | |
| Brothers | 2009 | Jim Sheridan | ★★½ | 104 | A loving husband and father (Maguire) is called to duty in Iraq; while he's away his screwup brother (Gyllenhaal), just released from prison, tries to look after the family and develops strong feelings for his sibling's wife (Portman). Remake of the powerful 2004 Danish film sticks pretty close to the original, but having movie stars in the leading roles seems to dull its impact. | tt0765010 | [R] | Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Bailee Madison, Patrick Flueger, Clifton Collins, Jr., Mare Winningham, Taylor Geare, Carey Mulligan, Ethan Suplee | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| The Brothers Bloom | 2009 | Rian Johnson | ★★½ | 109 | Picaresque fable of two orphaned brothers who find their way in the world as con artists, following scenarios devised by the inventive younger sibling. But during what is planned as their final caper, the older brother (Brody) falls in love with their mark (Weisz), a beautiful recluse who treats the experience as a glorious adventure. Self-consciously clever, to be sure, but it’s fun for a while until the air deflates from the balloon at a certain point. The Eastern European settings are colorful, and Weisz is delightful as a madcap. Enjoyably eclectic score by Nathan Johnson. Look fast for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (star of Johnson’s debut film, BRICK). | tt0844286 | [PG-13] | Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell; narrated by Ricky Jay | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Brothers Grimm | 2005 | Terry Gilliam | ★★ | 118 | Fictionalized (and bloated) account of the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, here called Will and Jake, depicted as con men who travel from village to village in Napoleonic-era Germany and exploit the superstitions of the townspeople. Eventually they are recruited to determine why the children of one hamlet are mysteriously disappearing. Extravagant sets, costumes, and imagery are pure Gilliam, but the film is hollow and disappointing. This had a long and troubled production history, and it shows. Grimm indeed. | tt0355295 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Peter Stormare, Lena Headey, Jonathan Pryce, Monica Bellucci, Petr Ratimec, Barbara Lukêsova, Anna Rust, Jeremy Robson | U.S.-Czech | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Brothers Karamazov | 1958 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 146 | Set in 19th-century Russia, film version of Dostoyevsky's tragedy revolving about death of a dominating father (Cobb) and effect on his sons: fun-seeking Brynner, scholarly Basehart, religious Shatner, and epileptic Salmi. Exceptionally well scripted by Brooks. William Shatner's first film. | tt0051435 | Yul Brynner, Maria Schell, Claire Bloom, Lee J. Cobb, Richard Basehart, William Shatner, Albert Salmi | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Brothers McMullen | 1995 | Edward Burns | ★★½ | 97 | Three brothers are temporarily living together under one roof; the married one is tempted to stray, the one who's involved with a woman has Catholic guilt about sinning, and the third wears his cynicism about relationships on his sleeve— even after he falls in love. Made on a minuscule budget, this modest film grows more compelling as it goes along, with two assets missing from slicker Hollywood movies: The actors are appealing and their conversations are totally believable. First-time director Burns also wrote the script and costars. | tt0112585 | [R] | Jack Mulcahy, Mike McGlone, Edward Burns, Shari Albert, Maxine Bahns, Connie Britton, Jennifer Jostyn, Elizabeth P. McKay, Catherine Bolz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Brothers O'Toole | 1973 | Richard Erdman | ★★ | 90 | Strictly for the kids is this comedy Western. Actor turned director Erdman has a bit. | tt0069825 | [G] | John Astin, Steve Carlson, Pat Carroll, Hans Conried, Lee Meriwether, Allyn Joslyn, Jesse White | Western, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Brothers Rico | 1957 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 92 | Incisive gangster yarn; Conte comes to N.Y.C. to counteract nationwide criminal gang's plot to eliminate his two brothers. Based on Georges Simenon novel; remade for TV as THE FAMILY RICO in 1972. | tt0050213 | Richard Conte, Dianne Foster, Kathryn Grant, Larry Gates, James Darren | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Brothers Solomon | 2007 | Bob Odenkirk | 💣 | 93 | Distant cousin of DUMB AND DUMBER in which Arnett and Forte play brothers who hatch a scheme to revive their comatose father by delivering him the grandchild he always wanted. Setting out to find a girl to do the deed, the two dopey siblings each try to impregnate her . . . with predictable complications. Forte wrote this comatose script, which he and Arnett try to bring to life. | tt0784972 | [R] | Will Arnett, Will Forte, Chi McBride, Kristen Wiig, Malin Akerman, Lee Majors, Michael Ormsby, Bill Hader, Jenna Fischer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Brothers in Law | 1957 | Roy Boulting | ★★½ | 94 | Misadventures of a young lawyer (Carmichael) fill this amiable British comedy. | tt0050214 | Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, Miles Malleson, Raymond Huntley | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Brothers of the Head | 2006 | Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe | ★★ | 93 | Various talking heads look back on the lives and careers of conjoined twins who, in the mid-1970s, shined brightly but briefly as proto-punk rockers in this faux documentary. Flashy, potentially intriguing portrait of excess is longwinded and predictable; there's about a half hour's worth of material here. Based on a novel by Brian Aldiss. | tt0432260 | [R] | Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway, Bryan Dick, Sean Harris, Tania Emery, Diana Kent, Tom Bower, David Kennedy, Elizabeth Rider, Jane Horrocks, Jonathan Pryce, John Simm, Ken Russell, Ray Davies | British | Drama, Music | NULL | |
| The Brothers | 2001 | Gary Hardwick | ★★ | 106 | Four childhood friends are now successful doctors, lawyers, etc., all nearing 30, with three of the four still single. Film examines the tumultuous personal lives of these guys, who under the three-piece suits are just hoop-shooting overgrown kids. Overly melodramatic, though comedians Bellamy and Hughley spout some awfully funny, racy lines. Hardwick scripted and appears as T-Boy. | tt0250274 | [R] | Morris Chestnut, Shemar Moore, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, Gabrielle Union, Susan Dalian, Tamala Jones, Marla Gibbs, Jenifer Lewis, Clifton Powell, Tatyana Ali, Vanessa Bell Calloway | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Brown Bunny | 2004 | Vincent Gallo | ★½ | 92 | Auteur antics from producer/writer/ director/cinematographer/production designer/ editor/actor Gallo about a ponderous New Hampshire-to-California road odyssey taken by a motorcycle racer whose secret (divulged in the movie's final quarter) motivates his every move. Cut by almost a half hour from the version that played the 2003 Cannes Film Festival to wide derision and disbelief. A workable idea sunk by too many moments where the camera does little but grind . . . and a predilection toward the grotesquely weird (Tiegs' scene is mind-bending nonsense). Without the notorious finale, an on-the-level fellatio scene between Sevigny and Gallo, it's tough to imagine that the film would have ever been shown. | tt0330099 | Vincent Gallo, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs, Elizabeth Blake, Anna Vareschi | Drama, Adult | NULL | |||
| Brown Sugar | 2002 | Rick Famuyiwa | ★★½ | 98 | Pleasant romantic comedy about two lifelong friends who love hip-hop music but can't admit they love each other. He's a record exec who marries the wrong woman; she's an eloquent and impassioned music journalist. A likable cast brightens this film, which goes on a bit longer than it has to, given the obvious conclusion of the story. Many recording artists appear as themselves. | tt0297037 | [PG-13] | Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def, Nicole Ari Parker, Queen Latifah, Boris Kodjoe | Romance, Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Brown of Harvard | 1926 | Jack Conway. | ★★½ | 85 | Prototypical collegiate romance: two buddies, one a scholar and the other an athlete, become rivals over a professor's daughter. Already the screen's third version of Rida Johnson Young's 1906 stage play, it's most notable today for an easily spotted early appearance by a 19-year-old USC football lineman soon to become John Wayne. | tt0016690 | William Haines, Jack Pickford, Mary Brian, David Torrence, Edward Connelly, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Brown's Requiem | 1998 | Jason Freeland | ★★ | 104 | Sluggish crime yarn, based on a James Ellroy novel, with alcoholic cop-turned-repo-man/P.I. Rooker hired by a corpulent caddie to watch over his sultry kid sister (Blair). Where are Bogie and Bacall when you really need them? | tt0171135 | [R] | Michael Rooker, Tobin Bell, Selma Blair, Jack Conley, Kevin Corrigan, Brad Dourif, Harold Gould, Brion James, Barry Newman, William Newman, Valerie Perrine, William Sasso, Jack Wallace | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Browning Version | 1951 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★½ | 90 | Redgrave is superb as middle-aged boarding school teacher who realizes he's a failure, with an unfaithful wife and a new teaching position he doesn't want. Cast does full justice to the play by Terence Rattigan; he also scripted. Remade in 1994. | tt0043362 | Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Brian Smith, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ronald Howard, Bill Travers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Browning Version | 1994 | Mike Figgis | ★★½ | 97 | Well-mounted, though stodgy, remake of Terence Rattigan's play of retiring schoolmaster whose dedication is unappreciated and whose marriage is unraveling. Finney is good as man out of step with the times, Scacchi is fine (if oddly cast). Touching and tragic, but it's hard to beat Michael Redgrave's performance in 1951 version. | tt0109340 | [R] | Albert Finney, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Modine, Julian Sands, Michael Gambon, Ben Silverstone, Maryam D'Abo, David Lever | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Brubaker | 1980 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 132 | Earnest but predictable prison drama based on true story of reform-minded warden who dares to uncover skeletons in corrupt Southern prison system. | tt0080474 | [R] | Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Murray Hamilton, David Keith, Morgan Freeman, Matt Clark, TimMcIntire, Linda Haynes, M. Emmet Walsh, Richard Ward, Albert Salmi, John McMartin, Wilford Brimley, Joe Spinell, Lee Richardson, Harry Groener, John Glover | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bruce Almighty | 2003 | Tom Shadyac | ★★★ | 101 | TV reporter who feels he keeps getting the short end of the stick winds up cursing God. As a result, he's summoned by the Almighty and given His powers, to do with as he pleases . . . but before long, the gift seems more like a curse. Entertaining fantasy-comedy stays rooted enough in reality to pull you in. Carrey is at his best, and Freeman is perfect as a down-to-earth Deity. | tt0315327 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Baker Hall, Catherine Bell, Lisa Ann Walter, Steven Carell, Nora Dunn, Sally Kirkland, Eddie Jemison, Tony Bennett | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bruno | The Dress Code | 2000 | Shirley MacLaine | ★★½ | 108 | MacLaine made her feature directorial debut with this fable about a precocious 8-year-old Catholic schoolboy (and spelling-bee whiz) who likes to wear dresses. Quirky comedy-drama has poignant moments, and a gallery of stereotyped characters who are somewhat strident, but funny. Made for theaters, debuted on cable TV. Aka THE DRESS CODE. | tt0123003 | [PG-13] | Alex D. Linz, Shirley MacLaine, Gary Sinise, Joey Lauren Adams, Kathy Bates, Kiami Davael, Stacey Halprin, Gwen Verdon, Jennifer Tilly, Brett Butler, Lainie Kazan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Brute Force | 1947 | Jules Dassin | ★★★½ | 98 | Tingling, hard-bitten prison film with its few clichés punched across solidly. Brutal captain Cronyn is utterly despicable, but you know he's going to get it in the end. Scripted by Richard Brooks, from Robert Patterson's story. Duff's film debut. | tt0039224 | Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Howard Duff, Whit Bissell, Jeff Corey, Sam Levene, Roman Bohnen, John Hoyt, Anita Colby | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Brute Man | 1946 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 60 | Loosely based on Hatton's own tragic life (handsome as a youth, he became impaired by acromegaly), this deals with a disfigured man who becomes a mad killer. | tt0038387 | Tom Neal, Rondo Hatton, Jane Adams, Peter Whitney, Jan Wiley | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Brylcreem Boys | 1996 | Terence Ryan | ★★ | 105 | Allied airmen of WW2, shot down over Ireland, are astonished to learn that they are to be held in a POW camp, right alongside German prisoners— a quintessentially curious way for Ireland to maintain and enforce its official neutrality during the war. Intriguing premise gets mediocre treatment in this superficial and disappointing film. | tt0115770 | Bill Campbell, William McNamara, Angus Macfadyen, Gabriel Byrne, Jean Butler, John Gordon Sinclair, Oliver Tobias | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Brüno | 2009 | Larry Charles | ★★½ | 81 | Baron Cohen adopts the guise of flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista Brüno, who will do (literally) anything to become famous. As in BORAT, the best sequences involve people being suckered into believing Brüno's outrageous words and actions: a TV talk show where he brings his adopted baby from Africa, a hunting trip with four good ol' boys, a macho wrestling arena. Some real laughs, but many hair-raising and painfully uncomfortable moments as well; a very mixed bag. | tt0889583 | [R] | Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Bono, Chris Martin, Elton John, Slash, Snoop Dogg, Sting | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bubba Ho-Tep | 2003 | Don Coscarelli | ★★★ | 92 | Engagingly silly film takes place in East Texas, where an elderly Elvis Presley shares the same nursing home as a man who claims to be JFK (even though he's black). When they discover that an ancient mummy is prowling their hallways at night, sucking the life out of fellow patients, they team up to save the day. Campbell and Davis play this so well that they manage to draw you in, in spite of yourself! Based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale. | tt0281686 | [R] | Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Bob Ivy, Heidi Marnhout | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Bubble | 2006 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 73 | In a drab Midwestern town, coworkers in a doll factory (a middle-aged woman and a younger man) have a pleasant-enough carpool relationship until a younger, prettier woman is hired. Everything about this film is muted, including the colors and the emotions, but Soderbergh creates a tangible and completely believable world with nonprofessional actors. More an experiment than an entertainment, and awfully dry, but well done. | tt0454792 | [R] | Debbie Doebereiener, Dustin James Ashley, Misty Down Wilkins, Kyle Smith, Decker Moody | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Bubble Boy | 2001 | Blair Hayes | 💣 | 84 | An infant, born without immunities, is raised in a plastic bubble by his overly cautious mother and passive father. As a young man he falls for the girl next door; when she moves away to marry another guy he creates a special suit so he can chase her across the country. An insipid attempt at a comedy; even the upbeat attitude of the lead character can't save this panoply of stupid stereotypes, gross-out gags, and inane situations. | tt0258470 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoosie Kurtz, Marley Shelton, Danny Trejo, John Carroll Lynch, Verne Troyer, Stephen Spinella, Dave Sheridan, Patrick Cranshaw, Fabio | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Buccaneer's Girl | 1950 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 77 | Pure escapism with De Carlo cavorting as New Orleans singer and later helping to free pirate-friend from prison. | tt0042287 | Yvonne De Carlo, Philip Friend, Elsa Lanchester, Andrea King, Henry Daniell | Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Buccaneer | 1938 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 124 | Typically entertaining epic-scale saga from DeMille, with florid performance by March as pirate-hero Jean Lafitte, who aids American cause during Battle of New Orleans. Good storytelling and good fun. Remade in 1958. | tt0029950 | Fredric March, Franciska Gaal, Margot Grahame, Akim Tamiroff, Walter Brennan, Anthony Quinn | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Buccaneer | 1958 | Anthony Quinn | ★★★ | 121 | Starchy swashbuckler retelling events during Battle of New Orleans when Andrew Jackson (Heston) is forced to rely on buccaneer Lafitte (Brynner) to stem the British invasion; action is spotty but splashy. Quinn's only film as director; executive-produced by his then-father-in-law Cecil B. DeMille, who directed the 1938 original, and whose last film this was. | tt0051436 | Yul Brynner, Charlton Heston, Claire Bloom, Charles Boyer, Inger Stevens, Henry Hull, E.G. Marshall, Lorne Greene, Fran Jeffries, Woodrow (Woody) Strode | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Buchanan Rides Alone | 1958 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 78 | Scott runs afoul of corrupt family in control of border town; taut B Western never runs out of plot twists. | tt0051437 | Randolph Scott, Craig Stevens, Barry Kelley, Tol Avery, Peter Whitney, Manuel Rojas | Western | NULL | |||
| Buck | 2011 | Cindy Meehl | ★★★½ | 88 | Spellbinding portrait of Buck Brannaman, a remarkable man who overcame a miserable childhood to become a wise and humane horse trainer. He worked on Robert Redford's fictional movie THE HORSE WHISPERER (and was an inspiration for Nicholas Evans' novel), but this guy is the Real Thing. Filmmaker Meehl follows him around the country as he conducts clinics, where we see his philosophy in action. | tt1753549 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Buck Benny Rides Again | 1940 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 82 | Amusing Western spoof with Jack trying to convince Drew that he's a 100% cowboy. Radio colleagues help out, with Rochester supplying steady flow of funny dialogue. | tt0032289 | Jack Benny, Ellen Drew, Andy Devine, Phil Harris, Virginia Dale, Dennis Day, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | Comedy, Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Buck Privates | 1941 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 84 | Dated but engaging Army opus with Bud and Lou accidentally enlisting. Brassy songs (including Andrews Sisters' 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy') and subplots get in the way, but A&C's routines are among their best; their first starring film. | tt0033436 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, Andrews Sisters, Jane Frazee, Nat Pendleton, Shemp Howard | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Buck Privates Come Home | 1947 | Charles Barton | ★★★ | 77 | One of A&C's most enjoyable romps has boys returning to civilian life and trying to smuggle a young European orphan into this country. Climactic chase a highlight. | tt0039226 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Tom Brown, Joan Fulton (Shawlee), Nat Pendleton, Beverly Simmons, Don Beddoe | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | 1979 | Daniel Haller | ★★ | 89 | The legendary space hero returns, decked out in contemporary glibness, trying to prove he's not in league with intergalactic pirates. Much of the hardware and gadgetry (along with some footage) is from TV's expensive dud, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, turned out by the same producers. Pilot for the TV series; released theatrically first. | tt0077278 | [PG] | Gil Gerard, Pamela Hensley, Erin Gray, Tim O'Connor, Henry Silva, Joseph Wiseman, Felix Silla, voice of Mel Blanc | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Buck and the Preacher | 1972 | Sidney Poitier | ★★½ | 102 | Black-oriented Western of 'hustler' preacher is long on getting to the action and short on staying with it. Good characterizations are major point of interest. Music by Benny Carter. Poitier's directorial debut. | tt0068323 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Cameron Mitchell, Nita Talbot | Western | NULL | ||
| The Bucket List | 2007 | Rob Reiner | ★★½ | 97 | Philosophical garage mechanic who’s diagnosed with terminal cancer winds up sharing a hospital room with a self-centered tycoon who gets the same bill of health. They decide to escape and live out their remaining days pursuing Freeman’s list of things he’s always wanted to do before kicking the bucket. Contrived, borderline-cute screenplay is validated by the presence of two great actors, though Nicholson resorts to mugging. | tt0825232 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Rob Morrow, Alfonso Freeman, Rowena King | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Bucket of Blood | 1959 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 66 | Wimpy busboy impresses his coffeehouse betters with amazingly lifelike 'sculptures.' Writer Charles Griffith's predecessor to THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is nifty semi-spoof of dead-bodies-in-the-wax-museum genre. Nicely captures spirit of beatnik era; cult actor Miller's finest hour (he's reused his character's name, Walter Paisley, several times since). Remade for TV as THE DEATH ARTIST in 1996. | tt0052655 | Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone, Julian Burton, Ed Nelson, Bert Convy | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Buckskin | 1968 | Michael Moore | ★½ | 97 | Land-baron Corey tries to force homesteaders out of territory, but Marshal Sullivan is there to stop him. | tt0062764 | [G] | Barry Sullivan, Joan Caulfield, Wendell Corey, Lon Chaney, John Russell, Barbara Hale, Barton MacLane, Leo Gordon | Western | NULL | ||
| Buckskin Frontier | 1943 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 74 | Unusual cast adds interest to this otherwise standard Western about railroad man Dix and his conflicts with proud Cobb (who fears for the demise of his freight company) and slimy Jory. Cobb, who's exactly the same age as Wyatt, is cast here as her father! | tt0035700 | Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, Albert Dekker, Lee J. Cobb, Victor Jory, Lola Lane, Max Baer, Joe Sawyer, George Reeves | Western | NULL | |||
| Bucktown | 1975 | Arthur Marks | ★½ | 94 | Repellent blaxploitation picture about war between whites and blacks in corruption-filled Southern town, which intensifies when blacks get into office and make things even worse. | tt0072747 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Thalmus Rasulala, Tony King, Bernie Hamilton, Art Lund | Crime, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Bucky Larson Born to Be a Star | 2011 | Tom Brady | 💣 | 97 | Cornfed Iowa doofus (Swardson) with beaver teeth and a Prince Valiant coif discovers his apple-pie parents were major porn stars in the 1970s and heads to Hollywood to drop trou and seek destiny. There he becomes an exceedingly unlikely viral sensation, solely because the script says so. Egregiously dumb/sad uncomedy, produced and cowritten by Adam Sandler, is yet another stale variation on his wise-fool movie persona. Ricci is lost in the smutfest as Bucky's diner waitress sweetie. | tt1411664 | [R] | Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Edward Herrmann, Kevin Nealon, Don Johnson, Stephen Dorff, Miriam Flynn, Ido Mosseri, Nick Turturro, Curtis Armstrong, Pauly Shore | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Buddy | 1997 | Caroline Thompson | ★★½ | 84 | Sweet-natured film about a most unusual woman, real-life Gertrude Lintz, who in the 1920s kept an incredible menagerie of animals on her Long Island estate. Her greatest challenge: raising a gorilla from infancy and treating him almost like a human child. Russo is excellent, and the film has much charm, but it's too leisurely and likely to make kids squirm in their seats. Based on William Joyce's book. | tt0118787 | [PG] | Rene Russo, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Cumming, Irma P. Hall, Paul Reubens, John Aylward, Mimi Kennedy | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Buddy Buddy | 1981 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 96 | Modest black comedy about a hit man whose current job is mucked up by an intrusive stranger. A simple farce, played to perfection by Lemmon and Matthau, adapted by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from the French film A PAIN IN THE A— . Wilder's final film as director. | tt0082111 | [R] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Paula Prentiss, Klaus Kinski, Dana Elcar, Miles Chapin, Joan Shawlee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Buddy Holly Story | 1978 | Steve Rash | ★★★½ | 113 | Busey gives an electrifying performance as the rock 'n' roll legend in this long but very satisfying musical drama, not quite the usual glossy Hollywood biography. Busey, Smith and Stroud sing and play 'live,' giving an extra dimension to Holly's hit songs; Joe Renzetti won an Oscar for Score Adaptation. | tt0077280 | [PG] | Gary Busey, Charles Martin Smith, Don Stroud, Maria Richwine, Amy Johnston, Conrad Janis, Dick O'Neill, William Jordan, Will Jordan, Fred Travalena, 'Stymie' Beard | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Buddy System | 1984 | Glenn Jordan | ★★½ | 110 | Lonely kid tries to play matchmaker between his single mom and a grown-up friend, would-be novelist and gadget inventor Dreyfuss, but there are emotional complications. Nicely played but overly familiar (and overlong) romantic comedy. | tt0087006 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Nancy Allen, Jean Stapleton, Wil Wheaton, Edward Winter, Keene Curtis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Buena Vista Social Club | 1999 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 105 | Seductive documentary about the title group, composed of veteran Havana musicians and singers brought together by American guitarist Ry Cooder after years in obscurity. Two years after cutting a top-selling, award-winning record, they are filmed by Wenders at a recording session, in concert, and reminiscing about their music and their lives. Some are in their 80s (and even 90s), but their music is timeless and musicianship invigorating. | tt0186508 | [G] | U.S.-German-French-Cuban | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Buffalo 66 | 1998 | Vincent Gallo | ★★ | 112 | Director-star Gallo plays a convict just released from prison who kidnaps a teenage girl (Ricci) and demands that she pose as his wife to impress his parents. Their evolving relationship makes up the bulk of this sincere, rambling film, which has its moments but confuses grittiness and endless repetition with integrity and truth, and fails to create much interest in the characters. Gallo, whose directing debut this is, also cowrote the screenplay and composed the music. | tt0118789 | Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, Ben Gazzara, Kevin Corrigan, Mickey Rourke, Rosanna Arquette, Jan-Michael Vincent | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Buffalo Bill | 1944 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 90 | Colorful biography of legendary Westerner should have been much better, but still provides some fun and has good cast. | tt0036677 | Joel McCrea, Maureen O'Hara, Linda Darnell, Thomas Mitchell, Anthony Quinn, Edgar Buchanan, Chief Thundercloud, Sidney Blackmer | Western | NULL | |||
| Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | 1976 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 120 | Altman makes the point that Buffalo Bill was a flamboyant fraud, then belabors it for two hours. Not without interest, but still one of the director's duller movies. | tt0074254 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Joel Grey, Kevin McCarthy, Burt Lancaster, Geraldine Chaplin, Harvey Keitel, Frank Kaquitts, Will Sampson | Western | NULL | ||
| Buffalo Soldiers | 2003 | Gregor Jordan | ★★ | 98 | In 1989, the peacetime U.S. Army stationed in Germany is largely manned by guys who had a choice of prison or time in the service. One of them (Phoenix) is a clerk who wheels and deals, Bilko-like, under the nose of his ignorant CO (Harris) until a new top sergeant shows up (Glenn) who's determined to make a clean sweep. Not-bad black comedy grows increasingly unpleasant as its story develops. Based on a novel by Robert O'Connor. Completed in 2001. | tt0252299 | [R] | Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Anna Paquin, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Peña, Leon Robinson, Gabriel Mann, Dean Stockwell | British-German-U.S. | Drama, Comedy, Crime, War | NULL | |
| Buffalo Soldiers | 1997 | Charles Haid | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Full-blooded, often violent, if fictionalized, version of the post-Civil War black cavalry corps (under racist white officers), and their place in the winning of the West. Powerful, well-acted tale written by Frank Military, Susan Rhinehart, and Jonathan Klein. Glover also executive-produced. Made for cable. | tt0118790 | Danny Glover, Timothy Busfield, Bob Gunton, Carl Lumbly, Clifton Powell, Glynn Turman, Michael Warren, Mykelti Williamson, Tom Bower | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Buffet Froid | 1979 | Bertrand Blier | ★★★½ | 95 | Strange, surreal, outrageously funny black comedy detailing the misadventures of hapless murderers Depardieu, Carmet, and Blier (the director's father). Brilliantly acted and directed; a treat. | tt0078913 | Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet, Genevieve Page, Denise Gence, Carole Bouquet, Jean Benguigui, Michel Serrault | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 1992 | Fran Rubel Kuzui | ★★½ | 86 | Cute variation on vampire sagas, with high school Valley Girl Swanson turning out to be 'the chosen one' of her generation to kill roaming vampires. Sutherland is ideal as her mentor and guide, and Reubens (the former Pee-wee Herman) is fun as one of the fanged menaces . . . but Hauer is an utter disappointment as vampire Uno. Look for Ben Affleck as a basketball player. Ricki Lake appears unbilled. Later a TV series. | tt0103893 | [PG-13] | Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Michele Abrams, Hilary Swank, Paris Vaughan, David Arquette, Randall Batinkoff, Candy Clark, Natasha Gregson Wagner | Horror, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Bug | 1975 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★★ | 100 | Earthquake releases a disgusting variety of beetle from the earth, capable of setting people, animals, and objects on fire. Spray your set with Raid after watching this one. Produced and cowritten by William Castle, whose last film this was. | tt0072750 | [PG] | Bradford Dillman, Joanna Miles, Richard Gilliland, Jamie Smith Jackson, Alan Fudge, Patricia McCormack, Jesse Vint | Sci-Fi, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Bug | 2007 | William Friedkin | ★★★ | 101 | Film version of Tracy Letts' play is a challenge to take seriously but not without twisted dazzle if you can accept it as a stunt. Barmaid Judd's motel digs scream flea-trap. | tt0470705 | Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Bugle Sounds | 1941 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 101 | Old-time sergeant Beery objects to progress in the army, bails cavalry out of trouble in finale. | tt0033438 | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Lewis Stone, George Bancroft, Henry O'Neill, Donna Reed | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Bugles in the Afternoon | 1952 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 85 | Standard tale of man branded coward (Milland) during Civil War, with Little Bighorn finale. | tt0044456 | Ray Milland, Forrest Tucker, George Reeves, Helena Carter, Gertrude Michael | Western | NULL | |||
| Bugs Bunny Superstar | 1975 | Larry Jackson | ★★★ | 91 | Modestly produced compilation of 1940's Warner Bros. cartoons features interviews with the men who created some of the greatest animated films ever made— Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, and Tex Avery— along with priceless home movies and behind-the-scenes material, as well as nine complete shorts, including A WILD HARE (the first real Bugs Bunny cartoon), CORNY CONCERTO, THE OLD GREY HARE, MY FAVORITE DUCK, and WHAT'S COOKIN' DOC? | tt0072751 | Narrated by Orson Welles | Animation, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales | 1982 | David Detiege, Art Davis, Bill Perez | ★★½ | 76 | Yet another compilation of Warner Bros. cartoons, with better-than-average linking material. Some good episodes with Daffy Duck, Tweety and Sylvester, et al., plus Chuck Jones' classic 'One Froggy Evening' (minus the punchline), but these are still better seen as individual shorts, and not as an ersatz feature film. Produced by Friz Freleng. Followed by DAFFY DUCK'S MOVIE: FANTASTIC ISLAND. | tt0083701 | [G] | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie | 1979 | Chuck Jones, Phil Monroe | ★★½ | 92 | New footage of Bugs Bunny surrounds this compilation of some of Chuck Jones' best Warner Bros. cartoon shorts. Not the best way to see these wonderful films, as the repetition grows tiresome, but still worthwhile. First shown in theaters as THE GREAT AMERICAN CHASE. Cut to 78m. for pay TV, and 48m. for network TV. Followed by THE LOONEY, LOONEY, LOONEY BUGS BUNNY MOVIE. | tt0078915 | [G] | Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| Bugsy | 1991 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 135 | Beatty gives the most forceful performance of his career as Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, the fabled crackpot gangster who helped build Las Vegas. Long but well-told tale manages to dodge gangster clichés. Beatty and Bening set off sparks together (just as they did in real life), and a strong supporting cast fleshes out James Toback's intelligent script (though Mantegna, as George Raft, is wasted). Keitel, cast as Mickey Cohen, played Siegel in the TV movie THE VIRGINIA HILL STORY. Oscar winner for Art Direction-Set Decoration and Costume Design. | tt0101516 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Richard Sarafian, Bebe Neuwirth, Wendy Phillips, Robert Beltran, Bill Graham, Lewis Van Bergen, Debrah Farentino | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bugsy Malone | 1976 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 93 | Unique musical spoof of Prohibition-era gangster films with all-kiddie cast; script clichés are intact, but the machine-guns shoot whipped cream instead of bullets. Beautiful production cannot escape coyness and doesn't hold up; plastic rendition of Paul Williams' score doesn't help. | tt0074256 | [G] | Scott Baio, Florrie Dugger, Jodie Foster, John Cassisi, Martin Lev | British | Musical | NULL | |
| Bull Durham | 1988 | Ron Shelton | ★★★ | 108 | Smart, sassy film about minor-league North Carolina baseball team and its attentive, intelligent groupie (Sarandon) who feels it is her mission to live with one young player per season and help him mature. Costner is a hardened young veteran of the game whose job is to help one particular player— cocky, undisciplined, but talented pitcher Robbins. Literate and funny, if a bit sluggish at times, with some seriously sexy scenes near the end. | tt0094812 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, Jenny Robertson, Max Patkin | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bulldog Drummond | 1929 | F. Richard Jones | ★★★½ | 89 | Colman is a delight (in his first talking picture) as the bored ex-British Army officer who comes to the rescue of a wealthy American (Bennett) whose uncle is being held captive in an asylum by a sadistic doctor. Sidney Howard's polished script, Gregg Toland and George Barnes' stylish photography, and William Cameron Menzies' stylish sets help make this a classy and sophisticated romp. | tt0019735 | Ronald Colman, Joan Bennett, Lilyan Tashman, Montagu Love, Lawrence Grant, Claud Allister | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond Comes Back | 1937 | Louis King | ★★½ | 64 | Naish and his gang kidnap Drummond's fiancée and are pursued by the adventurer and his friend Colonel Nielson. Howard makes an urbane, if bland Drummond, but Barrymore is a hoot as his master-of-disguise pal from Scotland Yard. Adapted from McNeile's The Female of the Species. | tt0028667 | John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell, Reginald Denny, E. E. Clive, J. Carrol Naish, John Sutton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond Escapes | 1937 | James Hogan | ★★ | 65 | Drummond falls for a pretty heiress (Angel) who is being victimized by her own guardian (Hall). Milland had his one shot at portraying Drummond in this lightweight programmer. | tt0028668 | Ray Milland, Guy Standing, Heather Angel, Porter Hall, Reginald Denny, E. E. Clive, Fay Holden | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back | 1947 | Frank McDonald | ★½ | 65 | Pedestrian entry built around a favorite plot of mystery series writers: the old one about a phony heiress trying to pick up an inheritance. | tt0039228 | Ron Randell, Gloria Henry, Pat O'Moore, Anabel Shaw, Terry Kilburn | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond in Africa | 1938 | Louis King | ★★½ | 60 | Scotland Yard Inspector Nielson (Warner, replacing John Barrymore) is abducted, sending Drummond on a deadly trek into the wilds of the jungle. Atmospheric entry with a formidable supporting cast. | tt0029951 | John Howard, Heather Angel, H. B. Warner, J. Carrol Naish, Reginald Denny, Anthony Quinn, Michael Brooke | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond's Bride | 1939 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 55 | Bulldog and his fiancée have their wedding plans in France interrupted when Bulldog takes off after villainous Ciannelli and his gang of bank robbers in this high-speed entry. | tt0031124 | John Howard, Heather Angel, H. B. Warner, Reginald Denny, Eduardo Ciannelli, Elizabeth Patterson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond's Peril | 1938 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 66 | Drummond's wedding is interrupted by murder, sending the sleuth off on an adventure involving synthetic diamonds. Pleasing, swift-moving series entry. | tt0029952 | John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell, Reginald Denny, E. E. Clive, Porter Hall, Nydia Westman | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond's Revenge | 1937 | Louis King | ★★½ | 60 | Drummond tracks down a gang of spies after a secret bomb formula in this lean entry. | tt0028670 | John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell, Reginald Denny, E. E. Clive, Nydia Westman, Lucien Littlefield | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police | 1939 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 56 | Pared-down entry has Drummond (Howard) making wedding arrangements while villainous Carroll, posing as a butler, plots to steal an ancient treasure hidden beneath Drummond's home. Lengthy dream sequence incorporates footage from earlier series episodes. | tt0031125 | John Howard, Heather Angel, H. B. Warner, Reginald Denny, Leo G. Carroll, Elizabeth Patterson | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bulldog Jack | 1934 | Walter Forde | ★★★ | 73 | British comedian Hulbert finds himself taking the place of ailing Bulldog Drummond on a sinister case. Fast and funny with some first-rate suspense as well; memorable climax set in the London underground system. Originally shown in the U.S. as ALIAS BULLDOG DRUMMOND, with all the comedy cut out! | tt0024933 | Jack Hulbert, Ralph Richardson, Fay Wray, Claude Hulbert, Athole Fleming | British | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Bullet Is Waiting | 1954 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 82 | Interesting human nature study hinging on sheriff's discovery that his prisoner is really innocent; nice desert locale. | tt0046812 | Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun, Stephen McNally, Brian Aherne | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Bullet for Joey | 1955 | Lewis Allen | ★★ | 85 | Drab crime drama, set in Montreal, involving a Communist agent who hires thug Raft to mastermind the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist. Robinson, playing a police inspector, gives one of his most uninspired performances. | tt0047904 | Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, Audrey Totter, George Dolenz, Peter Hanson, Peter Van Eyck | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Bullet for Sandoval | 1970 | Julio Buchs | ★★ | 91 | Average foreign oater, with lots of action. Ex-Confederate Hilton plots revenge on don Borgnine, grandfather of Hilton's illegitimate son, for indirectly causing the baby's death. | tt0064226 | [PG] | Ernest Borgnine, George Hilton, Alberto De Mendoza, Gustavo Rojo, Leo Anchoriz, Annabella Incontrera | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| Bullet for Stefano | 1947 | Duilio Coletti. | ★★ | 96 | Uninspired account of carefree young Brazzi falling into a life of crime. Released in the U.S in 1950. | tt0039696 | Rossano Brazzi, Valentina Cortese, Carlo Campanini, Lillian Laine, Alberto Sordi. | Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Bullet for a Badman | 1964 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 80 | Another revenge tale involving outlaw, his ex-wife, and a friend who married her. | tt0057905 | Audie Murphy, Darren McGavin, Ruta Lee, Skip Homeier, George Tobias, Bob Steele | Western | NULL | |||
| A Bullet for the General | 1967 | Damiano Damiani | ★★ | 115 | Blond gringo joins marauding guerrillas and contributes to gory bloodletting. Not bad for the genre. | tt0061429 | GianMaria Volonté, Lou Castel, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick | Italian | Western | NULL | ||
| Bullet in the Head | 1990 | John Woo | ★★★ | 136 | Intense, highly charged story of three friends who leave Hong Kong to reap profits in war-torn 1967 Saigon and get caught up in a whirlwind of troubles that tests their loyalty. An epic film, emotional and overwrought, with action footage and confrontations (particularly a long sequence in a POW camp) that are as bold as anything Woo has attempted onscreen. Woo cowrote the screenplay and also edited. Running time is the full-length director's cut; most American prints run 100m. | tt0125680 | Tony Leung, Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee, Simon Yam, Fennie Yeun, Yolinda Yan | Hong Kong | Drama, Crime, Action, War | NULL | ||
| Bulletproof | 1996 | Ernest Dickerson | 💣 | 85 | A racial inversion of 48HRS. without the redeeming craft. Undercover cop Wayans teams up with Sandler, the crook he's trying to bust. Their fortunes and ambitions are unified— often acrimoniously— by a vindictive drug kingpin/car dealer played by a pitifully hammy Caan. Once great cinematographer Dickerson squanders his talent here directing a sociopathic mix of graphic violence and slapstick. A catastrophe of continuity to boot. | tt0115783 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Damon Wayans, James Caan, Kristen Wilson, James Farentino, Bill Nunn, Jeep Swenson | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bulletproof | 1988 | Steve Carver | 💣 | 94 | L.A. cop Busey, who keeps the 39 bullets his body has taken in a bathroom mason jar, kamikazes across the Mexican border to rescue kidnapped army personnel (ex-love Fluegel included) from Silva's Soviet stooge. Preposterous, but you have to admire Silva for having kept the same act going for so many years; peroxided hair is simply not to Busey's advantage. | tt0094813 | [R] | Gary Busey, Darlanne Fluegel, Henry Silva, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Juan Fernandez, Rene Enriquez | Action | NULL | ||
| Bulletproof Heart | Killer | 1994 | Mark Malone | ★★ | 100 | Prosperous hit man LaPaglia gets a gig he's not quite prepared for: rub out a well-connected knockout who actually wants to die. Four well-shaped, well-played characters— including Boyle's shady mobster and Craven's dimwit sidekick— don't add up to a satisfying whole. The slim story could have used some serious fleshing out. Two pluses: an intriguingly steamy sex scene, and another incisive performance from Rogers. Played the film festival circuit as KILLER. | tt0110259 | [R] | Anthony LaPaglia, Mimi Rogers, Peter Boyle, Matt Craven, Joseph Maher | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Bulletproof Monk | 2003 | Paul Hunter | ★★½ | 103 | Chow plays a monk who never ages while he guards an ancient scroll that possesses the secret of infinite power . . . but now it's time to find a successor, and he thinks it may be young pickpocket Scott, of all people. Lively and amusing when it doesn't get too silly; alas, special effects take the place of genuine martial-arts action most of the time. Coproduced by John Woo, and based on a comic book of the same name. | tt0245803 | [PG-13] | Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, Jaime (James) King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit, Mako | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Bullets Over Broadway | 1994 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 99 | Delightful Woody Allen bauble about a self-serious 1920s playwright who quickly sells out when he's offered a chance to direct his latest work on Broadway— with a gangster's moll in a key role and an intoxicatingly seductive star in the lead. An actors' field day, with particularly juicy parts for Wiest (who won an Oscar) as the flamboyant actress, Palminteri, as a thug with an unexpected gift, and Tilly as the ditsy moll. The period detail is so rich and right it all seems stunningly real. Allen coscripted with Douglas McGrath. | tt0109348 | [R] | John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly, Chazz Palminteri, Mary-Louise Parker, Jack Warden, Joe Viterelli, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Jim Broadbent, Harvey Fierstein, Stacey Nelkin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bullets for O'Hara | 1941 | William K. Howard. | ★★½ | 50 | Quinn gives a nice, nasty performance as a gangster who is turned in to the FBI by his wife. Warner Bros.' shortest feature is a rapid-fire, entertaining remake of PUBLIC ENEMY'S WIFE, from which it recycled action footage. Crime addicts with less than an hour to spare could do a lot worse. | tt0033439 | Joan Perry, Roger Pryor, Anthony Quinn, Maris Wrixon, Dick Purcell, Hobart Bosworth, Richard Ainley, DeWolf Hopper (William Hopper), Joan Winfield, Roland Drew. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Bullets or Ballots | 1936 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 81 | Cop Robinson pretends to leave police force to crack citywide mob ring run by MacLane. Good, tough gangster film. | tt0027407 | Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bullfighter and the Lady | 1951 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★½ | 87 | Cocky American visiting Mexico decides that he wants to tackle bullfighting and enlists the aid of the country's leading matador with tragic results. The movies' best treatment of this subject, a fine, mature drama with unforgettable bullfighting scenes and an appealing love story as well. Roland has never been better; only the second leads (Grey, Hubbard) are a detriment. Produced by John Wayne. Boetticher's version, running 124m., has been restored, and it's even better than the shorter print. | tt0043363 | Robert Stack, Joy Page, Gilbert Roland, Katy Jurado, Virginia Grey, John Hubbard | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Bullfighters | 1945 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★ | 61 | One of better L&H later works, involving mistaken identity (Stan is lookalike for famous matador), subsequent nonsense in bull ring. | tt0037563 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Margo Woode, Richard Lane, Carol Andrews, Diosa Costello | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bullhead | 2011 | Michaël R. Roskam | ★★★ | 124 | Belgian dairy farmer who lives under a cloud, the result of a boyhood tragedy, becomes involved with criminal factions who traffic in growth hormones. Somber mood piece offers a fresh setting and unusual characters for a crime story, but is really more interested in the grim consequences of fate. Fascinating at times but also off-putting, it's certainly one of a kind. Written by the director. | tt1821593 | [R] | Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Sam Louwyck, Frank Lamers, Tibo Vandenborre, David Murgia, Robin Valvekens | Belgian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Bullitt | 1968 | Peter Yates | ★★★½ | 113 | Definitive McQueen antihero: police detective who senses something fishy behind assignment to guard criminal witness. Taut action-film makes great use of San Francisco locations, especially in now-classic car chase, one of the screen's all-time best; Oscar-winning editing by Frank Keller. Scripted by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner, from Robert L. Pike's novel Mute Witness. | tt0062765 | [M] | Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, Norman Fell, Victor (Vic) Tayback | Action, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Bullseye! | 1989 | Michael Winner | 💣 | 89 | Deadly nonsense which completely wastes Caine and Moore as criminals who are dead ringers for a couple of nuclear scientists (up to no good themselves). Confusing story complications and heavyhanded humor make this a dog. Barrymore is Moore's real-life daughter; John Cleese has an unbilled cameo near the end. Released direct to video. | tt0101518 | [PG-13] | Michael Caine, Roger Moore, Sally Kirkland, Lee Patterson, Deborah Barrymore, Mark Burns, Debra Lang, Lynn Nesbitt, Steffanie Pitt, Patsy Kensit, Alexandra Pigg, Jenny Seagrove | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bullshot | 1983 | Dick Clement | ★★½ | 85 | Occasionally funny Monty Python-ish parody, with Shearman cast as one Captain Hugh 'Bullshot' Crummond, a Bulldog Drummond caricature. Plenty of one-liners and slapstick, some humorous and some silly. The screenplay was adapted by Shearman, White, and House, from their stage play. | tt0085279 | [PG] | Alan Shearman, Diz White, Ron House, Frances Tomelty, Michael Aldridge, Ron Pember, Billy Connolly | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Bullwhip | 1958 | Harmon Jones | ★★ | 80 | Madison is offered the choice of marrying Fleming or being hanged on phony murder charge; expected results. | tt0051438 | Guy Madison, Rhonda Fleming, James Griffith, Don Beddoe | Western | NULL | |||
| Bully | 2001 | Larry Clark | ★★ | 106 | Scuzzy cinema verité dramatization of a true story. Impressionable teen (Renfro) is convinced by his girlfriend (Miner) to kill his best friend, a sadistic rapist (Stahl) who, ironically, is the golden boy of the group, the only one bound for college. Undeniably powerful at times but Clark mashes your face in so much bruised, sweaty pubescent flesh that the film feels exploitative. | tt0242193 | Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl, Rachel Miner, Bijou Phillips, Daniel Franzese, Michael Pitt, Kelli Garner, Leo Fitzpatrick | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bully | 2012 | Lee Hirsch | ★★★ | 98 | Affecting and important documentary focuses on the plight of the victims rather than the bullies of the title. Zeroing in on a few young teens, the film offers a heartbreaking look into a problem that has been around forever but seems to have escalated in schools everywhere. Particularly heartbreaking is the story of Tyler Long, who committed suicide after constantly being harassed. This straightforward film is sure to inspire a lot of meaningful discussion. Thankfully, it was re-rated PG-13 after a major campaign (and bleeping three words) forced the ratings board to rescind its original R designation. Parents still should know that although it's eye-opening and informative, much of it isn't easy to take. | tt1682181 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bulworth | 1998 | Warren Beatty | ★★★½ | 107 | Audacious political satire about a California senator, running for reelection in 1996, who solves his crisis of conscience by telling the truth— and embracing the black community. Unsettling at times— as it's meant to be— with trenchant observations on the political process and the plight of the poor. One of Beatty's best films— as actor, director, cowriter (with Jeremy Pikser). William Baldwin and Paul Mazursky appear unbilled. | tt0118798 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, Isaiah Washington, Joshua Malina, Christine Baranski, Amiri Baraka, Sean Astin, Laurie Metcalf, Richard Sarafian, Nora Dunn, Jackie Gayle, Michael Clarke Duncan | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bunco Squad | 1950 | Herbert I. Leeds. | ★★½ | 67 | L.A. police detective Sterling convinces his aspiring actress girlfriend Dixon to go undercover to help smash con man Cortez's phony fortune-telling and séance racket. Fast-paced B movie isn't bad. Famous magician Dante appears as himself. | tt0042289 | Robert Sterling, Joan Dixon, Ricardo Cortez, Douglas Fowley, Elisabeth Risdon, Marguerite Churchill, John Kellogg. | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bundle of Joy | 1956 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 98 | Labored musical remake of BACHELOR MOTHER has Reynolds as salesgirl who takes custody of a baby, causing scandal that boyfriend Fisher (in starring debut) is child's father. Made when Debbie and Eddie were America's favorite couple. | tt0049034 | Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou, Tommy Noonan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Bunker | 1981 | George Schaefer | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Hopkins won an Emmy for his chilling portrayal of Adolf Hitler in this adaptation by John Gay of the James P. O'Donnell book depicting the Third Reich's final days. Piper Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance as Magda Goebbels. | tt0082114 | Anthony Hopkins, Piper Laurie, Richard Jordan, Susan Blakely, Cliff Gorman, James Naughton, Michael Lonsdale | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Bunny Caper | Sex Play | 1974 | Jack Arnold | ★½ | 85 | Subpar sex comedy satirizing political intrigue during the Nixon/Kissinger era. An off-day assignment for noted sci-fi director Arnold. Aka GAMES GIRLS PLAY and SEX PLAY. | tt0071255 | [R] | Christina Hart, Jane Anthony, Drina Pavlovic, Jill Damas, Ed Bishop | British | Comedy | NULL |
| Bunny Lake Is Missing | 1965 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 107 | American Lynley, newly arrived in London, reports the disappearance of her preschool daughter-but police detective Olivier can't help but notice that Lynley has no proof that the child ever existed at all. Well paced, expertly acted, with some interestingly offbeat characters in the margins. Made in England. | tt0058997 | Laurence Olivier, Carol Lynley, Keir Dullea, Noel Coward, Martita Hunt, Finlay Currie, The Zombies | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Bunny O'Hare | 1972 | Gerd Oswald | ★½ | 91 | Bizarre, totally inept tale of bank robbers who look like hippies but are actually Davis and Borgnine. Don't bother watching. | tt0066870 | [PG] | Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Cassidy, Joan Delaney, Reva Rose, John Astin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Bunraku | 2011 | Guy Moshe | ★½ | 124 | Genre-bending mishmash of spaghetti Westerns, samurai movies, film noir, puppet theater, and video games concerns a mysterious drifter (Hartnett) and a Japanese swordsman (Gackt) who join forces to kill a ruthless crime lord (Perlman) in a futuristic, postapocalyptic town. Highly stylized attempt to make a live-action comic book is visually striking at first but becomes repetitive, boring, and overlong. | tt1181795 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Gackt, Demi Moore, Ron Perlman, Kevin McKidd, Jordi Molla | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell | 1969 | Melvin Frank | ★★★ | 113 | Bright comedy about Italian woman who's accepted money from three American men who all think they fathered her child during WW2. Now they're all coming back to Italy for Army reunion and 'Mrs. Campbell' is in a state of panic. Good fun with top cast. | tt0062767 | [M] | Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford, Shelley Winters, Phil Silvers, Telly Savalas, Lee Grant, Janet Margolin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Burden of Dreams | 1982 | Les Blank | ★★★½ | 94 | Extraordinary documentary of the filming of Herzog's FITZCARRALDO in the Peruvian Amazon. Despite the filmmaker's high technology, his dream of completing the film is constantly thwarted by nature and clashing cultures. Some find this more compelling than FITZCARRALDO itself. | tt0083702 | Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Mick Jagger | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Bureau of Missing Persons | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 75 | Typically fast-paced— but strange— Warner Bros. programmer about big-city bureau of missing persons, where benevolent Stone plays God with the losers and hard-luck cases that come before him. Hip-shooting cop O'Brien is transferred there in hopes he'll mellow out, and we'll bet you a dollar six bits he doesn't. Davis is a mystery woman with whom he gets involved. | tt0023856 | Bette Davis, Lewis S. Stone, Pat O'Brien, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert, Glenda Farrell, Alan Dinehart, George Chandler | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Burglar | 1987 | Hugh Wilson | ★½ | 102 | Whoopi plays a cat burglar who accidentally witnesses a murder— and then tries to solve the crime, in order to clear herself. Unfunny, unsuspenseful, and completely unappealing comedy/mystery, with a superfluous, built-up secondary role for Goldthwait (who has a few good moments). Another waste of Whoopi's talent. | tt0092710 | [R] | Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Goldthwait, G.W. Bailey, Lesley Ann Warren, James Handy, Anne DeSalvo, John Goodman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Burglar | 1956 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 90 | Odd little film noir about burglars Duryea and Mansfield, who've grown up together, and their unpredictable accomplices in a bizarre burglary. Remade in 1972. | tt0049035 | Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell, Mickey Shaughnessy, Phoebe Mackay | Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Burglars | 1972 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 117 | Routine crime film set against lush Greek backdrop, with good cast. One good chase and it's all over. Remake of THE BURGLAR. | tt0068347 | [PG] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon, Robert Hossein | French | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Buried | 2010 | Rodrigo Cortés | ★★ | 94 | Reynolds is an American contractor working as a truck driver in 2006 Iraq who awakens to discover he has been kidnapped and buried alive. Claustrophobic but intriguing film is definitely not for all tastes, but does tell an unusual story that is equal parts ingenuity and terror. Reynolds acquits himself ably, but this might have worked better as a longish short-subject. Bests Hitchcock’s LIFEBOAT in one sense: its miniscule setting. | tt1462758 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds; voices of Tess Harper, Samantha Mathis, Stephen Tobolowsky, Erik Palladino, José Luis García-Pérez, Robert Paterson, Warner Loughlin, Kali Rocha, Chris William Martin, Anne Lockhart | U.S.-Spanish-French | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Buried Alive | 1990 | Gérard Kikoïne | ★½ | 91 | Murky thriller about a mansion where 'doctor' Vaughn imprisons young women. Story uses elements from several Edgar Allan Poe stories, but juices them up with sex and gore. Filmed in South Africa. Carradine's last feature film. | tt0099187 | [R] | Robert Vaughn, Donald Pleasence, Karen Witter, John Carradine, Nia Long, Ginger Lynn Allen | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Burke and Wills | 1986 | Graeme Clifford | ★★★ | 140 | Impressive, larger-than-life historical drama chronicling the title characters' expedition through 1860 Australia, the first two men to cross the continent. Thompson is especially fine as Burke; another version of the saga was made the same year, titled WILLS AND BURKE. | tt0088866 | [PG-13] | Jack Thompson, Nigel Havers, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Fargher, Ralph Cotterill, Drew Forsythe, Chris Haywood | Australian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Burlesque | 2010 | Steven Antin | ★★ | 119 | Wide-eyed girl from Iowa comes to L.A. to follow her dream and winds up working in Cher’s Hollywood burlesque club—first as a waitress, then as a star performer. Other plot threads are just as clichéd, yet this flashy, forgettable musical goes on for two hours. Cher still has star magnetism, and Tucci brightens every line he utters as her gay best friend (a part he’s played before). Pop star Aguilera does her best, but the movie bogs down when it focuses on her, with a few too many solo features. Cumming, a true talent, is reduced to a bit part. | tt1126591 | [PG-13] | Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell, Dianna Agron, Glynn Turman | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Burma Convoy | 1941 | Noel Smith | ★★½ | 72 | Neat little actioner of conflicting trucking interests involved in carrying needed supplies over the Burma Road during hectic days of WW2. | tt0033440 | Charles Bickford, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Albertson, Cecil Kellaway, Keye Luke, Turhan Bey | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Burmese Harp | Harp of Burma | 1956 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★★½ | 116 | Private Yasui volunteers to persuade a group of mountain fighters to surrender at the end of WW2 and undergoes a religious experience, becoming obsessed with desire to bury war casualties. Extraordinary antiwar drama is affecting and memorable if a bit overlong. Also known as HARP OF BURMA; remade by Ichikawa in 1985. | tt0049012 | Rentaro Mikuni, Shoji Yasui, Tatsuya Mihashi, Tanie Kitabayashi, Yunosuke Ito | Japanese | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Burn 'Em Up O'Connor | 1939 | Edward Sedgwick. | ★★ | 70 | Formula racing action with O'Keefe energetic as a hick speed demon, determined to become a racing star and joining ruthless Carey's 'jinxed' team of midget car drivers. Script and production stuck in cruise control. | tt0031127 | Dennis O'Keefe, Cecilia Parker, Nat Pendleton, Harry Carey, Addison Richards, Charley Grapewin, Tom Neal. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Burn After Reading | 2008 | Joel and Ethan Coen | ★★½ | 95 | Black comedy of errors set in Washington, D.C., takes off when CIA analyst Malkovich is fired; he then learns that his wife (Swinton) is sleeping with treasury marshal Clooney. Meanwhile, health club employee McDormand has set her sights on some expensive plastic surgery. Mixing ingredients of a political thriller with satiric jibes at Americans’ obsession with self-improvement, this never quite gels, though it’s fun to watch these talented stars playing morons. Pitt is especially entertaining as a goofball who works at a gym. | tt0887883 | [R] | George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, J K. Simmons, Jeffrey DeMunn | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Burn! | Quemada! | 1969 | Gillo Pontecorvo | ★★★ | 112 | Egomaniacal Sir William Walker (Brando) is sent by the British to instigate a slave revolt on a Portuguese-controlled sugar-producing Caribbean island. This political drama is visually striking but muddled, with a strong Brando performance. Ed Harris plays the same role in WALKER. Cut by 20m. before its U.S. release. Aka QUEMADA! | tt0064866 | [PG] | Marlon Brando, Evaristo Marquez, Renato Salvatori, Tom Lyons, Norman Hill | Italian-French | Drama | NULL |
| Burn, Witch, Burn! | Night of the Eagle | 1962 | Sidney Hayers | ★★★ | 90 | Story of witchcraft entering lives of schoolteacher and his wife builds to shattering suspense, genuinely frightening climax. Fritz Leiber's novel Conjure Wife was filmed before as WEIRD WOMAN; this version scripted by Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson. Later spoofed in WITCHES' BREW. Original British title: NIGHT OF THE EAGLE. | tt0056279 | Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston, Anthony Nicholls | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Burning Bed | 1984 | Robert Greenwald | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | In a surprisingly effective performance Fawcett shows substance as a battered wife who sets her ex-husband on fire one night after living with his beatings and humiliations for years. Emmy nominations went to, among others, Fawcett and writer Rose Leiman Goldemberg, who based her script on Faith McNulty's book. One of the highest-rated TV movies of all time. | tt0087010 | Farrah Fawcett, Paul LeMat, Richard Masur, Grace Zabriskie, Penelope Milford, James Callahan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Burning Hills | 1956 | Stuart Heisler | ★★ | 94 | Passive Hunter can't spark life into tired script based on a Louis L'Amour novel. Man on run from cattle thieves is sheltered by Wood, miscast as a half-breed Mexican girl. | tt0049036 | Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Skip Homeier, Eduard Franz, Earl Holliman, Claude Akins | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Burning Plain | 2009 | Guillermo Arriaga | ★★ | 107 | The promiscuity of a Portland restaurant owner (Theron) masks her inner turmoil, while a New Mexico woman (Basinger) carries on an affair, unaware that her oldest daughter has caught on to what's happening. Piecing this story puzzle together is moderately intriguing but the characters' fates are discouragingly bleak. Somber, well-acted drama marks screenwriter Arriaga's directing debut, and follows his signature style of presenting seemingly disconnected stories that ultimately coalesce (21 GRAMS, BABEL, et al.), but doesn't have the impact of his better scripts. | tt1068641 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Joaquim de Almeida, John Corbett, Robin Tunney, Brett Cullen, Danny Pino, Jose Maria Yazpik, Jennifer Lawrence, J. D. Pardo, Tessa Ia, Rachel Ticotin | U.S.-Argentinian | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| The Burning Season | 1994 | John Frankenheimer | Above Average TV Movie | 127 | Julia gives a passionate performance as real-life Chico Mendes, an activist murdered while fighting to protect his people in the Amazon rain forest. A bull's-eye for Julia (in one of his last films) and director Frankenheimer, who both won Emmys. Screenplay by Michael Tolkin, Ron Hutchinson, and William Mastrosimone from his story and two separate novels. Made for cable. | tt0109351 | Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Edward James Olmos, Kamala Dawson, Luis Guzman, Nigel Havers, Tomas Milian, Esai Morales | Drama | NULL | |||
| Burning Secret | 1988 | Andrew Birkin | ★★½ | 106 | Brandauer offers a splendid performance (as usual) as a charming, amoral baron, a WW1 vet who's nursing a bayonet wound at a sanitarium. In order to get to Dunaway, he initiates a friendship with her impressionable, asthmatic 12-year-old son (Eberts). Generally compelling, and lushly filmed in Prague and Marienbad; however, Dunaway is miscast, and there are several key moments that simply don't work. Based on a Stefan Zweig short story; originally made in Germany in 1933 by Robert Siodmak, as BRENNENDES GEHEIMNIS. | tt0094816 | [PG] | Faye Dunaway, Klaus Maria Brandauer, David Eberts, Ian Richardson | U.S.-British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Burning | 1981 | Tony Maylam | 💣 | 90 | Awful FRIDAY THE 13TH ripoff (with Tom Savini's bloody makeup effects) about an old caretaker at a summer camp who takes his revenge in the usual way. Holly Hunter's screen debut. | tt0082118 | [R] | Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer, Larry Joshua, Lou David, Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens | Horror | NULL | ||
| Burnt Offerings | 1976 | Dan Curtis | ★★ | 115 | Ordinary couple, with young son and aunt in tow, rent an old mansion as summer home, unaware that it's haunted. Strange occurrences lead to totally predictable 'surprise' ending. A big buildup to nothing. From Robert Marasco's novel. | tt0074258 | [PG] | Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart, Lee Montgomery, Dub Taylor, Bette Davis, Anthony James | Horror | NULL | ||
| Burnt by the Sun | 1994 | Nikita Mikhalkov | ★★★ | 135 | The year is 1936, and Sergei Kotov (played by director Mikhalkov) is an aging hero of the Bolshevik Revolution whose eyes are closed to the present-day tyranny of Josef Stalin. All of this is about to change upon the arrival of his wife's ex-lover, who is employed by Stalin's governmental police. Provocative, moving meditation on the political and social realities of life in Stalinist Russia deservedly earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar. Sergei's daughter, Nadia, who has a key role in the story, is played by Mikhalkov's real-life daughter, Nadia. | tt0111579 | Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkounaite, Oleg Menchikov, Nadia Mikhalkov, Andre Oumansky | Russian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bury Me Dead | 1947 | Bernard Vorhaus. | ★★★ | 68 | Woman who supposedly perished in a suspicious fire shows up at her own funeral to find out who set the blaze and who is buried in her place. Intriguing premise is let down by talky treatment and an annoying abundance of light comedy. Noir expert John Alton's cinematography is as stylish as always. | tt0039230 | June Lockhart, Cathy O'Donnell, Hugh Beaumont, Mark Daniels, Greg McClure, Milton Parsons, Virginia Farmer. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Bus Riley's Back in Town | 1965 | Harvey Hart | ★★½ | 93 | Muddled William Inge script of folksy people in the Midwest. Parks, ex-sailor, returns home, torn by faltering ambitions and taunted by wealthy ex-girlfriend Ann-Margret. Character cameos make the film worthwhile. | tt0058998 | Ann-Margret, Michael Parks, Janet Margolin, Brad Dexter, Kim Darby, Jocelyn Brando, Larry Storch, David Carradine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Bus Stop | The Wrong Kind of Girl | 1956 | Joshua Logan | ★★★½ | 96 | The film that finally proved Monroe really could act; excellent comedy-drama about innocent cowboy (Murray) who falls for saloon singer and decides to marry her— without bothering to ask. Fine performances by all, with MM's famed rendition of '(That Old) Black Magic' a highlight; adapted by George Axelrod from the William Inge play. Film debuts of Murray and Lange (who subsequently married). Some older TV prints are titled THE WRONG KIND OF GIRL. Later a brief TV series. | tt0049038 | Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Hope Lange, Hans Conried, Casey Adams | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Bush Christmas | 1983 | Henri Safran | ★★½ | 91 | Agreeable updating of the 1947 Australian classic in which a trio of kids (including Kidman, in her screen debut) head off into the bush—in the company of an Aborigine—to find the thieves who stole their horse. Aka PRINCE AND THE GREAT RACE. | tt0085282 | John Ewart, John Howard, Mark Spain, James Wingrove, Peter Summer, Nicole Kidman, Manalpuy, Vineta O’Malley | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Bushido Blade | 1979 | Tom Kotani | ★★½ | 104 | 19th-century Kung Fu action in Japan as Cmdr. Matthew Perry (Boone) leads a band of his men in the recovery of a treasured sword. Of note: Boone's last role; Mifune plays the Shogun, as he did in later TV miniseries. Aka THE BLOODY BUSHIDO BLADE. | tt0078918 | [R] | Richard Boone, Frank Converse, James Earl Jones, Toshiro Mifune, Mako, Sonny Chiba, Laura Gemser | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Bushwhacked | 1995 | Greg Beeman | ★½ | 90 | On the lam for a murder he didn't commit, a delivery man 'hides out' by posing as the leader of a Ranger Scout troop that embarks on a wilderness adventure neither he nor they will ever forget. Unfortunately, all of us will. Stern is way over the top in this familiar fish-out-of-water premise that draws on two of his past triumphs, CITY SLICKERS and HOME ALONE. For younger kids only. | tt0112602 | [PG-13] | Daniel Stern, Jon Polito, Brad Sullivan, Ann Dowd, Anthony Heald, Tom Wood, Blake Bashoff, Corey Carrier, Michael Galeota, Max Goldblatt | Comedy, Crime, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Bushwhackers | 1952 | Rodney Amateau | ★★ | 70 | Standard oater of peace-loving Civil War vet Ireland, who heads west and predictably finds that he must dust off his gun to fight corruption. | tt0044460 | John Ireland, Wayne Morris, Lawrence Tierney, Dorothy Malone, Lon Chaney/Jr., Myrna Dell, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| Business As Usual | 1987 | Lezli-An Barrett | ★★½ | 89 | Passionate but didactic pro-labor drama with Jackson as a Liverpool boutique manager whose arbitrary firing (after she's lodged a complaint about sexual harassment on behalf of an employee) escalates into a national cause celebre. One of the angry anti-Thatcher films of the late '80s; written by first-time feature director Barrett. Excellent performances help a one-sided script. | tt0092711 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, John Thaw, Cathy Tyson, Mark McGann, Eamon Boland, James Hazeldine, Buki Armstrong, Stephen McGann | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Business of Strangers | 2001 | Patrick Stettner | ★★★ | 83 | Interesting chamber piece about a female executive who, at the end of a tumultuous, career-changing day, takes up with a young woman at an airport hotel. The younger woman is an expert at playing mind games, and the exec finds herself drawn in, almost to the point of madness. A tour de force for Channing and Stiles, who are terrific, though the story's credibility is debatable. Written by the director. | tt0270259 | [R] | Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Weller | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Busses Roar | 1942 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★½ | 60 | Zippy little programmer set in a California bus station, where Axis agents attempt to plant a bomb aboard a bus that is due to pass by an oil field. Taut suspense and some neat character sketches all in just one hour. Parker's feature film debut. | tt0034558 | Richard Travis, Julie Bishop, Charles Drake, Eleanor Parker, Elisabeth Fraser, Richard Fraser, Peter Whitney, Willie Best, Bill Kennedy, Harry Lewis. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Buster | 1988 | David Green | ★★½ | 102 | Buster Edwards, one of the men behind Britain's all-time biggest robbery, turns out to have been just a working-class stiff with big dreams and a bad track record of success, who wanted the good life for his wife and child. Singer Collins' starring film debut is a diverting (if forgettable) yarn, with Walters a good match as his loving, long-suffering spouse. Great soundtrack includes Collins' performances of 'Two Hearts (One Mind)' and 'Groovy Kind of Love.' | tt0094819 | [R] | Phil Collins, Julie Walters, Larry Lamb, Stephanie Lawrence, Ellen Beaven, Michael Atwell, Ralph Brown, Christopher Ellison, Sheila Hancock, Martin Jarvis, Anthony Quayle | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Buster Keaton Story | 1957 | Sidney Sheldon | ★½ | 91 | Weak fiction ignores the facts about silent-star Keaton, making up its own. More private life than on-screen moments are detailed with Blyth as his true love and Fleming as a siren. Little comedy in this tale of a great comedian. | tt0050218 | Donald O'Connor, Ann Blyth, Rhonda Fleming, Peter Lorre, Larry Keating | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Buster and Billie | 1974 | Daniel Petrie | ★½ | 100 | Blubbery account of high school romance in 1948 rural Georgia (the loosest girl in class is redeemed by love) can't overcome clichéd premise. | tt0071258 | [R] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Joan Goodfellow, Pamela Sue Martin, Clifton James, Robert Englund | Crime | NULL | ||
| Bustin' Loose | 1981 | Oz Scott | ★★★ | 94 | Despite the (expected) street language, this is at heart a family picture about an ex-convict who shepherds teacher Tyson and a busload of emotionally and physically handicapped youngsters to a new life. Best scene: a KKK band becomes putty in Pryor's hands. Filmed mostly in 1979, but not completed until 1981 because of Pryor's near fatal accident. Film debut for Broadway director Scott; Pryor coproduced and wrote the story. Later a TV series. | tt0082121 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Cicely Tyson, Robert Christian, Alphonso Alexander, Janet Wong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Busting | 1974 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 92 | Realistic if empty comedy-action-drama with Gould and Blake as unorthodox L.A. vice cops. Gay activists complained about film's few minutes of homosexual caricatures. Hyams, once a CBS-TV newsman, also did script. | tt0071259 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Robert Blake, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas, Michael Lerner, Sid Haig, Cornelia Sharpe | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Busy Body | 1967 | William Castle | ★★½ | 90 | Broad, forced comedy involving gangsters and corpses, with Caesar as the patsy for Ryan's underworld gang. Supporting comics give film its funniest moments. Pryor's film debut. | tt0061431 | Sid Caesar, Robert Ryan, Anne Baxter, Kay Medford, Jan Murray, Richard Pryor, Dom DeLuise, Godfrey Cambridge, Marty Ingels, Bill Dana, George Jessel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| But I'm a Cheerleader | 2000 | Jamie Babbit | ★★ | 84 | The parents of high school cheerleader Lyonne think she's a lesbian, and send her off to True Directions, a rehab camp that deprograms gay teens. This satire is a one-note John Waters wannabe, occasionally amusing but more often silly and contrived. | tt0179116 | [R] | Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, Bud Cort, Mink Stole, RuPaul Charles, Eddie Cibrian, Melanie Lynskey, Michelle Williams, Richard Moll, Julie Delpy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| But Not for Me | 1959 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 105 | Chic remake of Samson Raphaelson's ACCENT ON YOUTH. 22-year-old secretary/aspiring actress Baker falls for her has-been theatrical-producer boss (Gable), who won't admit he's on the dark side of 50. Palmer is his wily ex-wife, Cobb a faded playwright. | tt0052662 | Clark Gable, Carroll Baker, Lilli Palmer, Barry Coe, Lee J. Cobb,Thomas Gomez, Charles Lane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| But the Flesh Is Weak | 1932 | Jack Conway. | ★★ | 77 | Ivor Novello wrote this talky adaptation of his hit play The Truth Game, involving a father and son on the prowl for rich wives among London's upper crust. Swanky MGM fluff barely raises a smile and sorely needed the touch of a Lubitsch. Look fast for Ray Milland in a party scene. Remade as FREE AND EASY. | tt0022731 | Robert Montgomery, Nora Gregor, Heather Thatcher, Edward Everett Horton, C. Aubrey Smith, Nils Asther. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 | George Roy Hill | ★★★★ | 112 | Delightful seriocomic character study masquerading as a Western; outlaws Newman and Redford are pursued by relentless but remote sheriff's posse. Many memorable vignettes. Won Oscars for Cinematography (Conrad Hall), Original Score (Burt Bacharach), Song, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' (Bacharach and Hal David), and William Goldman's original screenplay, which brims over with sharp dialogue. Look for Sam Elliott as a card player. Followed a decade later by a prequel, BUTCH AND SUNDANCE: THE EARLY DAYS. Then in 1976 Ross returned as Etta Place in TVM WANTED: THE SUNDANCE WOMAN (aka MRS. SUNDANCE RIDES AGAIN). | tt0064115 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, George Furth, Cloris Leachman, Ted Cassidy, Kenneth Mars, Christopher Lloyd | Western | NULL | ||
| Butch and Sundance: The Early Days | 1979 | Richard Lester | ★★½ | 110 | Prequel to BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID has everything going for it— engaging performances, beautiful atmosphere and location photography— except a story. Pleasant enough but ultimately disappointing. | tt0078919 | [PG] | William Katt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Corey, John Schuck, Michael C. Gwynne, Brian Dennehy, Jill Eikenberry, Peter Weller, Arthur Hill | Western | NULL | ||
| The Butcher Boy | 1997 | Neil Jordan | ★★★½ | 106 | Arresting film about an Irish boy who doesn't have a chance in life: his father is a perpetual drunk, his mother a mentally fragile soul. Yet he greets the world with bravado and the gift of gab; the only problem is, he's deranged. Bold, darkly (even absurdly) comic, hallucinatory at times, hiding its heartrending truths behind a glib facade— just like its hero. A true original. Written by Jordan and Patrick McCabe, from the latter's novel; McCabe also appears as the town drunk, Jimmy the Skite. | tt0118804 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Eamonn Owens, Alan Boyle, Andrew Fullerton, Aisling O'Sullivan, Ian Hart, Sinéad O'Connor, Milo O'Shea, Brendan Gleeson | U.S.-Irish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Butcher's Wife | 1991 | Terry Hughes | ★★ | 105 | North Carolina clairvoyant marries a Greenwich Village butcher, then begins dispensing advice: to a lesbian boutique owner, a spinsterish choir director, a soap opera actress and more. So strange— starting with Moore's goldilocks— that it almost compels a glance. Only Steenburgen, though, seems thoroughly in the swing of this comedy's intended whimsy. | tt0101523 | [PG-13] | Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, George Dzundza, Mary Steenburgen, Frances McDormand, Margaret Colin, Max Perlich, Miriam Margolyes, Christopher Durang, Diane Salinger | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Butley | 1974 | Harold Pinter | ★★★★ | 127 | Bates is superb in American Film Theatre presentation, recreating his 1971 London stage role as a teacher with sexual and other problems. Playwright Pinter made his film directing debut with this outrageous comedy by Simon Gray. | tt0071260 | [R] | Alan Bates, Jessica Tandy, Richard O'Callaghan, Susan Engel, Georgina Hale | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Buttercup Chain | 1971 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★½ | 95 | Cousins are raised together and find they needn't stop at kissing. Beautifully photographed in Spain, Sweden, and London; otherwise, a free-love, mate-swapping mess with attractive cast. | tt0066875 | [R] | Hywel Bennett, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jane Asher, Sven-Bertil Taube, Clive Revill, Michael Elphick | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Butterflies Are Free | 1972 | Milton Katselas | ★★★ | 109 | Filmization of Leonard Gershe's Broadway play detailing blind boy's romance with kookie next-door neighbor (Hawn) and inevitable showdown with his overpossessive mother. Good light entertainment; Heckart won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. | tt0068326 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart, Mike Warren, Paul Michael Glaser | Drama | NULL | ||
| Butterfly | 1981 | Matt (Matteo) Cimber | ★★ | 107 | Trashy soap opera, based on James M. Cain's novel, with gold-digging sex-kitten Zadora seducing Keach, who is supposed to be her dad. Welles steals the film— not difficult— as a judge. | tt0082122 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Pia Zadora, Orson Welles, Lois Nettleton, Edward Albert, James Franciscus, Stuart Whitman, Ed McMahon, June Lockhart, Paul Hampton | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Butterfly | 1999 | José Luis Cuerda | ★★★ | 95 | Compelling coming-of-age story depicts the impact of the Spanish Civil War on a Galician village, spotlighting the evolving friendship between a sensitive young boy (Lozano) and his nurturing, humanistic teacher (beautifully played by Fernán Gómez). Delicately rendered tale of a nation and its people at a historic crossroads is based on several short stories by Manuel Rivas. | tt0188030 | [R] | Fernando Fernán Gómez, Manuel Lozano, Uxía Blanco, Gonzalo M. Uriarte, Alexis de los Santos, Jesús Castejón | Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Butterfly Affair | Popsy Pop | 1970 | Jean Herman | ★★ | 100 | Charriere (PAPILLON) wrote this diamond heist double cross story; he also costars as the mastermind, but his performance, like the picture, is routine. Claudia, at her sexiest, adds some bright moments. Original title: POPSY POP. | tt0065506 | [PG] | Claudia Cardinale, Stanley Baker, Henri Charriere, Georges Arminel, Leroy Haynes, Joannin Hansen | French-Italian | Crime | NULL |
| The Butterfly Effect | 2004 | Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber | ★★ | 113 | A boy suffers from repeated blackouts, during which bad things happen around him. As a young man he tries to summon up these repressed memories, go back in time, and change things for the better. Interesting premise takes much too long to develop; in the meantime the film wallows in unpleasantness. Kutcher also coproduced. | tt0289879 | [R] | Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Ethan Suplee, Melora Walters, Joshua Jackson, Ali Larter | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Buy & Cell | 1989 | Robert Boris | ★½ | 95 | Uninteresting would-be comedy set in prison, where a framed stockbroker secretly sets up a multi-million-dollar business with the help of stereotyped inmates. Shot in Italy, set in U.S. | tt0096997 | [R] | Robert Carradine, Michael Winslow, Malcolm McDowell, Lise Cutter, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Roddy Piper, Ben Vereen, Fred Travalena, Tony Plana, Michael Goodwin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Buy Me That Town | 1941 | Eugene Forde | ★★½ | 70 | Clever little B comedy-drama about gangster (Nolan) who actually buys a bankrupt little village; he plans to use it as a hideout for lawbreaker pals, but eventually becomes more civic-minded. Amusing and observant, with great cast full of veteran tough guys. | tt0033442 | Lloyd Nolan, Constance Moore, Albert Dekker, Sheldon Leonard, Barbara Jo Allen, Warren Hymer, Edward Brophy, Horace MacMahon, Russell Hicks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bwana Devil | 1952 | Arch Oboler | ★½ | 79 | Dud actioner was sparked theatrically as first commercial 3-D feature; man-eating lions set their teeth on railway workers in Africa. | tt0044462 | Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, Nigel Bruce, Paul McVey | Adventure | NULL | |||
| By Candlelight | 1934 | James Whale | ★★ | 70 | Typical Continental fluff about valet who poses as his master to woo woman he believes is a countess. Leaden Lukas is so wrong for the part that he almost sinks the film, but a few Whale touches make it watchable; buffs may find it more to taste. | tt0023860 | Paul Lukas, Elissa Landi, Nils Asther, Dorothy Revier, Lawrence Grant, Esther Ralston | Comedy | NULL | |||
| By Dawn's Early Light | 1990 | Jack Sholder | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Cold War thriller (one of the last) about the political and military debate as the button is about to be pushed initiating nuclear war: an unidentified missile detonates over a Russian city, causing the USSR to launch an attack against the U.S. Taut adaptation (by Bruce Gilbert) of William Prochnau's novel, Trinity's Child. Made for cable. | tt0099197 | Powers Boothe, Rebecca De Mornay, James Earl Jones, Martin Landau, Darren McGavin, Rip Torn, Peter MacNicol | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| By Design | 1981 | Claude Jutra | ★★ | 88 | Lesbian fashion designer Astin decides she wants to be a mother. Potentially interesting subject matter is awkwardly handled; one of Astin's few bad performances. | tt0082123 | Patty Duke Astin, Sara Botsford, Saul Rubinek, Sonia Zimmer | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| By Love Possessed | 1961 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 115 | Ultraglossy, well-cast but empty soaper, in which neurotic Turner commences an affair with Zimbalist, the law partner of her impotent husband (Robards). Based on— but not true to— the James Gould Cozzens novel. | tt0054710 | Lana Turner, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Jason Robards/Jr., George Hamilton, Thomas Mitchell, Susan Kohner, Barbara Bel Geddes, Everett Sloane, Carroll O'Connor | Drama | NULL | |||
| By Your Leave | 1934 | Lloyd Corrigan. | ★★ | 82 | Morgan plays a husband going through a midlife crisis who yearns for extramarital excitement, but wife Tobin finds it first. Unusual subject matter for a '30s film is treated very lightly, though a good cast offers some minor compensation. | tt0024939 | Frank Morgan, Genevieve Tobin, Neil Hamilton, Marian Nixon, Gene Lockhart, Margaret Hamilton, Betty Grable, Glenn Anders. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| By the Light of the Silvery Moon | 1953 | David Butler | ★★½ | 102 | Set in post WW1, this Booth Tarkington story finds returning soldier MacRae and fiancée Day readjusting to life. Ames wonderful as father thought to be romancing French actress, and Wickes delightful as family maid. Merv Griffin pops up in the closing scene. This old-fashioned musical was a sequel to ON MOONLIGHT BAY. | tt0045586 | Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Mary Wickes, Billy Gray | Musical | NULL | |||
| By the Sword | 1993 | Jeremy Paul Kagan, John McDonald | ★½ | 91 | By-the-numbers revenge story set in the world of competitive fencing. Roberts is intense as usual, but the story isn't. If it's fencing you want, rent an Errol Flynn movie. | tt0101524 | [R] | F. Murray Abraham, Eric Roberts, Mia Sara, Chris Rydell, Elaine Kagan, Brett Cullen, Doug Wert, Stoney Jackson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Bye Bye Birdie | 1963 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 112 | Entertaining version of Broadway musical about drafted rock 'n' roll idol coming to small town to give 'one last kiss' to one of his adoring fans. Lynde stands out as Ann-Margret's father. Remade for TV in 1995 with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams. | tt0056891 | Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Maureen Stapleton, Paul Lynde, Jesse Pearson, Bobby Rydell, Ed Sullivan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Bye Bye Blues | 1989 | Anne Wheeler | ★★★ | 116 | Affectionate WW2 drama of Jenkins, proper, protected, and pregnant, who's stationed with her doctor-husband in India. Intensely moving story of how war affects the lives of those on the home front; if this doesn't give your tear ducts a workout, nothing will. Loosely based on the life of Wheeler's mother and a nice companion piece to her short documentary-drama, A WAR STORY. | tt0096999 | [PG] | Rebecca Jenkins, Luke Reilly, Stuart Margolin, Kate Reid, Michael Ontkean, Wayne Robson, Robyn Stevan | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Bye Bye Braverman | 1968 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 109 | To paraphrase one of the characters, in the sum of its many parts this yields pleasure of a kind; but fuzzy, unresolved story of four Jewish intellectuals on their way to a friend's funeral is ultimately disappointing. | tt0062768 | George Segal, Jack Warden, Joseph Wiseman, Sorrell Booke, Jessica Walter, Phyllis Newman, Zohra Lampert, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan King | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Bye Bye Brazil | 1980 | Carlos Diegues | ★★★ | 110 | Bawdy comedy-drama about a troupe of traveling entertainers is really a travelogue of the country, from jungles to honky-tonk port towns. Not quite the total sensual pleasure of DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS, but still one of the best Brazilian imports. | tt0080482 | [R] | Jose Wilker, Betty Faria, Fábio Júnior, Zaira Zambelli | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| Bye Bye Monkey | 1978 | Marco Ferreri | 💣 | 114 | Sardonic, bleak comedy about a group of misfits in a decrepit area of Manhattan where rats seem about to displace humanity in all the buildings. Depardieu, irresistible to women as always, prefers the company of a chimpanzee he finds near the carcass of a giant ape, presumably left over from the remake of KING KONG. Good cast is wasted, including Fitzgerald, who also has a love scene with Depardieu. Filmed in English in N.Y.C. | tt0075848 | Gérard Depardieu, Marcello Mastroianni, Gail Lawrence (Abigail Clayton), James Coco, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Mimsy Farmer, Clarence Muse | French-Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Bye Bye, Love | 1995 | Sam Weisman | ★★ | 106 | Mediocre seriocomedy about three dads, devoted to their kids, trying to make their way through divorcehood. Some sincere moments and occasional comic insights are washed away in a sea of sappiness. Garofalo, as Quaid's hilarious date from hell, almost makes the film worth watching. | tt0112606 | [PG-13] | Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, Paul Reiser, Janeane Garofalo, Rob Reiner, Amy Brenneman, Eliza Dushku, Ed Flanders, Maria Pitillo, Lindsay Crouse, Johnny Whitworth, Ross Malinger, Pamela Dillman, Brad Hall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| C Man | 1949 | Joseph Lerner | ★★½ | 75 | Spunky little N.Y.-made programmer in which U.S. Customs agent Jagger sets out to track a stolen necklace and find the killer of another agent, his longtime friend. | tt0041218 | Dean Jagger, John Carradine, Harry Landers, Lottie Elwen, Rene Paul | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| C'est la Vie | 1990 | Diane Kurys | ★★★ | 97 | Autobiographical coming-of-age chronicle, strikingly similar to Kurys' PEPPERMINT SODA, about a 13-year-old girl (Bataille) and her experiences one long-ago summer at a beach resort. Despite the familiarity of theme, the film is provocative and charming. A sequel— or, more precisely, companion piece— to ENTRE NOUS, which must be seen to fully appreciate the character of the girl's mother (here Nathalie Baye, in ENTRE NOUS, Isabelle Huppert). | tt0099200 | Nathalie Baye, Julie Bataille, Candice Lefranc, Richard Berry, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Zabou | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| C'mon, Let's Live a Little | 1967 | David Butler | 💣 | 85 | Folk singer Vee enrolls in college, romances De Shannon, is manipulated by student radical Ireland. Perfectly awful. | tt0061434 | Bobby Vee, Jackie De Shannon, Eddie Hodges, John Ireland/Jr., Suzie Kaye, Bo Belinsky, Patsy Kelly, Kim Carnes | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| C.C. and Company | Chrome Hearts | 1970 | Seymour Robbie | ★½ | 88 | Broadway Joe gets sacked in his first starring role as a motorcyclist who tangles with Smith's biker gang while trying (not very hard) to fight off Ann-Margret's advances. Bracci's comedy relief is principal virtue, but the big laughs are unintentional. Produced by Roger Smith (who also wrote the screenplay) and Allan Carr. Aka CHROME HEARTS. | tt0065511 | [PG] | Joe Namath, Ann-Margret, William Smith, Jennifer Billingsley, Teda Bracci, Greg Mullavey, Sid Haig, Bruce Glover, Wayne Cochran & The C.C. Riders | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| C.H.O.M.P.S. | 1979 | Don Chaffey | ★½ | 89 | Cartoon-makers Hanna & Barbera struck out with this Disneyesque comedy about a young inventor (Eure) and his mechanical dog. Originally rated PG for mild profanities voiced by another dog in the film— then redubbed for kids' sake. Title is acronym for Canine HOMe Protection System. | tt0078924 | [G] | Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, Conrad Bain, Chuck McCann, Red Buttons, Larry Bishop, Hermione Baddeley, Jim Backus | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| C.H.U.D. | 1984 | Douglas Cheek | 💣 | 90 | That's Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, folks— a band of ragtag derelicts who come up to street level at night to munch on human flesh. Greist made this before BRAZIL— but what are Heard and Stern doing in this film? Grimy on all levels. Followed by a sequel. | tt0087015 | [R] | John Heard, Daniel Stern, Kim Greist, Brenda Currin, Justin Hall, Christopher Curry, Michael O'Hare, Sam McMurray, Patricia Richardson, Raymond Baker, Peter Michael Goetz, John Bedford Lloyd, John Goodman, Jay Thomas | Horror | NULL | ||
| C.H.U.D. II- Bud the Chud | 1989 | David Irving | 💣 | 84 | Teenagers swipe a corpse (Graham), unaware that it is a cannibalistic CHUD that passes on its tendencies to anyone it bites. Comedy sequel to straight original is far worse, but Graham is genuinely funny as the monster. Script credited to 'M. Kane Jeeves.' | tt0097001 | [R] | Brian Robbins, Bill Calvert, Gerrit Graham, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Robert Vaughn, Larry Cedar, Bianca Jagger, Larry Linville, Jack Riley, Norman Fell, June Lockhart | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| C.R.A.Z.Y. | 2005 | Jean-Marc Vallée | ★★★½ | 129 | From childhood, Zach is told he possesses a gift of healing granted to him by Jesus . . . but he's equally troubled by a suspicion that he's gay. Already alienated from his older brothers, this puts him at risk of infuriating his proud, domineering (and homophobic) father. Absorbing comedy-drama covers many years in the life of a family, from 1960 to 1980, as it charts a young man's journey of self-awareness. Runs the emotional gamut but never strikes a false note. Written by Vallée and François Boulay. Winner of ten Genie awards, including Best Picture. | tt0401085 |
|
Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallée, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Maxime Tremblay, Alex Gravel, Johanne Lebrun | Canadian | Comedy, Drama, Music | NULL | |
| CB4 | 1993 | Tamra Davis | ★★ | 88 | Group of middle-class guys, led by Rock (who also cowrote the film), takes on a tough, prison-like persona to form a rap group called Cell Block 4— which leads to complications when they get mistaken for the real thing. Mildly amusing satirical look at the world of Gangsta Rap— is no THIS IS SPINAL TAP. | tt0106500 | [R] | Chris Rock, Allen Payne, Deezer D, Chris Elliott, Phil Hartman, Charlie Murphy, Khandi Alexander, Art Evans, Theresa Randle, Willard E. Pugh, Stoney Jackson, LaWanda Page | Comedy | NULL | ||
| CJ7 | 2008 | Stephen Chow | ★★ | 88 | Chow works overtime to send his son (Xu) to an impressive private school, hoping that he can grow up and make something of himself. But when he gives his son a toy he finds at the dump, both of their lives are changed forever. Like Chow’s other films, the movie’s manic zigzagging from wacky to sincere makes it almost impossible to enjoy the story and genuinely care about anyone. Although it has some redeeming moments (due to the animated toy that comes to life), they are few and far between. Super 35. | tt0940709 | [PG] | Stephen Chow, Jiao Xu, Chi Chung Lam, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Shing-Cheung Lee, Min Hun Fung | Hong Kong | Drama, Family, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| CQ | 2002 | Roman Coppola | ★★½ | 91 | Emotionally repressed film editor living in Paris in 1969 works on a BARBARELLA-like sci-fi film and becomes infatuated with its beautiful leading lady— while allowing a real-life relationship with a woman who loves him to evaporate. Nearly a good movie, but its scattershot ideas have no dramatic momentum. Debut for writer-director Coppola (Francis' son), with a cameo by sister Sofia and a juicy role for cousin Schwartzman. Giannini is a standout as a bombastic Italian producer, and the movie within a movie is fun— with Law (from the real BARBARELLA) a welcome presence. | tt0254199 | [R] | Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Élodie Bouchez, Giancarlo Giannini, Gérard Depardieu, Billy Zane, Massimo Ghini, Jason Schwartzman, John Phillip Law, Dean Stockwell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cabaret | 1972 | Bob Fosse | ★★★½ | 124 | Stylish film based on Fred Ebb-John Kander Broadway musical, from John van Druten's play I Am a Camera (filmed before in 1955), now more a vehicle for Minnelli in her Oscar-winning performance as Sally Bowles, American girl caught up in phony glitter of pre-war Berlin. Song numbers counterpoint dramatic narrative, including newly written 'The Money Song,' great duet for Minnelli and Oscar-winner Grey. Screenplay by Jay Presson Allen; the story's genesis was Christopher Isherwood's book Goodbye to Berlin. Won eight Academy Awards in all, including Director, Cinematography (Geoffrey Unsworth) and Score Adaptation (Ralph Burns). | tt0068327 | [PG] | Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Fritz Wepper, Marisa Berenson | Musical, War | NULL | ||
| Cabaret Balkan | 1998 | Goran Paskaljevic | ★★½ | 102 | In the strife-torn city of Belgrade, all sense of logic and order has evaporated, leaving a society so desperate and stressed-out that even a casual encounter may lead to violence. Powerful series of vignettes— sometimes grim, sometimes absurdly funny— but the film goes on a while after it's made its point. Originally shown in Europe as THE POWDER KEG. | tt0169145 | Miki Manojlovic, Sergei Trifunovic, Mirjana Jokovic, Lazar Ristovski | Yugoslavian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cabin Boy | 1994 | Adam Resnick | ★★½ | 80 | Strange, fitfully amusing comedy of snobby 'Fancy Lad' Elliott who accidentally boards a fishing boat with hard-nosed seamen . . . and becomes a man. Film's success depends largely on your tolerance for Elliott's obnoxious comic persona, but there are many clever jokes and an endearingly (and intentionally) tacky visual approach. Several good cameos, particularly one from Elliott's former boss David Letterman— billed as Earl Hofert. Elliott cowrote the film's story. Produced by Tim Burton. | tt0109361 | [PG-13] | Chris Elliott, Ritch Brinkley, James Gammon, Brian Doyle-Murray, Brion James, Melora Walters, Ann Magnuson, Russ Tamblyn, Ricki Lake, Andy Richter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cabin Fever | 2003 | Eli Roth | ★½ | 93 | A group of friends celebrate college graduation by going to a mountain cabin together, but things go very bad very fast. Did someone say 'flesh-eating virus'? Blood-drenched homage to slasher movies lacks wit or originality, but seems to have pleased some fans of the genre. | tt0303816 | [R] | Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Giuseppe Andrews, Robert Harris, Hal Courtney | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Cabin in the Cotton | 1932 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 77 | Dated melodrama of sharecroppers, with earnest Barthelmess almost led to ruin by Southern belle Davis; exaggerated, but interesting. Bette's immortal line: 'Ah'd like to kiss ya, but Ah jes' washed mah hair.' | tt0022735 | Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Jordan, Bette Davis, Hardie Albright, David Landau, Berton Churchill, Henry B. Walthall, Tully Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cabin in the Sky | 1943 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 100 | Stellar black cast in winning (if somewhat racist) musical fable about forces of good and evil vying for the soul of Little Joe (Anderson). John Bubbles' dancing, Waters singing 'Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe' (written for the film) among musical highlights. First feature for Minnelli (who, with Waters and Ingram, came from the Broadway production). | tt0035703 | Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Duke Ellington and Orchestra, The Hall Johnson Choir | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Cabin in the Woods | 2012 | Drew Goddard | ★★½ | 95 | Five college pals visit the isolated title cabin, but soon the locally buried dead rise and attack them. All of this seems to be under the control of a huge, high-tech complex somewhere underground, which manipulates several such scenarios around the world. Goddard and producer Joss Whedon's script is aimed at the hearts of fanboys everywhere, adding at least two extra levels of surprises. Amusing and intelligent, but the cleverness works against the horror, the horror against the humor. Weaver has what amounts to a cameo. Filmed in 2009. | tt1259521 | [R] | Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Sigourney Weaver | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Cabinet of Caligari | 1962 | Roger Kay | ★★½ | 104 | Unimaginative remake of the 1919 German classic, removing all the mystery-exotic appeal; Johns tries hard as lady in ornate modern home confronted by O'Herlihy's sinister Caligari; many bizarre scenes. Written by Robert Bloch. | tt0055819 | Dan O'Herlihy, Glynis Johns, Richard Davalos, Lawrence Dobkin, Estelle Winwood, J. Pat O'Malley | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari | Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das | 1919 | Robert Wiene. | ★★★½ | 69 | Somewhat stiff but still fascinating German Expressionist film about 'magician' Caligari and hypnotic victim who carries out his evil bidding. Landmark film still impresses audiences today. Remade in 1962. | tt0010323 | Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt, Lil Dagover. | German | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Cabiria | 1914 | Piero Fosco (Giovanni Pastrone) | ★★★½ | 148 | Still-impressive silent epic, a landmark film for its use of lighting and camera movement, as well as its sheer spectacle. The story chronicles the plight of the title character (Quaranta), a Sicilian slave girl, during the Second Punic War. Pastrone coscripted with poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, who penned those lushly composed intertitles. This also served as an inspiration to D. W. Griffith, particularly for the Babylonian sequence of INTOLERANCE. | tt0003740 | Italia Almirante Manzini, Lidia Quaranta, Bartolomeo Pagano, Umberto Mozzato, Vitale de Stefano | Italian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cable Guy | 1996 | Ben Stiller | ★★½ | 96 | Black comedy about a cable TV installer who forces his friendship onto a vulnerable customer who's just moved out of his girlfriend's apartment. Many clever, funny scenes, but film wavers between comedy and a darker, more serious tone, which— while also interesting— keeps us off-balance. Repeated digs at TV are among the brightest moments; director Stiller has a funny recurring cameo. | tt0115798 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann, George Segal, Diane Baker, Jack Black, Eric Roberts, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Dick, Charles Napier, Owen Wilson, Kathy Griffin | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Caboblanco | 1980 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 87 | Murky ripoff of CASABLANCA, with Bronson a barkeeper in Peru. Robards plays a Nazi, Rey a police captain, Sanda a Frenchwoman searching for her lover. | tt0080485 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Dominique Sanda, Fernando Rey, Simon MacCorkindale, Camilla Sparv, Gilbert Roland, Denny Miller | Action | NULL | ||
| Caché | 2005 | Michael Haneke | ★★★ | 118 | Parisian host of a book-chat TV show and his wife are baffled by a succession of surveillance videotapes of their home's exterior, each anonymously left on the doorstep. Eventually, other cryptic messages appear, sketches that may have some hidden meaning. Writer- director Haneke (THE PIANO TEACHER) has constructed another icily meticulous, if protracted, drama, framed by a realistic portrait of a marriage and augmented with references to recent French history. | tt0387898 | [R] | Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Annie Girardot, Lester Makedonsky, Maurice Benichou, Bernard Le Coq, Daniel Duval, Nathalie Richard, Walid Afkir | French-Austrian-German-Italian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Cactus | 1986 | Paul Cox | ★★½ | 93 | Slow, deliberately paced story of Huppert's agony when her sight is impaired in an auto mishap and her growing relationship with blind Menzies. Of interest only when it sticks to the story, which isn't often enough. | tt0090784 | Isabelle Huppert, Robert Menzies, Norman Kaye, Monica Maughan, Banduk Marika | Australian |
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| Cactus Flower | 1969 | Gene Saks | ★★½ | 103 | Glossy comedy was pretty thin for Broadway, even thinner on film, with Bergman as prim nurse to dentist Matthau who blossoms when she realizes she's in love with him. Best moments belong to Hawn, who won Oscar for her first big role. | tt0064117 | [M] | Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn, Jack Weston, Rick Lenz, Vito Scotti, Irene Hervey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Caddie | 1976 | Donald Crombie | ★★½ | 107 | Adaptation of a popular Australian autobiography set in the late '20s and early '30s, telling story of an independent-minded young woman determined to succeed on her own, despite the pressure of having two children to raise. Moments of insight and originality give way too often to cliché and overriding blandness. Morse is fine in lead. | tt0074263 | Helen Morse, Takis Emmanuel, Jack Thompson, Jacki Weaver, Melissa Jaffer | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Caddy | 1953 | Norman Taurog | ★½ | 95 | Weak Martin & Lewis vehicle about golf-nut Jerry coaching Dean to be a champion player. Dean sings 'That's Amore.' | tt0045589 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Donna Reed, Fred Clark, Barbara Bates, Joseph Calleia | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Caddyshack | 1980 | Harold Ramis | ★★ | 98 | ANIMAL HOUSE-type hijinks at a posh country club; another comedy where irreverence and destruction are a substitute for humor. Saving grace is Dangerfield, whose opening scenes are sidesplittingly funny. Followed by a sequel. | tt0080487 | [R] | Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Bill Murray, Cindy Morgan, Sarah Holcomb, Scott Colomby, Brian Doyle-Murray, Chuck E. Rodent | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Caddyshack II | 1988 | Allan Arkush | ★★ | 99 | In-name-only sequel to 1980 hit gets a big boost from Mason, extremely winning in the role of a plain-talking, self-made millionaire whose daughter wants acceptance by the snooty crowd at a local country club. Unfortunately, film runs out of script (and laughs) after a half hour. | tt0094824 | [PG] | Jackie Mason, Dyan Cannon, Robert Stack, Dina Merrill, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Randy Quaid, Jessica Lundy, Jonathan Silverman, Chynna Phillips, Brian McNamara | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cadence | 1991 | Martin Sheen | ★½ | 97 | U.S. soldier Charlie lands in a West German brig, the lone white among a group of black prisoners; conflict, however, centers on warden Martin, who's slowly coming apart at the seams. Sheen family enterprise is overwrought and insignificant, with just one compelling scene: the brigmates march in jivey cadence to their own rendition of Sam Cooke's 'Chain Gang.' Would Ernie Borgnine's Fatso Judson have allowed this in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY? | tt0101531 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Beach, Ramon Estevez, John Toles-Bey, Blu Mankuma, Harry Stewart, James Marshall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cadillac Man | 1990 | Roger Donaldson | ★★½ | 97 | Williams is terrific, as usual, playing an aggressive car salesman who may lose his job, his mistress, his other girlfriend, his Mafioso protector, and his daughter all during one eventful weekend. Wildly uneven film swings from comedy to melodrama, dragging and then picking up again. Elaine Stritch appears unbilled as a grieving widow. | tt0099204 | [R] | Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed, Fran Drescher, Zack Norman, Annabella Sciorra, Lori Petty, Paul Guilfoyle, Bill Nelson, Eddie Jones, Judith Hoag | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Cadillac Ranch | 1996 | Lisa Gottlieb | ★★½ | 95 | Amiable tale of three sisters who, despite some long-time friction, band together to find a cache of money left behind by their Daddy when they were just kids . . . tracked, all the while, by bad guy Lloyd. Likable performances by the female trio boost this modest Texas-made production. | tt0115801 | [R] | Suzy Amis, Renee Humphrey, Caroleen Feeney, Linden Ashby, Christopher Lloyd, Jim Metzler | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Cadillac Records | 2008 | Darnell Martin | ★★½ | 108 | Colorful look at the birth and flowering of Chicago’s Chess Records label in the 1940s and ’50s, where Polish immigrant Leonard Chess (Brody) brought blues artists like Muddy Waters (Wright), Little Walter (Short), Howlin’ Wolf (Walker), and Etta James (Knowles) to prominence, amidst much personal turmoil. Bites off more than one film can chew but still offers a rich tapestry; each of these personalities deserves a separate film. The actors mostly perform their own songs, quite credibly, and Mos Def is a hoot as Chuck Berry. Vincent D’Onofrio appears unbilled. | tt1042877 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Cedric the Entertainer, Columbus Short, Eammonn Walker, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mos Def, Tammy Blanchard, Jay O Sanders, Norman Reedus, Eric Bogosian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Caesar and Cleopatra | 1946 | Gabriel Pascal | ★★ | 134 | Two fine stars suffer through static, boring rendition of George Bernard Shaw's play, which seems to go on forever. Occasional wit and intrigue can't keep this afloat. | tt0038390 | Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger, Flora Robson, Francis L. Sullivan, Cecil Parker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cafe Express | 1981 | Nanni Loy | ★★½ | 89 | Manfredi, virtually repeating his characterization in BREAD AND CHOCOLATE, is a Neapolitan working man illegally selling coffee on the Milan to Naples train. Sometimes funny and profound, more often trite. Manfredi, as usual, is fine. Originally ran 105m. | tt0080488 | Nino Manfredi, Adolfo Celi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Luigi Basagaluppi, Silvio Spaccesi | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cafe Metropole | 1937 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 84 | Young is courted by penniless playboy Power, who's passing bad checks and posing as a Russian prince. OK comedy, from a story by Ratoff. | tt0028676 | Loretta Young, Tyrone Power, Adolphe Menjou, Gregory Ratoff, Charles Winninger, Helen Westley | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cafe Society | 1995 | Raymond De Felitta | ★★★ | 107 | Atmospheric, fact-based account, set in 1952, about Mickey Jelke (Whaley), a poor little rich boy set to inherit $5 million. Jelke hobnobs with N.Y.C. cafe society, and thinks nothing of pimping, just for the fun of it. Gallagher is the vice cop who's determined to nail him; Boyle (who makes a great noir heroine) is the woman with whom Jelke becomes involved, on several levels. De Felitta, working with a low budget, creates an impressive and authentic period feel. | tt0112611 | [R] | Frank Whaley, Peter Gallagher, Lara Flynn Boyle, John Spencer, Anna Thomson, David Patrick Kelly, Christopher Murney, Richard B. Shull, Paul Guilfoyle, Alan North, Kelly Bishop, Zach Grenier | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cafe au Lait | 1994 | Mathieu Kassovitz | ★★★ | 94 | Kassovitz' first feature is the SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT/JULES AND JIM-like story of a young, pregnant Parisian (Mauduech) who is uncertain which of her boyfriends is the father. Is it the African Muslim law student (Kounde)? Or the Jewish bicycle messenger (played by the director)? Sweetly funny, and a heartening look at contemporary relations between the races. Kassovitz also scripted. | tt0107642 | Julie Mauduech, Hubert Kounde, Mathieu Kassovitz | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cage | 1989 | Lang Elliott | 💣 | 101 | Pointless, violent film provides viewers with the human equivalent of a cockfight as Ferrigno and Brown go at it in the Asian 'sport' of cage fighting. A better title might have been THE INCREDIBLE HOKUM. | tt0097003 | [R] | Lou Ferrigno, Reb Brown, Michael Dante, Mike Moroff, Marilyn Tokuda, James Shigeta, Al Ruscio | Action | NULL | ||
| Cage of Gold | 1950 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 83 | Fair suspense yarn with sleazy Farrar, supposedly dead in a plane crash, attempting to blackmail wife Simmons, now remarried to doctor Donald. | tt0042295 | Jean Simmons, David Farrar, James Donald, Madeleine Lebeau, Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Caged | 1950 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 96 | Remarkable performances in stark record of Parker going to prison and becoming hardened criminal after exposure to brutal jail life. Remade as HOUSE OF WOMEN. | tt0042296 | Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson, Jan Sterling, Jane Darwell, Gertrude Michael | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Caged Fury | 1948 | William Berke | ★★ | 60 | Not bad low-budgeter about mad killer on the loose in a circus. | tt0040196 | Richard Denning, Sheila Ryan, Mary Beth Hughes, Buster Crabbe | Crime | NULL | |||
| Caged Heat | Renegade Girls | 1974 | Jonathan Demme | ★★½ | 84 | Demme's first feature is tongue-in-cheek but otherwise typical women's prison flick, chiefly novel for being set in the U.S. instead of some banana republic, plus neat turn by Steele as wheelchair-bound warden. Has a sizable cult following. Aka RENEGADE GIRLS. | tt0071266 | [R] | Juanita Brown, Erica Gavin, Roberta Collins, Rainbeaux Smith, Barbara Steele, Toby Carr-Rafelson | Action | NULL | |
| Cahill U.S. Marshal | 1973 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 103 | Marshal Wayne's law enforcement duties are complicated as one of his sons threatens to enter a life of crime; routine, violent Western suffers from the same kind of sermonizing that plagued most of the Duke's later films. | tt0069834 | [PG] | John Wayne, George Kennedy, Gary Grimes, Neville Brand, Marie Windsor, Harry Carey/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| Cain and Mabel | 1936 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 90 | Publicist concocts phony romance between Broadway star Davies (who's miscast) and heavyweight champ Gable— who happen to despise one another. Gargantuan production numbers add nothing to stale plot. Rescued somewhat by the snappy one-liners delivered by the supporting cast. | tt0027413 | Marion Davies, Clark Gable, David Carlyle (Robert Paige), Allen Jenkins, Roscoe Karns, Walter Catlett, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ruth Donnelly, Pert Kelton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Caine Mutiny | 1954 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★★ | 125 | WW2 Naval officers Johnson and Francis mutiny against paranoid, unpopular Capt. Queeg (Bogart) and are court-martialed in this exciting adaptation (by Stanley Roberts) of Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize novel. Wartime mutiny scene during typhoon still packs a wallop. Followed by a TVM in 1988. | tt0046816 | Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Robert Francis, May Wynn, Fred MacMurray, E.G. Marshall, Lee Marvin, Tom Tully, Claude Akins | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Cairo | 1942 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 101 | Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young, Ethel Waters, Reginald Owen, Lionel Atwill, Dooley Wilson. Musi-comedy spoof of WW2 spy films is strained, although stars are pleasant and production is well mounted. | tt0034565 | Jeanette MacDonald, Robert Young, Ethel Waters, Reginald Owen, Lionel Atwill, Dooley Wilson | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cairo | 1963 | Wolf Rilla | ★★½ | 91 | Mediocre remake of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE with the 'surefire' caper aiming to steal King Tut's treasures from the Cairo Museum. | tt0056894 | George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama, John Meillon, Eric Pohlmann, Walter Rilla | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Cairo Time | 2009 | Ruba Nadda | ★★ | 90 | Magazine editor (Clarkson) arrives in Egypt to spend a much-longed-for vacation with her diplomat husband who, delayed in troubled Gaza, sends a former coworker and trusted friend (Siddig) to meet her plane. Uncomfortable touring the streets of Cairo on her own, Clarkson reaches out to Siddig once more to serve as guide until her husband can join her. The pace is so unhurried it will put most viewers to sleep. Scenery is lovely, but the plot—hidden somewhere in the hint of a budding romance—is dull, if mostly nonexistent. | tt0896529 | [PG] | Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Elena Anaya, Amina Annabi, Tom McCamus | Canadian-Irish-Egyptian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Cake Eaters | 2009 | Mary Stuart Masterson | ★★ | 86 | In a quiet upstate N.Y. town, teen Stewart (who’s afflicted with a neuromuscular disease) is obsessed with losing her virginity to Stanford. His older brother (Bartok), a failed musician, wants to rekindle a romance, and their just-widowed father (Dern) is in a long-term relationship with Ashley, Stewart’s grandmother. Potentially powerful kitchen-sink drama is surprisingly mild and inconsequential, but Ashley and especially Dern are a pleasure to watch. Bartok also scripted; feature directing debut for Masterson. | tt0418586 | [R] | Elizabeth Ashley, Jayce Bartok, Bruce Dern, Miriam Shor, Aaron Stanford, Kristen Stewart, Talia Balsam, Melissa Leo, Jesse L. Martin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cal | 1984 | Pat O'Connor | ★★★ | 102 | Intelligent drama of modern-day Northern Ireland, with Lynch, 19, falling for older widow Mirren— despite his IRA involvement with her husband's murder. Strong performances, especially by Mirren; produced by David Puttnam. | tt0087019 | [R] | Helen Mirren, John Lynch, Donal McCann, John Kavanagh, Ray McAnally, Stevan Rimkus, Kitty Gibson | British | Drama, Thriller, Romance | NULL | |
| Calamity Jane | 1953 | David Butler | ★★★ | 101 | Doris is irresistible as the bombastic, rootin'-tootin' title character in this lively musical, with Keel as Wild Bill Hickok, who only begins to realize his feelings for her when she makes a stab at becoming more 'feminine.' Sammy Fain-Paul Francis Webster score includes the Oscar-winning 'Secret Love.' Jane Alexander later played Calamity in a 1984 TV movie. | tt0045591 | Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Gale Robbins, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Calamity Jane and Sam Bass | 1949 | George Sherman | ★½ | 85 | Tattered retelling of 19th-century cowgirl and Texas outlaw, with De Carlo and Duff a disinterested duo. | tt0041220 | Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Lloyd Bridges, Milburn Stone | Western | NULL | |||
| Calcutta | 1947 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 83 | Standard actioner with pilot Ladd avenging friend's murder. | tt0039235 | Alan Ladd, Gail Russell, William Bendix, June Duprez, Lowell Gilmore | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Calendar | 1993 | Atom Egoyan | ★★ | 75 | A photographer (Egoyan) and his wife (Khanjian) travel from Canada to Armenia to shoot photos of historical churches for inclusion on a wall calendar; as he looks through his lens, his marriage falls apart before his eyes as his mate comes in touch with her roots and falls for their guide. Some intriguing ideas are at work here, but the film is much like an out-of-focus snapshot and too loosely structured to be effective. Egoyan and Khanjian are married off screen. | tt0106504 | Arsinée Khanjian, Ashot Adamian, Atom Egoyan | Canadian-Armenian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Calendar Girl | 1993 | John Whitesell | ★★ | 90 | Pat, overly familiar coming-of-age tale of three high school grads who head off to L.A. in 1962 to seek out their idol, Marilyn Monroe. Ultimately harmless, but you've seen it a million times before. One of the executive producers was Penny Marshall. | tt0106505 | [PG-13] | Jason Priestley, Gabriel Olds, Jerry O'Connell, Joe Pantoliano, Steve Railsback, Kurt Fuller, Stephen Tobolowsky, Emily Warfield, Maxwell Caulfield, Stephanie Anderson, Chubby Checker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Calendar Girls | 2003 | Nigel Cole | ★★½ | 107 | Amiable comedy based on the true story of middle-aged women in a small English town who pose nude for a fund-raising calendar. Mirren and Walters are so delightful, and abetted by such an engaging cast, that it's a shame the script isn't more inspired. | tt0337909 | [PG-13] | Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Ciarán Hinds, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Graham Crowden, Geraldine James | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| California | 1946 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 97 | Ray is a wagonmaster with a past, Stanwyck a shady gal who makes good in this elaborately ordinary Western. | tt0038392 | Barbara Stanwyck, Ray Milland, Barry Fitzgerald, Albert Dekker, Anthony Quinn, Julia Faye, George Coulouris | Western | NULL | |||
| California Conquest | 1952 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 79 | Film deals with sidelight of American history. Californian Wilde et al. under Spanish control help their ally against Russian attempt to confiscate the territory. | tt0044466 | Cornel Wilde, Teresa Wright, John Dehner, Hank Patterson | Western | NULL | |||
| California Dreaming | 1979 | John Hancock | ★★½ | 92 | Revisionist beach party movie finds nerd Christopher trying desperately to fit in with the surfing crowd, blind to the fact that their lives are even emptier than his. Strong drama sometimes bites off more than it can chew, but overall fairly compelling and surprisingly erotic; Wynn also wrote the screenplay. | tt0078928 | [R] | Dennis Christopher, Glynnis O'Connor, Seymour Cassel, Dorothy Tristan, John Calvin, Tanya Roberts, Todd Susman, Alice Playten, Ned Wynn, James Van Patten, Stacey Nelkin, Marshall Efron | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| California Passage | 1950 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 90 | Tucker and Davis make an engaging team as uneasy partners in a saloon and rivals for the love of Mara. Davis tries to get Tucker out of the way by framing him for robberies of gold shipments. Action-packed Republic Western hokum moves along at a gallop. | tt0042299 | Forrest Tucker, Jim Davis, Adele Mara, Estelita Rodriguez, Peter Miles, Charles Kemper, Bill Williams, Rhys Williams, Paul Fix. | Western | NULL | |||
| California Split | 1974 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 108 | Realistic but rambling look at two compulsive gamblers, their strange lifestyles, and the emptiness of winning. Altman's multi-channel soundtrack only adds to the muddle. | tt0071269 | [R] | George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles, Joseph Walsh, Bert Remsen, Jeff Goldblum | Comedy | NULL | ||
| California Straight Ahead | 1937 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 67 | Good little actioner with Wayne competing in cross-country race between trucks and train. | tt0028677 | John Wayne, Louise Latimer, Robert McWade, Theodore Von Eltz, Tully Marshall | Action | NULL | |||
| California Suite | 1978 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 103 | Four Neil Simon skits set at the Beverly Hills Hotel (and adapted from his Broadway hit). Oscar-winning Smith and husband Caine as gently bickering Britishers in town for Academy Awards come off best; Pryor and Cosby as unfunnily combative 'friends' are the worst. Pleasant time-filler, with nice jazz score by Claude Bolling. | tt0077289 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Gloria Gifford, Sheila Frazier, Herb Edelman, Denise Galik | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Caligula | 1980 | Tinto Brass | ★½ | 156 | Filmdom's first $15 million porno (to say nothing of home) movie, produced by Penthouse and set in Rome in the 1st century A.G. (After Guccione), follows ruthless ruler through endless series of decapitations and disembowelings. Chutzpah and six minutes of not-bad hard-core footage earn this half a star for the faithful, but most viewers will be rightfully repelled. And besides, Jay Robinson does much better by the title character in THE ROBE and DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS. Reissued in 105m., R-rated version— which is considerably changed. | tt0080491 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, Guido Mannari | Drama | NULL | ||
| Call Her Savage | 1932 | John Francis Dillon | ★★½ | 88 | Wild comeback vehicle for indefatigable Clara Bow ranges from sharp comedy to teary-eyed soap opera, but it's never dull. Bow is amazingly sensual throughout, matched in brief confrontations with Todd; great fun. | tt0022737 | Clara Bow, Gilbert Roland, Thelma Todd, Monroe Owsley, Estelle Taylor, Russell Simpson, Margaret Livingston | Drama | NULL | |||
| Call Him Mr. Shatter | Shatter | 1974 | Michael Carreras | ★½ | 90 | Hammer's entry into the Kung Fu market, begun by Monte Hellman, stars Whitman as a burned-out hit man on assignment in Hong Kong. Plenty of action, but nothing to hold it together; presence of three cinematographers is a tip-off to extensive production woes. Aka SHATTER. | tt0074268 | [R] | Stuart Whitman, Ti Lung, Lily Li, Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring | British | Drama, Action | NULL |
| Call It a Day | 1937 | Archie Mayo | ★★ | 89 | Minor, fluffy domestic comedy set during a 24-hour period and chronicling the various entanglements, romantic and otherwise, of a middle-class British couple (Hunter, Inescort) and their three children. | tt0028679 | Olivia de Havilland, Ian Hunter, Anita Louise, Alice Brady, Roland Young, Frieda Inescort, Bonita Granville, Peggy Wood, Walter Woolf King | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Call Me | 1988 | Sollace Mitchell | ★★½ | 96 | Horny reporter saddled with a lackluster boyfriend begins receiving obscene phone calls and almost finds herself enjoying the experience. Very well acted by Charbonneau, but too many of the supporting roles are weakly cast; excessive melodrama detracts from what could have been a more compelling psychological study. | tt0094827 | [R] | Patricia Charbonneau, Patti D'Arbanville, Sam Freed, Boyd Gaines, Stephen McHattie, Steve Buscemi, John Seitz, David Strathairn | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Call Me Bwana | 1963 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 103 | Hope and Adams on jungle safari encounter Ekberg and Jeffries and nothing much happens. The ladies are lovely. | tt0056897 | Bob Hope, Anita Ekberg, Edie Adams, Lionel Jeffries, Arnold Palmer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Call Me Madam | 1953 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 117 | Often stagy musical from Irving Berlin tuner based on Perle Mesta's life as Washington, D.C., hostess and Liechtenstein ambassadress. Merman is blowsy delight. Songs include 'The Best Thing for You,' 'It's a Lovely Day Today,' 'You're Just in Love.' | tt0045592 | Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, George Sanders, Vera-Ellen, Billy DeWolfe, Walter Slezak, Lilia Skala | Musical | NULL | |||
| Call Me Mister | 1951 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 95 | Acceptable plot line helps buoy this musical. Soldier Dailey, based in Japan, goes AWOL to patch up marriage with Grable traveling with USO troupe. Bears little resemblance to the Broadway revue on which it's supposedly based. An unbilled Bobby Short sings 'Going Home Train. | tt0043370 | Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas, Dale Robertson, Benay Venuta, Richard Boone, Frank Fontaine, Jeffrey Hunter | Musical | NULL | |||
| Call Northside 777 | Calling Northside 777 | 1948 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★½ | 111 | Absorbing drama of reporter Stewart convinced that convicted killer is innocent, trying to prove it; handled in semi-documentary style. Retitled: CALLING NORTHSIDE 777. | tt0040202 | James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, Moroni Olsen, E.G. Marshall | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Call Out the Marines | 1942 | Frank Ryan, William Hamilton | ★★ | 67 | Tepid comedy, Lowe and McLaglen's last starring film together. The boys tangle with waterfront seductress Barnes while on the trail of spies. Several forgettable tunes (like 'Zana Zaranda') to boot. | tt0034567 | Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Binnie Barnes, Paul Kelly, Dorothy Lovett, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Call a Messenger | 1939 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 65 | Well-cast Little Tough Guys outing. Halop gets a job as a junior mailman and tangles with gangsters in this typical crime yarn. Crabbe makes an impressive heavy, complete with mustache. | tt0031130 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, William Benedict, David Gorcey, Robert Armstrong, Buster Crabbe, Anne Nagel, Victor Jory, El Brendel, Mary Carlisle | Crime | NULL | |||
| Call of the Canyon | 1942 | Joseph Santley. | ★½ | 71 | Gene deals with the crooked purchasing agent for a packing company and gets roped into doing a Western radio show. Plays like a tired pastiche of Autry's previous movies; even his pairing with the Sons of the Pioneers is lackluster. | tt0034568 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Sons of the Pioneers, Ruth Terry, Thurston Hall, Joe Strauch/Jr., Cliff Nazarro, Dorothea Kent. | Western | NULL | |||
| Call of the Flesh | 1930 | Charles Brabin. | ★½ | 100 | Jordan is a young novice who leaves the convent after flipping for Latin singer Novarro. Ornate star vehicle moves like molasses and inspires unintentional laughter. Some scenes were originally in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0020724 | Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, Ernest Torrence, Nance O'Neil, Renée Adorée, Mathilde Comont, Russell Hopton. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Call of the Prairie | 1936 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★½ | 65 | Following Bar 20 cattle sale, a bad crowd frames unwitting Ellison (who's on a drinking bender) in a scheme to steal Hopalong Cassidy's bankroll. Adapted from Clarence E. Mulford's 1926 novel, Hopalong Cassidy's Protégé. Not so slick as other entries; driven by personalities and authentic atmosphere. Boyd uses heavy Southern accent and Hayes plays sinister outlaw leader! | tt0027415 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, Muriel Evans, George Hayes, Chester Conklin, Alan Bridge, Hank Mann, Chill Wills and His Avalon Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Call of the Wild | 1972 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 100 | Lackluster version of the Jack London adventure classic, produced by a multinational film combine and wasting the talents of a diverse cast. One redeeming quality: the striking Finnish scenery. | tt0069197 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Michele Mercier, Maria Rohm, Rik Battaglia | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Call of the Wild | 1935 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 81 | More Hollywood than Jack London, this Yukon adventure/romance is lots of fun, and Owen a fine snarling villain. Original release was 95m. Remade in 1972 and as a TV movie in 1976, 1993, and 1997. | tt0026164 | Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Jack Oakie, Reginald Owen, Frank Conroy | Western, Action | NULL | |||
| Callan | 1974 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 106 | Adequate drama of aging secret agent Woodward, demoted because he cares too much about his adversaries, assigned to kill a German businessman. Woodward had previously played same role on British TV. Video title: THE NEUTRALIZER. | tt0071270 | Edward Woodward, Eric Porter, Carl Mohner, Catherine Schell, Peter Egan | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Callas Forever | 2002 | Franco Zeffirelli. | ★★★ | 111 | Fictional imagining of the great opera diva Maria Callas at the end of her storied career. Her former manager comes back into her life and convinces her to regain her passion by doing a film of Carmen in which she would lip-sync to her great recordings of the past. Sumptuous production values and fine acting make this worth seeing if you are a fan of opera, Callas, or Zeffirelli (who actually directed Callas onstage several times). Barely released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0274407 | Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, Joan Plowright, Jay Rodan, Gabriel Garko, Manuel de Blas, Justino Díaz. | Italian-French-Spanish-British-Romanian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Callaway Went Thataway | 1951 | Norman Panama, Melvin Frank | ★★½ | 81 | Gentle spoof of early-TV 'Hopalong Cassidy' craze, with Keel as lookalike who impersonates veteran cowboy star for promotional purposes; good fun until it starts getting serious. Several MGM stars make cameo appearances. | tt0043371 | Fred MacMurray, Dorothy McGuire, Howard Keel, Jesse White, Fay Roope, Natalie Schafer, Stan Freberg | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Calle 54 | 2000 | Fernando Trueba | ★★★ | 105 | Fans of Latin jazz will want to catch Oscar-winning director Trueba's valentine to the music he grew up loving. With cameras ready to catch every moment, the filmmaker invited several Latin musicians into an N.Y.C. recording studio, then traveled to their hometowns to provide glimpses into their lives. Particularly gratifying to see Tito Puente still cookin' toward the end of his life. | tt0260775 | [G] | Chucho Valdes, Gato Barbieri, Jerry Gonzalez, Tito Puente, Eliane Elias, Chico O'Farrill, Bebo Valdes | French-Spanish | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |
| The Caller | 1989 | Arthur Allan Seidelman | ★★ | 97 | Strange two-character mystery set mostly in an isolated cabin in the woods; the verbal sparring partners are not what they seem to be. Partly effective, but goes on much too long; might have worked as a Twilight Zone episode. Shot in Italy in 1987. | tt0097007 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Madolyn Smith-Osborne | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Calling Bulldog Drummond | 1951 | Victor Saville | ★★½ | 80 | Pidgeon makes a satisfactory Drummond as the sleuth is called out of retirement to help Scotland Yard nab a gang of sophisticated thieves armed with military hardware. Starts well but bogs down in talk. | tt0043372 | Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty, David Tomlinson, Peggy Evans, Charles Victor, Bernard Lee | U.S.-British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Calling Dr. Death | 1943 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 63 | Ultra-low-budget mystery about a neurologist (a badly miscast Chaney) who is tormented by the realization that he may have killed his unfaithful wife during a moment of madness. First of the Inner Sanctum series. | tt0035706 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Ramsay Ames, Patricia Morison, J. Carrol Naish, David Bruce | Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| Calling Dr. Gillespie | 1942 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 84 | With Lew Ayres gone, the series continues with Gillespie getting a new assistant (Dorn), while the crusty old sawbones himself is the target of a homicidal maniac. Enjoyable melodrama; look sharp for Ava Gardner. | tt0034570 | Lionel Barrymore, Philip Dorn, Donna Reed, Phil Brown, Nat Pendleton, Alma Kruger, Mary Nash, Walter Kingsford, Charles Dingle, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Jonathan Hale | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Calling Dr. Kildare | 1939 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 86 | Efficient second entry in the series has Kildare in trouble with the police for treating a gangster and getting involved with the hood's cute sister (Turner). | tt0031133 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Lana Turner, Lynne Carver, Nat Pendleton, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Walter Kingsford, Marie Blake, Don 'Red' Barry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Calling Homicide | 1956 | Edward Bernds. | ★½ | 61 | Low-key crime yarn involving homicide detective Elliott's search for a cop killer. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other movies. | tt0049044 | Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty, Jeanne Cooper, Thomas Browne Henry, Lyle Talbot, Kathleen Case, Myron Healey, James Best, Mary Treen. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Calling Philo Vance | 1940 | William Clemens | ★★ | 62 | Stephenson makes a refined (if sinister) Philo Vance, investigating the death of an aircraft manufacturer by foreign agents. Minor, but watchable, entry is virtually a scene-for-scene remake of THE KENNEL MURDER CASE, updated to wartime. | tt0032299 | James Stephenson, Margot Stevenson, Henry O'Neill, Edward Brophy, Ralph Forbes, Martin Kosleck | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Calm Yourself | 1935 | George B. Seitz. | ★★½ | 71 | When Young is fired from his advertising agency job, he starts his own company, called Confidential Services, which specializes in calming down clients by handling unpleasant tasks for them. Frothy filler gets by on its genial cast and some surprising dialogue, as when Young tells Evans, 'You're habit forming, like hashish and whiskey. | tt0026166 | Robert Young, Madge Evans, Betty Furness, Ralph Morgan, Nat Pendleton, Hardie Albright, Claude Gillingwater. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Caltiki, the Immortal Monster | 1959 | Robert Hampton (Riccardo Freda). | ★★ | 76 | Set in Mexico, sci-fi has blob-ish fiend pursuing members of scientific expedition; poorly conceived but amusing. Photographed by Mario Bava. | tt0052667 | John Merivale, Didi Sullivan, Gerard Herter, Daniela Rocca. | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Calypso Heat Wave | 1957 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 86 | Trite plot— crooked Granger takes over Langton's record company— takes a back seat to performances by Desmond, Grey, Hi-Lo's, etc. A once-in-a-lifetime cast. Alan Arkin is one of The Tarriers. | tt0050222 | Johnny Desmond, Merry Anders, Paul Langton, Michael Granger, Meg Myles, Joel Grey, The Treniers, The Tarriers, The Hi-Lo's, Maya Angelou, Darla Hood | Drama | NULL | |||
| Calypso Joe | 1957 | Edward Dein | ★½ | 76 | Thin programmer about stewardess Dickinson and TV star Kemmer quarreling and making up in a South American setting. Jeffries sings seven songs. | tt0050223 | Herb Jeffries, Angie Dickinson, Edward Kemmer, Stephen Bekassy, Laurie Mitchell, Lord Flea and His Calypsonians | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Camelot | 1967 | Joshua Logan | ★½ | 178 | Appalling film version of Lerner-Loewe musical has only good orchestrations and sporadically good acting to recommend it; no one can sing and production looks cheap, in spite of big budget. This did, however, win Oscars for Costumes, Scoring, and Art Direction/Set Decoration. Film's nonstop use of close-ups may help it on TV. | tt0061439 | Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings, Lionel Jeffries | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cameo Kirby | 1923 | John Ford. | ★★½ | 77 | Gilbert is dashing as a Mississippi riverboat gambler who inadvertently causes the death of an old man, then falls in love with his daughter. Colorful silent, the first for which Ford was billed as John instead of Jack, with good atmosphere involving card games and duels. Jean Arthur's film debut. Based on a play by Harry Leon Wilson and Booth Tarkington. Previously filmed in 1914; remade in 1930. | tt0013909 | John Gilbert, Gertrude Olmstead, Alan Hale, Eric Mayne, William E. Lawrence, Richard Tucker, Phillips Smalley, Jean Arthur. | NULL | ||||
| Camera Buff | Amator | 1979 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | ★★★½ | 112 | Kieslowski's first international success is a compelling story about an ordinary workingman who buys an 8mm camera so he can shoot home movies as soon as his wife gives birth. Instead, he becomes galvanized by the power and fascination of the camera and ignores his wife and daughter in the process. A somewhat autobiographical story of a man's artistic and political awakening, this is just as powerful as the day it was made. Aka AMATOR. | tt0078763 | Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zabkowska, Ewa Pokas, Stefan Czyzewski, Jerzy Nowak | Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Cameraman | 1928 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★★ | 69 | Buster plays a lovesick would-be newsreel cameraman in this entertaining silent comedy, a cut below his masterpieces but still brimming with invention, ingenious set pieces, and big laughs. Remade with Red Skelton as WATCH THE BIRDIE. | tt0018742 | Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin, Sidney Bracy, Harry Gribbon, Edward Brophy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cameron's Closet | 1989 | Armand Mastroianni | ★½ | 86 | Pointlessly cluttered horror tale of a father whose constant mind experiments on his son have created an actual monster in the boy's closet. Lumbering in every way, with a dull monster created by Carlo Rambaldi. | tt0097008 | [R] | Cotter Smith, Mel Harris, Scott Curtis, Chuck McCann, Leigh McCloskey, Kim Lankford, Tab Hunter | Horror | NULL | ||
| Camila | 1984 | Maria Luisa Bemberg | ★★½ | 105 | Shades of ELVIRA MADIGAN, in a story based on 19th-century Argentine fact, about a Jesuit priest and a young Catholic socialite who commit love on the lam as the authorities stalk them for 500 miles. Interesting, but never altogether compelling. | tt0087027 | Susu Pecoraro, Imanol Arias, Hector Alterio | Argentinian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Camilla | 1994 | Deepa Mehta | ★★½ | 95 | Tandy, in her final film, is the sole reason to see this otherwise so-so road movie about the budding friendship between a young would-be singer-songwriter (Fonda) and an elderly, eccentric (and high-spirited) former concert violinist. Cronyn plays Tandy's former lover, and their on-screen time together is something special. | tt0109368 | [PG-13] | Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Elias Koteas, Maury Chaykin, Graham Greene, Ranjit Chowdhry, Atom Egoyan, Don McKellar | Canadian-British | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Camille | 1937 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 108 | Beautiful MGM production; in one of her most famous roles, Garbo is Dumas' tragic heroine who must sacrifice her own happiness in order to prove her love. Taylor is a bit stiff as Armand, but Daniell is a superb villain. Filmed before in 1915 (with Clara Kimball Young), 1917 (Theda Bara), and 1921 (Nazimova, with Rudolph Valentino as Armand). Remade for TV in 1984 with Greta Scacchi. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028683 | Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Laura Hope Crews, Henry Daniell, Joan Brodel (Leslie) | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Camille | 2007 | Gregory Mackenzie | ★★½ | 91 | Kentucky newlyweds bound for Niagara Falls suffer a setback when the happy bride dies in a road mishap . . . but she doesn't know it and keeps going like a decomposing Energizer bunny. Affable fable about the sweet undead, unrelated to other movie Camilles, has plenty of heart, credible acting, plus pretty pastel horses. Far too genteel for those who prefer a gutsy zombie. | tt0462219 | [PG-13] | Sienna Miller, James Franco, David Carradine, Scott Glenn, Ed Lauter, Mark Wilson, Patricia Yeatman | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Camille Claudel | 1988 | Bruno Nuytten | ★★ | 149 | Overblown biography of the French sculptress (Adjani), who has a 'madness of mud' and who single-mindedly pursues her art; Depardieu plays Auguste Rodin, with whom she has a complex, turbulent relationship. Potentially provocative story is emotionally uninvolving, with an astonishing lack of depth. Wonderful production values and period detail, but all for naught. Cinematographer Nuytten's directorial debut. Original French running time 173m. | tt0094828 | [R] | Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Laurent Grevill, Alain Cuny, Madeleine Robinson, Katrine Boorman | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Camorra | 1986 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★½ | 115 | Complex tale of drug traffic, murder, and mayhem, focusing on the trials of ex-prostitute Molina; well-meaning in its depiction of how preteens are used and abused by drug kingpins. Generally better than the director's later work, but miles below her gems of the 1970s. | tt0090871 | [R] | Angela Molina, Harvey Keitel, Daniel Ezralow, Francisco Rabal, Paolo Bonacelli, Isa Danieli, Lorraine Bracco | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Camouflage | 1977 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★★½ | 106 | Arrogant tenured professor Zapasiewicz challenges the independence of idealistic teaching assistant Garlicki at a summer school-camp for linguists. Pungently funny satire about conformity, the Communist hierarchy. | tt0075730 | Piotr Garlicki, Zbignieu Zapasiewicz, Christine Paul, Mariusz Dmochowski | Polish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Camp | 2003 | Todd Graff | ★★½ | 114 | A straight skater boy at a performing arts camp gets caught in a love triangle with a lovelorn ingenue and a gay Puerto Rican drag queen. Clichéd scripting hampers entertaining, easy-to-like backstage teen musical, but there's no denying the talented young cast. Divas-in-training Allen and Taylor are standouts. Writer and first-time director Graff, a former theater camper himself, knows his milieu; there's even a funny cameo from Broadway god Stephen Sondheim. | tt0342167 | [PG-13] | Daniel Letterle, Joanna Chilcoat, Robin De Jesus, Tiffany Taylor, Sasha Allen, Anna Kendrick, Don Dixon | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Camp Nowhere | 1994 | Jonathan Prince | ★½ | 96 | Computer geeks, show biz wannabes, kid commandos, and other neighborhood cast-offs band together to form their own communal summer camp, supervised by token adult Lloyd, who has somehow managed to convince parents he's a responsible authority figure. Assembly-line, end-of-summer release occasionally has a wittier gag than expected. | tt0109369 | [PG] | Jonathan Jackson, Andrew Keegan, Marne Patterson, Melody Kay, Christopher Lloyd, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendy Makkena, Kate Mulgrew, Burgess Meredith, Peter Scolari | Family, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Camp on Blood Island | 1958 | Val Guest | ★★ | 81 | So-so gore as inhabitants rebel against brutal commander of prison compound. Followed by THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND. | tt0051444 | Andre Morell, Carl Mohner, Walter Fitzgerald, Edward Underdown | British | War | NULL | ||
| Campbell's Kingdom | 1957 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 102 | Set in Canadian Rockies, big-budget adventure film focuses on landowner Bogarde's conflict with Baker et al., when latter seeks to build large dam near his property. | tt0050225 | Dirk Bogarde, Stanley Baker, Michael Craig, Barbara Murray | British | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Campus Man | 1987 | Ron Casden | ★★ | 94 | Glossy but vacuous teen comedy of collegiate entrepreneur (i.e. hustler) who publishes a male beefcake calendar featuring his roommate, a hunky diver, and spawning all kinds of complications. Based on story of Arizona State University alumnus Todd Headlee (the film's associate producer), whose ASU calendar launched the nationwide craze. | tt0092717 | [PG] | John Dye, Steve Lyon, Morgan Fairchild, Kim Delaney, Kathleen Wilhoite, Miles O'Keeffe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? | 1969 | Anthony Newley | ★½ | 106 | Fellini-influenced mess about song-and-dance man who reviews his debauched past. Low-grade in all departments, though Connie reveals why she was 'Playmate of the Year.' Newley and Collins were then real-life husband and wife. | tt0064123 | [R] | Anthony Newley, Joan Collins, Milton Berle, Connie Kreski, George Jessel, Stubby Kaye | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Can I Do It . . . Til I Need Glasses? | 1977 | I. Robert Levy | 💣 | 72 | Sophomoric series of sex-related skits, most of which would bore immature 11-year-olds. Williams appears very briefly, in footage tacked on after the film's premiere (and after his Mork and Mindy stardom). | tt0075801 | [R] | Vic Dunlop, Moose Carlson, Walter Olkewicz, Joey Camen, Ann Kellogg, Robin Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? | 1983 | Henry Jaglom | ★½ | 90 | Neurotic, unpredictable Black, whose husband has just left her, takes up with Emil, who never seems to stop talking. A couple of chuckles, but all the rest is rambling, superficial. | tt0085287 | [R] | Karen Black, Michael Emil, Michael Margotta, Frances Fisher, Martin Harvey Friedberg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Can't Buy Me Love | 1987 | Steve Rash | ★★½ | 94 | Known as BOY RENTS GIRL during production, story has nerdy Dempsey paying senior heartthrob Peterson a hard-earned grand to pose as his girlfriend, correctly surmising his own stock will rise. Sentimental rendering of a terrific high school comedy premise. Peterson is excellent, Dempsey just adequate. Remade as LOVE DON'T COST A THING. | tt0092718 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary, Seth Green, Sharon Farrell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Can't Hardly Wait | 1998 | Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont | ★★ | 98 | On high school graduation night, Embry tries to work up the nerve to express his long-pent-up feelings for Hewitt— who's just broken up with the class jock. Set in and around a wild house party, this cheerful but predictable teen comedy comes off as a poor relation to AMERICAN GRAFFITI aimed at teens of the 1990s. Jenna Elfman, Melissa Joan Hart, Breckin Meyer, and Jerry O'Connell appear unbilled. | tt0127723 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, Michelle Brookhurst | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Can't Help Singing | 1944 | Frank Ryan | ★★½ | 89 | Durbin goes West to find her roaming lover; despite good cast and Jerome Kern songs, it's nothing much. | tt0036692 | Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige, Akim Tamiroff, Ray Collins, Thomas Gomez | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Can't Stop the Music | 1980 | Nancy Walker | ★★ | 118 | One or two catchy production numbers aren't enough to salvage otherwise stiff comedy about the music-publishing biz, though some will feel they have to see what V. People and Jenner are doing in same film. Gay subtext abounds, despite eye-boggling profile shots of Perrine. | tt0080492 | [PG] | The Village People, Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Sand, Tammy Grimes, June Havoc, Barbara Rush, Jack Weston, Leigh Taylor-Young | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Can-Can | 1960 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 131 | Lackluster version of Cole Porter musical of 1890s Paris involving lawyer Sinatra defending MacLaine's right to perform 'daring' dance in her nightclub. Chevalier and Jourdan try to inject charm, but Sinatra is blasé and MacLaine shrill. Songs: 'C'est Magnifique,' 'I Love Paris,' 'Let's Do It,' 'Just One of Those Things.' | tt0053690 | Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Juliet Prowse | Musical | NULL | |||
| Canadian Bacon | 1995 | Michael Moore | ★★½ | 91 | In order to gain a strong platform for re-election, the president of the United States does the unthinkable and declares war on our neighbor to the north, Canada. Moore stumbles with his second film after the terrific ROGER & ME. A top cast is wasted in this one-joke premise which lacks the satiric edge it needs. | tt0109370 | [PG] | Alan Alda, John Candy, Rhea Perlman, Kevin Pollak, Rip Torn, Kevin J. O'Connor, Bill Nunn, G. D. Spradlin, Steven Wright, James Belushi, Brad Sullivan | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Canadian Pacific | 1949 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 95 | Scott is railroad surveyor helping with construction of train link, fighting Indians while romancing Wyatt and Olson. | tt0041223 | Randolph Scott, Jane Wyatt, J. Carrol Naish, Victor Jory, Nancy Olson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Canadians | 1961 | Burt Kennedy | ★★ | 85 | Cornball nonsense about Mounties who pacify war-happy Sioux. Film features Metropolitan Opera singer Stratas to no advantage. Filmed in Canada; Kennedy's first feature as director. | tt0054715 | Robert Ryan, John Dehner, Torin Thatcher, John Sutton, Teresa Stratas | Western | NULL | |||
| Canaris Master Spy | 1954 | Alfred Weidenmann. | ★★ | 92 | Potentially interesting account of German Intelligence leader during 1930s who tried to depose Hitler; meandering. | tt0046819 | O. E. Hasse, Martin Held, Barbara Rutting, Adrian Hoven. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Canary Murder Case | 1929 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★½ | 81 | Stilted but interesting and well-cast early talkie (originally shot as a silent) with Powell debuting as urbane sleuth Philo Vance, probing the death of scheming nightclub singer Brooks. (She made this right before her classic German films with G. W. Pabst. When she refused to return for retakes she was doubled, fairly obviously in some scenes, by Margaret Livingston. | tt0019745 | William Powell, Louise Brooks, James Hall, Jean Arthur, Charles Lane. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Cancel My Reservation | 1972 | Paul Bogart | 💣 | 99 | Hope should have canceled this movie, a time-wasting turkey about a troubled talk-show host who gets involved in a murder case in Arizona. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel! | tt0068332 | [G] | Bob Hope, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Bellamy, Forrest Tucker, Anne Archer, Keenan Wynn, Ned Beatty, Chief Dan George | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Candidate for Murder | 1962 | David Villiers | ★★½ | 60 | Gough is deranged husband of actress Remberg, out to kill her; nicely told Edgar Wallace suspenser. | tt0175511 |
|
Michael Gough, Erika Remberg, Hans Barsody, John Justin | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Candidate | 1972 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 109 | Keen-eyed political satire doesn't stray far from reality. Redford is idealist talked into running for Senate with promise of absolute integrity in campaign, since he's bound to lose— or is he? Oscar-winning screenplay by Jeremy Larner. | tt0068334 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Don Porter, Allen Garfield, Karen Carlson, Melvyn Douglas, Quinn Redeker, Michael Lerner, Kenneth Tobey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Candleshoe | 1978 | Norman Tokar | ★★★ | 101 | Con man McKern tries to pass off orphan Foster as Hayes' heiress in order to locate hidden family treasure. Entertaining Disney comedy filmed in England, with Niven as disguise-laden butler. | tt0075807 | [G] | David Niven, Jodie Foster, Helen Hayes, Leo McKern, Veronica Quilligan, Ian Sharrock, Vivian Pickles | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Candy | 1968 | Christian Marquand | ★★ | 124 | Strained sexual satire about a nubile blonde who is attacked by every man she meets. Fair share of funny moments and bright performances (particularly by Burton and Astin), but not enough to sustain 124m. Adapted from Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg's book by Buck Henry. | tt0062776 | [R] | Ewa Aulin, Richard Burton, Marlon Brando, Charles Aznavour, James Coburn, John Huston, Walter Matthau, Ringo Starr, John Astin | U.S.-Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Candy | 2006 | Neil Armfield | ★★½ | 108 | Murky account of the evolving relationship between two attractive young people, a poet (Ledger) and a painter (Cornish), both of whom are hooked on heroin. Well acted, but the scenario is overly familiar. Armfield and Luke Davies scripted, based on Davies' novel. | tt0424880 | [R] | Abbie Cornish, Heath Ledger, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Budge, Roberto Meza Mont, Tony Martin, Noni Hazlehurst | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Candy Mountain | 1987 | Robert Frank, Rudy Wurlitzer | ★★ | 91 | Uneven account of has-been rocker O'Connor and his trip through America and Canada in search of elusive guitarmaker Yulin. Intriguing collaboration between photographer/filmmaker Frank, screenwriter Wurlitzer, and an eclectic cast . . . but the results are too often dull. | tt0092719 | [R] | Kevin J. O'Connor, Harris Yulin, Tom Waits, Bulle Ogier, Roberts Blossom, Leon Redbone, Dr. John, Joe Strummer, David Johansen | Canadian-French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Candy Stripe Nurses | Sweet Candy | 1974 | Allan Holleb | ★½ | 80 | Last of Roger Corman's five 'nurse' pictures is tired sex comedy, focusing on antics of pretty volunteers; kept afloat by cast full of old hands at this sort of thing. Aka SWEET CANDY. | tt0071274 | [R] | Candice Rialson, Robin Mattson, Maria Rojo, Kimberly Hyde, Dick Miller, Stanley Ralph Ross, Monte Landis, Tom Baker | Thriller | NULL | |
| Candyman | 1992 | Bernard Rose | ★★★ | 93 | Effectively eerie psychological chiller, filled with clever, unusual touches, about an academic (Madsen) who begins researching the legend of a mysterious serial killer named Candyman (Todd); this leads her to Chicago's crime-infested Cabrini-Green public housing project. Rose (who plays the role of 'Archie Walsh') also scripted, from Clive Barker's novel The Forbidden (which is set in Liverpool). Followed by two sequels. | tt0103919 | [R] | Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Kasi Lemmons, Vanessa Williams, DeJuan Guy, Michael Culkin | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | 1995 | Bill Condon | ★★ | 94 | Title avenger is resurrected in mediocre sequel to terrorize an aristocratic New Orleans family just in time for Mardi Gras. Good production values, including some convincing local color, are undermined by obvious plotting and nondescript supporting cast. Bland but for the menacing Todd in the title role. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0112625 | [R] | Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, Timothy Carhart, Veronica Cartwright, William O'Leary, Fay Hauser, Bill Nunn, Matt Clark | Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cannery Row | 1982 | David S. Ward | ★★½ | 120 | Entertaining tug-of-war romance between baseball-player-turned-marine-biologist Nolte and drifter-turned-floozie Winger is hampered by sloppy, self-conscious direction, awkward continuity. Attractive performances by Nolte and Winger; great set design by Richard MacDonald. Based on John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. Ward's directorial debut. | tt0083717 | [PG] | Nick Nolte, Debra Winger, Audra Lindley, Frank McRae, M. Emmet Walsh, Sunshine Parker, Santos Morales; narrated by John Huston | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cannibal Attack | 1954 | Lee Sholem | ★½ | 69 | Weissmuller dropped the Jungle Jim monicker and used his own name in this juvenile yarn about enemy agents who disguise themselves as crocodiles(!?) to steal cobalt. | tt0046822 | Johnny Weissmuller, Judy Walsh, David Bruce, Bruce Cowling | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Cannibal Girls | 1973 | Ivan Reitman | ★★ | 84 | Confused, convoluted low-budget Canadian import, an early effort by young talents Reitman, Levy, and Martin, has funny first half about a couple stranded in eerie town where there's a rather strange restaurant. Second half falls apart. Warning buzzer precedes gore scenes (which aren't much), and doorbell-like sound announces they're over. | tt0069841 | [R] | Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neison | Canadian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Cannibal! The Musical | 1998 | Trey Parker | ★★½ | 92 | Wacky, low-budget musical based on real-life story of Alferd Packer, who led an expedition that degenerated into cannibalism in the Colorado Rockies, circa 1874. Gross-out gags alternate for screen time with some pretty good songs; our favorite is 'Shpadoinkle.' First feature for the SOUTH PARK team of Parker and Stone. Made in 1993. | tt0115819 | [R] | Trey Parker, Dian Bachar, Ian Hardin, John Hegel, Matt Stone, Toddy Walters | Comedy, Horror, Musical, Western, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cannon for Cordoba | 1970 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 104 | Peppard leads a band of soldiers against Mexican bandits on the Texas border ca. 1912, and tries to destroy stolen cannons. Standard action fare with a familiar ring. | tt0065520 | George Peppard, Giovanna Ralli, Raf Vallone, Peter Duel, Don Gordon, John Russell | Western | NULL | |||
| Cannonball | 1976 | Paul Bartel | ★★ | 93 | Comic account of cross-country road race first depicted in THE GUMBALL RALLY. Funny moments are muted by unpleasant characters and inept stuntwork. As usual, many of Bartel's pals and coworkers appear in bits, including Sylvester Stallone, Roger Corman, and directors Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Kaplan, and Joe Dante. | tt0074279 | [PG] | David Carradine, Veronica Hamel, Bill McKinney, Gerrit Graham, Robert Carradine, Belinda Balaski, Judy Canova, Carl Gottlieb | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cannonball Run II | 1984 | Hal Needham | 💣 | 108 | Sequel to 1981 box-office hit looks like someone's bad home movies. Amateurish action comedy with tons of tacky guest-star cameos. What a waste! Final film roles for Martin and Sinatra. | tt0087032 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Shirley MacLaine, Marilu Henner, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis/Jr., Susan Anton, Catherine Bach, Ricardo Montalban, Jim Nabors, Charles Nelson Reilly, Telly Savalas, Jamie Farr, Jack Elam, Frank Sinatra, Sid Caesar | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| The Cannonball Run | 1981 | Hal Needham | 💣 | 95 | Just what civilization needs— more Reynolds car-chase silliness, inspired by the same cross-country road race depicted in THE GUMBALL RALLY and CANNONBALL. Pretty unendurable, despite unusual cast; rumor has it that the one responsible for casting Dino and Sammy as priests is still doing his Hail Marys. Followed by a sequel. | tt0082136 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis/Jr., Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Chan, Bert Convy, Jamie Farr, Peter Fonda, Bianca Jagger, Molly Picon, Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder, Mel Tillis | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Canon City | 1948 | Crane Wilbur | ★★★ | 82 | Solid crime thriller follows members of a prison break from a Colorado State jail in semidocumentary style. Strong and violent with excellent photography by John Alton. | tt0040210 | Scott Brady, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell, Stanley Clements, DeForest Kelley | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Canterbury Tale | 1944 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★ | 124 | Curious and disarming film from the Powell-Pressburger writing-and-directing team draws on British eccentricities— and provincial flavor— to flesh out its simple story about three people whose lives cross in a small English village during the war. There's only the slightest tangent with the Chaucer work from which it draws its title. American version with added footage of Kim Hunter runs 95m. and doesn't retain the charm of the original. | tt0036695 | Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, John Sweet, Dennis Price, Esmond Knight, Charles Hawtrey, Hay Petrie | British | Drama, Mystery, War | NULL | ||
| The Canterbury Tales | 1971 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | 💣 | 121 | Travelers recount a number of Chaucer stories— which, unfortunately, are enacted for the viewer. Tiresome, offensive, graphically sadistic, with Pasolini appearing as Chaucer. Italian-English cast; the second of the director's medieval trilogy. Also shown in 109m. English-language version. | tt0067647 | Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Hugh Griffith, Josephine Chaplin, Michael Balfour, Jenny Runacre | Italian-French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Canterville Ghost | 1944 | Jules Dassin | ★★★ | 96 | Enjoyable fantasy, loosely adapted from Oscar Wilde's short story, of 17th-century ghost Laughton, spellbound until descendant, WW2 soldier Young, helps him perform heroic deed. Remade for TV in 1986 (with John Gielgud) and 1996 (with Patrick Stewart). | tt0036696 | Charles Laughton, Robert Young, Margaret O'Brien, William Gargan, Reginald Owen, Rags Ragland, Una O'Connor, Mike Mazurki, Peter Lawford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Canyon Crossroads | 1955 | Alfred L. Werker. | ★★½ | 83 | On-location filming in Colorado highlights this tale of uranium hunt, with Basehart quite convincing as a prospector who battles corrupt mine owner Elliott. | tt0047917 | Richard Basehart, Russell Collins, Phyllis Kirk, Stephen Elliott. | Western | NULL | |||
| Canyon Passage | 1946 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 92 | Plotty, colorful Western mixing action, beautiful scenery, heated love relationships, and Hoagy Carmichael singing 'Ole Buttermilk Sky.' Well made and entertaining. | tt0038395 | Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Susan Hayward, Ward Bond, Andy Devine, Lloyd Bridges | Western | NULL | |||
| Canyon River | 1956 | Harmon Jones | ★½ | 80 | Trite Western of Indian and rustler attacks on cattle drive. | tt0049051 | George Montgomery, Marcia Henderson, Peter Graves, Richard Eyer | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cape Canaveral Monsters | 1960 | Phil Tucker | 💣 | 69 | Aliens, represented by small balls of white light, inhabit slowly decomposing corpses in order to shoot down U.S. rock√ ets; science student Peters, using wallet inserts and Pig Latin, combats the invaders. Astonishing film is almost the equal of writer-director Tucker's legendarily awful ROBOT MONSTER. | tt0053692 | Scott Peters, Linda Connell, Jason Johnson, Katherine Victor, Gary Travis | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Cape Fear | 1962 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 105 | Mitchum is memorably (and believably) creepy as a wily Southern ex-con who blames lawyer Peck for his incarceration and plots an insidious revenge on his family. Dated only in its lack of explicitness, but still daring for its time. Based on John D. MacDonald's novel The Executioners. Musical score by Bernard Herrmann is reminiscent of his best work with Hitchcock. Remade in 1991. | tt0055824 | Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Martin Balsam, Lori Martin, Jack Kruschen, Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase, Edward Platt | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Cape Fear | 1991 | Martin Scorsese | ★★½ | 128 | Released from prison after 14 years, a self-educated wacko vows to make a living hell for the lawyer who sent him up. Remake of the 1962 thriller fleshes out its characters and adds fascinating psychological layers— but turns a gripping, realistic story into an overblown, unbelievable horror film: CAPE FEAR for the Freddy Krueger generation. Scorsese's brilliant command of the medium is squandered on severely unpleasant material (with an A-list of collaborators, including cinematographer Freddie Francis and composer Elmer Bernstein, adapting Bernard Herrmann's original score). Major asset: exceptionally good performances (including amusingly cast cameos by Mitchum, Peck, and Balsam, who starred in the '62 movie). | tt0101540 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Martin Balsam, Illeana Douglas, Fred Dalton Thompson | Crime, Horror, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cape Town Affair | 1967 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 103 | Pedestrian remake of PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET, made in South Africa. Interest here is seeing Bisset and Brolin at the beginnings of their careers and Trevor making something different of the old Thelma Ritter role. Story deals with a Communist spy ring in Cape Town and an elusive envelope containing top secret microfilm. | tt0061445 | Claire Trevor, James Brolin, Jacqueline Bisset, Bob Courtney, Jon Whiteley, Gordon Milholland | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Caper of the Golden Bulls | 1967 | Russell Rouse | 💣 | 104 | Lots of bull but not much gold in this unendurable 'thriller' about bank heist in Pamplona. | tt0060209 | Stephen Boyd, Yvette Mimieux, Giovanna Ralli, Walter Slezak, Vito Scotti | Comedy, Action | NULL | |||
| Capitaine Conan | 1996 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 132 | Powerful indictment of militarism and false heroism, centering on reckless title character, who leads French troops in a secret war in the Balkans following the end of WW1, but pays a heavy price for his valor. Torreton won a French César award for his forceful performance, as did Tavernier for his virtuoso direction. | tt0115822 | Philippe Torreton, Samuel Le Bihan, Bernard Le Coq, Catherine Rich, François Berléand, Pierre Val | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Capital Punishment | 1925 | James P. Hogan. | ★★½ | 67 | Dexter, who is fervently against the death penalty, conducts an experiment by having Hackathorne accused of a murder that did not happen . . . but complications arise. Clever but predictable crime melodrama, predating such films as Fritz Lang's BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Bow has a supporting role as Hackathorne's fiancée. | tt0015669 | Elliott Dexter, George Hackathorne, Clara Bow, Margaret Livingston, Alec B. Francis, Mary Carr. | NULL | ||||
| Capitalism: A Love Story | 2009 | Michael Moore | ★★★ | 127 | Moore tackles America's economic collapse, the chicanery of the banking industry, and the misdeeds of Wall Street in his usual colorful fashion. Even people who dislike the activist-filmmaker's point of view may find this wide-ranging survey to be persuasive. It opens with an old classroom film about ancient Rome that depicts frighteningly apt similarities to the way we live now . . . and ends with a poignant newsreel featuring President Franklin D. Roosevelt talking about his (unrealized) plan for the future security of Americans. | tt1232207 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Capone | 1975 | Steve Carver | 💣 | 101 | Gazzara has cotton in his jowls and a cigar in his mouth, making most of the dialogue in this gangster saga incomprehensible— but that's OK, you've heard it all before. One big shoot-out is stock footage from THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE. | tt0072761 | [R] | Ben Gazzara, Susan Blakely, Harry Guardino, John Cassavetes, Sylvester Stallone, Frank Campanella | Crime | NULL | ||
| Capote | 2005 | Bennett Miller | ★★★½ | 115 | First-rate film about author Truman Capote concentrates on his relentless (and often ruthless) efforts to research and write the seminal book In Cold Blood-and what it cost him. Hoffman won a Best Actor Oscar for his brilliantly nuanced performance, but entire cast is excellent, and director Miller and screenwriter Dan Futterman incisively convey the ambiguity in Capote's motives and methods. Based on Gerald Clarke's book. Miller's first fiction feature. Hoffman and Futterman also coexecutive produced. | tt0379725 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins/Jr., Chris Cooper, Bruce Greenwood, Bob Balaban, Amy Ryan, Mark Pellegrino | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Caprice | 1967 | Frank Tashlin | 💣 | 98 | Terrible vehicle for Doris as industrial spy plunged into international intrigue with fellow-agent Harris. Muddled, unfunny, straining to be 'mod.' | tt0061447 | Doris Day, Richard Harris, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Edward Mulhare, Lilia Skala, Irene Tsu, Michael J. Pollard | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Capricorn One | 1978 | Peter Hyams | ★★★ | 124 | Whirlwind contemporary adventure plays like a condensed Republic serial. First manned flight to Mars turns out to be a hoax, and when capsule supposedly burns up in re-entry, the astronauts suddenly realize they're expendable. Lots of great chases punctuated by Hyams' witty dialogue; not always plausible, but who cares? | tt0077294 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Hal Holbrook, Sam Waterston, Karen Black, O. J. Simpson, Telly Savalas, Brenda Vaccaro, Denise Nicholas, David Huddleston, Robert Walden, David Doyle | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Captain Abu Raed | 2008 | Amin Matalqa | ★★★ | 103 | Poignant tale of a kindly, lonely widower (Sawalha, in a towering performance) who toils as an airport janitor. The children in his neighborhood—with one notable exception—come to believe he's a pilot, and has lived a life filled with adventure. Also key to the story is his friendship with Sultan, an independent-minded woman who really is a pilot and whose father is pressuring her to marry. Heartfelt sleeper from writer-director Matalqa is an endearing story of childhood dreams fulfilled and unfulfilled. | tt1017428 | Unrated | Nadim Sawalha, Rana Sultan, Hussein Al-Sous, Udey Al-Qiddissi, Ghandi Saber, Dina Ra'ad-Yaghnam | U.S.-Jordanian | Drama | NULL | |
| Captain America | 1990 | Albert Pyun | ★½ | 103 | Dismayingly awful adaptation of the great Joe Simon-Jack Kirby comic book. Cap (Salinger) barely gets in one failed WW2 adventure pitted against Red Skull (Paulin), before being frozen in Alaska ice. Thawed out 50 years later, he spends too long in civvies before facing the Skull again. Clumsy, synthetic direction, actionless plot, boring opponents overwhelm the sincerity of Salinger's performance. Never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0103923 | Matt Salinger, Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, Scott Paulin, Michael Nouri, Kim Gillingham, Melinda Dillon, Bill Mumy | Action | NULL | |||
| Captain America: The First Avenger | 2011 | Joe Johnston | ★★½ | 124 | During WW2, weakling Steve Rogers (Evans) becomes a human guinea pig for master scientist Dr. Erskine (Tucci), who transforms him into a muscular hero. Used at first as a mascot for morale building on the home front, he insists on seeing active service and winds up battling a megalomaniacal Nazi foe, The Red Skull (Weaving). First half of this period piece is good fun, but story loses its thrust and doesn't even provide an honest ending. Evans is quite good in the title role; visual effects turn him into a puny version of himself for the early scenes. Based on the Marvel Comics character created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. | tt0458339 | [PG-13] | Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Richard Armitage, Stanley Tucci, Samuel L. Jackson | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Captain Apache | 1971 | Alexander Singer | ★★ | 94 | Violence in Old West laid on with a trowel. Filled with stereotypes. | tt0066886 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Carroll Baker, Stuart Whitman, Percy Herbert | Western | NULL | ||
| Captain Applejack | 1931 | Hobart Henley. | ★★ | 63 | Restless English nobleman's thirst for adventure is realized when a clutch of thieves appears at his castle seeking treasure buried by a pirate ancestor. Bizarre pastiche of drawing-room comedy, old-dark-house thriller, and pirate-movie spoof, with a dream sequence that must be seen to be believed. | tt0020739 | Mary Brian, John Halliday, Kay Strozzi, Alec B. Francis, Louise Closser Hale, Claud Allister, Julia Swayne Gordon, Arthur Edmund Carewe. | Crime, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Captain Blackjack | 1951 | Julien Duvivier | ★★ | 90 | Tacky tale of derelict ship purchased by suave Sanders to use for drug-smuggling, and what happens when all those on board mysteriously die. Moorehead is good as a villainess. Filmed in Spain; released in France at 105m. | tt0042255 | George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Patricia Roc, Agnes Moorehead, Marcel Dalio | U.S.-French | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Captain Blood | 1935 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 119 | Flynn's first swashbuckler, based on Rafael Sabatini's novel, scores a broadside. He plays Irish physician Peter Blood who is forced to become a pirate, teaming for short spell with French cutthroat Rathbone, but paying more attention to proper young lady de Havilland. Vivid combination of exciting sea battles, fencing duels, and tempestuous romance provides Flynn with a literally star-making vehicle. First original film score for Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Beware of 99m. reissue version. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026174 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee, Henry Stephenson, Robert Barrat, Donald Meek, J. Carrol Naish | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Boycott | 1947 | Frank Launder | ★★½ | 92 | Poor Irish farmers band together to combat the abuses of their landlords in early 19th century; interesting but dramatically uneven, with misplaced components of humor and romance. Robert Donat appears briefly as Charles Parnell; Parker has title role. | tt0039242 | Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Cecil Parker, Mervyn Johns, Alastair Sim | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Captain Carey, U.S.A. | 1950 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 83 | Nicely turned account of ex-military officer Ladd returning to Italy to uncover informer who cost lives of villagers. Theme song 'Mona Lisa' won an Oscar. | tt0042310 | Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, Francis Lederer, Russ Tamblyn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Captain Caution | 1940 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 85 | OK action film of spunky Platt commandeering her father's ship into war; no messages, just fast-moving narrative. Look for Alan Ladd as a sailor. | tt0032304 | Victor Mature, Louise Platt, Leo Carrillo, Bruce Cabot, Vivienne Osborne, Robert Barrat | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain China | 1949 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 97 | Often listless sea yarn of Payne, seeking out persons responsible for his losing his ship's command. | tt0041227 | John Payne, Gail Russell, Jeffrey Lynn, Lon Chaney/Jr., Edgar Bergen | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Corelli's Mandolin | 2001 | John Madden | ★★½ | 127 | A peaceful, tradition-bound Greek island is invaded by Italian troops during WW2, but they are no more warlike than the residents. Madden beautifully captures a sense of time and place, but the pace lags, the characterizations are inconsistent, and the love story between fun-loving Italian Cage and serious-minded Cruz (Spanish accent intact) is never as gripping as it's meant to be. Based on the novel by Louis de Bernieres. | tt0238112 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale, David Morrissey, Irene Papas, Piero Maggio, Patrick Malahide | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Captain Eddie | 1945 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 107 | Routine aviation film doesn't do justice to exciting life of Eddie Rickenbacker; it's standard stuff. | tt0037575 | Fred MacMurray, Lynn Bari, Charles Bickford, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason | Drama | NULL | |||
| Captain Fracasse | 1929 | Alberto Cavalcanti, Henry Wulschleger. | ★★½ | 92 | Swashbuckler about a French aristocrat who joins a troupe of traveling players incognito. Based on the oft-filmed novel by Theophile Gautier, this version's silent turn by Boyer as a suavely villainous duke was his last French work before achieving American stardom. | tt0019746 | Pierre Blanchar, Lien Deyers, Charles Boyer. | French | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Captain From Castile | 1947 | Henry King | ★★★ | 140 | Power, driven to avenge the cruel treatment of his family by Spanish Inquisitor (Sutton), eventually serves with Cortez (Romero) during his conquest of Mexico. Color and romance; magnificent location photography by Charles Clarke and Arthur E. Arling; Alfred Newman's majestic score ranks with Hollywood's very best. Peters' film debut. | tt0039243 | Tyrone Power, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Lee J. Cobb, John Sutton, Antonio Moreno | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Fury | 1939 | Hal Roach | ★★★ | 91 | Australia serves as background in story of illustrious adventurer fighting evil land baron. | tt0031137 | Brian Aherne, Victor McLaglen, Paul Lukas, June Lang, John Carradine, George Zucco, Douglass Dumbrille, Charles Middleton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Captain Hates the Sea | 1934 | Lewis Milestone | ★★ | 93 | Bizarre, seagoing GRAND HOTEL, with accent on comedy; romances and intrigues carry on under bored eye of disgruntled skipper Connolly. Once-in-a-lifetime cast does its best with mediocre script; Gilbert (ironically cast as a heavy drinker) gives a solid performance in his final film. | tt0024951 | Victor McLaglen, John Gilbert, Walter Connolly, Wynne Gibson, Helen Vinson, Alison Skipworth, Leon Errol, Walter Catlett, Akim Tamiroff, Donald Meek, Arthur Treacher, The Three Stooges | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Captain Horatio Hornblower | 1951 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 117 | Exciting, well-produced sea epic based on C. S. Forester's British naval hero of the Napoleonic wars. | tt0043379 | Gregory Peck, Virginia Mayo, Robert Beatty, Denis O'Dea, Christopher Lee, Stanley Baker, James Robertson Justice | British | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Captain Is a Lady | 1940 | Robert B. Sinclair. | ★★ | 63 | Thin little comedy of Coburn pretending to be a woman to accompany wife Bondi to old ladies' home. | tt0032305 | Charles Coburn, Beulah Bondi, Virginia Grey, Helen Broderick, Billie Burke, Dan Dailey. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Captain January | 1936 | David Butler | ★★½ | 75 | Straightforward, sentimental tale of orphaned Shirley, and the new truant officer who tries to separate her from her adoptive father, lighthouse keeper Kibbee. Short and sweet. Shirley and Ebsen sing and dance 'At the Codfish Ball.' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027421 | Shirley Temple, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Buddy Ebsen, June Lang, Sara Haden | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Captain John Smith and Pocahontas | 1953 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 75 | Title tells all in pedestrian tale set in colonial America. | tt0045603 | Anthony Dexter, Jody Lawrance, Alan Hale/Jr., Douglass Dumbrille | Drama | NULL | |||
| Captain Kidd | 1945 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★ | 89 | Even with Laughton, this is slow-going low-budget stuff. | tt0037576 | Charles Laughton, Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Reginald Owen, John Carradine, Gilbert Roland, Sheldon Leonard | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl | 1954 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 83 | Modest costumer has Dexter and Gabor in title roles romping the seas to find treasure for their benefactor. | tt0046826 | Anthony Dexter, Eva Gabor, Alan Hale/Jr., James Seay | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter | Kronos | 1974 | Brian Clemens. | ★★★ | 91 | Unique blend of horror and swashbuckler genres follows sword-wielding stranger as he stalks new breed of vampire across European countryside. Artsy, exciting, almost intoxicatingly atmospheric chiller has developed considerable following; one of the best (and least typical) Hammer productions. Released in Britain as simply KRONOS. | tt0071276 | [R] | Horst Janson, John Carson, Caroline Munro, Shane Briant, John Cater, Lois Diane, Ian Hendry. | British | Adventure, Horror | NULL |
| Captain Lightfoot | 1955 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 91 | Fine, flavorful costume adventure about 19th-century Irish rebellion and one of its dashing heroes. Beautifully filmed on location in Ireland in CinemaScope. | tt0047919 | Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Jeff Morrow, Finlay Currie, Kathleen Ryan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Nemo and the Underwater City | 1970 | James Hill | ★★½ | 105 | Average undersea fantasy centered on Captain Nemo who lives in an underwater fortress. | tt0065522 | [G] | Robert Ryan, Chuck Connors, Nanette Newman, Luciana Paluzzi | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Captain Newman, M.D. | 1963 | David Miller | ★★★ | 126 | Provocative, well-acted comedy-drama about dedicated Army psychiatrist Peck, battling bureaucracy and the macho military mentality on a stateside air base during WW2. Darin is particularly good as a troubled, ill-fated corporal. Based on Leo Rosten's best-selling novel. | tt0056903 | Gregory Peck, Angie Dickinson, Tony Curtis, Eddie Albert, Jane Withers, Bobby Darin, Larry Storch, Bethel Leslie, Robert Duvall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Captain Pirate | 1952 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 85 | Reformed pirate must return to his renegade ways in order to expose the imposter who is using his name; good-enough programmer based on Sabatini's Captain Blood Returns. | tt0044475 | Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, John Sutton, Charles Irwin, George Givot, Ted de Corsia | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Ron | 1992 | Thom Eberhardt | 💣 | 100 | Yuppies Get Away From It All by taking an inherited sailboat into the Caribbean, with eye-patched Russell (the very poor man's Robert Newton) at the helm. Dreadful time-waster establishes its comic credentials by giving Russell the funny role and Short the straight one; pirates and multiple falls into the drink are a given. Paul Anka (you tell us why) plays a boat salesman. | tt0103924 | [PG-13] | Kurt Russell, Martin Short, Mary Kay Place, Benjamin Salisbury, Meadow Sisto, Emannuel Logrono, Jorge Luis Ramos, J.A. Preston, Tanya Soler, John Scott Clough | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Captain Scarlett | 1953 | Thomas Carr | ★½ | 75 | Acceptable costumer with Greene properly dashing. | tt0045605 | Richard Greene, Leonora Amar, Nedrick Young, Edourado Noriega | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Sindbad | 1963 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 85 | Guy Williams is an energetic Sindbad in this elaborate, effects-filled but ponderous European fantasy. | tt0056904 | Guy Williams, Heidi Bruhl, Pedro Armendáriz, Abraham Sofaer, Bernie Hamilton | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captain Thunder | 1931 | Alan Crosland. | ★½ | 65 | Dull, technically primitive nonsense from the director of THE JAZZ SINGER chronicling the romantic and criminal exploits of a Robin Hood-like Mexican bandit. Ostensibly performed tongue-in-cheek, but merely obnoxious. | tt0020740 | Victor Varconi, Fay Wray, Charles Judels, Robert Elliott, Don Alvarado, Natalie Moorhead, Bert Roach. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Captain Tugboat Annie | 1945 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 60 | Annie sails again in low-budget epic which depends entirely on its stars, Darwell and Kennedy, for its flavor. | tt0037577 | Jane Darwell, Edgar Kennedy, Charles Gordon, Mantan Moreland, Pamela Blake, Hardie Albright, H.B. Warner | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Captain's Paradise | 1953 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★★ | 77 | Guinness has field day as carefree skipper who shuttles back and forth between wives in opposite ports. De Carlo and Johnson make a good contrast as the two women. Original British running time: 86m. | tt0045607 | Alec Guinness, Yvonne De Carlo, Celia Johnson, Bill Fraser | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Captain's Table | 1960 | Jack Lee | ★★ | 90 | Satisfactory comedy involving skipper of cargo vessel (Gregson) who is given trial command of luxury liner, and the chaos ensuing trying to keep order among crew and passengers. | tt0052672 | John Gregson, Peggy Cummins, Donald Sinden, Nadia Gray | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Captains Courageous | 1937 | Victor Fleming | ★★★★ | 116 | Spoiled rich-boy Bartholomew falls off cruise ship, rescued by Portuguese fisherman Tracy (who won Oscar for role). Boy learns to love seafaring on crusty Barrymore's fishing vessel. Enthusiastic cast in this splendid production of Kipling's story. Scripted by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, and Dale Van Every. Remade as a TV movie in 1977 (with Karl Malden and Ricardo Montalban) and 1996 (with Robert Urich). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028691 | Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, Charley Grapewin, John Carradine, Mickey Rooney, Walter Kingsford | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Captains of the Clouds | 1942 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 113 | Atmospheric wartime drama charting the shenanigans of cocky bush pilot Cagney, who joins the Canadian air force but refuses to follow regulations. | tt0034578 | James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Alan Hale/Sr., Brenda Marshall, George Tobias | War | NULL | |||
| The Captive City | 1952 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 90 | Small-city newspaper editor Forsythe gradually learns that the Mafia has taken over bookie operations formerly run by corrupt local businessmen. Based-on-fact drama is earnest and intelligent, with fine noir-style photography by Lee Garmes. Sen. Estes Kefauver provides an afterword. | tt0044476 | John Forsythe, Joan Camden, Harold J. Kennedy, Marjorie Crosland, Victor Sutherland, Ray Teal, Martin Milner | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Captive Girl | 1950 | William Berke | ★★ | 73 | More Jungle Jim hokum, this time he's trying to save young Lhoest from a witch doctor, while battling treasure hunter Crabbe. Interesting primarily for pitting two former Tarzans against each other. | tt0042311 | Johnny Weissmuller, Buster Crabbe, Anita Lhoest, Rick Vallin, John Dehner | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Captive Heart | 1946 | Basil Dearden | ★★★½ | 108 | Compelling examination of British POWs during WW2 and their German captors with controlled, flawless performance by Redgrave and excellent supporting cast. Patrick Kirwan's story was scripted by Angus MacPhail and Guy Morgan. Original British running time: 98m. | tt0038396 | Michael Redgrave, Mervyn Johns, Basil Radford, Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Gordon Jackson, Ralph Michael, Rachel Kempson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Captive Hearts | 1987 | Paul Almond | ★★ | 97 | American soldier shot down and taken prisoner in Japan during WW2 falls in love with a Japanese woman. If that sounds familiar, or simplistic, wait till you see the film! Easy to see why this barely made it to theaters. | tt0092721 | [PG] | Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Chris Makepeace, Mari Sato, Michael Sarrazin, Seth Sakai | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Captive Wild Woman | 1943 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 61 | Carradine turns a circus ape into beautiful woman (Acquanetta), who goes berserk with unrequited love. Good fun; Stone's animal-training scenes are stock footage of Clyde Beatty from THE BIG CAGE. Sequels: JUNGLE WOMAN, THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE. | tt0035713 | John Carradine, Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Acquanetta, Martha MacVicar (Vickers), Lloyd Corrigan | Horror | NULL | |||
| Captive Women | 1952 | Stuart Gilmore. | ★½ | 64 | In the year 3000, following nuclear wars, three primitive tribes— some deformed by radiation— vie for supremacy amidst the ruins of Manhattan. Then-novel idea is hampered by tired, routine treatment. Reissue title: 1000 YEARS FROM NOW. | tt0044477 | Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Gloria Saunders, Ron Randell, Stuart Randall, William Schallert, Robert Bice. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Captives | 1995 | Angela Pope | ★★½ | 99 | Unusual drama set in a contemporary London prison where a lonely female dentist ends up in a deadly game of blackmail when she falls for one of her convict patients. Some melodramatic silliness aside (including scenes of dental foreplay), this is a showcase for two highly skilled actors, Roth and Ormond. | tt0109374 | [R] | Tim Roth, Julia Ormond, Colin Salmon, Keith Allen, Siobhan Redmond, Peter Capaldi | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Captivity | 2007 | Roland Joffé | 💣 | 85 | A supermodel is stalked, drugged, kidnapped, and imprisoned by a mysterious, unseen assailant. Vulgar, repulsive thriller earned notoriety for its lurid advertising campaign. It’s a long way from Joffé’s THE KILLING FIELDS. Also available in unrated version. | tt0374563 | [R] | Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael Harney, Laz Alonso, Maggie Damon, Chrysta Olson | U.S.-Russian | Thriller, Crime | NULL | |
| The Capture | 1950 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 91 | Oil field supervisor Ayres begins to ponder whether the payroll robber he shot was really an innocent man. Straightforward, well acted, but slow at times. | tt0042313 | Lew Ayres, Teresa Wright, Victor Jory, Jacqueline White, Jimmy Hunt, Barry Kelley, Duncan Renaldo | Western | NULL | |||
| Captured | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 72 | Fair story of honor and love, switching WW1 story from German prison camp, to warfront, to society England. Good cast major asset of production. | tt0023872 | Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Paul Lukas, Margaret Lindsay | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Capturing the Friedmans | 2003 | Andrew Jarecki | ★★★½ | 107 | Fascinating and deeply disturbing documentary about a notorious 1980s child molestation case that rocks a seemingly normal, happy, middle-class family on Long Island, N.Y. Thought- provoking examination of the relativity of truth seen through the prism of a domestic breakdown and the surrounding media frenzy. Anchored by amazing home-movie footage the Friedmans shot themselves, almost obsessively, throughout the years, which charts the family's disintegration. What to make of all this is (wisely) left to the viewer. | tt0342172 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Car 54, Where Are You? | 1994 | Bill Fishman | ★½ | 89 | This retread of the hilarious 1960s TV show about N.Y.C. cops with a hefty Keystone quotient is a woefully embarrassing assemblage of gags that would bring up the rear in POLICE ACADEMY. O'Donnell (her screen debut), Drescher, and Piven acquit themselves well, under the circumstances. Despite presence of Al Lewis— reprising his Schnauzer role from the original Nat Hiken series— this turkey sat on the shelf after completion in 1991. | tt0109376 | [PG-13] | David Johansen, John C. McGinley, Al Lewis, Fran Drescher, Nipsey Russell, Rosie O'Donnell, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven, Penn & Teller, Tone Loc | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Car 99 | 1935 | Charles Barton. | ★★ | 68 | Michigan rookie state trooper MacMurray is suspended when he lets a gang of bank robbers get away but proves his worth when they kidnap his girl. Fair crime filler gave MacMurray one of his first big roles, but it's stolen by Frawley as comical sergeant and Standing as criminal mastermind posing as a kindly old professor. | tt0026178 | Fred MacMurray, Sir Guy Standing, Ann Sheridan, William Frawley, Dean Jagger, Marina Schubert, Frank Craven. | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Car Trouble | 1985 | David Green | ★★★ | 93 | Low-key farce about a hilariously hideous couple whose Bickerson-like marriage is put to the ultimate test when he buys his dream car, and she goes for a fateful spin. Walters and Charleson are ideal, and the film offers some genuine belly laughs. | tt0088883 | [R] | Julie Walters, Ian Charleson, Vincenzo Ricotta, Stratford Johns, Hazel O'Connor, Dave Hill | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Car Wash | 1976 | Michael Schultz | ★★½ | 97 | Boisterous look at L.A. car wash is light excuse for barely connected comedy set pieces, involving various and sundry characters, and pulsating soul music performed by Rose Royce. Often very funny, but no awards for good taste; written by Joel Schumacher. | tt0074281 | [PG] | Richard Pryor, Franklyn Ajaye, Sully Boyar, Ivan Dixon, George Carlin, Irwin Corey, Melanie Mayron, The Pointer Sisters, Garrett Morris, Antonio Fargas, Brooke Adams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Car | 1977 | Elliot Silverstein | ★½ | 95 | Hokey thriller about a killer car demonically running down most of the cast. Twilight Zone once did a tidier, quite similar job in one third the time. | tt0075809 | [PG] | James Brolin, Kathleen Lloyd, John Marley, Ronny Cox, R.G. Armstrong, John Rubinstein | Horror | NULL | ||
| Caramel | 2007 | Nadine Labaki | ★★½ | 95 | Lightly likable comedy-drama, reminiscent of such American fare as STEEL MAGNOLIAS and BEAUTY SHOP, about life, love, and leg waxing in and around a Lebanese beauty salon. Director Labaki is first among equals in fine ensemble cast as Layale, owner of the Si Belle beauty shop in downtown Beirut, who’s so caught up in a humiliating affair with an inattentive married man that she's slow to note the handsome traffic cop who pines for her. Interesting look at lives of women in a society where men make most of the decisions and almost all of the rules. | tt0825236 | [PG] | Nadine Labaki, Yasmine Al Masri, Joanna Moukarzel, Gisèle Aouad, Adel Karam, Aziza Semaan, Siham Haddad | Lebanese-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Carandiru | 2003 | Hector Babenco | ★★½ | 148 | Master filmmaker Babenco came back from serious illness to direct this story of real-life doctor Dráuzio Varella, who took his cause for AIDS prevention inside the horrifying Brazilian state penitentiary Carandiru, becoming an eyewitness to degrading conditions that led to a deadly riot in 1992. Surprisingly conventional prison picture with standard-issue characters is rescued by the true nature of the tale and Babenco's smarts behind the camera. Based on Varella's book Carandiru Station. | tt0293007 | [R] | Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Milhem Cortaz, Milton Goncalves, Ivan de Almeida, Ailton Graca, Maria Luisa Mendonca, Rodrigo Santoro | Brazilian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Caravan | 1934 | Erik Charrell | ★★½ | 101 | Offbeat musical of royal Loretta forced to marry vagabond Boyer; main interest is curiosity in this not altogether successful film. | tt0024952 | Loretta Young, Charles Boyer, Jean Parker, Phillips Holmes, Louise Fazenda | Musical | NULL | |||
| Caravans | 1978 | James Fargo | ★★½ | 123 | Expensive-looking version of James Michener's contemporary desert epic about a search through the Middle East for the daughter (O'Neill) of a U.S. senator. Won't fool those who recognize it as just another updated version of THE SEARCHERS. | tt0077296 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Sarrazin, Christopher Lee, Joseph Cotten, Barry Sullivan | U.S.-Iranian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Carbine Williams | 1952 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 91 | Sturdy history of the inventor of famed rifle, his problems with the law, and his simple family life. Stewart is most convincing in title role. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044480 | James Stewart, Jean Hagen, Wendell Corey, Paul Stewart, James Arness | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Carbon Copy | 1981 | Michael Schultz | ★★ | 92 | Segal has hidden his identity as a Jew and become a successful corporate executive— until the arrival of his illegitimate 17-year-old son (Washington, in film debut), who is black. Silly, uneven, but not uninteresting blend of comedy and social drama. Written by Stanley Shapiro. | tt0082138 | [PG] | George Segal, Susan Saint James, Denzel Washington, Jack Warden, Paul Winfield, Dick Martin, Tom Poston | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cardiac Arrest | 1980 | Murray Mintz | ★★ | 90 | Murderer is terrorizing San Francisco, removing the hearts of his victims, and the cops are stumped. | tt0080497 | [PG] | Garry Goodrow, Mike Chan, Maxwell Gail, Susan O'Connell, Ray Reinhardt | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cardinal Richelieu | 1935 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★½ | 83 | Arliss etches another historical portrayal of France's unscrupulous cardinal who controlled Louis XIII (Arnold). Good cast supports star. | tt0026180 | George Arliss, Maureen O'Sullivan, Edward Arnold, Cesar Romero |
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| The Cardinal | 1963 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 175 | Long, long story of an Irish-American's rise from priesthood to the College of Cardinals. Has some outstanding vignettes by old pros like Meredith, but emerges as an uneven, occasionally worthwhile film. | tt0056907 | Tom Tryon, John Huston, Romy Schneider, Carol Lynley, Jill Haworth, Raf Vallone, Joseph Meinrad, Burgess Meredith, Ossie Davis, John Saxon, Robert Morse, Dorothy Gish, Tullio Carminati, Maggie McNamara, Bill Hayes, Cecil Kellaway, Murray Hamilton, Patrick O'Neal, Chill Wills, Arthur Hunnicutt | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland! | 1987 | Raymond Jafelice | ★★ | 75 | The Care Bears follow Alice through the looking glass in this typically bland kiddie outing, with music by John Sebastian. | tt0092723 | [G] | Voices of Bob Dermer, Eva Almos, Dan Hennessy, Jim Henshaw, Colin Fox | Canadian | Family, Animation | NULL | |
| Care Bears Movie II, The: A New Generation | 1986 | Dale Schott | 💣 | 77 | Your kids deserve better entertainment than this treacly stuff about the Kingdom of Caring. Prefab animation from the era of toy merchandising tie-ins. | tt0090799 | [G] | Voices of Maxine Miller, Pam Hyatt, Hadley Kay | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Care Bears Movie | 1985 | Arna Selznick | ★★ | 75 | Songs by Carole King, John Sebastian. Animated feature based on heavily merchandised characters is strictly for toddlers, tough sledding for anyone older. Produced by Canadian Nelvana animation studio. Followed by two sequels and a TV series. | tt0088885 | [G] | Voices of Mickey Rooney, Georgia Engel | Canadian | Family, Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Career | 1959 | Joseph Anthony | ★★★ | 105 | Occasionally shrill, generally forceful presentation of an actor's (Franciosa's) tribulations in seeking Broadway fame; Jones is excellent as lonely talent agent. | tt0052673 | Dean Martin, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones, Joan Blackman, Robert Middleton, Donna Douglas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Career Girl | 1959 | Harold David | ★½ | 61 | Sloppy account of Wilkinson going to Hollywood, seeking screen career; sleazy production values. | tt0052674 | June Wilkinson, Charles Robert Keane, Lisa Barrie, Joe Sullivan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Career Girls | 1997 | Mike Leigh | ★★★½ | 87 | Another satisfying (and unpredictable) slice of life from writer-director Leigh, about two former roommates reunited after six years. Flashbacks reveal how much they've changed and matured from their uncertain college years, when Cartlidge was a mass of tics and Steadman was, in her friend's words, 'a walking open wound.' Remarkable performances from both actresses. Music by Tony Remy and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (costar of Leigh's previous film, SECRETS & LIES). | tt0118818 | [R] | Katrin Cartlidge, Lynda Steadman, Kate Byers, Mark Benton, Joe Tucker | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Career Opportunities | 1991 | Bryan Gordon | ★½ | 84 | Otherwise unemployable teen gets the night watchman job at an all-purpose department store; his first night is an idyllic round-the-clocker with a girl who's hiding out inside, and who just happens to be the town's no. 1 rich dish. Typical ode to arrested development from writer-producer John Hughes, a 10m. idea stretched into a feature. Tolerable only for John Candy's unbilled cameo, and as a showcase for gorgeous Connelly. | tt0101545 | [PG-13] | Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, John M. Jackson, Jenny O'Hara, Noble Willingham, Barry Corbin, Denise Galik, William Forsythe | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Carefree | 1938 | Mark Sandrich. | ★★★ | 83 | Madcap Rogers is sent to psychiatrist Astaire, and romance naturally blossoms; Fred and Ginger's most comic outing, wacky and offbeat, with good Irving Berlin score including 'Change Partners,' 'I Used to Be Color Blind.' | tt0029971 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Ralph Bellamy, Luella Gear, Jack Carson, Franklin Pangborn. | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Careful, He Might Hear You | 1983 | Carl Schultz. | ★★★½ | 116 | Involving drama about Depression-era custody battle between wealthy Hughes and working-class sister Nevin for their nephew, whose mother is dead and father has abandoned him. Manages to be credible yet larger-than-life at the same time, with wonderful shadings and observations. Effectiveness of its wide-screen camerawork will be lost on TV, alas. Michael Jenkins scripted, from a novel by Sumner Locke Elliott. | tt0085295 | [PG] | Wendy Hughes, Robyn Nevin, Nicholas Gledhill, John Hargreaves, Geraldine Turner. | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Caretakers | 1963 | Hall Bartlett | ★★★ | 97 | At times incisive view of a West Coast mental hospital, marred by flimsy script and poor editing. Good characterizations by Crawford and Ford as nurses, Bergen and Paige as patients. | tt0056908 | Robert Stack, Joan Crawford, Polly Bergen, Susan Oliver, Janis Paige, Constance Ford, Barbara Barrie, Herbert Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Carey Treatment | 1972 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 101 | Good solid whodunit set in hospital, where doctor Coburn is determined to clear colleague of murder charge. O'Neill provides love interest in complicated but satisfying mystery, shot in Boston. Based on the novel A Case of Need by Michael Crichton. | tt0068337 | [PG] | James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill, Pat Hingle, Skye Aubrey, Elizabeth Allen, Alex Dreier | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Cargo to Capetown | 1950 | Earl McEvoy | ★½ | 80 | Tramp steamer is setting for mild love triangle as Crawford and Ireland vie for Drew. | tt0042314 | Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Ellen Drew, Edgar Buchanan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Caribbean | 1952 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 97 | 18th-century costume vehicle allows Payne to battle pirates and flirt with Dahl. | tt0044481 | John Payne, Arlene Dahl, Cedric Hardwicke, Francis L. Sullivan, Woody Strode | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Cariboo Trail | 1950 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 81 | Sturdy Scott vehicle about a cattleman who brings his herd to the Canadian wilderness, where he takes on corrupt Jory. | tt0042315 | Randolph Scott, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Bill Williams, Karin Booth, Victor Jory, Jim Davis, Dale Robertson | Western | NULL | |||
| Carla's Song | 1996 | Ken Loach | ★★★ | 125 | Unusual political drama/love story set in 1987 with Glasgow bus driver Carlyle becoming involved with beautiful but deeply troubled Nicaraguan refugee Cabezas. It's difficult to navigate the Scottish accents at first, but the final part of the story, set in the Nicaraguan war zone, is poignant and heartbreaking. | tt0115832 | Robert Carlyle, Oyanka Cabezas, Scott Glenn, Salvador Espinoza, Louise Goodall | British-Spanish | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Carlito's Way | 1993 | Brian De Palma | ★★★ | 144 | Street-wise Puerto Rican Pacino winds up a five-year jail term and tries to go straight, but loyalty to his sleazy lawyer (Penn), and his inability to accept the fact that 'the street' has changed, seal his doom. Flawed but still compelling; based on two Edwin Torres novels about a man with an outmoded code of honor. Pacino is arresting as always; so is an almost unrecognizable Penn. Director Paul Mazursky has a terrific cameo as a judge at the beginning of the story. | tt0106519 | [R] | Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Ingrid Rogers, James Rebhorn, Joseph Siravo, Viggo Mortensen, Richard Foronjy, Jorge Porcel, Adrian Pasdar | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Carlos | 2010 | Olivier Assayas | ★★★½ | 340 | Riveting three-part film about real-life Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sánchez, who made his reputation in the early 1970s working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. As he helps stage (or, in some cases, upstage) many bloody, headline-making incidents around the world, for various revolutionary causes, he becomes both famous and infamous. Ultimately his integrity is corrupted, as political upheavals make him less useful and desirable. Ramirez is superb as the contradictory, ever-changing idealist-turned-egoist in this densely packed but consistently compelling, clear-eyed drama, which unfolds on a number of far-flung locations. Written by Assayas and Don Franck, from an idea by Daniel Leconte. Part One is 104m., Part Two is 112m., Part Three is 124m. Alternate theatrical version runs 166m. | tt1321865 | Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Nora von Waldstätten, Christoph Bach, Ahmad Kaabour, Fadi Abi Samra, Rodney El-Haddad, Julia Hummer | French-German | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Carman: The Champion | 2001 | Lee Stanley | ★★ | 90 | Retired professional-fighter-turned-preacher reenters the ring to raise money to expand his and his late father's dream project: an inner-city youth ministry. Along the way to the championship match he battles local gangs, becomes a surrogate father, saves some souls and falls in love. Feature film debut for recording artist Carman (who also coscripted). Well intentioned, moralistic tale with a now-predictable pumped-up boxing finale. | tt0262462 | [PG-13] | Carman, Michael Nouri, Patricia Manterola, Jeremy Williams, Jed Allan, Romeo Fabian, Betty Carvalho | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Carmen | 1983 | Carlos Saura | ★★★ | 102 | Choreographer prepares dance production of Bizet's opera, but falls under spell of real-life Carmen he casts in leading role. Choreographer/star Gades and sensual Del Sol are superb, though dramatic impact dissipates somewhat during second half. A must for dance buffs. | tt0085297 | [R] | Antonio Gades, Laura Del Sol, Paco de Lucia, Cristina Hoyos, Juan Antonio Jimenez, Sebastian Moreno | Spanish | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Carmen | 1984 | Francesco Rosi | ★★ | 152 | Disappointing filmization of the Bizet opera is overbaked and unbelievably inept. Still, opera buffs will enjoy the music— if they close their eyes. | tt0087034 | [PG] | Julia Migenes-Johnson, Placido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham, Jean-Philippe Lafont, Gerard Garino | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Carmen Jones | 1954 | Otto Preminger | ★★★½ | 105 | Powerful melodrama adapted from Bizet's opera by Oscar Hammerstein II, with exciting music and equally exciting Dandridge as the ultimate femme fatale. Stars' singing voices are all dubbed— Dandridge's by opera star Marilyn Horne. Film debuts of Carroll and Peters. | tt0046828 | Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Roy Glenn, Diahann Carroll, Brock Peters | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business | 1994 | Helena Solberg | ★★★ | 91 | Savvy exploration of the Brazilian Bombshell's life and times, chronicling the sad transition from revered musical artist in her homeland to caricatured cliché in Hollywood. Filmmaker Solberg's lifelong fascination with Miranda is expressed through film clips, revealing interviews with Brazilian and American colleagues and family, and strikingly, re-creations of moments in her life using a female impersonator! | tt0109381 | U.S.-Brazilian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Carnage | 2011 | Roman Polanski | ★★½ | 80 | Two N.Y.C. couples meet to calmly discuss a fight that occurred between their sons; as the minutes tick by, all vestiges of civility and rationality slowly but surely fade away. Adaptation of Yasmina Reza's Tony Award–winning play God of Carnage is elegantly filmed, with virtually no "opening up" of the action, but lacks the claustrophobic intensity one might expect from Polanski and that was crucial to the piece's success onstage. Performances, though entertaining, also start at a high pitch and—with the exception of Waltz's—never deepen. Screenplay by Polanski and Reza. That's Polanski's son Elvis as the injured boy in the opening scene. | tt1692486 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz | French-German-Polish-Spanish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Carnal Knowledge | 1971 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 96 | Thought-provoking (if depressing) look at the sexual attitudes and obsessions of two male friends, from college through middle age. Ann-Margret won acclaim for performance as Nicholson's kittenish mistress. Jules Feiffer originally wrote this as a play, then adapted it as a screenplay instead; in 1990 it was staged off-Broadway. Kane's film debut. | tt0066892 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Rita Moreno, Cynthia O'Neal, Carol Kane | Drama | NULL | ||
| Carnegie Hall | 1947 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 134 | Lame story about a pushy mother and her pianist son links magnificent concert performances by the cream of the classical music world: Artur Rubinstein, Leopold Stokowski, Jascha Heifetz, Rise Stevens, Lily Pons, Ezio Pinza, Jan Peerce, Gregor Piatigorsky, Bruno Walter and The New York Philharmonic. Some mediocre pop tunes are shoehorned into the proceedings, along with Vaughn Monroe and Harry James. | tt0039244 | Marsha Hunt, William Prince, Frank McHugh, Martha O'Driscoll | Musical | NULL | |||
| Carnival Boat | 1932 | Albert Rogell. | ★★½ | 62 | Trifling but enjoyable story of North Woods logger Bosworth, who expects his son to follow in his footsteps, but Boyd's attention is divided between his job and Rogers, the cute entertainer on the carnival boat. Benefits from location shooting and some hair-raising action scenes: one on a runaway locomotive, the other involving planting TNT in the middle of a logjam. | tt0022748 | William Boyd, Ginger Rogers, Hobart Bosworth, Fred Kohler, Edgar Kennedy. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Carnival Rock | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 75 | Stewart, owner of a dilapidated nightclub, loves singer Cabot, who in turn loves gambler Hutton. Forgettable melodrama with The Platters, Houston, and others in musical cameos. | tt0050230 | Susan Cabot, Dick Miller, Brian Hutton, The Platters, David Houston, David J. Stewart | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Carnival Story | 1954 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 95 | Hardened Baxter is involved with sleazy Cochran. 'Nice guy' high diver Bettger takes her on as a protégée, and there are complications. When this romantic melodrama is not trashy, it's sluggish. Set in Germany, and not unlike E.A. Dupont's classic, VARIETY. A German version was also filmed, with Eva Bartok, Bernhard Wicki, and Curt Jurgens. | tt0046829 | Anne Baxter, Steve Cochran, Lyle Bettger, George Nader, Jay C. Flippen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Carnival in Costa Rica | 1947 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 95 | Despite fair cast, boring musical of trip to Costa Rica and the shenanigans of newlyweds and their quarreling parents. | tt0039245 | Dick Haymes, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, J. Carrol Naish | Musical | NULL | |||
| Carnival in Flanders | 1935 | Jacques Feyder. | ★★★ | 115 | Rollicking farce about Spanish invasion of a small Flemish town in the 17th century. While all the men find excuses to leave, the women stay behind and conquer the warriors with romance and revelry. Amusing costume comedy with outstanding photography by Harry Stradling and striking art direction. American version runs 95m. Original title: LA KERMESSE HEROIQUE. | tt0026564 | Françoise Rosay, Jean Murat, Louis Jouvet, André Alerme, Bernard Lancret. | French | Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Carnival of Souls | 1962 | Herk Harvey | ★★½ | 83 | Eerie little film of 'phantom figure' pursuing Hilligoss after she has seemingly drowned. Imaginative low-budget effort. Filmed mostly in Lawrence, Kansas. Has developed a strong cult reputation in recent years. Original running time: 91m. Computer-colored version also available. Remade in 1998. | tt0055830 | Candace Hilligoss, Sidney Berger, Frances Feist, Herk Harvey, Stan Levitt, Art Ellison | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Carnosaur | 1993 | Adam Simon | ★★ | 82 | Brilliant geneticist Ladd hatches man-eating dinosaurs from virus-infected chicken eggs and lets them run amok in an unsuspecting Midwestern city. Roger Corman produced this forgettable film, whose only notoriety will be its legacy as 1993's 'other' dinosaur movie (which starred Ladd's daughter, Laura Dern). Followed by two sequels. | tt0106521 | [R] | Diane Ladd, Raphael Sbarge, Jennifer Runyon, Harrison Page, Ned Bellamy, Clint Howard | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Carny | 1980 | Robert Kaylor | ★★★ | 107 | Striking, atmospheric film about a symbiotic pair of carnival hustlers and the teenage runaway who joins them on the road. Candid, intimate (and somewhat voyeuristic) look at seamy midway life, hurt by unsatisfying and abrupt conclusion. Rock star Robertson also produced and cowrote the film. Wonderful score by Alex North. | tt0080500 | [R] | Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, Robbie Robertson, Meg Foster, Bert Remsen, Kenneth McMillan, John Lehne, Elisha Cook/ Jr., Craig Wasson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Caro Diario | 1994 | Nanni Moretti | ★★★ | 100 | Witty, thoughtful, three-part feature from Moretti, one of the most acclaimed contemporary Italian film director-comedians. He appears in each as himself. First he romps around Rome on a Vespa. Next he goes island-hopping in southern Italy, where he wryly examines Europeans' obsession with American pop culture. Lastly, and most soberly, he recounts his own cancer treatment. | tt0109382 | Nanni Moretti, Renato Carpentieri, Antonio Neiwiller, Carlo Mazzacurati, Claudia Della Seta, Jennifer Beals, Alexandre Rockwell | Italian-French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Carolina | 2005 | Marleen Gorris. | ★★ | 98 | Good cast does its best with a pedestrian (and predictable) script about a young woman who keeps looking for Mr. Right even though her best friend— and next-door neighbor— is the perfect man for her. Did we mention that she was raised by a wacky, eccentric grandmother? Disappointing Hollywood debut for Dutch filmmaker Gorris (ANTONIA'S LINE). Opened in Europe in 2003; released direct to video in the U.S. | tt0289889 | [PG-13] | Julia Stiles, Shirley MacLaine, Alessandro Nivola, Mika Boorem, Azura Skye, Randy Quaid, Jennifer Coolidge, Alan Thicke, Barbara Eden. | U.S.-Dutch | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Carolina Cannonball | 1955 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 74 | Hicksville hokum with Canova involved with enemy agents and a missile that lands in her backyard. | tt0047922 | Judy Canova, Andy Clyde, Jack Kruschen, Ross Elliott | Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Carolina Moon | 1940 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 65 | Gene gets involved with horse racing in the Deep South. Ambles along, but Autry seems a bit far away from the range. Gene sings the title tune. | tt0032311 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Eddy Waller, Hardie Albright. | Western | NULL | |||
| Carousel | 1956 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 128 | Excellent filmization of Rodgers & Hammerstein's memorable adaptation of Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, with MacRae as rowdy carousel barker Billy Bigelow, who tries to change for the better when he falls in love with Jones. Excitement of widescreen location filming will be minimized on TV, but moving characters, timeless songs remain. Script by Phoebe and Henry Ephron. Filmed before as LILIOM in 1930 and 1934. | tt0049055 | Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner, Robert Rounseville, Gene Lockhart | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Carpetbaggers | 1964 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 150 | Blowsy claptrap based on Harold Robbins novel of millionaire plane manufacturer (Peppard) dabbling in movies and lovemaking à la Howard Hughes. Set in 1920s-30s; sexploitational values are tame. Ladd's last film; followed by prequel, NEVADA SMITH. | tt0057917 | George Peppard, Carroll Baker, Alan Ladd, Bob Cummings, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Lew Ayres, Martin Balsam, Ralph Taeger, Archie Moore, Leif Erickson, Tom Tully, Audrey Totter | Drama | NULL | |||
| Carpool | 1996 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 90 | A desperate down-on-his-luck carnival owner (Arnold) botches his first holdup attempt and takes a harried carpool dad (Paymer) and his young passengers hostage. Some laughs in this likable but uneven comedy. Perlman is wasted. | tt0115836 | [PG] | Tom Arnold, David Paymer, Rhea Perlman, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rod Steiger, Kim Coates, Micah Gardener, Mikey Kovar, Colleen Rennison, Jordan Warkov | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Carrie | 1952 | William Wyler | ★★½ | 118 | Jones passively plays the title role in this uneven turn-of-the-century soaper of poor farm girl who comes to Chicago, eventually links up with unhappily married restaurant manager Olivier (who is excellent). David Raksin's score is a plus. Based on Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. DVD includes restored 'flop house' scene, which runs almost 3m. | tt0044486 | Jennifer Jones, Laurence Olivier, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Mary Murphy, William Reynolds | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Carrie | 1976 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 97 | Evocative story of high school misfit degenerates into cheap, gory melodrama when Spacek unleashes telekinetic powers in revenge against those who have mocked her. De Palma borrows much from Hitchcock, but has little of The Master's wit or subtlety. Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, from Stephen King's novel. Debut film for Irving, Buckley and Soles. Later a stage musical. Remade for TV in 2002. Followed by THE RAGE: CARRIE 2. | tt0074285 | [R] | Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, William Katt, John Travolta, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, P.J. Soles, Priscilla Pointer | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Carried Away | 1996 | Bruno Barreto | ★★½ | 107 | Hopper gives a thoughtful performance in an unusual role: a small-town Midwestern farmer/teacher who keeps putting off marrying his fiancée (Irving), and then is not unwillingly seduced by teen vamp Locane. Abundant nudity may grab attention. Based on a novel by Jim Harrison. Barreto is Irving's husband, and Pointer is her mother. | tt0115837 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Amy Irving, Amy Locane, Julie Harris, Gary Busey, Hal Holbrook, Priscilla Pointer | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Carriers | 2009 | Álex Pastor, David Pastor | ★★ | 85 | A quartet of young people struggle for survival in a postapocalyptic world inhabited by carriers who are infected with a deadly virus. Well-intentioned horror chiller is done in by overbaked dramatics, superficially profound dialogue, and a fatal air of predictability. Pine’s character is annoyingly (and one-dimensionally) obnoxious. Main asset: Benoit Debie’s eye-opening cinematography. | tt0806203 | [PG-13] | Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine, Piper Perabo, Emily VanCamp, Chris(topher) Meloni, Mark Moses, Kiernan Shipka | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Carrington | 1995 | Christopher Hampton | ★★★ | 122 | Gifted English painter Dora Carrington is afraid of her own sexuality, until she meets eccentric (and homosexual) writer Lytton Strachey and experiences love for the first time. What's more, he feels the same way . . . except they're never able to resolve their hesitancy about a full commitment. Compelling character study is slowly paced and perhaps redundant at times, but made fascinating by the leads' superb portrayals. Playwright/screenwriter Hampton's directing debut. | tt0112637 | [R] | Emma Thompson, Jonathan Pryce, Steven Waddington, Rufus Sewell, Samuel West, Penelope Wilton, Janet McTeer, Peter Blythe, Jeremy Northam | British-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Carry On Camping | 1972 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 89 | The gang encounters hippie types at weekend campsite; usual double-entendre jokes in entry from never-ending series. | tt0064133 | [R] | Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Bresslaw, Terry Scott | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Carry On Cleo | 1965 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 92 | Diverting reworking of ancient history to serve as amusing satire on CLEOPATRA epic, sufficiently laced with hijinks by perennial misfits. Aka CALIGULA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS. | tt0057918 | Amanda Barrie, Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Carry On Doctor | 1968 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 95 | Madcap group takes on medical profession. As usual, interest wanes after an hour and the amount of laughter varies quite a bit. | tt0061450 | [PG] | Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Barbara Windsor | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Carry On Henry VIII | 1972 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 90 | Lecherous king, ribald times perfect milieu for 'Carry On' gang's brand of farce; for fans only. | tt0066894 | [PG] | Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Charles Hawtrey, Barbara Windsor | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Carry On Nurse | 1959 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 90 | Occasionally funny but too often silly farce detailing the various hijinks in a hospital ward. Typical entry in the series is crammed with lowbrow humor. | tt0051452 | Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Terence Longdon, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Joan Hickson, Jill Ireland, Michael Medwin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Carry On Sergeant | 1959 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 88 | This time around prankish misfits are the bane of Army officer's existence, who swears he'll make these recruits spiffy soldiers or bust. | tt0051453 | William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker, Dora Bryan, Bill Owen, Kenneth Connor | British | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Carry On Spying | 1965 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 88 | Acceptable James Bond spoof with daffy novice spy-catchers on the hunt for enemy agents who stole secret formula. | tt0057920 | Kenneth Williams, Barbara Windsor, Bernard Cribbins, Charles Hawtrey, Eric Barker, Victor Maddern | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cars | 2006 | John Lasseter | ★★★ | 96 | Hotshot race car gets stuck in a town out West that time (and interstate highways) forgot. He begins to see that there's more to life than hogging the spotlight and winning big-money races. Evoking America's car culture of the 1950s and '60s, this cleverly conceived and designed CG-animated film from Pixar is more wistful and less laugh-oriented than some, but still a winner. It may speak most eloquently to adults of a certain age. | tt0317219 | [G] | Voices of Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, George Carlin, Richard Petty, Michael Keaton, Tony Shalhoub, John Ratzenberger, Michael Wallis, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis | Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cars 2 | 2011 | John Lasseter | ★★ | 113 | Hometown race-car-made-good Lightning McQueen is goaded into participating in a series of Grand Prix races overseas by his well-meaning but obnoxious buddy Tow Mater. The tow truck is then drawn into international intrigue by two spy sports cars (voiced by Caine and Mortimer). Cluttered, confusing, overlong animated feature is actually hard to follow, though kids who simply enjoy watching cars race around (or think Mater is endearing) may be entertained. A real letdown for Pixar, a studio that usually plays to its strength in storytelling. | tt1216475 | [G] | Voices of Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Kretschmann, Peter Jacobson, Bonnie Hunt, Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Tony Shalhoub, Jason Isaacs, Jeff Garlin, Cheech Marin, Jenifer Lewis, Paul Dooley, Edie McClurg, Richard Kind, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Cars That Ate Paris | The Cars That Eat People | 1974 | Peter Weir | ★★½ | 91 | The poor people of Paris (Paris, Australia, that is) keep the economy going by inducing traffic accidents and selling the spare parts/scrap metal. Iffy black comedy has its moments; must viewing for those who've followed Weir's directorial career step-by-step into the big leagues. Originally released in the U.S. at 74m, retitled THE CARS THAT EAT PEOPLE; full-length version finally made it here in 1984. | tt0071282 | [PG] | Terry Camilleri, John Meillon, Melissa Jaffa, Kevin Miles | Australian | Adventure, Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Carson City | 1952 | André De Toth | ★★ | 87 | Opposing forces clash when construction engineer Scott commences building a railroad through Nevada in the 1870s. OK of its type. | tt0044488 | Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, Raymond Massey, Don Beddoe, Richard Webb, James Millican, Larry Keating, George Cleveland | Western | NULL | |||
| The Carson City Kid | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 57 | Marshall Hayes sets out to capture the title outlaw (Rogers), who seeks to avenge his brother's death at the hands of saloon owner Steele. One of Roy's best from his late '30s-early '40s 'historical' period, with Steele a standout. | tt0032312 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Bob Steele, Noah Beery/Jr., Pauline Moore, Francis McDonald, Hal Taliaferro, Arthur Loft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Carthage in Flames | 1959 | Carmine Gallone. | ★★ | 96 | Unremarkable mixture of love and intrigue set against backdrop of Rome-Carthage war of 2nd century B.C.; spirited action scenes. | tt0054729 | José Suárez, Pierre Brasseur, Anne Heywood, Illaria Occhini, Daniel Gélin, Mario Girotti (Terence Hill). | Italian | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Cartouche | 1964 | Philippe De Broca | ★★★½ | 115 | Colorful, exciting exploits of 18th-century French Robin Hood who takes over a Parisian crime syndicate. Belmondo is dashing as Cartouche and Cardinale is ravishing as Venus, his gypsy-mistress, in this rousing action-comedy. | tt0055832 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, Odile Versois, Jess Hahn, Jean Rochefort, Philippe Lemaire, Marcel Dalio, Noel Roquevert | French-Italian | Action, Comedy, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Carve Her Name With Pride | 1958 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 119 | McKenna, widowed during WW2, becomes a courageous British secret agent. Solid and inspiring; based on a true story. | tt0051454 | Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, Jack Warner, Maurice Ronet, Bill Owen, Denise Grey, Billie Whitelaw, Michael Caine | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Casa de los Babys | 2003 | John Sayles | ★★½ | 95 | A group of American women spend time together in a South American town as they wait for their adoptions to come through. Sayles' script explores many characters and points of view, including the locals who resent the 'yanquis' taking their babies away and the young women who give up their children because they have no choice. Despite a fine cast, and many good scenes, the film feels like a draft for a screenplay that still needs fleshing out. | tt0303830 | [R] | Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Daryl Hannah, Susan Lynch, Mary Steenburgen, Lili Taylor, Rita Moreno, Vanessa Martinez, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Casa de mi Padre | 2012 | Matt Piedmont | ★★½ | 84 | Imitating the style and look of Mexican Westerns and telenovelas, this soapy sagebrush takeoff is fun, if not overwhelmingly hilarious, despite the presence of Ferrell, who actually looks like he belongs in this thing. Playing it with a straight face, he is nicely understated as a man who battles Mexican drug lords in order to save his father's ranch. Mixing in lots of juicy subplots, this breezy trifle actually shouldn't work as well as it does. It's all in Spanish (Ferrell's is surprisingly authentic-sounding), so if you shun subtitles, be warned. Dedicated to Armendáriz, Jr., who died shortly before its release. | tt1702425 | [R] | Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Pedro Armendáriz /Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, Nick Offerman, Jerry Collins, Efren Ramirez, Adrian Martinez | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Casablanca | 1942 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★★ | 102 | Everything is right in this WW2 classic of war-torn Morocco with elusive nightclub owner Rick (Bogart) finding old flame (Bergman) and her husband, underground leader Henreid, among skeletons in his closet. Rains is marvelous as dapper police chief, and nobody sings 'As Time Goes By' like Dooley Wilson. Three Oscars include Picture, Director, and Screenplay (Julius & Philip Epstein and Howard Koch). Our candidate for the best Hollywood movie of all time. Spawned short-lived TV series in the 1950s and the 1980s. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034583 | Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, Marcel Dalio, S.Z. Sakall, Joy Page, Helmut Dantine, Curt Bois. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Casanova | 2005 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★½ | 110 | The amorous bed-hopping lover of 18th-century Venice meets his match in a beautiful, headstrong woman, a protofeminist who is determined to resist his advances. This is a rare bird known as a romp, and Hallström and company pull it off, maintaining a light touch from start to finish. Location filming in Venice doesn't hurt, either. Fresh, funny, sexy, and smart; everyone is good, but Miller is a standout in a showcase role. Screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher and Kimberly Simi from a story by Simi and Michael Cristofer. | tt0402894 | [R] | Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, Lena Olin, Omid Djalili, Stephen Greif, Ken Stott, Charlie Cox, Natalie Dormer, Tim McInnerny, Leigh Lawson | Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Casanova & Co. | 1976 | Franz Antel | ★½ | 88 | Misfired slapstick romp debunks the legend with Curtis playing dual roles of Casanova and a lookalike commoner. Diverse female cast (including former Playboy Playmates) disrobes at will, while Tony in drag explicitly mocks his classic SOME LIKE IT HOT role. Video titles: SEX ON THE RUN and SOME LIKE IT COOL. | tt0074290 | Tony Curtis, Marisa Berenson, Sylva Koscina, Hugh Griffith, Britt Ekland, Marisa Mell, Umberto Orsini, Andrea Ferreol, Victor Spinetti, Lillian Muller | Austrian-Italian-French-German | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Casanova '70 | 1965 | Mario Monicelli | ★★½ | 113 | Dashing Major Mastroianni is only interested in seducing women when there is an element of danger involved. Modest, though amusing. | tt0059015 | Marcello Mastroianni, Virna Lisi, Michele Mercier, Marisa Mell, Marco Ferreri, Enrico Maria Salerno | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Casanova Brown | 1944 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 94 | Cooper has divorced Wright, but now she's pregnant; entertaining little comedy with stars outshining material. Filmed in 1930 and 1939 as LITTLE ACCIDENT. | tt0036699 | Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Frank Morgan, Anita Louise, Isobel Elsom | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Casanova in Burlesque | 1944 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 74 | Shakespeare professor leads a double life as a burlesque clown in this slight but amusing musical comedy. Evans sings jive numbers like 'Mess Me Up' and 'Willie the Shake,' while Havoc performs a very funny 'Who Took Me Home Last Night? | tt0036700 | Joe E. Brown, June Havoc, Dale Evans, Lucien Littlefield, Ian Keith | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Casanova's Big Night | 1954 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 86 | Lavish costumed fun with Bob masquerading as Casanova (Vincent Price in an unbilled cameo role) in Venice and wooing lovely Dalton. | tt0046834 | Bob Hope, Joan Fontaine, Audrey Dalton, Basil Rathbone, Raymond Burr, Vincent Price | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Casbah | 1948 | John Berry | ★★★ | 94 | If you can accept singer Martin as slippery thief Pepe Le Moko (he's actually quite good) you'll enjoy this musical remake of ALGIERS. It's stylishly directed and designed, and features Lorre in one of his best performances as the crafty inspector determined to nail Le Moko. Fine score by Harold Arlen and Leo Robin includes 'For Every Man There's a Woman' and 'Hooray for Love.' Look fast and you'll spot Eartha Kitt, then one of the Katherine Dunham dance troupe. Martin also produced the film. | tt0040214 | Tony Martin, Yvonne de Carlo, Peter Lorre, Marta Toren, Hugo Haas, Thomas Gomez, Douglas Dick, Katherine Dunham, Herbert Rudley, Virginia Gregg | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Case 39 | 2010 | Christian Alvart | ★ | 109 | Children’s social worker Zellweger takes on Case 39, a young girl whose parents tried to kill her, and eventually comes to suspect they had good reason for their attempt. Un-thrilling horror movie with little suspense and no sense of location, although Zellweger and Ferland (as the child) are good. The explanation for all the mysterious activity is only barely coherent. Filmed in 2006, released overseas in 2009; the delay wasn’t long enough. | tt0795351 | [R] | Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper, Callum Keith Rennie, Adrian Lester, Kerry O’Malley, Cynthia Stevenson | Canadian-U.S. | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Case Against Brooklyn | 1958 | Paul Wendkos. | ★½ | 82 | Unexciting little exposé yarn involves fledgling cop McGavin combating gambling syndicate in title borough. | tt0051456 | Darren McGavin, Maggie Hayes, Warren Stevens, Peggy McCay. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Case Against Mrs. Ames | 1936 | William Seiter. | ★★½ | 85 | D.A. Brent finds himself falling in love with beautiful Carroll, suspected of murdering her husband. | tt0027427 | Madeleine Carroll, George Brent, Arthur Treacher, Alan Baxter, Beulah Bondi. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Case of Dr. Laurent | 1958 | Jean-Paul le Chanois | ★★ | 91 | Film was exploited theatrically for its frank birth sequence, only small logical sequence in recounting life of country doctor Gabin who advocates natural childbirth. | tt0049058 | Jean Gabin, Nicole Courcel, Sylvia Monfort, Michel Barbey | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Case of the Black Cat | 1936 | William McGann | ★★½ | 65 | A trio of murders, a treasure hunt, and a shrieking feline are the ingredients of this enjoyable Perry Mason mystery, with Cortez quite adequate in his only crack at the role. | tt0027428 | Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan, Craig Reynolds, Harry Davenport | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Case of the Curious Bride | 1935 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 80 | Shrill Perry Mason film takes offhanded approach to murder mystery with large doses of humor; Perry (William) is more interested in gourmet food than he is in the case! Errol Flynn has small role as the victim in his second Hollywood film. | tt0026184 | Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Claire Dodd, Allen Jenkins, Wini Shaw | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Case of the Howling Dog | 1934 | Alan Crosland | ★★ | 75 | First of the Perry Mason series is probably the least interesting, centering on the case of feuding neighbors who both claim they're married to the same woman. | tt0024958 | Warren William, Mary Astor, Helen Trenholme, Allen Jenkins, Grant Mitchell, Dorothy Tree | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Case of the Lucky Legs | 1935 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 76 | Stylish Perry Mason whodunit centering on the murder of a sleazy beauty contest promoter. A dose of humor is added by having bon vivant Perry struggling to stay on the wagon. | tt0026185 | Warren William, Genevieve Tobin, Patricia Ellis, Lyle Talbot, Allen Jenkins, Barton MacLane | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Case of the Red Monkey | 1955 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 73 | Acceptable police-on-the-case fare, tracking down murderers of atomic scientists. | tt0047924 | Richard Conte, Rona Anderson, Colin Gordon, Russell Napier | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Case of the Stuttering Bishop | 1937 | William Clemens | ★★ | 70 | Woods is a bland Perry Mason in this last series entry, concerning a phony heiress. | tt0028695 | Donald Woods, Ann Dvorak, Anne Nagel, Linda Perry, Craig Stevens | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Case of the Velvet Claws | 1936 | William Clemens | ★★ | 60 | Perry Mason (William) finally weds Della Street, but the honeymoon is interrupted by the case of a murdered scandal sheet publisher. Brisk entry marked William's final appearance in the role. | tt0027429 | Warren William, Claire Dodd, Winifred Shaw, Gordon (William) Elliott, Joseph King | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Casey's Shadow | 1978 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 117 | Generally satisfactory drama about a ne'er-do-well Louisiana horse trainer (Matthau) and his three sons, as he raises a fleet but fragile quarterhorse that just may allow him his one shot at glory. | tt0077303 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Alexis Smith, Robert Webber, Murray Hamilton, Andrew A. Rubin, Stephan Burns, Michael Hershewe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cash | 1933 | Zoltan Korda. | ★½ | 73 | Dull, disappointing comedy about ex-rich boy Donat, now working for a living, who becomes involved with pretty Barrie and scheming father Gwenn. The U.S. title was FOR LOVE OR MONEY; aka IF I WERE RICH. | tt0023873 | Robert Donat, Wendy Barrie, Edmund Gwenn, Clifford Heatherley, Morris Harvey. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cash McCall | 1959 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 102 | Garner is just right as business tycoon who adopts new set of values as he romances daughter (Wood) of failing businessman Jagger. Superficial film from Cameron Hawley novel. | tt0052680 | James Garner, Natalie Wood, Nina Foch, Dean Jagger, E.G. Marshall, Henry Jones, Otto Kruger, Roland Winters | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cash on Delivery | 1956 | Muriel Box | ★★ | 82 | Story with a twist suffers from sloppy execution. Winters seeks to earn inheritance by preventing ex-husband's wife from having a child. Original title: TO DOROTHY A SON. | tt0047589 | Shelley Winters, John Gregson, Peggy Cummins, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Casino | 1995 | Martin Scorsese | ★★ | 182 | Long, tedious tale of a numbers-obsessed gambler sent to Las Vegas by the mob to run a casino in the 1970s. Problem is, neither he nor his loose-cannon pal, who follows him, nor the hustler he decides to marry has any idea how to hold on to what they've got. Disappointing reteaming of Scorsese and writer Nicholas Pileggi, who scored big with GOODFELLAS; this time, their story is overlong, repetitive, and aloof. Stone makes her mark amidst a heavyweight cast with a full-blown dramatic performance. | tt0112641 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L. Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, Melissa Prophet, John Bloom (Joe Bob Briggs) | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Casino Jack | 2010 | George Hickenlooper | ★★ | 108 | Lively if dramatically uneven film about notorious Washington, D.C., lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who lives well and rides high until he gets too greedy for his own good, resulting in a Capitol Hill scandal. The material is intrinsically interesting, but the movie tries to cover too much ground. Spacey’s brash performance validates it; the role of his corrupt cohort (Pepper) is underwritten. | tt1194417 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz, Rachelle Lefevre, Maury Chaykin, Spencer Garrett, Eric Schweig, Graham Greene, Christian Campbell, Yannick Bisson | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Casino Jack and the United States of Money | 2010 | Alex Gibney | ★★★½ | 118 | Riveting documentary chronicling the rise and fall of D.C. uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff (who also produced the 1989 Dolph Lundgren bomb RED SCORPION). Examines how he made millions ripping off casino-rich Indian tribes and through his connections with the religious right and several conservative lawmakers. The result: a congressional scandal that led to his conviction for tax evasion, fraud, and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Provocative and alarming look at the corruption of the political process and abuse of power plays like a real-life MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, replete with clips from that film, albeit without the happy ending. | tt1540814 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Casino Murder Case | 1935 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 85 | Polished but perfunctory Philo Vance mystery about a series of murders at the mansion of eccentric old lady Skipworth, with Healy and Blore around for comic relief. Stolid, thickly accented Lukas is not very effective as Vance. | tt0026187 | Paul Lukas, Alison Skipworth, Donald Cook, Rosalind Russell, Arthur Byron, Ted Healy, Eric Blore, Leo G. Carroll, William Demarest | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Casino Royale | 1967 | John Huston, Ken Hughes, Robert Parrish, Joe McGrath, Val Guest | ★★½ | 130 | Gigantic, overdone spoof of James Bond films with Niven as the aging secret agent who relinquishes his position to nephew Allen and host of others. Money, money everywhere, but film is terribly uneven— sometimes funny, often not. Good score by Burt Bacharach, including hit song 'The Look of Love.' | tt0061452 | Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, Charles Boyer, John Huston, George Raft, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacky (Jacqueline) Bisset | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Casino Royale | 2006 | Martin Campbell | ★★★ | 144 | The James Bond franchise goes back to its roots with this installment, which shows how the secret agent got his license to kill and pits him against a banker funding worldwide terrorist groups. A bit overextended, but also refreshingly tough-minded, with some terrific set pieces (including an adrenaline-pumping opening sequence) and a worthy love interest in Green. Best of all, Craig (in his debut as 007) makes for a lean, mean, surprisingly human Bond, so good as to rival even our memories of Sean Connery. Filmed before (as a spoof) in 1967. | tt0381061 | [PG-13] | Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian | U.S.-British-Czech-German | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |
| Casper | 1995 | Brad Silberling | 💣 | 100 | High-tech Hollywood 'product' takes the vintage cartoon character— a friendly ghost— and literalizes him in this story of a dead boy whose haunted house is invaded by a widowed paranormalist (and daughter) seeking the spirit of his dead wife. Talk about family fun! Absolutely dreadful, wrong-headed movie is strictly for families who are already dead from the neck up. A handful of surprise Hollywood cameos add a few fleeting laughs. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0112642 | [PG] | Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle, Amy Brenneman, Ben Stein, Don Novello; voices of Malachi Pearson, Joe Nipote, Joe Alaskey, Brad Garrett | Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Casque d'Or | 1952 | Jacques Becker. | ★★★★ | 95 | Signoret is luminous as a seductive underworld beauty who inspires men to die for her love in this tale of rivalry and revenge among Parisian 'apache' gangsters in 1898. Much more than just a period crime yarn, this is one of the most physically beautiful and sensuous films ever made. Becker's poetic direction and Robert Le Febvre's shimmering photography are sheer perfection. Aka GOLDEN MARIE and GOLDEN HELMET. | tt0043386 | Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières, William Sabatier, Gaston Modot. | French | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cass Timberlane | 1947 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 119 | Ordinary adaptation of Sinclair Lewis novel of an upright, upper-crust Minnesota judge (Tracy) whose friends are either corrupt or elitist and his marriage to bright, working-class Turner (in one of her best performances). Walter Pidgeon appears as himself in a cocktail party scene. | tt0039250 | Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Zachary Scott, Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Albert Dekker, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Mona Barrie, Josephine Hutchinson, Rose Hobart, Selena Royle, Cameron Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cassandra Crossing | 1977 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★★ | 127 | Entertaining disaster epic as train carrying plague approaches a weakened bridge. Filmed in France and Italy. | tt0074292 | [R] | Richard Harris, Sophia Loren, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen, Lee Strasberg, O.J. Simpson, John Phillip Law, Ingrid Thulin, Alida Valli, Lionel Stander | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Cassandra’s Dream | 2007 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 108 | Well-intentioned but flawed—and far too predictable—morality tale about British working-class brothers. Trouble simmers when Farrell’s gambling gets him into debt and McGregor becomes smitten with a beautiful actress who is the definition of high-maintenance. Allen deals with issues similar to those he explored more successfully in CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. Filmed in England. | tt0795493 | [PG-13] | Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Hayley Atwell, Sally Hawkins, Tom Wilkinson, John Benfield, Clare Higgins, Phil Davis, Jim Carter | U.S.-French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Cassidy of Bar 20 | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 58 | Terrorized by cattle rustlers, former sweetheart sends for Hopalong Cassidy to clean up her town, run by high-handed Fiske. Sequel to HOPALONG RIDES AGAIN, based on 1928 novel Me an' Shorty by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Leisurely paced Western melodrama is light on action but still entertaining. Alleged comedy relief by sidekick Darien (as 'Pappy') proves George Hayes was irreplaceable. | tt0029976 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Frank Darien, Nora Lane, Robert Fiske, John Elliott, Gertrude Hoffman. | Western | NULL | |||
| Cast Away | 2000 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★½ | 143 | A man whose job depends on organizational skills and awareness of time survives a plane crash and winds up on a deserted Pacific island. Only an actor with Hanks' good will (and acting chops) could make us care as much as we do about this survivor, who battles the elements and struggles to retain his sanity. No narration, little music, just great moviemaking. Screenplay by William F. Broyles, Jr. | tt0162222 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Lari White, Christopher Noth, Jenifer Lewis, Wilson | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cast a Dark Shadow | 1955 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 84 | Tense suspenser with Bogarde in fine form as a psychotic Bluebeard who murders rich, aging mate Washbourne. Lockwood and Walsh won't be such easy prey, however. | tt0050233 | Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kathleen Harrison, Kay Walsh, Robert Flemyng, Mona Washbourne | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cast a Giant Shadow | 1966 | Melville Shavelson | ★★ | 142 | Hokey bio of Arab-Israeli war hero Mickey Marcus has Kirk leaving Angie's bed to join Senta and several other less sexy freedom fighters. Guest roles by big names make film seem even sillier. | tt0060218 | Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Yul Brynner, Senta Berger, Angie Dickinson, James Donald, Luther Adler, (Chaim) Topol | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Cast a Long Shadow | 1959 | Thomas Carr | ★½ | 82 | Murphy, troubled by shady past, is reformed by being given a ranch and building a new future; plodding oater. | tt0052681 | Audie Murphy, Terry Moore, John Dehner, James Best, Rita Lynn, Denver Pyle, Ann Doran | Western | NULL | |||
| Castaway | 1987 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★½ | 117 | Scruffy Reed advertises for a 'wife' to join him for a year on a desert island; Donohoe is the incongruously vavavoomish adventure seeker who answers it. Visually splendid adaptation of Lucy Irvine's best-seller seems unlikely as told, though it remains a visceral experience, particularly for Roeg fans. Eventually overplays its hand. | tt0092732 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Amanda Donohoe, Tony Rickards, Todd Rippon, Georgina Hale, Frances Barber | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Castaway Cowboy | 1974 | Vincent McEveety | ★★ | 91 | Cowboy Garner is shipwrecked on Hawaiian island, runs into pretty widow and bad-guy Culp who wants her land. Old B-Western plot, Disney-fied on Hawaiian locations. | tt0071288 | [G] | James Garner, Vera Miles, Robert Culp, Eric Shea, Elizabeth Smith, Gregory Sierra | Family, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Castle Keep | 1969 | Sydney Pollack | ★½ | 105 | Pretentious adaptation of William Eastlake's novel about eight soldiers on French border in WW2. Good cast, but film has no coherency. | tt0064137 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Peter Falk, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Scott Wilson, Al Freeman/Jr., Tony Bill, Bruce Dern, Astrid Heeren, Michael Conrad | War | NULL | ||
| Castle in the Desert | 1942 | Harry Lachman | ★★★ | 62 | Twentieth Century-Fox's last Charlie Chan entry is a first-rate mystery set in a spooky mansion in the Mojave, where mysterious deaths are occurring. | tt0034586 | Sidney Toler, Arleen Whelan, Richard Derr, Douglass Dumbrille, Henry Daniell, Edmund MacDonald, Victor Sen Yung, Ethel Griffies | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Castle of Cagliostro | 1979 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 102 | Master thief Lupin pursues the source of counterfeit money and its valuable printing plates to a European castle, where he becomes involved with rescuing a princess in distress. Exciting, thrill-packed animated feature marks the debut of director Miyazaki and remains one of his best films. The main character is a descendant of Arsène Lupin, of the well-known Maurice Leblanc detective novels. The actor who voices Lupin, David Hayter, later wrote screenplays for X-MEN and WATCHMEN. | tt0079833 | Unrated | Voices of David Hayter, John Snyder, Richard Epcar, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Dougary Grant, Kirk Thornton | Japanese | Animation, Crime, Romance, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |
| Castle of Evil | 1966 | Francis D. Lyon | 💣 | 81 | Electronic man belonging to dead chemist becomes unprogrammed at the reading of his master's will and starts killing the survivors. Producers should have taken the film's production costs and bought a candy bar instead. | tt0060219 | Scott Brady, Virginia Mayo, David Brian, Lisa Gaye, Hugh Marlowe | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Castle of Fu Manchu | 1970 | Jess Franco | 💣 | 92 | Lee buries Fu Manchu with this one— the pits— experimenting with more deadly potions in his castle near Istanbul and parrying with his perennial adversary, Nayland Smith (Greene) of Britain's Home Office. Originally released in the U.S. as ASSIGNMENT ISTANBUL. | tt0064338 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Richard Greene, Maria Perschy, Gunther Stoll, Howard Marion Crawford | Drama, Crime, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Castle of Terror | Castle of Blood | 1964 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★ | 85 | On a wager, poet spends the night in haunted castle. Atmospheric chiller. Remade by the same director as WEB OF THE SPIDER. | tt0057993 | Barbara Steele, George Riviere, Margrete Robsahm, Henry Kruger, Montgomery Glenn, Sylvia Sorente | Italian-French | Horror | NULL | |
| Castle of the Living Dead | 1963 | Luciano Ricci (Herbert Wise) | ★★ | 90 | Lee is suitably cast as sinister Count Drago, who mummifies visitors to his gothic castle. Unexceptional horror fare, notable mainly as Sutherland's film debut in two roles— one an old lady. | tt0057924 | Christopher Lee, Gala Germani, Philippe Leroy, Jacques Stanislawski, Donald Sutherland | Italian-French | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Castle on the Hudson | 1940 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 77 | Faithful but familiar remake of 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING, with tough, stubborn hood Garfield going up against dedicated, reform-minded warden O'Brien. | tt0032315 | John Garfield, Pat O'Brien, Ann Sheridan, Burgess Meredith, Jerome Cowan, Henry O'Neill, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, John Litel | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Castle | 1968 | Rudolf Noelte | ★★★ | 93 | Appropriately vague filmization of Kafka's novel: 'K' (Schell), a land surveyor, is called to a castle for work but is unable to gain admittance. | tt0063563 | Maximilian Schell, Cordula Trantow, Trudik Daniel, Helmut Qualtinger | German-Swiss | Drama, Family, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Castle | 1997 | Rob Sitch | ★★★ | 84 | Winning low-budget comedy of the unsophisticated Kerrigan family, whose home sits atop a toxic landfill— adjacent to an airport runway! When Dad (Caton) decides to fight the government to keep their ramshackle abode, watch out. Equal parts Capraesque, goofy, and heartfelt. Conceived by several Australian radio and TV comedy hands; a smash in its native country. | tt0118826 | [R] | Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe, Sophie Lee, Wayne Hope, Tiriel Mora, Charles (Bud) Tingwell | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Castle | 1997 | Michael Haneke | ★★★ | 123 | Faithful, compelling adaptation of Kafka's celebrated, unfinished novel, involving K. (Mühe), a land surveyor who arrives at an inn in an isolated village where he has been hired for a job; he encounters bureaucracy and contempt, not to mention an array of odd characters who have peculiar emotional connections. Story is told via narration and short, choppy sequences that end in blackouts; this jumpy directorial style seems entirely appropriate for the material. Haneke also scripted this challenging cinematic exploration of alienation. | tt0120075 | Unrated | Ulrich Mühe, Susanne Lothar, Frank Giering, Felix Eitner, Nikolaus Paryla, André Eisermann, Dörte Lyssewski, Inga Busch | Austrian-German-French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Casual Sex? | 1988 | Genevieve Robert | ★★½ | 97 | Lightweight look at two young women who are looking for something more than a one-night stand— especially in these cautious times— and try their luck at a health and fitness spa. Slight but engaging contemporary comedy from young women's point of view, adapted from the play by Wendy Goldman and Judy Toll. | tt0094846 | [R] | Lea Thompson, Victoria Jackson, Stephen Shellen, Jerry Levine, Andrew Dice Clay, Mary Gross | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Casualties of War | 1989 | Brian De Palma | ★★ | 113 | Vietnam War picture focusing on one patrol, led by off-the-wall Penn, and its inhumane treatment of an innocent Vietnamese girl. As the Voice of Reason, Fox is well cast, but his clean-cut decency gets to be a bit much; Penn and Thu Le (the victim) are more effective. For all its good intentions, film has a jumbled, detached feel to it (though it's scripted by playwright David Rabe, a Vietnam veteran and author of Sticks and Bones and Streamers). Based on a real incident detailed in Daniel Lang's New Yorker article, later published as a book. | tt0097027 | [R] | Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, Don Harvey, John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Thuy Thu Le, Erik King, Sam Robards, Ving Rhames | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Cat Ballou | 1965 | Elliot Silverstein | ★★★½ | 96 | Funny Western spoof, with Fonda as Cat Ballou, notorious school-teacher-turned-outlaw. Marvin copped an Oscar for his dual role as a drunken gunman and his twin, a desperado with an artificial nose. Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye appear as strolling minstrels. Roy Chanslor's novel was adapted by Walter Newman and Frank R. Pierson. | tt0059017 | Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan, Dwayne Hickman, Tom Nardini, John Marley, Reginald Denny, Jay C. Flippen, Arthur Hunnicutt, Bruce Cabot | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Cat Chaser | 1989 | Abel Ferrara | ★★½ | 90 | Wordy political thriller based on Elmore Leonard's novel about an ex-soldier reuniting with old flame whose husband happens to be the head of the secret police in Santo Domingo. Some decent performances, but film is often confusing and dull. Never released theatrically. Alternate, unrated version runs 92m. | tt0097028 | [R] | Kelly McGillis, Peter Weller, Frederic Forrest, Charles Durning, Tomas Milian, Juan Fernandez | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Cat Creeps | 1946 | Erle C. Kenton | ★½ | 58 | Shabby B mystery with reporter and various greedy types searching for fortune in old lady's spooky mansion. | tt0038401 | Noah Beery/Jr., Lois Collier, Paul Kelly, Douglass Dumbrille, Rose Hobart | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Cat From Outer Space | 1978 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 104 | Kids will probably like this Disney fantasy-comedy, though it holds few surprises: cat from another world seeks help from U.S. scientists to repair his spaceship, but military protocol and enemy spying get in the way. Ironically, plot has many similarities to later E.T.! | tt0077305 | [G] | Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, McLean Stevenson, Harry Morgan, Roddy McDowall, Ronnie Schell | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Cat Girl | 1957 | Alfred Shaughnessy | ★½ | 69 | A family curse is passed down to Shelley, who begins to imagine that she's part cat, in this no-chills thriller that shamelessly rips off CAT PEOPLE. Silly, low-grade stuff. | tt0050235 | Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, Kay Callard, Paddy Webster | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Cat People | 1942 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 73 | Storyline and plot elements don't hold up, but moments of shock and terror are undiminished in the first of producer Val Lewton's famous horror films. Smith falls in love with strange, shy woman (Simon) who fears ancient curse of the panther inside her. Followed by THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. Remade in 1982. | tt0034587 | Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jack Holt, Jane Randolph | Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Cat People | 1982 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 118 | Virginal Kinski moves in with brother McDowell, a 'cat man,' and falls in love with zoo curator Heard as a black panther rampages through community. Sexy, bloody, technically well crafted, but uneven and ultimately unsatisfying; Schrader seems more concerned with camera angles and nudity than coherent storyline. Loosely based on the 1942 film. | tt0083722 | [R] | Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard, Annette O'Toole, Ruby Dee, Ed Begley/Jr., Scott Paulin, John Larroquette | Drama, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cat and Mouse | 1975 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★½ | 107 | Anyone could've killed wealthy Aumont, philandering husband of Morgan, and Inspector Reggiani finds out who and why. Denouement is only letdown in this delightful comedy mystery, written, directed, and produced by master Lelouch. Dazzling views of Paris and the countryside. Released here in 1978. | tt0072776 | [PG] | Michele Morgan, Serge Reggiani, Philippe Leotard, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Valerie Lagrange | French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Cat and the Canary | 1927 | Paul Leni | ★★★ | 74 | Delightful silent classic, the forerunner of all 'old dark house' mysteries, with nice touch of humor throughout as heiress LaPlante and nervous group spend night in haunted house. Remade several times. | tt0017739 | Laura LaPlante, Tully Marshall, Flora Finch, Creighton Hale, Gertrude Astor, Lucien Littlefield | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Cat and the Canary | 1939 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 74 | Entertaining remake of the venerable 'old dark house' chiller, spiced with Hope's brand of humor. This film cemented his movie stardom and led to the even more successful scare comedy THE GHOST BREAKERS. Remade again in 1978. | tt0031143 | Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Gale Sondergaard, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery, Nydia Westman, Elizabeth Patterson, George Zucco | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Cat and the Canary | 1978 | Radley Metzger | ★★½ | 90 | Entertaining remake of the old-dark-house staple, with a likable cast; reasonably faithful to the original, with the nicest twist being Hyde-White's method of communicating with his heirs. | tt0077304 | [PG] | Honor Blackman, Michael Callan, Edward Fox, Wendy Hiller, Olivia Hussey, Carol Lynley, Peter McEnery, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Cat and the Fiddle | 1934 | William K. Howard | ★★★ | 90 | Delightful Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein operetta, filled with sly comedy and clever ideas. Novarro is a struggling composer who forces his attentions on MacDonald; Morgan is 'benefactor' who comes between them. Songs include 'The Night Was Made for Love,' 'She Didn't Say Yes.' Final sequence is in color. | tt0024960 | Jeanette MacDonald, Ramon Novarro, Frank Morgan, Charles Butterworth, Jean Hersholt | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Cat in the Hat | Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat | 2003 | Bo Welch | ★½ | 82 | A brother and sister spend an eventful day in the company of a magical cat while their single mom is off at work. Brightly colored adaptation of the beloved rhyming book for young children is a betrayal of everything Dr. Seuss ever stood for, injecting potty humor and adult (wink-wink) jokes into its mixture of heavy-handed slapstick and silliness. Hayes also provides the voice of The Fish. Officially known as DR. SEUSS' THE CAT IN THE HAT, which is an official insult. | tt0312528 | [PG] | Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, Sean Hayes, Amy Hill, Clint Howard | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Cat o' Nine Tails | 1971 | Dario Argento | ★★ | 112 | Early Argento horror hit has Malden as ex-reporter, now blind, who persuades newsman Franciscus to join him in hunt for a crazed killer. Good atmosphere in uneven story, hurt by terrible dubbing. | tt0065761 | [PG] | Karl Malden, James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak, Cinzia De Carolis, Carlo Alighiero | Italian-German-French | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | 1958 | Richard Brooks | ★★★½ | 108 | Southern patriarch Ives learns he is dying; his greedy family, except for son Newman, falls all over itself sucking up to him. Tennessee Williams' classic study of 'mendacity' comes to the screen somewhat laundered but still packing a wallop; entire cast is sensational. Adaptation by Brooks and James Poe. Remade in 1983 for TV. | tt0051459 | Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cat's Eye | Stephen King's Cat's Eye | 1985 | Lewis Teague | ★½ | 93 | Trio of heavy-handed Stephen King stories, short on irony, long on mean-spiritedness. | tt0088889 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Kenneth McMillan, Robert Hays, Candy Clark, James Naughton, Patricia Kalember, Charles Dutton | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Cat's Meow | 2001 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★ | 112 | Entertaining speculation about the doings on William Randolph Hearst's yacht in November of 1924, including an unrequited love by Charlie Chaplin (Izzard) for Marion Davies (Dunst) and the murder of down-and-out producer Thomas Ince (Elwes). Well shot and well cast; Herrmann is an ideal Hearst, and Izzard is persuasive as Chaplin. Steven Peros' script (based on his play) captures the spirit of the time, but the events portrayed are strictly from his imagination. | tt0266391 | [R] | Kirsten Dunst, Edward Herrmann, Cary Elwes, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, Victor Slezak, Jennifer Tilly, James Laurenson, Claudia Harrison | German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Cat's-Paw | 1934 | Sam Taylor | ★★½ | 98 | Harold is a missionary's son, raised in China; he comes to U.S. a babe in the woods, is duped into running for mayor in big city by corrupt politicos who regard him as perfect patsy. Odd Capraesque comedy ends with strange denouement where Lloyd takes law into his own hands. A real curio. Edited for TV. | tt0024961 | Harold Lloyd, Una Merkel, George Barbier, Alan Dinehart, Grace Bradley, Nat Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Cat-Women of the Moon | Rocket to the Moon | 1954 | Arthur Hilton | ★½ | 64 | All-star cast in tacky sci-fi entry about a moon expedition that discovers female civilization and its underground empire. Originally shown in 3-D; aka ROCKET TO THE MOON. Remade as MISSILE TO THE MOON. | tt0045609 | Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, Bill Phipps, Douglas Fowley, Susan Morrow | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Catamount Killing | 1974 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★ | 93 | German film made in Vermont with Polish director. Passably interesting story of two small-town people who try to pull off bank heist and then come to grips with themselves as criminals. | tt0071770 | Horst Buchholz, Ann Wedgeworth, Chip Taylor, Louise Clark, Patricia Joyce, Polly Holliday | German | Crime | NULL | ||
| Catch .44 | 2011 | Aaron Harvey | 💣 | 94 | Cascade of potty-mouth disguised as a theatrical release (barely) is among the screen's biggest afflictees of the baneful TTT (or Too Transparently Tarentino-ish) Syndrome. Serving beers in a Lysol-less dump where even the roaches probably hit on her, waitress Akerman and her equally insipid non-deb friends get involved with drug seller Willis and perspiration-prone Whitaker in a deal with at least 44 double-crosses. That blood spilling is then replayed from various points of view even after the first 22 or so times have proven to be enough. | tt1886493 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Forest Whitaker, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Brad Dourif, Deborah Ann Woll, Michael Rosenbaum, Shea Whigham | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★ | 141 | In the 1960s, Frank Abagnale, Jr., not unlike Ferdinand Demara in THE GREAT IMPOSTOR, manages to con his way into a variety of jobs (airline pilot, surgeon, lawyer) using glibness, smarts, and knowledge of forgery . . . while FBI agent Hanks spends years tracking him. Brightly told for a story with so many dark undertones, with charismatic star performances and a moving turn by Walken as DiCaprio's ne'er-do-well father. Yet when the long tale is over, it has no resonance. Striking animated titles and a wonderful jazzy score by John Williams. Based on Abagnale's book. | tt0264464 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brian Howe, Jennifer Garner | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Catch My Soul | Santa Fe Satan | 1974 | Patrick McGoohan | ★½ | 95 | Jack Good's rock-opera adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, with Havens as sanctimonious preacher and LeGault as his Iago, is uninvolving, heavy-handed stuff. Some good music, but if the play's the thing, this one doesn't make it. Retitled: SANTA FE SATAN. | tt0071289 | [PG] | Richie Havens, Lance LeGault, Season Hubley, Tony Joe White, Susan Tyrrell, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett | Musical, Drama | NULL | |
| Catch That Kid | 2004 | Bart Freundlich | ★★ | 91 | Twelve-year-old climbing enthusiast Stewart and her two male best friends (and preteen romantic rivals) break into a bank's high-security vault, 100 feet off the ground, hoping to steal enough money to pay for experimental surgery for her father. Kids will enjoy the story and visual effects, though result is more video game than feature film— and parents may question its dubious ethics. Remake of a 2002 Danish film hit, KLATRETπSEN. | tt0337917 | [PG] | Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Max Thieriot, Jennifer Beals, Sam Robards, James Le Gros, John Carroll Lynch, Michael Des Barres | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family | NULL | ||
| Catch a Fire | 2006 | Phillip Noyce | ★★½ | 101 | A hardworking, happily married man in 1980 South Africa, still under apartheid rule, is wrongly accused of terrorist activities and tortured by a single-minded government agent (Robbins). This pushes him over the edge and causes him to join the freedom fighters who want to overturn their government. Somewhat simplistic story benefits from an exceptionally strong performance by Luke as Patrick Chamusso; Robbins's character isn't nearly as fleshed out. Chamusso himself appears in the film's closing moments. Screenplay by Shawn Slovo, who also wrote A WORLD APART. | tt0437232 | [PG-13] | Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie Henna, Mncedisi Shabangu, Tumisho K. Masha, Sithembiso Khumalo, Terry Pheto, Marius Weyers | British-South African-U.S. | Drama, History, Thriller | NULL | |
| Catch and Release | 2007 | Susannah Grant | ★★ | 112 | Generally uninvolving drama about a young woman whose fiancé dies suddenly, leaving behind a boatload of secrets. As each revelation makes her angrier, she begins to loosen up and accept new possibilities in her life, including romance. Garner valiantly tries to lift this lifeless material above the TV-movie level but the endless banter sinks it. Smith's character has a sitcom-style retort for any situation. Feature directing debut for writer Grant (ERIN BROCKOVICH, IN HER SHOES). | tt0395495 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Kevin Smith, Sam Jaeger, Juliette Lewis, Joshua Friesen, Fiona Shaw, Tina Lifford, Georgia Craig | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Catch-22 | 1970 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 121 | Long, labored, expensive film of Joseph Heller's book halfway succeeds in capturing surrealist insanity of WW2 Army life. Heavy-handedness spoils potential; good cast tries its best. Script by costar Henry. | tt0065584 | [R] | Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles, Bob Balaban, Marcel Dalio, Norman Fell, Charles Grodin, Austin Pendleton, Peter Bonerz, Elizabeth Wilson | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Catered Affair | 1956 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 93 | Davis sheds all glamour as Bronx taxi driver's wife wanting to give daughter ritzy wedding. Gore Vidal's script based on Paddy Chayefsky TV play. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0049061 | Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald, Rod Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Catfish | 2010 | Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost | ★★★ | 87 | This leads to a series of e-mails, texts, Facebook posts, and phone calls with the girl, her mother, and her sexy older sister. Eventually the threesome decide to visit Nev’s “girlfriend” at her home, where the story takes an unexpected turn. Fascinating documentary (and cautionary tale) about the way people build so-called relationships nowadays. What makes it worthwhile is the filmmakers’ reaction to what they find. And yes, it’s all genuine, not made up. | tt1584016 | [PG-13] | Two filmmakers and a photographer who document each other’s lives become intrigued when the photographer, Nev Schulman, receives a painting inspired by one of his pictures, painted by a precocious 8-year-old girl in Michigan | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Catherine & Co. | 1975 | Michel Boisrond | ★★ | 99 | Slight sexual comedy about young girl who becomes prostitute and decides to incorporate herself. TV prints run 84m. | tt0072770 | [R] | Jane Birkin, Patrick Dewaere, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Vittorio Caprioli, Jean-Claude Brialy | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Catherine the Great | The Rise of Catherine the Great | 1934 | Paul Czinner | ★★½ | 92 | Lavish historical drama of Russian czarina whose life is spoiled by rigidly planned marriage. Slow-moving but interesting. Also known as THE RISE OF CATHERINE THE GREAT. | tt0024962 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Elisabeth Bergner, Flora Robson, Joan Gardner, Gerald Du Maurier | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Catlow | 1971 | Sam Wanamaker | ★★½ | 103 | Outlaw tries to avoid interference on his way to $2 million gold robbery. Basically a comedy, with a surprisingly ebullient Brynner. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0066900 | [PG] | Yul Brynner, Richard Crenna, Leonard Nimoy, Daliah Lavi, Jo Ann Pflug, Jeff Corey | Western | NULL | ||
| The Catman of Paris | 1946 | Lesley Selander. | ★½ | 65 | A werewolf-like catman stalks the streets of fin de siècle Paris and suspicion falls on famous writer Esmond, who's subject to blackouts. Talky, routine horror from Republic. After transformation, the catman is played by an unbilled Robert J. Wilke. | tt0038402 | Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara, Douglass Dumbrille, Gerald Mohr, Fritz Feld, Francis Pierlot, John Dehner, Anthony Caruso. | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Cats & Dogs | 2001 | Lawrence Guterman | ★★ | 87 | Beagle puppy is adopted by the family of a scientist who's trying to invent something that will end humankind's allergies to dogs. The cats (led by Blofeld-like Mr. Tinkles) are out to stop this, opposed by a spy network of dogs. Good premise (executed with a variety of special effects) is undone by an uneven blend of silliness and heavy-handedness. Cat lovers be warned: top billing isn't everything. | tt0239395 | [PG] | Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alexander Pollock, Miriam Margolyes; voices of Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, Susan Sarandon, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Lovitz, Charlton Heston, Salome Jens | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore | 2010 | Brad Peyton | ★★ | 82 | Sequel to 2001 movie is a secret agent spoof with an all-star cast of computer-generated house pets. Kitty Galore (Midler) plots world domination and unites the normally adversarial cats and dogs, who use all manner of high-tech gadgets to thwart her plans. Sequences that parody spy films are clever; numerous butt-sniffing gags are not. Passable children’s fare. 3-D. | tt1287468 | [PG] | Voices of Bette Midler, James Marsden, Nick Nolte, Christina Applegate, Sean Hayes, Wallace Shawn, Roger Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris O’Donnell, Neil Patrick Harris, Jack McBrayer, Fred Armisen | Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Cats Don't Dance | 1997 | Mark Dindal | ★½ | 75 | Fairly dreary cartoon feature about a wide-eyed cat from Kokomo who goes to Hollywood to star in musical movies, circa 1939. What he finds instead is a town full of cynics and broken dreams. The villain is a hyper-bratty child star who hates animals. That's entertainment? Unmemorable songs by Randy Newman. Gene Kelly served as a choreography consultant. | tt0118829 | [G] | Voices of Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, Natalie Cole, Ashley Peldon, Kathy Najimy, John Rhys-Davies, George Kennedy, Rene Auberjonois, Hal Holbrook, Don Knotts, Betty Lou Gerson | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | ||
| Cattle Annie and Little Britches | 1980 | Lamont Johnson | ★★★ | 95 | Very pleasant little Western, which was thrown away by its distributor, Universal. In 1893, Eastern girls Plummer (Annie) and Lane (Britches) join remnants of the Doolin-Dalton gang and inspire them to pull a few more jobs. Winning cast, including Plummer in film debut. Based on Robert Ward's novel. | tt0082145 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Rod Steiger, Amanda Plummer, Diane Lane, John Savage, Scott Glenn, Michael Conrad | Western | NULL | ||
| Cattle Drive | 1951 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 77 | Stockwell does well in role of bratty teenager who learns a sense of values from veteran cowhand McCrea on arduous cow drive. | tt0043389 | Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell, Leon Ames, Chill Wills | Western | NULL | |||
| Cattle Empire | 1958 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★ | 83 | McCrea agrees to lead cattle drive, planning revenge on cattle owners who sent him to jail; OK Western. | tt0051461 | Joel McCrea, Gloria Talbott, Don Haggerty, Phyllis Coates | Western | NULL | |||
| Cattle King | 1963 | Tay Garnett | ★★ | 88 | Control of grazing land subject of standard Western confrontation saga, Taylor and Middleton squaring off in forgettable drama. | tt0056914 | Robert Taylor, Joan Caulfield, Robert Loggia, Robert Middleton, Larry Gates, Malcolm Atterbury | Western | NULL | |||
| Cattle Queen of Montana | 1954 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 88 | Stanwyck battles to protect her livestock and property from plundering by Indians— and a ruthless villain (Evans). Reagan plays second fiddle to feisty Stanwyck here— but they're both done in by mediocre script. Beautiful scenery helps. | tt0046839 | Barbara Stanwyck, Ronald Reagan, Gene Evans, Lance Fuller, Anthony Caruso, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| Cattle Town | 1952 | Noel Smith | ★★ | 71 | Both Warner Bros. and Morgan were at low points when this sad echo of a slick Western was churned out. | tt0044490 | Dennis Morgan, Philip Carey, Amanda Blake, Rita Moreno, Sheb Wooley, Merv Griffin | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Catwoman | 2004 | Pitof | ★½ | 104 | Meek employee of a big cosmetics firm is murdered when she overhears incriminating evidence about a new face cream with gruesome side effects . . . but instead of dying she's resurrected as Catwoman and tries to bring the guilty parties to justice. Nonsensical story concept, illogical in the extreme, sets up impossible relationships and gives us a 'heroine' who's scarcely worth rooting for. Berry does her best; Stone manages to be dull even while parodying herself as the lethal wife of the cosmetics manufacturer. | tt0327554 | [PG-13] | Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, Sharon Stone, Lambert Wilson, Frances Conroy, Alex Borstein, Michael Massee, Byron Mann | Crime, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Caught | 1949 | Max Ophuls | ★★★ | 88 | Compelling, intelligent story of young girl who marries powerful millionaire, tries to escape her shallow existence with him. Fine performances, skilled direction by Ophuls. | tt0040221 | James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan, Frank Ferguson, Curt Bois, Natalie Schafer | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Caught | 1996 | Robert M. Young | ★★★ | 109 | Tension-packed, if somewhat familiar, film noir about long-married couple whose relationship is disrupted when a drifter (Verveen) comes to live with the couple and work in their fish store; then their married son (Schub) arrives on the scene. This POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE variation has atmosphere to spare; sharply acted and scripted (by Edward Pomerantz, based on his novel Into It). | tt0115847 | [R] | Edward James Olmos, Maria Conchita Alonso, Arie Verveen, Bitty Schram, Steven Schub | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Caught Plastered | 1931 | William Seiter. | ★★½ | 69 | Amusing farce loaded with puns, wisecracks, and vaudeville gags. W&W play itinerant song-and-dance men who help save a sweet old lady's drugstore from foreclosure by using it to stage live radio broadcasts, then try to keep it from falling into the hands of a bootlegging gang. | tt0021725 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Lucy Beaumont, Jason Robards/Sr., DeWitt Jennings, Charles Middleton. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Caught Short | 1930 | Charles F. Riesner. | ★★½ | 75 | Bickering boardinghouse landladies try to one-up each other as they invest in the stock market, as Marie's daughter and Polly's son fall in love. Typical Dressler-Moran comedy is pleasant enough but has no big slapstick sequences and lacks the punch of such other films as PROSPERITY. Ostensibly based on Eddie Cantor's best-selling book about the stock-market crash. | tt0020749 | Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Anita Page, Charles Morton, Thomas Conlin, Greta Mann, T. Roy Barnes. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Caught Up | 1998 | Darin Scott | 💣 | 95 | Witless blaxploitation/film noir about an ex-con (Woodbine) who falls back into L.A.'s underworld when he gets involved with a sexy psychic (Williams) who's a dead ringer for his ex-wife (also Williams). Marked by convoluted plotting, gross stereotypes, and cameos by star rappers (Snoop plays a drug courier named Cool Kitty Kat— get it?). That's CANDYMAN's Tony Todd as a malevolent parole officer and RE-ANIMATOR's Jeffrey Combs as a Shakespeare-quoting eunuch security guard. | tt0119988 | [R] | Bokeem Woodbine, Cynda Williams, Jeffrey Combs, Tony Todd, Snoop Dogg, *** LL Cool J, Michael Clarke Duncan | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Caught in the Draft | 1941 | David Butler | ★★★ | 82 | The last thing movie star Hope wants is to get drafted, but he accidentally enlists himself. Very funny service comedy. | tt0033455 | Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Cauldron of Blood | Blind Man's Bluff | 1967 | Edward Mann (Santos Alcocer) | ★½ | 95 | Sordid, sleep-inducing tale of blind sculptor (Karloff) whose skeletal models are actually victims of his murdering wife. Also known as BLIND MAN'S BLUFF. Filmed in widescreen Panoramica. | tt0061494 | [PG] | Boris Karloff, Viveca Lindfors, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jacqui Speed, Rosenda Monteros | Spanish-U.S. | Horror | NULL |
| Cause for Alarm! | 1951 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 74 | Simple, effective thriller with Young registering as the panic-stricken wife of psychotic Sullivan. Tension builds, and there's a neat plot twist. | tt0043390 | Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling, Margalo Gillmore, Carl Switzer, Richard Anderson | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cavalcade | 1933 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★★ | 110 | Lavish Hollywood adaptation of Noel Coward's London stage success (which may remind many of TV's Upstairs, Downstairs) chronicling two families from eve of the 20th century to early 1930s. Nostalgic, richly atmospheric, but also sharply critical of war and the aftershocks that brought an end to a wonderful way of life. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and 'Interior Decoration' (it is handsome). | tt0023876 | Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Herbert Mundin, Ursula Jeans, Margaret Lindsay, Beryl Mercer, Una O'Connor, Billy Bevan, Frank Lawton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cavalry Scout | 1951 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 78 | Routine Western of scout Cameron tracking down stolen army goods and romancing Long. | tt0043391 | Rod Cameron, Audrey Long, Jim Davis, James Millican, James Arness | Western | NULL | |||
| Cave of Forgotten Dreams | 2011 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 90 | Compelling documentary about the Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994 in the south of France, which contains some of the earliest known human cave paintings, perfectly preserved and dating back over 30,000 years. Writer-director Herzog and his three-person film crew were allowed restricted access inside the cave by the French government and, with their 3-D cameras, capture a sense of genuine physical and historic wonder. Herzog's philosophical narrative maunderings sometimes veer into the obtrusive but mostly he lets the spectacular images speak for themselves. | tt1664894 | [G] | U.S.-Canadian-French-German-British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Cave of Outlaws | 1951 | William Castle | ★★ | 75 | Search for stolen gold leads ex-con, lawman, miner, et al. to title situation; Smith is wasted. | tt0043392 | Macdonald Carey, Alexis Smith, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cave of the Yellow Dog | 2006 | Byambasuren Davaa | ★★★ | 89 | Poignant family drama about a little girl and her puppy who live in a yurt in the Mongolian valleys, where cowpies are her toys, wolves kill livestock, vultures circle, and the anonymous big city beckons. Nonprofessionals sincerely enact the ethnographic details of daily life-child care, making cheese, sheep skinning-in a simple, satisfying tale not unlike LITTLE HOUSE ON THE STEPPES. Written by the director. Cute pooch. | tt0432325 | [G] | Urjindorj Batchuluun, Buyandulam D. Batchuluun, Nansal Batchuluun, Nansalmaa Batchuluun, Batbayar Batchuluun | German-Mongolian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Cave | 2005 | Bruce Hunt | ★½ | 97 | Somewhere below Romania, a team of professional cave divers gets trapped underground, often underwater, stalked by a CGI band of flying people-eaters. Good-looking production tries to float a fully foreseeable plot and to buoy its endlessly bickering characters, but it's a pretty underwhelming cross between JAWS and ALIEN. | tt0402901 | [PG-13] | Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Lena Headey, Piper Perabo, Eddie Cibrian, Rick Ravanello, Marcel Iures, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Daniel Dae Kim | U.S.-German | Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Caveman | 1981 | Carl Gottlieb | ★★½ | 92 | Stoned-age spoof follows prehistoric Starr's adventures in One Zillion B.C. as a misfit who forms his own tribe, which is composed of outcasts from other caves. Dum-dum comedy saved by fantastic (and funny) special-effects dinosaurs created by Jim Danforth and David Allen. | tt0082146 | [PG] | Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, John Matuszak, Shelley Long, Dennis Quaid, Avery Schreiber, Jack Gilford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Caveman's Valentine | 2001 | Kasi Lemmons | ★½ | 105 | A once-brilliant piano student now lives as a delusional hermit in an N.Y.C. cave, but turns detective to help solve a murder that takes place in the park outside his dwelling. Strange, unappealing film has almost nothing to recommend it. Screenplay by George Dawes Green, based on his well-regarded novel. | tt0182000 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Ann Magnuson, Aunjanue Ellis, Rodney Eastman, Tamara Tunie, Jay Rodan, Anthony Michael Hall | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cavern | 1966 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 94 | Six soldiers are trapped for over a year in a cavern with Schiaffino, but plot contrivance isn't handled badly in above-average programmer. The prolific director's swan song. | tt0059022 | Rosanna Schiaffino, John Saxon, Brian Aherne, Peter Marshall, Larry Hagman, Hans Von Borsody | War, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cease Fire | 1985 | David Nutter | ★★½ | 97 | Earnest drama about Vietnam vet who's still haunted by his experiences 15 years later and unwilling to acknowledge that he has a problem. Sincere, poignant at times, but dramatically uneven. George Fernandez adapted script from his one-act play. | tt0088892 | [R] | Don Johnson, Lisa Blount, Robert F. Lyons, Richard Chaves, Rick Richards, Chris Noel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cecil B. Demented | 2000 | John Waters | ★½ | 88 | Dorff is a guerrilla film director who masterminds the kidnapping of a prima donna movie star and uses her to conduct a war on the blandness of mainstream movies. Noisy, frenetic, unfunny effort from the usually amusing Waters. | tt0173716 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Melanie Griffith, Adrian Grenier, Alicia Witt, Larry Gilliard/Jr., Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Noseworthy, Mike Shannon, Harriet Dodge, Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst, Ricki Lake, Roseanne, Kevin Nealon, Eric Roberts | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cedar Rapids | 2011 | Miguel Arteta | ★★★ | 86 | Naïve, almost childlike insurance man from a small town in Wisconsin (Helms, in a breakout role) is sent to an industry convention in Iowa, charged with bringing home an important award for his boss. Instead he gets a series of accelerated life lessons from a flirtatious colleague (Heche) and a bombastic rival (Reilly), among others. At first the film seems to be making fun of its protagonist, but the tone shifts once we arrive in Cedar Rapids; the result is both funny and disarming, as you’d expect from director Arteta. | tt1477837 | [R] | Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock/Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Lennon, Rob Corddry, Mike O’Malley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ceiling Zero | 1936 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 95 | Irresponsible mail flier Cagney causes no end of grief for old pal (and boss) O'Brien, especially when he sets his sights on young pilot Travis. Typically machine-gun-paced Hawks drama belies its stage origins; one of the best Cagney-O'Brien vehicles. Based on the play by Frank 'Spig' Wead; remade as INTERNATIONAL SQUADRON. | tt0026191 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, June Travis, Stuart Erwin, Barton MacLane, Isabel Jewell | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Celebration at Big Sur | 1971 | Baird Bryant, Johanna Demetrakas | ★★ | 82 | Lesser folk-rock documentary, filmed at 1969 Big Sur Festival, suffers from poor production values. Baez is highlighted, singing 'I Shall Be Released,' 'Song for David,' etc. | tt0154299 | [PG] | Joan Baez, Crosby/ Stills/ Nash & Young, Joni Mitchell, John Sebastian, Mimi Fariñta | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Celebration | Festen | 1998 | Thomas Vinterberg | ★★★½ | 101 | A prodigal son's return for his prosperous father's sixtieth birthday party sets the stage for a dysfunctional family reunion in the Danish countryside. Harsh, sardonically humorous look at the dark side of relationships— and hidden skeletons. Strongly scripted by the director (who also has a bit as a cab driver) and Mogens Rukov, under the 'pure cinema' rules of Dogma 95. | tt0154420 | [R] | Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen, Birthe Neumann, Trine Dyrholm | Danish | Drama | NULL |
| Celebrity | 1998 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 114 | Branagh becomes Woody Allen in this rambling look at a neurotic N.Y. magazine writer, his messed-up love life and career. Allen is coasting here, with an attractive cast, some amusing moments, but nothing much to say. Davis is, as always, incredibly good. Shot in black-and-white by Sven Nykvist. | tt0120533 | [R] | Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Joe Mantegna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Winona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Hank Azaria, Melanie Griffith, Famke Janssen, Michael Lerner, Bebe Neuwirth, Larry Pine, Marian Seldes, Andre Gregory, Gretchen Mol, Dylan Baker, Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Celia Weston, Aida Turturro, Kate Burton, Patti D'Arbanville, Debra Messing, Donna Hanover, Karen Duffy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Celeste | 1981 | Percy Adlon | ★★★ | 107 | Slow-moving but stunningly photographed and detailed account of the relationship between Marcel Proust (Arndt) and his devoted housekeeper (Mattes). Based on the real Celeste's memoirs. | tt0082225 | Eva Mattes, Jurgen Arndt, Norbert Wartha, Wolf Euba, Leo Bardischewski | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Celine and Julie Go Boating | 1974 | Jacques Rivette | ★★★½ | 193 | Librarian Julie (Labourier) strikes up a friendship with magician Celine (Berto), who tells her of a mythical haunted house, which the two visit; they eventually become involved in the 'lives' of the ghosts who reside there. Eerie, thoroughly entrancing (if a bit overlong) comedy-drama-fantasy. Scripted by Berto, Labourier, Ogier, Pisier, Rivette, and Eduardo de Gregorio, based on short stories by Henry James. | tt0071381 | Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier, Barbet Schroeder, Nathalie Ansar | French | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cell 2455, Death Row | 1955 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 77 | Exploitative retracing of life of notorious criminal, based on real-life Caryl Chessman and his demand, while in prison, for retrials. Alan Alda later played Chessman in KILL ME WHILE YOU CAN. | tt0047926 | William Campbell, Kathryn Grant, Vince Edwards, Marian Carr | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Cell | 2000 | Tarsem Singh | ★★★ | 107 | Genuinely creepy film about an experimental program in which psychologist Lopez is able to enter the minds of her catatonic patients. FBI agent Vaughn prevails upon her to help him catch sick serial killer D'Onofrio. Full of arresting— but often distressing— images; not for the squeamish. | tt0209958 | [R] | Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Weber, Dylan Baker, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, James Gammon, Patrick Bauchau | Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cellular | 2004 | David R. Ellis. | ★★½ | 94 | Not-bad thriller in which science teacher Basinger is kidnapped and imprisoned in an attic. A cell phone is her only link to the outside world, and when a stranger answers her call, she tries to convince the young surfer-slacker (Evans) to help her. Entertaining enough, as long as you ignore the many plot holes; Macy is a big plus as a cop. Based on a story by Larry Cohen, who also wrote PHONE BOOTH. | tt0337921 | [PG-13] | Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William H. Macy, Eric Christian Olsen, Jessica Biel, Jason Statham, Richard Burgi, Eddie Driscoll, Adam Taylor Gordon, Noah Emmerich. | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Celluloid Closet | 1995 | Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | ★★★ | 102 | Entertaining, insightful look at homosexuality as reflected in movies. Well-chosen clips are sandwiched by interviews with many actors and filmmakers (Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein, Arthur Laurents, Shirley MacLaine, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Mart Crowley, John Schlesinger). One highlight: Gore Vidal revealing the gay subtext in his screenplay for BEN-HUR. Tomlin coexecutive-produced. | tt0112651 | [R] | Narrated by Lily Tomlin | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Celtic Pride | 1996 | Tom De Cerchio | 💣 | 91 | Two obsessed Boston Celtics fans drunkenly kidnap the arrogant star of the rival basketball team to ensure that theirs wins the championship. Might have worked as a wild farce, but in this 'realistic' comic mode, it's a disaster, with repellent characters, leaden pacing, and no laughs. | tt0115851 | [PG-13] | Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, Dan Aykroyd, Gail O'Grady, Adam Hendershott, Paul Guilfoyle, Deion Sanders, Christopher McDonald | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Cement Garden | 1992 | Andrew Birkin | ★★½ | 105 | Strange, complex account of the way four young siblings react to the death of their parents (and go about hiding the demise of their mom)— with youthful bewilderment, erotic anxiety, and clandestine yearning. Vivid, but also terribly affected. The director (who scripted, from Ian McEwan's novel) is Gainsbourg's uncle, and Ned Birkin's father. | tt0106535 | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Andrew Robertson, Sinead Cusack, Hanns Zischler, Alice Coulthard, Ned Birkin, Jochen Horst | German-British-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cemetery Club | 1992 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 106 | The friendship of three women (all Jewish, all played— none too persuasively— by Gentiles) is underscored by the loss of their husbands, until one of them enters into a tentative relationship with a man. Burstyn is a joy to watch, but Dukakis' and Ladd's caricatured performances throw modestly entertaining film off-balance. Ivan Menchell adapted his own play, though comic writer Marshall Brickman has 'production consultant' credit. Jerry Orbach and Lee Richardson appear unbilled as husbands. | tt0106536 | [PG-13] | Ellen Burstyn, Olympia Dukakis, Diane Ladd, Danny Aiello, Lainie Kazan, Jeff Howell, Christina Ricci, Bernie Casey, Robert Costanzo, Wallace Shawn, Louis Guss | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cemetery Junction | 2010 | Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant | ★★ | 95 | Three pals in a working-class town still fool around like adolescents, but one of them (Cooke) has ambitions and goes to work for local tycoon Fiennes, selling insurance. Then he sees that Fiennes’ wife and pretty daughter are as straitjacketed in their lives as his own humdrum family. Sincere coming-of-age saga set in the 1970s hits mostly familiar notes but has good performances and some great moments. Written by Gervais (who plays Cooke’s father) and Merchant (who appears briefly as a guest at a corporate dinner). Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1196204 | [R] | Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Matthew Goode, Ricky Gervais, Julia Davis | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Cemetery Man | 1995 | Michele Soavi | ★★ | 100 | Zombies rise from the dead a week after their demise, and it's 'Cemetery Man's' job to kill them again, with the assistance of a grotesque mute companion. Based on an Italian comic book series, Dylan Dog, a promising concept becomes overwhelming and repetitive. At times outrageous, funny, sexy, and disgusting, with a startlingly enigmatic and fascinating ending. | tt0109592 | [R] | Rupert Everett, Francois Hadji-Lazaro, Anna Falchi, Stefano Masciarelli, Mickey Knox | U.S.-Italian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Centennial Summer | 1946 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 102 | Leisurely, plush musical of Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, with sisters Crain and Darnell both after handsome Wilde; nice Jerome Kern score helps. | tt0038406 | Jeanne Crain, Cornel Wilde, Linda Darnell, William Eythe, Walter Brennan, Constance Bennett, Dorothy Gish | Musical | NULL | |||
| Center Stage | 2000 | Nicholas Hytner | ★★ | 113 | Routine backstage soaper about young students at a prestigious N.Y.C. ballet company, focusing on a plucky starlet's infatuation with the company's cocky male lead (American Ballet Theater star Stiefel). Lots of Broadway pedigree behind the scenes, including choreography by Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman, but this plays like Dawson's Creek in Capezios. Only a couple of the dance set-pieces really fly. Fun cameo from ex-Chorus Line hoofer Priscilla Lopez. | tt0210616 | [PG-13] | Amanda Schull, Zoë Saldana, Susan May Pratt, Peter Gallagher, Donna Murphy, Debra Monk, Ethan Stiefel, Sascha Radetsky, Shakiem Evans | Drama | NULL | ||
| Center of the Web | 1992 | David A. Prior | ★★ | 88 | Hired killer is murdered, and government agents force a man who looks just like him to pose as the dead bad-guy. Or is that what's really going on? Complicated plot, smoothly directed, but of no real distinction. | tt0103933 | [R] | Robert Davi, Charlene Tilton, Ted Prior, Tony Curtis, Bo Hopkins, William Zipp, Graham Timbes, Eric Stenson, Charles Napier | Action | NULL | ||
| The Center of the World | 2001 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 86 | Millionaire computer nerd hires a stripper to accompany him to Las Vegas for a weekend— after she sets strict ground rules, including no sex. But his fantasy vision of her, and her illusion of having control, collide with reality as they begin to have genuine feelings for each other. Intense and intimate drama about sexual relationships, with compelling performances by the two leads. Unrated version runs 88m. | tt0240402 | Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Carla Gugino, Balthazar Getty, Alisha Klass | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Centerfold Girls | 1974 | John Peyser | ★½ | 93 | Fine cast of familiar faces helps routine tale of psycho Prine killing pinup girls. | tt0071295 | [R] | Andrew Prine, Tiffany Bolling, Aldo Ray, Ray Danton, Francine York, Jeremy Slate, Mike Mazurki, Dan Seymour | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Central Airport | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 75 | Film's title has nothing to do with its story, a romantic rivalry between pilot brothers Barthelmess and Brown. Some great aerial stunts and impressive miniature special effects help make up for underdeveloped script. Blink and you'll miss John Wayne in a bit part as Brown's copilot in the climactic sequence. | tt0023878 | Richard Barthelmess, Sally Eilers, Tom Brown, Glenda Farrell, Harold Huber, Grant Mitchell, Willard Robertson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Central Park | 1932 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 61 | Blondell and Ford uplift this programmer as a pair of small-town kids making their way in the big city who inadvertently become involved with gangsters. Set entirely in N.Y.C.'s Central Park. | tt0022751 | Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Wallace Ford, Henry B. Walthall, Patricia Ellis, Charles Sellon | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Central Station | 1998 | Walter Salles | ★★★ | 107 | A woman who writes letters for the illiterate at Rio de Janeiro's central train station feels obliged to help a 9-year-old boy whose mother has just been killed. The two form an unlikely bond and journey to a remote area of Brazil to try to find his father. Predictable on one level, but extremely well done, with a shining performance by Montenegro (one of Brazil's leading actresses) and newcomer de Oliveira. | tt0140888 | [R] | Fernanda Montenegro, Vinicius de Oliveira, Marilia Pêra, Sôia Lira, Othon Bastos, Otávio Augusto, Stela Freitas | Brazilian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Century | 1994 | Stephen Poliakoff | ★★ | 112 | Romantic drama set in turn-of-the-century London examines the relationships of three very different people as the Victorian era dissolves into the 20th century and the world becomes a different place. Mildly involving period piece, but top-notch cast can't breathe life into a premise that doesn't quite come off. | tt0106537 | Charles Dance, Miranda Richardson, Clive Owen, Robert Stephens, Lena Headey, Neil Stuke, Joan Hickson, Fiona Walker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ceremony | 2011 | Max Winkler | ★★ | 89 | A hyper-verbal self-styled sophisticate, young Angarano dupes a naïve friend (Thompson) into driving him to Long Island, where he intends to crash the weekend wedding of an older woman (Thurman) he loves. Romantic comedy almost never recovers from its introduction of Angarano, who is so strident it’s hard to root for him—or believe that Thurman ever cared for him. Debut feature for writer-director Winkler shows promise, but by the time his two-dimensional characters finally reveal more colors it’s almost too late. | tt1341341 | [R] | Uma Thurman, Michael Angarano, Lee Pace, Reece Thompson, Jake M. Johnson, Rebecca Mader, Brooke Bloom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Ceremony | 1963 | Laurence Harvey | ★★½ | 105 | Mishmash about convicted killer rescued by brother who demands liaison with sister-in-law as reward. | tt0056918 | Laurence Harvey, Sarah Miles, Robert Walker/Jr., John Ireland, Ross Martin, Lee Patterson, Noel Purcell | Crime | NULL | |||
| Certain Fury | 1985 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | 💣 | 87 | Atrocious film about two girls on the lam, featuring a pair of Academy Award winners (as the ads proclaimed) giving two of the worst performances in recent memory. Made in Canada. | tt0088895 | [R] | Tatum O'Neal, Irene Cara, Nicholas Campbell, George Murdock, Moses Gunn, Peter Fonda | Action | NULL | ||
| A Certain Sacrifice | 1985 | Stephen Jon Lewicki | 💣 | 60 | The Material Girl's 'screen debut' is dreadful, bargain-basement junk. She's cast as a streetwise teen who manages to get herself raped. Filmed during 1978-1981, and never released theatrically. Madonna was allegedly paid $100 for working in this; it's no wonder she sued (unsuccessfully) to halt its video release. | tt0088896 | Madonna Ciccone, Jeremy Pattnosh | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| A Certain Smile | 1958 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 106 | Françoise Sagan's novella becomes overblown soap opera. Romance between Parisian students Dillman (in film debut) and Carere interrupted when she is beguiled by roué Brazzi; chic Fontaine is wasted. | tt0051466 | Rossano Brazzi, Joan Fontaine, Bradford Dillman, Christine Carere | Drama | NULL | |||
| Certified Copy | 2010 | Abbas Kiarostami | ★★ | 106 | British writer (Shimell) whose latest book examines the meaning of certifying the authenticity of artworks attends a conference in Tuscany and spends a day with a woman (Binoche) who appears to be an adoring fan. Is their connection intellectual, spiritual, romantic, sexual—or something else altogether? Talky, demanding, and ultimately depressing two-character drama is not so much a movie as a mind game. Worth seeing primarily (or only) for Binoche's emotion-packed performance. Iranian filmmaker Kiarostami's first feature made outside his native country. | tt1020773 | Unrated | Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carrière, Aghathe Natanson, Gianna Giachetti, Adrian Moore | French-Italian-Belgian | Drama | NULL | |
| Cesar | 1936 | Marcel Pagnol | ★★★½ | 117 | Fanny's son (Fouche), now grown, learns that his father is Marius (Fresnay), not Panisse (Charpin). Raimu steals the film in the title role, particularly when he gives a poignant discourse on death. Third of Pagnol's trilogy, preceded by MARIUS and FANNY. All three were the basis of the play and movie FANNY (1961). | tt0027489 | Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Charpin, Andre Fouche, Alida Rouffe | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cet Amour-la | 2002 | Josée Dayan | ★★½ | 98 | Ambitious but uneven depiction of the multilayered relationship between writer-filmmaker Marguerite Duras (Moreau) and Yann Andréa (Demarigny), a student almost four decades her junior who becomes her assistant and lover. Moreau (who appeared in a number of Duras films in her career) is well cast and as fascinating as ever, but the film itself is disappointing. Based on Andréa's autobiographical novel. | tt0277622 | Jeanne Moreau, Aymeric Demarigny, Christiane Rorato, Sophie Milleron, Justine Lévy, Stanislas Sauphanor, Didier Lesour, Tanya Lopert | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chad Hanna | 1940 | Henry King | ★★ | 86 | Rather flat circus drama set in 19th-century New York; colorful but empty. | tt0032321 | Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Linda Darnell, Guy Kibbee, Jane Darwell, John Carradine | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Chain Lightning | 1950 | Stuart Heisler | ★★ | 94 | After WW2, bomber pilot Bogart becomes a test pilot for jet manufacturer Massey. Some romantic rivalry over Parker with inventor Whorf is as low-key as the rest of this bland, uninvolving movie. | tt0042324 | Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Parker, Raymond Massey, Richard Whorf | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chain Reaction | 1980 | Ian Barry | ★★½ | 87 | OK thriller chronicling the repercussions of a nuclear plant accident on a contaminated employee (Thompson) and an innocent couple (Bisley, Winchester) forced to contend with Big Brother. Look quickly for Mel Gibson as a bearded car mechanic. Video title: NUCLEAR RUN. | tt0080513 | Steve Bisley, Arna-Maria Winchester, Ross Thompson, Ralph Cotterill, Patrick Ward | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chain Reaction | 1996 | Andrew Davis | ★½ | 106 | Machinist working on hydrogen-energy project is blamed for a devastating explosion and takes it on the lam along with a female physicist on the project. What's really behind all this skulduggery? Uninspired, ultimately ludicrous blend of action, chase, and political thriller genres has barely a believable moment. | tt0115857 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward, Kevin Dunn, Brian Cox, Joanna Cassidy, Nicholas Rudall | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Chain of Desire | 1992 | Temistocles Lopez | ★½ | 107 | Pompous reworking of LA RONDE, set in the era of AIDS and chronicling various out-of-the-ordinary sexual encounters among a group of shallow, jaded Manhattanites. Almost unbearably bad at times. | tt0103936 | Malcolm McDowell, Linda Fiorentino, Kevin Conroy, Seymour Cassel, Assumpta Serna, Elias Koteas, Angel Aviles, Patrick Bauchau, Grace Zabriskie, Tim Guinee, Jamie Harrold | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chain of Evidence | 1957 | Paul Landres. | ★½ | 64 | Programmer has dedicated homicide detective Elliott tracking down the real killer of a businessman. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other movies. | tt0050241 | Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty, James Lydon, Claudia Barrett, Tina Carver, Ross Elliott, Dabbs Greer, Hugh Sanders, Timothy Carey, Meg Randall. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Chain of Fools | 2000 | Traktor. | 💣 | 96 | Wimpy barber accidentally kills a hoodlum, then decides to purloin the valuable coins the guy has just stolen. Woeful, would-be farce might be better described as CHAIN OF OBNOXIOUS IDIOTS. At one point Wilkinson moans, 'How did I ever get into this mess?' Indeed. Traktor is the name of a Swedish collective, so no one person can be blamed for this. Released direct to video in the U.S. | tt0194368 | [R] | Steve Zahn, Salma Hayek, Jeff Goldblum, Elijah Wood, David Cross, Tom Wilkinson, Orlando Jones, Kevin Corrigan, David Hyde Pierce, Lara Flynn Boyle, Craig Ferguson, Michael Rapaport. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Chained | 1934 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 76 | Chic formula MGM love triangle with Crawford torn between love for Gable and married lover Kruger. Watch for Mickey Rooney splashing in a swimming pool. | tt0024963 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Otto Kruger, Stuart Erwin, Una O'Connor, Akim Tamiroff | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Chained Heat | 1983 | Paul Nicolas | 💣 | 95 | Innocent Blair finds herself in a prison where the warden has a hot tub in his office. Strictly for the grind-house crowd on 42nd Street. Followed by CHAINED HEAT 2. | tt0085318 | [R] | Linda Blair, John Vernon, Sybil Danning, Tamara Dobson, Stella Stevens, Louisa Moritz, Nita Talbot, Michael Callan, Henry Silva, Edy Williams | U.S.-German | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| Chains of Gold | 1991 | Rod Holcomb | ★★ | 95 | A dedicated social worker (Travolta) transforms himself into a Stallone clone as he sets out to rescue a young friend caught up with a gang of crack dealers. Ludicrous actioner is yet another of Travolta's grade-D pre- PULP FICTION efforts (although he cowrote this one!). Made for theatrical release in 1989, but debuted on cable TV. | tt0101560 | [R] | John Travolta, Marilu Henner, Joey Lawrence, Bernie Casey, Ramon Franco, Hector Elizondo, Benjamin Bratt, Conchata Ferrell, Tammy Lauren | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Chairman of the Board | 1998 | Alex Zamm | 💣 | 95 | Excruciatingly stupid story of inventor/beach bum Carrot Top, who inherits a major corporation from a complete stranger, to the vexation of sleazy corporate nephew Miller. Harris hits the film's low point as his landlady, a woman with a laryngectomy who ceaselessly curses. Someone thought this was funny? | tt0118836 | [PG-13] | Carrot Top, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Larry Miller, Raquel Welch, Jack Warden, M. Emmet Walsh, Estelle Harris, Bill Erwin, Little Richard, Taylor Negron, Butterbean | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Chairman | 1969 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 102 | Lots of talk but little action in story of American scientist sent to Communist China on super-secret espionage mission. | tt0064148 | [M] | Gregory Peck, Anne Heywood, Arthur Hill, Alan Dobie, Conrad Yama | Action | NULL | ||
| Chalk | 2007 | Mike Akel | ★★ | 84 | Low-budget mockumentary about malcontent teachers with a cause lacks structure and comedic drive, getting by (a little) on goodwill. The two Schremmers are married in real life; he's the movie's focus (a history-teaching newcomer named Troy), and she's the default standout as a gym teacher who would like to make Troy her boy. Affectionate enough and probably even true enough, but just passable. | tt0758738 | [PG-13] | Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Shannon Haragan, Chris Mass, Jeff Guerrero, Jerry Jarmon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Chalk Garden | 1964 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 106 | Very-high-class soap opera with good cast supporting story of teenager set on right path by governess Kerr; colorful production, quite entertaining. From Enid Bagnold play. | tt0057933 | Deborah Kerr, Hayley Mills, John Mills, Edith Evans, Felix Aylmer, Elizabeth Sellars | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Challenge | 1974 | Martin Beck | 💣 | 84 | North Carolina-based Owensby's first film (which he also produced) amateurishly goes through the usual vengeance-for-killing-my-family paces. Opening printed crawl celebrates this as return of 'clean, decent entertainment,' followed by Owensby causing the deaths of various badguys. But don't worry— none of his victims is naked. Dreadful. | tt0071298 | [PG] | Earl Owensby, William Hicks, Katheryn Thompson, Johnny Popwell | Crime | NULL | ||
| Challenge To Be Free | 1976 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 88 | Fur trapper is pursued by the law in Arctic surroundings; simple and simple-minded, best for younger viewers. Made in 1972 as MAD TRAPPER OF THE YUKON, this marked last film for veteran director Garnett, who appears briefly as Marshal McGee. | tt0074299 | [G] | Mike Mazurki, Vic Christy, Jimmy Kane, Fritz Ford | Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Challenge for Robin Hood | 1968 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★★ | 85 | Hammer Films produced this inoffensive but undistinguished adventure yarn, which is of little interest except to children. Originally 96m. | tt0062787 | [G] | Barrie Ingham, James Hayter, Leon Greene, Peter Blythe, Gay Hamilton, Alfie Bass. | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Challenge to Lassie | 1949 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 76 | Based-on-fact story, set in 19th-century Edinburgh, about a dog (actually a Skye terrier but played here by Lassie), who keeps returning to a churchyard where its master (Crisp) is buried. Pleasant film, with a fine character actor cast. Remade as GREYFRIARS BOBBY, which also features Crisp (as the cemetery caretaker). | tt0041238 | Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Geraldine Brooks, Reginald Owen, Alan Webb, Ross Ford, Henry Stephenson, Alan Napier, Sara Allgood, Arthur Shields | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Challenge | 1982 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 112 | Entertaining but sometimes pretentious actioner, with American boxer Glenn becoming involved in conflict between brothers Mifune and Nakamura over rights to family swords. Scripted by John Sayles and Richard Maxwell. Exteriors shot mostly in Kyoto. Completely recut for TV release as SWORD OF THE NINJA, running 97m. | tt0083726 | [R] | Scott Glenn, Toshiro Mifune, Donna Kei Benz, Atsuo Nakamura, Calvin Young | Action | NULL | ||
| Chamber of Horrors | 1940 | Norman Lee | ★★½ | 80 | Low-budget horror comes over fairly well, with dastardly Banks duplicating his MOST DANGEROUS GAME-Count Zaroff look and accent— even though his character here is Spanish! Based on Edgar Wallace story. Original title: THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS. | tt0032406 | Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo, Richard Bird, Cathleen Nesbitt | British | Drama, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Chamber of Horrors | 1966 | Hy Averback | ★½ | 99 | Wax museum provides setting for uneven mystery about mad killer on the loose. Intended for TV, it has mark of low-budget film plus two gimmicks: the 'Horror Horn' and the 'Fear Flasher. | tt0060228 | Patrick O'Neal, Cesare Danova, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Patrice Wymore, Suzy Parker, Marie Windsor, Tony Curtis, Wayne Rogers | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Chamber | 1996 | James Foley | ★★ | 110 | Young lawyer feels impelled to defend a Mississippi death row inmate, convicted of a racist/terrorist bombing years ago, because the man is his grandfather. Reopening this volatile case causes pain and hardship for all involved. Curiously unmoving (and talky) adaptation of the John Grisham best-seller. O'Donnell is earnest but unconvincing; Hackman never successfully disappears into the role of a racist pig. | tt0115862 | [R] | Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway, Robert Prosky, Raymond Barry, Lela Rochon, Harve Presnell, Bo Jackson | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Chambermaid on the Titanic | 1997 | Bigas Luna | ★★★ | 96 | Utterly original and beautifully filmed fable about fantasy, desire and storytelling, centering on a French foundry worker who wins a trip to watch the launch of the Titanic in England and becomes obsessed with a woman he meets there. When he returns home, he becomes famous for spinning fantastical tales— which may or may not be true— about his wild night of passion with the woman. Unpredictable, unexpectedly moving film from the usually outrageous Luna (JAMÓN JAMÓN). Aka THE CHAMBERMAID. Cinecam-Scope. | tt0129923 | Olivier Martinez, Romane Bohringer, Aitana Sánchez Gijón, Didier Bezace, Aldo Maccione | French-Spanish-Italian | Romance | NULL | ||
| Chameleon Street | 1991 | Wendell B. Harris/Jr | ★★★ | 95 | Knowing sleeper based on true story of William Douglas Street, Jr. (played by director-writer Harris), a black man whose uncanny ability to intuit other people's needs enables him to successfully impersonate a reporter, a surgeon, an exchange student, and an attorney. Ingratiating film with a biting comic edge, and something to say about the way a black man struggles to make it in a white man's world. | tt0101561 | [R] | Wendell B. Harris/Jr., Angela Leslie, Amina Fakir | Drama | NULL | ||
| Champ for a Day | 1953 | William Seiter. | ★★ | 90 | Brooklyn boxer tracks down friend's murderer. Standard. | tt0045619 | Alex Nicol, Audrey Totter, Charles Winninger, Hope Emerson, Henry (Harry) Morgan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Champ | 1931 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 87 | Superb tearjerker about a washed-up prizefighter and his adoring son, played to perfection by Beery and Cooper (in the first of their several teamings). Simple, sentimental in the extreme, but very effective. Beery won an Oscar for his performance, as did Frances Marion for her original story. Remade in 1953 (as THE CLOWN) and 1979. | tt0021730 | Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Roscoe Ates, Edward Brophy, Hale Hamilton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Champ | 1979 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★½ | 121 | Voight is too intelligent to convince as a dumb pug, and Dunaway, as a loving mother, looks as if she wants to bed down with her kid in hopeless remake of the 1931 sudser. Young Schroder cries (and cries) convincingly. | tt0078950 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden, Arthur Hill, Strother Martin, Joan Blondell, Elisha Cook/ Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Champagne | 1928 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 93 | Romantic escapades of irresponsible socialite Balfour whose father pretends he's broke to teach her a lesson. Overlong silent Hitch is moderately entertaining with the usual quota of striking visuals. | tt0018756 | Betty Balfour, Jean Bradin, Gordon Harker, Ferdinand von Alten, Clifford Heatherley, Jack Trevor | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Champagne Charlie | 1944 | Alberto Cavalcanti | ★★½ | 107 | Splendid evocation of British music halls of the 1860s and their robust entertainers simply hasn't got enough story to last 107m. The songs are still great fun. Look for young Kay Kendall. | tt0036704 | Tommy Trinder, Betty Warren, Stanley Holloway, Austin Trevor, Jean Kent, Guy Middleton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Champagne Murders | 1967 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 98 | Sale of champagne company to U.S. conglomerate manipulated by various weird, competing types, complicated by murders which point to playboy (Ronet). Murder-mystery narrative backdrop for odd psychological drama; one-of-a-kind film was shot in both English and French-language versions. | tt0060944 | Anthony Perkins, Maurice Ronet, Stephane Audran, Yvonne Furneaux, Suzanne Lloyd, Catherine Sola | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Champagne Safari | 1952 | Jackson Leighter. | ★★½ | 60 | Documentary on Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan's troubled second honeymoon in colonial Africa is a fascinating curio that combines National Geographic-style travelogue with Photoplay-esque heartbreak-of-the-stars. Amid stops in Uganda, Kenya, and the former Tanganyika and Belgian Congo, Leighter's camera captures a marriage that is already beginning to unravel. (They were divorced before the film's release.) Originally photographed in color; all current prints are b&w. | tt0044493 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Champagne Waltz | 1937 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★ | 87 | Flyweight musical about rivalry between Vienna waltz palace and American jazz band next door gets sillier as it goes along; operatic Swarthout is saddled with mediocre songs. Oakie's comedy relief most welcome. | tt0028705 | Gladys Swarthout, Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Herman Bing, Vivienne Osborne |
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| Champagne for Caesar | 1950 | Richard Whorf | ★★★ | 99 | Genius Colman becomes national celebrity on TV quiz show; sponsor Price sends temptress Holm to distract big winner. Enjoyable spoof; Price hilarious as neurotic soap manufacturer. | tt0042325 | Ronald Colman, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, Barbara Britton, Art Linkletter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Champion | 1949 | Mark Robson | ★★★½ | 99 | Unscrupulous boxer punches his way to the top, thrusting aside everybody and everything. Douglas perfectly cast in title role; gripping film, with Harry Gerstad's Oscar-winning editing. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041239 | Kirk Douglas, Marilyn Maxwell, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman, Paul Stewart, Lola Albright | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Champions | 1983 | John Irvin | ★★½ | 115 | Formula drama of determined jockey Hurt battling cancer and hoping to make a comeback in the Grand National Steeplechase. The opening is reminiscent of CHARIOTS OF FIRE, the finale of ROCKY; however, the scenes with Hurt and his niece, and Hurt among children undergoing cancer treatment, are quite moving. Based on a true story. | tt0085320 | [PG] | John Hurt, Edward Woodward, Jan Francis, Ben Johnson, Kirstie Alley, Peter Barkworth, Ann Bell, Judy Parfitt | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Champions Forever | 1989 | Dimitri Logothetis | ★★★ | 87 | Fascinating, insightful look back at the careers of five modern heavyweight boxing legends: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Ken Norton. Interviews with each fighter are juxtaposed with classic footage of their ring battles with Ali the dominant presence throughout. Candor and a subtle pathos make the interviews as poignant as the boxing scenes are exciting. Though sobering to see the once verbose Ali reduced to a whispering giant, news clips of poetry-spouting Cassius Clay are the greatest. | tt0097042 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Chan Is Missing | 1982 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 80 | Wry, low-key comedy of cabdrivers Moy and Hayashi tracking down the mysterious Mr. Chan Hung, who absconded with their $4,000. Independently produced on shoestring budget and shot in San Francisco's Chinatown. | tt0083728 | Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi, Laureen Chew, Judy Mihei, Peter Wang, Presco Tabios | Crime | NULL | |||
| Chance Meeting | 1959 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 96 | Kafkaesque story of painter framed for girlfriend's murder. Intriguing little mystery becomes talky, loses initial momentum. British title: BLIND DATE. | tt0052634 | Hardy Kruger, Stanley Baker, Micheline Presle, Robert Flemyng, Gordon Jackson | British | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Chance at Heaven | 1933 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 70 | Honest, hardworking McCrea leaves fiancée Ginger for spoiled society brat Nixon. Sincere performances and realistic small-town atmosphere are only virtues of this humdrum film. | tt0023880 | Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marian Nixon, Andy Devine, Ann Shoemaker, Betty Furness | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chance of a Lifetime | 1950 | Bernard Miles, Alan Osbiston | ★★★ | 89 | Nearly a landmark film by actor-director Miles, blending comedy and drama when a fed-up factory owner (Radford) agrees to turn over all management duties to his workers. Laborers, led by Miles and More, eventually learn how difficult it is to run a business. Outstanding performances and realistic location filming. | tt0042326 | Basil Radford, Niall MacGinnis, Bernard Miles, Geoffrey Keen, Kenneth More, Julien Mitchell, Hattie Jacques | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Chance of a Lifetime | 1943 | William Castle | ★★½ | 65 | Director Castle made his debut with this proficient Boston Blackie episode about a group of prisoners who are paroled to Blackie's care to work in a war plant— but some of them have larceny and not patriotism in mind. | tt0035726 | Chester Morris, Eric Rolf, Jeanne Bates, Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Walter Sande, Douglas Fowley, Cy Kendall | Crime | NULL | |||
| Chances | 1931 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 72 | Entertaining, neatly acted drama of love and war, with soldier-brothers Fairbanks and Bushell both falling for Hobart. Fairbanks in particular is a standout. | tt0021732 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Rose Hobart, Anthony Bushell, Mary Forbes, William Austin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chances Are | 1989 | Emile Ardolino | ★★★ | 108 | A woman remains devoted to her husband years after his death . . . and then, one day, his spirit returns in the body of a much younger man. Surprisingly skillful blend of fantasy and romantic comedy manages to maintain its sweet-natured tone from start to finish. Appealing stars are supported by a gallery of top character actors. Written by Perry Howze and Randy Howze. | tt0097044 | [PG] | Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey/Jr., Ryan O'Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson, Christopher McDonald, Josef Sommer, Joe Grifasi, Susan Ruttan, Fran Ryan, James Noble | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Chandler | 1972 | Paul Magwood | ★½ | 88 | Private-eye falls in love with ex-mistress of racketeer. Substandard yarn. | tt0068356 | [PG] | Warren Oates, Leslie Caron, Alex Dreier, Gloria Grahame, Mitchell Ryan | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Chandu the Magician | 1932 | William Cameron Menzies, Marcel Varnel | ★½ | 70 | Mystic Chandu battles madman whose death ray threatens to destroy world; not as good as most serials of this genre, and even sillier. Disappointing. | tt0022753 | Edmund Lowe, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware, Henry B. Walthall, Herbert Mundin | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Chanel Solitaire | 1981 | George Kaczender | ★★ | 120 | Stylish but cliché-ridden biography of designer Coco Chanel, covering her first 38 years and focusing on her love life. | tt0082156 | [R] | Marie-France Pisier, Timothy Dalton, Rutger Hauer, Karen Black, Brigitte Fossey | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Chang | 1927 | Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★★½ | 67 | Set in the jungle of Siam (Thailand), this fascinating ethnographic documentary/narrative tells the story of Kru and his family, and their daily struggle for survival amid wild animals and cruel forces of nature— particularly a herd of chang (the Siamese word for 'elephant'). Some of the shots of animals are truly amazing. The Cooper-Schoedsack team later made KING KONG. | tt0017743 | Kru, Chantui, Nah, Ladah, Bimbo | Adventure, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Change of Habit | 1969 | William A. Graham | ★★ | 93 | Moore, a nun, is forced to choose between Dr. Presley and the church in substandard drama that at least represents slight change from typical Elvis fare. Presley's last screen role. | tt0065537 | [G] | Elvis Presley, Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair, Jane Elliot, Leora Dana, Edward Asner, Doro Merande, Regis Toomey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Change of Heart | 1943 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 90 | Forgettable musical numbers abound in this romantic trifle of Carroll stealing songwriter Hayward's work. Of course, they fall in love. Originally titled HIT PARADE OF 1943. | tt0035727 | John Carroll, Susan Hayward, Gail Patrick, Eve Arden, Melville Cooper, Walter Catlett, Dorothy Dandridge, Count Basie and Orchestra, Freddy Martin and Orchestra |
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| Change of Mind | 1969 | Robert Stevens | ★★½ | 103 | In an emergency operation, the brain of a white district attorney is successfully transplanted into the body of a black man (St. Jacques). Racial-protest sci-fi thriller is contrived, to say the least. Filmed in Canada. | tt0064151 | [R] | Raymond St. Jacques, Susan Oliver, Janet MacLachlan, Leslie Nielsen, Donnelly Rhodes, David Bailey | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Change of Seasons | 1980 | Richard Lang | ★★½ | 102 | College professor Hopkins, drowning in male menopause, has an affair with student Derek, so wife MacLaine decides to take a lover of her own. One of the better midlife crisis films of this period, though many thought its major asset was opening sequence of Bo bouncing in a hot tub. Cowritten by Erich Segal. | tt0080515 | [R] | Shirley MacLaine, Anthony Hopkins, Bo Derek, Michael Brandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Ed Winter | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Change-Up | 2011 | David Dobkin | ★★ | 112 | Two lifelong friends—one a workaholic lawyer, the other a pot-smoking, potty-mouthed do-nothing—envy things about each other's lives, and one night magically switch bodies. Familiar premise is reimagined with likable stars and comedic energy, but is tainted by an overpowering amount of truly vulgar toilet humor (we're speaking literally, not figuratively). Written by THE HANGOVER's scripters and directed by the man who made WEDDING CRASHERS, this isn't as good as either of those comedies, but it certainly earns its R rating. Unrated version runs 118m. | tt1488555 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, Craig Bierko, Gregory Itzin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Changeling | 2008 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 141 | The disappearance of a 9-year-old boy in 1928 Los Angeles pits his distraught mother (Jolie) against the crushingly corrupt police force, which can’t afford more bad publicity. Her refusal to be hushed comes at a shocking price to her safety and sanity—but ultimately she finds powerful friends. Then the case expands with the discovery of a serial killer. Incredible story is all true, as documented by screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski. Jolie is superb as the long-suffering heroine of this remarkable tale. Intense, often tough to stomach, but scrupulously filmed by Eastwood. | tt0824747 | [R] | Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, Colm Feore, Jason Butler Harner, Amy Ryan, Geoff Pierson, Denis O’Hare, Frank Wood, Peter Gerety, Reed Birney, Eddie Alderson | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Changeling | 1979 | Peter Medak | ★★★ | 109 | Good, scary ghost story with Scott as recently widowed musician who moves into old house inhabited by spirit of a child who lived there 70 years ago. | tt0080516 | [R] | George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh, Madeleine Thornton-Sherwood | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Changing Lanes | 2002 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 99 | Yuppie N.Y.C. lawyer Affleck, who's married to the boss's daughter, crashes into pent-up working-class Jackson's car one rainy morning as the latter is on his way to a custody hearing over his son. When Affleck blithely zips off, Jackson fumes, but the escalating battle of wits between the two only exposes their mutual vulnerability. A rare and compelling Hollywood movie about ethics and human nature. Written by Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin. | tt0264472 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Sydney Pollack, William Hurt, Amanda Peet, Richard Jenkins, Kim Staunton, John Benjamin Hickey, Dylan Baker | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Changing Times | 2004 | André Téchiné | ★★★ | 100 | Single, middle-aged man (Depardieu) convinces himself that he must win the love of his long-ago girlfriend (Deneuve), who is unhappily married and is mired in family issues. This Tangier, Morocco-set drama is a provocative exploration of life's missed opportunities and the failure of individuals to connect and commit in meaningful ways; it also serves to mirror the differences in European and Muslim lifestyles. | tt0399738 | Unrated | Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Gilbert Melki, Malik Zidi, Lubna Azabal, Tanya Lopert, Nabila Baraka, Nadem Rachati | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | 1978 | Fred Schepisi. | ★★★½ | 124 | Half-white aborigine Lewis, brought up by Methodist pastor, is caught between two cultures and exploited, with tragic results. Harrowing indictment of racism, a problem certainly not unique to U.S. Based on fact. Director Schepisi's screenplay was adapted from a Thomas Keneally novel (Keneally also plays the role of Cook). Most U.S. prints run 108m. | tt0077318 | Tommy Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Angela Punch, Ray Barrett, Jack Thompson, Peter Carroll, Bryan Brown. | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chantilly Lace | 1993 | Linda Yellen | Above Average TV Movie | 102 | Eikenberry hosts three off-beat, biting reunions among seven women at a retreat over the course of a year, involving celebrations and sadness and some incisive conversation that was said to be totally improvised (although the pseudonymous Gisela Birnice gets obligatory writer credit). Made for cable. | tt0106543 | Lindsay Crouse, Jill Eikenberry, Martha Plimpton, Ally Sheedy, Talia Shire, Helen Slater, JoBeth Williams |
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| Chaos Theory | 2007 | Marcos Siega | ★½ | 85 | Labored comedy about an efficiency expert whose whole life starts to fall apart when a woman tries to seduce him, triggering a tidal wave of misunderstandings and revelations that threaten his once-happy marriage. Quietly dumped into a handful of theaters on its journey to the DVD bargain bin. | tt0460745 | [PG-13] | Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, Sarah Chalke, Mike Erwin, Constance Zimmer, Matreya Fedor | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Chaplin | 1992 | Richard Attenborough | ★★½ | 144 | Reverent, lovingly detailed bio of Charlie Chaplin— from his squalid childhood in London to early moviemaking days with Mack Sennett, to international stardom, celebrity, and scandal. Downey is astonishingly good as Charlie and the film starts out great, but flattens midway through and tries to cover too much ground. Geraldine Chaplin plays her own grandmother, Charlie's severely neurotic mom. | tt0103939 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey/Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin Dunn, Anthony Hopkins, Milla Jovovich, Moira Kelly, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, Penelope Ann Miller, Paul Rhys, John Thaw, Marisa Tomei, Nancy Travis, James Woods, David Duchovny, Deborah Maria Moore, Bill Paterson, John Standing, Robert Stephens | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| The Chaplin Revue | 1958 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★½ | 119 | Three of Chaplin's best shorts strung together with his own music, narration, and behind-the-scenes footage: A DOG'S LIFE (1918), one of his loveliest films; SHOULDER ARMS (1918), a classic WW1 comedy; and THE PILGRIM (1923), his underrated gem about a convict who disguises himself as a minister. | tt0050243 | Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Sydney Chaplin, Mack Swain | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Chapman Report | 1962 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 125 | Slick, empty yarn about Kinsey-like sex researchers coming to suburban community to get statistical survey, with repercussions on assorted females. Potboiler material elevated by good performances and direction. | tt0055841 | Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Shelley Winters, Jane Fonda, Claire Bloom, Glynis Johns, Ray Danton, Ty Hardin, Andrew Duggan, John Dehner, Harold J. Stone, Corey Allen, Cloris Leachman, Chad Everett, Henry Daniell, Jack Cassidy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chappaqua | 1966 | Conrad Rooks | ★★ | 92 | Rooks, an alcoholic heroin addict, travels to Paris for a sleep cure and hallucinates while withdrawing. Autobiographical— and vague, surreal, phony. Prints of 82m. and 75m. also exist. | tt0059025 | Jean-Louis Barrault, Conrad Rooks, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, Paula Pritchett, Ornette Coleman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chapter 27 | 2008 | J. P. Schaefer. | ★★ | 84 | Creepy but ultimately pointless portrait of Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to his shooting of John Lennon outside his home at the Dakota apartment building in N.Y.C. in 1980. Leto is eerily convincing as the overweight loner who fancies himself to be Holden Caulfield, but when the film is over we don’t know much more about Chapman than we did at the start. | tt0488988 | [R] | Jared Leto, Lindsay Lohan, Judah Friedlander, Ursula Abbott, Jeane Fourier, Brian O’Neill | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Chapter Two | 1979 | Robert Moore | ★★ | 124 | Neil Simon's autobiographical comedy-drama— one of his best Broadway plays— gets lost in screen translation. Caan is miscast as sharp-minded writer who's drawn into new romance (with Mason) before he's really recovered from death of his wife. Long, plastic, and unmoving. | tt0078952 | [PG] | James Caan, Marsha Mason, Valerie Harper, Joseph Bologna | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Character | 1997 | Mike van Diem | ★★★ | 125 | Oscar-winning, powerful story of a virtuous young man (van Huet), in 1920s Rotterdam, caught in a web of financial entanglements with his estranged, malevolent father (Decleir). Assured feature directorial debut by van Diem feels Dickensian, but moves like wildfire. Strong performances by a cast of stage actors, save Belgian film stalwart Decleir; young lead van Huet is a dead ringer for Robert Downey, Jr. Based on a popular 1938 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk and filmed throughout Europe. | tt0119448 | [R] | Fedja van Huet, Jan Decleir, Betty Schuurman, Victor Löw, Tamar van den Dop, Hans Kesting, Lou Landre, Bernhard Droog | Dutch | Drama | NULL | |
| Charade | 1963 | Stanley Donen | ★★★½ | 114 | Suave comedy-mystery in Hitchcock vein, with Grant aiding widow Hepburn to recover fortune secreted by husband, being sought by trio of sinister crooks; set in Paris. Excellent screenplay by Peter Stone, score by Henry Mancini. Remade in 2002 as THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE. | tt0056923 | Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Ned Glass, Jacques Marin | Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Charge at Feather River | 1953 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 96 | Pretty good saga of Madison leading ragtag 'guardhouse brigade' toward an inevitable clash with the Cheyenne at title location. Subplots involve a SEARCHERS-like rescue of two white girls raised by Indians and a bit too much comedy relief from Wesson and Kulky. Listen for Lt. Wilhelm! Originally in 3-D; Lovejoy even spits at the camera. | tt0045621 | Guy Madison, Vera Miles, Frank Lovejoy, Dick Wesson, Helen Westcott, Onslow Stevens, Steve Brodie, Neville Brand, Henry Kulky | Western | NULL | |||
| Charge of the Lancers | 1954 | William Castle | ★★ | 74 | Stilted affair of gypsy Goddard and British officer Aumont finding romance in midst of Crimean War. | tt0046847 | Paulette Goddard, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Richard Stapley, Karin Booth, Charles Irwin | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Charge of the Light Brigade | 1936 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 116 | Thundering action based on Tennyson's poem, with immortal charge into the valley of death by British 27th Lancers cavalry. Lavish production values accent romantic tale of Flynn and de Havilland at army post in India. Max Steiner's first musical score for Warner Brothers is superb. Balaklava Heights charge directed by action specialist B. Reeves Eason. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027438 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven, C. Henry Gordon, Robert Barrat, Spring Byington, J. Carrol Naish | Action, Adventure, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The Charge of the Light Brigade | 1968 | Tony Richardson | ★★½ | 130 | Exquisitely made, but ultimately disappointing drama of events leading up to British involvement in Crimean War. Stunning battle sequence cannot make up for dramatic loopholes in this story of military minds gone mad. Clever animated segments by Richard Williams. Redgrave and Richardson's young daughters Natasha and Joely are members of the wedding party. | tt0062790 | [M] | David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard, Jill Bennett, Mark Burns | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Chariots of Fire | 1981 | Hugh Hudson | ★★★½ | 123 | Absorbing and unusual drama based on true story of two men— devout Scottish missionary Eric Liddell, driven Jewish Cambridge student Harold Abrahams— who run in the 1924 Olympics. Fascinating probe of their motives, challenges, and problems, and a case study of repressed emotions even in the midst of exultation. Feature debut for director Hudson. Oscars for Best Picture, Colin Welland's script, Vangelis' excellent score, and Milena Canonero's costumes. | tt0082158 | [PG] | Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Nick Farrell, Alice Krige, Cheryl Campbell, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Patrick Magee, Nigel Davenport, Dennis Christopher, Brad Davis | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Chariots of the Gods? | 1974 | Harald Reinl | ★★★ | 98 | First of too many speculative documentaries about ancient visitors from outer space who helped advance mankind's knowledge centuries ago. Well-made and filled with many natural beauties. Based on Erich Von Daniken's book. | tt0065702 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Charley One-Eye | 1973 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 107 | Basically two-man show. Black Union Army deserter (Roundtree) and outcast Indian (Thinnes) thrown together in desert wasteland; gradual tragic relationship develops when outside forces interfere. Far too long; should've been a TV movie. | tt0068358 | [R] | Richard Roundtree, Roy Thinnes, Nigel Davenport, Jill Pearson | Western | NULL | ||
| Charley Varrick | 1973 | Don Siegel | ★★★½ | 111 | Neatly contrived thriller with Matthau as a bank robber who discovers that his small-town take is actually laundered Mafia money. On target all the way, with a particularly satisfying wrap-up. | tt0069865 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, John Vernon, Andy Robinson, Jacqueline Scott, Sheree North, Norman Fell, Woodrow Parfrey | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Charley and the Angel | 1973 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 93 | MacMurray learns he has only a short time left on earth from helpful angel (Morgan) and changes his hard ways with family. Lightly amusing Disney film, but the warmth and nostalgia seem artificial this time around. | tt0069866 | [G] | Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Harry Morgan, Kurt Russell, Vincent Van Patten, Kathleen Cody | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Charley's Aunt | 1941 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 81 | Broad but surefire filming of Brandon Thomas play about Oxford student posing as maiden aunt, joke getting out of hand. Previously filmed six other times! Remade as musical WHERE'S CHARLEY. | tt0033457 | Jack Benny, Kay Francis, James Ellison, Anne Baxter, Edmund Gwenn, Reginald Owen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Charlie Bartlett | 2008 | Jon Poll | ★★½ | 97 | Charismatic Charlie has been kicked out of various educational institutions, when all he really wants is to be the most popular kid in school; he finally gets his wish by becoming an all-purpose shrink to his fellow students. He also falls in love with the daughter of the school principal (Downey), who's got plenty of problems of his own. Offbeat comedy with serious undertones wanders all over the map but benefits from Downey’s offbeat characterization and Yelchin's appealing performance. | tt0423977 | [R] | Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey, Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton, Mark Rendall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Charlie Bubbles | 1968 | Albert Finney | ★★½ | 91 | Finney's first directing attempt concerns itself with married writer who begins affair with his secretary. Not especially moving, but Minnelli's screen debut adds quite a bit of sparkle to film. | tt0062792 | Albert Finney, Colin Blakely, Billie Whitelaw, Liza Minnelli | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen | 1981 | Clive Donner | ★½ | 97 | Boring comedy wastes its talented cast. Ustinov is badly miscast, gives one of the worst performances of his career. Hatch is his clumsy half-Jewish, half-Oriental grandson. Paging Warner Oland. | tt0082159 | [PG] | Peter Ustinov, Lee Grant, Angie Dickinson, Richard Hatch, Brian Keith, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts, Paul Ryan, Johnny Sekka | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo | 1938 | Eugene Forde | ★★ | 71 | A casino vacation on the Riviera turns into a murder investigation for the inscrutable detective. Oland's final appearance as Chan is not one of his best. | tt0028707 | Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Virginia Field, Sidney Blackmer, Harold Huber, Kay Linaker, Robert Kent | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at Treasure Island | 1939 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 75 | One of the best Toler entries, with Charlie getting help from magician Romero in his attempt to prove that a phony psychic was behind the mysterious suicide of his friend. Tight script by John Larkin. | tt0031147 | Sidney Toler, Cesar Romero, Pauline Moore, Sen Yung, Douglas Fowley, June Gale, Sally Blane, Wally Vernon, Donald MacBride, Douglass Dumbrille | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at the Circus | 1936 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 72 | Murder strikes under the big top, with Charlie and his twelve kids on hand to investigate. Pleasing entry. | tt0027439 | Warner Oland, Keye Luke, George and Olive Brasno, Francis Ford, Maxine Reiner, John McGuire, Shirley Deane, J. Carrol Naish | Mystery, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at the Olympics | 1937 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 71 | Spies converge on the 1936 Berlin games and kidnap Number One Son Luke from the American swim team. Neat entry featuring well-integrated Olympic newsreel footage, and amusing byplay with plucky Charlie Chan, Jr. (Tom). | tt0028708 | Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Katherine DeMille, Pauline Moore, Allan Lane, C. Henry Gordon, Jonathan Hale, Morgan Wallace, Layne Tom/Jr., John Eldredge, Frederick Vogeding | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at the Opera | 1936 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★★ | 66 | The series at its peak, a stylish blend of murder and music, with Karloff as the leading suspect, Demarest as a skeptical cop, and a bogus opera written for the film by Oscar Levant. | tt0027440 | Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck, Margaret Irving, Gregory Gaye, Nedda Harrigan, Frank Conroy, William Demarest | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at the Race Track | 1936 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 70 | Chan corrals some crooked gamblers during the investigation of a horse owner's murder, with Number One Son Luke starting to become a regular participant in the series. | tt0027441 | Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Helen Wood, Thomas Beck, Alan Dinehart, Gavin Muir, Gloria Roy, Jonathan Hale, Junior Coghlan, Frankie Darro | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum | 1940 | Lynn Shores | ★★½ | 63 | A gangster put away by Chan escapes and swears vengeance, hiding out at a wax museum run by a madman. Atmospheric entry with an appropriately creepy milieu and a handful of surprises. | tt0032324 | Sidney Toler, Sen Yung, C. Henry Gordon, Marc Lawrence, Joan Valerie, Marguerite Chapman, Ted Osborn, Michael Visaroff | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in City in Darkness | 1939 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★ | 75 | In Paris, Chan takes on an arms dealer who's supplying weapons to the Germans. Mediocre entry with a topical angle. | tt0031148 | Sidney Toler, Lynn Bari, Richard Clarke, Harold Huber, Pedro de Cordoba, Dorothy Tree, C. Henry Gordon, Douglass Dumbrille, Noel Madison, Lon Chaney/Jr., Leo G. Carroll, Frederick Vogeding | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Egypt | 1935 | Louis King | ★★★ | 72 | Highly enjoyable mystery about the search for a mummified archeologist in the land of the pyramids. Many horror-movie trappings in this one, including music lifted from CHANDU THE MAGICIAN. | tt0026197 | Warner Oland, Pat Paterson, Thomas Beck, Rita Hayworth, Jameson Thomas, Frank Conroy, Nigel de Brulier, Paul Porcasi, Stepin Fetchit | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Honolulu | 1938 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 68 | Toler makes a serviceable Chan in his first outing (with Yung also debuting as Number Two Son Jimmy), probing murder on a ship docked in Hawaii while his daughter is about to give birth to his number one grandchild. Layne Tom, Jr., is fun as the daring young Charlie Chan, Jr. | tt0029984 | Sidney Toler, Phyllis Brooks, Sen Yung, Eddie Collins, John King, Claire Dodd, George Zucco, Robert Barrat, Marc Lawrence, Richard Lane, Philip Ahn | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in London | 1934 | Eugene Forde | ★★★ | 79 | Charlie tries to solve a murder during a foxhunt weekend at a British country estate— while dodging death-dealing darts and interpreting mysterious notes. Solid entry is helped by good portrayal of gentried British types . . . including a young Ray Milland. | tt0024968 | Warner Oland, Drue Leyton, Douglas Walton, Alan Mowbray, Mona Barrie, Raymond (Ray) Milland, George Barraud, David Torrence, Madge Bellamy, Murray Kinnell, E. E. Clive | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Panama | 1940 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 67 | They really started to play up the WW2 angle with this one, a slick entry about saboteurs planning to attack Navy ships in the Panama Canal. Strong cast helps. | tt0032325 | Sidney Toler, Jean Rogers, Kane Richmond, Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Sen Yung, Chris-Pin Martin, Jack La Rue | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Paris | 1935 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 72 | Compact early entry has Chan rounding up counterfeiters with the help of Number One Son Luke, making his first appearance as Lee. | tt0026198 | Warner Oland, Mary Brian, Thomas Beck, Erik Rhodes, John Miljan, Ruth Peterson, Minor Watson, Murray Kinnell, John Qualen, Keye Luke, Henry Kolker | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Reno | 1939 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 70 | Chan heads for the divorce capital to defend a fellow Hawaiian on murder charges in this trim episode. | tt0031149 | Sidney Toler, Ricardo Cortez, Phyllis Brooks, Pauline Moore, Slim Summerville, Kane Richmond, Sen Yung, Robert Lowery, Eddie Collins, Kay Linaker, Morgan Conway | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Rio | 1941 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 61 | Picturesque Brazil is the backdrop for this entertaining murder mystery, with Chan joining the local police to solve a double homicide. A reworking of THE BLACK CAMEL (1931), which was directed by Hamilton MacFadden, who appears in this film as Bill Kellogg. | tt0033458 | Sidney Toler, Mary Beth Hughes, Cobina Wright/Jr., Ted (Michael) North, Victor Jory, Harold Huber, Victor Sen Yung, Richard Derr, Kay Linaker | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in Shanghai | 1935 | James Tinling | ★★½ | 70 | Charlie tracks down murderous opium smugglers in this one. More physical action than usual. | tt0026199 | Warner Oland, Irene Hervey, Russell Hicks, Keye Luke, Halliwell Hobbes, Charles Locher (Jon Hall), Frederick Vogeding | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan in the Secret Service | 1944 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 63 | The Oriental sleuth probes the murder of an inventor in this initial Charlie Chan film for low-budget Monogram studios, which resulted in an obvious drop in production quality and the addition of Moreland in the stereotyped role of Birmingham, a frightened cab driver. | tt0036706 | Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Gwen Kenyon, Benson Fong, Arthur Loft, Marianne Quon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan on Broadway | 1937 | Eugene Forde | ★★★ | 68 | Slangy entry about a shady chanteuse who's murdered for her little black book containing the names and misdeeds of some highly placed criminals. Try to solve this one— and look fast for Lon Chaney, Jr. | tt0028709 | Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Joan Marsh, J. Edward Bromberg, Leon Ames, Joan Woodbury, Douglas Fowley, Louise Henry, Donald Woods, Harold Huber, Marc Lawrence | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise | 1940 | Eugene Forde | ★★ | 75 | Overly familiar shipboard whodunit centering on the murder of a Scotland Yard inspector. Remake of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931), which no longer exists. | tt0032326 | Sidney Toler, Sen Yung, Marjorie Weaver, Lionel Atwill, Robert Lowery, Don Beddoe, Leo G. Carroll, Cora Witherspoon, Kay Linaker, Harlan Briggs, Charles Middleton, Layne Tom/Jr. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chan's Secret | 1936 | Gordon Wiles | ★★ | 71 | Hollow mystery about a missing heir believed drowned who turns up alive, only to be killed during a seance. Number One Son is sorely missed. | tt0027442 | Warner Oland, Rosina Lawrence, Charles Quigley, Henrietta Crosman, Edward Trevor, Astrid Allwyn, Herbert Mundin | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Charlie Chaplin Carnival | 1938 | ND. | ★★★★ | 100 | First one is best, with leading lady Edna Purviance and oversized villain Eric Campbell. Some prints run 75m. | tt0284686 | NULL | |||||
| Charlie Chaplin Cavalcade | 1938 | ★★★★ | 75 | More priceless gems from 1916-17 period: ONE A.M. (Chaplin's famous solo film), THE RINK, THE PAWNSHOP, THE FLOORWALKER. All great. | tt0284687 | Comedy | NULL | |||||
| Charlie Chaplin Festival | 1938 | ★★★★ | 96 | Best of the Chaplin compilations, which all suffer from obtrusive sound effects and music: THE ADVENTURER, THE CURE, EASY STREET, THE IMMIGRANT. Four of the greatest comedies ever made— don't miss them. Some prints run 75m. | tt0284688 | Comedy | NULL | |||||
| Charlie McCarthy, Detective | 1939 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 65 | Good comedy-whodunit with Bergen & McCarthy rivaling Inspector Kennedy's investigation. | tt0031150 | Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, Constance Moore, Robert Cummings, Louis Calhern, John Sutton, Harold Huber, Edgar Kennedy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Charlie St. Cloud | 2010 | Burr Steers | ★★ | 99 | Ethereal but flawed drama about a young man so upset over his younger brother’s untimely death that he takes a job at the cemetery where the young boy is buried. Complications arise when he meets a girl and is torn between living in the past or the present. Efron is earnest and the film has its heart in the right place, but it doesn’t quite work. Scenes between Efron and the ghost of his brother don’t resonate as they were intended to. Based on Ben Sherwood’s novel The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud. | tt1438254 | [PG-13] | Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Augustus Prew, Donal Logue, Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta, Dave Franco | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Charlie Wilson's War | 2007 | Mike Nichols | ★★★½ | 97 | Womanizer and high-living Texas Congressman Wilson (Hanks) is the least likely man in Washington, D.C., to champion the cause of the Afghan people versus the Soviet Army in the 1980s. But using the same bravado with which he lives his reckless life, he cobbles together an amazing alliance sub rosa. Geopolitics has never been so entertaining, thanks to Nichols' breezy pacing, Aaron Sorkin's witty script, and pearly performances. Hoffman is perfect as a scruffy but dedicated CIA op. The inevitable conclusion, however, is far from funny. Based on a true story, and the best-selling book by George Crile. | tt0472062 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty, Emily Blunt, Om Puri, Ken Stott, John Slattery, Denis O'Hare, Jud Tylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | 2005 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 115 | Roald Dahl's classic story (previously filmed as WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) about five children-one good, four rotten-invited to tour a strange, reclusive inventor's candy empire. Dazzling production is everything you'd expect from director Burton, but the scenes at the factory are less compelling than those dealing with Charlie and his family. And Depp, though amusing, is no Gene Wilder. Music by Danny Elfman with lyrics from Dahl's text. Roy, through digital technology, plays all the Oompa-Loompas. | tt0367594 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, Missi Pyle, James Fox, Deep Roy, Christopher Lee, Julia Winter, AnnaSophia Robb, Jordon Fry, Philip Wiegratz; narrated by Geoffrey Holder | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Charlie's Angels | 2000 | McG | ★★½ | 98 | Frothy, high-energy popcorn movie based on the popular 1970s TV series about three smart, beautiful operatives who work for an unseen boss at a detective agency. Great showcase for the sexy stars, but with nothing at its core, the fun starts to pall halfway through. Barrymore also coproduced. Followed by a sequel. | tt0160127 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bill Murray, Tim Curry, Matt LeBlanc, Sam Rockwell, Kelly Lynch, Crispin Glover, *** LL Cool J, Luke Wilson, Tom Green; voice of John Forsythe | Action, Comedy, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | 2003 | McG | ★★ | 111 | The girls are back in action, trying to track down a pair of information-laden rings that could spell disaster in the wrong hands. So much for story! The rest of the movie consists of high-decibel but fragmented sequences of video-game-style action, music, and eye candy, with a couple of extra plot threads— one involving an Angel gone bad (Moore). Much ado about much ado, minus the freshness and martial-arts fun that made the first film entertaining. Many star cameos dot the already busy landscape. | tt0305357 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, Bernie Mac, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, Robert Patrick, Rodrigo Santoro, Shia LaBeouf, Matt LeBlanc, Luke Wilson, John Cleese, Ja'net DuBois, Robert Forster, Eric Bogosian, Carrie Fisher | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Charlie's Ghost Story | 1994 | Anthony Edwards | ★★ | 88 | Occasionally funny story of the ghost of explorer Coronado haunting people to get his bones properly buried so he can finally rest in peace. Actually, it's a rather sad story of child neglect. Archeologist/dad Edwards is so enthralled with his discovery of Coronado's cave, he completely ignores his son, who is the target of the 'haunting.' Fiorentino is wasted in the thankless role of the family maid. Based on a story by Mark Twain. | tt0109400 | [PG] | Cheech Marin, Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Trenton Knight, Charles Rocket, J. T. Walsh, Daphne Zuniga | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar | 1968 | ★★½ | 75 | Average Disney animal adventure-comedy about a friendly cougar who lives in a lumber camp. | tt0062793 | Narrated by Rex Allen, Ron Brown, Brian Russell, Linda Wallace, Jim Wilson | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||||
| Charlotte Gray | 2001 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★½ | 121 | During WW2, a Scottish woman volunteers to work undercover in France— in part, so she can locate her lover, an airman who was shot down. Once situated, she begins to understand the Resistance fighters' feelings, especially after growing close to one fiery young man. Interesting, handsomely made film never finds its true focus— and asks us to accept English-speaking actors of all nationalities as French. Blanchett is as compulsively watchable as ever. Based on a novel by Sebastian Faulks. | tt0245046 | [PG-13] | Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon, Rupert Penry-Jones, Anton Lesser, Ron Cook, James Fleet | British-Australian | Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |
| Charlotte's Web | 2006 | Gary Winick | ★★★ | 97 | Likable adaptation of E. B. White's novel, blending live actors with computer-animated creatures, about a runt pig and the animals he meets in a barn. Charlotte, a spider, sets out to save him from the butcher's block by weaving words into her web. Entertaining and well made, but it falls short when compared to the well-loved book. | tt0413895 | [G] | Dakota Fanning, Kevin Anderson, Beau Bridges, Gary Basaraba, Siobhan Fallon; voices of Julia Roberts, Dominic Scott Kay, Robert Redford, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Kathy Bates, Reba McEntire, Thomas Haden Church, Andre Benjamin; narrated by Sam Shepard | Comedy, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Charlotte's Web | 1973 | Charles A. Nichols, Iwao Takamoto | ★★★ | 93 | Charming animated feature based on E. B. White classic of barnyard spider who befriends shy piglet. Above average for Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio. Songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel in 2003. | tt0070016 | [G] | Voices of Debbie Reynolds, Henry Gibson, Paul Lynde, Agnes Moorehead, Charles Nelson Reilly. Narrated by Rex Allen | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Charly | 1968 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★½ | 103 | Robertson won Oscar for fine work as retarded man turned into super-brain in scientific experiment (a role he first tackled on TV's U.S. Steel Hour in 1961). Bloom is sympathetic caseworker who becomes attached to Charly. Based on Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon (and remade for TV in 2000 under that title). First rate. | tt0062794 | [M] | Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney, Dick Van Patten | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Charming Sinners | 1929 | Robert Milton. | ★½ | 85 | Obvious, creaky marital drama of Chatterton, whose philandering husband (Brook) has taken up with her best friend. To pique his jealousy, she pretends to become involved with former boyfriend Powell. Based on Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife. | tt0019758 | Ruth Chatterton, Clive Brook, William Powell, Mary Nolan, Laura Hope Crews, Florence Eldridge. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Charro! | 1969 | Charles Marquis Warren | 💣 | 98 | Attempt to change Presley's image by casting him in straight Western is total failure. Elvis sings only one song. | tt0064155 | [G] | Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French, Lynn Kellogg, Barbara Werle, Paul Brinegar | Western | NULL | ||
| The Charterhouse of Parma | 1948 | Christian-Jaque. | ★★½ | 170 | Epic-length romantic tragedy from Stendhal's 1839 masterwork about a cleric irredeemably in love with a parish girl and the jealous aunt bent on preserving his purity . . . for herself. Director's assured hand convincingly alternates appropriate reverence with forbidden passion, but the hero's descent is a slow fall. | tt0040223 | Gérard Philipe, Renée Faure, María Casarès, Tullio Carminati, Louis Salou, Lucien Coëdel. | French-Italian | NULL | |||
| Chartroose Caboose | 1960 | William ``Red'' Reynolds | ★★ | 75 | Buchanan, an eccentric retired train conductor, shelters a young couple in his strange house, a converted caboose. | tt0053705 | Molly Bee, Ben Cooper, Edgar Buchanan, Mike McGreevey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chase Me Charlie | 1932 | Teddy Bergman | ★★ | 61 | Inept attempt to string early Chaplin shorts into storyline— 1914 material used is often weak. | tt0175524 | Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Ben Turpin. Narrated by Teddy Bergman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Chase a Crooked Shadow | 1958 | Michael Anderson | ★★★ | 87 | Heiress Baxter doubts her sanity when allegedly dead brother Todd appears to claim inheritance; exciting, Hitchcock-like melodrama. | tt0050246 | Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox | British | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Chase | 1946 | Arthur Ripley | ★★½ | 86 | Mildly diverting melodrama with luckless vet Cummings becoming involved with a ruthless racketeer (well played by Cochran) and his melancholy wife (Morgan). Scripted by Philip Yordan, based on a book by Cornell Woolrich. | tt0038409 | Robert Cummings, Michele Morgan, Steve Cochran, Peter Lorre, Lloyd Corrigan, Jack Holt, Don Wilson, James Westerfield | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Chase | 1994 | Adam Rifkin | ★½ | 94 | Falsely accused prison escapee is forced to kidnap the daughter of California's version of Donald Trump, setting off a movie-length pursuit by police and a TV news helicopter. Why bother? | tt0109402 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Josh Mostel, Wayne Grace, Rocky Carroll, Miles Dougal, Ray Wise, Claudia Christian, Natalija Nogulich, Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Cary Elwes, Cassian Elwes | Action, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Chase | 1966 | Arthur Penn | ★★½ | 135 | Intriguing, unsubtle drama of how prison escape by local boy (Redford) affects worthless Texas town and its sheriff (Brando). Based on a novel by Horton Foote. Notorious for behind-the-scenes conflicts with director Penn, screenwriter Lillian Hellman, and producer Sam Spiegel, it's not surprising that finished product misses the mark. | tt0060232 | Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, James Fox, Robert Duvall, E.G. Marshall, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chasers | 1994 | Dennis Hopper | ★½ | 101 | Two Navy men are assigned to prisoner-escort duty only to discover that the dangerous criminal they are escorting is— gulp!— a beautiful sexpot. That's as close as this misfire gets to the far superior THE LAST DETAIL. Lowbrow comedy has little to recommend it, even for fans of t&a. Many of Hopper's acting cronies appear in small roles, and Hopper himself turns up as a perverted underwear salesman. | tt0109403 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Erika Eleniak, William McNamara, Crispin Glover, Matthew Glave, Dean Stockwell, Gary Busey, Seymour Cassel, Frederic Forrest, Marilu Henner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chasing Amy | 1997 | Kevin Smith | ★★★½ | 111 | Winning, original comedy-drama about a comic book artist who lives with his dour work partner— until he meets an attractive up-and-coming female artist with a dynamite personality. He's seriously smitten— and stays that way even after learning that she's gay. Writer-director Smith hits all the right notes in this honest and appealing film, which refuses to take the easy way out (just like its lead character) right to the end. Affleck and Adams are perfect. Smith and Mewes reprise their Silent Bob and Jay characters from CLERKS and MALLRATS. | tt0118842 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Dwight Ewell, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Chasing Dreams | 1982 | Sean Roche, Therese Conte | ★½ | 105 | Hopelessly hokey soaper of insecure, self-conscious farmboy Brown, who 'finds' himself by playing college baseball. Of interest solely for early, brief appearance of Costner as Brown's older, medical-student brother. | tt0083731 | [PG] | David G. Brown, John Fife, Jim Shane, Matthew Clark, Lisa Kingston, Claudia Carroll, Kevin Costner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chasing Liberty | 2004 | Andy Cadiff | ★★ | 110 | Teenage daughter of the President of the United States yearns to break loose, and does just that during a trip to Europe. Little does she know that the guy who helps her escape from the Secret Service is in fact an agent himself. Starts out as what it should have been, a cute romantic-comedy vehicle for Moore in the ROMAN HOLIDAY mode, but descends into tiresome predictability. Even location filming in Europe doesn't add much. | tt0360139 | [PG-13] | Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode, Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra, Caroline Goodall, Mark Harmon | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Chasing Papi | 2003 | Linda Mendoza | ★★ | 80 | Innocuous Latin-flavored comedy about a handsome advertising exec who has three women— in three different cities— convinced they are his one and only. Then they all decide to drop in on him unannounced. Silly storyline is played with gusto, but there's scarcely a laugh in sight. Paul Rodriguez appears unbilled. Coproduced by Forest Whitaker. | tt0323572 | [PG] | Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, Eduardo Verastegui, Lisa Vidal, D. L. Hughley, Freddy Rodriguez, Maria Conchita Alonso, Pete Escovedo, Peter Michael Escovedo, Sheila E | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chasing Rainbows | 1930 | Charles F. Riesner. | ★★ | 85 | Love, laughs, and tears among the members of a touring theatrical company. Benny, Dressler, and Moran provide welcome comic relief in this standard early-talkie backstage musical in the wake of THE BROADWAY MELODY, which also starred Love and King. Songs include 'Happy Days Are Here Again.' Originally contained two lavish production numbers in two-strip Technicolor; both are now lost. Original running time: 100m. | tt0020336 | Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, George K. Arthur, Gwen Lee. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Chastity | 1969 | Alessio de Paola | ★★ | 98 | Interesting story of girl who takes to the highway to find life of her own. Cher in solo acting debut is surprisingly good. | tt0064156 | [PG] | Cher, Barbara London, Tom Nolan, Stephen Whittaker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chato's Land | 1972 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 110 | Posse seeks Indian Bronson in connection with marshal's murder; usual quota of blood in lengthy film. | tt0066907 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan, Victor French, Jill Ireland | Spanish-British | Western | NULL | |
| Chattahoochee | 1990 | Mick Jackson | ★★ | 98 | Enervatingly straightforward account of man (Oldman) whose mental breakdown (actually post-Korea combat stress) wrongfully landed him in a Karloff-caliber Florida institution. Standard 'reform' drama— though based on fact— with Hopper's role (as a fellow patient) a glorified cameo; McDormand and Reed do all right as, respectively, Oldman's wife and crusading sister. | tt0099242 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, Ned Beatty, M. Emmet Walsh, William De Acutis, Lee Wilkof, Matt Craven, Gary Klar | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chattanooga Choo Choo | 1984 | Bruce Bilson | ★★ | 102 | In order to collect inheritance, goofball Kennedy must restore the famous train and make one final 24-hour run from Pennsylvania Station. Spirited cast in a sitcom-level script. Rubber-limbed Azito is amazing as waiter who's never dropped a tray. | tt0087041 | [PG] | Barbara Eden, George Kennedy, Melissa Sue Anderson, Joe Namath, Bridget Hanley, Clu Gulager, Christopher McDonald, Davis Roberts, Tony Azito, Parley Baer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chatterbox | 1943 | Joseph Santley | ★★½ | 76 | Entertaining comedy of radio-cowboy Brown (not much of a hero in real life) visiting dude ranch for publicity purposes. | tt0035728 | Joe E. Brown, Judy Canova, Rosemary Lane, John Hubbard, Gus Schilling, Chester Clute, Anne Jeffreys | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Che | 2008 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★ | 269 | Impressively shot but dramatically inert epic is the most elaborate of Soderbergh's indie "experiments" (interspersed between his OCEANS movies). This dramatizes the significant contribution that Argentine Ernesto "Che" Guevara made to the late-'50s revolution in Cuba, and his participation in a failed Bolivian replication during the mid-1960s, culminating in his death. Part One of this two-parter has a narrative advantage because it at least deals with political victory. Throughout, the smaller moments of camaraderie while battling outdoor elements ring truest, which isn't a whole lot to say for a movie running more than four hours. Despite Del Toro's apt casting in the lead, it's the kind of grinder where, when the words "Day 302" are flashed onscreen, you turn to your viewing companion and say, "That's for damned sure." Matt Damon appears unbilled. Part One (CHE: THE ARGENTINE) runs 134m.; Part Two (CHE: THE GUERRILLA), 135m. | tt0892255 | [R] | Benicio Del Toro, Demi�n Bichir, Elvira M�nguez, Rodrigo Santoro, Santiago Cabrera, Jorge Perugorr�a, Julia Ormond, Yul V�zquez, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Joaquim de Almeida, Franka Potente, Sam Robards, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mark Umbers, Jsu Garc�a | U.S.-Spanish-French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Che! | 1969 | Richard Fleischer | 💣 | 96 | Comic-book treatment of famed revolutionary became one of the biggest film jokes of 1960s. However, you haven't lived until you see Palance play Fidel Castro. | tt0064158 | [PG] | Omar Sharif, Jack Palance, Cesare Danova, Robert Loggia, Woody Strode | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cheap Detective | 1978 | Robert Moore | ★★★ | 92 | For Neil Simon and Peter Falk to parody Bogart movies like MALTESE FALCON is an easy task, but it's still pretty funny when not resorting to the obvious. | tt0077321 | [PG] | Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Dom DeLuise, Louise Fletcher, John Houseman, Madeline Kahn, Fernando Lamas, Marsha Mason, Phil Silvers, Vic Tayback, Abe Vigoda, Paul Williams, Nicol Williamson, David Ogden Stiers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cheaper by the Dozen | 1950 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 85 | Charming turn-of-the-century story of the Gilbreth children, twelve strong, their exacting father (well played by Webb) and mother (Loy). From the Gilbreth-Carey novel. Loosely remade in 2003. Sequel: BELLES ON THEIR TOES. | tt0042327 | Clifton Webb, Myrna Loy, Jeanne Crain, Mildred Natwick, Edgar Buchanan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cheaper by the Dozen | 2003 | Shawn Levy | ★★★ | 98 | Martin and Hunt are happy, harried parents of 12 kids until a major move and career changes (a football coaching job at his alma mater for him, an extended book-promotion tour for her) throw the family asunder. Cute family comedy, with predictable slapstick moments, is strengthened by Martin and Hunt's performances as genuinely loving parents. Although officially a remake, it has nothing to do with the 1950 film or the book that inspired it. Ashton Kutcher appears unbilled. | tt0349205 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, Richard Jenkins, Kevin G. Schmidt, Alyson Stoner, Jacob Smith, Liliana Mumy, Morgan York, Forrest Landis, Alan Ruck, Vanessa Bell Calloway | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | 2005 | Adam Shankman | ★½ | 93 | Depressing sequel to the box-office hit finds the Bakers returning to the vacation spot of their youth, where dad Martin gets into a competitive spat with wealthy Levy. Once again, a comic known for his rapier wit is reduced to Z-list slapstick (e.g., taking falls chasing rodents). A far more compelling if unexplored movie was right under the filmmakers' eyes: Levy's courtship of wife Electra (surprisingly, a leveling influence here). | tt0452598 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Tom Welling, Eugene Levy, Carmen Electra, Piper Perabo, Jaime King, Hilary Duff, Taylor Lautner, Alyson Stoner | Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Cheaper to Keep Her | 1980 | Ken Annakin | 💣 | 92 | Detective Davis is hired by lawyer Feldshuh to check out McShane and Gilford, who have been lax in their alimony checks. Sexist, racist, and obnoxious. | tt0080519 | [R] | Mac Davis, Tovah Feldshuh, Art Metrano, Ian McShane, Priscilla Lopez, Rose Marie, Jack Gilford, J. Pat O'Malley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Cheat | 1915 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 59 | Once audacious melodrama remains an engrossing curio about a proper, upper-class Long Island lady (Ward) who is exploited by a licentious Asian (Hayakawa). Watch this, and you'll see why Hayakawa was one of the most popular screen actors of the time. Remade in 1923, 1931, and 1937 (in France, as FORFAITURE). | tt0005078 | Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, Jack Dean, James Neill | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cheaters | 1945 | Joseph Kane | ★★★ | 87 | Excellent cast in enjoyable tale of wealthy family of snobs humanized by downtrodden actor they invite for Christmas dinner. Aka THE CASTAWAY. | tt0037588 | Joseph Schildkraut, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette, Ona Munson, Raymond Walburn, Ruth Terry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cheatin' Hearts | 1993 | Rod McCall | ★★ | 90 | Very ordinary love story set in New Mexico, involving romantic relationships in a sleepy little town. Stars are all attractive, but story is just too thin to hold much interest. Kirkland and Brolin executive produced. | tt0107773 | [R] | Sally Kirkland, James Brolin, Kris Kristofferson, Pamela Gidley, Laura Johnson, Michael Moore, Renée Estevez | Western | NULL | ||
| The Check Is in the Mail | 1986 | Joan Darling | ★★ | 91 | Ineffectual comedy about a beleaguered family man who decides to beat the system by making his home self-sufficient. Episodic, slow-paced film wears out its sometimes likable ingredients. | tt0090818 | [R] | Brian Dennehy, Anne Archer, Hallie Todd, Chris Herbert, Michael Bowen, Nita Talbot, Dick Shawn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Check and Double Check | 1930 | Melville Brown | 💣 | 80 | Movie debut for radio's Amos 'n' Andy is a leaden-paced early talkie with stale script and precious little comedy; not nearly as good as a sample radio (or later TV) episode of the show. | tt0020758 |
|
Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, Sue Carol, Charles Morton, Ralf Harolde, Duke Ellington and His Band | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Checkered Flag or Crash | 1977 | Alan Gibson | ★★ | 95 | A 1,000 mile off-road race in the Philippines is the focal point of this unmemorable programmer; for car-action fans only. | tt0075831 | [PG] | Joe Don Baker, Susan Sarandon, Larry Hagman, Alan Vint, Parnelli Jones, Logan Clark | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Checking Out | 1989 | David Leland | ★½ | 96 | When Daniels' best friend dies of a heart attack he suddenly turns into a raging hypochondriac, convinced the same thing will happen to him. After 90m. of this overblown black comedy you pray that it will. | tt0097052 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Melanie Mayron, Michael Tucker, Kathleen York, Ann Magnuson, Allan Havey, Jo Harvey Allen, Felton Perry, Alan Wolfe | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cheech & Chong's Next Movie | 1980 | Tommy Chong | ★½ | 99 | After an auspicious debut in UP IN SMOKE, the pothead, put-on comic duo go seriously awry in this crude, incoherent film, which offers only sporadic laughs. Look for Phil Hartman and Rita Wilson in bits. | tt0080520 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Evelyn Guerrero, Betty Kennedy, Sy Kramer, Rikki Marin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams | 1981 | Tommy Chong | ★★ | 89 | Episodic, generally below par C&C comedy finds them as owners of an ice-cream truck that fronts for more lucrative grass trade. Some hilarity involving a sexually jealous biker; Guerrero once again an apt comic foil. | tt0082163 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Evelyn Guerrero, Paul Reubens, Stacy Keach, Dr. Timothy Leary, Sandra Bernhard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers | 1984 | Tommy Chong | 💣 | 90 | The boys (in three roles each) and their families (in one role each) star in their first non-drug (but still tasteless) comedy, an inept parody which seems all the more empty because of its magnificent French locations. Staggeringly unfunny even by C&C standards; the previews for START THE REVOLUTION WITHOUT ME have more laughs. | tt0087042 | [PG] | Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Roy Dotrice, Shelby Fiddis, Rikki Marin, Edie McClurg, Rae Dawn Chong, Robbi Chong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cheers for Miss Bishop | 1941 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 95 | Sentimental story of Scott devoting her life to teaching in small Midwestern town. Nicely done. | tt0033459 | Martha Scott, William Gargan, Edmund Gwenn, Sterling Holloway, Sidney Blackmer, Mary Anderson, Dorothy Peterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cheetah | 1989 | Jeff Blyth | ★★★ | 84 | Two Southern California kids join their parents for several months in Kenya, make friends with a young Masai, and adopt an orphaned cheetah, which they raise as a pet. Simple story line is aimed squarely at kids, but it's believable and entertaining and teaches good lessons about tolerance and respect for the wild. A Disney release. | tt0097053 | [G] | Keith Coogan, Lucy Deakins, Collin Mothupi, Timothy Landfield, Breon Gorman, Ka Vundia, Kuldeep Bhakoo | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Chef in Love | 1996 | Nana Djordjadze | ★★½ | 100 | Yet another film which equates food with love and sex. Richard, a fabled French chef, comes to live in Georgia just before the Russian Revolution, where he romances a princess (Kirtadze) and opens a restaurant; his life is irrevocably altered upon the arrival of the Red Army. Despite some mouth-watering scenery (and food), the result is annoyingly uneven. | tt0117050 | [PG-13] | Pierre Richard, Nino Kirtadze, Micheline Presle, Timur Kamkhadze, Jean-Yves Gautier, Ramaz Chkhikvadze, Danielle Darrieux | French-Russian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Chelsea Walls | 2002 | Ethan Hawke | ★★ | 112 | Impressionistic ode to N.Y.C.'s fabled Chelsea Hotel and the ghosts of tortured artistic souls like Dylan Thomas who affect the current inhabitants— from a newly arrived Midwestern folksinger to a booze-ridden novelist who can't get his act together. Not uninteresting as a mood piece, with some good performances, but unenlightening and fatally slow moving. Hawke's feature directing debut. | tt0226935 | [R] | Kevin Corrigan, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Robert Sean Leonard, Kris Kristofferson, Natasha Richardson, Little Jimmy Scott, John Seitz, Uma Thurman, Mark Weber, Tuesday Weld, Steve Zahn, Harris Yulin, Guillermo Diaz, Frank Whaley, Marisa Tomei, Christopher Walken | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cherish | 2002 | Finn Taylor | ★★★ | 102 | Offbeat story of a misfit who's victimized by a stalker and then involved in an accident that lands her in jail— but her 'prison' is an apartment, where an electronic device chained to her ankle restricts her movement. In time, the deputy who maintains the device becomes her only friend. Fresh, original thriller set in San Francisco from writer-director Taylor, anchored by Tunney's strong, appealing performance. | tt0298798 | [R] | Robin Tunney, Tim Blake Nelson, Nora Dunn, Brad Hunt, Lindsay Crouse, Liz Phair, Jason Priestley | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Chernobyl Diaries | 2012 | Brad Parker | ★★ | 85 | Six "extreme tourists" are stranded in Pripyat, the supposedly abandoned Ukrainian city near the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, and discover they may not be alone after all. Despite a few scares and stretches of suspense, small-budget thriller plods along a predictable path through familiar territory. Produced and cowritten by Oren Peli, who gave us PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. | tt1991245 | [R] | Devin Kelley, Jonathan Sadowski, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Jesse McCartney, Nathan Phillips, Dimitri Diatchenko | Horror | NULL | ||
| Cherokee Strip | 1940 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 86 | Solid if unsurprising little Western with quiet but determined Dix becoming marshal of small town, hoping to get the goods on crooked Jory and his gang. | tt0032330 | Richard Dix, Florence Rice, Victor Jory, William Henry, Andy Clyde, George E. Stone | Western | NULL | |||
| Cherry 2000 | 1988 | Steve DeJarnatt | ★★½ | 93 | Post-MAD MAX adventure about a female mercenary hired to bust into a 21st-century robot warehouse operated by psychos in what used to be the American Southwest. Derivative, but a bit more fun than its limited theatrical release might lead you to believe; Johnson and Carey are worth their combined weights in audience goodwill. Filmed in 1986. | tt0092746 | [PG-13] | Melanie Griffith, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey/Jr., David Andrews, Tim Thomerson, Pamela Gidley, Jennifer Mayo | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Cherry Orchard | 1999 | Michael Cacoyannis | ★★½ | 141 | Melancholy, muted adaptation of Chekhov classic about a once-prosperous Russian family's struggle to cope with the imminent sale of their estate and the beloved title orchard. Made with care and well acted, but not quite effective as either a film or as an 'opened-up' play. Adapted by the director. Released in the U.S. in 2002. | tt0144134 | Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, Katrin Cartlidge, Owen Teale, Tushka Bergen, Xander Berkeley, Gerald Butler, Andrew Howard, Melanie Lynskey, Ian McNeice, Frances De La Tour, Michael Gough | Greek-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chesty Anderson, USN | Anderson's Angels | 1976 | Ed Forsyth | ★★ | 88 | Sexploitation comedy about female naval recruits is so timid that it keeps its lovely cast clothed even during physical exams! Retitled ANDERSON'S ANGELS for TV. | tt0074308 | [R] | Shari Eubank, Rosanne Katon, Dorri Thomson, Marcie Barkin, Timothy Carey, Scatman Crothers, Frank Campanella, Fred Willard, Betty Thomas | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cheyenne | The Wyoming Kid | 1947 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 100 | Standard Western as gambler attempts to capture outlaw— instead spends time with outlaw's wife. Later a TV series. Retitled THE WYOMING KID. | tt0039260 | Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Janis Paige, Bruce Bennett, Alan Hale/Sr., Arthur Kennedy, Barton MacLane | Western | NULL | ||
| Cheyenne Autumn | 1964 | John Ford | ★★★ | 145 | Sprawling, uneven, but entertaining John Ford Western (his last) about Cheyenne Indian tribe and its eventful journey back to original settlement after being relocated by the government. Director Ford's last film in Monument Valley. Dodge City sequence (with Stewart as Wyatt Earp) was cut after premiere engagements; restored to 154m. on video. | tt0057940 | Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Dolores Del Rio, Sal Mineo, Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Kennedy, Patrick Wayne, Elizabeth Allen, Victor Jory, John Carradine, Mike Mazurki, John Qualen, George O'Brien | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cheyenne Social Club | 1970 | Gene Kelly | ★★½ | 103 | Jimmy inherits and runs a bawdy house in the Old West. Lots of laughs, but clichés run throughout. | tt0065542 | [PG] | Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon, Elaine Devry | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Cheyenne Warrior | 1994 | Mark Griffiths | ★★★ | 86 | Modest but engrossing Western character study about the growing bond between a proud Indian warrior and a naive white woman who loses her husband while heading west in the 1800s. Well cast and well written (by Michael B. Druxman). | tt0109408 | [PG] | Kelly Preston, Pato Hoffmann, Bo Hopkins, Rick Dean, Clint Howard, Charles Powell, Dan Clark, Winterhawk, Dan Haggerty | Action, Western | NULL | ||
| Chicago | 2002 | Rob Marshall | ★★★ | 113 | Ditzy Roxie Hart (Zellweger) shoots a man, then hires the slickest lawyer in Chicago to represent her so she'll become a media star like her idol, nightclub performer Velma Kelly. Entertaining film version of the Bob Fosse-John Kander-Fred Ebb Broadway show treats the musical moments as figments of Roxie's imagination, contrasted against the dark reality of her life. Some quibbles: director Marshall hammers across every song as if it's the closing number and uses music-video-style cutting to the point of distraction. The stars are good, but Zeta-Jones reveals her experience as a musical performer and provides the knockout punch. Story filmed before in 1927 and as ROXIE HART. Chita Rivera, of the original Broadway cast, has a cameo. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Supporting Actress (Zeta-Jones), Costume Design (Colleen Atwood), Art Direction, Film Editing, and Sound. | tt0299658 | [PG-13] | Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, Dominic West | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Musical | NULL | ||
| Chicago 10 | 2008 | Brett Morgen | ★★★ | 110 | Unique documentary approach to the tumultuous events of 1968 when radical groups amassed in Chicago to protest the status quo, and the war in Vietnam, during the Democratic National Convention . . . contrasted with animated renderings of the trial of its instigators (taken verbatim from court transcripts), which became theater of the absurd. Without narration, talking-head interviews, period music, or very much contextual material, this narrowly focused film provides an emotional, empathetic, and immediate portrait of a seminal event in American history. | tt0905979 | [R] | Voices of Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Mark Ruffalo, Roy Scheider, Nick Nolte, Liev Schreiber, Jeffrey Wright, James Urbaniak | Animation | NULL | ||
| Chicago Calling | 1951 | John Reinhardt | ★★ | 74 | Slim premise has Duryea sitting by telephone awaiting news of estranged family injured in car accident; mild tour de force. | tt0043401 | Dan Duryea, Mary Anderson, Gordon Gebert, Ross Elliott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chicago Confidential | 1957 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 73 | Keith and Garland make good protagonists in their crusade to clean up corruption and crime amid the labor unions of the Windy City. | tt0050249 | Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, Dick Foran, Beverly Tyler, Elisha Cook/ Jr. | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Chicago Deadline | 1949 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 87 | Potentially top-notch actioner bogs down in clichés, with Ladd as crusading reporter in corruption-filled city. Remade as FAME IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. | tt0041243 | Alan Ladd, Donna Reed, June Havoc, Irene Hervey, Arthur Kennedy, Shepperd Strudwick | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Chicago Joe and the Showgirl | 1990 | Bernard Rose. | ★★½ | 103 | Yank soldier-hood Sutherland, stationed in London during WW2, joins a self-deluded British tart (Lloyd) in committing petty crimes that escalate into murder. Famed British tabloid fodder gets the low-budget 'period' treatment. Mildly interesting account never quite gels, though some of the violence offers surprisingly stylized jolts. Lloyd is a lot more interesting than her costar here. | tt0099250 | [R] | Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Lloyd, Patsy Kensit, Keith Allen, Liz Fraser, Alexandra Pigg, Ralph Nossek, Colin Bruce, John Lahr. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Chicago Syndicate | 1955 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 83 | Passable exposé film involving cleanup of Windy City rackets. | tt0047934 | Dennis O'Keefe, Abbe Lane, Paul Stewart, Xavier Cugat | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Chicken Chronicles | 1977 | Francis Simon | ★½ | 95 | Lowjinks of a high school senior, circa 1969, whose principal preoccupation is bedding the girl of his dreams. Guttenberg's film debut. | tt0075836 | [PG] | Steve Guttenberg, Ed Lauter, Lisa Reeves, Meridith Baer, Branscombe Richmond, Gino Baffa, Phil Silvers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chicken Every Sunday | 1948 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 91 | Easygoing turn-of-the-century Americana about get-rich-quick schemer Dailey and understanding wife Holm. | tt0040229 | Dan Dailey, Celeste Holm, Colleen Townsend, Alan Young, Natalie Wood | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Chicken Little | 2005 | Mark Dindal | ★★½ | 82 | No one in the idyllic suburban town of Oakey Oaks will let plucky young Chicken Little forget the time he said the sky was falling; they're certainly not going to believe him when he sees it happening again. Irresistible underdog hero and an amusing ensemble (our favorite: Fish Out of Water) draw you in, but the story goes askew. Likely to please younger kids. This is the Disney studio's first completely computer-generated cartoon feature. 3D theatrical version contains one additional scene after closing credits. | tt0371606 | [G] | Voices of Zach Braff, Garry Marshall, Joan Cusack, Steve Zahn, Amy Sedaris, Don Knotts, Harry Shearer, Patrick Stewart, Wallace Shawn, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Adam West, Patrick Warburton | Animation, Action, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Chicken Run | 2000 | Peter Lord, Nick Park | ★★★ | 84 | Endearingly loopy stop-motion animated feature from the Oscar-winning creators of Wallace and Gromit. The setting is a British barnyard where the chickens are determined to escape their fate and literally fly the coop. Amusing for adults on one level (with a number of savvy references to old POW movies) and just plain fun for kids. | tt0120630 | [G] | Voices of Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, Miranda Richardson, Jane Horrocks, Lynn Ferguson, Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall | British-U.S. | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | |
| Chief Crazy Horse | 1955 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 86 | Intelligent if slow-moving Western with Mature perfectly cast as the proud, idealistic Sioux chief who unites the Indian tribes (and defeats Custer at Little Big Horn). | tt0047935 | Victor Mature, Suzan Ball, John Lund, Ray Danton, Keith Larsen, Paul Guilfoyle, David Janssen, Dennis Weaver | Western | NULL | |||
| The Chief | 1933 | Charles Riesner. | ★½ | 65 | Designed to cash in on Wynn's radio popularity, this clumsy film has a script problem: no one bothered to write one! After getting Ed involved in a kidnapping plot, and some innocuous love interest, it winds up at Wynn's radio show, where he describes the plot to announcer Graham McNamee . . . and it ends. Not a moment too soon. | tt0023886 | Ed Wynn, Charles 'Chic' Sale, Dorothy Mackaill, William 'Stage' Boyd, Effie Ellsler, C. Henry Gordon, Mickey Rooney, George Givot, Nat Pendleton. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Child Is Born | 1940 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 79 | Smooth, touching remake of LIFE BEGINS about everyday life in maternity ward, involving prisoner Fitzgerald sent to hospital to have her child. | tt0032333 | Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jeffrey Lynn, Gladys George, Gale Page, Spring Byington, Eve Arden | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Child Is Waiting | 1963 | John Cassavetes | ★★★ | 102 | Poignant story of Lancaster's attempts to treat retarded children with the help of overly sympathetic Garland. Sensitive subject handled with honesty and candor. | tt0056930 | Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Gena Rowlands, Steven Hill, Bruce Ritchey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Child Under a Leaf | 1974 | George Bloomfield | ★★ | 88 | Boring drama about an unhappily married woman who feels she cannot leave her husband for her lover. | tt0071312 | [R] | Dyan Cannon, Joseph Campanella, Donald Pilon | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Child of Manhattan | 1933 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★½ | 70 | Dance-hall girl falls in love with a millionaire, but an unexpected pregnancy complicates the relationship for both of them. Nice little film has a fairly light touch and keeps moving, which covers a multitude of sins. Carroll is excellent, genuinely touching in her dramatic moments. You'll have to look sharp to spot Betty Grable. Based on a play by Preston Sturges. | tt0023887 | Nancy Carroll, Charles (Buck) Jones, John Boles, Jessie Ralph, Clara Blandick, Luis Alberni, Warburton Gamble, Jane Darwell, Nat Pendleton, Tyler Brooke. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Child's Play | 1972 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 100 | Well-acted but somber and confusing account of rivalry between Catholic school professors Mason and Preston, and the seemingly senseless acts of violence perpetrated by some of their students. From the Robert Marasco play. | tt0068369 | [PG] | James Mason, Robert Preston, Beau Bridges, Ronald Weyand, Charles White, David Rounds, Kate Harrington, Jamie Alexander | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Child's Play | 1988 | Tom Holland | ★★★ | 87 | Scary and clever horror thriller in which only young Vincent knows his new Chucky doll is really a monster, possessed with the spirit of dead murderer Dourif. His mom (Hicks) and the cop on the case (Sarandon) finally believe him but not before two deaths. Sleeper hit packs a wallop, with excellent special effects bringing the doll to life. Followed by four sequels. | tt0094862 | [R] | Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, Alex Vincent, Brad Dourif, Dinah Manoff, Tommy Swerdlow, Jack Colvin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Child's Play 2 | 1990 | John Lafia | ★½ | 84 | Traumatized by Chucky's 1988 antics, affected youngster begins boarding with foster parents. Agutter and Graham ought to be anyone's couple-of-the-month, but the film is utterly worthless until the finale: 15 minutes of doll-factory yuck (with a particular nod to conveyor belts); its unexpected stylishness saves this d.o.a. from a BOMB rating. | tt0099253 | [R] | Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, Gerrit Graham, Christine Elise, Grace Zabriskie, Peter Haskell, Beth Grant, voice of Brad Dourif | Horror | NULL | ||
| Child's Play 3 | 1991 | Jack Bender | 💣 | 90 | It's been eight years since Chucky first terrorized young Andy Barclay (Whalin), and now the kid is a screwed-up loner of 16 in a military school; to make things worse, the prez of the Play Pals Toy Company is about to put the 'C' doll back into production. An amusement park finale is desperately contrived, even by the standards of this junk. Followed by BRIDE OF CHUCKY. | tt0103956 | [R] | Justin Whalin, Perrey Reeves, Jeremy Sylvers, Peter Haskell, Dakin Matthews, Andrew Robinson, voice of Brad Dourif | Horror | NULL | ||
| Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things | 1972 | Benjamin (Bob) Clark | ★½ | 85 | Young, kinky movie-makers take over a rural graveyard and unwittingly resurrect the evil dead. Weird. | tt0068370 | [PG] | Alan Ormsby, Anya Ormsby, Valerie Mauches, Jane Daly, Jeffrey Gillen | Horror | NULL | ||
| Children of Heaven | 1997 | Majid Majidi | ★★★ | 88 | Poignant story of a young boy trying to replace his sister's newly repaired pink shoes. This became Iran's first Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film, and deservedly so. Simple tale shows the importance of family, perseverance and honor, as we follow an eight-year-old's seemingly impossible quest to make up for his single misdeed. Well worth watching for children and adults alike. | tt0118849 | [PG] | Amir Naji, Mir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahareh Seddigi, Nafiseh Jafar Mohammadi, Fereshteh Sarabandi | Iranian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Children of Huang Shi | 2008 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★ | 125 | Situated in Shanghai during Japan’s invasion of China, a young Oxford-educated journalist (Rhys Meyers) manages to coerce his way into the forbidden area, the strife-ridden city of Nanjing, where he experiences the war up close. Reluctantly seeking refuge in an all-but-forgotten, dilapidated children’s orphanage moves his life in an unexpected direction. Spotty recounting of British journalist George Hogg’s true experiences. Even a good cast can’t raise the temperature of what should have been a heartwarming tale. | tt0889588 | [R] | Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun Fat, David Wenham, Michelle Yeoh, Guang Li | U.S.-Chinese-Australian-German | War | NULL | |
| Children of Men | 2006 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★★½ | 108 | Riveting look at the year 2027: women are sterile, and England is a bleak, Fascistic society. Onetime political activist Owen finds himself involved in a resistance movement again because of a girl who has miraculously become pregnant. Visceral action and chase scenes (incredibly shot by Emmanuel Lubezki) give us a real sense of being hunted, as Owen becomes an Everyman hero on the run. Caine adds some light moments as an aging hippie who's managed to survive in his own hideaway compound. Based on a novel by P. D. James, adapted by Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby. | tt0206634 | [R] | Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Pam Ferris, Danny Huston, Peter Mullan | U.S.-British | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Children of Paradise | Enfants du paradis, Les | 1945 | Marcel Carné | ★★★★ | 195 | Timeless masterpiece of filmmaking (and storytelling), focusing on a rough-and-tumble theatrical troupe in 19th-century France. Barrault plays the mime whose unfulfilled passion for free-spirited Arletty dominates his life, even as he achieves great fame on stage. Wise, witty, and completely captivating. Written by Jacques Prévert. Filming began in 1943 in Nazi-occupied France, but wasn't completed until 1945. | tt0037674 | Jean-Louis Barrault, Arletty, Pierre Brasseur, Albert Remy, Maria Casarés, Leon Larive, Marcel Herrand, Pierre Renoir | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Children of Sanchez | 1978 | Hall Bartlett | ★½ | 117 | Quinn is a widowed Mexico City worker who has several common-law wives, and refuses to show affection for his children. Well-meaning look at the folly of machismo, but it's leaden-paced and often excruciating. Chuck Mangione's popular pop-jazz score too often seems to belong to another film. | tt0077326 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Dolores Del Rio, Melanie Farrar, Katy Jurado, Stathis Giallelis, Lucia Mendez, Duncan Quinn | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| The Children of Theatre Street | 1977 | Robert Dornhelm, Earle Mack | ★★★½ | 92 | Outstanding documentary about Leningrad's famed Kirov Ballet School, among whose graduates are Baryshnikov, Nureyev, Balanchine, and Nijinsky. The focus is on a trio of students, and the rigorous training they undergo. A must for balletomanes, and especially recommended as an introduction to the art of ballet for children. | tt0075839 | [G] | Narrated by Grace Kelly | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Children of a Lesser God | 1986 | Randa Haines | ★★★ | 110 | New teacher at school for the deaf is intrigued by an obviously intelligent but isolated young woman who works there as a janitor. The warmth of Hurt's performance, and the credibility of Matlin's, shine through this moving and unusual love story . . . though it lacks the edge and bite of Mark Medoff's play, on which it's based. An impressive feature-film directing debut for Haines. Matlin, also making her film debut, won an Oscar. Filmed in New Brunswick. | tt0090830 | [R] | William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco, Alison Gompf, John F. Cleary, John Basinger | Drama | NULL | ||
| Children of the Corn | 1984 | Fritz Kiersch | ★½ | 93 | Laughable adaptation of Stephen King short-short story about young couple who stumble onto Iowa town that's been taken over by sinister juvenile cultists— and then, like all stupid couples in movies like this, fail to get out while the getting is good. Pretty tacky. Followed by six sequels. | tt0087050 | [R] | Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, R. G. Armstrong, John Franklin, Courtney Gains, Robby Kiger | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Children of the Corn II- The Final Sacrifice | 1993 | David F. Price | ★½ | 94 | Barely based on the Stephen King story. Once again, the kids of an isolated Nebraska farming community are killing the adults and nobody knows why. Nobody knows the reason for this movie's existence either. Followed by five more 'sequels'! | tt0106557 | [R] | Terence Knox, Paul Scherrer, Rosalind Allen, Christie Clark, Ned Romero | Horror | NULL | ||
| Children of the Damned | 1964 | Anton Leader | ★★½ | 90 | Follow-up to VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED suffers from unimaginative account of precocious deadly children and their quest for power. | tt0056931 | Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara Ferris, Patrick White, Bessie Love | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Children of the Night | 1992 | Tony Randel | ★½ | 92 | Vampires take over a small town in this low-rent variation on SALEM'S LOT. Peculiar deviation from vampire mythology— they sleep underwater with their lungs floating on the surface— is the only novelty, unless you count the highly variable acting. | tt0103957 | [R] | Karen Black, Peter DeLuise, Ami Dolenz, Evan MacKenzie, Maya McLaughlin, Josette DiCarlo, David Sawyer, Garrett Morris | Horror | NULL | ||
| Children of the Revolution | 1996 | Peter Duncan | ★★½ | 101 | Fervent Stalinist (Davis) ends up secretly pregnant with the famed leader's son, then watches as he grows up mirroring his father's revolutionary behavior. Australian black comedy tackles the collapse of communism blending humor and tragedy, fact and fiction, but the pacing is uneven and the satire often heavy-handed. Worth seeing for two knockout performances, from the always reliable Davis and from Griffiths, as her policewoman daughter-in-law. | tt0115886 | [R] | Judy Davis, Sam Neill, F. Murray Abraham, Geoffrey Rush, Richard Roxburgh, Rachel Griffiths, Russell Kiefel, John Gaden | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Children's Hour | 1961 | William Wyler | ★★½ | 107 | Updated version of Lillian Hellman's play is more explicit in its various themes, including lesbianism, than original THESE THREE (also made by Wyler), but not half as good. Impact is missing, despite MacLaine and Hepburn as two teachers, Hopkins as meddling aunt, Bainter as questioning grandmother. | tt0054743 | Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter, Karen Balkin, Veronica Cartwright | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Children | 1990 | Tony Palmer | ★★ | 115 | Kingsley's plans to marry recently widowed Novak are thrown askew by his involvement with the ill-cared-for children of an old college friend . . . and his gradual infatuation with the eldest teenage daughter. Based on an Edith Wharton novel filmed in 1929 as THE MARRIAGE PLAYGROUND. Kingsley and Novak are excellent, but film is irritating and slow, with tiresome use of steadicam. Filmed in Venice and Switzerland. | tt0099255 | Ben Kingsley, Kim Novak, Siri Neal, Geraldine Chaplin, Joe Don Baker, Britt Ekland, Donald Sinden, Karen Black, Robert Stephens, Rupert Graves | British-West German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chill Factor | 1999 | Hugh Johnson | ★★ | 101 | Convenience store clerk Ulrich and ice cream truck driver Gooding reluctantly team up to keep an explosive, safe as long as it's cold, from falling into the hands of terrorist Firth. Routine, predictable action movie helped by the likable (if miscast) leads. | tt0163579 | [R] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Peter Firth, David Paymer, Hudson Leick, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Kevin J. O'Connor | Thriller, Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Chilling | 1989 | Deland Nuse, Jack A. Sunseri | 💣 | 95 | Amateurism, familiarity, and too many plot elements doom this ultracheap, Kansas City-made tale of cryogenic corpses turned into (yawn) cannibalistic zombies. At one point we see the shambling corpse of the Ayatollah Khomeni, surely some kind of first—but not a good kind. | tt0097059 | [R] | Linda Blair, Dan Haggerty, Troy Donahue, Jack A. De Rieux, Ron Vincent | Horror | NULL | ||
| Chimes at Midnight | Falstaff | 1966 | Orson Welles | ★★★ | 115 | Welles combined parts of five Shakespeare plays with mixed results, with his own portrayal of Falstaff the most interesting aspect. Well cast, but limited budget hurt the effort. Aka FALSTAFF. | tt0059012 | Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, John Gielgud, Marina Vlady, Keith Baxter; narrated by Ralph Richardson | Spanish-Swiss | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |
| Chimpanzee | 2012 | Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield | ★★½ | 78 | Diverting Disney documentary about a tribe of African chimps and how one little fellow (named Oscar here) depends on his mother completely for his daily survival—and how the clan endures repeated attacks by a larger, more ferocious tribe as they fight over food. The Disney touch (including colloquial narration by Allen, and the naming of each character) makes this family-friendly, and more than a bit manipulative; young children may have trouble understanding what happens to Oscar's mom. | tt1222815 | [G] | Narrated by Tim Allen | Documentary | NULL | ||
| China | 1943 | John Farrow | ★★ | 79 | Pat wartime tale of mercenary Ladd who suddenly realizes his true allegiance while helping enemy. | tt0035735 | Loretta Young, Alan Ladd, William Bendix, Philip Ahn, Iris Wong, Sen Yung | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| China 9, Liberty 37 | Gunfire | 1978 | Monte Hellman | ★★½ | 102 | Sluggish, mythicized Western in which railroad barons save a man from gallows in exchange for killing former gunfighter; gunfighter's wife falls for killer and helps do his dirty work. Title refers to signpost giving distance to two nearby towns. Video title: GUNFIRE. | tt0077327 | [R] | Warren Oates, Fabio Testi, Jenny Agutter, Sam Peckinpah | Western | NULL | |
| China Clipper | 1936 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 85 | O'Brien stars as man determined to develop trans-Pacific flights; usual plot of initial failure, grim determination, and neglected wife; fairly well done. | tt0027445 | Pat O'Brien, Beverly Roberts, Ross Alexander, Humphrey Bogart, Marie Wilson, Henry B. Walthall | Drama | NULL | |||
| China Corsair | 1951 | Ray Nazzaro. | ★½ | 67 | Tinsel-like adventure of Hall's romancing, combating crooks aboard title ship. Borgnine's film debut. | tt0043403 | Jon Hall, Lisa Ferraday, Ron Randell, Douglas Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| China Doll | 1958 | Frank Borzage | ★½ | 88 | Bizarre storyline can't boost dull film of Air Force pilot Mature accidentally buying Asian wife whom he grows to love. Romantic story with WW2 backdrop from John Wayne's Batjac unit. | tt0051476 | Victor Mature, Li Li Hua, Bob Mathias, Stuart Whitman | Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| China Gate | 1957 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★ | 97 | International soldiers under French command attack Communist munitions dumps in Indochina. Interesting subplots flesh out Fuller's dynamic action story, with early view of Vietnam's internal strife. | tt0050252 | Gene Barry, Angie Dickinson, Nat 'King' Cole, Paul Dubov, Lee Van Cleef, George Givot, Marcel Dalio | War | NULL | |||
| China Girl | 1942 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 95 | American photographer in mysterious Orient during WW2 is background for unbelievable adventure yarn; Bari best item in film. | tt0034593 | Gene Tierney, George Montgomery, Lynn Bari, Victor McLaglen, Sig Ruman, Robert Blake, Ann Pennington, Philip Ahn | Drama | NULL | |||
| China Girl | 1987 | Abel Ferrara | ★★½ | 88 | Atmospheric romantic thriller about warring Chinese and Italian youth gangs in N.Y.C., with Panebianco and Chang as star-crossed lovers. Director Ferrara provides tremendous energy and some over-the-top violence. | tt0092751 | [R] | James Russo, Richard Panebianco, Sari Chang, David Caruso, Russell Wong | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| China Moon | 1994 | John Bailey | ★★ | 99 | Small-town cop Harris lusts after unhappily married Stowe in this moody film noir. A couple of neat twists, but production is more than a bit reminiscent of (the superior) BODY HEAT— down to the Florida locale. Directorial debut for Bailey, better known as a top cinematographer (ORDINARY PEOPLE, IN THE LINE OF FIRE). Filmed in 1991. | tt0109417 | [R] | Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Charles Dance, Benicio Del Toro, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Roger Aaron Brown, Patricia Healy | Thriller | NULL | ||
| China Seas | 1935 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 90 | Impossible to dislike film with that cast, even if the story— about mysterious goings-on and relationships on Gable's Singapore-bound ship— is ludicrous. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026205 | Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Rosalind Russell, Dudley Digges, Robert Benchley, C. Aubrey Smith, Hattie McDaniel | Action, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| China Sky | 1945 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 78 | Slow-moving Pearl Buck story of dedicated doctor Scott fighting Japanese with Chinese comrades during WW2. | tt0037593 | Randolph Scott, Ruth Warrick, Ellen Drew, Anthony Quinn, Carol Thurston, Richard Loo | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The China Syndrome | 1979 | James Bridges | ★★★★ | 123 | Heartpounding drama about attempted cover-up of accident at California nuclear plant is as much a probe of television news as it is a story of nuclear power— and it scores bullseye on both fronts. There is no music score; story tension propels film by itself, along with solid performances by Fonda as TV reporter, Douglas (who also produced film) as radical cameraman, and especially Lemmon as dedicated plant exec. Screenplay by Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, and Bridges. | tt0078966 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Wilford Brimley, James Karen | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| China Venture | 1953 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 83 | Exciting WW2 adventure film of marine group on mission to capture Japanese naval commander wanted by U.S. interrogation department. | tt0045624 | Edmond O'Brien, Barry Sullivan, Jocelyn Brando, Richard Loo, Philip Ahn | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| China's Little Devils | 1945 | Monta Bell. | ★★ | 74 | Patriotic WW2 yarn involving Chinese waifs who battle Japanese invaders and come to the aid of downed American pilots. | tt0037594 | Harry Carey, Paul Kelly, 'Ducky' Louie, Hayward Soo Hoo, Gloria Ann Chew, Ralph Lewis, Philip Ahn. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Chinatown | 1974 | Roman Polanski | ★★★★ | 131 | Bizarre, fascinating mystery in the Hammett-Chandler tradition (and set in the 1930s) with Nicholson as L.A. private eye led into a complex, volatile case by femme fatale Dunaway. Director Polanski appears briefly as the hood who knifes Nicholson. Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (Robert Towne). Sequel: THE TWO JAKES. | tt0071315 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Roy Jenson, Dick Bakalyan, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, James Hong, Noble Willingham, Burt Young | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Chinatown Nights | 1929 | William A. Wellman. | ★★ | 82 | San Francisco socialite Vidor gets caught in the middle of a Tong war in the Chinese quarter and takes up with gang leader Beery. Silent film with some dialogue scenes obviously added at the last minute; awkward but interesting. | tt0019765 | Wallace Beery, Florence Vidor, Warner Oland, Jack Oakie, Jack McHugh, Tetsu Komai, Frank Chew. | NULL | ||||
| Chinese Box | 1997 | Wayne Wang | ★★ | 100 | Murky drama set in the final six months of Great Britain's rule over Hong Kong, with the smell of change in the air as China prepares to take over. Irons plays a jaded journalist whose own life is at a crossroads. Li is not well showcased in her first English-language film, as a woman 'with a past' whom Irons adores but cannot have. Heavy-handed allegory was conceived by Wang, Paul Theroux, and Jean-Claude Carrière. | tt0118851 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Michael Hui, Rubén Blades | Japanese-French-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Chinese Cat | 1944 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 65 | Formula Charlie Chan programmer, with usual assortment of villains literally dying to get their hands on statue containing an uncut diamond. | tt0036709 | Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Weldon Heyburn, Ian Keith, John Davidson, Betty Blythe | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Chinese Coffee | 2001 | Al Pacino | ★★ | 99 | Chamber piece, clearly based on a play (by Ira Lewis) about a pair of N.Y.C. artists, losers with a symbiotic relationship who spend a long night talking over their failures and resentments. If you're a fan of the two actors, you'll savor their performances, but as a film it never takes off. Lewis adapted his play. Shot in 1997. | tt0118852 | [R] | Al Pacino, Jerry Orbach, Susan Floyd, Ellen McElduff | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Chinese Connection | 1972 | Lo Wei | ★★★ | 107 | Violent Kung Fu film has Lee in Shanghai in early 1900s seeking vengeance on the murderers of his teacher. Graceful, powerful, humorous, and charismatic; Lee at his best. Original title: FIST OF FURY. Aka THE IRON HAND. | tt0068767 | [R] | Bruce Lee, Miao Ker Hsiu, James Tien, Robert Baker | Hong Kong | Action | NULL | |
| The Chinese Ring | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 65 | Charlie Chan probes the murder of a Chinese princess, with Winters debuting as the great detective. Routine entry indistinguishable from the other Monogram cheapies. | tt0039262 | Roland Winters, Warren Douglas, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Philip Ahn, Louise Currie, Byron Foulger | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Chinese Roulette | 1976 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 86 | Intense, biting comedy about a disabled girl (Schober), who plots to have her parents and their lovers visit a country house on the same weekend. Perceptive— but potentially off-putting— film is recommended mainly for Fassbinder fans. | tt0074312 | Margit Carstensen, Ulli Lommel, Anna Karina, Macha Meril, Brigitte Mira, Andrea Schober, Volker Spengler | German | Action | NULL | ||
| Chino | The Valdez Horses | 1973 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 98 | Offbeat Western that barely received theatrical release here in 1976; Bronson plays halfbreed whose attempts to maintain his horse ranch in peace are short-lived. Aka THE VALDEZ HORSES. | tt0069833 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Van Patten, Marcel Bozzuffi, Fausto Tozzi, Melissa Chimenti | Italian | Western | NULL |
| Chip Off the Old Block | 1944 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 82 | Innocuous wartime musical of misunderstandings, climaxing in teenage romance and musical show. | tt0036710 | Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Ann Blyth, Helen Vinson, Helen Broderick, Arthur Treacher, Patric Knowles, Ernest Truex | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Chisum | 1970 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 111 | Wayne is the real-life cattle baron of the title, but takes a back seat to Billy the Kid (Deuel) in this routine but handsome Western. It's about the efforts of good ranchers like Wayne and Knowles to prevent the takeover of Lincoln County, New Mexico, by corrupt Tucker. One of very few Wayne Westerns based on historical events. | tt0065547 | [G] | John Wayne, Geoffrey Deuel, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Ben Johnson, Glenn Corbett, Bruce Cabot, Patric Knowles, Lynda Day, Richard Jaeckel | Western | NULL | ||
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | 1968 | Ken Hughes | ★½ | 142 | Children's musical about flying car is one big Edsel itself, with totally forgettable score and some of the shoddiest special effects ever. Loosely based on book by Ian Fleming. Later adapted for the stage. | tt0062803 | [G] | Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill | Comedy, Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Chloe | 2010 | Atom Egoyan | ★★ | 96 | Long-married Moore still loves her husband (college prof Neeson) but can’t seem to connect with him anymore, sexually or even conversationally. When she suspects him of having an affair, she hires a young prostitute (Seyfried) to tempt him and report his behavior. Instead, Moore becomes unexpectedly entangled in a relationship with the younger woman. Intriguing remake of the French film NATHALIE (2004), adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson (SECRETARY), is sexually provocative—with plenty of female nudity—but winds up being downright silly. | tt1352824 | [R] | Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot, R. H. Thomson, Nina Dobrev | Canadian-U.S.-French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Chloe in the Afternoon | 1972 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 97 | No. 6 of Rohmer's 'Six Moral Tales' depicts married man's fascination with kooky girl during daylight hours. As Chloe, Zouzou becomes more alluring as film unwinds. | tt0068205 | [R] | Bernard Verley, Zouzou, Francoise Verley, Daniel Ceccaldi | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Chocolat | 1988 | Claire Denis | ★★★ | 105 | Subtle, slowly paced slice-of-life about a young woman's memories of her childhood in French West Africa, where whites are masters and most blacks are servants. This very personal, autobiographical film (which first-time director Denis coscripted) is quietly rewarding. | tt0094868 | [PG-13] | Isaach de Bankolé, Giulia Boschi, François Cluzet, Cécile Ducasse, Jean-Claude Adelin, Jacques Denis, Mireille Perrier | French-German-Cameroon | Drama | NULL | |
| Chocolat | 2000 | Lasse Hallström | ★★ | 121 | A French village is virtually frozen in time and kept that way by its conservative leading citizen (Molina). Into this rigid community come a chocolatier (Binoche) and her daughter, whose free-spirited ways and tempting delicacies turn the town on its ear. Meant to be charming but hopelessly contrived, in spite of a fine cast. | tt0241303 | [PG-13] | Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Peter Stormare, Carrie-Anne Moss, Leslie Caron, John Wood, Hugh O'Conor, Victoire Thivisol | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Chocolate Soldier | 1941 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 102 | Not the Oscar Straus operetta, but rather a remake of Molnar's THE GUARDSMAN. Eddy and Stevens are husband-wife opera stars; to test her fidelity, he disguises himself as a Cossack and woos her. Much too talky, and not enough music; remade as LILY IN LOVE. | tt0033464 | Nelson Eddy, Rise Stevens, Nigel Bruce, Florence Bates, Dorothy Gilmore, Nydia Westman | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Chocolate War | 1988 | Keith Gordon | ★★★ | 103 | A Catholic boys school is divided by a power struggle between an idealistic student and a dictatorial acting headmaster, as each tries to deal with The Vigils, a secret society of schoolboys out for control. Chilling and impressive, well directed on a low budget by actor Gordon, who also adapted Robert Cormier's novel. Glover is wonderfully wicked. | tt0094869 | [R] | John Glover, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Wally Ward, Bud Cort, Adam Baldwin, Jenny Wright, Doug Hutchinson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Choice of Arms | 1981 | Alain Corneau | ★★★ | 117 | Well-directed drama about retired gangster Montand forced into antagonistic relationship with young punk Depardieu, leading to reciprocal violence. Despite hostility, both men come to understand how similar they are. Good performances by excellent cast, especially Depardieu. Original French running time 135m. | tt0082173 | Yves Montand, Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Michel Galabru, Gerard Lanvin | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Choices | 1981 | Silvio Narizzano | ★★½ | 90 | Partially deaf teenager Carafotes becomes alienated when prevented from playing football because of his handicap. Well-intentioned but obvious drama is helped by fine performances. Moore's film debut. | tt0082172 | Paul Carafotes, Victor French, Lelia Goldoni, Val Avery, Dennis Patrick, Demi Moore, Billy Moses, Pat Buttram | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Choirboys | 1977 | Robert Aldrich | 💣 | 119 | Supposedly comic escapades of L.A. cops who relieve work pressures by raunchy doings. Foul-mouthed, foul-minded, heavy-handed film from book by Joseph Wambaugh, who disavowed this turkey. | tt0075845 | [R] | Charles Durning, Louis Gossett/Jr., Perry King, Clyde Kusatsu, Stephen Macht, Tim McIntire, Randy Quaid, Chuck Sacci, Don Stroud, James Woods, Burt Young, Robert Webber, Jeanie Bell, Blair Brown, Michele Carey, Charles Haid, Joe Kapp, Barbara Rhoades, Jim Davis, Phyllis Davis, Jack DeLeon, David Spielberg, Vic Tayback, Michael Wills, George DiCenzo | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Choke | 2008 | Clark Gregg | ★★½ | 92 | Rockwell is perfect as the protagonist of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, a lifelong con man trying to deal with sex addiction while caring for his mother, who’s in a mental hospital. Disconnected from society, he desperately needs to know who his father was. Darkly funny, extreme but inconsistent, this may appeal most to Palahniuk’s faithful readers. First-time director Gregg also adapted the book and appears as Rockwell’s priggish boss. | tt1024715 | [R] | Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brad William Henke, Clark Gregg, Bijou Phillips, Gillian Jacobs, Jonah Bobo, Paz de la Huerta, Viola Harris, Joel Grey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Choke Canyon | 1986 | Chuck Bail | ★★½ | 94 | Fun sci-fi about stubborn cowboy physicist (!) who fights off corrupt industrialist's henchmen, trying to protect the environment against nuclear waste dumping on the eve of Halley's Comet's visit near Earth. Terrific aerial stuntwork. | tt0090836 | [PG] | Stephen Collins, Janet Julian, Lance Henriksen, Bo Svenson, Victoria Racimo, Nicholas Pryor | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Choose Me | 1984 | Alan Rudolph | ★★★½ | 106 | Outrageously inventive tale of the various relationships, truths, and lies that link radio sex-talk-show hostess Bujold, bar owner Warren, and mental hospital escapee Carradine, among others. This comedy-drama about the different roles that people play in life is a real kick, with a wonderful from-midnight-till-dawn feel and good performances by all. Evocative use of L.A. locations and Teddy Pendergrass songs. A companion piece to Rudolph's WELCOME TO L.A. and REMEMBER MY NAME. | tt0087054 | [R] | Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine, Lesley Ann Warren, Rae Dawn Chong, Patrick Bauchau, John Larroquette, John Considine | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Chop Shop | 2008 | Ramin Bahrani | ★★★½ | 84 | Remarkably naturalistic look at Alejandro (or “Ale”), a self-reliant, street-smart Latino boy who works at (and lives in) an auto-body repair shop in Queens, N.Y. He persuades his older sister to join him there, hoping to pry her away from the bad influence of her friends and give her a goal to reach for: the purchase of a food van they can operate together. Bahrani (MAN PUSH CART), cowriter Bahareh Azimi, and cinematographer Michael Simmonds create a modern-day equivalent of 1940s neorealist gems like OPEN CITY and THE BICYCLE THIEVES in this striking—and heartbreaking—film. | tt0990404 | Unrated | Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales, Carlos Zapata, Ahmad Razvi, Rob Sowulski | Drama | NULL | ||
| Chopper | 2000 | Andrew Dominik | ★★½ | 93 | Fictionalized bio of Australian criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read, who kills at the slightest provocation and mutilates himself, yet somehow becomes a cult hero. Stomach-churning violence might make you steer clear, but there's no denying the chilling lead performance by Bana (who's best known as a stand-up comic). Features the nastiest ear-slicing since RESERVOIR DOGS. | tt0221073 | Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Kenny Graham, Kate Beahan | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Chopping Mall | Killbots | 1986 | Jim Wynorski | ★½ | 76 | Eight teenagers are trapped overnight in a shopping mall where three malfunctioning guard robots go on a killing spree. Endless injokes and cameo roles (including Bartel and Woronov in their EATING RAOUL characters) fail to save a story that lapses into clichés. Originally titled: KILLBOTS. | tt0090837 | [R] | Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller, Karrie Emerson, Barbara Crampton, Suzee Slater, Gerrit Graham, Mel Welles | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| A Chorus Line | 1985 | Richard Attenborough | ★★ | 113 | Auditionees for Broadway chorus line reveal their innermost thoughts and emotions in song and dance before a hard-boiled director (Douglas). Thoroughly uninspired, unmemorable filming of the landmark Broadway musical; watchable, especially if you never saw the play, but what can you say about a musical in which all the singing and all the dancing is mediocre? And the show's biggest number, 'What I Did for Love,' is treated as a throwaway! | tt0088915 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Alyson Reed, Cameron English, Vicki Frederick, Audrey Landers, Gregg Burge, Nicole Fosse, Janet Jones | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| A Chorus of Disapproval | 1988 | Michael Winner | ★★ | 100 | Shy, simple-minded widower moves to a seaside town and joins an amateur theatrical troupe, in which romantic intrigues abound. Some pearly performances (especially Hopkins, as the director, and Scales, as his wife) can't overcome the slightness of the material and its faltering execution. Adapted from Alan Ayckbourn's play by the author and Winner. | tt0094871 | [PG] | Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins, Prunella Scales, Sylvia Syms, Lionel Jeffries, Gareth Hunt, Patsy Kensit, Alexandra Pigg, Jenny Seagrove | British | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Chosen Survivors | 1974 | Sutton Roley | ★★ | 99 | Good cast in formula nonsense about group of people 'selected' to survive future holocaust in underground shelter. Just one hitch: the shelter is invaded by vampire bats. Dialogue and characterizations from grade-Z movies of the past. | tt0071318 | [PG] | Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Bradford Dillman, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Diana Muldaur, Barbara Babcock | Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Chosen | 1978 | Alberto De Martino | 💣 | 105 | Nuclear power exec Douglas slowly realizes that his son (Ward) is the Antichrist, who plans to use nuclear power to bring on world destruction. There! We just saved you 105 minutes. Originally titled HOLOCAUST 2000. | tt0077332 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Agostina Belli, Simon Ward, Anthony Quayle, Virginia McKenna, Alexander Knox | Italian-British | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Chosen | 1981 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★★★½ | 108 | Excellent adaptation of Chaim Potok's novel, centering on friendship between Americanized Jew Miller and Hassidic Benson. Steiger, as Benson's rabbi father, gives his best performance in years, and even Robby isn't bad. Set in 1940s Brooklyn; later made into a Broadway musical. | tt0082175 | [PG] | Maximilian Schell, Rod Steiger, Robby Benson, Barry Miller, Hildy Brooks, Ron Rifkin, Val Avery | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Christian Licorice Store | 1971 | James Frawley | ★★ | 90 | Quirky, dated comic study of tennis player Bridges looking for meaning in life. Loads of cameos, including directors Jean Renoir, Monte Hellman, Theodore J. Flicker, and James B. Harris. Filmed in 1969. | tt0066913 | [PG] | Beau Bridges, Maud Adams, Gilbert Roland, Anne Randall, Allen Arbus, McLean Stevenson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Christian the Lion | 1976 | Bill Travers, James Hill | ★★½ | 89 | Pleasant docudrama about the efforts of BORN FREE stars— and real-life wildlife expert George Adamson, whom Travers portrayed in earlier film— to return a lion born in London Zoo to its native habitat in Kenya. Expanded from 1971's THE LION AT WORLD'S END. | tt0074315 | [G] | Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, George Adamson, Anthony Bourke | British | Documentary, Adventure | NULL | |
| Christiane F. | 1981 | Ulrich Edel | ★★½ | 124 | Grim, gruesome account of bored teenager Brunkhorst falling in with crowd of junkie-hustler Haustein. Well meaning but uneven; based on a true story. Features unmemorable David Bowie concert sequence. | tt0082176 | [R] | Nadja Brunkhorst, Thomas Haustein, Jens Kuphal, Reiner Wolk | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Christina | 1974 | Paul Krasny | ★★ | 98 | Beautiful woman offers unemployed man $25,000 to marry her— in name only. Just as he's falling in love with her, she disappears. Murky thriller shot in Canada. | tt0071321 | [PG] | Barbara Parkins, Peter Haskell, James McEachin, Marlyn Mason, Barbara Gordon | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Christine | 1983 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 111 | Stephen King bestseller about a '58 Plymouth with demonic powers never hits bull's-eye, despite a promising start that captures teenage life quite nicely. | tt0085333 | [R] | Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Christine Jorgensen Story | 1970 | Irving Rapper | 💣 | 89 | Ludicrous biography of famed 50s phenomenon is not exactly an in-depth study; one problem is that actor Hansen looks more masculine as female Christine and vice versa. | tt0065549 | [R] | John Hansen, Joan Tompkins, Quinn Redeker, John W. Hines, Ellen Clark | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Christmas Box | 1995 | Marcus Cole | Average TV Movie | 100 | O'Hara returns to television after 23 years as a rich elderly widow who takes in a goal-oriented yuppie and his family to care for her and teaches them the true meaning of Christmas. O'Hara is graying but still feisty in the flip side of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, adding charm to Greg Taylor's adaptation of the sentimental best-seller by Richard Paul Evans (played here by Thomas). Sequel: TIMEPIECE. | tt0112667 | Richard Thomas, Maureen O'Hara, Annette O'Toole, Kelsey Mulrooney, Robert Curtis-Brown, Michael Ensign | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Christmas Carol | 1938 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 69 | Nicely done adaptation of Dickens' classic with Owen a well-modulated Scrooge, surrounded by good MGM players and period settings. Young June Lockhart makes her screen debut. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029992 | Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Terry Kilburn, Barry MacKay, Lynne Carver, Leo G. Carroll, Ann Rutherford | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| A Christmas Carol | Scrooge | 1951 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★★★ | 86 | Superb film is too good to be shown only at Christmastime; always delightful Sim makes Scrooge a three-dimensional character in this faithful, heartwarming rendition of the Dickens classic. Screenplay by Noel Langley. Patrick Macnee plays young Marley. Original British title: SCROOGE. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044008 | Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Clifford Mollison, Michael Hordern, George Cole, Carol Marsh, Miles Malleson, Ernest Thesiger, Hattie Jacques, Peter Bull, Hugh Dempster | British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| A Christmas Carol | 1984 | Clive Donner | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Beautifully staged retelling of the Dickens classic with a memorable interpretation of Scrooge by Scott, by George! Handsomely filmed in Shrewsbury, England. Script by Roger O. Hirson. | tt0087056 | George C. Scott, Nigel Davenport, Frank Finlay, Edward Woodward, Lucy Gutteridge, Angela Pleasence, Roger Rees, David Warner, Susannah York, Anthony Walters, Joanne Whalley | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Christmas Eve | 1947 | Edwin L. Marin | ★½ | 90 | Slow-moving mixture of comedy and drama as foster sons discover evil intentions of relations to victimize Harding. Retitled: SINNER'S HOLIDAY. | tt0039266 | George Brent, George Raft, Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, Virginia Field, Ann Harding, Reginald Denny | Drama | NULL | |||
| Christmas Holiday | 1944 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 92 | Somerset Maugham novel reset in America. Crime story with Durbin gone wrong to help killer-hubby Kelly; songs include 'Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year. | tt0036711 | Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Gale Sondergaard, Gladys George, Richard Whorf | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Christmas Kid | 1968 | Sidney Pink | ★★ | 89 | Average frijole Western about saddletramp's search for his true identity. | tt0061844 | Jeffrey Hunter, Louis Hayward, Gustavo Rojo, Perla Cristal, Luis Prendes | Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| Christmas Mountain | 1980 | Pierre De Moro | ★★ | 90 | An old cowboy finds the living spirit of Christmas with widow and her family in midst of blizzard of '88 out West. Minor holiday fare. | tt0080531 | [G] | Slim Pickens, Mark Miller, Barbara Stanger, Fran Ryan, Tina Minard, John Hart | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Christmas Story | 1983 | Bob Clark | ★★★★ | 93 | Humorist Jean Shepherd's delightful memoir of growing up in the 1940s and wanting nothing so much as a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Shepherd narrates in the first person, and Billingsley portrays him (delightfully) as a boy. Truly funny for kids and grown-ups alike; wonderful period flavor. Based on a portion of In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Shepherd appears unbilled as a department store customer. Followed by IT RUNS IN MY FAMILY. | tt0085334 | [PG] | Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, Tedde Moore | Comedy, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| A Christmas Tale | 2008 | Arnaud Desplechin | ★★★½ | 152 | The matriarch of a large, rambunctious family has contracted a rare disease and needs a bone-marrow transplant; this lays heavily over the clan’s Christmas reunion, the first one that black sheep Almaric has been permitted to attend in a long time, because he may be the likeliest donor. A celebration of our contradictions and complexities as human beings, and how they affect the family dynamic. Deneuve’s real-life daughter Mastroianni plays her unwelcome daughter-in-law. Eclectic music score ranges from Mendelssohn to Mingus; it shouldn’t work but somehow (like everything else in this film) it does. Written by Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu. | tt0993789 | Unrated | Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Hippolyte Girardot, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Christmas That Almost Wasn't | 1966 | Rossano Brazzi | ★½ | 95 | Santa Claus hijack makes for weak kiddie fare, none too thrilling for grown-ups either. | tt0059032 | [G] | Rossano Brazzi, Paul Tripp, Lidia Brazzi, Sonny Fox, Mischa Auer | Italian-U.S. | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Christmas Tree | When Wolves Cry | 1969 | Terence Young | ★½ | 110 | Sappy tearjerker about relationship between young boy and his wealthy father when the latter learns his son's death is imminent. Cast is divided between those who overact and those who don't seem to care one way or the other. Aka WHEN WOLVES CRY. | tt0064037 | [G] | William Holden, Virna Lisi, Bourvil, Brook Fuller, Madeleine Damien | Drama | NULL | |
| The Christmas Tree | 1996 | Sally Field | Average TV Movie | 100 | Onetime flying nun Field coexecutive-produced, cowrote, and made her directing debut with this gentle Yuletide tale of an unworldly nonflying nun (Harris), a harried young man, and a pet Norwegian Spruce. Adapted from the delightful novel by Julie Salamon and Jill Weber. | tt0115892 | Julie Harris, Andrew McCarthy, Trini Alvarado, Jessica Hecht, Shannon Holt, Betty Aberlin, Anne Pitoniak | Family | NULL | |||
| Christmas in Connecticut | 1945 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 101 | Airy fluff with Stanwyck, a chic magazine writer who's supposed to be an expert homemaker, forced to entertain a war veteran (Morgan) and her boss (Greenstreet) for the holidays. Standard studio corn it may be, but a wonderful treat for late-night viewing on Christmas Eve. Remade for cable TV in 1992. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037595 | Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Christmas in Connecticut | 1992 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Average TV Movie | 100 | Terminally chipper Dyan, never-say-die Tony, and game Arnie's movie directing debut are the selling points of this pointless remake of the 1945 romantic comedy, filmed on location—not in Connecticut but Grand Teton National Park (with fake snow). Made for cable. | tt0103961 | Dyan Cannon, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Curtis, Richard Roundtree, Kelly Cinnante, Gene Lithgow, Vivian Bonnell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Christmas in July | 1940 | Preston Sturges | ★★★½ | 67 | Top Sturges comedy about Powell going on shopping spree after mistakenly believing he has won big contest. Walburn and Demarest are at their best. | tt0032338 | Dick Powell, Ellen Drew, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ernest Truex, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Christmas to Remember | 1978 | George Englund | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Sentimental Depression-era tale about an elderly farm couple who take in their city-bred adolescent grandson for the holidays. High-powered star cast elevates this already satisfying adaptation by Stewart Stern of Glendon Swarthout's novel, The Melodeon. | tt0077333 | Jason Robards, Eva Marie Saint, Joanne Woodward, George Perry, Bryan Englund | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Christmas with the Kranks | 2004 | Joe Roth | 💣 | 98 | Noxious holiday movie in which suburbanites Luther and Nora Krank, whose daughter has joined the Peace Corps, decide to forgo celebrating Christmas and take a Caribbean cruise— which, according to their outraged neighbors, is positively un-American. Alleged comedy pays homage to mediocrity, crass consumerism, and love-it-or-leave-it conformity. Screenplay by Chris Columbus, based on John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas. | tt0388419 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth Franz, Erik Per Sullivan, Cheech Marin, Jake Busey, Austin Pendleton, Tom Poston, Julie Gonzalo, Felicity Huffman | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Christopher Bean | 1933 | Sam Wood. | ★★★½ | 87 | N.Y.C. art dealers pursue a small-town family when they learn that a deceased artist worked as their handyman and gave them one of his now-valuable paintings. Deliciously droll (and still-timely) comedy. Dressler, as a household slavey, and Barrymore, as a not-so-simple country doctor, are at their best. Based on Sidney Howard's play The Late Christopher Bean, adapted from the French play Prenez Garde à la Peinture, itself filmed in 1932. Dressler's final film. Aka HER SWEETHEART. | tt0023890 | Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, Helen Mack, Beulah Bondi, Jean Hersholt, Russell Hardie, H. B. Warner, George Coulouris. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Christopher Columbus | 1949 | David Macdonald | ★★★ | 104 | Stark, slowly paced biography of explorer, with earnest portrayal by March in title role; good period setting. | tt0041247 | Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Francis L. Sullivan, Linden Travers, Kathleen Ryan, Derek Bond, James Robertson Justice, Felix Aylmer, Nora Swinburne, Abraham Sofaer | British | Action | NULL | ||
| Christopher Columbus- the Discovery | 1992 | John Glen | 💣 | 120 | 'In nineteen-hundred-and-ninety-two, Columbus sailed two screen boo-boos.' Corraface plays the explorer in this one, which beat 1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE to the big screen, bringing an infectious smile and notably heavy beard follicles to an extremely complex historical character. Brando has a cameo as Spanish Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada (his dullest performance since DESIREE), while Selleck dresses up as King Ferdinand— the guy with three ships and a lady. Not ripe for rediscovery. | tt0103962 | [PG-13] | Marlon Brando, Tom Selleck, Georges Corraface, Rachel Ward, Robert Davi, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Oliver Cotton, Mathieu Carriere, Nigel Terry | U.S.-Spanish | Adventure, Biography | NULL | |
| Christopher Strong | 1933 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 77 | Hepburn's an aviatrix in love with married Clive. Dated film intriguing for star's performance as headstrong, individualistic woman— and dig that silver lamé costume. Margaret Lindsay appears unbilled. | tt0023891 | Katharine Hepburn, Colin Clive, Billie Burke, Helen Chandler, Jack LaRue | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chrome and Hot Leather | 1971 | Lee Frost | 💣 | 91 | Lurid time-waster about some motorcycle thugs responsible for woman's death and her Green Beret fiancé (Young) who seeks revenge. | tt0066915 | [PG] | William Smith, Tony Young, Michael Haynes, Peter Brown, Marvin Gaye | Action | NULL | ||
| Chronicle | 2012 | Josh Trank | ★★★ | 83 | In Seattle, three high school buddies find a mysterious buried object that gives them telekinetic powers. They have fun developing their abilities, which even enable them to fly; then egos and insecurities lead to escalating problems. Imaginative movie invigorates the "found footage" genre and intelligently develops the ramifications of being able to control objects by thought. Script by Max Landis, son of John, from a story he wrote with director Trank. | tt1706593 | [PG-13] | Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Ashley Hinshaw, Bo Petersen | British-U.S. | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | 2008 | Andrew Adamson | ★★★ | 140 | In the second installment of C. S. Lewis’ series, the Pevensie children—uncomfortable at home in England—are transported once again to Narnia, but hundreds of years have passed there, and the kingdom has suffered. They readily assume their roles as saviors and strike an uneasy alliance with Prince Caspian (newcomer Barnes) of the Telmarines, whose uncle—a ruthless ruler—has tried to kill him. Solid storytelling, strong performances, and breathtaking scenery put this across, though it’s a dark tale, and the climactic battle scenes go on at length. | tt0499448 | [PG] | Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Warwick Davis, Sergio Castellitto, Vincent Grass, Alicia Borrachero, Tilda Swinton; voices of Liam Neeson, Eddie Izzard | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe | 2005 | Andrew Adamson | ★★★ | 139 | Faithful rendering of C. S. Lewis' beloved book with a newly invented prologue: four children are sent from London to a professor's home in the country during WW2. The youngest, Lucy, discovers a magic wardrobe that leads to a mystical land called Narnia. When she learns it has been taken over by a devious witch (Swinton), she recruits her siblings to help win the battle of good vs. evil. Much of this is truly wondrous, though it does go on a bit and the special effects are extremely variable. Still, an impressive and worthwhile family film. Oscar winner for Best Makeup (Howard Berger, Tami Lane). | tt0363771 | [PG] | Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Kiran Shah, James Cosmo; voices of Liam Neeson, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Rupert Everett | Action, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 2010 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 113 | During WW2, Lucy and Edmund Pevensie are separated from their parents and siblings and forced to live with their obnoxious cousin Eustace, until all three children are swept back to the world of Narnia. They reunite with Prince Caspian on his ship The Dawn Treader and embark on a perilous voyage to track down seven lost lords of the kingdom and their magical swords. Third of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia stories offers plenty of action and breathtaking visual effects. An entertaining journey, although some aspects of story and character are skimped on in favor of those visuals. The human actors are consistently upstaged by the brave and courtly mouse named Reepicheep (voiced by Pegg). | tt0980970 | [PG] | Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton; voices of Liam Neeson, Simon Pegg | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Chronicles of Riddick | 2004 | David Twohy. | ★½ | 119 | Follow-up to the lean, mean PITCH BLACK is a densely plotted, overproduced action/sci-fi extravaganza, with Diesel as the escaped convict who attempts to ward off an invasion of planet Helion Prime by the Necromongers, led by the evil Lord Marshal (Feore). Laden with a self-serious storyline and enormous computer-generated settings and effects, it sinks under its own weight. Diesel coproduced. Unrated director's cut runs 134m. | tt0296572 | [PG-13] | Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos, Linus Roache, Yorick van Wageningen, Nick Chinlund, Keith David. | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Chrystal | 2004 | Ray McKinnon | ★½ | 107 | A car crash left a little boy dead and his mother physically and psychologically impaired. The father, who was responsible for the accident, returns home seeking salvation after many years in prison. Muddled, slow-as-molasses hogwash set in the Arkansas Ozarks; means to be insightful but more often is dramatically incoherent. Written by the director. | tt0362506 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Lisa Blount, Ray McKinnon, Harry Lennix, Walton Goggins, Grace Zabriskie, Johnny Galecki, Colin Fickes, Max Kasch, Harry Dean Stanton | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Chu Chu and the Philly Flash | 1981 | David Lowell Rich | 💣 | 100 | Maddeningly moronic comedy revolving around bum Arkin, show-biz failure Burnett, and a briefcase filled with secret government papers. A low point in the careers of its stars; Burnett isn't even funny in Carmen Miranda getup. Scripted by Barbara Dana (Mrs. Arkin). | tt0082177 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, Jack Warden, Danny Aiello, Adam Arkin, Danny Glover, Sid Haig, Ruth Buzzi, Vito Scotti, Lou Jacobi | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chu-Chin-Chow | 1934 | Walter Forde. | ★★ | 103 | Elephantine operetta version of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (more or less), shot on enormous indoor sets, makes THE DESERT SONG seem like cutting-edge entertainment. Labored, hokey, claustrophobic, miscast, but curiously fascinating, with Austrian Kortner as Abu Hassan, Cockney Robey as Ali Baba, and Wong with too little to do as a mistress of intrigue. Sullivan doesn't show up until the end, but livens things up as the bored Caliph. The popular play was filmed before in 1923. | tt0024978 | George Robey, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, John Garrick, Pearl Argyle, Laurence Hanray, Dennis Hoey, Malcolm McEachern, Francis L. Sullivan. | British | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Chubasco | 1968 | Allen H. Miner | ★★½ | 100 | Young man working on tuna boat gets along with the skipper until he learns the boy has married his daughter; overlong but likable programmer. Jones and Strasberg were then married in real life. | tt0062805 | Richard Egan, Christopher Jones, Susan Strasberg, Ann Sothern, Simon Oakland, Audrey Totter, Preston Foster | Drama | NULL | |||
| Chuck & Buck | 2000 | Miguel Arteta | ★★★ | 96 | Buck (White), a 27-year-old who's never matured, is reunited with boyhood friend Chuck (Chris Weitz), and decides that they're still best pals. But Chuck feels uneasy, especially with his onetime friend's near-stalker tactics. Extremely offbeat but fascinating portrait of a pest who simply won't be ignored . . . and the reasons for his attachment. White also wrote this perceptive film; costar Weitz and supporting actor Paul Weitz are better known as screenwriters (AMERICAN PIE). | tt0200530 | [R] | Mike White, Chris Weitz, Lupe Ontiveros, Beth Colt, Paul Weitz, Maya Rudolph, Mary Wigmore, Paul Sand | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll | 1987 | Taylor Hackford | ★★★½ | 120 | Two delights in one: an overview of rock legend Chuck Berry's career— sparked by interviews with Richards, Clapton, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, Willie Dixon, Bruce Springsteen, and the subject himself— and a climactic 60th birthday Berry concert held in his hometown of St. Louis. Whitewashes Berry's womanizing and early 1960s jail term, but his hot temper is much in evidence during some amusing skirmishes with concert producer Richards. Worthy of its title . . . if slightly overlong. | tt0092758 | [PG] | Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Etta James, Julian Lennon, Linda Ronstadt | Documentary | NULL | |
| Chuka | 1967 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 105 | Good cast is wasted in routine Western about grizzled gunfighter who tries to promote peace between Indians and some undisciplined soldiers guarding nearby fort. | tt0061477 | Rod Taylor, John Mills, Ernest Borgnine, Luciana Paluzzi, James Whitmore, Angela Dorian, Louis Hayward | Western | NULL | |||
| A Chump at Oxford | 1940 | Alfred Goulding | ★★½ | 63 | So-called feature is more like a series of barely related shorts; film is nearly half over before L&H even get to Oxford. Still quite funny, especially when they settle down in the Dean's quarters. A young Peter Cushing plays one of the boys' tormentors. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032339 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Wilfred Lucas, Forrester Harvey, James Finlayson, Anita Garvin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Chumscrubber | 2005 | Arie Posin | ★★ | 106 | Bell is excellent as a misfit who goes even further into his shell when his best friend commits suicide. One-note observation of life in the affluent suburban development from hell, where teens are alienated and overmedicated, parents self-absorbed and clueless. Fine work from the adult cast, with Fiennes a standout as Wilson's fiancé, who experiences an epiphany that no one can share or comprehend. | tt0406650 | [R] | Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle, Justin Chatwin, Glenn Close, William Fichtner, Ralph Fiennes, Allison Janney, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rita Wilson, Lou Taylor Pucci, Rory Culkin, Caroline Goodall, John Heard, Jason Isaacs, Lauren Holly | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Chungking Express | 1994 | Wong Kar-Wai | ★★½ | 103 | Two tangentially related stories of lovesickness, obsession, and the peccadilloes of relationships in a modern world. The catalyst for both liaisons, involving young Hong Kong policemen, is the proprietor of a fast-food establishment. Light, funny, and offbeat, though the second tale goes on far too long. Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder company acquired this for U.S. release, and many critics applauded its postmodern approach and stylistics. | tt0109424 | [PG-13] | Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung, Faye Wang, Valerie Chow, 'Piggy' Chan | Hong Kong | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| Chunhyang | 2000 | Im Kwon Taek | ★★ | 122 | Grandly old-fashioned romantic epic about the son of a wealthy governor who falls head over heels for the daughter of a courtesan and the reverberations of their secret marriage. Lush cinematography distracts from the soggy melodrama. Film also uses a traditional pansori (Korean opera singer) as narrator, which can grate heavily on Western ears. Proudly wears its heart on its sleeve but never engages our emotions. | tt0245837 | [R] | Lee Hae Eun, Lee Hae Ryong, Kim Hak Yong, Lee Hyo Jung, Cho Seung Woo, Choi Jin Young | Korean | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Chushingura | 1962 | Hiroshi Inagaki | ★★★½ | 108 | Young lord Kayama is forced to commit hara kiri by corrupt feudal lord Ichikawa, and his 47 samurai retainers (or ronin) seek vengeance. A version of an oft-filmed story, based on a real-life event: sprawling, episodic, exquisitely beautiful, if a bit slow. Sometimes referred to as the GONE WITH THE WIND of Japanese cinema. Originally released in Japan in two parts, running 204m. | tt0055850 | Koshiro Matsumoto, Yuzo Kayama, Chusha Ichikawa, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Château | 2002 | Jesse Peretz | ★½ | 92 | Threadbare comedy, shot on digital video, about two American brothers— one white, one black— who bumble their way to France to inspect a castle they've inherited. It turns out a household staff comes along with the residence, and they don't greet the new owners with open arms, for a variety of reasons. Rudd's obnoxious character goes a long way toward sinking this. | tt0283288 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Sylvie Testud, Phillipe Nahon, Donal Logue, Didier Flamand | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Chéri | 2009 | Stephen Frears | ★★ | 93 | Frears reunites with screenwriter Christopher Hampton, from Dangerous Liaisons, but this costume drama (based on a pair of Colette novels from 1920) goes awry. As the title youth, Friend is a lump opposite Pfeiffer's courtesan, the woman who taught him sexual basics in late-19th-century Paris and is now trying to rekindle the flame. Bates stretches patience as Cheri's mother, but Pfeiffer still has enough aging luminosity to suggest what the movie might have been. | tt1179258 | [R] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates, Felicity Jones, Bette Bourne, Nichola McAuliffe, Frances Tomelty, Anita Pallenberg, Harriet Walter, Iben Hjejle | British-French-German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Ciao! Manhattan | Edie in Ciao! Manhattan | 1972 | John Palmer, David Weisman | ★★½ | 84 | Eerie, fascinating, muddled, and boring all describe this mishmash in which Sedgwick essentially plays herself, a strung-out ex-superstar model. Filming started and stopped in 1967, and resumed four years later; Sedgwick died of a drug overdose months after its completion. Aka EDIE IN CIAO! MANHATTAN. | tt0068379 | [R] | Edie Sedgwick, Wesley Hayes, Isabel Jewell, Jeff Briggs, Viva, Paul America, Brigid Berlin, Baby Jane Holzer, Roger Vadim, Christian Marquand, Allen Ginsberg | Drama | NULL | |
| Ciao, Professore! | 1992 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★ | 91 | A middle-aged elementary school teacher from an upper-class section of Italy is mistakenly transferred to a run-down school in a decaying town near Naples. Naturally, both he and his students wind up learning a lot from each other. Wertmuller's attempt to comment on her country's educational system, this Italian TO SIR, WITH LOVE is a mostly labored lesson. | tt0107225 | [R] | Paolo Villaggio, Isa Danieli, Gigio Morra, Sergio Solli, Esterina Carloni, Paolo Bonacelli | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Cider House Rules | 1999 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★★ | 125 | Loving adaptation of John Irving's novel (by the author), telescoped from the sprawling story about a boy raised in a Maine orphanage (and abortion clinic) by an eccentric doctor who treats him like his own son— and begrudges the boy's decision to go out and see the world once he comes of age in the 1940s. Well cast, beautifully crafted; filmed on perfect locations throughout New England. Beautiful score by Rachel Portman and cinematography by Oliver Stapleton. Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor (Caine). | tt0124315 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Michael Caine, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Kathy Baker, Jane Alexander, Kieran Culkin, Erykah Badu, Kate Nelligan, Heavy D., K. Todd Freeman | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cimarron | 1931 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 124 | Edna Ferber's saga about an American family and the effect of empire building on the American West, 1890-1915. Oscar winner for Best Picture and Best Screenplay (Howard Estabrook), it dates badly, particularly Dix's overripe performance— but it's still worth seeing. Remade in 1960. | tt0021746 | Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil, William Collier/Jr., Roscoe Ates | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Cimarron | 1960 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 147 | Edna Ferber's chronicle of frontier life in Oklahoma between 1890 and 1915 becomes an indifferent sprawling soap opera unsalvaged by a few spectacular scenes. | tt0053715 | Glenn Ford, Maria Schell, Anne Baxter, Arthur O'Connell, Russ Tamblyn, Mercedes McCambridge, Vic Morrow, Charles McGraw, Harry Morgan, Edgar Buchanan, Robert Keith, Aline MacMahon, David Opatoshu, Mary Wickes | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cimarron Kid | 1951 | Budd Boetticher | ★★ | 84 | Uninspired formula Western with Murphy in title role, persuaded to give up his criminal life by his sweetheart. | tt0043408 | Audie Murphy, Beverly Tyler, James Best, Yvette Dugay, Hugh O'Brian, Rand Brooks | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cincinnati Kid | 1965 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 113 | Roving card-sharks get together in New Orleans for big poker game; side episodes of meaningless romance. Robinson, Blondell, and Malden come off best as vivid members of the playing profession. Script by Ring Lardner, Jr., and Terry Southern; Jewison replaced Sam Peckinpah as director. | tt0059037 | Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld, Joan Blondell, Rip Torn, Jack Weston, Cab Calloway | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cinderella | 1950 | Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi | ★★★½ | 74 | One of Walt Disney's best animated fairy tales spins the traditional story with some delightful comic embellishments, including a couple of mice named Gus and Jaq who befriend the put-upon heroine. Tuneful score includes 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes' and 'Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.' Followed 52 years later by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0042332 | Voices of Ilene Woods, William Phipps, Eleanor Audley, Rhoda Williams, Lucille Bliss, Verna Felton | Drama, Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cinderella Jones | 1946 | Busby Berkeley | ★★ | 88 | Silly comedy of girl who must marry brainy husband to collect inheritance; good cast defeated by trivial script. | tt0038415 | Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, S.Z. Sakall, Edward Everett Horton, Ruth Donnelly, Elisha Cook /Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Cinderella Liberty | 1973 | Mark Rydell | ★★★½ | 117 | (Bruno Kirby), Allyn Ann McLerie, Dabney Coleman, Sally Kirkland. Sensitive, original story by Darryl Ponicsan (based on his novel) about romance between simple, good-hearted sailor and a hooker with an illegitimate black son. Artfully mixes romance and realism, with sterling performances by Caan and Mason. | tt0069883 | [R] | James Caan, Marsha Mason, Eli Wallach, Kirk Calloway, Burt Young, Bruce Kirby/Jr.(Bruno Kirby), Allyn Ann McLerie, Dabney Coleman, Sally Kirkland | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 144 | Rousing true-life story of boxer James J. Braddock, reduced to working on loading docks to support his family during the Depression, then given a second shot in the ring. Familiar underdog material pushes all the expected buttons, but is handled with skill and compassion. Colorful period detail and dynamic handling of boxing scenes, crowned by fine work from Crowe as Braddock and, especially, Giamatti as his loyal trainer and manager. | tt0352248 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill, Ron Canada, Rosemarie DeWitt | Biography, Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| A Cinderella Story | 2004 | Mark Rosman | ★★ | 95 | Modern-day Cinderella story set in the San Fernando Valley. An orphaned girl who acts as slavey to her oafish stepmother finds a soul mate online but doesn't know his identity until the night of a high school dance. Unfortunately, the story goes on from there. Duff and Murray are likable, but the built-in predictability makes this piece of puff a bore. | tt0356470 | [PG] | Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael Murray, Dan Byrd, Regina King, Julie Gonzalo, Lin Shaye, Madeline Zima, Andrea Avery, Mary Pat Gleason, Paul Rodriguez, Whip Hubley, Kevin Kilner, Art Le Fleur | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cinderfella | 1960 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 91 | Jerry is the poor stepson turned into a handsome prince for a night by fairy godfather Wynn. Fairy tale classic revamped as a pretentious Lewis vehicle, with talky interludes and ineffectual musical sequences. | tt0053716 | Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn, Judith Anderson, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Henry Silva, Count Basie | Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Cinema Paradiso | Nuovo cinema Paradiso | 1988 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★★½ | 123 | A young boy is mesmerized by the movie theater in his small Italian town (in the years following WW2), and pursues a friendship with its crusty but warm-hearted projectionist. Captivating, bittersweet film, with a perfect finale; Noiret and the boy (Cascio) are wonderful. Written by the director. After abortive Italian release in 1988, film was shortened and awarded a Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival; it went on to win the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Reissued in 2002 at 174m. | tt0095765 | [PG] | Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Salvatore Cascio, Mario Leonardi, Agnese Nano, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian-French | Drama | NULL |
| Circle of Danger | 1951 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 86 | Straightforward account of Milland returning to England to ferret out brother's killers. | tt0043409 | Ray Milland, Patricia Roc, Marius Goring, Hugh Sinclair | British | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Circle of Deceit | 1981 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★★★ | 108 | Thoughtful, chilling, unrelentingly sober account of German journalist Ganz covering a Lebanese civil war, focusing on how he is affected by his experiences and his relationship with widow Schygulla. Actually filmed in Beirut against a backdrop of political turmoil; a superior film in every respect. Originally shown as FALSE WITNESS. | tt0082429 | [R] | Bruno Ganz, Hanna Schygulla, Jean Carmet, Jerzy Skolimowski, Gila von Weitershausen | French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| A Circle of Deception | 1961 | Jack Lee | ★★½ | 100 | At times engaging psychological yarn of WW2 espionage agent Dillman who breaks under Axis torture; ironic climax. Dillman and Parker later married in real life. | tt0054750 | Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker, Harry Andrews, Robert Stephens, Paul Rogers | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Circle of Friends | 1995 | Pat O'Connor | ★★★ | 96 | Spirited and individualistic young woman leaves her Irish village to attend university in Dublin and falls madly in love with a handsome lad. He loves her, too, but their relationship is impeded by chance and circumstance. Perhaps more ado than necessary for such a simple tale, but still satisfying; anchored by Driver's irresistible performance as Benny. Adapted from Maeve Binchy's novel and set in the 1950s. | tt0112679 | [PG-13] | Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows, Alan Cumming, Colin Firth, Aidan Gillen | U.S.-Irish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Circle of Iron | 1979 | Richard Moore | ★★½ | 102 | Strange, sometimes silly, but watchable blend of martial arts action and Zen philosophy; from an idea concocted by James Coburn and Bruce Lee. Cooper (looking like a California surfer) must pass rites of trial to find secret book of knowledge. Carradine plays four roles in this Stirling Silliphant-scripted fantasy, filmed in Israel as THE SILENT FLUTE. | tt0078975 | [R] | David Carradine, Jeff Cooper, Roddy McDowall, Eli Wallach, Erica Creer, Christopher Lee | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Circle of Love | 1964 | Roger Vadim | ★½ | 105 | Undistinguished remake of Ophuls' classic LA RONDE: A seduces B, B makes love to C, C has an affair with D— circling all the way back to A. Screenplay by Jean Anouilh; original running time: 110m. | tt0058533 | Jane Fonda, Jean-Claude Brialy, Maurice Ronet, Jean Sorel, Catherine Spaak, Anna Karina, Marie Dubois, Claude Giraud, Françoise Dorléac | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Circle of Power | Mystique | 1983 | Bobby Roth | ★★½ | 103 | Intriguing— and disquieting— tale of businessmen and their wives who undergo EDT (Executive Development Training), which, as administered by Mimieux, turns out to be a horrifying and humiliating series of rituals. Based on actual events, believe it or not. Originally released as MYSTIQUE; also known as BRAINWASH and THE NAKED WEEKEND. | tt0085340 | [R] | Yvette Mimieux, Christopher Allport, Cindy Pickett, John Considine, Julius Harris, Scott Marlowe, Fran Ryan, Walter Olkewicz, Danny Dayton, Denny Miller, Terence Knox | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Circle of Two | Obsession | 1980 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 105 | Sixty-year-old artist has romantic but platonic relationship with 16-year-old student. Burton is OK, and Dassin does not go for the cheap thrill, but the result is slight and forgettable. | tt0080536 | [PG] | Richard Burton, Tatum O'Neal, Nuala FitzGerald, Robin Gammell, Patricia Collins, Kate Reid | Canadian | Drama | NULL |
| The Circle | The Vicious Circle | 1959 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 84 | Well-acted, neatly paced murder yarn involving London medico. Retitled: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE. | tt0052695 | John Mills, Derek Farr, Roland Culver, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Circumstance | 2011 | Maryam Keshavarz | ★★ | 110 | Uninvolving account of two dreamy Iranian teenage girls, best pals who are coming of age in a repressive society that surely will not accept the fact that they are in the process of falling in love. Despite the provocative nature of the material and the themes explored—youthful rebellion versus compromise, religious dogma versus carnal desire, the everyday oppression of women—the narrative is slight and the result is far too disjointed to be effective. | tt1684628 | Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho, Sina Amedson, Keon Mohajeri | U.S.-Iranian-Lebanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Circumstantial Evidence | 1945 | John Larkin | ★★½ | 68 | Thoughtful, engaging programmer of O'Shea fighting with a grocer, who is accidentally killed; he then finds himself accused of murder and convicted on the testimony of eyewitnesses who think they saw him commit the crime. | tt0037598 | Michael O'Shea, Lloyd Nolan, Trudy Marshall, Billy Cummings, Ruth Ford, Reed Hadley, Roy Roberts, Scotty Beckett | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Circus Clown | 1934 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 63 | Brown mixes comedy and drama in account of circus star whose father objects to his work. | tt0024981 | Joe E. Brown, Dorothy Burgess, Patricia Ellis, Lee Moran, Tom Dugan, William Demarest | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Circus World | 1964 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 135 | Made in Spain, film has nothing new to offer, but rehashes usual circus formula quite nicely with the Duke as Big Top boss trying to pull his three-ring wild west show through various perils during European tour. Climactic fire sequence is truly spectacular. | tt0057952 | John Wayne, Rita Hayworth, Claudia Cardinale, John Smith, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte | Drama | NULL | |||
| Circus of Horrors | 1960 | Sidney Hayers | ★★½ | 89 | A most unethical plastic surgeon takes over a run-down circus and begins turning scarred female criminals into beautiful star attractions. Fast-moving, rousing horror film. | tt0053717 | Anton Diffring, Erika Remberg, Yvonne Monlaur, Donald Pleasence | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Circus | 1928 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★½ | 72 | Not the 'masterpiece' of THE GOLD RUSH or CITY LIGHTS, but still a gem; story has Charlie accidentally joining traveling circus, falling in love with bareback rider. Hilarious comedy, with memorable finale. Chaplin won a special Academy Award for 'versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing and producing' this. | tt0018773 | Charlie Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Allan Garcia, Betty Morrissey, Harry Crocker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Cirkus Columbia | 2011 | Danis Tanović | ★★★ | 111 | After spending two decades in Germany, a pompous exile from the former Yugoslavia (Manojlović) returns to his hometown upon his country's liberation from communism. He's more concerned with the plight of his beloved pet cat than with any human being, from his young girlfriend to his son and estranged wife, and is convinced that he is now king of the hill. But is he really? Engrossing drama-satire, which unfolds in 1991 just prior to the Bosnian war, is loaded with raw emotion and symbolic touches. Tanović coscripted with Ivica Đikić, on whose novel this is based. | tt1417067 | Miki Manojlović, Mira Furlan, Boris Ler, Jelena Stupljanin, Milan Štrljić, Mario Knezović, Svetislav Goncić, Almir Mehić | Bosnia | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant | 2009 | Paul Weitz | ★★ | 108 | A teen attends a traveling freak show, where he becomes a "half vampire" (and assistant to vampire Reilly). Needless to say, his life is altered considerably. Fitfully amusing comedy-horror film is done in by an incomprehensible story line. Screenplay by Weitz and Brian Helgeland, based on the fantasy book series by Darren Shan. | tt0450405 | [PG-13] | John C. Reilly, Ken Watanabe, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Massoglia, Jessica Carlson, Ray Stevenson, Patrick Fugit, Willem Dafoe, Salma Hayek, Orlando Jones, Frankie Faison, Michael Cerveris, Colleen Camp, Jane Krakowski | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cisco Pike | 1972 | B.W.L. Norton | ★★★ | 94 | Surprisingly good drama about crooked cop Hackman getting mixed up with drug dealing, and blackmailing ex-rock star Kristofferson (among Kris's songs is 'Lovin' Her Was Easier'). | tt0068384 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black, Gene Hackman, Viva!, Roscoe Lee Browne, Harry Dean Stanton | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Citadel | 1938 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 112 | Superb adaptation of A. J. Cronin novel of impoverished doctor Donat eschewing ideals for wealthy life of treating rich hypochondriacs, neglecting wife and friends in the process; tragedy opens his eyes. Weak ending, but fine acting makes up for it. Frank 'Spig' Wead, Emlyn Williams, Ian Dalrymple, Elizabeth Hill, and John Van Druten all contributed to the script. Remade in Britain as a TV miniseries. | tt0029995 | Robert Donat, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Richardson, Rex Harrison, Emlyn Williams, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Francis L. Sullivan | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Citizen Cohn | 1992 | Frank Pierson | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Woods craftily worms his way through the life of Roy Cohn, the opportunistic lawyer who became Senator Joseph McCarthy's right hand in the fifties. David Franzoni's incisive adaptation of Nicholas von Hoffman's best-seller tells the stream-of-consciousness story as Cohn hallucinates in a hospital bed while dying of AIDS in 1988. Forrest reprises his role as Dashiell Hammett from the 1983 film HAMMETT. Made for cable. | tt0103973 | James Woods, Joe Don Baker, Joseph Bologna, Ed Flanders, Frederic Forrest, Lee Grant, Pat Hingle, John McMartin, Josef Sommer, Tovah Feldshuh, Frances Foster, Allen Garfield | Drama | NULL | |||
| Citizen Kane | 1941 | Orson Welles | ★★★★ | 119 | Welles' first and best, a film that broke all the rules and invented some new ones, with fascinating story of Hearst-like publisher's rise to power. The cinematography (by Gregg Toland), music score (by Bernard Herrmann), and Oscar-winning screenplay (by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz) are all first-rate. A stunning film in every way . . . and Welles was only 25 when he made it! Incidentally, the reporter with a pipe is Alan Ladd; Arthur O'Connell is another one of the reporters. | tt0033467 | Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Agnes Moorehead, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, George Coulouris, Ruth Warrick, William Alland, Paul Stewart, Erskine Sanford | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Citizen Ruth | 1996 | Alexander Payne | ★★★ | 109 | Dern is a pregnant chemical-inhaling homeless woman who inadvertently becomes the center of a pro-life vs. pro-choice struggle over her unborn child. A stinging satire of fanaticism, with many funny scenes, though it peters out a bit toward the end; well played by a devoted cast. Diane Ladd has a raunchy unbilled cameo. | tt0115906 | [R] | Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith, Kelly Preston, M. C. Gainey, Kenneth Mars, Burt Reynolds, Alicia Witt, Tippi Hedren, Kathleen Noone | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Citizen X | 1995 | Chris Gerolmo | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Dogged Russian detective spends eight years pursuing an elusive serial killer who murdered 52 people between 1982 and 1990. Real-life events, chronicled in Robert Cullen's book The Killer Department and adapted by director Gerolmo, provide an unusual glimpse into the workings of the Russian police state during changing times. Acted by an international (almost all non-Russian) cast in Hungary. Made for cable. | tt0112681 | Stephen Rea, Donald Sutherland, Jeffrey DeMunn, Joss Ackland, John Wood, Max von Sydow | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| City Across the River | 1949 | Maxwell Shane | ★★½ | 90 | Watered-down version of Irving Shulman's novel The Amboy Dukes, involving tough life in Brooklyn slums, with predictable hoods et al. | tt0041251 | Stephen McNally, Thelma Ritter, Luis Van Rooten, Jeff Corey, Anthony (Tony) Curtis, Richard Jaeckel | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| City After Midnight | 1957 | Compton Bennett | ★½ | 84 | Tame detective film of private eye O'Herlihy investigating death of antique dealer. British title: THAT WOMAN OPPOSITE. | tt0051071 | Phyllis Kirk, Dan O'Herlihy, Petula Clark, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Jack Watling | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| City Beneath the Sea | 1953 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 87 | Inconsequential underwater yarn invigorated by Ryan and Quinn as deep-sea divers hunting treasure off Jamaican coast. | tt0045630 | Robert Ryan, Mala Powers, Anthony Quinn, Suzan Ball, Woody Strode | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| City Girl | 1930 | F. W. Murnau. | ★★★ | 90 | Farm boy Farrell goes to Chicago to sell the family's wheat crop and meets waitress Duncan. He brings her home as his bride, but her presence back on the farm spurs suspicion, conflict, and lust. Similar in style and theme to Murnau's SUNRISE; though not on the level of that masterpiece, this contains sequences of great visual beauty and emotional power. Originally made as a silent in 1928, then cut to 67m. by Fox in 1930, with added talkie scenes not directed by Murnau; fortunately, the silent version survives. | tt0020768 | Charles Farrell, Mary Duncan, David Torrence, Edith Yorke, Dawn O'Day (Anne Shirley), Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Tom McGuire. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The City Girl | 1984 | Martha Coolidge | ★★★ | 85 | Solid, uncompromising tale of a young woman (expertly played by Harrington) attempting to advance her career as a photographer, and her various, unsatisfactory relationships with men. Refreshingly realistic, and even funny; a winner. Peter Bogdanovich was executive producer. | tt0087061 | Laura Harrington, Joe Mastroianni, Carole McGill, Peter Riegert, Colleen Camp, Jim Carrington, Geraldine Baron | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| City Hall | 1996 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 111 | N.Y.C. deputy mayor Cusack selflessly serves his mayor, a superb politician who really cares about his constituents. When a shootout involving a cop, a drug dealer, and an innocent child escalates into a citywide scandal, however, Cusack finds that the pathway to the truth is a political minefield. Snappy behind-the-scenes-of-urban-politics story pulls you in, then veers toward melodrama, with a finale that's pretty hard to swallow. This was the work of a real-life deputy mayor, Ken Lipper, and no fewer than three top screenwriters (Bo Goldman, Paul Schrader, Nicholas Pileggi)! | tt0115907 | [R] | Al Pacino, John Cusack, Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, Martin Landau, David Paymer, Anthony Franciosa, Richard Schiff, Lindsay Duncan, Nestor Serrano, Mel Winkler, Roberta Peters | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| City Heat | 1984 | Richard Benjamin | ★★ | 97 | Two macho stars do caricatures of themselves in this 1930s gangster/detective yarn that takes turns trying to be funny and serious (when they pour gasoline on a guy and set him on fire we're apparently supposed to find it funny). For diehard fans of Clint and Burt only. | tt0087062 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Jane Alexander, Madeline Kahn, Rip Torn, Irene Cara, Richard Roundtree, Tony Lo Bianco, William Sanderson, Robert Davi | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| City Island | 2010 | Raymond De Felitta | ★★★ | 103 | Prison guard Garcia (in one of his best performances) lives with his boisterous, eccentric family in a house his grandfather built in the title N.Y.C. community, and harbors a secret: he wants to be an actor. His wife thinks he’s playing around, and this drives a wedge between them. Then he brings home a paroled convict, without telling anyone (including the young man) that it’s his son, from a long-ago relationship. Likable comedy-drama seems to be saying, Life is messy; learn to deal with it. Garcia’s real-life daughter plays his offspring here. Written by the director, who also made TWO FAMILY HOUSE. | tt1174730 | [PG-13] | Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait, Alan Arkin, Emily Mortimer, Dominik García-Lorido, Ezra Miller | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| City Lights | 1931 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★★ | 86 | Chaplin's masterpiece tells story of his love for blind flower girl and his hot-and-cold friendship with a drunken millionaire. Eloquent, moving, and funny. One of the all-time greats. | tt0021749 | Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| City Limits | 1985 | Aaron Lipstadt | 💣 | 85 | Disastrous sci-fi followup by the team that made ANDROID, an incoherent mess set 15 years in the future after a plague has devastated the planet, leaving roving youth gangs warring in MAD MAX fashion. Even a strong cast can't save this one, with most of the plot expressed in tacked-on narration by Jones. | tt0088925 | [PG-13] | Darrell Larson, John Stockwell, Kim Cattrall, Rae Dawn Chong, John Diehl, Don Opper, James Earl Jones, Robby Benson, Danny De La Paz, Norbert Weisser | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| City Slickers | 1991 | Ron Underwood | ★★★ | 112 | Three friends who are going through various degrees of mid-life crisis sign up for a two-week cattle drive, to clear their minds and set them back on-course. Enjoyable comedy, whose generous array of funny lines and good moments makes up for its 'serious' pretensions and flaws. Palance won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the leathery trail boss. Followed by a sequel. | tt0101587 | [PG-13] | Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, Jack Palance, Noble Willingham, Tracey Walter, Josh Mostel, David Paymer, Bill Henderson, Jeffrey Tambor, Phill Lewis, Kyle Secor | Adventure, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| City Slickers: The Legend of Curly's Gold | 1994 | Paul Weiland | ★★½ | 116 | A contrived sequel if there ever was one, with Crystal and Stern going back West (with Billy's screw-up brother Lovitz) to locate gold from a treasure map Palance (from the first film) left behind. Lack of plot and purpose are balanced by magnificent Moab, Utah, scenery— and a lot of genuine laughs, in the script by Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel. Crystal also produced. | tt0109439 | [PG-13] | Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Jon Lovitz, Jack Palance, Patricia Wettig, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Bill McKinney, Noble Willingham, David Paymer, Josh Mostel | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| City Streets | 1931 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★ | 82 | Cooper is an unambitious carnival worker who's drawn into the underworld by his love for racketeer's daughter (Sidney). Stylish melodrama is more interesting for Mamoulian's innovative presentation (and the stunning camerawork of Lee Garmes) than for its predictable plot. Lukas and Kibbee stand out in unusually smarmy characterizations. Notable, too, as Dashiell Hammett's only original screen story. | tt0021750 | Gary Cooper, Sylvia Sidney, Paul Lukas, Wynne Gibson, Guy Kibbee, Stanley Fields | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| City That Never Sleeps | 1953 | John H. Auer | ★★★ | 90 | Film noir about one night in the life of Chicago cop Young, who plans to quit his job and leave his wife for nightclub singer Powers. Events centering on criminal Talman and crooked lawyer Arnold interfere. Tense and ethically complex in the noir manner, and well photographed on location. Main misstep: Wills plays Chicago, the city itself, in human form. | tt0045631 | Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman, Edward Arnold, Chill Wills, Marie Windsor, Paula Raymond, Otto Hulett, Wally Cassell, Tom Poston | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| City Without Men | 1943 | Sidney Salkow | ★½ | 75 | Very routine lower-berth item about a boardinghouse near a prison where the women wait for their men to get out. | tt0035740 | Linda Darnell, Michael Duane, Sara Allgood, Edgar Buchanan, Glenda Farrell, Leslie Brooks, Margaret Hamilton, Sheldon Leonard, Rosemary DeCamp | Drama | NULL | |||
| City by the Sea | 2002 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★ | 108 | Dreary, derivative saga of a N.Y.C. cop who returns to his hometown, the once thriving, now desolate beachfront community of Long Beach, Long Island, where his long-estranged son may have committed murder. Tries to paint a tragic saga of fathers, sons, and lost opportunities, but too often rings hollow. Inspired by a true story. | tt0269095 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, Patti LuPone, George Dzundza, Anson Mount, Drena De Niro, Leo Burmester | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| City for Conquest | 1940 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 101 | Cagney makes this a must as boxer devoted to younger brother Kennedy. Beautiful production overshadows film's pretentious faults. A rare chance to see young Kazan in an acting role, as a neighborhood pal turned gangster. | tt0032342 | James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, George Tobias, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| City of Angels | 1998 | Brad Silberling | ★★½ | 117 | An angel, who longs to know more about human beings and finds himself attracted to a hard-working female doctor, decides to sacrifice his heavenly status and fall to earth so he can experience love. Americanization of Wim Wenders' haunting WINGS OF DESIRE is— by the very nature of American movie conventions— less ethereal than the original film, but still intriguing and in its own way romantic. Only the climax seems routine and therefore disappointing. | tt0120632 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Meg Ryan, Andre Braugher, Dennis Franz, Colm Feore, Robin Bartlett, Joanna Merlin, Sarah Dampf | Drama, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| City of Bad Men | 1953 | Harmon Jones | ★★ | 82 | Robbers attempt to steal prizefight proceeds in 1890s Nevada; film combines Western with recreation of Jim Corbett- Bob Fitzsimmons fight bout. | tt0045632 | Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Richard Boone, Lloyd Bridges, Carl Betz | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| City of Ember | 2008 | Gil Kenan | ★★ | 94 | Citizens of an isolated underground city that’s falling apart are afraid to venture beyond its boundaries, unaware that instructions were left behind by a group of wise men who sought to protect them from the demise of civilization aboveground. A plucky girl (Ronan) and her friend (Treadaway), not intimidated by their do-nothing mayor (Murray), start poking around and making interesting discoveries in the dilapidated city of Ember. Adaptation of Jeanne Duprau’s novel never fires the emotional response it needs so badly. The real star of the film is production designer Martin Laing. | tt0970411 | [PG] | Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Martin Landau, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Mackenzie Crook | Family, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| City of Fear | 1959 | Irving Lerner | ★½ | 81 | Programmer involving escaped convict Edwards sought by police and health officials; container he stole is filled with radioactive material, not money. | tt0052696 | Vince Edwards, Lyle Talbot, John Archer, Steven Ritch, Patricia Blair | Thriller | NULL | |||
| City of Ghosts | 2003 | Matt Dillon | ★★ | 116 | Dillon plays an American rogue— a con man with a conscience— involved in murky business dealings and general intrigue in present-day Phnom Penh. Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene can rest easy: this lightweight drama is never as credible or compelling as intended. However, it does get points for atmosphere, having been filmed throughout Cambodia. Dillon's feature directing debut; he also cowrote. | tt0164003 | [R] | Matt Dillon, James Caan, Stellan Skarsgård, Natascha McElhone, Gérard Depardieu, Sereyvuth Kem | Thriller | NULL | ||
| City of God | Cidade de Deus | 2002 | Fernando Meirelles | ★★★½ | 131 | Extraordinary portrait of life in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where young— often incredibly young— hoodlums rule, violence is commonplace, and a rivalry turns the district into a war zone. One boy finds a way out of this existence by learning to use a camera. An arresting, and brutal, mosaic of stories spanning three decades, told with tremendous skill and creativity by director Meirelles, who also adapted Paulo Lins' book (which, like the film, caused a sensation in Brazil), and cast of mostly nonprofessional actors. Kátia Lund is credited as codirector. | tt0317248 | [R] | Matheus Nachtergaele, Seu Jorge, Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Jonathan Haagensen, Douglas Silva | Brazilian | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| City of Hope | 1991 | John Sayles | ★★½ | 129 | Ambitious multi-character drama about a strife-torn inner city and the people whose lives intersect within it. Writer-director-editor Sayles (who wrote himself a good part, as the slimy Carl) brings vivid and believable characters to life, and makes some pungent comments about contemporary society, but loses his momentum somewhere along the way. Might have been more effective if trimmed a bit. | tt0101588 | [R] | Vincent Spano, Tony Lo Bianco, Joe Morton, John Sayles, Angela Bassett, David Strathairn, Maggie Renzi, Anthony John Denison, Kevin Tighe, Barbara Williams, Chris Cooper, Jace Alexander, Todd Graff, Frankie Faison, Gloria Foster, Tom Wright, Michael Mantell, Josh Mostel, Joe Grifasi, Louis Zorich, Gina Gershon, Rose Gregorio, Bill Raymond, Lawrence Tierney, Maeve Kinkead, Ray Aranha | Drama | NULL | ||
| City of Industry | 1997 | John Irvin | ★½ | 97 | Depressing story of robbery, deceit, murder, and revenge, set in current-day L.A. Keitel seems like a caricature of himself and Hutton is unconvincing as a sleaze, even with that scruffy beard. Elliott Gould appears unbilled. | tt0118859 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Famke Janssen, Timothy Hutton, Wade Dominguez, Michael Jai White, Reno Wilson, Lucy Alexis Liu | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| City of Joy | 1992 | Roland Joffé | ★★½ | 134 | Aimless, cynical American surgeon Swayze, living in Calcutta, 'finds' himself after becoming involved with a health clinic for the poor, taking on the local mafia, and befriending hardworking but poverty-stricken Puri. Well-intentioned but pretentious film scripted by Mark Medoff from Dominique Lapierre's book. Swayze tries his best, but is outshone by supporting cast; similar territory is covered better in SALAAM BOMBAY! Sam Wanamaker appears unbilled as Swayze's father. | tt0103976 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, Pauline Collins, Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Ayesha Dharker, Santu Chowdury, Imran Badsah Khan, Art Malik, Shyamanand Jalan | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| City of Life and Deaths | Nanjing! Nanjing! | 2009 | Lu Chuan | ★★★½ | 133 | Shattering portrayal of the "rape" of Nanjing (or Nanking, as Westerners know it) by Japanese troops in 1937. Writer-director Lu manages to capture the terrible enormity of the event and personalize the story by focusing on various individuals on both sides. Never exploitive or voyeuristic, yet he conveys the full impact of the atrocities. His sympathetic portrayal of a Japanese soldier made this a highly controversial film in China. Stunning b&w widescreen cinematography by Cao Yu, and impressive production design by Hao Yi. Original title NANJING! NANJING! | tt1124052 | [R] | Liu Ye, Gao Yuanyuan, Hideo Nakaizumi, Fan Wei, Jiang Yiyan, Qin Lan, Yuko Miyamoto, Ryu Kohata, Beverly Peckous, John Paisley, Liu Bin | Chinese-Hong Kong | Drama, War | NULL |
| The City of Lost Children | Cité des enfants perdus, La | 1995 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro | ★★★ | 112 | Provocative fantasy about a wicked scientist (Emilfork) who is unable to dream, and who goes about purloining children— with the help of remarkable 'cloned' henchmen— and invading their dreams. Although dramatically uneven, this mix of Oliver Twist and BRAZIL is a marvel of production design, with sumptuous visuals and painstaking invention. The voice of Irvin, the disembodied brain, is provided by Jean-Louis Trintignant. From the directors of DELICATESSEN. | tt0112682 | [R] | Ron Perlman, Joseph Lucien, Daniel Emilfork, Mireille Mosse, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon | French-Spanish-German | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL |
| City of Men | 2007 | Paulo Morelli | ★★★ | 110 | Companion piece to CITY OF GOD focuses on two young friends who are about to turn 18—one who’s never known his father, the other who’s already a reluctant father of a baby boy—and how their friendship is put to the test as gang war breaks out in their mountainside community (or favela). More intimate than its predecessor, but immediate and powerful, about young men dealing with responsibility—and the need to make choices—for the first time in their lives. Sprinkled with flashbacks of the boys from CITY OF GOD and the TV series it spawned. | tt0870090 | [R] | Douglas Silva, Darlan Cunha, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo dos Santos, Camila Monteiro, Naima Silva, Eduardo BR, Luciano Vidigal | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| City of Shadows | 1955 | William Witney | ★½ | 70 | Mild happenings about crafty newsboys involved with derelict racketeer McLaglen. | tt0047942 | Victor McLaglen, John Baer, Kathleen Crowley, Anthony Caruso | Crime | NULL | |||
| City of Women | 1980 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 139 | Marcello falls asleep on a train, dreams he has stumbled into an all-female society. Lavish fantasy could only have been made by one filmmaker; a Fellini feast or déjà vu o.d., depending on your mood and stamina. | tt0080539 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, Bernice Stegers, Iole Silvani, Donatella Damiani | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The City of Your Final Destination | 2010 | James Ivory | ★★½ | 117 | U.S. college professor needs a family's approval to write the biography of a late, elusive author in order to keep his job—and his strong-willed girlfriend. He goes to Uruguay, hoping to persuade the widow, mistress, and brother of the writer, who all live together on a remote estate, to say yes. Not consistently compelling, but creates an intriguing mood as the characters come alive, to varying degrees, when the stranger enters their isolated environment. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala adapted Peter Cameron's novel. Filmed in 2006–07, this made the festival circuit before finally getting a desultory theatrical release. Kate Burton appears unbilled. | tt0896923 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Omar Metwally, Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hiroyuki Sanada, Norma Aleandro, Alexandra Maria Lara | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| City of the Walking Dead | Nightmare City | 1983 | Umberto Lenzi | ★½ | 92 | Zombielike monsters are on the prowl. If you've seen one . . . Filmed in 1980; originally titled NIGHTMARE CITY. | tt0080931 | [R] | Mel Ferrer, Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, Francisco Rabal, Maria Rosaria Omaggio | Spanish-Italian | Horror | NULL |
| City on Fire | 1979 | Alvin Rakoff | ★½ | 101 | Dull, fill-in-the-blanks disaster film about citywide fire torched by a disgruntled ex-employee of local oil refinery. Good cast wasted. For pyromaniacs only. | tt0078976 | [R] | Barry Newman, Henry Fonda, Ava Gardner, Shelley Winters, Susan Clark, Leslie Nielsen, James Franciscus, Jonathan Welsh | Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| The City | La Ciudad | 1999 | David Riker | ★★★½ | 88 | Striking neorealist-style film offers four vignettes about Latino immigrants and their struggle for survival in N.Y.C. Alternately poignant, amusing, and heartbreaking, these living portraits are enacted with a keen eye for detail and an overwhelming amount of empathy. Writer-director Riker and cinematographer Harlan Bosmajian shot their film (in black & white) with non-professional actors over six years' time. Aka LA CIUDAD. | tt0168589 | Fernando Reyes, Marcos Martinez Garcia, Moises Garcia, Anthony Rivera, Cipriano Garcia |
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| Civic Duty | 2007 | Jeff Renfroe | ★★★ | 98 | Accountant loses his job and begins spying on his new neighbor, an Islamic college student he suspects of being a terrorist. When no one else buys into his obsession, he takes matters into his own hands. Krause (of Six Feet Under fame) delivers a powerful portrait of a man caught in the grip of media-fueled fear and paranoia. Independently produced nail-biter has echoes of REAR WINDOW but is clearly borne out of the events of 9/11. Krause coproduced. | tt0446298 | [R] | Peter Krause, Richard Schiff, Khaled Abol Naga, Kari Matchett, Ian Tracey. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Civil Action | 1998 | Steven Zaillian | ★★★½ | 115 | Slick Boston injury lawyer gets in over his head when he takes a case against two industrial giants whose alleged pollution of a river caused the deaths of children in Woburn, Mass. Engrossing, literate, well-observed film (adapted by the director from Jonathan Harr's best-seller) explores the foibles of American justice— and how pride, human frailty, and emotions can affect a case. Based on a true story. Kathy Bates appears unbilled. | tt0120633 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Robert Duvall, Tony Shalhoub, William H. Macy, Zeljko Ivanek, Bruce Norris, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Peter Jacobson, Sydney Pollack, Dan Hedaya, James Gandolfini | Drama | NULL | ||
| Civil Brand | 2003 | Neema Barnette | ★★½ | 91 | Forceful story of women who are mistreated in prison by an abusive supervisor and by a corrupt system that turns them into sweatshop laborers. Eye-opening subject matter alternates with melodramatic prison fodder, while some contrived, underscripted characters weaken the overall film. Even with its faults, it's still potent stuff. | tt0326806 | [R] | LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, Da Brat, Monica Calhoun, Clifton Powell, Reed R. McCants, Tichina Arnold, Lark Voorhies, MC Lyte, Robert Lynn. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Civilization | 1916 | Thomas H. Ince, Raymond B. West, Reginald Barker | ★★½ | 86 | Intriguing if drawn-out epic set in a fictitious kingdom, portraying its destiny in time of war. Of interest mostly for historical reasons, as a humanistic, anti-war morality tale intended to champion the foreign policy of President Woodrow Wilson (before America became involved in WW1). | tt0006517 | Howard Hickman, Enid Markey, Herschel Mayall, Lola May, George Fisher, J. Frank Burke | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Claim | 2000 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★ | 120 | Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge reset in snowy northern California in the aftermath of the gold rush, in 1867. Mullan runs the town of Kingdom Come with an iron fist, but melts somewhat when his ex-wife and daughter (whom he sold in exchange for a gold claim years ago) turn up. Vivid and well acted, but emotionally hollow. | tt0218378 | [R] | Wes Bentley, Peter Mullan, Milla Jovovich, Sarah Polley, Nastassja Kinski, Sean McGinley | British-Canadian | Romance, Western | NULL | |
| Clair de Femme | 1979 | Costa-Gavras | ★★ | 103 | Slow-moving chronicle of the relationship between traumatized widower Montand and Schneider, who has been scarred by the death of her young daughter in an auto accident. Characters are one-dimensional, and film is gloomy, gloomy, gloomy. Based on novel by Romain Gary. | tt0078978 | Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, Romolo Valli, Lila Kedrova, Heinz Bennent, Roberto Benigni, Jean Reno | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Claire Dolan | 1998 | Lodge Kerrigan | ★★★ | 95 | Intriguing portrait of an Irish-American woman who works as a prostitute, caught in a viselike grip by her menacing and manipulative pimp (Meaney), until she decides to break free— if she can. Quiet, well-observed film that doesn't spell everything out about its characters, forcing us to fill in the blanks. Strong performances by all three leads. | tt0150143 | Katrin Cartlidge, Vincent D'Onofrio, Colm Meaney, Patrick Husted, Muriel Maida | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Claire of the Moon | 1992 | Nicole Conn | ★★ | 105 | Heterosexual, self-destructive author Todd and lesbian therapist Trumbo share a cabin at a woman writers' retreat; they spar intellectually, and become friends and lovers. Awkward, self-conscious and predictable drama. | tt0103977 | Unrated | Trisha Todd, Karen Trumbo, Faith McDevitt, Damon Craig | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Claire's Knee | 1971 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 103 | No. 5 of Rohmer's 'Six Moral Tales' has widest appeal. A man about to be married is obsessed with a girl he doesn't even like, his attention focusing on her knee. Full of delicious relationships, but too talky for some viewers. | tt0065772 | [PG] | Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Beatrice Romand, Laurence De Monaghan, Michele Montel | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Clairvoyant | The Evil Mind | 1934 | Maurice Elvey | ★★½ | 80 | A phony music hall mind-reader suddenly acquires clairvoyant powers— and soon discovers they're more of a curse than a blessing. Intriguing storyline doesn't hold up to the end, though Rains is fine as always. Also known as THE EVIL MIND. | tt0024989 | Claude Rains, Fay Wray, Jane Baxter, Mary Clare, Athole Stewart, Felix Aylmer, Donald Calthrop | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Clambake | 1967 | Arthur Nadel | ★½ | 97 | Elvis is a millionaire's son who wants to make it on his own, so he trades places with water-skiing instructor Hutchins in Miami. One of Presley's weakest. | tt0061489 | Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Will Hutchins, Bill Bixby, Gary Merrill, James Gregory | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Clan of the Cave Bear | 1986 | Michael Chapman | ★½ | 98 | World's first feminist caveman movie, minus the anthropological detail of Jean Auel's popular book. Hannah is perfectly cast as outsider who joins band of nomadic Neanderthals, but the story (such as it is) is alternately boring and unintentionally funny. Subtitles translate cave people's primitive tongue. Screenplay by John Sayles. | tt0090848 | [R] | Daryl Hannah, Pamela Reed, James Remar, Thomas G. Waites, John Doolittle, Curtis Armstrong | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Clancy Street Boys | 1943 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 66 | Farcical East Side Kids yarn, with Muggs (Gorcey) enlisting the boys to be his siblings for benefit of uncle Beery. Hall in drag is a comic highlight. | tt0035741 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Noah Beery/Sr., Amelita Ward, Bennie Bartlett, Rick Vallin, Billy Benedict | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Clara's Heart | 1988 | Robert Mulligan | ★½ | 108 | Whoopi plays a Jamaican domestic (think of Shirley Booth's Hazel with a reggae bias), a soft-spoken know-it-all who works for insufferable Maryland yuppies and their young, impressionable son (well played by Harris). The kind of movie best described as 'nice' by undiscriminating viewers in search of blandness— and seemingly edited with a chainsaw. | tt0094882 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Ontkean, Kathleen Quinlan, Neil Patrick Harris, Spalding Gray, Beverly Todd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Clarence and Angel | 1980 | Robert Gardner | ★★★ | 75 | Aggressive, kung-fu-mad Angel (Cardova) befriends his new schoolmate, shy, illiterate Clarence (Brown), who has recently arrived in Harlem from South Carolina, and teaches him to read. Technically crude, but funny and touching; sequence in principal's office, in which Clarence's mother fakes reading a test score, is a gem. | tt0080542 | Darren Brown, Mark Cardova, Cynthia McPherson, Louis Mike, Leroy Smith, Lola Langley, Lolita Lewis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion | 1965 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 98 | Basis for Daktari TV show is good family entertainment set in Africa with adventure and wholesome comedy well blended. | tt0059039 | Marshall Thompson, Betsy Drake, Cheryl Miller, Richard Haydn, Alan Caillou | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Clash by Night | 1952 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 105 | Moody, well-acted Clifford Odets story of drifter Stanwyck settling down, marrying good-natured fisherman Douglas. Cynical friend Ryan senses that she's not happy, tries to take advantage. Andes and Monroe provide secondary love interest. | tt0044502 | Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe, Keith Andes, J. Carrol Naish | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Clash of the Titans | 1981 | Desmond Davis | ★★½ | 118 | Juvenile fantasy-adventure based on Greek mythology. Olivier is Zeus, and Hamlin is his mortal son Perseus, who must face a variety of awesome challenges in pursuit of his destiny. Long and episodic, with some fine elements (the taming of Pegasus, the threat of Medusa— who can turn men into stone with one glance), but not enough guts or vigor. As is, mainly for kids. Special effects by Ray Harryhausen. | tt0082186 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Harry Hamlin, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Sian Phillips, Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom, Ursula Andress, Tim Pigott-Smith | British | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Clash of the Titans | 2010 | Louis Leterrier | ★★½ | 106 | Raised by a human family, Perseus (Worthington) is a young man when he learns that he is the son of Zeus (Neeson)—but refutes his Olympian heritage after a fateful attack by Hades (Fiennes). Remake largely follows the trajectory of the 1981 movie with new-generation CGI creatures and visual effects. Some of these scenes are genuinely exciting, but there are dull patches in between. Worthington is a stoical hero; the women around him are quite beautiful. 3-D. | tt0800320 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemyng, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicholas Hoult, Polly Walker, Pete Postlethwaite, Elizabeth McGovern, Danny Huston, Luke Evans | Drama, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Clash of the Wolves | 1925 | Noel Mason Smith. | ★★½ | 74 | Tenderfoot prospector Farrell rescues and tames a half-breed wolf dog called Lobo; the animal shows his loyalty when his new pal is imperiled by a dastardly claim jumper. Predictable but enjoyable action yarn, made to order for its canine star. Worth a look if only for those majestic shots of Rinty perched atop boulders and racing across the desert. | tt0015687 | Rin Tin Tin, June Marlowe, Charles Farrell, 'Heinie' Conklin, William Walling, Pat Hartigan. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Class | 1983 | Lewis John Carlino | ★★ | 98 | Naive prep-school boy stumbles (almost literally) into affair with beautiful older woman, unaware of her identity. Slick but uneven mix of romance, comedy, and drama with one-dimensional characters and a lack of credibility. Some good moments lost in the shuffle. | tt0085346 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset, Andrew McCarthy, Stuart Margolin, Cliff Robertson, John Cusack, Alan Ruck, Remak Ramsay, Virginia Madsen, Casey Siemaszko, Anna Maria Horsford, Joan Cusack | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Class Act | 1992 | Randall Miller | ★★½ | 98 | Straight-A student (Reid) and street-wise juvenile delinquent (Martin) switch identities when they both transfer to a new high school; complications ensue when they find it tough sledding in their new environs. Broad, cartoony comedy is nothing special; neither is the obligatory anti-drug rap song at the end of the film. | tt0103978 | [PG-13] | Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Meshach Taylor, Karyn Parsons, Doug E. Doug, Rick Ducommun, Lamont Johnson, Rhea Perlman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Class Action | 1991 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 109 | Crusading lawyer takes on a class-action suit against a negligent auto company— while his feisty daughter represents the other side. Crackling performances by the two stars, as the long-embattled father and daughter, make this well worth seeing, even though the story becomes obvious at the climactic turn. | tt0101590 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin Friels, Joanna Merlin, Laurence Fishburne, Donald Moffat, Jan Rubes, Matt Clark, Fred Dalton Thompson, Jonathan Silverman, Dan Hicks | Drama | NULL | ||
| Class of '44 | 1973 | Paul Bogart | ★★½ | 95 | Sequel to SUMMER OF '42 is less ambitious, lightly entertaining story, with Grimes going to college, falling in love, growing up. Good period atmosphere. | tt0069888 | [PG] | Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Deborah Winters, William Atherton, Sam Bottoms, John Candy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Class of 1984 | 1982 | Mark L. Lester | ★★ | 93 | Unpleasant, calculatedly campy melodrama about the harassment of high school teacher King by psychotic student Van Patten— with more than a few echoes of BLACKBOARD JUNGLE. As revenge movies go, the buzzsaw finale is not bad. Followed by CLASS OF 1999. | tt0083739 | [R] | Perry King, Merrie Lynn Ross, Roddy McDowall, Timothy Van Patten, Stefan Arngrim, Al Waxman, Michael J. Fox, Lisa Langlois | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Class of 1999 | 1990 | Mark L. Lester | ★½ | 98 | Followup to CLASS OF 1984 pictures high school of the near-future as Hell on Earth, with ultraviolent gang members meeting their match in a trio of robots recruited as teachers. Heavy-handed film wavers between high camp and taking itself seriously as a message movie! Keach goes overboard as a maniacal robot operator. Unrated video version also available. 1993 sequel: CLASS OF 1999 II: THE SUBSTITUTE. | tt0099277 | [R] | Bradley Gregg, Traci Lind, Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Patrick Kilpatrick, Pam Grier, John P. Ryan, Darren E. Burrows, Joshua Miller | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Class of Miss MacMichael | 1978 | Silvio Narizzano. | ★½ | 99 | Echoes of TO SIR, WITH LOVE don't flatter this shrill comedy-drama of a dedicated teacher with a class full of social misfits. | tt0077341 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Michael Murphy, Rosalind Cash, John Standing, Riba Akabusi, Phil Daniels. | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Class of Nuke 'Em High | 1986 | Richard Haines, Samuel Weil | 💣 | 81 | Obnoxious horror comedy about a New Jersey high school near a nuclear waste spill that creates monsters and disgustingly transforms model teens Brady and Brenton. Dehumanizing, sadistic gags masquerade as lowbrow entertainment. Followed by two sequels. | tt0090849 | [R] | Janelle Brady, Gilbert Brenton, Robert Prichard, R. L. Ryan | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Class | 2008 | Laurent Cantet | ★★★½ | 124 | Dedicated teacher in a working-class Parisian school tries to instill a passion for learning in his multicultural classroom but the freedom of expression he encourages makes every day a challenge. Invigorating drama has the spark of spontaneity from start to finish. The leading actor is in fact a teacher who wrote a novel about his experiences and coauthored this screenplay with Cantet and Robin Campillo—with input from the nonprofessional actors playing the students. Original French title: ENTRE LES MURS. | tt1068646 | [PG-13] | François Bégaudeau, Nassim Amrabt, Laura Baquela, Cherif Bounaïdja Rachedi, Juliette Demaille, Esméralda Ouertani, Rachel Régulier, Franck Keïta, Wei Haung | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Claudelle Inglish | 1961 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 99 | Trite soaper derived from Erskine Caldwell tale of Southern farm gal who gives all to find excitement, with predictable consequences. | tt0054752 | Diane McBain, Arthur Kennedy, Will Hutchins, Constance Ford, Claude Akins, Chad Everett, Robert Logan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Claudia | 1943 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 91 | Warm comedy of young Claudia suddenly marrying, facing adult problems, learning a lot about life in short period; beautifully acted. McGuire, in film debut, recreates her Broadway role. Sequel: CLAUDIA AND DAVID. | tt0035742 | Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Ina Claire, Reginald Gardiner, Olga Baclanova, Jean Howard | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Claudia and David | 1946 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 78 | Enjoyable follow-up to CLAUDIA with McGuire and Young having a baby, adjusting to suburban life; engaging, well acted. | tt0038416 | Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Mary Astor, John Sutton, Gail Patrick, Florence Bates | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Claudine | 1974 | John Berry | ★★½ | 92 | Slice-of-life comedy with a serious edge: Romance between garbageman Jones and young ghetto mother Carroll is charming and credible, but the problems of dealing with her six kids, and their collective poverty, can't be treated so lightly. 'Upbeat' finale just doesn't ring true. | tt0071334 | [PG] | Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu, David Kruger, Adam Wade | Drama | NULL | ||
| Clay Pigeon | 1971 | Tom Stern, Lane Slate | ★½ | 97 | Good cast in dull crime melodrama of Vietnam vet settling into drug scene who experiences change of heart and goes after big-league pusher. | tt0066920 | [R] | Tom Stern, Telly Savalas, Robert Vaughn, John Marley, Burgess Meredith, Ivan Dixon | Action | NULL | ||
| The Clay Pigeon | 1949 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 63 | Neat little actioner with Williams, a seaman accused of treason and of responsibility in the death of his friend, on the trail of the real culprit, a Japanese prison guard. Written by Carl Foreman, based on a true incident. | tt0041252 | Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Richard Loo, Richard Quine, Frank Fenton, Martha Hyer | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| Clay Pigeons | 1998 | David Dobkin | ★★½ | 104 | Clever film noir set in a small town out west. A patsy falls prey first to his best friend, then the friend's slatternly wife, and finally to a mysterious stranger just passing through, whose actions bring a cynical big-city FBI agent (Garofalo) to town. Twisty black comedy has much to enjoy but leaves the viewer less than completely satisfied. Overemphatic use of source music is a debit, but the opening is a grabber. | tt0118863 | [R] | Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo, Georgina Cates, Scott Wilson, Vince Vieluf, Phil Morris | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Clean | 2004 | Olivier Assayas | ★★½ | 110 | Unremarkable account of Cheung, the spouse of a second-tier rocker, who goes through hell after he overdoses. She, too, is a junkie, and struggles to get her life in order. It's difficult to invest emotion in such an unlikable character, though her story becomes more involving as it goes along. Nolte is the best thing in the film, offering a touching performance as the deceased rocker's emotionally generous father. Written by the director. | tt0388838 | [R] | Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, Béatrice Dalle, Jeanne Balibar, Don McKellar, Martha Henry, James Johnston, James Dennis, Rémi Martin | Canadian-French-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Clean Slate | 1994 | Mick Jackson | ★★ | 107 | Carvey plays a detective who awakens each morning with no memory whatsoever. Did somebody say GROUNDHOG DAY? It's D.O.A. all the way, though there are some mildly amusing gags involving a klutzy terrier named Barkley. | tt0109443 | [PG-13] | Dana Carvey, Valeria Golino, James Earl Jones, Kevin Pollak, Michael Gambon, Michael Murphy, Olivia d'Abo, Tim Scott, Angela Paton, Jayne Brook, Gailard Sartain, Phil Leeds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Clean and Sober | 1988 | Glenn Gordon Caron | ★★★ | 125 | A young hustler enrolls in a drug rehabilitation program in order to duck out of sight for a while— refusing to admit to himself that he's an addict, too. Powerful drama showcases Keaton in an utterly believable performance, though the film's relentlessness makes it tough to watch. | tt0094884 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, M. Emmet Walsh, Tate Donovan, Henry Judd Baker, Luca Bercovici, Claudia Christian, Pat Quinn, Ben Piazza | Drama | NULL | ||
| Clean, Shaven | 1993 | Lodge Kerrigan | ★★★ | 80 | Unusual, subtly chilling psychological drama about Peter (Greene), a schizophrenic released from an institution who is grasping for a human connection. Meanwhile, his young daughter has been put up for adoption by her mother, a cop, who's investigating the brutal murder of another child and becomes convinced Peter is the culprit. A meditation on deep feelings of loss and alienation; not always easy to follow, but challenging, even haunting. | tt0106579 | Peter Greene, Robert Albert, Jennifer MacDonald, Megan Owen | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Cleaner | 2007 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 89 | Former cop (Jackson) runs a hazardous waste containment enterprise, which includes cleaning up gruesome crime scenes. All is well until he sanitizes a murder scene before the police are notified of the homicide. Jackson and Harris are fine, but there’s little surprise beyond the intriguing setup. Humdrum film released direct to DVD in the US. | tt0896798 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Ed Harris, Luis Guzmán, Keke Palmer, Robert Forster | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Clear All Wires | 1933 | George W. Hill | ★★½ | 78 | Tracy enlivens this so-so story of a manipulative, globe-trotting journalist, who creates as much news as he covers; highlighted are his escapades while in Russia. Script by Bella and Sam Spewack, from their play. | tt0023896 | Lee Tracy, Benita Hume, Una Merkel, James Gleason, Alan Edwards | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Clear and Present Danger | 1994 | Phillip Noyce | ★★½ | 141 | CIA whiz Jack Ryan finds himself waist-deep in highest-level Washington politics when his ailing mentor (Jones) names him as his replacement. Soon he's caught in the middle of double-dealing with a Colombian druglord. The always watchable Ford plays more a symbol than a character here, and the action climax seems somehow pat. Still, it's an intelligent and entertaining sequel to PATRIOT GAMES. Followed by THE SUM OF ALL FEARS. | tt0109444 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe, Anne Archer, Joaquim de Almeida, James Earl Jones, Henry Czerny, Harris Yulin, Donald Moffat, Miguel Sandoval, Benjamin Bratt, Raymond Cruz, Dean Jones, Thora Birch, Ann Magnuson, Hope Lange | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Clearcut | 1991 | Richard Bugajski | ★★½ | 98 | Multileveled drama about Indian activist Greene (who kidnaps the boss of a sawmill company responsible for cutting down forests) and naively liberal laywer Lea (who's failed to halt the destruction in the courts). Presence of graphic violence in the midst of a thought-provoking drama is jarring, to say the least, but the subject, and Greene's performance, make it worthwhile. | tt0101592 | [R] | Ron Lea, Graham Greene, Michael Hogan, Floyd (Red Crow) Westerman, Rebecca Jenkins | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Clearing | 2004 | Pieter Jan Brugge | ★★½ | 94 | A successful, married businessman is kidnapped one morning. As his wife and children go through the ordeal of having their lives invaded by the FBI, while waiting for further word, the victim gets to know his captor as they make their way in the woods. More a character study than a conventional story, this interesting, elliptical film plays with chronology in challenging ways but doesn't lead to a satisfying conclusion. The three stars are excellent. | tt0331952 | [R] | Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe, Alessandro Nivola, Matt Craven, Melissa Sagemiller, Wendy Crewson, Larry Pine, Diana Scarwid, Elizabeth Ruscio | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cleo From 5 to 7 | 1962 | Agnés Varda | ★★★ | 90 | Intelligent, fluid account of Parisian songstress forced to reevaluate her life while awaiting vital medical report on her physical condition. First scene is in color. | tt0055852 | Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dorothée Blanck, Michel Legrand, Anna Karina, Eddie Constantine, Jean-Luc Godard | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cleopatra | 1934 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★½ | 100 | Opulent DeMille version of Cleopatra doesn't date badly, stands out as one of his most intelligent films, thanks in large part to fine performances by all. Top entertainment, with Oscar-winning cinematography by Victor Milner. | tt0024991 | Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Gertrude Michael, Joseph Schildkraut, C. Aubrey Smith, Claudia Dell, Robert Warwick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cleopatra | 1963 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★ | 243 | Saga of the Nile goes on and on and on. Definitely a curiosity item, but you'll be satisfied after an hour. Good acting, especially by Harrison and McDowall, but it's lost in this flat, four-hour misfire. Nevertheless earned Oscars for cinematography, art direction-set decoration, costumes, special effects. Released to TV at 194m. | tt0056937 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Pamela Brown, George Cole, Hume Cronyn, Cesare Danova, Kenneth Haigh, Andrew Keir, Martin Landau, Roddy McDowall, Robert Stephens, Francesca Annis, Herbert Berghof, Michael Hordern, John Hoyt, Carroll O'Connor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cleopatra Jones | 1973 | Jack Starrett | ★★ | 89 | Black bubble-gum stuff with Dobson as karate-chopping government agent chasing drug kingpins. Lots of action and violence. | tt0069890 | [PG] | Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Shelley Winters, Brenda Sykes, Antonio Fargas, Bill McKinney, Esther Rolle | Action | NULL | ||
| Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold | 1975 | Chuck Bail | ★★½ | 96 | Wild, woolly, sexy, violent sequel to CLEOPATRA JONES. Stevens plays 'The Dragon Lady,' a tip-off on what to expect. | tt0072791 | [R] | Tamara Dobson, Stella Stevens, Tanny, Norman Fell, Albert Popwell, Caro Kenyatta, Christopher Hunt | Action | NULL | ||
| Cleopatra's Daughter | 1960 | Richard McNamara | ★★ | 102 | American actors are lost in this costumer, more intent on playing up sadistic sequences; intrigue at Egyptian court the highlight. | tt0054289 | Debra Paget, Ettore Manni, Erno Crisa, Robert Alda, Corrado Panni | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Clerks | 1994 | Kevin Smith | ★★★ | 89 | Black and white, $27,000 wonder by first-time filmmaker Smith is a brash, foul-mouthed, often very funny look at a day in the lives of a New Jersey convenience-store clerk and his abrasive pal, who mans the video place next door— when he feels like it. Well written and well acted; more provocative and entertaining than many glossy Hollywood movies of the '90s. Unrated director's cut runs 92m. Later an animated series. | tt0109445 | [R] | Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Clerks II | 2006 | Kevin Smith | ★★½ | 97 | After the Quick Stop burns down, Dante and Randal go to work for a local fast-food joint, but Dante (O'Halloran) has found an escape: a good-looking girl has fallen in love with him, and they're going to move to Florida and get married. His last day at Mooby's is unexpectedly eventful, however. Writer-director Smith is still in touch with his inner imbecile, but this CLERKS has little of the intelligence that made his breakout film so special in 1994 . . . but no shortage of potty-mouthed humor. | tt0424345 | [R] | Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Trevor Fehrman, Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Wanda Sykes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Click | 2006 | Frank Coraci | ★½ | 106 | Stressed-out, workaholic architect who never seems to have enough time for his family comes upon a crazy inventor who gives him a remote control that can manipulate his life-and even help him skip the boring parts. Good comedy premise unexpectedly morphs into a self-serious examination of a life gone wrong (as if this was IT'S A WONDERFUL REMOTE) . . . yet Sandler doesn't want to sacrifice any of his trademark crudity. An odd, unsatisfying mishmash. Sandler also coproduced. | tt0389860 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, David Hasselhoff, Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner, Jennifer Coolidge, Sean Astin, Rachel Dratch | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer | 2010 | Alex Gibney | ★★★½ | 117 | Oscar-winning documentarian Gibney, at the top of his game, gets a subject in his wheelhouse: N.Y. state’s controversial attorney-general-turned-governor who was brought down by personal hubris, high-priced call girls, and transparently cruddy political enemies that anyone would be proud to have. Compounding a dreadful situation: Spitzer was the only person of real power combating—way early in the game—the Wall Street excesses that eventually took the nation’s economy down. Gripping throughout and remarkable in its ability to get key parties to speak for attribution. This said, the doc is up front about the fact that the escort who was Spitzer’s most frequent companion did not want to speak on camera. The transcript of her lengthy interview is delivered by a professional actress (Wrenn Schmidt) and she is fabulous. | tt1638362 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Client | 1994 | Joel Schumacher | ★★★ | 122 | Top-flight adaptation of John Grisham's best-seller about an 11-year-old boy who finds himself in hot water with both the Feds (led by Jones) and the Mob when he learns too much from a Mafia lawyer who's about to kill himself. Sarandon is the lawyer who takes the kid's case. Suspense is neatly woven with character development; satisfying entertainment. Later a TV series. | tt0109446 | [PG-13] | Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony LaPaglia, Ossie Davis, Bradley Whitford, Anthony Edwards, J.T. Walsh, Walter Olkewicz, Will Patton, Anthony Heald, William H. Macy. | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Cliffhanger | 1993 | Renny Harlin | ★★★ | 118 | Self-doubting mountain rescue expert Sly is pitted against really rotten Lithgow and his gang, who are after $100 million lost in the Rockies. Eye-popping photography (by Alex Thomson), white-knuckle stunts, a swift pace, and entertaining characters add up to what a well-made action film should be: tons of fun. Story is thin, though. Italy's Dolomites stand in for the Rockies. | tt0106582 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, Rex Linn, Caroline Goodall, Leon, Craig Fairbrass, Michelle Joyner, Max Perlich | U.S.-French | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |
| Clifford | 1994 | Paul Flaherty | ★½ | 89 | Moronic comedy in the (unfortunate) mold of PROBLEM CHILD, with Short uninspiringly cast as a cloyingly obnoxious ten-year-old who makes life pure hell for his uncle (Grodin). Short's playing a child is a gimmick which quickly proves tiresome. Completed in 1991, this could have stayed on the shelf. | tt0109447 | [PG] | Martin Short, Charles Grodin, Mary Steenburgen, Dabney Coleman, G. D. Spradlin, Anne Jeffreys, Richard Kind, Jennifer Savidge, Ben Savage | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Clifford's Really Big Movie | 2004 | Robert C. Ramirez | ★★½ | 73 | Norman Bridwell's Big Red Dog gets the feature film treatment in this benign cartoon aimed at the preschool set. Clifford, concerned about being a financial burden to his owners, joins a carnival in hopes of entering a contest where the prize is a lifetime supply of his favorite doggy treats. Pleasant, undemanding fare for tots. | tt0398872 | [G] | Voices of John Ritter, Grey DeLisle, Cree Summer, Kel Mitchell, Wayne Brady, Jenna Elfman, Judge Reinhold, John Goodman, Wilmer Valderrama, Ernie Hudson, Teresa Ganzel, Jess Harnell, Kath Soucie | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| A Climate for Killing | 1990 | J.S. Cardone | ★★★ | 103 | A grisly murder confronts, and confounds, small-time Arizona cop Beck; he's joined by big city evaluator Bauer, who questions his approach to law enforcement while becoming involved with his daughter (Sara). Solid, engrossing mystery-drama. | tt0101593 | [R] | John Beck, Steven Bauer, Mia Sara, Katharine Ross, John Diehl, Phil Brock, Dedee Pfeiffer, Lu Leonard, Jack Dodson, Eloy Casados | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Climax | 1944 | George Waggner | ★★½ | 86 | Technicolor tale of suave but sinister physician to the Vienna Opera House who takes an unnatural interest in their newest soprano (Foster)— just as he did another singer who disappeared ten years ago. No surprises here, but slickly done. | tt0036715 | Boris Karloff, Gale Sondergaard, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Thomas Gomez, Scotty Beckett, George Dolenz, Jane Farrar, June Vincent, Ludwig Stossel | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Clinging Vine | 1926 | Paul Sloane. | ★★½ | 71 | Handsome fluff about unfeminine executive (Joy) who becomes involved in business swindle and falls in love. | tt0016730 | Leatrice Joy, Tom Moore, Toby Claude, Robert Edeson, Dell Henderson. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Clinic | 1982 | David Stevens | ★★½ | 92 | Straightforward but much too obvious comedy-drama about the goings-on in a VD clinic operated by doctor Haywood. | tt0083740 | Chris Haywood, Simon Burke, Rona McLeod, Gerda Nicolson, Suzanne Roylance, Veronica Lang, Pat Evison | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Clinton and Nadine | 1988 | Jerry Schatzberg | Average TV Movie | 110 | Erotic, fast-paced drama about a small-time smuggler and high-class hooker who get mixed up in a plot to run guns to the Nicaraguan contras. Writer Robert Foster had his name removed at the last minute, with credit going to pseudonymous 'Willard Walpole.' Made for cable. Aka BLOOD MONEY. | tt0094885 | Andy Garcia, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, Michael Lombard, John C. McGinley, Alan North, Brad Sullivan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Clipped Wings | 1953 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 65 | Sach and Slip join the Air Force in a fast and funny Bowery Boys entry. | tt0045633 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, David (Gorcey) Condon, Bennie Bartlett, Renie Riano, Todd Karns, June Vincent, Mary Treen, Philip Van Zandt | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Clive of India | 1935 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 90 | Colman is ideally cast as Robert Clive, the 'man of destiny' who secured British rule in India at the sacrifice of his own personal happiness. More fanciful than factual, but entertaining and lavishly produced. | tt0026221 | Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Colin Clive, Francis Lister, C. Aubrey Smith, Cesar Romero, MontaguLove, Leo G. Carroll, Don Ameche | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cloak & Dagger | 1984 | Richard Franklin | ★★★ | 101 | Young Thomas gets involved with murderous espionage— but no one will believe him. Flawed but enjoyable reworking of THE WINDOW. Coleman's a delight in dual role as his father and his make-believe hero. | tt0087065 | [PG] | Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy, John McIntire, Jeanette Nolan, Christine Nigra | Family, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cloak and Dagger | 1946 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 106 | Professor Cooper becomes a secret agent on his trip to Germany; Lang intrigue is not among his best, but still slick. | tt0038417 | Gary Cooper, Lilli Palmer, Robert Alda, Vladimir Sokoloff, Ludwig Stossel | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Clock | 1945 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★½ | 90 | Soldier Walker has two-day leave in N.Y.C., meets office worker Judy; they spend the day falling in love, encountering friendly milkman Gleason, drunk Wynn; charming little love story with beguiling Garland. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037604 | Judy Garland, Robert Walker, James Gleason, Keenan Wynn, Marshall Thompson, Lucille Gleason | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Clockers | 1995 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 129 | The night manager of a fast-food restaurant is murdered, but a no-nonsense Brooklyn cop doesn't believe that the young man who confessed to the crime is really guilty. He's got his eye on the suspect's brother (Phifer), who works for the neighborhood drug czar. A penetrating, multilayered look at the reality of life on the street and in 'the projects,' and a challenging treatise on personal responsibility. It's tough to decipher the street lingo and dialect in the opening scenes, but once the story kicks in, it's dynamite. Richard Price adapted his novel with Lee; a fortuitous merging of two distinctive talents. Coproduced by Martin Scorsese. | tt0112688 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, Mekhi Phifer, Isaiah Washington, Keith David, Pee Wee Love, Regina Taylor, Tom Byrd, Sticky Fingaz, Mike Starr, Spike Lee | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Clockmaker | 1973 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 105 | Noiret is superb as a watchmaker who is forced to reevaluate his life after his son is arrested for murder. Meticulously directed; based on a novel by Georges Simenon. Tavernier's feature directing debut. | tt0071622 | Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jacques Denis, Julien Bertheau | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Clockstoppers | 2002 | Jonathan Frakes | ★★ | 94 | Teenage boy acquires an experimental watch that can stop time, more or less. This scores big points with his new girlfriend, but gets him into a mess of trouble with bad guys who have threatened the watch's inventor— and the boy's scientist dad. Starts as a high-energy, good-time film for young viewers (from Nickelodeon Movies), but begins to drag halfway through its needlessly complicated script. | tt0157472 | [PG] | Jesse Bradford, French Stewart, Paula Garces, Michael Biehn, Robin Thomas, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Julia Sweeney, Lindze Letherman | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Clockwatchers | 1997 | Jill Sprecher | ★★ | 105 | Four office temps in corporate hell form a fast friendship that ultimately jeopardizes their attempts at careers. Indie spin on NINE TO FIVE captures working-week tedium hilariously for a while, then gets bogged down in tedious Kafkaesque second half. Posey's bitchy comic flair throughout gives the film its only real juice. | tt0118866 | [PG-13] | Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, Alanna Ubach, Helen Fitzgerald, Stanley DeSantis, Jamie Kennedy, Kevin Cooney, Paul Dooley, Bob Balaban | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Clockwise | 1986 | Christopher Morahan | ★★½ | 96 | Cleese is a school headmaster, obsessed with punctuality, en route to make a speech at a convention and constantly getting into trouble. A tour de force role that is a must for Cleese fans; others will be disappointed with the thinness of playwright Michael Frayn's script. | tt0090852 | [PG] | John Cleese, Penelope Wilton, Alison Steadman, Stephen Moore, Sharon Maiden, Joan Hickson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| A Clockwork Orange | 1971 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★½ | 137 | A scathing satire on a society in the not so distant future, with an excellent performance by McDowell as a prime misfit. Kubrick's vivid adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel was too strong for some to stomach in 1971, and it remains potent today. | tt0066921 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Adrienne Corri, Aubrey Morris, James Marcus, Steven Berkoff, David Prowse | Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Clone Wars | 2008 | Dave Filoni | ★★ | 98 | First entirely computer-animated STAR WARS feature takes place between Episodes II and III in George Lucas’ epic space fantasy. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a young female apprentice fight the Republic to rescue Jabba the Hutt's infant son from a kidnapping plot. Created as the first three episodes of The Clone Wars TV series—and feels like it. Special effects, alien landscapes, and spaceships are visually dazzling, and the battle sequences are thrilling, but the characters are as wooden and stiff as they look. Much more juvenile than the original movies, which means that kids may enjoy it more than diehard fans. Aka STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS. Followed by a TV series. | tt1245739 | [PG] | Voices of Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Eckstein, Tom Kane, Ian Abercrombie, Corey Burton, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| A Close Call for Boston Blackie | 1946 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 60 | Blackie is framed for murder by a femme fatale in this disappointing entry with a plethora of comedy. | tt0038418 | Chester Morris, Lynn Merrick, Richard Lane, Frank Sully, George E. Stone, Claire Carleton, Erik Rolf, Charles Lane | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Close Call for Ellery Queen | 1942 | James Hogan | ★½ | 65 | Gargan picks up the role of Queen in this dreary entry about a missing heirs racket. | tt0034602 | William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Ralph Morgan, Kay Linaker, Edward Norris, James Burke, Addison Richards | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Close Encounters of the Third Kind | 1977 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★★ | 135 | Superb, intelligent sci-fi (written by Spielberg) about UFO mystery that leads to first contact with alien beings. Dreyfuss is perfect Everyman struggling with frustrating enigma that finally becomes clear. Powerhouse special effects throughout, plus John Williams' evocative score. Vilmos Zsigmond's impressive cinematography won an Oscar. Reedited by Spielberg to tighten midsection and add alien-encounter material to finale and reissued in 1980 at 132m. as THE SPECIAL EDITION. (Then, for network showings, all existing footage was used!) Reedited yet again by Spielberg in 1998 to 137m. for a Collector's Edition. | tt0075860 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Cary Guffey, Bob Balaban | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Close My Eyes | 1991 | Stephen Poliakoff | ★★★ | 109 | Vaguely unhappy woman makes sexual overtures to her brother, which explode into full-fledged incest five years later when she's married and living in a mansion by the Thames. Film is a bit haphazard setting up the basic situation, but soon becomes a riveting view. Extremely well acted, with confident performances by Owen and Reeves (as the taboo-flaunting siblings) and Rickman, in a supporting role as the husband. | tt0101595 | [R] | Alan Rickman, Clive Owen, Saskia Reeves, Karl Johnson, Lesley Sharp, Kate Gartside | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Close Your Eyes | Doctor Sleep | 2003 | Nick Willing | ★★★ | 103 | Scotland Yard detective Henderson draws hypnotherapist Visnjic into a troubling case involving a serial killer and a little girl who's been traumatized since she was held captive by him. Mixing occult elements with a whodunit, this original, genuinely creepy thriller stays on track right to the end. Based on the novel Doctor Sleep by Madison Smartt Bell. | tt0286594 | [R] | Goran Visnjic, Shirley Henderson, Miranda Otto, Paddy Considine, Claire Rushbrook, Fiona Shaw, Corin Redgrave, Sophie Stuckey | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL |
| Close to Eden | 1992 | Nikita Mikhalkov | ★★★ | 106 | Russian truckdriver accidentally comes into the lives of a Mongol family, adroitly raising the question of who's 'civilized' and who isn't. Beautifully filmed in the Mongolian steppe region of inner China by the acclaimed director of DARK EYES. Worth seeing. | tt0103176 | Badema, Byaertu, Vladimir Gostukhin, Babushka, Larissa Kuznetsova, Jon Bochinski, Bao Yongyan | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Close to My Heart | 1951 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 90 | Superior soaper; Tierney attaches herself to waif in Bainter's orphanage, but husband Milland won't allow adoption until child's background is traced. | tt0043417 | Ray Milland, Gene Tierney, Fay Bainter, Howard St. John | Drama | NULL | |||
| Closely Watched Trains | 1966 | Jiri Menzel | ★★★ | 89 | Enjoyable but slightly overrated tragicomedy about naive apprentice train-dispatcher Neckar's attempts at sexual initiation during the German Occupation. Academy Award winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0060802 | Vaclav Neckar, Jitka Bendova, Vladimir Valenta, Libuse Havelkova, Josef Somr | Czech | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Closer | 2004 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 104 | Four people fall in and out of love as they fall in and out of bed. Extremely well acted and intimately staged for the camera (though it's still obvious this derived from a stage work); the question is whether we care enough about the characters to endure their endless and brutal playing of mind games. Super-charged performances, especially by Owen and Portman, help a lot. More sexually explicit dialogue than any mainstream Hollywood movie we can remember! Patrick Marber adapted his play. | tt0376541 | [R] | Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Closer You Get | American Women | 2000 | Aileen Ritchie | ★★½ | 90 | Flyweight comedy about a remote Irish island village where the young men decide to do something about the lack of eligible, attractive females: they take a want ad in a Miami newspaper, inviting sexy, athletic, marriage-minded American women to come on over. Self-consciously cute and padded out, but still amusing. Aka AMERICAN WOMEN. | tt0218112 | [PG-13] | Ian Hart, Sean McGinley, Niamh Cusack, Ruth McCabe, Ewan Stewart, Pat Shortt, Cathleen Bradley, Sean McDonagh | Irish-British | Comedy | NULL |
| The Closer | 1990 | Dimitri Logothetis | ★½ | 86 | Highly successful businessman is forced to retire and creates a tension-filled night of competition in order to pick his successor. Aiello is compelling as always, but this would-be Death of a Salesman never gets out of the gate. Aiello originated the role on Broadway in 1976; Louis La Russo II's play was titled Wheelbarrow Closers. | tt0101596 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Michael Paré, Joseph Cortese, Justine Bateman, Diane Baker, James Karen, Michael Lerner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Closet Land | 1991 | Radha Bharadwaj | ★½ | 89 | Among the oddest of early '90s films: a two-character drama about the political interrogation of an allegedly subversive children's author by one of a totalitarian society's finest. Like a bad play that never went beyond workshop status, though no one can accuse the filmmakers of taking the easy way out. Well performed, under the circumstances. Coproduced by Ron Howard! | tt0101597 | [R] | Madeleine Stowe, Alan Rickman | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Closet | 2001 | Francis Veber | ★★½ | 86 | Slight but amusing social comedy from writer-director Veber concerning a nonentity who's about to be fired from his company after 20 years. His new neighbor hatches a plan to save the job: pretend he's gay so the firm won't risk the accusation of sexual prejudice. Naturally the ruse snowballs, in more directions than one. Likable, if a bit low key. | tt0243493 | [R] | Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Michèle Laroque, Jean Rochefort, Alexandra Vandernoot, Michel Aumont | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cloud Dancer | 1980 | Barry Brown | ★★½ | 108 | Uneven tale of aerobatic-obsessed Carradine and his relationship with O'Neill. Nice— if too many— flying sequences, hokey melodramatics. Filmed in 1978. | tt0080545 | [PG] | David Carradine, Jennifer O'Neill, Joseph Bottoms, Colleen Camp, Albert Salmi, Salome Jens, Nina Van Pallandt | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cloudburst | 1951 | Francis Searle | ★★½ | 83 | Impressive little film of Preston, WW2 veteran working in British Foreign Office, seeking his wife's murderers. | tt0043418 | Robert Preston, Elizabeth Sellars, Harold Lang, Noel Howlett | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Clouded Yellow | 1950 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 85 | Moderately entertaining psychological drama/mystery/chase film in which ex-secret serviceman Howard takes a job cataloguing butterflies, and becomes involved with a strange, fragile young girl (Simmons)— and murder. | tt0042333 | Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Sonia Dresdel, Barry Jones, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen, Andre Morell, Maxwell Reed | British | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs | 2009 | Phil Lord, Chris Miller | ★★★ | 90 | Lifelong science whiz-kid Flint Lockwood finally devises an invention that might be beneficial: he can turn water into food. Soon it begins raining food of all sorts, which could be a boon to the island community where he lives . . . if he could only control it. Lively, funny animated yarn inspired by a popular children's book, with amusing character design, good voice work, and solid sight gags. It does gets a bit frantic toward the end. 3-D. | tt0844471 | [PG] | Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Lauren Graham, Will Forte | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Cloverfield | 2008 | Matt Reeves | ★★★ | 85 | A monster invades N.Y.C. and creates incredible havoc. This 1950s B-movie premise is executed 2008-style through the lens of a video camera held by a guy who starts out shooting a friend’s farewell party and then gets caught up in “documenting” everything that happens. Runs on pure adrenaline and never lets up, with some good shocks and a formidable creature. Some people find the shaky handheld camerawork difficult to stomach. Produced by J. J. Abrams. | tt1060277 | [PG-13] | Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T. J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Chris Mulkey | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Clown Murders | 1975 | Martyn Burke | ★½ | 96 | Melodrama set among the idle rich at a Halloween party where envious pals stage a fake kidnapping to botch pompous Dane's real-estate deal. Clumsy thriller boasts comic Candy in early dramatic role (with his weight problem a running gag). | tt0072792 | Stephen Young, Susan Keller, Lawrence Dane, John Candy, Gary Reineke, Al Waxman, Cec Linder | Canadian | Drama, Mystery, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Clown | 1953 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 91 | Sentimental remake of THE CHAMP about a washed-up, self-destructive comic with a devoted son who looks out for him. Skelton's not bad in rare dramatic role; Considine is so good he overcomes some of the hokiness of script. Charles Bronson has a bit role in dice game scene. | tt0044503 | Red Skelton, Tim Considine, Jane Greer, Loring Smith, Philip Ober | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Clowns | 1971 | Federico Fellini | ★★★½ | 90 | Fellini's homage to circus clowns is itself a clownish spoof of documentaries, a funny, fully entertaining piece of fluff from this great director, even making fun of himself. Made for Italian TV. | tt0066922 | [G] | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Club Dread | Broken Lizard's Club Dread | 2004 | Jay Chandrasekhar | 💣 | 104 | Yes, dreadful comedy/horror film about an island resort populated by college-age partyers and a serial murderer who's offing the staff. Written by and starring members of the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. It's not a good sign when the audience is rooting for the killer. Unrated version also available. On-screen title: BROKEN LIZARD'S CLUB DREAD. | tt0331953 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Jordan Ladd, Brittany Daniel, M.C. Gainey, Lindsay Price | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Club Extinction | Dr. M | 1990 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 112 | A wave of suicides shocks near-future Berlin; police investigator Niklas begins to suspect involvement of Beals, spokesperson for an Eden-like resort, who's linked to media baron Dr. Marsfeldt (Bates). Chabrol's attempt at updating Dr. Mabuse (film credits Norbert Jacques' original novel, Mabuse der Spieler) misfires; Bates is miscast, and film lacks any thematic resonances. Still, an interesting curiosity. European title: DR. M. Shot in English. | tt0099445 | [R] | Alan Bates, Jennifer Beals, Jan Niklas, Hans Zischler, Benoit Regent, Peter Fitz, Andrew McCarthy, Wolfgang Preiss, Isolde Barth | German-Italian-French | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Club Havana | 1945 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 62 | Roadshow GRAND HOTEL is very cheap production with little of interest. | tt0037605 | Tom Neal, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Douglas, Gertrude Michael, Isabelita (Lita Baron), Dorothy Morris, Ernest Truex | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Club Life | 1985 | Norman Thaddeus Vane | ★★½ | 92 | Hunk Parsekian arrives in Hollywood with stars in his eyes, hoping for a movie career; instead, he finds himself toiling as a bouncer in Curtis' bar. Nicely stylized and acted (if all-too-familiar) tale of Tinseltown decadence. How could you not like a film in which Ast appears as a lesbian bar owner named Butch? Vane also produced and scripted. | tt0088929 | Tony Curtis, Tom Parsekian, Dee Wallace, Michael Parks, Jamie Barrett, Ron Kuhlman, Yana Nirvana, Pat Ast | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Club Paradise | 1986 | Harold Ramis | ★★ | 104 | Pleasant cast in pleasant surroundings, lacking only a script and a few more laughs. Williams plays Chicago fireman who retires to West Indian island, goes halfies with native Cliff on turning ramshackle beachfront property into vacation resort. Writers even try to shoehorn a 'serious' subplot about exploitation of the natives into the proceedings! Best of all is Cliff's almost nonstop music; his performance isn't bad, either. | tt0090856 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Jimmy Cliff, Twiggy, Adolph Caesar, Eugene Levy, Joanna Cassidy, Andrea Martin, Robin Duke, Mary Gross, Simon Jones, Carey Lowell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Club | Players | 1980 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★ | 99 | Thompson is excellent as a football coach in this searing drama about off-the-field politics in a football club. Script by David Williamson, based on his play. Aka PLAYERS. | tt0080546 | Jack Thompson, Graham Kennedy, Frank Wilson, Harold Hopkins, John Howard | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Clubland | 1999 | Mary Lambert | ★★ | 94 | Young man and his buddies are determined to make it big in the music world by performing at a trendy club on L.A.'s Sunset Strip, but they have to deal with sleazy promoters and personality problems within the band. Contemporary music and trappings can't disguise, or overcome, a soggy story that might have been made as a 1930s B movie. Written by successful music producer Glen Ballard. | tt0127489 | [R] | Jimmy Tuckett, Lori Petty, Brad Hunt, Heather Stephens, Rodney Eastman, Buddy Quaid, Terence Trent D'Arby, Alexis Arquette, Steven Tyler | Musical | NULL | ||
| Clue | 1985 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★½ | 87 | Silly comic whodunit based on the popular board game of the same name with all the familiar characters (Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, et al.) gathered for a murderous night in a Victorian mansion. Everyone tries very hard— too hard, since the script, by first-time feature director Lynn, is so slim; addle-brained Brennan and puckish butler Curry come off best. When this played theatrically, audiences saw one of three alternate endings. Video has all three in a row to total 96m. | tt0088930 | [PG] | Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp, Lee Ving, Bill Henderson, Howard Hesseman | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Clue of the New Pin | 1960 | Allan Davis. | ★½ | 58 | Old-fashioned Edgar Wallace yarn about 'perfect crime,' with Villiers a TV interviewer who tangles with murderer; ponderous. | tt0053722 | Paul Daneman, Bernard Archard, James Villiers, Catherine Woodville, Clive Morton. | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Clueless | 1995 | Amy Heckerling | ★★★ | 97 | Sharp, funny, original take on Beverly Hills high school teens of the '90s, by the director of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (and based— believe it or not— on Jane Austen's Emma). Silverstone is perfect as Cher, who with her best friend Dionne— they're both named after famous pop singers— knows everything about being gorgeous, popular, and always in vogue. This laugh-out-loud satire is never mean, which is a big part of its charm; it also introduces wonderfully funny vernacular, which we won't spoil by reciting here. As if! Heckerling also scripted. Later a TV series. | tt0112697 | [PG-13] | Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Jeremy Sisto, Justin Walker, Elisa Donovan, Dan Hedaya, Wallace Shawn, Twink Caplan, Julie Brown | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cluny Brown | 1946 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★½ | 100 | Delightful comedy which charts the evolving relationship between orphan Jones and penniless Czech refugee professor Boyer in pre-WW2 England. Takes hilarious pot-shots at the British class system, with the help of a sterling cast of character actors. Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt, from Margery Sharp's novel. | tt0038419 | Charles Boyer, Jennifer Jones, Peter Lawford, Helen Walker, Reginald Gardiner, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen, Richard Haydn, Sara Allgood, Ernest Cossart, Una O'Connor, Florence Bates, Christopher Severn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Coach | 1978 | Bud Townsend | ★★ | 100 | Olympic gold medal winner Crosby is accidentally hired as a high school basketball coach for boys. Exploitation film that turns out disappointingly tame and predictable. | tt0077351 | [PG] | Cathy Lee Crosby, Michael Biehn, Keenan Wynn, Steve Nevil, Channing Clarkson, Sydney Wicks |
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| Coach Carter | 2005 | Thomas Carter | ★★½ | 137 | New high school basketball coach in a working-class California town is determined to teach his rowdy players discipline and respect. Even when they start winning, he pushes them further, insisting that they improve their grades to earn the title 'student athletes' and win a chance of going on to college. A few climaxes too many are the main debit in this inspirational saga, with Jackson a perfect choice to play the real-life Ken Carter. | tt0393162 | [PG-13] | Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Brown, Robert Ri'chard, Rick Gonzalez, Nana Gbewonyo, Antwon Tanner, Channing Tatum, Ashanti, Texas Battle, Denise Dowse, Vincent Laresca, Sidney Faison, Debbi Morgan, Ray Baker, Marc McClure | Drama | NULL | ||
| Coal Miner's Daughter | 1980 | Michael Apted | ★★★½ | 125 | Rags-to-riches story of country singer Loretta Lynn is among the best musical bios ever made, though final quarter does slide over some 'down side' details. Spacek won well-deserved Oscar (and did her own singing), but Jones, D'Angelo, and Helm (drummer for The Band) are just as good. Screenplay by Tom Rickman. | tt0080549 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo, Levon Helm, Phyllis Boyens, Ernest Tubb | Drama | NULL | ||
| Coast Guard | 1939 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 72 | Scott and Bellamy are hard-loving, hard-fighting guardsmen in love with Dee. When one of them is stranded in the snow after a plane crash, the other must decide whether to help or not. Routine but action-filled hokum with similarities to Capra's DIRIGIBLE. | tt0031163 | Randolph Scott, Frances Dee, Ralph Bellamy, Walter Connolly, Warren Hymer, Robert Middlemass, Stanley Andrews | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Coast of Skeletons | 1964 | Robert Lynn | ★★ | 91 | Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River is basis for largely rewritten tale of ex-officer hired to investigate scuttling of American tycoon's African diamond operation. Todd repeats role he played in SANDERS (DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER). | tt0057954 | Richard Todd, Dale Robertson, Heinz Drache, Marianne Koch, Elga Andersen, Derek Nimmo | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Coast to Coast | 1980 | Joseph Sargent | ★★ | 95 | A nutty woman (who's been institutionalized by her divorce-seeking husband) escapes from a sanitarium and travels cross-country with trucker Blake, who's got problems of his own. Strained road comedy, often abrasive, with occasional laughs. | tt0080550 | [PG] | Dyan Cannon, Robert Blake, Quinn Redeker, Michael Lerner, Maxine Stuart, Bill Lucking | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cobb | 1994 | Ron Shelton | ★★½ | 128 | Portrait of Ty Cobb— widely regarded as the greatest baseball player of all time— as an old, eccentric, embittered man, determined to tell his sanitized life story to sportswriter Al Stump (Wuhl). Perhaps a Hollywood first: a biopic that reveals its subject as the meanest sonofabitch who ever lived, with no redeeming qualities whatever. Fascinating for a while, but gets redundant. Worth seeing for Jones' commanding performance. | tt0109450 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Wuhl, Lolita Davidovich, Lou Myers, Stephen Mendillo, William Utay, J. Kenneth Campbell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cobra | 1925 | Joseph Henabery | ★★★ | 75 | Valentino produced Martin Brown's play about an aristocratic seducer held in thrall by a female serpent. The star shows acting muscle his peers never noticed in a three-dimensional role as tailor-made for him as a fine Italian suit. Pluses: gowns by MGM's Adrian and handsome art deco direction by William Cameron Menzies. | tt0015693 | Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, Gertrude Olmstead, Casson Ferguson, Henry Barrows, Lillian Langdon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cobra | 1986 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★½ | 87 | Once more, Stallone wraps himself in the American flag and fights for the greater glory of mankind by going after criminal vermin; this time, he's a cop. Typical low-grade action fare, where all the other cops are stubborn dummies, and all the bad guys are repellent creeps. Some good action sequences. | tt0090859 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Andrew Robinson, Lee Garlington, John Herzfeld, Art Le Fleur, Brian Thompson, David Rasche, Val Avery | Action | NULL | ||
| Cobra Woman | 1944 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 70 | Camp classic, with island beauty Montez, set to wed Hall, finding herself kidnapped and discovering she has an evil twin sister. Sabu plays Hall's faithful (and ever-so-goofy) companion Kado. Coscripted by Richard Brooks. | tt0036716 | Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu, Lon Chaney/Jr., Edgar Barrier, Lois Collier, Mary Nash | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Cobweb | 1955 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★ | 124 | Good cast in static soaper detailing the goings-on in psychiatric clinic headed by Dr. Widmark; of course, some of the personnel are more unbalanced than the patients. Scripted by John Paxton, produced by John Houseman. Film debuts of Strasberg and Kerr. | tt0047944 | Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Gloria Grahame, Charles Boyer, Lillian Gish, John Kerr, Susan Strasberg, Oscar Levant, Tommy Rettig, Paul Stewart, Adele Jergens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Coca-Cola Kid | 1985 | Dusan Makavejev | ★★½ | 94 | Droll, sometimes wacky comedy about a hotshot Coca-Cola sales exec sent on mission to Australia, leading to various misadventures. Roberts' performance strictly a matter of taste, as is this offbeat, mildly satiric film. Sexy Scacchi is the best thing in the picture. | tt0088931 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Greta Scacchi, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood, Kris McQuade, Max Gilles, Rebecca Smart | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Cocaine Cowboys | 1979 | Ulli Lommel | 💣 | 87 | Dreadful film about rock group that supports itself 'between engagements' by dope smuggling; filmed at Warhol's Montauk home, where this film should have remained. | tt0078980 | [R] | Jack Palance, Tom Sullivan, Andy Warhol, Suzanna Love, Pete Huckabee | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cocaine Cowboys | 2006 | Billy Corben | ★★★ | 118 | Pumped-up, gruesome documentary exposé about the Colombian drug lords' invasion of Miami in the 1970s-'80s, and how they turned it into the blood money capital of the U.S., or so the movie asserts. Like a prequel to SCARFACE (1983), but built of chilling, often contradictory interviews with charismatic criminals and determined police, it details the smugglers' incredibly sophisticated and elaborate strategies as they try to outsmart the DEA and outshoot rival Cuban gangs. Too flashy and too long, but graphically persuasive. | tt0380268 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Cocaine Fiends | 1936 | William A. O'Connor | 💣 | 68 | Dope peddler and mob front man, on the lam, turns a young girl on to cocaine (which she believes is 'headache powder') . . . and she's hopelessly addicted. Then her brother is taken 'on a sleigh ride with some snow birds.' Tawdry, hilariously awful and, in its way, a bit depressing; from the REEFER MADNESS school of filmmaking. Originally shown as THE PACE THAT KILLS. | tt0028074 | Noel Madison, Lois January, Sheila Manners, Dean Benton, Lois Lindsay, Eddie Phillips | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cockeyed Cavaliers | 1934 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 72 | Colorful costume comedy with Wheeler & Woolsey trying to crash into society by posing as the King's physicians; lively mix of slapstick, puns, and music. | tt0024992 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Thelma Todd, Dorothy Lee, Noah Beery/Sr., Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County | 1970 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★ | 99 | Great cast and waste of a movie. Turn-of-the-century progress in the Old West, but villains, varmints and saloons still remain. Made for TV, but released to theaters instead. | tt0065560 | [G] | Dan Blocker, Nanette Fabray, Jim Backus, Wally Cox, Jack Elam, Stubby Kaye, Mickey Rooney, Noah Beery/Jr., Marge Champion, Jack Cassidy | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Cockeyed Miracle | 1946 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 81 | Good cast carries weak material. Morgan returns from heaven to make up for financial error he made involving family. | tt0038420 | Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Cecil Kellaway, Audrey Totter, Marshall Thompson | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Cockeyed World | 1929 | Raoul Walsh | ★½ | 118 | Sequel to WHAT PRICE GLORY? with McLaglen and Lowe as battling Marines Flagg and Quirt sent to South Sea island where fiery Damita captures their attention. Smash hit in 1929, it moves like molasses today, and is no match for GLORY. | tt0019776 | Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Lily Damita, El Brendel, Lelia Karnelly, Stuart Erwin | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cockfighter | Wild Drifter | 1974 | Monte Hellman | ★★★ | 83 | Offbeat, violent but interesting drama of a man who trains fighting cocks in Georgia. Oates is silent until the very end, his thoughts serving as narration. Filmed in Georgia. Aka BORN TO KILL, WILD DRIFTER, GAMBLIN' MAN. | tt0071338 | [R] | Warren Oates, Richard B. Shull, Harry Dean Stanton, Troy Donahue, Millie Perkins | Drama | NULL | |
| The Cockleshell Heroes | 1955 | Jose Ferrer | ★★ | 97 | Special task force is trained in the use of kayaks for WW2 mission. Film never gels. | tt0049083 | Jose Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Dora Bryan, Anthony Newley, Victor Maddern, Christopher Lee | British | War | NULL | ||
| Cocktail | 1988 | Roger Donaldson | ★★ | 100 | Young hotshot comes to N.Y.C. to make his fortune, but winds up becoming a 'hot' bartender instead, under the tutelage of self-styled barman/philosopher Brown. Cruise flashes his smile, Shue is cute, but that can't redeem the junior-high-school-level dramatics. | tt0094889 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue, Lisa Banes, Laurence Luckinbill, Kelly Lynch, Gina Gershon, Ron Dean, Paul Benedict | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cocktail Hour | 1933 | Victor Schertzinger. | ★★ | 73 | Successful illustrator Daniels lives life to the fullest but meets her match in Scott, her chauvinistic boss. Opening scenes in Bebe's incredible art deco apartment, and her bantering relationship with Scott, shouldn't lead to such a dull, dreary third act. Director and composer Schertzinger inserts a completely incongruous rhythmic embarkation montage as an ocean liner sets sail. | tt0023897 | Bebe Daniels, Randolph Scott, Sidney Blackmer, Muriel Kirkland, Jessie Ralph, Barrie Norton, George Nardelli. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cocktail Molotov | 1980 | Diane Kurys | ★★★ | 100 | Pleasant follow-up to PEPPERMINT SODA, with a trio of teenagers wandering through Europe at the time of the '68 student rebellion. Caron, Lebas, and Cluzet are attractive as the youngsters testing their wings. | tt0080552 | [R] | Elise Caron, Philippe Lebas, Francois Cluzet, Genevieve Fontanel, Henri Garcin, Michel Puterflam | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Coco Before Chanel | 2009 | Anne Fontaine | ★★★ | 110 | Vivid biographical portrait of the early life of 20th-century fashion icon Coco Chanel. At a young age she is deposited at an orphanage by her uncaring father and develops a defiantly independent streak that carries into adult life. Tautou is excellent as the young woman who learns to "use" men but manages to defy convention—in her approach to life and her ideas about clothing—until one lover sweeps her off her feet. Exquisite in every detail, including Alexandre Desplat's score. | tt1035736 | [PG-13] | Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Emmanuelle Devos, Marie Gillain | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky | 2009 | Jan Kounen | ★★½ | 119 | The 1913 debut performance of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in Paris is a debacle, but designer Chanel finds it fascinating. Seven years pass before the two iconoclasts cross paths again. She invites the impoverished Russian émigré, his wife, and children to live at her country estate, where Stravinsky’s wife endures her husband’s growing attraction to Chanel as long as she can. Fairly compelling fiction suffers from a weak denouement, but real-life Chanel model Mouglalis—and much real-life Chanel décor—make this a feast for the eyes. | tt1023441 | [R] | Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, Elena Morozova, Natacha Lindinger, Grigori Manoukov, Rasha Bukvick, Anatole Taubman, Nicolas Vaude, Eric Desmarestz | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Cocoanut Grove | 1938 | Alfred Santell | ★★ | 85 | MacMurray's band just has to make good at Cocoanut Grove audition in flimsy musical with nine songs you'll never hear again. | tt0030000 | Fred MacMurray, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Yacht Club Boys, Ben Blue, Rufe Davis, Billy Lee, Eve Arden | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Cocoanuts | 1929 | Joseph Santley, Robert Florey | ★★★ | 96 | The Marxes' first film suffers from stagy filming and stale musical subplot, but when the brothers have scenes to themselves it's a riot; highlights include hilarious auction, classic 'viaduct' routine. | tt0019777 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Kay Francis, Oscar Shaw, Mary Eaton, Margaret Dumont | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cocoon | 1985 | Ron Howard | ★★★½ | 117 | Florida senior citizens discover an actual fountain of youth in this warm, humanistic fantasy-drama, marred only by derivative and too literal science-fiction finale. What a pleasure to watch this cast at work! (Ameche won Best Supporting Actor Oscar.) Screenplay by Tom Benedek, from David Saperstein's novel; another impressive directing job by Howard. Followed by a sequel. | tt0088933 | [PG-13] | Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee Welch, Barret Oliver, Linda Harrison, Tyrone Power/Jr., Clint Howard | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Cocoon: The Return | 1988 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 116 | Disappointing follow-up in which the elderly earthlings return for a visit to their home planet. Most of the magic and warmth of the original are missing; while it's always a joy to see Ameche and company on screen, the actors are unable to transcend their material. | tt0094890 | [PG] | Don Ameche, Jack Gilford, Gwen Verdon, Maureen Stapleton, Steve Guttenberg, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Wilford Brimley, Elaine Stritch, Tahnee Welch, Courteney Cox | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Code 46 | 2003 | Michael Winterbottom. | ★★ | 92 | In the near future, government investigator Robbins is sent to Shanghai to uncover the source of forged identity passes, without which people of the world are locked outside the gates of major cities to fend for themselves amidst the mob. But the normally businesslike agent becomes emotionally entangled with the woman who is his chief suspect. Intriguing idea is terminally aloof and gives us no one to care about. | tt0345061 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Jeanne Balibar, Om Puri, Essie Davis, Shelley King, David Fahm, Togo Igawa. | British | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Code Name: Emerald | 1985 | Jonathan Sanger | ★★ | 95 | Old-fashioned WW2 espionage tale has Harris as a double agent in plot to capture an Overlord (person with information on the plans for the D-Day invasion). Credibility is undermined by miscasting of Stoltz, who looks way too young to be an intelligence lieutenant and the target Overlord. | tt0088934 | [PG] | Ed Harris, Max von Sydow, Horst Buchholz, Helmut Berger, Cyrielle Claire, Eric Stoltz, Patrick Stewart, Graham Crowden | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Code Name: The Cleaner | 2007 | Les Mayfield | ★½ | 84 | Call it THE BORED IDENTITY. Flat, witless enterprise casts Cedric as a janitor who is suddenly swept up into the world of spies and murder after he is hit in the head and thought to be an undercover agent caught up in a big government conspiracy. Given the kind of lame script Allen and Rossi might have made in the '60s, Cedric (who coproduced) walks through the film like a guy lost in an old TV variety show. Every caper-comedy cliché is trotted out and stepped on. Liu and Sheridan provide eye candy. | tt0462229 | [PG-13] | Cedric The Entertainer, Nicollette Sheridan, Lucy Liu, Mark Dacascos, Will Patton, Callum Keith Rennie, Niecy Nash, DeRay Davis | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Code Two | 1953 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★ | 69 | Three recruits on L.A. motorcycle police force face occupational hazards; when Richards is killed, his partners go after culprits. | tt0045636 | Ralph Meeker, Sally Forrest, Keenan Wynn, Robert Horton, Jeff Richards | Crime | NULL | |||
| Code Unknown | 2000 | Michael Haneke | ★★★½ | 117 | Challenging, fascinating tale involving several characters, most of them strangers, whose lives become briefly intertwined on a Paris street corner. They include an actress (Binoche), the discontented brother of her photojournalist lover, a young teacher of African descent, and a Roumanian illegal immigrant. This trenchant look at racism and emotional disconnection also offers food for thought about the nature of cinematic reality. | tt0216625 | Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Alexandre Hamidi, Luminita Gheorghiu, Ona Lu Yenke, Josef Bierbichler | French-German-Romanian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Code of Scotland Yard | 1946 | George King | ★★★ | 90 | Entertaining melodrama with Homolka most effective as a seemingly respectable London antique dealer who's really an escapee from Devil's Island; Griffith matches him as his slimy assistant. Original British title: THE SHOP AT SLY CORNER. | tt0039821 | Oscar Homolka, Derek Farr, Muriel Pavlov, Kenneth Griffith, Manning Whiley, Kathleen Harrison, Diana Dors | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Code of Silence | 1985 | Andy Davis | ★★½ | 101 | Norris plays a loner on Chicago police force who makes his own rules in dealing with violent gang war. In other words, it's 'Dirty Chuckie.' Formula action film, and not bad. | tt0088936 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Henry Silva, Bert Remsen, Molly Hagan, Joseph Guzaldo, Mike Genovese, Dennis Farina | Action | NULL | ||
| Code of the Secret Service | 1939 | Noel Smith | ★½ | 58 | Limp actioner with Lt. Brass Bancroft (Reagan) tangling with counterfeiters in Mexico. Second of a series, following SECRET SERVICE OF THE AIR. | tt0031166 | Ronald Reagan, Rosella Towne, Eddie Foy/Jr., Moroni Olsen, Edgar Edwards, Jack Mower | Action | NULL | |||
| The Code | 2002 | Manuel Boursinhac | ★★ | 106 | Routine, brutal gangster drama in which an ex-con who wants to leave his criminal life behind is sucked back in one more time. All the usual clichés of this film genre are trotted out with a French accent. Film never finds a tone that makes it any different from dozens of other GODFATHER wannabes. Aka LE MENTALE. | tt0304391 | [R] | Samuel Le Bihan, Samy Naceri, Clotilde Courau, Marie Guillard, Michel Duchaussoy, Philippe Nahon, Francis Renaud | French | Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| The Code | 2009 | Mimi Leder | ★½ | 104 | Veteran master thief (Freeman) recruits a brash crook (Banderas) to help him pull off a daring robbery of two priceless Fabergé eggs from the Russian mob. But everything is not what it appears to be, as we learn in the inevitable and exasperating "big twist." Fine cast deserves better than this direct-to-DVD fodder, with a script that's a checklist of heist-movie clichés. Aka THICK AS THIEVES. | tt1112782 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas, Radha Mitchell, Robert Forster, Rade Serbedzija, Michael Hayden, Marcel Iures, Gary Werntz | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Codename: Wildgeese | 1986 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★ | 101 | Action footage redeems this cornball commando film of Collins and mercenary troops sent to wipe out a Far East drug stronghold. No relation to THE WILD GEESE or its sequel. | tt0087068 | [R] | Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Klaus Kinski, Mimsy Farmer | German-Italian | Action, War | NULL | |
| Coeurs | 2006 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 123 | In snowy Paris, various characters who are loosely connected go about their lives and look for love in all the wrong places. Meditative exploration of the human condition astutely scrutinizes the way people present themselves to others. What are they looking for? What will they settle for? How well do they know the people around them, the people who pass through their lives? Aka PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES, the title of the Alan Ayckbourn play on which this is based. | tt0498120 | Unrated | Sabine Azéma, Lambert Wilson, André Dussollier, Pierre Arditi, Laura Morante, Isabelle Carré | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Coffee and Cigarettes | 2004 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★½ | 96 | Seriocomic anthology of vignettes, filmed as a series of short films beginning in 1986, about actors and musicians partaking in the titular addictive substances. Quintessentially Jarmuschesque in its slow pacing and seemingly random chitchat about everything from tea to Tesla coils. Borderline boring at first, but improves greatly in its second half with amusing sketches involving Blanchett (as herself and her jealous cousin), and Murray meeting up with rappers GZA and RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. Funniest bit: Brit thesps Molina and Coogan taking a very Hollywood meeting. | tt0379217 | [R] | Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie Lee, Cinqué Lee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Meg White, Jack White, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, Bill Murray, GZA, RZA | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Coffy | 1973 | Jack Hill | ★★½ | 90 | Fast-moving, generally agreeable trash about nurse who goes after junkies who turned her young sister into an addict; lots of nudity in Grier's biggest hit. | tt0069897 | [R] | Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cohen and Tate | 1989 | Eric Red | ★½ | 85 | In this grim variation on O. Henry's 'Ransom of Red Chief,' Scheider and Baldwin, the hit men of the title, murderously kidnap young Cross, sole witness to a gang killing; story takes place almost entirely in their car. Clumsy irony, theatrical style, leaden illogic sink the film early. Scheider tries hard. | tt0097074 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Adam Baldwin, Harley Cross, Cooper Huckabee | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cold Around the Heart | 1997 | John Ridley | ★★ | 96 | Barely released and highly derivative thieves-fall-out crime drama. Grungy-looking Caruso is out for revenge against ruthless femme fatale Lynch when she double-crosses him after a jewel heist. Decent cast helps, but it's nothing you haven't seen done better about a million times before. | tt0118870 | [R] | David Caruso, Kelly Lynch, Stacey Dash, Christopher Noth, John Spencer, Pruitt Taylor-Vince, Richard Kind | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cold Comfort Farm | 1995 | John Schlesinger | ★★★ | 95 | Deliciously eccentric comedy about a well-bred young woman who goes to live with distant relatives at their spooky old farm, which is dominated by a dotty grandmother living in the attic. Our heroine then implacably sets about reordering their lives! Good fun, based on a 1932 novel by Stella Gibbons. Made for British TV. | tt0112701 | [PG] | Eileen Atkins, Kate Beckinsale, Sheila Burrell, Stephen Fry, Freddie Jones, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, Miriam Margolyes, Rufus Sewell | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cold Creek Manor | 2003 | Mike Figgis | ★★ | 119 | Something new in thrillers: a story devoid of suspense. Manhattanites Quaid and Stone decide to move out of the city and give their kids a better life. They buy a run-down mansion in a rural, insular community and soon encounter the resentful former owner (Dorff), who lost the house in a foreclosure just before he went to jail for manslaughter. Obvious at every turn, and overlong to boot; the supposed scare moments are pallid at best. | tt0331468 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Stephen Dorff, Juliette Lewis, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Wilson, Dana Eskelson, Christopher Plummer | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cold Feet | 1984 | Bruce van Dusen | ★★ | 96 | A couple of chuckles are not enough to save this sluggish comedy about the courtship of Dunne and Chibas, who've been unlucky in love before. Baker steals the film as Dunne's flaky ex-wife. | tt0087070 | [PG] | Griffin Dunne, Marissa Chibas, Blanche Baker, Mark Cronogue, Joseph Leon, Marcia Jean Kurtz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cold Feet | 1989 | Robert Dornhelm | ★½ | 94 | Carradine and Waits (the latter near-psychotic) squabble for hundreds of miles over a horse; marriage-hungry Kirkland is the flake who rounds out the threesome. Reminiscent in tone of coscripter Thomas McGuane's RANCHO DELUXE (which pops up on a theater marquee here)— but without the laughs; RANCHO'S Jeff Bridges is unbilled as a smalltown bartender. | tt0097076 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Sally Kirkland, Tom Waits, Rip Torn, Bill Pullman, Kathleen York, Vincent Schiavelli | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cold Fever | 1995 | Fridrik Thor Fridriksson | ★★★ | 82 | Amiable, Jarmusch-like comic road movie that charts the adventures of Atsushi (Nagase), a Japanese businessman who decides to go to Iceland and trek to the site where his parents died, so their souls can rest in peace. In Iceland, there is plenty of snow, ice, and cold, and Atsushi is most definitely a stranger in a strange land. Coscripted by the director and Jim Stark, the producer of several Jim Jarmusch films. | tt0109028 | Masatoshi Nagase, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens, Gisli Halldorsson, Laura Hughes, Seijun Suzuki | U.S.-Icelandic | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cold Heaven | 1992 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★ | 105 | Adulterous wife (Russell) is on the verge of telling her husband (Harmon) that she is dumping him when he is killed in a gruesome vacation boating accident— or is he? Russell's guilt and paranoia bring on a host of ponderous sturm und drang encounters and experiences. Lifeless and confusing. | tt0103982 | [R] | Theresa Russell, Mark Harmon, James Russo, Talia Shire, Will Patton, Richard Bradford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cold Mountain | 2003 | Anthony Minghella | ★★★½ | 155 | A shy young man and a minister's daughter make a brief but passionate connection before he marches off to fight for the Confederacy in the Civil War . . . and the thought of each other sustains them through the hell they both endure. Minghella's adaptation of the Charles Frazier best-seller captures both the grimness of battle and the starkness of life on the home front in the South. Meticulously crafted by such outstanding talents as cinematographer John Seale, film editor Walter Murch, production designer Dante Ferretti, costume designer Ann Roth (with Carlo Poggioli), and composer Gabriel Yared, among others, with first-rate performances all around. Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress (Zellweger). | tt0159365 | [R] | Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, Ray Winstone, Kathy Baker, James Gammon, Charlie Hunnam, Jack White, Ethan Suplee, Jena Malone, Melora Walters, Lucas Black, Taryn Manning, Tom Aldredge, James Rebhorn, Cillian Murphy | British-Romanian-Italian-U.S. | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Cold Sassy Tree | 1989 | Joan Tewkesbury | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Handsome May-December romantic drama set in a sleepy Southern town at the turn of the century. An independent lady from up North causes a scandal when she decides to wed the local general-store owner just three weeks after he's been widowed. Dunaway and Widmark are a delight in this adaptation of Olive Ann Burns's novel (by director Tewkesbury). Made for cable. | tt0097080 | Faye Dunaway, Richard Widmark, Neil Patrick Harris, Frances Fisher, Lee Garlington, John Jackson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cold Souls | 2009 | Sophie Barthes | ★★½ | 101 | An actor named Paul Giamatti (played by same) is emotionally challenged by Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya, so he's susceptible when he hears about a service that removes your soul and keeps it in cold storage. Needless to say, the process becomes more complicated than he envisions. Clever, often amusing, but overlong, this cheeky film is at its best when Giamatti is "consulting" with soul-sucking entrepreneur Strathairn. Written by the director. | tt1127877 | [PG-13] | Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Dina Korzun, Katheryn Winnick, Lauren Ambrose, Mimi Lieber, Michael Tucker, Michael Stuhlbarg | U.S.-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Cold Steel | 1987 | Dorothy Ann Puzo | ★★ | 90 | Standard actioner about cop Davis, his father murdered by disfigured psychotic Banks; he seeks revenge, natch. | tt0092767 | [R] | Brad Davis, Sharon Stone, Jonathan Banks, Jay Acovone, Adam Ant, Eddie Egan | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cold Sweat | 1971 | Terence Young | ★★ | 94 | Richard Matheson's thriller Ride the Nightmare has been converted into a predictable action movie with Bronson as American expatriate in France forced into the drug trade by crime czar Mason. | tt0066970 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Liv Ullmann, James Mason, Jill Ireland, Michel Constantin, Gabriele Ferzetti | French-Italian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Cold Turkey | 1971 | Norman Lear | ★★★ | 99 | Bittersweet satire of contemporary America; minister Van Dyke leads township crusade to stop smoking, in order to win mammoth contest. Trenchant finale doesn't entirely gibe with rest of film: still worthwhile, with Bob & Ray hilarious as newscasters. Fine score by Randy Newman; Horton's last film. Made in 1969. | tt0066927 | [PG] | Dick Van Dyke, Pippa Scott, Tom Poston, Bob Newhart, Vincent Gardenia, Barnard Hughes, Edward Everett Horton, Jean Stapleton, Graham Jarvis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Cold Wind in August | 1961 | Alexander Singer | ★★½ | 80 | Offbeat account of tenement boy Marlowe having affair with stripper Albright; frank, flavorful tale. | tt0054755 | Lola Albright, Scott Marlowe, Herschel Bernardi, Joe De Santis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Coldblooded | 1995 | Wallace Wolodarsky | ★★ | 91 | Black comedy about a nerdy young bookkeeper for the mob who finally gets a chance to become a full-fledged hit man— and adapts to the job better than he ever dreamed. Love soon complicates the picture, and also bogs down what could have been a clever, if twisted, story. This 'hit' is a miss. Look for Michael J. Fox (who coproduced the film) in a cameo. | tt0112702 | [R] | Jason Priestley, Peter Riegert, Kimberly Williams, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Loggia, Josh Charles | Action | NULL | ||
| The Colditz Story | 1957 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★½ | 97 | Super-solid P.O.W. saga set in Germany's Colditz Castle, supposedly 'escape-proof' but challenged by various European prisoners, and a hardy British group in particular. | tt0047945 | John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael, Richard Wattis, Anton Diffring, Theodore Bikel | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Colditz Story | 1955 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★½ | 97 | Super-solid POW saga set in Germany's Colditz Castle, supposedly "escape-proof" but challenged by various European prisoners and a hardy British group in particular. | tt0047945 | John Mills, Eric Portman, Christopher Rhodes, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael, Richard Wattis, Anton Diffring, Theodore Bikel | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Cole Younger, Gunfighter | 1958 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★ | 78 | Modest actioner has gunfights to perk up trite account of 1870s Texas. | tt0051482 | Frank Lovejoy, James Best, Abby Dalton, Jan Merlin | Western | NULL | |||
| Collateral | 2004 | Michael Mann | ★★½ | 120 | L.A. cab driver Foxx, who dreams of running his own business, picks up the wrong passenger (visiting hit man Cruise) and becomes embroiled in a long night of mayhem. Crisp action thriller, well shot in a digital format on L.A. locations, builds interesting characterizations, then tosses credibility down the drain during the climax. Still quite watchable, with a strong supporting cast backing up the stars. Panavision/ | tt0369339 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Javier Bardem, Irma P. Hall, Barry Shabaka Henley, Bodhi Elfman, Debi Mazar, Richard T. Jones, Jason Statham | Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Collateral Damage | 2002 | Andrew Davis | ★★ | 109 | L.A. fireman sees his wife and son killed in a bombing— and vows revenge on the terrorist who made it happen, even if it means stalking him in the jungles of Colombia. No worse than any number of other Schwarzenegger action vehicles, with a high body count, a superhuman hero, and a couple of villains who simply refuse to die . . . but we've seen it all before, done better. Anachronistic (to say the least) in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America. | tt0233469 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, Cliff Curtis, Miguel Sandoval, Harry Lennix, John Leguizamo, John Turturro, Lindsay Frost | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Collector | 1965 | William Wyler | ★★★ | 119 | Disturbing story of man who collects more than just butterflies, which is where Eggar fits in. Chilling, if not altogether believable. Based on the novel by John Fowles. | tt0059043 | Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Maurice Dallimore, Mona Washbourne | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Colleen | 1936 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 89 | Neglected Warner Bros. musical is quite good, with usual boy-meets-girl plot framing tasteful musical numbers. Includes perhaps-definitive Hugh Herbert performance. | tt0027455 | Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Paul Draper, Louise Fazenda, Marie Wilson | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| College | 1927 | James W. Horne | ★★★ | 65 | Highbrow student Buster has to become an all-star athlete to please his girlfriend; episodic gag structure makes this less impressive than other Keaton features, but it's awfully funny. | tt0017765 | Buster Keaton, Anne Cornwall, Flora Bramley, Harold Goodwin, Grant Withers, Snitz Edwards | Comedy | NULL | |||
| College | 2008 | Deb Hagan | 💣 | 94 | Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: three high school seniors (a fat one, a geeky one, a hunky one) take a weekend trip to check out a university campus and get indoctrinated by a bunch of mean fraternity brothers. Chock-full of typical adolescent behavior, gross-out gags, sex, and nudity; you won’t need a college degree to smell this turkey a mile away. Barely released to theaters. | tt0844671 | [R] | Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell, Andree Moss, Carolyn Moss, Kevin Covais, Ryan Pinkston, Haley Bennett, Nick Zano | Comedy | NULL | ||
| College Coach | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 75 | Well-paced tale of ruthless football coach O'Brien, neglected wife Dvorak, star player Powell who also likes chemistry. Look for John Wayne in a bit part. | tt0023899 | Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Pat O'Brien, Hugh Herbert, Herman Bing, Lyle Talbot | Drama | NULL | |||
| College Confidential | 1960 | Albert Zugsmith | ★½ | 91 | Idiocy involving sociology professor Allen and what happens when he surveys the sexual activities of his students. 'Special Guests' include Rocky Marciano, Sheilah Graham, Pamela Mason, and Earl Wilson. | tt0053727 | Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Mamie Van Doren, Walter Winchell, Herbert Marshall, Cathy Crosby, Conway Twitty, Ziva Rodann, Mickey Shaughnessy | Drama | NULL | |||
| College Holiday | 1936 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 88 | Silly musicomedy about college types arriving at bankrupt hotel where Boland is doing sex experiments. | tt0027456 | Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Mary Boland, Martha Raye, Marsha Hunt, Eleanore Whitney | Comedy | NULL | |||
| College Humor | 1933 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★ | 80 | College was never like this. Hokey, entertaining rah-rah musical with Bing a professor (!), Arlen and Oakie football stars; Carlisle and Kornman provide love interest. Songs: 'Learn to Croon,' 'Down the Old Ox Road,' among others. | tt0023900 | Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Richard Arlen, Mary Carlisle, Mary Kornman, Joe Sawyer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| College Rhythm | 1934 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 75 | Brash Oakie, All-American football player and 'cupid's gift to coeds,' finds himself unemployed and humbled upon graduation; however, you know he will get to redeem himself. Silly but enjoyable musical/comedy/romance with Mack Gordon-Harry Revel songs. Penner and his duck are even tolerable here. | tt0024993 | Jack Oakie, Joe Penner, Lanny Ross, Helen Mack, Lyda Roberti, Mary Brian, George Barbier, Franklin Pangborn, Dean Jagger | Musical | NULL | |||
| College Road Trip | 2008 | Roger Kumble | ★★½ | 83 | Officer Porter (Lawrence) has planned out every single part of his daughter’s life, even deciding what college she’ll attend close to home. When she informs him that she’d like to apply to schools that are farther away, he organizes a road trip in hopes of changing her mind. Intertwining remarkable amounts of cheesiness with good-natured comedy, this film goes for all the obvious gags but suits the family audience for whom it was made. | tt0997047 | [G] | Martin Lawrence, Raven-Symoné, Donny Osmond, Brenda Song, Margo Harshman, Lucas Grabeel, Will Sasso, Josh Meyers, Molly Ephraim, Kym E. Whitley, Eshaya Draper, Arnetia Walker | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| College Scandal | 1935 | Elliott Nugent. | ★★ | 75 | Students turn amateur sleuths when murder strikes on campus. Lower-bracket cast fails to add pep to Paramount's seemingly unending series of '30s 'College' movies. Formula script manages to find time for a lightweight musical revue. Remade as SWEATER GIRL in 1942. | tt0026225 | Arline Judge, Kent Taylor, Wendy Barrie, William Frawley, Benny Baker, William Benedict, Mary Nash, Edward Nugent. | Comedy, Thriller, Musical | NULL | |||
| College Swing | 1938 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 86 | Gracie hasn't been able to graduate from school in this entertaining collegiate musicomedy with top cast, forgettable songs. Preston Sturges worked (uncredited) on the script. | tt0030002 | George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Edward Everett Horton, Florence George, Ben Blue, Betty Grable, John Payne, Robert Cummings, Jerry Colonna | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Collision Course | 1987 | Lewis Teague | ★★ | 96 | Cops Morita (from Japan) and Leno (from Detroit) link up on a case. Harmless, occasionally funny, instantly forgettable buddy-movie. Leno's only starring role to date. | tt0097081 | [PG] | Jay Leno, Pat Morita, Chris Sarandon, Ernie Hudson, John Hancock, Al Waxman, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Soon-Tek Oh | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Colonel Chabert | 1994 | Yves Angelou | ★★½ | 110 | Respectable costumer, adapted from a Balzac novel, about the belated return of an officer supposedly killed in the Napoleonic wars and the effect it has on his so-called widow (who's using his inheritance to boost husband no. 2's career). Well acted and well mounted, but the laundry put in extra starch; debuting director Angelou is the esteemed cinematographer of TOUT LES MATINS DU MONDE and UN COEUR EN HIVER. Julie Depardieu is the actor's daughter. | tt0109454 | Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Andre Dussollier, Fabrice Luchini, Daniel Prevost, Olivier Saladin, Claude Rich, Albert Delpy, Romane Bohringer, Julie Depardieu | French | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Colonel Effingham's Raid | 1945 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 70 | Entertaining little comedy of ex-officer Coburn fighting to save town's historical landmark; cast supports fair material. | tt0037607 | Charles Coburn, Joan Bennett, William Eythe, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Colonel Redl | 1985 | Istvan Szabo | ★★★ | 149 | Complex, fascinating account— inspired by John Osborne's A Patriot for Me as well as by actual historical evidence— of an ambitious, homosexual career soldier, whose ordinary family background does not hinder his rise to a position of high military rank in the Austro-Hungarian Empire prior to WW1. An incisive examination of the politics of power, highlighted by a superb Brandauer performance. Second in a trilogy, after MEPHISTO and followed by HANUSSEN. | tt0089716 | [R] | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Armin MullerStahl, Gudrun Landgrebe, Jan Niklas, Hans Christian Blech, Laszlo Mensaros, Andras Balint | German-Hungarian-Austrian | Drama | NULL | |
| Color Me Dead | D.O.A. II | 1969 | Eddie Davis | ★★ | 97 | Story of a slowly poisoned man spending his last days tracking down his own murderer was done better as D.O.A. in 1950. Aka D.O.A. II. | tt0064176 | [R] | Tom Tryon, Carolyn Jones, Rick Jason, Patricia Connolly, Tony Ward | U.S.-Australian | Thriller | NULL |
| Color Me Kubrick | 2007 | Brian Cook | ★★★ | 86 | Sardonically witty, fact-based account of Alan Conway (Malkovich, in a richly textured performance), a flamboyantly gay con artist who convinces ambitious wannabes in London that he is Stanley Kubrick, squeezing them for money, sex, and other favors. A lucid portrait of a deeply troubled personality and a rumination on the power of fame. Soundtrack effectively borrows from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE; the director and screenwriter (Anthony Frewin) are former Kubrick associates. Luc Besson coexecutive produced. Full title is COLOR ME KUBRICK: A TRUE...ISH STORY. | tt0376543 | John Malkovich, Jim Davidson, Richard E. Grant, Luke Mably, Marc Warren, Terence Rigby, James Dreyfus, Peter Bowles, Ayesha Dharker, Robert Powell, Leslie Phillips, Honor Blackman, William Hootkins, Marisa Berenson, Peter Sallis, Ken Russell. | French-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Color Purple | 1985 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★½ | 152 | A black girl's life and hard times in the South, spanning some 40 years: a sprawling saga of characters both frustrated and fulfilled, and at the center a Survivor. Spielberg's controversial interpretation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning book will either grab you emotionally (in which case you'll overlook its flaws) or leave you cold. Masterfully filmed from Menno Meyjes's script, with striking cinematography by Allen Daviau, moving music score by Quincy Jones (who also coproduced). Rich performances include screen debut for Winfrey. (Avery's singing was dubbed, by the way.) | tt0088939 | [PG-13] | Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Willard Pugh, Akosua Busia, Desreta Jackson, Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, Dana Ivey, Laurence Fishburne | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Color of Money | 1986 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★ | 119 | Sharply made, nicely textured sequel to THE HUSTLER, with Newman's Fast Eddie Felson finding a younger, greener version of himself in small-time pool hotshot Cruise, whom he decides to promote for another shot at the big time. Hardboiled script by Richard Price, flashy direction by Scorsese, flamboyant camerawork by Michael Ballhaus, and top-notch performances by Cruise and especially Newman make this a must-see . . . though film's second half is protracted and disappointing, with a hoped-for climax that never occurs. Newman finally picked up an Academy Award for his fine work here. | tt0090863 | [R] | Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro, Bill Cobbs, Robert Agins, Forest Whitaker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Color of Night | 1994 | Richard Rush | 💣 | 125 | Ludicrous thriller in which weirded-out therapist Willis (whose patient has just committed suicide before his eyes) heads to L.A. for a breather; he immediately finds himself immersed in a murder mystery, and involved with mysterious March. Much-publicized sex scenes aren't very sexy; this garnered hype for the editing of Willis' full frontal nudity to earn an R rating. Also on video in an 'R-rated director's cut,' with 17m. of extra footage, including more of Bruce-in-the-buff and some sexy scenes with Warren and March. Rush's first feature since THE STUNT MAN (1980). | tt0109456 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Jane March, Rubén Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, Scott Bakula, Brad Dourif, Lance Henriksen, Kevin J. O'Connor, Andrew Lowery, Eriq La Salle, Jeff Corey, Kathleen Wilhoite, Shirley Knight | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Color of Paradise | 1999 | Majid Majidi | ★★★½ | 88 | A blind eight-year-old Iranian student, who is deeply sensitive to nature, returns to his home in the heights of Northern Iran, where he must cope with a father who considers him a burden. Simple story, beautifully told, with writer-director Majidi eloquently conveying the young boy's harmony with the world around him. | tt0191043 | [PG] | Hossein Mahjub, Salime Feizi, Mohsen Ramezani, Elham Sharim, Farahnaz Safari, Mohammad Rahmaney | Iranian | Drama | NULL | |
| Colorado | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 54 | Undercover Union officer Rogers is sent to Colorado territory to quell secessionist unrest and finds his brother (Stone) at the bottom of the trouble. Well handled by director Kane, with notable work from Moore and Taliaferro. | tt0032346 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Pauline Moore, Milburn Stone, Maude Eburne, Arthur Loft, Hal Taliaferro, Vester Pegg. | Western | NULL | |||
| Colorado Sunset | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 65 | When Gene and Smiley mistakenly buy a milk-cow ranch, they are thrust into the middle of a dairy war as racketeers try to drive them out of business. Entertaining blend of action, comedy, and music, with songs 'I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart' and 'It Happened in Monterey.' | tt0031168 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Barbara Pepper, Buster Crabbe, Robert Barrat, Patsy Montana, The Texas Rangers, Purnell Pratt, William Farnum, Kermit Maynard, Elmo Lincoln. | Western | NULL | |||
| Colorado Territory | 1949 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 94 | Strong, fast-moving Western with McCrea an outlaw on the lam; remake of director Walsh's HIGH SIERRA, later remade as I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041253 | Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Dorothy Malone, Henry Hull, John Archer, Frank Puglia | Western | NULL | |||
| Colors | 1988 | Dennis Hopper | ★★★ | 120 | Penn and Duvall are well matched as street cops assigned to gang detail in L.A. Their conflicts and experiences play out against the backdrop of nihilistic gang life in this realistic if unexceptional slice of life. Only serious flaw: unbelievable and unnecessary subplot with female lead Alonso. Hopper's 127m. version, altered by the theatrical distributor, is available on video. | tt0094894 | [R] | Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks, Grand Bush, Don Cheadle, Rudy Ramos, Trinidad Silva, Damon Wayans, Glenn Plummer | Crime, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Colors Straight Up | 1998 | Michele Ohayon | ★★★ | 95 | Heartfelt, powerful documentary about an L.A. inner-city after-school drama program that gives at-risk Black and Latino teens a chance to strut their stuff onstage. Simply and beautifully done, with some truly amazing young subjects at its center. One teacher tells the group they must learn to 'function in disaster and finish with style,' and they do exactly that. Guaranteed to move you to tears. | tt0126249 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Colossus of New York | 1958 | Eugène Lourié | ★★ | 70 | Doctor implants dead son's brain into oversized robot with predictable chaos. Inspired by the ancient Golem legend; eerie piano score. | tt0051484 | John Baragrey, Mala Powers, Otto Kruger, Robert Hutton, Ross Martin | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Colossus of Rhodes | 1960 | Sergio Leone | ★★½ | 128 | Big-budget sword-and-sandal spectacular about a slave revolt against the corrupt leaders of ancient Rhodes. Though Calhoun looks mighty uncomfortable in a toga and the dubbing is poor, Leone's directorial debut is notable for some well-staged battle scenes and impressive sets, including the title edifice. | tt0054756 | Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, Georges Marchal, Conrado Sanmartin, Angel Aranda, Mabel Karr | Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Colossus: The Forbin Project | The Forbin Project | 1970 | Joseph Sargent | ★★★ | 100 | Well-directed suspense thriller. Computer runs amok and uses its superior intelligence to sabotage man at every turn. Chilling and believable. Aka THE FORBIN PROJECT. | tt0064177 | Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, William Schallert | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Colt .45 | Thundercloud | 1950 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 74 | The renowned title gun is star of this sometimes action-filled Western. Retitled: THUNDERCLOUD. | tt0042338 | Randolph Scott, Zachary Scott, Ruth Roman, Lloyd Bridges, Chief Thundercloud | Western | NULL | ||
| Colt Comrades | 1943 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 66 | Average Hopalong Cassidy yarn of cattle ranchers struggling against water rights monopoly. Novel by Bliss Lomax (Harry Sinclair Drago) adapted by Michael Wilson, who went on to bigger and better things. Strong cast, including producer Harry Sherman's daughter; exteriors lensed in scenic Lone Pine. | tt0035744 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, George Reeves, Gayle Lord (Teddi Sherman), Victor Jory, Bob (Robert) Mitchum. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Columbiana | 2011 | Olivier Megaton | ★★½ | 111 | Young girl grows up to be a take-no-prisoners kickass assassin in Bogota after a rough childhood in which she witnessed the murder of both of her parents. Although he didn't direct, this lightning-paced action film has cowriter and producer Luc Besson's stamp all over it. It doesn't cover any new ground but the girl's backstory gives some emotional heft to what is essentially a female version of a BOURNE movie. Saldana and Stenberg, as her younger 10-year-old self, are both up to the task and make this a fun, if inconsequential, ride. | tt1657507 | [PG-13] | Zoë Saldana, Jordi Molla, Lennie James, Amandla Stenberg, Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Callum Blue, Cyntria Addat Robinson, Jesse Borrego | U.S.-French | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Column South | 1953 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 85 | OK mixture of Civil War and Indian fighting, as Union officer Murphy champions underdog Indians to prevent hostilities. | tt0045637 | Audie Murphy, Joan Evans, Robert Sterling, Ray Collins | Western | NULL | |||
| Coma | 1978 | Michael Crichton | ★★★ | 113 | Someone is killing and stealing patients from a big-city hospital, and a woman doctor bucks male superiors to pursue her suspicions. Bujold and Widmark are well-matched adversaries in original suspenser that combines best of hospital pictures and mystery thrillers; scripted by director Crichton from Robin Cook's novel. Look for Tom Selleck as Murphy, Ed Harris as a pathology resident. | tt0077355 | [PG] | Geneviève Bujold, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, Rip Torn, Richard Widmark, Lance LeGault, Lois Chiles | Thriller, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Comanche | 1956 | George Sherman | ★★ | 87 | Andrews is staunch as Indian scout seeking to patch Indian-cavalry hostilities in this pat Western. | tt0049086 | Dana Andrews, Kent Smith, Linda Cristal, Nestor Paiva, Henry Brandon | Western | NULL | |||
| Comanche Station | 1960 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 74 | Scott rescues a woman from Indian capture, then runs into an old nemesis who wants to turn her in himself— for a fat reward. Typically interesting Boetticher/Scott Western, with a Burt Kennedy script. | tt0053729 | Randolph Scott, Nancy Gates, Claude Akins, Skip Homeier, Richard Rust, Rand Brooks | Western | NULL | |||
| Comanche Territory | 1950 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 76 | So-so Western in which Jim Bowie (Carey) tangles with fiery bar owner O'Hara as he aids the Comanches, whose treaty with the U.S. government is about to expire. | tt0042339 | Maureen O'Hara, Macdonald Carey, Will Geer, Charles Drake, Pedro de Cordoba, James Best | Western | NULL | |||
| The Comancheros | 1961 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 107 | Well-paced actioner with Duke a Texas Ranger out to bring in gang supplying liquor and firearms to the Comanches. Curtiz' last film. | tt0054757 | John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Lee Marvin, Ina Balin, Bruce Cabot, Nehemiah Persoff | Action, Western, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Combat Squad | 1953 | Cy Roth. | ★½ | 72 | Weak study of platoon led by Sgt. Ireland during the Korean War. | tt0045638 | John Ireland, Lon McAllister, Hal March, Tris Coffin, George E. Stone, Norman Leavitt, Myron Healey, Don Haggerty. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Combination Platter | 1993 | Tony Chan | ★★★ | 84 | A young illegal immigrant from Hong Kong (Lau) toils in a Queens, N.Y., Chinese restaurant, and covets U.S. citizenship— but learns that this may mean having to marry an American, the thought of which staggers him. Hong Kong-born director-cowriter Chan, himself an immigrant, knowingly captures the experience of the foreigner in America. This marks the 23-year-old's directing debut. | tt0106590 | Jeff Lau, Colleen O'Brien, Lester (Chit-Man) Chan, Colin Mitchell, Kenneth Lu | Drama | NULL | |||
| Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean | 1982 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 110 | Girlfriends hold 20-year reunion of a James Dean fan club they formed when he was filming GIANT in a nearby Texas town; the get-together becomes an occasion for personal and painful revelations. Strong performances, and Altman's lively approach to filming Ed Graczyk's Broadway play, can't completely hide the fact that this is second-rate material. Cher's first film since CHASTITY in 1969. | tt0083745 | [PG] | Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Sudie Bond, Kathy Bates, Marta Heflin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Come Back, Charleston Blue | 1972 | Mark Warren | ★★ | 100 | Further adventures of Gravedigger and Coffin on their Harlem police beat. Loads of violence, no comedy; not nearly as good as original, COTTON COMES TO HARLEM. Fine Donny Hathaway score. | tt0068403 | [PG] | Raymond St. Jacques, Godfrey Cambridge, Jonelle Allen, Adam Wade, Peter DeAnda | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Come Back, Little Sheba | 1952 | Daniel Mann | ★★★½ | 99 | William Inge play is emotional tour de force for Booth (who won an Oscar recreating her Tony Award-winning stage role) as slovenly housewife coping with drunken ex-chiropractor husband (Lancaster) and boarder Moore, whose curiosity about her landlords sets drama in motion. Screenplay by Ketti Frings. | tt0044509 | Burt Lancaster, Shirley Booth, Terry Moore, Richard Jaeckel, Philip Ober | Drama | NULL | |||
| Come Blow Your Horn | 1963 | Bud Yorkin | ★★★ | 112 | Sinatra is good as a free-swinging bachelor with wall-to-wall girls and a nagging father (Cobb). He also sings the title song, and teaches kid brother (Bill) the ropes. From Neil Simon play. | tt0056940 | Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb, Molly Picon, Barbara Rush, Jill St. John, Tony Bill | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Come Dance With Me! | Do You Want to Dance With Me? | 1959 | Michel Boisrond | ★★½ | 91 | Sometimes amusing mystery-comedy with Bardot a pert dentist's wife who plays detective when her husband is suspected of murder. Video title: DO YOU WANT TO DANCE WITH ME? | tt0053428 | Brigitte Bardot, Henri Vidal, Dawn Addams, Noel Roquevert, Dario Moreno, Philippe Nicaud, Serge Gainsbourg | French | Mystery | NULL | |
| Come Early Morning | 2006 | Joey Lauren Adams | ★★★ | 97 | Judd shines as an established contractor who boozes it up and parties at night until she finally hooks up with a down-home Arkansas guy who sees her as more than a one-night stand. Perfectly cast star knowingly embodies this lost Southern woman. First feature written and directed by actress Adams is independent to its core and filled with character insight. | tt0457308 | [R] | Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Donovan, Laura Prepon, Diane Ladd, Scott Wilson, Stacy Keach, Pat Corley, Ray McKinnon, Tim Blake Nelson | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Come Fill the Cup | 1951 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 113 | Cagney is quite restrained as ex-newspaperman seeking to conquer alcoholism. Fine performance by Gleason as helpful ex-drunk and by Young as drunken playboy. | tt0043424 | James Cagney, Phyllis Thaxter, Raymond Massey, James Gleason, Gig Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| Come Fly With Me | 1963 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 109 | Flighty fluff of three stewardesses trying to catch husbands, becoming involved with three men on a trans-Atlantic flight. Glossy, easy to take. | tt0056941 | Hugh O'Brian, Pamela Tiffin, Dolores Hart, Karl Boehm, Lois Nettleton, Karl Malden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Come Live With Me | 1941 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 86 | Charming romantic comedy with starving writer Stewart marrying Lamarr so she won't be deported. Strong supporting cast, with Reynolds fine as Stewart's grandmother. | tt0033477 | James Stewart, Hedy Lamarr, Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Donald Meek, Barton MacLane, Adeline de Walt Reynolds | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Come Next Spring | 1956 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★★ | 92 | Charming slice of Americana, set in 1920s Arkansas. Cochran walked out on his wife and kids nine years ago; now he returns, cold sober and determined to make good (and try to make up for his past transgressions). Appealing performances and a nice feel for the material distinguish this modest film, which Cochran also produced. | tt0049088 | Ann Sheridan, Steve Cochran, Walter Brennan, Sherry Jackson, Richard Eyer, Edgar Buchanan, Sonny Tufts, Mae Clarke, Roscoe Ates, James Best | Drama | NULL | |||
| Come On, Rangers | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 57 | Former Texas Rangers regroup to assist the U.S. cavalry in running down rampaging outlaws who have killed Roy's brother. Emphasis is on action, but Roy still takes time out for songs. | tt0030006 | Roy Rogers, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Raymond Hatton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Purnell Pratt, Harry Woods. | Western | NULL | |||
| Come See The Paradise | 1990 | Alan Parker | ★★ | 138 | Hotheaded union organizer Quaid falls in love with Tomita in L.A.'s Little Tokyo in the late 1930s; after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he is separated from his wife and family when they are sent to a Japanese internment camp. Curiously aloof and unmoving story fashioned around one of the bleaker chapters of American history; should have been much stronger. Written by director Parker. | tt0099291 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono, Shizuko Hoshi, Stan Egi, Ronald Yamamoto, Akemi Nishino, Naomi Nakano, Brady Tsurutani, Pruitt Taylor Vince | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Come September | 1961 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 112 | Frothy comedy about the younger generation (Darin and Dee) vs. the 'older' folks (Hudson and Lollobrigida) at an Italian villa. Good fun, with some dated Darin vocals. | tt0054759 | Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Walter Slezak, Joel Grey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Come Spy With Me | 1967 | Marshall Stone | ★½ | 85 | Except for those who want to tell their friends they actually saw a film called COME SPY WITH ME starring Troy Donahue, this secret-agent film about blond Dromm's attempts to solve murders of two Americans in the Caribbean isn't worth anyone's time. Smokey Robinson sings the title song. | tt0061498 | Troy Donahue, Andrea Dromm, Albert Dekker, Mart Hulswit, Valerie Allen, Dan Ferrone | Action | NULL | |||
| Come and Get It | Roaring Timber | 1936 | Howard Hawks, William Wyler | ★★★ | 99 | Arnold plays a self-made empire-builder who fights his way to the top in Wisconsin lumber business, sacrificing the one love of his life. Farmer has best screen showcase of her career, in dual role, as a saloon entertainer and (years later) her own daughter; Brennan won his first Best Supporting Actor Oscar playing Arnold's simple Swedish pal. Typically plotty, two-generation Edna Ferber saga. Reissued as ROARING TIMBER. | tt0027459 | Edward Arnold, Joel McCrea, Frances Farmer, Walter Brennan, Andrea Leeds, Frank Shields, Mady Christians, Mary Nash | Drama | NULL | ||
| Come and See | 1985 | Elem Klimov | ★★★½ | 142 | Thoroughly mesmerizing chronicle of the initiation of a young teen (impressively played by Kravchenko) into the horror and insanity of war, as the Nazis maraud through northwestern Russia in 1943. An extraordinary film about the need to maintain one's humanity and dignity no matter what the situation. Don't miss this one. | tt0091251 | Alexei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Lubomiras Lauciavicus | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Come out Fighting | 1945 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 62 |
The police commissioner asks the East Side Kids to toughen up his wimpy son in this grating entry. Last in the series before it was revamped and rechristened The Bowery Boys.|
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| Come to the Stable | 1949 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 94 | Young and Holm register well as French nuns living in New England, seeking aid from a variety of local characters in building a children's dispensary. Warm, sentimental comedy-drama. Story by Clare Boothe Luce. | tt0041257 | Loretta Young, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Elsa Lanchester, Regis Toomey, Mike Mazurki | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Come-On | 1956 | Russell Birdwell | ★★ | 83 | Baxter is dramatically fine as unscrupulous con woman involved with murder, but the story is hackneyed. | tt0049089 | Anne Baxter, Sterling Hayden, John Hoyt, Jesse White | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Comeback Trail | 1974 | Harry Hurwitz (Tampa) | ★½ | 80 | Two-bit movie czar McCann stars faded cowboy hero Crabbe in a film, hoping the resulting disaster will salvage his studio. Dismal comedy, with occasional film buff in-jokes, and guest appearances by Henny Youngman, Irwin Corey, Hugh Hefner, Joe Franklin, and Monte Rock III. Never released theatrically. | tt0083748 | Chuck McCann, Buster Crabbe, Robert Staats, Ina Balin, Jara Kahout | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Comeback | Encore | 1978 | Pete Walker | 💣 | 100 | Gruesome story of American singer trying for show-biz comeback in England, drawn instead into a chain of gory murders. Aka THE DAY THE SCREAMING STOPPED and ENCORE (1978). | tt0077357 | Jack Jones, Pamela Stephenson, David Doyle, Bill Owen, Sheila Keith, Richard Johnson | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Comebacks | 2007 | Tom Brady | 💣 | 84 | Lame genre satire takes aim at an easy target–inspirational sports dramas such as RUDY, MIRACLE, REMEMBER THE TITANS, etc.—and repeatedly shoots itself in the foot. Slight plot involving a chronically unsuccessful coach (Koechner) and his hapless college football team exists only as an excuse for a fusillade of AIRPLANE!-style allusions to other movies. Really, there's no excuse for this fiasco. Various comics and sports figures appear in cameos. | tt0790804 | [PG-13] | David Koechner, Carl Weathers, Melora Hardin, Matthew Lawrence, Brooke Nevin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Comedian | 2002 | Christian Charles | ★★★½ | 81 | Jerry Seinfeld has a camera crew follow him during his return to comedy clubs as he tries to build an all-new act. His craftsmanship and confidence are contrasted with the desperation of an up-and-comer named Orny Adams. Seinfeld talks shop with Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, and Bill Cosby in this revealing look at the world of stand-up comedy. | tt0328962 | [R] | Jerry Seinfeld | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Comedians | 1967 | Peter Glenville | ★★½ | 148 | Excellent cast in uninspired adaptation of Graham Greene's novel about political intrigue in Haiti, although film is more interesting today, since the departure of Duvalier. Beware 130m. prints. | tt0061502 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Paul Ford, Lillian Gish, Raymond St. Jacques, Zakes Mokae, Roscoe Lee Browne, Gloria Foster, Georg Stanford Brown, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Comedy of Innocence | 2001 | Raoul Ruiz | ★★½ | 99 | How will Huppert respond when, on his birthday, her young son informs her that his mother is actually someone else, a woman whose little boy died two years earlier? Eerie psychological drama draws you in and keeps you guessing, but leaves too many questions unanswered. | tt0254325 | Isabelle Huppert, Jeanne Balibar, Charles Berling, Edith Scob, Nils Hugon, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Comedy of Power | 2006 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 110 | Huppert shines as an obsessive, highly principled investigative magistrate (whose surname, appropriately, is 'Killman') who is determined to topple a gaggle of crooked, high-living politicians and corporate executives. At once a subtle, incisive character study, an exploration of women, men, and power, and the pervasiveness of corruption in high places. Loosely based on one such magistrate's real-life investigation of a scandal-ridden French gas company in the 1990s. | tt0463486 | Isabelle Huppert, François Berléand, Patrick Bruel, Maryline Canto, Thomas Chabrol, Jean-François Balmer, Pierre Vernier | German-French | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Comedy of Terrors | 1963 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 84 | Medium horror spoof with undertaker Price trying to hasten customers' demise, 'helped' by bumbling assistant Lorre. Great cast; Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay. | tt0056943 | Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Joe E. Brown, Joyce Jameson | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Comes a Horseman | 1978 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★½ | 118 | Starkly simple Western story (set in 1940s) about rival ranch owners whose roots are in the land. Low-key to the point of catatonia, but offers some beautiful tableaux and moving scenes. | tt0077360 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, James Caan, Jason Robards, George Grizzard, Richard Farnsworth, Jim Davis, Mark Harmon | Drama, Western, Romance | NULL | ||
| Comet Over Broadway | 1938 | Busby Berkeley | ★½ | 69 | Sappy, dated soap opera tells risible story of stage star Francis and the tragedy caused by her burning ambition. Not even a musical number to save it. | tt0030007 | Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, John Litel, Donald Crisp, Minna Gombell, Melville Cooper | Romance | NULL | |||
| Comfort and Joy | 1984 | Bill Forsyth | ★★★ | 105 | Another quirky comedy from writer-director Forsyth (GREGORY'S GIRL, LOCAL HERO), though this one isn't as potent or consistent. Paterson plays a popular Scottish disc jockey who's going through some difficult changes in his personal life, then finds himself caught between two underworld families fighting for territorial rights to ice-cream vans! Entertaining and offbeat, though never as on-target as one might like it to be; Paterson is a delight. | tt0087072 | [PG] | Bill Paterson, Eleanor David, C. P. Grogan, Alex Norton, Patrick Malahide, Rikki Fulton, Roberto Bernardi | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Comfort of Strangers | 1991 | Paul Schrader | ★½ | 105 | Unmarried couple is befriended by a mysterious local while vacationing in Venice. Shaggy-dog lead-up to an 'oh, come on' finale. As murky as canal sewage, offering sharply contrasting male acting styles: Everett is a posturing male mannequin, while Walken is a titan of twitch. Screenplay by Harold Pinter, from Ian McEwan's novel. | tt0099292 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Natasha Richardson, Rupert Everett, Helen Mirren | Italian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Comic Book Confidential | 1989 | Ron Mann | ★★★ | 90 | Good introduction to the genuine art to be found in comic books, featuring interviews with many of the top talents of yesterday and today. Marred by too much effort to be 'cinematic'; also demonstrates a bias against standard commercial comics. | tt0094897 | Robert Crumb, Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, William M. Gaines, Harvey Kurtzman, Stan Lee, Harvey Pekar, Lynda Barry, Frank Miller | U.S.-Canadian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Comic | 1969 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 94 | Sincere seriocomedy about a silent-movie clown with a destructive ego. Artificial trappings surround truthful portrait (a composite of several real comics) by Van Dyke. Best of all: vivid re-creations of silent comedies. Uneven; of interest mainly to film buffs. | tt0064179 | [M] | Dick Van Dyke, Michele Lee, Mickey Rooney, Cornel Wilde, Nina Wayne, Pert Kelton, Steve Allen, Carl Reiner, Jeannine Riley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope | 2012 | Morgan Spurlock | ★★½ | 87 | Breezy if insubstantial look at the annual San Diego Comic-Con, where thousands of fans and geeks gather with like-minded people every year. Famous folk (from Kevin Smith to Stan Lee) offer memories and observations, while Spurlock focuses on a veteran comic-book dealer trying to stay afloat, an aspiring costume designer, a fan who wants to propose to his girlfriend at the convention, and two aspiring comic-book artists who pin their hopes on that year's tribal gathering. | tt1605782 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Comin At Ya! | 1981 | Ferdinando Baldi | 💣 | 91 | 3-D spaghetti Western take-off features rats, bats, and blood, all hugged to death by the camera (and often in slow motion!). No redeeming sense of humor, either. It's films like this that killed 3-D the first time around. | tt0082193 | [R] | Tony Anthony, Gene Quintano, Victoria Abril, Ricardo Palacios, Gordon Lewis | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Comin' Round the Mountain | 1951 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 77 | Bud and Lou invade hillbilly country in this substandard comedy, with far too much footage of singing Shay. | tt0043425 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dorothy Shay, Kirby Grant, Joe Sawyer, Glenn Strange | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Coming Apart | 1969 | Milton Moses Ginsberg | ★½ | 110 | Fascinatingly bad drama about psychiatrist who sets up concealed movie camera in his apartment to record the messed-up lives of himself and women who visit him. Kirkland's most substantial screen role prior to ANNA in 1987. | tt0064180 | Rip Torn, Viveca Lindfors, Megan McCormick, Lois Markle, Sally Kirkland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Coming Home | 1978 | Hal Ashby | ★★★½ | 127 | Powerful look at the effect of Vietnam war on people at home. Fonda falls in love with paraplegic Voight while her husband (Dern) is overseas. Mature, gripping film, marred only by lapses into melodrama. Academy Awards went to Fonda, Voight, and writers Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones, and Nancy Dowd. | tt0077362 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Bruce Dern, Robert Carradine, Robert Ginty, Penelope Milford, David Clennon | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Coming Out Under Fire | 1994 | Arthur Dong | ★★★ | 71 | A tough ex-Marine, a WAC, a black, a heavily Dixie-toned Southerner, and a N.Y. Jew are among those who recall what it was like to be very, very quietly gay during WW2 and, in the most abjectly humiliating cases, to be mustered out of the service upon detection. A fresh and contemporary documentary despite recalling events that took place half a century earlier; in a clip from one of the era's official army sex education films, 1950s song-and-dance man Keefe Brasselle plays a G.I. with condoms on his mind. | tt0109462 | Narrated by Salome Jens | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Coming Soon | 2000 | Colette Burson | 💣 | 91 | Seniors in an exclusive N.Y.C. high school go to extremes to achieve orgasms from their less-than-adequate boyfriends. Touted as a female version of AMERICAN PIE; only differences are that this film isn't funny, its characters are despicable, and its script is pointless. | tt0150176 | [R] | Tricia Vessey, Gaby Hoffmann, Mia Farrow, Ryan O'Neal, Yasmine Bleeth, Spalding Gray, Peter Bogdanovich, Ashton Kutcher | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Coming Through | 1985 | Peter Barber-Fleming | ★★ | 80 | Static tale of young D. H. Lawrence (Branagh), and his relationship with Frieda von Richthofen (Mirren), awkwardly paralleled with present-day story of young man who completely misses the point of Lawrence's writing. Sorely lacking the author's own fire and intensity. | tt0088943 | Kenneth Branagh, Helen Mirren, Alison Steadman, Philip Martin Brown, Norman Rodway | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Coming Up Roses | 1986 | Stephen Bayly | ★★ | 93 | Whimsical Welsh-language comedy concerns a group of townsfolk who band together to save a local cinema by growing mushrooms in the darkness of the empty theatre. Cute, but lacks the wit and sharp ensemble acting of the hilarious British comedies of the 1940s and 1950s. | tt0090867 | [PG] | Dafydd Hywel, Iola Gregory, Olive Michael, Mari Emlyn | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Coming to America | 1988 | John Landis | ★★★ | 116 | Cute change-of-pace film for Murphy, as the genteel prince of an African royal family who wants to choose his own wife, and decides that he will find her in America. Old-fashioned romantic comedy peppered with director Landis' in-jokes (including an update of TRADING PLACES, in which Murphy starred) and some surprise cameos. Subsequent litigation awarded columnist Art Buchwald with original story credit. | tt0094898 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Madge Sinclair, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, Allison Dean, Eriq La Salle, Louie Anderson, Calvin Lockhart, Samuel L. Jackson, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Vanessa Bell (Calloway), Frankie Faison, Vondie Curtis-Hall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Coming-Out Party | 1961 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 100 | P.O.W. comedy with prisoner Baxter impersonating lookalike Nazi commandant to help peevish scientist Justice escape camp. Original title: VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. | tt0055593 | James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Eric Sykes, Richard Wattis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Command Decision | 1948 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 112 | Taut, engrossing adaptation of the William Wister Haines stage hit, with Gable a flight commander who knows that, to win the war, he must send his men on suicide missions over Germany. Intriguing look at behind-the-scenes politics of the U.S. war effort. Screenplay by William Laidlaw and George Froeschel. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040242 | Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Brian Donlevy, Charles Bickford, John Hodiak, Edward Arnold, Marshall Thompson, Richard Quine, Cameron Mitchell, John McIntire | War | NULL | |||
| The Command | 1954 | David Butler | ★★ | 88 | Madison unflinchingly copes with smallpox epidemic and rampaging Indians as he leads troops and civilians through Wyoming. Filmed (but not released) in 3-D. | tt0046865 | Guy Madison, Joan Weldon, James Whitmore, Carl Benton Reid | Western | NULL | |||
| Commandments | 1997 | Daniel Taplitz | ★★ | 86 | When a man's life hits rock bottom he decides to test the whole concept of spirituality by breaking each of the Ten Commandments. Uneven black comedy shifts in tone from light to dark, losing its meaning along the way. Quinn is effective, but this must have looked a lot better on paper. | tt0115927 | [R] | Aidan Quinn, Courteney Cox, Anthony LaPaglia, Louis Zorich, Pamela Gray, Pat McNamara, Tom Aldredge, Alice Drummond, Jack Gilpin | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Commando | 1985 | Mark L. Lester | ★★ | 88 | Exceptionally noisy comic-book yarn about retired special agent Schwarzenegger, who's forced to go back into action when vengeful goons kidnap his daughter. Film's sense of humor (courtesy scripter Steven E. de Souza) is largely obliterated by all the noise and mindless violence. | tt0088944 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, David Patrick Kelly, Alyssa Milano, James Olson, Bill Duke, Bill Paxton | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Commando Squad | 1987 | Fred Olen Ray | 💣 | 89 | Thompson and Shower (former Playboy Playmate of the Year) are government agents sent to Mexico to wipe out Smith's cocaine factory. Tiresome film features numerous screen veterans, including Marie Windsor and Russ Tamblyn. | tt0092769 | [R] | Brian Thompson, Kathy Shower, William Smith, Sid Haig, Ross Hagen, Robert Quarry, Mel Welles | Action | NULL | ||
| Commandos | 1968 | Armando Crispino | ★★ | 89 | Cliché-filled war drama with familiar plot; Italian commandos, led by a couple of stalwart Americans, must secure an important oasis in North African desert in advance of Allied landings. | tt0062819 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Jack Kelly, Giampiero Albertini, Marino Masé, Pierre Paulo Capponi, Duilio Del Prete | Italian-German | War | NULL | |
| Commandos Strike at Dawn | 1942 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 96 | Well-intentioned drama of Norwegian Muni aiding British commandos in attack on Nazis who have invaded Norway. Dated propaganda angle lessens impact today. | tt0035746 | Paul Muni, Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke, Robert Coote, Ray Collins, Rosemary DeCamp, Alexander Knox | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Commitments | 1991 | Alan Parker | ★★★½ | 117 | Enormously satisfying tale of an ambitious young Dubliner who takes on the challenge of assembling and managing a band made up of other working-class Dubliners who sing '60s-style soul music! Disarmingly engaging from the word go, with charismatic cast of unknowns; filled with irresistible music. A real treat. Written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, and Roddy Doyle; the first of Doyle's Barrytown trilogy, followed by THE SNAPPER and THE VAN. | tt0101605 | [R] | Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher, Félim Gormley, Glen Hansard, Dick Massey, Johnny Murphy, Kenneth McCluskey, Andrew Strong, Colm Meaney | British-Irish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Committed | 2000 | Lisa Krueger | ★★ | 98 | Young N.Y.C. club manager believes in commitment at work and in her marriage (though she's surrounded by slacker friends), so she's thrown for a loop when her husband (Wilson) bolts to 'find himself.' Graham is the whole show here, but she's stuck in a lightweight road-movie/culture-clash tale. If this is screwball romance for the new millennium, we're in trouble. | tt0144142 | [R] | Heather Graham, Casey Affleck, Luke Wilson, Goran Visnjic, Alfonso Arau, Patricia Velazquez, Mark Ruffalo, Clea DuVall, Summer Phoenix, Mary Kay Place, Art Alexakis, Jon Stewart, Dylan Baker, Carlin Glynn | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Common Law | 1931 | Paul L. Stein. | ★★ | 74 | McCrea falls in love with Bennett, but when he learns she has 'known' other men he sends her away. Will true love prevail? Tiresome soap opera is notable only for risqué pre-Code plot elements and an all-too-brief sequence at a huge Beaux Arts ball. | tt0021756 | Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Lew Cody, Robert Williams, Hedda Hopper. | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt | 1989 | Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | ★★★ | 75 | Compassionate documentary focusing on five individuals afflicted with AIDS: a former Olympic athlete, a retired U.S. Navy commander, an 11-year-old hemophiliac, a N.Y. writer and gay activist, and an I.V. drug user. Title refers to AIDS Memorial Quilt, consisting of thousands of panels, each dedicated to an AIDS victim. Produced by HBO; a worthy Best Documentary Academy Award winner. | tt0097099 | Narrated by Dustin Hoffman | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Communion | 1989 | Philippe Mora | ★★½ | 107 | Psychological thriller with Walken well cast as writer Whitley Strieber, who finds himself visited by strange creatures. Does he need a psychiatrist or an exorcist? A bit overlong, and the dramatic scenes between Walken and wife Crouse don't quite work, but still effectively scary while never gratuitously gory. Strieber adapted his own best-selling book, which he claims is true. | tt0097100 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Frances Sternhagen, Andreas Katsulas, Terri Hanauer, Joel Carlson, Basil Hoffman | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Companeros! | 1971 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★ | 105 | Swedish mercenary (Nero) seeks his fortune by running guns in revolution-racked Mexico at the turn of the century. Violent western fare. | tt0069548 | [R] | Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Jack Palance, Fernando Rey, Iris Berben, Karin Schubert | Italian-Spanish-German | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| Company Business | 1991 | Nicholas Meyer | ★½ | 98 | When a planned spy swap comes unglued, two aging agents (one CIA, one KGB) become unlikely allies as the old cold-war espionage rules they once lived by melt away. Interesting premise goes awry in this dumb spy comedy. | tt0101606 | [PG-13] | Gene Hackman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kurtwood Smith, Terry O'Quinn, Daniel Von Bargen, Oleg Rudnick, Geraldine Danon | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Company Man | 2001 | Peter Askin, Douglas McGrath | ★★ | 81 | With wife Weaver hungering for social prestige, 1950s high school English teacher/driving instructor McGrath bogusly tells her he's working for the CIA. One thing leads to another, and he actually is recruited by the Agency, eventually landing in the middle of the Bay of Pigs and Castro assassination attempts. Too smart for multiplex dunderheads, but also too silly and mild for savvier folks; affability and good-sport performances are about all it offers. Woody Allen (with whom McGrath wrote BULLETS OVER BROADWAY) appears unbilled. | tt0177650 | [PG-13] | Sigourney Weaver, Steven Banks, Douglas McGrath, John Turturro, Anthony LaPaglia, Ryan Phillippe, Alan Cumming, Denis Leary, Heather Matarazzo, Jeffrey Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Company Men | 2010 | John Wells | ★★★ | 113 | When a major Boston corporation starts downsizing, no one is safe. Hotshot sales exec Affleck, suddenly unemployed, can’t deal with his new reality, though his wife (DeWitt) is a pragmatist. Top-tier Jones, the CEO’s best friend, hates what’s happening around him, and may not be able to protect longtime colleague Cooper. Empathetic slice of modern American life from veteran TV producer-writer Wells, here making his feature directing debut; while it may not score an emotional bull’s-eye, it still has something valid to say about self-worth and self-respect. Costner is good in a supporting role as Affleck’s blue-collar brother-in-law. | tt1172991 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Craig T. Nelson, John Doman, Eamonn Walker, Patricia Kalember | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| The Company She Keeps | 1950 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 83 | Satisfactory tale of ex-con Greer, who's determined to go straight. She yearns for companionship and makes a play for O'Keefe, the boyfriend of her parole officer (Scott). Produced by John Houseman. Jeff Bridges' screen debut; he's the baby in Greer's arms. | tt0042340 | Lizabeth Scott, Jane Greer, Dennis O'Keefe, Fay Baker, John Hoyt, Don Beddoe | Drama | NULL | |||
| Company of Killers | The Hit Team | 1970 | Jerry Thorpe | ★★ | 88 | Gunman (Saxon) working for Murder, Inc. becomes target for his employers and big city police department after patrolman is shot down. Bites off more than it can chew. Video title: THE HIT TEAM. | tt0065564 | [G] | Van Johnson, Ray Milland, John Saxon, Brian Kelly, Fritz Weaver, Clu Gulager, Susan Oliver, Diana Lynn, Robert Middleton | Crime | NULL | |
| The Company of Wolves | 1984 | Neil Jordan | ★★ | 95 | Freudian, adult version of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' based on the premise that a wolf may not be what he seems. Intriguing idea mired in murky presentation, encompassing several different stories; strange, slow, and unsatisfying. | tt0087075 | [R] | Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Stephen Rea, Tusse Silberg, Sarah Patterson, Graham Crowden | British | Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Company | 2003 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 112 | Life behind the scenes during a season with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, focusing on one dedicated dancer (Campbell). Not so much a story as a low-key series of vignettes about the innumerable factors that go into maintaining a company, salving bruised egos, and surviving both on and offstage. The dance numbers are exhilarating and beautifully filmed; Campbell shines in a pas de deux set to 'My Funny Valentine.' Campbell coproduced and cowrote the story. | tt0335013 | [PG-13] | Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, James Franco, Barbara Robertson, William Dick, Susie Cusack | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Competition | 1980 | Joel Oliansky | ★★★ | 129 | Two young pianists, competing for the same prize, fall in love. Nothing much more than that, but smoothly done, with some excellent piano 'faking.' Screenwriter Oliansky's directing debut. | tt0080556 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving, Lee Remick, Sam Wanamaker, Joseph Cali, Ty Henderson, Priscilla Pointer, James B. Sikking | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Compromising Positions | 1985 | Frank Perry | ★★½ | 98 | Long Island housewife becomes fascinated with the murder of a local dentist who (it turns out) was also an incredible womanizer. When it sticks to black comedy, the film is sharp and funny, but its other elements (male chauvinism, mystery, romance) don't pan out. Ivey has scene-stealing role as Sarandon's acid-tongued best friend. Screenplay by Susan Isaacs, from her novel. | tt0088947 | [R] | Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, Edward Herrmann, Judith Ivey, Mary Beth Hurt, Joe Mantegna, Josh Mostel, Anne De Salvo, Joan Allen | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Compulsion | 1959 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★½ | 99 | Hard-hitting version of Leopold-Loeb thrill murder case of 1920s Chicago. Good characterizations, period decor, and well-edited courtroom scenes. Story also told in earlier ROPE and later SWOON. | tt0052700 | Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall, Martin Milner | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes | 1970 | Robert Butler | ★★ | 91 | The first of Disney's carbon-copy comedies with young Russell as the college whiz injected with a computer-brain, which poses threat to local gangster Romero. Standard slapstick. Followed by NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON'T. Remade as a TVM in 1995. | tt0065566 | [G] | Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, William Schallert, Alan Hewitt, Richard Bakalyan | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Comrade X | 1940 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 90 | NINOTCHKA-esque plot with American Gable warming up icy Russian Lamarr (a streetcar conductor). Synthetic romance tale never convinces; Bressart has great closing line, though. | tt0032349 | Clark Gable, Hedy Lamarr, Felix Bressart, Oscar Homolka, Eve Arden, Sig Ruman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Con Air | 1997 | Simon West | ★★ | 115 | Megastupid megamovie about a federal marshals' plane carrying a cargo of heinous criminals— and a handful of parolees, including Cage, who was unfairly imprisoned in the first place. Once the plane is aloft, the bad guys quickly foil security and take over. Good actors can only do so much with a script this dumb, and dozens of explosions and stunts don't make enough of a difference. | tt0118880 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Colm Meaney, Mykelti Williamson, Rachel Ticotin, Nick Chinlund, M. C. Gainey, Brendan Kelly, Danny Trejo, Dave Chappelle | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Con Artists | The Con Men | 1977 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★ | 87 | Con man Quinn, recently sprung from prison, and his protégé Celentano, try to outwit the deadly Capucine. THE STING it ain't. Aka BLUFF and THE SWITCH. | tt0076101 | Anthony Quinn, Corinne Clery, Capucine, Adriano Celentano | Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Conagher | 1991 | Reynaldo Villalobos | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Beautifully realized Louis L'Amour Western (adapted by Elliott and Ross, along with Jeffrey M. Meyer) with Sam a weathered cowpoke who stops off to help Katharine, the lonely frontier woman running a stagecoach waystop while waiting in vain for her husband to return from a cattle-buying expedition. And then the Indians attack. Poetic directing debut by ace cinematographer Villalobos. Made for cable. | tt0101609 | Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin, Billy Green Bush, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor, Dub Taylor, Daniel Quinn, Anndi McAfee | Western | NULL | |||
| Conan the Barbarian | 1982 | John Milius | ★★½ | 129 | The sword-wielding warrior seeks vengeance on the cult leader who enslaved him and massacred his village in this full-blooded (and bloody) adventure epic based on Robert E. Howard's pulp tales. Ron Cobb's spectacular production design and Basil Poledouris' vibrant score help make this superior to the many low-grade imitations it spawned. Written by Milius and Oliver Stone. Also shown at 115m. and 123m. Sequel: CONAN THE DESTROYER. | tt0082198 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sandahl Bergman, James Earl Jones, Gerry Lopez, Mako, Ben Davidson, Sven Ole Thorsen, Max von Sydow, Valerie Quennessen, Cassandra Gaviola, William Smith | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Conan the Barbarian | 2011 | Marcus Nispel | ★★½ | 112 | Raised by a fearless tribal leader, Conan seeks revenge on the rival who brought death and destruction to his father and community. While on his quest he meets a woman who is being hunted by the same evildoers for her "pure blood." New look at Robert E. Howard's pulp-fiction hero may not be intellectually stimulating but it's never dull, with great action scenes, visual effects, and two formidable villains: warlord Lang and McGowan, as his sorceress daughter. Extremely violent. | tt0816462 | [R] | Jason Momoa, Ron Perlman, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, Saïd Taghmaoui, Leo Howard, Bob Sapp, Nonso Anozie; narrated by Morgan Freeman | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Conan the Destroyer | 1984 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 103 | Lumbering attempt to pit Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age hero against very derivative special effects— leading to ridiculous climax. | tt0087078 | [PG] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Mako, Tracey Walter, Sarah Douglas, Olivia D'Abo | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Conceiving Ada | 1999 | Lynn Hershman Leeson | ★★ | 85 | Clichéd fantasy that contrasts the lives of Emmy (Faridany), a contemporary computer genius, and Ada Byron King (Swinton), the daughter of Lord Byron, who in the mid-19th century helped conceive the Analytic Engine, the forerunner of the computer. Using some digital instruments she has invented, Emmy reconstructs Ada's life and determines to communicate with her. Premise is intriguing, but result is obvious and far too preachy. | tt0118882 | Tilda Swinton, Timothy Leary, Karen Black, Francesca Faridany, John O'Keefe, J. D. Wolfe | Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Concert | 2009 | Radu Mihaileanu | ★★ | 119 | Entertaining, if shamelessly manipulative, story of a once-great, now-disgraced Russian orchestra conductor who gets a one-in-a-million chance to redeem himself and reunite his former musicians for a concert in Paris. Outlandish story veers toward farce but still pushes the right emotional buttons, especially when the music takes over. | tt1320082 | [PG-13] | Alexeï Guskov, Dmitri Nazarov, Mélanie Laurent, François Berléand, Miou-Miou, Valieri Barinov, Lionel Abelanski, Laurent Bateau | French-Romanian-Belgian-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Concorde: Airport '79 | Airport '79 | 1979 | David Lowell Rich | 💣 | 123 | Wagner is a brilliant scientist, Kennedy and Andersson make love by the fire, Davidson's hair stays in place when the plane turns upside down, and McCambridge is a Russian gymnastics coach. Thank goodness Charo is around for credibility. Aka AIRPORT '79. Nineteen minutes of footage was added for network TV. | tt0078740 | [PG] | Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, Sylvia Kristel, George Kennedy, Eddie Albert, Bibi Andersson, John Davidson, Andrea Marcovicci, Martha Raye, Cicely Tyson, Jimmie Walker, David Warner, Mercedes McCambridge | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Concrete Jungle | 1960 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 86 | Baker shines in this intense, stunningly directed account of a criminal who must contend with jailer Magee and, most tellingly, hood Wanamaker (with whom he robs a racetrack). More than just a crime drama, it's a story of how greed and lust for money can result in alienation and the destruction of the spirit. Original title: THE CRIMINAL, released at 97m. | tt0053740 | Stanley Baker, Margit Saad, Sam Wanamaker, Gregoire Aslan, Jill Bennett, Laurence Naismith, Edward Judd, Patrick Magee | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Concrete Jungle | 1982 | Tom DeSimone | ★½ | 99 | Bregman's heel boyfriend gets her wrongly busted for drugs, leading to standard women's prison melodrama with St. John the kind of movie warden who is given glasses to show how uptight she is. Luna's performance as a hard-bitten prison vet is a cut above the others'. Followed by CHAINED HEAT. | tt0083755 | [R] | Jill St. John, Tracy Bregman, Barbara Luna, Peter Brown, Aimee Eccles, Nita Talbot, Sondra Currie | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Condemned | 1929 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★ | 86 | Suave thief Colman is sent to Devil's Island, where he becomes romantically involved with the wife of sadistic warden Digges. Stiff early-talkie melodrama, which attempts to depict social evils of the infamous penal colony. Scripted by Sidney Howard. | tt0019785 | Ronald Colman, Ann Harding, Louis Wolheim, Dudley Digges, William Elmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Condemned Women | 1938 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 77 | Blunt little women-in-prison drama, a precursor of CAGED, with embittered prisoner Eilers becoming romantically linked to penitentiary psychiatrist Hayward. There's a ruthless matron, a naive inmate who's taken the rap for her boyfriend, a prison break. . . | tt0030010 | Louis Hayward, Anne Shirley, Sally Eilers, Esther Dale, Lee Patrick, Leona Roberts, George Irving | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Condemned of Altona | 1962 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★½ | 114 | Sluggish pseudo-intellectual version of Jean-Paul Sartre play about post-WW2 Germany involving dying magnate (March), his two sons— one a playboy (Wagner) with an actress wife (Loren); the other an insane Nazi war criminal (Schell). | tt0056468 | Sophia Loren, Fredric March, Robert Wagner, Maximilian Schell, Françoise Prevost | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Condemned to Live | 1935 | Frank R. Strayer. | ★½ | 67 | A series of vampirelike murders has plagued a quiet European village. Surely it can't have anything to do with the saintlike Professor Kristan (Morgan) or his hunchbacked assistant (Auer)? Romantic elements complicate slow-moving story. Achingly sincere Poverty Row horror film was shot on familiar Universal sets and in Bronson Caverns. | tt0026230 | Ralph Morgan, Maxine Doyle, Pedro de Cordoba, Mischa Auer, Russell Gleason, Lucy Beaumont. | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Condemned | 2007 | Scott Wiper | 💣 | 113 | Wealthy, ruthless producer creates an illegal Internet reality show in which ten death-row convicts are attached to bombs, put on an island, and ordered to kill each other. Reprehensible exploitation film disguised as a morality tale, it titillates its audience with a constant stream of brutal violence, then attacks people who find violence entertaining and turn it into a commodity. Sanctimonious moralizing is ironic coming from World Wrestling Entertainment, which produced the film as a vehicle for its star, Stone Cold Steve Austin. | tt0443473 | [R] | Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone, Victoria Mussett, Rick Hoffman. | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Condition Red | 1995 | Mika Kaurismaki | ★★ | 86 | Grittily realistic but ever-so-obvious thriller in which alienated, deeply troubled prison guard Russo becomes involved in a volatile sexual relationship with tough convict Williams, a singer doing jail time to protect her slimy boyfriend. Too many lapses in logic, though the performances are fine. | tt0112712 | [R] | James Russo, Cynda Williams, Paul Calderon, Victor Argo, Dierdre Lewis | U.S.-Finnish | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Condorman | 1981 | Charles Jarrott | ★★ | 90 | Cartoonist Crawford is transformed into Condorman, a comic book superhero who assists Soviet spy Carrera in her efforts to defect. Silly Disney film for only the most undiscriminating children. | tt0082199 | [PG] | Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed, James Hampton, Barbara Carrera, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Dana Elcar | British | Family, Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| Conduct Unbecoming | 1975 | Michael Anderson | ★★½ | 107 | Quaintly old-fashioned drama of honor and outrage among the Bengal Lancers, where an officer's widow (York) is sexually attacked. Too stuffy to be fun, yet too modern in other ways to be an antique; star performances are saving grace. | tt0072812 | [PG] | Michael York, Richard Attenborough, Trevor Howard, Stacy Keach, Susannah York, Christopher Plummer | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Coneheads | 1993 | Steve Barron | ★★★ | 88 | Unexpectedly benign (and good-natured) comedy based on the 1970s Saturday Night Live skits. The Coneheads (from the planet Remulak) land on earth in a botched mission and, to their own surprise, adapt to middle-class suburban life. A most enjoyable family film that combines silliness with some sly and unexpected gags. Amusing cameos by a gaggle of past and present SNL cast members. Watch for Drew Carey in a taxi. Aykroyd also cowrote the film. | tt0106598 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Michelle Burke, Michael McKean, Jason Alexander, Lisa Jane Persky, Chris Farley, David Spade, Phil Hartman, Dave Thomas, Sinbad, Jan Hooks, Michael Richards, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Adam Sandler, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Tim Meadows, Julia Sweeney, Ellen DeGeneres, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Coney Island | 1943 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 96 | Breezy, enjoyable turn-of-the-century musical of saloon entertainer Grable turned into famous musical star by hustling Montgomery. Remade with Grable seven years later as WABASH AVENUE. | tt0035749 | Betty Grable, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Matt Briggs | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Confess, Dr. Corda | 1958 | Josef von Báky. | ★★ | 81 | Tedious handling of story of Kruger circumstantially involved in death of his mistress, with his attempt to prove innocence at trial. | tt0051652 | Hardy Kruger, Elisabeth Mueller, Lucie Mannheim, Hans Nielsen. | German | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Confession | 1937 | Joe May | ★★★ | 86 | Extremely stylish, well-acted soap opera in the MADAME X vein, with singer Francis recounting events leading up to her murder of oily Rathbone. Visually arresting, this looks more like a 1920s German film than a late 1930s Hollywood product; in fact, director May was a German émigré. Based very closely on the 1935 German film MAZURKA (which starred Pola Negri). | tt0028737 | Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan, Dorothy Peterson, Laura Hope Crews, Veda Ann Borg, Robert Barrat | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Confession | 1970 | Costa-Gavras | ★★½ | 138 | True story of Czechoslovakian Communist Arthur London and his unjustified 1951 purge trial for treason; interesting tale well acted by Montand, but film is as talky and overrated as many of Costa-Gavras' other efforts. | tt0065439 | [PG] | Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Gabriele Ferzetti, Michel Vitold, Jean Bouise | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Confessions of Boston Blackie | 1941 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 65 | Delightful second entry in the series finds Blackie, trying to smash a murderous art forgery racket, being chased by the killers as well as the relentless Inspector Farraday. George E. Stone joins the cast as Blackie's sidekick 'Runt' (replacing Charles Wagenheim), providing ample comic relief. | tt0033484 | Chester Morris, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Richard Lane, George E. Stone, Lloyd Corrigan, Joan Woodbury, Walter Sande | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Confessions of Felix Krull | 1958 | Kurt Hoffman. | ★★½ | 107 | Waggish chronicle of charming rascal Buchholz rising in rank as Parisian hotel employee; based on Thomas Mann novel. | tt0050179 | Horst Buchholz, Lilo Pulver, Ingrid Andree, Susi Nicoletti. | German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Confessions of Tom Harris | Childish Things | 1972 | John Derek, David Nelson | ★★ | 98 | Offbeat, gritty study of a corrupt, amoral prizefighter, played by Murray, who also produced and wrote the story. Derek also photographed it. Filmed in 1966. First released in 1969 as CHILDISH THINGS. | tt0068407 | [PG] | Don Murray, Linda Evans, David Brian, Gary Clarke, Logan Ramsey | Drama | NULL | |
| Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | 2002 | George Clooney | ★★★ | 113 | Odd but entertaining adaptation of game-show maven Chuck Barris' believe-it-or-don't autobiography in which he claims he was a CIA assassin. Bold mix of love story, period piece, black comedy, psychological drama, and thriller (by writer Charlie Kaufman) is not seamless, nor does it necessarily add up to anything of substance, but first-time helmer Clooney handles it with style, and Rockwell is terrific as Barris. Real-life Barris colleagues like Dick Clark and Gene Gene the Dancing Machine appear, as do a couple of movie stars in funny cameos. | tt0290538 | [R] | Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kristen Wilson, Jennifer Hall | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Confessions of a Nazi Spy | 1939 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 102 | Fast-paced but obvious drama of FBI agent Robinson investigating vast Nazi spy ring operating in the U.S. Of interest mainly as a reflection of its era; Lukas, as a German-American Bund leader, clearly patterns his mannerisms and speeches on those of Hitler. | tt0031173 | Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, Henry O'Neill, James Stephenson, Sig Rumann, Dorothy Tree, Lya Lys, Joe Sawyer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Confessions of a Shopaholic | 2009 | P. J. Hogan | ★★ | 104 | Manhattanite Fisher is addicted to shopping in spite of her meager income, fending off creditors with a nonstop series of lies. Then she stumbles into a job working for—of all things—a financial magazine, edited by dishy Dancy. Fisher is cute but this frantic, poorly written film makes her such a scatterbrain that it’s difficult to root for her. Based on two of the best-selling novels by Sophie Kinsella. Fleeting appearance by Redgrave implies that there was yet another subplot trimmed from the film. | tt1093908 | [PG] | Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Fred Armisen, Leslie Bibb, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Stanton, Julie Hagerty, Nick Cornish, Clea Lewis, Wendie Malick, John Salley, Christine Ebersole | Romance | NULL | ||
| Confessions of a Sorority Girl | 1994 | Uli Edel | Above Average TV Movie | 83 | 1958: Gorgeous but troubled Sabrina arrives at a new college determined to make herself queen of her sorority, whatever it takes. Exceptional example of this kind of thing, with good acting and direction, and an enjoyably bold use of color. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries based on old American-International pictures, this a remake of SORORITY GIRL (1957). | tt0106600 | Jamie Luner, Alyssa Milano, Brian Bloom, Sadie Kratzig, Natalija Nogulich, Peter Simmons, Danni Wheeler, David Brisbin, Lorinne Dills-Vozoff, Judson Mills | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen | 2004 | Sara Sugarman | ★★½ | 96 | Self-styled drama queen Lohan suffers the ignominy of moving with her mom and two sisters from Manhattan to New Jersey, where she immediately finds a soul mate (Pill) and also runs afoul of the class snob. The promise of seeing her rock idol in his farewell concert propels the rest of the story, based on Dyan Sheldon's popular book. Innocuous Disney teen comedy; parents will enjoy Kane's funny performance as a schoolteacher. | tt0361467 | [PG] | Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headly, Alison Pill, Carol Kane, Eli Marienthal, Megan Fox, Sheila McCarthy | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Confessions of a Window Cleaner | 1974 | Val Guest. | ★★ | 90 | British sex farce about voyeuristic window cleaner was dated when it came out; too obvious to be terribly funny. Followed by other CONFESSIONS films. | tt0071357 | [R] | Robin Askwith, Anthony Booth, Linda Hayden, Bill Maynard, Dandy Nichols. | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Confessions of an Opium Eater | Souls for Sale | 1962 | Albert Zugsmith | ★½ | 85 | Bizarre low-budgeter. Price is hammy in tale of slave girls brought to San Francisco and the adventurer who aids them. Retitled: SOULS FOR SALE. | tt0055864 | Vincent Price, Linda Ho, Richard Loo, June Kim, Philip Ahn, Victor Sen Yung | Drama | NULL | ||
| Confetti | 2006 | Debbie Isitt | ★★ | 100 | Reality TV morphs into a big-screen affair when three couples compete in a magazine contest for the wedding of the year. Mockumentary follows all three scenarios as pairs of nudists, tennis players, and musical-comedy enthusiasts express themselves just as you'd expect on their big day. Wants to be another BEST IN SHOW but doesn't have the comic chops, just elaborate setups and a few funny bits. Despite a talented cast it's as disposable as the product that inspired its title. | tt0427089 | [R] | Jimmy Carr, Olivia Colman, Vincent Franklin, Martin Freeman, Felicity Montagu, Jessica Stevenson, Robert Webb, Jason Watkins, Sarah Hadland, Julia Davis | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Confidence | 1979 | Istvan Szabo | ★★★½ | 117 | Bansagi and Andorai, each separately married, fall in love while posing as husband and wife to elude the Germans during WW2. Striking, involving tale of trust and survival. | tt0078868 | Ildiko Bansagi, Peter Andorai, O. Gombik, Karoly Csaki, Ildiko Kishonti | Hungarian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Confidence | 2003 | James Foley | ★★ | 98 | A cocky con man and his team are obliged to work for slimy crime lord Hoffman, while federal agent Garcia tails them at every turn. Strong cast in a disappointing yarn that's never as suspenseful, surprising, or satisfying as it ought to be. What's more, Burns' character is utterly unlikable. Foley uses every visual trick he can to maintain interest. | tt0310910 | [R] | Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, Luis Guzman, Donal Logue, Morris Chestnut, Robert Forster, Brian Van Holt | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Confidence Girl | 1952 | Andrew L. Stone. | ★★½ | 81 | Brooke capably portrays title character, hooking up with slick swindler Conway for a series of clever scams in L.A. that baffle the cops. But she has a change of heart while posing as a mind reader in a nightclub. Absorbing second feature is given a big plus by Stone's use of authentic locales and William Clothier's top-notch camerawork. | tt0044513 | Hillary Brooke, Tom Conway, Eddie Marr, Dan Riss, Jack Kruschen, John Gallaudet, Aline Towne. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Confidential | 1935 | Edward L. Cahn. | ★★½ | 67 | Fast-moving gangster programmer with G-man Cook going undercover to bust open a crime syndicate. Knapp is a sassy blonde; Hymer a dumb lug with Brooklyn accent; Naish a cold-blooded killer. Good fun. | tt0026231 | Donald Cook, Evalyn Knapp, Warren Hymer, J. Carrol Naish, Herbert Rawlinson, Theodore von Eltz, Morgan Wallace, Kane Richmond, Reed Howes. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Confidential Agent | 1945 | Herman Shumlin | ★★★ | 118 | Boyer is Graham Greene's hero in engrossing spy yarn of Spanish Civil War; he meets Bacall along the way; they battle enemy agents Lorre and Paxinou. | tt0037610 | Charles Boyer, Lauren Bacall, Katina Paxinou, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, George Coulouris, Wanda Hendrix, John Warburton | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Confidentially Connie | 1953 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 74 | Mild chuckles as pregnant wife Leigh schemes to get underpaid professor hubby (Johnson) to leave academic circles. Calhern as Van's rich Texan father is amusing. | tt0045644 | Van Johnson, Janet Leigh, Louis Calhern, Walter Slezak, Gene Lockhart | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Confidentially Yours | Vivement Dimanche | 1982 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 111 | Businessman is wanted for murder, and his secretary takes on job of finding real killer while he hides out from the cops. Truffaut's final feature is airy mystery-comedy in the Hitchcock mold, based on an American novel (The Long Saturday Night by Charles Williams); beautifully shot in black & white by Nestor Almendros. No depth whatsoever, but lightly entertaining; Ardant is delightful. French title: VIVEMENT DIMANCHE! | tt0086551 | [PG] | Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Philippe Laudenbach, Caroline Sihol, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Xavier Saint Macary | French | Comedy, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL |
| Confirm or Deny | 1941 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 73 | Love in an air-raid shelter with Ameche and Bennett as reporter and wireless operator; pleasant romance. | tt0033486 | Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Roddy McDowall, John Loder, Raymond Walburn | War | NULL | |||
| Conflict | 1945 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 86 | Far-fetched story of husband (Bogart) plotting to murder wife (Hobart) to marry her sister (Smith). Unconvincing plot not salvaged by good cast. | tt0037611 | Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, Rose Hobart, Charles Drake, Grant Mitchell | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Conformist | 1971 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★½ | 115 | Disturbing blend of character study and historical context of 1930s. Repressing homosexual drives, Marcello Clerici strives for 'acceptable' life as member of Italian Fascist secret service, and middle-class would-be wife chaser, until odd series of events make him a willing murderer. Film's overall mood uniquely tense. Cut by 5m. for American release; the missing 'Dance of the Blind' sequence was restored for 1994 reissue. | tt0065571 | [R] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clementi, Pasquale Fortunato, Gastone Moschin | Italian-French-West German | Drama | NULL | |
| Congo | 1995 | Frank Marshall | ★★ | 108 | Clumsily written Saturday-matinee nonsense about a gorilla expert who goes on a trouble-laden expedition to Africa with a Roumanian fortune hunter and a high-tech communications expert who's searching for her ex-fiancé. Sort of watchable, but poky pacing, unappealing characters, and senseless script sink it. The big special-effects climax is as unconvincing as Amy, the costarring gorilla. Michael Crichton's novel was adapted by— of all people— John Patrick Shanley (MOONSTRUCK). Joe Pantoliano appears unbilled. | tt0112715 | [PG-13] | Laura Linney, Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Grant Heslov, Dylan Walsh, Joe Don Baker, Stuart Pankin, Mary Ellen Trainor, James Karen | Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Congo Crossing | 1956 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 87 | OK adventure yarn set in Africa, involving wanted criminals and construction engineer's attempt to civilize the Congo territory. | tt0049091 | Virginia Mayo, George Nader, Peter Lorre, Michael Pate, Rex Ingram | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Congo Maisie | 1940 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 70 | Second Maisie entry, in which Brooklyn chorus girl Sothern finds herself involved with doctor Carroll in the middle of an African native revolt. | tt0032353 | Ann Sothern, John Carroll, Shepperd Strudwick, Rita Johnson, J. M. Kerrigan, E. E. Clive | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Conjugal Bed | 1963 | Marco Ferreri | ★★★ | 90 | Tognazzi is admirably suited to the role of a middle-aged bachelor who weds beautiful young Vlady and must cope with her sexual demands as she desires to become pregnant. A funny, entertaining sex comedy. | tt0057532 | Ugo Tognazzi, Marina Vlady, Walter Giller, Linda Sini | French-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court | 1949 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 107 | Mark Twain's story becomes carefree Crosby musical, with Bing transported into past, branded a wizard. No great songs, but colorful production. Previously filmed in 1921 and 1931 (with Will Rogers); remade in 1979 (as UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL); TVMs in 1989 and 1995. | tt0041259 | Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Wilcoxon, Murvyn Vye, Virginia Field | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Connecticut Yankee | 1931 | David Butler | ★★★ | 78 | Mark Twain's classic story of a man who travels back in time to King Arthur's court, rewritten to suit Rogers' genial personality. Full of contemporary wisecracks and funny ideas, though the script gets a bit silly. | tt0021759 | Will Rogers, Maureen O'Sullivan, Myrna Loy, Frank Albertson, William Farnum | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Connecting Rooms | 1969 | Franklin Gollings | ★★ | 103 | Muddled melodrama of relationships in a rooming house. Davis is a street musician, Redgrave a former schoolmaster, and Kanner the rebellious youth who disrupts their equilibrium. | tt0066943 | Bette Davis, Michael Redgrave, Alexis Kanner, Kay Walsh, Olga Georges-Picot, Leo Genn | British |
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| The Connection | 1961 | Shirley Clarke | ★★★½ | 103 | Searing, admirably acted drama of junkies awaiting arrival of their 'connection' with heroin, and a documentary filmmaker (Redfield) filming them. Independently produced, based on Jack Gelber's stage play. Original running time 110m.; some prints run 93m. | tt0054763 | William Redfield, Warren Finnerty, Garry Goodrow, Jerome Raphael, James Anderson, Carl Lee, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jackie McLean | Drama | NULL | |||
| Connie and Carla | 2004 | Michael Lembeck | ★★★ | 98 | Brassy, sometimes silly crowd-pleaser puts a new spin on SOME LIKE IT HOT: lounge entertainers Vardalos and Collette witness a murder and take it on the lam. They find refuge in West Hollywood, where they perform as drag queens and acquire a new circle of gay male friends. Duchovny is charming as Vardalos' love interest, but the spotlight is on the two stars, who perform show tunes ranging from 'Oklahoma' to 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina.' Written by Vardalos. | tt0345074 | [PG-13] | Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, David Duchovny, Stephen Spinella, Dash Mihok, Alec Mapa, Debbie Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Conquered City | 1962 | Joseph Anthony | ★★½ | 87 | Niven and disparate international group are holed up in Athens hotel under siege in waning days of WW2; not-bad programmer released overseas as THE CAPTIVE CITY at 108m. | tt0055851 | David Niven, Ben Gazzara, Michael Craig, Martin Balsam, Lea Massari, Daniela Rocca | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Conqueror Worm | The Witchfinder General | 1968 | Michael Reeves | ★★★ | 98 | As Matthew Hopkins, real-life witch-hunter during era of Cromwell, Price gives excellent nonhammy performance in underrated low-budget (and bloody) period thriller. Literate, balanced script pits him against young sympathetic lovers Ogilvy and Dwyer. Original British title: THE WITCHFINDER GENERAL. | tt0063285 | Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, Hilary Dwyer, Rupert Davies, Robert Russell, Patrick Wymark, Wilfred Brambell | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Conqueror | 1956 | Dick Powell | ★★ | 111 | Mongols vs. Tartars, and John Wayne vs. the silliest role of his career, Genghis Khan. Expensive epic has camp dialogue to spare. The film had a sobering real-life aftermath, however: it was shot on location in Utah near an atomic test site, and an alarming number of its cast and crew (including the stars) were later stricken by cancer. | tt0049092 | John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendáriz, Agnes Moorehead, Thomas Gomez, John Hoyt, William Conrad | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Conquerors | Pioneer Builders | 1932 | William Wellman | ★★ | 86 | Unabashed rip-off of CIMARRON with Dix and Harding as newlyweds who go West to make their fortune, and build a banking empire that spans 50 years of ups and downs. Some good scenes lost in clichés in this epic saga. Retitled PIONEER BUILDERS. | tt0022778 | Richard Dix, Ann Harding, Edna May Oliver, Guy Kibbee, Julie Haydon, Donald Cook | Drama | NULL | ||
| Conquest | 1937 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 112 | Boyer as Napoleon and Garbo as Polish countess Walewska in fairly interesting costumer with fine performances making up for not-always-thrilling script. | tt0028739 | Greta Garbo, Charles Boyer, Reginald Owen, Alan Marshal, Henry Stephenson, Leif Erickson, Dame May Whitty, Maria Ouspenskaya, Vladimir Sokoloff, Scotty Beckett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Conquest of Cochise | 1953 | William Castle | ★★ | 70 | Unspectacular Indian vs. cavalry, set in 1850s Southwest, as Stack and troops try to calm Cochise's (Hodiak) rampaging braves. | tt0045645 | John Hodiak, Robert Stack, Joy Page, John Crawford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Conquest of Everest | 1953 | ★★★ | 78 | Outstanding, Oscar-nominated documentary chronicle of Edmund Hillary and company's successful expedition to the summit of Mount Everest. As dramatic as the most complexly plotted fiction; breathtaking photography by Thomas Stobart and George Love. | tt0045646 | British | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Conquest of Space | 1955 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 80 | Despite some good special effects, this George Pal production about the first trip to Mars is hampered by a pedestrian script and an inappropriate emphasis on religion. A disappointment. | tt0047947 | Eric Fleming, William Hopper, Ross Martin, Walter Brooke, Joan Shawlee | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Conquest of the Planet of the Apes | 1972 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 87 | Fourth APES feature shows how apes came to rebel and subsequently vanquish man. Loosely acted and often trite, but still interesting. Followed by BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. | tt0068408 | [PG] | Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban, Natalie Trundy, Severn Darden | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Conquest | 2011 | Xavier Durringer | ★★★ | 110 | Toxic portrait of incumbent French president Nicolas Sárkõzy (a pitch-perfect Podalydès) acidly etches a small man backstabbing his way to a big job, even as he's losing his wife Cécilia (Pernel). Opening with the disingenuous disclaimer, "This film is a work of fiction," the wicked political farce/personal soap opera toggles between 2007, as he sits very much alone watching election results on TV, and the Machiavellian events of the past five years that led to this moment. As entertaining, and as reliable, as a tabloid. | tt1711484 | Denis Podalydès, Florence Pernel, Bernard Le Coq, Hippolyte Girardot, Samuel Labarthe, Mathias Mlekuz, Grégory Fitoussi, Pierre Cassignard, Saïda Jawad, Dominique Besnehard | French | Biography | NULL | ||
| Conrack | 1974 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 107 | Pleasant film based on Pat Conroy's The Water Is Wide, about his attempts to bring common-sense education to backward black school on island off South Carolina. Subplot with hermit-like Winfield doesn't work, unfortunately. | tt0071358 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Paul Winfield, Hume Cronyn, Madge Sinclair, Tina Andrews, Antonio Fargas, Ruth Attaway | Drama | NULL | ||
| Consenting Adults | 1992 | Alan J. Pakula | ★½ | 100 | There's Hell in Suburbia when Kline becomes morally polluted by a leechy neighbor who proposes a wife-swapping pact. Incredible lapses in logic for a director of Pakula's caliber, though Spacey is creepily credible as the murderer-next-door. Unintentional laughs help. | tt0104006 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Forest Whitaker, E.G. Marshall, Kimberly McCullough, Billie Neal | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Consolation Marriage | 1931 | Paul Sloane | ★★ | 82 | Dunne and O'Brien are married after they're both jilted by their respective mates but years later must decide what to do when the former lovers return. Standard marital melodrama uplifted by considerably charming cast. | tt0021761 | Irene Dunne, Pat O'Brien, John Halliday, Myrna Loy, Matt Moore, Lester Vail | Drama | NULL | |||
| Conspiracy | 2001 | Frank Pierson | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Historical drama, written by TV's venerable Loring Mandel, recreating one of the most infamous gatherings of the 20th century, when 15 top members of the Third Reich met outside Berlin in January 1942 to set in motion the Final Solution. Branagh plays Reinhard Heydrich and Tucci is Adolf Eichmann, who prepared 30 top-secret copies of the meeting's minutes that came to be known as the Wannsee Protocol. See also THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE. Made for cable. | tt0266425 | Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth, Barnaby Kay, Ben Daniels, David Threlfall, Jonathan Coy, Ian McNeice, Brendan Coyle | U.S.-British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Conspiracy Theory | 1997 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 135 | Lumpy but entertaining story about a half-crazed N.Y.C. cabdriver who lives a life of paranoia, obsessed with a woman who works for the Justice Department. One day, however, he comes to her with a story that seems to make sense about a conspiracy and cover-up; soon, they're both embroiled in a situation bigger than they ever imagined. The script isn't airtight, but it's enjoyable, with Gibson's edgy performance right on target. | tt0118883 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, Patrick Stewart, Cylk Cozart, Stephen Kahan, Terry Alexander, Troy Garity | Action, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Conspiracy of Hearts | 1960 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 116 | Despite familiar situation of nuns sheltering refugee Jewish youths in Northern Italy, this film is both suspenseful and moving. | tt0053732 | Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Lewis | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Conspirator | 1949 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 85 | Innocent Elizabeth is unaware that the dashing soldier (Taylor) with whom she's fallen in love is a Communist spy. Stale melodrama. | tt0041260 | Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Flemyng, Harold Warrender, Honor Blackman, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Conspirator | 2011 | Robert Redford | ★★½ | 123 | In the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, key members of his cabinet seek to punish those responsible and stabilize the fragile nation. Rules of law are put aside for a military trial, and a former captain in the Union Army (McAvoy) is given the thankless task of defending Mary Surratt (Wright), who ran a boardinghouse where her son and others conspired with John Wilkes Booth. Historical drama never achieves the urgency it should, but McAvoy’s impassioned performance is worth seeing. | tt0968264 | [PG-13] | James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Justin Long, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Colm Meaney, James Badge Dale, Johnny Simmons, Jonathan Groff, Stephen Root, Toby Kebbell, Shea Whigham | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Conspirators | 1944 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 101 | WW2 intrigue in Lisbon, with echoes of CASABLANCA; this one's no classic, but with that cast (and Hedy at her most beautiful) how bad can it be. | tt0036719 | Hedy Lamarr, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, Vladimir Sokoloff, George Macready, Monte Blue, Joseph Calleia | Drama | NULL | |||
| Constance | 1984 | Bruce Morrison | ★★ | 104 | Muddled, forgettable tale of an ambitious, beautiful teacher (Rees), whose fantasy life is influenced by images from the Hollywood films she loves. | tt0087083 | Donogh Rees, Shane Briant, Judie Douglass, Martin Vaughan, Donald MacDonald, Mark Wignall | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Constant Factor | Constans | 1980 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★★ | 96 | Idealistic mountain climber Bradecki refuses to kowtow to a hypocritical bureaucracy and winds up a window cleaner. Incisive, but not top-drawer Zanussi; filmed simultaneously with the director's CONTRACT. | tt0080561 | Tadeusz Bradecki, Zofia Mrozowska, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Cezary Morawska | Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Constant Gardener | 2005 | Fernando Meirelles | ★★★ | 128 | When his young, idealistic wife is murdered in Kenya, a low-level British diplomat investigates, for the first time, the cause she was fighting for. He also learns how his own government tried to quash a scandal involving a large pharmaceutical company, while abusing Africans desperate for medical care. Impassioned filming of John le Carré's fact-based novel (adapted by Jeffrey Caine) manages to balance muckraking drama and a love story; Fiennes and Weisz have great chemistry. | tt0387131 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite, Hubert Koundé, Juliet Aubrey, Gerard McSorley | British-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Constant Husband | 1955 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 88 | Harrison, recovering from amnesia, realizes he's wed to more than one woman. Entertaining comedy, with sexy Rexy ideally cast (opposite real-life wife Kendall). | tt0047948 | Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, Nicole Maurey, George Cole, Raymond Huntley, Michael Hordern, Robert Coote, Eric Pohlmann | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Constant Nymph | 1943 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 112 | Intensely romantic story of a Belgian gamine (Fontaine) who's madly in love with a self-serious and self-absorbed composer (Boyer). He marries a socialite (Smith) without ever realizing the depth of his own feelings for the younger girl. Touching, intelligent, and beautifully realized, with sweeping music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Margaret Kennedy's novel and play were adapted by Kathryn Scola. Filmed before in 1928 and 1934. | tt0035751 | Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith, Brenda Marshall, Charles Coburn, Dame May Whitty, Peter Lorre, Joyce Reynolds, Jean Muir, Montague Love, Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli | Drama | NULL | |||
| Constantine | 2005 | Francis Lawrence. | 💣 | 120 | When demons from hell wreak havoc on earth, who ya gonna call? John Constantine, an exorcist who's actually been to hell. After two hours of this laborious twaddle, we know how he must feel. Dreary, to put it mildly; elaborate special effects are no compensation. Based on the D.C. Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels. | tt0360486 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou, Max Baker, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gavin Rossdale, Peter Stormare. | Drama, Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Constantine and the Cross | 1962 | Lionello de Felice | ★★★ | 120 | Intelligent interpretation of 4th century A.D. Emperor (Wilde) battling Romans for Christianity. Good action. | tt0055867 | Cornel Wilde, Christine Kaufmann, Belinda Lee, Elisa Cegani, Massimo Serato | Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Consuming Passions | 1988 | Giles Foster | ★½ | 98 | Dumb dud of a satire about what happens when three men are accidentally shoved into a vat of chocolate in a candy factory . . . and chocolate lovers favor the resulting confections. Sounds a lot more promising than it plays; based on a play by Michael Palin and Terry Jones. | tt0094907 | [R] | Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, Tyler Butterworth, Freddie Jones, Sammi Davis, Prunella Scales, Thora Hird | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Contact | 1997 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★ | 150 | A woman who has devoted her life to studying the stars— believing there's life Out There— is ostracized by her superior at the National Science Foundation, and eventually cut off, until she actually receives a message from space. Intensely involving story in which we're drawn into Foster's obsession and share her odyssey into the unknown. Passionate and intelligent, this film manages to inspire a feeling of awe and wonder, which makes up for its overlength and false endings. Foster is simply sensational. Based on the novel by Carl Sagan. | tt0118884 | [PG] | Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, David Morse, Angela Bassett, Geoffrey Blake, Rob Lowe, Jake Busey | Drama, Sci-Fi, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Contagion | 2011 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 106 | Pulse-pounding account of how one American woman (Paltrow) traveling abroad spreads a virus and launches a worldwide pandemic. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention honcho Fishburne tries to get a handle on the problem and cocky blogger Law discredits his efforts, ordinary people like Paltrow's husband Damon must cope with the unthinkable. Scott Z. Burns' screenplay is scary because it's all so credible. Soderbergh handles the material in utterly straightforward fashion; there's no poetry here. | tt1598778 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, John Hawkes, Elliott Gould, Demetri Martin, Enrico Colantoni, Chin Han | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Contempt | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★½ | 103 | Perversely funny look at international moviemaking with Piccoli as a dramatist of integrity who gets mixed up with a vulgar producer (Palance) and director (Lang— playing himself) in a film version of The Odyssey. Producer Joseph E. Levine didn't seem to understand that Godard, who appears here as Lang's assistant, held him in contempt, making this film a highly amusing 'in' joke. Bardot's appearance only adds to the fun. | tt0057345 | Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli, Giorgia Moll, Fritz Lang | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Contender | 2000 | Rod Lurie | ★★★ | 127 | The death of the vice president enables U.S. president Bridges to appoint a female Ohio senator as his successor. But a small-minded congressman (Oldman) with an axe to grind decides to humiliate her during public hearings— and she refuses to stoop to his level. Timely, engrossing political drama written by the director, with strong performances right down the line. Oldman, a particular standout, also coexecutive-produced. | tt0208874 | [R] | Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, William L. Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Mariel Hemingway | German-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Contest Girl | 1966 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 82 | Film well conveys glamorous and seamy sides of beauty-contest world. Purdom gives effective performance. | tt0057963 | Ian Hendry, Janette Scott, Ronald Fraser, Edmund Purdom, LindaChristian | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Continental Divide | 1981 | Michael Apted | ★★ | 103 | One of those 'concept' movies that's all premise, no payoff: Belushi's a hard-hitting Chicago newspaper columnist, Brown's a self-reliant naturalist at home observing eagles in the Rockies. Can this romance survive? Interesting mainly to see Belushi playing such a 'normal' and likable character. Written by Lawrence Kasdan, who obviously couldn't come up with a finish. Steven Spielberg was executive producer. | tt0082200 | [PG] | John Belushi, Blair Brown, Allen Garfield, Carlin Glynn, Tony Ganios, Val Avery, Tim Kazurinsky | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Contraband | 1940 | Michael Powell | ★★★½ | 92 | Superior spy yarn from the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger that's very much in the Hitchcock vein. Veidt is a Danish merchant sea captain, Hobson an enigmatic passenger— both get caught up with London spy ring. Though set in 1939, film hardly seems dated at all! That's Bernard Miles as a disgruntled smoker. Powell and Brock Williams adapted Pressburger's story. P&P had teamed up with Veidt and Hobson the previous year for THE SPY IN BLACK. Original U.S. title: BLACKOUT. | tt0032356 | Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie, Joss Ambler, Raymond Lovell, Esmond Knight, Peter Bull, Leo Genn | British | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Contraband | 2012 | Baltasar Kormákur | ★★ | 110 | New Orleans–based smuggler who's gone straight is forced to pull "one more job" in order to save his irresponsible young brother-in-law, who's gotten in trouble with a violence-prone racketeer (Ribisi). This involves shipping out to Panama, pulling a daring heist, and getting the booty back home without anyone catching on. A good caper film should be light on its feet, but this one has a heavy tread; what's more, the characters are singularly unappealing. Remake of 2008 Icelandic film REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM, which starred director Kormákur. | tt1524137 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas, Caleb Landry Jones, Diego Luna, J. K. Simmons, William Lucking | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Contract | 1980 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★★½ | 114 | Superb laced-in-acid comedy-satire centering on a wedding between the career-oriented son of a wealthy doctor and his none-too-eager bride. Zanussi incisively chides corrupt politicians and businessmen; Caron is memorable as a kleptomaniacal ballerina. Filmed simultaneously with the director's CONSTANS (THE CONSTANT FACTOR). | tt0081011 | Leslie Caron, Maja Komorowska, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Magda Jaroszowna | Polish |
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| The Contract | 2006 | Bruce Beresford | ★★ | 96 | Does high school gym teacher Cusack possess the stamina and smarts to thwart renegade contract killer Freeman? Untidy actioner leaves plenty of questions unanswered while offering the barest minimum of thrills. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0445946 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Jamie Anderson, Alice Krige, Megan Dodds, Corey Johnson, Jonathan Hyde, Bill Smitrovich, Anthony Warren, Thomas Lockyer, Ned Bellamy | German-U.S. | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Control | 2007 | Anton Corbijn | ★★★½ | 121 | Darkly fascinating character study of Manchester rocker Ian Curtis, the moody Joy Division lead singer who committed suicide at age 23 in 1980, just as his band was on the cusp of international success. Effectively filmed in often noir-like b&w, biopic unromantically renders Curtis—played with the perfect balance of vulnerability and volatility by Riley—as an artist undone by the inner demons that informed his art. Based on a memoir by Curtis’ wife (played here by Morton). | tt0421082 | [R] | Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Harry Treadaway, Craig Parkinson, Toby Kebbell | British-Japanese-Australian | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| The Convent | 1995 | Manoel de Oliveira | ★★ | 90 | A professor (Malkovich) is attempting to prove that Shakespeare is of Spanish descent. To further his research, he and his wife (Deneuve) travel to an ancient convent, where there are eerie and mysterious goings-on. Languid tale made by the well-respected Portuguese writer-director de Oliveira (who was 86 years old when this was released!). | tt0112716 | Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Duarte D'Almeida, Luis Miguel Cintra, Heloisa Miranda, Leonor Silveira | Portuguese-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Conversation Piece | 1975 | Luchino Visconti | ★★ | 122 | Ponderous story of aging, aloof professor Lancaster who becomes involved with matron Mangano's hedonistic children and her young lover, Berger. All talk. Filmed in both English and Italian-language versions. | tt0071585 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Berger, Claudia Marsani, Claudia Cardinale | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Conversation | 1974 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★★ | 113 | Brilliant film about obsessive surveillance expert (Hackman) who makes professional mistake of becoming involved in a case, and finds himself entangled in murder and high-level power plays. Coppola's top-notch, disturbing script makes larger statements about privacy and personal responsibility. An unbilled Robert Duvall has a cameo. One of the best films of the 1970s. | tt0071360 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr, Harrison Ford, Robert Shields | Crime, Thriller, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Conversations With Other Women | 2005 | Hans Canosa | ★★½ | 84 | Two people hook up at a wedding reception: His sis is getting married; she's a bridesmaid. They may have met before. In fact, they might have been married and had a daughter. Determinedly ambiguous two-character drama is a one-trick pony in split-screen, a cinematic trope that tries to add visual flair to a heavily conversational script. | tt0435623 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Helena Bonham Carter, Nora Zehetner, Erik Eidem, Olivia Wilde, Tom Lennon, Cerina Vincent, Brianna Brown, Brian Geraghty | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Convict 99 | 1938 | Marcel Varnel. | ★★★ | 88 | Bumbling, disgraced schoolmaster is mistakenly appointed warden of a prison and wins the tough inmates over by letting them run the joint. Pretty funny vehicle for British music-hall comedian Hay, though this has more elements of social criticism than his usual farces. Val Guest was one of the writers. | tt0031178 | Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Googie Withers, Garry Marsh, Peter Gawthorne, Basil Radford, Kathleen Harrison. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Convict Cowboy | 1995 | Rod Holcomb | Average TV Movie | 98 | Convict lifer Voight, a onetime rodeo champion, runs a prison ranch and takes a hotshot short-termer with promise under his wing. Their goal: to get the younger man in shape for an upcoming riding contest with another lockup. Voight's world-weary appearance suits the leading role of this sturdy little modern-day Western. Made for cable. | tt0112719 | Jon Voight, Kyle Chandler, Marcia Gay Harden, Stephen McHattie, Glenn Plummer, Ben Gazzara, Blu Mankuma | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| Convicted | 1950 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 91 | Sincere account of prison warden's efforts to help unjustly convicted man, and those on the outside seeking actual killer. Remake of THE CRIMINAL CODE. | tt0042343 | Glenn Ford, Broderick Crawford, Dorothy Malone, Roland Winters, Ed Begley | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Conviction | 2010 | Tony Goldwyn | ★★★ | 107 | A lifelong hell-raiser, Rockwell is accused of a brutal murder in his Massachusetts hometown, convicted on dubious evidence, and sentenced to life in prison in 1983. His devoted younger sister spends the next eighteen years working to get a high school diploma, attend college, and earn a law degree for the sole purpose of proving his innocence. Trumps many films based on true stories by avoiding clichés and spotlighting its two talented stars, who give sincere and solid performances. What’s more, the saga turns out to have more surprises than you might expect. | tt1244754 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo, Peter Gallagher, Ari Graynor, Juliette Lewis, Loren Dean, Conor Donovan, Bailee Madison, Clea DuVall, Karen Young, Talia Balsam | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Convicts | 1991 | Peter Masterson | ★★★ | 95 | A young boy (Haas) comes of age observing the violent scenes on a Texas Gulf Coast canefield in 1902— even as life seems to be cycling to an end for imposing plantation boss (Duvall) who survives by using convict labor to work in his fields. A towering performance by Duvall and stark, authentic dialogue by Horton Foote (based on his nine-play cycle The Orphan's Home) are the strengths in this poignant elegy. | tt0099300 | Robert Duvall, Lukas Haas, James Earl Jones, Starletta DuPois | Drama | NULL | |||
| Convicts 4 | Reprieve | 1962 | Millard Kaufman | ★★★ | 105 | Gazzara gives sincere portrayal as long-term prisoner who becomes professional artist. Oddball supporting cast. Retitled: REPRIEVE. | tt0055868 | Ben Gazzara, Stuart Whitman, Ray Walston, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, Broderick Crawford, Sammy Davis/Jr., Jack Kruschen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Convoy | 1978 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★ | 110 | Amiable comic-book movie based on the hit song about an independent trucker who leads protesting colleagues on a trek through the Southwest. Stupid script and blah acting redeemed somewhat by Peckinpah's punchy directorial style. | tt0077369 | [PG] | Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair, Franklyn Ajaye, Cassie Yates | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Coogan's Bluff | 1968 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 100 | Arizona lawman Eastwood comes to N.Y.C. to show city cops a thing or two about tracking down a wanted man. Stylish action film, good location work. Sterling enjoyable as hippie. Later evolved into the McCloud TV series. | tt0062824 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling, Don Stroud, Betty Field, Tom Tully | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Cook County | 2011 | David Pomes | ★★★ | 93 | Edgy indie about rural East Texas crystal meth dealer (Mount) who samples far too much of his own product, amping up his justifiable paranoia when his ex-convict brother (Berkeley) reappears after serving a prison sentence. Despite a few continuity problems, this rough-edged, low-budget drama impresses with spot-on performances, pitch-perfect dialogue, and an overall sense that something bad might happen at any moment, unless something worse happens first. Completed in 2008; given limited theatrical release only after Mount's breakthrough as star of TV's Hell on Wheels. | tt1147682 | [R] | Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole, Makenna Fitzsimmons, John McClain | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | 1989 | Peter Greenaway | ★★★ | 124 | Another stylish, challenging piece of cinema from Greenaway that's set in a plush gourmet restaurant and details the various relationships between the title characters. This parable about love, revenge, and, most of all, greed is both funny and horrifying— and right on target. However, those who do not appreciate Greenaway's cinematic sensibility may be put off. Sacha Vierny's cinematography is an asset. | tt0097108 | [NC-17] | Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Tim Roth, Richard Bohringer, Alan Howard | French-Dutch | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Cookie | 1989 | Susan Seidelman | ★★★ | 93 | Droll comedy about a sassy teenager who gets to meet her mobster dad for the first time when he's sprung from prison after a long stretch. No fireworks here, but the performances are great fun to watch, especially Wiest as Falk's breathless mistress (and Lloyd's mother). Written by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen. | tt0097109 | [R] | Peter Falk, Dianne Wiest, Emily Lloyd, Michael V. Gazzo, Brenda Vaccaro, Adrian Pasdar, Lionel Stander, Jerry Lewis, Bob Gunton, Ricki Lake | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Cookie's Fortune | 1999 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 118 | Picaresque yarn spun in a small Southern town where an eccentric woman's death sets in motion a series of events revealing the true nature— both good-hearted and greedy— of various relatives and friends. Colorful characters abound in this easygoing, fanciful film, sparked by Dutton's wonderful performance. | tt0126250 | [PG-13] | Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Courtney B. Vance, Donald Moffat, Lyle Lovett, Danny Durst, Matt Malloy | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cookin' Up Trouble | 1944 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★ | 67 | A fading comic team acts offstage as foster parents to a small boy. Feeble attempt by Monogram Pictures to create its own version of The Three Stooges, including Curly Howard's brother Shemp (a once and future Stooge). Excessively sentimental, but at least the accent is on vintage vaudeville humor and slapstick. Aka THREE OF A KIND. | tt0036721 | Billy Gilbert, Shemp Howard, Maxie Rosenbloom, Helen Gilbert, June Lang, Buzzy Henry. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Cookout | 2004 | Lance Rivera. | ★★ | 97 | Hot basketball star signs a $30 million deal and moves from his parents' traditional neighborhood to an exclusive gated community, where he decides to have a cookout for his friends and family, just as he did in his old 'hood. Latifah coproduced and helped cook up what story there is in this frantic, stereotyped, and only sporadically amusing comedy that looks like it was made up as the cameras rolled. | tt0380277 | [PG-13] | Ja Rule, Tim Meadows, Jenifer Lewis, Meagan Good, Storm P (Quran Pender), Jonathan Silverman, Farrah Fawcett, Frankie Faison, Vincent Pastore, Queen Latifah, Danny Glover, Eve. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cool Breeze | 1972 | Barry Pollack | ★½ | 101 | Routine remake of THE ASPHALT JUNGLE with plot line updated so that diamond robbery proceeds will go to set up a black people's bank. | tt0068409 | [R] | Thalmus Rasulala, Judy Pace, Jim Watkins, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Sam Laws, Margaret Avery, Raymond St. Jacques | Crime | NULL | ||
| Cool Hand Luke | 1967 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★★½ | 126 | Modern slant on prison camps shows little change since Paul Muni; more irreverent, however, with memorably funny egg-eating contest. Top-notch film with Kennedy's Oscar-winning supporting performance as prisoner. | tt0061512 | Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J.D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Wayne Rogers, Anthony Zerbe, Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Richard Davalos, Warren Finnerty, Morgan Woodward, Clifton James, Joe Don Baker | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cool Ones | 1967 | Gene Nelson | 💣 | 95 | Inane 'musical' comedy spoofing trendy music business. Embarrassing on all counts, with broad performances. If you turn up your volume, you might hear a faint laugh track. | tt0061514 | Roddy McDowall, Debbie Watson, Gil Peterson, Phil Harris, Robert Coote, Glen Campbell, Mrs. Miller | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Cool Runnings | 1993 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★★ | 97 | Family-oriented feel-good movie from Disney— based on a true story— about the unlikely formation of a Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics. (The participants have never even seen snow, let alone a bobsled!) Candy is well cast as a disgraced former Olympian who redeems himself. | tt0106611 | [PG] | Leon, Doug E. Doug, John Candy, Rawle D. Lewis, Malik Yoba, Raymond J. Barry | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cool World | 1992 | Ralph Bakshi | ★½ | 101 | Pointless live-action/ animation feature from Bakshi, who's covered this ground before, much more successfully. Ex-con comic-book artist Byrne discovers his cartoon creations are real, and live in a parallel universe called Cool World. After sexy 'doodle' Holli (Basinger) has sex with Byrne, she becomes human and escapes to real world, with detective Pitt in tow. Too serious to be fun, too goofy to take seriously; lead characters unlikable and unappealing. Looks like a Roger Corman version of ROGER RABBIT. | tt0104009 | [PG-13] | Gabriel Byrne, Kim Basinger, Brad Pitt, Frank Sinatra/Jr. | Action, Comedy, Mystery, Animation, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Cool World | 1964 | Shirley Clarke | ★★★ | 105 | The streets, rhythms, and populace of Harlem are the stars of this justifiably celebrated cinema-verité film. While primarily a mood piece, it does feature a gritty, realistic-and very un-Hollywood-storyline, which involves a young black teen gang member (Clanton, in his only screen appearance). Based on a novel by Warren Miller and play by Miller and Robert Rossen. Clarke also coscripted (with Lee) and edited. Produced by Frederick Wiseman. | tt0056952 |
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Hampton Clanton, Yolanda Rodríguez, Bostic Felton, Gary Bolling, Carl Lee, Clarence Williams III, Gloria Foster, Georgia Burke, Antonio Fargas | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cool and the Crazy | 1994 | Ralph Bakshi | Below Average TV Movie | 84 | The 1950s: A bored young mother starts an affair, infuriating her husband. Dreary and unimaginative, this stale concoction trots out L.A. location names, but it was obviously originally written to take place in N.Y.C. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old American-International pictures, but the plot here is original. | tt0109479 | Jennifer Blanc, Matthew Flint, Jared Leto, Alicia Silverstone, Bradford Tatum, Christine Harnos, Tuesday Knight, John Kapelos | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cool and the Crazy | 1958 | William Witney | ★★★ | 78 | Fifties equivalent of REEFER MADNESS is a great unsung j.d. melodrama; reform school veteran introduces thirtyish-looking high schoolers to grass, turns them into psychotics. On-location Kansas City photography gives this one an authentic feel. Remade, in name only, in 1994. | tt0051488 | Scott Marlowe, Gigi Perreau, Dick Bakalyan, Dick Jones | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cool as Ice | 1991 | David Kellogg | 💣 | 100 | The Sealtest man's rap numbers frame seemingly unreleasable 'wandering cyclist' yarn about a numbskull who manages to romance the town's SAT standard-bearer. Oh, did we mention that her father is in the government's witness relocation program? Ice's parlance ('Drop that zero/get with the hero') in his first starring film does not rekindle fond memories of Ronald Colman. | tt0101615 | [PG] | Vanilla Ice, Kristin Minter, Michael Gross, Candy Clark, Sydney Lassick, Dody Goodman, Naomi Campbell, Bobby Brown | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Cool, Dry Place | 1999 | John N. Smith | ★★½ | 97 | Hotshot lawyer is raising his five-year-old son since his wife walked out on them. Having lost his job, he tries to build a new life in Texas and meets a woman he likes . . . then the plot thickens. Believable story, if predictable at times; benefits from good performances. | tt0120642 | [PG-13] | Vince Vaughn, Joey Lauren Adams, Monica Potter, Devon Sawa, Bobby Moat, Todd Louiso | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Cooler Climate | 1999 | Susan Seidelman | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Impoverished divorcée Field becomes housekeeper to snobbish matron Davis in a small resort town, but a turn of events, and terrific chemistry, make the two lonely women bosom buddies. Playwright Marsha Norman adapted Zena Collier's novel with insight and humor. Made for cable. | tt0208875 | Sally Field, Judy Davis, Winston Rekert, Jerry Wasserman, Carly Pope | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cooler | 2003 | Wayne Kramer | ★★★ | 102 | A lifelong loser makes his living spreading bad luck around an old-style Vegas casino. Then a beautiful cocktail waitress falls in love with him and his luck begins to change. Clever story is perfectly cast; Baldwin is terrific as the hard-edged casino boss who decries the transformation of Vegas into Disneyland. Everything clicks— until the final scene. Evocative jazz score by Mark Isham. | tt0318374 | [R] | William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, Joey Fatone, M.C. Gainey, Ellen Greene | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Cooley High | 1975 | Michael Schultz | ★★★ | 107 | Inner-city rip-off of AMERICAN GRAFFITI (set in Chicago, 1964) is nonetheless pleasing on its own terms, though only on the level of a good TV show. Lots of laughs. Look fast for Robert Townsend. Later evolved into the What's Happening!! TV series. | tt0072820 | [PG] | Glynn Turman, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Garrett Morris, Cynthia Davis, Corin Rogers, Maurice Leon Havis | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Coonskin | Street Fight | 1975 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★½ | 83 | Outrageous, original film about the status of blacks in America is told with live-action and animation vignettes, the best of which are sly parodies of the stories from Disney and Uncle Remus' SONG OF THE SOUTH. Very much in the Bakshi vein; uneven but worth a look. Video title: STREET FIGHT. | tt0071361 | [R] | Barry White, Charles Gordone, Scatman Crothers, Philip (Michael) Thomas | Animation | NULL | |
| Cop | 1987 | James B. Harris | ★★½ | 110 | Woods is excellent as usual in this otherwise familiar drama about a dedicated cop, his troubled marriage, and the difficulties he encounters while on a murder case. Woods and Harris coproduced. | tt0092783 | [R] | James Woods, Lesley Ann Warren, Charles Durning, Charles Haid, Raymond J. Barry, Randi Brooks, Annie McEnroe, Vicki Wauchope | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cop & 1/2 | 1993 | Henry Winkler | 💣 | 93 | And a hemorrhoid-and-a-half to anyone who sits all the way through it. Circumstances (read: scriptwriter's contrivance) dictate that a cop-addicted black kid become the new partner of a white detective who's trying to crack a drug punk. Abjectly painful comedy. Low point: a urination bonding scene with Reynolds in which the youngster wants to 'make swords.' | tt0106613 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II, Ruby Dee, Holland Taylor, Ray Sharkey, Sammy Hernandez, Frank Sivero | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Cop Hater | 1958 | William Berke. | ★★★ | 75 | Stark, low-key crime drama based on an Ed McBain novel about the hunt for a killer who's picking off cops of the 87th Precinct one by one during a Manhattan heat wave. Low budget is more than offset by vivid location photography, gritty feel, and a neat twist ending. Orbach's film debut. | tt0051489 | Robert Loggia, Gerald O'Loughlin, Ellen Parker, Shirley Ballard, Russell Hardie, Hal Riddle, Jerry Orbach, Vincent Gardenia. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Cop Land | 1997 | James Mangold | ★★½ | 105 | Stallone plays a sheriff who's eaten a few too many donuts and is responsible for looking the other way in a New Jersey town inhabited almost exclusively by N.Y.C. cops who exist, it seems, above the law. Keitel is their ringleader, De Niro an Internal Affairs officer on his trail. A solid premise, and a riveting start, give way to increasingly conventional (and predictable) plotting by writer-director Mangold. | tt0118887 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty, John Spencer, Frank Vincent, Malik Yoba, Bruce Altman | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cop Out | 2010 | Kevin Smith | 💣 | 113 | Crude, needlessly overlong, thoroughly excruciating cop/buddy "comedy" about two Brooklyn officers who play by their own rules. While going after a local drug ring, Willis is trying to figure out how he's going to pay for his daughter's wedding, and Morgan is convinced that his wife is cheating on him. Annoying music score is icing on the cake. | tt1385867 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Adam Brody, Kevin Pollak, Guillermo Diaz, Seann William Scott, Jason Lee, Rashida Jones, Michelle Trachtenberg, Ana de la Reguera, Cory Fernandez, Susie Essman, Fred Armisen, Francie Swift | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Cop au Vin | 1984 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 110 | Chabrol is in fine form in this diverting, neatly paced thriller about a young mail boy, his widowed, invalid mother, and a greedy trio who attempt to evict them from their home. Murder brings a shrewd cop on the scene to investigate. Followed by a sequel, INSPECTEUR LAVARDIN. | tt0089832 | Jean Poiret, Stephane Audran, Michel Bouquet, Jean Topart, Lucas Belvaux, Pauline Lafont | French | Comedy, Crime, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Cop-Out | 1967 | Pierre Rouve | ★★½ | 95 | OK murder mystery with dated generation-gap overtones. Reclusive lawyer Mason comes out of retirement to defend his daughter's boyfriend on trumped-up murder charge. Remake of 1942 French film STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. | tt0061515 | James Mason, Geraldine Chaplin, Bobby Darin, Paul Bertoya, Ian Ogilvy, Bryan Stanton | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Copacabana | 1947 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 92 | Potentially intriguing Marx-Miranda casting can't save this unengrossing musical comedy. Groucho is a Broadway agent attempting to promote Carmen, his only client, resulting in her being hired for two jobs (in two different guises) at the same nightclub. This was Groucho's first film without his brothers. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039277 | Groucho Marx, Carmen Miranda, Andy Russell, Steve Cochran, Gloria Jean, Louis Sobol, Abel Green, Earl Wilson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Copper Canyon | 1950 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 83 | OK Western of post-Civil War days, with Confederate vet Milland faced with decision to assist fellow Southerners who are being harassed as they attempt to mine copper. Lamarr plays the femme fatale. | tt0042344 | Ray Milland, Hedy Lamarr, Macdonald Carey, Mona Freeman, Harry Carey/Jr., Frank Faylen, Hope Emerson, Percy Helton | Western | NULL | |||
| Cops and Robbers | 1973 | Aram Avakian | ★★★ | 89 | Enjoyable Donald Westlake tale about two policemen who pull a million-dollar caper on Wall Street. Funny and exciting, with good location photography by David L. Quaid. | tt0069919 | [PG] | Cliff Gorman, Joseph Bologna, Dick Ward, Shepperd Strudwick, John P. Ryan, Ellen Holly, Dolph Sweet, Joe Spinell | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cops and Robbersons | 1994 | Michael Ritchie | ★★ | 93 | Veteran cop Palance and a young cohort need to borrow Chase's house to stake out a lowlife who's living next door; this, it turns out, is a dream come true for Chevy, who's addicted to TV cop shows and fancies himself a hero. Premise of a baby boomer living out his pop-culture fantasies echoes CITY SLICKERS (Palance included) but isn't nearly as good. | tt0109480 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Jack Palance, Dianne Wiest, Robert Davi, David Barry Gray, Jason James Richter, Fay Masterson, Mike Hughes, Richard Romanus | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Copycat | 1995 | Jon Amiel | ★★★ | 125 | Psychiatrist (Weaver) who's an expert on serial killers— and now traumatized into an agoraphobic existence— joins forces with dedicated cops Hunter and Mulroney to track down the latest (and smartest) murderer in San Francisco. Slickly made, tense and entertaining, although it, like the concurrent SE7EN, forces us to get to know a sick mind better than we might care to. And like many visceral thrillers, it will not stand up to intense scrutiny. | tt0112722 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, Dermot Mulroney, Harry Connick/Jr., William McNamara, Will Patton, John Rothman, J. E. Freeman | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Copying Beethoven | 2006 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★ | 103 | Fictionalized depiction of an aged, maniacal Ludwig van Beethoven and the female (!) copyist trying to transcribe his Ninth Symphony while suffering his tirades. Harris, in his third teaming with director Holland, manages to be at once solid and hammy as the deaf maestro; Kruger is fine. Best to forget the histrionic subplots and enjoy the climax: the 1824 premiere of the 'Ode to Joy' as conducted by its composer. | tt0424908 | [PG-13] | Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Matthew Goode, Phyllida Law, Joe Anderson, Ralph Riach, Karl Johnson, Nicholas Jones | British-Hungarian | Drama, History, Music, Romance | NULL | |
| Coquette | 1929 | Sam Taylor | ★★ | 75 | Pickford's first talkie, for which she won an Oscar playing an ill-tempered flapper who becomes involved with a man who is beneath her station, resulting in tragedy. This stilted, artificial melodrama is a curio at best, notable as a showcase for Pickford's 'new,' modern screen personality. Based on a play which was a famous vehicle for Helen Hayes. | tt0019788 | Mary Pickford, John Mack Brown, Matt Moore, John Sainpolis, William Janney, Henry Kolker, George Irving, Louise Beavers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Coraline | 2009 | Henry Selick | ★★★½ | 100 | Deliciously original stop-motion animated feature about a girl who’s just moved into a rambling old house with her parents and is feeling neglected. She discovers a doorway to an alternate world, where her Other Mother offers everything she’s missing in real life—but, as she learns, it all comes at a terrible price. Intriguingly creepy and constantly surprising. Director Selick adapted Neil Gaiman’s best-selling book and also did the amazing production design, which looks especially striking in 3-D. | tt0327597 | [PG] | Voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, Ian McShane, Robert Bailey, Jr | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Core | 2003 | Jon Amiel | ★★★ | 136 | Strange, seemingly isolated events around the world portend a larger disaster as the earth's electromagnetic field is deteriorating. The only solution involves a perilous journey to the earth's core, which requires the efforts of a motley band of scientific specialists. Exciting, old-fashioned Saturday-matinee film, packed with vivid special effects sequences; transcends its obvious formula with ample humor, colorfully written characters, and a first-rate cast. | tt0298814 | [PG-13] | Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, DJ Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tchéky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, Alfre Woodard | Drama, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Coriolanus | 2011 | Ralph Fiennes | ★★★ | 122 | Muscular rendering of Shakespeare's play in modern dress, with Belgrade filling in for ancient Rome. Fiennes plays the title character, a ferocious warrior who fights for his city but cannot stomach the political aftermath—especially the need to pander to the common people—for which he pays dearly. The Bard's dialogue flows from Fiennes' tongue with the greatest of ease, but he also embraces the physicality of his role. An impressive directorial debut for the actor, who also cast his movie exceedingly well. John Logan adapted the screenplay. | tt1372686 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, John Kani, James Nesbitt, Paul Jesson, Lubna Azabel, Ashraf Barhom | British | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Corky | 1972 | Leonard Horn | ★★½ | 88 | Blake's obsession for stock-car racing shuts out everything else in his life, including wife and friends. Good racing sequences, fairly absorbing character study. Originally titled LOOKIN' GOOD. | tt0068413 | [PG] | Robert Blake, Charlotte Rampling, Patrick O'Neal, Christopher Connelly, Ben Johnson, Laurence Luckinbill | Drama | NULL | ||
| Corky Romano | 2001 | Rob Pritts | 💣 | 85 | Dreadful comedy from the 'idiot as hero' genre. Hyperkinetic Kattan (funny only in small doses) plays the wayward son of a Mob family who's forced to infiltrate the FBI to destroy evidence that would convict his father, Pops Romano (Falk). Clumsy in every department. | tt0250310 | [PG-13] | Chris Kattan, Vinessa Shaw, Peter Falk, Peter Berg, Christopher Penn, Fred Ward, Richard Roundtree | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Corn Is Green | 1945 | Irving Rapper | ★★★½ | 114 | Thoughtful acting in this story of devoted middle-aged teacher Davis in Welsh mining town coming to terms with her prize pupil. Emlyn Williams' play was adapted by Casey Robinson and Frank Cavett. Remade, beautifully, for TV with Katharine Hepburn in 1979. | tt0037614 | Bette Davis, Nigel Bruce, John Dall, Joan Lorring, Rhys Williams, Rosalind Ivan, Mildred Dunnock | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cornbread, Earl and Me | 1975 | Joe Manduke | ★★½ | 95 | Well-intentioned but overly melodramatic account of a black youth, on his way out of the ghetto on a basketball scholarship, who is mistakenly gunned down by police bullets. Fine performances and warm sense of black life evaporate in TV clichés. Fishburne's film debut. | tt0072822 | [PG] | Moses Gunn, Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash, Madge Sinclair, Keith Wilkes, Tierre Turner, Laurence Fishburne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cornered | 1945 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 102 | High-tension drama with determined Canadian flyer Powell in Buenos Aires, tracking down the man responsible for the death of his French bride during WW2. Powell is in peak form. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037615 | Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel, Nina Vale, Morris Carnovsky, Luther Adler | Film-Noir, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Coronado | 1935 | Norman Z. McLeod. | ★★½ | 77 | Unspectacular but pleasant B musical about wealthy, brash songwriter Downs and his romantic escapades with singer Burgess one summer at a resort hotel. Haley and Devine lend support as a couple of hapless sailors. | tt0026234 | Johnny Downs, Betty Burgess, Jack Haley, Andy Devine, Leon Errol, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Alice White, Eddy Duchin with His Orchestra. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Coroner Creek | 1948 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 93 | Single-minded Scott seeks vengeance against the seemingly respectable man responsible for the events leading to a mysterious death. Solid little Western, based on a Luke Short novel; Scott's fisticuffs with henchman Tucker are a highlight. | tt0040245 | Randolph Scott, Marguerite Chapman, George Macready, Sally Eilers, Edgar Buchanan, Barbara Reed, Wallace Ford, Forrest Tucker, William Bishop | Western | NULL | |||
| Corporate Affairs | 1990 | Terence H. Winkless | ★½ | 82 | Doomed attempt to cross-pollinate WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S with WORKING GIRL. Scolari takes advantage of former lover Crosby when she gives CEO Kercheval a heart attack during a tryst. But is he really dead? Somehow enormous amounts of t&a are shown to advantage in a concurrent office orgy. | tt0099305 | [R] | Peter Scolari, Mary Crosby, Chris Lemmon, Ken Kercheval, Richard Herd, Lisa Moncure, Kim Gillingham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Corporation | 2004 | Jennifer Abbott, Mark Achbar. | ★★★½ | 145 | Fascinating documentary presents a history of corporations, from the time courts granted them great power during the industrial revolution up to the present day, when private industry seems to have more influence on the workings of the world than governments. Hardly unbiased, but well researched and persuasive, including interviews with everyone from Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky to a CEO who underwent a major change of heart and now tries to convince his fellow executives that they cannot destroy the environment in the name of profit. Ambitious, eye-opening film based on the book by Joel Bakan; written by Bakan and Achbar. | tt0379225 | Canadian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Corpse Came C.O.D. | 1947 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 87 | Rival reporters Brent and Blondell attempt to solve the mystery of why movie star Jergens has received a dead body. Passable comedy-mystery, with too much emphasis on the former. | tt0039279 | George Brent, Joan Blondell, Adele Jergens, Jim Bannon, Leslie Brooks, Grant Mitchell, Una O'Connor, Marvin Miller | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Corpse Vanishes | 1942 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 64 | A cut above the average low-grade thrillers Lugosi made for producer Sam Katzman. Bela is a scientist who kidnaps brides for the purpose of using their body fluids to rejuvenate wife Russell, an elderly countess. | tt0034613 | Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin, Elizabeth Russell, Vince Barnett, Joan Barclay, Angelo Rossitto | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Corregidor | 1943 | William Nigh | ★★ | 73 | Routine WW2 melodrama focusing not so much on the American military's courageous stand against the Japanese at the title locale but on a corny love triangle involving a trio of doctors (one of whom is a woman). Unintentionally funny at times; Eddie Hall and Charles Jordan play characters named 'Brooklyn' and 'Bronx.' Coscripted by Edgar Ulmer. | tt0035755 | Otto Kruger, Elissa Landi, Donald Woods, Frank Jenks, Rick Vallin, Wanda McKay, Ian Keith | War | NULL | |||
| Corridor of Mirrors | 1948 | Terence Young | ★★★ | 105 | Underrated 'art' film, similar to Jean Cocteau's work of this period, has Portman well cast as an artist who lives in the past, surrounding himself with Renaissance-era objects. Beauteous Romney (whose acting is not so hot) is the woman he falls in love with. Stunning sets, photography, and musical score. | tt0040246 | Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Barbara Mullen, Hugh Sinclair, Joan Maude, Lois Maxwell, Christopher Lee | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Corridors of Blood | 1963 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 86 | Middling account of 19th-century British doctor who experiments with anesthetics, becomes addicted to the narcotics, and winds up consorting with grave-robbers to continue his experiments. Filmed in 1958. | tt0051542 | Boris Karloff, Betta St. John, Finlay Currie, Christopher Lee, Francis Matthews, Adrienne Corri, Nigel Green | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Corrina, Corrina | 1994 | Jessie Nelson | ★★★ | 114 | Sweet-natured film about a young widower who hires a housekeeper to help take care of his daughter— little dreaming how important she'll become to both of them. As a document of social mores in the late 1950s this has its ups and downs, but endearing performances and upbeat point of view make it good entertainment. Written by the director. | tt0109484 | [PG] | Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, Tina Majorino, Don Ameche, Wendy Crewson, Larry Miller, Erica Yohn, Jenifer Lewis, Joan Cusack, Harold Sylvester, Steven Williams, Patrika Darbo, Lucy Webb | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Corrupt | Order of Death | 1983 | Roberto Faenza | ★★★ | 99 | Intriguing, entertaining psychological thriller about N.Y.C. policeman Keitel, his victimization by mysterious Lydon, and a hunt for a cop killer. Lydon used to be known as Johnny Rotten (of the punk rock group, The Sex Pistols). Fine performances; originally titled ORDER OF DEATH, with a 113m. running time, and also known as COP KILLERS and CORRUPT LIEUTENANT. | tt0085366 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Nicole Garcia, Leonard Mann, John Lydon, Sylvia Sidney | Italian | Thriller | NULL |
| The Corrupt Ones | 1966 | James Hill | ★★½ | 92 | Knock-about photographer Stack is befriended by stranger who gives him key (literally!) to ancient Chinese emperor's treasure. With better dialogue for its many grotesque characters, film could've been a knockout. | tt0061800 | Robert Stack, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan, Christian Marquand, Werner Peters | French-Italian-West German | Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Corruption | 1968 | Robert Hartford-Davis | ★★ | 91 | Famed surgeon Cushing slowly becomes insane as he stops at nothing, including murder, to restore the disfigured face of his fashion model fiancée (Lloyd). Predictable, formulaic horror opus. | tt0061520 | [R] | Peter Cushing, Sue Lloyd, Noel Trevarthen, David Lodge, Kate O'Mara | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Corruptor | 1999 | James Foley | ★★ | 110 | Wahlberg is assigned to the otherwise all-Chinese NYPD Asian gang unit and gradually wins the trust of Yun-Fat, leader of the task force. However, not everyone is as honest as they seem. Routine cop action film enlivened— but not enough— by Yun-Fat's sizzling star performance and Wahlberg's solid work. Lee is both silky and slimy in the title role. | tt0142192 | [R] | Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Jon Kit Lee, Andrew Pang, Brian Cox, Elizabeth Lindsey, Byron Mann, Kim Chan, Tovah Feldshuh | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Corsair | 1931 | Roland West. | ★★½ | 73 | Former college football hero Morris goes to work for a crooked Wall Street tycoon and tries to woo his beautiful, spoiled daughter (Todd), but she's not interested until he becomes a bootlegger! Title refers to the name of the boat he uses to hijack the booze. Stylish but slow-moving crime drama is notable for Ray June's fluid camerawork. | tt0021764 | Chester Morris, Alison Loyd (Thelma Todd), William Austin, Frank McHugh, Emmett Corrigan, Fred Kohler, Frank Rice, Ned Sparks, Mayo Methot. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Corsican Brothers | 1941 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★★ | 112 | Entertaining swashbuckler from Dumas story of twins who are separated, but remain spiritually tied. Fairbanks excellent in the dual lead, with strong support, ingenious photographic effects. Remade for TV in 1985. | tt0033490 | Douglas Fairbanks/ Jr., Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, H. B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Corvette K-225 | 1943 | Richard Rosson | ★★★ | 99 | First-rate war film with Canadian officer Scott fighting to save prominent navy destroyer from enemy attack; realistic actioner produced by Howard Hawks. Look quickly for Robert Mitchum. | tt0035757 | Randolph Scott, James Brown, Ella Raines, Barry Fitzgerald, Andy Devine, Walter Sande, Richard Lane | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Corvette Summer | 1978 | Matthew Robbins | ★★ | 105 | High schooler Hamill falls for aspiring hooker Potts while in Vegas tracking down the person who stole the sports car restored by his shop class. Bland comedy drama offers Potts' disarmingly off-the-wall performance to keep your attention. | tt0077372 | [PG] | Mark Hamill, Annie Potts, Eugene Roche, Kim Milford, Richard McKenzie, William Bryant | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Cosmic Eye | 1985 | Faith Hubley | ★★★ | 76 | Wonderfully imaginative, life-affirming animated feature about the needs, rights, and struggles of mankind, most especially children, around the world. A tapestry that includes pieces of earlier animated shorts by John and Faith Hubley, with music by such notables as Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, and Elizabeth Swados. | tt0088955 | Voices of Maureen Stapleton, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Hubley, Linda Atkinson | Animation, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Cosmic Man | 1959 | Herbert Greene | ★½ | 72 | Mediocre sci-fi, a pale imitation of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, in which the title character (Carradine) arrives on Earth. The military wants to destroy him, while scientists argue that this would result in dire consequences. Well-intentioned message regarding abuse of atomic energy is lost in poorly made film. | tt0052702 | Bruce Bennett, John Carradine, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Cosmic Monster | 1958 | Gilbert Gunn | ★½ | 75 | Britain's only Giant Bug movie is talky tale of a mad scientist whose magnetism experiments punch a hole in the ionosphere, letting in cosmic rays which enlarge insects in the woods. Gleefully ghoulish at times. Original British title: THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X. | tt0051020 | Forrest Tucker, Gaby Andre, Martin Benson, Alec Mango, Wyndham Goldie, Hugh Latimer | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Cossacks | 1959 | Giorgio Rivalta | ★★ | 113 | Heavy-handed historical tale set in 1850s Russia; Cossack Purdom and son Barrymore clash in loyalties to Czar Alexander II. | tt0052703 | Edmund Purdom, John Drew Barrymore, Giorgia Moll, Massimo Girotti | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Così | 1996 | Mark Joffe | ★★ | 100 | Professionally unfulfilled drifter with a stable law school girlfriend makes a desperate career move when he agrees to stage Mozart's Cosæ® Fan Tutte as part of a therapy session for Sydney mental inmates. Unusual but eventually tiresome comedy, from Louis Nowra's play, features lots of familiar faces (to fans of Australian cinema) in supporting roles. | tt0115951 | [R] | Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Aden Young, Colin Friels, Greta Scacchi, Paul Mercurio | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cote d'Azur | 2005 | Olivier Ducastel | ★★½ | 90 | One randy summer in an old family house on the Riviera, where vacationing parents, progeny, tag-alongs, and old flames all collide in a simmering stew of middle-age lust and teenage hormones. Several overheated characters plus a lot of bedrooms and a shower stall . . . you do le math. Breezy but insubstantial scenario is wistfully unreal, a demi-musical (!) with singing, dancing, and experimental romancing. Written by the directors. | tt0428430 |
|
Jacques Martineau. Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, Gilbert Melki, Jean-Marc Barr, Jacques Bonnaffé, Edouard Collin, Romain Torres, Sabrina Seyvecou | French | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |
| Cottage to Let | 1941 | Anthony Asquith | ★★ | 90 | Good cast is wasted in this disappointing thriller about Nazi spies attempting to pilfer the plans for inventor Banks' secret bomb sight. | tt0033491 | Alastair Sim, John Mills, Leslie Banks, Michael Wilding, Carla Lehmann, Catherine Lacey, George Cole | British | Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Cotter | 1973 | Paul Stanley | ★★½ | 94 | After tragic rodeo incident, unhappy Indian clown (Murray) struggles to reestablish himself in home town. Good cast in fair script that fares best in creating small-town atmosphere. | tt0069923 | Don Murray, Carol Lynley, Rip Torn, Sherry Jackson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cotton Club | 1984 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★½ | 127 | Homage to the days of colorful gangsters and Harlem nightlife has style to spare and a wonderful soundtrack full of Duke Ellington music (Gere plays his own cornet solos); all it needs is a story and characters whose relationships make some sense. Visually striking with good scenes scattered about. In any case, the movie isn't nearly as interesting as the published stories about its tumultuous production! | tt0087089 | [R] | Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee, Bob Hoskins, James Remar, Nicolas Cage, Allen Garfield, Fred Gwynne, Gwen Verdon, Maurice Hines, Joe Dallesandro, Julian Beck, Jennifer Grey, Lisa Jane Persky, Tom Waits, Diane Venora, Woody Strode, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Laurence Fishburne, James Russo, Giancarlo Esposito | Crime, Musical | NULL | ||
| Cotton Comes to Harlem | 1970 | Ossie Davis | ★★★ | 97 | St. Jacques is Coffin Ed Johnson, Cambridge is Gravedigger Jones, black cops who suspect preacher Lockhart's back-to-Africa campaign is a swindle. Neatly combines action and comedy, with fine use of Harlem locales; from Chester Himes' novel. Sequel: COME BACK, CHARLESTON BLUE. | tt0065579 | [R] | Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace, Redd Foxx, Emily Yancy, Cleavon Little. | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Cotton Mary | 1999 | Ismail Merchant | ★½ | 124 | Stultifying drama, set in India in 1954, in which the Anglo-Indian title character manipulates her way into a British household and causes all sorts of tumult. Potentially interesting story of the clash between British and Indian cultures is full of obvious symbolism; a real snooze. Madhur Jaffrey (who plays Cotton Mary) is listed in the credits as 'co-director.' | tt0159373 | [R] | Greta Scacchi, Madhur Jaffrey, James Wilby, Sakina Jaffrey, Neena Gupta, Prayag Raaj, Laura Lumley, Gemma Jones, Sarah Badel | French-British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| The Couch Trip | 1988 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 97 | Amusing, if somewhat lackluster, comedy about a mental institution escapee who masquerades as a successful Beverly Hills psychiatrist and radio adviser. Some good laughs, served by a solid cast, but the story is pretty thin. | tt0094910 | [R] | Dan Aykroyd, Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, Donna Dixon, Richard Romanus, Arye Gross, David Clennon, Mary Gross | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Couch in New York | 1996 | Chantal Akerman | ★½ | 105 | N.Y.C. therapist Hurt, in desperate need of a change of scenery, switches apartments with Parisian dancer Binoche. Flat, uninspired romantic comedy. | tt0118018 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, William Hurt, Stephanie Buttle, Barbara Garrick, Paul Guilfoyle, Richard Jenkins, Kent Broadhurst | Belgian-French-German | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Couch | 1962 | Owen Crump | ★★½ | 100 | Bizarre yarn of psychopathic killer on the prowl while under analysis. Script by Robert Bloch from screen story cowritten by Blake Edwards. | tt0055870 | Shirley Knight, Grant Williams, Onslow Stevens, William Leslie | Horror, Drama | NULL | |||
| Counsel for Crime | 1937 | John Brahm. | ★★½ | 61 | Idealistic law school graduate (Montgomery) is given a job by a crafty defense lawyer (who else but Kruger?), quits when he discovers his boss' unscrupulous ways, and later prosecutes him for murder— unaware that the legal eagle is his real father. Kruger's magnetic performance and some clever plotting keep this B film afloat. | tt0028743 | Otto Kruger, Douglass Montgomery, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Thurston Hall, Nana Bryant, Gene Morgan, Marc Lawrence. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Counsellor at Law | 1933 | William Wyler. | ★★★★ | 82 | Vivid adaptation of Elmer Rice play about rags-to-riches Jewish lawyer who can't escape his background— and begins to question his success when he learns his wife has been unfaithful. Barrymore gives one of his greatest performances in meaty, colorful role; Wyler keeps this comedy-drama moving at breakneck pace. Scripted by Rice. Cast also includes future directors Vincent Sherman, Richard Quine, and Robert Gordon. | tt0023911 | John Barrymore, Bebe Daniels, Doris Kenyon, Onslow Stevens, Isabel Jewell, Melvyn Douglas, Thelma Todd, John Qualen, Mayo Methot. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Count Dracula | 1970 | Jess Franco | ★★½ | 98 | Flawed but interesting low-budget adaptation of Bram Stoker novel which sticks close to its source; Lee turns in remarkably low-key performance. TV prints run 90m. | tt0065569 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Frederick Williams, Maria Rohm, Soledad Miranda | Italian-Spanish-German | Horror | NULL | |
| Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride | The Satanic Rites of Dracula | 1973 | Alan Gibson | ★½ | 84 | Last of the Hammer Films Dracula series is awfully tired, despite modern-day setting; the Count gets hold of a plague virus that can destroy mankind. Cut for U.S. release from original 88m. version called SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA. Video title: THE RITES OF DRACULA. | tt0070634 | [R] | Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Coles, William Franklyn, Freddie Jones, Joanna Lumley | British | Horror | NULL |
| Count Five and Die | 1958 | Victor Vicas | ★★½ | 92 | WW2 espionage flick has Hunter an American agent working with British to mislead Nazis about Allied landing site. | tt0051492 | Jeffrey Hunter, Nigel Patrick, Ann-Marie Duringer, David Kossoff | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Count Three and Pray | 1955 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 102 | Atmospheric rural Americana in post-Civil War days, with Heflin exerting influ√ ence on townfolk as new pastor with reckless past. Woodward (making film debut) as strong-willed orphan lass and Burr, the perennial villain, are fine. | tt0047954 | Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward, Raymond Burr, Nancy Kulp | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Count Yorga, Vampire | 1970 | Bob Kelljan | ★★★ | 91 | Sophisticated, clever vampire (Quarry) establishes coven in modern-day Southern California. Fast-paced and convincing. Sequel: THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA. | tt0066952 | [PG] | Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Donna Anders, Michael Murphy, Michael Macready | Drama, Romance, Horror | NULL | ||
| Count Your Blessings | 1959 | Jean Negulesco | ★★ | 102 | Unfunny comedy that even Chevalier's smile can't help. Kerr marries French playboy Brazzi during WW2; he goes off philandering for years. Their child conspires to bring them together again. | tt0052706 | Deborah Kerr, Rossano Brazzi, Maurice Chevalier, Martin Stephens, Tom Helmore, Patricia Medina | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1954 | Robert Vernay | ★★½ | 97 | Serviceable rendition of Alexandre Dumas costume classic. | tt0046866 | Jean Marais, Lia Amanda, Roger Piguat | French | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1961 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★½ | 90 | Faithful adaptation of Dumas novel, but Jourdan hasn't the zest that Robert Donat gave the role in 1934. Originally 120m. | tt0054761 | Louis Jourdan, Yvonne Furneaux, Pierre Mondy, Bernard Dheran | French | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1934 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★½ | 119 | Superb filmization of classic story of Edmond Dantes, who spends years in prison unjustly but escapes to seek revenge on enemies who framed him. Donat leads excellent cast in rousing classic from Dumas' story. | tt0025004 | Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Raymond Walburn, O.P. Heggie, Luis Alberni, Irene Hervey | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 2002 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★★ | 131 | Surprisingly good version of the Dumas evergreen, with Caviezel an impressive Edmond Dantes, who is unjustly imprisoned and vows revenge against those who wronged him. Final section of the story succumbs to the obvious, but overall a nice job. Harris is a standout as Dantes' fellow prisoner. Debut screenplay for veteran TV producer Jay Wolpert. | tt0245844 | [PG-13] | James Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Dagmara Dominczyk, Michael Wincott, Luis Guzman, James Frain, Alex Norton. | British-Irish-U.S. | Action, Drama, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Count of Monte Cristo | 1975 | David Greene | Average TV Movie | 100 | Lavish costume drama with Chamberlain quite all right as a swashbuckling Edmond Dantes and Curtis as the villainous Mondego. Sidney Carroll's adaptation of Dumas holds its own against its many predecessors. | tt0072824 | Richard Chamberlain, Tony Curtis, Trevor Howard, Louis Jourdan, Donald Pleasence, Taryn Power, Kate Nelligan | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Count the Hours | 1953 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 76 | Lawyer Carey takes case of migrant worker falsely accused of a double murder. Trim, well-directed (if implausible) story; Elam is at his slimiest as an alcoholic psycho. | tt0045652 | Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Dolores Moran, Adele Mara, Jack Elam | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Countdown | 1968 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 101 | Near-flawless depiction of real-life trials and concerns of American astronauts, their wives, co-workers, leading to first flight to moon. Excellent ensemble performances, intelligent script by Loring Mandel, based on Hank Searls' novel. Dated technology only liability. An early gem from Altman. | tt0062827 | James Caan, Joanna Moore, Robert Duvall, Barbara Baxley, Charles Aidman, Steve Ihnat, Michael Murphy, Ted Knight | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Countdown at Kusini | 1976 | Ossie Davis | ★★ | 101 | Well-meaning treatment of liberation of fictional African country, 'Fahari.' Action and ideas are constantly swallowed up by romantic subplot. Financed by DST Telecommunications, subsidiary of Delta Sigma Theta, world's largest black sorority. | tt0074352 | [PG] | Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Greg Morris, Tom Aldredge, Michael Ebert, Thomas Baptiste | Nigerian | Drama | NULL | |
| Counter-Attack | 1945 | Zoltan Korda | ★★½ | 90 | Satisfactory WW2 movie of Allied fighters going behind enemy lines to sabotage German positions; no classic, but good. | tt0037618 | Paul Muni, Marguerite Chapman, Larry Parks, Philip Van Zandt, George Macready, Roman Bohnen | War | NULL | |||
| Counter-Espionage | 1942 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 73 | Deftly handled Lone Wolf series entry pits the sleuth against Nazi spies in London amidst the brutal German bombing blitz. | tt0034617 | Warren William, Eric Blore, Hillary Brooke, Thurston Hall, Fred Kelsey, Forrest Tucker | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Counterfeit Killer | Crackshot | 1968 | Joseph Leytes | ★★ | 95 | Adapted from TV film THE FACELESS MAN, meandering actioner has Lord a secret service man infiltrating a counterfeit syndicate, with predictable results. Video title: CRACKSHOT. | tt0062828 | Jack Lord, Shirley Knight, Jack Weston, Charles Drake, Joseph Wiseman, Don Hanmer | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Counterfeit Plan | 1957 | Montgomery Tully. | ★★ | 80 | Scott is appropriately nasty as escaped murderer who sets up international counterfeit syndicate. | tt0050267 | Zachary Scott, Peggie Castle, Mervyn Johns, Sydney Tafler. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Counterfeit Traitor | 1962 | George Seaton | ★★★½ | 140 | Holden is a double agent during WW2, falls in love with Palmer between various dangerous missions. Authentic backgrounds and fine cast. Based on true story. | tt0055871 | William Holden, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Griffith, Erica Beer, Werner Peters, Eva Dahlbeck | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Counterfeiters | 1948 | Peter Stewart (Sam Newfield). | ★★½ | 73 | Not bad little actioner with Scotland Yard cop Sutton going undercover to nab counterfeiter Beaumont and his gang. | tt0040250 | John Sutton, Doris Merrick, Hugh Beaumont, Lon Chaney/Jr., George O'Hanlon, Herbert Rawlinson, Joyce (Joi) Lansing. | Action, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Counterfeiters | 2007 | Stefan Ruzowitzky | ★★★½ | 98 | Cocky and talented Russian-Jewish counterfeiter is sent to a concentration camp at Sachsenhausen to participate in Operation Bernhard, to help the Third Reich bring down the British and American economy by printing millions of phony pound notes and dollars. Chilling portrait of a man who pretends to care only about himself, and the price he pays for survival. Based on an incredible true story; Ruzowitzky adapted the book by Adolf Burger, one of the protagonist’s fellow prisoners (played here by Diehl). | tt0813547 | [R] | Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach, August Zirner, Veit Stübner | Austrian-German | Crime, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Counterplot | 1959 | Kurt Neumann. | ★★ | 76 | Mundane hide-and-seeker set in Puerto Rico where Tucker is dodging police and his double-dealing attorney. | tt0052707 | Forrest Tucker, Allison Hayes, Gerald Milton, Edmundo Rivera Alvarez. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Counterpoint | 1968 | Ralph Nelson | ★½ | 107 | Absurd WW2 melodrama about symphony conductor captured by Nazi general, forced to put on private concert; Heston looks comfortable because he doesn't have to change facial expressions while conducting. | tt0062829 | Charlton Heston, Maximilian Schell, Kathryn Hays, Leslie Nielsen, Anton Diffring | War | NULL | |||
| Countess Dracula | 1972 | Peter Sasdy | ★★ | 94 | Countess masquerades as her own daughter, needs blood to maintain facade of youth. OK shocker. Based on historical figure Elisabeth Bathory; has nothing to do with Dracula. | tt0065580 | Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Peter Jeffrey, Lesley-Anne Down | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| A Countess From Hong Kong | 1967 | Charles Chaplin. | ★½ | 108 | Director-writer-composer (and bit-part actor) Chaplin's attempt to make old-fashioned romantic comedy sinks fast, though everybody tries hard. Sophia stows away in shipboard stateroom of diplomat Brando. Badly shot, badly timed, badly scored. A pity, particularly because this is Chaplin's cinematic swan song. | tt0061523 | Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Sydney Chaplin, Tippi Hedren, Patrick Cargill, Margaret Rutherford. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Countess of Monte Cristo | 1948 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 77 | Sonja and Olga pretend to be royal visitors in this limp costume comedy. | tt0040251 | Sonja Henie, Olga San Juan, Dorothy Hart, Michael Kirby, Arthur Treacher | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Country | 1984 | Richard Pearce | ★★★ | 109 | Penetrating, believable look at modern farming family torn apart when government threatens to foreclose on loan and take their land away. It's the woman whose strength holds things together (and it's Lange who coproduced the film); all performances are first rate, and William D. Wittliff's script neatly avoids clichés. | tt0087091 | [PG] | Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Wilford Brimley, Matt Clark, Therese Graham, Levi L. Knebel | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Country Bears | 2002 | Peter Hastings | ★★ | 88 | 'Inspired by' a Disneyland attraction, this lazy excuse for a kid film has a young bear (who's been adopted by a human family) going back to his roots, and helping a legendary music group to stage a reunion and rescue their performance hall. If they spent more time on the script and less time setting up cameo appearances (Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, etc.) the results might have been better. | tt0276033 | [G] | Christopher Walken, Stephen Tobolowsky, Daryl Mitchell, M. C. Gainey, Diedrich Bader, Alex Rocco, Meagen Fay, Queen Latifah, Eli Marienthal; voices of Haley Joel Osment, James Gammon, Brad Garrett, Kevin Michael Richardson, Toby Huss, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Country Gentlemen | 1936 | Ralph Staub | ★★ | 66 | Slight Olsen & Johnson comedy, with the boys cast as fast-talking con men involved in a variety of shenanigans. | tt0027470 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Joyce Compton, Lila Lee, Pierre Watkin, Donald Kirke, Ray Corrigan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Country Girl | 1954 | George Seaton | ★★★½ | 104 | Kelly won an Oscar as wife of alcoholic singer (Crosby) trying for comeback via help of director (Holden). Crosby excels in one of his finest roles. Writer-director Seaton also won Academy Award for adaptation of Clifford Odets play. | tt0046874 | Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden, Anthony Ross | Drama | NULL | |||
| Country Life | 1995 | Michael Blakemore | ★★★ | 107 | Chekhov's Uncle Vanya is transposed to an Australian sheep farm, circa WW1, and the result is absolutely delightful. Colonial Aussies simultaneously crave and clash with European sensibilities, especially when the enigmatic paterfamilias Alexander (a wickedly fun role, played by writer-director Blakemore) returns from London with the stunning Scacchi in tow. Subtle comedy, high drama, and a great deal of aroused passions ensue. And, yes, that's Britain's Googie Withers (longtime resident of Australia) as Hannah the maid— stealing every scene she's in. | tt0109491 | [PG-13] | Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, John Hargreaves, Kerry Fox, Michael Blakemore, Googie Withers, Maurie Fields, Robyn Cruze, Ron Blanchard | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Country Music Holiday | 1958 | Alvin Ganzer. | ★★ | 81 | A hillbilly's rise to fame; lots of songs and specialties dominate this curio. | tt0051493 | Ferlin Husky, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jesse White, Rocky Graziano, Cliff Norton, Clyde Woods, June Carter, The Jordanaires, Drifting Johnny Miller, Patty Duke. | Music | NULL | |||
| Country Strong | 2010 | Shana Feste | ★★ | 117 | Labored soap opera about a country singer (Paltrow) whose husband (McGraw) springs her from rehab prematurely and puts her on the road—along with a talented singer-songwriter (Hedlund) who genuinely cares about her. Also on the tour is a pretty young thing (Meester) who catches everyone’s eye, including Paltrow, who’s jealous of her both personally and professionally. Characters’ erratic behavior makes this a long slog, punctuated by a number of agreeable songs. | tt1555064 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester, Marshall Chapman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Coup de Grace | 1976 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★ | 96 | Disappointing tale of a self-destructive countess (von Trotta, wife of the director), who wastes her life because the officer she loves does not reciprocate her feelings. Bleak, sometimes confusing film, not as emotional or involving as it should be. | tt0074515 | Margarethe von Trotta, Matthias Habich, Rudiger Kirschstein, Valeska Gert | French-German | Action | NULL | ||
| Coup de Torchon | 1981 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 128 | Strong, disturbing black comedy, based on a novel by American Jim Thompson but reset in 1936 Equatorial Africa. Easygoing police chief (Noiret) of small colonial town is a doormat for everyone in sight, especially his wife; he gradually realizes he can use his position to gain vengeance with impunity. Fascinating film eventually overplays its hand, but enthralling most of the way, with marvelously shaded performance by Noiret. Aka CLEAN SLATE. | tt0082206 | Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, Stephane Audran, Irene Skobline, Eddy Mitchell, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Guy Marchand | French | Crime | NULL | ||
| Coupe de Ville | 1990 | Joe Roth | ★★ | 99 | Obvious, forgettable formula tale of three warring brothers forced to deal with their feelings as they drive dad Arkin's car from Detroit to Florida. Set in 1963 and— guess what?— there are oldies on the soundtrack. Still, the sequence in which the boys debate the origin of, and words to, 'Louie, Louie' is almost worth the price of admission. | tt0099310 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Arye Gross, Daniel Stern, Alan Arkin, Annabeth Gish, Rita Taggart, Joseph Bologna, James Gammon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Couples Retreat | 2009 | Peter Billingsley | ★★½ | 113 | Bateman and Bell, trying to save their marriage, strong-arm three sets of friends to accompany them to a tropical resort for a week—unaware that rigorous therapy sessions are part of the regime. The setting (French Polynesia) is beautiful, and so are the women, so this is pleasant enough to watch, but it's also surprisingly bland and predictable. Written by Vaughn, Favreau, and Dana Fox (who also plays a masseuse). | tt1078940 | [PG-13] | Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk, Jean Reno, Tasha Smith, Carlos Ponce, Peter Serafinowicz, Temuera Morrison, John Michael Higgins, Ken Jeong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Courage | 1984 | Robert L. Rosen | 💣 | 90 | Perfectly horrendous thriller about a trio of marathon runners taken prisoner by a citizen army in the New Mexico desert. Jog on. Also known as RAW COURAGE. | tt0087092 | [R] | Ronny Cox, Lois Chiles, Art Hindle, M. Emmet Walsh, Tim Maier, Lisa Sutton | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Courage Mountain | 1989 | Christopher Leitch | ★★½ | 98 | Implausible though inoffensive updating of Johanna Spyri's Heidi, detailing what happens when the teenage girl is sent off to boarding school at the outset of WW1. Sheen is sorely miscast as Peter, her ever-loyal beau. | tt0097115 | [PG] | Juliette Caton, Charlie Sheen, Leslie Caron, Joanna Clarke, Nicola Stapleton, Jade Magri, Kathryn Ludlow, Jan Rubes, Yorgo Voyagis | U.S.-French | Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Courage Under Fire | 1996 | Edward Zwick | ★★★½ | 115 | Compelling tale of a career Army officer, troubled by Persian Gulf War incident in which he was involved in an accidental death. Now he's assigned to investigate the death of a female Captain (Ryan) nominated for the Medal of Honor. In RASHOMON-like flashbacks, we learn that there's more to her story than meets the eye. Intelligent, multilayered story (by Patrick Sheane Duncan) about integrity, personal honor, and public hypocrisy. | tt0115956 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Sean Astin, Matt Damon, Seth Gilliam, Tim Guinee, Scott Glenn, Bronson Pinchot, Kathleen Widdoes, Diane Baker | Action, Drama, War, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Courage of Black Beauty | 1957 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 77 | Wholesome programmer of Crawford and colt he is given. | tt0050268 | John Crawford, Diane Brewster, J. Pat O'Malley, John Bryant | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Courage of Lassie | 1946 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★½ | 92 | Third of the MGM Lassie movies has a radiant Taylor trying to rehabilitate the collie after his combat experiences during WW2. Despite title, the dog in question is called Bill, not Lassie, though played by the same collie who starred in the other studio films. Filmed on beautiful locations in Canada. | tt0038427 | Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, Tom Drake, Selena Royle, George Cleveland, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer | Drama, Family, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Courageous Dr. Christian | 1940 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★ | 67 | The good doctor battles a town's indifference to its homeless and an epidemic that breaks out in shantytown. Typical entry in Hersholt's B picture series. | tt0032361 | Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Tom Neal, Maude Eburne | Drama | NULL | |||
| Courageous Mr. Penn | 1941 | Lance Comfort | ★★ | 79 | Repetition overwhelms this sometimes intelligent— but mostly dull— biography of Quaker William Penn, his trial for religious freedom and founding of the Pennsylvania colony. Original British title: PENN OF PENNSYLVANIA. | tt0033493 | Clifford Evans, Deborah Kerr, Dennis Arundell, Aubrey Mallalieu, D. J. Williams | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Court Jester | 1956 | Norman Panama, Melvin Frank | ★★★★ | 101 | One of the best comedies ever made has Danny as phony jester who finds himself involved in romance, court intrigue, and a deadly joust. Delightfully complicated comic situations (scripted by the directors), superbly performed. And remember: the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle. | tt0049096 | Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker, Mildred Natwick, Robert Middleton, John Carradine | Comedy, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |||
| Court Martial | 1955 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 105 | Tense courtroom story of officer Niven accused of stealing military funds. The trial reveals provocations of grasping wife. A solid drama. Originally released as CARRINGTON, V.C. | tt0047923 | David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Victor Maddern, Maurice Denham | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell | 1955 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 100 | Low-key drama about trial of military pioneer who in 1925 predicted Japanese attack on U.S. Steiger adds spark to slowly paced film as wily attorney; Montgomery made her movie debut here. | tt0047956 | Gary Cooper, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, Rod Steiger, Elizabeth Montgomery, Fred Clark, James Daly, Jack Lord, Peter Graves, Darren McGavin | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | 1990 | Larry Peerce | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Intriguing drama about a littleknown event in the future baseball great's life, when he faced bigotry as a G.I. Hits a homer, thanks to Braugher's forceful performance. Ruby Dee, who played Robinson's wife in the 1950 THE JACKIE ROBINSON STORY, plays his mother here. Made for cable. | tt0099311 | Andre Braugher, Daniel Stern, Ruby Dee, Stan Shaw, Kasi Lemmons, Paul Dooley, Bruce Dern | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Courtney Affair | 1947 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 112 | Wealthy young man marries housemaid in this family saga tracing the years 1900-1945; amiable but soapy, this was a big hit in England. Originally ran 120m. Original title: THE COURTNEYS OF CURZON STREET. | tt0039281 | Anna Neagle,Michael Wilding, Gladys Young, Coral Browne, Michael Medwin | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Courtship of Andy Hardy | 1942 | George B. Seitz | ★★ | 93 | While Judge Hardy handles a divorce case, Andy romances the couple's withdrawn daughter (Reed). Sticky series entry. | tt0034618 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Fay Holden, Cecilia Parker, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Donna Reed, William Lundigan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Courtship of Eddie's Father | 1963 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 117 | Cute family comedy with Howard trying to find wife for widower father Ford. Look sharp for Lee Meriwether as Glenn's assistant. Later a TV series. | tt0056956 | Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, Roberta Sherwood, Jerry Van Dyke | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cousin Bette | 1998 | Des McAnuff | ★★½ | 108 | Lange sees her chance for revenge after a lifetime of mistreatment when her beautiful, pampered cousin dies and Lange becomes part of the cousin's household. But her plans go awry as each person in her scheme pursues his or her own selfish agenda. Venomously witty black comedy from the Balzac novel, set in 1840s Paris, dulls its impact by taking a few turns too many. Shue is ideal as a sexy, self-absorbed soubrette. | tt0118894 | [R] | Jessica Lange, Bob Hoskins, Elisabeth Shue, Hugh Laurie, Aden Young, Geraldine Chaplin, Laura Fraser, Toby Stephens, Kelly Macdonald, Janie Hargreaves, John Sessions, John Benfield | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Cousin Bobby | 1991 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★½ | 70 | Highly personal, intelligent documentary about director Demme looking up his cousin after many years, and learning about his work. The Reverend Robert Castle is a Harlem priest who is steadfastly devoted to his parishioners, and long committed to radical political activism. A fascinating portrait of a complex individual, and of his evolving relationship with his filmmaker cousin. | tt0104018 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Cousin, Cousine | 1975 | Jean-Charles Tacchella | ★★★ | 95 | Barrault and Lanoux, married to others, become cousins by marriage and decide to go way beyond the kissing stage. Mild, easy-to-take comedy that became a surprise box-office sensation in U.S.— where it was later remade as COUSINS. | tt0072826 | [R] | MarieChristine Barrault, Victor Lanoux, Marie-France Pisier, Guy Marchand, Ginette Garcin, Sybil Maas | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Cousins | 1989 | Joel Schumacher | ★★★ | 110 | A big family wedding sets the stage for romantic intrigues within two colorful clans. Highly enjoyable Americanization of the French hit COUSIN, COUSINE with charming performances by Danson, as a free-spirited soul, and Rossellini, as the married cousin to whom he's attracted. | tt0097116 | [PG-13] | Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William L. Petersen, Lloyd Bridges, Norma Aleandro, George Coe, Keith Coogan, Gina de Angelis | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Cousins | 1959 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 112 | Complex, depressing, ultimately haunting tale of youthful disillusion, with decadent city boy Brialy and provincial cousin Blain competing for the affection of beauty Mayniel. Superbly directed by Chabrol. | tt0052708 | Jean-Claude Brialy, Gerard Blain, Juliette Mayniel, Claude Cerval, Genevieve Cluny | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Cove | 2009 | Louie Psihoyos | ★★★½ | 94 | Disquieting, Oscar-winning documentary about fishermen who entice dolphins into an isolated cove off the coast of Taiji, Japan, then cruelly torture and kill them—all in the name of profit. Filmmaker (and National Geographic photographer) Psihoyos, Flipper dolphin trainer-turned-activist Richard O’Barry, and others endanger themselves as they set out to document the practice. As riveting as a Hollywood thriller, except its content is jarring, heartbreaking fact. | tt1313104 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| A Covenant with Death | 1967 | Lamont Johnson | ★★ | 97 | Unjustly convicted murderer kills his hangman and is then found to be innocent of the first offense; what now? Interesting idea is handled too melodramatically to be effective. | tt0061525 | George Maharis, Laura Devon, Katy Jurado, Earl Holliman, Sidney Blackmer, Gene Hackman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Covenant | 2006 | Renny Harlin | ★★½ | 97 | A quartet of teen-boy warlocks, descended from powerful Salem witches, admits a mysterious fifth member into their enchanted group, with the expected blast of repercussions. The dudes' misuse of debilitating magical powers is a heavy-handed allegory of drug addiction, but the theme still resonates. Something of a guys-in-Speedos movie, but darkly atmospheric. | tt0475944 | [PG-13] | Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas, Chace Crawford, Wendy Crewson, Kyle Schmid, Kenneth Welsh | U.S.-Canadian | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Cover Girl | 1944 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 107 | Incredibly clichéd plot is overcome by loveliness of Rita, fine Jerome Kern-Ira Gershwin musical score (including 'Long Ago and Far Away'), and especially Kelly's solo numbers. Silvers adds some laughs, but Eve Arden steals the film as Kruger's wisecracking assistant. | tt0036723 | Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Lee Bowman, Phil Silvers, Jinx Falkenburg, Eve Arden, Otto Kruger, Anita Colby | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cover Me Babe | 1970 | Noel Black | 💣 | 89 | Depressingly bad movie about student filmmaker who lets nothing stand in the way of gaining a contract. | tt0065582 | [PG] | Robert Forster, Sondra Locke, Susanne Benton, Robert S. Fields, Ken Kercheval, Sam Waterston, Regis Toomey | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Covered Wagon | 1923 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 98 | Slow-paced silent forerunner of Western epics, following a wagon train as it combats Indians and the elements; beautifully photographed, but rather tame today. | tt0013951 | J. Warren Kerrigan, Lois Wilson, Alan Hale/Sr., Ernest Torrence | Romance, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Cow Country | 1953 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 82 | Earnest Western set in 1880s Texas, with O'Brien coming to the rescue of debt-ridden ranchers struggling against villainous Lowery and his cronies. | tt0045653 | Edmond O'Brien, Helen Westcott, Robert Lowery, Barton MacLane, Peggie Castle, Robert Barrat, Raymond Hatton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Cow Town | 1950 | John English. | ★★½ | 71 | When Gene brings in barbed wire to fence his range, town blacksmith Shannon instigates a range war to further his own ends. Another sober, tough entry from Autry's early 1950s period. | tt0042349 | Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Harry Shannon, Jock O'Mahoney (Mahoney), Clark 'Buddy' Burroughs. | Western | NULL | |||
| Cowards Bend the Knee | 2003 | Guy Maddin | ★★★ | 64 | Delirious b&w silent melodrama that takes place in the catwalk of a hockey rink and at a seamy beauty parlor. Our hero abandons his girlfriend for a siren who insists that he cut off his hands and replace them with those of her dead father. If you're still reading this you may be ready to sample Maddin's unique semiautobiographical journey, originally presented as a series of ten Mutoscope shorts in an art installation. Plays like a hallucinatory silent film-a bad, splicy print with jump-cuts during titles that send them out of focus. Twisted, bizarre, and absolutely mesmerizing. | tt0346800 |
|
Darcy Fehr, Melissa Dionisio, Amy Stewart, Tara Birtwhistle, Louis Negin, Mike Bell | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Cowboy | 1958 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 92 | Intelligent, atmospheric Western based on Frank Harris' reminiscences as a tenderfoot. Lemmon is Harris, with Ford as his stern boss on eventful cattle roundup. | tt0051496 | Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, Anna Kashfi, Brian Donlevy, Dick York | Western | NULL | |||
| Cowboy Bebop: The Movie | Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira | 2002 | Shinichiro Watanabe | ★★★ | 114 | Delightfully stylish, refreshingly humorous animated tale about an eclectic team of space bounty hunters tracking down a bio-terrorist on Mars. Certain details will be lost on those unfamiliar with the TV show on which it's based, and there are a few of the plodding, pretentious moments that plague most anime, but the extremely dynamic action sequences and oddball charm of the characters make for an enjoyable romp. Original Japanese subtitle translates to COWBOY BEBOP: KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR. | tt0275277 | [R] | Voices of Beau Billingslea, Melissa Fahn, Nicholas Guest, Jennifer Hale. | Japanese | Animation, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Cowboy Serenade | 1942 | William Morgan. | ★★½ | 66 | Professional gamblers cheat gullible Brooks out of all the money entrusted to him by Gene and the Cattlemen's Association . . . but there's someone even more powerful behind their dirty deeds. Pretty good Autry outing. | tt0034619 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Cecil Cunningham, Addison Richards, Rand Brooks, Lloyd 'Slim' Andrews, Tristram Coffin, Melinda Leighton. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cowboy Way | 1994 | Gregg Champion | ★★ | 102 | Two rodeo pals from New Mexico come to N.Y.C. to see what's happened to a Cuban friend who disappeared there— and soon find themselves caught in underworld crossfire. Needlessly ugly, unrealistic; only the good-natured performances of the two leads carry it. | tt0109493 | [PG-13] | Woody Harrelson, Kiefer Sutherland, Ernie Hudson, Dylan McDermott, Tomas Milian, Marg Helgenberger, Luis Guzman, Travis Tritt, Christopher Durang | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Cowboy and the Indians | 1949 | John English. | ★★ | 70 | With pretensions of social drama, Gene comes to the aid of Navajo Indians being treated badly by crooked Indian agent Richards. Female doctor Ryan aids Autry in his quest to help the starving Indians. Amusing note: Silverheels (the future Tonto) plays a good guy, while Moore (The Lone Ranger) is a villain. | tt0041264 | Gene Autry, Sheila Ryan, Jay Silverheels, Frank Richards, Hank Patterson, Claudia Drake, Iron Eyes Cody, Clayton Moore. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Cowboy and the Lady | 1938 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 91 | Bored, aristocratic Oberon, whose father is a presidential aspirant, goes slumming at a rodeo and falls for reluctant cowpuncher Cooper. Slight (if sometimes overly cute) comedy. Leo McCarey cowrote the story; the script had contributions from Anita Loos and Dorothy Parker! | tt0030018 | Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon, Patsy Kelly, Walter Brennan, Fuzzy Knight, Harry Davenport, Henry Kolker | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Cowboy and the Senorita | 1944 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 77 | Crooked town boss Hubbard tries to cheat teenaged Lee out of a mine she's inherited, convincing her it's worthless; Roy is doubtful and investigates with his pal Teddy Bear (Williams). Significant as the first teaming of Roy and Dale, but big musical numbers don't blend well with the story. Look for Spanky McFarland and Kirk (Superman) Alyn in bit parts. | tt0036725 | Roy Rogers, Mary Lee, Dale Evans, John Hubbard, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Fuzzy Knight, Dorothy Christy, Lucien Littlefield, Hal Taliaferro, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Cowboy from Brooklyn | 1938 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 77 | Singing tenderfoot Powell, who has a phobia about animals, hires on at a Wyoming dude ranch, then is mistaken for a cowboy crooner by fast-talking N.Y. agent O'Brien. Silly but enjoyable musicomedy includes songs 'Ride, Tenderfoot Ride' and the title tune. Remade as TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS. | tt0030019 | Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, Priscilla Lane, Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Johnnie Davis, Ronald Reagan, Emma Dunn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cowboys & Aliens | 2011 | Jon Favreau | ★★ | 118 | Loner (Craig) with amnesia wanders into a tense Western town, but personal conflicts are set aside when the residents are suddenly attacked and scooped up by alien spacecraft! Strange hybrid of Western and science-fiction is good-looking and well cast, but neither aspect of the story is sufficiently original to make it work. When you get right down to it, what are those aliens doing in a cowboy movie? And why is this film so utterly devoid of fun? Based on a graphic novel by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg; six top-tier screenwriters are credited. Liev Schreiber appears unbilled. | tt0409847 | [PG-13] | Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Clancy Brown, Walton Goggins, Abigail Spencer, Buck Taylor | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Cowboys | 1972 | Mark Rydell | ★★ | 128 | Well-produced but sluggish Western about aging rancher forced to take 11 youngsters with him on cattle drive; disappointing film whose message seems to be that violent revenge is good. Carradine's first film. Later a short-lived TV series. | tt0068421 | [PG] | John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Slim Pickens, Lonny Chapman, A Martinez, Robert Carradine, Allyn Ann McLerie, Richard Farnsworth | Western | NULL | ||
| Coyote Ugly | 2000 | David McNally | ★★½ | 100 | Fairly innocuous fantasy/fluff about young woman who leaves New Jersey to make it as a songwriter in N.Y.C.— and winds up strutting alongside some hot-looking babes at a wild all-night bar. Elements of formula films (including producer Jerry Bruckheimer's FLASHDANCE) are cobbled together in routine but likable fashion. Director Michael Bay has a cameo as a photographer. Unrated version runs 107m. | tt0200550 | [PG-13] | Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello, John Goodman, Melanie Lynskey, Isabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Tyra Banks, Del Pentacost, Ellen Cleghorne, Bud Cort, LeAnn Rimes | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Crack in the Mirror | 1960 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 97 | Welles, Greco, and Dillman enact contrasting dual roles in intertwining love triangles set in contemporary Paris, involving murder, courtroom trial, and illicit love; novelty eventually wears thin, marring Grade-A effort. | tt0053735 | Orson Welles, Juliette Greco, Bradford Dillman, Alexander Knox | Crime | NULL | |||
| Crack in the World | 1965 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 96 | Believable sci-fi about scientists trying to harness earth's inner energy but almost causing destruction of the world; realistic special effects. | tt0059065 | Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Alexander Knox, Peter Damon | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Crack-Up | 1946 | Irving Reis | ★★★ | 93 | Art critic O'Brien remembers surviving a train wreck that never took place; it's just the first incident in a growing web of intrigue and murder. Tense, fast-paced Hitchcockian thriller with many imaginative touches. | tt0038429 | Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Wallace Ford, Ray Collins | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cracked Nuts | 1931 | Edward Cline. | ★★½ | 65 | The boys get mixed up in a Latin American revolution as Woolsey wins the throne in a crap game. Wheeler wants to be king to impress his girl's aunt. Meanwhile, general Fields plots a coup and cross-eyed Turpin tries to bump them off by dropping bombs from a plane. No DUCK SOUP, but still fun. As usual, Oliver steals every scene she's in. | tt0021768 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Edna May Oliver, Dorothy Lee, Leni Stengel, Stanley Fields, Boris Karloff, Ben Turpin. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Crackers | 1984 | Louis Malle | ★★ | 92 | Remake of the classic caper comedy BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET, set in San Francisco, strives for the offbeat (in its motley collection of misfit characters) but forgets to go for the laughs, too. | tt0087096 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Jack Warden, Sean Penn, Wallace Shawn, Trinidad Silva, Larry Riley, Christine Baranski, Charlaine Woodard, Irwin Corey | Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cracking Up | Smorgasbord | 1983 | Jerry Lewis | ★★ | 83 | Jerry plays various characters in vignettes loosely tied to suicidal klutz seeking help from shrink Edelman. There are funny moments (some mildly risqué), but Jerry refuses to believe that Less Is More. Originally titled SMORGASBORD; shelved after test engagements. | tt0085375 | [PG] | Jerry Lewis, Herb Edelman, Zane Buzby, Dick Butkus, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis/Jr., Foster Brooks, Buddy Lester | Comedy | NULL | |
| Cracks | 2009 | Jordan Scott | ★★ | 104 | The arrival of a new student (who is "different," because she's from Spain) at a British girls boarding school in 1934 has a potent effect on her new classmates, as well as their manipulative, Miss Brodie–like teacher (Green). Potentially intriguing story quickly becomes repetitive and sputters along to an unsatisfactory conclusion. Scott (who also coscripted, from Sheila Kohler's novel) is the daughter of Ridley Scott. | tt1183665 | Eva Green, Juno Temple, Maria Valverde, Imogen Poots, Ellie Nunn, Adele McCann, Zoe Carroll, Clemmie Dugdale, Sinéad Cusack | U.S.-British-Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cradle 2 the Grave | 2003 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | ★½ | 99 | As an array of baddies and rival half-baddies pursue coveted black diamonds that look like oversized Chiclets, most of the actors playing these parts pursue their dramatically diverse audience demographics. Union is around for the demographic that enjoys seeing semi-unclad lookers, but even those viewers may have trouble with a script about diamonds with nuclear capabilities. DMX's neckwear looks as if it could pick up sandlot baseball games from Radio Havana. | tt0306685 | [R] | Jet Li, DMX, Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold, Mark Dacascos, Michael Jace, Chi McBride | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cradle Will Rock | 1999 | Tim Robbins | ★★★½ | 134 | Sprawling, invigorating concoction uses Orson Welles and John Houseman's legendary stage production of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock as a springboard for looking at 1930s art, culture, politics, and big business. Writer-director Robbins takes liberties with the facts but creates a fascinating patchwork of personalities, ideas, and ideals. Aims high and succeeds amazingly well. | tt0150216 | [R] | Hank Azaria, Rubén Blades, Joan Cusack, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Philip Baker Hall, Cherry Jones, Angus Macfadyen, Bill Murray, Vanessa Redgrave, Susan Sarandon, Jamey Sheridan, John Turturro, Emily Watson, Bob Balaban, Paul Giamatti, Harris Yulin, Barnard Hughes, John Carpenter, Gretchen Mol, Audra McDonald, Stephen Spinella, Jack Black | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Craft | 1996 | Andrew Fleming | ★★★ | 100 | Four teenage girls, students at a private L.A. school, dabble in witchcraft. At first, they're gleeful about their powers, but eventually things get out of hand. Surprisingly witty, intelligent movie handles this goofy premise better than you'd think but goes too far at the end. | tt0115963 | [R] | Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True, Christine Taylor, Skeet Ulrich, Assumpta Serna, Cliff De Young, Helen Shaver | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Craig's Wife | 1936 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★★ | 75 | Russell scored first big success as domineering wife who thinks more of material objects than of her husband. Based on George Kelly play, remade as HARRIET CRAIG. | tt0027474 | Rosalind Russell, John Boles, Billie Burke, Jane Darwell, Dorothy Wilson, Alma Kruger, Thomas Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Cranes Are Flying | Letjat zhuravli | 1957 | Mikhail Kalatozov | ★★★½ | 94 | Lilting love story set in WW2 Russia. Doctor's son (Batalov) leaves his sweetheart (Samoilova) to join the army. She is seduced by his cousin, marries him, and from subsequent tragedies tries to rebuild her life. | tt0050634 | Tatyana Samoilova, Alexei Batalov, Vasili Merkuriev, A. Shvorin | Russian | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Crank | 2006 | Mark Neveldine | ★★ | 87 | Professional assassin is injected with a dose of lethal poison that will become fatal the moment his heart rate drops. Knowing this he embarks on a nonstop race against time in which he tries to foil the plot against him and find an antidote. Silly premise may entertain fans with the attention span of a beagle. The action doesn't let up, but forget about logic, good acting, and smart dialogue. It took two directors to make this non-thinking man's thriller. Try the original D.O.A. instead. | tt0479884 | [R] | Brian Taylor. Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, Dwight Yoakam, Carlos Sanz, Reno Wilson | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Crank: High Voltage | 2009 | Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor | ★½ | 96 | Brainless, tasteless sequel picks up right where its predecessor ended. Thugs rob hit man Statham of his heart, which is implanted in the chest of an aged Chinese mobster (Carradine). The replacement is electrically powered and must be recharged on a regular basis. Ridiculous action thriller has no decipherable storyline and is crammed with gratuitous violence and sex. Strains to be hip, but comes off cheap and vulgar. | tt1121931 | [R] | Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Clifton Collins, Jr., Efren Ramirez, Bai Ling, David Carradine, Reno Wilson, Joseph Julian Soria, Dwight Yoakam, Corey Haim | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Crash | 1996 | David Cronenberg | ★½ | 100 | Steely-cold look at alienated people who find sexual excitement in automobile crashes. Filled with explicit sex as well as fetishistic scenes involving car accidents. Curiosity seekers may find it intriguing for a while, but it's awfully hard to take. Cronenberg adapted this fatally unpleasant film from J. G. Ballard's novel. Creeps along at the pace of a Yugo. R-rated version cut by 10m. | tt0115964 | [NC-17] | James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Rosanna Arquette, Deborah Kara Unger, Peter MacNeill | Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Crash | 2005 | Paul Haggis | ★★★½ | 112 | Meditation on the clash of ethnic and racial cultures in L.A. as disparate lives intersect and ignite various characters' simmering anger. Provocative drama has powerful vignettes and performances, offering consistently disturbing (and believable) scenes of anger and bigotry, with tiny glimmers of hope in metaphoric moments. Directing debut for Haggis, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Moresco. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Screenplay, Film Editing (Hughes Winborne). | tt0375679 | [R] | Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillippe, Jennifer Esposito, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Terrence Howard, William Fichtner, Larenz Tate, Nona Gaye, Loretta Devine, Michael Pena, Shaun Toub, Beverly Todd, Keith David | U.S.-German | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Crash Dive | 1943 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 105 | Submarine battleground just backdrop for love story; Powers and Andrews both love young Baxter. Oscar winner for special effects, film’s main asset. | tt0035763 | Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, James Gleason, Dame May Whitty, Henry (Harry) Morgan | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Crash Landing | 1958 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 76 | Insipid revelations of passengers aboard plane facing possible crash landing into the ocean. | tt0051497 | Gary Merrill, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Irene Hervey, Roger Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crash and Burn | 1990 | Charles Band | ★★ | 85 | In the year 2030, a group isolated in a desert installation is menaced by one of them, secretly a killer android. A mix of ideas from THE THING, THE TERMINATOR, and ALIEN is occasionally effective, but too slow and familiar. Some good if brief David Allen effects involving a giant robot turn up at the end. From Full Moon. | tt0099313 | [R] | Paul Ganus, Megan Ward, Ralph Waite, Bill Moseley, Eva Larue, Jack McGee, Elizabeth MacLellan | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Crash of Silence | 1953 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★ | 93 | Honest drama of young deaf girl (Miller) and her mother's dilemma: keep her at home or send her to a special school. Originally titled MANDY. | tt0045654 | Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Mandy Miller | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crash! | 1977 | Charles Band | ★½ | 85 | Strange, unbelievable mixture of occult and car chase. Jealous invalid husband Ferrer tries to kill wife Lyon, who uses demonic device to cause mayhem on her own. | tt0075887 | [PG] | Jose Ferrer, Sue Lyon, John Ericson, Leslie Parrish, John Carradine | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Crash | 1932 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 58 | Chatterton is fine in this otherwise plodding drama about a self-centered, materialistic woman whose stockbroker husband (Brent) loses his fortune. | tt0022784 | George Brent, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Cavanagh, Barbara Leonard, Henry Kolker, Lois Wilson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crashing Hollywood | 1938 | Lew Landers. | ★★★ | 61 | Lively comedy about screenwriter Tracy collaborating with ex-con Guilfoyle on a script based on his last bank robbery. Amusing movie-studio background (shot all around the RKO lot) supports Tracy's usual fast-talking antics. | tt0030022 | Lee Tracy, Joan Woodbury, Paul Guilfoyle, Lee Patrick, Richard Lane, Bradley Page, Tom Kennedy, George Irving, Frank M. Thomas, Jack Carson. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Crashing Las Vegas | 1956 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 62 | An electric shock enables Sach to predict numbers in this flat Bowery Boys entry. A noticeably inebriated Gorcey threw in the towel after this one, claiming he couldn't go on after the death of his father Bernard, who played 'Louie Dumbrowski' in the series. | tt0049101 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Jimmy Murphy, David (Gorcey) Condon, Mary Castle, Nicky Blair | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Crashout | 1955 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★½ | 90 | Low-budget but interesting story of prison break headed by Bendix. Kennedy as humane gang member is fine. | tt0047958 | William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy, Luther Adler, William Talman | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Crater Lake Monster | 1977 | William R. Stromberg | 💣 | 74 | Amateurish tale of carnivorous critter from Crater Lake (not the National Park) is climaxed by fine stop-motion animation of the menace, a plesiosaur. Too little too late, of interest to genre buffs only. | tt0075888 | [PG] | Richard Cardella, Glenn Roberts, Mark Siegel, Kacey Cobb | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Crawling Eye | 1958 | Quentin Lawrence | ★★½ | 85 | OK, if predictable, tale (adapted by Jimmy Sangster from British TV series The Trollenberg Terror) about cloud hiding alien invaders on Swiss mountaintop. Hampered by low-grade special effects. | tt0052320 | Forrest Tucker, Laurence Payne, Janet Munro, Jennifer Jayne, Warren Mitchell | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Crawling Hand | 1963 | Herbert L. Strock | ★½ | 89 | Astronaut's disembodied hand instigates rash of stranglings in this amateurish rehash of THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS. Good for a few (unintended) laughs, anyway. | tt0056961 | Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Arline Judge, Richard Arlen, Allison Hayes, Alan Hale/Jr. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Crawlspace | 1986 | David Schmoeller | 💣 | 82 | Shameless imitation of PEEPING TOM, as Kinski spies on young women from his apartment's hidden crawlspace area and then kills them, the legacy of his father having been a Nazi war criminal. | tt0090881 | [R] | Klaus Kinski, Talia Balsam, Sally Brown, Barbara Whinnery | Horror | NULL | ||
| Craze | The Infernal Idol | 1974 | Freddie Francis | ★½ | 96 | More laughs than horror as antique dealer Palance makes human sacrifices to African idol. Hugh Griffith and Howard wisely kid the material. British title: THE INFERNAL IDOL; aka THE DEMON MASTER. | tt0069924 | [R] | Jack Palance, Diana Dors, Julie Ege, Trevor Howard, Suzy Kendall, Michael Jayston, Edith Evans | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL |
| The Crazies | Code Name: Trixie | 1973 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 103 | Biological plague hits small Pennsylvania town. The Army is called in to contain it; townspeople rebel, defy soldiers. Gory but exciting. Aka CODE NAME: TRIXIE. | tt0069895 | [R] | Lane Carroll, W.G. McMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, Lynn Lowry | Action, Horror, Thriller, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Crazies | 2010 | Breck Eisner | ★★ | 101 | Olyphant, the sheriff of a small Iowa town, tries to deal with a growing plague of homicidal insanity to which no one seems immune. Remake of George A. Romero's 1973 thriller is intelligent and makes good use of real Midwestern locations, but the plotline is so familiar this is probably best left to genre diehards. | tt0455407 | [R] | Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith, Brett Rickaby, Preston Bailey | U.S.-Abu Dhabi | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| Crazy Desire | 1964 | Luciano Salce | ★★★½ | 108 | Disarming fluff of Tognazzi enamoured of young funseekers, and Spaak in particular. | tt0056665 | Ugo Tognazzi, Catherine Spaak, Gianni Garko, Beatrice Altariba | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Crazy From the Heart | 1991 | Thomas Schlamme | Above Average TV Movie | 94 | Refreshing romantic comedy about a spinsterish small-town Texas teacher who raises eyebrows when she takes up with the school's life-embracing Mexican janitor. Lahti glows under husband Schlamme's direction. Written by Linda Voorhees. Made for cable. | tt0101622 | Christine Lahti, Rubén Blades, William Russ, Louise Latham, Tommy Muniz, Kamala Lopez, Bibi Besch, Robyn Lively | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Crazy Heart | 2009 | Scott Cooper | ★★★ | 111 | Aging, alcoholic country singer Bad Blake (Bridges) is reduced to playing bowling alleys, but life on the road takes an unexpected turn when he meets a woman he actually cares about. Then his protégé-turned-rival (Farrell) offers him a gig. Amiable film admirably flirts with clichés at every turn, but Bridges' true, empathetic performance (which earned him a Best Actor Oscar) makes this film worth seeing. He also does a fine job singing the songs created especially for this film, including Oscar-winning "The Weary Kind" (Theme from Crazy Heart by T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham.) Debuting director Cooper adapted Thomas Cobb's novel. | tt1263670 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Beth Grant, Tom Bower | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Crazy Horse | 2011 | Frederick Wiseman | ★★½ | 128 | Intimate—and how!—peek backstage as Le Crazy Horse de Paris saloon, a cabaret legend since 1951, mounts Désirs, its latest nude revue. Documentary from veteran director (who also edited and sound-recorded) is a bejeweled kaleidoscope of the technique, travail, and temperament that bring the show to fruition, unfolding without voice-overs or talking heads. It's chic, slick, pleasantly implant-free, and saucy-cheeked but runs a bit long, with too much extraneous material. What's more, revealing the backstage machinations feels somewhat, well, mechanical. | tt2043814 | [NR] | U.S.-French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Crazy House | 1943 | Edward F. Cline | ★★★ | 80 | Olsen & Johnson take over film studio to make epic in frantic musicomedy with guests galore: Basil Rathbone, Count Basie, Allan Jones, Edgar Kennedy, Billy Gilbert, Andy Devine, etc. | tt0035765 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Martha O’Driscoll, Patric Knowles, Cass Daley, Percy Kilbride | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Crazy House | 1973 | Peter Sykes | ★★ | 90 | Horror spoof that fails as comedy but succeeds with the chills. Overage entertainer Howerd finds he's related to Milland's greedy family, which is being killed off for an inheritance. U.S. title: NIGHT OF THE LAUGHING DEAD. Video title: HOUSE IN NIGHTMARE PARK. | tt0070195 | [PG] | Ray Milland, Frankie Howerd, Rosalie Crutchley, Kenneth Griffith, Elizabeth McClennan | British | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Crazy Joe | 1974 | Carlo Lizzani | ★★½ | 100 | Crime drama based on the bloody career of New York racketeer Crazy Joe Gallo is tolerable, due to its cast. Henry Winkler can be seen as a mustached hoodlum. | tt0071369 | [R] | Peter Boyle, Rip Torn, Fred Williamson, Eli Wallach, Paula Prentiss, Luther Adler | Italian-U.S. | Crime | NULL | |
| Crazy Love | 2007 | Dan Klores, Fisher Stevens | ★★★ | 92 | Absorbing documentary about a woman who made headlines in 1959 when her suitor threw acid in her face. Today, the two of them are married! A wild, stranger-than-fiction, only-in-New York yarn that reveals its story one layer at a time, through vintage news accounts and intimate new interviews. Fascinating and well told. | tt0790706 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Crazy Mama | 1975 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 82 | Joyous, unrelentingly kitschy celebration of '50s America (opportunity, rock 'n' roll, and the road), made during Demme's exploitation days, follows three generations of women (Sothern, Leachman, Purl) and the men they pick up, on an absurdist crime spree from California to family homestead in Arkansas. Rough in places; overall a gem. Dennis Quaid has bit part in film debut. | tt0072829 | [PG] | Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, Ann Sothern, Jim Backus, Donny Most, Linda Purl, Bryan Englund, Merie Earle, Sally Kirkland | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Crazy Moon | Huggers | 1986 | Allan Eastman | ★★★ | 87 | Occasionally clichéd, but still warm, winning little story of wealthy, alienated teen Sutherland and his romance with bright, independent— and deaf— salesgirl Vaughan. Originally titled HUGGERS. | tt0090882 | [PG-13] | Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Spence, Vanessa Vaughan, Ken Pogue, Eve Napier | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Crazy Over Horses | 1951 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 65 | The Bowery Boys get mixed up with a race horse (again) and some crooked gamblers (again). | tt0043432 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, William 'Billy' Benedict, Bernard Gorcey, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Ted de Corsia, Allen Jenkins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Crazy People | 1990 | Tony Bill | ★★ | 90 | Stressed-out ad exec Moore devises a series of brutally honest (and very funny) advertisements, which prompt his partner to place him in a mental institution. Then, to everyone's amazement, the ads are a sensational success. Though the mock ads are quite funny, film is bland, even dull. Ever likable Dudley chalks up a few extra points. | tt0099316 | [R] | Dudley Moore, Daryl Hannah, Paul Reiser, Mercedes Ruehl, J.T. Walsh, Bill Smitrovich, Alan North, David Paymer, Dick Cusack, Ben Hammer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder | 1974 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 89 | Nobody likes this offbeat comedy of a confused Vietnam vet who acts insane to cope with a crazy world, but it has a certain charm. Veteran director Marshall returned to acting here shortly before his death. | tt0071370 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Barbara Hershey, George Marshall, Albert Salmi, Lawrence Pressman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crazy in Alabama | 1999 | Antonio Banderas | ★★½ | 104 | Picaresque tale of the mid-1960s South: abused Griffith chops off her husband's head, leaves her seven kids, and goes to Hollywood seeking fame and fortune, toting hubby's head in a hatbox. Meanwhile, her nephew comes face-to-face with racism. Doesn't succeed in tying its parallel stories together but holds your interest. Creditable directing debut for Banderas, whose wife is well cast. | tt0142201 | [PG-13] | Melanie Griffith, David Morse, Lucas Black, Cathy Moriarty, *** Meat Loaf, Rod Steiger, Richard Schiff, John Beasley, Robert Wagner, Paul Mazursky, Elizabeth Perkins, Noah Emmerich, Fannie Flagg | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Crazy in Love | 1992 | Martha Coolidge | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Cozy tale of a three-generation family of women living on Washington state's Puget Sound and the feckless men in their lives. Rowlands steals it. Pungent script by Gerald Ayres, based on Luanne Rice novel. Made for cable. | tt0104021 | Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands, Bill Pullman, Julian Sands, Herta Ware, Frances McDormand, Joanne Baron | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crazy on the Outside | 2010 | Tim Allen | ★½ | 96 | Blandly unremarkable comedy showcasing Allen as an affable ex-con eager to rebuild his life with help from a lovely single mom (Tripplehorn) who just happens to be his parole officer. For his debut effort as feature director, Allen evidently called in favors to assemble familiar faces as supporting players, to little avail. | tt1196134 | [PG-13] | Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Ray Liotta, Jeanne Tripplehorn, J. K. Simmons, Julie Bowen, Kelsey Grammer, Jon Gries | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Crazy, Stupid, Love. | 2011 | Glenn Ficarra, John Requa | ★★½ | 118 | When Carell's wife (Moore) tells him she wants a divorce after 25 years, it sets off a chain reaction of events involving Carell (who still loves her), a smooth operator (Gosling) who tutors him in how to play the singles scene, a woman (Stone) who resists Gosling's prefabricated approach, and Carell's 13-year-old son (Bobo), who has a hopeless crush on his 17-year-old babysitter. The characters are believable but this long, uneven, often melancholy slice of life isn't quite the comedy it purports to be. | tt1570728 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Jonah Bobo, John Carroll Lynch, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton, Josh Groban | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Crazy-Quilt | 1966 | John Korty | ★★★ | 75 | Korty's first feature is almost a home movie, featuring arresting images but diffuse, whimsical (ultimately pompous) story of girl's various romantic liaisons while her exterminator husband sits around and mopes. Filmed silent, with awkward post-synched dialogue; relies heavily upon Burgess Meredith's narration, unusual score by Peter Schickele. | tt0060260 | Ina Mela, Tom Rosqui, David Winters, Ellen Frye | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crazy/Beautiful | 2001 | John Stockwell | ★★ | 99 | A wealthy white high school girl, whose hell-raising ways mask a troubled soul, falls in love with a Latino boy from the other side of the tracks. Story makes all the right moves at first, then ducks too many issues and whitewashes too many details to make sense, logically or emotionally. Too bad; this one had some potential. | tt0250224 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Jay Hernandez, Bruce Davison, Lucinda Jenney, Taryn Manning, Rolando Molina | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Crazylegs | 1953 | Francis D. Lyon | ★½ | 87 | Inconclusive fiction based on the football escapades of Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch with gridiron star playing himself. | tt0045656 | Elroy Hirsch, Lloyd Nolan, Joan Vohs, Louise Lorimer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Creation | 2009 | Jon Amiel | ★★ | 108 | In mid-19th-century rural England, middle-aged, infirm Charles Darwin (Bettany) has lost his muse (his daughter Annie) and is wrestling with his groundbreaking treatise, "On the Origin of Species," whilst his whole world, even his own household, remains rooted in religion. That household is the focus here, as his devout wife, Emma (Connelly—Bettany’s real-life spouse), is at odds with her husband’s scientific breakthroughs. As a result, both Darwins are wracked by guilt. Bettany does his best, but this melodrama is so narrow in scope that one aches for some sense of the excitement or controversy Darwin’s work was to cause. | tt0974014 | [PG-13] | Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam, Toby Jones, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Carter, Martha West, Teresa Churcher, Zak Davies, Harrison Sansostri | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Creation of the Humanoids | 1962 | Wesley E. Barry | 💣 | 75 | Years after an atomic war, human beings are about to be outnumbered by their subservient robots; anti-robot Megowan discovers a plot to replace people with robot duplicates. Andy Warhol loved this slow, stagy cheapie. | tt0055872 | Don Megowan, Frances McCann, Erica Elliott, Don Doolittle | Sci-Fi, War | NULL | |||
| Creator | 1985 | Ivan Passer | ★★ | 107 | O'Toole once again plays a Lovable Eccentric (which he does to perfection), this time a university-based scientist who's trying to revive his long-dead wife and who serves as mentor for impressionable student Spano. Amiable but aimless adaptation of Jeremy Leven's novel, redeemed only by O'Toole's magnetism. | tt0088960 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Mariel Hemingway, Vincent Spano, Virginia Madsen, David Ogden Stiers, John Dehner, Jeff Corey | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Creature | 1985 | William Malone | ★★ | 97 | Imitation of ALIEN set on Saturn's moon Titan has nondescript cast investigating life forms discovered (fatally) by a previous mission. Guest star Kinski is funny, whether spouting gibberish or munching nonchalantly on a sandwich during otherwise tense scenes. Originally titled TITAN FIND. | tt0088961 | [R] | Stan Ivar, Wendy Schaal, Lyman Ward, Robert Jaffe, Diane Salinger, Annette McCarthy, Klaus Kinski | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Creature From Black Lake | 1976 | Joy Houck/ Jr | ★★ | 97 | Two young men venture into Louisiana swamps, only to run smack into Bigfoot; not-bad low-budgeter follows familiar formula, with typically amusing performance by Elam. McClenny is Morgan Fairchild's sister. | tt0074356 | [PG] | Jack Elam, Dub Taylor, Dennis Fimple, John David Carson, Bill Thurman, Catherine McClenny | Drama, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Creature From the Black Lagoon | 1954 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 79 | Archetypal '50s monster movie has been copied so often that some of the edge is gone, but story of Amazon expedition encountering deadly Gill Man is still entertaining, with juicy atmosphere, luminous underwater photography sequences directed by James C. Havens and Scotty Welbourne. Originally in 3-D, but just as good without it. Two sequels: REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US. | tt0046876 | Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Whit Bissell, Nestor Paiva, Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman | Horror | NULL | |||
| Creature From the Haunted Sea | 1961 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 74 | Gangster tries to cover crime wave by creating panic with story of sea monster . . . then real sea monster shows up. Roger Corman quickie comedy is not as freakish as his others. Costar Wain is actually Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne. Remake of NAKED PARADISE. | tt0054768 | Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Edward Wain, E. R. Alvarez, Robert Bean | Comedy, Crime, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Creature Walks Among Us | 1956 | John Sherwood | ★★ | 78 | Sequel to REVENGE OF THE CREATURE has Gill Man (Ricou Browning in water, Don Megowan on land) captured by humans, subjected to surgery in hopes of humanizing him, returning to the ocean after a few mild tantrums. | tt0049103 | Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, Gregg Palmer | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Creature Wasn't Nice | Spaceship | 1981 | Bruce Kimmel | ★½ | 88 | Silly monster-loose-in-spaceship parody: Nielsen is the firm but obtuse commander, Macnee the loony scientist, Williams the only woman on board, etc. Believe it or not, this is a musical (one song is titled 'I Want to Eat Your Face'). Aka SPACESHIP and NAKED SPACE. | tt0082213 | [PG] | Cindy Williams, Bruce Kimmel, Leslie Nielsen, Gerrit Graham, Patrick Macnee, Ron Kurowski | Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Creature With the Atom Brain | 1955 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 70 | Passable hokum: scientist revives the dead via high-charged brain tissue, and these robots are used by gangster seeking revenge. | tt0047960 | Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, Gregory Gaye, Tristram Coffin | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Creature With the Blue Hand | The Bloody Dead | 1970 | Alfred Vohrer | ★★ | 74 | OK Edgar Wallace story has innocent man accused of murders perpetrated by title creature. Aka THE BLOODY DEAD. | tt0061409 | [PG] | Klaus Kinski, Diana Kerner, Carl Lang, Ilse Page, Harold Leopold | German | Horror | NULL |
| Creature of Destruction | 1968 | Larry Buchanan | 💣 | 80 | Mysterious hypnotist Tremayne and pretty assistant predict murders at a country club; murders are committed by title monster, which rises from a lake. Excruciating, with hilariously illogical musical interludes. Remake of THE SHE CREATURE. | tt0061529 | Les Tremayne, Pat Delaney, Aron Kincaid, Scotty McKay | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Creature of the Walking Dead | 1965 | Fernando Cortés | ★½ | 74 | Mad scientist brings his equally mad grandfather back to life, with Frankenstein-ish results, in this impoverished horror quickie. Made in Mexico in 1960, then 'expanded' with new footage for American release by Jerry Warren. | tt0054060 |
|
Rock Madison, Ann Wells, George Todd, Willard Gross, Bruno Ve Sota | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Creatures the World Forgot | 1971 | Don Chaffey | ★½ | 94 | Hammer Films gives us another prehistoric movie with no dinosaurs and little credibility. | tt0066955 | [PG] | Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robert John, Sue Wilson, Rosalie Crutchley | British | Horror, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Creepers | Phenomena | 1984 | Dario Argento | ★★★ | 110 | Typically stylish, bizarre Argento horror opus whose premise— a mad killer running amok at a Swiss girls' school— serves as a framework for some cleverly weird goings-on. For openers, Connelly plays a girl who has a most unusual relationship with insects. Don't say you weren't warned! Aka PHENOMENA. Also shown in 82m. version. | tt0087909 | [R] | Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Patrick Bauchau, Fiore Argento | Italian | Crime, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL |
| The Creeping Flesh | 1973 | Freddie Francis | ★★★ | 94 | Well-intentioned, old-fashioned monster film on reincarnation of ancient evil spirit. Cushing and Lee play rival brothers competing over ancient skeleton that slowly returns to life. Numerous subplots add to the fun. | tt0068424 | [PG] | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Lorna Heilbron, George Benson | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Creeping Terror | 1964 | Art J. Nelson | 💣 | 75 | Awful horror movie, poor on every conceivable (and inconceivable) level. Monster aptly described as a giant carpet absorbs humans into its body. When it's destroyed, another takes its place. Badly shot on Lake Tahoe. Aka THE CRAWLING MONSTER. | tt0057970 |
|
Vic Savage, Shannon O'Neill, William Thourlby, Louise Lawson, Robin James | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Creeping Unknown | The Quatermass Xperiment | 1956 | Val Guest | ★★★ | 82 | A spaceship returns to Earth with only one man left on board; infested by an alien entity, he gradually transforms into a hideous monster. Tense, imaginative, adult; well acted by all concerned. Based on hit BBC-TV serial by Nigel Kneale. Followed by three sequels, beginning with ENEMY FROM SPACE. | tt0049646 | Brian Donlevy, Margia Dean, Jack Warner, Richard Wordsworth | British | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Creepshow | 1982 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 120 | Romero nicely captures the look of a comic book in this homage to 1950s E.C. Comics, but Stephen King's five 'fantastic tales' of revenge and just desserts are transparent and heavy-handed (King himself stars in the second episode, as an ill-fated rube). Finale has hundreds of cockroaches bursting through the stomach of a man with an insect phobia (Marshall). If that's your cup of tea, tune in. Followed by a sequel. | tt0083767 | [R] | Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E.G. Marshall, Viveca Lindfors, Ed Harris, Ted Danson, Gaylen Ross | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Creepshow 2 | 1987 | Michael Gornick | ★½ | 89 | George A. Romero scripted this trio of Stephen King short stories, but their combined reputations can't lift this cheap-looking movie out of the muck. As in the much slicker CREEPSHOW, all the stories are juvenile and heavy-handed (a wooden Indian comes to life, a hitchhiker run over by a motorist lives on to terrorize her, etc.). King appears briefly as a truck driver. | tt0092796 | [R] | Lois Chiles, George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Tom Savini, Domenick John, Frank S. Salsedo, Holt McCallany, David Holbrook, Page Hannah | Horror | NULL | ||
| Crescendo | 1972 | Alan Gibson | ★½ | 83 | Tiresome chiller has grad student Powers traveling to France for some research on a dead composer, becoming involved with his crazy family. | tt0064188 | [PG] | Stefanie Powers, James Olson, Margaretta Scott, Jane Lapotaire, Joss Ackland | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Crest of the Wave | 1954 | John Boulting, Roy Boulting | ★★½ | 90 | Static account of Navy officer Kelly joining British research group to supervise demolition experiments. | tt0046877 | Gene Kelly, John Justin, Bernard Lee, Jeff Richards | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Crew | 2000 | Michael Dinner | ★★½ | 87 | Silly comedy about four Miami senior citizens who yearn to relive their glory days as mobsters . . . and unexpectedly get their chance when they run afoul of a Latino drug lord. Featherweight movie coasts on the good will of its cast. | tt0198386 | [PG-13] | Richard Dreyfuss, Burt Reynolds, Seymour Cassel, Dan Hedaya, Jennifer Tilly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lainie Kazan, Jeremy Piven, Miguel Sandoval, Fyvush Finkel, Casey Siemaszko | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cries and Whispers | Viskningar och rop | 1972 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 106 | Beautifully photographed and acted drama about lives of a dying woman, her sisters and a servant girl was tremendous critical success, but may be too talky for some. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist won an Oscar. | tt0069467 | [R] | Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Ingrid Thulin, Kari Sylwan, Erland Josephson, George Arlin, Henning Moritzen | Swedish | Drama | NULL |
| Crime & Punishment, USA | 1959 | Denis Sanders | ★★½ | 78 | Trim, updated version of Dostoyevsky novel has Hamilton (film debut) a law student who becomes involved in robbery and murder. | tt0052711 | George Hamilton, Mary Murphy, Frank Silvera, Marian Seldes, John Harding, Wayne Heffley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crime Against Joe | 1956 | Lee Sholem. | ★★ | 69 | Standard whodunit, with Korean War vet Bromfield falsely accused of killing a singer. | tt0049105 | John Bromfield, Julie London, Henry Calvin, Patricia Blake (Blair), Rhodes Reason, Joyce Jameson. | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Crime Busters | 1980 | E. B. Clucher (Enzo Barboni) | ★½ | 98 | Filmed in Miami, this cop-movie parody is a hair better than other Hill-Spencer efforts, but not a patch on the Trinity films; chief novelty derives from watching them go through their paces in a contemporary American setting. Bad dubbing doesn't help. Filmed in 1976 as TWO SUPERCOPS. Originally 115m. | tt0074442 | [PG] | Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Laura Gemser, Luciana Catenacci | Italian | Action, Comedy, Adventure, Crime | NULL | |
| Crime By Night | 1944 | William Clemens. | ★★½ | 72 | Good little murder mystery with detective Cowan unwittingly walking into murder case. | tt0036730 | Jane Wyman, Jerome Cowan, Faye Emerson, Eleanor Parker, Creighton Hale. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Crime Doctor | 1943 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 66 | Ex-gang leader Baxter loses his memory and becomes a criminal psychologist, only to stand trial when his past is revealed. Slow-starting, but fairly good initial entry. Remake of THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE, remade in 1953 as MAN IN THE DARK. | tt0035766 | Warner Baxter, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Ray Collins, Harold Huber, Don Costello, Leon Ames | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Crime Doctor's Courage | 1945 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 70 | Dr. Ordway probes the murder of a man whose first two wives died mysteriously in this OK entry. | tt0037620 | Warner Baxter, Hillary Brooke, Jerome Cowan, Robert Scott, Lloyd Corrigan, Emory Parnell, Stephen Crane | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Crime Doctor's Diary | 1949 | Seymour Friedman | ★★ | 61 | The Crime Doctor's final case, with a lethargic Baxter getting involved with an ex-con who claims he was framed on arson charges. | tt0041267 | Warner Baxter, Lois Maxwell, Adele Jergens, Robert Armstrong | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Crime Doctor's Gamble | 1947 | William Castle | ★★½ | 66 | The doc's vacation in gay Paree is interrupted by murder that involves a case of art theft and a colorful chase across Europe. | tt0039283 | Warner Baxter, Micheline Cheirel, Roger Dann, Steven Geray, Marcel Journet | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Crime Doctor's Man Hunt | 1946 | William Castle | ★★½ | 61 | An amnesiac soldier is murdered and Ordway is led into a web of deceit by the man's fiancée in this lively episode with a good script by Leigh Brackett and welcome wisecracks by cop Frawley. | tt0038430 | Warner Baxter, Ellen Drew, William Frawley, Frank Sully, Claire Carleton, Bernard Nedell | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case | 1943 | Eugene Forde | ★★ | 68 | Dr. Ordway analyzes an old lady's dreams, which hold the key to a murder in this sluggish entry. | tt0035767 | Warner Baxter, Lynn Merrick, Lloyd Bridges, Reginald Denny, Barton MacLane, Jerome Cowan, Rose Hobart | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Crime Doctor's Warning | 1945 | William Castle | ★★½ | 70 | Engrossing entry, as Dr. Ordway gets involved in the case of an emotionally unstable artist who suffers from blackouts and is suspected of murder when his models start turning up dead. | tt0037621 | Warner Baxter, John Litel, Dusty Anderson, Coulter Irwin, Miles Mander, John Abbott | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Crime School | 1938 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 86 | Bogart sets out to improve a reform school, but meets his match in the Dead End Kids. OK reworking of THE MAYOR OF HELL, weakened by the Kids' disreputable personalities and Bogart's unlikely casting as a do-gooder. Story rehashed again as HELL'S KITCHEN. | tt0030026 | Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bernard Punsley, Gabriel Dell, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crime Spree | 2003 | Brad Mirman | ★★½ | 98 | Disparate group of thieves treks from Paris to Chicago to pull off a heist, but things don’t go as planned. Tarantino-influenced comedy-crime film strives to be clever; innocuous fun, with some unnecessary flights into silliness. Depardieu is slumming here but Keitel, playing the underboss of the Chicago Mafia, deftly parodies his tough-guy image. | tt0310924 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Gérard Depardieu, Johnny Hallyday, Renaud, Saïd Taghmaoui, Stéphane Freiss, Albert Dray, Abe Vigoda | U.S.-French-British-Canadian | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Crime Wave | 1954 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 74 | Neat little B picture about some escaped cons who try to involve a former prisonmate (who's now gone straight) in their latest heist. Actuality-style filming on L.A. locations gives this an extra boost. | tt0046878 | Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, Phyllis Kirk, Ted de Corsia, Charles Bronson, Jay Novello, James Bell, Dub Taylor, Timothy Carey | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| Crime Without Passion | 1934 | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur | ★★★ | 72 | Bizarre, fascinating melodrama of callous lawyer Rains, jealous of Margo's escorts, who must establish false alibi after shooting her in lovers' quarrel. Helen Hayes (Mrs. Charles MacArthur) and Fanny Brice have brief cameos in hotel lobby scene, and directors Hecht and MacArthur play reporters! Slavko Vorkapich contributed that incredible opening montage depicting The Furies in night flight over N.Y.C. | tt0025009 | Claude Rains, Margo, Whitney Bourne, Stanley Ridges, Esther Dale, Leslie Adams | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Crime Zone | 1988 | Luis Llosa | ★★½ | 93 | Moody sci-fi set in repressive, stratified future society. Upper-caste Carradine recruits young lovers to commit crimes for a surprising reason. Profane, satiric, well-crafted low-budgeter, but loses its way before the finish. Shot in Peru! | tt0094918 | [R] | David Carradine, Peter Nelson, Sherilyn Fenn, Michael Shaner, Orlando Sacha | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Crime and Passion | 1976 | Ivan Passer | ★½ | 92 | Bizarre comedy-thriller set in Austrian Alps. Sharif is international financier who persuades secretary-mistress Black to wed industrialist Wicki for his money, then finds they are both marked for death by the husband. | tt0072600 | [R] | Omar Sharif, Karen Black, Joseph Bottoms, Bernhard Wicki | Action | NULL | ||
| Crime and Punishment | 1935 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★½ | 88 | Fascinating Hollywoodization of Dostoyevsky's novel about man haunted by murder he committed. Low-budget but full of inventive ideas by von Sternberg. | tt0026246 | Edward Arnold, Peter Lorre, Marian Marsh, Tala Birell, Elisabeth Risdon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crime and Punishment | 1958 | Georges Lampin | ★★★ | 108 | Perceptive updating of Dostoyevsky novel set in Paris. Retitled: THE MOST DANGEROUS SIN. | tt0049106 | Jean Gabin, Marina Vlady, Ulla Jacobsson, Bernard Blier | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crime in the Streets | 1956 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 91 | Incisive if overlong drama of angry, alienated teen Cassavetes, who conspires to commit murder. Good performances by Cassavetes, Mineo, and future director Rydell as his cronies and Whitmore as an idealistic social worker. Adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1955 teleplay; Cassavetes, Rydell, and Kuluva repeat their TV performances. | tt0049107 | James Whitmore, John Cassavetes, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell, Virginia Gregg, Denise Alexander, Will Kuluva, Peter Votrian, Malcolm Atterbury | Family, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Crime of Doctor Crespi | 1935 | John H. Auer | ★★ | 63 | Von Stroheim gets even with man who loves his girl by planning unspeakable buried-alive torture for him. Low-grade chiller. Allegedly based on 'The Premature Burial' by Edgar Allan Poe; filmed in the Bronx(!). | tt0027479 | Erich von Stroheim, Dwight Frye, Paul Guilfoyle, Harriett Russell, John Bohn | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Crime of Dr. Hallet | 1938 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★½ | 68 | Tedious story of jungle doctor working on fever cure who assumes assistant's identity when the latter dies in experiment. Remade as STRANGE CONQUEST. | tt0030028 | Ralph Bellamy, William Gargan, Josephine Hutchinson, Barbara Read, John King | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Crime of Father Amaro | 2002 | Carlos Carrera | ★★★ | 120 | Pointed melodrama about hypocrisy and corruption in the Catholic Church, centering on a handsome, newly ordained priest (Bernal) who becomes sexually involved with a beautiful 16-year-old parishioner. Controversial, to be sure, for its portrayal of desire and temptation (not to mention corruption) within the clergy. Based on a 19th-century Portuguese novel; a major box-office hit in Mexico. | tt0313196 | [R] | Gael García Bernal, Sancho Gracia, Ana Claudia Talancón, Damián Alcázar, Angélica Aragón, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr. | Mexican-Argentinian-Spanish-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Crime of Monsieur Lange | 1936 | Jean Renoir. | ★★★ | 90 | Clever (if a bit too talky) tale of an exploited publishing house clerk (Lefevre), who pens stories in his spare time, his evil, lecherous boss (Berry), and a host of complications. Scripted by Jacques Prévert, with a pointed anticapitalist message. | tt0027478 | Rene Lefevre, Jules Berry, Florelle, Nadia Sibirskaia, Sylvia Bataille, Jean Daste. | French | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Crime of Passion | 1957 | Gerd Oswald | ★★½ | 84 | Stanwyck is rough and tough as grasping wife who'll do anything to forward police lieutenant husband's career. | tt0050271 | Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Royal Dano, Virginia Grey | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Crime of the Century | 1996 | Mark Rydell | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Rea's performance as Bruno Hauptmann, convicted and executed for the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, and particularly Rossellini's as his trusting wife, Anna, anchor this murkily photographed docudrama told, by William Nicholson, as one of the great miscarriages of American justice. Based on Sir Ludovic Kennedy's 1965 book The Airman and the Carpenter. Acting students might compare Rea's Hauptmann with Anthony Hopkins' in THE LINDBERGH KIDNAPPING CASE (1976). Made for cable. | tt0115974 | Stephen Rea, Isabella Rossellini, J. T. Walsh, Michael Moriarty, David Paymer, Allen Garfield, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Barry Primus, John Harkins, Bert Remsen, Jay Acavone | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Crime of the Century | 1933 | William Beaudine. | ★★★ | 73 | Doctor Hersholt invites police captain Elliott to witness a hypnosis session in which he commands a criminal to rob a bank; naturally, things don't go as planned. Snappy, well-plotted whodunit with nice twists and clever touches (introducing the cast in silhouette, reviewing the suspects as a grandfather's clock ticks off one minute). | tt0023918 | Stuart Erwin, Frances Dee, Jean Hersholt, Wynne Gibson, Robert Elliott, David Landau. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Crimebroker | 1993 | Ian Barry | ★½ | 99 | A respected judge (Bisset) leads a double life as a criminal mastermind planning robberies. Kato is a criminologist who discovers her secret and joins her in the scheme. Intriguing premise is underdeveloped and the characters are never more than caricatures. | tt0106622 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Masaya Kato, Peter Boswell, John Bach, Ralph Cotterill, Gary Day, Victoria Longley | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Crimes and Misdemeanors | 1989 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 104 | Film's title indicates the themes of two separate stories, which are neatly tied up in the final scene. Landau plays a married man who is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship in this somberly tragic tale. Allen is an unhappy documentary filmmaker who's wooing attractive Farrow while making a film about insufferably self-centered TV producer Alda, in a hilariously bittersweet story. Arguably Woody's most ambitious film, playing heavy drama against often uproarious comedy, and certainly one of his most passionately debated; a one-of-a-kind effort that only he could pull off. Daryl Hannah has an unbilled cameo as one of Alda's chippies. | tt0097123 | [PG-13] | Caroline Aaron, Alan Alda, Woody Allen, Claire Bloom, Mia Farrow, Joanna Gleason, Anjelica Huston, Martin Landau, Jenny Nichols, Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crimes at the Dark House | 1940 | George King | ★★★ | 69 | Slaughter is at his lip-smacking best in this adaptation of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. Old-fashioned melodrama without a whiff of condescension is not to all tastes, but for those with a liking for this rip-snorting stuff, this is one of the best. Typical line: 'I'll feed your entrails to the pigs!' | tt0032366 | Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Eaves, Geoffrey Wardell, Hay Petrie | British | Horror, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crimes of Passion | 1984 | Ken Russell | ★★ | 101 | Laughlin, trapped in a stale marriage, takes up with mysterious Turner— fashion designer by day, hooker by night. Watchable mess is, given the subject matter, less out of control than other Russell movies. Turner actually gives a performance; Perkins amuses in one of his standard nutso roles. One of the two homevideo versions has several minutes of kinky footage originally seen only in Europe. | tt0087100 | [R] | Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, John Laughlin, Annie Potts, Bruce Davison | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Crimes of Stephen Hawke | 1936 | George King. | ★★½ | 69 | Florid melodrama with Slaughter deliciously ripe as kindly moneylender Hawke, secretly the murderous fiend known as Spine Breaker. Stodgy direction, in this case, seems appropriate. Lower the rating if you can't stand barnstorming thrillers. Aka STRANGLER'S MORGUE. | tt0027481 | Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, D. J. Williams, Eric Portman, Ben Soutten. | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Crimes of the Heart | 1986 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 105 | Three Southern sisters, who are equally off-center, share their various woes and idiosyncrasies (along with pent-up jealousies and resentments) during a fateful reunion. Superior performances can't make a really good film out of Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, even though Henley wrote the screenplay herself. | tt0090886 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper, David Carpenter, Hurd Hatfield | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crimewave | 1985 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 83 | After a successful debut with EVIL DEAD, director Raimi pays tribute to slapstick comedy with this weird, almost incoherent crime story set in Detroit. Smith and James are well cast as grotesque goons on a robbery/killing spree. This exercise in style was cowritten by Raimi's pals, Joel and Ethan Coen. | tt0088967 | [PG-13] | Louise Lasser, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Sheree J. Wilson, Bruce Campbell, Reed Birney, Edward R. Pressman, Julius Harris | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Criminal | 2004 | Gregory Jacobs | ★★★ | 87 | Cocky, small-time L.A. con artist (Reilly) takes on a protégé (Luna) who knows a trick or two himself. During the course of one eventful day they become involved in what could be the biggest deal of their lives. Entertaining yarn keeps you guessing to the very last minute. A remake of the Argentinean film NINE QUEENS. Jacobs' directing debut; he also cowrote the script with Sam Lowry (a pen name for coproducer Steven Soderbergh). | tt0362526 | [R] | John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Mullan, Jonathan Tucker, Enrico Colantoni, Zitto Kazann, Michael Shannon, Malik Yoba, Ellen Geer, Jack Conley | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Criminal Code | 1931 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 95 | Warden Huston— tough but essentially fair— faces a dilemma when his daughter falls in love with prisoner Holmes. Creaky in parts, lively in others, but cast and director make this a must for buffs. Remade as PENITENTIARY in 1938 and CONVICTED in 1950. | tt0021770 | Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Mary Doran, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings | Crime | NULL | |||
| Criminal Court | 1946 | Robert Wise | ★★ | 63 | Disappointingly routine programmer finds O'Driscoll charged with murder of blackmailer Armstrong, defended by wily attorney Conway who is the real killer (by accident). Confusing mystery tale. | tt0038434 | Tom Conway, Martha O'Driscoll, Robert Armstrong, Addison Richards, June Clayworth, Pat Gleason, Steve Brodie | Crime | NULL | |||
| Criminal Law | 1989 | Martin Campbell | ★½ | 117 | Weak suspense film, done in by an unsatisfying script and unbelievable story. Slick attorney Oldman (playing an American— and quite well) matches wits with wealthy psychopath Bacon in tale of serial murders in Boston. Unnecessarily pretentious, unintentionally funny, and, unfortunately, filmed nowhere near Boston. | tt0097125 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Karen Young, Joe Don Baker, Tess Harper, Elizabeth Sheppard | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Criminal Lawyer | 1951 | Seymour Friedman | ★½ | 74 | Alcoholic attorney O'Brien sobers up to defend friend saddled with homicide charge. | tt0043433 | Pat O'Brien, Jane Wyatt, Carl Benton Reid, Mary Castle | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz | 1955 | Luis Buñuel | ★★ | 91 | Very minor psychological drama from Buñuel. As a boy, Archibaldo witnesses his governess' death and is fascinated by what he feels; as a man, he's obsessed with murder and dying. Much too talky; it sounds far more interesting than it plays. | tt0048037 | Ernesto Alonso, Miroslava Stern, Rita Macedo, Ariadna Welter, Rodolfo Landa, Andrea Palma | Mexican | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Criminals Within | 1941 | Joseph H. Lewis. | ★★ | 66 | Pallid Poverty Row spy thriller in which sinister foreign agents murder a scientist to purloin his secret explosives formula. The scientist's kid brother, an Army corporal, tracks the spies to solve the crime and save America from its enemies. Film's pre-WW2 naiveté somewhat dampens the gung-ho attitude. Aka ARMY MYSTERY. | tt0033500 | Eric Linden, Ann Doran, Constance Worth, Donald Curtis, Weldon Heyburn, Ben Alexander, Dudley Dickerson. | Crime, War | NULL | |||
| The Crimson Blade | The Scarlet Blade | 1963 | John Gilling | ★★½ | 82 | OK swashbuckler features romance between two young people on opposite side of Cromwell's struggle for power in 17th century; good-looking Hammer production. Originally titled THE SCARLET BLADE. | tt0056963 | Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, Jack Hedley, June Thorburn, Duncan Lamont | British | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Crimson Canary | 1945 | John Hoffman | ★★½ | 64 | Offbeat murder mystery with nightclub musicians the suspects, nicely done. | tt0037623 | Noah Beery/Jr., Lois Collier, Danny Morton, John Litel, Claudia Drake, Steven Geray | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Crimson Cult | Curse of the Crimson Altar | 1968 | Vernon Sewell | ★★ | 87 | Lackluster script and pacing major flaws in standard witchcraft thriller featuring aging Karloff as expert on black magic, Steele (in green makeup) as 300-year-old witch. Original British titles: CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR and THE CRIMSON ALTAR. | tt0062833 | [M] | Mark Eden, Virginia Wetherell, Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Michael Gough, Barbara Steele | British | Horror | NULL |
| Crimson Gold | 2003 | Jafar Panahi | ★★★ | 92 | A pizza delivery man in Tehran quietly endures a series of social indignities that eventually drive him to take desperate action. A subtle, pointed critique of class conflicts, told in slow, naturalistic style. Leading man Emadeddin was, in real life, a pizza delivery man. Written by (another) famed Iranian filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami. This was banned in Iran. | tt0371280 | Hossain Emadeddin, Kamyar Sheisi, Azita Rayeji, Shahram Vaziri, Ehsan Amani, Pourang Nakhaei, Kaveh Najmabadi, Saber Safaei | Iranian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Crimson Kimono | 1959 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 82 | Two close-knit L.A. detectives investigate a stripper's murder and its ties to the city's Japanese community. Uniquely odd Fuller film explores racial identity and a seldom-seen facet of L.A. | tt0052713 | Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta, Anna Lee, Paul Dubov, Gloria Pall | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Crimson Pirate | 1952 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★½ | 104 | Lancaster and Cravat swashbuckle their way across the Mediterranean in one of the great genre classics of all time. Cult film offers loads of thrills and laughs to both children and adults. | tt0044517 | Burt Lancaster, Nick Cravat, Eva Bartok, Torin Thatcher, Christopher Lee | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Crimson Rivers | 2000 | Mathieu Kassovitz | ★★★ | 110 | Compelling mystery-thriller about a police investigator called to a remote French valley where a grisly murder has occurred— the work of a deranged mind. Meanwhile, a detective from a small town miles away looks into the desecration of a young girl's tomb— which leads him onto the same path as his older, more famous colleague. Exciting, unpredictable film, adapted by Kassovitz and Jean-Christophe Grangé from the latter's novel. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0228786 | [R] | Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès, Dominique Sanda, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-Pierre Cassel | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Crimson Romance | 1934 | David Howard | ★★★ | 72 | Provocative drama of impetuous American test pilot Lyon, whose German-born pal returns to the Fatherland during WW1— before America's involvement in the fracas. He joins his friend in the German military, and finds himself at odds with a sadistic commandant (who else but von Stroheim?). | tt0025011 | Ben Lyon, Sari Maritza, Erich von Stroheim, Hardie Albright, James Bush, William Bakewell, Herman Bing, Jason Robards/Sr | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Crimson Tide | 1995 | Tony Scott | ★★★ | 115 | The producer-director team that brought you TOP GUN fashioned this macho power-play saga aboard a Navy nuclear submarine. Tensions run high when the U.S. is pushed to the brink of war with Russia, especially when veteran sub commander Hackman starts showing Capt. Queeg tendencies and his new lieutenant (Washington) tries to assert himself. Obvious, to be sure, with a foregone conclusion, but highly entertaining just the same. Jason Robards appears unbilled. Hip dialogue added (without credit) by Quentin Tarantino. | tt0112740 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Matt Craven, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Rocky Carroll, Jaime P. Gomez, Michael Milhoan, Scott Burkholder, Danny Nucci, Lillo Brancato/Jr., Rick Schroder, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cripple Creek | 1952 | Ray Nazarro | ★★½ | 78 | Government agents Montgomery and Courtland track down mining crooks by joining gang in this OK Western. | tt0044519 | George Montgomery, Karin Booth, Jerome Courtland, Richard Egan | Western | NULL | |||
| Crisis | 1950 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 95 | Melodrama of American doctor (Grant) held in South American country to treat ailing dictator (Ferrer); intriguing but slow. Brooks's first film as director. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042352 | Cary Grant, Jose Ferrer, Paula Raymond, Signe Hasso, Ramon Novarro, Antonio Moreno, Leon Ames, Gilbert Roland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Criss Cross | 1949 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 87 | Lancaster returns to hometown, where he crosses path of ex-wife De Carlo, who's taken up with gangster Duryea. Potent film noir look (by cinematographer Franz Planer) and music (by Miklos Rozsa) help compensate for Lancaster's miscasting as an easily manipulated husband. Tony Curtis' screen debut; he's briefly seen as De Carlo's dance partner. Remade in 1995 as UNDERNEATH. | tt0041268 | Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| CrissCross | 1992 | Chris Menges | ★★ | 100 | Good intentions abound in this low-key drama set in Key West, Florida, in 1969. A 12-year-old boy lives with his mom, trying to survive since his Dad (a messed-up Vietnam vet) deserted them three years ago. The boy's rootlessness and (eventual) moral dilemma are delineated in credible but much too leisurely fashion, making this potential sleeper a yawner instead. | tt0104027 | [R] | Goldie Hawn, Arliss Howard, James Gammon, David Arnott, Keith Carradine, J.C. Quinn, Steve Buscemi, Paul Calderon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Critic's Choice | 1963 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 100 | An in-joke Broadway play diluted for movie audience consumption. Lucy as a novice playwright outshines Hope who plays her drama critic hubby. Film emerges as tired, predictable comedy, with best moments contributed by supporting players. Based on a play by Ira Levin. | tt0056964 | Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Maxwell, Rip Torn, Jessie Royce Landis, Marie Windsor, John Dehner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Critical Care | 1997 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 109 | A young resident, already cynical about the medical system and his career, is drawn into a controversy over a patient who's on a life support system, and whose two daughters disagree about his future. Satire of modern medicine (from the director of NETWORK) is heavy-handed and obvious at times, but redeems itself with a satisfying conclusion. Brooks is fun as the aged, once-brilliant doctor whose memory is now shot. And it's hard to dislike any film that begins with the Delta Rhythm Boys singing 'Dry Bones.' | tt0118901 | [R] | James Spader, Helen Mirren, Kyra Sedgwick, Albert Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Wallace Shawn, Philip Bosco, Jeffrey Wright, Margo Martindale, Colm Feore, Edward Herrmann | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Critical Condition | 1987 | Michael Apted | 💣 | 107 | Pryor is a con artist who takes charge at a prison hospital, with predictable results. He's in good form, but the material just isn't there; its semiserious and sentimental threads don't work at all, and the comedy is pretty anemic. | tt0092798 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Rachel Ticotin, Rubén Blades, Joe Mantegna, Bob Dishy, Sylvia Miles, Joe Dallesandro, Bob Saget, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Garrett Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Critters | 1986 | Stephen Herek | ★★½ | 86 | GREMLINS-inspired aliens roll along like tumbleweeds, gobbling everything in sight while chuckling to themselves— until they're menaced by critter-hunters from space. Pretty good little thriller with comic overtones. Followed by three sequels. | tt0090887 | [PG-13] | Dee Wallace-Stone, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy Green Bush, Scott Grimes, Nadine Van Der Velde, Terrence Mann, Billy Zane. | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Critters 2: The Main Course | 1988 | Mick Garris | ★★ | 87 | The big-mouthed, quill-shooting nasties take on an entire town. Nothing special. Followed by two video sequels. | tt0094919 | [PG-13] | Scott Grimes, Liane Curtis, Don Opper, Barry Corbin, Tom Hodges, Sam Anderson, Lindsay Parker, Herta Ware, Terrence Mann, Roxanne Kernohan | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Crocodile Dundee | 1986 | Peter Faiman | ★★★ | 97 | Amiable, laid-back Aussie comedy (that became an enormous worldwide hit) about an adventurer who shows a pretty American reporter around the bush country, then accompanies her to the equally strange terrain of N.Y.C. Irresistibly simple and old-fashioned, with a sweetness that's rare in modern comedies. Hogan, making his movie debut, also cowrote the screenplay (reportedly inspired by TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE). For American release quotation marks were added around CROCODILE— lest anyone think it was about a reptile! Followed by two sequels. | tt0090555 | [PG-13] | Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil, Mark Blum, Michael Lombard, Irving Metzman | Australian | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Crocodile Dundee II | 1988 | John Cornell | ★★½ | 111 | Pleasant followup to the runaway hit reverses the original by opening in N.Y.C. and winding up in the bush country of Australia. This time the unflappable tracker runs afoul of an international drug kingpin. So leisurely that after a while you wish they'd get on with it— especially when all suspense about the outcome is eliminated. Hogan's charisma carries this almost singlehandedly. Written by Hogan and his son Brett. | tt0092493 | [PG] | Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, Ernie Dingo, Hechter Ubarry, Juan Fernandez, Charles Dutton, Kenneth Welsh | U.S.-Australian | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles | 2001 | Simon Wincer | ★½ | 95 | Mick Dundee accompanies his '80s squeeze Sue (Kozlowski) to L.A. when she travels there to run the family newspaper and checks out the sights with their 9-year-old son. First Croco-pic in 13 years is as tired as it sounds, despite cameos by Mike Tyson and George Hamilton (touting coffee enemas. Decaf or regular?). Sue's investigative reporting attempts to discover why a Hollywood studio keeps producing unwanted sequels, which is more irony than this picture can handle. | tt0231402 | [PG] | Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, Serge Cockburn, Jere Burns, Jonathan Banks, Paul Rodriguez, Aida Turturro | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course | 2002 | John Stainton | ★½ | 90 | Contrived movie vehicle for the popular Aussie TV host and animal lover Irwin features nail-biting footage of him confronting snakes, spiders, and crocodiles, but it's surrounded by a storyline so lame (enacted by an equally lame cast) that it hardly seems worth the trouble. For the record, a croc has swallowed a satellite capsule that the CIA needs to recover. Youthful fans are better off watching a rerun of the TV show instead. | tt0305396 | [PG] | Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, Magda Szubanski, David Wenham, Lachy Hulme, Aden Young, Kenneth Ransum, Kate Beahan | Australian-U.S. | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Cromwell | 1970 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 145 | Turgid historical epic has everything money can buy, but no human feeling underneath. Harris is coldly unsympathetic as 17th-century Briton determined to rid England of tyrannical rule; one feels more sympathy for King Charles I (Guinness), which is not the idea. Great battle scenes, great cinematography and Oscar-winning costume design, hampered by Harris and amateurish music score. | tt0065593 | [G] | Richard Harris, Alec Guinness, Robert Morley, Dorothy Tutin, Frank Finlay, Timothy Dalton, Patrick Wymark, Patrick Magee, Nigel Stock, Charles Gray, Michael Jayston, Geoffrey Keen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Cronos | 1992 | Guillermo Del Toro | ★★★ | 92 | An elderly, kindly antique dealer accidentally activates the Cronos Device, an instrument that grants eternal life— but at a great price: it turns the person who uses it into a (nontraditional) vampire. Howard Hughes- like billionaire Brook sends his chuckling nephew Perlman after the gadget. Inventive, entertaining film blends wit, horror, tragedy, and suspense in about equal doses, adding lots of oddball character details. | tt0104029 | Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, Tamara Shanath, Daniel Cacho, Mario Martinez, Juan Colombo, Farnesio DeBernal | Mexican | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Crook | 1971 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★ | 120 | Very funny pop-art caper film of incurable thief, his successes and failures. | tt0066536 | [G] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Daniele Delorme, Charles Denner, Christine Lelouch | French | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Crooked Circle | 1932 | H. Bruce Humberstone. | ★★ | 70 | Creaky comedy-mystery teams jittery housemaid Pitts with excitable motorcycle cop Gleason to figure out who murdered an amateur criminologist. Overstuffed plot with counterfeiters and Secret Service agents running loose in a haunted-house setting ensures every possible genre cliché is present. | tt0022788 | ZaSu Pitts, James Gleason, Ben Lyon, Irene Purcell, C. Henry Gordon, Raymond Hatton, Roscoe Karns. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Crooked Hearts | 1991 | Michael Bortman | ★★★ | 112 | Engaging, multileveled domestic drama showing how husband/father Coyote's indiscretion affects the various members of his family. A thoughtful, well-acted sleeper. Bortman also scripted, from Robert Boswell's novel. | tt0101629 | [R] | Vincent D'Onofrio, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Pete Berg, Cindy Pickett, Peter Coyote, Juliette Lewis, Noah Wyle, Marg Helgenberger, Wendy Gazelle | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Crooked Road | 1965 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 86 | OK battle of wits between dictator Granger and newspaperman Ryan, who's got the goods on him. | tt0059072 | Robert Ryan, Stewart Granger, Nadia Gray, Marius Goring, George Coulouris | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Crooked Way | 1949 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 90 | Military hero Payne recovers from shellshock to be confronted by criminal past and his old gang seeking to eliminate him. | tt0041269 | John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Crooked Web | 1955 | Nathan Juran | ★½ | 77 | Ponderous unspinning of government officer's ensnaring prime suspect to return to Germany, scene of the crime. | tt0047962 | Frank Lovejoy, Mari Blanchard, Richard Denning, Richard Emory | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Crooklyn | 1994 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 132 | At times abrasive, at times embracing comedy-drama about a family's life and times in 1970s Brooklyn, focusing on young Troy (Harris), who has a special relationship with her fiery mother and warmhearted father— and little use for her four raucous brothers. Vivid, semi-autobiographical film, written by Lee with his brother and sister, has strong performances and many fine moments, but it seems aimless at first and goes on for quite some time. One long sequence is shot in a deliberately distorted format. | tt0109504 | [PG-13] | Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo, David Patrick Kelly, Zelda Harris, Carlton Williams, Sharif Rashed, Tse-Mach Washington, Christopher Knowings, Jose Zuniga, Spike Lee, Frances Foster, Norman Matlock, Joie Susannah Lee, Vondie Curtis-Hall, RuPaul | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Crooks Anonymous | 1962 | Ken Annakin | ★½ | 87 | Cornball comedy with thief Phillips enrolling in Alcoholics Anonymous-type organization for hoods. Christie, in her film debut, plays Babette La Vern, a stripper. | tt0055875 | Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Wilfrid Hyde-White, James Robertson Justice, Julie Christie | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Crooks and Coronets | Sophie's Place | 1969 | Jim O'Connolly | ★★ | 106 | Crooks Savalas and Oates are hired to rob Evans' estate, but can't bring themselves to do it once they get to know her. Amiable but ordinary heist comedy. Aka SOPHIE'S PLACE. | tt0064192 | [M] | Telly Savalas, Edith Evans, Warren Oates, Cesar Romero, Harry H. Corbett | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL |
| Crooner | 1932 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★½ | 68 | Struggling bandleader Manners inadvertently hits on a gimmick— singing through a megaphone— that makes him a star. Topical Warner Bros. programmer is predictable but still fun to watch. | tt0022789 | David Manners, Ann Dvorak, Ken Murray, J. Carrol Naish, Guy Kibbee, Claire Dodd, Allen Vincent, Edward J. Nugent, William Janney. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Crosby Case | 1934 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 60 | Former lovers have to clear themselves when police suspect them of murder. Good whodunit with interesting plot point— a hint of abortion. | tt0025014 | Wynne Gibson, Alan Dinehart, Onslow Stevens, Warren Hymer, Skeets Gallagher | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Cross Creek | 1983 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 122 | Leisurely paced but rewarding drama of writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' endeavor to 'find herself' by moving to remote Florida backwoods home— and dealing with the simple people around her. Wonderful performances and regional flavor— though Dalene Young's script takes more than a few liberties with the facts. Steenburgen's then real-life husband Malcolm McDowell has cameo as famed editor Maxwell Perkins. | tt0085380 | [PG] | Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Dana Hill, Alfre Woodard, Joanna Miles, Ike Eisenmann, Cary Guffey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cross My Heart | 1987 | Armyan Bernstein | ★★ | 90 | The story of a date where everything goes wrong, mainly because both the man and the woman refuse to act natural and be themselves. Winning costars bring out the truthful observations in this comic script (by director Bernstein and Gail Parent), but it's just too slight, and too slow. | tt0092802 | [R] | Martin Short, Annette O'Toole, Paul Reiser, Joanna Kerns | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Cross and the Switchblade | 1972 | Don Murray | ★½ | 106 | Crusading minister Boone winds up in New York street-gang rumbles. Uneven, uninteresting, though sincere attempt at uplifting, moralistic filmmaking. | tt0068428 | [PG] | Pat Boone, Erik Estrada, Jackie Giroux, Jo-Ann Robinson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cross of Iron | 1977 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★ | 119 | Peckinpah's only war film, told from the viewpoint of Germans on the Russian front in 1943, is compelling without being particularly distinguished. The standard Peckinpah action scenes are excitingly done. European version runs 130m. Sequel: BREAKTHROUGH. | tt0074695 | [R] | James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner, Senta Berger, Klaus Lowitsch | British-West German | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| The Cross of Lorraine | 1943 | Tay Garnett | ★★★½ | 90 | High-grade propaganda of WW2 POW camp with hero Aumont rousing defeated Kelly to battle; Whorf is dedicated doctor, Lorre a despicable Nazi, Cronyn a fickle informer. | tt0035769 | Jean-Pierre Aumont, Gene Kelly, Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Whorf, Joseph Calleia, Peter Lorre, Hume Cronyn | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Crossed Over | 2002 | Bobby Roth | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Striking fact-based drama about a woman whose unusual friendship with a female death row inmate helps her come to terms with the untimely demise of her own rebellious teenage son. Adapted by John Wierick from the book by Beverly Lowry (Keaton's character). | tt0287392 | Diane Keaton, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Maury Chaykin, Nick Roth, Barbara Barnes-Hopkins | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crossed Swords | 1954 | Milton Krims | ★½ | 86 | Unsuccessful attempt to recapture flavor of swashbucklers of 1930s; set in 16th-century Italy with Flynn out to save Gina and her father's kingdom. | tt0046024 | Errol Flynn, Gina Lollobrigida, Cesare Danova, Nadia Gray | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Crossed Swords | The Prince and the Pauper | 1978 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 113 | Lester is too old for his dual role in well-acted but flat version of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. Lavish sets, costumes, and Jack Cardiff's photography will suffer on TV. Aka THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER. | tt0077381 | [PG] | Mark Lester, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Ernest Borgnine, George C. Scott, Rex Harrison, Charlton Heston | Adventure | NULL | |
| Crossfire | 1947 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★½ | 86 | Engrossing film of insane ex-soldier leading city police in murderous chase. Anti-Semitic issue handled with taste, intelligence. Script by John Paxton, from Richard Brooks' novel The Brick Foxhole. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039286 | Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Paul Kelly, Richard Benedict, Sam Levene, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Lex Barker | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Crossing Delancey | 1988 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★★★ | 97 | Charming comedy about a self-reliant young N.Y.C. woman whose Jewish grandmother arranges for her to meet an eligible bachelor through the services of a marriage broker . . . much to her chagrin. Amusing, sometimes wistful look at the clash between old-world traditions and our modern way of life. Adapted by Susan Sandler, from her play. | tt0094921 | [PG] | Amy Irving, Reizl Bozyk, Peter Riegert, Jeroen Krabbé, Sylvia Miles, Suzzy Roche, George Martin, John Bedford Lloyd, Claudia Silver, Rosemary Harris, Amy Wright, David Hyde Pierce | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Crossing Guard | 1995 | Sean Penn | ★★ | 114 | Introspective mood piece about a man's inability to deal with the drunk-driving death of his young daughter six years earlier, and his pursuit of the killer, who's just been released from prison. Sober and somber, but heavy-handed and never terribly moving. Penn wrote the original screenplay; his mother, Eileen Ryan, plays a jewelry store customer, and his father, Leo Penn, plays the skipper of a fishing boat. | tt0112744 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright, Piper Laurie, Richard Bradford, Robbie Robertson, John Savage, Priscilla Barnes, Kari Wuhrer, Richard Sarafian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crossing Over | 2009 | Wayne Kramer | ★½ | 114 | Police and border officials are confronted daily with the human drama of ethnic strife, urban violence, and fraud. Cross-section of L.A. intersects (à la CRASH) with the thread being illegal immigration and cultural assimilation. Ford and Curtis are fine as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent-partners but, like the other leads, they are stranded in a jumbled film that oversimplifies everything. Exploitative hodgepodge involving multiple races and religions—as well as sleaze—just doesn’t gel. | tt0924129 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Jim Sturgess, Cliff Curtis, Summer Bishil, Alice Braga, Alice Eve, Jacqueline Obradors, Justin Chon, Melody Khazae, Lizzy Caplan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crossing the Bridge | 1992 | Mike Binder | ★★½ | 103 | Modest memory movie, set in the 1960s, about Detroit teens tempted to cross the bridge into Windsor, Canada— to transport hashish back into the States. Nothing special, but certainly nothing disgraceful, either. Stephen Baldwin gets a good showcase here. | tt0104030 | [R] | Josh Charles, Jason Gedrick, Stephen Baldwin, Cheryl Pollak, Jeffrey Tambor, Rita Taggart, Hy Anzell, Richard Edson, Ken Jenkins, David Schwimmer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crossing the Line | The Big Man | 1991 | David Leland | ★★½ | 93 | Two-fisted mine worker who's been blackballed out of work accepts an offer from a mysterious millionaire to fight bare-knuckled, but begins to worry that he's abandoned his principles for some quick cash. Serious-minded film has pretensions of eloquence and import, but doesn't really deliver; solid performances and canny filmmaking help. Connolly is a standout as Neeson's cheerfully sleazy friend. Based on William McIlvanney's novel The Big Man (also its video title). | tt0099136 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Ian Bannen, Billy Connolly, Hugh Grant, Maurice Roeves, Rab Affleck | U.S.-English-Scottish | Drama, Crime | NULL |
| Crossover | 2006 | Preston A. Whitmore II | ★★ | 95 | Onetime sports agent (Brady), now a hotshot gambler, tempts hoopster friends with an offer to escape Detroit and become L.A. superstars. Mackie hopes his underground streetballer skills can shoot him to the big time, while Jonathan aims to become a doctor on an athletic scholarship. So what's it gonna be: no go or go pro, M.D. or MVP? Faustian morality play has visual zip and the hop that's hip, but the director's script is less than a pip. | tt0473024 | [PG-13] | Anthony Mackie, Wesley Jonathan, Wayne Brady, Kristen Wilson, Lil' JJ, Phillip 'Hot Sauce' Champion, Eva Pigford, Alecia Fears | Action, Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| Crossover Dreams | 1985 | Leon Ichaso | ★★ | 86 | Salsa performer Blades starts shafting his pals, enjoying the good life, when he thinks his upcoming album is going to make him a smash with mainstream audiences . . . then the record flops. Standard backstage drama offers nothing beyond novel ethnicity, though Blades has real presence on camera. | tt0088968 | Rubén Blades, Shawn Elliot, Tom Signorelli, Elizabeth Pena, Frank Robles, Joel Diamond | Musical | NULL | |||
| Crossroads | 1942 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 82 | Smooth, clever tale of respected diplomat Powell, who was once a victim of amnesia; he is accused by an extortionist of having a previous identity as a sly petty crook, causing much grief for him and his new wife (Lamarr). | tt0034622 | William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Claire Trevor, Basil Rathbone, Margaret Wycherly, Felix Bressart, Reginald Owen, Sig Ruman, H. B. Warner | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Crossroads | 2002 | Tamra Davis | ★★½ | 94 | Teenage girl who's always followed Daddy's wishes finally cuts loose by taking a cross-country road trip with two girlhood friends and a guy with a 1973 Buick convertible. Her goal: to meet the mother who abandoned her when she was three. Debut vehicle for pop star Spears doesn't waste time showing her in her underwear— and also gives her a couple of songs. Innocuous, predictable teen fare with a few serious moments. | tt0275022 | [PG-13] | Britney Spears, Anson Mount, Zoë Saldana, Taryn Manning, Kim Cattrall, Dan Aykroyd, Justin Long, Beverly Johnson | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Family | NULL | ||
| Crossroads | 1986 | Walter Hill | ★★½ | 96 | Cocky young musician tracks down legendary bluesman in a Harlem hospital and agrees to bring him back to his Mississippi home in return for some long-lost songs. Promising idea turns into contrived formula film (with undeveloped subplot about the old-timer having sold his soul to the devil). Gets a shot in the arm from Ry Cooder's music score and Seneca's flavorful performance as the cranky old bluesman. | tt0090888 | [R] | Ralph Macchio, Joe Seneca, Jami Gertz, Joe Morton, Robert Judd, Harry Carey/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crosswinds | 1951 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 93 | Payne tries to retrieve cargo of gold from plane that crashed in New Guinea, encountering headhunters, crooks, and gorgeous Fleming. | tt0043434 | John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Forrest Tucker, Robert Lowery | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Wo hu cang long | 2000 | Ang Lee | ★★½ | 119 | Unusual hybrid of epic, romance, and martial arts, which follows the secret passions that a retiring warrior (Yun-Fat) and his longtime comrade (Yeoh) have for each other, and the dangerous young noblewoman (Ziyi) who affects their destiny. Beautifully filmed, with spectacular, gravity-defying fight sequences . . . but the characters and the (very protracted) story are never as compelling as one would like. Adapted from the novel by Wand Du Lu. The action was choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, who performed similar chores on THE MATRIX. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, Cinematography (Peter Pau), Art Direction (Tim Yip), and Original Score (Tan Dun). | tt0190332 | [PG-13] | Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Lung Sihung, Cheng Pei-Pei | Hong Kong-Taiwanese-U.S. | Drama, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| Croupier | 1999 | Mike Hodges | ★★★½ | 91 | Highly original film about a young man who, while pursuing his goal to become a published author, takes a job as croupier in a London casino— but never stops observing those around him, or remarking on his own behavior. Tough, smart script by Paul Mayersberg. | tt0159382 | Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Alex Kingston, Alexander Morton, Kate Hardie, Paul Reynolds, Nick Reding, Nicholas Ball | British-German | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Crow | 1994 | Alex Proyas | ★★★ | 100 | A year after his murder and that of his fiancée by inner-city hoodlums, a young rock musician rises from the grave, seeking vengeance; he's guided by a spectral crow. Dark, rainy, and violent, the film's familiar revenge plot is offset by a strong style and an aura of tragic melancholy. Great urban-hell production design, good performances. Lee died shortly before filming was complete; digital movie magic enabled him to appear in the rest of the picture. From James O'Barr's black and white comic book. Followed by a sequel, a TV movie, and TV series. | tt0109506 | [R] | Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, David Patrick Kelly, Angel David, Rochelle Davis, Bai Ling, Tony Todd, Jon Polito | Action, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Crow: City of Angels | 1996 | Tim Pope | 💣 | 84 | Anemic follow-up to THE CROW, concerning a murdered man who returns to life in order to seek revenge on those who killed him and his cute young son. If you last to the end of the film, you'll be wishing he stayed six feet under. Perez is as grating as the nonstop soundtrack. | tt0115986 | [R] | Vincent Perez, Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks, Iggy Pop, Thomas Jane, Vincent Castellanos, Thuy Trang | Crime, Action, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Crowd Roars | 1932 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 70 | Exciting racing-driver tale with Cagney in typically cocky role, familiar plot devices, but well done by Warner Bros. stock company. Remade as INDIANAPOLIS SPEEDWAY. | tt0022792 | James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Eric Linden, Guy Kibbee, Frank McHugh | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Crowd | 1928 | King Vidor | ★★★★ | 104 | Classic drama about a few happy and many not-so-happy days in the marriage of hard-luck couple. One of the greatest silent films; holds up beautifully. Written by Harry Behn, John V.A. Weaver, and director Vidor, from the latter's original story. | tt0018806 | Eleanor Boardman, James Murray, Bert Roach, Daniel G. Tomlinson, Dell Henderson, Lucy Beaumont | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Crowded Sky | 1960 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 105 | Slick film focusing on emotional problems aboard jet liner and Navy plane bound for fateful collision; superficial but diverting. | tt0053742 | Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., John Kerr, Troy Donahue, Keenan Wynn, Joe Mantell, Donald May, Louis Quinn, Edward Kemmer, Jean Willes, Patsy Kelly | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Crucible of Horror | 1971 | Viktors Ritelis | ★★ | 91 | Murdered man returns to haunt the living. Nothing new here. | tt0065595 | [PG] | Michael Gough, Sharon Gurney, Yvonne Mitchell | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| The Crucible | 1956 | Raymond Rouleau | ★★★ | 140 | Successful French translation of Arthur Miller's stirring play about the Salem witchcraft trials of the 17th century. Signoret and Montand are excellent, recreating their stage performances in the leading roles. Adaptation by Jean-Paul Sartre. Originally titled THE WITCHES OF SALEM. Remade in 1996. | tt0050997 | Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Mylene Demongeot, Jean Debucourt, Raymond Rouleau | French-East German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Crucible | 1996 | Nicholas Hytner | ★★★ | 123 | Caught performing a 'sinful' dance, a group of New England girls, led by Ryder, claim they were overtaken by the Devil; soon their village is caught in a frenzy of accusations, naming various citizens as witches without so much as a shred of evidence. First American film rendering of Arthur Miller's classic 1953 play about parallels between Salem witch-hunts of the 1600s and Communist witch-hunts of the 1940s and '50s. Gets off to a shaky start, but finds its voice as the story deepens, and hits its stride with the arrival of Scofield, who's brilliant as the judge and inquisitor. Miller himself wrote the screenplay. | tt0115988 | [PG-13] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Joan Allen, Paul Scofield, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, Jeffrey Jones, George Gaynes | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Crucifer of Blood | 1991 | Fraser C. Heston | Above Average TV Movie | 131 | Heston and Johnson put their stamp on Holmes and Watson in this smartly turned adaptation by Heston fils of Paul Giovanni's 1978 Sherlock Holmes play (loosely based on Conan Doyle's 'The Sign of the Four'), lovingly photographed by Robin Vidgeon. A jolly good show made for cable. | tt0101631 | Charlton Heston, Richard Johnson, Susanna Harker, John Castle, Clive Wood, Simon Callow, Edward Fox | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Crucified Lovers | Chikamatsu Monogatari | 1954 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★½ | 100 | Timid scrollmaker Hasegawa loves his master's wife (Kagawa), with tragic results. Superior performances, stunning direction; originally a marionette play written in 1715. Better known by its original Japanese title, CHIKAMATSU MONOGATARI. | tt0046851 | Kazuo Hasegawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Yoko Minamida, Eitaro Shindo, Sakae Ozawa | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Cruel Intentions | 1999 | Roger Kumble | ★★ | 97 | Contemporary telling of Choderlos de Laclos' 18th-century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses . . . with teenagers! Wealthy, jaded stepsiblings Phillippe and Gellar bet on whether he can seduce virgin Witherspoon. The cast is good, story is interesting, but sexual decadence among the young is sometimes hard to watch. Followed by video prequel (a failed TV pilot) and sequel. | tt0139134 | [R] | Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Joshua Jackson, Eric Mabius, Christine Baranski, Swoosie Kurtz, Louise Fletcher, Tara Reid | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Cruel Sea | 1953 | Charles Frend | ★★★½ | 121 | Well-conceived documentary-style account of British warship during WW2 and its crew. Original British running time 126m. | tt0045659 | Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, John Stratton, Virginia McKenna, Alec McCowen | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Cruel Tower | 1956 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 79 | Friendship, loyalty, jealousy, and fighting among a crew of highriggers; standard stuff, well done. | tt0049109 | John Ericson, Mari Blanchard, Charles McGraw, Steve Brodie, Peter Whitney, Alan Hale/Jr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Cruising | 1980 | William Friedkin | ★½ | 106 | Cop Pacino goes underground to ferret out bloody killer of homosexuals in this distasteful, badly scripted film. Gay world presented as sick, degrading, and ritualistic. Filmed on authentic N.Y.C. locations. | tt0080569 | [R] | Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Don Scardino, Ed O'Neil, voice of James Sutorius | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Crumb | 1994 | Terry Zwigoff | ★★★½ | 119 | Extraordinarily intimate portrait of underground comic artist (and cult hero) Robert Crumb, creator of 'Keep on Truckin' ' and Fritz the Cat. Zwigoff traces his career and celebrates his works while exploring the cultural influences that shaped him. By the time we meet Crumb's dysfunctional brothers, we realize that he survived a horrific upbringing and found a way to channel his own demons through his art. Perhaps this documentary's greatest achievement is enabling almost any viewer to feel better about his own family! | tt0109508 | [R] | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| The Crusades | 1935 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 123 | Love, action, and great big siege machines in DeMille version of medieval era Holy Crusades spectacle that's good for fun, with Young a luminous queen who's kidnapped by infidels; Wilcoxon as Richard the Lion-Hearted must rescue her. Look fast for Ann Sheridan as a Christian girl. | tt0026249 | Loretta Young, Henry Wilcoxon, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey Smith, Katherine DeMille, Joseph Schildkraut, Alan Hale/Sr., C. Henry Gordon, J. Carrol Naish | Drama | NULL | |||
| Crush | 1992 | Alison Maclean | ★★½ | 97 | Intriguing, multi-layered (if occasionally overbaked) tale of seduction, betrayal, jealousy and revenge, in which Harden impersonates her friend, literary critic Rees (who's just been injured in a car crash), and becomes involved in the lives of a writer and his teen daughter. Director-coscripter Maclean's feature debut is crammed with offbeat touches, hidden meanings, and agendas; at its best when exploring the complex relationship of the three female characters. | tt0104033 | Marcia Gay Harden, Donogh Rees, Caitlin Bossley, William Zappa | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crush | 2002 | John McKay | ★★★ | 115 | Headmistress of a British prep school shares secrets and gossip with two close female friends, but when she plunges into a passionate affair with a much younger man, they disapprove strongly and begin to meddle. Starts out light and funny and turns unexpectedly dark; not always believable, but consistently entertaining. Writer-director McKay wins us over on an emotional level in his debut feature. | tt0245407 | [R] | Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson, Caroline Holdaway | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Crush | 1993 | Alan Shapiro | ★½ | 89 | Ridiculous thriller about a thick-witted, twentysomething journalist (Elwes) who becomes the target of a pretty, obsessive fourteen-year-old Lolita (Silverstone). A completely unnecessary FATAL ATTRACTION/HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE/SINGLE WHITE FEMALE clone; for a perceptive, non-exploitive look at the same subject, see the 1981 French film BEAU PÈRE. | tt0106627 | [R] | Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Rubin, Amber Benson, Kurtwood Smith, Gwynyth Walsh | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Crusoe | 1988 | Caleb Deschanel | ★★★ | 91 | Solid version of the oft-filmed Defoe classic, with Quinn cast as the title character, a slave trader who's shipwrecked on a deserted isle, where he must deal with loneliness, isolation, survival; most intriguing of all is his evolving relationship with black warrior Sapara. Strikingly photographed by Tom Pinter, mostly in the Seychelles. | tt0094923 | [PG-13] | Aidan Quinn, Ade Sapara, Warren Clark, Hepburn Grahame, Jimmy Nail, Tim Spall, Michael Higgins, Shane Rimmer, Oliver Platt | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cry 'Havoc' | 1943 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 97 | Female volunteers join some overworked American nurses on beleaguered island of Bataan during WW2. Reveals its stage origins and incorporates expected clichés, but also presents pretty honest picture of war. Robert Mitchum has a bit part as a dying soldier. | tt0035770 | Margaret Sullavan, Joan Blondell, Ann Sothern, Fay Bainter, Marsha Hunt, Ella Raines, Frances Gifford, Diana Lewis, Heather Angel | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Cry Baby Killer | 1958 | Jus Addiss | ★½ | 62 | Nicholson's film debut is a Roger Corman quickie about juvenile delinquent who panics when he thinks he's committed murder. A curio at best, with coscripter Leo Gordon and Corman himself in bit parts. TV print runs 60m. | tt0051500 | Harry Lauter, Jack Nicholson, Carolyn Mitchell, Brett Halsey, Lynn Cartwright, Ed Nelson | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Cry Blood, Apache | Machismo | 1970 | Jack Starrett | 💣 | 82 | Boring Western about some sadistic cowboys who look like hippies and lust after gold. The elder McCrea is wasted. Also on tape as MACHISMO. | tt0065596 | [R] | Jody McCrea, Dan Kemp, Marie Gahua, Robert Tessier, Joel McCrea | Western | NULL | |
| Cry Danger | 1951 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 79 | Effective revenge yarn; ex-con Powell hunts down those responsible for framing him. | tt0043435 | Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Erdman, Regis Toomey, William Conrad | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cry Freedom | 1987 | Richard Attenborough | ★★★ | 157 | Sweeping and compassionate film about South African activist Steve Biko (well played by Washington) and his friendship with crusading newspaper editor Donald Woods (Kline). Unfortunately second half of film, minus the Biko character, loses momentum as it spends too much time on Kline and his family's escape from South Africa, but cannily injects flashbacks of Biko to steer it back on course. Screenplay by John Briley. Expanded by 23m. to fill a two-part TV time slot. | tt0092804 | [PG] | Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, Denzel Washington, Kevin McNally, John Thaw, Timothy West, Juanita Waterman, John Hargreaves, Alec McCowen, Zakes Mokae, Ian Richardson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| A Cry From the Streets | 1959 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 99 | Kathleen Harrison. Poignant handling of story about homeless London children and social workers who attempt to rehabilitate them; plot is forgivably diffuse and episodic. | tt0051502 | Max Bygraves, Barbara Murray, Colin Peterson, Dana Wilson. Kathleen Harrison | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cry Terror! | 1958 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★★ | 96 | Tight pacing conceals implausibilities in caper of psychopath Steiger forcing Mason to aid him in master extortion plot, filmed on N.Y.C. locations. Stevens good as Mason's frightened but resourceful wife. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0051501 | James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson, Jack Klugman | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Cry Tough | 1959 | Paul Stanley | ★★ | 83 | Saxon emotes well as Puerto Rican ex-con tempted back into criminal life by environment and his old gang. Torrid love scenes shot for foreign markets gave film initial publicity. | tt0052716 | John Saxon, Linda Cristal, Joseph Calleia, Arthur Batanides, Joe De Santis, Barbara Luna, Frank Puglia | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cry Uncle! | 1971 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 87 | Private detective gets involved with murder, sex and blackmail in spoof of questionable taste; frequently hilarious, however. | tt0066960 | [R] | Allen Garfield, Madeleine de la Roux, Devin Goldenberg, David Kirk, Sean Walsh, Nancy Salmon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Cry Vengeance | 1954 | Mark Stevens | ★★½ | 83 | Stevens lives up to title as innocent ex-con seeking gangsters who sent him to prison. | tt0046885 | Mark Stevens, Martha Hyer, Skip Homeier, Joan Vohs | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cry Wolf | 1947 | Peter Godfrey | ★★ | 83 | Static adventure-mystery of Stanwyck attempting to untangle family secrets at late husband's estate. | tt0039288 | Barbara Stanwyck, Errol Flynn, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Basehart, Jerome Cowan | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Cry Wolf | 2005 | Jeff Wadlow | 💣 | 90 | A group of attractive, unlikable prep school students play a prank on their classmates by e-mailing a chain letter claiming that there's a masked murderer on the loose. Not surprisingly, a real killer shows up to murder the members of the clique one by one. First-time director won a contest that awarded him one million dollars to make a film; he wasted a great opportunity. Unrated version also available. | tt0384286 | [PG-13] | Lindy Booth, Julian Morris, Jared Padalecki, Kristy Wu, Sandra McCoy, Paul James, Jon Bon Jovi, Jesse Janzen, Gary Cole, Anna Deavere Smith | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cry for Happy | 1961 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 110 | Poor man's TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, involving Navy photography team in Tokyo using a geisha house for their home. | tt0054772 | Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, Miiko Taka, Myoshi Umeki | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Cry for Me, Billy | Face to the Wind | 1972 | William A. Graham | ★★ | 93 | Drifter falls in love with Indian girl, with tragic consequences, in this violent Western. Its title (and alleged year of release) keeps changing, but the film doesn't get any better. Aka FACE TO THE WIND, COUNT YOUR BULLETS, APACHE MASSACRE, and THE LONG TOMORROW. | tt0068429 | [R] | Cliff Potts, Xochitl, Harry Dean Stanton, Don Wilbanks | Drama, Crime, Romance, Western | NULL | |
| A Cry in the Dark | 1988 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★½ | 121 | Astonishing true story of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman accused of murdering her baby, despite her claims that the child was carried off by a dingo (wild dog). Writer-director Schepisi tells his story with almost documentary-like reality, eloquently attacking the process of trial by rumor that made Chamberlain and her husband the most maligned couple in Australia. Streep and Neill are heartbreakingly good. Australian title: EVIL ANGELS. | tt0094924 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Sam Neill, Bruce Myles, Charles Tingwell, Nick Tate, Neil Fitzpatrick, Maurie Fields, Lewis Fitzgerald | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| A Cry in the Night | 1956 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 75 | Why is mysterious, psychotic Burr spying on Wood and her boyfriend? And what happens after he kidnaps her? Overwrought drama, but fascinating as a time capsule of its era, and then prevalent attitudes toward cops and victims. Burr is quite good. | tt0049110 | Edmond O'Brien, Brian Donlevy, Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr, Richard Anderson | Film-Noir, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cry of Battle | 1963 | Irving Lerner | ★★½ | 99 | Uneven actioner set in Philippines with MacArthur as son of wealthy businessman who joins partisan cause, finding romance and sense of maturity. | tt0056967 | Van Heflin, Rita Moreno, James MacArthur, Leopoldo Salcedo | Action, War, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cry of the Banshee | 1970 | Gordon Hessler | ★★½ | 87 | Witch Oona (Bergner) summons servant of Satan to avenge nobleman (Price)'s bloody reign of witch-hunting. Confusion sets in midway. | tt0065597 | [PG] | Vincent Price, Elisabeth Bergner, Essy Persson, Hugh Griffith, Hilary Dwyer, Sally Geeson, Patrick Mower | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Cry of the City | 1948 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 95 | Rehash of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA about childhood pals, one who becomes a cop, the other a criminal— slick but predictable. | tt0040257 | Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark, Shelley Winters, Betty Garde, Debra Paget, Hope Emerson | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cry of the Hunted | 1953 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 80 | Unnoteworthy chase film involving escaped convict Gassman being sought by lawman Sullivan, with a few atmospheric sequences set in Louisiana marshland. | tt0045661 | Vittorio Gassman, Barry Sullivan, Polly Bergen, William Conrad | Drama, Action, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Cry of the Penguins | Mr. Forbush and the Penguins | 1971 | Al Viola | ★★ | 101 | Can a womanizing young biologist find true happiness and redemption among an Antarctic colony of penguins? Do you care? Similar to later NEVER CRY WOLF— except in interest. Famed documentary filmmaker Arne Sucksdorff shot the fascinating but horrifying scenes of life and death among a penguin colony; an uncredited Roy Boulting reportedly directed the scenes with Hayley Mills. Original British title: MR. FORBUSH AND THE PENGUINS. | tt0066961 | John Hurt, Hayley Mills, Dudley Sutton, Tony Britton, Thorley Walters, Judy Campbell | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Cry of the Werewolf | 1944 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 63 | Young woman raised by gypsies is the daughter of a werewolf and becomes one herself, killing those who have found her out. OK low-grade thriller. | tt0036731 | Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen, Blanche Yurka, Fritz Leiber, John Abbott | Horror | NULL | |||
| Cry, the Beloved Country | 1951 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★½ | 111 | Simple back-country minister journeys to Johannesburg in search of his son, while fate links his path with that of a wealthy, bigoted white landowner. Heart-rending story chronicles racial divisiveness (and its roots) in South Africa without resorting to preachiness. Alan Paton's book was also basis for stage and film musical LOST IN THE STARS. Some TV prints run 96m. Remade in 1995. | tt0043436 | Canada Lee, Charles Carson, Sidney Poitier, Geoffrey Keen, Reginald Ngeabo, Joyce Carey | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cry, the Beloved Country | 1995 | Darrell James Roodt | ★★★ | 120 | Moving remake of the 1951 film based on Alan Paton's celebrated novel, about a backwoods minister (Jones) who, in 1946, makes his first-ever trip to the city of Johannesburg in search of his errant son, while wealthy landowner Harris travels there to claim the body of his son, who has just been killed. Excellent performances by Jones, Harris, and a largely unfamiliar supporting cast. Not as understated as the original, but effective in its own way. Screenplay by Ronald Harwood. | tt0112749 | [PG-13] | Richard Harris, James Earl Jones, Charles S. Dutton, Vusi Kunene, Leleti Khumalo, Ian Roberts, Dambisa Kente, Eric Miyeni | U.S.-British-South African | Drama | NULL | |
| Cry-Baby | 1990 | John Waters | ★★½ | 85 | Baltimore, 1954, and good-girl Locane is torn between her pristine roots and kids in black leather— especially the Elvis type (Depp) who'd love her to mount his cycle. More polished than Waters' previous HAIRSPRAY, but not as well focused, though performed with gusto. Uneven and exhausting; a few set pieces really deliver. | tt0099329 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Susan Tyrrell, Polly Bergen, Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake, Traci Lords, Kim McGuire, Troy Donahue, Mink Stole, Joe Dallesandro, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson, Patricia Hearst, Willem Dafoe | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Crying Game | 1992 | Neil Jordan | ★★★½ | 112 | Strikingly original and adult story with Rea as an IRA volunteer who helps capture a British soldier (Whitaker) only to befriend him and later become involved with his lover. What begins as a thriller unexpectedly turns into a poignant and ironic love story, with plot twists that deepen the film's almost dreamlike power. Stunningly acted by Rea, Richardson, and Whitaker, with an amazing debut by Davidson, as Dil. A unique, seductive film that writer/director Jordan pulls off with poetic ease; he earned an Oscar for his screenplay. | tt0104036 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Jim Broadbent, Ralph Brown, Adrian Dunbar, Jaye Davidson | British | Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Crystal Ball | 1943 | Elliott Nugent | ★★ | 81 | Weak comedy of beauty-contest loser who becomes fortune-teller; good players left stranded by stale material. | tt0035771 | Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Virginia Field, Gladys George, William Bendix, Ernest Truex | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Crystal Heart | 1987 | Gil Bettman | ★★ | 102 | Young man who must live his life like the 'boy in a bubble,' confined to a controlled environment, develops a relationship with a sexy rock singer with whom he's fallen in love long-distance. Mild, predictable outing with music video segments from Kitaen. | tt0088952 | [R] | Tawny Kitaen, Lee Curreri, Lloyd Bochner, Simon Andreu, May Heatherly, Marina Saura | Drama | NULL | ||
| Crónicas | 2004 | Sebastián Cordrero | ★★ | 98 | Underdeveloped, repetitive story about a hotshot TV reporter who fancies himself a hero of the people. He intervenes in a lynching but learns that the man whose life he saved may have a connection to a serial killer. He keeps probing deeper, trying to get the elusive story while fending off his boss (Molina)-and carrying on an affair with the man's wife, who is also his producer. Leguizamo is good as usual, but the story doesn't add up. | tt0382621 | [R] | John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Damián Alcazár, José María Yazpik, Alfred Molina | Mexican-Ecuadorian | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Cuba | 1979 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 121 | Entertaining adventure film/love story has mercenary Connery renewing an old affair with factory manager Adams, set against the fall of Batista in late '59. Director Lester is in pretty good form, with most scenes punctuated by memorable throwaway bits. | tt0079013 | [R] | Sean Connery, Brooke Adams, Jack Weston, Hector Elizondo, Denholm Elliott, Chris Sarandon, Lonette McKee | Action, Adventure, War, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cuba Crossing | Sweet Violent Tony | 1980 | Chuck Workman | 💣 | 90 | Tough Whitman becomes embroiled in a plot to kill Fidel Castro. Filmed in Key West, Florida, and at least the scenery is pretty. Retitled KILL CASTRO and ASSIGNMENT: KILL CASTRO. Video titles: THE MERCENARIES and SWEET VIOLENT TONY. | tt0080580 | [R] | Stuart Whitman, Robert Vaughn, Caren Kaye, Raymond St. Jacques, Woody Strode, Sybil Danning, Albert Salmi, Michael Gazzo |
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| The Cuban Love Song | 1931 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 80 | Lawrence Tibbett, Lupe Velez, Ernest Torrence, Jimmy Durante, Karen Morley, Hale Hamilton, Louise Fazenda. Generally enjoyable, if slow-moving, musical-romance with fun-loving marine Tibbett (surprisingly effective as a romantic lead) tangling amorously with hot-tempered peanut vendor Velez in Havana— a cue for the song 'The Peanut Vendor.' Torrence and Durante are Tibbett's rowdy sidekicks. | tt0021772 | Lawrence Tibbett, Lupe Velez, Ernest Torrence, Jimmy Durante, Karen Morley, Hale Hamilton, Louise Fazenda | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cuban Rebel Girls | Attack of the Rebel Girls | 1959 | Barry Mahon | 💣 | 68 | Flynn's last film is an embarrassment: playing himself, he aids Fidel Castro in his overthrow of Batista. Shot on location during the Castro revolution. Of interest only to see Flynn teamed with his final girlfriend, 16-year-old Aadland. Aka ASSAULT OF THE REBEL GIRLS and ATTACK OF THE REBEL GIRLS. | tt0052717 | Errol Flynn, Beverly Aadland, John McKay, Marie Edmund, Jackie Jackler | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Cube | 1998 | Vincenzo Natali | ★★ | 90 | Or, six characters in search of an exit, from a giant cube with countless compartments— many of them booby-trapped. How and why are they there— and how can they escape? Nerves start to wear thin, which may also apply to the audience, as this intriguing film becomes highly unpleasant . . . with an unsatisfying conclusion. Cowritten by the director. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0123755 | [R] | Maurice Dean Wint, Nicole deBoer, Nicky Guadagni, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Julian Richings, Wayne Robson | Canadian | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Cuckoos | 1930 | Paul Sloane | ★★ | 97 | Following their success in RIO RITA, RKO quickly reteamed Wheeler and Woolsey for this similar musical comedy about the adventures of two phony fortune tellers who get mixed up with gypsies. Pretty creaky, like a photographed stage play, though W&W are funny and Wheeler has one good song, 'I Love You So Much.' Some sequences in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0020799 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, June Clyde, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Lee, Ivan Lebedeff, Marguerita Padula, Mitchell Lewis, Jobyna Howland | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Cujo | 1983 | Lewis Teague | ★★★ | 91 | Genuinely frightening adaptation of Stephen King thriller about a woman and her son terrorized by a rabid St. Bernard dog. Builds slowly but surely to terrifying (but not gory) climax. Not for children. | tt0085382 | [R] | Dee Wallace-Stone, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter, Mills Watson. | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Cul-De-Sac | 1966 | Roman Polanski | ★★★ | 111 | Macabre comedy about two wounded gangsters who terrorize middle-aged milquetoast and his beautiful young wife. Not a total success, but good cast and stylish direction make it a winner. Some prints cut to 103m. | tt0060268 | Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander, Jack MacGowran, Iain Quarrier, Jacqueline Bisset | British | Thriller, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Culpepper Cattle Company | 1972 | Dick Richards | ★★½ | 92 | A 16-year-old persuades trail boss to take him along on cattle drive, becomes a man in the process. Fair but excessively violent Western. | tt0068435 | [R] | Gary Grimes, Billy 'Green' Bush, Luke Askew, Bo Hopkins, Geoffrey Lewis, Wayne Sutherlin | Western | NULL | ||
| Cult of the Cobra | 1955 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★½ | 82 | Minor camp masterpiece involves ex-servicemen being killed in post-WW2 N.Y.C. by exotic serpent lady. | tt0047966 | Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, David Janssen | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Cup | 1999 | Khyentse Norbu | ★★★ | 93 | Sweet, funny comedy in which an adolescent, soccer-obsessed Tibetan monk-in-training (Lodro) schemes to win permission to watch the 1998 World Cup final between France and Brazil on television. Slowly paced but still winning, with an insightful subtext examining spirituality, modernity, consumerism, and Tibet's endless political struggle against China. Writer-director Norbu is himself a Bhutanese high lama. | tt0201840 | [G] | Jamyang Lodro, Orgyen Tobgyal, Neten Chokling, Lama Chonjor, Godu Lama, Thinley Nudi | Bhutanese | Comedy | NULL | |
| Curdled | 1996 | Reb Braddock | ★½ | 94 | Grisly black comedy about young woman obsessed with the how's and why's of violent crimes, who gets a job scrubbing up after them on the Post-Forensic Cleaning Service. Only for viewers with the darkest sense of humor. Executive-produced by none other than Quentin Tarantino. | tt0115994 | [R] | William Baldwin, Angela Jones, Bruce Ramsay, Lois Chiles, Barry Corbin, Mel Gorham, Daisy Fuentes, Kelly Preston, Carmen Lopez | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Cure | 1995 | Peter Horton | ★★½ | 99 | Imperfect but often moving story about two small-town, pre-teen outsiders who become fast friends: new-kid-in-town Renfro and AIDS-stricken Mazzello, who contracted the HIV virus during a blood transfusion. At its best when focusing on the boys' evolving relationship; the title refers to a miracle AIDS cure which plays a key role in the story. | tt0112757 | [PG-13] | Joseph Mazzello, Brad Renfro, Annabella Sciorra, Diana Scarwid, Bruce Davison, Nicky Katt, Aeryk Egan, Renee Humphrey | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 2008 | David Fincher | ★★★★ | 166 | Fascinating premise, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story (which in turn was inspired by a remark by Mark Twain): a baby is born in 1918 New Orleans with all the qualities of a shriveled old man and grows younger with each passing year. The story is told in flashback as his soul mate (Blanchett) lies on her deathbed, just as Hurricane Katrina is heading to town. Exceptional, epic storytelling in a rare movie that’s long but doesn’t feel that way. Even more amazing: director Fincher and his writers (Eric Roth, who collaborated on the screen story with Robin Swicord) avoid sentimentalizing their saga. Kudos to the stars, Donald Graham Burt’s production design, Greg Cannom’s makeup, and Alexandre Desplat’s beautiful score. | tt0421715 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Jared Harris, Elias Koteas, Phyllis Somerville, Rampai Mohadi, Elle Fanning | Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Curious George | 2006 | Matthew O'Callaghan | ★★½ | 86 | A mischievous monkey from the jungle stows away with a friendly man in a yellow hat when he returns to the Big City. Basic, straightforward-if uninspired-cartoon feature for kids. Thankfully, the screenwriters' extension of the beloved books by H. A. and Margaret Rey don't sacrifice their simple sweetness. A dialogue-free opening sequence works best of all. | tt0381971 | [G] | Voices of Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Dick Van Dyke, Frank Welker | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Curley | The Adventures of Curley and His Gang | 1947 | Bernard Carr | ★½ | 54 | Producer Hal Roach's feeble attempt to revive Our Gang finds these unappealing little rascals tormenting their new schoolteacher (Rafferty). Almost unwatchable. Followed by WHO KILLED DOC ROBBIN? Reissued as part of HAL ROACH'S COMEDY CARNIVAL. Later retitled THE ADVENTURES OF CURLEY AND HIS GANG for TV. | tt0039292 | Frances Rafferty, Larry Olsen, Gerald Perreau, Eilene Janssen, Dale Belding, Kathleen Howard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Curly Sue | 1991 | John Hughes | ★½ | 101 | Homeless con artist and his adopted waif leech onto a tightly wound dish of an attorney. She, in turn, determines that this four-flushing twosome is just what she needs to enrich her life. A John Hughes formula movie where the formula doesn't work, though if there's such a thing as 'quintessential James Belushi' this is it. Lynch's obvious discomfort suggests she may have seen the rushes. | tt0101635 | [PG] | James Belushi, Kelly Lynch, Alisan Porter, John Getz, Fred Dalton Thompson, Cameron Thor, Edie McClurg | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Curly Top | 1935 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 75 | Shirley sings 'Animal Crackers in My Soup' as she plays Cupid again, this time for sister Hudson and handsome Boles. Based on Jean Webster's Daddy Long Legs. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026252 | Shirley Temple, John Boles, Rochelle Hudson, Jane Darwell, Rafaela Ottiano, Arthur Treacher | Musical | NULL | |||
| Curse III: Blood Sacrifice | Panga | 1990 | Sean Barton | ★½ | 91 | 1950, East Africa. Tribal magic produces murderous demonlike monster (unseen until the end) slaughtering mostly whites. Drearily routine; one would-be 'tense' scene (with no payoff) after another. Lee looks very serious. Original title: PANGA. | tt0101636 | [R] | Christopher Lee, Jennilee Harrison, Henry Cole, Andre Jacobs, Zoe Randall, Olivia Dyer | Horror | NULL | |
| The Curse of Frankenstein | 1957 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 83 | OK retelling of original Shelley tale, with Cushing as Baron von Frankenstein, whose experimentation with creation of life becomes an obsession. First of Hammer Films' long-running horror series, and itself followed by six sequels, starting with THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0050280 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart, Valerie Gaunt, Noel Hood | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Curse of the Aztec Mummy | 1957 | Rafael Portillo. | ★½ | 65 | Escaped supervillain The Bat tries to force the secret of Aztec gold out of those who faced LA MOMIA AZTECA (1957). A dashing but ineffectual masked, caped hero called the Angel is around, too. Cheap and droning; the Aztec Mummy only shows up for a couple of brief scenes. | tt0050672 | Ramón Gay, Rosita Arenas, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Jorge Mondragón, Arturo Martinez. | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Curse of the Cat People | 1944 | Gunther von Fritsch, Robert Wise | ★★★ | 70 | Follow-up to CAT PEOPLE creates wonderful atmosphere in story of lonely little girl who conjures up vision of Simon, her father's mysterious first wife. Despite title, not a horror film but a fine, moody fantasy. Produced by Val Lewton, written by DeWitt Bodeen. Wise's directing debut. Also available in computer-colored version. | tt0036733 | Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Jane Randolph, Elizabeth Russell, Ann Carter, Julia Dean | Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Demon | Night of the Demon | 1958 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★½ | 95 | Andrews is a stuffily cynical psychologist who doesn't believe that series of deaths have been caused by ancient curse, but film convinces audience right off the bat and never lets up. Charles Bennett and producer Hal E. Chester adapted Montague R. James' story 'Casting the Runes.' Exceptional shocker, originally called NIGHT OF THE DEMON. 83m. American version circulated for many years. | tt0050766 | Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, Athene Seyler | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Curse of the Faceless Man | 1958 | Edward L. Cahn | 💣 | 66 | Silly sci-fi horror as gladiator encased in lava by eruption of Pompeii (yes, the hero has no face) comes back to life thinking he still has to rescue the woman he loves, conveniently reincarnated as the heroine. | tt0051507 | Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Fly | 1965 | Don Sharp | ★½ | 86 | In the third and last of original THE FLY series, young escapee (Gray) from a mental institution winds up involved with the Delambre family, still doggedly trying to make their teleportation machine work. Highly inadequate makeup, weak script, but very atmospheric direction produce oddly mixed results. | tt0059076 | Brian Donlevy, Carole Gray, George Baker, Michael Graham, Jeremy Wilkins, Charles Carson, Burt Kwouk | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Curse of the Golden Flower | 2006 | Zhang Yimou | ★★½ | 114 | During the Tang dynasty, Chinese emperor Ping (Yun-Fat) and his ailing empress (Li) try to outmaneuver one another during a festival of golden chrysanthemums. Palace intrigue, a mysterious invading army, and Shakespearean-style relationships play out amidst breathtakingly gorgeous sets and costumes. Not quite up to Yimou's other historical epics (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS), this is still heady stuff, with ripe histrionics occasionally interrupted by martial arts scenes. From a 1930s play by Cao Yu, previously filmed in 1957 (with Bruce Lee!) and 1961 as LEI YU. | tt0473444 | [R] | Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Liu Ye, Ni Dahong, Qin Junjie, Li Man, Chen Jin | Chinese | Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Curse of the Jade Scorpion | 2001 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 102 | Sexist insurance investigator in 1940s N.Y.C. can't abide the fact that his new superior is a woman. The plot thickens when both of them are 'put under' by a nightclub hypnotist. Great period flavor, as usual, in this Allen comedy, and Woody is in great form, but many of his one-liners fall surprisingly flat, and Hunt seems too contemporary for her Rosalind Russell-type role. | tt0256524 | [PG-13] | Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, David Ogden Stiers, Elizabeth Berkley, Wallace Shawn, Brian Markinson, Irwin Corey, John Schuck | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Curse of the Living Corpse | 1964 | Del Tenney | ★★ | 84 | Tepid old-dark-house murder mystery with dead man supposedly returning to 'life' and committing series of killings. Scheider's film debut. | tt0057985 | Helen Warren, Roy R. Scheider, Margot Hartman, Hugh Franklin, Candace Hilligoss | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb | 1964 | Michael Carreras | ★★ | 81 | Handsomely photographed but routine Hammer thriller featuring vengeful mummy at large in Victorian London, killing the usual profaners of the tomb in foggy surroundings. Most unusual twist: The (human) villain is in fact the Mummy's brother. Follow-up, not sequel, to THE MUMMY (1959). | tt0057986 | Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark, Jeanne Roland, George Pastell, Jack Gwillim, Dickie Owen | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Curse of the Pink Panther | 1983 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 109 | Writer-director Edwards' pointless attempt to keep the Pink Panther series alive despite Peter Sellers' death— by putting Wass through Sellers' sight-gag paces, and surrounding him with costars of earlier Panther films, who (all too obviously) shot their cameos at the same time as TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER. What a waste! Niven's final film (with his voice dubbed by Rich Little). | tt0085384 | [PG] | Ted Wass, David Niven, Robert Wagner, Herbert Lom, Joanna Lumley, Capucine, Robert Loggia, Harvey Korman, Burt Kwouk, Leslie Ash, Andre Maranne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Curse of the Starving Class | 1995 | J. Michael McClary | Average TV Movie | 102 | Executive producer Bruce Beresford's adaptation of Sam Shepard's coming-of-age play about a dirt-poor Depression-era farm family. Dad's a foul-mouthed, falling-down drunk, Mom's in despair trying to save what's left of them, and their teenage son (Thomas) hungers for a better life. Well acted but relatively depressing. Made for cable. | tt0109514 | James Woods, Kathy Bates, Randy Quaid, Henry Thomas, Kristin Fiorella, Louis Gossett/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Stone Hand | 1965 | Jerry Warren, Carl Schlieppe | 💣 | 72 | Americanized version of 1959 Mexican film tries to interweave two separate story elements with incoherent results. | tt0057987 | John Carradine, Sheila Bon, Ernest Walch, Katherine Victor, Lloyd Nelson | Horror | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Swamp Creature | 1966 | Larry Buchanan | 💣 | 80 | A geological expedition stumbles onto a mad doctor who's trying to evolve a man-monster. Low-budget junk. | tt0060270 | John Agar, Francine York, Shirley McLine, Bill Thurman, Jeff Alexander | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Undead | 1959 | Edward Dein | ★★ | 79 | Once-novel mixture of horror-Western tale hasn't much zing. Mysterious gunslinging stranger has vampirish designs on Crowley. | tt0052718 | Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, Edward Binns | Horror, Western | NULL | |||
| Curse of the Voodoo | 1965 | Lindsay Shonteff | ★½ | 77 | Modest film promises some exotic native black magic hi-jinks, but nothing worthwhile occurs. | tt0057984 | Bryant Haliday, Dennis Price, Lisa Daniely, Mary Kerridge | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Curse of the Werewolf | 1961 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 91 | Reed has wolf's blood and struggles to control the monster within him; it finally erupts when he is denied his girl's love. Eerie atmosphere pervades this good chiller. Loosely based on novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore. | tt0054777 | Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Anthony Dawson | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Curse | The Farm | 1987 | David Keith | 💣 | 90 | Actor Keith steps behind the camera to direct this down-home horror movie: a deadly meteorite lands on a Tennessee farm, literally driving the folks crazy after contaminating their food. Loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Color Out of Space, previously filmed as DIE, MONSTER, DIE! Aka THE FARM. Followed by three unrelated 'sequels.' | tt0092809 | [R] | Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, Cooper Huckabee, John Schneider, Amy Wheaton | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Cursed | 2005 | Wes Craven. | ★★ | 97 | Contemporary werewolf-on-the-loose story is a rare miss in the thrills department from the SCREAM team of Craven and writer Kevin Williamson. Film starts out amusing but soon becomes ludicrous as the nubile young victims must fight back to become human again. Already dated picture is set at the now-defunct Craig Kilborn talk show, where Ricci is a producer spending what seems like days prepping an interview with Scott Baio. It's that kind of movie, folks. Unrated version runs 105m. | tt0257516 | [PG-13] | Christina Ricci, Portia de Rossi, Mya, Shannon Elizabeth, Solar, Daniel Edward Mora, Jesse Eisenberg, Joshua Jackson. | Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Curtain Call | 1998 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 94 | Fine cast in fluffy fantasy about marriage-phobic book publisher Spader, who's afraid to propose to his longtime girlfriend, then moves into a Manhattan brownstone that's haunted by the ghosts of a famous old theatrical couple who teach him about love and commitment. Curious, slowly paced blend of supernatural whimsy, romantic comedy and relationship drama never really gels. Made for theaters, this debuted on cable. Valerie Perrine appears unbilled. | tt0119505 | [PG-13] | James Spader, Polly Walker, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Buck Henry, Sam Shepard, Marcia Gay Harden, Frances Sternhagen, Frank Whaley | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Curtain Call at Cactus Creek | 1950 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 86 | Sometimes foolish slapstick as O'Connor, touring with road show, gets involved with bank robbers and irate citizens of Arizona. | tt0041479 | Donald O'Connor, Gale Storm, Vincent Price, Walter Brennan, Eve Arden | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Curtain Up | 1952 | Ralph Smart | ★★½ | 85 | Mild but amusing look at a repertory troupe in the British provinces that suffers a minor crisis when the amateur playwright of its latest show turns up on the first day of rehearsals. Morley (as the director) and Rutherford (as the playwright) are great fun to watch. | tt0045664 | Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford, Kay Kendall, Olive Sloane, Joan Rice, Michael Medwin, Charlotte Mitchell, Liam Gaffney | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Curucu, Beast of the Amazon | 1956 | Curt Siodmak | ★½ | 76 | One of the most infamous disappointments (for monster-loving kids of the 1950s) as Bromfield and Garland go after title monster in South American jungle. | tt0049115 | John Bromfield, Beverly Garland, Tom Payne, Harvey Chalk | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Custer of the West | 1968 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 140 | Fairly ambitious bio of famed general suffers from script that doesn't quite know how to characterize him. Some prints run 120m. | tt0062844 | [G] | Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan, Ty Hardin, Charles Stalnaker, Robert Hall, Lawrence Tierney | U.S.-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| Cutter's Way | Cutter and Bone | 1981 | Ivan Passer | ★★½ | 105 | Intriguing if not always satisfying film about a boozy, belligerent Vietnam vet (Heard) who prods his aimless friend (Bridges) into action after he's seen a man who may be a murderer. Low-key, sometimes enervating adaptation of Newton Thornburg's novel Cutter and Bone (this film's original title), enhanced by director Passer's eye for interesting detail. | tt0082220 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, John Heard, Lisa Eichhorn, Ann Dusenberry, Stephen Elliott, Nina Van Pallandt, Julia Duffy | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Cutthroat Island | 1995 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 123 | Pirate Davis must join forces with roguish Modine to avenge her father's death, find a treasure map and battle her ferocious pirate uncle, Dawg (Langella). Or something like that. Hapless movie has special effects and stunts to spare, but nothing to get you involved. The actors do their best in cardboard roles. Where's Robert Newton when you really need him? Arrrr! | tt0112760 | [PG-13] | Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Maury Chaykin, Patrick Malahide, Stan Shaw, Harris Yulin, Rex Linn, Paul Dillon, Chris Masterson, Jimmie F. Skaggs | U.S.-French | Action, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |
| Cutting Class | 1989 | Rospo Pallenberg | ★½ | 91 | A slasher is running amok at a high school. This one's only if your idea of a four-star movie is FRIDAY THE 13TH. | tt0097136 | [R] | Donovan Leitch, Jill Schoelen, Roddy McDowall, Brad Pitt, Martin Mull | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Cutting Edge | 1992 | Paul Michael Glaser | ★★½ | 101 | Bitchy ice skater Kelly is paired with banged-up hockey player Sweeney in a last-ditch attempt to score an Olympic gold medal in paired figure skating. Cute, if predictable, comedy with Sweeney and Kelly building believable sexual tension as they're forced to work together, sniping all the way. | tt0104040 | [PG] | D. B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, Roy Dotrice, Terry O'Quinn, Dwier Brown | Drama | NULL | ||
| Cyborg | 1989 | Albert Pyun | 💣 | 86 | Van Damme plays a savior battling evil gangs who seem to enjoy various plagues and finding gruesome ways to murder people. Even for a post-apocalyptic trash movie, this plumbs new depths. Repulsive. Followed by two unrelated sequels. | tt0097138 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn, Alex Daniels, Dayle Haddon, Blaise Loong, Rolf Muller | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Cyborg 2087 | 1966 | Franklin Adreon | ★★ | 86 | Future Earth civilization sends cyborg— part machine, part human— back in time to 1960s so future can be changed. Good idea all but ruined due to unconvincing script and TV-style production. | tt0060272 | Michael Rennie, Wendell Corey, Eduard Franz, Karen Steele, Warren Stevens | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Cycle Savages | 1969 | Bill Brame | 💣 | 82 | Psychotic biker/white slaver Dern is displeased when artist Robinson opens his sketch pad, so he plans to crush the budding Rembrandt's hands. Sadism and torture galore; coproduced by deejay Casey Kasem and record exec Mike Curb, later the lieutenant governor of California. | tt0065604 | [R] | Bruce Dern, Melody Patterson, Chris Robinson, Maray Ayres, Scott Brady | Action | NULL | ||
| Cyclone | 1987 | Fred Olen Ray | ★★ | 83 | TV star Thomas plays second fiddle to a high-tech motorcycle that's stolen by Landau's henchmen. Watch for numerous cameos including Huntz Hall, Troy Donahue, Russ Tamblyn and Michael Reagan. | tt0092812 | [R] | Heather Thomas, Jeffrey Combs, Ashley Ferrare, Dar Robinson, Martine Beswicke, Robert Quarry, Martin Landau | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Cyclops | 1957 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★ | 66 | Expedition scours Mexico in search of Talbott's lost fiancé, discovers that radiation has transformed him into an enormous monster. Nothing much in this cheapie. | tt0050281 | James Craig, Gloria Talbott, Lon Chaney/Jr., Tom Drake | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Cynara | 1932 | King Vidor | ★★ | 78 | Badly dated film about British lawyer who has interlude with working girl while wife is away; Colman is good as usual. | tt0022796 | Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Henry Stephenson, Phyllis Barry, Paul Porcasi | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Cynthia | 1947 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★½ | 98 | Sugary film of sickly girl Taylor finding outlet in music; good cast wasted. | tt0039293 | Elizabeth Taylor, George Murphy, S. Z. Sakall, Mary Astor, Gene Lockhart, Spring Byington, Jimmy Lydon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1950 | Michael Gordon | ★★★½ | 112 | Ferrer received an Oscar for portraying the tragic 17th-century wit, renowned for his nose but longing for love of a beautiful lady. From Edmond Rostand's play. Previously filmed in 1900, 1925, and 1945; later modernized as ROXANNE, and remade in 1990. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042367 | Jose Ferrer, Mala Powers, William Prince, Morris Carnovsky, Elena Verdugo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1990 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | ★★★½ | 138 | Likely to remain the definitive screen version of the Edmond Rostand perennial (depending on your personal passion for Steve Martin's ROXANNE). Quite visceral, and frequently inspired (vide the decision to stage the balcony scene during a mild rainstorm), faltering only a little during the finale, which is overextended. Jean-Claude Carrière and director Rappeneau scripted; English subtitles by Anthony Burgess. | tt0099334 | [PG] | Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber, Roland Bertin, Philippe Morier-Genoud | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Cyrus | 2010 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | ★★★ | 91 | Disarming film about a divorced man whose life is a mess; he clings to his patient ex-wife, even as she’s about to remarry, then meets a woman who genuinely likes him. But it turns out she has a grown son, Cyrus (Hill), who lives with her. The two are exceptionally close, so close that Cyrus is determined to sabotage his mom’s budding relationship. Sincere where it might have been flip or crass, this unusual blend of comedy and drama is subtle, intimate, and quietly effective. The screenplay (by the directors) is perfectly realized by its talented quartet of stars. | tt1336617 | [R] | John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, Matt Walsh | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| César and Rosalie | 1972 | Claude Sautet | ★★★ | 104 | Appealing stars in typically French story of a menage à trois relationship (a woman and her two lovers) and how it changes over the years. | tt0068441 | [R] | Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, Sami Frey, Umberto Orsini, Eva Marie Meineke, Isabelle Huppert | French-Italian-German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| D-Day the Sixth of June | 1956 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 106 | Well-executed study of WW2's Normandy invasion, with massive action shots; film focuses on American officer Taylor and British leader Todd, their professional and personal problems. You may like THE LONGEST DAY better. | tt0049117 | Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, Edmond O'Brien | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The D. I. | 1957 | Jack Webb | ★★½ | 106 | Ostensibly realistic account of Marine basic training is today a wonderful exercise in high camp. Webb is emotionally empty sergeant trying to whip his raw recruits (most of them played by actual soldiers) into shape; stubborn Dubbins is the chief thorn in his side. Sequence where soldiers search for a 'murdered' sand flea is priceless. Story reused 13 years later (but with a different outcome) for a TVM, TRIBES. | tt0050283 | Jack Webb, Don Dubbins, Lin McCarthy, Jackie Loughery, Monica Lewis, Virginia Gregg, Barbara Pepper | Drama | NULL | |||
| D.A.R.Y.L. | 1985 | Simon Wincer | ★★½ | 99 | Childless couple adopts a little boy who's really a sophisticated robot. Good premise undermined by incredibly bland presentation; young kids might enjoy it. | tt0088979 | [PG] | Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Barret Oliver, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Josef Sommer, Steve Ryan, Danny Corkill | Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| D.C. Cab | 1983 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 99 | Consistently likable, if loosely wound, comedy about a Washington taxi company staffed by misfits who get their act together when it really counts. After a few trims by TV censors it will be perfect for kids. | tt0085387 | [R] | Adam Baldwin, Charlie Barnett, Irene Cara, Anne DeSalvo, Max Gail, Gloria Gifford, DeWayne Jessie, Bill Maher, Whitman Mayo, *** Mr. T, Paul Rodriguez, Gary Busey, Marsha Warfield | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| D.E.B.S. | 2005 | Angela Robinson. | ★★ | 91 | Leggy young women in short skirts are, in reality, spies. Their assignment: to carry, or at least sustain, a retro secret-agent spoof whose major story hook is lesbian puppy-love. Writer-director Robinson shows visual flair, but leads Foster and Brewster are fatally vapid as the spy and target who develop a yen for each other. Titillation factor is all the movie has going for it; otherwise, it plays no better than the spy comedies of the 1960s when James Bond was new. Allen and Rossi in THE LAST OF THE SECRET AGENTS?, anyone? | tt0367631 | [PG-13] | Sara Foster, Jordana Brewster, Devon Aoki, Meagan Good, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jessica Cauffiel, Jill Ritchie, Holland Taylor. | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| D.O.A. | 1950 | Rudolph Maté | ★★★½ | 83 | Gripping, original film noir with O'Brien desperately trying to find who has given him a slow-acting poison— and why. Inventively photographed (by Ernest Laszlo) on the streets of San Francisco and L.A. Written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin. Remade in 1969 (as COLOR ME DEAD) and 1988. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042369 | Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Campbell (Garland), Lynn Baggett, William Ching, Henry Hart, Neville Brand | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| D.O.A. | 1981 | Lech Kowalski | ★½ | 93 | Crummy documentary rip-off about the infamous punk rock band Sex Pistols. Of interest only for footage of the pathetic Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen. | tt0082226 | Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, Rich Kids, Generation X, Terry and the Idiots, *** X-Ray Spec, Nancy Spungen | Documentary | NULL | |||
| D.O.A. | 1988 | Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel | 💣 | 100 | Noisy and needless remake of the film noir original, transplanted to academia. Quaid is a college professor fed a slow-acting toxin in a dispute over a prized fiction manuscript; Ryan is an innocent student helping him pursue his 'killer.' Badly overdirected by the Max Headroom creators; obvious red herrings abound. | tt0094933 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Daniel Stern, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Neame | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| D2: The Mighty Ducks | 1994 | Sam Weisman | ★★ | 107 | Having led his rag-tag hockey team to surprise victory in THE MIGHTY DUCKS, Estevez now gets a chance to coach Team USA (incorporating his former Ducks) in the Junior Goodwill Games— and make a bundle of money as a potential celebrity. The kind of film that gives the word 'contrivance' a bad name: a Disney movie with mixed messages about competition, commercialism, puberty, and sportsmanship. Kids may like it anyway. Sports stars ranging from Wayne Gretzky to Kareem Abdul Jabbar make cameo appearances. | tt0109520 | [PG] | Emilio Estevez, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Tucker, Jan Rubes, Carsten Norgaard, Maria Ellingsen, Joshua Jackson, Elden Henson, Shaun Weiss, Matt Doherty | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| D3: The Mighty Ducks | 1996 | Robert Lieberman | ★★ | 104 | Those adolescent hockey players have won scholarships to a fancy private school, where they have a new, no-nonsense coach (Nordling) and find themselves outsiders in a snooty varsity league. Oh yes— and Charlie (Jackson) has a girlfriend. The Ducks franchise has run out of steam. | tt0116000 | [PG] | Emilio Estevez, Jeffrey Nordling, Joshua Jackson, David Selby, Heidi Kling, Joss Ackland, Elden Henson, Shaun Weiss, Vincent A. Larusso, Matt Doherty, Colombe Jacobsen, Aaron Lohr | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| DOA: Dead or Alive | 2006 | Corey Yuen | ★½ | 86 | Three butt-kicking babes in various stages of undress are among the combatants invited to a remote Pacific island to compete in a $10 million fighting tournament hosted by a sinister scientist (a shamelessly hammy Roberts). Hong Kong action ace Yuen stages some slick martial-arts battles in this video-game adaptation, in reality a silly t&a jiggle-fest that looks like it was made by Maxim magazine. | tt0398913 | [PG-13] | Jaime Pressly, Holly Valance, Sarah Carter, Devon Aoki, Eric Roberts, Natassia Malthe, Matthew Marsden, Steve Howey, Kevin Nash, Brian White, Kane Kosugi | U.S.-German-British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Da | 1988 | Matt Clark | ★★½ | 102 | Sheen returns to his native Ireland for his father's funeral, which triggers a series of remembrances of his irascible 'da.' Hugh Leonard's adaptation of his autobiographical stage comedy doesn't work as well on the screen, but remains a touching account of a father-son relationship that isn't interrupted by death. Hughes beautifully recreates his Tony-winning performance, and Sheen is equally good. Hepburn is marvelous as Hughes' pesky wife; Leonard appears briefly as a pallbearer. Filmed mostly on location in Ireland. | tt0094934 | [PG] | Barnard Hughes, Martin Sheen, Karl Hayden, Doreen Hepburn, William Hickey, Hugh O'Conor, Ingrid Craigie | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Da Vinci Code | 2006 | Ron Howard | ★★ | 148 | While lecturing in Paris, Harvard symbologist Hanks is pulled into a murder case that has deep, dark implications involving a religious sect and links to the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. Eagerly anticipated adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller (which became a cultural phenomenon) is a letdown in every respect. Workmanlike at best, not especially well staged or shot, it lacks the electricity-and star chemistry-a thriller of this magnitude ought to have. Material still has pull, but Akiva Goldsman's script makes changes that aren't always an improvement on the book . . . and the movie plods as it heads down the stretch. | tt0382625 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean-Yves Berteloot, Etienne Chicot | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dad | 1989 | Gary David Goldberg | ★★ | 117 | Busy, distracted executive learns his father may be dying; he winds up becoming his dad's caretaker and companion, and they grow closer than they've ever been. Genuinely affecting tearjerker turns sappy and 'cute' at the midway point, almost negating Lemmon's fine performance. Why couldn't they have quit while they were ahead? Feature directing debut for TV sitcom producer Goldberg. | tt0097142 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Ted Danson, Olympia Dukakis, Kathy Baker, Kevin Spacey, Ethan Hawke, Zakes Mokae, J. T. Walsh | Drama | NULL | ||
| Daddy Day Camp | 2007 | Fred Savage | ★½ | 89 | Frenetic but only fitfully funny sequel to DADDY DAY CARE, with Gooding filling in for Eddie Murphy as a day-care entrepreneur. This time, he takes over a ramshackle summer camp with a little help from his dad (Gant), a hard-boiled Marine colonel who whips (not literally, but almost) the campers into shape. Intended as a direct-to-video release, and it shows. | tt0462244 | [PG] | Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant, Tamala Jones, Paul Rae, Spencir Bridges, Brian Doyle-Murray | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Daddy Day Care | 2003 | Steve Carr | ★★★ | 92 | When Murphy and his best friend Garlin lose their jobs, the boredom of being househusbands inspires them to start a business— a day-care center for kids— despite their almost complete ignorance of how to go about it. Surprisingly benign, non-cynical comedy with Murphy as a devoted dad who comes to realize what's really important in his life. A refreshing change from the usual run of so-called family entertainment. | tt0317303 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Anjelica Huston, Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Katz, Kevin Nealon, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Laura Kightlinger | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Daddy Long Legs | 1955 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 126 | Overlong musical remake of oft-filmed story about playboy (Astaire) anonymously sponsoring waif's education— then she falls in love with him. Some good dance numbers, and Johnny Mercer score highlighted by 'Something's Got to Give.' Previously filmed in 1919, 1931, (as CURLY TOP) in 1935, and in the Netherlands in 1938. | tt0047969 | Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Terry Moore, Larry Keating | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Daddy Longlegs | Go Get Some Rosemary | 2010 | Josh and Benny Safdie | ★★½ | 99 | Divorced N.Y.C. dad factors the annual two-week custody of his kids into his dreary daily mosaic of ex-wife woes, work worries, school confrontations, babysitting blues, and his weirdo girlfriend. Rolling with the punches, and trying to evolve from man-boy to adult, he always opts for the lesser of two evils. Homespun, handheld indie, the writer-directors' faintly fictionalized childhood memoir fitfully engages. Aka GO GET SOME ROSEMARY. | tt1426362 | [NR] | Ronald Bronstein, Sean Williams, Eléonore Hendricks, Dakota Goldhor, Aren Topdjian, Leah Singer, Sage Ranaldo, Frey Ranaldo | U.S.-French | Romance, Musical | NULL |
| Daddy Nostalgia | 1990 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★½ | 105 | Birkin rushes to the Cote d'Azur to be at the side of her father, who may be dying; during her extended stay she tries to sort out her relationship with him, and understand the life he's led. Utterly believable, but not always compelling; Bogarde's charming (and commanding) screen presence makes it well worth seeing. | tt0099341 | [PG] | Dirk Bogarde, Jane Birkin, Odette Laure | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Daddy and Them | 2001 | Billy Bob Thornton | ★★ | 102 | Arkansas husband Thornton, his quarrelsome, jealous wife Dern, and her family drive to Little Rock to meet his kin, who are equally cantankerous. Populated with irritating characters; draggy pace picks up a lot by the second half, but it's a long haul getting there. Thornton also wrote this slice-of-life comedy-drama. Filmed in 1998. | tt0166158 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Kelly Preston, Andy Griffith, Sandra Seacat, John Prine, Jeff Bailey, Jim Varney, Brenda Blethyn, Ben Affleck, Jamie Lee Curtis | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Daddy's Dyin' . . . Who's Got the Will? | 1990 | Jack Fisk | ★★½ | 95 | Affection, reminiscence, avarice, and hostility intermingle as a family of memorable oddballs gathers at the old Texas homestead to wait for their father to die and to find out what's in the will. Del Shores adapted his own stage play, and the results run from flat and predictable to sharp and funny; a terrific cast punches everything across. | tt0099342 | [PG-13] | Beau Bridges, Keith Carradine, Beverly D'Angelo, Tess Harper, Judge Reinhold, Amy Wright, Patrika Darbo, Molly McClure, Bert Remsen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Daddy's Gone A-Hunting | 1969 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 108 | Happily married and pregnant, White is horrified when her previous lover turns up, demanding she kill her baby to atone for having aborted his child. Though contrived, story becomes increasingly tense, with nail-biting climax; shot in San Francisco. | tt0064209 | [M] | Carol White, Paul Burke, Scott Hylands, Rachel Ames, Mala Powers, James B. Sikking | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Daddy's Little Girls | 2007 | Tyler Perry | ★★½ | 95 | Perry drops his drag act and stays behind the camera for this dramedy about a mechanic who gets romantically involved with the upscale attorney who is helping him win custody of his three daughters from his ne'er-do-well ex-wife and her thug boyfriend. Overly dramatic and predictable, but still a somewhat effective look at the difficulties involved when a relationship straddles both sides of the tracks. Perry wrote and coproduced. Aka TYLER PERRY'S DADDY'S LITTLE GIRLS. | tt0778661 | [PG-13] | Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Louis Gossett/Jr., Tracee Ellis Ross, Tasha Smith, Malinda Williams, Terri J. Vaughn, Gary Sturgis, China Anne McClain, Lauryn Alissa McClain, Sierra Aylina McClain | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Daddy-Long-Legs | 1919 | Marshall Neilan. | ★★★ | 85 | Mary's the whole show in this heartfelt fairy tale about a waif who's cruelly treated in an orphanage; then a new trustee agrees to anonymously finance her college education. Pickford displays her versatility as she is transformed from spunky child to lovely young woman. Remade in 1931, 1935 (as CURLY TOP), in the Netherlands in 1938, and as a musical in 1955. | tt0010040 | Mary Pickford, Milla Davenport, Percy Haswell, Fay Lemport, Mahlon Hamilton, Lillian Langdon, Marshall Neilan. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Daddy-O | 1959 | Lou Place | 💣 | 74 | Thugs recruit truck driver-singer Contino to drive a getaway car. Like wow, man, this flick's for squares. Aka OUT ON PROBATION. | tt0052719 | Dick Contino, Sandra Giles, Bruno VeSota, Gloria Victor, Ron McNeil | Crime | NULL | |||
| Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island | 1983 | Friz Freleng | ★½ | 78 | Fourth and weakest of Warner Bros.' cartoon compilations. Linking material (spoofing TV's Fantasy Island) is flat, and few of the ten cartoon shorts included are better than average. Hardly Daffy's finest hour. | tt0085390 | [G] | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Daffy Duck's Quackbusters | 1989 | Greg Ford, Terry Lennon | ★★★ | 79 | Perhaps the most watchable of the Warner cartoon-compilation films, with a clever bridging story incorporating the studio's many vintage horror-movie spoofs. Daffy Duck inherits a fortune and sets up a 'ghost-busting' service with pals Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. Contains the new short THE DUXORCIST and a cameo appearance by Egghead. | tt0094939 | [G] | Voice of Mel Blanc | Comedy, Animation, Family, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dahmer | 2002 | David Jacobson | ★★½ | 101 | Rather than depicting the whole story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, this unusual film dramatizes scenes from his life; it doesn't even include his arrest. The cast is uniformly good, it's well written (by Jacobson) and imaginatively directed, but it remains uninvolving, with an undefinable point of view. | tt0285728 | [R] | Jeremy Renner, Bruce Davison, Artel Kayaru, Matt Newton, Dion Basco, Kate Williamson, Christina Payano | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Daisy Kenyon | 1947 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 99 | Love triangle starts intelligently, bogs down halfway into typical soapy histrionics (with a plot thread about child abuse surprising for its time). Good performances; handsomely filmed. Look sharp in the Stork Club scene for Walter Winchell, John Garfield, and Leonard Lyons. | tt0039294 | Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, Henry Fonda, Ruth Warrick, Martha Stewart, Peggy Ann Garner, Connie Marshall | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Daisy Miller | 1974 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★½ | 91 | Handsome, intelligent adaptation of Henry James' story misses the mark; the tone is cold, and Shepherd's hollow performance as a naive American courting European society in the late 1800s nearly sinks the film. Filmed in Italy. | tt0071385 | [G] | Cybill Shepherd, Barry Brown, Cloris Leachman, Mildred Natwick, Eileen Brennan, Duilio Del Prete | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dakota | 1945 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 82 | Sprawling Wayne vehicle with Duke involved in pioneer railroad territory dispute; Vera is his lovely wife! | tt0037627 | John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Ona Munson, Hugo Haas | Western | NULL | |||
| Dakota | 1988 | Fred Holmes | ★★ | 97 | Well-meaning but slight, independently produced drama about a youth on the run (Phillips), who works on a Texas ranch and interrelates with various characters. Phillips, who served as associate producer, is the sole interest here; he made the film prior to attaining stardom in LA BAMBA. | tt0094940 | [PG] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Eli Cummins, DeeDee Norton, Jordan Burton, Steve Ruge, John Hawkes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dakota Incident | 1956 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★½ | 88 | Indians attack stagecoach, leading to fight to the finish. | tt0049118 | Linda Darnell, Dale Robertson, John Lund, Ward Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Dakota Lil | 1950 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 88 | Pedestrian Western saved by Windsor's vitality in title role as crook who helps lawmen trap railroad thieves. | tt0042370 | George Montgomery, Marie Windsor, Rod Cameron, Marion Martin, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Daleks- Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. | Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. | 1966 | Gordon Flemyng. | ★★½ | 84 | Agreeable sequel to DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS, with the Earth threatened by Dalek aggressors. Retitled INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. | tt0060278 | Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, Andrew Keir, Ray Brooks, Jill Curzon, Roberta Tovey. | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Dallas | 1950 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 94 | Action-packed post-Civil War Western, with Reb Cooper branded an outlaw, coming to Texas on a mission of revenge. | tt0042372 | Gary Cooper, Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Raymond Massey, Barbara Payton, Leif Erickson, Antonio Moreno | Western | NULL | |||
| Daltry Calhoun | 2005 | Katrina Holden Bronson | 💣 | 93 | Slovenly Knoxville morphs into a wildly successful sod seed manufacturer, but his plan to build a public golf course is disrupted by various complications, including the unexpected presence of his estranged, precocious 14-year-old daughter and her mother. Meandering Southern Fried mishmash aimlessly veers from stale comedy to half-baked sentiment. There's a parade of hit songs on the soundtrack to make you think you're being entertained. Coexecutive produced by Quentin Tarantino. Writer-director is the daughter of Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland. | tt0339642 | [PG-13] | Johnny Knoxville, Juliette Lewis, Elizabeth Banks, Kick Gurry, David Koechner, Sophie Traub, Andrew Prine, Beth Grant, James Parks, Matthew Sharp | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dam Busters | 1954 | Michael Anderson | ★★★½ | 102 | During WW2, British devise an ingenious plan to blow up Germans' Ruhr dam. Exciting and intelligent film. Original British running time: 119m. | tt0046889 | Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney | British | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Damage | 1992 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 111 | Arch-to-a-fault adaptation of Josephine Hart's minimalist best-seller, about a middle-aged Brit politician who squanders his career and family by embarking a hot-sex affair with his son's mysterious girlfriend. Binoche is frigidly one-note as the latter, sinking what in some ways is dispassionately accomplished filmmaking. Richardson is spectacularly good as Irons' spurned wife. Screenplay by David Hare. Fine score by Zbigniew Preisner. Unrated version available. | tt0104237 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson, Rupert Graves, Ian Bannen, Leslie Caron, Peter Stormare, Gemma Clark | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Damaged Lives | 1933 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 61 | Earnest melodrama preaching against the perils of extramarital flings which, in this case, leads to venereal disease. Definitely low-budget, but not the exploitation 'camp' one would assume. Originally followed by a half-hour medical lecture on VD. Made in 1933, but unreleased for four years. | tt0028755 | Diane Sinclair, Lyman Williams, Cecilia Parker, George Irving, Almeda Fowler, Jason Robards/Sr | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dames | 1934 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 90 | Short on plot (let's-back-a-Broadway-musical) but has top Busby Berkeley production ensembles like 'I Only Have Eyes for You.' Other songs include 'When You Were a Smile on Your Mother's Lips and a Twinkle in Your Daddy's Eye,' and classic title tune. | tt0025028 | Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, ZaSu Pitts, Hugh Herbert, Guy Kibbee, Phil Regan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Damien- Omen II | 1978 | Don Taylor | ★★½ | 107 | Sequel to huge hit of 1976 is less effective, still has shock value from grisly murders, plus good work by Holden. Best scene is Ayres' death under an icy lake. Scott-Taylor is the demon child; Holden and Grant his stupidly unsuspecting kin. Taylor took over directing from Michael Hodges, who worked on screenplay. Followed by THE FINAL CONFLICT. | tt0077394 | [R] | William Holden, Lee Grant, Lew Ayres, Sylvia Sidney, Robert Foxworth, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Leo McKern, Meshach Taylor | Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Damn Citizen | 1958 | Robert Gordon | ★★½ | 88 | Realistically told account of WW2 veteran (Andes) hired to wipe out corruption in state police. | tt0051515 | Keith Andes, Margaret Hayes, Gene Evans, Lynn Bari | Crime | NULL | |||
| Damn Yankees | 1958 | George Abbott, Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 110 | Aging, frustrated Washington Senators baseball fan says he'd sell his soul to see the club get one good hitter; a devilish Mr. Applegate appears to fulfill his wish, and transforms him into the club's new star. Faithful translation of hit Broadway musical (with Walston, Verdon, and others repeating their original roles) loses something along the way, and has a particularly weak finale, but it's still quite entertaining. Songs include '(You Gotta Have) Heart,' 'Whatever Lola Wants,' and a mambo memorably danced by Verdon and choreographer Bob Fosse. | tt0051516 | Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown, Jimmie Komack, Jean Stapleton, Nathaniel Frey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Damn the Defiant! | 1962 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 101 | Bogarde vs. Guinness in stalwart tale of British warship during Napoleonic campaign. Production shows great attention to historic detail. | tt0055884 | Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Richard Carpenter, Anthony Quayle | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Damnation Alley | 1977 | Jack Smight | ★½ | 91 | Five survivors of nuclear wipeout travel cross-country in search of civilization. Futuristic van in which they travel is more interesting than story or characters in this uninspiring sci-fi saga. Distantly related to the Roger Zelazny novel. | tt0075909 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield, Jackie Earle Haley | Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Damned Don't Cry | 1950 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 103 | Follow-up to FLAMINGO ROAD formula; Crawford is well cast as lower-class gal rising to wealth via wit and looks, discovering too late that a gangster's moll has no right to love and happiness. | tt0042376 | Joan Crawford, David Brian, Steve Cochran, Kent Smith, Richard Egan | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Damned United | 2009 | Tom Hooper | ★★½ | 97 | True story of how soccer manager Brian Clough (Sheen) takes his Derby County team to the top ranks—and then goes on to coach its principal rival, Leeds United, stepping into the big shoes of Don Revie (Meaney), but against the advice of his longtime assistant (Spall). Entertaining and credible, with a standout performance by Sheen in a sterling cast . . . but the finale lacks the punch one might like. Screenplay by Peter Morgan, based on a novel by David Peace. | tt1226271 | [R] | Michael Sheen, Colm Meaney, Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent, Henry Goodman, Maurice Roëves, Stephen Graham, Brian McCardie, Peter McDonald | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Damned in the USA | 1991 | Paul Yule | ★★½ | 76 | Adequate documentary about the debate over censorship and public funding on the American arts scene, that was itself the object of controversy when Donald Wildmon, the conservative activist who is interviewed in the film, attempted to have it legally suppressed. He lost his case, and the film opened theatrically in late 1992, a booking it may not have received without the publicity surrounding the lawsuit. Originally produced for British television. | tt0101651 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Damned | 1969 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★ | 155 | Grim drama depicting the plight of a family of German industrialists during the 1930s; their decline parallels the rise of Hitler. Violent, melodramatic, and controversial, but undeniably illuminating. | tt0064118 | [X] | Dirk Bogarde, Ingrid Thulin, Helmut Griem, Helmut Berger, Charlotte Rampling, Florinda Bolkan | Italian-West German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Damon and Pythias | 1962 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★ | 99 | Title reveals all in this routine costumer making legendary figures juvenile cardboard heroes. | tt0055885 | Guy Williams, Don Burnett, Ilaria Occhini, Liana Orfei, Arnoldo Foa | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Damsel in Distress | 1937 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 101 | Bright Gershwin musical set in London, with dancing star Astaire pursuing aristocratic heiress Fontaine. Burns and Allen have never been better— they even get to sing and dance. Songs include 'Foggy Day in London Town,' 'Nice Work If You Can Get It.' The clever 'Fun House' sequence won an Oscar for Hermes Pan's dance direction. | tt0028757 | Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Fontaine, Constance Collier, Reginald Gardiner, Montagu Love | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Damsels in Distress | 2012 | Whit Stillman | ★★ | 99 | Genuinely strange social comedy about Gerwig and her clique, who take a newcomer at their Ivy League–ish college under their wing and explain their mission: to elevate the tone and overall standards of the student population, especially the boys. Unexpectedly funny at times, but terribly arch and self-conscious throughout; this is a litmus-test type of film that sparks a wide range of opinion. Writer-director Stillman's first feature since THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO in 1998. | tt1667307 | [PG-13] | Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Hugo Becker, Ryan Metcalf, Billy Magnussen, Aubrey Plaza, Jermaine Crawford, Alia Shawcat | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dan in Real Life | 2007 | Peter Hedges | ★★★ | 98 | Amiable comedy-drama of newspaper columnist Dan (Carell), the doting but harried single father of three daughters. When the family heads off to New England for a holiday at his parents' seaside home, this widowed dad unexpectedly meets someone who seems to be perfect (Binoche) for him. The family reunion is replete with sibling rivalries, secrets, and resentments. Manages to rise above familiar sitcom level to be an entertaining take on middle-aged affairs of the heart. | tt0480242 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Alison Pill, Emily Blunt, Amy Ryan, Norbert Leo Butz, Jessica Hecht | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dance Flick | 2009 | Damien Dante Wayans | ★½ | 83 | Lochlyn Munro appears unbilled. After her mother's tragic death, Megan enrolls at Musical High School and meets a group of kids from the wrong side of the tracks who want to teach her what life is really about. It isn't that hard to mock the dance movie genre, or for that matter musicals and pop culture. That's why the latest film installment of a Wayans' family parody is so disappointing. While there are amusing moments and laughs, simply put, it should be funnier. | tt1153706 | [PG-13] | Damon Wayans/Jr., Shoshana Bush, Essence Atkins, Affion Crockett, Chris Elliott, David Alan Grier, Brennan Hillard, Amy Sedaris, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Dance Goes On | 1991 | Paul Almond | ★★ | 103 | Young Almond, who's insensitive and money-hungry (because he has grown up in L.A.), arrives in Quebec where he's inherited his uncle's farm. Will he get in touch with his roots, and experience 'real life'? Ever-so-predictable (not to mention boring) drama. Actor Almond is the son of Bujold and director Almond (who also produced and scripted). | tt0164012 | Matthew James Almond, James Keach, Geneviève Bujold, Bryan Hennessey, Louise Marleau, Leslie Hope, Cary Lawrence, Deborah Freeland | Canadian |
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| Dance Hall Racket | 1953 | Phil Tucker | ★½ | 60 | This one could be retitled All in the (Dysfunctional) Family: Lenny plays a hood, real-life wife Harlowe is a bimbo who shows off her cleavage, and mom Marr is along for laughs. Scripted by Bruce; it would make a classy double bill with Tucker's ROBOT MONSTER. | tt0045668 | Lenny Bruce, Honey Harlowe, Timothy Farrell, Sally Marr | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dance Little Lady | 1955 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 87 | Prima ballerina Zetterling is married to heel Morgan; after a car accident ends her career, he exploits the dancing talent of their daughter (Miller). Corny drama is aided by pleasant dance sequences. | tt0047970 | Mai Zetterling, Terence Morgan, Guy Rolfe, Mandy Miller, Eunice Gayson, Reginald Beckwith | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dance With Me | 1998 | Randa Haines | ★★½ | 126 | Likable if formulaic (and overlong) film about a Houston dance instructor (Williams) who learns a thing or two from a Cuban émigré who's come to work at the dance studio. What the studio owner (Kristofferson) doesn't know is that the handsome young man is his son. Appealing cast and terrific dance sequences— including a knockout at a Latin dance club— give this life, and Plowright steals most of her scenes as a matronly but enthusiastic student. | tt0120576 | [PG] | Vanessa L. Williams, Chayanne, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Plowright, Jane Krakowski, Beth Grant | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dance With Me, Henry | 1956 | Charles Barton | ★½ | 79 | Low-grade Abbott and Costello involving the duo's ownership of run-down amusement park and two kids they've adopted; their last film together. | tt0049120 | Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Gigi Perreau, Rusty Hamer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dance With a Stranger | 1985 | Mike Newell | ★★★½ | 101 | Stylish, trenchant study of romantic self-destruction based on the true story of Ruth Ellis, who in 1955 became the last woman ever executed in Britain. Peaks with about a half hour to go, but Richardson, her leading men, and a haunting atmosphere more than compensate. Ellis' story was earlier told in YIELD TO THE NIGHT (BLONDE SINNER), with Diana Dors. | tt0088987 | [R] | Miranda Richardson, Rupert Everett, Ian Holm, Matthew Carroll, Tom Chadbon, Joanne Whalley, Jane Bertish | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Dance of Death | 1969 | David Giles | ★★★ | 138 | Film version of National Theatre production of August Strindberg's angst-laden play about an aging sea captain, notable chiefly for Olivier's fiery performance. Unreleased in U.S. until 1979. | tt0062857 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Geraldine McEwan, Robert Lang, Malcolm Reynolds, Janina Faye, Carolyn Jones | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dance of Life | 1929 | A. Edward Sutherland, John Cromwell. | ★★★ | 108 | Skelly gives a moving portrayal of a struggling burlesque entertainer who marries dancer Carroll and makes it big on Broadway but can't handle success. He hits the bottle when she discovers he is having an affair. Adapted from the stage smash Burlesque (which starred Skelly and Barbara Stanwyck), this vivid, colorful early talkie really captures the backstage milieu. Levant's film debut; codirectors Cromwell and Sutherland have bit parts. Originally 115m.; some production numbers were shot in two-strip Technicolor. Remade as SWING HIGH, SWING LOW and WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME. | tt0019798 | Nancy Carroll, Hal Skelly, Dorothy Revier, Ralph Theodore, Charles D. Brown, Al St. John, May Boley, Oscar Levant. | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Dance of the Damned | 1988 | Katt Shea Ruben | ★★½ | 83 | Eerie, fascinating, very low-budget horror drama, in which a vampire selects an intelligent, troubled stripper as his next victim, but first insists she tell him what daylight is like. Slow to get started, but ambitious and mature, with good characterizations and acting. | tt0094942 | [R] | Cyril O'Reilly, Starr Andreeff, Deborah Ann Nassar, Maria Ford, Athena Worthy, Tom Ruben | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dance of the Dwarfs | 1983 | Gus Trikonis | ★½ | 93 | Female anthropologist (Raffin) searching for lost pygmy tribe in jungle hooks up with drunken helicopter pilot (Fonda) in this stupid AFRICAN QUEEN-ish adventure shot in Philippines. They encounter strange creatures, audience encounters boredom. Video title: JUNGLE HEAT. | tt0085396 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Deborah Raffin, John Amos, Carlos Palomino | Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dance, Fools, Dance | 1931 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 81 | Crawford, alone in the world, becomes reporter out to expose mobster Gable by winning him over. Interesting for early Gable-Crawford teaming; brisk pre-Code drama. | tt0021778 | Joan Crawford, Cliff Edwards, Clark Gable, Earle Foxe, Lester Vail, Natalie Moorhead | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dance, Girl, Dance | 1940 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 90 | Innocent young girl (O'Hara) aspires to be a ballerina, but self-centered Ball steers her toward burlesque instead. Film has won latter-day acclaim for feminist angles, especially for O'Hara's burlesque-hall speech; unfortunately, it's not as good as one would like. Lucy is terrific as Bubbles. | tt0032376 | Maureen O'Hara, Louis Hayward, Lucille Ball, Virginia Field, Ralph Bellamy, Maria Ouspenskaya, Mary Carlisle, Walter Abel, Edward Brophy | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dancemaker | 1999 | Matthew Diamond | ★★★½ | 98 | Fascinating study of choreographer Paul Taylor and the endless difficulties managing his company and its dancers. Footage of his dance creations is artfully interspersed with preparations for the troupe's engagement in India. Film provides an insider's look at what it takes to be a dancer— and a dancemaker. A feast for dance buffs. | tt0175550 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Dancer Upstairs | 2002 | John Malkovich | ★★½ | 124 | Dedicated police detective Bardem is determined to identify and capture the leader of a volatile guerrilla movement in an unnamed Latin American country. Meanwhile, he finds himself attracted to his daughter's beautiful ballet teacher. Intriguing political drama, with a strong performance by Bardem, is weighed down by its slow pace and extended length. One might also question Bardem's naiveté at the story's conclusion. Nicholas Shakespeare adapted his own novel. Malkovich's feature directing debut. | tt0118926 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Laura Morante, Juan Diego Botto, Elvira Mínguez, Alexandra Lencastre, Oliver Cotton, Luis Miguel Cintra | U.S.-Spanish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dancer in the Dark | 2000 | Lars von Trier | ★★½ | 137 | Ambitious, brazenly off-putting musical (!) about a Czech immigrant (Björk) who is going blind and must arrange an operation to save her son from the same fate. Writer-director von Trier's attempt to expand cinematic musical conventions is certainly thought provoking, but ultimately cold and very literal minded, and not helped by jagged song-and-dance numbers. Björk is impressive; she also composed the film's music. | tt0168629 | [R] | Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare, Joel Grey, Vincent Patterson, Vladica Kostic, Udo Kier, Zeljko Ivanek, Stellan Skarsgård | Danish-Swedish-French | Musical, Drama | NULL | |
| Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 | 1998 | Tim McCanlies | ★★½ | 95 | Slight but pleasant LAST PICTURE SHOW-lite tale of four small-town teenage buddies facing life after high school and wondering whether they should make good on a childhood pact to move to L.A. Appealing performances by the male leads make up for their schematic roles. Promising debut for writer-director McCanlies. | tt0118925 | [PG] | Ethan Embry, Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Eddie Mills, Ashley Johnson, Patricia Wettig, Michael O'Neill | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dancers | 1987 | Herbert Ross | ★½ | 99 | Trite, inexplicably bad movie about a ballet star/lothario (Baryshnikov, ideally cast) who's rehearsing a screen version of Giselle, and becomes infatuated with an innocent young dancer. A waste of time. Baryshnikov, Browne, and Ross collaborated ten years earlier on THE TURNING POINT. | tt0092822 | [PG] | Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alessandra Ferri, Leslie Browne, Thomas Rall, Lynn Seymour, Victor Barbee, Mariangela Melato, Julie Kent | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dancers in the Dark | 1932 | David Burton | ★★½ | 60 | Bandleader Oakie tries to kindle romance with taxi-dancer Hopkins, by sending her boyfriend (Collier) out of town, but doesn't reckon with gangster Raft falling for her too. Good stars help murky drama. | tt0022799 | Miriam Hopkins, Jack Oakie, George Raft, William Collier/Jr., Eugene Pallette, Lyda Roberti | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dances With Wolves | 1990 | Kevin Costner | ★★★★ | 181 | Altogether extraordinary film (all the more so for being Costner's directing debut) about an idealistic young Civil War soldier who makes friends with a Sioux Indian tribe and, eventually, becomes one of them. Simply and eloquently told, with every element falling into place (on breathtaking South Dakota locations). A triumph in every respect. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Michael Blake, from his novel), Original Score (John Barry), Cinematography (Dean Semler), Editing (Neil Travis), and Sound Recording. Costner has also prepared a 237m. 'special edition' that expands the story and characterizations. Both versions are on video. | tt0099348 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Tantoo Cardinal, Robert Pastorelli, Charles Rocket, Maury Chaykin, Larry Joshua, Wes Studi | Adventure, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Dancing Lady | 1933 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 94 | Glossy backstage romance is best remembered for Astaire's film debut (he plays himself), dancing opposite a less-than-inspired Crawford. Show-biz story, three-cornered romance are strictly standard, but cast and MGM gloss add points. Funniest moments belong to The Three Stooges. Look fast for a young Eve Arden. | tt0023926 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, May Robson, Nelson Eddy, Fred Astaire, Robert Benchley, Ted Healy and his Stooges | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Dancing Masters | 1943 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★½ | 63 | L&H overcome by routine material, special effects that look phony. Robert Mitchum has bit as a hood. | tt0035777 | Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Trudy Marshall, Robert Bailey, Matt Briggs, Margaret Dumont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dancing Mothers | 1926 | Herbert Brenon | ★★½ | 60 | Sprightly account of Flapper Bow defying conventions as prototype of the Jazz Age. Silent film has simple plot but enthusiastic performances. | tt0016762 | Clara Bow, Alice Joyce, Dorothy Cumming, Norman Trevor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dancing at Lughnasa | 1998 | Pat O'Connor | ★★★ | 92 | Flavorful filmization of Brian Friel's play about a close-knit rural Irish family— five unmarried sisters— in the 1930s and the return of their brother, Jack (a priest), from his post in Africa. No strong story here but a rich feel for time, place, atmosphere, and character, with fine performances all around. | tt0120643 | [PG] | Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, Catherine McCormack, Kathy Burke, Sophie Thompson, Brid Brennan, Rhys Ifans, Darrell Johnston; narrated by Gerard McSorley | U.S.-British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Dancing at the Blue Iguana | 2001 | Michael Radford | ★★ | 123 | The women who strip at a cheesy L.A. club gratify their customers but harbor longings and goals that they can't seem to realize. Developed by Radford and his cast through a series of improvisational workshops, which is all too apparent from the film's extenuated length and meandering nature. Strong performances from the leading actresses are the only compensation. | tt0217355 | [R] | Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Tilly, Sandra Oh, Sheila Kelley, Elias Koteas, Robert Wisdom, Vladimir Mashkov, W. Earl Brown, Chris Hogan, Charlotte Ayanna | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dancing in the Dark | 1986 | Leon Marr | ★★ | 98 | Henry is impressive in this otherwise obvious, predictable account of a perfect, devoted wife, a meticulously controlled woman, and how she comes to have a mental breakdown. | tt0090901 | [PG-13] | Martha Henry, Neil Munro, Rosemary Dunsmore, Richard Manette | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Dancing on a Dime | 1940 | Joseph Santley | ★★½ | 74 | Programmer musical with wispy plot allowing for McDonald et al. to do some dancing and vocalizing, such as 'I Hear Music' and title tune. Not bad. | tt0032377 | Grace McDonald, Robert Paige, Virginia Dale, Peter Lind Hayes | Musical | NULL | |||
| A Dandy in Aspic | 1968 | Anthony Mann | ★★ | 107 | Wooden spy melodrama in which principals keep switching sides so rapidly it becomes impossible to follow. Mann died during filming; Harvey completed director's chores. | tt0062859 | [R] | Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, Mia Farrow, Lionel Stander, Harry Andrews, Peter Cook | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Danger Lights | 1930 | George B. Seitz. | ★★ | 73 | Tough but kindhearted railroad supervisor Wolheim is engaged to marry Arthur, but she falls for younger, handsomer tramp turned engineer Armstrong. Predictable, with race-against-the-clock finale. | tt0020806 | Louis Wolheim, Jean Arthur, Robert Armstrong, Hugh Herbert, Robert Edeson. | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Danger Patrol | 1937 | Lew Landers. | ★★½ | 60 | Beal is an aspiring doctor who earns money for medical school by taking a perilous job as a 'nitro shooter,' delivering nitroglycerin to oil fields, and falling for daughter of grizzled 'soup handler' Carey in the process. No great shakes but quite acceptable action filler that plays like a B-movie precursor to THE WAGES OF FEAR. | tt0028759 | John Beal, Sally Eilers, Harry Carey, Frank M. Thomas, Crawford Weaver, Lee Patrick, Edward Gargan, Paul Guilfoyle. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Danger Route | 1968 | Seth Holt | ★★ | 90 | Appearance (in both senses of the word) of Lynley and Bouchet gives a little boost to typical secret-agent tale with several plot twists. | tt0062860 | [M] | Richard Johnson, Carol Lynley, Barbara Bouchet, Sylvia Sims, Diana Dors, Harry Andrews, Gordon Jackson, Sam Wanamaker | British | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Danger Signal | 1945 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 78 | No-account Scott comes between Emerson and her family in this routine drama; Scott is a most convincing heel. | tt0037632 | Faye Emerson, Zachary Scott, Rosemary DeCamp, Bruce Bennett, Mona Freeman | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Danger- Love at Work | 1937 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 81 | Wacky comedy of family headed by nutty Boland involved in shotgun wedding of Sothern and Haley. | tt0028761 | Ann Sothern, Jack Haley, Mary Boland, John Carradine, Edward Everett Horton, E. E. Clive, Stanley Fields | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Danger: Diabolik | 1967 | Mario Bava | ★★★ | 100 | Entertaining, tongue-in-cheek exploits of super-criminal Diabolik (Law), with wonderfully outré sets and costumes, stylish photography, and a bizarre psychedelic score by Ennio Morricone. An indelible '60s time-capsule based on the European comic-strip character. Originally released as DIABOLIK, at 105m. Panoramica. | tt0062861 | John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi, Terry-Thomas, Claudio Gora | Italian-French | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Dangerous | 1935 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 78 | Former stage star Davis, on the skids, is rehabilitated by Tone in good but syrupy tale, with flamboyant Oscar-winning performance by Davis. Remade as SINGAPORE WOMAN. | tt0026261 | Bette Davis, Franchot Tone, Margaret Lindsay, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Dick Foran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Beauty | 1998 | Marshall Herskovitz | ★★½ | 114 | Chronicle of a fascinating woman in 16th-century Venice, where women had no rights and no education— but courtesans did. Sacrificing her one true love, she becomes the most notorious, outspoken, and desired woman in Venice. McCormack is superb in the leading role, and Bisset is ideal as her mother, but the story takes a sharp turn toward the end (incorporating the plague and the Inquisition) and loses its dramatic grip. Still a good-looking and, for the most part, absorbing tale, based on a true story. | tt0118892 | [R] | Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Jacqueline Bisset, Oliver Platt, Moira Kelly, Fred Ward, Jeroen Krabbé, Joanna Cassidy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Corner | 1934 | Phil Rosen | ★★½ | 66 | Interesting, well-acted adaptation of J. B. Priestley's play about a group of friends whose after-dinner conversation reveals the truth about an alleged suicide and theft committed years before; unique flashback structure and trick ending hold up. | tt0025031 | Virginia Bruce, Conrad Nagel, Melvyn Douglas, Erin O'Brien Moore, Ian Keith, Betty Furness, Doris Lloyd | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Crossing | 1953 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 75 | Well-acted suspenser has Crain a bride on ocean liner whose husband mysteriously disappears. Based on a John Dickson Carr story. Remade for cable TV in 1992 as TREACHEROUS CROSSING. | tt0045669 | Jeanne Crain, Michael Rennie, Casey Adams, Carl Betz, Mary Anderson, Willis Bouchey | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Exile | 1958 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★ | 90 | Jourdan is properly dashing in OK adventurer in which he saves royalty from execution during French revolution, aided by English lass (Lee). | tt0050287 | Louis Jourdan, Belinda Lee, Keith Michell, Richard O'Sullivan | British | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Game | 1993 | Abel Ferrara | 💣 | 105 | Humiliatingly banal Madonna career-killer about filmmaker whose latest project begins to reflect his own life— or is it the other way around? Barely released, and surprisingly tame, given Ferrara's previous movies, and Madonna's inclination to hang it all out. Working title was SNAKE EYES, which is what the studio rolled when it bankrolled this one. | tt0106660 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Madonna, James Russo, Nancy Ferrara, Reilly Murphy, Victor Argo, Leonard Thomas, Christina Futon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Ground | 1997 | Darrell James Roodt | ★½ | 95 | Dangerous, and silly, too. Back in rural South Africa for a funeral several years after his apartheid-imposed flight to the U.S., literature major Cube fulfills a promise to mom by tracking down his fugitive younger brother who's involved in a drug ring. Despite broad plot parallels, don't look for the solemn tone director Roodt brought to his remake of CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY. Hurley, in harsh makeup, is cast as the wayward brother's girlfriend. | tt0118927 | [R] | Ice Cube, Elizabeth Hurley, Ving Rhames, Sechaba Morajele, Eric Miyeni | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Liaisons | 1988 | Stephen Frears | ★★★½ | 120 | In 18th-century France, an unscrupulous woman manipulates the lives of those around her, just for amusement, with the help of a like-minded count. Excellent adaptation of Christopher Hampton's play Les Liaisons Dangereuses, based on the famous period novel. Close is magnificent, Malkovich good (though miscast). Hampton's screenplay won an Oscar, as did the art direction and costumes. Same story filmed in 1959 (as DANGEROUS LIAISONS 1960), 1976 (as UNE FEMME INFIDÈLE, aka GAME OF SEDUCTION), 1989 (as VALMONT), 1999 (as CRUEL INTENTIONS), and 2003 (as UNTOLD SCANDAL). | tt0094947 | [R] | Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Mildred Natwick, Uma Thurman, Peter Capaldi | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Liaisons 1960 | 1959 | Roger Vadim | ★★★ | 106 | Modern-dress version of the 18th-century novel of sexcapades among the debauched . . . and who better to film it than Vadim? Faithful in spirit to its origins, though the leads here are a married couple, cavorting in Paris and the Alps. Lots of fun, with gorgeous actors and jazz soundtrack by Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, and Duke Jordan, who also appear. Don't miss Vadim's priceless prologue, shot for 1961 American audiences. Vadim remade this in 1976 as UNE FEMME INFIDÈLE (GAME OF SEDUCTION). French title: LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES. | tt0053002 | Gérard Philipe, Jeanne Moreau, Jeanne Valérie, Annette (Stroyberg) Vadim, Simone Renant, Jean-Louis Trintignant | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys | 2002 | Peter Care | ★★½ | 105 | Likable-enough coming-of-age story about hell-raising teenage boys attending a Catholic school during the 1960s. They fantasize about their lives in the form of comic-book adventures (in which their unforgiving teacher, played by Foster, becomes Nunzilla). These animated sequences, produced by Todd McFarlane, give the familiar storyline considerable pizzazz. Foster also coproduced. | tt0238924 | [R] | Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jodie Foster, Jake Richardson, Tyler Long | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Dangerous Method | 2011 | David Cronenberg | ★★★ | 99 | Talky but provocative drama about the early days of psychoanalysis. After successfully treating a hysterical Russian woman, Sabina Spielrein (Knightley), Carl Jung (Fassbender) gets to know his mentor, Sigmund Freud (Mortensen), and finds him to be a hero with feet of clay. The married Jung has his own flaws, carrying on a tempestuous affair with patient-turned-colleague Spielrein. Handsome production showcases exceptional performances by Fassbender and Mortensen—and a daring turn by Knightley. Christopher Hampton adapted his play The Talking Cure, based on John Kerr's book A Most Dangerous Method. | tt1571222 | [R] | Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon | Canadian-German-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dangerous Minds | 1995 | John N. Smith | ★★½ | 99 | Wide-eyed, inexperienced teacher (and ex-Marine) takes over a class of 'unteachable' inner-city kids. She learns that changing their attitude requires a deeper understanding of their hard-knock lives. What might seem like a superficial retread of BLACKBOARD JUNGLE or TO SIR, WITH LOVE is a well-meaning, well-acted film, although some of it just doesn't wash (Pfeiffer seems awfully mousy for an ex-Marine). Followed by a TV series. | tt0112792 | [R] | Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Bruklin Harris, Renoly Santiago, Wade Dominguez, Beatrice Winde, Lorraine Toussaint, John Neville | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Mission | 1954 | Louis King | ★★½ | 75 | Mob hit man is hired to rub out witness in an upcoming murder trial and tracks her to a hotel in Glacier National Park, where another killer is on the loose. Enjoyable thriller boasts a solid cast, lovely locations, and a nifty twist at the halfway point, but the script has too many subplots and surprisingly flat dialogue. That's Dennis Weaver as one of Bendix's deputies. Originally in 3-D. | tt0046891 | Victor Mature, Piper Laurie, William Bendix, Vincent Price, Betta St. John, Harry Cheshire, Walter Reed. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Money | 1946 | Terry Morse | ★½ | 64 | Yawnworthy Charlie Chan entry about the hunt for a murderer aboard a ship. | tt0038449 | Sidney Toler, Gloria Warren, Victor Sen Yung, Rick Vallin, Joseph Crehan, Willie Best | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Moonlight | Suicide Squadron | 1941 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★★ | 93 | Intelligently presented account of concert pianist who becomes a member of a British fighter squadron during WW2; musical interludes (including Richard Addinsell's well-known 'Warsaw Concerto') well handled. Look for Michael Rennie in a small role. Retitled: SUICIDE SQUADRON. | tt0033511 | Anton Walbrook, Sally Gray, Derrick de Marney, Keneth Kent | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Dangerous Moves | 1984 | Richard Dembo | ★★★ | 100 | Absorbing, thought-provoking film about international intrigue surrounding a world chess championship. Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film. | tt0087144 | Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, Leslie Caron, Liv Ullmann, Daniel Olbrychski, Michel Aumont | Swiss | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dangerous Paradise | 1930 | William A. Wellman. | ★★ | 61 | Lurid early talkie with heroic hermit Arlen rescuing pert musician Carroll from a bunch of sleazeballs at a South Seas island hotel. Fitfully entertaining melodrama, loosely based on Joseph Conrad's novel Victory. Filmed before in 1919 and again in 1940 as VICTORY. | tt0020810 | Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen, Warner Oland, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Francis McDonald. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dangerous Partners | 1945 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★½ | 74 | After surviving a plane crash, a couple tries to unravel the mystery of a fellow passenger who was carrying four million-dollar wills signed by four different people. Not-bad grade-B mystery yarn. | tt0037634 | James Craig, Signe Hasso, Edmund Gwenn, Audrey Totter, Mabel Paige, John Warburton | Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Dangerous Profession | 1949 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★½ | 79 | Heavy-handed crime drama-romance lacks only logic, understandable character motivation, pace, and excitement. L.A. bail bondsman Raft carries a torch for the wife (Raines) of one of his clients; murder ensues. | tt0041278 | George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Ella Raines, Jim Backus, Roland Winters | Crime | NULL | |||
| A Dangerous Summer | Flash Fire | 1981 | Quentin Masters | ★½ | 100 | Confusing, hilariously unsubtle drama of psychotic arsonist Gilmour trying to torch a summer resort. Good cast looks ill at ease. Originally titled THE BURNING MAN. Video title: FLASH FIRE. | tt0082233 | Tom Skerritt, Ian Gilmour, James Mason, Wendy Hughes, Ray Barrett, Guy Doleman | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dangerous Venture | 1947 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 59 | Hopalong Cassidy combats cattle rustlers masquerading as Indians and a crooked scientist who is plundering riches from ancient Indian burial sites. Weak if fantastic story about lost Indian civilization, but the film's meager budget is all too apparent. Reissued as SIX SHOOTER JUSTICE. | tt0039299 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Fritz Leiber, Douglas Evans, Betty Alexander. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Dangerous When Wet | 1953 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 95 | Cute musical comedy, one of Esther's best, about a health-conscious family whose leading light tries to swim the English Channel. Williams cavorts underwater with the animated Tom and Jerry in one memorable scene. She later married leading-man Lamas in real life. | tt0045670 | Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood, Denise Darcel, William Demarest, Donna Corcoran, Barbara Whiting | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Dangerous Woman | 1993 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ★★ | 99 | Muddled movie of Mary McGarry Morris's acclaimed novel, with Winger the unceasingly frank nebbish niece of wealthy widow Hershey (who's been having an affair with a married politician). Winger is memorable in an unattractive part; Hershey's role is impossible; and Byrne (as the handyman who comes between them) comes off as the Great Stone Face. The director's children, Maggie and Jacob (Jake) Gyllenhaal, appear in small roles. | tt0106661 | [R] | Debra Winger, Barbara Hershey, Gabriel Byrne, David Strathairn, Chloe Webb, John Terry, Laurie Metcalf, Jan Hooks, Paul Dooley | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dangerous to Know | 1938 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 70 | Slick, class-conscious mobster Tamiroff sets his sights on aristocratic Patrick, while his elegant hostess (Wong) suffers in silence. Interesting B picture never quite delivers. | tt0030039 | Akim Tamiroff, Anna May Wong, Gail Patrick, Lloyd Nolan, Harvey Stephens, Anthony Quinn, Roscoe Karns | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dangerously They Live | 1942 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 77 | When spy Coleman is captured by Nazis, doctor Garfield comes to her aid. Tried-and-true WW2 spy tale. | tt0033512 | John Garfield, Nancy Coleman, Raymond Massey, Moroni Olsen, Lee Patrick | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Daniel | 1983 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 130 | Excellent adaptation of E. L. Doctorow's The Book of Daniel, about the children of a couple patterned after Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who must confront their painful heritage in order to deal with their own lives in the protest-filled 1960s. Not without its flaws, but overall a provocative and extremely well-made film. | tt0085398 | [R] | Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, Lindsay Crouse, Edward Asner, Ellen Barkin, Julie Bovasso, Tovah Feldshuh, Joseph Leon, Amanda Plummer, John Rubinstein | Drama | NULL | ||
| Daniel Boone | 1936 | David Howard | ★★½ | 75 | OK action adventure detailing a chapter in the life of the legendary pioneer: his leading some settlers west from North Carolina into Kentucky. O'Brien is well cast in the title role. | tt0027499 | George O'Brien, Heather Angel, John Carradine, Ralph Forbes, Clarence Muse | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer | 1956 | Albert C. Gannaway, Ismael Rodriguez | ★★½ | 76 | Generally well-acted low-budget version of life of famous frontier explorer and his skirmishes with Indians. Filmed in Mexico. | tt0049121 | Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney/Jr., Faron Young, Kem Dibbs | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Danny Boy | Angel | 1982 | Neil Jordan | ★★ | 92 | Ambitious but pretentious, unrelentingly dreary melodrama of sax player Rea, who exchanges his instrument for a machine gun after witnessing a double murder. Jordan's directorial debut, which he also scripted; he and leading man Rea later reteamed for THE CRYING GAME. Original British title: ANGEL. | tt0083560 | [R] | Veronica Quilligan, Stephen Rea, Alan Devlin, Peter Caffrey, Honor Heffernan, Lise-Ann McLaughlin, Donal McCann, Ray McAnally, Marie Kean | Irish-British |
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| Danny Deckchair | 2003 | Jeff Balsmeyer. | ★★½ | 90 | Mildly entertaining Capra-esque romantic fantasy of one of life's 'little people,' Danny Morgan (Ifans), a cement-truck driver who improbably escapes his everyday existence. On a lark, he ties some helium-filled balloons to a lawn chair and floats through the heavens, whisking him off to a new life and new set of values. Clarke is a find as Danny's calculating girlfriend. Based, apparently, on a true story. | tt0337960 | [PG-13] | Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Justine Clarke, Rhys Muldoon, Frank Magree, Anthony Phelan, John Batchelor, Alan Flower. | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dante's Inferno | 1935 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 88 | No Dante in this yarn of carnival owner who gets too big for his own good; just one elaborate sequence showing Satan's paradise in good Tracy vehicle. Young Rita Hayworth dances in one scene. | tt0026262 | Spencer Tracy, Claire Trevor, Henry B. Walthall, Alan Dinehart, Scotty Beckett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dante's Peak | 1997 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 108 | Formulaic but entertaining disaster movie about a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey who sniffs around a mountainside town in Washington just below a volcano that he feels is going to blow at any minute. Along the way he falls in love with the town's mayor. Critics dumped on the first of 1997's two volcano movies, but hey— it ain't supposed to be Henry V. The characters are likable and the effects are completely convincing. | tt0118928 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Jamie Renée Smith, Jeremy Foley, Elizabeth Hoffman, Charles Hallahan, Grant Heslov | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Danton | 1982 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★★ | 136 | Literate, absorbing, knowing drama of Danton, Robespierre, and the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. A brilliant film, with obvious parallels to contemporary political situation in Poland. Depardieu is magnificent in the title role. | tt0083789 | [PG] | Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Patrice Chereau, Angela Winkler, Boguslaw Linda | Polish-French | War | NULL | |
| Danzon | 1991 | Maria Novaro | ★★★ | 103 | Arresting feminist tale about a dreary telephone operator (Rojo) who comes alive only when performing a ballroom dance known as the 'danzon.' Her life undergoes a transformation when her longtime partner mysteriously disappears, and she becomes obsessed with finding him. The scenes with Rojo and Vasconcelos (playing a transvestite nightclub performer) are especially effective. | tt0101658 | [PG-13] | Maria Rojo, Carmen Salinas, Blanca Guerra, Margarita Isabel, Tito Vasconcelos | Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| Darby O'Gill and the Little People | 1959 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★½ | 90 | Outstanding Disney fantasy about an Irish caretaker (Sharpe) who spins so many tales that no one believes him when he says he's befriended the King of Leprechauns. An utter delight, with dazzling special effects— and some truly terrifying moments along with the whimsy. | tt0052722 | Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery, Jimmy O'Dea, Kieron Moore, Estelle Winwood | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Darby's Rangers | 1958 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 121 | Garner does well in WW2 actioner as leader of assault troops in North Africa and Italy, focusing on relationships among his command and their shore romances. | tt0051519 | James Garner, Etchika Choureau, Jack Warden, Edward Byrnes, Venetia Stevenson, Torin Thatcher, Peter Brown, Corey Allen, Stuart Whitman, Murray Hamilton, David Janssen | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Daredevil | 2003 | Mark Steven Johnson | ★★★ | 104 | Blinded as a boy in N.Y.C., Matt Murdock grows up to be a lawyer by day and crime fighter by night, using his heightened senses to punish bad guys . . . but he's a tortured hero. Colorful, entertaining comic-book fodder, played with conviction by Affleck and a crackerjack cast: Garner as the agile Elektra, Favreau as his comic-relief law partner, Duncan as the menacing Kingpin, and a wild-eyed Farrell as Bullseye. Mark Margolis appears unbilled as Fallon; amusing cameo by comics aficionado Kevin Smith. Based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee (who also cameos) and Bill Everett. Followed by a spin-off: ELEKTRA. | tt0287978 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Joe Pantoliano, Jon Favreau, David Keith, Erick Avari, Paul Ben-Victor, Derrick O’Connor, Leland Orser | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Darfur Now | 2007 | Theodore Braun | ★★½ | 98 | Documentary about various people who are trying to make a difference in strife-ridden Darfur, including a man who operates the World Food Program, a lawyer who plans to prosecute government officials in the International Criminal Court, a local woman whose personal tragedy has led her to become an armed rebel, a young man from L.A. who tries to get the state of California to rid itself of Sudanese investments, and actor Don Cheadle, who uses his celebrity (and that of friends like George Clooney) to draw attention to the crisis. By trying to find the positive in all of this and appeal to a mainstream audience, this well-made film sacrifices deep emotional impact. Cheadle coproduced. | tt0988102 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Daring Dobermans | 1973 | Byron Chudnow | ★★½ | 90 | Sequel to THE DOBERMAN GANG provides amiable family viewing as the canines are trained for another daring heist by a new gang of crooks. | tt0069944 | [G] | Charles Knox Robinson, Tim Considine, David Moses, Claudio Martinez, Joan Caulfield | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Daring Game | 1968 | Laslo Benedek | ★★½ | 100 | Not bad adventure tale of underwater expert (guess who?) in search of husband and daughter of his former girlfriend. | tt0062862 | Lloyd Bridges, Nico Minardos, Michael Ansara, Joan Blackman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Daring Young Man | 1942 | Frank Strayer | ★★ | 73 | Brown is able to make this formula Nazi spy chase comedy of passable interest; set in N.Y.C. | tt0035781 | Joe E. Brown, Marguerite Chapman, William Wright, Roger Clark | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Darjeeling Limited | 2007 | Wes Anderson | ★★½ | 91 | Three brothers who get on each other's nerves (including Wilson, in heavy bandages) take a stab at reconciling on an India train journey that includes a stop-off to see mom Huston, who's now in a Himalayan convent. Another visually inventive Anderson comedy, though its thin comic story has a melancholy air. For Anderson (and his cowriters Schwartzman and Roman Coppola) it's the journey, not the destination, that matters here. Natalie Portman, seen here in a passing bit, also stars with Schwartzman in the tangentially related short Hotel Chevalier, which premiered on the Internet and appears on the DVD. | tt0838221 | [R] | Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Irfan Khan, Barbet Schroeder, Camilla Rutherford, Bill Murray | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dark Alibi | 1946 | Phil Karlson | ★½ | 61 | Someone's committing crimes and framing innocents by forging their fingerprints in this tedious Charlie Chan outing for Karlson completists only. | tt0038452 | Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Mantan Moreland, Teala Loring, George Holmes, Edward Earle, Russell Hicks, Joyce Compton | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Dark Angel | 1935 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 110 | Effective soaper of love, guilt, and fate. The three leads are lifelong friends; March and Oberon are destined to marry, but he and Marshall head off to WW1— and tragedy. Coscripted by Lillian Hellman; based on a play by H. B. Trevelyan (Guy Bolton). Originally filmed in 1925 with Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky. | tt0026264 | Fredric March, Merle Oberon, Herbert Marshall, Janet Beecher, John Halliday |
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| The Dark Backward | 1991 | Adam Rifkin | ★½ | 104 | Yes, that's a third arm growing out of Nelson's back— and it's putting the necessary edge on his wide professional reputation as the worst stand-up comic in show-biz history. Contrived in an attempt to be culty, but unsuccessful even on those terms. Still, film has a casting mix one could cherish. Lowe is fitted out with what appears to the untrained eye to be Mr. Hyde's dental work. Director Rifkin appears as Rufus Bing. | tt0101660 | [R] | Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, Lara Flynn Boyle, James Caan, Rob Lowe, King Moody, Claudia Christian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dark Blue | 2003 | Ron Shelton | ★★ | 118 | Russell (in a dynamic performance) plays a third-generation cop who no longer blinks at the methodology of his colleagues and superiors, but his young partner (Speedman) still has ideals. Awkward coincidences and a preposterous finale are just two major flaws in this narrative, which tries to be larger than life and realistic at the same time. Based on an original story by James Ellroy. | tt0279331 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Brendan Gleeson, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovich, Ving Rhames, Dash Mihok, Kurupt, Master P | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dark Blue World | 2001 | Jan Sverák | ★★½ | 119 | From a 1950 Soviet-ruled Czech labor camp that's punishing a native pilot who flew for the R.A.F., we cut to a 1939 flashback to find the same guy (Vetchy�) involved with a Brit (Fitzgerald) whose husband is missing in action. The later story sounds more novel and interesting, but the dominant earlier one provides the flying scenes, which are surprisingly elaborate. Otherwise, there's not much to distinguish this capable but uninspired yarn from hundreds of other WW2 dramas. | tt0244479 | [R] | Ondrej Vetchy, Tara Fitzgerald, Krystof Hadek, Charles Dance, Oldrich Kaiser | Czech | War, Drama | NULL | |
| Dark City | 1950 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 98 | Moody drama of cynical, alienated Heston, and what happens when he and his cronies take sap DeFore in a card game. It's fun to see Webb and Morgan, both of later Dragnet fame, cast as a wiseguy and ex-pug at each other's throats. This was Heston's Hollywood debut. | tt0042379 | Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Viveca Lindfors, Dean Jagger, Jack Webb, Don DeFore, Ed Begley, Harry Morgan | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Dark City | 1998 | Alex Proyas | ★★★ | 100 | In a city where it is always night, aliens conduct secret experiments to learn what makes us human. Meanwhile, his memory mostly gone, Sewell is suspected of being a serial killer, and finds he now has telekinetic powers. Richly plotted sci-fi has striking set design and excellent use of special effects; complex, with a new surprise every few minutes. Filmed in Australia. Cowritten by the director. | tt0118929 | [R] | Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, Richard O'Brien, Ian Richardson, Colin Friels, Bruce Spence, William Hurt | Mystery, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dark Command | 1940 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 94 | Pidgeon plays character based on 1860s renegade Quantrill, small-town despot who (in this story) launches his terror raids after clashing with new marshal Wayne. Dramatically uneven, but entertaining. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032383 | Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Porter Hall, Marjorie Main | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Dark Corner | 1946 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 99 | Top-notch mystery with secretary Ball helping moody boss Stevens escape from phony murder charge. Well-acted, exciting film noir. | tt0038453 | Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, Mark Stevens, Kurt Kreuger, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Constance Collier | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Dark Crystal | 1983 | Jim Henson, Frank Oz | ★★★ | 94 | Elaborate fantasy— a cross between Tolkien and the Brothers Grimm— from the Muppets crew, with imaginative (and often grotesque) cast of characters enacting classic quest: a missing piece of the powerful Dark Crystal must be found or evil will take over the world. Takes time to warm up to, but worth the effort. | tt0083791 | [PG] | Performed by Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Brian Muehl, Jean Pierre Amiel, Kiran Shah | British | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Dark Days | 2000 | Marc Singer | ★★★½ | 84 | Exceptional documentary about a community of former street people who've created homes for themselves in railroad tunnels under the streets of Manhattan. First-time filmmaker Singer lived with his subjects for two years, and had them work as his crew, to fashion this compassionate and eye-opening film. | tt0235327 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Dark Delusion | 1947 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★ | 90 | The Dr. Kildare/Dr. Gillespie series came to an end with this blah entry about Gillespie getting a new protégé (Craig) who's assigned to the case of a neurotic socialite whose family wants her committed. | tt0039301 | Lionel Barrymore, James Craig, Lucille Bremer, Jayne Meadows, Warner Anderson, Henry Stephenson, Alma Kruger, Keye Luke, Art Baker, Marie Blake, Nell Craig | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Dark End of the Street | 1981 | Jan Egleson | ★★★ | 90 | Low-budget independent feature, shot in and around Boston, about white teenagers who witness a black friend's accidental death. Realistic depiction of urban working-class lifestyle and problems. Fine performances, particularly by Harrington and Green (as her best friend). | tt0082234 | Laura Harrington, Henry Tomaszewski, Michelle Green, Lance Henriksen, Pamela Payton-Wright, Terence Grey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dark Eyes | 1987 | Nikita Mikhalkov | ★★★½ | 118 | Mastroianni gives a tour-de-force performance as a once-young, idealistic, aspiring architect, who settled for a life of wealth and ease after marrying a banker's daughter . . . and proved incapable of holding on to what's important to him. A rich, beautifully detailed, multileveled film that's at once sad, funny, and haunting. Based on short stories by Anton Chekhov (one of which was previously filmed as LADY WITH A DOG). | tt0093664 | Marcello Mastroianni, Silvana Mangano, Marthe Keller, Elena Safonova, Pina Cei | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dark Habits | 1984 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★½ | 116 | Singer Pascual takes it on the lam after her lover ODs and finds herself in a convent crammed with wacky, free-spirited nuns. Funny, but not up to some of Almodóvar's later work. | tt0085496 | Cristina S. Pascual, Carmen Maura, Julieta Serrano, Marisa Paredes | Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Dark Half | 1993 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 122 | Another Stephen King movie without a good half. Hutton plays a successful writer, under a pseudonym, who fails when he writes under his own name. When he's threatened with exposure, he announces the death of his alter ego— which causes the 'pseudonym,' to come to life and embark on a murderous rampage. (King himself published several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman before killing him off.) Scripted by Romero. | tt0106664 | [R] | Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, Michael Rooker, Julie Harris, Robert Joy, Kent Broadhurst, Beth Grant, Rutanya Alda, Tom Mardirosian, Glenn Colerider, Chelsea Field, Royal Dano | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dark Hazard | 1934 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 72 | Robinson is bright spot of programmer about his precarious married life to Tobin, endangered by girlfriend Farrell and urge to gamble. | tt0025034 | Edward G. Robinson, Genevieve Tobin, Glenda Farrell, Henry B. Walthall, Sidney Toler | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Dark Horse | 1932 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 75 | Lively political spoof with nitwit Kibbee running for governor with help from campaign manager William and co-worker Davis. | tt0022802 | Warren William, Bette Davis, Guy Kibbee, Vivienne Osborne, Frank McHugh | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dark Intruder | 1965 | Harvey Hart | ★★★ | 59 | Uneven performances major liability in near-flawless supernatural thriller. Occult expert called in by San Francisco police in connection with series of weird murders. Intricate plot and exceptional use of time period blending with suspense make this a one-of-a-kind movie. Busted TV pilot given theatrical release. | tt0059083 | Leslie Nielsen, Judi Meredith, Peter Mark Richman, Werner Klemperer, Gilbert Green, Charles Bolender | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dark Journey | 1937 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 82 | Engrossing love story, set in WW1 Stockholm, about dress-shop-owner-double agent Leigh, who gets involved with baron Veidt, head of German Intelligence. Young Vivien is radiant. | tt0028767 | Conrad Veidt, Vivien Leigh, Joan Gardner, Anthony Bushell, Ursula Jeans | British | Adventure, Romance, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| The Dark Knight | Batman: The Dark Knight | 2008 | Christopher Nolan | ★★ | 152 | Gotham City (no longer futuristic, as it was depicted in BATMAN BEGINS) is brought to its knees by the evil machinations of The Joker. The new D.A. (Eckhart) wants to clean things up but Bruce Wayne isn’t sure he can be trusted—especially since he’s dating Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal, replacing Katie Holmes). A Batman story for the terrorist era, this is doomsday dark and palpably real. It’s also incredibly long. Ledger is a vivid Joker but his character is so sick it’s difficult to derive any pleasure from watching him. William Fichtner appears unbilled. | tt0468569 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Ron Dean, Cillian Murphy, Nestor Carbonell, Eric Roberts, Ritchie Coster, Anthony Michael Hall, Keith Szarabajka | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dark Matter | 2008 | Chen Shi-Zheng | ★★½ | 86 | Brilliant Chinese student wins a scholarship to study for his Ph.D. in the U.S. in the early 1990s, working under famed cosmologist Quinn, but his tenacious interest in exploring “dark matter” threatens to outshine the work of his egocentric professor. Streep plays a college patron who helps newly arrived Chinese students acclimate to American life. Pointed observation of clashing cultures leads to a disturbing denouement that seems to come out of left field—even though it’s inspired by a real-life incident. Film debut for noted stage and opera director Chen. | tt0416675 | [R] | Liu Ye, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Blair Brown, Bill Irwin, Joe Grifasi, Taso Lei, Shan Jing | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dark Mirror | 1946 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 85 | De Havilland plays twin sisters— one good, one disturbed— who are implicated in murder. One of Hollywood's post-WW2 forays into psychological drama; no longer fresh, but still entertaining. Remade for TV in 1984 with Jane Seymour. | tt0038455 | Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Long, Charles Evans, Garry Owen | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dark Night of the Scarecrow | 1981 | Frank De Felitta | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Satisfying if predictable chiller about a young girl's innocent friendship with the town dummy, whose killing by a group of vigilantes leads to a series of inexplicable events. | tt0082235 | Charles Durning, Robert F. Lyons, Claude Earl Jones, Lane Smith, Tonya Crowe, Larry Drake, Jocelyn Brando | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dark Obsession | Diamond Skulls | 1989 | Nicholas Broomfield | 💣 | 87 | Byrne and his regiment buddies run over a chambermaid after a night of drinking— and the only one who feels guilt about the death is the only one who will suffer. Documentary director Broomfield's first fiction feature is an obvious, boring parable about the amorality of the rich and titled. Even Donohoe's frequent nudity quickly becomes dreary. Original British title: DIAMOND SKULLS. Released in U.S. in 1991. Available in both NC-17-(100m.) and R-rated versions. | tt0097158 | Gabriel Byrne, Amanda Donohoe, Michael Hordern, Judy Parfitt, Douglas Hodge, Sadie Frost, Ian Carmichael | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dark Passage | 1947 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 106 | Engrossing caper of escaped convict (Bogart) undergoing plastic surgery, hiding out at Bacall's apartment till his face heals. Stars outshine far-fetched happenings. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039302 | Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett, Agnes Moorehead | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Dark Past | 1948 | Rudolph Maté | ★★★ | 75 | Absorbing narrative of mad killer holding psychologist prisoner and latter's attempts to talk sense into the maniac. Remake of BLIND ALLEY. | tt0040270 | William Holden, Nina Foch, Lee J. Cobb, Adele Jergens, Stephen Dunne | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Dark Places | 1975 | Don Sharp | ★½ | 91 | Mild horror thriller. Hardy, heir to an insane murderer's estate, is possessed by his spirit, kills those who try to do him out of it. | tt0071391 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, Herbert Lom, Jane Birkin, Jean Marsh | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dark Sands | Jericho | 1937 | Thornton Freeland | ★★ | 77 | Weak drama with American deserter Robeson joining African desert tribe to avoid corporal punishment. Robeson again defeated by his material. Originally titled JERICHO. | tt0029064 | Paul Robeson, Henry Wilcoxon, Wallace Ford, Princess Kouka, John Laurie | British | Drama, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |
| Dark Shadows | 2012 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 112 | Barnabas Collins, scion of a prosperous British family resettled in Maine, is condemned to a living death by a jealous witch (a vampish Green). When his coffin is accidentally exhumed 200 years later, in 1972, he rises from the dead, as a vampire, and tries to help his now-impoverished family while reuniting with his lost love, who has seemingly been reincarnated. But the witch who sealed his fate is still up to her old tricks. Amusing spin on the vintage daytime TV drama created by Dan Curtis (with cameos by the original stars). Depp seems to be having fun, but the film never reaches the comic heights one might hope for. Rick Heinrichs' lavish production design is a real plus. | tt1077368 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloë Grace Moretz, Gully McGrath, Christopher Lee | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Dark Side of the Sun | 1997 | Bozidar Nikolic | 💣 | 101 | In MEET JOE BLACK, Pitt played Death; here he plays dying. Awful weepie about a young American exile who covers his body from head to toe in leather because of a fatal skin disease. He decides to chuck life for a few days of passion when he meets a traveling actress. Entire film takes place in the Slavic countryside and features an irritating polka score! Even diehard Pitt fans best beware. Made in 1990. | tt0118930 | Brad Pitt, Guy Boyd, Cheryl Pollak, Milena Dravic, Constantin Nitchoff | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dark Star | 1974 | John Carpenter | ★★½ | 83 | Satiric, spaced-out comedy of weary astronauts whose mission is to blow up unstable planets; one of their sentient bombs gets its own ideas. Enjoyable for sci-fi fans and surfers; stretches its shoestring budget pretty well. Carpenter's first feature, expanded from a college short he wrote with O'Bannon. | tt0069945 | [G] | Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich, Brian Narelle | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dark Tide | 2012 | John Stockwell | ★½ | 94 | A year after a fatality she feels responsible for, South African shark expert/tour guide Berry is convinced to take a billionaire and his son on a shark-viewing trip, perhaps without a protective cage. Soggy melodrama, populated with stereotypes, is uninvolving, often dull; Berry looks elegant after days at sea in an open boat. But it does feature cinema's first gratuitous abalone poaching. | tt1507563 | [PG-13] | Halle Berry, Olivier Martinez, Ralph Brown, Mark Elderkin, Luke Tyler, Thoko Ntshinga | U.S.-South African | Drama, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Dark Tower | 1987 | Ken Barnett | 💣 | 91 | Appallingly bad supernatural thriller about architect Agutter's husband's ghost, which seems to be committing murder during the construction of her skyscraper. Barnett is a pseudonym for Freddie Francis (who's done far better). | tt0092831 | [R] | Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, Carol Lynley, Anne Lockhart, Theodore Bikel, Kevin McCarthy, Patch Mackenzie | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dark Victory | 1939 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 106 | Definitive Davis performance as spoiled socialite whose life is ending; Brent as brain surgeon husband, Fitzgerald as devoted friend register in good soaper. Bogart as Irish stable master seems out of place. Remade as STOLEN HOURS, and for TV in 1976 with Elizabeth Montgomery and Anthony Hopkins. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031210 | Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Cora Witherspoon, Henry Travers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dark Water | 2005 | Walter Salles | ★★★ | 105 | Newly separated Connelly takes an apartment in a seedy building on N.Y.C.'s isolated Roosevelt Island, hoping the change will do her and her 5-year-old daughter some good. Instead, there are signs of dread and imminent danger everywhere, along with water dripping from the ceiling. Director Salles (in his American debut) milks every possibility for atmosphere in this creepy chiller, a remake of a 2002 Japanese film. Reilly adds a touch of humor as a hilariously sleazy rental agent. Unrated version also available. | tt0382628 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Pete Postlethwaite, Camryn Manheim, Ariel Gade, Debra Monk | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dark Waters | 1944 | André De Toth | ★★ | 90 | Cast sinks into the bog (some literally) in confused film of innocent girl staying with peculiar family. | tt0036745 | Merle Oberon, Franchot Tone, Thomas Mitchell, Fay Bainter, Rex Ingram, John Qualen, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Dark Wind | 1994 | Errol Morris | ★½ | 111 | Disappointing feature from acclaimed documentarian Morris: a ponderously slow, muddled account of young Navajo cop Phillips, new to his district, who attempts to solve a mystery amid Navajo-Hopi differences. Script by Neal Jimenez and Eric Bergren, based on Tony Hillerman's novel. One of the executive producers was Robert Redford. Filmed in 1991. | tt0101664 | [R] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Gary Farmer, Fred Ward, Guy Boyd, John Karlen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dark at the Top of the Stairs | 1960 | Delbert Mann | ★★★½ | 123 | Simple, eloquent drama, set in 1920s Oklahoma, with Preston in top form as a traveling salesman caught in a passionless marriage. His relationships with wife McGuire, daughter Knight, and 'friend' Lansbury are played out in a series of beautifully acted scenes. Poignant script by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., from William Inge's play. | tt0053750 | Robert Preston, Dorothy McGuire, Eve Arden, Angela Lansbury, Shirley Knight, Lee Kinsolving, Frank Overton, Robert Eyer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dark of the Night | Mr. Wrong | 1985 | Gaylene Preston | ★★★ | 89 | Bolton buys a used Jaguar that's seemingly haunted by its previous owner, a woman who was murdered. Entertainingly loopy psychological thriller that's also a keenly observed feminist fable about the frustrations and perils of a woman seeking independence in a 'man's world.' Original New Zealand title: MR. WRONG. | tt0089630 | Heather Bolton, David Letch, Gary Stalker, Danny Mulheron, Kate Harcourt, Michael Haigh | New Zealand | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Dark of the Sun | 1968 | Jack Cardiff | ★★★ | 101 | Excellent cast in nerve-wracking actioner with Rod the leader of mercenary expedition to retrieve uncut diamonds and besieged refugees in Congo. One of Taylor's best pictures. | tt0062863 | [PG] | Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, Kenneth More, Peter Carsten, Andre Morell, Calvin Lockhart | British | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| The Dark | The Mutilator | 1979 | John ‘Bud’ Cardos | ★★ | 92 | Fairly well made but predictable sci-fier; writer Devane and TV reporter Crosby take on a homicidal alien in a California town. Aka THE MUTILATOR. | tt0079027 | [R] | William Devane, Cathy Lee Crosby, Richard Jaeckel, Keenan Wynn, Jacquelyn Hyde, Biff Elliott, Vivian Blaine | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Darker Than Amber | 1970 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 97 | OK action melodrama casts Taylor as John D. MacDonald's detective Travis McGee; he's after thugs who beat up Kendall. Good location photography in Miami and Caribbean. | tt0065610 | [PG] | Rod Taylor, Suzy Kendall, Theodore Bikel, Jane Russell, James Booth, Janet MacLachlan | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Darkest Hour | 2011 | Chris Gorak | ★★½ | 89 | In Moscow, a group of young Americans is among the few survivors of an attack by invisible aliens. They have to make their way across the deserted city in hopes of meeting other survivors. Well-made but standard alien-invasion stuff (thank you, H. G. Wells), distinguished primarily by the Moscow locations. | tt1093357 | [PG-13] | Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman, Veronika Vernadskaya, Dato Bakhtadze, Gosha Kutsenko, Nikolai Efremov | U.S.-Russian | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Darkman | 1990 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 95 | Scientist hot on the trail of a formula for cloning body parts by computer is savagely attacked (and left for dead) by thugs who represent a crooked city developer. Retreating into a shadow world, and seeking revenge, the laboratory genius reinvents himself as Darkman. Grandiose melodramatics, and Raimi's over-the-top approach, are entertaining to a point, but there's a fundamental hollowness to this comic-book script. Old-fashioned laboratory montage and main titles by Pablo Ferro. Jenny Agutter and John Landis appear unbilled. Followed by two video sequels in 1995 and 1996. | tt0099365 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Colin Friels, Larry Drake, Nelson Mashita, Jesse Lawrence Ferguson, Rafael H. Robledo, Danny Hicks, Bruce Campbell | Action, Horror, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Darkness | 2002 | Jaume Balagueró. | ★½ | 88 | Disjointed haunted-house story shot in Spain must have lost something in the translation. Paquin is a teenage girl whose family moves into a dreary home only to discover its terrifying past. U.S. distributor Miramax sat on this misfire for two years before cutting 14m. and giving it an untimely Christmas season opening. Original 102m. Spanish version is unrated and also available on video. | tt0273517 | [PG-13] | Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Giancarlo Giannini, Fele Martínez, Stephan Enquist. | Spanish | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Darkness Falls | 2003 | Jonathan Liebesman | 💣 | 86 | Dreadful horror film about 'The Tooth Fairy' gone amok. A man terrorized by the dentin pixie— that is, a local woman who appeared in that guise— since he lost his last baby tooth returns to his hometown of Darkness Falls to help a similarly plagued boy. Ridiculous premise spawns a film that gets worse as it goes along. | tt0282209 | [PG-13] | Steve Mouzakis, Chaney Kley, Emma Caulfield, Lee Cormie, Grant Piro, Sullivan Stapleton | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Darktown Strutters | 1975 | William Witney | ★½ | 85 | Poor spoof of black and white stereotypes. Story is about Parks attempting to find her kidnapped mother. Original running time: 90m. Retitled GET DOWN AND BOOGIE. | tt0072844 | [PG] | Trina Parks, Edna Richardson, Bettye Sweet, Shirley Washington, Roger E. Mosley, Stan Shaw, Christopher Joy | Action, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Darling | 1965 | John Schlesinger | ★★★½ | 122 | Christie won Oscar as girl who rises from commonplace life to marry an Italian noble, with several unsatisfactory love affairs in between. Trendy, influential '60s film— in flashy form and cynical content. Frederic Raphael's script and costume designer Julie Harris also won Oscars. | tt0059084 | Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey, Roland Curram, Jose Luis de Villalonga, Alex Scott, Basil Henson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Darling Companion | 2012 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★½ | 103 | Self-absorbed surgeon (Kline) doesn't fuss when his wife (Keaton) rescues a stray dog, but when the animal runs away from their Colorado vacation home the incident underscores strains in their marriage. The presence of extended family for a wedding involves everyone in the search and offers an unexpected bonding opportunity for several people on hand. Modest but winning comedy-drama about people of a certain age may play best for audiences in the same demo, who will relate to its themes of reaffirming love, finding a way to forgive, and remaining open to new experiences. Written by the director and his wife Meg Kasdan. | tt1730687 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elisabeth Moss, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer, Jay Ali | Drama | NULL | ||
| Darling Lili | 1970 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 136 | Critically lambasted when first released, this entertaining spoof has Andrews and Hudson at their best, along with writer/director Edwards, keeping tongue-in-cheek but not becoming coy in telling story of German spy Julie posing as London entertainer during WW1, falling in love with squadron commander Hudson. Great fun, good music, including Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini's lovely song 'Whistling Away the Dark.' Two decades after the fact, Edwards prepared an alternative 'director's cut' of the film, more serious in tone, for cable TV; it runs 114m. | tt0065611 | [G] | Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Jeremy Kemp, Lance Percival, Jacques Marin, Michael Witney | Musical | NULL | ||
| Darling, How Could You! | 1951 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 96 | Doctor Lund and wife Fontaine return from Central America to their three children, with various comical complications. Strictly sitcom stuff, sometimes sweet but mostly silly and stupid. Based on a James M. Barrie play. | tt0043454 | Joan Fontaine, John Lund, Mona Freeman, Peter Hanson, David Stollery | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Darwin's Nightmare | 2005 | Hubert Sauper | ★★★ | 107 | Sobering, stranger-than-fiction documentary about the effect one fish, the Nile Perch, has on the economy and ecology of Tanzania. Introduced to Lake Victoria years ago, the predatory fish now consumes all other species in the water, but its desirability as an export item single-handedly sustains the local economy. Following each thread of this story, the film deals with globalization, exploitation, and other issues that affect all of us, not just the poor people of one African nation. | tt0424024 | Unrated | French-Austrian-Belgian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Das Boot | The Boat | 1981 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★★½ | 145 | Realistic, meticulously mounted nail-biter chronicling a German U-boat on a mission during WW2, with Prochnow solid as its commander. Manages to embrace an anti-war message, as well. Based on Lothar-Guenther Buchheim's autobiographical novel. Originally a 5-hour German TV miniseries, which is available on DVD; later released in a 211m. Director's Cut. Well-dubbed American version is titled THE BOAT. | tt0082096 | [R] | Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge, Bernd Tauber, Erwin Leder, Martin May | German | Drama, War | NULL |
| Das Experiment | The Experiment | 2001 | Oliver Hirschbiegel | ★★★ | 114 | Compelling drama about 20 men who sign up for a behavioral psychology experiment in which they pretend to be in prison for two weeks— some as inmates, some as guards. Needless to say, things go terribly wrong. A perfect story for the Survivor/Big Brother era, although it was inspired by a real-life incident from the 1970s. Aka THE EXPERIMENT. | tt0250258 | [R] | Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Justus von Dohnanyi, Oliver Stokowski, Maren Eggert, Andrea Sawatzki | German | Drama, Thriller | NULL |
| Dash and Lilly | 1999 | Kathy Bates | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Shepard and Davis shine as literary greats Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman, who launched an often-contentious thirty-year love affair as his career was winding down (into the bottle) and hers was taking off. Neuwirth does a memorable turn as Dorothy Parker. Written by Jerry Ludwig. Bates' TV movie directing debut. Made for cable. | tt0171214 | Sam Shepard, Judy Davis, Bebe Neuwirth, Laurence Luckinbill, David Paymer, Zeljko Ivanek | Drama | NULL | |||
| Date Movie | 2006 | Aaron Seltzer | 💣 | 82 | Witless, brainless spoof of Hollywood romantic comedies involving an overweight young woman (Hannigan, in a fat suit) and the complications that arise when she finds her Mr. Right. Loaded with lame 'comic' references to recent-vintage pop movies and tailored to people who think obesity and flatulence jokes are the height of hilarity. | tt0466342 | [PG-13] | Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Jennifer Coolidge, Tony Cox, Fred Willard, Eddie Griffin, Sophie Monk, Meera Simhan, Carmen Electra, Lil Jon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Date Night | 2010 | Shawn Levy | ★★½ | 88 | Ordinary suburban N.J. couple treat themselves to a night out at a Manhattan restaurant, where they're mistaken for two other people who are involved in criminal activity and held at gunpoint. From there it's a nonstop series of chases, deceptions, and near misses. The two likable stars make a good couple; too bad the material isn't as good as they are. The film works awfully hard for laughs. Ray Liotta appears unbilled; other notable actors pop up in small parts. | tt1279935 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Common, Jimmi Simpson, William Fichtner, Leighton Meester, J. B. Smoove, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jon Bernthal, Ari Graynor | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Date With Judy | 1948 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 113 | Musicomedy of two teenagers involved in family shenanigans; highlight is Beery dancing with Miranda. Songs include 'It's a Most Unusual Day.' | tt0040271 | Wallace Beery, Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, Carmen Miranda, Xavier Cugat, Robert Stack, Scotty Beckett | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Date With an Angel | 1987 | Tom McLoughlin | 💣 | 105 | Aspiring musician Knight, about to be swallowed up by marriage and his future father-in-law's firm, finds salvation with the broken-winged angel who crashes into his pool on the night of his bachelor party. Unbearable comic fantasy despite Béart's appropriately ethereal beauty. | tt0092834 | [PG] | Michael E. Knight, Phoebe Cates, Emmanuelle Béart, David Dukes, Phil Brock, Albert Macklin | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Date With the Falcon | 1941 | Irving Reis | ★★½ | 63 | Sanders interrupts his wedding plans to find a missing scientist who has invented a synthetic diamond formula. Entertaining second entry in the series, with a good deal of comic relief. | tt0033517 | George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Mona Maris, Frank Moran, Ed Gargan | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Daughter of Dr. Jekyll | 1957 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★½ | 71 | Talbott thinks she is the half-human/half-monster her father was, especially when the village death rate increases. Madly scrambles vampire, werewolf, and Jekyll-Hyde story elements. | tt0050292 | John Agar, Gloria Talbott, Arthur Shields, John Dierkes | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady | 1950 | David Butler | ★★½ | 104 | Formula period musical with Haver in title role singing turn-of-the-century favorites. Talented MacRae is her love interest, and Sakall is forced to give another cuddly stereotype. | tt0042382 | June Haver, Gordon MacRae, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Nelson, James Barton, S. Z. Sakall, Jane Darwell | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Daughter of Shanghai | 1937 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 63 | Good-girl Wong seeks to expose illegal alien racket in tight-knit B actioner. | tt0028770 | Anna May Wong, Charles Bickford, Buster Crabbe, Cecil Cunningham, J. Carrol Naish, Anthony Quinn, Philip Ahn, Fred Kohler, Evelyn Brent, Frank Sully | Crime | NULL | |||
| Daughter of the Dragon | 1931 | Lloyd Corrigan | ★★½ | 72 | Oland is Dr. Fu Manchu in opening reels of this entertaining, if familiar, adaptation of a Sax Rohmer story; the good doctor dispatches daughter Wong to commit murder, and she becomes entangled with Scotland Yard sleuth Hayakawa. | tt0021785 | Warner Oland, Anna May Wong, Sessue Hayakawa, Bramwell Fletcher, Frances Dade, Holmes Herbert | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Daughters Courageous | 1939 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 107 | Enjoyable reworking of FOUR DAUGHTERS, featuring the same cast and chronicling what happens when wanderer Rains returns to the family he abandoned 20 years before. Garfield is fine as the brash charmer who's romancing Priscilla Lane. | tt0031212 | John Garfield, Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, May Robson, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Daughters of Darkness | 1971 | Harry Kumel | ★★½ | 87 | Sophisticated, witty, but cold tale of honeymooning couple meeting lesbian vampire Elisabeth Bathory (a real historical figure), becoming enmeshed in her schemes. Elegant, but pretentious and slow. Highly regarded by many. Also shown at 96m. Director's cut runs 100m. | tt0067690 | Delphine Seyrig, Daniele Ouimet, John Karlen, Andrea Rau, Paul Esser, George Jamin, Joris Collet, Fons Rademakers | Belgian-French | Horror | NULL | ||
| Daughters of Destiny | 1954 | Marcel Pagliero | ★★ | 94 | Overblown, sluggish trio of tales telling of three famous women of history: Elizabeth I, Lysistrata, Joan of Arc. | tt0044544 | Claudette Colbert, Michele Morgan, Andrée Clément, Daniel Ivernel | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Daughters of Satan | 1972 | Hollingsworth Morse | ★★ | 96 | Witches' curses, mumbo jumbo, and a lot of hokum as young girl is lured into witches' coven. | tt0068448 | [R] | Tom Selleck, Barra Grant, Tani Phelps Guthrie, Paraluman | Horror | NULL | ||
| Daughters of the Dust | 1991 | Julie Dash | ★★½ | 114 | Poetic, turn-of-the-century tale of the Gullah, descendants of slaves who resided on islands near South Carolina and Georgia and maintained their West African heritage. The material is fascinating, and some of the imagery is stunning, but too much of the historical background remains unexplained, and the slow pace weighs it down. Dash also scripted this American Playhouse theatrical feature. | tt0104057 | Cora Lee Day, Alva Rodgers, Adisa Anderson, Kaycee Moore, Barbara O, Eartha D. Robinson, Bahni Turpin, Cheryl Lynn Bruce | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dave | 1993 | Ivan Reitman | ★★★ | 110 | Shades of PRISONER OF ZENDA! U.S. president, incapacitated by stroke, is replaced by look-alike (and everyman) Kline, who proceeds to win over the press, public, and even the president's estranged wife (Weaver) in this amusing political comedy. Farfetched premise made believable by winning cast and cameos by celebrities, real reporters, and actual U.S. senators! | tt0106673 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, Faith Prince, Laura Linney, Bonnie Hunt, Parley Baer, Stefan Gierasch, Anna Deavere Smith | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dave Chappelle's Block Party | 2006 | Michel Gondry | ★★★ | 103 | Freewheeling combination documentary-concert film in which stand-up comic Chappelle plans-and invites one and all to attend-a block party/outdoor concert on a street in rainy Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in 2004. Chappelle's interactions with everyday people are as fresh and funny as his onstage material. Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, The Roots, The Fugees, Dead Prez, and others are seen in performance. Chappelle coproduced. | tt0425598 | [R] | Documentary, Comedy, Music | NULL | |||
| David | 1979 | Peter Lilienthal | ★★★½ | 106 | Jewish teenager Fischel manages to survive in Berlin during the Nazi reign of terror. Sometimes hard to follow, but still touching, haunting, powerful in its own quiet way. Based on a novel by Joel Konig. | tt0079028 | Mario Fischel, Walter Taub, Irene Vrkijan, Torsten Hentes, Eva Mattes | German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| David Copperfield | 1935 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 130 | Hollywood does right by Dickens in this lavishly mounted, superbly cast production, following David's exploits from youth to young manhood, with such unforgettable characterizations as Fields' Micawber, Rathbone's Mr. Murdstone, Young's Uriah Heep, and Oliver's Aunt Betsey. A treat from start to finish. Screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Hugh Walpole; the latter also portrays the vicar. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026266 | Freddie Bartholomew, Frank Lawton, W.C. Fields, Lionel Barrymore, Madge Evans, Roland Young, Basil Rathbone, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O'Sullivan, Lewis Stone, Lennox Pawle, Elsa Lanchester, Una O'Connor, Arthur Treacher | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| David Copperfield | 1970 | Delbert Mann | Average TV Movie | 110 | Top-drawer cast in moody new version of the classic. Giants of the English theater give what support they can to a rather limp script and an unanimated lead. | tt0065615 | Robin Phillips, Susan Hampshire, Edith Evans, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier, Wendy Hiller, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough | Drama | NULL | |||
| David Harum | 1934 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 83 | Foxy rancher Rogers plays matchmaker for Venable and Taylor, while spinning his own brand of folksy humor. Filmed before in 1915. | tt0025035 | Will Rogers, Louise Dresser, Evelyn Venable, Kent Taylor, Stepin Fetchit, Noah Beery/Sr., Charles Middleton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| David Holzman's Diary | 1968 | Jim McBride | ★★★½ | 74 | Superior, perceptively funny cinema verité feature about a serious young filmmaker who seeks truth by making a movie of his life. A classic of its kind. | tt0062864 | L. M. Kit Carson, Eileen Dietz, Louise Levine, Lorenzo Mans | Drama | NULL | |||
| David and Bathsheba | 1951 | Henry King | ★★ | 116 | Biblical epic with good production values but generally boring script; only fair performances. | tt0043455 | Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey, Kieron Moore, James Robertson Justice, Jayne Meadows, John Sutton, George Zucco | Drama | NULL | |||
| David and Goliath | 1960 | Richard Pottier, Ferdinando Baldi | ★★ | 95 | Juvenile spectacle based on biblical tale, with wooden script, bad acting, Welles as hefty King Saul. | tt0054788 | Orson Welles, Ivo Payer, Edward Hilton, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Massimo Serato | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| David and Lisa | 1962 | Frank Perry | ★★★ | 94 | Independently made film about two disturbed teenagers is excellent, sensitively played by newcomers Dullea and Margolin. Da Silva is fine as an understanding doctor. Remade for TV in 1998. | tt0055892 | Keir Dullea, Janet Margolin, Howard da Silva, Neva Patterson, Clifton James | Drama | NULL | |||
| Davy Crockett and the River Pirates | 1956 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 81 | Second CROCKETT feature strung together from two Disney TV shows; first half is comic keelboat race with Mike Fink (York), self-proclaimed 'King of the River,' second half is more serious confrontation with Indians. Lightweight fun. | tt0049125 | Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Jeff York, Kenneth Tobey, Clem Bevans, Irvin Ashkenazy | Family | NULL | |||
| Davy Crockett, Indian Scout | 1950 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 71 | Humdrum wagon train saga which has nothing whatsoever to do with the legend of Davy C. (Montgomery plays one of his descendants.) Retitled INDIAN SCOUT. | tt0042383 | George Montgomery, Ellen Drew, Philip Reed, Chief Thundercloud | Western | NULL | |||
| Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier | 1955 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 93 | Originally filmed as three segments for Disney's TV show, this created a nationwide phenomenon in 1955; it's still fun today with Parker as famous Indian scout and Ebsen as his pal George Russel, whose adventures take them from Washington, D.C., to the Alamo. | tt0047977 | Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Basil Ruysdael, Hans Conried, William Bakewell, Kenneth Tobey | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| The Dawn Patrol | 1930 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 82 | John Monk Saunders' Oscar-winning story of a beleaguered aerial squadron in WW1 France. Devotees of director Hawks prefer this to 1938 remake, but it doesn't hold up as well, particularly the stiff, overdrawn performances. Originally 95m. TV title: FLIGHT COMMANDER. | tt0020815 | Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks/ Jr., Neil Hamilton, William Janney, James Finlayson, Clyde Cook | War | NULL | |||
| The Dawn Patrol | 1938 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 103 | Remake of 1930 classic is fine actioner of WW1 flyers in France; Rathbone as stern officer forced to send up green recruits, Flynn and Niven as pilot buddies, all excellent. Insightful study of wartime camaraderie and grueling pressures of battlefront command. | tt0030044 | Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone, David Niven, Donald Crisp, Melville Cooper, Barry Fitzgerald | War | NULL | |||
| The Dawn Rider | 1935 | R. N. Bradbury. | ★★½ | 53 | Returning to town after a long absence, Wayne watches his dad die during an express office holdup, then sets out to find the killer, who is the brother of Wayne's soon-to-be sweetheart. Has all the pluses and minuses of Western quickies, with Archie Stout's outdoor photography covering budgetary limitations. Young Wayne is assured, leisurely, and likable. Monogram producer Paul Malvern used this story three times during the 1930s. | tt0026267 | John Wayne, Marion Burns, Denny Meadows (Dennis Moore), Reed Howes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. | Western | NULL | |||
| Dawn at Socorro | 1954 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 80 | Calhoun is gunslinger wishing to reform, but fate forces inevitable shootout. | tt0046894 | Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, David Brian, Kathleen Hughes, Edgar Buchanan, Alex Nicol, Lee Van Cleef, Skip Homeier | Western | NULL | |||
| Dawn of the Dead | 1978 | George A. Romero | ★★★½ | 126 | Sequel-cum-remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is apocalyptic horror masterpiece; as zombie population increases, four people set up quasi-Utopian existence in barricaded shopping mall. Satiric, metaphorically rich adventure jerks viewers' emotions around with stunning ease, as zombies are, by turns, horrifying, heroic, made clownish, and even forgotten. Savini's hideously gory effects are mostly confined to the first and last half hours. Nontheatrical prints run 140m. Remade in 2004. Followed by DAY OF THE DEAD. | tt0077402 | David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini | Action, Comedy, Horror, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Dawn of the Dead | 2004 | Zack Snyder | ★★★ | 99 | Exciting, fast-paced, bloodthirsty fun. The dead return to life and attack the living, constantly increasing their numbers. A group of uninfected survivors holes up in a shopping mall, where most of the story is set. An especially good cast flourishes under confident direction by Snyder, making his movie debut. Gruesome, yes, but also funny and even touching; compromised only by going too far in end-credits scenes. | tt0363547 | [R] | Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, Ty Burrell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, Michael Barry, Lindy Booth, Jayne Eastwood, Matt Frewer | Action, Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Dawning | 1988 | Robert Knights | ★★½ | 97 | Set in Southern Ireland in 1920, this well-made but curiously ordinary drama chronicles the political turmoil of the time as perceived by a spirited, rapidly maturing 18-year-old girl (Pidgeon) who comes to the aid of a mysterious stranger (Hopkins). Howard's last film; he's cast as her wheelchair-bound grandfather. | tt0094955 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Rebecca Pidgeon, Hugh Grant, Tara MacGowran | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Day After Tomorrow | 2004 | Roland Emmerich. | ★★★ | 124 | Quaid tries to convince his superiors in Washington, D.C. (including a Dick Cheney look-alike) that weather prognosticators are correct and worldwide calamity is imminent— with tidal waves, tornadoes, iceberg movement, etc.— due to global warming. Ultimately, he must make his way to a flooded Manhattan to rescue his son (Gyllenhaal). The characters are likable, the dialogue isn't dumb, and the effects are spectacular: in other words, a pretty good, old-fashioned disaster movie. | tt0319262 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum, Sela Ward, Dash Mihok, Kenneth Welsh, Jay O. Sanders, Austin Nichols, Perry King. | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Day After | 1983 | Nicholas Meyer | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Chilling after-effects of the catastrophic nuclear bombing of Lawrence, Kansas, in a potent drama written by Edward Hume. Probably the most controversial TV movie of its time, with unrelenting grimness, performances ranging from sturdy to overwrought, and a rare musical score by David Raksin, with Virgil Thompson's 'The River' interpolated. Foreign theatrical and homevideo tape (but not video disc) versions run 126m. Cut by 23m. for network rerun. | tt0085404 | Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, John Lithgow, Bibi Besch, Lori Lethin, Amy Madigan, Jeff East | War, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Day Mars Invaded Earth | 1962 | Maury Dexter | ★½ | 70 | Martians are exact doubles for scientist Taylor and family as they wreak havoc on pitiful earthlings. Minor sci-fi B pic. | tt0055893 | Kent Taylor, Marie Windsor, William Mims, Betty Beall, Lowell Brown, Gregg Shank | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Day My Parents Ran Away | 1993 | Martin Nicholson | 💣 | 95 | Wimpy, whiny dad Frewer and doting mom Brown literally run away from their horrific, egocentric teenage son and take refuge at a summer camp-like shelter for parents of teens. Try watching this so-called satire and you may do the same. | tt0106674 | [PG] | Matt Frewer, Bobby Jacoby, Brigid Conley Walsh, Blair Brown, Martin Mull | Drama | NULL | ||
| Day Night Day Night | 2007 | Julia Loktev | ★★½ | 94 | Naïve 19-year-old girl arrives in the N.Y.C. area and is prepared for the task she's signed up for: to act as a suicide bomber in Times Square. Using a literal in-your-face approach, writer-director Loktev deliberately withholds information so we focus on the girl and the immediacy of her situation, not her motivation or her cause. Riveting at times, but peters out, although the filmmaker planned her surprising climax just that way | tt0499455 | Luisa Williams, Josh P. Weinstein, Gareth Saxe, Nyambi Nyambi, Frank Dattolo, Annemarie Lawless. | U.S.-German | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Day One | 1989 | Joseph Sargent | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Strong but somewhat unwieldy drama (due to telescoping of events for time purposes) about the men who made first atomic bomb. Anchored by Dennehy as Gen. Leslie Groves, who supervised the project and wet-nursed the assorted scientists who bickered their way to its culmination. David Rintels' intelligent script (from Peter Wyden's book) could well have been expanded for another hour. Compare this to the theatrical film FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY. | tt0097159 | Brian Dennehy, David Strathairn, Michael Tucker, Hume Cronyn, Richard Dysart, Hal Holbrook, Barnard Hughes, David Ogden Stiers, John McMartin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Day Reagan Was Shot | 2001 | Cyrus Nowrasteh | Average TV Movie | 95 | Dreyfuss, in his intense, angry mode, plays Alexander Haig, unconstitutionally placing himself in charge of the momentarily confused government following the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan (Crenna). Though written by director Nowrasteh, the fingerprints of Oliver Stone, one of the executive producers, are all over this drama, of particular interest to conspiracy fans. Made for cable. | tt0271454 | Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Crenna, Holland Taylor, Michael Murphy, Kenneth Welsh, Colm Feore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Day That Shook the World | 1977 | Veljko Bulajic | ★★ | 111 | Plodding historical drama surrounding the events leading up to WW1 with the death of Archduke Ferdinand (Plummer) at Sarajevo. Yugoslavian-made with a humorless international cast, resulting in tedious though epic-sized chronicle. | tt0073660 | [R] | Christopher Plummer, Florinda Bolkan, Maximilian Schell |
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| The Day They Robbed the Bank of England | 1960 | John Guillermin | ★★★ | 85 | IRA members plan to rob the Bank of England in this meticulous caper film. | tt0053752 | Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter O'Toole, Hugh Griffith, Kieron Moore, Albert Sharpe | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Day Time Ended | 1980 | John ‘Bud’ Cardos | ★★ | 79 | Sci-fi mishmash about a family living in the desert, who witness strange and terrifying phenomena. Badly scripted, and never really explained. Fine special effects by David Allen. Filmed in 1978 as TIME WARP. | tt0080596 | [PG] | Jim Davis, Dorothy Malone, Christopher Mitchum, Marcy Lafferty, Scott Kolden, Natasha Ryan | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Day Watch | 2006 | Timur Bekmambetov | ★½ | 132 | Weak, confusing, and endless sequel to NIGHT WATCH in which the forces of the “light” and the “dark” are at it again. After being framed, Anton (Khabensky) tries to save himself and his son from evil powers in post-apocalyptic Russia. Hollywood-style production proves that Russians can be just as corny as their American counterparts in turning out mindless supernatural drivel. At least the effects are good. Unrated version runs 146m. | tt0409904 | [R] | Konstantin Khabensky, Mariya Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina, Viktor Verzhbitsky | Russian | Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Day Will Dawn | The Avengers | 1942 | Harold French | ★★★ | 99 | Solid WW2 adventure about foreign correspondent Williams and his involvement in destroying a German U-boat base in Norway. Kerr is fine in one of her early roles, as a young Norwegian lass who assists him. Written by Terence Rattigan, Anatole de Grunwald, and Patrick Kirwen. Also known as THE AVENGERS. | tt0034639 | Hugh Williams, Griffiths Jones, Deborah Kerr, Ralph Richardson, Francis L. Sullivan, Roland Culver, Finlay Currie, Niall MacGinnis, Raymond Huntley, Patricia Medina | British | War | NULL | |
| A Day Without a Mexican | 2004 | Sergio Arau. | ★½ | 100 | Premise has Californians awakening to find there isn't a single Latino left in the state after they all mysteriously disappear. Let the comedy begin! Aiming for satire, the filmmakers miss the mark completely with this insipid, forgettable film, which has only a few amusing moments. Arau (son of Alfonso) and his wife, Arizmendi, originally made this as a short subject. | tt0377744 | [R] | Caroline Aaron, Tony Abatemarco, Melinda Allen, Fernando Arau, Frankie J. Allison, Yareli Arizmendi, Maria Beck. | Mexican-U.S. | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Day Zero | 2008 | Bryan Gunnar Cole | ★★ | 93 | The war in Iraq has escalated, the military draft has been reinstituted, and three young men—wishy-washy writer Wood, yuppie corporate lawyer Klein, and gung-ho cabdriver Bernthal—must decide how they will respond. Potentially fascinating subject matter is undermined by a simplistic, meandering storyline and disparate characters whose friendship lacks credibility. | tt0768183 | [R] | Elijah Wood, Jon Bernthal, Chris Klein, Ginnifer Goodwin, Elisabeth Moss, Ally Sheedy, Sofia Vassilieva | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Day and the Hour | 1963 | René Clément | ★★½ | 115 | In Nazi-occupied France, Signoret is a widow who becomes involved in the Resistance movement; Whitman is an American paratrooper trying to escape to Spain. | tt0056126 | Simone Signoret, Stuart Whitman, Genevieve Page, Michel Piccoli, Reggie Nalder, Pierre Dux, Billy Kearns | French-Italian | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| A Day at the Races | 1937 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 111 | The Marxes wreak havoc at a sanitorium, where wealthy hypochondriac Dumont is the leading patient; often uproarious comedy features some of the trio's funniest set pieces (Chico selling race tips, the seduction scene, etc.). A perfunctory storyline and unmemorable songs keep it from topping its immediate predecessor, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA . . . but the comedy content is sensational. | tt0028772 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Allan Jones, Maureen O'Sullivan, Esther Muir, Margaret Dumont, Douglass Dumbrille, Sig Ruman, Dorothy Dandridge | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Day for Night | Nuit américaine, La | 1973 | François Truffaut | ★★★½ | 120 | Enjoyable fluff about a motion picture director (Truffaut) and his problems in trying to film a silly love story; bright performances and a loving look into the intricacies of filmmaking. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0070460 | [PG] | Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Valentina Cortese, François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Alexandra Stewart, Dani, Nathalie Baye | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| A Day in October | 1990 | Kenneth Madsen | ★★★ | 97 | Gripping, fact-based drama set in WW2 Denmark chronicles the fate of young Jewish woman (Wolf); she brings a stranger— wounded resistance fighter Sweeney— into her home, disrupting the lives of her family. Knowing parable about the need to take sides (and take action) when confronted by evil. Don't miss this sleeper. | tt0101646 | [PG-13] | D. B. Sweeney, Kelly Wolf, Daniel Benzali, Tovah Feldshuh, Ole Lemmeke | Danish-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| A Day in the Country | 1946 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 40 | At a picnic along a river, a bourgeois Parisian mother and daughter find romance while the menfolk try to fish. Nature plays a starring role in this cinematic tone poem about the emotional depth of spiritual love and the sexual high of a romp in the hay. Screenplay by Renoir, from a short story by Guy de Maupassant; among his assistants on this were Yves Allegret, Jacques Becker, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Luchino Visconti! Renoir cast himself as Poulain the innkeeper. Shot in 1936, only partially completed, and edited in Renoir's absence. Original title: UNE PARTIE DE CAMPAGNE. | tt0028445 | Sylvia Bataille, Georges Saint-Saens (Georges Darnoux), Jacques Borel (Jacques Brunius), Jeanne Marken | French | Short, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | 1972 | Peter Medak. | ★★★½ | 106 | Excellent black comedy about a couple with a child who contemplate mercy-killing. Not a crowd-pleaser, but extremely well done. Peter Nichols adapted his own play. | tt0068450 | [R] | Alan Bates, Janet Suzman, Peter Bowles, Sheila Gish, Joan Hickson. | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Day of Anger | 1969 | Tonino Valerii | ★½ | 109 | Story of callous gunman and his relationship with young protégé is below par, even for an Italian Western; only for the Van Cleef cult. Aka DAY OF WRATH. | tt0061709 | [M] | Lee Van Cleef, Giuliano Gemma, Walter Rilla, Christa Linder, Ennio Balbo | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| A Day of Fury | 1956 | Harmon Jones | ★★★ | 78 | Manipulative, silver-tongued desperado Robertson turns neighbor against neighbor in a small Western town with devilish ease. Offbeat and interesting. | tt0049126 | Dale Robertson, Mara Corday, Jock Mahoney, Carl Benton Reid | Western | NULL | |||
| Day of Reckoning | 1933 | Charles Brabin. | ★★½ | 65 | Dix embezzles funds to keep his extravagant wife (Evans) happy and ends up in jail, thanks to the scheming of lecherous tycoon Tearle, who's got designs on Evans. Moderately entertaining crime meller is well suited to Dix's brand of square-jawed dramatics. Our Gang's Spanky plays one of Dix's kids. | tt0023932 | Richard Dix, Madge Evans, Conway Tearle, Una Merkel, Stuart Erwin, Spanky McFarland, Isabel Jewell. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Day of Wrath | Vredens dag | 1943 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | ★★★½ | 110 | Strikingly composed drama about an old woman accused of being a witch and the curse that she puts on the pastor who is responsible for her burning. Serious, stark cinema, peerlessly photographed by Carl Andersson. Some prints run 95m. | tt0036506 | Thorkild Roose, Lisbeth Movin, Sigrid Neiiendam, Preben Lerdorff, Anna Svierker | Danish | Drama | NULL | |
| Day of the Animals | Something Is Out There | 1977 | William Girdler | ★★½ | 98 | Fair action thriller in the nature-on-the rampage mold, with back packers in the High Sierras at the mercy of hostile creatures crazed by the sun's radiation after the earth's ozone layer has been destroyed. Final score: Beasts 7, Cast 0 (in acting as well as survival). Aka SOMETHING IS OUT THERE. | tt0075913 | [PG] | Christopher George, Lynda Day George, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Ansara, Ruth Roman | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Day of the Bad Man | 1958 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 81 | MacMurray is appropriately stiff in tame account of country judge holding off condemned man's brothers so scheduled hanging can occur. | tt0051522 | Fred MacMurray, Joan Weldon, John Ericson, Robert Middleton | Western | NULL | |||
| Day of the Dead | 1985 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 102 | Romero's creatures trap a female scientist with some army sexists in an underground bunker; she wants to 'study' them, but the army balks at being zombie brunch. Third DEAD entry is relentlessly talky for over an hour, but Tom Savini's effects do give this a show-stopping finale. Easily the least of the series. | tt0088993 | Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy, Antone DiLeo/Jr., Richard Liberty, Howard Sherman | Action, Horror, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| The Day of the Dolphin | 1973 | Mike Nichols | ★★ | 104 | Big-budget misfire about scientist Scott using his trained (and talking!) dolphins to foil an assassination plot. A waste of many talents. Scripter Buck Henry also provides the voices for the dolphins. | tt0069946 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Paul Sorvino, Fritz Weaver, Jon Korkes, Edward Herrmann, John Dehner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Day of the Evil Gun | 1968 | Jerry Thorpe | ★★ | 93 | Very routine Western with Ford and Kennedy going after Indians who abducted the former's wife; Kennedy is smooth in likable-villain role he's played many times. | tt0062865 | [G] | Glenn Ford, Arthur Kennedy, Dean Jagger, John Anderson, Paul Fix, Nico Minardos, Royal Dano, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Western | NULL | ||
| The Day of the Jackal | 1973 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★½ | 141 | Exciting adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's best-seller about plot to assassinate De Gaulle and the painstaking preparations of the assassin. Beautifully filmed throughout Europe with a first-rate cast. Reworked in 1997 as THE JACKAL. | tt0069947 | [PG] | Edward Fox, Alan Badel, Tony Britton, Cyril Cusack, Michael Lonsdale, Eric Porter, Delphine Seyrig, Derek Jacobi, Ronald Pickup | British-French | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Day of the Locust | 1975 | John Schlesinger | ★★★½ | 144 | Excellent adaptation of Nathanael West's sweeping novel about Hollywood's netherworld in 1930s, seen mostly through eyes of a young artist (Atherton) who finds little glamor and a lot of broken-down people in Tinseltown. Disturbing, depressing . . . and absolutely fascinating. Script by Waldo Salt. | tt0072848 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, Burgess Meredith, William Atherton, Geraldine Page, Richard A. Dysart, Bo Hopkins, Pepe Serna, Lelia Goldoni, Billy Barty, Madge Kennedy, Florence Lake, Natalie Schafer, Nita Talbot, Paul Stewart, John Hillerman, Robert Pine, Dennis Dugan, Jackie Earle Haley, David Ladd, Dick Powell/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Day of the Outlaw | 1959 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 91 | Stark Western melodrama of outlaw Ives and gang taking over isolated Western town. | tt0052724 | Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise, Alan Marshal, Nehemiah Persoff, Venetia Stevenson, David Nelson, Jack Lambert, Elisha Cook/ Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Day of the Triffids | 1963 | Steve Sekely | ★★½ | 95 | Meteor display blinds everyone who watched, while mutating experimental plants into giant, walking maneaters. Based on John Wyndham's classic sci-fi novel. Variable special effects. Remade in 1981 as a British TV miniseries; and in 1997 as a cable TV movie. | tt0055894 | Howard Keel, Nicole Maurey, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Mervyn Johns | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Day the Earth Caught Fire | 1961 | Val Guest. | ★★★ | 99 | Intelligent, absorbing sci-fi drama of gradual chaos that follows when atomic explosions start Earth spiraling toward the sun. Judd is the reporter who first breaks the story, with the assistance of Munro (whom he romances). Watch for Michael Caine as a policeman directing traffic! | tt0054790 | Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden. | British | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | 1951 | Robert Wise | ★★★★ | 92 | Landmark science-fiction drama about dignified alien (Rennie) who comes to Earth to deliver anti-nuclear warning, stays to learn that his peaceful views are shared by most humans— but not all. Brilliantly acted, more timely than ever, with trenchant script by Edmund North, moody score by Bernard Herrmann. And remember: Klaatu barada nikto! | tt0043456 | Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | 2008 | Scott Derrickson | ★★ | 103 | Strange visitor from another planet arrives on Earth in a giant sphere and adopts human form. The government and the military respond with hostility and weapons but super-smart biologist Connelly makes a personal connection with the alien—though her young stepson (Smith) isn’t as easily won over. Pallid remake of the 1951 classic turns Klaatu into a cipher and dissipates the impact of the story. | tt0970416 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith, Jon Hamm, John Cleese, Kyle Chandler, James Hong | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Day the Fish Came Out | 1967 | Michael Cacoyannis | 💣 | 109 | Plot about the loss of two atom bombs over the Aegean Sea provides framework for disastrous comedy about homosexuals; combo of Candy Bergen plus whips, chains, and leather doesn't work. | tt0061553 | Tom Courtenay, Candice Bergen, Colin Blakely, Sam Wanamaker, Ian Ogilvy | Greek-British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Day the Hot Line Got Hot | Hot Line | 1969 | Etienne Perier. | ★½ | 92 | Hollow attempt at topicality as secret agents mess up Moscow-Washington hot line, causing international crisis. Taylor's final film. Video title: HOT LINE. | tt0064906 | [M] | Robert Taylor, Charles Boyer, George Chakiris, Dominique Fabre, Gerard Tichy. | French-Spanish | Comedy | NULL |
| The Day the Sky Exploded | 1958 | Paolo Heusch | ★★ | 80 | An exploding missile in outer space sends debris to Earth, causing utterly predictable chaos. | tt0051951 | Paul Hubschmid, Madeleine Fischer, Fiorella Mari, Ivo Garrani | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Day the World Ended | 1956 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 82 | Modest sci-fi involving survivors of nuclear war and interplay of human nature that causes friction among the group. And yes, there's a monster. Remade as YEAR 2889; also remade (in name only) in 2001 for cable TV. | tt0049128 | Richard Denning, Lori Nelson, Adele Jergens, Touch (Mike) Connors | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Day-Time Wife | 1939 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 71 | Power and Darnell make an engaging couple, even in lightweight fare such as this: wife thinks husband is fooling around with his secretary, so she gets an office job to see why bosses are attracted to their help. | tt0031215 | Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Wendy Barrie, Joan Davis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Daybreakers | 2010 | Michael and Peter Spierig | ★★½ | 98 | In the near future, vampires comprise the vast majority of the world's population, so human blood is in short supply and must be rationed. Enter humanistic vampire-hematologist Hawke, in the employ of greedy businessman Neill, who abandons his efforts to create synthetic blood after becoming convinced that there's a cure for vampirism. Provocative, well-made horror film is unrelentingly gory—and appropriately so—but also terminally predictable. | tt0433362 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan, Michael Dorman, Vince Colosimo, Isabel Lucas | U.S.-Australian | Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Daydream Nation | 2011 | Mike Goldbach | ★★★ | 98 | Boldly eccentric, borderline surreal comedy-drama about a sarcastic, sexually active 17-year-old (Dennnigs) who moves with her dad to a small, strange Canadian town, where she engages in a series of romantic misadventures. Writer-director Goldbach offers constant surprises and changes of tone throughout his offbeat narrative, leading up to a beautiful finale. | tt1581835 | [R] | Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Andie MacDowell, Josh Lucas, Rachel Blanchard, Ted Whittall, Katie Boland, Luke Camilleri | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Daydreamer | 1966 | Jules Bass | ★★★ | 98 | Partly animated story of Hans Christian Andersen as a 13-year-old who meets many of the fairy tale characters he later writes about. Surprisingly pleasant. | tt0060283 | Ray Bolger, Jack Gilford, Margaret Hamilton, Paul O'Keefe; voices of Tallulah Bankhead, Boris Karloff, Burl Ives, Victor Borge, Terry-Thomas, Patty Duke | Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Daylight | 1996 | Rob Cohen | ★★★ | 114 | Good old-fashioned disaster movie, built on a formulaic foundation. Stallone is a disgraced Emergency Medical Services worker who springs into action when a huge explosion cripples a tunnel under N.Y.C.'s Hudson River, with a handful of survivors inside. Great stunts and special effects. That's Sly's son Sage as a cocky young scam artist being taken to prison. | tt0116040 | [PG-13] | Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders, Karen Young, Claire Bloom, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Barry Newman, Stan Shaw, Colin Fox | Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Daylight | 2011 | David Barker | ★★½ | 75 | Desperate husband successfully negotiates with three murderous abductors, but there's a catch: While he's driven off to seek ransom from his well-to-do father-in-law, his pregnant wife is left behind in a secluded farmhouse with two unstable thugs given to scary mood swings. Although early scenes seem to promise a routine torture-porn shocker, this character-driven indie thriller is surprisingly understated and well acted, with an unusually satisfying payoff. Plot bears slight resemblance to Budd Boetticher's vintage Western THE TALL T, which filmmakers acknowledge in closing credits. | tt1254978 | Brian Bickerstaff, Michael Godere, Ivan Martin, Alexandra Meierhans, Aidan Redmond | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Days of Glory | 1944 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 86 | Sincere but plodding WW2 action pitting Russians against Nazis, memorable only as Peck's screen debut. | tt0036748 | Gregory Peck, Alan Reed, Maria Palmer, Lowell Gilmore, Tamara Toumanova | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Days of Glory | 2006 | Rachid Bouchareb | ★★★½ | 120 | Moving (and enlightening) saga of North African soldiers who joined their French brothers in combat during WW2-but were never accepted as equals. Built on a timeworn formula of following raw recruits as they become hardened combat veterans; by focusing on a handful of men and personalizing the story, this forgotten chapter of history comes to vivid life. Screenplay by the director and Olivier Lorelle. Original French title: INDIGÈNES. | tt0444182 | [R] | Jamel Debbouze, Samy Nacéri, Roshdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan, Mathieu Simonet, Benoit Giros, Melanie Laurent, Antoine Chappey | French-Moroccan-Belgian-Algerian | Drama, History, War | NULL | |
| Days of Heaven | 1978 | Terrence Malick | ★★★½ | 95 | Exquisite mood piece about a turbulent love triangle set against midwestern wheat harvests at the turn of the century. Originally shown in 70mm, its visual beauty will be diminished on TV, leaving only the story— which is second priority here. Nestor Almendros won well-deserved Oscar for his cinematography. | tt0077405 | [PG] | Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz, Robert Wilke, Jackie Shultis, Stuart Margolin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Days of Jesse James | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 63 | Roy and Gabby infiltrate the James Gang as corrupt railroad detective Woods tries to use Rogers' efforts for his own gain. Solid Western from Roy's early 'historical' period. | tt0031216 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Don Barry, Pauline Moore, Harry Woods, Arthur Loft, Wade Boteler, Ethel Wales, Scotty Beckett, Harry Worth, Glenn Strange, Olin Howland, Monte Blue. | Western | NULL | |||
| Days of Thrills and Laughter | 1961 | Robert Youngson | ★★★★ | 93 | Compiled by Robert Youngson. Third Youngson silent-film compilation combines comedy clips (with Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, the Keystone Kops) with serials and action films (featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Pearl White, Harry Houdini). Great fun. | tt0054791 | Adventure, Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Days of Thunder | 1990 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 107 | Flashy, noisy race-car saga set in the South, by the filmmakers and star of TOP GUN. Viewer can a) savor crew chief Duvall's fine performance, b) revel in neurosurgeon/love interest Kidman's disdain for racing, c) sit back and soak up Cruise's charisma, or d) count the clichés (cooked up by coauthors Cruise and Robert Towne). Gives new meaning to the term Formula One. | tt0099371 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Nicole Kidman, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, Fred Dalton Thompson, Jerry Molen | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Days of Wine and Roses | 1962 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 117 | Modern LOST WEEKEND set in San Francisco, with Lemmon marrying Remick and pulling her into state of alcoholism. Realistic direction and uncompromising writing combine for excellent results; poignant score by Henry Mancini, who also earned an Oscar for the title song with Johnny Mercer. Originally a television play, written by JP Miller. | tt0055895 | Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman, Alan Hewitt, Tom Palmer, Jack Albertson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dayton's Devils | 1968 | Jack Shea | ★★ | 107 | Another heist film, this time about plot to rob an Air Force base of $2 million; Lainie's rendition of 'Sunny' provides only special moment. | tt0062866 | Rory Calhoun, Leslie Nielsen, Lainie Kazan, Hans Gudegast (Eric Braeden), Barry Sadler | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Daytrippers | 1996 | Greg Mottola | ★★★ | 87 | Funny, touching first feature about Eliza, a Long Island wife who discovers what appears to be a clandestine love letter written to her husband; she and her family pile into a station wagon and set off on a road trip to (and through) Manhattan to confront him. Mottola also scripted this thoroughly likable, low-budget winner. | tt0116041 | [R] | Hope Davis, Stanley Tucci, Parker Posey, Liev Schreiber, Anne Meara, Pat McNamara, Campbell Scott, Marcia Gay Harden | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dazed and Confused | 1993 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 94 | Diverting, refreshingly unsentimental mid-1970s time capsule from director-screenwriter Linklater (SLACKER), following a varied group of suburban Texas teens on the last day of school in 1976. Characterization outweighs narrative here: Linklater accurately captures teen lifestyles and attitudes at a specific moment in time. Great soundtrack includes carefully selected period music. Look fast for Renée Zellweger. | tt0106677 | [R] | Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson, Rory Cochrane, Milla Jovovich, Marissa Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| De Mayerling à Sarajevo | 1940 | Max Ophuls. | ★★½ | 89 | Or, 'How to Start World War One.' After the suicide of Austria's Crown Prince Rudolph, Emperor Franz Joseph reluctantly readies his likable but unprepared nephew to take over the throne. Typically lush Ophuls mounting details the courtly lives and ignoble assassinations of the nephew and his wife, the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand and Czech Countess Sophie Chotek. Drama about the fall of the Hapsburgs subtly mirrors contemporaneous European politics; it was therefore withdrawn and not seen until 1945. Director's last film before emigrating to the U.S. | tt0032384 | John Lodge, Edwige Feuillère, Aimé Clariond, Gabrielle Dorziat, Jean Worms, Jean Debucourt, (Raymond) Aimos. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| De Sade | 1969 | Cy Endfield | ★★ | 92 | Fictionalized biography of world's most celebrated sexual and physical pervert. If you're expecting something raunchy, forget it. Pretty tepid stuff. Original running time: 113m. | tt0064212 | [R] | Keir Dullea, Senta Berger, LilliPalmer, Anna Massey, John Huston | U.S.-West German | Drama | NULL | |
| De-Lovely | 2004 | Irwin Winkler | ★★ | 125 | Handsome but awkward biopic of the great songwriter Cole Porter, whose love for his wife didn't preclude him from pursuing homosexual affairs. Using an awkward framing device (his life as a show), film incorporates many songs, sung by performers who are out of their element (Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams, et al.). Kline is much better than the film; the scene in which he teaches Barrowman how to sing 'Night and Day' is a highlight. Oddest moment: Kline watching Cary Grant play Porter in NIGHT AND DAY. | tt0352277 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally, Allan Corduner, Sandra Nelson, Keith Allen, James Wilby, John Barrowman, Kevin McKidd, Peter Polycarpou, Richard Dillane | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dead Again | 1991 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★½ | 107 | Unusually constructed film noir thriller about an L.A. gumshoe who tries to help a woman with amnesia, and finds they are both connected— in a strange twist of reincarnation— to a notorious 40-year-old murder. Intriguing, but ultimately the story is too dense, and too artificial, to really work. And talk about artificial— dig that aging makeup for Garcia! Williams appears as one of Branagh's sources. | tt0101669 | [R] | Kenneth Branagh, Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi, Hanna Schygulla, Emma Thompson, Wayne Knight, Campbell Scott, Gregor Hesse, Christine Ebersole, Robin Williams | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead Alive | 1992 | Peter Jackson | ★★★ | 97 | Pity poor Balme; not only is he in the thrall of his domineering mother, but when the bite of a rat monkey from Skull Island turns her into a hungry zombie, he still has to look after her— and all the other zombies that soon proliferate. Astonishing, vigorous, inventively gruesome comedy is— one hopes— the pinnacle of its kind. Warning: The rating above is strictly for those with a tolerance for extreme violence and gore. Original title: BRAIN DEAD. Released in unrated version and 85m. R-rated video version. | tt0103873 | Timothy Balme, Diana Penalver, Liz Moody, Ian Watkin, Brenda Kendall | New Zealand | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dead Bang | 1989 | John Frankenheimer | ★½ | 103 | L.A. detective Johnson tries to forget about his dismal home life by chasing nasty white supremacists around the West. Unpleasant, fact-based action film offers nothing you haven't seen before, except for the hero vomiting on a suspect. | tt0097166 | [R] | Don Johnson, Penelope Ann Miller, William Forsythe, Bob Balaban, Tim Reid, Frank Military, Tate Donovan, Michael Higgins, Evans Evans | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead Calm | 1989 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 96 | A married couple, recovering from a family tragedy by spending some time on their yacht at sea, pick up a stranger who proceeds to terrorize them. Full-blooded thriller is so skillfully acted and directed that it enables you to gloss over its flaws— and forgive its slasher-movie-inspired finale. Based on a novel by Charles Williams. | tt0097162 | [R] | Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane | Australian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Dead Cert | 1974 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 92 | A horse is drugged before a race, and its owner-rider is killed. There's a massive cover-up, and jockey Antony investigates. Richardson coscripted this muddled mystery, based on a Dick Francis novel, with Dench wasted as the deceased's widow. That's Dench's real-life husband, Michael Williams, as Sandy. | tt0071394 | Scott Antony, Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Nina Thomas, Julian Glover, Mark Digham, Ian Hogg | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dead Don't Dream | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 62 | Hopalong Cassidy and pal California visit town to attend Lucky's wedding, then bride-to-be's uncle is found slain in gold mine. More a whodunit than a Western, with lots of sleuthing at a frontier desert hotel— indoors! Reissued with misleading title FIGHTING MAN FROM ARIZONA. | tt0040276 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, John Parrish, Leonard Penn, Mary Tucker (Mary Ware). | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Dead End | 1937 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 93 | Grim Sidney Kingsley play of slum life shows vignettes of humanity at breaking point in N.Y.C. tenements; extremely well directed, engrossing. Script by Lillian Hellman; magnificent sets by Richard Day. Introduced the Dead End Kids, who appeared in the original Broadway production. | tt0028773 | Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart, Wendy Barrie, Claire Trevor, Marjorie Main, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Ward Bond, Billy Halop, Bernard Punsley, Allen Jenkins | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Dead Girl | 2006 | Karen Moncrieff | ★★★ | 85 | Five episodes about women dealing with crises in their lives, tied together by a dead girl (Murphy), whose body is discovered in the desert. Intriguing if downbeat vignettes are linked by an overall rumination about violence toward women in our society. Writer-director Moncrieff offers her actors a superior showcase, and they're all terrific. | tt0783238 | [R] | Toni Collette, Piper Laurie, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy, Kerry Washington, Giovanni Ribisi, James Franco, Mary Steenburgen, Bruce Davison, Nick Searcy, Josh Brolin | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead Heat | 1988 | Mark Goldblatt | 💣 | 86 | Moronic, occasionally disgusting turkey with cops Williams and Piscopo confronted by criminals miraculously returning from the dead. | tt0094961 | [R] | Treat Williams, Joe Piscopo, Lindsay Frost, Darren McGavin, Vincent Price, Keye Luke | Action, Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round | 1966 | Bernard Girard | ★★★ | 104 | Involved but entertaining crime drama about an intricate plan to rob an airport bank, with a surprise ending. Look quickly for a barely recognizable Harrison Ford, in his film debut, playing a bellhop. | tt0060287 | James Coburn, Camilla Sparv, Aldo Ray, Rose Marie, Severn Darden, Robert Webber | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dead Man | 1996 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★★ | 120 | In 1875, Cleveland accountant Depp heads west for a new job but ends up being pursued as a murderer by bounty hunters. Indian Farmer, who helps him, is convinced that he is the poet William Blake returned to life. One-of-a-kind Western, written by the director, is measured in its pace, full of unusual cameos, and occasionally quite funny though it's not a comedy. Steve Buscemi appears unbilled. | tt0112817 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, Mili Avital, Iggy Pop, Jared Harris, Billy Bob Thornton, Crispin Glover, Eugene Byrd, Gabriel Byrne, John Hurt, Alfred Molina, Robert Mitchum | U.S.-German-Japanese | Western | NULL | |
| Dead Man Out | 1989 | Richard Pearce | Above Average TV Movie | 86 | Searing drama about a psychiatrist who is hired by the state to 'cure' an insane convict in order that the death sentence can be carried out. Gritty confrontational performances that give a contemporary sensibility to Stanley Kramer's PRESSURE POINT of 25 years earlier. Written by Ron Hutchinson. Made for cable. | tt0097164 | Danny Glover, Rubén Blades, Tom Atkins, Larry Block, Samuel L. Jackson, Maria Ricossa | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dead Man Walking | 1995 | Tim Robbins | ★★★½ | 122 | Powerful drama based on the true story of a nun in Louisiana who becomes the spiritual advisor to a death row inmate, convicted of the murder of two young adults and awaiting execution. As she tries to redeem his soul, she must also reconcile his needs with the heinousness of the crime and the grief of the murdered children's parents. Strong performances by Sarandon (who won a Best Actress Oscar) and Penn anchor this sobering story which, despite the humanizing of its central character, is not a simple pro- or anti- death penalty treatise. | tt0112818 | [R] | Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry, R. Lee Ermey, Celia Weston, Lois Smith, Scott Wilson, Roberta Maxwell, Margo Martindale, Barton Heyman, Larry Pine, Peter Sarsgaard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dead Man on Campus | 1998 | Alan Cohn | 💣 | 94 | Dead is right. This black comedy hinges on the urban myth that American universities will award 4.0 GPA's to any student whose roommate kills himself. Clean-cut straight arrow and his spoiled preppie pal team up to find a suicidal candidate. Laughless script aspires to be a teen ripoff of THE FORTUNE COOKIE, but these cocky kids are no Lemmon and Matthau. | tt0118301 | [R] | Tom Everett Scott, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Poppy Montgomery, Lochlyn Munro, Randy Pearlstein, Alyson Hannigan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dead Man's Eyes | 1944 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 64 | Interesting Inner Sanctum yarn of blind man (Chaney) accused of murdering girlfriend's father, whose announced intention was to bequeath his eyes to Chaney for transplant operation. | tt0036749 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez, Acquanetta | Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| Dead Men Don't Die | 1991 | Malcolm Marmorstein | ★½ | 94 | Ten-cent rip-off of GHOST, with egotistical news anchor Gould murdered, then rising from the dead, with the assistance of medium/cleaning lady King (aping Whoopi Goldberg). A too-obvious parody of how TV news has become show biz. | tt0099374 | [PG-13] | Elliott Gould, Melissa (Sue) Anderson, Mark Moses, Mabel King, Jack Betts, Philip Bruns | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | 1982 | Carl Reiner | ★★ | 89 | A one-joke movie, based on 1940s film noir melodramas, has detective Martin interacting with clips from various vintage films, and a very live client (Ward). Fun at first, but with no story and cardboard characters, it wears thin fast; film buffs will enjoy it more than the average viewer. Dedicated to famed costume designer Edith Head, whose final film this was. | tt0083798 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Reni Santoni, Carl Reiner, George Gaynes, Frank McCarthy | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead Men Tell | 1941 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 60 | Suspenseful Charlie Chan mystery, centering on a treasure hunt for $60 million in pirate booty. Clever direction, moody camerawork overcome claustrophobic setting. | tt0033519 | Sidney Toler, Sheila Ryan, Robert Weldon, Sen Yung, Donald Douglas, Kay Aldridge, George Reeves, Ethel Griffies | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dead Men Walk | 1943 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 67 | Zucco plays brothers, one good, one evil, in this standard low-budget vampire tale— but it's hard to dismiss any film with Dwight Frye as a maniacal assistant. | tt0035784 | George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Nedrick Young, Dwight Frye, Fern Emmett | Horror | NULL | |||
| Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street | 1972 | Samuel Fuller. | ★★½ | 102 | Fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek Fuller thriller (financed by German TV) has Corbett on a detective mission, aided by lovely Lang (Mrs. Fuller in real life). | tt0069349 | [PG] | Glenn Corbett, Christa Lang, Stephane Audran, Anton Diffring, Alex D'Arcy. | German | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Dead Poets Society | 1989 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 128 | Williams is a charismatic English teacher at a staid New England prep school in 1959, whose infectious love of poetry— and insistence that each boy 'seize the day' and make the most of life— inspires his impressionable students, not always in the right direction. Well made, extremely well acted, but also dramatically obvious and melodramatically one-sided. Nevertheless, Tom Schulman's screenplay won an Oscar. 13m. added for network showings. | tt0097165 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen, Dylan Kussman, Allelon Ruggiero, James Waterston, Norman Lloyd, Kurtwood Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dead Pool | 1988 | Buddy Van Horn | ★★½ | 91 | Fifth (and final) DIRTY HARRY movie finds Callahan investigating a bizarre death-threat list, while becoming involved with a female TV reporter. The story's pretty straightforward— check out Carrey as a druggy rock star— the killing almost cartoonish, and the film surprisingly watchable (if not inspired). Eastwood's charisma makes all the difference. | tt0094963 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Evan C. Kim, Liam Neeson, David Hunt, Michael Currie, James Carrey | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead Presidents | 1995 | The Hughes Brothers | ★★★ | 119 | Absorbing and ambitious chronicle of a young black man's odyssey from the late 1960s Bronx, through a tour of duty in Vietnam, then back . . . to a dead-end existence. Tries to cover a broad landscape (with a passing nod to the Black Revolution movement), then winds up as a crime caper. Imperfect, but still a compelling tale of how the brutality of war spilled over onto America's urban streets. Warning: the violence is jarringly (and purposefully) graphic. Scripted by Michael Henry Brown from Allen and Albert Hughes's story. Seymour Cassel and Martin Sheen appear unbilled. | tt0112819 | [R] | Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, N'Bushe Wright, Freddy Rodriguez, Rose Jackson, Michael Imperioli, David Barry Gray, Jaimz Woolvett, Jenifer Lewis, James Pickens/Jr., Clifton Powell, Bokeem Woodbine | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Dead Reckoning | 1947 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 100 | Bogart's fine as tough WW2 veteran solving soldier-buddy's murder. Well-acted drama. | tt0039305 | Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, William Prince, Wallace Ford | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Dead Ringer | 1964 | Paul Henreid | ★★½ | 115 | A double dose of Davis, playing twin sisters (as she did earlier in A STOLEN LIFE) bearing a long-time grudge over a man, the sinister one trying to get even. Farfetched but fun; Bette's vehicle all the way, directed by her 1940s costar Paul Henreid. Remade for TV as THE KILLER IN THE MIRROR (1986, with Ann Jillian). | tt0057997 | Bette Davis, Karl Malden, Peter Lawford, Jean Hagen, George Macready, Estelle Winwood | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dead Ringers | 1988 | David Cronenberg | ★★½ | 115 | Fascinating but extremely unpleasant story of twin gynecologists who share each other's lives— and lovers. Notable for a pair of superb performances by Irons, and the attendant trickery that makes us forget, at times, that we're watching one man play both roles. Based (believe it or not) on a true story! | tt0094964 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi Von Palleske, Barbara Gordon, Shirley Douglas, Stephen Lack | Canadian | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Dead Run | 1969 | Christian-Jaque | ★★ | 92 | Stolen defense plans in Berlin and Rome. Dull, but Lawford and beautiful on-location filming help a bit. | tt0061701 | [R] | Peter Lawford, Countess Ira Furstenberg, George Geret | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dead Silence | 1989 | Harrison Ellenshaw | ★★½ | 98 | Young screenwriter and would-be director finds a backer for his newest movie— a mafioso type. But after taking his money, he learns that this road-company Godfather expects his stumblebum son to get the starring part in the picture! Amiable comedy about the perils of low-budget moviemaking, with a wonderful final twist. Written by Keith, who plays the filmmaker. Directing debut for special effects whiz Ellenshaw. | tt0163598 | [R] | Clete Keith, Joseph Scott, Craig Fleming, Doris Anne Soyka, James Austin, Leslie Charles, Bruce R. Barrett | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dead Silence | 1997 | Daniel Petrie/ Jr | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Burned-out FBI negotiator matches wits with a vicious band of kidnappers who've snatched a busload of deaf teenagers and their teacher. Taut tale with a tangled twist, adapted by Donald Stewart from Jeffery Deaver's book A Maiden's Grave. Made for cable. | tt0118942 | James Garner, Marlee Matlin, Kim Coates, Charles Martin Smith, Lolita Davidovich, Kenneth Welsh | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dead Silence | 2007 | James Wan | ★★ | 90 | The creators of SAW fashioned this ho-hum horror chiller in which a young husband (Kwanten) sets out to decipher the reason for a brutal killing that occurs after he and his wife receive a mysterious package containing a ventriloquist's dummy. While not as gratuitously gory as many contemporary horror films, it's annoyingly illogical and overly familiar. | tt0455760 | [R] | Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fairman, Joan Heney, Bob Gunton, Laura Regan, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Judith Roberts. | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dead Snow | 2009 | Tommy Wirkola | ★★½ | 91 | A group of 20-somethings head out into the snowy Norwegian wilderness for a weekend of whatever comes up. Unfortunately, what comes up is a legion of Nazi zombies, intent on devouring any live person they encounter. Handsomely made, mostly on dramatic daytime exteriors, with an intelligent script and well-drawn characters. But the familiarity of the setup (which even the characters mention) drains the film of most interest except for horror buffs, who'll gladly embrace it. | tt1278340 | Unrated | Vegar Hoel, Stig Frode Henriksen, Charlotte Frogner, Lasse Valdal, Evy Kasseth Røsten, Jeppe Laursen, Jenny Skavlan, Ane Dahl Torp, Ørjan Gamst | Norwegian | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Dead Solid Perfect | 1988 | Bobby Roth | Average TV Movie | 95 | Quirky comedy/drama based on Dan Jenkins' best-seller about life and love on the pro golf circuit. Title refers to how it is when the golfer hits the ball at a perfect angle; film itself isn't quite. Made for cable. | tt0094965 | Randy Quaid, Kathryn Harrold, Jack Warden, Corinne Bohrer, Larry Riley, DeLane Matthews, Bibi Besch, Brett Cullen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dead Women in Lingerie | 1991 | Erica Fox | ★½ | 87 | Amateurish spoof of hard-boiled detective films also tries to provide a look inside the garment industry. Titillating title (just a play on words) indicates a type of t&a film, which this is not. | tt0101676 | John Romo, Maura Tierney, June Lockhart, Lyle Waggoner, Jerry Orbach | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Dead Zone | 1983 | David Cronenberg | ★★★ | 103 | Absorbing Stephen King story of young man who emerges from near-fatal accident with the gift (or curse) of second sight— being able to tell a person's fate just by making physical contact. Walken's moving, heartfelt performance is the core of involving, if sometimes meandering movie where (despite reputations of King and Cronenberg) the emphasis is not on blood-and-guts horror. Later a TV series. | tt0085407 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Martin Sheen, Nicholas Campbell, Jackie Burroughs | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dead and Buried | 1981 | Gary A. Sherman | ★★½ | 92 | Bizarre murders in a small New England town seem even stranger when the corpses come back to life. Gory but well-made chiller; from a Dan O'Bannon story. | tt0082242 | [R] | James Farentino, Melody Anderson, Jack Albertson, Dennis Redfield, Nancy Locke Hauser, Lisa Blount | Horror | NULL | ||
| Dead of Night | 1945 | Alberto Cavalcanti, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer, Charles Crichton | ★★★★ | 103 | Classic chiller of gathering at a country house, where guests trade supernatural stories. One of them (Johns) has been having a nightmare that now seems to be coming true; final sequence with Redgrave as a schizophrenic ventriloquist is a knockout. U.S. theatrical version ran 77m.; complete edition has been restored for TV. | tt0037635 | Mervyn Johns, Roland Culver, Antony Baird, Judy Kelly, Miles Malleson, Sally Ann Howes, Googie Withers, Ralph Michael, Michael Redgrave, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Frederick Valk | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dead of Winter | 1987 | Arthur Penn | ★★★ | 100 | Down-on-her-luck actress is hired for a movie role by an eccentric man who lives in an eerie old mansion; eventually she realizes that she's being held prisoner. Somewhat predictable but extremely well-crafted thriller with crackerjack performances all around. Based, fairly transparently, on the 1940s B movie MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS: a key character name here is Julie Rose. | tt0092842 | [R] | Mary Steenburgen, Roddy McDowall, Jan Rubes, William Russ, Ken Pogue, Wayne Robson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Dead | 1987 | John Huston | ★★★ | 83 | All-Irish cast helps Huston bring James Joyce's short story (from Dubliners) to life, a vignette about a lively holiday dinner party in 1904, followed by a melancholy confrontation between a loveless husband and wife. Not for every taste, this finely embroidered film celebrates time, place, and atmosphere, without much discernible plot, but with a host of marvelous characterizations. Huston's last film as director scripted by his son Tony. | tt0092843 | [PG] | Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Rachael Dowling, Cathleen Delany, Helena Carroll, Ingrid Craigie, Dan O'Herlihy, Frank Patterson, Donal Donnelly, Marie Kean, Maria McDernottroe, Sean McClory, Colm Meaney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Deadfall | 1968 | Bryan Forbes | ★★ | 120 | Jewel thief falls in love with beautiful woman who is married to her homosexual father. And you think you have problems? Overdirected film is not as interesting as it sounds. | tt0062868 | [R] | Michael Caine, Giovanna Ralli, Eric Portman, Nanette Newman, David Buck | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Deadfall | 1993 | Christopher Coppola | 💣 | 98 | Bargain-basement, cliché-ridden vanity project about con man Biehn, who's always been a team with his dad; his world begins to unravel after he accidentally kills the old man. Almost unbearable at times, with an unrestrained Cage chewing and throwing up the scenery as a coke-snorting thug. Coppola is the nephew of Francis (and Cage's brother); he also coscripted. | tt0106684 | [R] | Michael Biehn, Sarah Trigger, Nicolas Cage, James Coburn, Peter Fonda, Charlie Sheen, Talia Shire, Michael Constantine, Gigi Rice, Angus Scrimm, Micky Dolenz, Marc Coppola, Renée Estevez, Clarence Williams III | Drama | NULL | ||
| Deadhead Miles | 1972 | Vernon Zimmerman | ★★½ | 93 | Plotless allegory about a trucker's experiences on the road, with unusual cast, loads of in-jokes. Unreleased and unseen for many years. A real curio, written by Zimmerman and Terrence Malick. | tt0068452 | [R] | Alan Arkin, Paul Benedict, Hector Elizondo, Oliver Clark, Charles Durning, Larry Wolf, Barnard Hughes, Loretta Swit, Allen Garfield, Bruce Bennett, John Milius, Ida Lupino, George Raft | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Deadlier Than the Male | 1957 | Julien Duvivier | ★★ | 104 | Delorme encamps in ex-stepfather's home, planning to marry and then murder him; Gabin is stodgy as girl's intended victim. | tt0051172 | Jean Gabin, Daniele Delorme, Lucienne Bogaert, Gerard Blain | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deadlier Than the Male | 1967 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 101 | Standard fare which half-heartedly resurrects Bulldog Drummond, trying to solve whodunit centering around two shapely suspects. Sequel: SOME GIRLS DO. | tt0060288 | Richard Johnson, Elke Sommer, Sylva Koscina, Nigel Green, Suzanna Leigh | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Deadliest Sin | 1956 | Ken Hughes. | ★½ | 77 | Flashbacks reveal the story of a man who confesses murder to a priest. Slight, forgettable, and all too familiar. Original British title: CONFESSION. | tt0049129 | Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton, John Bentley, Peter Hammond. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Deadline | 1987 | Nathaniel Gutman | ★½ | 100 | Convoluted political thriller with globe-trotting journalist Walken becoming enmeshed in various intrigues and lies in Lebanon. Strictly Grade-D stuff. | tt0092844 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Hywel Bennett, Marita Marschall, Arnon Zadok, Amos Lavie | German | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Deadline U.S.A. | 1952 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 87 | Biting account of newspaper's struggle to survive and maintain civic duty. Bogey is tops as the crusading editor; taut, knowing script by director Brooks. Most enjoyable. | tt0044533 | Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Ed Begley, Warren Stevens, Paul Stewart, Martin Gabel, Joe De Santis, Audrey Christie, Jim Backus | Crime | NULL | |||
| Deadline at Dawn | 1946 | Harold Clurman | ★★½ | 83 | Atmospheric but muddled murder mystery, with aspiring actress Hayward attempting to clear naive sailor Williams, who is suspected of murder. Clurman's only film as director. Screenplay by Clifford Odets, from a novel by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich). | tt0038458 | Susan Hayward, Paul Lukas, Bill Williams, Joseph Calleia, Osa Massen, Lola Lane, Jerome Cowan, Steven Geray | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Deadly Affair | 1967 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 107 |
Top-notch suspense tale with British agent Mason trying to unravel complicated mystery behind an agency official's suicide. Filmed in England and based on John Le Carré's novel Call for the Dead.|
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James Mason, Simone Signoret, Maximilian Schell, Harriet Andersson, Harry Andrews, Lynn Redgrave, Kenneth Haigh, Roy Kinnear
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Drama, Thriller
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| The Deadly Bees | 1967 | Freddie Francis | ★★ | 85 | High-powered shock scenes involving swarming bees are only worthwhile attraction in dull horror film cowritten by Robert Bloch. | tt0061557 | Suzanna Leigh, Guy Doleman, Catherine Finn, Katy Wild, Frank Finlay | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Deadly Blessing | 1981 | Wes Craven | ★★ | 102 | Following her husband's murder, widow and two friends are terrorized, apparently by nearby repressive sect, headed by the father (Borgnine) of the dead man. Rural horror thriller has some good shocks but becomes confused and ultimately silly, especially the ending. | tt0082245 | [R] | Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, Sharon Stone, Lois Nettleton, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff East, Lisa Hartman | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Deadly Companions | 1961 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★½ | 90 | Ex-army officer accidentally kills O'Hara's son and he makes amends by escorting the funeral procession through Indian country. Peckinpah's first feature is decent if unspectacular Western. | tt0054795 | Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills | Western | NULL | |||
| Deadly Eyes | The Rats | 1982 | Robert Clouse | ★★ | 93 | Overgrown rats on the warpath, with science teacher Groom and health official Botsford to the rescue. You've seen it all before. Originally titled, appropriately enough, THE RATS. | tt0083801 | [R] | Sam Groom, Sara Botsford, Scatman Crothers, Lisa Langlois, Cec Linder | Horror | NULL | |
| Deadly Force | 1983 | Paul Aaron | 💣 | 95 | Ex-cop Hauser is on the trail of a killer; he's harassed by former colleague Kilpatrick, and trying to start over with estranged wife Ingalls. Rock-bottom DIRTY HARRY clone. | tt0085409 | [R] | Wings Hauser, Joyce Ingalls, Paul Shenar, Al Ruscio, Arlen Dean Snyder, Lincoln Kilpatrick | Crime | NULL | ||
| Deadly Friend | 1986 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 92 | Inventive teenager, in love with the girl next door, revives her (à la Frankenstein) after she's killed. More heart, and more actual entertainment, than you'd expect from a Wes Craven horror film . . . though it's probably the only movie ever made in which someone is beheaded by a basketball! | tt0090917 | [R] | Matthew Laborteaux, Kristy Swanson, Anne Twomey, Michael Sharrett, Richard Marcus, Anne Ramsey | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Deadly Games | 1982 | Scott Mansfield | ★★½ | 95 | Groom is a cop, Harris a reporter in routine mystery about a slasher on the loose. In-jokes come fast and furious in this very knowing film, keyed to a horror board game played by the principals. Final plot explanation is really stupid. | tt0083803 | [R] | Sam Groom, Jo Ann Harris, Steve Railsback, Dick Butkus, Alexandra Morgan, Colleen Camp, Christine Tudor, June Lockhart, Denise Galik | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Deadly Hero | 1976 | Ivan Nagy | ★★ | 102 | Interesting premise: righteous cop (Murray) saves woman's life by killing her attacker (Jones) . . . but then woman begins to question the cop's motives. Performances outshine violent presentation. Treat Williams' film debut. Danny DeVito is also listed in the closing credits. | tt0074381 | [R] | Don Murray, Diahn Williams, James Earl Jones, Lilia Skala, George S. Irving, Conchata Ferrell, Charles Siebert, Dick A. Williams, Treat Williams, Joshua Mostel | Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Deadly Illusion | 1987 | William Tannen, Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 87 | Fair programmer with Williams well cast as a detective framed in murder plot. Some humorous touches add to the proceedings. Cohen wrote the script; aka LOVE YOU TO DEATH. | tt0092847 | [R] | Billy Dee Williams, Vanity, Morgan Fairchild, John Beck, Joseph Cortese, Dennis Hallahan, Joe Spinell | Adventure, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Deadly Impact | 1985 | Larry Ludman (Fabrizio De Angelis) | ★½ | 91 | Svenson and Williamson try to enliven unbelievable crime caper in which a computer is used to tap into Las Vegas casinos and predict when slot machines will pay off. Filmed in the U.S.A. in 1983. | tt0087461 | Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Marcia Clingan, John Morghen, Vincent Conte | Italian | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Deadly Mantis | 1957 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 78 | N.Y.C. is threatened again, here by giant insect heading south after Arctic tour de force; obligatory love story interrupts good special effects. | tt0050294 | Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph | Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Deadly Strangers | 1974 | Sidney Hayers | ★★★ | 93 | Lurid, exciting thriller about Mills offering a ride to young man, unaware that a violent patient has escaped from a nearby mental hospital. | tt0071398 | Hayley Mills, Simon Ward, Sterling Hayden, Ken Hutchison, Peter Jeffrey | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Deadly Tower | Sniper | 1975 | Jerry Jameson | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Fact-based drama about Charles Whitman (Russell), who holed up in University of Texas tower in August, 1966, and fired at all in sight, killing 13 and wounding 33. Authentic, well-made recreation of the fateful event, with acting honors going to Yniquez as Mexican-American police officer and Beatty as passerby who reluctantly agrees to help him. | tt0072852 | Kurt Russell, Richard Yniquez, John Forsythe, Ned Beatty, Pernell Roberts, Clifton James, Paul Carr | Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Deadly Trackers | 1973 | Barry Shear | 💣 | 110 | Dreadful, violent Western; Harris, an Irish sheriff of a small Texas town, trails bank robber Taylor and gang to Mexico to avenge the deaths of wife and son. Sam Fuller wrote story and was original director. | tt0069951 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Rod Taylor, Al Lettieri, Neville Brand, William Smith, Isela Vega | Western | NULL | ||
| The Deadly Trap | 1971 | René Clément | 💣 | 96 | A deadly bore, about an industrious espionage organization that goes after one-time member Langella by harassing his emotionally fragile wife (Dunaway). Retitled DEATH SCREAM. | tt0067382 | [PG] | Faye Dunaway, Frank Langella, Barbara Parkins, Karen Blanguernon, Maurice Ronet | French-Italian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears | Los Amigos | 1973 | Paolo Cavara | ★★★ | 91 | Well-made 'buddy Western' teams deaf-mute Quinn with upstart Nero as two common-man bystanders during a time of social upheaval in Texas. Beautifully photographed by Tonino Delli Colli. Originally titled LOS AMIGOS. | tt0068454 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Franco Nero, Pamela Tiffin, Ira Furstenberg | Italian | Western | NULL |
| Deal | 2008 | Gil Cates, Jr | ★½ | 86 | Former poker champ returns to the game 20 years after his last tournament to train a hotshot college kid, only to find himself lured back to the tables to compete against his protegé. Dull, derivative rehash of every gambling-movie cliché in the book—and THE COLOR OF MONEY in particular. Reynolds sleepwalks through his role. Several real-life poker champs play themselves. | tt0446676 | [PG-13] | Burt Reynolds, Bret Harrison, Shannon Elizabeth, Charles Durning, Jennifer Tilly, Maria Mason, Gary Grubbs, Caroline McKinley, Michael Sexton, Vincent Van Patten | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Deal of the Century | 1983 | William Friedkin | ★★ | 99 | Attempted satire of international weapons merchants. Its leading characters are so cold-blooded and unappealing, and its script (by Paul Brickman) so disjointed, that the results are a mishmash. | tt0085412 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver, Gregory Hines, Vince Edwards, Richard Libertini, William Marquez, Eduardo Ricard, Wallace Shawn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Deal | 2005 | Harvey Kahn | ★★½ | 107 | Low-budget suspense thriller had the misfortune to be released in the same year as the similar but far superior SYRIANA. Slater is an associate with a prestigious Wall Street investment firm who is brought in on a deal to complete a questionable merger between a giant American oil group and a Russian company that controls massive amounts of crude. Set during a nondescript future where gas is selling for $6 a gallon, the film is a bit too complicated, although its concerns couldn't be more relevant. Worth a look. | tt0405861 | [R] | Christian Slater, Selma Blair, Robert Loggia, Colm Feore, Angie Harmon, John Heard, Kevin Tighe, Françoise Yip | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Deal | 2008 | Steven Schachter | ★★★ | 100 | Suicidal Hollywood producer Macy takes his nephew’s unfilmable script about Benjamin Disraeli and uses his considerable wiles to bamboozle a studio into funding its production—with an action star (LL Cool J) in the lead. Only studio exec Ryan seems aware of his chicanery, but watching the unflappable hustler stay one step ahead of seeing his scheme collapse is great fun. Macy and Schachter adapted Peter Lefcourt’s knowing novel about the byzantine workings of the movie business. Released direct to DVD. | tt0848281 | [R] | William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, LL Cool J, Elliott Gould, Jason Ritter, Fiona Glascott, Sharon Reginiano, John Carson, David Hunt, Jeremy Crutchley | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dealers | 1989 | Colin Bucksey | ★★½ | 91 | These 'dealers' don't sell drugs but trade dollars for a London-based bank. Flashy treatment of unexceptional story with reckless McGann sparring (and falling in love) with De Mornay. Good cast and novel setting help raise it slightly above the routine. | tt0097172 | [R] | Paul McGann, Rebecca De Mornay, Derrick O'Connor, John Castle, Paul Guilfoyle | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dealing: or The Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues | 1972 | Paul Williams | ★★½ | 99 | Dated but still watchable adaptation of Robert and Michael Crichton's lighthearted novel about Harvard law student who runs pot on the side. Lyons is pretty blah, but compensation is provided by Hershey as his free-thinking girlfriend and Lithgow (in film debut) as the head dope. | tt0068455 | [R] | Robert F. Lyons, Barbara Hershey, John Lithgow, Charles Durning, Joy Bang | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam | 1987 | Bill Couturié | Above Average TV Movie | 87 | Extremely moving account of the whos, whens and wheres of Vietnam, told via news footage and letters written by American soldiers. Gut-wrenching human drama that makes excellent use of appropriate music, from 1960s rock classics to Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the U.S.A.' HBO production also received theatrical release. Based on the book edited by Bernard Edelman. | tt0092851 | Narrated by Robert De Niro, Michael J. Fox, Ellen Burstyn, Kathleen Turner, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Sean Penn, Matt Dillon, Kevin Dillon, Robin Williams, Howard Rollins/Jr. | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Dear Brat | 1951 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 82 | This sequel to DEAR RUTH has Freeman in title role involved with a crook trying to reform. | tt0043457 | Mona Freeman, Billy DeWolfe, Edward Arnold, Lyle Bettger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dear Brigitte | 1965 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 100 | Guest: Brigitte Bardot. Good cast in OK family farce about an 8-year-old genius (Stewart's son, Mumy) with a crush on Brigitte Bardot (who makes a brief appearance near the end). Tries to be whimsical but is contrived instead. Look fast for James Brolin as student spokesman. | tt0059094 | James Stewart, Fabian, Glynis Johns, Cindy Carol, Bill Mumy, John Williams, Jack Kruschen, Alice Pearce, Jesse White, Ed Wynn., Brigitte Bardot | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dear Detective | Dear Inspector | 1977 | Philippe De Broca | ★★½ | 105 | Girardot is fine as woman cop who becomes involved with old flame (pompous professor Noiret) as she hunts a killer. Sometimes funny, more often predictable and pointless. Remade in 1979 as a TV movie. Retitled DEAR INSPECTOR. Sequel: JUPITER'S THIGH. | tt0076808 | [PG] | Annie Girardot, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Alric, Hubert Deschamps, Paulette Dubost | French | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| Dear Frankie | 2005 | Shona Auerbach. | ★★★ | 105 | Sweet film set in 1950s Glasgow about a woman who lives with her mother and her deaf 9-year-old son. Constantly on the move, to avoid contact with her abusive ex-husband, she has invented a romantic father figure for her boy, telling him that his dad is away at sea; then she's forced to find someone to fill that role, just for one day. Warm, never mawkish, with fine performances all around. | tt0377752 | [PG-13] | Emily Mortimer, Jack McElhone, Gerard Butler, Sharon Small, Mary Riggans, Jayd Johnson. | British-Scottish | Drama | NULL | |
| Dear God | 1996 | Garry Marshall | ★★ | 112 | Con man Kinnear gets one last chance to go straight, with a job at the post office. There, in the dead-letter department, he and his motley colleagues make 'miracles' happen for needy people who write to God. Whimsical comedy gets off to a good start but loses the one thing it needs most: conviction. Director Marshall has a cameo, along with various celebs (including stars of long-ago Marshall-produced TV series). | tt0116059 | [PG] | Greg Kinnear, Laurie Metcalf, Maria Pitillo, Tim Conway, Hector Elizondo, Jon Seda, Roscoe Lee Browne, Anna Maria Horsford, Nancy Marchand, Larry Miller, Rue McClanahan, Jack Sheldon, Coolio, Seth Mumy, Jack Klugman, Ellen Cleghorne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dear Heart | 1964 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 114 | Winning romance with gentlemanly traveling salesman Ford coming to N.Y.C., meeting up with sweetly wacky postmistress Page, who's in town for a convention. Excellent characterizations, with fine comic supporting players. | tt0057999 | Glenn Ford, Geraldine Page, Michael Anderson/Jr., Barbara Nichols, Angela Lansbury, Patricia Barry, Charles Drake, Alice Pearce, Mary Wickes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dear John | 2010 | Lasse Hallström | ★★ | 105 | A chance meeting on a Charleston, South Carolina, beach leads to a pledge of love between student Seyfried and soldier Tatum. When he returns to active duty overseas they promise to write to one another, and do . . . but the long separation puts tremendous strain on their relationship. Innocuous love story, from Nicholas Sparks' novel, becomes dreary after a while and drags to an unsatisfying conclusion. | tt0989757 | [PG-13] | Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas, Scott Porter, David Andrews, D. J. Cotrona, Cullen Moss, Keith Robinson | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dear Mr. Wonderful | Ruby's Dream | 1982 | Peter Lilienthal | ★★★ | 115 | Ruby Dennis (Pesci) owns a bowling alley-nightclub in Jersey City, thinks he's on the verge of crashing Las Vegas. The American Jewish working class experience, viewed with a European sensibility, doesn't ring true; still, a thoughtful portrait of a little man who must learn to take what life has to offer. The sequence with Martin is particularly memorable. Video title: RUBY'S DREAM. | tt0083804 | Joe Pesci, Karen Ludwig, Evan Handler, Ivy Ray Browning, Frank Vincent, Paul Herman, Tony Martin | German |
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| Dear Murderer | 1947 | Arthur Crabtree | ★★½ | 90 | Husband Portman kills wife's lover. All-too-familiar 'perfect crime' melodrama sparked by fine Portman performance. | tt0039306 | Eric Portman, Greta Gynt, Dennis Price, Maxwell Reed, Jack Warner, Hazel Court | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Dear Ruth | 1947 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 95 | Bouncy, naive comedy of errors with young girl pretending to be her older sister to impress soldier she corresponds with. Norman Krasna's Broadway smash was also a Hollywood hit and led to sequels DEAR WIFE and DEAR BRAT. | tt0039307 | Joan Caulfield, William Holden, Mona Freeman, Edward Arnold, Billy DeWolfe | Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Dear Wendy | 2005 | Thomas Vinterberg | ★★½ | 105 | Thought-provoking allegory about America's fascination with firearms, centering on a band of alienated small-town teens who, despite their pacifistic nature, become obsessed with shooting guns. Provocative, albeit pretentious, film leads to an unsurprising finale. Audiences who are offended by foreign filmmakers who censure the U.S. may find this infuriating. Scripted (not surprisingly) by Lars von Trier. | tt0342272 | Unrated | Jamie Bell, Bill Pullman, Michael Angarano, Danso Gordon, Novella Nelson, Chris Owen, Alison Pill, Mark Webber | Danish-French-German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dear Wife | 1949 | Richard Haydn | ★★½ | 88 | Follow-up to DEAR RUTH focuses on Freeman's antics to get Holden elected to the state senate, although her politician father Arnold is seeking same position. | tt0041286 | Joan Caulfield, William Holden, Edward Arnold, Billy DeWolfe, Mona Freeman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father | 2008 | Kurt Kuenne | ★★★½ | 95 | Riveting, emotionally charged documentary started out as a visual essay about Dr. Andrew Bagby, the filmmaker’s oldest and best friend, who was murdered before the birth of his son. The fact that Zachary’s mother became the prime suspect in the case is one of several twists in this chronicle of good and evil that illustrates how real life often is stranger than fiction. Kuenne also composed the film’s score. | tt1152758 | Unrated | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dear, Dead Delilah | 1972 | John Farris | ★½ | 90 | Low-budgeter about grisly competition for $600,000 buried somewhere around home of dying Moorehead. Filmed in Nashville, originally 95m. For axe-murder aficionados only. | tt0068456 | [R] | Agnes Moorehead, Will Geer, Michael Ansara, Patricia Carmichael, Dennis Patrick | Horror | NULL | ||
| Death Becomes Her | 1992 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★ | 104 | Black comedy about a glamorous, self-absorbed star (Streep) who's obsessed with staying young, and a woman scorned (Hawn) who vows revenge against her— at any price. Effects-laden comedy of absurd extremes is told with too heavy a hand, though Streep is a hoot as the egomaniacal actress. Film director Sydney Pollack is also funny in an unbilled bit as a Beverly Hills doctor. Won Visual Effects Oscar. | tt0104070 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini, Ian Ogilvy, Adam Storke, Nancy Fish, Alaina Reed Hall, Michelle Johnson, Mimi Kennedy, Jonathan Silverman, Fabio | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Death Before Dishonor | 1987 | Terry J. Leonard | ★★ | 95 | Clichéd, by-the-numbers story of Marine gunnery sergeant Dryer (who keeps a picture of John Wayne from SANDS OF IWO JIMA on his wall), who singlehandedly battles Middle Eastern terrorists after they stage a massacre— and kidnap his superior (Keith). Lotsa stunts, little sense. | tt0092854 | [R] | Fred Dryer, Brian Keith, Paul Winfield, Joanna Pacula, Kasey Walker, Rockne Tarkington | Action | NULL | ||
| Death Defying Acts | 2008 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★ | 97 | After getting involved in a torrid affair with a beautiful psychic during his 1926 tour of Britain, Harry Houdini is lured into a sensationalized séance by the woman and her daughter in which they “attempt” to contact the magician’s mother, from whose death he has never recovered. Disappointing period piece that fails to find the magic, or even any significant dramatic tension, in these colorful events. Pearce is sadly miscast and Zeta-Jones looks bored most of the time. | tt0472071 | [PG] | Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan, Malcolm Shields, Leni Harper, Ralph Riach | U.S.-British-Australian | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Death Drug | 1978 | Oscar Williams | ★½ | 73 | Clichéd saga of singer-songwriter whose life and career go to pieces after he becomes addicted to 'angel dust.' Video release of this terrible low-budgeter is framed with new footage of Miami Vicestar Thomas, including a music video! | tt0077409 | [PG-13] | Philip-Michael Thomas, Rosalind Cash, Vernee Watson, Frankie Crocker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Death Game | 1977 | Peter S. Traynor | ★½ | 89 | Unpleasant (and ultimately ludicrous) film about two maniacal lesbians who— for no apparent reason— tease, titillate, and torture a man in his own house. Filmed in 1974. Trivia fans: Sissy Spacek was one of the set decorators! Aka THE SEDUCERS. | tt0075921 | [R] | Sondra Locke, Colleen Camp, Seymour Cassel, Beth Brickell | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Death Hunt | 1981 | Peter R. Hunt | ★★ | 97 | Tough Mountie Marvin pursues proud, self-reliant trapper Bronson, innocent of a murder charge, across icy Canada. Good action, but not enough of it. Angie is wasted. | tt0082247 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Andrew Stevens, Angie Dickinson, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Death Kiss | 1933 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 75 | Minor but entertaining whodunit set inside a movie studio, where an actor is killed filming a scene. Nice atmosphere of studio at work. Uses hand tinting in two scenes. | tt0023935 | Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Adrienne Ames, John Wray, Vince Barnett, Edward Van Sloan | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Death Race | 2008 | Paul W. S. Anderson | ★½ | 105 | In the near future prisons are run like corporations that must make a profit. A tough-as-nails con, wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, is forced to enter a brutal car race (broadcast live on the Internet) in which inmates have to torture and kill one another before the sole survivor can claim victory and freedom. With mean warden Allen calling the shots from the sidelines, this ludicrous scenario exists only to showcase mayhem and violence at every turn. In-name-only remake of Roger Corman’s exploitation favorite DEATH RACE 2000 (1975). Unrated version runs 111m. | tt0452608 | [R] | Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez, Max Ryan, Jacob Vargas, Jason Clarke | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Death Race 2000 | 1975 | Paul Bartel | ★★½ | 78 | Outrageous tongue-in-cheek action film about futuristic society where no-holds-barred auto race is the national sport, and points scored by running down pedestrians. Fast-paced fun, marred by unnecessary gore. Followed by DEATHSPORT. | tt0072856 | [R] | David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone, Louisa Moritz, Mary Woronov, Don Steele, Joyce Jameson, Fred Grandy, Martin Kove, T. R. Sloane, John Landis | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Death Rage | 1976 | Antonio Margheriti | ★½ | 98 | Brynner plays American hit man duped into agreeing to kill underworld kingpin in Naples. All this film kills is time. TV print runs 90m. | tt0074342 | [R] | Yul Brynner, Barbara Bouchet, Martin Balsam, Massimo Ranieri | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Death Rides a Horse | 1967 | Giulio Petroni | ★★ | 114 | Long, drawn-out Italian revenge Western with Law seeking murderers of his family, unaware that his companion (Van Cleef) is one of them. | tt0064208 | [M] | Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law, Luigi Pistilli, Anthony Dawson | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Death Sentence | 2007 | James Wan | ★½ | 105 | Bacon is a picture-perfect family man whose life is thrown into a dangerous, downward spiral when a family member becomes an innocent victim in a gang robbery. He turns into a killing machine, and suddenly every B-movie cliché is dredged up. Exactly what you’d expect a pulp revenge film from the director of SAW to be. Almost worth watching for one unusually lengthy chase scene. Actually based on Brian Garfield’s novel that was a sequel to his original Death Wish. Also shown in unrated version. | tt0804461 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Leigh Whannell | Drama, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Death Ship | 1980 | Alvin Rakoff | 💣 | 91 | Luxury liner collides with 'death ship.' Survivors board 'death ship.' 'Death ship' tries to murder survivors. Forget it. | tt0080603 | [R] | George Kennedy, Richard Crenna, Nick Mancuso, Sally Ann Howes, Kate Reid, Saul Rubinek | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Death Takes a Holiday | 1934 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★½ | 78 | Fascinating allegory about Death (March) entering the human world to discover what makes us tick, and falling in love. Maxwell Anderson, Gladys Lehman, and Walter Ferris adapted Alberto Casella's play. Remade as a TVM in 1971 (with Melvyn Douglas, Myrna Loy, and Monte Markham), and as MEET JOE BLACK in 1998. | tt0025037 | Fredric March, Evelyn Venable, Guy Standing, Gail Patrick, Helen Westley, Kent Taylor, Henry Travers, Katherine Alexander | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Death Valley | 1982 | Dick Richards | ★½ | 87 | Young Billingsley, a city boy, visits mom in Arizona, becomes entangled with psychotic criminal McHattie. Pretty bad, with a fine cast wasted. | tt0083805 | [R] | Paul Le Mat, Catherine Hicks, Stephen McHattie, A. Wilford Brimley, Peter Billingsley, Edward Herrmann | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Death Warrant | 1990 | Deran Sarafian | ★★½ | 111 | Van Damme plays a Royal Canadian Mountie posing as a prisoner to find out who has been offing penitentiary inmates. You guessed it . . . his cover is threatened by incoming transfer of one of his old Mountie foes. Hard to say how Sgt. Preston would have handled this one. Slightly better than most of this genre. | tt0099385 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Robert Guillaume, Cynthia Gibb, George Dickerson, Art Le Fleur, Patrick Kilpatrick | Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| Death Watch | 1980 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 119 | Intelligent sci-fi drama. In a future civilization, TV producer Stanton uses Keitel— who has a camera in his brain— to film a documentary on terminally ill Schneider. A biting commentary on media abuse and manipulation, with solid performances, direction. | tt0081182 | [R] | Romy Schneider, Harvey Keitel, Harry Dean Stanton, Max von Sydow | French-German | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Death Wish | 1974 | Michael Winner | ★★★ | 93 | Audience manipulation at its zenith: Businessman Bronson's wife and daughter are savagely raped, and his wife dies, turning mild-mannered liberal Bronson into a vigilante on N.Y.C. streets. Chilling but irresistible; a bastardization of the Brian Garfield novel, in which vigilantism as a deterrent to crime is not a solution but another problem. Music by Herbie Hancock. One of the muggers is played by Jeff Goldblum, in his film debut. Followed by four sequels. | tt0071402 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats, William Redfield, Stuart Margolin, Stephen Elliott, Olympia Dukakis, Christopher Guest, Paul Dooley, Eric Laneuville | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Death Wish 3 | 1985 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 90 | Same old stuff, except that Bronson's 'ordinary guy' vigilante is no longer convincing; his entire immediate family was wiped out in the first two movies! | tt0089003 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, Ed Lauter, Martin Balsam, Gavan O'Herlihy, Kirk Taylor, Alex Winter, Tony Spiridakis, John Gabriel, Marina Sirtis | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Death Wish 4: The Crackdown | 1987 | J. Lee Thompson | 💣 | 99 | Cheapie entry in this worn-out series has a different director and an L.A. setting. This time vigilante Bronson's mission includes wiping out the gangs supplying crack. | tt0092857 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan, Perry Lopez, George Dickerson, Soon-Tek Oh, Dana Barron | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Death Wish II | 1982 | Michael Winner | 💣 | 93 | Bronson's back in action, this time bringing his one-man vigilante act to L.A. Made by profiteers, not filmmakers; poorly directed to boot, with Charlie giving a wooden-Indian performance. | tt0082250 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia, J. D. Cannon, Anthony Franciosa, Ben Frank, Robin Sherwood, Robert F. Lyons, Laurence Fishburne | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Death Wish V: The Face of Death | 1994 | Allan A. Goldstein | 💣 | 96 | No plot, just a pretext: Bronson's fiancée is murdered on the orders of her mobster ex-husband (Parks), so (yawn) he turns vigilante yet again. Crude, stupid entry in weary series, very badly directed, with an emphasis on torture. | tt0109578 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Lesley-Anne Down, Michael Parks, Chuck Shamata, Kevin Lund, Robert Joy, Saul Rubinek, Erica Lancaster | Canadian | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Death and the Maiden | 1994 | Roman Polanski | ★★★ | 103 | Generally fluid filmization of Ariel Dorfman's three-character (and mostly one-room) play about an edgy onetime victim of torture and sexual abuse who gets a chance to exact at-home revenge. Though Weaver's occasionally over-the-top performance contributes to a wobbly midsection, Polanski is pretty much up to the tough claustrophobic challenge. Kingsley is exceptional as a physician who gets the surprise of his life when he drops in to a secluded beach house (presumably in Chile) for a nightcap. | tt0109579 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stuart Wilson | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Death at a Funeral | 2007 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 91 | Amiable farce chronicling the mounting mishaps that occur as family and friends gather to attend the funeral of a British man at his country estate, including the arrival of the wrong corpse, the accidental ingestion of a hallucinogenic drug, and a mysterious mourner who threatens to unveil a shocking secret. Talky and amusing more often than laugh-out-loud funny, but hard to dislike, especially with such a first-rate cast. | tt0795368 | [R] | Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman, Ewen Bremner, Daisy Donovan, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Rupert Graves, Peter Egan, Peter Dinklage | U.S.-British-German-Netherlands | Comedy | NULL | |
| Death at a Funeral | 2010 | Neil LaBute | ★★ | 92 | The 2007 British farce gets an instant replay in this African-Americanized version: A gathering for the funeral of a family patriarch goes very wrong when long-held secrets, bribes, sibling rivalries, hallucinogenic drugs, and a naked man on the roof all turn a somber event into a disaster. Virtually a shot-by-shot remake of the amusing original—with Dinklage reprising his role—this misguided reboot manages to make Rock and Lawrence straight men for the zany antics of supporting players Marsden and Morgan. This sort of thing seems to work better with British accents. | tt1321509 | [R] | Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover, Zoë Saldana, James Marsden, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Ron Glass, Peter Dinklage, Luke Wilson, Regina Hall, Columbus Short | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Death in Small Doses | 1957 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 78 | Competently made crime meller, based on a Saturday Evening Post exposé, with Graves as an FDA undercover man on the trail of the gang selling illegal 'stay-awake pills' (bennys) to long-distance truckers. Connors is a scream as a hopped-up driver. | tt0050295 | Peter Graves, Mala Powers, Chuck Connors, Merry Anders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Death in Venice | 1971 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★½ | 130 | Study of an artist, his loves, his homosexuality, and continuous search for beauty. Thomas Mann's slow-moving classic is splendidly brought to the screen. Music by Gustav Mahler (whom Bogarde is made up to resemble). | tt0067445 | [PG] | Dirk Bogarde, Mark Burns, Marisa Berenson, BjornAndresen, Silvana Mangano, Luigi Battaglia | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Death in the Garden | Gina | 1956 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★ | 92 | Fleeing an unspecified Fascist state, a ragged group— including a prostitute, a miner, and a priest— embark on a surreal trek through the jungles of South America. This may have merely been a 'commercial chore' for the great Buñuel, but it's fascinating nonetheless. Originally titled LA MORT EN CE JARDIN at 97m.; aka DIAMOND HUNTERS, EVIL EDEN, and GINA. | tt0049521 | Simone Signoret, Georges Marchal, Charles Vanel, Michele Girardon, Michel Piccoli, Tito Junco | French-Mexican | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Death of Mr. Lazarescu | 2005 | Cristi Puiu | ★★★½ | 153 | Bleak, fascinating, sadly funny film follows an older man, seized with stomach pain, who is shuffled from hospital to hospital as his condition deteriorates during the course of one long night . . . but a middle-aged ambulance attendant (Gheorghiu) refuses to abandon him. Potent meditation on bureaucracy and the inhumanity it breeds. Long but compelling; a humanistic look at the sorry state of health care, which is apparently a universal problem. Written by the director and Razvan Radulescu. | tt0456149 | [R] | Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminita Gheorghiu, Gabriel Spahiu, Doru Ana, Dana Dogaru, Florin Zamfirescu | Romanian | Drama | NULL | |
| Death of a Gunfighter | 1969 | Alan Smithee (Don Siegel) | ★★½ | 100 | Downbeat but interesting Western drama of unwanted sheriff who refuses to be fired. Horne wasted as Widmark's occasional love interest. Directed by Robert Totten and Don Siegel, credited to fictitious Smithee (his directorial 'debut'). | tt0064217 | [M] | Richard Widmark, Lena Horne, John Saxon, Michael McGreevey, Darleen Carr, Carroll O'Connor, Kent Smith | Western | NULL | ||
| Death of a President | 2006 | Gabriel Range | ★★★ | 93 | Politically loaded faux documentary depicts the future assassination of the then-current U.S. President, George W. Bush, while on a trip to Chicago in October 2007. The emphasis is not so much on the crime but its aftermath, and how the act is exploited by those who hold power in the U.S. Intriguing and frightening, depending on how much you buy into the premise. | tt0853096 | [R] | Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Ann Baker, Robert Mangiardi, Jay Patterson, Jay Whittaker, Michael Reilly Burke, James Urbaniak | British | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Death of a Prophet | 1981 | Woodie King/ Jr | ★★½ | 60 | Low-budget but involving drama (with some documentary scenes) about the last day in the life of a black American leader. He's clearly supposed to be Malcolm X, though that name is not mentioned. Freeman is excellent, and the film's documentary style is effective. Yolanda King is the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. | tt0179757 | Morgan Freeman, Yolanda King, Mansoor Najee-ullah, Sam Singleton, Tommie Hicks, Yusef Iman, Sonny Jim Gaines, Ossie Davis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Death of a Salesman | 1951 | Laslo Benedek | ★★★½ | 115 | Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning social drama of middle-aged man at end of emotional rope is transformed to the screen intact, with stagy flashbacks. March in title role can't fathom why business and family life failed; Dunnock is patient wife; McCarthy and Mitchell are disillusioned sons. Superb. Dunnock, Mitchell, and Smith recreate their Broadway roles; McCarthy, making his film debut, repeats the role he played on the London stage. | tt0043458 | Fredric March, Mildred Dunnock, Kevin McCarthy, Cameron Mitchell, Howard Smith, Royal Beal, Jesse White | Drama | NULL | |||
| Death of a Scoundrel | 1956 | Charles Martin | ★★½ | 119 | Episodic chronicle of foreigner coming to U.S., ingratiating himself with an assortment of women whom he cons into helping him get ahead. Low-budget but fascinating. | tt0049130 | George Sanders, Yvonne de Carlo, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Victor Jory | Crime | NULL | |||
| Death of a Soldier | 1986 | Philippe Mora | ★★ | 93 | Yank soldier in 1942 Melbourne is strangling Aussie women; the U.S. Army— which desperately needs Allied help just after MacArthur's arrival there from the Philippines— wants to hang the assailant instead of providing the professional help he really needs. Based on fact, but not as interesting as it sounds; Coburn is the American MP who gets caught in the middle. | tt0092858 | [R] | James Coburn, Bill Hunter, Maurie Fields, Belinda Davey, Max Fairchild | Australian | Crime | NULL | |
| Death of an Angel | 1985 | Petru Popescu | ★★ | 95 | Inspirational misfire about newly ordained female priest Bedelia getting involved with Mexican religious charlatan Mancuso after her crippled daughter (Ludwig) runs away to join his flock. Well-meaning, well-acted effort is extremely hokey, with a fantasy ending that is wholly unbelievable. | tt0089007 | [PG] | Bonnie Bedelia, Nick Mancuso, Pamela Ludwig, Alex Colon, Irma Garcia |
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| Death on the Diamond | 1934 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 69 | Absurd crime tale in which a mystery man is murdering St. Louis Cardinals ballplayers one by one. It'll be up to rookie hurler Young to discover the culprit. Watch for Mickey Rooney as a clubhouse boy, Walter Brennan selling hot dogs, Ward Bond as a cop. | tt0025039 | Robert Young, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Ted Healy, C. Henry Gordon, David Landau, Paul Kelly | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Death on the Nile | 1978 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 140 | Visually sumptuous but only marginally engrossing Agatha Christie mystery has Hercule Poirot (Ustinov) faced with a shipload of suspects after the murder of Chiles. A deserving Oscar winner for Anthony Powell's costume design; script by Anthony Shaffer. The first of Ustinov's portrayals of the Belgian detective. | tt0077413 | [PG] | Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, David Niven, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, George Kennedy, Maggie Smith, Jack Warden, Lois Chiles, Olivia Hussey, Simon MacCorkindale, Jane Birkin, Jon Finch, Harry Andrews, I.S. Johar | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Death to Smoochy | 2002 | Danny DeVito | ★★ | 109 | Sleazy TV kiddie show host (Williams) swears revenge on his replacement (Norton), who's ultra-sincere and doesn't realize that he's surrounded by greedy, self-promoting sharks. Satiric black comedy revels in its own nastiness, but pummels all the fun out of the premise with its heavy-handed treatment. A major disappointment considering the talent involved. | tt0266452 | [R] | Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart, Harvey Fierstein, Michael Rispoli, Pam Ferris, Danny Woodburn, Vincent Schiavelli | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deathdream | Dead of Night | 1972 | Bob Clark | ★★½ | 90 | Backus is Vietnam vet, thought dead, who returns to his family a virtual stranger with a murderous lust for blood. Grim, fairly shocking. Aka DEAD OF NIGHT. | tt0068457 | John Marley, Richard Backus, Lynn Carlin, Henderson Forsythe | Canadian | Horror, War | NULL | |
| Deathmask | 1984 | Richard Friedman | ★★ | 87 | Medical investigator Granger, haunted by the accidental drowning of his daughter, attempts to find the identity of a dead four-year-old boy. Done in by confusing direction, unnecessary exploitation elements. Video version is 103m. | tt0087126 | Farley Granger, Lee Bryant, John McCurry, Arch Johnson, Barbara Bingham, Danny Aiello, Ruth Warrick | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Deathmaster | 1972 | Ray Danton | ★★ | 88 | Spellbinding stranger (Quarry) leads on a group of unsuspecting hippies; their 'guru' turns out to be a vampire in this bloody, run-of-the-mill outing. | tt0068459 | [PG] | Robert Quarry, Bill Ewing, Brenda Dickson, John Fiedler, Betty Anne Rees, William Jordan | Horror | NULL | ||
| Deathsport | 1978 | Henry Suso, Allan Arkush | ★★ | 82 | Follow-up to DEATH RACE 2000 again puts Carradine into future world where he and Jennings battle destructo-cycles to survive. Not as campy or enjoyable as earlier film, though Claudia unclothed is a visual asset. TV prints run 76m. | tt0077414 | [R] | David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch, David McLean, Jesse Vint | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Deathstalker | 1984 | John Watson | 💣 | 80 | Tacky sword-and-sorcery opus, good only for unintended laughs and gratuitous female nudity. Filmed in Argentina. Followed by several sequels. | tt0087127 | [R] | Richard Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker, Lana Clarkson, Victor Bo, Bernard Erhard | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Deathstalker II | 1987 | Jim Wynorski | ★★ | 77 | Princess in exile (Gabrielle) is trying to regain her throne, with the aid of soldier of fortune Terlesky, in a medieval fantasyland. Filmed on the cheap in Argentina. Voyeurs will appreciate topless scenes by former model Gabrielle (in a dual role, no less). Watch for funny outtakes at the end. Aka DEATHSTALKER II: DUEL OF THE TITANS. | tt0092860 | [R] | John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John La Zar, Toni Naples, Maria Socas | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Deathstalker III | 1989 | Alfonso Corona | 💣 | 86 | Cheap, boring time-waster, in which Nelson seeks a lost treasure and becomes involved with twin princesses (both played by Herd). Also known as DEATHSTALKER III: THE WARRIORS FROM HELL. Followed by DEATHSTALKER IV: MATCH OF TITANS. | tt0097174 | [R] | John Allen Nelson, Carla Herd, Terri Treas, Thom Christopher, Aaron Hernan, Roger Cudney, Claudia Inchaurregui | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Deathtrap | 1982 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 116 | Playwright Caine, suffering through a series of flops, might just kill to take credit for novice author Reeve's new work; Cannon is Caine's hysterical wife. An overlong, second-rate SLEUTH, adapted by Jay Presson Allen from Ira Levin's hit play. One sequence was added for original network showing. | tt0083806 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon, Irene Worth, Henry Jones, Joe Silver | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Debt | 2011 | John Madden | ★★ | 113 | Intriguing story, told in flashback, about three Mossad agents who attempt to capture a Nazi doctor who performed unspeakable experiments during WW2 and bring him to trial in Israel. How their actions of the mid-1960s affect their lives some 30 years later is the key to the story, which plays out heavy-handedly, despite good performances all around. Remake of the Israeli film HA-HOV. | tt1226753 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Romi Aboulafia | U.S.-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Decameron Nights | 1952 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★ | 87 | Boring tale of Boccaccio (Jourdan), on the run after martial law is declared in Florence; he hides out at Fontaine's villa, where in the company of his hostess and her wards a trio of romantic tales are spun (each of which also stars Jourdan and Fontaine). | tt0045675 | Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Binnie Barnes, Joan Collins, Marjorie Rhodes | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Decameron | 1970 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★½ | 111 | An octet of tales from Boccaccio's Decameron, with Pasolini as Giotto, linking them up. Lively, earthy; the first of the director's medieval trilogy. | tt0065622 | [X] | Franco Citti, Ninetto Davoli, Angela Luce, Patrizia Capparelli, Jovan Jovanovic, Silvana Mangano, Pier Paolo Pasolini | Italian-French-West German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Deceived | 1991 | Damian Harris | ★★ | 103 | In-name-only 'thriller' about happily married N.Y.C. yuppie who discovers her husband's litany of duplicities after the guy is supposedly murdered. Hawn's attempt to play it straight is too derivative (to say nothing of incredible) to carry much clout. | tt0101694 | [PG-13] | Goldie Hawn, John Heard, Robin Bartlett, Ashley Peldon, Tom Irwin, Beatrice Straight, Kate Reid, Maia Filar, Jan Rubes, Amy Wright | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deceiver | 1998 | Jonas Pate, Joshua Pate | 💣 | 102 | Did Roth, a boozy rich kid with temporal lobe epilepsy, hack prostitute Zellweger in two? Pretentious, derivative groaner about Roth's subsequent police interrogation futilely tries to make us care. With its casting— Penn and Rooker as the grilling cops— it's a given that Roth isn't going to be the only one with personal demons. If you must watch, see if you can make sense of Arquette's role as Rooker's sex-starved wife. | tt0119527 | [R] | Tim Roth, Christopher Penn, Michael Rooker, Renée Zellweger, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Burstyn | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Deceivers | 1988 | Nicholas Meyer | 💣 | 112 | Limp adventure saga of British officer Brosnan going undercover in colonial India to infiltrate a murderous brotherhood. Intriguing premise, deadening result; Brosnan simply fails to register. Produced, oddly enough, by Ismail Merchant. | tt0094979 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Saeed Jaffrey, Shashi Kapoor, Helena Mitchell, Keith Michell, David Robb | British-Indian | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| December | 1991 | Gabe Torres | ★★ | 92 | In the wake of the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941 five young men must decide what to do with their lives. Talky movie takes place mostly in dorm rooms; might have played better on a stage. | tt0101695 | [PG] | Balthazar Getty, Jason London, Brian Krause, Wil Wheaton, Chris Young, Robert Miller, Ann Hartfield | Drama | NULL | ||
| December Boys | 2007 | Rod Hardy | ★★½ | 105 | Four orphan boys spend the holidays with a friendly older couple who live on a beach cove. This break from day-to-day life at their orphanage brings out hopes, longings, and resentments as the boys experience puppy love, attachment to parental figures, and life among a group of genuine eccentrics. Adaptation of Michael Noonan’s novel echoes other coming-of-age stories but is told with straightforward sincerity. | tt0465436 | [PG-13] | Rod Hardy. Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser, Jack Thompson, Teresa Palmer, Sullivan Stapleton, Victoria Hill, Max Cullen | Australian | Romance | NULL | |
| December Bride | 1991 | Thaddeus O'Sullivan | ★★★ | 90 | Austere but involving romantic drama set in a rural, conservative Irish farm community, in which an independent-minded servant (Reeves) becomes pregnant and refuses to reveal the identity of the father. A story of simple but deeply felt emotion, and an allegory about the constrictions of hell-and-damnation religion. Stunningly directed, and crammed with painterly images. | tt0099389 | Donal McCann, Saskia Reeves, Ciaran Hinds, Patrick Malahide, Brenda Bruce | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Deception | 1946 | Irving Rapper | ★★★ | 112 | Talky but engrossing drama, set in the world of classical music, about a celebrated composer (a charismatic Rains) who seeks revenge when his lover (Davis) weds her old flame (Henreid). | tt0038461 | Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, John Abbott | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Deception | 1993 | Graeme Clifford | ★★½ | 90 | Better-than-average mystery follows a determined woman around the world as she sniffs out a trail of bank accounts left by her deceased husband. A pleasant diversion, enhanced by MacDowell and some nice scenery. Filmed as RUBY CAIRO, this languished on the shelf for a while. | tt0107999 | [PG-13] | Andie MacDowell, Liam Neeson, Viggo Mortensen, Jack Thompson, Paul Spencer, Chad Power, Monica Mikala, Jeff Corey, Miriam Reed | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deception | 2008 | Marcel Langenegger | ★★ | 108 | Nerdy auditor (McGregor) warms to the friendly overtures of a slick lawyer (Jackman) who seems to have all the social skills he lacks. When he winds up with Jackman’s cell phone he’s drawn into a secret sex club—and enjoys it, until things turn sour. A suspense movie made by people who’ve apparently never seen a suspense movie; painfully obvious from the word go. Jackman produced. | tt0800240 | [R] | Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Maggie Q, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling, Margaret Colin, Paz de la Huerta | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Decision Against Time | 1957 | Charles Crichton | ★★½ | 87 | Hawkins is effective as test pilot giving all to save troubled craft for boss and to protect job future. | tt0049475 | Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Sellars, Eddie Byrne, Lionel Jeffries, Donald Pleasence | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Decision Before Dawn | 1952 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 119 | Top-notch WW2 espionage thriller, with Werner an idealistic German medic/P.O.W. who agrees to become a spy for his captors. Outstanding work by Werner, Neff (as a sympathetic bar-girl), and the supporting cast. Look quickly for Klaus Kinski as a whining soldier. Perceptive script by Peter Viertel; Litvak coproduced. | tt0043459 | Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, Hildegarde Neff, Dominique Blanchar, O. E. Hasse, Wilfried Seyfert | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Decision at Sundown | 1957 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 77 | Scott tracks down man supposedly responsible for his wife's suicide in this odd but interesting Western. | tt0050296 | Randolph Scott, John Carroll, Karen Steele, Noah Beery/Jr., John Litel | Western | NULL | |||
| The Decision of Christopher Blake | 1948 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 75 | Insipid drama charting young Donaldson's reaction upon learning that his parents are divorcing. Fantasy sequences that visualize the boy's daydreams are intriguing but overlong. Based on a play by Moss Hart. | tt0040280 | Alexis Smith, Robert Douglas, Cecil Kellaway, Ted Donaldson, John Hoyt | Drama | NULL | |||
| Deck the Halls | 2006 | John Whitesell | ★½ | 95 | Two neighbors declare war after DeVito decides to decorate his house with so many lights they can 'be seen from space.' When people start coming from all over town to see the display it causes great friction between him and Broderick, who feels he is being upstaged. Incredibly dumb holiday comedy that can't even meet the recent lowball standards set by JINGLE ALL THE WAY and CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS. Deck the screenwriters instead. | tt0790604 | [PG] | Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick , Kristin Davis, Kristin Chenoweth, Fred Armisen, Alia Shawkat, Dylan Blue, Sabrina Aldridge, Kelly Aldridge, Jorge Garcia, Ryan Devlin, Jackie Burroughs | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Decks Ran Red | 1958 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 84 | Bizarre sea yarn with strange casting involves sailors' attempt to murder freighter captain and entire crew and use vessel for salvage. | tt0051524 | James Mason, Dorothy Dandridge, Broderick Crawford, Stuart Whitman | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Declaration of War | 2011 | Valérie Donzelli | ★★★ | 96 | Young lovers Roméo (Jérémie Elkaïm) and Juliette (Donzelli) have a problem, but it's not feuding families. Their infant son cries and vomits incessantly, and his trouble is in no way linked to natural growing pains: they face a long, painful road ahead that will affect every facet of their lives. Straightforward, heartfelt drama that lays bare any parent's deepest fears is strikingly directed, with a distinct French New Wave flair. Effectively contrasts the carefree spirit of youth and the harsh realities of life. Coscripted by the couple, and loosely based on their actual experience. | tt1931470 | Valérie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm, César Desseix, Gabriel Elkaïm, Brigitte Sy, Elina Löwensohn, Michèle Moretti | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Decline and Fall of a Bird Watcher | 1969 | John Krish | ★★ | 86 | Uneven, often labored satirical farce about a young man who joins faculty of strange boys' school and becomes involved with manipulative older woman (Page). Adapted from an Evelyn Waugh novel. | tt0062872 | [PG] | Robin Phillips, Colin Blakely, Leo McKern, Genevieve Page, Felix Aylmer, Robert Harris, Donald Wolfit, Patrick Magee | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years | 1988 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★★ | 90 | Follow-up to definitive punk rock documentary concentrates more heavily on interviews, juxtaposing thoughts of seen-it-all veterans (Osbourne, Simmons, Perry, and Tyler of Aerosmith) with young aspirants bucking odds for success. Sympathetic to its subjects without condoning lifestyle it depicts; probably only chance you'll ever get to see Osbourne cook breakfast. | tt0094980 | [R] | Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Chris Holmes, Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, Faster Pussycat, Lizzy Borden, London, Odin, Seduce, Megadeth | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Decline of Western Civilization | 1981 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★★ | 100 | Funny, revealing documentary record of the whos, whats, and whys of the L.A. punk rock scene at the end of the 1970s: the music, performers, dancing, clubs, violence, desperation. An aptly titled chronicle. Much of cast now dead. Followed by a sequel. | tt0082252 | [R] | Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, The Germs, X | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Decline of the American Empire | 1986 | Denys Arcand | ★★★ | 101 | Witty, on-target account of how men and women feel about each other, and use each other, in their quests for pleasure and happiness. Focus is on a group of friends: The men prepare a gourmet dinner, while the women exercise in a health club, then they come together. These characters gather again in THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. | tt0090985 | [R] | Dominique Michel, Dorothée Berryman, Louise Portal, Geneviève Rioux, Pierre Curzi, Remy Girard, Yves Jacques, Daniel Brière, Gabriel Arcand | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Deconstructing Harry | 1997 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 96 | A writer uses his life as fodder for his work— infuriating his friends, family, and lovers. Unusually candid (and foul-mouthed) self-examination by Allen, incorporating his various encounters as well as enactments of his fables and fancies; nonfans may think it overly indulgent, but Woodyphiles should find it fascinating and extremely funny. No one writes funnier dialogue— or keeps the spirit of Jewish humor alive so well. | tt0118954 | [R] | Woody Allen, Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Shue, Demi Moore, Robin Williams, Caroline Aaron, Eric Bogosian, Mariel Hemingway, Amy Irving, Julie Kavner, Eric Lloyd, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobey Maguire, Stanley Tucci, Hazelle Goodman, Gene Saks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Decoration Day | 1990 | Robert Markowitz | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Top-notch drama about a retired Georgia judge (Garner) who finds some meaning in life when asked to get his estranged childhood friend (Cobbs), a black WW2 vet, to belatedly accept the Congressional Medal of Honor he's been refusing. Sensitively adapted by Robert W. Lenski from John William Corrington's novella. | tt0099391 | James Garner, Judith Ivey, Ruby Dee, Bill Cobbs, Laurence Fishburne, Jo Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Decoy | 1946 | Jack Bernhard | ★★★ | 77 | Superior low-budget film noir about a gangster's ruthless moll (Gillie) who seduces a sap doctor as part of her outlandish scheme to find $400,000 in buried loot— by reviving her boyfriend after his execution in the gas chamber! Taut B movie, based on a story by Stanley Rubin, doesn't quite live up to its 'lost classic' reputation, but the opening and closing scenes are knockouts, and the British Gillie makes an unforgettable femme fatale; Leonard has one of his finest hours as a jaded police detective. | tt0038462 | Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Herbert Rudley, Robert Armstrong, Sheldon Leonard, Marjorie Woodworth, Phil Van Zandt | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Dedication | 2007 | Justin Theroux | ★½ | 94 | Children’s book author Crudup is emotionally paralyzed by the death of his illustrator, who’s also his only friend (Wilkinson). We soon find out why, as this off-putting movie asks us to show care and concern for a man who puts the funk in dysfunctional. When editor Balaban tries to force a female illustrator (Moore) on his reluctant author, you know romance is in the air—but the air in this movie is terminally foul. | tt0490579 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban, Martin Freeman, Dianne Wiest, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Bogdanovich, Amy Sedaris, Christine Taylor | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Deep Blue Sea | 1999 | Renny Harlin | ★★½ | 105 | Floating scientific base is crippled by an unlikely accident, and the super-intelligent sharks developed by researchers ungratefully begin chasing down their creators as the base slowly sinks. Sometimes-exciting combination of JAWS and ALIEN has some surprises, but terrible dialogue and a preposterous premise. Ronny Cox appears unbilled. | tt0149261 | [R] | Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, *** LL Cool J, Aida Turturro | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Deep Blue Sea | 1955 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 99 | Terence Rattigan play of marital infidelity and the repercussions on Leigh, frustrated well-married woman; slow moving, but interesting. | tt0047978 | Vivien Leigh, Kenneth More, Eric Portman, Emlyn Williams | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Deep Blue Sea | 2011 | Terence Davies | ★★★ | 99 | In the years following WW2, a woman (Weisz) attempts suicide in a dingy flat because her "husband" (former RAF aerial ace Hiddleston) has spurned her. Then we learn that she is in fact the wife of a prominent judge (Beale) and that she abandoned him to pursue this melancholy affair. Davies paints another vivid portrait of postwar England in his adaptation of the celebrated Terence Rattigan play, filmed before in 1955. Weisz gives a beautifully shaded, empathetic performance. | tt1700844 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale, Harry Hadden-Paton, Ann Mitchell, Karl Johnson, Jolyon Coy, Sarah Kants, Barbara Jefford | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Deep Cover | 1992 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 112 | Fishburne, whose dad was killed during a holdup, grows up to be an undercover narc. Half standard urban action pic— but also half original. Goldblum puts a deliciously eccentric spin on his role as a lawyer who becomes Fishburne's unwitting 'partner' in shady drug dealings. Better if taken purely as a genre picture, though there are indications the film wants to be something more; expert action scenes. | tt0104073 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Charles Martin Smith, Sydney Lassick, Clarence Williams III, Gregory Sierra, Roger Guenveur Smith, Def Jef, Glynn Turman | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deep Crimson | 1996 | Arturo Ripstein | ★★★ | 114 | Spectacularly unpleasant and disturbing true-life crime story, based on the same 'Lonely Hearts' case that inspired THE HONEYMOON KILLERS, about the murderous love affair between an obese nurse and a gigolo who swindle wealthy widows in 1940s Mexico. Extremely well acted and directed study of l'amour fou and the banality of evil. Packs a wallop, and pulls no punches in its horrific depiction of the couple's violent descent into madness. | tt0117394 | Regina Orozco, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Marisa Paredes, Veronica Merchant, Julieta Egurrola, Patricia Reyes Spindola | Mexican-French-Spanish | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Deep End | 1970 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★★ | 88 | Innocent 15-year-old Moulder-Brown, an attendant in a dreary public bath, falls in love with his 20-ish female counterpart (Asher). Well-made tragedy of obsessive love; set in London, with music by Cat Stevens. | tt0066122 | [R] | Jane Asher, John Moulder-Brown, Diana Dors, Karl Michael Vogler | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Deep End of the Ocean | 1999 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★★ | 109 | Persuasively acted adaptation of Jacquelyn Mitchard's best-seller about the disappearance of a three-year-old at his mother's high school reunion, and his chance return nine years later. Two-part story is admittedly a whopper, yet it's handled in credible fashion that makes one willing to accept it. Plays like a TV movie at times, but by and large, an exceptional one, with the dynamics between the two newfound brothers ringing true. | tt0120646 | [PG-13] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Jackson, Ryan Merriman, John Kapelos, Michael Mcelroy | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Deep End | 2001 | Scott McGehee, David Siegel | ★★★ | 99 | A devoted mother of three thinks her teenage son may be accused of killing his gay lover, so she covers up the crime . . . but that's just the beginning of her problems. Intriguing thriller with surprising twists and nuanced character development, but a bit cold. Interestingly set and shot in Lake Tahoe, with a superb performance by Swinton. Based on the same novel by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding (The Blank Wall) that inspired THE RECKLESS MOMENT in 1949. Written by the directors. | tt0250323 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, Jonathan Tucker, Josh Lucas, Peter Donat, Raymond Barry | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Deep Impact | 1998 | Mimi Leder | ★★★ | 120 | Exciting yarn about attempts to ward off a comet hurtling toward Earth— and preparations to save as many people as possible if it hits. Freeman is the rock-solid U.S. President, Duvall a veteran astronaut on a space mission to explode the comet; their authoritative presence adds weight to this saga, while Leoni seems a bit of a flyweight as the ambitious TV newswoman who breaks the story. | tt0120647 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Laura Innes, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Blair Underwood, Bruce Weitz, Betsy Brantley, Charles Martin Smith, Leelee Sobieski | Drama, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Deep Red | The Hatchet Murders | 1975 | Dario Argento | ★★½ | 98 | There's style to burn in senseless horror thriller with Hemmings on trail of sadistic psycho killer. Flashy, bizarre murders set to pounding rock soundtrack. Aka THE HATCHET MURDERS; original Italian version, PROFONDO ROSSO, is 20m. longer and much more violent. | tt0073582 | [R] | David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Macha Meril, Glauco Mauri | Italian | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| Deep Rising | 1998 | Stephen Sommers | ★★ | 106 | Skipper-for-hire Williams finds himself in over his head when his current clients (a scummy lot led by heavily armed Studi) attack a luxury liner, unaware that the ship has been under siege by some sort of horrific ocean creatures. High-tech scare movie with a hokey script; some fun on a no-brainer level. | tt0118956 | [R] | Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald, Wes Studi, Kevin J. O'Connor, Djimon Hounsou, Derrick O'Connor | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Deep Six | 1958 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 105 | Commercial artist–Navy reserve officer Ladd (who was raised a Quaker) is called into the military during WW2 and must deal with his pacifism while in combat. One of Ladd’s best late-career roles; Bendix offers solid support as “Frenchy” Shapiro of Brooklyn. | tt0050298 | Alan Ladd, Dianne Foster, William Bendix, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Joey Bishop | War | NULL | |||
| Deep Space | 1987 | Fred Olen Ray | ★★½ | 90 | An ALIEN-like creature runs amok. Ultra-hokey sci-fi thriller with comic overtones. Napier is perfectly cast as a cop on its trail. Good fun for genre fans. Incidentally, title has nothing to do with the film! | tt0092863 | [R] | Charles Napier, Ann Turkel, Julie Newmar, James Booth, Ron Glass, Anthony Eisley, Bo Svenson, Peter Palmer | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Deep Valley | 1947 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 104 | Into Lupino's humdrum farm life comes a gangster from nearby prison camp; first-rate cast in excellent drama. | tt0039308 | Ida Lupino, Dane Clark, Wayne Morris, Fay Bainter, Henry Hull | Drama | NULL | |||
| Deep Waters | 1948 | Henry King | ★★ | 85 | Slick, empty tale of fisherman Andrews and landlubber Peters brought together by cute little Stockwell. | tt0040281 | Dana Andrews, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Dean Stockwell, Anne Revere, Ed Begley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Deep in My Heart | 1954 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 132 | The life of composer Sigmund Romberg is not the stuff of high drama, but film sparkles in production numbers with MGM guest stars. Highlights include Kelly brothers' only film appearance together, Charisse's exquisite and sensual dance number with James Mitchell, and an incredible number featuring Ferrer performing an entire show himself. | tt0046896 | Jose Ferrer, Merle Oberon, Helen Traubel, Doe Avedon, Tamara Toumanova, Paul Stewart, Douglas Fowley, Jim Backus; guest stars Walter Pidgeon, Paul Henreid, Rosemary Clooney, Gene Kelly, Fred Kelly, Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Howard Keel, Tony Martin | Musical | NULL | |||
| Deep in the Heart | Handgun | 1983 | Tony Garnett | ★★★ | 101 | Thought-provoking, if occasionally simplistic, drama about the evolution of a young woman (nicely played by Young) from passivity to violence, resulting from her relationship with macho Texan Day. Originally titled HANDGUN. | tt0085418 | [R] | Karen Young, Clayton Day, Suzie Humphreys, Ben Jones | British | Action, Drama | NULL |
| The Deep | 1977 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 123 | Endless film of Peter Benchley's novel about innocent couple who hit on treasure and drugs while scuba-diving off Bermuda coast. Gratuitous violence and titillation— not to mention unbelievable plot— sink this handsome production. NBC added 53m. for its first network showing. | tt0075925 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Louis Gossett, Eli Wallach, Robert Tessier | Horror, Mystery, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| DeepStar Six | 1989 | Sean S. Cunningham | ★½ | 100 | In the near future, an undersea research and missile-installation base is threatened by a carnivorous swimming crustacean. Plodding, familiar story and talky script (not to mention an elaborate but unconvincing monster) sink this. | tt0097179 | [R] | Greg Evigan, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer, Taurean Blacque, Marius Weyers, Nia Peeples, Matt McCoy, Elya Baskin, Thom Bray | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Deer Hunter | 1978 | Michael Cimino | ★★★★ | 183 | Stunning film about young Pennsylvania steelworkers, their lives before, during, and after wartime duty in Vietnam. Long but not overlong, this sensitive, painful, evocative work packs an emotional wallop. Story by Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn Redeker; scripted by Washburn. Five Oscars include Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Walken), Editing (Peter Zinner). | tt0077416 | [R] | Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, George Dzundza, Chuck Aspegren | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Deerslayer | 1957 | Kurt Neumann | ★½ | 78 | James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking novel is given pedestrian treatment, with virtually all indoor sets and rear-screen projection. Barker links up with Chingachgook (Rivas), his Mohican blood-brother, to rescue an ornery hunter and his two daughters from the Hurons. Filmed before, as early as 1913; remade as a TVM. | tt0050299 | Lex Barker, Forrest Tucker, Rita Moreno, Jay C. Flippen, Cathy O'Donnell, Carlos Rivas | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Def Jam's How to Be a Player | 1997 | Lionel C. Martin | ★½ | 94 | Smooth-talking womanizer tries one-upping his sister and her friend after they invite all the 'entries' in his little black book to the same party. Completely flat comedy is meant to capitalize on TV's no-holds-barred Def Jam, but the show seems a lot raunchier than this big-screen trifle. | tt0119326 | [R] | Bill Bellamy, Natalie Desselle, Lark Voorhies, Mari Morrow, Pierre, Jermaine 'Big Hugg' Hopkins, A. J. Johnson, Beverly Johnson, Max Julien, Gilbert Gottfried, Bernie Mac, Elise Neal, Amber Smith | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Def by Temptation | 1990 | James Bond III | ★★★ | 95 | Southern divinity student visits his older brother in N.Y.C., just in time for the latter to get involved with a seductive succubus who preys on men in bars. All-black sleeper is extremely stylish, aided no end by the photography of Spike Lee's longtime cameraman, Ernest Dickerson. | tt0099395 | [R] | Cynthia Bond, Kadeem Hardison, James Bond III, Bill Nunn, Melba Moore, Samuel L. Jackson | Horror | NULL | ||
| Defcon-4 | 1984 | Paul Donovan | 💣 | 89 | It sounds like an industrial-strength roach killer, and it could use one. Three astronauts return to a post-holocaust earth run by some truly slimy punks. Next to C.H.U.D., the grimiest-looking movie of its time (at least that one took place underground). | tt0087130 | [R] | Lenore Zann, Maury Chaykin, Kate Lynch, Tim Choate | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Defector | 1966 | Raoul Levy | ★★½ | 106 | Hackneyed Cold War spy trivia filmed in Europe, interesting only as Clift's last film; good cameo by McDowall. | tt0060295 | Montgomery Clift, Hardy Kruger, Roddy McDowall, David Opatoshu | Drama | NULL | |||
| Defence of the Realm | 1985 | David Drury | ★★★½ | 96 | Tough, obsessive journalist Byrne's investigative story causes a British MP to resign— but there's more to the case than he knows. A taut, extremely entertaining political thriller that also touches on the subject of journalistic responsibility and the public's right to know what its government is up to. | tt0089009 | [PG] | Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Bill Paterson, Fulton Mackay | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Defending Your Life | 1991 | Albert Brooks | ★★★ | 111 | Brooks dies in a car crash and finds himself in Judgment City, where Torn is assigned to defend his life before a tribunal . . . and where he falls in love with fellow candidate Streep, who's too good to be true. Imperfect, like all of Brooks' movies, but full of funny ideas and hard to dislike. | tt0101698 | [PG] | Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Buck Henry, George D. Wallace, Lillian Lehman, Peter Schuck, Ethan Embry | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Defendor | 2010 | Peter Stebbings | ★★½ | 95 | Harrelson excels in a darkly comic twist on the standard comic book superhero. Taking on an evil drug lord, biker gangs, and corrupt cops while protecting a crack-addicted prostitute, Arthur (aka Defendor) is a powerless wannabe hero who comes alive only through a tacky outfit with a big D and a makeshift eye patch he wears to disguise his very ordinary life—and the childhood trauma that inspired this kitschy alter ego. The idea is better than its execution; Harrelson rises above the spotty script. | tt1303828 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Elias Koteas, Sandra Oh, Lisa Ray, Charlotte Sullivan, Michael Kelly | Canadian | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Defenseless | 1991 | Martin Campbell | ★★½ | 104 | Suspense thriller in which attorney Hershey discovers her client (and lover) murdered— and finds herself not only suspected of the crime, but stalked by a mysterious killer. Not bad, and a good showcase for a first-rate cast, especially Hurt, who chews the scenery in a change-of-pace part. | tt0099397 | [R] | Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, Mary Beth Hurt, J. T. Walsh, Kellie Overbey, Jay O. Sanders, Randy Brooks, John Kapelos, Sheree North | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Defiance | 1980 | John Flynn | ★★½ | 102 | Fernando Lopez, Rudy Ramos. Gritty little film about rootless blue-collar loner Vincent, who in an attempt to match up his dying youngster's bone marrow single-handedly tames a vicious N.Y.C. street gang. A synthesis of '30s Warner Bros. melodramas, B Westerns, ON THE WATERFRONT, and BOARDWALK, with atmospheric direction and colorful supporting performances. | tt0080605 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Art Carney, Theresa Saldana, Danny Aiello, Fernando Lopez, Rudy Ramos | Drama | NULL | ||
| Defiance | 2008 | Edward Zwick | ★★½ | 137 | After the Gestapo and its Russian surrogates have swept through their village in Belorussia in 1941, the three Bielski brothers head for the nearby woods and soon find themselves leading a growing band of Jewish refugees. Survival is the key, but so is leadership, and the two older siblings (Craig and Schreiber) have opposing points of view about how to deal with the enemy. Overlong and uneven, this is a great untold story of WW2 but not, alas, a great film. | tt1034303 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Tomas Arana, Jodhi May, Kate Fahy, Iddo Goldberg, Iben Hjejle, Martin Hancock | Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| The Defiant Ones | 1958 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★★ | 97 | Engrossing story of two escaped convicts— one black, one white— shackled together as they flee from police in the South. Fine performances by Williams and Chaney as people they meet along the way. Academy Award-winning screenplay by Harold Jacob Smith and Nathan E. Douglas (blacklisted actor-writer Nedrick Young) and cinematography by Sam Leavitt. Remade for TV in 1986 with Robert Urich and Carl Weathers. | tt0051525 | Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Charles McGraw, Cara Williams, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Definitely, Maybe | 2008 | Adam Brooks | ★★½ | 112 | Soon-to-be-divorced man recounts his romantic past to his 10-year-old daughter, who wants to know how he met her mother. Telling the tale of three separate romances, he weaves a story of how they affected his life and what led him to his current state of unwedded bliss. Attempt to do character comedy in the style of British films like LOVE, ACTUALLY doesn’t quite come off, though the cast is appealing. | tt0832266 | [PG-13] | Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke, Kevin Corrigan, Adam Ferrara | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| Deja Vu | 2006 | Tony Scott | ★★½ | 126 | On Mardi Gras in New Orleans a sightseeing ferry explodes, killing hundreds. Police detective Washington investigates a woman whose anomalous death attracts his interest. When he learns that FBI agents' device can view the past-and perhaps enter it-he goes back in time to find the killer and save the woman (Patton). Science fiction mixed with action and romance results in a shallow but entertaining thriller, though Washington, as always, is first-rate. | tt0453467 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel, Adam Goldberg, Elden Henson, Erika Alexander, Bruce Greenwood, Matt Craven, Elle Fanning | Action, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Delgo | 2008 | Marc F. Adler, Jason Maurer | 💣 | 90 | Narrated by Sally Kellerman. In a fantasy universe, an alien teenager from one kingdom falls in love with the princess from a rival land, erupting hostilities between the two. Unappealing characters and confusing story combine to sink this animated fantasy, which tries too hard to combine every science-fiction/fantasy cliché into one messy concoction. A complete misfire. Final screen credit for Anne Bancroft, who portrays an evil Queen. | tt0361500 | [PG] | Voices of Freddie Prinze/Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Chris Kattan, Val Kilmer, Anne Bancroft, Kelly Ripa, Malcolm McDowell, Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds, Louis Gossett/Jr., Michael Clarke Duncan, Armin Shimerman | Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Delicacy | 2011 | David Foenkinos, Stéphane Foenkinos | ★★ | 109 | After a stunning loss, hardworking executive Tautou keeps herself bottled up until, one day, she impulsively kisses a rumpled Swedish coworker (Damiens). Serpentine love story begins happily, turns tragic, then takes a long time building momentum for the next act of its heroine's life. Odd little film isn't so much delicate as clumsy, playing with our emotions and expectations. Based on a best-selling novel by codirector David Foenkinos, who also wrote the screenplay. | tt1828995 | [PG-13] | Audrey Tautou, François Damiens, Bruno Todeschini, Mélanie Bernier, Joséphine de Meaux, Pio Marmaï, Monique Chaumette | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Delicate Balance | 1973 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 132 | Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a neurotic Connecticut family and the old friends who decide to move in with them indefinitely makes for stagy, uninvolving film, extraordinary cast notwithstanding. An American Film Theater Production. | tt0069958 | [PG] | Katharine Hepburn, Paul Scofield, Lee Remick, Kate Reid, Joseph Cotten, Betsy Blair | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Delicate Delinquent | 1957 | Don McGuire | ★★★ | 100 | Jerry's first solo effort after splitting with Dean Martin has him as delinquent who becomes a cop with McGavin's help. Agreeable blend of sentiment and slapstick. | tt0050301 | Jerry Lewis, Martha Hyer, Darren McGavin, Horace McMahon, Milton Frome | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Delicatessen | 1991 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro | ★★★½ | 102 | Post-apocalyptic comedy about a landlord who slices humans into cutlets for nonvegetarian tenants. At the very least, this is the most original and entertaining comedy about cannibalism made to date. Brown-and-white color schemes, which would ordinarily look like a lab mistake, contribute to the film's trenchant visual style. Codirector Caro plays Fox, one of the Cave Dwellers. 'Presented' by Terry Gilliam. | tt0101700 | Marie-Laure Dougnac, Dominique Pinon, Karin Viard, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Ticky Holgado, Anne Marie Pisani, Edith Ker | French | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Romance | NULL | ||
| Delicious | 1931 | David Butler. | ★½ | 106 | Insipid romance; Janet is Scottish lassie who falls in love with wealthy Farrell in N.Y.C. Brief highlights in Gershwin score are bizarre dream sequence of Janet's welcome to America and 'New York Rhapsody. | tt0021793 | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, El Brendel, Raul Roulien, Virginia Cherrill. | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Delightfully Dangerous | 1945 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 93 | Enjoyable fluff with spunky teen Powell unaware that big sister Moore is a burlesque star. Bellamy is kindly Broadway producer who gets immersed in Powell's shenanigans. | tt0037636 | Jane Powell, Ralph Bellamy, Constance Moore, Morton Gould, Arthur Treacher, Louise Beavers | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Delinquents | 1957 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 75 | Intriguingly awful exploitation drama about nice boy who becomes involved with a street gang because girlfriend is too young to go steady. Altman's first film, made in Kansas City, with Julia Lee singing 'Dirty Rock Boogie. | tt0050302 | Tom Laughlin, Peter Miller, Richard Bakalyan, Rosemary Howard, Helene Hawley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Delirious | 1991 | Tom Mankiewicz | ★½ | 96 | Astonishingly stupid comedy with a neat premise: a beleaguered soap-opera writer gets a conk on the head and dreams that he's stuck in his own story— in a heroic role that enables him to have his way with the woman he worships in real life. Bad writing and ham-handed direction foil a willing cast. | tt0101701 | [PG] | John Candy, Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms, David Rasche, Charles Rocket, Raymond Burr, Dylan Baker, Jerry Orbach, Renee Taylor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Delirious | 2007 | Tom DiCillo | ★★½ | 107 | Thin but enjoyable satire of fame and celebrity as seen through the beady, bitter eyes of uncouth N.Y.C. paparazzo Buscemi. He grudgingly befriends a homeless actor-hopeful (Pitt) who, of course, may just become The Next Big Thing. DiCillo wrote this for Buscemi and together they have almost as much fun as in their first teaming, LIVING IN OBLIVION. Should amuse anyone who has ever even dreamt of a show-biz career. | tt0412637 | Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon, Kevin Corrigan, Callie Thorne, Richard Short, Tom Aldredge, Lynn Cohen, Elvis Costello | Drama | NULL | |||
| Deliver Us From Evil | 2006 | Amy Berg | ★★★ | 101 | Potent documentary juxtaposes interviews with Father Oliver O'Grady (a pedophile whom leaders of the Catholic church repeatedly protected) with first-person stories of some of his victims. Timely film forgoes narration; instead, its interviewees paint a tawdry picture of corruption in a church that looked the other way while O'Grady was moved to several different parishes, where he continued committing his immoral acts. Fascinating and expertly made, but difficult to watch. | tt0814075 | Unrated | Documentary, Crime | NULL | |||
| Deliver Us from Eva | 2003 | Gary Hardwick | ★★★ | 105 | Amusing film about a hostile, iron-willed woman who dominates the lives of her three younger sisters, inspiring their men to hire a 'player' to distract her so they can carry on their relationships. Ingratiating performances by LL Cool J and Union spark this overlong but entertaining film. | tt0301181 | [R] | LL Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Duane Martin, Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Good, Mel Jackson, Dartanyan Edmonds, Kym Whitley, Terry Crews | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Deliverance | 1972 | John Boorman | ★★★★ | 109 | Superlative recreation of Dickey novel of four Atlanta businessmen who get more than they bargained for during a weekend canoe trip. McKinney and Coward are two of the most terrifying film villains in history; 'Dueling Banjos' scene is equally memorable. Film debuts of Beatty and Cox. James Dickey adapted his own novel, and appears in the film as a sheriff; Ed O'Neill appears as a highway patrolman near end of film. The director's son Charley (later star of THE EMERALD FOREST) plays Voight's son here. | tt0068473 | [R] | Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Billy McKinney, Herbert 'Cowboy' Coward, James Dickey | Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Delta Factor | 1970 | Tay Garnett | ★★ | 91 | OK Mickey Spillane tale about a private eye on a CIA mission to rescue a scientist imprisoned on an island. | tt0066981 | [PG] | Christopher George, Yvette Mimieux, Diane McBain, Ralph Taeger | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Delta Force 2 | 1990 | Aaron Norris | ★½ | 110 | Norris leads his Delta Force brigade into Latin America in an effort to snuff out an elusive drug lord. Strictly by-the-numbers. | tt0099399 | [R] | Chuck Norris, John P. Ryan, Paul Perri, Richard Jaeckel, Begonia Plaza, Mateo Gomez, Hector Mercardo, Billy Drago | Action | NULL | ||
| The Delta Force | 1986 | Menahem Golan | ★★½ | 129 | Surprisingly straightforward and straight-faced (considering that cast) account of terrorist plane hijack in the Middle East— until rescue climax when America's special squadron (led by Marvin and Norris) takes on bad guys in comic-book style. Uneven, to say the least, but never boring. Filmed in Israel. Followed by several sequels. | tt0090927 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Lee Marvin, Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Forster, Lainie Kazan, George Kennedy, Hanna Schygulla, Susan Strasberg, Bo Svenson, Robert Vaughn, Shelley Winters, Assaf Dayan, Kim Delaney | Action | NULL | ||
| Delta Fox | 1977 | Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian | ★★ | 92 | Unremarkable action-chase opus about a smuggler on the run from Miami to L.A. | tt0075929 | Richard Lynch, Priscilla Barnes, Stuart Whitman, John Ireland, Richard Jaeckel | Crime | NULL | |||
| Deluge | 1933 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 70 | Justly famous for its spectacular special effects sequence of N.Y.C. destroyed by tidal wave; unfortunately, the rest of the story (about a handful of survivors) is second-rate melodrama. | tt0023938 | Sidney Blackmer, Peggy Shannon, Lois Wilson, Matt Moore, Edward Van Sloan, Fred Kohler/Sr | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Delusion | 1990 | Carl Colpaert | ★★★ | 100 | Tough, taut thriller about a yuppie computer executive-embezzler and his plight after happening upon a Las Vegas showgirl and her killer-for-hire boyfriend (Secor, in an eye-opening performance) on a Death Valley highway. Thoroughly entertaining tale of desperation and isolation, with a point-of-view. | tt0101704 | [R] | Jim Metzler, Jennifer Rubin, Kyle Secor, Robert Costanzo, Tracey Walter, Jerry Orbach | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dementia | 1955 | John J. Parker. | ★★★ | 55 | Surreal, fascinating psychological portrait set in a vast urban landscape (and briefly but tellingly in a cemetery) that visualizes the turmoil of a deeply troubled young woman (Barrett). No dialogue, just stark images, a few sound effects, an appropriately dramatic music score by George Antheil, and bizarre, ethereal vocals by Marni Nixon. Completed in 1953 but unreleased because of a battle with the censors. Reissued as DAUGHTER OF HORROR; this version is edited slightly and features unnecessary narration by Ed McMahon! In its own modest way, quite extraordinary. | tt0047976 | Adrienne Barrett, Bruno Ve Sota, Ben Roseman, Richard Barron, Lucille Howland, Edward Hinkle, Gayne Sullivan, Jebbie Ve Sota, Angelo Rossitto, Shorty Rogers and His Giants. | Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| Dementia 13 | 1963 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★ | 81 | Gory horror film, set in Ireland, about a series of axe murders. Coppola's directorial debut— excluding his earlier nudie, TONITE FOR SURE— filmed for about 29è for Roger Corman; may be worth a look for curiosity's sake. | tt0056983 | William Campbell, Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Mary Mitchell, Patrick Magee | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Demetrius and the Gladiators | 1954 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 101 | Hokey sequel to THE ROBE has Emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson) searching for magic robe of Christ; Mature dallies with royal Hayward. | tt0046899 | Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, Anne Bancroft, Richard Egan, Ernest Borgnine | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Demi-Paradise | Adventure for Two | 1943 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 115 | Charming romantic comedy-satire with Olivier intriguingly cast as a Russian engineer who skeptically comes to England . . . and promptly becomes involved with Ward. Perceptive and, in its way, still-topical Anatole de Grunwald script gently chides people's prejudice against 'foreigners.' Marred only by the predictable finale. U.S. title: ADVENTURE FOR TWO. | tt0035793 | Laurence Olivier, Penelope Dudley Ward, Leslie Henson, Marjorie Fielding, Margaret Rutherford, Felix Aylmer, Edie Martin, Joyce Grenfell, Jack Watling, Miles Malleson, John Laurie, Wilfrid Hyde-White, George Cole | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Demolition Man | 1993 | Marco Brambilla | ★★½ | 115 | Ex-cop Stallone is sprung after 36 years of deep-freeze imprisonment for manslaughter when blond Snipes (his long-ago psycho nemesis) escapes from his own government-imposed hibernation; the joke is that the 'San Angeles' of 2032 is a pacifistic society that nixes violence and profanity (and where every restaurant is a Taco Bell). Fast, surprisingly funny, bloodletter is still only marginally brainier than Sly's TANGO & CASH. | tt0106697 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Nigel Hawthorne, Benjamin Bratt, Bob Gunton, Glenn Shadix | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Demon | God Told Me To | 1977 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 95 | Weird, confusing shocker in which New York cop Lo Bianco investigates motiveless killings by ordinary people possessed by Christ-like demon. Some good scenes. Originally titled GOD TOLD ME TO. | tt0075930 | [R] | Tony Lo Bianco, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Deborah Raffin, Sam Levene, Richard Lynch, Mike Kellin, Andy Kaufman | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| Demon Seed | 1977 | Donald Cammell | ★★★½ | 94 | Intelligent futuristic thriller, provocatively written, stylishly directed, and well acted, especially by Christie, the beauty terrorized by an ultra-sophisticated computer (voice of Robert Vaughn) that's decided to take over the world. As riveting as it is bizarre. Adapted by Robert Jaffe and Roger O. Hirson from the Dean Koontz novel. | tt0075931 | [R] | Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham, Berry Kroeger, Lisa Lu | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Demoniaque | 1957 | Luis Saslavsky | ★★½ | 97 | Perky yarn of French POW escaping and seeking refuge with girl his dead buddy romanced via the mails; girl believes him to be the letter-writer. | tt0050655 | François Périer, Micheline Presle, Jeanne Moreau, Madeleine Robinson | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Demonlover | 2002 | Olivier Assayas | ★★½ | 115 | Ill-chosen moniker doesn't describe this dot-com thriller about a cold, calculating corporate spy who gets in over her head playing both sides of a business merger involving porno and torture Web sites. Slickly textured suspenser is seriously kinky and morally ambivalent, but its violence and voyeurism lead to an all-too-certain conclusion. Director's cut runs 117m. Original French version runs 128m. | tt0284034 | [R] | Connie Nielsen, Charles Berling, Chloë Sevigny, Gina Gershon, Jean-Baptiste Malartre, Dominique Reymond | French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Demonoid, Messenger of Death | Macabra | 1981 | Alfredo Zacharias | ★½ | 78 | Eggar and husband, while working Mexican mine, unearth a hand, which possesses him, wreaking terror and havoc. Insipid direction, a rotten script, and shoddy special effects get in the way of any suspense. Aka MACABRA. | tt0082257 | [R] | Samantha Eggar, Stuart Whitman, Roy Cameron Jenson, Erika Carlson, Lew Saunders | Horror | NULL | |
| Demons | 1986 | Lamberto Bava | ★½ | 89 | A horror film transforms its audience one by one into drooling, fanged 'demons' who attack the remaining humans. Extremely gruesome and violent; no characterization, no logic, no plot. Achieved critical fame in some quarters. Director, who shows some visual style, is son of horror maestro Mario Bava. Cowritten and produced by Dario Argento. Followed by several sequels. | tt0089013 | Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Paolo Cozza, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento, Fabiola Toledo, Nicoletta Elmi | Italian | Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Demons 2 | 1987 | Lamberto Bava | ★★ | 88 | Sequel is improvement on first film but highly derivative of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and THEY CAME FROM WITHIN. Demonic infection spreads among people in modern apartment building; they transform into fanged, clawed monsters and attack others. Like its predecessor, achieved great acclaim among gore fans. | tt0090930 | [R] | David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes, Asia Argento, Virginia Bryant | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Demons of the Mind | Nightmare of Terror | 1971 | Peter Sykes | ★★★ | 89 | A 19th-century baron imprisons his son and daughter, believing they are possessed. Enticingly eerie Hammer horror film. Aka BLACK EVIL and NIGHTMARE OF TERROR. | tt0066982 | [R] | Paul Jones, Yvonne Mitchell, Gillian Hills, Robert Hardy, Patrick Magee, Michael Hordern, Shane Briant | British | Horror | NULL |
| Denial | 1991 | Erin Dignam | 💣 | 103 | Muddled, incoherent story of a woman obsessed with the memory of her lost, brooding lover. Flashbacks are virtually indistinguishable from the present-day narrative! This went straight to video. | tt0101707 | [R] | Robin Wright, Jason Patric, Rae Dawn Chong, Barry Primus, Christine Harnos | Drama | NULL | ||
| Denise Calls Up | 1996 | Hal Salwen | ★★★ | 80 | Nina tries to fix up a friend— no easy task— while Denise (Ubach) surprises Gunther with a phone call he never expected to get. Wickedly funny satire about New Yorkers who never seem to be able to get together and only talk on the phone. A one-joke premise, but writer-director Salwen keeps adding clever twists and touches. | tt0112844 | [PG-13] | Timothy Daly, Caroleen Feeney, Dan Gunther, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Liev Schreiber, Aida Turturro, Alanna Ubach, Sylvia Miles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dennis the Menace | 1993 | Nick Castle | ★★ | 94 | Unconscionable, jerry-built ripoff of the HOME ALONEs from John Hughes, based on Hank Ketcham's comic strip, with the blond rascal's skirmishes with cantankerous neighbor Mr. Wilson (Matthau) a mere warmup to the more Culkin-ian climactic punch-out of a robber/derelict (Lloyd). Fun for under-8's, but still a desperate collection of crotch and flatulence jokes. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0106701 | [PG-13] | Walter Matthau, Mason Gamble, Joan Plowright, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Robert Stanton, Paul Winfield, Amy Sakasitz, Arnold Stang, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dentist in the Chair | 1960 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 84 | Occasionally amusing shenanigans of dentists involved in crooked dealings, trying to undo their mischievous thefts. | tt0053759 | Peggy Cummins, Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Connor, Eric Barker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Denver and Rio Grande | 1952 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 89 | Another railroad rivalry Western as two competing companies battle elements and each other to complete tie-line through title area. Climax features an actual head-on collision between two steam locomotives. | tt0044537 | Edmond O'Brien, Sterling Hayden, Dean Jagger, ZaSu Pitts, J. Carrol Naish, Laura Elliott, Lyle Bettger, Paul Fix | Western | NULL | |||
| The Departed | 2006 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 151 | Potent, violent yarn about Irish crime bosses and the cops in Boston, and how the lines cross even over generations. Underworld bigwig Nicholson has raised and nurtured Damon, who's now his mole in the State Police and assigned to capture his mentor. DiCaprio tries to live down his shaky family history by joining the Boston police department, only to be sent undercover-to work with Nicholson. Tension mounts as the characters' paths intersect. Vibrant performances dominate the proceedings; the film's main fault is overlength. William Monahan's script was inspired by the 2002 Hong Kong police story INFERNAL AFFAIRS. | tt0407887 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, James Badge Dale, David Patrick O'Hara, Mark Rolston, Kevin Corrigan, Dorothy Lyman | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Departures | 2008 | Yojiro Takita | ★★★ | 131 | When a Tokyo orchestra is dissolved, cellist Motoki realizes he can’t sustain a musical career, so he and his wife return to his hometown. There he answers a cryptic want ad and is hired as apprentice to a man who performs “encoffinments,” elaborately and ritualistically preparing dead people to be laid to rest. Offbeat, leisurely paced, and disarmingly funny at times, this likable film becomes highly emotional as loose ends in Motoki’s life are tied up and he comes to embrace his unusual profession. Some will find this manipulative; others will succumb and tears will flow. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt1320363 | Unrated | Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano | Japanese | NULL | ||
| Deported | 1950 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 80 | Engaging gangster yarn with Chandler deported to Italy, involved in the black market, but going straight to win Toren's love. | tt0042387 | Marta Toren, Jeff Chandler, Claude Dauphin, Carlo Rizzo | Crime | NULL | |||
| Der Purimshpiler | The Purim Player | 1937 | Joseph Green, Jan-Nowina Przybylski | ★★★ | 90 | Amusing Yiddish-language musical fable, set in Galicia, about a wandering vaudeville actor; he falls in love with the pretty daughter of a cobbler, who wants to marry her off into a prominent family. The title's English translation is THE PURIM PLAYER; aka THE JESTER and THE JEWISH JESTER. | tt0029065 | Zygmund Turkow, Miriam Kressyn, Hymie Jacobson, Max Bozyk, Berta Litwina | Polish |
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| Derailed | 2005 | Mikael Håfström | ★★ | 110 | Chicago businessman Owen misses his commuter train and strikes up a conversation with an attractive woman. This leads to a liaison, but that misstep quickly threatens to destroy everything in Owen's life: his family, his bank account, and his sanity. Modern spin on film noir starts well enough but descends into a state of incredulity and downright silliness. Good cast-including hip-hop stars Xzibit and RZA-is wasted here. Unrated version also available. | tt0398017 | [R] | Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, Giancarlo Esposito, David Morrissey, Georgina Chapman, Tom Conti, Xzibit, RZA | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Deranged | 1974 | Jeff Gillen, Alan Ormsby | ★★½ | 82 | Blossom's neat performance uplifts this predictable shocker of a mother-obsessed farmer who preserves the old lady's corpse, then kills and stuffs other women to keep her company. Based on the same real-life case that inspired PSYCHO and THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSA√ CRE. | tt0071408 | [R] | Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson, Robert Warner, Marcia Diamond | Horror | NULL | ||
| Derby Day | 1952 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 84 | Diverting study of human nature, as an assortment of people intermingle at Epsom Downs race track. Retitled: FOUR AGAINST FATE. | tt0044538 | Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, John McCallum, Googie Withers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dersu Uzala | 1975 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★½ | 140 | Simple, gentle gold hunter-guide Munzuk teaches Russian explorer Solomine the rules of survival in Siberia; they develop mutual respect and friendship. A poignant, poetic examination of contrasting lives. Filmed in Russia; Best Foreign Film Oscar-winner. Sovscope 70. | tt0071411 | [G] | Maxim Munzuk, Yuri Solomine | Japanese-Russian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Descendants | 2011 | Alexander Payne | ★★★★ | 115 | Busy Honolulu lawyer Clooney is upended when his wife has an accident that puts her in a coma. Overnight he must become a full-time parent to his young daughter and her older, rebellious teenage sister. Then he learns that his wife was having an affair. On top of this, he bears the responsibility of deciding how his large family should dispose of a valuable piece of land on the island of Kauai. Insightful meditation on the absurdity of life—tragic one moment, funny the next—with pitch-perfect performances and a rich sense of place, enhanced by a beautiful score of traditional Hawaiian music. Clooney has never been better. Oscar-winning script by Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash from Kaui Hart Hemmings' novel. | tt1033575 | [R] | George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Nick Krause, Amara Miller, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel, Patricia Hastie, Michael Ontkean | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Descent | 2005 | Neil Marshall | ★★ | 99 | Six women bond every year during an 'extreme' adventure. This time it's a journey into a cave in the Appalachian Mountains, but there are sparks flying between two of the participants . . . and the cave houses subhuman flesh-eating creatures! Standard horror outing with feisty all-female protagonists. Unapologetically gruesome. Written by the director. Ending altered for U.S. release; original unrated version available on DVD. | tt0435625 | [R] | Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, MyAnna Buring, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll, Craig Conway | British | Action, Adventure, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Desert Attack | Ice Cold in Alex | 1960 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 79 | Well-handled psychological drama of British ambulance officer, two nurses, and a German soldier brought together in African desert. Original British version ICE COLD IN ALEX runs 132m. | tt0053935 | John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Diane Clare | British | Adventure, War, Drama | NULL | |
| Desert Bloom | 1986 | Eugene Corr | ★★★½ | 106 | Perceptive, exquisitely realized memoir, set in 1951 Nevada— the dawn of the Atomic Age. Heroine is 13-year-old Gish, whose mother (Williams) only sees what she wants to and whose stepfather (solidly acted by Voight) is an embittered, alcoholic WW2 hero reduced to running a gas station. Corr wrote the poignantly precise script from a story by Linda Remy and himself. | tt0090934 | [PG] | Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams, Ellen Barkin, Annabeth Gish, Allen Garfield, Jay D. Underwood | Drama | NULL | ||
| Desert Blue | 1999 | Morgan J. Freeman | ★★★ | 93 | A professor of American culture and his ambitious actress-daughter find themselves stuck in a remote western town, where the young woman bonds with the locals— especially Blue, who is fixated on realizing his late father's dream of building a water park in the desert! Well-drawn characters and a sharp sense of time and place help make this a winner. Written by the director. | tt0126261 | [R] | Brendan Sexton III, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Daniel von Bargen, John Heard, Lucinda Jenney, Casey Affleck, Sara Gilbert, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Ironside | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Desert Desperados | 1959 | Steve Sekely. | ★½ | 81 | Unsuccessful mishmash about alluring Roman disrupting a caravan headed toward Alexandria, Egypt. Retitled THE SINNER. | tt0052727 | Ruth Roman, Akim Tamiroff, Otello Toso, Gianni Glori. | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Desert Flower | 2011 | Sherry Horman | ★★ | 120 | Spotty biopic of fashion model Waris Dirie, born a Somalian nomad, who eventually became an international spokesperson against female circumcision, which she underwent at age 5 in a barbaric ritual that continues to this day. One can sympathize with director Horman for not quite finessing a consistent tone with which to tell this story, and sometimes the film is a little slick for its own good. Beyond some genuinely harrowing scenes, there are lots of familiar faces in the cast (which may be either a plus or a distraction) and an anchoring performance by real-life model Kebede, who is at least as stunning as the subject she portrays. | tt1054580 | [R] | Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Craig Parkinson, Meera Syal, Anthony Mackie, Juliet Stevenson, Timothy Spall | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel | 1951 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 88 | Mason standout as Field Marshal Rommel in sensitive account of his military defeat in WW2 Africa and disillusioned return to Hitler Germany. Mason repeated role in THE DESERT RATS. | tt0043461 | James Mason, Cedric Hardwicke, Jessica Tandy, Luther Adler, Everett Sloane, Leo G. Carroll, George Macready, Richard Boone, Robert Coote | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Desert Fury | 1947 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 95 | Mild drama of love and mystery among gamblers, stolen by Astor in bristling character portrayal. | tt0039311 | John Hodiak, Lizabeth Scott, Burt Lancaster, Mary Astor, Wendell Corey | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Desert Hawk | 1950 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 77 | Pat Arabian desert tale, interesting for Gleason and Hudson in secondary roles. | tt0042389 | Yvonne De Carlo, Richard Greene, Jackie Gleason, Rock Hudson, George Macready, Joe Besser | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Desert Hearts | 1985 | Donna Deitch | ★★½ | 93 | Uptight female professor comes to Reno to get a divorce in the 1950s and is pursued by a young woman who forces her to examine her own sexuality. Debut feature for writer-director Deitch (with a contemporary nod to THE WOMEN) has its moments, but characters are sketchily developed and story moves in fits and starts. | tt0089015 | [R] | Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley, Andra Akers, Dean Butler, Jeffrey Tambor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Desert Hell | 1958 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★ | 82 | French Foreign Legion battles warring Arabs to save peace; very little of promised action given to viewer. | tt0051531 | Brian Keith, Barbara Hale, Richard Denning, Johnny Desmond | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Desert Legion | 1953 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 86 | Mild Ladd vehicle of battling French Foreign Legion in a lost city; cowritten by Irving Wallace. | tt0045678 | Alan Ladd, Richard Conte, Arlene Dahl, Akim Tamiroff | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Desert Nights | 1929 | William Nigh. | ★★½ | 62 | Posing as a British lord and his daughter, thieves (Torrence and Nolan) rob a diamond mine in South Africa and escape into the desert, taking the mine's manager (Gilbert) as a hostage . . . but he turns the tables on the crooks. Steamy histrionics for fading matinee idol Gilbert in his last silent film before a short-lived career in talkies. Good photography by James Wong Howe. | tt0019811 | John Gilbert, Ernest Torrence, Mary Nolan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Desert Patrol | Sea of Sand | 1958 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 78 | Staunch account of British patrol attempting to blow up Axis fuel dump before pending WW2 battle of El Alamein. Originally titled SEA OF SAND. | tt0051532 | Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, Michael Craig, Vincent Ball | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Desert Rats | 1953 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 88 | Fine WW2 actioner with Mason convincing as Field Marshal Rommel (repeating his role from THE DESERT FOX); Burton is British commando trying to ward off Germans in North Africa. | tt0045679 | Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton, Chips Rafferty | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Desert Song | 1953 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 110 | Third version of Sigmund Romberg operetta set in Africa creaks along on thin plot. American MacRae is secret leader of good natives (Riffs) in battle against evil Arabs. Songs: 'The Riff Song,' 'One Alone.' Previously filmed in 1929 and 1944. | tt0045680 | Kathryn Grayson, Gordon MacRae, Steve Cochran, Raymond Massey, William Conrad, Dick Wesson | Musical, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Desert Trail | 1935 | Cullen Lewis (Lewis D. Collins). | ★★ | 54 | Rodeo star Wayne and his bickering gambling buddy flee when they're accused of robbery. One of Wayne's lesser B Westerns, with Chandler badly miscast as his comedy sidekick, but Kornman (Our Gang's original leading lady in the 1920s) is cute, and scenes of Wayne flirting with her are a highlight. One amazing stunt shows action star leap from galloping horse through shattered glass window into a shack. | tt0026273 | John Wayne, Mary Kornman, Paul Fix, Eddy Chandler, Carmen LaRoux, Lafe McKee. | Western | NULL | |||
| Deserter | 1933 | V. I. Pudovkin. | ★★★½ | 105 | Eye-popping visuals and experimental use of sound mark this chronicle of a dockworkers' strike and its aftermath, focusing on a laborer (Livanov) who challenges his employers and a corrupt union. Plenty of rhetoric involving worker struggles and solidarity, along with characters that are admittedly political symbols, but attention grabbing as a mirror of post-Revolution Russia; an essential visual and aural experience. | tt0023939 | Boris Livanov, Vasili Kovrigin, Aleksandr Chistyakov, Tamara Makarova, Semyon Svashenko. | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Deserter | Ride to Glory | 1971 | Burt Kennedy | ★½ | 99 | Dull cavalry pic about Indian fighting on Mexican border. Cast is capable, except for Fehmiu, who didn't improve after THE ADVENTURERS. Aka RIDE TO GLORY. | tt0066984 | [PG] | Bekim Fehmiu, John Huston, Richard Crenna, Chuck Connors, Ricardo Montalban, Ian Bannen, Brandon de Wilde, Slim Pickens, Woody Strode, Patrick Wayne | Italian-Yugoslavian | Western | NULL |
| Design for Living | 1933 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 90 | Ben Hecht adapted Noel Coward's stage comedy about artist Cooper and playwright March, best friends and Americans in Paris, and what happens when they both fall in love with Hopkins. Most of the witty innuendos are left intact (even if the pacing isn't quite right). | tt0023940 | Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins, Edward Everett Horton, Franklin Pangborn, Isabel Jewell, Jane Darwell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Design for Scandal | 1941 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 85 | Deft performances in comedy of reporter Pidgeon doing sensational story involving prominent female judge Russell. | tt0033525 | Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon, Edward Arnold, Lee Bowman, Jean Rogers, Mary Beth Hughes, Guy Kibbee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Designated Mourner | 1997 | David Hare | ★★ | 94 | Endlessly talky dissertation on the death of culture, set in an unnamed country in what could be the immediate future. Nichols marries into the intellectual upper crust of this mysterious society, which has cast off its artists and rendered them virtual prisoners. Shot in three days, the film (adapted by Wallace Shawn from his play) is a series of monologues and probably should have remained a theater piece. Nichols makes a long-awaited film acting debut, but perhaps he should have waited just a little while longer. | tt0118964 | [R] | Miranda Richardson, Mike Nichols, David de Keyser | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Designing Woman | 1957 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 118 | Sportswriter and fashion designer marry and run head-on in this chic comedy reminiscent of the great Hepburn-Tracy vehicles. Bacall and Peck do their best; George Wells won an Oscar for Best Story and Screenplay. | tt0050306 | Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene, Mickey Shaughnessy, Chuck Connors, Ed Platt, Jack Cole | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Desire | 1936 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 96 | American car-designer Cooper falls in love with jewel thief Dietrich. Sophisticated romancer set in Spain; Marlene sings 'Awake in a Dream.' From the scintillating start to the finish, it bears the stylish stamp of its producer, Ernst Lubitsch. | tt0027515 | Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, John Halliday, William Frawley, Ernest Cossart, Akim Tamiroff, Alan Mowbray, Zeffie Tilbury | Romance | NULL | |||
| Desire Me | 1947 | ★★ | 91 | Weak melodramatic romance with Garson caught between new love and old husband, presumed dead, who returns to make problems. Familiar story not helped by limp script. Directed mostly by George Cukor, who removed his name after studio tampering; Mervyn LeRoy and Jack Conway also had a hand in it. | tt0039312 | Greer Garson, Robert Mitchum, Richard Hart, George Zucco, Morris Ankrum | Drama | NULL | ||||
| Desire Under the Elms | 1958 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 114 | Eugene O'Neill stage piece about family hatred and greed for land. Loren miscast as Ives' young wife in love with stepson Perkins, but she sparks some life into brooding account of 19th-century New England farm story. | tt0051534 | Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Burl Ives, Frank Overton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel | 1992 | Allen Castle | ★½ | 90 | A paranoid salesman and his wife stay at a motel in Anaheim, California, on their way to Disneyland, but get involved in blackmail and murder instead. A 'comedy noir' set in 1958, this very low-budget effort never quite escapes its stage origins. Fenn does look great, however. | tt0104088 | [PG-13] | Sherilyn Fenn, Whip Hubley, David Hewlett, David Johansen, Paul Bartel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Desire in the Dust | 1960 | William F. Claxton | ★★½ | 102 | Good casting carries this turgid soaper of a Southern aristocrat with a yen for politics, who tries to hide the shady past of some family members. | tt0053762 | Raymond Burr, Martha Hyer, Joan Bennett, Ken Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Desiree | 1954 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 110 | Tepid, elaborate costumer: Brando plays a confused Napoleon, Simmons his seamstress love who marries another man; Oberon is quite lovely as Empress Josephine. Fiction and fact are muddled backdrop for rise and fall of the Emperor; few action scenes. | tt0046903 | Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Merle Oberon, Michael Rennie, Cameron Mitchell, Elizabeth Sellars, Cathleen Nesbitt, Richard Deacon, Carolyn Jones | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Desk Set | 1957 | Walter Lang | ★★★½ | 103 | Broadway play becomes a vehicle for Hepburn and Tracy, a guarantee for top entertainment. He's an efficiency expert automating her research department at a TV network; they clash, argue, and fall in love. Great fun. Scripted by Phoebe and Henry Ephron, from the stage play by William Marchant. Merrill's film debut. | tt0050307 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Gig Young, Joan Blondell, Dina Merrill, Sue Randall, Neva Patterson, Diane Jergens, Merry Anders | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Despair | 1979 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 119 | Playwright Tom Stoppard's adaptation of the Nabokov novel concentrates too many of its wittiest lines in the first third, but the film still has its moments. Bogarde is brilliant as the Russian émigré who runs a German chocolate factory as Nazis start to take power. | tt0077421 | Dirk Bogarde, Andrea Ferreol, Volker Spengler, Klaus Lowitsch | West German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Desperado | 1995 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★ | 106 | A mysterious stranger arrives in a Mexican town, seeking revenge on the local crime boss. Opens with an amusing shaggy-dog sequence featuring Buscemi and Marin and grabs your attention with its hyperkinetic scenes of gunplay, but soon it becomes clear that the film has no story— and no point. Physical attraction of Banderas and leading lady Hayek provides its only pizazz. This is Rodriguez's reworking of his inventive debut picture, EL MARIACHI. | tt0112851 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Joaquim de Almeida, Salma Hayek, Steve Buscemi, Cheech Marin, Quentin Tarantino, Carlos Gomez, Angel Aviles, Danny Trejo, Tito Larriva | Action, Romance, Thriller, Western | NULL | ||
| The Desperadoes Are in Town | 1956 | Kurt Neumann. | ★½ | 73 | Young Arthur heads West and inadvertently becomes involved with outlaw gang. Bland. | tt0049135 | Robert Arthur, Kathy Nolan, Rhys Williams, Rhodes Reason, Dave O'Brien, Kelly Thordsen, Mae Clarke. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Desperadoes | 1943 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 85 | Pretty good Western; bandit Ford goes straight, joins forces with marshal Scott to clean up town. | tt0035798 | Randolph Scott, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, Evelyn Keyes, Edgar Buchanan, Raymond Walburn, Guinn Williams | Western | NULL | |||
| The Desperados | 1969 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 91 | Civil War deserters ravage the West. Not bad. | tt0064227 | [M] | Vince Edwards, Jack Palance, George Maharis, Neville Brand, Sylvia Syms | Western | NULL | ||
| Desperate | 1947 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 73 | An honest truck driver is victimized by racketeers and forced to flee with his wife. Well-made little film noir, if not as good as director Mann's follow-ups (RAW DEAL, T-MEN, etc.). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039313 | Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, Raymond Burr, Douglas Fowley, William Challee, Jason Robards/Sr | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Desperate Chance for Ellery Queen | 1942 | James Hogan | ★½ | 70 | Gargan's second shot as Queen is no better than the first; he's hired by a woman to find her husband, a missing banker. | tt0034645 | William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, John Litel, Lillian Bond, James Burke, Jack LaRue, Morgan Conway | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Desperate Characters | 1971 | Frank D. Gilroy | ★★★ | 88 | Story of the horrors of day-to-day living in N.Y.C. is a bit too theatrical but benefits from excellent acting; one of MacLaine's best performances. | tt0066986 | [R] | Shirley MacLaine, Kenneth Mars, Gerald O'Loughlin, Sada Thompson, Jack Somack, Rose Gregorio, Carol Kane | Drama | NULL | ||
| Desperate Hours | 1990 | Michael Cimino | ★½ | 105 | Ludicrous remake of the better-than-ever 1955 nailbiter, prison escapees Rourke et al. taking over the Hopkins-Rogers household. No suspense, at times laughable use of music, with daughter-victim you'll beg to see coldcocked. Cimino's unmotivated, kamikaze disrobings of attorney Lynch have already entered the realm of modern movie folklore. | tt0099409 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, Mimi Rogers, Lindsay Crouse, Kelly Lynch, Elias Koteas, David Morse, Shawnee Smith, Danny Gerard, Matt McGrath | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Desperate Hours | 1955 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 112 | Extremely well acted account of escaped convicts terrorizing family household. From Joseph Hayes' novel and Broadway play, inspired by actual events. Remade in 1990. | tt0047985 | Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy, Martha Scott, Dewey Martin, Gig Young, Mary Murphy, Robert Middleton | Film-Noir, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Desperate Journey | 1942 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 107 | Spirited WW2 drama of American pilots stranded in Germany, struggling to cross border; forgivable propaganda interludes.Wait till you see Reagan doubletalk Nazi. | tt0034646 | Errol Flynn, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Coleman, Alan Hale/Sr., Arthur Kennedy, Albert Bassermann | War | NULL | |||
| The Desperate Man | 1959 | Peter Maxwell. | ★½ | 57 | Dull yarn of reporter Phillips linking up with attractive Ireland to track down a Sussex crook. | tt0052730 | Jill Ireland, Conrad Phillips, William Hartnell, Charles Gray. | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Desperate Measures | 1998 | Barbet Schroeder | ★½ | 105 | Offensively stupid thriller about San Francisco cop Garcia and the amount of physical damage he unintentionally causes when he finds a potential bone marrow donor for his dying son: hardened con Keaton. About as bad as a movie can get from a reputable filmmaker. Try to figure out how many charges Garcia would eventually be brought up on in real life! | tt0118966 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Marcia Gay Harden, Brian Cox, Joseph Cross | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Desperate Moment | 1953 | Compton Bennett | ★★½ | 88 | Taut melodrama involving displaced person in post-WW2 Berlin falsely accused of homicide; sensibly acted. | tt0045681 | Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling, Philip Friend, Gerard Heinz | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Desperate Search | 1952 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 73 | Trim film of two kids stranded in Canadian wastelands after plane crash, and their father's efforts to find them. | tt0044543 | Howard Keel, Jane Greer, Patricia Medina, Keenan Wynn | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Desperate Trail | 1994 | P. J. Pesce | ★★★ | 93 | Tough, original Western saga released direct to video, with Elliott as an unforgiving marshal whose plan to deliver Fiorentino to the hangman goes awry when she flees with genteel outlaw Sheffer. Well-written (and well-acted) Western with interesting characters, some potent violence, and surprises in store to the very end of the trail. | tt0109607 | [R] | Sam Elliott, Craig Sheffer, Linda Fiorentino, Bradley Whitford, Frank Whaley, John Furlong, Robin Westphal, Boots Southerland | Western | NULL | ||
| Desperately Seeking Susan | 1985 | Susan Seidelman | ★★★ | 104 | Delightfully offbeat, original comedy about a bored suburban housewife whose fascination with a kooky character she's read about in the personal ads leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself. Sort of an upscale underground film, inventively directed by Seidelman, though it doesn't sustain its buoyancy straight to the end. | tt0089017 | [PG-13] | Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum, Robert Joy, Laurie Metcalf, Steven Wright, Richard Hell, Ann Magnuson, Richard Edson, John Lurie, Anne Carlisle, John Turturro | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Despicable Me | 2010 | Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud | ★★ | 95 | In order to pull off his latest nefarious scheme, world-class villain Gru adopts three little girls from a local orphanage, planning to use them to penetrate his rival’s headquarters by selling him cookies. The last thing Gru expects is to actually become fond of the girls. Amiable if unmemorable animated feature is well designed and features engaging voice work. Kids will especially enjoy the antics of Gru’s pint-sized minions, who are called—minions. 3-D. | tt1323594 | [PG] | Voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Jack McBrayer, Danny McBride, Mindy Kaling, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Destination 60,000 | 1957 | George Waggner. | 💣 | 65 | Worn-out premise: test pilots zoom through space, families wait nervously on the ground. | tt0050309 | Preston Foster, Pat Conway, Jeff Donnell, Coleen Gray. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Destination Gobi | 1953 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 89 | Unusual WW2 actioner involving U.S. naval men joining forces with natives against Japanese assaults; nice action sequences. | tt0045682 | Richard Widmark, Don Taylor, Casey Adams, Murvyn Vye, Darryl Hickman, Martin Milner | War | NULL | |||
| Destination Inner Space | 1966 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 83 | Undersea lab encounters an alien spaceship and a pod that grows into an amphibian monster. Routine but competent. | tt0060302 |
|
Sheree North, Scott Brady, Gary Merrill, John Howard | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Destination Mars! | 2002 | Richard Lowry | ★★★ | 80 | Irresistible parody of tacky 1950s sci-fi movies-and Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE in particular-done in low-grade black & white, with dialogue, costumes, and so-called special effects to match. Trouble begins when Martians discover that earthlings have built an Atmos 4X Vaporizer that can wipe out whole planets. Everyone plays it straight, which is why this is such fun to watch. Even the names in the credits are a gag. Written by Tor Lowry. The same team later reunited for MONARCH OF THE MOON. | Blane Wheatley, Jessica Schroeder, Bobby Harwell, Henry Amitai, Sheila K, Blake Manion, Adrian Marinovich. | Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||||
| Destination Moon | 1950 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 91 | One of the pioneer sci-fi films about the first manned expedition to the moon, modestly mounted but still effective. Striking lunar paintings by Chesley Bonestell. Won an Oscar for its special effects. Produced by George Pal; coscripted by Robert Heinlein. Woody Woodpecker makes a 'guest appearance.' | tt0042393 | John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson, Erin O'Brien-Moore | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Destination Tokyo | 1943 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 135 | Suspenseful WW2 account of U.S. submarine sent into Japanese waters and interaction among crew. Commander Grant, seamen Garfield and Clark ring true. John Forsythe makes his film debut. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035799 | Cary Grant, John Garfield, Alan Hale/Sr., John Ridgely, Dane Clark, Warner Anderson, William Prince | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Destiny Turns On the Radio | 1995 | Jack Baran | 💣 | 101 | Escaped convict goes to Las Vegas to reclaim his girlfriend and a stash of loot he left with his partner at the Marilyn Motel. However, Fate— in the form of a mysterious dude named Destiny— has its own agenda. Pseudo-hip script, utterly bereft of wit, is directed with no energy. A complete waste of time. | tt0112854 | [R] | Dylan McDermott, Nancy Travis, Quentin Tarantino, James Belushi, James LeGros, Janet Carroll, David Cross, Richard Edson, Bob Goldthwait, Barry 'Shabaka' Henley, Lisa Jane Persky, Sarah Trigger, Tracey Walter, Allen Garfield | Crime, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Destroy All Monsters! | 1968 | Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 88 | More Toho monsters than there are in heaven (including A-listers Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan) are assembled for this good-natured monster's ball, as they initially threaten to destroy Earth under the control of female aliens, then are redirected by humans to do battle with an obstinate King Ghidorah. Ninth Godzilla movie, originally intended as a grand finale, is an enjoyable romp, with a rousing score by series mainstay Akira Ifukube. More or less remade in 2004 as GODZILLA: FINAL WARS. | tt0063172 | [G] | Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kyoko Ai | Japanese | Family, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Destroyer | 1943 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 99 | Predictable wartime drama: aging seaman Robinson shown up by novice Ford; of course Eddie comes through in the end. | tt0035800 | Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey, Regis Toomey, Ed Brophy | War | NULL | |||
| The Destructors | 1968 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 97 | Programmer nonsense with federal agent Egan investigating the theft of rubies needed to operate a deadly laser-ray gun. This sat on the shelf for two years before its release. | tt0062880 | Richard Egan, Patricia Owens, John Ericson, Michael Ansara, Joan Blackman, David Brian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Destructors | 1974 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 89 | Good Paris-localed crime melodrama with Quinn a U.S. drug agent out to stop kingpin Mason. An animated Caine is fine as a likable assassin. Original title: THE MARSEILLE CONTRACT. | tt0071412 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, James Mason, Maureen Kerwin, Marcel Bozzufi, Maurice Ronet, Alexandra Stewart | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Destry | 1954 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 95 | Audie is gun-shy sheriff who tames town and dance-hall girl without violence. The 1939 version— DESTRY RIDES AGAIN— is still unsurpassed. Later a TV series. | tt0046906 | Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Lyle Bettger, Lori Nelson, Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Buchanan, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Destry Rides Again | 1939 | George Marshall | ★★★★ | 94 | Slam-bang, action-filled Western satire, with Stewart taming rowdy town without violence and tangling with boisterous dance-hall girl Dietrich. Marlene sings 'See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have' in this Max Brand story, filmed before in 1932, then again in 1950 (as FRENCHIE), and in 1954 (as DESTRY). Screenplay by Felix Jackson, Gertrude Purcell, and Henry Myers. Simply wonderful. | tt0031225 | James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Una Merkel, Mischa Auer, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Jack Carson, Billy Gilbert, Samuel S. Hinds | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Detachment | 2012 | Tony Kaye | ★★½ | 97 | Deeply felt, credible but overwhelmingly downbeat drama about the frustrations of public high school teachers. Brody is well cast as a man who takes short-term assignments in order to keep his emotional distance. He has enough sorrow in his private life but can't ignore everything he witnesses at school, or a teenage girl (Gayle) turning tricks right outside his apartment whom he tries to protect. Fine supporting cast is largely wasted in underwritten roles. The director's daughter (Kaye) plays an overweight student who reaches out to Brody. | tt1683526 | Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, William Petersen, Bryan Cranston, Sami Gayle, Betty Kaye, Louis Zorich | Drama | NULL | |||
| Detective | 1985 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★ | 95 | The scenario takes a backseat in this talky, contrived film noir homage about a variety of characters and their business and intrigues in an elegant Paris hotel. The look and feel are uniquely of the director, but it's ultimately annoying, more a concept than a movie. Godard dedicated this to John Cassavetes, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Clint Eastwood! | tt0089066 | Claude Brasseur, Nathalie Baye, Johnny Hallyday, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Alain Cuny, Stephane Ferrara, Julie Delpy | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Detective Kitty O'Day | 1944 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 63 | Parker adds bubbly zest as amateur sleuth who sets out to solve a crime; pleasant fluff on low-budget scale. | tt0207407 | Jean Parker, Peter Cookson, Tim Ryan, Veda Ann Borg | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Detective Story | 1951 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 103 | Sidney Kingsley's once-forceful play about life at a N.Y.C. police precinct has lost much of its punch, but is still a fine film. Well cast, with Douglas a bitter detective, Parker his ignored wife, and Bendix, in one of his best roles, a sympathetic colleague. McMahon (the shrewd precinct head), Wiseman (an hysterical thief), Grant (unforgettable as a frightened shoplifter), and Strong (another thief) recreate their Broadway roles. This was Grant's first film— and also her last— before being blacklisted. Screenplay by Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler (the director's brother). | tt0043465 | Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, Horace McMahon, William Bendix, Lee Grant, Craig Hill, Cathy O'Donnell, Bert Freed, George Macready, Joseph Wiseman, Gladys George, Frank Faylen, Luis van Rooten, Warner Anderson | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Detective | 1954 | Robert Hamer | ★★★ | 91 | Guinness is in rare form as G. K. Chesterton's clerical sleuth after stolen art treasures; another British gem, superbly cast. British title: FATHER BROWN. | tt0046659 | Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Peter Finch, Cecil Parker, Bernard Lee, Sidney James, Ernest Thesiger | British | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Detective | 1968 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 114 | Trashy script, based on Roderick Thorpe's best-selling novel, pits cops against homosexuals; more than redeemed by fast, no-nonsense direction, good acting, particularly by Sinatra and Freeman. | tt0062883 | Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jacqueline Bisset, William Windom, Al Freeman, Tony Musante, Jack Klugman, Robert Duvall | Crime | NULL | |||
| Detention | 2012 | Joseph Kahn | ★½ | 93 | Teenagers are forced to battle a killer at their high school. Would-be comedy-horror-satire (or instant "cult classic") that aspires to a hip, cool vibe. Music video director Kahn, who also cowrote the screenplay, is able to capture certain aspects of the millennial generation brilliantly but fails to tell any sort of story. This film doesn't know what it wants to be. | tt1701990 | [R] | Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, Parker Bagley, James Black | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Deterrence | 2000 | Rod Lurie | ★★★ | 101 | Absorbing brinkmanship thriller in the vein of FAIL-SAFE, with Pollak (admittedly, an unlikely choice for President of the U.S.) stranded in a Colorado diner during a snowstorm, having to make a tough decision about firing a nuclear weapon, and involving the civilians who happen to be there in the mounting drama. Contrived but exciting; feature writing-directing debut for film critic Lurie. | tt0158583 | [R] | Kevin Pollak, Timothy Hutton, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sean Astin, Badja Djola, Mark Thompson, Michael Mantell | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Detour | 1945 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★★ | 69 | Now-legendary B movie, filmed in less than a week, is the quintessence of film noir. Neal is a hitchhiking drifter who has the misfortune to become involved with a formidable femme fatale (Savage, in an unforgettable performance). Ulmer makes the most of his meager budget. Written by Martin Goldsmith. Remade in 1992 with Tom Neal, Jr. | tt0037638 | Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan, Esther Howard | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Detroit 9000 | Detroit Heat | 1973 | Arthur Marks | ★½ | 106 | Cops pursue jewel thieves. Bloody blaxploitation entry with an integrated cast. Aka DETROIT HEAT. | tt0069966 | [R] | Alex Rocco, Hari Rhodes, Vonetta McGee, Ella Edwards, Scatman Crothers | Crime, Drama, Action | NULL | |
| Detroit Rock City | 1999 | Adam Rifkin | ★★½ | 94 | Ultra-dopey teen flick about four teenagers trying to scam tickets for a KISS concert, circa 1978. Lots of crude physical comedy and head-banging metal anthems, but that's precisely the point. Plays like a cross between I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND and an episode of That '70s Show. Shaye's a hoot as a bewigged mom on a crusade to stop rock 'n' roll. The original tongue-wagging glam rockers appear only briefly at the end. | tt0165710 | [R] | Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James De Bello, Sam Huntington, Lin Shaye, Natasha Lyonne, Shannon Tweed, Joe Flaherty, KISS | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo | 2005 | Mike Bigelow | 💣 | 83 | Ads for this woefully unfunny sequel show Schneider sitting under a phallic leaning tower of Pisa that appears to be protruding from his groin area. This would have been the film's best joke-except it's not in the film; nor is any other form of humor. Deuce is sent to Holland to train as a high-end Euro man whore. When he discovers some of his fellow gigolos are being killed, he jumps undercover(s). Can we possibly prevent another sequel? Famous faces appear in cameos, if that matters to you. Adam Sandler coproduced. | tt0367652 | [R] | Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Jeroen Krabbé, Til Schweiger, Douglas Sills, Carlos Ponce, Charles Keating, Hanna Verboom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo | 1999 | Mike Mitchell | ★★½ | 88 | Professional fish-tank cleaner breaks an expensive tank, and in order to pay for it becomes a gigolo. (Why not?) Potty humor and outlandish situations abound, but Schneider's character is surprisingly likable in this silly comedy. | tt0205000 | [R] | Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, Arija Bareikis, Oded Fehr, Gail O'Grady, Richard Riehle, Jacqueline Obradors, Big Boy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Deuces Wild | 2002 | Scott Kalvert | ★½ | 97 | Empty-headed, clichéd dud, a WEST SIDE STORY wannabe set in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in the late 1950s. The Deuces are a good-guy gang and the Vipers are a bad-guy gang; temperatures rise upon the release from prison of the Viper punk (Reedus) who sold a deadly dose of heroin to the brother of Deuces Dorff and Renfro. An interesting cast is wasted. | tt0231448 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Brad Renfro, Fairuza Balk, Norman Reedus, Frankie Muniz, Matt Dillon, Balthazar Getty, Max Perlich, Deborah Harry, Drea DeMatteo, Vincent Pastore, James Franco, Johnny Knoxville, Louis Lombardi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Devil | 2010 | John Erick Dowdle | ★★ | 80 | In a high-rise, an elevator carrying five strangers is stalled between floors. As mechanics and police struggle to free them, the passengers quarrel and gradually realize that one of them may be the Devil himself. There’s about enough plot for a half-hour TV show, but the film is occasionally suspenseful and technically well made. First in a purported trilogy, THE NIGHT CHRONICLES, from stories by M. Night Shyamalan, but written and directed by others. Full title: THE NIGHT CHRONICLES I: DEVIL. | tt1314655 | [PG-13] | Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Jenny O’Hara, Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Geoffrey Arend, Matt Craven, Jacob Vargas | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Devil Bat's Daughter | 1946 | Frank Wisbar | ★★ | 66 | In this sequel to THE DEVIL BAT, La Planche is thought to have inherited the murderous tendencies of her late father, but in a bizarre turn of events, Dad turns out to have been a kindly researcher (contradicting the first film entirely!). | tt0038470 | Rosemary La Planche, Molly Lamont, John James, Ed Cassidy | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Devil Bat | 1941 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 69 | Lugosi raises bats and trains them to suck victims' blood on cue. One of Lugosi's more notorious pictures, and fairly entertaining. Aka KILLER BATS. Reworked as THE FLYING SERPENT. Sequel: DEVIL BAT'S DAUGHTER. | tt0032390 | Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott, Donald Kerr | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Devil Commands | 1941 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 65 | Improbable but intriguing chiller of scientist Karloff obsessed with idea of communicating with dead wife. Predictable but fun. Only debit: the absurd narration. | tt0033530 | Boris Karloff, Amanda Duff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere, Ralph Penny, Dorothy Adams, Kenneth MacDonald | Horror | NULL | |||
| Devil Dogs of the Air | 1935 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 86 | Tiresome potboiler with Marine Air Corps rivalry between Cagney and O'Brien. Their personalities, and good stunt-flying scenes, are only saving grace. | tt0026275 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Frank McHugh | Action, Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Devil Doll | 1964 | Lindsay Shonteff | ★★★ | 80 | Obscure, underrated mystery features an eerily effective Haliday as a hypnotist-ventriloquist trying to transfer Romain's soul into that of a dummy, as he had already done with his onetime assistant. An exquisitely tailored, sharply edited sleeper. | tt0058007 | Bryant Haliday, William Sylvester, Yvonne Romain, Philip Ray | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Devil Girl From Mars | 1954 | David MacDonald | ★½ | 77 | Clad in black leather, Laffan lands in remote Scotland with her refrigerator-like robot, hunting for human husbands! Hilariously solemn, high-camp British imitation of U.S. cheapies would be even funnier if it weren't rather dull and set-bound. | tt0046907 | Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Adrienne Corri, Peter Reynolds, Joseph Tomelty, John Laurie | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Devil Goddess | 1955 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★½ | 70 | Weissmuller helps a professor look for an ex-colleague who's set himself up as a 'god.' The end of the vine for Jungle Jim Weissmuller, who retired from the big screen after this. | tt0047991 | Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Stevens, Selmer Jackson, William Tannen, Ed Hinton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Devil Inside | 2012 | William Brent Bell | ★★ | 83 | Young woman journeys to Italy to learn why her mother has been imprisoned for years, following the murder of three clerics who were exorcising her. She's helped by two Catholic outsiders, but things don't go well. Yet another "found footage" horror movie; it's no better than fair but blessedly short. Can someone exorcise Hollywood of the "found footage" demon? | tt1560985 | [R] | Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Suzan Crowley, Ionut Grama, Bonnie Morgan, Danny Trejo, B. Real, Brian Johnson | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Devil Is a Sissy | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★½ | 92 | Three top juvenile stars outclass their material in this rambling, episodic tale of tenement-district pals and British newcomer (Bartholomew) who tries to join their gang. | tt0027518 | Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper, Ian Hunter, Peggy Conklin, Katherine Alexander | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil Is a Woman | 1935 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 83 | Sumptuous-looking film about alluring but heartless woman and the men who all but ruin their lives for her, set against backdrop of 19th-century Spanish revolution. Hypnotic, if dramatically shaky; Luis Buñuel used same source material for THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE. | tt0026276 | Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Atwill, Cesar Romero, Edward Everett Horton, Alison Skipworth | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Devil Is a Woman | 1975 | Damiano Damiani | 💣 | 105 | Ponderous, superficial melodrama: Jackson, the head of a religious hostel, casts spells over its 'permanent residents.' The convent is more like a psycho ward than a place for religious meditation. Indifferently acted, technically atrocious. | tt0073733 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Adolfo Celi, Lisa Harrow, Claudio Cassinelli, Arnoldo Foa, Francisco Rabal | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Devil Makes Three | 1952 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 96 | Kelly (none too convincing in one of his rare non-musicals) plays a soldier returning to Munich to thank family who helped him during WW2; he becomes involved with daughter Angeli and black market gangs. | tt0044547 | Gene Kelly, Pier Angeli, Richard Egan, Claus Clausen | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Devil Pays Off | 1941 | John H. Auer. | ★★ | 56 | Dishonored ex-Navy man Wright is recruited to track down espionage agents in this minor drama. | tt0033531 | J. Edward Bromberg, Osa Massen, William Wright, Margaret Tallichet, Martin Kosleck, Abner Biberman. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil Thumbs a Ride | 1947 | Felix E. Feist | ★★½ | 62 | Tierney, a 'slap-happy bird with a gun,' commits robbery and murder, then hitches a ride with friendly, tipsy North. Fast-paced B film. | tt0039317 | Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie, Betty Lawford, Andrew Tombes, Harry Shannon | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Devil Wears Prada | 2006 | David Frankel | ★★★ | 109 | Slick adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's bestselling roman à clef about working as personal assistant to the fashion magazine editor from hell. Streep dominates the proceedings with a wonderfully nuanced performance, never veering toward caricature; Hathaway is just right as the naïve college grad who gets a crash course in office politics and survival at the risk of losing her devoted boyfriend. Nice work, too, from Tucci (as one of Streep's loyal editors) and Blunt (as her long-suffering first assistant). Several fashionistas appear as themselves. | tt0458352 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Emily Blunt, Adrian Grenier, David Marshall Grant, James Naughton, Tracie Thoms, Rebecca Mader | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Devil With Women | 1930 | Irving Cummings. | ★★ | 64 | Adventurer tangles with a friendly rival while trying to capture a revolutionary leader in Central American country. Plodding, all-too-typical vehicle for boisterous McLaglen. Bogart, in his second talkie feature, plays the Edmund Lowe-ish, devil-may-care pal. | tt0020822 | Victor McLaglen, Mona Maris, Humphrey Bogart, Luana Alcaniz, John St. Polis, Michael Vavitch, Mona Rico. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Devil Within Her | I Don't Want to Be Born | 1975 | Peter Sasdy | ★½ | 90 | Collins's newborn baby is possessed. Another idiotic ROSEMARY'S BABY/EXORCIST rip-off. Aka I DON'T WANT TO BE BORN. | tt0072867 | [R] | Joan Collins, Eileen Atkins, Donald Pleasence, Ralph Bates, Caroline Munro, Hilary Mason, John Steiner | British | Horror | NULL |
| The Devil and Daniel Webster | All That Money Can Buy | 1941 | William Dieterle | ★★★½ | 85 | Stephen Vincent Benet's story is a visual delight, with Huston's sparkling performance as Mr. Scratch (the Devil) matched by Arnold as the loquacious Webster. Oscar-winning score by Bernard Herrmann, cinematography by Joseph August, and special effects by Vernon L. Walker all superb. Screenplay by the author and Dan Totheroh. Cut for reissue in 1952; restored to 107m. on video and laserdisc, adding interesting material missing from other extant prints. Aka ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY and DANIEL AND THE DEVIL. | tt0033532 | Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, James Craig, Anne Shirley, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, H.B. Warner | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Devil and Max Devlin | 1981 | Steven Hilliard Stern | ★★ | 96 | Gould returns to life to recruit three innocent souls for devil Cosby. Undistinguished Disney fare. | tt0082263 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, Susan Anspach, Adam Rich, Julie Budd, David Knell | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Devil and Miss Jones | 1941 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 92 | Delightful social comedy by Norman Krasna; millionaire Coburn masquerades as clerk in his own department store to investigate employee complaints. A must. | tt0033533 | Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Edmund Gwenn, S.Z. Sakall, William Demarest | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Devil and the Deep | 1932 | Marion Gering | ★★½ | 78 | Overplayed but lush melodrama of Bankhead, her suitors Grant and Cooper, and jealous husband, submarine commander Laughton. | tt0022814 | Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, Cary Grant, Paul Porcasi | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil and the Ten Commandments | 1962 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 143 | Episodic film in ten parts illustrating each of the commandments— too often superficial instead of cynical. | tt0055904 | Michel Simon, Lucien Baroux, Claude Nollier, Dany Saval, Charles Aznavour | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Devil at 4 O'Clock | 1961 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 126 | Static production, not saved by volcanic eruption climax, involving priest Tracy helping to evacuate children's hospital in midst of lava flow. Stars are lost in weak film. | tt0054805 | Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Kerwin Mathews, Barbara Luna | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil in Love | 1966 | Ettore Scola | ★½ | 97 | Gassman comes up from Hell during the French Renaissance to botch up an impending peace between Rome and Florence, but loses his powers when he falls for Auger. Comedy is both heavy-handed and unfunny. | tt0060123 | Vittorio Gassman, Mickey Rooney, Claudine Auger, Ettore Manni, Annabella Incontrera | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Devil in a Blue Dress | 1995 | Carl Franklin | ★★½ | 102 | It's L.A., 1948; Washington is unemployed and thus easy prey for a hood who needs a favor done. All he has to do is find an elusive white woman, the former fiancée of a mayoral candidate. The film is oozing with atmosphere and period detail, but its look and feel overwhelm the convoluted (and not always compelling) story. Washington is terrific in a tailor-made part as Easy Rawlins; adapted from Walter Mosley's novel. Black point of view is the film's strong suit, making it unique in the film noir genre. | tt0112857 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jernard Burks | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Devil in the Flesh | 1946 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★★½ | 110 | Exquisitely filmed, compassionate story of WW1 love affair between married woman and sensitive high school student. Controversial in its day because of sensual love scenes and cuckolding of soldier husband. Remade in 1986. | tt0038476 | Gérard Philipe, Micheline Presle, Denise Grey, Jacques Tati | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Devil in the Flesh | 1986 | Marco Bellocchio | ★★★ | 110 | Director Bellocchio remakes and updates the 1946 French classic as another of his studies of madness. Dutch actress Detmers burns up the screen as the going-nutty beauty torn between her terrorist boyfriend (De Torrebruna) and a handsome young boy (Pitzalis). Reportedly the first mainstream film in which a respected actress was involved in an explicitly pornographic sex scene. Available in both R- and X-rated versions. | tt0090944 | Maruschka Detmers, Federico Pitzalis, Anita Laurenzi, Riccardo De Torrebruna | Italian-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Devil on Horseback | 1954 | Cyril Frankel | ★★ | 89 | Inconsequential racing yarn, with talented but cocky teen apprentice jockey Spenser attempting to bully his way to success. Coproduced by John Grierson. | tt0046909 | Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jeremy Spenser, Liam Redmond, Meredith Edwards, Sam Kydd, Vic Wise, George Rose | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Devil to Pay | 1930 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★½ | 73 | Early talkie shows its age, but Colman is fine in this drawing-room comedy. | tt0020821 | Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, David Torrence, Myrna Loy, Mary Forbes, Paul Cavanagh | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Advocate | 1997 | Taylor Hackford | ★★★ | 144 | Wild, over-the-top movie about a young hotshot lawyer from Florida who's recruited to join a sleek N.Y.C. firm run by a charming megalomaniac (Pacino) who earmarks the newcomer for Big Things. But there are devilish hints that all is not right. Reeves is completely believable, and Pacino gives a delicious, pull-out-the-stops performance as his manipulative mentor. The film goes on too long, but it's spiked with arresting scenes and fine performances. Great showcase, too, for Theron as Reeves' impressionable wife. Delroy Lindo appears unbilled. | tt0118971 | [R] | Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Connie Nielsen, Craig T. Nelson, Tamara Tunie, Debra Monk, Heather Matarazzo | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Devil's Angels | 1967 | Daniel Haller | ★½ | 84 | Killer cyclists head for outlaw sanctuary breaking everything in their way. Lurid and cheap. | tt0061565 | [PG] | John Cassavetes, Beverly Adams, Mimsy Farmer, Leo Gordon | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Arithmetic | 1999 | Donna Deitch | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Mall-hopping suburban teen Dunst learns a powerful lesson about her Jewish heritage when she's time-warped back from her family's Passover seder table to German-occupied Poland in 1941. There, she discovers friendship and life's meaning in a concentration camp. Adapted by Robert J. Avrech from popular 1988 novel by Jane Yolen that is now standard reading in many high schools. Dustin Hoffman (who isn't in it) and Mimi Rogers (who is) executive produced. Made for cable. | tt0179148 | Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, Paul Freeman, Mimi Rogers, Louise Fletcher | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Backbone | 2001 | Guillermo del Toro | ★★★½ | 106 | A remote outpost serves as a school and shelter for displaced boys in the midst of the Spanish Civil War . . . and harbors the ghost of one youngster whose spirit cannot rest. A fascinating ghost story with multiple layers, strikingly shot and designed. Cowritten by the director, Antonio Trashorras, and David Muñoz. | tt0256009 | [R] | Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Federico Luppi, Iñtigo Garcés, Fernando Tielve, Irene Visedo, Berta Ojea | Spanish-Mexican | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Devil's Bait | 1959 | Peter Graham Scott. | ★★ | 58 | Leisurely paced B film about baker Keen and wife Hylton, who learn that cyanide has been accidentally put in their wares. | tt0052734 | Geoffrey Keen, Jane Hylton, Gordon Jackson, Dermot Kelly. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Bride | 1968 | Terence Fisher | ★★★ | 95 | Taut filming of Dennis Wheatley novel. Duc de Richleau (Lee) assists young friend under spell of Mocate, ultra-evil Satanist. Watch out for that climax! British title: THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. | tt0062885 | [G] | Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Patrick Mower, Sarah Lawson, Paul Eddington | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Devil's Brigade | 1968 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 130 | Standard WW2 fare about reckless recruits fashioned into creditable fighting unit; goes on far too long. Holden is wasted. | tt0062886 | William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Michael Rennie, Dana Andrews, Carroll O'Connor, Gretchen Wyler, Andrew Prine, Claude Akins, Richard Jaeckel, Paul Hornung, Patric Knowles, James Craig, Richard Dawson | War | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Brother | Fra Diavolo | 1933 | Hal Roach, Charles R. Rogers | ★★★ | 88 | Destitute Stan and Ollie become bungling henchman for notorious singing bandit Fra Diavolo (King) in this adaptation of Auber's 1830 operetta. One of the comedy team's best features. Aka FRA DIAVOLO. | tt0023943 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Dennis King, Thelma Todd, James Finlayson, Henry Armetta | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Devil's Canyon | 1953 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 92 | Former marshal put in prison for shoot-outs, where he's entangled in prison riot. Photographed in 3-D. | tt0045684 | Virginia Mayo, Dale Robertson, Stephen McNally, Arthur Hunnicutt | Western | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Cargo | 1948 | John F. Link | ★½ | 61 | Poverty-row continuation of The Falcon series; mundane murder mystery showcasing Calvert's magic act skills. | tt0040287 | John Calvert, Rochelle Hudson, Roscoe Karns, Lyle Talbot, Tom Kennedy, Theodore Von Eltz | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Commandment | 1957 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★½ | 90 | A reporter in Paris investigates a string of murders in which women's bodies are drained of blood. This stylish yarn started the trend of gothic Italian horrors of the 1950s and 1960s. Photographed by Mario Bava (who also codirected, sans credit). Beware of 70m. version which inserts bogus footage shot by the American distributor (featuring Al Lewis!). Originally titled I VAMPIRI. | tt0049429 | Gianna Maria Canale, Antoine Balpetre, Paul Muller, Carlo Dangelo, Wandisa Guida | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Daffodil | 1961 | Ákos Ráthonyi | ★★ | 86 | Flabby entry in Edgar Wallace series, involving a rash of murders linked with dope smuggling. Retitled: DAFFODIL KILLER. | tt0054912 |
|
William Lucas, Penelope Horner, Christopher Lee, Ingrid van Bergen, Albert Lieven | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Devil's Daughter | 1939 | Arthur Leonard. | ★★ | 65 | A sweet young woman (James) returns to Jamaica from N.Y.C. to take over the banana plantation she inherited from her father. Her embittered stepsister (McKinney) feels she's the rightful owner and plots revenge amid romantic complications. Pleasant-enough all-black-cast independent. | tt0031229 | Nina Mae McKinney, Jack Carter, Ida James, Hamtree Harrington, Willa Mae Lane, Emmett Wallace. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Disciple | 1959 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★½ | 82 | Sparkling adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's satire, set during American Revolution, with standout performances by star trio (notably Olivier as General Burgoyne, who serves as Shaw's mouthpiece). Shows how, in Shaw's view, the bumbling British managed to lose their colonies. Screenplay by John Dighton and Roland Kibbee. | tt0052735 | Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott, Eva LeGallienne, Harry Andrews, Basil Sydney, George Rose, Neil McCallum, David Horne, Mervyn Johns | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Devil's Doorway | 1950 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 84 | Well-turned Western with offbeat casting of Taylor as Indian who served in Civil War, returning home to find that he must fight to right the injustices done against his people. | tt0042395 | Robert Taylor, Louis Calhern, Paula Raymond, Marshall Thompson, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Double | 2011 | Lee Tamahori | ★★½ | 109 | Bone-chilling biopic that tells the story of Latif Yahia, a lieutenant in the Iraqi army who is bullied by Saddam Hussein's oversexed, coke-snorting son Uday into becoming his body double. How will Latif, who is a decent, moral man, survive this ordeal? Sometimes difficult to watch because of the endless graphic violence, but these images do effectively convey the true nature of Uday's brutality. The one flaw: Uday's behavior eventually becomes predictably repetitive. Cooper plays both Latif and Uday. | tt1270262 | [R] | Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast, Mimoun Oaïssa, Khalid Laith, Dar Salim, Nasser Memarzia | Belgian | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| The Devil's Eye | 1960 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 90 | A woman's chastity gives the Devil sty in his eye, so he sends Don Juan back to Earth from Hell to seduce her, but the modern-day woman finds his old-fashioned charm amusing rather than irresistible. Droll Bergman comedy is a bit slow, but witty and playful. | tt0053772 | Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, Nils Poppe, Sture Lagerwall | Swedish | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Devil's General | 1956 | Helmut Kautner | ★★★½ | 120 | Jurgens is outstanding as a German war hero aviator who becomes disenchanted with Hitler and Nazism. Allegedly based on fact. | tt0047572 | Curt Jurgens, Marianne Cook (Koch), Victor De Kowa, Karl John, Eva-Ingeborg Scholz, Albert Lieven | German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Hairpin | 1957 | Cornel Wilde | ★★½ | 82 | Wilde is reckless sports car champion who learns fair play on the track; obligatory racing scenes are above average. | tt0050311 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Mary Astor, Arthur Franz | Action | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Henchman | 1949 | Seymour Friedman. | ★★ | 69 | In this programmer, Baxter sets out to capture waterfront gang and becomes involved in murder. | tt0041293 | Warner Baxter, Mary Beth Hughes, Mike Mazurki, Harry Shannon. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Holiday | 1930 | Edmund Goulding. | ★★ | 80 | Carroll is hired to woo farm boy Holmes to induce him to buy Sparks' line of equipment— but she falls in love with him for real. Predictable from the first scene on, but competently done. Goulding also wrote the story. | tt0020823 | Nancy Carroll, Phillips Holmes, James Kirkwood, Hobart Bosworth, Ned Sparks, Morgan Farley, Jed Prouty, Paul Lukas, ZaSu Pitts, Morton Downey. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Devil's Island | 1940 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 62 | Above-average Karloff vehicle of innocent doctor exiled to Devil's Island, mistreated by supervisor Stephenson. | tt0032391 | Boris Karloff, Nedda Harrigan, James Stephenson, Adia Kuznetzoff, Will Stanton, Edward Keane | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Mask | 1946 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 66 | OK entry in short-lived I Love a Mystery series with Bannon as Jack Packard, Yarborough as Doc Young. Far-fetched story involving shrunken heads and murder is intriguing but spoiled by obvious identity of killer. | tt0038471 | Jim Bannon, Anita Louise, Michael Duane, Mona Barrie, Ludwig Donath, Barton Yarborough | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Devil's Messenger | 1962 | Curt Siodmak | ★½ | 72 | Sultry girl is sent to earth to help Satan carry out master plan that will envelop the world; hazy plot, poor production values. Originally three episodes of unsold TV series 13 Demon Street. | tt0054807 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Karen Kadler, John Crawford, Michael Hinn | U.S.-Swedish | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Own | 1966 | Cyril Frankel | ★★★ | 90 | Good Hammer chiller with Fontaine as headmistress of private school who learns that a student is to be sacrificed by a local voodoo cult. British title: THE WITCHES. | tt0060307 | Joan Fontaine, Kay Walsh, Alec McCowen, Ann Bell, Ingrid Brett, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Own | 1997 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★½ | 110 | Young Irish terrorist comes to N.Y.C. to broker an arms deal, and gets room and board from a straight-arrow cop who has no idea who he is. Watchable film has two charismatic stars playing deeply committed characters; their separate stories build in intensity, but when their lives finally intersect the story peters out. | tt0118972 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin, Rubén Blades, Treat Williams, George Hearn, Mitchell Ryan, Natascha McElhone, Simon Jones, Julia Stiles | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Party | 1938 | Ray McCarey. | ★★ | 65 | So-so melodrama of former Hell's Kitchen pals who reunite once a year . . . except this year one of them is murdered. | tt0030057 | Victor McLaglen, William Gargan, Paul Kelly, Beatrice Roberts, Frank Jenks, Samuel S. Hinds. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Devil's Playground | 1937 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 74 | Good combination of action and romance with diver Dix discovering wife Del Rio in love with Morris; exciting underwater climax. Remake of 1928 Frank Capra film SUBMARINE. | tt0028783 | Richard Dix, Dolores Del Rio, Chester Morris, Pierre Watkin, Ward Bond | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Devil's Playground | 1976 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★ | 107 | Young boys reaching puberty act out sexually while boarded at Roman Catholic school; meanwhile, their teachers have problems of their own. Pointed and well made, if a bit predictable. | tt0074404 | Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Simon Burke, Charles McCallum, John Frawley, Jonathan Hardy, Gerry Duggan | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Rain | 1975 | Robert Feust | ★★½ | 85 | Offbeat approach to story of devil worshippers provides some effective horror and also some unintentional humor. Most of the cast melts in a memorable finale. John Travolta makes his debut in a bit part. | tt0072869 | [PG] | Ernest Borgnine, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt, Eddie Albert, Keenan Wynn, Joan Prather | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Rejects | 2005 | Rob Zombie | ★★½ | 101 | The three killers from Zombie's previous effort HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES go on a violent road trip and find themselves stalked by a sheriff who shares their sadistic tendencies. Gripping horror film captures the mood and aesthetics of late '60s/early '70s exploitation films, but be warned: it's relentlessly violent, horrifying, and depressing. Filled with B-movie celebrity cameos and retro counterculture themes. Also available in unrated version. | tt0395584 | [R] | Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Ken Foree, William Forsythe, Geoffrey Lewis, Danny Trejo, Leslie Easterbrook, Priscilla Barnes | Action, Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Devil's Wanton | 1949 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 72 | Sober account of desperate girl finding romance with another equally unhappy soul, reaffirming their faith in humanity. Not released in U.S. until 1962. | tt0041399 | Doris Svedlund, Birger Malmsten, Eva Henning, Hasse Ekman | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Devil's in Love | 1933 | William Dieterle. | ★★½ | 71 | Very odd, well-made film about doctor falsely accused of murder, efforts to clear his name. Bela Lugosi has good, small role as prosecuting attorney. | tt0023945 | Loretta Young, Victor Jory, Vivienne Osborne, C. Henry Gordon, David Manners, J. Carrol Naish. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Devil-Doll | 1936 | Tod Browning | ★★★ | 79 | Very entertaining yarn of Devil's Island escapee Barrymore shrinking humans to doll size to carry out nefarious schemes. Coscripted by Erich von Stroheim. | tt0027521 | Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Robert Greig, Lucy Beaumont, Henry B. Walthall, Grace Ford, Rafaela Ottiano | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Devil-Ship Pirates | 1964 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 89 | Good little movie of stray Spanish ships conquering English countryside, unaware Armada has been defeated. | tt0058011 | Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, Michael Ripper, John Cairney | British | Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Devils | 1971 | Ken Russell | ★★½ | 109 | Fine performances save confused mixture of history, comedy, and surrealism in wide-eyed adaptation of Whiting play and Huxley book dealing with witchcraft and politics in 17th-century France. A mad movie, with fiery finale not for the squeamish. Original British version is 12 minutes longer. | tt0066993 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian, Gemma Jones, Murray Melvin, Michael Gothard | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| The Devonsville Terror | 1983 | Ulli Lommel | ★★ | 82 | Love (wife of German director Lommel) is the new teacher in the town of Devonsville, a burg haunted by a witch's curse from 300 years ago. Copycat horror film steals its climax directly from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. | tt0085434 | Suzanna Love, Robert Walker, Donald Pleasence, Paul Wilson | Horror | NULL | |||
| Devotion | 1946 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 107 | Powerful real-life story of Brontë sisters becomes routine love triangle with Henreid in the middle; worthwhile for intense, dramatic performances. Made in 1943. | tt0038474 | Olivia de Havilland, Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Nancy Coleman, Arthur Kennedy, Dame May Whitty |
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| Diabolique | 1955 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★★½ | 114 | Tyrannical schoolmaster (Meurisse) is bumped off by his long-suffering wife (Clouzot) and mistress (Signoret). Classic chiller builds slowly, surely to final quarter hour that will drive you right up the wall. A must. Older American prints run 107m. Aka LES DIABOLIQUES; remade for U.S. TV as REFLECTIONS OF MURDER (1974) and HOUSE OF SECRETS (1993), and for theaters in 1996. Rereleased theatrically in 1994 with 9m. of footage edited out of original U.S. theatrical version. | tt0046911 | Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Michel Serrault | French | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Diabolique | 1996 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | ★½ | 107 | Top-notch cast founders in this amazingly monotonous (not to mention crude and embarrassing) redo of the 1955 classic, with Palminteri cast as the unmerciful schoolmaster, Stone his icy, murderous mistress, and Adjani his more reserved wife. This dreary film thoroughly trashes the memory of the original— and even the made-for-TV remakes! | tt0116095 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, Chazz Palminteri, Kathy Bates, Spalding Gray, Shirley Knight, Allen Garfield, Adam Hann-Byrd, Clea Lewis | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Diagnosis: Murder | 1975 | Sidney Hayers | ★★★ | 95 | Psychiatrist is drawn into bizarre sequence of events when his wife disappears and he is accused of murdering her. Solid little suspenser. | tt0072876 | Christopher Lee, Judy Geeson, Jon Finch, Tony Beckley, Dilys Hamlett, Jane Merrow | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dial 1119 | 1950 | Gerald Mayer | ★★ | 75 | Modest suspenser hinged on plot of killer holding a group of bar patrons hostage. | tt0042397 | Marshall Thompson, Virginia Field, Andrea King, Sam Levene, Keefe Brasselle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dial M for Murder | 1954 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 105 | Frederick Knott's suspense play of man plotting wife's murder and subsequent police investigation: stagey at times but slick and entertaining. Filmed in 3-D. Remade for TV in 1981 with Angie Dickinson and Christopher Plummer, and in 1998 as A PERFECT MURDER. | tt0046912 | Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dial Red O | 1955 | Daniel B. Ullman. | ★★½ | 62 | Former cowboy star Elliott plays a just-the-facts-ma'am police detective in this taut tale of an escaped psychiatric patient (Larsen) framed for the murder of his wife. First of a short-lived series of DRAGNET-style crime melodramas, followed by SUDDEN DANGER. Sam Peckinpah was dialogue coach and plays a small role. | tt0047993 | Bill Elliott, Keith Larsen, Helene Stanley, Paul Picerni, Jack Kruschen, Elaine Riley, Robert Bice, Rick Vallin. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Diamond Head | 1963 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 107 | Soap opera set in Hawaii with Heston the domineering head of his family, whose dictates almost ruin their lives. | tt0055905 | Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, George Chakiris, France Nuyen, James Darren, Aline MacMahon, Elizabeth Allen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Diamond Horseshoe | Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe | 1945 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 104 | Musical performer Grable has to choose between a long-cherished dream of luxury and life with struggling med student-cum-singer Haymes. Colorful escapism, with good Harry Warren-Mack Gordon songs: 'The More I See You,' 'I Wish I Knew.' Original title: BILLY ROSE'S DIAMOND HORSESHOE. | tt0037640 | Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, Phil Silvers, William Gaxton, Beatrice Kay, Carmen Cavallaro, Margaret Dumont | Musical | NULL | ||
| Diamond Jim | 1935 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 93 | Big-budget biography of eccentric millionaire of 19th century whose appetite for money is only matched by love of food and Lillian Russell; Arthur has dual role in recreation of Gay '90s era. Most entertaining. Screenplay by Preston Sturges. | tt0026277 | Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Binnie Barnes, Cesar Romero, Eric Blore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Diamond Men | 2001 | Dan Cohen | ★★★ | 100 | A veteran diamond salesman, about to be put out to pasture, agrees to break in a 'new guy' on his route in Pennsylvania. As the older man imparts his wisdom, the younger man tries to help his widowed mentor open himself up to female companionship. A small but irresistibly likable film, anchored by Forster's solid performance, which even makes an off-kilter denouement palatable; he also executive-produced. Written by the director. | tt0200427 | Robert Forster, Donnie Wahlberg, Jasmine Guy, Bess Armstrong, George Coe, Kristen Minter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Diamond Queen | 1953 | John Brahm | ★★ | 80 | Dahl is dazzling title figure over whom Lamas and Roland fight in costumer set in India. | tt0045687 | Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Gilbert Roland, Michael Ansara | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Diamond Wizard | 1954 | Dennis O'Keefe | ★★ | 83 | OK caper of U.S. and British agents tracking down diamond counterfeiters. Filmed in 3-D. Original British title: THE DIAMOND. | tt0046913 | Dennis O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan, Philip Friend, Alan Wheatley | British | Crime, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Diamonds | 1975 | Menahem Golan | ★★ | 101 | OK heist movie with Shaw in dual role, as diamond merchant who masterminds break-in at Tel Aviv diamond vault and twin brother who designed the security system there. Good location work in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. | tt0072877 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, Richard Roundtree, Shelley Winters, Barbara (Hershey) Seagull, Shai K. Ophir | Israeli | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Diamonds | 1999 | John Asher | ★★★ | 91 | An elderly ex-boxer goes on a trip with his alienated son and loving grandson that winds up in Reno, where he searches for diamonds he stashed away decades ago. A tailor-made vehicle for Douglas makes excellent use of his macho image, his movie past (through clips from CHAMPION showing him in the ring), and even his real-life stroke in telling its likable, sentimental story. | tt0167423 | [PG-13] | Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, Corbin Allred, Lauren Bacall, Kurt Fuller, Jenny McCarthy, Mariah O'Brien, John Landis | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★½ | 119 | After a one-picture hiatus, Connery returned as James Bond in this colorful comic-book adventure set in Las Vegas; closer in spirit to Republic serials than Ian Fleming, but great fun. | tt0066995 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood, Jimmy Dean, Bruce Cabot, Bruce Glover, Putter Smith, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Leonard Barr, Laurence Naismith, Marc Lawrence | British | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Diamonds for Breakfast | 1968 | Christopher Morahan | ★★ | 102 | Son of Russian nobleman tries to steal royal diamonds his father gambled away on the night of his birth. Offbeat comedy caper with fantasy elements just doesn't work, relies heavily on Mastroianni charm. | tt0062888 | [M] | Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Tushingham, Warren Mitchell, Elaine Taylor, Francisca Tu, Maggie Blye | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Diamonds of the Night | 1964 | Jan Nemec | ★★★½ | 71 | Nemec's first feature is a landmark of the ill-fated Czech 'New Wave': a haunting, startlingly directed chronicle of two Jewish boys' experiences after escaping from a train heading for a Nazi death camp during WW2. Scripted by Nemec and Arnost Lustig (based on the latter's story). | tt0058001 | Ladislav Jansky, Antonin Kumbera, Ilse Bischofova | Czech | Drama | NULL | ||
| Diane | 1956 | David Miller | ★★½ | 110 | Although predictable, medieval romance has good cast, gorgeous sets and costumes, and comes off surprisingly well. Lana looks lovely, and Miklos Rozsa's score helps set the mood. | tt0049140 | Lana Turner, Pedro Armendáriz, Roger Moore, Marisa Pavan, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Daniell | Romance | NULL | |||
| The Diary of Anne Frank | 1959 | George Stevens | ★★★½ | 156 | Meticulously produced version of Broadway drama dealing with Jewish refugees hiding in WW2 Amsterdam. Unfortunately, Perkins never captures pivotal charm of title character, though Schildkraut is fine as father Frank. Winters won Supporting Actress Oscar as shrill Mrs. Van Daan, ever fearful of Nazi arrest, and the cinematography (William C. Mellor) and art direction-set decoration also earned Academy Awards. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett utilized Anne's diary for their stage play and its screen adaptation. Originally released at 170m.; this version now is available on video. Remade several times. | tt0052738 | Millie Perkins, Joseph Schildkraut, Shelley Winters, Richard Beymer, Lou Jacobi, Diane Baker, Ed Wynn | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Diary of a Chambermaid | 1946 | Jean Renoir | ★★ | 87 | Uneasy attempt at Continental-style romantic melodrama, with blonde Goddard as outspoken maid who arouses all sorts of emotions in her snooty household. Tries hard, but never really sure of what it wants to be. Meredith as nutsy neighbor and Ryan as timid scullery maid do their best; Meredith also coproduced and wrote the screenplay. Remade in 1964. | tt0038477 | Paulette Goddard, Hurd Hatfield, Francis Lederer, Burgess Meredith, Judith Anderson, Irene Ryan, Florence Bates, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Diary of a Chambermaid | 1964 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 87 | Remake of Jean Renoir's 1946 film concerns fascism in France in 1939 and how the bourgeoisie are viewed by maid Moreau. Sharp, unrelenting film from one of the great directors. | tt0058249 | Jeanne Moreau, Michel Piccoli, Georges Geret, Françoise Lugagne, Daniel Ivernel, Jean Ozenne | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Country Priest | 1950 | Robert Bresson | ★★★½ | 120 | The life and death of an unhappy young priest attempting to minister to his first parish in rural France. Slow moving but rewarding, with brilliantly stylized direction. Bresson also scripted. | tt0042619 | Claude Laydu, Nicole Ladmiral, Jean Riveyre, Nicole Maurey, Andre Guibert, Martine Lemaire | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Hitman | 1992 | Roy London | ★★★ | 91 | Assassin-for-hire Whitaker plans to retire after one last job, but his intended victim (Fenn) tries to convince him to spare her. Riveting little thriller is well directed and extremely well acted by all (with kudos to Whitaker and especially Fenn). Scripted by Kenneth Pressman, based on his play Insider's Price. | tt0101725 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, John Bedford-Lloyd, James Belushi, Lois Chiles, Sharon Stone, Sherilyn Fenn, Seymour Cassel, Lewis Smith | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Lost Girl | 1929 | G. W. Pabst | ★★★½ | 104 | Pabst and Brooks' followup to their PANDORA'S BOX is even more sordid, yet in some ways more intriguing: Louise is, in succession, raped, gives birth, is put in a detention home, then a brothel, inherits money, marries, is widowed . . . and writer Rudolf Leonhardt claims only the first half of his script was filmed. Fascinating nonetheless, with an explicitness that's still surprising. | tt0020475 | Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Josef Ravensky, Sybille Schmitz, Valeska Gert | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Mad Black Woman | 2005 | Darren Grant. | ★½ | 116 | Dumped by a hotshot lawyer husband with ties to unsavory characters, Elise reinvents herself by returning to her much humbler family, taking a modest job, and dating a romantically sincere hunk. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to have The Three Stooges show up in an otherwise straight production of A Streetcar Named Desire, this is probably the closest approximation. Perry, who wrote the play on which this is based, plays three characters, including a drag grandma named Madea, who's as broad as any of the Klumps in Eddie Murphy's NUTTY PROFESSOR movies. Elise strives mightily to keep her head above the water with an impassioned performance, but here comes the tide. | tt0422093 | [PG-13] | Kimberly Elise, Steve Harris, Tyler Perry, Cicely Tyson, Shemar Moore, Tamara Taylor. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Mad Housewife | 1970 | Frank Perry | ★★½ | 103 | Interesting but pointless story of harried N.Y.C. wife finding much needed release via affair with self-centered Langella. Asinine husband Benjamin would drive anyone mad. Peter Boyle has prominent bit in final scene. Script by Eleanor Perry from Sue Kaufman's novel. 'Alternate' version prepared for TV, with different footage, runs 95m. | tt0065636 | [R] | Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella, Carrie Snodgress, Lorraine Cullen, Frannie Michel, Katherine Meskill | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Madman | 1963 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 96 | 19th-century magistrate Price is possessed by an evil spirit called the Horla, which compels him to murder. Colorful but routine. Based on a story by Guy de Maupassant. | tt0056993 | Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield, Ian Wolfe, Nelson Olmstead | Horror | NULL | |||
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | 2010 | Thor Freudenthal | ★★½ | 94 | In this adaptation of Jeff Kinney's best-selling illustrated kids' book, a middle school troublemaker rebels against parents, teachers, fellow students, and just about everyone else as he details his feelings in his daily journal. Full of the typical pranks and shenanigans you'd expect to find in this type of film, there will still be pangs of recognition for young viewers and nostalgic parents as well. Unfortunately, the book's more intriguing subversive elements have been homogenized to the point that even DENNIS THE MENACE seems edgier. | tt1196141 | [PG] | Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, Devon Bostick, Chloë Grace Moretz, Grayson Russell, Laine MacNeill | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | 2011 | David Bowers | ★★½ | 99 | Sequel to the 2010 hit comedy based on Jeff Kinney’s best-selling series of kids’ books is more of the same, with the emphasis this time on Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley’s relationship with older brother Rodrick, who seems to enjoy torturing the poor guy. With their parents demanding a truce, the two siblings are left alone for a weekend and get into more trouble and slapstick situations than one could imagine. Capable cast makes this cartoonish, sitcom-style material work better than you might expect. | tt1650043 | [PG] | Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn, Peyton List, Laine MacNeil, Connor Fielding, Owen Fielding, Grayson Russell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Diary of the Dead | 2008 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 95 | When the dead revive and attack the living, a group of Pennsylvania college students try to flee to safety in a Winnebago, making a documentary as they go; this movie is supposedly that film. The scale of Romero’s newest “living dead” outing is smaller than most of them. Unfortunately, pacing is erratic (at times boringly slow), and the characters are a mixed bag and include a highly unlikely college professor. Fans will embrace this; others beware. Listen for voice cameos by noted horror writers and actors. Aka GEORGE A. ROMERO’S DIARY OF THE DEAD. | tt0848557 | [R] | Joshua Close, Scott Wentworth, Michelle Morgan, Joe Dinicol, Shawn Roberts, Amy Lalonde, Philip Riccio, Megan Park | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dice Rules | 1991 | Jay Dubin | ★★½ | 87 | Film opens with a series of curious and mostly embarrassing blackout skits with Clay imitating Jerry Lewis! Finally it moves on to the standup comic's sold-out Madison Square Garden concert, in which his audience communication is total, and his sex-oriented material is predictably crude, embarrassing, outrageous— and often very funny. | tt0101726 | [NC-17] | Andrew Dice Clay | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Dick | 1999 | Andrew Fleming | ★★★ | 95 | Clever cross of CLUELESS and ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN has two likable teenage airheads (delightfully played by Dunst and Williams) stumbling into all the key players in the Watergate scandal— up to and including President Richard Nixon himself (Hedaya)— but never having an inkling of what is going on. Funny script by Fleming and Sheryl Longin is even more enjoyable if you remember the real-life events of the 1970s. | tt0144168 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Dave Foley, Saul Rubinek, Harry Shearer, Jim Breuer, Will Ferrell, Teri Garr, Bruce McCulloch, Ted McGinley, G.D. Spradlin, Ana Gasteyer, Ryan Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dick Tracy | 1990 | Warren Beatty | ★★★ | 104 | Colorful, high-style adaptation of the Chester Gould comic strip classic, with Beatty redefining the hawk-nosed, jut-jawed hero. Story is simple in the extreme, but there's so much to take in you really don't mind: a galaxy of guest stars as Gould's grotesque villains, eye-popping, Academy Award-winning makeup and art direction and Madonna singing new Stephen Sondheim songs (if a few too many). One of them, 'Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man),' also won an Oscar. Standout: Pacino's hilarious, over-the-top performance as Big Boy Caprice. | tt0099422 | [PG] | Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Glenne Headly, Charlie Korsmo, Mandy Patinkin, Charles Durning, Paul Sorvino, William Forsythe, Seymour Cassel, Dustin Hoffman, Dick Van Dyke, Catherine O'Hara, James Caan, Michael J. Pollard, Estelle Parsons, James Tolkan, R.G. Armstrong, Kathy Bates | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome | 1947 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 65 | Karloff is fun as Gruesome, who uses Dr. A. Tomic's experimental gas (which causes people to freeze in place) to commit daring bank robbery. Silly but watchable. Lex Barker has a bit role as ambulance driver. | tt0039320 | Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, Anne Gwynne, Lyle Latell | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Dick Tracy Versus Cueball | 1946 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 62 | Ex-jailbird goes on a killing spree and Tess may be his next victim. Ralph Byrd is definitive screen Tracy, but he isn't in this one; Conway does his best in OK entry in the Tracy series. | tt0038478 | Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Lyle Latell, Rita Corday, Dick Wessel | Drama, Crime, Action, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dick Tracy's Dilemma | 1947 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 60 | RKO contract players abound in this Tracy series entry, pitting detective against The Claw. Fast pacing makes predictable crime-solving satisfactory. | tt0039321 | Ralph Byrd, Lyle Latell, Kay Christopher, Jack Lambert, Ian Keith | Action | NULL | |||
| Dick Tracy, Detective | 1945 | William Berke | ★★ | 62 | Chester Gould's square-jawed detective sets out to nab Splitface (Mazurki), a vengeance-seeking killer. Originally titled DICK TRACY. | tt0037642 | Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Mike Mazurki, Jane Greer, Lyle Latell, Joseph Creehan, Tommy Noonan | Action, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dick Turpin | 1925 | John G. Blystone | ★★★ | 73 | Mix abandoned cowboy clothes to play famous English highwayman, but retained surefire formula of action and comedy in this enjoyable vehicle. | tt0015750 | Tom Mix, Kathleen Myers, Philo McCullough, Alan Hale/Sr., Bull Montana | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star | 2003 | Sam Weisman | ★★ | 98 | Washed-up former TV moppet Spade pays a family to allow him to move in and experience the childhood he never had in order for him to win a part in Reiner's new movie. Alternately smart-alecky and touchy-feely, this comedy (cowritten by Spade) isn't sure what it wants to be. Cast is peppered with real-life former child stars, many of whom appear in a music-video-style finale (including a few ringers like Jeff Conaway and Charlene Tilton). Coproduced by Adam Sandler. | tt0325258 | [PG-13] | David Spade, Mary McCormack, Jon Lovitz, Craig Bierko, Jenna Boyd, Scott Terra, Alyssa Milano, Doris Roberts, Rob Reiner, Leif Garrett, Barry Williams, Dustin Diamond, Danny Bonaduce, Edie McClurg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Dictator | 2012 | Larry Charles | ★★ | 83 | The despotic ruler of Wadiya, in North Africa, is tricked by his trusted advisor (Kingsley) into traveling to N.Y.C. to sign a treaty at the U.N. Instead, he is sprung loose without his trademark beard and no identification. He finds himself bonding with a woman (Faris) who runs a food co-op and stands for everything the dictator abhors. Would-be satire concocted by Baron Cohen and his regular team becomes, instead, a desperate string of jokes, only a handful of which are funny: crass comedy in an odd mashup with Borscht Belt humor. A number of well-known actors and comics appear in thankless cameo roles. | tt1645170 | [R] | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, Jason Mantzoukas, Fred Armisen, Aasif Mandvi, Kevin Corrigan, Chris Parnell, Jessica St. Clair, Horatio Sanz, Kathryn Hahn, Bobby Lee, Chris Elliott | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Did You Hear About the Morgans? | 2009 | Marc Lawrence | ★★ | 103 | Separated N.Y.C. power couple witness a murder one night and are shuffled off to a witness relocation program in rural Wyoming. There they meet all the local yokels, awkwardly adjust to country living, and slowly rekindle the fires of their failing marriage. Mindless, predictable Green Acres–inspired hokum has appealing stars but little more to recommend it. Too bad Arnold the Pig wasn't available for a cameo. Hawk Scope. | tt1314228 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Steenburgen, Sam Elliott, Michael Kelly, Elisabeth Moss, Jesse Liebman, Dana Ivey, Wilford Brimley, Beth Fowler, Seth Gilliam | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? | 1968 | Don Weis | 💣 | 97 | You've all heard it, so why bother watching this dud. For only the most fervent Diller fans. | tt0062890 | Phyllis Diller, Bob Denver, Joe Flynn, Eileen Wesson, Jeanette Nolan, Bob Hastings, David Hartman, Charles Lane, Kent McCord | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Die Another Day | 2002 | Lee Tamahori | ★★★ | 132 | Entertaining James Bond outing, in the modern mode: less sophistication, more computer-generated effects. Bond is taken prisoner in Korea, ultimately freed to wage a battle of wits with a megalomaniacal industrialist (Stephens— the son of Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens). Along the way he joins forces with a sexy NSA agent named Jinx (Berry). Some of the effects are absurdly unrealistic (but then, so is Dench's renouncement of her top agent). Goes on one segment too long . . . but still fun to watch. Madonna sings (and cowrote) the title song, and appears unbilled. | tt0246460 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese, Michael Madsen, Samantha Bond | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Die Hard | 1988 | John McTiernan | ★★★ | 131 | Dynamite action yarn about a N.Y.C. cop who just happens to be visiting an L.A. highrise when it's commandeered by terrorist thieves. Great action scenes and stunts, with Richard Edlund's special effects, and a perfect part for Willis, who plays cat-and-mouse with bad guy Rickman. Marred only by overlength and too many needlessly stupid supporting characters. Followed by two sequels. | tt0095016 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, De'voreaux White, William Atherton, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta, Lorenzo Caccialanza, Robert Davi, Rick Ducommun, Rebecca Broussard, Vondie Curtis Hall, Don Harvey | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Die Hard 2 | 1990 | Renny Harlin | ★★★ | 124 | Stupendously unbelievable— but very entertaining— sequel to the action hit; while waiting for his wife to land at Washington's Dulles Airport, Willis dives head-first into trouble when he gets wind of an impending terrorist-type plot. Lots of violent, large-scale action, and lots of fun— just don't look for lots of logic. Based on Walter Wager's novel 58 Minutes. | tt0099423 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson, Franco Nero, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Art Evans, Fred Dalton Thompson, Sheila McCarthy, Robert Patrick, John Leguizamo, Robert Costanzo | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Die Hard With a Vengeance | 1995 | John McTiernan | ★★★ | 128 | A madman (Irons) holds N.Y.C. hostage with bombings— and threats of more— targeting his demands at ousted cop John McClane (Willis), who inadvertently acquires a partner in hostile Harlem storekeeper Jackson. Logic and motivation take a backseat to big-scale action in this nonstop roller-coaster ride; it's like watching 12 chapters of a high-tech Saturday matinee serial all at once. | tt0112864 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman, Anthony Peck, Nick Wyman, Sam Phillips | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Die Laughing | 1980 | Jeff Werner | 💣 | 108 | Benson is star, coauthor, coproducer, and composer of this sophomoric black comedy and gives an excruciating performance as a cabbie who accidentally becomes implicated in the murder of a nuclear scientist. Cort is disgustingly oily as fascist villain. | tt0080627 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Linda Grovenor, Charles Durning, Elsa Lanchester, Bud Cort, Peter Coyote | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Die Mommie Die! | 2003 | Mark Rucker | ★★½ | 90 | Fitfully amusing spoof of Ross Hunter-style Hollywood melodramas, with drag performer Busch cast as Angela Arden, a faded torch singer unhappily married to a domineering movie mogul and saddled with two twisted children. Based on Busch's play; despite some funny moments, this probably works better onstage. | tt0322023 | [R] | Charles Busch, Philip Baker Hall, Jason Priestley, Frances Conroy, Natasha Lyonne, Stark Sands, Victor Raider-Wexler, Nora Dunn, Sara Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Die Nibelungen | Siegfried | 1924 | Fritz Lang | ★★★★ | 186 | Lang's epic masterpiece of German mythology is told in two parts, each different in style and theme. In SIEGFRIED, the titanic hero achieves virtual immortality by bathing in the blood of a slain dragon (a landmark scene in silent cinema). After his death, Siegfried's widow seeks vengeance in KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE, in which she marries Attila the Hun in order to carry out her plan. A rich treasure trove of folklore and magic, in which Lang creates a mystical geometric universe where the characters play against vast architectural landscapes. A must-see. | tt0015174 | Paul Richter, Margarete Schon, Theodor Loos, Hanna Ralph, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Georg John | German | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Die! Die! My Darling! | Fanatic | 1965 | Silvio Narizzano | ★★½ | 97 | Tallulah, in her last film, has field day as weirdo who keeps Powers under lock and key for personal vengeance against the death of her son. Engaging fun, especially for Bankhead devotees. Script by Richard Matheson. Original British title: FANATIC. | tt0059106 | Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Donald Sutherland, Yootha Joyce | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Die, Monster, Die! | 1965 | Daniel Haller | ★★ | 80 | Based on H. P. Lovecraft story, this thriller has Karloff a recluse who discovers a meteor which gives him strange powers. Good premise is not carried out well. Filmed in England. Remade as THE CURSE (1987). Horrifying Colorscope. | tt0059465 | Boris Karloff, Nick Adams, Freda Jackson, Suzan Farmer, Terence de Marney, Patrick Magee | Mystery, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| A Different Loyalty | 2004 | Marek Kanievska. | ★½ | 96 | Set during the Cold War, Stone plays an American wife to Everett's British double agent. He's torn between her and his ideals, thus creating turmoil in the marriage. The two leads act their little hearts out, but the film is terminally dull. Loosely based on the life of Eleanor and Kim Philby. Actor Piddock also scripted and coproduced. | tt0326828 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Rupert Everett, Julian Wadham, Michael Cochrane, Ann Lambton, Joss Ackland, Jim Piddock. | U.S.-Canadian-British | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| A Different Story | 1978 | Paul Aaron | ★★½ | 108 | Gays King and Foster get married to prevent his deportation, then fall in love. Sounds terrible, but first half is surprisingly good until film succumbs to conventionality. Foster is terrific. | tt0077435 | [PG] | Perry King, Meg Foster, Valerie Curtin, Peter Donat, Richard Bull, Barbara Collentine | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Different for Girls | 1997 | Richard Spence | ★★★ | 92 | A demure transsexual who writes greeting card verses takes up with a rowdy biker— the same long-ago schoolmate who protected her against adolescent persecutors before the operation that changed her life. One of the more distinctive odd-couple romantic comedies of our time; kept on track by the central performance of Mackintosh, who pulls off a difficult role. | tt0116102 | [R] | Steven Mackintosh, Rupert Graves, Neil Dudgeon, Saskia Reeves | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dig That Uranium | 1956 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 61 | Broad Western spoof, as the Bowery Boys get mixed up with crooks and a phony uranium mine. Look for Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer in a bit. | tt0049143 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Mary Beth Hughes, Raymond Hatton, Myron Healey, Harry Lauter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Digby- The Biggest Dog in the World | 1974 | Joseph McGrath | 💣 | 88 | Poor comedy-fantasy concerning liquid Project X, which causes sheepdog Digby to grow to huge proportions. Bad special effects, too. Written by Ted Key, creator of 'Hazel,' strictly for kids. | tt0069974 | [G] | Jim Dale, Spike Milligan, Milo O'Shea, Angela Douglas, Norman Rossington | British | Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | |
| Digger | 1994 | Robert Turner | ★★ | 92 | An attractive but depressing film of people dealing with losses in their lives: a couple who have buried a drowned child, a boy dying of leukemia therapy complications, and his friend whose parents are divorcing. Dukakis and Nielsen provide welcome relief as older couple in the throes of romance. | tt0106722 | [PG] | Adam Hann-Byrd, Joshua Jackson, Barbara Williams, Timothy Bottoms, Olympia Dukakis, Leslie Nielsen, P. Lynn Johnson, Lochlyn Munro | Family | NULL | ||
| Diggers | 2007 | Katherine Dieckmann | ★★ | 87 | Set in 1970s Long Island, film focuses on two generations of clam diggers who are trying desperately to maintain their way of life (and loving) in a town that may be about to pass them by. Low-budget look at the changing ways of small-town America boasts an attractive cast but is less than compelling-unless you dig clams, of course. With its TV-friendly elements this might have been more suitable as a series pilot. Marino (who plays Lozo) wrote and coproduced. | tt0469897 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Lauren Ambrose, Ron Eldard, Josh Hamilton, Sarah Paulson, Ken Marino, Maura Tierney, Shannon Barry, Andrew Cherry | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Digging to China | 1997 | Timothy Hutton | ★★ | 98 | Sincere but one-note film about the growing friendship between a troubled 10-year-old girl (Wood) and a mentally retarded young man (Bacon). Its offbeat qualities seem a bit too contrived, though the performances can't be faulted. Hutton's feature directing debut. | tt0118980 | [PG] | Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Bacon, Mary Stuart Masterson, Cathy Moriarty, Marian Seldes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Diggstown | 1992 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 97 | Amiable yarn about a con-artist just sprung from prison who sets his sights on a high-rolling meanie in a small Georgia town— with boxer Gossett as his lure for big-time bets. The two stars are very watchable, even if the script is contrived. Gossett's then-wife Cyndi plays his spouse on-screen. | tt0104107 | [R] | James Woods, Louis Gossett/Jr., Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt, Heather Graham, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Thomas Wilson Brown, Duane Davis, Willie Green, George D. Wallace | Drama | NULL | ||
| Digimon: The Movie | 2000 | Takaaki Yamashita, Hisashi Nakayama, Masahiro Aizawa | ★★ | 82 | Three short stories (released as theatrical shorts in Japan) based on the animated TV series are strung together to form a 'movie.' A notch better than the POKÉMON movies, with a standout sequence in the middle section as digital monsters battle in a surreal internet world. Otherwise, strictly for wired small-fry. | tt0259974 | [PG] | Voices of Lara Jill Miller, Joshua Seth, Colleen O'Shaughnessy, Philece Sampler, Bob Glouberman, Mona Marshall | Japanese | Adventure, Animation, Action, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Dilemma | 2011 | Ron Howard | ★ | 118 | Vaughn and James are best friends and business partners, so Vaughn is appalled when he sees James’ wife (Ryder) making out with another guy . . . but can’t figure out how to break the news to him. Purported comedy is awkward and unfunny. The actors are gung ho, but to no avail: this is a misfire. | tt1578275 | [PG-13] | Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah, Amy Morton, Chelcie Ross, Clint Howard, Rance Howard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dillinger | 1945 | Max Nosseck | ★★★ | 70 | Solid gangster yarn written by Philip Yordan, one of the best B movies of its kind (though a key bank robbery is comprised of stock footage lifted from Fritz Lang's YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE). | tt0037644 | Edmund Lowe, Anne Jeffreys, Lawrence Tierney, Eduardo Ciannelli, Elisha Cook/Jr., Marc Lawrence | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dillinger | 1973 | John Milius | ★★★ | 107 | Heavily romanticized gangster movie is aided by some rough, violent gun battles. Story follows Dillinger midway through his bank-robbing career up until his death outside the Biograph Theatre. | tt0069976 | [R] | Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Michelle Phillips, Richard Dreyfuss, Harry Dean Stanton, Steve Kanaly | Crime | NULL | ||
| Dillinger and Capone | 1995 | Jon Purdy | ★★ | 94 | 1940: released from prison, Al Capone (Abraham) holds captive the family of John Dillinger (Sheen) who, here at least, wasn't gunned down at the Biograph. Big Al wants the famed bank robber to recover 15 million dollars of Capone's ill-gotten gains from a hotel in Chicago. The clever idea is boosted by slick acting, but it soon slides into a routine heist thriller. | tt0112869 | [R] | Martin Sheen, F. Murray Abraham, Stephen Davies, Catherine Hicks, Don Stroud, Sasha Jenson, Michael Oliver, Jeffrey Combs, Michael C. Gwynne, Anthony Crivello, Bert Remsen, Clint Howard | Action | NULL | ||
| Dim Sum: a little bit of heart | 1984 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 89 | Chung, Cora Miao. Occasionally slow— there are one too many shots of empty rooms— but mostly wise, endearing tale of Chinese-Americans in San Francisco, focusing on the dynamics of a mother-daughter relationship. Characters may be distinctively Chinese, but there's a refreshing, knowing universality to this comedy. | tt0087150 | [PG] | Laureen Chew, Kim Chew, Victor Wong, Ida F.O. Chung, Cora Miao | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dime With a Halo | 1963 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 97 | Five poor Mexican kids steal ten cents from church collection plate and bet on a racehorse. Minor but winning little film. | tt0056999 |
|
Barbara Luna, Roger Mobley, Paul Langton, Rafael Lopez, Manuel Padilla | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Diminished Capacity | 2008 | Terry Kinney | ★★½ | 89 | First-rate cast in a desperately thin story about a Chicago newspaper columnist (Broderick) recovering from a head injury, who goes home to tend to his aging, memory-challenged uncle (Alda). Takes an odd turn as they return to Chicago to sell a rare baseball card. | tt1007950 | NR | Matthew Broderick, Alan Alda, Virginia Madsen, Lois Smith, Dylan Baker, Louis C.K., Jimmy Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Jim True-Frost, Tom Aldredge | NULL | |||
| Dimples | 1936 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 78 | Prime Shirley, with our heroine doing her best to save her destitute father, played by marvelous Morgan. Songs: 'Oh Mister Man Up in the Moon,' 'What Did the Bluebird Say.' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027527 | Shirley Temple, Frank Morgan, Helen Westley, Robert Kent, Stepin Fetchit, Astrid Allwyn | Musical | NULL | |||
| Diner | 1982 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 110 | Problems of growing up are nicely synthesized by writer-director Levinson in this look at a group of friends who hang out in a Baltimore diner in the 1950s. Obviously made with care and affection; a real sleeper. Levinson's directorial debut and first film of Barkin and Reiser. | tt0083833 | [R] | Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Timothy Daly, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, Michael Tucker | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dingaka | 1965 | Jamie Uys | ★★½ | 98 | Film focuses on contrasting white-black ways of life and the clashes of the two cultures; production bogs down in stereotypes. | tt0059107 | Stanley Baker, Juliet Prowse, Ken Gampu, Siegfried Mynhardt, Bob Courtney | South African | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Dingo | 1991 | Rolf de Heer | ★★½ | 108 | A chance appearance by jazz trumpeter Billy Cross (Davis) in a boy's rural community inspires him to pursue music himself; now grown up, he still dreams of playing for a living— and winning the approval of his lifelong idol. Amiable but slow-paced story is sparked by Miles Davis' dynamic presence and ingratiating performance. Chuck Findley doubled Friels' trumpeting on the soundtrack. Invigorating score by Michel Legrand and Davis. | tt0104109 | Colin Friels, Miles Davis, Helen Buday, Joe Petruzzi, Bernadette Lafont, Bernard Fresson | Australian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dinky | 1935 | D. Ross Lederman. Howard Bretherton | ★★ | 65 | Astor is framed, accused of fraud. She tries to keep it from hurting son Cooper in military school. Nothing special. | tt0026279 | Jackie Cooper, Mary Astor, Roger Pryor, Henry Armetta | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Dinner Game | 1998 | Francis Veber | ★★★½ | 81 | Laugh-out-loud farce (from the writer of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES) about a self-centered publisher who participates in a weekly ritual with his friends: to invite the stupidest person they can find to dinner. Lhermitte has found a doozy, civil servant Villeret (who created this part on stage), but the well-meaning oaf intrudes on his life in unexpected ways. Hilariously funny without being cruel— which is no mean feat. | tt0119038 | [PG-13] | Thierry Lhermitte, Jacques Villeret, Francis Huster, Daniel Prevost, Alexandra Vandernoot, Catherine Frot | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dinner Rush | 2001 | Bob Giraldi | ★★★ | 100 | A tumultuous night in the life of a busy, newly chic N.Y.C. restaurant. Owner Aiello is thinking of giving up his bookmaking activities, his star chef is demanding part ownership of the eatery, two mobsters have come to pay an unfriendly visit, etc. Flavorful film has the ring of truth— inside the kitchen and out— and is brimming with life. Director (and real-life restaurateur) Giraldi is better known for his commercials and music videos. | tt0229340 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Edoardo Ballerini, Vivian Wu, Mike McGlone, Kirk Acevedo, John Corbett, Sandra Bernhard, Summer Phoenix, Polly Draper, Mark Margolis, Ajay Naidu | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dinner With Friends | 2001 | Norman Jewison | Average TV Movie | 100 | Quaid and MacDowell play a suburban couple who examine their ostensibly happy relationship when the marriage of their friends (Kinnear and Collette) disintegrates, in this adaptation by Donald Margulies of his Pulitzer Prize play. This drama marks Jewison's return to his old stomping ground of television as a director after four decades (during which time he has executive-produced several TV movies). Made for cable. | tt0271461 | Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dinner at Eight | 1933 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 113 | Vintage MGM constellation of stars portray various strata of society in N.Y.C., invited to dine and shine; Harlow in fine comedy form, but Dressler as dowager steals focus in filmization of George Kaufman-Edna Ferber play. Scripted by three top writers: Herman Mankiewicz, Frances Marion, and Donald Ogden Stewart. Don't miss this one. Remade for cable TV in 1989 with Lauren Bacall. | tt0023948 | Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Lee Tracy, Edmund Lowe, Billie Burke, Madge Evans, Jean Hersholt, Karen Morley, Phillips Holmes, May Robson | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Dinner at the Ritz | 1937 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★½ | 77 | Diverting murder whodunit with Annabella seeking the killer of her father; classy settings spice film. | tt0028788 | Annabella, Paul Lukas, David Niven, Romney Brent | British | Mystery, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dinner for Adele | Nick Carter in Prague | 1978 | Oldrich Lipsky | ★★½ | 100 | Truly off-the-wall film festival favorite finds pulp hero Nick Carter (Docolomansky) in Prague in the year 1900 investigating murder spree that eventually leads to carnivorous plant named Adele. Tongue-in-cheek, gadget-laden film done in the style of a silent melodrama; worthwhile for those seeking the unusual. Originally titled NICK CARTER IN PRAGUE; aka ADELE HASN'T HAD HER SUPPER YET. | tt0075633 | Michal Docolomansky, Rudolf Hrusinsky, Milos Kopecky, Nada Konvalinkova, Ladislav Pesek | Czech | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Dinner for Schmucks | 2010 | Jay Roach | ★★ | 114 | Upwardly mobile business drone Rudd, in line for a possible promotion, reluctantly accepts his boss’ invitation to a dinner where each guest brings the biggest idiot he can find. Then Rudd literally runs into Carell, a pathetic but well-meaning schlemiel, who immediately creates havoc for his newfound friend. Longer, cruder, clunkier, and much less funny than the film that inspired it, Francis Veber’s hilarious THE DINNER GAME . . . though Carell is endearing. | tt0427152 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, Lucy Punch, Bruce Greenwood, David Walliams, Ron Livingston, Larry Wilmore, Kristen Schaal, P. J. Byrne, Andrea Savage, Nick Kroll, Randall Park, Lucy Davenport, Jeff Dunham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dino | 1957 | Thomas Carr | ★★½ | 94 | Mineo at his rebellious best playing juvenile delinquent befriended by a girl (Kohner) and a social worker (Keith). Reginald Rose adapted his acclaimed TV play, and Mineo recreated his starring role. | tt0050316 | Sal Mineo, Brian Keith, Susan Kohner, Joe De Santis, Penny Santon, Frank Faylen, Richard Bakalyan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dinosaur | 2000 | Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton | ★★★ | 82 | Disney story of a dinosaur raised by a family of lemurs; when a meteor shower destroys their island home, they flee to another island where they join a tribe of dinosaurs on a desperate trek to safety. On one level, a children's fable about survival and compassion; on another, a dazzling display of computer animation and technology that's almost overwhelming. But the use of modern dialogue for comedy relief ultimately brands the film as kid stuff. | tt0130623 | [PG] | Voices of D.B. Sweeney, Alfre Woodard, Ossie Davis, Max Casella, Hayden Panettiere, Samuel E. Wright, Julianna Margulies, Peter Siragusa, Joan Plowright, Della Reese | Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Dinosaurus! | 1960 | Irvin S. Yeaworth/ Jr | ★★½ | 85 | Interesting and amusing story of hazards faced by caveman and two prehistoric monsters who are accidentally unearthed and revived on a modern-day tropical island. | tt0053768 | Ward Ramsey, Paul Lukather, Kristina Hanson, Alan Roberts | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Diplomaniacs | 1933 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 63 | Genuinely odd but endearing nonsense musical comedy (cowritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz!) about barbers from Indian reservation sent to Geneva peace conference. Reminiscent of MILLION DOLLAR LEGS and DUCK SOUP, with memorable comic performances by Herbert— as a Confucius-quoting sage— and Calhern. | tt0023949 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Marjorie White, Louis Calhern, Edgar Kennedy, Hugh Herbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Diplomatic Courier | 1952 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 97 | Power seeks to avenge friend's death in Trieste, becomes involved in international espionage. Cold War film is exciting, well acted. Look for Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, and Michael Ansara in small, unbilled roles. | tt0044552 | Tyrone Power, Patricia Neal, Stephen McNally, Hildegarde Neff, Karl Malden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dirigible | 1931 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 100 | Frank 'Spig' Wead story about Navy pilots' experimental use of dirigibles in the Antarctic has plenty of action and guts, but a sappy romantic story to weigh it down. On the whole, an interesting antique. | tt0021799 | Jack Holt, Ralph Graves, Fay Wray, Hobart Bosworth, Roscoe Karns | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Dirt Bike Kid | 1986 | Hoite C. Caston | ★★½ | 90 | Strictly formula teen melodrama, with young Billingsley taking on evil banker Pankin and some nasty bikers with the help of a very unusual Yamaha. Harmless and forgettable. | tt0090948 | [PG] | Peter Billingsley, Stuart Pankin, Anne Bloom, Patrick Collins, Sage Parker, Chad Sheets | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Dirty | 2006 | Chris Fisher | ★½ | 97 | Two battle-weary L.A. cops set out for a day's work, but Gooding doesn't know that his partner (Collins) has talked to Internal Affairs about their gang-busting unit's unethical tactics. Aggressively foulmouthed and foul-minded, this visually convulsive TRAINING DAY wannabe has ambitions, but offers neither its characters nor its audience any salvation. | tt0439544 | [R] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., Clifton Collins/Jr., Cole Hauser, Wyclef Jean, Keith David, Taboo, Wood Harris, Lobo Sebastian, Robert LaSardo, Aimee Garcia | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dirty Dancing | 1987 | Emile Ardolino | ★★½ | 97 | Superficial but audience-pleasing tale of spoiled teenage girl who learns something about real life— as well as a thing or two about dancing— during family vacation at a Catskills, N.Y., resort hotel in the early 1960s. Sparked by some hot dance numbers and charismatic leads. Most of the music is 1980s-style, not 1960s, but it seems to work. For a richer portrait of Catskills life see another 1987 release, SWEET LORRAINE. Oscar winner for best song: '(I've Had) The Time of My Life.' Followed by a sequel in 2004 and a TV series. | tt0092890 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston, Jane Brucker, Kelly Bishop, Lonny Price, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Wayne Knight | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights | 2004 | Guy Ferland | ★★½ | 86 | Pleasant-enough fluff about a teenage girl whose family relocates to Cuba in 1958 as political tensions are growing. She loves the freedom of Latin dancing and finds a perfect partner, a boy who works as a waiter at her hotel. The two appealing leads make this fun to watch. Closing narration is clumsy and unnecessary. Swayze, who starred in the original DIRTY DANCING, plays a dance instructor here. | tt0338096 | [PG-13] | Diego Luna, Romola Garai, Sela Ward, John Slattery, Jonathan Jackson, January Jones, Mika Boorem, Patrick Swayze, Mya Harrison, Rene Lavan, Heather Headley | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dirty Dingus Magee | 1970 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★ | 90 | Broad, bawdy spoof with Sinatra as $10 outlaw whose attempts to make it big are slightly hindered by equally bungling sheriff Kennedy (not to mention assorted whores, Indians, and the U.S. Cavalry). Subtle it's not, but fast paced and amusing, especially for Western buffs; Nettleton is a delight as Joanne Woodward- ish schoolmarm inappropriately named Prudence. Cowritten by Joseph Heller. TV prints run 79m. | tt0065642 | [PG] | Frank Sinatra, George Kennedy, Anne Jackson, Lois Nettleton, Michele Carey, Jack Elam, John Dehner, Henry Jones, Harry Carey/Jr., Paul Fix | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Dirty Dishes | 1978 | Joyce Buñuel | ★★½ | 92 | Entertaining but obvious feminist comedy of Laure rebelling against her duties as a housewife. Director Buñuel is the late Luis Buñuel's daughter-in-law. | tt0084183 | [R] | Carole Laure, Pierre Santini, Catherine Lachens, Veronique Silver | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dirty Dozen | 1967 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 150 | Box-office hit about 12 murderers, rapists, and other prisoners who get a chance to redeem themselves in WW2. Exciting, funny, and well acted, especially by Marvin and Cassavetes. Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller scripted from E. M. Nathanson novel. Followed in 1985, 1987, 1988 by trio of inferior TV movies with such original cast members as Marvin, Jaeckel, Savalas, Borgnine; then a short-lived series. | tt0061578 | Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Robert Ryan, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas, Ralph Meeker, Richard Jaeckel, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez | Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Dirty Game | 1965 | Terence Young, Christian-Jaque, Carlo Lizzani | ★★½ | 91 | Hodgepodge of stories dealing with espionage in post-WW2 era; none of episodes is convincing, stars don't help much. | tt0059108 | Henry Fonda, Vittorio Gassman, Annie Girardot, Robert Ryan, Peter Van Eyck | Italian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dirty Hands | Innocents with Dirty Hands | 1976 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 102 | Laughable wife-and-lover-conspire-to-murder-husband melodrama; corpses keep turning up alive with boring regularity. However, some striking camera work, eerie sequences. Aka INNOCENTS WITH DIRTY HANDS. | tt0073169 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Romy Schneider, Paolo Giusti, Jean Rochefort, Hans Christian Blech | French | Action | NULL |
| Dirty Harry | 1972 | Don Siegel | ★★★½ | 102 | Riveting action film with Eastwood as iconoclastic cop determined to bring in psychotic serial killer Robinson, even if he has to break some rules. Brilliantly filmed and edited for maximum impact. Jazzy score by Lalo Schifrin. Filmed 'in tribute to the police officers of San Francisco who gave their lives in the line of duty.' Followed by MAGNUM FORCE, THE ENFORCER, SUDDEN IMPACT, and THE DEAD POOL. | tt0066999 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, John Larch, Andy Robinson, John Vernon | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dirty Heroes | 1969 | Alberto De Martino | ★★½ | 105 | Wartime escape and revenge action drama—a poor man's DIRTY DOZEN—with a gang of excons turned G.I.'s working behind enemy lines in Holland. | tt0062855 | [G] | Frederick Stafford, Daniela Bianchi, Curt Jurgens, John Ireland, Adolfo Celi, Michael Constantine | Italian | War | NULL | |
| Dirty Knight's Work | Trial by Combat | 1976 | Kevin Connor | ★★ | 88 | Birney enlists Mills' help in solving his father's murder, zeroes in on strange society of latter-day knights with vigilante tendencies. Offbeat and mildly diverting. Original title: TRIAL BY COMBAT. Video title: CHOICE OF WEAPONS. | tt0074409 | [PG] | John Mills, Donald Pleasence, Barbara Hershey, David Birney, Margaret Leighton, Peter Cushing | British | Action | NULL |
| Dirty Laundry | 1987 | William Webb | ★★ | 79 | Odd cast (including Olympic champs Carl Lewis and Greg Louganis) is the only point of interest in this comedy of innocent McCloskey becoming involved with gangsters. | tt0092892 | [PG-13] | Leigh McCloskey, Jeanne O'Brien, Frankie Valli, Sonny Bono, Nicholas Worth, Robbie Rist, Edy Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dirty Laundry | 1998 | Michael Normand, Robert Sherwin | ★★ | 86 | Paper-thin romantic comedy about a dry-cleaning business owner (Thomas), mired in a midlife crisis, who is told by his psychiatrist that extramarital sex will add spark to his life. | tt0116108 | [R] | Jay Thomas, Tess Harper, Tresa Hughes, Michael Marcus, Stanley Earl Harrison, Erin Underwood, John Driver | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dirty Little Billy | 1972 | Stan Dragoti | ★★★ | 100 | Offbeat story based on early life of Billy the Kid. Grimy, muddy, adventurous; not a normal Western by any stretch of the imagination. Produced by Jack L. Warner! | tt0068487 | [R] | Michael J. Pollard, Lee Purcell, Charles Aidman, Richard Evans | Western | NULL | ||
| Dirty Mary Crazy Larry | 1974 | John Hough | ★★★ | 93 | Very fast action as racing driver Fonda, pickup George and mechanic Roarke demolish every car in sight while escaping with supermarket loot. Hardly a letup, and marred only by downbeat finale. | tt0071424 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, Vic Morrow, Roddy McDowall | Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dirty Money | 1972 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★½ | 98 | Pedestrian melodrama of bank robbery and drug trafficking. Delon and Crenna are muscular, Deneuve and the scenery gorgeous. | tt0067900 | Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve, Riccardo Cucciolla, Michael Conrad | French | Crime | NULL | ||
| Dirty Pictures | 2000 | Frank Pierson | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Dramatization of the events surrounding Cincinnati's 1990 exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's provocative, often sexually explicit photographs, with Woods in fine form as prosecuted museum director Dennis Barrie. Hardly an unbiased look at the controversy, but nonetheless, compellingly told, with real-life interviews from a variety of pundits and celebrities and a number of the actual photographs on view (and, thus, not for all tastes). Made for cable. | tt0217363 | James Woods, Craig T. Nelson, Diana Scarwid, Leon Pownall, David Huband, Judah Katz, R.D. Reid, Matt North | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dirty Pretty Things | 2002 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 97 | Gripping story of a sober, hardworking Nigerian immigrant who's running from his past and juggling two jobs in London as a cab driver and hotel clerk. His innate sense of justice (and personal integrity) is affronted when he learns of grisly black-market transactions going on at the hotel, and he feels impelled to intervene. Tautou is his friend, a Turkish illegal who's been working as a hotel maid. Original and surprising at every turn; director Frears makes the most of Steven Knight's script. | tt0301199 | [R] | Audrey Tautou, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sergi López, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong, Zlatko Buric | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | 1988 | Frank Oz | ★★½ | 110 | Career con artist Caine, who fleeces women with great elan in the south of France, must find a way to deal with crass new competition: American Martin. Eventually they decide to compete to see who can dupe wide-eyed Headly first. Extremely pleasant but unremarkable comedy, a remake of the 1964 BEDTIME STORY, filmed on beautiful Riviera locations. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0095031 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris, Ian McDiarmid, Dana Ivey | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| A Dirty Shame | 2004 | John Waters | ★★½ | 89 | Ullman plays it to the hilt as a repressed, scowling convenience-store clerk who is conked on the head and awakens a sex addict. Waters' most outlandish film in years depicts a cartoonish world that's gone comically sex-mad. Occasionally funny, mostly silly; plays like the concoction of a preteen boy who's just learned his first naughty word. R-rated version also available. | tt0365125 | [NC-17] | Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Shepherd, Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst, Jackie Hoffman, Ricki Lake, David Hasselhoff | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dirty Tricks | 1980 | Alvin Rakoff | ★½ | 91 | Harvard history professor Gould tussles with baddies over a letter written by George Washington. A comedy-thriller that is neither funny nor thrilling. | tt0080630 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Kate Jackson, Rich Little, Arthur Hill, Nick Campbell, Angus McInnes | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dirty Work | 1998 | Bob Saget | ★½ | 81 | Crude, mean-spirited comedy vehicle for former Saturday Night Live star Macdonald about a shiftless loser who teams up with his best friend to start a 'revenge business' for the common man. Potentially clever idea squandered by endless barrage of fat and gay jokes. Lots of comic talent wasted, although Rickles is good as an obnoxious movie theater manager. Adam Sandler appears unbilled. | tt0120654 | [PG-13] | Norm Macdonald, Jack Warden, Artie Lange, Traylor Howard, Don Rickles, Christopher McDonald, Chevy Chase, Chris Farley, Gary Coleman, Ken Norton, John Goodman, Adam Sandler, Rebecca Romijn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Disappearance of Alice Creed | 2010 | J Blakeson | ★★ | 100 | Two seemingly hard-boiled criminals carefully plan the abduction of a young woman in order to soak her father for a fortune, but things don’t go as planned. Writer-director Blakeson creates knotty tension from the start, and takes us by surprise as the story unfolds, but the house of cards begins to fall when credulity is stretched—and you realize you don’t care about any of the characters. | tt1379177 | [R] | Gemma Arterton, Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca | Death in Granada | 1997 | Marcos Zurinaga | ★★ | 108 | Dreary fictionalized account of the mysterious death of the radical Spanish poet-playwright Federico Garcia Lorca at the hands of Franco's Fascists in 1936. Film is good to look at, courtesy Juan Ruiz-Anchia's elegant widescreen photography, but script is hopelessly clichéd and contrived, and fails in its attempts to turn historical speculation into a political thriller. Original title: DEATH IN GRANADA. | tt0117106 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Esai Morales, Edward James Olmos, Jeroen Krabbé, Marcela Wallerstein, Miguel Ferrer, Giancarlo Giannini | U.S.-Spanish-Puerto Rican | Thriller | NULL |
| The Disappearance | 1977 | Stuart Cooper | ★★ | 88 | Slow-moving account of a hit-man's preoccupation with the disappearance of his wife. Strong Sutherland performance is obliterated by confusing script, pretentiously arty direction. Originally 100m. | tt0075944 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Francine Racette, David Hemmings, David Warner, Christopher Plummer, John Hurt, Virginia McKenna, Peter Bowles | Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Disaster Movie | 2008 | Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer | 💣 | 88 | A series of natural disasters are occurring—a massive earthquake has crippled the city and asteroids have struck Miley Cyrus—so a group of twenty-somethings decide to save the world. Spoofing ENCHANTED, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, CLOVERFIELD, Indiana Jones, Amy Winehouse, et al., this ranks low on the parody charts. Amusing moments are few and far between. Also available in unrated version. | tt1213644 | [PG-13] | Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Gary “G-Thang” Johnson, Nicole Parker, Crista Flanagan, Kim Kardashian, Carmen Electra, Ike Barinholtz, Tony Cox | NULL | |||
| Disbarred | 1939 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 59 | Kruger is smooth as ever in his umpteenth turn as a crooked mouthpiece. After being disbarred, he recruits honest lawyer Patrick as an unwitting front, but she falls for straight-arrow prosecutor Preston and learns the truth. Slick little gangster yarn with neat courtroom trimmings. | tt0031232 | Gail Patrick, Robert Preston, Otto Kruger, Sidney Toler, Helen MacKellar, Virginia Dabney, Edward Marr. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Disclosure | 1994 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 127 | Entertaining corporate thriller based on Michael Crichton's book about a not-so-bright exec (Douglas) in a highly competitive computer company who sues his new, sexy shark of a boss (Moore) for sexual harassment! Plotted like a mystery, with plenty of surprising twists and turns. Only complaint: hasn't Douglas played this same kind of role a bit too often? | tt0109635 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Donald Sutherland, Caroline Goodall, Dylan Baker, Roma Maffia, Dennis Miller, Allan Rich, Nicholas Sadler, Rosemary Forsyth | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | Charme discret de la bourgeoisie, Le | 1972 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★★ | 101 | A Buñuel joke on his audience, using friends' attempts to have dinner party as excuse for series of surrealistic sequences. Reality and illusion soon blur into one, with delicious comic results. Oscar-winner as Best Foreign Film. Screenplay by Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière. | tt0068361 | [PG] | Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stephane Audran, Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Michel Piccoli | French | Drama, Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL |
| The Disembodied | 1957 | Walter Grauman. | ★½ | 65 | Standard voodoo chiller involving woman (Hayes) who will do just about anything to get out of the jungle where her doctor-husband lives. | tt0050317 | Paul Burke, Allison Hayes, Eugenia Paul, Robert Christopher, John Wengraf. | Horror | NULL | |||
| Disgrace | 2008 | Steve Jacobs | ★★½ | 118 | Provocative yet not entirely satisfying drama about a diffident poetry professor in Cape Town, South Africa, who takes advantage of an attractive student. He pays the price for his behavior, then moves in with his grown daughter, who's living on a farm in a remote part of the country where the challenges of getting along are even greater. Poses as many questions (about South African culture) as it answers. Based on a highly regarded novel by J. M. Coetzee. | tt0445953 | [R] | John Malkovich, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney, Fiona Press, Antoinette Engel, David Dennis, Charles Tertiens | Australian-U.S.-Dutch | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dish | 2000 | Rob Sitch | ★★★ | 104 | Delightful comedy based on the true story of how an unlikely Australian community put itself on the map in 1969 by having the only satellite dish that could track the progress of Apollo 11 in the Southern Hemisphere as it made its way to the moon. Made by the same filmmaking collective responsible for THE CASTLE. | tt0205873 | [PG-13] | Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton, Genevieve Mooy, Tayler Kane, Billie Brown, Roy Billing, John McMartin | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dishonorable Discharge | 1958 | Bernard Borderie. | ★★ | 105 | Variation on Hemingway's TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, with Constantine skippering luxury ship loaded with hidden dope; flabby film. | tt0050286 | Eddie Constantine, Pascale Roberts, Lino Ventura, Lise Bourdin. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dishonored | 1931 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★½ | 91 | Alluring Dietrich makes the most of a creaky script starring her as secret agent X-27 during WW1. Worth seeing for her masquerade as peasant girl. | tt0021800 | Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Lew Cody, Warner Oland, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dishonored Lady | 1947 | Robert Stevenson | ★★ | 85 | Adequate drama of glamorous but neurotic magazine art editor Lamarr, who leaves her job and takes on a new identity. She falls in love with nice-guy O'Keefe, and promptly becomes a murder suspect. Lamarr and Loder were married when this was made. | tt0039324 | Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder, William Lundigan, Morris Carnovsky, Natalie Schafer, Paul Cavanagh, Douglass Dumbrille, Margaret Hamilton | Crime | NULL | |||
| Disney's A Christmas Carol | 2009 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★½ | 95 | Retelling of the Charles Dickens classic through performance-capture technology enables Carrey to play Ebenezer Scrooge and all three ghosts who visit him one fateful Christmas eve; other actors play multiple parts as well. Other than that, this hybrid of animation and live action serves no apparent purpose except to go flying over and around the streets of Victorian London. The story is still effective but it's been told much better before. 3-D. Digital Widescreen. | tt1067106 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, Fionnula Flanagan, Daryl Sabara | Drama, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Disney's The Kid | The Kid | 2000 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★ | 104 | A cold-as-ice businessman who suppresses all memories of his childhood and shuns contact with his family is confronted with his 8-year-old self, and doesn't understand why. Well-meaning fable by Audrey Wells has its moments, but doesn't quite come off. Matthew Perry appears hirsute and unbilled. | tt0219854 | [PG] | Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin, Emily Mortimer, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Daniel von Bargen, Chi McBride, Dana Ivey, Juanita Moore | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Disorderlies | 1987 | Michael Schultz | ★½ | 86 | Get down with Bellamy, as a Palm Beach millionaire about to be murdered for his estate by a conniving nephew and the valet; the title chubs— kind of a rap version of The Three Stooges— come to the rescue. Pretty desperate, but the ultimate in casting curios. | tt0092897 | [PG] | The Fat Boys, Ralph Bellamy, Tony Plana, Anthony Geary, Marco Rodriguez, Troy Beyer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Disorderly Orderly | 1964 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★ | 90 | First-rate slapstick and sight gags (including a wild chase finale) mix with cloying sentiment as Jerry runs amuck in a nursing home. Best scene: Jerry's suffering of 'sympathy pains' as patient Pearce complains of her ills. Title tune sung by Sammy Davis, Jr. | tt0058018 | Jerry Lewis, Glenda Farrell, Susan Oliver, Everett Sloane, Jack E. Leonard, Alice Pearce, Kathleen Freeman, Barbara Nichols, Milton Frome | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Disorganized Crime | 1989 | Jim Kouf | ★½ | 101 | Witless crime-chase comedy about a quartet of crooks waiting for leader Bernsen, who's plotted the perfect bank heist but has managed to get himself arrested. | tt0097211 | [R] | Hoyt Axton, Corbin Bernsen, Rubén Blades, Fred Gwynne, Ed O'Neill, Lou Diamond Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, William Russ, Marie Butler Kouf | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Dispatch From Reuters | 1940 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 89 | Watchable (if not always inspired) Warner Bros. biography of the man who started famous worldwide news agency by using pigeons to transmit information across the European continent. | tt0032396 | Edward G. Robinson, Edna Best, Eddie Albert, Albert Bassermann, Gene Lockhart, Nigel Bruce, Otto Kruger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Disputed Passage | 1939 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 87 | Elisabeth Risdon, Philip Ahn. Average drama of conflict between scientists in their ideals. One believes that there's no place for marriage in science field. | tt0031234 | Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff, John Howard, Victor Varconi, Keye Luke, Elisabeth Risdon, Philip Ahn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Disraeli | 1929 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 89 | Somewhat stagy but effective vehicle for Arliss, who won Oscar as cunning British prime minister— a great statesman, devoted husband, and matchmaker (for Bennett and Bushell). Remake of Arliss' 1921 silent vehicle. | tt0019823 | George Arliss, Joan Bennett, Florence Arliss, Anthony Bushell, David Torrence, Ivan Simpson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Distance | 1975 | Anthony Lover | ★★½ | 94 | Impressive, though flawed, independently made drama detailing the problems of two army couples during the 1950s. Fine performances, particularly by Besch and Woods; Lover and producer George Coe were responsible for the classic short THE DOVE. | tt0072883 | [R] | Paul Benjamin, Eija Pokkinen, James Woods, Bibi Besch, Hal Miller, Polly Holliday | Drama | NULL | ||
| Distant | 2002 | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | ★★★ | 110 | Deliberately paced Turkish drama about a 40-year-old photographer in the city who is visited by his recently unemployed country cousin. We gradually recognize how the differences between them and their experiences cause problems in the relationship. Not for everyone, but patient viewers will find themselves rewarded by the simple truths of life the film explores. Toprak was tragically killed in an auto accident before the film's debut in 2002; he posthumously shared a Best Actor award with Ozdemir at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Turkish title: UZAK. | tt0346094 | Muzaffer Ozdemir, Mehmet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Nazan Kirilmis | Turkish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Distant Drums | 1951 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 101 | Tame actioner of Seminole Indians on warpath in early 19th-century Florida, with Cooper as stalwart swamp fighter. A reworking of the central story idea from director Walsh's WW2 saga OBJECTIVE BURMA. | tt0043469 | Gary Cooper, Mari Aldon, Richard Webb, Ray Teal | Action, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Distant Thunder | 1973 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★ | 100 | Famine strikes Bengal in 1942 and affects the lives of various families in many different ways. Harsh, vividly filmed tale in which one can almost feel the sand and wind blowing across the screen. | tt0069737 | Soumitra Chatterji, Babita, Sandhya Roy, Gobinda Chakravarty, Romesh Mukerji | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Distant Thunder | 1988 | Rick Rosenthal | ★★ | 114 | Well-intentioned but gooey soaper about yet one more emotionally troubled Vietnam vet (nicely played by the ever-reliable Lithgow), who lives alone in the wilderness, and whose long-abandoned son (Macchio) sets out to find him. | tt0095036 | [R] | John Lithgow, Ralph Macchio, Kerrie Keane, Reb Brown, Janet Margolin, Denis Arndt, Jamey Sheridan, Tom Bower | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Distant Trumpet | 1964 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 117 | Paul Horgan's novel gets short-circuited in stock presentation of army men in the Old West combatting warring Indians while romancing women on the post; good supporting cast. | tt0058019 | Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, Kent Smith, Claude Akins, James Gregory | Western | NULL | |||
| Distant Voices, Still Lives | 1988 | Terence Davies | ★★★ | 85 | Strikingly visual evocation of England during the 1940s and '50s, a time when the corny, happy lyrics of popular songs can be contrasted to the drab, stultifying lives of the working class. Davies' autobiographical script mirrors the lives of his various family members, each of whom is brutalized by his irrationally cruel father. While there's little narrative structure and no depth to the characters, the haunting imagery makes this most worthwhile. Sequel: THE LONG DAY CLOSES. | tt0095037 | [PG-13] | Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh, Diane McBain, Dean Williams, Lorraine Ashbourne | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Distinguished Gentleman | 1992 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★★ | 112 | Florida con artist Murphy realizes that the real con-game is the political scene in Washington, D.C.— and gets himself elected to the House of Representatives. Satirical barbs about the System blend neatly with Eddie's irresistible huckster persona for this ingratiating (if somewhat overlong) comedy, aided by a strong supporting cast. | tt0104114 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Lane Smith, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Joe Don Baker, Victoria Rowell, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, Charles S. Dutton, Victor Rivers, Noble Willingham, Gary Frank, Cynthia Harris, James Garner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| District 9 | 2009 | Neill Blomkamp | ★★★½ | 112 | A race of alien creatures who landed in Johannesburg, South Africa, twenty years ago are now treated as unwanted scum, and it's up to a can-do functionary (Copley) to serve eviction notices on the creepy, often violent subjects. Before long he's sucked into the bigger conflict surrounding these visitors, becoming both victim and hero. Told in documentary style, this canny, captivating science-fiction tale grabs you and never lets go. Exceptional visual effects are seamlessly woven into the storytelling. Written by director Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, inspired in part by Blomkamp's 2005 short ALIVE IN JO'BURG. Produced by Peter Jackson. | tt1136608 | [R] | Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Kenneth Nkosi | U.S.-New Zealand | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| District B13 | 2004 | Pierre Morel | ★★★ | 84 | Paris, year 2010: Undercover cop Raffaelli dives deep into a walled-off ghetto, guided by seasoned street rat Belle, to recover a bomb stolen by man-mountain drug lord D'Amario. Meanwhile, police headquarters launches a lethal plan of its own. Politically pointed scenario is a jumping-off point-literally-for a way-cool display of the two leads' spring-loaded parkour stunt work, totally unaided by computer trickery. What you see is what they did. Produced and cowritten by Luc Besson, with a smashing kick-derriere hip-hop score by Da. Octopusss. | tt0414852 | [R] | Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Tony D'Amario, Larbi (Bibi) Naceri, Dany Verissimo, François Chattot, Nicolas Woirion | French | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Disturbed | 1991 | Charles Winkler | ★½ | 96 | Terrific, funny performance by McDowell can't save this florid thriller set in an insane asylum where what might have been a murder took place 10 years before. Flashy camerawork is merely distracting here; one shot is from the point of view of a penis! | tt0099441 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Geoffrey Lewis, Pamela Gidley, Priscilla Pointer, Irwin Keyes, Peter Murnik | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Disturbia | 2007 | D. J. Caruso | ★★½ | 104 | Troubled teen LaBeouf is confined to his home by an electronic ankle bracelet and before long becomes a voyeur, keeping tabs on his neighbors-including a beautiful girl next door, and, more ominously, a man across the street whose behavior seems highly suspicious. Well-made film invites comparisons to REAR WINDOW but plays its cards right and builds considerable suspense, until it becomes obvious (and tedious) by the finale. Casting Morse as the neighbor also sends a transparent signal of what's to come. | tt0486822 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Aaron Yoo, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Matt Craven, Viola Davis. | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Disturbing Behavior | 1998 | David Nutter | 💣 | 83 | Teenager Marsden, a newcomer in town, soon realizes there's a sinister plot by the high school guidance counselor to 'reform' troubled kids: they become well groomed, love yogurt and freak out when horny. Predictable, coldly calculated and trendy, this is teen-targeted dreck. Give us SCREAM— or at least I WAS A TEEN-AGE WEREWOLF. Director's cut runs 94m. | tt0134619 | [R] | James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, William Sadler, Bruce Greenwood, Steve Railsback, Tobias Mehler, Ethan Embry | U.S.-Australian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Diva | 1982 | Jean-Jacques Beineix | ★★★½ | 123 | Music-loving mailman bootleg-tapes the concert of a superstar diva who's never made a recording, finds himself in even hotter water when his possession is mixed up with a second tape that will incriminate gangsters. High-tech melodrama occasionally rubs your nose in its technique, but still makes for whale of a directorial debut by Beineix. Subway motorcycle chase is an action classic. | tt0082269 | [R] | Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, Frederic Andrei, Richard Bohringer, Thuy An Luu, Jacques Fabbri | French | Action, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Musical | NULL | |
| Dive Bomber | 1941 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 133 | Exciting, well-paced aviation film of experiments to eliminate pilot-blackout. Flynn, MacMurray, and Smith perform well in formula story. | tt0033537 | Errol Flynn, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Alexis Smith, Robert Armstrong, Regis Toomey, Craig Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Divided Heart | 1954 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 89 | Intelligent study of dilemma faced by parents of foster child when real mother, thought dead, returns to claim her son. Set in Europe after WW2. | tt0046915 | Cornell Borchers, Yvonne Mitchell, Armin Dahlen, Alexander Knox, Michel Ray, Geoffrey Keen, Theodore Bikel | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Divided We Fall | 2000 | Jan Hrebejk | ★★★½ | 117 | To conceal from the local Nazi collaborators that they're hiding a Jew in their home, a reluctant hero uses his wife's so-called pregnancy as the excuse from having to house a Nazi clerk. Unfortunately, it's a matter of public record that husband Josef (Polívka) is sterile. Brilliant film shot in an edgy style that reflects its characters' growing neuroses; walks the tightrope between comedy and drama with Wallenda finesse. Screenwriter Petr Jarchovsky scripted from his novel. | tt0234288 | [PG-13] | Boleslav Polívka, Csongor Kassai, Jaroslav Dusek, Anna Sisková, Jirí Pecha, Martin Huba | Czech | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Divine Intervention | 2002 | Elia Suleiman | ★★★ | 92 | Two Palestinian lovers try to carry on their relationship near the Israeli checkpoint that divides their respective cities, Jerusalem and Ramallah, in this funny, absurd, but ultimately sad look at the way some lives are lived in the Middle East. Original and inventively filmed, at times this movie seems as if it is something Jacques Tati might have made given a similar situation. Writer, director, and star Suleiman takes an almost impossible subject and puts a human face on it with insight and humor. | tt0274428 | Elia Suleiman, Manal Khader, Nayef Fahoum Daher, Amer Daher, George Ibrahim | French-Moroccan-German | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| The Divine Lady | 1929 | Frank Lloyd. | ★★★ | 100 | Lloyd won an Oscar for directing this lavishly appointed if bowdlerized account of the scandalous affair of Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson. Lloyd, who later made MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, stages some exciting sea battles, while the sumptuous sets, costumes, and photography create a convincing period look. Silent with some synchronized singing sequences. Same story was later told in THAT HAMILTON WOMAN and THE NELSON AFFAIR. | tt0019824 | Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H. B. Warner, Ian Keith, Marie Dressler, Dorothy Cumming, Montagu Love. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Divine Madness! | 1980 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 95 | Bette Midler fanatics would probably up this rating a half-star or so, but unevenness and occasional oppressiveness of this concert film may even get to them. Some funny bits, but will someone tell her to quit desecrating rock'n'roll? | tt0080634 | [R] | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Divine Nymph | 1979 | Giuseppe Patroni Griffi | ★½ | 90 | Poor melodrama chronicling beautiful Antonelli's involvements with marquis Mastroianni and baron Stamp. Of interest only when Laura doffs her duds. | tt0079058 | Marcello Mastroianni, Laura Antonelli, Terence Stamp, Michele Placido, Duilio Del Prete, Ettore Manni, Marina Vlady | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | 2002 | Callie Khouri | ★★★ | 117 | Three lifelong female friends who made a blood pact of sisterhood as young girls in Louisiana try to reconcile the most eccentric and mercurial of their trio (Burstyn) with her grown-up daughter (Bullock). In flashbacks, we learn the reasons for the mother's erratic behavior, rooted in her childhood and beyond. (She's played as a young woman by Judd.) Begins as comedy, then grows much darker. A careful crafting of Rebecca Wells' title novel and Little Altars Everywhere, with strong performances all around. Feature directing debut for THELMA & LOUISE writer Khouri. | tt0279778 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith, Shirley Knight, James Garner, Angus Macfadyen, Cherry Jones, Ron Eldard | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | 2007 | Julian Schnabel | ★★★½ | 112 | Remarkable portrait of Jean-Dominique Bauby, worldly editor of French Elle magazine, who suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body except for the left eyelid—and managed to dictate his bestselling memoir, one blink at a time. Potentially depressing subject becomes a visual and emotional tour de force that puts the viewer inside the protagonist's splintered consciousness. Schnabel's brilliant direction (aided no end by cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and editor Juliette Welfing) and Ronald Harwood's screen adaptation create a fascinating world of memory, fantasy, and self-reflection. The whole cast is exceptional, with von Sydow heartbreaking as Bauby's aged father. | tt0401383 | [PG-13] | Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Niels Arestrup, Olatz Lopez Garmendia, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Marina Hands, Isaach De Bankolé, Emma de Caunes, Agathe de la Fontaine, Max von Sydow | Drama | NULL | ||
| Divorce | 1945 | William Nigh. | ★★ | 71 | Francis is city girl who returns to home town, enticing Cabot away from Mack and family; satisfactory programmer. | tt0037645 | Kay Francis, Bruce Cabot, Helen Mack, Craig Reynolds, Larry Olsen, Mary Gordon. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Divorce American Style | 1967 | Bud Yorkin | ★★★ | 109 | Highly entertaining comedy of Van Dyke and Reynolds finding more problems than they expected when they get divorced. Stars are unusually good in offbeat roles. Written by Norman Lear. | tt0061581 | Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, Van Johnson, Joe Flynn, Shelley Berman, Martin Gabel, Lee Grant, Pat Collins, Tom Bosley, Eileen Brennan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Divorce of Lady X | 1938 | Tim Whelan | ★★½ | 91 | Cute but extremely dated screwball comedy with lawyer Olivier forced to share a hotel room with mischievous Oberon. He becomes convinced he's the cause of her pending divorce— even though she's not married. | tt0030063 | Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, Binnie Barnes, Ralph Richardson, Morton Selten | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Divorce- Italian Style | 1961 | Pietro Germi | ★★★½ | 104 | Marcello can't stomach wife Rocca, so he schemes to wed sexy young Sandrelli. Hilarious, flavorful comedy, which earned an Oscar for its story and screenplay. The twist ending adds a perfect— and most ironic— touch. | tt0055913 | Marcello Mastroianni, Daniela Rocca, Stefania Sandrelli, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Divorcee | 1930 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 83 | Stagy but interesting tale of young wife Shearer who puts up with husband Morris' flirtations until she decides to equal him. Shearer won an Oscar for this performance. | tt0020827 | Norma Shearer, Chester Morris, Conrad Nagel, Robert Montgomery, Florence Eldridge | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dixiana | 1930 | Luther Reed | ★★½ | 98 | Ambitious but dated early-talkie musical set in 1840s New Orleans, with Daniels as a circus star who falls in love with the scion of a wealthy family (Metropolitan Opera star Marshall). Enlivened by Wheeler and Woolsey's comedy relief, and (in restored prints) a beautiful two-color Technicolor Mardi Gras finale, with a showstopping tap dance solo by Bojangles. Beware TV print which lops off the final color reels— and leaves the story unfinished! | tt0020828 | Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Dorothy Lee, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Dixie | 1943 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 89 | Atmosphere overshadows plot in this biography of pioneer minstrel Dan Emmett, who wrote title song; Bing also sings 'Sunday, Monday or Always. | tt0035810 | Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Billy DeWolfe, Marjorie Reynolds, Lynne Overman, Raymond Walburn, Eddie Foy/Jr., Grant Mitchell | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Dixie Dynamite | 1976 | Lee Frost | ★½ | 89 | Johnstone and McHaley wreak havoc on town after they are dispossessed from their farm and their moonshiner father is killed by a trigger-happy deputy. Sound familiar? | tt0074415 | [PG] | Warren Oates, Christopher George, Jane Anne Johnstone, Kathy McHaley, Wes Bishop, Mark Miller, R. G. Armstrong, Stanley Adams | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Django | 1966 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★½ | 92 | Though not as good as the Leone-Eastwood spaghetti Westerns, this is an above-average example of the genre, with the gimmick of Nero as a ruthless gunfighter who drags around a coffin containing a machine gun wherever he goes. This became a cult film and inspired a slew of European oaters with the name 'Django' in their titles. Followed by DJANGO STRIKES AGAIN. | tt0060315 | Franco Nero, Loredano Nusciak, Eduardo Fajardo, Jose Bodalo, Angel Alvarez, Jimmy Douglas | Italian-Spanish | Drama, Western, Action | NULL | ||
| Do Not Disturb | 1965 | Ralph Levy | ★★½ | 102 | Mild Day vehicle with Taylor as executive husband who brings her to suburban England. She meets suave Fantoni, enraging jealous hubby. Not up to her earlier fashion romps. | tt0059112 |
|
Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Hermione Baddeley, Sergio Fantoni, Reginald Gardiner, Mike Romanoff, Leon Askin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Do You Love Me? | 1946 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 91 | Lightweight musical of band-singer Haymes romancing college dean O'Hara. | tt0038484 | Maureen O'Hara, Dick Haymes, Harry James, Reginald Gardiner, Alma Kruger | Musical | NULL | |||
| Do the Right Thing | 1989 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 120 | Idealized, individualistic look at life in the black community of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, where a white-owned pizza parlor flourishes . . . and where circumstance leads to an outbreak of hostilities on a sweltering summer day. Entertaining and provocative, with a much-discussed (and troubling) finale. Writer-director Lee also stars as Mookie, the delivery boy; his real-life sister Joie plays his sister in the film. | tt0097216 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Spike Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Paul Benjamin, Frankie Faison, Robin Harris, John Savage, Samuel L. Jackson, Rosie Perez, Martin Lawrence | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Do-Deca-Pentathlon | 2012 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | ★★★ | 76 | Two brothers, who became estranged after competing in a 25-event competition years ago when they were teenagers, can't resist revisiting that challenge when they meet up again at a birthday gathering. One (Zissis) is a family man who suffers from hypertension; the other (Kelly) is a laid-back professional poker player and born troublemaker. Typically low-key, offbeat Duplass indie production offers interesting, well-drawn, and well-acted characters. A piquant portrait of sibling rivalry and the long-term damage it can cause. | tt0811137 | [R] | Steve Zissis, Mark Kelly, Jennifer Lafleur, Julie Vorus, Reid Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Doberman Gang | 1972 | Byron Chudnow | ★★½ | 87 | Trim low-budget heist movie about a crook's ingenious plan to use six dobermans to pull off bank job. Dogs steal not only the loot but the picture, and starred in two sequels. | tt0068491 | [G] | Byron Mabe, Julie Parrish, Hal Reed, Simmy Bow, Jojo D'Amore | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Doc | 1971 | Frank Perry | ★★ | 96 | Well-crafted but unpleasant anti-Western, telling the story of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in revisionist terms. Script by Pete Hamill. | tt0067003 | [PG] | Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Faye Dunaway, Michael Witney, Denver John Collins, Dan Greenburg | Western | NULL | ||
| Doc Hollywood | 1991 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★½ | 104 | Fox is on his way to a career in L.A. plastic surgery when he crashes his car in South Carolina's podunk squash capital and is sentenced to perform much-needed medical community service. Agreeably played but nothing special. Warner has a memorable first scene, and there's an amusing star cameo near the end. Director Caton-Jones appears as a maæ™tre d'. | tt0101745 | [PG-13] | Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Bridget Fonda, Barnard Hughes, Woody Harrelson, David Ogden Stiers, Frances Sternhagen, George Hamilton, Roberts Blossom, Barry Sobel | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze | 1975 | Michael Anderson | ★★½ | 100 | Film debut of Kenneth Robeson's pulp hero was sold (and accepted) as camp; in reality, it's a straight-faced period adventure that just came out at the wrong time. Story has Doc (Ely) and his Fabulous Five heading to South America to investigate his father's death, tangling with evil Captain Seas (Wexler). Fun for kids and buffs, with amusing score built around Sousa marches; final film of producer George Pal. | tt0072886 | [G] | Ron Ely, Darrell Zwerling, Michael Miller, Pamela Hensley, Paul Wexler, Robyn Hilton, William Lucking, Paul Gleason | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Dock Brief | Trial and Error | 1962 | James Hill | ★★½ | 88 | Sellers is aging barrister who incompetently represents accused killer Attenborough with strange results; pleasant comic satire. John Mortimer adapted his own play. U.S. title: TRIAL AND ERROR. | tt0055916 | Peter Sellers, Richard Attenborough, Beryl Reid, David Lodge | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Docks of New Orleans | 1948 | Derwin Abrahams | 💣 | 64 | Bottom-of-the-barrel Charlie Chan entry about killers trying to get their hands on a chemical shipment. | tt0040296 | Roland Winters, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, John Gallaudet, Virginia Dale, Carol Forman, Douglas Fowley | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Docks of New York | 1928 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★★ | 76 | Burly ship stoker Bancroft marries the suicidal girl he saved from the drink, first taking her for granted, then coming to love her. A rival to SUNRISE as the visual apogee of silent cinema, though the smoky hues of von Sternberg's waterfront dive can fully be appreciated only on the big screen. Gaylord Carter's organ score on the videocassette version is a big plus. | tt0018839 | George Bancroft, Betty Compson, Olga Baclanova, Mitchell Lewis, Clyde Cook, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Doctor Blood's Coffin | 1961 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★½ | 92 | In Cornwall, young scientist holes up in an abandoned tin mine to work on his theory that placing a live heart in a corpse will bring it back to life. He's right, as it turns out, but unfortunately he's also crazy. . . . Crude but lively imitation-Hammer horror opus. | tt0054823 | Kieron Moore, Hazel Court, Ian Hunter, Fred Johnson | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Doctor Death, Seeker of Souls | 1973 | Eddie Saeta | ★½ | 73 | Cheap horror item about the transferring of souls by 1,000-year-old Considine. Few effective moments include The Three Stooges' Moe Howard in a gag bit. Aka DOCTOR DEATH. | tt0070001 | [R] | John Considine, Barry Coe, Cheryl Miller, Florence Marly, Jo Morrow | Horror | NULL | ||
| Doctor Detroit | 1983 | Michael Pressman | ★★ | 89 | Wimpy college professor becomes embroiled with pimps, prostitutes, and underworld intrigue, but the results are surprisingly bland, and only sporadically funny. Story by Bruce Jay Friedman. Aykroyd later married costar Dixon. | tt0085450 | [R] | Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, T. K. Carter, Donna Dixon, Lynn Whitfield, Lydia Lei, Fran Drescher, Kate Murtagh, George Furth, Andrew Duggan, Glenne Headly, James Brown | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor Dolittle | 1967 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 144 | Robert Surtees' photography is great, and that's it for this colossal musical dud that almost ruined 20th Century-Fox studios. The charm of Hugh Lofting's stories is gone. One merit: if you have unruly children, it may put them to sleep. Songs by Leslie Bricusse (including the Oscar-winning 'Talk to the Animals') and choreography by Herbert Ross. Oscar winner for special visual effects. Originally 152m. Remade in 1998. | tt0061584 | Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley, Richard Attenborough, Peter Bull, Geoffrey Holder | Family, Fantasy, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |||
| Doctor Dolittle | 1998 | Betty Thomas | ★★ | 85 | 1990s rethink of the Hugh Lofting character has Murphy as a busy, self-absorbed doctor who reacquires the gift he had as a child to understand animals' speech. Comic chaos ensues. Murphy is likable and energetic, but the film is awfully flat; bound to appeal to kids who don't mind that seemingly every other word in the script is 'butt.' Followed by DR. DOLITTLE 2. | tt0118998 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff, Kristen Wilson, Kyla Pratt, Raven-Symoné, Jeffrey Tambor; voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Norm Macdonald, Garry Shandling, Julie Kavner, Jenna Elfman, Albert Brooks, Chris Rock, Reni Santoni, John Leguizamo, Gilbert Gottfried, Jonathan Lipnicki, Paul Reubens, Brian Doyle-Murray | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor Faustus | 1967 | Richard Burton, Nevill Coghill | ★★ | 93 | Burton's retelling of Faustus legend lacks everything but a buxom Mrs. Burton in brief sequence as Helen of Troy. Strictly for their fans. | tt0062898 | Richard Burton, Andreas Teuber, Ian Marter, Elizabeth Taylor | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Doctor In Clover | 1965 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 101 | New doctor, same old zany situations in sixth entry of series. Doctor studies nurses more than medicine. Not up to the others' standard. | tt0060321 | Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Anne Field, John Fraser, Joan Sims | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor In Distress | 1963 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 102 | Pompous chief surgeon falls in love for the first time, and his assistant tries to help the romance along while balancing his own love life. Another entertaining entry in comedy series. Bogarde's last appearance as Dr. Sparrow. | tt0057004 | Dirk Bogarde, Samantha Eggar, James Robertson Justice, Mylene Demongeot, Donald Houston, Barbara Murray, Dennis Price, Leo McKern | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor Mordrid | 1992 | Albert Band, Charles Band | ★★½ | 89 | A woman discovers her reclusive neighbor is a powerful sorcerer sworn to save the world from his evil counterpart. Satisfying little movie, confident of its intent, with a sensitive performance by Combs. From Full Moon. | tt0104115 | [R] | Jeffrey Combs, Yvette Nipar, Brian Thompson, Jay Acovone, Keith Coulouris, Ritch Brinkley, Pearl Shear, Murray Rubin, Jeff Austin, John Apicella | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Doctor Rhythm | 1938 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 80 | Amiable but second-rate Crosby vehicle about doctor who masquerades as cop and falls in love with woman he's assigned to guard. Lillie adds her distinctive spark. | tt0030078 | Bing Crosby, Mary Carlisle, Beatrice Lillie, Andy Devine, Laura Hope Crews, Sterling Holloway | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Doctor Syn | 1937 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 80 | Arliss' final film finds aging star somewhat miscast as English vicar who rides at night as a pirate, but director Neill keeps things moving at his usual pace, and the atmosphere is rich. Remade twice in 1962— as NIGHT CREATURES and DR. SYN, ALIAS THE SCARECROW. | tt0028807 | George Arliss, Margaret Lockwood, John Loder, Roy Emerton, Graham Moffatt | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Doctor Takes a Wife | 1940 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 89 | Milland is mistaken for Young's husband, then forced to pretend he is. Stars and material spark each other at a lively pace. | tt0032397 | Ray Milland, Loretta Young, Reginald Gardiner, Gail Patrick, Edmund Gwenn, Frank Sully, Gordon Jones | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Doctor X | 1932 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 80 | Police have tracked the 'full-moon strangler' to Atwill's experimental laboratory. Ludicrous Grand Guignol chiller (Wray's entrance has her screaming— for no reason at all) is a must for horror-film buffs because of its Anton Grot sets, special Max Factor makeup, and rich use of two-color Technicolor . . . but it creaks badly and seems much longer than it is. | tt0022827 | Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Lee Tracy, Preston Foster, Robert Warwick, Mae Busch | Horror | NULL | |||
| Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | David Lean | ★★★½ | 197 | Sumptuous, sprawling epic from Boris Pasternak's acclaimed novel; Sharif is charismatic as Russian poet/doctor, an orphan who marries aristocratic Chaplin but falls in love with politicized nurse Christie. Spans several decades, including WW1 and Bolshevik Revolution, with stirring crowd scenes, gorgeous romantic vistas (set to Maurice Jarre's sweeping music) and a powerful exodus sequence on train. Overlong, but with top production values and superb acting in every role. Won Oscars for screenplay (Robert Bolt), cinematography (Freddie Young), art direction-set decoration (John Box and Terry Marsh; Dario Simoni), costume design (Phyllis Dalton), and score. Reissued at 180m. Remade as a cable miniseries in 2003. | tt0059113 | Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtenay, Alec Guinness, Siobhan McKenna, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger, Rita Tushingham, Adrienne Corri, Geoffrey Keen, Jeffrey Rockland, Klaus Kinski, Jack MacGowran, Tarek Sharif | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Doctor and the Devils | 1985 | Freddie Francis | ★★ | 93 | Serious-minded but unsuccessful (and unappealing) Gothic tale of grave robbers who supply a dedicated doctor who's content not to ask too many questions. Based on a 1940s screenplay by Dylan Thomas, revised by Ronald Harwood. Reminiscent of vintage Hammer horror films; no coincidence, with veteran Francis directing. Made in England. | tt0089034 | [R] | Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Twiggy, Julian Sands, Stephen Rea, Phyllis Logan, Beryl Reid, Patrick Stewart, Sian Phillips | Horror, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Doctor and the Girl | 1949 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 98 | Ford is appropriately sterile as idealistic young doctor who married poor girl and practices medicine in N.Y.C. slum. | tt0041300 | Glenn Ford, Charles Coburn, Gloria DeHaven, Janet Leigh, Warner Anderson, Nancy Davis (Reagan) | Drama | NULL | |||
| Doctor at Large | 1957 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 98 | Another entry in pleasing series, with novice doctor Bogarde seeking staff position in wealthy hospital. | tt0050323 | Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Shirley Eaton, Derek Farr, Michael Medwin, George Coulouris, Anne Heywood, Lionel Jeffries, Mervyn Johns, Ernest Thesiger | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor at Sea | 1955 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 93 | Preferring the bachelor life, Bogarde signs on as ship's doctor on passenger-carrying freighter, in second entry of this entertaining series. | tt0048001 | Dirk Bogarde, Brigitte Bardot, Brenda de Banzie, James Robertson Justice, Maurice Denham, Michael Medwin, Raymond Huntley | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor in Love | 1960 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 93 | Craig inherited Bogarde's role in DOCTOR series. This entry centers on young medic's inability to avoid romantic attachments. | tt0053775 | Michael Craig, James Robertson Justice, Virginia Maskell, Carole Lesley, Leslie Phillips, Liz Fraser | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor in Trouble | 1970 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 90 | Fair entry in the on-and-off British comedy series concerns Dr. Phillips' problems when he stows away on ocean liner; good supporting cast help a bit. | tt0065648 | [R] | Leslie Phillips, Harry Secombe, James Robertson Justice, Angela Scoular, Irene Handl, Robert Morley | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Doctor in the House | 1954 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★½ | 92 | Hilarious comedy follows exploits of medical students intent on studying beautiful women and how to become wealthy physicians. This delightful film (from Richard Gordon's stories) spawned six other 'Doctor' movies, plus a TV series. Justice memorable as Sir Lancelot Spratt. Scripted by Gordon, Ronald Wilkenson, and costar Nicholas Phipps. | tt0046921 | Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Kenneth More, Donald Sinden, Kay Kendall, James Robertson Justice, Donald Houston, Suzanne Cloutier, Geoffrey Keen, George Coulouris, Shirley Eaton, Joan Hickson, Richard Wattis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doctor's Dilemma | 1958 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 99 | Bubbly Shaw period play of young wife Caron conniving to convince medical specialists that her scoundrel husband is worth saving. | tt0052744 | Leslie Caron, Dirk Bogarde, Alastair Sim, Robert Morley | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Doctor | 1991 | Randa Haines | ★★★ | 125 | Successful surgeon is diagnosed with throat cancer— and for the first time in his career, learns what it's like to be a patient at the mercy of cold-blooded doctors and a bureaucratic hospital. Perkins stands out in a showy role as fellow cancer patient. Engrossing, well acted, and utterly believable; based on Dr. Ed Rosenbaum's own experiences, described in his book A Taste of My Own Medicine. | tt0101746 | [PG-13] | William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin, Charlie Korsmo, Wendy Crewson, Bill Macy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding | 1967 | Peter Tewksbury | 💣 | 94 | Dee would rather marry the boss than pursue singing career. Even her singing might have helped this alleged comedy. | tt0061585 | Sandra Dee, George Hamilton, Celeste Holm, Bill Bixby, Dick Kallman, Mort Sahl, Dwayne Hickman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Doctors' Wives | 1971 | George Schaefer | ★½ | 100 | Super-sudsy soaper sparked by mysterious murder of cheating wife; glossy garbage. Scripted by a slumming Daniel Taradash. | tt0067004 | [R] | Dyan Cannon, Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman, Rachel Roberts, Carroll O'Connor, Janice Rule, Diana Sands, Cara Williams, Ralph Bellamy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dodes'ka-den | 1970 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★½ | 140 | Episodic chronicle of life in a Tokyo slum; characters include a little boy who feeds himself and derelict dad by scrounging garbage— together, they visualize a dream house; a wan girl who makes artificial flowers to support her alcoholic stepfather; etc. Kurosawa's first film in color. Originally 244m. | tt0065649 | Yoshitaka Zushi, Tomoko Yamazaki, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Noboru Mitani | Japanese | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Dodge City | 1939 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 105 | Errol tames the West and de Havilland, in entertaining large-scale Western, with Warner Bros. stock company and the granddaddy of all barroom brawls. The principal inspiration for BLAZING SADDLES. | tt0031235 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan, Bruce Cabot, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale/Sr., John Litel, Victor Jory, Ward Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | 2004 | Rawson Marshall Thurber | ★★½ | 92 | Vaughn's dilapidated gym is about to go belly-up and be taken over by snazzier rival Stiller, and it takes 17 minutes in a movie called DODGEBALL to establish that he's going to alleviate his debts by fielding a bunch of guys and a ringer babe who play . . . oh come on, venture a guess. Affable enough, with some funny surprise cameos and the seductive sight of Torn in shoulder-length hair . . . and an excess of gross-out gags. Stiller coproduced. | tt0364725 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Hank Azaria, Alan Tudyk, Missi Pyle, Jason Bateman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dodsworth | 1936 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 101 | Superb adaptation of Sinclair Lewis novel about middle-aged American industrialist who retires, goes to Europe, where he and his wife find differing sets of values and new relationships. Intelligently written (by Sidney Howard), beautifully filmed, extremely well acted, with Huston recreating his Broadway role. John Payne (billed as John Howard Payne) makes screen debut in small role. Won Oscar for Interior Decoration (Richard Day). Unusually mature Hollywood film, not to be missed. | tt0027532 | Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, David Niven, Gregory Gaye, Maria Ouspenskaya, Spring Byington, Grant Mitchell, Harlan Briggs | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Dog Day | 1983 | Yves Boisset | ★★½ | 101 | Intriguing if gratuitously violent thriller about a tough but doomed American gangster on the lam (Marvin, well cast) who hides out on the farm of a depraved French family. Fairly effective as an ode to the mythical image of the American screen hood. | tt0085289 | Miou Miou, Lee Marvin, Jean Carmet, Victor Lanoux, David Bennent, Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Pierre Clementi, Tina Louise | French | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Dog Day Afternoon | 1975 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 130 | Incredible-but-true story of a loser who holds up a Brooklyn bank to raise money for his lover's sex-change operation, and sees simple heist snowball into a citywide incident. Pacino's performance and Lumet's flavorful N.Y.C. atmosphere obscure the fact that this is much ado about nothing. Frank Pierson won an Oscar for his screenplay (based on an article by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore). | tt0072890 | [R] | Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, James Broderick, Chris Sarandon, Sully Boyar, Penny Allen, Carol Kane, Lance Henriksen, Dick Anthony Williams, Philip Charles Mackenzie | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dog Eat Dog | 1964 | Gustav Gavrin | 💣 | 84 | Unintentionally funny potboiler of lust, greed, and depravity, with various characters intent upon making off with a stolen million dollars. Highlight: Jayne's constant complaining about her need for clean panties. Various sources list Albert Zugsmith and Ray Nazarro as director. | tt0058024 | Cameron Mitchell, Jayne Mansfield, Dody Heath, Ivor Salter, Isa Miranda | U.S.-Italian-German | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dog Park | 1999 | Bruce McCulloch | ★½ | 91 | Howlingly bad romantic comedy squanders cute premise about a group of Toronto singles whose lackluster love lives affect their pet pooches. Self-absorbed, unlikable lead characters and meandering subplots don't help. Inauspicious writing-directing debut from Kids in the Hall alum McCulloch; only laughs come from fellow Kids member Mark McKinney as a pet therapist. | tt0129884 | [R] | Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, Kathleen Robertson, Janeane Garofalo, Bruce McCulloch, Kristin Lehman, Harland Williams | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Dog of Flanders | 1999 | Kevin Brodie | ★½ | 100 | A 19th-century Belgian boy rescues an abandoned dog and uses him to pull a milk-delivery cart for him and his grandfather . . . but the boy really longs to be a painter like the great Reubens. Despite excellent photography of Belgian locations, this adaptation of Ouida's classic children's novel is a joyless, anachronistic, moralistic snoozer. Previously made in 1935, 1959, and in 1975 as a Japanese animated feature. | tt0160216 | [PG] | Jack Warden, Jeremy James Kissner, Jesse James, Jon Voight, Cheryl Ladd, Steven Hartley, Bruce McGill, Andrew Bicknell | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dogfight | 1991 | Nancy Savoca | ★★★½ | 92 | Title refers to a cruel wager by Vietnam-bound Marines in 1963 San Francisco. Taylor (superb) is a physically plain folkie who becomes an unwitting partner in Phoenix's attempt to bring the ugliest 'date' to a party. Original, barely released sleeper is surprisingly unmawkish, thanks to a good script by Bob Comfort and Savoca's tough direction. Unusually apt use of period music. | tt0101748 | [R] | River Phoenix, Lili Taylor, Richard Panebianco, Anthony Clark, Mitchell Whitfield, Holly Near, E. G. Daily, Brendan Fraser | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dogma | 1999 | Kevin Smith | ★★½ | 135 | Ambitious comic fantasy in which age-old battles between outcast angels, Lucifer, and God are played out in modern-day America, as a young woman who's lost her faith (Fiorentino) is chosen to save humanity. Irreverent, to say the least; challenging and clever at times, but also puerile and silly, not to mention long. Smith and Mewes reprise their characters from Smith's earlier films. Smith also scripted. | tt0120655 | [R] | Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, George Carlin, Alanis Morissette, Janeane Garofalo, Bud Cort | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dogora | Dogora—Ouvrons Les Yeux | 2004 | Patrice Leconte | ★★ | 78 | Documentary portrait of everyday life in Cambodia (accompanied by a thunderous orchestral score) is pleasant enough to watch, but has no structure, context, or momentum. Only Leconte's expert eye, which provides a series of attractive widescreen images, sets this apart from a routine travelogue. Original French title: DOGORA—OUVRONS LES YEUX. | tt0400370 | Unrated | French | Documentary | NULL | |
| Dogpound Shuffle | Spot | 1975 | Jeffrey Bloom | ★★★ | 95 | Unpretentious little fable about cynical ex-vaudevillian tap-dancer— now a bum— who must raise $30 to rescue his dog from the pound. Funny and wistful, with excellent character performance by Moody. Aka SPOT. | tt0072891 | [PG] | Ron Moody, David Soul, Pamela McMyler, Ray Stricklyn, Raymond Sutton | Drama | NULL | |
| Dogs | Slaughter | 1976 | Burt Brinckerhoff | ★½ | 90 | Low-budget yawner about a pack of dogs on the prowl. Get out the flea powder. Video title: SLAUGHTER. | tt0074419 | [R] | David McCallum, George Wyner, Eric Server, Sandra McCabe, Sterling Swanson, Linda Gray | Horror | NULL | |
| Dogs in Space | 1986 | Richard Lowenstein | 💣 | 105 | Noisy film tries to encapsule punk era of the late '70s but is merely a tiresome slice-of-life peek at wayward youth. Title refers to the epochal effect of early space flights, including the Russian missions with dogs. | tt0092904 | [R] | Michael Hutchence, Saskia Post, Nique Needles, Deanna Bond, Chris Haywood | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dogs of War | 1980 | John Irvin | ★★★ | 102 | Appropriately mean if overly somber adaptation of the Frederick Forsyth best-seller about a mercenary who tangles with an Amin-like dictator in an African hellhole. Will not promote one-worldism, but Walken takes a screen beating nearly as impressively as Brando. British running time 118m. | tt0080641 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Colin Blakely, Hugh Millais, Paul Freeman, JoBeth Williams, Ed O'Neill | British | Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Dogtooth | 2009 | Yorgos Lanthimos | ★★★ | 97 | A father and mother control the lives of their three young adult offspring, keeping them hidden away on an isolated estate and teaching them values that are, to say the least, extremely unconventional. Striking and offbeat do not begin to describe this challenging tragicomedy, which ponders the role of the parent within the family unit and the often irreversible consequences parental actions have on their children. If this film was rated, it surely would be NC-17. | tt1379182 | A | Christos Stergioglou, Michelle Valley, Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis, Anna Kalaitzidou | Greek | Drama | NULL | |
| Dogtown and Z-Boys | 2002 | Stacy Peralta | ★★★½ | 90 | Exuberant, impassioned documentary of the pioneering Zephyr skateboarders, a group of misfit Venice, California, teens who revived the sport in the '70s and became overnight media sensations . . . and their bittersweet present-day reunion. Made by Peralta, one of the original thrasher stars of the group. Features candid interviews, a terrific classic rock soundtrack, and amazing footage of their killer moves gliding on the walls of drained swimming pools. | tt0275309 | [PG-13] | Narrated by Sean Penn | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Dogville | 2003 | Lars von Trier | ★★★½ | 177 | Provocative and offbeat drama about enigmatic fugitive Kidman, who stumbles into an isolated 1930s Rocky Mountain hamlet and has a disturbing effect on the close-knit community. Dark, avant garde morality tale, with overtly theatrical staging (à la Our Town), fresh casting, and superior acting. Long, demanding, but fascinating and worthwhile. Written by the director. | tt0276919 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Paul Bettany, Blair Brown, James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, Jeremy Davies, Ben Gazzara, Philip Baker Hall, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Zeljko Ivanek, Udo Kier, Cleo King, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård; narrated by John Hurt | Danish-Swedish-British-French-German-Dutch | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Doin' Time | 1985 | George Mendeluk | 💣 | 81 | Shoddy, thoroughly obnoxious POLICE ACADEMY clone, set in the John Dillinger Memorial Penitentiary (yuk, yuk). | tt0089036 | [R] | Jeff Altman, Dey Young, Richard Mulligan, John Vernon, Colleen Camp, Melanie Chartoff, Graham Jarvis, Pat McCormick, Eddie Velez, Jimmie Walker, Judy Landers, Mike Mazurki, Muhammad Ali | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doin' Time on Planet Earth | 1988 | Charles Matthau | ★★½ | 83 | Fresh-feeling but thin teen comedy about boy who feels literally alienated from his family and their Holiday Inn home: cheerful wackos West and Azzara convince him that he's really an alien born on Earth, destined to lead others back to the stars. Amusingly designed, inventively directed, but aimless. | tt0095047 | [PG] | Nicholas Strouse, Andrea Thompson, Hugh Gillin, Adam West, Candice Azzara, Hugh O'Brian, Matt Adler, Timothy Patrick Murphy, Roddy McDowall, Maureen Stapleton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doing Time | Porridge | 1979 | Dick Clement | ★★½ | 95 | Barker is a delight as a habitual prison inmate who inadvertently escapes— and wants back in! Reportedly not as funny as the TV series on which it's based, but that's usually the case with feature spinoffs. (The show was tried on American TV as On the Rocks.) Original British title: PORRIDGE. | tt0079738 | Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale, Fulton Mackay, Brian Wilde, Peter Vaughan | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dolemite | 1975 | D'Urville Martin | ★½ | 88 | Occasionally funny but amateurish vehicle for standup comedian Moore (who also produced the film), a stout nonactor who combines the personality of Mr. T with a rhyming rap routine. Karate gangster spoof is set in the milieu of black nightclubs where Moore performs. | tt0072895 | [R] | Rudy Ray Moore, Jerry Jones, Lady Reed | Action | NULL | ||
| Doll Face | 1945 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 80 | Burlesque dancer Blaine makes good in the big time; pleasant musical with Como's hit 'Hubba Hubba Hubba.' | tt0037650 | Vivian Blaine, Dennis O'Keefe, Perry Como, Carmen Miranda, Martha Stewart, Michael Dunne | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Doll Squad | Hustler Squad | 1973 | Ted V. Mikels | 💣 | 101 | Sexy York leads her all-female trio against ex-CIA agent Ansara, out to rule the world. Poorly made and boring, with very little action. Interesting only as a forerunner to Charlie's Angels; the smart one's even named Sabrina! Aka HUSTLER SQUAD. | tt0069986 | [PG] | Michael Ansara, Francine York, Anthony Eisley, John Carter, Rafael Campos, Lisa Todd | Action, Drama, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | |
| A Doll's House | 1973 | Patrick Garland | ★★½ | 105 | Bloom and Hopkins give thoughtful performances in this rather stagy filmization of Ibsen's play. Still, the words are there and the play is a strong statement about women's (and all people's) rights to be human beings. | tt0069987 | [G] | Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Anna Massey, Edith Evans | British | Drama | NULL | |
| A Doll's House | 1973 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 106 | Moderately successful, cinematic version of Ibsen play, worth a look for Fonda's controversial interpretation of a 19th-century liberated woman. Howard shines as the dying Dr. Rank. | tt0069988 | [G] | Jane Fonda, David Warner, Trevor Howard, Delphine Seyrig, Edward Fox | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dollmaker | 1984 | Daniel Petrie | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Fonda's glowing, Emmy-winning TV-movie debut, as a woman from the Kentucky hills who uproots her kids to follow her husband to a big-city job during WW2 and finds a new way of life using her natural whittling talents. Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn (who wrote Broadway's Foxfire) beautifully adapted Harriette Arnow's novel. | tt0087160 | Jane Fonda, Levon Helm, Amanda Plummer, Susan Kingsley, Geraldine Page | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dollman | 1991 | Albert Pyun | 💣 | 86 | Tough alien cop (from a planet identical to a slightly futuristic Earth) chases a villainous flying head to our planet, but surprise! The cop is only 13 inches tall. Underproduced trifle with poor FX and a deadly slow pace. Followed by DOLLMAN VS. THE DEMONIC TOYS. | tt0101751 | [R] | Tim Thomerson, Jackie Earl Haley, Kamala Lopez, Humberto Ortiz, Nicholas Guest, Judd Omen | Action, Sci-Fi, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dolls | 1987 | Stuart Gordon | ★★ | 77 | OK horror from the director of RE-ANIMATOR has unsuspecting people taking shelter from a storm in mansion owned by elderly couple who make murderous dolls. Nothing special here. | tt0092906 | [R] | Ian Patrick Williams, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Carrie Lorraine, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, Bunty Bailey, Cassie Stuart, Stephen Lee | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Dolly Sisters | 1945 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 114 | Sassy hokum about popular vaudeville sister act with two lovely stars and a bevy of old song favorites, plus newly written 'I Can't Begin to Tell You.' | tt0037651 | Betty Grable, John Payne, June Haver, S. Z. Sakall, Reginald Gardiner, Frank Latimore | Musical | NULL | |||
| Dolores Claiborne | 1995 | Taylor Hackford | ★★★½ | 131 | A Maine woman is accused of murdering her longtime employer, which brings her estranged daughter home for the first time in years. Now, the two women begin to sort out unanswered questions from the past. Gripping adaptation of Stephen King's novel (by Tony Gilroy) holds your interest from start to finish, as the real story unfolds. Bates' performance is a powerhouse, and the rest of the cast is equally fine. Kudos, too, to Hackford's arresting visual treatment. | tt0109642 | [R] | Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judy Parfitt, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, Eric Bogosian, John C. Reilly, Ellen Muth, Bob Gunton | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dolphin Tale | 2011 | Charles Martin Smith | ★★★ | 113 | Lonely, fatherless boy discovers a dolphin washed ashore near his Florida home and establishes an immediate connection with the creature, named Winter. Even as the animal is cared for at a nearby ocean rescue center the boy continues to look after him—and persuades a prosthetics specialist at the local V.A. hospital to help when Winter needs an artificial tail. Agreeable (if serious) family film may follow a predictable outline but the dolphin's story is irresistible—and true. Only the human characters' stories were invented. Director Smith faced a different kind of challenge when he starred in NEVER CRY WOLF. | tt1564349 | [PG] | Harry Connick /Jr., Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Austin Stowell, Frances Sternhagen, Richard Libertini | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Domestic Disturbance | 2001 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 89 | Divorced but devoted dad Travolta is wary of the man his ex is about to marry, all the more so after his son is eyewitness to a crime that no one will believe took place. Straightforward thriller where, for a change, everything adds up— but perhaps it's a little too neat. An ideal role for Travolta, with Buscemi a standout as Vaughn's sleazy friend. | tt0249478 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Matt O'Leary, Steve Buscemi, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Susan Floyd | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dominick and Eugene | 1988 | Robert M. Young | ★★★ | 111 | Heartrending story of a bright young intern (Liotta) and his devotion to a childlike twin brother (Hulce) who needs looking after. An overtly sentimental, sometimes melodramatic, but completely affecting story of love, compassion and responsibility. Hulce's performance as the sweet-natured, slow-witted Dominick is superb. | tt0095050 | [PG-13] | Tom Hulce, Ray Liotta, Jamie Lee Curtis, Todd Graff, Mimi Cecchini, Robert Levine, Bill Cobbs, David Strathairn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist | 2005 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 117 | Years before exorcising Regan MacNeil in THE EXORCIST, Father Merrin battles internal and external demons during an archaeological dig in East Africa. This film became notorious when it was scrubbed and Renny Harlin was hired to remake it from scratch as EXORCIST: THE BEGINNING. Schrader's version (subsequently saved from movie limbo) is significantly more elegant, ambitious, and thoughtful than Harlin's, and Skarsgård gives an effective performance. But in spite of all this, it's still pretty dull. | tt0449086 | [R] | Stellan Skarsgård, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Billy Crawford, Ralph Brown | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dominique | Avenging Spirit | 1978 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 100 | Great cast tries its best in disappointing melodrama; crippled Simmons believes husband Robertson wants to drive her mad; she dies, but comes back to haunt him. Video titles: DOMINIQUE IS DEAD and AVENGING SPIRIT. | tt0077450 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Jean Simmons, Jenny Agutter, Simon Ward, Ron Moody, Judy Geeson, Michael Jayston, Flora Robson, David Tomlinson, Jack Warner | British | Thriller | NULL |
| Domino | 2005 | Tony Scott | ★★½ | 127 | Gritty but jumbled thriller inspired by the life of Domino Harvey (Knightley), an angry young woman who rebels against her background-she's the daughter of jet-setting actor Laurence Harvey-by becoming a bounty hunter. Potentially intriguing but dramatically convoluted, and fails to offer meaningful insight into its title character. Of note for Knightley's offbeat casting and the mass of familiar faces in supporting roles. Screenplay by Richard Kelly of DONNIE DARKO fame. Harvey died at age 35 of an apparent drug overdose after the film's completion but before its release. | tt0421054 | [R] | Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Rizwan Abbasi, Delroy Lindo, Mo'Nique, Lucy Liu, Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari, Macy Gray, Jacqueline Bisset, Dabney Coleman, T.K.Carter, Shondrella Avery, Tom Waits | French-U.S. | Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Domino Kid | 1957 | Ray Nazarro. | ★½ | 73 | Revenge-oater with Calhoun returning to Lone Star State to seek killers of his family. | tt0050325 | Rory Calhoun, Kristine Miller, Andrew Duggan, Roy Barcroft. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Domino Principle | 1977 | Stanley Kramer | 💣 | 97 | Muddled thriller about lunkhead Hackman's recruitment by a mysterious organization bent on political assassination. Bergen fails to convince as a lower-middle-class housewife. | tt0075950 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Richard Widmark, Mickey Rooney, Edward Albert, Eli Wallach | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Don Is Dead | Beautiful but Deadly | 1973 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 115 | Mafia wars form the convoluted plot of this trashy, derivative gangster saga. Retitled BEAUTIFUL BUT DEADLY. | tt0069989 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Frederic Forrest, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Angel Tompkins, Ina Balin | Action, Crime | NULL | |
| Don Juan | 1926 | Alan Crosland | ★★★ | 111 | Entertaining swashbuckler, with Barrymore at his amorous best, surrounded by a top cast (including Oland as Cesare Borgia and Taylor as the infamous Lucretia) and lavish settings. Notable as the first silent film released with Vitaphone music and sound effects. | tt0016804 | John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Willard Louis, Estelle Taylor, Helene Costello, Warner Oland, Montagu Love, Myrna Loy, Hedda Hopper | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Don Juan DeMarco | 1995 | Jeremy Leven | ★★★ | 97 | Psychotherapist on the verge of retirement becomes entranced with a new patient, a fervent young man who believes he is the world's greatest lover. Fanciful story (by director Leven) is made compulsively watchable by its stars: Brando, compelling as ever, Depp, hypnotically believeable, and Dunaway, a delightful match for Brando, as his wife. Ill-fated Tejano singer Selena appears in the opening scene. | tt0112883 | [PG-13] | Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Faye Dunaway, Geraldine Pailhas, Bob Dishy, Rachel Ticotin, Talisa Soto, Richard Sarafian, Tresa Hughes, Franc Luz | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Don Juan Quilligan | 1945 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 75 | Bendix marries two girls at same time; lightweight comedy. | tt0037655 | William Bendix, Joan Blondell, Phil Silvers, Anne Revere, B. S. Pully, Mary Treen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don King: Only in America | 1997 | John Herzfeld | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Rhames is magnetic as the outrageous and controversial boxing promoter. Story follows his rise from the streets to the big time, managing the careers of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, and Larry Holmes (and according to this script, stealing from them as well). Rhames not only stars but also plays his own Greek chorus. Adapted by Kario Salem from Jack Newfield's biography. | tt0119838 | Ving Rhames, Vondie Curtis Hall, Keith David, Jeremy Piven, Loretta Devine, Lou Rawls, Darius McCrary, Ron Leibman, Brad Garrett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Don Q, Son of Zorro | 1925 | Donald Crisp | ★★½ | 110 | Fairbanks in his element in OK sequel to THE MARK OF ZORRO, as Don Cesar de Vega, who romances lovely Astor, clashes with heinous Crisp (and is falsely accused of murder). Doug is both father and son in the rousing finale. | tt0015758 | Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Astor, Jack McDonald, Donald Crisp, Stella De Lanti, Warner Oland, Jean Hersholt | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Don Quixote | 1973 | Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Helpmann | ★★★ | 107 | Fine ballet version of Cervantes' classic, choreographed by Nureyev, who plays barber Basilio; Helpmann is the wandering knight. Not just for ballet buffs. | tt0069991 | [G] | Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Helpmann, Lucette Aldous, Australian Ballet | Musical | NULL | ||
| Don's Party | 1976 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★½ | 91 | Powerful black comedy chronicling the interaction— sexual and otherwise— among a group of young suburbanites who get together to watch election returns. (Important note: In Australia, the 'liberals' are actually the conservative party.) Stunning direction, top performances by all; biting script by David Williamson, from his play. | tt0074422 | John Hargreaves, Pat Bishop, Graham Kennedy, Veronica Lang, Candy Raymond, Harold Hopkins | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Don't Answer the Phone | 1980 | Robert Hammer | 💣 | 94 | Another sadistic killer who's a Vietnam veteran. Don't watch this movie. | tt0080645 | [R] | James Westmoreland, Flo Gerrish, Ben Frank, Nicholas Worth, Stan Haze | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Don't Be Afraid of the Dark | 2011 | Troy Nixey | ★★½ | 99 | Neurotic, overmedicated little girl (Madison) is sent to live with her divorced dad (Pearce), who is renovating a spooky old mansion with his girlfriend (Holmes). They don't know that the house has a terrible history. Soon the girl hears strange voices calling to her from a boarded-up basement; they belong to monstrous creatures who want her to be their newest "friend." Creepy atmosphere helps, but the story is utterly formulaic and the actions of the adult characters don't make much sense. Thompson is fun to watch as a caretaker on the premises. Remake of a 1973 TV movie, a longtime dream project for Guillermo del Toro, who cowrote and produced this and selected newcomer Nixey to direct. | tt1270761 | [R] | Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Jack Thompson, Garry McDonald, Edwina Ritchard, Julia Blake, Nicholas Bell | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | 1995 | Paris Barclay | ★★ | 88 | NAKED GUN-like spoof of coming-of-age 'hood' pictures is only intermittently successful, despite the presence of more Wayanses than there are in Heaven. Thoroughly predictable. Marlon and Shawn (who also cowrote and coexecutive-produced) are amusing as homies. | tt0116126 | [R] | Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Chris Spencer, Suli McCullough, Darrell Heath, Helen Martin, Isaiah Barnes, Craig Wayans, Kim Wayans, Omar Epps, Faizon Love, Antonio Fargas, LaWanda Page, Damon Wayans | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Don't Bet on Blondes | 1935 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 59 | 'Odds' Owen, New York's biggest bookmaker, quits and becomes a speculative insurance broker instead. Light, enjoyable Warners programmer. Clean-shaven Flynn has a small but decent role as one of Claire's boyfriends. Movie drunk Jack Norton appears sober here, promoting the world's champion husband-caller, Maude Eburne ('Hennnnn-reeee!'). | tt0026289 | Warren William, Claire Dodd, Guy Kibbee, William Gargan, Vince Barnett, Hobart Cavanaugh, Clay Clement, Errol Flynn. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Don't Bother to Knock | 1952 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 76 | Title has more punch than improbable yarn of airline pilot Widmark getting involved with mentally disturbed Monroe hired as babysitter in large hotel. Bancroft's film debut. Remade for TV as THE SITTER. | tt0044557 | Richard Widmark, Marilyn Monroe, Anne Bancroft, Jeanne Cagney, Elisha Cook/Jr., Gloria Blondell | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Don't Come Knocking | 2005 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 122 | Troubled Western movie star rides his horse off his current film set and journeys back to his roots-and the family he left behind decades earlier. Returning to the Southwest of PARIS, TEXAS, Wenders and Shepard (who collaborated on the story) seem to be slumming here, but screenwriter Shepard provides himself with a meaty role and makes the most of it, particularly in scenes with Saint (as his mother) and Lange. Franz Lustig's cinematography is a standout. | tt0377800 | [R] | Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, Gabriel Mann, Sarah Polley, Eva Marie Saint, Fairuza Balk, George Kennedy, James Gammon, Marley Shelton, Julia Sweeney | U.S.-German-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder | 1982 | Peter Werner | ★★★ | 108 | Dramatically uneven, but moving account of G.I. Christopher and doctor Saint James' involvement with makeshift orphanage in Vietnam. Based on a true incident. | tt0083843 | [PG] | Dennis Christopher, Susan Saint James, Roger Aaron Brown, Lisa Lu | Drama | NULL | ||
| Don't Do It! | 1994 | Eugene Hess | ★½ | 90 | Talented cast flounders in this confusing, meandering Generation X drama of various couples whose love and sex lives are intertwined. Means to be insightful, but the result is a talky bore. | tt0109643 | Alexis Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Heather Graham, James Le Gros, Sheryl Lee, James Marshall, Esai Morales, Sarah Trigger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don't Drink the Water | 1969 | Howard Morris | ★★ | 100 | Uninspired adaptation of Woody Allen play about American family held prisoner in Iron Curtain country of Vulgaria, and their desperate attempts to escape. Cast works hard, with sporadic results. Remade for TV in 1994. | tt0064247 | [G] | Jackie Gleason, Estelle Parsons, Ted Bessell, Joan Delaney, Michael Constantine, Howard St. John, Avery Schreiber | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Don't Drink the Water | 1994 | Woody Allen | Average TV Movie | 100 | Amusing but dated adaptation of Woody's 1966 Broadway farce about innocent American tourists who find themselves stranded behind the (now long gone) Iron Curtain. Of interest as Allen's TV acting and directing debut, a remake of the 1969 film version which Allen found wanting. | tt0109644 | Woody Allen, Michael J. Fox, Mayim Bialik, Dom DeLuise, Julie Kavner, Edward Herrmann, Austin Pendleton, Josef Sommer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don't Fence Me In | 1945 | John English. | ★★★ | 71 | Nosy magazine reporter Evans travels west to find out the truth about Wildcat Kelly, whose name has been popularized in Cole Porter's hit song (which Roy introduced in 1944's HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN). A particular showcase for Gabby and great fun all the way. | tt0037656 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Robert Livingston, Moroni Olsen, Marc Lawrence, Lucile Gleason, Andrew Tombes, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Don't Give Up the Ship | 1959 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 89 | Top comedy with Jerry as ensign who lost a destroyer escort during war and doesn't remember how. Shaughnessy is pal who helps look for it underwater. One of Lewis' all-time best. | tt0052749 | Jerry Lewis, Dina Merrill, Diana Spencer, Mickey Shaughnessy, Robert Middleton, Gale Gordon, Claude Akins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don't Go Near the Water | 1957 | Charles Walters | ★½ | 107 | Submerged comedy of sailors in the South Pacific of WW2 building a recreation hall. Clark, as a frustrated officer, is best thing in slow film. | tt0050327 | Glenn Ford, Gia Scala, Anne Francis, Fred Clark, Eva Gabor, Earl Holliman, Keenan Wynn, Russ Tamblyn, Jeff Richards, Mickey Shaughnessy, Jack Albertson | Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Don't Just Stand There | 1968 | Ron Winston | ★★½ | 100 | Frantic comedy with perky stars; Wagner and Moore try to unravel mystery of disappearance of authoress Johns after writing the first half of a new book. Players' vivacity makes script seem better than it is. | tt0062901 | Robert Wagner, Mary Tyler Moore, Harvey Korman, Glynis Johns, Barbara Rhoades | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don't Knock the Rock | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 84 | Rock 'n' roll star Dale returns to his hometown, encounters adult hostility. Of course, the elders are cheering the rockers by the finale. Little Richard sings 'Long Tall Sally' and 'Tutti Frutti. | tt0049152 | Bill Haley and His Comets, Alan Freed, Little Richard, Alan Dale, The Treniers, Patricia Hardy | Musical | NULL | |||
| Don't Knock the Twist | 1962 | Oscar Rudolph | 💣 | 87 | The Dovells. Television producer Jeffries, with Checker's assistance, coordinates a twist show. Chandler, with cape, monocle and top hat, sings 'Duke of Earl'; otherwise, you may want to twist your way to your TV set and turn the dial. | tt0055922 | Chubby Checker, Gene Chandler, Vic Dana, Linda Scott, Mari Blanchard, Lang Jeffries | Musical | NULL | |||
| Don't Look Now | 1973 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★★ | 110 | Arty, over-indulgent but gripping Daphne du Maurier occult thriller about parents of drowned child and their horror-laden visit to Venice; highlighted by memorably steamy love scene and violent climax. | tt0069995 | [R] | Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato | British | Mystery, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Don't Look in the Basement | 1973 | S. F. Brownrigg | ★½ | 95 | Amateurish horror thriller about inmates of secluded Florida insane asylum who contrive a bloody takeover. | tt0069994 | [R] | William McGee, Annie MacAdams, Rosie Holotik, Gene Ross, Jessie Lee Fulton, Camilla Carr | Horror | NULL | ||
| Don't Make Waves | 1967 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★ | 97 | The one gem out of nine million bad Tony Curtis comedy vehicles; satire on Southern California has good direction, funny performance by Sharon Tate, and a catchy title song sung by the Byrds. Good fun. | tt0061590 | Tony Curtis, Claudia Cardinale, Sharon Tate, Robert Webber, Mort Sahl, Jim Backus, Edgar Bergen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Don't Move | 2004 | Sergio Castellitto. | ★★½ | 125 | Well-to-do Italian surgeon whose daughter lies on the brink of death after a motorcycle accident looks back on a torrid affair with a poor prostitute 15 years earlier, just before his child was conceived. Odd, very intense melodrama never quite comes together in the way it was intended. Offers an almost unrecognizable Cruz a showcase for her acting chops; she delivers with an effective portrayal that won her the Italian equivalent of the Oscar. | tt0330702 | Penélope Cruz, Sergio Castellitto, Claudia Gerini, Angela Finocchiaro, Pietro De Silva, Lina Berardi, Marco Giallini. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River | 1968 | Jerry Paris | ★★ | 99 | Jerry plays American in England whose get-rich-quick schemes have put him on verge of divorce; mild Lewis comedy scripted by Max Wilk, from his novel. | tt0061591 | [G] | Jerry Lewis, Terry-Thomas, Jacqueline Pearce, Bernard Cribbins, Patricia Routledge | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Don't Say a Word | 2001 | Gary Fleder | ★★★ | 113 | In order to rescue his daughter from kidnappers, a successful N.Y.C. psychiatrist must unlock a secret guarded for ten years by a mental patient (Murphy)— on a one-day deadline. Entertaining thriller builds to a conventional Hollywood-style ending and a silly final scene, but the pace never flags and the cast is first-rate. Based on the novel by Andrew Klavan. | tt0260866 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, Jennifer Esposito, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Victor Argo | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Don't Take It to Heart | 1945 | Jeffrey Dell | ★★★ | 89 | Pleasant romantic comedy of ghost-ridden castle; Greene helps Medina and her townfolk overcome avaricious landowner. | tt0036767 | Richard Greene, Patricia Medina, Richard Bird, Wylie Watson, Ernest Thesiger, Ronald Squire | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Don't Tell | 2005 | Cristina Comencini | ★★½ | 120 | A woman seemingly content in her marriage and career discovers she is pregnant at about the same time she starts having nightmares about her earlier life. She contacts her brother, a professor at a U.S. university, to help her uncover the secret in their family's past and unlock the answers that will enable her to move on. Melodrama is slow-moving and hard to crack at times, but has fine performances and an intriguing story that grows on you. Comencini co-adapted her own novel. | tt0443446 | [R] | Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Alessio Boni, Stefania Rocca, Angela Finocchiaro, Giuseppe Battiston, Luigi Lo Cascio | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Don't Tell Her It's Me | The Boyfriend School | 1990 | Malcolm Mowbray | ★½ | 101 | If you can buy Guttenberg and Long as siblings, or Guttenberg in a skull cap and bloated facial makeup to convey Parkinson's disease radiation treatments, or Guttenberg masquerading as a scruffy New Zealand biker, then maybe you'll find something to like in this romantic comedy of mistaken identity . . . but don't tell her (or him) you did. Aka THE BOYFRIEND SCHOOL. | tt0099450 | [PG-13] | Steve Guttenberg, Jami Gertz, Shelley Long, Kyle MacLachlan, Kevin Scannell, Mädchen Amick, Beth Grant. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead | 1991 | Stephen Herek | ★★ | 105 | Superficial comedy about kids whose babysitter dies, leaving them to get along without supervision or money. The core of the film is not as bad as the title might suggest— that is, if you can get past the first fifteen minutes. Cassidy is a standout as Applegate's boss. | tt0101757 | [PG-13] | Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, John Getz, Keith Coogan, Josh Charles, David Duchovny, Kimmy Robertson, Eda Reiss Merin, Jayne Brook, Cathy Ladman, Christopher Plummer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Don't Tempt Me | Sin Noticias de Dios | 2001 | Agustín Díaz Yanes | ★★★ | 108 | Heaven and Hell assign agents Abril and Cruz to vie for the soul of an embittered pro boxer. Gangsters, supermarket cashiers, and assorted otherworldly emissaries all figure into this oddball seriocomic fantasy. More than a little Almodóvaresque, with some truly weird soundtrack choices ('Kung Fu Fighting'?!?). Original title: SIN NOTICIAS DE DIOS. | tt0284491 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Victoria Abril, Demian Bichir, Fanny Ardant, Gael García Bernal, Juan Echanove, Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Cristina Marcos, Gemma Jones, Bruno Bichir, Elena Anaya, Peter McDonald | Spanish-French-Italian | Comedy | NULL |
| Don't Turn the Other Cheek | 1973 | Duccio Tessari | ★★½ | 93 | Slapstick spaghetti Western detailing exploits of unlikely trio: a fiery, revolution-fomenting Irish journalist (Redgrave), a bogus Russian prince (Nero), and a seedy Mexican bandit (Wallach) with proverbial heart of gold. Aka LONG LIVE YOUR DEATH. | tt0067303 | [PG] | Franco Nero, Lynn Redgrave, Eli Wallach, Marilu Tolo, Horst Janson | Italian | Western, Comedy | NULL | |
| Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title | 1966 | Harmon Jones | 💣 | 83 | Grade-Z shambles, despite many guest cameos by big TV and movie stars. Start worrying when you turn it on. | tt0060332 | Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, Joey Adams, Danny Thomas, Milton Berle, Nick Adams | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands | 1978 | Bruno Barreto | ★★★½ | 116 | Braga is torn between giving body and soul to the dead, irresponsible husband who keeps returning to earth, or to the considerate dullard who's become her new mate. Original, very sexy fantasy. Remade as KISS ME GOODBYE. | tt0077452 | [R] | Sonia Braga, Jose Wilker, Mauro Mendoca, Dinorah Brillanti | Brazilian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Dona Herlinda and Her Son | 1986 | Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. | ★★★ | 91 | Amusing, cheerfully subversive comedy about a pair of gay men, one a surgeon and the other a student, who move in with the former's willful mother. Liberating in its depiction of the lovers; a film to be savored regardless of one's sexual preference. | tt0089048 | Arturo Meza, Marco Antonio Trevino, Leticia Lupersio, Guadalupe del Toro, Angelica Guerrero. | Mexican | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dondi | 1961 | Albert Zugsmith | 💣 | 100 | Adaptation of sentimental comic strip about a cute war orphan trying to get along in the U.S. Goshes! Watch this film and you'll know why Janssen became a fugitive. | tt0054816 | David Janssen, Patti Page, David Kory, Walter Winchell, Gale Gordon | War | NULL | |||
| Donkey Skin | 1971 | Jacques Demy | ★★★ | 90 | Charming adaptation of Charles Perrault's fairy tale about widowed King who vows that his new Queen must be as beautiful as his first. Sumptuous color production, witty script by Demy. | tt0066207 | Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Perrin, Jean Marais, Delphine Seyrig | French | Family, Romance, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Donnie Brasco | 1997 | Mike Newell | ★★★½ | 121 | Fresh, original take on life among the 'wiseguys' in N.Y.C.'s Italian crime families, with rich characterizations by Pacino (as a low-level hood in the Mob food chain) and Depp (as an FBI undercover agent who becomes his protégé). Depp's assignment forces him to virtually abandon his wife and children, as he becomes more and more a part of his adoptive Mob family. Rings true start to finish; based on Joseph Pistone's memoir, scripted by Paul Attanasio. | tt0119008 | [R] | Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Anne Heche, Zeljko Ivanek, Gerry Becker, Zach Grenier, Brian Tarantina, Val Avery, Gretchen Mol | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Donnie Darko | 2001 | Richard Kelly | ★★ | 122 | A tortured teen who attends a repressive high school in the 1980s has nightmarish visions. Are they premonitions or hallucinations? Writer-director Kelly has ambitious and interesting ideas, but the film builds to an unsatisfying conclusion. Barrymore executive-produced and has a relatively minor role as a schoolteacher. | tt0246578 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle | Fantasy, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Donovan's Brain | 1953 | Felix E. Feist | ★★★ | 83 | Scientist is dominated by brain of dead industrialist, which he's kept alive in his lab; intriguing story by Curt Siodmak; modest, capable production. Filmed before as THE LADY AND THE MONSTER, again as THE BRAIN. | tt0045699 | Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Steve Brodie | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Donovan's Reef | 1963 | John Ford | ★★★ | 109 | Action- comedy bounces along with a good cast. Wayne and his freewheeling friends on a Pacific island are disrupted by Warden's grown daughter (Allen) who comes to visit. Lots of fun in Wayne's last feature film with John Ford. That's Ford's yacht Araner in several scenes. | tt0057007 | John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Allen, Jack Warden, Cesar Romero, Dorothy Lamour, Mike Mazurki | Action, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Dont Look Back | 1967 | D. A. Pennebaker | ★★★½ | 96 | Candid documentary about Dylan's '65 concert tour of England, highlighted by his pseudo-hip personality, appearances by Baez and Grossman (Dylan's manager). Dylan performs 'The Times They Are a Changin',' 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,' 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue,' and 'Subterranean Homesick Blues.' | tt0061589 | Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan, Alan Price, Albert Grossman, Allen Ginsberg | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |||
| Doogal | 2005 | Dave Borthwick, Jean Duval, Frank Passingham | ★½ | 79 | A group of pets take on a quest to stop a power-mad wizard who has encased their village (and their human owners) in ice. Pedestrian computer-animated film is aimed strictly at kids. Based on a 1960s British children's TV series, The Magic Roundabout, and originally released in England under that title with an all-star British voice cast (including Tom Baker, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, and Robbie Williams). American version was retitled and redubbed. | tt0763304 | [G] | Voices of Daniel Tay, Judi Dench, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Chevy Chase, Jon Stewart, Kevin Smith, Kylie Minogue | British | Animation, Adventure, Family | NULL | |
| The Doolins of Oklahoma | 1949 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 90 | Action-packed Western with Scott as head of the Doolin gang, who decides to give up his life of crime. | tt0041308 | Randolph Scott, George Macready, Louise Allbritton, John Ireland | Western | NULL | |||
| Doom | 2005 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | 💣 | 100 | Brainless, high-testosterone sci-fi-horror drivel, with the ultra-macho Rapid Response Tactical Squad ordered into action when scientists are mysteriously locked down in a high-security lab located on Mars. Unimaginative ALIEN clone is all special effects, gore, and noise; a dumb script and leaden pacing don't help. Inspired by the controversial, wildly popular Doom video game. Alternate 113m. unrated director's cut. | tt0419706 | [R] | Karl Urban, The Rock, Rosamund Pike, DeObia Oparei, Ben Daniels, Raz Adoti, Richard Brake, Al Weaver, Dexter Fletcher, Brian Steele, Doug Jones | British-Czech-German-U.S. | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Doom Generation | 1995 | Gregg Araki | ★½ | 85 | Two young lovers turn their lives upside down when they pick up a dangerous drifter who involves them in murder and a sexual triangle. Bleak, bleak view of the younger generation makes KIDS look like THE LITTLE MERMAID. | tt0112887 | Rose McGowan, James Duval, Johnathon Schaech, Margaret Cho, Lauren Tewes, Christopher Knight, Parker Posey, Amanda Bearse, Heidi Fleiss | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Doomed Caravan | 1941 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 62 | Hopalong Cassidy aids frontierswoman trying to save her wagon-freighting line in the Mexican-American border region, threatened by slick hombre Ankrum. First-rate in all departments, a model for all series Westerns. Screenplay coauthored by Johnston McCulley, the creator of Zorro. | tt0033546 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Minna Gombell, Morris Ankrum, Georgia Hawkins. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Doomed to Die | 1940 | William Nigh | ★½ | 57 | Fifth entry in the Mr. Wong series, with the detective on the trail of a shipping tycoon's killer, uncovering the whereabouts of some missing contraband bonds. | tt0032404 | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds, Melvin Lang, Guy Usher | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Doomsday | 2008 | Neil Marshall | ★★ | 105 | Shamelessly derivative, ultraviolent postapocalyptic thriller in which the British authorities dispatch feisty action heroine Mitra and a band of mercenaries to sealed-off Scotland to find a cure for a deadly virus. Their foes include a standard-issue mad scientist (McDowell) and a Mohawk-coiffed zombie (Conway), who may as well be a refugee from a MAD MAX movie. | tt0483607 | [R] | Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig, David O’Hara, Malcolm McDowell, Craig Conway | British | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |
| The Doomsday Machine | Escape From Planet Earth | 1972 | Lee Sholem, Harry Hope | 💣 | 88 | Tired cast in lumpy, stultifyingly boring melodrama about scientists on a space voyage who are constantly bickering. Aka ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH. | tt0061592 | Denny Miller, Mala Powers, Bobby Van, Ruta Lee, Grant Williams, Henry Wilcoxon | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Doomwatch | 1972 | Peter Sasdy | ★★★ | 92 | Dr. Bannen investigates the effects of radioactivity on an island inhabited by a rather odd-acting population. Topical, thought-provoking mystery-thriller, not at all bad of its type. Based on the British TV series of the same name. | tt0068498 | Ian Bannen, Judy Geeson, George Sanders, John Paul, Simon Oates, Geoffrey Keen | British | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Door With Seven Locks | 1962 | Alfred Vohrer | ★★½ | 96 | Bizarre account of man who leaves in his will seven keys to treasure vault, with expected friction and murder; from Edgar Wallace story made before as CHAMBER OF HORRORS. | tt0056630 | Eddi Arent, Heinz Drache, Klaus Kinski, Adi Berber, Sabina Sesselman | German | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Door in the Floor | 2004 | Tod Williams | ★★★ | 111 | Noted children's book writer/illustrator hires a college student as his assistant for the summer. The boy has no idea what he's in for, as the man and his wife are reeling from a family tragedy and acting out in entirely different ways. Their young daughter, meanwhile, has problems of her own. Williams adapted the first section of John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for One Year to create this moving, multilayered drama. Despite superficial echoes of other stories, it has a feeling all its own. Fanning is Dakota Fanning's younger sister. Bridges is at the top of his form. | tt0348593 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Elle Fanning, Bijou Phillips, Mimi Rogers, Robert LuPone, Donna Murphy, Louis Arcella | Drama | NULL | ||
| Door to Door | 2002 | Steven Schachter | Above Average TV Movie | 90 | Spirited Macy rings the bell as real-life Bill Porter, who becomes an indomitable door-to-door salesman despite his lifelong battle with cerebral palsy. Macy and director Schachter wrote this uplifting drama about Porter, who at the time of the film was still out there selling, now on the Internet. Made for cable. | tt0274468 | William H. Macy, Helen Mirren, Kyra Sedgwick, Kathy Baker, Joel Brooks, Felicity Huffman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Door-to-Door Maniac | Five Minutes to Live | 1961 | Bill Karn | ★½ | 80 | Cash and Tayback plot a bank robbery. Of interest only for the cast; also known as FIVE MINUTES TO LIVE. | tt0054817 | Johnny Cash, Donald Woods, Cay Forrester, Pamela Mason, Midge Ware, Victor Tayback, Ron Howard, Merle Travis | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Doors | 1991 | Oliver Stone | ★★½ | 135 | Vivid impression of famed rocker Jim Morrison's rise to fame, and eventual undoing. Stone masterfully recreates the late '60s/early '70s rock and drug scene, and Kilmer is perfect in the lead . . . but when it's all over you don't know very much more about Morrison than when the film began. The film's excesses also tend to parallel Morrison's. Stone appears briefly as a UCLA film professor. | tt0101761 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Billy Idol, Dennis Burkley, Josh Evans, Michael Madsen, Michael Wincott, Kathleen Quinlan, John Densmore, Will Jordan, Mimi Rogers, Paul Williams, Crispin Glover, Bill Graham, Billy Vera, Bill Kunstler, Wes Studi, Costas Mandylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Doorway to Hell | 1930 | Archie Mayo | ★½ | 78 | Antique, early-talkie gangster saga with Ayres improbably cast as ruthless Chicago underworld biggie and Cagney (billed sixth, in his second film) as his henchman. | tt0020836 | Lew Ayres, Charles Judels, Dorothy Matthews, Leon Janney, Robert Elliott, James Cagney, Kenneth Thomson | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dopamine | 2003 | Mark Decena | ★★½ | 79 | Hit-and-miss 'relationship' movie about a computer programmer (Livingston) who has difficulty interacting with women, and his connection to equally troubled kindergarten teacher Lloyd. Director-coscripter Decena attempts to offer a novel, perceptive take on modern romance; sincere, occasionally insightful, but static and talky. | tt0342300 | [R] | John Livingston, Sabrina Lloyd, William Windom, Bruno Campos, Rueben Grundy, Kathleen Antonia, Nicole Wilder | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Doppelganger: The Evil Within | 1992 | Avi Nesher | 💣 | 104 | Screenwriter Newbern's roommate, heiress Barrymore, claims her doppelganger (ghostly double) is killing off her family in this sick, nonsensical, would-be slasher film. Loud (and corny) music renders the dialogue unintelligible, which is actually no loss. Drew's mother, Jaid Barrymore, plays her mom on screen. | tt0106753 | [R] | Drew Barrymore, George Newbern, Dennis Christopher, Leslie Hope, Sally Kellerman, George Maharis, Luana Anders | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dorian Gray | The Secret of Dorian Gray | 1970 | Massimo Dallamano | ★½ | 93 | Trashy, slow-moving filmization of Oscar Wilde's novel, updated to the present: vain, immoral young man (Berger) ceases to grow older— his portrait ages instead. 1945's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY is vastly superior. Aka THE SECRET OF DORIAN GRAY. | tt0065656 | [R] | Helmut Berger, Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Marie Liljedahl, Margaret Lee | Italian-German-Lichtensteinian | Horror | NULL |
| Dorian Gray | 2009 | Oliver Parker | ★★ | 112 | Glum, often ghastly rendering of Oscar Wilde’s novel about a handsome young man whose face never changes—while all of his sins are reflected in his portrait. Director Parker did well by Wilde in AN IDEAL HUSBAND, but this adaptation removes all the wit from the source material and substitutes gore and gloom. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1235124 | [R] | Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, Rebecca Hall, Douglas Henshall, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Fiona Shaw, Maryam d’Abo, Michael Culkin, Caroline Goodall | British | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Double Bunk | 1960 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★½ | 92 | Slapstick account of Carmichael and Scott navigating their houseboat down the Thames, with predictable sight gags. | tt0054820 | Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Sidney James, Liz Fraser, Dennis Price | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Double Confession | 1950 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 86 | Murky melodrama at a seaside resort: an innocent man tries to set someone else up as a murder suspect in his wife's mysterious death, only to get involved with some real killers. | tt0042410 | Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre, William Hartnell, Kathleen Harrison, Naunton Wayne | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Double Crossbones | 1951 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 75 | O'Connor is would-be buccaneer who seeks to win his sweetheart and expose crooked city official. Light satire which doesn't quite come off. | tt0042411 | Donald O'Connor, Helena Carter, Will Geer, Hope Emerson, Glenn Strange, Rock Hudson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Double Deal | 1984 | Brian Kavanagh | ★½ | 90 | Idiotic drama about bored, married fashion model-designer Punch-McGregor who takes up with drifter Comber. Filmed in 1981. | tt0082285 | Louis Jourdan, Angela Punch-McGregor, Diane Craig, Warwick Comber, Peter Cummins | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Double Dragon | 1994 | James Yukich | ★½ | 96 | In the junky, gang-dominated post-earthquake 'New Angeles' of 2007, martial artist brothers Dacascos and Wolf battle evil billionaire Patrick for the possession of a two-part Chinese medallion that grants mystical powers. Sometimes lively but mostly silly and tedious; based on an arcade game. | tt0106761 | [PG-13] | Robert Patrick, Mark Dacascos, Scott Wolf, Julia Nickson, Kristina Malandro Wagner, John Mallory Asher, Leon Russom, Alyssa Milano, Michael Berryman, Vanna White, George Hamilton | Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Double Dynamite | 1951 | Irving Cummings/ Jr | ★★ | 80 | Sinatra plays a bank clerk falsely accused of robbery. Flat comedy marked a career low point for all three of its stars. Filmed in 1948. | tt0043476 | Frank Sinatra, Jane Russell, Groucho Marx, Don McGuire | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Double Edge | 1992 | Amos Kollek | ★★½ | 86 | Dunaway is well cast as an overly ambitious American reporter covering the Arab-Israeli conflict in this uneven drama about journalistic objectivity and responsibility. Never quite delivers as it should, but it does effectively mix fiction with fact, as Dunaway interviews Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek (the director-actor-screenwriter's father) and other real-life political figures. | tt0104131 | [PG-13] | Faye Dunaway, Amos Kollek, Mohammad Bakri, Makram Khouri, Anat Atzmon | U.S.-Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| Double Happiness | 1994 | Mina Shum | ★★★ | 100 | Insightful, refreshingly unclichéd tale of a free-thinking young Chinese-Canadian woman (appealingly played by Oh), an aspiring actress whose Old World parents are pressuring her to find a boyfriend and marry. Writer-director Shum does not paint the parents as stodgy villains; they just want what they feel is best for the daughter they love. Bright touches of humor enhance this charming film. | tt0109655 | [PG-13] | Sandra Oh, Stephen Chang, Allanah Ong, Frances You, Callum Rennie | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Double Harness | 1933 | John Cromwell. | ★★★ | 74 | Harding, believing that marriage is a woman's business, schemes to snare free-living playboy Powell. Will they live happily ever after? Sharp, well-played pre-Code marital tale ably showcases its two stars. | tt0023960 | Ann Harding, William Powell, Lucile Browne, Henry Stephenson, Lilian Bond, George Meeker, Reginald Owen. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Double Hour | 2009 | Giuseppe Capotondi | ★★½ | 96 | Intriguing psychological mystery starts as idyllic romance but takes unexpected twists in story of a Slovenian immigrant chambermaid who falls for a cop at a speed-dating event. Things go well until a romantic getaway turns suddenly tragic, leading to revelations and even deeper questions about her checkered past. Uneven, sometimes improbable, but always absorbing story is held together by Rappoport and Timi, who exhibit true natural chemistry that keeps us interested in their fates. | tt1379222 | Ksenia Rappoport, Filippo Timi, Antonia Truppo, Gaetano Bruno, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michele di Mauro | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Double Impact | 1991 | Sheldon Lettich | ★★ | 118 | Identical twins are separated at six months when Hong Kong thugs murder their parents, only to be reunited in revenge a quarter-century later. Van Damme's attempts to delineate two characters (one of them a gruff cigar-chomper) are nearly as goofy as one slow-motion love scene; studio press material, praising this Van Damme career stretch, extolled 'the light, charming side of his persona that we haven't seen before.' | tt0101764 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Geoffrey Lewis, Alan Scarfe, Alonna Shaw, Cory Everson | Action | NULL | ||
| Double Indemnity | 1944 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 106 | Wilder-Raymond Chandler script (from the James M. Cain novel) packs fireworks in account of insurance salesman MacMurray lured into murder plot by alluring Stanwyck and subsequent investigation by Fred's colleague Robinson. An American movie classic, with crackling dialogue throughout. Remade for TV in 1973 with Richard Crenna and Samantha Eggar, and the obvious inspiration for Lawrence Kasdan's BODY HEAT. | tt0036775 | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Tom Power, Fortunio Bonanova, Jean Heather, Bess Flowers | Mystery, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Double Jeopardy | 1999 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★ | 105 | Woman is framed for the murder of her husband; while serving the jail sentence she learns he's alive and vows revenge, especially since she can't be tried twice for the same crime. Slick entertainment gives you pretty much what you'd expect. | tt0150377 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Ashley Judd, Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Roma Maffia, Davenia McFadden | Thriller, Action, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Double Life of Veronique | 1991 | Krzysztof Kieslowski. | ★★½ | 97 | Two women (one Polish, one French, both played by Jacob) subtly affect each other's lives while remaining total strangers. Unfolds like a half-hour teleplay with a supernatural premise stretched to 11/2 hours. Film, though, has enough going for it to pick up a cult, for which luminous lead Jacob deserves credit. | tt0101765 | Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Guillaume de Tonquedec, Philippe Volter. | Polish-French | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Double Life | 1947 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 104 | Colman gives a bravura, Oscar-winning performance as an actor whose stage roles spill over into his life— and now he's about to play Othello. Brilliant melodrama by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, with wonderful New York theater flavor. Miklos Rozsa's fine score also won an Oscar. Watch for playwright Paddy Chayefsky as a crime-scene photographer. | tt0039335 | Ronald Colman, Signe Hasso, Edmond O'Brien, Shelley Winters, Ray Collins, Millard Mitchell | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Double Man | 1967 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★½ | 105 | Unconvincing spy thriller with Brynner playing both unemotional C.I.A. agent and East German lookalike. Excellent photography by Denys Coop will suffer on TV. | tt0061594 | Yul Brynner, Britt Ekland, Clive Revill, Anton Diffring, Moira Lister, Lloyd Nolan | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Double McGuffin | 1979 | Joe Camp | ★★½ | 89 | Teenagers stumble onto clues leading to assassination plot, but no one will believe them. Family-oriented thriller from creator of BENJI. Orson Welles explains film's title at the outset, for non-Hitchcock devotees. | tt0079070 | [PG] | Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Elke Sommer, Rod Browning, Dion Pride, Lisa Whelchel, Jeff Nicholson, Michael Gerard, Vincent Spano | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Double Negative | Deadly Companion | 1980 | George Bloomfield | ★½ | 96 | Confusing, annoying thriller with mentally tortured photojournalist Sarrazin attempting to track down his wife's murderer. Sarrazin is his usual bland self; Clark is wasted. Based on Ross Macdonald's The Three Roads. Aka DEADLY COMPANION. | tt0080656 | Michael Sarrazin, Susan Clark, Anthony Perkins, Howard Duff, Kate Reid, Al Waxman, Elizabeth Shepherd | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Double Take | 2001 | George Gallo | 💣 | 88 | Slick, awful buddy pic about a buppie banker who swaps identities with a ghetto con artist when he's framed for laundering millions for a Mexican drug cartel. Full of car crashes and south-of-the-border caricatures . . . and perpetuates that old stereotype that all black people look alike. Inexplicably based on a Graham Greene short story, filmed before as ACROSS THE BRIDGE. Vivica A. Fox appears unbilled. | tt0238948 | [PG-13] | Orlando Jones, Eddie Griffin, Edward Herrmann, Gary Grubbs, Shawn Elliott, Brent Briscoe, Daniel Roebuck, Garcelle Beauvais, Andrea Navedo | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Double Team | 1997 | Tsui Hark | ★½ | 91 | Mismatched buddy film with Van Damme as a world-class counterterrorist who teams with weapons expert Rodman in a quest to stop Mickey Rourke (not a bad idea). Pointless action thriller from cult Hong Kong director Hark. Scenes in which the hero's baby is placed in constant jeopardy would be hard to stomach even in a coherent film— which this isn't. | tt0119013 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke, Paul Freeman, Natacha Lindinger, Valeria Cavalli | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Double Trouble | 1967 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 90 | Teen-age heiress falls for pop singer Presley when he's performing in England; usual Elvis fare, but he does sing 'Long Legged Girl,' one of his best post-Army tunes. | tt0061595 | Elvis Presley, Annette Day, John Williams, Yvonne Romain, The Wiere Brothers, Chips Rafferty, Michael Murphy | Musical | NULL | |||
| Double Wedding | 1937 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 87 | Loy's orchestration of her sister's wedding is upset by the presence of free-spirited bohemian Powell. The stars are the whole show in this otherwise disappointing adaptation of Ferenc Molnár's play Great Love. | tt0028804 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Florence Rice, John Beal, Jessie Ralph, Edgar Kennedy, Sidney Toler, Mary Gordon, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Double or Nothing | 1937 | Theodore Reed | ★★½ | 95 | Entertaining musical about four people given 30 days to double gifts of $5000. Several good specialty acts thrown in for good measure, and Bing sings 'The Moon Got in My Eyes. | tt0028806 | Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Andy Devine, Mary Carlisle, William Frawley, Fay Holden, Frances Faye | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Double | 2011 | Michael Brandt | 💣 | 98 | The murder of a U.S. senator bears the M.O. of a notorious Russian assassin who was supposedly killed years ago. This requires ex-CIA specialist Gere (who eliminated the man) to come out of retirement and team up with hotshot FBI agent Grace, who wrote a thesis about the infamous killer. Awkward, amateurish, sometimes laughable thriller is bad from the word "go," clearly not filmed where it takes place (mostly Washington, D.C.). Inauspicious directing debut for screenwriter Brandt. | tt1646980 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Stana Katic, Stephen Moyer, Martin Sheen, Odette Yustman (Annable), Chris Marquette | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Doubt | 2008 | John Patrick Shanley | ★★★ | 104 | In a Bronx parish, circa 1964, a relentlessly stern nun who serves as high school principal suspects that her gregarious priest is showing unnatural interest in the school’s first black student. She has certainty on her side; now she needs proof. Often-electrifying drama is played out by a peerless cast, though its power must have been even greater onstage, where it originated. Shanley adapted his own play. Davis shines as the student’s mother in one extended, unforgettable scene. | tt0918927 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, Alice Drummond, Audrie Neenan, Joseph Foster II, Paulie Litt | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Doubting Thomas | 1935 | David Butler | ★★★ | 78 | Rogers is at his best dealing with a variety of eccentric and pompous characters when his stagestruck wife Burke joins an amateur theatrical troupe. Often hilarious adaptation of George Kelly's play The Torch Bearers, with Skipworth in rare form as the play's directress. | tt0026292 | Will Rogers, Billie Burke, Alison Skipworth, Sterling Holloway, Andrew Tombes, Gail Patrick, Frank Albertson, John Qualen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Douchebag | 2010 | Drake Doremus | ★★★ | 81 | Disarming micro-indie film about a nice young woman who takes it upon herself to bring her fiancé’s impoverished brother to L.A. for their wedding, not realizing the friction that exists between the siblings. Story expands in unexpected ways, and the performances are spot-on. Intimate, real, and rewarding little film. Dickler, who plays Sam, cowrote the screenplay and edited the film. | tt1535568 | Unrated | Andrew Dickler, Ben York Jones, Marguerite Moreau, Nicole Vicius, Amy Ferguson, Wendi McLendon-Covey | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doug's 1st Movie | 1999 | Maurice Joyce | ★½ | 77 | The star of TV's animated Doug is featured in this bland, formulaic story, strictly for kids. Mild-mannered preteen Doug Funnie's efforts to save a local endangered 'monster' conflict with his desire to take his girlfriend to the school dance. Created as a direct-to-video feature but given theatrical release after the success of THE RUGRATS MOVIE. | tt0187819 | [G] | Voices of Thomas McHugh, Fred Newman, Chris Phillips, Constance Shulman, Doug Preis, Guy Hadley, Alice Playten | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Doughboys | 1930 | Edward Sedgwick | ★½ | 79 | One of Buster's worst films; a tiresome Army comedy. Obnoxious sergeant Brophy overrides few comic moments; some bright spots with 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards. | tt0020838 | Buster Keaton, Sally Eilers, Cliff Edwards, Edward Brophy, Victor Potel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Doughgirls | 1944 | James V. Kern | ★★½ | 102 | Brittle comedy, another tale of crowded wartime Washington, with newlyweds Carson and Wyman on hectic honeymoon. Arden stands out as Russian army officer. | tt0036776 | Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, Jane Wyman, Eve Arden, Jack Carson, Charlie Ruggles, Alan Mowbray, Craig Stevens, Regis Toomey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Dove | 1974 | Charles Jarrott | ★★½ | 105 | Pleasant round-the-world adventure based on true story of 16-year-old who sails to every imaginable port. Produced by Gregory Peck. Filmed on location. | tt0071438 | [PG] | Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Raffin, John McLiam, Dabney Coleman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Down Among the Sheltering Palms | 1953 | Edmund Goulding | ★★ | 87 | Poor man's SOUTH PACIFIC recounts love problems of two U.S. army officers stationed in Pacific after WW2. Look fast for Lee Marvin. | tt0045702 | William Lundigan, Jane Greer, Mitzi Gaynor, David Wayne, Gloria DeHaven, Billy Gilbert, Jack Paar | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Down Among the Z Men | 1952 | Maclean Rogers | ★★ | 70 | Creaky vehicle for radio's The Goons in story of criminals who visit small town to steal a professor's secret scientific formula. Some good bits, especially Sellers doing impressions of Yank soldiers, but overloaded with dull song-and-dance numbers by a female chorus line. | tt0044563 | Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, Carole Carr, Spike Milligan, Clifford Stanton, Graham Stark, Miriam Karlin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Down Argentine Way | 1940 | Irving Cummings | ★★★ | 90 | Enjoyable 20th Century-Fox musical with Grable (in the movie that boosted her to stardom) falling in love with smooth Argentinian horse breeder Ameche. Miranda is terrific in her first American movie, performing infectious Brazilian songs with her own band . . . and look out for the Nicholas Brothers, who do a dynamite specialty number. Picture-postcard color throughout. | tt0032410 | Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Charlotte Greenwood, J. Carrol Naish, Henry Stephenson, Leonid Kinskey | Comedy, Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Down Came a Blackbird | 1995 | Jonathan Sanger | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Journalist Dern is drawn to Redgrave's private clinic for former torture victims where, in group sessions, unsettling memories are painfully revived. Harrowing and often graphic scenes accompany disturbing monologues by those intent on repressing the past. Strongly acted by an emaciated Julia (in his final role) as a former professor with a dark past, as well as Dern, Redgrave, Gorman (oddly cast as thick-accented Greek partisan). Written with rage by Kevin Droney. Made for video; debuted on cable. | tt0112893 | Raul Julia, Laura Dern, Vanessa Redgrave, Cliff Gorman, Sarita Choudhury, Jeffrey DeMunn, L. Scott Caldwell, Falconer Abraham, Jay O. Sanders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Down Dakota Way | 1949 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Barcroft (Republic Pictures' best bad guy) plays a rancher who tries to hide the fact that his cattle have hoof-and-mouth disease. Another bull's-eye for Roy and director Witney; this was Brady's first film as Roy's sidekick. | tt0041311 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Elisabeth Risdon, Roy Barcroft, Byron Barr, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Down Memory Lane | 1949 | Phil Karlson (new footage). | ★★★ | 72 | Allen decides to show old Sennett comedies on his TV show. OK framework for silent clips of Ben Turpin, Gloria Swanson, etc. Fields' classic THE DENTIST and Crosby's BLUE OF THE NIGHT both shown almost in toto, making silly Allen footage worth watching. | tt0041312 | Steve Allen, Franklin Pangborn, Frank Nelson, Mack Sennett; scenes of W. C. Fields, Bing Crosby, others. | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Down Mexico Way | 1941 | Joseph Santley. | ★★★ | 77 | Gene and Frog (Burnette) go South of the Border to rout some con men who've been convincing people to invest their money in a nonexistent movie production. One of Autry's most enjoyable outings has him reprising some of his biggest hits, including 'South of the Border,' 'Maria Elena,' and 'The Gay Ranchero.' There's a great action finale, too. | tt0033550 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Harold Huber, Sidney Blackmer, Joe Sawyer, Andrew Tombes, Murray Alper, Duncan Renaldo, Julian Rivero, Paul Fix. | Western | NULL | |||
| Down Periscope | 1996 | David S. Ward | ★★½ | 92 | Maverick naval officer is finally given a submarine to command, but it turns out to be a mothballed wreck— with a crew that's not much better. But if he can prove his mettle (and the ship's) in a war game environment, he can graduate to a first-class nuclear sub. Mild comedy follows the misfits-make-good formula fairly well. Surprisingly well-developed plot line but not enough laughs. | tt0116130 | [PG-13] | Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Bruce Dern, Rob Schneider, Rip Torn, Harry Dean Stanton, William H. Macy, Ken Hudson Campbell, Toby Huss, Duane Martin, Jonathan Penner, Harland Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Down Three Dark Streets | 1954 | Arnold Laven | ★★½ | 85 | Smoothly done interweaving episodes, pegged on FBI agent following through on trio of dead buddy's cases; Roman quite effective. | tt0046928 | Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Casey Adams, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, Claude Akins | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Down Twisted | 1987 | Albert Pyun | ★½ | 88 | Unremittingly complicated, and unsatisfying, caper yarn with innocent young woman suddenly caught up in web of intrigue when she's thought to have a priceless artifact the bad guys are after. Echoes of other (better) movies abound. | tt0092922 | [R] | Carey Lowell, Charles Rocket, Trudi Dochtermann, Thom Matthews, Norbert Weisser, Linda Kerridge, Nicholas Guest | Action | NULL | ||
| Down With Love | 2003 | Peyton Reed | ★★ | 94 | Spoof of 1960s Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedies has Zellweger as the author of a best-selling book on female independence in a battle of the sexes with playboy/magazine writer McGregor. Andrew Laws' lush, over-the-top Hollywood-fantasy production design is the real star here; everything else is heavy-handed and hollow, a self-consciously artificial parody of an already lightweight movie genre. Randall's final film. | tt0309530 | [PG-13] | Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, David Hyde Pierce, Sarah Paulson, Tony Randall, Jeri Ryan, Rachel Dratch | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Down and Out in Beverly Hills | 1986 | Paul Mazursky | ★★½ | 103 | Bum moves in with neurotic, nouveau-riche Bev Hills family and takes over their lives. Slick, often funny, but unusually obvious satire for Mazursky (who also appears as one of Dreyfuss's fat-cat friends). Some good performances, though Mike the Dog easily steals the film. A remake of Renoir's BOUDU SAVED FROM DROWNING. Later a TV series. | tt0090966 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, Bette Midler, Little Richard, Tracy Nelson, Elizabeth Pena, Evan Richards, Valerie Curtin, Barry Primus, Dorothy Tristan, Alexis Arquette, Mike the Dog | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Down by Law | 1986 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★½ | 107 | Third feature by writer-director Jarmusch is intriguing, amusing, and ever so slight, a look at three losers who wind up in jail together— and then make a break for it. Really comes alive when Italian comic Benigni turns up. Slow moving, strikingly photographed (in black & white) by Robby Müller on location in Louisiana. Costars Lurie and Waits also provide music on the soundtrack. | tt0090967 | [R] | Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Barkin, Billie Neal, Rockets Redglare, Vernel Bagneris, Nicoletta Braschi | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Down in San Diego | 1941 | Robert B. Sinclair. | ★★ | 69 | When ex-crook Dailey enlists in the Marines, his old gang frames him into spying for them, so Gorcey (here stretching to play a mug called 'Snap' instead of 'Slip') springs into action with his pals to save the day. Former Broadway hoofer McDonald makes an inauspicious film debut in this very routine WW2 propaganda yarn. | tt0033551 | Ray McDonald, Bonita Granville, Dan Dailey/Jr., Leo Gorcey, Henry O'Neill, Stanley Clements, Charles B. Smith, Dorothy Morris. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Down in the Delta | 1998 | Maya Angelou | ★★½ | 111 | With her life a mess and virtually no hope of employment, single mom Woodard boards the bus with her two children to spend the summer in the Mississippi Delta, living with relatives and working in their chicken restaurant. Episodic drama recovers from clumsy exposition to win points for sheer likability, though it's put over almost exclusively by its cast. Woodard shines, and Freeman gives one of the best performances of his career. | tt0142231 | [PG-13] | Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman/Jr., Wesley Snipes, Mary Alice, Esther Rolle, Loretta Devine | Drama | NULL | ||
| Down in the Valley | 2006 | David Jacobson | ★★½ | 114 | Interesting attempt to merge a classic Western motif into a contemporary story set in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, where a 30-something charmer rides into the life of an impressionable teenage girl. Their romance goes awry as he reveals his true personality. Norton, recalling a young Henry Fonda, is excellent, but writer-director Jacobson introduces and then drops too many story threads. Intriguing if violent character study seems like the bastard child of TAXI DRIVER and LONELY ARE THE BRAVE. | tt0398027 | [R] | Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse, Rory Culkin, Bruce Dern, Geoffrey Lewis, Artel Kayàru, Ty Burrell | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| Down the Drain | 1990 | Robert C. Hughes | ★★ | 105 | Lawyer Stevens, with the help of his clients, pulls off a bank robbery. Strictly ho-hum. | tt0099459 | [R] | Andrew Stevens, John Matuszak, Don Stroud, Teri Copley, Joseph Campanella, Stella Stevens, Jerry Mathers, George 'Buck' Flower, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Down the Stretch | 1936 | William Clemens. | ★★ | 66 | Rooney plays a wayward jockey who is taken in by a wealthy couple and given a chance to redeem himself by winning the big race. Naturally, racketeers have other ideas. Formula horse-racing yarn made watchable by the always energetic Rooney and some well-staged racing scenes. | tt0027543 | Mickey Rooney, Dennis Moore, Patricia Ellis, Willie Best, Gordon Hart, Gordon (William) Elliott, Virginia Brissac. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Down to Earth | 1932 | David Butler | ★★½ | 73 | Homer Croy's sequel to THEY HAD TO SEE PARIS has nouveau riche Midwesterner Rogers putting an end to his family's foolish spending by declaring that he's broke. OK Rogers vehicle, but not up to his best film efforts. | tt0022833 | Will Rogers, Irene Rich, Dorothy Jordan, Mary Carlisle, Matty Kemp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Down to Earth | 1947 | Alexander Hall | ★★ | 101 | Terpsichore, the Goddess of Dance (Hayworth), comes to Earth to help Parks with his mythological musical play. Rita's beauty is only asset of this hack musical, which appropriates Gleason, Horton, and Culver characters from HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. Remade as XANADU. | tt0039337 | Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, Marc Platt, Roland Culver, James Gleason, Edward Everett Horton | Fantasy, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Down to Earth | 2001 | Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz | ★½ | 87 | A would-be standup comic is taken to heaven before his time, then returned to life in the body of a ruthless tycoon. Appallingly clumsy remake of HEAVEN CAN WAIT (and its source, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN), reshaped as a vehicle for Rock. He shines when he's doing a comedy riff, but his acting is monotonous. | tt0231775 | [PG-13] | Chris Rock, Regina King, Chazz Palminteri, Eugene Levy, Frankie Faison, Mark Addy, Jennifer Coolidge, Greg Germann, Wanda Sykes, Greg Cho | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Down to Their Last Yacht | 1934 | Paul Sloane. | ★½ | 64 | Depression-era comedy involving people of the Social Register who are replaced by people of the Cash Register, and a crew of ex-socialites who play host to a group of nouveau riche passengers on an ocean voyage. Initially clever, but quickly becomes heavy-handed and tiresome, with bizarre musical interludes. A dud. | tt0025066 | Mary Boland, Ned Sparks, Polly Moran, Sidney Blackmer, Sidney Fox, Sterling Holloway. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Down to You | 2000 | Kris Isacsson | 💣 | 91 | Prinze and Stiles futilely try chumming us up by speaking directly into the camera, explaining how their once-idyllic college romance went bust (though not as bust as the movie). Somehow, this manages to find room for subplots about a TV cooking show (hosted by Winkler, as Prinze's dad) and a buddy who dabbles as an adult-movie entrepreneur with a kind of bohemian/intellectual porn actress. Numbingly inept comedy. | tt0186975 | [PG-13] | Freddie Prinze/Jr., Julia Stiles, Shawn Hatosy, Selma Blair, Zak Orth, Ashton Kutcher, Rosario Dawson, Henry Winkler, Lucie Arnaz | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Down to the Bone | 2005 | Debra Granik | ★★★ | 105 | Working-class woman tries to keep her family and home intact while feeding a cocaine habit. Going through rehab helps her on a short-term basis but presents her with other challenges-and choices-after she comes to trust an addict-turned-counselor (Dillon). Superior fly-on-the-wall filmmaking is anchored by Farmiga's remarkably honest performance. Based on writer-director Granik's 1997 short SNAKE FEED, which won a prize at Sundance-as did this film. | tt0363579 | Unrated | Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan, Caridad 'La Bruja' De La Luz, Jasper Moon Daniels, Taylor Foxhall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Down to the Sea in Ships | 1949 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 120 | Young Stockwell fulfills seafaring goal on crusty Barrymore's whaling ship, under guidance of sailor Widmark. Good atmospheric yarn. | tt0041313 | Richard Widmark, Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell, Cecil Kellaway, Gene Lockhart | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Downfall | Untergang, Der | 2004 | Oliver Hirschbiegel. | ★★★½ | 155 | Riveting dramatization of Hitler's final days in and around his Berlin bunker, as the Nazi leader descends into madness and paranoia and his adjutants respond in various ways, from jumping ship to standing firm alongside their Fuhrer. Inspired in part by the memories of his young secretary, Traudl Junge (interviewed on screen in BLIND SPOT), whose words bookend the film. Long but thoroughly engrossing; Ganz is outstanding. Screenplay by Bernd Eichinger. | tt0363163 | [R] | Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann. | German | Drama, War | NULL |
| Downhill | 1927 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 95 | Schematic silent film charts a man's spiritual slide, beginning when, as a schoolboy, he is disowned by his family after an indiscretion with a girl, and later as an adult when his wife fritters away his unexpected inheritance. Major debit: the contrived happy ending. Lesser Hitchcock boasts the master's visual flair. Cowritten by Novello. | tt0017825 | Ivor Novello, Ben Webster, Robin Irvine, Sybil Rhoda, Lillian Braithwaite, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Downhill Racer | 1969 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 102 | Vivid study of an empty life, with Redford as small-town egotist who joins U.S. Olympic ski team. Basically a character study; problem is an unappealing character. Dazzling ski scenes make lulls worth enduring. Ritchie's feature directorial debut. | tt0064253 | [M] | Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Camilla Sparv, Karl Michael Vogler, Jim McMullan, Christian Doermer, Dabney Coleman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Downstairs | 1932 | Monta Bell | ★★★½ | 77 | Crackling, adult drama about a heel who sleeps and cajoles his way from one wealthy household to another— using both the mistresses of the houses upstairs and the servants downstairs. Gilbert delivers an audacious performance that more than any other redeems his maligned reputation as a 'talkie' actor; he also gets story credit for the film. Leading lady Bruce was then his wife. Karen Morley appears unbilled in final scene. | tt0022834 | John Gilbert, Paul Lukas, Virginia Bruce, Hedda Hopper, Reginald Owen, Olga Baclanova | Drama | NULL | |||
| Downtown | 1990 | Richard Benjamin | ★★ | 96 | Naive white cop Edwards is transferred from easy suburban precinct to tough downtown area of Philadelphia and teamed with a sad, streetwise loner (Whitaker); together they go after a peculiar stolen-car ring. Uneasy mix of farce, melodrama, and buddy movie looks something like a pilot for a (bad) TV series. | tt0099460 | [R] | Anthony Edwards, Forest Whitaker, Joe Pantoliano, David Clennon, Penelope Ann Miller, Kimberly Scott, Art Evans, Rick Aiello | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dr. Akagi | 1998 | Shohei Imamura | ★★★ | 128 | Pointed satiric drama set in the waning days of WW2 about a small-town doctor who fears that a hepatitis epidemic is about to sweep his country. Savagely lampoons Japanese military bureaucracy, but works best as a loving portrait of a dedicated man and those in his inner circle. | tt0155796 | Akira Emoto, Kumiko Aso, Juro Kara, Masanori Sera, Jacques Gamblin, Keiko Matsuzaka | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dr. Alien | 1988 | David DeCoteau | ★★ | 87 | Landers is an alien who disguises herself as a college professor and transforms freshman Jacoby from wimp to dreamboat. Silly stuff (with an all-star schlock movie supporting cast). | tt0095060 | [R] | Judy Landers, Billy Jacoby, Olivia Barash, Stuart Fratkin, Raymond O'Connor, Arlene Golonka, Linnea Quigley, Troy Donahue, Ginger Lynn Allen, Edy Williams | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dr. Bethune | 1990 | Phillip Borsos | ★★½ | 115 | Handsomely mounted but episodic account of controversial Canadian doctor Norman Bethune (well played by Sutherland), ardent anti-fascist and proponent of socialized medicine. Much terrain is covered, from his love life to his involvement in the Spanish Civil War and with Mao Tse-tung fighting the Japanese; unfortunately, you never really know what makes him tick. Original title: BETHUNE: THE MAKING OF A HERO. Released in the U.S. in 1993; Sutherland also starred in BETHUNE, a 1977 Canadian TV movie. | tt0099127 | Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren, Helen Shaver, Colm Feore, James Pax, Ronald Pickup, Guo Da, Anouk Aimée | Canadian-Chinese-French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde | The Watts Monster | 1976 | William Crain | ★★½ | 87 | Black lab scientist Casey tests experimental serum on himself and turns into a white monster. No surprises, but not bad, either, with Casey doing first-rate job. Aka THE WATTS MONSTER and DR. BLACK AND MR. WHITE. | tt0074430 | [PG] | Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash, Marie O'Henry, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Milt Kogan, Stu Gilliam | Horror | NULL | |
| Dr. Broadway | 1942 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 68 | Anthony Mann's first film is a decent little B mystery centering on Carey as Times Square doc and the assorted crooks and loonies he becomes involved with. Nicely done on a low budget and featuring a rare performance by Phillips, Ginger Rogers's stand-in. | tt0034678 | MacDonald Carey, Jean Phillips, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Lane, Eduardo Ciannelli, Warren Hymer | Crime | NULL | |||
| Dr. Bull | 1933 | John Ford | ★★★ | 75 | Rogers in fine form as country doctor battling smalltown pettiness as much as fighting illness. Stereotyped characters are perfect foils for Rogers' common-sense pronouncements; director Ford provides ideal atmosphere. | tt0023955 | Will Rogers, Marian Nixon, Ralph Morgan, Rochelle Hudson, Berton Churchill, Louise Dresser, Andy Devine | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dr. Christian Meets the Women | 1940 | William McGann | ★★ | 68 | Predictable but harmless series entry, with the good doctor exposing 'Professor' La Rocque's diet and physical-culture scam. | tt0032411 | Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Edgar Kennedy, Rod La Rocque, Frank Albertson, Marilyn (Lynn) Merrick, Maude Eburne, Veda Ann Borg | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Cyclops | 1940 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★½ | 75 | In South American jungle, title character (Dekker) shrinks humans to doll size; the story is just OK, but the elaborate special effects (in color) are worth seeing. | tt0032412 | Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Victor Kilian, Charles Halton | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Dr. Dolittle 2 | 2001 | Steve Carr | ★★½ | 87 | Amiable sequel to 1998 hit DOCTOR DOLITTLE has Murphy trying to save a forest by propagating an endangered species. In order to do so, a performing bear has to mate with his female counterpart in the wild. Meanwhile, Dolittle is trying to strengthen a shaky bond with his 16-year-old daughter. Considerably less raunchy than the earlier film, though there's no shortage of 'mating' jokes. Many celebrities provide voices (Steve Zahn, Norm Macdonald, Lisa Kudrow, Michael Rapaport, Isaac Hayes, Andy Dick, Michael McKean, David L. Lander, Mandy Moore, Joey Lauren Adams, Frankie Muniz, Jamie Kennedy, John Leguizamo), not all of them credited. | tt0240462 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Kevin Pollak, Kristen Wilson, Jeffrey Jones, Raven-Symoné, Kyla Pratt, Lil' Zane, Andy Richter | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | 1940 | William Dieterle | ★★★½ | 103 | Outstanding chronicle of 19th-century German scientist who developed cure for venereal disease. Robinson earnest in superior script by John Huston, Heinz Herald, and Norman Burnside; surprisingly compelling. | tt0032413 | Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Gordon, Otto Kruger, Donald Crisp, Maria Ouspenskaya, Montagu Love, Sig Ruman, Donald Meek | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Giggles | 1992 | Manny Coto | ★½ | 95 | Gory, one-note horror drama in which crazed doctor, who giggles whenever nervous, goes on a murderous rampage after escaping from a looney-bin. Drake's fine performance is wasted. | tt0104139 | [R] | Larry Drake, Holly Marie Combs, Cliff De Young, Glenn Quinn, Keith Diamond, Richard Bradford, Michelle Johnson | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case | 1943 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★½ | 89 | Gillespie tries to help a convicted murderer prove his innocence in this unusually serious entry which helped to establish Johnson and Reed, as well as providing an early role for young Margaret O'Brien. | tt0035826 | Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Donna Reed, Keye Luke, John Craven, William Lundigan, Walter Kingsford, Nat Pendleton, Marilyn Maxwell, Alma Kruger, Marie Blake, Henry O'Neill, Nell Craig | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant | 1942 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★½ | 87 | Three young surgeons (Johnson, Luke, and Quine) are put on 'trial' by Gillespie to see who gets to replace Dr. Kildare in this satisfying entry stocked with burgeoning MGM talent. Quine and Peters were married in real life the following year. | tt0034680 | Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Susan Peters, Richard Quine, Keye Luke, Alma Kruger, Stephen McNally, Nat Pendleton, Walter Kingsford, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Frank Orth, Rose Hobart, Ann Richards | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine | 1965 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 90 | Mad scientist tries to make a fortune manufacturing lifelike lady robots to marry wealthy men. Good chase scene, but otherwise just silly. | tt0059124 | Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart, Fred Clark | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs | 1966 | Mario Bava. | ★½ | 85 | Dumb sequel to DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE finds Price now backed by Red China, dropping actual girl bombs into the laps of unsuspecting generals. | tt0061014 | Vincent Price, Fabian, Franco Franchi, Moana Tahi, Laura Antonelli. | Italian | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype | 1980 | Charles B. Griffith | ★★½ | 99 | Reed is a grotesquely ugly podiatrist who drinks a potion to commit suicide, instead turns into a handsome murderer. Moderately funny comedy, also written by Roger Corman veteran Griffith. | tt0080658 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Sunny Johnson, Maia Danziger, Mel Welles, Virgil Frye, Jackie Coogan, Corinne Calvet | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 1920 | John S. Robertson | ★★★ | 96 | One of several silent versions of famous tale, this one can hold its own next to the later March and Tracy filmings; Barrymore is superb as curious doctor who ventures into the unknown, emerging as evil Mr. Hyde. Bravura performance sparks well-made production. | tt0011130 | John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Nita Naldi, Charles Lane, Louis Wolheim | Horror | NULL | |||
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 1932 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★ | 97 | Exciting, floridly cinematic version of famous story with March in Oscar-winning portrayal of tormented doctor, Hopkins superb as tantalizing Ivy. Beware of 82m. re-issue version. | tt0211340 | Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart, Holmes Herbert, Halliwell Hobbes | Short | NULL | |||
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | 1941 | Victor Fleming | ★★★ | 114 | Tracy and Bergman are excellent in thoughtful, lush remake of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, which stresses Hyde's emotions rather than physical horror. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033553 | Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane, C. Aubrey Smith, Sara Allgood | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde | 1995 | David F. Price | ★½ | 90 | Did we really need a comic retread of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, with Jekyll's great-grandson (Daly) morphing into seductress Helen Hyde (Young)? If so, it should have been a lot better. | tt0112895 | [PG-13] | Sean Young, Timothy Daly, Lysette Anthony, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harvey Fierstein, Thea Vidale, Jeremy Piven, Polly Bergen, Stephen Shellen, Jane Connell, Julie Cobb, Robert Wuhl | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde | 1972 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 94 | Interesting twist to classic tale finds the good doctor discovering that his evil life is brought out in the form of a beautiful but dangerous woman. No thrills but fun; resemblance between Bates and Beswick is remarkable. Released in Britain at 97m. | tt0068502 | [PG] | Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, Gerald Sim, Lewis Fiander, Susan Broderick | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Dr. Kildare Goes Home | 1940 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★ | 78 | Selfless Kildare gives up chance to become Dr. Gillespie's assistant to help his overworked, smalltown physician dad set up a clinic. One of the internes is a young Arthur O'Connell. | tt0032414 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Samuel S. Hinds, Gene Lockhart, Emma Dunn, Nat Pendleton, Walter Kingsford, Alma Kruger, Nell Craig, Marie Blake | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Kildare's Crisis | 1940 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 75 | Kildare's impending nuptials are jeopardized by a diagnosis of possible epilepsy in his fiancée's brother (Young). Sleek entry with good production. | tt0032415 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Robert Young, Emma Dunn, Nat Pendleton, Bobs Watson, Walter Kingsford, Alma Kruger, Nell Craig, Frank Orth, Marie Blake, Horace MacMahon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Kildare's Strange Case | 1940 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 76 | Kildare utilizes shock therapy and other 'modern' techniques to help cure a mental patient. Arresting entry with numerous subplots. | tt0032416 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Shepperd Strudwick, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Nat Pendleton, Walter Kingsford, Alma Kruger, Nell Craig, Horace MacMahon, Marie Blake, Frank Orth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Kildare's Victory | 1942 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 92 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Ayars, Robert Sterling, Jean Rogers, Alma Kruger, Walter Kingsford, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Frank Orth, Barry Nelson. Kildare, still heartsick over 'Mary Lamont,' falls for a socialite patient while fighting a hospital zoning problem in this busy episode. Ayres' last appearance in the series. | tt0033554 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Ayars, Robert Sterling, Jean Rogers, Alma Kruger, Walter Kingsford, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Frank Orth, Barry Nelson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day | 1941 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 82 | Tragedy strikes Kildare's fiancée (Day, whom MGM was grooming for bigger roles) in this surprisingly somber episode leavened with comic relief by Skelton. Erstwhile 'Dick Tracy' Ralph Byrd plays a cop. | tt0033555 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Red Skelton, Fay Holden, Walter Kingsford, Alma Kruger, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Nils Asther, Miles Mander, Nell Craig, Frank Orth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Mabuse, King of Crime | 1922 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 93 | Part Two of Lang's epic work DR. MABUSE, DER SPIELER, which follows various story threads and details Mabuse's descent into madness. Not as flamboyant as Part One, but still quite good. Director Lang later made THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933) and THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960). | Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel | German | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler | 1922 | Fritz Lang | ★★★½ | 270 | Baroque tale of master criminal Mabuse (Klein-Rogge), who gambles with lives and fates, is an allegory of postwar German decadence. Brilliantly directed, designed, and photographed. Originally shown in two parts; the second half, DR. MABUSE, KING OF CRIME, details Mabuse's descent into madness. It isn't as flamboyant as Part One, but still quite good. Adapted by Lang and Thea Harbou from a novel by Norbert Jacques. Shown as separate films for many years; prints circulate in various lengths. Lang later made THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE (1933) and THE THOUSAND EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960). | tt0013086 |
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Rudolph Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel, Lil Dagover, Paul Richter | German | Crime, Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Dr. Monica | 1934 | William Keighley. | ★★★ | 53 | Francis is very good as a physician who desperately wants to have children but can't conceive. She's stunned to discover that her cad husband (William) is not only having an affair with her close friend (Muir) but has also gotten her pregnant. Frank, mature treatment of adultery and illegitimacy ran into censorship trouble and was severely cut but is still worthwhile. Original running time: 65m. | tt0025068 | Kay Francis, Warren William, Jean Muir, Verree Teasdale, Emma Dunn, Phillip Reed, Herbert Bunston, Ann Shoemaker. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. No | 1962 | Terence Young | ★★★½ | 111 | First James Bond film is least pretentious, with meatier story, better all-round production of Ian Fleming caper. Bond investigates strange occurrences in Jamaica, encounters master-fiend Dr. No (Wiseman). | tt0055928 | Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell | British | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dr. Phibes Rises Again! | 1972 | Robert Fuest | ★★½ | 89 | Campy sequel to THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES finds Price looking for elixir to revive his dead wife, with Quarry hot on his trail throughout Egypt. | tt0068503 | [PG] | Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Valli Kemp, Fiona Lewis, Peter Jeffrey, Peter Cushing, Beryl Reid, Terry-Thomas, Hugh Griffith | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Dr. Renault's Secret | 1942 | Harry Lachman. | ★★½ | 58 | Could that secret involve Renault's brutish assistant Noel, who's devoted to the doctor's daughter (Roberts)? Naish is excellent as the sympathetic but murderous semi-simian. Odd, likable almost-horror B movie set in the French countryside. From a novel by Gaston Leroux. | tt0034681 | J. Carrol Naish, John Shepperd (Shepperd Strudwick), Lynne Roberts, George Zucco, Arthur Shields, Mike Mazurki, Ray Corrigan. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Dr. Socrates | 1935 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 70 | Enjoyable film about small-town doctor Muni who unwillingly becomes official doctor for wounded mobsters. Offbeat role for Muni, unusually good one for MacLane as loudmouthed gangster. Remade as KING OF THE UNDERWORLD with Kay Francis in the Muni role. | tt0026293 | Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Barton MacLane, Raymond Brown, Mayo Methot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | 1964 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★★ | 93 | U.S. President must contend with the Russians and his own political and military leaders when a fanatical general launches A-bomb attack on U.S.S.R. Sellers plays the President, British captain, and mad inventor of the Bomb in this brilliant black comedy, which seems better with each passing year. Sellers' phone conversation with Soviet premier is classic. Outstanding cast, incredible sets by Ken Adam. Jones' film debut. | tt0057012 | Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens, Keenan Wynn, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones | British | Comedy, War, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow | 1962 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 98 | Agreeable Disney production made in England (and originally shown in three parts on the Disney TV show as The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh) about country vicar who in reality is a smuggler and pirate. McGoohan is well cast as the mysterious bandit-hero who conducts his nightly raids disguised as a scarecrow. Filmed before in 1937 with George Arliss; another 1962 version, NIGHT CREATURES, stars Peter Cushing. | tt0055929 | [G] | Patrick McGoohan, George Cole, Tony Britton, Geoffrey Keen, Kay Walsh, Patrick Wymark | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Dr. T & the Women | 2000 | Robert Altman | ★½ | 122 | Dismal Altman misfire about a high-society Dallas gynecologist who reveres women, even though personally and professionally they are starting to shake up his world. Gere's fine, understated performance is almost buried under a pile of strident, unfunny female caricatures, pointless subplots, and an ending that seems rejected from MAGNOLIA. | tt0205271 | [R] | Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, Farrah Fawcett, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Tara Reid, Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Robert Hays, Matt Malloy, Andy Richter, Lee Grant, Janine Turner | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dr. Terror's House of Horrors | 1965 | Freddie Francis. | ★★½ | 98 | Don't let title steer you from this intelligent episodic thriller about a strange doctor (Cushing) who tells five men's fortunes on a train. Enjoyable horror-fantasy. | tt0059125 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Roy Castle, Max Adrian, Michael Gough, Donald Sutherland, Neil McCallum, Edward Underdown, Ursula Howells, Jeremy Kemp, Bernard Lee. | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dr. Who and the Daleks | 1965 | Gordon Flemyng | ★★½ | 85 | Pleasing feature inspired by the long-running British TV serial, with the Doctor and his young friends transported to another world where humans are threatened by robotlike Daleks. Followed by DALEKS— INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. | tt0059126 | Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, Jennie Linden, Roberta Tovey, Barrie Ingham | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dracula | 1931 | Tod Browning | ★★★½ | 75 | Classic horror film of Transylvanian vampire working his evil spell on perplexed group of Londoners. Lugosi's most famous role with his definitive interpretation of the Count, ditto Frye as looney Renfield and Van Sloan as unflappable Professor Van Helsing. Reissued on video with a new score by Philip Glass. Sequel: DRACULA'S DAUGHTER. | tt0021814 | Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Herbert Bunston, Frances Dade | Horror | NULL | |||
| Dracula | 1931 | George Melford | ★★★ | 103 | Spanish-language adaptation of the horror classic was filmed simultaneously with the Hollywood version— at night, on the very same sets— but much of the staging and camerawork is actually better! Other major difference: the women are dressed more provocatively. All that's missing is an actor with the charisma of Lugosi in the lead. | tt0021815 | Carlos Villar (Villarias), Lupita Tovar, Pablo Alvarez Rubio, Barry Norton, Eduardo Arozamena, Carmen Guerrero, Manuel Arbo | Horror | NULL | |||
| Dracula | 1979 | John Badham | ★½ | 109 | Murky retelling of Bram Stoker classic, with Langella's acclaimed Broadway characterization lost amid trendy horror gimmicks and ill-conceived changes in original story. Filmed in England. | tt0079073 | [R] | Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Kate Nelligan, Trevor Eve, Janine Duvitski, Tony Haygarth | Horror, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dracula | 1974 | Dan Curtis | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | The indomitable count of Transylvania lives in the person of Palance, who plays Bram Stoker's vampire king as a slightly pathetic figure, a victim of twisted fate. Sterling cast, Richard Matheson's faithful adaptation, and Oswald Morris' exceptional photography, rich in gothic touches, add to this classy new version of the old chestnut. | tt0070003 | [NR] | Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis, Penelope Horner, Murray Brown | Horror | NULL | ||
| Dracula A.D. 1972 | Dracula Today | 1972 | Alan Gibson | ★★ | 100 | Farfetched, confusing tale of modern-day descendant of Dr. Van Helsing (Cushing) battling recently revived vampire (Lee). Somewhat jarring to see Dracula amid 1970s youth setting. Aka DRACULA TODAY. Followed by THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA. | tt0068505 | [PG] | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Stephanie Beacham, Michael Coles, Christopher Neame, Caroline Munro | British | Fantasy, Horror | NULL |
| Dracula Has Risen From The Grave | 1968 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 92 | Dracula runs afoul of small-town monsignor when he pursues the churchman's beautiful blonde niece. Pretty good Hammer horror, third in the series. Sequel: TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA. | tt0062909 | [G] | Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barbara Ewing, Barry Andrews, Michael Ripper | British | Romance, Horror | NULL | |
| Dracula and Son | Dracula, Father and Son | 1979 | Edouard Molinaro | ★½ | 78 | Limp horror satire chronicling the comic misadventures of the title vampire (Lee) and his bumbling offspring (Menez); they become rivals for the pretty heroine. Virtually destroyed by grotesquely inappropriate English dubbing. Aka DRACULA, FATHER AND SON and DRACULA PERE ET FILS. | tt0079075 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Bernard Menez, Marie-Helene Breillat, Catherine Breillat, Jack Boudet | French | Comedy, Horror | NULL |
| Dracula vs. Frankenstein | 1971 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 90 | Self-conscious comedy masquerading as horror film wasting talents of old-timers Naish and Chaney; Dracula makes deal with aging Dr. Frankenstein so as to have steady supply of blood. Regrettably, both Naish and Chaney's final film. Aka THE REVENGE OF DRACULA. | tt0067017 | [PG] | J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney/Jr., Zandor Vorkov, Russ Tamblyn, Jim Davis, Anthony Eisley | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dracula's Daughter | 1936 | Lambert Hillyer | ★★★ | 70 | Sequel to the Lugosi classic depicts vampirish activities of Holden; Pichel adds imposing support as her sinister manservant. Hillyer, normally a B-Western director, manages to imbue this chiller with a moody, subtly sensual quality. | tt0027545 | Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Irving Pichel, Edward Van Sloan, Nan Grey, Hedda Hopper | Horror | NULL | |||
| Dracula's Dog | 1978 | Albert Band | ★★ | 90 | Transylvanian vampire and bloodthirsty dog, endowed with vampirish traits by the original Count, go to L.A. to find Dracula's last living descendant. Horror cheapie with admittedly novel twist. Retitled ZOLTAN, HOUND OF DRACULA. | tt0077470 | [R] | Jose Ferrer, Michael Pataki, Reggie Nalder, Jan Shutan, Libbie Chase, John Levin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Dracula's Widow | 1989 | Christopher Coppola | ★½ | 86 | Kristel plays the title character, who comes to L.A. and takes up residence at a wax museum. Dull, minor fare. Twenty-five-year-old director Coppola is the nephew of Francis. Filmed in 1987. | tt0097230 | [R] | Josef Sommer, Sylvia Kristel, Lenny Von Dohlen, Stefan Schnabel, Marc Coppola, Rachel Jones | Horror | NULL | ||
| Dracula- Prince of Darkness | 1966 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 90 | Sequel to HORROR OF DRACULA doesn't measure up. The vampiric Count (Lee) is revived by a servant and wreaks terror on a group of tourists in a secluded castle. | tt0059127 | Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Suzan Farmer | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Dracula: Dead and Loving It | 1995 | Mel Brooks | ★★ | 90 | Dracula gets the Mel Brooks treatment in this parody which spends so much time retelling the familiar Transylvanian's story it forgets to be funny. There are choice moments for Brooks fans . . . just not enough. The cast mugs its best, including MacNicol as Renfield, Brooks as Dr. Van Helsing, Korman in an amusing impression of Nigel Bruce, and Nielsen as the suavely sinister Count. Bancroft has a delightful cameo as 'Madame Ouspenskaya.' | tt0112896 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Steven Weber, Amy Yasbeck, Lysette Anthony, Harvey Korman, Mel Brooks, Mark Blankfield, Megan Cavanagh, Clive Revill, Chuck McCann, Avery Schreiber, Charlie Callas, Anne Bancroft | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Draegerman Courage | 1937 | Louis King. | ★★★ | 58 | Tense, vividly filmed yarn about a mine cave-in, which is complicated by the antagonism among those trapped inside— including a doctor, the mine owner, and the foreman— and ace rescuer MacLane, who's in love with the doc's daughter and was fired for warning about a previous cave-in. First-rate programmer, reportedly based on a real-life Nova Scotia mine disaster in 1936. | tt0028808 | Barton MacLane, Jean Muir, Henry O'Neill, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards, Gordon Oliver, Joseph Crehan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Drag Me to Hell | 2009 | Sam Raimi | ★★★ | 99 | Raimi returns to his roots: Hoping to please her boss, bank employee Lohman turns down the loan extension sought by creepy old Gypsy woman Raver, who promptly curses her and sets off this vigorous, funny, and exciting horror thriller. Predictable ending is a letdown, but it's fun until then, with a good performance by Lohman. Also available in unrated version. | tt1127180 | [PG-13] | Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dragnet | 1954 | Jack Webb | ★★★ | 89 | 'This is the city . . .' While investigating brutal murder, Sgt. Friday and Officer Frank Smith ignore 57 varieties of civil liberties; feature film version of classic TV show evokes its era better than almost anything. Highly recommended on a nonesthetic level. | tt0046931 | Jack Webb, Ben Alexander, Richard Boone, Ann Robinson, Stacy Harris, Virginia Gregg, Dennis Weaver | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Dragnet | 1987 | Tom Mankiewicz | ★★½ | 106 | Aykroyd is a comic reincarnation of Jack Webb, playing Sgt. Joe Friday's dense but dedicated nephew in this parody. Hanks is fun as his freewheeling new partner, with Morgan, Webb's onetime sidekick, now promoted to captain of the L.A.P.D. Starts out quite funny, then goes flat . . . but the punchline is a howl. Aykroyd coscripted with Mankiewicz and Alan Zweibel. | tt0092925 | [PG-13] | Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul, Jack O'Halloran, Elizabeth Ashley, Dabney Coleman | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dragon Murder Case | 1934 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 68 | An eerie, so-called 'dragon pool' is the setting for murder in this Philo Vance whodunit, but the suspects are so unpleasant you'll wish someone bumped them all off. William, debuting as Vance, is colorless; Pallette (as Sergeant Heath) has all the good lines. | tt0025069 | Warren William, Margaret Lindsay, Lyle Talbot, Eugene Pallette, Dorothy Tree | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dragon Seed | 1944 | Jack Conway, Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 145 | Well-meant but overlong film of Pearl Buck's tale of Chinese town torn asunder by Japanese occupation; fascinating attempts at Asian characterization. | tt0036777 | Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston, Aline MacMahon, Turhan Bey, Hurd Hatfield, Agnes Moorehead, Frances Rafferty, J. Carrol Naish, Akim Tamiroff, Henry Travers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dragon Wars | 2007 | Hyung-rae Shim | ★★ | 100 | With a reported budget of $70 million, South Korea's biggest production ever is a dopey B monster movie elevated (only slightly) by some impressive effects. What story there is revolves around a 500-year-old battle that is being reborn in contemporary L.A., where a young boy is imbued with the spirit of an ancient warrior in order to take on dreaded serpent-like creatures. There's some fun in watching a flying Korean zoo take hold of the town, but that's about it. Also known as D-WAR. Super 35. | tt0372873 | [PG-13] | Robert Forster, Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks, Craig Robinson, Elizabeth Peña, Chris Mulkey, Aimee Garcia, John Ales, Cody Arens | South Korean | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story | 1993 | Rob Cohen | ★★★ | 119 | Corny but very likable biopic about legendary action-movie star who died at age 33 in 1973. Plenty of martial-arts mayhem, but also the story of a man who must overcome a variety of obstacles to find his place in the world. Adapted from a book by Lee's widow, Linda. The film's star is no relation to Bruce. | tt0106770 | [PG-13] | Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner, Michael Learned, Nancy Kwan, Kay Tong Lim, Sterling Macer, Ric Young, SvenOle Thorson | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dragonball: Evolution | 2009 | James Wong | ★★ | 85 | Young man trained in mystic martial arts by his grandfather has to gather seven magical balls to make a wish that will save the world from the return of the supernatural villain Lord Piccolo. Based on the phenomenally popular Japanese manga, which spawned three anime TV series and seventeen animated feature films. Lively and colorful (with a mildly amusing turn by scruffy martial arts master Chow) and laden with extravagant special effects, this is, nonetheless, just colorful eyewash, barely comprehensible to non-initiates. | tt1098327 | [PG] | Justin Chatwin, Chow Yun-Fat, Emmy Rossum, Jamie Chung, James Marsters, Joon Park, Eriko Tamura, Randall Duk Kim, Ernie Hudson | U.S.-Hong Kong | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Dragonfly | 2002 | Tom Shadyac | ★★½ | 103 | An emergency room physician, grieving for his dead wife, receives a series of signals from her— including messages from young patients who've had near-death experiences. But what do they mean? More drawn out than it needs to be, but an intriguing and unusual story of one man's spiritual— and physical— odyssey. | tt0259288 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Kathy Bates, Joe Morton, Ron Rifkin, Linda Hunt, Susanna Thompson, Jacob Vargas, Jay Thomas, Matt Craven | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dragonfly Squadron | 1954 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 82 | Usual Korean War story, alternating between pilots in the air and their romantic problems on the ground. | tt0045704 | John Hodiak, Barbara Britton, Bruce Bennett, Jess Barker | War | NULL | |||
| Dragonheart | 1996 | Rob Cohen | ★★★ | 103 | Highly unusual fable about a knight 'of the old school' (in the 1st century A.D.) whose youthful king turns evil after having his life saved by a dragon who gives him half of his heart. Years later, the knight befriends that same dragon and joins with him to vanquish the cruel king. Unlikely premise is made plausible by Quaid's persuasive performance and the commanding presence of Connery as Drago (matched by the creature's superior, state-of-the-art digital animation). Fine score by Randy Edelman. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0116136 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Dina Meyer, Julie Christie, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Isaacs, Brian Thompson, Lee Oakes, Wolf Christian, Terry O'Neill; voice of Sean Connery | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Dragons Forever | Cyclone Z | 1987 | Samo Hung | ★★★½ | 94 | Simply delightful film has Chan playing a lawyer who enlists crook Hung and cracked friend Biao to help him spy on a woman involved with a case. Everything changes when love blossoms. Action, comedy, and romance blend together seamlessly under Hung's direction. All three stars shine in moments of incredible acrobatics and hilarious slapstick. Aka CYCLONE Z. | tt0093015 | Jackie Chan, Samo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, Deannie Yip, Pauline Yeung | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| Dragonslayer | 1981 | Matthew Robbins | ★★★ | 108 | Enjoyable fantasy-adventure about a sorcerer's apprentice who takes on the challenge of slaying a dragon— and finds he is in over his head. A bit scary and graphic for some kids. Filmed in England, Scotland, and Wales with a mostly British cast but American MacNicol in the lead— somewhat incongruously. Fine Alex North score. | tt0082288 | [PG] | Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam, Peter Eyre, Albert Salmi | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Dragonworld | 1994 | Ted Nicolaou | ★★★ | 84 | Pleasant children's film about a young Scottish laird forced by taxes to put his big pet dragon on display in an amusement park. Entertaining, good-looking movie (one of the best from producer Charles Band), but did the plot have to be so similar to MIGHTY JOE YOUNG? Good effects by Mark Rappaport and David Allen. | tt0109661 | [PG] | Sam Mackenzie, Brittney Powell, John Calvin, Lila Kaye, John Woodvine, Courtland Mead, Andrew Keir, Jim Dunk | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Dragonwyck | 1946 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★½ | 103 | Period chiller set at a gloomy mansion on the Hudson, with good cast but episodic presentation. Mankiewicz's directorial debut; he also scripted from the Anya Seton story. | tt0038492 | Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Vincent Price, Glenn Langan, Anne Revere, Spring Byington, Harry Morgan, Jessica Tandy | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Dragoon Wells Massacre | 1957 | Harold Schuster. | ★★ | 88 | Marauding Apaches force lawmen and renegades to join forces for self-protection; some action-packed scenes. | tt0050336 | Barry Sullivan, Dennis O'Keefe, Mona Freeman, Katy Jurado, Sebastian Cabot. | Western | NULL | |||
| Dragstrip Girl | 1994 | Mary Lambert | Below Average TV Movie | 83 | The 1950s: Social-climbing Chicano parking valet spots cars for a 'chop shop' and has eyes on a rich Anglo girl in a T-bird. Hardly any dragstrip action in this dull, self-consciously 'significant' remake of the 1957 cheapie. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' series, this uses only the title of the old American-International film. | tt0109662 | Mark Dacascos, Natasha Gregson, Augusto Cesar Sandino, Christopher Crabb, Maria Celedonio, Richard Portnow, Raymond Cruz, Tracy Wells, Traci Lords |
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| Dramatic School | 1938 | Robert B. Sinclair | ★★½ | 80 | Fascinating cast toplines this so-so drama with Rainer the center of attraction as a fanciful wannabe actress. | tt0030079 | Luise Rainer, Paulette Goddard, Alan Marshal, Lana Turner, Anthony Allen (John Hubbard), Henry Stephenson, Genevieve Tobin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Drango | 1957 | Hall Bartlett, Jules Bricken | ★★ | 92 | Chandler is Yankee Civil War veteran assigned to restore order to Southern town his command plundered. OK Western. | tt0050338 | Jeff Chandler, Joanne Dru, Julie London, Donald Crisp | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Draughtsman's Contract | 1982 | Peter Greenaway. | ★★ | 103 | Arrogant young artist takes commissions from the mistress of an estate in return for sexual favors; sumptuous-looking 17th-century tale, but cold and aloof. Will be of greater interest to fans of writer-director Greenaway. | tt0083851 | [R] | Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne Louise Lambert, Hugh Fraser. | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Draw! | 1984 | Steven Hilliard Stern | Average TV Movie | 98 | Two old pros give this lighthearted Western (filmed on the range in Alberta, Canada) the traditional college try. Kirk's an over-the-hill outlaw in this misfire, and Jimbo is his old nemesis, now a boozing lawman who challenges him to one last showdown. Made for cable. | tt0087174 | Kirk Douglas, James Coburn, Alexandra Bastedo, Graham Jarvis, Derek McGrath, Len Birman | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Dream Demon | 1988 | Harley Cokliss | ★★ | 89 | Soon-to-be-married Redgrave has horrifying dreams, unwillingly pulling into them Wilhoite, an American in London seeking secrets of her own past. Good special effects and performances undercut by who-cares story and many repetitive sequences. Released in the U.S. in 1993. | tt0095063 | [R] | Kathleen Wilhoite, Jemma Redgrave, Timothy Spall, Jimmy Nail, Susan Fleetwood, Mark Greenstreet, Annabelle Lanyon, Nickolas Grace | British-U.S. | Horror | NULL | |
| Dream Girl | 1948 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 85 | Hutton stars as female Walter Mitty with constant daydreams; low-brow version of Elmer Rice play. | tt0040302 | Betty Hutton, Macdonald Carey, Virginia Field, Patric Knowles, Walter Abel, Peggy Wood | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Dream House | 2011 | Jim Sheridan | ★★ | 92 | Manhattanite moves to a handsome suburban house along with his wife and two young daughters. Weirdness soon begins, and he learns the house's dark past: a man murdered his wife and two children there, and seems to be in a nearby asylum. Curious, the newcomer visits the asylum to learn more—and gets more than he bargained for. Tepid, predictable ghost story changes into a clumsily plotted murder mystery with a crude explanation for a key element. Unworthy of director Sheridan, who tried to have his name taken off the credits. Craig and Weisz later married in real life. | tt1462041 | [PG-13] | Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Marton Csokas, Jane Alexander, Elias Koteas, Taylor Geare, Claire Astin Geare, Rachel Fox | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dream Lover | 1986 | Alan J. Pakula | ★½ | 104 | Abysmal thriller about young woman's attempts to expunge recurring nightmare from her mind through 'dream therapy.' Intensely unsettling film with an interesting idea torpedoed by snail-like pacing and sterile atmosphere. What Hitchcock could have done with this! | tt0090970 | [R] | Kristy McNichol, Ben Masters, Paul Shenar, Justin Deas, John McMartin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Matthew Penn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dream Lover | 1994 | Nicholas Kazan | ★★½ | 103 | Handsome, wealthy architect Spader meets gorgeous, enigmatic Amick and the two become a passionate, perfect couple— until her cloudy past (eventually) raises his suspicions. Fluid camerawork (by Jean-Yves Escoffier) and some smart dialogue go out the window as plausibility level declines alarmingly. Stars register well but can't overcome a noirish mystery that just misses. Feature directing debut for screenwriter Kazan. Also available in unrated version. | tt0109665 | [R] | James Spader, Mädchen Amick, Bess Armstrong, Fredric Lehne, Larry Miller, Kathleen York, Blair Tefkin, Scott Coffey, Clyde Kusatsu, William Shockley. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Dream Machine | 1990 | Lyman D. Dayton | ★★ | 86 | Super-wealthy Slate is murdered by an embezzler after cheating on his wife. She's just learned of his infidelity and, on an impulse, gives his new turbocharged Porsche to immature college student Haim (who doesn't know the deceased's body is stuffed in the trunk). By-the-numbers action-thriller with an intriguing (if unlikely) premise. | tt0099462 | [PG] | Corey Haim, Evan Richards, Jeremy Slate, Randall England, Tracy Fraim, Brittney Lewis, Susan Seaforth Hayes | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Dream Street | 1921 | D. W. Griffith | ★★ | 138 | Disappointing silent melodrama about Gypsy Fair (Dempster), a music hall dancer, who is admired by two Irish brothers and an evil Chinese gambling den proprietor. Based on stories from Limehouse Nights by Thomas Burke, the book that also spawned Griffith's poetic BROKEN BLOSSOMS. Due to Dempster's limited abilities, this film never flowers. After its N.Y. premiere, it was shown with experimental sound-on-disc sequences by Orlando Kellum. | tt0012122 | Carol Dempster, Ralph Graves, Charles Emmett Mack, Edward Peil, Tyrone Power/Sr., Morgan Wallace | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Dream Team | 1989 | Howard Zieff | ★★½ | 113 | Four mental-hospital patients become separated from their doctor while on a field trip to Yankee Stadium, and find themselves stranded in an even-larger looney bin: The Big Apple. Uneven farce seems inspired by ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, and gets its mileage from the performances of its leading actors. | tt0097235 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst, Dennis Boutsikaris, Lorraine Bracco, Milo O'Shea, Philip Bosco, James Remar | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dream Wife | 1953 | Sidney Sheldon | ★½ | 101 | Silly bedroom farce about Grant's engagement to Middle Eastern princess and interference from his former fiancée, Kerr, a State Dept. official. Cast is wasted. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0045706 | Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Walter Pidgeon, Betta St. John, Buddy Baer, Movita, Steve Forrest. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dream With the Fishes | 1997 | Finn Taylor | ★★ | 96 | Mismatched buddy tale about a suicidal voyeur and a terminally ill drug addict who decide to 'go for it' when they take off on a memorable trip that involves, among other things, nude bowling and bank holdups. Small film has its charms but seems to be trying too hard to be quirky. | tt0119019 | [R] | David Arquette, Brad Hunt, Cathy Moriarty, Kathryn Erbe, Patrick McGaw, J. E. Freeman, Timi Prulhiere, Allyce Beasley, Peter Gregory | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dream a Little Dream | 1989 | Marc Rocco | ★½ | 99 | Yet another personality-exchange comedy— this one with Robards and Feldman switching bodies after a bike mishap. Perfectly dreadful. Director is son of costar Alex Rocco. Direct-to-video sequel: DREAM A LITTLE DREAM 2. | tt0097236 | [PG-13] | Corey Feldman, Meredith Salenger, Jason Robards, Piper Laurie, Harry Dean Stanton, William McNamara, Corey Haim, Susan Blakely, Victoria Jackson, Alex Rocco, Josh Evans | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Dream for an Insomniac | 1998 | Tiffani DeBartolo | ★★ | 88 | Waitress/aspiring actress (Skye) falls for the new counter-boy/poet (Astin) just 48 hours before she's about to move to L.A. Cute but sitcom-ish romantic comedy set in a Sinatra-themed, family-owned coffeehouse in San Francisco. Charismatic casting helps, particularly Aniston as Skye's flaky best friend, but you wish they'd all stop their yapping. Written by the director. Filmed in 1995. | tt0116141 | [R] | Ione Skye, Jennifer Aniston, Mackenzie Astin, Michael Landes, Seymour Cassel | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Dream of Kings | 1969 | Daniel Mann | ★★★ | 107 | Emotional study of robust Quinn trying to find money to take ailing son to Greece. Vivid look at Greek community in Chicago; heart-rending story by Harry Alan Petrakis. Stevens exceptional as young widow attracted to Quinn. | tt0064259 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Inger Stevens, Sam Levene, Radames Pera, Val Avery | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dream of Light | 1990 | Victor Erice | ★★★½ | 138 | Unusual, understated documentary of renowned Spanish painter Antonio Lopez Garcia as he attempts to capture a backyard quince tree's beauty on canvas. A rare portrait of an artist at work as he deals with his inner voices— and the mundane details of life. Quiet, deliberate, and completely absorbing. | tt0105438 | Spanish | Documentary | NULL | |||
| A Dream of Passion | 1978 | Jules Dassin | ★½ | 106 | Aside from Burstyn's powerhouse performance as an American jailed in Greece for killing her three children, this attempt to parallel her story with Medea's is the kind of idea that should never have left the story conference. Mercouri is typically hammy as the actress who takes up her cause. | tt0077473 | [R] | Melina Mercouri, Ellen Burstyn, Andreas Voutsinas, Despo Diamantidou, Dimitris Papa-michael | Greek | Drama | NULL | |
| DreamChild | 1985 | Gavin Millar | ★★½ | 94 | Woman for whom Rev. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) invented his Alice in Wonderland stories comes to America at age 80 for the author's centenary, unable to understand the fuss, and fearful of her own repressed memories. Fascinating material seriously flawed by romantic subplot and ludicrous recreation of N.Y.C. setting and characters of the 1930s. Browne's superb performance makes it all worthwhile. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided Wonderland characters. Written by Dennis Potter. | tt0089052 | [PG] | Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Caris Corfman, Nicola Cowper, Jane Asher, Amelia Shankley, Shane Rimmer | British | Fantasy | NULL | |
| Dreamboat | 1952 | Claude Binyon | ★★★ | 83 | Clever romp: silent-star Rogers cashes in on TV showings of her old movies, to chagrin of co-star Webb, now a distinguished professor. Scenes showing their old silent films are most enjoyable. | tt0044566 | Ginger Rogers, Clifton Webb, Jeffrey Hunter, Anne Francis, Elsa Lanchester | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dreamcatcher | 2003 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★ | 131 | This adaptation of a Stephen King novel seems like three or four different movies squashed into one. The initial story is the best, as four boyhood friends who share extrasensory powers meet for a weekend at their remote cabin in the woods, where things are definitely askew. Then we get a yucky-monster movie, a military paranoia film, a typical King childhood nostalgia vignette, and more. By the time we reach the climax, with the future of mankind at stake, it's difficult to muster any interest at all. Screenplay by Kasdan and William Goldman. | tt0285531 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael O’Neill | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dreamer | 1979 | Noel Nosseck | ★★ | 86 | Bowling, a sport only slightly more cinematic than isometric exercises, gets the ROCKY treatment in this bland rags-to-riches story. Having Matheson's bowling ball made of Flubber might have helped pick up the pace. | tt0079080 | [PG] | Tim Matheson, Susan Blakely, Jack Warden, Richard B. Shull, Barbara Stuart, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez |
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| Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story | 2005 | John Gatins | ★★½ | 102 | Routine account of 10-year-old Fanning, who is convinced that a horse with a broken leg not only can be nursed back to health but will win the Big Race. Pleasant-enough family film, although it's corny and awfully predictable. | tt0418647 | [PG] | Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, David Morse, Freddy Rodríguez, Luis Guzmán, Oded Fehr, Ken Howard, Dick Allen | Drama, Family, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Dreamers | 2003 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 115 | Young American joins the die-hard film buffs at Paris' Cinematheque Française in 1968 and gets involved with an attractive brother and sister who draw him into a world of kinky sex and mind games. Any film that opens with footage of Parisians and filmmakers protesting the ouster of the Cinematheque's legendary Henri Langlois and goes on to 'quote' movies ranging from FREAKS to QUEEN CHRISTINA is on the right track. Strongly reminiscent of films from the period it depicts: bold, excessive, daringly sexual, self-serious at times, but vibrantly alive. Screenplay by Gilbert Adair, from his novel The Holy Innocents. | tt0309987 | [NC-17] | Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Robin Renucci, Anna Chancellor | British-Italian-French | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Dreamgirls | 2006 | Bill Condon | ★★★ | 130 | Splashy, savvy adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical by Tom Eyen and Henry Krieger inspired by the saga of The Supremes and Motown's Berry Gordy. Entrepreneur Foxx steers a female vocal trio to the top, no matter what it takes, and claims its glamorous star (Beyoncé) as his own. Hudson, as the forsaken member of the group, gives an extraordinary, emotion-charged performance, and delivers two show-stopping songs. (This remarkable screen debut earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.) Murphy is equally potent as a James Brown-ish singer who gives the girls their first break. There's so much pure entertainment here that quibbles (the energy drops after Hudson's 'first-act curtain' song, Beyoncé's star-solo number is too obviously shoehorned into the movie) don't stand up against the movie's virtues. Sharen Davis' costumes are a knockout. | tt0443489 | [PG-13] | Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Sharon Leal, Hinton Battle, Ken Page, Loretta Devine, John Lithgow, John Krasinski, Dawnn Lewis | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Dreaming Lips | 1937 | Paul Czinner, Lee Garmes | ★★½ | 93 | Glamorous, pampered Bergner, wife of orchestra conductor Brent, commences a romance with world-famous (but desperately lonely) violinist Massey. A bit overdone, and the ending is a disappointment, but it's entertaining most of the way. Good star vehicle for Bergner. | tt0028810 | Elisabeth Bergner, Raymond Massey, Romney Brent, Joyce Bland, Charles Carson, Felix Aylmer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dreaming Out Loud | 1940 | Harold Young | ★★ | 81 | Radio comedians Lum 'n' Abner's screen debut is a very slight rural comedy-melodrama with music. The fabled proprietors of the Jot-Em-Down general store in Pine Ridge, Arkansas, get involved in the lives of various local residents. | tt0032417 | Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Frances Langford, Frank Craven, Bobs Watson, Phil Harris | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Dreaming of Joseph Lees | 1999 | Eric Styles | ★★ | 92 | Hackneyed soaper, set in rural England in 1958, in which a young woman (Morton) takes up with a self-absorbed pig farmer (Ross) despite her desire for her cousin, Joseph Lees (Graves), a gentle geologist who lost a leg while working in Italy. Morton rises above the trite material. | tt0144178 | [R] | Samantha Morton, Lee Ross, Rupert Graves, Frank Finlay, Miriam Margolyes, Nick Woodeson, Holly Aird, Lauren Richardson | British-U.S. | Romance | NULL | |
| Dreamland | 2006 | Jason Matzner | ★★★ | 88 | Teenaged Bruckner lives in a remote New Mexico trailer park called Dreamland with her father, who's never gotten over the death of her mother, and a best friend whose poor health has made her a chronic dreamer. Bruckner feels responsible for these needy people, putting her own life and dreams on hold. Well-acted mood piece went direct to DVD. | tt0417614 | [PG-13] | Agnes Bruckner, Kelli Garner, Justin Long, John Corbett, Gina Gershon, Brian Klugman, Chris Mulkey. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dreamlife of Angels | 1998 | Erick Zonca | ★★★½ | 113 | Evocative study of two young women— one generous and impulsive, the other sullen and despairing— who meet at a clothing factory in Lille, France, and become close friends, then drift apart as one becomes involved with a club owner. An elusive story, directed with quiet precision by coscreenwriter Zonca (his feature debut), which slowly, penetratingly reveals a wealth of detail about the bonds of friendship and the vagaries of destiny. Bouchez and Régnier are outstanding. | tt0120449 | [R] | Elodie Bouchez, Natacha Régnier, Grégoire Colin, Jo Prestia, Patrick Mercado | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Dreams | 1955 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★ | 86 | Sometimes fascinating but mostly vague— and, ultimately lesser— Bergman drama, about photo agency head Dahlbeck and model Andersson, and their dreams, torments, crises, oppression, relations with men. Aka JOURNEY INTO AUTUMN. | tt0048272 | Eva Dahlbeck, Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Ulf Palme, Inga Landgre | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dreamscape | 1984 | Joseph Ruben | ★★★ | 99 | Quaid finds he can physically enter other people's dreams in this entertaining yarn; science-fantasy elements more successful than political intrigue subplot. | tt0087175 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw, George Wendt, David Patrick Kelly | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Dressed to Kill | 1946 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 72 | Music boxes made in prison hold the key to the whereabouts of stolen bank plates in this lively final entry in the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038494 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Edmond Breon, Carl Harbord, Patricia Cameron, Tom Dillon | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Dressed to Kill | 1980 | Brian De Palma | ★★★½ | 105 | High-tension melodrama about a psycho-killer who stalks two women— one a frustrated suburban housewife, the other a street-smart hooker who teams up with the first woman's son to trap the murderer. Writer-director De Palma works on viewer's emotions, not logic, and maintains a fever pitch from start to finish. Chilling Pino Donaggio score. Unrated version also available. | tt0080661 | [R] | Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz, David Margulies, Brandon Maggart | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Dresser | 1983 | Peter Yates | ★★★½ | 118 | Excellent film adaptation of Ronald Harwood's play about an aging actor-manager (based on real-life Donald Wolfit) whose very survival depends on the constant pampering and prodding of his dresser— who lives vicariously through the old man's performances. Finney, as Sir, and Courtenay, as Norman the dresser, are simply superb. Yates captures the look and feel of wartime England, and backstage atmosphere of a small touring company, with uncanny ability. A must for anyone who loves acting and the theater. | tt0085461 | [PG] | Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Zena Walker, Eileen Atkins, Michael Gough, Cathryn Harrison | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Dressmaker | 1988 | Jim O'Brien | ★★½ | 89 | Medium account of two Liverpool sisters, one repressed (Plowright) and the other spirited (Whitelaw), and what happens when their naive, fragile niece falls for an American GI during WW2. Well acted, and starts off promisingly, but bogs down. | tt0095066 | Joan Plowright, Billie Whitelaw, Pete Postlethwaite, Jane Horrocks, Tim Ransom | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Drifter | 1988 | Larry Brand | ★★½ | 90 | Interesting low-budget variation on the PLAY MISTY FOR ME/FATAL ATTRACTION formula as pretty costume designer Delaney picks up virile O'Keeffe hitchhiking, has a one-night affair, and is then hounded by him. Director Brand (who also plays the cop on the case) shows promise but film suffers from lack of a coherent scenario. | tt0095067 | [R] | Kim Delaney, Timothy Bottoms, Al Shannon, Miles O'Keeffe, Loren Haines, Thomas Wagner, Larry Brand | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Driftwood | 1947 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 90 | Small-town doctor adopts a young girl who's never experienced 'civilization' before. Entertaining family film with standout performance by young Natalie. | tt0039341 | Ruth Warrick, Walter Brennan, Natalie Wood, Dean Jagger, Charlotte Greenwood, Jerome Cowan, H. B. Warner, Margaret Hamilton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Drillbit Taylor | 2008 | Steven Brill | ★★½ | 102 | Three hopelessly awkward high school freshmen who’ve been targeted by the school bully decide that they need professional protection and hire homeless goofball Wilson—who impresses them with his apparent street smarts. Amiable (if unremarkable) comedy produced by Judd Apatow plays like a prequel to SUPERBAD. Cowritten by Seth Rogen, based on a story idea by John Hughes (using his pseudonym Edmond Dantes). One of the protectors the boys interview is played by Adam Baldwin, star of 1980’s MY BODYGUARD. | tt0817538 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile, David Dorfman, Alex Frost, Stephen Root, Josh Peck, Valerie Tian, David Koechner, Frank Whaley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Drive | 2011 | Nicolas Winding Refn | ★★ | 100 | Introverted sometimes-stuntman moonlights as a getaway driver for hire. While trying to help a neighbor (Mulligan) in his apartment building and her young son, he becomes enmeshed in a maze of crime that leads to startlingly violent encounters and a string of betrayals. What some see as a prime example of postmodern cool strikes us as pretentious hogwash from the word go. The bursts of gruesome violence are equally hard to swallow. By the way, Gosling seems fully articulate when he sets up his first gig, but spends the rest of the film nearly silent (and striking poses). Only bright spot is a juicy supporting role for Brooks as a savvy gangster. Based on a novel by James Sallis. | tt0780504 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, Kaden Leos | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Drive Angry | 2011 | Patrick Lussier | ★★½ | 104 | Intense, black-clad John Milton (Cage) roars across the South in stolen cars with a loyal but puzzled partner (Heard), hoping to prevent his granddaughter’s sacrifice by a Satanic cult. There’s a bemused but determined emissary from Hell (Fichtner, very good) on his trail. Wild, fast-paced yarn has exciting scenes and an effective Cage, but it misses its satirical mark by covering overly-familiar territory, and not being excessive enough to come off as a spoof. Exuberant use of 3-D. 3-D. | tt1502404 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke, David Morse, Todd Farmer, Christa Campbell, Tom Atkins, Jack McGee | Crime, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Drive Me Crazy | 1999 | John Schultz | ★★ | 91 | In order to win their dream prom dates, the most popular girl in school and a rebel outcast team up and pretend they're going steady. Predictable teen comedy could easily be called HE'S ALL THAT but is kept afloat by likable lead performances. Tries to have it both ways by featuring an onscreen number from punk girl band The Donnas and a title track by Britney Spears. | tt0164114 | [PG-13] | Melissa Joan Hart, Adrian Grenier, Stephen Collins, Ali Larter, Mark Metcalf, William Converse-Roberts, Faye Grant | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Drive a Crooked Road | 1954 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 82 | Quietly paced film of auto mechanic Rooney dreaming of being racing-car champ; instead becomes chump for gangsters, due to girlfriend. | tt0046935 | Mickey Rooney, Dianne Foster, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Kelly, Harry Landers | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Drive, He Said | 1972 | Jack Nicholson | ★★½ | 90 | Confusing tale of youth alienation contains fine performances but loses itself in its attempt to cover all the bases; Dern is fabulous as gung-ho college basketball coach. Nicholson's directorial debut; he also cowrote the screenplay with Jeremy Larner. | tt0068509 | [R] | William Tepper, Karen Black, Michael Margotta, Bruce Dern, Robert Towne, Henry Jaglom, Michael Warren, Charles Robinson, David (Ogden) Stiers, Cindy Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| Drive-In | 1976 | Rodney Amateau | ★★ | 96 | Amiable low-budget trash about a night in the life of teenaged yahoos at a Texas drive-in during the unreeling of a campy disaster film (which takes up much of the screen time). Better after 20 beers. | tt0074433 | [PG] | Lisa Lemole, Glen Morshower, Gary Cavagnaro, Billy Milliken, Lee Newsom, Regan Kee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Driven | 2001 | Renny Harlin | 💣 | 117 | Embarrassing amalgam of racing-pic clichés finds has-been Sly (who scripted) hiring on as mentor to green Pardue, a member of Reynolds's Championship Auto Racing Team who's manipulated by his brother. This is the kind of movie in which two racers create nighttime havoc racing 195 mph through metropolitan streets, only to get off with just a $25,000 fine . . . the kind of movie whose contempt for its audience knocked both Stallone and Reynolds off their superstar thrones. | tt0132245 | [PG-13] | Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger, Stacy Edwards, Estella Warren, Gina Gershon, Brent Briscoe, Robert Sean Leonard | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Driver's Seat | Psychotic | 1973 | Giuseppe Patroni Griffi | 💣 | 101 | Liz is a disturbed woman who comes to Rome in search of someone to do her in. You may wish to do the same after sitting through this turkey, maybe Taylor's all-time worst. Adapted from a Muriel Spark novel. Aka PSYCHOTIC. | tt0071442 | [R] | Elizabeth Taylor, Ian Bannen, Mona Washbourne, Andy Warhol, Guido Mannari | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| The Driver | 1978 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 90 | Tense throwback to the Hollywood film noir era pits getaway driver O'Neal against creepy cop Dern. Oddball melodrama doesn't seem like much at the time, but has a way of staying with you afterwards. Great car chase sequences. | tt0077474 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley, Matt Clark, Felice Orlandi | Crime | NULL | ||
| Driving Lessons | 2006 | Jeremy Brock | ★★★ | 98 | Adolescent Grint escapes from an enervating home life with his domineering, religious-fanatic mother (Linney) and his soft-spoken minister father (Farrell) by taking a job as companion and helper to an aged actress (Walters). Walters is great fun as a card-carrying eccentric and free spirit who has a liberating effect on her young charge. Charming yet pointed film about youthful stumbling and adult hypocrisy. Directorial debut for screenwriter Brock (MRS. BROWN, CHARLOTTE GRAY), who drew on his own life for source material. | tt0446687 | [PG-13] | Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney, Nicholas Farrell, Michelle Duncan, Jim Norton, Tamsin Egerton | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Driving Miss Daisy | 1989 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★ | 99 | Genteel, entertaining adaptation of Alfred Uhry's stage play about a simple black man who's hired as chauffeur for a cantankerous old Southern woman, and winds up being her most faithful companion. A smooth and enjoyable ride, with fine performances by the two leads. Aykroyd is likable in an unusual 'straight' role as Tandy's son, though you can never quite forget who's playing the part (especially with such obvious makeup). Oscar winner for Best Picture, Actress, Screenplay (by Uhry), and Makeup. | tt0097239 | [PG] | Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone, Esther Rolle | Drama | NULL | ||
| Drop Dead Fred | 1991 | Ate De Jong | 💣 | 98 | Putrid fantasy-comedy about a repressed young woman who— as her life is crumbling around her— is revisited by her childhood make-believe 'friend' Drop Dead Fred, a repulsive mischief-maker. Cates' appealing performance can't salvage this mess. Recommended only for people who think nose-picking is funny. | tt0101775 | [PG-13] | Phoebe Cates, Rik Mayall, Marsha Mason, Tim Matheson, Carrie Fisher, Keith Charles, Ron Eldard | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Drop Dead Gorgeous | 1999 | Michael Patrick Jann | ★½ | 98 | Annoying pseudo-documentary satire about small-town Midwestern teen beauty pageants. Full of frantic mugging and outrageous gags about eating disorders, but most of them aren't funny. Only prize-winner here is Janney as good-hearted trailer trash. To see how it's done right, watch SMILE. | tt0157503 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, Brittany Murphy, Sam McMurray, Amy Adams, Mindy Sterling, Mo Gaffney, Nora Dunn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Drop Squad | 1994 | Clark Johnson | ★★ | 86 | Unsatisfying tale of a black ad-agency employee (LaSalle) who conjures up idiotic advertising campaigns, thus forsaking his roots; he becomes the target of some vigilante deprogrammers who seek to make him aware of his ethnic and family loyalties. Well-intentioned satire of corporate racism, but neither as humorous nor as daring as it sets out to be. Executive producer is Spike Lee, who appears briefly in one of the commercials. | tt0109675 | [R] | Eriq LaSalle, Vondie Curtis Hall, Ving Rhames, Kasi Lemmons, Leonard Thomas, Billy Williams, Eric Payne, Vanessa Williams, Nicole Powell, Paula Kelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| Drop Zone | 1994 | John Badham | ★★½ | 102 | Solid if predictable actioner with U.S. marshal Snipes going up against some sky-diving baddies out to pilfer data on undercover drug agents to sell to international narcotics dealers. The scenario is preposterous, but there are enough dazzling airborne stunts to keep you entertained. | tt0109676 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey, Yancy Butler, Michael Jeter, Corin Nemec, Kyle Secor, Luca Bercovici, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Rex Linn, Grace Zabriskie, Claire Stansfield, Andy Romano | Action | NULL | ||
| Drowning Mona | 2000 | Nick Gomez | ★★½ | 95 | Fairly amusing black comedy about a small town shaken by the drowning of its most reviled citizen (Midler), and the repercussions felt by her idiot son and husband, the town sheriff (DeVito), and others who knew and loathed her. | tt0186045 | [PG-13] | Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, Casey Affleck, William Fichtner, Marcus Thomas, Peter Dobson, Kathleen Wilhoite, Tracey Walter | Mystery, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Drowning Pool | 1976 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 108 | Newman returns as private eye Harper, (based on Ross Macdonald's Archer character) in slickly made but slow whodunit; here he is called to help former lover Woodward out of a jam. Screenplay by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple, and Walter Hill. | tt0072912 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Melanie Griffith, Richard Jaeckel, Gail Strickland, Linda Haynes | Action | NULL | ||
| Drowning by Numbers | 1987 | Peter Greenaway | ★★★½ | 118 | Another bizarre, fascinating celluloid put-on from Greenaway, about an obsessive coroner and his involvement with three generations of women from the same family. Stunningly filmed and very entertaining (but recommended most enthusiastically to Greenaway fans). Not released in U.S. until 1991. | tt0092929 | Joan Plowright, Bernard Hill, Juliet Stephenson, Joely Richardson | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Drugstore Cowboy | 1989 | Gus Van Sant/ Jr | ★★★½ | 100 | Fascinating, completely credible look at the world of a junkie and his 'family,' who rob drugstores to support their habit. No preaching or moralizing here, which is precisely what gives the film its impact. Standout performances, particularly from Dillon and Lynch. Based on prison inmate James Fogle's unpublished autobiographical novel of the 1970s. Screenplay by Van Sant and Daniel Yost. | tt0097240 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Remar, James Le Gros, Heather Graham, Beah Richards, Grace Zabriskie, Max Perlich, William S. Burroughs | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Drum | 1976 | Steve Carver | 💣 | 110 | Continuation of MANDINGO— a new and dreadful low in lurid characters and incidents. Norton in title role generates neither interest nor sympathy. | tt0074437 | [R] | Warren Oates, Ken Norton, Isela Vega, Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, John Colicos, Brenda Sykes, Paula Kelly | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Drum Beat | 1954 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 111 | In southern Oregon, former Indian fighter Ladd tries to talk Modoc chief Captain Jack (Bronson) into peace. Director Daves based his script on historical events. Bronson is especially good in an unusual role. | tt0046936 | Alan Ladd, Audrey Dalton, Marisa Pavan, Robert Keith, Rodolfo Acosta, Charles Bronson, Warner Anderson, Elisha Cook/Jr., Anthony Caruso, Strother Martin | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Drumline | 2002 | Charles Stone III | ★★½ | 118 | Teenage drummer from N.Y.C. is accepted at a Georgia college where the marching band is all-important. But his cocky ways put him at odds with the unyielding band director, and his giant ego causes friction with fellow band members. Feel-good film covers fresh territory in a strictly formulaic way— and goes on a half hour too long— but the music is hard to resist. | tt0303933 | [PG-13] | Nick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Orlando Jones, Leonard Roberts, GQ, Jason Weaver, Earl C. Poitier, Candace Carey, J. Anthony BrownNick Cannon, Zoe Saldana, Orlando Jones, Leonard Roberts, GQ, Jason Weaver, Earl C. Poitier, Candace Carey, J. Anthony Brown | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Drums | The Drum | 1938 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★ | 99 | Fine, colorful adventure with precocious Sabu rescuing British cavalry in early 20th-century India; atmospheric and actionful. Originally titled THE DRUM. Original British running time: 104m. | tt0030082 | Sabu, Raymond Massey, Valerie Hobson, Roger Livesey, David Tree | British | Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Drums Across the River | 1954 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 78 | Murphy ties in with gold-jumpers overrunning Indian land, redeems himself by joining forces against these men to achieve peace. | tt0046937 | Audie Murphy, Lisa Gaye, Walter Brennan, Lyle Bettger, Hugh O'Brian, Mara Corday, Jay Silverheels, Regis Toomey, Bob Steele | Western | NULL | |||
| Drums Along the Mohawk | 1939 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 103 | John Ford richly captures flavor of Colonial life in this vigorous, courageous story of settlers in upstate N.Y. during Revolutionary War. Action, drama, sentiment, humor deftly interwoven in beautiful Technicolor production. From Walter Edmonds' novel. | tt0031252 | Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Edna May Oliver, John Carradine, Jessie Ralph, Arthur Shields, Robert Lowery, Ward Bond | Adventure, War, Western | NULL | |||
| Drums in the Deep South | 1951 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★ | 87 | Stagnant Civil War yarn of West Pointers who find themselves fighting for opposite causes. | tt0043482 | James Craig, Barbara Payton, Guy Madison, Barton MacLane, Craig Stevens | War | NULL | |||
| Drums of Tahiti | 1954 | William Castle | ★½ | 73 | Footloose American aids a Tahitian queen who opposes annexation by the French in the late 1800s. Silly Sam Katzman production whose only novelty (in theaters) was the use of 3-D— as you can tell by flaming torches poked at the camera. | tt0046938 | Dennis O'Keefe, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, George Keymas | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Drums of the Desert | 1940 | George Waggner. | ★★ | 64 | En route to a stint in the French Foreign Legion, Byrd enjoys a shipboard romance with Gray, not knowing she's engaged to best friend and fellow Legionnaire Lynn. Arid dramaturgy clogs up the burly action in this Monogram action yarn. | tt0032421 | Ralph Byrd, Lorna Gray (Adrian Booth), Mantan Moreland, George Lynn, William Costello, Jean Del Val, Ann Codee. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Drunken Angel | 1948 | Akira Kurosawa. | ★★★ | 102 | The first of sixteen movies Mifune made with Kurosawa is a humane and affecting story set in the disease-ridden slums of postwar Japan, focusing on the relationship between an embittered, alcoholic doctor (Shimura) and a gangster (Mifune) dying of tuberculosis. Considered Kurosawa's first important work, the film is equally notable as a realistic social drama and a Hollywood-style crime movie. | tt0040979 | Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Reisaburo Yamamoto, Chieko Nakakita, Michiyo Kogure, Norika Sengoku. | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Drunken Master | 1978 | Yuen Wo Ping | ★★½ | 106 | Jackie plays Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung in this kung fu comedy, his first big hit. Almost plotless film has Wong studying under hard-drinking master played by Yuen Sui Tin, the director's father. Enjoyably silly, with some good stunt work and comic moments. Of note mostly for its importance to Chan's career. Aka DRUNKEN MONKEY IN THE TIGER'S EYE(!) Followed by a sequel in 1994. | tt0079609 | Jackie Chan, Yuen Sui Tin, Wang Jang Lee, Hsu Hsia, Ling Yang, Dean Shek, Yuen Shun-Yee | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Drunken Master II | The Legend of Drunken Master | 1994 | Lau Kar Leung | ★★★ | 113 | Chan returns to the role that made him a star 16 years earlier, confronting art smugglers and a father who disapproves of his drunken fighting style. Some truly amazing fight sequences, especially the complex final battle in a steel mill— which may leave you as breathless as the performers! The fellow Jackie fights under the train is the film's director. Reissued in the U.S. as THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER. | tt0111512 | Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Ti Lung, Andy Lau, Gabriel Wong, Ken Lo, Chin Kar-Lok | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| Drunks | 1996 | Peter Cohn | ★★½ | 90 | Potent, if stagy, character study about alcoholics (of varied backgrounds) who tell all at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Comedian Lewis is effective as a particularly pained group leader. A fine actors' showcase with some strong moments. Debuted on cable TV before theatrical release. | tt0112907 | [R] | Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Amanda Plummer, Spalding Gray, Parker Posey, Calista Flockhart, Howard Rollins, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Dianne Wiest | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Dry White Season | 1989 | Euzhan Palcy | ★★½ | 107 | Disappointing film about South African apartheid, set in 1976, with Sutherland as a schoolteacher who slowly awakens to the appalling reality of how blacks are treated in his country. Crucially important subject matter is unfortunately presented in the context of a story that's contrived and dramatically hollow. Brando is magnetic (if somewhat askew) in a showy supporting role as an outspoken barrister. | tt0097243 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Jürgen Prochnow, Susan Sarandon, Marlon Brando, Winston Ntshona, Thoko Ntshinga, Susannah Harker, Rowan Elmes | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Drôle de drame | 1937 | Marcel Carné. | ★★★ | 97 | Rapier-witted satire about botanist Simon, who pens successful, controversial crime novels under a pseudonym and is thought to have murdered his wife (who is very much alive). Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert lampoon upper-class elitism, hypocritical religious leaders, inept journalists, overzealous cops, and the ever-fickle masses. Full title is DRÔLE DE DRAME OU L'ÉTRANGE AVENTURE DE DOCTEUR MOLYNEUX. U.S. title: BIZARRE, BIZARRE. | tt0027552 | Françoise Rosay, Michel Simon, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Louis Jouvet, Nadine Vogel, Henri Guisol, Jenny Burnay, Jean-Louis Barrault. | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Du Barry, Woman of Passion | 1930 | Sam Taylor | ★★ | 90 | Early sound version of oft-told tale about the life and loves of the famous 18th-century courtesan. Stiff and primitive but with fine art direction by William Cameron Menzies. | tt0020844 | Norma Talmadge, William Farnum, Conrad Nagel, Hobart Bosworth, Alison Skipworth | Romance | NULL | |||
| Du-beat-e-o | 1984 | Alan Sacks | ★½ | 87 | Outrageous, obnoxious, gimmicky punk collage about hip filmmaker Sharkey, who has been ordered by his mob financiers to complete his rock 'n' roll movie in 31 hours. Lots of energy, but it's all sorely misplaced. | tt0087179 | Ray Sharkey, Joan Jett, Derf Scratch, Len Lesser, Nora Gaye | Comedy | NULL | |||
| DuBarry Was a Lady | 1943 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 101 | Nightclub worker Skelton pines for beautiful singing star Ball; when he swallows a Mickey Finn, he dreams he's Louis XVI, and has to contend with the prickly Madame DuBarry (Ball). Colorful nonsense, missing most of the songs from Cole Porter's Broadway score, though 'Friendship' is used as the finale. Opens like a vaudeville show, with beautiful chorines and specialty acts, including young Mostel, and Dorsey's band— with Buddy Rich on drums— doing a sensational 'Well, Git It.' They turn up later in powdered wigs, as do The Pied Pipers, with Dick Haymes and Jo Stafford. Lana Turner has a bit part. | tt0035829 | Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Rags Ragland, Zero Mostel, Donald Meek, George Givot, Louise Beavers, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox | 1976 | Melvin Frank | ★½ | 103 | Dumb comedy about cardsharp Segal and dance-hall cutie Hawn teaming up in the Old West. Occasional laughs, inappropriate song interludes. | tt0074441 | [PG] | George Segal, Goldie Hawn, Conrad Janis, Thayer David, Roy Jenson, Bob Hoy, Richard Farnsworth | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Duchess of Idaho | 1950 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 98 | Williams vehicle has her going to Sun Valley to assist her lovesick roommate, attracting bandleader Johnson. Guest stars Lena Horne, Eleanor Powell (in her last film), and Red Skelton pep up formula production. | tt0042417 | Esther Williams, Van Johnson, John Lund, Paula Raymond, Clinton Sundberg, Connie Haines, Mel Torme, Amanda Blake | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Duchess of Langeais | 2007 | Jacques Rivette | ★★★ | 138 | In post-Napoleonic France, an intense relationship unfolds as a glum, wounded general (Depardieu) is smitten with a flirtatious, married socialite (Balibar). What follows is like a moral chess match between love and religion, well played by the two leads. Master filmmaker Rivette uses occasional intertitles—some taken from the Honoré de Balzac source material—to play up the ironies and emotions. Even at this length, one of the more accessible Rivette films. Original title: NE TOUCHEZ PAS LA HACHE (DON’T TOUCH THE AXE) | tt0781435 | Jeanne Balibar, Guillaume Depardieu, Michel Piccoli, Bulle Ogier, Barbet Schroeder | French-Italian | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Duchess | 2008 | Saul Dibb | ★★½ | 105 | Knightley is well cast as Georgiana Spencer, who marries well in the late 1700s and becomes the Duchess of Devonshire. However, she soon discovers that her husband has little interest in her beyond her ability to give him an heir. Vivid, well-appointed yet somewhat heavy-handed adaptation of Amanda Foreman’s bestselling book Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire about the real-life socialite whose plight bears some striking parallels to those that faced her descendant Princess Diana. Knightley and especially Fiennes are excellent but the film lacks a certain spark. | tt0864761 | [PG-13] | Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell, Simon McBurney, Aidan McArdle, Michael Medwin | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Duck Season | 2005 | Fernando Eimbeke | ★★★ | 85 | Disarmingly offbeat comedy set in a high-rise apartment building, where two fourteen-year old boys spend a day together, joined by a girl from next door who borrows their oven and a pizza delivery guy, all of whom are affected by a power blackout. Deadpan vignettes and character observations make this a winner, so long as the viewer adjusts to its pace and sensibility. Screenplay by first-time director Eimbeke. | tt0407246 | [R] | Enrique Arreola, Diego Cataño, Daniel Miranda, Danny Perea | Mexican | Comedy | NULL | |
| Duck Soup | 1933 | Leo McCarey | ★★★★ | 70 | The Marx Brothers' most sustained bit of insanity, a flop when first released, but now considered a satiric masterpiece. In postage-stamp-sized Freedonia, Prime Minister Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) declares war on neighboring Sylvania just for the hell of it. Enough gags for five movies, but our favorite is still the mirror sequence. Zeppo's swan song with his brothers. | tt0023969 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Margaret Dumont, Louis Calhern, Raquel Torres, Edgar Kennedy, Leonid Kinskey, Charles Middleton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Duck, You Sucker | A Fistful of Dynamite | 1972 | Sergio Leone | ★★★ | 138 | Big, sprawling story of Mexican revolution, and how peasant thief Steiger gets talked into taking sides by Irish explosives expert Coburn. Tremendous action sequences; Leone's wry touches and ultra-weird Ennio Morricone score make it worthwhile diversion. Aka A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, some prints of which run 121m., originally meant to be called ONCE UPON A TIME DURING THE REVOLUTION. Released in Italy at 158m. | tt0067140 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti | Italian | Action, Adventure, Western, War | NULL |
| DuckTales: The Movie- Treasure of the Lost Lamp | 1990 | Bob Hathcock | ★★½ | 73 | Disney's premier 'Movietoon' feature falls somewhere between traditional studio standards and Saturday morning gruel. Story centers on an archeological trek for a genie's lamp that can, among other things, make ice cream fall from the sky, pitting Uncle Scrooge McDuck against the evil Merlock. Mild vehicle for Huey, Dewey, Louie, and company. | tt0099472 | [G] | Voices of Alan Young, Christopher Lloyd, Rip Taylor, June Foray, Chuck McCann, Richard Libertini, Russi Taylor | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Dude Goes West | 1948 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 87 | Innocuous little comedy of Easterner Albert becoming a Western hero. | tt0040305 | Eddie Albert, Gale Storm, James Gleason, Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, Barton MacLane | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Dude, Where's My Car? | 2000 | Danny Leiner | 💣 | 83 | Witless comedy about two stoner pals (Kutcher, Scott) who attempt to piece together the events of the previous evening. Only for those who think of the title as the height of comic repartee. Brent Spiner appears unbilled. | tt0242423 | [PG-13] | Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Kristy Swanson, Jennifer Garner, Marla Sokoloff, Charlie O'Connell, David Herman, Andy Dick | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Dudes | 1987 | Penelope Spheeris | 💣 | 90 | Incomprehensible, idiotic account of a trio of N.Y.C. punk rockers, and their fate when harassed by a gang of redneck killers in the Southwest. Thoroughly repugnant. | tt0092933 | [R] | Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck, Flea, Lee Ving, Catherine Mary Stewart | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dudes Are Pretty People | 1942 | Hal Roach/Jr. | ★★ | 95 | A couple of itinerant cowboys move to a dude ranch when one of them falls for a flashy blonde. Pretty dull. Originally one of producer Hal Roach's 46m. 'Streamliner' featurettes; for TV it's been spliced to its equally dull sequel, CALABOOSE. | tt0034686 | Jimmy Rogers, Noah Beery/Jr., Marjorie Woodworth, Paul Hurst, Marjorie Gateson, Russell Gleason, Grady Sutton. | Short, Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Dudley Do-Right | 1999 | Hugh Wilson | ★½ | 77 | Poorly conceived live-action version of the delightful Jay Ward-produced TV cartoons of the 1960s about a stalwart (if thick-headed) Mountie, his sweetheart, Nell Fenwick, and the dastardly villain, Snidely Whiplash (played with gusto by Molina). A couple of laughs here and there can't make up for a desperate, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink script. | tt0160236 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alfred Molina, Eric Idle, Robert Prosky, Alex Rocco, Jack Kehler, Louis Mustillo; narrated by Corey Burton | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Due Date | 2010 | Todd Phillips | ★★ | 100 | Uptight businessman Downey has to get home to L.A. from Atlanta so he can see his wife give birth, but from the moment he runs into goofball Galifianakis at the airport, things go awry. They wind up driving cross-country together and having a series of wild misadventures. Shameless echo of PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES follows its template pretty closely: Every time Downey is ready to strangle his bumbling road partner, he backs off because the guy is good-hearted—and clueless. Only the skill of the lead actors keeps this from being a total waste of time. Director and cowriter Phillips has a cameo as Lewis’ boyfriend. | tt1231583 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis, Danny McBride, RZA, Matt Walsh, Brody Stevens, Mimi Kennedy | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Duel | 1971 | Steven Spielberg | Above Average TV Movie | 90 | Businessman driving rented car on lonely stretch of road begins to realize that the driver of a diesel truck (whom he cannot see) is out to get him. This TV movie put Spielberg on the map, and rightly so; superb suspense film, from Richard Matheson's script. Telecast at 73m.: released theatrically in 1983 at 88m. | tt0067023 | [PG] | Dennis Weaver, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Eddie Firestone | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Duel at Apache Wells | 1957 | Joseph Kane. | ★½ | 70 | Cooper heads home when he learns that Davis is muscling in on his father's ranch— and on his girl (Alberghetti). Unsatisfying (and slow-moving) Western. | tt0050343 | Anna Maria Alberghetti, Ben Cooper, Jim Davis, Bob Steele, Frank Puglia, Harry Shannon. | Western | NULL | |||
| Duel at Diablo | 1966 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 103 | Aging Indians vs. Cavalry formula comes alive in this exciting Western; offbeat casting with tight direction. Some may find it too violent, but a must for action and Western fans. Look for Richard Farnsworth as a wagon driver. | tt0060355 | James Garner, Sidney Poitier, Bibi Andersson, Dennis Weaver, Bill Travers, William Redfield, John Crawford, John Hubbard, John Hoyt | Western | NULL | |||
| The Duel at Silver Creek | 1952 | Don Siegel | ★½ | 77 | Ponderous oater has Murphy as the 'Silver Kid' helping marshal fight town criminals. | tt0044573 | Audie Murphy, Stephen McNally, Faith Domergue, Susan Cabot, Gerald Mohr, Lee Marvin | Western | NULL | |||
| Duel in the Jungle | 1954 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 102 | Action-packed adventure of insurance investigator tracking allegedly dead man to Africa. Strong cast. | tt0046942 | Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, David Farrar, George Coulouris, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Duel in the Sun | 1946 | King Vidor | ★★★ | 130 | Producer-writer David O. Selznick's ambitious attempt to duplicate success of GONE WITH THE WIND: big, brawling, engrossing, often stupid sex-Western, with half-breed Jones caught between brothers Peck and Cotten. Great in Technicolor, with some memorable scenes and an unexpectedly bizarre finale. From the novel by Niven Busch. Superb score by Dimitri Tiomkin. | tt0038499 | Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Herbert Marshall, Walter Huston, Butterfly McQueen, Charles Bickford, Tilly Losch, Harry Carey | Western | NULL | |||
| Duel of Champions | 1961 | Ferdinando Baldi | ★★ | 105 | Stodgy epic set in ancient Rome with bored-looking Ladd the Roman leader who challenges forces of Alba. | tt0055264 | Alan Ladd, Franca Bettoja, Franco Fabrizi, Robert Keith, Luciano Marin | Italian | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Duel of the Titans | 1961 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★ | 88 | Reeves is Romulus and Scott is Remus in this fictional account of justice overcoming tyranny in ancient Rome. | tt0057460 | Steve Reeves, Gordon Scott, Virna Lisi, Massimo Girotti | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Duellists | 1977 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 101 | Competent screen version of Joseph Conrad's The Duel concerns long-running feud between French officers Carradine and Keitel during the Napoleonic wars. Supporting players are more convincing than two leads; film is among most staggeringly beautiful of its time. Scott's first feature. | tt0075968 | [PG] | Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Edward Fox, Cristina Raines, Robert Stephens, Diana Quick, Tom Conti, Albert Finney, Pete Postlethwaite | British | Action, War | NULL | |
| Duet for Four | 1982 | Tim Burstall | ★½ | 97 | Middle-aged Preston's life is in turmoil: his wife has a lover, his mistress wants marriage, his daughter might be a drug addict, his business may be taken over. Weak drama does not delve beneath the surface of its characters. | tt0083858 | Mike Preston, Wendy Hughes, Michael Pate, Diane Cilento, Gary Day, Arthur Dignam, Rod Mullinar | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Duet for One | 1986 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★½ | 107 | World-class violinist Andrews is stricken with multiple sclerosis, and her comfortable, rewarding life is shattered. Tom Kempinski based his two-character play (virtuoso and psychiatrist) on a real-life cellist, but for film it was opened up and, in the process, diluted. Husband Bates, therapist von Sydow, and rebellious protégé Everett are fine, but it's Andrews' gutsy performance that breathes life into the film. Made in England. | tt0092934 | [R] | Julie Andrews, Alan Bates, Max von Sydow, Rupert Everett, Margaret Courtenay, Cathryn Harrison, Macha Meril, Liam Neeson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Duets | 2000 | Bruce Paltrow | ★½ | 112 | Three nobodies are paired with optimistic spiritual guides in this road-trip odyssey, culminating at an Omaha karaoke contest. Press notes claim 'the funny, raucous world of karaoke bars and chain hotels' is revealed; we must have missed that part. Director Paltrow is Gwyneth's father. | tt0134630 | [R] | Maria Bello, Andre Braugher, Paul Giamatti, Huey Lewis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scott Speedman, Angie Dickinson, Marian Seldes, Lochlyn Munro | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Duffy | 1968 | Robert Parrish | ★½ | 101 | Scummy crime comedy about two half-brothers who decide to rob their father of bank notes he is transporting by ship. A waste of everyone's talents and lovely location photography. | tt0062917 | [M] | James Coburn, James Mason, James Fox, Susannah York, John Alderton | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Duffy of San Quentin | 1954 | Walter Doniger | ★★½ | 78 | Low-keyed account of Warden Duffy's reforms within famed prison. Followed by THE STEEL CAGE. | tt0046945 | Louis Hayward, Joanne Dru, Paul Kelly, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready | Crime | NULL | |||
| Duffy's Tavern | 1945 | Hal Walker | 💣 | 97 | Disastrous 'comedy' of radio character Ed Gardner trying to save Duffy's Tavern, Victor Moore trying to save his record company. No redeeming values despite guest appearances by several dozen Paramount stars. | tt0037662 | Barry Sullivan, Marjorie Reynolds, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley, Paulette Goddard, Brian Donlevy | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Duke Is Tops | 1938 | William Nolte. | ★★ | 80 | Crudely made showbiz saga with Horne, in her screen debut, as a singer nicknamed the 'Bronze Nightingale,' whose expanding career affects her relationship with a good-hearted boyfriend-manager (Cooper). All-black-cast curiosity is noteworthy for the presence of a pre-Hollywood Horne. The specialty numbers are fun to watch, particularly the appropriately named Rubber Neck Holmes. Reissued as THE BRONZE VENUS. | tt0030089 | Ralph Cooper, Lena Horne, Lawrence Criner, Monte Hawley, Neva Peoples, Vernon McCallum. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Duke of West Point | 1938 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 109 | Predictable West Point saga of honor and love at the Academy is trite but entertaining, with Fontaine winning as the ingenue. | tt0030090 | Louis Hayward, Joan Fontaine, Tom Brown, Richard Carlson, Alan Curtis, Don 'Red' Barry | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Dukes of Hazzard | 2005 | Jay Chandrasekhar | 💣 | 105 | Just as in the 1979-85 CBS TV series, good ole boys drive and shoot, drink and deliver moonshine, spit and fight and chase women, and start all over again the next day. But this 21st-century examination of 20th-century behavior is a smutty, slutty, laughless, nearly plotless flat tire about a road race and a land grab way down South in Georgia (but filmed in Louisiana). Kindly unfasten your seat belts. Unrated version is two minutes naughtier. | tt0377818 | [PG-13] | Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Willie Nelson, Lynda Carter, Joe Don Baker, M. C. Gainey, David Koechner, Kevin Heffernan, James Roday | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dulcima | 1971 | Frank Nesbitt | ★★½ | 93 | Poor White moves in with and exploits wealthy old farmer Mills. OK melodrama benefits from solid work by the stars. Original running time: 98m. | tt0067027 | [PG] | Carol White, John Mills, Stuart Wilson, Bernard Lee, Sheila Raynor | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Dulcimer Street | 1948 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★½ | 112 | Atmospheric account of a slum area of London and its inhabitants who champion one of their own accused of murder. Original British title: LONDON BELONGS TO ME. | tt0040548 | Richard Attenborough, Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, Stephen Murray, Wylie Watson, Susan Shaw, Joyce Carey, Ivy St. Helier, Hugh Griffith, Maurice Denham. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dulcy | 1940 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★½ | 73 | Pretty bad comedy of Chinese orphan mending new family's problems. Good cast with inferior material. Based on the George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play filmed before in 1923 and 1930 (as NOT SO DUMB). | tt0032422 | Ann Sothern, Ian Hunter, Roland Young, Reginald Gardiner, Billie Burke, Lynne Carver, Dan Dailey/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Duma | 2005 | Carroll Ballard | ★★★ | 100 | Beautifully filmed story of a South African boy who raises an orphaned cheetah from the time it's a cub, then has to face the inevitable when it's time to return the animal to the wild. His chore becomes a journey of growth and self-discovery, with an unlikely adult ally at his side. First-rate family entertainment from the director of THE BLACK STALLION, inspired by a true story and a book that set it down in print. | tt0361715 | [PG] | Alex Michaletos, Eamonn Walker, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Dumb & Dumber | 1994 | Peter Farrelly | ★★ | 106 | No, dumbest: a self-proclaimed no-brainer about two idiot pals who drive cross-country to Aspen to return a briefcase which (unbeknownst to them) contains a fortune in ransom money. Cheesy, gross-out comedy has its moments here and there, and enthusiastic performances by the two stars, who deserve a better script than this. Followed by a prequel and an animated TV series. | tt0109686 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Teri Garr, Karen Duffy, Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, Victoria Rowell, Cam Neely, Felton Perry | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd | 2003 | Troy Miller | 💣 | 85 | Desperate prequel to the 1994 comedy hit shows the two oafish friends meeting up in high school and becoming pawns in their slimy principal's scheme to get funding for a special education class— and abscond with the funds. The actors playing younger versions of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels do a good job, but this movie is appallingly unfunny; a particular waste of Levy and Oteri's comedy talents. | tt0329028 | [PG-13] | Eric Christian Olsen, Derek Richardson, Rachel Nichols, Cheri Oteri, Luis Guzmán, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, Mimi Rogers, Eugene Levy, Lin Shaye, Shia LaBeouf, Julia Duffy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dumbo | 1941 | Ben Sharpsteen | ★★★★ | 64 | One of Walt Disney's most charming animated films, about pint-sized elephant with giant-sized ears, and how his friend Timothy the Mouse helps build his confidence. Never a dull moment, but pink-elephants dream sequence is special treat. Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace's scoring earned them Oscars. | tt0033563 | Voices of Sterling Holloway, Edward Brophy, Verna Felton, Herman Bing, Cliff Edwards | Drama, Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | |||
| Dummy | 2003 | Greg Pritikin | ★★½ | 90 | Slight though occasionally ingratiating comedy about a suburban schnook (Brody), the product of a stereotypically dysfunctional family, who decides to take up ventriloquism; his new wooden companion becomes his conscience and alter ego. The actors and their oddball characters give this film its thrust. Brody made this right before starring in THE PIANIST. | tt0246592 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Milla Jovovich, Illeana Douglas, Vera Farmiga, Jessica Walter, Ron Leibman, Jared Harris, Mirabella Pisani | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dune | 1984 | David Lynch | ★½ | 140 | Elephantine adaptation of Frank Herbert's popular sci-fi novel set in the year 10,991. You know you're in trouble when film's opening narration (setting up the story) is completely incomprehensible! Visually imaginative, well cast, but joyless and oppressive— not to mention long. For devotees of Herbert's novel only. (A special 190m. edition was prepared for TV, under protest from director Lynch with new narration and footage that wasn't used in the theatrical version. TV print credits the pseudonymous Allen Smithee as director.) Alternate unrated version runs 177m. Remade in 2000 as a miniseries. | tt0087182 | [PG-13] | Kyle MacLachlan, Francesca Annis, Brad Dourif, Jose Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Kenneth McMillan, Jack Nance, Sian Phillips, Jürgen Prochnow, Paul Smith, Sting, Dean Stockwell, Max von Sydow, Patrick Stewart, Sean Young, Alicia (Roanne) Witt | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Dunera Boys | 1985 | Sam Lewin | ★★½ | 150 | Low-key, fact-based drama of Jewish refugees in England at the outset of WW2 who, because of their nationalities, are suspected of being Nazi spies and exiled to a POW camp in Australia. Hoskins plays a loutish fishmonger who's as English as Winston Churchill, but somehow is deported with the others. Fascinating subject matter, but film is overlong and uneven. Made for Australian television. | tt0089059 | Joseph Spano, Bob Hoskins, Joseph Furst, John Meillon, Warren Mitchell, Mary-Anne Fahey, Simon Chilvers, Steven Vidler, Moshe Kedem | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dungeonmaster | 1985 | Rosemarie Turko, John Carl Buechler, Charles Band, David Allen, Steve Ford, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou | ★½ | 73 | It took seven— count 'em, seven— directors to make this short, sour chronicle of a girl held hostage by a villain. Her savior (atrociously played by Byron) must overcome seven challenges. You have only one: to sit through this. | tt0089060 | [PG-13] | Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll, Leslie Wing | Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Dungeons & Dragons | 2000 | Courtney Solomon | ★½ | 107 | In a sword-and-sorcery fantasy world, three young heroes opposed by evil sorcerer Irons and his henchman Payne try to obtain powerful talismans to help threatened princess Birch. Irons is spectacularly hammy, the effects highly variable, the writing and direction amateurish. Based on the game, whose fans are the most likely audience for this lavish but empty movie. Lots of dragons, though. | tt0190374 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans, Zoe McLellan, Thora Birch, Bruce Payne, Kristen Wilson, Richard O'Brien, Tom Baker | U.S.-Czech | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Dunkirk | 1958 | Leslie Norman | ★★★ | 113 | Near-epic dramatization of the rescue by the Royal Navy and small civilian craft of 300,000 British soldiers trapped on the French beach of the title in 1940. One of the last films of the famed Ealing studios. Very realistic, with a fine cast and good direction. Original British length: 135m. | tt0051565 | John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, Robert Urquhart, Ray Jackson, Lionel Jeffries | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dunston Checks In | 1996 | Ken Kwapis | ★★½ | 88 | Easy-to-take kids' comedy about the sons of a hard-working hotel manager who discover that an orangutan has been sneaked into the establishment by a crafty thief. Alexander is excellent, the kids are appealing, the orangutan is just right, Everett does a Terry-Thomas homage, Dunaway goes slapstick, and everyone has a good time, including the audience. | tt0116151 | [PG] | Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Eric Lloyd, Rupert Everett, Graham Sack, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, Nathan Davis, Jennifer Bassey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Dunwich Horror | 1970 | Daniel Haller | ★★½ | 90 | Adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's story about warlock Stockwell's sinister plans for girlfriend Dee. Often effective, but ending ruins the whole film. | tt0065669 | [M] | Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, Ed Begley, Sam Jaffe, Lloyd Bochner, Joanna Moore, Talia Coppola (Shire) | Horror | NULL | ||
| Duplex | 2003 | Danny DeVito | ★½ | 89 | Young couple purchases a Brooklyn brownstone as their dream house, but the elderly tenant upstairs, who comes along as part of the deal, makes their life a living hell. A comedy about pain, destruction, and nastiness is standard DeVito fare by now, but it's hard to watch such likable stars caught in this morass. Unbearable. Stiller and Barrymore were among the producers. | tt0266489 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore, Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux, James Remar, Robert Wisdom, Swoosie Kurtz, Wallace Shawn, Maya Rudolph, Amber Valletta, Tracey Walter | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Duplicity | 2009 | Tony Gilroy | ★★½ | 125 | High-toned hybrid of romantic comedy and espionage yarn with Roberts and Owen as sexually charged spies who wind up working for cutthroat rival industrialists Wilkinson and Giamatti in N.Y.C. It isn’t hard to recognize this as the work of the same writer-director who brought us MICHAEL CLAYTON, though his complicated flashback/flash-forward structure will keep you on your toes. The stars’ chemistry—and a strong supporting cast—trumps the realization that the movie is really one long shaggy-dog joke. | tt1135487 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Tom McCarthy, Denis O’Hare, Kathleen Chalfant, Wayne Duvall, Carrie Preston, Oleg Stefan, Ulrich Thomsen | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Dust | 1985 | Marion Hansel | ★★★½ | 88 | Birkin gives a fine performance as an unmarried woman, in need of love and affection, who murders her arrogant father (Howard) after he seduces the wife of his farm's black foreman. An intense, rewarding portrayal of isolation, oppression, and degradation. | tt0089061 | Jane Birkin, Trevor Howard, John Matshikiza, Nadine Uwampa, Lourdes Christina Sayo, Rene Diaz | French-Belgian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dust Be My Destiny | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 88 | Garfield is ideally cast as an alienated drifter who finds himself in jail, where he falls for vicious prison foreman's stepdaughter (Lane). The stars rise above their less-than-original material. | tt0031259 | John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale/Sr., Frank McHugh, John Litel, Billy Halop, Henry Armetta, Stanley Ridges, Bobby Jordan, Charley Grapewin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dust Devil | 1993 | Richard Stanley | ★★ | 87 | In Africa's Namibia Desert, evil spirit Burke, trapped in human form, must kill to enter a spiritual realm; he meets Field, fleeing an unhappy marriage, and is pursued by policeman Mokae. Interesting premise, good acting partly offset lethargic pace, pretentious approach. | tt0104155 | [R] | Robert Burke, Chelsea Field, Zakes Mokae, John Matshikiza, Rufus Swart, William Hootkins, Marianne Sägebrecht | British-French | Horror | NULL | |
| Dusty | 1982 | John Richardson | ★★★ | 88 | Subtle, touching little film about a dingo (wild dog of the bush), captured while a puppy and eventually raised by an old man (Kerr). Adults will enjoy it as much as kids. | tt0083860 | Bill Kerr, Noel Trevarthen, Carol Burns, Nicholas Holland, John Stanton, Kate Edwards | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Dusty and Sweets McGee | 1971 | Floyd Mutrux | ★★★½ | 95 | Unconventional, no-holds-barred docudrama detailing day-to-day life of various heroin addicts in Los Angeles area. | tt0067029 | [R] | Documentary, Crime | NULL | |||
| Dutch | 1991 | Peter Faiman | ★★½ | 105 | Yet another warm-hearted concoction from the John Hughes assembly line, in which a stuck-up rich kid learns all about life when he travels home for Thanksgiving with his mother's blue-collar boyfriend, Dutch. Some choice, almost Chaplinesque moments (particularly one terrific scene in a homeless shelter) and appealing performances by O'Neill and Randall can't make us forget that we've seen this formula many times before. | tt0101786 | [PG-13] | Ed O'Neill, Ethan Embry, JoBeth Williams, Christopher McDonald, Ari Meyers, E. G. Daily, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Dutchman | 1966 | Anthony Harvey | ★★½ | 55 | Two-character allegory, based on LeRoi Jones's play, of confrontation between sadistic white trollop Knight and naive black Freeman in a subway car. Tense and well acted, but contrived. | tt0060358 | Shirley Knight, Al Freeman/Jr. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Dybbuk | 1938 | Michael Waszynsky | ★★★ | 125 | Fascinating, beautifully detailed (and restored) Yiddish-language version of Sholom Anski's famous folktale of a restless, disembodied spirit who enters the body of the woman he was pledged to wed. Of special interest as a look at a culture made extinct by Hitler. One of a dozen or so Yiddish features made in Poland prior to the Holocaust. | tt0030092 | Leon Liebgold, Lili Liliana, Max Bozyk, Abraham Morevsky, Dina Halpern | Polish | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Dying Gaul | 2005 | Craig Lucas | ★★½ | 101 | Grieving writer of an autobiographical screenplay becomes erotically entangled with a slick producer, who offers him one million dollars to produce the project as long as he makes the gay protagonists straight. Meanwhile, he becomes emotionally entangled with the producer's lonely wife, a former screenwriter turned stay-at-home mom. Twists, tragedies, and fine performances mark this intelligent but dense character study. Directorial debut for playwright Lucas (Longtime Companion, Prelude to a Kiss). Scott also coproduced. | tt0384929 | [R] | Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, Peter Sarsgaard, Ryan Miller, Robin Bartlett, Linda Emond, Jason-Shane Scott | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dying Young | 1991 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 105 | Aimless young woman answers a classified ad and becomes nurse/companion to a 28-year-old poor-little-rich-boy who's suffering from leukemia; needless to say, they fall in love. As vehicle for Roberts' charms, it works; as love story it has its moments; but as a tearjerker it never really delivers, wandering toward an inconclusive (and unsatisfying) finale. Scott shares a few scenes with his real-life mother, Dewhurst. | tt0101787 | [R] | Julia Roberts, Campbell Scott, Vincent D'Onofrio, Colleen Dewhurst, David Selby, Ellen Burstyn | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Dylan Dog: Dead of Night | 2010 | Kevin Munroe | 💣 | 107 | Dylan Dog (Routh) is a supernatural private eye, attempting to defend the Louisiana bayou from all of the monsters that lurk among the living. Now he must locate a dangerous artifact before the zombies and werewolves start a war. Huntington is entertaining as the loyal sidekick, but he can't salvage this unoriginal, dull, and lifeless (pun intended) film that tries to both take itself seriously and be funny. Based on an Italian comic book by Tiziano Sclavi. | tt1013860 | [PG-13] | Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, Taye Diggs, Kurt Angle, Randal Reeder | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Dynamite | 1929 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 129 | Enough plot for seven films in this silly but fascinating early talkie; aristocratic Johnson marries miner Bickford, who's about to be executed, to gain inheritance . . . then Bickford is cleared. Typical DeMille entertainment. | tt0019843 | Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford, Julia Faye, Joel McCrea | Drama | NULL | |||
| Dynamite Chicken | 1971 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★ | 76 | Odd, dated pastiche of songs, skits, television commercial parodies and old movie clips, filmed when nudity and profanity on celluloid were still shocking. Worth a look alone for Pryor. | tt0067030 | [R] | Richard Pryor, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, *** Sha Na Na, *** Ace Trucking Company, Joan Baez, Ron Carey, Andy Warhol, Paul Krassner, Leonard Cohen, Malcolm X | Comedy | NULL | ||
| DysFunKtional Family | 2003 | George Gallo | ★★ | 89 | Raucous, raunchy combination concert film-documentary spotlighting Eddie Griffin, actor/stand-up comic and wannabe Richard Pryor; he performs onstage and is seen in his Kansas City, Missouri, hometown, with his real-life family members. The humor is blunt and vulgar; some will find it racist, chauvinistic, and homophobic, while others will think it hilarious. Most interesting when Griffin recounts his childhood and his family members' impact on his life. | tt0337996 | [R] | Eddie Griffin | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Dédée d'Anvers | 1948 | Yves Allégret. | ★★½ | 85 | On the wharves of Antwerp, lust and wrath boil over when a lady-for-rent falls for an Italian sailor on shore leave. Her pimp is angry, a bartender is sad to see it all . . . somebody will have to do something. Signoret's first major lead, directed by her first husband, made her an international name. Squalid tale from a novel by Pépé le Moko author Henri La Barthe. | tt0039344 | Simone Signoret, Marcel Pagliero, Bernard Blier, Marcel Dalio, Jane Marken, Marcel Dieudonné, Mia Mendelson. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Déja Vu | 1985 | Anthony Richmond | ★½ | 95 | Smith and Terry relive the love affair they experienced in an earlier incarnation . . . then this supernatural thriller becomes a whodunit! Muddled, to say the least, though Smith is quite beautiful in her dual role; her then-husband directed the film. | tt0089065 | [R] | Jaclyn Smith, Shelley Winters, Claire Bloom, Nigel Terry | Drama | NULL | ||
| Déja Vu | 1998 | Henry Jaglom | ★★★½ | 116 | Unusual romance about the inexplicable and profound attraction between an American woman abroad and a London painter. Though already attached to others, at every turn they receive 'cosmic confirmation' of their belonging together. The acting is so good and story so satisfying that plot contrivances don't matter. Nepotism is a big plus, with Jaglom's wife Foyt in the lead and Redgrave's mother Kempson in their first joint screen appearance. Writer-director Jaglom's best; Foyt coscripted. | tt0119033 | [PG-13] | Stephen Dillane, Victoria Foyt, Vanessa Redgrave, Glynis Barber, Michael Brandon, Noel Harrison, Rachel Kempson, Aviva Marks | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial | 1982 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★★ | 115 | A 10-year-old boy (Thomas) befriends a creature from another planet that's been stranded on Earth. A warm, insightful story of childhood innocence, frustration, courage, and love . . . with a remarkable 'performance' by E.T. An exhilarating experience for young and old alike. Screenplay by Melissa Mathison. John Williams won an Oscar for his soaring score, as did the sound and visual effects teams. Trivia note: Debra Winger contributed to E.T.'s voice. Reissued in a somewhat revised form in 2002, running 123m. | tt0083866 | [PG] | Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, K.C. Martel, Sean Frye, Tom (C. Thomas) Howell | Family, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Each Dawn I Die | 1939 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 92 | Reporter Cagney is framed, sent to prison, where he meets tough-guy Raft. Good performances all around— Cagney hits a white-hot peak as the embittered, stir-crazy fall guy— but last half of film becomes outrageously improbable. Music score by Max Steiner. | tt0031260 | James Cagney, George Raft, George Bancroft, Jane Bryan, Maxie Rosenbloom, Stanley Ridges, Louis Jean Heydt, Abner Biberman, John Wray, Victor Jory, Thurston Hall | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Eagle Eye | 2008 | D. J. Caruso | ★★ | 117 | LaBeouf is a college dropout mistaken for a terrorist by a U.S. government overly fond of surveillance. Forced to become a fugitive, he teams (on the run, natch) with earnest single mom Monaghan. Frequently preposterous action-thriller plays like DISTURBIA on steroids. Instead of an updated REAR WINDOW, film seems to have been inspired by numerous other Hitchcock plots (check out that climax), beefed up with gadgets galore. Tech-heads and LaBeouf buffs may enjoy it. | tt1059786 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie, Ethan Embry, Anthony Azizi, William Sadler, Lynn Cohen, Bill Smitrovich, Cameron Boyce, Marc Singer | Crime, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Eagle Has Landed | 1977 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 123 | Action-packed wartime adventure taken from fanciful Jack Higgins best-seller about Nazi plot to kidnap Winston Churchill. Hardly a dull moment, thanks to solid cast and lively, twist-laden story. Original running time in England was 134m. | tt0074452 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter, Donald Pleasence, Anthony Quayle, Jean Marsh, Sven-Bertil Taube, John Standing, Judy Geeson, Treat Williams, Larry Hagman, Jeff Conaway | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Eagle Squadron | 1942 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 109 | Usual WW2 action and romance as young American fliers fought the war in the RAF. Good action scenes help average script. | tt0034691 | Robert Stack, Eddie Albert, Diana Barrymore, Nigel Bruce, Jon Hall, Evelyn Ankers, Gladys Cooper, Mary Carr | War | NULL | |||
| The Eagle With Two Heads | 1948 | Jean Cocteau | ★★½ | 93 | Stuffy, slightly crazed Queen Feuillere's husband was assassinated a decade earlier, on their wedding day. Amid much court intrigue, a poet-anarchist (Marais) who bears a striking resemblance to the deceased monarch stumbles into her quarters. While anything by Cocteau is worth a look, this romantic drama is too often static and is his least successful film. He scripted, based on his play (which also starred Feuillere and Marais). | tt0039135 | Edwige Feuillère, Jean Marais, Sylvia Monfort, Jacques Varennes, Jean Debucourt, Yvonne de Bray | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Eagle and the Hawk | 1933 | Stuart Walker | ★★★½ | 68 | Well-produced antiwar film with reluctant hero March, bullying gunner-observer Grant, everyone's friend Oakie, sympathetic society girl Lombard. Sobering John Monk Saunders story is still timely. Mitchell Leisen, credited as 'associate director,' reportedly directed most of the film. Originally 72m. | tt0023973 | Fredric March, Cary Grant, Jack Oakie, Carole Lombard, Guy Standing, Douglas Scott | War | NULL | |||
| The Eagle and the Hawk | 1950 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★½ | 104 | Contrived actioner set in 1860s Mexico-Texas with O'Keefe and Payne U.S. law enforcers stifling coup to make Maximilian ruler of Mexico; Fleming is fetching love interest. | tt0042426 | John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Dennis O'Keefe, Thomas Gomez, Fred Clark | Western | NULL | |||
| Eagle in a Cage | 1971 | Fielder Cook | ★★★ | 98 | Fine drama of Napoleon in exile on St. Helena. Haigh is quite impressive in the title role, and is surrounded by a top cast. Screenplay by Millard Lampell. | tt0067038 | [PG] | John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Billie Whitelaw, Kenneth Haigh, Moses Gunn, Ferdy Mayne | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Eagle vs. Shark | 2007 | Taika Waititi | ★★½ | 87 | A celebration of life's oddballs, as mousy Lily (Horsley, who helped develop the story based on a character she created for the stage) sets her sights on self-styled macho man Jarrod (Clement), who lives only to exact revenge on the classmate who used to beat him up in high school. This likable absurdist comedy gives off the same vibe as NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, but seems overly self-conscious. | tt0494222 | [R] | Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement, Brian Sergent, Rachel House, Craig Hall, Joel Tobeck. | New Zealand | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Eagle's Brood | 1935 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★½ | 59 | After notorious 'El Toro' saves his life, Bill 'Hopalong' Cassidy repays the debt by rescuing the outlaw's orphaned grandson. Depicts several surprisingly brutal murders. Hayes hasn't yet developed his 'Windy' persona in this solid, character-driven film, the second Hoppy movie; based on creator Clarence E. Mulford's same-named novel. | tt0026303 | William Boyd, James Ellison, George Hayes, William Farnum, Addison Richards, Nana Martinez (Joan Woodbury), Dorothy Revier. | Western | NULL | |||
| Eagle's Wing | 1979 | Anthony Harvey | ★½ | 111 | God never intended penguins to fly or the British to make Westerns. Dreary, artsy glop entangling half a dozen plots cribbed from other, better oaters; principal one involves seesawing between renegade Indian Waterston and trapper Sheen for possession of magnificent white stallion. Billy Williams' lush cinematography doesn't help. Most U.S. prints run 98m. | tt0079094 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston, Caroline Langrishe, Harvey Keitel, Stephane Audran, John Castle, Jorge Luke | British | Western | NULL | |
| The Eagle | 1925 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 77 | Valentino plays a sort of Russian Robin Hood in this entertaining costume picture, winning the hand of Vilma Banky while trying to outwit Czarina Dresser, angry because he snubbed her advances. | tt0015772 | Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Banky, Louise Dresser, Albert Conti, James Marcus, George Nichols | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Eagle | 2011 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★★ | 114 | Old-fashioned sword-and-sandal adventure set in A.D. 140 about the journey of a centurion who, with his slave, tries to restore his commander father’s reputation and discover what happened to the Roman Ninth Legion and its symbol, the golden eagle. Characters are well developed, and the battles are nicely staged, against gorgeous Scottish scenery. Bell shines and Tatum at least looks the part. Director MacDonald certainly understands the genre but injects a classic western bravado that gives the enterprise an air of freshness. Based on a novel by Rosemary Sutcliff. | tt1034389 | [PG-13] | Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Donald Sutherland, Tahar Rahim, Denis O’Hare, Paul Ritter, Julian Lewis Jones | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Earl Carroll Vanities | 1945 | Joseph Santley | ★★½ | 91 | Republic Pictures tried hard to give this musical class, but zest and production values are lacking; Arden adds her usual quips. | tt0037664 | Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, Eve Arden, Otto Kruger | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Earl of Chicago | 1940 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 85 | Montgomery can't put over far-fetched tale of Chicago mobster inheriting English title. His awkward performance strains film's credibility. | tt0032424 | Robert Montgomery, Edward Arnold, Reginald Owen, Edmund Gwenn | Drama | NULL | |||
| An Early Frost | 1985 | John Erman | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Emotion-packed drama about the effect on a family when their son breaks the news that he not only is gay but also has contracted AIDS. Terrific work by entire cast, bringing out the best of Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman's solid, never maudlin, Emmy-winning script (based on Sherman Yellen's story). | tt0089069 | Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Sylvia Sidney, Aidan Quinn, D.W. Moffett, John Glover, Sydney Walsh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Early Summer | 1951 | Yasujiro Ozu | ★★★ | 125 | Stirring tale of a woman (Hara) who, at 28, is aging by her society's standards. She resides with her elderly parents, and must deal with their pressure to marry the man of their choice. A sensitively rendered film about basic human emotions, made by a master filmmaker. | tt0043313 | Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Miyake, Chikage Awashima, Chiyeko Higashiyama | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Early to Bed | 1936 | Norman Z. McLeod. | ★★½ | 75 | Ruggles' sleepwalking involves him in shady adventure with gangsters. Boland and Ruggles are a perfect match. | tt0027561 | Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, George Barbier, Gail Patrick, Robert McWade, Lucien Littlefield. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Earrings of Madame de . . . | Diamond Earrings | 1953 | Max Ophuls. | ★★★★ | 105 | Captivating classic detailing the events that unravel after fickle Darrieux pawns the earrings presented her by husband Boyer. A knowing look at the effect of living a shallow, meaningless life. Masterfully acted and directed, with dazzling tracking shots. Screenplay by Marcel Achard, Ophuls, and Annette Wademant, from the novel by Louise de Vilmorin. Aka DIAMOND EARRINGS; originally released at 192m. | tt0046022 | Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt, Lia de Léa. | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Earth | 1930 | Alexander Dovzhenko | ★★★★ | 90 | Lyrical, deservedly famous classic about collective farming in the Ukraine, with peasants opposing a landowner and the arrival of a tractor symbolizing the transformation of Soviet society. This ode to the wonders of nature is loaded with beautiful imagery. Long a staple on all-time-best film lists. | tt0021571 | Semyon Svashenko, Stepan Shkurat, Mikola Nademsky, Yelena Maximova | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Earth | 2007 | Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield | ★★★ | 96 | Eye-filling look at the natural wonders of our planet, with a particular emphasis on the yearlong struggles of three species: a polar bear father trying to find food for his mate and her cubs, a great white whale and her calf making a 4,000-mile migration, and an elephant mother and child on an exhausting journey overland in search of water. Adapted from the acclaimed BBC/Discovery Channel TV series Planet Earth, with some footage never used in the show. U.S. version produced by Disney is aimed at family audiences with friendly, colloquial narration by Jones, a new score, and an upbeat ending. British version is narrated by Patrick Stewart. | tt0393597 | [G] | Narrated by James Earl Jones | U.S.-British-German | Documentary | NULL | |
| The Earth Dies Screaming | 1964 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 62 | Grim thriller with invaders taking over remote village; packs great initial suspense but labors. | tt0058050 | Willard Parker, Virginia Field, Dennis Price, Vanda Godsell | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Earth Girls Are Easy | 1989 | Julien Temple | ★★½ | 100 | Infectiously goofy musical comedy about aliens landing in the San Fernando Valley and being ushered into materialistic Southern California life by a ditsy manicurist. Not enough substance to sustain a feature film, but there are some good laughs, and an endearing performance by Davis. Costar Brown (who sings airhead anthem ' 'Cause I'm a Blonde') also cowrote the movie. | tt0097257 | [PG] | Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Julie Brown, Michael McKean, Charles Rocket, Larry Linville, Rick Overton, Angelyne | Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Earth vs the Spider | The Spider | 1958 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★ | 73 | A spider bigger than a bus is found in a cave; when it's apparently killed, it's put on display in a high school gym— where it is revived by the sounds of rock 'n roll! Teenager-oriented Bert I. Gordon movie is more watchable than most of his giant-thing-on-the-loose films. Aka THE SPIDER. Remade in name only in 2001. | tt0051570 | Ed Kemmer, June Kenny, Geene Persson, Gene Roth, Hal Torrey, Sally Fraser, June Jocelyn, Troy Patterson, Hank Patterson | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Earth vs. the Flying Saucers | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★★★ | 82 | Matter-of-fact presentation gives tremendous boost to familiar storyline (alien invaders order us to surrender peaceably— or else). Literate dialogue, subdued performances, and solid Ray Harryhausen effects make this a winner that belies its B origins nearly every step of the way. | tt0049169 | Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, Tom Browne Henry, voice of Paul Frees | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Earthbound | 1981 | James L. Conway | ★½ | 94 | Average family from outer space lands in Middle America due to a faulty flying saucer. Will dastardly government official Campanella shoot them? Trite, dumb, idiotic. | tt0082308 | [PG] | Burl Ives, Christopher Connelly, Meredith MacRae, Joseph Campanella, Todd Porter, Marc Gilpin, Elissa Leeds, John Schuck, Stuart Pankin | Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Earthling | 1980 | Peter Collinson | ★★½ | 102 | Holden, terminally ill, teaches Schroder, orphaned and lost, how to survive in the bush country. OK drama features much nature footage and will appeal mainly to kids. Originally released at 97m., later reedited and lengthened to 102m. | tt0080671 | [PG] | William Holden, Ricky Schroder, Jack Thompson, Olivia Hamnett, Alwyn Kurts | Australian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Earthquake | 1974 | Mark Robson | 💣 | 129 | Title tells the story in hackneyed disaster epic originally released in Sensurround. Marjoe as a sex deviate and Gardner as Lorne Greene's daughter tie for film's top casting honors. Additional footage was shot for inclusion in network showings. Won Oscar for Sound, plus special achievement for Visual Effects and citations for the development of Sensurround. | tt0071455 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Lorne Greene, Barry Sullivan, Marjoe Gortner, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal, Walter Matthau, Gabriel Dell, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Lloyd Gough, John Randolph, Donald Moffat | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Earthworm Tractors | 1936 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 69 | Broad comedy with Joe as Saturday Evening Post character Alexander Botts, braggart and tractor salesman extraordinaire. | tt0027562 | Joe E. Brown, June Travis, Guy Kibbee, Dick Foran, Carol Hughes, Gene Lockhart, Olin Howland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Easiest Way | 1931 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 74 | Bennett rises from dire poverty to a life of luxury after becoming the mistress of advertising mogul Menjou, but finds heartbreak when she falls for reporter Montgomery. Watered-down adaptation of notorious play about high-priced call girls starts out great, then turns into a standard romantic triangle melodrama to satisfy the Hays Office. Gable has a small, but strong role in his first film as an MGM contract player. | tt0021825 | Constance Bennett, Adolphe Menjou, Robert Montgomery, Marjorie Rambeau, Anita Page, Clark Gable, Hedda Hopper | Drama | NULL | |||
| East Meets West | 1936 | Herbert Mason. | ★★½ | 75 | Arliss is the whole show as a crafty sultan who plots to barter a treaty between England and Japan that will benefit his small, cash-starved country. Political thriller is notable today for presaging future world events. Not top-flight Arliss, but still enjoyable. | tt0027563 | George Arliss, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Romney Brent, Ballard Berkeley, Ronald Ward, Norma Varden. | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| East Side Kids | 1940 | Robert F. Hill | ★½ | 62 | Slum kids take on counterfeiters in this cheapie Sam Katzman-Monogram production. Despite title, this has nothing to do with the subsequent Leo Gorcey-Bobby Jordan-Huntz Hall series. | tt0032428 | Harris Berger, Hally Chester, Frankie Burke, Donald Haines, Dave O'Brien, Dennis Moore, Vince Barnett, Leon Ames | Drama | NULL | |||
| East Side Story | 1997 | Dana Ranga | ★★★½ | 87 | 'Soviet musicals' sounds like an oxymoron, but more than 40 were made behind the Iron Curtain from the early '30s until the late '60s. This documentary doesn't limit itself to clips from the films, but includes interviews with filmmakers, critics, and ordinary moviegoers. Some of the musicals are propaganda featuring deliriously happy workers, but others, especially those directed by Grigori Alexandrov, look so delightful you long to see titles like THE JOLLY FELLOWS and VOLGA VOLGA, Stalin's favorite movie. An absolute must for film buffs. | tt0119040 | German-French | Documentary | NULL | |||
| East Side of Heaven | 1939 | David Butler | ★★★ | 90 | Cute Crosby comedy with songs; Bing becomes guardian of abandoned baby, croons title tune, 'Sing A Song of Sunbeams. | tt0031261 | Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, Mischa Auer, Irene Hervey, C. Aubrey Smith, Baby Sandy | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| East Side, West Side | 1949 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 108 | Stanwyck and Mason have pivotal roles as chic N.Y.C. society couple with abundant marital woes, stirred up by alluring Gardner and understanding Heflin. Static MGM version of Marcia Davenport's superficial novel. | tt0041327 | Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Ava Gardner, Van Heflin, Cyd Charisse, Gale Sondergaard, William Frawley, Nancy Davis (Reagan) | Drama | NULL | |||
| East and West | 1923 | Sidney M. Goldin, Ivan Abramson. | ★★★ | 85 | Picon is funny and charming as Mollie Brown— formerly Brownstein— a spirited New Yorker who travels with her father to Galicia to attend a family wedding and attracts the attention of a poor, shy Yeshiva scholar (Kalich, Picon's real-life husband). Perceptively observes the clash between religious and secular lifestyles and Old and New World cultures. Also released as GOOD LUCK and MAZEL TOV. | tt0014339 | Molly Picon, Jacob Kalich, Sidney M. Goldin, Saul Nathan, Laura Glucksman, Eugen Neufeld, Johannes Roth. | Austrian | Drama | NULL | ||
| East is East | 1999 | Damien O'Donnell | ★★★ | 96 | Piquant look at a cross-cultural family in 1970s London. Pakistani immigrant George (Puri) has lived there for 25 years; his wife is English, and their seven children have been raised as Brits, but he clings to his old-world ways and (rather hypocritically) expects them to conform to Pakistani customs. Keenly observed social comedy-drama never betrays its stage origins; Ayub Khan-Din scripted from his play. | tt0166175 | [R] | Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge, Archie Panjabi, Emil Marwa, Chris Bisson, Lesley Nicol, Gary Damer, Emma Rydal, Ruth Jones, John Bardon | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| East of Borneo | 1931 | George Melford. | ★½ | 76 | Headache-inducing melodrama about desperate Hobart, who treks into the jungle to find physician husband Bickford; he thinks she's cheated on him and has become a cynical alcoholic. Dull and deadening. | tt0021828 | Rose Hobart, Charles Bickford, Georges Renavent, Lupita Tovar, Noble Johnson. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| East of Eden | 1955 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 115 | Emotionally overwhelming adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel about two brothers' rivalry for the love of their father; affects today's generation as much as those who witnessed Dean's starring debut. Van Fleet (in film debut) won Oscar as boys' mother. Screenplay by Paul Osborn. Remade as TV mini-series. | tt0048028 | James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Jo Van Fleet, Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, Albert Dekker | Drama | NULL | |||
| East of Elephant Rock | 1977 | Don Boyd | 💣 | 92 | Inept period drama set in 1948 Malaya; final reel ripped off from W. Somerset Maugham's THE LETTER. Further sabotaged by campy songs on soundtrack as well as opening disclaimer, which invites viewers to 'laugh and smile' at the film. Bowker is beautiful, as are Sri Lanka locations. | tt0075970 | Judi Bowker, John Hurt, Jeremy Kemp, Christopher Cazenove, Anton Rodgers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| East of Kilimanjaro | 1957 | Arnold Belgard, Edoardo Capolino | ★½ | 75 | Dull story of cameraman Thompson and efforts to halt virus affecting cattle in title region. Filmed in Africa. Originally ran 85m.; some prints 72m. Aka THE BIG SEARCH. | tt0050452 | Marshall Thompson, Gaby Andre, Fausto Tozzi, Kris Aschan, Rolf Aschan | U.S.-British-Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| East of Sudan | 1966 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 84 | British trooper falls for English governess when he leads her and several others to safety from Arabs in 1880s; OK juvenile adventure. | tt0060362 | Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Sims, Derek Fowlds, Jenny Agutter, Johnny Sekka | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| East of Sumatra | 1953 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 82 | Satisfactory actioner set on Pacific island. Chandler is mining engineer trying to prevent native uprising while romancing Maxwell; Quinn effective as villain. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0045716 | Jeff Chandler, Marilyn Maxwell, Anthony Quinn, Suzan Ball, Peter Graves | Adventure | NULL | |||
| East of the River | 1940 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 73 | Another variation of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA, with childhood pals Garfield and Lundigan growing up on opposite sides of the law. Rambeau is fine as Garfield's mother. | tt0032429 | John Garfield, Brenda Marshall, Marjorie Rambeau, William Lundigan, George Tobias, Jack LaRue, Douglas Fowley | Drama | NULL | |||
| East-West | 1999 | Régis Wargnier | ★★ | 121 | A doctor and his French wife join other Russian émigrés who are invited back to their homeland following WW2, but once there, their lives become a nightmare. Fascinating historical subject matter is turned into a turgid soap opera. Deneuve has a small, thankless role as a politically active stage star, but Bonnaire is luminous. | tt0181530 | [PG-13] | Sandrine Bonnaire, Oleg Menchikov, Catherine Deneuve, Sergei Bodrov/Jr. | French-Russian-Spanish-Bulgarian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Easter Parade | 1948 | Charles Walters | ★★★½ | 103 | Delightful Irving Berlin musical about Astaire trying to forget ex-dance partner Miller while rising to stardom with Garland. Too good to watch just at Eastertime. Musical highlights include Astaire's solo 'Steppin' Out With My Baby,' Miller's 'Shaking the Blues Away,' Fred and Judy's 'A Couple of Swells,' and the Fifth Avenue finale with Berlin's title song. Oscar winner for musical scoring (Johnny Green and Roger Edens). Story by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; they also scripted with Sidney Sheldon. | tt0040308 | Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Peter Lawford, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Eastern Promises | 2007 | David Cronenberg | ★★★ | 100 | London hospital midwife Watts discovers the diary of an abandoned, pregnant teenage girl who died on her watch, and determines to locate her family. This leads her into a shady, ruthless world of Russian mobsters operating out of Mueller-Stahl’s restaurant, where she becomes intrigued by enigmatic chauffeur-enforcer Mortensen. Intelligent thriller set against a rich tableau, courtesy of screenwriter Steven Knight (DIRTY PRETTY THINGS). Mortensen is superb and has one unforgettable scene in a Turkish bathhouse. | tt0765443 | [R] | Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent Cassel, Sinead Cusack, Jerzy Skolimowski, Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Mike Sarne | Canadian-British | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Easy A | 2010 | Will Gluck | ★★ | 92 | Supersmart girl who’s a nonentity at her high school tells her so-called best friend that she slept with an older guy, to earn a little notoriety, but her fib spirals way out of control. Postmodern spin on The Scarlet Letter (complete with film clips featuring Lillian Gish and Colleen Moore) is sparked by Stone’s bright presence and great actors in supporting roles, but its tone is wildly uneven, alternately funny and sour. It openly yearns to be as sweet and sincere as a John Hughes movie, but processes its feelings secondhand. | tt1282140 | [PG-13] | Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Aly Michalka, Fred Armisen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Easy Come, Easy Go | 1967 | John Rich | ★½ | 95 | Presley's a frogman diving for buried treasure in this hackneyed comedy. Fortunately, he doesn't sing underwater. Yet he does get to perform such classics as 'The Love Machine' and 'Yoga Is As Yoga Does.' | tt0061610 | Elvis Presley, Dodie Marshall, Pat Priest, Elsa Lanchester, Frank McHugh, Pat Harrington |
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| The Easy Life | 1963 | Dino Risi | ★★★ | 105 | Gassman has proper joie de vivre for playing middle-aged playboy who introduces student Trintignant to life of frolic with tragic results; well played and haunting. | tt0056512 | Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Luciana Angiolillo | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Easy Living | 1937 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 86 | Millionaire Arnold throws spoiled-wife's mink out the window; it drops on unsuspecting working girl Arthur. Arnold's son Milland, off making his career, falls in love. The girl: Arthur. Delightful comedy written by Preston Sturges. | tt0028816 | Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Ray Milland, Franklin Pangborn, William Demarest, Mary Nash, Luis Alberni | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Easy Living | 1949 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 77 | Mature is aging football star who can't adjust to impending retirement— especially under constant pressure from grasping wife Scott. Intelligent film from Irwin Shaw story, with good performance from Lucy as team secretary in love with Mature. | tt0041328 | Victor Mature, Lizabeth Scott, Lucille Ball, Sonny Tufts, Lloyd Nolan, Paul Stewart, Jeff Donnell, Jack Paar, Art Baker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Easy Money | 1983 | James Signorelli | ★★½ | 95 | Working-class slob has one year to give up all his bad habits— drinking, overeating, smoking, gambling— in order to collect big inheritance. Dangerfield's first starring comedy vehicle is pleasant enough— with a refreshing amount of restraint for an '80s comedy. Final gag is right out of W. C. Fields. | tt0085470 | [R] | Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Candy Azzara, Taylor Negron, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Ewell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Easy Rider | 1969 | Dennis Hopper | ★★★½ | 94 | Low-budget film of alienated youth nearly ruined Hollywood when every studio tried to duplicate its success. Tale of two cyclists chucking it all and searching for 'the real America,' while inevitably dated, remains quite worthwhile, highlighted by fine Laszlo Kovacs photography, great rock soundtrack, and Nicholson's star-making performance as boozy lawyer who tags along. Written by Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern. | tt0064276 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Luke Askew, Luana Anders, Robert Walker, Phil Spector, Toni Basil | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Easy Virtue | 1927 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 89 | Jeans suffers nobly as the wife of an alcoholic and the lover of a suicide in this melodramatic silent Hitchcock. Laughable dramatics but imaginatively shot, based on a Noel Coward play. | tt0017843 | Isabel Jeans, Franklin Dyall, Eric Bransby Williams, Ian Hunter, Robin Irvine, Violet Farebrother | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Easy Virtue | 2008 | Stephan Elliott | ★★½ | 96 | Lively if uneven adaptation of Noel Coward’s play about a staid family that’s shaken up when the prodigal son (Barnes) brings home a dashing American auto-racing champion (Biel) as his wife. Arch dialogue abounds in this deconstruction of the British class system, but director and co-adapter Elliott tries to have it both ways, winking at the audience one moment and asking us to take things seriously the next. Great showcase for Biel, who holds her own amidst a top-notch British cast. Filmed before by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927. | tt0808244 | [PG-13] | Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes, Kris Marshall, Kimberley Nixon, Katherine Parkinson, Pip Torrens, Christian Brassington, Charlotte Riley | U.S.-British | Romance | NULL | |
| Easy Wheels | 1989 | David O'Malley | ★★ | 94 | A gang of good male bikers combats a baby-stealing gang of women bikers in the Midwest. Satirical action comedy is awkwardly directed, but has some good ideas. Writer 'Celia Abrams' in the credits is really Sam Raimi. | tt0097260 | [R] | Paul Le Mat, Eileen Davidson, Marjorie Bransfield, Jon Menick, Barry Livingston, Mark Holton, Theresa Randle, Danny Hicks, George Plimpton, Ted Raimi, Ben Stein | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Easy to Love | 1934 | William Keighley. | ★★½ | 61 | While Menjou plays footsie with Astor, his wife (Tobin) pretends to fool around with Horton. Simple but pleasing marital comedy, deftly played by a good cast. | tt0025076 | Genevieve Tobin, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Patricia Ellis, Hugh Herbert, Hobart Cavanaugh, Guy Kibbee. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Easy to Love | 1953 | Charles Walters | ★★½ | 96 | Pleasant Williams aquatic vehicle set at Florida's Cypress Gardens, with Johnson and Martin vying for her love. Spectacular production numbers by Busby Berkeley. Baker's first film. | tt0045718 | Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, John Bromfield, Carroll Baker | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Easy to Wed | 1946 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 110 | Remake of LIBELED LADY can't hold a candle to original, but remains passable comedy, with Lucy in one of her first major comedy showcases. | tt0038505 | Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Lucille Ball, Keenan Wynn, Cecil Kellaway, June Lockhart | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Eat Drink Man Woman | 1994 | Ang Lee | ★★★ | 124 | Director Lee's follow-up to THE WEDDING BANQUET is another charming study of love, family, and tradition, which follows a Taipei master chef (Lung) who has lost his taste buds and has grown apart from his three daughters. The multiple stories and their resolutions are a bit too predictable, but Lee's handling of the action is dexterous and the entire cast is winning. The presentation of food onscreen is, in all senses of the word, delectable, ranking with the dishes of TAMPOPO, BABETTE'S FEAST, and LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE. Lee coscripted as well. Remade in 2001 as TORTILLA SOUP. | tt0111797 | Sihung Lung, Kuei-Mei Yang, Chien-Lien Wu, Yu-Wen Wang, Winston Chao, Ah-Leh Gua, Sylvia Chang | Taiwanese | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Eat My Dust! | 1976 | Charles B. Griffith | ★½ | 90 | Nervewracking yarn about two young drivers unable to satisfy passion for speed. Hang on! | tt0074454 | [PG] | Ron Howard, Christopher Norris, Warren Kemmerling, Dave Madden, Rance Howard, Clint Howard, Corbin Bernsen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eat Pray Love | 2010 | Ryan Murphy | ★★ | 140 | N.Y.C. travel writer opts out of her marriage, rebounds with a love affair, but still feels a nagging sense of dissatisfaction, so she spends a year abroad. In Italy she makes friends and savors the wonderful food. In India she attempts to find spiritual enlightenment. And in Bali, she rekindles a friendship with a wise healer she met on an earlier trip and becomes attracted to a handsome, divorced Brazilian man. Roberts is ideally cast, but without having read Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir it’s tough to understand her restlessness and angst. But as a travelogue, and paean to Italian food, the film is easy on the eyes. Murphy and Jennifer Salt wrote the screenplay. Unrated version runs 143m. | tt0879870 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup, Hadi Subiyanto, Mike O’Malley, Tuva Novotny, Luca Argentero | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Eat a Bowl of Tea | 1989 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 104 | From 1924 until the end of WW2, most Chinese women were not allowed to accompany their menfolk who emigrated to the U.S. This charming but pointed ethnic comedy chronicles what happened when the ban was lifted, as American-born Russell Wong brings Chinese-born bride Miao to N.Y.C. A film that no one else but Wang could have made. A PBS American Playhouse theatrical production. | tt0097261 | [PG-13] | Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong, Lau Siu Ming, Eric Tsang Chi Wai | Romance | NULL | ||
| Eat the Peach | 1986 | Peter Ormrod | ★★½ | 95 | Two hard-luck friends in rural Ireland, suddenly unemployed, are inspired by a scene in Elvis Presley's movie ROUSTABOUT and decide to build a 'wall of death' (a huge wooden cylinder in which they ride their motorcycles in a circuslike stunt). Can fame and fortune be far behind? Uniquely dour Irish sensibility permeates this uneven but engaging little film about hopes and dreams— even cockeyed ones like these. Director Ormrod and producer John Kelleher based their script on a true story. | tt0090993 | Stephen Brennan, Eamon Morrissey, Catherine Byrne, Niall Toibin, Joe Lynch, Tony Doyle | Irish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eat the Rich | 1987 | Peter Richardson | 💣 | 88 | Ironically tasteless black comedy about Pellay getting fired from his job in a restaurant, where he later returns leading a band of revolutionaries and begins serving human flesh on the menu. Weird point of view and noisy heavy metal music score by Motorhead. Many pointless cameos by the likes of Paul and Linda McCartney, Bill Wyman, Miranda Richardson and Koo Stark. | tt0092944 | [R] | Nosher Powell, Lanah Pellay, Fiona Richmond, Ronald Allen, Sandra Dorne | British | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Eaten Alive | Horror Hotel | 1976 | Tobe Hooper | ★★½ | 96 | Ill-fated Hollywood debut feature by TEXAS CHAINSAW director Hooper is a garishly stylized, unrelentingly bizarre film about a psychopath (Brand) who has a crocodile living in the front yard of his hotel. Periodically guests who upset the management are fed to this pet. Originally titled DEATH TRAP; aka STARLIGHT SLAUGHTER, LEGEND OF THE BAYOU, and HORROR HOTEL. | tt0074455 | Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, William Finley, Stuart Whitman, Robert Englund | Horror | NULL | ||
| Eating | 1990 | Henry Jaglom | ★★★ | 110 | A group of women, attending a birthday party, sit around talking about food and life— in that order. Typically idiosyncratic, low-budget Jaglom outing, but this one really works: the conversation is fascinating and often hilarious. Frances Bergen (Edgar's widow, Candice's mom) is a revelation. | tt0099480 | Frances Bergen, Lisa Richards, Nelly Alard, Gwen Welles, Mary Crosby, Marlene Giovi, Marina Gregory, Daphna Kastner, Elizabeth Kemp, Toni Basil | Drama | NULL | |||
| Eating Raoul | 1982 | Paul Bartel | ★★★½ | 83 | Delicious black comedy about the Blands, a super-square couple who lure wealthy swingers to their apartment and kill them, which both reduces the number of 'perverts' and helps finance their dream restaurant. Sags a little here and there, but overall a bright, original, hilarious satire; Paragon has a super bit as a sexshop owner. Directors Joe Dante and John Landis also appear. | tt0083869 | [R] | Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Susan Saiger, Buck Henry, Dick Blackburn, Edie McClurg, Ed Begley/Jr., John Paragon, Hamilton Camp | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ebb Tide | 1937 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 94 | Hokey but entertaining outdoors picture with Nolan a madman on strange island. Remade as ADVENTURE ISLAND. | tt0028817 | Frances Farmer, Ray Milland, Oscar Homolka, Lloyd Nolan, Barry Fitzgerald | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Eboli | Christ Stopped at Eboli | 1979 | Francesco Rosi | ★★★½ | 120 | Slow-moving but rewarding chronicle of anti-Facist writer/artist Carlo Levi's exile in a small, primitive southern Italian mountain village during the mid-1930s. Stunningly directed, with Volonte perfect as Levi. Video title: CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI; most prints with this title run 210m. | tt0079010 | Gian Maria Volonté, Irene Papas, Paolo Bonicelli, Alain Cuny, Lea Massari | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Echelon Conspiracy | 2009 | Greg Marcks | ★★½ | 105 | It may be BOURNE-lite but it’s still an entertaining sci-fi spy thriller in which West’s insanely smart cell phone sends him all over the world alerting him to big casino winnings, great stock tips, and all the beautiful women he can handle. Soon he is being chased around the globe by agents with high-tech gadgets of their own. This male fantasy is by-the-numbers filmmaking but it’s a guilty pleasure with an attractive cast, good enough to pass the time between Bourne and Bond movies. | tt1124039 | [PG-13] | Shane West, Edward Burns, Ving Rhames, Martin Sheen, Yuriy Kutsenko, Sergey Gubanov, Steven Elder, Sandra De Sousa, Jonathan Pryce, Greg Donaldson | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Echo Park | 1986 | Robert Dornhelm | ★★½ | 93 | Small film set in older L.A. neighborhood, which follows the fortunes of three offbeat characters: a single mother/actress, a pizza delivery man/poet, and an Austrian weightlifter/TV hopeful. Bowen (as the latter) scores best in this mildly diverting film; first half is best. | tt0090994 | [R] | Susan Dey, Tom Hulce, Michael Bowen, Christopher Walker, Richard (Cheech) Marin, Cassandra Peterson, Timothy Carey | Austrian-U.S. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Echoes | 1983 | Arthur Allan Seidelman | ★★½ | 89 | Art student Alfieri becomes obsessed by a dream in which his twin brother, who died before birth, is out to kill him. Intriguing premise, just adequate result. | tt0085471 | [R] | Richard Alfieri, Nathalie Nell, Mercedes McCambridge, Ruth Roman, Gale Sondergaard, Mike Kellin, John Spencer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Echoes of Paradise | Shadows of the Peacock | 1987 | Phillip Noyce | ★½ | 92 | Frustrated Hughes' husband cheats on her, so while in Thailand she liberates herself by commencing an affair with Balinese dancer Lone. Boring (though attractive) soaper is an unfortunate misfire for talented stars and director. Australian title: SHADOWS OF THE PEACOCK. | tt0092946 | [R] | Wendy Hughes, John Lone, Steven Jacobs, Peta Toppano, Rod Mullinar, Gillian Jones | Australian | Drama | NULL |
| Echoes of a Summer | 1976 | Don Taylor | ★★ | 99 | Another film in the 'disease' genre, as 12-year-old Foster's stolid reaction to impending death inspires those around her. Overwritten tearjerker, but Jodie is always worth a look. | tt0074459 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Lois Nettleton, Jodie Foster, Geraldine Fitzgerald, William Windom, Brad Savage | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eclipse | L'Eclisse | 1962 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★★ | 123 | Obvious but fascinating drama of alienation, Antonioni-style, about a translator (Vitti) who breaks up with her boyfriend and commences an affair with stockbroker Delon. Antonioni strikingly captures Vitti's isolation, and the world (and city of Rome) as filtered through her sensibilities. Third in a trilogy, following L'AVVENTURA and LA NOTTE. Original title: L'ECLISSE. | tt0056736 | Alain Delon, Monica Vitti, Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, Louis Seigner, Rossana Rory | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Eclipse | 2010 | David Slade | ★★ | 124 | Third installment in the series has Seattle plagued by a wave of brutal killings by wolflike creatures, and Bella being torn between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob. Seems to us the so-called fervent love affair with Edward pales alongside the tangible chemistry that exists between Bella and Jacob. But then, the CGI werewolves—and their bloody attacks—seem artificial as well. Just don’t tell avid followers of the series. . . . | tt1325004 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Xavier Samuel, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Christian Serratos, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Sarah Clarke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Justin Chon, Billy Burke, Cameron Bright | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Ecstasy | 1933 | Gustav Machat˛ | ★★½ | 88 | A young bride discovers her husband is impotent, and has an affair. Undistinguished romantic drama was once notorious for scenes of pre-Hollywood Hedy in the buff— and showing her in the throes of sexual passion. | tt0022867 | Hedy Lamarr, Aribert Mog, Jaromir Rogoz, Leopold Kramer | Czech | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ed | 1996 | Bill Couturié | ★½ | 94 | Nervous pitcher getting his big break on a minor-league baseball team becomes roommate with the club's new third baseman: a full-grown chimpanzee. Uninspired vehicle for Friends star LeBlanc (and Hollywood debut for award-winning documentary director Couturié). Strikes out as a warm family comedy, though younger viewers may be amused. | tt0116165 | [PG] | Matt LeBlanc, Jayne Brook, Bill Cobbs, Jack Warden, Charlie Schlatter, Carl Anthony Payne II, Zacharias Ward, Tommy Lasorda | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Ed TV | 1999 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 122 | Entertaining yarn about a desperate cable TV network that decides to broadcast an ordinary guy's life for every waking moment of the day— turning the poor sap into an overnight celebrity. Interesting twists in Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel's script keep this from being a one-joke comedy. Well cast right down the line. Remake of a Canadian film, LOUIS XIX: ROI DES ONDES. | tt0131369 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Sally Kirkland, Martin Landau, Ellen DeGeneres, Rob Reiner, Dennis Hopper, Elizabeth Hurley, Adam Goldberg, Viveka Davis, Clint Howard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ed Wood | 1994 | Tim Burton | ★★★ | 124 | A loving look at Edward D. Wood, Jr., a man of boundless enthusiasm and no talent who made some of the worst movies of all time (including GLEN OR GLENDA and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE). Cast to perfection, with Depp ideal in the title role. Landau— in Rick Baker makeup (both men won Oscars)— is positively astonishing as the aged and impoverished Bela Lugosi, whom Wood befriended. There isn't much story thrust here, but the vivid re-creation of time and place makes this a must for any old-movie buff. | tt0109707 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, G. D. Spradlin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lisa Marie, Bill Murray, Mike Starr, Max Casella, Brent Hinkley, Juliet Landau, George 'The Animal' Steele | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ed's Next Move | 1996 | John Walsh | ★★★ | 88 | Sweetly engaging romantic comedy; a sincere, knowing story of the difficulties of finding love in the Big City. The title character (Ross), a Wisconsin native who comes to N.Y.C. to make his fortune, is immediately attracted to a struggling musician (Thorne), who is already involved with someone. | tt0116167 | [R] | Matt Ross, Callie Thorne, Kevin Carroll, Ramsey Faragallah, Nina Sheveleva | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eddie | 1996 | Steve Rash | ★★½ | 100 | Gimmicky star vehicle for Whoopi finds her going overnight from rabid N.Y. Knicks fan to being coach of the team— when the cynical new owner finds there's great publicity value in it. Despite the far-fetched premise, Whoopi mines laughs— especially early on, before the film begins to take itself too seriously. Look for cameos by various N.Y. celebs and basketball stars. | tt0116168 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Langella, Dennis Farina, Richard Jenkins, Lisa Ann Walter, John Benjamin Hickey, Troy Beyer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Eddie Cantor Story | 1953 | Alfred E. Green | ★½ | 116 | If Brasselle doesn't turn you off as Cantor, MacMahon's Grandma Esther or a putty-nosed young actor (Jackie Barnett) playing Jimmy Durante certainly will. | tt0045720 | Keefe Brasselle, Marilyn Erskine, Aline MacMahon, Marie Windsor | Musical | NULL | |||
| Eddie Macon's Run | 1983 | Jeff Kanew | ★★½ | 95 | Bumpy chase-and-car-crash picture that has wrongly convicted prison escapee Schneider (in his first starring role after attaining Dukes of Hazzard fame) trying to elude his relentless pursuer (Douglas) and make it to Mexico. Based on the novel by James McLendon. Goodman's film debut. | tt0085473 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, John Schneider, Lee Purcell, Leah Ayres, Lisa Dunsheath, Tom Noonan, John Goodman | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Eddie Murphy Raw | 1987 | Robert Townsend | ★★ | 93 | Occasionally uproarious but ultimately dispiriting Murphy concert film, shot at N.Y.C.'s Felt Forum. Best moments: the comic's imitations of Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor giving their opposing views on the crude tone of so much Murphy material. Worst: sexist slurs that too often predominate. Fades in the stretch; there's an amusing fictional prologue, 'set' in the Murphys' home two decades ago. | tt0092948 | [R] | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Eddie and the Cruisers | 1983 | Martin Davidson | ★★ | 92 | Ideal premise— whatever happened to the members of a legendary, innovative rock 'n' roll band of the '60s— buried by terrible script. Paré plays band's iconoclastic leader, who ran his car off a pier; Barkin is TV reporter who tries to piece together story, a la CITIZEN KANE . . . but there's no Rosebud here. Good song score by John Cafferty. Followed by a sequel. | tt0085475 | [PG] | Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance, Helen Schneider, Ellen Barkin | Musical, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! | 1989 | Jean-Claude Lord | 💣 | 103 | Now get this: Eddie Wilson did not die in a 1964 New Jersey car accident; he's living incognito in Montreal (where movies can be financed more cheaply) and is only surfacing now because the producers wanted a sequel. Eddie's life signs did not extend to the box office. | tt0097262 | [PG-13] | Michael Paré, Marina Orsini, Bernie Coulson, Matthew Laurance, Michael Rhoades, Anthony Sherwood, Bo Diddley | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Eddy Duchin Story | 1956 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 123 | Glossy, largely invented bio of popular pianist-bandleader of the 1930s and '40s (with Carmen Cavallero dubbing the keyboard tracks). You couldn't ask for two more attractive stars. | tt0049170 | Tyrone Power, Kim Novak, Victoria Shaw, James Whitmore, Shepperd Strudwick, Frieda Inescort, Rex Thompson, Larry Keating | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Eden | 1998 | Howard Goldberg | ★★★ | 106 | Original, provocative film set in 1965 about a young mother with MS, married to a prep school professor, who has an out-of-body experience that leads her away from her mundane life toward an exploration of her cosmic self. No mumbo jumbo here, but instead a gripping drama in which the main character forces the people closest to her to examine their own lives. Written by the director. Made in 1996. | tt0119049 | [R] | Joanna Going, Dylan Walsh, Sean Patrick Flanery, Sean Christensen, Edward O. Blenis/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Edge of Darkness | 1943 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★½ | 120 | Intense, compelling drama of underground movement in Norway during Nazi takeover in WW2. Eye-popping camerawork complements fine performances. Scripted by Robert Rossen, from William Woods' story. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034694 | Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Helmut Dantine, Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, John Beal, Roman Bohnen | War | NULL | |||
| Edge of Darkness | 2010 | Martin Campbell | ★★★ | 117 | Edgy indeed: a conspiracy thriller energized by violent action. Gibson plays a Boston detective whose grown daughter is murdered on his front doorstep. The cops think he may have been the target, but he learns that she was in hot water. As he investigates her recent activities he begins to unravel a huge web of corruption involving both government and industry. Visceral, rather than cerebral, this one delivers one punch after another right up to the finale. Based on Campbell's own 1985 BBC miniseries. | tt1226273 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, David Aaron Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Damian Young, Denis O'Hare, Caterina Scorsone | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Edge of Doom | 1950 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 90 | Poor but hardworking Granger loses control when his mother dies; only parish priest Andrews understands his torment. Turgid drama. | tt0042428 | Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Mala Powers, Paul Stewart, Adele Jergens | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Edge of Eternity | 1959 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 80 | Deputy sheriff Wilde tracks killers to Grand Canyon, leading to shoot-out on mining buckets suspended on cables way above canyon. | tt0052771 | Cornel Wilde, Victoria Shaw, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan, Rian Garrick, Jack Elam | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Edge of Heaven | 2007 | Fatih Akin | ★★★½ | 116 | Eloquent, insightful tale of several Turks and Germans who are displaced in foreign lands and how their lives intertwine. Characters include a middle-aged prostitute and her daughter, who is unaware of her profession; a brutally abusive older man and his quiet, unworldly college professor son; and an impulsive college student and her mother. As the lives of the characters mesh, the film veers off in surprising directions. Written by the director. | tt0880502 | Nurgül Yesilçay, Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Hanna Schygulla, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Nursel Köse | German-Turkish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Edge of Hell | 1956 | Hugo Haas | ★½ | 76 | Offbeat, minor film of pauper Haas, his beloved dog, and small boy who enters the scene. | tt0049171 | Hugo Haas, Francesca de Scaffa, Ken Carlton, June Hammerstein | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Edge of Love | 2008 | John Maybury | ★½ | 111 | Mawkish soaper, set during WW2, involving an egocentric poet (Rhys) and the two women in his life. One (Miller) is his high-spirited wife; the other (Knightley), a coolly beautiful singer, is a friend from childhood. Into their world comes an idealistic soldier (Murphy) who falls obsessively in love with Knightley. Means to be lyrical and insightful, but the characters are superficially rendered and the actors fail to rise above the material. It seems of minor importance that the poet is Dylan Thomas and the story is “inspired, in part, by actual events.” Playwright Sharman Macdonald, Knightley’s mother, penned the screenplay. | tt0819714 | Unrated | Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy, Matthew Rhys | British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Edge of Sanity | 1989 | Gérard Kikoïne | ★½ | 90 | Grotesque, overwrought travesty on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson is not even credited). Jekyll (Perkins) accidentally discovers the Hyde formula, transforms only very slightly, and becomes Jack the Ripper. Tasteless, pointless, and unpleasant. | tt0097263 | [R] | Anthony Perkins, Glynis Barber, Sarah Maur-Thorp, David Lodge, Ben Cole | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Edge of the City | 1957 | Martin Ritt | ★★★★ | 85 | Somber, realistic account of N.Y.C. waterfront life and corruption. Friendship of army deserter Cassavetes and dock worker Poitier, both conflicting with union racketeer Warden, provides focus for reflections on integration and integrity in lower-class society. Masterfully acted by all. Ritt's first film as director. Robert Alan Aurthur adapted his own 1955 TV play, A Man Is Ten Feet Tall (which was also film's British title), in which Poitier originated his role. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0050347 | John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Ruby Dee, Kathleen Maguire, Ruth White | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Edge of the World | 1937 | Michael Powell | ★★★½ | 74 | The life and death of an isolated Shetland island as it is evacuated of its citizens. Engrossing drama, filmed on the North Sea isle of Foula. That's Powell playing the yachtsman in opening scene. Powell and those cast and crew still alive revisited the location 40 years later to film the documentary RETURN TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. | tt0028818 | Niall MacGinnis, Belle Chrystall, John Laurie, Finlay Currie, Eric Berry | British | Documentary, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Edge | 1997 | Lee Tamahori | ★★½ | 117 | Quiet billionaire Hopkins accompanies his supermodel wife on a location shoot in Alaska, then finds himself stranded in the wilderness with photographer (Baldwin) and his assistant (Perrineau) when their plane crashes. The bookish rich guy turns out to be a pretty fair survivalist, but meets his match in killer Kodiak bear. Good acting, exciting action sequences, but a stretch of credibility (more in the relationships than in the survival mode) makes this an uneven outing. Written by David Mamet. | tt0119051 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold Perrineau, L.Q. Jones, *** Bart the Bear | Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Edison Force | 2006 | David J. Burke | 💣 | 99 | Two Oscar winners topline this loud, violent direct-to-DVD clunker in which a menagerie of shady politicos, corrupt cops-and one intrepid reporter-clash in a crime-ridden metropolis. Indescribably bad film opens with a standard-issue shootout, and much of the dialogue that follows is unintentionally funny. Pop star Timberlake's acting debut. Originally screened at film festivals as EDISON. | tt0389957 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J, Dylan McDermott, John Heard, Cary Elwes, Roselyn Sanchez, Damien Dante Wayans, Piper Perabo | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Edison, the Man | 1940 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 107 | Sequel to YOUNG TOM EDISON perfectly casts Tracy as earnest inventor with passion for mechanical ingenuity. Facts and MGM fantasy combine well in sentimental treatment. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032432 | Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart, Henry Travers, Felix Bressart | Drama | NULL | |||
| Edith and Marcel | 1983 | Claude Lelouch | ★½ | 104 | Passionless retelling of the love affair between singer Edith Piaf and middleweight boxer Marcel Cerdan, who died in a 1949 plane crash. Bouix and Cerdan, Jr., are bland in the title roles. Originally 162m. | tt0085477 | Evelyne Bouix, Marcel Cerdan/Jr., Jacques Villeret, Jean-Claude Brialy, Francis Huster, Jean Bouise, Charles Aznavour | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Edmond | 2005 | Stuart Gordon | ★★ | 82 | On his way home from work a middle-aged exec heeds a fateful tarot reading and leaves his wife to embark on an all-night odyssey through the city's underbelly. Adapted by David Mamet from his 1982 one-act play, and episodic by design, this fable becomes more difficult to take as it goes on and Macy's character exorcises all of his sexist, racist paranoia. Something less than Homeric, made palatable only by Macy's commanding performance. | tt0443496 | [R] | William H. Macy, Rebecca Pidgeon, Joe Mantegna, Julia Stiles, Jeffrey Combs, Bai Ling, Debi Mazar, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Julia Stiles, George Wendt, Dylan Walsh, Dulé Hill, Bokeem Woodbine, Wren Brown | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Educating Rita | 1983 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 110 | Entertaining adaptation of Willy Russell's stage play about a young working-class wife who wants to better herself, and selects boozy professor Caine as her tutor. Walters is excellent in her film debut (recreating her stage role) and Caine has one of his best roles as her mentor. | tt0085478 | [PG-13] | Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman, Jeananne Crowley, Malcolm Douglas | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Education of Charlie Banks | 2009 | Fred Durst | ★★½ | 101 | Class-conscious coming-of-age story, set in the ’70s and early ’80s, about a well-bred Manhattan boy (Eisenberg) who thinks he’s left a neighborhood tough guy (Ritter) behind when he goes to an Ivy League college. But Ritter shows up in his dorm one day, ostensibly for a visit, and finds the tony atmosphere (and Eisenberg’s girlfriend, Amurri) to his liking. Highly uneven but interesting take on social mores and boundary lines; creditable feature directing debut for Durst, of the rock group Limp Bizkit (filmed before 2008’s THE LONGSHOTS). | tt0783515 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Ritter, Eva Amurri, Christopher Marquette, Sebastian Stan, Gloria Votsis, Dennis Boutsikaris | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Education of Little Tree | 1997 | Richard Friedenberg | ★★½ | 114 | An 8-year-old boy, half-white/half-Cherokee, goes to live with his grandparents in the backwoods of Tennessee in 1935 and is taught the way of life and the land. Beautifully photographed family film never fully takes hold, but fine performances and solid values make it pleasant viewing. | tt0119052 | [G] | James Cromwell, Tantoo Cardinal, Joseph Ashton, Graham Greene, Mika Boorem, Christopher Heyerdahl | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Education of Sonny Carson | 1974 | Michael Campus | ★★½ | 105 | Interesting if overemotional drama of rebellious black youth in Brooklyn of the '50s and '60s. Based on Carson's autobiography; the film takes on additional meaning with regard to his latter-day notoriety on the N.Y.C. political scene. | tt0071456 | [R] | Rony Clanton, Don Gordon, Joyce Walker, Paul Benjamin, Ram John Holder |
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| An Education | 2009 | Lone Scherfig | ★★★ | 99 | Teenage girl from a working-class London family in the early 1960s is swept off her feet by a dashing older man who treats her like the woman she dreams of becoming. Keenly observed social comedy about manners, mores, and social distinctions at a particular time and place. Mulligan is ideal in a star-making role, and she's surrounded by wonderful actors—especially Molina as her social-climbing father. Nick Hornby adapted Lynn Barber's memoir. | tt1174732 | [PG-13] | Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, Cara Seymour, Matthew Beard, Sally Hawkins | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Edukators | 2004 | Hans Weingartner | ★★½ | 127 | Thoughtful, if verbose and overlong, satirical exploration of political idealism and hypocrisy in contemporary Germany. A pair of strident young radicals (Brühl, Erceg) see themselves as 21st-century Robin Hoods, which gives them an excuse to break into the homes of the well-heeled. Complications arise when Erceg's girlfriend (Jentsch) participates in one of their escapades. | tt0408777 | [R] | Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaussner, Hanns Zischler | German-Austrian | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Edward II | 1991 | Derek Jarman | ★★★ | 91 | Trenchant (if unnecessarily violent) adaptation of the Christopher Marlowe play, written in 1592, about the downfall of the openly gay British monarch who rejects his queen for a male lover. Despite 14th-century setting, some characters wear contemporary clothing, and film works quite well as a condemnation of 20th-century gay-bashing. Not for all tastes— but never dull. Lennox, formerly of Eurythmics, appears in one scene singing Cole Porter's 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye.' | tt0101798 | Steven Waddington, Kevin Collins, Andrew Tiernan, John Lynch, Dudley Sutton, Tilda Swinton, Jerome Flynn, Jody Graber, Nigel Terry, Annie Lennox | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Edward Scissorhands | 1990 | Tim Burton | ★★★ | 100 | Strikingly original fable (expanded from an idea Burton hatched as a child) about a man-made boy whose creator dies before attaching human hands to his body. Now he's adopted by a relentlessly cheery Avon Lady, and taken to live in American suburbia. Mixture of fairy tale elements and social satire loses its story momentum toward the end, but that can't erase its charm or good-natured humor. Depp is perfect as the fragile scissor-handed boy, and it's great fun to watch Price as his master. | tt0099487 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Vincent Price, Alan Arkin, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Conchata Ferrell, Caroline Aaron, Dick Anthony Williams | Drama, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Edward, My Son | 1949 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 112 | Well-acted but talky, stagy drama in which brash, rags-to-riches Tracy pampers his son, failing to instill within him a sense of responsibility. Gimmicks of Tracy talking to viewer, title character never being shown, come off as forced. Based on a play by Robert Morley and Noel Langley. | tt0041329 | Spencer Tracy, Deborah Kerr, Ian Hunter, James Donald, Mervyn Johns, Felix Aylmer, Leueen McGrath | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eegah! | 1963 | Arch Hall/Sr. | 💣 | 92 | In the desert near Palm Springs, a prehistoric giant (Kiel) falls in love with teenage Manning. A staple at 'All-Time Worst Film' festivals. Arch Hall, Jr., sings the memorable 'I Love You, Vickie.' | tt0055946 | Arch Hall/Jr., Marilyn Manning, Richard Kiel, Arch Hall/Sr | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Eel | 1997 | Shohei Imamura | ★★★ | 117 | A businessman brutally murders his wife upon discovering that she has been cheating on him. Eight years later, he is paroled from prison, and can only relate to his pet eel, because it will not disappoint or betray him. Then he saves a woman who has attempted suicide after a bad love affair. Pensive, poignant allegorical drama. | tt0120408 | Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Fujio Tsuneta, Mitsuko Baisho, Akira Emoto, Sho Aikawa, Ken Kobayashi | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds | 1972 | Paul Newman | ★★★ | 100 | Woodward gives superb performance in tale of secluded boor of a mother and her two strange daughters. Screenplay by Paul Zindel from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. | tt0068528 | [PG] | Joanne Woodward, Nell Potts, Roberta Wallach, Judith Lowry | Drama | NULL | ||
| Effi Briest | 1974 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★½ | 135 | Sharply observed drama, set in 19th-century Germany, is one of Fassbinder's best. It's the story of the social and sexual victimization of the title character (Schygulla), an innocent teenager stifled by the conventions of society and lacking the resolve to challenge them. Fassbinder also scripted; based on a novel by Theodor Fontane, which was filmed three times before. | tt0071458 | Hanna Schygulla, Wolfgang Schenck, Karl-Heinz Bohm, Ulli Lommel, Ursula Stratz, Irm Hermann | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Efficiency Expert | 1992 | Mark Joffe | ★★★ | 85 | Pleasant farce that follows the plight of Hopkins, an uncompromising management consultant whose attitude is ever-so-slightly altered by the various, humorously inefficient workers at a small factory. Hopkins offers a solid comic performance. Original title: SPOTSWOOD. | tt0102969 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Alwyn Kurts, Rebecca Rigg, Russell Crowe, Angela Punch McGregor, Ben Mendelsohn, Bruno Lawrence, Toni Collette | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Egg and I | 1947 | Chester Erskine | ★★★ | 108 | Colbert is delightful as city girl who marries chicken farmer MacMurray and struggles to survive on his farm; first appearance of Ma and Pa Kettle. From Betty MacDonald's best-seller. Later a TV series. | tt0039349 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Marjorie Main, Louise Allbritton, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Donald MacBride, Samuel S. Hinds | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Egyptian | 1954 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 140 | Ponderous, often unintentionally funny biblical-era soaper with Purdom cast as the sensitive, truth-seeking title character, a physician in ancient Egypt. Darvi's performance as a femme fatale is hilariously awful; see how much of her dialogue you can understand. Loosely based on Mika Waltari's novel. | tt0046949 | Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Gene Tierney, Michael Wilding, Bella Darvi, Peter Ustinov, Edmund Purdom, Judith Evelyn, Henry Daniell, John Carradine, Tommy Rettig | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Eiger Sanction | 1975 | Clint Eastwood | ★½ | 128 | Pseudo-James Bond misfire, often unintentionally funny. Thrilling mountain-climbing climax does not make up for film's many faults and ungodly length. Jack Cassidy as gay, treacherous spy contributes the only creative acting. Based on novel by Trevanian. | tt0072926 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy, Vonetta McGee, Jack Cassidy, Thayer David, Heidi Bruhl, Reiner Schoene, Brenda Venus | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Eight Below | 2006 | Frank Marshall | ★★½ | 120 | When the staff of a U.S. National Science Research team is ordered to abandon its Antarctic camp, wilderness guide Walker despairs about leaving his eight huskies behind. How the resourceful dogs struggle to survive, and how Walker refuses to give up on them, is the crux of this Disney film. Goes astray as story drags on much longer than it should, but the animal action and wintry location footage are first-rate. Loose remake of the fact-based 1983 Japanese movie NANKYOKU MONOGATARI (ANTARCTICA). | tt0397313 | [PG] | Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, Moon Bloodgood, Jason Biggs, Gerard Plunkett, August Schellenberg, Wendy Crewson | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Eight Crazy Nights | Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights | 2002 | Seth Kearsley | 💣 | 75 | Adam Sandler fans and cartoon buffs beware! Raunchy animated musical comedy, about a small-town slacker given a second chance at redemption by aiding a pint-sized basketball coach. Scatological humor abounds at the expense of the handicapped, all religious groups and ethnicities. Reasonably good cartoon production values can't help save this poor excuse for a film. Story is set during the holiday season merely as an excuse for Sandler's popular comic 'Hanukkah Song' to be sung over the end credits. Sandler provides voices for three characters and wrote the forgettable and numerous musical numbers. Not for kids, adults, or anyone. Full on-screen title is ADAM SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS. | tt0271263 | [PG-13] | Voices of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Jackie Titone, Kevin Nealon, Norm Crosby, Jon Lovitz, Tyra Banks, Carl Weathers, Lanie Kazan | Comedy, Animation, Musical | NULL | |
| Eight Days a Week | 1999 | Michael Davis | ★★½ | 92 | A boy (Schaefer) in love with his beautiful next-door neighbor (Russell) decides to camp out on her front lawn until she agrees to go out with him. Sweet, well acted, a bit corny, but makes no excuses for what it is: a teenage romantic comedy. | tt0119054 | [R] | Joshua Schaefer, Keri Russell, R. D. Robb, Mark L. Taylor, Marcia Shapiro, Catherine Hicks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eight Hundred Leagues Down the Amazon | 1993 | Luis Llosa | ★½ | 75 | In the 19th century, planter Bostwick, his daughter Zuniga, and others drift down the Amazon on a huge raft; scheming Baldwin causes complications. Underbudgeted but overplotted, this curio is as ponderous as its little-used raft. From a novel by Jules Verne. | tt0106796 | [PG-13] | Daphne Zuniga, Barry Bostwick, Adam Baldwin, Tom Verica, E. E. Bell, Ramsay Ross | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Eight Iron Men | 1952 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 80 | WW2 actioner focusing on a group of soldiers, strain they undergo during continued enemy attack. | tt0044579 | Bonar Colleano, Lee Marvin, Richard Kiley, Nick Dennis, Arthur Franz, Mary Castle | War | NULL | |||
| Eight Legged Freaks | 2002 | Ellory Elkayem | ★★½ | 99 | If you want to see a movie about giant marauding spiders, this one's for you: toxic waste turns the inhabitants of a spider farm into monsters that wreak havoc on an Arizona town. A female sheriff (Wuhrer) and her onetime boyfriend (Arquette) try to fend off the fearsome killers. A spirited, gooey, and amusing homage to 1950s films like TARANTULA and THEM! (which is glimpsed briefly on TV). Tom Noonan appears unbilled. | tt0271367 | [PG-13] | David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra, Scarlett Johansson, Doug E. Doug, Rick Overton, Leon Rippy, Eileen Ryan | Comedy, Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Eight Men Out | 1988 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 119 | Exquisitely detailed period piece about the infamous 1919 'Black Sox' World Series, in which members of the Chicago White Sox agreed to throw the games in return for cash. Writer-director Sayles (who also appears as sportswriter Ring Lardner) touches all the bases, except perhaps in terms of emotion; the story doesn't have the impact it might have, though the actual baseball scenes are superb and the key performances (by Strathairn, Sweeney, and Cusack) are top-notch. Based on a book by Eliot Asinof. | tt0095082 | [PG] | John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner, Christopher Lloyd, John Mahoney, Charlie Sheen, David Strathairn, D. B. Sweeney, Michael Rooker, Perry Lang, James Read, Bill Irwin, Kevin Tighe, Studs Terkel, John Anderson, Maggie Renzi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eight O'Clock Walk | 1952 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 87 | Courtroom drama manages to create pace and tension, involving murder trial; nicely played by Attenborough. | tt0044580 | Richard Attenborough, Cathy O'Donnell, Derek Farr, Ian Hunter | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eight on the Lam | 1967 | George Marshall | 💣 | 106 | Another of Hope's horrible '60s comedies casts him as a widower with seven children who finds $10,000; even Winters can't help this dud. | tt0061617 | Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jonathan Winters, Jill St. John, Shirley Eaton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Eighteen and Anxious | 1957 | Joe Parker | ★★ | 93 | Oddball cast atones for amateurish muck about pregnant teenager forced to face life's realities. | tt0050349 | Martha Scott, Jim Backus, Mary Webster, William Campbell, Jackie Coogan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Eighth Day | 1996 | Jaco van Dormael | ★★½ | 118 | Well-intentioned but overly familiar feel-good story of uptight, phony-baloney Belgian businessman Auteuil, who (predictably) undergoes a personality transformation after finding himself in the company of a Down's Syndrome victim (Duquenne, who actually suffers from the malady). If you've seen RAIN MAN . . . Auteuil and Duquenne both won Cannes Film Festival acting prizes. | tt0116581 | Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou, Isabelle Sadoyan, Henry Garcin, Michele Maes | French-Belgian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eijanaika | 1981 | Shohei Imamura | ★★★½ | 151 | Fascinating, compelling saga of corruption, politics, greed, power, deceit, focusing on experiences of peasant who has just returned to Japan after being shipwrecked and sent to America during the 1860s. Fine performances, with a memorable finale. Cut to 127m.; video release retains original running time. | tt0082313 | Shigeru Izumiya, Kaori Momoi, Masao Kusakari, Ken Ogata, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Mitsuko Baisho | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| El | 1952 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★★★ | 88 | De Córdova is a wealthy, religious middle-aged virgin who marries a beautiful younger woman but becomes insanely jealous and possessive, making her a virtual prisoner. One of Buñuel's great films, demonstrating his genius for tiny, subtle details to depict a pathological personality. Chilling, darkly humorous study of paranoia and obsession, with a classic final shot. Aka THIS STRANGE PASSION. | tt0045361 | Arturo de Córdova, Delia Garcés, Luis Beristáin, José Pidal, Aurora Walker, Carlos Martínez Baena. | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| El Alamein | 1953 | Fred F. Sears. | ★★ | 67 | No surprises in WW2 desert actioner with Brady heading group being attacked by Nazis. | tt0045725 | Scott Brady, Edward Ashley, Rita Moreno, Michael Pate. | War, Drama | NULL | |||
| El Bruto | 1952 | Luis Buñuel | ★★ | 83 | Armendariz is conned by scheming boss into harassing tenants he unfairly wants to evict; seduced by the boss's lusty mistress (Jurado), he then falls in love with a girl whose father he accidentally murdered. Simplistic, quite unsubtle melodrama, a disappointment from a master filmmaker. Aka THE BRUTE. | tt0044453 | Pedro Armendáriz, Katy Jurado, Andres Soler, Rosita Arenas | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| El Cantante | 2007 | Leon Ichaso | ★★ | 116 | Puerto Rican–born Héctor Lavoe (Anthony) finds success in N.Y.C. introducing a new brand of Latin music called salsa in the 1970s. While he also finds the love of his life, drugs erode his success onstage and off. The two stars (married in real life) are extremely well cast in this biopic. Lopez looks gorgeous, and the music is great, but the story is a sad, one-note affair. Lopez also produced . . . and perhaps should have cut a few of those loving close-ups of herself. | tt0458522 | [R] | Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, John Ortiz, Manny Perez, Vincent Laresca, Federico Castelluccio, Nelson Vasquez | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| El Cid | 1961 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 184 | Mammoth Samuel Bronston spectacle, shot in Spain, celebrates that country's 11th-century warrior hero. When not clashing with Moors, Heston's Cid romances his equally statuesque wife (Loren). Uneven dramatics are sold by top-scale production values, including Miklos Rozsa's famed score. One of the better historical epics of its time. | tt0054847 | Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Genevieve Page, John Fraser, Gary Raymond, Hurd Hatfield, Massimo Serato, Herbert Lom, Michael Hordern | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| El Condor | 1970 | John Guillermin | ★★ | 102 | Slow Western about two drifters in search of some gold supposedly buried in Mexican fortress; Hill looks good even with her clothes on. | tt0065570 | [R] | Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Patrick O'Neal, Mariana Hill, Iron Eyes Cody, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| El Crimen Perfecto | 2004 | Álex de la Iglesia | ★★½ | 105 | Top achiever in the women's department of a busy store is living the high life, bedding many of his customers, but when his quest to become floor manager fails, a nasty argument with his chief rival ends in murder. From here a darkly funny comedy takes incredulous turns and loses the steam it has built up. Hitchcockian farce was a hit in its native Spain and takes a partially successful stab at pulling off the art of black comedy. Toledo is pretty much the whole show and delivers a sly performance. | tt0395125 | Unrated | Guillermo Toledo, Mónica Cervera, Luis Varela, Enrique Villén, Fernando Tejero, Javier Gutiérrez, Kira Miró | Spanish-Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| El Dorado | 1967 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 126 | Followup to RIO BRAVO finds aging gunfighter Wayne helping drunken sheriff pal Mitchum quell a range war. Typically smooth Hawks mix of comedy and action, with zesty Leigh Brackett script and exemplary performances, especially by Mitchum, Caan as young gambler who can't shoot, and George as ultra-cool hired gun. | tt0061619 | John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt, Edward Asner, Michele Carey, Christopher George, Charlene Holt, Paul Fix, R. G. Armstrong, Johnny Crawford, Robert Donner | Western | NULL | |||
| El Greco | 1966 | Luciano Salce | ★★ | 95 | Despite lavish trappings, story of painter reduced to soap-opera terms falls flat. Beautiful color, but no plot of any distinction. | tt0057026 | Mel Ferrer, Rosanna Schiaffino, Franco Giacobini, Renzo Giovampietro, Adolfo Celi | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| El Mariachi | 1992 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★★ | 81 | Energetic little film about a young singing guitarist (mariachi) who comes to a small town, where he's mistaken for a ferocious prison escapee. Arresting, original (and violent) film was shot in two weeks for just $7,000, but offers more entertainment than most of today's megabuck Hollywood movies. Director Rodriguez also photographed, edited, coproduced, and wrote the picture; Gallardo also served as coproducer. In Spanish. Rodriguez later reworked this as DESPERADO. | tt0104815 | [R] | Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Peter Marquardt, Jaime de Hoyos, Reinol Martinez, Ramiro Gomez | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| El Norte | 1983 | Gregory Nava | ★★★★ | 139 | Sweeping, emotional saga of a brother and sister who leave their violence-torn village in Guatemala to find a better life in The North— El Norte. Getting to America is half the story; making a life there is the other half. Writer-director Nava presents a heightened sense of reality that removes this from the realm of documentary; a compassionate, heart-rending, unforgettable film. Cowritten and produced by Anna Thomas, for American Playhouse. | tt0085482 | [R] | Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Alicia del Lago, Heraclio Zepeda, Stella Quan, Lupe Ontiveros | Drama | NULL | ||
| El Paso | 1949 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 103 | Routine Western of post-Civil War Texas, with Payne an attorney who discovers gunplay more than words will rid town of crooks. | tt0041332 | John Payne, Gail Russell, Sterling Hayden, George 'Gabby' Hayes | Western | NULL | |||
| El Super | 1979 | Leon Ichaso, Orlando Jiminez-Leal | ★★★ | 90 | The trials of homesick exiled Cuban who labors as an apartment-house super in Manhattan. Hidalgo-Gato is excellent as a comically sad outsider, still in transit after a decade away from his homeland. | tt0079981 | Raymundo Hidalgo-Gato, Zully Montero, Raynaldo Medina, Juan Granda, Hilda Lee, Elizabeth Pena | Drama | NULL | |||
| El Topo | 1970 | Alejandro Jodorowsky. | ★★ | 125 | Clad in black leather, a gunslinger rides through the Old West with his naked 7-year-old son in tow and guns down everyone in sight, after which he sets himself on fire. Divided into sections, with such names as Genesis, Psalms, and Apocalypse, this pretentious head-trip cult film borrows from Fellini and Leone, while employing meaningless symbolism and lots of perverse sex and violence. Overlong and overrated, though it seemed pretty cool in its day. Rafael Corkidi's photography is striking. | tt0067866 | Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, Mara Lorenzio, David Silva, Paula Romo, Hector Martinez, Alfonso Arau. | Mexican | Western | NULL | ||
| The Eleanor Roosevelt Story | 1965 | Richard Kaplan | ★★★½ | 91 | Oscar-winning documentary account of the former First Lady, a great American citizen who overcame personal obstacles and became a beacon of human kindness. A most effective music score by Ezra Laderman. | tt0059145 | Narrated by Archibald Macleish, Eric Sevareid, Francis Cole | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Eleanor and Franklin | 1976 | Daniel Petrie | Above Average TV Movie | 208 | Outstanding performances by the two leads and all the supporting players (Rosemary Murphy won an Emmy for her Sara Delano Roosevelt) in this multi-award-winning production adapted by James Costigan from Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer Prize best-seller about the Roosevelts from FDR's youth to his death in 1945. Director Petrie won an Emmy, and the film itself was named Outstanding Special of the Year. | tt0074464 | Jane Alexander, Edward Herrmann, Rosemary Murphy, Pamela Franklin, David Huffman, Mackenzie Phillips, Lilia Skala, Ed Flanders, Anna Lee, Linda Purl, Linda Kelsey, Lindsay Crouse | Drama | NULL | |||
| Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years | 1977 | Daniel Petrie | Above Average TV Movie | 152 | Follow-up to award-winning TV portrait of the Roosevelts practically duplicated the Emmy honors, with statuettes going to director Petrie and the program itself as Outstanding Special. This sequel concentrates on FDR and Eleanor during their 12-year residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Written by James Costigan. | tt0075981 | Jane Alexander, Edward Herrmann, Rosemary Murphy, Walter McGinn, Blair Brown, David Healy, Anna Lee, Mark Harmon, Linda Kelsey, Peggy McKay, Donald Moffat | Drama | NULL | |||
| Election | 1999 | Alexander Payne | ★★★½ | 103 | Audacious, wickedly funny satire about an earnest Nebraska schoolteacher's attempt to put a roadblock in the path of an overachiever who's running unopposed for class president. Highly original story also involves adultery, lust, and lesbianism; somehow manages to avoid mean-spiritedness while taking dead aim at its subjects. Written by Payne and Jim Taylor from the novel by Tom Perrotta. Broderick and Witherspoon are exceptionally good. | tt0126886 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Phil Reeves, Molly Hagan, Delaney Driscoll, Colleen Camp, Matt Malloy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Electra Glide in Blue | 1973 | James William Guercio | ★★★ | 113 | Violent film about highway cop Blake making up in brains what he lacks in height. Striking action sequences and good characterizations. Look, very fast, for Nick Nolte as a hippie at a commune. | tt0070022 | [PG] | Robert Blake, Billy Green Bush, Mitchell Ryan, Jeannine Riley, Elisha Cook/Jr., Royal Dano | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Electric Dreams | 1984 | Steve Barron | ★★½ | 95 | Old-fashioned boy meets girl story told in rock-video terms, with a third corner to the love triangle: a jealous computer. Good idea gets sillier as it goes along. | tt0087197 | [PG] | Lenny Von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, Maxwell Caulfield, voice of Bud Cort | Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Electric Horseman | 1979 | Sydney Pollack | ★★½ | 120 | Innocuous rip-off of LONELY ARE THE BRAVE tries to palm off Redford as a near-derelict who steals a $12 million thoroughbred from a Vegas hotel and heads for some grazing land. Pleasant, to be sure, but considering the people involved, a disappointment. | tt0079100 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, Willie Nelson, John Saxon, Nicolas Coster, Wilford Brimley, James B. Sikking | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Electronic Monster | 1957 | Montgomery Tully | ★½ | 72 | Cameron investigates an actor's mysterious death, revealing strange experiments in electronic hypnosis at a clinic. Blah sci-fi programmer. Aka ESCAPEMENT. | tt0051576 | Rod Cameron, Mary Murphy, Meredith Edwards, Peter Illing | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Elegy | 2008 | Isabel Coixet | ★★★½ | 111 | Moving, adult drama about a self-possessed N.Y.C. college professor who is smitten with a beautiful ex-student, but consistent with his lifelong air of detachment, can’t give her the emotional commitment she needs. Nicholas Meyer adapted Philip Roth’s The Dying Animal, which is beautifully realized by Coixet and a superb cast. Cruz and Kingsley have never been better; the gifted Clarkson has an especially well-written part as Kingsley’s longtime sex partner who’s content with the boundary lines they’ve set for their relationship. | tt0974554 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Peter Sarsgaard, Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper, Deborah Harry | Romance | NULL | ||
| Elektra | 2005 | Rob Bowman. | ★½ | 96 | Garner's Marvel character ended up dead in DAREDEVIL, but she's resurrected here, a fate not likely to happen to this movie's reputation. As an assassin, she's assigned by The Hand (another organization up to no good) to track a father and daughter on the lam. Lackluster fight scenes, Garner's sleepwalking, and a tendency toward the psychoanalytic (Elektra had a tough childhood) make this a groan . . . a far cry from the franchise it was intended to launch. | tt0357277 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Garner, Goran Visnjic, Kirsten Prout, Will Yun Lee, Terence Stamp, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. | Action, Adventure, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Elektra Luxx | 2011 | Sebastian Gutierrez | ★½ | 100 | Follow-up to WOMEN IN TROUBLE (with some of the same actors, recreating their roles) is a scattershot collection of vignettes built around the title character, a porn star who’s now conducting a class for women who want professional sex advice. Don’t look for more plot, coherence, or wit, except in Gordon-Levitt’s lively video chats as Elektra’s number-one fanboy. Julianne Moore appears unbilled. | tt1340773 | [R] | Carla Gugino, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothy Olyphant, Kathleen Quinlan, Malin Akerman, Marley Shelton, Adrianne Palicki, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Amy Rosoff, Vincent Kartheiser, Justin Kirk, Lucy Punch | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Element of Crime | 1984 | Lars von Trier | ★★★ | 104 | It's the post-holocaust future, and the world is suffering from an ecological imbalance; ragged cop Elphick undergoes hypnosis in order to properly investigate a series of horrible mutilation murders of young girls. Surreal, thought-provoking thriller is crammed with references to earlier films, from Hitchcock to film noir to BLADE RUNNER. Von Trier also scripted, in an impressive feature debut. Shot in English. | tt0087280 | Michael Elphick, Esmond Knight, Me Me Lei, Gerald Wells, Ahmed El-Shenawi, Astrid Henning Jensen, Lars von Trier | Danish | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Eleni | 1985 | Peter Yates | ★★½ | 117 | N.Y. Times reporter gets himself assigned to Athens bureau so he can resolve life-long obsession with finding truth about his mother's execution by communists in Greece following WW2. Steve Tesich's script is based on Nicholas Gage's book— and life— but coldness of the lead character is just one reason this film remains aloof and uninteresting instead of being an emotional powerhouse. Nelligan plays Gage's mother in convincing flashback sequences. | tt0089079 | [PG] | Kate Nelligan, John Malkovich, Linda Hunt, Oliver Cotton, Ronald Pickup, Rosalie Crutchley, Dimitra Arliss, Glenne Headly | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Elephant | 2003 | Gus Van Sant | ★★ | 81 | Dramatically inert yet sometimes queasily effective, this you-are-there mood piece takes a clinical rather than emotional approach to re-creating events leading up to a Columbine-type school massacre. Manages to create an under-your-skin sense of dreadful foreboding and offers a few telling details of high school life (like homogenized cafeteria food) but no insights whatsoever. Somehow this took the Palme d'Or award at Cannes. | tt0363589 | [R] | Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell, Jordan Taylor, Carrie Finklea, Nicole George, Brittany Mountain, Timothy Bottoms, Matt Malloy | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Elephant Boy | 1937 | Robert Flaherty, Zoltan Korda | ★★★ | 80 | Interesting early-day docudrama about native boy (Sabu, in film debut) who claims he knows location of mythic elephant herd. | tt0028827 | Sabu, W. E. Holloway, Walter Hudd, Allan Jeayes, Bruce Gordon, D. J. Williams | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Elephant Gun | 1959 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 84 | Jungle love triangle has virtue of on-location shooting in Africa. | tt0052773 | Belinda Lee, Michael Craig, Patrick McGoohan, Anna Gaylor, Eric Pohlmann, Pamela Stirling | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Elephant Man | 1980 | David Lynch | ★★★½ | 125 | Moving dramatization of the story of John Merrick, a grotesquely deformed man shown compassion for the first time in his life by an eminent doctor in turn-of-the-century London. No relation to the Broadway play (in which one had to imagine how Merrick looked). Fine performances by all; rich Victorian atmosphere created by Lynch and veteran cameraman Freddie Francis— in beautiful black and white. Screenplay by Christopher DeVore, Eric Bergren, and the director. | tt0080678 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, John Standing, Phoebe Nicholls, Kathleen Byron, Kenny Baker, Patricia Hodge | Drama | NULL | ||
| Elephant Walk | 1954 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 103 | Overblown melodrama set on Ceylon tea plantation, with Taylor as Finch's new bride who must cope with environment and his father complex. Pachyderm stampede climax comes none too soon. Vivien Leigh, replaced by Taylor, can be seen in long shots. | tt0046951 | Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch, Abraham Sofaer | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Elevator to the Gallows | Frantic | 1957 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 92 | A man and woman plan to murder her husband but fall short of committing the 'perfect crime.' Intriguing, but doesn't hold up. This was Malle's first nondocumentary feature as a director. Music score improvised by Miles Davis. Original U.S. title FRANTIC (1957). | tt0051378 | Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin, Jean Wall | French | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | |
| Elf | 2003 | Jon Favreau | ★★★ | 95 | One of Santa's elves learns that he is actually a human being and sets off for N.Y.C. to meet his father— as un-Christmassy a character as ever lived. Ferrell is a delight as the elf who has a gift for spreading good cheer, even in a world of cynics, and ably carries this film (with a little help from old pros like Newhart and Asner, and the charming Deschanel), but Caan is miscast in an underwritten role as the father. Animated characters brought to life by the Chiodo Brothers recall Rankin-Bass TV specials of yore; the polar bear cub is voiced by stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen. | tt0319343 | [PG] | Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart, Faizon Love, Peter Dinklage, Amy Sedaris, Clint Howard, Michael Lerner, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Jon Favreau; voice of Leon Redbone | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Eliminators | 1986 | Peter Manoogian | ★½ | 96 | Woman scientist, white male guide, a ninja, and a cyborg team up to battle a mad-genius industrialist who wants to take over the world. Good to see an equal-opportunity adventure, but this RAIDERS clone has little to offer but low humor. Crosby is Bing's granddaughter. | tt0091003 | [PG] | Andrew Prine, Denise Crosby, Patrick Reynolds, Conan Lee, Roy Dotrice | Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Elizabeth | 1998 | Shekhar Kapur | ★★★ | 123 | Queen Mary I dreads the prospect of her half-sister, a heathen Protestant, ascending to the throne, but upon Mary's death that's exactly what happens, leading to intrigues and divisiveness within the court. Elizabeth (Blanchett) tries to rule with common sense and sees no reason to abandon her lover simply to satisfy protocol. Interesting historical drama anchored by Blanchett's charismatic performance as a woman who was far ahead of her time. Oscar winner for Best Makeup. | tt0127536 | [R] | Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, Christopher Eccleston, Vincent Cassel, Fanny Ardant, Kathy Burke, Eric Cantona, John Gielgud, Edward Hardwicke | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Elizabeth of Ladymead | 1948 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 97 | Engaging comedy-drama in four episodes from husband-wife team of Wilcox-Neagle. Latter charming as English lady-of-the-manor with mind of her own welcoming home four husbands from four different British wars. Star vehicle, unsuccessful when released, quite intriguing today for its depiction of woman's role in English society. Some prints run 90m. | tt0040313 | Anna Neagle, Hugh Williams, Michael Laurence, Bernard Lee, Nicholas Phipps, Isabel Jeans | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Elizabeth: The Golden Age | 2007 | Shekhar Kapur | ★★ | 114 | Blanchett recreates the role that won her international acclaim almost a decade earlier (in ELIZABETH) with less-than-stellar results. In this seemingly fanciful sequel, the Queen becomes enamored of a dashing Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen) amid assorted intrigues. Ponderous and far from golden, although Blanchett always is worth watching. | tt0414055 | [PG-13] | Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Jordi Mollà, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton, Tom Hollander, Antony Carrick, David Threlfall, Eddie Redmayne, Susan Lynch | British-French | Biography, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Elizabethtown | 2005 | Cameron Crowe | ★★ | 123 | West Coast yuppie (Bloom) whose life is in disarray flies to Kentucky to attend to his father's funeral. A stranger in a strange land, he's given signposts by a worldly-wise flight attendant (Dunst), then finds himself immersed in the dynamics of his cheerfully oddball family. Writer-director Crowe casts his stars adrift in a pleasant but aimless comedy that seems to go on forever. | tt0368709 | [PG-13] | Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Judy Greer, Jessica Biel, Paul Schneider, Loudon Wainwright III, Gailard Sartain | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ella Cinders | 1926 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 60 | Moore is in top form as the much-abused stepdaughter of crotchety old Lewis, who wins a contest and treks off to Hollywood to seek fame in the movies. Bright and peppy, with Harry Langdon on hand in a most amusing cameo. Based on a popular comic strip. | tt0016822 | Colleen Moore, Lloyd Hughes, Vera Lewis, Doris Baker, Emily Gerdes, Jed Prouty | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ella Enchanted | 2004 | Tommy O'Haver | ★★★ | 101 | Imaginative reinvention of the Cinderella story with Hathaway a delight as the plucky Ella, Dancy a charming Prince, and Elwes a sinister villain (in amusing contrast to his signature role in THE PRINCESS BRIDE). Visually inventive, with clever use of feel-good songs and contemporary humor; a family treat. Based on the award-winning book by Gail Carson Levine. | tt0327679 | [PG] | Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes, Minnie Driver, Jimi Mistry, Eric Idle, Vivica Fox, Patrick Bergin, Parminder Nagra, Heidi Klum, Aidan McArdle, Joanna Lumley, Lucy Punch, Jennifer Higham; voice of Steve Coogan | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ellery Queen and the Murder Ring | 1941 | James Hogan | ★½ | 65 | Queen (stupider than ever!) helps Pop when murder strikes, this time in a private hospital. Bellamy's final appearance in this disappointing series. Loosely adapted from The Dutch Shoe Mystery. | tt0033572 | Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Mona Barrie, Paul Hurst, James Burke, Blanche Yurka, George Zucco, Tom Dugan, Leon Ames | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime | 1941 | James Hogan | ★½ | 68 | Nothing perfect at all in this entry about the murder of a shady stockbroker. | tt0033573 | Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Spring Byington, H.B. Warner, James Burke, Douglass Dumbrille, John Beal, Linda Hayes, Sidney Blackmer, Walter Kingsford, Charles Lane. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery | 1941 | James Hogan | ★★ | 69 | Detective Queen helps out his police inspector father (Grapewin) in the case of a murdered Chinese entertainer who was smuggling jewels. Wong is good as always, but wasted here. Slow going. | tt0033574 | Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Anna May Wong, James Burke, Eduardo Ciannelli, Frank Albertson, Ann Doran, Charles Lane, Russell Hicks, Tom Dugan, Mantan Moreland | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ellery Queen, Master Detective | 1940 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 66 | The 'master' sleuth is turned into a buffoon in this initial series entry, centering on the murder of a millionaire at a health spa. Lindsay has some good moments as Nikki Porter. Too much talk and too little intrigue. | tt0032438 | Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, James Burke, Michael Whalen, Marsha Hunt, Fred Niblo, Charles Lane, Douglas Fowley, Katherine DeMille | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ellie Parker | 2005 | Scott Coffey | ★★½ | 95 | Watts is the whole show in this digital video oddity about a struggling actress who treks off to auditions while breaking up with her boyfriend and questioning her existence. Inside look at life on the fringes of the L.A. 'entertainment industry' will be of interest primarily to film-biz wannabes and Watts completists; it certainly showcases her range. Originally a 16m. short that premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, prior to Watts' stardom; expanded intermittently over four years' time. Watts coproduced with writer-director Coffey. | tt0436262 | [R] | Naomi Watts, Rebecca Rigg, Scott Coffey, Mark Pellegrino, Chevy Chase, Blair Mastbaum, Keanu Reeves | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Elling | 2001 | Petter Naess | ★★★ | 89 | Winning comedy about a middle-aged mama's boy (Ellefsen) who winds up in a mental institution after the death of his mother. Eventually, with his sex-obsessed hospital roommate, he moves into a state-provided apartment. This funny, charming film works so well because it never loses sight of who these characters are. This was Norway's all-time biggest box-office hit. | tt0279064 | [R] | Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jorgen Langhelle, Per Christensen | Norwegian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Elmer Gantry | 1960 | Richard Brooks | ★★★½ | 145 | Lancaster gives a vibrant Oscar-winning performance as the salesman with the gift of gab who joins evangelist Simmons's barnstorming troupe in the 1920s Midwest. Jones won Academy Award as his jilted girlfriend turned prostitute; Brooks also won an Oscar for his sprawling screenplay from Sinclair Lewis's trenchant novel. | tt0053793 | Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Dean Jagger, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley Jones, Patti Page, Edward Andrews, Hugh Marlowe, John McIntire, Rex Ingram | Drama | NULL | |||
| Elmer the Great | 1933 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 74 | Brown is at his best as the home-run-hitting title character, a loud-mouthed rube who arrives in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs. Based on a play by Ring Lardner and George M. Cohan. The second in Brown's baseball trilogy, followed by ALIBI IKE. Originally made as FAST COMPANY; reworked as THE COWBOY QUARTERBACK. | tt0023982 | Joe E. Brown, Patricia Ellis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Preston Foster, Russell Hopton, Sterling Holloway, Emma Dunn, J. Carrol Naish | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Elmore Leonard's Gold Coast | Gold Coast | 1997 | Peter Weller | Average TV Movie | 105 | In this wry, sometimes violent tale of lowlifes and pretty women living in novelist Leonard's South Florida world, drifter Caruso comes to collect some money owed him by a mobster, only to find the guy dead; instead, he has a torrid romance with the mobster's sex-starved widow. Made for cable. | tt0119212 | David Caruso, Marg Helgenberger, Jeff Kober, Barry Primus, Wanda De Jesus, Richard Bradford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Elopement | 1951 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 82 | Tame proceedings despite Webb's arch performance as Francis' father, who disapproves of her marriage to Lundigan. | tt0043499 | Clifton Webb, Anne Francis, Charles Bickford, William Lundigan, Reginald Gardiner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Elusive Corporal | 1962 | Jean Renoir | ★★½ | 108 | Pointed if predictable chronicle of French corporal who attempts to escape with his pals from a German prison camp during WW2. Sobering look at friendship and freedom, which Renoir explored more successfully in other, earlier films. The wry comic touches are an asset. | tt0055827 | Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Brasseur, Claude Rich, O. E. Hasse, Jean Carmet | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Elusive Pimpernel | The Fighting Pimpernel | 1950 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★ | 109 | Colorful remake of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. Niven is British fop who secretly aids victims of Reign of Terror; lively fun. This was filmed as a musical— you can tell where the numbers were cut! Released in U.S. in 1954 as THE FIGHTING PIMPERNEL. | tt0042432 | David Niven, Margaret Leighton, Cyril Cusack, Jack Hawkins, Arlette Marchal, Robert Coote, Patrick Macnee | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Elvira Madigan | 1967 | Bo Widerberg | ★★★ | 89 | Lovers on the run, in soft-focus photography: tightrope walker Degermark and married army officer Berggren run off together. Though based on a true story (and filmed before in 1943), stylistically this too often resembles a shampoo commercial. Still, it was a big hit, with attractive stars, lush photography, and canny use of Mozart music. | tt0061620 | [PG] | Pia Degermark, Thommy Berggren, Lennart Malmer, Nina Widerberg, Cleo Jensen | Swedish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Elvira, Mistress of the Dark | 1988 | James Signorelli | 💣 | 96 | Peterson takes her TV horror host character to the screen in this flimsy story of a TV host shaking up a small New England town which she's visiting to pick up an inheritance. Unfunny, one-joke script (cowritten by Peterson) keeps its attention firmly riveted to the star's ample bosom. More yawns than yocks. | tt0095088 | [PG-13] | Cassandra Peterson, W. Morgan Sheppard, Daniel Greene, Susan Kellermann, Jeff Conaway, Edie McClurg, William Duell | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Elvis | 1979 | John Carpenter | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | The Presley saga affectionately and believably retold, from his youth to his career as a Las Vegas entertainer in 1969. Russell surprisingly effective as Elvis, whose songs were dubbed by country singer Ronnie McDowell. Written by Anthony Lawrence. Russell later donned Elvis garb in 3,000 MILES TO GRACELAND. Some prints run 119m. | tt0079103 | Kurt Russell, Shelley Winters, Pat Hingle, Season Hubley, Bing Russell, Ed Begley/Jr., Joe Mantegna | Drama | NULL | |||
| Elvis on Tour | 1972 | Pierre Adidge, Robert Abel | ★★ | 93 | Static study of rock 'n' roll's biggest super-star going through his paces at a series of U.S. concerts. Even the music is not up to standard. Multiple Screen. | tt0068537 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Elvis: That's the Way It Is | 1970 | Denis Sanders | ★★★ | 97 | Engaging look at Elvis Presley offstage, preparing major nightclub act, culminating in opening-night performance in Las Vegas. Well-filmed if one-sided documentary paints vivid picture of Elvis as master showman. Reedited from original source material for cable and video release in 2001; that version runs 95m. | tt0065687 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Embassy | Target: Embassy | 1972 | Gordon Hessler | ★★½ | 90 | Spotty spy thriller about Russian defector von Sydow seeking asylum and the State Department's efforts to have agent Roundtree smuggle him out of the mideast under KGB man Connors' nose. Good cast works valiantly with contrived plot, talky script. Aka TARGET: EMBASSY. | tt0068538 | [PG] | Richard Roundtree, Chuck Connors, Max von Sydow, Ray Milland, Broderick Crawford, Marie-Jose Nat | British | Crime | NULL |
| Embraceable You | 1948 | Felix Jacoves | ★★ | 80 | Tough-guy Clark injures young girl, then falls in love with her, in this sentimental romance. | tt0040315 | Dane Clark, Geraldine Brooks, S. Z. Sakall, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Embryo | 1976 | Ralph Nelson | ★★ | 104 | Sometimes interesting, sometimes repulsive horror sci-fi about woman and dog grown from fetuses outside the womb— with terrifying results. Retitled CREATED TO KILL. | tt0074475 | [PG] | Rock Hudson, Diane Ladd, Barbara Carrera, Roddy McDowall, Anne Schedeen | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Emerald Forest | 1985 | John Boorman | ★★★ | 113 | American engineer spends ten years searching for his kidnapped son, who's been raised by primitive Amazon tribe. Fascinating look at a unique civilization, but lack of emotional empathy for the father and contrived storyline weaken overall impact. Still worthwhile. Script by Rospo Pallenberg; rich music score by Junior Homrich. And a completely convincing performance by young Boorman, son of the film's director. | tt0089087 | [R] | Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Charley Boorman, Dira Pass | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Emergency Call | 1933 | Edward L. Cahn. | ★★ | 61 | Boyd (pre-Hopalong Cassidy) is a naïve young surgeon who teams with sassy ambulance driver Gargan to battle racketeers trying to muscle in on hospital business. Minor programmer cowritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz does have a certain cheesy appeal. | tt0023984 | William Boyd, Wynne Gibson, William Gargan, Betty Furness, Reginald Mason, George E. Stone. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Emergency Hospital | 1956 | Lee Sholem. | ★★ | 62 | The title tells all in this routine melodrama detailing the problems of patients and staff in an L.A. hospital during one 12-hour shift. | tt0049181 | Walter Reed, Margaret Lindsay, John Archer, Byron Palmer, Rita Johnson, Jim Stapleton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Emergency Wedding | 1950 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 78 | Sterile remake of YOU BELONG TO ME detailing jealous Parks who thinks new wife, doctor Hale, spends too much time with her male patients. | tt0042433 | Barbara Hale, Larry Parks, Una Merkel, Jim Backus, Queenie Smith | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Emigrants | 1971 | Jan Troell | ★★★ | 148 | Solid if rambling tale of peasant farmer von Sydow, wife Ullmann, and fellow Swedes who emigrate to America in the 19th century. Sequel, THE NEW LAND, is even better; both have been edited together for TV, dubbed in English, and presented as THE EMIGRANT SAGA. See also THE OX. | tt0067919 | [PG] | Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Allan Edwall | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Emil and the Detectives | 1964 | Peter Tewksbury | ★½ | 99 | Turgid Disney version of Erich Kastner's children's book about a young boy who is robbed and determines to nail the thief with the help of young detective friends. Filmed in Germany, where it was made before in 1931. | tt0058056 | Walter Slezak, Bryan Russell, Roger Mobley, Heinz Schubert, Peter Erlich, Cindy Cassell | Family | NULL | |||
| Eminent Domain | 1991 | John Irvin | ★★½ | 102 | Intriguing story of high political official (Sutherland) in pre-Solidarity Poland who wakes up one morning to discover his privileged Politburo position no longer exists and no one will give him a satisfactory reason for (or even acknowledge) the eerie snafu. Reminiscent of Kafka's The Trial; often disturbing, but confusing in spots. | tt0101809 | [PG-13] | Donald Sutherland, Anne Archer, Jodhi May, Paul Freeman, Bernard Hepton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Emma | 1932 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 73 | Dressler is at her best, as down-to-earth woman who works as housemaid-nanny for family and eventually marries widowed father (Hersholt). Sentimental movie never cloys, thanks to wonderful Marie. Frances Marion's story was scripted by Leonard Praskins and Zelda Sears. | tt0022854 | Marie Dressler, Richard Cromwell, Jean Hersholt, Myrna Loy, John Miljan, Leila Bennett | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Emma | 1996 | Douglas McGrath | ★★★ | 111 | Charming, witty adaptation of Jane Austen's comedy of manners about a headstrong young woman who makes a habit of playing matchmaker for others, but can't recognize her own true feelings— or those of the men who surround her. Paltrow is delightful and surrounded by an ideal (and highly attractive) cast. Thompson (sister of actress Emma T.) is wonderful as the talkative Miss Bates; that's her real-life mother, Law, playing Mrs. Bates. Script by McGrath, making his directorial debut. Oscar-winning score by Rachel Portman. | tt0116191 | [PG] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Northam, Toni Collette, Greta Scacchi, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Cumming, Polly Walker, Ewan McGregor, James Cosmo, Sophie Thompson, Phyllida Law | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Emotional Arithmetic | Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning | 2007 | Paulo Barzman | ★★½ | 99 | Decades after the close of postwar Drancy Internment Camp on the outskirts of Paris, two survivors (von Sydow and Byrne) travel to the home of a third (Sarandon). This highly anticipated reunion leads to mental and emotional upheaval as unresolved issues are finally unearthed. Uneven drama (told partly in flashback) doesn’t provide a fully satisfying experience. Still, it remains a sensitive and telling look at the way horrific events inform lives and how survivor guilt can bring down those who made it out . . . if they let it. Retitled AUTUMN HEARTS: A NEW BEGINNING. | tt0861704 | [PG-13] | Susan Sarandon, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, Gabriel Byrne, Roy Dupuis, Dakota Goyo | Canadian | Drama | NULL |
| The Emperor Jones | 1933 | Dudley Murphy | ★★½ | 72 | Robeson plays Pullman porter who escapes from chain gang and improbably becomes king of a Caribbean island. Pretentious adaptation of Eugene O'Neill play derives its chief interest and value from Robeson himself. Look for Moms Mabley in bit part. | tt0023985 | Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank Wilson, Fredi Washington, Ruby Elzy | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Emperor Waltz | 1948 | Billy Wilder | ★★½ | 106 | Lavish but lackluster musical set in Franz Joseph Austria with Bing selling record players to royalty. Awfully schmaltzy material for writer-director Wilder. Filmed in 1946. Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, fills in for Tyrolean Alps. | tt0040317 | Bing Crosby, Joan Fontaine, Roland Culver, Lucile Watson, Richard Haydn, Sig Ruman | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Emperor and the Assassin | 1999 | Chen Kaige | ★★★ | 161 | Sweeping, fact-based account of the ruler of a Chinese kingdom (Xuejian) in 320 B.C. who is determined to annex the country's other kingdoms and become its first emperor. For this purpose, he enlists the help of his concubine (Li, ravishing as ever); she, in turn, falls for an assassin (Fengyi). The story's predictability is outweighed by the beautifully staged spectacle; this is reportedly the most expensive Chinese film ever made. | tt0162866 | [R] | Gong Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Kaige, Lu Xiaohe | Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| Emperor of the North | 1973 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 118 | Unusual, exciting (and heavily symbolic) action film set during the Depression. Sadistic conductor Borgnine will kill any tramp who tries to cop a ride on his train; legendary hobo Marvin announces he will be the first to succeed. Beautifully filmed in Oregon by Joseph Biroc; taut script by Christopher Knopf and typically muscular Aldrich direction make this a unique entertainment. Initially released as EMPEROR OF THE NORTH POLE. | tt0070030 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner, Harry Caesar, Malcolm Atterbury, Simon Oakland, Matt Clark, Elisha Cook | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Emperor's Candlesticks | 1937 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★½ | 89 | Powell and Rainer play cat-and-mouse as spies on opposite sides of the fence who (naturally) fall in love, in this enjoyable but wildly far-fetched story set in Czarist Russia and Vienna. Based on a novel by Baroness Orczy (who also wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel). | tt0028829 | William Powell, Luise Rainer, Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan, Frank Morgan, Emma Dunn, Douglass Dumbrille | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Emperor's Club | 2002 | Michael Hoffman | ★★★ | 109 | Absorbing story about a dedicated Classics professor at an exclusive prep school who puts his faith in a troublesome boy. This is not the film one might expect (in spite of renaming Ethan Canin's short story 'The Palace Thief' to sound more like DEAD POETS SOCIETY), with interesting nuances and plot turns as it tackles issues of ethics and morality. Kline is perfectly cast, and so is young Hirsch. | tt0283530 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Steven Culp, Embeth Davidtz, Patrick Dempsey, Joel Gretsch, Edward Herrmann, Emile Hirsch, Rob Morrow, Harris Yulin, Roger Rees | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Emperor's New Clothes | 2002 | Alan Taylor | ★★½ | 107 | Slight but entertaining 'what if' tale with Napoleon escaping forced exile on St. Helena in 1821 and heading to Paris to retake France. Unfortunately, his plan goes awry from the very beginning, starting with the hiring of a look-alike commoner to fool his captors. Holm seems to relish the dual roles (he played Bonaparte before, in TIME BANDITS and a 1974 British TV miniseries titled Napoleon in Love), but the story is thin and goes on too long. The return to Waterloo and sanitarium scenes are gems, however. | tt0282768 | [PG] | Ian Holm, Iben Hjejle, Tim McInnerny, Nigel Terry, Hugh Bonneville, Murray Melvin, Clive Russell | British-Italian-German | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Emperor's New Groove | 2000 | Mark Dindal | ★★½ | 79 | An Incan emperor with an outsized ego is rousted by a scheming advisor and transformed into a llama— but that doesn't stop him from seeking revenge on those who wronged him. A most un-Disney-like Disney cartoon feature, this one has a fresh look and some funny moments, but relies too heavily on Spade's smart-alecky comic persona— a little of which can go a long, long way. Features two songs by Sting. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0120917 | [G] | Voices of David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick, Kellyann Kelso, Tom Jones | Comedy, Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Empire | 2002 | Franc. Reyes | ★★ | 95 | John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Vincent Laresca, Nestor Serrano, Delilah Cotto, Sonia Braga, Isabella Rossellini, Treach, Fat Joe. South Bronx drug dealer Leguizamo is a success on his home turf, but is he out of his league when he becomes involved in a scheme with hotshot Wall Street financier Sarsgaard? Intriguing premise, but the plot holes are gaping and the Hispanic stereotypes are downright embarrassing at times. Rossellini is oddly cast as a Colombian drug lord. | tt0262396 | [R] | John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Vincent Laresca, Nestor Serrano, Delilah Cotto, Sonia Braga, Isabella Rossellini, Treach, Fat Joe | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Empire Records | 1995 | Allan Moyle | ★½ | 91 | A day in the life of a record store, which the manager is desperately trying to save from a corporate takeover. A series of noisy vignettes which add up to nothing, despite attractive young cast. Disappointing outing from Moyle, who directed the more potent PUMP UP THE VOLUME. Alternate version runs 107m. | tt0112950 | [PG-13] | Anthony LaPaglia, Debi Mazar, Liv Tyler, Maxwell Caulfield, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, Ethan Embry | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Empire Strikes Back | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★★ | 124 | Smashing sequel to STAR WARS manages to top the original in its embellishment of leading characters' personalities, truly dazzling special effects (which earned a special Oscar) and nonstop spirit of adventure and excitement. Story threads include a blossoming romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia, the cosmic education of Luke Skywalker (by the mystical Yoda), an uneasy alliance with opportunistic Lando Calrissian, and a startling revelation from Darth Vader. 1997 reissue included 3 minutes of additional footage. Full title onscreen is STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Sequel: RETURN OF THE JEDI. | tt0080684 | [PG] | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness, Clive Revill, Julian Glover, John Ratzenberger, voice of James Earl Jones | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Empire of Passion | 1978 | Nagisa Oshima | ★★ | 110 | Peasant woman Yoshiyuki has affair with village good-for-nothing Fuji; they murder her husband, whose ghost returns to haunt them. Boring, despite interesting subject matter. A follow-up to IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES. Aka IN THE REALM OF PASSION. | tt0077132 | [R] | Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Tatsuya Fuji, Takahiro Tamura, Takuzo Kawatani | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Empire of the Ants | 1977 | Bert I. Gordon | ★½ | 90 | Laughable man-vs.-giant insects chiller from H. G. Wells' story. Vacationers on an isolated island find themselves at the mercy of voracious ants that have become monsters after feasting on a leaking barrel of radioactive waste. | tt0075989 | [PG] | Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, Albert Salmi, John David Carson, Robert Pine, Jacqueline Scott | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Empire of the Sun | 1987 | Steven Spielberg | ★★ | 152 | British boy, living a well-sheltered life in Shanghai, is separated from his parents and forced to fend for himself when Japan invades China at the outset of WW2. Sprawling, ambitious, but emotionally distant and loaded with cinematic crescendos (replete with crane camera shots and overbearing music by John Williams) that simply don't have the emotional content to warrant all that fuss. Tom Stoppard adapted J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel (Ballard appears briefly in Beefeater costume in an early party scene). | tt0092965 | [PG] | Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, Joe Pantoliano, Leslie Phillips, Masato Ibu, Emily Richard, Rupert Frazer, Ben Stiller, Robert Stephens, Burt Kwouk | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Employee of the Month | 2006 | Greg Coolidge | ★½ | 108 | At a warehouse store, slacker Cook and weasely Shepard compete and cheat for both knockout newbie Simpson and the title award. No laughs whatsoever in this CLERKS/OFFICE SPACE slapstick wannabe, and the performances are awful. Shot in New Mexico; too bad they didn't bury it there. | tt0424993 | [PG-13] | Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepard, Andy Dick, Tim Bagley, Brian George, Efren Ramirez, Harland Williams, Marcello Thedford, Danny Woodburn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Employees' Entrance | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 75 | Zesty pre-Code look at life in a department store and its ruthless, amoral manager. Gripping, funny, outrageous, racy. Based on a stage play. | tt0023986 | Warren William, Loretta Young, Wallace Ford, Alice White, Allen Jenkins | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Empty Canvas | 1963 | Damiano Damiani | ★½ | 118 | Artist Buchholz is obsessed with model Spaak, eventually decorates her naked body with bank notes. Davis is his wealthy mother; hopefully, she was well paid for her time. Based on an Alberto Moravia novel. | tt0058413 | Bette Davis, Horst Buchholz, Catherine Spaak, Isa Miranda, Lea Padovani, Daniela Rocca, Georges Wilson | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Empty Mirror | 1999 | Barry J. Hershey | ★½ | 119 | Ignorant of time and place, we're thrust into a strange environment where Adolf Hitler encounters key people from his past as he dictates his memoirs. Surreal, ambitious film, intercut with footage from TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and Eva Braun's home movies, pretty well lives up to its title: there's not much to reflect on. Grey's appearance as Joseph Goebbels is an interesting career counterpart to his m.c. from CABARET. | tt0116192 | [PG-13] | Norman Rodway, Joel Grey, Peter Michael Goetz, Glenn Shadix, Camilla Soeberg, Doug McKeon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Enchanted | 2007 | Kevin Lima | ★★★ | 108 | Wide-eyed Giselle (Adams) from Andalasia, about to marry a handsome prince, is hurled down a well by the evil queen and emerges in modern-day Manhattan. Divorce lawyer Dempsey and his 6-year-old daughter try to help her, though he can't believe she's for real. Adams' glowing performance buoys this delightful Disney fantasy, which opens with lush, hand-drawn animation (supervised by James Baxter) and segues into live-action. Terrific songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz include “That's How You Know,†which inspires a dazzling production number in Central Park. Memorable costumes by Mona May. Affectionate spoof of classic Disney fairy tales features Jodi Benson (the voice of Ariel), Paige O'Hara (Belle), and Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas) in small parts. Only the finale seems anticlimactic—and unnecessary. | tt0461770 | [PG] | Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Susan Sarandon, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey; narrated by Julie Andrews | Comedy, Family, Romance, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Enchanted April | 1935 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 66 | Nicely realized adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim's novel about two repressed Englishwomen who leave their husbands to rent an Italian villa for a month— and blossom in the rarefied atmosphere. Harding is ideal in the lead, but Owen is way over the top as a British blowhard. Improved upon by the 1991 remake. | tt0026313 | Ann Harding, Frank Morgan, Katharine Alexander, Reginald Owen, Jane Baxter, Ralph Forbes, Jessie Ralph, Charles Judels, Rafaela Ottiano | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Enchanted April | 1991 | Mike Newell | ★★★½ | 101 | Utterly charming film about two repressed, married women who seize an impulse and rent an Italian villa for a month, taking on two very different women as housemates for this daring adventure. Ideally cast, nicely realized, and very romantic. Screenplay by Peter Barnes. Elizabeth von Arnim's 1921 novel was filmed before in 1935. Made for British television, released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0101811 | [PG] | Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Polly Walker, Alfred Molina, Jim Broadbent, Michael Kitchen, Adriana Fachetti | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Enchanted Cottage | 1945 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 92 | Adaptation of Arthur Pinero play about two misfits, a homely woman and a disfigured man, who find each other beautiful in the enchanted cottage. Never quite as good as you'd like it to be. Previously filmed in 1924. Some prints run 78m. | tt0037671 | Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Herbert Marshall, Mildred Natwick, Spring Byington, Hillary Brooke | Romance | NULL | |||
| Enchanted Forest | 1945 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 78 | Nicely done story of young boy who learns about life from old man who lives amid nature in the forest. | tt0037672 | Edmund Lowe, Brenda Joyce, Billy Severn, Harry Davenport, John Litel | Drama | NULL | |||
| Enchanted Island | 1958 | Allan Dwan | ★½ | 94 | Miscast, low-budget version of Herman Melville's Typee. Andrews is deserter from American whaling ship who finds love with native girl Powell on South Sea island; some minor uprisings by local cannibals for good measure. | tt0051581 | Dana Andrews, Jane Powell, Don Dubbins, Arthur Shields | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Enchantment | 1948 | Irving Reis | ★★★ | 102 | Weepy romancer with elderly Niven recalling his tragic love as he watches great-niece Keyes' romance with Granger. | tt0040321 | David Niven, Teresa Wright, Evelyn Keyes, Farley Granger, Jayne Meadows, Leo G. Carroll |
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| Encino Man | 1992 | Les Mayfield | ★½ | 89 | Nerdy teenager Astin and his weirdo pal Shore dig up a frozen caveman in Astin's suburban L.A. backyard. The scant laughs come from plunging the affable Cro-Magnon into teenage life, circa 1992. Formulaic teen comedy; Shore's bogus slang irritates, but limber, good-natured Fraser (as the cavedude) has his moments. Followed by 1996 TV sequel ENCINO WOMAN. | tt0104187 | [PG] | Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Pauly Shore, Megan Ward, Robin Tunney, Rick Ducommun, Mariette Hartley, Richard Masur, Rose McGowan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Encore | 1952 | Pat Jackson, Anthony Pelissier, Harold French | ★★★ | 85 | Entertaining trilogy of Somerset Maugham stories: brothers try to outdo one another over money; busybody matron almost ruins ship cruise; apprehensive circus performer faces a crisis. | tt0044586 | Nigel Patrick, Roland Culver, Kay Walsh, Glynis Johns, Terence Morgan | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Encounters at the End of the World | 2008 | Werner Herzog | ★★★½ | 101 | On assignment for the National Science Foundation, Herzog idiosyncratically profiles Antarctica, a land of no natives, no flora, no crime. Spiraling deeper into the continent’s dreamy mysteries—among them, a tragically deranged penguin—the film dives far under an icy surface that might be no more than eight inches thick. It also profiles some of the brilliant misfits who have fallen to the bottom of the planet. This right-brain travelogue feeds the mind, the eye, and the mind’s eye. Wryly, sometimes impatiently, narrated by the director, who dedicates the film to Roger Ebert. | tt1093824 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| End of Days | 1999 | Peter Hyams | ★½ | 122 | The Devil takes the form of a wealthy New Yorker (Byrne) and sets out to find his pre-ordained bride; if he can impregnate her before midnight on New Year's Eve, 1999, he will bring about Hell on Earth, or Armageddon, or something. However, Satan never reckoned with Arnold, who's actually quite good as the burned-out cop/defender of humanity. Overproduced junk. | tt0146675 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Robin Tunney, CCH Pounder, Rod Steiger, Derrick O'Connor, Miriam Margolyes, Udo Kier | Horror, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| End of Desire | 1958 | Alexandre Astruc. | ★★ | 86 | Marquand weds Schell for her money, and she chooses to remain blind to his indiscretions. Schell is sole bright spot in this dreary tale, based on a de Maupassant story. Released in U.S. in 1962. | tt0052339 | Maria Schell, Christian Marquand, Pascale Petit, Ivan Desny. | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The End of Innocence | 1991 | Dyan Cannon | ★½ | 102 | One woman's road to a breakdown, thanks to quarreling parents and a rich assortment of rotten men. Passionately acted by Cannon, who as a writer-director may have been in over her head. | tt0101812 | [R] | Dyan Cannon, John Heard, George Coe, Lola Mason, Rebecca Schaeffer, Steve Meadows, Billie Bird, Michael Madsen, Madge Sinclair, Renee Taylor, Derek Harrison | Drama | NULL | ||
| The End of Violence | 1997 | Wim Wenders | ★★ | 122 | Wenders' first American film since PARIS, TEXAS is gorgeous to look at but fuzzy and half-baked. Movie producer Pullman hides out with a Mexican family after surviving a professional 'hit' that may have something to do with a high-tech security project being run out of L.A.'s Griffith Park Observatory. Lind is appealing as a stuntwoman, MacDowell less so packing a rod while decked out in bikini nightwear. Ry Cooder's score sells the movie to a point, just as it did for UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD. | tt0119062 | [R] | Bill Pullman, Andie MacDowell, Gabriel Byrne, Traci Lind, Loren Dean, Daniel Benzali, Pruitt Taylor Vince, John Diehl, Peter Horton, Rosalind Chao, Frederic Forrest, Sam Fuller | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The End of the Affair | 1955 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 106 | Graham Greene's mystic-religious novel about a wartime love affair in London loses much in screen version, especially from mismatched stars. Remade in 1999. | tt0048034 | Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson, John Mills, Peter Cushing, Michael Goodliffe | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The End of the Affair | 1999 | Neil Jordan | ★★★ | 109 | Finely wrought rendition of Graham Greene's (reportedly autobiographical) novel about a WW2 love affair that takes a surprising turn when the married woman (a radiant Moore) has an unexplained change of heart. Director-screenwriter Jordan captures the understatement and nuance of a vintage British drama with his keen eye and gifted stars. | tt0172396 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Julianne Moore, Stephen Rea, Ian Hart, Samuel Bould, Jason Isaacs | British-U.S. | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| End of the Game | Getting Away With Murder | 1976 | Maximilian Schell | ★★★ | 103 | Complex thriller about dying police commissioner Ritt, who for three decades has been trying to nail omnipotent criminal Shaw. Director Ritt, in a rare acting role, is excellent; Voight plays his assistant, and Sutherland appears as a dead man! Based on Friedrich Duerrenmatt's novel; retitled GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER for TV. | tt0075140 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Ritt, Robert Shaw, Gabriele Ferzetti, Donald Sutherland | German-Italian | Action | NULL |
| End of the Line | 1987 | Jay Russell | ★★ | 105 | Two lifelong Southern railroad workers, suddenly unemployed when their parent company abandons the rails for air freight, take off for the Chicago corporate headquarters in a stolen engine. Labor of love for executive producer Steenburgen begins promisingly, quickly degenerates into silly Capra-esque fantasy. Cast makes it a curio. | tt0092967 | [PG] | Wilford Brimley, Levon Helm, Mary Steenburgen, Barbara Barrie, Kevin Bacon, Holly Hunter, Bob Balaban, Clint Howard, Rita Jenrette, Howard Morris, Bruce McGill, Trey Wilson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The End of the River | 1947 | Derek Twist | ★★ | 80 | Native boy Sabu fights for acceptance in white world; ambitious drama suffers from mediocre casting. | tt0039356 | Sabu, Bibi Ferreira, Esmond Knight, Torin Thatcher, Robert Douglas | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| End of the Road | 1970 | Aram Avakian | ★★★½ | 110 | Keach and Jones give stinging performances in solid filmization of bizarre John Barth novel about unstable college instructor who becomes involved with the wife of a professor. Tristan is superb in crucial and difficult role. Screenplay by Dennis McGuire, Terry Southern, and the director. | tt0065692 | [X] | Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Dorothy Tristan, James Earl Jones, Grayson Hall, Ray Brock, James Coco | Drama | NULL | ||
| The End of the Road | 1936 | Alex Bryce. | ★★★ | 72 | Lauder survives various misfortunes as he travels the countryside in his caravan, entertaining people wherever he goes. Utterly charming vehicle for the great Scottish entertainer, filled with wonderful songs; he's an absolute natural on camera. Released in U.S. as SONG OF THE ROAD. | tt0027572 | Harry Lauder, Ruth Haven, Ethel Glendinning, Bruce Seton, Margaret Moffatt, Campbell Gullan. | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| End of the World | 1977 | John Hayes | ★★ | 87 | Lee plays a priest and his sinister 'double' in this strange sci-fi tale about imminent world destruction by alien invaders. Opens strong but drifts into dullness. | tt0075990 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Sue Lyon, Kirk Scott, Lew Ayres, Macdonald Carey, Dean Jagger, Liz Ross | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The End | 1978 | Burt Reynolds | ★★★ | 100 | Uneven but original black comedy by Jerry Belson about man who learns he's dying and decides to commit suicide. DeLuise is achingly funny as Burt's schizophrenic sanitarium pal, and Reynolds' final soliloquy is great (in uncensored version). | tt0077504 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Dom DeLuise, Joanne Woodward, Kristy McNichol, Robby Benson, David Steinberg, Norman Fell, Carl Reiner, Pat O'Brien, Myrna Loy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Endangered Species | 1982 | Alan Rudolph | ★½ | 97 | Self-important, preachy story— based on a serious real-life situation— about a N.Y. cop's investigation of cattle mutilations in the Western U.S. Tries to be a thriller, but telegraphs all its punches. | tt0083885 | [R] | Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, Paul Dooley, Hoyt Axton, Peter Coyote, Marin Kanter, Dan Hedaya, Harry Carey/Jr., John Considine | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Endless Love | 1981 | Franco Zeffirelli | 💣 | 115 | Scott Spencer's deservedly praised novel about an obsessive romance between two teenagers is thoroughly trashed in textbook example of how to do everything wrong in a literary adaptation. Rightfully regarded as one of the worst films of its time. Cruise's and Spader's film debuts. | tt0082329 | [R] | Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Beatrice Straight, James Spader, Robert Moore, Penelope Milford, Jan Miner, Tom Cruise, Jami Gertz | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Endless Night | Agatha Christie's Endless Night | 1972 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 99 | Gripping Agatha Christie thriller about chauffeur (Bennett) who marries rich American girl (Mills) and moves into 'dream house' which turns out to be more a nightmare. Aka AGATHA CHRISTIE'S ENDLESS NIGHT. | tt0067052 | Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Britt Ekland, George Sanders, Per Oscarsson, Peter Bowles, Lois Maxwell | British | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Endless Summer II | 1994 | Bruce Brown | ★★★ | 107 | Superior sequel to Brown's 1966 surfing documentary, enhanced this time by a bigger budget and sophisticated camera work. Exotic locales and eye-popping surfing footage will make this a must-see for hot-doggers; others will still enjoy the unspoiled beauty of big-wave beaches from Alaska to Java. Several of the veteran surfers from the original documentary turn up here as does some brief topless beachbunny nudity. Brown's son continued the surfing odyssey with STEP INTO LIQUID. | tt0109729 | [PG] | Patrick O'Connell, Robert 'Wingnut' Weaver | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Endless Summer | 1966 | Bruce Brown | ★★★ | 95 | Enjoyable documentary on surfing, filmed on location around the world, with a most diverting tongue-in-cheek narrative. Followed by a sequel— 28 years later. Followed in 2000 by ENDLESS SUMMER REVISITED. | tt0060371 | Mike Hynson, Robert August | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Endurance | 1999 | Leslie Woodhead | ★★½ | 82 | Interesting, well-made docudrama about Ethiopian long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, who won a Gold Medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Dramatically recreates his difficult childhood and the decisions leading up to his extraordinary running career. (Haile is portrayed by his nephew in flashback; his sister plays his mother.) Matter-of-fact, even sleepy at times, and missing the conclusive emotional punch you're waiting for. Olympic footage directed by Bud Greenspan. Coproduced by Terrence Malick and based on his idea. | tt0120659 | [G] | Drama, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Enduring Love | 2004 | Roger Michell. | ★★½ | 100 | 'Obsessive' love might be more apt. Professor Craig, picnicking in the countryside with girlfriend Morton, tries to assist balloonists in distress. Back in London, he not only can't shake the incident, he's puzzled by a visit from Ifans, a rural loner he met that fateful day. Contemporary psychological study of not just love but the fragility of relationships and the world around us; worth checking out. From a novel by Ian McEwan. Craig, director Michell, and producer Kevin Loader teamed the previous year on THE MOTHER. | tt0375735 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Rhys Ifans, Samantha Morton, Bill Nighy, Susan Lynch, Corin Redgrave. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Enemies, A Love Story | 1989 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★½ | 119 | Quietly haunting film about an aloof Jewish intellectual (Silver) who managed to hide from the Nazis during WW2 and now, in 1949, leads a double life in Coney Island, N.Y., married to his wartime protector (Stein) and fooling around with a sexy married woman (Olin). Things get even more complicated when his first wife (Huston), who was thought dead, turns up. Typically quixotic Isaac Bashevis Singer material— full of irony, wit, and heartbreak— is beautifully realized by Mazursky (who cowrote the screenplay with Roger L. Simon) and a perfect cast. Kudos also to Pato Guzman for his incredibly evocative production design. | tt0097276 | [R] | Anjelica Huston, Ron Silver, Lena Olin, Margaret Sophie Stein, Alan King, Judith Malina, Rita Karlin, Phil Leeds, Elya Baskin, Paul Mazursky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Enemy Agents Meet Ellery Queen | 1942 | James Hogan | ★½ | 64 | Queen takes on Nazi spies in this final entry to an undistinguished series. | tt0034703 | William Gargan, Margaret Lindsay, Charley Grapewin, Gale Sondergaard, Gilbert Roland, Sig Rumann, James Burke | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Enemy Below | 1957 | Dick Powell | ★★★ | 98 | Fine submarine chase tale, which manages to garner interest from usual crew interaction of U.S. vs. Germany in underwater action; the special effects for this earned Walter Rossi an Academy Award. | tt0050356 | Robert Mitchum, Curt Jurgens, Theodore Bikel, Doug McClure, Russell Collins, David Hedison | War | NULL | |||
| Enemy From Space | Quatermass 2: Enemy from Space | 1957 | Val Guest | ★★★ | 84 | Even better than the original, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT: THE CREEPING UNKNOWN, this tense, scary science-fiction thriller concerns a secret alien invasion and BODY SNATCHERS-like takeovers of human beings. Donlevy is stern as Prof. Quatermass. Followed by QUATERMASS AND THE PIT: FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH. | tt0050873 | Brian Donlevy, Michael Ripper, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, John Longden, Vera Day, William Franklin | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |
| The Enemy General | 1960 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 74 | OSS officer Johnson and French resistance leader Aumont join forces to rescue Nazi general Van Dreelen who wants to defect to Allies; satisfactory handling of middling material. | tt0053795 | Van Johnson, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Dany Carrel, John Van Dreelen | War | NULL | |||
| Enemy Mine | 1985 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★½ | 108 | Mortal space enemies are stranded together on a barren planet, forced to become friends in order to survive. Warmhearted science-fiction tale gets a bit too cuddly at times, but it's entertaining. Gossett's lizardlike makeup (by Chris Walas) is incredible; so is Rolf Zehetbauer's production design. | tt0089092 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett/Jr., Brion James, Richard Marcus | Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| Enemy at the Gates | 2001 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★½ | 131 | A Russian sharpshooter is built up to be a hero to bolster his country's morale during the tense days surrounding the Battle of Stalingrad. As a result, the Germans send their top marksman (Harris) to pick him off, leading to a deadly battle of wits. Starts off strong but loses its way; interesting WW2 story is diminished by a silly romantic subplot. | tt0215750 | [R] | Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman, Eva Mattes, Gabriel Marshall-Thomson | German-British-Irish-U.S. | Drama, War | NULL | |
| An Enemy of the People | 1979 | George Schaefer | ★★½ | 103 | Bearded scientist McQueen defies community by taking stand against polluted water system in Arthur Miller's adaptation of the Ibsen play. Sincere, plodding effort was a labor of love for McQueen, but understandably sat on the shelf for years and received limited distribution. Still superior to other films from McQueen's final period. Filmed in 1977. | tt0075993 | [G] | Steve McQueen, Charles Durning, Bibi Andersson, Richard Bradford, Robin Pearson Rose, Richard A. Dysart | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Enemy of the People | 1989 | Satyajit Ray | ★★½ | 100 | Adaptation of the Ibsen play, updated and set in Bengal. Its message, about the perils of greed, religious fanaticism, and environmental pollution may be topical, but the film is too static. Still, there are enough flashes of Ray's brilliance to make it worthwhile. The director also scripted. | tt0097409 | Soumitra Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Ruma Guhathakurta, Mamata Shankar, Dipankar Dey | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Enemy of the State | 1998 | Tony Scott | ★★★ | 132 | Crackerjack thriller about a successful D.C. lawyer who happens to get in the way of a ruthless executive at the National Security Agency (Voight). The NSA official finds it necessary to ruin the attorney's reputation and throw his life into disarray . . . but the lawyer finds help from an unlikely source. Never takes a breath! Jason Robards appears unbilled. | tt0120660 | [R] | Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, Regina King, Stuart Wilson, Tom Sizemore, Loren Dean, Barry Pepper, Ian Hart, Jake Busey, Scott Caan, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, James LeGros, Dan Butler, Jamie Kennedy, Bodhi Pine Elfman, Jack Black | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Enforcer | 1951 | Bretaigne Windust | ★★★ | 87 | When informer de Corsia dies, D.A. Bogart has to find another way to prove that Sloane is the head of a murder-for-hire ring. Loosely based on the true story of Murder, Inc., this is a generally effective, moody thriller. Mostel is particularly good as a frightened crook. | tt0043503 | Humphrey Bogart, Zero Mostel, Ted de Corsia, Everett Sloane, Roy Roberts | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Enforcer | 1976 | James Fargo | ★★★ | 96 | Rule-breaking detective Dirty Harry Callahan (Eastwood) has to contend with a female partner (Daly) as he goes after an underground terrorist group in San Francisco. Violent, bubble-gum-mentality script, but it's a formula that just seems to work. Followed by SUDDEN IMPACT. | tt0074483 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, John Mitchum, DeVeren Bookwalter, John Crawford, Albert Popwell | Crime | NULL | ||
| England Made Me | 1973 | Peter Duffell | ★★★ | 100 | Unappreciated in its initial release, drama of a powerful financier in Nazi Germany of 1935 is absorbing, thoughtful fare. Made in Yugoslavia. | tt0070033 | [PG] | Peter Finch, Michael York, Hildegard Neil, Michael Hordern, Joss Ackland | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The English Patient | 1996 | Anthony Minghella | ★★★½ | 162 | Mesmerizing adaptation (by Minghella) of Michael Ondaatje's novel about a man badly burned in a WW2 plane crash in the African desert; a Canadian nurse (Binoche) tends to him in an abandoned monastery in Italy, and slowly, bit by bit, his story emerges. Fiennes and Scott Thomas are perfectly matched in this intelligent, passionate romance about two people thrown together by chance during a tumultuous period. The story unfolds novelistically, layer by layer, drawing the viewer in with its sinuous, sensuous images and jarring depictions of wartime brutality. Strikingly photographed by John Seale. An exceptional achievement all around. Winner of nine Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, Supporting Actress (Binoche), Art Direction, Sound, Score (Gabriel Yared), Costumes, and Editing. | tt0116209 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas, Naveen Andrews, Colin Firth, Julian Wadham, Jürgen Prochnow, Kevin Whately | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, but Came Down a Mountain | 1995 | Christopher Monger | ★★½ | 99 | Two British mapmakers raise the ire of a Welsh community during WW1 when they designate the village's prized landmark a hill and not a you-know-what. Woe be the one-joke movie when the joke isn't much of a grabber, despite being based on real Welsh legend. Agreeable cast and attractive physical trappings definitely help, though Grant's hem-haw acting style probably adds ten minutes to the running time. | tt0112966 | [PG] | Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney, Ian McNeice, Ian Hart, Kenneth Griffith, Tudor Vaughn, Hugh Vaughn | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Enid Is Sleeping | 1990 | Maurice Phillips | ★★★ | 100 | Very black comedy about a woman who accidentally kills her much-hated sister— after being caught sleeping with her husband (who happens to be a police officer). Macabre humor may not be to everyone's taste, but slapstick antics with the 'dead' body and genuine character development put this leagues ahead of the similar WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S. Severely cut by its studio, then reclaimed (and restored) by its star and director; a triumph for Perkins, who's never been better. Video title: OVER HER DEAD BODY. | tt0099506 | [R] | Elizabeth Perkins, Judge Reinhold, Jeffrey Jones, Maureen Mueller, Rhea Perlman, Michael J. Pollard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Enigma | 1982 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★★½ | 101 | The KGB sends out five crack assassins to eliminate five Soviet dissidents; CIA agent Sheen (who's apparently seen NOTORIOUS once too often) tries to stop them by having ex-lover Fossey cozy up to top Russian agent Neill. Fine cast does its best with so-so material; script by John Briley. | tt0083891 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, Sam Neill, Derek Jacobi, Michael Lonsdale, Frank Finlay | British-French |
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| Enigma | 2001 | Michael Apted | ★★½ | 119 | A burned-out cryptographer is brought back to active duty at Bletchley Park where, during WW2, several hundred British operatives work day and night to crack the Nazi code— and understand the workings of their brilliantly designed 'enigma' machine. Great material (adapted from Robert Harris' book by Tom Stoppard) and faultless recreation of the period ought to make for a top-notch film, but this one peters out as it becomes unfocused and— yes— confusing. Coproduced by Mick Jagger, who appears briefly in a club scene. | tt0157583 | [PG-13] | Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Jeremy Northam, Saffron Burrows, Tom Hollander, Corin Redgrave | British-German-U.S. | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Enjo | Conflagration | 1958 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★★½ | 96 | Troubled young novice priest Ichikawa cannot handle corruption around him and burns down a temple. Perceptive psychological study of a human being's destruction; based on a Yukio Mishima novel, fashioned around a true story. Aka CONFLAGRATION. | tt0051584 | Raizo Ichikawa, Tatsuya Nakadai, Ganjiro Nakamura, Yoko Uraji, Tanie Kitabayashi | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Enormous Changes at the Last Minute | Trumps | 1983 | Mirra Bank, Ellen Hovde | ★★½ | 115 | Three separate dramas about contemporary women living in N.Y.C., and their relationships with husbands, ex-husbands, lovers, parents, children. Ambitious but uneven, with some good performances and touching moments. Screenplay by John Sayles with Susan Rice, based on the stories of Grace Paley. 'Faith's Story' was filmed in 1978; 'Virginia's Story' and 'Alexandra's Story' in 1982. Aka TRUMPS. | tt0085494 | Maria Tucci, Lynn Milgrim, David Strathairn, Ellen Barkin, Ron McLarty, Zvee Scooler, Kevin Bacon, Jeffrey DeMunn, Sudie Bond | Drama | NULL | ||
| Enough | 2002 | Michael Apted | ★★½ | 115 | Lopez plays a waitress who marries a customer and seems to be living happily ever after until she discovers what kind of man he really is and flees for her life, with her young daughter in tow. Lopez is well cast in this saga of domestic abuse (and revenge), but the ending is so set up and melodramatic that it robs us of real satisfaction. | tt0278435 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, Billy Campbell, Juliette Lewis, Dan Futterman, Noah Wyle, Tessa Allen, Russell Milton, Chris Maher, Ruben Madera | Drama, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room | 2005 | Alex Gibney | ★★★ | 113 | Sharp documentary, based on the book by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, telescopes the Byzantine behind-the-scenes machinations that led to the collapse of the giant Houston energy company. Clean, understandable presentation of the events as they unfolded (with only an occasional nod to 'wink-wink' filmmaking) and the larger implicit evils of corporate America. Some of the incriminating footage and facts involving bigwigs Kenneth Lay, Jeff Skilling, and Andy Fastow truly make the mind reel and the stomach turn. | tt0413845 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Ensign Pulver | 1964 | Joshua Logan | ★★ | 104 | Flat sequel to MISTER ROBERTS has Walker sinking in Jack Lemmon role amid synthetic seaboard and coral-isle shenanigans. Disappointing film is worth noting for its large cast of future stars: Larry Hagman, Gerald O'Loughlin, Al Freeman, Jr., James Farentino, James Coco, Diana Sands, and Jack Nicholson. | tt0058060 | Robert Walker/Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau, Tommy Sands, Millie Perkins, Kay Medford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Enter Arsene Lupin | 1944 | Ford Beebe | ★★ | 72 | Good supporting cast of villains gives zest to tame tale of naive heroine possessing a wealth of jewels. | tt0036794 | Charles Korvin, Ella Raines, J. Carrol Naish, George Dolenz, Gale Sondergaard | Crime | NULL | |||
| Enter Laughing | 1967 | Carl Reiner | ★★ | 112 | Reiner's funny semi-autobiographical Broadway play becomes bland screen comedy as youngster struggles to make it as an actor, despite all manner of problems in his way. | tt0061626 | Reni Santoni, Jose Ferrer, Shelley Winters, Elaine May, Jack Gilford, Janet Margolin, David Opatoshu, Michael J. Pollard, Don Rickles, Nancy Kovack, Rob Reiner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Enter Madame | 1935 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 83 | Grant marries opera star Landi and winds up taking back seat to her career; pleasant romantic comedy. | tt0026315 | Elissa Landi, Cary Grant, Lynne Overman, Sharon Lynne, Frank Albertson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Enter the Dragon | 1973 | Robert Clouse | ★★★½ | 97 | Almost perfect Kung Fu film that forgets about plot and concentrates on mind-boggling action. Martial arts expert Lee (in last complete film role) infiltrates strange tournament on island fortress. This was filmed after (but released before) Lee's RETURN OF THE DRAGON. 3m. added on video in 1998. Aka THE DEADLY THREE. | tt0070034 | [R] | Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri, Yang Tse, Angela Mao | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Enter the Ninja | 1981 | Menahem Golan | ★½ | 94 | Ninjitsu master Nero takes on greedy Christopher George and old rival Kosugi. Third-rate chop-socky actioner and certainly no ENTER THE DRAGON. Original running time: 99m. Followed by REVENGE OF THE NINJA. | tt0082332 | [R] | Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi, Alex Courtney, Will Hare, Zachi Noy, Dale Ishimoto, Christopher George | Action | NULL | ||
| The Entertainer | 1960 | Tony Richardson. | ★★★½ | 104 | Seedy vaudevillian (Olivier, recreating his stage role) ruins everyone's life and won't catch on. Film captures flavor of chintzy seaside resort, complementing Olivier's brilliance as egotistical song-and-dance man. Coscripted by John Osborne, from his play. Film debuts of Bates and Finney. Olivier and Plowright married the following year. Remade as a 1975 TVM starring Jack Lemmon. | tt0053796 | Laurence Olivier, Brenda de Banzie, Roger Livesey, Joan Plowright, Daniel Massey, Alan Bates, Shirley Anne Field, Albert Finney, Thora Hird | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story | 1996 | Michael Ray Rhodes | ★★ | 110 | By-the-numbers biography, set in the 1920s and '30s, of Dorothy Day (Kelly), the fabled Roman Catholic activist. Scenario spotlights her spiritual evolution from journalist and suffragette in Greenwich Village to her conversion to Roman Catholicism and her devotion to helping the poor. Disappointingly superficial. | tt0116212 | [PG-13] | Moira Kelly, Martin Sheen, Boyd Kestner, Lenny Von Dohlen, James Lancaster, Heather Graham, Paul Lieber, Heather Camille | Drama | NULL | ||
| Entertaining Mr. Sloane | 1970 | Douglas Hickox | ★★½ | 94 | Acting by McEnery, Reid, and Andrews is extraordinary in story of young man who becomes involved with both brother and sister. Uneven adaptation of Joe Orton play. | tt0065700 | Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews, Peter McEnery, Alan Webb | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Entity | 1983 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★ | 115 | Woman is raped repeatedly by giant invisible mass. Her psychiatrist thinks it's all in the mind, until parapsychologists set a trap for the critter. Effectively sensational but atrociously exploitive; supposedly based on actual incident. | tt0082334 | [R] | Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, Jacqueline Brooks, David Lablosa, George Coe, Margaret Blye, Alex Rocco | Horror | NULL | ||
| Entrapment | 1999 | Jon Amiel | ★★½ | 112 | American insurance investigator Zeta-Jones convinces her boss to let her set the bait to capture world-class art thief Connery, leading to a gigantic cat-and-mouse game played out in London and Kuala Lumpur. The two stars are easy to watch, and there are lots of gimmicky action scenes, but it's all rather flat. Connery coexecutive-produced. | tt0137494 | [PG-13] | Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Will Patton, Ving Rhames, Maury Chaykin | Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Entre Nous | Coup de Foudre | 1983 | Diane Kurys | ★★★½ | 110 | Moving, multilayered story of two women who form a bond of friendship that lasts many years, takes many turns, and threatens their ineffectual husbands. Compassionate telling by Kurys of her own mother's story, with extraordinary performances all around. Original French title: COUP DE FOUDRE. Followed by C'EST LA VIE. | tt0085370 | [PG] | Miou Miou, Isabelle Huppert, Guy Marchand, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Robin Renucci, Patrick Bauchau | French | Drama | NULL |
| Envy | 2004 | Barry Levinson | ★½ | 99 | The close relationship between two best friends who live across the street from each other changes drastically when one of them hits the jackpot with an invention that turns him into a multimillionaire. The cast can't be faulted for this wrongheaded comedy misfire, but the script can; it's unpleasant at best, mean at worst, a sketch idea drawn out to feature length. | tt0326856 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Christopher Walken, Amy Poehler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Epic Movie | 2007 | Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer | 💣 | 86 | Four siblings find themselves meandering through lame slapstick parodies of recent epic movies and other obvious pop-culture targets. Typically tedious, unfunny hack job, with an array of cameo appearances including Crispin Glover, who (as a perverted, sadistic Willy Wonka), provides the film with its only moments of admittedly sordid energy. | tt0799949 | [PG-13] | Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jennifer Coolidge, Jayma Mays, Faune A. Chambers | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Equilibrium | 2002 | Kurt Wimmer | ★★ | 107 | In the future, any display of emotion is against the law; citizens take a daily drug, and transgressors are punished by an elite corps of police. Writer-director Wimmer's warmed-over rehash of 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 doesn't make a lot of sense (some of the leading characters do show emotion), but it isn't worth the time or effort to figure out. Bale is so intense here it seems as if he might implode at any moment. | tt0238380 | [R] | Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs, Angus McFadyen, Sean Bean, David Hemmings, Matthew Harbour, William Fichtner | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Equinox | The Beast | 1971 | Jack Woods | ★★ | 80 | (Frank Bonner), Robin Christopher, Jack Woods, Fritz Leiber. Archaeology students confront Satanism— and mutantlike monsters— while searching for vanished professor. Late-1960s amateur film (directed by later special-effects Oscar winner Dennis Muren) was reworked for theatrical release, mixing movie clichés with good special effects. This film took several years to complete, and the young cast obviously ages in it. Aka THE BEAST. | tt0067055 | [M] | Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, Frank Boers/Jr. (Frank Bonner), Robin Christopher, Jack Woods, Fritz Leiber | Horror | NULL | |
| Equinox | 1993 | Alan Rudolph | ★★ | 110 | Slow-moving mystery with Modine playing two men— a weakling auto mechanic and an underworld tough guy— who live in the same city and lead parallel lives. Typically quirky Rudolph drama, but weaker than most; rife with commentary on contemporary mores and morals. | tt0104201 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, Fred Ward, Tyra Ferrell, Marisa Tomei, Kevin J. O'Connor, Tate Donovan, Lori Singer, M. Emmet Walsh, Gailard Sartain, Mark Modine | Drama | NULL | ||
| Equinox Flower | 1958 | Yasujiro Ozu. | ★★★ | 118 | One of Ozu's final films, and his first in color, is a moving story of a young woman who clashes with her father when she rejects an arranged marriage and chooses a man of her own to wed. Another gentle and quietly observant study of parents and children from Ozu, this time imbued with a sense of melancholy over traditional ways being supplanted by impersonal modern society. Original title: HIGANBANA. | tt0051720 | Shin Saburi, Fujiko Yamamoto, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Chishu Ryu. | Japanese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Equus | 1977 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 138 | Peter Shaffer's shattering play makes bumpy screen adaptation, its vivid theatricality lost on film; Burton, however, is superb as troubled psychiatrist trying to unlock deep-rooted problems of stable boy Firth. | tt0075995 | [R] | Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Colin Blakely, Joan Plowright, Harry Andrews, Eileen Atkins, Jenny Agutter | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eragon | 2006 | Stefen Fangmeier | ★★ | 104 | Orphaned farm boy finds a mysterious egg that hatches the last of an extinct breed of magical dragons. The boy, the dragon, and his world-weary, wise old mentor travel across magical lands to save the oppressed people of his home kingdom from an evil king and his henchman wizard. Scenery is pretty and CGI effects are fine, but the movie is a patchwork quilt of conventions borrowed from other fantasy films and stories (with none of their entertainment value). Based on the first in a series of popular books by Christopher Paolini. | tt0449010 | [PG] | Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Garrett Hedlund, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone; voice of Rachel Weisz. | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Eraser | 1996 | Charles Russell | ★★★ | 114 | High-octane, high-tech, violent and cartoonish action-thriller about a specialist in the Federal Witness Protection Program who vows to keep a female witness safe and sticks to his word even after he becomes as much a target as she. Explosive, cutting-edge action and special effects give fans their money's worth, and then some. Indefensible on any artistic level, but lots of fun. | tt0116213 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, Vanessa Williams, James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, James Cromwell, Danny Nucci, Roma Maffia, Camryn Manheim | Action | NULL | ||
| Eraserhead | 1978 | David Lynch | ★★★ | 90 | Brooding experimental film full of repulsive imagery tells story of zombielike misfit, his spastic girlfriend, and their half-human offspring. Bona fide cult film is full of surreal, nightmarish tangents. Feature film debut of director Lynch. | tt0074486 | Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, Laurel Near, V. Phipps-Wilson | Drama, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Erendira | 1983 | Ruy Guerra | ★★½ | 103 | Strange does not begin to describe this fable of queenly Papas forcing beautiful, obedient granddaughter Ohana into prostitution in a vast, surreal desert. Ambitious and fluidly directed, but unmemorable; from a screenplay by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. | tt0085501 | Irene Papas, Claudia Ohana, Michael Lonsdale, Oliver Wehe, Rufus | Mexican-French-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Erik the Conqueror | 1961 | Mario Bava | ★★ | 81 | Unexceptional account of 10th-century Viking life, with Mitchell fighting for virtue and love. Released on video as THE INVADERS at 88m. | tt0055022 | Cameron Mitchell, Alice Kessler, Ellen Kessler, Françoise Christophe | Italian | Action | NULL | ||
| Erik the Viking | 1989 | Terry Jones | 💣 | 104 | Robbins is a revisionist Erik, but quick— what's the Norse expression for 'unwatchable satire'? | tt0097289 | [PG-13] | Tim Robbins, Mickey Rooney, Eartha Kitt, Terry Jones, Imogen Stubbs, John Cleese, Antony Sher, Gordon John Sinclair, Freddie Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Erin Brockovich | 2000 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 131 | Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a brassy, divorced mother of three, at the end of her rope; she talks her way into a job in Finney's law office, then becomes obsessed with a pro bono case involving residents of a California desert town who have been exposed to poisonously polluted water. Energetic, engaging David vs. Goliath story never states— or overstates— the obvious, and travels far on Roberts' charisma and Finney's expertise. That's the real Erin Brockovich playing a waitress. | tt0195685 | [R] | Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Marg Helgenberger, Cherry Jones, Conchata Ferrell, Tracey Walter, Mimi Kennedy, Peter Coyote | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ernest Goes to Camp | 1987 | John R. Cherry 3rd | ★½ | 93 | Ernest, an obnoxious dimwit popularized in a spate of TV commercials, is the star of this clumsy and unfunny comedy about a dumb cluck who wants to be a summer camp counselor in the worst way— and gets his wish. Aimed at children who aren't very bright. Followed by ERNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS. | tt0092974 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Victoria Racimo, John Vernon, Iron Eyes Cody, Lyle Alzado, Gailard Sartain | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ernest Goes to Jail | 1990 | John Cherry | ★★ | 82 | Third in the surprisingly successful series about Ernest P. Worrell finds our hero in prison as the result of a switch set up by an evil inmate lookalike (also played by Varney). Harmless, predictable, and hokey. Followed by ERNEST SCARED STUPID. | tt0099512 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Gailard Sartain, Bill Byrge, Barbara Bush, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Barry Scott, Charles Napier | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ernest Goes to School | 1994 | Coke Sams | 💣 | 90 | Sub-atomic brain accelerator is used to make Chickasaw Falls High's school custodian, Ernest, a temporary genius in an attempt to undermine a plot to close the school. Completely predictable and unfunny; only for die-hard Ernest fans. Followed by SLAM DUNK ERNEST. | tt0109739 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Linda Kash, Bill Byrge, Corrine Koslo, Kevin McNulty, Jason Michas | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ernest Saves Christmas | 1988 | John Cherry | ★½ | 89 | The title character, who makes Gomer Pyle seem like Albert Einstein, attempts to help Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. This is one Christmas present to be opened with extreme caution . . . unless you're a fan of Ernest P. Worrell. Followed by ERNEST GOES TO JAIL. | tt0095107 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker, Robert Lesser, Gailard Sartain, Billie Bird | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ernest Scared Stupid | 1991 | John Cherry | ★½ | 91 | The fourth Ernest P. Worrell feature has a patently redundant title. Originally released at Halloween time, the story has dimwitted Ernest inadvertently releasing a villainous troll from its tomb. Pretty lame; Kitt is wasted as a witch. Followed by ERNEST GOES TO SCHOOL. | tt0101821 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Eartha Kitt, Austin Nagler, Jonas Moscartolo, Shay Astar | Comedy, Family, Horror | NULL | ||
| Eros | 2004 | Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni. | ★½ | 108 | As if they were facing an overpowering baseball pitcher in the ninth inning, three internationally renowned directors strike out 1-2-3 in this anthology. Wong's episode is the meatiest, but seems twice as long as it is: A young tailor remains faithful to a courtesan (Gong) through her long professional slide. Shrink Arkin and patient Downey bandy in Soderbergh's shaggy dog joke, unworthy of the wait for a punch line. Antonioni's segment about an impaired relationship is the least substantive but most fun to watch; he still has his camera eye. | tt0377059 | [R] | Gong Li, Chang Chen, Robert Downey/Jr., Alan Arkin, Christopher Buchholz, Regina Nemni, Luisa Ranieri. | French-Italian-U.S.-Hong Kong | Drama | NULL | |
| Erotique | 1993 | Lizzie Borden, Monika Treut, Clara Law | ★★ | 93 | Uneven feature in three parts, each a story with a female slant. Borden's piece, about a phone sex worker exacting revenge against one of her callers, is obvious and annoying; Treut tells the trite tale of a pair of lesbians who set out to seduce a man. By far the best of the lot is Law's perceptive study of the cultural differences between a Hong Kong woman and her Australian-Chinese boyfriend. A fourth episode, the muddled account of a teacher's erotic encounter while on a trip, was excluded from the final print but added to the video release. It is directed by Ana Maria Magalhaes and stars Claudia Ohana and Guilherme Leme. Video running time is 117m. | tt0109742 | Kamela Lopez-Dawson, Bryan Cranston, Liane Curtis, Priscilla Barnes, Camilla Soeberg, Michael Carr, Peter Kern, Marianne Sägebrecht, Tim Lounibos, Hayley Man, Choi Hark-kin | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Errand Boy | 1961 | Jerry Lewis | ★★½ | 92 | Jerry on the loose in a movie studio has its moments. Long string of gags provide the laughter; veteran character actors produce the sparkle. | tt0054853 | Jerry Lewis, Brian Donlevy, Howard McNear, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld, Iris Adrian, Kathleen Freeman, Doodles Weaver, Renee Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Escapade | 1935 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 89 | Married woman is persuaded to pose for a roguish Viennese artist, but when the semi-nude illustration is printed, it causes a potential scandal. Sophisticated comedy/drama was Rainer's Hollywood debut film; she and Powell are charming, but the film's initial sparkle eventually goes flat— as the picture goes on. Remake of the much superior (and sexier) Austrian film MASKERADE (1934). | tt0026319 | William Powell, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan, Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Mady Christians, Laura Hope Crews, Henry Travers | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Escapade | 1955 | Philip Leacock | ★★★ | 87 | Mills is a professional pacifist whose life is anything but tranquil; his three sons, fearing that their parents are about to be divorced, react in a most unusual manner. Ambitious, insightful, solidly acted drama about the cynicism and hypocrisy of adults and the idealism of youth. Stick with this. | tt0048043 | John Mills, Yvonne Mitchell, Alastair Sim, Jeremy Spenser, Andrew Ray, Marie Lohr, Peter Asher | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Escapade in Japan | 1957 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 93 | Stunning location filming in Japan is the prime asset of this forgettable adventure about two young boys, one American and the other Japanese, and their search for the former's parents. Clint Eastwood appears briefly as a pilot. | tt0050363 | Cameron Mitchell, Teresa Wright, Jon Provost, Roger Nakagawa, Philip Ober, Clint Eastwood | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Escape | 1940 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 104 | Countess Shearer, mistress of Nazi general Veidt, helps Taylor get his mother (Nazimova) out of German concentration camp before WW2; polished, with sterling cast. Based on Ethel Vance's 1939 best-seller. | tt0032447 | Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, Conrad Veidt, Nazimova, Felix Bressart, Albert Bassermann, Philip Dorn, Bonita Granville, Blanche Yurka | Drama | NULL | |||
| Escape | 1948 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 78 | Intelligent, well-paced story of law-abiding man for whom a chance encounter leads to a prison sentence; morally outraged, he determines to escape. Harrison is excellent as the cerebral hero of this John Galsworthy story (which was filmed before in 1930). Shot on natural locations around England. Screenplay by Philip Dunne. | tt0040325 | Rex Harrison, Peggy Cummins, William Hartnell, Norman Wooland, Jill Esmond, Frederick Piper, Marjorie Rhodes, Betty Ann Davies, Cyril Cusack | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Escape 2000 | Turkey Shoot | 1981 | Brian Trenchard-Smith | 💣 | 92 | Repellently violent, unpleasant ripoff of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, set in future society where criminals are hunted in a controlled environment. Original title: TURKEY SHOOT. Beware of alternate 80m. version. | tt0082338 | [R] | Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig, Carmen Duncan, Roger Ward | Australian | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL |
| The Escape Artist | 1982 | Caleb Deschanel | ★★ | 96 | Maddeningly muddled tale of teenager O'Neal, an amateur magician, and the adults who attempt to exploit him. Griffin, son of Ryan and brother of Tatum, has a pleasing screen presence. Directorial debut for cinematographer Deschanel. | tt0083900 | [PG] | Griffin O'Neal, Raul Julia, Teri Garr, Joan Hackett, Gabriel Dell, Elizabeth Daily, Desi Arnaz, Huntz Hall, Jackie Coogan, M. Emmet Walsh, David Clennon, Harry Anderson, Carlin Glynn, Margaret Ladd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Escape From Alcatraz | 1979 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 112 | Straightforward, methodical telling of true story about 1962 breakout from supposedly impregnable prison. Vivid and credible throughout. Watch for Danny Glover in his film debut. | tt0079116 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, Paul Benjamin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Escape From East Berlin | 1962 | Robert Siodmak | ★★ | 94 | East German chauffeur becomes determined to tunnel to West Berlin, to allow his family and new girlfriend to escape Communist domination. Dated and propagandistic but based on true events. | tt0055962 | Don Murray, Christine Kaufmann, Werner Klemperer, Ingrid van Bergen, Karl Schell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Escape From Fort Bravo | 1953 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 98 | Well-executed Civil War-era Western with Holden a hard-nosed cavalry captain at an Arizona fort where Confederate prisoners are held; both sides end up tangling with Indians. | tt0045737 | William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, Polly Bergen, William Demarest, William Campbell, Richard Anderson | Western | NULL | |||
| Escape From L.A. | John Carpenter's Escape From L.A. | 1996 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 101 | In the year 2013, the Island of L.A. is a penal colony for America's undesirables. Snake Plissken (Russell) is sent there to bring back a valuable destruction device that was smuggled away by the daughter of the U.S. President. Lackluster follow-up to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is tongue-in-cheek, but devoid of wit, and not likely to satisfy action fans, either. Russell coproduced and cowrote the script. On-screen title: JOHN CARPENTER'S ESCAPE FROM L.A. | tt0116225 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Stacy Keach, Steve Buscemi, Cliff Robertson, Valeria Golino, Peter Fonda, Michelle Forbes, A. J. Langer, Georges Corraface, Pam Grier, Robert Carradine, Bruce Campbell, Paul Bartel | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Escape From New York | 1981 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 99 | For a 'fun' film this is pretty bleak. The year is 1997, Manhattan is a maximum-security prison, and a character named Snake Plissken (Russell) must effect a daring rescue from within its borders. Reminiscent in some ways of Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, which was smaller— and better. Followed by ESCAPE FROM L.A. | tt0082340 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, Harry Dean Stanton, Season Hubley | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Escape From Red Rock | 1958 | Edward Bernds. | ★½ | 75 | Modest oater of rancher and girl involved in theft, being chased into Indian country by pursuing posse. | tt0051590 | Brian Donlevy, Jay C. Flippen, Eilene Janssen, Gary Murray. | Western | NULL | |||
| Escape From San Quentin | 1957 | Fred F. Sears. | 💣 | 81 | Drab film has Desmond as runaway convict who decides to give himself and buddy up to police. | tt0050365 | Johnny Desmond, Merry Anders, Richard Devon, Roy Engel. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Escape From Zahrain | 1962 | Ronald Neame | ★½ | 93 | Plodding film of five prisoners escaping from jail in Mideastern country, being chased across desert. Nice photography at least. | tt0055963 | Yul Brynner, Sal Mineo, Madlyn Rhue, Jack Warden, James Mason, Jay Novello | Action | NULL | |||
| Escape From the Planet of the Apes | 1971 | Don Taylor | ★★★ | 98 | Third in series is best of the sequels, with the Apes in modern-day L.A.; ingeniously paves the way for 4th and 5th entries in series. Followed by CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES. | tt0067065 | [G] | Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, Eric Braeden, William Windom, Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban | Family, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Escape Me Never | 1947 | Peter Godfrey | ★½ | 104 | Sappy remake of 1935 Elisabeth Bergner vehicle, with Lupino as an itinerant waif (!) and Flynn as struggling composer who marries her but takes up with his brother's aristocratic fiancée (Parker). Forget it. | tt0039357 | Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, Gig Young, Reginald Denny, Isobel Elsom | Drama | NULL | |||
| Escape in the Desert | 1945 | Edward A. Blatt | ★★ | 81 | Tame remake of THE PETRIFIED FOREST involving American flyer encountering Nazi at desert hotel. | tt0037677 | Philip Dorn, Helmut Dantine, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale/Sr. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Escape in the Fog | 1945 | Oscar (Budd) Boetticher | ★★ | 65 | Capable but unexceptional programmer of girl who has strange dream of murder being committed and encounters the dream victim in real life. Look fast for Shelley Winters. | tt0037678 | Nina Foch, William Wright, Otto Kruger, Konstantin Shayne | Crime | NULL | |||
| Escape to Athena | 1979 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★½ | 101 | Agreeable time-filler, with all-star cast in outlandish adventure yarn about WW2 POWs planning escape and art heist at the same time. Released in England at 125m. | tt0079117 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree, Stefanie Powers, Sonny Bono, Elliott Gould, William Holden | British | Action | NULL | |
| Escape to Burma | 1955 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 87 | Stanwyck rides herd over a tea plantation— and a pack of wild animals— but doesn't quite know how to deal with a wanted man who seeks refuge. Cast does what it can with pulp material. | tt0048044 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, David Farrar, Murvyn Vye, Lisa Montell, Reginald Denny | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Escape to Glory | 1940 | John Brahm | ★★★ | 74 | British ship is attacked by German sub at outbreak of WW2, giving pause to various passengers on-board— including a German doctor. Thoughtful, atmospheric B-picture with minimal amount of clichés. | tt0032448 | Constance Bennett, Pat O'Brien, John Halliday, Alan Baxter, Melville Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Escape to Witch Mountain | 1975 | John Hough | ★★★ | 97 | Excellent Disney mystery-fantasy: two children with mysterious powers try to discover their origins, while being pursued by evil Milland, who wants to use their powers for his own purposes. Remade for TV. Followed by sequel RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN. | tt0072951 | [G] | Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann, Donald Pleasence | Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Escape to the Sun | 1972 | Menahem Golan | ★½ | 105 | Suspense tale about aftermath of unsuccessful attempt by Soviet Jews to hijack a plane wastes a capable cast. | tt0068546 | [PG] | Laurence Harvey, Josephine Chaplin, John Ireland, Lila Kedrova, Jack Hawkins, Clive Revill | British-Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| Escort West | 1959 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★½ | 75 | Fairly good Western with Confederate soldier and 10-year-old daughter heading West, encountering two women who survived renegade attack and saved Army payroll. | tt0051591 | Victor Mature, Elaine Stewart, Faith Domergue, Reba Waters, Noah Beery/Jr., Leo Gordon, Rex Ingram | Western | NULL | |||
| Escort for Hire | 1960 | Godfrey Grayson. | ★★ | 66 | Clichéd murder yarn, with Trevarthan an out-of-work actor joining escort service, becoming involved in murder. | tt0053799 | June Thorburn, Noel Trevarthan, Peter Murray, Jill Melford, Guy Middleton. | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Eskimo | 1933 | W. S. Van Dyke. | ★★★ | 113 | After filming WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS and going to Africa for TRADER HORN, Van Dyke took an expedition to the Arctic for this raw and sexually frank anthropological docudrama about an Eskimo hunter who is wanted by the police for killing the white trader who raped his wife. Dramatic episodes are well integrated with beautifully photographed landscapes and wildlife scenes depicting walrus and whale hunts and a caribou stampede. Mostly native cast speaks in its natural language with subtitles translating the dialogue. Based on two books by Peter Freuchen, who plays the villainous captain of the trading ship; Van Dyke appears as a Canadian Mountie. Conrad Nervig's editing won an Oscar. | tt0023990 | Mala, Lotus Long, Joe Sawyer. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Especially on Sunday | 1991 | Giuseppe Tornatore, Giuseppe Bertolucci, Marco Tullio Giordana | ★★½ | 90 | Trio of short films, each set in the Italian countryside, is a mixed bag. The first, by Tornatore (featuring Noiret as a barber who is comically harassed by a dog), is slight; the second, by Bertolucci (middle-aged Ganz picks up a pretty young woman and her mentally ill brother), is trite; the third, by Giordana (widow Fellini develops a most unusual unspoken bond with her new daughter-in-law), is the best of the lot, a thoughtful meditation on loneliness. Fellini is Federico's sister; this is her screen debut. European release version includes a fourth film, by Francesco Barilli. | tt0101753 | [R] | Philippe Noiret, Ornella Muti, Bruno Ganz, Maria Maddelena Fellini, Chiara Caselli, Andrea Prodan, Bruno Berdini, Nicoletta Braschi, Jean-Hugues Anglade | Italian-French-Belgian | Drama | NULL | |
| Espionage | 1937 | Kurt Neumann. | ★★½ | 67 | Slick, fast-paced MGM B pic. Lowe and Evans are rival reporters on the trail of arms tycoon Lukas aboard the Orient Express. | tt0028841 | Edmund Lowe, Madge Evans, Paul Lukas, Ketti Gallion, Skeets Gallagher, Leonid Kinskey, Billy Gilbert. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Espionage Agent | 1939 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 83 | Formula spy caper with McCrea and Marshall tracking down the head of notorious spy ring. | tt0031280 | Joel McCrea, Brenda Marshall, George Bancroft, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson, Martin Kosleck | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Esther Kahn | 2000 | Arnaud Desplechin | ★½ | 145 | Overlong, overwrought drama about a single-minded young Jewess in late-19th-century London who struggles with her feelings and fears while setting out to become an actress. Potentially interesting subject matter is done in by boring stretches, laughably stilted dialogue, a maddeningly uneven lead performance by Phoenix, and unnecessary narration that telegraphs points and emotions. A plus: Eric Gautier's luminous cinematography. | tt0183056 | Summer Phoenix, Ian Holm, Fabrice Desplechin, Frances Barber, Ian Bartholomew | French-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Esther Waters | 1948 | Ian Dalrymple | ★★½ | 108 | Well-appointed account of rogue Bogarde (in starring debut) involved with lovely damsels frequenting the racetracks; set in 19th-century England. Film bogs down into soaper of gloomy married life, marring initial zest. | tt0040328 | Kathleen Ryan, Dirk Bogarde, Cyril Cusack, Ivor Barnard, Fay Compton, Mary Clare | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Esther and the King | 1960 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 109 | Cardboard biblical costumer pretends to recreate 4th-century B.C. Persia, with stony performances by Egan and Collins as the king and the Jewish maiden he wants to replace murdered queen. Filmed in Italy. | tt0053800 | Joan Collins, Richard Egan, Denis O'Dea, Sergio Fantoni | U.S.-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eternal Love | 1929 | Ernst Lubitsch. | ★★½ | 71 | In the early 19th century, a small Swiss town is overrun by the invading French Army, inciting rebellion and igniting souls on both sides. Silent film has a bit of the famed Lubitsch touch but functions primarily as a mountain adventure. 'Alpine' scenery is really the spectacular Canadian Rockies near Banff, Alberta. From the novel Der Koenig der Bernina by Jakob Christoph Heer. Remade in 1957. | tt0019852 | John Barrymore, Camilla Horn, Victor Varconi, Hobart Bosworth, Bodil Rosing, Mona Rico. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Eternal Sea | 1955 | John H. Auer | ★★½ | 103 | Well-played biography of Admiral John Hoskins' efforts to retain active command despite WW2 injury. Hayden is restrained in lead role; modest production values. | tt0048047 | Sterling Hayden, Alexis Smith, Dean Jagger, Virginia Grey | War | NULL | |||
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | Michel Gondry | ★★★ | 108 | A man learns his ex-girlfriend has had him literally erased from her memory and decides to get the same procedure done . . . but has second thoughts as his mind is being purged. Ingenious, Oscar-winning screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (from a story by Kaufman, Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth) is extremely well executed by director Gondry (and cinematographer Ellen Kuras), though the film tends to cleverly dance around the roots of emotional and romantic pain rather than fully engage them. Carrey has never been better; Winslet is (as always) exceptional. | tt0338013 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Jane Adams, David Cross, Deirdre O'Connell | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Eternally Yours | 1939 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 95 | Wayout idea comes off fairly well; Young is married to magician Niven, thinks his tricks are taking precedence to their married life. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031282 | Loretta Young, David Niven, Hugh Herbert, C. Aubrey Smith, Billie Burke, Broderick Crawford, ZaSu Pitts, Eve Arden | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Ethan Frome | 1993 | John Madden | ★★½ | 107 | Stately, just-adequate adaptation of Edith Wharton's famed 1911 novella of tragedy, irony, and repression, set in rural New England: the tale of a farmer who weds a domineering woman (Allen), then falls in love with her poor but pretty cousin (Arquette). Beautifully photographed (by Bobby Bukowski) and intelligently scripted (by Richard Nelson), but not as powerful and moving as it should be. An American Playhouse theatrical feature. | tt0106833 | [PG] | Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, Joan Allen, Tate Donovan, Katharine Houghton, Stephen Mendillo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eulogy | 2004 | Michael Clancy. | ★★ | 91 | Dysfunctional family reunites over the death of the patriarch and standard sitcom shenanigans ensue, with frantic mugging and bad sex jokes. Hard to totally fail with this caliber of ensemble players, but still pretty weak. Laurie and Deschanel come off best as suicidal grandmother and her granddaughter (the only normal one in the pack). Winger uncharacteristically hits all the wrong notes as a homophobic, neurotic aunt. | tt0349416 | [R] | Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, Zooey Deschanel, Glenne Headly, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Kelly Preston, Ray Romano, Rip Torn, Debra Winger, Curtis Garcia, Keith Garcia, Paget Brewster, Rene Auberjonois, Claudette Nevins, Micole Mercurio, Rance Howard. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eureka | River of Darkness | 1983 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★ | 130 | Klondike prospector becomes fabulously wealthy, watches his kingdom crumble 30 years later when his daughter's problems and Miami thugs converge on him at the same time. Odd drama, even for Roeg, that somehow climaxes with long, windy courtroom histrionics. Shelved by its studio, sporadically released in 1985. Aka RIVER OF DARKNESS. | tt0083906 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Jane Lapotaire, Ed Lauter, Mickey Rourke, Joe Pesci, Corin Redgrave | Drama | NULL | |
| Eureka | 2000 | Shinji Aoyama | ★★½ | 217 | A tragic and shattering event has life-changing consequences for both a bus driver and the two orphaned children who are the only survivors of the incident. Epic film deals with the aftermath of a traumatic moment as the characters search for meaning and redemption. Beautifully shot in black and white, this demanding film does have rewards for the adventurous filmgoer but is ultimately compromised by its indulgent overlength. | tt0243889 | Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yoichiro Saito | Japanese-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eureka Stockade | 1949 | Harry Watt | ★★★ | 103 | Stirring period drama, set in the 1850s upon the discovery of gold in Australia, chronicling the conflict between workingmen intent on panning for gold and their former employers (and government) intent on restricting their freedom. One of the former (Rafferty, in a forceful performance) attempts to mediate between the opposing groups. Aka MASSACRE HILL. | tt0041340 | Chips Rafferty, Jane Barrett, Gordon Jackson, Jack Lambert, Peter Illing, Ralph Truman, Peter Finch | British-Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Europa Europa | 1991 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★½ | 115 | German-Jewish teenage boy flees the Nazis and conceals his identity— only to find himself drafted into Hitler's army! Eye-opening, fact-based WW2 Holocaust drama, from Solomon Perel's autobiography, is both harrowing and humorous; deftly blends horrific images with black comedy to depict the growing pains of a boy becoming a man in the midst of a world in chaos. Polish writer-director Holland has made a riveting and moving film. | tt0099776 | [R] | Marco Hofschneider, Rene Hofschneider, Julie Delpy, Ashley Wanninger, Piotr Kozlowski, Halina Labornarska, Hanns Zischler | French-German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Europeans | 1979 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 90 | Meticulous film of Henry James novel vividly recreates 19th-century life in New England, as the arrival of two foreign cousins disrupts the stern-faced calm of a plain American family. Deliberately paced, but richly rewarding. | tt0079123 | Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Wesley Addy, Tim Choate, Lisa Eichhorn, Tim Woodward, Kristin Griffith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Eurotrip | 2004 | Jeff Schaffer | ★★ | 92 | A high school grad who's just been dumped by his girlfriend goes to Europe to meet a German e-mail pen pal (who, he's just learned, is a hot babe); he and three hometown pals have a series of misadventures along the way. All too typical teen comedy should please adolescent boys with its female nudity and gross-out gags; others will take their cue from the fact that there is a vomit joke in the animated main titles! Jeffrey Tambor appears unbilled. Unrated version available on DVD. | tt0356150 | [R] | Scott Mechlowicz, Jacob Pitts, Michelle Trachtenberg, Travis Wester, Jessica Boehrs, Vinnie Jones, Lucy Lawless, Fred Armisen, Diedrich Bader, Patrick Malahide, Matt Damon, Joanna Lumley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eva | 1962 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 100 | Brooding account of writer Baker whose continued attraction for Eva (Moreau) causes wife (Lisi) to have tragic death. Premise isn't always workable, but Moreau is well cast as personification of evil. Based on a novel by James Hadley Chase. Director's cut (titled EVE) runs 119m. | tt0059160 | Jeanne Moreau, Stanley Baker, Virna Lisi, Nona Medici, Francesco Rissone, James Villiers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Evan Almighty | 2007 | Tom Shadyac | ★½ | 96 | In this follow-up to BRUCE ALMIGHTY former newscaster Evan Baxter (Carell), a newly elected congressman, is told by God (Freeman) to build an enormous ark in preparation for a devastating flood. Wacky hijinks ensue. Wasting the likable and talented Carell, this shrill farce tries to sugarcoat its religious conservatism with a feel-good sitcom style, but possesses about as much genuine spirituality as a velvet painting of Jesus. And is God really creating a flood to get back at a crooked Washington lawmaker? | tt0413099 | [PG] | Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, Jonah Hill, Molly Shannon, Harve Presnell, Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips, Jimmy Bennett | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Evangeline | 1929 | Edwin Carewe. | ★★★ | 87 | Acadian lovers in 1740s Nova Scotia are torn asunder by evil British soldiers but vow to meet again though they be a continent apart. Robust adaptation of Longfellow's 1847 narrative poem is a curious silent/sound hybrid and was the last of seven collaborations between glamorous Del Rio and her devoted director. Some location shooting in Louisiana. Previously filmed in 1908, 1914, and 1919. | tt0019856 | Dolores Del Rio, Roland Drew, Alec B. Francis, Donald Reed, Paul McAllister, James A. Marcus, George F. Marion/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Eve Knew Her Apples | 1945 | Will Jason | ★★½ | 64 | Sprightly musical variation of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, with Miller on the lam from her marriage-minded fiancé. | tt0037685 | Ann Miller, William Wright, Robert Williams, Ray Walker | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Eve of Destruction | 1991 | Duncan Gibbins | ★★ | 98 | This muddled FRANKENSTEIN variation might have worked with a better script, and without a point of view that manages to at the same time be reverse-sexist and anti-feminist. Soutendijk gives her all in a dual role: Dr. Eve Simmons, a scientist, and Eve VIII, the android/robot bomb she's created in her own likeness— and which is running amok. Hines is the good guy who sets out to immobilize it. Dutch actress Soutendijk's U.S. film debut. | tt0101831 | [R] | Gregory Hines, Renee Soutendijk, Michael Greene, Kurt Fuller, John M. Jackson, Kevin McCarthy | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Eve of St. Mark | 1944 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 96 | Human focus on WW2 in tale of soldier Eythe and girl friend Baxter at outset of war; not always successful Maxwell Anderson story. | tt0036803 | Anne Baxter, William Eythe, Michael O'Shea, Vincent Price, Dickie Moore | War | NULL | |||
| Eve's Bayou | 1997 | Kasi Lemmons | ★★★ | 109 | Absorbing tale of a privileged Creole family of the early 1960s, as seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old girl, who learns that her parents have very human frailties . . . and are still susceptible to age-old superstitions and even voodoo. Exceptional cast, led by young Smollett, give credence to the often fanciful story, which is drenched in Southern gothic atmosphere. Impressive writing and directing debut for Lemmons. Costar Jackson was one of the film's producers. | tt0119080 | [R] | Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good, Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Jake Smollett, Ethel Ayler, Diahann Carroll, Vondie Curtis Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Branford Marsalis, Victoria Rowell; narrated by Tamara Tunie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Evel Knievel | 1972 | Marvin J. Chomsky | ★★½ | 90 | Biography of daredevil motorcyclist contains some great action footage; modest but effective film. Shouldn't be confused with VIVA KNIEVEL! (in which Evel played himself). | tt0067069 | [PG] | George Hamilton, Sue Lyon, Bert Freed, Rod Cameron | Action | NULL | ||
| Evelyn | 2002 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 95 | Brosnan's company produced this button-pushing, feel-good movie based on the true story of a working-class Irishman who has to battle the government to regain custody of his sons and daughter after his wife walks out on them. Set in 1953, the film doesn't seem to trust the inherent drama in its story, and plays everything broadly, with nudge-nudge wink-wink acting by its able cast. Could have, and should have, been much better. | tt0298856 | [PG] | Pierce Brosnan, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Bates, Julianna Margulies, Sophie Vavasseur | U.S.-Irish-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Evelyn Prentice | 1934 | William K. Howard | ★★½ | 80 | Story of successful attorney who doesn't know his own wife is in trouble is too drawn out, and ultimately implausible. Cast rises above the material. Russell's first film. Remade as STRONGER THAN DESIRE. | tt0025091 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Una Merkel, Rosalind Russell, Isabel Jewell, Harvey Stephens, Edward Brophy, Cora Sue Collins | Mystery, Drama | NULL | |||
| Even Cowgirls Get the Blues | 1994 | Gus Van Sant | 💣 | 97 | Tom Robbins' hopelessly dated novel about a hitchhiker with oversized thumbs is a candidate for the decade's worst movie: there is not enough peyote in the entire American Southwest to render scenes set in the feminist-collective ranch comprehensible or possible to endure. Recut by the director after its stormy reception at the Toronto Film Festival knocked it off the '93 release schedule. The k.d. lang score is the movie's sole worthy component. William S. Burroughs is briefly seen at film's beginning on a N.Y.C. street. | tt0106834 | [R] | Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Angie Dickinson, Rain Phoenix, John Hurt, Roseanne Arnold, Keanu Reeves, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Sean Young, Crispin Glover, Ed Begley/Jr., Faye Dunaway, Steve Buscemi, Heather Graham, Victoria Williams, Carol Kane, Grace Zabriskie | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Even Dwarfs Started Small | 1968 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 96 | Unusual, disturbing, truly unsettling parable about dwarfs and midgets confined to a barren correctional institution who literally take over the asylum. Reminiscent of Tod Browning's FREAKS. | tt0065436 | Helmut Döring, Gerd Gickel, Paul Glauer, Erna Gschwnedtner, Gisela Hartwig | German | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Even Money | 2007 | Mark Rydell | ★★ | 113 | Melancholy look at a handful of losers and dreamers—including compulsive gamblers Whitaker and Basinger, has-been magician DeVito, underworld boss Roth, and small-time bookies Mohr and Sullivan. The resolutions to these stories are alternately squalid and improbable. Good performances pique your interest at first, but the movie runs out of gas. Director Rydell has a cameo near the end. | tt0404163 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Kelsey Grammer, Ray Liotta, Tim Roth, Jay Mohr, Nick Cannon, Carla Gugino, Grant Sullivan | U.S.-German | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Evening | 2007 | Lajos Koltai | ★★ | 117 | Two sisters try to interpret their mother’s ramblings while on her deathbed; they eventually learn about the unfulfilled love of her life in a series of extended flashbacks. Lugubrious translation of Susan Minot’s time-skipping novel (by the author and Michael Cunningham), filmed on location in Newport, Rhode Island. Gummer is Streep’s real-life daughter; they play the same character, young and old. Richardson is Redgrave’s daughter, and they play mother and daughter on-screen. | tt0765447 | [PG-13] | Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Mamie Gummer, Eileen Atkins, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Barry Bostwick | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Evening Star | 1996 | Robert Harling | ★★ | 129 | The further adventures of feisty, eccentric Aurora Greenway, who's now raised three grandchildren (born to Debra Winger in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT). Trades on the memory of a much better movie; even Nicholson's brief appearance only reminds us of the earlier film. There's barely an honest moment in the picture. Ross stands out as MacLaine's loyal longtime housekeeper and friend. Based on Larry McMurtry's novel. Johnson's final film. | tt0116240 | [PG-13] | Shirley MacLaine, Bill Paxton, Juliette Lewis, Miranda Richardson, Ben Johnson, Scott Wolf, George Newbern, Marion Ross, Mackenzie Astin, Donald Moffat, China Kantner, Jack Nicholson, Jennifer Grant | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Event Horizon | 1997 | Paul Anderson | ★★ | 95 | In 2047, a rescue mission is launched to Neptune when the exploration ship Event Horizon reappears as mysteriously as it had vanished seven years before. The returned ship's crew is gone, but there's a disturbing presence aboard, perhaps connected to the black hole designed to warp space. Well-acted movie begins promisingly but becomes increasingly unlikely; offers no explanation for the strange events. Some intense horror scenes. | tt0119081 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee | U.S.-British | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action | NULL | |
| The Event | 2003 | Thom Fitzgerald | ★½ | 110 | The investigation of an apparent suicide, one of a series of mysterious deaths in the gay community of N.Y.C.'s Chelsea neighborhood, leads to surprising revelations. Well intentioned but destroyed by a hopelessly muddled script, pedestrian direction, and a series of overdrawn stereotypes. Only Dukakis emerges with dignity intact, somehow managing to create yet another memorable screen mother. Cowritten by the director. | tt0314039 | [R] | Parker Posey, Don McKellar, Sarah Polley, Jane Leeves, Brent Carver, Olympia Dukakis, Joanna P. Adler, Dick Latessa, Christina Zorich | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Ever After | 1998 | Andy Tennant | ★★★ | 122 | The Queen of France (Moreau) summons the Brothers Grimm to her castle so she may tell them the true story of Cinderella: what unfolds is a charming rethinking of the classic fairy tale, with Barrymore as a feisty orphan (named Danielle) who puts her potential Prince Charming to shame with her bravery and regard for humankind. Long, but exquisitely filmed on location in France. Barrymore is a delight as a Cinderella for feminists. VHS version is rated PG. | tt0120631 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Patrick Godfrey, Megan Dodds, Melanie Lynskey, Timothy West, Judy Parfitt, Jeroen Krabbé, Richard O'Brien, Jeanne Moreau | Romance | NULL | ||
| Ever Since Eve | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon | ★½ | 79 | Davies makes herself homely in order to avoid being harassed on the job; dreary comedy tests the mettle of Warner Bros. stock cast. This was Marion's last film. | tt0028842 | Marion Davies, Robert Montgomery, Frank McHugh, Patsy Kelly, Allen Jenkins, Louise Fazenda, Barton MacLane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ever in My Heart | 1933 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 68 | New Englander Stanwyck, a Daughter of the American Revolution, weds German-born college professor Kruger. He becomes an American citizen— and then WW1 comes. Well-meaning soaper reflects the mood of the period, but is too hurried and simplistic to really score. | tt0023992 | Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, Ralph Bellamy, Ruth Donnelly, Frank Albertson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Evergreen | 1934 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 90 | British musical-comedy star's best known film is enjoyable fluff about young girl who becomes a stage sensation masquerading as her long-retired mother. Score includes Rodgers and Hart's 'Dancing on the Ceiling.' | tt0025094 | Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Betty Balfour, Barry Mackay, Ivor MacLaren | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Everlasting Moments | 2008 | Jan Troell | ★★★ | 131 | In early 20th-century Sweden a hardworking woman with many children—and a lusty, often abusive husband—finds purpose (and solace) by taking photographs with a camera she won in a lottery. Absorbing, evocative period piece is meticulously realized by Troell, who also shot the film (in collaboration with Mischa Gavrjusjov) and cowrote the story with his wife, Agneta Ulfsäter Troell, and Nikolas Rådström, based on a real-life woman’s experiences. Title onscreen is MARIA LARSSON’S EVERLASTING MOMENTS. | tt0961066 | Unrated | Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, Jesper Christensen, Callin Öhrvall, Ghita Nørby, Amanda Ooms, Emil Jensen | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| An Everlasting Piece | 2000 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 105 | Intermittently funny, sometimes silly satire set in Belfast (rather than director Levinson's customary Baltimore), about a pair of inept barbers-turned-wig-salesmen; one (McEvoy) is insolent and Catholic, the other (O'Byrne) is more restrained and Protestant. McEvoy also scripted. | tt0218182 | [R] | Barry McEvoy, Brian F. O'Byrne, Anna Friel, Pauline McLynn, Ruth McCabe, Laurence Kinlan, Billy Connolly, Des McAleer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Eversmile New Jersey | 1989 | Carlos Sorin | ★½ | 88 | If you've waited all your life to see a film about a traveling missionary dentist, wait no more: Day-Lewis plays a fanatic who works for a 'dental consciousness' foundation and travels the hinterlands to spread his noble message. Offbeat, to say the least, but grows wearisome after a while. Filmed in Argentina. | tt0097302 | [PG] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Mirjana Jokovic, Gabriela Archer, Julio De Grazia, Ignacio Quiros, Miguel Ligero, Ana Maria Glunta | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Every Day | 2011 | Richard Levine | ★★ | 93 | Well-cast film about a married couple facing various kinds of stress: her ailing (and demanding) father has just moved in with them, his producer at a TV show is impossibly mercurial and pairs him with a sexy writer on the staff, and their teenage son has declared that he is gay, which causes his father great discomfort. Director Levine’s screenplay offers no revelations, but it’s reasonably credible and the performances are solid. | tt1301990 | [R] | Liev Schreiber, Helen Hunt, Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Eddie Izzard, Ezra Miller, David Harbour, Tilky Jones | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Every Day's A Holiday | 1937 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 80 | Mae sells Herman Bing the Brooklyn Bridge, so police detective Lowe orders her to leave N.Y.C. She returns to help expose crooked police chief Nolan. Gay 90s setting for fast-moving West vehicle. | tt0028843 | Mae West, Edmund Lowe, Charles Butterworth, Charles Winninger, Walter Catlett, Lloyd Nolan, Louis Armstrong | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Every Girl Should Be Married | 1948 | Don Hartman | ★★½ | 85 | Airy comedy of girl (Drake) setting out to trap bachelor (Grant) into marriage; Tone has thankless 'other man' role. Drake also 'captured' Grant in real life; they were married soon after this film came out. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040331 | Cary Grant, Franchot Tone, Diana Lynn, Betsy Drake, Alan Mowbray | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Every Little Crook and Nanny | 1972 | Cy Howard | ★★ | 91 | Good idea— the kidnapping of a mobster's son by nanny Redgrave— gets away in this comic crime-and-caper film. One bright spot: Mature's gangster portrayal. | tt0068553 | [PG] | Lynn Redgrave, Victor Mature, Paul Sand, Austin Pendleton, John Astin, Dom DeLuise, Pat Harrington, Severn Darden | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Every Man for Himself | 1980 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 87 | Self-conscious account of three characters whose lives are intertwined: Dutronc, who has left his wife for Baye; Baye, who is leaving Dutronc for life in the boondocks; and Huppert, country girl turned prostitute. Godard's 'comeback' film was widely overrated, and certainly can't compare with his best work of the past. | tt0079854 | Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, Nathalie Baye, Roland Amstutz, Anna Baldaccini | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Every Man for Himself and God Against All | The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser | 1975 | Werner Herzog | ★★★★ | 110 | Man kept in confinement from birth mysteriously appears in 1820s Nuremberg. Poignant tale based on real incident explores his alternate vision of the world and his attempts to adjust to society. Herzog's best film (from his own screenplay) features stunning performance by Bruno S. as Kaspar Hauser. The story also is recounted in KASPAR HAUSER. Aka THE MYSTERY OF KASPAR HAUSER. | tt0071691 | Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Hans Musaus, Willy Semmelrogge, Michael Kroecher | German | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Every Night at Eight | 1935 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 81 | Forgettable trifle about Faye, Langford, and Kelly singing their way to fame with bandleader Raft. Dorothy Fields-Jimmy McHugh score includes 'I Feel a Song Comin' On' and 'I'm in the Mood for Love. | tt0026325 | George Raft, Alice Faye, Frances Langford, Patsy Kelly, Herman Bing, Walter Catlett | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Every Time We Say Goodbye | 1986 | Moshe Mizrahi. | ★★½ | 95 | Hanks' presence adds to this otherwise average soaper-romance, about an American flyer who falls for a Sephardic Jew (Marsillach) in WW2 Jerusalem. | tt0091019 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Cristina Marsillach, Benedict Taylor, Anat Atzmon, Gila Almagor. | Israeli | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Every Which Way but Loose | 1978 | James Fargo | 💣 | 114 | Clint takes the first pickup truck to Stupidsville, with an orangutan as his best friend, in this bizarre change of pace for the action star. The clumsiest comedy of its year. Sequel: ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN. | tt0077523 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D'Angelo, Ruth Gordon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Everybody Does It | 1949 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 98 | Exceptionally amusing yarn of aspiring singer Holm, harried husband Douglas, and prima donna Darnell. Celeste wants vocal career, Douglas gets one instead. Remake of WIFE, HUSBAND, AND FRIEND; Nunnally Johnson adapted his earlier screenplay (based on a James M. Cain story). | tt0041341 | Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell, Celeste Holm, Charles Coburn, Millard Mitchell, Lucile Watson, John Hoyt, George Tobias | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Everybody Sing | 1938 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 91 | Shrill musical with stupid plot, unmemorable songs; good cast fighting weak material about nutty family involved in putting on a show. After loud finale you'll be waiting for a sequel called EVERYBODY SHUT UP. | tt0030108 | Allan Jones, Judy Garland, Fanny Brice, Reginald Owen, Billie Burke, Reginald Gardiner | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Everybody Wins | 1990 | Karel Reisz | 💣 | 98 | Private detective with an ax to grind ties his professional reputation to a schizoid small-town hooker who outbugs Bugs and Daffy. Arthur Miller's first screenplay since THE MISFITS (based on his one-act play 'Some Kind of Love Story') gave fruit to this ironically titled fiasco; Winger flounders in a difficult— perhaps even unplayable— role. | tt0099520 | [R] | Debra Winger, Nick Nolte, Will Patton, Jack Warden, Judith Ivey, Kathleen Wilhoite, Frank Converse, Frank Military | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Everybody's All-American | 1988 | Taylor Hackford | ★★★ | 127 | The 25-year saga of a college football hero and his homecoming queen, who find a rocky road living happily ever after. Quaid seems too aware of the caricature he is about to become, but Lange's bittersweet performance rings true throughout and makes this film worth seeing. Based on Frank Deford's novel. | tt0095119 | [R] | Jessica Lange, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Hutton, John Goodman, Carl Lumbly, Ray Baker, Savannah Smith Boucher, Patricia Clarkson | Romance | NULL | ||
| Everybody's Famous | 2000 | Dominique Deruddere | ★½ | 97 | Factory worker dreams of celebrity for his overweight daughter (a Madonna wannabe). He concocts an inane kidnapping scheme to that end, reveling in the notoriety it brings him. Odd, twisted comedy-drama struggles to entertain. Maybe you have to be Flemish. . . . | tt0209037 | [R] | Josse De Pauw, Eva van der Gucht, Werner De Smedt, Thekla Reuten, Victor Löw, Gert Portael | Belgian-French-Dutch | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Everybody's Fine | 1990 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★½ | 112 | Mastroianni is elderly, slightly befuddled Sicilian patriarch who embarks on extended tour of Italy to visit his five grown children. Provocative idea of showing a parent's hopes and dreams dashed by reality; unfortunately, it becomes a lumbering Felliniesque travelogue. Creator of CINEMA PARADISO looks at flip side of nostalgia here with so-so success (and a typically vital Mastroianni performance). Michele Morgan is lovely in small role of woman in tour group. | tt0100681 | Marcello Mastroianni, Michele Morgan, Marino Cenna, Roberto Nobile, Valeria Cavali, Norma Martelli, Fabio Iellini, Salvatore Cascio | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Everybody's Fine | 2009 | Kirk Jones | ★★★ | 95 | When his grown children all cancel their plans to visit him one weekend, retired widower De Niro decides to travel across the country to call on them, unannounced. As he does, he discovers they have been keeping secrets from him. Good cast makes the most of this likable, lightweight material, and writer-director Jones injects touching moments of De Niro interacting with ordinary people during his journey. Marcello Mastroianni originated this part in the 1990 Italian film. | tt0780511 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Lucian Maisel, Damian Young, James Frain, Melissa Leo, Katherine Moennig, James Murtaugh | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Everyone Says I Love You | 1996 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 101 | The misadventures of an upper-class Manhattan family, at home, in Venice, and in Paris. A cheerful mess that's simply an excuse for Allen to make a musical. The sheer joy of watching the cast sing wonderful old songs (only Barrymore is dubbed) makes up for all the film's shortcomings (including a lack of story, and a curious habit of the camera's wandering away from whoever is singing, for no apparent reason). Everyone seems to be having a good time, and Woody enthusiastically reprises his nebbish persona of yore. The score is brilliantly arranged by Dick Hyman. | tt0116242 | [R] | Woody Allen, Goldie Hawn, Alan Alda, Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore, Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Natalie Portman, Gaby Hoffmann, Natasha Lyonne, Lukas Haas, Billy Crudup, David Ogden Stiers | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Everyone's Hero | 2006 | Christopher Reeve, Colin Brady, Dan St. Pierre | ★★½ | 88 | In this animated film for kids, a boy sets out across country to 'help' Babe Ruth and the 1932 N.Y. Yankees triumph in the World Series by finding and returning a stolen magical bat. Theme of persevering no matter what the odds can be traced to the spirit and guidance of initial director Reeve. Result is a bit too obvious for any but the youngest viewers; still, there's heart and hope in the story and good work from a stellar voice cast. Reeve's final film project; he died during production. | tt0430779 | [G] | Voices of William H. Macy, Rob Reiner, Brian Dennehy, Raven-Symoné, Robert Wagner, Richard Kind, Jason Harris, Jake T. Austin, Joe Torre, Mandy Patinkin, Forest Whitaker, Whoopi Goldberg, Dana Reeve, Robin Williams | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sport | NULL | ||
| Everything But the Truth | 1956 | Jerry Hopper | ★★ | 83 | When youngster Hovey joins truth pledge crusade at school, repercussions to his family and townfolk grow; cutesy. | tt0049193 | Maureen O'Hara, John Forsythe, Tim Hovey, Frank Faylen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Everything Happens at Night | 1939 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 77 | Rival journalists Cummings and Milland come to Swiss village in search of supposedly assassinated 'peace leader,' but find themselves sidetracked by pert Henie (who gets to do plenty of skiing and ice-skating). Uneven comedy/ drama/romance/thriller. | tt0031285 | Sonja Henie, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, Maurice Moscovich, Alan Dinehart, Fritz Feld, Jody Gilbert, Victor Varconi | Drama | NULL | |||
| Everything I Have Is Yours | 1952 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 92 | Champions play dance team who finally get Broadway break, only to discover she's pregnant. Mild musical helped by stars' multitalents. | tt0044599 | Marge and Gower Champion, Dennis O'Keefe, Eduard Franz | Musical | NULL | |||
| Everything Is Illuminated | 2005 | Liev Schreiber | ★★★ | 106 | Jonathan (Wood), a nerdy young Jewish American who is obsessed with the objects that link him to his family's past, travels to the Ukraine to explore his roots. Initially, his eccentric tour guides and their screwball antics are out of sync with the seriousness of the story, but once their journey begins-and especially when they discover an elderly woman who might have saved Jonathan's grandfather from the Nazis-the film becomes a poignant exploration of how objects allow us to hold on to memories. Scripted by first-time director Schreiber, from Jonathan Safran Foer's bestseller. | tt0404030 | [PG-13] | Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Leskin, Laryssa Lauret | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Everything Must Go | 2011 | Dan Rush | ★★ | 97 | Hotshot sales exec (and alcoholic) is fired after burning too many bridges, and goes home to find that his wife has left, changed the locks on their house, and thrown all his belongings onto the front lawn. He takes up residence there, befriending a lonely neighborhood kid (Wallace), who becomes an ally, and a woman (Hall) who’s just moved in across the street. Adapted and perhaps foolishly expanded from a Raymond Carver short story by first-time director Rush, it runs out of steam too soon and introduces some characters and plot points too late. Saving grace is Ferrell, who’s excellent in a skillful, serious performance. | tt1531663 | [R] | Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern, Michael Peña, Christopher Jordan CJ Wallace, Stephen Root | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Everything Put Together | 2001 | Marc Forster | ★★★½ | 88 | Probing look at a woman who's pregnant at the same time as her best friends . . . but when her newborn dies they abandon her and she goes through several stages of personal hell. Perceptive, mature, often uncomfortably real, with a superb performance by Mitchell. The director cowrote with costar Burns and Adam Forgash. Shot on digital video. | tt0228277 | [R] | Radha Mitchell, Megan Mullally, Justin Louis, Catherine Lloyd Burns, Alan Ruck, Michele Hicks, Matt Malloy, Vince Vieluf | Drama | NULL | ||
| Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) | 1972 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 87 | One of Woody's most cinematic comedies, also most uneven, most tasteless. In multi-episode feature based very loosely on Dr. David Reuben's book, only a few segments stand out: final sequence inside male body during intercourse is a gem. | tt0068555 | [R] | Woody Allen, John Carradine, Lou Jacobi, Louise Lasser, Anthony Quayle, Tony Randall, Lynn Redgrave, Burt Reynolds, Gene Wilder, Jack Barry, Erin Fleming, Robert Q. Lewis, Heather MacRae, Pamela Mason, Sidney Miller, Regis Philbin, Geoffrey Holder, Jay Robinson, Robert Walden | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Everything for Sale | 1968 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★ | 105 | Not top-drawer Wajda, but still an ambitious, fluidly directed examination of life on a movie set, the relationship between a director and his actors, and what happens when the leading man is accidentally killed. A very personal homage to Zbigniew Cybulski, Wajda's star of the '50s, who died in a freak mishap in 1967. | tt0065226 | Beata Tyszkiewicz, Elzbieta Czyzewska, Daniel Olbrychski, Andrzej Lapicki | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Everything's Ducky | 1961 | Don Taylor | ★★ | 81 | Nonsense of Rooney-Hackett teaming up with talking duck, with trio ending up on navy missile orbiting earth; strictly for kids. | tt0054860 | Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Jackie Cooper, Roland Winters | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Evictors | 1979 | Charles B. Pierce | ★½ | 92 | Couple moves into eerie house, unaware of its violent history. Tired rehash of an all too familiar formula. | tt0079128 | [PG] | Michael Parks, Jessica Harper, Vic Morrow, Sue Ane Langdon, Dennis Fimple, Bill Thurman | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Evil | 2003 | Mikael Håfström | ★★½ | 113 | Vivid and violent story of a troubled kid who's good with his fists; he's shipped to a boys' boarding school where the seniors rule and make life miserable for the younger ones. As he tries to change his ways and succeed academically he is sucked into the dark underworld of the campus. Although set in the '50s and featuring a tip of the hat to REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, this is closer in spirit to Lindsay Anderson's IF . . . and FIGHT CLUB. Originally released in the U.S. | tt0338309 | Unrated | Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus, Jesper Salén, Filip Berg, Fredrik af Trampe | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Evil Dead II | 1987 | Sam Raimi | ★★★ | 85 | After recapping the first film, this inventive sequel takes off in a unique direction, blending horror and humor as no other movie ever has. In that same cabin, Campbell is again (or still) beset by demons, including, memorably, his own possessed hand. Vivid, fast paced, spectacularly gory, and highly original. Followed by ARMY OF DARKNESS. | tt0092991 | [R] | Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley, Theodore Raimi, Denise Bixler, Richard Domeier | Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Evil Dead | 1983 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 85 | Five kids at mountain cabin chop each other to pieces when demons possess everything. Wildly stylish, ultra-low-budget movie made by precocious college students is one of the grossest horror films ever. Borrowing inspiration from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, SUSPIRIA, THE EXORCIST and THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (just to name a few), it provides a deliriously imaginative roller coaster ride for those with strong stomachs. Video version rated R. Followed by two sequels. | tt0083907 | Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Sarah York | Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Evil Eye | The Girl Who Knew Too Much | 1962 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 92 | Incredible but enjoyable chiller set in Rome, with Roman involved in a series of unsolved brutal murders. Aka THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. | tt0057443 | Leticia Roman, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese, Dante Di Paolo | Italian | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Evil That Men Do | 1984 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 89 | Typical, violent Bronson entry, with Charlie a professional killer on the trail of a sadistic British doctor (Maher). For Bronson addicts only. | tt0087222 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, Joseph Maher, Jose Ferrer, Rene Enriquez, John Glover, Raymond St | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Evil Under the Sun | 1982 | Guy Hamilton | ★★ | 102 | Murder at a resort hotel, with Hercule Poirot (Ustinov) to the rescue. An all-star cast and top production values, but still blah. Based on the Agatha Christie novel, with a script by Anthony Shaffer; exteriors filmed in Majorca. | tt0083908 | [PG] | Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Colin Blakely, Nicholas Clay, Roddy McDowall, James Mason, Sylvia Miles, Denis Quilley, Diana Rigg, Maggie Smith, Emily Hone | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Evil of Frankenstein | 1964 | Freddie Francis | ★★ | 84 | Dr. F. thaws out his monster, with all-too-predictable consequences in this Hammer Films potboiler, a sequel to REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN. 97m. TV print makes matters worse; some scenes have been eliminated; terrible new footage showing frightened villagers has been added; new cast includes Steven Geray, Maria Palmer, William Phipps. Followed by FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN. | tt0058073 | Peter Cushing, Duncan Lamont, Peter Woodthorpe, James Maxwell, Sandor Eles | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Evil | 1978 | Gus Trikonis | ★★½ | 90 | Doctor Crenna rents 'haunted' house to use as clinic, but he and associates are violently victimized by powers within. Slow-moving film covers familiar ground; some chills. Laser title: HOUSE OF EVIL. | tt0077524 | [R] | Richard Crenna, Joanna Pettet, Andrew Prine, Cassie Yates, Lynne Moody, Victor Buono, George O'Hanlon/Jr. | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Evita | 1996 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 134 | The world's longest music video: a lavish adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 1978 stage musical about the rise of Eva Peron, from her illegitimate childhood to near-deification as First Lady in 1940s Argentina. As pageant, it works, but there is no emotional center, leaving the viewer aloof from its leading character from start to finish. Madonna parades (and sings) well enough, but Pryce's strong presence as Juan Peron and Banderas's fiery singing commentary bring it to life. Newly added song, 'You Must Love Me,' won an Oscar. | tt0116250 | [PG] | Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Evolution | 2001 | Ivan Reitman | ★★ | 103 | Scattershot sci-fi-comedy/GHOSTBUSTERS throwback about a pair of Arizona community college science teachers (Duchovny, Jones) who investigate the crash of a meteor, which begins oozing aliens that quickly evolve. Loud, silly, and only occasionally funny. | tt0251075 | [PG-13] | David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Julianne Moore, Seann William Scott, Ted Levine, Ethan Suplee, Michael Bower, Dan Aykroyd, Richard Moll | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Ewok Adventure | 1984 | John Korty | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Those furry characters from George Lucas's RETURN OF THE JEDI get their own movie and aid a couple of young space castaways who are searching for their parents. Lucas's maiden TV movie is jam-packed with cinematic wizardry, although it tends to overshadow the story that he wrote. Sequel: EWOKS: THE BATTLE FOR ENDOR. | tt0087225 | Eric Walker, Warwick Davis, Fionnula Flanagan, Guy Boyd, Dan Fishman, Debbie Carrington; Narrated by Burl Ives | Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Ewoks: The Battle for Endor | 1985 | Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | An old hermit joins a little girl and her cuddly Ewok pal in a search for a nasty witch. Arresting (and expensive) George Lucas sequel to his earlier TV charmer THE EWOK ADVENTURE. | tt0089110 | Wilford Brimley, Warwick Davis, Aubree Miller, Sian Phillips, Carel Struycken, Niki Bothelo, Eric Walker | Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Ex | 2007 | Jesse Peretz | ★★½ | 90 | New York slacker must come to terms with career and family after his pregnant wife quits her high-paying law firm and forces him to move back to her Ohio hometown, where he goes to work for his father-in-law's ad company. Rarely lifts itself above the level of a TV sitcom but a likable cast does its best to make do with the material at hand. Grodin is an especially welcome presence in his first screen role in thirteen years. Released briefly in 2006 as FAST TRACK. | tt0458364 | [PG-13] | Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Mia Farrow, Charles Grodin, Jason Bateman, Donal Logue, Ian Hyland, Amy Adams, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ex-Champ | 1939 | Phil Rosen. | ★★ | 64 | Ex-boxer McLaglen is shunned by his social-climbing son but comes to his aid when he's in a fix. No surprises here. | tt0031287 | Victor McLaglen, Tom Brown, Nan Grey, William Frawley, Constance Moore, Donald Briggs, Samuel S. Hinds, Marc Lawrence. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ex-Lady | 1933 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 65 | Davis, looking sensational, plays an independent-minded woman who loves Raymond but doesn't believe in marriage. Provocative and sexy, stylishly filmed, but begins to drag and become conventional by the second half. A remake of ILLICIT, filmed just two years earlier! | tt0023993 | Bette Davis, Gene Raymond, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd, Ferdinand Gottschalk | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ex-Mrs. Bradford | 1936 | Stephen Roberts | ★★★ | 80 | Chic à la THIN MAN comedy-mystery, with Powell teaming with ex-wife Arthur to crack a case. | tt0027593 | William Powell, Jean Arthur, James Gleason, Eric Blore, Robert Armstrong | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Exam | 2010 | Stuart Hazeldine | ★★ | 101 | Dark times are brewing in this futuristic world. Jobs are scarce. An on-the-rise virus—while being managed—has no cure. Eight skilled individuals survive a harsh vetting process but have to do one last thing to snag the sole position available at a high-profile company: pass a test. Rules are strictly obeyed or they’re out, and the winner must beat the other seven. First fifteen minutes of this slick psychological torture chamber are better than OK, but the story quickly plunges into pedestrian melodrama and unfortunately never crawls back out. | tt1258197 | Unrated | John Lloyd Fillingham, Gemma Chan, Adar Beck, Pollyanna McIntosh, Luke Mably, Jimi Mistry, Nathalie Cox, Chuk Iwuji, Colin Salmon | British | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Excalibur | 1981 | John Boorman | ★★★½ | 140 | Eccentric but spellbinding, sexually aware rendition of the King Arthur legend by a stylish filmmaker working at the peak of his powers. Written by Rospo Pallenberg and Boorman. That's the director's son, Charley Boorman, as young Mordred. Magnificent production will lose much on small TV screen. Edited for TV to 119m. | tt0082348 | [PG] | Nicol Williamson, Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi, Corin Redgrave, Paul Geoffrey, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson | British | Action, Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Excess Baggage | 1997 | Marco Brambilla | ★½ | 101 | Predictable story of rich, hostile brat Silverstone trying to get her neglectful father's attention by faking her own kidnapping. She smokes, drinks, and whines her way through this tedious 'comedy' in which everybody involved in the convoluted plot is 'clueless.' | tt0119086 | [PG-13] | Alicia Silverstone, Benicio Del Toro, Christopher Walken, Nicholas Turturro, Harry Connick/Jr., Sally Kirkland | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Excessive Force | 1993 | Jon Hess | ★½ | 90 | Martial arts whiz Griffith wrote this violent tale, and stars as a Chicago cop who's accused of stealing millions and setting up his partners for murder. Very familiar stuff for genre fans, with nothing much to set it apart from dozens of other films languishing on the video shelf. Followed by EXCESSIVE FORCE II: FORCE ON FORCE. | tt0104215 | [R] | Thomas Ian Griffith, James Earl Jones, Charlotte Lewis, Lance Henriksen, Burt Young, Tony Todd, W. Earl Brown | Action | NULL | ||
| Exclusive | 1937 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 85 | Lively newspaper story has Farmer joining tabloid in direct competition with her father (Ruggles) and boyfriend (MacMurray), who are also reporters. Uneasy mix of comedy, romance, and melodrama. | tt0028844 | Fred MacMurray, Frances Farmer, Charlie Ruggles, Lloyd Nolan, Fay Holden, Ralph Morgan, Horace McMahon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Exclusive Story | 1936 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 75 | Fast-paced B picture with Tone as newspaper attorney trying to get the goods on Calleia and falling in love with Evans. | tt0027594 | Franchot Tone, Madge Evans, Stuart Erwin, Joseph Calleia, Robert Barrat, J. Farrell MacDonald, Louise Henry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Excuse My Dust | 1951 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 82 | Amiable Skelton musicomedy. Red invents automobile which almost costs him his sweetheart; her father owns town livery stable. | tt0043514 | Red Skelton, Sally Forrest, Macdonald Carey, Monica Lewis, William Demarest | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Executioner, Part II | 1984 | James Bryant | 💣 | 85 | Amateurish actioner, atrociously directed and acted, with homicide cop Mitchum hunting down a vigilante murderer. Has no connection to any other EXECUTIONER title. | tt0173807 | [R] | Christopher Mitchum, Aldo Ray, Antoine John Mottet, Renee Harmon | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Executioner | 1970 | Sam Wanamaker | ★★ | 107 | Pedestrian thriller with British spy Peppard suspecting that colleague Michell is a double agent. | tt0065711 | [PG] | Joan Collins, George Peppard, Judy Geeson, Oscar Homolka, Charles Gray, Nigel Patrick, Keith Michell | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Executive Action | 1973 | David Miller | 💣 | 91 | Excruciatingly dull thriller promised to clear the air about JFK's assassination but was more successful at clearing theaters. Scripted by Dalton Trumbo. Ryan's last film. | tt0070046 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Geer, Gilbert Green, John Anderson, Ed Lauter, Sidney Clute, Lloyd Gough, Dick Miller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Executive Decision | 1996 | Stuart Baird | ★★★ | 132 | The situation: Arab terrorists are in control of a 747. The solution: Sneak an elite team aboard the plane, already in flight. The problems: The team has to depend on inexperienced Russell, and there's a nerve gas bomb aboard that will wipe out Washington, D.C. Tense, inventive thriller that— until a misfired final reel— delivers the goods in high style. Directing debut for top editor Baird, who might have tightened the story a bit. | tt0116253 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, Len Cariou, Mary Ellen Trainor, Marla Maples Trump, J. T. Walsh, Nicholas Pryor, B. D. Wong | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Executive Suite | 1954 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 104 | Slick, multifaceted story of company power struggle with top cast, from Cameron Hawley novel . . . though similar film PATTERNS is much better. Later a TV series. | tt0046963 | William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern, Shelley Winters, Paul Douglas, Nina Foch, Dean Jagger | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Exile | 1947 | Max Ophuls | ★★½ | 95 | OK swashbuckler with exiled king Fairbanks falling in love with common girl; guest appearance by Montez. | tt0039360 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Maria Montez, Paula Croset, Henry Daniell, Nigel Bruce, Robert Coote | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Exiles | 1961 | Kent Mackenzie | ★★★½ | 73 | Compelling, often harrowing documentary-style portrait of a community of American Indians in downtown Los Angeles during the late 1950s. Away from the reservation and their traditions, with drink as their only escape, these outsiders try the best they can to get through the night. A searing true-life drama, and an unforgettable b&w snapshot of L.A. before the area called Bunker Hill was torn down and rebuilt. Unreleased theatrically until 2009. | tt0054861 | Yvonne Williams, Homer Nish, Tommy Reynolds, Rico Rodriguez, Clifford Ray Sam, Clydean Parker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Exit Wounds | 2001 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | ★★ | 101 | Blah actioner with aging, ever-wooden Seagal playing a tough loner cop who tangles with some on-the-take colleagues. Rapper DMX adds life to the proceedings as a mysterious drug entrepreneur. All too familiar, but the target audience might not mind. | tt0242445 | [R] | Steven Seagal, DMX, Tom Arnold, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, Michael Jai White, Bill Duke, Jill Hennessy, David Vadim | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Exit to Eden | 1994 | Garry Marshall | ★½ | 113 | Strange cinematic catastrophe, pried from an Anne Rice novel, attempts to jerry-build a standard cop sitcom (Aykroyd and O'Donnell investigate a murder) onto the sexual shenanigans at S&M island fantasy camp. O'Donnell's bright performance is the one justification for its existence. If anything, resembles a raunchier version of Marshall's old TV show Love, American Style. | tt0109758 | [R] | Dana Delany, Paul Mercurio, Rosie O'Donnell, Dan Aykroyd, Hector Elizondo, Stuart Wilson, Iman, Sean O'Bryan, Stephanie Niznik, Rosemary Forsyth, Donna Dixon, John Schneider | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Exodus | 1960 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 213 | Leon Uris' sprawling history of Palestinian war for liberation becomes sporadic action epic. Newman as Israeli resistance leader, Saint as non-Jewish army nurse aren't a convincing duo; supporting roles offer stereotypes. Best scene shows refugees escaping Cyprus detention center, running British blockade into homeland. Ernest Gold won an Oscar for his score. | tt0053804 | Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, John Derek, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Felix Aylmer, Jill Haworth, David Opatoshu, Marius Goring, George Maharis | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Exorcism of Emily Rose | 2005 | Scott Derrickson | ★★ | 119 | An agnostic lawyer (Linney) is hired to defend a priest (Wilkinson) accused of negligent homicide in the death of a college student he attempted to exorcise. Peculiar mix of horror movie and courtroom melodrama is unconvincing on all levels, though handsomely produced and well acted. Loosely based on a real European incident, though the movie is set in the U.S. Unrated version runs 122m. | tt0404032 | [PG-13] | Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter, Colm Feore, Joshua Close, Ken Welsh, Mary Beth Hurt, Shohreh Aghdashloo | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Exorcist II: The Heretic | 1977 | John Boorman | ★½ | 110 | Preposterous sequel to 1973 hit. Special effects are only virtue in this turkey about priest (Burton) trying to unravel mystery of demon still living inside Blair. Boorman recut the film (from 117m.) the day after its premiere, and made numerous changes— to no avail. Restored to 117m. for homevideo. | tt0076009 | [R] | Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Kitty Winn, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty, Max von Sydow | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Exorcist III | 1990 | William Peter Blatty | ★★ | 110 | Police inspector Scott is confronted by a series of gruesome murders, unmistakably the work of a serial killer who was executed the same night as the exorcism of the original movie. Film begins well but grows more absurd and confusing until it self-destructs. Shows strong evidence of post-production tinkering. | tt0099528 | [R] | George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Brad Dourif, Jason Miller, Nicol Williamson, Scott Wilson, Nancy Fish, George DiCenzo, Viveca Lindfors, Samuel L. Jackson | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Exorcist | 1973 | William Friedkin | ★★★½ | 121 | Intense, well-mounted adaptation of William Peter Blatty's best-seller, calculated to keep your stomach in knots from start to finish. Blair is 'normal' 12-year-old whose body is possessed by the Devil, Miller a troubled priest who attempts to confront the demon in her— and in himself. Oscar winner for Blatty's screenplay; vocal effects by Mercedes McCambridge. Followed by two sequels, a prequel, and countless imitations. Reissued in 2000 with 11m. of (mostly needless) additional footage. | tt0070047 | [R] | Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Exorcist: The Beginning | 2004 | Renny Harlin. | ★★ | 114 | Yet another in the endless line of EXORCIST follow-ups. This one attempts to explain Father Merrin's early years, in particular when he was in East Africa battling the demon Pazuzu, long before he exorcised demons from the body of Linda Blair. Competently made, shot by the great Vittorio Storaro, with many horrific images; all that's missing is a reason why we should care. Harlin replaced writer-director Paul Schrader, whose 'scrapped' version is a separate film. | tt0204313 | [R] | Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy, Remy Sweeney, Ben Cross, Andrew French, Ralph Brown. | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Exotica | 1994 | Atom Egoyan | ★★½ | 104 | Five disparate characters become linked to each other's destinies, with a strip club called Exotica as the focal point. Only at the end of the film do we fully learn the 'back story' that brought two key characters into each other's lives. Intriguing, like all of Egoyan's work, but not entirely satisfying. Winner of the Genie Award as Canada's Best Picture of 1994. | tt0109759 | [R] | Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Arsinee Khanjian, Elias Koteas, Sarah Polley, Victor Garber, David Hemblen | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Expendables | 2010 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★ | 103 | Or, THE DIRTY HALF DOZEN: A group of mercenary pals accept a job in a banana republic where a corrupt general has sold out his people to an ex-CIA sleazebag (Roberts) . . . but Stallone feels obliged to help the general’s rebellious daughter (Itié). Inane action yarn has plenty of testosterone and explosions, but the script is weak. Not nearly as much fun as a gathering of veteran action stars ought to be—even with cameos from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. | tt1320253 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, David Zayas, Giselle Itié, Charisma Carpenter | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Experience Preferred . . . but Not Essential | 1983 | Peter Duffell | ★★★ | 80 | Simple, charming little film about a girl's experiences working as waitress for the summer at seaside resort hotel. June Roberts' script focuses on the blossoming of one young woman, while making humorous observations about the offbeat group of people around her. Short and sweet; made for British TV. | tt0083911 | [PG] | Elizabeth Edmonds, Sue Wallace, Geraldine Griffith, Karen Meagher, Ron Bain, Alun Lewis, Robert Blythe | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Experiment Perilous | 1944 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★ | 91 | Static melodrama in the GASLIGHT tradition, with doctor Brent coming to the aid of— and falling in love with— fearful Lamarr, who's being terrorized by crazed husband Lukas. | tt0036807 | Hedy Lamarr, George Brent, Paul Lukas, Albert Dekker, Margaret Wycherly, Julia Dean | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Experiment in Terror | 1962 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 123 | Taut suspense with bank clerk Remick terrorized by murderous extortionist Martin . . . but FBI agent Ford is on the case. Realistic, unsentimental, with convincing performances by Remick and Martin. Great Henry Mancini score, good use of San Francisco locations. | tt0055972 | Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Stefanie Powers, Ross Martin, Roy Poole, Ned Glass | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Experiment | 2010 | Paul T. Scheuring | ★★ | 96 | Diverse group of men, including a humanist (Brody) and an introverted loser (Whitaker), are handsomely paid to participate in a behavioral experiment inside a makeshift prison. Little do they know what they’ll be in for. At once fascinating and repellent film starts off strongly but degenerates into a melodramatic exercise in cruelty. Remake of the 2001 German film DAS EXPERIMENT is loosely based on the infamous 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. Released direct to DVD in the U.S.A. | tt0997152 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet, Clifton Collins/Jr., Ethan Cohn, Fisher Stevens, Travis Fimmel, Lavell “David Banner” Crump, Jason Lew, Damien Leake, Maggie Grace | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Experts | 1989 | Dave Thomas | ★★ | 83 | Fatally bland comedy about two Manhattan hipsters who are hired to open a nightclub in a small Nebraska town— which is really an exact replica of the hamlet built in the U.S.S.R. and used to train Russian spies. Weak in all respects, and peculiarly sentimental about the 1950s. Barely released to theaters. Costars Travolta and Preston later married. | tt0097314 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Arye Gross, Charles Martin Smith, Kelly Preston, Deborah Foreman, James Keach, Jan Rubes, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rick Ducommun | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Explicit Ills | 2009 | Mark Webber | ★★ | 87 | Meandering, self-conscious account of the everyday travails of various low-income denizens of inner-city Philadelphia. They run the gamut from enterprising and clearheaded to drugged-out. The finale, involving a poor people’s march for health care, seems tacked on. Webber’s attempt to create a relaxed lyricism is reminiscent of the early works of his executive producer, Jim Jarmusch. | tt1095001 | [R] | Paul Dano, Rosario Dawson, Naomie Harris, Lou Taylor Pucci, Frankie Shaw, Tariq Trotter, Francisco Burgos | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Exploding Girl | 2010 | Bradley Rust Gray | ★★★ | 80 | Flush with first love, college student Kazan arrives home, along with childhood friend Rendall, for spring break. When contacting her boyfriend—in this era of instant communication—becomes nearly impossible, her spirits soon sag. What’s he doing and why? When will they connect? Is he withdrawn? Meanwhile, the implicit bond between the two old friends intensifies, though it’s not clear she’s aware of his unconditional constancy. Gray, who also scripted, skillfully interjects N.Y.C. sounds and locales throughout a contemplative, un-glitzy look at a young girl’s budding foray into adulthood. Kazan’s fragile characterization is wholly appealing—a good thing as she’s in every scene. | tt1294161 | Unrated | Zoe Kazan, Mark Rendall, Maryann Urbano | Drama | NULL | ||
| Explorers | 1985 | Joe Dante | ★★ | 109 | Youngster hooked on science-fiction yearns to travel into space and gets his wish, with the help of a whiz-kid friend. Opens beautifully, takes its time developing story— then makes disastrous wrong turn in space that transforms film into a shaggy-dog joke! Director Dante has restructured film somewhat for cable TV and homevideo release. That version is 107m. | tt0089114 | [PG] | Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Jason Presson, Amanda Peterson, Dick Miller, Robert Picardo, Dana Ivey, Meshach Taylor, Mary Kay Place | Family, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Explosive Generation | 1961 | Buzz Kulik | ★★ | 89 | High school teacher Shatner causes an uproar when he has his students write essays on their attitudes about sex. Based-on-fact account is an intriguing relic of its era (both for its subject and cast). | tt0054862 | William Shatner, Patty McCormack, Billy Gray, Steve Dunne, Lee Kinsolving, Virginia Field, Phillip Terry, Edward Platt, Beau Bridges | Drama | NULL | |||
| Exporting Raymond | 2011 | Phil Rosenthal | ★★★ | 86 | Rosenthal, creator of the wildly successful American TV comedy Everybody Loves Raymond, travels to Russia to supervise a Soviet version of the series. Rosenthal’s realistic approach to comedy gets lost in translation, along with other speed bumps along the road to a successful collaboration, in this highly amusing documentary. Although the mood is lighthearted throughout, the film resonates with lessons about differences and similarities in our cultures—and the value of personal diplomacy. | tt1356763 | [PG] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Exposed | 1983 | James Toback | ★½ | 100 | Girl from the Midwest quits school, comes to N.Y.C., hits it big as a fashion model, then gets involved with enigmatic Nureyev and his plan to kill terrorist Keitel in Paris. Seems like three different movies— all of them strange. Nureyev's performance might best be described as overripe. That's writer-director Toback in the role of Kinski's professor/lover. | tt0085513 | [R] | Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev, Harvey Keitel, Ian McShane, Bibi Andersson, Ron Randell, Pierre Clementi, James Russo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Exposure | 1991 | Walter Salles/ Jr | ★★ | 100 | Slick but corny, overbaked thriller about pompously poetic American photographer (Coyote), living in Rio de Janeiro, who becomes immersed in a seamy, violent underworld (and undergoes quite a personality change), searching for killer of young prostitute. | tt0101834 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Tcheky Karyo, Amanda Pays, Raul Cortez, Giulia Gam, Cassia Kiss | Brazilian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Express | 2008 | Gary Fleder | ★★★ | 129 | Inspirational biography of Syracuse University football star Ernie Davis, the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner. Adapted from Robert Gallagher’s book, this story of toughness and determination in the face of racism and tragedy may be formula stuff, but it’s extremely well done. | tt0469903 | [PG] | Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Omar Benson Miller, Nelsan Ellis, Charles S. Dutton, Justin Martin, Justin Jones, Nicole Beharie, Aunjanue Ellis, Clancy Brown, Saul Rubinek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Expresso Bongo | 1959 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 108 | Atmospheric but dated drama with Harvey shining as a high-energy, jive-spouting London hustler who thinks he's found his version of Elvis in poor young bongo-playing rocker Richard. Written by Wolf Mankowitz. | tt0053806 | Laurence Harvey, Sylvia Syms, Yolande Donlan, Cliff Richard, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Eric Pohlmann, Hermione Baddeley, Wilfrid Lawson, Kenneth Griffith, Susan Hampshire | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Exterminating Angel | Ángel exterminador, El | 1962 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 95 | Guests at elegant dinner party cannot bring themselves to leave, begin to starve and die after several days. Wry assault on bourgeois manners by master surrealist Buñuel. | tt0056732 | Silvia Pinal, Enrique Rambal, Jacqueline Andere, Jose Baviera, Augusto Benedico | Mexican | Drama, Horror, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| Exterminator II | 1984 | Mark Buntzman | 💣 | 88 | Ginty and his blowtorch are back, hot after a gang whose most sadistic member is named X. Obnoxious, grade Z garbage. | tt0087229 | [R] | Robert Ginty, Mario Van Peebles, Deborah Geffner, Frankie Faison, Scott Randolph, Arye Gross, John Turturro | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Exterminator | 1980 | James Glickenhaus | 💣 | 101 | Gore galore with Vietnam veteran Ginty aping Charles Bronson in DEATH WISH as he rubs out a gang who mugged and paralyzed a friend. If you love this film, good news— there's a sequel! Unrated director's cut runs 104m. | tt0080707 | [R] | Christopher George, Samantha Eggar, Robert Ginty, Steve James, Tony Di Benedetto | Action, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Extra Girl | 1923 | F. Richard Jones | ★★½ | 69 | Mack Sennett silent feature is far from prime, but still has its moments, thanks to classic comedienne Normand and an obliging lion. Dramatic interludes in Hollywood rags- to-riches saga don't really work. | tt0014029 | Mabel Normand, Ralph Graves, George Nichols, Anna Hernandez, Vernon Dent | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Extra Man | 2010 | Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini | ★★★ | 108 | Suddenly jobless academic (Dano) moves to Manhattan and rents a room from a world-class eccentric (Kline) who takes the younger man under his more-than-slightly-warped wing. A valentine to the oddballs who make New York City unique, focusing on two men who exist out of their time. Kline and Dano are simply perfect as a retrograde roué who lives off older society women and a young man who’s still slightly unformed—though he does have a yen for cross-dressing. Jonathan Ames adapted his novel along with the directors, who make wonderful use of N.Y.C. locations. | tt1361313 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, Katie Holmes, John C. Reilly, Patti D’Arbanville, Alicia Goranson, Celia Weston, Marian Seldes, Dan Hedaya, John Pankow; narrated by Graeme Malcolm | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Extract | 2009 | Mike Judge | ★★½ | 92 | Laid-back comedy about a manufacturer of food extract (Bateman) who's restless at home, where his wife is never "in the mood," and at work, where his oddball employees make life a constant surprise. Then one of his workers suffers an accident and is prodded to sue by a sexy woman (Kunis) who's also caught the eye of the boss. Funny observations and quirky characters abound, as you'd expect from writer-director Judge (who also appears as one of the workers), though the results are somewhat mild overall. | tt1225822 | [R] | Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, J. K. Simmons, Clifton Collins, Jr., Dustin Milligan, David Koechner, Beth Grant, Gene Simmons | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Extraordinary Measures | 2010 | Tom Vaughan | ★★ | 106 | Happily married family man’s two younger children are afflicted with a rare form of muscular dystrophy known as Pompe’s disease. Upon learning that an iconoclastic research scientist (Ford) has some radical ideas that, with funding, could just possibly lead to new breakthroughs, the two strangers form an alliance. Fact-based film tells a decent story but is reminiscent of disease-of-the-week’ TV movies and prone to clichés. Fraser’s performance is more hectic than impassioned. | tt1244659 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell, Meredith Droeger, Diego Velazquez, Sam M. Hall, Jared Harris, Patrick Bauchau, Dee Wallace, Alan Ruck, David Clennon, Courtney B. Vance | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Extraordinary Seaman | 1969 | John Frankenheimer | 💣 | 80 | Extraordinarily muddled 'comedy' of eccentric Niven piloting long-lost abandoned ship during WW2; shows signs of tampering from original conception of film. Barely received theatrical release. Only highpoints: clips from 1940s newsreels and Faye's eye makeup. | tt0064307 | [G] | David Niven, Faye Dunaway, Alan Alda, Mickey Rooney, Juano Hernandez, Jack Carter, Manu Tupou, Barry Kelley | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave | 2000 | Peter MacDonald | ★★ | 91 | Daredevil ace Super Dave (a kind of live-action Wile E. Coyote) faces his ultimate challenge; heavy-handed feature-length extension of the cable TV series. Einstein also coscripted. Mike Connors appears unbilled as Super Dave's grandfather. Made for theaters in 1998, released on video instead. | tt0144096 | [PG] | Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein), Dan Hedaya, Gia Carides, Steve Van Wormer, Art Irizawa, Don Lake, Carl Michael Lindner, Ray Charles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Extreme Justice | 1993 | Mark L. Lester | ★★ | 105 | Renegade cop finds himself caught in the crossfire after being recruited into a secret police unit that dispenses its own justice on the mean streets of L.A. Violence for violence's sake seems to be the theme of this theatrical film that premiered on cable. | tt0106850 | [R] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Scott Glenn, Chelsea Field, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Lauter, Andrew Divoff, William Lucking | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Extreme Measures | 1996 | Michael Apted | ★★ | 118 | Emergency room doctor senses something fishy going on after a man who dies mysteriously vanishes from the hospital's records. Medical conspiracy thriller starts out well enough but quickly becomes obvious and hollow. Grant has one of his best parts as a dedicated doctor; his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley produced the film. Director David Cronenberg plays the head of a medical review board. | tt0116259 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Morse, Bill Nunn, John Toles-Bey, Paul Guilfoyle, Debra Monk, J. K. Simmons | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Extreme Ops | 2002 | Christian Duguay | ★★ | 93 | Ho-hum actioner in which a wild-and-crazy film crew, shooting a commercial in the Austrian Alps, tangles with a Serbian war criminal in hiding. The generic snowboarding/skiing/kayaking sequences look as if they've been lifted from a sports video. | tt0283160 | [PG-13] | Devon Sawa, Rupert Graves, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Rufus Sewell, Heino Ferch, Joe Absolom, Jana Pallaske | British-German-Luxembourg | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Extreme Prejudice | 1987 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 104 | Boyhood friends Nolte and Boothe are now on opposite sides of the law, as Texas Ranger and drug kingpin on the Texas/Mexico border. Though its excesses (in characterization, music, and especially violence) are apparently deliberate, that doesn't make them any more entertaining, though it helps if you accept it as tongue-in-cheek. | tt0092997 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso, Rip Torn, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe, Larry B. Scott | Action | NULL | ||
| Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | 2011 | Stephen Daldry | ★★ | 129 | Precocious, highly-verbal Manhattan boy, whose dad continually challenged him with adventures, tries to make sense of his father's demise in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Finding a key his dad left behind, he sets out to locate its owner in the hope of unlocking a story that will help ease his pain. Well-meaning, metaphoric drama doesn't quite work. Naturally there are intense and moving moments because of the subject matter, but the youngster's relationship with his father is arch and unbelievable—and the boy is (dare we say it?) obnoxious. Davis, in a small but telling role, and von Sydow, as a mute old man who joins the boy's quest, come off best. Adapted by Eric Roth from Jonathan Safran Foer's novel. | tt0477302 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, James Gandolfini, Zoe Caldwell | Drama, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Extremities | 1986 | Robert M. Young | ★½ | 89 | A woman is victimized by a taunting rapist in her own home but manages to turn the tables and trap him. William Mastrosimone adapted his own play, but what worked in a theater doesn't translate to film; Fawcett's adequate but one-note performance is another liability. | tt0091024 | [R] | Farrah Fawcett, James Russo, Diana Scarwid, Alfre Woodard | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Eye Creatures | 1965 | Larry Buchanan | ★½ | 80 | Gory horror film about title creatures and the intrepid band that tries to fight them off. Remake of INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN. Retitled on some cheapo TV prints as ATTACK OF THE THE EYE CREATURES (sic). | tt0059161 | John Ashley, Cynthia Hull, Warren Hammack, Chet Davis, Bill Peck | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Eye See You | D-TOX | 2002 | Jim Gillespie | ★½ | 96 | Stallone is an FBI agent taunted by a serial killer. When his fiancée is murdered, our hero resorts to drink, attempts suicide, and winds up in rehab, conveniently located in the middle of nowhere. Guess who drops by for a visit? Stallone is actually good, but the rest of the cast is wasted, the story is ridiculous, and the slayings gruesome. This belongs in I.C.U. Debuted in U.S. on home video. Aka D-TOX. | tt0160184 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Berenger, Charles S. Dutton, Sean Patrick Flanery, Christopher Fulford, Stephen Lang, Dina Meyer, Robert Patrick, Courtney B. Vance, Polly Walker, Jeffrey Wright, Rance Howard | U.S.-German | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| Eye Witness | 1950 | Robert Montgomery | ★★½ | 104 | Unpretentious yarn of American attorney Montgomery in London to defend friend accused of homicide, coping with contrasting British legal system while hunting title figure. Originally titled YOUR WITNESS. | tt0043154 | Robert Montgomery, Felix Aylmer, Leslie Banks, Michael Ripper, Patricia Wayne (Cutts) | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Eye for an Eye | 1996 | John Schlesinger | ★★ | 101 | When Field's teenage daughter is brutally raped and murdered, she seeks revenge on the creep who did it. Field is ideally cast as the mother driven to take the law into her own hands, but this is little more than DEATH WISH in drag, a manipulative movie that becomes awfully far-fetched. What's more, those attack scenes are very tough to take. | tt0116260 | [R] | Sally Field, Ed Harris, Kiefer Sutherland, Joe Mantegna, Beverly D'Angelo, Olivia Burnette, Alexandra Kyle, Darrell Larsen, Charlayne Woodard, Philip Baker Hall, Keith David, Natalija Nogulich, Armin Shimerman | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| An Eye for an Eye | 1966 | Michael Moore | ★★ | 92 | Oater with twist: two physically disabled men, who can function via teamwork as one sharpshooter, hunt down killers of older man's family. Video title: TALION. | tt0060386 | Robert Lansing, Pat Wayne, Slim Pickens, Gloria Talbott | Western | NULL | |||
| An Eye for an Eye | 1981 | Steve Carver | ★★ | 106 | Cop Norris's partner is killed by drug traffickers; he has nightmares, becomes a one-man army seeking vengeance against villain Lee and his cronies. Silly and predictable, but delivers for formula fans. | tt0082350 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, Matt Clark, Mako, Maggie Cooper, Terry Kiser | Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| Eye of the Beholder | 1999 | Stephan Elliott | ★½ | 109 | Terrible but oddly watchable mess with high-tech private eye McGregor tailing sexy serial killer Judd around the U.S.— and falling in love with her in the process. Plays like a voyeuristic music video. U.S. release runs 101m. | tt0120662 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Ashley Judd, Jason Priestley, k.d. lang, Patrick Bergin, Geneviève Bujold | British-Canadian | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Eye of the Cat | 1969 | David Lowell Rich | ★★½ | 102 | Glossy but intriguing suspenser with seductive Hunnicutt teaming with Sarrazin to murder his aunt (Parker), who keeps a houseful of felines. Most terrifying scene has wheelchaired Parker tottering atop a San Francisco hill. | tt0064310 | [M] | Michael Sarrazin, Gayle Hunnicutt, Eleanor Parker, Tim Henry, Laurence Naismith | Horror | NULL | ||
| Eye of the Devil | 13 | 1967 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 92 | Excellent cast in odd, low-key thriller set in France. The Marquis de Bellac (Niven) abruptly leaves wife in Paris to 'do what he must' at ancestral estate near Bordeaux. Strange continuity due to cuts before initial release. Also titled: 13. | tt0061634 | Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, Edward Mulhare, Flora Robson, Emlyn Williams, Sharon Tate, David Hemmings, John Le Mesurier | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Eye of the Needle | 1981 | Richard Marquand | ★★★ | 112 | Solid WW2 spy saga from Ken Follett's best-seller. Sutherland plays a super-cool German agent temporarily stranded on an island off the British coast, where he meets a lonely, sexually frustrated woman. | tt0082351 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Ian Bannen, Christopher Cazenove, Philip Martin Brown | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Eye of the Storm | 1991 | Yuri Zeltser | ★½ | 94 | After their parents are brutally murdered, and one of the boys is blinded, two brothers take over operation of the family's motel in a desolate location. When Boyle and Hopper rent a room, unsettling truths begin to emerge. Would-be thriller is tedious until the last ten minutes. | tt0101842 | [R] | Craig Sheffer, Bradley Gregg, Lara Flynn Boyle, Leon Rippy, Dennis Hopper | German-U.S. | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Eye of the Storm | 2011 | Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 119 | Manipulative, terminally ill Rampling is paid a less-than-harmonious visit by her offspring—egocentric Rush and neurotic Davis—who are looking to cash in on her demise. Means to be an incisive portrait of greed, self-involvement, and familial dysfunction, but is far too talky and distant. It improves in its final act, when it dispenses with some ill-advised attempts at humor and focuses on the nitty-gritty of human connections. Based on an acclaimed 1973 novel by Patrick White. | tt1600207 | Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling, Judy Davis, Alexandra Schepisi, Helen Morse, John Gaden, Robyn Nevin, Colin Friels, Maria Theodorakis | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eye of the Tiger | 1986 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★½ | 90 | Ex-con Busey's town is invaded by Hells Angels types, who sadistically murder his wife . . . so he goes on a one-man crusade for revenge. Sound familiar? | tt0091027 | [R] | Gary Busey, Yaphet Kotto, Seymour Cassel, Bert Remsen, William Smith, Kimberlin Ann Brown, Denise Galik, Judith Barsi | Action | NULL | ||
| The Eye | 2002 | Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun | ★★½ | 98 | A young, blind violinist receives a cornea transplant . . . and is soon plagued by visions of dead people. Muted psychological horror piece is nicely atmospheric with some genuinely creepy moments but loses steam by the end. | tt0325655 | [R] | Lee Sin-Je, Lawrence Chou, Chuctcha Rujinanon, Candy Lo, Pierre Png, Ko Yin Ping, Edmund Chen | Hong Kong-Singaporean | Drama, Romance, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Eye | 2008 | David Moreau, Xavier Palud | ★★ | 97 | Violinist Alba, blind since childhood, has a successful cornea transplant. But there's a catch: she is now haunted by creepy visions, and can see dead people. Slick but empty remake of the 2002 Asian horror film, with a wooden Alba appealing only as eye candy. | tt0406759 | [PG-13] | Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey, Rade Serbedzija, Fernanda Romero, Rachel Ticotin, Obba Babatundé, Danny Mora, Chloe Moretz, Tamlyn Tomita | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Eyes Wide Shut | 1999 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★ | 154 | Affluent, happily married N.Y.C. doctor starts to come apart after his wife admits to having had a potent sexual fantasy about a man she never met. This leads the husband to foray into a world of sexual adventure for the first time in his life. Provocative film takes place in a distinctive Kubrick environment— contained, almost claustrophobic at times. Overlong, and flawed, but still compelling, with two megawatt star performances. Nudity is plentiful, but the European version is even more graphic. Screenplay by Kubrick and Frederic Raphael from a 1926 Arthur Schnitzler novel. Kubrick's final film. | tt0120663 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sydney Pollack, Marie Richardson, Todd Field, Lisa Leone, Thomas Gibson, Vinessa Shaw, Rade Sherbedgia, Leelee Sobieski, Alan Cumming, Fay Masterson | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Eyes in the Night | 1942 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★½ | 80 | Above-par mystery with Arnold as blind detective Duncan Maclain protecting Harding from Nazi agents. The dog steals the picture. Zinnemann's feature directing debut. | tt0034711 | Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, Stephen McNally, Reginald Denny, Rosemary DeCamp, Mantan Moreland, Barry Nelson | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Eyes of Hell | 1961 | Julian Roffman | ★ | 83 | Low-budget shocker about an ancient Aztec mask that causes wearer to hallucinate and murder. 3-D scenes were put together by famed montage expert Slavko Vorkapich. Retitled EYES OF HELL. | tt0055151 | Paul Stevens, Claudette Nevins, Bill Walker, Anne Collings, Martin Lavut, Jim Moran | Canadian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Eyes of Laura Mars | 1978 | Irvin Kershner | ★★½ | 103 | A high-fashion photographer has frightening premonitions of grisly murders; some genuine suspense, lots of red herrings, and a silly resolution add up to an OK thriller but Dunaway's kinky colleagues and their lifestyles are a real turnoff. John Carpenter cowrote. | tt0077530 | [R] | Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, Rene Auberjonois, Raul Julia, Frank Adonis, Darlanne Fluegel, Rose Gregorio, Michael Tucker | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Eyes of Tammy Faye | 2000 | Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato | ★★★ | 79 | Eye-opening documentary about Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, former wife of popular televangelist Jim Bakker, and her fall from grace. Interesting as a chronicle of money-driven TV ministries as well as an entertaining portrait of the movement's former First Lady. | tt0233687 | [PG-13] | Narrated by RuPaul Charles | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Eyes of Texas | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 70 | One of Roy's best films is also one of his toughest, as cold-blooded female lawyer Bryant uses a pack of killer dogs to do her dirty work, murdering ranch owner Ford and arranging for his 'son' (Morton) to suddenly turn up and claim his rights. Just the right blend of story, suspense, action, and music. Only b&w prints survive. | tt0040333 | Roy Rogers, Lynne Roberts, Andy Devine, Nana Bryant, Roy Barcroft, Francis Ford, Danny Morton, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Eyes of a Stranger | 1981 | Ken Wiederhorn | 💣 | 85 | Overweight creep DiSanti rapes and kills women, and the blood flows like wine; Tewes tracks him down, while her deaf, dumb, and blind sister (Leigh) is established as a potential victim. Utter trash. Leigh's film debut. | tt0082352 | [R] | Lauren Tewes, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John DiSanti, Peter DuPre, Gwen Lewis | Horror | NULL | ||
| Eyes of an Angel | 1994 | Robert Harmon | ★½ | 91 | When single parent Travolta and his daughter flee from the mobsters who threaten him, the fight dog she secretly nursed back to health makes a preposterous cross country trip to find her. Much too violent for kids, too boring and absurd for adults. It sat on a shelf for four years; only released after Travolta's PULP FICTION success. Original title: THE TENDER. | tt0101844 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Ellie Raab, Tito Larriva, Jeffrey DeMunn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Eyes of the Underworld | 1942 | Roy William Neill. | ★★ | 61 | Police chief Dix busts an auto theft and car-stripping ring, but blackmailers expose his secret criminal past and he resigns to battle crooks on his own. Title and director promise more than they deliver in draggy second feature with too much sentiment and romance. | tt0035850 | Richard Dix, Wendy Barrie, Lon Chaney/Jr., Lloyd Corrigan, Don Porter, Billy Lee. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Eyes, the Mouth | 1982 | Marco Bellocchio | ★★ | 100 | Dreary, pretentious pap about the effect of a man's suicide on his actor-brother (Castel), mother (Riva) and pregnant lover (Molina). At one point Castel and Molina see FIST IN HIS POCKET, also directed by Bellocchio and starring Castel. We suggest the viewer do the same. | tt0084432 | [R] | Lou Castel, Angela Molina, Emmanuele Riva, Michel Piccoli, Antonio Piovanelli | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Eyewitness | 1981 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 102 | Slick but unsatisfying thriller about a building janitor who uses his second-hand knowledge of an unsolved murder to get close to a female TV news reporter with whom he's been infatuated. Steve Tesich's script is needlessly cluttered with minor characters and story twists. | tt0082353 | [R] | William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Christopher Plummer, James Woods, Irene Worth, Kenneth McMillan, Pamela Reed, Steven Hill, Morgan Freeman | Thriller | NULL | ||
| F for Fake | 1974 | Orson Welles | ★★½ | 85 | Wellesian tomfoolery, which started out as a portrait of notorious art forger Elmyr de Hory. When one of the interviewees turned out to be Clifford Irving— who fooled the world with a bogus Howard Hughes autobiography— Welles was forced to alter his film. Now it's a free-form treatise on hoaxes, with Welles' on-camera charm compensating for some of the movie's rough edges. Joseph Cotten, Paul Stewart, and Laurence Harvey appear briefly as themselves, along with Welles' longtime companion, Oja Kodar. | tt0072962 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| F.I.S.T. | 1978 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 145 | Stallone's one-dimensional performance prevents this well-produced epic about a Hoffa-like labor kingpin from sustaining a strong first half. Peter Boyle does well with a role inspired by former Teamster boss Dave Beck. Screenplay by Stallone and Joe Eszterhas. | tt0077531 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Peter Boyle, Melinda Dillon, David Huffman, Tony Lo Bianco, Kevin Conway, Cassie Yates, Henry Wilcoxon, Brian Dennehy | Drama | NULL | ||
| F.T.A. | 1972 | Francine Parker | ★★ | 94 | Unusual, rarely-seen documentary of Fonda and Sutherland's Free (or F***) the Army revue, presented near Army bases and featuring antiwar skits and songs. Interesting only as a curio. | tt0068562 | Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Len Chandler, Holly Near, Pamela Donegan, Michael Alaimo | Documentary | NULL | |||
| F/X | 1986 | Robert Mandel | ★★★ | 106 | Movie special-effects man is hired to stage a phony 'hit' with a Mafia man the target— but quickly learns that he's been double-crossed. Fast-moving, entertaining yarn that's a lot of fun, as long as you don't think about it for a moment afterward. Dennehy and Grifasi make a hilarious pair of Mutt and Jeff cops. Angela Bassett's film debut. Followed by a sequel and a TV series. | tt0089118 | [R] | Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Diane Venora, Cliff De Young, Mason Adams, Jerry Orbach, Joe Grifasi, Josie DeGuzman, Martha Gehman | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| F/X2 | 1991 | Richard Franklin | ★★½ | 109 | Special-effects whiz Brown agrees to use his skills in a police case, but when things go wrong he finds himself embroiled in a deadly coverup— and calls on his ex-cop pal Dennehy to help. Amiable sequel has some engaging gimmickry, but the story gets too lumpy. | tt0101846 | [PG-13] | Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, Rachel Ticotin, Joanna Gleason, Philip Bosco, Kevin J. O'Connor, Tom Mason, Dominic Zamprogna, Josie DeGuzman, John Walsh, James Stacy | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| FBI Girl | 1951 | William Berke | ★★ | 74 | Title tells all in standard fare about federal agency tracking down extortion gang. | tt0043516 | Cesar Romero, George Brent, Audrey Totter, Tom Drake, Raymond Burr | Crime | NULL | |||
| The FBI Story | 1959 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 149 | Well-mounted fabrication of history of F.B.I. as seen through career of agent Stewart, allowing for episodic sidelights into action-packed capers and view of his personal life. | tt0052792 | James Stewart, Vera Miles, Murray Hamilton, Larry Pennell, Nick Adams, Diane Jergens, Joyce Taylor | Crime, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| FM | 1978 | John A. Alonzo | ★★½ | 104 | Hip comedy (which could well have inspired TV's WKRP) about various conflicts at maverick radio station, chiefly against its profit-hungry parent company. More a series of sketches than a movie, but nicely captures feel of '70s L.A. and Mull is marvelous as the station's craziest dj. Good rock soundtrack, plus concert appearances by Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, and REO Speedwagon. | tt0077532 | [PG] | Michael Brandon, Martin Mull, Eileen Brennan, Cleavon Little, Cassie Yates, Alex Karras, Norman Lloyd, James Keach | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fabiola | 1948 | Alessandro Blasetti | ★★★ | 96 | Confusing but impressive epic of persecution against Christians in 4th-century Rome. Simon is the powerful, forward-thinking Fabius Severus; Morgan is Fabiola, his cavalier offspring; Vidal is Rhual, steadfast Christian gladiator. Originally released in Europe at 150m.; English-dubbed version, adapted by Marc Connelly and Fred Pressburger and featuring an altogether different storyline, opened in the U.S. in 1951. | tt0041342 | Michele Morgan, Michel Simon, Henri Vidal, Massimo Girotti, Louis Salou, Gino Cervi | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fabulous Baker Boys | 1989 | Steve Kloves | ★★½ | 113 | Two brothers' 15-year partnership as a twin-piano nightclub lounge act is shaken by the addition of a feisty (and sexy) singer, who sparks changes in their act— and their relationship. Writer Kloves' directing debut is stylish and self-assured, with some great scenes and set-pieces, but it skimps on story— and never really fleshes out Jeff Bridges' sullen character. The real-life Bridges brothers are perfectly cast, Pfeiffer is ideal. Her steamy rendition of 'Makin' Whoopee' atop piano considered a minor classic. | tt0097322 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab, Jennifer Tilly | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Fabulous Baron Munchausen | The Original Fabulous Adventures of Baron Munchausen | 1961 | Karel Zeman. | ★★½ | 84 | Filmmaker Zeman (FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE) provides another visual delight here, but his episodic fantasy— which takes his hero from the inside of a whale to the surface of the moon— is stilted and uninvolving. Aka THE ORIGINAL FABULOUS ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN. | tt0054665 | Milos Kopecky, Jana Brejchova, Rudolph Jelinek, Jan Werich. | Czech | Animation, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Fabulous Dorseys | 1947 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 88 | Limp 'biography' of bandleading brothers, constantly arguing in between 'Marie,' 'Green Eyes,' and other hit songs. Musical highlight: a jam session with Art Tatum, Charlie Barnet, Ziggy Elman and Ray Bauduc. | tt0039365 | Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Janet Blair, Paul Whiteman, William Lundigan | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Fabulous Joe | 1947 | Bernard Carr, Harve Foster | ★★ | 60 | Abel is typecast in this segment from THE HAL ROACH COMEDY CARNIVAL. He's harassed husband who gains moral support from talking dog. | tt0039366 | Marie Wilson, Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Fabulous Suzanne | 1946 | Steve Sekely. | ★★ | 71 | Not-so-fabulous account of Britton, whose lucky pin allows her to pick winning racehorses and profitable stocks. | tt0038513 | Barbara Britton, Rudy Vallee, Bill (William) Henry, Otto Kruger, Richard Denning, Veda Ann Borg. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Fabulous Texan | 1947 | Edward Ludwig. | ★★ | 96 | Elliott and Carroll return home to Texas after the Civil War and tangle with carpetbaggers who have turned it into a police state; McLeod supplies the requisite love interest. Standard story, though production is more lavish than usual for Republic Pictures. | tt0039367 | William Elliott, John Carroll, Catherine McLeod, Albert Dekker, Andy Devine, Patricia Knight, Ruth Donnelly, Johnny Sands, Harry Davenport, Robert Barrat, Douglass Dumbrille, Reed Hadley, Jim Davis. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Fabulous World of Jules Verne | 1958 | Karel Zeman | ★★½ | 83 | Zeman's ingenious visual effects, reproducing the look of 19th-century engravings, outshine leaden enactment of fanciful sci-fi story by Verne. Released here in 1961 with Americanized names in credits and pointless introduction by Hugh Downs. | tt0052374 | Lubor Tolos, Arnost Navratil, Miroslav Holub, Zatloukalova | Czech | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Face Behind the Mask | 1941 | Robert Florey | ★★★ | 69 | Model B film of immigrant Lorre having face disfigured in fire, donning mask, bitterly turning to life of crime. Extremely well done on slim budget. | tt0033582 | Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe, George E. Stone, John Tyrell | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Face at the Window | 1939 | George King | ★★½ | 65 | A fiendish killer known as 'The Wolf' strikes terror in 1880s Paris. Who can it be? Surely not the Chevalier del Gardo (Slaughter), respected nobleman! And who is the hideous, drooling face at the window? Charming, well-produced blood-and-thunder melodrama, based on the frequently filmed play by F. Brooke Warren. The blessedly hammy Slaughter is in great form here. | tt0031289 | Tod Slaughter, Marjorie Taylor, John Warwick, Robert Adair, Harry Terry | British | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| A Face in the Crowd | 1957 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 125 | Perceptive script by Budd Schulberg about homespun hobo (Griffith) discovered by Neal and promoted into successful— and unscrupulous— TV star. Cast gives life to fascinating story. Film debuts of Griffith and Remick. Look for young Rip Torn and Lois Nettleton. Many celebrities also appear as themselves, including Burl Ives, Mike Wallace, Betty Furness, Bennett Cerf, Faye Emerson, and Walter Winchell. | tt0050371 | Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Walter Matthau, Lee Remick, Kay Medford | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Face in the Rain | 1963 | Irvin Kershner | ★★½ | 91 | At times tense melodrama of Calhoun, U.S. spy, being hidden in Italy by partisan whose wife has been associating with Axis. | tt0057050 | Rory Calhoun, Marina Berti, Niall MacGinnis, Massimo Giuliani | War | NULL | |||
| Face in the Sky | 1933 | Harry Lachman. | ★★★ | 74 | Fairy-tale-like yarn about an outdoor sign painter, a self-styled artist who believes 'if you live in the clouds, everybody's got to look up to you.' Sweet, highly original film that goes in unexpected directions, enhanced by unusual, showy camera angles and continuous music track. Tracy is dynamic, cocky, and funny. Photographed by Lee Garmes. | tt0023998 | Spencer Tracy, Marian Nixon, Stuart Erwin, Sam Hardy, Lila Lee, Sarah Padden, Russell Simpson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Face of Fire | 1959 | Albert Band | ★★★ | 83 | Unique adaptation of Stephen Crane short story 'The Monster' about man disfigured while saving child from fire. Uneven cast, good direction. | tt0052793 | Cameron Mitchell, James Whitmore, Bettye Ackerman, Royal Dano, Robert Simon, Richard Erdman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Face of Fu Manchu | 1965 | Don Sharp | ★★★ | 96 | First of new series with Emperor Fu bent on conquering West. Great 1920s atmosphere, good international cast. Followed by THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU. | tt0059162 | Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, James Robertson Justice, Howard Marion-Crawford, Tsai Chin, Walter Rilla | British | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Face of Marble | 1946 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 70 | Another screwy doctor with new technique for bringing dead back to life— including a dog who turns vampire! Ludicrous. | tt0038514 | John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne, Maris Wrixon | Horror | NULL | |||
| Face of a Fugitive | 1959 | Paul Wendkos | ★★ | 81 | OK Western about MacMurray forced to start over again in a new town when he's falsely accused of murder; his past still haunts him. | tt0052794 | Fred MacMurray, Lin McCarthy, Dorothy Green, James Coburn, Alan Baxter, Myrna Fahey | Western | NULL | |||
| Face of the Frog | 1959 | Harald Reinl. | ★★ | 92 | Lowitz is Inspector Elk tracking down the 'Frog' in this routine Edgar Wallace actioner; serial-like techniques utilized. Retitled: FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG. | tt0052829 | Joachim Fuchsberger, Fritz Rasp, Siegfried Lowitz, Joachen Brochmann. | German | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Face to Face | 1976 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 136 | Brilliant Ullmann performance and Sven Nykvist photography compensate somewhat for déjà vu feeling one gets from drama about woman psychiatrist who suffers severe nervous breakdown. As harrowing as they come; not for every taste or mood. Originally a four-part Swedish TV miniseries. | tt0074147 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Aino Taube-Henrikson, Kari Sylwan, Sif Ruud | Swedish | Action | NULL | |
| Face/Off | 1997 | John Woo | ★★★ | 138 | Two thirds of a terrific movie: Federal agent Travolta agrees to have a heinous criminal's face grafted onto his own, in order to fool the no-good's brother into spilling vital information. But the daring plan goes awry in more ways than one. Travolta and Cage are charismatically over the top, and Woo's staging of action scenes is powerfully good . . . but the film doesn't know when to stop. Silly plotting and dialogue might have been overlooked in a tighter film. | tt0119094 | [R] | John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola, Gina Gershon, Dominique Swain, Nick Cassavetes, Colm Feore, John Carroll Lynch, CCH Pounder, Margaret Cho, Jamie Denton | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Faces | 1968 | John Cassavetes | ★★★½ | 130 | Highly personal drama about assorted infidelities is one of the few Cassavetes films to make it with general public. Powerful film with great acting, especially by Carlin and Cassel. | tt0062952 | [R] | John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel, Fred Draper, Val Avery | Drama | NULL | ||
| Facing the Giants | 2006 | Alex Kendrick | ★★½ | 111 | Faith-based family drama about a losing football coach whose Christian high school is about to fire him. He also faces a dying car, a deteriorating house, and a receding hairline. At his lowest ebb he pulls religion off the bench and the team begins to pray and play together as one. Sincere if familiar home-grown production was financed by the congregation of the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, GA, and cowritten and edited by the director, who also stars. The giants, incidentally, are failure and fear. | tt0805526 | [PG] | Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Tracy Goode, Chris Willis, Bailey Cave, Steve Williams, Mark Richt, Jason McLeod | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| Factory Girl | 2006 | George Hickenlooper | ★★ | 90 | Sad, true story of 1960s socialite Edie Sedgwick (Miller) and her self-destructive spiral into depravity and drug addiction after becoming one of Andy Warhol's underground-movie 'superstars.' Christensen plays a famous musician who looks, acts, and sounds suspiciously like Bob Dylan (but is credited simply as 'Folk Singer' for legal reasons) with whom she has a stormy affair. Miller gives a raw, passionate performance, while Pearce is uncanny, seemingly channeling Warhol's voice and mannerisms, but the script is repetitive and superficial, and reports of last-minute reshoots and reediting are all too obvious. | tt0432402 | [R] | Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Fallon, Jack Houston, Armin Amiri, Tara Summers, Mena Suvari, Shawn Hatosy, Beth Grant, James Naughton, Edward Herrmann, Illeana Douglas, Sally Kirkland, Mary Kate Olsen, Don Novello, Grant James | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| Factotum | 2006 | Bent Hamer | ★★½ | 94 | Low-key adaptation of Charles Bukowski's 1975 novel, with Dillon excellent as the author's booze-soaked alter ego, Henry Chinaski, who floats through a series of jobs and women. Many well-observed moments, with solid performances all around, but as aimless as its source, and its protagonist's self-love becomes a bit wearying. | tt0417658 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Fisher Stevens, Didier Flamand, Adrienne Shelly, Karen Young, Tom Lyons | Norwegian-U.S.-German | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Facts of Life | 1960 | Melvin Frank | ★★★ | 103 | Sophisticated comedy with Bob and Lucy leaving their spouses for an interlude together. The two stars make a good team worth watching. | tt0053810 | Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Ruth Hussey, Don DeFore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Faculty | 1998 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★½ | 104 | Ohio high school students who normally clash with one another band together when they discover that their teachers are being taken over by aliens. Self-referential horror film, with a healthy nod to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, is a cut above usual teen gore fests and has a first-rate cast. Overlong but sharply written (by Kevin Williamson, from a story by David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel). | tt0133751 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Jordana Brewster, Elijah Wood, Salma Hayek, Piper Laurie, Famke Janssen, Chris McDonald, Robert Patrick, Bebe Neuwirth, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Shawn Hatosy, Usher Raymond, Jon Stewart, Daniel von Bargen | Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fade to Black | 1980 | Vernon Zimmerman | ★½ | 100 | Weirdo film buff Christopher does in his enemies while dressed up as his favorite cinema villains. Interesting idea ruined by excessive violence, poor performance by Christopher. Marilyn Monroe lookalike Kerridge, as Christopher's girlfriend, is like a rose in a cesspool. | tt0080711 | [R] | Dennis Christopher, Linda Kerridge, Tim Thomerson, Morgan Paull, Marya Small, Mickey Rourke | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Fade-In | Iron Cowboy | 1968 | Alan Smithee (Jud Taylor) | ★★ | 93 | Odd little film made concurrently with BLUE, about love affair between film editor Loden and man she meets while working on location. Not very good, but a definite curio; never released theatrically. BLUE actors Terence Stamp, Joanna Pettet, Ricardo Montalban, and Sally Kirkland can be glimpsed here. Video title: IRON COWBOY. | tt0062953 | Burt Reynolds, Barbara Loden, Noam Pitlik, Patricia Casey, James Hampton, Joseph Perry | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fahrenheit 451 | 1966 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 111 | Odd and generally slow-going adaptation of Ray Bradbury sci-fi novel depicting future Earth civilization where all printed reading material is banned. Though viewer interest is held throughout, film has curiously reserved, unemotional feel to it. Truffaut's only film in English. | tt0060390 | Julie Christie, Oskar Werner, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring, Jeremy Spenser, Bee Duffell, Alex Scott, Mark Lester | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Fahrenheit 9/11 | 2004 | Michael Moore. | ★★★ | 122 | Moore's controversial, take-no-prisoners condemnation of George W. Bush, highlighting the Bush family's supposed ties to Saudi Arabia and Osama bin Laden and the manner in which the U.S. President allegedly exploited the tragedy of 9/11 to spearhead his own political agenda. At its best, the film pointedly undercuts Bush's justification for starting the Iraq war; it's less effective when spotlighting Moore and his patented, attention-getting theatrics. How you respond to this openly propagandistic film will certainly depend on your political leanings and your tolerance for Moore's incendiary brand of filmmaking. | tt0361596 | [R] | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Fail-Safe | 1964 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 111 | U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to nuke Moscow, plunging heads of American and Russian governments into crisis of decision making as time runs out. High-tension drama done with taste and intelligence. Walter Bernstein adapted the Eugene Burdick-Harvey Wheeler best-seller. Remade in 2000 for TV. | tt0058083 | Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O'Herlihy, Sorrell Booke, Larry Hagman, Frank Overton, Dom DeLuise | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Failure to Launch | 2006 | Tom Dey | ★★½ | 96 | Bachelor McConaughey is content living at home with his folks, a fact that usually puts off any woman who's getting too serious about a relationship. Then his parents hire Parker, a so-called professional at motivating men like this to leave the nest. Pleasant-enough romantic comedy that heads exactly where you know it will. | tt0427229 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw, Patton Oswalt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Rob Corddry | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Fair Game | 1995 | Andrew Sipes | 💣 | 91 | Totally pre-fab action thriller that almost looks as if producer Joel Silver is trying to satirize himself. Miami lawyer Crawford survives the requisite amount of firepower and fireballs during her pursuit by former KGB operatives. Baldwin is the cop trying to keep them both alive. Arguably the worst movie of 1995. In her acting debut, supermodel Crawford makes a good jogger. | tt0113010 | [R] | William Baldwin, Cindy Crawford, Steven Berkoff, Christopher McDonald, Miguel Sandoval, Johann Carlo, Salma Hayek, John Bedford Lloyd | Action | NULL | ||
| Fair Game | 2010 | Doug Liman | ★★★ | 107 | Washington, D.C., couple juggles dual careers while raising two young children, but only he knows that his wife is an agent with the CIA. His outspokenness against the Bush administration’s claim of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq inspires an administration official to leak her name to the press. She is Valerie Plame and he is Joe Wilson; the year is 2003. Intimate, propulsive drama, based on their memoirs, reveals how these events affected their lives and threatened their marriage. Engrossing and credible; an especially fine showcase for Watts. Same story was fictionalized in NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. | tt0977855 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sam Shepard, Noah Emmerich, Bruce McGill, David Andrews, Tim Griffin, Liraz Charhi, Khaled Nabawy, Michael Kelly, Ty Burrell, Brooke Smith, Jessica Hecht, Tom McCarthy, Norbert Leo Butz, David Denman, Polly Holiday | U.S.-United Arab Emirates | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fair Warning | 1937 | Norman Foster. | ★★½ | 70 | A mine owner is murdered while staying at a Death Valley dude ranch; the deputy sheriff enlists a precocious kid who's a chemistry whiz to help solve the crime. Absorbing little Fox whodunit with comic touches plays like a discarded script for the studio's Charlie Chan series. | tt0028846 | J. Edward Bromberg, Betty Furness, John (Howard) Payne, Victor Kilian, Billy Burrud, Gavin Muir, Gloria Roy, Andrew Tombes, Ivan Lebedeff, John Eldredge. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fair Wind to Java | 1953 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 92 | Hard-boiled skipper goes after treasure in the South Seas. Pretty good adventure yarn with Ralston acceptable as native love interest. Great climactic volcano explosion— though accompanying process-screen work is awful. | tt0045743 | Fred MacMurray, Vera Ralston, Victor McLaglen, Robert Douglas, Philip Ahn | Action | NULL | |||
| Fairy Tale: A True Story | 1997 | Charles Sturridge | ★★★ | 99 | Charming film, rich in period flavor, spun around a real-life incident in 1917, when two girls photographed fairies in their garden— and no less a figure than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle declared them genuine. As it deals with death (one of the girls has lost her brother to pneumonia), the horrors of WW1, and real-life characters like Doyle and Houdini (Keitel), this may actually have greater appeal to grown-ups than to children. Mel Gibson, whose company produced the film, has a cameo role. | tt0119095 | [PG] | Florence Hoath, Elizabeth Earl, Paul McGann, Phoebe Nicholls, Peter O'Toole, Harvey Keitel, Tim McInnerny | U.S.-British | Family, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Faithful | 1996 | Paul Mazursky | ★★ | 88 | On her 20th anniversary, the unhappy, neglected wife of a wealthy businessman is seized by a hit man who ties her up and awaits a signal from her husband to murder her. Meanwhile, they engage in a lively and surprisingly revealing conversation. All too obviously derived from a stage play (by Palminteri, who also wrote the script), this interesting piece simply doesn't work on film, despite good performances. Coproduced by Robert De Niro; filmed in 1994. | tt0116269 | [R] | Cher, Chazz Palminteri, Ryan O'Neal, Paul Mazursky, Amber Smith, Elisa Leonetti | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Faithful in My Fashion | 1946 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 81 | Stale comedy-romance as soldier on leave discovers his girl engaged to someone else. Good cast in familiar settings. | tt0038517 | Donna Reed, Tom Drake, Edward Everett Horton, Spring Byington, Sig Ruman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Faithless | 1932 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 76 | Impoverished Bankhead tries to start life fresh after dismal past; polished soaper. | tt0022873 | Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Montgomery, Hugh Herbert, Louise Closser Hale, Henry Kolker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Faithless | 2000 | Liv Ullmann | ★★★½ | 155 | Ingmar Bergman scripted this forceful drama about the impact of an extramarital love affair. Sparks erupt when a successful, happily wed actress-mother (Endre) inexplicably becomes involved with her gloomy friend (Henriksson). Exquisitely played; a complex and provocative rumination on love, sex, desire, and betrayal. | tt0157122 | [R] | Lena Endre, Erland Josephson, Krister Henriksson, Thomas Hanzon, Michelle Gylemo, Juni Dahr | Swedish-German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Fake | 1953 | Godfrey Grayson. | ★★ | 80 | Famous painting is stolen, starting a police hunt; OK crime drama. | tt0045745 | Dennis O'Keefe, Coleen Gray, Guy Middleton, John Laurie. | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Fake-Out | Nevada Heat | 1982 | Matt (Matteo) Cimber | ★½ | 96 | Trifling combination crime drama/comedy/romance with Las Vegas performer Zadora pressured to rat on her gangster boyfriend. Pia is raped. Pia falls in love. There are car chases . . . Aka NEVADA HEAT. | tt0083914 | Pia Zadora, Telly Savalas, Desi Arnaz/Jr. | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Falcon Out West | 1944 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 64 | The Falcon heads to Texas to catch the killer of a millionaire rancher who died in a N.Y.C. nightclub. Future leading man Lawrence Tierney plays an orchestra leader. | tt0036809 | Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Donald Douglas, Carole Gallagher, Joan Barclay, Cliff Clark, Ed Gargan, Minor Watson, Lyle Talbot | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon Strikes Back | 1943 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 66 | The Falcon is framed for murdering a banker as part of a war-bond racket and tracks down the real culprits in this breezy entry. A plum role for Kennedy. | tt0035854 | Tom Conway, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Jane Randolph, Edgar Kennedy, Cliff Edwards, Rita Corday, Wynne Gibson, Cliff Clark, Ed Gargan | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon Takes Over | 1942 | Irving Reis | ★★★ | 62 | Substantial, well-meshed mystery based on Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely, with Sanders up to his neck in corpses and double-crossing clients, aided by reporter Bari. Bond is a memorable Moose Malloy. Remade just two years later as MURDER, MY SWEET. | tt0034716 | George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Helen Gilbert, Ward Bond, Edward Gargan, Anne Revere, George Cleveland, Hans Conried, Turhan Bey | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon and the Co-eds | 1943 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 68 | There's a slew of sinister suspects when murder strikes at a girls' school, with playboy Falcon called in to investigate. Amusing entry features Dorothy Malone(y) in a bit part as a student. | tt0035855 | Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Rita Corday, Amelita Ward, Isabel Jewell, George Givot, Cliff Clark, Ed Gargan | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon and the Snowman | 1985 | John Schlesinger | ★★½ | 131 | True story, based on Robert Lindsay's book about two young men from affluent families who decide to sell government secrets to the Russians. Much food for thought, but we never get to share Hutton's feelings, and that keeps this well-made film somewhat aloof. Standout: Penn's performance as a desperate, amoral, drugged-out kid. | tt0087231 | [R] | Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, David Suchet, Lori Singer, Pat Hingle, Dorian Harewood, Mady Kaplan, Richard Dysart, Chris Makepeace, Michael Ironside | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Falcon in Danger | 1943 | William Clemens | ★★ | 70 | Minor entry about disappearance of passengers and $100,000 from a downed airplane. | tt0035856 | Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Elaine Shepard, Amelita Ward, Cliff Clark, Ed Gargan, Clarence Kolb, Richard Martin | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon in Hollywood | 1944 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 67 | While on vacation in Tinseltown, the Falcon probes the murder of an actor, allowing for an entertaining tour of RKO studio's back lot. Borg shines as a brassy cab driver. | tt0036810 | Tom Conway, Barbara Hale, Veda Ann Borg, John Abbott, Sheldon Leonard, Konstantin Shayne, Emory Parnell, Frank Jenks, Rita Corday, Jean Brooks | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon in Mexico | 1944 | William Berke | ★★½ | 70 | Suspenseful entry takes the Falcon from Manhattan to Mexico City to solve the murder of an art gallery owner over a new painting by a supposedly dead artist. Scenic exteriors of Mexico are rumored to be from Orson Welles' unfinished film IT'S ALL TRUE. | tt0036811 | Tom Conway, Mona Maris, Martha MacVicar (Vickers), Nestor Paiva, Mary Currier, Emory Parnell, Pedro de Cordoba | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon in San Francisco | 1945 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 66 | The Falcon, sidekick Brophy, and moppet Moffett take on a gang of silk smugglers in this leisurely but well-directed entry. | tt0037690 | Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Edward Brophy, Sharyn Moffett, Fay Helm, Robert Armstrong, Myrna Dell | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon's Adventure | 1946 | William Berke | ★★ | 61 | Stale rehash of A DATE WITH THE FALCON, about imperiled inventor of synthetic diamonds. Last Falcon entry featuring Conway. | tt0038518 | Tom Conway, Madge Meredith, Edward S. Brophy, Robert Warwick, Myrna Dell, Steve Brodie, Carol Forman, Ian Wolfe | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon's Alibi | 1946 | Ray McCarey | ★★ | 62 | Basically a retread of initial entry, THE GAY FALCON, about society matron's stolen jewels. Tepid, despite a good supporting cast. | tt0038519 | Tom Conway, Rita Corday, Vince Barnett, Jane Greer, Elisha Cook/Jr., Emory Parnell, Al Bridge, Jason Robards/Sr., Jean Brooks, Myrna Dell | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Falcon's Brother | 1942 | Stanley Logan | ★★½ | 63 | Enemy agents plan to assassinate a South American diplomat to sabotage U.S.-Latin American relations and the Falcon calls in his brother Tom (real-life brother Conway) to help out. Sanders' last film in the series. | tt0034717 | George Sanders, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph, Don Barclay, Amanda Varela, George Lewis, Cliff Clark, Edward Gargan | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Fall of the Roman Empire | 1964 | Anthony Mann | ★★★½ | 153 | Intelligent scripting, good direction, and fine acting place this far above the usual empty-headed spectacle. Mason and Guinness are superb; several action sequences are outstanding. A winner all the way. Screenplay by Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman, and Basilio Franchina. Originally 172m. | tt0058085 | Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, Mel Ferrer, Eric Porter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Fall | 2008 | Tarsem | ★★½ | 118 | In 1920s California, a young girl (Untaru) recuperating from a broken arm in a remote convalescent hospital befriends a suicidal patient (Pace), who spins an incredible yarn that holds her spellbound. In it, five heroic figures escape captivity on a desert island and go after the man who imprisoned them, a powerful governor. Visual opus by music video–commercial cult figure Tarsem is alternately whimsical and ponderous, but location filming in more than twenty countries provides a panorama of stunning locations for his showy, often imaginatively staged sequences. Based on a 1981 Bulgarian movie called YO HO HO. | tt0893325 | [R] | Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Robin Smith, Julian Bleach, Jeetu Verma, Leo Bill, Daniel Caltagirone | U.S.-Indian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Fallen | 1998 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★ | 124 | Philadelphia homicide cop investigates brutal copycat murders— but is slow to realize that there may be an explanation beyond the normal for how and why these deaths are being executed. Hybrid of supernatural and cop-thriller genres doesn't pay off, despite creepy atmosphere and solid performances. It takes much too long to get where it's going, and the finale subverts the film's own 'ground rules.' | tt0119099 | [R] | Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz, James Gandolfini, Elias Koteas, Gabriel Casseus, Robert Joy | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fallen Angel | 1945 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 97 | Andrews, hard up and bitter, stops in a small California town and falls for sultry waitress Darnell. To get money to marry her, he plans to first wed mousy heiress Faye and fleece her. Slow-paced (if good-looking) film noir was an ill-fated change of pace for musical star Faye, in her last starring movie. | tt0037691 | Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Charles Bickford, Anne Revere, Bruce Cabot, John Carradine | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fallen Angels | 1995 | Wong Kar-Wai | ★★ | 95 | Slickly made but emotionally uninvolving (and practically narrative-free) portrait of cultural alienation, which like its predecessor, CHUNGKING EXPRESS, focuses on two sets of characters: an assassin and the beautiful colleague who desires him; and a mute ex-con and the woman he covets. Dazzling cinematography, camera angles, and editing aside, this is mostly meandering and confusing— and as emotionally distant as the characters it portrays. | tt0112913 | Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charlie Yeung, Karen Mok | Hong Kong | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fallen Idol | 1948 | Carol Reed | ★★★½ | 94 | Young boy idolizes a household servant who is suspected of murdering his wife. Exceptional realization of Graham Greene story 'The Basement Room,' told in large part from the child's point of view. Scripted by Greene, Lesley Storm, and William Templeton. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040338 | Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan, Bobby Henrey, Sonia Dresdel, Jack Hawkins, Bernard Lee | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fallen Sparrow | 1943 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 94 | Entertaining if somewhat vague WW2 thriller with Garfield returning to N.Y.C. after fighting in the Spanish Civil War, only to find himself hunted by undercover Nazis. Promising material never really pans out. | tt0035860 | John Garfield, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison, Martha O'Driscoll, Bruce Edwards, John Miljan, John Banner, Hugh Beaumont | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Falling Down | 1993 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 115 | Nerdy Douglas blows his cool one morning, abandons his car in freeway traffic, and starts wandering L.A. on an increasingly violent odyssey— while Duvall, his last day before retiring from the police force, sniffs him out. Dead-on portrait of a disenfranchised, modern-day American who goes off the deep end. It's vivid, it's credible, it's extremely well acted . . . but what exactly is the point? | tt0106856 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey, Frederic Forrest, Tuesday Weld, Rachel Ticotin, Lois Smith, Michael Paul Chan, Raymond J. Barry, D.W. Moffett, Brent Hinkley, Dedee Pfeiffer, Vondie Curtis Hall, Jack Kehoe, John Diehl | Action, Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Falling From Grace | 1992 | John Mellencamp | 💣 | 100 | Warmed-over Larry McMurtry tripe about a country music star who returns to his hometown, opening old family wounds and reigniting a relationship with his onetime girlfriend, who's now married to his brother. Lenz's sexy character is the only one that avoids cliché; Mellencamp's performance is simply boring. This marked the singing star's directing debut. | tt0104225 | [PG-13] | John Mellencamp, Mariel Hemingway, Kay Lenz, Claude Akins, Dub Taylor, Larry Crane | Drama | NULL | ||
| Falling in Love | 1984 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★½ | 107 | Straightforward film about two married people who— against their better judgment— have an affair. BRIEF ENCOUNTER it's not, but De Niro and especially Streep lift it out of the ordinary. | tt0087233 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Harvey Keitel, Jane Kaczmarek, George Martin, David Clennon, Dianne Wiest | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Falling in Love Again | In Love | 1980 | Steven Paul | ★½ | 103 | Amateurish slop wherein a frustrated Gould flashes back to his halcyon youth in the Bronx and his courtship of a WASP princess. Artificial, to say the least. Twenty-year-old producer-director-writer-actor Paul scores points for chutzpah, not talent, with this feature debut; also Pfeiffer's film debut. Aka IN LOVE. | tt0080714 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Susannah York, Stuart Paul, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kaye Ballard, Robert Hackman, Steven Paul | Comedy | NULL | |
| False Colors | 1943 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 65 | Bar 20 cowpuncher, heir to a ranch with valuable water rights, is murdered so that an impostor can claim ownership on behalf of a crooked banker. Handsome production features Clyde in rare form, and the series debut for Will Rogers' son Jimmy as Hopalong Cassidy's newest (and least interesting) young sidekick. It's fun watching 47-year-old Boyd pulverize 25-year-old Mitchum in a slam-bang fight. | tt0035862 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Douglass Dumbrille, Tom Seidel, Claudia Drake, Bob (Robert) Mitchum, Glenn Strange, Roy Barcroft. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| False Paradise | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 59 | Slick banker holding a mortgage cons retired professor and his daughter to obtain silver-rich real estate. Second-to-last Hopalong Cassidy feature builds to nice action finish and is one of the better efforts produced by Boyd, though disappointing when he doesn't wear dark outfit fans expect. Reissued as THE FIGHTING TEXAN. | tt0040339 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Elaine Riley, Cliff Clark, Kenneth R. MacDonald. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Fame | 1980 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 133 | The dreams, aspirations, struggles, and failures of students at N.Y.C.'s High School for Performing Arts should have made a great film, but this one just misses the mark, despite good ingredients and Oscar-winning music (by Michael Gore) and song (by Gore and Dean Pitchford). Moments of insight, excitement, and creativity eventually get lost in abrupt, disjointed continuity, which leaves a bushel of loose ends and unresolved ideas. Later a TV series. | tt0080716 | [R] | Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Eddie Barth, Laura Dean, Paul McCrane, Barry Miller, Gene Anthony Ray, Maureen Teefy, Antonia Franceschi, Anne Meara, Albert Hague | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fame | 2009 | Kevin Tancharoen | ★½ | 107 | Remake of the 1980 musical drama follows a group of students from N.Y.C.'s High School for the Performing Arts as they audition, perform, and learn about themselves at this difficult and competitive conservatory. Biggest problem with this unnecessary reprise is that most of the cast members aren't talented enough to make you believe they could be successful—and you never learn enough about any of them to care. Alternate version runs 123m. | tt1016075 | [PG] | Kay Panabaker, Naturi Naughton, Kherington Payne, Megan Mullally, Bebe Neuwirth, Debbie Allen, Kelsey Grammer, Charles S. Dutton, Asher Book, Kristy Flores, Paul Iacono, Paul McGill, Collins Pennie, Walter Perez, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Fame Is the Spur | 1946 | John Boulting, Roy Boulting | ★★½ | 116 | Thoughtful if slow-moving chronicle of a noted politician-diplomat who rises from poverty to fame. | tt0038520 | Michael Redgrave, Rosamund John, Anthony Wager, Brian Weske | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Family Affair | 1937 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 69 | Amiable first entry in the Andy Hardy series centers on Judge Hardy (Barrymore) solving various family problems while trying to be reelected. A good intro to the sentimental charm of life in Louis B. Mayer's idealized vision of smalltown America. Byington and Barrymore's roles were taken over by Fay Holden and Lewis Stone for the rest of the series. Based on the play Skidding by Aurania Rouverol. | tt0028850 | Lionel Barrymore, Mickey Rooney, Spring Byington, Cecilia Parker, Eric Linden, Julie Haydon, Charley Grapewin, Sara Haden | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Family Business | Conseil de Famille | 1986 | Costa-Gavras | ★★½ | 98 | Well-made but inconsequential comedy of professional safecracker Hallyday, whose wife, daughter, and (most tellingly) son are involved in various ways with his 'career.' The motivations of his spouse (Ardant), particularly in relation to their son, are utterly confounding. Aka CONSEIL DE FAMILLE. | tt0090874 | Johnny Hallyday, Fanny Ardant, Guy Marchand, Laurent Romor, Remi Martin, Juliette Rennes, Caroline Pochon | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Family Business | 1989 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 115 | Brainy Broderick, estranged from father Hoffman, enlists the aid of his grandfather Connery, a career criminal, to pull off a can't-miss heist. Worth seeing for three terrific performances by the charismatic leads, even though they're never quite believable as family— and the story lets them down. Further undermined by one of the most appalling music scores of recent memory, composed by Cy Coleman. Based on a novel by Vincent Patrick. | tt0097328 | [R] | Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman, Matthew Broderick, Rosana DeSoto, Janet Carroll, Victoria Jackson, Bill McCutcheon, Deborah Rush | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Family Game | 1984 | Yoshimitsu Morita | ★★★ | 107 | Arrogant tutor is engaged to propel an indolent younger son into a classy school but ends up taking over entire household. Overlong, but original, satire of Japan's burgeoning middle class offers plenty of chuckles, insights into modern-day Japan. | tt0087545 | Yusaku Matsuda, Juzo Itami, Saori Yuki, Junichi Tsujita, Ichirota Miyagawa | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Family Honeymoon | 1948 | Claude Binyon | ★★½ | 90 | What could have been fine comedy turns out to be uneven farce as widow takes children on second honeymoon. Very good cast does its best. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040342 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Rita Johnson, Gigi Perreau | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Family Jewels | 1965 | Jerry Lewis | ★★½ | 100 | Depending on your taste for Lewis, you'll either be in ecstasy or writhing on the floor in pain because he plays seven parts— all of them as potential guardians of little girl who is inheriting several million dollars. | tt0059166 | Jerry Lewis, Donna Butterworth, Sebastian Cabot, Robert Strauss, Milton Frome | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Family Life | Wednesday's Child | 1971 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 108 | Forceful drama about a weak-willed and deeply troubled young woman (Ratcliffe) and her deepening psychological turmoil as her parents compel her to have an abortion. While Loach's left-of-center worldview makes this a politically loaded (and occasionally preachy) allegory, he and screenwriter David Mercer nonetheless paint a harrowing portrait of an uncaring medical bureaucracy. Originally titled WEDNESDAY'S CHILD. | tt0068569 | Sandy Ratcliffe, Bill Dean, Grace Cave, Malcolm Tierney, Hilary Martyn, Alan MacNaughton | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Family Man | 2000 | Brett Ratner | ★★★½ | 125 | A ruthless financial exec with no emotional ties is magically transported into a life he's never known: the working-class suburban existence he might have had if he'd married his college girlfriend. Smart and sentimental: a rare contemporary holiday-themed comedy-fantasy that has the courage of its own convictions; this one scores a bull's-eye. | tt0218967 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Jeremy Piven, Don Cheadle, Saul Rubinek, Josef Sommer, Harve Presnell, Mary Beth Hurt, Amber Valletta, Francine York | Comedy, Fantasy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Family Plot | 1976 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 120 | Hitchcock coasts along in this tongue-in-cheek thriller. Harris is phony psychic who gets involved in a murder plot hatched by sinister Devane. Mildly entertaining but never credible. Ernest Lehman scripted Hitch's 54th and final film. | tt0074512 | [PG] | Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane, Ed Lauter, Cathleen Nesbitt, Katherine Helmond | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Family Prayers | 1993 | Scott Rosenfelt | ★★ | 108 | Overlong drama of an adolescent Jewish boy struggling to prepare for his bar mitzvah, while suffering the ups and downs of life with a gambling-addicted father. Competent editing would have made this an excellent after-school special. This sat on the shelf after completion in 1991. | tt0106860 | [PG] | Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Patti LuPone, Julianne Michelle, Paul Reiser, Allen Garfield, Conchata Ferrell, David Margulies, Brittany Murphy, Tzvi Ratner-Stauber | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Family Secret | 1951 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 85 | Good drama involving Cobb who defends man accused for crime which son committed. | tt0043521 | John Derek, Lee J. Cobb, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Jody Lawrance | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Family Stone | 2005 | Thomas Bezucha | ★★★ | 103 | Warmhearted comedy-drama about an eventful New England family gathering at Christmastime, where one of five siblings (Mulroney) brings his uptight girlfriend and potential fiancée (Parker) to meet his folks, who put her on the spot. Starts simply, then reveals a succession of layers that broaden and enrich the story. The cast couldn't be better. Written by the director. | tt0356680 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, Craig T. Nelson, Rachel McAdams, Ty Giordano, Brian White, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Family Thing | 1996 | Richard Pearce | ★★½ | 109 | When tractor salesman Duvall discovers his real mother was a black woman, he travels to Chicago to meet his half-brother, policeman Jones. Issues of race and family conflict are resolved a bit too easily in this rather contrived story, made sweet and believable by the efforts of a superior cast. Hall steals every scene as their blind aunt. Duvall also coproduced. Coscripted by Billy Bob Thornton. | tt0116275 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall, David Keith | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Family Tree | 2011 | Vivi Friedman | ★★½ | 90 | Dad (Mulroney) is a miserable corporate cog; Mom (Davis) is getting it on with a neighbor (McBride); son Eric (Thieriot) is a religious pothead gun nut; and daughter Kelly (Robertson) is sardonic and confused. But when Mom falls down, cracks her noggin, and forgets everything, suddenly this mightily messed-up family on the verge of an emotional breakdown gets a second shot at normalcy. Amnesia comedy's light tone does little to mask the angst of everyday existence, but will sting true for anyone with parents or sibs. | tt1175713 | [R] | Dermot Mulroney, Hope Davis, Chi McBride, Max Thieriot, Britt Robertson, Selma Blair, Christina Hendricks, Keith Carradine, Shad Moss aka Bow Wow, Gabrielle Anwar, John Patrick Amedori, Jane Seymour, Rachael Leigh Cook, Evan Handler | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Family Viewing | 1987 | Atom Egoyan | ★★★ | 92 | Early Egoyan feature is a provocative, daring drama-cum-black comedy about a dysfunctional family and its members' fixation on television, video, and impersonal means of communication. On-target commentary on the way hollow imagery and technology have affected contemporary life. Written by the director. | tt0093006 | David Hemblen, Aidan Tierney, Arsinée Khanjian, Gabrielle Rose, Selma Keklikian, Jeanne Sabourin, Rose Sarkisyan | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Family Way | 1966 | Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 115 | Winning comedy about young newlyweds' problems, including impotence, and difficulty of living in same house as his parents. This warm, gentle film was actually considered controversial in 1967 when released in U.S.! Music score by Paul McCartney. | tt0060395 | Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, John Mills, Marjorie Rhodes, Avril Angers, Murray Head | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Family | 1970 | Sergio Sollima | ★★½ | 100 | Fast pacing fails to hide clichés in this action drama about an ex-con (Bronson) in single-minded hunt for the man who framed him and stole his girl. Lots of chefs involved in writing this brew, among them Lina Wertmuller. Also called VIOLENT CITY. | tt0065555 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Telly Savalas, Michel Constantin, Umberto Orsini, George Savalas | Italian | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| The Family | 1987 | Ettore Scola | ★★★ | 127 | Episodic, revealing chronicle of eighty years in the life of an upper-middle-class Italian clan (with some characters portrayed through the decades by several different actors). An affectionate depiction, leisurely paced but well worth catching. Don't look for any sumptuous Roman exteriors: Scola never once strays from the family's apartment! | tt0093004 | [PG] | Vittorio Gassman, Fanny Ardant, Stefania Sandrelli, Andrea Occhipinti, Jo Ciampa, Philippe Noiret | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Fan's Notes | 1972 | Eric Till | ★★ | 100 | Confused, football-obsessed writer becomes disillusioned with the Great American Dream of success and conformity, and ends up in mental hospital. Unfortunate misfire of Frederick Exley's highly regarded novel. | tt0068571 | [R] | Jerry Orbach, Burgess Meredith, Patricia Collins, Julia Ann Robinson, Rosemary Murphy | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Fan | 1949 | Otto Preminger. | ★★ | 79 | Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners Lady Windermere's Fan, involving marital indiscretion and social-climbing in Victorian England, loses much of its wit in this version. Madeleine Carroll's last film. Previously filmed in 1916, 1925, 1935 (in Germany), and 1944 (in Mexico), and remade in 2004 as A GOOD WOMAN. | tt0041346 | Jeanne Crain, Madeleine Carroll, George Sanders, Richard Greene. | NULL | ||||
| The Fan | 1981 | Edward Bianchi | ★½ | 95 | Broadway actress Bacall is stalked by a psychotic admirer in this bloody, distasteful adaptation of the Bob Randall novel. Bacall's star appeal helps disguise the fact that this is just an exploitation cheapie in dress clothes. | tt0082362 | [R] | Lauren Bacall, Michael Biehn, Maureen Stapleton, James Garner, Hector Elizondo, Anna Maria Horsford, Kurt Johnson, Dwight Schultz, Dana Delany, Griffin Dunne | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fan | 1996 | Tony Scott | ★½ | 117 | Ridiculous retread of all-too-familiar material, with De Niro cast as a '90s Travis Bickle, a loser on the edge, whose unhealthy passion is the S.F. Giants and their newest $40 million star, Snipes. This hollow melodrama is so overheated and overhyped by souped-up visuals and sound that the viewer feels he's been assaulted as much as the victimized baseball star. Worst of all, the film puts not one but two children in jeopardy and subjects them to psychological and verbal abuse. Ugh. | tt0116277 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, John Leguizamo, Benicio Del Toro, Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn, Chris Mulkey, Dan Butler | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fan-Fan the Tulip | Soldier of Love | 1951 | Christian-Jaque | ★★★ | 104 | Delightful satire of swashbuckling epics; Philipe is ideal as sword-wielding, love-hungry 18th-century Frenchman joining Louis XV's army. Beware of shorter versions. Retitled: SOLDIER IN LOVE. | tt0044602 | Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Noel Roquevert, Olivier Hussenot, Marcel Herrand, Sylvie Pelayo | French | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Fanatics | 1957 | Alex Joffé. | ★★ | 85 | Occasionally taut tale of two revolutionaries (Fresnay, Auclair) with very different ideas about assassinating a South American dictator. | tt0050375 | Pierre Fresnay, Michel Auclair, Gregoire Aslan, Betty Schneider. | French | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fanboys | 2009 | Kyle Newman | ★½ | 90 | A long, long time ago (in 1998), an Ohio quartet of STAR WARS fanatics plots to sneak into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their sick buddy can see the rough cut of Episode One before he dies. Overstuffed with pop-cult references, and too often obnoxious, sexist, and gross, this vision-quest road movie never once hits its emotional marks. Pretty much made for, well, fanboys, it's enlivened only by several in-joke cameos. | tt0489049 | [PG-13] | Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler, Sam Huntington, Christopher Marquette, Kristen Bell, Ethan Suplee, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, Christopher McDonald, Danny Trejo | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Fancy Pants | 1950 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 92 | Amusing musical remake of RUGGLES OF RED GAP with English valet Hope accompanying nouveau riche wildcat Lucy to her Western home. | tt0042447 | Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Bruce Cabot, Jack Kirkwood, Lea Penman, Eric Blore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fandango | 1985 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★½ | 91 | Five college pals have one last fling before moving on to face Real Life. Based on Reynolds' student film called PROOF, expanded to feature length under sponsorship of Steven Spielberg. Fresh and likable, if uneven. | tt0089126 | [PG] | Kevin Costner, Judd Nelson, Sam Robards, Chuck Bush, Brian Cesak, Marvin J. McIntyre, Suzy Amis, Glenne Headly | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fanny | 1932 | Marc Allégret | ★★★½ | 120 | Marius (Fresnay) abandons Fanny (Demazis) with his child; with Cesar (Raimu) playing Cupid, she marries Panisse (Charpin). Second of Marcel Pagnol's charming trilogy, preceded by MARIUS and followed by CESAR. All three were the basis of the play and movie FANNY (1961). | tt0022877 | Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Charpin, Orane Demazis, Alida Rouffe | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Fanny | 1961 | Joshua Logan | ★★★ | 133 | Gorgeously photographed and beautifully scored dramatic version of Marcel Pagnol's trilogy involving young girl left with child by adventure-seeking sailor. Chevalier and Boyer give flavorful performances. | tt0054866 | Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Charles Boyer, Horst Buchholz, Baccaloni, Lionel Jeffries | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Fanny and Alexander | Fanny och Alexander | 1983 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 197 | Haunting, engrossing autobiographical family saga set in turn-of-the-century Sweden; a summing up of Bergman's career (announced as his final film). Scenes of joy, exuberance, pain, torment, exquisitely expressed, and largely seen through the eyes of a young boy. This earned Oscars as Best Foreign Film, and for its costumes, art direction-set decoration, and Sven Nykvist's lovely cinematography. Edited from an even longer television miniseries, which ran 312m. Look for Lena Olin as a maid. Bergman's family history is further explored in THE BEST INTENTIONS, SUNDAY'S CHILDREN, and PRIVATE CONFESSIONS. | tt0083922 | [R] | Pernilla Allwin, Bertil Guve, Gunn Wallgren, Allan Edwall, Ewa Froling, Jan Malmsjo, Erland Josephson, Harriet Andersson | Swedish | Drama, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL |
| Fantasia | 1940 | Ben Sharpsteen | ★★★½ | 120 | Walt Disney's eight-part marriage of music and animated images remains an amazing achievement; Taylor's narration dates it more than the content. 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' (with Mickey Mouse), 'The Dance of the Hours' (with dancing hippos and alligators), 'Rite of Spring' (dinosaurs stalking the earth), and 'A Night on Bald Mountain' (with Chernobog, the personification of evil) are so stunning that they make up for the less compelling sequences. Also notable for groundbreaking use of multichannel stereophonic sound. DVD (with newly filmed credits) runs 124m. Followed by FANTASIA 2000. | tt0032455 | Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra; narrated by Deems Taylor | Family, Animation, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Fantasia 2000 | 2000 | James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Pixote Hunt, Don Hahn | ★★★ | 75 | But there are a number of entertaining segments, including 'The Pines of Rome,' with its wondrous whales, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' a UPA-type cartoon set in N.Y.C., 'Pomp and Circumstance,' with Donald Duck as Noah's assistant, and the 'Firebird Suite' finale. | tt0120910 | [G] | Steve Martin, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, Quincy Jones, Itzhak Perlman, Angela Lansbury, James Levine, Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | ||
| Fantasies | 1981 | John Derek | 💣 | 81 | Amateurish nonsense about Derek's and Hooten's efforts to renovate a Greek island into a tourist trap. Shot in 1973, when Bo was 16, as AND ONCE UPON A LOVE. | tt0082363 | [R] | Bo Derek, Peter Hooten, Anna Alexiadis, Phaedon Gheorghitis, Therese Bohlin | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fantasist | 1986 | Robin Hardy | ★★½ | 98 | Eerie tale of sexual repression among the Irish: country lass Harris moves to Dublin, where she's in danger of falling prey to Bottoms, who may be the notorious 'phone call killer.' Well done of its type, with Hardy effectively juxtaposing calm, quiet sequences with those of terror; however, some will find repugnant the graphic violence. | tt0091032 | [R] | Christopher Cazenove, Timothy Bottoms, Moira Harris, John Kavanagh, Mick Lally | Irish | Thriller | NULL | |
| Fantastic Four | 2005 | Tim Story | ★★ | 106 | Scientist Reed Richards (Gruffudd) tries to capture the power of a cosmic storm, with the backing of flamboyant billionaire Victor Von Doom (McMahon) . . . but something goes terribly wrong. This comic-book movie doesn't try to court an adult audience-and risks alienating hard-core fans by inventing a brand-new 'origin' tale told in strictly two-dimensional terms. Best suited to 10-year-old boys. Based on the Marvel characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Lee has a cameo as a mailman. | tt0120667 | [PG-13] | Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Hamish Linklater, Kerry Washington, Laurie Holden, Maria Menounos | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | 2007 | Tim Story | ★★ | 92 | Sequel finds the earth imperiled by a mysterious force that is wreaking havoc with weather systems (and global landmarks), and making the impending N.Y.C. nuptials of Reed (Gruffudd) and Sue (Alba) difficult to plan. The culprit may be the Silver Surfer or possibly the returning Victor Von Doom (McMahon). A special-effectsapalooza masquerading as a feature film. Look for the comic's cocreator Stan Lee as a party guest. | tt0486576 | [PG] | Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Doug Jones, Brian Posehn, Kenneth Welsh, Vanessa Minnillo; voice of Laurence Fishburne | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth | The Bubble | 1966 | Arch Oboler | ★½ | 91 | Released theatrically in 3-D, this plays like a padded Twilight Zone episode; young couple find themselves trapped in seemingly deserted town enclosed in a giant Baggie. The original title, THE BUBBLE, was far less misleading: there are no aliens and no 'invasion' in evidence, and not much excitement, either. Originally 112m. Filmed in widescreen Space-Vision. | tt0060396 | Michael Cole, Deborah Walley, Johnny Desmond | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fantastic Mr. Fox | 2009 | Wes Anderson | ★★★ | 86 | A sly fox promises his wife to mend his chicken-stealing ways and settle down—but he can't stifle his true nature, and makes elaborate plans to outwit three neighboring farmers. Amusing fable based on Roald Dahl's book, adapted and expanded by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, and brought to life through appealingly old-fashioned stop-motion animation. Fine voice work and a buoyant score by Alexandre Desplat completes the package. | tt0432283 | [PG] | Voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Helen McCrory, Brian Cox, Adrien Brody | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Fantastic Planet | 1973 | Rene Laloux | ★★½ | 72 | Interesting animated feature about futuristic planet where men are dominated by superdeveloped mechanized race. Worthwhile, but static and aloof. | tt0070544 | [PG] | French | Animation, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fantastic Voyage | 1966 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★½ | 100 | Tremendously entertaining science fiction story of medical team reduced to microscopic size, injected inside human body. Film's great widescreen effects will be lost on TV screen, but story and action will keep you glued to your seat nevertheless. Screenplay by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jay Lewis Bixby (Jerome Bixby). Won Oscars for art direction-set decoration and special visual effects. | tt0060397 | Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasence, Arthur O'Connell, William Redfield, Arthur Kennedy, James Brolin | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Fantasticks | 2000 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 86 | Adaptation of the longest-running off-Broadway show in history (by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt) is sweet and slight; this musical fable of young lovers, their fathers and a mysterious showman is almost an anachronism. Beautifully shot (on some of the same Arizona locations used for OKLAHOMA!), it's a treat for musical devotees, even if it isn't perfect. Released after sitting on the shelf for five years, recut by Francis Ford Coppola; Ritchie's version, with additional songs, is on the DVD. | tt0113026 | [PG] | Brad Sullivan, Jean Louisa Kelly, Joe McIntyre, Joel Grey, Barnard Hughes, Jonathon Morris, Teller | Musical | NULL | ||
| Fantomas Against Scotland Yard | 1966 | Andre Hunebelle. | ★★½ | 104 | Satirical cliff-hanger-type adventure yarn, with Marais as super-criminal engaged in athletic escapades. Retitled: FANTOMAS. | tt0060400 | Jean Marais, Louis De Funes, Mylene Demongeot, Henri Serre. | French-Italian | Comedy, Crime, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Far Country | 1955 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 97 | Cattleman Stewart, a confirmed loner, brings his herd to Alaska and finds nothing but trouble; solid Western set against colorful backdrop of mining camp towns. Story and screenplay by Borden Chase. | tt0048055 | James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, John McIntire, Harry Morgan | Western | NULL | |||
| Far From Heaven | 2002 | Todd Haynes | ★★★ | 107 | Fascinating filmmaking exercise in which writer-director Haynes replicates the look and feel of a 1950s Douglas Sirk Technicolor soap opera, while tackling issues that would have been taboo in that era. Moore is a picture-perfect suburban wife, Quaid her successful husband, but he has a dark secret, while she finds herself attracted to her Negro gardener (Haysbert). Not so much a parody as a recreation, as if a 1957 movie were being made in 2002, with art direction, camerawork, costuming, music, and color that recall such films as ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS. | tt0297884 | [PG-13] | Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, Patricia Clarkson, Viola Davis, James Rebhorn, Celia Weston | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Far From Home | 1989 | Meiert Avis | ★½ | 86 | Dumb killer-on-the-loose programmer with sexy teen Barrymore being stalked while vacationing with her father. Of interest only for Drew's casting in her first adolescent movie role. | tt0097332 | [R] | Matt Frewer, Drew Barrymore, Richard Masur, Karen Austin, Susan Tyrrell, Anthony Rapp, Jennifer Tilly, Andras Jones, Dick Miller | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog | 1995 | Phillip Borsos | ★★½ | 80 | Nicely done (if predictable) boy-and-his-dog tale, centering on young Bradford and his super-bright Golden Labrador as they survive the capsizing of their boat; the pair must struggle to outlast the elements and other assorted dangers in a forest. | tt0113028 | [PG] | Mimi Rogers, Bruce Davison, Jesse Bradford, Tom Bower, Joel Palmer, Josh Wannamaker, Margot Finley | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Far From the Madding Crowd | 1967 | John Schlesinger. | ★★★½ | 169 | Shamefully underrated adaptation of Thomas Hardy novel about beautiful woman and her profound effect on three men. Superb production, with brilliant photography by Nicolas Roeg, score by Richard Rodney Bennett, script by Frederic Raphael, and performances by Finch and Bates. | tt0061648 | Julie Christie, Peter Finch, Terence Stamp, Alan Bates, Prunella Ransome. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Far Frontier | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Hard-hitting Rogers Western, with Roy up against vicious gangsters who smuggle deported criminals back into the country. Tough storyline, good direction, one of Roy's best late-'40s outings. Only b&w prints seem to survive. | tt0041347 | Roy Rogers, Gail Davis, Andy Devine, Francis Ford, Roy Barcroft, Clayton Moore, Robert Strange, Holly Bane, Lane Bradford, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Far Horizons | 1955 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 108 | Movie fiction about Lewis and Clark expedition, beautifully photographed; sporadic action; implausible love interest. | tt0048056 | Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston, Donna Reed, Barbara Hale, William Demarest | Western | NULL | |||
| Far North | 1988 | Sam Shepard | ★½ | 90 | Shepard's directing debut, which he also scripted, is a pointless, artificial drama about the various members of a Minnesota family and what happens when patriarch Durning is almost killed by a wild horse. Good cast is wasted. | tt0095135 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, Tess Harper, Donald Moffat, Ann Wedgeworth, Patricia Arquette, Nina Draxton | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Far Off Place | 1993 | Mikael Salomon | ★★★ | 105 | Borderline-slow, but head-on-straight, Disney kids' adventure about a young Bushman guide, a game warden's daughter, and a visiting city boy who flee across the desert from murderous poachers. Frank treatment of death makes this iffy for young kids, but older children should find it rewarding. Based on the books A Story Like the Wind and A Far Off Place by Laurens van der Post. Juan Ruiz-Anchia's magnificent photography is a standout. | tt0106868 | [PG] | Reese Witherspoon, Ethan Embry, Maximilian Schell, Jack Thompson, Sarel Bok, Robert Burke, Patricia Kalember, Daniel Gerroll | Family, Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Far Out Man | 1990 | Tommy Chong | 💣 | 91 | Labeled 'A Tommy Chong Attempt,' this vanity production is high on nepotism but short on laughs— or coherence. Chong plays a burned-out, leftover 1960s druggie who's trying to find his ex-lady and their child (played by their real-life counterparts). Longtime partner Cheech Marin contributes a cameo, but is sorely missed throughout the rest of the grungy film. | tt0099546 | [R] | Tommy Chong, Shelby Chong, Paris Chong, C. Thomas Howell, Martin Mull, Rae Dawn Chong, Judd Nelson | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Far and Away | 1992 | Ron Howard | ★★½ | 140 | Scrappy, dirt-poor Irish tenant farmer hooks up, in unlikely fashion, with the equally feisty daughter of a wealthy landowner, and together they sail for America to seek their ultimate destiny in the 1893 Oklahoma land rush. Ideal vehicle for Tom and Nicole, who are both beautiful and engaging; problem is a dire lack of story to fill the lulls between fight scenes. Expanded for network TV showing. Filmed in Ireland and Montana. Climactic land rush really gallops in Panavision Super 70. | tt0104231 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson, Robert Prosky, Barbara Babcock, Colm Meaney, Eileen Pollock, Michelle Johnson, Cyril Cusack, Clint Howard, Rance Howard | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Faraway, So Close! | 1993 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 140 | The perfect Wenders cast (if not the perfect Wenders movie) takes up where the more successful WINGS OF DESIRE left off; this time it is angel Sander who becomes mortal, joining old celestial pal Ganz— who's now married to circus performer Dommartin, with whom he's raising a daughter and running a pizza shop in unified Germany. Lighter going than its predecessor, but also more lightweight; it's still a borderline ordeal in the beginning and final segments, despite having been trimmed from 164m. | tt0107209 | Otto Sander, Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Peter Falk, Willem Dafoe, Nastassja Kinski, Horst Buchholz, Lou Reed, Mikhail Gorbachev | German | Drama, Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Farewell Again | 1937 | Tim Whelan | ★★½ | 81 | Neatly handled minor film detailing events in the lives of British soldiers on short leave before embarking for the front again. | tt0028854 | Leslie Banks, Flora Robson, Sebastian Shaw, Patricia Hilliard | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Farewell to Arms | 1932 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 78 | Lushly romantic adaptation of Hemingway novel about ill-fated WW1 romance between American soldier and British nurse; dated but well done. Charles Lang's exquisite cinematography won an Oscar. Remade in 1957. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0022879 | Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Philips, Jack LaRue, Blanche Frederici | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| A Farewell to Arms | 1957 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 152 | Overblown, padded remake has unconvincing leads, static treatment of WW1 story so romantically told in Hemingway novel. Hudson is American ambulance driver wounded in WW1 Italy who falls in love with nurse Jones. Last film produced by David O. Selznick. | tt0050379 | Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones, Vittorio De Sica, Alberto Sordi, Mercedes McCambridge, Elaine Stritch, Oscar Homolka | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Farewell to Manzanar | 1976 | John Korty | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Factual story of one Japanese American family's internment in WW2 detention camp. Sad, often hidden slice of American history, beautifully directed by Korty and captured in the screenplay by Jeanne Wakatuski Houston (who lived it) and her husband James D. Houston, taken from their stirring book. Not to be missed. | tt0074518 | Yuki Shimoda, Nobu McCarthy, Clyde Kusatsu, Mako, Akemi Kikiumura, Pat Morita, James Saito | Drama | NULL | |||
| Farewell to the King | 1989 | John Milius | ★★ | 117 | Disappointing actioner with Nolte an army deserter who becomes the leader of a Borneo tribe during WW2. Goal: to protect his people from the atrocities of the Japanese and the lies of the British. Intriguing premise, but result sinks into cliché. Milius scripted, from Pierre Schoendoerffer's novel. | tt0097334 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Nigel Havers, James Fox, Marilyn Tokuda, Frank McRae, Aki Aleong, William Wise | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Farewell, Friend | Honor Among Thieves | 1968 | Jean Herman | ★★ | 115 | Mercenaries return to Marseilles following service in Algeria, team up for robbery, and inevitably clash. Ordinary and overlong. Aka HONOR AMONG THIEVES and THE CODE (1968). | tt0062639 | [M] | Alain Delon, Charles Bronson, Olga Georges-Picot, Brigitte Fossey, Bernard Fresson | French-Italian | Action, Adventure | NULL |
| Farewell, My Concubine | 1993 | Chen Kaige | ★★★½ | 155 | Elaborate aria, no favorite at home but cowinner of Cannes' top prize, about the contentious 52-year relationship of two male childhood apprentices in the Peking Opera, one a specialist in female roles with a lifelong atttraction to his heterosexual partner, who in turn marries a beauty from a brothel. A long but consistently absorbing drama spanning China's warlord era, the Cultural Revolution, and beyond. At its best in the first half; originally 170m. | tt0106332 | [R] | Leslie Cheung, Zhang Fengyi, Gong Li, Lu Qi, Ying Da | Chinese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Farewell, My Lovely | 1975 | Dick Richards | ★★★ | 97 | Third film version of Raymond Chandler novel tries too hard to evoke its period, but Mitchum is appealing as a tired Philip Marlowe. Author Jim Thompson appears briefly. Filmed before as MURDER, MY SWEET and THE FALCON TAKES OVER; followed by THE BIG SLEEP (1978). | tt0072973 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Jack O'Halloran, Anthony Zerbe, Harry Dean Stanton, Sylvester Stallone, Walter McGinn | British | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Fargo | 1996 | Joel Coen | ★★★½ | 97 | The Coen Brothers put a unique spin on a murder case, layering their story with droll observations about Minnesotans and winding up with a totally disarming comedy! McDormand is terrific as an efficient (and pregnant) police chief with multiple murders on her hands; Macy is equally good as a two-bit schemer who tries to stay cool when he finds himself way over his head in a quicksand of crime. Love that Muzak in the background! Oscar winner for Best Screenplay (Joel and Ethan Coen) and Actress (McDormand). | tt0116282 | [R] | Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Harve Presnell, Peter Stormare, Kirstin Rudrud, John Carroll Lynch, Larry Brandenburg, Steve Reevis, José Feliciano | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Farinelli | 1994 | Gerard Corbiau | ★★½ | 110 | Sumptuously filmed saga of two brothers in 18th-century Europe, one a composer and the other a castrato opera singer (who, despite childhood castration, still woos women energetically, with the help of his brother). Rambling script has too many flashbacks and too little insight into the brothers' motivations; still, it's provocative and good-looking. Farinelli's castrato vocals were recreated by a digitally morphed mixture of a male and female opera singer. Original title: FARINELLI IL CASTRATO. | tt0109771 | [R] | Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Jeroen Krabbé, Elsa Zylberstein, Caroline Cellier, Marianne Basler | Belgian | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| The Farmer Takes a Wife | 1953 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 81 | Musical remake of 1935 film is slow-paced account of life in 1800s along the Erie Canal. | tt0045752 | Betty Grable, Dale Robertson, Thelma Ritter, John Carroll, Eddie Foy/Jr. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Farmer's Daughter | 1947 | H. C. Potter | ★★★½ | 97 | Young won an Oscar for her irresistible performance as a naïve but straight-thinking farm girl who goes to work for a senator— and winds up running for a congressional seat against his party. Delightful comedy with an excellent cast. Allen Rivkin and Laura Kerr adapted Juhani Tervapää's play Hulda, Daughter of Parliament. Later a TV series. | tt0039370 | Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Charles Bickford, Rose Hobart, Harry Davenport, Lex Barker, James Aurness (Arness), Keith Andes, Rhys Williams, Art Baker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Farmer's Wife | 1928 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 97 | A Hitchcock silent comedy. Farmer Thomas, unsuccessful at finding a bride, is secretly loved by devoted housekeeper Davies. Enjoyable rustic comedy; written by the director. Based on a play by Eden Philpotts. | tt0018876 | Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davies, Gordon Harker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fascination | 2004 | Klaus Menzel. | 💣 | 95 | Dad drowns despite being an excellent swimmer, and his son is irked when his mom immediately takes on a new squeeze with a grown daughter (who has her own checkered history). Elements are in place for a noir-ish mystery, but the only heat we get is solar from beach scenes shot in daylight. The real fascination comes from speculating how this even got made, let alone released (which it just barely was). Filmed in 2002. | tt0305632 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Adam Garcia, Alice Evans, Stuart Wilson, James Naughton. | German-British | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fashions | 1934 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 78 | Trivial but enjoyable romp of con-man Powell and designer Davis conquering the Paris fashion world. Fine cast glides along with dapper Powell; Busby Berkeley's 'Spin a Little Web of Dreams' number is great fun. Original title: FASHIONS OF 1934. | tt0025101 | William Powell, Bette Davis, Verree Teasdale, Reginald Owen, Frank McHugh, Phillip Reed, Hugh Herbert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fast & Furious | 2009 | Justin Lin | ★★½ | 106 | Fourth installment of the popular franchise reunites four stars of 2001’s THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS for a mostly ridiculous but frequently exciting action-adventure set along the U.S.-Mexico border. Two reluctant allies (illegal street racer Diesel and maverick FBI agent Walker) team up for a vengeful campaign against a murderous drug cartel. Serviceable plot is merely an excuse for some spectacular high-speed car chases, but fans of the series won’t be disappointed by the thrills and spills of this demolition derby. | tt1013752 | [PG-13] | Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, John Ortiz, Laz Alonso, Gal Gadot, Jack Conley, Sung Kang | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift | 2006 | Justin Lin | ★★½ | 104 | Third installment of the series travels to Japan when Black destroys his car in an illegal street race and is sent overseas to avoid jail or juvenile detention. But old habits die hard; while in Tokyo he gets involved in the dangerous underworld sport of 'drifting' (racing cars around terrifying curves). Just as loud and frenetic as its predecessors, this benefits from a change of scenery and has a couple of ferocious pedal-to-the-metal sequences. Veteran martial arts star Chiba is fun to watch as an evil Yakuza boss. | tt0463985 | [PG-13] | Lucas Black, Brandon Brendel, Zachery Ty Bryan, Daniel Booko, David V. Thomas, Amber Stevens, Bow Wow, Lynda Boyd, Nikki Griffin, JJ Sonny Chiba | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fast Break | 1979 | Jack Smight | ★★★ | 107 | Basketball coach Kaplan accepts post at midwestern college, but brings his N.Y.C. street players along with him. Perfect, innocuous TV fare, with some good laughs and exciting game climax. | tt0079136 | [PG] | Gabriel Kaplan, Harold Sylvester, Mike Warren, Bernard King, Reb Brown, Mavis Washington, Bert Remsen, Richard Brestoff, Rhonda Bates, K. Callan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fast Charlie, The Moonbeam Rider | 1979 | Steve Carver | ★★½ | 99 | Period action comedy-drama about a WW1 deserter who enters the first long-distance motorcycle race. Appealing performance by Vaccaro as an early-day bike groupie and picturesque recreations of post-WW1 America are definite pluses. Also known as FAST CHARLIE AND THE MOONBEAM. | tt0079137 | [PG] | David Carradine, Brenda Vaccaro, L. Q. Jones, R. G. Armstrong, Jesse Vint | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fast Company | 1938 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 73 | Lighthearted mystery about snappily married couple who find their rare-book business a springboard for sleuthing— especially when a fellow dealer is murdered and a friend of theirs is the key suspect. Based on a novel by Marco Page (a pseudonym for Harry Kurnitz, who also coscripted the film). Followed by FAST AND LOOSE (1939). TV title: THE RARE-BOOK MURDER. | tt0030120 | Melvyn Douglas, Florence Rice, Claire Dodd, Louis Calhern, George Zucco, Shepperd Strudwick, Dwight Frye, Nat Pendleton | Romance, Comedy, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |||
| Fast Five | 2011 | Justin Lin | ★★★ | 130 | Larcenous street racer Diesel and ex-FBI agent Walker reunite in Rio de Janeiro to lead other alumni of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS (2001) and subsequent sequels in a plot to pilfer millions from a powerful drug lord (de Almeida). Complicating matters: a hard-boiled federal agent (Johnson) has assembled his own hand-picked team to capture them. High-speed chases, slam-bang stunt work, and kinetically choreographed gunfights enhance the standard-issue caper-movie plot in this exceptionally exciting action-thriller. Easily the best (so far) of the franchise, with a teasingly clever coda during closing credits sure to please long-time fans. | tt1596343 | [PG-13] | Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Dwayne Johnson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Matt Schulze, Joaquim de Almeida, Michael Irby | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Fast Food Nation | 2006 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 114 | Fast-food exec Kinnear is sent to a meat supplier in Colorado to check out ugly rumors about foreign content in their hamburgers. Valderrama and Sandino Moreno arrive in that same town with other illegal Mexican immigrants and get a harsh introduction to the American dream by working in the meatpacking plant. Potent, polemical (and disturbingly graphic) film about the fast-food mind-set of our society. Based on Eric Schlosser's nonfiction book; he and Linklater wrote the screenplay. | tt0460792 | [R] | Greg Kinnear, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Wilmer Valderrama, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ashley Johnson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Dano, Kris Kristofferson, Bruce Willis. | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Fast Food, Fast Women | 2000 | Amos Kollek | ★★½ | 96 | Breezy character-based comedy revolves around the ever-changing romantic lives of customers (and their dedicated waitress) in a downtown Manhattan coffee shop. Wonderful cast makes the most of the uneven but occasionally insightful script from writer/director Kollek. | tt0206742 | [R] | Anna Thomson, Jamie Harris, Louise Lasser, Robert Modica, Lonette McKee, Victor Argo, Angelica Torn, Austin Pendleton, Valerie Geffner, Mark Margolis | U.S.-French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Fast Forward | 1985 | Sidney Poitier | ★½ | 110 | Eight squeaky-clean teens from Sandusky, Ohio, crash N.Y.C. in search of their Big Break in Show Biz. Despite the title, this film is stuck in the 1950s; break-dancing can't disguise such cornball stuff. | tt0089129 | [PG] | John Scott Clough, Don Franklin, Tamara Mark, Tracy Silver, Cindy McGee, Gretchen F. Palmer, Irene Worth, Constance Towers | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Fast Lady | 1963 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 95 | Enjoyable, modest farce of naive Baxter, a Scotsman living in England, learning to drive an antique car— and to woo Christie in the process. Julie, in second film role, is thoroughly charming. | tt0055977 | James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Kathleen Harrison, Julie Christie, Eric Barker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fast Life | 1932 | Harry Pollard. | ★★½ | 82 | Vintage action farce stars Haines as the smart-aleck designer of a high-speed boat engine who competes with wealthy Nagel and his snobbish friends. Breezy but dated frolic must have seemed pretty snappy at the time. Buffs will note a rare on-screen appearance by short-subject producer/narrator Pete Smith as the announcer during the big race finale. | tt0022882 | William Haines, Madge Evans, Conrad Nagel, Arthur Byron, Cliff Edwards, Warburton Gamble. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Fast Runner | Atanarjuat . . . (The Fast Runner) | 2002 | Zacharias Kunuk | ★★★★ | 172 | A sterling epic, perhaps the only Inuit-made film we'll ever see, about a young hunter (Ungalaaq) whose tribe has been cursed; he falls in love but must face the ire of a spiteful rival. The highlight is our hero's barefooted journey across the North Canadian wilderness. A privileged peek into Inuit culture and a stirring, deeply personal drama; based on an ancient Inuit folk tale. Beautifully filmed in wide-screen digital video. Aka ATANARJUAT . . . (THE FAST RUNNER). | tt0285441 | [R] | Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Madeline Ivalu, Paul Qulitalik | Canadian | Drama | NULL |
| Fast Times at Ridgemont High | 1982 | Amy Heckerling | ★★★ | 92 | Brashly entertaining look at Southern California high school kids, who hang out at the Mall and think mostly about sex. Funny, surprisingly honest, with a very appealing cast and a memorable performance by Penn as a doped-out goofball named Spicoli. High-energy feature debut for director Heckerling, based on Cameron Crowe's factual book. Film debuts of Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, Anthony Edwards, and Nicolas Cage (billed under his real name, Nicholas Coppola). Some footage of Sean Penn was added for pay TV— but songs on soundtrack changed, altering running time to 90m. Later a TV series. | tt0083929 | [R] | Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus, Brian Backer, Phoebe Cates, Ray Walston, Vincent Schiavelli, Forest Whitaker, James Russo, Pamela Springsteen, Martin Brest | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Fast Workers | 1933 | Tod Browning | ★½ | 68 | Abysmal film based on a play called Rivets, about construction workers who are friendly romantic rivals. Starts out snappy, then turns to turgid dramatics. Odd material for horror director Browning, too. | tt0024005 | John Gilbert, Robert Armstrong, Mae Clarke, Muriel Kirkland, Vince Barnett, Virginia Cherrill, Sterling Holloway | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fast and Furious | 1939 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 73 | Tone and Sothern are well matched as Joel and Garda Sloane, rare-book dealers who get involved in a murder at a seaside beauty pageant. Last of three MGM B movies about these characters written by Harry Kurnitz. | tt0031298 | Franchot Tone, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey, John Miljan, Allyn Joslyn, Bernard Nedell, Mary Beth Hughes | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fast and Loose | 1939 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 80 | Montgomery and Russell are engaging as Joel and Garda Sloane, Nick & Nora-ish rare-book dealers who become involved in solving the murder of a wealthy bibliophile. Goes on a bit too long, but still fun. Second of three MGM films about this duo, written by Harry Kurnitz. Followed by FAST AND FURIOUS. | tt0031299 | Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Reginald Owen, Ralph Morgan, Etienne Girardot, Alan Dinehart, Jo Ann Sayers, Joan Marsh, Sidney Blackmer | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Fast and Sexy | 1958 | Reginald Denham | ★★½ | 98 | Lollobrigida is fun-loving widow who returns to her village seeking new husband. | tt0051363 | Gina Lollobrigida, Dale Robertson, Vittorio De Sica, Carla Macelloni | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Fast and the Furious | 1954 | Edwards Sampson, John Ireland | ★★ | 73 | Ireland is fugitive on the lam from murder frameup who jockeys Malone's sports car, with uninspired romantic interludes and cops-on-the-chase sequences. Produced and written by Roger Corman, this was the first film for American Releasing Corporation— soon to be the fabled AIP (American-International Pictures). | tt0046969 | John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Iris Adrian, Bruce Carlisle, Jean Howell, Larry Thor | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Fast and the Furious | 2001 | Rob Cohen | ★★½ | 107 | A souped-up 21st-century version of a 1950s hot-rod movie. Newcomer Walker tries to ingratiate himself with the kingpin of Southern California street racing (Diesel), hoping to join his extended family. Rudimentary storyline frames some pulse-quickening action scenes . . . but this goes on longer than any drive-in movie really should. Followed by 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS. | tt0232500 | [PG-13] | Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Rick Yune, Chad Lindberg, Johnny Strong, Matt Schulze, Ted Levine, Ja Rule | Thriller, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Fast, Cheap & Out of Control | 1997 | Errol Morris | ★★★ | 82 | Documentary filmmaker Morris (of THE THIN BLUE LINE fame) delves into the lives of four disparate men: a topiary gardener, a lion tamer, a robot scientist, and a naked-mole-rat expert. Utilizing different film formats, Morris creates a fascinating examination of lifelong passions and occupations that touches on the nature of existence itself. A completely original film, enhanced by Caleb Sampson's music. | tt0119107 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Fast-Walking | 1982 | James B. Harris | ★★½ | 115 | Oddball prison picture, laced with black humor, stars Woods as Fast-Walking Miniver, mercenary prison guard who's hired to assassinate politico Hooks. McIntire gives a standout performance as a very cagey inmate in a film whose interesting but disparate elements never quite gel. | tt0083930 | [R] | James Woods, Tim McIntire, Kay Lenz, Robert Hooks, M. Emmet Walsh, Timothy Carey, Susan Tyrrell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Faster | 2010 | George Tillman/Jr. | ★★ | 98 | Sanguinary revenger sets hulking ex-con Johnson (Driver), junkie Thornton (Cop), and conflicted hit man Jackson-Cohen (Killer) on course to face off in a familiar three-sided showdown. Over-pumped oil slick of a movie wallows in homage (clue: check out the assassin's ringtone), and looks as if it were edited with a strobe. Stirring performances, though, by Chevelle SS, GTO, and Ferrari. | tt1433108 | [R] | Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Carla Gugino, Maggie Grace, Moon Bloodgood, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tom Berenger, Mike Epps, Xander Berkeley | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Fastest Guitar Alive | 1968 | Michael Moore | ★★ | 87 | Doomed effort to turn recording star Orbison into a movie star— with the dumbest title imaginable for a Civil War espionage story! | tt0061652 | Roy Orbison, Sammy Jackson, Maggie Pierce, Joan Freeman | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Fastest Gun Alive | 1956 | Russell Rouse | ★★★ | 92 | Sincere Western with a moral. Ford is a peace-loving storekeeper trying to live down renown as gunslinger, but there's always someone waiting to challenge him. Tamblyn has an impressive solo dance feature. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0049201 | Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain, Broderick Crawford, Russ Tamblyn | Western | NULL | |||
| Fat Albert | 2004 | Joel Zwick. | ★★ | 93 | Late-adolescent Pratt is downtrodden because she has no friends, so Albert, Mushmouth, and the rest of the Philly-neighborhood Bill Cosby creations emerge from her TV set as live editions of their animated-cartoon selves. This solves her problem, but not before this mild but harmless family comedy throws in some blatant plugs for Albert DVDs. Cosby himself shows up; he also cowrote and coexecutive produced with his wife, Camille. Other famous folk appear in cameos. | tt0396592 | [PG] | Kenan Thompson, Kyla Pratt, Dania Ramirez, Shedrack Anderson III, Jermaine Williams, Keith D. Robinson. | Drama, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Fat City | 1972 | John Huston | ★★★ | 100 | Taut adaptation of Leonard Gardner's novel about tanktown boxer and his young protégé was Huston's best film in 20 years; Keach, Bridges, and Tyrrell are all fine. | tt0068575 | [PG] | Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark, Nicholas Colasanto | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fat Girl | 2001 | Catherine Breillat | ★★★ | 83 | Potent drama from the always-provocative Breillat explores the complex relationship between two sisters, aged 15 and 12, who (like all the director's heroines) are obsessed by sex. The older one (Mesquida) is pretty and desirable; the other (Reboux) may be plump and miserable, but has her own yearnings. Breillat offers a voice to the title character, a type who is usually the object of scorn or ridicule. Features graphic sex scenes and an unsettling finale. | tt0243255 | Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo, Arsinée Khanjian, Romain Goupil, Laura Betti | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fat Man and Little Boy | 1989 | Roland Joffé | ★★★ | 126 | Flawed but still arresting film about the development of the atomic bomb, personalizing the story by focusing on General Groves (Newman), the bullheaded Army officer who was handed the job, and the brilliant J. Robert Oppenheimer (Schultz), who organized the brain trust creating the bomb. One complaint: some decidedly non-1940s slang amid the dialogue. | tt0097336 | [PG-13] | Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack, Laura Dern, Ron Frazier, John C. McGinley, Natasha Richardson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fat Man | 1951 | William Castle | ★★½ | 77 | The star of radio's popular series of the same name appeared in this one-shot film adaptation as the corpulent gourmet/detective (created by Dashiell Hammett) whose investigation of a murder leads him to a circus for whodunit showdown. | tt0043523 | J. Scott Smart, Rock Hudson, Julie London, Clinton Sundberg, Jayne Meadows, Emmett Kelly | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Fat Spy | 1965 | Joseph Cates | ★½ | 75 | Once-in-a-lifetime cast makes this a must for camp followers— and a sure thing to avoid for most others. Fat Jack plays dual roles, in a story of a search for the Fountain of Youth. Shot in Florida. | tt0059171 | Phyllis Diller, Jack E. Leonard, Brian Donlevy, Jayne Mansfield, Jordan Christopher, The Wild Ones, Johnny Tillotson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fatal Attraction | 1987 | Adrian Lyne | ★★½ | 119 | Happily married man has a weekend fling with a sexy woman who turns out to be psychotic and proceeds to turn his (and his family's) life into a living hell. Audience-pleasing thriller telegraphs most of its suspense payoffs and features a finale that seems more appropriate to RAMBO. Still, it's extremely well acted and certainly holds your attention. The film's original ending, which was more subtle and intriguing (but dumped after an unsuccessful preview), is now available on video. James Dearden based his screenplay on his own British short subject, 'Diversion.' | tt0093010 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Hamilton Latzen, Stuart Pankin, Ellen Foley, Fred Gwynne, Meg Mundy | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fatal Beauty | 1987 | Tom Holland | 💣 | 104 | An inexcusably awful concoction with Goldberg as a narcotics cop. There's no shortage of gratuitous violence . . . and an antidrug message to rationalize its excesses. Some of the dialogue is mind-bogglingly awful. | tt0093011 | [R] | Whoopi Goldberg, Sam Elliott, Rubén Blades, Harris Yulin, John P. Ryan, Jennifer Warren, Brad Dourif, Neill Barry, Richard (Cheech) Marin | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Fatal Desire | 1954 | Carmine Gallone | ★★ | 80 | Nonmusical version of Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana, about love, adultery, and revenge in small Sicilian town. Originally filmed in color and 3-D, not released in U.S. until 1963 in b&w. | tt0045614 | Anthony Quinn, Kerima, May Britt, Ettore Manni, Umberto Spadaro, voice of Tito Gobbi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fatal Hour | 1940 | William Nigh | ★½ | 67 | Slight mystery, fourth in the Mr. Wong series, with the detective becoming involved in the investigation of a cop's death. | tt0032457 | Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, Charles Trowbridge, John Hamilton, Frank Puglia, Jason Robards/Sr | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fatal Instinct | 1993 | Carl Reiner | ★½ | 88 | Woeful, decades-belated spoof of vintage film noir, with contemporary references to BASIC INSTINCT, BODY HEAT, and FATAL ATTRACTION thrown in. Assante shows an unexpected flair for farce as a cop/lawyer targeted for murder by wife Nelligan and her lover (McDonald); Young fares best as a blonde sexpot named Lola. | tt0106873 | [PG-13] | Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, Kate Nelligan, Sean Young, Christopher McDonald, James Remar, Tony Randall, Clarence Clemons, Michael Cumpsty, Blake Clark, Eartha Kitt, Bernard Hiller | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fatal Witness | 1945 | Lesley Selander. | ★½ | 59 | Quickie mystery yarn with obvious plot about wealthy matron's murder, capture of culprit. | tt0037693 | Evelyn Ankers, Richard Fraser, George Leigh, Barbara Everest, Frederick Worlock. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fate Is the Hunter | 1964 | Ralph Nelson | ★★½ | 106 | One-note drama of investigation into cause of controversial plane crash. Good cast works with routine script. Dorothy Malone appears unbilled in one key scene. | tt0058091 | Glenn Ford, Nancy Kwan, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Jane Russell, Wally Cox, Nehemiah Persoff, Mark Stevens, Max Showalter, Mary Wickes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fateless | 2005 | Lajos Koltai | ★★★ | 140 | During WW2 a Hungarian Jewish teen (Nagy) is picked off a bus and dispatched to the death camps of the Holocaust. Without analyzing his plight or anguishing over his wretched circumstances the boy settles into a pattern of life amid the horrors of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Cinematographer Koltai's directorial debut is a powerful, sensitive rendering of Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész's semiautobiographical novel, although at times the filmmaker's approach is a bit too operatic. Kertész also scripted. | tt0367082 |
|
Marcell Nagy, Béla Dóra, Bálint Péntek, Áron Dimény, Péter Fancsikai, Zsolt Dér, Daniel Craig | Hungarian-German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Father Goose | 1964 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 115 | Grant goes native as shiftless bum on a South Seas island during WW2, who's persuaded to become a lookout for the Australian navy— and finds himself sheltering Caron and a gaggle of schoolgirls fleeing the Japanese. Lightweight and enjoyable. Oscar-winning script by Peter Stone and Frank Tarloff. | tt0058092 | Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Trevor Howard, Jack Good, Nicole Felsette | Adventure, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Father Hood | 1993 | Darrell James Roodt | ★½ | 94 | Embarrassingly bad action comedy about self-centered, two-bit hood Swayze, who inexplicably hooks up with his two kids (who've been ill treated while in foster care) and takes them on a less-than-enthralling odyssey. In desperate need of a coherent script and characters who are even slightly likable. | tt0106877 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Sabrina Lloyd, Brian Bonsall, Michael Ironside, Diane Ladd, Bob Gunton, Adrienne Barbeau, Georgann Johnson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Father Is a Bachelor | 1950 | Norman Foster, Abby Berlin | ★★ | 84 | Vagabond Holden with five 'adopted' kids meets Gray who wants to marry him; 'cute' comedy. | tt0042449 | William Holden, Coleen Gray, Mary Jane Saunders, Stuart Erwin, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father Makes Good | 1950 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★½ | 61 | Mild little film in Walburn series about smalltown man who purchases a cow to show his contempt for new milk tax. | tt0042450 | Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, Barbara Brown, Gertrude Astor. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father Takes a Wife | 1941 | Jack Hively | ★★½ | 79 | Pleasant little comedy about glamorous stage star (Swanson) who 'settles down' and marries Menjou, but takes on opera singer Arnaz as her protégé. | tt0033592 | Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Swanson, John Howard, Desi Arnaz, Helen Broderick, Florence Rice, Neil Hamilton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father Takes the Air | 1951 | Frank McDonald. | ★½ | 61 | Walburn is involved with local flying school and accidentally captures a crook. | tt0043525 | Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, Florence Bates, Gary Gray. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father Was a Fullback | 1949 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 84 | Wholesome comedy with most engaging cast. MacMurray is football coach with as many household problems as on the gridiron. | tt0041350 | Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara, Betty Lynn, Rudy Vallee, Thelma Ritter, Natalie Wood | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father of Invention | 2011 | Trent Cooper | ★½ | 93 | Famous TV huckster (Spacey) is sprung from prison, having marketed a product that sometimes chopped off customers' fingers as a side effect. Film falls short of attaining even half-baked status, as the fallen pitchman goes to live with his nearly grown daughter and her roommates, including a gym teacher (Graham) who can't decide whether or not she's a lesbian. Funny opening minutes fizzle out, leading to some calculated feel-good sentiment that doesn't remotely play. Sporadic snickers trade on far superior scenes in AMERICAN BEAUTY when Spacey's character descended into menial employment from his onetime perch in the middle class. | tt1381505 | [PG-13] | Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, John Stamos, Virginia Madsen, Morgan Saylor, Michael Rosenbaum | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Father of My Children | 2009 | Mia Hansen-Løve | ★★★ | 110 | Thought-provoking look at a dedicated film producer who juggles many balls but always makes time for his wife and three daughters. An unexpected turn of events causes them to reexamine their lives, and their future. Vividly captures the existence of a man who serves many masters and asks us to ponder the wisdom of his decisions. The actress who plays the oldest daughter is the real-life daughter of the film’s leading man. Written by the director. | tt1356928 | Unrated | Chiara Caselli, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss, Eric Elmosnino, Sandrine Dumas, Dominique Frot | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Father of the Bride | 1950 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★★ | 93 | Liz is marrying Don Taylor, but Dad (Tracy) has all the aggravation. Perceptive view of American life, witty script by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (based on Edward Streeter's book), and peerless Tracy performance. Sequel: FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND. Later a TV series. Remade in 1991. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042451 | Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Bennett, Billie Burke, Leo G. Carroll, Don Taylor, Russ Tamblyn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Father of the Bride | 1991 | Charles Shyer | ★★½ | 105 | Pleasant update of the 1950 comedy gem about a father unwilling to let go of his little girl. It's refreshing to find such 'normal' characters in a '90s movie, but there are too many lulls (and a few too many sidesteps into silliness) for it to hit the bull's-eye as the original did. P.S.: Can we now arrange a moratorium on the song 'My Girl'? Funny cameo by SCTV's Eugene Levy. Followed by a sequel. | tt0101862 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, Kimberly Williams, Kieran Culkin, George Newbern, B. D. Wong, Peter Michael Goetz, Kate McGregor Stewart, Martha Gehman | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Father of the Bride Part II | 1995 | Charles Shyer | ★★★ | 106 | Agreeable sequel has married daughter Williams announcing that she's pregnant, which impels Dad (Martin) to confront middle age. His midlife crisis includes a rash decision to sell their house and a renewed romanticism. Longish but fun. | tt0113041 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, Kimberly Williams, George Newbern, Kieran Culkin, B. D. Wong, Peter Michael Goetz, Kate McGregor Stewart, Eugene Levy | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Father's Little Dividend | 1951 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 82 | Delightful sequel to FATHER OF THE BRIDE with same cast. Now Tracy is going to be a grandfather and he doesn't look forward to it. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0043526 | Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor, Billie Burke, Russ Tamblyn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Father's Wild Game | 1950 | Herbert I. Leeds. | ★½ | 61 | In this entry, Walburn is protesting inflation at the meat market and decides to hunt wild game himself. | tt0042452 | Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, Jane Darwell, Roscoe Ates, Ann Tyrrell. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fathers and Sons | 1992 | Paul Mones | ★★ | 100 | Odd, slow-paced drama about a movie director (Goldblum) now almost a recluse, who lives on the Jersey shore with his teenage son (Cochrane). Crowded plot involves drugs, a serial killer, a prophetic book, telepathy, mutated dolphins and alcoholism. Tackles too much, but is occasionally effective; Goldblum is excellent, as usual. John C. McGinley appears unbilled. Written by the director. | tt0104240 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Rory Cochrane, Mitchell Marchand, Famke Janssen, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Paul Hipp, Ellen Greene, Samuel L. Jackson, Joie Lee, Rosanna Arquette | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fathers' Day | 1997 | Ivan Reitman | ★★ | 98 | When her 16-year-old son runs away, a desperate Kinski tells each of two ex-lovers that he's the real father, hoping that this will spur one of them to find the boy. The two men— a genuine odd couple— wind up working together on this daunting task. Lackluster remake of Francis Veber's LES COMPÈRES gets whatever mileage it has from the two comic stars' personalities . . . but the boy is extremely dislikable, and a subplot with his stepfather (Greenwood) is a complete misfire. | tt0119109 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nastassja Kinski, Charlie Hofheimer, Bruce Greenwood, Jared Harris, Louis Lombardi, Patti D'Arbanville, Charles Rocket, Meagen Fay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fathom | 1967 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★★★ | 99 | Fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek spy caper with sky-diver Welch getting mixed up with dubious good-guy Franciosa. Great fun, with Revill's performance as eccentric millionaire stealing the show. Music score by John Dankworth. | tt0061653 | Anthony Franciosa, Raquel Welch, Clive Revill, Greta Chi, Richard Briers, Ronald Fraser, Tony Adams | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Fatso | 1980 | Anne Bancroft | ★★ | 94 | Bancroft's first feature as writer-director is disappointing. Fat man DeLuise half-heartedly tries to reduce after the death of his obese cousin. Film veers unevenly between comedy and pathos, with a few too many excrement jokes, perhaps the uncredited contribution of Mel Brooks. | tt0080724 | [PG] | Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Candice Azzara, Ron Carey, Michael Lombard, Sal Viscuso | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Faust | 1926 | F. W. Murnau | ★★★ | 116 | Oft-told story of the eternal, earthly conflict between good and evil, in which the title character bargains away his soul to Mephistopheles (Jannings). Not a classic like Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH or SUNRISE, but still a compelling, inventively directed, visually sumptuous film, highlighted by clever special effects and impressive use of light and shadow. Based on the play by Goethe. Dieterle, then an actor, later directed THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER. | tt0016847 | Emil Jannings, Gosta Ekman, Camilla Horn, Wilhelm (William) Dieterle, Yvette Guilbert, Eric Barcley | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Favor | 1994 | Donald Petrie | ★★ | 97 | 'Happily' married Kozak asks best friend McGovern to look up— and sleep with— her high school hunk boyfriend, so she can vicariously experience the affair. Pleasant cast undone by comedy material that doesn't ring true for one minute. Sat on the shelf after completion in 1991; its latter-day release did no one any favors. | tt0109783 | [R] | Harley Jane Kozak, Elizabeth McGovern, Bill Pullman, Brad Pitt, Ken Wahl, Larry Miller, Holland Taylor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Favor, The Watch, and the Very Big Fish | 1991 | Ben Lewin | ★★ | 89 | Pianist Goldblum agrees to pose as Christ on the cross for a photographer specializing in Biblical pictures— and then starts taking his role too seriously. Weak attempt at farce never quite connects, despite some amusing moments scattered about. This cast deserves better. | tt0101863 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum, Natasha Richardson, Michel Blanc, Jacques Villeret, Angela Pleasence, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Samuel Chaimovitch | French-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Fay Grim | 2007 | Hal Hartley | ★★½ | 118 | Sequel to Hartley's HENRY FOOL picks up where that film left off, as Posey-abandoned by her husband, who may or may not be dead-struggles with her rebellious teenage son. She then becomes a pawn of CIA agent Goldblum and flies to Europe to carry out a strange bargain involving Henry Fool's unpublished manuscript, which supposedly contains volatile information. Highly committed performances by the cast invite you to go along on this screw-loose, convoluted, straight-faced but tongue-in-cheek journey, even though it doesn't make much sense. Hartley also edited and composed the score. | tt0444628 | [R] | Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, James Urbaniak, Saffron Burrows, Liam Aiken, Elina Löwensohn, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chuck Montgomery, Thomas Jay Ryan. | U.S.-German | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fazil | 1928 | Howard Hawks | ★★ | 88 | Strange casting of Farrell as desert sheik is just one oddity in this opulent romance. Visually stunning but dramatically far-fetched. Silent film with original score. | tt0018879 | Charles Farrell, Greta Nissen, Mae Busch, Vadim Uraneff, Tyler Brooke, John Boles | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Fear | 1996 | James Foley | ★★ | 95 | Squeaky-clean teen falls for sexy psycho who locks horns with protective papa in a deadly battle. Passable slasher pic is somewhat redeemed by Foley's taut, stylish direction (the roller coaster scene is pretty steamy) and decent performances. Still, it's awfully derivative, especially the final showdown at the family nest. Former rapper/Calvin Klein pinup Wahlberg is menacing as the lovestruck hood, but he could benefit from diction lessons. Executive producer Brian Grazer called this 'FATAL ATTRACTION for teens.' | tt0116287 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William L. Petersen, Amy Brenneman, Alyssa Milano | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Fear Chamber | Torture Zone | 1971 | Juan Ibanez, Jack Hill | ★½ | 80 | Strange film about a semi-living stone from volcano caves that requires fluid from a terrified person in order to communicate with humans; dedicated scientist Karloff and his assistants are all too eager to help. Though faintly better than the other three Mexican-American productions Karloff worked on in 1968 (just before his death), this is still awful. Aka TORTURE ZONE. | tt0062960 | Boris Karloff, Julissa, Carlos East, Isela Vega, Yerye Beirute | Mexican-U.S. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Fear City | 1984 | Abel Ferrara | ★½ | 96 | Incredibly sleazy look at Manhattan lowlife— violent and repellent in the extreme. Remarkably good cast for this kind of exploitation fodder. | tt0087247 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Scalia, Melanie Griffith, Rossano Brazzi, Rae Dawn Chong, Joe Santos, Michael V. Gazzo, Jan Murray, Ola Ray, Maria Conchita Alonso | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fear Inside | 1992 | Leon Ichaso | ★★★ | 115 | Lahti shines as an agoraphobic book artist held hostage at home by a pair of killers. David Birke's well-turned screenplay owes something, it seems, to LADY IN A CAGE. Theatrical film that premiered on cable television. | tt0104242 | [R] | Christine Lahti, Dylan McDermott, Jennifer Rubin, David Ackroyd, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Paul Linke | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fear Is the Key | 1972 | Michael Tuchner | ★½ | 103 | Confused, unsatisfying Alistair MacLean thriller about a man driven to extremes in pursuit of stolen booty— and revenge for the murder of his wife and child. Kingsley's debut and only film work before GANDHI. | tt0068576 | [PG] | Barry Newman, Suzy Kendall, John Vernon, Dolph Sweet, Ben Kingsley | British | Action, Thriller, Crime | NULL | |
| Fear No Evil | 1981 | Frank Laloggia | ★★ | 96 | Classic conflict between good and evil in this horror-gore film about a shy high school student who turns out to be an incarnation of Lucifer. He viciously takes on fellow students and his parents but is combated by two archangels. | tt0082367 | [R] | Stefan Arngrim, Elizabeth Hoffman, Kathleen Rowe McAllen, Frank Birney | Horror | NULL | ||
| Fear Strikes Out | 1957 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 100 | Stark account of baseball star Jimmy Piersall and his bout with mental illness; Perkins is properly intense, with Malden superb as his domineering father. | tt0050383 | Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore, Adam Williams, Perry Wilson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fear X | 2003 | Nicolas Winding Refn. | 💣 | 91 | Security guard Turturro is curious to find out who killed his wife and why. Slow, dull exercise in the emptiness of movies— uh, sorry, life . . . no, movies . . . life . . . arggghhh! The type of film where the viewer spends more time wondering at which yard sale the set decorator found the lamp than caring about the story or characters. | tt0289944 | [PG-13] | John Turturro, Deborah Kara Unger, Stephen McIntyre, William Allen Young, Jacqueline Ramel, James Remar. | Dutch-Canadian-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Fear and Desire | 1953 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★ | 68 | Kubrick's elusive, shoestring-budget feature-film debut is an existential antiwar allegory centering on four G.I.s (including a very green Mazursky, in his film debut) stranded behind the lines of an unknown enemy and fighting a fictitious war in an unidentified country. Long suppressed by Kubrick himself— who also photographed, edited, and cowrote with poet/playwright Howard Sackler— the movie contains some striking imagery and shows the germs of budding talent, but generally comes off as an arty and pretentious student film. | tt0045758 | Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Steve Coit, Virginia Leith; narrated by David Allen | War | NULL | |||
| Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | 1998 | Terry Gilliam | 💣 | 119 | Excruciating adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 book, which defined the counterculture of its day. The film, however, is simply one monotonous, painfully long drug trip— replete with closeups of vomit and swooping camera movements at any and every opportunity. Perhaps Thompson diehards will find some value here; others beware. | tt0120669 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Craig Bierko, Katherine Helmond, Mark Harmon, Tim Thomerson, Penn Jillette, Cameron Diaz, Lyle Lovett, Flea, Gary Busey, Christina Ricci, Michael Jeter, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Fear in the Night | 1947 | Maxwell Shane | ★★★ | 72 | Nifty chiller in which bank teller Kelley dreams he has killed a man in a mirrored room— and wakes up to be confronted by evidence that his fantasy was in fact reality. Based on the story 'Nightmare' by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich); remade under that title in 1956. | tt0039372 | Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Kay Scott, Ann Doran, Robert Emmett Keane | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Fear in the Night | 1972 | Jimmy Sangster | ★★ | 94 | Newlywed Geeson accompanies husband Bates to a private school where the only other inhabitants are a somewhat befuddled headmaster (Cushing) and his cool wife (Collins). Geeson can't get anyone to believe someone is trying to kill her. Minor Hammer thriller. | tt0068577 | Judy Geeson, Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Peter Cushing | British | Crime, Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fear of a Black Hat | 1993 | Rusty Cundieff | ★★★ | 86 | THIS IS SPINAL TAP goes rap in this nifty burlesque about those rude, crude gangsta rappers N.W.H. (Niggaz With Hats). Group members are Tasty Taste, Tone Def, and Ice Cold (the latter played by director Cundieff, who also scripted). Quite funny at times, with Cundieff cleverly chiding the self-serving 'street politics' of Public Enemy and 2 Live Crew. | tt0106880 | [R] | Larry B. Scott, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Rusty Cundieff, Kasi Lemmons, Howie Gold, Eric Laneuville, Barry Heins | Comedy | NULL | ||
| FeardotCom | 2002 | William Malone | ★½ | 101 | Cop Dorff and health worker McElhone link a series of strange deaths in N.Y.C. to a particular computer Web site. Dark, gloomy, and very gory, this urban nightmare is well visualized, but the story is confusing and hard to follow. | tt0295254 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone, Stephen Rea, Udo Kier, Amelia Curtis, Jeffrey Combs, Nigel Terry, Michael Sarrazin | British-Luxembourg-German | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Fearless | 1993 | Peter Weir | ★★★½ | 122 | A man feels his life, his outlook, his entire raison d'être changed after he survives a terrible plane crash; he can no longer deal with his own family, but is drawn to another survivor (Perez), who's unable to cope with the loss of her baby in the crash. Superior writing and acting, with Bridges (good as always) matched by Rossellini (in her best performance to date, as his wife) and Perez. Screenplay by Rafael Yglesias, based on his novel. | tt0106881 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez, Tom Hulce, John Turturro, Benicio Del Toro, Deirdre O'Connell, John De Lancie, Spencer Vrooman, Daniel Cerny, Eve Roberts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fearless Fagan | 1952 | Stanley Donen | ★★ | 79 | Title character is circus lion who accompanies his dimwitted master (Carpenter) into the Army, with predictable results. Inconsequential comedy. | tt0044608 | Carleton Carpenter, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Richard Anderson, Ellen Corby, Barbara Ruick | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fearless Frank | Frank's Greatest Adventure | 1967 | Philip Kaufman | 💣 | 83 | Naive country boy Voight treks off to the Big City, is murdered by gangsters, and is reincarnated as a superhero and his monsterlike clone. Pretentious satire is of interest only as a curio— and as Voight's film debut. Filmed in Chicago in 1965. Aka FRANK'S GREATEST ADVENTURE and subsequently cut to 78m. | tt0061654 | Jon Voight, Monique Van Vooren, Joan Darling, Severn Darden, Anthony Holland, Lou Gilbert, David Steinberg, Nelson Algren | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck | Dance of the Vampires | 1967 | Roman Polanski | ★★★½ | 98 | Near-brilliant mixture of humor and horror: Professor Abronsius and assistant Alfred (great bumbling idiot team) attempt to destroy family of Slovonic vampires. Full 107m. version also available. Screenplay by Polanski and Gérard Brach. Later a Broadway musical called DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES (the film's alternate title). | tt0061655 | Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate, Alfie Bass, Ferdy Mayne, Terry Downes, Ronald Lacey | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| The Fearmakers | 1958 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 83 | Brainwashed ex-POW Andrews comes home from the Korean War to discover that his PR firm has been overrun by subversives. Crisply told, low-budget Cold War thriller. While it's very much of its time, it anticipates contemporary ideas about the way politicians and political ideas are sold to the public. | tt0051605 | Dana Andrews, Dick Foran, Mel Tormé, Marilee Earle | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Feast | 2005 | John Gulager | 💣 | 87 | The filmmakers who starred on the reality TV show Project Greenlight came up with this noisy, tedious ordeal, in which a motley crew of strangers in a bar find themselves attacked by gooey, cannibalistic creatures. Doesn't have a shred of character development, plot, or suspense but offers copious amounts of gore, explosions, and incoherent, choppy editing. Director's father, Clu Gulager, plays a bartender. Coexecutive-produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Wes Craven. Unrated DVD also available. | tt0426459 | [R] | Duane Whitaker, Balthazar Getty, Chauntae Davies, Diane Goldner, Josh Zuckerman, Henry Rollins, Eileen Ryan, Jason Mewes, Judah Friedlander, Krista Allen, Eric Dane | Horror, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Feast of July | 1995 | Christopher Menaul | ★★½ | 113 | A wandering, abandoned unwed mother finds shelter with three brothers and their parents, setting off sexual sparks in the formerly placid Victorian household. Poky prestige film, produced by Merchant-Ivory and based on the H. E. Bates novel, begins and ends satisfactorily, but the middle 90 minutes is slow going. Davidtz is almost too ambiguous in the lead. | tt0113044 | [R] | Embeth Davidtz, Tom Bell, Gemma Jones, James Purefoy, Greg Wise, Kenneth Anderson, Ben Chaplin | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Feast of Love | 2007 | Robert Benton | ★★ | 102 | Love and heartache amidst a group of people whose lives interweave in Portland, Oregon, including a seemingly serene college professor (Freeman), an upbeat coffee shop owner (Kinnear) who can’t ever see what’s going on with the women in his life, and a young woman (Davalos) who promises to brighten things up. Genteel and attractive, but after a while you can feel the wheels turning . . . slowly. Based on a novel by Charles Baxter. | tt0800027 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Billy Burke, Toby Hemingway, Fred Ward, Jane Alexander, Missi Pyle, Erika Marozsán | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Feathered Serpent | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 68 | Even the return of Number One Son Luke can't revive this moribund Charlie Chan entry about the search for a priceless Mexican statue. Scripter Oliver Drake pilfered this from his own RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING SKULL (1937). | tt0040347 | Roland Winters, Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Carol Forman, Robert Livingston, Martin Garralaga, Nils Asther, Jay Silverheels | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Federal Hill | 1994 | Michael Corrente | ★★★ | 100 | Story of male camaraderie among young Italian-Americans 'from the neighborhood' (Providence, R.I.) has an awfully familiar MEAN STREETS ring to it, but it's quite well done— extremely well acted and filled with unexpected twists. Turturro gives a star-making performance as the firecracker-tempered Ralphie, though the film concentrates on Nicky (DeSando), the local hunk infatuated with a pretty archeology student who's way out of his league. Director Corrente (who also scripted) plays Fredo. Available on video in original and computer-colored versions. | tt0109785 | [R] | Nicholas Turturro, Anthony DeSando, Libby Langdon, Michael Raynor, Jason Andrews, Robert Turano, Frank Vincent | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fedora | 1978 | Billy Wilder | ★★½ | 114 | Stylish but ponderous filmization of Thomas Tryon's short story about a producer's disastrous attempt to lure a Garbo-esque actress out of seclusion. Wilder's potshots at today's films and filmmakers might carry more weight if this film was better. | tt0077539 | [PG] | William Holden, Marthe Keller, Hildegarde Knef, Jose Ferrer, Frances Sternhagen, Henry Fonda, Michael York, Mario Adorf, Stephen Collins | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Feds | 1988 | Daniel Goldberg | ★½ | 82 | Pert female cop and her bookish roommate conquer male-chauvinistic colleagues during their struggle to make 'the cut' at the FBI Academy. Unlike the POLICE ACADEMY farces, this is played fairly straight, perhaps in deference to Bureau cooperation; result is laughless— and thus, pointless— comedy. | tt0095145 | [PG-13] | Rebecca De Mornay, Mary Gross, Fred Dalton Thompson, Ken Marshall, Larry Cedar | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Feel the Noise | 2007 | Alejandro Chomski | ★★ | 88 | After running afoul of a Harlem gangster, a young would-be rapper (R&B singer Omarion) seeks safe haven with his long-estranged father (Esposito) in Puerto Rico, where he develops a taste for reggaetà n—a muy caliente mix of rap, hip-hop, reggae, and salsa. Stock characters abound in this formulaic music-fueled drama, but viewers may get in the groove while savoring energetic reggaetà n performances and modestly steamy dance sequences. Look sharp, and you'll catch a fleeting glimpse of coproducer Jennifer Lopez during the movie's final minutes. | tt0756703 | [PG-13] | Omarion Grandberry, Giancarlo Esposito, Zulay Henao, James McCaffrey, Kellita Smith, Melonie Diaz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Feeling Minnesota | 1996 | Steven Baigelman | ★★ | 95 | Baigelman's highly touted writing and directing debut explores the explosive and unpredictable relationship between two brothers and the cagey young woman who comes between them. Watchable at times, but utterly disappointing; interesting cast is left high and dry, including the always welcome Weld as the boys' mother. Movie's title was suggested by a line in a song by Soundgarden. Coproduced by Danny DeVito. | tt0116289 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Vincent D'Onofrio, Cameron Diaz, Delroy Lindo, Courtney Love, Tuesday Weld, Dan Aykroyd, Levon Helm | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Feet First | 1930 | Clyde Bruckman | ★★½ | 83 | Lloyd talkie tries to rekindle spirit of his silent comedies with middling results. Episodic film has some very funny moments, but Harold's building-ledge routine doesn't quite come off. Edited for TV. | tt0020876 | Harold Lloyd, Barbara Kent, Robert McWade, Lillian Leighton, Henry Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Felicia's Journey | 1999 | Atom Egoyan | ★★ | 113 | Mild-mannered catering manager at a British factory takes a kindly interest in a young pregnant woman who's come over from Ireland looking for the boyfriend who abandoned her . . . but the man's intentions are far from pure. A disappointment from Egoyan, from whom we expect more than just another story about a psycho— however layered it may be. Egoyan scripted from William Trevor's novel. | tt0165773 | [PG-13] | Bob Hoskins, Arsinée Khanjian, Elaine Cassidy, Sheila Reid, Peter McDonald, Gerard McSorley, Brid Brennan | Canadian-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fellini Satyricon | 1970 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 129 | Opinions vary on merits of this visually stunning but overindulgent spectacle on ancient Rome, but if you love Fellini, you'll be more receptive than most viewers to his unique panorama of colorful and bizarre characters. | tt0064940 | [R] | Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, Max Born, Capucine, Salvo Randone | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Fellini's Casanova | 1976 | Federico Fellini | ★★½ | 158 | Uninvolving if opulent version of 18th-century lover's life, made entirely at Rome's Cinecitta Studios. Sutherland is enigmatic, the film stylized to a sometimes absurd degree. Nino Rota's music helps. Danilo Donati won an Oscar for his costumes. | tt0074291 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Tina Aumont, Cicely Browne, John Karlsen, Daniel Emilfork Berenstein | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Fellini's Roma | 1972 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 128 | Famed director's impressionistic ode to Eternal City of his youth, his adolescence, and the present— complete with fantasy sequence and usual carnival-of-life point of view. | tt0069191 | [R] | Peter Gonzales, Britta Barnes, Pia de Doses, Fiona Florence, Marne Maitland, Renato Giovannoli, Federico Fellini | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Fellow Traveler | 1989 | Philip Saville | ★★★ | 97 | Excellent political thriller detailing the plight and fate of a pair of childhood pals, one (Bochner) a movie star and the other (Silver) a scriptwriter, who are both blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Especially on target as a reflection of the temper of the 1950s, with a perceptive script by Michael Eaton. Produced by HBO, the BBC, and the British Film Institute. | tt0097346 | Ron Silver, Hart Bochner, Imogen Stubbs, Daniel J. Travanti, Katherine Borowitz | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Female | 1933 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 60 | Chatterton runs a major auto company with an iron hand— and tries to conduct her love life the same way— until independent-minded Brent comes along. (The two stars were then married in real life.) Funny, fascinating role-reversal yarn with incredibly lavish set design— watch for the organist perched in Ruth's entrance foyer! | tt0024008 | Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Philip Faversham, Ruth Donnelly, Johnny Mack Brown, Lois Wilson, Gavin Gordon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Female Animal | 1958 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 84 | Sad waste of Lamarr as mature Hollywood star who grapples with adopted daughter Powell over Nader. | tt0050385 | Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell, Jan Sterling, George Nader | Drama | NULL | |||
| Female Jungle | 1956 | Bruno VeSota | ★★ | 56 | Lukewarm melodrama of cop Tierney seeking the killer of an actress. Mansfield costars as a nymphomaniac; also known as THE HANGOVER. | tt0049204 | Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney, John Carradine, Kathleen Crowley, Rex Thorsen, Burt Carlisle, Bruno VeSota | Film-Noir, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Female Perversions | 1997 | Susan Streitfeld | ★★ | 119 | Story of highly successful lawyer (Swinton), in line for a judgeship, who is consumed by self-doubt. She swings both ways sexually, and repeatedly puts her reputation at risk. That her Ph.D. candidate sister is a shoplifter is testimony to their highly dysfunctional upbringing. Disjointed, pretentious film with a title more titillating than the film itself. | tt0116293 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, Amy Madigan, Karen Sillas, Frances Fisher, Laila Robins, Clancy Brown, Paulina Porizkova, John Diehl, Lisa Jane Persky, Marcia Cross | Drama | NULL | ||
| Female on the Beach | 1955 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 97 | Hot, heavy— and very tacky— melodrama, in which fisherman-stud Chandler attempts to put the make on wealthy widow Crawford. Outrageously trashy script is crammed with sexual double entendres. A must for Crawford fans— but don't expect anything resembling a good movie. | tt0048064 | Joan Crawford, Jeff Chandler, Jan Sterling, Cecil Kellaway, Judith Evelyn, Natalie Schafer, Charles Drake | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Feminine Touch | 1941 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 97 | Brittle comedy of author Ameche writing book on jealousy, finding himself a victim when he brings wife Russell to N.Y.C.; she suspects he's carrying on with glamorous Francis. | tt0033596 | Rosalind Russell, Don Ameche, Kay Francis, Van Heflin, Donald Meek, Gordon Jones, Robert Ryan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Femme Fatale | 2002 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 112 | Giddy mix of ingredients from vintage De Palma (and Hitchcock) thrillers with Romijn-Stamos in fine form— literally and otherwise— as a deadly blonde bombshell. She cheats her partners out of the loot from a daring theft and assumes a new identity, but she's been caught on film by photographer Banderas . . . and the twists just keep a-comin'. Story doesn't make much sense, but tries to intoxicate the viewer with its audacity and a swirl of stylish images and set pieces. Régis Wargnier and Sandrine Bonnaire appear in the Cannes Film Festival segment, screening their film EAST-WEST. Written by the director. | tt0280665 | [R] | Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote, Eriq Ebouaney, Edouard Montoute, Rie Rasmussen, Thierry Frémont, Gregg Henry | French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Femme Fatale | 1991 | André Guttfreund | 💣 | 90 | Firth is squeaky-clean newlywed whose mysterious bride vanishes on eve of their honeymoon; he then uncovers lurid underground lifestyle she came from and to which she may have returned. Lisa Zane isn't terribly enigmatic, just tedious. Psychological drama begs for a sensible screenplay. Lisa and Billy Zane are sister and brother. | tt0101866 | Colin Firth, Lisa Zane, Billy Zane, Scott Wilson, Lisa Blount, Carmine Caridi | Drama | NULL | |||
| FernGully . . . The Last Rainforest | 1992 | Bill Kroyer | ★★★ | 76 | Entertaining animated feature for kids, with an ecological message. Mystical miniature forest creatures are threatened when human invasion of their rainforest (with bulldozers) threatens to unleash an evil spirit who's been locked up in a tree for years. Lively and enjoyable, if not memorable, with plenty of laughs for grownups in the free-flowing dialogue of Batty Koda, a whacked-out bat voiced by Robin Williams. Followed by a video sequel, FERNGULLY 2: THE MAGICAL RESCUE. | tt0104254 | [G] | Voices of Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Grace Zabriskie, Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Tone Loc | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Fernandel the Dressmaker | 1957 | Jean Boyer | ★★½ | 84 | Undemanding plot has Fernandel wanting to be high-fashion designer rather than drab man's tailor. | tt0049098 | Fernandel, Suzy Delair, Françoise Fabian, Georges Chamarat | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ferris Bueller's Day Off | 1986 | John Hughes | ★★½ | 103 | Saga of a cocky teenager's day of adventure while cutting classes. Starts off extremely funny, with on-target jabs at high school life, then wanders through heavy-handed slapstick and moody self-serious ruminations before regaining momentum for a bright finish. Typically uneven John Hughes script. Later a TV series. | tt0091042 | [PG-13] | Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Edie McClurg, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stein, Del Close, Virginia Capers, Louis Anderson, Max Perlich, T. Scott Coffey, Kristy Swanson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ferry Cross the Mersey | 1965 | Jeremy Summers | ★★ | 88 | Gerry Marsden and The Pacemakers perform eight songs in this musical made to cash in on their popularity; most appropriately, they appear as a Liverpool band attempting to compete in a music contest. | tt0059175 | Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, The Fourmost, Jimmy Saville | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Ferry to Hong Kong | 1959 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 103 | Welles and Jurgens have field day as straight-faced ferry boat skipper and drunken Austrian on trip to Macao. Otherwise just routine. | tt0052799 | Orson Welles, Curt Jurgens, Sylvia Syms, Jeremy Spenser | British | Action | NULL | ||
| Festival in Cannes | 2002 | Henry Jaglom | ★★★ | 99 | Slice-of-life drama set against the Cannes Film Festival, where everyone is after something: a deal, a script, a commitment, a comeback, a reconciliation. Told in Jaglom's loose, sometimes ragged improvisational style, with exceptional actors adding substance to the proceedings. Funny, observant, and especially recommended for movie buffs. Cameos include Faye Dunaway and William Shatner. | tt0273607 | Anouk Aimée, Maximilian Schell, Greta Scacchi, Zack Norman, Ron Silver, Jenny Gabrielle, Alex Craig Mann, Peter Bogdanovich | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Feud | 1989 | Bill D'Elia | ★★★ | 96 | David Lynch meets Norman Rockwell in this oddly likable satire of 1950s small-town America, centering on a feud that erupts between two families in neighboring hamlets. Broadly played; has cult-status possibilities. Based on Thomas Berger's novel; coscripted by first-time director D'Elia. | tt0097350 | [R] | Rene Auberjonois, Ron McLarty, Joe Grifasi, Scott Allegrucci, Gale Mayron, David Strathairn, Stanley Tucci, Lynne Killmeyer, Kathleen Doyle, Libby George | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Feudin' Fools | 1952 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 63 | Sach inherits a farm in Kentucky and gets caught in the crossfire of a family feud. Formula Bowery Boys slapstick for the sticks. | tt0044612 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bennie Bartlett, David Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey, Dorothy Ford, Lyle Talbot, Benny Baker, Russell Simpson, Bob Easton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Feudin', Fussin' and a-Fightin' | 1948 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 78 | Pleasant musical comedy about a traveling salesman who is 'recruited' by a rural town to represent them in an annual footrace. Title derives from a pop hit of the day. O'Connor also performs his famous 'Me and My Shadow' number with Louis DaPron. | tt0040349 | Donald O'Connor, Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Penny Edwards, Joe Besser | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fever | 1989 | Craig Lahiff | ★★★ | 83 | Virtually silent film noir in the James M. Cain/Hitchcock vein. The ingredients are a tough cop, his younger wife, her shallow lover, and a suitcase full of money. Surprising throughout. | tt0095153 | [R] | Bill Hunter, Mary Regan, Gary Sweet | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Fever | 2001 | Alex Winter | ★★½ | 93 | Somber, pitch-black chiller about a struggling young artist/drawing instructor (Thomas) who lives in a dingy Brooklyn tenement. On the night a mysterious stranger moves in upstairs, his landlord is brutally murdered. Is his new neighbor real or imagined? Does the cop on the case think he's the killer? Occasional boring stretches are outweighed by genuinely creepy atmosphere and effectively understated performances; Winter (of BILL & TED fame) does a fine job of visualizing the artist's fears and growing paranoia. | tt0177769 | [R] | Henry Thomas, David O'Hara, Teri Hatcher, Bill Duke, Remak Ramsey, Marisol Padilla Sanchez, Irma St. Paule | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fever Pitch | 1985 | Richard Brooks | 💣 | 96 | Anachronistic look at gambling fever with newspaper columnist (and 'fever' victim) O'Neal. Embarrassingly bad; overwritten by veteran Brooks with declamatory dialogue from the Dragnet school of scripts. | tt0089139 | [R] | Ryan O'Neal, Catherine Hicks, Giancarlo Giannini, Bridgette Andersen, Chad Everett, John Saxon, William Smith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fever Pitch | 1997 | David Evans | ★★★ | 102 | Likable, often perceptive look at a soccer-obsessed schoolteacher and the colleague who falls in love with him but can't understand (or embrace) his obsession with a local team. Nick Hornby (HIGH FIDELITY) adapted his novel, which offers a fresh look at the differences between men and women. Remade in 2005. | tt0119114 | [R] | Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell, Neil Pearson, Lorraine Ashbourne, Mark Strong, Holly Aird, Ken Stott, Stephen Rea | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Fever Pitch | 2005 | Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly. | ★★★ | 101 | Appealing comedy about a workaholic, just turning 30, who meets a nice-guy schoolteacher one winter, only to learn as spring arrives that he is a lifelong Boston Red Sox fanatic. Writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel paint a believable picture of two people who love each other but have to overcome a major obstacle. A departure from gross-out absurdism for the Farrelly Brothers; the stars couldn't be more likable. Set against the backdrop of the Red Sox's amazing 2004 season. Based on Nick Hornby's novel, filmed before in 1997. Barrymore coproduced. | tt0332047 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, James B. Sikking, JoBeth Williams, Willie Garson, Evan Helmuth, Ione Skye, KaDee Strickland, Marissa Jaret Winokur. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Fever in the Blood | 1961 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 117 | Turgid dramatics focusing on murder trial which various candidates for governor use to further political ambitions. | tt0054873 | Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Angie Dickinson, Herbert Marshall, Don Ameche, Jack Kelly, Carroll O'Connor | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Few Days With Me | 1988 | Claude Sautet | ★★★ | 131 | Intriguing chronicle of chameleonlike Auteuil, whose family owns a department-store chain, and the series of events that ensue upon his checking up on one outlet, located in a provincial town. Veers too much between comedy (some of which is hilarious) and drama. | tt0095943 | Daniel Auteuil, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Dominique Lavanant, Danielle Darrieux, Tanya Lopert | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Few Good Men | 1992 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 138 | Aaron Sorkin's powerful one-set play is effectively expanded for movie retelling, as a slick young Navy lawyer (Cruise) is driven to investigate the case of two Marines who killed a compatriot. Nicholson bristles as the commanding officer of the base who doesn't want the whole story told. Smashing courtroom climax, top-grade performances all around, but a handful of contrivances keep this from scoring a direct hit. | tt0104257 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, James Marshall, J.T. Walsh, Christopher Guest, J.A. Preston, Matt Craven, Wolfgang Bodison, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Noah Wyle | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fickle Finger of Fate | 1967 | Richard Rush | ★½ | 91 | Idiotic comedy with Hunter an American engineer falsely accused of smuggling a candlestick, known as The Finger of Fate, out of Spain. He goes undercover in an attempt to unmask the real culprit. | tt0061559 | Tab Hunter, Luis Prendes, Patty Shepard, Gustavo Rojo, Fernando Hilbeck | U.S.-Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fiddler on the Roof | 1971 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 181 | Rousing, colorful location-filmed adaptation of Joseph Stein's hit play based on Sholem Aleichem stories of humble village of Anatevka. Topol is hearty as Tevye, trying to preserve Jewish heritage against growing odds. Sheldon Harnick- Jerry Bock score melodically performed; Isaac Stern's violin featured on soundtrack. Earned Oscars for Cinematography (Oswald Morris) and Scoring (John Williams). Reissued at 150m. For an interesting comparison, see the original Yiddish-language TEVYE. | tt0067093 | [G] | (Chaim) Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, Candice Bonstein, Paul (Michael) Glaser | Musical | NULL | ||
| Fido | 2007 | Andrew Currie | ★★ | 91 | Standard boy-and-his-dog formula is given a darkly amusing futuristic twist. A boy named Timmy (of course) adopts a domesticated six-foot-tall zombie that performs all the tasks a family pet might . . . until he starts sucking on the neighbors and terrorizing the tight-knit community. Smart premise could have been a contender in better hands; starts out great but quickly lapses into predictable silliness and gore. Connolly is fun to watch as Fido. | tt0457572 | [R] | Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, K'Sun Ray, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Czerny, Sonja Bennett, Jennifer Clement, Rob LaBelle, Aaron Brown | Canadian | Drama, Romance, Horror | NULL | |
| Field of Dreams | 1989 | Phil Alden Robinson | ★★★½ | 106 | Costner plays a novice farmer in Iowa who hears 'a voice' that inspires him to build a baseball diamond on his property, in the hope of bringing the legendary baseball star Shoeless Joe Jackson (whose career was cut short by the Black Sox scandal) back to life. A story of redemption and faith, in the tradition of the best Hollywood fantasies, with moments that are pure magic. Kudos to writer-director Robinson, who adapted W. P. Kinsella's book Shoeless Joe, for hitting (and maintaining) just the right note from start to finish. Lovely score by James Horner. | tt0097351 | [PG] | Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Ray Liotta, Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Frank Whaley, Dwier Brown | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Field | 1990 | Jim Sheridan | ★★ | 107 | Ireland, the 1930s: a bull of a man who's nurtured a rented field into a prime piece of land nearly goes crazy when the widow who owns it decides to sell it at auction. Grim tale of deep-rooted stubbornness (and provincial clannishness) plays out like a Greek tragedy, and despite Harris' towering performance, becomes aloof and largely unmoving. Based on a play by John B. Keane. Made by the filmmakers of MY LEFT FOOT. | tt0099566 | [PG-13] | Richard Harris, John Hurt, Tom Berenger, Sean Bean, Brenda Fricker, Frances Tomelty, John Cowley, Sean McGinley, Jenny Conroy | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Fiend Who Walked the West | 1958 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 101 | Interesting if not altogether successful transposition of KISS OF DEATH to Western setting, with Evans ludicrous in the Widmark psycho role. | tt0051612 | Hugh O'Brian, Robert Evans, Dolores Michaels, Linda Cristal, Stephen McNally | Western | NULL | |||
| Fiend Without a Face | 1958 | Arthur Crabtree | ★½ | 74 | Scientist materializes thoughts in form of invisible brain-shaped creatures which kill people for food. Horrific climax; good special effects. | tt0050393 | Marshall Thompson, Kim Parker, Terence Kilburn, Michael Balfour, Gil Winfield | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu | 1980 | Piers Haggard | 💣 | 108 | Disastrous comedy features Sellers in a dual role, as the title character and as his archenemy, Scotland Yard detective Nayland Smith. Painfully unfunny and, sad to say, Sellers' last film. | tt0080731 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Helen Mirren, Sid Caesar, David Tomlinson, Simon Williams, Steve Franken | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Fierce Creatures | 1997 | Robert Young, Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 93 | Heartless corporate mogul takes over a failing British zoo and insists it pay its own way, leaving the new zoo director (Cleese) to deal with a resentful staff and other complications. Pleasant enough farce cowritten by Cleese to reunite the cast of A FISH CALLED WANDA never quite pays off, but has its moments. Kline is fun in a dual role. Filmed in 1995, then largely rewritten and refilmed in 1996 with a new director (Schepisi); note how Lowell disappears from whole sections of the picture. Cynthia Cleese, one of the zookeepers, is John's daughter. | tt0119115 | [PG-13] | John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Ronnie Corbett, Carey Lowell, Robert Lindsay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fierce People | 2007 | Griffin Dunne | ★★ | 112 | Sutherland’s amusing performance as a reclusive billionaire dominates this wildly uneven adaptation of Dirk Wittenborn’s novel, an ’80s coming-of-age story about a substance-abusing masseuse (Lane), her codependant teenage son (Yelchin), and the eventful summer they spend as guests on the billionaire’s New Jersey estate. Barely released two years after its film festival debut. | tt0401420 | [R] | Diane Lane, Anton Yelchin, Donald Sutherland, Kristen Stewart, Elizabeth Perkins, Paz de la Huerta, Chris Evans | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fiercest Heart | 1961 | George Sherman | ★★ | 91 | Good cast and action-packed skirmishes with Zulus can't raise this programmer to any heights. Set in Africa. | tt0054874 | Stuart Whitman, Juliet Prowse, Ken Scott, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Fitzgerald | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Fiesta | 1947 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 104 | Williams trades in her bathing suit for a toreador outfit in this weak musical opus. | tt0039377 | Esther Williams, Akim Tamiroff, Ricardo Montalban, John Carroll, Mary Astor, Cyd Charisse | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Fifth Day of Peace | 1972 | Giuliano Montaldo | ★★ | 100 | Episodic story of several disillusioned WW1 German soldiers aimlessly wandering war-ravaged Italian countryside following the armistice. | tt0064386 | [PG] | Richard Johnson, Franco Nero, Bud Spencer, Michael Goodliffe, Helmut Schneider | Italian | War | NULL | |
| The Fifth Element | 1997 | Luc Besson | ★★★ | 127 | Wildly imaginative tale set in the 23rd century, where a world-weary Brooklyn, N.Y., cab driver finds himself involved with a strange woman who may be responsible for saving the world from destruction. A visual candy store of futuristic images, but the film's strongest suit is its sense of humor. Unfortunately, it gets a bit tedious and formulaic toward the end, with Tucker's over-the-top radio host hogging the spotlight. Conceived by Besson when he was a teenager. | tt0119116 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry, Brion James, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister/Jr., Lee Evans, John Neville | French | Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Romance, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Fifth Floor | 1980 | Howard (Hikmet) Avedis | 💣 | 90 | A few laughs don't compensate for derivative story of college disco dancer who is wrongly committed to an insane asylum. Collectors of screen dementia should study Hopkins's performance. | tt0080732 | [R] | Bo Hopkins, Dianne Hull, Patti D'Arbanville, Sharon Farrell, Mel Ferrer, Julie Adams, John David Carson | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fifth Monkey | 1990 | Eric Rochat | ★★★ | 93 | Straightforward, extremely enjoyable tale of snake and rare animal hunter Kingsley, and his escapades while attempting to sell chimps and earn enough money to wed the woman of his dreams. Rochat, who also scripted, movingly illustrates the necessity for mankind to respect the animal world. Beautifully filmed in Brazil. | tt0099568 | [PG-13] | Ben Kingsley, Mika Lins, Vera Fischer, Silvia De Carvalho | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fifty Dead Men Walking | 2009 | Kari Skogland | ★★★ | 117 | Taut, fact-based account, set in the late 1980s and early ’90s, of Martin McGartland (Sturgess), a two-bit Belfast criminal who is recruited by British agent Kingsley to infiltrate the Irish Republican Army. Both a well-made thriller and a character study of McGartland and the impact his informing has on his life. Skogland scripted, based on a memoir penned by McGartland and Nicholas Davies. | tt1097643 | [R] | Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press, Rose McGowan, Tom Collins, William Houston, Michael McElhatton | British-Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fifty Million Frenchmen | 1931 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★ | 68 | An American (Gaxton) in Paris bets $50,000 that he can woo and win Dell in two weeks without spending any money. Flat early-talkie farce adapted from the Broadway hit musical inexplicably cuts out all the songs by Cole Porter! Olsen & Johnson try to add some life to the proceedings. Look for Bela Lugosi as a sinister magician. Originally released in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0021859 | William Gaxton, Claudia Dell, Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, John Halliday, Helen Broderick, Lester Crawford. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fifty Roads to Town | 1937 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 81 | Above-par comedy of Ameche and Sothern, both on the lam for different reasons, snowbound together in small inn. | tt0028866 | Don Ameche, Ann Sothern, Slim Summerville, Jane Darwell, John Qualen, Stepin Fetchit, Oscar Apfel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fifty/Fifty | 1992 | Charles Martin Smith | ★½ | 101 | CIA mercenaries Weller and Hays bicker and bumble through the jungle in this silly action/ adventure, in which revolvers outshoot machine guns; takes a serious turn when the 'heroes' finally take a stand. | tt0106902 | [R] | Peter Weller, Robert Hays, Charles Martin Smith, Ramona Rahman, Kay Tong Lim, Dom Magwili | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fight Club | 1999 | David Fincher | ★★ | 139 | A disaffected office worker (Norton) whose life has turned gray finds unexpected release through violent fistfights, organized by a new 'friend' (Pitt), who lives life on the edge. The impromptu battles evolve into an underground network of fight clubs where guys pummel each other . . . but the friend has an even more ambitious agenda. Draws you in with its intriguing story, black comedy, and flamboyant visuals, then shifts tone, turns heavy-handed, and heads toward an alarmingly senseless resolution. | tt0137523 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, *** Meat Loaf, Jared Leto | Drama, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Fight For Your Lady | 1937 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★½ | 67 | Wrestling trainer Oakie takes over singer Boles' love life when he's jilted by tony Grahame in this fluffy but funny musical comedy. Rhodes is hilarious, as usual, as Spadissimo. | tt0028868 | John Boles, Jack Oakie, Ida Lupino, Margot Grahame, Gordon Jones, Erik Rhodes, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Fighter Attack | 1953 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 80 | Modest film uses flashback to recount Hayden's last important mission in WW2 Italy. | tt0045765 | Sterling Hayden, J. Carrol Naish, Joy Page, Paul Fierro | War | NULL | |||
| Fighter Squadron | 1948 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 96 | OK WW2 drama of dedicated flier O'Brien, has abundance of clichés weighing against good action sequences. Rock Hudson's first film. | tt0040353 | Edmond O'Brien, Robert Stack, John Rodney, Tom D'Andrea, Henry Hull | Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Fighter | 1952 | Herbert Kline | ★★½ | 78 | Absorbing tale set in Mexico with Conte a boxer who uses winnings to buy arms to seek revenge for family's murder. | tt0044614 | Richard Conte, Vanessa Brown, Lee J. Cobb, Roberta Haynes | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Fighter | 2010 | David O. Russell | ★★★ | 115 | Flavorful portrait of a wildly dysfunctional family in Lowell, Massachusetts, during the 1990s. “Irish” Micky Ward (Wahlberg) has the potential to be a boxing champ, but he’s emotionally bound to his older half brother Dicky Eklund (Bale), a onetime contender who’s hooked on crack but insists on remaining his trainer. Then there’s his trash-talking mother (an amazing Leo), who mismanages his career but is certain she knows best. Based on a true story, this film has atmosphere to burn and showy performances—where did they find those women who play Micky’s sisters?—though it peters out a bit in the final act. Mickey O’Keefe, a local cop who hangs out at the local gym, plays himself. Leo and Bale won Supporting Actress/Actor Oscars for their bravura work. | tt0964517 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fighting | 2009 | Dito Montiel | ★★★ | 105 | White, Roger Guenveur Smith, Altagracia Guzmán. Tightly written and directed melodrama about a small-town hustler who comes to N.Y.C. and is lured into the world of underground bare-knuckle fighting by a shady hood looking to make a quick buck. Vivid, action-packed fight sequences are supported by a solid storyline and strong performances from Tatum and Howard. Montiel proved with A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS (also with Tatum) that he knows his way around these particular mean streets; he impressively avoids turning this simple tale into a bad imitation of a grade-B ’40s boxing movie. | tt1082601 | [PG-13] | Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Michael Rivera, Flaco Navaja, Peter Anthony Tambakis, Luis Guzmán, Anthony DeSando, Brian J | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fighting 69th | 1940 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 90 | Overripe (but tough to dislike) WW1 tale mixes roughneck comedy, exciting battle action, sloppy sentiment, incredible characterizations (especially Cagney's) detailing exploits of famed Irish regiment. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032467 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale/Sr., Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, Dick Foran, John Litel, George Reeves, Frank Coghlan/Jr. | War | NULL | |||
| Fighting Back | 1982 | Lewis Teague | ★★½ | 98 | A return visit to DEATH WISH territory; fed up with lackadaisical police, hotheaded South Philly deli owner (Skerritt, who's excellent) organizes Guardian Angels-like patrol to clean up criminal scum, but is unprepared for the complications which ensue. Unpleasant, but fast, slick, and convincing; these people know which buttons to push. | tt0083936 | [R] | Tom Skerritt, Patti LuPone, Michael Sarrazin, Yaphet Kotto, David Rasche, Ted Ross, Pat Cooper | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Fighting Back | 1982 | Michael Caulfield | ★★½ | 100 | Ambitious if not entirely successful drama of teacher FitzGerald trying to tame unruly, illiterate 13-year-old (Smith, excellent in acting debut). | tt0083937 | Lewis FitzGerald, Paul Smith, Kris McQuade, Robyn Nevin, Caroline Gillmer | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fighting Caravans | 1931 | Otto Brower, David Burton. | ★★ | 92 | Cooper is a wagon train scout romancing pretty Damita while thwarting an Indian attack stirred up by evil trader Kohler. Good cast is only point of interest in this unexciting, would-be prestige Western based on a Zane Grey tale. TV title: BLAZING ARROWS. | tt0021861 | Gary Cooper, Lili Damita, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall, Eugene Pallette, Fred Kohler, Charles Winninger. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Chance | 1955 | William Witney | ★★ | 70 | Standard fare. Horse trainer and jockey friend both fall in love with London and are soon at odds with each other. | tt0048069 | Rod Cameron, Julie London, Ben Cooper, Taylor Holmes, Bob Steele | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fighting Coast Guard | 1951 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 86 | Better than usual entry in training-for-war film, mixing romance with WW2 military action. | tt0043531 | Brian Donlevy, Forrest Tucker, Ella Raines, John Russell, Richard Jaeckel, William Murphy, Martin Milner, Steve Brodie, Hugh O'Brian | War | NULL | |||
| Fighting Father Dunne | 1948 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 93 | Road company BOYS TOWN with determined priest O'Brien devoting his life to easing the plight of poor, homeless newsboys in St. Louis. | tt0040355 | Pat O'Brien, Darryl Hickman, Charles Kemper, Una O'Connor, Arthur Shields, Anna Q. Nilsson, Billy Gray | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fighting Fools | 1949 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 69 | Familiar fisticuffs as the Bowery Boys team with boxer Darro to break up a fight fixing racket. | tt0041360 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Frankie Darro, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Benny Bartlett, Lyle Talbot, Evelynne Eaton, Bernard Gorcey | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fighting Guardsman | 1945 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 84 | OK costumer of oppressed Frenchmen rising against tyranny in days before French Revolution. | tt0037698 | Willard Parker, Anita Louise, Janis Carter, John Loder, Edgar Buchanan, George Macready | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Kentuckian | 1949 | George Waggner | ★★½ | 100 | Frontierland around 1810 is setting for two-fisted saga of Kentuckian (Wayne) combating land-grabbing criminals and courting Ralston, French general's daughter. Hardy makes rare solo appearance in character role. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041361 | John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy, Marie Windsor | Western | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Lawman | 1953 | Thomas Carr. | ★½ | 71 | Lackluster account of a woman determined to grab loot from robbers. Grey tries but is defeated by flimsy script. | tt0045766 | Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey, Harry Lauter, John Kellogg, Myron Healey, Dick Rich. | Western | NULL | |||
| Fighting Mad | 1976 | Jonathan Demme | ★★½ | 90 | Typical revenge picture, with peaceable Fonda driven to violence by ruthless landowner who wants to take over his farm. On-target for this kind of entertainment. | tt0074529 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Lynn Lowry, John Doucette, Philip Carey, Scott Glenn, Kathleen Miller, Harry Northup | Action | NULL | ||
| Fighting Mad | 1981 | Cirio H. Santiago | ★½ | 96 | Routine actioner has Iglehart, left to die by his buddies during Vietnam War, captured by Japanese soldiers still fighting WW2. Filmed in 1977. Aka FIERCE. | tt0076024 | [R] | James M. Iglehart, Jayne Kennedy, Leon Isaac (Kennedy), Joonie Gamboa, Leo Martinez | U.S.-Filipino | Action, Drama, Crime, War | NULL | |
| Fighting Man of the Plains | 1949 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 94 | Scott seeks to avenge brother's murder, but kills the wrong man. OK Western, with Dale Robertson in his first prominent role (as Jesse James). | tt0041362 | Randolph Scott, Bill Williams, Jane Nigh, Victor Jory | Western | NULL | |||
| The Fighting O'Flynn | 1949 | Arthur Pierson | ★★½ | 94 | Enjoyable swashbuckler set in 1800s Ireland with Fairbanks and Greene vying in love and intrigue. Cowritten by Fairbanks and Robert Thoeren. | tt0041363 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Richard Greene, Helena Carter, Patricia Medina | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Prince of Donegal | 1966 | Michael O'Herlihy | ★★★ | 112 | Fine Disney swashbuckler made in England, with McEnery as new head of Irish clan who tries to unite his country but runs afoul of villainous Jackson. Vivid, colorful fun. | tt0060408 | Peter McEnery, Susan Hampshire, Tom Adams, Gordon Jackson, Andrew Keir, Donal McCann | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Seabees | 1944 | Edward Ludwig | ★★★ | 100 | Spirited WW2 saga of construction company boss Wayne and naval officer O'Keefe tangling professionally and personally, with journalist Hayward the love interest. The scenario charts the manner in which the 'Seabees' (or battalion of construction worker-soldiers) came to be established. Screenplay by Borden Chase and Aeneas MacKenzie. Action-packed second unit direction by Howard Lydecker. | tt0036824 | John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe, William Frawley, Leonid Kinskey, J. M. Kerrigan, Ben Welden, Paul Fix, Grant Withers, Duncan Renaldo | Action, Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Temptations | 2003 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★½ | 123 | A would-be mover and shaker who's talked his way out of a good job in N.Y.C. returns to Georgia and takes over his hometown church choir, aiming to win an annual gospel competition. He also has an eye for Knowles, who's something of an outcast in town but has a great voice. Obvious and overlong, but buoyed by heaping doses of great music. | tt0191133 | [PG-13] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., Beyoncé Knowles, Melba Moore, Mike Epps, Reverend Shirley Caesar, LaTanya Richardson, Steve Harvey, Montell Jordan, T-Bone, Faith Evans, The O'Jays, Angie Stone, Faizon Love, Rue McClanahan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Fighting Trouble | 1956 | George Blair | ★½ | 61 | With Leo Gorcey gone (replaced by Clements, as 'Duke'), Hall became top banana in the Bowery Boys series, starting with this underdeveloped crime photographers tale. | tt0049208 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Adele Jergens, Joe Downing, Queenie Smith, David Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Fighting Wildcats | 1957 | Arthur Crabtree. | ★★ | 74 | Innocuous intrigue set in London and Middle East involving gangsters. Original title: WEST OF SUEZ. | tt0050395 | Keefe Brasselle, Kay Callard, Karel Stepanek, Ursula Howells. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fighting Youth | 1935 | Hamilton MacFadden | ★★½ | 85 | Commies vs. College Football! A genuinely bizarre bit of kitsch with subversive student Sheridan squaring off against antiradical quarterback Farrell. Definitely one for the time capsule. | tt0026356 | Charles Farrell, June Martel, Andy Devine, J. Farrell MacDonald, Ann Sheridan, Edward Nugent | Drama | NULL | |||
| Figures in a Landscape | 1970 | Joseph Losey | ★★ | 95 | Capable leads and some amazing helicopter stunt work offer scant compensation for muddled allegory about two fugitives in an unnamed country pursued by an unnamed enemy. Barely released. Losey fans will want to give a look. | tt0065720 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, Malcolm McDowell, Henry Woolf, Christopher Malcolm, Pamela Brown | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| The File of the Golden Goose | 1969 | Sam Wanamaker. | ★★ | 105 | Strictly formula effort with American agent and Scotland Yard man going undercover in London to get the goods on murderous counterfeiting gang. | tt0064328 | [M] | Yul Brynner, Charles Gray, Edward Woodward, John Barrie, Adrienne Corri. | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The File on Thelma Jordon | Thelma Jordon | 1949 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 100 | Paul Kelly. Tough little film noir focusing largely on romance between unhappily married assistant D.A. Corey and femme fatale Stanwyck. Handsomely photographed by George Barnes. Aka THELMA JORDON. | tt0041368 | Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Joan Tetzel, Stanley Ridges, Richard Rober, Paul Kelly | Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Fillmore | 1972 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★★ | 105 | Good rock documentary about Fillmore West's final days is made even better by extensive footage of its magnetic owner, Bill Graham, on the phone and on stage; one of the better rock films. Multiscreen. | tt0068584 | [R] | Bill Graham, The Grateful Dead, It's a Beautiful Day, Santana, *** Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Final Analysis | 1992 | Phil Joanou | ★★½ | 125 | Stylish, sexy thriller about a San Francisco psychiatrist who becomes involved with a patient's unhappily married sister— only to find himself enmeshed in an elaborate Hitchcockian web of murder and duplicity. Basinger is surprisingly good, Gere distressingly low-key; but the film's plodding mid-section almost undermines a bravura finale. Written by Wesley Strick. Harris Yulin appears unbilled as the prosecuting attorney. | tt0104265 | [R] | Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Eric Roberts, Paul Guilfoyle, Keith David, Robert Harper, Agustin Rodriguez | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Final Approach | 1991 | Eric Steven Stahl | ★½ | 100 | Pilot Sikking, testing a stealth-type jet, apparently ejects— then awakens in the office of psychiatrist Elizondo, who wants to investigate the pilot's past. Weary, hackneyed plot treated as if it sparkles with originality. This was the first film recorded with digital technology; the sound is great, but the movie isn't. | tt0101874 | [R] | James B. Sikking, Hector Elizondo, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Kevin McCarthy, Cameo Kneuer | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Final Assignment | 1980 | Paul Almond | 💣 | 92 | Television reporter Bujold takes on the KGB when she discovers the Russians are conducting scientific experiments on children. Schlock production, with Montreal an unsatisfactory substitute for Moscow; poor script, embarrassing performances. | tt0080735 | [PG] | Geneviève Bujold, Michael York, Burgess Meredith, Colleen Dewhurst, Alexandra Stewart | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Final Chapter- Walking Tall | 1977 | Jack Starrett | 💣 | 112 | Yet another saga about true-life Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, and inferior to its predecessors. Despite title, this is not the final chapter; a TV movie (A REAL AMERICAN HERO) and series followed. | tt0076028 | [R] | Bo Svenson, Margaret Blye, Forrest Tucker, Lurene Tuttle, Morgan Woodward, Libby Boone | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Final Conflict | 1981 | Graham Baker | ★½ | 108 | The third OMEN movie has the anti-Christ Damien Thorn (Neill) thirtyish and the U.S. Ambassador to England. For genre addicts only. Followed by a TVM OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING. | tt0082377 | [R] | Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Lisa Harrow, Mason Adams | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Final Countdown | 1980 | Don Taylor | ★★★ | 104 | An aircraft carrier (the real-life U.S.S. Nimitz) enters a time-warp and finds itself in the Pacific just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Familiar but satisfying fantasy yarn; perfect TV fare although better viewed in Panavision. | tt0080736 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles Durning | Drama, Adventure, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| The Final Cut | 2004 | Omar Naim. | ★★ | 105 | Dour sci-fi piece set in a near future when humans have implanted memory chips that record their every moment. Williams is a digital whiz who is expert at editing his deceased wealthy clients' lives to give them a positive spin. Williams seems intent on playing repressed automatons, though he does it well. Stylized mystery-thriller is funereal in more ways than one. | tt0364343 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, James Caviezel, Mimi Kuzyk, Stephanie Romanov, Thom Bishops. | Canadian-German | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Final Days | 1989 | Richard Pearce | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Well-acted drama about Richard Nixon, from Watergate to his resignation, with veteran character actor Smith doing the president to a superb turn, matched by Kiley's J. Fred Buzhardt, the Special White House Counsel. Everyone else is reduced to a walk-on (although Bikel as Kissinger is really interesting casting). Craftily adapted by playwright Hugh Whitemore from the Bob Woodward-Carl Bernstein book. | tt0097354 | Lane Smith, Richard Kiley, David Ogden Stiers, Ed Flanders, Theodore Bikel, Graham Beckel, James B. Sikking, Gregg Henry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Final Destination | 2000 | James Wong | ★★½ | 97 | Before the plane carrying him and his classmates to Paris takes off, teenager Sawa has a vision of it crashing. He and others leave the plane, which (of course) does explode— but the survivors soon start dying in mysterious accidents. Horror movie has an unusual and interesting premise, but paints itself into a corner; the ending is annoyingly unsatisfactory. Feature debut for X-Files vet Wong. Followed by a sequel. | tt0195714 | [R] | Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Daniel Roebuck, Roger Guenveur Smith, Chad E. Donella, Seann William Scott | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Final Destination 2 | 2003 | David R. Ellis | ★½ | 90 | A girl has a premonition of death and learns (like the survivors of the plane crash in the first film) that by avoiding it she and others around her have cheated fate. Film exists for the sole purpose of killing its characters— through fire, car crash, crushing, decapitation, impalement, etc.— in horrifyingly realistic detail. But some people view this as comedy. If so, help yourself! | tt0309593 | [R] | Ali Larter, A. J. Cook, Michael Landes, T. C. Carson, Jonathan Cherry, Keegan Connor Tracy, Sarah Carter, Lynda Boyd, David Paetkau | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Final Destination 3 | 2006 | James Wong | ★½ | 92 | They used the word 'Final' in the titles of two predecessors-but they lied. Winstead is a high school straight-arrow who gets a sense of deaths to come from a roller coaster ride at a carnival. As expected, the survivors then suffer their own supernatural dispatching in TEN LITTLE INDIANS style. Most memorable demise comes after two senior-class slatterns who say 'totally' a lot enter a tanning salon. Tan-line flambés, anyone? | tt0414982 | [R] | Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Texas Battle, Alexz Johnson, Jesse Moss, Gina Holden, Sam Easton, Crystal Lowe, Chelan Simmons, Amanda Crew | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Final Destination 5 | 2011 | Steven Quale | ★★½ | 92 | More of the same, only slightly different: Young people who fortuitously avoid accidental death—in this case, while trapped on a collapsing bridge—discover they've only briefly dodged the inevitable. Director Quale and scriptwriter Eric Heisserer revitalize the 11-year-old horror series with crafty fake-outs, unsettling surprises, and genuine suspense while setting up the interlocking happenstances that lead to violent demises. In a perfect world, this sequel's ingeniously nasty and darkly ironic payoff would provide suitable closure for the entire franchise. | tt1622979 | [R] | Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Courtney B. Vance, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Tony Todd, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P. J. Byrne | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Final Destination | 2009 | David R. Ellis | 💣 | 82 | In the fourth and hopefully final installment of this series, we find yet another person who has horrific premonitions and attempts to alter death's design. There's even less plot than usual and the CGI (and 3-D) effects make each death look so cartoonish that it's not frightening, just strange and silly. What's more, the characters don't seem to care that their friends are dying, so why should you? 3-D. | tt1144884 | [R] | Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Krista Allen, Nick Zano, Mykelti Williamson, Haley Webb, Andrew Fiscella, Richard T. Jones | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Final Edition | 1932 | Howard Higgin | ★★½ | 65 | Big-city reporter Clarke tries to get the goods on racketeers to impress her hot-tempered editor, O'Brien, who also happens to be her on-again, off-again boyfriend. Enjoyable little newspaper yarn is peppered with snappy dialogue and captures the seamy underworld milieu. | tt0022888 | Pat O'Brien, Mae Clarke, Mary Doran, Bradley Page, Morgan Wallace, James Donlan, Phil Tead. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within | 2001 | Hironobu Sakaguchi, Motonori Sakakibara | ★★ | 106 | Dr. Aki Ross runs into trouble in the year 2065 when she and her mentor confront a power-hungry general over the best way to battle aliens in their midst. Notable as the first major feature to use computer-generated actors. Adaptation of popular computer game plays like a standard-issue sci-fi yarn with spiritual undertones. At their dullest, the actors who provide the voices would still be more interesting to watch than their hollow-eyed, computerized counterparts. | tt0173840 | [PG-13] | Voices of Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Peri Gilpin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, Keith David, Jean Simmons, Matt McKenzie | Japanese-U.S. | Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |
| The Final Option | Who Dares Wins | 1982 | Ian Sharp | 💣 | 125 | Laughably ridiculous account of Britain's Special Air Services team and how one officer (Collins) goes underground— more or less— to infiltrate a terrorist gang with plans to take over the American Embassy. Lots of violence, but no brains in sight. Third-billed Widmark has precious little screen time, as the U.S. Secretary of State. Original British title: WHO DARES WINS. | tt0083941 | [R] | Lewis Collins, Judy Davis, Richard Widmark, Robert Webber, Edward Woodward, Tony Doyle, John Duttine, Kenneth Griffith, Ingrid Pitt | British | Action | NULL |
| The Final Season | 2007 | David Mickey Evans | ★★ | 123 | True story of Iowa baseball coach Kent Stock, who ditches his job (and wedding) to guide Norway High School to one final championship after their school is merged into a larger one. By-the-numbers sports story, with clichéd dialogue, doesn’t really connect and would seem more at home on TV. Astin covered this turf much better in RUDY. | tt0449018 | [PG] | Sean Astin, Rachael Leigh Cook, Powers Boothe, Michael Angarano, Mackenzie Astin, Tom Arnold, Marshall Bell, Mathew W.Allen, James Gammon | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Final Terror | 1981 | Andrew Davis | ★½ | 82 | Pretty bad dead-teenagers film set in the backwoods, of marginal interest for presence of latter-day stars in cast (though they don't get much of a showcase here). | tt0082379 | [R] | John Friedrich, Adrian Zmed, Daryl Hannah, Rachel Ward, Mark Metcalf | Action | NULL | ||
| The Final Test | 1953 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 84 | Droll, minor comedy of father-son rivalry over charming Allen. | tt0045769 | Jack Warner, Robert Morley, George Relph, Adrianne Allen | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Find Me Guilty | 2006 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 124 | Diesel gives a wonderful, transformative performance as real-life N.J. gangster 'Jackie Dee' DiNorscio, an outgoing character who decides to defend himself in a record-breaking Federal case against the Lucchese crime family in 1987-88. Better than most crime fiction, this lively courtroom-mob saga is impeccably cast and directed with brio by Lumet, who also cowrote the screenplay. Putting Louis Prima on the soundtrack doesn't hurt, either. | tt0419749 | [R] | Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Linus Roache, Ron Silver, Alex Rocco, Annabella Sciorra, Raúl Esparza, Jerry Adler, Richard Portnow, Josh Pais | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Find the Lady | Kopek and Broom | 1976 | John Trent | ★½ | 79 | Pre-POLICE ACADEMY comedy about inept cops Dane and Candy, on the trail of a kidnapped socialite. A couple of genuine laughs, but mostly silly— and occasionally offensive. Candy and Dane played same characters a year earlier in IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. Aka CALL THE COPS! and KOPEK AND BROOM. | tt0074532 | Lawrence Dane, John Candy, Mickey Rooney, Peter Cook, Alexandra Bastedo, Dick Emery | Canadian-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Finders Keepers | 1984 | Richard Lester | ★★ | 96 | Wholehearted attempt at farce, involving stolen money, con artists in disguise, a bungling hit man, and other promising ingredients, remains disappointingly flat. Lester manages a few neat sight gags, and Wayne is genuinely funny as the world's oldest train conductor. | tt0087260 | [R] | Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, Louis Gossett/Jr., Ed Lauter, David Wayne, Pamela Stephenson, Brian Dennehy, John Schuck, Timothy Blake, Jim Carrey, Jack Riley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Finding Amanda | 2008 | Peter Tolan | ★★½ | 96 | Fading TV comedy writer and congenital liar Broderick heads to Las Vegas in search of his 20-year-old hooker niece. It’s a bad place for him to be, given that he’s addicted to gambling. Meanders at first but gets better as it goes along, particularly when it peels away the façade of the title character. One amusing bit: the pimp who’s a wannabe screenwriter. Written by the director. | tt0889134 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow, Maura Tierney, Peter Facinelli, Daniel Roebuck, Bill Fagerbakke, Jennifer Hall, Steve Coogan, Ed Begley, Jr | Drama | NULL | ||
| Finding Forrester | 2000 | Gus Van Sant | ★★½ | 136 | Bronx high school student meets an odd neighborhood resident, a reclusive novelist who's been hiding from the world since his first burst of fame. The curmudgeon becomes his mentor as the boy moves to an upscale Manhattan private school, and has to examine his choices— and priorities. Slick entertainment, and a great vehicle for Connery (who also coproduced), but more than a bit pat— with heavy-handed 'villainy' from jealous professor Abraham. | tt0181536 | [PG-13] | Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, April Grace, Michael Nouri | Drama | NULL | ||
| Finding Nemo | 2003 | Andrew Stanton | ★★★½ | 81 | Another delightful animated film from Pixar, set in a wondrous undersea environment. A timid clownfish named Marlin (voiced by a perfectly cast Brooks) tries to shield his only son from danger; when the little fish is captured and taken many miles away, Marlin embarks on a brave quest to rescue him. Full of great characters, animation, and design, and peppered with hilarious gags, many of them aimed at grown-ups rather than kids. Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature. | tt0266543 | [G] | Voices of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Alexander Gould, Barry Humphries, Eric Bana, Brad Garrett, Stephen Root, Austin Pendleton, Vicki Lewis | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Finding Neverland | 2004 | Marc Forster | ★★★½ | 101 | Trapped in a loveless marriage, at a crossroads in his writing career, James M. Barrie is drawn to four young brothers who play at a nearby park— and their attractive, widowed mother— and becomes a surrogate member of their family. In time, they become the inspiration for his play Peter Pan. Beautifully crafted, nicely underplayed period piece set at the turn of the 20th century, anchored by an irresistible performance by Depp as the warmhearted but eccentric Scotsman. Oscar winner for Jan A. P. Kaczmarek's score. | tt0308644 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Dustin Hoffman, Kelly Macdonald, Ian Hart, Freddie Highmore, Joe Prospero, Nick Roud, Luke Spill, Mackenzie Crook | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| A Fine Madness | 1966 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★ | 104 | It's stubborn, nonconformist poet Connery versus the rest of society in uneven but sometimes outrageously funny satire. Screenplay by Elliot Baker, from his novel. | tt0060414 | Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward, Jean Seberg, Patrick O'Neal, Colleen Dewhurst, Renee Taylor | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Fine Mess | 1986 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 88 | A slapstick saga of two bumblers, with laughs few and far between. Familiar Blake Edwards trademarks, and the supposed inspiration of Laurel and Hardy's Oscar-winning short, THE MUSIC BOX, don't carry this very far. | tt0091051 | [PG] | Ted Danson, Howie Mandel, Richard Mulligan, Stuart Margolin, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Edwards, Paul Sorvino | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Fine Pair | 1968 | Francesco Maselli | 💣 | 89 | N.Y.C. policeman Hudson falls for Cardinale, daughter of an old pal, and helps her rob some jewels in terrible comedy-thriller minus laughs or suspense. | tt0064329 | [M] | Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, Thomas Milian, Leon Askin, Ellen Corby, Walter Giller | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Fine Romance | 1992 | Gene Saks | ★★ | 83 | Andrews and Mastroianni try (but fail) to enliven this obvious, barely funny farce, cast as a pair whose mates have run off together, and who predictably become romantically involved themselves. Scripted by Ronald Harwood. | tt0103055 | [PG-13] | Julie Andrews, Marcello Mastroianni, Ian Fitzgibbon, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Jean-Jacques Dulon, Maria Machado, Catherine Jarret | U.S.-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Finger Man | 1955 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 82 | Convincing performances uplift account of federal agents capturing liquor gang. | tt0048072 | Frank Lovejoy, Forrest Tucker, Peggie Castle, Timothy Carey, Glenn Gordon, Evelynne Eaton | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Finger Points | 1931 | John Francis Dillon | ★★½ | 88 | Vivid though meandering melodrama about crime reporter Barthelmess on the payroll of the mob. Wray is a newspaperwoman who urges him to go straight; Gable scores as a gang boss. One of the writers was W. R. Burnett. | tt0021865 | Richard Barthelmess, Fay Wray, Regis Toomey, Robert Elliott, Clark Gable | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Finger of Guilt | The Intimate Stranger | 1956 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 85 | Film director Basehart is blackmailed by woman claiming to be his mistress, which threatens his career and marriage. Intriguing film with disappointing resolution; good look inside British film studio, however. Directed by blacklistee Losey under pseudonyms Alec Snowden/Joseph Walton. Originally released in England as THE INTIMATE STRANGER at 95m. | tt0049210 | Richard Basehart, Mary Murphy, Constance Cummings, Roger Livesey, Mervyn Johns, Faith Brook | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Finger on the Trigger | 1965 | Sidney Pink | 💣 | 87 | Reb and Yankee vets join forces to secure buried treasure while holding off hostile Indians. Made in Spain. | tt0059178 | Rory Calhoun, James Philbrook, Todd Martin, Silvia Solar, Brad Talbot | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Fingers | 1978 | James Toback | ★★★½ | 91 | Crude but fascinating melodrama about an aspiring concert pianist who reluctantly 'collects' on debts owed to his domineering father. Powerful, disturbing film is compellingly sensual and brilliantly acted, especially by Brown in a rare subdued role. Screenplay by the director. | tt0077549 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Jim Brown, Tisa Farrow, Michael V. Gazzo, Tanya Roberts, Marian Seldes, Danny Aiello, Ed Marinaro, Zack Norman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fingers at the Window | 1942 | Charles Lederer | ★★½ | 80 | Entertaining mystery of Ayres and Day tracking down maniac killer masterminding repeated axe murders. | tt0034732 | Lew Ayres, Laraine Day, Basil Rathbone, Walter Kingsford, Miles Mander, James Flavin | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Finian's Rainbow | 1968 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 145 | Whimsical Burton Lane-E. Y. Harburg musical fantasy about racial injustice was ahead of its time in the late '40s on Broadway, embarrassingly dated 20 years later, but Coppola and an attractive cast work wonders with it in this imaginatively filmed, widescreen winner— perhaps the best movie musical of its era. Harburg's lyrics remain elegant and witty, and Astaire is fun as the transplanted Irishman whose leprechaun comes to life in the American South. Try to see it in a theater. | tt0062974 | [G] | Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Keenan Wynn, Al Freeman/Jr., Don Francks, Barbara Hancock | Family, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Finishing School | 1934 | Wanda Tuchock, George Nicholls/ Jr | ★★½ | 73 | Interesting look at exclusive girls' school where hypocrisy reigns; wealthy Dee falls in love with struggling hospital intern Cabot. | tt0025117 | Frances Dee, Bruce Cabot, Ginger Rogers, Beulah Bondi, Billie Burke, John Halliday | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Finnegans Wake | 1965 | Mary Ellen Bute | ★★★½ | 97 | James Joyce's classic story of Irish tavern-keeper who dreams of attending his own wake is brought to the screen with great energy and control. | tt0059179 | Page Johnson, Martin J. Kelly, Jane Reilly, Peter Haskell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fiorile | 1993 | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | ★★★ | 118 | While driving to visit his ailing, reclusive father, a man reveals to his two children the legend of their family's history, beginning with how their ancestors came into wealth dishonestly during the Napoleonic era. Complex, ironic tale of tarnished innocence, outside forces cruelly separating lovers, and how ill-gotten wealth will in one way or another taint the spirit. | tt0106911 | [PG-13] | Claudio Bigagli, Galatea Ranzi, Michael Vartan, Lino Capolicchio, Constanze Engelbrecht, Athina Cenci, Giovanni Guidelli, Chiara Caselli | Italian-French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Fire | 1997 | Deepa Mehta | ★★ | 104 | Ho-hum lesbian-feminist drama set in New Delhi, which charts the growing spiritual/sexual attraction between a long-married woman (Azmi) and her young, newlywed sister-in-law (Das). Without exception, every male character in the story is a simplistic chauvinist pig, and the result is a superficial drama that substitutes female outrage for thoughtful filmmaking. | tt0184474 | Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Jaaved Jaaferi, Ranjit Chowdhury, Kushal Rekhi | Canadian-Indian |
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| Fire Birds | 1990 | David Green | 💣 | 85 | High-tech Apache helicopters (with an assist from their pilots) take on South American drug cartels from the air. Standard military issue with a ruptured-duck script and no romantic chemistry between professional rivals Cage and Young. Jones doesn't evoke memories of Gregory Peck in TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH when he pep-talks Cage into a 'full-tilt boogie for freedom and justice.' | tt0099575 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young, Bryan Kestner, Dale Dye, Mary Ellen Trainor, J.A. Preston, Peter Onorati | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Fire Down Below | 1957 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 116 | Contrived but entertaining melodrama of Mitchum and Lemmon, owners of tramp boat, falling in love with shady Hayworth on voyage between islands. | tt0050397 | Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon, Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee, Anthony Newley | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Fire Down Below | 1997 | Felix Enriquez Alcalá | ★★ | 105 | You're looking for an E.P.A. agent to go work incognito avenging a murder in Appalachia— so who you gonna call? Well, how about Steve, with his standard haircut and man-in-black garb? Laughably bad, junky action outing with a reasonable pace to match its outrageousness. Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt appear as themselves. | tt0119123 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Marg Helgenberger, Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Lang, Harry Dean Stanton, Levon Helm, Richard Masur, John Diehl, Robert Ridgely, Randy Travis | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fire Maidens of Outer Space | 1955 | Cy Roth | 💣 | 80 | Ultracheap space opera about astronauts who land on Jupiter's 13th moon and discover a society of young lovelies in need of male companionship. Another in the So Bad It's Good Sweepstakes; you haven't lived until you've seen the Fire Maidens perform their ritual dance to 'Stranger in Paradise.' | tt0046977 | Anthony Dexter, Susan Shaw, Paul Carpenter, Harry Fowler, Sydney Tafler | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fire Over Africa | 1954 | Richard Sale | ★★ | 84 | O'Hara makes a pretty law enforcer traveling to Africa to track down dope-smuggling syndicate. Filmed on location. | tt0046979 | Maureen O'Hara, Macdonald Carey, Binnie Barnes, Guy Middleton | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Fire Over England | 1937 | William K. Howard | ★★★ | 89 | Satisfying historical drama of British-Spanish conflict in 1500s with flawless performance by Robson (Queen Elizabeth), fine villainy by Massey, romantic support by Olivier and Leigh. Watch for James Mason in a small (unbilled) role. | tt0028872 | Laurence Olivier, Flora Robson, Leslie Banks, Raymond Massey, Vivien Leigh, Tamara Desni, Morton Selten, Robert Newton, Donald Calthrop | British | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Fire Sale | 1977 | Alan Arkin | 💣 | 88 | Wretched black comedy about a department store owner and his two sons gives bad taste a bad name. Truly unbearable. | tt0076029 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Rob Reiner, Vincent Gardenia, Anjanette Comer, Kay Medford, Sid Caesar, Barbara Dana, Alex Rocco, Richard Libertini, Augusta Dabney | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fire With Fire | 1986 | Duncan Gibbins | ★★½ | 103 | Story of a forbidden love affair between a boy imprisoned at a juvenile detention facility and girl who feels imprisoned at Catholic girls' school nearby. Pleasant enough to watch . . . until ludicrous finale. Film buffs should note Ann Savage in the small role of Sister Harriet. | tt0091053 | [PG-13] | Craig Sheffer, Virginia Madsen, Jon Polito, Jeffrey Jay Cohen, Kate Reid, Jean Smart, D. B. Sweeney | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Fire Within | 1963 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 108 | Shattering study of alcoholism, as wealthy Ronet, released from a sanitarium after a breakdown, visits his old friends in Paris one last time. Probably Malle's best early film— photographed, scored (with the music of Erik Satie), and acted to maximum effect— and with a minimum of self-pity. | tt0057058 | Maurice Ronet, Lena Skerla, Yvonne Clech, Hubert Deschamps, Jeanne Moreau, Alexandra Stewart | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fire and Ice | 1983 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★½ | 81 | Muscular hero and buxom heroine become involved in power struggle between two warring world powers. Animated sword-and-sorcery saga is no worse (and arguably no better) than an average live-action entry, and benefits from graphic design by fabled illustrator Frank Frazetta, though the animation itself has been traced from live footage. Scripted by well-known comic book writers Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. | tt0085542 | [PG] | Voices of Susan Tyrrell, Maggie Roswell, William Ostrander, Stephen Mendel | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Fire in the Sky | 1993 | Robert Lieberman | ★★ | 107 | Failed sci-fi outing, allegedly based on fact, with Sweeney cast as Travis Wilson, a man who mysteriously disappeared for five days, during which time he supposedly was taken prisoner by extraterrestrials. Written by Tracy (son of Mel) Tormé, and based on Wilson's book The Walton Experience. | tt0106912 | [PG-13] | D. B. Sweeney, Robert Patrick, Craig Sheffer, Peter Berg, James Garner, Henry Thomas, Bradley Gregg, Noble Willingham, Kathleen Wilhoite | Mystery, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fire on the Amazon | 1996 | Luis Llosa | ★★ | 81 | Well-intentioned 'save the rainforest' story, marred by appallingly reckless and hostile behavior of photojournalist Sheffer, whose stupidity should have had him blown away very early in the film. Contrived romance with activist Bullock is no more believable. Filmed in 1990. Executive-produced by Roger Corman. Unrated version also available. | tt0106913 | [R] | Craig Sheffer, Sandra Bullock, Juan Fernandez, Judith Chapman, Ramsey Ross, David Elkin, Jorge Garcia Bustamante | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Fire, Ice and Dynamite | 1990 | Willy Bogner | 💣 | 102 | Obscenely wealthy Moore, whose empire is crumbling, fakes suicide to test the mettle of his children and creditors in an athletic competition. Loud, lame, occasionally offensive timewaster, redeemed (just barely) by the stuntwork. As inept as Bogner's earlier FIRE AND ICE. | tt0099564 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Shari Belafonte, Simon Shepherd, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Geoffrey Moore, Connie de Groot, Marjoe Gortner, Isaac Hayes | German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Fireball 500 | 1966 | William Asher | 💣 | 92 | Frankie is a stock-car racer who unknowingly transports moonshine whiskey. Desperately in need of a beach ball. | tt0060415 | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Fabian, Chill Wills, Harvey Lembeck, Julie Parrish | Comedy, Action | NULL | |||
| The Fireball | 1950 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 84 | Rooney's energetic performance carries this film. Orphan boy devotes himself to becoming big-time roller-skating champ. | tt0042463 | Mickey Rooney, Pat O'Brien, Beverly Tyler, Marilyn Monroe, Milburn Stone, Glenn Corbett | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Firechasers | 1970 | Sidney Hayers | ★★ | 101 | Strong production values in familiar story of insurance investigator hunting for arsonist. | tt0065722 | Chad Everett, Anjanette Comer, Keith Barron, Joanne Dainton, Rupert Davies, John Loder | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Firecreek | 1968 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 104 | Somber Western has makings of a classic at outset, but goes astray, and goes on too long. Stewart is mild-mannered part-time sheriff in small town terrorized by Fonda and fellow plunderers. Beautifully photographed (by William H. Clothier), but unrelentingly downbeat. | tt0062975 | James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens, Gary Lockwood, Dean Jagger, Ed Begley, Jay C. Flippen, Jack Elam, Barbara Luna | Western | NULL | |||
| Fired Up! | 2009 | Will Gluck | ★★½ | 90 | As stars of the football team, D'Agosto and Olsen have conquered their school’s entire female population and are in search of a new hunting ground. What better place than cheerleader camp? The two leads are funny but the story meanders; over-the-top supporting characters and bad acting detract from this otherwise entertaining comedy. | tt1083456 | [PG-13] | Eric Christian Olsen, Nicholas D'Agosto, Sarah Roemer, Molly Sims, Danneel Harris, David Walton, Adhir Kalyan, AnnaLynne McCord, Philip Baker Hall, Juliette Goglia, John Michael Higgins, Margo Harshman, Amber Stevens, Francia Raisa | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fired! | 2007 | Chris Bradley, Kyle LaBrache | ★★ | 71 | Scattershot, superficial first-person documentary tries to combine comedy, personal anecdotes, and social commentary with very mixed results; only former Labor Secretary Robert Reich's and Ben Stein's observations have any real impact. Other interviewees include Tim Allen, Fred Willard, Illeana Douglas, and Anne Meara | tt0816238 | Writer-performer Annabelle Gurwitch uses her real-life dismissal from a play by Woody Allen as the basis for exploring what it means to be fired from a job. | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Firefly | 1937 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 131 | MacDonald plays a spy working in France on behalf of Spain during the Napoleonic wars in this rewrite of the Rudolf Friml–Otto Harbach operetta. Goes on much too long, but fans of Jeanette won't mind, and Jones introduces "The Donkey Serenade." | tt0028873 | Jeanette MacDonald, Allan Jones, Warren William, Billy Gilbert, Henry Daniell, Douglass Dumbrille, George Zucco | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Firefox | 1982 | Clint Eastwood | ★½ | 124 | Lamentably dull, slow-moving espionage yarn, with Eastwood as burned-out U.S. pilot who goes behind Russian lines to steal the Soviets' latest aeronautic marvel: a supersonic fighting plane. Jones wins the Charles Laughton Award for Eccentric Performances. Originally released at 137m. | tt0083943 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke, Ronald Lacey, Stefan Schnabel, Nigel Hawthorne, John Ratzenberger | Action | NULL | ||
| Firehouse Dog | 2007 | Todd Holland | ★★★ | 111 | Clever variation of the boy-and-his-dog genre finds a pampered, spoiled superstar movie mutt named Rex (star of JURASSIC BARK and THE CANINE MUTINY) lost and alone in a small town when an airplane stunt goes wrong. He soon finds his way into the local fire station, which is about to be razed to make way for a new development, but could he save the day for the fire chief and his son? Predictable stuff, but executed with such skill it's hard to resist. Fun for kids and their parents, too. | tt0476995 | [PG] | Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, Bill Nunn, Scotch Ellis Loring, Mayte Garcia, Teddy Sears, Steven Culp, Dash Mihok, Bree Turner, Hannah Lochner, Claudette Mink, Shane Daly. | Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Firelight | 1998 | William Nicholson | ★★★ | 103 | Handsome 19th-century British aristocrat Dillane, in need of an heir, hires fiercely proud, beautiful Swiss governess Marceau to bear him a child. In dire circumstances beyond her control, Marceau, with few options open to her, reluctantly agrees. Well-made, old-fashioned Gothic soap in the MADAME X vein, with a touch of JANE EYRE thrown in. Written by the director. | tt0119125 | [R] | Sophie Marceau, Stephen Dillane, Dominique Belcourt, Kevin Anderson, Lia Williams, Joss Ackland, Sally Dexter | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Fireman Save My Child | 1954 | Leslie Goodwins | ★½ | 80 | Sloppy slapstick with Spike Jones et al. manning fire station in 1900s San Francisco, running amuck when they receive a new fire engine. Originally intended for Abbott and Costello, who are still visible in some long shots. | tt0046980 | Spike Jones, The City Slickers, Buddy Hackett, Hugh O' Brian, Adele Jergens | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fireman Save My Child | 1932 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 67 | Amusing Brown romp with Joe dividing his time between firefighting and baseball. The first in his baseball trilogy, followed by ELMER THE GREAT and ALIBI IKE. | tt0022890 | Joe E. Brown, Evalyn Knapp, Lilian Bond, Guy Kibbee, Virginia Sale | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Firemen's Ball | 1967 | Milos Forman | ★★ | 73 | Acclaimed comedy of small-town firemen's ball which turns into sprawling disaster apparently has elusive charm that completely escaped us. | tt0061781 | Jan Vostrcil, Josef Sebanek, Josef Valnoha, Josef Kolb, Vaclav Stockel | Czech | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Firepower | 1979 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 104 | Another international all-star action thriller, with beautiful people in beautiful locations (this time, the Caribbean). Inane, complicated story has Loren seeking revenge for murder of her chemist husband. Passable time-filler, especially on TV. | tt0079153 | [R] | Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O. J. Simpson, Eli Wallach, Anthony Franciosa, George Grizzard, Vincent Gardenia, Victor Mature | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Fires Within | 1991 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★ | 86 | Well-intentioned but underdeveloped story of anguish suffered by a Cuban political prisoner and his family when they're reunited in Miami after an eight-year separation. Smits and Scacchi certainly make a great-looking couple. | tt0101882 | [R] | Jimmy Smits, Greta Scacchi, Vincent D'Onofrio, Luis Avalos, Bertila Damas, Raul Davila, Bri Hathaway, Daniel Fern | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fires on the Plain | 1959 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★★½ | 105 | Japanese soldiers struggle to survive at the finale of the Philippine campaign during WW2; focus is on travails of tubercular Funakoshi, separated from his unit. Graphically realistic, disturbing, and depressing vision of damnation on earth, with a sobering antiwar message. | tt0053121 | Eiji Funakoshi, Mantaro Ushio, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, Osamu Takizawa | Japanese | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Firestarter | 1984 | Mark L. Lester | ★★ | 115 | Silly, sometimes laughable yarn about little girl whose parents acquired unusual mental powers as a result of a government experiment and who herself can set anything on fire at will. Lumbering story wastes a lot of acting talent, though it certainly gave employment to a number of stunt people and special effects technicians. From Stephen King's best-seller. Followed in 2002 by a made-for-TV movie. | tt0087262 | [R] | David Keith, Drew Barrymore, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher, Moses Gunn, Freddie Jones | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Firestorm | 1998 | Dean Semler | ★½ | 89 | Wily con Forsythe and cohorts have pulled off a prison escape, incinerating a Canadian forest as their 'cover.' This makes the job of smoke jumpers (who parachute into difficult fires) all the more risky. By-the-numbers script is fashioned as an action vehicle for athlete Long, who suggests what Ed Harris might look like if he couldn't move his facial muscles. | tt0120670 | [R] | Howie Long, William Forsythe, Scott Glenn, Suzy Amis, Christianne Hirt, Garwin Sanford | Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Firewalker | 1986 | J. Lee Thompson | 💣 | 104 | Anderson, hair perfectly intact throughout, hires Gossett and fellow mercenary Norris to find a hidden cache of loot she's imagined exists. Press releases described Norris' character as a 'soldier-of-wacky-misfortune'; his light comedy skills recall a sportswriter's description of Yogi Berra playing third base— 'like a man trying to put up a pup tent in a windstorm.' Arguably Chuck's worst— but who wants to argue? | tt0091055 | [PG] | Chuck Norris, Lou Gossett, Melody Anderson, Will Sampson, Sonny Landham, John Rhys-Davies, Ian Abercrombie | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Firewall | 2006 | Richard Loncraine | ★½ | 105 | A security expert must break into his own bank in order to save his family; that's the premise of this muddled, often preposterous thriller. Ford seems an unlikely technophile, and while the action builds toward the end, by then the audience has been drained of all emotional investment. | tt0408345 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Robert Forster, Alan Arkin, Robert Patrick, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carly Schroeder, Jimmy Bennett, Vince Vieluf | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fireworks | 1998 | Takeshi Kitano | ★★★ | 103 | Tough cop's world crumbles around him: his wife is dying, his partner becomes confined to a wheelchair, and a young detective dies in a shootout because of his blunder, forcing him into a deal with the yakuza. Strongly directed film begins with clear but fragmentary flashbacks; melancholy, violent, sardonic, and romantic, it's an outstanding movie of its genre. The director, who also wrote and coedited, uses 'Beat' Takeshi as an acting name. Original title: HANA-BI. | tt0119250 | 'Beat' Takeshi, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima, Tetsu Watanabe, Taro Itsumi | Japanese | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Firm | 1993 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 154 | Slick adaptation of John Grisham's best-seller about a Harvard law school grad who's wooed by a Memphis law firm and happily signs on, never suspecting the sinister truth behind its gracious facade. Good storytelling and good performances, but it goes on too long . . . and makes some unfortunate changes from Grisham's original. Still, it's attractive and entertaining. Paul Sorvino appears unbilled as a Mafioso. | tt0106918 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook, Terry Kinney, Wilford Brimley, David Strathairn, Gary Busey, Steven Hill, Tobin Bell, Barbara Garrick, Jerry Hardin, Paul Colderon, Jerry Weintraub, Karina Lombard, John Beal | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| First Blood | 1982 | Ted Kotcheff | ★½ | 97 | Ex-Green Beret is falsely arrested by smalltown cops, escapes and leads his pursuers into all kinds of booby traps in the 'jungles' of U.S. Northwest. Throws all credibility to the winds about the time he gets off with only a bad cut after jumping from a mountain into some jagged rocks. A kewpie doll to anyone who can understand more than three words of Sly's final monologue. Followed by RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II. | tt0083944 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, David Caruso, Jack Starrett | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| First Comes Courage | 1943 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 88 | Fairly good wartime film of Norwegian Oberon using her feminine wiles to extract secrets from Nazi officer. | tt0035883 | Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, Carl Esmond, Fritz Leiber, Erik Rolf | War | NULL | |||
| First Daughter | 2004 | Forest Whitaker. | ★½ | 104 | Fairy-tale romance for wholesome teens centers on the sheltered daughter of the U.S. President, who goes off to college to get away from her omnipresent Secret Service detail and falls for a hunky student whose true identity holds a big surprise (not really). CHASING LIBERTY was bad enough; did we really need another formulaic, juvenile variation of ROMAN HOLIDAY the same year? | tt0361620 | [PG] | Katie Holmes, Marc Blucas, Amerie, Michael Keaton, Margaret Colin, Lela Rochon Fuqua, Michael Milhoan, Dwayne Adway. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The First Deadly Sin | 1980 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★★ | 112 | Sinatra's first starring feature after 10-year absence finds him in good form in adaptation of Lawrence Sanders' best-seller about an N.Y.C. cop who stalks a psycho during his wife's illness. Dunaway's near-comatose role couldn't be more thankless, but good supporting cast and moody Gordon Jenkins score make this one of Frank's better serious vehicles. Look fast for Bruce Willis half-hidden under a cap in a bar scene. | tt0080738 | [R] | Frank Sinatra, Faye Dunaway, David Dukes, Brenda Vaccaro, Martin Gabel, James Whitmore | Thriller | NULL | ||
| First Do No Harm | 1997 | Jim Abrahams | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Streep works her special magic as a determined mom with an epileptic young son; his suffering causes her to sidestep conventional medicine and experiment with a controversial diet treatment. Inspired by actual events in the life of producer/director Abrahams, whose son's experiences led him to champion the Ketogenic Diet. | tt0118526 | Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, Seth Adkins, Margo Martindale, Allison Janney | Drama | NULL | |||
| First Family | 1980 | Buck Henry | ★★ | 104 | Almost laughless political satire, written by Henry, with Newhart a bumbling U.S. President, Kahn his inebriated First Lady, Radner their horny First Daughter. However, Newhart's conversation with African Ambassador Harris is a gem. | tt0080739 | [R] | Bob Newhart, Gilda Radner, Madeline Kahn, Richard Benjamin, Bob Dishy, Harvey Korman, Rip Torn, Austin Pendleton, Fred Willard, Julius Harris, Buck Henry | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The First Grader | 2011 | Justin Chadwick | ★★½ | 103 | In 2003, Kenya offers free primary-school education for the first time, and an 84-year-old villager (Litando) shows up at Harris’ overcrowded schoolroom. Bureaucrats and ignorant locals don’t want him taking lessons alongside the children, but Harris is moved by his determination to learn to read. What seems like a feel-good movie, based on a true story, turns unexpectedly dark as we flash back to the elderly man’s experiences as a Mau Mau freedom fighter. Simplistic storytelling brings a Hollywood touch to significant historical material, but the two leads’ sincere performances compensate. | tt0790663 | [PG-13] | Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo, Vusumuzi Michael Kunene, Tony Kgoroge, Israel Sipho Makoe | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| The First Hundred Years | 1938 | Richard Thorpe. | ★★★ | 73 | Chic comedy finds married couple Montgomery and Bruce at a crossroads: should she give up her successful career as a theatrical agent in N.Y.C. when he finally gets a big promotion that necessitates moving to New England? Ahead of its time, though the frivolity peters out before the end. Produced and written by Norman Krasna. | tt0030135 | Robert Montgomery, Virginia Bruce, Warren William, Binnie Barnes, Harry Davenport, Alan Dinehart, Nydia Westman. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| First Kid | 1996 | David Mickey Evans | ★★★ | 101 | Very entertaining Disney comedy about a hang-loose Secret Service agent on the White House detail who gets the worst assignment in town: guarding the President's bratty son. Soon enough, however, he and the boy form a bond. Subplot about a disgruntled ex-agent gets a little intense for a family film, but otherwise this is bull's-eye stuff and a great comic vehicle for Sinbad. | tt0116311 | [PG] | Sinbad, Brock Pierce, Blake Boyd, Timothy Busfield, Art La Fleur, Robert Guillaume, Lisa Eichhorn, James Naughton, Fawn Reed, Zachery Ty Bryan, Bill Cobbs | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| First Knight | 1995 | Jerry Zucker | ★★★ | 132 | Handsome, sweeping, romantic adventure saga that focuses on a love triangle involving King Arthur (Connery), Lady Guinevere (Ormond), and a restless, roving spirit, who lives by his wits, named Lancelot (Gere). Awkward narrative moments (and the casting of a contemporary-sounding American as Lancelot) outweighed by the overall intelligence of William Nicholson's script, John Box's breathtaking production design, Jerry Goldsmith's majestic score, and the splendid performances by Ormond and Connery. Camelot has never looked so magical. | tt0113071 | [PG-13] | Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Ben Cross, Liam Cunningham, Christopher Villiers, Valentine Pelka, Colin McCormack, Ralph Ineson, John Gielgud | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| First Lady | 1937 | Stanley Logan | ★★★ | 82 | Witty adaptation of the acerbic George S. Kaufman- Katherine Dayton play, with Francis as the ambitious wife of the Secretary of State (Foster), whom she's pushing into presidential campaign against corrupt judge Connolly. Not very cinematic, but brightly acted by fine ensemble. | tt0028874 | Kay Francis, Anita Louise, Verree Teasdale, Preston Foster, Walter Connolly, Victor Jory, Louise Fazenda | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The First Legion | 1951 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 86 | Engrossing low-key account of Jesuit priest who is dubious about an alleged miracle occurring in his town. Boyer gives one of his best performances. | tt0043537 | Charles Boyer, William Demarest, Lyle Bettger, Barbara Rush | Drama | NULL | |||
| First Love | 1939 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 84 | Charming Cinderella story of orphaned girl (Durbin) going to live with uncle and finding romance with Stack (in his film debut). Durbin sings 'Amapola' and other songs; her first screen kiss (courtesy Stack) made headlines around the world. | tt0031311 | Deanna Durbin, Robert Stack, Helen Parrish, Eugene Pallette, Leatrice Joy, Marcia Mae Jones, Frank Jenks | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| First Love | 1970 | Maximilian Schell | ★★★ | 90 | Original, often moving story of young lovers is total concept of Schell. While his direction often wanders, his script is extremely good. | tt0065703 | [R] | John Moulder-Brown, Dominique Sanda, Maximilian Schell, John Osborne | British-French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| First Love | 1977 | Joan Darling | ★★ | 92 | Youthful romance between right-thinking college boy and girl who's involved with older man; muddled film with unsatisfying conclusion. | tt0076033 | [R] | William Katt, Susan Dey, John Heard, Beverly D'Angelo, Robert Loggia, Swoosie Kurtz | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| First Love, Last Rites | 1998 | Jesse Peretz | ★★ | 93 | Deadeningly slow story of two young lovers who shack up in a modest apartment on the Louisiana bayou. Feature directorial debut for music-video helmer Peretz has a sensual mood and attractive leads but is devoid of dramatic incident. Only plus: art-rockers Shudder to Think's score, which is meant to evoke old 45 singles. Based on a short story by Ian McEwan. | tt0128214 | [R] | Giovanni Ribisi, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Robert John Burke, Jeannetta Arnette, Donal Logue | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| First Man Into Space | 1959 | Robert Day | ★★ | 77 | Daring pilot, brother of hero, disobeys orders and becomes the title character, returning to Earth a dust-encrusted, blood-drinking monster. Better than it sounds. | tt0052805 | Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Robert Ayres, Bill Nagy, Carl Jaffe, Bill Edwards | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| First Men in the Moon | 1964 | Nathan Juran | ★★★ | 103 | Lavish adaptation of H. G. Wells novel is heavy-handed at times, overloaded with comic relief, but still worthwhile; good Ray Harryhausen special effects. Cameo appearance by Peter Finch. | tt0058100 | Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries, Erik Chitty | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| First Monday in October | 1981 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 98 | Talky but OK adaptation of Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee stage hit about Tracy-and-Hepburn-like clash of wills between first female member of the Supreme Court (a staunch conservative) and the most liberal of her brethren. Lost some of its novelty when it happened for real just before film was released, but still amusing; Paper Chase alum Stephens plays . . . a law clerk. | tt0082382 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh, Barnard Hughes, James Stephens, Jan Sterling, Joshua Bryant | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| First Name: Carmen | 1983 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 85 | Title character is a femme fatale, terrorist, and aspiring filmmaker, and Godard plays her uncle, a famous but 'sick' and 'washed-up' director named Jean-Luc Godard. Funny and compelling, if you like Godard's later work; otherwise, it will seem like a waste of time and celluloid. | tt0086153 | Maruschka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffe, Myriem Roussel, Christophe Odent, Jean-Luc Godard | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| The First Nudie Musical | 1976 | Mark Haggard, Bruce Kimmel | ★★ | 100 | Basically a one-joke idea that wears thin despite an air of amiability: a desperate young filmmaker (Nathan) tries to rescue his studio by making a porno musical, complete with production numbers such as 'Dancing Dildos.' Best contributions come from those who keep their clothes on. Kimmel also scripted and wrote most of the songs. | tt0074533 | [R] | Stephen Nathan, Cindy Williams, Bruce Kimmel, Diana Canova, Alexandra Morgan, Leslie Ackerman | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The First Power | 1990 | Robert Resnikoff | ★½ | 99 | Cat-and-mouse battle between an L.A. cop and the spirit of an executed Devil's disciple who has the ability to pop in and out of other people's bodies. Very weak supernatural horror that fails to frighten, or offer anything fresh. Griffith is Melanie Griffith's half-sister. | tt0099578 | [R] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober, Mykel T. Williamson, Elizabeth Arlen, Dennis Lipscomb | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| First Snow | 2007 | Mark Fergus | ★★½ | 102 | Slick salesman Pearce, who's always looking for the right angles and that elusive “big deal,” consults a palm reader while his car is being repaired-and doesn't get good news about his future. What's more, a boyhood pal has just gotten out of jail and may be looking for him. Pretty good thriller bolstered by a first-rate cast. Written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, two of the writers of CHILDREN OF MEN; Fergus' directorial debut. | tt0432289 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, William Fichtner, J. K. Simmons, Shea Whigham, Rick Gonzalez, Luce Rains, Adam Scott, Jackie Burroughs. | Drama | NULL | ||
| First Spaceship on Venus | 1960 | Kurt Maetzig | ★★ | 78 | Expedition goes to Venus following clues left by alien ship that exploded on Earth years before. They discover war-blasted landscape and still operating machines. Well produced but stilted. International coproduction was cut by an hour in the U.S., explaining the incoherent storyline. From novel by Europe's most significant sci-fi writer, Stanislaw Lem, who repudiated the film. | tt0053250 | Yoko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski, Julius Ongewe | German | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| First Sunday | 2008 | David E. Talbert | ★★ | 98 | Two petty criminals scheme to rob their local church when they need quick cash in order to pay off a debt . . . but they get much more than they bargained for. Jokes mostly fall flat in this all-too-typical vehicle for Ice Cube and company. A couple of genuine laughs are provided by Williams and Morgan. | tt0486578 | [PG-13] | Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan, Loretta Devine, Michael Beach, Keith David, Regina Hall, Malinda Williams, Chi McBride, Clifton Powell, Nicholas Turturro, Olivia Cole | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The First Texan | 1956 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 82 | McCrea is forceful as Sam Houston, leading Texans in fight against Mexico for independence; good action sequences. | tt0049211 | Joel McCrea, Felicia Farr, Jeff Morrow, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| First Time Felon | 1997 | Charles S. Dutton | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Gritty true story of Greg Yance (Epps), a drug-dealing street tough whose life is turned around as a boot-camp inmate and who finds redemption and purpose when pressed into service helping save an Illinois town in the 1993 Mississippi River floods. Dutton, who once served time in the state pen for manslaughter, has a small (unbilled) role as a con who tries to put the first-time felon straight. Written by Daniel Therriault. Made for cable. | tt0119127 | Omar Epps, Delroy Lindo, Rachel Ticotin, Charles S. Dutton, William Forsythe, Justin Pierce, Anthony 'Treach' Criss, Clifton Powell | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The First Time | 1969 | James Neilson | ★½ | 90 | Combination of Ozzie and Harriet and WALK ON THE WILD SIDE concerns a teenager's sexual initiation. Artificial look at adolescence. | tt0064331 | [M] | Jacqueline Bisset, Wes Stern, Rick Kelman, Wink Roberts, Gerard Parkes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The First Time | 1983 | Charlie Loventhal | ★★★ | 95 | Surprisingly intelligent, funny portrait of virginal, movie-loving college freshman Choate. A cut above other films of its type, and a promising debut for young Loventhal, a protégé of Brian De Palma. Aka DOIN' IT. | tt0085546 | [R] | Tim Choate, Krista Errickson, Marshall Efron, Wendy Fulton, Raymond Patterson, Wallace Shawn, Wendie Jo Sperber, Cathryn Damon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The First Traveling Saleslady | 1956 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 92 | Rogers and Channing try to elevate this plodding comedy of girdle-sellers in the old West, but barely succeed. Carol and Clint make one of the oddest couples in screen history. | tt0049212 | Ginger Rogers, Barry Nelson, Carol Channing, David Brian, James Arness, Clint Eastwood | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The First Wives Club | 1996 | Hugh Wilson | ★★½ | 102 | Three college pals meet up years later at a mutual friend's funeral and discover they have something in common: husbands who've dumped (or dumped on) them. Predictable, but still pretty entertaining, thanks to three lively stars and an impressive supporting cast. Diluted from Olivia Goldsmith's novel. Heather Locklear appears unbilled. | tt0116313 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, Maggie Smith, Dan Hedaya, Stockard Channing, Sarah Jessica Parker, Victor Garber, Stephen Collins, Elizabeth Berkley, Marcia Gay Harden, Bronson Pinchot, Jennifer Dundas, Eileen Heckart, Philip Bosco, Rob Reiner, James Naughton, Debra Monk, Kate Burton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| First Yank Into Tokyo | 1945 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 82 | Low-budget quickie made to be topical isn't so anymore, and it's not too good either; Neal undergoes plastic surgery, poses as Japanese soldier to help captured American atomic scientist escape. Of note as the first Hollywood film to acknowledge the existence of nuclear firepower. | tt0037701 | Tom Neal, Barbara Hale, Marc Cramer, Richard Loo, Keye Luke, Leonard Strong, Benson Fong | War | NULL | |||
| The First Year | 1926 | Frank Borzage. | ★★★ | 67 | Sensitive and perceptive comedy-drama about the problems that befall newlyweds Moore and Perry during their first year of marriage. A disastrous dinner party scene is a gem. Sweet silent film is one of its director's minor works, but charming nonetheless. From a play by Frank Craven. Remade in 1932. | tt0016875 | Matt Moore, Kathryn Perry, John Patrick, Frank Currier, Frank Cooley, Virginia Madison, J. Farrell MacDonald. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| First to Fight | 1967 | Christian Nyby | ★★½ | 97 | Conventional WW2 yarn with Everett the one-time hero who almost loses his courage on the battlefield. | tt0061667 | Chad Everett, Marilyn Devin, Dean Jagger, Bobby Troup, Claude Akins, Gene Hackman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Firstborn | 1984 | Michael Apted | ★★ | 103 | Divorced mom is doing her best to raise two sons— until she lets her latest boyfriend (a real lout) move into the house and take over. Credible, if unappealing, drama leads to repellent conclusion, à la DEATH WISH, putting to waste the film's good qualities and performances. | tt0087263 | [PG-13] | Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Corey Haim, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Downey/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Fish Called Wanda | 1988 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 108 | Funny farce about an uptight British barrister who becomes involved with a sexy con artist (Curtis), her mindlessly macho boyfriend (Kline), and their ambitious bank robbery and getaway scheme. Cleese's script includes enough bad-taste gags to either repel or delight his audience, depending on one's personal point of view. Kline won an Oscar for his flamboyant comic performance. The cast later reunited for FIERCE CREATURES. | tt0095159 | [R] | John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin, Maria Aitken, Tom Georgeson, Patricia Hayes, Geoffrey Palmer | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Fish Hawk | 1980 | Donald Shebib | ★★ | 95 | Bland family film about an alcoholic Indian who tries to mend his ways— and becomes a companion to an impressionable young farm boy. This is the kind of unchallenging, inoffensive fare that gives G-rated movies a bad reputation. | tt0080740 | [G] | Will Sampson, Charlie Fields, Geoffrey Bowes, Mary Pirle, Don Francks, Chris Wiggins | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Fish Tank | 2009 | Andrea Arnold | ★★★½ | 122 | Testy teen Jarvis, prone to mood swings equally volatile and credible, wonders if a flair for hip-hop dancing can spring her from a nondescript Essex housing block. She's also in a subtle but escalating sexual competition with her eye-catching mom. Emotionally raw and gripping, even as it cracks the two-hour mark, this really kicks into gear with the appearance of mom's attractive lover (Fassbender), who genuinely cares for the girl but may also care in ways that will add to already hothouse living conditions. Jarvis, who'd never acted before, is quite remarkable. Written by the director. | tt1232776 | Unrated | Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing, Harry Treadaway, Rebecca Griffiths, Sydney Mary Nash | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh | 1979 | Gilbert Moses | ★½ | 102 | Losing basketball team tries astrology to put them in winners' circle; low-grade comedy with disco soundtrack. Game hijinks are only saving grace. | tt0079154 | [PG] | Julius Erving, James Bond III, Stockard Channing, Jonathan Winters, Margaret Avery, Jack Kehoe, Meadowlark Lemon, Nicholas Pryor, Flip Wilson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Fisher King | 1991 | Terry Gilliam | ★★★ | 137 | Expansive, emotional fable of a smart-aleck, self-absorbed radio personality driven into a deep funk by an unexpected tragedy— and his unlikely rescue by a strange street vigilante who's in desperate need of rescue himself. Unusual and absorbing, both comic and tender, this takes the viewer on quite a journey. Ruehl won Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Bridges' girlfriend. Look fast for Kathy Najimy. Written by Richard LaGravenese. | tt0101889 | [R] | Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, Michael Jeter, Harry Shearer, John de Lancie, David Hyde Pierce | Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Fist in His Pocket | 1966 | Marco Bellocchio | ★★★★ | 105 | Brilliant one-of-a-kind about a mad family of epileptics whose protagonist kills his mother and drowns his younger brother, while his sis merely settles for repressed incest. One of the great, if largely unheralded, foreign films of the 60s, with Castel more than up to the demands of the difficult role. | tt0059619 | Lou Castel, Paola Pitagora, Marino Masé, Liliana Gerace, Pier Luigi Troglio | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fist of Fear, Touch of Death | Dragon and the Cobra | 1980 | Matthew Mallinson | ★½ | 90 | Boring chop-socky film chronicling the happenings at a Madison Square Garden martial arts tournament. Highlighted are short clips of legendary Bruce Lee. Aka DRAGON AND THE COBRA. | tt0080741 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Ron Van Clief, Adolph Caesar, Aaron Banks, Bill Louis | Action | NULL | |
| Fistful of Dollars | Per un pugno di dollari | 1964 | Sergio Leone | ★★★ | 100 | Sagebrush remake of YOJIMBO single-handedly invented the 'spaghetti Western,' made an international superstar of Eastwood, and boosted the careers of Leone and composer Ennio Morricone as well. Clint plays the laconic Man With No Name, a tough gunslinger manipulating (and manipulated by!) two rival families warring over small frontier town. Amusing, violent, and very stylish. Released in the U.S. in 1967. Sequel: FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. | tt0058461 | Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Mario Brega, Carol Brown | Italian | Action, Western | NULL | |
| Fists of Fury | 1971 | Lo Wei | ★★ | 103 | Lee, in his initial Kung Fu actioner, plays a young fellow who takes a job in an ice house, and discovers his boss is a drug smuggler. Feeble. Original title: THE BIG BOSS. | tt0067824 | [R] | Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, Han Ying Chieh, Tony Liu, Miao Ker Hsiu | Hong Kong | Action | NULL | |
| Fit for a King | 1937 | Edward Sedgwick. | ★★½ | 73 | Somewhat better than usual vehicle for Brown, as a N.Y. Blade office boy who plays cub reporter and covers a royal assassination plot against a visiting archduke. Among the set pieces are Brown in frilly drag as a maid and a big chase finale. Good supporting cast elevates silly material. Remake of I'LL TELL THE WORLD (1933). | tt0028876 | Joe E. Brown, Helen Mack, Paul Kelly, Harry Davenport, Halliwell Hobbes, John Qualen. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fitzcarraldo | 1982 | Werner Herzog | ★★★★ | 157 | Vivid, fascinating portrait of a man obsessed (made by a man obsessed— see BURDEN OF DREAMS) who's determined to capture a shipping route on the Amazon, even though it means hauling a boat over a mountaintop, through hostile tribal territory. Then he's going to bring in grand opera! Astonishing and captivating movie, in spite of its length; admittedly not to everyone's taste. | tt0083946 | [PG] | Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jose Lewgoy, Miguel Angel Fuentes, Paul Hittscher | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Fitzwilly | 1967 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 102 | Ordinary fluff about butler who has to rob Gimbel's on Christmas Eve to save his employer. Van Dyke's screen career was hurt by too many films like this one. This was Feldon's film debut. | tt0061669 | Dick Van Dyke, Barbara Feldon, Edith Evans, John McGiver, Harry Townes, John Fiedler, Norman Fell, Cecil Kellaway, Sam Waterston | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Five | 1951 | Arch Oboler | ★★★ | 93 | Intriguing, offbeat film by famed radio writer-director Oboler about the survivors of an atomic holocaust. Talky (and sometimes given to purple prose) but interesting. Filmed in and around Oboler's Frank Lloyd Wright house. | tt0043539 | William Phipps, Susan Douglas, James Anderson, Charles Lampkin, Earl Lee | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Five Came Back | 1939 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 75 | This sleeper shows its age a bit, but remains interesting for colorful character studies among passengers on plane downed in headhunter-infested Amazon jungle. Remade by Farrow as BACK FROM ETERNITY. | tt0031314 | Chester Morris, Lucille Ball, Wendy Barrie, John Carradine, Allen Jenkins, Joseph Calleia, C. Aubrey Smith, Patric Knowles | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Five Corners | 1988 | Tony Bill | ★★★ | 92 | Moody piece about young people whose lives converge in a Bronx neighborhood in 1964. One of them, just released from prison, stirs trouble for the others. Unexpectedly melodramatic but potent and believable . . . and seemingly the only 1960s period film not to use oldies to evoke the era. James Newton Howard's moody score is much more effective, anyway. Written by John Patrick Shanley. | tt0093029 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins, Todd Graff, John Turturro, Elizabeth Berridge, Rose Gregorio, Gregory Rozakis, John Seitz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Five Day Lover | 1961 | Philippe De Broca | ★★★ | 86 | Perceptive, flavorful bedroom comedy featuring Seberg as a bored housewife-mother who has an affair with Cassel, who's being kept by her friend (Presle). | tt0054621 | Jean Seberg, Micheline Presle, Jean-Pierre Cassel, François Périer | French-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Five Days One Summer | 1982 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★ | 108 | Middle-aged man brings a young woman— ostensibly his wife— on Swiss vacation in the early 1930s where their hesitant relationship is explored against the natural drama of mountain climbing. Adaptation of a Kay Boyle story doesn't come off, despite impeccable production. Slow, ethereal, ultimately unsatisfying. Edited to 93m. for TV by Zinnemann (his final film). | tt0083947 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Betsy Brantley, Lambert Wilson, Jennifer Hilary, Isabel Dean, Gerald Buhr, Anna Massey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Five Days from Home | 1978 | George Peppard | ★★ | 109 | Peppard breaks out of Louisiana prison, determined to reach L.A. and see his hospitalized son. Well-intentioned but improbable film. | tt0077557 | [PG] | George Peppard, Neville Brand, Savannah Smith, Sherry Boucher, Victor Campos, Robert Donner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Five Easy Pieces | 1970 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★★ | 98 | Brilliant character study of musician with great promise who gave up a career to work on an oil rig. Nicholson's performance is superb, but Black, Anspach, Smith, and Bush all contribute heavily. Helena Kallianiotes is hilarious as a malcontent hitchhiker; this is the film with Jack's famous 'chicken salad sandwich' speech. Beautifully written by Adrien Joyce (Carole Eastman). | tt0065724 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg, Susan Anspach, Sally Struthers, Ralph Waite, Lois Smith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Five Finger Exercise | 1962 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 109 | Peter Shaffer's play suffers from change of locale and alteration of original ideas; now it becomes embarrassing soap opera of possessive mother in love with daughter's tutor. Stars are miscast but try their best. | tt0055987 | Rosalind Russell, Jack Hawkins, Maximilian Schell, Richard Beymer, Lana Wood, Annette Gorman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Five Fingers of Death | 1973 | Cheng Chang Ho | ★½ | 102 | Only interesting in that it is the Kung Fu film that began the craze in America. Family honor defended with every part of the body except the mouth, which is horrendously dubbed. | tt0070800 | [R] | Lo Lieh, Wang Ping, Wang Ching-Feng | Chinese | Action | NULL | |
| Five Gates to Hell | 1959 | James Clavell | ★½ | 98 | Overly melodramatic plot of American nurses captured by Chinese mercenaries and the various ordeals they undergo. | tt0052808 | Neville Brand, Benson Fong, Shirley Knight, Ken Scott, John Morley, Dolores Michaels, Nancy Kulp, Irish McCalla | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Five Golden Dragons | 1967 | Jeremy Summers | ★★ | 93 | Cummings is naive American caught up in international crime in Hong Kong; conventional actioner. | tt0061670 | Bob Cummings, Margaret Lee, Maria Perschy, Brian Donlevy, Christopher Lee, George Raft, Dan Duryea | British | Action | NULL | ||
| Five Golden Hours | 1961 | Mario Zampi | ★★ | 90 | Con man Kovacs fleeces wealthy widows, but his luck is sure to change after falling for Charisse, whose husband has just died. Limp comedy wastes the talents of its cast. | tt0054877 | Ernie Kovacs, Cyd Charisse, George Sanders, Kay Hammond, Dennis Price, Finlay Currie, Ron Moody | British-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Five Graves To Cairo | 1943 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 96 | WW2 intrigue situated in Sahara oasis hotel run by Tamiroff and Baxter; Tone attempts to obtain secrets from visiting Field Marshal Rommel (von Stroheim). Billy Wilder-Charles Brackett script manages to incorporate wit and humor into genuinely exciting wartime yarn. A remake of HOTEL IMPERIAL. | tt0035884 | Franchot Tone, Anne Baxter, Akim Tamiroff, Erich von Stroheim, Peter Van Eyck, Fortunio Bonanova | Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Five Guns West | 1955 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 78 | Fair Corman Western, which he coscripted, about a group of Rebel soldiers who hold up a Yankee stagecoach. This was Corman's first film as director. | tt0048078 | John Lund, Dorothy Malone, Touch (Mike) Connors, Jack Ingram | Western | NULL | |||
| The Five Heartbeats | 1991 | Robert Townsend | ★★★ | 120 | Corny but entertaining saga of a 1960s singing group's rise to fame; loosely based on R&B group The Dells. Awfully predictable, but star/director/cowriter Townsend and his cast are so likable they make up for it. The scene in which a youthful belter named Tressa Thomas helps Townsend piece together a song on the spot is worth the price of admission. Coscripted by Keenen Ivory Wayans. | tt0101891 | [R] | Robert Townsend, Michael Wright, Leon, Harry J. Lennix, Tico Wells, Diahann Carroll, Harold Nicholas, John Canada Terrell, Chuck Patterson, Hawthorne James, Paul Benjamin | Musical, Drama | NULL | ||
| Five Miles to Midnight | 1962 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 110 | Jumbled murder mystery with Perkins convincing wife Loren to collect insurance money when it's thought he's been killed, with ironic results. | tt0056957 | Tony Perkins, Sophia Loren, Gig Young, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Pascale Roberts | Drama | NULL | |||
| Five Million Years to Earth | Quatermass and the Pit | 1968 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 98 | Workers unearth spaceship and remains of alien crew in modern-day London. Good cast, great script complications, and suspense in fine example of what can be done on meager budget. Only subject matter will turn some viewers off. Originally released as QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, and superior to the earlier QUATERMASS films, known in the U.S. as THE CREEPING UNKNOWN and ENEMY FROM SPACE. Followed by QUATERMASS CONCLUSION. | tt0062168 | James Donald, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Julian Glover, Maurice Good, Duncan Lamont | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Five Minutes of Heaven | 2009 | Oliver Hirschbiegel | ★★★ | 90 | Television producers set up a "reconciliation meeting" between a onetime teenage IRA gunman and the younger brother of his victim, who witnessed the cold-blooded murder more than thirty years ago. It turns out both men have been haunted by that act of violence ever since. As potent as a punch in the gut but thoughtful and unpredictable, with great performances by Neeson and Nesbitt. Film also handily skewers the manipulative nature of reality television. Guy Hibbert's screenplay is based on real-life characters. | tt1238291 | Unrated | Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinco, Richard Dormer, Mark Davison, Kevin O'Neill | Irish-British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Five Obstructions | 2003 | Jorgen Leth, Lars von Trier. | ★★★ | 88 | Unusual, stimulating semidocumentary in which von Trier mischievously dares his former teacher, Danish filmmaker Leth, to remake THE PERFECT HUMAN, a 12m. film he directed in 1967, with a proviso: Leth must create several versions, each with a different set of restrictions (or 'obstructions') concocted by von Trier. Not for all tastes, but noteworthy as an exploration of the varying styles filmmakers employ and the artistic choices they make. | tt0354575 | Unrated | Danish-Swiss-Belgian-French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Five Pennies | 1959 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 117 | Danny plays jazz trumpeter Red Nichols in this sentimental biography. Only bright spots are musical numbers, especially duets with Kaye and Armstrong. | tt0052809 | Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tuesday Weld, Louis Armstrong, Bob Crosby, Harry Guardino, Ray Anthony, Shelley Manne, Bobby Troup | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Five Senses | 1999 | Jeremy Podeswa | ★★★ | 104 | Intricately woven comedy-drama centers on the inhabitants of an office/apartment building in Toronto. Though the interconnected stories deal individually with the five senses, they're never tricky or schematic, but instead revealing, amusing, and moving. | tt0168794 | [R] | Mary-Louise Parker, Pascale Bussieres, Richard Clarkin, Brendan Fletcher, Marco Leonardi, Nadia Litz, Daniel MacIvor | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Five Star Final | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 89 | Powerful drama of sensationalist newspaper sometimes falls apart with bad acting by second leads, but editor Robinson and unscrupulous reporter Karloff make it a must. Remade as TWO AGAINST THE WORLD. | tt0021873 | Edward G. Robinson, H. B. Warner, Marian Marsh, George E. Stone, Ona Munson, Boris Karloff, Aline MacMahon | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Five Steps to Danger | 1957 | Henry S. Kesler | ★★ | 80 | By-now clichéd spy drama, enhanced by Roman and Hayden. | tt0050087 | Ruth Roman, Sterling Hayden, Werner Klemperer, Richard Gaines | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Five Weeks in a Balloon | 1962 | Irwin Allen | ★★½ | 101 | Innocuous entertainment with formula script from Jules Verne tale of balloon expedition to Africa. Buoyed by fine cast, including veterans Billy Gilbert, Herbert Marshall, Reginald Owen, Henry Daniell. | tt0055988 | Red Buttons, Barbara Eden, Fabian, Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lorre, Richard Haydn, Barbara Luna | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Five on the Black Hand Side | 1973 | Oscar Williams | ★★½ | 96 | Black family comedy about patriarchal barber was once refreshing amidst many black exploitation films, now seems foolish. | tt0070063 | [PG] | Clarice Taylor, Leonard Jackson, Virginia Capers, D'Urville Martin, Glynn Turman, Godfrey Cambridge | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Five-Year Engagement | 2012 | Nicholas Stoller | ★★★ | 124 | San Francisco sous chef proposes to his girlfriend, but their wedding is repeatedly put on hold. Then she gets a chance to further her academic career in snowy Ann Arbor, Michigan, and he agrees to accompany her, even though he'll be sacrificing his professional plans. Long, leisurely paced comedy with serious undertones explores a relationship's many fluctuations over five years' time with more nuance and honesty than you might expect from a raunchy R-rated film. Segel and Blunt are completely credible, and surrounded by funny supporting characters. Segel scripted with director Stoller. | tt1195478 | [R] | Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, Kevin Hart, Mindy Kaling, Randall Park, Brian Posehn, Chris Parnell, Jacki Weaver, Kumail Nanjiani, Dakota Johnson, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Molly Shannon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Fixed Bayonets! | 1951 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 92 | Taut Korean War drama of platoon cut off from the rest of its outfit; typical tough Fuller production. James Dean is one of the soldiers. | tt0043540 | Richard Basehart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea, Richard Hylton, Craig Hill | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Fixer | 1968 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 132 | Good acting helps, but Bernard Malamud's acclaimed novel fails on the screen; story of unjustly imprisoned Jewish handyman in turn-of-the-century Russia concerns itself too much with the thoughts of its main character to be effective as film. | tt0062977 | [M] | Alan Bates, Dirk Bogarde, Georgia Brown, Hugh Griffith, Ian Holm, Jack Gilford, Elizabeth Hartman, David Warner, Carol White | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fixer | 1998 | Charles Robert Carner | Average TV Movie | 95 | Voight plays Chicago ward heeler, a political mover and shaker who can get things done for a price and 'fix any situation,' but comes to reassess his life following a near fatal accident. Voight executive-produced; actor-director Tony Bill was one of the producers and has a small role as a big-ticket lawyer. Made for cable. | tt0144926 | Jon Voight, Brenda Bakke, J. J. Johnston, Miguel Sandoval, Jack Wallace, Barbara Gordon, Sara Botsford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flags Of Our Fathers | 2006 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★½ | 131 | Intimate, involving portrait of the men who landed on Iwo Jima island in 1945, encountered death and unspeakable horrors, raised the U.S. flag, then were labeled heroes and put on display for a U.S. bond-selling tour. Told in flashback as the son of one such man-who came home and never spoke about his experiences-goes in search of his father's story. Stirring, sad, often profound in its simplicity and directness, with a hellish depiction of combat one didn't see in WW2 movies of the 1940s. Well cast and crafted on every level. Reeves, who has a small part as a Marine, is Eastwood's son. Screenplay by William Broyles, Jr., and Paul Haggis, from the book by James Bradley with Ron Powers. Produced by Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz. Followed by LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. | tt0418689 | [R] | Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, John Benjamin Hickey, John Slattery, Barry Pepper, Jamie Bell, Paul Walker, Robert Patrick, Neal McDonough, Melanie Lynskey, Tom McCarthy, Chris Bauer, Judith Ivey, Joseph Cross, Scott Reeves, David Patrick Kelly, Beth Grant, Jon Polito, Gordon Clapp, Tom Verica, David Clennon, David Rasche, Jason Gray-Stanford, George Grizzard, Harve Presnell, George Hearn, Len Cariou | Action, Drama, History, War | NULL | ||
| The Flame Barrier | 1958 | Paul Landres. | ★½ | 70 | A satellite downed in jungle is discovered embedded in an ultra-hot alien organism. Fair cast tries hard in ineffectual story. | tt0051618 | Arthur Franz, Kathleen Crowley, Robert Brown, Vincent Padula. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Flame Over India | Northwest Frontier | 1959 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 130 | Fast-paced actioner set on northern frontier of India as British soldiers and governess Bacall seek to speed an Indian prince to safety aboard a run-down train. Originally titled NORTH WEST FRONTIER. | tt0053126 | Lauren Bacall, Kenneth More, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Flame Within | 1935 | Edmund Goulding | ★★ | 71 | Tired story of unrequited love. Young woman psychiatrist falls in love with patient, despite fact that she knows that it could never succeed. | tt0026363 | Ann Harding, Herbert Marshall, Maureen O'Sullivan, Louis Hayward | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Flame and the Arrow | 1950 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 88 | Bouncy, colorful action with Lancaster romping through his gymnastics as rebel leader in medieval Italy leading his people on to victory. Mayo is gorgeous heroine. | tt0042464 | Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Robert Douglas, Aline MacMahon, Nick Cravat | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Flame and the Flesh | 1954 | Richard Brooks | ★★ | 104 | Pointless Turner vehicle filmed in Europe involving brunette Lana being romanced by continental Thompson, which causes a lot of misery. | tt0046982 | Lana Turner, Pier Angeli, Carlos Thompson, Bonar Colleano, Charles Goldner, Peter Illing | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flame of Araby | 1951 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 77 | O'Hara, looking fetching as ever, rides through this costumer of the Far East, involving battle over a prize horse. | tt0043542 | Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler, Maxwell Reed, Susan Cabot | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Flame of New Orleans | 1941 | René Clair | ★★★ | 78 | Dietrich can have her pick of any man in New Orleans, can't decide between wealthy Young or hard-working Cabot. Picturesque, entertaining. Clair's first American film. | tt0033606 | Marlene Dietrich, Bruce Cabot, Roland Young, Laura Hope Crews, Mischa Auer, Andy Devine | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Flame of Stamboul | 1951 | Ray Nazarro. | ★½ | 68 | U.S. spy Denning tries to nab villain Zucco in this substandard programmer about espionage in the ancient title city. | tt0043543 | Richard Denning, Lisa Ferraday, Norman Lloyd, Nestor Paiva, George Zucco. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flame of the Barbary Coast | 1945 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 91 | Hick rancher Wayne competes with slick Schildkraut for savvy saloon singer Dvorak; undemanding fluff, with Republic Pictures' version of the San Francisco earthquake. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037702 | John Wayne, Ann Dvorak, Joseph Schildkraut, William Frawley, Virginia Grey | Western | NULL | |||
| Flame of the Islands | 1955 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 90 | Caribbean scenery and sultry De Carlo provide most of the spice in this tale of a cafe singer and the men who fall in love with her. | tt0048079 | Yvonne De Carlo, Howard Duff, Zachary Scott, Kurt Kasznar, Barbara O'Neil | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Flame | 1947 | John H. Auer | ★★ | 97 | Routine story of woman falling in love with intended victim of blackmail plot. | tt0039386 | Vera Ralston, John Carroll, Robert Paige, Broderick Crawford, Henry Travers, Constance Dowling | Crime | NULL | |||
| Flamenco | 1995 | Carlos Saura | ★★★½ | 100 | Saura's love of flamenco saturates this ecstatic, beautifully made performance film featuring flamenco singers, dancers, and guitarists of all ages, the best of whom are nothing short of dazzling. There are neither subtitles nor dialogue— and none are needed! | tt0113077 | Spanish | Musical | NULL | |||
| Flaming Feather | 1951 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 77 | Rousing Western as vigilantes rescue white woman from renegade Indians. | tt0043544 | Sterling Hayden, Forrest Tucker, Barbara Rush, Arleen Whelan | Western | NULL | |||
| Flaming Frontier | 1958 | Sam Newfield. | ★½ | 70 | Indian war is averted by half-breed army officer; very cheap Western. | tt0051619 | Bruce Bennett, Jim Davis, Paisley Maxwell, Cecil Linder, Peter Humphreys. | Canadian | Western | NULL | ||
| Flaming Star | 1960 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 91 | Elvis is excellent as a half-breed Indian who must choose sides when his mother's people go on the warpath. No songs after the first ten minutes but lots of action; along with JAILHOUSE ROCK, Presley's best film. | tt0053825 | Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Dolores Del Rio, John McIntire | Western | NULL | |||
| The Flamingo Kid | 1984 | Garry Marshall | ★★★ | 100 | Very likable film set in 1963, about a Brooklyn boy from a working-class family whose head is turned by a slick sharpie who holds court at the beach club where he works. Crenna scores a bull's-eye as the fat cat (and catches a glimpse of himself in The Real McCoys while testing his remote control TV in one scene). Nice coming-of-age story written by Neal Marshall (no relation to director). Tomei's film debut. | tt0087265 | [PG-13] | Matt Dillon, Richard Crenna, Hector Elizondo, Jessica Walter, Fisher Stevens, Janet Jones, Bronson Pinchot, Martha Gehman, Brian McNamara, Steven Weber, Eric Douglas, Marisa Tomei, Tracy Reiner, John Turturro | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Flamingo Road | 1949 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 94 | Crawford is excellent as tough carnival dancer ditched in small town where she soon is loving Scott and Brian and matching wits with corrupt politician Greenstreet. Remade as TVM in 1980, which later spun off a TV series. | tt0041373 | Joan Crawford, Zachary Scott, Sydney Greenstreet, David Brian, Gertrude Michael, Gladys George | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Flanders | 2006 | Bruno Dumont | ★★★ | 91 | Pretty teen Leroux loves farmer Boidin, but he is unable to reciprocate her feelings, driving her into the arms of another. He goes off to war and she becomes pregnant. Compelling, vividly etched portrait of the cruelty of war and human existence, featuring inarticulate characters who are incapable of thinking or controlling their lives. Punctuated by jarring scenes of passionless, animalistic sex and senseless violence. Written by the director. | tt0450680 | Adélaïde Leroux, Samuel Boidin, Henri Cretel, Jean-Marie Bruveart, David Poulain | French | Drama, War, Action | NULL | ||
| Flannel Pajamas | 2006 | Jeff Lipsky | ★★★ | 124 | Two people meet, fall madly in love, get married, and almost immediately find that their diverging personalities are tearing the relationship apart. Intelligent, engaging character study with good performances and many moments that ring true, but the couple's transition from blissful to wildly dysfunctional seems implausibly quick. | tt0432290 |
|
Justin Kirk, Julianne Nicholson, Rebecca Schull, Jamie Harrold, Chelsea Altman | Romance | NULL | ||
| Flap | 1970 | Carol Reed | ★★ | 106 | Uneven story of Indian outcast Quinn. You're supposed to pity Flapping Eagle, but script is so weak that the chances are you won't. At times funny, but supposedly tragic. | tt0065726 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Claude Akins, Tony Bill, Victor Jory, Shelley Winters | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Flareup | 1969 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 100 | Go-go dancer gets stalked from Las Vegas to L.A. by psychopathic ex-husband of friend who blames her for breakup of the marriage. Fast melodrama is helped by good location footage. | tt0064333 | [M] | Raquel Welch, James Stacy, Luke Askew, Don Chastain, Ron Rifkin, Jean Byron | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Flash Gordon | 1980 | Mike Hodges | ★★★ | 110 | Updated version of comic strip is better than expected, thanks to eye-filling production/costume design by Danilo Donati, amusing rock score by Queen. Jones and Anderson are liabilities as Flash and Dale Arden, but Muti's evil Princess Aura (who would make any male stray from Right) leads a strong supporting cast. | tt0080745 | [PG] | Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Topol, Max von Sydow, Ornella Muti, Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton, Mariangela Melato | Fantasy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Flash and the Firecat | 1975 | Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian | ★½ | 84 | Road-company Bonnie and Clyde try for one big heist; film's only novelty is the characters' use of dune buggies for transportation. | tt0072995 | [PG] | Roger Davis, Tricia Sembera, Dub Taylor, Richard Kiel, Joan Shawlee, Philip Bruns | Action | NULL | ||
| Flash of Genius | 2008 | Marc Abraham | ★★½ | 120 | In the 1960s Detroit science teacher and inventor Robert Kearns (Kinnear) pitches his intermittent windshield washer to the Ford Motor Company. When they steal the invention he becomes obsessed with seeing justice done—and sacrifices everything (including his wife and six children) to that end. A true-life David and Goliath story with a twist: David isn’t very likable. Interesting for a while, with good period flavor, but wears thin as we lose rooting interest. | tt1054588 | [PG-13] | Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney, Jake Abel, Daniel Roebuck, Tim Kelleher, Bill Smitrovitch, Alan Alda, Mitch Pileggi | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Flash of Green | 1984 | Victor Nunez | ★★ | 131 | Reporter in a small Florida coastal town gets in over his head when he plays footsie with a scheming county commissioner who's behind a shady land-fill development racket. Capable performances and refreshingly offbeat subject matter are eventually negated by overlength and plot redundancies. Made for American Playhouse and produced by costar Jordan. Based on John D. MacDonald's book. | tt0087267 | Ed Harris, Blair Brown, Richard Jordan, George Coe, Helen Stenborg, John Glover | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flashback | 1990 | Franco Amurri | ★½ | 108 | Young straight-arrow FBI agent (Sutherland) is ordered to transport a recently captured 'underground' political fugitive to the scene of his '60s crime— disruption of a Spiro Agnew rally. Enervatingly predictable until its (surprisingly) bloody climax. Masur and McKean, who seem to be winging it, amuse as onetime political activists now trapped in a middle-class environment. | tt0099581 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Kiefer Sutherland, Carol Kane, Cliff De Young, Paul Dooley, Michael McKean, Richard Masur | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Flashbacks of a Fool | 2008 | Baillie Walsh | ★★½ | 114 | Adult male’s emotional age is stunted when, at 15, a traumatic event causes him to run away from home. Craig is on the mark as the now-successful Hollywood star who’s boozing, womanizing, and drugging himself into oblivion. May stands out among a cast of top-notch actors. Scripted by Walsh, whose quiet, compelling direction helps give this soap-opera tale added dimension. | tt1037218 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Jodhi May, Claire Forlani, Harry Eden, Olivia Williams, Miriam Karlin, Mark Strong | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Flashdance | 1983 | Adrian Lyne | ★★½ | 96 | How to turn a rock video into a feature film— with glitzy images, high energy, an arresting music score (principally by Giorgio Moroder), and the stupidest story this side of Busby Berkeley. Still, this concoction about a girl with the perfect fantasy life (macho welder by day, sexy dancer by night, courted by the rich and handsome boss, watched over by a patron-saint ballerina) was a smash. Title song won an Oscar. | tt0085549 | [R] | Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia Skala, Sunny Johnson, Kyle T. Heffner, Lee Ving, Ron Karabatsos, Belinda Bauer, Cynthia Rhodes, Liz Sagal, Robert Wuhl | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Flashpoint | 1984 | William Tannen | ★★ | 94 | Two maverick Texas Border Patrol officers stumble into volatile territory when they discover a cache of money that figures in a long-dormant mystery. Intriguing overall premise (and good cast) defeated by uninteresting presentation. Bonus: the worst title song of 1984 (sung over closing credits). | tt0087268 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Treat Williams, Rip Torn, Kevin Conway, Miguel Ferrer, Jean Smart, Roberts Blossom, Tess Harper | Action, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Flat Top | 1952 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 83 | Well-paced WW2 film of training of aircraft-carrier fighter pilots. Film integrates news footage successfully. | tt0044621 | Sterling Hayden, Richard Carlson, Bill Phipps, Keith Larsen | War | NULL | |||
| Flatliners | 1990 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 105 | Offbeat but sophomoric supernatural drama (with touches of horror and humor) about medical students experimenting with life after death. Slick camerawork and effects can't camouflage the superficiality of the script, which undermines an intriguing idea. | tt0099582 | [R] | Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, Kimberly Scott | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Flawless | 1999 | Joel Schumacher | ★★ | 110 | N.Y.C. cop suffers a stroke, and gets speech therapy lessons from the unlikeliest source imaginable, a drag queen he can't stand who happens to live in the same apartment house. Meanwhile, a local crimelord is searching for stolen money that's stashed somewhere in the building. Overlong, overplotted film (written by Schumacher) is kept afloat by the talent of its stars, De Niro and Hoffman. | tt0155711 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Miller, Chris Bauer, Skipp Sudduth, Daphne Rubin-Vega | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flawless | 2008 | Michael Radford | ★★½ | 108 | In the kind of film he could have made in the ’60s (and did, only better), Caine’s latest gambit finds him as a janitor who decides his retirement gift from the London Diamond Corp. should involve some of their product. He enlists an underappreciated female exec at the office to help him with the heist. Caine could do this in his sleep but he’s still fun to watch; Moore has learned a lot about acting since she played Caine’s daughter in 1984’s BLAME IT ON RIO. A pleasant enough diversion. | tt1338597 | [PG-13] | Michael Caine, Demi Moore, Lambert Wilson, Nathaniel Parker, Shaughan Seymour, Nicholas Jones, David Barras, Joss Ackland | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Flaxy Martin | 1949 | Richard L. Bare | ★★½ | 86 | Smooth melodrama of lawyer framed by client on a murder charge. | tt0041374 | Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, Tom D'Andrea, Helen Westcott, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Flea in Her Ear | 1968 | Jacques Charon | ★★ | 94 | Unfunny farce about philandering barrister. Some of the slapstick gags go on interminably. | tt0062978 | [M] | Rex Harrison, Rosemary Harris, Louis Jourdan, Rachel Roberts | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Fled | 1996 | Kevin Hooks | ★½ | 98 | Fishburne and Baldwin escape prison chained together in DEFIANT ONES style, leading to an extended chase that involves trains, trucks, cycles, cable cars, and the clichéd like. Self-conscious movie references abound in a story dealing with a secret computer disk that has the goods on a Cuban mobster. Final gag isn't that great, but it's the best thing in the movie. | tt0116320 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Stephen Baldwin, Will Patton, Robert John Burke, Salma Hayek, Michael Nader, David Dukes, Brittney Powell, RuPaul, Taurean Blacque | Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Fleet's In | 1942 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★★ | 93 | Bouncy wartime musical with reputed romeo Holden trying to melt iceberg Lamour. Sensational score (composed by director Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer) includes 'Tangerine,' 'I Remember You,' and 'Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry.' Feature debuts of Hutton (in a hilarious performance that made her an instant star) and Daley. Previously filmed as TRUE TO THE NAVY and LADY BE CAREFUL; remade as SAILOR BEWARE. | tt0034736 | Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, Betty Jane Rhodes, Leif Erickson, Cass Daley, Gil Lamb, Barbara Britton, Rod Cameron, Lorraine and Rognan, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra, Bob Eberly, Helen O'Connell | Musical | NULL | |||
| Flesh | 1932 | John Ford | ★★★ | 95 | Unusual, melancholy drama with Beery as simple-minded German wrestler in love with Morley— who tries to hide her shady relationship with no-good Cortez. | tt0022897 | Wallace Beery, Karen Morley, Ricardo Cortez, Jean Hersholt, Herman Bing, John Miljan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flesh & Blood | 1951 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★ | 102 | Turbulent study of generations of family life, focusing on clashes and romances of parents and children. Set in Scotland. | tt0042465 | Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, Joan Greenwood, Andre Morell, Freda Jackson, James Hayter, George Cole, Michael Hordern | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flesh + Blood | 1985 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★ | 126 | Rowdy adventure set in 16th century: Leigh is betrothed to young Prince Burlinson but falls into clutches of Hauer and his motley band of warriors. Plenty of flesh and blood, but it's all rather foul and nasty; Verhoeven (in his first American English-language effort) does score points for sheer audaciousness. Aka THE ROSE AND THE SWORD. | tt0089153 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson, Jack Thompson, Susan Tyrrell, Ronald Lacey, Brion James, Bruno Kirby | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Flesh Eaters | 1964 | Jack Curtis | ★½ | 87 | Group trapped on island with deranged scientist is menaced by tiny but plentiful sea creatures that eventually mass to make one giant monster. Occasionally tense, but gruesome and generally boring. Longer version on video. | tt0058101 | Martin Kosleck, Rita Morley, Byron Sanders, Barbara Wilkin | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Flesh Feast | 1970 | B. F. Grinter | 💣 | 72 | Lake's final film (which she coproduced) is embarrassing, amateurish gorefest. As a mad scientist working on rejuvenation, she tortures Hitler to death at film's climax (maggots eat at his face in close-up), then addresses us directly, shouting a patriotic, anti-Nazi diatribe! | tt0065727 | [R] | Veronica Lake, Phil Philbin, Heather Hughes, Chris Martell, Martha Mischon | Horror | NULL | ||
| Flesh and Bone | 1993 | Steve Kloves | ★★½ | 127 | Moody but murky 'sins of the father' drama, with Quaid well cast as a vending machine supplier who discovers that the tough-luck case he's been driving around Texas figured in the childhood tragedy that has dominated his life. Absolutely no dramatic payoff, but simply oozing in portent. Undeniable standouts are Philippe Rousselot's photography and the performance of Paltrow as a sexy con woman. | tt0106926 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, James Caan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scott Wilson, Christopher Rydell, Betsy Brantley, Julia Mueller | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Flesh and Desire | 1954 | Jean Josipovici. | ★★ | 94 | Turgid melodrama involving jealousy, murder, and other assorted goings-on caused by the presence of virile Brazzi. | tt0045798 | Rossano Brazzi, Viviane Romance, Peter Van Eyck, Jean-Paul Roussillon. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flesh and Fantasy | 1943 | Julien Duvivier | ★★★ | 93 | Three-part film of supernatural linked by Benchley; Field is ugly girl turned beauty by Cummings' love; Robinson's life is changed by fortune-teller Mitchell; Boyer is psychic circus star haunted by Stanwyck. Robinson sequence, based on Oscar Wilde's Lord Arthur Saville's Crime, is the most interesting. Coproduced by Duvivier and Boyer. Look for Peter Lawford as a Mardi Gras reveler in the first sequence. Fourth episode, dropped before release, subsequently expanded into feature titled DESTINY. | tt0035885 | Charles Boyer, Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Benchley, Betty Field, Robert Cummings, Thomas Mitchell, Charles Winninger | Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Flesh and Fury | 1952 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 82 | Curtis gives presentable performance as deaf prizefighter who seeks to regain hearing and love of decent girl. | tt0044622 | Tony Curtis, Jan Sterling, Mona Freeman, Wallace Ford, Harry Guardino | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flesh and the Devil | 1927 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 112 | Garbo at her most seductive as temptress who comes between old friends Gilbert and Hanson. Pulsatingly romantic, beautifully filmed, probably the best Garbo-Gilbert love match. But talk about surprise endings! | tt0016884 | John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, Lars Hanson, Barbara Kent, William Orlamond, George Fawcett, Eugenie Besserer | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Flesh and the Woman | 1953 | Robert Siodmak | ★★ | 102 | Whole film is Lollobrigida, who plays dual roles: a Parisienne whose corrupt ways cause her husband to join the Foreign Legion, and a lookalike prostitute in Algiers. Remake of Jacques Feyder's 1934 French film LE GRAND JEU. | tt0047044 | Gina Lollobrigida, Jean-Claude Pascal, Arletty, Raymond Pellegrin, Peter Van Eyck | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fletch | 1985 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 96 | Chase plays a smart-ass undercover reporter (with a penchant for disguises) who goes after major drug ring. Good mystery absolutely smothered in wisecracks, some funny, some tiresome; if you're not a fan of Chevy, stay clear! Watchable but never credible. Screenplay by Andrew Bergman from Gregory McDonald's novel. Followed by a sequel. | tt0089155 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Tim Matheson, Joe Don Baker, Richard Libertini, Geena Davis, M. Emmet Walsh, George Wendt, Kenneth Mars | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Fletch Lives | 1989 | Michael Ritchie | ★★ | 95 | Chase returns as Fletch, the multi-personality L.A. reporter, in silly sequel. He finds himself in Louisiana, dealing with a parade of stereotypical Southern morons. For diehard Chase fans only. | tt0097366 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Hal Holbrook, Julianne Phillips, Cleavon Little, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Libertini, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, George Wyner, Patricia Kalember, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Belzer | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Flicka | 2006 | Michael Mayer | ★★★ | 95 | Teenage Lohman has no interest in school and only comes alive when she's home on her family's ranch. Then she encounters a wild horse and claims it as her own-in spite of her stern father's warnings to leave the animal alone. First-rate modern-day adaptation of Mary O'Hara's novel My Friend Flicka (filmed before in 1943) is ideal family fare. It's nice to see veteran Western actor Buck Taylor as the rodeo clerk. | tt0434215 | [PG] | Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten, Dallas Roberts, Nick Searcy, Danny Pino, Dey Young | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Flight | 1929 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 116 | Dated story of battling buddies in the Marine flying corps, with some still-impressive aerial sequences. Costar Graves wrote the original story. | tt0019884 | Jack Holt, Ralph Graves, Lila Lee, Alan Roscoe, Harold Goodwin, Jimmy de la Cruze | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Flight Command | 1940 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 116 | Hackneyed story with good cast as upstart Taylor tries to make the grade in naval flight squadron. Look fast for John Raitt as a cadet. | tt0032477 | Robert Taylor, Ruth Hussey, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Kelly, Nat Pendleton, Shepperd Strudwick, Red Skelton, Dick Purcell | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Flight From Ashiya | 1964 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 100 | Slow movie dealing with three aviators in rescue attempt over Pacific. Big name cast will attract; stiff script. | tt0058104 | Yul Brynner, Richard Widmark, George Chakiris, Suzy Parker, Shirley Knight | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Flight From Destiny | 1941 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 73 | Well-acted tale of Mitchell, with short time to live, helping young couple (Fitzgerald and Lynn) by murdering the woman who is blackmailing Lynn. | tt0033608 | Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson, Mona Maris, Jonathan Hale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flight From Glory | 1937 | Lew Landers | ★★★ | 67 | Hard-boiled, virile tale of outcast pilots stuck flying dangerous missions over the Andes. Excellent programmer that prefigures ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS in many respects. | tt0028880 | Chester Morris, Van Heflin, Whitney Bourne, Onslow Stevens, Richard Lane, Paul Guilfoyle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flight Lieutenant | 1942 | Sidney Salkow | ★½ | 80 | Commander Watson has sore memories of Ford's father (O'Brien), making life difficult; tired programmer. | tt0034739 | Pat O'Brien, Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, Minor Watson, Larry Parks, Lloyd Bridges, Hugh Beaumont | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flight Nurse | 1953 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 90 | Leslie's sincere performance as Air Force nurse involved with pilots Franz and Tucker during the Korean War lifts this serviceable service yarn that's heavy on sentiment and anti-Red propaganda. | tt0046987 | Joan Leslie, Forrest Tucker, Jeff Donnell, Arthur Franz, Ben Cooper | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Flight for Freedom | 1943 | Lothar Mendes | ★★ | 99 | Stilted tale of dedicated aviatrix Russell (loosely based on Amelia Earhart), who gains worldwide fame, and is romanced by self-centered flier MacMurray. | tt0035888 | Rosalind Russell, Fred MacMurray, Herbert Marshall, Eduardo Ciannelli, Walter Kingsford | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Flight of Rainbirds | 1981 | Ate de Jong | ★★★ | 94 | Thoughtful, whimsical tale of sex, death, and religion, with Krabbé in a dual role as an inept, 34-year-old biologist who's never had a date, let alone slept with a woman, and his Alter Ego, who informs him that he has seven days to seduce a woman; otherwise he'll die and end up in hell. | tt0083300 | Jeroen Krabbé, Marijke Merckens, Henriette Tol, Huib Rooymans, Claire Wauthion | Dutch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flight of the Doves | 1971 | Ralph Nelson | ★★ | 105 | Calculated cuteness mars tale of two Liverpool children who flee to Ireland to visit their grandmother; good cast isn't seen to best advantage. | tt0067104 | [G] | Ron Moody, Jack Wild, Dorothy McGuire, Stanley Holloway, Helen Raye, William Rushton | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Flight of the Eagle | 1982 | Jan Troell | ★★★ | 139 | Beautifully shot true story about a foolhardy but heroic balloon mission to the North Pole in 1897 strives to become its country's national film epic, but falls short of greatness. Stays in the memory, however, despite the fact that the second half of a lengthy running time deals only with three men freezing to death in the snow. Simultaneously filmed as a miniseries for Swedish TV. An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film. | tt0084136 | Max von Sydow, Goran Stangertz, S. A. Ousdal, Eva von Hanno | Swedish | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Flight of the Innocent | 1992 | Carlo Carlei | ★★★ | 105 | Exciting, fast-paced thriller about a little Sicilian boy (well played by Colao) who finds himself immersed in Mafia warfare and is forced to flee for his life. Immensely entertaining, this film also observes the strangle-hold that organized crime can have over a society. Excellent debut feature for director/ coscripter Carlei. | tt0104012 | [R] | Manuel Colao, Federico Pacifici, Sal Borgese, Giusi Cataldo, Lucio Zagaria, Massimo Lodolo, Francesa Neri, Jacques Perrin | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Flight of the Intruder | 1991 | John Milius | ★½ | 113 | Dull adaptation of Stephen Coonts' novel, chronicling the exploits and frustrations of bombardiers in the Vietnam war. It plays like one of those 1950s service dramas that was 'filmed in cooperation with the U.S. military,' and this is incongruous given the story's setting. | tt0099587 | [PG-13] | Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, J. Kenneth Campbell, Dann Florek, Madison Mason, Ving Rhames, David Schwimmer | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Flight of the Navigator | 1986 | Randal Kleiser | ★★½ | 90 | 12-year-old boy is whisked away by an alien spaceship and returns home eight years later— still a 12-year-old boy. That's when the adventure really begins. Yet another film featuring a youthful hero and a cute robot; adequate entertainment for kids. The voice of the robot, billed as Paul Mall, is actually Paul Reubens, aka Pee-wee Herman. | tt0091059 | [PG] | Joey Cramer, Veronica Cartwright, Cliff De Young, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matt Adler, Howard Hesseman | Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Flight of the Phoenix | 2004 | John Moore. | ★★ | 113 | Remake of the 1965 film has a plane crashing (this time) in the Gobi Desert, with captain Quaid and fellow passengers running out of water, patience, and hope. Solid but unspectacular and, unlike the original, clichéd. | tt0377062 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Miranda Otto, Giovanni Ribisi, Tony Curran, Hugh Laurie, Kirk Jones (Sticky Fingaz), Jacob Vargas, Scott Michael Campbell, Jared Padalecki. | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Flight of the Phoenix | 1965 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 147 | A plane crash leaves a group of men stranded in the Sahara desert; film avoids clichés as tension mounts among the men. Stewart as the captain, Attenborough as the navigator stand out in uniformly fine cast. Remade in 2004. | tt0059183 | James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Kruger, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea, George Kennedy | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Flight of the Red Balloon | 2008 | Hou Hsiao-hsien | ★★★ | 115 | Harried Parisian working mother tries to juggle her career in puppet theater while raising her young son, Simon. Bringing some calm into her life is a new nanny, a young Asian who tells Simon of the beloved 1956 short film by Albert Lamorisse, “The Red Balloon” (which features a boy Simon’s age). Plot development is surrendered to exploration of character and the artistic temperament in this well-made if laid-back domestic drama. A red balloon plays a peripheral role here, appearing to be almost another hovering caregiver for the still-innocent boy. Emotionally powerful story, full of symbolic and cross-cultural touchstones, though not for all tastes. | tt0826711 | Juliette Binoche, Simon Iteanu, Song Fang, Hippolyte Girardot, Louise Margolin | French | Family | NULL | ||
| Flight to Fury | 1966 | Monte Hellman | ★★ | 76 | Odd group of adventurers headed for Philippines location and hidden diamonds when plane crashes. Low-budgeter has its points, but never really comes across. Initially released at 62m., later reedited. | tt0060418 | Dewey Martin, Fay Spain, Jack Nicholson, Jacqueline Hellman, Vic Diaz | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Flight to Hong Kong | 1956 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 88 | Standard fare of gangster in Far East preferring Rush to his smuggler friends; it almost costs him his life. | tt0049219 | Rory Calhoun, Barbara Rush, Dolores Donlon, Soo Yong | Crime | NULL | |||
| Flight to Mars | 1951 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 72 | Adequate sci-fi about scientists and newspapermen who land on Mars and discover an advanced civilization. Effects hampered by modest budget. | tt0043545 | Marguerite Chapman, Cameron Mitchell, Virginia Huston, Arthur Franz | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Flight to Nowhere | 1946 | William Rowland. | 💣 | 75 | Ultracheap, ultraboring account of former federal agent Curtis, who against his will becomes involved in an effort to recover a map of uranium deposits. | tt0038529 | Evelyn Ankers, Alan Curtis, Jack Holt, Jerome Cowan, Micheline Cheirel, John Craven, Inez Cooper, Hoot Gibson. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Flight to Tangier | 1953 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★½ | 90 | Fast-paced drama involving a cache of money aboard plane that has crashed, and the assorted people chasing after the loot. | tt0045774 | Joan Fontaine, Jack Palance, Corinne Calvet, Robert Douglas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flightplan | 2005 | Robert Schwentke | ★★ | 98 | Grieving mother (Foster, solid as always) takes her young daughter home on a jumbo plane that's also carrying her husband's coffin. When she wakes up from a nap, her little girl is missing and no one believes that the youngster ever boarded the plane! Suspenseful at first, this contemporary thriller becomes remote and uninvolving; by the climax it's just plain ridiculous. Too bad Miss Froy wasn't along. | tt0408790 | [PG-13] | Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Erika Christensen, Sean Bean, Kate Beahan, Marlene Lawston, Greta Scacchi, Judith Scott, Michael Irby, Stephanie Faracy | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Flim-Flam Man | 1967 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★ | 104 | Scott is engaging as a veteran Southern con man who takes on Sarrazin as apprentice in his travels, but finds the novice a bit too honest. Entertaining comedy. | tt0061678 | George C. Scott, Sue Lyon, Michael Sarrazin, Harry Morgan, Jack Albertson, Alice Ghostley, Albert Salmi, Slim Pickens | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | 2000 | Brian Levant | ★★ | 91 | Silly FLINTSTONES prequel featuring Fred and Barney as unmarried employees of the Bedrock Quarry; they court Wilma and Betty, while Wilma is pressured to wed snooty, slimy rich boy Chip Rockefeller. The cast is game, but the result is one big cliché that only will appeal to undiscriminating youngsters. | tt0158622 | [PG] | Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Johnston, Jane Krakowski, Thomas Gibson, Joan Collins, Alan Cumming, Harvey Korman, Alex Meneses, John Taylor, voice of Rosie O'Donnell | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Flintstones | 1994 | Brian Levant | ★★½ | 92 | If you're going to make a live-action feature from a one-note, two-dimensional TV cartoon series, this is about as good as you could hope for: a bouncy concoction with an enthusiastic cast, including a surprisingly funny Taylor as Fred Flintstone's nagging mother-in-law. Mainly for kids, who should understandably lap it up. Series creators Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, and Wilma's original voice, Jean Vander Pyl, have cameos. Followed by a prequel. | tt0109813 | [PG] | John Goodman, Elizabeth Perkins, Rick Moranis, Rosie O'Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Halle Berry, Elizabeth Taylor, Dann Florek, Richard Moll, Jonathan Winters, voice of Harvey Korman, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Laraine Newman, Jay Leno | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Flipped | 2010 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 90 | When a boy moving into a new neighborhood meets a girl who lives across the street, in the late 1950s, it’s dislike at first sight. Six years later their prickly relationship continues unabated. Highly relatable story is told from both the boy’s and girl’s point of view, and its observations on the workings of young minds—and their parents’—make it honest and appealing. Reiner and Andrew Scheinman adapted Wendelin Van Draanen’s popular juvenile novel and moved it to their favorite time period; naturally, the soundtrack is filled with familiar oldies. | tt0817177 | [PG] | Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards, John Mahoney, Penelope Ann Miller, Aidan Quinn, Kevin Weisman | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Flipper | 1963 | James B. Clark | ★★½ | 90 | Typical wholesome family fare about a boy who befriends a dolphin. Spun off into a TV series in 1964 (with Halpin) and another in 1995. Remade in 1996. | tt0057063 | Chuck Connors, Luke Halpin, Kathleen Maguire, Connie Scott | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Flipper | 1996 | Alan Shapiro | ★★½ | 96 | Low-key but agreeable time-filler about a teenage boy who spends the summer with his unruly uncle in Coral Key, Florida, and is befriended by a supersmart dolphin. Simplistic storytelling aimed at a juvenile crowd. Luke Halpin, star of the earlier film and TV series, appears briefly. | tt0116322 | [PG] | Paul Hogan, Elijah Wood, Chelsea Field, Isaac Hayes, Jonathan Banks, Jason Fuchs, Jessica Wesson | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Flipper's New Adventure | 1964 | Leon Benson | ★★ | 103 | Further exploits of everybody's favorite dolphin: Flipper and Halpin thwart escaped convicts' efforts to blackmail millionaire Helmore. Pleasant, inoffensive fare for kids, filmed in the Bahamas and Key Biscayne. | tt0058105 | Luke Halpin, Pamela Franklin, Helen Cherry, Tom Helmore, Brian Kelly | Family | NULL | |||
| Flirt | 1995 | Hal Hartley | ★★½ | 85 | Quirky three-part film in which the same mini-drama is told three different ways: Flirt leaves lover to head off on a job, but the lover demands a commitment before the departure. The stories are set in N.Y.C., Berlin (with the characters gay), and Tokyo (with the male-female roles reversed). The point: male, female, gay, straight, and across the globe, people experience the same feelings and romantic crises. More interesting as an exercise than as. | tt0106929 | Bill Sage, Parker Posey, Martin Donovan, Dwight Ewell, Geno Lechner, Peter Fitz, Miho Nikaido, Toshizo Fujisawa, Chikako Hara | U.S.-German-Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flirtation Walk | 1934 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 97 | West Point plot is clichéd and trivial as cadet Powell falls in love with officer's daughter Keeler; some fairly good numbers highlighted by 'Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name.' | tt0025124 | Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Pat O'Brien, Ross Alexander, Guinn Williams, Henry O'Neill, Tyrone Power | Musical | NULL | |||
| Flirting | 1990 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 100 | Charming sequel to Duigan's THE YEAR MY VOICE BROKE, which finds shy Taylor at boarding school where he falls in love with a Ugandan girl (Newton) who goes to a nearby girls' school. Nothing particularly new but still a warm, perceptive look at the pains of adolescence, with winning performances from everyone in the cast. Director Duigan also wrote the screenplay. | tt0101898 | Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, Nicole Kidman, Bartholomew Rose, Felix Nobis, Josh Picker, Liri Paramore, Marc Gray, Gregg Palmer, Joshua Marshall, David Wieland, Craig Black, Leslie Hill | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Flirting Widow | 1930 | William A. Seiter. | ★½ | 71 | Gillingwater won't let his young daughter get married before her older sister (Mackaill) does, so Mackaill invents a fictitious fiancé, only to have him actually show up in the suave personage of Rathbone. Stilted drawing-room antique must have seemed dated even in 1930. | tt0020890 | Dorothy Mackaill, Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams, William Austin, Claude Gillingwater, Anthony Bushell. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Flirting With Disaster | 1996 | David O. Russell | ★★½ | 92 | Married and now a father, adopted Stiller decides to seek out his birth parents, with the help of a psychology grad student; taking his wife in tow, they embark on a cross-country trek that leads to calamity at every turn. Determinedly offbeat and full of comic twists, not all of which pay off; still, a cut above the norm for contemporary comedy. Moore and Segal make a great neurotic Jewish couple, matched by Tomlin and Alda as middle-aged flower children. | tt0116324 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Téa Leoni, Alan Alda, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Lily Tomlin, Josh Brolin, Richard Jenkins, Celia Weston, Glenn Fitzgerald, David Patrick Kelly, John Ford Noonan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Floating Weeds | Drifting Weeds | 1959 | Yasujiro Ozu | ★★★½ | 119 | Struggling acting troupe visits remote island, where its leader (Nakamura) visits his illegitimate son and the boy's mother, with whom he had an affair years before. Powerful drama is meticulously directed, solidly acted. Ozu directed the same story, as a silent film, in 1934. Aka DRIFTING WEEDS. | tt0053390 | Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyo, Haruko Sugimura, Ayako Wakao | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Flood Tide | 1958 | Abner Biberman | ★★½ | 82 | Nicely done drama in which an innocent man is convicted of murder on the say-so of a crippled, emotionally scarred 10-year-old boy. Nice-guy Nader falls for the boy's widowed mother, and attempts to elicit the truth. | tt0051620 | George Nader, Cornell Borchers, Michel Ray, Judson Pratt | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Floods of Fear | 1959 | Charles Crichton | ★★ | 82 | Adequate drama about prisoner Keel on the lam, performing heroic deeds during flood, later proving innocence and winning girl's love. | tt0052812 | Howard Keel, Anne Heywood, Cyril Cusack, Harry H. Corbett, John Crawford | British | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Florentine | 2000 | Nick Stagliano | ★★½ | 104 | Agreeable if unremarkable slice of working-class life involving love, money, crime, and morality. Set and shot in Pennsylvania; the Florentine is a neighborhood bar and meeting place. Based on a stage play. Penn coproduced; Francis Ford Coppola is executive producer. Released direct to video. | tt0132164 | [R] | Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, Hal Holbrook, Mary Stuart Masterson, Virginia Madsen, Jeremy Davies, Tom Sizemore, Luke Perry, James Belushi, Burt Young, Maeve Quinlan, Lillo Brancato | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Florian | 1940 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★ | 91 | Young and Gilbert, poor man and rich woman, marry, united by their love of horses. | tt0032479 | Robert Young, Helen Gilbert, Charles Coburn, Lee Bowman, Reginald Owen, Lucile Watson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Florida Special | 1936 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★ | 70 | Romance, mystery, and murder aboard southbound train. Song: 'It's You I'm Talking About. | tt0027627 | Jack Oakie, Sally Eilers, Kent Taylor, Frances Drake, J. Farrell MacDonald, Sam (Schlepperman) Hearn, Claude Gillingwater, Sidney Blackmer. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Florida Straits | 1986 | Mike Hodges | Average TV Movie | 97 | Julia leads a treasure hunt for gold buried in the Cuban jungle 20 years earlier during the Bay of Pigs invasion. Filmed on location in and around Myrtle Beach, S.C. Made for cable. | tt0091062 | Raul Julia, Fred Ward, Daniel Jenkins, Jamie Sanchez, Victor Argo, Ilka Tanya Payan, Antonio Fargas | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Florodora Girl | 1930 | Harry Beaumont | ★★★ | 80 | Charming piece of nostalgia with Marion only one of famed Florodora Sextette of Gay '90s to spurn wealthy admirers and seek true love. Some scenes originally in color. | tt0020891 | Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray, Walter Catlett, Louis John Bartels, Ilka Chase, Vivien Oakland, Jed Prouty, Sam Hardy | Romance | NULL | |||
| Floundering | 1994 | Peter McCarthy | ★★★ | 97 | Eye-opening sleeper with LeGros in a bravura performance as John Boyz, a sensitive and compassionate Southern Californian whose spirit is slowly being killed by the everyday injustices of modern urban life; through a series of bureaucratic blunders, he finds his own life in crisis. McCarthy's script is thoughtful and perceptive, and written with an acid pen. One of the most radical American films of the early 1990s. | tt0109816 | James LeGros, John Cusack, Ethan Hawke, Maritza Rivera, Kim Wayans, Ebbe Roe Smith, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Alex Cox, Lisa Zane, Nelson Lyon, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson, Jeremy Piven, Nina Siemaszko, Viggo Mortensen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Flower Drum Song | 1961 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 133 | Pleasant enough Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. No great songs, but listenable score and good choreography stringing together story of San Francisco's Chinatown. Major problem: it goes on too long. | tt0054885 | Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Juanita Hall, Benson Fong | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Flower in His Mouth | 1975 | Luigi Zampa | ★½ | 113 | O'Neill moves to small Italian town, finds its people paralyzed by fear but unwilling to tell why. Murky thriller isn't worth time it takes to figure out. | tt0072123 | Jennifer O'Neill, James Mason, Franco Nero, Orazio Orlando | Italian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Flower of Evil | 2003 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 104 | Low-key Chabrol melodrama, coscripted by the director, is set in contemporary Bordeaux, where a prosperous family harbors more twisted genealogical secrets than you can count. Film makes reference to France's murky WW2 history, but comes out flat; Baye's character, a local politician, is underwritten and her young, sexy costars' story line doesn't add up to much. Longtime Chabrol devotées may boost rating of this cerebral film. | tt0322289 | Nathalie Baye, Benoit Magimel, Melanie Doutey, Suzanne Flon, Bernard Le Coq, Thomas Chabrol | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Flower of My Secret | 1995 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★½ | 100 | A middle-aged woman (Paredes), who has been happy and a successful writer, seems to be suffering a breakdown. Her work and marriage (to an often absent military-strategist husband) are meaningless, and she must relearn the joys of living. A more focused, somber portrait than usual for Almodóvar— although not without farcical flare-ups— which seems strangely reminiscent of the Douglas Sirk-Jane Wyman collaborations of 1950s Hollywood. | tt0113083 | [R] | Marisa Paredes, Juan Echanove, Imanol Arias, Carmen Elias, Rossy de Palma, Chus Lampreave, Joaquin Cortes, Manuela Vargas | Spanish-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Flowers in the Attic | 1987 | Jeffrey Bloom | ★★ | 95 | Disappointing adaptation of the V.C. Andrews best-seller tones down the incest and sadomasochism of the story about four youngsters kept locked up by evil granny (Fletcher) in the family mansion. Material is strangely compelling nonetheless; benefits from effective casting. | tt0093036 | [PG-13] | Louise Fletcher, Victoria Tennant, Kristy Swanson, Jeb Stuart Adams, Ben Granger, Lindsay Parker, Marshall Colt | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Flowers of War | Nanjing! Nanjing! | 2011 | Zhang Yimou | ★★½ | 146 | Bale plays a down-on-his-luck Westerner who rises to the occasion by posing as a priest in an attempt to save the lives of several prostitutes and schoolgirls during the Japanese army's infamous rape of Nanking in 1937. Acclaimed Chinese director's first major foray into a multilingual international production is sweeping in scope and filled with his usual stunning visuals, even as the story tends to drift into melodrama and the match between Eastern and Western cultures gets lost in translation. Based on Yan Geling's novel 13 Flowers of Nanjing. | tt1410063 | [R] | Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Paul Schneider, Atsuro Watabe, Tianyuan Huang | Chinese | Drama, War | NULL |
| Flowing Gold | 1940 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 82 | Dynamic Garfield in story that doesn't flow; standard fare in which he and O'Brien drill for oil and fight over Farmer. | tt0032481 | John Garfield, Frances Farmer, Pat O'Brien, Raymond Walburn, Cliff Edwards, Tom Kennedy | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Flubber | 1997 | Les Mayfield | ★★ | 93 | Surprisingly dull remake of Disney's THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR, with Williams as the fragile genius who accidentally invents flubber— flying rubber— but forgets to attend his own wedding. Needlessly complicated by John Hughes' heavily rewritten script, which manages to leave out most of the funny stuff from the original, except for the springy basketball game. Nancy Olson (the female lead in 1961) has a cameo as a secretary. | tt0119137 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, Raymond J. Barry, Clancy Brown, Ted Levine, Wil Wheaton, Edie McClurg, voice of Jodi Benson | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fluffy | 1965 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 92 | Silly film dealing with professor Randall experimenting with a lion; he can't shake the beast, causing all sorts of repercussions, even winning Jones' affection. | tt0059188 | Tony Randall, Shirley Jones, Edward Andrews, Ernest Truex, Howard Morris, Dick Sargent | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fluke | 1995 | Carlo Carlei | ★★★ | 96 | Touching, beautifully filmed story of a young family man killed in a mysterious car accident and reincarnated as a dog named Fluke— while on his way to rejoin his wife and son. More appropriate for older audiences than for young kids, who might be disturbed by certain scenes and themes within the picture. Fluke is played by Comet from the popular Full House TV series, while Samuel L. Jackson provides the voice of his dog friend, Rumbo. Based on James Herbert's best-selling novel. | tt0113089 | [PG] | Matthew Modine, Nancy Travis, Eric Stoltz, Max Pomeranc, Ron Perlman, Jon Polito, Bill Cobbs, Collin Wilcox Paxton, voice of Samuel L. Jackson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Flushed Away | 2006 | David Bowers, Sam Fell | ★★★ | 84 | A pampered pet mouse is flushed into the sewers of London by a rowdy rat. While struggling to find a way back home, he teams up with an intrepid garbage-scow captain (Winslet) and helps her evade the clutches of a menacing toad. Good fun with clever gags to please both grown-ups and kids, and an unlikely cast of heroes-including some very funny singing slugs. First computer-generated film from the clay-animation geniuses at Aardman studios. | tt0424095 | [PG] | Voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis, Shane Richie, Kathy Burke, David Suchet, Miriam Margolyes | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Fly Away | 2011 | Janet Grillo | ★★★ | 80 | Divorced mom Broderick must deal with the challenges of keeping a house, earning a living, and caring for her autistic, increasingly angst-ridden 16-year-old daughter. Heartfelt, heartbreaking drama is sometimes painful to watch, given the intensity of the situation, but benefits from simple, straightforward performances and an effort by writer-director Grillo (in her feature debut) to tell a tough story directly and honestly. | tt1697920 | Beth Broderick, Ashley Rickards, JR Bourne, Greg Germann, Reno, Denise Y. Dowse | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fly Away Home | 1996 | Carroll Ballard | ★★★ | 107 | First-rate family film about a girl who goes to live with her estranged father in Canada after the death of her mom and only finds happiness when she adopts a flock of baby geese. Then father and daughter embark on the adventure of teaching the birds how to migrate! Credible, involving story (inspired by a real-life incident), sparked by Paquin's and Daniels' strong performances. Photographed by Caleb Deschanel, who previously collaborated with director Ballard on THE BLACK STALLION. | tt0116329 | [PG] | Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney, Holter Graham, Jeremy Ratchford | Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fly II | 1989 | Chris Walas | 💣 | 104 | A case of 'like father, like son'; too bad director Walas isn't like David Cronenberg. Stoltz, son of deceased Jeff Goldblum, has attained puberty at five with the intellect to match; now he's being unknowingly exploited by— here's a novel twist— the scientists in whose care he's entrusted. Alternately dull and messy but mostly dull; can Stoltz still move his neck muscles after having shlepped all that cranial makeup here and in MASK? | tt0097368 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson, John Getz, Frank Turner, Ann Marie Lee, Gary Chalk, Saffron Henderson, Harley Cross, Matthew Moore | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fly by Night | 1942 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 74 | Carlson is young doctor accused of murdering scientist who tracks down a Nazi spy ring in effort to clear himself. Fairly entertaining WW2 B propaganda, which aims for the Hitchcock style. | tt0034740 | Richard Carlson, Nancy Kelly, Albert Bassermann, Walter Kingsford, Martin Kosleck, Miles Mander | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Fly | 1958 | Kurt Neumann | ★★★ | 94 | Improbable but diverting sci-fi (screenplay by James Clavell!) about scientist who experiments with disintegration machine and has his atomic pattern mingled with that of a fly. 'Help me! Help me!' Two sequels— RETURN OF THE FLY and CURSE OF THE FLY. Remade in 1986. | tt0051622 | Al (David) Hedison, Patricia Owens, Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall, Kathleen Freeman | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Fly | 1986 | David Cronenberg | ★★½ | 100 | Goldblum is just right as slightly crazed scientist who tests himself in a genetic transporter machine— and starts to evolve into a human fly. Extremely intense, sharply written remake of the 1958 movie that (unfortunately) goes over the line to be gross and disgusting. Written by Charles Edward Pogue and director Cronenberg. An Oscar winner for makeup (Chris Walas, Stephan Dupuis). Followed by a sequel. | tt0091064 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fly-Away Baby | 1937 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 60 | Episode two in the Torchy Blane reporter series, serving mainly as a showcase for the wisecracking charms of Farrell as she takes to the air in pursuit of killers. | tt0028882 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Gordon Oliver, Hugh O'Connell, Marcia Ralston, Tom Kennedy, Harry Davenport | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Flyboys | 2006 | Tony Bill | ★★½ | 139 | Agreeably old-fashioned yarn about the diverse young Americans who went to France in 1916 to serve in the Lafayette Escadrille, long before the U.S. officially entered WW1. They bond, bicker, find love on the ground and danger in the air. No surprises here, but this modern update of films like THE DAWN PATROL still entertains, and offers cutting-edge CG imagery to make the aerial sequences more vivid than ever before. Despite a formulaic screenplay, the writers did their homework: most of the characters in this story really existed. | tt0454824 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, David Ellison, Jennifer Decker, Tyler Labine, Abdul Salis, Philip Winchester, Daniel Rigby. | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Flying | Teenage Dream | 1986 | Paul Lynch | ★★ | 94 | Minor imitation of FLASHDANCE has statuesque d'Abo overcoming a leg injury to become a medal-winning gymnast; Tushingham (with shocking carrot-colored hair) is her tough coach. This formula has whiskers, but d'Abo is easy to watch, even though her full figure is unconvincing for a gymnast. Video title: TEENAGE DREAM. | tt0091065 | Olivia d'Abo, Rita Tushingham, Keanu Reeves, Jessica Steen, Renee Murphy | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Flying Deuces | Flying Aces | 1939 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 65 | Stan and Ollie join the Foreign Legion so Ollie can forget Parker; usual complications result. Good fun, faster paced than most L&H films, includes charming song and dance to 'Shine On, Harvest Moon.' | tt0031322 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jean Parker, Reginald Gardiner, Charles Middleton, James Finlayson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Flying Down to Rio | 1933 | Thornton Freeland | ★★★ | 89 | Slim Del Rio vehicle memorable for its scene of dancing girls cavorting on plane wings, plus Astaire and Rogers doing 'The Carioca' in their first screen teaming. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024025 | Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, Raul Roulien, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Blanche Frederici, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Flying Fontaines | 1959 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 84 | Circus yarn involving egocentric high-wire artist Callan who covets one of the showgirls, and the repercussions involved. | tt0052814 | Michael Callan, Evy Norlund, Joan Evans, Joe De Santis, Roger Perry, Rian Garrick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flying High | 1931 | Charles F. Reisner | ★★½ | 80 | Dated, oddball comedy about harebrained inventor Lahr concocting an 'aerocopter' machine; Lahr (in Hollywood debut) and Greenwood are fun together. Some DeSylva-Brown-Henderson songs carried over from Broadway production. | tt0021879 | Bert Lahr, Charlotte Greenwood, Pat O'Brien, Kathryn Crawford, Charles Winninger, Hedda Hopper, Guy Kibbee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Flying Irishman | 1939 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 72 | Routine biog, largely fictional, dealing with life of Douglas 'Wrong Way' Corrigan. | tt0031325 | Douglas Corrigan, Paul Kelly, Robert Armstrong, Gene Reynolds | Drama | NULL | |||
| Flying Leathernecks | 1951 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 102 | Major Wayne is exceedingly tough on his Marines; executive officer Ryan thinks he should be a little nicer. Guess who wins this argument. Solid, if not especially original, WW2 actioner, with good aerial scenes and nice turn by Flippen as crafty sergeant. | tt0043547 | John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Jay C. Flippen, Janis Carter, Don Taylor, William Harrigan | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Flying Missile | 1950 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 93 | Clichéd WW2 story of commander Ford's attempt to modernize his fighting ship, with predictable results. | tt0042468 | Glenn Ford, Viveca Lindfors, Henry O'Neill, Jerry Paris, Richard Quine | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Flying Saucer | 1950 | Mikel Conrad | ★½ | 69 | Pedestrian espionage tale set in Alaska; the lone flying saucer, disappointingly, is from Earth. | tt0042469 | Mikel Conrad, Pat Garrison, Russell Hicks, Denver Pyle | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Flying Scotsman, The | 2006 | Douglas Mackinnon | ★★ | 98 | Based-on-fact triumph-of-the-underdog tale involving Graeme Obree (Miller), a young outsider for whom bicycling is an escape, a salvation. He is inspired to build a new kind of cycle, using homemade materials, which he hopes will allow him to set a world speed record . . . but there are complications and repercussions. Potentially rousing story is pleasant at best, but mostly episodic and uninspiring. | tt0472268 | [PG-13] | Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Boyd, Laura Fraser, Morven Christie, Steven Berkoff, Brian Cox. | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Flying Serpent | 1946 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 59 | Zucco sole interest in serial-like B movie. Doctor protects Aztec treasure with prehistoric bird. Basically a reworking of THE DEVIL BAT. | tt0038531 | George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer, Eddie Acuff, Milton Kibbee | Horror | NULL | |||
| Flying Tigers | 1942 | David Miller | ★★½ | 102 | Good war film in which Wayne commands the volunteer Flying Tigers in China prior to Pearl Harbor while contending with egotistical ace pilot Carroll. Exciting dog-fight scenes. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034742 | John Wayne, John Carroll, Anna Lee, Paul Kelly, Mae Clarke, Gordon Jones, James 'Jimmie' Dodd | Action, Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| Flying Wild | 1941 | William West | ★★ | 62 | The East Side Kids tackle airborne spies in this lightweight entry. | tt0033613 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Donald Haines, Joan Barclay, David O'Brien, David Gorcey, Bobby Stone, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Dennis Moore | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Flypaper | 2011 | Rob Minkoff | ★½ | 87 | By coincidence, two groups of robbers—one a pair of backwoods morons, the other a band of slick professionals—attempt to simultaneously hold up the same bank. Eccentric, ballsy customer Dempsey and about-to-be-married teller Judd are among those taken hostage. Numbingly dumb crime-caper comedy features plenty of gunfire, noise, and predictable plot twists. Scripted by the writers of THE HANGOVER, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. | tt1541160 | Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Tim Blake Nelson, Mekhi Phifer, Matt Ryan, Jeffrey Tambor, John Ventimiglia, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Curtis Armstrong, Rob Huebel, Octavia Spencer | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Focus | 2001 | Neal Slavin | ★★½ | 106 | Gentile personnel director is demoted at work and shunned in his WW2-era Brooklyn neighborhood because his new glasses supposedly make him look Jewish. Well-acted relic, adapted from Arthur Miller's 1945 novel, establishes a concrete feel for its specific neighborhood milieu, even though it was shot in Toronto on a small budget. Otherwise, it's heavy-handed and 'small'— a lethal combination. | tt0246628 | [PG-13] | William H. Macy, Laura Dern, David Paymer, *** Meat Loaf, Kay Hewtrey, Michael Copeman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fog Island | 1945 | Terry Morse | ★½ | 72 | Grade-B chiller situated at eerie mansion with usual gathering of people suspecting one another of murder and intrigue; Zucco and Atwill are potentially terrific team. | tt0037711 | George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Veda Ann Borg, Jerome Cowan, Sharon Douglas | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Fog Over Frisco | 1934 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 68 | Snappy melodrama of deceitful, thrill-a-minute party-girl Davis involved in stolen-securities scheme; stepsister Lindsay tries to help. | tt0025129 | Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Henry O'Neill, Arthur Byron, Hugh Herbert, Alan Hale/Sr., William Demarest | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Fog of War | 2003 | Errol Morris | ★★★½ | 105 | Unique, memorable documentary about the life of Robert S. McNamara, the controversial former secretary of defense who played a pivotal role during the Vietnam War. Director Morris explores myriad political, social, and moral issues that resonate even more tellingly today, and McNamara— 85 when the film was made— remains an outspoken and forceful personality who refuses to provide any easy answers about the history he helped to shape. An emotional powerhouse for anyone who lived through the era depicted here so vividly. Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature. Film carries the subtitle ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. McNAMARA. | tt0317910 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Fog | 1980 | John Carpenter | ★★½ | 91 | Carpenter's follow-up to HALLOWEEN is a well-directed but obvious ghost story about a California coastal town cursed by a hundred-year-old shipwreck. | tt0080749 | [R] | Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fog | 2005 | Rupert Wainwright | ★½ | 100 | A dense fog from the Pacific creeps over a northwest seaside village, bringing with it murderous, vengeful ghosts. Lame remake of John Carpenter's 1980 movie alters the plot slightly but is no improvement. Carpenter and longtime partner Debra Hill produced this. Alternate version also available. | tt0432291 | [PG-13] | Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Selma Blair, DeRay Davis, Kenneth Welsh, Adrian Hough, Sara Botsford, Rade Sherbedgia | U.S.-British | Action, Mystery, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Folies Bergère | 1935 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 84 | Entertainer Chevalier is asked to pose as aristocratic businessman, forcing him to temporarily desert fiery Sothern for elegant Oberon. Delightful musical is highlighted by Busby Berkeleyish 'Straw Hat' finale which won Dave Gould an Oscar for dance direction. Remade as THAT NIGHT IN RIO and ON THE RIVIERA. | tt0026373 | Maurice Chevalier, Ann Sothern, Merle Oberon, Eric Blore, Ferdinand Munier | Drama | NULL | |||
| Folks! | 1992 | Ted Kotcheff | 💣 | 107 | Excruciating comedic misfire about stockbroker Selleck trying to deal with aging dad Ameche's senility and death wish. An outrageous number of mishaps to Selleck give slapstick a bad name. | tt0104283 | [PG-13] | Tom Selleck, Don Ameche, Anne Jackson, Christine Ebersole, Wendy Crewson, Robert Pastorelli, Michael Murphy | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Follow Me Quietly | 1949 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 59 | Solid little film noir about police manhunt for self-righteous psychopathic killer called The Judge. Packs style and substance into just 59 minutes. | tt0041378 | William Lundigan, Dorothy Patrick, Jeff Corey, Nestor Paiva, Charles D. Brown, Paul Guilfoyle | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Follow Me, Boys! | 1966 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 131 | Mile-high Disney corn about simple fellow who settles in small town during 1930s and starts Boy Scout troop, devoting his life to this inspiring pursuit. A little less syrup would have helped, but at least it's done with great conviction. | tt0060420 | Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, Lillian Gish, Charlie Ruggles, Elliott Reid, Kurt Russell | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Follow That Camel | 1967 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 95 | Silvers as conniving sergeant livens up otherwise standard CARRY ON outing with Foreign Legion setting. | tt0061680 | Phil Silvers, Jim Dale, Peter Butterworth, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams, Anita Harris, Joan Sims | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Follow That Dream | 1962 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 110 | Presley and family move to southern Florida where they intend to homestead, despite all opposition. Easygoing comedy from Richard Powell's book Pioneer Go Home. Elvis sings 'Home Is Where the Heart Is' and 'On Top of Old Smokey'! | tt0055992 | Elvis Presley, Arthur O'Connell, Anne Helm, Joanna Moore, Jack Kruschen, Simon Oakland | Musical | NULL | |||
| Follow That Woman | 1945 | Lew Landers. | ★★ | 69 | Predictable crime yarn, notable only for Kelly's sincere performance as a woman innocently implicated in a murder. | tt0037712 | Nancy Kelly, William Gargan, Regis Toomey, Ed Gargan, Byron Barr, Pierre Watkin. | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Follow Thru | 1930 | Lloyd Corrigan, Lawrence Schwab. | ★★½ | 92 | Love and rivalry on the golf links, with all the archaic conventions of a 1920s Broadway musical. Carroll was born to appear in two-color Technicolor, but O'Neal gets the best songs (by DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson), 'Button Up Your Overcoat' and the irresistible 'I Want to Be Bad,' which cues the film's only big production number. Look fast for young Frances Dee and Virginia Bruce. | tt0020894 | Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Zelma O'Neal, Jack Haley, Eugene Pallette, Thelma Todd. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Follow a Star | 1959 | Robert Asher | ★½ | 93 | Flabby slapstick musical involving zany Wisdom as a cleaning store worker who is stagestruck. | tt0052815 | Norman Wisdom, June Laverick, Jerry Desmonde, Hattie Jacques, John Le Mesurier, Richard Wattis, Ron Moody | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Follow the Boys | 1944 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 110 | Universal Pictures' entry in all-star WW2 series has Raft organizing USO shows, Welles sawing Dietrich in half, MacDonald singing 'Beyond the Blue Horizon,' Fields doing classic pool-table routine, etc. Lots of fun. | tt0036832 | Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Orson Welles, Vera Zorina, Dinah Shore, W. C. Fields, Jeanette MacDonald, Maria Montez, Andrews Sisters, Sophie Tucker, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard | Comedy, Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Follow the Boys | 1963 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 95 | Dumb comedy unspiked by Francis' singing or antics as quartet of girls chase around the French Riviera seeking husbands. | tt0057066 | Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss, Ron Randell, Janis Paige, Russ Tamblyn, Dany Robin | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Follow the Fleet | 1936 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★★ | 110 | Delightful musical with sailors Astaire and Scott romancing sisters Rogers and Hilliard. Irving Berlin songs include 'Let's Face the Music and Dance,' 'Let Yourself Go,' 'We Saw the Sea.' A reworking of SHORE LEAVE, a 1925 Richard Barthelmess silent, and the 1930 musical HIT THE DECK. That's Lucille Ball as Kitty. | tt0027630 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Astrid Allwyn, Betty Grable | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Follow the Sun | 1951 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 93 | Fictionalized biopic of golfer Ben Hogan with hokey dramatics to fill in lean spots. | tt0043550 | Glenn Ford, Anne Baxter, Dennis O'Keefe, June Havoc | Drama | NULL | |||
| Following | 1999 | Christopher Nolan | ★★★ | 71 | Interesting ultra-low-budget precursor to Nolan's MEMENTO: another nonlinear story about a young aimless man who decides to follow people, just for the hell of it . . . until one of his 'subjects' turns the tables and lures him into his world, where he robs empty apartments and invades his victims' lives. Provocative and original. | tt0154506 | [R] | Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell, John Nolan | British | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Folly to Be Wise | 1952 | Frank Launder | ★★★ | 91 | Generally amusing nonsense with Sim an Army chaplain trying to enliven service life with various unique entertainment programs. | tt0044626 | Alastair Sim, Elizabeth Allan, Roland Culver, Martita Hunt | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Fond Kiss | 2004 | Kenneth Loach. | ★★★ | 104 | Provocative, refreshingly unformulaic drama about the ins and outs of a mixed-race relationship between a second-generation Pakistani (Yaqub) living with his Muslim family in Glasgow and a Catholic schoolteacher (Birthistle). All the characters are vividly etched, and Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty offer no simple solutions to the problems their characters encounter. Original title is AE FOND KISS . . . | tt0380366 | [R] | Atta Yaqub, Eva Birthistle, Shabana Bakhsh, Shamshad Akhtar, Ahmad Riaz, Ghizala Avan, Pasha Bocarie. | British-Belgian-German-Italian-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Food of the Gods | 1976 | Bert I. Gordon | 💣 | 88 | Dreadful adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel. Strange substance causes giant growth in wasps, worms, chickens and rats. Not for the squeamish. Similar to VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS, filmed by Gordon 11 years earlier. | tt0074540 | [PG] | Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ida Lupino, Jon Cypher, Ralph Meeker, Belinda Belaski | Action | NULL | ||
| Food of the Gods II | Gnaw | 1989 | Damian Lee | 💣 | 91 | This time, gigantic laboratory rats terrorize a college campus. No connection to the first film, or (goodness knows) H. G. Wells' novel. Ugh! Aka GNAW. | tt0097371 | Paul Coufos, Lisa Schrage, Jackie Burroughs, Colin Fox, Frank Moore | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Fool Killer | 1965 | Servando Gonzalez | ★★★ | 100 | Set in post-Civil War South, film relates unusual adventures of runaway orphan (Albert) and his meeting with strange young man (Perkins). Interesting and offbeat. | tt0059190 | Anthony Perkins, Edward Albert, Dana Elcar, Henry Hull, Salome Jens, Arnold Moss | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Fool There Was | 1915 | Frank Powell. | ★★½ | 67 | Will wealthy lawyer-statesman— and happy family man— José be driven to the depths of ruin by sultry, devilish 'vampire' Bara? Watch this and you'll see why Bara was considered the screen's premier sex symbol of her day. Inspired by a Rudyard Kipling poem. Remade in 1922. | tt0005339 | Theda Bara, Edward José, Mabel Fremyear, May Allison, Runa Hodges, Clifford Bruce, Frank Powell. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Fool and His Money | 1988 | Daniel Adams | 💣 | 84 | Plimpton as 'God' tells ex-musician/ex-ad man Penner to start his own business, so he founds the 'Preferent Church,' a religion whose main tenet is selfishness. Embarrassing attempt at satire features Bullock on the video box, but she only has about eight minutes on screen as a public defender who can't believe her boyfriend has turned into such a jerk. | tt0098185 | [R] | Jonathan Penner, Sandra Bullock, Gerald Orange, George Plimpton, Jerzy Kosinski, Tama Janowitz, Jose Torres |
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| Fool for Love | 1985 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 106 | Altman's inventive direction tries to breathe life into what is ultimately a photographed play, Shepard's examination of two ex-lovers who find themselves inextricably bound together. Biggest problem is generating some interest in these characters. Very much of a piece with Shepard's other work; if you're a fan, you might adjust our rating upward. | tt0089160 | [R] | Sam Shepard, Kim Basinger, Harry Dean Stanton, Randy Quaid | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fool's Gold | 2008 | Andy Tennant | ★★½ | 112 | Newly divorced (and perennially shirtless) McConaughey and Hudson get back together when he gets a bead on some sunken treasure they've been trying to find for years . . . but they aren't the only ones after it. Needlessly plotty romantic comedy is notably unfunny at first but gets livelier and more engaging as the treasure hunt kicks in. Beautiful scenery helps. | tt0770752 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Alexis Dziena, Ewen Bremner, Ray Winstone, Kevin Hart, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Brian Hooks, David Roberts | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Foolin' Around | 1980 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★ | 111 | Dumb 1950s-style comedy about a good-hearted klutz who pursues a wealthy girl, although she's already engaged. Cardboard characters and clumsy slapstick. | tt0080750 | [PG] | Gary Busey, Annette O'Toole, Cloris Leachman, Eddie Albert, John Calvin, Tony Randall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Foolish | 1999 | Dave Meyers | 💣 | 96 | Part drama, part comedy, part concert film, total disaster. Story centers around a comic who feels he is not using his talents wisely and throwing away his potential. Yeah, that's right; he coulda been a contender. Alas, nothing he says is even remotely funny. Film is also meant to capitalize on the success of hip hop star Master P, who also executive-produced. The title says it all. | tt0166195 | [R] | Eddie Griffin, Master P, Amy Petersen, Frank Sivero, Daphnee Lynn Duplaix, Jonathan Banks, Andrew Dice Clay, Marla Gibbs, Bill Nunn, Bill Duke, Traci Bingham | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Foolish Wives | 1922 | Erich von Stroheim | ★★★ | 107 | Von Stroheim's third film as director is a typically sophisticated, fascinating tale of seduction, fake counts, blackmail, suicide, lechery, and murder. Great photography by William Daniels and Ben Reynolds, and an incredible set depicting the Monte Carlo casino designed by von Stroheim and Richard Day. | tt0013140 | Erich von Stroheim, Maud George, Mae Busch, Cesare Gravina, Malvine Polo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fools | 1970 | Tom Gries | 💣 | 97 | Wretchedly acted, written, and directed drama about love affair in San Francisco between horror movie star and beautiful, neglected wife of a lawyer. Storyline is vaguely similar to PETULIA but the execution certainly isn't. | tt0065731 | [PG] | Jason Robards, Katharine Ross, Scott Hylands, Roy C. Jenson, Mark Bramhall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fools Rush In | 1997 | Andy Tennant | ★★½ | 107 | Hard-working New Yorker Perry chances to meet self-reliant Mexican-American photographer Hayek in Las Vegas, and it's lust at first sight . . . but when she becomes pregnant, it's hard for either of them to know what course to take. Pleasant if unexceptional romantic comedy-drama with appealing and credible performances by the two stars. | tt0119141 | [PG-13] | Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Carlos Gomez, Tomas Milian, Siobhan Fallon, John Bennett Perry, Stanley DeSantis, Suzanne Snyder, Jill Clayburgh | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Fools for Scandal | 1938 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 81 | Generally a misfire, despite lovely Lombard as movie star who meets impoverished Paris nobleman Gravet; Bellamy plays the sap again. | tt0030145 | Carole Lombard, Fernand Gravet, Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Isabel Jeans, Marie Wilson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fools of Fortune | 1990 | Pat O'Connor | ★½ | 109 | Muddled, haphazardly organized family chronicle set against decades of fighting between the British army and the IRA, from 1920 on. Very difficult to sort out who's doing what to whom; director O'Connor may have been too close to his subject. Mastrantonio, who shows up quite late (despite her billing), is awkward as Glen's love interest. Based on William Trevor's novel. | tt0099594 | [PG-13] | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Iain Glen, Julie Christie, Michael Kitchen, Sean McClory, Frankie McCafferty | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Fools' Parade | 1971 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 98 | Another great Stewart performance can't save melodramatic treatment of Davis Grubb novel. Story of three ex-cons stalked by their former prison guard is unintentionally funny too many times to be taken seriously. | tt0067109 | [PG] | James Stewart, George Kennedy, Anne Baxter, Strother Martin, Kurt Russell, William Windom, Kathy Cannon | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Foot Fist Way | 2008 | Jody Hill | ★½ | 83 | Meandering, one-note account of self-deluded, painfully insufferable taekwondo instructor McBride. This crude, cringe-inducing comedy barely sustains interest and seems overlong even at 83m.! However, fans of JACKASS: THE MOVIE may feel otherwise. | tt0492619 | [R] | Danny McBride, Mary Jane Bostic, Ben Best, Spencer Moreno, Carlos Lopez IV, Jody Hill, Ken Aguilar, Collette Wolfe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Footlight Glamour | 1943 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 75 | Amusing Blondie entry finds the Bumsteads mixed up with the stage-struck daughter of one of Dagwood's clients. | tt0035895 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Ann Savage, Jonathan Hale, Danny Mummert, Thurston Hall, Marjorie Ann Mutchie | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Footlight Parade | 1933 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★½ | 104 | Cagney plays a stage director who tries to outdo himself with spectacular musical numbers. Fast-paced Warner Bros. opus winds up with three incredible Busby Berkeley numbers back-to-back: 'Honeymoon Hotel,' 'By a Waterfall,' and 'Shanghai Lil.' | tt0024028 | James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Ruth Donnelly, Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh | Musical | NULL | |||
| Footlight Serenade | 1942 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★★ | 80 | Cute backstage musical with cocky boxer Mature turning to Broadway and trying to woo Grable, who's secretly engaged to Payne. Good fun. | tt0034745 | Betty Grable, Victor Mature, John Payne, Jane Wyman, Phil Silvers, James Gleason, Mantan Moreland, Cobina Wright/Jr. | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Footlight Varieties | 1951 | Hal Yates. | ★★½ | 61 | Jack Paar is master of ceremonies for a vaudeville-style revue of musical numbers, comedy skits, and specialty acts combined with clips culled from old RKO shorts. Highlights include Errol in the short HE FORGOT TO REMEMBER. Paar also dances a little. | tt0043551 | Leon Errol, The Sportsmen, Liberace, Jerry Murad's Harmonicats, Frankie Carle Orchestra, Red Buttons, Inesita, Grace Romanos. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Footloose | 1984 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 107 | City kid moves to small town where dancing has been outlawed— and confronts hellfire minister (Lithgow) in effort to bring it back. Too much emphasis on hackneyed story in so-called musical (though the soundtrack did spawn a number of Top 10 hits). Bacon's charisma sparks innocuous film. | tt0087277 | [PG] | Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Christopher Penn, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Laughlin, Elizabeth Gorcey, Frances Lee McCain, Jim Young, Brian Wimmer | Drama, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Footloose | 2011 | Craig Brewer | ★★½ | 113 | Amiable remake of the 1984 movie adds some solid backstory ingredients to explain why a small town would ban dancing—and why a newcomer like Wormald feels so strongly about following his gut in fighting the town elders, including the minister-father (Quaid) of the girl he's fallen in love with (Hough). The original movie's memorable songs and moments are all here, which only fuels the question, "Why did they bother to remake it?" | tt1068242 | [PG-13] | Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Miles Teller, Ziah Colon, Ray McKinnon, Patrick John Flueger, Kim Dickens | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Footloose Heiress | 1937 | William Clemens. | ★★½ | 59 | Sheridan is perky and sexy as a tycoon's madcap daughter who elopes on her 18th birthday in order to win a $5,000 bet. Hobo Reynolds complicates matters by befriending her outraged father and throwing a monkey wrench into her plans. Pretty funny screwball comedy bubbles along at a dizzy pace. | tt0028887 | Ann Sheridan, Craig Reynolds, William Hopper, Anne Nagel, Hugh O'Connell, Teddy Hart. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Footnote | 2011 | Joseph Cedar | ★★★ | 103 | A popular and respected professor finds himself perpetually in competition with his father, an embittered Talmudic scholar who has never received recognition for his work uncovering minutiae—and who, socially, is his own worst enemy. Wry, cerebrally amusing slice of life skewers some of the pompousness of academia and reveals that even the loftiest among us are subject to weakness and peccadilloes. Written by the director. | tt1445520 | [PG] | Shlomo Bar Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Alisa Rosen, Alma Zak, Daniel Markovich, Micah Lewesohn, Yuval Scharf | Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| Footsteps in the Dark | 1941 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 96 | Flynn leads double life as happily married businessman and mystery writer. Silly but genial. | tt0033616 | Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Hale/Sr., Lee Patrick, Allen Jenkins | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Footsteps in the Fog | 1955 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 90 | Cat-and-mouse battle involving servant girl who blackmails her employer for having murdered his wife. Fine acting, rich Victorian atmosphere. | tt0048087 | Stewart Granger, Jean Simmons, Finlay Currie, Bill Travers, Ronald Squire | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Footsteps in the Night | 1957 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★½ | 62 | Programmer with homicide detective Elliott attempting to solve the motel murder of a friend. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other movies. | tt0050404 | Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty, Eleanore Tanin, Zena Marshall. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| For All Mankind | 1989 | Al Reinert | ★★★ | 80 | Excellent documentary on the Apollo moon flights, culled from a zillion hours of NASA footage seamlessly edited into one representative journey. Impressive, if a bit on the cold side; end credits inform us film was shot 'on location.' Let us hope. | tt0097372 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| For Colored Girls | 2010 | Tyler Perry | ★ | 134 | And now for something completely different: director Perry, best known for adapting his own stage plays into raucous comedies (MADEA GOES TO JAIL, MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION, etc.), attempts a filmization of Ntozake Shange’s award-winning stage drama. In the process, unfortunately, Shange’s artfully stylized “choreopoem”—a series of monologues by African-American women driven to extremes of joy, anger, and despair—becomes a ham-handed, literal-minded melodrama in which soliloquies are sporadically cued like songs in a musical. Tonally discordant and wildly overwrought, despite game efforts by a first-rate cast. | tt1405500 | [R] | Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Ealy, Kimberly Elise, Omari Hardwick, Hill Harper, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Macy Gray | Drama | NULL | ||
| For Ever Mozart | 1996 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 84 | One of Godard's better latter-career films is the complex, poetic account, set in four sections, of a director attempting to mount a movie. Here, Godard insightfully deals with one of his more prominent themes: how art (and, specifically, the art of cinema) relates to politics (in this case, the political implications of the war in Bosnia). | tt0116334 | Madeleine Assas, Frederic Pierrot, Ghalia Lacroix, Vicky Messica, Harry Cleven | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| For Greater Glory | 2012 | Dean Wright | ★★ | 143 | Well-intentioned but draggy and unfocused drama about the little-known civil war in 1920s Mexico waged by insurgents outraged over government-sanctioned repression of religious freedom. Garcia is persuasive as a retired military mastermind who reluctantly accepts leadership of the Cristeros, rebels given tacit support by the Vatican. Elliptical narrative plays like a multipart miniseries hacked down to feature length. | tt1566501 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Oscar Isaac, Catalina Sandino Morena, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole, Santiago Cabrera, Rubén Blades, Bruce Greenwood, Eduardo Verástegui, Bruce McGill, Nestor Carbonell, Mauricio Kuri | Mexican | Drama, War | NULL | |
| For Heaven's Sake | 1926 | Sam Taylor. | ★★★★ | 58 | Screamingly funny silent comedy has Lloyd a blase young millionaire whose crush on Ralston inspires him to help attract 'customers' for her father's Bowery Mission. Even THE FRENCH CONNECTION hasn't dimmed the luster of Lloyd's chase climax on L.A. streets. | tt0016895 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Noah Young, James Mason, Paul Weigel. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| For Keeps | 1988 | John G. Avildsen | ★½ | 98 | Studious teen Ringwald becomes pregnant, and must quickly face adult responsibilities. Subject matter is most worthwhile, but the result is predictable and phony. Tim Kazurinsky coauthored the screenplay. | tt0095169 | [PG-13] | Molly Ringwald, Randall Batinkoff, Kenneth Mars, Miriam Flynn, Conchata Ferrell, Sharon Brown, Renée Estevez, Larry Drake | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| For Love Alone | 1986 | Stephen Wallace | ★★★ | 102 | Nicely filmed romantic drama, set in the 1930s, with Australian university student Buday falling in love with her professor (Weaving); even though he treats her poorly, she decides to follow him to England. Neill does well as an altogether different man who enters her life. Based on the novel by Christina Stead. | tt0091067 | Helen Buday, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Keays-Byrne | Australian | Romance | NULL | ||
| For Love of Ivy | 1968 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 102 | Family wants to keep maid, so they find her a beau; ho-hum black romance. | tt0062985 | [G] | Sidney Poitier, Abbey Lincoln, Beau Bridges, Leon Bibb, Nan Martin, Lauri Peters, Carroll O'Connor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| For Love of the Game | 1999 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 137 | Likable vehicle for Costner as a 20-year baseball veteran who looks back on the last five years of his life during an eventful end-of-season game. Effectively played for star value and sentiment, but goes into extra innings for no apparent reason, stretching out a conclusion that comes as no surprise. | tt0126916 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Kelly Preston, John C. Reilly, Jena Malone, Brian Cox, J. K. Simmons, Vin Scully | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| For Love or Money | 1963 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 108 | Comedy strains to be funnier than it is. Widow Ritter hires lawyer Douglas to find spouses for her three daughters. | tt0057067 | Kirk Douglas, Mitzi Gaynor, Gig Young, Thelma Ritter, William Bendix, Julie Newmar | Comedy | NULL | |||
| For Love or Money | 1993 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★ | 95 | Tepid APARTMENT variation about aggressive, ambitious Fox, concierge at an upscale N.Y.C. hotel, who'll do anything to please his guests. Trouble brews when he finds himself attracted to beautiful Anwar, the mistress of married Higgins (a Donald Trump clone). Fox and a fine cast try their best, but this comedy runs out of steam long before its predictable finale. | tt0106941 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, Gabrielle Anwar, Anthony Higgins, Michael Tucker, Bob Balaban, Isaac Mizrahi, Udo Kier, Simon Jones, Dianne Brill, Dan Hedaya, Fyvush Finkel, Bobby Short | Comedy | NULL | ||
| For Me and My Gal | 1942 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 104 | Music sustains old-hat plot of vaudeville couple determined to play Palace, circa WW1. Kelly's film debut enhanced by he and Garland singing title tune, 'When You Wore a Tulip,' etc. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034746 | Judy Garland, George Murphy, Gene Kelly, Marta Eggerth, Ben Blue, Stephen McNally, Keenan Wynn, Richard Quine | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| For Men Only | 1952 | Paul Henreid | ★★ | 93 | Sincere if obvious study of fraternity hazing that gets out of hand on a college campus. Retitled: THE TALL LIE. | tt0044628 | Paul Henreid, Kathleen Hughes, Russell Johnson, James Dobson, Margaret Field, Vera Miles, Douglas Kennedy, O. Z. Whitehead | Drama | NULL | |||
| For Pete's Sake | 1974 | Peter Yates | ★★½ | 90 | Amiable, featherweight comedy about devoted wife who tries to raise money for her ambitious cab-driver husband, and gets involved with assorted nuts and underworld types. Streisand is fine in forgettable film. | tt0071514 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, Michael Sarrazin, Estelle Parsons, William Redfield, Molly Picon, Louis Zorich, Vincent Schiavelli, Anne Ramsey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| For Queen and Country | 1988 | Martin Stellman | ★★★ | 105 | Striking, laced-in-acid contemporary thriller of life in Thatcherite England. Washington is well cast as a former paratrooper who struggles for survival in an atmosphere of racism, poverty, and corruption— and then loses his British citizenship because of an immigration-law technicality. The director also cowrote the screenplay. | tt0097373 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Dorian Healey, Amanda Redman, Sea Chapman, Bruce Payne | British | Drama | NULL | |
| For Richer or Poorer | 1997 | Bryan Spicer | ★★½ | 115 | Crass, filthy-rich New Yorkers Allen and Alley, whose marriage is on the rocks, are forced to take it on the lam when they're accused of tax fraud— and hide out on an Amish farm, where they pretend to be cousins of farmer Sanders. Spoiled and lazy, they're forced to do hard, honest work, and actually come to like it. Predictable in every way, but pleasant enough. | tt0119142 | [PG-13] | Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Lerner, Wayne Knight, Larry Miller, Miguel A. Nunez/Jr., Megan Cavanagh, Carrie Preston, Katie Moore | Comedy | NULL | ||
| For Roseanna | 1997 | Paul Weiland | ★★½ | 95 | Sweet, well-intentioned film about a man who has promised his wife, who's terminally ill, that she will be buried in their village churchyard cemetery . . . but with only a few vacant plots left, he takes it upon himself to keep the other townspeople healthy! Winning performances and vivid Italian atmosphere help compensate for a script (by veteran TV comedy writer Saul Turteltaub) that strains credibility to the bursting point. | tt0120034 | [PG-13] | Jean Reno, Mercedes Ruehl, Polly Walker, Mark Frankel, Giuseppe Cederna, Renato Scarpa | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| For Singles Only | 1968 | Arthur Dreifuss | 💣 | 91 | Certainly not for those who like good movies. Two girls move into singles apartment where Berle is social director; result is a rape, an attempted suicide, and several songs. | tt0062987 | John Saxon, Mary Ann Mobley, Milton Berle, Lana Wood, Peter Mark Richman, Chris Noel, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | Comedy | NULL | |||
| For Those Who Think Young | 1964 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★★ | 96 | Great time-capsule cast in a silly time-waster about college high jinks. Notable for taking its title from a Pepsi slogan at the time—making this a milestone in the history of product placement! George Raft and Roger Smith appear unbilled. | tt0058110 | James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise, Bob Denver, Robert Middleton, Nancy Sinatra, Claudia Martin, Ellen McRae (Burstyn), Woody Woodbury, Louis Quinn, Sammee Tong, Addison Richards, Mousie Garner, Benny Baker, Anna Lee, Jack La Rue, Allen Jenkins, Robert Armstrong, Lada Edmund, Jr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| For Whom the Bell Tolls | 1943 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 130 | Hemingway story of U.S. mercenary Cooper fighting for Spain with motley crew of peasants, including Bergman; tense action, beautiful color, great love scenes, marvelous Victor Young score. Paxinou won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Originally released at 170m.; archivally restored version runs 156m. | tt0035896 | Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Arturo de Cordova, Joseph Calleia, Katina Paxinou, Vladimir Sokoloff, Mikhail Rasumny, Fortunio Bonanova | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| For Your Consideration | 2006 | Christopher Guest | ★★★ | 86 | While making a film called HOME FOR PURIM, aging actress O'Hara, veteran leading man Shearer, and costar Posey all buy into self-perpetuating 'buzz' about their chances for Oscars. Uncanny in its dead-on parodies of TV and radio talk shows and other follies of show business, though not as resonant as Guest's other films, perhaps because Hollywood is just too easy a target. Guest's usual cohorts (and some talented newcomers) deliver the goods, but O'Hara takes the cake as a self-deluded star. Written by Guest and Levy. | tt0470765 | [PG-13] | Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, Michael McKean, Jennifer Coolidge, Eugene Levy, John Michael Higgins, Ed Begley/Jr., Ricky Gervais, Larry Miller, Paul Dooley, Don Lake, Michael Hitchcock, Christopher Moynihan, Sandra Oh, Richard Kind, John Krasinski, Jim Piddock, Carrie Aizley, Mary McCormack, Craig Bierko, Kevin Sussman, Rachael Harris, Deborah Theaker, Scott Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | John Glen | ★★★ | 127 | After years of space-age gadgetry, cartoon villains, female mannequins, and giants with steel teeth came this one-shot return to the old days of Ian Fleming minimalism. No other James Bond film has provoked so much debate among 007 fans (even us); judge for yourself. The chases and stuntwork are spectacular; debuting helmer Glen directed 2nd-unit on some earlier Bonds. Look for Charles Dance as gunman. | tt0082398 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, (Chaim) Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Jill Bennett, Cassandra Harris, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Walter Gotell | British | Action | NULL | |
| For Your Love Only | 1976 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★ | 97 | Young student Kinski has an affair with a teacher, then kills the man who tries to blackmail and seduce her. Turgid soap opera. Made for German TV; theatrical release in 1982. | tt0075309 | Nastassja Kinski, Christian Quadflieg, Judy Winter, Klaus Schwarzkopf | German | Action | NULL | ||
| For a Few Dollars More | Per qualche dollaro in più | 1966 | Sergio Leone | ★★★ | 130 | Sequel to FISTFUL OF DOLLARS finds two gunslingers forming an uneasy alliance in their quest for outlaw Indio (Volonté) — although their reasons for chasing him are markedly different. Slightly draggy but still fun; don't miss the scene where Van Cleef strikes a match on the back of Kinski's neck! Trademark atmospheric score by Ennio Morricone. Released in the U.S. in 1967. Followed by THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. | tt0059578 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonté, Jose Egger, Mara Krup, Rosemarie Dexter, Klaus Kinski, Mario Brega | Italian | Drama, Action, Thriller, Western | NULL |
| For the Boys | 1991 | Mark Rydell | ★★½ | 145 | Midler is in top form as U.S.O. singer who becomes a star while performing during WW2 with Caan, a sexist, self-involved king of comedy; scenario follows their tumultuous relationship over the decades. Occasionally hokey but mostly entertaining. Arliss Howard appears unbilled as Bette's G.I. husband. | tt0101902 | [R] | Bette Midler, James Caan, George Segal, Patrick O'Neal, Christopher Rydell, Arye Gross, Norman Fell, Rosemary Murphy, Dori Brenner, Bud Yorkin, Jack Sheldon, Melissa Manchester, Brandon Call, Billy Bob Thornton, Xander Berkeley, Vince Vaughn | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| For the First Time | 1959 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 97 | Lanza is typecast as fiery opera singer who falls in love with beautiful deaf girl in Capri. Not bad, with plenty of music to satisfy Lanza fans; this was his last film. | tt0052817 | Mario Lanza, Johanna Von Koszian, Kurt Kasznar, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hans Sohnker | Musical | NULL | |||
| For the Love of Benji | 1977 | Joe Camp | ★★★ | 84 | Cynthia Smith, Allen Fiuzat, Ed Nelson, Peter Bowles, Bridget Armstrong. Moviedom's smartest pooch since Lassie in his second delightful screen adventure, this time scampering through the streets of Athens with secret agents in pursuit, trying to get the formula tattoed on his paw. Fine family entertainment. Followed by OH, HEAVENLY DOG! | tt0076044 | [G] | Benji, Patsy Garrett | Family | NULL | ||
| For the Love of Mary | 1948 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 90 | Airy fluff with Durbin a White House switchboard operator getting political figures and her own romance tangled up. Deanna's final film. | tt0040364 | Deanna Durbin, Edmond O'Brien, Don Taylor, Jeffrey Lynn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| For the Love of Mike | 1960 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 84 | Mild happenings as Indian boy trains a horse, hoping to use prize money for a village shrine. Another intelligent Robert B. Radnitz production. | tt0053831 | Richard Basehart, Stuart Erwin, Arthur Shields, Armando Silvestre | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| Forbidden | 1932 | Frank Capra | ★★ | 81 | A spinster schoolteacher takes a cruise and falls in love with a man who can never marry her. Fine performances and stunning Joseph Walker photography buoy this BACK STREET soap opera until its ridiculous conclusion. | tt0022905 | Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Bellamy, Dorothy Peterson, Henry Armetta | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Forbidden | 1953 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 85 | OK suspenser in which two-fisted Curtis arrives in Macao, hired by a gangland chief to uncover the whereabouts of Dru (who just so happens to be Curtis' ex-girlfriend). | tt0045780 | Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru, Lyle Bettger, Marvin Miller, Victor Sen Yung | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Forbidden Cargo | 1954 | Harold French | ★★½ | 83 | Modest drama about customs agent Patrick clashing with dope-smuggling syndicate, enlivened by a solid cast. | tt0046992 | Nigel Patrick, Elizabeth Sellars, Terence Morgan, Jack Warner, Greta Gynt, Joyce Grenfell, Theodore Bikel | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Forbidden Dance | 1990 | Greydon Clark | 💣 | 97 | Brazilian jungle princess treks to America on behalf of her endangered rain forests, ends up on a TV special as . . . a lambada dancer?!? Marginally lesser of two ' 'L'-word' quickies that opened the same week. Inability of ex-Miss USA Herring to dance is good for a few chuckles. | tt0099595 | [PG-13] | Laura Herring, Jeff James, Sid Haig, Richard Lynch, Barbara Brighton, Kid Creole | Romance | NULL | ||
| Forbidden Fruit | 1959 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 97 | Unpretentious little film of Fernandel's touching love affair with a young maiden. | tt0044640 | Fernandel, Françoise Arnoul, Claude Nollier, Sylvie, Jacques Castelot | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Forbidden Games | 1951 | René Clément | ★★★½ | 87 | During WW2, young Parisian girl is orphaned and taken in by simple peasant family; she develops friendship with their youngest son, and shares with him a private world which the grownups cannot understand. Sad, intensely moving drama earned a Best Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0043686 | Brigitte Fossey, Georges Poujouly, Louis Herbert | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Forbidden Island | 1959 | Charles B. Griffith | ★½ | 66 | Sleazy film with Hall a skindiver seeking to find sunken treasure before a gang of crooks uncovers the loot. | tt0052818 | Jon Hall, Nan Adams, John Farrow, Jonathan Haze, Greigh Phillips | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Forbidden Kingdom | 2008 | Rob Minkoff | ★★½ | 105 | Boston boy is magically transported to a mystical kingdom, bearing a golden staff that must be returned to its rightful owner. He acquires a valuable ally in a seemingly drunken kung-fu master (Chan), and before long they encounter a silent monk (Li) who may or may not be on their side. Uninspired story unfolds against magnificent Chinese scenery and ornate sets, photographed by Peter Pau. Chan and Li square off for one great fight (choreographed by Woo-Ping Yuen) but the film as a whole is just lukewarm. | tt0865556 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Liu Yifei, Li Bing Bing | U.S.-Chinese | Action, Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Forbidden Planet | 1956 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★★½ | 98 | Sci-fi version of Shakespeare's The Tempest remains one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre; only slow, deliberate pacing works against it, as Nielsen and fellow space travelers visit planet where expatriate Pidgeon has built a one-man empire with daughter Francis and obedient Robby the Robot. Great effects, eerie electronic score. Beware 95m. reissue prints. Lavish use of wide-screen CinemaScope is severely diminished on television. | tt0049223 | Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, Richard Anderson, Earl Holliman, George Wallace, James Drury | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Forbidden Street | Britannia Mews | 1949 | Jean Negulesco | ★★ | 91 | Fanciful melodrama, set in Victorian England, of wealthy O'Hara defying her family by marrying beneath her class; Andrews has a dual role, as a down-and-out artist (with his voice dubbed) and an ex-barrister. Scripted by Ring Lardner, Jr. Originally titled BRITANNIA MEWS. | tt0041382 | Dana Andrews, Maureen O'Hara, Sybil Thorndike, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Fay Compton | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Forbidden World | Mutant | 1982 | Allan Holzman | ★½ | 86 | Roger Corman-produced ALIEN rip-off is followup to (and uses sets from) his GALAXY OF TERROR as well as battle scenes lifted from his BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Lots of gore, weak special effects. Aka MUTANT. | tt0083959 | [R] | Jesse Vint, June Chadwick, Dawn Dunlap, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Forbidden Zone | 1980 | Richard Elfman | ★½ | 76 | Pastiche film set in the Sixth Dimension, an underground kingdom ruled by Villechaize and Tyrrell. Mostly a collection of bizarre, campy musical numbers, done in the style of 1930s Max Fleischer cartoons. If only everything about the film weren't so ugly! Has an inevitable cult following. | tt0080752 | [R] | Herve Villechaize, Susan Tyrrell, Marie-Pascale Elfman, Viva | Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Force 10 From Navarone | 1978 | Guy Hamilton | 💣 | 118 | Awful sequel to classic GUNS OF NAVARONE, poor in all departments, although Shaw, Ford, and Nero try to give it a lift. Mixed group (naturally), hindered by traitor Nero, attempt to blow a bridge vital to Nazis. They blew the film instead. Based on the Alistair MacLean novel. Restored to 128m. on laserdisc. | tt0077572 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford, Edward Fox, Franco Nero, Barbara Bach, Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel | British | Action, War | NULL | |
| Force of Arms | A Girl for Joe | 1951 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 100 | Updating of Hemingway's A FAREWELL TO ARMS to WW2 Italy, with unmemorable results. Reissued as A GIRL FOR JOE. | tt0043553 | William Holden, Nancy Olson, Frank Lovejoy, Gene Evans, Dick Wesson | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Force of Evil | 1948 | Abraham Polonsky | ★★★ | 78 | Rock-solid film noir about a racketeer's lawyer (Garfield, in a stunning performance), whose ideals have been obscured by his greed. Beautifully photographed (by George Barnes) and lit; this has become something of a cult item. Polonsky, who coscripted with Ira Wolfert, was blacklisted and didn't make another film until 1969's TELL THEM WILLIE BOY IS HERE. | tt0040366 | John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, Thomas Gomez, Roy Roberts, Marie Windsor, Howland Chamberlin, Beau Bridges | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A Force of One | 1979 | Paul Aaron | ★★½ | 90 | Follow-up to GOOD GUYS WEAR BLACK has karate champ Norris using his expertise to help California town combat drug trafficking. OK action fare. | tt0079168 | [PG] | Chuck Norris, Jennifer O'Neill, Clu Gulager, Ron O'Neal, James Whitmore/ Jr., Clint Ritchie, Pepe Serna | Action | NULL | ||
| Force: Five | 1981 | Robert Clouse | ★★ | 95 | Lewis and company attempt to rescue girl from the clutches of religious-cult-head Han. Retread of Clouse's much-used martial arts formula, with gimmick of disparate five-person 'team' as the collective hero. Remake of HOT POTATO. | tt0082399 | [R] | Joe Lewis, Pam Huntington, Master Bong Soo Han, Richard Norton, Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez | Action | NULL | ||
| Forced Entry | The Last Victim | 1984 | Jim Sotos | ★½ | 83 | Trifling junk about a rapist-killer, and his attempt to victimize housewife Roberts. Shot in 1975 as THE LAST VICTIM; supposedly re-edited five years later. | tt0087282 | [R] | Tanya Roberts, Ron Max, Nancy Allen, Robin Leslie | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Forced March | 1989 | Rick King | ★★½ | 104 | American actor Sarandon faces challenge after traveling to Budapest to star in a film about Miklos Radnoti, Hungarian-Jewish poet who fell victim to the Holocaust. Ambitious, potentially potent drama mostly falls flat; scenes of the actor are pointlessly interspersed with those of the film in which he is starring. | tt0097377 | Chris Sarandon, Renee Soutendijk, Josef Sommer, John Seitz | U.S.-Hungarian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Forced Vengeance | 1982 | James Fargo | ★½ | 90 | Clichéd karate nonsense with Norris, badly in need of an acting lesson, taking on Hong Kong mobster Cavanaugh. | tt0083960 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Mary Louise Weller, Camilla Griggs, Michael Cavanaugh, David Opatoshu, Seiji Sakaguchi | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Forces of Nature | 1999 | Bronwen Hughes | ★★ | 104 | About-to-be-wed Affleck is stranded in N.Y. with fellow passenger Bullock when their plane crashes. The two strangers decide to travel together, by land, to their intended destination: Savannah, GA. What promises to be a standard road picture with two likable stars veers off-course early on thanks to Bullock's erratic character and a threadbare story; a disappointment. | tt0141098 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Maura Tierney, Steve Zahn, Blythe Danner, Ronny Cox, Michael Fairman, Janet Carroll, David Strickland, Anne Haney, Bert Remsen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Foreign Affair | 1948 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 116 | Staid Arthur is sent to Berlin to investigate post-WW2 conditions, finds romance instead, with hot competition from Dietrich. Marlene sings 'Black Market,' 'Ruins of Berlin,' but Jean Arthur's Iowa State Song equally memorable in great Wilder comedy. Written by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and Richard Breen. | tt0040367 | Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, John Lund, Millard Mitchell, Peter Von Zerneck, Stanley Prager | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Foreign Body | 1986 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 108 | In a real casting switch, A PASSAGE TO INDIA star Banerjee has a field day as an itinerant Indian in London who poses as a doctor and soon finds all the women dying to get him into bed. Throwback to the style of 1950s British sex comedies. | tt0091068 | [PG-13] | Victor Banerjee, Warren Mitchell, Trevor Howard, Geraldine McEwan, Amanda Donohoe, Denis Quilley, Eve Ferret, Anna Massey | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Foreign Correspondent | 1940 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 119 | McCrea in title role caught in middle of spy ring with reporters Sanders and Benchley, innocent Day, suspicious father Marshall. Tremendously entertaining film with several vintage Hitchcock showpieces. Scripted by Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison; dialogue by James Hilton and Benchley. | tt0032484 | Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann, Robert Benchley, Edmund Gwenn, Eduardo Ciannelli, Harry Davenport, Martin Kosleck | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Foreign Intrigue | 1956 | Sheldon Reynolds | ★★ | 100 | Colorful location filming throughout Europe enlivens this otherwise plodding suspenser, with stolid press agent Mitchum investigating the death of his wealthy, mysterious employer. Based on a syndicated TV series of the same name. | tt0049224 | Robert Mitchum, Genevieve Page, Ingrid Thulin, Frederick O'Brady | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Foreign Student | 1994 | Eva Sereny | ★★½ | 96 | Mild, but fairly individualized, low-budget nostalgia piece about an 18-year-old Parisian's taboo romance with a beautiful black schoolteacher/domestic while attending a small college in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in r&b 1956. Spotty little film mixes it up with subplots involving football, William Faulkner, and blues greats Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson; from wistful memoirs of filmmaker Philippe Labro, a huge best-seller in France. | tt0109828 | [R] | Robin Givens, Marco Hofschneider, Rick Johnson, Charlotte Ross, Edward Herrmann, Jack Coleman, Charles S. Dutton, Hinton Battle, Anthony Herrera |
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| The Foreman Went to France | 1941 | Charles Frend. | ★★½ | 88 | Documentary-style tale of industrial engineer who journeys to France during WW2 to help save secret machinery from being confiscated by the Axis. Adapted from a J.B. Priestley story based on a true incident. | tt0033621 | Tommy Trinder, Clifford Evans, Constance Cummings, Robert Morley, Mervyn Johns, Gordon Jackson, Ernest Milton. | British | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Forest Rangers | 1942 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 87 | Hayward tries to show ranger MacMurray that he's made a mistake marrying wealthy Goddard in this OK romance with good action scenes. Introduced the hit song 'I've Got Spurs That Jingle, Jangle, Jingle. | tt0034749 | Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, Susan Hayward, Albert Dekker, Rod Cameron, Lynne Overman, Eugene Pallette | Action | NULL | |||
| Forever Amber | 1947 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 140 | 'Musical beds' costumer, taken from Kathleen Winsor's once-scandalous novel, about blonde Darnell's ascension to the court of Charles II. Lengthy but colorful and entertaining, with David Raksin's outstanding score. | tt0039391 | Linda Darnell, Cornel Wilde, Richard Greene, George Sanders, Jessica Tandy, Anne Revere, Leo G. Carroll | Drama | NULL | |||
| Forever Female | 1953 | Irving Rapper | ★★★½ | 93 | Top-notch show-business satire with Rogers an aging Broadway star, Crowley an ambitious wannabe who can’t settle on a stage name, Douglas an acerbic producer, Holden a talented but opinionated playwright. | tt0045782 | Ginger Rogers, William Holden, Paul Douglas, Pat Crowley, James Gleason, Jesse White, Marjorie Rambeau, George Reeves, King Donovan, Marion Ross | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Forever Mine | 2000 | Paul Schrader | ★★½ | 115 | Florid, stylized romantic saga about a Florida cabana boy who falls deeply in love with a beautiful married guest and refuses to be deterred by her hot-tempered husband. An homage to the lush 1950s Douglas Sirk melodramas, this film isn't perfect, and demands a leap of faith, but offers the kind of passionate romance they don't make anymore. Written by the director. Made for theaters, U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0179182 | [R] | Joseph Fiennes, Gretchen Mol, Ray Liotta, Vincent Laresca, Myk Watford, John Henry Canavan, Lindsey Connell | Canadian-British-U.S. | Thriller, Romance, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Forever My Love | 1962 | Ernest Marischka | ★★½ | 147 | Typical German confection dealing with 19th-century Austrian Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth. | tt0055994 | Romy Schneider, Karl Boehm, Magda Schneider, Vilma Degischer | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Forever Young | 1992 | Steve Miner | ★★★ | 102 | The year is 1939, and test-pilot Gibson (whose girlfriend is comatose after being hit by a car) volunteers to be frozen as part of a cryogenics experiment. He's accidentally thawed out in 1992, and becomes involved in the lives of a young boy (Wood) and his mom (Curtis). This romantic comedy-fantasy may play out by the numbers as it tugs at your heartstrings, but it's hard to resist, thanks to a charismatic cast. | tt0104291 | [PG] | Mel Gibson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elijah Wood, Isabel Glasser, George Wendt, Joe Morton, Nicolas Surovy, David Marshall Grant, Art LaFleur | Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Forever Young, Forever Free | E Lollipop | 1976 | Ashley Lazarus | ★★½ | 85 | The adventures of a white orphan (Knox) and his black friend (Ndebele), who leave their South African village for N.Y.C. when young Knox becomes ill. Entertaining, if a bit too sugar-coated. Aka E LOLLIPOP and LOLLIPOP. | tt0074542 | [G] | Jose Ferrer, Karen Valentine, Muntu Ndebele, Norman Knox, Bess Finney, Simon Sabela | South African | Family | NULL |
| Forever and a Day | 1943 | René Clair, Edmund Goulding, Cedric Hardwicke, Frank Lloyd, Victor Saville, Robert Stevenson, Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 104 | Eighty-odd British (and American) stars contributed their services to this episodic film, about a house and its inhabitants over the years, to raise funds for British War Relief. Uneven result, but has many fine moments and star-gazing galore; once-in-a-lifetime cast. | tt0035897 | Brian Aherne, Robert Cummings, Ida Lupino, Charles Laughton, Herbert Marshall, Ray Milland, Anna Neagle, Merle Oberon, Claude Rains, Victor McLaglen, Buster Keaton, Jessie Matthews, Roland Young, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Everett Horton, Elsa Lanchester, Edmund Gwenn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Forever, Darling | 1956 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 91 | Ball's madcap antics nearly drive husband Arnaz to divorce, but guardian angel Mason saves the day. Contrived but enjoyable. | tt0049225 | Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, James Mason, Louis Calhern | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Forever, Lulu | 1987 | Amos Kollek | 💣 | 85 | Embarrassing, amateurish imitation of DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN has budding novelist Schygulla becoming embroiled in a real-life mystery in N.Y.C. involving drugs and killers. Despite having the title role, singing star Harry makes only a brief cameo appearance. Israeli director Kollek also turns in a poor acting job as Schygulla's agent. Baldwin's first film. Aka CRAZY STREETS. | tt0093042 | [R] | Hanna Schygulla, Deborah Harry, Alec Baldwin, Annie Golden, Paul Gleason, Dr Ruth Westheimer | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Forger of London | 1961 | Harald Reinl | ★★ | 91 | Scotland Yard investigates counterfeit gang tied in with prime suspect, an amnesiac playboy; from Edgar Wallace tale. | tt0054906 |
|
Eddi Arent, Viktor de Kowa, Karin Dor, Hellmut Lange, Robert Graf | German | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Forget Paris | 1995 | Billy Crystal | ★★★ | 101 | Crystal plays a basketball referee who falls head over heels for Winger, while burying his father in Paris. Sharply written comedy (by Crystal and Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) about the trials and tribulations of making a marriage work— after falling in love. Many top basketball stars appear as themselves; Dan Castellaneta appears unbilled. | tt0113097 | [PG-13] | Billy Crystal, Debra Winger, Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Richard Masur, Julie Kavner, William Hickey, Robert Costanzo, John Spencer, Cathy Moriarty, Tom Wright | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Forgetting Sarah Marshall | 2008 | Nicholas Stoller | ★★★ | 112 | After his TV-star girlfriend leaves him for another man, a self-pitying composer goes to Hawaii to mend his broken heart. Then his ex and her new boyfriend turn up at the same resort! Another entry from producer Judd Apatow’s comedy crew, this smart, funny comedy hits all the right notes, pushing the envelope for sexual content but never losing sight of real emotions. Segel wrote the screenplay and gives himself a great star vehicle, with plenty of room for other cast members to shine. | tt0800039 | [R] | Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Jack McBrayer, Maria Thayer, William Baldwin, Jason Bateman, Steve Landesberg | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Forgiven Sinner | Leon Morin, Priest | 1961 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★½ | 101 | Belmondo gives subdued, offbeat performance as clergyman trying to set shady woman onto the path of righteousness. Aka LEON MORIN, PRIEST. Originally ran 123m. | tt0055082 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Emmanuele Riva, Patricia Gozzi, Irene Tunc | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Forgotten Woman | 1939 | Harold Young. | ★★½ | 63 | Overnight star (and overnight fade-out) Gurie is helpless woman, framed by influential gangsters, suffering on trial. | tt0031331 | Sigrid Gurie, William Lundigan, Eve Arden, Elizabeth Risdon, Virginia Brissac. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Forgotten | 2004 | Joseph Ruben | ★★½ | 91 | Woman still grieving for her son, who died more than a year ago, is told the boy never really existed! She refuses to believe this and doggedly seeks the truth, which leads her into unexplored territory. Thriller goes way off base for a while, testing our patience and credulity, before tying things up with an interesting payoff. A couple of real jolts along the way keep it from ever getting dull. Alternate version on DVD runs 94m. | tt0356618 | [PG-13] | Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Gary Sinise, Anthony Edwards, Alfre Woodard, Linus Roache, Robert Wisdom, Jessica Hecht | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Formula 51 | 2001 | Ronny Yu | ★★½ | 91 | Wild, tongue-in-cheek Hong Kong-style yarn loaded with action and violence. Jackson plays a pharmaceutical whiz who develops the ultimate narcotic, then double-crosses his L.A. connection (Meat Loaf) and flies to Liverpool to make a more lucrative deal there. Needless to say, things don't go smoothly. An indefensible guilty pleasure that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever. Mortimer is fun as a gun-toting, motorcycle-riding hit woman. Jackson also coexecutive-produced. Original British title: THE 51ST STATE. | tt0227984 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Rhys Ifans, *** Meat Loaf, Sean Pertwee, Ricky Tomlinson, Paul Barber | British-Canadian | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| The Formula | 1980 | John G. Avildsen | ★★ | 117 | Amazingly matter-of-fact thriller about a cop who investigates a friend's murder and finds him linked to a mysterious plot involving a formula for synthetic fuel. Scott and Brando are always worth watching, but writer-producer Steve Shagan telegraphs all his punches. | tt0080754 | [R] | George C. Scott, Marlon Brando, Marthe Keller, John Gielgud, G. D. Spradlin, Beatrice Straight, Richard Lynch, John Van Dreelen, Craig T. Nelson | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Forrest Gump | 1994 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★½ | 142 | A slow-witted boy grows to adulthood, floating through life— like a feather— with only a vague understanding of the tumultuous times he's living through. (He manages to be on hand for virtually every socio-pop-political phenomenon of the formative Baby Boomer decades, from the rise of Elvis to the fall of Nixon.) Either you accept Hanks in this part and go with the movie's seriocomic sense of whimsy, or you don't (we didn't)— but either way it's a long journey, filled with digitized imagery that puts Forrest Gump into a wide variety of backdrops and real-life events. Based on the (more satiric) novel by Winston Groom. Oscar winner for Best Film, Best Actor (Hanks), Director, Film Editing, Visual Effects, and Adapted Screenplay. | tt0109830 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Humphreys, Hanna Hall, Haley Joel Osment | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Forsaken | 2001 | J.S. Cardone | ★½ | 90 | Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Johnathon Schaech, Izabella Miko, Phina Oruche, Simon Rex, Carrie Snodgress. Straight-arrow Smith drives east from L.A., heading for Miami, but quickly discovers the Southwest has become infested with creepy nocturnal predators, led by Schaech. This vampire film offers no surprises. | tt0245120 | [R] | Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Johnathon Schaech, Izabella Miko, Phina Oruche, Simon Rex, Carrie Snodgress | Horror | NULL | ||
| Forsaking All Others | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 84 | Gable, just back from Spain, is about to propose to Crawford but learns she's set to wed flaky Montgomery. Star trio sparkles in this so-so romantic comedy, scripted by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Butterworth is a treat, as always. | tt0025132 | Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Charles Butterworth, Billie Burke, Frances Drake, Rosalind Russell, Arthur Treacher | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Fort Algiers | 1953 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 78 | De Carlo romps through this adventure set in Algiers, dealing with villainous Arab leader inciting the natives to rebel. | tt0045783 | Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson, Raymond Burr, Leif Erickson | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Fort Apache | 1948 | John Ford | ★★★ | 127 | Fonda is effectively cast against type as stubborn martinet who rubs his own men— as well as neighboring Indians— the wrong way. First of Ford's cavalry trilogy tells its story slowly, deliberately, with time for comedy and telling characterizations. Followed by SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040369 | John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, Pedro Armendáriz, John Agar, Ward Bond, George O'Brien, Victor McLaglen, Anna Lee, Irene Rich, Dick Foran, Guy Kibbee, Mae Marsh, Hank Worden | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Apache The Bronx | 1981 | Daniel Petrie | ★★★ | 125 | Taut urban drama about a policeman's life in a ravaged N.Y.C. neighborhood; credible and exciting, with a fine star performance from Newman. | tt0082402 | [R] | Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello, Rachel Ticotin, Pam Grier, Kathleen Beller | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Fort Defiance | 1951 | John Rawlins | ★★½ | 81 | Film focuses on human relations in between preparations for threatened Indian attacks. | tt0043554 | Dane Clark, Ben Johnson, Peter Graves, Tracey Roberts | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Dobbs | 1958 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 90 | Rugged Walker is believable as hero who fights all obstacles in the old West to make decent life for himself and Mayo. | tt0051628 | Clint Walker, Virginia Mayo, Brian Keith, Richard Eyer | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Massacre | 1958 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 80 | McCrea is leader of troop which constantly is entangled with Indian skirmishes. | tt0051629 | Joel McCrea, Forrest Tucker, Susan Cabot, John Russell | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Osage | 1952 | Lesley Selander. | 💣 | 72 | Inept Grade-D Western involving perennial Indian uprisings. | tt0044630 | Rod Cameron, Jane Nigh, Douglas Kennedy, Iron Eyes Cody, Morris Ankrum, John Ridgely, William Phipps, Myron Healey. | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Saganne | 1984 | Alain Corneau | ★★½ | 190 | Handsomely mounted but clichéd and overlong epic detailing the exploits of Charles Saganne, a French officer of modest background who is posted to the Sahara in the years before WW1. Depardieu is quietly impressive, many of the desert sequences are well done, and Philippe Sarde's score adds to the atmosphere. Depiction of Depardieu's affair with journalist Deneuve is especially trite. | tt0087284 | Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Duchaussoy, Roger Dumas, Sophie Marceau, Jean-Louis Richard | French | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Fort Ti | 1953 | William Castle | ★★ | 73 | Best facet of this oater set during French-Indian war of 1760s is its 3-D gimmickry; otherwise, standard stuff. | tt0045784 | George Montgomery, Joan Vohs, Irving Bacon, James Seay | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Utah | 1968 | Lesley Selander | ★½ | 83 | Former gunfighter Ireland fights Brady, who is stirring up Indians around Fort Utah. See it only if you like the cast. | tt0062989 | John Ireland, Virginia Mayo, Scott Brady, John Russell, Robert Strauss, James Craig, Richard Arlen, Jim Davis, Don 'Red' Barry | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Vengeance | 1953 | Lesley Selander | ★½ | 75 | Film lacks action in its account of Pacific Northwest and mounties chasing fur thieves, quelling Indian uprisings. | tt0045785 | James Craig, Rita Moreno, Keith Larsen, Reginald Denny, Emory Parnell | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Worth | 1951 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 80 | Scott learns that pen is not mightier than the sword; he's a gunslinger who becomes newspaper editor but can only rid town of outlaws via six-shooter. | tt0043557 | Randolph Scott, David Brian, Phyllis Thaxter, Helena Carter | Western | NULL | |||
| Fort Yuma | 1955 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 78 | Indians go on warpath when their chief is killed. Occasionally good combat sequences. | tt0048090 | Peter Graves, Joan Taylor, Addison Richards, Joan Vohs | Western | NULL | |||
| Fortress | 1993 | Stuart Gordon | ★½ | 91 | Husband and wife flee futuristic society (which forbids them from having a second child) because she is pregnant again. They're captured and sent to a high-tech maximum security prison run by a sadistic warden. (Is there any other kind?) Intriguing premise is sabotaged by weak acting and a weaker script. Incredible international success resulted in a sequel. | tt0106950 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Loryn Locklyn, Kurtwood Smith, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez, Jeffrey Combs | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Fortune Cookie | 1966 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 125 | Biting Wilder comedy about TV cameraman (Lemmon) injured during football game and shyster lawyer (Matthau) who exaggerates damages for insurance purposes. Matthau's Oscar-winning performance hits home. Scripted by Wilder and partner I.A.L. Diamond. | tt0060424 | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ron Rich, Cliff Osmond, Judi West, Lurene Tuttle | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Fortune and Men's Eyes | 1971 | Harvey Hart | ★★½ | 102 | Homosexuality in prison is the theme; sincere but exploitative, unpleasant. | tt0067112 | [R] | Wendell Burton, Michael Greer, Zooey (David) Hall, Danny Freedman | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Fortune in Diamonds | 1952 | David MacDonald | ★★ | 74 | Good cast of disparate types all thirsting for cache of gems hidden in the heart of African jungle. Retitled: THE ADVENTURERS. | tt0043263 | Dennis Price, Jack Hawkins, Siobhan McKenna | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Fortune | 1975 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 88 | Nicholson and Beatty make like Laurel and Hardy in this uneven 1920s comedy about two bumblers who plan to murder a dizzy heiress to get her money. Worth seeing if only for Nicholson's wonderful comic performance. David Shire's period music is nice, too. | tt0073008 | [PG] | Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Stockard Channing, Scatman Crothers, Florence Stanley, Richard B. Shull | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fortunes of Captain Blood | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 91 | This filming of Sabatini novel lacks flair and scope of the Flynn version. Costumer recounts tale of Irish doctor (Hayward) who becomes notorious pirate to revenge wrongdoings. | tt0042474 | Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, George Macready, Terry Kilburn | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Forty Deuce | 1982 | Paul Morrissey | ★½ | 89 | Heavyhanded, poorly directed drama of teenage hustler Bacon attempting to sell runaway to wealthy Bean; complications arise when the boy overdoses on heroin. From an off-Broadway play by Alan Bowne. Second half of film is in widescreen. | tt0083962 | Orson Bean, Kevin Bacon, Mark Keyloun, Harris Laskaway, Tommy Citera | Drama | NULL | |||
| Forty Guns | 1957 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 80 | Florid, wildly dramatic Sam Fuller Western with Stanwyck as self-appointed land baroness of Tombstone Territory— until marshal Sullivan shows up. | tt0050407 | Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, John Ericson, Gene Barry | Western | NULL | |||
| Forty Little Mothers | 1940 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 90 | Second-rate Cantor vehicle with Eddie as unemployed college professor who becomes reluctant protector of an abandoned baby, as well as a teacher in a girls' school. Veronica Lake (then known as Constance Keane) is one of his charges. | tt0032487 | Eddie Cantor, Judith Anderson, Ralph Morgan, Rita Johnson, Martha O'Driscoll, Bonita Granville, Diana Lewis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Forty Naughty Girls | 1937 | Edward F. Cline | 💣 | 63 | Final Hildegarde Withers mystery-comedy is just plain awful, with Pitts and Gleason getting involved in a backstage murder. | tt0028891 | James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Marjorie Lord, George Shelley, Joan Woodbury, Frank M. Thomas, Tom Kennedy | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Forty Shades of Blue | 2005 | Ira Sachs | ★★★½ | 108 | Longtime girlfriend of a famous but washed-up music producer finds her life shaken up by the arrival of the producer's estranged son. Torn and Korzun give knockout performances in this gem, which should have earned more attention than it got. Sachs' camera pays close attention to nuances of human behavior, and each shot and sequence adds another layer of emotional depth to the story. Almost painful to watch at times, but highly rewarding. | tt0395543 |
|
Rip Torn, Dina Korzun, Darren Burrows, Paprika Steen, Red West | Drama | NULL | ||
| Forty Thieves | 1944 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 61 | Boyd loses reelection as sheriff when malefactors pad the polls. Satisfactory Hopalong Cassidy effort, with Alyn (later the first screen incarnation of Superman) here a saloonkeeper with no backbone. The last Hoppy film produced by Harry Sherman; Boyd himself assumed production reins when series resumed two and a half years later. | tt0036835 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Douglass Dumbrille, Louise Currie, Kirk Alyn. | Western | NULL | |||
| Foul Play | 1978 | Colin Higgins | ★★½ | 116 | Innocent woman (Hawn) gets caught in strange murder plot in San Francisco; no one believes her except detective Chase, who's falling in love with her. Likable stars, good fun, but protracted story, tasteless comedy, and Hitchcock plagiarism detract. Followed by a short-lived TV series. | tt0077578 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Dudley Moore, Rachel Roberts, Eugene Roche, Marilyn Sokol, Billy Barty, Marc Lawrence, Brian Dennehy | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fountain | 2006 | Darren Aronofsky | ★★ | 95 | Ambitious film about a man (Jackman) in three different time frames-16th-century Spain, the modern day, and the 26th century-who seeks to understand the essence of life. The contemporary research scientist is driven to cure his wife (Weisz), whose life is ebbing away from cancer. Sincere but overwrought new-age drama (mixing science fiction and soap opera) will elicit a wide range of opinion; the ultimate epiphany is the kind of thing that might work in a novel but doesn't play well on-screen. Written by the director. | tt0414993 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Cliff Curtis, Mark Margolis, Sean Patrick Thomas, Stephen McHattie, Donna Murphy, Ethan Suplee | Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Fountainhead | 1949 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 114 | Ambitious but confused version of Ayn Rand philosophic novel, spotlighting an idealistic architect's clash with compromises of society; cast does what it can with the script. | tt0041386 | Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Robert Douglas, Henry Hull, Ray Collins, Jerome Cowan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle | 1986 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 99 | Typically charming, perceptive Rohmeresque slice of life, chronicling the friendship between country girl Reinette (Miquel) and city girl Mirabelle (Forde), who become roommates in Paris. At its best when focusing on their contrasting viewpoints, and the manner in which their friendship evolves. | tt0090565 | Joelle Miquel, Jessica Forde, Philippe Laudenbach, Yasmine Haury, Marie Riviere, Beatrice Romand | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Four Bags Full | 1956 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★½ | 84 | Slender comedy vehicle for two top stars, involving duo who smuggle meat across French border during WW2. | tt0049877 | Jean Gabin, Bourvil, Jeanette Batti, Louis de Funes | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Four Brothers | 2005 | John Singleton | ★★★ | 108 | Four incorrigible adopted brothers-two black, two white-reunite when their mother is murdered in Detroit and swear revenge, whatever the consequences. Violent, somewhat overlong action-thriller veers toward melodrama but maintains rooting interest for its rough-and-tumble 'heroes' from start to finish. Flanagan is a standout in her few scenes as the boys' good-hearted mother. | tt0430105 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Josh Charles, Sofia Vergara, Fionnula Flanagan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Barry Shabaka Henley | Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Four Christmases | 2008 | Seth Gordon | ★★ | 88 | Unsatisfying holiday comedy involving a couple (Vaughn, Witherspoon) forced to visit each of their divorced parents in one day. Main characters are unusual for this type of fare: they’re unmarried, alienated from their families, and don’t want kids. Even so, the film is predictable, the finale is illogical, and the stellar cast is wasted. Carol Kane appears unbilled. | tt0369436 | [PG-13] | Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Katy Mixon, Colleen Camp, Peter Billingsley | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Four Daughters | 1938 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 90 | Believable, beautifully acted soaper of small-town life; four young women with musical father Rains have lives altered by four young men. Garfield is superb in first film, matched by fine cast. Followed immediately by DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS and sequels FOUR WIVES and FOUR MOTHERS. Remade as YOUNG AT HEART. | tt0030149 | Claude Rains, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, May Robson, Dick Foran | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Four Days Leave | 1950 | Leopold Lindtberg | ★★ | 98 | Rather tame account of GI Wilde finding romance while on leave in Switzerland. | tt0041939 | Cornel Wilde, Josette Day, Simone Signoret, Alan Hale/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four Days in September | 1997 | Bruno Barreto | ★★★ | 106 | Emotion-charged, based-on-fact account of the events surrounding 1969 kidnapping of American ambassador (Arkin) by an idealistic yet diverse group of young Brazilian revolutionaries. All sides are given a voice in this empathetic and well-detailed political drama. | tt0119815 | [R] | Alan Arkin, Pedro Cardoso, Fernanda Torres, Luiz Fernando Guimaraes, Selton Mello, Claudia Abreu, Nelson Dantas, Fisher Stevens | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| Four Desperate Men | 1960 | Harry Watt | ★★½ | 104 | Stark study of human nature as quartet of hardened thugs decide whether or not to set off huge bomb that would destroy Sydney harbor. Original title: THE SIEGE OF PINCHGUT. | tt0053278 | Aldo Ray, Heather Sears | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Four Deuces | 1975 | William H. Bushnell/ Jr | ★★½ | 87 | Action comedy/drama involving Prohibition Era bootleggers. Palance is a gang lord whose mob and casino bear the film's title; Lynley is the moll he loves and fights for. | tt0073011 | [R] | Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger, Adam Roarke, E. J. Peaker, Gianni Russo | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Four Faces West | They Passed This Way | 1948 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 90 | Quiet, fact-based Western with McCrea a reluctant bank robber who becomes involved with nurse Dee while being pursued by sheriff Pat Garrett (Bickford). | tt0040370 | Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia | Western | NULL | ||
| Four Fast Guns | 1959 | William J. Hole/Jr. | ★½ | 72 | Undistinguished oater with Craig playing a man on the run who becomes unofficial marshal in the lawless town of Purgatory, Arizona, in the 1870s. | tt0052819 | James Craig, Martha Vickers, Edgar Buchanan, Brett Halsey, Paul Richards. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Four Feathers | 1939 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★★ | 115 | Grand adventure from A. E. W. Mason story of tradition-bound Britisher who must prove he's not a coward by helping army comrades quell Sudan uprising. Smith is just wonderful as tale-spinning army veteran. Screenplay by R. C. Sherriff, Lajos Biro, and Arthur Wimperis. Score by Miklos Rozsa. Original release ran 130m. Previously filmed in 1921 and 1929; remade as STORM OVER THE NILE, as a TVM in 1978 with Beau Bridges, and in 2002. | tt0031334 | John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez, Allan Jeayes, Jack Allen,Donald Gray, Clive Baxter | British | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Four Feathers | 2002 | Shekhar Kapur | ★★½ | 130 | Well-crafted remake of the A.E.W. Mason story, set in the late 1800s, about a young British soldier who is branded a coward and then has to redeem himself. Ledger is excellent (and credible) in the leading role, and the battle scenes are impressive . . . but the story is confusing at times, the character motivations muddy, and a touch of humor (so memorably supplied in the 1939 version by C. Aubrey Smith) is sorely missed. | tt0240510 | [PG-13] | Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Sheen, Lucy Gordon, Rupert Penry-Jones, Nick Holder, Alex Jennings, Tim Pigott-Smith | U.S.-British | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Four Flies on Grey Velvet | 1972 | Dario Argento | ★★ | 101 | Unabsorbing psychological murder-mystery with performers who walk through their roles in a very disinterested fashion. | tt0066735 | [PG] | Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Bud Spencer, Francine Racette | Italian | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Four Friends | 1981 | Arthur Penn | ★★★ | 115 | A journey of self-discovery for an idealistic young Yugoslavian immigrant (Wasson), who lives through the turbulent American 1960s. Charming, coy, powerful, sentimental, and sometimes astonishingly old-fashioned— a real mixed bag, with many rewards and not a few flaws. Largely autobiographical script by Steve Tesich. | tt0082404 | [R] | Craig Wasson, Jodi Thelen, Jim Metzler, Michael Huddleston, Reed Birney, James Leo Herlihy, Glenne Headly, Mercedes Ruehl | Drama | NULL | ||
| Four Frightened People | 1934 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★½ | 78 | Four shipwrecked souls try to survive in the jungle, while the two men become increasingly interested in the plain-Jane schoolteacher who's the most frightened of the lot. DeMille's quietest movie (and a somewhat notorious flop in its day) is entertaining malarkey, with Colbert getting more glamorous in each successive scene. Filmed on the island of Hawaii. | tt0025134 | Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, William Gargan, Mary Boland, Leo Carrillo | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Four Girls in Town | 1956 | Jack Sher | ★★★ | 85 | Clichéd but absorbing account of four contrasting would-be stars coming to Hollywood seeking fame and romance; excellent musical score by Alex North. | tt0049228 | George Nader, Julie Adams, Gia Scala, Marianne Cook (Koch), Elsa Martinelli, Sydney Chaplin, Grant Williams, John Gavin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four Guns to the Border | 1954 | Richard Carlson | ★★½ | 82 | Better than usual handling of outlaws vs. Indians, with slight morality lesson for finale. From a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0046994 | Rory Calhoun, Colleen Miller, George Nader, Walter Brennan, Nina Foch | Western | NULL | |||
| Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | 1962 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 153 | Glossy, padded trash, losing all sense of reality in its telling of a family whose members fight on opposite sides during WW2. Allegedly Angela Lansbury dubbed in Thulin's lines. | tt0054890 | Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb, Paul Henreid, Paul Lukas, Yvette Mimieux, Karl Boehm | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | 1921 | Rex Ingram | ★★★ | 131 | Famous silent spectacle cemented Valentino's popularity via legendary tango scene, but aside from that it's a relentlessly grim anti-war story of cousins who end up fighting on opposite sides during WW1. Extremely well made, with imagery that still staggers and message that cannot be overlooked. Based on the Blasco Ibanez novel. Remade in 1962. | tt0012190 | Rudolph Valentino, Alice Terry, Alan Hale/Sr., Jean Hersholt, Nigel de Brulier, Wallace Beery | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Four Hours to Kill! | 1935 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 71 | Ingenious structure has film taking place entirely in a vaudeville theater (and lobby) where a killer (Barthelmess) escapes from the detective escorting him to execution, hoping to kill the stoolie who ratted on him. Norman Krasna's snappy script juggles numerous subplots à la GRAND HOTEL. Watch for director Leisen in a cameo as the orchestra leader. | tt0026378 | Richard Barthelmess, Joe Morrison, Helen Mack, Gertrude Michael, Dorothy Tree, Ray Milland, Roscoe Karns, John Howard, Noel Madison, Charles Wilson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Four Hundred Blows | Quatre cents coups, Les | 1959 | François Truffaut | ★★★★ | 99 | Captivating study of Parisian youth who turns to life of small-time crime as a reaction to derelict parents. First of Truffaut's autobiographical Antoine Doinel series; followed by the 'Antoine et Colette' episode in LOVE AT TWENTY. | tt0053198 | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy, Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jacques Demy, François Truffaut | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Four Jacks and a Jill | 1942 | Jack Hively | ★★ | 68 | Struggling hoofer/pianist Bolger and his musician pals take in singing waif Shirley in this lackluster musical. Bolger's dancing is always a pleasure to watch, but Arnaz is wasted as an exiled king turned taxi driver. Remake of STREET GIRL and THAT GIRL FROM PARIS. | tt0034751 | Ray Bolger, Desi Arnaz, Anne Shirley, June Havoc, Eddie Foy/Jr., Jack Durant, Henry Daniell, Fritz Feld | Musical | NULL | |||
| Four Jills in a Jeep | 1944 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 89 | Contrived wartime entertainment with four leading ladies reenacting their actual experiences entertaining soldiers overseas (which Landis turned into a popular book of the same name). Some good musical moments but nothing to shout about. | tt0036836 | Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Martha Raye, Mitzi Mayfair, Phil Silvers, Dick Haymes, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra; guest stars Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, George Jessel | Musical | NULL | |||
| Four Men and a Prayer | 1938 | John Ford | ★★★ | 85 | Compelling story of four brothers determined to unravel mystery behind their father's murder; handsome, well-paced production. Remade as FURY AT FURNACE CREEK. | tt0030150 | Loretta Young, Richard Greene, George Sanders, David Niven, C. Aubrey Smith, William Henry, J. Edward Bromberg, Alan Hale/Sr., Reginald Denny, John Carradine | Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Four Mothers | 1941 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 86 | FOUR DAUGHTERS formula wearing thin in soapy tale of McHugh going bankrupt. | tt0033628 | Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, May Robson, Eddie Albert, Frank McHugh, Dick Foran | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Four Musketeers | 1975 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 108 | Second half of Lester's irreverent but amusing approach to Dumas with less emphasis on slapstick this time around. Rich cast in top form. Filmed in 1973, at the same time as THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Followed by THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS. | tt0073012 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay, Michael York, Christopher Lee, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Geraldine Chaplin, Simon Ward, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston | Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Four Nights of a Dreamer | 1971 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★ | 83 | Slow-moving but beautifully filmed adaptation of Dostoyevsky's White Nights, updated to modern Paris. A painter meets a girl on a bridge as she's about to commit suicide and falls in love with her over the next few nights; then the lover who abandoned her returns. Possessed of Bresson's usual lyrical qualities, the film also contains an unexpected sense of humor and romance. | tt0067641 | Isabelle Weingarten, Guillaume des Forêts, Maurice Monnoyer, Jérôme Massart, Lidia Biondi. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Four Poster | 1952 | Irving Reis | ★★★½ | 103 | Jan de Hartog play is tour de force for stars who enact various phases of married couple's life; warm, witty script; superb performances enhanced by ingenious animated interludes by UPA studio. Later became the stage musical I Do! I Do. | tt0044631 | Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four Rooms | 1995 | Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino | 💣 | 98 | What a cast . . . what a waste! Embarrassingly awful compilation consisting of four short films, with the sole point of interest being which one is the worst. Set in an L.A. hotel on New Year's Eve, and linked by the participation of Ted the Bellhop (Roth). Bruce Willis appears unbilled in the final episode, by Tarantino. | tt0113101 | [R] | Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Beals, Paul Calderon, Sammi Davis, Amanda de Cadenet, Valeria Golino, Kathy Griffin, Marc Lawrence, Madonna, David Proval, Ione Skye, Quentin Tarantino, Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Tamlyn Tomita, Alicia Witt, Lana McKissack, Danny Verduzco, Salma Hayek | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Four Seasons | 1981 | Alan Alda | ★★★ | 107 | Four stages of friendship among three middle-aged couples who vacation together. As comedy it scores, with warmly winning cast, but like its main character, it professes to discuss serious issues while pulling back after just touching the surface. Alda scripted, made feature directing debut; later a TV series. | tt0082405 | [PG] | Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis, Rita Moreno, Jack Weston, Bess Armstrong | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Four Sided Triangle | 1953 | Terence Fisher | 💣 | 81 | Scientist invents a duplicating machine; hoping to solve romantic triangle, he duplicates the woman he and his best friend both love. Silly programmer. | tt0045787 | James Hayter, Barbara Payton, Stephen Murray, John Van Eyssen, Percy Marmont | British | Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake | 1959 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 70 | Acceptable horror fare involving centuries-old voodoo curse upon family and contemporary scientist who puts an end to the weird goings-on. | tt0052820 | Eduard Franz, Valerie French, Henry Daniell, Grant Richards, Paul Cavanagh, Howard Wendell | Horror | NULL | |||
| Four Sons | 1928 | John Ford | ★★★ | 100 | Famous silent tearjerker about a Bavarian widow whose four beloved sons fight in WW1— one of them on the American side. Simple and obvious but still effective. Remade in 1940. | tt0018909 | James Hall, Margaret Mann, Earle Foxe, Charles Morton, Francis X. Bushman/ Jr., George Meeker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four Steps in the Clouds | 1942 | Alessandro Blasetti. | ★★★ | 91 | Unwed mother-to-be Benetti convinces unhappily married traveling salesman Cervi to pose as her husband when she goes home to see her parents. Warm, sensitive, and charming tale presents a surprisingly nonideological depiction of life in WW2 Italy. Original title: QUATTRO PASSI FRA LE NUVOLE. Remade in France as THE VIRTUOUS BIGAMIST starring Fernandel, and as A WALK IN THE CLOUDS with Keanu Reeves. | tt0035230 | Gino Cervi, Adriana Benetti, Giuditta Rissone, Carlo Romano, Guido Celano, Margherita Seglin. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Four Ways Out | 1951 | Pietro Germi | ★★½ | 77 | Engrossing if unoriginal drama of a robbery at a soccer stadium, and the motives and fates of the various thieves. Federico Fellini worked on the original story; he and Germi were among the scriptwriters. Released in the U.S. in 1955. | tt0043412 | Gina Lollobrigida, Renato Baldini, Cosetta Greco, Paul Muller, Enzo Maggio | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Four Weddings and a Funeral | 1994 | Mike Newell | ★★★ | 117 | Delightful contemporary comedy about a young man who can't sustain a relationship, while all his friends seem to be getting married. Then he hits it off with another wedding guest, and the plot thickens. Fine ensemble, headed by the engaging Grant, keep this buoyant under Newell's sure-handed direction. Richard Curtis' screenplay may not bear close scrutiny (that final conversation really seems out of place), but it's certainly fun. | tt0109831 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow, Rowan Atkinson, James Fleet, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, Kenneth Griffiths, Jeremy Kemp, Rosalie Crutchley | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Four Wives | 1939 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 110 | Sentimental but well-acted sequel to FOUR DAUGHTERS, further chronicling the lives and loves of the title quartet. Garfield appears briefly in flashback. Max Steiner's score includes his Symphonie Moderne. | tt0031336 | Claude Rains, Eddie Albert, Priscilla Lane, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield, May Robson, Frank McHugh, Jeffrey Lynn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Four in a Jeep | 1951 | Leopold Lindtberg | ★★½ | 97 | Revealing drama, set in a post-war Vienna occupied by American, Russian, French, and British forces. American M.P. Meeker takes an interest in troubled Lindfors, whose husband has just escaped from a Russian prison camp. On-location filming helps. | tt0044192 | Viveca Lindfors, Ralph Meeker, Joseph Yadin, Michael Medwin, Dinan, Paulette Dubost | Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Four's a Crowd | 1938 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 91 | Lightheaded romance in which everyone loves another; straight comedy's a switch for Flynn. Pleasant. | tt0030151 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Patric Knowles, Hugh Herbert, Lana Turner | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Fourteen Hours | 1951 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 92 | Well-made suspense drama about a man threatening to jump off the ledge of a building, told in semidocumentary fashion. Look for Harvey Lembeck and Ossie Davis as cabbies, Joyce Van Patten as Paget's girlfriend. Grace Kelly's film debut. | tt0043560 | Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Keith, Howard da Silva, Jeffrey Hunter, Martin Gabel, Grace Kelly, Jeff Corey | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Fourth Kind | 2009 | Olatunde Osunsanmi | ★½ | 98 | Aliens are thought to be abducting people in Nome, Alaska; a psychiatrist interviews terrified victims on video. This claims to be based on facts, and footage of real people is split-screened with re-creations of the same interviews. The problem is that it's all fake; it's also unconvincing and more than a little boring. Title refers to J. Allen Hynek's categories describing the closeness of alien encounters, as does CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. | tt1220198 | [PG-13] | Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, Elias Koteas, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Corey Johnson, Enzo Cilenti, Olatunde Osunsanmi | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Fourth Man | 1983 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★½ | 104 | Sexy blonde hairdresser Soutendijk may or may not have murdered three husbands but definitely does screw up the mind of gay writer Krabbé when he tries to find out. Stylish dream-vs.-reality black comedy deserved its art-house success; flashy direction, eroticism to spare. | tt0086543 | Jeroen Krabbé, Renee Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman, Dolf De Vries, Geert De Jong | Dutch | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Fourth Protocol | 1987 | John Mackenzie | ★★½ | 119 | Pretty good spy thriller adapted by Frederick Forsyth from his best-selling novel. Caine plays a British spy who's assigned to foil a Russian plot that would destroy relations between the U.S. and England by setting off a nuclear bomb near an American air base in the U.K. Brosnan does well as a Russian agent. | tt0093044 | [R] | Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Joanna Cassidy, Ned Beatty, Betsy Brantley, Peter Cartwright, David Conville, Matt Frewer, Ray McAnally, Ian Richardson | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Fourth War | 1990 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 91 | Well-done but ever-so-familiar Cold War thriller in which an American colonel (Scheider) and his Soviet counterpart (Prochnow) engage in a private, potentially disastrous war. Best for fans of the genre. Stanton looks very out of place as Scheider's commanding general. | tt0099606 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Jürgen Prochnow, Tim Reid, Harry Dean Stanton, Lara Harris, Dale Dye | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fox and His Friends | Fist Right of Freedom | 1975 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★★ | 123 | Compassionate, politically astute melodrama by German wunderkind Fassbinder about gay lower-class carnival performer winning lottery fortune only to have his upper-class lover exploit him. Fassbinder is brilliant in title role. Aka FIST RIGHT OF FREEDOM. | tt0072976 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Chatel, Karlheinz Bohm, Adrian Hoven, Ulla Jacobsson | German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Fox and the Hound | 1981 | Art Stevens, Ted Berman, Richard Rich | ★★★ | 83 | Charming Disney animated feature about the childhood friendship between two natural enemies, a fox cub and a hound pup; as they grow older their relationship is put to the test by their emerging instincts. Warm and brimming with personable characters, this one approaches the old Disney magic at times. | tt0082406 | [G] | Voices of Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, John Fiedler, John McIntire, Paul Winchell, Corey Feldman | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| The Fox | 1968 | Mark Rydell | ★★★ | 110 | Nicely crafted tale of lesbians Dennis and Heywood, and what happens when intruder Dullea happens among them. Scripted by Lewis John Carlino and Howard Koch; based on a D.H. Lawrence novella. Filmed in Canada. | tt0062990 | Sandy Dennis, Keir Dullea, Anne Heywood, Glyn Morris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Foxes | 1980 | Adrian Lyne | ★★½ | 106 | Four teenaged girls try coping with the standard non-Our Town problems brought by growing up in San Fernando Valley. Capable cast; apparently sincere intentions undermined by choppy storyline that just isn't compelling enough. | tt0080756 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Cherie Currie, Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid, Lois Smith, Laura Dern | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Foxes of Harrow | 1947 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 117 | Lavish but lumbering tale of philanderer breaking up his marriage to seek affluence and fame in New Orleans in 1820. Pretty stale despite the trimmings. | tt0039394 | Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, Richard Haydn, Victor McLaglen, Vanessa Brown, Patricia Medina, Gene Lockhart |
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| Foxfire | 1996 | Annette Haywood-Carter | ★½ | 102 | Knee-deep adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel about four high school girls who form a gang when an enigmatic female drifter comes to town. The cast tries hard but they're done in by a heavy-handed script; plays like an R-rated After School Special. | tt0116353 | [R] | Hedy Burress, Angelina Jolie, Jenny Lewis, Jenny Shimizu, Sarah Rosenberg, Peter Facinelli, Dash Mihok, Cathy Moriarty, Richard Beymer, John Diehl | Drama | NULL | ||
| Foxhole in Cairo | 1960 | John Moxey | ★★½ | 79 | Sensibly told account of counterintelligence at work in Egypt during WW2. | tt0054891 | James Robertson Justice, Adrian Hoven, Peter Van Eyck, Neil McCallum, Michael Caine | British | War | NULL | ||
| Foxiest Girl in Paris | 1956 | Roger De Broin | ★★½ | 100 | Sultry Carol, a fashion model, becomes amateur sleuth to solve a robbery and a murder. | tt0050755 | Martine Carol, Michel Piccoli, Mischa Auer | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Foxtrap | 1986 | Fred Williamson | ★½ | 88 | Low-budget actioner of Williamson hired to bring runaway Owen back home from Europe to her family. Little more than a fashion show by director Williamson spotlighting his favorite actor: Williamson. | tt0091072 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Chris Connelly, Arlene Golonka, Donna Owen, Beatrice Palme, Cleo Sebastian, Lela Rochon | U.S.-Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Foxtrot | The Other Side of Paradise | 1976 | Arturo Ripstein | ★★ | 91 | O'Toole and his wife flee Rumania in the late 1930s and retreat to an island paradise to isolate themselves from a world about to erupt into war. Shallow, predictable drama; filmed in Mexico. Alternate version with additional sex footage titled THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE. | tt0073014 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling, Max von Sydow, Jorge Luke, Helen Rojo, Claudio Brook | Mexican-Swiss | Action | NULL |
| Foxy Brown | 1974 | Jack Hill | ★½ | 94 | Violence and little else in tale of nurse Grier and her vendetta against drug ring that killed her lover. | tt0071517 | [R] | Pam Grier, Peter Brown, Terry Carter, Kathryn Loder | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Fracture | 2007 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★½ | 112 | Hopkins plays a cold, calculating man who shoots his wife after he discovers she's been sleeping with an L.A. police lieutenant. But there is no concrete evidence, which makes the case an unexpected challenge for assistant D.A. Gosling, who's just about to move on to a cushy job at a high-end law firm. Decent thriller has some surprises up its sleeve but takes a long time to lay them all out. | tt0488120 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Billy Burke, Fiona Shaw, Bob Gunton, Embeth Davidtz, Cliff Curtis, Xander Berkeley, Josh Stamberg, Joe Spano. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fragment of Fear | 1971 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★ | 96 | Hemmings is good in disappointing murder mystery that begins well, then falls apart. Photographed by the great Oswald Morris. | tt0065737 | [PG] | David Hemmings, Gayle Hunnicutt, Flora Robson, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Daniel Massey, Roland Culver, Adolfo Celi, Mona Washbourne | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Frailty | 2002 | Bill Paxton | ★★ | 99 | A Texas widower tells his two young sons that he has had a vision: they have been chosen to destroy demons who are walking the earth in human form. His boys are then forced to witness— and participate in— a brutal series of axe murders. Story is told in flashback by Paxton's now grown-up son (McConaughey) to FBI agent Boothe. Twisty mood piece is well crafted by first-time director Paxton, but difficult to digest— especially for a parent. | tt0264616 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matt O'Leary, Luke Askew, Jeremy Sumpter, Derk Cheetwood, Missy Crider | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Framed | 1947 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 82 | Title almost self-explanatory. Innocent man mistaken for robber is brought in, enabling real thief to escape. | tt0039396 | Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan, Edgar Buchanan, Karen Morley | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Framed | 1975 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 106 | Railroaded to jail, Baker vows revenge on the corrupt cops who put him there. The writer, director, and star of WALKING TALL, old hands at this kind of action melodrama, make the most of the situation. | tt0073015 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Conny Van Dyke, Gabriel Dell, John Marley, Brock Peters, Roy Jenson | Action | NULL | ||
| Frances | 1982 | Graeme Clifford | ★★½ | 140 | Biography of 1930s movie star Frances Farmer— who wound up in a barbaric insane asylum— chronicles her tragic life in some detail, but doesn't help us understand the reasons for her self-destructive tendencies. Well crafted but cold and depressing, despite impressive performances by Lange and Stanley, as Frances' crazed mother. Her story is also told in the TVM, WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING? and in the independent feature COMMITTED. Look for Kevin Costner, who has one line in an alley. | tt0083967 | [R] | Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, Sam Shepard, Bart Burns, Jeffrey DeMunn, Jordan Charney, Lane Smith, Anjelica Huston | Drama | NULL | ||
| Francesco | 1989 | Liliana Cavani | 💣 | 105 | Laughably inept historical drama with a miscast Rourke muttering his way through his role as Francis of Assisi(!), son of a rich Italian merchant, who undergoes a spiritual rebirth. The narrative is often confusing, the direction is slipshod, and the result is a real snooze. | tt0097383 | [PG-13] | Mickey Rourke, Helena Bonham Carter, Andrea Ferreol, Hans Zischler, Mario Adorf, Paolo Bonacelli | Italian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Francesco- Giullare di Dio | 1950 | Roberto Rossellini. | ★★★ | 75 | Assisi's favorite 13th-century saint is venerated in this austere biopic about a man of peace who has forsaken his family's wealth to lead a circle of believers into poverty, and into grace. Sincere, humble approach; acted by nonprofessionals and cowritten by Rossellini, Federico Fellini, and two Italian priests. Aka THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS and FRANCIS, JESTER OF GOD. | tt0042477 | Aldo Fabrizi, Brother Nazario Gerardi, Arabella Lemaitre. | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Francis | 1949 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 91 | G.I. O'Connor becomes a war hero with the help of his talking mule, but is thought to be crazy when he tries to convince his superiors of the animal's ability. Initial entry sets the tone for the rest. Video title: FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE. | tt0041387 | Donald O'Connor, Patricia Medina, ZaSu Pitts, Ray Collins, John McIntire, Eduard Franz, Anthony (Tony) Curtis | Comedy, War, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Francis Covers the Big Town | 1953 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 86 | O'Connor and his talking mule join a big city newspaper and get mixed up in a murder trial. | tt0045789 | Donald O'Connor, Nancy Guild, Yvette Dugay, Gene Lockhart, William Harrigan, Gale Gordon | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Francis Goes to West Point | 1952 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 81 | Francis helps O'Connor get in and out of trouble during basic training at the military school. Look for Leonard Nimoy and Paul Burke as cadets. | tt0044633 | Donald O'Connor, Lori Nelson, Alice Kelley, William Reynolds, Palmer Lee (Gregg Palmer), James Best, Les Tremayne, David Janssen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Francis Goes to the Races | 1951 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 88 | O'Connor falls for horsebreeder Kellaway's niece (Laurie) and foils some crooks when Francis coaches a sorry nag to win the big race. | tt0043562 | Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, Cecil Kellaway, Jesse White, Barry Kelley, Hayden Rorke, Larry Keating | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Francis Joins the Wacs | 1954 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 94 | An Army snafu sends Francis and O'Connor to a WAC base, causing all sorts of problems. More amiable nonsense, but then, you know you're not dealing with reality when Van Doren is cast as 'Corporal Bunky Hilstrom.' Wills, the voice of Francis, also appears on screen. | tt0046995 | Donald O'Connor, Julie Adams, Mamie Van Doren, Chill Wills, Lynn Bari, ZaSu Pitts, Mara Corday, Allison Hayes, Joan Shawlee | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Francis in the Haunted House | 1956 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 80 | Rooney took over the reins from O'Connor for this final entry, a simplistic 'spooky' comedy. Paul Frees also replaced Chill Wills as the voice of Francis. | tt0049229 | Mickey Rooney, Virginia Welles, James Flavin, Paul Cavanagh, Mary Ellen Kaye, David Janssen, Richard Deacon, Timothy Carey | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Francis in the Navy | 1955 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 80 | For his last outing in the series, O'Connor plays a dual role. Typical service farce, notable for appearance of Eastwood, in his second film. Director Lubin also quit after this one and went on to produce TV's Mr. Ed. | tt0048092 | Donald O'Connor, Martha Hyer, Richard Erdman, Jim Backus, David Janssen, Clint Eastwood, Martin Milner, Paul Burke | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Francis of Assisi | 1961 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 111 | Lavish religious epic dealing with story of founder of school of monks with sympathetic performance by Dillman. Good cast and atmosphere. Script tends to sag at wrong moments. | tt0054892 | Bradford Dillman, Dolores Hart, Stuart Whitman, Cecil Kellaway, Finlay Currie, Pedro Armendáriz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Frank McKlusky, C.I. | 2002 | Arlene Sanford | 💣 | 82 | Son of a daredevil grows up hyper-safety conscious, becoming a claims investigator for an insurance company. Crude, clumsy comedy barely got theatrical release. What possessed Parton to appear in this? Many cameos include Scott Baio, Emmanuel Lewis, Gary Owens, Lou Ferrigno. | tt0281865 | [PG-13] | Dave Sheridan, Randy Quaid, Enrico Colantoni, Kevin Pollak, Orson Bean, Cameron Richardson, Andy Richter, Tracy Morgan, Joanie Laurer, Dolly Parton, George Lopez | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Frank and Ollie | 1995 | Theodore Thomas | ★★★ | 89 | Charming documentary about Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, friends since the early 1930s, next-door neighbors, and longtime animators at the Walt Disney studio, where they created some of the most memorable and expressive characters ever brought to life . . . from Thumper in BAMBI to Baloo and Mowgli in THE JUNGLE BOOK. Affectionate (and informative) portrait by Thomas's son and daughter-in-law, Kuniko Okubo. | tt0113104 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Frankenhooker | 1990 | Frank Henenlotter | ★½ | 90 | Grim, gory, and seldom funny horror comedy about a novice mad scientist (Lorinz) who needs body parts to sew onto the severed head he has on ice back at the lab. When he sells N.Y.C. 42nd Street hookers a deadly 'supercrack,' they explode— giving him all the spare limbs and organs he desires. Offensive, cheap, and ugly— even by splatter genre standards. | tt0099611 | James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Charlotte Helmkamp, Shirley Stoler, Louise Lasser | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein | 1931 | James Whale | ★★★½ | 70 | Definitive monster movie, with Clive as the ultimate mad scientist, creating a man-made being (Karloff) but inadvertently giving him a criminal brain. It's creaky at times, and cries for a music score, but it's still impressive . . . as is Karloff's performance in the role that made him a star. Long-censored footage, restored in 1987, enhances the impact of several key scenes, including the drowning of a little girl. Based on Mary Shelley's novel. Followed by BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0021884 | Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye, Frederick Kerr, Lionel Belmore | Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein | 1993 | David Wickes | Average TV Movie | 100 | Florid version of Mary Shelley's novel, with producer-writer-director Wickes giving it a Jekyll and Hyde twist (having previously remade that Robert Louis Stevenson tale). Quaid plays the creature with sensitivity, but Mills steals the movie as the blind hermit who befriends him. Made for cable. | tt0106959 | Patrick Bergin, John Mills, Randy Quaid, Lambert Wilson, Fiona Gillies, Timothy Stark | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein Conquers the World | 1965 | Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 87 | Grade-C horror film, with Adams a scientist in Tokyo trying to combat giant, newly grown Frankenstein monster terrorizing the countryside; poor special effects. | tt0059205 | Nick Adams, Tadao Takashima, Kumi Mizuno. | Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Frankenstein Created Woman | 1967 | Terence Fisher. | ★★ | 92 | Sequel to EVIL OF FRANKSTEIN finds Dr. Frankenstein (Cushing) tring to put the soul of recently (and wrongly) executed man into body of scarred lover (Denberg). Everything goes wrong, including script. Followed by FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED! | tt0061683 | Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg, Robert Morris, Barry Warren, Thorley Walters, Duncan Lamont. | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Frankenstein General Hospital | 1988 | Deborah Roberts | 💣 | 92 | Ghastly comedy stars Blankfield as Dr. Bob Frankenstein, who's assembling a new Monster in the basement of the hospital where he's an intern. Crude, vulgar, and completely unfunny, this is the worst Frankenstein film ever made in English. At least that's a distinction. | tt0095173 | [R] | Mark Blankfield, Irwin Keyes, Kathy Shower, Katie Caple, Lou Cutell, Bobby 'Boris' Pickett | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Frankenstein Island | 1981 | Jerry Warren | 💣 | 89 | Low-budget filmmaker Warren's first feature in 15 years reunites some of his old hands (like Clarke and Victor) for a sort of remake of TEENAGE ZOMBIES, with a monster who only shows up at the end, and who may or may not be Frankenstein! | tt0082410 | [PG] | John Carradine, Andrew Duggan, Cameron Mitchell, Steve Brodie, Robert Clarke, Katherine Victor | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster | Mars Invades Puerto Rico | 1965 | Robert Gaffney | 💣 | 78 | Low-grade horror entry dealing with interplanetary robot that goes berserk. Bizarre, Flash Gordon-esque aliens also involved. Has gained a peculiar cult reputation. Aka MARS INVADES PUERTO RICO. | tt0059199 | James Karen, David Kerman, Nancy Marshall, Marilyn Hanold | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man | 1943 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 72 | Sequel to both THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLF MAN finds werewolf Chaney seeking Dr. Frankenstein, hoping to be put out of his misery. He finds the scientist is dead— but the Monster isn't. Slick, atmospheric, fast-paced fun; Lugosi's only stint as the Monster. Followed by HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0035899 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Patric Knowles, Ilona Massey, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lionel Atwill, Dennis Hoey, Rex Evans, Dwight Frye | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed! | 1969 | Terence Fisher. | ★★½ | 101 | Cushing is more cold-blooded here than usual, as he forces young couple to help his brain transplant experiments. One of the best in Hammer series. Followed by THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0065738 | [M] | Peter Cushing, Simon Ward, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones. | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Frankenstein Unbound | 1990 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 85 | Thoroughly expendable horror outing casts Hurt as a 21st-century scientist, not really mad, whose implosion experiments zap him back to the days of Doc Frankenstein (Julia) and Mary Shelley (Fonda). Capable cast goes slumming in schlockmeister Corman's first directorial effort in nearly twenty years. Hutchence, here Percy Shelley, was lead singer of Australian rock band INXS. | tt0099612 | John Hurt, Raul Julia, Bridget Fonda, Nick Brimble, Catherine Rabett, Jason Patric, Michael Hutchence, Catherine Corman, Mickey Knox, voice of Terri Treas | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell | 1974 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 93 | Guess who runs a hospital for the criminally insane? Hammer's final entry in their Frankenstein cycle is amusing if you catch it in the right frame of mind. | tt0071519 | [R] | Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, Dave Prowse, John Stratton | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Frankenstein's Daughter | 1959 | Richard E. Cunha | 💣 | 85 | Low-grade descendant of famed monster series with a new female horror-robot being created with typical results; tinsel sets. | tt0051631 | John Ashley, Sandra Knight, Donald Murphy, Sally Todd, Harold Lloyd/Jr. | Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein- 1970 | 1958 | Howard W. Koch | 💣 | 83 | As last of the Frankenstein scientists, Karloff uses money from TV production shooting in his castle to revive original monster with atomic energy. Film is slow, monster unexciting, and Karloff hammy. | tt0051630 | Boris Karloff, Tom Duggan, Jana Lund, Don 'Red' Barry | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Frankenstein: The True Story | 1973 | Jack Smight | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Epic retelling of Mary Shelley's frightmare with brilliant Christopher Isherwood screenplay; not quite the letter of the novel, but competes favorably with the immortal Karloff movies on the theme by sheer spectacle. Creature, played stunningly by Sarrazin, is not the traditional stitched-together ogre, but a dashing Victorian rogue who proceeds to physically degenerate while various psychological avenues are explored. Marvelous cast in this thinking-man's horror movie. | tt0070074 | James Mason, Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, David McCallum, Jane Seymour, Michael Wilding, Margaret Leighton, Ralph Richardson, Agnes Moorehead, John Gielgud, Tom Baker | Horror | NULL | |||
| Frankie & Alice | 2009 | Geoffrey Sax | ★★ | 101 | Mistaken for a whac-job junkie, a stripper in 1973 L.A. roots out her hidden alter egos with the help of a shrink (Skarsgård, in an underwritten role) who doesn't mind bending the rules. Well-meaning but stale medical mystery rewrites THE THREE FACES OF EVE with a startling racial twist as it unearths one of those traumas that fracture psyches. Playing both title characters and then some, Halle is good, but this true-life study of repression become manifest is all thumbs, suffering from too many cooks (eight writers and nine producers, Berry among them). | tt1221208 | [R] | Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgård, Phylicia Rashad, Chandra Wilson, Rosalyn Coleman, Joanne Baron, Brian Markinson, Matt Frewer, Scott Lyster | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Frankie & Johnny Are Married | 2004 | Michael Pressman | ★★★ | 95 | TV producer-director Pressman decides to direct his wife in a small-theater production of Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune to help restore her self-esteem as an actress and possibly bring the two of them closer together. Forget reality TV: here's a winning, perceptive, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story, filmed documentary-style, about people worth getting to know. A number of TV and show-business notables play themselves. | tt0400446 | [R] | Michael Pressman, Lisa Chess, Alan Rosenberg, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jillian Armenante | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Frankie Starlight | 1995 | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | ★★★ | 101 | Engagingly offbeat drama, the tale of an Irish dwarf (a man imprisoned in a child's body) who writes a revealing, autobiographical novel in which he describes his youth; his mother (Parillaud), a WW2 refugee from France; and the two men (Byrne and Dillon) who love her and become his role models. A gentle, flavorful film that moves seamlessly from the past to the present. | tt0113107 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Anne Parillaud, Gabriel Byrne, Rudi Davies, Corban Walker, Alan Pentony, Georgina Cates | U.S.-Irish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Frankie and Johnny | 1966 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 87 | Saloon song expanded into feature film story for Elvis. Riverboat setting, cohort Morgan, several pretty starlets, and tuneful songs make this a satisfactory time-filler. | tt0060429 | Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Sue Ane Langdon, Nancy Kovack | Comedy, Drama, Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Frankie and Johnny | 1991 | Garry Marshall | ★★★ | 118 | Winning (if overlong) Hollywoodization of Terrence McNally's Off-Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Pacino (never more appealing) plays a man recently released from prison who gets a job as a short-order cook and falls in love with a waitress who tries to keep all social contact at arm's length. Pfeiffer manages to overcome her miscasting with an equally affecting performance. A moving ode to loneliness. Screenplay by the playwright. | tt0101912 | [R] | Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hector Elizondo, Nathan Lane, Kate Nelligan, Jane Morris, Greg Lewis, Al Fann, K Callan, Phil Leeds | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Frantic | 1988 | Roman Polanski | ★★½ | 120 | American doctor is drawn into espionage, and the underworld, when his wife disappears on the first day of their trip to Paris. Carefully controlled suspense thriller never really cuts loose but keeps its grip thanks to Ford's believable performance. | tt0095174 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley, John Mahoney, Jimmie Ray Weeks, Yorgo Voyagis, David Huddleston, Gerard Klein | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Fraternity Row | 1977 | Thomas J. Tobin | ★★★ | 101 | Well-done drama of campus life at exclusive Eastern college, 1954. Writer-producer Charles Gary Allison used USC students and crew, got professional Hollywood advice for polished look at tragic, fact-based, fraternity hazing. Cliff Robertson narrates, Don McLean did original score. Costar Newman is the late son of Paul Newman. | tt0076052 | [PG] | Peter Fox, Gregory Harrison, Scott Newman, Nancy Morgan, Robert Emhardt, Wendy Phillips | Drama | NULL | ||
| Fraternity Vacation | 1985 | James Frawley | ★½ | 89 | Two frat animals, saddled with a nerdy 'brother'on a pleasure trip to Palm Springs, bet a rival they can be the first to score with an aloof, beautiful blond. Less strident, and thus less offensive, than many of its ilk, but still nothing to enrich our moviegoing heritage. | tt0089167 | [R] | Stephen Geoffreys, Sheree J. Wilson, Cameron Dye, Leigh McCloskey, Tim Robbins, John Vernon, Britt Ekland, Nita Talbot, Max Wright, Amanda Bearse | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fraulein | 1958 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 98 | Bizarre post-WW2 Berlin tale of German girl helping U.S. soldier, then being held by the Communists. Wynter miscast. | tt0051640 | Dana Wynter, Mel Ferrer, Dolores Michaels, Margaret Hayes | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Fraulein Doktor | 1969 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★★ | 102 | Big cast and budget in rarely seen European antiwar film centering on career of real-life double-agent during WW1. Some of the battle sequences impressive. Same story has been filmed many times before, in Hollywood as STAMBOUL QUEST and in France as MADEMOISELLE DOCTEUR. | tt0064350 | [M] | Suzy Kendall, Kenneth More, Capucine, James Booth, Alexander Knox, Nigel Green, Giancarlo Giannini | Italian-Yugoslavian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Freaked | 1993 | Alex Winter, Tom Stern | ★★ | 79 | Bratty movie star and entourage fall into the hands of mad circus owner who mutates them and adds them to his collection of freaks. Wildly inventive makeup and, well, freakish ideas are undercut by an in-your-face directorial style that hammers home every joke. It would make a terrific short. Winter's BILL & TED compatriot Keanu Reeves appears unbilled as Dog Boy. | tt0109838 | [R] | Alex Winter, Megan Ward, Michael Stoyanov, Randy Quaid, *** Mr. T, Brooke Shields | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Freakonomics | 2010 | Seth Gordon, Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney, Eugene Jarecki, Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady | ★★ | 93 | Documentary adaptation of the best-selling book about the role of incentives on economics and human behavior by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, with an all-star team of nonfiction filmmakers taking on different “chapters.” Slickly made film offers some challenging ideas but just as many hollow ones that are surprisingly short on facts, resulting in conclusions that sometimes seem to contradict the authors’ own thesis. Not helped by the widely varying tones of the individual directors’ segments, which further diminish the material. The authors’ brief segments on camera are among the film’s strongest moments. | tt1152822 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Freaks | Nature's Mistakes | 1932 | Tod Browning | ★★★½ | 64 | A unique movie about a traveling sideshow and the camaraderie of its unusual performers, goaded to vengeance by cruel trapeze star Baclanova. Horror-film master Tod Browning gathered an incredible cast of real-life sideshow freaks for this bizarre and fascinating film. Severely cut in U.S. during release and banned in the U.K. for 30 years, some reissue prints are missing brief epilogue; aka NATURE'S MISTAKES. | tt0022913 | Wallace Ford, Olga Baclanova, Leila Hyams, Roscoe Ates, Harry Earles, Johnny Eck, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Prince Randian, Zip and Pip, Schlitze | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Freaky Friday | 1977 | Gary Nelson | ★★★ | 97 | Harris and Foster shine as mother and daughter who magically switch personalities for a day; their performances make this exceptional Disney fare, even though Mary Rodgers' script winds up with formula slapstick chase. The same premise was the basis of the 1948 movie VICE VERSA and several later Hollywood comedies (including LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON and the 1988 VICE VERSA). Remade in 2003 and for TV in 1995. | tt0076054 | [G] | Barbara Harris, Jodie Foster, John Astin, Patsy Kelly, Dick Van Patten, Sorrell Booke, Marie Windsor, Charlene Tilton | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Freaky Friday | 2003 | Mark Waters | ★★★ | 97 | Entertaining, souped-up remake of the 1977 Disney comedy about a stressed-out mother and her teenage daughter, who magically switch bodies and have to somehow cope with their new identities. Good fun, with top-notch performances by Curtis and Lohan as the mixed-up duo. | tt0322330 | [PG] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Harold Gould, Chad Michael Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christina Vidal, Rosalind Chao, Ryan Malgarini | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Fred Claus | 2007 | David Dobkin | ★½ | 115 | Ho, ho, ho? No, no, no. Tepid comedy about a motor-mouth Chicago hustler (Vaughn) who’s forced to borrow a sizable sum from his much more successful younger brother—Santa Claus (Giamatti). Laughs aren’t exactly plentiful as the ne’er-do-well older sibling pays off the loan (and, of course, becomes a much better person) while working alongside elves at the North Pole. It doesn’t help that the special effects are strikingly shoddy. | tt0486583 | [PG] | Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Trevor Peacock, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Kevin Spacey | Family, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Freddie as F.R.O.7 | Freddie the Frog | 1992 | Jon Acevski | ★★ | 90 | If James Bond was green, and animated, he might have turned out like Freddie. This toon saga of a secret agent frog is lively, but often difficult to follow. Reedited with James Earl Jones narration and retitled FREDDIE THE FROG. | tt0104298 | [PG] | Voices of Ben Kingsley, Jenny Agutter, Brian Blessed, Nigel Hawthorne, Michael Hordern, Edmund Kingsley, Phyllis Logan, Victor Maddern, Jonathan Pryce, Prunella Scales, Billie Whitelaw | British | Animation | NULL |
| Freddy Got Fingered | 2001 | Tom Green | 💣 | 87 | Instantly notorious word-of-mouth debacle became the poster child for all that's wrong with movie comedy. Next to unemployable at 28, but with vague hopes of becoming a cartoonist, live-at-home Green leaves for California to seek success and, hopefully, romance (which he finds with a wheelchair-bound simpleton who lives only to give him oral sex). Gags include the maiming of an innocent child and a newborn spun around in the air by its umbilical cord— compounded by the almost unimaginable ineptitude with which they're executed. | tt0240515 | [R] | Tom Green, Rip Torn, Marisa Coughlan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Harland Williams, Stephen Tobolowsky, Anthony Michael Hall, Julie Hagerty, Drew Barrymore | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Freddy Vs. Jason | 2003 | Ronny Yu | ★★ | 97 | Freddy Krueger (Englund), from the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series, is stuck in Hell because the Elm Street kids don't believe in him anymore. So he uses hockey-masked, machete-wielding Jason Voorhees, from the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, to rouse the fear of Freddy. Tricky setup for a simple story that's basically a NIGHTMARE with Jason added. The fight promised by the title is a long time coming. OK of its sort, but mostly for fans (who were numerous, making this a major hit). | tt0329101 | [R] | Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Christopher George Marquette, Brendan Fletcher | Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | 1991 | Rachel Talalay | ★½ | 90 | Don't believe the title. This NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET entry has Freddy Krueger trying to break out of the town where he's been slaughtering teens in their dreams. Now the stage is set for the end-all Freddy showdown— a 10-minute 3-D finale that didn't even look good in theaters. A total yawner. Cameos by Alice Cooper, Roseanne and Tom Arnold, and Johnny Depp, whose film debut was the first NIGHTMARE. Followed by WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE. | tt0101917 | [R] | Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane, Ricky Dean Logan, Breckin Meyer, Yaphet Kotto, Elinor Donahue | Horror, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Free Enterprise | 1999 | Robert Meyer Burnett | ★★★ | 116 | Long-time friends and major sci-fi movie and TV buffs McCormack and Weigel are stunned to be befriended by William Shatner. But he has problems of his own, like his desire to stage Julius Caesar with himself in all the roles. Uneven but entertaining comedy gives Shatner a great, self-spoofing role. Written by director Burnett and Mark Altman, who based the lead characters on themselves. | tt0141105 | [R] | William Shatner, Rafer Weigel, Eric McCormack, Audie England, Patrick Van Horn, Jennifer Sommerfield, Phil LaMarr, Deborah Van Valkenburgh | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Free Money | 1999 | Yves Simoneau | ★½ | 94 | How does a movie with a cast like this get rejected for theatrical release and go straight to cable? By being a frantically unfunny 'comedy' that's shrill and desperate from the word go. A gargantuan, bald-headed, bushy-mustached Brando has his biggest role in years as a psychotic, small-town prison warden whose two idiot sons-in-law try to rob a train. Often embarrassing to watch. | tt0120678 | Marlon Brando, Charlie Sheen, Thomas Haden Church, Donald Sutherland, Mira Sorvino, Martin Sheen, David Arquette, J. P. Bergeron, Christin Watson, Holly Watson | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Free Soul | 1931 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 91 | A hard-drinking, free-swinging attorney successfully defends gangster Gable on a murder rap— then finds to his dismay that his equally free-spirited daughter has fallen in love with him. Dated morality play-melodrama retains interest because of its cast and Barrymore's famous courtroom finale, which clinched him an Oscar. Based on Adela Rogers St. Johns' book about her father. Remade as THE GIRL WHO HAD EVERYTHING. | tt0021885 | Norma Shearer, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, James Gleason | Drama | NULL | |||
| Free Willy | 1993 | Simon Wincer | ★★½ | 112 | Wayward 12-year-old, ordered to remove paint from aquarium walls, befriends and helps train an orca whale, eventually exploited by his seedy owner. Aggressively marketed sleeper hit is perfectly OK children's fare, with an appealing performance by young Richter. Michael Jackson sings 'Will You Be There' over closing credits. Followed by two sequels and an animated TV series. | tt0106965 | [PG] | Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Michael Madsen, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Ironside, Richard Riehle, August Schellenberg, Mykelti Williamson | Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | 1995 | Dwight H. Little | ★★½ | 98 | Richter has younger half-brother Capra forced upon him, finds young love with Schellhardt, and helps his orca friend Willy (and Willy's relatives) when an oil spill endangers the cetaceans. Overplotted children's film lacks the spark of the first, but is still good entertainment of its kind. The killer whales are almost all miniatures or computer graphics. | tt0113114 | [PG] | Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg, Jayne Atkinson, Jon Tenney, Elizabeth Pena, Michael Madsen, Francis Capra, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Mykelti Williamson, M. Emmet Walsh | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Free Willy 3: The Rescue | 1997 | Sam Pillsbury | ★★ | 85 | Richter, now a teenager, gets a summer job on a marine biology research boat and clashes with a group of poachers who want to make whale sushi out of Willy and his pregnant girlfriend Nikki (or at least their animatronic/computer-graphic likenesses). Shortest entry in the series is easy to take, but utterly predictable and formulaic. | tt0119152 | [PG] | Jason James Richter, August Schellenberg, Annie Corley, Vincent Berry, Patrick Kilpatrick, Tasha Simms | Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Free Woman | 1972 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 100 | Von Trotta divorces Ptok, has trouble adjusting to life apart from husband and son as she tries to liberate herself from her traditional functions. Truthful but boring drama. | tt0069325 | Margarethe von Trotta, Friedhelm Ptok, Martin Luttge, Walter Sedlmayer | German |
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| Free Zone | 2005 | Amos Gitai | ★★½ | 90 | Young American woman living in Jerusalem breaks up with her Israeli boyfriend, jumps into a cab, and asks the female driver to take her 'anywhere.' Eventually they head to Jordan's Free Zone, where the cabbie (Laszlo) is to meet a mysterious person called The American, her husband's Palestinian business associate. A labor of love for Israeli-born Portman, the film turns out to be a showcase for Laszlo, who deservedly won a Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Dialogue-heavy and sometimes over the top, but this road trip is worth it for the performances. Opening sequence in which the camera remains on a close-up of the anguished Portman is riveting. | tt0441761 | Unrated | Natalie Portman, Hana Laszlo, Hiam Abbass, Carmen Maura , Makram Khoury, Aki Avni, Uri Klauzner | Israeli | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Free and Easy | Easy Go | 1930 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★½ | 92 | Interesting early-talkie musicomedy about Keaton becoming movie star; many guest appearances by Cecil B. DeMille, William Haines, et al. to boost uneven film. Retitled: EASY GO. | tt0020902 | Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Robert Montgomery, Edgar Dearing, Lionel Barrymore, Dorothy Sebastian, Trixie Friganza | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Free for All | 1949 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 83 | Mild froth about Cummings inventing instant gasoline. | tt0041389 | Robert Cummings, Ann Blyth, Percy Kilbride, Ray Collins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Free of Eden | 1999 | Leon Ichaso | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | Gutsy high-school dropout, dreaming to get out of the inner-city projects, turns up on the doorstep of a schoolteacher-turned-hard-nosed-investment-banker, and browbeats him into mentoring her toward a better life, the same kind he fought for as a young man. An obvious labor of love for proud papa Poitier (doing a TO SIR, WITH LOVE turn) and his tyro actress-daughter. Written by Delle Chatman and Yule Caise. Made for cable. | tt0139225 | Sidney Poitier, Sidney Poitier, Phylicia Rashad, Robert Hooks, Khalil Khan, Saundra McClain | Drama | NULL | |||
| Free to Love | 1925 | Frank O'Connor. | ★★½ | 60 | Tailor-made vehicle has Clara an embittered young woman who is unable to carry out her plan to murder the judge who unjustly sent her to a reformatory. She becomes his ward, but her past comes to haunt her. | tt0015840 | Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Raymond McKee,Winter Hall, Hallam Cooley, Charles (Hill) Mailes. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Free, Blonde and 21 | 1940 | Ricardo Cortez | ★½ | 67 | Low-grade hokum about gold-digging gals on the make for wealthy men. | tt0032492 | Lynn Bari, Mary Beth Hughes, Joan Davis, Henry Wilcoxon | Romance | NULL | |||
| Free, White and 21 | 1963 | Larry Buchanan | 💣 | 104 | Did black businessman O'Neal rape Lund? Who cares? | tt0057072 | Frederick O'Neal, Annalena Lund, George Edgley, Johnny Hicks, George Russell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Freebie and the Bean | 1974 | Richard Rush | ★½ | 113 | Some good action, but mostly repellent humor as San Francisco cops Arkin and Caan nearly wreck the city trying to get the goods on a numbers racketeer. Valerie Harper has a nice cameo as Arkin's Latin wife. Later a short-lived TV series. | tt0071521 | [R] | James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit, Jack Kruschen, Mike Kellin, Alex Rocco | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Freedom Road | 1979 | Jan Kadar | Average TV Movie | 200 | Lumbering adaptation of sprawling Howard Fast novel about an ex-slave's rise to U.S. Senator in Reconstruction Days, hampered by nonacting of Ali in the crucial lead. Ossie Davis provides dignified narration to Kadar's last film. | tt0079173 | [NR] | Muhammad Ali, Kris Kristofferson, Ron O'Neal, Barbara-O Jones, Edward Herrmann, John McLiam, Ernest Dixon, Alfre Woodard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Freedom Song | 2000 | Phil Alden Robinson | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Surprisingly well turned fictional account of the civil rights movement in 1961 rural Mississippi, as viewed through the eyes of an awakening black teen, Shannon, who falls under the spell of soft-spoken SNCC advance man Curtis-Hall, who's come to town to organize sit-ins and preach nonviolence. Cowritten by Robinson. Especially memorable for the innovative score by the gospel group Sweet Honey in the Rock and James Horner. Made for cable. | tt0213668 | Danny Glover, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Glynn Turman, Stan Shaw, Michael Jai White, David Strathairn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Freedom Writers | 2007 | Richard LaGravenese | ★★★ | 123 | Idealistic young woman gets her first teaching job at a Long Beach, California, high school: she's to teach freshman English to the worst students on the campus, hardened by life and divided on racial lines. She turns their lives around by respecting and believing in them. Based on the real-life experiences of Erin Gruwell. LaGravenese's screenplay captures the raw emotions of its young characters and their indomitable teacher without condescension or phony Hollywood histrionics. | tt0463998 | [PG-13] | Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, April Lee Hernandez, Deance Wyatt, Mario, Vanetta Smith, John Benjamin Hickey, Pat Carroll | Drama | NULL | ||
| Freedomland | 2006 | Joe Roth | ★★ | 112 | Affectionately regarded white teacher with a sad-sack personal history claims a black man abducted her young son. This exacerbates community-police testiness from vocal black neighborhood dwellers who say the cops are paying undue attention because the child is white; investigating cop Jackson is caught in the middle. Richard Price adapted his own praised novel in unwieldy fashion, while Roth's pedestrian direction undermines the story throughout. Moore's histrionics throw the film off-balance and make it increasingly tough to watch. | tt0349467 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Edie Falco, Ron Eldard, William Forsythe, Aunjanue Ellis, Anthony Mackie, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Philip Bosco | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Freejack | 1992 | Geoff Murphy | ★½ | 108 | Good cast is wasted in this mindless actioner, in which race car driver Estevez dies in 1991 and finds his body snatched into the year 2009 so that it may house the soul of ruthless tycoon Hopkins. Tiresome, superficial fare. Based on the novel Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley. Jagger plays a bounty hunter; it's his first screen acting role since PERFORMANCE in 1970. | tt0104299 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Banks, David Johansen, Amanda Plummer, Grand L. Bush, Frankie Faison, Esai Morales, John Shea | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Freeway | 1988 | Francis Delia | ★★ | 91 | A nurse whose husband was the victim of a freeway shooting becomes obsessed with finding the Bible-quoting murderer, who habitually phones a radio psychiatrist from his car while cruising L.A. looking for new victims. Based on a novel but prompted by similar real-life crimes in L.A., this film is surprisingly nonexploitive, but slow and unconvincing. | tt0095177 | [R] | Darlanne Fluegel, James Russo, Billy Drago, Richard Belzer, Michael Callan, Joey Palese, Steve Franken, Kenneth Tobey, Clint Howard | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Freeway | 1996 | Matthew Bright | ★★★ | 102 | Corrosive modern version of Little Red Riding Hood in which a teenage girl, on her way to grandma's, hitchhikes a ride with a psychotic child psychiatrist (Sutherland). Extremely violent satire is bolstered by Witherspoon's one-of-a-kind lethal Lolita performance and a smart screenplay by debut director Bright. Not for the faint of heart. Deliciously oddball score by Danny Elfman. Executive-produced by Oliver Stone. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0116361 | [R] | Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan Hedaya, Amanda Plummer, Michael T. Weiss, Bokeem Woodbine, Brittany Murphy, Conchata Ferrell | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| French Connection II | 1975 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 119 | Gruff N.Y. cop Popeye Doyle goes to Marseilles, determined to nail narcotics king (Rey) who eluded him in America. Enjoyable opening and riveting chase finale are separated by long, agonizing drug addiction segment that weighs whole film down. | tt0073018 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Charles Millot, Philippe Leotard, Ed Lauter, Cathleen Nesbitt | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The French Connection | 1971 | William Friedkin | ★★★★ | 104 | Fine action film detailing attempted international heroin smuggle into N.Y.C., and maverick detective who stops it. Five Oscars include Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay (Ernest Tidyman) and Editing (Jerry Greenberg), the latter particularly for one of the most exciting car chases ever filmed. Followed by a sequel and, in 1986, a TV movie, POPEYE DOYLE. | tt0067116 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Marcel Bozzuffi | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The French Conspiracy | 1973 | Yves Boisset | ★★ | 124 | Realistic but unexciting political drama centering around left-wing reporter Trintignant, pawn in a plot to assassinate Third World leader Volonté. | tt0068233 | [PG] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean Seberg, Gian Maria Volonté, Roy Scheider, Michel Piccoli | French-Italian-German | Thriller | NULL | |
| The French Detective | 1975 | Pierre Granier-Deferre | ★★★ | 93 | Neat, entertaining police story with Ventura a tough, independent, middle-aged cop who, with exuberant young partner Dewaere, determinedly pursues a hood working for politician Lanoux. | tt0072603 | Lino Ventura, Patrick Dewaere, Victor Lanoux | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The French Key | 1946 | Walter Colmes. | ★★½ | 64 | Dekker and pal Mazurki accidentally discover a corpse; Dekker gives this OK mystery drama some class. | tt0038536 | Albert Dekker, Mike Mazurki, Evelyn Ankers, John Eldredge, Frank Fenton, Richard Arlen, Byron Foulger. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| French Kiss | 1995 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★ | 111 | Charmless contrivance about a jilted woman who follows her fiancé to Paris and hooks up with a French rogue. Will these opposites ultimately attract one another? Duh! The stars' comic savvy can only carry this so far . . . though they're good, and the French scenery is nice. Soundtrack harmonica by the great Toots Thielemans. Ryan also coproduced. | tt0113117 | [PG-13] | Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, Timothy Hutton, Jean Reno, Francois Cluzet, Victor Garrivier, Susan Anbeh | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The French Lieutenant's Woman | 1981 | Karel Reisz. | ★★★½ | 123 | A scandalous romance between a gentleman and a tainted woman in Victorian England is contrasted with a contemporary affair between the actor and actress who are playing those roles in a movie. The juxtaposition is jarring at first, but becomes more engaging as the film progresses. Beautifully visualized, with rich period detail, superb performances; script by Harold Pinter, from John Fowles' novel. | tt0082416 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Leo McKern, Hilton McRae, Emily Morgan, Charlotte Mitchell, Lynsey Baxter. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The French Line | 1954 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 102 | Russell's bust in 3-D was the gimmick to sell this dull musical. All that's left is flat tale of wealthy Texas girl in Paris being romanced by Parisian. McCarty's wisecracking is a blessing. If you blink, you'll miss Kim Novak modeling a gown. | tt0047000 | Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Arthur Hunnicutt, Mary McCarty, Craig Stevens, Steven Geray, Joyce McKenzie, Paula Corday, Scott Elliot | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| French Postcards | 1979 | Willard Huyck | ★★ | 92 | Kind of follow-up to AMERICAN GRAFFITI from that film's authors (Huyck and Gloria Katz), detailing romantic misadventures of group of college students spending junior year abroad. Pleasant but forgettable comedy. | tt0079176 | [PG] | Blanche Baker, Miles Chapin, Debra Winger, Mandy Patinkin, Valerie Quennessen, David Marshall Grant, Marie-France Pisier, Jean Rochefort | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| French Provincial | 1974 | André Téchiné | ★★ | 91 | Moreau, as a laundry woman who marries into a bourgeois family, shines in this otherwise flaky, superficially symbolic saga of economic change in France from the 1930s through 1970s. | tt0072194 | Jeanne Moreau, Michel Auclair, Marie-France Pisier, Claude Mann, Orane Demazis | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| French Quarter | 1978 | Dennis Kane | ★★★ | 101 | Neglected drive-in treat is a genuine curiosity; tongue-in-cheek melodrama mixes PRETTY BABY plot with FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN structure (but predates both!). Tale of young Fontaine, growing up in New Orleans as Storyville prostitute at the turn of the century, is paralleled by present-day story with same cast, linked by voodoo plot device. Ends bizarrely with narrator reminding us to 'hang up your speakers and drive home safely.' And Dick Hyman did the music! | tt0076055 | [R] | Bruce Davison, Lindsay Bloom, Virginia Mayo, Alisha Fontaine, Lance LeGault, Laura Misch Owens, Ann Michelle, Becky Allen, Barry Sullivan, William Sims | Drama | NULL | ||
| French Twist | Gazon Maudit | 1995 | Josiane Balasko | ★★½ | 100 | Bouncy comedy written and directed by French star Balasko (TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR YOU), who plays a gay van driver/drifter who accidentally meets a jolly housewife (Abril) and her philandering husband (Chabat). What follows is a very French twist on the old love triangle theme. Enjoyable farce is liberal to a fault but loses credibility as it unfolds. Still, Abril shines, as usual, in a terrific role. Original title: GAZON MAUDIT. | tt0113149 | Victoria Abril, Josiane Balasko, Alain Chabat, Ticky Holgado, Miguel Bosé, Catherine Hiegel, Catherine Samie | French | Adult | NULL | |
| The French, They Are a Funny Race | 1956 | Preston Sturges | ★★ | 83 | Director-writer Sturges' last film is a misfire, with Buchanan as veddy-British major whose marriage to Frenchwoman sparks continuing nationalistic arguments. Original title: LES CARNETS DU MAJOR THOMPSON at 105m. | tt0047921 | Jack Buchanan, Noel-Noel, Martine Carol, Genevieve Brunet | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Frenchie | 1950 | Louis King | ★★ | 81 | When her father is murdered, Winters returns home and opens a saloon, planning revenge. Bland Western based on DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. | tt0042482 | Joel McCrea, Shelley Winters, John Russell, John Emery, George Cleveland, Elsa Lanchester, Marie Windsor | Western | NULL | |||
| Frenchman's Creek | 1944 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 113 | Colorful female fantasy escapism of Fontaine romanced by dashing pirate de Cordova; good supporting cast. Based on a Daphne du Maurier novel. | tt0036840 | Joan Fontaine, Arturo de Cordova, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Cecil Kellaway, Ralph Forbes, George Kirby | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Frenzy | 1972 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 116 | Hitchcock in high gear, telling story of suave London strangler (Foster) and innocent man (Finch) suspected of murder spree. All classic Hitchcock elements are here, including delicious black humor, several astounding camera shots. Script by Anthony Shaffer. | tt0068611 | [R] | Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey, Alec McCowen, Vivien Merchant, Billie Whitelaw, Clive Swift, Jean Marsh | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Frequency | 2000 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★ | 117 | N.Y.C. cop whose fireman father died when he was six digs out his dad's old ham radio set, and by freakish fluke, finds he can communicate with his old man! Soon the father realizes he can help his son prevent crimes that are about to happen— and the son begins to wonder if he can keep his father from perishing in a flaming building. Entertaining at first but never quite convincing (like Quaid's unfortunate New York accent), this convoluted Twilight Zone-ish story misses the mark. | tt0186151 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Andre Braugher, Elizabeth Mitchell, Noah Emmerich, Shawn Doyle, Jordan Bridges. | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Fresh | 1994 | Boaz Yakin | ★★★ | 112 | Disturbing, controversial chronicle of 12-year-old black youth who divides his time between school and his duties as a busy heroin courier. When he witnesses a playground killing, young Fresh (unforgettably played by Sean Nelson) must use his street smarts to fight for survival. An unflinching look at the urban narcotics nightmare; some may be disturbed by the ambivalent view of the bright young protagonist as drug dealer, victim, survivor, and hero. Impressive debut for writer-director Yakin. Music by Stewart Copeland. | tt0109842 | [R] | Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright, Ron Brice, Jean LaMarre, Luis Lantigua | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Fresh From Paris | 1955 | Leslie Goodwins | ★½ | 70 | Grade-C musical filmed at Moulin Rouge cafe in Hollywood, with tiresome musical interludes. Original title: PARIS FOLLIES OF 1956. | tt0048094 | Forrest Tucker, Margaret Whiting, Martha Hyer | Musical | NULL | |||
| Fresh Horses | 1988 | David Anspaugh | ★★½ | 105 | Collegian McCarthy, engaged to a wealthy dullard, falls for Ringwald's underage no-no, a semi-shantytramp who lives across the river from his Cincinnati campus. Slightly better than expected, thanks to fine Midwest location work from the director of HOOSIERS. Ringwald isn't totally convincing in the kind of role Gloria Grahame invented. | tt0095178 | [PG-13] | Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Patti D'Arbanville, Molly Hagan, Doug Hutchison, Ben Stiller, Leon Russom | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Freshman | 1925 | Sam Taylor, Fred Newmeyer. | ★★★★ | 76 | One of Lloyd's best-remembered films casts him as collegiate patsy who'll do anything to be popular on campus, unaware that everyone is making fun of him. Football game finale is one of several comic highlights. A real audience-rouser. | tt0015841 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Brooks Benedict, James Anderson, Hazel Keener. | Comedy, Family, Sport | NULL | |||
| The Freshman | 1990 | Andrew Bergman | ★★★ | 102 | New York University film student Broderick falls in with loony mob family headed by Brando in this infectious, off-center comedy. Not an outstanding film per se, but strong cast and New York flavor, plus Bergman's original and amusing screenplay, put it over. Best of all: Marlon's knockout performance (remind you of anyone?), and his rapport with Matthew. | tt0099615 | [PG] | Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, Maximilian Schell, Bruno Kirby, Penelope Ann Miller, Frank Whaley, Paul Benedict, B. D. Wong, Bert Parks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Freud | 1962 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 120 | Intelligent, unglamorous account of Sigmund Freud as young doctor, focusing on his early psychiatric theories and treatments and his struggle for their acceptance among Viennese medical colleagues. Fascinating dream sequence. Originally released at 139m. Also known as FREUD: THE SECRET PASSION. | tt0055998 | Montgomery Clift, Susannah York, Larry Parks, David McCallum, Susan Kohner, Eileen Herlie | Drama | NULL | |||
| Frida | 1984 | Paul Leduc | ★★★ | 108 | Solid biography effectively captures the spirit of an extraordinary woman: Frida Kahlo (Medina), Mexican artist and radical who dealt with various physical crises (resulting from polio and a paralyzing accident). Also central to her story are her relationships with Diego Rivera and Leon Trotsky. Visually captivating, with superior cinematography by Angel Goded and an unstructured narrative that not so much traces the incidents in its subject's life but paints a portrait of her. | tt0087297 | Ofelia Medina, Juan Jose Gurrola, Max Kerlow, Salvador Sanchez, Claudio Brook | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Frida | 2002 | Julie Taymor | ★★½ | 123 | Ambitious biography of Mexican artist and activist Frida Kahlo, who fought both physical and emotional challenges throughout her life, while her work remained in the shadow of her husband, Diego Rivera. Hayek, who shepherded this project to fruition, does a good job; Molina is superb as the robust, womanizing Rivera, and Rush is equally good in a small part as Leon Trotsky. Despite the efforts of four credited writers, rich source material, and Taymor's visual embellishments, the movie never really soars . . . but it certainly covers a lot of ground. Oscar winner for Best Makeup and Score (Elliot Goldenthal). | tt0120679 | [R] | Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Valeria Golino, Mia Maestro, Roger Rees, Diego Luna, Patricia Reyes Spindola, Margarita Sanz, Saffron Burrows, Didi Conn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Friday | 1995 | F. Gary Gray | ★½ | 89 | Rap star/actor Ice Cube coproduced, cowrote, and stars in this comedy, revealing the fun side he never showed in films like BOYZ N THE HOOD and TRESPASS. Talented cast can't rescue this practically plotless film about youth trying to survive life in L.A.'s South Central 'hood. Followed by NEXT FRIDAY. | tt0113118 | [R] | *** Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny 'Zeus' Lister/Jr., John Witherspoon, Anna Maria Horsford, Regina King, Paula Jai Parker, Bernie Mac, Angela Means, Faizon Love, LaWanda Page | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Friday After Next | 2002 | Marcus Raboy | ★½ | 82 | Slipshod comedy from the 'hood follows FRIDAY and NEXT FRIDAY. After a scummy Santa Claus robs Cube and Epps, they're forced to get jobs as security guards in order to pay for a Christmas party. That's about it for story; the rest of the film is filled with notably foul language (including overuse of the 'n' word), and enough stereotypes to set back civil rights a hundred years. Cube scripted and coproduced. | tt0293815 | [R] | Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Don �D.C.� Curry, Anna Maria Horsford, Clifton Powell, BeBe Drake, Terry Crews | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Friday Foster | 1975 | Arthur Marks | ★★ | 90 | Black bubble-gum nonsense based on comic strip about fashion photographer who gets involved in mystery and intrigue; here she tries to foil assassination/conspiracy plot against black politicians. | tt0073019 | [R] | Pam Grier, Yaphet Kotto, Godfrey Cambridge, Thalmus Rasulala, Eartha Kitt, Jim Backus, Scatman Crothers, Ted Lange, Carl Weathers | Drama, Crime, Action, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Friday Night | 2002 | Claire Denis | ★★★ | 90 | Seductive, dazzlingly visual account of a night in the life of a young Parisian (Lemercier) who is preparing to move out of her apartment and has an unusual encounter with a stranger. Using very little dialogue, Denis deftly employs the camera to tell her story, recording the minutest details of everyday life and creating a sense of intimacy that is purely cinematic. | tt0295743 | Valérie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon, Hélène de Saint-Père, Grégoire Colin | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Friday Night Lights | 2004 | Peter Berg. | ★★★ | 117 | Tough-minded sports movie about a real-life high school football team from Odessa, Texas, and the coach who drove them during their 1988 season. Expected clichés are surmounted by a hard look at small-town Church of Football mentality, exciting action, and a cast that scores (led by Thornton and country singer McGraw, impressive as a onetime player whose son is now on the team). Also nice to see Thornton reunited with his young SLING BLADE costar Black. Based on H. G. (Buzz) Bissinger's highly regarded book. | tt0390022 | [PG-13] | Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, Connie Britton, Lee Thompson Young, Lee Jackson, Grover Coulson. | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th | 1980 | Sean S. Cunningham | ★½ | 95 | Palmer, who figures in an admittedly bravura finale, slaughters teens holed up in woodsy summer camp. Young folks unexpectedly made this gory, cardboard thriller a box-office smash— one more clue to why SAT scores continue to decline. Rates higher than BOMB simply because it's slightly better than part 2. Followed by a seemingly never-ending series of sequels and a TV series. | tt0080761 | [R] | Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Kevin Bacon | Mystery, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th | 2009 | Marcus Nispel | ★½ | 97 | The 12th FRIDAY isn’t a sequel but something like a remake of the 1st and 3rd. As before, some annoying teenagers encounter the silent, murderous Jason, who chops, stabs, and bludgeons his way through the cast, though without as much gore as in previous entries. Plodding, dull, and repetitive, this is only occasionally creepy and never scary. Yes, there’s a setup for a sequel, if anyone cares. | tt0758746 | [R] | Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears, Jonathan Sadowski | Horror | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th Part 3 | 1982 | Steve Miner | ★★ | 96 | Strictly amateur night in terms of acting and writing, but this entry deemphasizes explicit gore in favor of shocks, and delivers a few— especially in 3-D and widescreen. | tt0083972 | [R] | Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, Tracie Savage, Jeffrey Rogers, Catherine Parks, Larry Zerner | Horror | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning | 1985 | Danny Steinmann | 💣 | 102 | A clever title (after . . . THE FINAL CHAPTER) for more gore galore, as gruesome and disgusting as ever. | tt0089173 | [R] | John Shepard, Melanie Kinnaman, Shavar Ross, Richard Young, Carol Lacatell, Corey Parker, Corey Feldman | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th Part VII- The New Blood | 1988 | John Carl Buechler | ★½ | 88 | Makeup expert Buechler fails to inject much life into this endless series. Pretty, blonde Lincoln foolishly travels to Crystal Lake (with her mom and her shrink) where her talent for telekinesis brings the monstrous Jason back up from his watery grave. | tt0095179 | [R] | Lar Park Lincoln, Terry Kiser, Susan Blu, Kevin Blair, Susan Jennifer Sullivan, Elizabeth Kaitan | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan | 1989 | Rob Hedden | ★★ | 100 | The best film in the 'Friday' series, imaginatively directed and written by Hedden, is still just a slasher film, though less gruesome than most. Despite the title, most of the film takes place on a cruise ship. Too long and not really for fans of the series. Followed by JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY. | tt0097388 | [R] | Jensen Daggett, Kane Hodder, Peter Mark Richman, Scott Reeves, Barbara Bingham, V. C. Dupree, Sharlene Martin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th, Part 2 | 1981 | Steve Miner | 💣 | 87 | More nubile campers, more bloody executions. If you loved Part 1 . . . | tt0082418 | [R] | Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kirsten Baker, Stu Charno, Warrington Gillette | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives | 1986 | Tom McLoughlin | 💣 | 87 | Jason's summer camp has enjoyed years of tranquility after changing its name, but watch out! If you really think there's something to gain from watching Jason rise from the grave again, good luck! The pits. | tt0091080 | [R] | Thom Mathews, Jennifer Cooke, David Kagan, Renee Jones, Kerry Noonan, C.J. Graham, Tony Goldwyn, Ron Palillo | Action, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Friday the 13th- The Final Chapter | 1984 | Joseph Zito | 💣 | 91 | Why bother with a new script? Jason finally gets his— except that (title notwithstanding) the door is left open for yet another sequel! | tt0087298 | [R] | Crispin Glover, Kimberly Beck, Barbara Howard, E. Erich Anderson, Corey Feldman, Ted White, Bruce Mahler, Lawrence Monoson | Horror | NULL | ||
| Fried Green Tomatoes | 1991 | Jon Avnet | ★★★ | 130 | Enjoyable story-within-a-story film, in which repressed Southern wife Bates meets elderly Tandy at a nursing home and becomes captivated by her tale-spinning about two feisty female friends and their escapades in the 1920s and '30s. First-rate adaptation of Fannie Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe with just one problem: a couple of endings too many. Impressive feature directorial debut for producer Avnet. Flagg has an amusing cameo. Special unrated video edition runs 137m. | tt0101921 | [PG-13] | Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Cicely Tyson, Chris O'Donnell, Stan Shaw, Gailard Sartain, Tim Scott, Gary Basaraba, Lois Smith, Grace Zabriskie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Frieda | 1947 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 97 | Interesting study of Farrar bringing German wife Zetterling back home to England, and bigotry they encounter. | tt0039398 | David Farrar, Glynis Johns, Mai Zetterling, Flora Robson, Albert Lieven | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Friendly Enemies | 1942 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 95 | Hoary WW1 play about a conflict between German immigrant friends, one of whom has assimilated and one who has not. Simplistic in the extreme, and torpedoed by its stars' burlesque accents. | tt0034757 | Charles Winninger, Charlie Ruggles, James Craig, Nancy Kelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| Friendly Fire | 1979 | David Greene | Above Average TV Movie | 145 | Gripping if overlong Emmy-winning drama about a rural American couple who try to cope with governmental indifference to learn the truth behind their son's death in Vietnam. Burnett seems somewhat sullen in her one-note portrayal of real-life war activist Peg Mullen, but Beatty is outstanding as her husband. Script by Fay Kanin. | tt0079177 | Carol Burnett, Ned Beatty, Sam Waterston, Dennis Erdman, Timothy Hutton | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Friendly Persuasion | 1956 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 140 | Charming account (from Jessamyn West novel) of Quaker family struggling to maintain its identity amid confusion and heartbreak of Civil War. Warm, winning performances in this beautifully made film. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin. Though no screenplay credit appears, film was written by blacklisted Michael Wilson; he received posthumous credit in 1996. Remade for TV in 1975 with Richard Kiley and Shirley Knight. | tt0049233 | Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Marjorie Main, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton, Peter Mark Richman, Walter Catlett, William Schallert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Friends | 1971 | Lewis Gilbert | 💣 | 102 | Yucky early-teen romance about French boy and girl who run off to the seashore, set up housekeeping, and have a baby . . . then Mommy and Daddy show up to take them home. Popular in its day, primarily due to Elton John song score. Buy the album instead. Sequel (!): PAUL AND MICHELLE. | tt0067118 | [R] | Sean Bury, Anicee Alvina, Pascale Roberts, Sady Rebbot, Ronald Lewis | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Friends With Benefits | 2011 | Will Gluck | ★★½ | 109 | Corporate headhunter Kunis lures art director Timberlake from L.A. to N.Y.C. They click right away but don't want to be in a relationship, so they agree to have sex, without further complications. Of course, there's no way this can work. The stars make a highly attractive and engaging couple in this likable film that works overtime to deny that it's a romantic comedy (especially in its opening scenes), even poking fun at the genre... but guess what? That's exactly what it is, if more sexually explicit (verbally and visually) than most. Some amusing cameos and a strong supporting cast help out. Similar to NO STRINGS ATTACHED, released earlier the same year. | tt1632708 | [R] | Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Bryan Greenberg, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Andy Samberg | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Friends With Kids | 2012 | Jennifer Westfeldt | ★★★ | 100 | Westfeldt and Scott are BFFs who know each other inside out. When couples in their close circle of friends start having babies, and even leaving Manhattan, they decide to produce a child and share responsibility for raising it—though they ostensibly aren't attracted to one another. Writer-director-star Westfeldt layers contemporary ideas onto a traditional romantic comedy with mostly felicitous results. Each member of the hand-picked cast has a chance to shine. Candid sexual conversation identifies this as a 21st-century comedy. | tt1720616 | [R] | Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns, Kelly Bishop, Cotter Smith, Lee Bryant, Brian D'Arcy James | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Friends With Money | 2006 | Nicole Holefcener | ★★★ | 88 | Wry slice of life examining the fault lines in the friendship of four women, three of whom are married and prosperous, one of whom is single (Aniston), unhappy, and resentful. Good performances and sharp observations about marriage, money, and middle age make this a winner. | tt0436331 | Unrated | Catherine Keener, Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Simon McBurney, Jason Isaacs, Scott Caan, Ty Burrell, Bob Stephenson, Greg Germann | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Friends and Lovers | 1999 | George Haas | ★½ | 104 | This lame cross between the TV sitcom Friends and THE BIG CHILL deals with a group of friends who gather together for a Christmas ski holiday that quickly finds them coupled in unlikely romantic pairings. Embarrassing on every level, a good group of actors is wasted in this would-be farce that sets its sights low and misses the mark anyway. In her first major film role, Schiffer proves that as an actress she's a mighty fine model. | tt0143261 | Stephen Baldwin, Danny Nucci, George Newbern, Claudia Schiffer, Alison Eastwood, Suzanne Cryer, David Rasche, Neill Barry, Leon, Robert Downey/Jr., Ann Magnuson | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Friends of Eddie Coyle | 1973 | Peter Yates | ★★★½ | 102 | Ultrarealistic depiction of criminals and police, as hardened con labors to supply guns and make deal with cops. Bleak nightmare picture of underworld enhanced by numerous Boston locations, flawless performances. Only liabilities: film's offbeat low-key narrative approach and finale. Adapted by Paul Monash from George V. Higgins's novel. | tt0070077 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Mitchell Ryan | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Friends of Mr. Sweeney | 1934 | Edward Ludwig. | ★★★ | 68 | Ruggles is a delight in a hand-tailored role as a meek, browbeaten writer for a conservative paper who reluctantly gives in to his editor's orders to write a favorable piece about a corrupt politician. A visit from a college chum and a wild, drunken night on the town completely transform his personality. Hilarious support by Pallette as the old friend and Barrat as a Communist agitator. Humor, sentiment, and warmth are perfectly blended in this small but satisfying film. | tt0025141 | Charlie Ruggles, Ann Dvorak, Eugene Pallette, Robert Barrat, Berton Churchill, Dorothy Burgess. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Friends, Lovers & Lunatics | She Drives Me Crazy | 1989 | Stephen Withrow | 💣 | 87 | Perfectly dreadful romantic comedy about commercial artist Stern, desperate to win back his ex (McCarthy), who follows her and her new boyfriend on a mountain holiday. Silly, poorly scripted time-waster. Original title: CRAZY HORSE. Aka SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY. | tt0097389 | [R] | Daniel Stern, Sheila McCarthy, Deborah Foreman, Page Fletcher, Elias Koteas, Damir Andrei | Canadian | Comedy | NULL |
| Fright | 1971 | Peter Collinson | ★★ | 87 | Young babysitter (George) spends terror-filled evening at country house, menaced by mental hospital escapee. Contrived, mechanical direction and so-so script. | tt0067119 | [PG] | Susan George, Honor Blackman, Ian Bannen, John Gregson, George Cole, Dennis Waterman | British | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Fright Night | 1985 | Tom Holland | ★★★ | 105 | Teenage boy enlists the aid of TV horror-movie host (and erstwhile actor) to kill suave, cunning vampire who's moved in next door. Entertaining, old-fashioned horror outing energized by Richard Edlund's spectacular special effects and highlighted by two wonderful performances, by McDowall and Sarandon. Written by Holland. Followed by a sequel. | tt0089175 | [R] | Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys, Jonathan Stark | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Fright Night | 2011 | Craig Gillespie | ★★★ | 106 | Teenager (Yelchin) begins to suspect his hip new neighbor Jerry (Farrell) is actually a centuries-old vampire, come to suburban Las Vegas to hunt prey. The boy turns to a rock star–like magician (Tennant) for help, but Jerry is a formidable opponent. Agreeable remake lacks the 1985 original's fond use of a TV movie horror host, but Tennant is so good in his role and Farrell has so much fun as the clever, arrogant vampire you're not likely to care. Chris Sarandon (Jerry in the original) has an impish cameo. | tt1438176 | [R] | Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Fright Night Part 2 | 1989 | Tommy Lee Wallace | ★★ | 104 | Sister of the vampire who met a grisly end in FRIGHT NIGHT seeks revenge on the duo who destroyed him. More-of-the-same sequel is definitely a comedown from the earlier film, though well produced. | tt0097390 | [R] | Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lin, Julie Carmen, Jonathan Gries, Russell Clark, Brian Thompson, Merritt Butrick, Ernie Sabella | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Frightened Bride | 1953 | Terence Young | ★★ | 75 | Murder haunts a family when the youngest son becomes involved in homicide. | tt0045791 | Andre Morell, Flora Robson, Mai Zetterling, Michael Denison, Mervyn Johns | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Frightened City | 1961 | John Lemont | ★★½ | 97 | Interesting inside look at a London racketeer amalgamating various city gangs for master plan syndicate. | tt0054898 | Herbert Lom, John Gregson, Sean Connery, Alfred Marks, Yvonne Romain | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Frighteners | 1996 | Peter Jackson | ★★½ | 109 | Overlong, but original blend of paranormal, horror, and black-comedy ingredients. Fox plays a psychic investigator/exterminator on the trail of an otherworldly serial killer. Zigzags from grisly humor to slasher-movie horror. Combs (of RE-ANIMATOR fame) has a scenery-chewing role as a wacked-out FBI agent on the case. Definitely not for all tastes. Filmed in New Zealand, home of director/cowriter Jackson. Executive-produced by Robert Zemeckis. | tt0116365 | [R] | Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace-Stone, Jake Busey, Chi McBride, Jim Fyfe, Troy Evans, Julianna McCarthy, R. Lee Ermey. | New Zealand-U.S. | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Fringe Dwellers | 1986 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 98 | Ambitious young aborigine woman convinces her family to move out of their shantytown and into a prosperous, mostly white middle-class neighborhood in present-day Australia; the expected readjustment woes follow. Sincere, very well-acted drama (especially by Nehm) is undercut by sentimental, dramatically dishonest conclusion. Overall, worth a look. | tt0091081 | [PG] | Kristina Nehm, Justine Saunders, Bob Maza, Kylie Belling, Denis Walker, Ernie Dingo | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Frisco Jenny | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 70 | Chatterton's father and lover are killed in the San Francisco earthquake, but her problems have only begun. Loose retelling of MADAME X is a tailor-made Chatterton vehicle. Good atmosphere and smart dialogue overcome film's tendency to meander. | tt0022775 | Ruth Chatterton, Louis Calhern, Helen Jerome Eddy, Donald Cook, James Murray, Hallam Cooley, Pat O'Malley, Harold Huber, J. Carrol Naish | Drama | NULL | |||
| Frisco Kid | 1935 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 77 | Routine drama of Barbary Coast with Cagney fighting his way to the top, almost dethroned by local gangs but saved by blueblood Lindsay. | tt0026385 | James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ricardo Cortez, Lili Damita, Fred Kohler, George E. Stone, Donald Woods | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Frisco Kid | 1979 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 122 | Offbeat story of Polish rabbi crossing U.S. in 1850 and developing friendship with young bank robber. Wilder's performance and some charming vignettes make up for many other shortcomings. | tt0079180 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford, Ramon Bieri, Val Bisoglio, George Ralph DiCenzo, Leo Fuchs, Penny Peyser | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Frisco Sal | 1945 | George Waggner | ★★ | 94 | Tepid costume drama of New England choir singer Foster journeying to San Francisco's Barbary Coast in the Gay '90s on the trail of her long-missing brother. | tt0037717 | Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Alan Curtis, Andy Devine, Thomas Gomez, Samuel S. Hinds | Western, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Frisky | 1954 | Luigi Comencini | ★★½ | 98 | Lollobrigida provides sufficient sex appeal to carry simple tale of flirtatious village girl who beats out competition in winning heart of police official De Sica. | tt0047327 | Gina Lollobrigida, Vittorio De Sica, Roberto Risso, Marisa Merlini | Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Fritz The Cat | 1972 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★★ | 78 | X-rated animated feature somewhat based on Robert Crumb's underground comics character. Flawed but engaging, irreverent look at radical-hip lifestyles of the 1960s, geared for people who experienced that era. Imaginatively conceived cartoon. Sequel: THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT. | tt0068612 | [X] | Animation | NULL | |||
| The Frogmen | 1951 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 96 | Intriguing look at underwater demolition squads in action in the Pacific during WW2. | tt0043565 | Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews, Gary Merrill, Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Wagner, Jack Warden | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Frogs | 1972 | George McCowan | ★★½ | 91 | Patriarchal Milland has been destroying bayou wildlife and now all the swamp critters are out to destroy his whole family. Dumb but enjoyable thriller. | tt0068615 | [PG] | Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark, Adam Roarke, Judy Pace | Horror | NULL | ||
| Frogs for Snakes | 1999 | Amos Poe | ★★ | 98 | Another Tarantino wannabe, this black comedy has a clever conceit: Struggling N.Y. actors who'll do anything for a good part make money on the side as hit men for a Russian racketeer (Coltrane). Story goes nowhere, despite a good cast. Director Poe also scripted. | tt0120680 | [R] | Barbara Hershey, Robbie Coltrane, Harry Hamlin, Ian Hart, John Leguizamo, Lisa Marie, Debi Mazar, Ron Perlman, Clarence Williams III | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| From Beyond | 1986 | Stuart Gordon | ★★½ | 85 | The RE-ANIMATOR team returns to H. P. Lovecraft territory for this similarly demented film based on a scientist's search for a sixth sense . . . which, in time, causes his associates to go berserk. Takes its time getting revved up, but then cuts loose in outrageous fashion. As before, this is not for the squeamish, but if you liked RE-ANIMATOR . . . | tt0091083 | [R] | Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ted Sorel, Ken Foree, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Bunny Summers, Bruce McGuire | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| From Beyond the Grave | Creatures | 1973 | Kevin Connor | ★★★ | 97 | Neat multi-storied horror pic. Visitors to Cushing's antique shop, Temptations Ltd., meet terrible fates. Leighton excels as wacky clairvoyant. Retitled: CREATURES. | tt0070078 | [PG] | Peter Cushing, Margaret Leighton, Ian Bannen, Donald Pleasence, David Warner, Diana Dors, Angela Pleasence, Nyree Dawn Porter, Lesley-Anne Down | British | Fantasy, Horror | NULL |
| From Dusk Till Dawn | 1996 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★ | 108 | Two out-of-control criminal brothers mow their way through Texas, heading for a rendezvous in Mexico, and take a family (and their RV) hostage. But the rendezvous location turns out to be a hellish biker bar inhabited by vampires! Indefensible trash certainly works on a visceral level; how much you can take will depend on your G.Q. (grossout quotient). Rodriguez and screenwriter/actor Tarantino seem to be having fun, especially in their casting choices, but this is just a celebration of excess. In fact, it might be retitled NATURAL BORN VAMPIRES. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0116367 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, John Saxon, Kelly Preston, Marc Lawrence, Michael Parks, Ernest Lui, Danny Trejo, Tito Larriva | Comedy, Horror, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| From Hell | 2001 | The Hughes Brothers | ★★★ | 122 | Eccentric London police inspector Depp is determined to capture Jack the Ripper despite a growing sense that there is a cover-up at hand to protect some very important people. Gothic thriller treads familiar ground (for Ripperphiles) but is colorful and entertaining; an impressive showing for the Hughes Brothers. Only Graham seems out of place as a weathered Whitechapel prostitute. Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. | tt0120681 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Katrin Cartlidge, Susan Lynch | Thriller, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| From Hell It Came | 1957 | Dan Milner | ★½ | 71 | Monstrous tree rises from grave of native chief's son, causing terror in South Seas village. As walking-tree movies go, this is at the top of the list. | tt0050414 | Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer, Robert Swan | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| From Hell to Borneo | 1964 | George Montgomery | ★★ | 96 | Filmed in the Philippines, tale recounts Montgomery's efforts to maintain sanctity of his private island against aggressive crooks and smugglers. | tt0060500 | George Montgomery, Julie Gregg, Torin Thatcher, Lisa Moreno | Adventure | NULL | |||
| From Hell to Heaven | 1933 | Erle C. Kenton. | ★★½ | 67 | Another GRAND HOTEL clone, this time tracing the fortunes of guests at a racetrack hotel, all of whom have varying reasons for betting on an upcoming race. Lombard and Oakie are always fun to watch, and there's some interesting camerawork by Henry Sharp utilizing zoom lenses, which were rarely used in the '30s. | tt0024041 | Carole Lombard, Jack Oakie, Adrienne Ames, David Manners, Sidney Blackmer, Verna Hillie, James Eagles, Shirley Grey. | Drama | NULL | |||
| From Hell to Texas | 1958 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 100 | Sincere Western with Murray on the run with posse on his trail for accidentally killing a man. | tt0051636 | Don Murray, Diane Varsi, Chill Wills, Dennis Hopper | Western | NULL | |||
| From Hell to Victory | 1979 | Umberto Lenzi | ★★ | 100 | Friends of various nationalities are torn apart by the coming of WW2. Undistinguished, superficial actioner. | tt0079019 | [PG] | George Peppard, George Hamilton, Horst Buchholz, Capucine, Sam Wanamaker, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Anny Duperey | French-Italian-Spanish | War | NULL | |
| From Here to Eternity | 1953 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 118 | Toned-down but still powerful adaptation of James Jones' novel of Army life in Hawaii just before Pearl Harbor. Depiction of Japanese sneak attack combines unforgettable action scenes with actual combat footage. Brilliantly acted by entire cast, including Sinatra in his 'comeback' role as the ill-fated soldier Maggio. Eight Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Daniel Taradash), Cinematography (Burnett Guffey), and Supporting Actors Sinatra and Reed. Remade in 1979 as a TV mini-series, which in turn spun off a brief series. | tt0045793 | Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Shaughnessy, Jack Warden, Claude Akins, George Reeves | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| From Justin to Kelly | 2003 | Rob Iscove | ★½ | 81 | Guzzle sunscreen instead of sitting through this insipid musical vehicle for TV's American Idol stars, which finds them trying to make a love connection during Miami spring break. No one was expecting Shakespeare, but there's less heft here than in an Archie comic book. Justin and Kelly belt and gyrate through a series of forgettable numbers but generate no chemistry, even in a chaste Frankie-Annette sort of way. | tt0339034 | [PG] | Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Katherine Bailess, Anika Noni Rose, Greg Siff, Brian Dietzen, Jason Yribar | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China | 1980 | Murray Lerner | ★★★½ | 84 | Moving documentary about violinist Stern's '79 tour of China. Most memorably, he tutors talented Chinese students, encouraging them to feel their playing. Shuzhen, deputy director of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, describes his incarceration during the Cultural Revolution. Deservedly won Best Documentary Academy Award. | tt0080762 | [G] | Isaac Stern, David Golub, Tan Shuzhen | Documentary | NULL | ||
| From Mexico With Love | 2009 | Jimmy Nickerson | ★★ | 97 | Thoroughly predictable indie drama about a Mexican farm laborer (Becker) who trains as a boxer for a grudge match against the cocky son of a surly Texas landowner. Few boxing-movie clichés are left unrecycled before the final round, but three well-cast supporting players keep things mildly interesting: McGill as a grumpy trainer, Bauer as a smooth-talking wheeler-dealer, Lang as a farmer who exploits undocumented workers. | tt0457355 | [PG-13] | Kuno Becker, Steven Bauer, Stephen Lang, Alex Nesic, Danay Garcia, Bruce McGill | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| From Nashville With Music | 1969 | Eddie Crandall | ★½ | 87 | Some good C&W music, but one is better off buying the performers' albums instead of suffering through this story of N.Y.C. couple who go to the Grand Ole Opry by mistake. | tt0064348 | Marilyn Maxwell, Leo G. Carroll, (Pedro) Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens | Musical | NULL | |||
| From Noon Till Three | 1976 | Frank D. Gilroy | ★★½ | 99 | Likably offbeat story (adapted by Gilroy from his own novel) about a two-bit robber who enjoys a brief tryst with a woman who— after he is thought dead— fictionalizes their romance and turns him into a legendary hero. A kind of shaggy dog joke, which while pleasant, doesn't quite work. A nice change of pace for Bronson, though. | tt0074553 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Douglas Fowley, Stan Haze, Damon Douglas, Anne Ramsey | Comedy, Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| From Paris With Love | 2010 | Pierre Morel | ★★½ | 92 | Utterly preposterous action-adventure can be savored as an over-the-top guilty pleasure, thanks to TAKEN director Morel's pedal-to-metal pacing and Travolta's exuberantly gonzo-macho portrayal of a trigger-happy secret agent who teams with a straightlaced U.S. embassy functionary (Rhys Meyers) to exterminate Chinese drug dealers and Pakistani terrorists in Paris. Genuinely surprising plot twist at the two-thirds mark leads to an unexpectedly potent finale. Story by Luc Besson. | tt1179034 | [R] | John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden | French | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| From Prada to Nada | 2011 | Angel Gracia | ★★ | 107 | Lightweight comedy, very loosely based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, about two Mexican-American sisters—spoiled and sexy Vega, studious and bespectacled Belle—who must relocate from Beverly Hills to East L.A. after their free-spending father unexpectedly dies and leaves them penniless. Downward mobility forces both young women to reset their priorities and rediscover their roots, with sporadically amusing results. | tt0893412 | [PG-13] | Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama, Nicholas D’Agosto, April Bowlby, Kuno Becker, Adriana Barraza | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| From Russia With Love | 1963 | Terence Young | ★★★½ | 118 | Second James Bond film is one of the best; plenty of suspense and action, and one of the longest, most exciting fight scenes ever staged. Lenya makes a very sinister spy. | tt0057076 | Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Lotte Lenya, Pedro Armendáriz, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell | British | Thriller, Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| From This Day Forward | 1946 | John Berry | ★★★ | 95 | Agreeable soaper of Fontaine and Stevens readjusting their lives when he returns from war, and their struggle to get on in the world. | tt0038537 | Joan Fontaine, Mark Stevens, Rosemary DeCamp, Harry Morgan, Arline Judge, Bobby Driscoll, Mary Treen | Drama | NULL | |||
| From the Earth to the Moon | 1958 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 100 | Jules Verne's fiction doesn't float well in contrived sci-fi of early rocket flight to the moon. Veteran cast looks most uncomfortable. | tt0051638 | Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget, Don Dubbins, Patric Knowles, Melville Cooper, Carl Esmond, Henry Daniell | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| From the Hip | 1987 | Bob Clark | 💣 | 112 | Once again, Nelson plays a character only a mother could love: a lawyer who's made a name for himself by winning a hopeless case through outrageous courtroom tactics. Now he's given another challenge: defending Hurt, who's accused of murder. Hurt's flamboyant performance can't save this mongrel of a movie. | tt0093051 | [PG] | Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins, John Hurt, Darren McGavin, Ray Walston, Dan Monahan, David Alan Grier, Nancy Marchand, Allan Arbus, Edward Winter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| From the Life of the Marionettes | 1980 | Ingmar Bergman. | ★★★½ | 104 | Powerful, provocative drama about a respectable, successful businessman (Atzorn), who ravishes and strangles a prostitute. He has also been obsessed with killing his wife (Buchegger), with whom he constantly quarrels. Not coincidentally, both were minor characters in SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE. | tt0080397 | [R] | Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Martin Benrath, Rita Russek, Lola Muethel, Walter Schmidinger, Heinz Bennent. | German | Drama | NULL | |
| From the Manger to the Cross | 1912 | Sidney Olcott. | ★★½ | 71 | Years before DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS— and decades before Mel Gibson— came this well-intentioned but pedestrian reenactment of the life of Christ. Extremely dated but still of interest as the first biblical epic filmed 'on the original locations' in the Middle East. | tt0002199 | Robert Henderson-Bland, Percy Dyer, Gene Gauntier, Alice Hollister, Sidney Olcott, Robert G. Vignola. | Drama | NULL | |||
| From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler | The Hideaways | 1973 | Fielder Cook | ★★½ | 105 | Fanciful tale of New Jersey kids Prager and Doran who hide out in N.Y.C.'s Metropolitan Museum, creating a dream world and befriending recluse Bergman, seen too briefly. Best for children. Blanche Hanalis adapted E.L. Konigsburg's novel. Reissued as THE HIDEAWAYS. Remade in 1995 for TV with Lauren Bacall. | tt0070079 | [G] | Ingrid Bergman, Sally Prager, Johnny Doran, George Rose, Georgann Johnson, Richard Mulligan, Madeline Kahn | Family, Drama | NULL | |
| From the Terrace | 1960 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 144 | John O'Hara's ironic chronicle of young war veteran's rise to financial and social success is superficial film. Woodward is chic and Newman wooden; Loy is superb as drunken mother, Ames fine as bitter dad. | tt0053841 | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Myrna Loy, Ina Balin, Leon Ames, Elizabeth Allen, Barbara Eden, George Grizzard, Patrick O'Neal, Felix Aylmer, Mae Marsh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Front Page Story | 1954 | Gordon Parry | ★★½ | 99 | Solid performances enhance story of many problems confronting newspaper editor: pending divorce, murder, lost children, and a rebellious staff. | tt0047002 | Jack Hawkins, Elizabeth Allan, Eva Bartok, Martin Miller, Derek Farr | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Front Page Woman | 1935 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 82 | Breezy yarn of rival reporters Davis and Brent trying to outdo each other covering unusual murder and trial. Prime ingenue Davis fare. | tt0026388 | Bette Davis, George Brent, Winifred Shaw, Roscoe Karns, Joseph Crehan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Front Page | 1931 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★½ | 103 | First filming of Hecht-MacArthur play is forceful, funny, and flamboyantly directed, with Menjou and O'Brien a good pair as battling editor and reporter in Chicago. Stands up quite well alongside remake HIS GIRL FRIDAY. | tt0021890 | Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian, Edward Everett Horton, Walter Catlett, Mae Clarke, George E. Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Front Page | 1974 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 105 | Third filming of the Hecht-MacArthur play about wild and woolly Chicago newspapermen in the 1920s has hardly anything new to offer (except four-letter words) but remains an enjoyable vehicle for this fine cast. Only Burnett misses the boat as pathetic hooker Molly Malloy. Remade again (!) in 1988 as SWITCHING CHANNELS. | tt0071524 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, Susan Sarandon, Vincent Gardenia, David Wayne, Allen Garfield, Austin Pendleton, Charles Durning, Harold Gould, Herb Edelman, Dick O'Neill, Jon Korkes, Martin Gabel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Front | 1976 | Martin Ritt | ★★★★ | 94 | Bull's-eye comedy with serious theme. Allen is a schnook enlisted by blacklisted writers to put his name on their scripts during 1950s witchhunt era, leading to various complications. Allen's casting is perfect, and Mostel is standout as 'tainted' comic fighting for survival. Original script by blacklisted Walter Bernstein; Ritt, Mostel, Bernardi, Shelley, and Gough were also blacklisted in real life. | tt0074554 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Michael Murphy, Andrea Marcovicci, Remak Ramsay, Joshua Shelley, Lloyd Gough, Danny Aiello, Charles Kimbrough, Josef Sommer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Frontier Gal | 1945 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 84 | Sex in the West as saloon queen De Carlo falls in love with outlaw Cameron; no sympathy from villain Leonard in OK Western-comedy. | tt0037721 | Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, Andy Devine, Fuzzy Knight, Andrew Tombes, Sheldon Leonard, Clara Blandick | Western | NULL | |||
| Frontier Gun | 1958 | Paul Landres. | ★★ | 70 | Agar is honest sheriff who discovers that gunplay is only solution to town's crooks. | tt0051639 | John Agar, Robert Strauss, Barton MacLane, Morris Ankrum. | Western | NULL | |||
| Frontier Hellcat | 1966 | Alfred Vohrer | ★★½ | 98 | Another Karl May Winnetou story, which captures flavor of Old West in adventure of pioneers passing through Rockies. | tt0058709 | Stewart Granger, Elke Sommer, Pierre Brice, Gotz George | German | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Frontier Marshal | 1939 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 71 | Colorful retelling of events leading to legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Scott is fine as Tombstone's new marshal, Wyatt Earp; Romero is more moody than cold-blooded as Doc Halliday, and Kelly is the girl from his past who reminds Doc of his earlier, saner days as— an obstetrician! Many scenes and bits of dialogue were used in the 1946 remake, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. Ward Bond, who plays Earp's brother in the later film, appears briefly as a cowardly town marshal. | tt0031346 | Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, Cesar Romero, Binnie Barnes, John Carradine, Lon Chaney/Jr., Chris-Pin Martin, Eddie Foy/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Frontier Pony Express | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 58 | Pony Express rider Roy falls in love with Hart, whose brother is a Confederate spy posing as a reporter. A perfect example of the formula that made Rogers' early films so popular, with a fast-moving story of the Civil War, Pony Express, spies, and outlaw raids, with time out for romance, a pair of songs, and even a moment for Trigger to shine on his own. Look for young George Montgomery as a Union cavalry soldier. | tt0031347 | Roy Rogers, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Raymond Hatton, Edward Keane, Noble Johnson, Monte Blue, Donald Dillaway, William Royle. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Frontiersman | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 72 | Prairie schoolmarm is snubbed by Bar 20 owner's unruly son; while Hopalong Cassidy is busy acting as truant officer, she falls for crooked mayor, who secretly operates cattle-rustling ring. Venable's charming performance as the teacher is a big plus, along with robust action windup. Adapted from 1906 novel Bar-20 by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Without a single mention of it, classroom is integrated. | tt0030161 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Evelyn Venable, Charles A. Hughes, William Duncan, Dickie Jones. | Western | NULL | |||
| Frost/Nixon | 2008 | Ron Howard | ★★★★ | 122 | Ebullient TV host David Frost, in a career lull, persuades disgraced former President Richard Nixon to agree to a series of television interviews. His backup team hopes to elicit a public apology for his misdeeds, while Nixon’s loyalists intend to restore his tarnished reputation. Incredibly gripping drama conceived by Peter Morgan, who wrote THE QUEEN, and so effectively reinvented as a movie—by Morgan and director Howard—that you’d never know it originated on the stage. Langella and Sheen are superb and utterly believable, even if you remember the real-life figures they portray. | tt0870111 | [R] | Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Patty McCormack, Joe Spano, Clint Howard, Andy Milder | Drama | NULL | ||
| Frozen Assets | 1992 | George Miller | ★½ | 96 | Low-octane comic trifle, in which Bernsen is transferred to a new bank— only to discover it's a sperm bank (get it?). He meets repressed biologist Long and after a lot of potency jokes they find themselves drawn to each other. Misguided movie vehicle for two proven TV stars. Corbin's mother, The Young and the Restless' Jeanne Cooper, has a small role. | tt0104309 | [PG-13] | Shelley Long, Corbin Bernsen, Larry Miller, Dody Goodman, Matt Clark, Paul Sand, Teri Copley, Gloria Camden, Gerrit Graham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Frozen Dead | 1966 | Herbert J. Leder | ★★ | 95 | Bizarre account of scientist Andrews who froze group of top Nazis, now trying to revive them and the Third Reich; sloppy production values mar tale. Released theatrically in b&w. | tt0060434 | Dana Andrews, Anna Palk, Philip Gilbert, Kathleen Breck, Karel Stepanek, Edward Fox | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Frozen Ghost | 1945 | Harold Young | ★★½ | 61 | Entertaining Inner Sanctum yarn with Chaney as a stage mentalist who blames himself for a man's death, and seeks refuge (!) in a creepy wax museum run by Birell. | tt0037722 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Douglass Dumbrille, Martin Kosleck, Elena Verdugo, Tala Birell | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Frozen River | 2008 | Courtney Hunt | ★★★ | 96 | The setting is upstate New York near the Canadian border. A working-class woman whose husband has run off with their money—leaving her with broken dreams and two kids to raise—gets an offer she can’t refuse from a sullen young Mohawk woman, to make “easy” money transporting people across the border under perilous conditions. Low-key but utterly compelling drama with two finely etched performances. Based on writer-director Hunt’s 2004 short subject of the same name. | tt0978759 | [R] | Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Michael O’Keefe, Charlie McDermott, Mark Boone Junior, James Reilly, Jay Klaitz | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fruit Machine | Wonderland | 1988 | Philip Saville | ★★★ | 103 | Diverting contemporary thriller about two gay but very different Liverpool teens (Charles and Forsyth, in spirited performances) who witness a gangland murder and must flee for their lives. Scripted by Frank (LETTER TO BREZHNEV) Clarke. Video title: WONDERLAND. | tt0095183 | Emile Charles, Tony Forsyth, Robert Stephens, Claire Higgins, Bruce Payne, Robbie Coltrane | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Fuel | Fields of Fuel | 2008 | Joshua Tickell | ★★★ | 112 | Revised after its 2008 Sundance debut (as FIELDS OF FUEL), when biofuel got a black eye in the media. Interviewees include scientists, cutting-edge innovators, and proactive celebrities (including Julia Roberts, Sheryl Crow, Woody Harrelson, Larry Hagman, and Neil Young). More interesting for its content than its fluidity as cinema, but undeniably educational and provocative. | tt1294164 | [Not rated] | Documentary about the odyssey of activist-turned-filmmaker Tickell, a longtime exponent of biofuel as a source of clean energy | Documentary | NULL | |
| The Fugitive Kind | 1959 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 135 | Uneven filming of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending, with strange casting. Wandering bum (Brando) arrives in Southern town, sparking romances with middle-aged married woman (Magnani) and spunky Woodward. Movie goes nowhere. Remade for cable TV in 1990 as ORPHEUS DESCENDING. | tt0052832 | Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, Joanne Woodward, Maureen Stapleton, Victor Jory, R. G. Armstrong | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fugitive Lovers | 1934 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★ | 84 | Genially preposterous tale of runaway chorus girl and prison escapee who are drawn together during cross-country bus trip (all of it shot with 'arty' camera angles). Moves like lightning to even more preposterous climax in snowbound Colorado. | tt0025151 | Robert Montgomery, Madge Evans, Nat Pendleton, Ted Healy, C. Henry Gordon, The Three Stooges | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Fugitive Pieces | 2008 | Jeremy Podeswa | ★★½ | 106 | Jewish writer (Dillane) deals with his present-day demons while immersed in the memory of his boyhood during WW2: witnessing his parents’ slaughter, wondering about the fate of his sister, being rescued by a kindly Greek archeologist (Sherbedgia). Somber mood perfectly reflects the mind-set of the main character, but the film is too drawn out and one-dimensionally downbeat. Podeswa scripted, based on Anne Michaels’ acclaimed novel. | tt0765451 | [R] | Stephen Dillane, Rade Sherbedgia, Rosamund Pike, Ayelet Zurer, Robbie Kay, Ed Stoppard, Rachelle Lefevre, Themis Bazaka, Nina Dobrev | Canadian-Greek | Drama | NULL | |
| The Fugitive | 1947 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 104 | Brooding drama set in Mexico with revolutionist priest turned in by man who once sheltered him. Superbly shot by Gabriel Figueroa. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039402 | Henry Fonda, Dolores Del Rio, Pedro Armendáriz, J. Carrol Naish, Leo Carrillo, Ward Bond | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Fugitive | 1993 | Andrew Davis | ★★★½ | 127 | Slick, solid update of the 1960s TV series about a doctor wrongly convicted of murdering his wife; he takes it on the lam, with a dogged federal marshal (Jones, in an Oscar-winning performance) and his team on his trail. Great action and stunts, including an eye-popping bus crash/train wreck, but it's the cat-and-mouse game between two strong personalities— Ford and Jones— that makes this work. Scripted by Jeb Stuart and David Twohy from Twohy's story; based on coexecutive producer Roy Huggins' original TV premise. Followed by U.S. MARSHALS. | tt0106977 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore, Joe Pantoliano, Jeroen Krabbé, Andreas Katsulas, Daniel Roebuck, L. Scott Caldwell | Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Full Body Massage | 1995 | Nicolas Roeg | Average TV Movie | 105 | Offbeat, gabby, and quite sensual memory piece involving rich bitch Rogers and her substitute masseur Brown, who may once have met as children. Much of full-bodied Rogers' footage requires her to be nude, but the eroticism of the piece flags as the talk drones on. Direct-to-video production that premiered on cable. | tt0113131 | Mimi Rogers, Bryan Brown, Elizabeth Barondes, Christopher Burgard, Heather Gunn, Patrick Neil Quinn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Full Confession | 1939 | John Farrow | ★★ | 73 | Well-meaning but unbearably preachy melodrama in which Fitzgerald is falsely accused of murder. McLaglen confesses the crime to priest Calleia, but what can the father do. | tt0031353 | Victor McLaglen, Sally Eilers, Joseph Calleia, Barry Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Risdon | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Full Fathom Five | 1990 | Carl Franklin | 💣 | 82 | Roger Corman's 'Red October' is a waterlogged mess: a group of renegades seize a Russian sub and threaten the nuclear annihilation of Houston, while the U.S. is preparing to invade Panama. Far too cheap for its ambitions. | tt0099622 | [PG] | Michael Moriarty, Maria Rangel, Michael Cavanaugh, John LaFayette, Todd Field, Daniel Faraldo, Orlando Sacha | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Full Frontal | 2002 | Steven Soderbergh | ★½ | 101 | Self-indulgent, Hollywood-insider piffle offers a film within a film as we meet such L.A. denizens as a magazine writer and a movie star (both played by Roberts), an unhappily married couple (Pierce and Keener), and a movie producer (Duchovny) who's invited everyone to his 40th birthday party. Occasional moments of genuine emotion are undermined by showing us that it's 'only a movie' after all. An unsatisfying mess. Shot on digital video. | tt0290212 | [R] | Julia Roberts, David Duchovny, David Hyde Pierce, Catherine Keener, Nicky Katt, Mary McCormack, Blair Underwood, Brad Pitt, David Fincher, Terence Stamp, Enrico Colantoni, Erika Alexander, Brad Rowe, Cynthia Gibb, Jerry Weintraub | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Full Metal Jacket | 1987 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★ | 116 | Adaptation of Gustav Hasford's The Short Timers is divided into two sections: a harrowing look at Marine basic training on Parris Island; and combat experiences in Vietnam. The first half is so strong (thanks in part to real-life former D.I. Ermey) that the second half suffers in comparison, as it covers more familiar ground, while keeping emotions in check. Still, it's compelling, well acted, and supremely well crafted, certainly in keeping with Kubrick's recurring theme of dehumanization. Original music by Abigail Mead, aka Vivian Kubrick, the director's daughter. Filmed in England. | tt0093058 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood, Arliss Howard, Kevyn Major Howard, Ed O'Ross | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Full Monty | 1997 | Peter Cattaneo | ★★★½ | 95 | Bull's-eye comedy about unemployed Sheffield steel-mill workers who, out of desperation, the need for money, and an equal need to have something to do, decide to become male strippers. Funny, well cast, and never mean spirited, this film earns its laughs honestly. Clever screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. Oscar-winning score by Anne Dudley. | tt0119164 | [R] | Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Emily Woof, Steve Huison, Paul Barber, Hugo Speer, Deirdre Costello | British-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Full Moon High | 1981 | Larry Cohen | ★★★ | 94 | Infectiously silly teenage werewolf comedy, with Arkin as a high-school football star whose strange, right-wing father (McMahon) takes him to Transylvania and inadvertently changes his life. Lots of off-the-wall laughs and cameos by various comedy performers. | tt0082425 | [PG] | Adam Arkin, Ed McMahon, Elizabeth Hartman, Roz Kelly, Bill Kirchenbauer, Kenneth Mars, Joanne Nail, Alan Arkin | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Full Moon in Blue Water | 1988 | Peter Masterson | ★★ | 93 | Hackman is wallowing in self-pity over his drowned wife, as creditors duplicitously plot foreclosure on his coastal Texas bar. Also involved in the talky interchange are feisty bus driver Garr, Hackman's elderly father-in-law Meredith, and mentally shaky employee Koteas. This screen original by playwright Bill Bozzone feels like bad theater. | tt0095186 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Teri Garr, Burgess Meredith, Elias Koteas, Kevin Cooney, David Doty | Drama | NULL | ||
| Full Moon in Paris | 1984 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 102 | Neat little comedy from Rohmer about a headstrong young woman (Ogier), and her relationships with three men. Wonderful dialogue and characterizations, with a charming Ogier performance. | tt0087821 | [R] | Pascale Ogier, Fabrice Luchini, Tcheky Karyo, Christian Vadim, Virginie Thevenet | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Full of It | 2007 | Christian Charles | ★★ | 93 | Passable teen comedy was probably pitched as LIAR, LIAR set in high school. Loser student with an active imagination suddenly finds all the whoppers he's been telling start coming true, making him the most popular guy on campus. Largely uninspired gags deal with every possible teenage fantasy. | tt0446752 | [PG-13] | Ryan Pinkston, Kate Mara, Teri Polo, Craig Kilborn, John Carroll Lynch, Cynthia Stevenson, Amanda Walsh, Derek McGrath, Joshua Close, Matt Gordon, Carmen Electra | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Full of Life | 1956 | Richard Quine | ★★★ | 91 | Holliday's pregnant wife antics almost matched by Baccaloni's as excitable father-in-law with his own way of running things. | tt0049240 | Judy Holliday, Richard Conte, Salvatore Baccaloni, Esther Minciotti | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Fuller Brush Girl | 1950 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 85 | Low-grade slapstick with energetic Lucy as door-to-door salesgirl, mixed up with thieves. | tt0042488 | Lucille Ball, Eddie Albert, Jeff Donnell, Jerome Cowan, Lee Patrick | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Fuller Brush Man | 1948 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 93 | Usual Skelton slapstick, with Red involved in murder while valiantly trying to succeed as a door-to-door salesman. | tt0040379 | Red Skelton, Janet Blair, Don McGuire, Adele Jergens, Ross Ford, Hillary Brooke | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fun | 1993 | Rafal Zielinski | ★★★ | 105 | Jarring account of seemingly average young suburban teens who have just murdered a trusting elderly woman, for the 'fun' of it! A thoughtful, disquieting film, every bit as impressive as HEAVENLY CREATURES, featuring riveting performances by its talented young leads. A biting commentary on 'celebrity' in America. | tt0109855 | Alicia Witt, Renee Humphrey, William R. Moses, Leslie Hope, Ania Suli | Drama | NULL | |||
| Fun & Fancy Free | 1947 | William Morgan, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Hamilton Luske. | ★★½ | 73 | Disney feature comprised of two cartoon segments, Sinclair Lewis' so-so story 'Bongo,' about a circus bear, and the lively Mickey/Donald/Goofy 'Mickey and the Beanstalk.' Bergen's live-action interludes with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd are also amusing. Second feature appearance of Jiminy Cricket has him singing a song intended for use in PINOCCHIO, 'I'm a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow.' | tt0039404 | Edgar Bergen, Luana Patten; voices of Dinah Shore, Anita Gordon, Cliff Edwards, Billy Gilbert, Clarence Nash, The Kings Men, The Dinning Sisters. | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | |||
| Fun With Dick and Jane | 1977 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★½ | 95 | Lightly amusing comedy about Segal losing his job, he and wife Fonda trying to cope with no income and finally turning to crime. Falls apart after promising start, becoming fragmented and pointless. Watch for Jay Leno in a bit. | tt0076059 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, George Segal, Ed McMahon, Dick Gautier, Allan Miller, John Dehner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Fun in Acapulco | 1963 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 97 | Scenery outshines story of Presley working as lifeguard and entertainer in Mexican resort city and performing the likes of 'No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car,' 'Bossa Nova Baby,' and 'You Can't Say No in Acapulco.' Lukas is amusing as temperamental chef. | tt0057083 | Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress, Paul Lukas, Alejandro Rey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fun on a Weekend | 1947 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 93 | Scatterbrain fluff as Bracken and Lane maneuver their way from penniless fortune to love and riches, all in the course of a day. | tt0039405 | Eddie Bracken, Priscilla Lane, Tom Conway, Allen Jenkins, Arthur Treacher, Alma Kruger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fun with Dick and Jane | 2005 | Dean Parisot | ★★½ | 90 | Not exactly a leader in the 'crying need of remaking' department, this is obviously an Enron-influenced riff on the 1977 original about an upward middle-class couple who turn robbers after they're caught in an economic squeeze. Carrey gets promoted to VP in a company that barely exists, about a day before boss Baldwin helicopters away with the profits. Fitfully amusing comedy gets off to a fair start but loses its way into scattershot farce. Leoni makes a good fit with Carrey's manic persona. | tt0369441 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, Angie Harmon, John Michael Higgins, Richard Burgi, Laurie Metcalf, Clint Howard | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Funeral Home | Cries in the Night | 1982 | William Fruet | ★★ | 93 | Teenager Donaldson investigates when guests begin disappearing from grandmother Hawtrey's summer motel. OK of its type; aka CRIES IN THE NIGHT. | tt0083976 | [R] | Lesleh Donaldson, Kay Hawtrey, Barry Morse, Dean Garbett, Stephen Miller, Harvey Atkin | Canadian | Horror | NULL |
| Funeral in Berlin | 1966 | Guy Hamilton | ★★ | 102 | Second of three Harry Palmer films (based on Len Deighton's novels) featuring Caine as the British spy arranging for defection of Russian officer in charge of Berlin war security. Caine and Homolka are good, Renzi attractive, but slow-moving tale just doesn't click. Followed by BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN. | tt0060437 | Michael Caine, Eva Renzi, Paul Hubschmid, Oscar Homolka, Guy Doleman | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Funeral | 1984 | Juzo Itami | ★★★ | 124 | Itami's debut feature is an on-target black comedy that chides solemn, traditional Japanese funeral rites. The scenario details what ensues when a modern family is compelled to hold a Buddhist funeral for its patriarch— who happened to own a brothel. | tt0089746 | Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kin Sugai, Ichiro Zaitsu, Nekohachi Edoya | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Funeral | 1996 | Abel Ferrara | ★★½ | 99 | Moody 1930s gangster film which follows what happens as thug siblings Walken and Penn respond to the murder of their Communist kid brother (Gallo). Occasionally meanders, and the flashbacks are confusing, but there's atmosphere to spare, and Ferrara vividly depicts a macho world in which one must be unfeeling and conquer his fears in order to attain 'manhood.' He also deals with his familiar themes of God and religion in a world of brutality. | tt0116378 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Christopher Penn, Annabella Sciorra, Isabella Rossellini, Vincent Gallo, Benicio Del Toro, Gretchen Mol, John Ventimiglia, Paul Hipp, Victor Argo | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Funhouse | 1981 | Tobe Hooper | ★★½ | 96 | Intense drama about four teenagers who decide to spend night in funhouse of a sleazy traveling carnival. Once inside, there is sex, violence, suspense and an increasing tension as they encounter the unknown. Stylish visuals help create an eerie atmosphere in this not entirely successful chiller. | tt0082427 | [R] | Elizabeth Berridge, Cooper Huckabee, Miles Chapin, Largo Woodruff, Sylvia Miles, William Finley, Kevin Conway | Horror | NULL | ||
| Funny About Love | 1990 | Leonard Nimoy | ★½ | 101 | Cartoonist Wilder and caterer Lahti can't conceive, despite the latest techniques of their laugh-a-minute fertility doctor; ensuing problems force Gene to take up with college sorority sister Masterson, obviously many years younger. Terminally mild comedy with odd, ham-handed flickers of black humor. | tt0099623 | [PG-13] | Gene Wilder, Christine Lahti, Mary Stuart Masterson, Robert Prosky, Stephen Tobolowsky, Anne Jackson, Susan Ruttan, Jean De Baer, David Margulies | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Funny Bones | 1995 | Peter Chelsom | ★★½ | 126 | Son of a famous and beloved comedian tries to make it on his own; when he fails, he goes back to Blackpool, England, to search for material— and his roots. Extraordinarily strange movie has many endearing moments (especially when it resurrects nuggets of show business past) but so many oddities that it never adds up— or figures out what it wants to be. Jerry is great, as Platt's father, and Caron is a delight as well. | tt0113133 | [R] | Oliver Platt, Lee Evans, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, Oliver Reed, Ian McNeice, George Carl, Freddie Davies, Ruta Lee, Harold Nicholas | British-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Funny Face | 1957 | Stanley Donen | ★★★½ | 103 | Stylish and highly stylized musical with Astaire as fashion photographer who turns Hepburn into chic Paris model. Top Gershwin score ('How Long Has This Been Going On,' 'He Loves and She Loves,' 'S'Wonderful,' title tune), striking use of color, entertaining performance by Thompson as magazine editor. Cinematography by Ray June and John P. Fulton. Leonard Gershe based his screenplay on an unproduced stage musical— and Astaire's role was based on Richard Avedon, who's credited as visual consultant. | tt0050419 | Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair, Suzy Parker, Ruta Lee | Romance, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Funny Farm | 1988 | George Roy Hill | ★★½ | 101 | Oddly easygoing— and thus mildly endearing— Chase comedy about a N.Y. sportswriter who discovers, MR. BLANDINGS style, that country living isn't quite what it's cracked up to be. Has the look of quality (it was photographed by Miroslav Ondricek, designed by Henry Bumstead) but too many gags fizzle. Final episode is the best. | tt0095188 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Joseph Maher, Jack Gilpin, Brad Sullivan, MacIntyre Dixon, Glenn Plummer, Mike Starr, Sarah Michelle Gellar | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Funny Farm | 1982 | Ron Clark | ★★ | 95 | Young man from Ohio comes to L.A. to make it as a stand-up comic. Slow-moving film introduces many unknown comics who do short bits at a 'comedy store' owned by Brennan. Some funny moments, but film as a whole is nothing much. | tt0083978 | [R] | Miles Chapin, Eileen Brennan, Jack Carter, Tracy Bregman, Howie Mandel, Marjorie Gross, Lou Dinos, Peter Aykroyd | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Funny Games | 1997 | Michael Haneke | ★★ | 104 | Two repugnant creeps bully their way into the country house of a middle-class family, who find themselves under siege physically and psychologically. Writer-director Haneke attempts to offer pungent commentary on the way contemporary society has been desensitized by violent images on TV and in movies, but this film is barely credible-and highly unpleasant. | tt0119167 |
|
Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering, Stefan Clapczynski, Doris Kunstmann, Christoph Bantzer, Wolfgang Glück | Austrian | Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Funny Games | 2008 | Michael Haneke | ★★ | 107 | Suburban family is terrorized and systematically tortured by two seemingly normal young men who gain entry into their vacation home. Shot-by-shot remake of Haneke’s 1997 Austrian thriller has been transported to a picturesque U.S. lakeside setting but still leaves a sickening aftertaste. With characters breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience, the filmmaker is trying to make a comment on extreme violence in movies in a story that provides plenty itself. Effectively made, but for strong stomachs only. | tt0808279 | [R] | Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart, Boyd Gaines, Siobhan Fallon, Robert LuPone | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Funny Girl | 1968 | William Wyler | ★★★ | 155 | Streisand's Oscar-winning film debut as Fanny Brice, singer-comedienne whose unhappy private life contrasted comic antics onstage. Bad as biography, but first-rate as musical, including fine Bob Merrill-Jule Styne score ('People,' title tune), memorable tugboat finale to 'Don't Rain on My Parade,' plus Brice standards 'My Man' and 'Second Hand Rose.' Sequel: FUNNY LADY. | tt0062994 | [G] | Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Lee Allen, Gerald Mohr | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Funny Lady | 1975 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 137 | FUNNY GIRL sequel shows Fanny Brice at height of career, meeting and marrying ambitious showman Billy Rose (Caan). Disjointed film has fine moments of music and comedy, but a cliché-ridden script to contend with. | tt0073026 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, Ben Vereen, Carole Wells, Colleen Camp | Musical | NULL | ||
| Funny Money | 2007 | Leslie Greif | ★½ | 98 | Droning worker bee at a wax-fruit factory (Chase) accidentally brings home the wrong briefcase one night-filled with 5 million dollars. Foreign crooks, a crooked cop, a horny boss, a randy art dealer, a comedic cabdriver, and assorted others descend upon Chase's home in the ruckus that follows. Ray Cooney's lowbrow British stage farce doesn't translate well to film. Made in 2005-mostly in Romania! | tt0244521 | [R] | Chevy Chase, Penelope Ann Miller, Armand Assante, Robert Loggia, Christopher McDonald, Alex Meneses, Kevin Sussman, Guy Torry, Rebecca Wisocky, Tim Stack | German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Funny People | 2009 | Judd Apatow | ★★½ | 146 | Successful movie comedian learns he has a rare disease and may be dying. With no friends or family relationships, he impulsively hires a wannabe stand-up comic to be his assistant, companion, and nursemaid. Then he tries to reconnect with the only woman he ever loved. Sprawling comedy-drama tackles everything from mortality to the emptiness of material success; gets an A for effort, though the results are extremely variable. And has the male sex organ ever been cited so many times—in so many ways—in one film? Rogen scores as the movie's one true mensch. Those cute girls are the real-life daughters of writer-director Apatow and leading lady Mann. Many comedians (and singer James Taylor) appear as themselves. Unrated version runs 153m. | tt1201167 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, RZA, Aziz Ansari | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | 1966 | Richard Lester | ★★½ | 99 | Frenzied adaptation of Broadway musical about conniving slave (Mostel) in ancient Rome; tries too hard, comes off forced. Still, with great comic cast, there's plenty worth seeing. Self-spoof on song 'Lovely' is a highlight; score by Stephen Sondheim. | tt0060438 | Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Jack Gilford, Michael Crawford, Annette Andre, Michael Hordern | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Funnyman | 1967 | John Korty | ★★★ | 98 | Winning little film about improvisational comic (Bonerz) who's nagged by the idea that he should be doing something more 'important.' Features great skits by The Committee and funny animated spoofs by director Korty. | tt0179189 | Peter Bonerz, Sandra Archer, Carol Androsky, Larry Hankin, Barbara Hiken, Gerald Hiken | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus | 2006 | Steven Shainberg | ★★ | 120 | Attempting to explore famed photographer Arbus' artistic awakening in metaphoric terms, this film (set in 1958) follows her evolution from a stifled upper-class N.Y.C. wife and mother to an artist who's open to a world of society's outcasts that her parents taught her to shun. Downey plays a fugitive from a freak show with a furry body who moves in upstairs. He's a fictitious character in this 'imaginary portrait' that tells us little about a very interesting woman. Ambitious and intriguing, with Kidman perfectly cast, but a strange, unsatisfying film. 'Inspired by' Patricia Bosworth's biography of Arbus. | tt0422295 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Robert Downey/Jr., Ty Burrell, Harris Yulin, Jane Alexander | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Furies | 1950 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 109 | Fiery Stanwyck has always been able to sweet-talk her cattle-baron father, who presides over a vast New Mexico ranch called The Furies—but lately he isn’t listening, and she locks horns with him. Operatic-style Western saga of love and hate, adapted by Charles Schnee from a Niven Busch novel and directed with flair by Mann. Striking cinematography by Victor Milner. This was Huston’s final film. | tt0042490 | Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Huston, Wendell Corey, Gilbert Roland, Judith Anderson, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Gomez, Albert Dekker, Blanche Yurka, Wallace Ford | Romance, Western, Drama | NULL | |||
| Furry Vengeance | 2010 | Roger Kumble | 💣 | 91 | Aggressively overplayed, desperately unfunny live-action comedy about wily forest creatures who battle a clueless land developer (Fraser). Recommended only for very small children who are easily amused by precocious animals and pratfalling grown-ups. | tt0492389 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Matt Prokop, Ken Jeong, Angela Kinsey, Wallace Shawn | U.S.-United Arab Emirates | Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck | 1988 | David Keith | ★★½ | 88 | Fun imitation of the INDIANA JONES films; big white hunter Keith goes on safari in Borneo with former Playboy Playmate of the Year Shower and her rich nerd husband van Hoffman. They meet up with a cannibal tribe whose women give Shower a vivid oil rubdown (the film's highlight). Actor-director Keith maintains a breezy tone. | tt0095189 | [R] | David Keith, Kathy Shower, Brant van Hoffman, Sydney Lassick, Tiziana Stella, Patrizia Zanetti | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family | Wilderness Family, Part 2 | 1978 | Frank Zuniga | ★★★ | 105 | This clone of 1975's family hit ADVENTURES OF . . . has same cast, same elements, same magnificent Colorado scenery. So who's to argue with success? Aka THE WILDERNESS FAMILY, PART 2; followed by MOUNTAIN FAMILY. | tt0077587 | Robert Logan, Susan D. Shaw, Heather Rattray, Ham Larsen, George 'Buck' Flower, Brian Cutler | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| The Further Perils of Laurel and Hardy | 1968 | Robert Youngson | ★★½ | 99 | Repetitious format of 'episodes' dulls edge of great material, but still fun, with rare L&H silent footage, pleasing interludes by Chase and Davidson. | tt0061692 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Max Davidson, James Finlayson | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Fury | 1936 | Fritz Lang | ★★★½ | 94 | Still timely drama of lynch mobs and mob rule in small town, making an embittered man of innocent Tracy, spoiling his love for sweetheart Sidney. Lang's first American film; he also scripted with Bartlett Cormack, from a Norman Krasna story. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027652 | Sylvia Sidney, Spencer Tracy, Walter Abel, Bruce Cabot, Edward Ellis, Walter Brennan, Frank Albertson | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Fury at Furnace Creek | 1948 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 88 | Ordinary Western tale of Mature erasing mar on father's career against formidable opposition. Remake of FOUR MEN AND A PRAYER. | tt0040380 | Victor Mature, Coleen Gray, Glenn Langan, Reginald Gardiner, Albert Dekker | Western | NULL | |||
| Fury at Gunsight Pass | 1956 | Fred F. Sears. | ★★½ | 68 | Brian tries to double-cross cohort Brand in carrying out plans for a bank robbery, with unexpected complications, in this fast-moving Western. | tt0049245 | David Brian, Neville Brand, Richard Long, Lisa Davis, Katherine Warren, Percy Helton, Morris Ankrum. | Western | NULL | |||
| Fury at Showdown | 1957 | Gerd Oswald | ★½ | 75 | Peace-loving man branded a coward, must shoot it out to rescue his girl. | tt0050420 | John Derek, John Smith, Carolyn Craig, Nick Adams | Western | NULL | |||
| Fury at Smuggler's Bay | 1961 | John Gilling | ★★ | 92 | Sea yarn of pirates scavenging passing ships and reaping rewards off the English coastline. | tt0057085 | Peter Cushing, Michele Mercier, Bernard Lee, George Coulouris, Liz Fraser | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Fury of the Congo | 1951 | William Berke | ★½ | 69 | Jungle Jim nonsense about a gang of smugglers who are out to capture strange animals called Okongos whose secretions form a potent narcotic. | tt0043570 | Johnny Weissmuller, Sherry Moreland, William Henry, Lyle Talbot | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Fury | 1978 | Brian De Palma | ★★★ | 118 | Stylish trash about young woman (Irving) with psychokinetic powers, and Douglas' desperate attempt to save his similarly gifted son from being used— or destroyed. Bloody and violent— the ultimate litmus test for those who prefer form over content. Film debut of Daryl Hannah; look fast for James Belushi as an extra. | tt0077588 | [R] | Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Amy Irving, Fiona Lewis, Andrew Stevens, Charles Durning, Gordon Jump, Dennis Franz | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Future Cop | 1976 | Jud Taylor | Average TV Movie | 78 | Boisterous veteran cop and his robot partner, programmed to be the perfect policeman, team up to track a gang of car thieves. Borgnine's blustering and Shannon's affability make the silly premise bearable if not workable-although it subsequently became a series. | tt0074558 | Ernest Borgnine, Michael Shannon, John Amos, John Larch, Herbert Nelson, Ronnie Clair Edwards | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Future Shock | 1994 | Eric Parkinson, Francis ``Oley'' Sassone, Matt Reeves | ★★ | 93 | This three-story film's setup: Evil experimenters test virtual-reality scenarios on unsuspecting psychiatric patients. A frightened woman can't get her husband to understand her fears of urban violence and wolves in Malibu; a mild nerd is victimized by his punkish new roommate; a photographer becomes obsessed with guarding against accidental death. Only the final segment shows real imagination. Unrated version runs 97m. | tt0106983 | [PG-13] | Vivian Schilling, Scott Thompson, Martin Kove, Sam Clay, Bill Paxton, Brion James, Sidney Lassick, James Karen, Amanda Foreman, Tim Doyle | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Future | 2011 | Miranda July | ★½ | 92 | Long-time couple July and Linklater must wait a month to adopt a wounded cat and, during that time, are inspired to radically change their lives and the ways they view the world. Despite a few interesting ideas and images, writer-director July's follow-up to ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW is an often unbearable compendium of art-house poses, not helped by two lead characters who bring navel gazing to new heights (or depths). July also provides the voice narration for Paw Paw, the ever-patient cat. | tt1235170 | [R] | Hamish Linklater, Miranda July, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres, Joe Putterlik, Angela Trimbur | U.S.-German | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Futureworld | 1976 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★★ | 104 | Suspenseful sequel to WESTWORLD has overtones of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS as robot duplicates try to take over. Short on action but intelligently done. | tt0074559 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner, Arthur Hill, Yul Brynner, Stuart Margolin, John Ryan | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Futz | 1969 | Tom O'Horgan | ★½ | 92 | Director O'Horgan, whose youthful touch made this a mild off-Broadway hit, brings bizarre tale to screen with disastrous results. No plot worth describing, except that there's a man in love with a pig. | tt0064354 | Seth Allen, John Bakos, Mari-Claire Charba, Peter Craig, Sally Kirkland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Fuzz | 1972 | Richard A. Colla | ★★ | 92 | Oddball film tries to mix laughs and excitement, to be the MASH of police dramas, but doesn't have the style to pull it off; another disappointment for Reynolds fans. Script by Evan Hunter from one of his 87th Precinct stories, written as 'Ed McBain.' | tt0068617 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Yul Brynner, Jack Weston, Tom Skerritt, Peter Bonerz, Steve Ihnat, James McEachin, Bert Remsen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown | 1957 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 87 | Mediocre comedy. When movie star is kidnapped, everyone thinks it's a publicity gag. | tt0050422 | Jane Russell, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, Keenan Wynn, Fred Clark, Una Merkel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| G | 2005 | Christopher Scott Cherot | ★★ | 96 | Shady character in the music industry rediscovers the great love from his past . . . but she's got a new man. Uncredited remake of THE GREAT GATSBY moves Fitzgerald's Jazz Age tragedy farther east on Long Island to the Hamptons, where the hip-hop-inflected romance remains faithful to its source in spirit if not in word (and that word would begin with F). Attractive, ultra-glam mounting with catchy music helps, but a bland Jones is no Redford-or Alan Ladd, for that matter. Written by the director. | tt0291928 | [R] | Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, Andre Royo, Chenoa Maxwell, Laz Alonso, Nicoye Banks, Andrew Lauren, Jillian Lindsey | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| G Men | 1935 | William Keighley | ★★★½ | 85 | Although raised by an underworld figure, Cagney joins F.B.I. when a pal is killed by gangsters, puts his first-hand knowledge to use. Exciting film, beautifully shot by Sol Polito; prologue with David Brian added for 1949 reissue. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026393 | James Cagney, Ann Dvorak, Margaret Lindsay, Robert Armstrong, Barton MacLane, Lloyd Nolan, William Harrigan | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| G-Force | 2009 | Hoyt H. Yeatman, Jr. | ★★½ | 88 | Government special ops squad of genetically enhanced guinea pigs (yes, guinea pigs) infiltrates bad guy Nighy's corporate empire to prevent the end of the world, and all that. Simplistic script and themes are typical of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, as is the noisy, pyrotechnical overproduction. But the nifty 3-D effects, several funny lines, and Cage's career high as star-nosed mole Speckles elevate this family fodder. | tt0436339 | [PG] | Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Kelli Garner, Niecy Nash; voices of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Penélope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, Tracy Morgan | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| G.I. Blues | 1960 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 104 | Prowse's versatile performance as a cabaret dancer uplifts this standard Presley fare about a guitar-playing G.I. in West Germany. Elvis sings 'Tonight Is So Right for Love,' 'Wooden Heart,' 'Blue Suede Shoes,' and title song. | tt0053848 | Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, Robert Ivers, Leticia Roman, Ludwig Stossel | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| G.I. Jane | 1997 | Ridley Scott | ★★ | 124 | Contrived movie about a woman selected as a test case for admitting females into naval combat. She undergoes the unbelievable rigors of Navy SEALs training, determined not to be shown favored treatment. Pumped-up Moore is perfect for the part, though it's a toss-up as to which scenes are more off-putting— her body-building workouts or her physical abuse at the hands of her Master Chief (Mortensen). Typically dense Scott soundtrack renders much of the dialogue unintelligible— but it's no loss. Too bad they didn't lose the anticlimactic final action sequence. | tt0119173 | [R] | Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Scott Wilson, Jason Beghe, Daniel Von Bargen | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | 2009 | Stephen Sommers | ★★½ | 118 | Drawn from Hasbro's 1982 reboot of its iconic 1964 military toy for boys, this snazzy sci-fi actioner is dolled up with gadgetry galore and one astonishing set-piece after another. But when the dazzle dims and the actors talk, they're action figures with unconvincing origin stories, in a standard-issue script about stolen warheads. Mercilessly violent but fairly bloodless, and sparked up by its wow effect. Brendan Fraser appears unbilled. | tt1046173 | [PG-13] | Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols, Byung-hun Lee, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jonathan Pryce, Christopher Eccleston, Kevin J. O'Connor, Saïd Taghmaoui, Dennis Quaid | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| G.O.R.P. | 1980 | Joseph Ruben | 💣 | 90 | Sophomoric, depressingly unfunny drug-oriented comedy set in a summer camp. Makes MEATBALLS seem like Hamlet; for people who think the word 'Quaalude' is automatically funny. | tt0080809 | [R] | Michael Lembeck, Dennis Quaid, Philip Casnoff, Fran Drescher, David Huddleston, Robert Trebor, Julius Harris, Rosanna Arquette | Comedy | NULL | ||
| GO | 1999 | Doug Liman | ★★ | 103 | A frenetic twenty-four hours in the lives of some hedonistic L.A. teens, as seen from several points of view. Energized, well cast, and cleverly contrived, this paean to a what-the-hell lifestyle is geared to appeal to like-minded young people . . . but others may find it too much like a junior PULP FICTION. | tt0139239 | [R] | Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Desmond Askew, Taye Diggs, William Fichtner, J. E. Freeman, Jane Krakowski, Breckin Meyer, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, Scott Wolf, James Duval | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gabbeh | 1996 | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | ★★★½ | 75 | Simple, sweet allegory in which an elderly woman washes a gabbeh (carpet) by the side of a river. From the gabbeh emerges a young woman, a member of a nomadic tribe who recounts a series of related stories. This elegantly lyrical, stunningly visual fable allows a peek into a non-Western culture and the way it records its history. | tt0116384 | Shaghayegh Djodat, Hossein Moharami, Roghieh Moharami, Abbas Sayahi | Iranian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gable and Lombard | 1976 | Sidney J. Furie | 💣 | 131 | Pure tripe about offscreen romance of two great stars. Brolin and Clayburgh are game but one-dimensional; script and direction are hopeless. | tt0074562 | [R] | James Brolin, Jill Clayburgh, Allen Garfield, Red Buttons, Joanne Linville, Melanie Mayron | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gabriel Over the White House | 1933 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★ | 87 | Dizzying Depression fantasy of crooked Huston elected President, experiencing mysterious change that turns him into Superpresident, determined to eliminate racketeers, find world peace. Bizarre, fascinating. | tt0024044 | Walter Huston, Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, C. Henry Gordon, Samuel S. Hinds, Jean Parker, Dickie Moore | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Gabriela | 1983 | Bruno Barreto | ★★ | 102 | Obvious tale of barkeeper Mastroianni taking on luscious, free-spirited Braga as a cook and lover. Braga's body and smile are the main interests here. Based on Jorge Amado's novel, which was developed into a top soap opera on Brazilian television. | tt0085575 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Sonia Braga, Antonio Cantafora, Ricardo Petraglia | Brazilian-Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Gabrielle | 2005 | Patrice Chéreau | ★★½ | 90 | In fin-de-siècle France, a smug and wealthy publisher who thinks of his wife as his prized possession is shocked when she suddenly leaves him for another man. But she returns later that day, leading to an unexpected conclusion. Polished, penetrating, but cold and talky series of scenes from a marriage; expanded from Joseph Conrad's short story 'The Return,' changing the setting from London to Paris and shifting the dramatic focus from the pompous husband to the repressed wife. Chéreau coscripted. | tt0435479 | Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Claudia Coli, Thierry Hancisse, Chantal Neuwirth, Thierry Fortineau | French-Italian-German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gaby | 1956 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 97 | Remake of WATERLOO BRIDGE, telling of ballerina Caron and her romance with soldier Kerr in WW2 England; not up to original. | tt0049247 | Leslie Caron, John Kerr, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Taina Elg | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gaby- A True Story | 1987 | Luis Mandoki | ★★★ | 110 | Incredible true story of Gaby Brimmer, born with cerebral palsy to wealthy European refugee parents in Mexico, leaving her body almost completely paralyzed— but not affecting her mind. Levin, who is not disabled in real life, gives a stunning performance in the lead (matched by Monoson as her boyfriend), with Aleandro a tower of strength as the woman who devotes her life to Gaby. An often painful but worthwhile film. Brimmer executive-produced. | tt0093067 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Norma Aleandro, Robert Loggia, Rachel Levin (Chagall), Lawrence Monoson, Robert Beltran, Tony Goldwyn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gadjo Dilo | Crazy Stranger | 1998 | Tony Gatlif | ★★ | 97 | During a bleak Romanian winter, a young Frenchman hoping to track down a legendary folk singer gets involved with a group of Gypsy villagers, becomes 'adopted' by a loud old drunk, and falls in love with a peasant woman. Things get complicated when the drunk's real son, a Gypsy mafioso, arrives fresh from jail. Overdone and melodramatic, this story too often plays on one note. Aka CRAZY STRANGER. | tt0122082 | Romain Duris, Rona Hartner, Izidor Serban, Ovidiu Balan, Angela Serban | French-Romanian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Gaily, Gaily | 1969 | Norman Jewison | ★★ | 107 | Ben Hecht's colorful memories of apprenticeship on Chicago newspaper are destroyed by silly, hollow script that even changes 'Hecht' to 'Harvey.' Expensive sets, period flavor are only bright spots in contrived comedy. Kidder's film debut. | tt0064357 | [M] | Beau Bridges, Melina Mercouri, Brian Keith, George Kennedy, Hume Cronyn, Margot Kidder, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Melodie Johnson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life | 2010 | Joann Sfar | ★★ | 122 | Odd mix of the stylistically daring vs. the enervatingly conventional attempts to put over the legend of France's self-destructive performer/babe magnet Serge Gainsbourg. Parisian-born, of Russian-Jewish heritage, the singer-composer is shown battling anti-Semitism in his youth and (occasionally) audiences in his twilight. Supporting characters include a life-sized puppet that serves as Gainsbourg's alter ego and soon wears out its screen welcome, plus lovers Juliette Gréco, Brigitte Bardot, and Jane Birkin. Degenerates into a standard biopic, which while exceptionally handsome never makes its subject very heroic... or all that compelling. Claude Chabrol has a cameo as a record producer. Original French running time: 134m. | tt1329457 | Eric Elmosnino, Lucy Gordon, Laetitia Casta, Anna Mouglalis, Sara Forestier | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gal Who Took the West | 1949 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 84 | De Carlo is attractive as singer in 1890s Arizona who allows Brady and Russell to court her. | tt0041400 | Yvonne De Carlo, Charles Coburn, Scott Brady, John Russell | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Gal Young 'Un | 1979 | Victor Nunez | ★★★½ | 105 | Low-budget gem about Prohibition-era widow Preu charmed and then exploited by foppish hustler Peck. Effective performances, use of locales (near Gainesville, Florida), depiction of the era. From Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings story. | tt0079190 | Dana Preu, David Peck, J. Smith, Gene Densmore, Jenny Stringfellow, Tim McCormick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Galaxina | 1980 | William Sachs | ★½ | 95 | Cheap STAR WARS/STAR TREK spoof reeks of low production values, boring scenario, and non-acting. Definitely not a vehicle for the late Ms. Stratten, though the film is of interest for her appearance as a robot. | tt0080771 | [R] | Stephen Macht, Dorothy R. Stratten, James David Hinton, Avery Schreiber | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Galaxy Quest | 1999 | Dean Parisot | ★★★ | 104 | Engaging comedy about the washed-up cast of a Star Trek-like TV show now reduced to making personal appearances at fan conventions; suddenly they're whisked off to a starship where an alien civilization (believing their television adventures to be real) seeks their help to save the aliens from oblivion. By Grabthar's hammer, it's clever, funny, and sweet. | tt0177789 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs, Patrick Breen, Missi Pyle | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Galaxy of Terror | Mindwarp: An Infinity of Terror | 1981 | Bruce D. Clark | ★½ | 80 | Astronauts are killed off by monsters while on mission to aid spaceship marooned on another planet. A Grade D ALIEN clone. Aka MINDWARP: AN INFINITY OF TERROR and PLANET OF HORRORS. Followed by FORBIDDEN WORLD. | tt0082431 | [R] | Edward Albert, Erin Moran, Ray Walston, Bernard Behrens, Zalman King, Sid Haig | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| Galileo | 1973 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 145 | Bertolt Brecht's play, whose 1947 U.S. premiere was staged by director Losey, turned into unremarkable but generally satisfactory film. Topol is a little much as the scientist whose theories of the universe confound the church, but supporting actors are excellent. An American Film Theatre Production. | tt0073029 | [PG] | Topol, Edward Fox, Colin Blakely, Georgia Brown, Clive Revill, Margaret Leighton, John Gielgud, Michael Gough, Judy Parfitt, Patrick Magee, Tom Conti | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Gallant Bess | 1946 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 101 | Blah MGM B movie is a grown-up version of concurrent THE YEARLING— soldier takes army horse home with him; it eventually saves his life. The first MGM film produced in Cinecolor, if that's your idea of a milestone. | tt0038547 | Marshall Thompson, George Tobias, Jim Davis, Clem Bevans, Donald Curtis, Chill Wills | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Gallant Blade | 1948 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 81 | Colorful, standard swashbuckler with dashing Parks protecting French general from villainous plot. | tt0040382 | Larry Parks, Marguerite Chapman, Victor Jory, George Macready | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Gallant Hours | 1960 | Robert Montgomery | ★★★ | 111 | Sincere, low-key biog of WW2 Admiral 'Bull' Halsey played documentary-style. Cagney is reserved and effective, but production needs livening. | tt0053849 | James Cagney, Dennis Weaver, Ward Costello, Richard Jaeckel | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Gallant Journey | 1946 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 85 | Ford pioneers glider plane development in 19th century. OK, but not as stirring as it's meant to be. | tt0039409 | Glenn Ford, Janet Blair, Charles Ruggles, Henry Travers, Arthur Shields, Selena Royle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gallant Lady | 1934 | Gregory La Cava | ★★ | 86 | Handsome but standard soaper about unwed Harding giving up baby for adoption, later hoping for second chance when adopted mother dies. Remade as ALWAYS GOODBYE. | tt0024046 | Ann Harding, Clive Brook, Otto Kruger, Tulio Carminati, Dickie Moore, Janet Beecher | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gallant Legion | 1948 | Joe Kane. | ★★★ | 88 | Superior 'Wild Bill' Elliott vehicle is an action-packed semihistorical yarn of how the Texas Rangers stopped a crooked politician and various lawless factions from breaking up the Lone Star State into separate pieces. Fast paced and exciting. | tt0040383 | William Elliott, Adrian Booth, Joseph Schildkraut, Bruce Cabot, Andy Devine, Jack Holt, Grant Withers, Adele Mara, James Brown. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gallipoli | 1981 | Peter Weir | ★★★½ | 110 | Youthful idealists Lee and Gibson enlist in the military, meet their fate in title WW1 battle. Engrossing human drama with meticulous direction, striking feel for period detail. Final freeze-frame shot is reminiscent of Robert Capa's classic Spanish Civil War photo of soldier at the moment of death. | tt0082432 | [PG] | Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Kerr, Robert Grubb, David Argue, Tim McKenzie | Australian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Galloping Major | 1950 | Henry Cornelius | ★★ | 82 | Crackerjack cast enlivens this so-so comedy about a retired major (Radford) who raises the funds to purchase a racehorse, with assorted comical complications. | tt0043574 | Basil Radford, Jimmy Hanley, Janette Scott, A. E. Matthews, Rene Ray, Joyce Grenfell, Hugh Griffith, Sidney James | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gambit | 1966 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 109 | Gimmicky robbery yarn with scoundrel Caine hiring Eurasian MacLaine to carry out perfect heist of invaluable piece of sculpture; great fun. | tt0060445 | Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, Herbert Lom, Roger C. Carmel, John Abbott | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Gamble | 1988 | Carlo Vanzina | ★★½ | 105 | So-so adventure in the TOM JONES mold, in which roguish Modine gambles with sinister countess Dunaway. The stakes: his life, for the family fortune she won from his father. Hokey and irrational, and the ending doesn't work, but still amusing. | tt0102640 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Faye Dunaway, Jennifer Beals, Corinne Clery, Federica Moro, Ana Obregon, Vernon Wells, Feodor Chaliapin, Ian Bannen | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Gambler From Natchez | 1954 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 88 | Set in 1840s, film focuses on Robertson's plot to eliminate trio of men who shot his father, a gambler caught cheating. | tt0047011 | Dale Robertson, Debra Paget, Thomas Gomez, Lisa Daniels, Kevin McCarthy, Douglas Dick, Woody Strode | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gambler and the Lady | 1952 | Patrick Jenkins, Sam Newfield. | ★½ | 71 | Tepid little drama of gambler Clark who falls in love, altering his unorthodox way of life. | tt0044649 | Dane Clark, Kathleen Byron, Naomi Chance, Meredith Edwards, Anthony Forwood, Eric Pohlmann. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Gambler's Choice | 1944 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 66 | Another variation of MANHATTAN MELODRAMA— three kids grow up; one becomes a lawman, the other a shady gambler, the third the nice girl they both love. | tt0036845 | Chester Morris, Nancy Kelly, Russell Hayden, Lee Patrick, Lyle Talbot, Sheldon Leonard | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Gambler | 1974 | Karel Reisz | ★★ | 111 | Misfire about college prof Caan's compulsion to gamble; much inferior to Altman's CALIFORNIA SPLIT. Written by James Toback. | tt0071532 | [R] | James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Morris Carnovsky, Jacqueline Brookes, Burt Young, Carmine Caridi, Vic Tayback, Steven Keats, London Lee, M. Emmet Walsh, James Woods, Stuart Margolin | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gambler | 1997 | Károly Makk | ★★ | 97 | An adaptation of Dostoevsky's 1866 novel, this is as much about the writing of that book as the story the author was trying to tell. Fiction and reality merge as Dostoevsky, with huge debts from his gambling habit, signs away rights to his life's work unless he can deliver a new novel in just 27 days. Lacks emotional power, despite fine performances by Gambon and Rainer (who's making her first big-screen appearance since 1943's HOSTAGES. | tt0129111 | [R] | Michael Gambon, Jodhi May, Polly Walker, Dominic West, Luise Rainer, William Houston | Hungarian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Gambling House | 1950 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 80 | Intriguing period piece about gambling syndicate underling Mature, threatened with deportation as an undesirable alien, and how he (predictably) comes to learn the value of being an American. | tt0042496 | Victor Mature, Terry Moore, William Bendix, Cleo Moore, Ann Doran | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Gambling Lady | 1934 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 66 | Honest professional gambler Stanwyck weds society boy McCrea; her motives are suspect because, after all, she's from 'the other side of the tracks.' So-so drama picks up in its second half. And isn't that Tyrone Power in a bit in the Park Avenue gambling scene. | tt0025161 | Barbara Stanwyck, Pat O'Brien, Claire Dodd, Joel McCrea, C. Aubrey Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gambling Ship | 1933 | Louis Gasnier, Max Marcin. | ★★ | 70 | Cary seems a little stiff in this early assignment, acting tough as a reformed gambler posing as a businessman; he falls for gangster's moll Hume, who's pretending to be a socialite. This leads to a clash with nasty former cohort La Rue. Lots of talk and romantic complications before a bullet-ridden finale. | tt0024048 | Cary Grant, Benita Hume, Jack La Rue, Glenda Farrell, Roscoe Karns, Arthur Vinton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Game 6 | 2006 | Michael Hoffman | ★★½ | 83 | New York City in 1986: a playwright and rabid Red Sox fan whose newest show is about to open tries to deal with a variety of conflicts, including the daily struggle of existence in Manhattan and his beleaguered Sox's chance to win a pennant against the Mets. Consistently interesting, if not quite successful; a writer's film if there ever was one, marking the first screenplay by novelist Don DeLillo. Coproduced by Dunne, who costars. | tt0425055 |
|
Michael Keaton, Robert Downey/Jr., Ari Graynor, Bebe Neuwirth, Griffin Dunne, Shalom Harlow, Catherine O'Hara, Harris Yulin, Nadia Dajani, Tom Aldredge, Lillias White, Roger Rees | Comedy, Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Game Is Over | 1966 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 96 | Fonda marries wealthy Piccoli, falls in love with and seduces his son (McEnery). Handsome, updated version of Zola's La Curée is not bad; at the time, best performance of Jane's career. | tt0060271 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Peter McEnery, Michel Piccoli, Tina Marquand, Jacques Monod | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Game Plan | 2007 | Andy Fickman | ★★½ | 110 | Egocentric superstar quarterback (Johnson) becomes a better person–and a better player–after he spends quality time with the 8-year-old daughter (Pettis) he never knew he had. Predictable mix of rib-tickling and heart-tugging elements; this family-friendly comedy sticks close to the rulebook for movies about self-absorbed workaholics suddenly saddled with parental responsibilities. Johnson enlivens the tired material with megawatt charisma and first-rate comic timing. | tt0492956 | [PG] | Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Roselyn Sanchez, Morris Chestnut, Paige Turco, Gordon Clapp | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Game for Vultures | 1979 | James Fargo | 💣 | 106 | Tired cast in a dreadful drama about racial strife in Rhodesia. The subject matter may be worthy, but the result couldn't be more ponderous. | tt0079191 | [R] | Joan Collins, Richard Harris, Richard Roundtree, Ray Milland, Jana Cilliers, Sven-Bertil Taube, Denholm Elliott, John Parsonson, Ken Gampu | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Game of Danger | 1954 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 88 | Offbeat study of two youngsters involved in homicide, with strange effects on their lives. Original title: BANG YOU'RE DEAD. | tt0046749 | Jack Warner, Veronica Hurst, Derek Farr | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Game of Death | 1978 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 102 | Lee died midway through production of this karate thriller. Six years later, Clouse reassembled the surviving actors and, with the use of doubles, completed the film. Standard fare until final, incredible half hour, when Lee goes one-on-one with each of the villains in some of the most explosive fight scenes ever filmed. Aka BRUCE LEE'S GAME OF DEATH. | tt0077594 | [R] | Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Hugh O'Brian, Colleen Camp, Dean Jagger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chuck Norris | Action, Short | NULL | ||
| A Game of Death | 1946 | Robert Wise | ★½ | 72 | Second official version of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME— madman Barrier hunts humans shipwrecked on his island. Moves well, but indifferently acted; nowhere nearly as exciting as the 1932 original. Next remake: RUN FOR THE SUN. | tt0038549 | John Loder, Audrey Long, Edgar Barrier, Russell Wade, Russell Hicks, Jason Robards/Sr., Noble Johnson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Game of Their Lives | 2005 | David Anspaugh. | ★★ | 96 | The director (Anspaugh) and screenwriter (Angelo Pizzo) of HOOSIERS and RUDY try for the same results with this story of an Italian-American soccer team from St. Louis that becomes the core of an underdog U.S. squadron sent to Brazil for the 1950 World Cup games. Alas, all the emotions are told (in speeches) and heard (in the overbearing music) rather than felt. | tt0354595 | [PG] | Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan, Gavin Rossdale, Costas Mandylor, Louis Mandylor, Zachery Ty Bryan, Patrick Stewart, Terry Kinney, John Rhys-Davies, Freddy Adu. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Game | 1997 | David Fincher | ★★ | 128 | Coldhearted financial whiz (Douglas) gets an unusual birthday present from his brother (Penn)— a gift certificate for a sophisticated recreational company that stages a 'game,' the nature of which is never revealed. Before long, Douglas' entire existence is stripped away, on a roller-coaster ride heading straight down. Unusually mean-spirited film offers no letup— and has no sense of humor, either. Filmed in San Francisco. | tt0119174 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Carroll Baker, Deborah Kara Unger, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Peter Donat, James Rebhorn | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Gamekeeper | 1980 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 84 | Simple, effectively subtle tale of conservative young gamekeeper Askham, who sublimates his anger at being unable to crack the British class system. | tt0080773 | Phil Askham, Rita May, Andrew Grubb, Peter Steels, Michael Hinchcliffe | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gamer | 2009 | Neveldine & Taylor | ★★½ | 95 | Death row inmates volunteer to play a kill-or-be-killed game in an attempt to win their freedom. Neo-modern take on this premise is unexceptional in terms of plot but holds its own for techno-thriller devotees, upgraded by Hall and Butler's performances. | tt1034032 | [R] | Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Amber Valletta, John Leguizamo, Keith David, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews, Zoë Bell, John de Lancie, Jonathan Chase, Aaron Yoo | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Games | 1967 | Curtis Harrington | ★★½ | 100 | After arrival of mysterious Signoret at kinky newlywed N.Y.C. apartment, borderline pranks become deadly conspiracy. The trick: guess who's double-crossing whom. Attempts at deeper meanings unfulfilling, despite good cast. | tt0061696 | Simone Signoret, James Caan, Katharine Ross, Don Stroud, Estelle Winwood | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Games of Desire | 1968 | Hans Albin | ★★ | 90 | Thulin is married to Sweden's ambassador to Greece, forced to make love with various men because her husband digs his male secretary. Tepid tale of depravity doesn't have many explicit scenes, which will make the film longer than anyone wants. | tt0063211 | Ingrid Thulin, Claudine Auger, Paul Hubschmid | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Games | 1970 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 97 | Dull film on potentially interesting subject: preparation of four runners for grueling 26-mile marathon in the Olympics. Rafer Johnson plays one of the commentators. | tt0065757 | [G] | Michael Crawford, Stanley Baker, Ryan O'Neal, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Elaine Taylor, Kent Smith, Sam Elliott, Mona Washbourne | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Gamma People | 1956 | John Gilling | ★★ | 79 | Douglas and Phillips happen upon comic-opera country ruled by scientists trying to create geniuses; they do, but sometimes brainless 'goons' also. Worse, the geniuses have no emotions. Peculiar Ruritanian sci-fi adventure. | tt0049248 | Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok, Leslie Phillips, Walter Rilla | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Gammera, The Invincible | 1966 | Noriaki Yuasi | ★½ | 88 | A giant, jet-propelled fire-breathing space turtle terrorizes the earth following atomic explosion. First in a series of juvenile sci-fi films. Original Japanese version— without American actors and titled GAMERA— runs 82m. | tt0059080 | Brian Donlevy, Albert Dekker, John Baragrey | Japanese-U.S. | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Gandhi | 1982 | Richard Attenborough | ★★★½ | 188 | Sweeping account of the life and times of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who rose from a position of simple lawyer to become a nation's leader and a worldwide symbol of peace and understanding. Storytelling at its best, in the tradition of great Hollywood epics, though film's second half is less riveting than the first. Kingsley gives an unforgettable performance in the lead. Eight Oscars include Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay (John Briley). Look for Daniel Day-Lewis as one of three youths who accost Gandhi in the street. | tt0083987 | [PG] | Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Martin Sheen, Rohini Hattangandy, Ian Charleson, Athol Fugard, Roshan Seth, Saeed Jaffrey, John Ratzenberger, Geraldine James, Michael Hordern, Marius Weyers, Om Puri | British-Indian | Drama | NULL | |
| Gang Busters | 1954 | Bill Karan | ★★½ | 78 | Standard but tough, fast-moving crime drama with lawmen on the trail of brainy, brutal Public Enemy #4 (Healey). Pasted together from episodes of the TV series. | tt0174676 | Myron Healey, Don C. Harvey, Sam Edwards, Frank Gerstle | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Gang Related | 1997 | Jim Kouf | ★★ | 111 | Corrupt cops Belushi and Shakur sell coke to dealers, then kill them and recycle the drugs, but their scam starts to unravel when one of their victims turns out to be an undercover DEA agent. Sleazy crime thriller maintains some interest for a while, but falls apart due to its laughably contrived script and a schizophrenic tone that alternates faux-nihilism with shameless sentimentality. The late Shakur shows some talent in his last role, but Belushi gives an embarrassingly hammy performance. | tt0118900 | [R] | James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, Wendy Crewson, Gary Cole, T. C. Carson, Brad Greenquist | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight | 1971 | James Goldstone | ★★ | 96 | Film version of Jimmy Breslin's best-seller about comical, twelfth-rate N.Y.C. crooks is well cast, but adapted in slapdash fashion and directed without much feeling for the material. | tt0067124 | [PG] | Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander, Robert De Niro, Herve Villechaize | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gang War | 1958 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★★½ | 75 | Grade-B film tracing the savage events resulting from a teacher testifying against gang brutality. | tt0051647 | Charles Bronson, Kent Taylor, Jennifer Holden, John Doucette | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gang's All Here | 1943 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 103 | Corny but visually dazzling wartime musical, with soldier Ellison going off to battle while both Faye and Ryan believe they're engaged to him. Two socko musical numbers courtesy of Berkeley: 'The Lady with the Tutti-Frutti Hat' (featuring Miranda at her best) and the finale, 'The Polka Dot Polka.' Faye does 'No Love, No Nothin'.' And, as an added kitsch treat, Benny Goodman sings! Watch for June Haver as a hat-check girl, Jeanne Crain by the swimming pool. | tt0035916 | Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, Phil Baker, Benny Goodman and Orchestra, Eugene Pallette, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Tony DeMarco, James Ellison, Sheila Ryan | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Gangs of New York | 2002 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 168 | Epic-scale film about rivalries among warring factions of New Yorkers in the 1860s. A young man who's been away for 16 years returns to his home turf determined to avenge his father's death at the hands of Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis), the self-appointed leader of the nationalistic 'Native Americans.' Visceral, cinematic storytelling, acted out on Dante Ferretti's extraordinary sets by a solid cast, led by a brilliant Day-Lewis as the eccentric— and ferocious— Bill. Introduction of the notorious draft riots toward the end seems abrupt, but the overall impact of the film is still formidable. Screenplay by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, suggested by Herbert Asbury's 1928 book. Magnificently photographed by Michael Ballhaus. | tt0217505 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, David Hemmings, Alec McCowen, Cara Seymour, Barbara Bouchet | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Gangs, Inc. | 1941 | Phil Rosen | ★★½ | 72 | Fast-paced programmer with innocent Woodbury seeking revenge after shielding her boyfriend and finding herself incarcerated on a hit-and-run rap. Of note for Ladd's supporting role as a reporter. Originally titled PAPER BULLETS, then CRIME, INC. | tt0033998 | Joan Woodbury, Jack LaRue, Linda Ware, John Archer, Vince Barnett, Alan Ladd, Gavin Gordon | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Gangster No. 1 | 2000 | Paul McGuigan | ★★ | 105 | An aging mobster thinks back about his life, and how he went from being a street hood to a powerful racketeer. Stylish and interesting, with strong performances, but loses its story momentum and becomes repellently brutal. | tt0210065 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Saffron Burrows, Kenneth Cranham, Eddie Marsan | British-German | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Gangster Story | 1959 | Walter Matthau | ★½ | 65 | Matthau's lone film as director is a low-quality, ultra-low-budget chronicle of the plight of a bank robber and killer. Grace, as a librarian who falls for the thug, is real-life Mrs. Matthau. | tt0053850 | Walter Matthau, Carol Grace, Bruce McFarlan, Gerrett Wallberg | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Gangster | 1947 | Gordon Wiles | ★★★ | 84 | Sullivan gives strong performance as man who falls victim to his slum environment and ends up a vengeful crook. | tt0039410 | Barry Sullivan, Belita, Joan Lorring, Akim Tamiroff, Harry Morgan, John Ireland, Fifi D'Orsay, Shelley Winters | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Gangway for Tomorrow | 1943 | John H. Auer | ★★ | 69 | Lives of five workers in wartime munitions plant told in flashbacks; dated wartime fare with occasional bright moments. Written by Arch Oboler. | tt0035917 | Margo, John Carradine, Robert Ryan, Amelita Ward, William Terry, Harry Davenport, James Bell, Charles Arnt, Wally Brown, Alan Carney | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Garbage Pail Kids Movie | 1987 | Rodney Amateau | 💣 | 100 | Crude live-action kiddie film 'inspired' by the popular and controversial bubble-gum cards which feature creatures with names like Greaser Greg and Valerie Vomit. They all live in a garbage pail, where they are destined to be joined by the negative of this movie. | tt0093072 | [PG] | Anthony Newley, MacKenzie Astin, Katie Barberi | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Garbo Talks | 1984 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 103 | Silver sets out to fulfill his dying mother's last request: to meet Greta Garbo. Bancroft is a treat as the feisty mom, but film is just a series of vignettes, occasionally poignant but overall self-conscious and contrived, further undermined by Cy Coleman's saccharine score. That's writer-performer Betty Comden as Garbo in the last scene. | tt0087313 | [PG-13] | Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, Carrie Fisher, Catherine Hicks, Steven Hill, Howard da Silva, Dorothy Loudon, Harvey Fierstein, Hermione Gingold, Mary McDonnell | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Garde à Vue | 1981 | Claude Miller | ★★★ | 87 | Prominent lawyer Serrault, suspected of raping and murdering two girls, is interrogated by police inspectors Ventura and Marchand. Tense, involving drama, with fine performances by all. | tt0082436 | Lino Ventura, Michel Serrault, Romy Schneider, Guy Marchand | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Garden Murder Case | 1936 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 62 | Philo Vance (Lowe) tracks a cunning killer who uses hypnosis to induce his victims to do themselves in. Fast-moving programmer. | tt0027656 | Edmund Lowe, Virginia Bruce, Benita Hume, Douglas Walton, Nat Pendleton, Gene Lockhart, H. B. Warner | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Garden State | 2004 | Zach Braff. | ★★½ | 109 | After his mother's death, a wannabe actor returns to his New Jersey hometown and is slowly brought out of a numbed (and overmedicated) existence by a free-spirited young woman. Interesting debut feature from actor-writer-director Braff, who has an eye for original, quirky detail but slides into self-conscious whimsy a bit too often. Sarsgaard and, especially, Portman shine. | tt0333766 | [R] | Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Ron Leibman, Jean Smart, *** Method Man. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Garden of Allah | 1936 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★ | 80 | Flagrantly silly romance set in the Algerian desert; full of ripe dialogue, troubled glances, beauty shots of Marlene in a variety of gorgeous sheaths and flowing gowns, and some wonderful Technicolor scenery (which helped win its cameramen, W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson, a special Oscar). It just isn't very good. | tt0027657 | Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Tilly Losch, Basil Rathbone, Joseph Schildkraut, Henry Brandon, John Carradine | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Garden of Eden | 1928 | Lewis Milestone. | ★★★ | 78 | Delicate beauty Griffith (the movies' onetime 'Orchid Lady') is enchanting in a smart late silent about an Austrian girl whose dreams of stardom come true, more or less, thanks to an unlikely fairy godmother. Sophisticated production— part fable, part farce— is set in Vienna, Budapest, and Monte Carlo, with art direction by the great William Cameron Menzies. From a play by Rudolph Bernauer and Rudolf Osterreicher. | tt0018927 | Corinne Griffith, Lowell Sherman, Louise Dresser, Maude George, Charles Ray, Edward Martindel. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Garden of Evil | 1954 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 100 | Meandering adventure set in 1850s Mexico, with trio escorting Hayward through bandit territory to save her husband. | tt0047013 | Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark, Hugh Marlowe, Cameron Mitchell, Rita Moreno | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| The Garden of the Finzi-Continis | 1971 | Vittorio De Sica. | ★★★★ | 95 | Exquisitely photographed drama about aristocratic Jewish family in WW2 Italy which conveniently ignores the spectre of the concentration camp until it's too late. Sad, haunting film boosted Sanda to stardom and won an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. Screenplay by Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio Bonicelli, and Ugo Pirro; from novel by Giorgio Bassani. | tt0065777 | [R] | Dominique Sanda, Lino Capolicchio, Helmut Berger, Fabio Testi, Romolo Valli. | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Garden of the Moon | 1938 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 94 | Nightclub owner O'Brien and bandleader Payne have running feud; plot is pleasant excuse to work in many Berkeley numbers: 'Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish,' 'Love Is Where You Find It,' title tune. Look for Jerry Colonna in the band. | tt0030171 | Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, John Payne, Johnnie Davis, Melville Cooper, Isabel Jeans, Penny Singleton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Garden | 1990 | Derek Jarman | ★★½ | 92 | Surreal, deeply personal union of images and sound, which tells (in very abstract terms) the story of the Passion of Christ; however, the Christ figure is replaced by a pair of homosexual lovers, who are destined to experience suffering and humiliation. As with most of Jarman's work, some will find it thought-provoking while others will be bored (if not offended). | tt0099634 | Tilda Swinton, Johnny Mills, Philip MacDonald, Roger Cook, Kevin Collins, Pete Lee-Wilson, Spencer Lee, Jody Graber, Michael Gough | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gardens of Stone | 1987 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★½ | 111 | Well-acted story about life in Arlington National Cemetery's home guard during the thick of the Vietnam war— and one young soldier's determination to go into battle. Strong performances keep it going most of the way, but toward the end the dialogue sounds hollow, like the sentiment itself. Carmine Coppola's funereal music doesn't help. Jones steals the show in a warm-hearted role; young leading lady Masterson's real-life parents, Peter Masterson and Carlin Glynn, play her folks on-screen. | tt0093073 | [R] | James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, D. B. Sweeney, Dean Stockwell, Mary Stuart Masterson, Dick Anthony Williams, Lonette McKee, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Garfield | 2004 | Pete Hewitt. | ★★ | 80 | Murray is an ideal voice for the world's laziest (and hungriest) cat in this innocuous, uninspired comedy combining computer-generated animation and live action. Meyer is Garfield's hapless owner, who tries to woo attractive veterinarian Hewitt by adopting Odie, a homeless mutt, which spurs Garfield into defensive action. Based on Jim Davis' long-running comic strip and subsequent animated TV series. | tt0356634 | [PG] | Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky; voices of Bill Murray, Nick Cannon, Alan Cumming, David Eigenberg, Brad Garrett, Jimmy Kimmel, Debra Messing. | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Garfield 2 | 2006 | Tim Hill | ★★½ | 78 | While tagging along with Meyer on a trip to London, Garfield is mistaken for a look-alike cat who's come into a big inheritance. Minor but amusing. Alternate version runs 86m. Advertised as GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES. | tt0455499 | [PG] | Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly, Ian Abercrombie, Roger Rees, Lucy Davis, Jane Carr; voices of Bill Murray, Bob Hoskins, Sharon Osbourne, Tim Curry, Jane Leeves, Jane Horrocks, Richard E. Grant, Vinnie Jones, Rhys Ifans, Jim Piddock; narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne. | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Gargoyles | 1972 | B.W.L. Norton | Average TV Movie | 74 | Anthropologist Wilde and daughter on trip to Mexico, stop off at wilderness curio station, come upon unusual skeleton. A very good beginning but deteriorates halfway through story. Flawless use of locations. Outstanding—and plentiful—monster suits by Stan Winston. | tt0068622 | Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Bernie Casey, Grayson Hall, Woodrow Chambliss, Scott Glenn | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Garment Jungle | 1957 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 88 | Well-handled account of union-gangster corruption in dressmaking industry, with romantic interludes slowing down violent pace. | tt0050424 | Lee J. Cobb, Kerwin Mathews, Gia Scala, Richard Boone, Valerie French, Robert Loggia, Joseph Wiseman, Harold J. Stone | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Gas | 1981 | Les Rose | 💣 | 94 | Noisy, moronic garbage about the effect of a phony gas shortage on an 'average' American town. Car crashes ad nauseam, with Sutherland wasted as Nick the Noz, a hip disc jockey. | tt0082440 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Susan Anspach, Howie Mandel, Sterling Hayden, Sandee Currie, Peter Aykroyd, Helen Shaver | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Gas, Food Lodging | 1992 | Allison Anders | ★★½ | 101 | Truck-stop waitress struggles to raise two daughters in a Laramie, N.M., trailer park, with the older one already jaded by men and the younger idealistic to the end. Overrated by some, but still fairly passionate despite a slender budget and minimalist cinematics. Good performances extend to Brolin's, as a wandering dad. Skye (Trudi) and Leitch (Darius) are real-life sister and brother. | tt0104321 | [R] | Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, Fairuza Balk, James Brolin, Robert Knepper, David Lansbury, Jacob Vargas, Donovan Leitch, Chris Mulkey, Tiffany Anders | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gas-s-s-s | 1970 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 79 | Insane, often uproarious story focusing on reactions of youngsters in crisis: a gas kills everyone on Earth over 25. Reedited against Corman's wishes, causing much disjointedness, but stay with it. Aka GAS! OR IT BECAME NECESSARY TO DESTROY THE WORLD IN ORDER TO SAVE IT. | tt0065760 | [PG] | Bud Cort, Cindy Williams, Robert Corff, Ben Vereen, Tally Coppola (Talia Shire), Elaine Giftos | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gaslight | 1940 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★★½ | 84 | First version of Patrick Hamilton's play about an insane criminal who drives his wife crazy in order to discover hidden jewels. Electrifying atmosphere, delicious performances, and a succinctly conveyed sense of madness and evil lurking beneath the surface of the ordinary. MGM supposedly tried to destroy the negative of this original when they filmed the remake. Screenplay by A. R. Rawlinson and Bridget Boland. U.S. title: ANGEL STREET. | tt0031359 | Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell, Cathleen Cordell, Robert Newton, Jimmy Hanley | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gaslight | 1944 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 114 | The bloom has worn off this classic chiller about a man trying to drive his wife insane, but lush production, Victorian flavor, and fine performances remain intact. Bergman won Oscar; Lansbury's film debut. Filmed before in 1940. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0036855 | Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, Dame May Whitty, Angela Lansbury, Terry Moore | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Gaslight Follies | 1945 | Joseph E. Levine. | ★½ | 77 | Pointless hodgepodge of clips from scores of silent films and newsreels. | tt0037732 | Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Marie Dressler, William S. Hart, Lillian Gish, Rudolph Valentino. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Gate II | 1992 | Tibor Takács | ★½ | 95 | The demons of the underworld are resummoned by now-teenaged Tripp to grant his wishes. Though his intentions are on the naive side, it's safe to say that all hell breaks loose. None of THE GATE's goofy fright made its way into this unnecessary sequel, although the special effects provide passing interest. This spent three years on the shelf. | tt0099636 | [R] | Louis Tripp, Simon Reynolds, Pamela Segall, James Villemaire, Neil Munro, James Kidnie | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Gate of Hell | 1953 | Teinosuke Kinugasa | ★★★½ | 86 | Stark, stunning historical drama, set in 12th-century Japan, about a Samurai who falls in love with— and then tragically shames— a married woman. This beautiful production earned Oscars for Costume Design and Best Foreign Film. | tt0045935 | Machiko Kyo, Kazuo Hasegawa, Isao Yamagata, Koreya Senda | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gate | 1987 | Tibor Takács | ★★ | 92 | It's a boring weekend: Dorff is grounded, his sister is babysitting while the parents are away— then he and a pal discover the gate to hell in their suburban backyard. Worthless first half is somewhat redeemed by amusing/ scary special effects in the second; this low-budget horror film opened big the same week as ISHTAR and came close to beating it out as the No. 1 box-office attraction! Followed by a sequel. | tt0093075 | [PG-13] | Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Louis Tripp, Kelly Rowan, Jennifer Irwin, Deborah Grove, Scot Denton | Horror | NULL | ||
| Gates of Heaven | 1978 | Errol Morris | ★★★½ | 82 | Delightfully offbeat yet piercing documentary about a pet cemetery in— where else?— Southern California. At once hilarious and an allegory about the absurdity of American priorities. Not to be confused with Michael Cimino's HEAVEN'S GATE, or Stephen King's PET SEMATARY, for that matter. | tt0077598 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Gates of Paris | 1957 | René Clair | ★★★ | 96 | Sweet, human story of a souse (Brasseur), and what happens when he begins looking after a gangster (Vidal) who has taken refuge in the house of his friend (Brassens). | tt0050850 | Pierre Brasseur, Georges Brassens, Henri Vidal, Dany Carrel | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gateway | 1938 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 73 | Silly story of naive Irish immigrant Whelan pursued by reporter Ameche and various other men during ocean crossing; redeemed only by interesting Ellis Island background. | tt0030173 | Don Ameche, Arleen Whelan, Gregory Ratoff, Binnie Barnes, Gilbert Roland, Raymond Walburn, John Carradine, Harry Carey | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gathering Storm | 2002 | Richard Loncraine | Above Average TV Movie | 96 | Finney and Redgrave, both at their latter-day peak, play Winston and Clemmie Churchill in this love story about a combative time in their lives as he stages a virtual one-man protest against Hitler. The two are supported by a top-notch cast, but you can’t take your eyes off of Finney, in an Emmy-winning performance. Emmy winner as Best Made for TV Movie and for Hugh Whitemore’s script (with story cowritten by Larry Ramin). Not to be confused with the 1974 Churchill TV movie of the same title with Richard Burton. | tt0314097 | Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson, Derek Jacobi, Linus Roache, Lena Headey, Celia Imrie, Hugh Bonneville, Ronnie Barker, Edward Hardwicke | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Gathering of Eagles | 1963 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 115 | Crisp Strategic Air Command drama with novelty of peacetime setting; Hudson gives one of his best performances as less than likable colonel whose wife struggles to adjust to being a military spouse. Good script by Robert Pirosh. Look for Louise Fletcher as a patient's wife. | tt0057090 | Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor, Mary Peach, Barry Sullivan, Kevin McCarthy, Henry Silva, Leif Erickson | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Gathering of Old Men | 1987 | Volker Schlöndorff | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Ensemble acting at its best in this wonderful drama about a group of old black men from rural Louisiana who take the first courageous step of their long lives by coming forward en masse to take responsibility for the killing of a white racist whom one of their members has shot. Scripted by Charles Fuller, from the novel by Ernest J. Gaines—the authors, respectively, of A SOLDIER'S STORY and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN. Video title: MURDER ON THE BAYOU. | tt0093076 | [PG] | Louis Gossett/Jr., Richard Widmark, Holly Hunter, Joe Seneca, Woody Strode, Papa John Creach, Julius Harris, Will Patton | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gathering, Part II | 1979 | Charles S. Dubin | Average TV Movie | 98 | Soapy sequel: a widow's Christmas reunion with her grown children is marred by the arrival of a new man in her life. Ed Asner's photograph throughout reminds all how glowing the original was. | tt0079195 | Maureen Stapleton, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Jameson Parker, Bruce Davison, Lawrence Pressman, Gail Strickland, Veronica Hamel | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gathering | 1977 | Randal Kleiser | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | Sentimental Emmy-winning Christmas drama of a man who seeks to reunite his shattered family for one final celebration before he dies. Asner is solid as usual, but Stapleton is simply luminous as the wife who had lost him in his drive for success. Written by James Poe. Followed by a sequel. | tt0076067 | Edward Asner, Maureen Stapleton, Lawrence Pressman, Stephanie Zimbalist, Bruce Davison, John Randolph, Gregory Harrison, Veronica Hamel, Gail Strickland | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gatling Gun | King Gun | 1972 | Robert Gordon | ★½ | 93 | Cavalry, renegade soldiers, Apaches, fight over Gatling gun. Standard, forgettable Western. Aka KING GUN. | tt0070091 | [PG] | Guy Stockwell, Woody Strode, Patrick Wayne, Robert Fuller, Barbara Luna, John Carradine, Pat Buttram, Phil Harris | Drama, Action, Western | NULL | |
| Gator | 1976 | Burt Reynolds | ★★ | 116 | Not-so-hot sequel to WHITE LIGHTNING, about Justice Dept. agent Weston and moonshiner ex-con Reynolds out to get the goods on corrupt Southern politicians. Some good action, but overlong and poorly constructed. Reynolds' directing debut. | tt0074564 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Jack Weston, Lauren Hutton, Jerry Reed, Alice Ghostley, Mike Douglas, Dub Taylor | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Gator Bait | 1976 | Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian | ★½ | 93 | All the menfolk are after sexy swamp-girl (Playboy Playmate of the Year Jennings) but she has a surprise or two in store for them. A tedious tease of a film, with moments of truly repellent violence. Followed by a sequel. | tt0074080 | [R] | Claudia Jennings, Sam Gilman, Doug Dirkson, Clyde Ventura, Bill Thurman | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gator Bait II: Cajun Justice | 1988 | Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian | ★½ | 95 | Just what you've been waiting for: a sequel, with Loren as the brother of the character played in the original by the late Claudia Jennings. City girl MacKenzie is his new wife; after being harassed by some stereotypically slobbering backwoods boors, she goes into action. | tt0094588 | [R] | Jan MacKenzie, Tray Loren, Jerry Armstrong, Paul Muzzcat, Ben Sebastian |
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| Gattaca | 1997 | Andrew Niccol | ★★★ | 112 | In the near future, parents can choose to have all genetic imperfections eliminated from their children prior to birth. This has given rise to a new form of discrimination: the genetically perfected 'Valids' vs. the naturally born 'In-Valids.' In-Valid Hawke pays disabled Valid Law for the rights to his identity. Bracingly intelligent, wittily ironic, and very well acted. Given the premise, however, the dull, conformist society depicted seems unconvincing. Notable directing debut for Niccol, who also scripted. | tt0119177 | [PG-13] | Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal, Loren Dean, Alan Arkin, Xander Berkeley, Blair Underwood, Ernest Borgnine, Tony Shalhoub, Jayne Brook, Elias Koteas | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gaucho Serenade | 1940 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 66 | Gene and Frog take to the road and have a series of adventures as they travel across the country, helping a British boy who hopes to be reunited with his father, picking up a runaway bride and her little sister, stopping off at a Mexican cantina, etc. Great fun all the way in one of Autry's best movies, with an enthusiastic cast of costars. Gene introduces his hit song 'The Singing Hills.' | tt0032513 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Duncan Renaldo, Mary Lee, Clifford Severn/Jr., Lester Matthews, Smith Ballew, Joseph Crehan. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gaucho | 1927 | F. Richard Jones | ★★ | 96 | Corny melodramatics and moralizing and not enough action hamper this lesser Fairbanks vehicle, in which he plays a famed, egocentric South American cowboy. Mary Pickford, Fairbanks' wife, appears as 'Our Lady of the Shrine.' | tt0017918 | Douglas Fairbanks, Lupe Velez, Eve Southern, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Nigel de Brulier, Geraine Greear (Joan Barclay) | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gaudi Afternoon | 2002 | Susan Seidelman | ★★ | 90 | Overbaked, gender-bending mishmash with oddball American Harden arriving in Barcelona, hiring translator Davis to help her find a missing person. Davis is shrill and Taylor doesn't so much act as yell, but Harden is a hoot in a most unusual role. Based on a book by Barbara Wilson. | tt0235412 | [R] | Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Marà a Barranco, Christopher Bowen, Courtney Jines | Spanish | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Gauntlet | 1977 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 109 | Eastwood stars as a none-too-clever cop escorting hooker Locke to trial; corrupt officials are determined to stop them, whatever the cost. Exciting at times, though its credibility factor is low. | tt0076070 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, Mara Corday | Action | NULL | ||
| The Gay Adventure | 1952 | Gordon Parry | ★★★ | 87 | Interesting yarn, with men on a train theorizing about pretty girl sitting across from them. | tt0045803 | Burgess Meredith, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Paul Valenska, Kathleen Harrison | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Gay Bride | 1934 | Jack Conway | ★★ | 80 | Unsatisfying blend of comedy and melodrama with gold-digging Lombard hitching herself to succession of gangsters. | tt0025163 | Carole Lombard, Chester Morris, ZaSu Pitts, Leo Carrillo, Nat Pendleton | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Gay Deception | 1935 | William Wyler | ★★½ | 77 | Romantic trifle of working girl (Dee) on spree in N.Y.C., pursued by proletarian-posing prince (Lederer). A slight comedy engagingly handled by Wyler. The song 'Paris in the Evening' was written by Preston Sturges. | tt0026400 | Francis Lederer, Frances Dee, Benita Hume, Alan Mowbray, Lennox Pawle, Akim Tamiroff, Luis Alberni, Lionel Stander | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Gay Desperado | 1936 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★ | 85 | Jovial Mexican bandido Carrillo and his gang (who've learned how to be tough from Grade-B gangster movies) recruit reluctant singer Martini and kidnap Lupino and her rich, wimpy boyfriend. Outlandishly silly, and pretty hard to take. | tt0027660 | Nino Martini, Ida Lupino, Leo Carrillo, Harold Huber, James Blakely, Stanley Fields, Mischa Auer | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Gay Divorcee | 1934 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★½ | 107 | Top Astaire-Rogers froth with usual needless plot and unusual musical numbers, including Oscar-winning 'Continental' and Cole Porter's 'Night and Day.' Rhodes is memorable as would-be corespondent in divorce case. Incidentally, the Broadway hit on which this was based was called The Gay Divorce, but the Hollywood Production Code disapproved. | tt0025164 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes, Eric Blore, Betty Grable | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Gay Falcon | 1941 | Irving Reis | ★★½ | 67 | In the first Falcon entry, the blithe amateur sleuth and ladies' man is called on to break up a phony jewelry insurance scam. Very similar to Sanders' The Saint series, but still enjoyable. Incidentally, the title refers to the Falcon's first name, not his inclination. | tt0033650 | George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins, Anne Hunter, Gladys Cooper, Edward S. Brophy, Arthur Shields, Turhan Bey | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Gay Lady | 1949 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★½ | 95 | Lightweight costume picture about saucy entertainer who marries nobility; most notable aspect of film is its stunning use of Technicolor. Look fast for Christopher Lee as a dapper stage-door Johnnie. Original British title: TROTTIE TRUE. | tt0041989 | Jean Kent, James Donald, Hugh Sinclair, Lana Morris, Bill Owen, Michael Medwin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gay Purr-ee | 1962 | Abe Levitow | ★★½ | 86 | A naive cat's misadventures in Paris. Stylish cartoon from UPA studio, written by Chuck and Dorothy Jones, lacks storytelling oomph. Chief assets are Garland and Goulet performing original songs by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg, who wrote THE WIZARD OF OZ score for Judy years earlier. | tt0057093 | Voices of Judy Garland, Robert Goulet, Red Buttons, Hermione Gingold, Paul Frees, Morey Amsterdam | Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Gay Ranchero | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★ | 72 | Sheriff Rogers fights to stop a gang of hoods trying to gain control of Frazee's airline by sabotage. Not much of a story, but Republic Pictures' 'Hands Across the Border' policy is strongly in evidence with Latin stars Guízar and Rodriguez. | tt0040385 | Roy Rogers, Jane Frazee, Tito Guízar, Andy Devine, Estelita Rodriguez, George Meeker, LeRoy Mason, Dennis Moore, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gay Sisters | 1942 | Irving Rapper | ★★ | 108 | Stanwyck secretly marries Brent to gain inheritance money in thin soaper, immensely aided by Fitzgerald and Coleman as her sisters. Young took his name from the character he plays in this. | tt0034770 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Gig Young, Nancy Coleman, Donald Crisp, Gene Lockhart, Anne Revere | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gazebo | 1959 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 100 | Offbeat comedy involving murder and a backyard gazebo that covers up crime. Character actors McGiver and Merande wrap this up, but stars are competent. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0052837 | Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner, Doro Merande, John McGiver, Mabel Albertson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Geisha Boy | 1958 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 98 | Jerry, an inept magician, travels to Japan with disastrous consequences. Imaginative visual gags; there's a cute sequence featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers (and, in particular, Gil Hodges). Pleshette's film debut. | tt0051649 | Jerry Lewis, Marie McDonald, Sessue Hayakawa, Nobu McCarthy, Suzanne Pleshette, Barton MacLane, Robert Hirano | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Geisha | 1953 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★ | 87 | Mizoguchi's remake of his own SISTERS OF THE GION relates the story of a young girl who is groomed to be a geisha but realizes that the Japanese symbol of feminine beauty has become nothing more than a glorified prostitute. Beautiful photography by the great Kazuo Miyagawa complements Mizoguchi's usual biting social critique. Aka GION FESTIVAL MUSIC. | tt0045814 | Michiyo Kogure, Ayako Wakao, Seizaburô Kawazu, Chieko Naniwa, Eitarô Shindô. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gene Autry and the Mounties | 1951 | John English. | ★★½ | 71 | Montana marshal Autry works with the Mounties to break a gang of bank robbers who cross over into Canada and redeems an angry French Canadian boy, whose uncle is one of the criminals. Gene sings 'Blue Canadian Rockies' in this satisfactory outing. | tt0043579 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Elena Verdugo, Carleton Young, Richard Emory, Gregg Barton. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gene Krupa Story | 1959 | Don Weis, Sal Mineo, Susan Kohner, James Darren, Susan Oliver, Yvonne Craig, Lawrence Dobkin, Red Nichols, Buddy Lester. | ★★½ | 101 | Hackneyed version of great jazz drummer's life, his ups and downs, his siege of dope addiction. | tt0052840 | Drama | NULL | ||||
| Genealogies of a Crime | 1997 | Raoul Ruiz | ★★½ | 114 | Deneuve is dazzling in a dual role as the lawyer for and victim of a strange young man who's accused of murdering his psychiatrist aunt after she allegedly subjected him to radical mind-control treatments. Well-acted but pretentious, intentionally confusing mixture of mystery, satire, and surrealism; tricked up with meaningless flashbacks within flashbacks and other narrative and visual gimmicks. | tt0119242 | Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Melvil Poupaud, Andrzej Seweryn, Bernadette LaFont | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| General Della Rovere | 1959 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★½ | 129 | De Sica is brilliant as a con man forced by the Nazis to impersonate a just-deceased Italian general and find out the identity of a Resistance leader. Will this charade somehow transform a coward into a hero? | tt0053856 | Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Sandra Milo, Giovanna Ralli, Anne Vernon | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The General Died at Dawn | 1936 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★½ | 97 | Fine, atmospheric drama of Oriental intrigue, with mercenary Cooper falling in love with spy Carroll while battling evil warlord Tamiroff. Author John O'Hara has cameo as reporter on train. Another celebrated writer, Clifford Odets, scripted from Charles Booth's novel. | tt0027664 | Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Akim Tamiroff, Dudley Digges, Porter Hall, William Frawley | Adventure | NULL | |||
| General Spanky | 1936 | Fred Newmeyer, Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 71 | Sluggish Civil War story, balancing kiddie antics against an adult romance, was intended to showcase three Our Gang stars in a feature-film format; it's easy to see why there wasn't an encore. Buckwheat's role as a slave in search of a master may displease contemporary audiences. | tt0027665 | George 'Spanky' McFarland, Billie 'Buckwheat' Thomas, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Phillips Holmes, Ralph Morgan, Irving Pichel, Rosina Lawrence, Louise Beavers | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| The General's Daughter | 1999 | Simon West | ★★½ | 125 | Army investigator Travolta uncovers more than he ever imagined when he looks into the murder of a popular general's daughter, herself a captain. As evidence of a major scandal grows, it becomes clear that the Army's only concern is keeping a lid on the matter. Slickly done, but this twisty tale (from Nelson DeMille's best-seller) has a heavy air of contrivance about it. | tt0144214 | [R] | John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Leslie Stefanson, Daniel von Bargen, Clarence Williams III, James Woods, John Frankenheimer | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The General | 1927 | Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman | ★★★★ | 74 | One of Keaton's best silent features, setting comedy against true Civil War story of stolen train, Union spies. Not as fanciful as other Keaton films, but beautifully done; Disney did same story in 1956 as THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE. | tt0017925 | Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Joseph Keaton | Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The General | 1998 | John Boorman | ★★½ | 124 | Boorman scripted this character study of a true-life Dublin working-class criminal known as the General, who evaded police capture for years. Following his own skewed code of ethics, he masterminds robberies both large and small, extracts loyalty from his soldiers, loves two women simultaneously, and matches wits with a hard-nosed cop (Voight) who is determined to nail him. Interesting, well made, but overlong. Filmmaker Jim Sheridan has a bit part. | tt0120706 | [R] | Brendan Gleeson, Jon Voight, Adrian Dunbar, Sean McGinley, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Angeline Ball, Eamonn Owens | Irish | Crime | NULL | |
| Generation | 1969 | George Schaefer | ★★ | 104 | Darby helps otherwise dreary comedy based on Broadway play about just-married couple who infuriate the girl's father when husband plans to deliver their soon-to-arrive baby himself; plays like a TV sitcom. | tt0064365 | [M] | David Janssen, Kim Darby, Carl Reiner, Peter Duel, Andrew Prine, James Coco, Sam Waterston | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Generation | 1954 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★ | 88 | Strong, necessarily downbeat drama about the Polish Resistance during World War 2 and what happens when a young man falls in love with the woman who leads the Resistance group. Wajda's first film and the first of a trilogy that includes the even better KANAL and ASHES AND DIAMONDS. Young Roman Polanski is featured in the cast. | tt0048500 | Ursula Modrzinska, Tadevsz Lomnicki, Zbigniew Cybulski | Polish | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Genevieve | 1953 | Henry Cornelius | ★★★½ | 86 | Lively, colorful comedy (by William Rose) pits two couples and their vintage roadsters against one another in a cross-country race. Uniquely British, brimming with charm and humor; a huge success in its day. Music score by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. | tt0045808 | Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall, Kenneth More, Geoffrey Keen, Joyce Grenfell, Michael Medwin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Genghis Khan | 1965 | Henry Levin | ★½ | 124 | Laughable epic with gross miscasting and juvenile script, loosely based on legend of Mongol leader. No sweep or spectacle, but radiant Dorleac and earnest Sharif. | tt0059219 | Omar Sharif, Stephen Boyd, James Mason, Eli Wallach, Françoise Dorléac, Telly Savalas, Robert Morley, Yvonne Mitchell, Woody Strode | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Genius at Work | 1946 | Leslie Goodwins | ★½ | 61 | Radio detectives get involved in real-life murder schemes of Atwill. Brown & Carney's last film as Abbott & Costello-like team is pretty weak; Lugosi is wasted. Remake of SUPER SLEUTH. | tt0037735 | Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Lionel Atwill, Anne Jeffreys, Bela Lugosi, Marc Cramer | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Gentle Annie | 1944 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 80 | Main vehicle about female outlaw with heart of gold. | tt0036859 | Donna Reed, Marjorie Main, Harry Morgan, James Craig, Barton MacLane | Western | NULL | |||
| Gentle Giant | 1967 | James Neilson | ★★★ | 93 | Feature film which hatched TV series Gentle Ben is appealing children's story of boy and his pet bear. | tt0061703 | Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Clint Howard, Ralph Meeker, Huntz Hall | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gentle Gunman | 1952 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 86 | Unpretentious actioner of Irish revolution and enthusiast whose attempt to prove his patriotism backfires. | tt0044654 | Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, Elizabeth Sellars, Robert Beatty | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gentleman After Dark | 1942 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 77 | Hodgepodge yarn of man escaping prison to redeem honor of his daughter by killing his shady wife; good cast stifled by sloppy script. Remake of FORGOTTEN FACES. | tt0034777 | Brian Donlevy, Miriam Hopkins, Preston Foster, Harold Huber | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gentleman Jim | 1942 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 104 | Sassy biography of polished boxer Jim Corbett in fight game's early days. Flynn is dynamic in title role (reportedly his favorite), supported by colorful cast— especially Bond in larger-than-life role as legendary champ John L. Sullivan. Scripted by Vincent Lawrence and Horace McCoy. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034778 | Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale/Sr., John Loder, William Frawley, Minor Watson, Ward Bond, Arthur Shields | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Gentleman at Heart | 1942 | Ray McCarey | ★★½ | 66 | Modest little comedy about bookie Romero discovering there's money in art forgery. | tt0034779 | Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Milton Berle, J. Carrol Naish, Richard Derr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Gentleman's Agreement | 1947 | Elia Kazan | ★★★ | 118 | Sincere Oscar-winning adaptation of Laura Z. Hobson's novel of writer (Peck) pretending to be Jewish, discovering rampant anti-Semitism. Holm won Supporting Actress Oscar as chic but lonely fashion editor, as did Kazan for his direction. Then-daring approach to subject matter is tame now. Screenplay by Moss Hart. | tt0039416 | Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, June Havoc, Albert Dekker, Jane Wyatt, Dean Stockwell, Sam Jaffe | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gentlemen Are Born | 1934 | Alfred E. Green. | ★★ | 74 | Episodic film about the fates of four college graduates who face professional and personal disappointment during the Depression. Potentially interesting story falters in a welter of clichés once the quartet goes out into the cold, cruel world. | tt0025165 | Franchot Tone, Ann Dvorak, Dick Foran, Margaret Lindsay, Jean Muir, Ross Alexander, Charles Starrett. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets | Grave Indiscretions | 1995 | John-Paul Davidson | ★★ | 97 | An English butler, in cooperation with the mistress of the house, frames his master for murder in this blackest of black British comedies. Other than its clever (and somewhat prophetic) title, this lacks the necessary wit to succeed. Sting is understated as the butler; you get the feeling he's doing it only because his wife, Trudie Styler, produced the film. Original title: THE GROTESQUE. Video title: GRAVE INDISCRETIONS. | tt0113224 | [R] | Alan Bates, Sting, Theresa Russell, Lena Headey, Steven Mackintosh, Anna Massey, Trudie Styler, Maria Aitken | British | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| Gentlemen Marry Brunettes | 1955 | Richard Sale | ★★ | 97 | Anita Loos' follow-up to GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES has Russell and Crain, two sisters in show biz in Paris, trying to avoid romances. Not up to original. | tt0048111 | Jane Russell, Jeanne Crain, Alan Young, Rudy Vallee, Scott Brady | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 1953 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 91 | Slick, colorful bauble of entertainment with two sassy leading ladies tantalizing the men of two continents; Marilyn is at her best as fortune-hunter Lorelei Lee, and Russell gives a sly, knowing comic performance as her pal. Based on the Broadway adaptation of Anita Loos' venerable story, with sprightly Leo Robin- Jule Styne songs including 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend.' Sequel: GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES. | tt0045810 | Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid, Tommy Noonan, George 'Foghorn' Winslow | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The George Raft Story | 1961 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 106 | Danton is good in title role of fast-moving account of Raft's rise from Broadway dancer to top Hollywood star. How much is true, who can say. | tt0054918 | Ray Danton, Jayne Mansfield, Barrie Chase, Julie London, Neville Brand, Frank Gorshin |
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| George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | 1984 | George Stevens/ Jr | ★★★ | 110 | Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Joel McCrea, Elizabeth Taylor, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Warren Beatty are among those who help create vivid documentary portrait of director Stevens. Great clips from ALICE ADAMS, SWING TIME, GUNGA DIN, THE MORE THE MERRIER, A PLACE IN THE SUN, SHANE, GIANT, etc. Stevens, Jr., supplies personal insights, plus fascinating home movies taken by his father on film sets— and color footage shot during WW2 in Europe. | tt0087322 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| George Wallace | 1997 | John Frankenheimer | Above Average TV Movie | 180 | Sinise, who already gave us a definitive portrait of Truman, here portrays one of the most controversial political figures of the '50s and '60s: Alabama governor and arch-segregationist George Wallace, whose redemption comes years after being confined to a wheelchair following an assassination attempt. Multi-award-winning drama written by Paul Monash and Marshall Fraidy, from the latter's best-selling biography. Made for cable. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0119189 | Gary Sinise, Mare Winningham, Angelina Jolie, Clarence Williams III, Joe Don Baker, Terry Kinney, Cliff De Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| George Washington | 2000 | David Gordon Green | ★★★ | 89 | Eye-opening debut feature from writer-director Green, spotlighting a small group of preteens in a lazy North Carolina town and how they individually and collectively react to a terrible accident. Strikingly original, dreamlike film is filled with beautiful imagery and naturalistic performances, hampered only by the constraints of its low budget. | tt0262432 | Unrated | Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee, Curtis Cotton III, Rachael Handy, Paul Schneider, Eddie Rouse, Janet Taylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| George Washington Slept Here | 1942 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 93 | Sheridan (never more beautiful) surprises her city-dweller husband Benny by buying a dilapidated country house, and pouring all their money— and patience— into the process of fixing it up. Pleasant but predictable adaptation of the Kaufman-Hart play, with Benny in good form, and Kilbride recreating his Broadway role as the hayseed contractor. | tt0034780 | Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan, Charles Coburn, Percy Kilbride, Hattie McDaniel, William Tracy, Joyce Reynolds, Lee Patrick, Charles Dingle, John Emery | Comedy | NULL | |||
| George White's Scandals | 1945 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 95 | Mild musical centering around the mounting of a 'Scandals' stageshow, and chronicling the romances of Davis-Haley and Holliday-Terry. Tryon plays George White; the real impresario produced. | tt0037736 | Joan Davis, Jack Haley, Phillip Terry, Martha Holliday, Bettejane (Jane) Greer, Margaret Hamilton, Glenn Tryon | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| George of the Jungle | 1997 | Sam Weisman | ★★½ | 91 | Live-action Disney comedy feature based on Jay Ward's 1960s cartoon show about a clumsy king of the jungle. Aimed at kids, who should enjoy it thoroughly; for adults its one-note silliness wears thin, with a preponderance of story climaxes, but Fraser and Mann are immensely likable. Why couldn't they come up with at least a few funny lines for the Ape named Ape? Followed in 2003 by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0119190 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, John Bennett Perry, Abraham Benrubi, Greg Cruttwell, Richard Roundtree, voice of John Cleese; narrated by Keith Scott | Family, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| George's Island | 1991 | Paul Donovan | ★★½ | 90 | Young Nova Scotia boy is taken from his crusty grandpop— who has regaled him with tales of pirate ghosts and local buried treasure from Captain Kidd's raids— and must escape from a grim foster home to complete his treasure quest. Modest tale dwells too long on adult caricatures and too little on boyhood adventures. | tt0097419 | Nathaniel Moreau, Ian Bannen, Sheila McCarthy, Maury Chaykin, Vicki Ridler, Brian Downcy | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Georgia | 1995 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★ | 117 | A strung-out, self-destructive young woman lives in the shadow of her older sister, a popular singer, and wants to be her— though the younger sister has no talent. Leigh is as brilliant as ever getting inside an intense and difficult character (she does her own vocals, too), but that doesn't mean we care about her much. She also coproduced the film with her mother, Barbara Turner (who wrote the screenplay). Winningham is excellent as the serene older sister and also does her own very appealing vocals. | tt0113158 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mare Winningham, Ted Levine, Max Perlich, John Doe, John C. Reilly, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jason Carter, Tom Bower, Smokey Hormel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Georgia Rule | 2007 | Garry Marshall | ★½ | 113 | Huffman takes her difficult, sexually precocious teenage daughter to live with her mother in Idaho for the summer. Grandma (Fonda) is a character in her own right whose own daughter can barely stand to be in the same room with her. What might seem like a multigenerational story of women clearing the clutter from their relationships turns into a strange story involving molestation, alcoholism, sexuality, and religion! Odd in the extreme, with a trio of characters who aren't easy to like, let alone understand. The polar opposite of a feel-good movie. | tt0791304 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney, Cary Elwes, Garrett Hedlund, Hector Elizondo, Laurie Metcalf. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Georgia, Georgia | 1972 | Stig Bjorkman | ★★½ | 91 | Black singer's involvement with white photographer and American defectors. Interesting but uneven. | tt0068632 | [R] | Diana Sands, Dirk Benedict, Minnie Gentry | Drama | NULL | ||
| Georgy Girl | 1966 | Silvio Narizzano | ★★★½ | 100 | Delightful, adult British comedy of modern-day morals, with Redgrave as ugly-duckling Georgy, Mason as the wealthy, aging married man who wants her for his mistress. Entire cast is excellent, with Rampling scoring as Georgy's bitchy roommate. Faithful adaptation of Margaret Forster novel; scripted by Forster and Peter Nichols. | tt0060453 | James Mason, Alan Bates, Lynn Redgrave, Charlotte Rampling, Bill Owen, Claire Kelly, Rachel Kempson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Germany Year Zero | 1948 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★½ | 73 | Shattering neorealist masterpiece, filmed amid the rubble of post-WW2 Berlin, charting the plight of a 12-year-old boy whose family is starving, battling for survival in a society drowning in corruption and cruelty. Heartbreaking story of a childhood tragically, irrevocably tainted, with a devastating finale. Screenplay by Rossellini, Max Colpet (Kolpé), and Carlo Lizzani. Final entry in Rossellini’s war trilogy, following OPEN CITY and PAISAN. | tt0039417 | Edmund Moeschke, Ernst Pittschau, Ingetraud Hinzf (Hinze), Franz Grüger (Franz-Otto Krüger), Erich Gühne | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Germinal | 1993 | Claude Berri | ★★★ | 158 | Sprawling adaptation of classic 1884 Emile Zola novel, this manages to tell both the epic tale of a bleak rural community and the personal story of coal miner Depardieu's impoverished family. The action begins when a young job-seeker (played by French singer Renaud, in his feature acting debut) stirs up the workforce in the mining village and begins to politicize the populace. Impressively recreates the period, though the characters sometimes seem a bit hollow. Still, it's hard to come away unaffected. Previously filmed in France in 1963. | tt0107002 | Renaud, Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Jean Carmet, Judith Henry, Jean-Roger Milo, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Bisson, Bernard Fresson, Jacques Dacqmine, Anny Duperey | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Geronimo | 1962 | Arnold Laven | ★★½ | 101 | Connors fares well as the noble Apache warrior who refuses to submit to the U.S. Army. Connors later married leading lady Devi. | tt0056016 | Chuck Connors, Pat Conway, Armando Silvestre, Lawrence Dobkin, Enid Jaynes, Ross Martin, Denver Pyle, Adam West | Western | NULL | |||
| Geronimo: An American Legend | 1993 | Walter Hill | ★★½ | 115 | Stately, intelligent— but dramatically slack— chronicle of the U.S. Army's attempts to subjugate the great Apache warrior. Strong performance by Studi in the lead, and rich characterizations by Hackman (as General Crook) and Duvall (as a veteran Indian scout), sustain interest for quite a while— along with magnificent Moab, Utah, scenery. Eventually, the film's point is made, and there's nothing left to maintain audience involvement. Screenplay by John Milius. | tt0107004 | [R] | Jason Patric, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Wes Studi, Matt Damon, Rodney A. Grant, Kevin Tighe, Steve Reevis, Carlos Palomino, Victor Aaron, Stuart Proud Eagle Grant, Stephen McHattie, Richard Martin/Jr., Roger Callard, Scott Wilson | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Gerry | 2003 | Gus Van Sant | ★★ | 103 | Two friends go for a hike and leave the marked path. Before long they realize they're lost and must adopt increasingly challenging tactics to survive and stay sane. The screenplay, such as it is, is credited to both stars and the director, although Van Sant devises clever and creative ways of staging and filming his characters' odyssey. Some may find this existential poppycock stimulating; others will run for the exits. | tt0302674 | [R] | Matt Damon, Casey Affleck | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gervaise | 1956 | René Clément | ★★★ | 116 | Splendidly acted version of Emile Zola tale of Schell struggling to keep her family going but finally succumbing to tawdry life of her drunken husband. | tt0049259 | Maria Schell, François Périer, Suzy Delair, Armand Mestral | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Get Back | 1991 | Richard Lester | ★★ | 89 | Adequate rockumentary of Paul McCartney's 1989-90 Get Back world tour. Recommended only for fans of McCartney's music, though there is also some vintage footage of The Beatles. Director Lester made more imaginative use of McCartney when he directed him and his compadres in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and HELP! | tt0101945 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Get Bruce! | 1999 | Andrew J. Kuehn | ★★½ | 73 | Slight but very amusing look at Hollywood comedy writer and self-styled character Bruce Vilanch, whose credits range from the Academy Awards to Hollywood Squares. Not what you'd call a probing character profile (especially since it was done with its subject's complete cooperation), but the interviews with Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and others are often hysterically funny. | tt0184510 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Get Carter | 1970 | Mike Hodges | ★★★ | 112 | Austere, brutal crime drama about a cheerless hit man who goes to Newcastle to investigate his brother's death. Caine perfectly embodies his amoral character, and the film's violence still packs a wallop. Based on a novel by Ted Lewis, adapted by Hodges. Remade a year later (as HIT MAN) and again in 2000. | tt0067128 | [R] | Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, John Osborne, Tony Beckley, George Sewell | British | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Get Carter | 2000 | Stephen Kay | ★★½ | 104 | Las Vegas enforcer goes home to Seattle to investigate his brother's death and meets one sleazy character after another who may have been involved. Routine crime drama, enlivened by high-powered car chases but burdened by show-offy visual gimmicks. Remake of the far superior 1970 film that starred Caine, whose role here is thankless. Gretchen Mol appears unbilled. | tt0208988 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Miranda Richardson, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, John C. McGinley, Michael Caine, Rhona Mitra, Johnny Strong | Crime, Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Get Charlie Tully | 1976 | Cliff Owen | ★½ | 97 | Energetic, tasteless nonsense in which con man Emery frantically searches for four young women who have the location of negotiable bonds tattooed on their rear. The usually impeccable Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat were executive producers. | tt0068636 | [PG] | Dick Emery, Derren Nesbitt, Ronald Fraser, Pat Coombs, William Franklyn | British | Action | NULL | |
| Get Crazy | 1983 | Allan Arkush | ★★★ | 92 | Arkush's years working at Fillmore East rock palace form the basis for wonderful cartoonlike comedy set at a trouble-plagued New Year's Eve concert. Gags fly at machine-gun pace, interspersed with delightful musical numbers; superb take-offs on Mick Jagger (McDowell), Bob Dylan (Reed), and Muddy Waters (Henderson), plus many familiar rock stars and character actors in bits. | tt0085551 | [R] | Daniel Stern, Malcolm McDowell, Gail Edwards, Allen Garfield, Ed Begley/Jr., Miles Chapin, Lou Reed, Stacey Nelkin, Bill Henderson, Franklyn Ajaye, Bobby Sherman, Fabian Forte, Lori Eastside, Lee Ving | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Get Hep to Love | 1944 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 71 | Weak musical with precocious musical personality Jean running away to find happier home and singing career. | tt0034784 | Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Get Him to the Greek | 2010 | Nicholas Stoller | ★★½ | 109 | L.A. record company functionary Hill is charged with flying to London to see that bad-boy rocker Brand, whose career has been in free fall, makes it to his concert at the Greek Theater 72 hours later. Hill comes to learn just how messed up (and insecure) Brand really is during a nonstop series of parties, flights, detours, TV appearances, and sexual escapades, with and without drugs. Likable stars buoy this scattershot comedy (with serious moments) that tries to pack way too much into one film. Brand's faux hit songs are surprisingly good and Combs is funny as a brutally candid music exec. Brand's character first appeared in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. Many celebrities appear in cameos. | tt1226229 | [R] | Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Rose Byrne, Elisabeth Moss, Sean Combs, Colm Meaney, Aziz Ansari | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Get Low | 2010 | Aaron Schneider | ★★★ | 103 | A man who’s lived as a hermit in the backwoods of Tennessee for 40 years suddenly comes to town to see if someone will throw him a funeral—while he’s still alive. Murray plays the desperate, self-deprecating owner of a funeral home who’s eager to accommodate Duvall, even though he is a uniquely thorny customer. Richly textured story set in the 1930s and inspired by a real-life incident, brought to life by a superb cast. Duvall is absolutely believable, and Murray has seldom been better. Feature directing debut for longtime cinematographer Schneider. | tt1194263 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper, Lori Beth Edgeman | U.S.-German-Polish | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Get On With It | 1961 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★★ | 88 | Dental-school graduates Monkhouse and Stevens promote a new toothpaste. Intermittently funny. Aka DENTIST ON THE JOB. | tt0054798 | Bob Monkhouse, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker, Ronnie Stevens, Richard Wattis, Reginald Beckwith | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Get Out Your Handkerchiefs | 1978 | Bertrand Blier. | ★★★½ | 109 | Disarming black comedy about a man who will do almost anything to keep his sexually frustrated wife happy; highly unconventional. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. | tt0078122 | [R] | Gérard Depardieu, Patrick Dewaere, Carole Laure, Riton, Michel Serrault, Eleonore Hirt. | French-Belgian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Get Over It | 2001 | Tommy O'Haver | ★★ | 86 | Teen variation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with Foster unable to deal with being dumped by his girlfriend, ignoring the fact that his best friend's kid sister is in love with him. Cute film can't stay focused, which dampens the fun, but Short is hilarious as a high school drama coach. Opens with a dynamic musical number under the main titles. | tt0192071 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Melissa Sagemiller, Colin Hanks, Sisqó, Martin Short, Shane West, Swoosie Kurtz, Ed Begley/Jr., Carmen Electra, Kylie Bax | Comedy, Musical, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Get Real | 1999 | Simon Shore | ★★½ | 109 | Teenage schoolboy in England realizes he's gay but can't admit it to his parents, teachers, or schoolmates. Then he falls in love with the class jock. Sincere and well acted, but tends to plod at times. Scripted by Patrick Wilde from his play What's Wrong With Angry? | tt0162973 | [R] | Ben Silverstone, Charlotte Brittain, Brad Gorton, Louise J. Taylor, Tim Harris, Stacy Hart | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 2005 | Jim Sheridan | ★★ | 117 | The director of MY LEFT FOOT and IN AMERICA tackles a gangsta-rap saga, which isn't as jarring as it might seem given Sheridan's obvious affection for societal underdogs. Clichés and undeveloped story lines sink a promising beginning in which a fatherless youngster with musical inclinations tags along with a man-magnet mom as she deals drugs on the street. Jackson eventually takes over this autobiographical role and isn't commanding enough to carry a long movie. | tt0430308 | [R] | Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Bill Duke, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Omar Benson Miller, Viola Davis, Leon, Sullivan Walker, Russell Hornsby | Action, Crime, Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| Get Shorty | 1995 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★★ | 105 | Clever black comedy about a small-time, cool-as-ice Miami enforcer coming to L.A. on business, hooking up with a slick, grade-Z producer who can fulfill his dream of being connected with the movies. Ingenious plotting, tip-top performances, and some delicious digs at Hollywood are offset by a certain aloofness. Scott Frank scripted from Elmore Leonard's novel. Bette Midler appears unbilled; other famous faces turn up in amusing cameos. Followed by BE COOL. | tt0113161 | [R] | John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, David Paymer, Martin Ferrero, Miguel Sandoval | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Get Smart | 2008 | Peter Segal | ★★½ | 110 | Update of the much-loved 1960s spy-spoof TV series (created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry) stars Carell as CONTROL Agent 86 Maxwell Smart, who’s sent into “the field” for the first time alongside worldly Agent 99 (Hathaway) to expose a nuclear weapon plot hatched by KAOS. The stars’ likability carries this overlong feature, which pays respect to the TV show but never equals it. Overblown action finale seems to belong in some other movie. Oka and Torrence’s characters Bruce and Lloyd star in a companion DVD movie. | tt0425061 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, James Caan, Masi Oka, Nate Torrence, Ken Davitian, Terry Crews, David Koechner, Dalip Singh, Bill Murray, Larry Miller, Kevin Nealon, Blake Clark, Patrick Warburton, Bernie Kopell | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Get Yourself A College Girl | 1964 | Sidney Miller | ★½ | 88 | Songwriter who is undergraduate at a staid girls' school falls in love with a music publisher at resort hotel. Strictly for dropouts. | tt0161612 | Chad Everett, Nancy Sinatra, Mary Ann Mobley, Dave Clark Five, The Animals | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Get on the Bus | 1996 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 120 | Vibrant, highly energized film about a busload of black men heading from L.A. to the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., in October 1995. Not a polemic, but a series of character studies and vignettes; occasional speechifying and contrivances are forgivable because, overall, the film deals so well with issues facing all Americans. Screenplay by Reggie Rock Bythewood. Kudos to Dutton as the bus company rep and Davis as the senior member of the brigade. This low-budget film was financed by 15 African-American men, including Danny Glover, Will Smith, and Wesley Snipes. Randy Quaid appears unbilled. | tt0116404 | [R] | Ossie Davis, Charles S. Dutton, Andre Braugher, DeAundre Bonds, Albert Hall, Isaiah Washington, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Richard Belzer, Gabriel Casseus | Drama | NULL | ||
| Get to Know Your Rabbit | 1972 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 91 | Offbeat comedy was barely released, and heavily tampered with at that; starts with great premise of Smothers dropping out of establishment life to become tap-dancing magician, then loses itself. Still has some inventive moments, funny ideas. Filmed in 1970. | tt0068637 | [R] | Tom Smothers, John Astin, Suzanne Zenor, Samantha Jones, Allen Garfield, Katharine Ross, Orson Welles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Get-Away | 1941 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★ | 89 | To solve a series of bank robberies, stalwart G-Man Sterling goes undercover in prison and befriends gangster Dailey. Virtually a shot-for-shot remake of the fine PUBLIC HERO NO. 1, this one is thoroughly mediocre, despite being produced by the director of the original, J. Walter Ruben. Reed's film debut. | tt0033659 | Robert Sterling, Charles Winninger, Donna Reed, Henry O'Neill, Dan Dailey, Don Douglas, Grant Withers. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Getaway | 1972 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★ | 122 | Exciting, enjoyable film built around a chase. Bank robber McQueen and wife MacGraw take it on the lam when robbery goes haywire. Many fine vignettes, including hair-raising episode on garbage truck. Written by Walter Hill from a Jim Thompson novel. Music by Quincy Jones. Remade in 1994. | tt0068638 | [PG] | Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Al Lettieri, Slim Pickens, Dub Taylor, Bo Hopkins | Action | NULL | ||
| The Getaway | 1994 | Roger Donaldson | ★★ | 115 | He's nailed for robbery and thrown in prison; she frees him by playing up to a crime kingpin; he spends the rest of the movie resenting her. Or something like that. Action, violence, and sex by the numbers in this halfhearted remake of the 1972 hit; even the usually dynamic Woods seems to be just going through the motions. Watching real-life couple Baldwin and Basinger make love is uncomfortably voyeuristic. It takes Farnsworth, in the film's closing moments, to bring it to life. One sexy scene added for video. | tt0109890 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen, James Woods, David Morse, Jennifer Tilly, James Stephens, Richard Farnsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Burton Gilliam, Royce D. Applegate | Action | NULL | ||
| Getting Away With Murder | 1996 | Harvey Miller | 💣 | 92 | Ethics professor Aykroyd discovers that his next-door neighbor (Lemmon) is a notorious Nazi war criminal who is plotting to leave the country. Strictly for those who found JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG a laugh riot; a career nadir for the comic talents on both sides of the camera. Coproduced by Penny Marshall. | tt0116405 | [R] | Jack Lemmon, Dan Aykroyd, Lily Tomlin, Bonnie Hunt, Brian Kerwin, Jerry Adler, Andy Romano | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Getting Even | 1986 | Dwight H. Little | ★★½ | 90 | Farfetched suspense film has industrialist Baker holding the city of Dallas hostage for $50 million ransom or he'll unleash a lethal poison gas. Albert and Landers are the government agents out to stop him. Rousing helicopter stunts give film a lift in the final reel. Originally titled: HOSTAGE: DALLAS. | tt0091108 | [R] | Edward Albert, Audrey Landers, Joe Don Baker, Blue Deckert, Caroline Williams | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Getting Even With Dad | 1994 | Howard Deutch | ★½ | 108 | Ex-con cake decorator steals a rare coin collection with his two doofus pals, just as his 11-year-old son shows up for an extended visit. Touchy-feely comedy didn't touch many paying customers, despite Culkin's modified HOME ALONE-ing of comical villains Rubinek and Sartain; Danson's unlikely romance with policewoman Headly is as drab as the rest. | tt0109891 | [PG] | Macaulay Culkin, Ted Danson, Glenne Headly, Saul Rubinek, Gailard Sartain, Hector Elizondo, Ron Canada | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Getting Gertie's Garter | 1945 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 72 | Similar to UP IN MABEL'S ROOM, a funny little comedy of O'Keefe trying to retrieve embarrassing memento without wife's knowledge. | tt0037737 | Dennis O'Keefe, Marie McDonald, Barry Sullivan, Binnie Barnes, Sheila Ryan, J. Carrol Naish, Jerome Cowan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Getting It Right | 1989 | Randal Kleiser | ★★★ | 102 | Sweetly comic story of a 31-year-old virgin and his attempts to cope with people— women in particular— seems mundane and meandering at first, and just gets better as it goes along. Some wonderful characterizations, especially Redgrave as a wealthy woman with a world-weary facade who just wants to be loved. Screenplay by Elizabeth Jane Howard, from her novel. Made in England by an American director and producer. | tt0097424 | [R] | Jesse Birdsall, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Cook, Lynn Redgrave, Jane Horrocks, Richard Huw, John Gielgud, Shirley Anne Field, Pat Heywood, Judy Parfitt, Bryan Pringle | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Getting Straight | 1970 | Richard Rush | ★★½ | 124 | A period piece, but central issue of graduate student Gould choosing between academic double-talk and his beliefs remains relevant. Gould's personality propels glossy film. Bob Kaufman adapted Ken Kolb's novel. | tt0065775 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Candice Bergen, Jeff Corey, Max Julien, Cecil Kellaway, Robert F. Lyons, Jeannie Berlin, John Rubinstein, Brenda Sykes, Harrison Ford | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Getting of Wisdom | 1977 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 100 | A spirited, sensitive 13-year-old girl (Fowle) from the outback matures on her own terms at a snobbish Victorian ladies college. Fowle is miscast; however, the era is carefully recreated. Based on autobiographical novel by one Henry Handel Richardson. | tt0076079 | Susannah Fowle, Hilary Ryan, Alix Longman, Sheila Helpmann, Patricia Kennedy, Barry Humphries, John Waters | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gettysburg | 1993 | Ronald F. Maxwell | ★★★½ | 248 | Ted Turner's answer to GONE WITH THE WIND, a magnificent re-creation of the Civil War's most famous battle. Based on Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Killer Angels, this long but engrossing slice of history was filmed on the battlefields of the Gettysburg National Military Park using over 5,000 Civil War 're-enactors' in the battle scenes. Look fast for filmmaker Ken Burns as General Hancock's aide and Turner as a Reb foot soldier during Pickett's Charge. Elliott, and especially Daniels, stand out in a cast full of great performances. Final film for Richard Jordan, who has the most poignant role in the picture as General Armistead. Superb score by Randy Edelman. Also released on video in 271m. director's cut. Followed by a prequel: GODS AND GENERALS. | tt0107007 | [PG] | Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, Martin Sheen, Sam Elliott, Maxwell Caulfield, Kevin Conway, C. Thomas Howell, Richard Jordan, Royce D. Applegate, John Diehl, Patrick Gorman, Cooper Huckabee, James Lancaster, Brian Mallon, Andrew Prine, Stephen Lang, Richard Anderson, Bo Brinkman, Kieran Mulroney, George Lazenby, Dwier Brown, Buck Taylor | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster | 1964 | Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 85 | Beautiful princess, feared killed in a plane crash, reappears, claiming to be from Mars and warning that we're about to be attacked by a space dragon. Darned if she isn't right. Debut of King Ghidorah (whose name was misspelled by the original U.S. distributor) is one of the better Toho monster rallies, with Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra calling a truce to battle this new foe. Akira Ifukube's dynamic score is a plus, as is the warm presence of the illustrious Shimura. Japanese running time is 92m. | tt0058544 | Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Emi Ito | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Ghost | 1990 | Jerry Zucker | ★★★ | 122 | Overlong but enjoyable mix of fantasy, thriller, and romance. Swayze is killed, and when he learns (in his ghostly state) that he was the victim of a botched hit, he tries to warn his grieving girlfriend (Moore) that she's in danger too. Storefront medium Whoopi (in an Oscar-winning role) turns out to be the only one who can convey his messages to her. Swayze runs the gamut of expressions from A to B, but the relationships are credible and as a result the fantasy works. | tt0099653 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Rick Aviles, Vincent Schiavelli, Gail Boggs, Armelia McQueen, Phil Leeds | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Ghost Breakers | 1940 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 85 | More plot than usual for a Hope film as Bob and Paulette investigate eerie Cuban castle that she's inherited. Some real chills as well as laughs in this first-rate film. Remade as SCARED STIFF (1953). | tt0032520 | Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Anthony Quinn, Willie Best, Noble Johnson, Tom Dugan, Lloyd Corrigan | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Ghost Brigade | 1994 | George Hickenlooper | ★★½ | 80 | Yankees and Rebs team up to confront supernatural brigade of evil soldiers that's been wreaking gruesome slaughter on both sides. Odd mix of Civil War and horror genres aspires to a Peckinpah-type brutality but generally opts for mere shock value. Putting APOCALYPSE NOW star Sheen and HEARTS OF DARKNESS documentary director Hickenlooper together gives viewer an unmistakable feeling of déjà vu, as if you're back up the delta in Cambodia looking for Col. Kurtz. | tt0107319 | [R] | Corbin Bernsen, Adrian Pasdar, Ray Wise, Martin Sheen, Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton, David Arquette, Matt LeBlanc | Horror, War | NULL | ||
| Ghost Catchers | 1944 | Edward F. Cline | ★★★ | 67 | One of Olsen and Johnson's wackiest comedies, with duo as nightclub owners who help Southern colonel Catlett and his daughters, who have just moved into haunted house. | tt0036861 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Gloria Jean, Martha O'Driscoll, Leo Carrillo, Andy Devine, Walter Catlett, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Comedy, Musical, Horror | NULL | |||
| Ghost Chasers | 1951 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 69 | Spirited supernatural spoof, as the Bowery Boys try to expose a fake medium. | tt0043585 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, William 'Billy' Benedict, David Gorcey, Buddy Gorman, Jan Kayne, Bernard Gorcey, Lloyd Corrigan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Ghost Comes Home | 1940 | William Thiele | ★★ | 79 | Morgan, thought dead, returns to family which has been doing fine without him; cast does its best with fair material. | tt0032521 |
|
Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Ann Rutherford, John Shelton, Reginald Owen, Donald Meek | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ghost Dad | 1990 | Sidney Poitier | ★★ | 84 | Overworked businessman (and widower) Cosby dies in a taxi accident, and learns he has only a few days to try to straighten out his finances so his three kids will be secure. Positive family message aside, this effects-laden fantasy plays like an extended sitcom. Younger kids may like it— others beware. | tt0099654 | [PG] | Bill Cosby, Kimberly Russell, Denise Nicholas, Ian Bannen, Christine Ebersole, Barry Corbin, Salim Grant, Brooke Fontaine, Dakin Matthews, Dana Ashbrook, Arnold Stang | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai | 1999 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★★ | 116 | Ghost Dog (Whitaker), a solitary hit man who lives by the code of the Samurai, finds himself a target after a job gone wrong. Typically original (though sometimes pretentious) Jarmusch mix of mysticism, action, and even comedy, anchored by Whitaker's quiet, intense performance. Very bloody at times, and not for all tastes. Written by the director. | tt0165798 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Isaach de Bankolé, Tricia Vessey, Victor Argo | U.S.-French | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Ghost Fever | 1987 | Alan Smithee (Lee Madden) | ★★ | 86 | Hemsley and Avalos make a comfortable comedy team as cops caught up with ghosts, notably one of a former slave owner (Martin). Slapstick occasionally triumphs over some tasteless material. Filmed mostly in 1984. | tt0093088 | [PG] | Sherman Hemsley, Luis Avalos, Jennifer Rhodes, Deborah Benson, Diana Brookes, Myron Healey, Pepper Martin, Joe Frazier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Ghost Goes West | 1936 | René Clair | ★★½ | 82 | Bombastic American purchases a Scottish castle, unaware that it's haunted by the ghost of the current owner's fast-living ancestor. Genial but bland comedy written by Robert E. Sherwood and filmed by Clair in an oddly aloof fashion— with barely any close-ups of its leading actors! | tt0026406 | Robert Donat, Eugene Pallette, Jean Parker, Everly Gregg, Elsa Lanchester, Hay Petrie, Morton Selten | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ghost Rider | 2007 | Mark Steven Johnson | ★★ | 110 | Daredevil motorcyclist makes a deal with the Devil (Fonda) in order to save his father's life, then tries to adjust to living a cursed existence. In time he finds his true identity as a cycle vigilante who rides engulfed in flames, his head a burning skull! Adaptation of the Marvel comic book set out West might have been better if it didn't take so long to spell out its premise and get up a head of steam. | tt0259324 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue, Matt Long, Peter Fonda, Brett Cullen | Action, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | 2012 | Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor | 💣 | 95 | Johnny Blaze (Cage), still occasionally turning into the flaming-skulled, motorcycle-mounted Ghost Rider, wants to be freed from his curse and its ties to the Devil (Hinds). So he agrees to help a motorcycle-riding monk (Elba) to keep the Devil from claiming a boy who might be his son. And then—oh, heck—stuff happens. Even worse than the 2007 film; the potential for spectacle is trashed by the relatively low budget. | tt1071875 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, Fergus Riordan, Christopher Lambert, Anthony Head | U.S.-United Arab Emirates | Action, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Ghost Ship | 2002 | Steve Beck | ★★ | 91 | A salvage crew learns that a long-lost ocean liner is adrift in the vicinity, offering a potential windfall. Once aboard, they face a decidedly eerie environment and an alarming mortality rate. Flat, by-the-numbers horror fare, with some graphically gory scenes. | tt0288477 | [R] | Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Karl Urban | Thriller, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Ghost Ship | 1943 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 69 | Offbeat Val Lewton melodrama about young man who signs on merchant ship run by power-crazy captain (Dix) who's obsessed with 'authority.' Absorbing mood piece with unfortunately abrupt conclusion. | tt0035937 | Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett, Ben Bard, Lawrence Tierney | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Ghost Story | 1981 | John Irvin | ★★½ | 110 | Four elderly New Englanders are tormented by a 50-year-old secret, which now visits evil on one of their sons as well. Absorbing if not altogether satisfying simplification of Peter Straub's best-seller, which loses steam as it nears its resolution. Astaire's last film. | tt0082449 | [R] | Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., John Houseman, Craig Wasson, Alice Krige, Patricia Neal, Ken Olin | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Ghost Town | 1988 | Richard Governor | ★★½ | 85 | Imaginative fantasy thriller has modern-day Western sheriff Luz chosen to rid a century-old town of its curse by avenging its dead sheriff in HIGH NOON fashion. Fine special effects distinguish this modest sleeper. | tt0095215 | [R] | Franc Luz, Catherine Hickland, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Penelope Windust, Bruce Glover, Blake Conway, Laura Schaefer | Horror, Western | NULL | ||
| Ghost Town | 2008 | David Koepp | ★★★ | 102 | Acerbic, people-phobic N.Y.C. dentist Gervais is haunted by a ghost (Kinnear) who needs to resolve issues with his widow (Leoni) before he can rest in peace. Then the unexpected happens: the dentist falls in love with her. This is the kind of fantasy-comedy “they don’t make anymore,” buoyed by Gervais’ distinctive comic persona and his hilarious mutterings. Funny and heartfelt; written by director Koepp and John Kamps. | tt0995039 | [PG-13] | Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Billy Campbell, Kristen Wiig, Dana Ivey, Aasif Mandvi, Alan Ruck, Brian d’Arcy James | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Ghost Walks | 1934 | Frank Strayer. | ★★½ | 66 | Life (and murder) imitate art when a Broadway playwright's newest thriller starts coming true while he and his producer are stranded in an odd, out-of-the-way mansion brimming with odd, out-of-the-way guests. Story lynchpins need oil in this rusting antique, but it's lightly humorous and it does have enough plot for six other movies. | tt0025169 | John Miljan, June Collyer, Richard Carle, Henry Kolker, Spencer Charters, Johnny Arthur. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ghost World | 2001 | Terry Zwigoff | ★★½ | 111 | A sour teenage iconoclast (Birch) finds her only friend (Johansson) drifting away after their high school graduation, so she attaches herself to geeky record collector Buscemi. A well-observed study of alienation, coscripted by Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes from the latter's comic book . . . but it's difficult to care about a character who refuses to be cared about. Zwigoff's first fictional feature, following CRUMB; in fact, R. Crumb contributed a drawing to this film. Teri Garr appears unbilled. | tt0162346 | [R] | Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban, Teri Garr | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ghost Writer | 2010 | Roman Polanski | ★★★ | 128 | Bristling paranoia thriller about a writer who’s hired to ghost a former British Prime Minister’s memoirs—because the last fellow on the job died, under mysterious circumstances. The more the ghost writer (McGregor) learns about his subject (Brosnan), the more he questions, which puts him at risk, like his predecessor. Masterfully orchestrated suspense drama with topical geopolitical references. Alexandre Desplat’s score establishes a sense of dread from the opening scene; Polanski takes care of the rest. He and Robert Harris wrote the screenplay, from Harris’ controversial novel The Ghost. | tt1139328 | [PG-13] | Ewan McGregor, Kim Cattrall, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, Jon Bernthal, Robert Pugh, Eli Wallach, James Belushi | French-German-British | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Ghost and Mr. Chicken | 1966 | Alan Rafkin | ★★½ | 90 | Featherweight comedy with Knotts a would-be reporter who seizes his big chance for a scoop by spending a night in a supposedly haunted house. Full of familiar character faces. | tt0059221 | Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Skip Homeier, Dick Sargent, Reta Shaw, James Milhollin, Phil Ober, Liam Redmond, Lurene Tuttle, Charles Lane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Ghost and Mrs. Muir | 1947 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★½ | 104 | A lonely widow is romanced by the ghost of a sea captain in her 'haunted' English cottage. Charming, beautifully made fantasy, a distant cousin to later TV sitcom; lovely score by Bernard Herrmann. Philip Dunne scripted, from the R.A. Dick novel. | tt0039420 | Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best, Vanessa Brown, Anna Lee, Robert Coote, Natalie Wood | Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Ghost and the Darkness | 1996 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★½ | 109 | In 1896, an Irish bridge builder heads to Africa for his latest project, but the campsite is soon cursed by violent and unexplainable attacks by a pair of man-eating lions. Eventually, renowned big-game hunter Douglas is called in. What begins as a rousing, old-fashioned adventure somehow loses its way— and its impact. Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the same true story that inspired BWANA DEVIL. | tt0116409 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie, Henry Cele, Om Puri | Action, Drama, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini | 1966 | Don Weis | ★½ | 82 | Seventh (and final) BEACH PARTY movie failed to provide a shot in the arm with entirely new set of characters (save Lembeck's Eric Von Zipper); larger-than-usual roster of veteran movie greats might attract masochistic film buffs. | tt0060457 | Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, Aron Kincaid, Quinn O'Hara, Nancy Sinatra, Claudia Martin, Harvey Lembeck, Jesse White, Susan Hart, Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Patsy Kelly, Francis X. Bushman, Benny Rubin | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Ghost in the Machine | 1993 | Rachel Talalay | ★½ | 95 | The spirit of a dying serial killer is sucked into a computer mainframe in Cleveland, from which he continues to pursue his latest target, single mother Allen, by killing her friends and ruining her credit. Both obvious and ludicrous. | tt0107009 | [R] | Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey, Ted Marcoux, Wil Horneff, Jessica Walter, Brandon Quintin Adams, Phil Ducommun | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Ghost in the Noonday Sun | 1973 | Peter Medak | 💣 | 89 | Absolutely atrocious pirate comedy which understandably never got full-fledged theatrical release. Milligan, who's credited with 'additional dialogue,' appears in one sequence with his onetime Goon Show colleague Sellers, but even their chemistry can't save this turkey. | tt0070106 | Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa, Spike Milligan, Clive Revill, Peter Boyle, Richard Willis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow | 1959 | William Hole/ Jr | 💣 | 65 | Square, law-abiding teenage hot-rodders throw a party in a 'haunted' house. Annoying, plotless excuse for a scare comedy. Paul Blaisdell wears his SHE-CREATURE costume in humiliating cameo. | tt0052844 | Jody Fair, Martin Braddock, Russ Bender, Leon Tyler, Elaine DuPont | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Ghost of Frankenstein | 1942 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 68 | Sequel to SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. Ygor (Lugosi) tries to convince Dr. Frankenstein (Hardwicke) to put his brain into the Monster. Good cast manages to save stale plot. Followed by FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. | tt0034786 | Cedric Hardwicke, Lon Chaney/Jr., Lionel Atwill, Ralph Bellamy, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, Dwight Frye | Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Ghost of Zorro | 1949 | Fred C. Brannon | ★★ | 69 | Feature version of 1949 serial is a confusing account of descendant of Zorro adopting same guise to combat outlaws destroying telegraph lines. Moore's role as the masked hero was casting inspiration for subsequent LONE RANGER TV series. | tt0041413 |
|
Clayton Moore, Pamela Blake, Roy Barcroft, George J. Lewis, Eugene Roth | Western | NULL | ||
| The Ghost | 1963 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★½ | 96 | In 1910 Scotland, adulterous wife Steele and doctor-lover are seemingly haunted by the vengeful ghost of her crippled husband, whom they murdered. Measured, moody horror, let down by routine plot; still atmospheric and watchable. Follow-up to THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK. | tt0057522 | Barbara Steele, Peter Baldwin, Leonard Elliott (Elio Jotta), Harriet White | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Ghostbusters | 1984 | Ivan Reitman | ★★★ | 107 | The first multimillion-dollar scare comedy, about a trio of flaky 'paranormal investigators' who go into business flushing out ghosts and spirits in N.Y.C.— and find their business booming! Engagingly offbeat, even subdued at times, with Murray's flippant personality nicely contrasting Richard Edlund's eye-popping special effects. Great fun all the way; written by Aykroyd and Ramis. Followed by a sequel and an animated TV series. | tt0087332 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, Reginald VelJohnson | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Ghostbusters II | 1989 | Ivan Reitman | ★★★ | 102 | Amiable, entertaining sequel has the ghostbusting boys reteaming five years after their last adventure to save N.Y.C. from a slime attack of gargantuan proportions, generated by all the 'negative energy' in the air of the Big Apple. Longish but good-natured, with some solid laughs along the way. Chloe Webb has a funny unbilled cameo as a guest on Murray's cable TV show. | tt0097428 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Peter MacNicol, David Margulies, Annie Potts, Ben Stein, Janet Margolin, Harris Yulin, Philip Baker Hall | Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ghosts Can't Do It | 1990 | John Derek | 💣 | 95 | And neither (at least on film) can John and Bo. Standard Derek atrocity involves Bo's international search for the perfect male body to house the spirit of her beloved but deceased husband (Quinn). Tony looks as if he's been photographed through the Lucille Ball MAME filter for the supernatural scenes. Just when you think it can't get any worse, Donald Trump shows up in a cameo. | tt0099656 | [R] | Bo Derek, Anthony Quinn, Leo Damian, Don Murray, Julie Newmar, Dee Krainz | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Ghosts of Berkeley Square | 1947 | Vernon Sewell. | ★★½ | 85 | In 1708, fuddy-duddy generals Morley and Aylmer accidentally kill themselves and are forced to haunt their Berkeley Square home until it is visited by reigning royalty; we see their escapades through the centuries. Morley plays two roles and leads a sterling cast. Almost a working definition of 'droll,' this dry British comedy never quite coalesces, though it's fun to watch. | tt0039421 | Robert Morley, Felix Aylmer, Yvonne Arnaud, Claude Hulbert, Abraham Sofaer, Ernest Thesiger, Martita Hunt, Ronald Frankau, Wilfrid Hyde-White. | British | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | 2009 | Mark Waters | ★★ | 100 | Tepid reimagining of A Christmas Carol as a romantic comedy, with McConaughey typecast as a roguish lothario who’s encouraged to change his charming-wastrel ways while visited by various apparitions—including his late playboy uncle (scene stealer Douglas)—the night before his brother’s wedding. Game actors aren’t helped by flat cinematography (even Garner, as McConaughey’s once and future sweetie, looks drab) and predictable writing. | tt0821640 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster, Anne Archer, Emma Stone, Daniel Sunjata | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Ghosts of Mars | John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | John Carpenter | ★½ | 98 | In the near future, Mars has been colonized, but there's an outbreak of mass murder in some remote settlements. People are possessed by vengeful Martian ghosts; it's up to the team of a lady cop and a hardened criminal to battle them. Routine, predictable, and dull; unimaginatively, the Martian-possessed people adopt a punk/grunge look. Basically a remake of Carpenter's early ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. | tt0228333 | [R] | Natasha Henstridge, *** Ice Cube, Pam Grier, Clea DuVall, Jason Statham, Liam Waite, Joanna Cassidy, Wanda De Jesus, Duane Davis, Robert Carradine | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Ghosts of Mississippi | 1996 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 130 | Straightforward drama about Mississippi assistant D.A. Bobby DeLaughter (Baldwin), who reopens the case against the murderer of civil rights leader Medgar Evers 30 years after the fact. Reminiscent of 1960s movies in its earnestness and sobriety, it still works, but lacks the edge and energy to make it soar. Goldberg is surprisingly good as Evers' widow, and Woods has a showy part (in heavy makeup) as the aged murderer, Byron De La Beckwith. | tt0116410 | [PG-13] | Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, Craig T. Nelson, Susanna Thompson, Lucas Black, William H. Macy, Terry O'Quinn, Virginia Madsen, Bonnie Bartlett, Wayne Rogers, Diane Ladd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ghosts of Rome | 1961 | Antonio Pietrangeli | ★★½ | 105 | Scatterbrain antics of oddball characters inhabiting rundown house soon to be demolished, with prospects of finding new quarters frightening them all. | tt0054867 | Marcello Mastroianni, Belinda Lee, Sandra Milo, Vittorio Gassman, Franca Marzi | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Ghosts on the Loose | 1943 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 65 | Gorcey and his gang take on Nazi spies (led by Lugosi) in this misleadingly titled entry. Notable only for early appearance of ingenue Gardner. Retitled THE EAST SIDE KIDS MEET BELA LUGOSI. | tt0035939 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Bela Lugosi, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Billy Benedict, Stanley Clements, Bobby Stone, Ava Gardner, Rick Vallin | Horror, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ghosts- Italian Style | 1967 | Renato Castellani | ★★ | 92 | Newlyweds Loren and Gassman move into haunted house. Weak vehicle for engaging stars. | tt0063480 | [G] | Sophia Loren, Vittorio Gassman, Mario Adorf, Margaret Lee, Aldo Guiffre, Francisco Tensi | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Ghoul | 1933 | T. Hayes Hunter | ★★½ | 73 | England's answer to Hollywood's horror films: Egyptologist Karloff wishes to be buried with a jewel he believes will allow him eternal life. It's stolen, and he rises from the dead in search of the culprit. Slow going until Karloff's resurrection; then it really hums. Richardson's film debut. Remade as 1962 comedy NO PLACE LIKE HOMICIDE! Original 79m. version is available on video. | tt0024055 | Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger, Dorothy Hyson, Anthony Bushell, Ralph Richardson, Kathleen Harrison | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Ghoul | 1975 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 88 | Innocent people fall victim to a mysterious flesh-eating 'monster' in Cushing's secluded home. Fairly interesting, nongory thriller, with Hurt as Cushing's crazed gardener. | tt0073042 | Peter Cushing, John Hurt, Alexandra Bastedo, Gwen Watford, Veronica Carlson, Steward Bevan | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ghoulies | 1985 | Luca Bercovici | ★½ | 84 | Boring, ridiculous film about young man who invokes Satanic spirits in the form of gremlinlike creatures (who look like muppets dipped in shellac) at a creepy old mansion. Followed by three sequels. | tt0089200 | [PG-13] | Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres, Jack Nance, Peter Risch, Tamara de Treaux | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Giant | 1956 | George Stevens | ★★★★ | 201 | Near-legendary epic based on Edna Ferber's novel about two generations of Texans holds up beautifully when not broken up into two nights on TV. Hudson's best performance, close to Taylor's best, and Dean's last film. Stevens won Oscar for direction. Screenplay by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat. | tt0049261 | Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rodney (Rod) Taylor, Earl Holliman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Giant Behemoth | 1959 | Eugène Lourié | ★★ | 80 | Enormous radioactive dinosaur menaces England, finally invades London. Animation effects directed by Willis O'Brien are fine, but film is turgid. | tt0052611 | Gene Evans, Andre Morell, John Turner, Leigh Madison, Jack MacGowran | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Giant Claw | 1957 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 76 | Lack of decent special effects ruins the running battle between colossal bird and fighter jets. Big bird is laughable. | tt0050432 | Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum, Edgar Barrier | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Giant From the Unknown | 1958 | Richard E. Cunha | ★½ | 77 | Giant, depraved conquistador Baer, in suspended animation for centuries, is revived in California mountains, wreaking minor havoc. Cheap and silly. | tt0051654 | Edward Kemmer, Sally Fraser, Bob Steele, Morris Ankrum, Buddy Baer, Joline Brand, Billy Dix | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Giant Gila Monster | 1959 | Ray Kellogg | ★½ | 74 | Big, beaded lizard menaces small Texas town. Not as good as it sounds. Has a couple of wildly inappropriate songs. | tt0052846 | Don Sullivan, Lisa Simone, Shug Fisher, Jerry Cortwright, Beverly Thurman, Don Flourney, Pat Simmons | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Giant Spider Invasion | 1975 | Bill Rebane | 💣 | 82 | Veteran cast can't do much for this tacky horror opus filmed in Wisconsin. | tt0073043 | [PG] | Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Leslie Parrish, Alan Hale/Jr., Robert Easton, Bill Williams | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Giant Steps | 1992 | Richard Rose | ★★½ | 94 | Idealistic teen trumpeter Mahonen befriends his idol, Slate Thompson (Williams), a legendary, self-destructive jazz pianist attempting to remain true to his art. Well meaning but obvious and preachy. | tt0104336 | Billy Dee Williams, Michael Mahonen, Robyn Stevan, Ted Dykstra, Ranee Lee | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Giant of Metropolis | 1961 | Umberto Scarpelli | ★★ | 82 | Blah sci-fi throwaway, set in 20,000 B.C., with he-man Mitchell taking on evildoers on the lost continent of Atlantis. | tt0054924 | Gordon Mitchell, Roldano Lupi, Bella Cortez, Liana Orfei | Italian | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Giants of Thessaly | 1960 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★ | 86 | Episodic sword-and-sandal account of Jason (Carey) and Orpheus (Girotti) seeking golden fleece, with expected clashes with monsters, evil women, etc. | tt0053861 | Roland Carey, Ziva Rodann, Massimo Girotti, Alberto Farnese | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Gideon of Scotland Yard | Gideon's Day | 1958 | John Ford | ★½ | 91 | A typical day in the life of a Scotland Yard inspector; Hawkins is likable but the film is unbelievably dull. A surprising dud from director Ford. British version, titled GIDEON'S DAY, runs 118m. Originally released theatrically in the U.S. in b&w. | tt0051655 | Jack Hawkins, Dianne Foster, Cyril Cusack, Andrew Ray, James Hayter, Ronald Howard, Anna Massey, Anna Lee | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Gideon's Trumpet | 1980 | Robert Collins | Above Average TV Movie | 104 | Fonda is superb in the true story of a semiliterate Florida convict who changed the course of American legal history; Ferrer is equally fine as his powerful attorney, Abe Fortas. Script by David Rintels, from Anthony Lewis's book; produced by Houseman. | tt0080789 | Henry Fonda, Jose Ferrer, John Houseman, Fay Wray, Sam Jaffe, Dean Jagger, Nicholas Pryor, William Prince, Dolph Sweet, Ford Rainey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gidget | 1959 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 95 | California teenage girl hits the beach one summer and falls in love with two surfer boys. Dee is spirited in the title role of this hit movie (based on Frederick Kohner's novel about his daughter), which led to a number of sequels and two different TV series! | tt0052847 | Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell, Joby Baker, Yvonne Craig, Doug McClure, Tom Laughlin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Gidget Goes Hawaiian | 1961 | Paul Wendkos | ★★ | 102 | Inane follow-up has teenager off to the Islands, with embarrassing results for all. | tt0054923 | James Darren, Michael Callan, Deborah Walley, Carl Reiner, Peggy Cass, Eddie Foy/Jr. | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Gidget Goes to Rome | 1963 | Paul Wendkos | ★★ | 101 | Mild follow-up has fetching teenager off to Italy, involved in predictable romancing. | tt0057100 | Cindy Carol, James Darren, Jessie Royce Landis, Cesare Danova, Jeff Donnell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Gift From Heaven | 1994 | Jack Lucarelli | ★★★ | 102 | Solid characterizations add immeasurably to this complex, impassioned drama about an emotionally scarred backwoods North Carolina mother (Farrell). She gave birth to the eldest of her two grown children (Steen) when she was twelve, after being seduced by her preacher uncle: the emotional sparks begin to fly upon the arrival of an orphaned cousin (Trigger). Actor Steen also scripted the film. | tt0109897 | Sharon Farrell, Gigi Rice, David Steen, Sarah Trigger, Gene Lythgow, Mark Ruffalo, Nicholas Worth, Molly McClure | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gift Horse | Glory at Sea | 1952 | Compton Bennett | ★★★ | 100 | Solid WW2 drama with Howard as a troublesome ship's captain, disliked by his crew, who comes into his own while battling a German U-boat. Also known as GLORY AT SEA. | tt0044658 | Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, Sonny Tufts, James Donald, Joan Rice, Bernard Lee, Dora Bryan, Hugh Williams, Sidney James | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| A Gift for Heidi | 1958 | George Templeton. | ★★ | 71 | Heidi learns the meaning of faith, hope, and charity. OK entertainment for youngsters. Inspired by Johanna Spyri's story. | tt0051656 | Douglas Fowley, Sandy Descher, Van Dyke Parks. | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Gift of Gab | 1934 | Karl Freund. | ★½ | 71 | Fast-talking egomaniac Lowe becomes a radio star, but success goes to his head. Dumb movie with cardboard characters and a silly plot; even the songs by such greats as Etting and Waters are second-rate. Karloff has an amusing bit in a murder-mystery skit. So static it's hard to believe this was directed by legendary cinematographer Freund. | tt0025170 | Edmund Lowe, Gloria Stuart, Alice White, Victor Moore, Hugh O'Connell, Helen Vinson; guest stars Gene Austin, Ruth Etting, Ethel Waters, Paul Lukas, Chester Morris, Roger Pryor, Binnie Barnes, Karloff (Boris Karloff), Bela Lugosi, June Knight, Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra, The Beale Street Boys, Alexander Woollcott. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Gift of Love | 1958 | Jean Negulesco | ★★ | 105 | If you could put up with SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY you might bear this remake, which isn't even as good. Bacall dies but returns to earth as guiding spirit for her husband and daughter. Remade again for TV as SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY. | tt0051657 | Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Evelyn Rudie, Lorne Greene, Anne Seymour | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gift | 1982 | Michel Lang | ★★ | 105 | Bank employees chip in to buy their colleague a surprise retirement gift: a beautiful prostitute. A 'good clean sex farce,' strained and silly, with no sex, very little nudity, and the improbable casting of beautiful Cardinale as Mondy's wife. | tt0082128 | [R] | Pierre Mondy, Claudia Cardinale, Clio Goldsmith, Jacques Francois, Cecile Magnet, Remi Laurent | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Gift | 2000 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 111 | Young widow and mother Blanchett earns money doing psychic readings for her Georgia neighbors, but incurs the wrath of an abusive Reeves . . . and then becomes a key witness in a murder trial. Uneven blend of Southern gothic/psychic/courtroom/whodunit ingredients, made watchable by a strong ensemble. Written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. | tt0219699 | [PG-13] | Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Michael Jeter, Kim Dickens, Gary Cole, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons, Chelcie Ross | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Gig | 1985 | Frank D. Gilroy | ★★★ | 92 | Perceptive, touching comedy-drama about dreams, compromises, disappointments— what it means to be alive. A group of middle-class, middle-aged men play jazz both to amuse themselves and to escape from the pressures of their lives; they are hired for their first professional engagement at a small resort, and the experience proves to be unexpectedly unsettling. Gilroy also wrote the script. | tt0089203 | Wayne Rogers, Cleavon Little, Andrew Duncan, Jerry Matz, Daniel Nalbach, Warren Vache, Joe Silver, Jay Thomas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gigantic | 2009 | Matt Aselton | ★★★ | 98 | Dano plays the son of older parents (Asner and Alexander)—and baby brother of two robust siblings—whose only goal in life is to adopt a baby from China. Then he meets Deschanel, who lives in the shadow of her bombastic father (Goodman). Quirky, hip, sexy New York–based comedy with a disarmingly oblique sense of humor. Feature directing debut for Aselton, who scripted with Adam Nagata. | tt1176251 | [R] | Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Jane Alexander, Ian Roberts, Robert Stanton, Clarke Peters, Susan Misner, Zach Galifianakis | Romance | NULL | ||
| Gigantis, the Fire Monster | Godzilla Raids Again | 1959 | Motoyoshi, Hugo Grimaldi | ★★ | 78 | A new Godzilla, here called Gigantis, battles spiny Angorous, trashing another Japanese city. First sequel to GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS!, retitled: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. | tt0048127 | Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Makayama | Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Gigi | 1948 | Jacqueline Audry | ★★½ | 83 | Original version of Colette's novel is not a musical but a drolly amusing (if talky and uncinematic) comedy of manners. Delorme, who starred in two more films based on Colette stories, is delightful as Gigi, the girl trained to be a courtesan by her aunt and grandmother in fin de siècle Paris. Originally 109m. | tt0041414 | Daniele Delorme, Frank Villard, Yvonne de Bray, Gaby Morlay, Jean Tissier, Madeleine Rousset | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gigi | 1958 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★★ | 116 | Charming turn-of-the-century musical based on Colette's story of a French girl who's groomed to be a courtesan. Exquisitely filmed, perfectly cast, with memorable Lerner & Loewe score: title tune, 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls,' 'I Remember It Well.' Winner of nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Writing (Alan Jay Lerner), Cinematography (Joseph Ruttenberg), Costumes (Cecil Beaton), Song ('Gigi'), and Scoring (Andre Previn). Chevalier received an honorary Oscar. | tt0051658 | Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold, Jacques Bergerac, Eva Gabor | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gigli | 2003 | Martin Brest | ★½ | 124 | Underworld functionary Affleck is hired to kidnap the brother of a federal prosecutor; then, inexplicably, Affleck's boss sends Lopez to keep an eye on him! Sorry excuse for a script (by Brest) lurches from one boring, silly, illogical, and/or unpleasant sequence to another, when in fact it exists merely to show off its sexy female star, who (in the film's most memorable scene) talks dirty while performing yoga. | tt0299930 | [R] | Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Justin Bartha, Lainie Kazan, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Missy Crider, Lenny Venito | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gigot | 1962 | Gene Kelly | ★★★ | 104 | Sentimental, well-acted tale of a deaf mute (Gleason) and a young girl in Paris. Simple film, well done; Gleason is excellent. Remade for TV as THE WOOL CAP MAN (2004). | tt0056017 | Jackie Gleason, Katherine Kath, Gabrielle Dorziat, Albert Remy, Yvonne Constant | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Gilda | 1946 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 110 | Highly charged story of emotional triangle— mysterious South American casino owner Macready, his new man-Friday Ford, and Macready's alluring wife (Hayworth)— unfortunately cops out with silly resolutions. Rita has never been sexier, especially when singing 'Put the Blame on Mame.' | tt0038559 | Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Gilda Live | 1980 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 90 | Filmization of Radner's Broadway show, with the comedienne doing uncensored versions of her familiar Saturday Night Live TV characters. Best song: 'Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals.' | tt0080790 | [R] | Gilda Radner, Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Gilded Lily | 1935 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★ | 80 | Colbert has to choose between aristocratic Milland and down-to-earth MacMurray. Fine romantic fluff. MacMurray's breezy performance here made a strong impression and boosted him to stardom. | tt0026409 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ray Milland, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Craven, Luis Alberni, Grace Bradley | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gildersleeve's Ghost | 1944 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 64 | Programmer entry in the Great Gildersleeve series, involving mixture of spooks and gangsters, with predictable results. | tt0036864 | Harold Peary, Marion Martin, Richard LeGrand, Amelita Ward | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Gilles' Wife | 2004 | Frédéric Fonteyne | ★★★½ | 108 | A simple, happily married woman in a small Belgian village begins to suspect that her husband is seeing another woman-namely, her sister. Exquisite rendering of Madeleine Bourdouxhe's 1937 novel recalls French films of that period; much of the story is told through Devos' expressive face and the painterly images of cinematographer Virginie Saint Martin. Deliberate in both its pacing and attention to detail. Fonteyene cowrote the screenplay with Philippe Blasband and Marion Hänsel. | tt0382691 |
|
Emmanuelle Devos, Clovis Cornillac, Laura Smet, Colette Emmanuelle, Gil Lagay | French-Belgian-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Gimme Shelter | 1970 | David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | ★★★★ | 91 | Outstanding documentary of the Rolling Stones and the famous Altamont Speedway free concert that resulted in chaos and murder. Chilling, beautifully handled, with the Stones performing their best songs of the period ('Satisfaction,' 'Sympathy for the Devil,' 'Brown Sugar,' 'Under My Thumb,' etc.). Reissued in PG form at 90m., then reedited for reissue in 2000 at 91m. | tt0065780 | [R] | Rolling Stones, *** Jefferson Airplane, Melvin Belli | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Ginger and Fred | 1986 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 126 | Fellini satirizes TV, and the cult of instant celebrity, in this relaxed and amusing film. Ginger and Fred are, in fact, two small-time entertainers who used to imitate Rogers and Astaire and who are being reunited by an unctuous TV show. The targets are a bit obvious and the pace a bit leisurely, but the climactic sequence is fun, and the two stars are wonderful to watch, as always. | tt0091113 | [PG-13] | Giulietta Masina, Marcello Mastroianni, Franco Fabrizi, Frederick Von Ledenberg, Martin Blau, Toto Mignone | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Ginger in the Morning | 1973 | Gordon Wiles | ★★½ | 89 | So-so romantic comedy about a lonely salesman who picks up a comely hitchhiker. He's attracted to her young, fresh independence; she's drawn to his old-fashioned romanticism. | tt0070107 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Monte Markham, Mark Miller, Susan Oliver, Slim Pickens | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Gingerbread Man | 1998 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 115 | Cocky Savannah lawyer (Branagh, with a terrific accent) sleeps with a woman he's just met (Davidtz, in a strong performance), then gets into hot water when he tries to protect her from her lunatic father. If he's so smart, how could he leave himself so vulnerable? Ask John Grisham, who wrote this thriller, which grows more implausible with each new story twist. Final showdown is especially weak. Screenplay credited to a pseudonymous Al Hayes. | tt0119196 | [R] | Kenneth Branagh, Embeth Davidtz, Robert Downey/Jr., Daryl Hannah, Tom Berenger, Famke Janssen, Mae Whitman, Jesse James, Robert Duvall | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Girl 27 | 2007 | David Stenn | ★★★ | 80 | Fascinating, highly personal documentary by Hollywood historian-biographer Stenn about a forgotten woman named Patricia Douglas, who was raped during an MGM sales convention in 1937. Stenn does admirable detective work piecing this long-buried story together, and reveals his discoveries one by one. Use of 1930s movie scenes to parallel the true-life story told here doesn't always work, but the overall result is excellent. | tt0912586 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Girl 6 | 1996 | Spike Lee | ★★ | 105 | A frustrated young actress takes (and becomes addicted to) a job as a phone-sex worker. Done in by its predictability and lack of insight into the character of Girl 6. Worth a look for Randle's appealing performance and Lee's vivid depiction of the phone-sex world. | tt0116414 | [R] | Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, Spike Lee, Jenifer Lewis, Debi Mazar, Peter Berg, Michael Imperioli, Dina Pearlman, Maggie Rush, Kristen Wilson, Naomi Campbell, Desi Moreno, John Turturro, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino, Halle Berry, Richard Belzer, Ron Silver, Susan Batson, Gretchen Mol | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Girl Can't Help It | 1956 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 99 | One-joke film about press agent Ewell trying to hype gangster's girlfriend (Mansfield) to stardom. Some good Tashlin sight gags; classic performances by Fats Domino ('Blue Monday'), The Platters ('You'll Never Know'), Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps ('BeBop A Lula'), Little Richard ('She's Got It,' 'Ready Teddy,' and 'The Girl Can't Help It'). | tt0049263 | Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, Edmond O'Brien, Julie London | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girl Crazy | 1932 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 74 | First screen version of the Gershwin musical comedy is a strange hybrid— neither a faithful rendition of the show nor a really good Wheeler & Woolsey vehicle. But it's not bad, with W&W as city slickers out West, clashing with Arizona heavy Fields. Best song, 'You've Got What Gets Me,' was written for the film. Perennial Marx Brothers foil Margaret Dumont has a funny uncredited cameo. Remade in 1943. | tt0022938 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Eddie Quillan, Mitzi Green, Brooks Benedict, Kitty Kelly, Arline Judge, Stanley Fields, Chris-Pin Martin | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Girl Crazy | 1943 | Norman Taurog | ★★★½ | 99 | Rooney sent to small Southwestern school to forget girls, but meets Garland and that's that. Great Gershwin score includes 'I Got Rhythm,' 'Embraceable You,' 'But Not For Me.' Busby Berkeley (the original director) staged the finale. Filmed before in 1932; remade as WHEN THE BOYS MEET THE GIRLS. | tt0035942 | Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Gil Stratton, Robert E. Strickland, Rags Ragland, June Allyson, Nancy Walker, Guy Kibbee, Tommy Dorsey and Orchestra | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Girl Friend | 1935 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★½ | 67 | Failed playwright Pryor, who's penned a musical about Napoleon, poses as a Broadway producer and convinces farmer Haley that he's going to put on the hick's tragic play about Bonaparte. Winning little musical with good songs by Gus Kahn and Arthur Johnston, all reprised as part of the finale. Title has absolutely nothing to do with the film. | tt0026411 | Ann Sothern, Jack Haley, Roger Pryor, Thurston Hall, Victor Kilian, Ray Walker, Inez Courtney. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Girl From 10th Avenue | 1935 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 69 | Honest working girl Davis gets alcoholic, recently jilted society lawyer Hunter back on his feet; then his ex-girlfriend decides she wants him back. Davis shines in this engrossing soaper. | tt0026413 | Bette Davis, Ian Hunter, Colin Clive, Alison Skipworth, John Eldredge, Philip Reed, Katherine Alexander | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Chicago | 1932 | Oscar Micheaux. | ★★ | 69 | A T-man discovers the murder case he's working on involves a woman with whom he fell in love while sleuthing down in Mississippi. Routine all-black meller was adapted by Micheaux from his own short story 'Jeff Ballinger's Woman.' | tt0022941 | Carl Mahon, Starr Calloway, Grace Smith, Eunice Brooks, John Everett, Frank Wilson, Juano Hernandez. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Jones Beach | 1949 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 78 | Breezy comedy about an artist trying to find living embodiment of the perfectly proportioned female in his illustrations. Capable romantic-comedy performance by Reagan. | tt0041415 | Ronald Reagan, Virginia Mayo, Eddie Bracken, Dona Drake, Henry Travers, Lois Wilson, Florence Bates | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Lorraine | 1980 | Claude Goretta | ★★½ | 107 | Unemployed draughtswoman Baye, from the provinces, maintains her dignity in lonely, unfriendly Paris. Quietly rewarding drama with an extremely likable heroine; however, sometimes as dreary as some of the characters she meets. Originally titled LA PROVINCIALE. | tt0081385 | Nathalie Baye, Bruno Ganz, Angela Winkler, Patrick Chesnais | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Girl From Manhattan | 1948 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 81 | Forgettable comedy-drama with model Lamour helping her uncle run his boardinghouse. Passable time-killer. | tt0040388 | Dorothy Lamour, George Montgomery, Charles Laughton, Ernest Truex, Hugh Herbert, Constance Collier | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Mexico | 1939 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 71 | Advertising man Woods goes to Mexico to find a star for his radio show and bumps (literally!) into Velez. Lupe's sex appeal is unleashed in this hectic comedy which led to the Mexican Spitfire series. Errol is very funny as her comic cohort. | tt0031370 | Lupe Velez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol, Linda Hayes, Donald MacBride, Ward Bond | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Missouri | 1934 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 75 | Delightful fluff about good-girl Harlow trying to win a millionaire without sacrificing her integrity. Wise-cracking Kelly as her girlfriend is a treat. | tt0025173 | Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Franchot Tone, Lewis Stone, Patsy Kelly, Alan Mowbray | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Girl From Petrovka | 1974 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★ | 104 | Old-fashioned comedy-drama about a bittersweet affair between American correspondent Holbrook and Russian Hawn. Filmed in Vienna and Hollywood. | tt0071554 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Hal Holbrook, Anthony Hopkins, Gregoire Aslan, Anton Dolin | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Girl From Scotland Yard | 1937 | Robert G. Vignola | ★½ | 62 | Escapist story of girl trying to track down mysterious madman with destruction ray is poorly handled; not nearly as much fun as it might have been. | tt0028929 | Karen Morley, Robert Baldwin, Katherine Alexander, Eduardo Ciannelli | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Girl Happy | 1965 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 96 | Formula Presley musical with tiresome plot of Elvis in Fort Lauderdale chaperoning Fabares, daughter of Chicago mobster. | tt0059224 | Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Harold J. Stone, Gary Crosby, Joby Baker, Nita Talbot, Mary Ann Mobley, Chris Noel, Jackie Coogan | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Girl He Left Behind | 1956 | David Butler | ★★½ | 103 | Hunter is new recruit in Army. Reminiscent of SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE, without any of the warmth or humor. | tt0049264 | Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Jessie Royce Landis, Jim Backus, Henry Jones, Murray Hamilton, Alan King, James Garner, David Janssen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Girl Hunters | 1963 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 103 | Spillane plays his own fictional detective Mike Hammer in this rugged murder mystery. Since the disappearance of his devoted secretary, Hammer has been wallowing in alcohol; he sobers up, and goes into action, upon learning she might be alive. | tt0057102 | Mickey Spillane, Lloyd Nolan, Shirley Eaton, Hy Gardner | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Girl Missing | 1933 | Robert Florey | ★★★ | 69 | Gold-digging chorines Farrell and Brian get mixed up in murder and kidnapping while plying their wares in Palm Beach. Amusing comedy-mystery done in zippy Warners Bros. style. Opening scene with Brian rebuffing lecherous sugar daddy Kibbee is a riot. | tt0024062 | Glenda Farrell, Ben Lyon, Mary Brian, Lyle Talbot, Guy Kibbee, Harold Huber, Edward Ellis, Peggy Shannon, Louise Beavers. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Girl Most Likely | 1957 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 98 | Musical remake of TOM, DICK AND HARRY comes off as bright, cheerful entertainment. A girl must decide which one of the trio she'll wed; Kaye Ballard does very well in supporting role. Choreography by Gower Champion. | tt0050438 | Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, Keith Andes, Tommy Noonan, Kaye Ballard, Una Merkel | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Girl Named Tamiko | 1962 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 110 | Miyoshi Umeki, Lee Patrick. Overblown soaper set in Tokyo. Harvey charms Hyer into proposing marriage so he can get U.S. citizenship. Nuyen is sweet Oriental whom Harvey really loves. | tt0056021 | Laurence Harvey, France Nuyen, Martha Hyer, Gary Merrill, Michael Wilding | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl Next Door | 2004 | Luke Greenfield | ★★½ | 108 | Straight-arrow high school senior breaks out of his nerdy routine when he falls head over heels for his new next-door neighbor, a blonde knockout who turns out to be a porn star trying to go straight. Excellent casting and some good laughs are mitigated by film's overreliance on ideas 'borrowed' from RISKY BUSINESS, key scenes that don't ring true, and a storyline that's much more complicated than it has to be. | tt0265208 | [R] | Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano, Timothy Bottoms, Jacob Young | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Girl Next Door | 1953 | Richard Sale | ★★★ | 92 | Minor but cheerful musical about a chorus-girl-turned-star who moves next door to a widower and his son and threatens to break up their buddy relationship. Great set design, clever use of animation (by the UPA studio), bright Harry Warren–Josef Myrow songs, and eye-popping film noir production number “Nowhere Guy” spark this likable confection. Haver’s last film before retiring. | tt0045815 | Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day, Billy Gray, Cara Williams, Natalie Schafer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girl Rush | 1944 | Gordon Douglas | ★½ | 65 | Dim-witted comedy with Carney and Brown starring as vaudeville troupers stranded in San Francisco during the gold rush. Langford is always good, but the film isn't. | tt0036865 | Alan Carney, Wally Brown, Frances Langford, Paul Hurst, Barbara Jo Allen, Robert Mitchum | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Girl Rush | 1955 | Robert Pirosh | ★★½ | 85 | Russell inherits a Las Vegas casino and determines to make it go, romanced by Lamas. Minor musical numbers and forced gaiety are all too evident. | tt0048118 | Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Eddie Albert, Gloria DeHaven, Marion Lorne | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Girl Shy | 1924 | Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | ★★★ | 88 | Enjoyable Lloyd vehicle mixes comedy and sentiment with a spectacular chase finale. Harold is a small-town boy who's petrified of women but writes book on lovemaking secrets! Fantasy scenes of his love life mark highlight. | tt0014945 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Richard Daniels, Carlton Griffin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Girl Trouble | 1942 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 82 | Pleasant frou-frou with Ameche and Bennett involved in business and romancing, with fine support from the adept scatterbrain Burke. | tt0034794 | Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Billie Burke, Frank Craven, Vivian Blaine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Girl Who Couldn't Say No | 1968 | Franco Brusati. | ★★ | 83 | Square Segal and childhood friend Lisi fall for each other, but just can't maintain a permanent relationship; mild comedy. | tt0065048 | [M] | Virna Lisi, George Segal, Lila Kedrova, Akim Tamiroff, Paola Pitagora, Felicity Mason. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Girl Who Had Everything | 1953 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 69 | Good cast uplifts murky remake of A FREE SOUL. Independent-minded Taylor is attracted to gambling kingpin Lamas, the client of her trial-lawyer father (Powell). Young has another of his thankless 'other man' roles. | tt0045816 | Elizabeth Taylor, Fernando Lamas, William Powell, Gig Young, James Whitmore, Robert Burton | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest | 2009 | Daniel Alfredson | ★★ | 148 | Picking up where THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE left off, the film opens with Lisbeth Salander gamely recovering from her father’s attempt to kill her, while reporter Mikael Blomkvist prepares to publish his explosive findings about the government conspiracy that harbored her father—and smeared her name. All the pieces gradually fall into place, and while that’s satisfying to witness, it also gives this final installment of Stieg Larsson’s The Millennium Trilogy a certain predictability. | tt1343097 | [R] | Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Annika Hallin, Jacob Ericksson, Sofia Ledarp, Anders Ahlbom Rosendahl, Mikael Spreitz, Georgi Staykov | Swedish | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Girl Who Knew Too Much | 1969 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 96 | Adventurer who is hired to find the killer of a syndicate boss discovers Communist plot to infiltrate organized crime. | tt0064370 | [R] | Adam West, Nancy Kwan, Nehemiah Persoff, Robert Alda | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Girl Who Played With Fire | 2010 | Daniel Alfredson | ★★★ | 129 | Lisbeth Salander returns to Sweden just as crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist is helping a young freelancer complete his no-holds-barred investigation of a sex trafficking operation. Out of the blue Lisbeth is named as the leading suspect in a series of murders, so once more she has to go underground, while her few remaining friends become targets. Mikael, who knows she’s innocent, ferrets out the truth, which is tied to the investigative piece his magazine is about to print. Second installment of Stieg Larsson’s The Millennium Trilogy (following THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) isn’t as densely plotted as the first, but it’s still brutally potent. | tt1216487 | [R] | Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson, Yohan Kylén, Yasmine Garbi, Paolo Roberto, Georgi Staykov, Mikael Spreitz, Per Oscarsson, Hans-Christian Thulin | Swedish-Danish-German | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Girl Who Stayed at Home | 1919 | D. W. Griffith. | ★★½ | 60 | Oft-cast Griffith leading lady Dempster is ideally paired with Barthelmess in a short but bittersweet trifle about the fates of two sets of wartime lovers. Second leads Seymour and Harron were poised for imminent top billing, but sadly both died suddenly the next year. | tt0009109 | Carol Dempster, Richard Barthelmess, Clarine Seymour, Robert Harron, Adolph Lestina. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Girl With Green Eyes | 1964 | Desmond Davis | ★★★ | 91 | Moving drama of young farm girl falling in love with writer Finch, highlighted by winning Tushingham performance. Redgrave scores as her roommate. Filmed in Dublin. | tt0058142 | Rita Tushingham, Peter Finch, Lynn Redgrave, T. P. McKenna, Marie Kean, Julian Glover | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Girl With a Pearl Earring | 2003 | Peter Webber | ★★★½ | 99 | Exquisite rendering of Tracy Chevalier's best-selling novel about the circumstances that lead a scullery maid to pose for one of Johannes Vermeer's most famous portraits. First-time feature director Webber and his team create a breathtaking sense of time and place (Delft in the 17th century), and Johansson is perfect as the unassuming girl who seeks to find her place in the combustible Vermeer household. Screenplay by Olivia Hetreed. | tt0335119 | [PG-13] | Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Alakina Mann | British-Luxembourg | Drama | NULL | |
| Girl With a Suitcase | 1960 | Valerio Zurlini | ★★★½ | 96 | Impressive film of devoted but shady girl Cardinale following her ex-lover to Parma, only to fall in love with his adolescent brother. Confusing at times, but extremely well acted. | tt0054225 | Claudia Cardinale, Jacques Perrin, Luciana Angelillo, Corrado Pani | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | 2009 | Niels Arden Oplev | ★★★ | 152 | Gripping adaptation of the first of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy of best-selling books, about an investigative reporter from Stockholm who’s hired by a wealthy man to look into the disappearance of his beloved niece some 40 years ago . . . and a punkish, embittered young female computer whiz who becomes his improbable ally in the complex search. Graphically brutal at times, but redeemed by its solid storytelling. | tt1132620 | Unrated | Michael Nykqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber, Peter Andersson, Ingvar Hirdwall, Marika Lagercrantz | Swedish-Danish-Norwegian | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Girl With the Red Hair | 1981 | Ben Verbong | ★★½ | 116 | Determined student becomes a killer of Nazi informers during WW2. Tense, chilling, sober, but overlong and too often slow; good score by Nicola Piovani helps. Special color effect will be lost on TV. Based on a true story. | tt0082731 | [PG] | Renee Soutendijk, Peter Tuinman, Loes Luca, Johan Leysen, Robert Delhez, Ada Bouwman | Dutch | Drama | NULL | |
| The Girl by the Lake | 2007 | Andrea Molaioli | ★★★ | 96 | The death of an attractive teenage girl, apparently liked by everyone who knew her, brings Inspector Sejer (Servillo) to a mountainous village in northern Italy, where everyone knows each other and secrets are hard to keep hidden. Straightforward, well-crafted whodunit with a quietly commanding performance by Servillo. Based on the bestselling Inspector Sejer novels by Karin Fossum. | tt0770829 | Unrated | Toni Servillo, Denis Fasolo, Nello Mascia, Giulia Michelini, Marco Baliani, Fabrizio Gifuni, Valeria Golino | Italian | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Girl from Monaco | 2008 | Anne Fontaine | ★★½ | 95 | High-powered lawyer Luchini, defending an accused murderess in a controversial case, becomes the romantic and sexual object of a gorgeous, much younger free spirit (Bourgoin, in a striking debut) who happens to be the ex-girlfriend of his bodyguard. Ironic, multilayered sex farce/thriller too often meanders; works best as an exploration of the parameters of ambition and desire. | tt1139800 | [R] | Fabrice Luchini, Roschdy Zem, Louise Bourgoin, Jeanne Balibar, Stéphane Audran, Gilles Cohen, Alexandre Steiger | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Girl in Black Stockings | 1957 | Howard W. Koch | ★★ | 73 | Minor murder mystery with some nice touches and good performances; set at chic Utah resort. | tt0050439 | Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, Mamie Van Doren, Ron Randell, Marie Windsor | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A Girl in Every Port | 1952 | Chester Erskine | ★★ | 86 | Nonsense of two gobs who become involved with a lame racehorse. Good cast is wasted. | tt0044662 | Groucho Marx, Marie Wilson, William Bendix, Don DeFore, Gene Lockhart, George E. Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girl in His Pocket | 1957 | Pierre Kast | ★★½ | 82 | Scientist Marais invents a liquid that can simultaneously shrink live things and turn them into figurines. His fiancée (Page) becomes suspicious of his relationship with his new lab assistant, Laurent, and soon the newcomer is turned back and forth into a tiny statue. Unlikely combination of science fiction and romantic comedy is briskly paced but stalls halfway through. Released in b&w in the U.S. Aka NUDE IN HIS POCKET. | tt0050124 | Jean Marais, Agnes Laurent, Genevieve Page | French | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Girl in Progress | 2012 | Patricia Riggen | ★★ | 96 | Sitcom-style comedy-drama with a Latin flavor. Mendes is well cast as an immature Seattle single mom who's forced to recognize that her teenage daughter (Ramirez) may be trying to grow up too fast. Slight but modestly amusing diversion from the director of the appreciably more serious UNDER THE SAME MOON. | tt1817676 | [PG-13] | Eva Mendes, Matthew Modine, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette, Espinoza Paz, Eugenio Derbez, Raini Rodriguez, Russell Peters, Landon Liboiron | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Girl in White | 1952 | John Sturges | ★★ | 93 | Humdrum biography of Emily Dunning, the first woman to work as a doctor in a N.Y.C. public hospital. | tt0044663 | June Allyson, Arthur Kennedy, Gary Merrill, Mildred Dunnock, James Arness | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Girl in a Million | 1946 | Francis Searle | ★★ | 81 | Some√ times wacky comedy focusing on deaf mute who uses her charm to reform several cantankerous gentlemen. | tt0038562 | Joan Greenwood, Hugh Williams, Yvonne Owen, Edward Lexy, Jane Hylton, Michael Hordern | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Girl in a Swing | 1989 | Gordon Hessler | 💣 | 112 | Antique dealer marries a mysterious German woman after a whirlwind courtship and pays the consequences, surviving her hallucinations and related erratic behavior. Despite lots of simulated (and unrated) screen sex, this is absolutely unwatchable— though Frazer looks just enough like Regis Philbin to give this stinker some unexpected subtext. | tt0097435 | [R] | Meg Tilly, Rupert Frazer, Nicholas Le Prevost, Elspet Gray, Lorna Heilbron, Helen Cherry | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Girl in the Kremlin | 1957 | Russell Birdwell | ★★ | 81 | Espionage hokum involving Gabor in dual role as twins, one of whom is Stalin's mistress. | tt0050440 | Lex Barker, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jeffrey Stone, William Schallert | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Girl in the Painting | 1948 | Terence Fisher | ★★★ | 89 | Intriguing drama of serviceman involved in strange case of amnesiac girl seeking her lost past in Germany. Retitled: PORTRAIT FROM LIFE. | tt0040703 | Mai Zetterling, Robert Beatty, Guy Rolfe, Herbert Lom, Patrick Holt | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing | 1955 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 109 | Glossy, fictionalized account of Evelyn Nesbit-Stanford White-Harry Thaw escapade of early 20th-century N.Y.C. Showgirl falls in love with prominent architect, which upsets mentally disturbed millionaire. | tt0048119 | Ray Milland, Joan Collins, Farley Granger, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Glenda Farrell, Luther Adler | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Girl in the Woods | 1958 | Tom Gries. | ★½ | 71 | Lumbering tale of lumbermen challenging the ownership of valuable woodlands. | tt0051660 | Forrest Tucker, Maggie Hayes, Barton MacLane, Diana Francis, Murvyn Vye, Paul Langton, Joyce Compton, Kim Charney. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl of the Golden West | 1938 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 120 | Oft-produced tale of love affair of good girl MacDonald and bandit Eddy, with tuneful Gus Kahn-Sigmund Romberg score that didn't produce any hits. | tt0030182 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Walter Pidgeon, Leo Carrillo, Buddy Ebsen, Leonard Penn | Musical, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Girl of the Night | 1960 | Joseph Cates | ★★½ | 93 | Francis gives a vivid performance as prostitute undergoing psychoanalysis. | tt0053865 | Anne Francis, Lloyd Nolan, Kay Medford, John Kerr | Drama | NULL | |||
| Girl of the Rio | 1932 | Herbert Brenon. | 💣 | 69 | Hoary stage play was passé even in 1932, which is all too evident in this preposterous film in which Del Rio tells Foster, 'My heart she is thum-thump-thumping when I see you,' and Carrillo proclaims himself 'the best caballero in all Mexico.' Pidgin English reigns supreme in this appallingly awful film. | tt0022943 | Dolores Del Rio, Norman Foster, Leo Carrillo, Ralph Ince, Lucile Gleason, Stanley Fields. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Girl on a Motorcycle | Naked Under Leather | 1968 | Jack Cardiff | ★★ | 91 | Cardiff also photographed this oddity: a mod, psychedelic, existential tale of a woman who leaves her husband and rides her motorcycle to visit her ex-lover. From André Pieyre De Mandiargues's novel. Trimmed from X-rated version titled NAKED UNDER LEATHER. | tt0063013 | [R] | Marianne Faithfull, Alain Delon, Roger Mutton, Marius Goring, Catherine Jourdan | British-French | Romance | NULL |
| Girl on the Bridge | 1951 | Hugo Haas | ★★½ | 77 | Kindly shopkeeper saves young woman from suicide and takes her in— along with her baby. Typical Haas melodrama but better than most. | tt0043588 | Hugo Haas, Beverly Michaels, Robert Dane, Johnny Close, Anthony Jochim | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl on the Bridge | 1999 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 92 | A mysterious knife-thrower (Auteuil) saves a young woman from jumping off a bridge and recruits her for his death-defying act. Their success together is based not just on his skill, but on their almost telepathic (and sensual) sense of oneness. Stylish, provocative fable, shot in widescreen b&w, opens with real-life pop star Paradis delivering a mesmerizing monologue. | tt0144201 | [R] | Daniel Auteuil, Vanessa Paradis, Demetre Georgalas, Bertie Cortez | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Girl on the Front Page | 1936 | Harry Beaumont. | ★★ | 75 | Stuart inherits her father's big-city newspaper, which puts her at odds with headstrong, smart-alecky editor Lowe. Fun for a while, but becomes utterly preposterous; buoyed only by Stuart's natural appeal. | tt0027676 | Edmund Lowe, Gloria Stuart, Reginald Owen, Spring Byington, Gilbert Emery, David Oliver. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Girl on the Train | La fille du RER | 2009 | André Téchiné | ★★½ | 97 | Fictionalized version of a real-life incident about an unemployed 23-year-old woman who—after a horrendous ending to a heated romance, and for reasons never satisfactorily explained—invents a story, infused with anti-Semitic elements, about being attacked by youths on a train platform. A dramatic exercise in why good people do bad things, this treatise never makes any kind of point, even though the story strongly calls for one. First adapted for the stage by Jean-Marie Besset, who collaborated with Téchiné and Odile Barski on the film version. | tt1183672 | Émilie Dequenne, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Blanc, Ronit Elkabetz, Mathieu Demy, Nicolas Duvauchelle | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | 2011 | David Fincher | ★★★ | 158 | Swedish investigative journalist Craig is hired by the patriarch of a prominent family to solve a forty-year-old mystery: the disappearance of his favorite niece. Along the way the reporter acquires an unlikely partner: a sullen, spiky-haired biker with a genius for hacking computers and a keen analytic sense. Steven Zaillian adapted Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel, which retains its original setting but sheds some of the nuances (involving muckraking journalism and big business) that distinguish the 2009 Swedish screen version. Like that film, this one requires the viewer to endure painful scenes of rape and torture, for the sake of a gripping story. Oscar winner for Editing (Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall). | tt1568346 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Girl, Interrupted | 1999 | James Mangold | ★★★ | 127 | Vivid adaptation of Susanna Kaysen's autobiographical book (set in the late 1960s) about a girl who enters a mental institution at the age of 18, thinking she's normal compared to most of the others— though she did try to kill herself. Jolie is incandescent in an Oscar-winning performance as the firebrand of the ward, who, like most of the others, hides her true emotions. Ryder also executive-produced. | tt0172493 | [R] | Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Mary Kay Place, Joanna Kerns, Kurtwood Smith, Ray Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob | 1941 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 91 | The girl is zany stenographer Ball; the guy is shy lawyer O'Brien; the gob is happy-go-lucky Murphy. Wacky, silly three-cornered romance; plenty of slapstick and pantomime, not surprising, since film was produced by Harold Lloyd. | tt0033664 | George Murphy, Lucille Ball, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Travers, Franklin Pangborn, George Cleveland | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Girl-Getters | The System | 1966 | Michael Winner | ★★★ | 79 | Realistic study of hoodlum youths at British seaside resort, their prankish games and romances; intelligently portrayed. Retitled: THE SYSTEM. | tt0060461 | Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow, Barbara Ferris, Julia Foster, David Hemmings | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Girlfriend Experience | 2009 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 77 | Against the angst-ridden backdrop of the 2008 economic recession and the presidential election, a high-priced Manhattan escort (porn star Grey) struggles with her finances, her relationship with her live-in boyfriend (Santos), and her feelings for a new client. Fragmented, pseudo-Godardian study of prostitution as a metaphor for capitalism is generally engrossing but ultimately feels shallow and leaves little lasting impression. Stylishly shot and edited by Soderbergh using his usual pseudonyms (Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard). Also available in unrated version. | tt1103982 | [R] | Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Philip Eytan, Timothy Davis, Mark Jacobson, David Levien, Alan Milstein, Dennis Shields, Glenn Kenny | Drama | NULL | ||
| Girlfriends | 1978 | Claudia Weill | ★★★ | 88 | A young woman tries to cope with love, a career, and personal independence after roommate/girlfriend leaves to get married. Mayron's warm, winning performance helps likable but uneven film over rough spots. | tt0077613 | [PG] | Melanie Mayron, Anita Skinner, Eli Wallach, Christopher Guest, Bob Balaban, Amy Wright, Viveca Lindfors, Mike Kellin, Ken McMillan, Kathryn Walker, Kristoffer Tabori | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Girls About Town | 1931 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 82 | Title tells all in this pre-Code comedy that stops just short of calling Francis and Tashman tarts. The latter (who died three years later) is likable in her best screen role, and gorgeous Travis Banton costumes add to the film. One of the best of the early Cukor films. | tt0021910 | Kay Francis, Joel McCrea, Lilyan Tashman, Eugene Pallette, Alan Dinehart, Louise Beavers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girls Just Want to Have Fun | 1985 | Alan Metter | ★★½ | 87 | Likable, upbeat teen comedy about girl with reactionary father who wants to enter dance contest. Clichés and contrivances are counterbalanced by believable portrayal of teenage girls, appealingly played by Parker and Hunt. | tt0089208 | [PG] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Lee Montgomery, Morgan Woodward, Jonathan Silverman, Helen Hunt, Holly Gagnier, Ed Lauter, Shannen Doherty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Girls Town | Innocent and the Damned | 1959 | Charles Haas | ★½ | 92 | Wisecracking bad girl Van Doren is sent to title correctional institution, where she learns that she doesn't have all the answers. Absurd in the extreme, but has definite camp value just for the cast alone . . . plus, Anka sings 'Ave Maria'! As Mamie says, it's 'cool, crazy, fantabulous.' Retitled INNOCENT AND THE DAMNED. | tt0052850 | Mamie Van Doren, Mel Torme, Paul Anka, Ray Anthony, Margaret Hayes, Cathy Crosby, Gigi Perreau, Gloria Talbott, Jim Mitchum, Elinor Donahue, Sheilah Graham, The Platters, Harold Lloyd/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Girls Town | 1996 | Jim McKay | ★★½ | 90 | Disparate clique of teenage girlfriends discover the depths of their individual secrets when one of their group inexplicably commits suicide. A largely improvised script results in realistic dialogue that considers the issues of teenage boredom, friendship, victimization of women, solidarity, and empowerment. A painfully unsentimental, sometimes humorous, coming-of-age in the '90s story. | tt0116418 | [R] | Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, Anna Grace, Aunjanue Ellis, Guillermo Diaz, Ernestine Jackson, Tara Carnes, Michael Imperioli | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Girls for Rent | 1974 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 92 | Low-budget quickie capitalizing on Spelvin's success in porno classic THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES; she's an evil hit lady in dreary film which deteriorates into chase filler. | tt0071642 | [R] | Georgina Spelvin, Susan McIver, Rosalind Miles, Preston Pierce, Robert Livingston, Kent Taylor | Action | NULL | ||
| Girls in Prison | 1994 | John McNaughton | Average TV Movie | 83 | 1954: Standard tale of three women in prison, with one the target of a murderer. Good performances and direction keep this watchable, despite poor attention to period detail. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, based on old American-International pictures, this uses only the title of the 1956 film. Script by Sam Fuller and his wife, Christa Lang. | tt0109903 | Missy Crider, Bahni Turpin, Ione Skye, Anne Heche, Nicolette Scorsese, Miguel Sandoval, Tom Towles, Angie Ray McKinney | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Girls in the Night | 1953 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 83 | Compact account of young people seeking to better their lives, blighted by N.Y.C. tenement existence. | tt0045818 | Joyce Holden, Glenda Farrell, Harvey Lembeck, Patricia Hardy, Jaclynne Greene | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Girls of Pleasure Island | 1953 | F. Hugh Herbert, Alvin Ganzer | ★★ | 95 | Unfunny comedy involving Genn and brood of daughters combating swarm of G.I.s who establish a base on their island. | tt0045819 | Leo Genn, Don Taylor, Gene Barry, Elsa Lanchester, Audrey Dalton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girls of the Night | 1959 | Maurice Cloche. | ★★½ | 114 | Sensible telling of plight of group of prostitutes and clergyman who tries to help them. | tt0052804 | Georges Marchal, Nicole Berger, Claus Holm, Kay Fischer, Gil Vidal. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Girls of the Road | 1940 | Nick Grinde | ★★ | 61 | Interesting B movie about daughter of a governor who goes incognito to learn first-hand about the way young women who've taken to the hobo life are being treated. Conventional, barely believable, but starts out with some real punch. | tt0032530 | Ann Dvorak, Helen Mack, Lola Lane, Ann Doran, Bruce Bennett, Don Beddoe | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Girls on Probation | 1938 | William McGann | ★½ | 63 | Uninspired B picture about a young woman (Bryan) who can't seem to stay out of trouble with the law; Reagan is a lawyer who defends her and falls in love with her. | tt0030183 | Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Anthony Averill, Sheila Bromley, Henry O'Neill, Elisabeth Risdon, Sig Rumann, Susan Hayward | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Girls on the Beach | Summer of '64 | 1965 | William Witney | ★½ | 80 | Three coeds promise they'll get The Beatles to make a personal appearance and then have a mite of trouble delivering. The Beach Boys sing two tunes in this predictable comedy. Reissued as SUMMER OF '64. | tt0059227 | Martin West, Noreen Corcoran, Peter Brooks, Lana Wood, The Beach Boys, Lesley Gore, Dick Miller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Girls on the Loose | 1958 | Paul Henreid. | ★★ | 77 | All-female gang of thieves falls out after pulling off a $200,000 payroll robbery in this routine crime caper. Some camp value provided by man-eater Corday as the ruthless leader, who likes to have hunky delivery boys deliver more than groceries and tells her pretty partners things like 'thinking takes brains, just forget you've got 'em. | tt0051663 | Mara Corday, Lita Milan, Barbara Bostock, Mark Richman, Joyce Barker, Abby Dalton, Jon Lormer. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Girls! Girls! Girls! | 1962 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 106 | Presley is chased by a mass of girls and can't decide which one he prefers. Along the way, he sings 'Return to Sender' and some other less memorable numbers (like 'Song of the Shrimp'). | tt0056023 | Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Laurel Goodwin, Jeremy Slate, Benson Fong, Robert Strauss, Ginny Tiu | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Girls' Dormitory | 1936 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 66 | Fairly standard tale of girl's infatuation for school head Marshall spotlights newcomer Simon and young leading man Power in featured role. | tt0027677 | Herbert Marshall, Ruth Chatterton, Simone Simon, Constance Collier, J. Edward Bromberg, Dixie Dunbar, Tyrone Power | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Girls | 1968 | Mai Zetterling | ★★★ | 90 | Trenchant study of modern marriages and female roles, loaded with fantasy sequences. Fabulous cast drawn by actress-turned-director Zetterling from Ingmar Bergman's repertory company. | tt0062981 | Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Erland Josephson, Ulf Palme | Drama | NULL | |||
| Git | 1965 | Ellis Kadison | ★½ | 90 | Young boy and daughter of dog-breeder widower set out to train a renegade setter. Woof woof. | tt0169953 | Jack Chaplain, Heather North, Leslie Bradley, Richard Webb | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Git Along Little Dogies | 1937 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 68 | Cattleman Autry locks horns with Allen, then teams up with her to dig an oil well in cattle territory and thwart villain Heyburn, who's waiting for her dead father's option on the fields to expire. Interesting story, some surprise twists, and 15— count 'em, 15— songs, including a community sing, with lyrics superimposed on-screen. | tt0028934 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Maple City Four, Judith Allen, Weldon Heyburn, William Farnum, Willie Fung, Carleton Young, Will and Gladys Ahern, The Cabin Kids. | Western | NULL | |||
| Give 'Em Hell | 1955 | John Berry | ★★½ | 90 | If not taken seriously, amusing gangster yarn of Johnny Jordan (Constantine), with usual amount of fisticuffs and gunplay. | tt0047697 | Eddie Constantine, Mai Britt, Jean Danet, Jean Carmet | French |
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NULL | ||
| Give 'Em Hell, Harry! | 1975 | Steve Binder | ★★★ | 102 | Straight reproduction of Whitmore's one-man stage triumph as Harry Truman, covering high points in both the political and personal life of our 33rd President. Video-taped and transferred to film for theatrical release, but original tape version used for TV. | tt0073053 | [PG] | James Whitmore | Drama | NULL | ||
| Give Me Your Heart | 1936 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 87 | Francis has a child by a married man, weds Brent yet still pines for her baby. Well made but all-too-familiar drama, highlighted by Kay's glamorous wardrobe. | tt0027679 | Kay Francis, George Brent, Roland Young, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Frieda Inescort | Drama | NULL | |||
| Give Me a Sailor | 1938 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 80 | Fast-moving comedy with Raye an ugly duckling constantly upstaged by her prettier, self-centered sibling (Grable); Hope and Whiting are Navy brothers who play out a comic/romantic scenario involving the sisters. | tt0030185 | Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Betty Grable, Jack Whiting, Clarence Kolb, J. C. Nugent | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Give My Regards to Broad Street | 1984 | Peter Webb. | ★★ | 108 | Vanity film with silly 'plot' about a missing album tape connecting a number of music video-type numbers ('Ballroom Dancing,' 'No More Lonely Nights'). Some of the music is good (and McCartney reprises a couple of Beatles songs) but mostly it's a big snooze. | tt0087337 | [PG] | Paul McCartney, Bryan Brown, Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Linda McCartney, Tracey Ullman, Ralph Richardson. | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Give My Regards to Broadway | 1948 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 89 | Blah musical of old-time vaudevillian Winninger refusing to admit that the family act should break up. | tt0040390 | Dan Dailey, Charles Winninger, Nancy Guild, Charles Ruggles, Fay Bainter | Musical | NULL | |||
| Give Us Wings | 1940 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 62 | The Little Tough Guys become pilots for a shady crop-dusting firm in this routine meller. | tt0032533 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsley, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Jordan, Victor Jory, Wallace Ford, Anne Gwynne, Shemp Howard, Milburn Stone, William 'Billy' Benedict | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Give a Girl a Break | 1953 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 82 | Innocuous musical fluff about three young women competing for the starring role in a Broadway musical. Watching Marge and Gower dance is always a treat, but the real highlight is seeing two of the greatest choreographers of all time (Champion and Fosse) dancing together. Undistinguished score by Ira Gershwin and Burton Lane. | tt0045822 | Marge and Gower Champion, Debbie Reynolds, Helen Wood, Bob Fosse, Kurt Kasznar, Richard Anderson, William Ching, Larry Keating | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Gizmo | 1977 | Howard Smith | ★★½ | 77 | Entertaining compilation of film clips on 20th-century 'inventors' and their often outlandish contraptions. Good fun, though it can't quite sustain feature length. | tt0074573 | [G] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Gladiator | 1992 | Rowdy Herrington | ★½ | 98 | Pubescent ROCKY wannabe about a tough Chicago teenager becoming involved in the tawdry underground boxing scene. Builds to ludicrous climax with crooked fight promoter Dennehy actually getting in the ring! | tt0104346 | [R] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., James Marshall, Robert Loggia, Ossie Davis, Brian Dennehy, Cara Buono, John Heard, Jon Seda, Lance Slaughter | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gladiator | 2000 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 154 | Impressive tale from the days of the Roman Empire, with Crowe as a dedicated soldier who refuses to transfer his loyalty to the new emperor Commodus (Phoenix) and suffers the consequences, winding up a gladiator in the Roman Colosseum. Crowe is so good in his Academy Award-winning performance— and his character so compelling— that one is willing to forgive story lulls; the spectacle is grand, but the opening battle scene stresses chaos over coherence. Reed's last film; he died during production. Also won Oscars for Best Picture, Costume Design, Sound, and Visual Effects. | tt0172495 | [R] | Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris, David Hemmings | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Gladiator | 1938 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★½ | 70 | Timid boy (Brown) takes serum, becomes all-star hero at college. Simple, sincere, enjoyable. | tt0030186 | Joe E. Brown, Man Mountain Dean, June Travis, Dickie Moore, Lucien Littlefield | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Glamour Boy | 1941 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★½ | 80 | Cooper plays a has-been child actor who's called back to Hollywood to coach a remake of SKIPPY. Given the art-imitates-life concept, this promises more than it delivers, though it's still of interest. Foster is given ample vocal ops, from Loesser and Schertzinger's 'Love Is Such an Old-Fashioned Thing' to a high F above C in Verdi's 'Sempre Libera.' Cecil B. DeMille cameos as himself, plugging his upcoming REAP THE WILD WIND. | tt0033666 | Jackie Cooper, Susanna Foster, Walter Abel, Darryl Hickman, Ann Gillis, William Demarest, Jackie Searl, John Gallaudet. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glass Alibi | 1946 | W. Lee Wilder | ★★ | 70 | Satisfactory drama involving con man who thinks marrying a dying heiress is a sure bet, till he discovers she's recovering. | tt0038565 | Paul Kelly, Douglas Fowley, Anne Gwynne, Maris Wrixon, Jack Conrad | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Glass Bottom Boat | 1966 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★ | 110 | Above-average Day nonsense, with widow Doris hired by research scientist Taylor as his biographer. He tries to seduce her; she's mistaken for a Russian spy. Lots of Tashlin's trademark slapstick. | tt0060463 | Doris Day, Rod Taylor, Arthur Godfrey, Paul Lynde, Eric Fleming, Alice Pearce, Ellen Corby, John McGiver, Edward Andrews, Dom De Luise, Dick Martin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Glass House | 2001 | Daniel Sackheim | ★★½ | 106 | When their well-off parents are killed in an auto accident, late-teen Sobieski and her younger brother are adopted by family friends whose financial overextension makes the kids' trust fund look mighty attractive. Sobieski seems more sullen than vulnerable as the script degenerates into often-laughable chiller-melodrama clichés. As a drug-addicted mom, Lane's underdeveloped character compels more than the rest. | tt0221218 | [PG-13] | Leelee Sobieski, Stellan Skarsgård, Diane Lane, Bruce Dern, Kathy Baker, Trevor Morgan, Christopher Noth, Michael O'Keefe, Rita Wilson, Gavin O'Connor | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Glass Houses | 1972 | Alexander Singer | ★★ | 90 | Low-grade drama about infidelity and incestuous desire is mildly interesting in a lurid kind of way; O'Neill's first film, but released after RIO LOBO and SUMMER OF '42. | tt0068643 | [R] | Jennifer O'Neill, Bernard Barrow, Deirdre Lenihan, Ann Summers, Phillip Pine, Lloyd Kino | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Glass Key | 1935 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 80 | Solid Dashiell Hammett story about politician Arnold getting involved in mysterious murder, Raft trying to dig out the facts. Drags during second half, but still quite good. Remade in 1942. | tt0026416 | George Raft, Claire Dodd, Edward Arnold, Rosalind Keith, Ray Milland, Guinn Williams | Mystery, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Glass Key | 1942 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★½ | 85 | Fast-moving remake of 1935 film, with wardheeler Donlevy accused of murder, henchman Ladd bailing him out. Lake fine as mysterious love interest, Bendix effective as brutal bodyguard. Akira Kurosawa claims this was his inspiration for YOJIMBO. Dashiell Hammett novel neatly adapted by Jonathan Latimer. | tt0034798 | Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Joseph Calleia, William Bendix, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning | Drama, Film-Noir, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Glass Menagerie | 1950 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 107 | More notable for its cast and intention than results. Slow-moving version of Tennessee Williams' drama of lame girl, her faded Southern belle mother, and idealistic brother, all living in their own fragile dream worlds. Remade twice. | tt0042509 | Jane Wyman, Kirk Douglas, Gertrude Lawrence, Arthur Kennedy | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glass Menagerie | 1987 | Paul Newman | ★★★ | 134 | Respectable, well-made version of Tennessee Williams' now legendary play, with Woodward fine as Amanda Wingfield and Malkovich superb as son Tom. Woodward, Allen, and Naughton had appeared in two regional stage productions of Williams' play prior to making this film. | tt0093093 | [PG] | Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, Karen Allen, James Naughton | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Glass Menagerie | 1973 | Anthony Harvey | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Producer David Susskind and the entire cast (Hepburn in her TV acting debut) deserve kudos for this superior version of Tennessee Williams' play (adapted by the playwright). | tt0070115 | Katharine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Joanna Miles, Michael Moriarty | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glass Mountain | 1950 | Henry Cass | ★★★ | 94 | Beautifully made film of a British composer who writes an opera, inspired by majestic Italian Alps. A treat for music lovers, with many singers from La Scala appearing in opera sequence. | tt0040605 | Valentina Cortese, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Sebastian Shaw | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Glass Shield | 1995 | Charles Burnett | ★★ | 108 | Young, wide-eyed Boatman is the first black man assigned to a tight-knit office of the L.A. Sheriff's Department; he soon discovers just how dirty this precinct really is. A polemic masquerading as a movie, with heavy-handed 'villains' and a story that eventually loses its focus and its momentum. | tt0109906 | [PG-13] | Michael Boatman, Lori Petty, Richard Anderson, *** Ice Cube, Bernie Casey, Elliott Gould, Michael Ironside, Don Harvey, Michael Gregory, M. Emmett Walsh, Sy Richardson, Natalija Nogulich, Wanda de Jesus, Victoria Dillard | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Glass Slipper | 1955 | Charles Walters | ★★½ | 94 | Silky musical of Cinderella story with talky plot bogging down lilting fantasy dance and song sequences. | tt0048124 | Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Keenan Wynn, Estelle Winwood, Elsa Lanchester, Amanda Blake | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Glass Sphinx | 1967 | Luigi Scattini | ★½ | 91 | World-famous archeologist Taylor is on the trail of the tomb of a glass sphinx containing magic exixir; foreign agents have similar idea. Confusing and forgettable. | tt0062257 | Robert Taylor, Anita Ekberg, Gianna Serra, Jack Stuart, Angel Del Pozo, Jose Truchado | Italian-Spanish | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Glass Tomb | 1955 | Montgomery Tully | ★★ | 59 | Bizarre carnival backgrounds give this typical murder tale some spice. | tt0048123 | John Ireland, Honor Blackman, Geoffrey Keen, Eric Pohlmann, Sydney Tafler, Liam Redmond, Sam Kydd | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Glass Tower | 1957 | Harold Braun | ★★½ | 92 | Interesting study of overly jealous husband keeping beautiful wife Palmer a prisoner so she won't be tempted by other men; well acted. | tt0050444 | Lilli Palmer, O. E. Hasse, Peter Van Eyck, Brigitte Horney, Hannes Messemer | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Glass Wall | 1953 | Maxwell Shane | ★★ | 80 | Drama of refugee Gassman who illegally came to N.Y.C. and, rather than accept deportation, goes on the lam. | tt0045824 | Vittorio Gassman, Gloria Grahame, Ann Robinson, Jerry Paris, Kathleen Freeman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glass Web | 1953 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 81 | Robinson is fine as criminal research authority for TV mystery show, who's caught up in murder utilized as basis for one of the programs. Kathleen Freeman and Beverly Garland have bits. Originally shot in 3-D. | tt0045825 | Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Kathleen Hughes, Marcia Henderson, Richard Denning, Hugh Sanders | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Gleaming the Cube | A Brother's Justice | 1989 | Graeme Clifford | ★★ | 104 | Rebellious young skateboarder sets out to find his brother's murderers with the help of a street-smart detective. Skateboard stunts are sensational, but the story is by-the-numbers TV stuff. The title is skateboarding jargon for reaching the ultimate— which this movie never does. Retitled A BROTHER'S JUSTICE for TV. | tt0097438 | [PG-13] | Christian Slater, Steven Bauer, Ed Lauter, Micole Mercurio, Richard Herd, Charles Cyphers, Le Tuan | Action | NULL | |
| The Gleaners and I | 2001 | Agnès Varda | ★★★½ | 82 | Outstanding documentary in which Varda offers a portrait of gleaners, or peasants who would "humbly stoop" while rummaging through fields for bits of food that remained after a harvest. The filmmaker contrasts the gleaners of yesteryear with those of today, many of whom are homeless street people who scrounge through garbage for food. Highly personal film explores a host of themes, including aging and the quest for survival. This is the work of a filmmaker who is keenly aware of her surroundings, and in complete command of cinematic language. Followed by THE GLEANERS AND I: TWO YEARS LATER. | tt0247380 | French | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Glen and Randa | 1971 | Jim McBride | ★★½ | 94 | Years after nuclear destruction of world, teenage lovers follow comic-book 'clues' and look for Metropolis. | tt0067141 | [R] | Steven Curry, Shelley Plimpton, Woodrow Chambliss, Garry Goodrow | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Glen or Glenda | 1953 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | 💣 | 61 | Sensational but sincere 'docu-fantasy' about transvestism could well be the worst movie ever made. Legendarily awful director Wood stars (under the name Daniel Davis) as Glen, who can't decide how to tell his fiancée he wants to wear her clothes. Dizzying hodgepodge of stock footage, demented dream sequences, and heartfelt plea for tolerance linked by campy Lugosi narrating from haunted house. 'Bevare!' Even more inept and hilarious than Wood's infamous PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. Also released as I CHANGED MY SEX, I LED 2 LIVES, and HE OR SHE. Reissued at 67m. | tt0045826 | Bela Lugosi, Dolores Fuller, Daniel Davis, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, 'Tommy' Haynes, Charles Crafts, Conrad Brooks | Drama | NULL | |||
| Glengarry Glen Ross | 1992 | James Foley | ★★★ | 100 | David Mamet's scorching, profane, Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an office full of desperate real-estate salesmen-cum-con-artists is faithfully reproduced (Mamet did the adaptation himself) with a gallery of stunning performances. Pacino is dynamic as the office hotshot, Lemmon totally credible as the loser, and Baldwin is dynamite (in a part created especially for the film) as an insulting 'motivator.' Never succeeds in being anything but a photographed play, but when the play and the actors are this good it's hard to complain. | tt0104348 | [R] | Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, Bruce Altman, Jude Ciccolella | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Glenn Miller Story | 1954 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 116 | Stewart is convincingly cast as the popular bandleader in this extremely sentimental (and largely fictitious) account of his life. Music's the real star here, with most of Miller's hit records recreated. | tt0047030 | James Stewart, June Allyson, Charles Drake, George Tobias, Harry Morgan, Frances Langford, Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glimmer Man | 1996 | John Gray | ★½ | 92 | Seagal and Wayans team up to track down a serial killer who is terrorizing the L.A. area. Tired buddy/cop picture, even by Seagal's fairly low standards; he also coproduced. | tt0116421 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Michelle Johnson, Brian Cox, Bob Gunton, John Jackson, Stephen Tobolowsky | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Glitter | 2001 | Vondie Curtis-Hall | ★½ | 104 | In 1980s N.Y.C. a backup singer is discovered by an ambitious club d.j. (Beesley) who vows to make her a star. That's fine with her, but if only she could reconcile with the mother who abandoned her when she was a child. . . . Vehicle for pop star Carey is tiresome at best and awash in clichés. | tt0118589 | [PG-13] | Mariah Carey, Max Beesley, Da Brat, Tia Texada, Valarie Pettiford, Ann Magnuson, Terrence Howard, Dorian Harewood, Grant Nickalls, Padma Lakshmi, Eric Benét | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| A Global Affair | 1964 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 84 | Unwitty Hope vehicle has Bob in charge of a baby found at U.N., with female representative from each nation demanding the child. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0058145 | Bob Hope, Yvonne De Carlo, Robert Sterling, John McGiver, Lilo Pulver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Gloomy Sunday | 1999 | Rolf Schübel | ★★★ | 112 | Old-fashioned love triangle set in Budapest during the 1930s and '40s, built around the title tune (made famous in the U.S. by Billie Holiday), which came to be known as 'The Suicide Song.' A genial restaurateur hires a moody young man to play piano in his establishment, little dreaming that the woman he loves will be torn between them. Romantic, sexy, and evocative of an earlier era (and its films). Based on a novel by Nick Barkow. | tt0155722 | Rolf Schubel. Erika Maroszán, Joachim Król, Ben Becker, Stefano Dionisi, András Bálint, Géza Boros, Rolf Becker, Ilse Zielstorff | German-Hungarian | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gloria | 1980 | John Cassavetes | ★★ | 121 | Ex-mob mistress goes on the lam with a young neighbor-boy after gangland hit-men wipe out his parents. Good-looking but way overlong melodrama, which Cassavetes may or may not be playing for laughs. Remade in 1999. | tt0080798 | [PG] | Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, John Adames, Julie Carmen, Lupe Guarnica | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gloria | 1999 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 108 | Unnecessary, sentimental remake of 1980 John Cassavetes melodrama with Stone stepping into Gena Rowlands' pumps as a tough ex-gun moll on the lam with an adorable Puerto Rican tyke (Figueroa) in tow. Still watchable, thanks to Stone's funny, full-bodied performance (once you get over her barely credible Noo Yawk accent) and her cuddly costar. Scott's final theatrical film. | tt0120683 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Jean-Luke Figueroa, Jeremy Northam, George C. Scott, Cathy Moriarty, Bonnie Bedelia, Mike Starr | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Glorifying the American Girl | 1929 | Millard Webb, John Harkrider | ★★½ | 87 | James Walker, Ring Lardner, Noah Beery, Johnny Weissmuller. Early talkie musical revue produced by Ziegfeld himself is a routine chorus-girl-trying-to-break-into-show-biz plot, overshadowed by the novelty of seeing a dazzling and sometimes bizarre array of talent appearing as themselves (best of all: Helen Morgan). Originally released with some two-color Technicolor sequences. Archivally restored to 96m. | tt0019933 | Mary Eaton, Edward Crandall; and as themselves: Eddie Cantor, Helen Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Florenz Ziegfeld, Adolph Zukor, Otto Kahn, Texas Guinan, Ring Lardner, Noah Beery/Sr., Johnny Weissmuller | Musical | NULL | |||
| Glorious 39 | 2009 | Stephen Poliakoff | ★★ | 129 | Young man seeks out his family's checkered history, delving back to the time just before WW2, when, at their palatial country estate, the eldest of three siblings (Garai) begins to fear that there is a conspiracy to silence anyone who speaks out against the British government's antiwar policy. Intriguing at first but grows tiresome as Garai learns that her worst fears are well-founded; unfortunately, we're ahead of her at every step. The actress, stunningly gowned, never looked more beautiful. | tt1319694 | [R] | Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, David Tennant, Christopher Lee, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, Jeremy Northam, Corin Redgrave, Charlie Cox, Hugh Bonneville, Jenny Agutter | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Glory | 1989 | Edward Zwick | ★★★★ | 122 | Exceptional story of America's first unit of black soldiers during the Civil War and the young, inexperienced Northerner (Broderick) who's given the job of training and leading them. Based in part on the letters of that young officer and brought to life with astonishing skill and believability. Grand, moving, breathtakingly filmed (by veteran cinematographer Freddie Francis) and faultlessly performed. One of the finest historical dramas ever made. Oscar winner for Cinematography, Sound, and Supporting Actor (Washington). Screenplay by Kevin Jarre. Jane Alexander (as Broderick's mother) and Raymond St. Jacques (as Frederick Douglass) appear unbilled. | tt0097441 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman, Jihmi Kennedy, Andre Braugher, John Finn, Donovan Leitch, JD Cullum, Bob Gunton, Cliff DeYoung | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Glory Alley | 1952 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 79 | Just before the championship bout, boxer Meeker quits the fight game, then goes from skid row to war hero. New Orleans backgrounds allow for some good musical interludes. | tt0044665 | Ralph Meeker, Leslie Caron, Gilbert Roland, Louis Armstrong, John McIntire | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Glory Brigade | 1953 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 81 | Passable Korean War drama with Mature leading a platoon of American GIs assigned to escort some Greek soldiers into enemy territory. | tt0045827 | Victor Mature, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Richard Egan, Nick Dennis, Roy Roberts, Alvy Moore, Henry Kulky | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Glory Guys | 1965 | Arnold Laven | ★★ | 112 | Lumbering Cavalry Western with a love triangle thrown in. Screenplay by Sam Peckinpah. | tt0059232 | Tom Tryon, Harve Presnell, Michael Anderson/Jr., Senta Berger, James Caan, Slim Pickens, Wayne Rogers | Western | NULL | |||
| Glory Road | 2006 | James Gartner | ★★½ | 117 | Jerry Bruckheimer-produced feel-good movie about an obscure basketball coach named Don Haskins, who recruits raw but promising players-including a large number of blacks-for a community college in El Paso, Texas, and heads for the 1966 national college championship. Echoing REMEMBER THE TITANS, this film pushes the right buttons, and dramatizes the historic game in which an all-black team faced an all-white opponent . . . but glosses over some of the most interesting aspects of the real-life story. | tt0385726 | [PG] | Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Jon Voight, Evan Jones, Schin A.S. Kerr, Alphonso McAuley, Mehcad Brooks, Sam Jones III, Damaine Radcliff, Emily Deschanel, Al Shearer, Tatyana Ali | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Glory Stompers | 1967 | Anthony M. Lanza | 💣 | 85 | Hopper, pre-EASY RIDER, stars as motorcycle-gang leader who wears a swastika patch and mouths lines like, 'Hey, like, ya know, I wanna dance with you, baby.' And, from Noel: 'I just want something better than being a Stompers girl.' Hilariously bad; see if you can count how many times Hopper says 'man.' | tt0061714 | Dennis Hopper, Jody McCrea, Chris Noel, Jock Mahoney, Lindsay Crosby | Action | NULL | |||
| Glory! Glory! | 1989 | Lindsay Anderson | Above Average TV Movie | 210 | Broad, often slashing satire about TV evangelism with a dynamic but foul-mouthed female rock 'n' roller being brought in to save a money-machine mega-ministry from sinking under the leadership of the charismatic founder's straight arrow son. Lots of truths, sight gags, rock music, sex, and Mike Fash's flashy camerawork. Written with a vengeance by Stan Daniels (of The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and directed to a turn by sharp-eyed Anderson. Made for cable; originally shown in two parts. | tt0097442 | [R] | Richard Thomas, Ellen Greene, James Whitmore, Barry Morse, Winston Reckert | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Glove | Blood Mad | 1978 | Ross Hagen | ★★ | 91 | Violent action flick (with episodic comic diversions by various 'guest' veterans), pitting a world-weary bounty hunter against a vengeful ex-con who commits mayhem with a leather-laced steel riot glove. Also shown as THE GLOVE: LETHAL TERMINATOR and LETHAL TERMINATOR. | tt0077614 | [R] | John Saxon, Rosey Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Joan Blondell, Jack Carter, Aldo Ray, Keenan Wynn | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| A Gnome Named Gnorm | 1994 | Stan Winston | ★★ | 84 | An especially strange cop-and-partner action comedy teams eccentric young detective Hall with a gnome who's just burrowed up from his underground world. Short on action, whimsy, and wackiness. Special effects maestro Winston returned to what he does best after this sat on the shelf for five years. | tt0109912 | [PG] | Anthony Michael Hall, Jerry Orbach, Claudia Christian, Eli Danker, Mark Harelik, Robert Z'Dar | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Gnome-Mobile | 1967 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 90 | Crusty businessman Brennan, his niece, and nephew discover gnomes in redwood forest, try to protect them from freak-show entrepreneur and land-destroyers. Lively Disney fantasy outing with top special effects, broad comedy highlights. Based on Upton Sinclair novel. | tt0061715 | Walter Brennan, Matthew Garber, Karen Dotrice, Richard Deacon, Tom Lowell, Sean McClory, Ed Wynn | Family | NULL | |||
| Gnomeo & Juliet | 2011 | Kelly Asbury | ★★ | 84 | CG-animated feature enacts a variation on Shakespeare’s tragic love story with a cast of garden gnomes: the “reds” and “blues” live next door to one another but cannot overcome their owners’ longtime feud, until Gnomeo falls in love with Juliet. Cute, sometimes clever, film for kids looks good but never develops its story and characters as fully as one might like. Songs (both old and new) by co-executive producer Elton John and Bernie Taupin. 3-D | tt0377981 | [G] | Voices of James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Ashley Jensen, Michael Caine, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Stephen Merchant, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Hulk Hogan, Richard Wilson, Dolly Parton | U.S.-British | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | |
| Go Chase Yourself | 1938 | Edward F. Cline. | ★★ | 70 | Penner is a milquetoast bank clerk who gets mixed up with robbers and a runaway heiress. Lucy and the supporting cast supply a few chuckles but can't quite overcome the insipid plot and radio star Penner's imbecilic screen persona. | tt0030188 | Joe Penner, Lucille Ball, Richard Lane, June Travis, Fritz Feld, Tom Kennedy, Bradley Page, Jack Carson. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Go Fish | 1994 | Rose Troche | ★★★ | 87 | A romantic tale about finding a soulmate; the difference here is that both partners are women. Funny, intelligent comedy about brash Turner forging a relationship with shy Brodie. Only quibble: the heavy-handed political correctness of the secondary characters. Made on a practically nonexistent budget; Troche (who coscripted with Turner) is a talent to watch. | tt0109913 | [R] | V. S. Brodie, Guinevere Turner, T. Wendy McMillan, Anastasia Sharp, Migdalia Melendez | Romance | NULL | ||
| Go Into Your Dance | 1935 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 89 | Flimsy backstage plot allows real-life husband and wife Jolson and Keeler (in their only film together) to sing and dance through seven listenable Harry Warren-Al Dubin tunes, including 'About a Quarter to Nine' and 'A Latin From Manhattan.' | tt0026418 | Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Glenda Farrell, Helen Morgan, Patsy Kelly, Benny Rubin, Phil Regan, Barton MacLane | Drama, Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Go Masters | 1982 | Junya Sato, Duan Jishun | ★★★ | 123 | Sprawling, involving romance-mystery-suspenser, set between the 1920s and '50s and focusing on the relationships between two families, one Japanese and the other Chinese. Most fascinating is various characters' obsession with Go, a chesslike strategy game. The first Sino-Japanese co-production, and a smash hit in both countries. | tt0089594 | Rentaro Mikuni, Sun Dao-Lin, Shen Guan-Chu, Misako Honno, Tsu Kasa Itoh | Chinese-Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Go Naked in the World | 1961 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★ | 103 | Turgid melodrama badly cast. Easy-loving Lollobrigida hooks Franciosa, much to his father's (Borgnine's) dismay. | tt0054933 | Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Franciosa, Ernest Borgnine, Luana Patten | Drama | NULL | |||
| Go Tell the Spartans | 1978 | Ted Post | ★★★½ | 114 | Perceptive, moving Vietnam War picture, set in early 1964; Burt shines as 'advisory group' commander who is already starting to have his doubts about the conflict. More realistic in dialogue and situation than other, more publicized, popular films on the subject. Wendell Mayes' cynically funny script is right on target. Based on Daniel Ford's novel Incident at Muc Wa. | tt0077617 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Craig Wasson, Jonathan Goldsmith, Marc Singer, Joe Unger, David Clennon, Dolph Sweet, James Hong | War | NULL | ||
| Go Tigers! | 2001 | Kenneth A. Carlson | ★★★ | 103 | Entertaining documentary about Massillon, Ohio, a working-class town where high school football has been a mania for 106 years. Now the team's very existence is at stake as a controversial school levy is put to the voters. An empathetic, close-up, cinema verité-style view of the star athletes, coaches, teachers, parents, boosters, and even naysayers over the course of one crucial season. P.S. The filmmaker grew up in Massillon. | tt0270971 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Go West | 1925 | Buster Keaton | ★★½ | 69 | Buster plays a greenhorn named Friendless who winds up working on a cattle ranch out West, and finding his soulmate in a cow named Brown Eyes. Not one of Buster's best silents, this still has plenty of good scenes, especially the climactic stampede, executed with typically Keatonesque comic skill. | tt0015863 | Buster Keaton, Howard Truesdale, Kathleen Myers, Brown Eyes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Go West | Marx Brothers Go West | 1940 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 81 | Big letdown from Marxes, until hilarious train-ride climax. Occasional bits sparkle through humdrum script. | tt0032536 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, John Carroll, Diana Lewis, Walter Woolf King, Robert Barrat | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Go West, Young Lady | 1941 | Frank Strayer. | ★★½ | 70 | Slapstick Western musical has Singleton as a prim Easterner facing a hard new life in the rugged town of Headstone, where she's courted by ladies' man Ford but out-vamped by sequined showgirl Miller. Standout in Sammy Cahn-Saul Chaplin score is the ordinarily nonmusical Jenkins' 'I Wish I Could Be a Singing Cowboy.' Title song performed by Miller in stiletto-heeled cowboy boots atop a saloon bar. | tt0033667 | Penny Singleton, Glenn Ford, Ann Miller, Charles Ruggles, Allen Jenkins, Jed Prouty, Onslow Stevens, Edith Meiser, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, The Foursome. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Go West, Young Man | 1936 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 82 | Movie queen Mae is stuck in the sticks, but passes time nicely with handsome farm boy. Not top-notch West, but still fun. | tt0027684 | Mae West, Randolph Scott, Warren William, Alice Brady, Elizabeth Patterson, Lyle Talbot, Isabel Jewell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Go for Broke! | 1951 | Robert Pirosh | ★★★ | 92 | Fine WW2 drama with Johnson, a bigoted Texan, assigned to train and lead the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed mostly of Japanese-Americans (Nisei). Crammed with ironic touches, and uncompromising in its point of view (reflecting the Nisei's collective heroic war record). Pirosh also scripted. | tt0043590 | Van Johnson, Lane Nakano, Henry Nakamura, George Miki, Henry Oyasato, Warner Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Go, Johnny, Go! | 1958 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 75 | Orphan Clanton, booted out of church choir for playing rock 'n' roll, is transformed by Freed into 'Johnny Melody,' teen idol. ('He's dreamy. Oh wow, he's the living end.') Not very good, but an artifact of its era. Berry, who acts as well as sings, performs 'Memphis, Tennessee,' 'Little Queenie,' and 'Johnny Be Good,' Cochran performs 'Teenage Heaven,' and Wilson does 'You'd Better Know It.' | tt0051665 | Jimmy Clanton, Alan Freed, Sandy Stewart, Chuck Berry, Jo-Ann Campbell, The Cadillacs, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Harvey (Fuqua), The Flamingos, Jackie Wilson | Musical | NULL | |||
| Go, Man, Go! | 1954 | James Wong Howe | ★★½ | 82 | Imaginative telling of the formation of Harlem Globetrotters and their rise as famed basketball team. A rare directorial effort by celebrated cinematographer Howe. | tt0047032 | Dane Clark, Pat Breslin, Sidney Poitier, Edmon Ryan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Go-Between | 1970 | Joseph Losey | ★★★½ | 116 | Beguiling film from L. P. Hartley story of boy who becomes messenger for love notes between aristocratic Christie and farmer Bates. Lushly filmed, full of nuances, fine performances. Script by Harold Pinter. A mood piece, not for all tastes. | tt0067144 | [PG] | Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Dominic Guard, Margaret Leighton, Michael Gough, Michael Redgrave, Edward Fox | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Go-Getter | 2008 | Martin Hynes | ★★ | 93 | Recently orphaned teenager who can’t get his act together impulsively steals a car and embarks on a road trip, hoping to find his elusive stepbrother (whom he hasn’t seen in years) . . . but along the way he develops a relationship via cell phone with the owner of the car. Picaresque road movie benefits from strong lead performances, but its supposed spontaneity too often seems studied, and many fine actors appear in cameos that are frustratingly brief. Feature debut for writer-director Hynes. | tt0479289 | [R] | Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, Jena Malone, William Lee Scott, Maura Tierney, Judy Greer, Bill Duke, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Jsu Garcia | Drama | NULL | ||
| GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords | 1986 | Ray Patterson | ★½ | 75 | Hanna-Barbera and Tonka Toys present a 75-minute animated commercial about the war between good GoBots versus evil Renegades, and the struggle of innocent Rock people against wicked Rock Lords. Electronically altered soundtrack makes it difficult to hear big-name voice cast. | tt0091123 | [G] | Voices of Margot Kidder, Roddy McDowall, Michael Nouri, Telly Savalas | Animation | NULL | ||
| Goal! The Dream Begins | 2006 | Danny Cannon | ★★★ | 118 | Since there have been 'inspirational' sports movies on everything except contract bridge, another one about soccer (or football, as it's known internationally) was probably inevitable. Entertaining story of a poor Mexican-American player who travels from L.A. to England against his father's wishes for a chance to play in the big leagues. Less about the game than the young man's family and team relationships, providing plenty of heart and pluck. Real-life soccer superstars appear in cameos. | tt0380389 | [PG] | Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Stephen Dillane, Anna Friel, Marcel Iures, Sean Pertwee, Lee Ross, Cassandra Bell, Kieran O'Brien, Tony Plana, Miriam Colon | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick | 1971 | Wim Wenders | ★★★½ | 101 | Exceptionally knowing, haunting portrait of alienation, following a professional soccer goalie (Brauss), who abandons his team and sets out on an odyssey. Stunningly directed; a film you will not soon forget. Scripted by Peter Handke, based on his novel. | tt0066773 | Arthur Brauss, Erika Pluhar, Kai Fischer, Libgart Schwarz, Marie Bardischewski | German |
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| God Bless America | 2012 | Bobcat Goldthwait | ★★ | 104 | After getting fired and being diagnosed with a brain tumor, a 45-year-old sad sack (Murray) decides to rid the world of horrible, worthless people, teaming up with a like-minded teen (Barr) on a cross-country killing spree. Blood-soaked black comedy is an extended rant against noisy neighbors, reality TV, the Internet, Fox News, American Idol, rude moviegoers, the Tea Party, and just plain "mean" people. Writer-director Goldthwait certainly has the courage of his vociferous convictions, even if all his targets are easy ones and his satirical touch is as subtle as a sledgehammer. | tt1912398 | [R] | Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Melinda Page Hamilton, Mackenzie Brooke Smith, Rich McDonald, Maddie Hasson, Larry Miller | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| God Forgives, I Don't | 1969 | Giuseppe Colizzi | ★½ | 101 | In spite of colorful title, this spaghetti Western about an attempt to find some buried loot is like a thousand others. Hill's and Spencer's first film together. | tt0061576 | [M] | Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Frank Wolff, Gina Rovere, Jose Manuel Martin | Italian-Spanish | Action, Western | NULL | |
| God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan | 2006 | Christopher Dillon Quinn | ★★★½ | 89 | The subject of 2003's THE LOST BOYS OF SUDAN is given a new, perhaps more human perspective in this documentary as we learn what happened when three survivors came to the U.S. after spending time in a Kenyan refugee camp. Scenes featuring the three are alternately touching and surprisingly funny and show the true meaning of life in America as seen through outsiders' eyes. | tt0301555 | [PG] | Narrated by Nicole Kidman | Documentary | NULL | ||
| God Is Great, I'm Not | 2001 | Pascale Bailly | ★★½ | 95 | Tautou is winning as a flaky 20-year-old model who flits from relationship to relationship and religion to religion; she embraces Judaism, even though her newest boyfriend is a nonpracticing Jew. Ambitious attempt to reflect on how individuals search for meaning in their lives, but it's not as emotionally involving as it ought to be. Video title: GOD IS GREAT, AND I'M NOT. | tt0287986 | Audrey Tautou, Edouard Baer, Julie Depardieu, Catherine Jacob, Philippe Laudenbach, Cathy Verney, Mathieu Demy | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| God Is My Co-Pilot | 1945 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 90 | Well-intentioned drama of WW2 pilots bogs down in clichés, still has many good scenes. | tt0037746 | Dennis Morgan, Raymond Massey, Andrea King, Alan Hale/Sr., Dane Clark, John Ridgely, Stanley Ridges, Donald Woods | Adventure | NULL | |||
| God Is My Partner | 1957 | William F. Claxton | ★★ | 80 | Sincere, hokey film of old-timer who feels he owes a spiritual obligation which he can redeem by giving away his money. | tt0050447 | Walter Brennan, John Hoyt, Marion Ross, Jesse White, Nancy Kulp | Drama | NULL | |||
| God Said, 'HA!' | 1999 | Julia Sweeney | ★★½ | 83 | Faithful film record of Sweeney's one-woman show in which she describes, with disarming good humor, her experience caring for her brother as he died of cancer— then discovering that she had a rare form of cervical cancer herself. Quentin Tarantino coexecutive-produced. | tt0119207 | [PG-13] | Julia Sweeney | Drama | NULL | ||
| God's Country | 1985 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 88 | Poignant, insightful, occasionally hilarious look at life in Glencoe, Minnesota, a small, conservative farming community. Mostly shot in 1979; Malle returned six years later to update the lives of his subjects. | tt0091125 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| God's Country and the Woman | 1936 | William Keighley | ★★ | 80 | Routine tale of Brent and Roberts running rival lumber companies; color is only asset. | tt0028941 | George Brent, Beverly Roberts, Barton MacLane, Robert Barrat, Alan Hale/Sr., Joseph King | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| God's Gift to Women | 1931 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 72 | Incorrigible philanderer has trouble adjusting his swinging lifestyle after being told he has a bad heart and must give up wine and women, or, as the doctor puts it, 'Live like a clam, or die!' Wild pre-Code sex farce with lots of racy humor. Legendary silent screen siren Brooks has a small part as one of Fay's lovers. | tt0021917 | Frank Fay, Laura La Plante, Joan Blondell, Charles Winninger, Alan Mowbray, Yola d'Avril, Louise Brooks. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| God's Little Acre | 1958 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 117 | Picaresque Americana from Erskine Caldwell's best-selling book about a lusty, eccentric Georgia family. Amusing, passionate, and highly charged; quite sexy for its time. Some censored moments were restored years after its original release. Wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein. | tt0051666 | Robert Ryan, Tina Louise, Aldo Ray, Buddy Hackett, Jack Lord, Fay Spain, Michael Landon, Vic Morrow, Rex Ingram | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Goddess of Love | 1958 | Fernando Cerchio, Viktor Tourjansky. | ★½ | 68 | Drivel concerning country girl who becomes prostitute when her lover is killed. Set in ancient times. Released in the U.S. in 1960. | tt0052351 | Belinda Lee, Jacques Sernas, Massimo Girotti, Maria Frau. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Goddess | 1958 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 105 | Absorbing biography of an ambitious girl seeking Hollywood fame. Author Paddy Chayefsky based his story on Marilyn Monroe; the film captures tragedy of the real-life Monroe with fine acting by Stanley and Bridges, among others. Film debuts of Stanley and Duke. | tt0051667 | Kim Stanley, Lloyd Bridges, Steven Hill, Betty Lou Holland, Patty Duke | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Godfather Part II | 1974 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★★ | 200 | They said it couldn't be done, but cowriter-director Coppola made a sequel that's just as compelling. This one contrasts the life of melancholy 'don' (Pacino) with early days of his father (De Niro) as an immigrant in N.Y.C. Winner of six Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Coppola, Mario Puzo), Supporting Actor (De Niro), Score (Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola), Art Direction/Set Decoration (Dean Tavoularis, Angelo Graham, George R. Nelson). | tt0071562 | [R] | Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, G.D. Spradlin, Bruno Kirby, John Aprea, Morgana King, Mariana Hill, Troy Donahue, Joe Spinell, Abe Vigoda, Fay Spain, Harry Dean Stanton, Danny Aiello, Roger Corman, Dominic Chianese, James Caan | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Godfather Part III | 1990 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★ | 161 | Only a filmmaker like Coppola (teamed with writer Mario Puzo) could extend his history-making Mafioso saga and make it work so well. Absorbing story of Pacino's attempt to remove himself from the world of crime, and how fate and circumstance draw him back in, with his trigger-happy nephew (Garcia) and the rest of his family in tow. Longish, but masterfully told, with one almost-fatal flaw: the casting of Coppola's daughter Sofia (an amateur) in the pivotal role of Pacino's daughter. Video release is so-called 'final director's cut,' 9m. longer than theatrical version. | tt0099674 | [R] | Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola, Raf Vallone, Franc D'Ambrosio, Donal Donnelly, Richard Bright, Helmut Berger, Don Novello, John Savage, Mario Donatone, Al Martino | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Godfather | 1972 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★★ | 175 | The 1970s' answer to GONE WITH THE WIND, from Mario Puzo's novel on the violent life and times of Mafia patriarch Don Corleone (Brando). Pulp fiction raised to the highest level; a film of epic proportions, masterfully done, and set to Nino Rota's memorable music. Absolutely irresistible. Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Actor (Brando), and Screenplay (Coppola and Puzo). Baby in baptism scene is actually Coppola's infant daughter Sofia— who later costarred in THE GODFATHER, PART III. Followed by two sequels. | tt0068646 | [R] | Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Al Lettieri, Abe Vigoda, Al Martino, Morgana King, Alex Rocco | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Godfather: The Complete Epic, 1902- 1958 | 1981 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 386 | Special marathon version of THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II originally prepared for television (where it aired as THE GODFATHER SAGA), combining the stories of both films in chronological order, and adding 15 minutes of footage never shown in theaters. TV version had some scenes censored; it plays complete on home video. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||||
| The Gods Must Be Crazy II | 1989 | Jamie Uys. | ★★★ | 97 | Follow-up to the surprise smash-hit farce is just as funny and endearing. N!xau returns as the bushman; here, his two young children are accidentally transported to 'civilization' by a pair of poachers, and he follows them with the expected, comic result. This started shooting in 1985 and sat on the shelf for several years. | tt0097443 | [PG] | N!xau, Lena Farugia, Hans Strydom, Eiros, Nadies, Erick Bowen. | U.S.-Botswana | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Gods Must Be Crazy | 1981 | Jamie Uys | ★★★ | 108 | Highly original, offbeat comedy about cultural clashes in Africa, involving a bushman who encounters civilization for the first time, a pretty schoolteacher whose new assignment is a remote village, and a bumbling scientist whose attempts to make her welcome result in slapstick catastrophes. Film itself is clumsy at times, but completely disarming. A U.S. sensation in 1984. Uys, who also wrote and produced, plays the reverend. Followed by a sequel. | tt0080801 | [PG] | Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, N!xau, Louw Verwey, Michael Thys | Botswana | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| Gods and Generals | 2003 | Ronald F. Maxwell | ★★½ | 223 | Writer-director Maxwell's prequel to GETTYSBURG is not in the same league but does manage to capture some of the sights, sounds, and personalities of the Civil War's early years, with an emphasis on the South. Lion's share of the story is devoted to Lang's pious 'Stonewall' Jackson. Telling vignettes and vivid battle scenes make up for some ponderousness, speechiness, and overlength (it's even longer— 231m.— on video). Film's backer, media mogul Ted Turner, has a cameo as a Confederate soldier. Based on the Jeff Shaara novel. | tt0279111 | [PG-13] | Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Mira Sorvino, Kevin Conway, C. Thomas Howell, Frankie Faison, Matt Letscher, Jeremy London, William Sanderson, Kali Rocha, Bruce Boxleitner, Robert Easton | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| Gods and Monsters | 1998 | Bill Condon | ★★★½ | 105 | Exceptional (if entirely fictional) character study of film director James Whale (best remembered for FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN), alone at the end of his life in the 1950s, and fearful of losing his mind. An exquisite rendering of time and place, with a superb performance by McKellen, matched by Fraser as a gardener who catches his fancy, and Redgrave as his hilariously severe but loving housekeeper. A quiet, deliberately paced film; beautifully rendered, with a unique blend of flashback and hallucination. Director Condon won an Oscar for adapting Christopher Bram's novel Father of Frankenstein. | tt0120684 | Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J. O'Connor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gods of the Plague | 1969 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 91 | A pair of pals plot a robbery, only to have their scheme disrupted by two women (both of whom love one of the men). Low-key, noirish gangster film is an ode to the Hollywood films of the genre, with a French New Wave sensibility. At the same time, it's a knowing portrait of an aimless, alienated post-war German generation. | tt0065808 | Hanna Schygulla, Margarethe von Trotta, Harry Baer, Gunther Kaufmann, Ingrid Caven | German | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Godsend | 2004 | Nick Hamm | ★★½ | 102 | A couple grieving over the loss of their 8-year-old son is approached by a medical researcher who promises that he can enable the woman to give birth to the identical child all over again— using a revolu√ tionary (if illegal) cloning method he's per√ fected. Good performances and an interesting premise reel us in, but then the filmmakers string us along, teasing us about where the story is headed. It doesn't pay off. Filmed in Canada, which never looked more unlike the U.S. | tt0335121 | [PG-13] | Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Robert De Niro, Cameron Bright, Jenny Levine | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Godsend | 1979 | Gabrielle Beaumont | ★★ | 93 | OMEN/EXORCIST-type horror film about an angelic little blonde girl who is left at a family farm on a rainy night by a strange woman. In the years that follow, death, disaster, and hostility are visited upon the family in this medium thriller. | tt0080802 | [R] | Cyd Hayman, Malcolm Stoddard, Angela Pleasence, Patrick Barr | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Godspell | 1973 | David Greene | ★★½ | 103 | Sophomoric updating of Jesus' life with young bouncy disciples following their leader around modern-day N.Y.C. Energetic adaptation of popular stage musical; brilliant use of N.Y.C. locations, good score by Stephen Schwartz including 'Day by Day,' but hollow and unmoving. | tt0070121 | [G] | Victor Garber, David Haskell, Jerry Sroka, Lynne Thigpen, Katie Hanley, Robin Lamont | Musical | NULL | ||
| Godzilla | 1998 | Roland Emmerich | ★★½ | 139 | Giant lizard monster moves swiftly from the Pacific to N.Y. harbor, and terrorizes the Big Apple. Biologist Broderick hooks up with mystery man Reno and his team to stop it. Giant-scale, fx-driven no-brainer doesn't make much sense, has shallow characters, and goes on too long— but still offers a surprising amount of fun. | tt0120685 | [PG-13] | Matthew Broderick, Hank Azaria, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Harry Shearer, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, Vicki Lewis, Doug Savant, Arabella Field, Bodhi Elfman | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Godzilla 1985 | 1985 | Kohji Hashimoto, R. J. Kizer | 💣 | 91 | Supposed update of original GODZILLA is just a retread, with the atomic-fueled monster threatening Tokyo again. Burr is back in cheaply filmed insert sequences making like Greek chorus. Too straight to be funny; the Big Fella is just a Big Bore. | tt0087344 | [PG] | Raymond Burr, Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma | Japanese | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla 2000 | 1999 | Takao Okawara | ★★★ | 99 | Lively, well-made series entry centers on the discovery of a centuries-old alien craft designed to convert Earth's environment into one suitable for its creators. Godzilla is tricked into saving the planet again. Engaging film with fine effects and sharp script, weighed down only by a drawn-out monster-clash climax. Reworked, redubbed and rescored for U.S. release from the 107m. original. | tt0188640 | [PG] | Takehiro Murata, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki, Hiroshi Abe, Shiro Sano, Tsutomu Kitagawa | Japanese | Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah | 2001 | Shusuke Kaneko. | ★★★ | 105 | Writer-director Kaneko was brought in to 'shake things up,' and he certainly succeeded with this dark, very violent epic, which reverts Godzilla to a soulless, nuclear-created killing machine. Mothra, Baragon, and even King Ghidorah are now 'guardian spirits' who are awakened to stop his wave of destruction. The 25th Godzilla movie is considered by many fans to be the apex of the series, with terrific special effects and a consistently adult tone; worth seeing even for nondevotees. Informally known as GMK. | tt0279112 | [PG-13] | Chiharu Næ™yama, Ryudo Uzaki, Masahiro Kobayashi, Shirô Sano, Takashi Nishina. | Japanese | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster | 1966 | Jun Fukuda. | ★★½ | 83 | Four people are shipwrecked on a South Seas island, where they not only have to avoid a terrorist organization called the Red Bamboo, but also Godzilla, Mothra, and a giant crablike creature called Ebirah. Seventh Godzilla movie (the first directed by Fukuda) is also the first to do away with trademark scenes of urban destruction. Splendid use of color and nice, change-of-pace jazzy score by Masaru Sato make this one of the more entertaining entries. Japanese running time is 87m. Aka EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP. | tt0060464 | [PG] | Akira Takarada, Toru Watanabe, Jun Tazaki, Kumi Mizuno, Hideo Sunazuka. | Japanese | Drama, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla on Monster Island | Godzilla vs. Gigan | 1972 | Jun Fukuda | ★★ | 89 | Garbo talks? Ha! In this harmless, toylike movie, Godzilla talks, as he and spiny Angillus battle alien-summoned Ghidrah and new playmate Gigan, who has a buzz saw in his belly. Standard colorful Toho monster hijinks. Aka GODZILLA VS. GIGAN. | tt0068371 | [G] | Hiroshi Ishikawa, Tomoko Umeda, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Godzilla vs. Megalon | 1976 | Jun Fukuda | ★½ | 80 | Series sinks to new low as Godzilla teams up with robot superhero against Megalon and his pal Gigan. Incredibly cheap, with lots of unintended laughs. A hoho from Toho in Tohoscope. | tt0070122 | [G] | Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi, Robert Dunham | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster | Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla | 1974 | Jun Fukuda. | ★★ | 80 | Godzilla battles robot duplicate of himself, built by alien apes intent on conquering the world. He's helped this time by ancient Okinawan monster Kingseesar. Pokey until zappity-pow climax. Aka GODZILLA VS. THE BIONIC MONSTER and GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA, and remade in 1993 under that title. | tt0071565 | [G] | Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima, Barbara Lynn, Akihiko Hirata. | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster | 1972 | Yoshimitu Banno. | ★★½ | 87 | Godzilla freelances as do-gooder in ridding Japan of monster born of waste, fed on factory fumes and smog. Dubbed and daffy. | tt0067148 | [G] | Akira Yamauchi, Hiroyuki Kawase, Toshio Shibaki. | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla vs. the Thing | Godzilla vs. Mothra | 1964 | Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 90 | Vivid special effects highlight battle between reptile Godzilla and Mothra, giant moth. TV title: GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA. | tt0058379 | Okira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yu Fujiki | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla's Revenge | 1969 | Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 69 | Fantasy of child daydreaming of adventures with Godzilla's son and other monsters. Battle scenes are mostly stock footage from GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER and SON OF GODZILLA. Good juvenile sci-fi. | tt0064373 | [G] | Kenji Sahara, Tomonori Yazaki, Machiko Naka, Sachio Sakai, Chotaro Togin, Yoshibumi Tujima | Japanese | Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Godzilla, King of the Monsters! | Godzilla | 1954 | Terry Morse, Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 80 | A fire-breathing lizard threatens civilization: the special effects are the star in this, the original GODZILLA movie. Originally released in Japan in 1954 as GOJIRA (a far superior film), at 98m; over 20m. were eliminated, and inserts with Burr were added. Updated in 1985 and reworked in 1998. Original Japanese version restored in 2004. | tt0197521 | Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada. | Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |
| Gog | 1954 | Herbert L. Strock | ★★ | 85 | Is a series of deaths at scientific installation the result of equipment malfunction or sabotage? Title refers to one of a pair of nonhumanoid robots. OK sci-fi, originally in 3-D. | tt0047033 | Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall, John Wengraf | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Goin' Cocoanuts | 1978 | Howard Morris | ★★ | 96 | Bad guys go after Marie's necklace in Hawaii, but the villainy, like the story, is strictly kindergarten level. Of course, Donny and Marie get to sing. | tt0077620 | [PG] | Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, Herbert Edelman, Kenneth Mars, Chrystin Sinclaire, Ted Cassidy, Marc Lawrence, Khigh Dhiegh, Harold Sakata | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Goin' Down the Road | 1970 | Donald Shebib | ★★★½ | 90 | Award-winning film made for less than $100,000 puts most Hollywood blockbusters to shame; modest tale of two unlucky Nova Scotians and their near-tragic finish packs a memorable punch. McGrath and Bradley are remarkably good. | tt0065788 | [PG] | Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood, Cayle Chernin, Nicole Morin | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Goin' South | 1978 | Jack Nicholson | ★★★ | 109 | Amusing Western comedy, not for all tastes, with Nicholson saving himself from lynch mob by marrying a spinster. Steenburgen is refreshingly offbeat and Belushi's disappointingly small role is a real hoot. Film debuts of both. | tt0077621 | [PG] | Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Bradford, Danny DeVito, Luana Anders, Ed Begley/Jr., Anne Ramsey | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Goin' to Town | 1935 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 74 | Good West vehicle of dance-hall girl trying to crash society, highlight: Mae doing 'Samson and Delilah' scenes. | tt0026419 | Mae West, Paul Cavanagh, Ivan Lebedeff, Marjorie Gateson, Tito Coral | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Going All the Way | 1997 | Mark Pellington | ★★ | 110 | Listless screen version of Dan Wakefield's popular memory novel about two young army vets who become friends in 1950s Indianapolis despite having existed on wholly different social planes during their high school years. A good book but an indifferent (and familiar-seeming) coming-of-age movie, despite a Wakefield script. Set in 1954, film opens with a huge 1957 pop hit— never a good sign. | tt0119209 | [R] | Jeremy Davies, Ben Affleck, Amy Locane, Jill Clayburgh, Lesley Ann Warren, Rose McGowan, Rachel Weisz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Going Ape! | 1981 | Jeremy Joe Kronsberg | 💣 | 87 | Inept comedy, with Danza set to inherit $5 million if he cares for a trio of orangutans. Directorial debut for screenwriter Kronsberg, who also penned Clint Eastwood's EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE— with an orangutan prominently featured. | tt0082457 | [PG] | Tony Danza, Jessica Walter, Stacey Nelkin, Danny De Vito, Art Metrano, Joseph Maher | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Going Berserk | 1983 | David Steinberg | 💣 | 85 | Awesomely inept comedy about the misadventures of a young dolt (Candy) who's set to marry the daughter of a pompous congressman. Only a performer as likable as Candy could survive such a debacle; his SCTV colleagues Flaherty and Levy have little to do. | tt0085603 | [R] | John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Alley Mills, Pat Hingle, Richard Libertini, Paul Dooley, Murphy Dunne, Dixie Carter, Ernie Hudson | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Going Highbrow | 1935 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 67 | Ingratiating lunacy with Kibbee and Pitts as nouveaux riches trying to crash New York society with Horton's help by throwing a lavish coming-out party for their debutante daughter . . . except they don't have a daughter, so they hire a waitress to pose as her. Funny showcase for trio of wonderful character actors. | tt0026420 | Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, Edward Everett Horton, Ross Alexander, June Martel, Gordon Westcott, Judy Canova, Arthur Treacher. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Going Hollywood | 1933 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 80 | Enjoyable fluff with Davies following crooner Crosby to Hollywood determined to win him away from tempestuous screen star D'Orsay. Kelly all but steals film from stars. Songs include 'Temptation,' 'We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines,' and the title tune. | tt0024067 | Marion Davies, Bing Crosby, Fifi D'Orsay, Stuart Erwin, Ned Sparks, Patsy Kelly | Musical | NULL | |||
| Going Home | 1971 | Herbert B. Leonard | ★★★ | 97 | Powerful, if downbeat, study of young man's troubled relationship with his father, who's just been released from prison after serving time for killing his wife. | tt0067146 | [PG] | Robert Mitchum, Jan-Michael Vincent, Brenda Vaccaro, Jason Bernard, Sally Kirkland, Josh Mostel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Going My Way | 1944 | Leo McCarey | ★★★★ | 126 | Sentimental story of down-to-earth priest Father O'Malley (Crosby) winning over aging superior (Fitzgerald) and sidewalk gang of kids is hard to resist— thanks to the skills of writer-director McCarey, who won two Oscars. Academy Awards also went to Crosby, Fitzgerald, Best Picture, and Best Song: 'Swinging on a Star.' Sequel: THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S. | tt0036872 | Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Rise Stevens, Frank McHugh, James Brown, Gene Lockhart, Jean Heather, Porter Hall, Fortunio Bonanova, Stanley Clements, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Going Overboard | 1989 | Valerie Breiman | ★½ | 97 | Sandler, in his screen debut, plays a wannabe stand-up comedian toiling as a waiter on a cruise ship in this so-called farce. Inoffensive though painfully unfunny; a genuine curio, if only for its cast (and an unbilled appearance by Milton Berle, complete with laugh track). | tt0096870 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Tom Hodges, Liza Collins Zane, Pete Berg, Ricky Paull Goldin, Warren Selko, Billy Zane, Adam Rifkin, Steven Brill, Terry Moore, Scott LaRose, Billy Bob Thornton, Burt Young | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Going Places | 1974 | Bertrand Blier | ★★★ | 117 | Crude, overgrown juvenile delinquents Depardieu and Dewaere commit petty crimes, terrorize and share women. Funny, earthy, sometimes even lyrical examination of alienation; Moreau appears briefly as an ex-con who trysts with the boys. | tt0072353 | [R] | Gérard Depardieu, Patrick Dewaere, Miou-Miou, Jeanne Moreau, Brigitte Fossey, Isabelle Huppert | French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Going Shopping | 2005 | Henry Jaglom | ★½ | 106 | Santa Monica boutique is threatened with foreclosure unless its owner can come up with some quick cash. To do this she throws the mother of all Mother's Day sales. Means to explore women's obsession with shopping as EATING dealt with female food issues. This stitched-together film-indulgent even by Jaglom standards-stars the director's ex (Foyt, who also cowrote) and some of his usual troupe. At best a clearance-sale item. | tt0295605 | [PG-13] | Victoria Foyt, Rob Morrow, Lee Grant, Mae Whitman, Bruce Davison, Jennifer Grant, Cynthia Sikes, Martha Gehman, Juliet Landau, Pamela Bellwood, Robert Romanus | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Going Steady | 1958 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 79 | Uninspired happenings involving secretly married teenagers and repercussions when in-laws discover fact. | tt0051669 | Molly Bee, Bill Goodwin, Alan Reed/Jr., Irene Hervey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Going Undercover | 1988 | James Kenelm Clarke | ★½ | 88 | Third-rate private-eye Lemmon is hired to keep an eye on rich brat Thompson during a trip to Europe-during which she's kidnapped. Obnoxiouscomedy was made in 1984, and (understandably) shelved. | tt0095233 | [PG-13] | Chris Lemmon, Jean Simmons, Lea Thompson, Mills Watson, Viveca Lindfors, Nancy Cartwright, Joe Michael Terry | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Going Wild | 1930 | William A. Seiter. | ★★ | 66 | Brown mugs shamelessly as a down-and-out reporter mistaken for a famous aviator at a beach resort, resulting in typical romantic mix-ups and a slapstick airplane race. Stagy, warmed-over rehash of elements from Brown's superior TOP SPEED. | tt0020924 | Joe E. Brown, Lawrence Gray, Laura Lee, Walter Pidgeon, Frank McHugh, Ona Munson, May Boley, Johnny Arthur. | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Going in Style | 1979 | Martin Brest | ★★★½ | 96 | Three retirees in Queens get more than they bargain for when they rob a bank in Manhattan to relieve their boredom. Unexpected gem from a 28-year-old writer-director is predictably funny but unpredictably moving, with Burns standing out in a terrific cast. | tt0079219 | [PG] | George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan, Pamela Payton-Wright | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Going the Distance | 2010 | Nanette Burstein | ★★★ | 102 | Would-be newspaper writer (Barrymore) and a record label functionary (Long) agree to a no-strings friendship with benefits during her last six weeks in New York. But when she moves to San Francisco they realize they’re in love and struggle to maintain a cross-country relationship. By turns playfully raunchy and winningly romantic, this enjoyable comedy is surprisingly realistic while dealing with employment insecurities, steep air fares, and other recession-era impediments to happily-ever-aftering. Attractive leads are extremely engaging, backed by well-cast supporting players. | tt1322312 | [R] | Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston, Jim Gaffigan, Kristen Schaal | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gold | 1974 | Peter R. Hunt | ★★★ | 120 | Grand-scale adventure action yarn about plot to control price of gold on world market by destroying South African mine. Moore is stalwart hero. Long but entertaining. | tt0071566 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Susannah York, Ray Milland, Bradford Dillman, John Gielgud | British | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Gold Diggers in Paris | 1938 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 97 | Lively musical has Vallee and his nightclub troupe going to Paris. Storyline is negligible, but the songs (like 'Latin Quarter') and Busby Berkeley production numbers are fun to watch. Carole Landis is one of the chorus girls. | tt0030191 | Rudy Vallee, Rosemary Lane, Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins, Gloria Dickson, Mabel Todd, Freddie “Schnickelfritz” Fisher | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Gold Diggers of 1933 | 1933 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 96 | Another spectacular Busby Berkeley dance outing with familiar let's-produce-a-Broadway-show plot. Highlights: Blondell's 'Forgotten Man,' Rogers' 'We're In The Money' (with pig-Latin chorus), chorus girls' 'Shadow Waltz.' | tt0024069 | Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Aline MacMahon, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Warren William, Ned Sparks, Ginger Rogers, Sterling Holloway | Musical | NULL | |||
| Gold Diggers of 1935 | 1935 | Busby Berkeley | ★★★ | 95 | Big-scale Berkeley musical with stereotypes providing plot line and laughs between fantastic precision production numbers, including 'The Words Are In My Heart,' and classic, Oscar-winning 'Lullaby of Broadway,' sung by Wini Shaw. | tt0026421 | Dick Powell, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Winifred Shaw | Musical | NULL | |||
| Gold Diggers of 1937 | 1936 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 100 | Those gold-diggers won't give up; this time it's a group of insurance salesmen backing a show. Top song: 'With Plenty of Money and You. | tt0027686 | Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Victor Moore, Lee Dixon, Osgood Perkins | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain | 1995 | Kevin James Dobson | ★★ | 94 | New girl in town (Ricci) makes an unlikely friend— an aggressive, unpopular kid (Chlumsky) who's prone to telling lies. However, her tallest tale may not be bogus, and leads them on a search for long-buried treasure in a watery cave. Unsatisfying conclusion shortchanges this story; its strongest asset (sure to appeal to preteen girls) is the depiction of the girls' friendship. | tt0113188 | [PG] | Christina Ricci, Anna Chlumsky, Polly Draper, Brian Kerwin, Diana Scarwid, David Keith | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gold Dust Gertie | 1931 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 66 | Olsen & Johnson are bathing-suit salesmen trying to elude their mutual ex-wife. Lightner is energetic as always in this absurd knockabout comedy with plenty of sexual innuendo. | tt0021918 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Winnie Lightner, Dorothy Christy, Claude Gillingwater, Arthur Hoyt, Charley Grapewin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Gold Is Where You Find It | 1938 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 90 | And gold-rush miners find it on California farmland, starting bitter feud in brisk film, perked by good cast. | tt0030192 | George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, Margaret Lindsay, John Litel, Barton MacLane | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Gold Mine in the Sky | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 60 | Classic Autry vehicle has Gene teaching stuck-up city girl Hughes the ways of the West while battling Chicago gangsters, led by Mason. Irresistible combination of cowboys, gangsters, music, and action. Gene sings 'There's a Gold Mine in the Sky. | tt0030193 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, LeRoy Mason, Craig Reynolds, J. L. Frank's Golden West Cowboys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gold Raiders | 1951 | Edward Bernds | ★½ | 56 | Stooges add the only life to this flabby Western, with their usual shenanigans foiling the crooks and saving the day. | tt0043591 | George O'Brien, The Three Stooges, Sheila Ryan, Clem Bevans, Lyle Talbot | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Gold Rush Maisie | 1940 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 82 | Innocuous Maisie entry involving a poor family's attempt to find gold. | tt0032539 | Ann Sothern, Lee Bowman, Virginia Weidler, John F. Hamilton, Mary Nash, Slim Summerville, Scotty Beckett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gold Rush | 1925 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★★ | 82 | Immortal Chaplin classic, pitting Little Tramp against Yukon, affections of dance-hall girl, whims of a burly prospector. Dance of the rolls, eating leather shoe, cabin tottering over cliff— all highlights of wonderful, timeless comedy. Chaplin reedited film in 1942; that version, with his narration and music, runs 72m. | tt0015864 |
|
Charlie Chaplin, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gold for the Caesars | 1964 | André De Toth | ★½ | 86 | Still another Roman slave epic starring an American actor who'd look more at home in David and Ricky Nelson's fraternity. Nothing special. Original French running time: 95m. | tt0057391 | Jeffrey Hunter, Mylene Demongeot, Ron Randell, Massimo Girotti, Giulio Bosetti, Ettore Manni | French-Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Gold of Naples | 1954 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★ | 107 | Four vignettes— poignant, perceptive, hilarious in turn: Loren as philandering wife of pizza baker; De Sica as avid cardplayer upstaged by 8-year-old; Toto as Milquetoast family man; Mangano as prostitute involved in unusual marriage. | tt0047313 | Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Toto, Silvana Mangano, Paolo Stoppa | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gold of the Seven Saints | 1961 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 88 | Fur-trappers Walker and Moore (the latter sporting blond hair and an Irish brogue) find 125 lbs. of gold nuggets and are pursued across the desert by several parties who want to pry it loose from them. Enjoyable Western knockoff of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, featuring some striking Utah scenery and a tangy script cowritten by Leigh Brackett. | tt0054934 |
|
Clint Walker, Roger Moore, Leticia Roman, Robert Middleton, Chill Wills, Gene Evans, Roberto Contreras | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| The Goldbergs | 1950 | Walter Hart | ★★½ | 83 | Warm, human story of famous radio-TV Bronx family and their everyday problems. Retitled: MOLLY. | tt0042510 | Gertrude Berg, Philip Loeb, Eli Mintz, Betty Walker, David Opatoshu, Barbara Rush | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Golden Age of Comedy | 1957 | Robert Youngson | ★★★★ | 78 | Peerless grouping of some of silent comedy's greatest moments, including Rogers' classic spoofs of silent stars, and ending with Laurel and Hardy's legendary pie fight from BATTLE OF THE CENTURY. | tt0129119 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Carole Lombard, Ben Turpin, Will Rogers, Harry Langdon | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Golden Arrow | 1936 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 68 | Pleasant but featherweight comedy of 'heiress' Davis and down-to-earth reporter Brent establishing marriage of convenience. | tt0027687 | Bette Davis, George Brent, Eugene Pallette, Dick Foran, Carol Hughes, Catherine Doucet | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Golden Blade | 1953 | Nathan Juran | ★★½ | 81 | Hudson, with the help of the magical Sword of Damascus, helps Baghdad princess Laurie battle her caliph father's grand vizier (Macready) and his strong-arm son (Evans). Typical but sprightly, entertaining Arabian Nights adventure; amusing and imaginative. | tt0045828 | Rock Hudson, Piper Laurie, Gene Evans, George Macready, Kathleen Hughes, Steven Geray | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Golden Bowl | 2001 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 130 | Compelling adaptation of Henry James' novel about an Italian prince and an American woman, both impoverished, who must forsake their love in order to marry for money— but find themselves entangled just the same: he weds the sheltered daughter of an American billionaire, and she marries the father. Excellent performances amidst the beautiful settings one expects from a Merchant-Ivory period piece. Screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. | tt0200669 | Uma Thurman, Nick Nolte, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Northam, Anjelica Huston, Madeleine Potter | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Golden Boy | 1939 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★ | 99 | Italian immigrant’s son is torn between his love of the violin—instilled by his insistent father—and his passion for prizefighting. Clifford Odets’ story may seem like one giant cliché by now but it’s played with gusto (perhaps too much gusto by Cobb as the Henry Armetta–ish father) and benefits from Stanwyck’s heartfelt performance. This role propelled an unknown Holden to stardom. | tt0031377 | Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Joseph Calleia, Sam Levene, Don Beddoe | Drama | NULL | |||
| Golden Braid | 1990 | Paul Cox | ★★★ | 88 | Thoughtful, gentle film about a clockmaker (Haywood), obsessed with all things past, and what happens when he finds a braid of blonde hair in an 18th-century cabinet. A film with a refreshing point of view: clocks may stop ticking, and human hearts may stop beating, but time still goes on— and human beings must celebrate life. | tt0099678 | Chris Haywood, Gosia Dobrowolska, Paul Chubb, Norman Kaye, Robert Menzies, Jo Kennedy | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Golden Child | 1986 | Michael Ritchie | 💣 | 96 | Top candidate for the worst megahit of all time. A 'perfect' child (Reate) is kidnapped despite his magical powers; as foretold by an ancient oracle, only Murphy can rescue him. Lewis is more wooden than most ex-models; entire reels go by with nary a chuckle. A box-office smash— but have you ever met anyone who liked it? | tt0091129 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Charlotte Lewis, Charles Dance, Victor Wong, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, James Hong, J.L. Reate | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Golden Coach | 1952 | Jean Renoir | ★★★½ | 101 | Delightful film about an acting troupe touring South America in the 18th century and the amorous adventures of its leading lady. Theatrical and stylized, this is one of the great films about acting— and a stunning achievement in the use of color. Ironically, it was a flop when first released, then critically rediscovered. Photographed by Claude Renoir; music by Vivaldi. | tt0044487 | Anna Magnani, Odoardo Spadaro, Nada Fiorelli, Dante Rino, Duncan Lamont, Jean Debucourt | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Golden Compass | 2007 | Chris Weitz | ★★★ | 118 | Epic juvenile fantasy-adventure, based on the first book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy called Northern Lights. Richards is persuasive as a plucky 12-year-old who ventures to the Arctic Circle in search of a vanished friend—and evidence of a conspiracy to make children conform to the wishes of the all-powerful Magisterium. Does a good job of introducing us to an unfamiliar world (where every human has an animal companion), and its computer-generated creatures seem quite real, especially the great white bear voiced by McKellen. Oscar winner for Visual Effects. | tt0385752 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Christopher Lee, Tom Courtenay, Derek Jacobi, Ben Walker, Simon McBurney, Jim Carter, Magda Szubanski; voices of Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Freddie Highmore, Kathy Bates, Kristin Scott Thomas | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Golden Dawn | 1930 | Ray Enright. | 💣 | 81 | Oh, no! A white woman abducted by natives in WW1 British East Africa is about to be married to a wooden image of the god Mulungu! Will stalwart captain King rescue her from this dreadful fate (and film)? Staggering racism overshadows amusing hokum of Broadway's 1927 underdressed and overcooked operetta. 'Camp' seems to have been coined for such compositions as 'My Bwana' and 'The Whip Song.' Lane does his usual comedy acrobatic turn while Rita Hayworth's father, Eduardo Cansino, plays the dancing instructor. | tt0020926 | Noah Beery, Dick Henderson, Walter Woolf (King), Vivienne Segal, Alice Gentle, Lupino Lane. | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Golden Door | 2006 | Emanuele Crialese | ★★★ | 118 | Heartfelt, dreamlike account of a dirt-poor Italian family that treks from rural Old World Sicily to Ellis Island and the U.S., where they enter a new, modern world. Although it is set at the dawn of the 20th century, the film is a poetic ode to the aspirations of immigrants of all eras. Filled with stunning images, it begs for a sequel following these characters into the New World. Original Italian title: NUOVOMONDO. | tt0465188 | [PG-13] | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vincenzo Amato, Aurora Quattrocchi, Francesco Casisa, Filippo Pucillo, Isabella Ragonese, Vincent Schiavelli | Italian-German-French | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Golden Earrings | 1947 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 95 | Incredible yet enjoyable escapism set in WW2 Europe has Milland joining gypsy Dietrich for espionage work; Dietrich most convincing. Gypsy Vye sings the title song. | tt0039428 | Ray Milland, Marlene Dietrich, Murvyn Vye, Dennis Hoey, Quentin Reynolds | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Golden Eye | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 69 | Charlie Chan investigates the mystery of a supposedly barren mine that miraculously begins to yield gold in this poor entry. Aka THE MYSTERY OF THE GOLDEN EYE and CHARLIE CHAN AND THE GOLDEN EYE. | tt0040394 | Roland Winters, Victor Sen Yung, Tim Ryan, Wanda McKay, Bruce Kellogg, Evelyn Brent | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Golden Fleecing | 1940 | Leslie Fenton. | ★★½ | 68 | Sprightly little screwball yarn about insurance agent Ayres getting a big raise for selling a $50,000 policy to Nolan, only to learn he's a gangster with a price on his head. Complications mount as Ayres struggles to keep Nolan alive. Written by S. J. Perelman, Laura Perelman, and Marion Parsonnet. | tt0033145 | Lew Ayres, Rita Johnson, Lloyd Nolan, Virginia Grey, Leon Errol, Nat Pendleton, Richard Carle, Ralph Byrd, Marc Lawrence, Thurston Hall, William Demarest. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Golden Gate | 1993 | John Madden | ★½ | 90 | Young FBI agent Dillon pursues subversives in San Francisco during the McCarthy witchhunts, when guiltless Chinese were harassed simply for mailing money to their families back home. Potentially compelling film is hampered by listless direction and David Henry Hwang's meandering, melodramatic screenplay. An American Playhouse coproduction. | tt0109917 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Joan Chen, Bruno Kirby, Teri Polo, Tzi Ma, Stan Egi, Jack Shearer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Golden Girl | 1951 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 108 | Undistinguished musical set in California during Civil War, with Gaynor portraying entertainer Lotta Crabtree who's intrigued by Rebel officer Robertson. | tt0043592 | Mitzi Gaynor, Dale Robertson, Dennis Day, Una Merkel | Musical | NULL | |||
| Golden Gloves | 1940 | Edward Dmytryk. | ★★ | 69 | Featherweight boxing exposé about a sportswriter organizing an honest amateur tournament to compete against a crooked promoter, who counters by entering a ringer in the competition. Formulaic programmer. Ryan, an undefeated collegiate boxer in real life, is quite convincing as a pug in one of his first roles. | tt0031378 | Richard Denning, Jeanne Cagney, Robert Paige, J. Carrol Naish, William Frawley, Edward Brophy, Robert Ryan, George Ernst, Sidney Miller, Frank Coghlan/Jr. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Golden Gloves Story | 1950 | Felix E. Feist | ★½ | 76 | OK fare of two boxers and effects of pending championship bout on their lives. | tt0042511 | James Dunn, Dewey Martin, Kay Westfall, Kevin O'Morrison | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Golden Hawk | 1952 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 83 | Frank Yerby's novel of Spanish-English fight against France in 17th century, set in Caribbean seas. | tt0044670 | Rhonda Fleming, Sterling Hayden, John Sutton, Raymond Hatton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Golden Horde | 1951 | George Sherman | ★★ | 77 | Typical Arabian adventure set in 13th century, with Blyth using her brains to outwit invaders of her people's city. | tt0043593 | Ann Blyth, David Farrar, George Macready, Henry Brandon, Richard Egan | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Golden Idol | 1954 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 71 | Bomba the Jungle Boy (with the help of some 'talking' drums) recovers a priceless Watusi statue stolen by evil Arabs. | tt0047036 | Johnny Sheffield, Anne Kimbell, Paul Guilfoyle, Leonard Mudie, Smoki Whitfield, Rick Vallin | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Golden Madonna | 1949 | Ladislao Vajda | ★★½ | 88 | Lively romantic yarn of Yankee lass inheriting an Italian villa and, aided by Rennie, seeking to retrieve a holy painting. | tt0041419 | Phyllis Calvert, Michael Rennie, Tullio Carminati | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Golden Mask | 1954 | Jack Lee | ★★½ | 88 | Intelligent adventure yarn of people seeking fabulous treasure mask in Egyptian desert. | tt0046349 | Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix, Eric Portman, Charles Goldner | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Golden Mistress | 1954 | Abner Biberman | ★★ | 82 | Agar comes to Bowe's rescue in hunting out alleged voodoo killers of her father. Filmed in Haiti. | tt0047037 | John Agar, Rosemarie Bowe, Abner Biberman, Andre Narcisse | Adventure, Horror | NULL | |||
| Golden Needles | The Chase for the Golden Needles | 1974 | Robert Clouse | ★★ | 92 | Everyone seems out of place in this Hong Kong-L.A. filmed action pic about a scramble for golden statue containing youth-restoring acupuncture needles. Silly. Retitled THE CHASE FOR THE GOLDEN NEEDLES. | tt0071568 | [PG] | Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Ashley, Jim Kelly, Burgess Meredith, Ann Sothern | Action | NULL | |
| Golden Rendezvous | Nuclear Terror | 1977 | Ashley Lazarus | ★★ | 103 | Attractive cast in pointless adaptation of Alistair MacLean's novel about gambling ship held hostage by terrorists. Retitled NUCLEAR TERROR for television. | tt0076091 | Richard Harris, Ann Turkel, David Janssen, Burgess Meredith, John Vernon, Gordon Jackson, Keith Baxter, Dorothy Malone, John Carradine | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Golden Salamander | 1950 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 96 | Courting a Tunisian girl, Howard becomes involved in gun smuggling; taut actioner. | tt0043594 | Trevor Howard, Anouk Aimée, Walter Rilla, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Golden Seal | 1983 | Frank Zuniga | ★★★ | 95 | Straightforward family film about a young couple and their son, living in the Aleutian islands, cut off from the world. Like the Aleut natives, the father (Railsback) has long pursued the golden seal, a near-mythical creature with an enormous bounty on its head, but it's the boy (Campbell) who finds him, and tries to protect him. Dialogue is stiff, but when the action picks up it's absorbing and enjoyable. | tt0085608 | [PG] | Steve Railsback, Michael Beck, Penelope Milford, Torquil Campbell, Seth Sakai, Richard Narita, Sandra Seacat | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Golden Stallion | 1949 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Smugglers use wild horses to sneak their contraband diamonds across the border, then Trigger gets blamed for a murder. Roy takes responsibility, goes to jail, and the smugglers buy Trigger at auction, training the horse to smuggle diamonds. One of Rogers' best 'serious' Westerns directed by Witney. | tt0041420 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, Pat Brady, Douglas Evans, Frank Fenton, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Golden Voyage of Sinbad | 1974 | Gordon Hessler. | ★★★ | 104 | Delightful rehash of earlier Sinbad adventures that evokes Saturday matinee fare of the 1950s, with Ray Harryhausen's finest 'Dynamation' effects: a ship's figurehead comes to life, and a six-armed statue does sword battle with Sinbad in action highlights. Grand entertainment. | tt0071569 | [G] | John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, Tom Baker, Douglas Wilmer, Gregoire Aslan, John Garfield/Jr. | British | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Golden West | 1932 | David Howard | ★★½ | 74 | Solid Zane Grey story of O'Brien leaving town after feud killing, encountering Indians; son, raised as an Indian after father killed in massacre. Good 'B+' Western. | tt0022953 |
|
George O'Brien, Janet Chandler, Marion Burns, Arthur Pierson, Onslow Stevens | Western | NULL | ||
| GoldenEye | 1995 | Martin Campbell | ★★★ | 130 | Brosnan's debut as 007 is a slam-bang action adventure in the best Bond tradition, with eye-popping stunts, sexy women, and international intrigue. (There are also P.C. remarks about Bond being sexist and/or an anachronism.) The crux of the story is internal sabotage within Russia, and Bond's attempt to figure out who's behind it— and how to stop them before they use their stolen weapons to harm the free world. That's Minnie Driver as the Russian nightclub singer. | tt0113189 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco, Famke Janssen, Joe Don Baker, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Tcheky Karyo, Gottfried John, Alan Cumming, Desmond Llewelyn, Samantha Bond | Action, Crime, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Goldengirl | 1979 | Joseph Sargent | ★★ | 104 | Statuesque Anton is more or less turned into a robot so she can become a star in the Olympics. So-so. TV version runs 117m. (though it was originally planned for miniseries length— until the U.S. decided to boycott the Moscow Olympics). | tt0079225 | [PG] | Susan Anton, Curt Jurgens, Robert Culp, Leslie Caron, Harry Guardino, Jessica Walter | Drama | NULL | ||
| Goldfinger | 1964 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★½ | 111 | Entertaining, exciting James Bond adventure, third in the series. Full of ingenious gadgets and nefarious villains, with hair-raising climax inside Fort Knox. Frobe (Goldfinger) and Sakata (Oddjob) are villains in the classic tradition. | tt0058150 | Sean Connery, Gert Frobe, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Harold Sakata, Tania Mallett | British | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Goldstein | 1965 | Benjamin Manaster, Philip Kaufman | ★★½ | 85 | The prophet Elijah (Gilbert) emerges from Lake Michigan, is pursued by sculptor Erhart. Odd, unsatisfying satire filmed in Chicago. Based on a story by Martin Buber. Original running time: 115m. | tt0144947 | Lou Gilbert, Ellen Madison, Thomas Erhart, Benito Carruthers, Severn Darden, Nelson Algren | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Goldtown Ghost Riders | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★★ | 57 | Rancher-turned-circuit-court-judge Autry tries a murderer who claims the man he is accused of killing is still alive. Intricate, somber story with plenty of action and thrills; one of Gene's best latter-day films. | tt0045829 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Kirk Riley, Carleton Young, Neyle Morrow, John Doucette, Denver Pyle, Blackie Whiteford. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Goldwyn Follies | 1938 | George Marshall | ★½ | 120 | Dreadful hodgepodge as producer Menjou hires Leeds as 'Miss Humanity,' to judge his movies from average person's point of view. She probably would have skipped this one. Ritz Bros. come off best, while Baker sings 'Love Walked In' about 30 times. George Balanchine's ballet is a matter of taste. Look for Alan Ladd as an auditioning singer. | tt0030194 | Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, Kenny Baker, The Ritz Brothers, Zorina, Helen Jepson, Bobby Clark, Edgar Bergen | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Golem | 1920 | Paul Wegener, Carl Boese | ★★★½ | 75 | Chilling, visually dazzling story of the supernatural, based on a famous Jewish folktale of the 16th century. Rudolph of Hapsburg has exiled the Jews, blaming them for a plague; a rabbi conjures up a golem (a clay monster, played by Wegener) in order to convince the king to repeal the edict. This classic of German Expressionist cinema is also a forerunner of FRANKENSTEIN, from the way the golem is brought to life to his attraction to a child. The sets were designed by famed architect Hans Poelzig. The story has been filmed many times; Wegener also codirected versions in 1914 and 1917, and Julien Duvivier filmed it in 1938, with Harry Baur. Aka THE GOLEM: HOW HE CAME INTO THE WORLD. | tt0011237 | Paul Wegener, Albert Steinruck, Ernst Deutsch, Lyda Salmonova | German | Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Goliath Against the Giants | 1961 | Guido Malatesta | ★½ | 90 | Juvenile cartoon characterizations in this sword-and-sandal, with Harris overcoming sea creatures, Amazons, and his people's enemies. | tt0056035 | Brad Harris, Gloria Milland, Fernando Rey, Barbara Carrol | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Goliath and the Barbarians | 1960 | Carlo Campogalliani | ★★ | 86 | Muscleman Reeves comes to the rescue of Italy by holding off rampaging hordes pressing down from the Alps. | tt0053346 | Steve Reeves, Bruce Cabot, Giulia Rubini, Chelo Alonso, Arturo Dominici, Gino Scotti | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Goliath and the Dragon | 1960 | Vittorio Cottafavi | 💣 | 87 | Fantasy costumer with embarrassing performances by all; poor special effects, with Forest challenging villainous Crawford. | tt0054437 | Mark Forest, Broderick Crawford, Gaby Andre, Leonora Ruffo | Italian | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Goliath and the Vampires | 1961 | Giacomo Gentilomo | ★½ | 91 | Cloak-and-sandal nonsense; spotty special effects add only color to film. U.S. release 1964. | tt0055115 | Gordon Scott, Jacques Sernas, Gianna Maria Canale | Italian | Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Gomorrah | 2008 | Matteo Garrone | ★★★½ | 137 | Stark drama based on Roberto Saviano’s best-selling exposé of the Neapolitan crime organization Camorra, which permeates every facet of life in the region. Separate stories follow a pair of SCARFACE-obsessed teenage thugs who want to be accepted as mobsters, an even younger boy who’s heading in the same direction, a tailor whose moonlighting activities spell trouble, a bagman who tries to stay out of the line of fire, and a businessman’s scheme to dump toxic waste quickly and cheaply. Absence of a music score helps achieve a level of authenticity in this film that feels like a punch to the gut. Italian title: GOMORRA. | tt0929425 | Unrated | Salvatore Abruzzese, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Toni Servillo, Carmine Paternoster, Salvatore Cantalupo, Gigio Morra, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Gone | 2012 | Heitor Dhalia | ★★½ | 94 | When her sister suddenly disappears, a young woman instantly thinks it is the same man who kidnapped her two years earlier and came looking for her again. Only problem: authorities never believed her story and thought she made the whole thing up. Although this is genre-thriller material, Seyfried's strong portrayal of a woman trying to unlock the truth and move on from her past keeps it going. A couple of nice twists and an exciting finale make this a satisfying, if forgettable, kidnap drama. | tt1838544 | [PG-13] | Amanda Seyfried, Daniel Sunjata, Jennifer Carpenter, Sebastian Stan, Wes Bentley, Nick Searcy, Socrates Otto, Emily Wickersham, John David Moore, Michael Paré, Katherine Moenig, Ted Rooney | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Gone Are the Days | 1963 | Nicholas Webster | ★★★ | 97 | Davis' satiric fable Purlie Victorious survives cheap adaptation, thanks to buoyant performances and basic story: self-appointed preacher schemes to undo a despotic plantation owner, as a symbolic freeing of his people from ways of the Old South. Alda's film debut. | tt0057112 | Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Sorrell Booke, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan Alda, Beah Richards | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Gone Baby Gone | 2007 | Ben Affleck | ★★★ | 115 | Young detective (Affleck) is asked to help investigate the disappearance of a 4-year old girl from a working-class Boston neighborhood. He discovers that the truth is elusive as he deals with police, drug dealers, and tangled community ties. Tense, gritty drama loses steam by the end, but an atmosphere of regional clannishness and thick moral rot is impressively conveyed by first-time director Affleck (who also has a great eye and ear for Boston “types”). His brother Casey stands tall in a terrific cast, with Ryan particularly good as the young girl's less-than-ideal mother. The director and Aaron Stockard adapted Dennis Lehane's novel. | tt0452623 | [R] | Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Titus Welliver | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Gone Fishin' | 1997 | Christopher Cain | 💣 | 94 | Annoyingly unfunny gambit of two bungling buddies off to the Florida Everglades where their dream fishing vacation is a catastrophe from beginning to end. An embarrassing waste of talent. This film really smells. | tt0119214 | [PG] | Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, Lynn Whitfield, Nick Brimble, Carol Kane, Willie Nelson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gone With the Wind | 1939 | Victor Fleming | ★★★★ | 222 | If not the greatest movie ever made, certainly one of the greatest examples of storytelling on film, maintaining interest for nearly four hours. Margaret Mitchell's story is, in effect, a Civil War soap opera, focusing on vixenish Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, brilliantly played by Leigh; she won Oscar, as did the picture, McDaniel, director Fleming, screenwriter Sidney Howard (posthumously), many others. Memorable music by Max Steiner in this one-of-a-kind film meticulously produced by David O. Selznick. Followed over five decades later by a TV miniseries, Scarlett. | tt0031381 | Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Victor Jory, Laura Hope Crews, Hattie McDaniel, Ona Munson, Harry Davenport, Ann Rutherford, Evelyn Keyes, Carroll Nye, Paul Hurst, Isabel Jewell, Cliff Edwards, Ward Bond, Butterfly McQueen, Rand Brooks, Eddie Anderson, Oscar Polk, Jane Darwell, William Bakewell, L. Kemble-Cooper, Eric Linden, George Reeves | Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gone in 60 Seconds | 1974 | H. B. Halicki | ★★ | 103 | Muddled drama about a car-theft ring is highlighted by a 40-minute-long chase sequence, which is well made— but so what? Remade (in name only) in 2000. | tt0071571 | [PG] | H. B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, James McIntire, George Cole, Parnelli Jones | Action | NULL | ||
| Gone in Sixty Seconds | 2000 | Dominic Sena | ★½ | 117 | Relentlessly stupid remake of the 1974 drive-in hit about a reformed car thief who— to save his kid brother— agrees to marshal a mass theft in 48 hours' time, while cop Lindo is hot on his trail. Even for a no-brainer this is pretty poor, with low-octane action and a preposterous finale. Jolie is barely in it; Duvall and Lindo are wasted. Unrated version also available. | tt0187078 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo, TJ Cross, William Lee Scott, Scott Caan, James Duval, Will Patton, Timothy Olyphant, Christopher Eccleston, Chi McBride, Jaime Bergman, Frances Fisher, Bodhi Elfman, Arye Gross | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Gong Show Movie | 1980 | Chuck Barris | 💣 | 89 | Barris created a bizarre TV show that belongs in a time capsule, but this movie (which dwells on Chuck's pressures and problems as host and producer of the show) belongs in the trash bin. | tt0080808 | [R] | Chuck Barris, Robin Altman, Mabel King, Murray Langston, Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr, Rip Taylor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson | 2008 | Alex Gibney | ★★★½ | 120 | Running the full political-commentary gamut from George McGovern to Patrick J. Buchanan, director Gibney's first outing following TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE examines the volatile career of celebrity journalism's most iconoclastic figure. Though it skimps on Thompson's formative years growing up as a Louisville outsider, this kinetic portrait is staggering on an "access" level, from both of Thompson's wives to writer Tom Wolfe to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner to illustrator Ralph Steadman to Hells Angel Sonny Barger to Jimmy Carter. Johnny Depp reads passages from Thompson's classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas against clips from the screen version in which he starred. | tt0479468 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Good | 2008 | Vicente Amorim | ★★ | 96 | German university professor (Mortensen) resists the rise of Nazism in the early 1930s but ultimately finds himself caught in its tide . . . to the astonishment of his best friend, a Jewish psychiatrist (Isaacs) whose life is made more hellish with each passing year. Ineffectual and unsatisfying, considering the dramatic ingredients. Based on a stage play by C. P. Taylor. | tt0436364 | Unrated | Viggo Mortensen, Jason Isaacs, Jodie Whittaker, Mark Strong, Gemma Jones, Steven Mackintosh, Rick Warden | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Good Boy! | 2003 | John Robert Hoffman | ★★ | 88 | Lonely boy finds a 'best friend' in a dog from the neighborhood pound, but this canine is actually from another planet, fulfilling a mission on Earth. What's more, he enables the boy to hear what he and all his fellow dogs have to say. Mild fantasy-comedy may appeal to very young children. | tt0326900 | [PG] | Molly Shannon, Liam Aiken, Kevin Nealon, Brittany Moldowan, Hunter Elliot, Mikhael Speidel; voices of Matthew Broderick, Vanessa Redgrave, Delta Burke, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Carl Reiner, Brittany Murphy | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Good Burger | 1997 | Brian Robbins | ★★ | 95 | Broad, juvenile comedy aimed at fans of Kenan and Kel from their Nickelodeon TV series. The existence of a scruffy fast-food establishment ('Welcome to Good Burger, home of the good burger, may I take your order?') is threatened by the arrival of all-powerful Mondo Burger across the street. Like fast food itself, this film offers no real nourishment, but will appeal to kids just the same. | tt0119215 | [PG] | Kel Mitchell, Kenan Thompson, Sinbad, Abe Vigoda, Shar Jackson, Dan Schneider, Jan Schwieterman, Ron Lester, Carmen Electra, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Wuhl | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Good Bye, Lenin! | 2003 | Wolfgang Becker | ★★★ | 119 | An East Berlin teenager (Brühl) feels liberated when the Wall comes down in 1989; his mother, a divorcée who has become an ardent Communist, falls into a coma just as Westernization is being welcomed. So the teen, with his older sister, decides to dupe his recuperating mother into believing German reunification never happened! Leisurely paced, lighthearted film deals with the transient nature of history as well as coming of age in a single-parent household. This was a box-office smash in Germany. | tt0301357 | [R] | Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Maria Simon, Florian Lukas, Alexander Beyer, Burghart Klaussner | German-French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Good Companions | 1933 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 113 | J. B. Priestley's novel about a group of strangers who form traveling theatrical company turns into a delightful film. Matthews is given full rein to display her considerable musical and comedic charms; Gielgud is equally humorous and surprising. He even sings! Remade in 1956. | tt0024073 | Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, John Gielgud, George Zucco, Dennis Hoey, Mary Glynne, Finlay Currie, Jack Hawkins, Max Miller | British | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Good Companions | 1956 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 104 | Fabulous cast adds luster to this entertaining chronicle of a group of individuals who combine their resources to save a failing 'concert party' (musical troupe). Based on a novel by J. B. Priestley; first filmed in 1933. | tt0050450 | Eric Portman, Celia Johnson, Hugh Griffith, Janette Scott, John Fraser, Joyce Grenfell, Bobby Howes, Rachel Roberts, Thora Hird, Mona Washbourne, Alec McCowen, John Le Mesurier, Anthony Newley, Shirley Anne Field | British | Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Good Dame | 1934 | Marion Gering | ★½ | 74 | March and Sidney deserve better than this: tired story of carnival huckster redeemed by the love of a good woman. | tt0025192 | Fredric March, Sylvia Sidney, Jack LaRue, Helene Chadwick, Noel Francis, Russell Hopton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Good Day for a Hanging | 1958 | Nathan Juran | ★★½ | 85 | Straightforward account of MacMurray taking over for slain sheriff and bringing in killer, only to find townspeople don't care if murderer is sentenced. | tt0051673 | Fred MacMurray, Margaret Hayes, Robert Vaughn, Joan Blackman, James Drury, Denver Pyle | Western | NULL | |||
| Good Deeds | Tyler Perry's Good Deeds | 2012 | Tyler Perry | ★★ | 111 | Eschewing his Madea shtick, writer-director Perry casts himself as the plainclothes lead in his soap-operatic drama about a buttoned-down exec (Perry) who dutifully runs the family business. He caters to everyone else's expectations until he gets a shot at true happiness with a feisty single mom (Newton) who works as a janitor in his corporate headquarters. Inoffensively pleasant, but also thoroughly predictable and instantly forgettable. Aka TYLER PERRY'S GOOD DEEDS. | tt1885265 | [PG-13] | Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton, Brian White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Eddie Cibrian, Jordenn Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Gabrielle Union | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Good Die Young | 1954 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★ | 100 | Solid cast fails to enhance standard robbery tale, with a quartet of strangers coming together to commit a holdup. | tt0047040 | Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Richard Basehart, Stanley Baker, Margaret Leighton, John Ireland, Joan Collins | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Good Doctor | 2012 | Lance Daly | ★★ | 90 | Mild-mannered young resident who displays hints of a duplicitous nature becomes obsessed with a high school patient. In a series of events that would undoubtedly enliven a course in medical ethics, he begins altering her medications so that she must remain in the hospital under his care. One of those occasional movies that would be a "lot" better were it just a "little" better, borderline black comedy fails to fully mine certain intriguing elements. It keeps you going for a while, though, and actress Keough has the right ethereal quality for the role; in real life, she's Elvis Presley's granddaughter. Very strange final shot isn't likely to please anyone. | tt1582271 | [PG-13] | Orlando Bloom, Riley Keough, Taraji P. Henson, Rob Morrow, Troy Garity, Michael Peña, J. K. Simmons | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Good Earth | 1937 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★★ | 138 | Mammoth Pearl Buck novel recreated in detail, telling story of greed ruining lives of simple Chinese farming couple. Rainer won Oscar as the ever-patient wife of Muni, as did Karl Freund for his cinematography. Screenplay by Talbot Jennings, Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West. The special effects are outstanding. | tt0028944 | Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly, Charley Grapewin, Jessie Ralph, Tilly Losch, Keye Luke, Harold Huber | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Good Fairy | 1935 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 97 | Sparkling romantic comedy, adapted from Molnar play by Preston Sturges; wide-eyed Sullavan tries to act as 'good fairy' to struggling lawyer Marshall, while hotly pursued by wealthy Morgan. Hilarious, charming; movie spoof near beginning is priceless. Remade as I'LL BE YOURS. | tt0026424 | Margaret Sullavan, Herbert Marshall, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Alan Hale/Sr., Beulah Bondi, Cesar Romero | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Good Father | 1987 | Mike Newell | ★★½ | 90 | Hopkins is excellent in the role of a father who loses custody of his child and takes out his incredible anger by befriending Broadbent and funding latter's court case to regain his kid's custody. Callow is terrific as an unscrupulous lawyer. Dramatically uneven, but worth a look. Made for British TV. | tt0093103 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Fanny Viner, Simon Callow, Joanne Whalley, Michael Byrne | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Good Fences | 2003 | Ernest R. Dickerson | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Refined, upwardly mobile couple move into a tony, WASPy cul-de-sac in Greenwich, Connecticut, in the 1970s with their teenage son and daughter and establish themselves through the years as good neighbors. Then circumstances turn them into the very bigots they’d left behind. Goldberg and Glover produced the wry comedy-drama, with Spike Lee as executive producer, from Trey Ellis’ crafty adaptation of ex-wife Erika Ellis’ novel. Made for cable. | tt0326901 | Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Mo’Nique, Zachary Simmons Glover, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Marlyne Afflack, Joy Tanner | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Good Fight | 1983 | Mary Dore, Sam Sills, Noel Buckner | ★★★½ | 98 | Incisive, often moving documentary of the 3,200 American men and women who were among 40,000 volunteers battling Fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Franco may have won and they may have been harassed by their own government, but they are ultimately both authentic American patriots and survivors. Cut to 85m. for PBS showings. | tt0085610 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Good German | 2006 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 107 | War correspondent Clooney returns to Berlin in 1945 on the eve of the Potsdam conference and discovers a city in ruins, both physically and morally. His driver-escort (Maguire) has mastered the black market, and a woman Clooney knew before (Blanchett) has done God knows what in order to survive the war. Now Clooney finds himself knee-deep in international intrigue and murder-and still emotionally connected to Blanchett. Shot on the Warner Bros. back lot in order to invoke 1940s Hollywood movies, this is an interesting stylistic exercise for Soderbergh (who also shot and edited, under pseudonyms) and pretty entertaining, but it lacks, in Rick Blaine's words, a 'wow finish.' Paul Attanasio adapted Joseph Kanon's novel. | tt0452624 | [R] | George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Tony Curran, Leland Orser, Jack Thompson, Robin Weigert, Ravil Isyanov, Christian Oliver | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Good Girl | 2002 | Miguel Arteta | ★★★½ | 93 | A 30-year-old woman who feels her life is at a dead end becomes intrigued with a 20-ish loner, and winds up putting her marriage at risk. A rare film that manages to make a transition from comedy to poignant drama, with a denouement that's nearly heartbreaking— thanks to good writing and wonderful acting by the leads. Screenplay by White, who costars as a security guard. | tt0279113 | [R] | Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Zooey Deschanel, Tim Blake Nelson, Mike White, Deborah Rush, John Carroll Lynch | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Good Girls Go to Paris | 1939 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 75 | Spunky waitress will do anything to visit France; she sees a meal ticket in wealthy Curtis, but really loves professor Douglas. OK comedy. | tt0031383 | Melvyn Douglas, Joan Blondell, Walter Connolly, Alan Curtis, Isabel Jeans, Clarence Kolb | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Good Guy | 2010 | Julio DePietro | ★½ | 91 | Hackneyed account of the life and times of some young, contemporary, upscale New Yorkers. The males (with one exception) are hyperaggressive Wall Street players, the females are relationship-obsessed Sex and the City clones, and there's not a human being in the bunch. The crux of the story involves the connection between pretty Bledel and her testosterone-laden boyfriend (Porter). | tt1247662 | [R] | Scott Porter, Alexis Bledel, Bryan Greenberg, Aaron Yoo, Anna Chlumsky, Jessalyn Wanlim, Andrew Stewart-Jones, Eric Thal, Trini Alvarado, Colin Egglesfield, Christine Evangelista, Andrew McCarthy, Adam LeFevre | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Good Guys Wear Black | 1979 | Ted Post | ★★ | 96 | Norris jumps feet first through a windshield and threatens to rearrange the face of bellman Backus— all in the name of national security. Silly political paranoia thriller kills time easily enough. Follow-up: A FORCE OF ONE. | tt0079227 | [PG] | Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus, Lloyd Haynes, Dana Andrews, Jim Backus | Action | NULL | ||
| The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | 1969 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 91 | Mild Western comedy-drama has aging marshal Mitchum going after lifelong foe Kennedy, who has been abandoned by his outlaw gang for being over the hill. | tt0064379 | [M] | Robert Mitchum, George Kennedy, David Carradine, Tina Louise, Douglas Fowley, Lois Nettleton, Martin Balsam, John Carradine | Western | NULL | ||
| The Good Heart | 2010 | Dagur Kári | ★★★ | 98 | After his fifth heart attack, a blunt-spoken, hot-tempered curmudgeon (Cox) reluctantly decides to train a mild-mannered young homeless man (Dano) as an apprentice to run, and eventually own, his seedy Manhattan tavern. Gruffly sentimental dramedy is amusing and affecting, with exceptionally fine performances and profanely funny dialogue. Cox has never been better. Written by the director. | tt0808285 | [R] | Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Isild Le Besco | U.S.-Danish-Icelandic-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Good Humor Man | 1950 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 79 | Broad slapstick comedy about ice-cream vendor Carson, who stumbles into a crime ring. Written by Frank Tashlin. | tt0042514 | Jack Carson, Lola Albright, Jean Wallace, George Reeves, Richard Egan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Good Luck | 1997 | Richard LaBrie | ★★½ | 98 | ROCKY-like story of a blind man and a paraplegic who decide to enter a white-water rafting race in order to prove their own self-worth. The theme of triumph over adversity is familiar, but the film's heart is in the right place. Some genuinely raucous and entertaining scenes. | tt0116439 | [R] | Gregory Hines, Vincent D'Onofrio, James Earl Jones, Max Gail, Joe Theismann, Roy Firestone, Maria O'Brien, Sara Trigger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Good Luck Chuck | 2007 | Mark Helfrich | ★½ | 99 | A lifelong curse is placed on playboy Cook that makes him the last man to sleep with a woman before she meets and marries her true love. When he falls head over heels for marine biologist Alba he must keep from consummating the relationship or risk losing her. Really dumb premise is even worse than it sounds. Cook and Alba fumble every comic opportunity. Unrated version runs 101m. | tt0452625 | [R] | Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, Dan Fogler, Troy Gentile, Chelan Simmons | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff | The Sin | 1979 | Marvin J. Chomsky | 💣 | 105 | Repressed schoolteacher's first taste of sex comes via rape, in awkward adaptation of William Inge novel. Good cast generally wasted. Video titles: THE SIN, THE SHAMING, and SECRET YEARNINGS. | tt0079228 | [R] | Anne Heywood, Donald Pleasence, Robert Vaughn, Carolyn Jones, Dorothy Malone, Ronee Blakley, John Lafayette, Earl Holliman | Drama | NULL | |
| A Good Man in Africa | 1994 | Bruce Beresford | ★½ | 93 | Crass, slapdash filming of William Boyd's novel about a weak-willed (and all-too-often insufferable) British diplomat (Friels) in a new African nation; the scenario accomplishes little more than to depict blacks as silly, unbelievable stereotypes. Connery is sorely wasted in the role of a sympathetic doctor. Boyd scripted and also coproduced with Beresford. | tt0109920 | [R] | Colin Friels, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Sean Connery, John Lithgow, Louis Gossett/Jr., Diana Rigg, Sarah-Jane Fenton, Maynard Eziashi, Jackie Mofokeng | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Good Morning | 1959 | Yasujiro Ozu. | ★★★ | 93 | Perceptive comedy about life from the perspective of two spoiled children who take a vow of silence when their father refuses to buy them a TV set. Brightly hued remake of Ozu's own equally sharp I WAS BORN, BUT . . . updates the material but retains his wry take on the Westernization of Japanese society. | tt0053134 | Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Masahiko Shimazu, Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Miyake, Haruko Sugimura. | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Good Morning Babylon | 1987 | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | ★★★ | 117 | Two Italian brothers, whose artisan family has shaped and restored cathedrals for generations, come to America in 1915 and wind up working for D. W. Griffith on his epic film INTOLERANCE. A valentine to the early days of moviemaking, and a statement about the immortality of art, be it sculpture or film. Beguilingly naive, like the period (and the people) it depicts, with a surprising turn of events for its denouement. Dance is a standout as D.W. Griffith. | tt0093104 | [PG-13] | Vincent Spano, Joaquim De Almeida, Greta Scacchi, Desiree Becker, Charles Dance, Omero Antonutti, David Brandon | Italian-French-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Good Morning, Miss Dove | 1955 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 107 | For several generations, small town spinster schoolteacher has touched and helped shape lives of her students. Now hospitalized, her past is revealed through flashbacks. Sentimental, warm, and wonderful. | tt0048130 | Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack, Kipp Hamilton, Robert Douglas, Peggy Knudsen, Marshall Thompson, Chuck Connors, Biff Elliot, Jerry Paris, Mary Wickes, Richard Deacon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Good Morning, Vietnam | 1987 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 120 | Williams is the whole show here, playing an Army disc jockey who turns Armed Forces radio inside out when he's brought to Saigon in 1965. His manic monologues are so uproarious that they carry the rest of the film, which has a weakly developed 'story' and often irrelevant musical interludes. Apparently the real-life Adrian Cronauer, on whom story was based, wasn't nearly as funny or outrageous as Williams. | tt0093105 | [R] | Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, J.T. Walsh, Noble Willingham, Floyd Vivino | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Good Mother | 1988 | Leonard Nimoy | ★★ | 103 | Keaton is excellent as usual in the role of a divorced woman who finds sexual fulfillment for the first time in her life . . . but unwittingly jeopardizes her ability to raise her daughter in the process. Tedious adaptation of the Sue Miller novel. Film debut of Matt Damon (as an extra). | tt0095238 | [R] | Diane Keaton, Liam Neeson, Jason Robards, Ralph Bellamy, Teresa Wright, James Naughton, Asia Vieira, Joe Morton, Katey Sagal, Tracy Griffith, Charles Kimbrough | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Good Neighbor Sam | 1964 | David Swift | ★★★ | 130 | Good comedy of Lemmon's adventures pretending he's not married to his real wife but to luscious neighbor Schneider. Plenty of sight gags and chase scenes make this a lot of fun. Based on a novel by Jack Finney. | tt0058153 | Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Edward G. Robinson, Michael Connors, Dorothy Provine, Neil Hamilton, Joyce Jameson, Robert Q. Lewis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Good News | 1947 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 95 | Spirited remake of the 1920s collegiate musical (by DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson), given a new coat of varnish by screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Lawford is Tait College's cocky football hero, and Allyson is the brainy girl who catches him on the rebound. Vintage songs include 'The Best Things in Life are Free,' 'Just Imagine,' 'Varsity Drag'; new numbers include 'The French Lesson' and 'Pass That Peace Pipe.' Filmed previously in 1930. | tt0039431 | June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Patricia Marshall, Joan McCracken, Ray McDonald, Mel Torme, Donald MacBride, Tom Dugan, Clinton Sundberg | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Good Night | 2005 | Jake Paltrow | ★★½ | 93 | Pleasant enough Tylenol PM fantasy about a former pop star, now a bored composer for TV commercials, who yearns to find his (literal) dream girl. Then she becomes a tad too real. Somewhat like THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP without the metaphysics or VERTIGO without the murder. Easy to take but leaves you wanting more. A brunette Gwyneth dials down her glow to "dim" in this debut film from her younger brother, who also scripted. Third-billed Gambon barely appears. | tt0808054 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Martin Freeman, Michael Gambon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Simon Pegg, Danny DeVito, Keith Allen, Lucy DeVito | 5-U.S-British-Germa | Family | NULL | |
| Good Night, and Good Luck. | 2005 | George Clooney | ★★★½ | 93 | Vivid dramatization of newscaster Edward R. Murrow's groundbreaking on-the-air confrontation with Commie-hunting Senator Joseph R. McCarthy in the 1950s. Skillful production design (by Jim Bissell), cinematography (Robert Elswit), and editing (Stephen Mirrione) combine with pitch-perfect performances to make us feel like a fly on the wall as CBS television journalists confer, converse, carouse, and put history-making television programs on the air. Strathairn is superb as Murrow; McCarthy 'plays' himself in vintage kinescope footage. Written by Clooney and producer Grant Heslov. | tt0433383 | [PG] | David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey/Jr., Frank Langella, Ray Wise, Robert John Burke, Reed Diamond, Tate Donovan, Alex Borstein, Dianne Reeves | Drama, History | NULL | ||
| The Good Old Boys | 1995 | Tommy Lee Jones | Above Average TV Movie | 130 | Jones (who not only directed but also cowrote the teleplay) ambles his grizzled way through this turn-of-the-century comedy-drama about a saddletramp torn between the footloose life he loves in the shrinking American West and settling down with the local schoolmarm. The Texas twangs make some dialogue sometimes difficult to decipher (at least for Eastern ears). From Elmer Kelton's 1978 novel. Made for cable. | tt0113196 | Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek, Frances McDormand, Sam Shepard, Terry Kinney, Wilford Brimley, Walter Olkewicz, Park Overall, Matt Damon | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Good Old Soak | 1937 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★½ | 67 | Beery is the lovable small-town drunkard of the title, who sobers up in time to put a crooked banker in his place and straighten out the financial mess son Linden got in to impress a big-city showgirl. Typical Beery vehicle. | tt0028946 | Wallace Beery, Una Merkel, Eric Linden, Judith Barrett, Betty Furness, Ted Healy, Janet Beecher, George Sidney, Margaret Hamilton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Good Sam | 1948 | Leo McCarey | ★★ | 113 | Almost complete misfire, despite cast and director. Cooper is an incurable good Samaritan in this lifeless comedy. Some prints run 128m. | tt0040395 | Gary Cooper, Ann Sheridan, Ray Collins, Edmund Lowe, Joan Lorring, Ruth Roman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Good Shepherd | 2006 | Robert De Niro | ★★★½ | 167 | Gripping story of an emotionally repressed young man who is recruited at Yale to do espionage work during WW2 and then to join the nascent Central Intelligence Agency, even though it means an enormous sacrifice to his family life. Eric Roth's fictional screenplay (based heavily on fact) covers a lot of ground and provides great insight into the nature of the 'spy business.' De Niro's treatment uses THE GODFATHER as its dramatic template, quite successfully. Damon is excellent, and surrounded by well-chosen actors in every part, no matter how small. Exceptional cinematography by Robert Richardson. | tt0343737 | [R] | Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, Tammy Blanchard, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Keir Dullea, Michael Gambon, Martina Gedeck, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Mark Ivanir, Gabriel Macht, Lee Pace, Joe Pesci, Eddie Redmayne, John Sessions, Oleg Stefan, John Turturro | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Good Son | 1993 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 87 | Superficial BAD SEED-type thriller, which exploitively casts HOME ALONE star Culkin as an unremorseful, pre-teen sociopath who terrorizes his cousin (Wood), among many others. What's next: bringing back Shirley Temple and having her place high-tech explosives on the Good Ship Lollipop? Macaulay's sister Quinn plays his sibling, and his brother Rory can be glimpsed in a key photograph. | tt0107034 | [R] | Macaulay Culkin, Elijah Wood, Wendy Crewson, David Morse, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Jacqueline Brookes, Quinn Culkin | Horror, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Good Thief | 2003 | Neil Jordan | ★★ | 109 | Sleepy remake of Jean-Pierre Melville's BOB LE FLAMBEUR, with Nolte as a mumbling, heroin-addicted gambler and thief based in Nice who reluctantly takes part in a Riviera casino heist in order to replenish his finances. Colorfully cast and photographed (by Chris Menges), with Nolte making Robert Mitchum seem frenzied by comparison. Some regard this film as the ultimate in Cool; we find it lethargic. | tt0281820 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Tchéky Karyo, Said Taghmaoui, Nutsa Kukhianidze, Gerard Darmon, Ouassini Embarek, Emir Kusturica, Marc Lavoine, Mark Polish, Mike Polish, Ralph Fiennes | British-Irish-French-Canadian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Good Time Girl | 1950 | David MacDonald | ★½ | 81 | Inoffensive trivia about young girl steered away from wayward life by a judge's recounting the tragic fate of another teenager. | tt0042515 | Jean Kent, Dennis Price, Herbert Lom, Flora Robson | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Good Times | 1967 | William Friedkin | ★★½ | 91 | Back when the singing duo was considered kooky, they made this enjoyable little film, with Sonny fantasizing their potential movie roles and he and Cher singing 'I Got You Babe.' Friedkin's first film. | tt0061720 | Sonny Bono, Cher, George Sanders, Norman Alden, Larry Duran | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Good Wife | 1986 | Ken Cameron | ★★½ | 92 | Isolated, bored wife Ward becomes obsessed with the new man in town (Neill). Predictable and a bit slow but also well made and well acted. Overall, a very mixed bag. Original Australian title: THE UMBRELLA WOMAN. | tt0093106 | [R] | Rachel Ward, Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Steven Vidler, Jennifer Claire, Bruce Barry | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Good Will Hunting | 1997 | Gus Van Sant | ★★★ | 126 | Four working-class friends hang out together in South Boston, but one of them, pugnacious Will Hunting (Damon), has an unusual gift: he's a genius. When M.I.T. math professor Skarsgård gets wind of this, he insists that the young man stop wasting his talents, and sends him to psychologist/teacher Williams to try to crack his brittle shell. Well-acted fiction written by costars Damon and Ben Affleck doesn't bear close scrutiny but certainly entertains, with an array of good performances. Oscar nods for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Williams). | tt0119217 | [R] | Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgård, Casey Affleck, Cole Hauser | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Good Woman | 2005 | Mike Barker | ★★ | 93 | Ill-conceived version of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan (filmed several times across the decades), set in Italy rather than England and updated from the 1890s to the 1930s. A number of Wilde's British characters now are Americans; one of them is Mrs. Erlynne (a sorely miscast Hunt), an insolvent adventuress who arrives in Amalfi and determines to seduce filthy-rich, newly married Robert Windermere (Umbers). Released in the U.S. in 2006. | tt0379306 | [PG] | Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Milena Vukotic, Stephen Campbell Moore, Mark Umbers, Roger Hammond, John Standing, Tom Wilkinson, Diana Hardcastle | U.S.-Spanish-Italian-British-Luxembourg | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Good Year | 2006 | Ridley Scott | ★★½ | 117 | Ruthless London commodities trader learns that a beloved uncle has died and left him his property in Provence; when he goes back to this scene of happy childhood memories he slowly experiences a change in his outlook on life. Based on the book by Peter Mayle (who also wrote A Year in Provence), story takes a backseat to atmosphere, and while it's attractive, the film needs a light touch that neither Crowe nor director Scott can provide. | tt0401445 | [PG-13] | Ridley Scott. Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish, Didier Bourdon, Tom Hollander, Freddie Highmore, Isabelle Gardener, Archie Panjabi, Rafe Spall, Kenneth Cranham | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Good for Nothing | 2012 | Mike Wallis | ★★★ | 92 | A highly offbeat spin on, and homage to, spaghetti Westerns, about a prim, proper British woman (Rademeyer) who travels out West to stay at her uncle's ranch after being orphaned. Instead, she is kidnapped by a taciturn (and randy) outlaw who wants to have his way with her. Things don't work out as planned for either of them, but they develop a strange attraction during their time together. Filmed against magnificent New Zealand backdrops. An impressive debut feature for writer-director Wallis. | tt1783285 | [R] | Cohen Holloway, Inge Rademeyer, Jon Pheloung, Richard Thompson, Toa Waaka, Steve Cronin | New Zealand | Western | NULL | |
| Good to Go | Short Fuse | 1986 | Blaine Novak | ★★ | 87 | Forgettable fare about journalist Garfunkel, who's framed on a rape-murder charge. Of interest mainly for its go-go music, which came out of the Washington D.C. ghetto . . . and did not become the national music fad of its time. Highlighted are the performances of such go-go groups as Redds & the Boys, Trouble Funk, Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers, among others. Video title: SHORT FUSE. | tt0091138 | [R] | Art Garfunkel, Robert Doqui, Harris Yulin, Reginald Daughtry, Richard Brooks, Hattie Winston, Anjelica Huston | Musical, Drama | NULL | |
| The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il | 1966 | Sergio Leone | ★★★½ | 161 | Third and best of Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy, set during Civil War; three disparate low-lifes search for Confederate government treasure chest, each possessing only partial whereabouts. Long, funny, and flamboyant, with memorable Ennio Morricone score; the quintessential spaghetti Western. Followed by ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. | tt0060196 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Rada Rassimov, Mario Brega, Chelo Alonso | Italian-Spanish | Drama, Action, Western | NULL |
| Good-bye, My Lady | 1956 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 95 | James Street novel of small boy (de Wilde), an elderly man (Brennan), and the basenji dog that brings joy into their lives is basis for easy-going, poignant film, set in the South. | tt0049271 | Walter Brennan, Phil Harris, Brandon de Wilde, Sidney Poitier | Drama | NULL | |||
| GoodFellas | 1990 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 146 | A boy grows up in an Italian-American neighborhood of Brooklyn and dreams of becoming part of the Mob. Fascinating look at the allure— and the reality— of day-to-day life in a Mafia family, based on experiences of Henry Hill (Liotta), who wound up in the Federal witness protection program. The violence is (necessarily) harsh and off-putting, like the film itself at times, but it's brilliantly realized by Scorsese and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Major criticism: It goes on too long. Bracco and Oscar winner Pesci stand out in an exceptional cast; that's Scorsese's mother as Pesci's mom. Screenplay by the director and Nicholas Pileggi, based on the latter's book Wiseguy. | tt0099685 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero, Tony Darrow, Mike Starr, Frank Vincent, Chuck Low, Frank DiLeo, Christopher Serrone, Samuel L. Jackson, Henny Youngman, Jerry Vale, Debi Mazar, Kevin Corrigan, Michael Imperioli, Illeana Douglas | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Goodbye Again | 1961 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 120 | Francoise Sagan's chic soaper becomes teary Bergman vehicle of middle-aged woman having affair with Perkins, still craving playboy Montand. Set in Paris. | tt0054936 | Ingrid Bergman, Tony Perkins, Yves Montand, Jessie Royce Landis, Diahann Carroll | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Goodbye Charlie | 1964 | Vincente Minnelli | ★½ | 117 | Tasteless, flat version of George Axelrod's play; crude gangster dies and comes back to earth as Reynolds. Even Matthau struggles for laughs. James Brolin is an extra in big party scene. | tt0058154 | Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone, Walter Matthau, Martin Gabel, Ellen McRae (Burstyn) | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Goodbye First Love | 2011 | Mia Hansen-Løve | ★★½ | 111 | Largely two-character drama in which high schooler Créton, who wants to be an architect, and Urzendowsky, an aspiring photographer, revel in teen romance, French melancholy, and sex, in that order. Separated by his sojourn to South America but reunited when he returns 8 years later, they find as young adults that some things have changed, others not. Unsweetened study of the light and the dark of l'amour is attractive but restrained, sensual and never sentimental. Story of an obsessive love affair stays low-key, though sometimes to the point of vapidity. | tt1618447 | Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Valérie Bonneton, Serge Renko, Õzay Fecht | French-German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Goodbye Girl | 1977 | Herbert Ross | ★★★½ | 110 | Neil Simon's warmest comedy to date puts young actor Dreyfuss and dumped-on divorcée Mason together as unwilling tenants of the same N.Y.C. apartment, explores their growing relationship. High-caliber script and performances to match; Dreyfuss won Oscar. Nicol Williamson appears unbilled. Later a Broadway musical. Remade for TV in 2004. | tt0076095 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict, Barbara Rhoades | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Goodbye Lover | 1999 | Roland Joffé | ★½ | 104 | It's double-cross upon double-cross in this comic noir exercise of battling brothers Mulroney and Johnson— and the wacko femme fatale/realtor in their lives (Arquette), who takes her marriage vows loosely, to say the least. So bad it's almost fun, from a seriously slumming director. DeGeneres' sardonic detective seems to have wandered in from another movie altogether. Telltale trouble sign: Alex Rocco and Max Perlich are billed, but hard to spot. | tt0119219 | [R] | Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Don Johnson, Ellen DeGeneres, Mary-Louise Parker, Ray McKinnon, Andre Gregory, John Neville, Lisa Eichhorn, Barry Newman | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Goodbye People | 1984 | Herb Gardner | ★½ | 104 | Absolute torture (adapted by Gardner from his play) about Balsam's begging-for-bankruptcy scheme to open a tropical drink stand on some ill-located beach property. Gardner's A THOUSAND CLOWNS may strike some as sentimental and dated, but this one doesn't even have comedy to carry it. A mawkish disaster, long on the shelf. | tt0091141 | [PG] | Judd Hirsch, Martin Balsam, Pamela Reed, Ron Silver, Michael Tucker, Gene Saks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Goodbye Pork Pie | 1981 | Geoff Murphy | ★★★ | 105 | Amiable comedy/road movie about pair of alienated men, one (Johnson) in his teens and the other (Barry) about twice his age, who trek across New Zealand in a stolen car, the police on their trail. | tt0082464 | [R] | Kelly Johnson, Tony Barry, Claire Oberman, Bruno Lawrence, John Beach, Frances Edmond | New Zealand | Adventure, Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Goodbye Solo | 2009 | Ramin Bahrani | ★★★ | 91 | Solo (Savané) is a garrulous cabdriver from Senegal who lives and works in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A taciturn passenger named William (West) hires him for a future date for a trip far out of town to a spot where he plans to end his life. Solo refuses to mind his own business and insinuates himself into William’s life. Vivid slice of life, with acute details of character and setting, from the director and cowriter of MAN PUSH CART and CHOP SHOP, and inspired by Abbas Kiaraostami’s TASTE OF CHERRY. | tt1095442 | Unrated | Souléymane Sy Savané, Red West, Carmen Leyva, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane “Roc” Williams, Mamadou Lam | Drama | NULL | ||
| Goodbye, Columbus | 1969 | Larry Peerce | ★★★ | 101 | Philip Roth's stinging portrait of successful suburban Jewish family as seen through eyes of young man (Benjamin, in his film debut) who falls in love with daughter (MacGraw, in her first starring role). Meyers steals the show as Ali's brother. Director's father Jan Peerce has a cameo role at a wedding; look for Jaclyn Smith as a model. Music composed and performed by The Association. | tt0064381 | [PG] | Richard Benjamin, Ali MacGraw, Jack Klugman, Nan Martin, Michael Meyers | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Goodbye, Mr. Chips | 1939 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 114 | Donat won well-deserved Oscar for memorable portrayal of shy schoolmaster who devotes his life to 'his boys,' only coming out of his shell when he meets Garson. Extreme length works against film's honest sentiment, but Donat makes it all worthwhile. Garson's film debut made her a star overnight. Based on James Hilton's novel; scripted by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West, and Eric Maschwitz. Remade as a musical in 1969. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031385 | Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henreid, Terry Kilburn, John Mills | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Goodbye, Mr. Chips | 1969 | Herbert Ross | ★★ | 151 | Lumbering musical remake of 1939 classic. O'Toole is good as prim schoolteacher, but Clark's role as showgirl is shallow, ludicrous. Mediocre songs don't help; what emotion there is gets lost when film plods on to modern-day anticlimax. Ross' directorial debut. Some prints are 133m. | tt0064382 | [G] | Peter O'Toole, Petula Clark, Michael Redgrave, George Baker, Sian Phillips, Michael Bryant | Drama | NULL | ||
| Goodbye, My Fancy | 1951 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 107 | Congresswoman Crawford returns to her old college, more to see former boyfriend Young than to receive honorary degree. Lovejoy is callous newsman. Film debut of Janice Rule. | tt0043595 | Joan Crawford, Robert Young, Frank Lovejoy, Eve Arden | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Goodbye, New York | 1985 | Amos Kollek | ★★½ | 90 | Cute but slight, sometimes flat chronicle of New Yorker Hagerty, a Jewish American Princess of Irish extraction who finds herself penniless and stranded in Israel. She eventually adjusts to life on a kibbutz, getting to know part-time soldier Kollek. | tt0089217 | [R] | Julie Hagerty, Amos Kollek, David Topaz, Aviva Ger, Shmuel Shiloh, Jennifer Babtist | U.S.-Israeli | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Goodbye, Norma Jean | 1976 | Larry Buchanan | 💣 | 95 | Sleazy look at adolescent Marilyn Monroe and her rocky road to stardom; what will have to be cut for TV will leave behind even less reason to watch this piece of tripe. | tt0074581 | [R] | Misty Rowe, Terence Locke, Patch Mackenzie, Preston Hanson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard | 2009 | Neal Brennan | ★½ | 89 | Ailing auto dealer Brolin hires sleazy hotshot Piven and his crew to recharge his slumping business by selling 211 dormant vehicles in four eventful days. Would-be comedy is burdened by a clumsy title and characters of appalling gall/stupidity; enthusiastically delivered, to no avail. Temecula, California, takes a lot of hits. Producer Will Ferrell has an unwarranted cameo. | tt1092633 | [R] | Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Ed Helms, Jordana Spiro, Tony Hale, Craig Robinson, Alan Thicke, Charles Napier, Ken Jeong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Goofy Movie | 1995 | Kevin Lima | ★★½ | 78 | Ever-lovable Goofy takes his son, Max, on a road-trip vacation, but it's a culture clash between the '90s boy and his old-fashioned father. Simple, straightforward Disney cartoon feature for kids with a handful of serviceable songs and a nice 'message' about father-son relationships. No Disney classic, but pleasant enough. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0113198 | [G] | Voices of Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings, Kellie Martin, Rob Paulsen, Wallace Shawn, Jenna Von Oy, Frank Welker, Jo Anne Worley, Julie Brown, Joey Lawrence, Pat Buttram | Family, Animation, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Goon | 2011 | Michael Dowse | ★★½ | 92 | Hockey-loving, childlike Scott can only find work as a brutal nightclub bouncer—until he's hired by the local semipro ice hockey team. But he's there as a goon, to beat the crap out of opposing players, ultimately intended to confront big-league Schreiber. Along the way, he finds romance with a young woman who also has self-esteem problems. Occasionally funny and warm, but almost awesomely brutal, this seems opposed to the trend of ultra-violence in hockey, but ultimately endorses the bloody activity. Entire cast shines, particularly Scott. Scripted by Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, based on the book by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith. | tt1456635 | [R] | Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy, Marc-André Grondin, Kim Coates | Canadian-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Goonies | 1985 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 114 | A bunch of kids go in search of hidden treasure in this old-fashioned adventure yarn (from a story by Steven Spielberg, who may have recalled Our Gang's MAMA'S LITTLE PIRATE). Big, lively, and exceptionally noisy, aimed squarely at kids, with a likable bunch of kids onscreen. Also makes appropriate use of Max Steiner's swashbuckling theme from ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN. | tt0089218 | [PG] | Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan (Jonathan Ke Quan), John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| The Goose and the Gander | 1935 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 65 | Forgettable fluff involving spiraling events that occur as Francis schemes against Tobin, who stole husband Forbes away from her. | tt0026426 | Kay Francis, George Brent, Genevieve Tobin, John Eldredge, Claire Dodd | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Gor | 1988 | Fritz Kiersch | ★½ | 95 | Ordinary sword-and-sorcery adventure in which meek American professor is magically whisked off to 'counter-Earth' Gor, where he becomes a hero and battles chuckling, tyrannical Reed. Based on the first in 'John Norman's' series of Edgar Rice Burroughs-inspired adventure fantasies. Palance's role is just a cameo setting up the sequel, OUTLAW OF GOR. | tt0095241 | [PG] | Urbano Barbarini, Oliver Reed, Rebecca Ferratti, Larry Taylor, Graham Clarke, Arnold Vosloo, Chris Du Plessis, Paul L. Smith, Jack Palance | Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Gordon's War | 1973 | Ossie Davis | ★★★ | 90 | When a Vietnam vet comes home to find his wife hooked on drugs, he trains four-man army to destroy the pushers. Good action, but gets lost toward the end. | tt0070124 | [R] | Paul Winfield, Carl Lee, David Downing, Tony King | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Gordy | 1995 | Mark Lewis | ★★ | 90 | Gordy is a talking pig who somehow becomes involved in big business— and a quest to save his family from the slaughterhouse. Very undemanding kids' film has its moments. Based on a story by Green Acres veterans Jay Sommers and Dick Chevillat. Besides top-billed Stone the film features such other country music stars as Roy Clark, Mickey Gilley, Jim Stafford, Box Car Willie, and Moe Bandy. | tt0113199 | [G] | Doug Stone, Kristy Young, Michael Roescher, Tom Lester, Deborah Hobart, Ted Manson | Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid | 1989 | William A. Graham | Average TV Movie | 100 | William Bonney was a likable but misunderstood teenager who got caught up in a range war, became embittered and went bad... according to Vidal, who depicted Billy the Kid in a 1950s teleplay that became a Paul Newman movie, THE LEFT-HANDED GUN. This one is similarly interesting if unremarkable. The author has a cameo as a minister at graveside. Made for cable. | tt0097450 | Val Kilmer, Duncan Regehr, Wilford Brimley, Julie Carmen, Michael Parks, Rene Auberjonois, Albert Salmi | Western | NULL | |||
| Gore Vidal's Lincoln | 1988 | Lamont Johnson | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Thoughtful performances by Waterston (as a pensive Abe) and Moore (as an unsteady Mary Todd) firmly ground this slow-moving personal portrait of the two, from the day they came to Washington to the day they left for the President's burial in Springfield. Earnestly adapted by Ernest Kinoy from Vidal's best-seller, with a fine music score by Ernest Gold, and Emmy-winning direction by Johnson. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0095242 | Sam Waterston, Mary Tyler Moore, John Houseman, Richard Mulligan, John McMartin, Ruby Dee, Cleavon Little, Jeffrey DeMunn, James Gammon, Deborah Adair, Robin Gammell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Gorgeous Hussy | 1936 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 102 | Star-studded cast in strained, fictionalized historical drama of Peggy O'Neal, President Andrew Jackson's controversial confidante. Crawford et al. are beautifully costumed in well-appointed settings. Based on the novel by Samuel Hopkins Joyce. | tt0027690 | Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Franchot Tone, Melvyn Douglas, James Stewart, Alison Skipworth, Beulah Bondi, Louis Calhern, Melville Cooper, Sidney Toler, Gene Lockhart | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gorgo | 1961 | Eugène Lourié | ★★★ | 78 | Good sci-fi story of captured baby sea monster put into London circus and gigantic parent coming to rescue it. Exciting special effects. | tt0054938 | Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter, Bruce Seton, Joseph O'Conor | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Gorgon | 1964 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 83 | In 19th-century Balkan village, one of the snake-headed Gorgons still survives, turning her victims to stone— but who is she by day? Good Hammer production. | tt0058155 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Richard Pasco, Barbara Shelley, Michael Goodliffe | British | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Gorilla Man | 1942 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 64 | Title is misleading. Pro-Nazis try to discredit RAF pilot by linking him with series of brutal murders. Grade-B material with adequate acting. | tt0034804 | John Loder, Ruth Ford, Marian Hall, Richard Fraser, Creighton Hale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Gorilla at Large | 1954 | Harmon Jones | ★★★ | 84 | Offbeat murder mystery at amusement park, with exceptionally able cast. Filmed in 3-D. | tt0047041 | Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, Lee J. Cobb, Raymond Burr, Peter Whitney, Lee Marvin, Warren Stevens | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Gorilla | 1939 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 66 | Disappointing comedy-whodunit with the Ritz Brothers as fumbling detectives prowling around old-dark-house in search of murderer. Lugosi is wasted. Filmed before in 1927 and 1930. | tt0031387 | The Ritz Brothers, Anita Louise, Patsy Kelly, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, Joseph Calleia | Crime, Horror, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Gorillas in the Mist | 1988 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 129 | Absorbing drama based on the life of Dian Fossey, who journeyed to Africa in 1967 and, with no prior experience, set out to document the vanishing breed of mountain gorillas for National Geographic. Her transformation from diligent researcher to obsessive madwoman is a bit more abrupt than it ought to be, but it's still a good film, and Weaver is compelling in the lead. | tt0095243 | [PG-13] | Sigourney Weaver, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, John Omirah Miluwi, Iain Cuthbertson, Constantin Alexandrov, Waigwa Wachira | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gorky Park | 1983 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 128 | Absorbing murder mystery set in Russia, where police investigator Hurt doggedly pursues the case of three bodies buried in Gorky Park. Lots of twists and turns, vivid atmosphere (with Helsinki doubling for Moscow) . . . marred somewhat by unconvincing romance and protracted finale. Dennis Potter adapted Martin Cruz Smith's novel. | tt0085615 | [R] | William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Ian Bannen, Joanna Pacula, Alexander Knox | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gosford Park | 2001 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 137 | Another of Altman's multicharacter mosaics, painting a colorful picture of life upstairs and down during a weekend at an English country estate in 1932, where murder rears its head. Great cast and telling details can't mask the film's superficiality, made worse by a poky pace and overlength. Balaban (who conceived the idea for the film with Altman) plays the producer of Charlie Chan mysteries; too bad no one remembered that those films run about an hour and a quarter. Nevertheless, Julian Fellowes' script won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. | tt0280707 | [R] | Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Tom Hollander, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Geraldine Somerville, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sophie Thompson, Emily Watson, James Wilby | U.S.-British | Comedy, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |
| Gospel | 1982 | David Leivick, Frederick A. Ritzenberg | ★★★½ | 92 | Inspiring, tremendously entertaining concert film spotlighting top gospel performers. Each number is more rousing than the last. Followed in 2004 by OH HAPPY DAY (which is mostly a compilation of unused footage from this film). | tt0162351 | James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir, Walter Hawkins and the Hawkins Family, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Shirley Caesar, Twinkie Clark and the Clark Sisters | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Gospel According to St. Matthew | 1966 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★★★ | 135 | Unconventional, austere film on life and teachings of Christ, based solely on writings of the Apostle, Matthew. Amateur cast (including director's mother) is expressive and moves with quiet dignity. Ironically, director of this masterpiece was a Marxist. | tt0058715 | Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Marcello Morante, Mario Socrate | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Gospel According to Vic | Heavenly Pursuits | 1985 | Charles Gormley | ★★ | 92 | Very minor comedy of Catholic schoolteacher Conti and the series of miracles that befall him. Mirren is wasted as a music teacher/love interest. Aka HEAVENLY PURSUITS. | tt0089221 | [PG-13] | Tom Conti, Helen Mirren, David Hayman, Brian Pettifer, Jennifer Black | British | Drama | NULL |
| The Gospel Road | 1973 | Robert Elfstrom | ★★½ | 83 | Musical journey through Holy Land follows story of Jesus from his birth to his death and resurrection. Sincere but not especially good. | tt0070125 | [G] | Johnny Cash, June Carter, Robert Elfstrom | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Gospel of John | 2003 | Philip Saville | ★★½ | 180 | Overlong but surprisingly compelling retelling of Jesus' life. Although the material is obviously familiar and well-worn movie fodder, Cusick's fresh and utterly believable performance as Jesus ranks favorably with any other cinematic interpretation. Effectively narrated by Plummer. 129m. version also available. | tt0377992 | [PG-13] | Henry Ian Cusick, Stuart Bunce, Daniel Kash, Stephen Russell, Diana Berriman, Alan Van Sprang, Scott Handy; narrated by Christopher Plummer | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Gospel | 2005 | Rob Hardy | ★½ | 105 | Upon hearing that his preacher father has cancer, a rock star returns home to come to terms with his dad, his best-friend-turned-rival, and his mother's death. Surprisingly (or not) he still has time to begin a relationship with a single mother and stage a glitzy fund-raiser to help open a new church. Tedious, predictable, and composed entirely of clichés; at least the gospel numbers are well performed. | tt0451069 | [PG] | Boris Kodjoe, Idris Elba, Nona Gaye, Clifton Powell, Aloma Wright, Donnie McClurkin, Omar Gooding, Tamyra Gray, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Sean Nelson | Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| Gossip | 2000 | Davis Guggenheim | 💣 | 91 | Inane tale of three college roomies who hatch a rumor as a class project that (naturally) gets way out of hand. Any dropout could guess these plot twists; viewer has an easier choice. | tt0176783 | [R] | James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Joshua Jackson, Kate Hudson, Marisa Coughlan, Eric Bogosian, Edward James Olmos, Sharon Lawrence | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gotcha! | 1985 | Jeff Kanew | ★★½ | 101 | Nerdy college kid goes to Paris on vacation, meets seductive older woman who involves him in espionage in East Berlin. Very nearly a good movie, with some sharp dialogue to start, but loses its appeal as it loses its credibility. | tt0089222 | [PG-13] | Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Nick Corri, Alex Rocco, Marla Adams, Klaus Loewitsch, Christopher Rydell | Action | NULL | ||
| Gothic | 1986 | Ken Russell | ★★ | 90 | That night in 1816 when Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) and Dr. Polidori (The Vampyre) were inspired to write their Gothic classics— previously depicted in THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN— is given the wild Ken Russell treatment here. Too weird for some, too highbrow for many horror fans, but full of Russell's hallucinatory visuals. Same story was told two years later in HAUNTED SUMMER. | tt0091142 | [R] | Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Miriam Cyr, Timothy Spall | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Gothika | 2003 | Mathieu Kassovitz | ★½ | 113 | A mental health professional wakes up in the psychiatric ward of the prison where she works, accused of a brutal murder she doesn't remember committing. Take an earnest Berry, add a senseless script and misguided direction, and you get this horror/suspense/supernatural thriller/murder mystery/SNAKE PIT hodgepodge. | tt0348836 | [R] | Halle Berry, Robert Downey/ Jr., Penélope Cruz, Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Dorian Harewood | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Gotti | 1996 | Robert Harmon | Average TV Movie | 115 | Assante scowls his slick way through this surface biodrama of cocky wiseguy John Gotti, the dapper don among N.Y. mobsters of the 1980s, whom the feds finally put away for life. Quinn plays his fictional mentor and Lawrence is aged crime kingpin Carlo Gambino. Made for cable. | tt0116441 | Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, William Forsythe, Richard S. Sarafian, Marc Lawrence, Vincent Pastore, Alberta Watson, Al Waxman | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Governess | 1998 | Sandra Goldbacher | ★★½ | 112 | Intriguing but somewhat unfocused film, set in the 1800s, about a spirited young Jewish woman who leaves her newly impoverished London family to take a job as governess on a remote Scottish island. There she develops an unusual relationship— both cerebral and passionate— with the master of the house. Slow-moving film has interesting passages but never gels. Written by the director, who bites off more than she can chew. | tt0120687 | [R] | Minnie Driver, Tom Wilkinson, Florence Hoath, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Harriet Walter, Arlene Cockburn, Emma Bird | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Government Girl | 1943 | Dudley Nichols | ★★½ | 94 | Production expert Tufts comes to Washington to build airplanes for the war effort; he spars with (and, of course, falls for) secretary de Havilland. Frantic comedy with serious (and still timely) overtones about government bureaucracy. Scripted by Nichols; adapted by Budd Schulberg from a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns. | tt0035952 | Olivia de Havilland, Sonny Tufts, Anne Shirley, Jess Barker, James Dunn, Paul Stewart, Agnes Moorehead | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Goya in Bordeaux | 1999 | Carlos Saura | ★★½ | 104 | Vivid, highly theatricalized vision of exiled Saragossan painter Francisco Goya's waning days in France, as he wanders through deathbed memories of the women and the wars that inspired his work. Sumptuously shot by Vittorio Storaro, but directed with a pervasive melancholy that makes for slow drama. Some nudity, but not nearly enough. Aka GOYA. | tt0210717 | [R] | Francisco Rabal, José Coronado, Eulalia Ramón, Maribel Verdú, Dafne Fernández, Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Joaquin Climent, Manuel de Blas, Cristina Espinosa, José María Pou | Italian-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Goya's Ghosts | 2007 | Milos Forman | ★★½ | 113 | The kind of oddball movie only Forman can make. Two-part story begins during the Spanish Inquisition, as a Goya model (Portman) is unjustly imprisoned and raped in her cell by a hypocritical Catholic Church Brother (Bardem). Returning fifteen years later from Napoleonic France, Bardem is asked by Goya (Skarsgård) to help track down a daughter conceived by the rape. Cowritten by Forman and Jean-Claude Carrière, plot-heavy result is fairly zippy and not without entertainment value, but the tone is shaky and the wildly multinational casting distracts. Which isn't to say that Quaid as Spain's King Carlos IV isn’t without its amusements. | tt0455957 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, Randy Quaid, José Luis Gómez | U.S.-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Grace Quigley | The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley | 1985 | Anthony Harvey | ★½ | 87 | Abysmal misfire that manages to be both bland and tasteless, about lonely, elderly Hepburn, who hires hit man Nolte to kill her— and then others of her set who would all rather be dead. Filmed in 1983, first shown at 1984 Cannes Film Festival at 102m. However, another version of this exists, titled THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY and put together by its scriptwriter, A. Martin Zweiback. Despite an uneven second half, it is a touching, funny, surreal black comedy about the problems of the elderly and the right of choice. This cut runs 94m. and is rated **1/2. | tt0087354 | [PG] | Katharine Hepburn, Nick Nolte, Elizabeth Wilson, Chip Zien, Kit Le Fever, William Duell, Walter Abel, Denny Dillon | Comedy | NULL | |
| Grace is Gone | 2007 | James C. Strouse | ★★★ | 85 | Midwestern working-class father learns that his wife has died while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. Unable to confront his two young daughters with the news, he takes them on a road trip instead, trying to seize every opportunity for happiness. Touching film never goes overboard with sentiment; Cusack strikes just the right note, and the girls who play his daughters seem absolutely genuine. Marisa Tomei and Mary Kay Place make eyeblink-long appearances. Score by Clint Eastwood. Written by first-time director Strouse. | tt0772168 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Shélan O’Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk, Alessandro Nivola | Drama | NULL | ||
| Grace of My Heart | 1996 | Allison Anders | ★★½ | 115 | Disappointing film about a great subject: the pop music world centered around N.Y.C.'s Brill Building in the 1950s and '60s. Aspiring singer-songwriter Douglas finds doors closed to her as a performer but becomes a successful pop tunesmith instead; her destiny is then linked to a succession of men in the music business. Nice moments here and there but superficial at every turn— a real shame. Full of pleasant sound-alike songs from the period, plus one showstopper, 'God Give Me Strength,' written by Elvis Costello and pop veteran Burt Bacharach. Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese. | tt0116442 | [R] | Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, Eric Stoltz, Matt Dillon, Patsy Kensit, Bruce Davison, David Clennon, Christina Pickles, Amanda De Cadenet, Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda, voice of Peter Fonda | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gracie | 2007 | Davis Guggenheim | ★★ | 95 | Shue plays her mother in this sports biopic based on her own teenage years. Schroeder is adequately spunky as the future actress who wants nothing more than to play competitive soccer, circa 1978, just like her scrappy brothers. Extremely lightweight and predictable (and very loosely based on the facts), this should appeal to preteen girls. Elisabeth, her costar brother Andrew, and director Guggenheim (Elisabeth’s husband) all coproduced, from a story cowritten by the latter two. | tt0441007 | [PG-13] | Carly Schroeder, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, Andrew Shue, Jesse Lee Soffer, Joshua Caras, Julia Garro, Hunter Schroeder | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Gracie Allen Murder Case | 1939 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 74 | Fitfully amusing screwball mystery with the scatterbrained Allen as herself, constantly annoying Philo Vance in his investigation of a murdered convict. This was written for the screen first, then as a novel by S. S. Van Dine. | tt0031389 | Gracie Allen, Warren William, Ellen Drew, Kent Taylor, Jerome Cowan, Judith Barrett, Donald MacBride, William Demarest, H. B. Warner | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Graduate | 1967 | Mike Nichols | ★★★★ | 105 | Landmark film of the late 60s that's still just as pungent— and funny— as ever. Hoffman, in his first major film role, plays ultra-naive college grad who's seduced by a middle-aged woman, then falls in love with her daughter. Perfect song score by Simon and Garfunkel. Script by Buck Henry (who plays the desk clerk) and Calder Willingham from Charles Webb's novel. Nichols won Best Director Oscar. Look fast for Mike Farrell in hotel lobby and Richard Dreyfuss in Berkeley rooming house. Later a Broadway play. | tt0061722 | [R] | Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, Murray Hamilton, William Daniels, Elizabeth Wilson, Brian Avery, Norman Fell, Marion Lorne, Alice Ghostley | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Graduation Day | 1981 | Herb Freed | 💣 | 96 | A bloody FRIDAY THE 13TH clone, done with no talent or imagination. | tt0082467 | [R] | Christopher George, Patch Mackenzie, E. Danny Murphy, Michael Pataki, E. J. Peaker, Vanna White | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Graffiti Bridge | 1990 | Prince | ★½ | 91 | Further auteur antics from the rocker-filmmaker (and nonactor), a sequel of sorts to PURPLE RAIN, but with murky religious overtones. Even the musical numbers, source of the film's socko CD soundtrack, are botched here. If you don't even like Prince's music, you'd better convert our rating to BOMB. Purple piffle. | tt0099691 | [PG-13] | Prince, Morris Day, Jerome Benton & The Time, Jill Jones, Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Ingrid Chavez, Robin Power, T.C. Ellis, Tevin Campbell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gran Torino | 2008 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 117 | With the death of his beloved wife, retired auto worker Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is crankier than ever. Intolerant of the Asians who have taken over his Detroit neighborhood, he slowly develops a relationship with two youngsters who live next door and ultimately becomes protective of them. Eastwood channels Archie Bunker (and to some degree Dirty Harry) in this disarming fable about a man out of touch with a changing world who unexpectedly finds purpose to his life. Only Clint could have pulled this off—for an audience that’s watched him grow and change over the years. | tt1205489 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley, Brian Haley, Geraldine Hughes, Brian Howe, Dreama Walker, John Carroll Lynch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Grand Canyon | 1991 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★ | 134 | Ruminations on why and how Life is Lousy, especially in L.A., as a handful of disparate lives intersect: a lawyer who feels distant from his wife, a wife who's discovered an abandoned baby, a tow-truck driver who's worried about his sister's survival in a violent neighborhood, etc. Give Kasdan (and cowriter Meg Kasdan) credit for attempting to make a serious film that deals with matters of importance . . . but the results are mushy, superficial, and unconvincing. | tt0101969 | [R] | Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker, Alfre Woodard, Jeremy Sisto, Tina Lifford, Patrick Malone | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Grand Canyon Trail | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Crooked mining engineer Livingston convinces Eastern mine owner Coleman that his silver mine is worthless so he can buy it cheap. Coleman's secretary (Frazee) comes West to investigate. Roy and friends lend a hand as they're heavily invested in mining stock. Enjoyable Rogers Western, his first with Foy Willing and Co. Filmed in Red Rock Canyon, California. Only b&w prints seem to survive. | tt0040399 | Roy Rogers, Andy Devine, Jane Frazee, Robert Livingston, Roy Barcroft, Charles Coleman, Emmett Lynn, Ken Terrell, James Finlayson, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Grand Central Murder | 1942 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 73 | Slick, fast-moving B whodunit, with Heflin investigating actress' murder on private train car at Grand Central Station. | tt0034808 | Van Heflin, Patricia Dane, Cecilia Parker, Virginia Grey, Samuel S. Hinds, Sam Levene, Stephen McNally, Tom Conway | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Grand Duchess and the Waiter | 1926 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★★ | 85 | Millionaire Menjou (perfectly cast) pretends to be a waiter in order to get closer to a Grand Duchess with whom he's become infatuated. Charming comedy in the Lubitsch vein, adapted from a French play. Remade as HERE IS MY HEART. | tt0016935 | Adolphe Menjou, Florence Vidor, Lawrence Grant, André Beranger, Dot Farley, Barbara Pierce, Brandon Hurst | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Grand Duel | Storm Rider | 1972 | Giancarlo Santi | ★½ | 92 | Typically spare spaghetti Western with mysterious gunman Van Cleef becoming guardian angel to a man wrongly accused of murder. Aka STORM RIDER. | tt0068657 | [R] | Lee Van Cleef, Peter O'Brien, Marc Mazza, Jess Hahn, Horst Frank | Italian | Western | NULL |
| The Grand Highway | 1987 | Jean-Loup Hubert | ★★★ | 104 | Fine, subtle, slice-of-life tale of a fragile nine-year-old boy (Hubert, son of the director) and his experiences while spending three weeks in a rural village while his mother is off giving birth. Guedj is a delight as the tomboy who becomes his friend. Original title: LE GRAND CHEMIN. Remade in U.S. as PARADISE. | tt0093111 | [R] | Anemone, Richard Bohringer, Antoine Hubert, Vanessa Guedj, Christine Pascal | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Grand Hotel | 1932 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★★ | 113 | Vicki Baum's novel and play of plush Berlin hotel where 'nothing ever happens.' Stars prove the contrary: Garbo as lonely ballerina, John B. her jewel-thief lover, Lionel B. a dying man, Crawford an ambitious stenographer, Beery a hardened businessman, Stone the observer. Scripted by William A. Drake. Best Picture Oscar winner; a must. Plot reworked many times (in HOTEL BERLIN, WEEK-END AT THE WALDORF, etc.). Later a Broadway musical. | tt0022958 | Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Tully Marshall, Mary Carlisle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Grand Illusion | Grande illusion, La | 1937 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 117 | Renoir's classic treatise on war, focusing on French prisoners during WW1 and their cultured German commandant. Beautiful performances enhance an eloquent script (by Renoir and Charles Spaak). Edited to 94m. for U.S. release in 1938. Beware of other versions with variant running times. | tt0028950 | Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, (Marcel) Dalio, Dita Parlo, (Julien) Carette, Gaston Modot, Jean Dasté | French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Grand Jury | 1977 | Christopher Cain | ★½ | 100 | Dull drama about Davison and MacRae becoming unintentionally entangled in insurance hijinks. | tt0074583 | Bruce Davison, Meredith MacRae, Leslie Nielsen, Barry Sullivan, Sharon Thomas | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Grand National Night | 1953 | Bob McNaught | ★★ | 81 | Melodramatic murder yarn involving the horsey set in northern England. Hordern, as a police inspector, gives the most interesting performance. Pay close attention to the surname of leading man Patrick's character. | tt0048132 | Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister, Beatrice Campbell, Betty Ann Davies, Michael Hordern, Noel Purcell | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Grand Prix | 1966 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 175 | Big cast is saddled with rambling script about personal lives of auto racers and their loves; use of split screen and spectacular sequences won't mean much on TV. Deservedly won Oscars for the editing and sound effects people. | tt0060472 | James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Toshiro Mifune, Brian Bedford, Jessica Walter, Françoise Hardy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Grand Slam | 1967 | Giuliano Montaldo | ★★★ | 120 | International jewel-heist film, with all the trappings. Nothing new, but smoothly done, most enjoyable. | tt0062636 | Edward G. Robinson, Janet Leigh, Adolfo Celi, Klaus Kinski, Georges Rigaud, Robert Hoffman | Italian-U.S. | Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Grand Theft Auto | 1977 | Ron Howard | ★★ | 85 | Howard's directorial debut (he also coscripted with his actor-father Rance) is typical unsophisticated car-crash action fare, no better or worse than most. | tt0076100 | [PG] | Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Marion Ross, Pete Isacksen, Barry Cahill | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| The Grand Tour | Disaster in Time | 1992 | David N. Twohy | ★★½ | 99 | The proprietor of a small-town hotel fears that his unexpected guests are tourists from the future, visiting for a frightening reason. Intelligent, low-key sci-fi, well acted and consistently surprising, but too drawn-out. From the novella 'Vintage Season' by Lawrence O'Donnell and C. L. Moore. Filmed for theatrical release but debuted on cable TV instead. Aka DISASTER IN TIME. | tt0104362 | [PG-13] | Jeff Daniels, Ariana Richards, Emilia Crow, Jim Haynie, David Wells, Nicholas Guest, Robert Colbert, Marilyn Lightstone | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Grande Bouffe | La Grande Bouffe | 1973 | Marco Ferreri | ★★½ | 125 | Four bored middle-aged men decide to commit group suicide by eating themselves to death. Outrageous idea, but overbaked— no pun intended— and excessively, graphically gross. | tt0070130 | [X] | Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret, Andrea Ferreol | French-Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Grandma's Boy | 1922 | Fred Newmeyer. | ★★★ | 56 | Lloyd's first great success casts him as a mousy small-town type inspired to fight for his girl— and his honor— by his grandma's tales of family heritage. Still entertaining. | tt0013201 | Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Anna Townsend, Charles Stevenson, Noah Young, Dick Sutherland. | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Grandma's Boy | 2006 | Nicholaus Goossen | ★★ | 96 | Slacker accountant Covert moves in with granny Roberts and her golden-girl friends while taking a new job as a tester at a video game company supervised by babe Cardellini. Stoner comedy's crude humor (coscripted by Covert) occasionally engenders more chuckles than expected. As a veteran showbiz groupie whose liaisons included one with Don Knotts, Jones' raunchy role may color your future viewings of CAROUSEL or The Partridge Family. Coproduced by Covert and Adam Sandler; several comedy cronies appear unbilled. | tt0456554 | [R] | Allen Covert, Linda Cardellini, Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight, Doris Roberts, Peter Dante, Kevin Nealon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Grandview, U.S.A. | 1984 | Randal Kleiser | ★★½ | 97 | So-so slice of Americana, focusing on several characters in archetypal Midwestern town: a young boy coming of age, an independent young woman trying to make it on her own running her father's demolition-derby business, and a lovesick sap who's her ace driver. Passable time-filler but nothing more. | tt0087359 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ramon Bieri, Carole Cook, Troy Donahue, William Windom, Elizabeth Gorcey, M. Emmet Walsh, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Michael Winslow | Drama | NULL | ||
| Granny Get Your Gun | 1940 | George Amy. | ★★½ | 56 | Robson is a hoot as a rough-riding Nevadan who straps on her six-shooters and turns sleuth to clear her granddaughter of a trumped-up murder charge. Cute comic mystery based on Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason story 'The Case of the Dangerous Dowager. | tt0032550 | May Robson, Harry Davenport, Margot Stevenson, Hardie Albright, Clem Bevans, William Davidson. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Grapes of Wrath | 1940 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 129 | One of the great American films, an uncompromising adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel about impoverished Okie farmers making the trek to California during the Depression, where the good life they've hoped for is well out of reach. Fonda is great in his defining role as an ex-con whose social conscience is aroused; Darwell is unforgettable as the matriarch Ma Joad. She and Ford won well-deserved Oscars. Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. | tt0032551 | Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorris Bowden, Russell Simpson, John Qualen, O. Z. Whitehead, Eddie Quillan, Zeffie Tilbury, Darryl Hickman, Ward Bond, Charles Middleton, Tom Tyler, Mae Marsh, Jack Pennick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Grass | 1925 | Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Marguerite Harrison | ★★★½ | 70 | Landmark ethnographic documentary, right up with NANOOK OF THE NORTH and MOANA in its impact. The highlight: Cooper, Schoedsack, and Harrison accompany the Bakhityari, a tribe of 50,000 Persian (Iranian) nomads, on their annual journey across hazardous terrain to bring their herds to pasture. Cooper and Schoedsack went on to make CHANG and then KING KONG. | tt0015873 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Grass Harp | 1996 | Charles Matthau | ★★★ | 107 | Thoughtful drama based on Truman Capote's evocative memoir of his boyhood in the South, where he was raised by his wealthy aunt and her lightheaded sister. Exquisite performance by Laurie as the boy's free-spirited soulmate, matched by Spacek as a woman who's been hardened by life. Director Matthau appears as a customer in McDowall's barbershop. | tt0113211 | [PG] | Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Walter Matthau, Edward Furlong, Nell Carter, Jack Lemmon, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Joe Don Baker, Charles Durning, Roddy McDowall, Doris Roberts, Scott Wilson; narrated by Boyd Gaines | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Grass Is Greener | 1961 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 105 | Chic drawing-room fare that suffers from staginess. Grant-Kerr marriage is threatened by Simmons and Mitchum romancing the two, respectively. | tt0053877 | Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Grass Is Singing | Killing Heat | 1981 | Michael Raeburn | ★★★ | 108 | Black is excellent as a lonely woman who marries farmer Thaw and cannot adjust to life in the African woodland. Filmed in Zambia; based on a novel by Doris Lessing. Released in U.S. in 1984 as KILLING HEAT. | tt0084033 | Karen Black, John Thaw, John Kani, John Moulder Brown, Patrick Mynhardt | British-Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Grasshopper | Passions | 1970 | Jerry Paris | ★★★ | 95 | Episodic but fairly compelling chronicle of how a beautiful 19-year-old from British Columbia ends up as a burned-out Vegas call girl at age 22. Better than expected melodrama actually features Brown in a sympathetic role. Look fast for Penny Marshall. Aka THE PASSION OF EVIL and PASSIONS. | tt0065795 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Jim Brown, Joseph Cotten, Corbett Monica, Ramon Bieri | Drama | NULL | |
| Graveyard Shift | 1989 | Jerry Ciccoritti | ★★½ | 89 | Oliviero has the perfect occupation for a modern vampire: an all-night cabdriver. His only victims are those in 'their cycle of death,' but things get out of hand anyway. Intelligent, well-acted low-budgeter harmed only by not knowing when to quit. Filmed in 1985. Aka CENTRAL PARK DRIFTER. Followed by a sequel: THE UNDERSTUDY. | tt0093115 | [R] | Silvio Oliviero, Helen Papas, Cliff Stoker, Dorin Ferber, Dan Rose, Don Jones | Horror | NULL | ||
| Graveyard Shift | Stephen King's Graveyard Shift | 1990 | Ralph S. Singleton | 💣 | 87 | Bottom-of-the-barrel, cliché-ridden shocker chronicling the goings-on in a mysterious mill, whose workers are disappearing within its rat-infested bowels. Poorly directed, with even worse special effects. Based on a short story by Stephen King. | tt0099697 | [R] | David Andrews, Kelly Wolf, Stephen Macht, Brad Dourif, Andrew Divoff, Vic Polizos | Horror | NULL | |
| The Gravy Train | The Dion Brothers | 1974 | Jack Starrett | ★★½ | 96 | OK blend of fast-moving action and comedy as West Virginia brothers Keach and Forrest develop a liking for crime. Aka THE DION BROTHERS. | tt0071575 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Frederic Forrest, Margot Kidder, Barry Primus, Richard Romanus, Denny Miller | Crime | NULL | |
| Gray Lady Down | 1978 | David Greene | ★★ | 111 | Tired drama about rescue of nuclear submarine, captained by Heston. Good special effects, and colorful performance by Carradine as designer of experimental diving craft. Look for Christopher Reeve as one of the officers. | tt0077629 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Rosemary Forsyth | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gray Matters | 2007 | Sue Kramer | ★★ | 96 | Gray-yes, that's her name-lives with her brother in Manhattan; they're inseparable, and most people think they're a “couple.” Then he meets a beautiful woman and asks her to marry him. Gray is genuinely happy for her brother, then finds herself powerfully attracted to his fiancée. Artificial in the extreme, this attempt to emulate and update 1930s/'40s screwball comedies stays afloat only because its stars are so likable. Written by the director. | tt0375785 | [PG-13] | Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Cumming, Molly Shannon, Sissy Spacek, Rachel Shelley, Gloria Gaynor. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gray's Anatomy | 1996 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 80 | Gray's brilliance as a raconteur shines through in this witty, inventively directed monologue charting his experience of passing his 50th birthday and finding himself afflicted with a rare eye disease. His encounters with traditional and alternative medicine are both funny and frightening. | tt0116447 | Spalding Gray | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Grayeagle | 1978 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★½ | 104 | Interesting if flawed rehash of THE SEARCHERS with Johnson tracking the Indian (Cord) who kidnapped his daughter. Good classic Western style an asset, sluggish pacing a drawback. Produced, directed, written by Pierce, who also appears. | tt0077630 | Ben Johnson, Iron Eyes Cody, Lana Wood, Jack Elam, Paul Fix, Alex Cord | Western | NULL | |||
| Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams | 2006 | Jasmila Zbanic | ★★★ | 90 | Bosnian writer-director Zbanic (in her feature-film debut) provides a revealing look at life in postwar Sarajevo and the lingering impact it has on a struggling single mother and her rebellious 12-year-old daughter, who live in the city's Grbavica district (the site of a former prison camp where torture and rape were commonplace). An escalating rift between mother and daughter forces them to confront the harsh realities of their lives, and the war's continuing emotional toll. Impressive and powerful | tt0464029 | Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijovic, Leon Lucev, Kenan Catic, Bogdan Diklic. | Austrian-Herzegonivan-German-Croatian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Grease | 1978 | Randal Kleiser | ★★★ | 110 | Energetic, imaginative filming of long-running Broadway show fantasizes 1950s life; spirited cast, clever ideas, and Patricia Birch's choreography make it fun. Hit songs (written for movie) include 'You're the One That I Want,' 'Hopelessly Devoted To You,' and title number, sung by Frankie Valli. Followed by a sequel. | tt0077631 | [PG] | John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman, Lorenzo Lamas, Michael Tucci, Dinah Manoff, Christopher McDonald | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Grease 2 | 1982 | Patricia Birch | 💣 | 114 | Mindless sequel to the musical hit; opens with a great back-to-school number, then goes downhill. Pedestrian music, clumsy comedy, uncharismatic leads; only the supporting players (like newcomer Luft and veteran Arden) shine through. Inauspicious directing debut for choreographer Birch. | tt0084021 | [PG] | Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer, Adrian Zmed, Lorna Luft, Didi Conn, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Dody Goodman, Tab Hunter, Connie Stevens | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Greased Lightning | 1977 | Michael Schultz | ★★ | 94 | Spirited cast does little to enliven plodding, episodic bio of Wendell Scott, the first black racing car driver. A waste of Pryor, both dramatically and comically. | tt0076106 | [PG] | Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, Pam Grier, Cleavon Little, Vincent Gardenia, Richie Havens, Julian Bond | Action | NULL | ||
| Greaser's Palace | 1972 | Robert Downey | ★★★ | 91 | Super-offbeat Jesus Christ parody with Western setting. Drifter (Arbus) discovers 'true identity' and heals 'sick' cowboys in crazy, tiny town. Seven-year-old Robert Downey, Jr., appears as a mutilated child! Aka ZOOT SUIT JESUS. | tt0068659 | Allan Arbus, Albert Henderson, Luana Anders, George Morgan, Larry Moyer, Michael Sullivan, James Antonio, Ron Nealy | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Adventure | 1953 | Arne Sucksdorff | ★★★½ | 73 | Outstanding story told in semidocumentary style covering four seasons of a boy's life on a farm. Written, directed, edited, and photographed by an Oscar-winning filmmaker with a special gift for capturing animal life. | tt0046373 | Anders Norberg, Kjell Sucksdorff, Arne Sucksdorff | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Adventure | 1975 | Paul Elliotts (Gianfranco Baldanello) | ★★ | 87 | Middling Jack London tale of a boy and his dog trying to make it in the wilds of gold-rush Alaska— fighting the odds, marauding wolves, sinister town boss Palance, dancehall queen Collins. | tt0073069 | Jack Palance, Joan Collins, Fred Romer (Fernando Romero), Elisabetta Virgili, Manuel de Blas, Remo de Angelis | Italian-Spanish | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Great American Broadcast | 1941 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 92 | Fictional fun of development of radio industry, with such musical guests as zany Wiere Brothers. Entertaining; bright cast. | tt0033674 | Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, The Four Ink Spots, James Newill, Mary Beth Hughes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great American Cowboy | 1974 | Kieth Merrill | ★★★ | 90 | Exciting documentary on rodeo life focuses on rodeo superstar Larry Mahan and his competition with newcomer Phil Lyne. Oscar-winner as Best Documentary Feature. | tt0070135 | [G] | Narrated by Joel McCrea | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Great American Pastime | 1956 | Herman Hoffman | ★★ | 89 | Suburbanite Ewell doesn't know what he's getting into when he begins managing his son's Little League team. Slight, forgettable programmer. | tt0049277 | Tom Ewell, Anne Francis, Ann Miller, Dean Jones, Rudy Lee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Great Balls of Fire! | 1989 | Jim McBride | ★★½ | 102 | Slick, highly stylized cartoon about the rise (and temporary fall) of '50s rocker Jerry Lee Lewis, a twice-married hellraiser whose doom was sealed when he took his 13-year-old second cousin as wife No. 3. Quaid's amusing but verrrry broad lead performance is balanced by Ryder's more even-keeled portrayal of cousin Myra. Reasonably entertaining but falls far short of its potential. That's Lewis' real voice, though Quaid is playing the piano. | tt0097457 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Lisa Blount, Trey Wilson, John Doe, Steve Allen, Stephen Tobolowsky, Lisa Jane Persky, Michael St. Gerard, Peter Cook. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Bank Hoax | Shenanigans | 1977 | Joseph Jacoby | ★★½ | 89 | Unremarkable but diverting comedy, a Watergate allegory about bank officials who try to cover up embezzlement by arranging an even bigger theft. Aka THE GREAT GEORGIA BANK HOAX; originally titled SHENANIGANS. | tt0076107 | [PG] | Richard Basehart, Burgess Meredith, Paul Sand, Ned Beatty, Michael Murphy, Charlene Dallas, Arthur Godfrey | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Great Bank Robbery | 1969 | Hy Averback | ★½ | 98 | Bogus preacher and company, Mexican gang led by Tamiroff, and local outlaws all compete for control of the town of Friendly. Spoof of Westerns is a total dud. Be warned. | tt0064391 | [M] | Zero Mostel, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Claude Akins, Akim Tamiroff, Larry Storch | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Great Battle | The Battle of Mareth | 1978 | Umberto Lenzi | 💣 | 97 | Amateurish muddle about WW2 combines tired vignettes with well-known stars, dubbed sequences with others, and newsreel footage narrated by Orson Welles. A waste of everybody's time. Video title: BATTLE FORCE. | tt0076102 | [PG] | Helmut Berger, Samantha Eggar, Giuliano Gemma, John Huston, Stacy Keach, Henry Fonda, Edwige Fenech | German-Yugoslavian | War | NULL |
| The Great Buck Howard | 2009 | Sean McGinly | ★★★ | 87 | Young man quits law school and stumbles into a job as road manager for a self-absorbed stage performer whose career peaked years ago on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Small but entertaining film is worth seeing for Malkovich’s endearing and persuasive performance as a “mentalist,” inspired by The Amazing Kreskin. Tom Hanks produced the film and plays his real-life son Colin’s dad. | tt0460810 | [PG] | John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, Emily Blunt, Ricky Jay, Tom Hanks, Debra Monk, Steve Zahn, Griffin Dunne, Wallace Langham, Adam Scott | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Caruso | 1951 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 109 | Biographical fiction about the legendary singer, entertainingly done. Fine music makes clichés endurable. | tt0043599 | Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Jarmila Novotna, Dorothy Kirsten | Drama | NULL | |||
| Great Catherine | 1968 | Gordon Flemyng | ★½ | 98 | Terrible adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's comedy about Catherine the Great wastes capable cast; wait for Dietrich's THE SCARLET EMPRESS. | tt0063034 | Peter O'Toole, Jeanne Moreau, Zero Mostel, Jack Hawkins, Akim Tamiroff | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Chase | 1963 | Frank Gallop (Narrated) | ★★★½ | 81 | Entertaining silent-film compilation of great chase scenes from THE MARK OF ZORRO, WAY DOWN EAST, etc., with most of film devoted to Keaton's classic, THE GENERAL. Score composed by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. | tt0057114 | Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks/Sr., Pearl White, Richard Barthelmess, Lillian Gish. Narrated by Frank Gallop | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Great Dan Patch | 1949 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 94 | Acceptable yarn about the legendary pacing horse Dan Patch and his phenomenal harness-racing career. O'Keefe is Dan's owner, Warrick and Russell (in a nicely modulated performance) the two very different women in his life. | tt0041426 | Dennis O'Keefe, Gail Russell, Ruth Warrick, Charlotte Greenwood Henry Hull, John Hoyt, Arthur Hunnicutt, Clarence Muse. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Great Day | 1945 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 94 | English village readies itself for visit by Eleanor Roosevelt. Despite soap-opera plot, film works as a wartime curio, capturing a particular place and time. | tt0037748 | Eric Portman, Flora Robson, Sheila Sim, Isabel Jeans, Walter Fitzgerald, Philip Friend | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Great Day in Harlem | 1994 | Jean Bach | ★★★½ | 60 | Joyous celebration of a famous photo taken for Esquire magazine in 1958, which gathered dozens of jazz greats on a Harlem sidewalk. What could have been a prosaic 'talking head' documentary becomes instead a lively collage of sights, sounds, and memories, with charming interviews, fascinating home movies of the event, and vintage performance footage of these musicians at work. Film director Robert Benton— then Esquire's art director— is one of the interviewees. | tt0109934 | Dizzy Gillespie, Milt Hinton, Marian McPartland, Art Blakey, Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Bud Freeman, Art Farmer, narration by Quincy Jones | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Great Day in the Morning | 1956 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 92 | Good cast, beautiful color scenery help so-so story of pre-Civil War Colorado, when gold rush fever and separationist sentiments clashed. | tt0049278 | Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr | Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Debaters | 2007 | Denzel Washington | ★★★ | 123 | At all-black Wiley College in rural Texas, circa 1935, radical professor Melvin B. Tolson (Washington) motivates his student debate team to work through their personal problems in order to excel. Eventually they travel to Harvard for a precedent-shattering debate. Inspiring true-life drama plays with the facts and succumbs to formulaic storytelling at times but never loses sight of its goal: to remind us that education—and determination—can help ordinary people surmount even the most formidable obstacles. Coproduced by Oprah Winfrey. | tt0427309 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Forest Whitaker, Gina Ravera, John Heard, Kimberly Elise | Drama, History | NULL | ||
| The Great Diamond Robbery | 1953 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 69 | Limp vehicle buoyed by Skelton. Red is hoodwinked by jewel thief who wants him to recut huge diamond. | tt0045837 | Red Skelton, Cara Williams, James Whitmore, Dorothy Stickney, Steven Geray | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Great Dictator | 1940 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★½ | 128 | Chaplin's first full talkie; unusual comedy combines slapstick, satire, and social commentary, as he plays dual role of Jewish ghetto barber and dictator Adenoid Hynkel of Tomania. Unique, surprisingly effective film also features Oakie in unforgettable portrayal of 'Benzino Napaloni' of rival country Bacteria. | tt0032553 | Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Reginald Gardiner, Maurice Moscovich, Billy Gilbert, Henry Daniell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Escape | 1963 | John Sturges | ★★★★ | 168 | Allied POWs plot massive escape from Nazi prison camp. Based on true story, this blockbuster was beautifully photographed by Daniel Fapp on location in Germany. Rip-roaring excitement with marvelous international cast; script by James Clavell and W. R. Burnett, from Paul Brickhill's book. Rousing score by Elmer Bernstein. Followed by a TV sequel 25 years later. | tt0057115 | Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, David McCallum, Donald Pleasence, James Donald, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton, Angus Lennie, Nigel Stock | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Great Expectations | 1934 | Stuart Walker | ★★½ | 102 | Acceptable version of Dickens' story about a young boy and unknown benefactor is dwarfed by '46 classic. Sullivan plays Jaggers in both films. | tt0025202 | Jane Wyatt, Phillips Holmes, George Breakston, Henry Hull, Florence Reed, Alan Hale/Sr., Francis L. Sullivan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Great Expectations | 1946 | David Lean | ★★★★ | 118 | One of the greatest films ever made, a vivid adaptation of Dickens' tale of a mysterious benefactor making poor young orphan a gentleman of means. Opening graveyard sequence is a gem. Oscars went to cinematographer Guy Green and art director John Bryan. Lean, Kay Walsh, Cecil McGivern, and producers Anthony Havelock-Allan and Ronald Neame all contributed to script. Filmed in 1934, 1974, and updated in 1998. Jean Simmons played Miss Havisham in a 1989 miniseries. | tt0038574 | John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons, Alec Guinness, Ivor Barnard, Freda Jackson, Torin Thatcher, Eileen Erskine, Hay Petrie | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Great Expectations | 1998 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★½ | 111 | Modern story based on the Dickens classic has Finn (né Pip) helping a convict on the Florida marshes, then being summoned to the decrepit mansion of equally decrepit Ms. Dinsmoor (née Havisham), where he meets the love of his life, the beautiful but heartless Estella. Eventually, he's whisked off to N.Y.C. to find fame and fortune as an artist. So stylishly crafted that it's a shame it doesn't add up to much of anything. The skeleton of Dickens is there, but no resonance. | tt0119223 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Chris Cooper, Hank Azaria, Robert De Niro, Josh Mostel, Kim Dickens, Nell Campbell, Stephen Spinella | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Great Expectations | 1974 | Joseph Hardy | Average TV Movie | 103 | OK remake of the Dickens classic; originally produced as a musical, but songs have been deleted. Anyway, OLIVER! it ain't. | tt0071576 | Michael York, Sarah Miles, James Mason, Margaret Leighton, Robert Morley, Anthony Quayle, Joss Ackland, Rachel Roberts, Heather Sears, Peter Bull | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Flamarion | 1945 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 78 | Better than most von Stroheim cheapies, this one casts him as a vaudeville star who becomes romantically entangled with his scheming married assistant. | tt0037749 | Erich von Stroheim, Mary Beth Hughes, Dan Duryea, Stephen Barclay, Lester Allen, Esther Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Gabbo | 1929 | James Cruze | ★★ | 95 | The idea of von Stroheim as an egomaniacal ventriloquist is irresistible, but the story is slim, predictable, and stiffly done— padded out by lots of big and unintentionally hilarious musical numbers. A curio for film buffs. Based on Ben Hecht story; some sequences originally in color. | tt0019946 | Erich von Stroheim, Donald Douglas, Betty Compson, Margie Kane | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Gambini | 1937 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 70 | Nightclub mindreader Tamiroff predicts a murder, then becomes involved in the investigation. Interesting B-movie fluff, with added novelty of a 'mystery minute' to give you a chance to guess the killer. | tt0028952 | Akim Tamiroff, Marian Marsh, Genevieve Tobin, William Demarest, Reginald Denny | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Great Garrick | 1937 | James Whale | ★★★ | 91 | Members of the Comédie Française perpetrate a hoax to deflate the ego of pompous David Garrick (Aherne) in this entertaining, fictionalized yarn about real-life British actor. | tt0028953 | Brian Aherne, Olivia de Havilland, Edward Everett Horton, Melville Cooper, Lionel Atwill, Lana Turner, Marie Wilson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Great Gatsby | 1949 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 92 | Misguided adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book about a mysterious young millionaire who crashes Long Island society in the 1920s. Too talky and much too literal-minded. Ladd is pretty good, but Field (as Daisy Buchanan) gives a strangely petulant performance. Filmed before in 1926, again in 1974, and for TV in 2001. | tt0041428 | Alan Ladd, Betty Field, Macdonald Carey, Barry Sullivan, Ruth Hussey, Shelley Winters, Howard da Silva | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Gatsby | 1974 | Jack Clayton | ★★½ | 144 | Bland adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz-age novel about a golden boy in Long Island society; faithful to the book, and visually opulent, but lacks substance and power. Script by Francis Ford Coppola; Theoni V. Aldredge's costumes and Nelson Riddle's score earned Oscars. | tt0071577 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Scott Wilson, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles, Howard da Silva, Edward Herrmann, Patsy Kensit, Roberts Blossom | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Gilbert and Sullivan | The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan | 1953 | Sidney Gilliat. | ★★★ | 105 | Agreeable production is only a superficial biography of the legendary operetta composers, but does offer many highlights from their wonderful works. Their lives are probed more incisively in TOPSY-TURVY. Original British title: THE STORY OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN. | tt0045839 | Robert Morley, Maurice Evans, Eileen Herlie, Peter Finch, Martyn Green. | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| The Great Gildersleeve | 1943 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 62 | First of series based on famous radio character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve is moderately amusing nonsense, as Gildy enters local politics and avoids spinster Field. | tt0034810 | Harold Peary, Nancy Gates, Freddie Mercer, Mary Field, Jane Darwell, Thurston Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Great Guns | 1941 | Monty Banks | ★★ | 74 | Later L&H Army comedy is weak, not as bad as some but far below their classic films. Look quickly for Alan Ladd. | tt0033676 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sheila Ryan, Dick Nelson, Edmund MacDonald | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Great Guy | 1936 | John G. Blystone | ★★ | 75 | Second-rate Cagney in low-budget production about inspector crusading against corruption in meat business. | tt0027697 | James Cagney, Mae Clarke, James Burke, Edward Brophy, Henry Kolker, Bernadene Hayes, Edward McNamara | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Great Impostor | 1961 | Robert Mulligan | ★★½ | 112 | Incredible story of Ferdinand Demara, who succeeded in a variety of professional guises. Film is episodic and pat. | tt0053879 | Tony Curtis, Karl Malden, Raymond Massey, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell, Gary Merrill, Frank Gorshin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Jasper | 1933 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★ | 85 | Turn-of-the-20th-century tale of ne'er-do-well streetcar conductor Dix, who goes to Atlantic City in search of success and finds it as a glib fortune-teller who appeals to the feminine trade. Oliver, as a veteran boardwalk palm reader, almost makes the film worth watching, but tired soap-opera plotting and dialogue weigh down a potentially colorful story. | tt0024079 | Richard Dix, Florence Eldridge, Edna May Oliver, Wera Engels, Bruce Cabot. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Great Jesse James Raid | 1953 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 74 | Generally action-packed tale blending fact and legend about the notorious outlaw and his last big robbery caper. | tt0045840 | Willard Parker, Barbara Payton, Tom Neal, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Great John L. | 1945 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 96 | Not bad little biography of famous boxer John L. Sullivan's rise and fall, his two loves and unhappy end. | tt0037750 | Greg McClure, Linda Darnell, Barbara Britton, Lee Sullivan, Otto Kruger, Wallace Ford, George Matthews, Rory Calhoun | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great K&A Train Robbery | 1926 | Lewis Seiler | ★★★½ | 53 | Silent screen's most popular cowboy star in one of his greatest films: rollicking fun, filmed on magnificent locations in Colorado. | tt0016939 | Tom Mix, Dorothy Dwan, William Walling, Harry Grippe, Tony | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Lie | 1941 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 107 | Brent marries Davis when alliance with Astor is annulled. He is lost in plane crash, leaving Davis and pregnant Astor to battle each other and the elements. Well-mounted soaper won Astor an Oscar as fiery concert pianist. | tt0033677 | Mary Astor, Bette Davis, George Brent, Lucile Watson, Hattie McDaniel, Grant Mitchell, Jerome Cowan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Locomotive Chase | 1956 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★★ | 85 | True story of Andrews' Raiders (filmed before by Buster Keaton as THE GENERAL) comes to life in colorful Disney film; Parker is famous Union spy who leads a rowdy band in capturing and 'kidnapping' a Confederate railroad train during Civil War. Retitled ANDREWS' RAIDERS. | tt0049279 | Fess Parker, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeff York, John Lupton, Eddie Firestone, Kenneth Tobey | Family, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| The Great Lover | 1949 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 80 | Vintage Hope; Bob's a boy scout leader on ship filled with his troop, luscious Fleming, and murderer Young. | tt0041429 | Bob Hope, Rhonda Fleming, Roland Young, Roland Culver, George Reeves, Jim Backus | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Great Madcap | 1949 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★★ | 90 | One of Buñuel's earliest Mexican films, this surprisingly lighthearted romp is like a Hollywood screwball comedy of the '30s. Soler plays a Walter Connolly type, a drunken millionaire whose lazy family tries to get their hands on his money by convincing him that he's broke. Then he learns of the plan and turns the tables on them. An amusing diversion from the surrealist master. Original title: EL GRAN CALAVERA. | tt0041423 | Fernando Soler, Rosario Granados, Ruben Rojo, Gustavo Rojo, Maruja Grifell. | Mexican | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Man Votes | 1939 | Garson Kanin | ★★★½ | 72 | Simple, sincere, delightful film of Barrymore, once a professor, now a souse, fighting for custody of his children, suddenly elevated to new stature when election-time rolls around. MacBride fun as small-time politico, Demarest an energetic campaign promoter. | tt0031392 | John Barrymore, Peter Holden, Virginia Weidler, Donald MacBride, William Demarest | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Man's Lady | 1942 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 90 | Saga of the West is no great shakes as McCrea dreams of oil wells, Donlevy takes his girl. Stanwyck ages to 100 years to frame story. | tt0034812 | Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy, Thurston Hall, K. T. Stevens, Lucien Littlefield | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Man | 1956 | Jose Ferrer | ★★★½ | 92 | Well-loved TV star dies and Ferrer prepares memorial show, only to discover star was a despicable phony. Hard-bitten look at TV industry; top performances by senior and junior Wynns. Ferrer and Al Morgan adapted Morgan's thinly veiled novel about Arthur Godfrey. | tt0049280 | Jose Ferrer, Dean Jagger, Keenan Wynn, Julie London, Jim Backus, Ed Wynn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great McGinty | 1940 | Preston Sturges | ★★★ | 81 | Sturges' directorial debut (and Oscar-winning screenplay) isn't up to his later comedy classics, but Donlevy is excellent as bum who is manipulated into governor's chair by crooked political machine— then blows it all when he tries to be honest. Typically sharp dialogue, plus fine work by Sturges' stock company of character actors. Donlevy and Tamiroff reprised their roles as a gag in Sturges' THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK. | tt0032554 | Brian Donlevy, Muriel Angelus, Akim Tamiroff, Allyn Joslyn, William Demarest, Louis Jean Heydt, Arthur Hoyt | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Meadow | 1931 | Charles Brabin | ★★½ | 78 | Naive and primitive but still compelling story of Virginians who undertake mountainous trek to settle new land in Kentucky, circa 1777. Fairly authentic drama gives a real sense of the hardship these pioneers endured. Filmed in Realife 70mm. | tt0021928 | John Mack Brown, Eleanor Boardman, Lucille LaVerne, Anita Louise, Gavin Gordon, Guinn Williams, Russell Simpson, John Miljan | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Mike | 1944 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 70 | Slight tale of young Henry and his love for a horse who, predictably and after various complications, is destined to become a racing champ. | tt0036879 | Stuart Erwin, Robert (Buzzy) Henry, Marion Martin, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer, Pierre Watkin, Gwen Kenyon | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Missouri Raid | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 83 | By-the-numbers account of Frank and Jesse James (played by Corey and Carey, respectively) and the Younger brothers, who are forced to become outlaws after the Civil War by a conniving army major (Bond). | tt0043600 | Wendell Corey, Macdonald Carey, Ellen Drew, Ward Bond, Anne Revere, Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Moment | 1944 | Preston Sturges | ★★ | 83 | Confused biography of anesthesia pioneer wavers from comedy to drama; ineffectual, filled with frustrating flashbacks. Very offbeat for writer-director Sturges, although film was taken out of his hands and reedited. Filmed in 1942. | tt0036880 | Joel McCrea, Betty Field, Harry Carey, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton, Louis Jean Heydt | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Morgan | 1946 | Nat Perrin. | ★★ | 57 | MGM stalwart Morgan gets a chance to produce a picture, but his grand opus turns out to be a shambles consisting of outtakes from the studio's musicals and clips from short subjects. Oddity was never released theatrically in the U.S. and is mostly a mess, but interesting for film buffs. Cute closing bit with Leo the Lion. Famed art director Cedric Gibbons, costume designer Irene, and sound department head Douglas Shearer appear as themselves. | tt0038575 | Frank Morgan, Leon Ames. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Mouse Detective | The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective | 1986 | John Musker, Ron Clements, Dave Michener, Burny Mattinson | ★★★ | 80 | Brisk animated adaptation of Eve Titus' book Basil of Baker Street, about a Sherlockian mouse who matches wits with the nefarious Prof. Ratigan (whose role is performed with gusto by Price). Not much depth to this Disney cartoon feature, but it is a lot of fun. Reissued in 1992 as THE ADVENTURES OF THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE. | tt0091149 | [G] | Voices of Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin, Susanne Pollatschek, Candy Candido, Eve Brenner, Alan Young, Melissa Manchester | Animation, Family, Action, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Great Muppet Caper | 1981 | Jim Henson | ★★★ | 95 | The Muppets try to solve a London jewel robbery in their second feature-film. Clever gags and ideas plus hilarious musical numbers with Miss Piggy make up for meandering script with more than its share of slow spots. | tt0082474 | [G] | Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Jack Warden; Performed by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt | British | Family, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| The Great New Wonderful | 2005 | Danny Leiner | ★★★ | 87 | Striking drama, set one year after 9/11, focuses on an array of New Yorkers who are either struggling to deal with their feelings about that horrific day or going about their lives as if nothing had happened. They include a couple with a dysfunctional son, an elderly woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, a pair of security guards, and an outwardly affable accountant who worked at the World Trade Center and survived 9/11, unlike many of his coworkers. Subtle, incisive study of suppressed rage uses humor and insight to emphasize the importance of living a life that has meaning. | tt0402230 | [R] | Olympia Dukakis, Jim Gaffigan, Judy Greer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom McCarthy, Sharat Saxena, Naseeruddin Shah, Tony Shalhoub, Stephen Colbert, Dick Latessa, Will Arnett, Anita Gillette, Edie Falco | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid | 1972 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★ | 91 | Revisionist Western depicts the last major raid by the James gang, led by fanatic Jesse (Duvall) and easygoing Cole Younger (Robertson). Fictionalized, but more factual than most movie depictions of the famous raid. Robertson is genial in the leading role, Duvall amusingly intense as the brutal Jesse. Occasional comedic moments don't work terribly well. Written by the director. | tt0068661 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall, Luke Askew, R. G. Armstrong, Dana Elcar, Donald Moffat, Elisha Cook, Jr., Royal Dano, Mary-Robin Redd | Western | NULL | ||
| The Great O'Malley | 1937 | William Dieterle | ★½ | 71 | Syrupy film of ruthless cop O'Brien and poor man Bogart who has lame daughter and turns to crime to support her. Pretty sticky. | tt0028955 | Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Donald Crisp, Mary Gordon, Frieda Inescort, Sybil Jason | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Great Outdoors | 1988 | Howard Deutch | ★½ | 90 | Joyless scattershot comedy about disintegration of Candy clan's summer vacation by the uninvited appearance of boorish in-law Aykroyd and family. Written by John Hughes, apparently with something else on his mind. Bening's first film. | tt0095253 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening, Chris Young, Ian Giatti, Hilary Gordon, Rebecca Gordon, Robert Prosky | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Profile | 1940 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 82 | Barrymore on downslide provides some laughs in self-parodying tale of aging, conceited actor. | tt0032556 | John Barrymore, Mary Beth Hughes, Gregory Ratoff, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Lionel Atwill, Edward Brophy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Great Race | 1965 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 150 | Long, sometimes funny, often labored comedy, not the greatest ever made, as advertised. Duel sequence and barroom brawl are highlights, but pie fight falls flat, other gimmicks don't work. Definitely a mixed bag (although Natalie never looked better); one good song, 'The Sweetheart Tree.' | tt0059243 | Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Larry Storch, Dorothy Provine, Arthur O'Connell, Vivian Vance, Ross Martin, George Macready | Action, Comedy, Musical, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Great Raid | 2005 | John Dahl | ★★ | 132 | Dramatization of a remarkable, little-known episode from WW2: the dramatic rescue of 500 Americans from a Japanese POW camp in the Philippines in 1945, involving an elite corps of freshly trained U.S. Rangers, Filipino guerrilla fighters, and members of the local resistance movement. Admirably old-fashioned in many ways, with impeccable staging of the climactic raid, but not nearly as good as the story it's recreating. Completed in 2003. | tt0326905 | [R] | Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Joseph Fiennes, Connie Nielsen, Marton Csokas, Motoki Kobayashi, Robert Mammone, Natalie Mendoza, Cesar Montano, Mark Consuelos, Dale Dye | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle | 1980 | Julien Temple | ★★★ | 103 | Controversial, outrageously cynical free-form documentary about the infamous, ground-breaking punk-rock band Johnny Rotten and The Sex Pistols. Film also shows how Pistols' manager Malcolm McLaren cleverly marketed the group. One of the many highlights: the late Sid Vicious' version of 'My Way.' | tt0080813 | Malcolm McLaren, John Lydon, Sid Vicious, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Ronnie Biggs, Liz Fraser | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Great Rupert | A Christmas Wish | 1950 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 86 | Agreeable comedy-fantasy about a trained squirrel who finds a cache of money and gives it to impoverished vaudevillian Durante and his family. Durante is at his best, but story runs out of steam before it's through. Produced by George Pal; director Pichel appears in a brief bit. Later colorized and retitled A CHRISTMAS WISH. | tt0042524 | Jimmy Durante, Terry Moore, Tom Drake, Queenie Smith, Frank Orth, Jimmy Conlin, Chick Chandler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Santini | The Ace | 1979 | Lewis John Carlino | ★★½ | 116 | Character study of a career Marine who, in 1962, is 'a warrior without a war,' except for the one he wages with his adolescent son. Compelling performances give film its meat, but dramatic structure and resolutions are not nearly as strong. Adapted by Carlino from Pat Conroy's novel. Aka THE ACE. | tt0079239 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky, Stan Shaw, Theresa Merritt, David Keith | Drama | NULL | |
| Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday | 1976 | Don Taylor | ★★½ | 102 | Broad comedy set in Colorado of 1908 involves swindles, defanged snake, kidnapped prostitutes, and robbery of proceeds from big boxing match. Could have been funnier, but Reed is a delight as an Indian(!). | tt0074588 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Oliver Reed, Robert Culp, Elizabeth Ashley, Howard Platt, Strother Martin, Sylvia Miles, Kay Lenz | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Great Sinner | 1949 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 110 | Lavishly produced but murky, talky costumer of writer Peck falling for beautiful Gardner and becoming obsessed with gambling. Screenplay by Christopher Isherwood. | tt0041430 |
|
Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Walter Huston, Ethel Barrymore | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great Sioux Massacre | 1965 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 91 | Good acting enhances this version of Custer's last stand. | tt0059244 |
|
Joseph Cotten, Darren McGavin, Philip Carey, Julie Sommars, Nancy Kovack, Frank Ferguson | Western | NULL | ||
| The Great Sioux Uprising | 1953 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 80 | Chandler as ex-Yankee officer is adequate in formula Western about threatened Indian war. | tt0045841 | Jeff Chandler, Faith Domergue, Lyle Bettger, Glenn Strange | Western | NULL | |||
| The Great Smokey Roadblock | 1976 | John Leone | ★★½ | 84 | Innocuous story of aging trucker (Fonda) attempting one perfect cross-country run before his truck is repossessed; his haul is a houseful of evicted prostitutes. Some nice vignettes. Originally titled THE LAST OF THE COWBOYS, running 106m. Coproduced by Sarandon. | tt0074589 | [PG] | Henry Fonda, Eileen Brennan, John Byner, Dub Taylor, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Mayron, Austin Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery | 1959 | Charles Guggenheim, John Stix | ★½ | 86 | Modest robbery caper with virtue of McQueen in cast. | tt0052862 | Steve McQueen, David Clarke, Crahan Denton, Molly McCarthy, James Dukas | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery | 1966 | Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat | ★★ | 94 | Overly droll entry in popular series begins with the real Great Train Robbery, then injects political satire with usual hijinks as crooks' hiding place for loot becomes new site for infamous girls' school. Alastair Sim's presence is sorely missed. | tt0060476 | Frankie Howerd, Reg Varney, Richard Wattis, Dora Bryan | British | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Texas Dynamite Chase | 1977 | Michael Pressman | ★½ | 90 | A pair of sexy female bank robbers take to the roads in this all-too-typical low-budget outing. | tt0076109 | [R] | Claudia Jennings, Jocelyn Jones, Johnny Crawford, Chris Pennock, Tara Strohmeier | Action | NULL | ||
| The Great Train Robbery | The First Great Train Robbery | 1979 | Michael Crichton | ★★★ | 111 | Stylish fun as an elegant trio conspire to pull off the greatest heist of all time, in the mid-1800s: stealing shipment of gold from a moving train! Crichton based his script on true incident, filmed it against beautiful Irish countryside. British title: THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY. | tt0079240 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris, Wayne Sleep, Robert Lang | British | Drama, Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL |
| The Great Victor Herbert | 1939 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 91 | Music overshadows plot in lightweight romance about two young singers and the famed composer. Many of Herbert's most popular songs ('Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life,' 'March of the Toys,' etc.) included. | tt0031393 | Allan Jones, Mary Martin, Walter Connolly, Lee Bowman, Susanna Foster, Jerome Cowan | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Great Waldo Pepper | 1975 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 107 | Box-office disappointment from director of BUTCH CASSIDY and THE STING is a much more personal film, even though brilliantly photographed story of aviation pioneers wavers uncomfortably between slapstick and drama. Worth a look. | tt0073075 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Bo Brundin, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Lewis, Edward Herrmann, Margot Kidder, Scott Newman | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Great Wall | 1986 | Peter Wang | ★★½ | 100 | Good-natured story of culture clash that results when Chinese-American family makes its first trip to mainland China. Amiable but hardly inspired. First U.S.-Chinese coproduction is also Wang's first feature as cowriter, director, and star (he played the chef in CHAN IS MISSING by Wayne Wang— no relation). | tt0091151 | [PG] | Peter Wang, Sharon Iwai, Kelvin Han Yee, Li Qinqin, Hy Xiaoguang | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Waltz | 1938 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 102 | Music outdoes drama in this elaborately produced biography of composer Johann Strauss, with plenty of waltzes covering up a standard triangle tale. Joseph Ruttenberg's lovely cinematography earned an Oscar. | tt0030202 | Luise Rainer, Fernand Gravet, Miliza Korjus, Hugh Herbert, Lionel Atwill, Curt Bois | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Great Waltz | 1972 | Andrew L. Stone | 💣 | 135 | Bio of Johann Strauss is unintentionally funny in the way director Stone's SONG OF NORWAY was, but after 135 minutes, even the laughs begin to subside. Filmed on location in Austria. | tt0068662 | [G] | Horst Buchholz, Mary Costa, Rossano Brazzi, Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, James Faulkner | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Great War | 1959 | Mario Monicelli | ★★ | 118 | Uneven, episodic comedy-drama of two gold-bricking pals during WW1, somewhat reminiscent of WHAT PRICE GLORY? but not nearly as good. Released in U.S. in 1961. | tt0052861 | Vittorio Gassman, Alberto Sordi, Silvana Mangano, Folco Lulli | Italian-French | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Great White Hope | 1970 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 101 | Supercharged adaptation of Broadway success with Jones and Alexander (in her film debut) repeating stage roles as Jack Jefferson, famed heavyweight champion, and white mistress. Not a boxing film or social doctrine, but emotional character study. Holds up until final scene, which doesn't ring true. Howard Sackler adapted his own play. | tt0065797 | [PG] | James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Lou Gilbert, Joel Fluellen, Chester Morris, Robert Webber, R. G. Armstrong, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards, Moses Gunn | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Great White Hype | 1996 | Reginald Hudlin | ★★½ | 90 | Flamboyant boxing promoter Jackson needs a new gimmick: his champ (Wayans) isn't drawing the big money anymore, so he realizes a white contender is required. Berg is amusing as the dumb-but-earnest rival. Occasionally very funny, often snidely cynical, but the satire is not as pointed as intended. Written by Ron Shelton and Tony Hendra. | tt0116448 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Damon Wayans, Peter Berg, Jon Lovitz, Corbin Bernsen, Cheech Marin, Jamie Foxx, Salli Richardson, John Rhys-Davies, Rocky Carroll | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Great World of Sound | 2007 | Craig Zobel | ★★★ | 106 | Two hucksters travel the country signing “undiscovered” singing talent to a bogus record label. Comedy mixes its fictional scenario with candid-camera-style real-life auditions, earning this clever independent film extra points as it merges originality and smart dialogue with believable situations. Holliday is a standout as a weathered salesman who has seen it all. | tt0826547 | [R] | Pat Healy, Kene Holliday, Robert Longstreet, Rebecca Mader, John Baker, Tricia Paoluccio | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Great Ziegfeld | 1936 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★½ | 176 | Spectacular, immensely entertaining biography of flamboyant impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, with Powell quite dashing in the title role. However, Rainer (as Anna Held) is stunning, and won an Academy Award; her telephone scene is a classic. Also won Oscars for Best Picture and Dance Direction (the 'A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody' number, supervised by Seymour Felix). | tt0027698 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan, Fanny Brice, Virginia Bruce, Reginald Owen, Ray Bolger, Stanley Morner (Dennis Morgan) | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Greatest Game Ever Played | 2005 | Bill Paxton | ★★★ | 115 | Winning story of sportsmanship and class struggle surrounding the 1913 U.S. Open Tournament in Brookline, Massachusetts, where a caddy, Francis Ouimet (LaBeouf) is allowed to play opposite the much-admired British champion Harry Vardon (Dillane). Solid, old-fashioned storytelling with a modern eye; golf has never been portrayed like this before. Screenplay by Mark Frost, from his book. Eye-catching title sequence uses vintage photographs and footage to set the stage for this meticulously produced period picture. | tt0388980 | [PG] | Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Josh Flitter, Peyton List, Elias Koteas, Marnie McPhail, Stephen Marcus, Luke Askew, Peter Firth, Len Cariou, Joe Jackson, Dawn Upshaw | Drama, History, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Greatest Love | Europa '51 | 1951 | Roberto Rossellini | ★½ | 110 | Bergman plays a wealthy American living in Rome, who feels compelled to help people in order to restore meaning to her own life after her son's suicide. Obvious, slow-moving story. Originally titled EUROPA '51. | tt0043511 | Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Giulietta Masina, Teresa Pellati, Ettore Giannini | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Greatest Movie Ever Sold | 2011 | Morgan Spurlock | ★★★ | 90 | Clever, often very funny, yet thoughtful documentary about the ubiquitous nature of advertising in our lives, in particular the practice of product placement in movies and television shows. Spurlock transparently makes his own film a guinea pig and reveals the process of soliciting sponsors, while questioning the effect that commercialism has on our society. Most striking sequence: a visit to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where all outdoor advertising has been banned. Official title of the film is POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD. | tt1743720 | [PG-13] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Greatest Show on Earth | 1952 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★½ | 153 | Big package of fun from DeMille, complete with hokey performances, clichés, big-top excitement, and a swell train wreck. Stewart well cast as circus clown with mysterious past. Some funny surprise guests appear. Oscar winner for Best Picture and Story. | tt0044672 | Betty Hutton, Charlton Heston, Cornel Wilde, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria Grahame, James Stewart, Henry Wilcoxon, Lawrence Tierney, Lyle Bettger | Drama, Family, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Greatest Story Ever Told | 1965 | George Stevens | ★★½ | 193 | Some of the most spectacular scenes ever filmed lose all validity because of incessant cameos that run throughout film. Would you believe John Wayne as a Roman centurion supervising Christ's crucifixion? Carl Sandburg is listed in credits as a Creative Associate. Originally shown at 225m., then cut to 141m. | tt0059245 | Max von Sydow, Charlton Heston, Carroll Baker, Angela Lansbury, Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, John Wayne, Ed Wynn, Jose Ferrer, Van Heflin, Claude Rains, Telly Savalas | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Greatest | 1977 | Tom Gries | ★½ | 101 | Potentially exciting screen bio of the great heavyweight champ becomes an episodic mess suffering from a script devoid of dramatic focus and ham-handed direction. Ironically, Mosley's performance as Sonny Liston has the charisma Ali's lacks. Soundtrack features George Benson's 'The Greatest Love of All.' | tt0076111 | [PG] | Muhammad Ali, Ernest Borgnine, John Marley, Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Roger E. Mosley, Ben Johnson, Paul Winfield, Lloyd Haynes, Dina Merrill, David Clennon | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Greatest | 2010 | Shana Feste | ★★★ | 100 | Rigorously precise, emotionally powerful drama about grief and regeneration, with exceptional performances across the board. After a teenage boy dies in an auto mishap, his anguished mother (Sarandon), tightly controlled father (Brosnan), and vulnerable younger brother (Simmons) can't begin to overcome their trauma until the boy's pregnant girlfriend (Mulligan) unexpectedly enters their shattered lives. | tt1226232 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons, Aaron Johnson, Zoe Kravitz, Jennifer Ehle, Amy Morton, Michael Shannon | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Greed | 1925 | Erich von Stroheim | ★★★★ | 140 | Powerful adaptation of Frank Norris' novel McTeague, about a simple man whose wife's obsession with money eventually drives him to madness. Even though von Stroheim's version was taken from him and severely cut by the studio (it originally ran eight hours), this remains a stunning work, one of the greatest of all silent films. The final sequences in Death Valley are unforgettable. Reconstructed in 1999, using stills to cover long-lost footage; this version runs 242m. | tt0015881 | Gibson Gowland, ZaSu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Chester Conklin, Dale Fuller | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Greed of William Hart | 1948 | Oswald Mitchell. | 💣 | 80 | Another variation on the tale of 'resurrectionists' Burke and Hare. This time Slaughter and a partner steal bodies for a doctor, killing when necessary. Cheap, tawdry, and dull, the worst of Slaughter's barnstormers, and one of the last. Only he and Woods (as a victim) provide any entertainment. Filmed using the real names, then rerecorded when censors objected. Aka HORROR MANIACS. | tt0040401 | Tod Slaughter, Henry Oscar, Ann Trego, Jenny Lynn, Patrick Addison, Arnold Bell, Aubrey Woods. | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Greedy | 1994 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★ | 113 | Venal family can't wait for a crotchety uncle to die, so they can get their hands on his money, but when he threatens to give it all to a sexy young companion, they dig up long-estranged nephew Fox. Naming the family McTeague (after von Stroheim's GREED) is the cleverest thing in Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel's wearisome script— which isn't helped by Lynn's slack-paced direction. (The director also appears as Kirk's put-upon butler.) Based, believe it or not, on Charles Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit. | tt0109936 | [PG-13] | Michael J. Fox, Kirk Douglas, Nancy Travis, Olivia d'Abo, Phil Hartman, Ed Begley/Jr., Jere Burns, Colleen Camp, Bob Balaban, Joyce Hyser, Mary Ellen Trainor, Siobhan Fallon, Kevin McCarthy, Tom Mason, Austin Pendleton, Kirsten Dunst | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Greek Tycoon | 1978 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 106 | Pointless fabrication about romance and marriage of Aristotle Onassis and a certain president's widow. Beautiful settings add only luster to tepid script that doesn't even rate as good trash. Videocassette version runs 112m. | tt0077636 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Jacqueline Bisset, Raf Vallone, Edward Albert, Charles Durning, Camilla Sparv, James Franciscus, Luciana Paluzzi, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roland Culver, Linda Thorson, Lucy Gutteridge, Henderson Forsythe | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Greeks Had a Word for Them | Three Broadway Girls | 1932 | Lowell Sherman | ★★★ | 79 | Vintage comedy of three gold-digging girls looking for husbands; still entertaining although redone several times, including HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE. Video title: THREE BROADWAY GIRLS. | tt0022961 | Joan Blondell, Ina Claire, Madge Evans, David Manners, Lowell Sherman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Green Berets | 1968 | John Wayne, Ray Kellogg | 💣 | 141 | Politics aside, this overlong, incredibly clichéd salute to the Special Forces has enough absurd situations and unfunny comedy relief to offend anyone; don't miss now-famous final scene, where the sun sets in the East. | tt0063035 | [G] | John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, Aldo Ray, Raymond St. Jacques, Bruce Cabot, George Takei, Jack Soo, Patrick Wayne, Mike Henry | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Green Card | 1990 | Peter Weir | ★★½ | 108 | Young woman agrees to marry Frenchman— in name only— so he may legally remain in this country . . . but when Immigration authorities begin to investigate, she's forced to spend time with the man. Thin, scarcely credible romantic comedy, written by the director; worth watching for Depardieu, who's charming in English-language debut. | tt0099699 | [PG-13] | Gérard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell, Bebe Neuwirth, Gregg Edelman, Robert Prosky, Jessie Keosian, Ann Wedgeworth, Ethan Phillips, Mary Louise Wilson, Lois Smith, Simon Jones | Australian-French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Green Cockatoo | 1937 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★ | 65 | Considering credentials of this film (story by Graham Greene, director Menzies, etc.) the results are particularly disappointing: song-and-dance man Mills tries to unravel mystery surrounding murder of his brother (Newton). Originally titled FOUR DARK HOURS. | tt0028956 | John Mills, Rene Ray, Robert Newton, Charles Oliver, Bruce Seton | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Green Dolphin Street | 1947 | Victor Saville | ★★½ | 141 | If only for its glossy production and Oscar-winning special effects (earthquake and resultant tidal wave), this plodding costumer has merit. Story of two sisters (Turner, Reed) after the same man in 19th-century New Zealand is tedious. | tt0039437 | Lana Turner, Van Heflin, Donna Reed, Richard Hart, Frank Morgan, Edmund Gwenn, Dame May Whitty, Reginald Owen, Gladys Cooper, Moyna MacGill, Linda Christian, Gigi Perreau | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Green Fields | 1937 | Edgar G. Ulmer, Jacob Ben-Ami | ★★★ | 95 | Lovely, lyrical adaptation of Peretz Hirschbein's Yiddish stage classic about an orphaned, wandering scholar (Goldstein) who's searching for a meaningful life, and what happens when he's taken in by a peasant family. Filmed in upstate New York; codirector Ben-Ami, respected actor-director in both the Yiddish and American theater, starred in this on the stage. | tt0028957 | Michael Goldstein (Gorrin), Helen Beverly, Isidore Cashier, Anna Appel, Dena Drute, Herschel Bernardi | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Green Fire | 1954 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 100 | Hokum about love and conflict between emerald prospector (Granger) and coffee-plantation owner (Kelly), set in Colombia, South America. Attractive stars, hot love scenes, slimy villain (Vye). | tt0047050 | Grace Kelly, Stewart Granger, Paul Douglas, John Ericson, Murvyn Vye | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Green Glove | 1952 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 88 | Occasionally interesting tale of ex-paratrooper Ford returning to France after WW2 to find medieval, gem-laden religious artifact, becoming involved in murder and mayhem. | tt0044673 | Glenn Ford, Geraldine Brooks, Cedric Hardwicke, George Macready, Jany Holt, Juliette Greco | Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Green Goddess | 1930 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 80 | Campy early talkie, with Arliss a self-righteous potentate who holds innocent Britishers prisoner. The closing line is a gem. A remake of Arliss' 1923 silent film. | tt0020938 | George Arliss, Alice Joyce, H. B. Warner, Ralph Forbes, Reginald Sheffield, Nigel de Brulier, Ivan Simpson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Green Grass of Wyoming | 1948 | Louis King | ★★½ | 89 | Atmospheric tale of rival horse-breeding families; the usual, but nicely done. Sequel to THUNDERHEAD— SON OF FLICKA, based on a novel by Mary O'Hara. | tt0040402 | Peggy Cummins, Robert Arthur, Charles Coburn, Lloyd Nolan | Western, Drama | NULL | |||
| Green Grow the Rushes | 1951 | Derek Twist | ★★ | 80 | Talky, fitfully funny comedy of a Kent community involved in brandy smuggling. Of interest solely for the presence of Burton, in his last British film before going Hollywood. | tt0043601 | Richard Burton, Honor Blackman, Roger Livesey, Geoffrey Keen, Archie Duncan | British | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Green Hell | 1940 | James Whale | ★★½ | 87 | Diverse group of men, led by stalwart Fairbanks, head into unexplored South American jungle in search of a temple of ancient treasures. Hokey but entertaining. | tt0032558 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Joan Bennett, John Howard, George Sanders, Alan Hale/Sr., George Bancroft, Vincent Price | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Green Hornet | 2011 | Michel Gondry | ★ | 119 | A dim bulb named Britt Reid inherits his father’s fortune and L.A. newspaper when Dad mysteriously dies. Then he teams up with the old man’s chauffeur, a wily would-be inventor named Kato, and decides to fight crime, using the paper to promote his new identity as The Green Hornet. Inane, nearly incoherent, attention-deficit mash-up of a superhero movie and a comedy. Written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who abandon all logic for the love of a cool car and plenty of explosions. James Franco appears unbilled. | tt0990407 | [PG-13] | Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, Edward James Olmos, Jamie Harris, Chad Coleman, Edward Furlong | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Green Ice | 1981 | Ernest Day | ★★ | 115 | Emerald smuggling, with good guy O'Neal, bad guy Sharif, Archer the woman in between. Painless time-killer. | tt0082476 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Anne Archer, Omar Sharif, Domingo Ambriz, John Larroquette | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Green Lantern | 2011 | Martin Campbell | ★★½ | 105 | Reckless test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) is, curiously, chosen to join an intergalactic peacekeeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps. He likes being an overnight superhero but isn’t really ready to take on the weight of responsibility that goes with it. Meanwhile, a nerdy scientist who’s always been jealous of Jordan’s relationship with flyer/aviation exec Carol Ferris (Lively) is exposed to an alien corpse that begins to transform him into a kind of id monster who’s out for revenge. Adaptation of DC comic book isn’t innovative or deep, and doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense, but an attractive cast and spectacular visual effects make it fun to watch. 3-D | tt1133985 | [PG-13] | Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Temuera Morrison, Jay O. Sanders, Jon Tenney, Taika Waititi; voices of Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan | Crime, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Green Light | 1937 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 85 | Genuinely odd blend of melodrama, religion, purple prose, and medical drama with Flynn as an idealistic doctor who makes a career sacrifice and then tries to understand the larger meaning of his life. Adaptation of a Lloyd C. Douglas novel is entertaining enough but awfully hard to swallow seriously. | tt0028958 | Errol Flynn, Anita Louise, Margaret Lindsay, Cedric Hardwicke, Henry O'Neill, Spring Byington, Erin O'Brien-Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Green Man | 1957 | Robert Day | ★★★ | 80 | Droll comedy of a seemingly timid clockmaker who prefers his part-time job as paid assassin. | tt0050456 | Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, Avril Angers | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Green Mansions | 1959 | Mel Ferrer | ★★½ | 104 | W. H. Hudson's romance set in South America suffers from miscast Hepburn as Rima the Bird Girl, whom fate decrees shall not leave her sanctuary. Perkins properly puzzled as male lead. | tt0052864 | Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb, Sessue Hayakawa, Henry Silva, Nehemiah Persoff | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Green Mile | 1999 | Frank Darabont | ★★½ | 188 | An elderly man recalls the incident that changed his life, in 1935, when he supervised Death Row at a Louisiana state prison and encountered a gentle black behemoth (movingly played by Duncan) with an unusual gift. Well-made film has powerful moments, but they're needlessly stretched over three hours . . . and the central conceit isn't easy to buy. Repeated scenes of executions are tough to take. Based on Stephen King's best-seller. | tt0120689 | [R] | Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Graham Greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton, Dabbs Greer, Eve Brent, Gary Sinise | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Green Pastures | 1936 | William Keighley, Marc Connelly | ★★★½ | 92 | All-black cast in Marc Connelly fable of life in heaven, and biblical stories which give more meaning to Adam, Noah, and Moses than many so-called biblical films. Ingram is fine as 'de Lawd.' | tt0027700 | Rex Ingram, Oscar Polk, Eddie Anderson, Frank Wilson, George Reed, Abraham Gleaves, Myrtle Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Green Promise | 1949 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 93 | Thoughtful drama of stubborn, manipulative Brennan, who lords it over his children while attempting to eke out a living on a farm. Watch this and you'll learn all you'll ever need to know about 4-H Clubs! | tt0041431 | Marguerite Chapman, Walter Brennan, Robert Paige, Natalie Wood, Ted Donaldson, Connie Marshall, Milburn Stone | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Green Room | 1978 | François Truffaut | ★★ | 95 | Truffaut stars as a death-obsessed journalist who converts a rundown chapel into a memorial for his deceased WW1 comrades. Dreary, lifeless, disappointing, with Truffaut's character engulfed in his own rhetoric. Based on writings of Henry James; coscripted by Truffaut and Jean Gruault. | tt0077315 | [PG] | François Truffaut., Nathalie Baye, Jean Daste, Jean-Paul Moulin, Jeanne Lobre | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Green Scarf | 1955 | George More O'Ferrall | ★★★ | 96 | Imaginative handling of blind man accused of homicide, defended by aging attorney; set in Paris. | tt0047051 | Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Kieron Moore, Leo Genn | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Green Slime | 1969 | Kinji Fukasaku | ★½ | 99 | On space station, title substance— exposed to blood— grows into red-eyed, tentacled monsters that quickly multiply and threaten to spread to Earth. Not as much fun as it sounds. | tt0064393 | [G] | Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, Luciana Paluzzi, Bud Widom | Japanese-U.S. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Green Street Hooligans | 2005 | Lexi Alexander | ★★ | 106 | American boy who's unfairly expelled from Harvard flees to England, where his sister is living. He quickly falls in with his brother-in-law's rowdy sibling (Hunnam), the leader of a 'firm' that regularly engages in bloody combat with rival gangs who support various football teams. To his surprise, the Yank finds that he likes living on the edge and engaging in mayhem. Intriguing film plays out badly, with story contrivances and changes in tone submerging some of its better qualities. Painfully violent at times. | tt0385002 | [R] | Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani, Marc Warren, Leo Gregory, Henry Goodman, Geoff Bell, Rafe Spall | U.S.-British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Green Years | 1946 | Victor Saville | ★★½ | 127 | Sentimental A. J. Cronin weeper of orphaned Irish lad and his experiences growing up with his mother's family in Scotland. Coburn is wonderful as his great-grandfather, an irascible teller of tall tales. Tandy plays Cronyn's daughter here. | tt0038578 | Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Hume Cronyn, Gladys Cooper, Dean Stockwell, Jessica Tandy, Norman Lloyd, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Green Zone | 2010 | Paul Greengrass | ★★ | 114 | In 2003, U.S. Army officer Damon leads his squadron in a search for weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad, but after one too many blind alleys begins to question the intelligence reports he's receiving. Could his own government be lying? Retrospective look at the situation, "inspired by" Rajiv Chandrasekaran's nonfiction book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, asks us to be surprised at its discoveries—and the ultimate outcome of the story—when it's plain from the start to everyone but Damon's character. Vividly realized by Greengrass, a master of verisimilitude, but dramatically pointless. | tt0947810 | [R] | Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs, Igal Naor | Drama, Action, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Green for Danger | 1946 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★★ | 93 | Exciting whodunit set in a rural English emergency hospital during WW2. Tension neatly counterbalanced by droll wit of Sim as implacable Scotland Yard inspector; a must-see classic. Written by Gilliat and Claude Guerney. | tt0038577 | Alastair Sim, Sally Gray, Trevor Howard, Rosamund John, Leo Genn, Judy Campbell, Megs Jenkins | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Green-Eyed Blonde | 1957 | Bernard Girard | ★★ | 76 | Illegitimate mother Plowman is sent to reformatory, where she encounters tough-as-nails Oliver (who's quite good). Written by Dalton Trumbo, though credited to Sally Stubblefield. | tt0050457 | Susan Oliver, Tommie Moore, Juanita Moore, Evelyn Scott, Roy Glenn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Greenberg | 2010 | Noah Baumbach | ★★★ | 107 | Title character, who’s just had a nervous breakdown, returns to L.A. from N.Y.C. to house-sit for his brother, and strikes up a tentative relationship with the aimless but likable young woman who works as an assistant to his brother’s family. He also tries to rekindle old friendships from when he was an up-and-comer—quite some time ago. Baumbach and Leigh conceived this incisive, if laid-back, character study of a self-absorbed screwup (Stiller, in a finely tuned performance). Spending time with Greenberg may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the film has undeniable resonance, and paints a vivid portrait of everyday life in Los Angeles. | tt1234654 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson, Juno Temple, Chris Messina, Susan Traylor, Mark Duplass | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Greendale | 2004 | Bernard Shakey (Neil Young) | ★★★ | 87 | Provocative, free-flowing music video/rock opera about events that befall the Green family of Greendale, California. The script consists of lyrics from ten songs written and sung by Young, lip-synched by the actors; their content is deeply personal and political, tackling such issues as corporate corruption, ecological abuse, and media overkill. Those who caringly recall 1960s and '70s social activism (and Young's tenure with Buffalo Springfield) will likely find this most appealing. Filmed in Super 8, to look like a poorly shot home movie. Young appears in a cameo, as 'Wayne Newton. | tt0379307 | Sarah White, Eric Johnson, Ben Keith, Erik Markegard, Elizabeth Keith, Pegi Young, James Mazzeo | Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Greene Murder Case | 1929 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 69 | Despite creaky early-talkie technique, this is a generally satisfying Philo Vance mystery about the murder of a penurious Manhattan matron. Unfortunately, the killer's identity becomes painfully obvious around the halfway mark. | tt0019949 | William Powell, Florence Eldridge, Ulrich Haupt, Jean Arthur, Eugene Pallette | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Greenfingers | 2001 | Joel Hershman | ★★½ | 91 | Minor but diverting film inspired by the real-life inmates at a progressive British prison who began gardening and wound up competing at England's leading flower show at Hampton Court. Owen plays a loner who's persuaded to try getting back to the soil by his aged, canny cellmate (Kelly). A bit too pat, but pleasant. | tt0203540 | [R] | Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, David Kelly, Natasha Little, Warren Clarke, Danny Dyer, Adam Fogerty, Paterson Joseph | British-U.S. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Greenwich Village | 1944 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 82 | Silly but amiable musical about a 'serious' composer (Ameche) persuaded to adapt his songs for a Broadway revue starring Blaine. When it's supposed to be 1922 N.Y.C. and Carmen Miranda turns up, you know not to expect stark realism. Look fast in both party scenes to spot The Revuers (Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Judy Holliday, Alvin Hammer). | tt0036881 | Carmen Miranda, Don Ameche, William Bendix, Vivian Blaine, Felix Bressart, Tony and Sally DeMarco, The Four Step Brothers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Greetings | 1968 | Brian De Palma | ★★★ | 88 | Loose, informal, improvisational satire about the draft, sex, the counterculture. Exudes a late '60s N.Y.C.-Greenwich Village ambience not to be found in any Hollywood feature. Sequel: HI, MOM! | tt0063036 | [R] | Jonathan Warden, Robert De Niro, Gerrit Graham, Richard Hamilton, Megan McCormick, Allen Garfield | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gregory's Girl | 1981 | Bill Forsyth | ★★★ | 91 | Bright, winning comedy of wimpy teenager Sinclair's love for Hepburn, who takes his place on the school soccer team. Enjoyable, if perhaps a bit overrated. Followed in 1999 by GREGORY'S TWO GIRLS. | tt0082477 | [PG] | Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Chic Murray, Jake D'Arcy, Alex Norton, John Bett | Scottish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Gremlins | 1984 | Joe Dante | ★★ | 106 | A teenager's unusual new pet spawns a legion of vicious, violent monsters who turn picture-postcard town into living hell. Comic nightmare is a cross between Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and THE BLOB; full of film-buff in-jokes but negated by too-vivid violence and mayhem. Cameos range from animator Chuck Jones to Robby the Robot— but you have to look fast for executive producer Steven Spielberg. Howie Mandel is the voice of Gizmo. Followed by a sequel. | tt0087363 | [PG] | Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Polly Holliday, Glynn Turman, Dick Miller, Keye Luke, Scott Brady, Judge Reinhold, Jackie Joseph, Harry Carey/Jr., Corey Feldman | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Action | NULL | ||
| Gremlins 2 The New Batch | 1990 | Joe Dante | ★★★ | 106 | Not so much a horror film as a goofy sendup of itself, this sequel turns the slimy creatures loose in N.Y.C. Filled with gags, movie in-jokes, satiric barbs, and gratuitous cameo appearances. Glover is especially funny as a Donald Trump/Ted Turner type, and Lee is a delight as a genetic scientist. Be sure to stay with this through the closing credits. | tt0099700 | [PG-13] | Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Robert Prosky, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lee, Haviland Morris, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Gedde Watanabe, Keye Luke, Kathleen Freeman, voice of Tony Randall | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Grendel, Grendel, Grendel | 1980 | Alexander Stitt | ★★½ | 90 | Crude but appealing animation highlights this fable about Grendel, a medieval monster only a mother could love, and his observations about the creatures he calls 'man'— who murder and pillage. Based on a novel by John Gardner. Score by harmonica great Toots Thielemans. | tt0082478 | Voices of Peter Ustinov, Keith Michell, Arthur Dignam, Ed Rosser, Bobby Bright, Ric Stone | Australian | Animation | NULL | ||
| Gretchen the Greenhorn | 1916 | C. M. (Chester) and S. A. (Sidney) Franklin. | ★★½ | 58 | Old-fashioned, tug-at-your-heartstrings melodrama about a Dutch girl who emigrates to the U.S., where her tenement neighbors are like a U.N. delegation and she is wooed by a young Italian (Bennett). Meanwhile, her unsuspecting father is duped into engraving counterfeit money. Nostalgic, romanticized ode to the American immigrant experience and melting pot ideal. | tt0006745 | Dorothy Gish, Ralph Lewis, Frank Bennett, Eugene Pallette, Kate Bruce, Elmo Lincoln, George Stone. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Grey Fox | 1982 | Phillip Borsos | ★★★ | 92 | Low-key account of real-life robber Bill Miner, who switched from stagecoaches to trains after spending 33 years in jail. Director Borsos may be just a bit too laid back, but Farnsworth's charming and commanding performance makes up for that. The scene in which he watches THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is a gem. | tt0085622 | [PG] | Richard Farnsworth, Jackie Burroughs, Wayne Robson, Ken Pogue, Timothy Webber | Canadian | Western | NULL | |
| Grey Gardens | 1976 | David Maysles, Albert Maysles | ★★★ | 95 | Tasteless, suspect, but riveting documentary about Edith Bouvier Beale (79) and daughter Edie (57)— aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Onassis— filmed in their rotting, filthy 28-room mansion in East Hampton, N.Y., which was officially declared a health hazard. Fascinating for voyeurs, but film would have had more depth had we been given a better picture of mother and daughter in their youth. | tt0073076 | [PG] | Action | NULL | |||
| Grey Owl | 1999 | Richard Attenborough | ★★ | 117 | It's difficult to accept Brosnan as the title character, a celebrated North American Indian and conservationist whose true identity is discovered by a reporter in 1936; the rest of the story unfolds in flashback. Sincere but ineffectual telling of this interesting tale went straight to video in the U.S. | tt0128239 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Annie Galipeau, Nathaniel Arcand, Vlasta Vrana, David Fox, Charles Powell, Renee Asherson, Graham Greene | British-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Grey Zone | 2002 | Tim Blake Nelson | ★★★ | 108 | Potent drama about day-to-day life at Auschwitz, based on the memoirs of Dr. Miklos Nyiszli, a Jewish doctor who carried out Josef Mengele's experiments in order to preserve his own life and his family's. Aiding him are the Sonderkommandos, Jewish prisoners who extend their lives by leading fellow Jews into the gas chambers. Episodic and stylized but still powerful, as it poses the question of how far someone will go in order to survive. Keitel coexecutive-produced. Adapted by Nelson from his stage play. | tt0252480 | [R] | David Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Natasha Lyonne, Daniel Benzali, Allan Corduner, David Chandler, Lisa Benavides | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Grey | 2012 | Joe Carnahan | ★★½ | 117 | Alaskan oil-rig workers flying to the city for a furlough crash-land in the snowy wilderness. Small band of survivors has to deal with cold and lack of food and shelter—but it's the bloodthirsty wolves surrounding them who pose the greatest threat. Neeson, solid as ever, takes the leadership position. Survival thriller isn't bad, but its formulaic narrative shouldn't take this long to unfold; it's based on a short story, not a novel. Stay through the credits for a brief coda. | tt1601913 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, James Badge Dale, Nonso Anozie, Ben Hernandez Bray | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Greyfriars Bobby | 1961 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 91 | British Disney film based on true story of a Skye terrier who became 'neighborhood pet' in Edinburgh during 19th century through unusual circumstances. Great charm, fine performances offset by slow pacing. A remake of CHALLENGE TO LASSIE, which also features Crisp (who played the dog's master in the earlier film). | tt0054944 | Donald Crisp, Laurence Naismith, Alex Mackenzie, Kay Walsh, Duncan Macrae, Gordon Jackson | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | Hugh Hudson | ★★★ | 129 | Retelling of Tarzan tale, liberally adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs' original. Infant son of shipwrecked couple is raised by apes, discovered at manhood by a Belgian explorer, and returned to civilization— and his doting grandfather (Richardson, who's just wonderful in his final film performance). At its best in the jungle, with Rick Baker's incredible makeup effects; more sluggish back in Britain, and hampered by obvious signs of prerelease cutting. Leading lady MacDowell's voice was dubbed by Glenn Close. Expanded 135m. version available on home video. | tt0087365 | [PG] | Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson, James Fox, Cheryl Campbell, Ian Charleson, Nigel Davenport | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gridiron Gang | 2006 | Phil Joanou | ★★½ | 120 | The Rock, emoting more than usual, is a counselor at a detention facility for wayward kids who decides to form a gridiron squad. The program is threatened when bad outside influences take hold of some team members. Filled with sports-movie clichés and stereotypical characters, but has extra weight since it's based on a true story. Based on a documentary of the same name. | tt0421206 | [PG-13] | Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn, Jade Yorker, David V. Thomas, Trever O'Brien, Setu Taase, Mo, Jurnee Smollett | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| Gridlock'd | 1997 | Vondie Curtis-Hall | ★★½ | 91 | Occasionally spunky comedy (a poor cousin to TRAINSPOTTING) about drug-addicted musicians Shakur and Roth, who struggle (mostly against an uncaring bureaucracy) as they try to kick their habits after their singer friend (Newton) overdoses. The two leads offer solid performances. Feature directorial debut for actor Curtis Hall (who also scripted). Elizabeth Peña appears unbilled. | tt0119225 | [R] | Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, Thandie Newton, Charles Fleischer, Howard Hesseman, James Pickens/Jr., John Sayles, Eric Payne, Tom Towles, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kasi Lemmons, Lucy Alexis Liu | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Grifters | 1990 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 114 | Icy cold adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel about con artists, with steely 'working-woman' Huston coming back into the life of her grown son after many years of estrangement . . . and finding that he's taken up with a woman much like herself. Bleak and fascinating, with three first-rate performances. Screenplay by Donald E. Westlake. Coproduced and narrated by Martin Scorsese. | tt0099703 | [R] | Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Pat Hingle, Henry Jones, Michael Laskin, Eddie Jones, J.T. Walsh, Charles Napier, Stephen Tobolowsky, Sandy Baron, Gailard Sartain | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Grim Prairie Tales | 1990 | Wayne Coe | ★★ | 94 | Horror/Western anthology framed by Jones and Dourif spinning scary tales around a campfire. The four stories vary widely in content and execution: a cowboy is buried alive by Indians; a traveling man is seduced by a pregnant, supernatural wanderer; a homesteader pursues a nocturnal hobby of lynching black men; and a gunslinger is haunted by one of his victims. This low, low-budget effort fails, for the most part, to achieve its intriguing potential. | tt0099704 | [R] | James Earl Jones, Brad Dourif, Will Hare, Marc McClure, Michelle Joyner, William Atherton, Lisa Eichhorn, Wendy Cooke | Horror, Western | NULL | ||
| The Grim Reaper | 1981 | Joe D'Amato | ★½ | 81 | Tourist Farrow and companions are stalked by killer on a Greek island. Trifling shocker. | tt0082479 | [R] | Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Vanessa Steiger, George Eastman | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Grind | 1997 | Chris Kentis | ★★½ | 96 | Flawed but arresting drama about an ex-con/race car driver wannabe who moves in with his blue-collar brother and sister-in-law and becomes involved in an insurance scam. While the story is predictable, the film does offer a thoughtful, observant look at working-class lives, dreams and frustrations. Shot in 1994. | tt0119228 | Billy Crudup, Adrienne Shelly, Paul Schulze, Frank Vincent, Saul Stein, Amanda Peet | Drama | NULL | |||
| Grind | 2003 | Casey La Scala | 💣 | 105 | What should (and could) have been an innocuous teen movie about four skateboarding friends who want to go pro is torpedoed by a weak script that wallows in crass humor and sexism. Cameos by such comic luminaries as Tom Green and Bobcat Goldthwait can't compete with vomit jokes. | tt0338077 | [PG-13] | Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, Joey Kern, Jennifer Morrison, Randy Quaid, Bam Margera, Summer Altice, Chad Fernandez, Christine Estabrook, Erin Murphy, Jason London, Christopher McDonald, Dave Foley | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Grindhouse | 2007 | Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino | ★★★ | 192 | “Death Proof”: Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell, Michael Parks, Eli Roth. Homage to exploitation double features of yore is long but a lot of fun. Rodriguez offers an unabashedly gory mutant-zombie yarn with plenty of action and a memorable prosthetic for victim-turned-heroine McGowan. Tarantino lingers on chick-power chatter before paying it off in his car-chase homage to VANISHING POINT, with real-life stunt woman Bell earning her paycheck. Faux trailers (by Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, and Edgar Wright) are virtual replicas of '70s sleaze fare-more so than the features themselves. Bruce Willis appears unbilled; other familiar faces are in the trailers. | tt0462322 | [R] | “Planet Terror”: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Michael Parks, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt, Stacy Ferguson. | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Grindhouse: 'Planet Terror' | 2007 | Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino | ★★★ | 192 | Homage to exploitation double features of yore is long but a lot of fun. Rodriguez offers an unabashedly gory mutant-zombie yarn with plenty of action and a memorable prosthetic for victim-turned-heroine McGowan. Tarantino lingers on chick-power chatter before paying it off in his car-chase homage to VANISHING POINT, with real-life stunt woman Bell earning her paycheck. Faux trailers (by Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, and Edgar Wright) are virtual replicas of '70s sleaze fare-more so than the features themselves. Bruce Willis appears unbilled; other familiar faces are in the trailers. | tt1077258 | [R] | ‘Planet Terror': Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Michael Parks, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt, Stacy Ferguson. 'Death Proof': Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Poitier, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell, Michael Parks, Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino. | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Grissly's Millions | 1945 | John English. | ★★½ | 54 | Smoothly done programmer about greedy relatives converging on the mansion of a wealthy man who has been murdered. | tt0037752 | Paul Kelly, Virginia Grey, Don Douglas, Elisabeth Risdon, Robert Barrat, Clem Bevans, Adele Mara. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Grissom Gang | 1971 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 127 | Outlandish, extremely violent comic-book thriller set in the 1920s. Heiress Darby is kidnapped by family of drooling grotesques, whose leader (Wilson) starts to fall in love with her. Very funny if you appreciate the Aldrich sense of humor; otherwise, solid action fare. Remake of 1948 British film NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH. | tt0067162 | [R] | Kim Darby, Scott Wilson, Irene Dailey, Tony Musante, Ralph Waite, Connie Stevens, Robert Lansing, Wesley Addy, Gary Grimes | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Grizzly | 1976 | William Girdler | ★★ | 92 | OK rip-off of JAWS about an 18-foot, 2000-pound grizzly bear who launches series of attacks on campers in national park. Might be subtitled 'Claws.' Aka KILLER GRIZZLY. | tt0074593 | [PG] | Christopher George, Andrew Prine, Richard Jaeckel, Joan McCall, Joe Dorsey | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Grizzly Man | 2005 | Werner Herzog | ★★★½ | 103 | Amazing documentary about self-styled animal rights activist Timothy Treadwell, who spent thirteen summers filming his own exploits as he communed with bears in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve before getting killed by one of them. Herzog (who also narrates) is the perfect director for this remarkable, empathetic study of obsession, identity, and the relationship between a filmmaker and his subject. Treadwell, whom we see in extensive footage from his own videos, is an amusing, confounding character, both literally and figuratively. | tt0427312 | [R] | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| Grizzly Mountain | 1997 | Jeremy Haft | ★½ | 96 | While camping in the Oregon mountains, two city kids go into a cave and are transported back to 1870, where they help a friendly mountain man (guess who) battle some greedy developers who want to destroy sacred Indian land. Ultra-innocuous family film features some pleasant scenery, but worthy message is lost amidst the amateurish acting, cheesy production values, and lamebrained comedy relief. | tt0113223 | [G] | Dan Haggerty, Dylan Haggerty, Nicole Lund, Kim Morgan Greene, Perry Stephens, Martin Kove, Megan Haggerty | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Groom Wore Spurs | 1951 | Richard Whorf | ★★ | 80 | Occasionally zesty comedy of attorney Rogers marrying cowboy actor Carson, divorcing him, but coming to his defense in criminal case. | tt0043603 | Ginger Rogers, Jack Carson, Joan Davis, Stanley Ridges | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Groomsmen | 2006 | Edward Burns | ★★½ | 98 | Five lifelong pals reunite on the eve of Burns's nuptials to Murphy, stirring up a lot of unfinished business and reopening old wounds. The setup couldn't be more transparent, and the characters aren't very deep, but they do ring true for the most part and the cast is first-rate. Written by the director. | tt0455958 | [R] | Edward Burns, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo, Jay Mohr, Matthew Lillard, Donal Logue, Shari Albert, Jessica Capshaw | Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance | NULL | ||
| Groove | 2000 | Greg Harrison | ★★★ | 83 | Lively, ingratiating saga of a weekend rave in San Francisco, from start to finish, and the disparate characters whose lives crisscross there. Good spirits and vivid re-creation of the rave scene make up for the simplistic quality of director Harrison's script. | tt0212974 | [R] | Lola Glaudini, Hamish Linklater, Denny Kirkwood, Mackenzie Firgens, Rachel True, Steve Van Wormer, DJ John Digweed | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Groove Tube | 1974 | Ken Shapiro | ★★½ | 75 | Sometimes funny, sometimes stupid collection of satirical episodes about television. Definitely has its heart in the right place, but a mixed bag. Originally X-rated, later trimmed; Chase's feature debut. | tt0071583 | [R] | Ken Shapiro, Lane Sarasohn, Chevy Chase, Richard Belzer, Mary Mendham, Bill Kemmill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gross Anatomy | 1989 | Thom Eberhardt | ★★½ | 109 | So-so tale of doctor-in-training Modine, who doesn't take his studies as seriously as he should. Not bad, but not particularly distinguished; Lahti is wasted as the aspiring doctors' demanding instructor. Viewers who've attended medical school may appreciate this more. | tt0097458 | [PG-13] | Matthew Modine, Daphne Zuniga, Christine Lahti, Todd Field, John Scott Clough, Alice Carter, Robert Desiderio, Zakes Mokae | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gross Misconduct | 1992 | Atom Egoyan | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Director Egoyan puts his spin on the dramatic and downbeat story of Canadian hockey star Brian 'Spinner' Spencer, who spun out of control after achieving fame and fortune in the NHL. Fascinating portrait of a troubled young man. Written by Paul Gross. | tt0107047 | [R] | Daniel Kash, Peter MacNeill, Linda Goranson, Doug Hughes, Lenore Zann, Shaun Ashmore, Aaron Ashmore, Kirsten Kieferle, Shannon Lawson | Canadian |
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| Grosse Fatigue | Dead Tired | 1994 | Michel Blanc | ★★½ | 87 | French variation of STARDUST MEMORIES, with Blanc finding his celebrityhood turning into a bad dream after he is accused of defiling Balasko. Intriguing, self-involved, crammed with guest appearances by familiar faces from French cinema. Blanc, Balasko, and Bouquet all play 'themselves.' Video title: DEAD TIRED. | tt0109942 | [R] | Michel Blanc, Carole Bouquet, Philippe Noiret, Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier, Charlotte Gainsbourg | French | Comedy | NULL |
| Grosse Pointe Blank | 1997 | George Armitage | ★★½ | 107 | Professional hit man combines business with pleasure when he attends his ten-year high school reunion while on assignment . . . but the girl he dumped (and all his friends) want to know why and how he disappeared. Cusack cowrote and coproduced this sharp black comedy, brimming with hip dialogue and loaded with attitude. But the climactic violence leaves a bad taste and undermines the comedy. | tt0119229 | [R] | John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack, Hank Azaria, K. Todd Freeman, Mitchell Ryan, Jeremy Piven, Barbara Harris, Jenna Elfman | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Ground Truth | 2006 | Patricia Foulkrod | ★★★½ | 77 | A roster of the maimed, the burned, and the spiritually fried incisively describes life and death in the killing fields of Iraq. American youth, brainwashed by recruiters' lies and brutalized by boot camp sadists, morph into peer-approved mass murderers as they fight a war without armor, intel, or a clue. Using interviews strictly from the GIs' point of view, without input from generals or politicians, the documentary depicts a place where madness is the norm and the daily grind is worse than any horror movie. No sanctimony here. Unnerving soundtrack has contributions from Mos Def and Tom Waits. | tt0446345 | [R] | Documentary, Biography, War | NULL | |||
| Ground Zero | 1987 | Michael Pattinson, Bruce Myles | ★★★ | 109 | Cameraman learns that his father may have died because he saw— and photographed— too much during British A-bomb testing in Australia in the 1950s. Exciting political paranoia thriller, though sluggish in spots. Pleasence is excellent in supporting role as hermitlike survivor of those tests. A fictional story based on factual events. | tt0093120 | [PG] | Colin Friels, Jack Thompson, Donald Pleasence, Natalie Bate, Simon Chilvers, Neil Fitzpatrick, Bob Maza, Peter Cummins | Australian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Groundhog Day | 1993 | Harold Ramis | ★★★ | 103 | Smug TV weatherman Murray goes to Punxsutawney, Pa., to cover the Groundhog Day ceremony and finds himself trapped in a daily replay of the same 24 hours. Near classic comedy-fantasy improves on each viewing, with endless twists and turns that are funny, moving, and even profound. Murray, perfectly cast, provides just the right combination of edginess and incipient humanity. Director-cowriter Ramis has a brief scene as a local neurologist. | tt0107048 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, Rick Overton, Robin Duke | Fantasy, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Grounds for Marriage | 1950 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 91 | Cutesy musicomedy of opera star Grayson and her ex-husband, physician Johnson. | tt0042526 | Van Johnson, Kathryn Grayson, Paula Raymond, Barry Sullivan, Lewis Stone | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Groundstar Conspiracy | 1972 | Lamont Johnson. | ★★½ | 96 | When explosion smashes secret space project, espionage work first begins. Tightly made, but poor dialogue. | tt0068663 | [PG] | George Peppard, Michael Sarrazin, Christine Belford. | Canadian | Crime, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| Group Marriage | 1972 | Stephanie Rothman | ★★½ | 85 | Engaging drive-in comedy with something to say. Group of young Californians sets up a communal housekeeping situation, gradually adding new members. Needless to say, the neighbors are less than thrilled. Nicely done, attractive cast. | tt0068664 | [R] | Victoria Vetri, Claudia Jennings, Aimee Eccles, Zack Taylor, Jeff Pomerantz, Jayne Kennedy, Milt Kamen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Group | 1966 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 150 | Uneven, but generally good adaptation of Mary McCarthy's high-class soap opera about eight graduates of Vassar-type college. Knight and Hackett stand out in excellent cast. Film debuts of Bergen, Hackett, Pettet, Widdoes, and Holbrook. | tt0060479 | Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet, Mary-Robin Redd, Jessica Walter, Kathleen Widdoes, James Broderick, Larry Hagman, Richard Mulligan, Hal Holbrook, Carrie Nye, Leora Dana, George Gaynes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Grown Ups | 2010 | Dennis Dugan | ★ | 102 | Their high school coach's death reunites a group of childhood friends 30 years later and inspires them to rent a lake house with their families for the 4th of July weekend. Sandler seems to be struggling to find a happy medium between the raunchy bathroom humor for which he's known and the family-friendly fare he'd like to create. Camaraderie among the lead actors is enjoyable to watch, but the touchy-feely moments feel forced and unnatural. | tt1375670 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek Pinault, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph, Joyce Van Patten, Colin Quinn, Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows, Norm Macdonald, Blake Clark | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Grudge 2 | 2006 | Takashi Shimizu | ★½ | 102 | The same creaking ghosts terrorize teenage girls (and others) in Japan and Chicago. Plodding, confusing mess, much inferior to the first, switching clumsily from Japan to the U.S. repeatedly. The two threads are unlinked until the last few minutes-that is, if anyone's still watching. Unrated director's cut runs 108m. | tt0433386 | [PG-13] | Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Edison Chen, Christopher Cousins, Teresa Palmer, Misaka Uno, Joanna Cassidy, Sarah Roemer, Matthew Knight, Takako Fuji, Shaun Sipos, Jenna Dewan, Sarah Michelle Gellar | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Grudge | 2004 | Takashi Shimizu. | ★★½ | 91 | In Tokyo, a young American woman finds her life (and her friends' as well) in danger from ghosts haunting a modest home where murders took place. Remake of JU-ON: THE GRUDGE (2003) by same director (with some of the same cast) tells a more linear story than the original; it's a shade less effective, but still imaginative and intelligent. Director's cut runs 98m. | tt0391198 | [PG-13] | Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, Grace Zabriskie, Bill Pullman, Ted Raimi, Ryo Ishibashi, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, KaDee Strickland. | U.S.-Japanese | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Grumpier Old Men | 1995 | Howard Deutch | ★★½ | 100 | Now reconciled, the longtime neighbors/nemeses argue over their offsprings' impending wedding, while a new arrival in town (Loren) turns their bait shop into a restaurant. Agreeable sequel, though it's discouraging to see two great comic actors reduced to getting cheap laughs by spouting epithets at one another. Loren is a breath of fresh air as Matthau's unlikely love interest. Meredith is back in form as Lemmon's horny dad. | tt0113228 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Sophia Loren, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Burgess Meredith, Ann Guilbert, Max Wright, James Andelin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Grumpy Old Men | 1993 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 104 | Engagingly performed but malnourished comedy about two mateless Minnesota retirees, rabid ice-fishermen, whose lifelong feud escalates when an attractive widow moves in across the street. Walter and Jack are fun as usual, but a few too many plot threads get wrapped up in the final 15 minutes. Compensations are a funny end-credit sequence and the singular chance to hear Meredith (as Lemmon's father) make endless salacious wordplays on the male organ of love. Followed by a sequel. | tt0107050 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Ossie Davis, Buck Henry, Christopher McDonald | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Guadalcanal Diary | 1943 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 93 | WW2 actioner based on a reporter's best-selling account of the Marines taking a Pacific island stronghold. This hasn't aged especially well, with archetypes instead of characters, from Bendix's Brooklyn cabbie to Jaeckel (in his film debut) as the ultimate mama's boy. Still watchable, but for an overload of racial slurs. | tt0035957 | Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn, Richard Jaeckel, Lionel Stander | Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Guard | 2011 | John Michael McDonagh | ★★★ | 96 | In a small Irish seaside town, eccentric and profane cop Gleeson marches to his own drum. Yet he may be the only ally American FBI agent Cheadle can count on when he arrives on the scene trying to trap a high-level drug-smuggling ring. Audacious, original, and quite funny; a great showcase for Gleeson. Debut feature for writer-director McDonagh, whose brother Martin made the similarly entertaining IN BRUGES. | tt1540133 | [R] | Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene, Katarina Cas | Irish-British | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Guardian | 1990 | William Friedkin | ★★ | 93 | Yuppie couple hires a nanny for their newborn child, but we know there's something odd about her: she feeds babies to a tree in a nearby gully. Friedkin's first return to horror after THE EXORCIST has a few good scenes, but a ludicrous story and a humorless approach. Seagrove is very good in an almost unplayable role. Cowritten by the director from novel The Nanny by Dan Greenburg. | tt0099710 | [R] | Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell, Brad Hall, Miguel Ferrer, Natalia Nogulich | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Guardian | 2006 | Andrew Davis | ★★★ | 139 | After a tragic accident, veteran Coast Guard rescue swimmer Costner is reassigned to teach new recruits-and is especially hard on a young hotshot (Kutcher) with whom he has more in common than either one might suspect. Strictly formulaic military yarn is reminiscent of everything from AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN to G.I. JANE, but goes through its paces with energy and conviction. Rescue scenes at sea are especially exciting. If only it didn't have three endings! | tt0406816 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Melissa Sagemiller, Bonnie Bramlett, Clancy Brown, Sela Ward, Neal McDonough, John Heard, Brian Geraghty, Dulé Hill, Omari Hardwick | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Guarding Tess | 1994 | Hugh Wilson | ★★★ | 98 | Secret Service agent tries to get out of his demanding and frustrating assignment, protecting a former First Lady— but she won't let him go. Extremely satisfying comedy-drama buoyed by two perfect performances, by MacLaine and Cage. Incidentally, that's director/cowriter Wilson as the voice of the President on the phone. | tt0109951 | [PG-13] | Shirley MacLaine, Nicolas Cage, Austin Pendleton, Edward Albert, James Rebhorn, Richard Griffiths, John Roselius, David Graf, Dale Dye | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Guardsman | 1931 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 89 | The Lunts' only starring film is charming tour de force from Molnar's comedy of jealous husband testing his wife's fidelity. Remade as THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER and LILY IN LOVE. | tt0021931 | Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Roland Young, ZaSu Pitts, Maude Eburne, Herman Bing | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Guerillas in Pink Lace | 1964 | George Montgomery | ★½ | 96 | Poorly produced yarn filmed in Philippines about Montgomery and group of showgirls on the lam from Manila and the Japanese. | tt0058163 | George Montgomery, Valerie Varda, Roby Grace, Joan Shawlee |
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| Guess Who | 2005 | Kevin Rodney Sullivan. | ★★½ | 105 | Modern spin on GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, with Saldaña bringing fiancé Kutcher home to her mom and her demanding, overprotective dad— without telling them that he's white. Comedy quotient is fairly mild but it's all pleasant enough. | tt0372237 | [PG-13] | Bernie Mac, Ashton Kutcher, Zoë Saldaña, Judith Scott, Hal Williams, Kellee Stewart, Robert Curtis Brown, RonReaco Lee, Sherri Shepherd, Richard Lawson, Jessica Cauffiel. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | 1967 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★ | 108 | Glossy tale of mixed marriage as Houghton (Hepburn's real-life niece) brings home fiancé Poitier to meet her perplexed parents. Fluff is given strength by Oscar-winning Hepburn and Tracy in his last film appearance. William Rose also took home an Oscar for his story and screenplay. Remade in 2005 as GUESS WHO. | tt0061735 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Roy E. Glenn/Sr., Virginia Christine, Isabel Sanford | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Guest Wife | 1945 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 90 | Breezy comedy depends on stars for flair; they do just fine, with Claudette posing as Ameche's wife to husband Foran's chagrin. | tt0037756 | Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, Dick Foran, Charles Dingle, Grant Mitchell, Wilma Francis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Guest in the House | 1944 | John Brahm | ★★★ | 121 | Atmospheric, occasionally gripping melodrama about neurotic young Baxter and her effect on the family of her betrothed. Bellamy is extremely attractive in a rare romantic lead, and Anne goes all out in this Eve Harrington-like characterization. | tt0036886 | Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Aline MacMahon, Ruth Warrick, Scott McKay, Marie McDonald, Jerome Cowan, Margaret Hamilton, Percy Kilbride | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Guest | The Caretaker | 1964 | Clive Donner | ★★★ | 105 | Derelict Pleasence invades the world of mentally ill Shaw and his sadistic brother Bates. Superior cast and superb performances, but claustrophobically directed by Donner. Screenplay by Harold Pinter, based on his play The Caretaker, which was also this film's title in Britain. | tt0058164 | Alan Bates, Donald Pleasence, Robert Shaw | British | Drama | NULL | |
| A Guide for the Married Man | 1967 | Gene Kelly | ★★★½ | 89 | Consistently funny, imaginative adult comedy of Morse trying to teach faithful husband Matthau the ABC's of adultery, with the aid of many guest stars who demonstrate Morse's theories. Joke of it all is that Matthau is married to gorgeous Inger Stevens! | tt0061736 | Walter Matthau, Inger Stevens, Robert Morse, Sue Ane Langdon, Claire Kelly, Elaine Devry; guest stars Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Polly Bergen, Joey Bishop, Sid Caesar, Art Carney, Wally Cox, Jayne Mansfield, Hal March, Louis Nye, Carl Reiner, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Ben Blue, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Jeffrey Hunter, Marty Ingels, Sam Jaffe | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints | 2006 | Dito Montiel | ★★½ | 100 | Montiel also scripted this autobiographical slice-of-life in which a successful L.A. writer (Downey, Jr.) returns to his Queens, N.Y., home for the first time in many years when he learns his father is seriously ill. Jumps between the present and past, when he's a rough-and-tumble teen who hangs out with his aimless friends and is inspired to escape into a better life. Ambitious film means to be cutting-edge, but often seems awkwardly improvisational and tends to ramble. Downey, Jr., coproduced. | tt0473488 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Shia LaBeouf, Chazz Palminteri, Dianne Wiest, Channing Tatum, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston, Eric Roberts, Rosario Dawson, Adam Scarimbolo, Julia Garro, Peter Tambakis, Scott Michael Campbell | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Guilt of Janet Ames | 1947 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 83 | Good casting highlights well-done film of Russell at the end of her rope when husband dies and she seeks the cause. | tt0039438 | Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas, Sid Caesar, Betsy Blair, Nina Foch, Charles Cane, Harry Von Zell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Guilty Bystander | 1950 | Joseph Lerner | ★★½ | 92 | Down-and-out ex-house detective finds new zest for life when estranged wife reports their child kidnapped. | tt0042529 | Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Mary Boland, Sam Levene, Kay Medford | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Guilty Hands | 1931 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★★ | 71 | Former D.A. Barrymore tells unscrupulous lothario Mowbray that he'll kill him— and get away with it— if he dares to go through with his plan to marry Lionel's daughter. First-rate whodunit-style drama with imaginative camerawork, a solid script, some real plot twists, and an unusually lively performance from Barrymore. | tt0021933 | Lionel Barrymore, Kay Francis, Madge Evans, William Bakewell, C. Aubrey Smith, Polly Moran, Alan Mowbray | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Guilty as Charged | 1992 | Sam Irvin | ★★½ | 95 | Religious zealot turns out to be a self-made executioner who does away with criminals in his own homemade electric chair. Very black comedy seems a likely candidate for a cult following. Steiger's performance calls to mind his work in NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY; it's also fun to watch Isaac Hayes as one of his henchmen. Stylishly directed by first-timer Irvin, a former production associate of Brian De Palma. | tt0101983 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Lauren Hutton, Heather Graham, Lyman Ward, Isaac Hayes, Zelda Rubinstein, Irwin Keyes, Michael Beach | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Guilty as Hell | 1932 | Erle C. Kenton. | ★★★ | 78 | Doctor strangles his unfaithful young wife, frames her lover, and manipulates the cops as they send innocent man to the gallows, only to see his perfect crime unravel at the last moment. Entertaining thriller with stylishly mobile camerawork (by Karl Struss), strong injections of black comedy, and wisecracking banter from reporter Lowe and police captain McLaglen. Remade in 1937 as NIGHT CLUB SCANDAL. | tt0022967 | Edmund Lowe, Victor McLaglen, Richard Arlen, Adrienne Ames, Henry Stephenson, Ralph Ince, Noel Francis. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Guilty as Sin | 1993 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 107 | Clever lawyer De Mornay, obsessed with winning (whether or not her clients are guilty), takes the case of sleek womanizer Johnson, who's accused of murdering his wife. Then she learns she may have made a bargain with a killer— who now has designs on her. The idea of intelligent opponents going head to head is intriguing, but Larry Cohen's script is underplotted and ordinary. | tt0107057 | [R] | Rebecca De Mornay, Don Johnson, Stephen Lang, Jack Warden, Dana Ivey, Ron White, Norma Dell'Agnese, Sean McCann, Luis Guzman, Robert Kennedy | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Guilty by Suspicion | 1991 | Irwin Winkler | ★★ | 105 | Hollywood Blacklist drama, set in 1951, is earnest, superficial, and numbingly bland. De Niro is hotshot director who can't comprehend severity of Communist witch hunt; Bening is his sympathetic ex-wife, and Wettig (way over the top), an actress friend. Viewers unfamiliar with this dark chapter of history may find film as fascinating as intended. Wanamaker, who spent this era in exile in England, plays a villainous attorney. Veteran producer Winkler's (mediocre) writing and directing debut. | tt0101984 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, George Wendt, Patricia Wettig, Sam Wanamaker, Luke Edwards, Chris Cooper, Ben Piazza, Martin Scorsese, Barry Primus, Gailard Sartain, Stuart Margolin, Barry Tubb, Tom Sizemore, Illeana Douglas, Jon Tenney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Guilty of Treason | 1950 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 86 | Grim, preachy Red Scare time capsule about a foreign correspondent (Kelly) in Hungary, where the commies are painting liberty-loving Josef Cardinal Mindszenty (Bickford) as an anti-Semite and traitor. Granville is fatally miscast as a Hungarian schoolteacher. | tt0041437 | Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, Bonita Granville, Richard Derr, Roland Winters, John Banner | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Guilty | 1947 | John Reinhardt. | ★★½ | 70 | At times engaging murder yarn; twin sisters clash over their love for Castle. | tt0039439 | Bonita Granville, Don Castle, Wally Cassell, Regis Toomey. | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Guinevere | 1999 | Audrey Wells | ★★½ | 104 | Well-played tale of a charming but iconoclastic photographer who acquires younger, female protégées, schooling them in the world of art as well as sex. His latest is a 20-year-old girl whose highly strung family doesn't understand her. Story sags at times, but is buoyed by Rea and Polley's enormously ingratiating performances. Written by the director. | tt0160338 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Sarah Polley, Jean Smart, Gina Gershon, Paul Dooley, Francis Guinan, Sandra Oh, Jasmine Guy, Gedde Watanabe | Canadian-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Gulliver's Travels | 1939 | Dave Fleischer | ★★½ | 74 | Max Fleischer's feature-length cartoon version of Jonathan Swift tale suffers from weak scripting, never getting audience involved in story. Towncrier Gabby is obnoxious, but he's got film's most memorable song, 'All's Well.' | tt0031397 | Voices of Lanny Ross, Jessica Dragonette | Family, Adventure, Animation | NULL | |||
| Gulliver's Travels | 1977 | Peter R. Hunt | ★½ | 80 | Unimaginative retelling of the Jonathan Swift classic. Part live-action, part animation; the songs are the most forgettable since the 1973 LOST HORIZON. | tt0076119 | [G] | Richard Harris, Catherine Schell, Norman Shelley, Meredith Edwards; voices of Julian Glover, Murray Melvin, Bessie Love | British-Belgian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Gulliver's Travels | 1996 | Charles Sturridge | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Elaborate production, stunning special effects, and stellar cast (some in nearly invisible roles, others like O'Toole in outré performances) give Swift justice to the 1726 political and social satire. Odd bit: Isabelle Huppert plays the voice of a horse who helps Gulliver in one of his adventures. Written by Simon Moore, this exhilarating world is quite removed from earlier film versions. Effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0115195 | Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, James Fox, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Geraldine Chaplin, John Standing, Alfre Woodard, Edward Woodward, Ned Beatty, Kristin Scott Thomas | Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Gulliver's Travels | 2010 | Rob Letterman | 💣 | 85 | Gulliver (Black) is back in a contemporary reimagining of Jonathan Swift’s classic tale, as a mailroom clerk who, in an attempt to impress a coworker (Peet), travels to the Bermuda Triangle to write an article on its mysteries. He finds himself washed up on the shores of Lilliput as a giant among its tiny people. Crude, meandering film barely focuses on the story and relies instead on terrible special effects, juvenile humor, and pop culture references. Not even this talented cast can save it. 3-D | tt1320261 | [PG] | Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, James Corden, Catherine Tate, T. J. Miller | Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon | 1966 | Yoshio Kuroda | ★★ | 78 | OK animated feature has Gulliver and companions going into outer space; acceptable kiddie fare. | tt0059212 |
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Japanese | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Gumball Rally | 1976 | Chuck Bail | ★★★ | 107 | First of the cross-country road-race comedies is still the only good one, with genuinely funny characters, great cars, and loads of cartoon-like action. Julia steals the film as lecherous Italian who throws out his rear-view mirror because 'what's behind me is not important.' Definitely superior to CANNONBALL and the later CANNONBALL RUN movies, which were all inspired by the same real-life event. | tt0074597 | [PG] | Michael Sarrazin, Tim McIntire, Raul Julia, Normann Burton, Gary Busey, Nicholas Pryor, Susan Flannery, Steven Keats, J. Pat O'Malley, Tricia O'Neil, Med Flory | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Gumby the Movie | 1995 | Art Clokey | ★★ | 90 | Episodic clay-animated feature starring the popular character is slow going for all but the green guy's biggest fans. Convoluted story concerns Gumby's rock group, the Clayboys, and their benefit concert to help farmers thwarted by the Blockheads. Parodies of STAR WARS, TERMINATOR 2, and various swashbuckling epics do not help. Aka GUMBY 1. | tt0113234 | Voices of Charles Farrington, Art Clokey, Gloria Clokey, Manny LaCarruba | Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| Gummo | 1997 | Harmony Korine | 💣 | 89 | Plotless, clueless, mind-numbingly awful directorial debut for Korine (the 23-year-old scriptwriter of KIDS) about a circle of pathetic poor white trash in a small Ohio town. Tries to be shocking and outrageous— two of the characters kill cats and sell their corpses to a supermarket— but succeeds only in being trite, with scenes pointlessly dragging on . . . and on. | tt0119237 | [R] | Jacob Reynolds, Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, Darby Dougherty, Chloë Sevigny, Carisa Bara, Linda Manz, Max Perlich | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gumshoe | 1971 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 88 | Whimsical crime-comedy of small-time British vaudevillian who has seen too many Bogart films and decides to play private eye. Music score by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Finney also produced. | tt0068669 | [PG] | Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay, Fulton Mackay, Janice Rule, Carolyn Seymour | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Gun Battle at Monterey | 1957 | Carl G. Hittleman, Sidney A. Franklin/Jr. | ★½ | 67 | Unremarkable oater with stern Hayden the gunslinger out for revenge against former friend. | tt0050465 | Sterling Hayden, Pamela Duncan, Mary Beth Hughes, Lee Van Cleef, Byron Foulger, Ted de Corsia. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Belt | 1953 | Ray Nazarro | ★★½ | 77 | Notorious outlaw trying to go straight is implicated in crime by his old gang. | tt0045845 | George Montgomery, Tab Hunter, Helen Westcott, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Brothers | 1956 | Sidney Salkow. | ★★ | 79 | Innocuous Western of two brothers, one who becomes a rancher, the other an outlaw who wants to go straight. | tt0049283 | Buster Crabbe, Ann Robinson, Neville Brand, Michael Ansara. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Crazy | Deadly Is the Female | 1949 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★★½ | 86 | Knockout of a sleeper in the BONNIE AND CLYDE tradition, stylishly (and sometimes startlingly) directed. Cummins is femme fatale who leads gun-crazy Dall into life of crime. Screenplay credited to MacKinlay Kantor and Millard Kaufman (who was 'fronting' for then-blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo), from Kantor's Saturday Evening Post story. Aka DEADLY IS THE FEMALE. Loosely remade in 1992. | tt0042530 | Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky, Anabel Shaw, Harry Lewis, Nedrick Young, Russ Tamblyn | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Gun Duel in Durango | 1957 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 73 | Montgomery must wipe out his outlaw gang before he can reform. Retitled: DUEL IN DURANGO. | tt0050466 | George Montgomery, Steve Brodie, Bobby Clark, Mary Treen | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Fury | 1953 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 83 | Hudson goes after men who have kidnapped his fiancée (Reed); formidable villainy, beautiful Arizona locations. Originally shown in 3-D. | tt0045846 | Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, Phil Carey, Lee Marvin, Neville Brand, Leo Gordon | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Glory | 1957 | Roy Rowland | ★★ | 89 | Granger is reformed gunslinger rejected by his community until outlaw rampage allows him to redeem himself. | tt0050467 | Stewart Granger, Rhonda Fleming, Chill Wills, James Gregory | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gun Hawk | 1963 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 92 | Outlaw Calhoun attempts to reform Lauren, who's heading for criminal life. | tt0057121 | Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron, Ruta Lee, John Litel, Rod Lauren, Lane Bradford | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun Riders | Five Bloody Graves | 1970 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 98 | Ruthless gunman terrorizes settlers one more time, but his heroic counterpart is there to stop him. Cast is full of Western veterans, but they're not much help. Also known as FIVE BLOODY GRAVES and LONELY MAN. | tt0065723 | [PG] | Jim Davis, Scott Brady, Robert Dix, John Carradine | Western | NULL | |
| The Gun Runner | 1984 | Nardo Castillo | ★½ | 92 | Murky gangster melodrama about idealistic Costner, seeking guns for Chinese rebellion during the 1920s, returning to native Canada and becoming involved with liquor smugglers. Tedious, to say the least, this film was (understandably) shelved until Costner's stardom prompted a 1989 video release . . . but he isn't very good in this one. | tt0087374 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Sara Botsford, Paul Soles, Gerard Parkes, Ron Lea, Mitch Martin, Larry Lewis, Aline Van Dine, Ruth Dahan | Canadian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Gun Runners | 1958 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 83 | Murphy is involved with gun-smuggling to Cuba in this bland remake of TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT. | tt0051687 | Audie Murphy, Eddie Albert, Patricia Owens, Everett Sloane, Jack Elam | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Gun Shy | 2000 | Eric Blakeney | ★★½ | 102 | Neeson gives a wonderful comic performance as an undercover DEA agent who's suffering from stress and goes to group therapy while working on a major sting operation. Platt is equally good as a not-too-bright hood, and Bullock (who produced the film) has a relatively minor role as Neeson's open-minded love interest. Plot-heavy but underdeveloped; written by the director. | tt0171356 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, Sandra Bullock, Jose Zuniga, Richard Schiff, Andy Lauer, Mitch Pileggi, Paul Ben-Victor, Mary McCormack, Frank Vincent, Taylor Negron | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gun Smoke | 1931 | Edward Sloman. | ★★★ | 71 | Big-city crooks descend on a Western town, where they're mistaken for investors and welcomed by everyone but rancher Arlen, who sees through them right away. Unusually tough, violent Western for its day; Arlen even gives a contemporary-sounding pro-ecology speech opposing development. | tt0021935 | Richard Arlen, Mary Brian, William 'Stage' Boyd, Eugene Pallette, Charles Winninger, Louise Fazenda, Brooks Benedict, Dawn O'Day (Anne Shirley). | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gun That Won the West | 1955 | William Castle | ★★ | 71 | Harmless Grade-B Western of cavalry's use of Springfield rifles to put down Indian uprising. | tt0048139 | Dennis Morgan, Paula Raymond, Richard Denning, Robert Bice | Western | NULL | |||
| Gun for a Coward | 1957 | Abner Biberman | ★★½ | 73 | MacMurray is rancher whose two younger brothers have contrasting personalities; predictable results. | tt0049285 | Fred MacMurray, Jeffrey Hunter, Janice Rule, Chill Wills, Dean Stockwell, Josephine Hutchinson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag | 1992 | Allan Moyle | ★½ | 89 | Now there's a box-office title. Meek mouse Miller stumbles onto the title murder weapon, accidentally fires it in a public restroom, then capitalizes on her newfound attention by falsely confessing to the crime. Miller's considerable charm is tested and found wanting in this blandly trying comedy from the Disney assembly line. | tt0104376 | [PG-13] | Penelope Ann Miller, Eric Thal, Alfre Woodard, William Forsythe, Cathy Moriarty, Julianne Moore, Andy Romano, Ray McKinnon, Xander Berkeley, Michael O'Neill, Billie Neal, Gale Mayron, Faye Grant, Marian Seldes, *** Meat Loaf, Cordell Jackson | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Gun the Man Down | Arizona Mission | 1956 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 78 | Wounded Arness swears revenge on the cohorts (and his fiancée!) who abandoned him when a holdup went wrong. Sleepy Western drama produced by John Wayne's Batjac company. | tt0049286 | James Arness, Angie Dickinson, Robert Wilke, Emile Meyer, Harry Carey/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| Guncrazy | 1992 | Tamra Davis | ★★★ | 96 | Noirish tale of an abused teenager from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for a born-again-Christian ex-con trying to go straight, ending up on a crime spree with him. Written by Matthew Bright but bearing a more than slight resemblance to a pair of 1949 favorites, the similarly titled GUN CRAZY and THEY LIVE BY NIGHT. Made for theaters, but debuted on cable. | tt0104377 | [R] | Drew Barrymore, James LeGros, Billy Drago, Rodney Harvey, Joe Dallesandro, Michael Ironside, Ione Skye | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Gunfight at Comanche Creek | 1964 | Frank McDonald | ★½ | 90 | Undistinguished Western. Detective Murphy infiltrates gang of outlaws forcing wanted men to participate in robberies, then killing them to collect reward money. | tt0058165 | Audie Murphy, Colleen Miller, Ben Cooper, DeForest Kelley, Jan Merlin, John Hubbard | Western | NULL | |||
| The Gunfight at Dodge City | 1959 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 81 | McCrea plays Bat Masterson, who cleans up outlaw-ridden town with ironic results. | tt0051688 | Joel McCrea, Julie Adams, John McIntire, Nancy Gates, Richard Anderson, James Westerfield | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | 1957 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 122 | Stimulating Western filled with tense action sequences in recreation of Doc Holliday-Wyatt Earp battle in streets of Tombstone with Clanton gang. Written by Leon Uris. Frankie Laine sings title song. | tt0050468 | Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Lee Van Cleef, Frank Faylen, Kenneth Tobey, DeForest Kelley, Earl Holliman, Dennis Hopper, Martin Milner, Olive Carey | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunfight in Abilene | 1967 | William Hale | ★★½ | 86 | Undistinguished post-Civil War account of gun-shy Darin, town sheriff, taking up arms against outlaws. | tt0061738 | Bobby Darin, Emily Banks, Leslie Nielsen, Michael Sarrazin | Western | NULL | |||
| A Gunfight | 1971 | Lamont Johnson | ★★½ | 90 | Off-beat Western about two aging gunfighters who meet and decide to sell tickets for a winner-take-all final shoot-out. Cash is good in his acting debut; also Carradine's first film. | tt0067168 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, Jane Alexander, Raf Vallone, Karen Black, Keith Carradine | Western | NULL | ||
| The Gunfighter | 1950 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 84 | Peck is most impressive as gunslinger trying to overcome his bloody past. Classic psychological Western scripted by William Bowers and William Sellers; story by Bowers and Andre de Toth. Exteriors shot in Lone Pine, California. Catch this one! | tt0042531 | Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier, Verna Felton, Ellen Corby, Richard Jaeckel, Alan Hale/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunfighters | 1947 | George Waggner | ★★½ | 87 | Strictly average story of gunfighter who vows never again to spill blood. Good cast, but there must be 50 like this one. | tt0039441 | Randolph Scott, Barbara Britton, Dorothy Hart, Bruce Cabot, Charles Grapewin, Forrest Tucker | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunfire at Indian Gap | 1958 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 70 | Ralston falls in love with stagecoach robbery suspect George, while the real culprit (Macready) hatches his plans. Blah cast in tolerable widescreen B Western. | tt0051689 | Vera Ralston, Anthony George, George Macready, John Doucette, Barry Kelley, Glenn Strange. | Western | NULL | |||
| Gung Ho | 1986 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 111 | Cocky Keaton convinces Japanese company to reopen shuttered auto factory in his economically depressed hometown— but doesn't count on culture clash that follows. Extremely lightweight but entertaining comedy. Later a TV series. | tt0091159 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, Mimi Rogers, John Turturro, Soh Yamamura, Sab Shimono, Clint Howard, Michelle Johnson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Gung Ho! | 1943 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 88 | Typical WW2 action film is marked by outrageous jingoism, celebrating the bloodthirsty misfits of the 'gung ho' squadron as great American patriots. A jaw-dropping experience. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035958 | Randolph Scott, Grace McDonald, Alan Curtis, Noah Beery/Jr., J. Carrol Naish, David Bruce, Robert Mitchum, Sam Levene | War | NULL | |||
| Gunga Din | 1939 | George Stevens | ★★★★ | 117 | The Hollywood action-adventure yarn, vaguely based on Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, about three soldier-comrades in 19th-century India battling the savage thuggee cult when they aren't busy carousing and getting into trouble. Water boy Jaffe saves the day in rousing climax. Splendid comic adventure whose story is credited to Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (who based the relationships of the central characters on the same marriage/rivalry device used in The Front Page); scripted by Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol. For years most prints ran 96m., until film was archivally restored. Shot on location in Lone Pine, California. Also shown in computer-colored version. Remade as SERGEANTS THREE. | tt0031398 | Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Joan Fontaine, Sam Jaffe, Eduardo Ciannelli, Montagu Love, Abner Biberman, Robert Coote, Lumsden Hare, Cecil Kellaway | Adventure, Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Gunman in the Streets | 1950 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 86 | Interesting film noir about a gangster on the lam in France who turns to his girlfriend for money— and a way out of the country. Notable for Eugen Schüfftan's cinematography, which makes great use of Paris locations, and an early appearance by sultry Signoret. Never released theatrically in the U.S. Aka GANGSTER AT BAY and TIME RUNNING OUT. | tt0042534 | Dane Clark, Simone Signoret, Fernand Gravet, Robert Duke, Michel Andre | French-U.S. | Crime | NULL | ||
| Gunman's Walk | 1958 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 97 | Rancher Heflin tries to train sons Hunter and Darren to be respectable citizens, but clashing personalities cause outburst of violence. Tight-knit Western. | tt0051690 | Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Kathryn Grant, James Darren | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunmen | 1994 | Deran Sarafian | ★½ | 90 | U.S. agent Van Peebles and smuggler Lambert set out to recover the loot of drug lord Stewart (who's also responsible for the murder of Van Peebles' father). Strictly by-the-numbers actioner is often pointlessly violent; the in-your-face direction is no help. Real-life rappers (including Big Daddy Kane, Dr. Dre, and Ed Lover) appear as themselves. | tt0109959 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, Denis Leary, Patrick Stewart, Kadeem Hardison, Sally Kirkland, Richard Sarafian, Robert Harper, Brenda Bakke, Deran Sarafian | Action | NULL | ||
| Gunn | 1967 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 94 | Unsuccessful attempt to recapture flavor of Peter Gunn TV series; Herschel Bernardi, Lola Albright sorely missed, along with quiet understatement and wit that made it memorable. New story is tasteless, violent whodunit involving curious madam. Screenplay by Edwards and William Peter Blatty. Revived again for TV in 1989 as PETER GUNN. | tt0061739 | Craig Stevens, Laura Devon, Edward Asner, Sherry Jackson, Helen Traubel, Albert Paulsen | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Gunner Palace | 2005 | Michael Tucker, Petra Epperlein. | ★★★½ | 85 | soldiers who are headquartered at Uday Hussein's former pleasure palace in Baghdad. Blending interviews, fly-on-the-wall footage taken during 'routine' patrols and overtly dangerous assignments, and even inspired commentary in rap form, this film allows the soldiers' experiences to speak for themselves. Filmed in late 2003 and early 2004. | tt0424129 | [PG-13] | Terrific documentary offers a firsthand, close-up look at daily life for a squadron of U.S. | German-U.S. | Documentary, War | NULL | |
| Gunpoint | 1966 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 86 | Murphy as sheriff gathers a posse to catch outlaw gang who have kidnapped saloon girl. | tt0060483 | Audie Murphy, Joan Staley, Warren Stevens, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| Guns and Guitars | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 58 | Gene and Smiley, members of Hodgins' medicine show, get mixed up in a battle for sheriff and control of a valley's cattle herds as McGowan and Greene mastermind a plot to get their diseased cattle through to market over Dix's property. A fan favorite among Autry's early Westerns. Gene sings the title tune. | tt0027707 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Dorothy Dix, Earle Hodgins, J. P. McGowan, Harrison Greene. | Western | NULL | |||
| Guns at Batasi | 1964 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 103 | Acting is all in this intelligent if predictable account of British military life in present-day Africa. | tt0058166 | Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Mia Farrow, Flora Robson, John Leyton | British | War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Guns for San Sebastian | 1968 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 111 | Quinn plays a popular bandit who helps Mexican village defeat some Yaqui Indians after he is mistaken for a priest, but he can't conquer ridiculous script. | tt0062713 | Anthony Quinn, Anjanette Comer, Charles Bronson, Sam Jaffe, Silvia Pinal | Western | NULL | |||
| The Guns of August | 1964 | Nathan Kroll | ★★★ | 99 | Straightforward documentary about World War I spans the period from Edward VII's funeral (1910) through the final Armistice eight years later. Highly competent, if not exceptional, adaptation of Barbara Tuchman's best-seller utilizes lots of rare combat footage from the time. Well worth a look. | tt0132998 | Documentary, War | NULL | ||||
| Guns of Darkness | 1962 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 95 | Civilized drama of Niven searching for life's meaning, set in South America. | tt0056044 | David Niven, Leslie Caron, David Opatoshu, James Robertson Justice, Eleanor Summerfield, Ian Hunter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Guns of Fort Petticoat | 1957 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 82 | Most enjoyable Western, with Army deserter Murphy supervising a group of Texas women in the art of warfare against impending Indian attack. | tt0050470 | Audie Murphy, Kathryn Grant, Hope Emerson, Jeff Donnell, Isobel Elsom | Western | NULL | |||
| The Guns of Navarone | 1961 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★½ | 157 | Explosive action film about Allied commandos during WW2 plotting to destroy German guns; high-powered adventure throughout this first-rate production, highlighted by Oscar-winning special effects. Script by Carl Foreman from the Alistair MacLean novel. Sequel: FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE. | tt0054953 | Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Anthony Quayle, James Darren, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Robertson Justice, Richard Harris, Albert Lieven, Bryan Forbes, Walter Gotell | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Guns of a Stranger | 1973 | Robert Hinkle | 💣 | 91 | Robbins is The Drifter, a singing cowboy, in super-boring family film. Paging Gene Autry. | tt0070142 | [G] | Marty Robbins, Chill Wills, Dovie Beams, Steve Tackett, Shug Fisher | Western | NULL | ||
| Guns of the Magnificent Seven | 1969 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 106 | Third time out, the 'Seven' plot to free Mexican revolutionary leader from a well-guarded fortress. Nothing new, but well done, with plenty of action. | tt0064395 | [G] | George Kennedy, Monte Markham, James Whitmore, Reni Santoni, Bernie Casey, Joe Don Baker, Scott Thomas, Michael Ansara, Fernando Rey | Western | NULL | ||
| Guns of the Timberland | 1960 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 91 | Pat telling of loggers vs. townpeople. | tt0053884 | Alan Ladd, Jeanne Crain, Gilbert Roland, Frankie Avalon | Western | NULL | |||
| Guns, Girls and Gangsters | 1959 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 70 | Classic 1950s trash, with the pneumatic Mamie in her prime as a Vegas nightclub singer drawn into scheme to rip off an armored truck carrying casino winnings. Vigorous direction and diverting cast. | tt0052870 | Mamie Van Doren, Gerald Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Grant Richards, Elaine Edwards, John Baer, Carlo Fiore, Paul Fix | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Gunsight Ridge | 1957 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 85 | Townsfolk finally band together to rid themselves of outlaws; OK Western. | tt0050471 | Joel McCrea, Mark Stevens, Joan Weldon, Addison Richards, Slim Pickens | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunslinger | 1956 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 83 | Strange little Western of female marshal trying to maintain law and order in outlaw-ridden town. | tt0049287 | John Ireland, Beverly Garland, Allison Hayes, Martin Kingsley | Western | NULL | |||
| Gunsmoke | 1953 | Nathan Juran | ★★½ | 79 | Compact Western with Murphy reforming to run a ranch and marry his employer's daughter. | tt0045847 | Audie Murphy, Susan Cabot, Paul Kelly, Charles Drake, Jack Kelly | Western | NULL | |||
| The Guru | 1969 | James Ivory | ★★ | 112 | Sincere but uninvolving story of rock star York who goes to India to learn sitar, meditation from guru Dutt. Director Ivory dwells on Indian lifestyle, settings; Tushingham provides welcome lighter moments in slow-moving film. | tt0064396 | [G] | Michael York, Rita Tushingham, Utpal Dutt, Saeed Jaffrey, Madhur Jaffrey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Guru | 2003 | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | ★★½ | 91 | Innocuous comedy about an Indian dance teacher (Mistry) who comes to America seeking fame and fortune in the movies; instead, he lands a job in a porno film, is befriended by its beautiful star (who's actually a 'good girl' leading a double life), then inadvertently becomes a celebrity as the 'guru of sex.' Some funny gags, a likable leading man, and good comic performances by Graham and Tomei enhance this uneven feel-good movie. The faux Bollywood number is great fun. | tt0280720 | [R] | Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Jimi Mistry, Michael McKean, Christine Baranski, Rob Morrow, Emil Marwa, Malachy McCourt, Ajay Naidu, Anita Gillette | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Gus | 1976 | Vincent McEveety | ★★★ | 96 | Football-kicking mule catapults a last-place team to victory; crooks try to kidnap Gus with usual results (like slapstick chase in a supermarket). Entertaining Disney comedy. | tt0074599 | [G] | Edward Asner, Don Knotts, Gary Grimes, Tim Conway, Liberty Williams, Dick Van Patten, Dick Butkus | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Guy Named Joe | 1943 | Victor Fleming | ★★½ | 120 | Good cast flounders in meandering fantasy about WW2 pilot Tracy coming back to Earth to give young serviceman Johnson a hand in his romance with Tracy's girlfriend Dunne. Remade in 1989 as ALWAYS. | tt0035959 | Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond, James Gleason, Lionel Barrymore, Barry Nelson, Esther Williams, Don DeFore | Drama, Romance, War, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| A Guy Thing | 2003 | Chris Koch | ★½ | 101 | It took four writers to concoct this tiresome, derivative comedy of embarrassment about a guy who sleeps with a girl after his bachelor party— little dreaming she's his fiancée's cousin. Senseless from start to finish; even the likable leading ladies are wasted. Larry Miller appears unbilled. | tt0295289 | [PG-13] | Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Shawn Hatosy, Lochlyn Munro, Julie Hagerty, Diana Scarwid, Thomas Lennon, Jackie Burroughs | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Guy Who Came Back | 1951 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 91 | Cast is above such material but does well by it: ex-football star tries to 'find himself. | tt0043609 | Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell, Joan Bennett, Don DeFore, Zero Mostel | Drama | NULL | |||
| Guyana: Cult of the Damned | 1980 | Rene Cardona/Jr | ★½ | 90 | Not easy to turn the awesomeness of the Jonestown tragedy— where cult followers committed mass suicide— into lackluster drama, but that's what they've done here. | tt0080833 | [R] | Stuart Whitman, Gene Barry, John Ireland, Joseph Cotten, Bradford Dillman, Jennifer Ashley, Yvonne De Carlo. | Mexican-Spanish-Panamanian | Drama | NULL | |
| Guys and Dolls | 1955 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 150 | Lavish Hollywoodization of classic Broadway musical based on Damon Runyon's colorful characters with Blaine, Kaye, Pully, and Johnny Silver reprising their stage performances and Brando making a not-bad musical debut as gambler Sky Masterson. Tuneful Frank Loesser score includes 'Fugue for Tinhorns,' 'If I Were a Bell,' 'Luck Be a Lady,' Blaine's memorable 'Adelaide's Lament,' and Stubby's showstopping 'Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat.' | tt0048140 | Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine, Stubby Kaye, B. S. Pully, Veda Ann Borg, Sheldon Leonard, Regis Toomey | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Guys | 2003 | Jim Simpson | ★★★ | 88 | A N.Y.C. fire department captain who lost eight men in the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster gets help from a professional writer as he prepares to deliver eulogies for the deceased. Based on Anne Nelson's play, this works surprisingly well as a film, thanks to restrained emotions, honest performances by the two stars, and the nobility it finds in the lives of ordinary hardworking people. Director Simpson coscripted with Nelson; Weaver is his wife. | tt0319470 | [PG] | Sigourney Weaver, Anthony LaPaglia | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Guyver | 1992 | Screaming Mad George, Steve Wang | ★½ | 92 | All-American Armstrong, infected by an alien gadget, becomes an armored superhero; good thing, since almost everyone else in the movie can turn into a nightmarish monster. (CIA agent Hamill turns into a big cockroach.) Clumsy clumps of humor only make the contrived plot seem even more foolish. From a Japanese comic book. Followed by GUYVER: DARK HERO. | tt0101988 | [PG-13] | Mark Hamill, Vivian Wu, Jack Armstrong, David Gale, Jimmie Walker, Michael Berryman, Peter Spollos, Spice Williams, Willard Pugh, Jeffrey Combs, David Wells, Linnea Quigley | U.S.-Japanese | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Gymkata | 1985 | Robert Clouse | 💣 | 90 | Champion gymnast Thomas stars in this silly martial-arts potboiler, shot in Yugoslavia by the folks who brought you ENTER THE DRAGON. Amateurish stuff, based on Dan Tyler Moore's novel, The Terrible Game. | tt0089243 | [R] | Kurt Thomas, Tetchie Agbayani, Richard Norton, Edward Bell | Action | NULL | ||
| Gypsy | 1962 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 149 | Entertaining screen version of bittersweet Broadway musical about the ultimate stage mother, Mama Rose, and her daughters Baby June (Havoc) and Gypsy Rose Lee. Can't lose with that Stephen Sondheim-Jule Styne score. Suzanne Cupito (Morgan Brittany) and Ann Jilliann (Jillian) both play young June. Deleted songs appear on special video edition. Remade as a TVM in 1993 with Bette Midler. | tt0056048 | Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Paul Wallace, Betty Bruce, Parley Baer, Harvey Korman | Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Gypsy Colt | 1954 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 72 | Tender film of faithful horse who returns to mistress after parents sell it to racing stable. Remake of LASSIE COME HOME. | tt0047059 | Donna Corcoran, Ward Bond, Frances Dee, Larry Keating | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| Gypsy Fury | 1949 | Christian-Jaque. | ★★ | 63 | Fable about a gypsy (Lindfors) and the aristocratic knight who becomes smitten with her— even though (gasp!) he's set to wed another. So-so. Released in the U.S. in 1951. | tt0041877 | Viveca Lindfors, Christopher Kent (Alf Kjellin), Edvin Adolphson, Lauritz Falk, Naima Wifstrand, Michel Auclair. | Swedish-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Gypsy Girl | Sky West and Crooked | 1966 | John Mills | ★★½ | 102 | Brooding account of backward Hayley Mills finding her first romance with McShane; atmospheric but meandering. Originally titled SKY WEST AND CROOKED. | tt0060484 | Hayley Mills, Ian McShane, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Bayldon | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Gypsy Moths | 1969 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 110 | Story of three skydivers in Kansas captures the Midwest well; Kerr, Wilson, and Bedelia help raise potential soap opera to a higher plane. | tt0064397 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Gene Hackman, Scott Wilson, Bonnie Bedelia, William Windom, Sheree North | Drama | NULL | ||
| Gypsy Wildcat | 1944 | Roy William Neill | ★★ | 75 | Lowbrow saga of princess raised by gypsies; colorful, splashy, but routine. James M. Cain was one of the writers. | tt0036890 | Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Nigel Bruce, Leo Carrillo, Gale Sondergaard, Douglass Dumbrille | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Gypsy and the Gentleman | 1958 | Joseph Losey. | ★★½ | 107 | Mercouri as fiery gypsy makes a spicy drama of her love affair with a member of the nobility. | tt0051692 | Melina Mercouri, Keith Michell, Patrick McGoohan, Flora Robson. | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The H-Man | 1958 | Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 79 | Good special effects marred by dumb script involving radioactive liquid causing havoc in Tokyo, subplot of cops vs. underworld. | tt0051413 | Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Koreya Senda | Japanese | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| H. M. Pulham, Esq. | 1941 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 120 | Intelligent, mature, and witty film (based on John P. Marquand story) about a man who's lived his life as he was supposed to— not as he chose to. Lamarr is excellent as the spirited career woman who coaxes proper Bostonian Young out of his shell, ever so briefly. Scripted by Elizabeth Hill and director Vidor. Anne Revere has unbilled bit as a secretary in flashback scenes. | tt0033686 | Hedy Lamarr, Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, Charles Coburn, Van Heflin, Fay Holden, Bonita Granville, Leif Erickson, Sara Haden | Drama | NULL | |||
| H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds | 2005 | Timothy Hines | 💣 | 179 | One of three 2005 movies based on Wells' classic novel about a Martian invasion, this is easily the worst, though also the most ambitious in terms of fidelity to its source. The script essentially is the novel, retaining the 1890s setting, and proving conclusively that fidelity is not in itself a virtue. CGI effects are below video game level. No tension, excitement, or interest, amateurish acting, and lousy, gold-toned color; what's more, it's three hours long. Shot in and around Seattle. | tt0425638 | [R] | Anthony Piana, Jack Clay, James Lathrop, Darlene Sellers, John Kaufmann, Jamie Lynn Sease, Susan Goforth, W. Bernard Bauman | Sci-Fi, Action, Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds | 2005 | David Michael Latt | ★½ | 90 | Invading aliens in tanklike, multilegged fighting machines ravage the countryside. Scientist Howell struggles to reach Washington, D.C., in hopes of finding his wife and son. Direct-to-video adaptation of Wells' novel is respectable but dull with scant, mediocre effects. In this variation, it's our hero who finds a way to defeat the aliens. One of three 2005 movies based on the Wells novel. | tt0449040 | [R] | C. Thomas Howell, Rhett Giles, Andy Lauer, Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots, Jake Busey, Dash Howell, Peter Greene | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| H.O.T.S. | T&A Academy | 1979 | Gerald Seth Sindell | ★½ | 95 | Lame-brained knock-off of ANIMAL HOUSE with two sororities at each other's throats until they settle their differences with a strip football game. Leering sexploitation fare at least has gorgeous girls (including several Playboy playmates) and decent production, making this best watched with the sound off. Written by two women, believe it or not, one of them actress Cheri Caffaro (whose husband produced the film). Aka T&A ACADEMY. | tt0079257 | [R] | Susan Kiger, Lisa London, Pamela Jean Bryant, Kimberly Cameron, Lindsay Bloom, Mary Steelsmith, Angela Aames, Danny Bonaduce, Ken Olfson | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hachi: A Dog's Tale | 2010 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 93 | New England music professor, who commutes to work every day by train, finds an unclaimed Akita puppy at the station one night and takes him in. It doesn't take long for him to fall in love with the pooch, and Hachi becomes devoted to his master, so much so that he waits for him at the depot every afternoon—for years to come. Sweet, touching story, simply told, may bring tears to your eyes. Based on 1987 Japanese film HACHIKO MONOGATARI, which was inspired by a true story from the 1920s and '30s. Never released theatrically in the U.S.—for some strange reason. Aka HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY. | tt1028532 | [G] | Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Erick Avari | U.S.-British | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Hackers | 1995 | Iain Softley | ★★½ | 105 | A group of young computer fanatics is framed for crimes committed by computer whiz and would-be master criminal Stevens, and have to use their own hacking skills to prove themselves innocent. No great shakes, but fast pace and vivid direction make it fun. | tt0113243 | [PG-13] | Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Fisher Stevens, Matthew Lillard, Laurence Mason, Jesse Bradford, Renoly Santiago, Alberta Watson, Lorraine Bracco, Wendell Pierce, Penn Jillette | U.S.-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Hadley's Rebellion | 1984 | Fred Walton | ★★ | 96 | Another teenage-problem picture, this one centering on wrestling-obsessed O'Neal. Bland and superficial. | tt0087378 | [PG] | Griffin O'Neal, William Devane, Charles Durning, Adam Baldwin, Lisa Lucas | Drama | NULL | ||
| Haiku Tunnel | 2001 | Jacob Kornbluth, Josh Kornbluth | ★★½ | 90 | Small, fitfully amusing film about a temporary office worker and the struggle between 'temps' and 'perms.' Leading actor/director Josh also cowrote the screenplay. | tt0273253 | [R] | Josh Kornbluth, Warren Keith, Helen Shumaker, Amy Resnick, Brian Thorstenson, Sarah Overman, Harry Shearer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hail Caesar | 1993 | Anthony Michael Hall | 💣 | 97 | Repulsive rock-star wannabe (Hall) is in love with an obnoxious debutante, whose father is involved in a plot to sabotage a peace conference. Astonishingly bad movie without a single likeable character; an inauspicious directing debut for Hall, who also stars. Downey and Nelson, who get costar billing, have a total of six minutes' screen time— and even that isn't any good. | tt0109969 | [PG] | Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey/Jr., Frank Gorshin, Samuel L. Jackson, Judd Nelson, Nicholas Pryor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hail Mary | 1985 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★½ | 107 | Boring, overblown updating of the story of Christ's birth, with Mary a student/basketball player/ gas station attendant and Joseph her cabdriver boyfriend; although still a virgin, she finds herself pregnant. This film sparked much controversy and was even condemned by the Pope; however, all the fuss was much ado about very little. A variety of running times have been credited to this film, so beware; has been screened with THE BOOK OF MARY, an infinitely superior featurette about a girl and her bickering parents, directed by Godard associate Anne-Marie Mieville. | tt0089366 | Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Philippe Lacoste, Manon Anderson, Juliette Binoche | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hail the Conquering Hero | 1944 | Preston Sturges | ★★★★ | 101 | Frail Bracken, rejected by Marine Corps, is mistaken for war hero by home town. Satirical Sturges at his best, with Demarest and Pangborn stealing much of the crazed proceedings. | tt0036891 | Eddie Bracken, Ella Raines, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Bill Edwards, Elizabeth Patterson, Jimmy Conlin, Franklin Pangborn, Jack Norton, Paul Porcasi, Al Bridge | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hail, Hero! | 1969 | David Miller | ★½ | 97 | Talky, overblown drama about a well-scrubbed hippie (Douglas) who confronts his family as he sorts out his feelings about Vietnam war. Notable only as screen debuts for Douglas and Strauss, and a rare film contribution by musician Gordon Lightfoot, who composed and sings two songs. Originally 100m. | tt0064399 | [M] | Michael Douglas, Arthur Kennedy, Teresa Wright, John Larch, Louise Latham, Charles Drake, Peter Strauss, Deborah Winters, Virginia Christine, John Qualen, Carmen Zapata | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hail, Mafia | 1965 | Raoul Levy | ★★½ | 89 | Fairly interesting melodrama about hired killers going after a witness to gangland mayhem; has some good European players and nice photography by Raoul Coutard. | tt0059329 | Henry Silva, Jack Klugman, Eddie Constantine, Elsa Martinelli, Micheline Presle | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Hair | 1979 | Milos Forman | ★★½ | 121 | James Rado-Gerome Ragni- Galt MacDermot's hit musical play celebrated the '60s as the Age of Aquarius; unfortunately, it's now a period piece and its impact considerably muffled. Story of straitlaced midwesterner who falls in with N.Y. hippies has exciting musical moments, but doesn't hang together. Choreography by Twyla Tharp. Among the singers: Nell Carter, Melba Moore, Ellen Foley, Ronnie Dyson, Charlaine Woodard. | tt0079261 | [PG] | John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden, Dorsey Wright, Don Dacus, Cheryl Barnes, Nicholas Ray, Charlotte Rae, Miles Chapin, Michael Jeter | Musical | NULL | ||
| Hair High | 2006 | Bill Plympton | ★★½ | 75 | Matt Groening. The rose-colored high school world of GREASE and Happy Days is reimagined by animator Plympton, though his fascination with anatomical grotesquerie doesn't seem an ideal fit for this subject matter. Story tells of mismatched high school classmates Spud, the bumbling new kid in town, and Cherri, the pampered cheerleader, and how they became sweethearts. A virtual one-man production, as usual, for the talented animator-writer-director-producer | tt0365296 | Voices of Sarah Silverman, Eric Gilliland, Dermot Mulroney, Beverly D'Angelo, Zak Orth, Keith Carradine, David Carradine, Martha Plimpton, Tom Noonan, Craig Bierko, Ed Begley, Jr. | Comedy, Animation, Romance, Horror | NULL | |||
| Hair Show | 2004 | Leslie Small. | 💣 | 105 | Insipid comedy finds loud, overbearing hairstylist (Mo'Nique) running to her sister's L.A. salon to escape the I.R.S. Happy coincidence: there's a hair design contest where the prize money is the exact amount she owes. (Taxes on winnings not included.) Yes, that's tennis star Serena Williams in her film debut. Coexecutive produced by Earvin 'Magic' Johnson. | tt0382561 | [PG-13] | Mo'Nique, Kellita Smith, Gina Torres, David Ramsey, Vivica A. Fox, Tiny Lister, James Avery, John Salley, Roshumba Williams. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Hairdresser's Husband | 1992 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 84 | Young boy with a fixation on a bosomy haircutter grows up to marry a woman who's practically a reincarnation of his childhood dream. Skillfully assembled comedy-drama makes great use of Rochefort's basset-hound face; slight but charming. Definite U.S. remake possibilities. | tt0100112 | [R] | Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena, Roland Bertin, Maurice Chevit, Philippe Clevenot | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Hairspray | 1988 | John Waters | ★★★ | 96 | Shock/schlock merchant Waters goes PG, with irresistible nostalgia satire about the integration of a TV teen dance program in 1962 Baltimore. 'Name' performances include Harry as the shellac-haired mother of a deposed local celebrity, Zadora as a pot-smoking Bohemian, Brown as the owner of an r & b record store, and director Waters as the deranged psychiatrist. Loses steam toward the end, but still fun. Rich soundtrack mixes chestnuts and deservedly unearthed oldies. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0095270 | [PG] | Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Divine, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Michael St. Gerard, Deborah Harry, Ricki Lake, Leslie Ann Powers, Jerry Stiller, Shawn Thompson, Pia Zadora, Ric Ocasek, John Waters | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hairspray | 2007 | Adam Shankman | ★★★ | 115 | Candy-colored musical based on the Broadway adaptation of John Waters’ 1988 movie about Tracy Turnblad, a perpetually cheerful teenage girl (newcomer Blonsky) in 1962 Baltimore whose can-do attitude helps bring about change all around her—even on the local teen-dance TV show where whites and blacks appear separately. Taking a cue from the original film and show, Tracy’s mother Edna is played by a man in drag (Travolta). Director-choreographer Shankman keeps things moving; Waters and Ricki Lake (who played Tracy in 1988) have cameos. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman added new songs to their Broadway score. | tt0427327 | [PG] | John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nikki Blonsky, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Brittany Snow, James Marsden, Allison Janney, Paul Dooley, Taylor Parks, Jerry Stiller | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Hairy Ape | 1944 | Alfred Santell | ★★ | 90 | One-note drama of bestial ship stoker Bendix's obsession with wealthy, bitchy passenger Hayward. Disappointing version of Eugene O'Neill play. | tt0036892 | William Bendix, Susan Hayward, John Loder, Alan Napier, Dorothy Comingore, Eddie Kane | Drama | NULL | |||
| Half A Sixpence | 1967 | George Sidney | ★½ | 148 | Boisterous but cardboard musical based on show adapted from H. G. Wells' Kipps, about draper's assistant who inherits fortune, tries to crash society. Colorfully filmed in England, but totally without charm. Story first filmed in Britain (sans music) as KIPPS in 1941. | tt0061742 | Tommy Steele, Julia Foster, Penelope Horner, Cyril Ritchard, Grover Dale | Musical | NULL | |||
| Half Angel | 1951 | Richard Sale | ★★½ | 77 | Pleasant comedy of Young blessed with sleepwalking troubles, leading to romantic complications. | tt0043615 | Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, Cecil Kellaway, Basil Ruysdael, Jim Backus, Irene Ryan, John Ridgely | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Half Baked | 1998 | Tamra Davis | ★½ | 85 | Three potheads try to raise money for their buddy's release from jail by selling marijuana, without Chappelle's girlfriend finding out. Some surprisingly clever touches and attempts to moralize against drugs, completely overshadowed by Breuer's irritating character and general plot stupidity. Cameos include Steven Wright, Willie Nelson, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tommy Chong and Janeane Garofalo. | tt0120693 | [R] | Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, Guillermo Diaz, Clarence Williams III, Rachel True | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Half Moon Street | 1986 | Bob Swaim | 💣 | 90 | Intriguing premise has Weaver playing a Ph.D researcher by day and glorified call girl by night, Caine a British diplomat who becomes an extra special client. Sounds as if it can't miss, but is worthless on every level; perennially fresh Weaver gives the first stilted performance of her career. Adapted from Doctor Slaughter, the first half of Paul Theroux's two-part novella Half Moon Street. Look for Janet McTeer as a secretary. | tt0091164 | [R] | Michael Caine, Sigourney Weaver, Keith Buckley, Patrick Kavanagh, Nadim Sawalha, Angus MacInnes | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Half Nelson | 2006 | Ryan Fleck | ★★★½ | 106 | Dedicated Brooklyn grade-school teacher tries to make a difference in the lives of his kids, and pays special attention to 13-year-old Drey (Epps), whom he fears is at risk of making the wrong choices. But she knows her teacher's darkest secret: he's a hopeless drug addict. Outstanding performances by Gosling and Epps anchor this riveting, intimate drama. Fleshed out from a short-subject by director Fleck and cowriter Anna Boden. | tt0468489 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie, Deborah Rush, Jay O. Sanders, Tina Holmes, Denis O'Hare, Monique Curnen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Half Past Dead | 2002 | Don Michael Paul | 💣 | 99 | Seagal is an undercover FBI agent who arrives as an inmate at a prison on the same day a team of crooks— get this— break into the joint, to get a condemned man to tell them where there's a hidden stash of gold bars. To call this bad is an understatement . . . even by Seagal standards. | tt0297162 | [PG-13] | Steven Seagal, Ja Rule, Morris Chestnut, Nia Peeples, Bruce Weitz, Tony Plana, Stephen J. Cannell, Claudia Christian | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Half Shot at Sunrise | 1930 | Paul Sloane | ★★½ | 78 | Pretty funny Wheeler and Woolsey comedy (their first starring vehicle) has them as WW1 soldiers AWOL in Paris and featured in a variety of misogynistic episodes as the military police close in. Best of all: the mock ballet. | tt0020945 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Edna May Oliver, Dorothy Lee, George MacFarlane | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Half a Hero | 1953 | Don Weis | ★★ | 71 | Subdued Skelton vehicle written by Max Shulman casts him in situation-comedy mold, as N.Y. magazine writer who tries suburban life. Pretty bland. | tt0045854 | Red Skelton, Jean Hagen, Charles Dingle, Willard Waterman, Mary Wickes, Polly Bergen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Half-Breed | 1952 | Stuart Gilmore | ★★ | 81 | Unscrupulous profiteer incites Apaches to attack white settlers in this predictable Western. | tt0044681 | Robert Young, Janis Carter, Jack Buetel, Barton MacLane, Reed Hadley, Porter Hall | Western | NULL | |||
| Half-Human | 1955 | Ishirô Honda, Kenneth G. Crane | ★½ | 70 | Americans Carradine, Karnes, Ankrum, et al. are spliced into Japanese film about an abominable snowmanlike monster and his son(!). There are indications that the original Japanese film might be OK. This version isn't. Almost no dubbing, just Carradine's narration. | tt0050480 | John Carradine, Morris Ankrum, Russ Thorson, Robert Karns | Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Half-Naked Truth | 1932 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★ | 77 | Delightful comedy about wiseguy carnival pitchman (Tracy) scheming to make Velez an instant celebrity; plenty of laughs, and wonderful performance by Morgan as neurotic Ziegfeld-ish producer. | tt0022971 | Lupe Velez, Lee Tracy, Eugene Pallette, Frank Morgan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Halfway House | 1943 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 95 | Pleasant but low-key fantasy of disparate people brought together at mysterious country inn run by quiet but all-seeing Johns and his daughter (father and daughter in real life). | tt0035962 | Mervyn Johns, Glynis Johns, Françoise Rosay, Tom Walls, Alfred Drayton, Sally Ann Howes | British | Drama, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hall Pass | 2011 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★½ | 105 | On the advice of her mentor, a woman (Fischer) gives her husband (Wilson) a week off from marriage during which he may do whatever he wants with whomever he wants. A viable comedy concept, but the Farrellys always find a way to ruin a good moment with an unfunny and unnecessary dirty joke. Unattractive in every way. | tt0480687 | [R] | Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Stephen Merchant, Richard Jenkins, Larry Joe Campbell, Bruce Thomas, Derek Waters, Tyler Hoechlin, Rob Moran | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hallelujah | 1929 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 106 | King Vidor's early talkie triumph, a stylized view of black life focusing on a Southern cotton-picker who becomes a preacher but retains all-too-human weaknesses. Dated in some aspects and unabashedly melodramatic, but still quite moving. Beautifully filmed on location, with outstanding musical sequences. | tt0019959 | Daniel L. Haynes, Nina Mae McKinney, William Fountaine, Everett McGarrity, Victoria Spivey | Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hallelujah I'm a Bum | 1933 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★½ | 82 | Fascinating Depression curio about a hobo who tries to 'reform' for the sake of a beautiful woman. Provocative, politically savvy script by Ben Hecht and S. N. Behrman, rhyming dialogue and lovely songs by Rodgers and Hart (who also make cameo appearances as a photographer and a bank clerk, respectively), and winning performances all around. Beware edited prints (reissue title: THE HEART OF NEW YORK) and the frequently screened British version, cut and redubbed as HALLELUJAH I'M A TRAMP. | tt0024083 | Al Jolson, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Harry Langdon, Chester Conklin, Tyler Brooke, Edgar Connor | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Hallelujah Trail | 1965 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 165 | Remick is rambunctious temperance leader out to stop cavalry-guarded shipment of whiskey en route to thirsting Denver miners; amiable but lumbering western satire goes on and on. | tt0059250 | Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasence, Pamela Tiffin. Narrated by John Dehner | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Halliday Brand | 1957 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 77 | Brooding Western about rancher whose domination of family and workers leads to gunplay and revenge. Weak script; strong performances. | tt0050481 | Joseph Cotten, Viveca Lindfors, Betsy Blair, Ward Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Halloween | 1978 | John Carpenter | ★★★ | 91 | Low-budget chiller about psychotic murderer who struck on Halloween as a child, and threatens to do so again 15 years later. Well made, with lots of scares, plus in-joke references for film buffs. Alternate 104m. version prepared for network TV is available on video. Followed by several sequels and myriad clones. Curtis' feature film debut. | tt0077651 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis, P. J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Halloween | 2007 | Rob Zombie | ★★ | 109 | Umpteenth rehash of the 1978 movie retells the story of Michael Myers, who kills his family and spends 17 years in a mental institution before escaping. As he searches for his younger sister he sets off on a rampage, treating the town of Haddonfield to his latest murderous tricks. Although horror fanatic Zombie remains faithful to the premise (with more backstory on Myers than ever before), it's clearly just an excuse to show off the latest advances in movie gore. Unrated version runs 121m. | tt0373883 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif, Tyler Mane, Daeg Faerch, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Udo Kier, Richard Lynch, Clint Howard, Danny Trejo, Leslie Easterbrook, Bill Moseley, Sybil Danning, Dee Wallace, Mickey Dolenz | Horror | NULL | ||
| Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | 1988 | Dwight H. Little | ★★ | 88 | Unkillable monster is back, this time mindlessly headed for his hometown to murder his niece (young Harris). Standard horror thriller is technically well made but offers little novelty. | tt0095271 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, George P. Wilbur, Michael Pataki, Beau Starr, Kathleen Kinmont | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Halloween 5 | 1989 | Dominique Othenin-Girard | ★½ | 96 | Slightly more plot than before but still just a sequential slaughter of teenagers as Michael Myers (Shanks) again sets out to kill his young niece (Harris). Routine and plodding, with too many endings and unnecessary setup for sequel. | tt0097474 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Donald L. Shanks, Wendy Kaplan, Ellie Cornell, Jeffrey Landman | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | 1998 | Steve Miner | ★★★ | 85 | Twenty years after the killings in HALLOWEEN, Laurie Strode (Curtis) has built a new life for herself and her son, but her psychotic brother Michael Myers is after her again with a big sharp knife. Surprisingly good belated sequel is plenty scary, and has a nice sense of humor (note Leigh's car), but the plot could have used more complications. Curtis, who suggested this project, gives a terrific performance. | tt0120694 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Janet Leigh, *** LL Cool J, Chris Durand, Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Halloween II | 1981 | Rick Rosenthal | ★½ | 92 | Explicitly bloody sequel is as bad as any of HALLOWEEN's countless clones, with maniac continuing to stalk Curtis on the same night on which the original ends. Scripted by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. | tt0082495 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance Guest, Pamela Susan Shoop, Dana Carvey | Horror | NULL | ||
| Halloween II | 2009 | Rob Zombie | 💣 | 105 | Michael Myers is back on the gory warpath in this lumbering sequel to Zombie's 2007 HALLOWEEN. There are pitifully few genuine scares . . . just a lot of blood and utterances of the "f" word. Unrated director's cut runs 119m. | tt1311067 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, Brea Grant, Howard Hesseman, Scout Taylor-Compton, Angela Trimbur, Mary Birdsong, Daniel Roebuck, Bill Fagerbakke, Richard Brake, Dayton Callie, Margot Kidder, Richard Riehle, ("Weird") Al Yankovic | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Halloween III: Season of the Witch | 1983 | Tommy Lee Wallace | 💣 | 96 | Genuinely repellent '80s-style horror film, with gore galore (after a slow start), about a maniacal plot to murder millions of children on Halloween. Nice, huh? No relation to either of the earlier HALLOWEEN films, but owes more than a bit to INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. | tt0085636 | [R] | Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Ralph Strait, Michael Currie | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Halloween: Resurrection | 2002 | Rick Rosenthal | ★½ | 89 | Six young people are chosen to spend a night in Michael Myers' childhood home, with Web cams watching their every move. Mayhem ensues. Forget logic, story construction, consistency of characterization— the filmmakers certainly did! This movie franchise shoulda stayed dead. Curtis is only here for her name value; the director appears as a college professor. | tt0220506 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Brad Loree, Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Sean Patrick Thomas, Daisy McCrackin, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tyra Banks, Ryan Merriman | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | 1995 | Joe Chappelle | ★½ | 88 | Pursued by the masked killer, Michael's niece escapes from mysterious catacombs with her newborn baby. Then he starts killing a family which has the misfortune merely to live in his former home. Routine slash-fest, of interest only to the dedicated, even though this time it links Michael to the Druids! | tt0113253 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Paul Stephen Rudd, Marianne Hagan, Mitchell Ryan, Kim Darby, Bradford English, Keith Bogart, Mariah O'Brien | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Halls of Anger | 1970 | Paul Bogart | ★★½ | 96 | Standard violence-in-school story, but with a racial angle. No better or worse than a dozen other similar films. | tt0065810 | [M] | Calvin Lockhart, Janet MacLachlan, James A. Watson/Jr., Rob Reiner, Jeff Bridges, Edward Asner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Halls of Montezuma | 1951 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 113 | Gung-ho salute to the U.S. Marines as a squadron embarks on a typically rugged WW2 Pacific island invasion, with flashbacks to various men's civilian lives. Especially notable for a cast filled with future stars . . . including real-life ex-Marine Brand. | tt0042539 | Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Walter (Jack) Palance, Reginald Gardiner, Robert Wagner, Richard Hylton, Richard Boone, Skip Homeier, Jack Webb, Bert Freed, Neville Brand, Martin Milner, Philip Ahn | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Hallucination Generation | Hallucination | 1966 | Edward Mann (Santos Alcocer) | 💣 | 90 | Silly melodrama about American hippies in Spain, and their introduction to crime. Don't miss the LSD sequence, shot in color. Video title: HALLUCINATION. | tt0060488 | George Montgomery, Danny Stone, Renate Kasche, Tom Baker, Marianne Kanter, Steve Rowland | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hambone and Hillie | 1984 | Roy Watts | ★★½ | 89 | Elderly Gish loses her devoted mutt at an airport and he races cross-country to find her. Sugar-coated soaper is no dog, but is also no BENJI. | tt0087379 | [PG] | Lillian Gish, Timothy Bottoms, Candy Clark, O. J. Simpson, Robert Walker, Jack Carter, Alan Hale/Jr., Anne Lockhart | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hamburger . . . The Motion Picture | 1986 | Mike Marvin | 💣 | 90 | Anyone who watches a movie with this title deserves whatever he gets. | tt0091165 | [R] | Leigh McCloskey, Dick Butkus, Randi Brooks, Chuck McCann, Jack Blessing, Charles Tyner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hamburger Hill | 1987 | John Irvin | ★★ | 110 | Cold, clinical, yet occasionally preachy recreation of some true-life 1969 Vietnam carnage, with troops of the 101st Airborne Division encountering the enemy in mutual slaughter for the title reward. Authentic, with expertly staged battle scenes— but limited in its emotional power. Scripted by Jim Carabatsos. | tt0093137 | [R] | Anthony Barrile, Michael Patrick Boatman, Don Cheadle, Michael Dolan, Don James, Dylan McDermott, M. A. Nickles, Tim Quill, Courtney B. Vance, Steven Weber | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Hamlet | 1948 | Laurence Olivier | ★★★★ | 153 | Brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's play about Danish prince 'who just couldn't make up his mind.' Won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Olivier), Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Costumes. | tt0040416 | Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney, Felix Aylmer, Jean Simmons, Stanley Holloway, Peter Cushing | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hamlet | 1969 | Tony Richardson | ★★½ | 114 | Richardson and Williamson moved their boisterous interpretation of the Shakespeare play from stage to screen with only fair results; perhaps the irritating overuse of close-ups will play better on TV. Interesting casting of Faithfull as Ophelia. | tt0064400 | [G] | Nicol Williamson, Gordon Jackson, Anthony Hopkins, Judy Parfitt, Mark Dignam, Marianne Faithfull | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Hamlet | 1990 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★ | 135 | Agreeable re-do of the Shakespeare staple with Gibson giving an energetic interpretation of the Melancholy Dane. In fact, Mel comes off better than costar Close (Gertrude); Bates, as Claudius, is the standout in the stellar cast. Never as enthralling or perceptive as Kenneth Branagh's HENRY V, but still worthwhile. | tt0099726 | [PG] | Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, Nathaniel Parker, John McEnery | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hamlet | 1996 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★★ | 242 | Branagh's unexpurgated Bard workout is a movie of moments and mixed blessings, with the story's updating— to the second half of the 19th century— doing a lot to defuse any criticism of its stunt casting. Jacobi (Claudius), Christie (Gertrude), and Winslet (Ophelia) come off extremely well, though Branagh essentially gives a stage performance that's nearly as cinematically over the top as some of his directorial touches. Guest star turns are extremely variable. Gorgeously shot in 70mm by Alex Thomson. | tt0116477 | [PG-13] | Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet, Rufus Sewell, Richard Briers, Brian Blessed, Gérard Depardieu, Charlton Heston, Rosemary Harris, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, Nicholas Farrell, John Gielgud, John Mills, Rowena King | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime, Romance, Horror | NULL | |
| Hamlet | 2000 | Michael Almereyda | ★★ | 112 | Transplant of Shakespeare's timeless play to modern-day N.Y.C., where the head of the Denmark Corporation has died, adds nothing to our understanding or appreciation of the story. Some clever gags and stunt casting score occasional points. Hawke, sporting a ski cap through much of the action, is easily outshone by Schreiber (as Laertes), MacLachlan (as Claudius), and Stiles (an impressive Ophelia). | tt0171359 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Sam Shepard, Diane Venora, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Karl Geary, Steve Zahn, Dechen Thurman, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Bartel, Casey Affleck | Drama, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hamlet 2 | 2008 | Andrew Fleming | ★★½ | 94 | Narrated (uncredited) by Jeremy Irons. Twisted comedy about an overly earnest—but spectacularly untalented—high school drama teacher. When he’s given notice, he decides to go out with a bang, and stirs up his unmotivated students to join him in a painfully autobiographical, and plainly blasphemous, concoction called Hamlet 2. Wildly inconsistent, this does have some very funny moments, with Coogan perfectly cast as the clueless hero. The film also offers a neat showcase for Shue, playing “herself.” | tt1104733 | [R] | Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, David Arquette, Amy Poehler, Melonie Diaz, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, Elisabeth Shue, Marshall Bell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hammer | 1972 | Bruce D. Clark | ★½ | 92 | Black boxer takes on the syndicate in fast, but mindless melodrama. Some violence may be cut. | tt0068673 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Bernie Hamilton, Vonetta McGee, William Smith, Charles Lampkin | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Hammer | 2008 | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | ★★½ | 90 | A once promising fighter, now 40 and aimlessly working at construction jobs, gets A Second Chance with a shot at making the Olympics boxing team. Modest, likable sports comedy trots out every cinematic underdog cliché, but comedian–radio host Carolla (who wrote the story and is a former Golden Gloves fighter) keeps things percolating with his sardonic working-class persona and scores some genuine laughs. | tt0814130 | [R] | Adam Carolla, Oswaldo Castillo, Heather Juergensen, Harold House Moore, Tom Quinn, Jonathan Hernandez | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hammerhead | 1968 | David Miller | ★½ | 99 | Weak James Bond carbon copy, tale of supercriminal pursued by soldier of fortune. | tt0063041 | [R] | Vince Edwards, Judy Geeson, Diana Dors, Peter Vaughan, Beverly Adams | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hammers Over the Anvil | 1994 | Ann Turner | ★★½ | 97 | Too much narration hampers this heartfelt tale of a crippled boy coming of age in early-20th-century rural Australia. Crowe exudes charisma as a free-spirited but emotionally vulnerable horse breaker. Watch this and you'll see why he became an international star. | tt0101996 | Charlotte Rampling, Russell Crowe, Alexander Outhred, Frankie J. Holden, Frank Gallacher | Australian | Romance | NULL | ||
| Hammersmith Is Out | 1972 | Peter Ustinov | ★★ | 108 | Grotesque comedy about mental patient, his male nurse, and a hash slinger proves once again that Liz and Dick would do anything for money; cast has more fun than viewers in this variation on the Faust legend. | tt0068674 | [R] | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Peter Ustinov, Beau Bridges, Leon Askin, Leon Ames, John Schuck, George Raft | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hammett | 1983 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 97 | Wenders' first American film is a real treat for detective buffs: an adaptation of Joe Gores' fiction about famed author Dashiell Hammett's involvement in a real-life mystery (elements of which would find their way into his later stories). You couldn't ask for a more faithful re-creation of 1930s studio look; a magnificent-looking (and sounding) film. Several years in production, with much of it reportedly reshot by executive producer Francis Coppola, but final result is seamless. | tt0085640 | [PG] | Frederic Forrest, Peter Boyle, Marilu Henner, Elisha Cook, R. G. Armstrong, Richard Bradford, Roy Kinnear, Lydia Lei, Sylvia Sidney, Samuel Fuller, Royal Dano | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Hamsun | 1996 | Jan Troell | ★★★½ | 157 | Famed Norwegian author Knut Hamsun (von Sydow), winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize, supported the Nazi takeover of his own country. This thoughtful film illuminates the combination of naïveté, arrogance and nationalism that led to his sorry choice. Entire cast is excellent, but von Sydow and Norby (as his ego-starved wife) are brilliant, and the movie deserves to be better known. Based on a book by Thorkild Hansen. | tt0116480 | Max von Sydow, Ghita Norby, Anette Hoff, Asa Soderling, Gard B. Eidsvold, Eindride Eidsvold | Norwegian-Swedish-German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Hancock | 2008 | Peter Berg | ★½ | 92 | Foul, wrongheaded “comedy” about a drunken, antisocial superhero and a struggling p.r. man (Bateman) who tries to rehabilitate him. It’s bad enough that the material stinks, but director Berg shoots it in nausea-inducing handheld style, with pointless macro-close-ups of the actors. Woe to parents who share this with their kids in the misguided belief that it’s going to be fun. Film’s coproducers Michael Mann and Akiva Goldsman appear briefly. | tt0448157 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan, Johnny Galecki, Thomas Lennon, Jae Head | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | 1992 | Curtis Hanson | ★★ | 110 | Demented, revenge-seeking nanny De Mornay takes a job with unsuspecting married couple Sciorra and McCoy— guess what happens next. Some good performances (especially by De Mornay) boost this otherwise derivative shocker. Tension builds, but gruesome finale is fairly predictable. McCoy may be the most sensitive husband in recent screen history. | tt0104389 | [R] | Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore, Madeline Zima, John de Lancie, Mitchell Laurance | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hand in Hand | 1960 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 75 | Good film with a moral for children, about a Jewish girl and a Catholic boy who become friends and learn about each other. Adults may find it hard to take at times. | tt0053889 | Loretta Parry, Philip Needs, John Gregson, Sybil Thorndike | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hand | 1960 | Henry Cass | ★½ | 60 | Odd, infuriatingly muddled mystery in which a Scotland Yard inspector investigates the amputation of an old drunk's hand, and in so doing uncovers a fiendish plot. | tt0053890 | Derek Farr, Ronald Leigh Hunt, Reed De Rouen, Ray Cooney | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Hand | 1981 | Oliver Stone | ★½ | 104 | Cartoonist Caine's drawing hand is severed in auto accident, which destroys his career and places additional strain on his shaky marriage. Life becomes even more nightmarish when the hand returns on a murderous spree; unfortunately it didn't get Caine or writer-director Stone. Stone plays a bum who gets killed. | tt0082497 | [R] | Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci, Annie McEnroe, Bruce McGill, Viveca Lindfors, Rosemary Murphy, Mara Hobel, Pat Corley, Charles Fleischer | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| A Handful of Dust | 1988 | Charles Sturridge | ★★★½ | 118 | Rich adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's ironic story about a doomed marriage among England's smart set in the early 1930s, and the unexpected results for both the stiflingly tradition-bound husband (brilliantly and movingly played by Wilby) and the nonchalantly selfish wife (perfectly essayed by Thomas). Superior script by Tim Sullivan, Derek Granger, and Sturridge is matched by an unerring eye for period detail. | tt0095274 | [PG] | James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rupert Graves, Judi Dench, Anjelica Huston, Alec Guinness, Pip Torrens, Cathryn Harrison | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Handle With Care | 1977 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 98 | Fine character studies and vignettes make up for shortcomings in bright, original film. Loosely revolves around LeMat and his obsession with C.B. radio; subplot with bigamist truckdriver is hilarious. Written by Paul Brickman. Originally released as CITIZENS BAND. | tt0076123 | [PG] | Paul LeMat, Candy Clark, Ann Wedgeworth, Marcia Rodd, Charles Napier, Alix Elias, Roberts Blossom, Ed Begley/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Handmaid's Tale | 1990 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 109 | Intriguing story set in a near-future world in which young, healthy white women are brainwashed to become bearers of babies for a new, 'pure' generation. Richardson must overcome the jealousy of an infertile wife (Dunaway) while fending off the advances of her high-powered husband (Duvall). Interesting but best described as sterile. Scripted by Harold Pinter from the novel by Margaret Atwood. David Dukes appears unbilled as a doctor. | tt0099731 | [R] | Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway, Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth McGovern, Victoria Tennant, Blanche Baker, Traci Lind | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hands Across the Border | 1944 | Joseph Kane. | ★½ | 72 | Roy and his pals help the daughter (Terry) of a murdered rancher find the killer. This was the first Rogers film to go way overboard on singing, dancing, and specialty acts at the expense of story. One of Rogers' worst starring vehicles. | tt0035965 | Roy Rogers, Ruth Terry, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Onslow Stevens, Mary Treen, Joseph Crehan, Duncan Renaldo, LeRoy Mason, Roy Barcroft, The Wiere Brothers, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hands Across the Table | 1935 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 80 | Lombard sparkles as fortune-hunting manicurist who has to choose between MacMurray and Bellamy. | tt0026452 | Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Ralph Bellamy, Astrid Allwyn, Marie Prevost | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Hands of Orlac | Hands of the Strangler | 1961 | Edmond T. Gréville | ★★ | 95 | Pianist gets hand transplant from a strange doctor— and finds he has the impulse to kill. Flat remake of Maurice Renard's famous story, filmed before in 1924 and (as MAD LOVE) in 1935. French-language version runs 105m. Also known as HANDS OF THE STRANGLER. | tt0054963 | Mel Ferrer, Lucile Saint-Simon, Christopher Lee, Dany Carrel, Felix Aylmer, Basil Sydney, Donald Wolfit, Donald Pleasence | British-French | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Hands of Orlac | 1925 | Robert Wiene | ★★★ | 81 | Veidt is an eerie presence as Paul Orlac, a celebrated pianist whose hands are crushed in a train wreck; a strange doctor replaces them with those of an executed killer. Genuinely spooky chiller, adapted from Maurice Renard story and made by the director of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Remade in 1935 (as MAD LOVE) and 1961 | tt0015202 | Conrad Veidt, Fritz Kortner, Carmen Cartellieri, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Strassny. | German | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Hands of a Stranger | 1962 | Newt Arnold | ★★½ | 86 | Entertaining and well-directed little chiller is an unacknowledged fourth version of THE HANDS OF ORLAC. Brilliant young pianist's hands are injured in a car accident; idealistic surgeon replaces them with those of a just-deceased criminal. | tt0056056 | Paul Lukather, Joan Harvey, James Stapleton, Irish McCalla, Barry Gordon, Sally Kellerman | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Hands of the Ripper | 1971 | Peter Sasdy | ★★½ | 85 | Early believer in Freud tries to help young daughter of Jack the Ripper. Great atmosphere, solid performances, but after good start, dissolves into series of bloody murders. Not bad— but hampered by addition of psychiatrist 'explaining' main character for TV prints. | tt0067176 | [R] | Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell, Derek Godfrey | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Hands over the City | Hands on the City | 1963 | Francesco Rosi | ★★★ | 101 | The collapse of a building in a Naples slum triggers a series of shady political schemes and backroom deals, as a ruthless land developer (Steiger) uses his position as a city councilman to manipulate the investigation to his advantage. Fiery critique of civic corruption and capitalist greed in the name of 'progress' is vividly filmed on location, using many real-life Neapolitan politicians in the cast. | tt0057286 | Rod Steiger, Salvo Randone, Guido Alberti, Marcello Cannavale, Dante Di Pinto, Alberto Conocchia, Carlo Fermariello, Terenzio Cordova | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Handyman | 1980 | Micheline Lanctot | ★★★½ | 99 | Shy, boyish, romantic Berube— he's not exactly short, but other men seem to tower over him— has a love affair with a married woman. A sad, beautifully made little film about people who can never get what they want because they are unable to take stands. | tt0080886 | Jocelyn Berube, Andree Pelletier, Jannette Bertrand, Paul Dion, Marcel Sabourin | Canadian |
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| Hang 'em High | 1968 | Ted Post | ★★½ | 114 | Slick American attempt at spaghetti Western comes off fairly well. Eastwood survives his own hanging, swears vengeance on nine men who lynched him. Fine supporting cast; nice cameo by cowboy veteran Bob Steele as dungeon prisoner. | tt0061747 | [M] | Clint Eastwood, Inger Stevens, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Arlene Golonka, James MacArthur, Ruth White, Ben Johnson, Charles McGraw, Bruce Dern, Alan Hale/Jr., Dennis Hopper | Drama, Crime, Western | NULL | ||
| Hangar 18 | Invasion Force | 1980 | James L. Conway | ★½ | 93 | This Sunn Classic Picture alleges that the U.S. government is concealing a captured UFO. Slickly made, but about as credible as THE THREE STOOGES IN ORBIT; shown on TV as INVASION FORCE with new ending that undermines entire film! | tt0080836 | [PG] | Darren McGavin, Robert Vaughn, Gary Collins, James Hampton, Philip Abbott, Joseph Campanella, Pamela Bellwood, Steven Keats, Tom Hallick, William Schallert | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hangin' With the Homeboys | 1991 | Joseph B. Vasquez | ★★★ | 88 | Jarringly honest, energetically directed and acted account of a day in the lives of several young African-Americans and Puerto Ricans who've grown up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. Each is different, but all are linked in that they're traveling down a road to nowhere. | tt0101998 | [R] | Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, John Leguizamo, Nestor Serrano, Kimberly Russell, Mary B. Ward | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hanging Garden | 1997 | Thom Fitzgerald | ★★★ | 91 | Strikingly original, multi-layered psychological drama about Sweet William, the product of a dysfunctional family, who returns home after a ten-year absence to attend his sister's wedding. The film moves in and out of reality, and between present and past; a telling exploration of the complexities and emotional truths of family relationships. | tt0125128 | [R] | Chris Leavins, Kerry Fox, Seana McKenna, Peter McNeill, Christine Dunsworth, Troy Veinotte, Sarah Polley, Joel S. Keller, Joan Orenstein | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Hanging Tree | 1959 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 106 | Literate, low-key Western with outstanding performance by Schell as a blind girl nursed by Cooper, a frontier doctor with a past. Not for all tastes. Scott's first film. | tt0052876 | Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, George C. Scott, Karl Swenson, Ben Piazza, Virginia Gregg | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Hanging Up | 2000 | Diane Keaton | 💣 | 94 | Three sisters live most of their lives via cell phone, but Ryan finds herself the only one willing to bear responsibility for their father, who's hospitalized and senile. It's hard to think of a movie with more strident, obnoxious characters, or a script that makes so little sense from scene to scene. Three appealing stars are hung out to dry in this seriocomedy, written by Nora and Delia Ephron, from Delia's book. Matthau's final film. | tt0162983 | [PG-13] | Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, Walter Matthau, Adam Arkin, Duke Moosekian, Ann Bortolotti, Cloris Leachman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hangman's House | 1928 | John Ford | ★★★ | 72 | Florid melodrama of frustrated romance and family honor, with Collyer acceding to her father's wishes and marrying blackguard Foxe despite her love for Kent. Elevated by sumptuous production and Ford's sure direction, with McLaglen playing a character who is the polar opposite of his role in THE INFORMER. Steeplechase scene predates the one in THE QUIET MAN and you can spot young John Wayne as one of the animated spectators along the racetrack railing! | tt0018972 | June Collyer, Larry Kent, Earle Foxe, Victor McLaglen, Hobart Bosworth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hangman's Knot | 1952 | Roy Huggins | ★★½ | 81 | Above-par Scott Western involving Rebs robbing gold shipment and officer Scott deciding they should return it. | tt0044683 | Randolph Scott, Donna Reed, Claude Jarman/Jr., Richard Denning, Lee Marvin | Western | NULL | |||
| The Hangman | 1959 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 86 | Rugged Taylor is the lawman who must buck the entire Western town defending a man wanted for murder. | tt0052877 | Robert Taylor, Tina Louise, Fess Parker, Jack Lord, Mickey Shaughnessy, Shirley Harmer | Western | NULL | |||
| Hangmen Also Die! | 1943 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 131 | OK WW2 drama, loosely based on fact and spotlighting the resistance by Czech citizens against their Nazi occupiers and the plight of Donlevy after he assassinates Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi governor of Prague. Based on a story by Lang and Bertolt Brecht, which is also told in HITLER'S MADMAN. | tt0035966 | Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, Gene Lockhart, Dennis O'Keefe, Lionel Stander | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Hangover Part II | 2011 | Todd Phillips | ★½ | 102 | The “wolf pack” buddies travel to Thailand, where Helms is to be married, but the night before the wedding they go on a bender they cannot remember the next morning—and manage to lose the bride’s 16-year-old brother altogether. Inevitable sequel to the box-office hit not only recycles its storyline, substituting Bangkok for Las Vegas, but forgets to include the most important ingredient: laughs. This could be the poster child for lame Hollywood sequels. | tt1411697 | [R] | Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Tambor, Mason Lee, Jamie Chung, Sasha Barrese, Nirut Sirichanya, Nick Cassavetes, Mike Tyson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hangover Square | 1945 | John Brahm | ★★★ | 77 | Cregar (in his final film) is delicious as unhinged composer who goes off his top and kills women whenever he hears loud, discordant noises. Barre Lyndon's script bears little relation to the Patrick Hamilton novel, but result is still entertaining, with superb Victorian London sets and evocative Bernard Herrmann score. | tt0037761 | Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Faye Marlowe, Alan Napier, Frederic Worlock | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Hangover | 2009 | Todd Phillips | ★★★ | 100 | Hilarious comedy about two pals—and a creepy brother-in-law-to-be—who accompany their friend to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. The morning after a wild night they wake up in a stupor, unable to remember anything that happened, and discover that the groom is gone. Occasionally raunchy but ingeniously plotted and well acted, this frantic farce never runs out of wild, funny ideas right through the closing credits. Screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Unrated version runs 108m. | tt1119646 | [R] | Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Sasha Barrese, Jeffrey Tambor, Ken Jeong, Rachael Harris, Mike Tyson, Mike Epps, Rob Riggle, Cleo King | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Hangup | Superdude | 1974 | HenryHathaway | ★★ | 94 | Disappointing black-oriented actioner about a drug racket; Hathaway has done many fine films, but this, his last, isn't one. Bey is good as a doomed prostitute. Aka SUPER DUDE. | tt0071594 | [R] | William Elliott, Marki Bey, Cliff Potts, Michael Lerner, Timothy Blake | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| Hanky Panky | 1982 | Sidney Poitier | ★½ | 110 | Innocent architect Wilder is chased by spies, cops, etc. Predictable, barely funny comedy-thriller, with Radner miscast as the love interest. (The film was intended to be a follow-up to STIR CRAZY, but Richard Pryor's part was rewritten for Gilda.) You've seen it all before, and better. | tt0084049 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Kathleen Quinlan, Richard Widmark, Robert Prosky, Josef Sommer, Johnny Sekka | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hanna | 2011 | Joe Wright | ★★★ | 111 | Teenage girl is raised in the wintry wilderness by her father, an ex-CIA operative who teaches her extreme survival skills. When she decides it’s time to experience the real world for the first time, American agent Blanchett goes after her and her father, willing to kill either or both of them, for reasons that eventually become clear. Opens with a bang and barely ever lets up, with Ronan ably carrying much of the breathless action; she is also the heartbeat of the story, which becomes a bit conventional as the story wraps up. | tt0993842 | [PG-13] | Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng, Jessica Barden | U.S.-German | Crime, Action, Mystery | NULL | |
| Hanna K. | 1983 | Costa-Gavras | ★★ | 108 | Intriguing but unsatisfying melodrama about flaky lawyer Clayburgh and her conflicting relationships with ex-husband Yanne, Israeli district attorney Byrne and Palestinian Bakri, who's attempting to reclaim his ancestral home. Controversial because of its pro-Palestinian stand, but on artistic terms a major disappointment from Costa-Gavras. | tt0085642 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Jean Yanne, Gabriel Byrne, Mohammed Bakri, David Clennon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Hanna's War | 1988 | Menahem Golan | ★½ | 148 | The true story of Hungarian freedom fighter Hanna Senesh (Detmers), based in part on her diaries, is a misguided mess. The young, Jewish WW2 martyr deserved a far better production than this overlong, uninspiring melodrama. Hanna's prison-issue designer blouses don't help matters. | tt0095275 | [PG-13] | Ellen Burstyn, Maruschka Detmers, Anthony Andrews, Donald Pleasence, David Warner, Denholm Elliott, Vincenzo Ricotta, Ingrid Pitt | War | NULL | ||
| Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert | 2008 | Bruce Hendricks | ★★½ | 74 | Innocuous digital 3-D concert film featuring Cyrus on stage, both as herself and Hannah Montana, her phenomenally popular Disney Channel TV character. Filmed during Cyrus' 2007-08 sold-out concert tour; the Jonas Brothers also perform. The effects are fun and Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, appears (as he does on the TV show). Hannah's tween fans will likely rate this *******. | tt1127884 | [G] | Documentary, Music | NULL | |||
| Hannah Montana: The Movie | 2009 | Peter Chelsom | ★★½ | 102 | Feature version of popular Disney Channel TV series about a girl named Miley who leads a double life, as an average teen and (with blond wig) as pop star Hannah Montana. But when her dad (played by real-life dad Cyrus) takes her home to her grandmother’s farm in Tennessee she finds it difficult to shed her alter ego and the trappings that go with it. Innocuous song-filled fare should please the show’s young fans—but it’s too bad the slapstick gags are staged so poorly. | tt1114677 | [G] | Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Emily Osment, Jason Earles, Mitchel Musso, Moises Arias, Lucas Till, Vanessa Williams, Margo Martindale, Peter Gunn, Melora Hardin, Barry Bostwick, Jane Carr, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts | Drama, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hannah Takes the Stairs | 2007 | Joe Swanberg | 💣 | 83 | Patience-testing time-waster is every bit as unfocused and self-indulgent as its eponymous heroine, a Chicago production company employee (gratingly played by Gerwig) who wanders through a series of short-lived relationships that aren't romances so much as crushes with benefits. If you're curious about the so-called Mumblecore genre of improvised indie films about aimless 20-somethings you're better off checking out Bujalski's MUTUAL ATTRACTION. | tt0841108 | Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Andrew Bujalski, Ry Russo-Young, Mark Duplass | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hannah and Her Sisters | 1986 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 106 | Allen strikes gold as he examines some typically interesting and neurotic New Yorkers whose lives intertwine. Superbly cast with Woody in peak form as Farrow's hypochondriac ex-husband; Wiest in a powerhouse performance as Mia's self-consumed, self-destructive sister. There's also an atypical Allen touch of warmth, even sentiment, as frosting on the cake— all of it set to some wonderful old songs. Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor (Caine), Best Supporting Actress (Wiest), and Woody's Original Screenplay. Tony Roberts and Sam Waterston appear unbilled. One of the children at the Thanksgiving celebrations is Soon-Yi Previn. | tt0091167 | [PG-13] | Woody Allen, Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen O'Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max von Sydow, Dianne Wiest, J.T. Walsh, Richard Jenkins, Julie Kavner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Turturro, Joanna Gleason, Bobby Short. | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hannibal | 1960 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 103 | Cardboard costume saga follows Hannibal and his elephants across the Alps and into Rome . . . but you may not last that long. Super. | tt0053891 | Victor Mature, Rita Gam, Gabriele Ferzetti, Milly Vitale | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hannibal | 2001 | Ridley Scott | ★★ | 132 | A big, long tease of a movie, quite unlike its predecessor, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, though mostly faithful to Thomas Harris' novel. Hannibal Lecter, now at large in Florence, Italy, reenters the life of FBI agent Clarice Starling (Moore, taking over for Jodie Foster) at a troubled time in her career. A twisted, unfocused black comedy, stylish but slowly paced, with several key gross-out moments. Scripted by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian. Followed by a prequel: RED DRAGON. | tt0212985 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, Giancarlo Giannini, Gary Oldman, Frankie R. Faison, Francesca Neri, Zeljko Ivanek, Hazelle Goodman | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hannibal Brooks | 1969 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 101 | Pleasant, forgettable film of British P.O.W. Reed assigned to evacuate valuable elephant from Munich zoo during WW2; forced to go on foot, he turns trip into escape plan. Wavers from comedy to melodrama, with Pollard major comic character; good action climax. | tt0064403 | [M] | Oliver Reed, Michael J. Pollard, Wolfgang Preiss, Helmut Lohner, Karin Baal, Peter Karsten | British | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Hannibal Rising | 2007 | Peter Webber | ★½ | 121 | The Secret Origin of Hannibal Lecter: as a child at the end of WW2 he had to watch while Nazi collaborators ate his younger sister! As a young adult (Ulliel), inspired by his Japanese aunt, he hunts down the killers and exacts brutal revenge. Handsome but ponderous, dull and self-important, though never as gory as might be expected. Scripted by Thomas Harris from his own novel. Ulliel never recalls Alex Cox, much less Anthony Hopkins. | tt0367959 | [R] | Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans, Gong Li, Helena Lia Tachovska, Dominic West, Aaron Thomas, Kevin McKidd, Richard Brake | Italian-U.S.-French-Czech-Italian | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hannie Caulder | 1971 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 85 | Bizarre, mystical Western about raped/widowed/homeless woman who begs bounty hunter Culp to teach her to shoot so she can seek vengeance. Neat idea to have bad guys Borgnine, Elam, and Martin play it a la The Three Stooges, but laughter is vitiated by their gory killings. Nice turn by Lee as sympathetic gunsmith. | tt0068675 | [R] | Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Elam, Strother Martin, Christopher Lee, Diana Dors | British | Crime, Western | NULL | |
| The Hanoi Hilton | 1987 | Lionel Chetwynd | ★½ | 130 | What may have been a sincere effort to dramatize the plight of American POWs in Vietnam becomes an unbearably dull, impossibly overlong, and embarrassingly clichéd drama, which does a real disservice to its subject . . . and throws in right-wing polemics and potshots at Jane Fonda to boot. | tt0093143 | [R] | Michael Moriarty, Paul LeMat, Jeffrey Jones, Lawrence Pressman, Stephen Davies, David Soul, Rick Fitts | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Hanover Street | 1979 | Peter Hyams | ★★ | 109 | WW2 romance between married Englishwoman and American soldier who's sent on daring mission behind enemy lines is slick but contrived and unconvincing. Script by director Hyams. | tt0079268 | [PG] | Harrison Ford, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Plummer, Alec McCowen, Richard Masur, Michael Sacks | Drama, Action, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hans Christian Andersen | 1952 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 112 | Melodic Frank Loesser score ('Inchworm,' 'Ugly Duckling,' 'Thumbelina,' etc.) can't save musical biography of vagabond tale-teller. Glossy and completely fabricated— has no relation to real Andersen's life story. Some TV prints run 104m. | tt0044685 | Danny Kaye, Farley Granger, Jeanmaire, Roland Petit, John Qualen | Biography, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hansel & Gretel | 2002 | Gary J. Tunnicliffe | 💣 | 88 | Lame live-action rendition of the classic tale is not particularly faithful to the Brothers Grimm. It's also cheap-looking, lowbrow, and jokey. | tt0293832 | [PG] | Jacob Smith, Taylor Momsen, Lynn Redgrave, Howie Mandel, Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, Dakota Fanning; voices of Sinbad, Tom Arnold, Bob Goldthwait | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hanussen | 1988 | Istvan Szabo | ★★★½ | 115 | Brandauer offers a compelling performance as the title character, a WW1 Austrian soldier who is shot in the head— and develops the ability to read minds and foretell the future. An intriguing, insightful, based-on-fact tale; third in a trilogy, following MEPHISTO and COLONEL REDL. | tt0095276 | [R] | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Erland Josephson, Ildiko Bansagi, Walter Schmidinger, Karoly Eperjes | German-Hungarian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Happening | 1967 | Elliot Silverstein | ★★ | 101 | Lighthearted and lightheaded caper story centering around kidnapping of a now respectable former gangster (Quinn). Turns unpleasantly serious towards end. Dunaway's film debut. The title song became a No. 1 hit for The Supremes. | tt0061748 | Anthony Quinn, George Maharis, Michael Parks, Robert Walker, Faye Dunaway, Milton Berle, Oscar Homolka, Jack Kruschen, Clifton James, Eugene Roche | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Happening | 2008 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★★ | 89 | Philadelphia schoolteacher Wahlberg, his wife, and friends flee after a strange virus overtakes the city . . . but what’s causing it and where can they be safe? Tense, even frightening at first, but then spins its wheels with nowhere to go. Shyamalan’s signature portent is punctuated by moments so absurd they inspire unintended laughter; the director also appears in a small role. | tt0949731 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Frank Collison, Ashlyn Sanchez, Spencer Breslin, Robert Bailey, Jr., Alan Ruck | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Happenstance | 2000 | Laurent Firode | ★★★ | 97 | Sweet, thoughtful allegory in which a group of strangers become linked by a series of small, seemingly disconnected encounters, all of which lead to a 'chance' meeting between two potential soul mates. This winning exploration of destiny is sparked by a solid ensemble (including Tautou, as a wide-eyed salesgirl). | tt0243135 | [R] | Audrey Tautou, Faudel, Eric Savin, Lysiane Meis, Irène Ismailoff, Eric Feldman | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Happiest Days of Your Life | 1950 | Frank Launder. | ★★★ | 84 | Funny comedy involving a boys' school sharing quarters with a displaced girls' academy, with frantic situations resulting. Launder and John Dighton scripted, from the latter's play. | tt0042541 | Alastair Sim, Margaret Rutherford, Guy Middleton, Joyce Grenfell, Edward Rigby, Muriel Aked, John Bentley, Bernadette O'Farrell, Richard Wattis, Pat (Patricia) Owens. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Happiest Millionaire | 1967 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 118 | Lively but overlong and uninvolving Disney musical (the last film he personally oversaw) about Philadelphia household of eccentric millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle (MacMurray). Lightly entertaining. Originally tradescreened at 164m., then released at 141m.; reissued in 1984 at 159m. | tt0061749 | Fred MacMurray, Tommy Steele, Greer Garson, Geraldine Page, Gladys Cooper, Hermione Baddeley, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson | Comedy, Family, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Happily Ever After | Snow White in the Land of Doom | 1990 | John Howley | ★★ | 74 | All-star voice cast gives major boost to this otherwise undistinguished sequel to the story of Snow White, who's surrounded here by dwarfelles. (Don't ask.) Produced by Filmation Studios with noticeably better animation than their Saturday morning product can boast. Aka SNOW WHITE IN THE LAND OF DOOM. | tt0099733 | [G] | Voices of Irene Cara, Edward Asner, Carol Channing, Dom DeLuise, Phyllis Diller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Linda Gary, Jonathan Harris, Michael Horton, Sally Kellerman, Malcolm McDowell, Tracey Ullman, Frank Welker | Family, Animation | NULL | |
| Happily Ever After | 2005 | Yvan Attal | ★★ | 100 | Gainsbourg and Attal are happily married, so why has he taken a lover? Well-intentioned exploration of long-term relationships offers too many coincidences; you never get to know the characters and what makes them tick. Thoroughly ordinary except for Depp's two striking, extended scenes. | tt0381270 | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal, Alain Chabat, Emmanuelle Seigner, Angie David, Alain Cohen, Aurore Clément, Anouk Aimée, Claude Berri, Johnny Depp | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happily N'Ever After | 2006 | Paul J. Bolger, Yvette Kaplan | ★½ | 87 | Not-so-clever storybook takeoff finds evil Frieda (Weaver) plotting to take over Fairy Tale Land, battling against stepdaughter Ella (Gellar), who fears she will be erased forever unless she takes matters into her own hands. Routine animation and a by-the-numbers script torpedo this low-budget 'toon that even kids will see right through. | tt0308353 | [PG] | Voices of George Carlin, Andy Dick, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jon Polito, Sigourney Weaver, Rob Paulsen, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Wallace Shawn, Phil Proctor, Patrick Warburton, Laraine Newman, Tom Kenny, Tress MacNeille, Kath Soucie | German-U.S. | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| Happiness | 1998 | Todd Solondz | ★★★½ | 140 | Portrait of an unhappy family— three sisters, their mother and father— and others who come into their orbit, each dealing with personal demons. They range from a telephone stalker who can't confront women in person to an eternally hopeful young woman named Joy whose life is a perpetual mess. Any film that tackles such topics as masturbation and pederasts isn't going to appeal to everyone, but writer-director Solondz makes them real people and tempers everything with humor. A truly remarkable film. | tt0147612 | Jane Adams, Jon Lovitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Cynthia Stevenson, Molly Shannon, Louise Lasser, Ben Gazzara, Camryn Manheim, Jared Harris, Elizabeth Ashley, Marla Maples | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Happiness Ahead | 1934 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 86 | Pleasant little film about wealthy heiress pretending to be poor when she meets likable working-stiff Powell. No production numbers, really, but several nice songs, including 'Pop Goes Your Heart. | tt0025219 | Dick Powell, Josephine Hutchinson, Frank McHugh, John Halliday, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly | Musical, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Happiness Cage | The Mind Snatchers | 1972 | Bernard Girard | ★★½ | 94 | Uneven but thought-provoking drama about doctor in Germany who utilizes shock treatment on soldiers to stabilize aggressive behavior. Video titles: THE MIND SNATCHERS and THE DEMON WITHIN. | tt0068677 | [PG] | Christopher Walken, Joss Ackland, Ralph Meeker, Ronny Cox, Marco St. John, Tom Aldredge | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Happy Accidents | 2001 | Brad Anderson | ★★ | 110 | Fantasy-romance about a guy who tells a girl he is a time traveler from the future who fell in love with her old photo and just had to visit her era in order to meet her. Has some amusing moments, but somehow we just can't shake the feeling that we have seen this all before. | tt0208196 | [R] | Marisa Tomei, Vincent D'Onofrio, Nadia Dajani, Holland Taylor, Tovah Feldshuh, Sean Gullette, Anthony Michael Hall | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Happy Anniversary | 1959 | David Miller | ★★½ | 81 | Funny but strained comedy of married couple Niven and Gaynor being embarrassed by daughter Duke telling nation on TV that father was indiscreet in his younger days. | tt0052878 | David Niven, Mitzi Gaynor, Carl Reiner, Loring Smith, Monique Van Vooren, Patty Duke, Elizabeth Wilson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Happy Birthday to Me | 1981 | J. Lee Thompson | 💣 | 108 | Is or is not Anderson killing off her classmates at Crawford Academy because they inadvertently caused her mother's death four years earlier? More killings, more blood, more exploitation; Ford, as Anderson's psychiatrist, hit rock bottom with this appearance. | tt0082498 | [R] | Melissa Sue Anderson, Glenn Ford, Tracy Bregman, Jack Blum, Matt Craven, Lawrence Dane | Canadian | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Happy Birthday, Gemini | 1980 | Richard Benner | ★★ | 107 | Disappointing adaptation of Albert Innaurato's long-running Broadway play Gemini, centering on young man's sexual identity crisis. Colorful stage characters are lost on film. | tt0080837 | [R] | Madeline Kahn, Rita Moreno, Robert Viharo, Alan Rosenberg, Sarah Holcomb, David Marshall Grant, Timothy Jenkins | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Happy Birthday, Wanda June | 1971 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 105 | Stagy but enjoyable film of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., play. Male chauvinist explorer, returning home after eight years, finds his wife matured (and engaged), and his values now obsolete. Fine performances of Vonnegut's funny black-humor situations and dialogue; Hickey hilarious as Steiger's Jerry Lewis-esque buddy. | tt0067180 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Susannah York, George Grizzard, Don Murray, William Hickey, Pamelyn Ferdin, Steven Paul | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy Days | 1930 | Benjamin Stoloff. | ★★ | 84 | Yet another all-star early talkie, this one from Fox uses— p.c. alert!— a minstrel show as its centerpiece. Special material is less than inspired (Baxter does card tricks), though Rogers and especially Jessel are very funny in a scene at an actors' club. Big musical numbers substitute size for ingenuity. Also filmed in 70mm Grandeur. | tt0020949 | Charles E. Evans, Marjorie White, Richard Keene, Stuart Erwin, Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Will Rogers, Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Warner Baxter, El Brendel, William Collier/Sr., Tom Patricola, George Jessel, Dixie Lee, Nick Stuart, Rex Bell, Frank Albertson, Walter Catlett, Ann Pennington, James J. Corbett, George Olsen and His Orchestra. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Happy Ending | 1969 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 112 | Initially intriguing view of modern marriage drones on interminably, as Simmons walks out on husband and family trying to find herself. Michel Legrand score highlighted by 'What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?' | tt0064405 | [M] | Jean Simmons, John Forsythe, Lloyd Bridges, Shirley Jones, Teresa Wright, Dick Shawn, Nanette Fabray, Robert (Bobby) Darin, Tina Louise | Drama | NULL | ||
| Happy Endings | 2005 | Don Roos | ★★★ | 130 | Kudrow has been living a lie for years, having given up a son for adoption; now a young would-be filmmaker essentially blackmails her into cooperating on a documentary. But everyone who has even tangential contact with these characters carries secrets around with them as well. Interesting mosaic-style comedy-drama wryly explores the nature (and consequences) of lies, half-truths, and hypocrisy in our contemporary culture. Peter Horton appears unbilled. Written by the director. | tt0361693 | [R] | Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Laura Dern, Steve Coogan, Jason Ritter, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, David Sutcliffe | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy Feet | 2006 | George Miller | ★★½ | 108 | An Arctic penguin is ostracized from his tribe because he can't sing a mating call-but he sure can dance! Endearing characters, beautifully animated in a breathtaking landscape, make this an eyeful, and there's vintage pop music galore on the soundtrack . . . but the story becomes protracted as it tries to drive home an ecological message. Savion Glover's dancing and body language are successfully transposed to Mumble. Williams is very funny as the voice of Ramón. Oscar winner as Best Animated Feature. | tt0366548 | [PG] | Voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, E. G. Daily, Magda Szubanski, Miriam Margolyes, Steve Irwin | U.S.-Australian | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | |
| Happy Feet Two | 2011 | George Miller | ★★½ | 99 | Mumble the penguin's son Erik can't dance and feels ostracized, so he runs off to a neighboring community. There he is inspired by a Swedish puffin named Sven who says he can fly. Meanwhile, underground shifts strand his family in an impassable snowy gorge. Like many sequels, this one strains to find a story to tell; the cluttered results are sporadically engaging but don't add up to a satisfying whole. It looks great and has a strong lineup of musical talent on the soundtrack. Erik's curious and unexpected operatic aria toward the end is one of a kind, however. | tt1402488 | [PG] | Voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Alecia Moore (Pink), Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Richard Carter, Common, Sofia Vergara, Magda Szubanski, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, John Goodman, Ava Acres | U.S.-Australian | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | |
| Happy Gilmore | 1996 | Dennis Dugan | ★★ | 92 | Sporadically funny vehicle for Sandler, as a would-be hockey player whose inability to skate leads him to the pro golf tour, where he turns game on its ear with his unsportsmanlike antics. Highpoint: a brawl between Sandler and The Price Is Right's Barker. Sandler cowrote the script. Ben Stiller appears unbilled. | tt0116483 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Carl Weathers, Julie Bowen, Allen Covert, Bob Barker, Frances Bay, Joe Flaherty, Kevin Nealon, Richard Kiel, Dennis Dugan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy Go Lovely | 1951 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 87 | The charm of its three stars uplifts this otherwise minor musical-romance, set in Edinburgh, with chorus girl Vera-Ellen getting the lead in a show when the director (Romero) thinks she's about to wed a millionaire (Niven) she's never met. | tt0043618 | David Niven, Vera-Ellen, Cesar Romero, Bobby Howes, Diane Hart, Gordon Jackson | British | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Happy Go Lucky | 1943 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 81 | Happy little musical has Martin chasing millionaire Vallee on Caribbean cruise. Songs include 'Murder He Says.' | tt0035969 | Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, Rudy Vallee, Mabel Paige, Eric Blore | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood | 1980 | Alan Roberts | ★½ | 85 | Now Xaviera is a brunette; she and her girls rush to the aid of a corruption-riddled movie studio in this limp rehash of SILENT MOVIE. Fine comic cast is wasted, although film buffs might enjoy seeing cult actors Beswicke and Dick Miller in bed together. | tt0080839 | [R] | Martine Beswicke, Chris Lemmon, Adam West, Phil Silvers, Richard Deacon, Lindsay Bloom, Army Archerd, Edie Adams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington | 1977 | William A. Levey | ★½ | 89 | Xaviera (a blonde this time) is called before Congress to answer charges that sex is ruining the country and subsequently gets involved in a CIA escapade. A few chuckles here and there, but overall, more silly than sexy; Hamilton and writer Bob Kaufman did considerably better with their next film, LOVE AT FIRST BITE. | tt0076125 | [R] | Joey Heatherton, George Hamilton, Ray Walston, Jack Carter, Phil Foster, Billy Barty, David White | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Happy Hooker | 1975 | Nicholas Sgarro | ★★ | 96 | Xaviera Hollander's best-seller about her rise as N.Y.C.'s most prominent madam is so heavily sanitized that one wonders just what audience scripter William Richert had in mind; moderately amusing, and cast seems to be having a good time. Followed by two fictitious sequels. | tt0073091 | [R] | Lynn Redgrave, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Lovelady Powell, Nicholas Pryor, Elizabeth Wilson, Tom Poston, Conrad Janis, George Dzundza, Vincent Schiavelli, Mason Adams, Anita Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy Hour | 2004 | Mike Bencivenga. | ★★ | 93 | Uninspired novelist LaPaglia spends his days toiling at an ad agency and his nights in a bar. Then he befriends school teacher Feeney, who also loves to drink, and his life is no longer the same. Good performances save this often slow, dark film about relationships, emotional baggage, and mortality. | tt0282543 | Anthony LaPaglia, Eric Stoltz, Caroleen Feeney, Robert Vaughn, Mario Cantone, Malachy McCourt. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Happy Is the Bride | 1957 | Roy Boulting | ★★ | 84 | Remake of 1940's QUIET WEDDING, a mild farce about a young couple's headaches as their families prepare for their nuptials. Seyler repeats her role from the original as a helpful aunt. | tt0050482 | Ian Carmichael, Janette Scott, Cecil Parker, Terry-Thomas, Joyce Grenfell, John Le Mesurier, Eric Barker, Athene Seyler | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy Land | 1943 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 73 | Sincere but not always successful Americana of grieving father learning meaning of war as he questions his son's death in WW2. Five-year-old Natalie Wood's first feature. | tt0035970 | Don Ameche, Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Ann Rutherford, Cara Williams, Richard Crane, Harry Morgan, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Happy Landing | 1938 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 102 | Predictable Henie vehicle is not up to her other musicals. Pilot Ameche lands near her home; romance blossoms instantly. | tt0030213 | Sonja Henie, Don Ameche, Cesar Romero, Ethel Merman, Jean Hersholt, Billy Gilbert | Action, Musical | NULL | |||
| Happy Mother's Day, Love George | Run, Stranger, Run | 1973 | Darren McGavin | ★★ | 90 | Unconvincing horror tale, despite some clever attempts by director McGavin to spice it up. Strange doings in seaside house include two great gory murders, but everything else is weak. Retitled: RUN, STRANGER, RUN. | tt0070152 | [PG] | Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Bobby Darin, Ron Howard, Simon Oakland | Mystery | NULL | |
| Happy New Year | 1973 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★ | 112 | Two thieves plot a robbery, but one falls hard for the liberated charmer who runs the antique shop next to the target. Bright romantic caper film is easy to take. Remade in Hollywood in 1987. Retitled: THE HAPPY NEW YEAR CAPER. | tt0069815 | Lino Ventura, Françoise Fabian, Charles Gerard, Andre Falcon | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy New Year | 1987 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 85 | Falk is a treat to watch in this pleasant Americanization of Claude Lelouch's French comedy caper about a pair of sophisticated crooks and their plans to hit a jewelry store in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hughes is charming in her first American film; Lelouch has a cameo in the opening scene. | tt0093145 | [PG] | Peter Falk, Wendy Hughes, Charles Durning, Tom Courtenay, Joan Copeland | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Happy Road | 1957 | Gene Kelly | ★★½ | 100 | Two single parents— American Kelly and Frenchwoman Laage— are drawn together when their children run away from school together. Pleasant but minor family fare, enhanced by location filming in French countryside. | tt0050483 | Gene Kelly, Barbara Laage, Michael Redgrave, Bobby Clark, Brigitte Fossey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Happy Tears | 2010 | Mitchell Lichtenstein | ★½ | 95 | Two very different sisters return to their childhood home in order to deal with their rambunctious father’s senility. With families of their own, they find taking care of a parent is even tougher, and discover that their upbringing wasn’t always as idyllic as it once seemed. Moore and Posey do their best but the script lets them down in this overwrought comedy that never gets off the ground. | tt1219828 | [R] | Demi Moore, Parker Posey, Rip Torn, Ellen Barkin, Roger Rees, Victor Slezak, Celia Weston, Christian Camargo, Billy Magnussen | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Happy Thieves | 1962 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 88 | Sad pairing of star duo, out of place in museum theft caper, set in Spain. | tt0056057 | Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, Joseph Wiseman, Gregoire Aslan, Alida Valli | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Happy Time | 1952 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★½ | 94 | Charming film about a boy's coming of age in 1920s Ottawa, Canada, amidst a colorful and eccentric family. Driscoll is the adolescent who develops a crush on pretty magician's assistant Christian. Boyer is his understanding father, eternally forgiving of his two wayward brothers (Jourdan and Kasznar, recreating his Broadway role). Earl Felton adapted Samuel A. Taylor's play, based in turn on Robert Fontaine's autobiographical stories. | tt0044687 | Charles Boyer, Louis Jourdan, Bobby Driscoll, Marsha Hunt, Kurt Kasznar, Linda Christian, Marcel Dalio, Jeanette Nolan, Richard Erdman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Happy Times | 2000 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★ | 106 | The director of RAISE THE RED LANTERN and TO LIVE indulges his sense of humor this time out. A 50-ish strikeout with women (Zhao) starts developing feelings for the blind stepdaughter (Dong Jie) of the emotional abuser he's been dating. With his equally ragtag buddies, he acquires an abandoned warehouse, tells the young woman it's part of a hotel he owns and 'hires' her with fake paper money to be its masseuse, piping in street sounds through a boom box as she gives chaste, no-nonsense backrubs to cohorts posing as customers. Sentimental, but not overly so, movie holds its emotions in check until the affectingly wistful finale. | tt0303243 | [PG] | Zhao Benshan, Dong Jie, Dong Lihua | Chinese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Happy Together | 1989 | Mel Damski | ★★ | 102 | Slight, predictable romantic comedy in which college students Dempsey and Slater are accidentally paired as roommates. You can just guess how this one turns out. | tt0097478 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Helen Slater, Dan Schneider, Marius Weyers, Barbara Babcock, Brad Pitt | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Happy Together | 1997 | Wong Kar-Wai | ★★½ | 97 | Polished production overshadows a predictable, paper-thin chronicle of a deeply troubled relationship between a constantly bickering Hong Kong gay couple in Buenos Aires. The filmmaker won a Best Director prize at Cannes for this, but pointedly the script did not. | tt0118845 | Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Chang Chen | Hong Kong | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Happy Years | 1950 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 110 | High-spirited boy in turn-of-the-century prep school finds he has trouble fitting in. Familiar comedy-drama, adapted from Owen Johnson's Lawrenceville Stories, is hardly typical Wellman fare, but well done. Robert Wagner makes his film debut. | tt0042542 | Dean Stockwell, Scotty Beckett, Darryl Hickman, Leo G. Carroll, Margalo Gillmore, Leon Ames | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Happy, Happy | 2010 | Anne Sewitsky | ★★½ | 88 | The life of an unhappy country wife (Kittelsen) is affected by the arrival of new neighbors, a city couple who have their own marital issues. Quirky, provocative drama-comedy of secrets, frustrations, and sexual dysfunction comes complete with a Greek chorus, not to mention an "appearance" by Barack Obama. Also of note is the evolving master-slave relationship between the couples' sons, one of whom is adopted and black. | tt1664892 | [R] | Agnes Kittelsen, Joachim Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Henrik Rafaelsen, Oskar H. Brandsø, Ram S. Ebedy | Norwegian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Happy, Texas | 1999 | Mark Illsley | ★★★ | 99 | Engaging comedy about two prison escapees who steal a van and assume the identities of its owners, gay partners who stage kiddie talent contests. Holed up in a small Texas town, they're forced to assume those lives while getting more involved with the locals than they ever intended. Shot on a shoestring, but it doesn't show; Zahn is a comic standout in the first-rate cast. | tt0162360 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy, Ally Walker, Illeana Douglas, M.C. Gainey, Ron Perlman, Paul Dooley, Mo Gaffney | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Happy-Go-Lucky | 2008 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 118 | Schoolteacher Poppy (Hawkins) goes through life spreading good cheer—even where it isn’t welcome—and refusing to dwell on the negative. Potentially annoying at first, we come to learn that Poppy isn’t a fool; she’s bright and compassionate and chooses to take an upbeat approach to life . . . unlike, say, her driving instructor (a memorable Marsan), who may explode at any moment. More a character study than a story, the film meanders a bit but Hawkins’ genuine performance makes it worthwhile. | tt1045670 | [R] | Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Andrea Riseborough, Sinéad Matthews, Kate O’Flynn, Sarah Niles, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Karina Fernandez | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Harakiri | 1962 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★½ | 133 | In 1630 Edo, an unemployed Hiroshima samurai begs the Iyi clan to permit his ritual suicide in their courtyard. But is this piteous ronin who he says he is, or just another poverty-stricken mercenary hoping for a handout during peacetime? Potent display of Asian machismo is a tale of desperation and a lesson in honor that plays like a gripping courtroom drama. Scalding, angry indictment of noble hypocrisy, rendered in monochromatic imagery, is far too bloody for color. Screenplay by Shinobu Hashimoto, from a story by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. | tt0056058 | I | Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentaro Mikuni, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsuro Tamba, Masao Mishima, Ichiro Nakaya | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Harbor Lights | 1963 | Maury Dexter | 💣 | 68 | Cheap film of intrigue, with B picture perennial Taylor. Congratulations to anyone who can find some relation between title and what goes on in film. | tt0057125 | Kent Taylor, Jeff Morrow, Miriam Colon, Allan Sague | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Harbor of Missing Men | 1950 | R. G. Springsteen. | ★½ | 60 | Unsparkling Republic Pictures programmer with Denning innocently involved with jewel smuggling. | tt0042543 | Richard Denning, Barbara Fuller, Steven Geray, George Zucco, Ray Teal, Percy Helton. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Hard Boiled Mahoney | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 63 | The Bowery Boys do the sleuth bit, probing a phony fortune-teller racket in this mix of farce and mystery. | tt0039447 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Teala Loring, Dan Seymour, Bernard Gorcey, Betty Compson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hard Bounty | 1995 | Jim Wynorski | ★★ | 89 | Languid, corpse-laden Western, in which whore LeBrock and her entourage saddle up and seek revenge after tragedy strikes. McCoy is an Eastwoodesque bounty hunter known as The Holy Ghost. | tt0113259 | [R] | Matt McCoy, Kelly LeBrock, John Terlesky, Felicity Waterman, Jay Richardson, Ross Hagen, Kimberly Kelley | Western | NULL | ||
| Hard Candy | 2006 | David Slade | ★★½ | 103 | Essentially a two-character drama, supremely intense story has a 14-year-old girl meeting a 32-year-old photographer she has flirted with on the Internet. When they go back to his place, her real purpose is revealed as she traps him in a personal sting operation to extract a major price for what she believes is his criminal past. Watching her turn the tables on this sexual predator gives this tale a certain perverse fascination. While it has echoes of thrillers like FATAL ATTRACTION and MISERY, Page's brutal vengeance seeker makes Kathy Bates' character seem like Pippi Longstocking. | tt0424136 | [R] | Patrick Wilson, Ellen Page, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hard Choices | 1986 | Rick King | ★★½ | 90 | Teenager jailed for innocent involvement in a robbery and shooting is befriended by a young female social worker, who has more problems of her own than she cares to admit. Interesting independently produced feature loses its footing as story progresses; strongest asset is Sayles' off-handed performance as the bad guy. Made in 1984. | tt0091170 | Margaret Klenck, Gary McCleery, John Seitz, John Sayles, John Snyder, Martin Donovan, Spalding Gray | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hard Contract | 1969 | S. Lee Pogostin | ★★½ | 107 | Hired killer Coburn starts to have self-doubts when a woman (Remick) humanizes him. Film is too concerned with making an 'important statement' to become particularly entertaining or involving. | tt0064406 | [PG] | James Coburn, Lee Remick, Lilli Palmer, Burgess Meredith, Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden, Karen Black | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hard Country | 1981 | David Greene | ★★½ | 104 | Good ole boy Vincent works all day, parties all night; his girlfriend (Basinger) wants to marry him, but also wants out of Texas. Overshadowed by URBAN COWBOY, but not bad and done with conviction. Music by Michael Martin Murphey. Film debuts of Basinger and Nashville star Tucker. | tt0082499 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Kim Basinger, Michael Parks, Gailard Sartain, Tanya Tucker, Ted Neeley, Daryl Hannah, Richard Moll | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Hard Day's Night | 1964 | Richard Lester | ★★★★ | 85 | First Beatles film is director Lester's idea of a typical day in the group's life. He lets his imagination run wild; result is a visual delight, with many Beatles songs on the soundtrack (including 'Can't Buy Me Love,' 'And I Love Her,' 'I Should Have Known Better,' and the title tune). Original screenplay by Alun Owen. Reissued in 1982 with a short prologue. | tt0058182 | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin, Victor Spinetti, Anna Quayle | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Hard Eight | 1997 | Paul Thomas Anderson | ★★★ | 101 | Spare but accomplished Nevada mood piece about a minor gambling pro who, for reasons that remain tantalizingly obscure for three-fourths of the movie's length, elects to tutor a much younger man in eking out a minimal living 'working' casinos. Punctuated by sporadic and deftly timed spurts of violence; Paltrow is successfully cast against type as a cocktail waitress and sometime hooker with no brains at her disposal. | tt0119256 | [R] | Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hard Feelings | 1981 | Daryl Duke | ★★★ | 110 | Intelligent, entertaining, moving tale of young, confused Marotte, his problems at home and school and friendship with a straightforward black girl (appealingly played by Woodard). Set in 1963, with good juxtaposition of white suburban and black urban cultures. | tt0082500 | Carl Marotte, Charlaine Woodard, Grand Bush, Vincent Buffano, Allan Katz, Lisa Langlois | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hard Knocks | 1980 | Don McLennan | ★★★ | 85 | Gritty, powerful drama centering on the efforts of ex-con Mann to straighten out her life, highlighted by a brilliant, multifaceted lead performance. | tt0080840 | Tracey Mann, John Arnold, Bill Hunter, Max Cullen, Tony Barry | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hard Man | 1957 | George Sherman. | ★★ | 80 | Madison is earnest sheriff who falls in love with murdered rancher's widow. | tt0050485 | Guy Madison, Lorne Greene, Valerie French, Trevor Bardette, Barry Atwater, Robert Burton, Rudy Bond. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hard Promises | 1992 | Martin Davidson | ★½ | 95 | Petersen gets the invitation to ex-wife Spacek's new marriage one day before the ceremony, and rushes home to small Texas town to disrupt the proceedings. Surprisingly unpleasant comedy, with Petersen's loutish behavior in the establishing scenes mitigating against any potential fun. Petersen also produced. Rip Torn (Spacek's cousin) appears unbilled. | tt0102002 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, William L. Petersen, Brian Kerwin, Mare Winningham, Jeff Perry, Olivia Burnette, Peter MacNicol, Ann Wedgeworth, Amy Wright, Lois Smith | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hard Rain | 1998 | Mikael Salomon | ★★½ | 96 | As a small Midwest town disappears under rising flood waters, a criminal gang headed by Freeman tries to catch armored car guard Slater, who's hidden the money they're after. The cast is above average, the effects are impressive, and the setting is certainly unusual, but a routine script barely keeps this afloat. | tt0120696 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, Edward Asner, Michael Goorjian, Mark Rolston, Richard Dysart, Betty White | Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hard Ride | 1971 | Burt Topper | ★★½ | 93 | Ex-sergeant Fuller accompanies the body of a black buddy home from Vietnam and tries to persuade the vet's white sweetheart and the Indian leader of his motorcycle gang to attend his funeral. Not just another cycle flick, and not bad. | tt0065815 | [PG] | Robert Fuller, Sherry Bain, Tony Russel, Marshall Reed, Biff Elliot, William Bonner | Action | NULL | ||
| Hard Target | 1993 | John Woo | ★★½ | 94 | Acclaimed action-director Woo's U.S. debut is a disappointing thriller featuring Van Damme as a sailor aiding hard-luck veterans being exploited by sadistic Henriksen (who by now can play this kind of role in his sleep). Not bad of its type, but doesn't match Woo's highly touted Hong Kong- made efforts. | tt0107076 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Arnold Vosloo, Yancy Butler, Kasi Lemmons, Wilford Brimley, Chuck Pfarrer | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hard Ticket to Hawaii | 1987 | Andy Sidaris | ★★ | 96 | Typical Andy Sidaris mix of action, beautiful scenery, and buxom bimbos baring their breasts. The story? Something about female undercover agents running a sting operation that gets them in hot water with drug lords. Does anyone care about the story? Followed by PICASSO TRIGGER. | tt0093146 | [R] | Dona Speir, Hope Marie Carlton, Ronn Moss, Harold Diamond, Rodrigo Obregon, Cynthia Brimhill, Patty Duffek, Wolf Larson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hard Times | 1975 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 97 | Bronson is a tight-lipped street-fighter and Coburn is the sharpster who arranges his bare-knuckled bouts in 1930s New Orleans. Colorful (but violent) entertainment. Hill's directorial debut. | tt0073092 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Maggie Blye, Michael McGuire | Action | NULL | ||
| Hard Traveling | 1985 | Dan Bessie | ★★½ | 107 | Occasionally touching but ultimately disappointing drama about a gentle, decent, but uneducated and disadvantaged man (Freeman) who finds love and stability with widow Geer, but commits murder when unable to support her. Done in by too many flashbacks. Based on the novel Bread and a Stone by Alvah Bessie, father of the director. | tt0089255 | [PG] | J. E. Freeman, Ellen Geer, Barry Corbin, James Gammon, Jim Haynie | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hard Way | 1942 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 109 | Intriguing but artificial story of strong-willed Lupino pushing younger sister Leslie into show business career. Holds up until improbable finale, although it seems unlikely that Broadway would cheer Leslie as the greatest discovery of the age. Morgan and Carson (in first of several teamings) match Lupino's fine performance. | tt0034828 | Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson, Gladys George, Julie Bishop | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hard Way | 1991 | John Badham | ★★½ | 111 | Long, loud, loose cannon of a movie about a spoiled-brat Hollywood star who attaches himself to a reckless N.Y.C. street cop to prepare for his next movie role. Some laughs, lots of action, but it all goes out of control. | tt0102004 | [R] | Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Penny Marshall, John Capodice, Luis Guzman, *** LL Cool J, Delroy Lindo, Christina Ricci, Karen Lynn Gorney | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Hard Word | 2002 | Scott Roberts | ★★★ | 103 | Violent crime caper with a tough attitude, a sly sense of humor, and some neat story twists. Three convicts (led by Pearce, the brains of the outfit) commit a string of robberies with the help of their crooked warden and a slick lawyer— but a series of double-crosses leads to bitterness and a hunger for revenge, even if the score takes time to settle. Written by the director. | tt0280490 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Robert Taylor, Joel Edgerton, Damien Richardson, Rhondda Findleton, Kate Atkinson, Vince Colosimo | Australian-British | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hard to Get | 1938 | Ray Enright | ★★★ | 80 | Good variation on spoiled-rich-girl-meets-poor-but-hardworking-boy idea. Winninger, as Olivia's wealthy father, and Singleton, as their maid, are hilarious. Film is full of great supporting comics (Grady Sutton, Thurston Hall, Arthur Housman, etc.), and includes 'You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby. | tt0030214 | Dick Powell, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Winninger, Allen Jenkins, Bonita Granville, Penny Singleton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Hard to Handle | 1933 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 78 | Cagney sparkles in this otherwise so-so Depression-era comedy as a fast-talking promoter/hustler who courts pretty Brian; Donnelly is aces as her mom. The 'Grapefruit Acres' and diet schemes are homages of sorts to Cagney's legendary scene with Mae Clarke in THE PUBLIC ENEMY. | tt0024090 | James Cagney, Mary Brian, Ruth Donnelly, Allen Jenkins, Emma Dunn, Claire Dodd, Robert McWade | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hard to Hold | 1984 | Larry Peerce | ★½ | 93 | Pampered rock star collides (literally) with spirited young woman who doesn't know— or care— who he is . . . so naturally he falls in love with her. Tiresome romance designed as star vehicle for teen idol Springfield, and retitled 'Hard to Watch' by some wags. | tt0087384 | [PG] | Rick Springfield, Janet Eilber, Patti Hansen, Albert Salmi, Bill Mumy | Musical | NULL | ||
| Hard to Kill | 1990 | Bruce Malmuth | ★★ | 95 | Police detective Seagal uncovers a major political corruption ring and is shot and left for dead; when he awakens from a seven-year coma, he's ripe for revenge. Full of the usual violence and chases for this genre, but Seagal is fun to watch. LeBrock, who nurses him back to health, was then the real-life Mrs. Seagal. | tt0099739 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Sadler, Frederick Coffin, Bonnie Burroughs, Zachary Rosencrantz, Dean Norris | Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hard, Fast and Beautiful | 1951 | Ida Lupino | ★★ | 79 | Domineering mother pushes daughter into world of competitive tennis. Straightforward story, awkwardly filmed (and acted) at times. Director Lupino and Robert Ryan make cameo appearances. | tt0043619 | Claire Trevor, Sally Forrest, Carleton Young, Robert Clarke, Kenneth Patterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hard-Boiled | Lashou shentan | 1992 | John Woo | ★★★ | 126 | Stylish, ultra-violent story of police inspector (Yun-Fat) who teams up with a mysterious hit man (Leung) to stop a gang of arms dealers. Standard plot of revenge and male bonding is springboard for unbelievable action sequences that are bloody, comic, and hypnotic. Yun-Fat is a perfectly assured hero, and director Woo (who wrote the original story) appears as a bartender. | tt0094351 | Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan, Anthony Wong, Kwan Hoi-Shan, A-Lung | Hong Kong | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hardball | 2001 | Brian Robbins | ★★½ | 106 | Addictive gambler Reeves hits rock bottom and a friend agrees to bail him out if he will coach a kids' baseball team in the Chicago projects. Naturally, he regains his own self-esteem as he steers these emotionally needy kids onto the right path. Call it corny, but it works surprisingly well and emphasizes the fact that one person can make a difference in the world around him. Based on Daniel Coyle's experiences, as related in his book. | tt0180734 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, John Hawkes, Bryan Hearne, Julian Griffith, Michael B. Jordan, A. Delon Ellis/Jr., DeWayne Warren, Mike McGlone, D.B. Sweeney, Graham Beckel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hardcore | 1979 | Paul Schrader | ★★½ | 108 | Calvinistic Midwesterner Scott (in powerful performance) searches for teenage daughter who's inexplicably dropped out. He's heartsick after viewing porno film starring her, and his journey into netherworld of prostitution and porn is at times fascinating, sad, and repellent. Marred by unbelievable conclusion. | tt0079271 | [R] | George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines, David Nichols | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Harder They Come | 1973 | Perry Henzell | ★★★ | 103 | Country-boy Cliff comes to Kingston to make it as a singer; ironically, it isn't until he turns to a life of crime that his record starts to climb the charts. Crude but powerful film almost single-handedly launched reggae music's popularity in America; still a major cult favorite. Terrific song score includes 'You Can Get It If You Really Want,' 'Many Rivers to Cross,' title tune. | tt0070155 | [R] | Jimmy Cliff, Janet Barkley, Carl Bradshaw, Ras Daniel Hartman, Bobby Charlton | Jamaican | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Harder They Fall | 1956 | Mark Robson | ★★★½ | 109 | Bogart's last feature casts him as cynical sportswriter-turned-press agent who realizes for the first time how badly prizefighters are manipulated by their unfeeling managers. Powerful drama by Budd Schulberg. | tt0049291 | Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer, Edward Andrews | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Hardly Working | 1981 | Jerry Lewis | ★★ | 91 | Jerry's 'comeback' (filmed in Florida in 1979) is typical lamebrain comedy (about an unemployed circus clown who bumbles from one job to another), but an older Jerry wavers between playing the oafish kid of yore and a more 'mature' character. Not a very good movie; the opening montage from earlier films is much funnier than anything that follows. Trimmed from European release length. | tt0082501 | [PG] | Jerry Lewis, Susan Oliver, Roger C. Carmel, Deanna Lund, Harold J. Stone, Steve Franken, Buddy Lester | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hardware | 1990 | Richard Stanley | ★★ | 92 | Somewhere in the post-nuke future, desert scavenger McDermott presents some android remains to Travis; eventually, the stuff rekindles what is apparently its life mission— to destroy all living things (and the Travis pad, besides). Surprisingly well made, but recalls many earlier (and better) films. Heavy violence nearly earned this an X rating, before it was trimmed. | tt0099740 | [R] | Dylan McDermott, Stacy Travis, John Lynch, Iggy Pop, William Hootkins, Mark Northover | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Hardys Ride High | 1939 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 80 | Financial troubles abound when the family inherits a large estate and enters the world of the nouveau riche. Haden gets some juicy scenes in this Andy Hardy series entry. | tt0031404 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Virginia Grey, Marsha Hunt | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Harem | 1985 | Arthur Joffe | ★½ | 113 | Thin, boring drama about Arab prince Kingsley, who kidnaps Kinski and adds her to his harem. Solid production values can't take the place of a coherent scenario and fully fleshed-out characterizations. | tt0089256 | Nastassja Kinski, Ben Kingsley, Dennis Goldson, Zohra Segal, Michel Robin, Julette Simpson | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Harem Girl | 1952 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 70 | Wacky Davis does her best to enliven slim vehicle about her substituting for a princess. | tt0044689 | Joan Davis, Peggie Castle, Arthur Blake, Minerva Urecal | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Harlan County, U.S.A. | 1977 | Barbara Kopple | ★★★½ | 103 | Gripping, human documentary (an Academy Award winner) about the strike of Kentucky mine workers against the Eastover Mining Company, a subsidiary of Duke Power. Memorable scene of miner and Brooklyn cop having a 'conversation.' | tt0074605 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Harlem Diary | 1995 | Jonathan Stack | ★★½ | 96 | Nine young Harlem residents, ranging in age from 12 to 26, tell their life stories, with their own video camera chronicling the ups and downs, challenges and triumphs, as they move on the rocky path toward adulthood. Interesting documentary approach showing the struggles of a group of young people trying to survive in the projects. Produced by the Discovery Channel but given a limited release in theaters before getting TV exposure. Uneven but worthwhile. | tt0113263 | [NR] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Harlem Globetrotters | 1951 | Phil Brown | ★★ | 80 | Vehicle built around famed basketball team, with a few romantic interludes. | tt0043621 | Thomas Gomez, Dorothy Dandridge, Bill Walker, Angela Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Harlem Nights | 1989 | Eddie Murphy | ★★ | 115 | Proprietor of an after-hours club in 1930s Harlem (Pryor) and his adopted son (Murphy) try standing up to a white mobster determined to cut in on their take or put them out of business. Murphy's debut as writer-director is skimpily scripted and completely devoid of energy. Even Pryor's effortless charisma can't breathe much life into this one. | tt0097481 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, Berlinda Tolbert, Stan Shaw, Jasmine Guy, Lela Rochon, Arsenio Hall, Robin Harris | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Harlequin | Dark Forces | 1980 | Simon Wincer | ★★½ | 96 | Faith-healer Powell helps politician Hemmings' son, who has leukemia; however, his wife (Duncan) is also attracted to the healer. Middling drama updating story of Rasputin, Nicholas, and Alexandra. Retitled DARK FORCES. | tt0080842 | [PG] | Robert Powell, David Hemmings, Carmen Duncan, Broderick Crawford, Gus Mercurio, Alan Cassell | Australian | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL |
| Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man | 1991 | Simon Wincer | ★½ | 99 | Another title in search of a movie. Drifter Rourke and onetime rodeo cowboy Johnson rob a bank to help their pal, whose Rock 'n' Roll Bar and Grill is about to be closed by strong-armed creditors. Moderately futuristic comic-adventure moves fast enough, but even some unexpectedly silly encounters can't distinguish it. Touted in the studio press material as 'the lighter side of Mickey Rourke.' | tt0102005 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Chelsea Field, Daniel Baldwin, Giancarlo Esposito, Vanessa Williams, Tom Sizemore | Action | NULL | ||
| Harlow | 1965 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 125 | Slick, colorful garbage will hold your interest, but doesn't ring true. Baker could never match the real Harlow, but Vallone and Lansbury are good as her stepfather and mother. Rushed through production to compete with the slipshod Carol Lynley version. | tt0059252 | Carroll Baker, Peter Lawford, Red Buttons, Michael Connors, Raf Vallone, Angela Lansbury, Martin Balsam, Leslie Nielsen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Harlow | 1965 | Alex Segal | ★★ | 109 | Amateurish off-the-cuff tedium loosely based on screen star of the 1930s. Rogers as Mama Harlow is best. This quickie production made news in 1965 because it was produced in an unusual manner: staged as a live television show and recorded as a kinescope. | tt0059253 | Carol Lynley, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Barry Sullivan, Hurd Hatfield, Ginger Rogers, Hermione Baddeley, Lloyd Bochner, Audrey Totter, John Williams, Robert Strauss | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Harmonists | 1997 | Joseph Vilsmaier | ★★★ | 116 | Straightforward telling of a fascinating story about the formation of an innovative vocal group whose enormous popularity in late 1920s-early '30s Germany almost seems impervious to growing Nazi dictums— but inevitably runs afoul of the new government, as three of the singers are Jewish. The same story was chronicled in a German documentary, THE COMEDIAN HARMONISTS, which was this film's title in Europe. | tt0128133 | [R] | Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethen, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof, Kai Wiesinger, Meret Becker, Katja Riemann | German-Austrian | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | 2008 | Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg | ★½ | 102 | Appalling follow-up to the 2004 comedy finds the pot-smoking slackers mistaken for terrorists. Corddry plays a Homeland Security Chief who’s on their trail. The first film was benign and goofy, but this one is determined to be as raunchy as possible . . . to an astonishing degree. Harris again plays “himself,” a drug-addled sexaholic. | tt0481536 | [R] | John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry, Jack Conley, Roger Bart, Neil Patrick Harris, Danneel Harris, Eric Winter, Paula Garcés, Jon Reep, Missi Pyle, Beverly D’Angelo, David Krumholtz, Christopher Meloni, Eddie Kaye Thomas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | 2004 | Danny Leiner | ★★ | 87 | Two friends try to satisfy a craving by driving to a White Castle hamburger stop in New Jersey but have a nightlong series of misadventures instead. Good actors in the leads and a distinctive goofball vibe are definite assets, but a spotty script too often fails to deliver on its promise. (We won't even mention the toilet scene.) Anthony Anderson appears unbilled; Harris plays himself. | tt0366551 | [R] | Kal Penn, John Cho, Paula Garcés, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Reynolds, Fred Willard, Ethan Embry, Jamie Kennedy | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy | 1962 | Harold Lloyd | ★★★ | 94 | Compiled by Harold Lloyd. Delightful comedy scenes show why Lloyd was so popular in the 1920s. Highlights include classic building-climbing episode and other great sight gags. A real gem. | tt0194553 | Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Mildred Davis | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Harold and Maude | 1972 | Hal Ashby | ★★★½ | 90 | Black comedy focuses on loving relationship between 20-year-old Cort, who's obsessed with death, and 79-year-old swinger Gordon. Dismissed at time of release, this has become a cult favorite, and the cornerstone of writer Colin Higgins' reputation. Cort's phony suicides are hilarious. Music by Cat Stevens. | tt0067185 | [PG] | Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack, Charles Tyner, Ellen Geer | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Harper | 1966 | Jack Smight | ★★★½ | 121 | High-grade action-mystery has Newman as private eye hired by Bacall to investigate disappearance of her husband; blowsy Winters, frustrated Harris are involved in fast-paced, sophisticated yarn. Screenplay by William Goldman, from Ross Macdonald's The Moving Target. Sequel: THE DROWNING POOL. | tt0060490 | Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris, Shelley Winters, Robert Wagner, Janet Leigh, Arthur Hill, Pamela Tiffin, Robert Webber, Strother Martin, Harold Gould | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Harper Valley P.T.A. | 1978 | Richard Bennett | ★★ | 102 | Bubblegum comedy from hit Jeannie C. Riley song about small-town mother who arouses local wrath for her free-thinking ways, retaliates with series of elaborate revenges. Old pros eke some chuckles out of threadbare material. Later a TV series. | tt0077660 | [PG] | Barbara Eden, Ronny Cox, Nanette Fabray, Susan Swift, Ron Masak, Louis Nye, Pat Paulsen, Audrey Christie, John Fiedler, Bob Hastings | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Harrad Experiment | 1973 | Ted Post | ★★½ | 88 | Fair adaptation of offbeat best-seller by Robert Rimmer in which experimental coed college pushes policy of sexual freedom. Two pairs of relationships singled out as in book, but film actually should've been longer! Improvisational group Ace Trucking Co. appears as itself. Melanie Griffith (Hedren's daughter) was an extra in this— at age 14. Look for young Gregory Harrison. Sequel: HARRAD SUMMER. | tt0070157 | [R] | Don Johnson, James Whitmore, Tippi Hedren, Bruno Kirby, Laurie Walters, Robert Middleton, Victoria Thompson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Harrad Summer | 1974 | Steven Hilliard Stern | ★★½ | 103 | Fair sequel to THE HARRAD EXPERIMENT, about sex-education school for young students, which sends them home, where they can apply what they've learned. Aka STUDENT UNION. | tt0071597 | [R] | Richard Doran, Victoria Thompson, Laurie Walters, Robert Reiser, Bill Dana, Marty Allen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Harriet Craig | 1950 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 94 | Remake of CRAIG'S WIFE is well cast, with Crawford in title role of perfectionist wife who'll stop at nothing to have her house and life run as she wishes. | tt0042544 | Joan Crawford, Wendell Corey, Lucile Watson, Allyn Joslyn, Ellen Corby | Drama | NULL | |||
| Harriet the Spy | 1996 | Bronwen Hughes | ★★½ | 101 | Young girl is encouraged by her eccentric nanny (O'Donnell) to keep a journal of everything she sees, which eventually gets her into trouble with friends and foes alike. Gets lost somewhere in the middle, but makes an impressive recovery in the final third, when an insightful look at childhood relationships comes to the fore. Based on the popular juvenile novel by Louise Fitzhugh. | tt0116493 | [PG] | Michelle Trachtenberg, Vanessa Lee Chester, Gregory Smith, Rosie O'Donnell, J. Smith-Cameron, Robert Joy, Eartha Kitt | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harrison's Flowers | 2002 | Elie Chouraqui | ★★ | 130 | When MacDowell is told that her photographer-husband has died in war-torn Yugoslavia, she refuses to believe it and goes there to find him. An all-too-vivid look at life in the midst of a chaotic, seemingly senseless war, and the way photojournalists thrust themselves into the thick of that tumult . . . but the surrounding story is woefully underwritten. The main character's odyssey is more grueling than inspiring. | tt0216799 | [R] | Andie MacDowell, David Strathairn, Elias Koteas, Adrien Brody, Brendan Gleeson, Alun Armstrong, Diane Baker, Marie Trintignant | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Harry Black and the Tiger | 1958 | Hugo Fregonese | 💣 | 107 | Moldy jungle film tangled in the underbrush, with confusing flashbacks. Filmed in India. Sorry, Harry. | tt0051702 | Stewart Granger, Barbara Rush, Anthony Steel, I.S. Johar | British | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Harry Brown | 2009 | Daniel Barber | ★★★ | 102 | Caine's compelling performance in title role propels this gritty, gripping drama about an aged ex–Royal Marine driven to dole out vigilante justice after roving gangs take over his London public-housing complex and kill his best friend. Interestingly, film was shot in gone-to-seed, crime-ridden neighborhood not far from where Caine actually grew up. | tt1289406 | [R] | Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles, Ben Drew, Liam Cunningham, Iain Glen, David Bradley, Sean Harris | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | 2002 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 161 | J. K. Rowling's saga of witchcraft and wizardry continues in a darker vein as Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter their sophomore year at Hogwarts, where they battle a mysterious evil force that threatens the school's very existence. Second verse, pretty much the same as the first, with a plethora of engaging action set pieces (including another Quiddich match, a flying car, a CGI elf named Dobby, talking spiders, and a climactic battle with a formidable dragon), but the film suffers from overlength and uninspired transcription from page to screen. New cast members Branagh (as a pompous professor) and Isaacs (Draco Malfoy's malevolent father) add some spark. | tt0295297 | [PG] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Shirley Henderson, Miriam Margolyes, Mark Williams, Gemma Jones | Family, Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | 2010 | David Yates | ★★½ | 146 | Following the death of Dumbledore, Harry is marked for death at the hands of Voldemort. His circle of friends vow to protect him, but most of them fall away as Harry, Hermione, and Ron are left to their own devices. Alternately hiding out in the woods and seeking help from possible allies, the trio experience a series of highs and lows—and so does the film. When the three pals are together it’s enjoyable, even though their occasional squabbles have a repetitive ring to them. The moments of wizardry are vivid and exciting, but the film has an episodic feel, even more so than usual. Many of the familiar Potter characters are MIA or reduced to bit parts. The final scene leaves us in midair, and the result seems like more of a placeholder than a full-fledged movie. | tt0926084 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Bill Nighy, Tom Felton, Helen McCrory, Clémence Poésy, Peter Mullan, Frances de la Tour, Rhys Ifans, Simon McBurney, Toby Jones, Rade Serbedzjia, Jamie Campbell Bower, Miranda Richardson | U.S.-British | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | 2011 | David Yates | ★★★ | 130 | The Harry Potter saga comes to an epic conclusion as our hero embraces his destiny and he, his friends, and the denizens of Hogwarts prepare for final battle against Lord Voldemort and his evil followers. Dark, exciting, visually imposing wrap-up perhaps speeds through things too quickly—and, as in DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1, consigns many of the story's regular characters to virtual cameos—but overall, this is a satisfying and justifiably emotional end to Potter's journey. Technical credits are, as usual, beyond reproach. | tt1201607 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Ciarán Hinds, Jason Isaacs, Helen McCrory, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Tom Felton, Evanna Lynch, Bonnie Wright, John Hurt, Kelly Macdonald, Gary Oldman, Gemma Jones, Miriam Margolyes, Jim Broadbent, Matthew Lewis, Robbie Coltrane, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall; voice of Leslie Phillips | U.S.-British | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | 2005 | Mike Newell | ★★★½ | 157 | Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is marked by the Quidditch World Cup and a Triwizard Tournament in which students from three schools compete in a series of increasingly challenging contests. By far the most intense installment in the series, dealing not only with the magical aspects of the characters' lives but also the trials of adolescence. Again, Steve Kloves tries to compress the contents of J. K. Rowling's hefty book into a cohesive screenplay, and while some avid fans of the novel may feel unfulfilled, the action, storytelling, and performances are excellent. The familiar players are joined here by several world-class newcomers. | tt0330373 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Miranda Richardson, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, Frances de la Tour, Pedja Bjelac, David Bradley, Warwick Davis, Robert Hardy, Shirley Henderson | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | 2009 | David Yates | ★★★ | 153 | Sixth in the series of J. K. Rowling adaptations. As Death Eaters fly around London, Professor Dumbledore asks Harry's help to persuade Horace Slughorn (Broadbent) to return to Hogwarts' teaching staff—but doesn't reveal why his presence is so important. This entry is unusually light and funny for much of the way as the three main characters deal with puppy love. Progressively more serious as the story develops; the film also loses some of its buoyancy around the two-hour mark. Still very entertaining, particularly for fans of the series. | tt0417741 | [PG] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, David Bradley, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Julie Walters, Gemma Jones, Helen McCrory | Action, Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | 2007 | David Yates | ★★★ | 138 | The longest Potter novel turned shortest Potter movie begins with Harry in trouble: standing in front of a tribunal for using his magical powers in front of a civilian. This sets a bum-luck tone for its protagonist in a screenplay that seems in a rush to get on to the next entry; one senses some Harry midlife crisis in the wings. Acceptable slice of dank gloom-and-doom, minus some of the fun of earlier episodes. Highlighted by Staunton's outlandish but dead-on portrayal of the kind of shrew teacher everybody has had at least once. Production finesse and event aura made this entry one of the more watchable summer 2007 blockbusters.` | tt0373889 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Robert Hardy, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Katie Leung, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, David Bradley, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Julie Walters | Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | 2004 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★★ | 142 | J. K. Rowling's much-loved characters Harry, Hermione, and Ron, now entering adolescence, begin their third year at Hogwarts School. Harry tangles with Sirius Black (Oldman), an evil wizard-escaped convict who was supposedly involved in the death of his parents. Episodic as ever, loaded with fantasy and special effects, but more foreboding and psychologically complex— and far more cinematic— than the first two offerings, a result of Cuarón taking over director's reins. Thompson and Thewlis add spunk as new Hogwarts professors. Screenplay by Steve Kloves. A mild-mannered Gambon replaces the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore. | tt0304141 | [PG] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Tom Felton, Julie Walters, David Bradley, Dawn French, Warwick Davis, Lenny Henry, Pam Ferris, Julie Christie. | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | 2001 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 152 | At age 11, J. K. Rowling's bespectacled hero is freed from the custody of his miserable aunt and uncle to fulfill his destiny at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he makes friends and enemies, learns dangerous secrets, and has many high-flying adventures. Begins with a real sense of wonder and magic, winds up an overlong, bombastic special-effects movie . . . but nothing can erase the charm of Rowling's characters and ideas, especially in the hands of a peerless British cast. Known outside the U.S as HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. First of the series. | tt0241527 | [PG] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Ian Hart, Alan Rickman, John Hurt, John Cleese, Fiona Shaw, Richard Griffiths, Sean Biggerstaff, Tom Felton, Warwick Davis, Julie Walters, Zoe Wanamaker, David Bradley | Adventure, Fantasy, Family | NULL | ||
| Harry Tracy, Desperado | 1982 | William A. Graham | ★★½ | 100 | Saga of outlaw who lives by his own moral code. Laid-back but worthwhile for Dern's fine performance and vivid recreation of Western life at the turn of the century. Original Canadian title: HARRY TRACY. | tt0084052 | [PG] | Bruce Dern, Helen Shaver, Michael C. Gwynne, Gordon Lightfoot | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Harry and Son | 1984 | Paul Newman | ★★ | 117 | Newman directed, coproduced and cowrote this contrived, meandering drama about the relationship between a widower father (who's just lost his job— and his self-respect) and son (who hasn't gotten his life in order yet). Newman isn't really convincing as the old man; Benson has played the younger role a bit too often. | tt0087386 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Robby Benson, Joanne Woodward, Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley, Judith Ivey, Ossie Davis, Morgan Freeman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Harry and Tonto | 1974 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★ | 115 | An old man takes a cross-country trip with his cat as companion. Art Carney won an Oscar for his performance in this bittersweet, episodic comedy. | tt0071598 | [R] | Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, Chief Dan George, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Larry Hagman, Arthur Hunnicutt, Joshua Mostel, Melanie Mayron, Herbert Berghof, Barbara Rhoades | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harry and Walter Go to New York | 1976 | Mark Rydell | ★★ | 123 | Lavish but lopsided period farce with Caan and Gould as low-grade vaudevillians in the 1890s who wind up trying their luck as safecrackers in N.Y. Spirited but strenuous comedy misses the mark. Nice art direction by Harry Horner. | tt0074608 | [PG] | James Caan, Elliott Gould, Diane Keaton, Michael Caine, Charles Durning, Lesley Ann Warren, Val Avery, Jack Gilford, Carol Kane | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harry and the Hendersons | 1987 | William Dear | ★★½ | 110 | Family encounters a Bigfoot-type monster in the woods and takes it home, thinking it's dead. When it comes alive, the family finds itself becoming attached to the hairy fellow. Amusing but fatally overlong, this sweet-natured variation on E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL runs hot and cold; best recommended for kids. Lithgow is terrific as always. Rick Baker's makeup earned an Academy Award. Later a TV series. | tt0093148 | [PG] | John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Kevin Peter Hall, David Suchet, Lainie Kazan, Don Ameche, M. Emmet Walsh | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harry in Your Pocket | 1973 | Bruce Geller | ★★★ | 103 | Engaging story of group of super-pickpockets and how they prey upon innocent victims. Pidgeon steals the film as sleazy professional crook. | tt0070158 | James Coburn, Michael Sarrazin, Trish Van Devere, Walter Pidgeon | Crime | NULL | |||
| Harry's War | 1981 | Kieth Merrill | ★★½ | 98 | Easygoing postman Herrmann battles the IRS after his aunt (Page) is unfairly billed for $190,000 in back taxes. Capra-esque one-man-against-the-bureaucracy tale is sometimes touching but mostly over-baked. Herrmann performs earnestly; Merrill also wrote the screenplay. | tt0082503 | [PG] | Edward Herrmann, Geraldine Page, Karen Grassle, David Ogden Stiers, Salome Jens, Elisha Cook | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Harsh Times | 2005 | David Ayer | ★★ | 117 | Brutally intense drama about a former soldier, experienced in cold-blooded killing, who wants to join the L.A.P.D. but is much more interested in getting into trouble with his lifelong pal and keeping him from his responsibilities (including a promise to his wife to go job-hunting). Bale makes yet another psychotic character utterly believable in this vivid, visceral portrait of society's underbelly. Gripping but emotionally draining. Directorial debut for TRAINING DAY writer Ayer, who also scripted. | tt0433387 | [R] | Christian Bale, Freddy Rodriguez, Eva Longoria, Terry Crews, Noel Guglielmi, Chaka Forman, Michael Monks, J. K. Simmons | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hart's War | 2002 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★★ | 125 | American soldier who's never seen action is taken prisoner during WW2 and wages a battle of wits with the ranking officer at his POW camp. The plot thickens when two black soldiers arrive on the scene and racism flares up. Entertaining yarn is a good showcase for Farrell and a perfect fit for Willis, though its message about honor is a bit muddy. There's still no villain quite like an urbane, educated Nazi. Based on a novel by John Katzenbach. | tt0251114 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Cole Hauser, Marcel Iures, Linus Roache, Vicellous Shannon, Adrian Grenier, Joe Spano, Rory Cochrane | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Harum Scarum | 1965 | Gene Nelson | ★★½ | 86 | Visiting the Middle East gives usual Presley musical formula a change of scenery, via back-lot desert locations. | tt0059255 | Elvis Presley, Mary Ann Mobley, Fran Jeffries, Michael Ansara, Jay Novello, Philip Reed, Theo Marcuse, Billy Barty | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Harvard Man | 2002 | James Toback | ★½ | 100 | Harvard basketball player who's sleeping with his philosophy professor (Adams) as well as the daughter (Gellar) of a Mafioso borrows money from the don— mistake #1— then tries out a friend's new batch of LSD— mistakes #2, 3, and 4. Typically edgy, in-your-face Toback movie; arresting at first, but then goes completely haywire, with unbelievable and absurd story twists. Al Franken makes a very funny unbilled appearance. | tt0242508 | [R] | Adrian Grenier, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Joey Lauren Adams, Eric Stoltz, Rebecca Gayheart, Gianni Russo, Ray Allen, John Neville | Drama, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Harvest | 1937 | Marcel Pagnol | ★★★★ | 127 | Simple, stark tale of peasants Gabrio and Demazis struggling against all odds to till the land and give life to the earth. Magnificent, with Fernandel memorable as Demazis' comical husband. | tt0028980 | Gabriel Gabrio, Orane Demazis, Fernandel, Edouard Delmont, Henri Poupon | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Harvey | 1950 | Henry Koster | ★★★½ | 104 | Stewart gives one of his best performances as tippler Elwood P. Dowd, whose companion is a six-foot invisible rabbit named Harvey (actually, he's 6 feet, 31/2 inches). Hull won Oscar as distraught sister. Mary Chase and Oscar Brodney adapted Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Hull and White recreate their Broadway roles. Remade for TV in 1998. | tt0042546 | James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Victoria Horne, Jesse White, Wallace Ford, Ida Moore | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Harvey Girls | 1946 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 101 | Westward expansion brings with it Fred Harvey's railroad station restaurants, and proper young waitresses who have civilizing influence on rowdy communities. Silly script made entertaining by good cast and a few musical highlights (like Oscar-winning 'On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe'). | tt0038589 | Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Preston Foster, Virginia O'Brien, Marjorie Main, Kenny Baker, Cyd Charisse, Catherine McLeod | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Harvey Middleman, Fireman | 1965 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★ | 75 | Low-key comedy about mildmannered fireman trying to coordinate fantasy and real life; amiable but unfocused film was animator Pintoff's first live-action feature. | tt0059256 | Gene Troobnick, Hermione Gingold, Patricia Harty, Arlene Golonka, Will MacKenzie, Charles Durning | Drama | NULL | |||
| Has Anybody Seen My Gal | 1952 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 89 | Pleasant, lightweight 1920s nostalgia about rich old Coburn planning to leave his fortune to the family of a woman who turned down his marriage proposal years earlier. Coburn's performance is the whole show; look fast for James Dean. | tt0044690 | Charles Coburn, Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, Gigi Perreau, Lynn Bari, William Reynolds, Larry Gates, Skip Homeier | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Hasty Heart | 1949 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★½ | 99 | Sensitive film version of John Patrick play, focusing on proud Scottish soldier who discovers he has short time to live and friendships he finally makes among his hospital mates. Remade in 1983 for cable TV. | tt0041445 | Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, Richard Todd, Anthony Nicholls, Howard Marion Crawford | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hat Check Girl | 1932 | Sidney Lanfield. | ★★½ | 65 | Nightclub hatcheck girl Eilers is surrounded by men on the make— and assorted lowlifes— but falls in love with millionaire Lyon. Minor but entertaining pre-Code romantic comedy with underworld spice. Some clever visual touches and funny wisecracks, mostly from best friend Ginger. Look for Dennis O'Keefe and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in bits. | tt0022978 | Sally Eilers, Ben Lyon, Ginger Rogers, Monroe Owsley, Arthur Pierson, Noel Madison, Henry Armetta. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hatari! | 1962 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 159 | Marvelous lighthearted action film of wild-animal trappers in Africa, with just-right mixture of adventure and comedy. Wayne is at his best. Notable Henry Mancini score. Filmed in Tanganyika; title is Swahili for 'Danger!' | tt0056059 | John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons, Hardy Kruger, Gerard Blain, Bruce Cabot | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hatchet | 2007 | Adam Green | ★★ | 83 | Horror fans might have a few guilty-pleasure giggles with this crude but knowing homage to ’80s slasher movies. Mardi Gras revelers are methodically (and graphically) murdered by a misshapen psycho after they venture into a “haunted” Louisiana swamp. Also available in unrated version. | tt0422401 | [R] | Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Deon Richmond, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd | Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Hatchet Man | 1932 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 74 | Fascinating yarn about Chinatown tongs, and Robinson's attempts to Americanize himself. Potent melodrama, once you get past obvious barrier of Caucasian cast. | tt0022979 | Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Dudley Digges, Blanche Frederici, Leslie Fenton | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hatchet for the Honeymoon | 1971 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 93 | Characteristic Bava horror thriller: strong on vivid imagery, shot in fluid, cinematic style, with a screwy, hard-to-follow plot about a madman who murders brides, while haunted by the ghost of his own wife. | tt0064904 | [PG] | Stephen Forsyth, Dagmar Lassander, Laura Betti, Gerard Tichy, Femi Benussi | Italian-Spanish | Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Hate | Le Haine | 1995 | Mathieu Kassovitz | ★★★ | 95 | Two-fisted tale of three young hoods (an Arab, a Jew, and a black), living in the projects outside of Paris, who seek retribution when their best friend is beaten into a coma by the cops. Basically an anti-police polemic, this is short on subtlety but still powerfully effective. Bravura camerawork is reminiscent of Spike Lee, but Kassovitz's mise-en-scène is his own and aptly reflects the alienated world of lower-class kids without keys to their own city. Winner of Best Director award at Cannes. Original title: LA HAINE. | tt0113247 | [R] | Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghaoui, Karim Belkadra, Edouard Montoute | French | Drama | NULL |
| A Hatful of Rain | 1957 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★ | 109 | Realistic melodrama of the living hell dope addict Murray undergoes, and the effects on those around him; fine performances. Scripted by Michael V. Gazzo, Alfred Hayes, and Carl Foreman from Gazzo's play. | tt0050487 | Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, Anthony Franciosa, Lloyd Nolan, Henry Silva, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, William Hickey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hats Off | 1936 | Boris Petroff | ★★ | 70 | Minor musical about the travails of rival press agents. The supporting actors, particularly Alberni and Gallagher, fare best here. Payne's first starring film. | tt0027720 | Mae Clarke, John Payne, Helen Lynd, Luis Alberni, Skeets Gallagher, Franklin Pangborn | Musical | NULL | |||
| Hatter's Castle | 1941 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 90 | Fine cast must support fair material in tale of poor man who relentlessly pursues his dream of social acceptance; from A. J. Cronin's novel. | tt0033692 | Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hatter's Ghost | 1982 | Claude Chabrol | ★½ | 120 | Disappointing murder mystery from Chabrol, based on a Georges Simenon novel. Tailor Aznavour learns that nephew Serrault is a mass killer, but is too scared to inform the police. Potentially exciting thriller is badly handled. | tt0083925 | Michel Serrault, Charles Aznavour, Monique Chaumette, Aurore Clement | French | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Haunted Gold | 1932 | Mack V. Wright. | ★★½ | 59 | Wayne's best early Warners Western is a fast-paced yarn about dispute over rights to an abandoned gold mine haunted by a character known as The Phantom. Miracle horse Duke gets star billing with Wayne above spooky main title sporting animated owls. Mystery fans in search of the original Maltese Falcon statue will find it atop the heroine's piano. | tt0022981 | John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Harry Woods, Erville Alderson, Martha Mattox, Blue Washington. | Western | NULL | |||
| Haunted Honeymoon | 1940 | Arthur B. Woods | ★★½ | 83 | Famed amateur criminologist Lord Peter Wimsey (Montgomery) marries mystery writer (Cummings) and settles down to quiet honeymoon— until murder enters the picture and demands their involvement. Montgomery miscast as Dorothy L. Sayers' witty sleuth. Originally titled BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON. | tt0032571 | Robert Montgomery, Constance Cummings, Leslie Banks, Seymour Hicks, Robert Newton, Googie Withers | British | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Haunted Honeymoon | 1986 | Gene Wilder | 💣 | 82 | Tediously unfunny 'scare movie' farce inspired by old Bob Hope/Red Skelton comedies; set in an old dark house full of creepy people (with one great gag lifted from Fred MacMurray's MURDER, HE SAYS). When you put Dom DeLuise in drag and still can't get laughs, you know something's wrong. | tt0091178 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom DeLuise, Jonathan Pryce, Paul L. Smith, Peter Vaughan, Bryan Pringle | Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Haunted Mansion | 2003 | Rob Minkoff | ★★ | 98 | Workaholic real estate salesman Murphy brings his family along when his wife is summoned to a creepy old mansion. It seems the master of the house thinks she is his long-lost love. Flat, poky attempt at ghostly comedy, inspired by the great Disney theme park attraction; too scary for small children, too boring for adults, despite Murphy's trademark energy. | tt0338094 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Nathaniel Parker, Dina Waters, Marc John Jefferies, Aree Davis | Comedy, Family, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Haunted Palace | 1963 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 85 | When a man arrives in New England town to claim family castle, he discovers the town populated by mutants and the castle under an ancestor's evil spell, which soon possesses him. Good-looking but minor film from Corman's Edgar Allan Poe cycle, although based mainly on H. P. Lovecraft's The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Script by Charles Beaumont. | tt0057128 | Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney/Jr., Frank Maxwell, Leo Gordon, Elisha Cook/Jr., John Dierkes | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Haunted Strangler | Grip of the Strangler | 1958 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 81 | Offbeat story set in 1880; socially conscious author Karloff investigates the case of a man who was executed 20 years earlier. Original British title: GRIP OF THE STRANGLER. | tt0051706 | Boris Karloff, Anthony Dawson, Elizabeth Allan, Derek Birch, Jean Kent | British | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Haunted Summer | 1988 | Ivan Passer | ★★½ | 106 | Flawed film version of Anne Edwards' novel about the fabled and emotional meeting between poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, novelist Mary Godwin, and Dr. John Polidori in Italy in 1816. The psychedelic '60s had nothing on this 'summer of love' and experimentation. Beautifully filmed, and better than Ken Russell's similar GOTHIC, but it's still forced and unconvincing. | tt0095280 | [R] | Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz, Alex Winter | Drama | NULL | ||
| Haunting Fear | 1991 | Fred Olen Ray | ★½ | 88 | Stevens fears being buried alive, her husband has a sexy mistress, and Vincent is lurking around in the street. Odd plot tries to bring it all together, but motivation is absent. Hasty, empty film allegedly based on Poe's 'Premature Burial.' | tt0099742 | Brinke Stevens, Jay Richardson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Karen Black, Della Sheppard, Robert Clarke, Robert Quarry, Michael Berryman | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Haunting in Connecticut | 2009 | Peter Cornwell | ★½ | 92 | Creaky horror picture show, purportedly based on fact, about a family that learns the hard way why they got such a great deal on a rental property with “a bit of a history.” Long on spooky atmosphere, short on drama. There’s nothing here you haven’t seen done better, and scarier, in other haunted house dramas. | tt0492044 | [PG-13] | Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew, Martin Donovan | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Haunting of Julia | Full Circle | 1976 | Richard Loncraine | ★★ | 96 | Occult thriller about a young woman who tries to start a new life after the death of her daughter and moves into a house inhabited by a troubled spirit. A good (if familiar) start, but soon lapses into unsatisfying contrivance. From a Peter Straub story. Originally titled FULL CIRCLE. | tt0074611 | [R] | Mia Farrow, Keir Dullea, Tom Conti, Jill Bennett, Robin Gammell, Cathleen Nesbitt | British-Canadian | Action | NULL |
| The Haunting of Molly Hartley | 2008 | Mickey Liddell | ★½ | 87 | After being stabbed by her psycho mom, Bennett is dispatched to a hoity-toity prep school, where she comes to believe she may be demonic. Dull, clumsy horror thriller. | tt1045655 | [PG-13] | Haley Bennett, Jake Weber, Chace Crawford, Shannon Marie Woodward, Shanna Collins, AnnaLynne McCord, Marin Hinkle, Nina Siemaszko | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Haunting | 1963 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 112 | 90-year-old New England haunted house is setting for chosen group being introduced to the supernatural, with hair-raising results. Don't see this one alone! Filmed in England; Nelson Gidding adapted Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Remade in 1999. | tt0057129 | Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn, Lois Maxwell, Fay Compton | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Haunting | 1999 | Jan De Bont | ★½ | 114 | Three people are lured to a creepy mansion under false pretenses by a psychological researcher (Neeson). Incredibly dull chiller has all the special effects money can buy but no sense, no logic, and virtually no scares. Taylor's performance as a lonely woman who feels a kinship with the house is the only redeeming feature of this clunker, which has little in common with the 1963 movie or Shirley Jackson's novel, on which it's supposedly based. | tt0171363 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson, Lili Taylor, Bruce Dern, Marian Seldes, Virginia Madsen | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Haunts | 1977 | Herb Freed | ★★★ | 98 | You have to stay with it to appreciate this offbeat horror pic fully, but it's well worth the effort. Writers Anne Marisse and Herb Freed and a good cast have vividly captured small-town atmosphere when a series of murders grips the countryside. As a farm woman with demons of her own, Britt gives the best performance of her erratic career. | tt0076127 | [PG] | May Britt, Cameron Mitchell, Aldo Ray, William Gray Espy, Susan Nohr | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hav Plenty | 1998 | Christopher Scott Cherot | ★½ | 92 | Smug, self-satisfied romantic comedy about down-and-out writer who finds unexpected sparks with his best friend when he spends New Year's weekend with her crazy friends and family. Maxwell gives a truly irritating performance as the inexplicable girl of Cherot's dreams, but the writer-director-editor-star has charisma; it's his filmmaking skills that need polishing. Dopey movie-within-a-movie ending features Shemar Moore, Nia Long, TLC's Chili, The Fugees' Lauryn Hill, and Mekhi Phifer. | tt0126938 | [R] | Christopher Scott Cherot, Chenoa Maxwell, Hill Harper, Tammi Katherine Jones, Betty Vaughn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Havana | 1990 | Sydney Pollack | ★★½ | 140 | No masterpiece, overly reminiscent of CASABLANCA, and a huge box-office disaster, but still unjustly maligned as a stinker. Redford (aging, but marvelous) plays a professional gambler hoping to score in the waning hours of Batista's Cuba; Olin (surprisingly stiff) is the married Swede who takes his mind off the game. Production designer's dream is very entertaining for about 90 minutes, then tails off. Similar to the underrated Richard Lester film CUBA. Raul Julia appears unbilled. | tt0099747 | [R] | Robert Redford, Lena Olin, Alan Arkin, Tomas Milian, Daniel Davis, Tony Plana, Betsy Brantley, Lise Cutter, Richard Farnsworth, Mark Rydell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Havana Widows | 1933 | Ray Enright. | ★★½ | 62 | Perennial gold diggers Blondell and Farrell are brassy showgirls on the prowl in Cuba, looking to trap millionaire Kibbee in a breach of promise suit. Raunchy pre-Code farce lets the Warner Bros. stock players do what they do best in a fast-paced, forgettable film. | tt0024092 | Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Guy Kibbee, Allen Jenkins, Lyle Talbot, Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Hobart Cavanaugh. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Have Rocket- Will Travel | 1959 | David Lowell Rich | ★★½ | 76 | Good slapstick as the Stooges accidentally launch into space, meet a unicorn, and go on to become national heroes. This was the trio's first starring feature after being rediscovered on TV, though Joe DeRita had, by this time, filled the Curly/Shemp slot. | tt0052880 | The Three Stooges, Jerome Cowan, Anna Lisa, Bob Colbert | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Have a Heart | 1934 | David Butler. | ★★ | 82 | Hokey tearjerker about a dance teacher (Parker) who's crippled in an accident, loses her fiancé, and finds true love with ice cream vendor Dunn, until heartbreak strikes again. Smoothly made soaper, but it's all a bit too much. | tt0025223 | Jean Parker, James Dunn, Una Merkel, Stuart Erwin, Willard Robertson, Samuel S. Hinds, Muriel Evans. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Haven | 2004 | Frank E. Flowers | ★★ | 98 | Slickly directed but confusing, connect-the-dots story that opens with Paxton and his teen daughter fleeing to the Cayman Islands when the Feds show up on his doorstep. Who is he? Why is he on the run? More important, why should we care? Annoyingly fragmented narrative tries to be clever but succeeds only at being convoluted. Bloom coproduced. | tt0386504 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Orlando Bloom, Stephen Dillane, Zoe Saldana, Razaaq Adoti, Agnes Bruckner, Victor Rasuk, Lee Ingleby, Anthony Mackie, Robert Wisdom, Joy Bryant, Bobby Cannavale, Serena Scott Thomas | U.S.-British-German-Spanish | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Having Wonderful Crime | 1945 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 70 | Lively mystery-comedy in which a trio of friends— brash lawyer O'Brien and wise-cracking newlyweds Murphy and Landis— become involved with a magician who disappears and his mysterious assistant. Based on characters created by Craig Rice, though the film bears no relation to Rice's novel of the same name. | tt0037767 | Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, Carole Landis, Lenore Aubert, George Zucco | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Having Wonderful Time | 1938 | Alfred Santell | ★★½ | 71 | OK film about Catskills resort hotel; Ginger wants culture on summer vacation but gets Doug instead. Arthur Kober adapted his own Broadway comedy, but the original's satiric depiction of Jewish New Yorkers is completely homogenized. Skelton sparkles in his feature debut; Dean Jagger plays Ginger's brother and Ann Miller is visible among the campers. | tt0030216 | Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Peggy Conklin, Lucille Ball, Lee Bowman, Eve Arden, Dorothea Kent, Richard (Red) Skelton, Donald Meek, Jack Carson, Allan Lane, Grady Sutton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Having a Wild Weekend | Catch Us If You Can | 1965 | John Boorman | ★★½ | 91 | Just as The Dave Clark Five tried to steal some of the Beatles' thunder, this fast-paced trifle tried to capture success of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. The Five star as stuntmen who, along with a model (Ferris), search for a dream island. Songs include 'Having a Wild Weekend,' 'Catch Us If You Can,' 'I Can't Stand It.' Director Boorman's first film. Originally titled CATCH US IF YOU CAN. | tt0059258 | Dave Clark Five, Barbara Ferris, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Mike Smith, Denis Payton, David Lodge | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Havoc | 2005 | Barbara Kopple | ★★ | 85 | Well-meaning but overwrought chronicle of a bright, wealthy, bored teen who's sleepwalking through her life. She and her friends attempt to adopt a gangsta lifestyle but don't know what they're getting into when they mix with real inner-city Latinos. Potentially intriguing exploration of race, class, and teen lifestyles goes way over the top. Rare non-documentary effort by Kopple, scripted by another Oscar-winner, Stephen Gaghan. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. Unrated version runs 93m. | tt0285175 | [R] | Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby, Michael Biehn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matt O'Leary, Freddy Rodriguez, Laura San Giacomo, Mike Vogel, Cecilia Peck, Sam Bottoms | U.S.-German | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Hawaii | 1966 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 171 | Sprawling filmization of James Michener's novel plays well on TV, where cutting actually helps. Story (adapted by Dalton Trumbo and Daniel Taradash) follows growth of Hawaii in 1800s as fierce but well-intentioned missionary tries to bring religion to the undeveloped islands. Uneven but generally entertaining epic. Originally released at 189m.; some prints 151m. Look for Bette Midler as a passenger on the Hawaii-bound ship. Sequel: THE HAWAIIANS. | tt0060491 | Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris, Torin Thatcher, Gene Hackman, Carroll O'Connor, Jocelyne LaGarde, John Cullum, George Rose, Michael Constantine | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hawaiians | 1970 | Tom Gries | ★★★ | 134 | Sequel to HAWAII is epic narrative of seafaring Heston returning home to a restless, changing Hawaii. Film follows several decades of relationships, conflict, hardship, progress, sex, leprosy— you name it. Compelling, colorful storytelling, with outstanding performance by Chen. | tt0065820 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Geraldine Chaplin, John Phillip Law, Tina Chen, Alec McCowen, Keye Luke, Mako | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hawk Is Dying | 2006 | Julian Goldberger | ★½ | 107 | Amid much angst, a stressed-out man tries to find meaning in his life by capturing and attempting to train a red-tailed hawk. Unceasingly intense drama is done in by pretension and confusion . . . and is an ordeal to sit through. Giamatti rises way above the material. Based on a novel by Harry Crews. | tt0412808 | Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, Robert Wisdom, Rusty Schwimmer, Ann Wedgeworth, Michael Pitt | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hawk the Slayer | 1980 | Terry Marcel | ★½ | 93 | Brothers Palance and Terry vie for a magical family sword in this period costumer. Labored, with gimmicky direction. | tt0080846 | Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw, Ray Charleson, Peter O'Farrell, Harry Andrews, Roy Kinnear, Ferdy Mayne | British | Fantasy, Action | NULL | ||
| Hawks | 1988 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★ | 107 | Heavy-handed black comedy about British lawyer Dalton and American jock Edwards, both terminally ill with cancer but still equally red-blooded; they rip off an ambulance and head for the brothels of Amsterdam for one final fling. Uneasy mixture of humor and touchy-feely emotion does not work. Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees, who did the music) is coauthor of the story upon which this is based. | tt0097487 | [R] | Timothy Dalton, Anthony Edwards, Janet McTeer, Camille Coduri, Jill Bennett, Sheila Hancock, Connie Booth | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Hawmps! | 1976 | Joe Camp | ★★ | 113 | Amusing idea based on real life incident: camels trained as Army mounts in Texas desert. Some comedy results, but how far can you stretch one idea? Originally released at 126m. | tt0074614 | [G] | James Hampton, Christopher Connelly, Slim Pickens, Jack Elam, Denver Pyle | Comedy, Family, Western | NULL | ||
| Haywire | 2012 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 93 | Undercover-operative-for-hire Carano, who takes on difficult assignments the government doesn't want to handle, discovers that she's become a pawn, surrounded by bad guys of all stripes, and left to her own devices to survive. In her starring debut, real-life mixed martial arts fighter Carano can kick butt and handle dialogue too, but the B movie Soderbergh has built around her never really takes off. Good cast and diverse locations (Barcelona, Dublin, New Mexico) help somewhat. Undiscriminating action fans might rate this higher. | tt1506999 | [R] | Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, Michael Angarano, Mathieu Kassovitz | U.S.-Irish | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hazard | 1948 | George Marshall | ★★ | 95 | Routine comedy of private eye Carey following Goddard, falling in love in the process. | tt0040426 | Paulette Goddard, Macdonald Carey, Fred Clark, Stanley Clements | Comedy | NULL | |||
| He Couldn't Say No | 1938 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★½ | 57 | McHugh is a meek clerk who tangles with gangsters when he impulsively buys a nude statue modeled by a senator's daughter and winds up romancing her. Disarming nonsense gives character actor McHugh a rare starring role. | tt0030220 | Frank McHugh, Jane Wyman, Cora Witherspoon, Berton Churchill, Diana Lewis, Ferris Taylor, Tom Kennedy. | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| He Got Game | 1998 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 136 | A prisoner is freed for one week to convince his son— the country's hottest high school basketball player— to sign with the state governor's favorite college. Far-fetched premise is played out with conviction, but its points are obvious and hammered home redundantly. Redeemed by strong characterizations and powerful moments. Many basketball stars and coaches appear as themselves; young Allen is himself an NBA player. | tt0124718 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Ray Allen, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, Hill Harper, Zelda Harris, Ned Beatty, Jim Brown, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Lonette McKee | Drama | NULL | ||
| He Knows You're Alone | Blood Wedding | 1981 | Armand Mastroianni | ★½ | 94 | Yet another entry in slice-and-dice genre, this one with minor novelty of brides-to-be as victims. A bit less bloody than others of its ilk; otherwise, business as usual. Hanks' film debut. Aka BLOOD WEDDING. | tt0080850 | [R] | Don Scardino, Caitlin O'Heaney, Elizabeth Kemp, Tom Rolfing, Patsy Pease, Tom Hanks, Dana Barron, Paul Gleason | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| He Laughed Last | 1956 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 77 | Marlow is a 1920s flapper who inherits a gangster's nightclub in this colorful spoof of Prohibition-era crime stories. Laine even gets to croon a couple of songs. | tt0049294 | Frankie Laine, Lucy Marlow, Anthony Dexter, Richard Long, Alan Reed, Jesse White, Florenz Ames, Henry Slate | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| He Loves Me . . . He Loves Me Not | 2002 | Laetitia Colombani | ★★★ | 92 | Evocative psychological thriller about a young art student (Tautou) who is obsessively in love with a married cardiologist (Le Bihan) and is convinced he's about to leave his wife for her. Then the story is told from his point of view. Most enjoyable, and an assured feature debut for director/coscreenwriter Colombani. | tt0291579 | Audrey Tautou, Samuel Le Bihan, Isabelle Carré, Clément Sibony, Sophie Guillemin, Eric Savin | French | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| He Married His Wife | 1940 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 83 | Obvious, talky comedy in which McCrea, tired of paying alimony to ex-wife Kelly, schemes to get her remarried. John O'Hara was one of the writers. | tt0032575 | Joel McCrea, Nancy Kelly, Roland Young, Mary Boland, Cesar Romero, Lyle Talbot, Mary Healy, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| He Ran All the Way | 1951 | John Berry | ★★½ | 77 | Taut but predictable thriller with on-the-lam cop killer Garfield hiding out in Winters' home. Garfield's final film. | tt0043625 | John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford, Selena Royle, Gladys George, Norman Lloyd | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| He Said, She Said | 1991 | Ken Kwapis, Marisa Silver | ★★ | 115 | We say, piffle. Gimmick comedy charts the dissolution of a romance between two Baltimore journalists who parlay their rival point/counterpoint columns into a popular local TV spot. Kwapis' half (marginally funnier) is shown from Bacon's point of view; Silver's (marginally better, thanks to Perkins) takes overlong story from the opposite perspective. About as contemporary as a '60s TV sitcom, with clumsy fantasy sequences. | tt0102011 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Perkins, Sharon Stone, Nathan Lane, Anthony LaPaglia, Stanley Anderson, Charlaine Woodard, Danton Stone | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| He Stayed for Breakfast | 1940 | Alexander Hall | ★★ | 89 | NINOTCHKA and COMRADE X in reverse, as Russian Douglas is Americanized by Young; trivial. | tt0032576 | Loretta Young, Melvyn Douglas, Una O'Connor, Eugene Pallette, Alan Marshal | Comedy | NULL | |||
| He Walked by Night | 1948 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 79 | Grade-A drama of killer hunted by police; told in semi-documentary style (and partially directed by Anthony Mann). Effective performances by all. | tt0040427 | Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Whit Bissell, Jack Webb | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| He Was Her Man | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 70 | Disappointing drama of safecracker Cagney on the lam, meeting Blondell, who's engaged to fisherman Jory. One of Cagney's weakest Warner Bros. vehicles. | tt0025226 | James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Victor Jory, Frank Craven, Sarah Padden | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| He Who Gets Slapped | 1924 | Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) | ★★★ | 85 | Brilliant scientist tries to bury personal tragedy under mask of circus clown, who falls in love with beautiful bareback rider (Shearer). Famous story becomes Pagliacci-type vehicle for Chaney. | tt0014972 | Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Tully Marshall, Marc McDermott, Ford Sterling | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| He Who Rides a Tiger | 1966 | Charles Crichton | ★★ | 103 | Cat burglar is nice to children and is further softened by love, but he still has professional problems; OK programmer. | tt0060492 | Tom Bell, Judi Dench, Paul Rogers, Kay Walsh, Ray McAnally | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| He's My Girl | 1987 | Gabrielle Beaumont | ★★ | 104 | A few amusing moments cannot save this silly comedy about Carter dressing in drag to accompany pal Hallyday on a free trip to Hollywood. Lots of energy, but it's mostly for naught. | tt0093160 | [PG-13] | T.K. Carter, David Hallyday, Misha McK, Jennifer Tilly, David Clennon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| He's a Cockeyed Wonder | 1950 | Peter Godfrey | ★½ | 77 | Bland Rooney film has him as energetic young man who captures a gang of robbers and gets to marry his boss' daughter. | tt0042548 | Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, William Demarest, Ross Ford, Mike Mazurki | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Head | 1968 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★ | 86 | Far-out film debut for TV rock group was written (or concocted) by Rafelson and Nicholson before they made big splash with FIVE EASY PIECES; this overlooked item is a delightful explosion of crazy ideas with no coherent plot, many old film clips, some good songs, and such unlikely guest stars as Sonny Liston and Victor Mature. Well worth seeing. | tt0063049 | [G] | The Monkees, Teri Garr, Vito Scotti, Timothy Carey, Logan Ramsey, Frank Zappa, Jack Nicholson | Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Head Above Water | 1996 | Jim Wilson | ★★ | 92 | Black comedy-thriller about lovely substance abuser Diaz; she's married to judge Keitel, but her male friends still carry a torch for her, with disastrous consequences. Convoluted plot twists abound, but you don't really care what happens to any of these characters. Remake of a 1987 Norwegian film, PATHFINDER, itself remade as HEAD ABOVE WATER in 1994. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0116502 | [PG-13] | Harvey Keitel, Cameron Diaz, Craig Sheffer, Billy Zane, Shay Duffin | U.S.-British | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |
| Head Office | 1986 | Ken Finkleman | ★★ | 86 | Naive Reinhold is hired by world's most powerful multinational conglomerate after his father pulls strings, falls for board chairman's renegade daughter. Episodic, wildly uneven comedy wastes good cast, though Novello, Albert, and O'Donoghue have their funny moments, Seymour some sexy ones. | tt0091183 | [PG-13] | Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, Jane Seymour, Danny DeVito, Rick Moranis, Don Novello, Michael O'Donoghue, Wallace Shawn, Lori-Nan Engler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Head On | Fatal Attraction | 1980 | Michael Grant | ★★ | 98 | Strange comedy-drama with Kellerman and Lack meeting after a car accident, fulfilling each other's sex fantasies acting out bizarre games. Ambitious but unsuccessful. Retitled FATAL ATTRACTION for 1985 U.S. release. | tt0080851 | [R] | Sally Kellerman, Stephen Lack, John Huston, Lawrence Dane, John Peter Linton | Canadian | Drama | NULL |
| Head Over Heels | 1979 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★★½ | 97 | Low-key story of Heard's obsession with winning back former girlfriend Hurt; the kind of film that engenders strictly personal reactions— it will either charm or annoy you. Based on Ann Beattie's novel CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER, and reissued under that name at 93m. Jazz harmonica great Toots Thielemans is prominently featured on the soundtrack. | tt0079278 | [PG] | John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, Gloria Grahame, Nora Heflin, Griffin Dunne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Head Over Heels | 2001 | Mark Waters | ★½ | 91 | Klutzy, unlucky-in-love art restorer Potter falls for nice-guy fashion exec Prinze, whose apartment is next door to the one she's sharing with four fashion models. While peeping in on him, she thinks she sees him commit murder. Forget REAR WINDOW: this is an addlebrained, cliché-laden romantic comedy-farce-thriller. | tt0192111 | [PG-13] | Monica Potter, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Shalom Harlow, Ivana Milicevic, Sarah O'Hare, Tomiko Fraser, China Chow, Timothy Olyphant | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Head in the Clouds | 2004 | John Duigan | ★★ | 133 | Forthright young woman (Theron) lives a Bohemian life in 1930s Paris, some of it in a ménage à trois with a photographer's model (Cruz) and an uptight Irish beau (Townsend) who is drawn to the plight of the Spanish Republicans. Duigan's screenplay bites off more than it can chew, spanning 20 years, the evolution of two relationships, and a character's political awakening. WW2 section rings hollow; artificial backdrops don't help. Theron and Cruz are quite good, and very sexy. | tt0338097 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Penélope Cruz, Stuart Townsend, Thomas Kretschmann, Steven Berkoff, David La Haye, Gabriel Hogan | Canadian-British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Head of State | 2003 | Chris Rock | ★★½ | 95 | A hardworking community activist and alderman from Washington, D.C., is drafted as a last-minute replacement candidate for president. He soon tires of following orders and begins to speak his mind. Rock is the whole show here, and he's on top of his game, spouting the kind of straight talk we'd all like to hear from candidates. The filmmaking is sloppy, as is the story development, but the director, cowriter and star deliver the laughs. | tt0325537 | [PG-13] | Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dylan Baker, Nick Searcy, Lynn Whitfield, Robin Givens, Tamala Jones, James Rebhorn, Keith David, Stephanie March, Nate Dogg, Jude Ciccolella, Tracy Morgan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Head | 1959 | Victor Trivas | ★★ | 92 | Old-fashioned chiller involving head-transplants, with obligatory murders and blood-drenched revenge; extremely eerie but not very convincing. | tt0053095 | Horst Frank, Karin Kernke, Michel Simon, Helmut Schmid, Dieter Eppler | German | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Head-On | 2004 | Fatih Akin. | ★★★ | 121 | Two Turks, one a late-30s alcoholic nightclub employee, the other a young but far-from-innocent woman determined to escape her traditional family, meet in a hospital in their adopted country of Germany. They embark on a paper marriage and live as roommates, but drugs and other influences cause their lives to intertwine in unexpected ways. Harsh, powerful drama of stubborn determination and immigrant culture provides a glimpse into a seedy milieu that never seems phony. | tt0347048 | Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Catrin Striebeck, Güven Kirac, Meltem Cumbul, Zarah McKenzie, Stefan Gebelhoff. | German-Turkish-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Headhunters | 2011 | Morten Tyldum | ★★★ | 101 | High-end job recruiter (Hennie) has a beautiful wife and an ultramodern home but isn't comfortable in his own skin and supplements his income by engaging in daring art thefts. When his partner in crime gets caught, he realizes he's been set up and his life begins to unravel at a dizzying pace. Constantly surprising thriller with an unlikely hero and some extraordinary action sequences. Based on the best-selling novel by Jo Nesbø. | tt1614989 | [R] | Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnøve Macody Lund, Eivind Sander, Julie Ølgaard | Norwegian-Denmark-German | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Headin' Home | 1920 | Lawrence Windom. | ★★ | 57 | The Sultan of Swat makes his screen debut in this cornball comedy-drama about a wholesome small-town boy who becomes a baseball star. Even though his character is called Babe, this ode to the simple joys of rural America is not to be confused with the Bambino's own life story. A curio to be sure, and a must for baseball fans. | tt0011267 | Babe Ruth, Ruth Taylor, William Sheer, Margaret Seddon, Frances Victory, James A. Marcus. | Biography, Comedy, Drama, Sport | NULL | |||
| Headin' for Broadway | 1980 | Joseph Brooks | ★½ | 89 | Astonishingly amateurish film by writer-director-producer-composer Brooks about four young hopefuls auditioning for a Broadway musical. Looks like a film they tried to save in the editing room; it didn't work. | tt0080852 | [PG] | Rex Smith, Terri Treas, Vivian Reed, Paul Carafotes, Gene Foote | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Heading Home | 1990 | David Hare | Above Average TV Movie | 88 | Absorbing reminiscence by Richardson, about the conflict she faced as a naive young woman in love with two different men. This lovely loss-of-innocence story is quirky and unpredictable, with excellent performances by the entire cast. | tt0102012 | Gary Oldman, Joely Richardson, Stephen Dillane, Stella Gonet, Michael Bryant | British |
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| Heading South | 2005 | Laurent Cantet | ★★★ | 108 | Absorbing, politically loaded drama set in Haiti during the late 1970s, where pampered, sexually frustrated middle-aged female tourists have hunky young native boys service them, blissfully unaware of the pressures they face under the brutal dictatorship of 'Baby Doc' Duvalier. The spotlight is on Rampling and Young, who vie for the attention of a handsome local (Cesar). Based on short stories by Dany Laferriere. | tt0381690 | Unrated | Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise Portal, Ménothy Cesar, Lys Ambroise, Jackenson Pierre Olmo Diaz | Canadian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Heading for Heaven | 1947 | Lewis D. Collins. | ★½ | 71 | Soggy account of well-meaning Erwin trying to build model middle-income-bracket community, but being fleeced by racketeers. | tt0039451 | Stuart Erwin, Glenda Farrell, Irene Ryan, Milburn Stone, Selmer Jackson, Janis Wilson. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Headless Body in Topless Bar | 1996 | James Bruce | ★½ | 101 | This 'psychological dark comedy' based on the infamous 1983 New York Post headline is a talky character piece about an ex-con who takes the inhabitants of a topless bar hostage after killing the bartender. Might have worked better as a one-act play— or, better yet, left on the newsstand. | tt0113276 | Raymond Barry, Jennifer MacDonald, Rustam Branaman, April Grace, Taylor Nichols, David Selby, Paul Williams, Biff Yeager | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Headless Ghost | 1959 | Peter Graham Scott | 💣 | 61 | Brainless horror-comedy with students investigating a haunted castle. | tt0053895 | Richard Lyon, Liliane Sottane, David Rose, Clive Revill, Carl Bernard, Trevor Barnett | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Headline Hunters | 1955 | William Witney | ★★ | 70 | Uninspired tale of fledgling reporter tracking down big-city racketeers. Remake of 1940 BEHIND THE NEWS. | tt0048150 | Rod Cameron, Julie Bishop, Ben Cooper, Raymond Greenleaf | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Headline Shooter | 1933 | Otto Brower. | ★★★ | 61 | Vigorous, fast-paced yarn about a brash newsreel cameraman skillfully integrates real-life footage of fire, flood, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake into its B-movie script. Bellamy's role as reporter Dee's hometown fiancée— and her ultimate response— anticipates HIS GIRL FRIDAY. Good fun. | tt0024097 | William Gargan, Frances Dee, Ralph Bellamy, Jack La Rue, Gregory Ratoff, Wallace Ford, Robert Benchley, Betty Furness, Hobart Cavanaugh, June Brewster, Franklin Pangborn, Dorothy Burgess. | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Headlines of Destruction | 1955 | John Berry | ★★ | 85 | Interesting concept poorly executed; Darvi is defense attorney involved with Constantine in trial of man accused of murder. | tt0048226 | Eddie Constantine, Bella Darvi, Paul Frankeur, Walter Chiari | French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Health | 1979 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 100 | Offbeat political satire using health-food convention in Florida hotel as basis for various backroom shenanigans. Non-Altman buffs may like this more than devotees; Woodard steals the film— no easy feat considering that incredible cast— as hotel's ultra-patient manager. Shelved for two years. Title is acronym for Happiness, Energy, And Longevity Through Health. | tt0079256 | [PG] | Carol Burnett, Glenda Jackson, James Garner, Lauren Bacall, Diane Stilwell, Henry Gibson, Donald Moffat, Paul Dooley, Dick Cavett, Alfre Woodard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hear Me Good | 1957 | Don McGuire | ★½ | 80 | Trivia concerning a fixed beauty contest. | tt0050488 | Hal March, Joe E. Ross, Merry Anders, Jean Willes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hear My Song | 1991 | Peter Chelsom | ★★★ | 104 | Wheeler-dealer nightclub owner must redeem himself with his girlfriend— and his community— by finding expatriate Irish tenor Josef Locke and bringing him back to England for an engagement. Charmingly offbeat, old-fashioned film written by its first-time feature director and leading man Dunbar, very loosely based on real-life story. If Beatty (as Locke) didn't pull off the climactic scene, it wouldn't work— but he does. | tt0102014 | [R] | Ned Beatty, Adrian Dunbar, Shirley Anne Field, Tara Fitzgerald, David McCallum, William Hootkins, Harold Berens, James Nesbitt | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hear No Evil | 1993 | Robert Greenwald | ★½ | 97 | Plotline reminiscent of WAIT UNTIL DARK, except the terrorized young woman here is deaf, not blind. You can fill in the blanks. Grade-Z thriller, only partly redeemed by the presence of Matlin. | tt0107090 | [R] | Marlee Matlin, D. B. Sweeney, Martin Sheen, John C. McGinley, Christina Carlisi, Greg Elam, Charley Lang, Marge Redmond | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hearse | 1980 | George Bowers | ★★ | 100 | Passably engrossing yarn right off the woman-in-distress/house-inhabited-by-spirits assembly line, with an unsatisfying conclusion. | tt0080853 | [PG] | Trish Van Devere, Joseph Cotten, David Gautreaux, Donald Hotton, Med Flory, Donald Petrie | Horror | NULL | ||
| Heart | 1987 | James Lemmo | ★½ | 90 | Dreary, stereotypical boxing tale about has-been fighter Davis— complete with dishonest manager— who's pitted against a rival ten years his junior. | tt0093161 | [R] | Brad Davis, Frances Fisher, Steve Buscemi, Robinson Frank Adu | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart Beat | 1980 | John Byrum | ★½ | 105 | Hapless chronicle of the relationship between Jack Kerouac (Heard) and Carolyn (Spacek) and Neal (Nolte) Cassady. Byrum's flaky script (based more on fiction than on fact) has no continuity whatsoever. Sharkey stands out as the Allen Ginsbergesque Ira; good period score by Jack Nitzsche. Watch for John Larroquette. | tt0080854 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, John Heard, Ray Sharkey, Anne Dusenberry, Kent Williams, Tony Bill, Steve Allen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart Condition | 1990 | James D. Perriott | ★★½ | 95 | Superficial but entertaining yarn about a crass, bigoted L.A. cop who gets a heart transplant and learns, to his dismay, that the donor was the slick black lawyer he'd been stalking. What's more, the deceased appears as a ghost/companion who wants the cop to help avenge his murder. Outlandish premise made palatable by its two dynamic leads. | tt0099750 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Denzel Washington, Chloe Webb, Roger E. Mosley, Ja'net Dubois, Alan Rachins, Ray Baker, Jeffrey Meek | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things | 2004 | Asia Argento | ★★ | 97 | Pretentious drama about a woman who is ill-equipped for parenthood but gains custody of her young son, who has been in foster care. He's justifiably angry; she callously toys with his feelings, with no regard for his safety. One-note film may be read as an outsider's warped view of an American heartland populated by abusive parents, perverts, and hypocritical Bible-thumping rednecks. Argento also scripted. Winona Ryder appears unbilled. | tt0368774 | [R] | Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennett, Cole Sprouse, Dylan Sprouse, Peter Fonda, Ben Foster, Ornella Muti, Kip Pardue, Michael Pitt, Marilyn Manson, Jeremy Sisto | U.S.-British-French-Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter | 1968 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★★ | 125 | Heart-rending drama of a deaf mute's lonely world, and how he helps an adolescent girl struggling to find herself. Sincere adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel, set in the Deep South, benefits from moving performances— including Arkin, Locke (whose debut film this was), and comic actor McCann, in a revelatory change-of-pace part as Arkin's simple-minded mute friend. Also marked film debut for Keach. | tt0063050 | [G] | Alan Arkin, Sondra Locke, Laurinda Barrett, Stacy Keach/Jr., Chuck McCann, Biff McGuire, Percy Rodriguez, Cicely Tyson, Jackie Marlowe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart Like a Wheel | 1983 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★½ | 113 | Well-made but curiously uninspiring bio of race-car driver Shirley Muldowney, who had to fight sexism— and the conflict of career vs. marriage— to become a champion on the track. Bedelia's performance is outstanding, but disjointed narrative— particularly where her relationship with racer Connie Kalitta (Bridges) is concerned— is a handicap. | tt0085656 | [PG] | Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Leo Rossi, Hoyt Axton, Bill McKinney, Anthony Edwards, Dean Paul Martin, Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, Terence Knox | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart and Souls | 1993 | Ron Underwood | ★★★ | 104 | Four disparate San Franciscans die in a bus accident in 1959, and find themselves inexorably linked with a baby who's been born at that same exact moment; what's more, only he can see and hear them. A great showcase for Downey— whose body is inhabited, at various times, by his heavenly friends— though Woodard is equally good, as usual. Fans of mushy, sentimental, old-fashioned Hollywood fantasies (like us) should enjoy this fable; others beware. Based on a 9-minute short subject by the coauthors of this script. Look fast to see Bob Newhart's son, Robert William Newhart, impersonating his dad. | tt0107091 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey/Jr., Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore, David Paymer, Elisabeth Shue, Eric Lloyd, Bill Calvert, Lisa Lucas, Richard Portnow, B. B. King | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Heart o' the Hills | 1919 | Sidney A. Franklin. | ★★½ | 77 | Picturesque but overly familiar yarn about low-down skunks who conspire to rob rural Kentucky mountainfolk of their land; high-spirited Mary is determined to halt the scheme and avenge her father's murder. Pickford's the entire show and convincingly matures from rambunctious 13-year-old to lovely young woman. Of special note is the brief appearance of the KKK-ish 'Night Riders' and the context in which they are presented. | tt0010227 | Mary Pickford, Harold Goodwin, Allan Sears, Fred Huntley, Claire McDowell, Sam De Grasse, Jack (John) Gilbert. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Heart of Arizona | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 68 | Hopalong Cassidy exposes crooked foreman in cattle-rustling scheme. Well-plotted yarn with some unusual twists, including a leading lady fresh from 5 years in prison falling for Hoppy. Makes good use of the so-called Hoppy Cabin nestled high in Alabama Hills' giant rocks in Lone Pine, California. | tt0030224 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, John Elliott, Natalie Moorhead, Dorothy Short, Alden (Stephen) Chase. | Western | NULL | |||
| Heart of Darkness | 1994 | Nicolas Roeg | Average TV Movie | 100 | Dark and brooding adaptation (by Benedict Fitzgerald) of Joseph Conrad's novella about the hunt in the African jungles by an ivory consortium for a maverick local manager (Malkovich) who's taken to the wilds and gone mad. Story, of course, was the basis for Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW. Made for cable. | tt0110002 | Tim Roth, John Malkovich, James Fox, Patrick Ryecart, Peter Vaughan, Iman, Isaach DeBankole, Morten Faldaas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Heart of Dixie | 1989 | Martin Davidson | ★½ | 95 | Forgettable story of Alabama college sorority in the late 1950s and one girl's awakening to larger realities of life— including the mistreatment of blacks in the South. Superficial and uninvolving, to say the least. | tt0097490 | [PG] | Ally Sheedy, Virginia Madsen, Phoebe Cates, Treat Williams, Don Michael Paul, Kyle Secor, Francesca Roberts, Kurtwood Smith, Richard Bradford, Barbara Babcock | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart of Glass | 1976 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 93 | A glassblower has died without revealing the secret formula of his craft, and this has a profound, disturbing effect on his fellow townspeople. Thematically muddled but visually stunning; crammed with stark, graphic, beautiful images. Based on a Bavarian legend; Herzog each day put his cast into a hypnotic trance, to attempt to achieve an effect of collective hysteria. | tt0074626 | Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Autter, Clemens Scheitz, Volker Prechtel, Sonia Skiba | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Heart of Me | 2003 | Thaddeus O'Sullivan | ★★½ | 96 | A fine cast enlivens this earnest soap opera about an upper-class gent in 1930s London falling into an indiscreet affair with his wife's sister. Well made, with good period detail, this film works mainly as a showcase for its actors. Based on the novel by Rosamond Lehmann. | tt0301390 | [R] | Helena Bonham Carter, Olivia Williams, Paul Bettany, Eleanor Bron, Luke Newberry, Tom Ward, Gillian Hanna, Andrew Havill, Alison Reid | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Heart of Midnight | 1988 | Matthew Chapman | ★½ | 93 | Psychological thriller about a young woman teetering on the edge of sanity, who inherits a seedy sex club which attracts a sick clientele. Good performance by Leigh and artsy approach to subject are minor diversions in this muddled and unpleasant film. Written by the director. | tt0095286 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Coyote, Gale Mayron, Sam Schacht, Denise Dumont, Frank Stallone, Brenda Vaccaro, Steve Buscemi | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Heart of New York | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy. | ★★½ | 74 | Raucous ethnic comedy with Sidney as a poor Lower East Side Jewish plumber who invents a washing machine and becomes rich overnight. Vaudeville stars Smith & Dale costar as Hester Street residents Shtrudel and Schnaps. Based on the play Mendel, Inc. by David Freedman. | tt0021829 | George Sidney, Joe Smith, Charles Dale, Ruth Hall, Anna Appel, Aline MacMahon, Marion Byron, Oscar Apfel, Donald Cook. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Heart of the Game | 2006 | Ward Serrill | ★★★½ | 97 | Filmmaker Serrill spent seven years filming a Seattle-area high school girls' basketball team, and his first gift was finding its unorthodox coach (college tax prof Bill Resler, moonlighting). Eventually, he was awarded a second (player Darnellia Russell, gifted but a bundle of emotions) and the kind of unanticipated personal/legal plot twist that has to be the dream of all documentarians. HOOP DREAMS originated this kind of movie, but this is an extraordinary story and it gets the crowd-pleasing rendering it deserves. | tt0478166 | [PG-13] | Narrated by Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges | Documentary, Sport | NULL | ||
| Heart of the Golden West | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 65 | The star's most ambitious film yet, with two sidekicks (Smiley's usual partner, Gene Autry, had gone off to war). Roy and his pals outwit greedy trucking company owner MacDonald by moving their cattle on Catlett's steamboat line. Exciting climax in a storm-ridden swamp is followed by a finale featuring the catchy tune 'River Robin.' | tt0034832 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Smiley Burnette, Ruth Terry, Walter Catlett, Paul Harvey, Edmund MacDonald, Leigh Whipper, William Haade, Hal Taliaferro, Hall Johnson Choir, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Heart of the Matter | 1953 | George More O'Ferrall | ★★★ | 105 | Graham Greene's novel of inner and outward conflict set in Sierra Leone, with Howard as police officer on verge of mental collapse. | tt0047066 | Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Allan, Maria Schell, Denholm Elliott | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heart of the North | 1938 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★½ | 83 | Foran leads the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on a manhunt for a gang of fur and gold thieves who killed a Mountie. Ordinary 'northern' Western adventure is decked out in splendid early Technicolor and given a fairly vigorous treatment on eye-catching backwoods locations. | tt0030225 | Dick Foran, Gloria Dickson, Gale Page, Allen Jenkins, Patric Knowles, Janet Chapman, James Stephenson, Joe Sawyer. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Heart of the Rio Grande | 1942 | William Morgan. | ★★½ | 68 | Dude ranch foreman Autry has to contend with spoiled teenage guest Fellows and the resentment of the man he replaced. Amiable Autry vehicle features Gene singing 'Deep in the Heart of Texas' and promoting the purchase of war bonds and stamps to his ranch hands. | tt0034833 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Edith Fellows, Pierre Watkin, Joe Strauch/Jr., Jean Porter, William Haade, Sarah Padden, Jimmy Wakely Trio. | Western | NULL | |||
| Heart of the Rockies | 1951 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 56 | Roy tries to help youthful first-offenders by having them work on a road-building project, but rancher Morgan doesn't want the highway built on his land. Meanwhile, his foreman (out to cheat Morgan) plots against him and makes it seem as if the boys are guilty of his mischief. Roy's dog Bullet plays a major role in this entertaining story, and his master has one of his all-time best fight scenes. | tt0043626 | Roy Rogers, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Ralph Morgan, Fred Graham, Robert (Buzz) Henry, Rand Brooks, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Heart of the Stag | 1984 | Michael Firth | ★★ | 91 | Lawrence is mysterious stranger who signs on as a farmhand and disrupts incestuous relationship of Cooper and his redheaded daughter Regan. Pretentious drama benefits from good acting, tense musical score by Leonard Rosenman. | tt0087396 | [R] | Bruno Lawrence, Mary Regan, Terence Cooper, Anne Flannery | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Heart of the West | 1936 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★ | 63 | Polished heavy Blackmer tries hiring Bar 20 boys to trail-herd some cattle, but they soon switch allegiance to neighboring rancher who seeks to erect a protective fence. Sixth, last, and least entry in first, strong season of the Hopalong Cassidy series, shot mostly in Kernville, California. | tt0027725 | William Boyd, James Ellison, George Hayes, Sidney Blackmer, Lynn Gabriel, Fred Kohler, Warner Richmond. | Western | NULL | |||
| Heartaches | 1981 | Donald Shebib | ★★½ | 93 | Pregnant Potts abandons husband Carradine— who is not the baby's father— and becomes the unwilling buddy of man-hunting screwball Kidder. Fine lead performances spark this minor comedy. | tt0082506 | [R] | Margot Kidder, Annie Potts, Robert Carradine, Winston Rekert, George Touliatos, Guy Sanvido | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Heartbeat | 1946 | Sam Wood | ★★ | 102 | Boring remake of the French film BATTEMENT DE COEUR, with Rogers sorely miscast as an 18-year-old reform school escapee who becomes a pickpocket and ends up falling for one of her victims, a handsome young diplomat (Aumont). | tt0038592 | Ginger Rogers, Jean Pierre Aumont, Adolphe Menjou, Basil Rathbone, Melville Cooper, Mikhail Rasumny, Eduardo Ciannelli, Mona Maris, Henry Stephenson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Heartbeeps | 1981 | Allan Arkush | ★½ | 79 | Two robots fall for each other in this misfired futuristic comedy. Students of makeup might want to take a peek at Stan Winston's work. | tt0082507 | [PG] | Andy Kaufman, Bernadette Peters, Randy Quaid, Kenneth McMillan, Melanie Mayron, Christopher Guest, voice of Jack Carter | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Heartbreak Hotel | 1988 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 93 | A reliable test of your whimsy quotient, as an Ohio teen (Schlatter) kidnaps Elvis in 1972, then transports him home to the divorced mom (Weld) who's carried a torch for the King since the mid-1950s. Keith's Presley, like the entire film, is fun, though the premise is so hard to swallow that you're likely to go with this— or reject it— all the way. Pair this with WILD IN THE COUNTRY or ROCK, ROCK, ROCK for a compatible VCR double bill. | tt0095288 | [PG-13] | David Keith, Tuesday Weld, Charlie Schlatter, Jacque Lynn Colton, Angela Goethals, Chris Mulkey, Karen Landry | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Heartbreak Kid | 1972 | Elaine May | ★★★ | 104 | Neil Simon's supreme comedy of embarrassment, adapted from Bruce Jay Friedman's short story 'A Change of Plan.' Jewish boy (Grodin) gets married (to Berlin) but meets beautiful WASP blonde (Shepherd) on honeymoon, and determines to juggle plans. Either hilarious or horrifying, depending on your point of view; directed for maximum impact by May, whose daughter plays Grodin's bride. | tt0068687 | [PG] | Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Eddie Albert, Audra Lindley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Heartbreak Kid | 2007 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★★½ | 116 | Eligible San Francisco bachelor Stiller chances to meet a beautiful blonde dream girl (Akerman) and in no time flat gets married. Only on their honeymoon to Mexico does he discover that she's the bride from hell . . . while striking up a warm relationship with an American tourist (Monaghan) staying at the same hotel. Reinvention of the 1972 hit plays surprisingly well, given the Farrellys' usual penchant for overlength and gross-out gags (though this one flopped). | tt0408839 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle Monaghan, Jerry Stiller, Rob Corddry, Carlos Mencia, Scott Wilson, Polly Holliday, Leslie Easterbrook, Eva Longoria | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Heartbreak Ridge | 1986 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 130 | Eastwood is so enjoyable to watch, as a hell-raising career marine sergeant who whips a squadron of young recruits into shape, that he makes this predictable and protracted film worthwhile. But it's still pretty thin stuff and takes longer to play out than the real-life invasion of Grenada it depicts. | tt0091187 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, Moses Gunn, Eileen Heckart, Bo Svenson, Boyd Gaines, Mario Van Peebles, Arlen Dean Snyder | Action, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Heartbreaker | 1983 | Frank Zuniga | ★★ | 90 | Chicano Allende falls for WASP Dunlap amid an ambience of custom-fitted automobiles. Lackluster independent production is annoyingly devoid of insight into the culture it depicts. Look fast for Patty 'Apollonia' Kotero. | tt0085659 | [R] | Fernando Allende, Dawn Dunlap, Peter Gonzales Falcon, Michael D. Roberts, Miguel Ferrer, Pepe Serna, Rafael Campos | Romance | NULL | ||
| Heartbreaker | 2010 | Pascal Chaumeil | ★★★ | 105 | Entertaining romantic comedy about a man whose business is breaking up relationships. He’s usually hired by an angry parent, and he and his team are highly paid. But this time he may have met his Waterloo, trying to discourage a woman from marrying a wealthy man she genuinely loves—with only one week to accomplish the task. Avoids the pitfalls of predictability through inventive flourishes and an appealing pair of stars. | tt1465487 | Unrated | Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, Julie Ferrier, François Damiens, Helena Noguerra, Andrew Lincoln, Jacques Frantz, Jean-Yves LaFesse | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Heartbreakers | 1984 | Bobby Roth | ★★½ | 98 | Moody, provocative film about two male friends (avant-garde artist Coyote, second-generation businessman Mancuso) seeking creative and sexual fulfillment and trying to define their relationships with others. Highly personal, occasionally insightful film invites highly personal reactions. Bull's-eye performances, great use of L.A. locations. | tt0087397 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Nick Mancuso, Carole Laure, Max Gail, James Laurenson, Carol Wayne, Kathryn Harrold, Jamie Rose | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heartbreakers | 2001 | David Mirkin | ★★½ | 123 | Sleazy if watchable comedy about mother-and-daughter con artists who marry men and then take them for everything they're worth in divorce settlements. The cast seems to be having a good time; wonderful performance by Hewitt's breasts. | tt0125022 | [PG-13] | Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, Ray Liotta, Jason Lee, Anne Bancroft, Jeffrey Jones, Nora Dunn, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Carrie Fisher, Ricky Jay, Shawn Colvin, Kevin Nealon, Elya Baskin | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Heartburn | 1986 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 108 | Nora Ephron adapted her own best-selling (and autobiographical) book about a sophisticated couple whose marriage seems just fine until she learns he's been having an affair— while she's pregnant! Lightweight, superficial story is supercharged by two charismatic stars, who make it a must-see. Director Forman's acting debut. | tt0091188 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Maureen Stapleton, Stockard Channing, Richard Masur, Catherine O'Hara, Steven Hill, Milos Forman, Karen Akers, Anna Maria Horsford, Mercedes Ruehl, Joanna Gleason, Yakov Smirnoff, Kevin Spacey, Natasha Lyonne | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Heartland | 1979 | Richard Pearce | ★★★½ | 96 | Simple, well-told story of hearty Americans surviving the rigors of frontier life, circa 1910. Ferrell plays a young widow who accepts a job as housekeeper for dour rancher Torn in the wilds of Wyoming. Well acted, well filmed, and beautifully understated; based on the actual diaries of a pioneer woman. | tt0082508 | [PG] | Rip Torn, Conchata Ferrell, Barry Primus, Lilia Skala, Megan Folson, Amy Wright | Western | NULL | ||
| Heartland Reggae | 1980 | J. P. Lewis | 💣 | 87 | Shoddy documentary of '78 concert commemorating a visit to Jamaica by Haile Selassie. Even the music can't save it. | tt0162363 | Bob Marley and the Wailers, Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller and the Inner Circle Band, Althea and Donna | Canadian | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Hearts Divided | 1936 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 87 | Napoleon's younger brother (Powell) woos and weds an American (Davies). This lackluster musical is based on a true story, though you'd never know it. A remake of the silent GLORIOUS BETSY. | tt0027726 | Marion Davies, Dick Powell, Charlie Ruggles, Claude Rains, Edward Everett Horton, Arthur Treacher | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Hearts and Armour | 1982 | Giacomo Battiato | ★★ | 101 | Well-mounted but confusing fantasy based on the 1516 classic Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto. De Rossi is a sexy female warrior in knight's armor fighting in the war between Christians and Moors. American stars such as Roberts and McCloskey add little to a film (also shot in TV miniseries form) aimed at an international audience. | tt0086074 | Tanya Roberts, Barbara De Rossi, Zeudi Araya, Rick Edwards, Leigh McCloskey, Ronn Moss | Italian | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hearts and Minds | 1974 | Peter Davis | ★★★½ | 110 | Oscar-winning documentary about our misguided involvement in Vietnam was political hot potato for a while, but may rate more frequent showings now that the country has caught up with it. Packs a wallop, regardless of one's political persuasion. | tt0071604 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Hearts in Atlantis | 2001 | Scott Hicks | ★★ | 101 | An impressionable boy, being raised by his mother— who resents single parenthood— falls under the spell of a mysterious, charismatic stranger who comes to board with them. Mushy mumbo-jumbo, nostalgically set in 1960. Adapted by William Goldman from two short stories— Stephen King's— but not the one that bore this title! | tt0252501 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Hope Davis, David Morse, Anton Yelchin, Mika Boorem, Alan Tudyk, Celia Weston, Tom Bower | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hearts in Bondage | 1936 | Lew Ayres. | ★★½ | 72 | Saga of the Monitor and the Merrimac is fascinating, but personal story surrounding it in this film is less than thrilling. Still, a worthy attempt to bring this chapter of American history to life, with a stalwart cast of character actors. Battle scenes are first-rate, with what was then state-of-the-art use of miniatures. Ayres' only attempt at directing a Hollywood feature. | tt0027727 | James Dunn, Mae Clarke, David Manners, Charlotte Henry, Henry B. Walthall, Fritz Leiber, George Irving, Irving Pichel, J. M. Kerrigan, Frank McGlynn/Sr., Ben Alexander, George Hayes. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | 1991 | Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper | ★★★½ | 96 | Top-notch documentary detailing the disaster-laden production of Francis Coppola's 1979 Vietnam epic, APOCALYPSE NOW. Expertly mixes footage shot by Eleanor Coppola (the director's wife) during the film's shooting in the Philippines and decade-later interviews with crew and cast (excluding Marlon Brando, who declined to participate). Revealing peek into the filmmaking process and a record of events during this particular film's chaotic shoot. | tt0102015 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Hearts of Fire | 1987 | Richard Marquand | 💣 | 95 | Perfectly dreadful account of the rise of a rock singer (Fiona), and her relationships with her mentors: a British pop star (Everett) and a cynical, retired rock legend (who else but Dylan). Dylan's first screen appearance since 1977's RENALDO AND CLARA; Marquand's final credit as director. This turkey played briefly in England in 1987, and was released to video in 1990. There are 19 songs on the soundtrack (but none memorable enough to raise its rating). | tt0093163 | [R] | Fiona (Flanagan), Rupert Everett, Bob Dylan, Julian Glover, Suzanne Bertish, Ian Dury, Richie Havens, Larry Lamb, Maury Chaykin | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Hearts of the West | 1975 | Howard Zieff | ★★★ | 102 | Offbeat comedy. Starry-eyed Bridges comes to 1930s Hollywood hoping to be a Western writer, winds up starring in cheap cowboy films instead. Enjoyable but low-key. | tt0073096 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Andy Griffith, Donald Pleasence, Blythe Danner, Alan Arkin, Richard B. Shull, Herb Edelman, Alex Rocco, Marie Windsor, Dub Taylor, William Christopher | Western | NULL | ||
| Hearts of the World | 1918 | D. W. Griffith | ★★½ | 122 | Griffith's epic of WW1, shot in England and France. Melodramatic story, conceived as anti-German propaganda, spotlights a young American (Harron) living in a French village, where he is engaged to be married; he fights for France once war is declared. Dorothy Gish has fine comedy role, young Noel Coward a small part as villager with wheelbarrow, Erich von Stroheim a lusty German. For these highlights, other good moments, worth seeing. | tt0009150 | Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Ben Alexander, George Fawcett, George Siegmann | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Heat | 1972 | Paul Morrissey | ★★★ | 100 | Andy Warhol meets SUNSET BOULEVARD in this hot and heavy tale of unemployed actor Dallesandro taking up with faded star Miles. Even nonfans of the Warhol group might like this. | tt0068688 | [R] | Sylvia Miles, Joe Dallesandro, Andrea Feldman, Pat Ast, Ray Vestal | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heat | 1987 | R. M. Richards | 💣 | 101 | Dim, dingy, scattershot film (written by William Goldman, of all people) about a Las Vegas tough, whose exact livelihood is never defined, but who knows how to handle the low-lifes— and teaches 'protégé' MacNicol all he knows. So what? | tt0093164 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, Peter MacNicol, Howard Hesseman, Neill Barry, Diana Scarwid, Joe Mascolo, Alfie Wise | Action | NULL | ||
| Heat | 1995 | Michael Mann | ★★★½ | 172 | Dynamite cops-and-robbers saga, with Pacino an obsessive, supersmart L.A. detective on the trail of high-tech, high-precision robber De Niro and his tight-knit gang. It turns out that the two have more in common than either one might think. A fascinating, multilayered character study studded with gripping (and often violent) action scenes, plus a chance to see two of the world's greatest actors working together— even though they share precious little screen time. Overlength is the only criticism of this crackerjack contemporary drama. Mann scripted, reworking his 1989 TV movie L.A. TAKEDOWN. Bud Cort appears unbilled. | tt0113277 | [R] | Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, William Fichtner, Natalie Portman, Tom Noonan, Kevin Gage, Hank Azaria, Henry Rollins, Tone Loc, Jeremy Piven | Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heat Lightning | 1934 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 64 | Archetypal Warner Bros. melodrama— spiced with the usual racy wisecracks— centering on jaded mechanic MacMahon and her naive younger sister (Dvorak), who run a gas-station/cafe/motel in the middle of the desert and tangle with crooks and other assorted quirky characters. Atmospheric and very well acted, with MacMahon a standout as a tough-as-nails dame who's repressed her femininity. Based on a play by George Abbott and Leon Abrams. Remade as HIGHWAY WEST (1941). | tt0025228 | Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Jane Darwell, Edgar Kennedy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Heat Wave | 1954 | Ken Hughes | ★½ | 68 | Tame murder yarn, with Brooke the sultry dame involved in homicide. | tt0047067 | Alex Nicol, Hillary Brooke, Paul Carpenter, Sidney James | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Heat and Dust | 1983 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 130 | Englishwomen Scacchi and great-niece Christie, 60 years apart, fall in love with India and become pregnant by natives— yet still remain outsiders in a land they can never fully comprehend. Intelligent drama, lovely performances. Screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, from her novel. | tt0084058 | [R] | Julie Christie, Greta Scacchi, Christopher Cazenove, Julian Glover, Susan Fleetwood, Shashi Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey, Barry Foster, Zakir Hussain, Patrick Godfrey | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Heat and Sunlight | 1988 | Rob Nilsson | ★★½ | 98 | Photographer Nilsson must deal with his feelings and obsessions as his love affair with dancer Faust ends. Lively in its best moments, but also meanders and lacks structure. Characters are the most interesting element here. | tt0093165 | Rob Nilsson, Consuelo Faust, Don Bajema, Ernie Fosselius, Bill Bailey, Bill Ackridge | Drama | NULL | |||
| Heat of Desire | 1980 | Luc Beraud | ★★ | 90 | Happily married university professor is whisked away for spontaneous sex by mysterious, loose-living free spirit, who soon destroys his marriage and scuttles his career. Silly but sometimes sexy heavy-breather; several screen-filling shots of Goldsmith's ample frame. U.S. release: 1984. | tt0080899 | [R] | Patrick Dewaere, Clio Goldsmith, Jeanne Moreau, Guy Marchand, Pierre Dux, Jose-Luis Lopez Vasquez | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Heat's On | 1943 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 80 | Mae's last starring vehicle (for several decades) is a routine show-biz musical about a star involved with conniving producers. Befuddled Moore and colorful Cugat are fun, but there isn't enough of West in this film; when she's on screen, she's just as funny as ever. | tt0035978 | Mae West, Victor Moore, William Gaxton, Lester Allen, Mary Roche, Hazel Scott, Xavier Cugat, Lloyd Bridges | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Heathers | 1989 | Michael Lehmann | ★★½ | 102 | Sharp, somewhat smug satire of high school social strata, with Ryder in a terrific performance as a girl who hangs out with the school's bitch-queens but doesn't feel quite comfortable about their reign of terror. Outrageous black humor works at first, but isn't sustained; uneven script goes far astray. Slater is commanding in his Jack Nicholson-esque performance. Feature debut for director Lehmann and writer Daniel Waters, with many virtues as well as flaws. | tt0097493 | [R] | Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, Kim Walker, Penelope Milford, Glenn Shadix, Lance Fenton | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Heatwave | 1983 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 99 | Radical Davis protests destruction of neighborhood for $100 million redevelopment project by firm which might have mob connections. Situation further complicated by attraction between her and project architect Moir in this Aussie counterpart to CHINATOWN. From a real-life incident, which also inspired THE KILLING OF ANGEL STREET. | tt0084059 | [R] | Judy Davis, Richard Moir, Chris Haywood, Bill Hunter, John Gregg, Anna Jemison | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Heaven | 1998 | Scott Reynolds | ★★ | 103 | An intriguing premise goes unrealized in this muddled psychological thriller about a deeply troubled architect (Donovan) with a severe gambling problem who's been rejected by his wife. Endless, confusing plot twists are set into motion when he mixes with Heaven (Edwards), a transvestite stripper who is also clairvoyant. | tt0120697 | [R] | Martin Donovan, Danny Edwards, Richard Schiff, Joanna Going, Patrick Malahide, Karl Urban | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Heaven | 2002 | Tom Tykwer | ★★★ | 96 | English schoolteacher living in Italy, frustrated by a corrupt drug culture that's harming her students, plants a bomb in the office of a local bigwig and suffers the consequences. During her police interrogation, a young, naïve translator falls in love with her and helps her escape. Ethereal, existential drama takes us on a surprising journey— with the always-riveting Blanchett at its core. This was the final screenplay written by Krzysztof Kieslowski with his partner, Krzysztof Piesiewicz. | tt0246677 | [R] | Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Mattia Sbragia, Alberto Di Stasio, Remo Girone, Alessandro Sperduti, Francesca Neri | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Heaven | 1987 | Diane Keaton | ★★ | 80 | Nothing if not bizarre, this personal project of Keaton's intersperses oddly shot interviews with non sequitur clips from old movies on the subject of Heaven: how to get there, what it will be like, if it exists, etc. Clips range from METROPOLIS to THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT— what's the point? | tt0093166 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Heaven & Earth | 1993 | Oliver Stone | ★★½ | 140 | Vietnamese woman's painful odyssey from a peaceful childhood in a peasant village to a lifetime of upheaval both in Vietnam and the U.S. This true story (based on two published memoirs by Le Ly Hayslip) tells of a woman forever caught between forces of North and South in her native country; between the spiritual and the practical; between Vietnamese and American ways. A jumbled narrative, difficult to watch at times, but writer-director Stone lets us share the character's emotional catharsis at the conclusion. Hayslip can be seen briefly as a jewelry broker; Jeffrey Jones appears unbilled as a priest. | tt0107096 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Hiep Thi Le, Joan Chen, Haing S. Ngor, Debbie Reynolds, Dustin Nguyen, Conchata Ferrell, Vivian Wu, Dale Dye, Liem Whatley | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Heaven Can Wait | 1943 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★½ | 112 | Excellent comedy-fantasy told in flashback. Ameche, who believes he's lived a life of sin, recalls his past as he requests admission to Hades. Witty Samson Raphaelson script helps make this a delight. Based on the play Birthdays by Laszlo Bus-Fekete. | tt0035979 | Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Signe Hasso, Louis Calhern | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Heaven Can Wait | 1978 | Warren Beatty, Buck Henry | ★★★ | 100 | Gentle, pleasing remake of HERE COMES MR. JORDAN with Beatty as good-natured football player who is taken to heaven ahead of schedule, and has to return to 'life' in another man's body. Amiable but never moving, with Christie miscast as the woman who inspires Beatty. Scripted by Beatty and Elaine May. This was remade as DOWN TO EARTH (2001). | tt0077663 | [PG] | Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Jack Warden, Dyan Cannon, Charles Grodin, James Mason, Buck Henry, Vincent Gardenia | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Heaven Help Us | 1985 | Michael Dinner | ★★★ | 104 | Very funny evocation of Catholic high school life in Brooklyn, circa 1965, with solid ring of truth throughout. Shawn has hilarious cameo as priest who kicks off school dance with denunciation of lust. Impressive feature debuts for writer Charles Purpura and director Dinner. | tt0089264 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, John Heard, Andrew McCarthy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kevin Dillon, Malcolm Danare, Jennifer Dundas, Kate Reid, Wallace Shawn, Philip Bosco, Patrick Dempsey, Christopher Durang | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison | 1957 | John Huston | ★★★ | 107 | Marvelous, touching tale of nun Kerr and Marine Mitchum stranded together on a Japanese-infested Pacific island during WW2. Solid performances by the stars. | tt0050490 | Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Heaven Only Knows | 1947 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★½ | 95 | Oddball Western with fantasy touches as angel Cummings descends to earth to help soulless gambler. Retitled: MONTANA MIKE. | tt0039453 | Robert Cummings, Brian Donlevy, Jorja Curtwright, Marjorie Reynolds, Bill Goodwin, John Litel, Stuart Erwin | Western, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence | 1939 | Ricardo Cortez | ★★½ | 62 | Spunky little road movie with Rogers, Ford, and Conte linking up and riding the rails to California. Ford's feature debut, as well as Conte's. Coscripted by Dalton Trumbo and based on his story. | tt0031409 | Jean Rogers, Raymond Walburn, Marjorie Rambeau, Glenn Ford, Nicholas (Richard) Conte, Ward Bond | Drama | NULL | |||
| Heaven With a Gun | 1969 | Lee H. Katzin | ★★½ | 101 | Peace-loving man is forced to return to world of violence in the Old West. Uneven. | tt0064409 | [M] | Glenn Ford, Carolyn Jones, Barbara Hershey, John Anderson, David Carradine | Western | NULL | ||
| Heaven and Earth | 1990 | Haruki Kadokawa | ★★½ | 106 | Physically impressive, large-scale Samurai epic, notable for budget (reportedly over $40 million) and because much of it was shot in Canada! Lacks the mastery of a Kurosawa at the helm, but fans of big battle scenes may enjoy it anyway. Released in Japan at 119m. | tt0099753 | Takaai Enoki, Masahiko Tsugawa, Atsuko Asano, Tsunehiko Watase, Naomi Zaizen, Binpachi Ito; narrated by Stuart Whitman | Japanese | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Heaven's Gate | 1980 | Michael Cimino | ★★ | 149 | Writer-director Cimino's now-notorious spectacle is missing just one thing: a story. It deals, more or less, with the conflict between immigrant settlers of 19th-century Wyoming and the ruthless American empire-builders who want them eliminated. Stunningly photographed (by Vilmos Zsigmond) on magnificent locations, with incredible period detail— all to little effect, since the narrative, character motivations, and soundtrack are so hopelessly muddled. Originally shown at 219m. | tt0080855 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, Jeff Bridges, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, Joseph Cotten, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Masur, Terry O'Quinn, Mickey Rourke, Willem Dafoe | Western | NULL | ||
| Heaven's Prisoners | 1996 | Phil Joanou | ★★½ | 126 | Alcoholic former New Orleans cop Baldwin and his wife Lynch rescue a little girl from a wrecked aircraft, but this leads to involvement with drug runners and murder. Adaptation of James Lee Burke's popular novel about a Cajun detective is too long and slow, and captures little of the regional atmosphere; except for the miscast Baldwin, the cast is excellent, especially Masterson as a stripper and Roberts as a drug lord. Baldwin coexecutive-produced. | tt0116508 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kelly Lynch, Eric Roberts, Teri Hatcher, Vondie Curtis Hall | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Heavenly Body | 1943 | Alexander Hall | ★★ | 95 | Hedy is heavenly, but script is silly; astronomer Powell suspects neglected wife Lamarr of being unfaithful with air-raid warden Craig. | tt0035980 | Hedy Lamarr, William Powell, James Craig, Fay Bainter, Henry O'Neill, Spring Byington | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Heavenly Creatures | 1994 | Peter Jackson | ★★★½ | 99 | Dark, exhilarating story based on the true-life case of New Zealand teenagers Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, whose obsessive relationship drove them to murder. Very well acted, and stunningly directed by Jackson, who plunges us into the bizarre fantasy world that the girls create for themselves. The real-life Hulme, it was later discovered, has written best-selling murder mysteries for years under the pseudonym Anne Perry. Jackson also cowrote the screenplay with Frances Walsh. Director's cut runs 109m. Original New Zealand running time: 108m. | tt0110005 | Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison, Simon O'Connor | New Zealand | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Heavenly Days | 1944 | Howard Estabrook | ★★ | 71 | Mild entry in famed radio comedians' series, with the lovable married couple off to Washington to help run the Senate. | tt0036902 | Jim Jordan, Marion Jordan, Barbara Hale, Eugene Pallette, Gordon Oliver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Heavenly Kid | 1985 | Cary Medoway | ★½ | 89 | Embarrassingly amateurish fantasy-comedy about a greasy teen of the early '60s who dies in a chicken race and can't get into heaven— until he helps out a young nerd in the 1980s. | tt0089265 | [PG-13] | Lewis Smith, Jason Gedrick, Jane Kaczmarek, Richard Mulligan, Mark Metcalf | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Heavens Above! | 1963 | John Boulting | ★★★ | 105 | Wry satire on British clergy life; Sellers top-notch as the reverend who becomes bishop in outer space. Originally ran 118m. Produced by Roy Boulting. | tt0057134 | Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Isabel Jeans, Eric Sykes, Bernard Miles, Ian Carmichael, Irene Handl, Brock Peters, William Hartnell, Roy Kinnear, Joan Hickson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Heavy | 1996 | James Mangold | ★★½ | 105 | Somber character study about Victor (Vince), a chubby, balding, hopelessly shy pizza chef who toils in a rural eatery run by his widowed mother (Winters). Enter a pretty teen (Tyler), the new waitress; Victor fantasizes about becoming her boyfriend and savior. There is a sense of sadness and eloquence to Victor, but not quite enough. | tt0113280 | Pruitt Taylor Vince, Liv Tyler, Shelley Winters, Deborah Harry, Joe Grifasi, Evan Dando | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Heavy Metal | 1981 | Gerald Potterton | ★★★ | 90 | Episodic animated feature is uneven, but great fun on a mindless, adolescent level. Sexy sci-fi stories and vignettes in a variety of graphic styles, many set to rock music. Our favorites: 'Harry Canyon,' about a N.Y.C. cabbie of the future, and 'Den,' a boy's macho fantasy. Film is actually the work of many animation studios, directors, and writers around the world. Followed in 2000 by an in-name-only direct-to-video sequel. | tt0082509 | [R] | Voices of Richard Romanus, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Don Francks, Eugene Levy, Harold Ramis, John Vernon | Canadian | Action, Adventure, Animation, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Heavy Petting | 1988 | Obie Benz | ★★½ | 80 | ATOMIC CAFE-style look at sexual mores in the 1950s, punctuated by celebrity interviews and highlighted by hysterical period film clips. Scattershot quasi-documentary lacks strong point of view, but it's tough to knock a film in which such 'witnesses' as David Byrne, William S. Burroughs, and Zoe Tamerlis (of MS. 45 cultdom) offer their views on teen dating. | tt0095289 | [R] | David Byrne, Sandra Bernhard, Allen Ginsberg, Ann Magnuson, Spalding Gray, Josh Mostel, Laurie Anderson, John Oates, Abbie Hoffman, Jacki Ochs | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Heavy Traffic | 1973 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★★½ | 76 | Animated feature is somewhat pretentious and largely gross in telling of young New Yorker depressed by sights and sounds around him, finding refuge at drawing-board. Dazzling cinematic treatment, with often revolutionary combination of live-action and animation. Some brilliant set-pieces within loose story framework. | tt0070165 | [R] | Drama, Comedy, Animation | NULL | |||
| Heavyweights | 1994 | Steven Brill | ★★ | 97 | Yet another summer camp movie, this one about a haven for overweight kids where, as the press release said, 'big is beautiful and thin isn't in.' That is, until campers meet up with the fitness counselor of their nightmares. This heavy-handed comedy's intended 'message' about self-esteem is undermined by a barrage of fat jokes! | tt0110006 | [PG] | Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, Ben Stiller, Shaun Weiss, Tom Hodges, Leah Lail, Paul Feig, Max Goldblatt, Jeffrey Tambor, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Hedda | 1975 | Trevor Nunn | ★★½ | 104 | Royal Shakespeare Company production of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler attains a modicum of vitality from Jackson's showy performance in the title role. So-so. | tt0073098 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Peter Eyre, Timothy West, Jennie Linden, Patrick Stewart | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Hedwig and the Angry Inch | 2001 | John Cameron Mitchell | ★★★ | 91 | Hedwig is an 'internationally ignored' rock star, the survivor of a botched sex-change operation whose dumping by the boy-toy rock idol he helped nurture has left him dazed and embittered. Very offbeat off-Broadway musical is cleverly filmed by its author-star in an impressive directing debut. Even wary viewers might be pulled in by the terrific score (by costar Trask) and inventive musical numbers. Imaginative animation by Emily Hubley. | tt0248845 | [R] | John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski, Rob Campbell, Michael Aronov, Andrea Martin | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Heidi | 1937 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 88 | Classic children's story set in 19th-century Switzerland is good vehicle for Shirley, playing girl taken from grandfather (Hersholt) to live with cruel Nash. Nice tear-jerker for children. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028988 | Shirley Temple, Jean Hersholt, Arthur Treacher, Helen Westley, Mady Christians, Sidney Blackmer, Sig Ruman, Marcia Mae Jones, Mary Nash | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Heidi | 1952 | Luigi Comencini | ★★★ | 98 | Faithful, flavorful retelling of Johanna Spyri's children's classic, filmed in the story's actual locales. Sigmund is well cast in the title role. Followed by HEIDI AND PETER. | tt0044696 | Elsbeth Sigmund, Heinrich Gretler, Thomas Klameth, Elsie Attenhofer | Swiss | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Heidi | 1965 | Werner Jacobs | ★★★ | 95 | Fine retelling of classic children's story about young girl who leaves her cozy home in Swiss Alps for adventures in the world below. | tt0059259 | Eva Marie Singhammer, Gertraud Mittermayr, Gustav Knuth, Lotte Ledi | Austrian-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heidi | 1993 | Michael Rhodes | Average TV Movie | 200 | Pleasant Disney retelling of the classic children's story with Thornton doing nicely in the title role. Seymour gets a stab at scenery chewing as the unpleasant governess. Denis Lewiston's Alpine photography is the real star. Originally shown in two parts. Made for cable. | tt0107099 | Jason Robards, Jane Seymour, Jane Hazlegrove, Lexi Randall, Sian Phillips, Patricia Neal, Noely Thornton, Andrew Bicknell, Basil Hoskins | U.S.-Austrian-Swiss | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heidi | 1968 | Delbert Mann | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Well-made version of the classic story, with Edwards (daughter of Blake Edwards) leading a good cast. Script by Earl Hamner Jr. of The Waltons fame. | tt0063051 | Maximilian Schell, Jean Simmons, Michael Redgrave, Walter Slezak, Jennifer Edwards, Peter Van Eyck | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood Madam | 1995 | Nick Broomfield | Above Average TV Movie | 107 | Snoopy, loopy documentary, which profiles the madam to the stars in a superior example of ambush journalism. Features an array of characters not to be gathered in the same room: Fleiss buddy Victoria Sellers (Peter's daughter), ex-L.A. police chief Daryl Gates, and Fleiss lover/mentor Ivan Nagy, who's referred to as a pimp and a woman-beater by so many interviewees that it's easy to accept him as evil incarnate. First shown in the U.S. on cable TV, then released to theaters (to great acclaim). | tt0113283 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Heidi and Peter | 1955 | Franz Schnyder | ★★½ | 89 | So-so follow-up to HEIDI (1952), involving her adventures with Peter and a flood that threatens their village. | tt0048152 | Heinrich Gretler, Elsbeth Sigmund, Thomas Klameth, Anita Mey | Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heidi's Song | 1982 | Robert Taylor | ★½ | 94 | Animated feature from Hanna-Barbera studio reprises all-too familiar Heidi tale. Despite songs by Sammy Cahn and Burton Lane, awkward continuity, lifeless animation and an excess of cute animals leave this little better than most Saturday morning fare. | tt0084060 | [G] | Voices of Lorne Greene, Sammy Davis/Jr., Margery Gray, Michael Bell, Peter Cullen | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Heights | 2005 | Chris Terrio | ★★★ | 93 | Compelling look at 24 hours in the life of hip, young Manhattanites, both gay and straight, and their tumultuous romantic relationships. Anchored by Close's bravura turn as an aging theater legend. Stylish feature debut for Terrio, adapted by Amy Fox from her one-act play. A Merchant-Ivory presentation. | tt0382073 | [R] | Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, Jesse Bradford, Matt Davis, John Light, Andrew Howard, Eric Bogosian, George Segal, Isabella Rossellini, Rufus Wainwright, Thomas Lennon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heimat | 1984 | Edgar Reitz | ★★★ | 940 | No, that running time is not a typo! This is an ambitious epic, almost 16 hours in length, about life in a provincial German village between 1919 and 1982. First few hours are generally more compelling than the last. Has its boring stretches, and after a while it does seem like a glorified soap opera, but at its best, perceptive, comic, even poetic. Gernot Roll's cinematography is exquisite. Followed by a sequel: HEIMAT 2. | tt0087400 | Marita Breuer, Dieter Schaad, Rudiger Weigang, Karin Rasenack, Willi Burger, Gertrud Bredel, Mathias Kniesbeck | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Heiress | 1949 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 115 | Henry James' novel Washington Square receives superlative screen treatment with Oscar-winning de Havilland as spinster wooed by fortune-hunter Clift in 19th-century N.Y.C., despite warnings from her cruel father, Richardson. Aaron Copland's music score also won an Oscar. Adapted by Ruth and Augustus Goetz from their stage play. Remade in 1997 as WASHINGTON SQUARE. | tt0041452 | Olivia de Havilland, Ralph Richardson, Montgomery Clift, Miriam Hopkins, Vanessa Brown, Mona Freeman, Ray Collins, Selena Royle | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Heist | 2001 | David Mamet | ★★½ | 107 | Career criminal is ready to retire with his girlfriend, but his backer insists on one more robbery— a daring heist of a Swiss cargo plane. Hackman and his crew aren't just thieves, they're master con artists, so the film is overloaded with cons, twists, twists on cons, etc. Mamet's script is sharp and funny but perhaps too clever for its own good; by the end it's no longer satisfying. | tt0252503 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay, Patti LuPone, Jim Frangione | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Heist | 1979 | Sergio Gobbi | ★★½ | 85 | Typical cop-chasing-gangster mishmash wastes its cast but is distinguished by some great stunt driving. Video version runs 92m. | tt0065080 | Charles Aznavour, Virna Lisi, Robert Hossein | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Held Up | 2000 | Steve Rash | ★½ | 91 | While vacationing in the Grand Canyon, Long dumps her fiancé (Foxx) upon learning that he's spent their nest egg on a vintage Studebaker. Then the car is stolen . . . and finally, Foxx is taken hostage. The real crime is that time-wasters like this make it to the screen. | tt0165831 | [PG-13] | Jamie Foxx, Nia Long, Barry Corbin, John Cullum, Jake Busey, Michael Shamus Wiles, Eduardo Yanez, Sarah Paulson, Julie Hagerty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Heldorado | 1946 | William Witney. | ★★ | 70 | Park Ranger Rogers and Gabby team up with Dale to stop counterfeiters at the Las Vegas Helldorado Days celebration. Not enough action, and somewhat stifled by downtown Vegas locations, despite some scenes being shot at Boulder Dam and Lake Mead. | tt0038593 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Paul Harvey, Barry Mitchell (Brad Dexter), John Bagni, LeRoy Mason, Eddie Acuff, Clayton Moore, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Helen | 2010 | Sandra Nettelbeck | ★★★ | 119 | Music professor Judd is blessed with a loving husband and daughter and oodles of friends. Only problem is, she suffers from suicidal depression. Appropriately somber, deliberately paced drama is quietly powerful, if a tad overlong. Smith is an eye-opening presence as a student grappling with her own psychological issues. Nettelbeck also scripted. | tt1012729 | [R] | Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic, Lauren Lee Smith, Alexia Fast, Alberta Watson, David Hewlett, Leah Cairns | German-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Helen Morgan Story | 1957 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 118 | Fiction about dynamic 1920s and '30s torch singer, dwelling on her romances and alcoholism; Blyth never captures the star's pathos or greatness. She's dubbed by Gogi Grant. | tt0050494 | Ann Blyth, Paul Newman, Richard Carlson, Gene Evans, Alan King, Cara Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Helen of Troy | 1956 | Robert Wise | ★★ | 118 | Sweeping pageantry, but empty script spoils this version of story about the woman who caused the Trojan War. Filmed in Italy. | tt0049301 | Stanley Baker, Rossana Podesta, Brigitte Bardot, Jacques Sernas, Cedric Hardwicke, Harry Andrews | Adventure, Action, Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Hell Below | 1933 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 105 | Vintage submarine drama surpasses many more elaborate efforts; Huston is captain, Montgomery his seaman nemesis. | tt0024100 | Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Madge Evans, Jimmy Durante, Robert Young, Sterling Holloway, Eugene Pallette | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell Below Zero | 1954 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 91 | Tepid adventure yarn casting Ladd as helper of Tetzel, who commands a whaling vessel while searching for her dad's killer. Made in England. | tt0047072 | Alan Ladd, Joan Tetzel, Basil Sydney, Stanley Baker | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hell Bent for Leather | 1960 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 82 | Adequate Western with Murphy a horse trader falsely accused of murder; greedy sheriff McNally knows he's innocent, but still heads the posse on his trail. | tt0053899 | Audie Murphy, Felicia Farr, Stephen McNally, Robert Middleton, Rad Fulton, Jan Merlin, Herbert Rudley, Allan Lane, John Qualen, Bob Steele | Western | NULL | |||
| Hell Canyon Outlaws | 1957 | Paul Landres. | ★★ | 72 | Triumph against outlaw forces in the Old West; that's it. | tt0050496 | Dale Robertson, Brian Keith, Rossana Rory, Dick Kallman, Buddy Baer. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hell Comes to Frogtown | 1987 | R. J. Kizer, Donald G. Jackson | ★½ | 88 | Goofy post-holocaust tale with wrestler 'Rowdy' Roddy as the only fertile male left on earth, who sets out to rescue women being held captive by froglike mutants. At least the frog masks are good. 1992 sequel: RETURN TO FROGTOWN. | tt0093171 | [R] | Roddy Piper, Sandahl Bergman, Rory Calhoun, Cec Verrell, William Smith, Nicholas Worth, Kristi Sommers | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hell Divers | 1932 | George W. Hill | ★★ | 113 | Beery and Gable are boisterous rivals in the Naval Air Force in this often lively but overlong MGM effort, with some still-exciting aerial action. Watch for young Robert Young as a sailor. | tt0022987 | Wallace Beery, Clark Gable, Conrad Nagel, Dorothy Jordan, Marjorie Rambeau, Marie Prevost, Cliff Edwards | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hell Drivers | 1957 | C. Raker Endfield | ★★★ | 108 | Taut account of ex-con joining trucking company that encourages reckless competition among the drivers making their daily rounds. What a cast! | tt0051713 | Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan, William Hartnell, Wilfred Lawson, Sidney James, Jill Ireland, Alfie Bass, Gordon Jackson, David McCallum, Sean Connery | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hell Is a City | 1960 | Val Guest. | ★★★ | 96 | Tough, exciting crime thriller from Hammer Films featuring Baker as a morally ambiguous police inspector dealing with marital troubles while chasing ruthless escaped murderer Crawford. Vividly filmed on location in Manchester with a fine cast. | tt0053900 | Stanley Baker, John Crawford, Donald Pleasence, Maxine Audley, Billie Whitelaw, Joseph Tomelty, George A. Cooper. | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hell Is for Heroes | 1962 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 90 | Tough, taut WW2 film about a small squadron forced to hold off a German attack by pretending they're larger— and more powerful— than they really are. Takes its time getting started but builds in intensity to a riveting climax. Only incongruous note: presence of young Newhart, who even interpolates a variation on one of his telephone monologues into the story! Cowritten by WW2 specialist Robert Pirosh. | tt0056062 | Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Harry Guardino, James Coburn, Mike Kellin, Nick Adams, Bob Newhart | War | NULL | |||
| Hell Night | 1981 | Tom DeSimone | ★½ | 101 | How's this for originality? Four college fraternity/sorority pledges must spend a night in Garth Mansion, which is haunted by ghost of retarded killer. Unfortunately, reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. What appears to be the usual teenage hack-'em-up has no nudity or explicit violence, making one wonder just what audience they had in mind. Extremely dull. | tt0082511 | [R] | Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Peter Barton, Jenny Neumann, Kevin Brophy, Suki Goodwin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hell Ride | 2008 | Larry Bishop | ★½ | 84 | Generally dreadful Tarantino wannabe, charting the swagger and antics of a band of aging bikers. Oh yes, there’s plenty of female nudity, with the babes collectively young enough to be the bikers’ offspring. Bishop (the star of 1960s and ’70s biker films) also scripted and produced. Quentin Tarantino, in fact, is one of the executive producers. | tt0411475 | [R] | Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen, Eric Balfour, Vinnie Jones, Leonor Varela, David Carradine, Dennis Hopper, Julia Jones, Michael Beach, Laura Cayouette, Francesco Quinn | Drama, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hell Ship Mutiny | 1957 | Lee Sholem, Elmo Williams | ★½ | 66 | Hall looks bored in rehash of South Sea tale of ship captain overcoming sinister forces exploiting the natives. | tt0050497 | Jon Hall, John Carradine, Peter Lorre, Roberta Haynes, Mike Mazurki, Stanley Adams | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hell Up in Harlem | 1973 | Larry Cohen | 💣 | 96 | Excessively violent, poorly filmed sequel to BLACK CAESAR as Fred makes N.Y.C. a decent place to live by annihilating all who stand in his way. | tt0070169 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Julius W. Harris, Gloria Hendry, Margaret Avery, D'Urville Martin | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Hell With Heroes | 1968 | Joseph Sargent | ★★½ | 95 | OK pulp fiction about WW2 flyers Taylor and Duel who run air-cargo service, become involved with notorious smuggler Guardino and his mistress (Cardinale). Unprofound, but slickly done. | tt0063057 | Rod Taylor, Claudia Cardinale, Harry Guardino, Kevin McCarthy, Peter Duel, William Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell and High Water | 1954 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 103 | Uneven mixture of romance, espionage, and a demolition caper, stemming from submarine mission to Arctic. Tame film got a boost from being shot in CinemaScope. | tt0047073 | Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi, Victor Francen, Cameron Mitchell, Gene Evans, David Wayne, Stephen Bekassy, Richard Loo | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Hell in Korea | 1956 | Julian Amyes | ★★½ | 81 | Standard drama about small U.N. patrol tangling with Chinese; interesting to see Caine in his first film, Shaw in his second. Aka A HILL IN KOREA. | tt0049302 | Ronald Lewis, Stephen Boyd, Victor Maddern, George Baker, Robert Shaw, Stanley Baker, Harry Andrews, Michael Medwin, Michael Caine, Percy Herbert | British | War | NULL | ||
| Hell in the Pacific | 1968 | John Boorman | ★★★ | 103 | Two men, one American, one Japanese, confront each other on deserted WW2 Pacific island. Gripping idea well executed, with two dynamic actors; only the finale disappoints. | tt0063056 | Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hell on Devil's Island | 1957 | Christian Nyby. | ★★ | 74 | Former reporter Dantine, released after serving eight years on Devil's Island, battles crooked law enforcement officials and an unscrupulous plantation owner in this OK programmer. | tt0050498 | Helmut Dantine, William Talman, Donna Martell, Jean Willes, Rex Ingram, Robert Cornthwaite, Mel Welles. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell on Frisco Bay | 1955 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 98 | Thirties-style gangster film recounting the exposure of crime syndicate and its head; actionful, with good cast. | tt0048158 | Alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, Joanne Dru, William Demarest, Paul Stewart, Fay Wray, Rodney (Rod) Taylor, Jayne Mansfield | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Hell to Eternity | 1960 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 132 | Straightforward drama based on true story of WW2 hero Guy Gabaldon, who was raised by Japanese foster parents; battle scenes galore. | tt0053901 | Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone, Patricia Owens, Sessue Hayakawa | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hell's Angels | 1930 | Howard Hughes | ★★★½ | 127 | Hughes' expensive, indulgent WW1 aviation film is in a class by itself; slow-moving and sometimes corny storywise, but unmatched for aerial spectacle. Also the film that launched Harlow ('Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?') to stardom. Two-color Technicolor party scene and tinted night sequences were restored in 1989. James Whale, credited as dialogue director, actually wrote and directed much of the film. Beware shorter prints. | tt0020960 | Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival, Roy Wilson | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hell's Angels on Wheels | 1967 | Richard Rush | ★★½ | 95 | Excellent photography by then-unknown Laszlo Kovacs, and Nicholson's characterization as gas station attendant named Poet, make this one tough to resist on a trash level. Famed Angel Sonny Barger was technical advisor. | tt0061758 | Adam Roarke, Jack Nicholson, Sabrina Scharf, Jana Taylor, John Garwood | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell's Bloody Devils | Swastika Savages | 1970 | Al Adamson | ★★ | 92 | Traveling the low road to action with, believe it or not, a gang of sadistic bikers, a band of neo-Nazis, the Vegas mob, a sinister dude named Count von Delberg— all beating one another to a pulp. Add a cast of veteran actors and, incredibly, a score by Nelson Riddle! Retitled THE FAKERS, then SMASHING THE CRIME SYNDICATE. | tt0065826 | [PG] | Broderick Crawford, Scott Brady, John Gabriel, Kent Taylor, John Carradine, Robert Dix, Keith Andes, Jack Starrett, Anne Randall, Vicki Volante | Action, Crime | NULL | |
| Hell's Crossroads | 1957 | Franklin Adreon. | ★★ | 73 | Predictable oater involving the outlaw James Brothers, with McNally a gang member who wishes to go straight. | tt0050499 | Stephen McNally, Peggie Castle, Robert Vaughn, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon, Henry Brandon, Myron Healey. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hell's Five Hours | 1958 | Jack L. Copeland. | ★★ | 73 | Several people are held prisoners at missile depot by Morrow, bent on blowing the place sky-high. | tt0051714 | Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Vic Morrow, Maurice Manson. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Hell's Half Acre | 1954 | John H. Auer | ★★½ | 91 | A woman seeks her long-missing husband in Honolulu, where he's established a new identity. Some interesting vignettes in this OK melodrama. | tt0047074 | Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Nancy Gates, Philip Ahn, Keye Luke, Marie Windsor | Action, Film-Noir, Mystery, Adventure, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell's Heroes | 1929 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 68 | After robbing a bank in New Jerusalem ('A Bad Town . . . for Bad Men'), three outlaws try to flee across the sweltering, windswept desert but unexpectedly wind up caring for a baby when its mother dies. First sound version of Peter B. Kyne's Three Godfathers is probably the most satisfying, and certainly the least sentimental; beautifully directed, tersely acted, and vividly atmospheric. | tt0019976 |
|
Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler, Fritzi Ridgeway | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Hell's Highway | 1932 | Rowland Brown | ★★½ | 62 | Dix, serving time on a blatantly misrun chain gang, has to change his escape plans when his kid brother is brought in as prisoner. Though it pales alongside I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (released just a few months later), this highly melodramatic tale is tough, raw (touching on everything from racial prejudice to homosexuality), and pictorially striking. Biggest disappointment: the finale. | tt0022990 | Richard Dix, Tom Brown, C. Henry Gordon, Charles Middleton, Rochelle Hudson, Oscar Apfel, Stanley Fields, Fuzzy Knight, Clarence Muse | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell's Hinges | 1916 | Charles Swickard. | ★★★½ | 64 | Hart is Blaze Tracey, a rough cowboy in a wide-open Wild West town; he changes his ways as he falls for the good-hearted sister of a weak-willed parson. This unambiguous morality tale of good versus evil still has powerful moments. One of the most famous silent Westerns, and a perfect vehicle for Hart (who directed most of the film without credit). See if you can spot Jean Hersholt and John Gilbert as townsmen. | tt0006780 | William S. Hart, Clara Williams, Jack Standing, Alfred Hollingsworth, Robert McKim, J. Frank Burke, Louise Glaum. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hell's Horizon | 1955 | Tom Gries | ★★ | 80 | Interaction among men of bombing squad in the Korean War. | tt0048159 | John Ireland, Marla English, Bill Williams, Hugh Beaumont, Jerry Paris, Kenneth Duncan | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hell's House | 1932 | Howard Higgin | ★★ | 72 | Low-budget quickie about naive kid who takes rap for bootlegger and goes to poorly run boys' reformatory. Interesting mainly for early appearances of O'Brien and Davis. | tt0022991 |
|
Junior Durkin, Pat O'Brien, Bette Davis, Junior Coghlan, Charley Grapewin, Emma Dunn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hell's Island | 1955 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 84 | Tough-talking melodrama about Payne's pursuit of stolen gem and relationship with deceitful former girlfriend; script has echoes of THE MALTESE FALCON, and even a Sydney Greenstreet figure in the person of Sullivan. | tt0048160 | John Payne, Mary Murphy, Francis L. Sullivan, Eduardo Noriega, Paul Picerni | Film-Noir, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hell's Kitchen | 1939 | Lewis Seiler, E. A. Dupont | ★★½ | 81 | Ex-con Fields goes straight, tries to bail Dead End Kids out of trouble, sets them on the right road. Remake of THE MAYOR OF HELL. | tt0031412 | Ronald Reagan, Stanley Fields, Grant Mitchell, Margaret Lindsay, Dead End Kids | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell's Long Road | 1963 | Charles Roberti | ★★½ | 89 | Offbeat costume sudser set in ancient Rome during rule of Nero (Frankis), focusing on personal life of arch senator (Charli) and romance with splendiferous Brazzi; vivid settings. | Elena Brazzi, Kay Nolandi, Berto Frankis, Bela Kaivi, Marcello Charli | Italian | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hell's Outpost | 1954 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 90 | Cameron is ambitious miner in this sturdy little film; Leslie is the fetching love interest. | tt0047075 | Rod Cameron, Joan Leslie, Chill Wills, John Russell. | Crime, Action | NULL | |||
| The Hellbenders | 1967 | Sergio Corbucci | ★½ | 92 | Dreary spaghetti Western in which crazed ex-Confederate officer Cotten schemes to rekindle the rebel cause, facing a variety of complications and crises. | tt0060261 | Joseph Cotten, Norma Bengell, Julian Mateos, Gino Pernice, Angel Aranda, Maria Martin | Italian-Spanish | Drama, Action, Western | NULL | ||
| Hellbent | 2005 | Paul Etheredge-Ouzts | ★★ | 85 | A group of gay men find themselves stalked by a serial killer during West Hollywood's Halloween parade. This 'first gay slasher film' (as its ads proclaimed) has moments that cleverly combine and send up slasher movie conventions and gay stereotypes, but it isn't much scarier or more entertaining than typical made-for-video horror fare. Still, after years of watching movies where straight people act stupid and get killed, gay horror fans may welcome a mediocre genre picture to call their own. | tt0356159 | [R] | Dylan Fergus, Bryan Kirkwood, Hank Harris, Andrew Levitas, Matt Phillips, Wren T. Brown | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hellbound | 1993 | Aaron Norris | ★½ | 95 | After being imprisoned by Richard the Lion-Hearted in 1186, Satan's emissary (Neame) is freed in modern times to face a more formidable foe: Chuck Norris. Too much acting from Neame, not enough from Norris, and a silly story with little action. This sat on the shelf for two years before going direct to video. Some attractive Israeli settings. | tt0107101 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Calvin Levels, Christopher Neame, Sheree J. Wilson, David Robb, Cherie Franklin, Jack Adalist, Erez Atar | U.S.-Canadian-Israeli | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hellbound: Hellraiser II | 1988 | Tony Randel | ★½ | 97 | Confusing, tedious sequel begins immediately after first film ends. Teenage heroine literally goes to Hell in effort to rescue ill-fated father, but encounters opposition from her revived stepmother and an occult-obsessed psychiatrist. But Hell is a boring, dusty labyrinth. Almost as gruesome as HELLRAISER (it's not a sequel to HELLBOUND), but nowhere near as entertaining. Followed by HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH. | tt0095294 | [R] | Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, Sean Chapman, Doug Bradley, William Hope | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hellboy | 2004 | Guillermo del Toro | ★★★ | 125 | Explosive adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic book about a powerful creature born during a (literally) hellish confrontation during WW2; nowadays he works as a 'secret weapon' for the U.S. government. Only problem: he's a bit of a wiseguy. Enough effects and imaginative ideas for at least two movies stuffed into one, leavened by a disarming sense of humor. Perlman is terrific as the cigar-chomping, emotionally vulnerable Hellboy. Del Toro also scripted. David Hyde Pierce provides the uncredited voice for Abe Sapien. Director's cut runs 145m. | tt0167190 | [PG-13] | Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Rupert Evans, Karel Roden, Jeffrey Tambor, Doug Jones, Ladislav Beran, Bridget Hodson | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Hellboy II: The Golden Army | 2008 | Guillermo Del Toro | ★★★ | 110 | Now married but just as ornery as ever, Hellboy (or Red, as his girlfriend Liz calls him) and his paranormal partners battle a power-hungry “dark prince” who’s determined to awaken a slumbering army of mechanical soldiers and take over the world. This one’s all about the journey, not the destination; filled with wildly imaginative creatures, special effects set-pieces, and the snarky sense of humor shared by Del Toro and Mike Mignola, who created the Hellboy comic books. Only complaint: it goes on too long. | tt0411477 | [PG-13] | Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Doug Jones, John Alexander, James Dodd, Luke Goss, Anna Walton, John Hurt, Roy Dotrice; voice of Seth MacFarlane | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hellcats of the Navy | 1957 | Nathan Juran | ★★½ | 82 | Satisfactory actioner of WW2 exploits of U.S. submarine and its crew. Ronald and Nancy Reagan's only screen appearance together. | tt0050500 | Ronald Reagan, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Arthur Franz, Harry Lauter, Selmer Jackson | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Heller in Pink Tights | 1960 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 100 | Colorful tale of theatrical troupe that travels throughout the Old West— with the law often in pursuit. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0053902 | Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Margaret O'Brien, Steve Forrest, Edmund Lowe | Western | NULL | |||
| Hellfighters | 1968 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 121 | Broadly acted adventure about men who fight oil fires is made endurable by good cast. Wayne's character is based on real-life oil well firefighter Red Adair. | tt0063060 | [R] | John Wayne, Katharine Ross, Jim Hutton, Vera Miles, Bruce Cabot, Jay C. Flippen | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hellfire | 1949 | R. G. Springsteen. | ★★½ | 90 | Fast-moving B Western with an unusual plot: gambler Elliott changes his ways and attempts to build a church in order to honor a minister who gave up his own life to save Elliott's. Windsor is fetching in Trucolor, playing a bandit-turned-saloon-singer Elliott falls for and tries to reform. | tt0041453 | William Elliott, Marie Windsor, Forrest Tucker, Jim Davis, H. B. Warner, Paul Fix, Grant Withers, Emory Parnell, Esther Howard, Jody Gilbert, Denver Pyle. | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Hellfire Club | 1961 | Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman | ★★★ | 93 | Lively, entertaining 18th-century swashbuckler with familiar rightful- vs. wrongful-heir plot; acrobatic Michell makes an ideal dashing hero. The depraved, powerful, real-life club of the title serves as backdrop. Also shown in 86m. b&w print. | tt0053903 | Keith Michell, Adrienne Corri, Peter Cushing, Peter Arne, Kai Fischer, David Lodge, Martin Stephens, Miles Malleson, Francis Matthews | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hellgate | 1952 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★½ | 87 | Offbeat account of Hayden falsely sent to prison, strange manner in which he redeems himself during prison breakout. Reworking of THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND. Same topic covered later in TVM THE ORDEAL OF DR. MUDD. | tt0044698 | Sterling Hayden, Joan Leslie, James Arness, Ward Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Hellhole | 1985 | Pierre De Moro | ★½ | 95 | Innocent Landers is caught inside women's sanitarium where strange experiments are being conducted. They should have tried to conjure up a better script. Pretty bad, even for the genre. | tt0089269 | [R] | Ray Sharkey, Judy Landers, Mary Woronov, Marjoe Gortner, Edy Williams, Terry Moore, Rick Cox, Lynn Borden | Action | NULL | ||
| The Hellions | 1962 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 87 | Western revenge plot transferred to 19th-century South Africa; inevitable shoot-out intact. | tt0054968 | Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, Zena Walker, Jamie Uys, Marty Wilde | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hello Again | 1987 | Frank Perry | ★★ | 96 | Long Island housewife chokes to death but is brought back to life by her witchlike sister one year later . . . and soon discovers that she can't simply pick up her life where she left off. Contemporary comedy written by Susan Isaacs doesn't develop its premise with any logic or momentum, and quickly sags. Long tries her best. | tt0093175 | [PG] | Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, Gabriel Byrne, Corbin Bernsen, Sela Ward, Austin Pendleton, Carrie Nye, Robert Lewis, Madeleine Potter, Illeana Douglas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hello Down There | Sub-A-Dub-Dub | 1969 | Jack Arnold | ★½ | 98 | So-called comedy about family living in experimental underwater home might entertain children if you pay them to watch it. Reissued as SUB-A-DUB-DUB. | tt0064417 | [G] | Tony Randall, Janet Leigh, Jim Backus, Roddy McDowall, Ken Berry, Merv Griffin, Richard Dreyfuss | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Hello Elephant | 1952 | Gianni Franciolini | ★½ | 78 | Misfire of comedy-satire involving royalty who bestows an elephant on one of his subjects as a fitting reward. Retitled: PARDON MY TRUNK. | tt0044459 | Vittorio De Sica, Sabu, Maria Mercader, Nando Bruno | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hello Frisco, Hello | 1943 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 98 | Hackneyed musicomedy of Payne getting too big for his britches as Barbary Coast entrepreneur; Oscar-winning song, 'You'll Never Know.' Big comedown from earlier musicals with star trio. | tt0035982 | Alice Faye, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, Laird Cregar, June Havoc, Ward Bond | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II | Prom Night II | 1987 | Bruce Pittman. | ★★½ | 96 | No relation to PROM NIGHT. Lyon, who looks great in or out of costume, is possessed by the spirit of a murdered prom queen and becomes her instrument of revenge. | tt0093176 | [R] | Lisa Schrage, Michael Ironside, Wendy Lyon, Justin Louis. | Canadian | Horror | NULL |
| Hello Sucker | 1941 | Edward Cline. | ★½ | 60 | Dingy little film of Moran and Brown acquiring vaudeville booking agency, making it a success, and finding love with one another. | tt0033703 | Peggy Moran, Tom Brown, Walter Catlett, Hugh Herbert. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hello, Dolly! | 1969 | Gene Kelly | ★★½ | 146 | Splashy treatment of smash Broadway play with Jerry Herman's popular score. Dolly Levi insists on playing matchmaker, even when she herself gets matched. Overblown and unmemorable, but colorful diversion. Based on Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker (filmed in 1958). Oscar winner for Sound, Art Direction, and Score (Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman). Some prints run 118m. | tt0064418 | [G] | Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, E. J. Peaker, Marianne McAndrew, Tommy Tune, Louis Armstrong, Danny Lockin | Romance, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Hello, Sister! | 1933 | Erich von Stroheim, Alfred L. Werker | ★★½ | 62 | Innocuous boy-meets-girl story of special interest to film buffs. Originally filmed by von Stroheim as WALKING DOWN BROADWAY; later reedited, partially refilmed; enough bizarre touches remain to reveal von Stroheim's touch, however. | tt0024104 | James Dunn, Boots Mallory, ZaSu Pitts, Minna Gombell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hello-Goodbye | 1970 | Jean Negulesco | 💣 | 107 | Abysmal love triangle goes nowhere, makes no sense. Awful, loose, and annoying. | tt0065828 | [PG] | Michael Crawford, Curt Jurgens, Genevieve Gilles, Ira Furstenberg, Lon Satton | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hellraiser | 1987 | Clive Barker | ★★½ | 94 | Robinson and Higgins move into a roomy British dwelling, unaware that his half brother— and her former lover— is hiding upstairs in a kind of gelatinous/skeletal state; soon the beast is forcing her to lure stray men back to the house so he can replenish himself with their blood. Grisly but stylish directorial debut by famed horror novelist Barker; ugly fun all the way. Followed by HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II. | tt0093177 | [R] | Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Robert Hines | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth | 1992 | Anthony Hickox | ★½ | 93 | Further adventures of the gross-out Pinhead goes for the jokes, not the jugular. This time Pinhead crosses paths with an ambitious TV newswoman who winds up with the grisliest (if not the biggest) story of her career. Freddy and Jason are starting to look good by comparison. | tt0104409 | [R] | Terry Farrell, Doug Bradley, Paula Marshall, Kevin Bernhardt, Ken Carpenter, Ashley Laurence | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hellraiser: Bloodline | 1996 | Alan Smithee (Kevin Yagher) | 💣 | 85 | In this outing, Pinhead matches wits with a demon lover/cohort, ironically named Angelique (Vargas). Dull and plot-heavy, even if you're a Clive Barker devotee. Re-caulk your bathtub instead. But then, what did you expect of another film from the Smithee oeuvre? Followed by five direct-to-video sequels. | tt0116514 | [R] | Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley, Adam Scott, Charlotte Chatton | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Hellstrom Chronicle | 1971 | Walon Green | ★★½ | 90 | Documentary about man's impending struggle against insects somehow beat THE SORROW AND THE PITY for the Oscar, but sappy narration and repetitive structure lessen its effect. Still, microphotography is incredible; enjoyed brief vogue as a 'head' movie. | tt0067197 | [G] | Lawrence Pressman | Documentary, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hellzapoppin' | 1941 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 84 | Famous madcap Broadway show is conventionalized by Hollywood, with romantic subplot and too many songs, but still has many inspired moments of lunacy, from a throwaway CITIZEN KANE gag to the mutterings of Hugh Herbert. | tt0033704 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Martha Raye, Mischa Auer, Jane Frazee, Hugh Herbert, Robert Paige, Shemp Howard, Elisha Cook/ Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Help Me Dream | 1981 | Pupi Avati | ★★★ | 112 | Intriguing, original, winningly nostalgic musical romance centering on affable American flyer Franciosa hiding out with Italian Melato and children in a farmhouse during WW2. An ode to an idealized America, with period songs and choreography by Hermes Pan. | tt0081993 | Mariangela Melato, Anthony Franciosa, Paola Pitagora, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Alexandra Stewart | Italian | Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Help! | 1965 | Richard Lester | ★★★½ | 90 | Crazy, funny film, the Beatles' second. Lots of wild gags, many songs (including 'Ticket to Ride,' 'Another Girl,' 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away,' title tune). The story: a religious sect attempts to recover a sacrificial ring from Ringo. Written by Charles Wood and Marc Behm. | tt0059260 | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, Roy Kinnear, Patrick Cargill | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Help | 2011 | Tate Taylor | ★★★ | 146 | Evocative portrayal of life in 1960s Mississippi, where black housemaids raise white children but cannot partake in any other facet of that society. Recent college grad and aspiring author Stone decides to chronicle their story in a book, which represents a keg of dynamite in her social circle. Director Taylor adapted Kathryn Stockett's best-selling book, a faithful picture of American life before the Civil Rights movement took hold. The white characters' plight almost seems trivial alongside the life-and-death struggles of the servants, but the performances are rich, especially Davis, who is heartbreakingly real, and Spencer, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. | tt1454029 | [PG-13] | Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Brian Kerwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Mary Steenburgen, Nelsan Ellis, Dana Ivey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Helter Skelter | 1976 | Tom Gries | Above Average TV Movie | 194 | Electrifying film of prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's best-seller, adapted by JP Miller, about the track-down and trial of Charles Manson and his spaced-out 'family' in California. Serious, intense, and frightening; a vivid performance by Railsback as Manson. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0074621 | George DiCenzo, Steve Railsback, Nancy Wolfe, Marilyn Burns, Christina Hart, Cathey Paine, Alan Oppenheimer, Skip Homeier, David Clennon, Paul Mantee, Sidney Clute | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man | Adventures of a Young Man | 1962 | Martin Ritt | ★★ | 145 | Loosely based on autobiographical data from his stories, this pretentious, drawn-out memory of the famed author is overblown, cornball, and embarrassing. Fine cast mostly wasted. Aka ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MAN. | tt0056063 | Richard Beymer, Diane Baker, Paul Newman, Corinne Calvet, Fred Clark, Dan Dailey, James Dunn, Juano Hernandez, Arthur Kennedy, Ricardo Montalban, Susan Strasberg, Jessica Tandy, Eli Wallach, Simon Oakland, Michael J. Pollard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hennessy | 1975 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 103 | Interesting but unbelievable thriller about Irish man whose wife and child are killed in Belfast violence, stirring him to plan bombing of Parliament on opening day when the Royal Family attends. | tt0073103 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, Richard Johnson, Trevor Howard, Peter Egan, Eric Porter | British | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Henry & June | 1990 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★½ | 134 | Stylish, atmospheric, and surprisingly unerotic adaptation of the Anais Nin diaries dealing specifically— and in sexually explicit fashion— with her lover (author Henry Miller) and Henry's wife June. Performed with gusto (in Ward's case, broad gusto) and distinguished by brilliant production design of randy Paris, circa 1931. Screenplay by Philip and Rose Kaufman. Controversy over the adult material in this film finally caused the MPAA to create a new NC-17 rating. | tt0099762 | [NC-17] | Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, Maria de Medeiros, Richard E. Grant, Kevin Spacey, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Bruce Myers, Jean-Louis Bunuel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour | 1943 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 75 | Henry wins first prize in a Movieplay magazine contest: a date with glamorous Hilary Dane (Gifford). Entertaining (if typically farfetched) entry with appealing distaff cast. | tt0035983 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn, Frances Gifford, Gail Russell, Bill Goodwin, Vaughan Glaser | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich Haunts a House | 1943 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 73 | Henry gets into more trouble than usual when he swallows a test tube full of experimental strength serum, and stumbles into a 'haunted' house. Contrived, to say the least, but fun. | tt0035984 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Joan Mortimer, Vaughan Glaser, Jackie Moran, Lucien Littlefield, Mike Mazurki | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich Plays Cupid | 1944 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 65 | Henry tries to marry off the school principal Mr. Bradley in this enjoyable outing which features Vera Vague as the other half of the match. | tt0036907 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Diana Lynn, Vaughan Glaser, Barbara Jo Allen, Paul Harvey, Barbara Pepper | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich Swings It | 1943 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 64 | Henry is smitten with his pretty music teacher (Hall); his Dad likes her too, but Mrs. Aldrich misunderstands, thinks her husband is unfaithful. Meanwhile, Henry forms his own band and gets into trouble with gamblers and crooks. Amusing comedy of errors. | tt0035985 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Mimi Chandler, Vaughan Glaser, Marion Hall, Fritz Feld, Bernard Nedell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich for President | 1941 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 73 | Henry's race for the presidency of the Centerville High School student council gets him into the usual hot water. Particularly attractive cast of young Hollywood hopefuls supports Lydon in his series debut. | tt0033708 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, June Preisser, Mary Anderson, Martha O'Driscoll, Dorothy Peterson, John Litel, Rod Cameron, Lucien Littlefield, Kenneth Howell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich's Little Secret | 1944 | Hugh Bennett | ★★ | 75 | Henry tries to help out a troubled young mother by taking care of her infant in this so-so entry that brought the series to a close. | tt0036908 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, Joan Mortimer, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Ann Doran, John David Robb, Tina Thayer, Noel Neill | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich, Boy Scout | 1944 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 66 | Henry as a Scout Leader? Just a jumping-off point for him to get into more jams than usual— including a literal cliffhanger. | tt0036909 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Joan Mortimer, Darryl Hickman, Minor Watson, Richard Haydn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Aldrich, Editor | 1942 | Hugh Bennett | ★★★ | 71 | When a pyromaniac tells Henry where he plans to strike next— and Henry prints the news— he becomes the prime suspect! Solid series entry with a truly exciting climax, and memorable performance by Pierlot as Nero Smith. | tt0034842 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Rita Quigley, Vaughan Glaser, Francis Pierlot | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry Fool | 1998 | Hal Hartley | ★★½ | 137 | Hartley just misses the mark with this characteristically offbeat tale of Simon Grim (Urbaniak), a bashful garbageman, and the title character (Ryan), a free spirit who encourages him to begin writing poetry. An allegory that, in its best moments, serves as an ode to nonconformity and risk-taking; but it's uneven and overlong. Scripted by Hartley. | tt0122529 | [R] | Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter, James Saito, Kevin Corrigan, Liam Aiken, Miho Nikaido, Gene Ruffini | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Henry Goes Arizona | 1939 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★½ | 69 | Modest but charming vehicle for Morgan, perfectly cast as a blustery vaudevillian who inherits a ranch and proceeds to rout the crooks responsible for his half-brother's murder. Good showcase for young Weidler, too. | tt0031417 | Frank Morgan, Virginia Weidler, Guy Kibbee, Slim Summerville, Douglas Fowley, Owen Davis/Jr., Porter Hall. | Drama, Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Henry IV | 1984 | Marco Bellocchio | ★★ | 95 | Disappointing update of Pirandello's brilliant satirical play on the nature of madness and illusion. When a nobleman falls off his horse, he comes to believe he's Emperor Henry IV . . . or does he? The two stars do what they can to extract a few moments of lucidity from the confusion, but the result is generally unrewarding. | tt0087208 | [PG-13] | Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Luciano Bartoli, Latou Chardons, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Henry Poole Is Here | 2008 | Mark Pellington | ★★ | 99 | Depressed man dumps his fiancée and business when he believes he is dying and moves back to the neighborhood where he grew up, wanting to be left alone. When neighbors think they see a stucco image of Christ on his property, his serenity is interrupted by constant visitors in search of a miracle. Wilson is dour and dreary throughout, but Barraza is wonderful as a gentle true believer. Simple story of a man’s spiritual awakening is well told but not particularly compelling. | tt1029120 | [PG] | Luke Wilson, Radha Mitchell, Adriana Barraza, Cheryl Hines, George Lopez, Richard Benjamin, Morgan Lily, Rachel Seiferth, Beth Grant | Drama | NULL | ||
| Henry V | 1945 | Laurence Olivier | ★★★★ | 137 | Olivier's masterful rendition of Shakespeare play is a cinematic treat, filmed in rich color and framed by ingenious presentation of a typical performance at the Globe theater during 1500s. This earned Olivier a special Academy Award 'for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer, and director in bringing HENRY V to the screen.' | tt0036910 | Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks, Renee Asherson, Esmond Knight, Leo Genn, Ralph Truman, Harcourt Williams, Ivy St. Helier, Ernest Thesiger, Max Adrian, George Cole, Felix Aylmer, Robert Helpmann, Freda Jackson, Jimmy Hanley, John Laurie | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Henry V | 1989 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★★½ | 137 | Stunning revitalization of Shakespeare's play about the warrior-king, with Branagh (in an incredible directorial debut) breathing fire and meaning into the worthy text. A different reading from Olivier's but no less impressive; when he finishes his speech before leading his men into battle at Agincourt, you're ready to enlist! Superb music by Patrick Doyle. Supporting cast is peppered with familiar faces from the elite of British theater and film. Won Costume Design Oscar. | tt0097499 | Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Alec McCowen, Ian Holm, Richard Briers, Robert Stephens, Robbie Coltrane, Christian Bale, Judi Dench, Paul Scofield, Michael Maloney, Emma Thompson, Geraldine McEwan | British | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Henry VIII and His Six Wives | 1973 | Waris Hussein. | ★★★½ | 125 | Adapted from BBC-TV series, historical pageant divides time evenly among the wives, Rampling and Frederick coming off best. Michell is exceptional as the King. | tt0070170 | [PG] | Keith Michell, Donald Pleasence, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Lynne Frederick. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Henry and Dizzy | 1942 | Hugh Bennett | ★★½ | 71 | Typical comic misadventures of Henry and his pal Basil A. 'Dizzy' Stevens, with a great climax at Lake Wopacotapotalong. Look for future 'Lois Lane' Noel Neill as Dizzy's girlfriend, and former Little Rascal Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer as a bratty kid. | tt0034844 | Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, Mary Anderson, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Maude Eburne, Vaughan Glaser, Shirley Coates | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry, the Rainmaker | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★½ | 64 | Mild comedy of homey Walburn, who develops a 'scientific' way to make rain. First in short-lived 'Father' series; followed by LEAVE IT TO HENRY. | tt0041457 | Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, William Tracy, Mary Stuart. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer | 1990 | John McNaughton | ★★★½ | 90 | Unpleasant, unexploitive, and brilliantly directed portrayal of diseased minds (not just Henry's), loosely based on the life of self-confessed Texas mass murderer Henry Lee Lucas. As disturbing as Michael Powell's PEEPING TOM, which it in many ways resembles. Definitely not for everyone, with some very graphic scenes; a powerful (if minimalist) movie experience. Screenplay by director McNaughton and Richard Fire. Filmed in 1986. Followed by a 1997 sequel. | tt0099763 | [X] | Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Henry’s Crime | 2011 | Malcolm Venville | ★★½ | 108 | Henry (Reeves) is in a prison of his own making. He lives a dull life in dreary Buffalo, N.Y. Then he’s tossed into the pokey for real after being convicted of a crime he did not commit. Upon his release, he resolves to do the crime anyway, figuring that he’s already done the time for it. Shaggy-dog story grows on you as it goes along and is generally amusing, despite some glaring plot holes and an inconclusive ending. Farmiga, as a high-strung actress, nails her character, as does Caan, in a showy role as a career con man who’s happiest behind bars. There’s also a most unusual performance of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. | tt1220888 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Peter Stormare, Judy Greer, Danny Hoch, Fisher Stevens, Bill Duke, Currie Graham, David Costabile | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Her Adventurous Night | 1946 | John Rawlins. | ★★½ | 76 | Beckett is a youngster with a wild imagination whose fanciful tale of murder and crime causes untold problems for his parents. Occasionally diverting crime comedy. | tt0038596 | Dennis O'Keefe, Helen Walker, Scotty Beckett, Fuzzy Knight, Milburn Stone, Tom Powers. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Her Alibi | 1989 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 94 | Successful mystery writer hopes to cure his career slump by providing a fake alibi for accused murderer Porizkova (by putting her up in his dreamy country home and observing her behavior). Amiable but awkwardly directed comedy benefits from attractive leads and amusing supporting cast; would you believe Wayne in a ponytail and loud golf pants? | tt0097500 | [PG] | Tom Selleck, Paulina Porizkova, William Daniels, James Farentino, Hurd Hatfield, Patrick Wayne, Tess Harper, Joan Copeland | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance | NULL | ||
| Her Brother | 1960 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★½ | 98 | Troublesome family is brought together when immature brother-son Kawaguchi contracts tuberculosis; central to the scenario is his warm relationship with his older sister (Kishi). Sentimental drama. | tt0054151 | Keiko Kishi, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Masayuki Mori | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Her Cardboard Lover | 1942 | George Cukor | ★½ | 93 | Shearer is as chic as ever (in her final screen appearance), but neither she nor a miscast Taylor can salvage this tired romantic comedy about a flighty socialite who becomes the love object of a songwriter. | tt0034846 | Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, George Sanders, Frank McHugh, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Her First Romance | 1951 | Seymour Friedman | ★½ | 73 | O'Brien's first grown-up role and her first screen kiss are only assets of this plodding summer camp story. | tt0043632 | Margaret O'Brien, Allen Martin/Jr., Jimmy Hunt, Sharyn Moffett | Romance | NULL | |||
| Her Highness and the Bellboy | 1945 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 112 | Sentimental fluff of N.Y.C. bellboy Walker, crippled girlfriend Allyson, captivating Princess (Lamarr) he escorts; a bit creaky. | tt0037769 | Hedy Lamarr, Robert Walker, June Allyson, Carl Esmond, Agnes Moorehead, Rags Ragland | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Her Husband's Affairs | 1947 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★½ | 83 | Pretty sterile comedy: Ball learns not to poke into husband's business affairs. | tt0039456 | Lucille Ball, Franchot Tone, Edward Everett Horton, Mikhail Rasumny, Gene Lockhart, Nana Bryant | Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Her Jungle Love | 1938 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 81 | Flyers Milland and Overman stranded on tropical isle with Lamour; Ray teaches her how to kiss, Naish tries to destroy everyone in this escapist fare. | tt0030229 | Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish, Dorothy Howe (Virginia Vale) | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Her Kind of Man | 1946 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 78 | Lukewarm drama of young singer with gangster background making good in Big City and falling in love with gossip columnist. Fair cast. | tt0038597 | Dane Clark, Janis Paige, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, George Tobias | Crime | NULL | |||
| Her Lucky Night | 1945 | Edward Lilley. | ★★ | 63 | Minor comedy with singing trio desperately seeking love, becoming involved with an astrologer whom they hope will predict their romantic destinies. | tt0037770 | The Andrews Sisters, Martha O'Driscoll, Noah Beery/Jr., George Barbier, Grady Sutton, Ida Moore. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Her Majesty, Love | 1931 | William Dieterle | ★½ | 75 | Unbearable musical with sweet Miller in love with Lyon in old Berlin. Errol as persistent suitor, Fields as juggling father, provide only uplifting moments. | tt0021952 | Marilyn Miller, W. C. Fields, Leon Errol, Ford Sterling, Chester Conklin, Ben Lyon, Virginia Sale | Musical | NULL | |||
| Her Man Gilbey | 1948 | Harold French | ★★½ | 89 | Capable cast nicely handles contrived yarn of quartet of people whose lives intertwine in Geneva. | tt0036793 | Albert Lieven, Margaret Rutherford, Peggy Cummins, Martin Miller | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Her Panelled Door | 1950 | Ladislao Vajda | ★★★ | 84 | During an air raid Calvert is shellshocked, forgetting her past, leading to dramatic results. | tt0043143 | Phyllis Calvert, Edward Underdown, Helen Cherry, Richard Burton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Her Primitive Man | 1944 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 79 | Grade-C flick with Paige pretending to be a savage to win love of anthropologist Allbritton. | tt0036911 | Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Robert Benchley, Edward Everett Horton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Her Sister's Secret | 1946 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 86 | Young woman discovers she's pregnant after brief affair. Fair weeper with competent cast. | tt0038598 | Nancy Coleman, Margaret Lindsay, Felix Bressart, Regis Toomey, Philip Reed, Henry Stephenson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Her Twelve Men | 1954 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 91 | Maudlin script has Greer as dedicated teacher in boys' school. A failed attempt to repeat the success of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. | tt0047076 | Greer Garson, Robert Ryan, Barry Sullivan, Richard Haydn, James Arness, Tim Considine, David Stollery, Frances Bergen | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Herbie Goes Bananas | 1980 | Vincent McEveety | ★½ | 100 | Fourth Disney LOVE BUG epic finds Smith and Burns driving ol' '53 toward a race in Brazil, but encountering all sorts of 'hilarious' obstacles along the way. One amusing scene where the VW turns matador; otherwise, strictly scrap metal. A TV series followed. | tt0080861 | [G] | Charles Martin Smith, Steven W. Burns, Cloris Leachman, John Vernon, Elyssa Davalos, Harvey Korman, Richard Jaeckel, Alex Rocco, Fritz Feld. | Family, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo | 1977 | Vincent McEveety | ★★ | 91 | Spy ring hides diamond in Herbie the Volkswagen's gas tank while Jones is racing in Europe. Disney's LOVE BUG formula is starting to run out of gas. | tt0076137 | [G] | Dean Jones, Don Knotts, Julie Sommars, Roy Kinnear, Jacques Marin | Adventure, Family, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Herbie Rides Again | 1974 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 88 | OK sequel to THE LOVE BUG with similar special effects, as Herbie the Volkswagen tries to help Hayes and Berry steer clear of evil Alonzo Hawk (Wynn). Typical Disney slapstick. | tt0071607 | [G] | Helen Hayes, Ken Berry, Stefanie Powers, Keenan Wynn, John McIntire, Huntz Hall | Action, Family, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Herbie: Fully Loaded | 2005 | Angela Robinson | ★★★ | 101 | Single father Keaton takes daughter Lohan to an auto junkyard so she can pick out a car as a college graduation present; instead, a car (Herbie) picks her. In fact, the Volkswagen Beetle steers her into a rivalry with cocky NASCAR driver Dillon. Family-friendly reprise of the Disney series that began with THE LOVE BUG, and a good vehicle for Lohan. Real-life racers and sportscasters appear as themselves; cowriter Thomas Lennon plays Dillon's hapless brother. | tt0400497 | [G] | Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Cheryl Hines, Jill Ritchie | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Hercules | 1959 | Pietro Francisci | ★★½ | 107 | This Italian import became a surprise U.S. hit, and served as the prototype of all cloak-and-sandal pictures to come: Reeves is musclebound mythical hero in essentially a retelling of the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Sequel: HERCULES UNCHAINED. | tt0050381 | Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Gianna Maria Canale, Fabrizio Mioni, Ivo Garrani, Gina Rovere, Luciana Paoluzzi (Paluzzi) | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hercules | 1983 | Lewis Coates (Luigi Cozzi) | ★½ | 98 | Silly, special-effects-laden epic with Hercules (Ferrigno) attempting to rescue kidnapped Princess Anderson. However, the ex-Incredible Hulk is undeniably well cast. Followed by a sequel. | tt0085672 | [PG] | Lou Ferrigno, Mirella D'Angelo, Sybil Danning, Ingrid Anderson, William Berger, Brad Harris, Rossana Podesta | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Hercules | 1997 | John Musker, Ron Clements | ★★★ | 93 | Entertaining Disney cartoon feature based on Greek mythology. Baby Hercules is stolen from Mount Olympus by the bungling henchmen of Hades; raised as a mortal with extraordinary strength, he must prove himself a real hero to regain entry to the home of the gods. Funny, well-paced story is peppered with gags and songs (by Alan Menken and David Zippel), and a standout characterization by Woods as the garrulous and glib villain. Followed by an animated TV series and a video sequel. | tt0119282 | [G] | Voices of Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, James Woods, Danny DeVito, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Bob Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Hal Holbrook, Barbara Barrie; opening narration by Charlton Heston | Family, Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Hercules Against Rome | 1960 | Piero Pierott. | ★★ | 87 | Steel fights a series of unconvincing villains to protect the late emperor's daughter. | tt0058061 | Alan Steel, Wandisa Guida, Livio Lorenzon, Daniele Vargas. | Italian | Adventure, History | NULL | ||
| Hercules II | The Adventures of Hercules | 1985 | Lewis Coates (Luigi Cozzi) | ★½ | 90 | Sequel to HERCULES (1983). Recommended for nondiscriminating viewers too young to read this. Video title: THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES. | tt0089271 | [PG] | Lou Ferrigno, Milly Carlucci, Sonia Viviani, William Berger, Carlotta Green, Claudio Cassinelli | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| Hercules Unchained | 1960 | Pietro Francisci | ★★ | 101 | Par-for-the-course entry featuring the muscleman hero and his princess bride setting off for the city of Thebes; along the way he will bid to prevent a war and tangle with a sinister queen. | tt0052782 | Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Primo Carnera, Sylvia Lopez | Italian | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hercules in New York | 1970 | Arthur Allan Seidelman | ★½ | 91 | Hercules journeys to Earth from Mt. Olympus and gets mixed up with wrestling promoters— and mobsters— in this lumbering comedy. Inept, but irresistible for the opportunity to watch a young, badly dubbed Schwarzenegger in his movie debut. (His original dialogue track was restored for the DVD.) Reissued as HERCULES— THE MOVIE at 82m., and HERCULES GOES BANANAS at 75m. For TV release a three-minute prologue has been added. Aren't you glad you asked? | tt0065832 | [G] | Arnold Stang, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Taina Elg, James Karen, Deborah Loomis, Ernest Graves, Tanny McDonald | Action, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hercules in the Haunted World | 1961 | Mario Bava. | ★★ | 83 | Occasionally sparked by atmospheric settings, this sword-and-sandal epic narrates adventures of Park in the devil's kingdom. | tt0054850 | Reg Park, Christopher Lee, Leonora Ruffo, Giorgio Ardisson, Ida Galli. | Italian | Action, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Here Come the Co-Eds | 1945 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★½ | 87 | Pretty zany Abbott and Costello comedy of two wacky caretakers turning formerly staid girls' school on its ear. | tt0037771 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Peggy Ryan, Martha O'Driscoll, June Vincent, Lon Chaney/Jr., Donald Cook | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Here Come the Girls | 1953 | Claude Binyon | ★★½ | 78 | At times amusing romp with Hope a naive show biz-ite who becomes involved with killer on the loose. | tt0045866 | Bob Hope, Arlene Dahl, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Martin, Fred Clark, Robert Strauss, the Four Step Brothers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here Come the Littles | 1985 | Bernard Deyries | ★½ | 72 | Silly, boring animated effort about tiny people with tails who live in the walls of big peoples' houses and their adventures with a 12-year-old boy. Spawned from the popular books and TV series. | tt0089272 | [G] | Voices of Jimmy E. Keegan, Bettina Bush, Donovan Freberg, Hal Smith | Luxembourg | Family, Animation | NULL | |
| Here Come the Marines | 1952 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 66 | The Bowery Boys are drafted and probe a murder in this tired rehash. | tt0044700 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Bernard Gorcey, Gil Stratton/Jr., Murray Alper, Hanley Stafford, Myrna Dell, Arthur Space, Tim Ryan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here Come the Nelsons | 1952 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 76 | Expanded version of radio's Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet, spotlighting a series of typical, comical situations. Light, predictable fare that paved the way for the long-running TV series. | tt0044701 | Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, David Nelson, Ricky Nelson, Rock Hudson, Ann Doran, Jim Backus, Barbara Lawrence, Sheldon Leonard, Gale Gordon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here Come the Waves | 1944 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 99 | Zippy wartime music-comedy with Crosby cleverly cast as a Sinatra-like crooner, the idol of bobby-soxers, who joins the Navy, and becomes involved with twin sisters (played by Hutton— and one's even demure!). Harold Arlen-Johnny Mercer score includes 'Let's Take the Long Way Home,' '(That Old) Black Magic' (reprised from STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM), and 'Ac-cent-u-ate the Positive,' which is performed in blackface! Yvonne De Carlo and Mona Freeman have bit parts. | tt0036912 | Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Sonny Tufts, Ann Doran, Gwen Crawford, Noel Neill, Catherine Craig, Mae Clarke | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Here Comes Cookie | 1935 | Norman Z. McLeod. | ★★½ | 65 | An heiress converts the family mansion into a haven for down-on-their-luck vaudevillians. In their third of three Paramount pictures, Burns and Allen play characters named Burns and Allen. Inconsequential (and improbable) screwball comedy/variety show is watchable mainly for the numerous specialty acts. | tt0026465 | George Burns, Gracie Allen, George Barbier, Betty Furness, Andrew Tombes, Rafael Storm. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan | 1941 | Alexander Hall | ★★★★ | 93 | Excellent fantasy-comedy of prizefighter Montgomery accidentally sent to heaven before his time, forced to occupy a new body on earth. Hollywood moviemaking at its best, with first-rate cast and performances; Harry Segall won an Oscar for his original story, as did Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller for their screenplay. Characters used again in DOWN TO EARTH (1947); film remade as HEAVEN CAN WAIT in 1978 and DOWN TO EARTH (2001). Look fast for a young Lloyd Bridges. | tt0033712 | Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, Rita Johnson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason, John Emery | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Here Comes the Band | 1935 | Paul Sloane. | ★★ | 86 | Cheerfully incoherent musical-comedy vehicle for 'the high-hatted tragedian of song' about WW1 vets with a yen for show business. Story comes and goes (like Lewis himself, who's off-screen a lot). Comedy buffs will want to see Healy poke Pendleton as if he were a Stooge and an unbilled Billy Gilbert do his hilarious sneezing routine. The leading man is Guy and Dean Stockwell's father. | tt0026466 | Ted Lewis and His Orchestra, Virginia Bruce, Harry Stockwell, Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, Addison Richards, Donald Cook, George 'Spanky' McFarland. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Here Comes the Groom | 1951 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 113 | Crosby contrives to keep former fiancée Wyman from marrying millionaire Tone in this lightweight musical outing. Guest appearances by Louis Armstrong, Dorothy Lamour, Phil Harris, and Cass Daley, plus Oscar-winning song, 'In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening.' | tt0043633 | Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Franchot Tone, Alexis Smith, James Barton, Anna Maria Alberghetti | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Here Comes the Navy | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 86 | Enjoyable but standard tale of cocky Cagney who becomes navy hero; nothing new, but well done. | tt0025238 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Gloria Stuart, Dorothy Tree, Frank McHugh | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Here Is My Heart | 1934 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 77 | Crooner Crosby pretends to be a waiter in order to woo Russian princess Carlisle in this elegant romantic comedy, a remake of the 1926 silent film THE GRAND DUCHESS AND THE WAITER. Lack of chemistry between the stars keeps this from being more than a pleasant charade. Songs include 'Love Is Just Around the Corner' and 'June in January.' | tt0025239 | Bing Crosby, Kitty Carlisle, Roland Young, Alison Skipworth, Reginald Owen, William Frawley, Cecilia Parker, Akim Tamiroff | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here We Go Again | 1942 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 76 | Follow-up to LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING finds Fibber and Molly on a cross-country trip for their 20th anniversary, getting involved in mild antics at resort hotel with rest of radio gang. Easy-to-take comedy, but nothing special. | tt0034847 | Edgar Bergen, Jim Jordan, Marian Jordan, Harold Peary, Ginny Simms, Bill Thompson, Isabel Randolph, Gale Gordon, Mortimer Snerd | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush | 1968 | Clive Donner | ★★½ | 96 | British teen-ager Evans is hung up on girls, but finds his pursuits a constant dead-end. Amusing, often clever adolescent romp; music by Stevie Winwood & Traffic, Spencer Davis Group. | tt0063063 | Barry Evans, Judy Geeson, Angela Scoular, Sheila White, Vanessa Howard, Denholm Elliott | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Here on Earth | 2000 | Mark Piznarski | ★★ | 96 | Spoiled preppie Klein falls for small-town girl Sobieski while rooming with her boyfriend's family for the summer. Fateful teen romantic triangle is strictly by-the-numbers. Sobieski gets points for radiantly dangling two hunky guys along; if she were any more angelic she'd explode. | tt0195778 | [PG-13] | Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski, Josh Hartnett, Michael Rooker, Bruce Greenwood, Annette O'Toole, Annie Corley, Elaine Hendrix, Stuart Wilson | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hereafter | 2010 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 129 | Three stories unfold and eventually converge: A troubled San Francisco man (Damon) shuns his “gift” of communicating with the deceased . . . a French TV host (de France) can’t shake off her near-death experience during a vacation in the tropics . . . and a British boy is haunted by the demise of his twin brother and tries to contact him in the afterlife. Opens with a frighteningly realistic depiction of a tsunami, and Peter Morgan’s script remains completely absorbing after that, but the all-important finale fails to provide us with the catharsis it seems to give the characters. Yet another example of daring and unconventional material for director Eastwood. | tt1212419 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Cécile de France, Jay Mohr, Bryce Dallas Howard, George McLaren, Frankie McLaren, Thierry Neuvic, Marthe Keller, Derek Jacobi, Lyndsey Marshal, Richard Kind, Steven R. Schirripa, Jenifer Lewis | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hero | 1992 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 112 | Seriocomic yarn about a ne'er-do-well (Hoffman) who saves lives after a plane crash, barely giving it a thought, until an imposter (Garcia) takes credit for the good deed, and becomes lionized by the public— and the media. Flawed but entertaining, with some glib, funny potshots at television. How many times did they watch MEET JOHN DOE before filming this? Chevy Chase, Edward Herrmann, Barney Martin, and Fisher Stevens appear unbilled. | tt0104412 | [PG-13] | Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, Joan Cusack, Kevin J. O'Connor, Maury Chaykin, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christian Clemenson, Tom Arnold, Warren Berlinger, Susie Cusack, James Madio, Darrell Larson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hero | Ying xiong | 2002 | Zhang Yimou. | ★★★ | 96 | A ruthless, ambitious king is attempting to merge the conflicting Chinese municipalities into a united empire in 3rd-century A.D., and the title character (Li, perfectly cast), a warrior called Nameless, relates how he overpowered the king's three most potent enemies. Different versions are offered in a RASHOMON-like manner, and each unfolds using a different color scheme. Action-packed, visually sumptuous saga also charts a love triangle between two of the enemy warriors (Cheung, Leung Chiu-wai) and a servant (Ziyi). A bit confusing at times, but visually dazzling. Aka JET LI'S HERO. Released in the U.S. in 2004. | tt0299977 | [PG-13] | Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Dao Ming, Donnie Yen, Liu Zhong Yuan. | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL |
| A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich | 1978 | Ralph Nelson | ★★½ | 105 | Well-meaning drama (from Alice Childress' book) about intelligent but alienated black ghetto youth who takes up drugs. Moralistic film may get PTA recommendations, but doesn't really deliver: young Scott's performance is major asset. | tt0077669 | [PG] | Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Larry B. Scott, Helen Martin, Glynn Turman, David Groh | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hero At Large | 1980 | Martin Davidson | ★★½ | 98 | Unemployed actor Ritter is mistaken for do-gooding 'Captain Avenger'; political hucksters Convy and McCarthy attempt to co-opt him. Winning if naive satire. Look fast for Kevin Bacon. | tt0080863 | [PG] | John Ritter, Anne Archer, Bert Convy, Kevin McCarthy, Harry Bellaver, Anita Dangler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hero and the Terror | 1988 | William Tannen | ★½ | 96 | Flat melodrama proves to be an unwise change of pace for action star Norris, here playing a 'sensitive' police detective who must exorcise his personal demons by doing battle one last time with his larger-than-life maniac nemesis O'Halloran. Film's cowriter, former actor Michael Blodgett, has an endless cameo in a restaurant scene. | tt0095296 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Brynn Thayer, Steve W. James, Jack O'Halloran, Ron O'Neal, Billy Drago | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Hero's Island | 1962 | Leslie Stevens | ★★½ | 94 | Peculiar mixture of adventure and soap opera set in 18th-century on island near North Carolina, involving pirates and homesteaders. Mason coproduced. | tt0056065 | James Mason, Kate Manx, Neville Brand, Rip Torn, Warren Oates, Brendan Dillon, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Hero | 1970 | Richard Harris | ★★½ | 97 | Old-fashioned film about a soccer star and the young boy who idolizes him; partly filmed in Israel. | tt0068694 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Romy Schneider, Kim Burfield, Maurice Kaufman, Yossi Yadin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Herod the Great | 1960 | Arnaldo Genoino. | ★½ | 93 | Juvenile account of ruler of ancient Judea, his warring and his jealousy of wife's admirers. | tt0051587 | Edmund Purdom, Sylvia Lopez, Sandra Milo, Alberto Lupo. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Heroes | 1977 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★★½ | 113 | Innocuous film marked Winkler's first starring role, as crazy Vietnam vet who chases a dream of wealth and success cross-country; Field is appealing as the girl he meets and wins along the way. | tt0076138 | [PG] | Henry Winkler, Sally Field, Harrison Ford, Val Avery, Olivia Cole, Hector Elias | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Heroes for Sale | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 73 | Potent melodrama with Barthelmess as an American Everyman who manages to survive one calamity after another— from morphine addiction (as a result of a WW1 injury) to job-hunting during the Depression— and continues to endure, like the country itself. Ambitious script by Wilson Mizner and Robert Lord tackles everything from the hypocrisy of hero worship to Communism! A fascinating social document of the early 1930s. | tt0024115 | Richard Barthelmess, Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Robert Barrat, Grant Mitchell, Douglass Dumbrille, Charles Grapewin, Ward Bond | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Heroes of Telemark | 1965 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 131 | Douglas and Harris spend more time battling each other than the Nazis overrunning Norway in this pictorially striking (filmed on location), predictable blow-up-the-German-factory yarn. | tt0059263 | Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Michael Redgrave, Mervyn Johns, Eric Porter | British | War | NULL | ||
| The Heroes | 1972 | Duccio Tessari | ★★ | 99 | A middling script sinks this forgettable actioner about a motley crew that bands together to pull off a heist of 'lost' military money. | tt0068544 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, Rod Taylor, Rosanna Schiaffino, Claude Brasseur, Terry-Thomas | Italian | War, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| Hers to Hold | 1943 | Frank Ryan | ★★ | 94 | Grown-up Durbin is in love with serviceman Cotten in undistinguished romance, brightened by Deanna's singing. Songs: 'Begin The Beguine,' etc. | tt0035993 | Deanna Durbin, Joseph Cotten, Charles Winninger, Nella Walker, Gus Schilling, Ludwig Stossel, Irving Bacon | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hesher | 2011 | Spencer Susser | ★½ | 106 | A boy is reeling from the sudden death of his mother, while his father is seemingly shell-shocked and his grandmother tries to make the best of every day. Into their home comes a foulmouthed, antisocial hell-raiser named Hesher (Gordon-Levitt) who gooses them to life. Often vile, self-conscious “dark fairy tale” has little to offer in the way of enlightenment and seems to revel in its main character’s sheer outrageousness. If that’s your idea of fun, have at it. First-time director and cowriter Susser also drew the scatological illustrations for the closing titles, fyi. | tt1403177 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, Devin Brochu, John Carroll Lynch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hester Street | 1975 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★★★½ | 92 | Young Jewish immigrant (Kane) joins her husband in N.Y.C. at turn of the century, only to find that he has forsaken his Old World ways and expects her to do the same. Disarmingly simple story, outstanding period flavor. | tt0073107 | [PG] | Steven Keats, Carol Kane, Mel Howard, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Doris Roberts, Stephen Strimpell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hex | The Shrieking | 1973 | Leo Garen | ★½ | 92 | Off-the-wall bike movie that involves a motorcycle gang with occultism in post-WW1 Nebraska. You've been warned. Video title: THE SHRIEKING. | tt0070174 | [PG] | Keith Carradine, Tina Herazo (Cristina Raines), Hilarie Thompson, Gary Busey, Robert Walker, Dan Haggerty, John Carradine, Scott Glenn | Drama | NULL | |
| Hexed | 1993 | Alan Spencer | ★★ | 90 | Hotel clerk with delusions of grandeur gets involved with a once overweight fashion model whose long-ago act of arson killed 32 people. Very hit-and-miss—and at worst, terrible—but at least it isn't bland. Christian, as the model, is a stitch. | tt0107107 | [R] | Arye Gross, Claudia Christian, Adrienne Shelly, Ray Baker, R. Lee Ermey, Michael Knight, Robin Curtis, Brandis Kemp, Norman Fell, Teresa Ganzel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hey Arnold! The Movie | 2002 | Tuck Tucker | ★★ | 76 | Right-thinking Arnold leads his friends and neighbors in a protest when an industrialist threatens to tear down their neighborhood to build an elaborate mall. Simple, straightforward adaptation of the popular animated TV series looks and plays like an extended episode; OK for young children, but not particularly inspired. | tt0314166 | [PG] | Voices of Spencer Klein, Francesca Marie Smith, Jamil Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Tress MacNeille, Paul Sorvino, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, Maurice LaMarche, Kath E. Soucie | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Hey Babu Riba | 1986 | Jovan Acin | ★★★ | 109 | Perceptive film combines nostalgia and political commentary in flashback story of four men recalling their pranks in the early 1950s when all were in love with dream girl Videnovic. Film buffs will appreciate picture being built around kids' fascination with Esther Williams in BATHING BEAUTY; also features vintage footage from the sexy Swedish classic SHE ONLY DANCED ONE SUMMER. | tt0091200 | [R] | Gala Videnovic, Relja Basic, Nebojsa Bakocevic, Marko Todorovic, Dragan Bjelogrlic, Milos Zutic | Yugoslavian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Hey Boy! Hey Girl! | 1959 | David Lowell Rich | ★½ | 81 | Minor low-budget musical about a singer (Smith) who will join Prima and The Witnesses only if they appear at a church bazaar. Louis sings the unforgettable 'A Banana Split for My Baby (And a Glass of Water for Me). | tt0052887 | Louis Prima, Keely Smith, James Gregory, Henry Slate, Asa Maynor, Sam Butera and The Witnesses | Musical | NULL | |||
| Hey Good Lookin' | 1982 | Ralph Bakshi | ★½ | 86 | Animated feature dips into 'nostalgia' for street gangs in 1950s Brooklyn, and a sense of deja vu hangs over the proceedings. More interesting visually than Bakshi's other later films, because this one wasn't completely traced from live-action footage, but as entertainment it's vulgar and pointless. Originally made in 1975, then largely redone for 1982 release. | tt0084070 | [R] | Voices of Richard Romanus, David Proval, Jesse Welles, Tina Bowman | Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hey There It's Yogi Bear | 1964 | William Hanna, Joseph Barbera | ★★ | 89 | First full-length cartoon from Hanna-Barbera studio stars Yogi Bear in amusing musical tale for younger folk. | tt0154587 | Voices of Mel Blanc, J. Pat O'Malley, Julie Bennett, Daws Butler, Don Messick | Family, Animation | NULL | |||
| Hey, Let's Twist! | 1961 | Greg Garrison | 💣 | 80 | Let's not. This minor film about the rise, decline, and rise of the Peppermint Lounge nightclub came out at the height of the Twist dance rage and wasn't very good then . . . now it's just a bad way to kill 80 minutes. Try spotting a young Joe Pesci (then a Starliters guitarist, making his film debut) as an extra. | tt0054971 | Joey Dee, The Starliters, Peppermint Loungers, Jo Ann Campbell, Zohra Lampert, Teddy Randazzo, Allan Arbus | Musical | NULL | |||
| Hey, Rookie | 1944 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 77 | Typical let's-put-on-a-show-for-the-servicemen, with Miller's dancing and several specialty acts. | tt0036915 | Larry Parks, Ann Miller, Condos Brothers, Joe Sawyer, Jack Gilford, Selmer Jackson | Musical | NULL | |||
| He’s Just Not That Into You | 2009 | Ken Kwapis | ★★★ | 129 | Men send signals to women—more than ever in the age of electronic devices—but some women don’t know how to read them. That’s what needy Goodwin tries to learn with help from self-styled master of communication Long. Other attractive couples face a variety of crises in this episodic comedy with unexpectedly serious undertones. Not another airheaded romantic comedy but a “battle of the sexes” for our times, based on the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Luis Guzmán appears unbilled. | tt1001508 | [PG-13] | Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Kris Kristofferson, Busy Philipps, Leonardo Nam, Sasha Alexander, Wilson Cruz | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hi Diddle Diddle | 1943 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 72 | Trifling screwball comedy of newlyweds Scott and O'Keefe; her nutty mom (Burke) loses all her money and his con-man dad (Menjou) comes to her rescue, disrupting the honeymoon. Notable for appearance of silent screen vamp Pola Negri as an egotistical opera star. | tt0035996 | Adolphe Menjou, Martha Scott, Pola Negri, Dennis O'Keefe, Billie Burke, June Havoc | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hi'ya, Chum | 1943 | Harold Young | ★½ | 61 | Entertainers find themselves in small boomtown, and open a restaurant there. Weak musical comedy, if that's what you want to call it. | tt0035997 | Ritz Brothers, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige, June Clyde, Edmund MacDonald | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hi, Good Lookin' | 1944 | Edward Lilley | ★★ | 62 | Lightweight musical programmer serves as a showcase for Hilliard as she attempts to become a radio star with help of Grant. | tt0036917 | Harriet Hilliard, Eddie Quillan, Kirby Grant, Betty Kean, Roscoe Karns, Ozzie Nelson and Orchestra, Jack Teagarden and Orchestra, Delta Rhythm Boys, Tip, Tap and Toe | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hi, Mom! | Blue Manhattan | 1970 | Brian De Palma | ★★★½ | 87 | Sequel to GREETINGS! is funny satire of the late '60s, with Vietnam veteran De Niro making dirty movies and bombing apartment houses. Aka CONFESSIONS OF A PEEPING JOHN and BLUE MANHATTAN. | tt0065836 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Allen Garfield, Lara Parker, Jennifer Salt, Gerrit Graham, Charles Durning | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hi, Nellie! | 1934 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 75 | Minor but enjoyable newspaper yarn with Muni as hard-hitting editor who's punished by being assigned to advice-to-the-lovelorn column. Loses initial momentum with gangland subplot, but it's still entertaining. Remade as LOVE IS ON THE AIR, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FOREVER, and THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET. | tt0025250 | Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Ned Sparks, Robert Barrat, Kathryn Sergava, Hobart Cavanaugh, Berton Churchill, Douglass Dumbrille | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hi-Life | 1998 | Roger Hedden | ★★ | 82 | Characters and complications abound in this contrived Christmastime tale about a N.Y.C. bartender (Scott) and his attempt to raise sufficient funds to pay for what he has been led to believe is his sister's abortion. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET it ain't, but the talented cast makes it watchable. | tt0132213 | Katrin Cartlidge, Charles Durning, Daryl Hannah, Moira Kelly, Peter Riegert, Campbell Scott, Eric Stoltz, Anne De Salvo, Saundra Santiago, Bruce McVittie, Carlos Alban | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Hi-Lo Country | 1998 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 114 | Story of two cowboy friends in post-WW2 New Mexico who happen to fall in love with the same woman— though she's already married. A paean to the cowboy way of life and the joys of true friendship, this film has so much going for it (including Harrelson's terrific performance as a hell-raiser and Oliver Stapleton's cinematography) that it's a shame it doesn't hit the bull's-eye . . . and Arquette is so dull. Screenplay by Walon Green from the novel by Max Evans. Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese. | tt0120699 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Patricia Arquette, Sam Elliott, Cole Hauser, Penélope Cruz, Darren Burrows, Jacob Vargas, James Gammon, Lane Smith, Katy Jurado | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Hiawatha | 1952 | Kurt Neumann | ★½ | 80 | Juvenile low-budget version of the Longfellow classic. | tt0044705 | Vincent Edwards, Keith Larsen, Michael Tolan, Yvette Dugay | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hick | 2012 | Derick Martini | ★★ | 99 | Thirteen-year-old Nebraska girl with a crummy home life sets out on her own, hoping to hitch a ride to Las Vegas and a brighter future. Instead, she becomes involved with a mercurial cowboy (Redmayne) and a friendly young woman (Lively) who's involved with some unsavory people. Andrea Portes adapted her novel, but the characters aren't fully fleshed out or terribly compelling, despite good performances all around. | tt1205558 | [R] | Chloë Grace Moretz, Eddie Redmayne, Blake Lively, Alec Baldwin, Juliette Lewis, Rory Culkin, Ray McKinnon, Anson Mount, Shaun Sipos | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hickey & Boggs | 1972 | Robert Culp | ★★½ | 111 | Tough melodrama by Walter Hill about two weary, hard-luck private eyes whose search for a missing girl brings death to almost everyone around them. Well made but extremely violent and downbeat; will come as a surprise to fans of the stars' tongue-in-cheek antics on their I Spy TV series. Many now-familiar faces appear in bits: Robert Mandan, Michael Moriarty, Vincent Gardenia, James Woods, and Ed Lauter. | tt0068698 | [PG] | Robert Culp, Bill Cosby, Rosalind Cash, Sheila Sullivan, Isabel Sanford, Ta-Ronce Allen, Lou Frizzell | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hidalgo | 2004 | Joe Johnston | ★★★½ | 135 | Mortensen is perfect as disenchanted real-life cowboy Frank T. Hopkins, who participates in the world's longest, most grueling horse race across the Arabian Desert with his trusty steed Hidalgo. An old-fashioned high adventure, set in 1890, with the added kick of desert veteran Sharif as the sheik who sponsors the race. There are doubts about the inspiration for this 'true story,' but there's no question about its entertainment value. Written by John Fusco. Malcolm McDowell appears unbilled. | tt0317648 | [PG-13] | Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Louise Lombard, Saïd Taghmaoui, Peter Mensah, J.K. Simmons, Zuleikha Robinson, Silas Carson, Joshua Wolf Coleman, Adam Alexi-Malle, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, C. Thomas Howell | Action, Drama, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Hidden Agenda | 1990 | Ken Loach | ★★★ | 108 | American human rights activist McDormand and British police inspector Cox (both excellent) try to unravel mystery surrounding police ambush and cover-up in strife-ridden Belfast during the early 1980s. Effective political thriller set amidst the battleground of Northern Ireland. If not exactly unbiased (director Loach is known for films which are critical of the U.K.), it is believable. Many small roles played by Belfast non-actors. | tt0099768 | [R] | Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif, Mai Zetterling, Jim Norton, Maurice Roeves | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Hidden City | 1950 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 71 | Bomba the Jungle Boy comes to the aid of a jungle orphan (England) who's actually a princess. Aka BOMBA AND THE HIDDEN CITY. | tt0042268 | Johnny Sheffield, Sue England, Paul Guilfoyle, Damian O'Flynn, Leon Belasco, Smoki Whitfield | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Hidden Eye | 1945 | Richard Whorf | ★★½ | 69 | Follow-up to EYES IN THE NIGHT, with blind detective Arnold making good use of other senses to solve murder mystery; fast-moving, entertaining mystery. | tt0037776 | Edward Arnold, Frances Rafferty, Ray Collins, Paul Langton, Raymond Largay, William Phillips | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Hidden Fear | 1957 | André De Toth | ★½ | 83 | On-location filming in Copenhagen is chief virtue of mild hunt-down-the-murderer plot. | tt0050506 | John Payne, Alexander Knox, Conrad Nagel, Natalie Norwick | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Hidden Fortress | Kakushi toride no san akunin | 1958 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★½ | 126 | Autocratic young Princess Uehara and loyal general Mifune must make dangerous journey to their homeland with royal fortune, with only bare minimum of help from two bumbling misfits hoping to make off with a share of the gold. Solid comedy-adventure with great deadpan performance by Mifune; one of Kurosawa's personal favorites. Acknowledged by George Lucas as a primary inspiration for STAR WARS. Some U.S. prints cut to 90m.; released in Japan at 139m., and reissued in the U.S. in 1984 at that length. | tt0051808 | Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Susumu Fujita, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Hidden Gold | 1940 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 61 | Mine owner Watson is helpless against crowd of outlaws stealing gold ore from stage line, until Hopalong Cassidy, as express company agent, lends a hand. Enough hard riding, fisticuffs, and gunplay to satisfy. Alleged comedy relief offered by Wood underscores value of such sidekicks as George Hayes and Andy Clyde. | tt0032592 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Minor Watson, Ruth Rogers, Britt Wood, Ethel Wales. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hidden Homicide | 1959 | Anthony Young. | ★½ | 70 | Circumstantial evidence makes writer think he's a murderer. | tt0051718 | Griffith Jones, James Kenney, Patricia Laffan, Bruce Seton, Charles Farrell. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Hidden II | 1994 | Seth Pinsker | 💣 | 95 | Fifteen years after the events in the original, the daughter of the L.A. cop who chased down the body-switching alien teams up with another alien cop, here to save us from more of the evil visitors. Cheap, slow-paced sequel distorts the premise of the original; result is stilted and routine, utterly devoid of the wit and energy that sparked the first. | tt0110022 | [R] | Raphael Sbarge, Kate Hodge, Jovin Montanaro, Christopher Murphy, Michael Weldon, Michael A. Nickles, Tony Di Benedetto, Tom Tayback | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Hidden Room | Obsession | 1949 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 98 | Very effective suspenser involving Newton's plan to eliminate a man threatening his marriage; nifty climax. Retitled: OBSESSION. | tt0041460 | Robert Newton, Sally Gray, Naunton Wayne, Phil Brown, Michael Balfour, Olga Lindo | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Hidden | 1987 | Jack Sholder | ★★★ | 96 | L.A. cop Nouri pursues an alien criminal that loves violence, fast cars, and rock music— and can pass from one human body to another. FBI agent MacLachlan, helping out, is really an alien cop. Smart, fast-paced thriller effectively blends horror, sci-fi, and action with humor; good acting and savvy direction. Followed by a sequel. | tt0093185 | [R] | Michael Nouri, Kyle MacLachlan, Ed O'Ross, Clu Gulager, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder, William Boyett, Richard Brooks | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hide Away | A Year In Mooring | 2012 | Chris Eyre | ★★★ | 88 | Quietly contemplative yet surprisingly compelling drama of renewal and redemption, propelled by Lucas' subtly expressive performance as a businessman trying to recover from a devastating tragedy while living aboard a decrepit sailboat he's slowly restoring in a small-town harbor. Deliberately paced and beautifully photographed, with aptly understated supporting performances by Cromwell and Zurer as locals who slowly warm to the newcomer in their midst. Originally titled A YEAR IN MOORING. | tt1536374 | [PG-13] | Josh Lucas, James Cromwell, Ayelet Zurer, Jon Tenney, Casey LaBow, Taylor Nichols | Drama | NULL | |
| Hide and Seek | 2005 | John Polson. | ★★ | 101 | After psychologist De Niro's wife commits suicide, he and his traumatized daughter (Fanning) move to the country to start life anew; strange incidents begin occurring when the child befriends a noxious 'imaginary' playmate. So-called thriller has a paper-thin script, limp pacing, and a less-than-inspired De Niro performance. | tt0382077 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue, Amy Irving, Dylan Baker, Melissa Leo, Robert John Burke. | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Hide in Plain Sight | 1980 | James Caan | ★★★ | 98 | Caan made a creditable directing debut with this true story about a divorced man whose children are swept away by the U.S. government when their new father is moved underground by the Justice Department's witness relocation program. Straightforward and well done. | tt0080868 | [PG] | James Caan, Jill Eikenberry, Robert Viharo, Joe Grifasi, Barbra Rae, Kenneth McMillan, Josef Sommer, Danny Aiello | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hide-Out | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★½ | 83 | Big-city racketeer recovers from gunshot wound on idyllic farm where he falls in love (of course) with fetching O'Sullivan. Opens and closes great, with some humdrum stuffing in between; wonderful supporting cast (including Henry Armetta and Herman Bing as nightclub co-owners!). Remade in 1941 as I'LL WAIT FOR YOU. | tt0025251 | Robert Montgomery, Maureen O'Sullivan, Edward Arnold, Elizabeth Patterson, Whitford Kane, Mickey Rooney, C. Henry Gordon, Edward Brophy | Comedy, Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Hideaway | 1995 | Brett Leonard | 💣 | 112 | Horror film from best-selling novel by Dean R. Koontz about a man resuscitated after 'dying,' who returns psychically linked to a psychotic killer who's also back from the beyond— and intent on making the man's family his next victims. This goes nowhere for nearly two interminable hours; Koontz had the good sense to try and have his name taken off the picture. | tt0113303 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, Alfred Molina, Jeremy Sisto, Rae Dawn Chong, Kenneth Welsh, Alicia Silverstone | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hideous Kinky | 1999 | Gillies MacKinnon | ★★★ | 97 | Interesting story about an immature young woman who's left her lover, and her life, in England to seek spiritual satisfaction in Morocco— with her two young daughters in tow. Well-observed study of selfishness, spontaneity, and social mores set in the early 1970s, anchored by Winslet's fine performance. Based on an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud. | tt0136244 | [R] | Kate Winslet, Saïd Taghmaoui, Bella Riza, Carrie Mullan, Pierre Clémenti, Sira Stampe | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Hideous Sun Demon | 1959 | Robert Clarke | ★½ | 74 | Doctor exposed to radiation discovers that sunlight turns him into ghastly lizard creature. Hideously low-budget production stars codirector Clarke himself as demon of title. | tt0052888 | Robert Clarke, Patricia Manning, Nan Peterson, Patrick Whyte, Fred La Porta, Bill Hampton | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Hider in the House | 1991 | Matthew Patrick | ★½ | 109 | Disturbed Busey creates a secret living space in the home of a family he admires, but his efforts to try to ingratiate himself with them lead to violence. Routine thriller with a ludicrous premise; Busey is fine as the psycho. | tt0097503 | [R] | Gary Busey, Mimi Rogers, Michael McKean, Kurt Christopher Kinder, Candy Hutson, Elizabeth Ruscio, Bruce Glover | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hiding Out | 1987 | Bob Giraldi | ★★ | 98 | Silly, thoroughly unbelievable teen comedy-thriller about stockbroker Cryer, who's on the lam from thugs. He hides out by dyeing his hair and becoming an instant high-school senior. Jon's real-life mother, actress/ writer Gretchen Cryer, plays Aunt Lucy. | tt0093186 | [PG-13] | Jon Cryer, Keith Coogan, Annabeth Gish, Gretchen Cryer, Oliver Cotton, Tim Quill, Anne Pitoniak, John Spencer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hiding Place | 1975 | James F. Collier | ★★½ | 145 | Well-meaning, sometimes effective, but draggy, predictable story of Dutch Christians aiding Jews in WW2. Produced by Billy Graham's Evangelistic Association. | tt0073109 | [PG] | Julie Harris, Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, Jeanette Clift, Robert Rietty, Pamela Sholto | War | NULL | ||
| High Anxiety | 1977 | Mel Brooks | ★★½ | 94 | Affectionate, well-made but uneven spoof of Hitchcock films with Brooks as psychiatrist who walks into trouble as new head of sanitarium. Isolated moments of great comedy bolster so-so film. Future RAIN MAN director Barry Levinson, who coscripted this film, appears as a hostile hotel bellman. Kahn's father is played by special effects maestro (and real-life Hitchcock collaborator) Albert J. Whitlock. | tt0076141 | [PG] | Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, Dick Van Patten, Ron Carey, Howard Morris, Murphy Dunne, Jack Riley, Charlie Callas | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| High Art | 1998 | Lisa Cholodenko | ★★★ | 101 | Off-putting at first, but a clear-eyed character study of a naive young woman whose stock rises at a pretentious art magazine because of her budding relationship with a once brilliant photographer who had a breakdown years ago. The question is how deeply Mitchell is willing to immerse herself in Sheedy's hedonistic, heroin-infused, lesbian lifestyle. Sheedy is solid and understated; Clarkson is a hoot in a wonderfully showy performance as her companion, an eccentric, egomaniacal German actress. Sarita Choudhury appears unbilled. | tt0139362 | [R] | Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson, Tammy Grimes, Gabriel Mann, Bill Sage, David Thornton | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| High Barbaree | 1947 | Jack Conway | ★★ | 91 | Navy flier's life story told in flashback as he awaits rescue in plane in ocean. Good cast in inferior story. | tt0039461 | Van Johnson, June Allyson, Thomas Mitchell, Marilyn Maxwell, Cameron Mitchell | Action | NULL | |||
| The High Command | 1937 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★½ | 90 | Crime melodrama set at an African military outpost. Atwill is a general caught up in a blackmailing scheme that leads to murder. An early role for Mason. | tt0027741 | Lionel Atwill, Lucie Mannheim, Steven Geray, James Mason, Allan Jeayes, Wally Patch | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The High Commissioner | Nobody Runs Forever | 1968 | Ralph Thomas | ★½ | 93 | Wonderful cast is wasted in tired spy thriller about diplomat involved in murder at height of Cold War negotiations. British title: NOBODY RUNS FOREVER. | tt0063067 | Christopher Plummer, Rod Taylor, Lilli Palmer, Camilla Sparv, Daliah Lavi, Clive Revill, Franchot Tone | British | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| The High Cost of Loving | 1958 | Jose Ferrer | ★★½ | 87 | Lots of familiar faces in this very mild romantic comedy about tensions that threaten marriage of Ferrer and Rowlands. Enjoyable but innocuous semi-satire. Rowlands' film debut. | tt0051721 | Jose Ferrer, Gena Rowlands, Joanne Gilbert, Jim Backus, Bobby Troup, Edward Platt, Werner Klemperer, Nancy Kulp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The High Country | 1981 | Harvey Hart | 💣 | 101 | Feeble drama about obnoxious escaped con Bottoms and illiterate Purl eluding pursuers in the mountains. | tt0082515 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Linda Purl, George Sims, Jim Lawrence, Bill Berry, Walter Mills | Canadian | Adventure | NULL | |
| High Crime | 1973 | Enzo G. Castellari | ★★ | 100 | Energetic but superficial action drama. Narc Nero going up against Mafioso Rey. You've seen it all before. | tt0070552 | Franco Nero, James Whitmore, Fernando Rey, Delia Boccardo | Italian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| High Crimes | 2002 | Carl Franklin | ★★★ | 115 | Successful lawyer defends her husband when he's revealed to be a Marine who's been wanted for 15 years for a massacre he supposedly committed in El Salvador. Then she enlists the aid of a man who knows his way around a military courtroom, eccentric lawyer Freeman. Slick and entertaining, even though you can see some of the story twists coming around the corner. | tt0257756 | [PG-13] | Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, James Caviezel, Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Tom Bower, Bruce Davison, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Jude Ciccolella. | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| High Fidelity | 2000 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 113 | After his girlfriend leaves, a music-obsessed Chicago record store owner (Cusack) reflects on his failed relationships. Adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel (originally set in London) is alternately insightful and annoying, embodied by Cusack's direct-to-camera chats and the fanatically detailed depiction of the music scene and its inhabitants. Cusack coproduced and cowrote the screenplay. | tt0146882 | [R] | John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack, Tim Robbins, Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Sara Gilbert, Bruce Springsteen | Romance, Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| High Flight | 1957 | John Gilling | ★½ | 89 | Stale British drama of recruits in training for the RAF— not as good as Milland's I WANTED WINGS. Last reel, in the air, only exciting part. | tt0049313 | Ray Milland, Bernard Lee, Kenneth Haigh, Anthony Newley | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| High Flyers | 1937 | Edward Cline. | ★★ | 70 | Wheeler and Woolsey's last movie together finds them going through the motions as dimwit carny performers duped into a jewel-smuggling scheme. Pretty tired, apart from a scene where Wheeler accidentally sniffs some cocaine! Dumont works just as well with W&W as she does with the Marx Brothers. | tt0028998 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Lupe Velez, Marjorie Lord, Margaret Dumont, Jack Carson, Paul Harvey, Charles Judels. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| High Frequency | 1988 | Faliero Rosati | ★★ | 105 | Satellite relay station attendant Spano and young ham operator Benny see a murder on a satellite monitor and try to warn a woman they believe will be the killer's next victim. Ersatz REAR WINDOW lifts ideas— but not substance— from the Hitchcock classic. Italian production released with English-language soundtrack. | tt0095940 | [PG] | Vincent Spano, Oliver Benny, Anne Canovas, Isabelle Pasco, David Brandon | Italian | Thriller | NULL | |
| High Fury | 1947 | Harold French | ★★ | 71 | Nice location filming in Switzerland uplifts this otherwise standard drama about the plight of war orphans. Carroll wants to adopt young McKeag against the wishes of philandering husband Rennie. Original British title: WHITE CRADLE INN. | tt0039102 | Madeleine Carroll, Ian Hunter, Michael Rennie, Michael McKeag, Anne Marie Blanc | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| High Heels | Dr. Popaul | 1972 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 100 | Well-acted but disappointing Chabrol comedy-mystery about a playboy doctor (Belmondo) attracted to women other men find unappealing. Originally titled DR. POPAUL. Aka SCOUNDREL IN WHITE. | tt0068492 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Mia Farrow, Laura Antonelli, Daniel Ivernel | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| High Heels | 1991 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★½ | 115 | So-so Almodóvar concoction about the conflicts and intricacies in the relationship between a famous, egocentric actress (Paredes) and her TV newscaster daughter (Abril). First half is vintage Almodóvar, but film becomes a bit more serious (than necessary) as it unfolds. Still, there are plenty of the director's outlandish touches— check out that women's prison— and also some interesting views on celebrity. Leading man Bosé (son of Italian actress Lucia Bosé and Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin) is a pop music star in Spain. | tt0103030 | [R] | Victoria Abril, Marisa Paredes, Miguel Bosé, Feodor Atkine, Bibi Andersen, Rocio Munoz | Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| High Heels and Low Lifes | 2001 | Mel Smith | ★★½ | 86 | Broad British import about a pair of down-on-their-luck best friends who accidentally discover a bank robbery in progress and decide to blackmail the burglars into giving up the money. Clever setup and appealing lead performances make this frisky fun, even though the violent climax puts a damper on things— and strains credulity. Enjoyable female buddy caper is more OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE than THELMA & LOUISE. | tt0253126 | [R] | Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Michael Gambon, Danny Dyer, Kevin McNally, Mark Williams, Julian Wadham | British-U.S. | Action, Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| High Hell | 1958 | Burt Balaban | ★★½ | 87 | Mine owner's wife has an affair with husband's partner; trio snowbound for winter fight about it. | tt0051722 | John Derek, Elaine Stewart, Rodney Burke, Patrick Allen | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| High Hopes | 1988 | Mike Leigh | ★★★½ | 112 | Extraordinary slice-of-life comedy-drama about love, alienation, and responsibility, centered on a young, laid-back working-class couple, his aged mother and manic sister. Writer-director Leigh offers a provocative, highly original view of life's misfits in modern-day England, and offers food for thought along with some very hearty laughs. | tt0095302 | Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Dore, Philip Jackson, Heather Tobias, Lesley Manville, David Bamber | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| High Lonesome | 1950 | Alan LeMay | ★★ | 81 | Moody little drama set in the West with Barrymore a brooding youth involved with killers. | tt0042552 | John Barrymore/Jr., Chill Wills, Lois Butler, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| High Noon | 1952 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 84 | On his wedding— and retirement— day, marshal Cooper learns that a gunman is coming seeking revenge. Though he has good excuses for leaving, he feels a responsibility to stay and face the gunman— but no one in town is willing to help. The story appears to unfold in 'real time,' as the many on-screen clocks will verify. Legendary Western drama about a crisis of conscience, written by Carl Foreman, underscored by Tex Ritter's performance of Oscar-winning Dimitri Tiomkin-Ned Washington song, 'Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin'.' Oscars also went to Cooper, Tiomkin's score, and Elmo Williams' and Harry Gerstad's editing. Followed by 1980 TV sequel with Lee Majors; remade for TV in 2000. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044706 | Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Grace Kelly, Otto Kruger, Lon Chaney/Jr., Harry Morgan, Lee Van Cleef, Robert Wilke, Sheb Wooley | Thriller, Western | NULL | |||
| High Plains Drifter | 1973 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 105 | Moody, self-conscious but compelling story of drifter hired by townspeople to protect them from vengeful outlaws who have just been released from prison. Half-serious, half tongue-in-cheek, with great role for midget Billy Curtis. | tt0068699 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Mitchell Ryan, Jack Ging, Stefan Gierasch | Western | NULL | ||
| High Pressure | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 74 | Slam-bang con-man caper stars Powell as hilarious scheming promotor trying to sell artificial rubber. Typical nonstop Warner Bros. early talkie farce. | tt0023007 | William Powell, Evelyn Brent, Frank McHugh, George Sidney, Guy Kibbee, Evalyn Knapp, Ben Alexander | Comedy | NULL | |||
| High Risk | 1981 | Stewart Raffill | ★★½ | 94 | Preposterous movie about group of normal Americans becoming mercenaries, flying to South America, parachuting into jungle to rip off dope dealers . . . and that's just the beginning, because they soon run into bandidos. Ridiculous story, but good fun. | tt0082516 | [R] | James Brolin, Cleavon Little, Bruce Davison, Chick Vennera, Anthony Quinn, Lindsay Wagner, James Coburn, Ernest Borgnine | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| High Road to China | 1983 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★ | 120 | Low road to escapism, with Selleck (in his first starring feature) as a boozy ex-WW1 aerial ace hired by heiress Armstrong to find her father. Strictly mediocre, with substandard action scenes, and the flattest dialogue this side of the Great Wall. | tt0085678 | [PG] | Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong, Jack Weston, Wilford Brimley, Robert Morley, Brian Blessed | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| High School | 2010 | John Stalberg /Jr. | ★½ | 100 | Straight-A student (Bush) with a scholarship to MIT tries marijuana for the first time, only to discover that his school is having mandatory drug testing the following day. He decides the only way to get around the system is to drug the entire school so everyone will fail the test. Brody plays a stoned-out dealer. Mildly interesting comic premise takes itself far too seriously and ends up being strange and boring. Vartan and Chiklis are almost unrecognizable as teacher and principal. | tt1247667 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Sean Marquette, Matt Bush, Colin Hanks, Adhir Kalyan, Mykelti Williamson, Yeardley Smith, Michael Vartan, Curtis Armstrong, Mary Birdsong, Andrew Wilson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| High School Caesar | 1960 | O'Dale Ireland | ★★ | 72 | Rich kid Ashley, whose parents are too busy for him, gets a chip on his shoulder the size of the Rock of Gibraltar . . . and sets up his own little crime empire in school. Actually, not bad of its type. | tt0053911 | John Ashley, Gary Vinson, Lowell Brown, Steve Stevens, Judy Nugent, Daria Massey | Drama | NULL | |||
| High School Confidential! | Young Hellions | 1958 | Jack Arnold | ★½ | 85 | Amateurish, hilariously awful marijuana exposé, with young undercover agent Tamblyn obtaining evidence against dope pushers. A most fascinating cast. Retitled YOUNG HELLIONS; followed by COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL! | tt0051724 | Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Mamie Van Doren, Diane Jergens, Ray Anthony, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Coogan, Charles Chaplin/Jr., Lyle Talbot, William Wellman/Jr., Michael Landon | Drama | NULL | ||
| High School High | 1996 | Hart Bochner | ★★ | 86 | Lovitz plays an idealistic teacher who finds himself in an urban high school so mean it even has its own cemetery! Farcical at times, uncomfortably realistic at other moments, this film suffers from a severe identity crisis. AIRPLANE/NAKED GUN veterans David Zucker and Pat Proft were among the writers. | tt0116531 | [PG-13] | Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Louise Fletcher, Mekhi Phifer, Malinda Williams, John Neville | Comedy | NULL | ||
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year | 2008 | Kenny Ortega | ★★★ | 109 | Senior year at East High brings new challenges as basketball star Efron is persuaded to participate in the school musical and girlfriend Hudgens has to decide whether to pursue early admission to college, among other story threads. All the stars of the first two wildly successful Disney Channel TV movies are reunited for this lively, energetic teen musical, executed on a larger scale than its predecessors. Story-wise this hearkens back to Archie and Veronica, but it’s cheerful and upbeat throughout. | tt0962726 | [G] | Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Olesya Rulin, Alyson Reed, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, Matt Prokop | Drama, Family, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| High Season | 1987 | Clare Peploe | ★★ | 92 | Romantic misfire has Bisset (stunningly lovely as always) as a photographer residing in Rhodes who becomes involved with obnoxious tourists, a spy, and her egotistical ex-hubbie Fox. Fluff offers little more than luscious views of Bisset and the Greek island setting. | tt0095303 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, James Fox, Irene Papas, Sebastian Shaw, Kenneth Branagh, Lesley Manville, Robert Stephens | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| High Sierra | 1941 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 100 | Bogey is Mad Dog Earle, killer with a soft heart on the lam from police, in rousing (if not exactly credible) gangster caper. Lupino as the moll and Leslie as the lame innocent Bogart befriends offer interesting contrast. Screenplay by John Huston and W. R. Burnett based on Burnett's novel. Remade as I DIED A THOUSAND TIMES, and in Western garb as COLORADO TERRITORY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033717 | Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis, Arthur Kennedy, Joan Leslie, Henry Hull, Henry Travers, Barton MacLane, Jerome Cowan, Cornel Wilde, Donald MacBride, John Eldredge, Isabel Jewell, Willie Best | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| High Society | 1956 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 107 | Fluffy remake of THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is enjoyable, but has lost all the bite of the original. Kelly is about to marry Lund when ex-hubby Crosby arrives, along with reporters Sinatra and Holm. Cole Porter songs include 'True Love,' 'Did You Evah?,' 'You're Sensational,' plus Bing and Satchmo's 'Now You Has Jazz.' Grace Kelly's last acting role. | tt0049314 | Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Blackmer | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| High Spirits | 1988 | Neil Jordan | 💣 | 97 | Two yuppie stereotypes and a pair of 200-year-old ghosts romp around in an Irish castle threatened with foreclosure, with O'Toole— looking a bit ghostly here himself— playing ring master. Head-splitting farce full of collapsing sets and lots of wind-machine action; cast members complained that film's producers crudely altered the original whimsical intentions of writer-director Jordan. Unbearable. | tt0095304 | [PG-13] | Peter O'Toole, Daryl Hannah, Steve Guttenberg, Beverly D'Angelo, Liam Neeson, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Tilly, Ray McAnally, Donal McCann, Connie Booth, Liz Smith | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| High Stakes | 1989 | Amos Kollek | ★★ | 102 | A stripper/prostitute tries to retrieve her daughter from the Mob, while falling in love with a Wall Street speculator. A B-movie script with an A performance by Kirkland. | tt0097507 | [R] | Sally Kirkland, Robert LuPone, Richard Lynch, Sarah (Michelle) Gellar, Kathy Bates, W. T. Martin | Thriller | NULL | ||
| High Strung | 1991 | Roger Nygard | ★½ | 93 | A day in the life of chronic whiner Oedekerk (who cowrote film with Robert Kuhn). Grating comedy was rereleased in 1994 to capitalize on the success of Jim Carrey, who has a very small (about 5 minutes), unbilled role. | tt0102032 | [PG] | Steve Oedekerk, Denise Crosby, Fred Willard, Thomas F. Wilson, Ed Williams, Jani Lane, Kirsten Dunst, Tony Sawyer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| High Tension | 2003 | Alexandre Aja | ★★½ | 91 | French import about two girls trying to escape from a perverted serial killer in the isolated countryside was one of the most acclaimed entries in a seemingly endless series of '70s slasher-film revivals. While many of its frightening images and suspenseful, cleverly orchestrated sequences live up to its title, an unsatisfying final twist makes it seem even more dated than the movies it emulates. Cut for U.S. theatrical release. | tt0338095 | [R] | Cécile de France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun, Andrei Finti, Oana Pellea | French | Crime, Horror, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| High Terrace | 1956 | Henry Cass. | ★★ | 77 | Fledgling actress is implicated in murder in minor drama. | tt0049315 | Dale Robertson, Lois Maxwell, Derek Bond, Eric Pohlmann. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| High Tide | 1987 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★½ | 101 | Quietly emotional story of a woman who inadvertently encounters the teenage daughter she abandoned years ago. Truthfully told, well acted, and set against bleakness of an Australian coastal town, but hampered by a leading character we don't necessarily care about. It's fun to see Davis in the opening scenes playing a backup singer for a crummy Elvis impersonator! | tt0095305 | [PG-13] | Judy Davis, Jan Adele, Claudia Karvan, Colin Friels, John Clayton, Frankie J. Holden, Monica Trapaga, Mark Hembrow | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| High Time | 1960 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 103 | Middling Crosby vehicle has Bing a widower resuming college career and trying to be one of the boys; forced comedy. | tt0053912 | Bing Crosby, Fabian, Tuesday Weld, Nicole Maurey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| High Treason | 1952 | Roy Boulting | ★★½ | 93 | Well-handled drama involving complex caper to instigate chaos in English industrial life via high-explosive bomb. | tt0043637 | Andre Morell, Liam Redmond, Mary Morris | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| High Velocity | 1977 | Remi Kramer | ★★ | 105 | Hard-nosed Vietnam vets are hired to spring an international executive who's been kidnapped. Standard action fare, unworthy of good cast. | tt0076145 | [PG] | Ben Gazzara, Paul Winfield, Britt Ekland, Keenan Wynn, Alejandro Rey, Victoria Racimo | Action | NULL | ||
| High Voltage | 1929 | Howard Higgin | ★½ | 57 | Main attraction in this deadening, laughably predictable antique is a very young Lombard (who was then billed as 'Carol,' without the final 'e'), as one of a diverse group stranded in the wilderness after a snowstorm; she's a prisoner, in the custody of sheriff (Moore), who falls for tough guy (Boyd). | tt0019983 | William Boyd, Owen Moore, Carol(e) Lombard, Diane Ellis, Phillips Smalley, Billy Bevan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The High Wall | 1947 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 99 | Well-paced thriller in which ex-bomber-pilot-war-hero Taylor thinks he has murdered his two-timing wife and attempts to piece together the facts with the help of psychiatrist Totter. | tt0039464 | Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall, Dorothy Patrick, H.B. Warner, Warner Anderson | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A High Wind in Jamaica | 1965 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★ | 104 | Excellent cast and intelligent script about group of children who reveal their basic natures when left adrift aboard a pirate vessel. Score composed by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. | tt0059269 | Anthony Quinn, James Coburn, Dennis Price, Gert Frobe, Lila Kedrova, Nigel Davenport, Kenneth J. Warren, Deborah Baxter | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| High and Dry | 1954 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★½ | 93 | Satisfactory, minor yarn about U.S. financier Douglas in conflict with the captain of broken-down ship carrying valuable cargo; static at times. Originally titled THE MAGGIE. | tt0047085 | Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, James Copeland, Abe Barker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| High and Low | Tengoku to jigoku | 1963 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 142 | Carefully paced study of business executive Mifune, who is financially ruined when he nobly pays ransom money to kidnappers who mistakenly stole his chauffeur's son. Based on an Ed McBain story; one color sequence. | tt0057565 | Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa | Japanese | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The High and the Mighty | 1954 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 147 | Granddaddy of all airborne disaster films and more fun than most of them put together: a GRAND HOTEL cast of characters boards a flight from Honolulu to San Francisco, little dreaming of the trouble in store or the tensions in the cockpit. Corny at times, but still entertaining, bolstered by Dimitri Tiomkin's Oscar-winning music (including the title song, which became a big hit). Written by Ernest K. Gann, from his novel. | tt0047086 | John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Laraine Day, Robert Stack, Jan Sterling, Phil Harris, Robert Newton, David Brian, Paul Kelly | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| High, Wide, and Handsome | 1937 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 112 | Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein old-time musical of determined Scott drilling for oil in 19th-century Pennsylvania, fighting corrupt Hale. Corny plot put over by energetic cast; result is entertaining. Songs include 'The Folks Who Live on the Hill. | tt0029000 | Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Dorothy Lamour, Elizabeth Patterson, Charles Bickford, Raymond Walburn, Alan Hale/Sr., Akim Tamiroff, William Frawley | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| High-Ballin' | 1978 | Peter Carter | ★★½ | 100 | Good-buddy truckdrivers Fonda and Reed battle a rival kingpin's goons who want to force them off the road for good. Predictable action fare, with added spice from female trucker Shaver. | tt0077679 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Jerry Reed, Helen Shaver, Chris Wiggins, David Ferry, Chris Longevin | U.S.-Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| Higher Ground | 2011 | Vera Farmiga | ★★★ | 112 | Absorbing, deeply felt drama about a woman's lifelong exploration of faith, from her indoctrination as a child and loyalty to a tight-knit (if male-dominated) spiritual family, to her struggle with long-held beliefs when life presents her with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Anchored by Farmiga's finely tuned performance, all the more impressive in her first film as director. Based on a memoir by Carolyn S. Briggs, who cowrote the screenplay. That's Farmiga's look-alike younger sister Taissa playing Carolyn as an adolescent. | tt1562568 | [R] | Norbert Leo Butz, Dagmara Dominczyk, Vera Farmiga, John Hawkes, Bill Irwin, Joshua Leonard, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Donna Murphy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Higher Learning | 1995 | John Singleton | ★★½ | 127 | Provocative drama of life at a big university where problems tend to break down along racial and sexual lines. Epps plays a young black athlete searching for direction and, sometimes blindly, raging at injustice. Fishburne is a political science professor who tries to help him see the world as it is. Credible, well-acted film goes awry when writer-director Singleton steers it toward melodrama and focuses on a group of extremist skinheads. | tt0113305 | [R] | Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly, *** Ice Cube, Jason Wiles, Tyra Banks, Cole Hauser, Bradford English, Regina King, Busta Rhymes, Jay Ferguson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Higher and Higher | 1943 | Tim Whelan | ★★½ | 90 | Bright, breezy, generally witless musical, with good cheer compensating for lack of material, as once-wealthy Errol schemes with his own servants to raise money. Sinatra's songs are fine: 'The Music Stopped,' 'I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night.' This was his starring debut. | tt0036919 | Michele Morgan, Jack Haley, Frank Sinatra, Leon Errol, Marcy McGuire, Victor Borge, Mary Wickes, Mel Torme | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Highlander | 1986 | Russell Mulcahy | ★½ | 111 | Immortal being is tracked from 16th-century Scotland to modern-day America by his eternal archenemy. Interesting notion made silly and boring. Connery, at least, shows some style in smallish role as Lambert's survival tutor. Former rock video director Mulcahy's relentlessly showy camera moves may cause you to reach for the Dramamine. Ran 17m. longer outside U.S. (and reportedly made more sense). Director's Cut edition is 5m. longer. Followed by three sequels, a TV series and an animated TV series. | tt0091203 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, Sean Connery, Beatie Edney, Alan North | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Highlander II: The Quickening | 1991 | Russell Mulcahy | ★½ | 88 | Lambert has saved the world by a globe-encircling shield, but years later, the shield's the problem. At least, that seems to be the setup; hard to tell in a film so awesomely dull. Connery is dull, too, and in it very briefly. We learn new stuff about the immortals that contradicts the first film without adding anything interesting. Even those who liked the first one hated this. Some video versions run 108m. | tt0102034 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Virginia Madsen, Michael Ironside, Sean Connery, John C. McGinley, Allan Rich, Phil Brock, Rusty Schwimmer | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Highlander- The Final Dimension | 1994 | Andy Morahan. | 💣 | 99 | Conor McCloud, the wanderer from medieval Scotland, does battle in today's N.Y. with evil fellow immortal from the past, the Mongol magician Cane (Van Peebles). Foolish, badly written piffle is a sequel only to the first film, ignoring the second and the TV series. Lambert is glum, Van Peebles shamelessly hammy. Dozens of unexplained elements, starting with Cane's perfect English. Video version rated R. | tt0110027 | [PG-13] | Christopher Lambert, Mario Van Peebles, Deborah Unger, Mako, Raoul Trujillo, Martin Neufeld, Michael Jayston. | U.S.-Canadian | Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |
| Highlander: Endgame | 2000 | Douglas Aarniokoski | 💣 | 88 | Tedious sequel in which 500-year-old Lambert goes up against fellow immortal Payne, a vengeance-seeking, power-hungry rogue. Also involved is Lambert's clan brother (Paul, from the TV series). Of interest only to die-hard series fans. Video runs 101m. | tt0144964 | [R] | Adrian Paul, Christopher Lambert, Bruce Payne, Lisa Barbuscia, Donnie Yen, Ian Paul Cassidy, Sheila Gish | Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Highly Dangerous | 1951 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 88 | American reporter (Clark) accompanies scientist (Lockwood) on secret mission; well paced. | tt0042553 | Dane Clark, Marius Goring, Margaret Lockwood, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Olaf Pooley, Eric Pohlmann | British | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Highpoint | 1980 | Peter Carter | 💣 | 88 | Confused and sloppy comedy thriller (reedited by a film doctor) has Harris as an accountant mixed up in a CIA plot and international intrigue. An excuse for frequent chases culminating in a poorly photographed stunt fall off Toronto's CN tower. | tt0080872 | Richard Harris, Christopher Plummer, Beverly D'Angelo, Kate Reid, Peter Donat, Saul Rubinek | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Highway 301 | 1950 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 83 | Good little gangster film relating robbery capers in straightforward manner. | tt0042250 | Steve Cochran, Virginia Grey, Robert Webber, Richard Egan | Crime | NULL | |||
| Highway 61 | 1991 | Bruce McDonald | ★★½ | 102 | An odd couple— introverted, inexperienced small-town barber McKellar and eccentric, on-the-lam roadie Buhagiar— find themselves traveling from Ontario to New Orleans, along the highway immortalized by Bob Dylan, with a coffin strapped to the roof of their car. Quirky rock 'n roll road movie is strangely likable, depending on your taste and tolerance for the material. McKellar also wrote the script. | tt0102035 | [R] | Don McKellar, Valerie Buhagiar, Earl Pastko, Peter Breck, Jello Biafra | Canadian-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Highway Dragnet | 1954 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 71 |
Tawdry caper of Conte trying |
tt0047087 | Richard Conte, Joan Bennett, Wanda Hendrix, Reed Hadley, Mary Beth Hughes | Crime | NULL | |||
| Highway Patrolman | 1993 | Alex Cox | ★★½ | 105 | Portrait of an idealistic young highway patrolman (Sosa), who is committed to upholding the law but gradually allows himself to be corrupted. Mildly entertaining and more straightforward than one might expect from filmmaker Cox; if anything, the problem is the story's lack of dramatic tension. | tt0105114 | Roberto Sosa, Bruno Bichir, Vanessa Bauche, Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Malena Doria | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Highway to Battle | 1960 | Ernest Morris. | ★★ | 71 | Trim little film set in 1935 England involving Nazi diplomats who try to defect, chased by Gestapo agents. | tt0053913 | Gerard Heinz, Margaret Tyzack, Peter Reynolds, Richard Shaw. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Highway to Hell | 1992 | Ate de Jong | ★½ | 93 | Newlyweds Lowe and Swanson have their honeymoon ruined when she's abducted by a cop from hell . . . literally! Lowe then learns that local legend gives him 24 hours to rescue his bride. Oddball yarn is unexciting and unfunny; even comic Gilbert Gottfried in a cameo as Hitler can't salvage this one. Filmed in 1989. | tt0104418 | [R] | Patrick Bergin, Chad Lowe, Kristy Swanson, Richard Farnsworth, C. J. Graham, Lita Ford, Kevin Peter Hall | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Highwayman | 1951 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 82 | Filmization of famous poem, involving innkeeper's daughter in love with nobleman who masquerades as bandit to help the oppressed; set in 1760s England. | tt0043638 | Charles Coburn, Wanda Hendrix, Philip Friend, Cecil Kellaway, Victor Jory | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Highways by Night | 1942 | Peter Godfrey. | ★★ | 62 | Reclusive millionaire ventures out into the world to get in touch with the common man before entering the Navy, falls in love, and helps his girlfriend's grandma battle racketeers who want to take over her family trucking business. Negligible time-passer. | tt0034853 | Richard Carlson, Jane Randolph, Jane Darwell, Barton MacLane, Ray Collins, Gordon Jones, Jack La Rue. | Comedy, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hilary and Jackie | 1998 | Anand Tucker | ★★★ | 120 | Highly charged portrait of British cellist Jacqueline du Pré (Watson) and her complex relationship with her sister, Hilary (Griffiths), which grows more troubled as Jackie becomes a star in the classical music world. Told in nonlinear fashion, with arresting performances by both women; Watson's cello work is extraordinarily convincing. The facts (disputed by some relatives and colleagues) come from Hilary's memoir. | tt0150915 | [R] | Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths, James Frain, David Morrissey, Charles Dance, Celia Imrie, Rupert Penry-Jones, Bill Paterson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Hilda Crane | 1956 | Philip Dunne | ★★ | 87 | Twice-divorced Simmons returns to the college town that used to be her home, starts the local gossips to fluttering with her behavior. Not much overall, but title character is surprisingly liberated for her time, making her one of the '50s' more interesting screen heroines. | tt0049317 | Jean Simmons, Guy Madison, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Judith Evelyn, Evelyn Varden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hill 24 Doesn't Answer | 1955 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★★ | 102 | Evocative if occasionally schmaltzy drama, played in flashbacks, of the fight for modern Israel, centering on the stories of four soldiers defending a hill outside Jerusalem during the 1948 war. | tt0048121 | Edward Mulhare, Haya Harareet, Michael Wager, Michael Shillo, Arieh Lavi | Israeli | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Hill | 1965 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 122 | Powerful drama of military prison camp, with superb performances by all. One problem: British actors bark at each other and much dialogue is unintelligible to American ears (though if you can make it through the first reel, hang on). Written by Ray Rigby. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0059274 | Sean Connery, Harry Andrews, Ian Hendry, Michael Redgrave, Ian Bannen, Alfred Lynch, Ossie Davis, Roy Kinnear, Jack Watson | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hillbillys in a Haunted House | 1967 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 88 | Country singers Husky and Lansing spend a night in an old mansion, become involved with an espionage ring. Moronic comedy with an elderly, tired cast; a follow-up to LAS VEGAS HILLBILLYS. Sorry to say, Rathbone's last film. | tt0061765 | Ferlin Husky, Joi Lansing, Don Bowman, John Carradine, Lon Chaney/Jr., Basil Rathbone, Molly Bee, Merle Haggard, Sonny James | Comedy, Crime, Musical, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Hills Have Eyes II | 2007 | Martin Weisz | ★½ | 89 | A National Guard troop training in the Southwestern desert comes up against that tribe of radioactively mutated cannibals from the previous film. Begins well but becomes predictable and routine, especially when everyone ends up in mine tunnels favored by the mutants. Good if grisly makeup effects. Written by Wes Craven and his son Jonathan. Not a remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART II. Filmed in Morocco. | tt0800069 | [R] | Michael McMillian, Jessica Stroup, Daniella Alonso, Jacob Vargas, Lee Thompson Young, Ben Crowley, Eric Edelstein, Flex Alexander, Reshad Strik, Michael Bailey Smith | Horror, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hills Have Eyes Part II | 1985 | Wes Craven. | 💣 | 88 | Lame sequel has a group of young motocross enthusiasts stranded in the desert, preyed upon by primitive family. Loaded with flashback footage from 1977 film, including one sequence ludicrously purporting to be a recollection by a dog! Filmed in 1983. | tt0089274 | [R] | Michael Berryman, John Laughin, Tamara Stafford, Kevin Blair, John Bloom. | U.S.-British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Hills Have Eyes | 1977 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 89 | Typical American family on camping trip is harassed by savage, cannibalistic mutants. Above average of its type, with compact direction and plenty of amusing plot twists. Extremely gory film has acquired a cult following. Followed by a sequel. | tt0077681 | [R] | Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, Virginia Vincent, Russ Grieve, Dee Wallace, Martin Speer, Michael Berryman | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Hills Have Eyes | 2006 | Alexandre Aja | ★★½ | 107 | A family follows a creepy gas station attendant's shortcut and gets stranded in the desert, surrounded by a community of deformed killers who inevitably attack. Remaining family members must fend for themselves and avenge their loved ones. Certainly not for all (or even most) audiences; gruesome, disturbing, and finally sort of hokey. Still, Aja deserves credit for a horror remake that-for once-manages to retain much of the original's intensity. Unrated version also available. | tt0454841 | [R] | Michael Bailey Smith, Tom Bower, Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Aaron Stanford, Vinessa Shaw, Emilie de Ravin, Robert Joy, Billy Drago | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hills Run Red | 1966 | Carlo Lizzani | ★★ | 89 | Civil War Western of stolen payrolls; poorly dubbed and loosely acted. | tt0060416 | Thomas Hunter, Henry Silva, Dan Duryea, Nando Gazzola | Italian | Western | NULL | ||
| Hills of Home | 1948 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★★ | 97 | Fine Lassie movie about doctor convincing Scottish father to urge son to study medicine. | tt0040438 | Edmund Gwenn, Donald Crisp, Tom Drake, Rhys Williams, Janet Leigh | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hills of Old Wyoming | 1937 | Nate Watt. | ★★★ | 78 | After ranchers start missing cattle, Hopalong Cassidy looks to nearby Indian reservation for answers and finds a shady deputy. Strong scenic values; tinny incidental music score the only drawback. This marked Hayden's acting debut, replacing Jimmy Ellison as Hoppy's impetuous young sidekick. | tt0029001 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Gail Sheridan, Clara Kimball Young, Earle Hodgins. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hills of Utah | 1951 | John English. | ★★★ | 70 | Gene returns to his hometown of Coffin Gap as a doctor and lands smack in the middle of a bitter feud between copper miners and big cattle outfits; it doesn't take him long to figure out why cattle are dying from mining waste water. Gene sings his hit song 'Peter Cottontail.' One of Autry's better 1950s outings. | tt0043641 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Elaine Riley, Donna Martell, Onslow Stevens, Denver Pyle, William Fawcett, Harry Lauter, Kenne Duncan, Tom London, Tommy Ivo, Teddy Infuhr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Hindenburg | 1975 | Robert Wise | ★★ | 125 | Intriguing premise, that 1937 airship disaster was an act of sabotage, undermined by silly Grand Hotel-type characters and unexciting denouement combining original newsreel footage and newly shot material. This earned special Oscars for its visual and sound effects. 5m. were added to film for network showing. | tt0073113 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes, Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, Charles Durning, Richard A. Dysart, Robert Clary, Rene Auberjonois, Katherine Helmond | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hips, Hips, Hooray | 1934 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 68 | One of Wheeler & Woolsey's best vehicles is a lavish, risqué musical comedy about their attempts to save Todd's ailing beauty business. Wild production numbers, plus a nice song from Etting, 'Keep Romance Alive.' | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Thelma Todd, Ruth Etting, George Meeker | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||||
| Hips, Hips, Hooray! | 1934 | Mark Sandrich. | ★★★ | 68 | One of Wheeler & Woolsey's best vehicles is a lavish, risqué musical comedy about their attempts to save Todd's ailing beauty business. Wild production numbers, plus a nice song from Etting, 'Keep Romance Alive.' | tt0025254 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Thelma Todd, Ruth Etting, George Meeker. | NULL | ||||
| The Hired Gun | 1957 | Ray Nazarro | ★★½ | 63 | Francis is fetching as condemned killer Calhoun determines to prove innocent. | tt0050510 | Rory Calhoun, Anne Francis, Vince Edwards, John Litel, Chuck Connors | Western | NULL | |||
| The Hired Hand | 1971 | Peter Fonda | ★★★ | 93 | First-rate photography by Vilmos Zsigmond and good performances by Oates and Bloom aid this offbeat, sometimes pretentious Western about cowboy who goes to work for the wife he deserted seven years before. TV prints run 98m., and include a scene with Larry Hagman. | tt0067204 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Verna Bloom, Robert Pratt, Severn Darden | Western | NULL | ||
| Hired Wife | 1940 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 96 | Secretary Russell marries boss Aherne for business reasons; then the fun begins. Hilarious trifle with cast of comedy experts. | tt0032596 | Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Virginia Bruce, Robert Benchley, John Carroll | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hired to Kill | 1990 | Nico Mastorakis, Peter Rader | ★½ | 91 | Mercenary Thompson poses as a gay fashion designer to spring rebel leader Ferrer from Latin American prison. His commando squad: six gorgeous women posing as fashion models! Well produced, but awesomely silly. | tt0102043 | [R] | Brian Thompson, Oliver Reed, George Kennedy, Jose Ferrer, Michelle Moffett, Barbara Lee Alexander, Jordana Capra, Kendall Conrad, Kim Lonsdale, Jude Mussetter, Penelope Reed | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hireling | 1973 | Alan Bridges | ★★★½ | 108 | Artistic adaptation of L. P. Hartley novel of stifling class system of England. Chauffeur (Shaw) helps upper-class woman (Miles) out of mental depression, mistakenly assumes she's interested in him. Ensemble British cast, good direction. Screenplay by Wolf Mankowitz. | tt0070180 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, Sarah Miles, Peter Egan, Elizabeth Sellars, Caroline Mortimer, Patricia Lawrence | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Hiroshima | 1995 | Roger Spottiswoode, Koreyoshi Kurahara | Above Average TV Movie | 195 | Mesmerizing account of the events leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb, as told from both sides in two separate, interwoven films—one Canadian (with Kenneth Welsh as Truman), the other Japanese, with subtitles. Recently uncovered footage, newsreels, armed forces clips, and dramatized encounters with the leading figures of the time provide stunning results for this ambitious TV effort. Interestingly, other than a few U.S. actors, no American hands were involved, despite its dealing mainly with Harry Truman, his closest advisors, and the Manhattan Project. Made for cable. | tt0113309 | Kenneth Welsh, Wesley Addy, Richard Masur, David Gow, Hisashi Igawa, Sheena Larkin, Tatsuo Matsumura, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ken Jenkins, Saul Rubinek, Timothy West, Kei Sato, Kohji Takahashi | Canadian-Japanese | Documentary, War | NULL | ||
| Hiroshima, Mon Amour | 1959 | Alain Resnais | ★★★½ | 91 | Resnais' first feature is a thoughtful, complex study of a French film actress (Riva) and Japanese architect (Okada), each with a troubled past, who have a brief affair in postwar Hiroshima. Scripted by Marguerite Duras. | tt0052893 | Emmanuele Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson | French-Japanese | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| His Brother's Wife | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 90 | Glossy soaper of dedicated scientist Taylor scorning Stanwyck, who marries his brother (Eldredge) for spite. Stanwyck and Taylor married in real life three years later. | tt0027746 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Jean Hersholt, Joseph Calleia, John Eldredge, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama | NULL | |||
| His Butler's Sister | 1943 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 94 | Great opening (Iris Adrian and Robin Raymond as the Sunshine Twins) and moving finale (Deanna's stunning rendition of 'Nessun Dorma' from Turandot), but in between, a tired Durbin vehicle with Tone as an aloof Broadway composer. | tt0036001 | Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, Pat O'Brien, Evelyn Ankers, Elsa Janssen, Akim Tamiroff, Walter Catlett, Alan Mowbray | Comedy | NULL | |||
| His Double Life | 1933 | Arthur Hopkins | ★★½ | 67 | Slight, moderately entertaining tale about a shy but famous artist (Young), who is more than pleased to settle down with middle-class spinster Gish when he is thought dead. Based on Arnold Bennett's play Buried Alive, filmed three times in the silent era. Remade far more successfully as HOLY MATRIMONY. | tt0024122 | Roland Young, Lillian Gish, Montague Love, Lucy Beaumont, Lumsden Hare | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| His First Command | 1929 | Gregory La Cava | ★★ | 61 | Slow-moving romantic drama with Boyd offering an awkward performance as a playboy who enlists in the army to win the affection of colonel's daughter Sebastian. Forgettable. | tt0019987 | William Boyd, Dorothy Sebastian, Gavin Gordon, Helen Parrish, Alphonse Ethier | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| His Girl Friday | 1940 | Howard Hawks | ★★★★ | 92 | Splendid comedy remake of THE FRONT PAGE with Grant as conniving editor, Russell as star reporter (and his ex-wife), Bellamy as mama's boy she's trying to marry amid hot murder story. Terrific character actors add sparkle to must-see film, scripted by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer. Remade (with the same gender twist) in 1988 as SWITCHING CHANNELS. | tt0032599 | Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Helen Mack, Ernest Truex, Clarence Kolb, Porter Hall, Roscoe Karns, Abner Biberman, Cliff Edwards, John Qualen, Frank Jenks, Billy Gilbert | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| His Kind of Woman | 1951 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 120 | Mitchum blindly goes to Mexico for a payoff of 50 grand, discovers he's the soon-to-be-dead chump whose identity will help deported gangster Burr re-enter the country. Cult film is overlong, but its spoofing of he-man heroics predates the more celebrated BEAT THE DEVIL by three years; Price is hilarious as a ham actor. | tt0043643 | Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price, Tim Holt, Raymond Burr, Charles McGraw, Marjorie Reynolds, Jim Backus | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| His Majesty O'Keefe | 1953 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 92 | Another athletic Lancaster buccaneer romp, set in the South Seas. | tt0045876 | Burt Lancaster, Joan Rice, Benson Fong, Philip Ahn, Grant Taylor | Adventure | NULL | |||
| His Private Secretary | 1933 | Phil Whitman. | ★½ | 61 | In the big wicked city, a straitlaced young lady straightens out a debonair but reckless playboy who's squandering his life on wine, women, song, and more women. Unlikely low-budget Wayne vehicle miscasts him as what his dad calls a 'worthless, dissolute, girl-crazy young squirt.' | tt0024124 | John Wayne, Evalyn Knapp, Reginald Barlow, Alec B. Francis, Arthur Hoyt, Natalie Kingston, Al St. John. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| His Woman | 1931 | Edward Sloman | ★★ | 80 | Stiff, early-talkie romance between skipper Cooper and passenger, nurse Colbert. | tt0021963 | Gary Cooper, Claudette Colbert, Douglass Dumbrille, Harry Davenport | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The History Boys | 2006 | Nicholas Hytner | ★★★ | 109 | Screen adaptation of riveting, Tony Award-winning Alan Bennett play arrives with director and its London/Broadway cast intact. Eight gifted goof-offs face university exam prep with two contrasting profs: a wildly idiosyncratic veteran who gives them life lessons (Griffiths) and a humorless younger man hired to drill them on test-taking tactics. Hardly cinematic, but anyone who has ever loved GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS won't mind. | tt0464049 | [R] | Richard Griffiths, Stephen Campbell Moore, Frances de la Tour, Samuel Barnett, Dominic Cooper, Samuel Anderson, James Corden, Andrew Knott, Sacha Dhawan, Jamie Parker, Russell Tovey, Clive Merrison, Penelope Wilton, Georgia Taylor | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| History Is Made at Night | 1937 | Frank Borzage | ★★★½ | 97 | Arthur, fleeing from a jealous husband she doesn't love, falls in love with Parisian headwaiter Boyer. Elegant, adult romantic drama, seamlessly directed by Borzage, with incredible shipboard climax and flawless performances by the two leads. | tt0029002 | Charles Boyer, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo, Colin Clive, Ivan Lebedeff, George Meeker, Lucien Prival, George Davis | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The History of Mr. Polly | 1949 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★★ | 96 | Worthy adaptation of H. G. Wells novel about timid draper's clerk (Mills) and his relationships with women— notably a shrewish cousin and a jolly innkeeper. Amusing and enjoyable Victorian comedy. | tt0041469 | John Mills, Sally Ann Howes, Finlay Currie, Betty Ann Davies, Edward Chapman, Megs Jenkins, Juliet Mills | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A History of Violence | 2005 | David Cronenberg | ★★★ | 98 | Soft-spoken man who runs a small-town luncheonette is suddenly confronted by two violent strangers-and is more than ready to respond. His actions lead to questions and repercussions. Sexually potent, harshly violent story based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke is arresting entertainment that means to hit us right between the eyes, and does. | tt0399146 | [R] | Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Ashton Holmes, Stephen McHattie, Peter MacNeill | U.S.-Canadian | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| History of the World- Part 1 | 1981 | Mel Brooks | ★½ | 92 | Scattershot comedy wanders from the Stone Age to Roman Empire to French Revolution, dispensing gags ranging from hilarious to hideous. After a while momentum's gone, and it all just lies there, despite efforts of a large comic cast. Caesar scores highest as a caveman in opening scenes. Hines' film debut. | tt0082517 | [R] | Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Sid Caesar, Pamela Stephenson, Mary-Margaret Humes, Howard Morris, Spike Milligan, Barry Levinson. Narrated by Orson Welles | Comedy, History | NULL | ||
| Hit List | 1989 | William Lustig | ★★ | 87 | Familiar urban thriller of ordinary guy whose child is mistakenly kidnapped by cold-eyed hit man working for flamboyant mobster Torn. Hero teams up with the real target, an informer. Lots of violent action. Torn and Henriksen are good, but you've seen it all before. | tt0095311 | [R] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Lance Henriksen, Rip Torn, Leo Rossi, Jere Burns, Ken Lerner | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hit Man | 1972 | George Armitage | ★★ | 90 | Reworking of GET CARTER in black mold. Big rubout is key to crime story, and it loses steam before long. | tt0068704 | [R] | Bernie Casey, Pamela Grier, Lisa Moore, Don Diamond, Roger E. Mosley | Crime | NULL | ||
| Hit and Run | 1982 | Charles Braverman | ★★ | 93 | All gloss, no substance in this implausible drama of cabdriver Perri's entanglement with mysterious, beautiful passenger Cron and murder. Also known as REVENGE SQUAD. | tt0084078 | [PG] | Paul Perri, Claudia Cron, Will Lee, Bart Braverman, E. Brian Dean, Donald Symington | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Hit the Deck | 1955 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 112 | Second-string MGM musical of sailors on shore leave is pleasant time-filler, no more, with nice Vincent Youmans songs like 'Hallelujah,' 'Sometimes I'm Happy,' 'More Than You Know.' Filmed before in 1930. | tt0048171 | Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, Vic Damone, Russ Tamblyn, Walter Pidgeon, Kay Armen, Gene Raymond | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hit the Ice | 1943 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 82 | Bud and Lou are newspaper photographers involved with gang of thugs in zany comedy with good gags on skating rink. | tt0036004 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Ginny Simms, Patric Knowles, Elyse Knox, Sheldon Leonard, Marc Lawrence, Joe Sawyer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hit the Road | 1941 | Joe May | ★★ | 61 | Halop, Hall, and the other boys are turned into vengeful orphans when their dads are all rubbed out in a mob war. Uninteresting Little Tough Guys entry. | tt0033720 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsley, Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Bobs Watson, Evelyn Ankers, Charles Lang, Shemp Howard | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hit! | 1973 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★★ | 134 | Detailed and overlong, but exciting story of black U.S. agent who seeks revenge on top drug importers in Marseilles who are indirectly responsible for his daughter's death. | tt0070183 | [R] | Billy Dee Williams, Paul Hampton, Richard Pryor, Gwen Welles | Action | NULL | ||
| The Hit | 1984 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 98 | Sly, offbeat film about a criminal stool pigeon (Stamp) who's been in hiding for ten years but whose time has just run out: two hit men have tracked him down. Sharp, often very funny, and doggedly unpredictable. Written by Peter Prince; memorable theme music by Eric Clapton, assisted by Roger Waters. Film debut of Tim Roth. | tt0087414 | [R] | Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Laura Del Sol, Bill Hunter, Fernando Rey | British | Comedy, Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Hitch | 2005 | Andy Tennant. | ★★ | 117 | Smith is a date doctor who coaches timid, nerdy New York guys on how to woo women, using several 'basic principles.' His latest client (James) is madly in love with a celebrated heiress (Valletta), but Smith doesn't see her as unattainable. Then he sets his own sights on gossip columnist Mendes. Likable at first, this romantic comedy becomes needlessly complicated and overlong. Smith also coproduced. | tt0386588 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Michael Rapaport, Adam Arkin, Julie Ann Emery, Kevin Sussman, Robinne Lee, Philip Bosco, Matt Malloy. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Hitch-Hiker | 1953 | Ida Lupino | ★★½ | 71 | Well-made suspense yarn about two men on a hunting trip whose car is commandeered by a murderous fugitive. Good performances, especially by a venal Talman in the title role, but the film's once-powerful impact has been muted by decades of more graphic and imaginative films. | tt0045877 | Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman, Jose Torvay | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Hitcher | 1986 | Robert Harmon | ★★½ | 97 | Hitchhiker Hauer keeps reappearing in Howell's life— is he real, or an hallucination? Reminiscent of other movies, except all those other movies (DUEL, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER) are better. Not without interest, but some of the violence is genuinely grisly and unappealing. Followed in 2002 by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0091209 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn, John Jackson | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hitcher | 2007 | Dave Meyers | ★½ | 83 | Unnecessary remake of the 1986 horror film in which a hitchhiker terrorizes a young couple who wish they'd never picked him up in the first place. Some good car stunts and a credible performance from Bean as the evildoer aren't enough to justify revisiting this material. Apparently the most original change filmmakers could think of was switching the gender in the notorious body 'stretching' scene we first saw twenty years earlier. | tt0455960 | [R] | Sophia Bush, Sean Bean, Zachary Knighton, Neal McDonough | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | 2005 | Garth Jennings. | ★★★ | 110 | Clever if low-key screen adaptation of Douglas Adams' much-loved book (which began as a BBC radio serial) about an ordinary bloke who finds himself having an intergalactic adventure after earth is destroyed . . . and encountering other species in search of the Big Answers. Visually and verbally witty, though the energy lags at times. Filmed before as a miniseries in 1981. | tt0371724 | [PG] | Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, John Malkovich, Simon Jones, David Leamer; voices of Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Richard Griffiths, Ian McNeice, Thomas Lennon; narrated by Stephen Fry. | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hitler | 1962 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 107 | Basehart gives a cerebral interpretation to the career of the leader of the Third Reich. | tt0056072 | Richard Basehart, Cordula Trantow, Maria Emo, Martin Kosleck, John Banner, Carl Esmond | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| The Hitler Gang | 1944 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 101 | Historical drama of Hitler's rise to power had greatest impact on WW2 audiences but is still fairly interesting, though dwarfed by recent documentaries. | tt0036921 | Robert Watson, Martin Kosleck, Victor Varconi, Luis Van Rooten, Sig Ruman, Tonio Selwart, Ludwig Donath | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hitler's Children | 1943 | Edward Dmytryk, Irving Reis | ★★★ | 83 | Engrossing exploitation film of young people forced to live life of horror in Nazi Germany. Quite sensational in its day. | tt0034856 | Tim Holt, Bonita Granville, Kent Smith, Otto Kruger, H. B. Warner, Lloyd Corrigan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hitler's Madman | 1943 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 84 | Vintage WW2 propaganda of citizens in small Czech village and their fate against their Nazi tormentors. Carradine is appropriately depraved as Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi governor of Prague. Coscripted by Yiddish playwright Peretz Hirchbein; look for Ava Gardner in a small part. Loosely based on fact; the story is also told in HANGMEN ALSO DIE. | tt0036005 | Patricia Morison, John Carradine, Alan Curtis, Ralph Morgan, Howard Freeman, Ludwig Stossel, Edgar Kennedy | War | NULL | |||
| Hitler- Dead or Alive | 1943 | Nick Grinde | ★★ | 70 | Low-budget nonsense, with con-men shooting for high stakes by attempting to kill Hitler. | tt0034857 | Ward Bond, Dorothy Tree, Warren Hymer, Paul Fix, Russell Hicks, Felix Basch, Bobby Watson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hitler: The Last Ten Days | 1973 | Ennio de Concini | ★★ | 108 | Strange treatment of Hitler's final tyrannies is grimly amusing at times; muddled film doesn't really work. | tt0070184 | [PG] | Alec Guinness, Simon Ward, Adolfo Celi, Diane Cilento, Gabriele Ferzetti, Eric Porter, Doris Kunstmann | British-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Hitman | 2007 | Xavier Gens | ★★ | 93 | Every bit as visually flashy and dramatically sketchy as you would expect a video-game–inspired action-adventure to be. Still, some genuinely rousing run-and-gun sequences—enhanced with rapid-fire editing, slo-mo flourishes, and very loud music—generate interest as prolifically lethal but increasingly self-doubting Agent 47 (Olyphant), a bald-pated, bar-code–tattooed assassin, dashes about Russia after being betrayed by his employers. Unrated version also available. | tt0465494 | [R] | Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, Robert Knepper, Ulrich Thomsen, Henry Ian Cusick | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hitman | 1991 | Aaron Norris | ★½ | 95 | Fairly awful Chuck Norris vehicle in which the star goes undercover to infiltrate an organized crime ring. Norris gets to play a heavy — even though we know all along it's a ruse. This acting 'stretch' still isn't enough to distinguish the film. Stuntwork remains the only redeeming quality. | tt0102045 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Michael Parks, Al Waxman, Alberta Watson, Salim Grant, Ken Pogue, Marcel Sabourin | Action | NULL | ||
| Hitting a New High | 1937 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 85 | Title refers to Pons' voice, not the film per se; fluffy musical romance relies on supporting cast for entertainment. | tt0029006 | Lily Pons, Jack Oakie, Edward Everett Horton, Lucille Ball, Eric Blore, Eduardo Ciannelli | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Hoax | 2007 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 115 | Entertaining look at one of the greatest frauds of the 20th century, when, in 1971, failed author Clifford Irving convinced a major publisher that he was the conduit to an autobiography of eccentric, elusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Gere brilliantly captures Irving's bravado, and his anxieties; Molina is funny as his hapless partner in crime. Hallström and screenwriter William Wheeler's treatment of the material is unexpectedly complex and challenging, presenting a mental puzzle in cinematic form. | tt0462338 | [R] | Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Stanley Tucci, Julie Delpy, Eli Wallach, Zeljko Ivanek, John Bedford Lloyd, Mamie Gummer. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hobson's Choice | 1954 | David Lean | ★★★ | 107 | Laughton is selfish, overbearing owner of bootshop in 1890s who's used to being tended to by his three subservient daughters; then his eldest (De Banzie) decides to take matters into her own hands. Beautifully staged and photographed (by Jack Hildyard), with Laughton having a field day in the lead. Loses momentum along the way, but still entertaining. Filmed before in 1931; remade as a TVM in 1983. | tt0047094 | Charles Laughton, John Mills, Brenda de Banzie, Daphne Anderson, Prunella Scales, Richard Wattis, Helen Haye | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hockey Night | 1984 | Paul Shapiro | ★★½ | 77 | A girl goalie makes the boys' hockey team in a small Canadian town. Unexceptional but still likable, and ideal nonexploitation fare for pre-and early teens. | tt0087416 | Megan Follows, Rick Moranis, Gail Youngs, Yannick Bisson, Henry Ramer, Sean McCann | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hocus Pocus | 1993 | Kenny Ortega | ★½ | 95 | Lonely male teen in Salem, Mass., conjures up three long-deceased witches who can only sustain themselves by sucking the life out of children. Someone certainly sucked the humor out of this ghoulish, effects-laden concoction. Hammy to the extreme, and a discredit to Disney 'family entertainment.' | tt0107120 | [PG] | Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Amanda Shepherd, Larry Bagby III, Tobias Jelinek, Stephanie Faracy, Charlie Rocket, Kathleen Freeman, Don Yesso | Family, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Hoffa | 1992 | Danny DeVito | ★★½ | 140 | Scattershot (and sanitized) biography of legendary Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa, transformed into a must-see by the galvanizing performance of Nicholson. DeVito indulges in visual flourishes but seldom engages our emotions; nor does David Mamet's script, which never gives us much insight into the man or his motivations. Nicholson's daughter, Jennifer Nicholson, has a bit as a nursing nun in white. Bruno Kirby appears unbilled as a nightclub comic. | tt0104427 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Armand Assante, J. T. Walsh, John C. Reilly, Frank Whaley, Kevin Anderson, John P. Ryan, Robert Prosky, Natalija Nogulich, Nicholas Pryor, Karen Young, Cliff Gorman | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hoffman | 1970 | Alvin Rakoff | ★★★ | 116 | Very odd, low-key dual character study with Sellers blackmailing attractive young bride-to-be to spend weekend with him. Slightly overlong; great performances. | tt0065839 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Sinead Cusack, Jeremy Bulloch, Ruth Dunning | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hog Wild | 1980 | Les Rose | ★½ | 97 | Dumb comedy about humorously nasty bikers who harass teenagers. Predictable, low-grade production benefits from spirited performances, especially Rosato as incoherently mumbling gang leader The Bull. | tt0080880 | [PG] | Michael Biehn, Patti D'Arbanville, Tony Rosato, Angelo Rizacos, Martin Doyle, Matt Craven | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Holcroft Covenant | 1985 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 112 | Muddy, twisty, unbelievable tale from Robert Ludlum novel. Caine's late father (a comrade-in-arms of Adolf Hitler) has left a fortune behind, supposedly to make amends for his wrongdoing— and leading Caine on a globe-trotting series of adventures. Just old-fashioned enough to be watchable— but not very good. | tt0089283 | [R] | Michael Caine, Anthony Andrews, Victoria Tennant, Lilli Palmer, Mario Adorf, Michael Lonsdale | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Hold 'Em Jail | 1932 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 74 | Silly comedy in which Wheeler and Woolsey are framed, sent to jail, and play on Warden Kennedy's football team. The climactic big game is the highlight. | tt0023013 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Betty Grable, Edgar Kennedy, Edna May Oliver, Roscoe Ates, Robert Armstrong, Paul Hurst, Warren Hymer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold 'Em Navy | 1937 | Kurt Neumann. | ★★ | 64 | Ayres and Howard on the gridiron, with Carlisle the love interest. Boolah, boolah! Look for Alan Ladd in a bit part. | tt0029008 | Lew Ayres, Mary Carlisle, John Howard, Benny Baker, Elizabeth Patterson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hold Back Tomorrow | 1955 | Hugo Haas | ★★ | 75 | Another of writer-director-producer Haas' oddball low-budget dramas, this one about a condemned murderer who marries a girl on the night before his execution. Fairly ambitious for a film clearly made on a shoestring. | tt0048174 | Cleo Moore, John Agar, Frank de Kova, Harry Guardino, Jan Englund |
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NULL | |||
| Hold Back the Dawn | 1941 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★½ | 115 | First-rate soaper with Billy Wilder-Charles Brackett script of gigolo Boyer marrying spinsterish Olivia to get into U.S. That's director Leisen in the Hollywood soundstage sequence, directing Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy in I WANTED WINGS. Catch this one. | tt0033722 | Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard, Victor Francen, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Hold Back the Night | 1956 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 80 | Korean War officer Payne recounts facts about bottle of liquor he always has with him. | tt0049319 | John Payne, Mona Freeman, Peter Graves, Chuck Connors | War | NULL | |||
| Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me | 1992 | Joel Hershman | ★★★ | 92 | Parrish goes on the lam after shooting his fiancée (Young), a wealthy weirdo, and becomes involved with an oversexed, abusive stripper and her virginal kid sister, who live in a trailer park inhabited by assorted oddballs. Funky, extremely entertaining comedy. Fans of Pedro Almodóvar, John Waters, and early David Lynch will really go for this. Also available in unrated version. | tt0104428 | [R] | Max Parrish, Adrienne Shelly, Sean Young, Diane Ladd, Timothy Leary, Andrea Naschak, Bela Lehoczky | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hold On! | 1966 | Arthur Lubin | ★½ | 85 | Will NASA name a spaceship after Herman's Hermits? That's the burning question in this awful musical, set while the group is on a U.S. tour. One of their songs is titled 'A Must to Avoid,' which sums up this loser. | tt0060512 | Peter Noone, *** Herman's Hermits, Sue Ane Langdon, Karl Green, Shelley Fabares | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold That Baby! | 1949 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 64 | The Bowery Boys find a bouncing bundle of joy in a laundromat and get mixed up in an inheritance swindle; standard series shenanigans. | tt0041472 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Gabriel Dell, Frankie Darro, John Kellogg, Anabel Shaw, Bernard Gorcey | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold That Blonde | 1945 | George Marshall | ★★ | 76 | OK comedy, sometimes strained, of kleptomaniac Bracken tangling with sultry thief Lake. | tt0037785 | Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Albert Dekker, Frank Fenton, George Zucco, Donald MacBride | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold That Co-Ed | 1938 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 80 | Good musicomedy supercharged by Barrymore as windy politician; he makes the whole film. | tt0030239 | John Barrymore, George Murphy, Marjorie Weaver, Joan Davis, Jack Haley, George Barbier | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold That Ghost | 1941 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 86 | Prime A&C, with the boys inheriting a haunted house. Fine cast includes hilarious Davis as professional radio screamer. Highlight: the moving candle. | tt0033723 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Mischa Auer, Evelyn Ankers, Marc Lawrence, Shemp Howard, Ted Lewis, The Andrews Sisters | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Hold That Hypnotist | 1957 | Austen Jewell | ★★ | 61 | Hypnotized Sach regresses to a past life in the 17th century, where he gets mixed up with Blackbeard the pirate. Adequate Bowery Boys time passer. | tt0050515 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Jane Nigh, David (Gorcey) Condon, Robert Foulk, James Flavin, Queenie Smith, Jimmy Murphy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold That Line | 1952 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 64 | The Bowery Boys go to college and bring along some old vaudeville gags as Sach becomes a gridiron hero. | tt0044714 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gil Stratton/Jr., David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Bernard Gorcey, John Bromfield, Veda Ann Borg, Taylor Holmes, Pierre Watkin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hold Your Man | 1933 | Sam Wood | ★★★ | 86 | Delightful film that effectively makes the transition from comedy to drama with Harlow falling for jailbound Gable. The stars are at their best here. | tt0024130 | Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Stuart Erwin, Elizabeth Patterson, Blanche Friderici | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Hole in the Head | 1959 | Frank Capra | ★★ | 120 | Sticky story of a ne'er-do-well (Sinatra) and his son (Hodges) doesn't seem sincere. Only distinction is Oscar-winning song, 'High Hopes.' | tt0052896 | Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Thelma Ritter, Eddie Hodges, Keenan Wynn, Joi Lansing | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Hole in the Wall | 1929 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 65 | Dynamic stars elevate this standard tale of crooks using a phony medium to fleece rich clients. Interesting relic with stylish sets and photography, made at Paramount's East Coast studio in Astoria, N.Y. Notable only for performances of Robinson and Colbert, who are completely natural in their talkie debuts. | tt0019992 | Edward G. Robinson, Claudette Colbert, David Newell, Nelly Savage, Donald Meek, Alan Brooks, Louise Closser Hale. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Hole | 2001 | Nick Hamm. | ★★ | 102 | Private school student Birch stumbles onto campus after she and fellow classmates have been missing for over two weeks. She tells a tale of how she and three teens ditched a weekend field trip to hang out in an underground bunker, only to find themselves trapped and at the mercy of a troubled soul. Birch's complex performance is the best part of this lackluster psychological horror film. Released direct to video in the U.S. in 2004. | tt0242527 | [R] | Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox, Keira Knightley, Embeth Davidtz. | British | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Holes | 2003 | Andrew Davis | ★★½ | 118 | Boy from an eccentric family is sent to a strange desert detention camp where it's believed that digging holes builds character. As he gets to know the other misfits— among the kids and staff— pieces of his life begin to come together and make sense. Louis Sachar's adaptation of his popular, award-winning novel should please his juvenile audience, but adults may grow impatient as the artificial, incident-laden story plays out over two hours' time. | tt0311289 | [PG] | Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas, Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson, Dulé Hill, Henry Winkler, Nate Davis, Rick Fox, Scott Plank, Eartha Kitt, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Brenden Jefferson, Jake M. Smith | Drama, Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Holiday | 1930 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 96 | First version of Philip Barry's play about nonconformity is a pleasant surprise; an unstodgy early talkie with casting that in some cases (Astor, Owsley) even tops the more famous 1938 version (Horton plays the same role in both movies). | tt0020985 | Ann Harding, Robert Ames, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Hedda Hopper, Monroe Owsley | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Holiday | 1938 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 93 | Fine, literate adaptation of Philip Barry's play (filmed before in 1930) about nonconformist Grant confronting stuffy N.Y.C. society family, finding his match in Hepburn (who had understudied the role in the original Broadway company a decade earlier). Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman. Delightful film. | tt0030241 | Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres, Edward Everett Horton, Henry Kolker, Binnie Barnes, Jean Dixon, Henry Daniell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Holiday Affair | 1949 | Don Hartman | ★★★ | 87 | Well-done Christmastime story of war widow Leigh, with a young son, who's courted by nice-guy Corey. Fate intervenes when she meets articulate, kindly rolling stone Mitchum. Remade in 1997. | tt0041473 | Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, Gordon Gebert, Harry Morgan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Holiday Camp | 1948 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 97 | Pleasant account of life and love at British summer resort; atmospheric, with good characterizations. | tt0040443 | Dennis Price, Flora Robson, Jack Warner | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Holiday Inn | 1942 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★½ | 101 | Entertaining musical built on paper-thin plot about a romantic triangle, and the establishment of a country inn that's open only on holidays. That's the cue for a raft of Irving Berlin holiday songs (there's even one for George Washington's birthday!) including the timeless Oscar winner 'White Christmas.' Good fun, and snappier than partial remake WHITE CHRISTMAS. Bing's original Rhythm Boys partner, Harry Barris, plays the orchestra leader. | tt0034862 | Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers | Romance, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Holiday for Lovers | 1959 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 103 | Arch Dr. Webb and Wyman escort attractive daughters on South American vacation, with predictable mating. | tt0052897 | Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, Jill St. John, Carol Lynley, Paul Henreid, Gary Crosby, Jose Greco | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Holiday for Sinners | 1952 | Gerald Mayer | ★★½ | 72 | Strange goings-on at Mardi Gras as several people try to forget their troublesome lives and have a good time. | tt0044715 | Gig Young, Janice Rule, Keenan Wynn, William Campbell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Holiday in Havana | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 73 | Bargain-basement musical, with Arnaz and Hatcher playing pair of Cuban love birds. Of interest solely for Desi's presence. | tt0041475 | Desi Arnaz, Mary Hatcher, Ann Doran, Steven Geray, Minerva Urecal, Sig Arno | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Holiday in Mexico | 1946 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 127 | Engaging, well-cast musical comedy of daughter of ambassador falling for noted musician. | tt0038606 | Walter Pidgeon, Ilona Massey, Roddy McDowall, Jose Iturbi, Xavier Cugat, Jane Powell | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Holiday | 2006 | Nancy Meyers | ★★½ | 135 | Stressed-out L.A. workaholic Diaz, who's just split with her longtime boyfriend, impulsively decides to swap houses for Christmas with Winslet, a Brit who's trying to get over her hopeless infatuation with Sewell. Each woman moves into a dream house and meets a dream guy in this highly attractive-but needlessly overlong-piece of fluff. Not without its charms, but awfully contrived. Written by the director. | tt0457939 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell, Miffy Englefield, Emma Pritchard, Shannyn Sossamon, Bill Macy, Shelley Berman, Kathryn Hahn, John Krasinski | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hollow Man | 2000 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★ | 114 | New twist on The Invisible Man has cocky research lab genius Bacon deciding to try his revolutionary formula on himself, with incendiary results. Starts out fun, then turns nasty (in true Verhoeven style) and stupid. A shame, considering how great the special effects are. Fine score by Jerry Goldsmith. | tt0164052 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, William Devane, Greg Grunberg, Mary Jo Randle, Joey Slotnick, Steve Altes, Kim Dickens | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hollow Reed | 1996 | Angela Pope | ★★★ | 104 | Doctor Donovan, who is divorced, senses that his young son is being abused by his ex-wife's live-in boyfriend. He decides to petition for custody, but knows his concern for his son's safety will be obscured by the fact that he is gay. Intensely dramatic, extremely well-acted psychological drama works on two levels: as a top-notch suspense thriller and a no-holds-barred indictment of homophobia. | tt0113314 | [R] | Martin Donovan, Joely Richardson, Jason Flemyng, Ian Hart, Sam Bould | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Hollow Triumph | The Scar | 1948 | Steve Sekely | ★★★ | 83 | Tense melodrama of killer assuming identity of lookalike doctor. Retitled: THE SCAR. | tt0040444 | Paul Henreid, Joan Bennett, Eduard Franz, Leslie Brooks | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| The Holly and the Ivy | 1952 | George More O'Ferrall | ★★★ | 80 | Straightforward adaptation of Wynyard Browne play revolving around Christmas holiday with Richardson, the small-town cleric, learning about his three grown-up children; nicely acted. | tt0044716 | Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Denholm Elliott, Hugh Williams, Roland Culver | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hollywood & Vine | 1945 | Alexis Thurn-Taxis. | 💣 | 58 | Threadbare PRC production about two young Hollywood hopefuls, aspiring actress McKay and screenwriter Ellison. Patently awful, with no redeeming qualities; looks as if it were shot in a closet. | tt0037786 | James Ellison, Wanda McKay, June Clyde, Ralph Morgan, Franklin Pangborn, Leon Belasco, Billy Benedict, Charles Middleton. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hollywood Boulevard | 1976 | Joe Dante, Allan Arkush | ★★½ | 83 | Shameless low-budgeter splices shots from various Roger Corman films into the 'story' of a would-be actress who goes to work for some schlock moviemakers. Engaging nonsense and some funny gags (especially for film buffs and Corman devotees)— though not enough to completely hide the fact that this is a schlock movie. Miller and Bartel are great fun as an agent and a motivation-minded director. Don't miss gag after closing credits. | tt0074633 | [R] | Candice Rialson, Mary Woronov, Rita George, Jeffrey Kramer, Dick Miller, Paul Bartel | Thriller, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Canteen | 1944 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 124 | Amiable all-star silliness set in Hollywood's real-life haven for WW2 servicemen, featuring cofounders Davis and Garfield. Hutton plays G.I. with a crush on lovely Leslie. Best bits: Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet; Jack Benny and violinist Joseph Szigeti. Roy Rogers introduces 'Don't Fence Me In,' later reprised by the Andrews Sisters. | tt0036922 | Bette Davis, John Garfield, Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Dane Clark, Janis Paige; guest stars Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino, Barbara Stanwyck, Eddie Cantor, Jack Carson, Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, S. Z. Sakall | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hollywood Cavalcade | 1939 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 96 | Colorful saga of pioneering days in Hollywood (based, very loosely, on Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand) starts out fun, with some lively recreations of silent slapstick comedies, but gets bogged down in clichéd dramatics later on. | tt0031433 | Alice Faye, Don Ameche, J. Edward Bromberg, Al Jolson, Mack Sennett, Stuart Erwin, Buster Keaton, Rin-Tin-Tin/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hollywood Dreams | 2007 | Henry Jaglom | ★½ | 100 | Jaglom hits rock bottom with this familiar tale of a young midwestern wannabe star who comes to Hollywood and hooks up with a couple of producers who promise to put her in a movie. Eventually she falls for an attractive actor. Dialogue is so corny and contrived, the whole film sinks under its weight. | tt0431124 | [R] | Tanna Frederick, Justin Kirk, Zack Norman, Karen Black, David Proval, Melissa Leo, Jon Robin Baitz, Seymour Cassel, Sally Kirkland, Eric Roberts | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Ending | 2002 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 112 | Often hilarious comedy about a highly neurotic, washed-up movie director who gets a shot at making a comeback thanks to his ex-wife (Leoni) . . . but can't get over the fact that he now has to work for her fiancé, studio head Williams. Woody is in fine fettle here as writer, director, and star, and offers many laugh-out-loud moments as well as a fine showcase for leading ladies Leoni and Messing. | tt0278823 | [PG-13] | Woody Allen, Téa Leoni, Debra Messing, Treat Williams, Mark Rydell, George Hamilton, Tiffany Thiessen, Marian Seldes, Isaac Mizrahi, Doug McGrath | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Harry | Harry's Machine | 1985 | Robert Forster | ★★ | 99 | Down-the-tubes private eye Forster hires on to find a young girl who's turned up in an X-rated movie. Strictly standard fare. Forster also produced and scripted; his 14-year-old daughter Kathrine plays Harry's niece. Aka HARRY'S MACHINE. | tt0089287 | [PG-13] | Robert Forster, Joe Spinell, Shannon Wilcox, Marji Martin, Kathrine Forster, Mallie Jackson | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hollywood Homicide | 2003 | Ron Shelton | ★½ | 115 | Odd-couple L.A. cops (one a part-time realtor, the other an aspiring actor) are obliged to concentrate on a case when there's a bloody shoot-out at a prominent hip-hop club. The stars are good, but if director-cowriter Shelton set out to make a Big, Dumb, Hollywood Movie, he succeeded all too well. Trying to have us care about the story and turning it into a farce at the same time was not a good plan. Several stars and celebrities appear in cameos. | tt0329717 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin, Bruce Greenwood, Isaiah Washington, Lolita Davidovich, Keith David, Martin Landau, Master P, Gladys Knight, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dwight Yoakam, Eric Idle | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Hotel | 1937 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 109 | Silly, paper-thin plot about Powell winning Hollywood talent contest but finding stardom elusive, buoyed by bright Johnny Mercer-Richard Whiting score, including 'Hooray for Hollywood' and historic numbers by the Benny Goodman band ('Sing Sing Sing') and quartet (with Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson). Ronald Reagan has brief bit as radio announcer. | tt0029010 | Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Ted Healy, Johnnie 'Scat' Davis, Alan Mowbray, Frances Langford, Louella Parsons, Hugh Herbert, Glenda Farrell, Edgar Kennedy | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Hollywood Knights | 1980 | Floyd Mutrux | ★½ | 95 | A punk answer to AMERICAN GRAFFITI, which follows a band of high-school hell-raisers on Halloween Night, 1965, when their favorite drive-in hangout is about to close. Sophomoric humor to spare, only a small part of it funny. Danza's feature debut. | tt0080881 | [R] | Tony Danza, Michelle Pfeiffer, Fran Drescher, Leigh French, Randy Gornel, Robert Wuhl, Stuart Pankin, P. R. Paul, Richard Schaal, Debra Feuer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Party | 1934 | ★★½ | 68 | Musical comedy hodgepodge built around screen star Durante throwing a gala party. Romantic subplot is for the birds, but Stan and Ollie battling fiery Velez, Durante as Schnarzan, befuddled Butterworth and opening title tune make it worthwhile. Richard Boleslawski, Allan Dwan, Roy Rowland directed various scenes without credit; TV print runs 63m., and is missing appearance by Mickey Mouse and color Disney cartoon HOT CHOC-LATE SOLDIERS. | tt0025263 | Jimmy Durante, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Lupe Velez, Polly Moran, Charles Butterworth, Eddie Quillan, June Clyde, George Givot, Jack Pearl, Ted Healy, The Three Stooges | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||||
| The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | 1929 | Charles Riesner | ★★ | 130 | MGM's all-star revue introducing its silent-film stars as talkie personalities, cohosted by Benny and Nagel. Definitely a curio for film buffs, rough sledding for others. TV print at 116m. is missing some material; several scenes originally filmed in color. | tt0019993 | Conrad Nagel, Jack Benny, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Bessie Love, Lionel Barrymore, Marion Davies, Buster Keaton, Marie Dressler, Polly Moran | Musical | NULL | |||
| Hollywood Shuffle | 1987 | Robert Townsend | ★★½ | 82 | Uneven but enjoyable comedy about young black actor trying to get a foothold in Hollywood, but running into problems of stereotyping at every turn. Townsend (who also directed and cowrote, with Keenen Ivory Wayans) is so appealing, and his message is so dead on-target, that it's hard to dislike this film, even though it's strictly hit-or-miss. | tt0093200 | [R] | Robert Townsend, Anne-Marie Johnson, Starletta Dupois, Helen Martin, Craigus R. Johnson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hollywood Story | 1951 | William Castle | ★★½ | 77 | Trying to solve an old murder, producer makes a picture on the subject, hoping to uncover culprit. | tt0043646 | Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Richard Egan, Henry Hull | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Hollywood Vice Squad | 1986 | Penelope Spheeris | 💣 | 100 | Stupid comic variation on VICE SQUAD with Van Devere asking help of the cops to find her runaway daughter, who's now a hooker and heroin addict. Wright's film debut. | tt0091213 | [R] | Trish Van Devere, Ronny Cox, Frank Gorshin, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Carrie Fisher, Ben Frank, Robin Wright, Joey Travolta | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Hollywood or Bust | 1956 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 95 | Starstruck Lewis teams up with gambler Martin on trek to crash the movie capital; typical comedy by the frantic team. Dean and Jerry's last film together opens with Jerry's 'tribute' to movie fans around the world. | tt0049322 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Anita Ekberg, Pat Crowley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hollywoodland | 2006 | Allen Coulter | ★★★½ | 127 | Seedy, small-time private eye (Brody) whose life is a mess takes on a significant case when George Reeves' mother claims her son's death wasn't a suicide. As he pieces together the actor's story-from the time he met his longtime lover Toni Mannix, wife of a powerful MGM executive, to his sudden fame as TV's Superman, to his mysterious demise-he does some soul-searching of his own. Nuanced, well-written and realized period piece, with Brody, Lane, Hoskins, and especially Affleck turning in flawless performances. Feature directing debut for Coulter. Screenplay by Paul Bernbaum. | tt0427969 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Lois Smith, Robin Tunney, Larry Cedar, Jeffrey DeMunn, Caroline Dhavernas, Brad William Henke, Dash Mihok, Molly Parker, Kathleen Robertson, Joe Spano | Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Holy Lola | 2004 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 128 | A French couple travels to Cambodia to adopt a baby; there they join a community of temporary expatriates, all desperately trying to deal with the bureaucracy, corruption, endless waiting, and turbulent emotions that are all part of the process. Heartrending and utterly credible at every turn; in fact, it's difficult to endure at times for just those reasons. Tavernier cowrote with his daughter Tiffany and son-in-law Dominique Sampiero. | tt0384177 |
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Jacques Gamblin, Isabelle Carré, Bruno Putzulu, Lara Guirao, Frédéric Pierrot, Maria Pitarresi, Jean-Yves Roan | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Holy Man | 1998 | Stephen Herek | ★★ | 114 | Slick producer for a home shopping TV network stumbles onto a spiritual man named G who says he's on a pilgrimage. Before long, G has affected every part of the man's life and become a sensation on the air. Promising movie wanders all over the place and squanders Murphy's likable performance. It's still watchable, thanks to him, Goldblum, and Preston. Various celebrities appear in cameos, including, most curiously, designer Nino Cerutti. | tt0120701 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia, Jon Cryer, Eric McCormack, Sam Kitchin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Holy Matrimony | 1943 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 87 | Delightful tale of artist Woolley assuming late butler's identity to avoid publicity, finding many complications. Remake of 1933 film HIS DOUBLE LIFE. | tt0036009 | Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, Laird Cregar, Una O'Connor, Alan Mowbray, Melville Cooper, Franklin Pangborn | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Holy Matrimony | 1994 | Leonard Nimoy | ★½ | 92 | Arquette, on the lam for robbery, hides out in a Hutterite community and (through contrived circumstances) ends up married to 12-year-old Gordon-Levitt. Bland, juvenile, comedic variation on WITNESS, but Gordon-Levitt is charming. | tt0110044 | [PG-13] | Patricia Arquette, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Tate Donovan, John Schuck, Lois Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Jeffrey Nordling | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Holy Mountain | 1926 | Arnold Fanck. | ★★★ | 105 | Fascinating curio, a 'mountain film' played out against the majestic German Alps, with Riefenstahl a beguiling presence as a beautiful dancer who is practically a force of nature. A tale of romantic love and yearning, spotlighting the dancer's involvement with two men and a fateful misunderstanding. Story is secondary to Riefenstahl's eye-catching beauty and the stark footage of crashing waves, soaring mountain peaks, and glistening snow. | tt0016953 | Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker, Ernst Petersen, Frida Richard, Friedrich Schneider. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Holy Rollers | 2010 | Kevin Asch | ★★★ | 89 | In the late 1990s, a young Hasidic man from Brooklyn, frustrated by his family’s constant struggle to get by, succumbs to the lure of easy money when his neighbor tells him about a “job.” He winds up smuggling Ecstasy pills into the U.S. from Israel, while maintaining some degree of denial (or self-delusion) about what he’s gotten himself into. Modest but intriguing indie film inspired by a real-life news item. | tt1143896 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Danny A. Abeckaser, Ari Graynor, Jason Fuchs, Q-Tip, Bern Cohen, Hallie Kate Eisenberg | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Holy Smoke | 1999 | Jane Campion | ★★ | 114 | When a young Australian woman falls under the spell of an Indian guru, her family hires an expert American cult deprogrammer to bring her back to her senses. She turns the tables and finds him surprisingly susceptible to her mind games and sexual teasing. Naked performances— in every sense of the word— by the two leads and a layered script rife with quirky humor and sexual politics can't bring credibility to Keitel's character. This is supposed to be his 190th case; what were the other 189 like? | tt0144715 | [R] | Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Julie Hamilton, Tim Robertson, Daniel Wyllie, Sophie Lee, Kerry Walker, Pam Grier | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Holy Terror | Communion | 1977 | Alfred Sole | ★★ | 96 | Does 12-year-old Alice (Sheppard) kill her sister, parents, aunt, etc.? OK murder mystery is noteworthy mainly as Shields' feature debut— and she's bumped off in the first reel. Filmed in Paterson, N.J.; cameo appearance by Roth as a pathologist. Originally 108m. Aka ALICE, SWEET ALICE and COMMUNION. | tt0076150 | [R] | Brooke Shields, Tom Signorelli, Louisa Horton, Paula Sheppard, Mildred Clinton, Linda Miller, Lillian Roth | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| A Holy Terror | 1931 | Irving Cummings. | ★★½ | 53 | After his father is murdered, O'Brien heads West to check out a family mystery. Flying his own plane, he crashes into Eilers' bathroom while she's taking a shower! Entertaining Western is notable for presence of young Bogart as a heavy. Based on Max Brand's novel Trailin', which was filmed under that name in 1921 with Tom Mix. | tt0021966 | George O'Brien, Sally Eilers, James Kirkwood, Rita La Roy, Humphrey Bogart, Stanley Fields, Robert Warwick. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hombre | 1967 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 111 | Interesting Western (from an Elmore Leonard story) of Indian-raised Newman trying to survive in white man's world in Arizona circa 1880. Encounters with various characters on a stagecoach provide basis for film's action and drama; well acted, entertaining. | tt0061770 | Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone, Diane Cilento, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Rush, Martin Balsam | Western | NULL | |||
| Home | 2008 | Ursula Meier | ★★ | 98 | Family of five resides happily alongside an uncompleted highway. Then one day, workmen arrive to finish paving the road, which soon opens to traffic, and the family’s lives are irrevocably altered. Well-intentioned allegorical exploration of the impact of “progress” on the nuclear family is provocative but oh, so obvious. This has the feel of a short film stretched out to feature length; it’s Meier’s debit feature. | tt1014762 | Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet, Adélaïde Leroux, Madeleine Budd, Kacey Mottet Klein | Swiss-French-Belgian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Home Alone | 1990 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 102 | Wildly successful comedy about an eight-year-old boy whose family inadvertently leaves him behind when they go to Paris for Christmas vacation. The plucky kid then proceeds to fend off two bumbling burglars with a variety of elaborate booby-traps. Culkin is terrific, but the film has its ups and downs; the violence, even for a cartoonish farce, is a bit extreme. Climactic scene with forbidding neighbor Blossom is certainly the film's high point. Macaulay's brother Kieran plays his cousin Fuller. Followed by two sequels and a made-for-TV movie. | tt0099785 | [PG] | Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Roberts Blossom, Catherine O'Hara, John Candy, Billie Bird, Angela Goethals, Devin Ratray | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | 1992 | Chris Columbus | ★★ | 120 | Culkin boards the wrong plane at Christmastime, is separated from his family, and ends up in N.Y.C., where he befriends pigeon-lady Fricker and contends with nitwits Pesci and Stern, more than ever a pair of cartoon characters come to life. Essentially a reworking of its smash-hit predecessor, but it manages to be even more violent. There are also shameless plugs for the Plaza Hotel, replete with a walk-on by owner Donald Trump. Written and produced by John Hughes. | tt0104431 | [PG] | Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker, Devin Ratray, Hillary Wolf, Eddie Bracken, Dana Ivey, Rob Schneider, Kieran Culkin, Gerry Bamman | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Home Alone 3 | 1997 | Raja Gosnell | ★★½ | 102 | Another little boy left home alone battles another gang of crooks, but this time they're high-tech industrial thieves after an important computer chip. Unexpectedly funny follow-up (rather than sequel), helped by an appealing little boy (Linz), smarter crooks, and a less sappily sentimental subplot. Written by John Hughes. | tt0119303 | [PG] | Alex D. Linz, Olek Krupa, Rya Kihlstedt, Lenny von Dohlen, David Thornton, Haviland Morris, Kevin Kilner, Marian Seldes | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Home Before Dark | 1958 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 136 | Shiny but poignant telling of Simmons' readjustment to life after nervous breakdown; on-location shooting in Massachusetts. | tt0051732 | Jean Simmons, Dan O'Herlihy, Rhonda Fleming, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Home Fries | 1998 | Dean Parisot | ★½ | 93 | Black-comedy misfire has two brothers giving their stepfather a unique scare at the behest of Mom. As a result, his pregnant mistress (Barrymore) is left without a father for her child; matters grow complicated when one of the brothers shows interest. She's a Podunk fast-food waitress, which explains the title, but not why this farce is so poky— and laughless. | tt0119304 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, Luke Wilson, Catherine O'Hara, Jake Busey, Shelley Duvall, Kim Robillard, Daryl Mitchell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Home From the Hill | 1960 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 150 | Strong drama, set in Southeastern Texas during the 1950s, centering on most prominent family in a small town. Patriarch Mitchum is estranged from wife, Parker, and takes over raising their son, Hamilton, when he comes of age. Peppard is a likable, fatherless local important to both the older man and his son. Low-key, involving, and intelligent; well directed by Minnelli, handling uncharacteristic material. Cast is very good, including Peppard and Hamilton in what may be career-best performances for both. From the best-selling novel by William Humphrey. | tt0053917 | Robert Mitchum, Eleanor Parker, George Peppard, George Hamilton, Luana Patten, Everett Sloane, Constance Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Home Is Where the Hart Is | 1987 | Rex Bromfield. | ★½ | 94 | A 100-plus-year-old billionaire is kidnapped by a roller derby queen/ nurse, and his identical twin sons (who are in their 70s) set out to find him. Bizarre— and very, very bad— farce. | tt0093204 | [PG-13] | Valri Bromfield, Stephen E. Miller, Deanne Henry, Martin Mull, Eric Christmas, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Stidder. | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Home Is the Hero | 1959 | Fielder Cook | ★★½ | 83 | Modest yarn with Abbey Theatre group, telling story of ex-con (Macken) trying to pick up pieces of home life. | tt0052900 | Walter Macken, Eileen Crowe, Arthur Kennedy, Joan O'Hara | Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Home Movies | The Maestro | 1979 | Brian De Palma | ★½ | 90 | Flaky farce reminiscent of De Palma's early work. Nebbish Gordon, an 'extra in his own life,' is given Star Therapy treatment by egomaniacal director Douglas (who has his own life filmed constantly), and sets out to woo Allen away from his nutsy older brother (Graham). Original in concept but tiresome in execution, although nobody eats a hamburger like Allen. Most of the production crew was made up of De Palma's filmmaking students from Sarah Lawrence College. Aka THE MAESTRO. | tt0079302 | [PG] | Keith Gordon, Nancy Allen, Kirk Douglas, Gerrit Graham, Vincent Gardenia, Mary Davenport | Comedy | NULL | |
| Home Room | 2003 | Paul F. Ryan | ★★★ | 132 | Thoughtful drama about the aftermath of a high school shooting rampage, focusing on three characters: an antisocial eyewitness (Philipps), who apparently had some relationship with the shooter; a straight-arrow classmate (Christensen), who survived with physical injuries and major emotional scars; and a compassionate cop (Garber), who's trying to make sense of the incident. Writer-director-editor Ryan wisely concentrates on his specific characters and doesn't try to drive home too many universal truths. | tt0264689 | [R] | Busy Philipps, Erika Christensen, Victor Garber, Holland Taylor, Ken Jenkins, Raphael Sbarge, James Pickens/ Jr., Richard Gilliland, Rick Lenz | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Home and the World | 1984 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★½ | 130 | Wealthy, liberated estate owner allows his wife to break with the tradition of female seclusion— and she falls in love with his best friend, a nationalist leader. Set in early 20th-century Bengal, and based on a novel by Rabindranath Tagore; a masterful and poignant film, made by a world-class filmmaker. | tt0087328 | Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Swatilekha Chatterjee, Gopa Aich, Jennifer Kapoor | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Home at Seven | Murder on Monday | 1952 | Ralph Richardson | ★★★ | 85 | Taut thriller of club treasurer who can't account for a day in his life when a murder and a robbery occurred. Aka MURDER ON MONDAY. | tt0044718 | Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, Jack Hawkins, Campbell Singer | British | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| A Home at the End of the World | 2004 | Michael Mayer | ★★★ | 93 | Two male friends explore their sexuality during an event-filled adolescence in late 1960s Cleveland. After years apart, they wind up living in a Greenwich Village apartment in the early 1980s with a free-spirited older woman. Michael Cunningham adapted his novel about unconventional relationships that redefine the notion of family. Impressive debut film for stage director Mayer. Farrell is excellent, playing an uncharacteristically gentle soul. Tom Hulce coproduced. Wendy Crewson appears unbilled. | tt0359423 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts, Sissy Spacek, Matt Frewer, Erik Smith, Harris Allan, Andrew Chalmers | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Home for the Holidays | 1995 | Jodie Foster | ★★ | 103 | Dreary 'comedy' about a woman at loose ends who flies home to spend Thanksgiving with her wildly dysfunctional family. Filled with unpleasant (and in some cases unfathomable) characters who are neither funny nor interesting. Why would anybody want to spend time with these people? | tt0113321 | [PG-13] | Holly Hunter, Robert Downey/Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin, Cynthia Stevenson, Steve Guttenberg, Claire Danes, Austin Pendleton, David Strathairn, Amy Yasbeck, Shawn Hatosy | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Home in Indiana | 1944 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 103 | Typical horse-racing saga gets a good rehashing here with colorful production and sincere performances; climactic race is well handled. Remade as APRIL LOVE. | tt0036926 | Walter Brennan, Jeanne Crain, June Haver, Charlotte Greenwood, Lon McCallister, Ward Bond, Willie Best, George Cleveland | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Home in Oklahoma | 1946 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 72 | Newspaper editor Rogers suspects foul play in the death of a rancher who's left his property to 12-year-old Rees, much to the displeasure of his niece (Hughes) and foreman (Meeker). Tough murder story, given top production by Republic. | tt0038611 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Carol Hughes, George Meeker, Lanny Rees, Ruby Dandridge, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Home in Wyomin' | 1942 | William Morgan. | ★★★ | 68 | Gene returns home to help an old friend whose rodeo operation is being hurt by his son's bad behavior. As if that weren't enough trouble to deal with, gamblers on the lam from a Chicago mob turn up in town. Well-plotted musical Western. Gene introduces 'Tweedle-O-Twill,' which he cowrote, and Irving Berlin's timely 'Any Bonds Today?' Look for Spade Cooley in the band. | tt0034866 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Olin Howland, Chick Chandler, Joe Strauch/Jr., Forrest Taylor, James Seay. | Western | NULL | |||
| Home of Angels | 1993 | Nick Stagliano | ★★½ | 90 | Well-meaning but artificial drama of a young boy (Robinson) whose beloved grandfather (Vigoda) suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Against his parents' wishes, he sets out to kidnap grandpa from a nursing home and bring the old man home for Christmas. Frazier appears as the boy's guardian angel. | tt0122106 | Abe Vigoda, Sherman Hemsley, Lance Robinson, Joe Frazier, Craig Sechler, Karen Wolfe |
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| A Home of Our Own | 1993 | Tony Bill | ★★½ | 104 | Bates is a determined single mother in 1962 L.A. who uproots her six children and settles in a desolate Idaho town; she has almost no money but a lot of energy and a fierce fighting spirit. Young Furlong is the reluctant 'man of the family.' Avoids becoming overly sentimental, but film is still basically Disney fare with an edge. Campisi— Bates' persistent boyfriend— is the actress' real-life husband. Director Bill has an unbilled cameo as a doctor. | tt0107130 | [PG] | Kathy Bates, Edward Furlong, Soon-Tek Oh, Tony Campisi, Clarissa Lassig, Sarah Schaub, Miles Feulner, Amy Sakasitz, T. J. Lowther | Drama | NULL | ||
| Home of the Brave | 1949 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 85 | More daring when made than now, but still hard-hitting account of black soldier Edwards suffering more abuse from fellow G.I.'s than the enemy while on a mission during WW2. From an Arthur Laurents play. | tt0041481 | James Edwards, Douglas Dick, Steve Brodie, Jeff Corey, Lloyd Bridges, Frank Lovejoy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Home of the Brave | 1986 | Laurie Anderson | ★★★ | 90 | Concert film pretty well duplicates what fans of performance artist Anderson have been seeing for years; mix of music and provocative visuals doesn't quite add up to another STOP MAKING SENSE, but it's a generally rewarding introduction for the uninitiated. Mostly accessible, but the middle section will test your openness to unconventional music. | tt0091216 | Laurie Anderson, Adrian Belew, Richard Landry, Joy Askew, Dolette McDonald, Janice Pendarvis, William S. Burroughs |
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| Home of the Brave | 2006 | Irwin Winkler | ★★½ | 105 | Story of returning Iraq war vets visits the same territory as such films as THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES and COMING HOME but fails to pack their emotional punch. Focusing primarily on three vets as they readjust to life in Seattle, film has an episodic and sudsy feel, particularly in a scene where a drunken Samuel Jackson disrupts his family's Thanksgiving dinner. Biel is touching as a wounded soldier struggling to establish new relationships. | tt0763840 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Brian Presley, Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, Christina Ricci, Chad Michael Murray, Victoria Rowell, Joyce M. Cameron, Jeffrey Nordling | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Home on the Prairie | 1939 | Jack Townley. | ★★ | 59 | Crooked rancher Miller and cattle broker Hart try to ship their cattle— infected with hoof-and-mouth disease— to market before inspectors Gene and Smiley catch on. Meanwhile, Gene romances Storey and Smiley fools around with medicine-show man Hodgins and his elephant. Not up to Gene's usual standards. | tt0031437 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, George Cleveland, Walter Miller, Gordon Hart, Earle Hodgins. | Western | NULL | |||
| Home on the Range | 2004 | Will Finn, John Sanford | ★★★ | 76 | Three cows set out to capture an elusive rustler and use the reward money to save their beloved farm from foreclosure. A refreshingly 'cartoony' Disney animated feature set in the Old West. Filled with colorful characters, funny gags, and lively songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Good fun for kids and grown-ups alike. | tt0299172 | [PG] | Voices of Roseanne Barr, Randy Quaid, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Steve Buscemi, Estelle Harris, Charles Dennis, Charles Haid, Carole Cook, Joe Flaherty, G.W. Bailey, Ja'net DuBois | Animation, Musical, Family, Western, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Home, Sweet Homicide | 1946 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 90 | Nothing-special comedy-mystery, as children of mystery writer solve local murder and find husband for their mother. | tt0038613 | Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott, Lynn Bari, Dean Stockwell | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Homebodies | 1974 | Larry Yust | ★★½ | 96 | Bizarre horror-comedy will depend on one's taste for scenario. Elderly tenants of condemned building resort to murder to keep their home. Good cast, including Douglas Fowley as the builder. Made in Cincinnati. | tt0071617 | Frances Fuller, Ian Wolfe, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Peter Brocco, William Hansen | Horror | NULL | |||
| Homeboy | 1988 | Michael Seresin | ★★½ | 118 | Downbeat, rainy tale of aging, alcoholic boxer Rourke, his relationship with flashy, philosophical crook Walken, and his romance with a carousel owner. Very well made, with fine, quirky performances by the leads, but so unrelentingly grim it can scarcely be called entertainment. | tt0095316 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Debra Feuer, Thomas Quinn, Kevin Conway, Antony Alda, Rubén Blades | Drama | NULL | ||
| Homecoming | 1948 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★ | 113 | Gable and Turner have exciting WW2 romance in the trenches, but that can't support 113 minutes of dreary drama; one of Gable's lesser efforts. | tt0040446 | Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Anne Baxter, John Hodiak, Ray Collins, Cameron Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Homecoming | 1973 | Peter Hall | ★★★½ | 111 | Jayston, long separated from his London family, brings wife Merchant home to meet his father and two brothers. Film version of the Harold Pinter play is among the most satisfactory of all stage-to-screen adaptations. An American Film Theater Production. | tt0070188 | [PG] | Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Michael Jayston, Vivien Merchant, Terence Rigby, Paul Rogers | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Homecoming-A Christmas Story | 1971 | Fielder Cook | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Neal is Olivia Walton in this forerunner to the long-running series The Waltons. Teleplay by Earl Hamner, Jr., was adapted from his own novel, previously filmed as SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN. Corby, Thomas, and a number of the other young players continued in The Waltons for years. | tt0067209 | Patricia Neal, Edgar Bergen, Ellen Corby, Andrew Duggan, Josephine Hutchinson, Cleavon Little, Dorothy Stickney, Richard Thomas, William Windom, David Huddleston | Drama | NULL | |||
| Homegrown | 1998 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ★★½ | 103 | When a big-time drug dealer is assassinated, three of his worker bees try to cover up the death so they can cash in on his latest marijuana crop. Needless to say, they find themselves in way over their heads. Alternately funny and serious, this unfocused film has a strong cast and interesting, often amusing vignettes, but never quite comes together. The director's children, Maggie and Jacob (Jake) Gyllenhaal, appear in small roles. | tt0119305 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Hank Azaria, Kelly Lynch, Jon Bon Jovi, Ryan Phillippe, Judge Reinhold, Jon Tenney, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Lithgow, Ted Danson | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Homer | 1970 | John Trent | ★½ | 91 | Well-meaning but cliché-ridden drama about small-town teenager, generation gap, Vietnam War protests, rock music, sex. You've seen it all before. | tt0065847 | [PG] | Don Scardino, Alex Nicol, Tisa Farrow, Lenka Peterson, Ralph Endersby, Trudy Young | Drama | NULL | ||
| Homer and Eddie | 1990 | Andrei Konchalovsky | 💣 | 99 | He's been mentally impaired since getting smacked in childhood by a flying baseball; she's dying of brain cancer; theirs is an odyssey-by-auto punctuated by service-station knock-offs and a musical interlude where they dance with paper bags on their heads. Not to be confused with Homer & Jethro or Flo & Eddie, though you may be praying for any and all to show up. | tt0097521 | [R] | James Belushi, Whoopi Goldberg, Karen Black, Ernestine McClendon, Nancy Parsons, Anne Ramsey, Beah Richards | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Homestretch | 1947 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 96 | Harmless film of romance between young girl and horse-owner suffers from uneven acting and script. | tt0039471 | Cornel Wilde, Maureen O'Hara, Glenn Langan, Helen Walker, James Gleason | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hometown Story | 1951 | Arthur Pierson | ★★ | 61 | Obvious programmer of recently defeated pol Lynn, who blames big business for his loss and tries to defame manufacturer Crisp. Of interest mostly for Monroe's supporting role as one of Lynn's employees. | tt0043651 | Jeffrey Lynn, Donald Crisp, Marjorie Reynolds, Alan Hale/Jr., Marilyn Monroe, Barbara Brown, Glenn Tryon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hometown USA | 1979 | Max Baer | 💣 | 93 | Yet another nostalgic look at teenagers in the late 1950s is just a sloppy, sleazy, unfunny AMERICAN GRAFFITI rip-off. | tt0079304 | Gary Springer, David Wilson, Brian Kerwin, Pat Delaney, Julie Parsons, Sally Kirkland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco | 1996 | David R. Ellis | ★★½ | 88 | Congenial sequel has the three household pets forced to fend for themselves in the City by the Bay, where Chance, Sassy, and Shadow find themselves dodging both canine and human adversaries on the city streets. Enough snappy dialogue to amuse parents as well as their kids. | tt0116552 | [G] | Robert Hays, Kim Greist, Veronica Lauren, Kevin Chevalia, Benj Thall, Michael Rispoli, Max Perlich; voices of Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Ralph Waite, Sinbad, Jon Polito | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey | 1993 | DuWayne Dunham | ★★★ | 84 | Three beloved household pets, separated from their youthful masters, embark on an almost impossible trek over mountainous terrain to rejoin them. Remake of 1963's THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY enables us to hear the animals talking, and in true '90s fashion, their dialogue is overstuffed with lowbrow wisecracks. Still, the story is compelling, and the vocal performances excellent, especially Ameche, as the older, more faithful canine. Sure-fire Disney family entertainment. Followed by a sequel. | tt0107131 | [G] | Robert Hays, Kim Greist, Jean Smart, Benj Thall, Veronica Lauren, Kevin Chevalia; voices of Michael J. Fox, Sally Field, Don Ameche | Drama, Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Homework | 1982 | James Beshears | ★½ | 90 | Atrocious, wildly inconsistent 'comedy' about a teenage boy's sexual awakening— and embarrassment. Filmed mostly in 1979, it underwent major surgery, including attempt to simulate nude scenes with Joan Collins (using an alleged double) so it could be promoted as a young boy-older woman sex comedy à la PRIVATE LESSONS and MY TUTOR. | tt0084084 | [R] | Joan Collins, Michael Morgan, Shell Kepler, Lanny Horn, Lee Purcell, Carrie Snodgress, Wings Hauser, Mel Welles, Beverly Todd, Betty Thomas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Homicidal | 1961 | William Castle | ★★½ | 87 | One of Castle's less gimmicky shockers, about pretty but rather strange young nurse who presides over creepy household consisting of mute stroke victim and decidedly meek young man. Shamelessly steals a great deal from PSYCHO, and much of the dialogue is ludicrous, but still manages to deliver some shudders. | tt0054988 | Jean Arless, Joan Marshall, Patricia Breslin, Glenn Corbett, Eugenie Leontovitch, Alan Bunce, Richard Rust | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Homicide | 1991 | David Mamet | ★★½ | 102 | Urban homicide detective is pulled off a major case to take care of a seemingly routine murder of an elderly shopkeeper, but soon finds himself embroiled in a strange, conspiracy-like situation that causes him to question his own motives and his identity as a Jew. Provocative material is underdeveloped by writer-director Mamet, and laid on with too heavy a hand . . . but the 'Mametspeak' and lead performance are still quite commanding. | tt0102048 | [R] | Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, Natalija Nogulich, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Pidgeon, Vincent Guastaferro, Lionel Mark Smith, Jack Wallace, J. J. Johnston | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Homicide Bureau | 1939 | C. C. Coleman/ Jr | ★½ | 58 | Cabot plays a brash detective who's in perennial hot water with his superiors in this humdrum B picture. Rita's role as a lab technician is small— and dull. | tt0031438 | Bruce Cabot, Rita Hayworth, Robert Paige, Marc Lawrence, Richard Fiske, Moroni Olsen | Crime | NULL | |||
| Hondo | 1953 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 84 | Rousing, well-done Western with Wayne the tough, wily cavalry scout who comes upon Page and her young son living in the wilderness, unalarmed about a pending Apache uprising. Good script by James Edward Grant, from a story by Louis L'Amour. Originally shown in 3-D. Later a short-lived TV series. | tt0045883 | John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta, Leo Gordon, Lee Aaker, Lassie | Western | NULL | |||
| Honey | 1981 | Gianfranco Angelucci | ★½ | 84 | Utterly confusing chronicle of writer Spaak forcing editor Rey to read her manuscript about the sexual awakening of young Goldsmith— or so it seems. | tt0082747 | [R] | Clio Goldsmith, Catherine Spaak, Fernando Rey, Donatella Damiani, Susan Scott, Luc Merenda | Italian-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Honey | 2003 | Bille Woodruff | ★★½ | 98 | Sweet story of a good-hearted girl who dreams of being a dancer and teaches inner-city kids at a community center. A music video director spots her and opens a door to her dream job— but also wants to own her. Alba is sincere and charismatic, which gives a big boost to an all-too-predictable story. | tt0322589 | [PG-13] | Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Lil' Romeo, Joy Bryant, David Moscow, Lonette McKee, Zachary Isaiah Williams, Laurie Ann Gibson, Anthony Sherwood, Missy Elliott, Shawn Desman, Ginuwine | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Honey I Blew Up the Kid | 1992 | Randal Kleiser | ★★★ | 89 | Bull's-eye sequel to the surprise Disney hit HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS. This time, absentminded scientist Moranis accidentally enlarges his two-year-old son, who grows to gargantuan proportions and stalks the streets of Las Vegas! Good, clean fun with terrific special effects and a lot of genuine laughs; wears a bit thin after a while, but its upbeat spirit makes up for that. Video sequel: HONEY, WE SHRUNK OURSELVES. | tt0104437 | [PG] | Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri, Daniel and Joshua Shalikar, Lloyd Bridges, John Shea, Keri Russell, Ron Canada, Gregory Sierra, Julia Sweeney, Ken Tobey | Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Honey Pot | It Comes Up Murder | 1967 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★½ | 131 | Director/writer Mankiewicz updates Volpone in sly blend of high comedy and whodunit. Harrison pretends to be dying, sends for former mistresses to see their reactions; hoax evolves into elaborate murder scheme. Never as amusing as one would like it to be. Aka IT COMES UP MURDER. | tt0061780 | Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Cliff Robertson, Capucine, Edie Adams, Maggie Smith, Adolfo Celi | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | 1989 | Joe Johnston | ★★★ | 93 | Cute comedy-fantasy about a quartet of kids who accidentally trigger Moranis's experimental ray gun and find themselves reduced to microscopic size— and stranded across the yard from their home. Enjoyable family fare, with engaging special effects (by such whizzes as Phil Tippett and David Allen). Followed by HONEY, I BLEW UP THE KID and later, a TV series. | tt0097523 | [PG] | Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, Kristine Sutherland, Thomas Brown, Jared Rushton, Amy O'Neill, Robert Oliveri | Family, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves | 1997 | Dean Cundey | ★★½ | 75 | Amusing direct-to-video followup to the effects-driven comedy series. This time, crackpot inventor Moranis's machine manages to shrink him and his wife along with their best friends, leaving their collective kids on their own. Key sequences include a wild ride in a Hot Wheels car. Modestly made, yielding modest results. | tt0119310 | [PG] | Rick Moranis, Eve Gordon, Robin Bartlett, Allison Mack, Jake Richardson, Stuart Pankin, Bug Hall | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Action, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Honeychile | 1951 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 90 | Cornball stuff involving Canova in the music-publishing business. | tt0043653 | Judy Canova, Eddie Foy/Jr., Alan Hale/Jr., Walter Catlett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Honeydripper | 2007 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 122 | Leisurely, entertaining slice of Southern life, circa 1950. Hard-luck Glover runs a threadbare bar and restaurant in a small Alabama town, and seizes his last chance to make good by hiring a popular bluesman to play his establishment. Less concerned with story than with character and atmosphere, this picaresque film is brimming with juicy performances and good music. Writer-director Sayles has a cameo as a liquor delivery man. | tt0829193 | [PG-13] | Danny Glover, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yaya DaCosta, Charles S. Dutton, Vondie Curtis Hall, Gary Clark, Jr., Dr. Mable John, Stacy Keach, Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Thomas, Keb' Mo', Kel Mitchell | Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| Honeymoon | 1947 | William Keighley | ★★ | 74 | A silly script does in this romantic comedy in which G.I. Madison and fiancée Temple race around Mexico City trying to get hitched. | tt0039472 | Shirley Temple, Franchot Tone, Guy Madison, Lina Romay, Gene Lockhart, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Honeymoon Academy | 1990 | Gene Quintano | ★½ | 94 | Time waster about a secret agent (Cattrall) who tries to take time off for a honeymoon in Madrid, but finds herself involved in espionage business all the same. Attempt at lighthearted chase comedy/romance doesn't come off . . . and incidentally, the film's title has nothing to do with the story. | tt0099790 | [PG-13] | Kim Cattrall, Robert Hays, Leigh Taylor-Young, Charles Rocket, Lance Kinney, Christopher Lee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Honeymoon Ahead | 1945 | Reginald LeBorg. | ★★ | 60 | Kindly Orpheus (Jones) has been leading a convict's choir; what's he to do when he's released from prison? Silly Universal B musical. | tt0037789 | Allan Jones, Raymond Walburn, Grace McDonald, Vivian Austin. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Honeymoon Hotel | 1964 | Henry Levin | ★½ | 89 | Asinine shenanigans with bachelors Goulet and Morse arriving at resort for newlyweds. Lanchester is fun despite all. | tt0058204 | Robert Goulet, Jill St. John, Nancy Kwan, Robert Morse, Elsa Lanchester, Keenan Wynn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Honeymoon Killers | 1970 | Leonard Kastle | ★★★ | 108 | Taut, based-on-fact account of the Lonely Hearts Killers: Martha Beck (Stoler), a rotund nurse, and Ray Fernandez (LoBianco), a gigolo. Together, they scheme to swindle and murder wealthy, lonely women. Low-budget item has deservedly developed a cult reputation over the years. Martin Scorsese was the original director; he was replaced by Donald Volkman, who in turn was replaced by Kastle (who also scripted). Same story retold in Arturo Ripstein's DEEP CRIMSON. | tt0064437 | [R] | Shirley Stoler, Tony LoBianco, Mary Jane Higby, Doris Roberts | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Honeymoon Lodge | 1943 | Edward Lilley | ★★ | 63 | Innocuous musical centers on Bruce and Vincent's romantic complications at a country resort. Slim pretext for some amusing songs and dances by Ozzie & Harriet and others. | tt0036013 | David Bruce, Harriet Hilliard, June Vincent, Rod Cameron, Franklin Pangborn, Andrew Tombes, Ozzie Nelson and Orchestra, Veloz and Yolanda, Tip, Tap and Toe | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Honeymoon Machine | 1961 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 87 | Pleasant comedy with a spirited cast about two sailors who find a way to beat the roulette table in Venice. Easy to take, easy to forget. | tt0054989 | Steve McQueen, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Brigid Bazlen, Dean Jagger, Jack Weston | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Honeymoon for Three | 1941 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 77 | Breezy comedy of novelist Brent warding off female admirers by pretending to be married; Sheridan is his witty, amorous secretary. | tt0033725 | Ann Sheridan, George Brent, Charlie Ruggles, Osa Massen, Walter Catlett, Jane Wyman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Honeymoon in Bali | My Love for Yours | 1939 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 95 | Pleasant romantic comedy about a career woman (Carroll) who is determined never to marry— until she meets easy-to-take MacMurray. Video title: MY LOVE FOR YOURS. | tt0031440 | Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, Allan Jones, Osa Massen, Helen Broderick, Akim Tamiroff, Astrid Allwyn, Carolyn Lee, Monty Woolley | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Honeymoon in Vegas | 1992 | Andrew Bergman | ★★★ | 95 | Cage and Parker finally decide to tie the knot— in Las Vegas— but he loses her in a rigged poker game to mobster Caan! Engaging farce from writer-director Bergman has enough twists, turns, and cockeyed humor to keep things lively from start to finish . . . including a corps of 'flying Elvises.' Presley music (performed by everyone from Billy Joel to Bono) fills the soundtrack. | tt0104438 | [PG-13] | James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pat Morita, Johnny Williams, John Capodice, Robert Costanzo, Anne Bancroft, Peter Boyle, Burton Gilliam, Seymour Cassel, Jerry Tarkanian, Tony Shalhoub, Natasha Lyonne, Ben Stein | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Honeymooners | 2005 | John Schultz | ★½ | 90 | Recasting the classic Jackie Gleason-Art Carney TV hit as an urban comedy might have looked good on paper, but what lands on-screen is a pale version of the original. Ralph Kramden is still a bus driver with big get-rich-quick schemes, but things never go as he plans. The jokes are lame and the actors try awfully hard to wring what life they can out of them. At least there's a cute dog. Released in a PG version on DVD. | tt0373908 | [PG-13] | Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Eric Stoltz, Jon Polito, John Leguizamo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Honeysuckle Rose | On the Road Again | 1980 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★★ | 119 | Appealing, low-key film about a country music star and his lifestyle at home in Texas and on the road, which begins to come apart when he starts fooling around with the young daughter of his longtime musical sidekick. Lots of good music by Willie, fiddler Johnny Gimble, and guest star Emmylou Harris. Officially based on INTERMEZZO, believe it or not! Retitled ON THE ROAD AGAIN. | tt0080888 | [PG] | Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon, Amy Irving, Slim Pickens, Joey Floyd, Charles Levin, Priscilla Pointer, Mickey Rooney/Jr., Diana Scarwid | Drama | NULL | |
| Hong Kong | 1951 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 92 | Mediocre account of Reagan trying to heist a valuable antique from orphaned boy but going straight before finale. Strictly backlot Hong Kong. | tt0043654 | Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Nigel Bruce, Marvin Miller, Lee Marvin | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hong Kong Affair | 1958 | Paul F. Heard. | ★½ | 79 | Kelly is the Yank who comes to the Orient to investigate his property holdings, getting more than he bargained for. | tt0051735 | Jack Kelly, May Wynn, Richard Loo, Lo Lita Shek. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Hong Kong Confidential | 1958 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★½ | 67 | Harmless B film about Anglo-American agents rescuing a kidnapped Arabian prince. | tt0051736 | Gene Barry, Beverly Tyler, Allison Hayes, Noel Drayton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Honkers | 1972 | Steve Ihnat | ★★½ | 102 | Theme about aging rodeo performer was handled better in J. W. COOP and JUNIOR BONNER (all made same year!); actor Ihnat died shortly after directing this film. | tt0068711 | [PG] | James Coburn, Lois Nettleton, Slim Pickens, Anne Archer, Richard Anderson, Joan Huntington, Jim Davis | Western | NULL | ||
| Honky | 1971 | William A. Graham | ★★½ | 89 | Not-bad drama of budding romance between black Sykes and white Nielson, and the problems they encounter. Score by Quincy Jones. | tt0067214 | [R] | Brenda Sykes, John Nielson, William Marshall, Maia Danziger, Marion Ross, Lincoln Kilpatrick | Drama | NULL | ||
| Honky Tonk | 1941 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 105 | Good-gal Lana loves gambler Gable in romantic Western that's fun for a spell, then drags into talky marathon. Morgan and Wills offer fine character performances. Remade for TV in 1974. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033726 | Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Frank Morgan, Claire Trevor, Marjorie Main, Albert Dekker, Chill Wills, Veda Ann Borg | Western | NULL | |||
| Honky Tonk Freeway | 1981 | John Schlesinger | ★★ | 107 | An absurdist view of contemporary America, in fragmented vignettes of various oddballs whose lives converge in Ticlaw, Florida, a tiny town determined to attract tourists despite the lack of an exit ramp from the new freeway. As a statement on life, it's a failure; as a silly comedy, it sometimes succeeds. Reminiscent (in its narrative style) of NASHVILLE. | tt0082525 | [PG] | William Devane, Beverly D'Angelo, Beau Bridges, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Geraldine Page, George Dzundza, Teri Garr, Joe Grifasi, Howard Hesseman, Paul Jabara, Frances Lee McCain, John Astin, David Rasche, Daniel Stern | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Honkytonk Man | 1982 | Clint Eastwood | ★½ | 122 | The kind of film that gives 'change-of-pace' a bad name. Clint is Depression-era country singer hoping to make it to the Grand Old Opry before he dies of tuberculosis; son Kyle plays his nephew, who tags along. Artificial and overlong; many music greats appear in bits, including Marty Robbins, who provides film's sole touching moment and, ironically, died himself only days before the picture opened. | tt0084088 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood, John McIntire, Alexa Kenin, Verna Bloom, Matt Clark, Barry Corbin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Honolulu | 1939 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 83 | Pleasant musical fluff with Young in a dual role, as a movie star who, seeking peace and quiet, trades places with his lookalike, a Hawaiian plantation owner. Powell has several dance features (including a tap hula!), but many of the best moments belong to Gracie. Oddly enough, this was Burns and Allen's final film together. | tt0031442 | Eleanor Powell, Robert Young, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Rita Johnson, Willie Fung, Sig Rumann, Ruth Hussey, Eddie Anderson, The Kings Men | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hoodlum | 1997 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 130 | GODFATHER wannabe about 1930s Harlem racketeer Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, who locks horns with Dutch Schultz (Roth) and Lucky Luciano (Garcia), and tries to carve his own niche in the numbers game. Well-crafted, multi-character gangster saga has its moments, but takes a long time to tell its story and never builds the emotional punch it seeks. One welcome novelty: a '30s-style montage illustrating Bumpy's rise to power. Fishburne also coexecutive-produced. | tt0119311 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Vanessa L. Williams, Andy Garcia, Cicely Tyson, Chi McBride, Clarence Williams III, Richard Bradford, William Atherton, Loretta Devine, Queen Latifah | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hoodlum Empire | 1952 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 98 | Cast is sufficiently versed in format to make this exposé of a crime syndicate better than average. | tt0044720 | Brian Donlevy, Claire Trevor, Forrest Tucker, Vera Ralston, Luther Adler | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Hoodlum Priest | 1961 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★ | 101 | Based on real-life clergyman who devoted himself to trying to help would-be criminals, focusing on Murray's efforts to rehabilitate delinquent Dullea (in film debut); splendidly acted. Murray coproduced and cowrote (latter under pseudonym Don Deer). | tt0054991 | Don Murray, Larry Gates, Keir Dullea, Logan Ramsey, Cindi Wood | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hoodlum Saint | 1946 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 91 | Confusing mishmash with Powell a cynical, money-obsessed WW1 vet who, between schemes, falls for pretty Williams. This one squeaks by solely on Powell's charm. | tt0038615 | William Powell, Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury, James Gleason, Lewis Stone, Rags Ragland, Frank McHugh, Slim Summerville | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hoodlum | 1951 | Max Nosseck | ★★ | 61 | Once a crook, always a crook is plot of this caper about ex-con planning bank robbery. | tt0043655 | Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan, Lisa Golm | Crime | NULL | |||
| Hoods | 1999 | Mark Malone | ★★½ | 92 | Wry look at N.Y.C. mobsters and a hapless functionary who's stuck carrying out orders for his mentally incompetent father. Some genuinely funny scenes and ingratiating performances by an A-1 ensemble make this worth a look, even though the payoff is weak. Seymour Cassel and Charles Martin Smith appear unbilled. Made for theaters, debuted on cable. | tt0166219 | [R] | Joe Mantegna, Kevin Pollak, Joe Pantoliano, Vincent Berry, Jennifer Tilly, Robert Costanzo, Richard Foronjy, John Capodice, Joseph Maher | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hoodwinked | 2005 | Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech | ★★½ | 80 | In a storybook forest a froggy police detective tries to get the real story behind a well-known fairy-tale plot, told RASHOMON-style by its leading characters: Red Riding Hood, The Wolf, Granny, and the Woodsman. Each character breaks stereotypes with updated backstories and modern pop-culture references. Low-budget computer-animated feature makes up for artistic shortcomings with witty script and clever vocal performances. Several songs by cowriter-director Todd Edwards are funny and unobtrusive. | tt0443536 | [PG] | Voices of Anne Hathaway, Patrick Warburton, Glenn Close, Jim Belushi, David Ogden Stiers, Chazz Palminteri, Anthony Anderson, Andy Dick, Xzibit | Animation, Comedy, Family, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil | 2011 | Mike Disa | ★★ | 86 | Frenetic sequel to fresher and funnier HOODWINKED reunites characters from previous computer-animated comedy (including the martial arts–trained Little Red Riding Hood, her spunky Granny, and the misguidedly cocksure Wolf) to foil villains bent on exploiting Granny’s secret recipe for magically enhanced truffles. Best suited for small children with short attention spans, though many of the undeniably funny pop-culture references likely will sail over their heads. 3-D. | tt0844993 | [PG] | Voices of Hayden Panettiere, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton, Joan Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Cory Edwards, Martin Short, Brad Garrett, Andy Dick, David Alan Grier, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Phil LaMarr, Wayne Newton, Heidi Klum | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Hook | 1991 | Steven Spielberg | ★★ | 144 | Unfortunate cheapening of the beloved James Barrie tale of Peter Pan, with Williams as a heartless corporate takeover honcho who must rediscover his true identity— as Pan— in order to save his children, who've been kidnapped by Captain Hook. Great casting in key roles is dissipated by a script that offers no joy, and very little magic— with a troupe of TV-generation Lost Boys who'd be more at home in a McDonald's commercial. (Musician David Crosby and an unrecognizable Glenn Close have bit parts as pirates.) If this is Peter Pan for the '90s, give us the '50s instead. | tt0102057 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, Phil Collins, Arthur Malet, Dante Basco, Gwyneth Paltrow | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hook, Line & Sinker | 1969 | George Marshall | 💣 | 91 | Potentially funny premise about supposedly dying man who runs up $100,000 in credit card debts, only to discover he's healthy, is totally botched; even Lewis fans will be bored. | tt0064439 | [G] | Jerry Lewis, Peter Lawford, Anne Francis, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Jimmy Miller, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hook, Line and Sinker | 1930 | Edward F. Cline. | ★★½ | 72 | W&W play ex- insurance men running a dilapidated hotel for heiress Lee, having to fend off the inevitable crooks. Herbert is funny as the house dick. Verbal gags abound in this above-average Wheeler and Woolsey vehicle. | tt0020987 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Natalie Moorhead, George Marion/Sr., Hugh Herbert. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Hook | 1963 | George Seaton | ★★★ | 98 | Film examines men at war (Korean) and the taking of one life, face-to-face, as opposed to killing many in battle. Earnest, thought-provoking. Music by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. | tt0057152 | Kirk Douglas, Robert Walker/Jr., Nick Adams, Nehemiah Persoff | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hooked Generation | 1969 | William Grefe | 💣 | 92 | Narcotics peddlers slaughter Cuban contacts, kidnap innocent victims; poor excuse for a film. | tt0063082 | [R] | Jeremy Slate, Willie Pastrano, Steve Alaimo, John Davis Chandler, Socrates Ballis | Crime | NULL | ||
| Hoop Dreams | 1994 | Steve James | ★★★½ | 169 | Exceptional documentary follows two Chicago inner-city kids (Arthur Agee and William Gates), who have dreams of basketball stardom, over four years' time. This intimate and engrossing film plays like drama, not documentary, except that it takes unexpected twists and turns no writer could invent. A searing commentary on our social system, the indomitable strength of the family unit, and the unpredictability of life. Overlong, perhaps, but fascinating most of the way. Produced by Steve James, Frederick Marx, and Peter Gilbert. | tt0110057 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Hooper | 1978 | Hal Needham | ★★★ | 100 | Lighthearted look at aging ace Hollywood stunt man Reynolds, his freewheeling life-style, and the young tyro who gets him to try the biggest stunt of all. | tt0077696 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, John Marley, James Best, Adam West, Robert Klein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hoopla | 1933 | Frank Lloyd. | ★★★ | 85 | Carnival pitchman hires an 'older' woman (Bow at 28) to turn his 'boy' (Cromwell was 23) into a man. Corny, predictable story is made special by Bow's winning, sincere performance; hard to believe this was her final film. Midway milieu adds a trashy aroma to this pre-Code adaptation of Kenyon Nicholson's play The Barker, filmed before in 1928. Contains atmospheric footage of the 1933 Chicago 'Century of Progress' Exposition. | tt0024139 | Clara Bow, Richard Cromwell, Preston Foster, Herbert Mundin, James Gleason, Minna Gombell. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hooray for Love | 1935 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 72 | Modest but very entertaining musical with aspiring show-biz hot-shot Raymond romancing reluctant singer Sothern. Robinson shines in 'I'm Living in a Great Big Way' specialty number, ably assisted by Waller and Le Gon; Kelton adds laughs as an inept soprano. | tt0026491 | Ann Sothern, Gene Raymond, Bill Robinson, Maria Gambarelli, Pert Kelton, Fats Waller, Jeni Le Gon, Thurston Hall, Lionel Stander | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hoosier Schoolboy | 1937 | William Nigh | ★★½ | 62 | Perceptive little Depression-era melodrama detailing the myriad problems of the title character (Rooney). Scenario depicts everything from the plight of forgotten WW1 veterans to greedy capitalists who cause strikes and strife. | tt0029019 | Mickey Rooney, Anne Nagel, Frank Shields, Edward Pawley, William Gould | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hoosiers | 1986 | David Anspaugh | ★★★ | 114 | Hackman gets a last-chance job coaching a small-town Indiana high school basketball team in the 1950s, and faces the dual challenge of bringing the team to the state championship— and redeeming himself. Thoroughly ingratiating (and just as thoroughly calculated), this well-made slice of Americana is hard to resist. Hackman is terrific as usual; Hopper is fine in a showy role as an alcoholic basketball nut. Written by Angelo Pizzo. | tt0091217 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper, Sheb Wooley, Fern Parsons, Brad Boyle, Steve Hollar, Brad Long, David Neidorf | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hoot | 2006 | Wil Shriner | ★★½ | 93 | Well-meaning but strictly formulaic family comedy-drama in which Lerman, the new kid in middle school, copes with everything from a class bully to the vandalizing of a construction site that is home to endangered owls. Preteens may overlook plot holes and be amused by the innocuous lowbrow humor and the worthy pro-ecology message. Shriner adapted the novel by Carl Hiaasen, who coproduced, as did Buffett (who composed the score and plays a marine science teacher). | tt0453494 | [PG] | Logan Lerman, Brie Larson, Cody Linley, Luke Wilson, Tim Blake Nelson, Jessica Cauffiel, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Flynn, Eric Phillips, Clark Gregg, Robert Wagner, Kin Shriner | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Hootenanny Hoot | 1963 | Gene Nelson | ★★ | 91 | Predictable comedy about college hootenanny show brought to TV is made bearable only by presence of Cash and other country/folk performers. One of producer Sam Katzman's 'topical' low-budgeters. | tt0057153 | Peter Breck, Joby Baker, Ruta Lee, Pam Austin, Johnny Cash, Sheb Wooley, The Brothers Four, Judy Henske | Musical | NULL | |||
| Hop | 2011 | Tim Hill | ★★½ | 95 | Live action/animation hybrid is no WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT but has some charms of its own. The Easter Bunny’s teenage son E.B., heir (or hare) to the family business, heads instead to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming a drummer in a rock band. Great voice work by Brand as E.B., and a goofy, likable performance from Marsden as the 20-something slacker he hooks up with. Azaria is also hilarious as the power-hungry chick Carlos and almost steals the show. Although kids are the primary audience, there are enough hip references and funny setups to make this bearable for parents. | tt1411704 | [PG] | James Marsden, Gary Cole, Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Perkins, Chelsea Handler, David Hasselhoff, Tiffany Espensen; voices of Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie, Hank Azaria | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Hop-Along Cassidy | 1935 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★★ | 59 | Competing cattle ranchers feud over water rights and fencing of open range. First and best entry in a series of 66 with vivid portrayals by Boyd, Ellison, Hayes, and Middleton (in a rare sympathetic part). Features warm comedy, scenic tumbled terrain of Lone Pine, two memorable songs, and a driving action finish. Loosely adapted from Clarence E. Mulford's 1910 novel titled Hopalong Cassidy. Reissued as HOPALONG CASSIDY ENTERS. | tt0026493 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, Paula Stone, George Hayes, Kenneth Thomson, Robert Warwick, Frank McGlynn/Jr., Charles Middleton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hopalong Cassidy Returns | 1936 | Nate Watt. | ★★★ | 71 | Before he is murdered, crusading editor sends for Hoppy to restore law and order in cow town run by dance hall operator and brutal thugs. Brent makes strong impression as doomed, rare romantic interest for Boyd. Janney is weak substitute for Jimmy Ellison in Bar 20 trio. Based on same-named 1923 novel by Clarence E. Mulford. Remade five years later as WIDE OPEN TOWN. | tt0027760 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Gail Sheridan, Evelyn Brent, Stephen Morris (Morris Ankrum), William Janney, Al St. John. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hopalong Rides Again | 1937 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 63 | Hoppy has a new love interest (rare in this series); her brother is a professor of paleontology, but also a ruthless killer behind cattle thievery who employs dynamite as a weapon. Top grade in all departments, with memorable treachery by Worth. Benefits from spectacular Lone Pine scenery and great use of Paramount music library. Based on 1923 novel Black Buttes by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. | tt0029020 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Nora Lane, Harry Worth, Lois Wilde. | Western | NULL | |||
| Hope | 1997 | Goldie Hawn | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Hawn makes her directing debut with this compelling coming-of-age tale dealing with a young tomboy (wonderful, sad-faced Malone) growing up in the segregation-era South. The story, an original by Kerry Kennedy, unfolds during a single week coinciding with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and has the preteen girl challenging her small town to confront the truth after a black playmate dies in a fire at a local movie house run by her bigoted uncle. Made for cable. | tt0119312 | Jena Malone, Christine Lahti, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey D. Sams, J.T. Walsh, Mary Ellen Trainor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hope Floats | 1998 | Forest Whitaker | ★★★ | 114 | Learning her husband has been unfaithful, Bullock moves back to her Texas hometown, taking along her lonely daughter, Whitman. Her mother immediately tries to set her up with Connick, but Bullock is having a hard time just learning about herself. Well acted, particularly by Whitman, with inventive direction, the movie is entertaining throughout, but as shapeless as soup. Excellent song score. Rosanna Arquette appears unbilled. Coexecutive-produced by Bullock. | tt0119313 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick/Jr., Gena Rowlands, Mae Whitman, Michael Paré, Cameron Finley, Kathy Najimy, Bill Cobbs, Connie Ray | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hope Springs | 2003 | Mark Herman. | ★★ | 92 | Having just been dumped by his fiancée (Driver), British artist Firth heads to the U.S. and falls for Graham. Then, wouldn't you know it, Minnie shows up. Spirited performances from everyone, but not enough laughs for a romantic comedy. Based on the novel New Cardiff by Charles (The Graduate) Webb. | tt0314431 | [PG-13] | Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver, Mary Steenburgen, Oliver Platt, Frank Collison. | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Hope and Glory | 1987 | John Boorman | ★★★½ | 113 | A loving look back at British family life during the first years of WW2, as seen through the eyes of a young boy to whom the whole thing is a great adventure. Boorman's autobiographical tale (he scripted and produced, as well) is funny, moving and richly detailed; no one has captured the experience of living through the London air raids and bombings so well. Charley Boorman (the director's son, who starred in THE EMERALD FOREST) appears briefly as a German pilot who's been shot down. | tt0093209 | [PG-13] | Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Derrick O'Connor, Susan Wooldridge, Sammi Davis, Ian Bannen, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Jean-Marc Barr, Annie Leon | British | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Hoppity Goes to Town | Mr. Bug Goes to Town | 1941 | Dave Fleischer | ★★½ | 77 | Pleasant animated feature about residents of bug-ville and their various problems— living in a human world, and threatened by villainous C. Bagley Beetle. Good-looking but uncompelling story-wise, with unmemorable Frank Loesser-Hoagy Carmichael score. Originally titled MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN. | tt0033727 | Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hoppy Serves a Writ | 1943 | George Archainbaud. | ★★★ | 67 | Texas sheriff Hopalong Cassidy's task: lure known band of brigands across Oklahoma border and serve warrant of arrest. Based on the same-named final novel penned by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Story and action are well paced, with a good slugfest between Boyd and Jory (who was once a prizefighter). Debut of Robert Mitchum. | tt0036016 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Victor Jory, George Reeves, Jan Christy, Hal Taliaferro. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Hoppy's Holiday | 1947 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 60 | On vacation, the Bar 20 trio stops in Mesa City for the town festival, where they become implicated in a bank robbery. Five credited writers, including actress Ellen Corby, failed to fix this Hopalong Cassidy entry. Slow, played too much for laughs. Hoppy for once calls his horse Topper by name. Reissued as THE FIGHTING COWBOY. | tt0039473 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Andrew Tombes, Leonard Penn, Jeff Corey, Mary Ware. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Hopscotch | 1980 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 104 | Entertaining contrivance about a maverick CIA operative who's fed up with his idiotic boss (Beatty) and decides to teach him a lesson by publishing his volatile memoirs. Barely believable, but fun to watch, thanks largely to Matthau. From the novel by Brian Garfield, who coproduced and coscripted the film. | tt0080889 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, Herbert Lom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Horizons West | 1952 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 81 | Standard Western of brothers Ryan and Hudson on opposite sides of the law; the latter attempts to block the former's efforts to ruthlessly acquire power in post-Civil War Texas. | tt0044722 | Robert Ryan, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr, James Arness, John McIntire, Dennis Weaver | Western | NULL | |||
| The Horizontal Lieutenant | 1962 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 90 | Artificial service comedy about inept army intelligence officer Hutton and his misadventures in the Pacific during WW2. | tt0056079 | Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Miyoshi Umeki, Jim Backus, Jack Carter, Marty Ingels, Charles McGraw | Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The Horn Blows at Midnight | 1945 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 78 | Enjoyable, original comedy-fantasy about an angel (Benny) sent to destroy earth with a blast from Gabriel's horn. Broad, funny, no classic, but not the turkey Benny so often joked about either. Franklin Pangborn is especially funny as a flustered hotel detective. | tt0037790 | Jack Benny, Alexis Smith, Dolores Moran, Allyn Joslyn, Reginald Gardiner, Guy Kibbee, John Alexander, Margaret Dumont, Franklin Pangborn, Robert Blake | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Hornets' Nest | 1970 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 110 | Hudson and group of Italian children plot to blow up Nazi-controlled dam. Reasonably well done and exciting. | tt0065850 | [M] | Rock Hudson, Sylva Koscina, Sergio Fantoni, Jacques Sernas, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Tom Felleghi | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| Horrible Bosses | 2011 | Seth Gordon | ★★½ | 98 | Three friends who bemoan their fate, having to work for abusive bosses, live out a fantasy of bumping them off. Only problem: they're hopelessly inept. Sporadically funny comedy has some solid laughs as well as the kind of raunchiness we've come to expect in the post-HANGOVER era. Unrated version runs 106m. | tt1499658 | [R] | Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx, Julie Bowen, Ioan Gruffudd, Lindsay Sloane, P. J. Byrne, Isaiah Mustafa, Wendell Pierce, Bob Newhart | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Horrible Dr. Hichcock | Terror of Dr. Hichcock | 1962 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★½ | 76 | Unaware her doctor husband is a (gulp!) necrophiliac, woman accompanies him to the mansion where his first wife apparently died 12 years earlier during sexual games. Eerie, handsome horror, with undertones of Poe. British version, TERROR OF DR. HICHCOCK, runs 88m. and is also available on tape. Followed by THE GHOST. Panoramic. | tt0056315 | Robert Flemyng, Barbara Steele, Teresa Fitzgerald, Maria Teresa Vianello | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Horror Castle | The Virgin of Nuremburg | 1964 | Antonio Margheriti | ★½ | 83 | Chiller about a demented WW2 victim running rampant in a Rhine castle, using assorted torture chamber devices on unsuspecting people. Effect is numbing. Aka THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG and TERROR CASTLE. British title: THE CASTLE OF TERROR. | tt0057646 | Christopher Lee, Rossana Podesta, George Riviere, Jim Nolan, Anny Belli Uberti | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus | Eyes Without a Face | 1959 | Georges Franju | ★★★ | 88 | Moody horror film, a classic in some circles, about a brilliant but crazed scientist/surgeon/researcher (Brasseur) and his fate after disfiguring his daughter. Originally titled LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (EYES WITHOUT A FACE). | tt0053459 | Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob | French-Italian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Horror Express | Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express | 1972 | Eugenio Martin | ★★★ | 88 | Crackerjack horror movie, ingeniously staged and well acted by the genre's superstars. Turn-of-the-century chiller has a long-frozen monster coming to life while being transported from Asia to the West. Lee and Cushing are rival anthropologists aboard the train and Savalas is a power-crazed Cossack officer. Aka PANIC ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS. | tt0068713 | [R] | Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas, Silvia Tortosa, Jorge Rigaud | Spanish-British | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL |
| Horror House | The Haunted House of Horror | 1969 | Michael Armstrong | ★½ | 79 | Below-standard thriller using dog-eared 'let's-spend-a-night-in-a-haunted-house' script. Frankie should have stayed on the beach with Annette. Original British title: THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR. | tt0064443 | [M] | Frankie Avalon, Jill Haworth, Dennis Price, George Sewell, Gina Warwick, Richard O'Sullivan | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL |
| Horror Island | 1941 | George Waggner | ★★½ | 60 | Fast-paced, diverting B-thriller comedy has various colorful types converging at isolated manor; one by one, they're stalked and murdered. | tt0033728 | Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran, Fuzzy Knight, John Eldredge, Lewis Howard, Iris Adrian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Horror Planet | Inseminoid | 1982 | Norman J. Warren | 💣 | 86 | Obnoxious, gory garbage about male and female space travelers and their discovery of a crawling terror. Interesting cast wasted in this awful ALIEN clone. Cut for U.S. release. Original title: INSEMINOID. | tt0084090 | [R] | Robin Clark, Jennifer Ashley, Stephanie Beacham, Steven Grives, Barry Houghton, Victoria Tennant, Judy Geeson | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| The Horror Show | 1989 | James Isaac | 💣 | 95 | Henriksen gives typically strong performance as cop pursued by murderous— and already executed— maniac James, who's intent on wiping out the cop's family by turning nightmares into reality. Confused, silly and boring. Known outside U.S. as HOUSE III. | tt0097527 | [R] | Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Rita Taggart, Thom Bray, Matt Clark, Dedee Pfeiffer, Lewis Arquette, Lawrence Tierney, Alvy Moore | Horror | NULL | ||
| Horror of Dracula | Dracula | 1958 | Terence Fisher | ★★★ | 82 | Probably Hammer Films' best shocker, a handsomely mounted retelling of the Stoker tale, with fantasy elements deemphasized. Lee is smooth as the Count, and Cushing perfect as tireless Professor Van Helsing. Script by Jimmy Sangster; full-blooded score by James Bernard. Released in Britain as DRACULA; followed by six sequels, the first of which was DRACULA — PRINCE OF DARKNESS. | tt0051554 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, John Van Eyssen, Valerie Gaunt, Miles Malleson | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Horror of Frankenstein | 1970 | Jimmy Sangster. | ★★ | 95 | New kind of Dr. Frankenstein: he arranges murder of father, cheats on his lover, kills his best friend, while creating new, laughable monster. Semi-spoof remake of CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. For aficionados only. Followed by FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL. | tt0065851 | [R] | Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Graham Jones, Veronica Carlson, Bernard Archard, Dennis Price, Joan Rice. | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Horror of Party Beach | 1964 | Del Tenney | 💣 | 72 | Radioactive waste is dumped off-shore, resulting in scaly monsters who disrupt the fun of a bunch of Connecticut beach bunnies. One of the earliest anti-nuclear warning films, although for some strange reason the message fails to come across. Billed as 'The First Horror Musical' by its producers, who evidently never saw Liberace in SINCERELY YOURS. | tt0058208 | John Scott, Alice Lyon, Allen Laurel, Marilyn Clark, Eulabelle Moore | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Horrors of Spider Island | 1960 | Jamie Nolan (Fritz Bottger). | ★½ | 89 | After a plane wreck, one guy (D'Arcy) and eight statuesque dancers are washed ashore on a South Pacific island. A large spider bites the guy and transforms him into a hairy-faced monster. Two other guys show up, and there is a lot of dancing and catfighting. Well-photographed sex film, typical of the period (i.e., no nudity), almost casually tosses in sci-fi elements. Aka IT'S HOT IN PARADISE, a more fitting title. | tt0054333 | Harald Maresch, Helga Franck, Alex D'Arcy, Helga Neuner, Rainer Brandt, Elfie Wagner, Barbara Valentin. | German | Drama, Adventure, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Horrors of the Black Museum | 1959 | Arthur Crabtree. | ★★½ | 95 | Gruesome sequences highlight chiller about writer who uses his hypnotized helper to commit murders. Originally released in Britain at 81m.; prologue was added later. | tt0052901 | Michael Gough, June Cunningham, Graham Curnow, Shirley Ann Field, Geoffrey Keen. | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Horse Feathers | 1932 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★½ | 68 | Groucho is head of Huxley College, building up football team to play rival Darwin U. in crazy Marx nonsense. The password is 'swordfish.' Originally released at 70m. | tt0023027 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Zeppo Marx, Thelma Todd, David Landau, Robert Greig, Nat Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Horse Soldiers | 1959 | John Ford | ★★½ | 119 | Ford's only feature set during the Civil War, based on actual incidents. Union Colonel Wayne leads sabotage party deep into Rebel territory, accompanied by somewhat pacifistic doctor Holden. Large-scale actioner rates only a 'medium' by Ford buffs; others may like it better. | tt0052902 | John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Althea Gibson, Hoot Gibson, Anna Lee, Russell Simpson, Ken Curtis, Denver Pyle, Strother Martin, Hank Worden | Adventure, Western, War | NULL | |||
| The Horse Whisperer | 1998 | Robert Redford | ★★★½ | 169 | Exquisite rendering of Nicholas Evans' novel about a teenaged girl, traumatized in a horse-riding accident, whose domineering mother drives them both (and the horse) to Montana, where a renowned horse trainer tries to rehabilitate the animal— and simultaneously, the girl. Story offers a tailor-made part for Redford and an opportunity for mature romance, but like his character, Redford the filmmaker takes his time telling the story. It's risky, but it works. Screenplay by Eric Roth and Richard LaGravenese. | tt0119314 | [PG-13] | Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Dianne Wiest, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Cooper, Cherry Jones, Ty Hillman, Jeanette Nolan, Don Edwards | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Horse Without a Head | 1963 | Don Chaffey | ★★★ | 89 | Excellent cast in entertaining British-made Disney film (first shown on the Disney TV show) about kids mixed up with bad guys on the trail of stolen loot. First-rate family fare. | tt0057157 | Leo McKern, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Herbert Lom, Pamela Franklin, Vincent Winter | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit | 1968 | Norman Tokar | ★★★ | 113 | Cheerful Disney comedy about advertising man (Jones) who finds a way to link his daughter's devotion to horses with an ad campaign. | tt0063091 | [G] | Dean Jones, Diane Baker, Lloyd Bochner, Fred Clark, Ellen Janov, Kurt Russell | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Horse's Mouth | 1958 | Ronald Neame | ★★★½ | 93 | Guinness adapted Joyce Cary's story into this droll screenplay about a brilliant, eccentric, egocentric— and perpetually starving— artist whom some consider a genius. Many others, who know him more intimately, think of him as a major irritant. Score makes ideal use of Prokofiev's 'Lieutenant Kije' suite. | tt0051739 | Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Renee Houston, Mike Morgan, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger | British | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Horseman on the Roof | 1995 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | ★★½ | 122 | Gorgeous but rather leisurely spectacle, set in 1832, of Italian cavalry officer (Martinez), part of an underground network spread throughout southern France, who is trying to force Austrian overlords out of Italy. On top of everything else, a cholera epidemic is ravaging the French countryside. Binoche is noblewoman who becomes the horseman's traveling companion. Exquisite Provence locations help boost this adventure saga, based on Jean Giono's 1951 novel— a literary classic in France. Depardieu has a humorous cameo as an unorthodox police superintendent. | tt0113362 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, Olivier Martinez, Pierre Arditi, François Cluzet, Jean Yanne, Gérard Depardieu | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Horsemasters | 1961 | William Fairchild | ★★ | 87 | Minor family fare (originally shown on Disney TV show) about Annette learning horsemanship— and to overcome her fear of jumping— at exclusive British riding school. Filmed in England; released as a feature in Europe. | tt0054994 | Annette Funicello, Janet Munro, Tommy Kirk, Donald Pleasence, Tony Britton, Jean Marsh, John Fraser, Millicent Martin | Family | NULL | |||
| Horsemen | 2009 | Jonas Åkerlund | 💣 | 91 | Overworked, recently widowed detective Quaid investigates a series of gruesome murders that are linked to the Book of Revelations and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Preposterous, sickening mystery-thriller is only for those who are entertained by graphic images of torture. | tt0892767 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Ziyi Zhang, Lou Taylor Pucci, Clifton Collins, Jr., Patrick Fugit, Paul Dooley, Barry Shabaka Henley, Eric Balfour, Chelcie Ross, Peter Stormare, Liam James | U.S.-Canadian | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Horsemen | 1971 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 109 | Sharif enters grueling buzkashi tournament to please his demanding father (Palance) and prove his machismo. Old-fashioned action-adventure mixes uncomfortably with soul-searching in Dalton Trumbo's script. Filmed in Afghanistan and Spain. Beautiful photography by Claude Renoir in Panavision. | tt0067216 | [PG] | Omar Sharif, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jack Palance, David De, Peter Jeffrey | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Horseplayer | 1990 | Kurt Voss | ★½ | 89 | Extremely odd story of an artist and his seductive sister who interrupt the life of a recluse when they move into his apartment building. No one is quite what they seem— but who cares? | tt0099796 | [R] | Brad Dourif, Sammi Davis, M. K. Harris, Vic Tayback | Drama | NULL | ||
| Horton Hears a Who! | 2008 | Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino | ★★½ | 88 | Another bloated movie based on a classic Dr. Seuss book—in this case, the beloved story of good-hearted Horton the elephant, who hears the teeny-tiny citizens of Whoville, while no one else believes they exist. Seuss’ gentle tale is expanded and vulgarized, though it has its moments, and the CG animation from Blue Sky Studios is first-rate. Stick with Chuck Jones’ 1970 half-hour TV adaptation. Aka DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO. | tt0451079 | [G] | Voices of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Dan Fogler, Isla Fisher, Jonah Hill, Amy Poehler, Jaime Pressly; narrated by Charles Osgood | Comedy, Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| The Hospital | 1971 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★½ | 103 | Sardonically funny view of modern city hospital where bitterly discouraged doctor (Scott) is drawn into chaos by crazy girl (Rigg) and her scheming father. Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning script makes fun of serious situation by turning it into Marx Brothers-ish lunacy; ultimate truth in what's being said leaves viewer somewhat sad. | tt0067217 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes, Nancy Marchand, Richard A. Dysart, Stephen Elliott, Jordan Charney, Roberts Blossom, Robert Walden, Lenny Baker, Frances Sternhagen, Stockard Channing, Katherine Helmond | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Host | 2006 | Bong Joon-ho | ★★★ | 119 | An American callously dumps toxic waste down a drain that leads to the Han River. Years later, a huge monster gallops out of the river and wreaks havoc on the populace; what's more, it may be hosting a new plague. When it carries away a little girl (Ah-Sung), her somewhat dysfunctional family unites to get her back. Effective monster thrills and great CGI effects blend with satire, comedy, tragedy, and family values, sometimes all at once. A monster movie for the 21st century, this owes a lot to previous films, yet isn't like anything else. Korea's biggest-grossing home-grown movie to date. | tt0468492 | [R] | Song Kang-ho, Byeon Hie-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doo-na, Ko A-sung, Scott Wilson | S. Korean-Japanese | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hostage | 1983 | Frank Shields | ★½ | 90 | Young, carefree Mack is blackmailed into marriage by Nazi Schicha, and her life becomes hell on earth. Intriguing scenario, based on a true story and set in the '70s, but the result is disjointed, repetitive, boring. Original title: HOSTAGE: THE CHRISTINE MARESCH STORY. Video title: SAVAGE ATTRACTION. | tt0085689 | Kerry Mack, Ralph Schicha, Judy Nunn, Clare Binney | Australian-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hostage | 1987 | Hanro Mohr | ★★ | 95 | When a planeload of innocents is kidnapped by Arab terrorists, Hauser and McCarthy enlist ex-soldiers for a rescue mission. Black is very funny in role of a movie star tired of being a sex symbol. Filmed in South Africa. | tt0093213 | [R] | Wings Hauser, Karen Black, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Locke (Hauser), Robert Whitehead | Action | NULL | ||
| Hostage | 1992 | Robert Young | ★★ | 101 | British secret agent Neill wants out of the Service, but his slimy superiors won't let him go. Mildly interesting morality tale of kidnapping and ethical considerations in the world of international politics. | tt0104443 | [R] | Sam Neill, Talisa Soto, James Fox, Michael Kitchen, Art Malik, Cristina Higueras, Jean Pierre Reguerraz | British | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Hostage | 2005 | Florent Emilio Siri. | ★★½ | 113 | After fatally miscalculating an assignment as the LAPD's hostage negotiator, Willis relocates with estranged wife and daughter to what he thinks is a sleepier burg. Instead, he gets himself involved with two abductions (one an offshoot of the other), the first a household takeover by three teen carjackers, one of whom turns out to be a psycho. Filmed with style and a genuine camera eye, picture goes over the top even on a melodramatic level, though the central house provides the coolest movie digs in a while. Willis' real-life daughter Rumer plays his daughter here. | tt0340163 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Marshall Allman, Michelle Horn, Jimmy Bennett, Kim Coates, Serena Scott Thomas. | U.S.-German | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Hostage | 1967 | Russell S. Doughton/ Jr | ★★½ | 84 | Well-done low-budget film about a six-year-old who stows away on moving van driven by two killers. Shot on location in Iowa. | tt0061782 | Don O'Kelly, (Harry) Dean Stanton, John Carradine, Ron Hagerthy, Ann Doran | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Hostages | 1943 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 88 | Routine tale of underground movement in WW2; Bendix outshines Rainer acting-wise. | tt0036017 | Luise Rainer, William Bendix, Roland Varno, Oscar Homolka, Katina Paxinou, Paul Lukas | War | NULL | |||
| Hostel | 2006 | Eli Roth | ★½ | 95 | Three buddies on a European vacation backpack to a small Slovakian village lured by the promise of sex and drugs. Instead (of course) they encounter violence and bloodshed. Starts out promisingly as an atmospheric, ominously suggestive horror-mystery that pokes fun at a certain kind of dense, young American tourist, but quickly descends into seemingly endless sequences of torture that are as boring as they are gruesome and painful to watch. Quentin Tarantino coexecutive produced. A slightly gorier unrated version is available on DVD. | tt0450278 | [R] | Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljáková, Jan Vlasák | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hostel: Part II | 2007 | Eli Roth | 💣 | 93 | Dreary, pointless sequel to Roth’s original “torture porn” bloodbath. In this variation, it’s three beautiful young girls on vacation in Europe who come upon a chamber of horrors when they meet the wrong guys. Once inside they manage to turn the tables on their captors, American businessmen who pay big bucks to engage in sadomasochistic activities. Here’s hoping there would be a PART III. Unrated version also available. | tt0498353 | [R] | Lauren German, Heather Matarazzo, Roger Bart, Bijou Phillips, Richard Burgi, Jay Hernandez, Jordan Ladd, Vera Jordanova | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hostile Guns | 1967 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 91 | U.S. marshal, transporting prisoners to penitentiary, discovers that female prisoner is a woman he once loved. Typical. | tt0061783 | George Montgomery, Yvonne De Carlo, Tab Hunter, Brian Donlevy, John Russell | Western | NULL | |||
| Hot Blood | 1956 | Nicholas Ray | ★½ | 85 | Jane Russell shakes her tambourines and drives Cornel Wilde, in this supremely silly (not to mention unbelievable) gypsy yarn. | tt0049333 | Jane Russell, Cornel Wilde, Luther Adler, Joseph Calleia | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Hot Box | 1972 | Joe Viola | ★★ | 85 | Filipino-shot women's prison film adequately runs through the standard changes, as heroines break out and foment a local revolution. Cowritten and produced by Jonathan Demme. | tt0068717 | [R] | Margaret Markov, Andrea Cagan, Ricky Richardson, Laurie Rose, Charles Dierkop | Action, Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Hot Chick | 2002 | Tom Brady | ★★ | 104 | Ancient earrings cast a magical spell and put spoiled high school girl McAdams into scuzzy Schneider's body— and vice versa. Schneider is surprisingly good in this very broad comedy, with the now-usual dose of crudities, but when it tries to get warm and fuzzy that's asking too much. Recognize that bathroom attendant? It's '60s comic icon Dick Gregory. Schneider coscripted. Adam Sandler, who coexecutive-produced the film, appears unbilled. | tt0302640 | [PG-13] | Rob Schneider, Anna Faris, Matthew Lawrence, Eric Christian Olsen, Robert Davi, Melora Hardin, Alexandra Holden, Rachel McAdams, Maritza Murray, Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry, Michael O’Keefe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hot Dog . . . The Movie | 1984 | Peter Markle | ★½ | 96 | Hijinks at a ski resort: an updating of '60s Beach Party-type movies, just as dumb, but now much raunchier. Good ski sequences, but that's about it. Film is so titled to avoid confusion with HOT DOG . . . THE OPERA. | tt0087425 | [R] | David Naughton, Patrick Houser, Tracy N. Smith, John Patrick Reger, Frank Koppola, Shannon Tweed | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hot Fuzz | 2007 | Edgar Wright | ★★ | 120 | SHAUN OF THE DEAD team reunites for a protracted, disappointing spoof of crime/buddy movies. Pegg (who cowrote with director Wright) plays a by-the-book London cop who's so outstanding he makes everyone else look bad, so his superiors transfer him to a quiet country village. It seems resolutely dull, but Pegg soon discovers otherwise. Some funny gags scattered about can't compensate for unevenness and extreme overlength. Cate Blanchett and Steve Coogan appear unbilled. | tt0425112 | [R] | Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine, Timothy Dalton, Billie Whitelaw, Edward Woodward, Rafe Spall, Olivia Colman, Paul Freeman, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Cranham, Stuart Wilson, Lucy Punch, David Threlfall. | British-U.S. | Comedy, Crime, Action, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Hot Heiress | 1931 | Clarence Badger. | ★★ | 80 | Riveter Lyon and debutante Munson 'meet cute' when he invades her penthouse to retrieve a stray bolt. Naturally, they fall in love, and she passes him off as an architect to trick her snobby parents and friends. Amiable but uninspired musical comedy with Rodgers and Hart songs, including the unforgettable 'Nobody Loves a Riveter (but His Mother). | tt0021973 | Ben Lyon, Ona Munson, Walter Pidgeon, Tom Dugan, Holmes Herbert, Inez Courtney, Thelma Todd. | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hot Lead and Cold Feet | 1978 | Robert Butler | ★★★ | 90 | Amiable Disney Western spoof with lots of slapstick features British comic Dale in three roles: tough patriarch, tougher gunfighter son, and meek twin, a Salvation Army lad. The brothers participate in a wild obstacle race to gain possession of the town, then to defeat villainous Mayor McGavin. Good Oregon location filming. | tt0077698 | [G] | Jim Dale, Darren McGavin, Karen Valentine, Jack Elam, Don Knotts, John Williams | Family, Western | NULL | ||
| Hot Millions | 1968 | Eric Till | ★★★ | 105 | Wry piece of fluff about Ustinov using a computer to siphon off big bucks from huge American conglomerate. Good performers aid pleasant romp, which became one of the biggest sleepers of its year. | tt0063094 | [G] | Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, Karl Malden, Bob Newhart, Robert Morley, Cesar Romero | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Hot News | 1953 | Edward Bernds | ★½ | 68 | Programmer tale of dedicated newspaperman cleaning up crime syndicate involved in sporting events. | tt0045885 | Stanley Clements, Gloria Henry, Ted de Corsia, Veda Ann Borg | Crime | NULL | |||
| Hot Pepper | 1933 | John G. Blystone | ★★½ | 76 | Another reprise of feud between Flagg (McLaglen) and Quirt (Lowe) from WHAT PRICE GLORY?, now civilians involved in nightclub, with spitfire Velez the woman they fight over. Constant wisecracks are a bit forced, but stars milk script for all its worth. | tt0024141 | Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Lupe Velez, El Brendel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hot Potato | 1976 | Oscar Williams | ★½ | 87 | Idiotic action film in which karate expert Kelly and two cohorts try to rescue kidnapped Senator's daughter from Oriental villain. Comic-book stuff. Filmed in Thailand. Remade as FORCE: FIVE. | tt0074646 | [PG] | Jim Kelly, George Memmoli, Geoffrey Binney, Irene Tsu, Judith Brown | Action | NULL | ||
| Hot Pursuit | 1987 | Steven Lisberger | ★½ | 93 | Student Cusack, grounded by bad grades, has been prevented from taking a dream vacation with the family of his wealthy girlfriend. Then he gets last-minute reprieve from a kindly prof, and tries to catch up with them on the road. Silly comedy will probably remind you of Cusack's earlier THE SURE THING— and the comparison isn't favorable. | tt0093215 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Robert Loggia, Wendy Gazelle, Jerry Stiller, Monte Markham, Shelley Fabares, Ben Stiller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hot Resort | 1985 | John Robins | 💣 | 92 | Vulgar comedy about young guys on the make, spending the summer working at a resort hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. There's pretty scenery and prettier girls but few laughs. | tt0089305 | [R] | Tom Parsekian, Michael Berz, Bronson Pinchot, Daniel Schneider, Frank Gorshin, Marcy Walker, Debra Kelly, Samm-Art Williams, Mae Questel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Hot Rock | 1972 | Peter Yates | ★★★ | 105 | Light, funny caper comedy where inept robbers blunder every step of carefully planned jewel heist. Best bit: the raid on the police station. Screenplay by William Goldman from Donald Westlake's novel; followed by BANK SHOT. | tt0068718 | [PG] | Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Zero Mostel, Moses Gunn, William Redfield, Charlotte Rae, Topo Swope | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Hot Rod | 2007 | Akiva Schaffer | ★½ | 88 | In order to raise money for his abusive father’s heart operation, a young Evel Knievel–style daredevil plans a major stunt in which he must jump over 15 buses. Smart-aleck humor and thin script short on laughs make this an ordeal to sit through, even though it’s under 90 minutes. Saturday Night Live’s digital shorts star Samberg proves he is not quite ready for feature films. | tt0787475 | [PG-13] | Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone, Will Arnett, Chris Parnell, Chester Tam, Sissy Spacek, Ian McShane | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hot Rod Gang | 1958 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 72 | Low-budget relic of its era, about hot-rod-happy Ashley joining Vincent's band to earn money to enter big race. | tt0051741 | John Ashley, Gene Vincent, Jody Fair, Steve Drexel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Hot Rod Girl | Hot Car Girl | 1956 | Leslie H. Martinson | 💣 | 75 | Blah juvenile delinquency potboiler, with sympathetic cop Connors establishing drag strip to keep hot-rodding teens off the streets. Aka HOT CAR GIRL. | tt0049335 | Lori Nelson, Chuck Connors, John Smith, Frank Gorshin, Roxanne Arlen, Dabbs Greer | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Hot Rod Rumble | 1957 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★½ | 79 | Title tells all in this formula programmer of juvenile delinquents. | tt0050523 | Brett Halsey, Richard Hartunian, Joey Forman, Leigh Snowden | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Hot Rods to Hell | 52 Miles to Midnight | 1967 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 92 | Fast-paced actioner has Andrews and family tormented by hot-rod-happy juvenile delinquents. Original title: 52 MILES TO MIDNIGHT. | tt0061784 | Dana Andrews, Jeanne Crain, Mimsy Farmer, Laurie Mock | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hot Saturday | 1932 | William A. Seiter. | ★★★ | 72 | Small-town good girl Carroll goes wild after she's accused of spending the night with playboy Grant, which causes her to lose both her job and her boyfriend (Scott). Star trio creates plenty of sparks in this spicy pre-Code drama, with authentic small-town atmosphere and a nifty song, 'I'm Burning for You. | tt0023028 | Cary Grant, Nancy Carroll, Randolph Scott, Edward Woods, Lilian Bond, William Collier/Sr., Jane Darwell, Grady Sutton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hot Shots | 1956 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 61 | The Bowery Boys become caretakers to an unhappy child TV star in this threadbare entry from the tail end of the series. | tt0049336 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Joi Lansing, Jimmy Murphy, David Gorcey, Queenie Smith, Robert Shayne | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hot Shots! | 1991 | Jim Abrahams | ★★★ | 85 | Sheen plays a pilot trying to overcome his father's disastrous reputation in the cockpit in this zany, often hilarious takeoff on 'flyboy' movies from ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS to TOP GUN. Surprisingly high quotient of successful gags, including sendups of movies ranging from DANCES WITH WOLVES to ROCKY, help this comedy soar at times. Bridges is a riot as an admiral with a loose propeller. Followed by a sequel. | tt0102059 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Kevin Dunn, Jon Cryer, William O'Leary, Kristy Swanson, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Bill Irwin, Judith Kahan, Pat Proft, Heidi Swedberg | Action, Comedy, War, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hot Shots! Part Deux | 1993 | Jim Abrahams | ★★½ | 89 | Obligatory sequel with Rambo-like Sheen called into action to rescue U.S. soldiers who tried to rescue soldiers (and so on . . .) held captive after Desert Storm. Plenty of gags and countless movie parodies, but just as many misses as hits this time around, especially in the second half. The cast acquits itself nicely, particularly Sheen, Bridges, and Crenna (who kids his own RAMBO series role). | tt0107144 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna, Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowan Atkinson, Jerry Haleva, Mitchell Ryan, Gregory Sierra | Action, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Hot Spell | 1958 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 86 | Quinn— not just a pig but a blue-ribbon hog— cheats on wife Booth, who spouts irritating platitudes like Hazel on speed. Well-acted but dated drama about the breakup's effect on their children; MacLaine shines as their daughter. Set in New Orleans. | tt0051742 | Shirley Booth, Anthony Quinn, Shirley MacLaine, Earl Holliman, Eileen Heckart, Warren Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hot Spot | 1990 | Dennis Hopper | ★★½ | 130 | Sounds as if it can't miss, but does: drifter Johnson, selling used cars in a nowhere Texas burg, gets involved with boss' wife Madsen, an R-rated descendant of Barbara Stanwyck from DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Overlong by 30 minutes and never once hits the bull's-eye, but there's so much ornery sex that you may be compelled to keep watching. Connelly plays the mysterious 'nice girl' (with a sensuous body) who handles the car lot's financing. Based on Charles Williams' 1952 novel Hell Hath No Fury. | tt0099797 | [R] | Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly, Charles Martin Smith, William Sadler, Jerry Hardin, Barry Corbin, Leon Rippy, Jack Nance | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hot Stuff | 1979 | Dom DeLuise | ★★½ | 87 | Four Miami cops set up a 'Sting'-like operation to fence stolen goods. Unexceptional but pleasant trifle that surprises by treating its characters as real human beings instead of cartoon stereotypes. Cowritten by Donald Westlake. | tt0079308 | [PG] | Dom DeLuise, Suzanne Pleshette, Jerry Reed, Luis Avalos, Ossie Davis, Marc Lawrence | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hot Summer Night | 1957 | David Friedkin | ★★½ | 86 | Offbeat story about reporter seeking an interview with leader of robbery gang. | tt0050524 | Leslie Nielsen, Colleen Miller, Edward Andrews, Claude Akins, Paul Richards | Crime | NULL | |||
| Hot Tub Time Machine | 2010 | Steve Pink | ★★ | 99 | Funny idea comes off as HANGOVER-lite when four guys suddenly find themselves transported by a mysterious hot tub back to a ski lodge vacation in the 1980s, where they get to meet their younger selves and assess the path their lives have taken in the past twenty years. Gross-out humor, frenetic pace, and generally sleazy production values short-circuit a clever premise that sadly doesn't meet its potential. Corddry is a standout but the others struggle for laughs that aren't there. Great title, though. | tt1231587 | [R] | John Cusack, Clark Duke, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Crispin Glover, Sebastian Stan, Lyndsy Fonseca, Chevy Chase, Charlie McDermott, Lizzy Caplan | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hot Water | 1924 | Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | ★★★ | 60 | Typically entertaining silent comedy feature with Lloyd, atypically, as a put-upon husband. Not as strong as Lloyd's best comedies; built instead on three lengthy set pieces, but they're very funny indeed— especially the ride on the trolley and a trouble-prone automobile outing with the family. | tt0015002 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Josephine Crowell, Charles Stevenson, Mickey McBan, Pat Harmon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Hot to Trot | 1988 | Michael Dinner | 💣 | 83 | Here's a fresh concept for the 1980s: a comedy about a talking horse. Goldthwait plays a semi-imbecile who gets stock tips from a whinnying pal with the voice of John Candy. As comedies go, this is the equivalent of Black Monday. Coleman, courtesy of the makeup department, wears a pair of horse teeth here; they are funny. | tt0095326 | [PG] | Bob Goldthwait, Virginia Madsen, Dabney Coleman, Cindy Pickett, Jim Metzler, Tim Kazurinsky, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack Whitaker; voices of John Candy, Burgess Meredith | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hotel | 1967 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 124 | Adaptation of still another Arthur Hailey multicharactered novel is not all that inferior to AIRPORT, but that's faint praise; Douglas has some good scenes. Later a TV series. | tt0061786 | Rod Taylor, Catherine Spaak, Karl Malden, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Conte, Michael Rennie, Merle Oberon, Kevin McCarthy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hotel | 2002 | Mike Figgis | 💣 | 109 | Figgis returns to TIMECODE territory (with new, much-touted handheld riggings for picture, sound, and even night-vision photography, which is pointlessly exploited throughout) for another largely improvised story about a foredoomed film troupe attempting to shoot a version of The Duchess of Malfi in Venice. Only Ifans, as the egomaniacal director, has any real spark. This astonishing indulgence prompts two repeated questions from the viewer: 'Is it over yet?' and 'Why not? | tt0278487 | Rhys Ifans, David Schwimmer, Salma Hayek, Max Beesley, John Malkovich, Saffron Burrows, George DiCenzo, Valeria Golino, Danny Huston, Jason Isaacs, Lucy Liu, Mía Maestro, Chiara Mastroianni, Ornella Muti, Burt Reynolds, Julian Sands | British-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hotel Berlin | 1945 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 98 | GRAND HOTEL author Vicki Baum tries again with sundry characters based in hotel during decline of Nazi Germany; good cast makes it generally interesting. | tt0037791 | Helmut Dantine, Andrea King, Raymond Massey, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre, Alan Hale/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hotel Colonial | 1983 | Cinzia Torrini | 💣 | 104 | International mishmash wastes a good cast in downbeat tale of Savage going to Colombia to investigate the death of his brother, aided by embassy attaché Ward and thwarted by evil Duvall. Pretty Mexican scenery is film's only merit. | tt0093217 | [R] | John Savage, Rachel Ward, Robert Duvall, Massimo Troisi | Italian-U.S. | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Hotel New Hampshire | 1984 | Tony Richardson | ★★★ | 110 | Faithful adaptation of John Irving's sprawling seriocomic novel about an unconventional family and its bizarre adventures— social, sexual, and political— on both sides of the Atlantic. Some fine vignettes and good performances make this worth watching, though characters eventually wear out their welcome. | tt0087428 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster, Beau Bridges, Nastassja Kinski, Paul McCrane, Jennifer Dundas, Dorsey Wright, Matthew Modine, Wilford Brimley, Amanda Plummer, Wallace Shawn, Anita Morris, Joely Richardson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hotel Paradiso | 1966 | Peter Glenville | ★★½ | 96 | Pretentious farce of manners is only fitfully amusing; meek Guinness tries to carry on his rendezvous with gorgeous neighbor Gina, but everything interferes. | tt0060520 | Alec Guinness, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Akim Tamiroff | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hotel Reserve | 1944 | Lance Comfort, Max Greene, Joseph Losey (Victor Hanbury) | ★★★ | 79 | Suspenseful, moody film about innocent Austrian medical student (Mason) who's accused of espionage while on holiday in France before WW2. Based on an Eric Ambler novel. | tt0036929 | James Mason, Lucie Mannheim, Herbert Lom, Patricia Medina, Anthony Shaw, David Ward | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hotel Rwanda | 2004 | Terry George. | ★★★½ | 123 | The slaughter of nearly one million Tutsis in the African nation of Rwanda in 1994 is dramatized through the experiences of Paul Rusesabagina, a career-minded hotel manager who becomes a hero, sheltering innocent people within the walls of his establishment. Powerful film avoids being overly didactic by focusing on one compelling character, believably brought to life by Cheadle. Written by director George and Keir Pearson. Jean Reno appears unbilled. | tt0395169 | [PG-13] | Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte, Desmond Dube, David O'Hara, Cara Seymour, Fana Mokoena, Hakeem Kae-Kazim. | South African-British-Italian | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Hotel Sahara | 1951 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 96 | Pleasant fluff about North African hotel owner and beautiful fiancée who must shift 'loyalties' every time new army marches into town during WW2. | tt0043658 | Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov, David Tomlinson, Roland Culver | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hotel Sorrento | Sorrento Beach | 1995 | Richard Franklin | ★★★ | 112 | Atmospheric, well-acted drama, set in a small seaside Australian town, focusing on the reunion of a trio of very different sisters, one of whom has just published a highly successful autobiographical novel. What follows may be predictable, but the result is compelling nonetheless. Also known as SORRENTO BEACH. | tt0113337 | [R] | Caroline Goodall, Caroline Gillmer, Tara Morice, Joan Plowright, John Hargreaves, Ben Thomas, Ray Barrett | Australian | Drama | NULL |
| Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie | 1987 | Marcel Ophüls | ★★★½ | 267 | Sobering, Oscar-winning documentary about the infamous Nazi war criminal who, decades after WW2, was expelled from Bolivia and returned to France for trial. Filled with incisive interviews with key individuals in his life. A fine companion piece to Ophuls' THE SORROW AND THE PITY. | tt0095341 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Hotel for Dogs | 2009 | Thor Freudenthal | ★★½ | 100 | Cute film for kids about an orphaned brother and sister, now living with flaky, irresponsible foster parents, who manage to keep the existence of their pet dog a secret. Then they discover an abandoned hotel that becomes a refuge not only for their pooch but for every stray in the city. Likable bit of make-believe with appealing canine costars and some nifty Rube Goldberg–like devices. | tt0785006 | [PG] | Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Don Cheadle, Johnny Simmons, Troy Gentile, Ajay Naidu | Family | NULL | ||
| Hotel for Women | 1939 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 83 | Weak film about group of manhunting girls, noteworthy only as Darnell's film debut. Originally titled ELSA MAXWELL'S HOTEL FOR WOMEN. | tt0031447 | Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Elsa Maxwell, Lynn Bari, Sidney Blackmer, Alan Dinehart | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hottest State | 2007 | Ethan Hawke | ★★½ | 116 | Adapting his own semiautobiographical novel, writer-director Hawke infuses raw emotional intensity into a familiar story about the turbulent romance of two attractive twentysomethings—an aspiring actor from Texas (Webber) and a Latina pop singer from Connecticut—who fall madly in love much too quickly in N.Y.C. Best moments of uneven drama focus on male lead’s increasingly frantic and self-humiliating attempts at reconciliation after he’s dumped. Director Richard Linklater appears in a brief cameo. | tt0496319 | [R] | Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ethan Hawke, Michelle Williams, Sonia Braga, Laura Linney, Frank Whaley | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hottie & The Nottie | 2008 | Tom Putnam | 💣 | 90 | Vehicle for dubious acting talents of real-life celebrity heiress Hilton vehicle is complete nonsense as a young man tries to woo the “hottie,” only to find true love instead could be with her incredibly ugly childhood friend, the “nottie.” Get it? Actually, forget it. | tt0804492 | [PG-13] | Paris Hilton, Joel Moore, Christine Lakin, Adam Kulbersh, The Greg Wilson, Johann Urb | Romance | NULL | ||
| Houdini | 1953 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 106 | Fanciful biography of famed escape artist; more fiction than fact, but entertaining. | tt0045886 | Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Ian Wolfe, Sig Ruman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1939 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 80 | Rathbone made his first appearance as Sherlock Holmes in this grade-A production based on Conan Doyle's story about mysterious murders taking place at a creepy mansion on the moors (though he's off-screen for a good part of the story). Fairly faithful to the source material with the now classic closing line from cocaine-user Holmes: 'Quick Watson, the needle!' (Fourth screen version of the oft-filmed novel.) | tt0031448 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene, Wendy Barrie, Lionel Atwill, John Carradine, Beryl Mercer, Mary Gordon, E. E. Clive | Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1959 | Terence Fisher. | ★★★ | 84 | Cushing is well cast as Sherlock Holmes and Lee is fine as Sir Henry Baskerville in this atmospheric Hammer Films adaptation of the Conan Doyle classic. | tt0052905 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell, Maria Landi, Miles Malleson, John LeMesurier. | British | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1978 | Paul Morrissey. | 💣 | 84 | Dreadful spoof of Conan Doyle story scripted by Cook (who plays Sherlock Holmes), Moore (as both Watson and Holmes' mother), and director Morrissey. After a few laughs it descends into dreariness and never recovers. What a waste of talent! U.S. version runs 78m., with sequences out of order. | tt0076161 | Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Denholm Elliott, Joan Greenwood, Spike Milligan, Jessie Matthews, Roy Kinnear. | British | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Hound of the Baskervilles | 1972 | Barry Crane | Below Average TV Movie | 73 | Ludicrous remake of Conan Doyle spellbinder with casting the least of its problems. Nuance, tension, situation all made trivial by script, pacing, production values. For masochists only. | tt0068719 | Stewart Granger, William Shatner, Bernard Fox, John Williams, Anthony Zerbe, Jane Merrow | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Hound-Dog Man | 1959 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 87 | Pleasant tale of Southern country boys Fabian (in film debut) and Whitman courting Stevens and Lynley. Fabian is surprisingly good; of course, he also sings. | tt0052906 | Fabian, Carol Lynley, Stuart Whitman, Arthur O'Connell, Dodie Stevens, Betty Field, Royal Dano, Margo Moore, Claude Akins, Edgar Buchanan, Jane Darwell, L.Q. Jones | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Hour Before the Dawn | 1944 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 75 | Polished, empty WW2 romance-espionage, with Tone falling for Nazi spy Lake; unlikely casting doesn't help. | tt0036930 | Franchot Tone, Veronica Lake, John Sutton, Binnie Barnes, Henry Stephenson, Mary Gordon, Nils Asther | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hour of 13 | 1952 | Harold French | ★★½ | 79 | Mystery yarn set in 1890s London, with Lawford a ritzy thief who develops a heart of gold in order to do a good deed for society. Remake of 1934 film THE MYSTERY OF MR. X. | tt0044725 | Peter Lawford, Dawn Addams, Roland Culver, Colin Gordon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Hour of Decision | 1957 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★★ | 81 | Morrow is newspaperman who tracks down murderer of fellow columnist, discovering his wife was involved with the man. | tt0050525 | Jeff Morrow, Hazel Court, Anthony Dawson, Lionel Jeffries, Carl Bernard, Mary Laura Wood | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Hour of the Assassin | 1987 | Luis Llosa | ★★ | 93 | OK political thriller has Estrada called back from L.A. to South American nation of San Pedro to assassinate the newly elected democratic president. Vaughn is the CIA agent assigned to stop him. Filmed in Peru. | tt0093219 | [R] | Erik Estrada, Robert Vaughn, Alfredo Alvarez Calderon, Lourdes Berninzon | Action | NULL | ||
| Hour of the Gun | 1967 | John Sturges | ★★ | 100 | Western about Ike Clanton and the Earp Brothers after O.K. Corral shoot-up begins well, becomes increasingly tedious. Robards has a good time as Doc Holliday; flavorful score by Jerry Goldsmith. | tt0061787 | James Garner, Jason Robards, Robert Ryan, Albert Salmi, Charles Aidman, Steve Ihnat, Michael Tolan, William Windom, William Schallert, Monte Markham, Frank Converse, Jon Voight | Western | NULL | |||
| The Hour of the Star | 1986 | Suzana Amaral | ★★★ | 96 | Amaral's debut feature (made when she was 52 years old) is a subtle, touching neorealist drama about a plain, awkward, virginal country orphan (Cartaxo) and her experiences in Sa´o Paolo. Slow in spots, but still worthwhile. | tt0089297 | Marcelia Cartaxo, José Dumont, Tamara Taxman, Fernanda Montenegro | Brazilian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Hour of the Wolf | 1968 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 88 | Lesser Bergman about painter von Sydow, wife Ullmann, and apparitions he sees when they retreat to deserted island. The acting, as usual, is first-rate. | tt0063759 | Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Erland Josephson, Gertrud Fridh, Gudrun Brost | Swedish | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Hours | 2002 | Stephen Daldry | ★★★ | 114 | Demanding adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about three women whose emotional lives intersect: novelist Virginia Woolf (an unrecognizable Kidman in an Oscar-winning performance), 1950s American housewife Moore, and contemporary New Yorker Streep, who's throwing a party— much like Woolf's fictional Mrs. Dalloway— for a dying friend (Harris). Emotionally draining, to say the least, but redeemed by the luminescent performances of its three stars. Screenplay by David Hare, with a memorable score by Philip Glass. | tt0274558 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, Allison Janney, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Eileen Atkins, Margo Martindale | Drama | NULL | ||
| House | 1986 | Steve Miner | ★★ | 93 | Horror novelist Katt, simultaneously suffering from the split-up of his marriage, son's disappearance, and Vietnam memories, is plagued by demonic fantasies when he moves to the Victorian home where his aunt hanged herself. Lots of horror effects that don't hang together, but a quirky attitude, and a sense of humor, buoy things enough to make this moderately entertaining. Followed by several sequels. | tt0091223 | [R] | William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, Kay Lenz, Michael Ensign, Susan French, Mary Stavin | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The House Across the Bay | 1940 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 86 | Raft's out to get Pidgeon, who has taken wife Bennett from him while he's been in jail. Familiar but exciting film. | tt0032609 | George Raft, Joan Bennett, Lloyd Nolan, Gladys George, Walter Pidgeon, June Knight | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The House Across the Street | 1949 | Richard L. Bare | ★★ | 69 | Routine remake of Paul Muni's HI, NELLIE, with Morris as newspaperman on the scent of a murder. Paige is peppery as love interest. | tt0041486 | Wayne Morris, Janis Paige, James Mitchell, Alan Hale/Sr., Bruce Bennett | Crime | NULL | |||
| House Arrest | 1996 | Harry Winer | ★★½ | 108 | Sensitive, put-upon teenage boy is so shocked that his parents are separating that he locks them in the basement, hoping to force them to talk out their problems; soon his scheme escalates as other kids bring their parents to join them. Not as bad as it sounds, a sometimes thoughtful comedy that should have been a one-hour TV show. | tt0116571 | [PG] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Pollak, Jennifer Tilly, Kyle Howard, Christopher McDonald, Sheila McCarthy, Wallace Shawn, Ray Walston, Caroline Aaron, Mooky Arizona, Colleen Camp, Russel Harper, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Amy Sakasitz, Ben Stein | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The House Bunny | 2008 | Fred Wolf | ★★½ | 97 | Ditzy but endearing Faris has had a perfect life as a Playmate at the Playboy mansion, so when she’s kicked out she feels she has no identity. She becomes a den mother to the worst sorority at a nearby college, vowing to revamp its image and help its eccentric members fit in. Silly and predictable, but Faris and her castmates make this goofy yarn enjoyable. There are cameos by celebrities and Hefner’s harem. | tt0852713 | [PG-13] | Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Monet Mazur, Kiely Williams, Tyson Ritter, Beverly D’Angelo, Christopher McDonald, Nick Swardson, Hugh Hefner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| House Calls | 1978 | Howard Zieff | ★★★½ | 98 | Matthau plays recently widowed doctor who tries to woo feisty Jackson without sacrificing his independence, in this laughing-out-loud contemporary comedy. Cowritten by Max Shulman and Julius J. Epstein. Carney hilarious as addle-brained head of surgery at Matthau's hospital. Later a TV series. | tt0077699 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Art Carney, Richard Benjamin, Candice Azzara, Dick O'Neill, Thayer David | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| House II: The Second Story | 1987 | Ethan Wiley | ★½ | 88 | A followup rather than a sequel to HOUSE, this incoherent mess is, if anything, a step down. Another young hero moves into another weird house, and finds himself involved with living-dead gunslingers, crystal skulls, Aztec sacrifices, pterodactyls, and a sword-wielding electrician. Busy, but chaotic and boring. | tt0093220 | [PG-13] | Arye Gross, Jonathan Stark, Royal Dano, Lar Park Lincoln, Bill Maher, John Ratzenberger | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| House IV | 1992 | Lewis Abernathy | 💣 | 100 | When her husband is killed and her daughter confined to a wheelchair in a car wreck, a young wife holds onto the old house he inherited, despite spooky goings-on and efforts by her brother-in-law to get her out. Slow, overlong, thrill-less, this lurches from comedy to horror, and can't even match the shoddy effects of the first two. Although Katt has the same character name as in HOUSE, he doesn't seem to be playing the same person. | tt0104449 | [R] | Terri Treas, Scott Burkholder, Denny Dillon, Melissa Clayton, William Katt, Ned Romero, Ned Bellamy, Dabbs Greer, John Santucci | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| House Party | 1990 | Reginald Hudlin | ★★★ | 100 | Infectiously good-natured comedy about urban black teenagers and the events leading up to (and following) a house party one night. Upbeat and imaginative, cast with real-life music rappers (including Reid, who plays the leading role of Kid). A solid feature debut for young writer-director Hudlin. Followed by animated TV series Kid 'n Play and three sequels. | tt0099800 | [R] | Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, Christopher Martin, Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, A. J. Johnson, Paul Anthony | Comedy | NULL | ||
| House Party 2 | 1991 | Doug McHenry, George Jackson | ★★ | 94 | Uninspired sequel has Kid (Reid) heading off to college— if he can just hold on to the money his church congregation has raised to send him there. Reid is still appealing, but this fragmented film has little to offer, in spite of its social-consciousness rhetoric and get-an-education 'message.' | tt0102065 | [R] | Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, Eugene Allen, George Anthony Bell, Georg Stanford Brown, Tony Burton, Tisha Campbell, Iman, Kamron, Queen Latifah, Martin Lawrence, William Schallert | Comedy | NULL | ||
| House Party 3 | 1994 | Eric Meza | ★½ | 94 | Kid, amid jitters over his impending marriage, is trying to make it in music management by signing a feisty female rap group and dodging a vindictive tour promoter. Scattershot chuckles, but coarse, crude, and misogynistic, unlike the original. More hangover than beer blast. | tt0110064 | [R] | Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin, David Edwards, Angela Means, Tisha Campbell, Bernie Mac, Gilbert Gottfried, Ketty Lester | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The House That Cried Murder | 1974 | Jean-Marie Pelissie | ★★½ | 85 | Strasser has some surprises in store for Roberts when he is unfaithful on their wedding day. Pretty scary thriller; also known as THE BRIDE. | tt0071626 | [PG] | Robin Strasser, John Beal, Arthur Roberts, Iva Jean Saraceni | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The House That Dripped Blood | 1970 | Peter Duffell. | ★★½ | 101 | Entertaining four-part horror film written by Robert Bloch with a bit too much tongue in cheek, revolving around suitably creepy-looking mansion purchased by new, hesitant owner. Best segments: first and last. | tt0065854 | [PG] | John Bennett, John Bryans, Denholm Elliott, Joanna Dunham, Tom Adams, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Nyree Dawn Porter, Jon Pertwee, Ingrid Pitt. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The House That Screamed | 1970 | Narciso Ibanez Serrador | ★½ | 94 | Grisly horror at a home for troubled girls, where disciplinarian Palmer and her sex-starved son (Brown) make life difficult— to say the least— for the young ladies. | tt0064888 | [PG] | Lilli Palmer, Chistina Galbo, John Moulder-Brown, Mary Maude, Candida Losada | Spanish | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The House Where Evil Dwells | 1982 | Kevin Connor | ★★ | 88 | American family moves into stylish old house in Kyoto, Japan, ignoring warnings that it's haunted by ghosts of doomed 19th-century love triangle. A few new twists can't relieve familiar formula, and general air of silliness. Quite violent at times. | tt0084096 | [R] | Edward Albert, Susan George, Doug McClure, Amy Barrett, Mako Hattori, Toshiyuki Sasaki, Toshiya Maruyama | Horror | NULL | ||
| House by the Lake | Death Weekend | 1977 | William Fruet | ★½ | 89 | Violent, ugly thriller. Four morons led by Stroud invade weekend retreat of lovers Vaccaro and Shamata. Stroud and Vaccaro good, though. Original title: DEATH WEEKEND. | tt0075922 | [R] | Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata, Richard Ayres, Kyle Edwards | Canadian | Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| The House by the River | 1950 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 88 | Strange, moody tale of larcenous husband (Hayward) who spins web of evil that involves his wife (Wyatt) and brother (Bowman). Overwrought at times— particularly near the end— but full of fascinating touches, striking atmosphere. | tt0042579 | Louis Hayward, Jane Wyatt, Lee Bowman, Ann Shoemaker, Kathleen Freeman | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| House of 1000 Corpses | 2003 | Rob Zombie | 💣 | 88 | A night of blood-drenched terror begins when two morons and their girlfriends pay a visit to Captain Spaulding's Museum of Monsters and Madmen. This infantile ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW/TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE wannabe sacrifices genuine scares for gratuitous gore and nonstop profanity. Rocker Zombie, who has a genuine fondness for horror films, pointlessly sprinkles in vintage movie/TV clips. Filmed in 2000. | tt0251736 | [R] | Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Chris Hardwick, Erin Daniels, Jennifer Jostyn, Rainn Wilson, Tom Towles, Dennis Fimple, Michael J. Pollard, Jeanne Carmen | Horror | NULL | ||
| House of Angels | Colin Nutley's House of Angels | 1992 | Colin Nutley | ★★½ | 126 | Contemporary tale of sexy and liberal Bergstrom who, with her avant-garde pal, descends on a rural Swedish village to claim an inheritance and throws the straitlaced townfolk for a loop. Easygoing, offbeat (if longish) film is really not all that different from those classic Ealing comedies coming from 1950s Britain. U.S. theatrical version ran 119m. Aka COLIN NUTLEY'S HOUSE OF ANGELS. | tt0105916 | [R] | Helena Bergstrom, Rikard Wolff, Per Oscarsson, Sven Wollter, Viveka Seldahl, Reine Brynolfsson, Jacob Eklund | Swedish | Comedy | NULL |
| House of Bamboo | 1955 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 102 | Picturesque if not credible story of army officers and Japanese police tracking down a gang of former soldiers working for a well-organized syndicate. | tt0048182 | Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Sessue Hayakawa | Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| House of Cards | 1969 | John Guillermin | ★★ | 105 | Down-and-out boxer/ adventurer (Peppard) hired by rich widow (Stevens) to tutor her young son becomes pawn of Fascist millionaires and generals intent on retaking Europe. Sound familiar? One good chase, though. | tt0064448 | [G] | George Peppard, Inger Stevens, Orson Welles, Keith Michell, Ralph Michael, Maxine Audley | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| House of Cards | 1993 | Michael Lessac | ★★ | 109 | Architect Turner and her two children return to the U.S. after several years of living among Mayan ruins (and the eerie spirituality of the Mayan Indians) of Central America. When her young daughter becomes increasingly withdrawn and shows signs of autism, Turner battles child psychologist Jones over therapy. Pokey story is less a treatise on the girl's trauma than it is on the benefits of having a well-to-do parent with lots of free time and a big backyard. | tt0107148 | [PG-13] | Kathleen Turner, Tommy Lee Jones, Park Overall, Shiloh Strong, Asha Menina, Esther Rolle, Michael Horse, Anne Pitoniak | Drama | NULL | ||
| House of D | 2005 | David Duchovny. | ★★½ | 97 | Duchovny's debut as writer-director is a semiautobiographical story about a man looking back on his childhood growing up in 1970s Greenwich Village and the life-altering choice he makes when tragedy intervenes. Overly sentimental and shot with so many close-ups it can't be recommended for claustrophobics, this awkwardly structured memory play still has laughs and touching moments. Yelchin is a real find as the younger version of the man, played by Duchovny; Williams is good as the boy's mentally challenged friend and coworker. Williams' real-life daughter Zelda makes a charming first-love interest. | tt0372334 | [PG-13] | Anton Yelchin, David Duchovny, Robin Williams, Téa Leoni, Erykah Badu, Frank Langella, Zelda Williams, Mark Margolis, Magali Amadei, Harold Cartier, Orlando Jones. | Drama | NULL | ||
| House of Dark Shadows | 1970 | Dan Curtis | ★★★ | 96 | Feature version of popular TV serial, recounting vampire Barnabas Collins' (Frid) quest for a cure so he can wed lovely Scott. Nothing new script-wise, but beautiful locations, flashy direction and camerawork, and some nice jolts make it an enjoyable chiller. Followed by NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS. | tt0065856 | [PG] | Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Roger Davis, Joan Bennett, John Karlen, Thayer David, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett | Horror | NULL | ||
| House of Dracula | 1945 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 67 | Sequel to HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN takes different tack: Stevens tries 'real' science to cure various Universal monsters, but finds that some of their bad habits begin to rub off. Acting, direction, eerie set design compensate for over-ambitious script, hasty resolution. | tt0037793 | Onslow Stevens, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Carradine, Martha O' Driscoll, Jane Adams, Lionel Atwill, Glenn Strange, Skelton Knaggs | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| House of Evil | Dance of Death | 1971 | Juan Ibanez, Jack Hill | 💣 | 80 | The old heirs-being-killed-one-by-one story, involving crazy composer Karloff, his old house, killer toys, and an organ melody that heralds death. One of four films Karloff made back to back in 1968, constituting his last film work; this is the worst of the lot. Aka DANCE OF DEATH and SERANATA MACABRA. | tt0063097 | [PG] | Boris Karloff, Julissa, Andres Garcia, Angel Espinosa, Beatriz Baz | Mexican-U.S. | Horror | NULL |
| The House of Fear | 1945 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 69 | Sherlock Holmes is called in to investigate when members of an eccentric Scottish gentleman's club are knocked off one by one. Liberal, but ingenious, adaptation of Conan Doyle's 'The Five Orange Pips.' | tt0037794 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Dennis Hoey, Aubrey Mather, Paul Cavanagh, Holmes Herbert, Gavin Muir | Crime, Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| House of Flying Daggers | 2004 | Zhang Yimou. | ★★½ | 119 | China, A.D. 859: The notorious Flying Daggers have won renown for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Mei (Ziyi), a blind beauty and martial arts expert who is the daughter of the deceased leader of the Daggers, becomes the love object of two dashing Tang Dynasty government deputies; they compete for her amid many battles and fight scenes. Dazzling set pieces, special effects, and use of color, but long, boring at times, and downright silly toward the end; still, it's great to look at. Zhang's second foray into the martial arts genre, following HERO. | tt0385004 | [PG-13] | Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Song Dandan. | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama, Action, Romance | NULL | |
| House of Fools | 2002 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★½ | 104 | This thoroughly Russian film is set in a mental hospital where one of the patients is fixated on a fantasy life with pop singer Bryan Adams, only to see her dreams shattered by the real-life Chechen war in her midst. An odd cross between NO MAN'S LAND and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST; the actors shine in spite of the film's dreary tone. Adams appears throughout, singing his hit 'Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman' perhaps three times too many for his (and the film's) own good. | tt0332605 | [R] | Yuliya Vysotskaya (Julia Vysotsky), Bryan Adams, Sultan Islamov, Stanislav Varkki, Vladas Bagdonas, Yevgeni Mironov | Russian | Drama | NULL | |
| House of Frankenstein | 1944 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 71 | Episodic all-star monster opus linked by evil scientist Karloff and hunchback Naish posing as traveling horror show operators. First third has them dealing with Dracula (wonderfully played by Carradine), the rest picks up where FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN left off. Contrived, to say the least, but tough to dislike. Strange's first appearance as the Frankenstein Monster. Sequel: HOUSE OF DRACULA. | tt0036931 | Boris Karloff, J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Carradine, Elena Verdugo, Anne Gwynne, Lionel Atwill, Peter Coe, George Zucco, Glenn Strange, Sig Rumann | Horror | NULL | |||
| House of Frankenstein 1997 | 1997 | Peter Werner | Average TV Movie | 200 | Shamelessly overhyped two-part horror film has nothing to do with the 1944 Universal picture but deals instead with a contemporary real estate tycoon who'll stop at nothing to locate Frankenstein's monster for a theme club he's planning to build. There are werewolves, witch hunters, bloodsuckers, but precious little of the title monster—played with some humanity by Crombie (who at one point is so terrified he carries a gun!). Not much fun. | tt0127378 | Adrian Pasdar, Greg Wise, Teri Polo, CCH Pounder, Miguel Sandoval, Jorja Fox, Peter Crombie, Karen Austin, Richard Libertini, William Converse Roberts, Gary Frank | Action, Horror | NULL | |||
| House of Games | 1987 | David Mamet | ★★★ | 102 | Uptight female psychiatrist (and best-selling author) becomes involved with a slick confidence man and his 'team,' and quickly gets in over her head. Fascinating Hitchcockian tale by David Mamet, which also marks his film directing debut. Many of his stage cronies are on hand, notably Mantegna, in a dynamic performance, and Crouse, then Mamet's wife. | tt0093223 | [R] | Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala, J.T. Walsh, Willo Hausman, Ricky Jay, Meshach Taylor, William H. Macy | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The House of God | 1979 | Donald Wrye | ★½ | 108 | Misfire black comedy about bunch of young interns coming to grips with reality of hospital pressures. A few scattered laughs, but mostly a waste of terrific (and then-unknown) talent. Adapted by Wrye from Samuel Shem's novel; never released theatrically. | tt0087429 | [R] | Tim Matheson, Charles Haid, Bess Armstrong, Michael Sacks, Lisa Pelikan, George Coe, Ossie Davis, Howard Rollins/Jr., James Cromwell, Sandra Bernhard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| House of Horrors | 1946 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 65 | Slightly below average horror meller. Frustrated artist (Kosleck) uses fiend The Creeper to knock off critics. Laughable script, OK acting. | tt0038621 | Bill Goodwin, Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey, Rondo Hatton, Martin Kosleck | Horror | NULL | |||
| The House of Intrigue | 1956 | Duilio Coletti. | ★★½ | 94 | Nazis capture a high-level British spy in this moderately entertaining WW2 espionage caper. Released in the U.S. in 1959. | tt0049450 | Curt Jurgens, Dawn Addams, Folco Lulli, Dario Michaelis, Philippe Hersent. | Italian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The House of Mirth | 2000 | Terence Davies | ★★½ | 140 | Faithful but mirthless adaptation of Edith Wharton novel about a beautiful woman who is ostracized from N.Y. society at the turn of the 20th century because she doesn't 'play the game.' Deadly slow, the film gets more interesting as it goes along . . . but a more charismatic leading actress might have helped. Exquisitely mounted production. | tt0200720 | [PG] | Gillian Anderson, Eric Stoltz, Dan Aykroyd, Eleanor Bron, Terry Kinney, Anthony LaPaglia, Laura Linney, Elizabeth McGovern, Jodhi May | British-U.S. | Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| House of Mystery | 1961 | Vernon Sewell | ★★½ | 56 | Nifty little story of haunted house, with its new owners learning the mysterious history of the premises; supernatural played up well. | tt0054996 | Jane Hylton, Peter Dyneley, Nanette Newman, Maurice Kaufman, John Merivale | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| House of Numbers | 1957 | Russell Rouse | ★★½ | 92 | Palance plays dual role as man seeking to spring gangster brother from prison and take his place. | tt0050526 | Jack Palance, Barbara Lang, Harold J. Stone, Edward Platt | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| House of Pleasures | House Of Tolerance | 2011 | Bertrand Bonello | ★★★ | 125 | Biting, ironic mood piece that explores the plight of a group of prostitutes in a high-end Parisian bordello at the turn of the 20th century. Even though the atmosphere and sets take precedence over the plot and characterizations, the events that unfold portend a new century—particularly in relation to one of the women (Barnole), a Jewess who is transformed from "the beauty of the new century" to "the Woman Who Laughs." Aka HOUSE OF TOLERANCE. | tt1660379 | Hafsia Herzi, Céline Sallette, Alice Barnole, Adèle Haenel, Jasmine Trinca, Noémie Lvovsky, Iliana Zabeth, Judith Lou Levy, Anaïs Thomas | French | Drama | NULL | |
| House of Ricordi | 1954 | Carmine Gallone. | ★★ | 117 | Passable biography of well-known music-publishing house, set in the 18th century, with many musical interludes. Retitled: CASA RICORDI. | tt0046833 | Paolo Stoppa, Roland Alexandre, Marta Toren, Roldano Lupi, Marcello Mastroianni. | Italian | Musical | NULL | ||
| House of Rothschild | 1934 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 88 | Elaborate, entertaining chronicle of famed banking family, with Arliss as Nathan Rothschild at time of Napoleonic Wars, Loretta his daughter, R. Young her suitor, Karloff as civilized villain. Finale shot in color. | tt0025272 | George Arliss, Boris Karloff, Loretta Young, Robert Young, Florence Arliss, C. Aubrey Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| House of Sand and Fog | 2003 | Vadim Perelman | ★★★½ | 126 | A lost soul (Connelly) is evicted from her house overlooking the ocean. The county sells it, at a bargain price, to an Iranian ex-colonel now living in diminished circumstances who hopes to resell it for a profit. This sets Connelly and Kingsley on a collision course that wreaks havoc neither one can foresee. There's not a false move or a wasted moment in this exquisitely rendered, emotionally devastating film. Impressive feature debut for director Perelman, who adapted the screenplay with Shawn Otto from Andre Dubus III's best-selling novel. | tt0315983 | [R] | Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jonathan Ahdout, Navi Rawat | Drama | NULL | ||
| The House of Sand | 2005 | Andrucha Waddington | ★★★ | 115 | Sensuous story begins as a crazed man drags his wife (and her mother) to a remote spot in the Brazilian desert where he plans to build a home. The women remain and create a life for themselves away from civilization, spilling into the next generation-and in spite of the daughter's determination to get out. The female stars (who are real-life mother and daughter) exchange roles in a near-mystical passage of fifty-nine years as this unique, cosmic drama unfolds. | tt0456875 | [R] | Fernanda Montenegro, Fernanda Torres, Ruy Guerra, Seu Jorge, Luiz Melodia, Enrique Díaz, Stênio Garcia, Emiliano Queiroz | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| The House of Seven Corpses | 1973 | Paul Harrison | ★★ | 90 | A movie crew uses a haunted house with a notorious past for location work on a horror film, and learns to regret it; low-budget, but not bad. | tt0071627 | [PG] | John Ireland, Faith Domergue, John Carradine, Carol Wells, Charles McCauley, Jerry Stricklen | Horror | NULL | ||
| House of Strangers | 1949 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 101 | Dynamic drama of ruthless financier Robinson who uses his four sons to suit his own schemes. Unique plot line has been utilized in various disguises for many subsequent films— most memorably, five years later in the Western BROKEN LANCE. | tt0041487 | Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Luther Adler, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Debra Paget, Hope Emerson, Esther Minciotti | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| House of Usher | Fall of the House of Usher | 1960 | Roger Corman | ★★★½ | 85 | First-rate horror film based on classic tale by Edgar Allan Poe. When beautiful young girl's suitor arrives to ask her hand in marriage, the doors of the house of Usher fling open, and terror begins. Filmed several times before and since, but never this effectively; a great tour de force for Price. First of Corman's eight Poe adaptations. Aka FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. | tt0053925 | Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe | Horror | NULL | ||
| The House of Usher | 1988 | Alan Birkinshaw | ★½ | 90 | Yet another telling of the Edgar Allan Poe saga is one big yawn, with Reed as Roderick Usher, and Windsor as his prey— the woman who can bear him a son and continue the family name. Filmed in South Africa. | tt0095332 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Donald Pleasence, Romy Windsor, Rufus Swart, Norman Coombes, Anne Stradi | Horror | NULL | ||
| House of Wax | 1953 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 88 | Remake of MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM stars Price as vengeful sculptor who rebuilds his fire-destroyed showplace by using human victims as wax figures. Jones excellent as an early victim. Most popular of the era's 3-D films, a status it retains today. This is the film that launched Price on his horror film cycle after 15 years of 'straight' roles. Love that paddleball man! Remade in 2005. | tt0045888 | Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Cavanagh, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) | Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| House of Wax | 2005 | Jaume Collet-Serra. | ★★ | 105 | A group of friends heading to a college football game take a shortcut, find themselves stranded, get separated, stumble into a deserted town, and enter a house of wax with a 'closed' sign on the door. Plays like a mediocre 1970s slasher flick, but with contemporary, 'fleshed-out' characters. An in-name-only remake of the 1953 movie, though the wax sculptor is named Vincent. | tt0397065 | [R] | Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri'chard, Damon Herriman. | U.S.-Australian | Horror | NULL | |
| House of Women | 1962 | Walter Doniger | ★★½ | 85 | Trite rendition of conditions in a women's prison elevated by good cast and fast pacing. Remake of CAGED. | tt0056082 | Shirley Knight, Andrew Duggan, Constance Ford, Barbara Nichols, Margaret Hayes, Virginia Gregg | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The House of Yes | 1997 | Mark Waters | ★★½ | 90 | On a stormy night in 1983, a young man brings his fiancée home to meet his cracked Washington, D.C., family, including his demented twin sister, Jackie-O, whose fantasies about Jacqueline Kennedy have extended to reenacting the JFK assassination— with real bullets. Well-wrought black comedy, based on the stage play by Wendy MacLeod, never quite escapes being a 'play on film.' Strong performances, led by Posey's, make this worth a look. | tt0119324 | [R] | Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Geneviève Bujold, Rachael Leigh Cook | Comedy | NULL | ||
| House of a Thousand Dolls | 1967 | Jeremy Summers | ★½ | 83 | Vacationing couple in Tangiers befriended by young man convinced that his fiancée has been abducted into white slavery ring. Incredible dialogue, with Price walking through film in a daze. | tt0061451 | Vincent Price, Martha Hyer, George Nader, Anne Smyrner, Wolfgang Kieling, Sancho Garcia | British-Spanish | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| House of the Black Death | 1965 | Harold Daniels | ★½ | 80 | Warlock holds people captive in a creepy old house; terribly dragged out, grade-Z stuff. | tt0059285 | Lon Chaney/Jr., John Carradine, Andrea King, Tom Drake, Dolores Faith, Sabrina | Horror | NULL | |||
| House of the Dead | 2003 | Uwe Boll | 💣 | 92 | Low-grade horror movie, based on the video-game series, which charts the all-too-predictable fates of some addle-brained young people drawn to an island inhabited by zombies. Sloppily made and mind-numbingly inept. Prochnow's character is named Captain Kirk. How clever! | tt0317676 | [R] | Jonathan Cherry, Tyron Leitso, Clint Howard, Ona Grauer, Ellie Cornell, Will Sanderson, Enuka Okuma, Jürgen Prochnow | U.S.-German-Canadian | Action, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The House of the Devil | 2009 | Ti West | ★★½ | 95 | College sophomore Donahue, in dire need of cash, answers an ad for a babysitter—much to her regret. Refreshingly old-fashioned horror chiller is a throwback to late 1970s/early '80s shockers as it metes out scares without depending on graphic gore and computer-generated effects; if only it didn't have so many dull stretches along the way. West scripted and edited. | tt1172994 | [R] | Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, Greta Gerwig, Dee Wallace, AJ Bowen | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| House of the Long Shadows | 1983 | Pete Walker | ★½ | 96 | Arnaz, Jr. single-handedly sinks this sixth screen version of George M. Cohan's spoof, SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE, miscast as a mystery writer staying the night in a spooky mansion on a bet with Todd. Notable only for its historic teaming of four all-time horror masters, all wasted in small roles. | tt0085693 | [PG] | Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Desi Arnaz/Jr., John Carradine, Sheila Keith, Julie Peasgood, Richard Todd | British | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The House of the Seven Gables | 1940 | Joe May | ★★★ | 89 | Good adaptation of Hawthorne's classic novel. Set in 19th-century New England; conniving Sanders frames his brother, Price, for murder of their father in effort to cheat him out of inheritance. Fine ‹xwperformances from all. Price also appeared in TWICE-TOLD TALES, which includes abbreviated version of Seven Gables novel. | tt0032610 | George Sanders, Margaret Lindsay, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, Alan Napier, Cecil Kellaway, Dick Foran | Thriller, Drama | NULL | |||
| The House of the Seven Hawks | 1959 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 92 | Diverting account of skipper Taylor involved in shipboard murder and hunt for long-lost Nazi loot. Made in England. | tt0052908 | Robert Taylor, Nicole Maurey, Linda Christian, Donald Wolfit, David Kossoff, Eric Pohlmann | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The House of the Spirits | 1993 | Bille August | ★★ | 138 | Epic South American saga that follows a prominent family's turbulent life from the 1920s through the early '70s. Heavy with portent— and clearly written by someone for whom English is not a first language— this sprawling story tries to incorporate the mysticism of Isabel Allende's bestselling novel with sputtering results. Streep is badly miscast, and Irons struggles with his Hispanic role. Streep's 10-year-old daughter plays her character as a child. Opened in Europe at 145m. | tt0107151 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Vanessa Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Antonio Banderas, Maria Conchita Alonso, Miriam Colon, Vincent Gallo, Jan Niklas, Teri Polo | German-Danish-Portuguese-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The House on 56th Street | 1933 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 68 | Sprawling chronicle of 25 years in the life of a house, as Francis spends two decades in jail for a crime she didn't commit. The residence is now a speakeasy/gambling joint, where Francis returns to save her daughter from the same situation she was in. Offbeat but nothing special. | tt0024144 | Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Gene Raymond, John Halliday, Margaret Lindsay, Frank McHugh, William 'Stage' Boyd | Drama | NULL | |||
| The House on 92nd St. | 1945 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★½ | 88 | Exciting, trend-setting documentary-style drama— based on fact and staged on actual locations— about FBI counterespionage activities during WW2: Nazi agents, operating in N.Y.C., attempt to pilfer part of the atom bomb formula. Charles G. Booth earned an Oscar for his original story. Screenplay by Booth, Barre Lyndon, and John Monks, Jr. Look for E. G. Marshall, in film debut. | tt0037795 | William Eythe, Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso, Gene Lockhart, Leo G. Carroll, Lydia St. Clair. | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The House on Carroll Street | 1988 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 100 | McGillis, who's just lost her job after being branded a subversive during the McCarthy era, stumbles onto a strange espionage plot that's being covered up, and gradually persuades FBI agent Daniels that she's on to something big. Finely detailed period piece set in 1950s N.Y.C. starts off well, then chucks its relevance (and believability) for a melodramatic finale filmed à la Hitchcock at Grand Central Station . . . leaving a passel of plot holes and unanswered questions. A real disappointment from onetime blacklisted writer Walter Bernstein. Patinkin is excellent as Roy Cohn-type attorney. | tt0095333 | [PG] | Kelly McGillis, Jeff Daniels, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Rhode, Jessica Tandy, Jonathan Hogan, Trey Wilson | Thriller | NULL | ||
| House on Haunted Hill | 1958 | William Castle | ★★★ | 75 | Zillionaire Price offers group of people $10,000 each if they'll spend a night in spooky old mansion with murder-laden history; he even provides loaded guns as party favors. Campy fun; probably the Castle film which holds up best on TV. Originally presented theatrically with flying skeleton gimmick 'Emergo.' Remade in 1999. | tt0051744 | Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Alan Marshal, Elisha Cook/Jr., Carolyn Craig, Leona Anderson | Horror | NULL | |||
| House on Haunted Hill | 1999 | William Malone | ★½ | 93 | Dreary remake of the 1958 movie, with two obnoxious 'hosts'— a venomous married couple (Rush, Janssen)— having a party whose guest list is comprised of five strangers. Each one can win a million dollars for surviving the night in a former sanitarium with a bloodstained past. Heavy-handed, and no fun at all. | tt0185371 | [R] | Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Bridgette Wilson, Peter Gallagher, Chris Kattan, Ali Larter, Max Perlich, Jeffrey Combs, Lisa Loeb | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The House on Skull Mountain | 1974 | Ron Honthaner | ★½ | 89 | Relatives awaiting the reading of a will meet mysterious ends in a voodoo-infested Southern mansion. Black horror entry (with a white hero!) is not particularly bloody, but also not particularly good. | tt0071629 | [PG] | Victor French, Janee Michelle, Jean Durand, Mike Evans, Xernona Clayton | Horror | NULL | ||
| The House on Telegraph Hill | 1951 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 93 | Good cast in intriguing tale of WW2 refugee assuming dead woman's identity so that she can come to San Francisco where wealthy relatives reside. | tt0043660 | Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, William Lundigan, Fay Baker | Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| HouseSitter | 1992 | Frank Oz | ★★ | 102 | Unusual hybrid of comedy, farce, and screwball romance that doesn't know what it's trying to be. Martin plays a New England architect who meets kooky nonconformist Hawn; in no time she's moved into the vacant dream home he'd intended for Delany and begun spinning lies about being his Mrs. Laughs throughout, and the stars do their best, but the film is painfully Hollywood-cookie-cutter in form. | tt0104452 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, Dana Delany, Julie Harris, Donald Moffat, Peter MacNicol, Richard B. Shull, Laurel Cronin, Christopher Durang, Cherry Jones | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Houseboat | 1958 | Melville Shavelson | ★★★½ | 110 | Loren becomes Grant's housekeeper and takes his three motherless kids in hand. Predictable romance ensues, in this delightful comedy. Guardino hilarious as houseboat handyman. | tt0051745 | Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer, Harry Guardino, Eduardo Ciannelli, Murray Hamilton | Family, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Houseguest | 1995 | Randall Miller | ★★ | 109 | Deep-in-debt dreamer pursued by thuggish money collectors poses as a world-renowned oral surgeon and childhood friend of a suburban advertising exec. Sinbad is likable, but no funnier than the desperate rest. Woefully overextended comedy is mired in uninvolving subplots and burdened by two of the unfunniest break-ya-fingas comical thugs in screen history. The kind of movie that opens in January. | tt0110066 | [PG] | Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Jeffrey Jones, Kim Greist, Stan Shaw, Tony Longo, Paul Ben-Victor, Mason Adams, Kim Murphy, Chauncey Leopardi, Talia Seider, Ron Glass | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Household Saints | 1993 | Nancy Savoca | ★★★ | 124 | Rich, almost folkloric portrait of three generations of Italian working-class N.Y.C. women: elderly immigrant Malina, whose life is ruled by old wives' tales; her daughter-in-law (Ullman), an old-maid-in-training won by Malina's son (D'Onofrio) in a pinochle game; and their religion-obsessed daughter (Taylor). As in her first feature, TRUE LOVE, director Savoca (who scripted with her husband, Richard Guay, from Francine Prose's novel) depicts Italian New Yorkers with uncanny accuracy. Jonathan Demme executive produced. | tt0107152 | [R] | Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Judith Malina, Michael Rispoli, Victor Argo, Michael Imperioli, Illeana Douglas, Joe Grifasi | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Householder | 1963 | James Ivory | ★★½ | 100 | Fair comedy about perplexed schoolteacher Kapoor, coping with his arranged marriage and new obligations. Ivory's first fiction feature, and initial collaboration with longtime producer Ismail Merchant and scriptwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala; from her novel. | tt0057162 | Shashi Kapoor, Leela Naidu, Durga Khote, Hariendernath Chattopadaya | U.S.-Indian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Housekeeper's Daughter | 1939 | Hal Roach | ★★ | 79 | Pleasant murder mystery enhanced by chic Bennett, who helps crack a homicide case. Mature's film debut. | tt0031450 | Joan Bennett, Victor Mature, Adolphe Menjou, William Gargan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Housekeeper | 2002 | Claude Berri | ★★½ | 91 | Shortly after separating from his wife a man hires a new housekeeper who does more for him than change the sheets. Typically French in attitude and style, this amusing if minor effort from director Berri manages to explore the ultimate male fantasy. Never fully meets the potential of its concept despite fine, understated performances from its two leads. French title: UNE FEMME DE MÉNAGE. | tt0291538 | [R] | Jean-Pierre Bacri, Émilie Dequenne, Brigitte Catillon, Jacques Frantz, Axelle Abbadie, Catherine Breillat | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Housekeeping | 1987 | Bill Forsyth | ★★½ | 116 | Two orphaned girls meet their aunt for the first time when she comes to live with them; she turns out to be a free spirit who shuns responsibility and has a profound effect on the sisters' own relationship. Forsyth's first American film, set in the 1950s, is a quiet, offbeat, and melancholy story that unfolds like a novel but lacks a certain momentum. Still, there are many touching moments. Lahti is wonderful as always, and the girls (both movie newcomers) are excellent. Based on Marilynne Robinson's book. | tt0093225 | [PG] | Christine Lahti, Sara Walker, Andrea Burchill | Drama | NULL | ||
| Housewife | 1934 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 69 | Little punch in story of struggling copywriter Brent deserting wife Dvorak for old-flame Davis (playing unsubtle vamp). | tt0025273 | Bette Davis, George Brent, Ann Dvorak, John Halliday, Ruth Donnelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Houston Story | 1956 | William Castle | ★★½ | 79 | Barry gives a terrific performance in this update of early '30s gangster pictures as a Texas oil worker who lands an entry-level post in Arnold's mob and ruthlessly works his way up the ranks. Gritty Sam Katzman production is efficient if unremarkable. Notable for casting Hale as the femme fatale and Cooper as the nice girl. | tt0049340 | Gene Barry, Barbara Hale, Edward Arnold, Paul Richards, Jeanne Cooper | Crime | NULL | |||
| How About You . . . | 2007 | Anthony Byrne | ★★ | 91 | Young Atwell comes to work in a residential home whose aging inhabitants are mostly eccentric or crotchety. What might have been an appealing tale of intergenerational bonding is ill conceived and often downright silly. Livens up in Atwell’s all-too-brief scenes with elderly, dying O’Hara. Based on a short story by Maeve Binchy. | tt0887745 | Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Staunton, Brenda Fricker, Hayley Atwell, Joss Ackland, Orla Brady, Joan O’Hara | Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| How Do I Love Thee? | 1970 | Michael Gordon | ★½ | 110 | Pleasant cast can't do much for sloppily sentimental film about Gleason's inability to relate to his son, a philosophy professor. Plays like a TV show, a bad one at that. | tt0065859 | [PG] | Jackie Gleason, Maureen O'Hara, Shelley Winters, Rosemary Forsyth, Rick Lenz, Clinton Robinson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| How Do You Know | 2010 | James L. Brooks | ★ | 116 | A highly motivated athlete who’s just been dropped by her team (Witherspoon) and a somewhat dim-witted “nice guy” who’s just been screwed by the company his father runs (Rudd) chance to meet, and might be soul mates. Or maybe not. Or maybe they should talk about it some more. Muddled mess of a movie is not writer-director Brooks’ finest two hours, or a particularly good showcase for anyone except Witherspoon, who’s never looked more glamorous. | tt1341188 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson, Kathryn Hahn, Mark Linn-Baker, Lenny Venito, Molly Price, Ron McLarty, Tony Shalhoub | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| How Funny Can Sex Be? | 1976 | Dino Risi | ★★½ | 97 | Eight bawdy episodes on love, sex, and marriage. More misses than hits, but buoyed by Giannini's comic prowess and Antonelli's tantalizing beauty. Released here after Giannini's success in Wertmuller films. | tt0070669 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Laura Antonelli, Alberto Lionello, Duilio Del Prete, Paola Borboni, Carla Mancini | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| How Green Was My Valley | 1941 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 118 | United Kingdom version narrated by Rhys Williams. Moving drama from Richard Llewellyn's story of Welsh coal miners, centering on Crisp's large, close-knit family. Beautifully filmed, lovingly directed, winner of five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Crisp), Cinematography (Arthur Miller), Art Direction. Screenplay by Philip Dunne. | tt0033729 | Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Donald Crisp, Anna Lee, Roddy McDowall, John Loder, Sara Allgood, Barry Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, Rhys Williams, Arthur Shields, Ann Todd, Mae Marsh. Narrated by Irving Pichel | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| How High | 2001 | Jesse Dylan | ★★ | 93 | With Willard playing the chancellor of Harvard and Bob Dylan's son directing, this rare Ivy League stoner comedy has a curio advantage going in. Film's rapper leads play goof-offs who finesse their entrance exams by smoking the mind-expanding ashes of a dead friend. (Who says the spirit of Lubitsch is dead?) Movie has enough low-grade laughs to sustain its length, though there have probably been cockfights with more redeeming social value. | tt0278488 | [R] | Method Man, Redman, Lark Voorhies, Obba Babatund�, Mike Epps, Fred Willard, Anna Maria Horsford, Chuck Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Spalding Gray, Hector Elizondo, Tracey Walter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| How I Got Into College | 1989 | Savage Steve Holland | ★★ | 89 | Aimless senior applies to a small college because his high-achiever dream girl is doing the same, and gets caught up in the cutthroat recruitment machine. Mild execution of ripe satirical premise, buoyed by fantasy set pieces associated with director Holland's previous work. Has its moments, but not enough of them. | tt0097530 | [PG-13] | Anthony Edwards, Corey Parker, Lara Flynn Boyle, Finn Carter, Charles Rocket, Christopher Rydell, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| How I Killed My Father | 2001 | Anne Fontaine | ★★★ | 95 | A doctor (Berling) whose specialty is slowing down the aging process among his wealthy clientele learns that his long-estranged father (Bouquet) has died unexpectedly. In a flash, he recalls their last extended meeting—or is this reunion all in his mind? Quietly devastating character study emphasizes the enduring impact parents have on children. Aka MY FATHER AND I. | tt0268219 | Unrated | Michel Bouquet, Charles Berling, Natacha Régnier, Amira Casar, Stéphane Guillon, Hubert Koundé, Karole Rocher, François Berléand | French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| How I Won the War | 1967 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 109 | Pungent, if occasionally overbaked, account of a middle-aged veteran whose pompous reminiscenses of his wartime heroics cannot obscure his ineptitude in battle. A deliciously cynical parody of the lunacy of war. Interesting to see Lennon in one of his very few acting roles, as the Cockney Gripweed. | tt0061789 | Michael Crawford, John Lennon, Roy Kinnear, Jack MacGowran, Michael Hordern, Lee Montague, Alexander Knox | British | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| How She Move | 2008 | Ian Iqbal Rashid | ★★ | 91 | Utterly predictable story about a young girl who, after her sister's death, returns to her old neighborhood in the Caribbean projects of Toronto. To earn college tuition money she decides to compete in step-dancing competitions. Mediocre in every way; the dancing and music are uninspired, and they're supposed to drive the film. | tt0770810 | [PG-13] | Rutina Wesley, Tré Armstrong, Clé Bennett, Melanie Nicholls-King, Brennan Gademans, Dwain Murphy, Keyshia Cole, DeRay Davis | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| How Stella Got Her Groove Back | 1998 | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | ★★ | 124 | Tight-midriffed San Francisco stockbroker, age 40, romances the 20-year-old med-school hopeful she meets while vacationing in Jamaica, setting off a wave of tsk-tsk-ing among her friends and his parents. Overlong and dull, this occasionally lush version of Terry McMillan's novel might be more convincing if Bassett didn't look more like a 25-year-old knockout. Subplot about Goldberg's illness and subsequent hospitalization helps keep the film from getting into a groove. | tt0120703 | [R] | Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs, Regina King, Whoopi Goldberg, Suzzanne Douglas, Michael J. Pagan, Sicily, Richard Lawson, Glynn Turman, Carl Lumbly | Romance | NULL | ||
| How Sweet It Is! | 1968 | Jerry Paris | ★½ | 99 | Married couple with teen-age son goes to Europe to revitalize themselves, but Mom starts to dally with sexy Frenchman. Bland comedy looks like a TV show and is about as memorable. Watch for Penny Marshall as one of the Tour Girls. | tt0063098 | James Garner, Debbie Reynolds, Maurice Ronet, Paul Lynde, Marcel Dalio, Terry-Thomas | Comedy | NULL | |||
| How U Like Me Now | 1992 | Darryl Roberts | ★★★ | 109 | Likable comedy of middle and working-class African-American twenty-somethings in Chicago, with the focus on live-in lovers Williams and Richardson, whose relationship is at a crossroads. Refreshingly, none of the characters are stereotypical ghetto cartoons. | tt0107154 | [R] | Darnell Williams, Salli Richardson, Raymond Whitfield, Daniel Gardner, Byron Stewart, Darryl Roberts, Charnele Brown | Drama | NULL | ||
| How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer | 2008 | Georgina Garcia Riedel | ★★★ | 128 | Sharply observed and sympathetically detailed dramedy about the romantic entanglements of three generations of Mexican-American women—aging grandmother (Gallardo), divorced mother (Peña), 17-year-old daughter (Ferrera)—in a sleepy Arizona border town. Funny and insightful, but be forewarned: this SUMMER proceeds at the pace of someone amiably drifting through a hot August afternoon. This was filmed before, but released after, Ferrera hit it big on TV’s Ugly Betty. | tt0385006 | [R] | Elizabeth Peña, America Ferrera, Lucy Gallardo, Steven Bauer, Jorge Cervera, Jr., Leo Minaya | Drama | NULL | ||
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas | 2000 | Ron Howard | ★½ | 105 | Cheerless bastardization of the beloved children's book by Dr. Seuss about a dastardly creature's attempt to rob Whoville of its yuletide holiday. Carrey is good, but the film is loud and cluttered, losing all the charm of the sweet, simple source material. Only good songs are two holdovers from the vastly superior 1966 animated TV special. Rick Baker and Gail Ryan won Oscars for Best Makeup. Full title is DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. Bah, humbug! | tt0170016 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon, Clint Howard, Taylor Momsen; narrated by Anthony Hopkins | Family, Fantasy, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| How the West Was Won | 1962 | John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall | ★★★½ | 155 | Blockbuster epic about three generations of Western pioneers isn't same experience on TV it was on Cinerama screen, but great cast, first-rate photography and lovely Alfred Newman score still make it top entertainment. Peppard stands out with excellent portrayal. This won Oscars for Story and Screenplay (James R. Webb) and Editing (Harold F. Kress). Cinerama. | tt0056085 | Carroll Baker, Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck, George Peppard, Carolyn Jones, Eli Wallach, Robert Preston, Debbie Reynolds, James Stewart, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Spencer Tracy | War, Western | NULL | |||
| How to Be Very, Very Popular | 1955 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★½ | 89 | Grable and North on the lam hide in a college fraternity in this semi-remake of SHE LOVES ME NOT. Sheree does wild 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' number, stealing Grable's spotlight. This was Betty's last movie. | tt0048183 | Betty Grable, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn, Sheree North, Fred Clark, Alice Pearce, Orson Bean | Comedy | NULL | |||
| How to Beat the High Co$t of Living | 1980 | Robert Scheerer | ★½ | 110 | Thoroughly blah caper comedy by Bob Kaufman about three housewives who plot a heist at the local shopping center. Worth a glance to see Coleman in rare romantic lead . . . and Saint James and Curtin years before they clicked together as Kate and Allie. | tt0080895 | [PG] | Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, Jessica Lange, Richard Benjamin, Cathryn Damon, Fred Willard, Dabney Coleman, Eddie Albert, Art Metrano, Garrett Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| How to Commit Marriage | 1969 | Norman Panama | ★★ | 95 | Above average for later Hope movies, but still a far cry from great comedy. Hope and Wyman are about to divorce when their daughter announces plans to marry Gleason's son. 'Mod' elements of script were already dated when film came out. | tt0064449 | [M] | Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Jane Wyman, Maureen Arthur, Tim Matheson, Leslie Nielsen, Tina Louise, Irwin Corey | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| How to Deal | 2003 | Clare Kilner | ★★ | 101 | Dealing with a divorced mom and a pregnant best friend, a teenage girl vows never to fall in love. Dull attempt at dramedy isn't helped by Moore's uninteresting lead performance. Only the older generation here— Janney, Baker, and Foch as a grandmother who tokes marijuana for 'medicinal' reasons— have any fun, though the dotty grandma bit has been overdone by now. Based on two of Sarah Dessen's popular teen novels. Peter Gallagher appears unbilled as Moore's hipster radio DJ dad. | tt0319524 | [PG-13] | Mandy Moore, Allison Janney, Trent Ford, Alexandra Holden, Dylan Baker, Nina Foch, Mackenzie Astin, Connie Ray, Mary Catherine Garrison | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| How to Eat Fried Worms | 2006 | Bob Dolman | ★★½ | 83 | Cooked in Crisco. Mixed with marshmallow. Peanut butter and worm sandwich. These are some of the ways that the new kid in school must dine on phylum Annelida to win a bet and prove a point. Brightly adapted from Thomas Rockwell's 1973 classic novel of preadolescent crudity, this is one big gross-out joke that, while a family movie, is so not a popcorn movie. Young Benward is an appealing hero. | tt0462346 | [PG] | Luke Benward, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Adam Hicks, Austin Rogers, Alexander Gould, Ryan Malgarini, Philip Daniel Bolden, Clint Howard, Ty Panitz, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Tom Cavanagh, James Rebhorn | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| How to Frame a Figg | 1971 | Alan Rafkin | ★★ | 103 | Simplistic chap (Knotts) finds trouble behind every doorway as he is made patsy for crooked politicians. Usual unsubtle Knotts comedy. | tt0067219 | [G] | Don Knotts, Joe Flynn, Elaine Joyce, Edward Andrews, Yvonne Craig | Comedy | NULL | ||
| How to Get Ahead in Advertising | 1989 | Bruce Robinson. | ★★½ | 95 | Advertising hotshot Grant is under so much pressure— and has become so negative about his manipulative profession— that his anxiety brings forth a talking boil on his shoulder with a mind of its own! Certifiably weird comedy by writer-director Robinson (reunited with the star of his first film, WITHNAIL AND I) has its share of funny and bizarre moments, but its attack on advertising is so heavy-handed that as satire it fizzles. | tt0097531 | [R] | Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson, Jacqueline Tong, John Shrapnel, Susan Wooldridge, Mick Ford. | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog | 2001 | Michael Kalesniko | ★★★ | 107 | Sardonic playwright whose career is in a slump grapples with his wife's desire to have a baby. Meanwhile, a cute little girl moves in across the street and begins to affect the man's outlook— and even his work. Glib and funny, Kalesniko's screenplay deepens as it progresses with fine performances by Branagh, Penn, and young Hofrichter. Refreshingly unconventional comedy made its U.S. debut on cable TV. Daniel Stern appears unbilled. Executive-produced by Robert Redford. | tt0207524 | [R] | Kenneth Branagh, Robin Wright Penn, Suzi Hofrichter, Lynn Redgrave, Jared Harris, Lucinda Jenney, Peter Riegert, Peri Gilpin, Tamala Jones, David Krumholtz, Johnathon Schaech | U.S.-German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | 2008 | Robert Weide | ★★★ | 109 | Snarky British journalist Pegg desperately wants to be on the inside of the glamour scene and gets the opportunity when N.Y. magazine editor Bridges hires him. His obnoxious, bull-in-a-china-shop behavior is nearly his undoing until he learns to play the game—and gets to score with a sexy starlet (Fox). Drawn from Toby Young’s book about working for Vanity Fair, with Bridges having fun as a Graydon Carter type. A sharp look at our celebrity culture. Alternately silly and clever; well cast from top to bottom. | tt0455538 | [R] | Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Megan Fox, Miriam Margolyes, Bill Paterson, Max Minghella, Diana Kent, Thandie Newton | U.S.-British | Romance | NULL | |
| How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days | 2003 | Donald Petrie | ★★ | 115 | Airy romantic comedy about a women's-magazine writer who takes on the challenge of attracting— and then driving away— a man, for the sake of an article, never dreaming that the man she chooses has taken a bet that he can woo and win her. The stars are attractive, though Hudson is obliged to act obnoxious— and is apparently shot through layers of gauze. Diverting for a while, but there's barely an honest moment in the film, and it doesn't have to go on quite as long as it does. | tt0251127 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Michele, Shalom Harlow, Adam Goldberg, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Klein, Kathryn Hahn, Thomas Lennon, Annie Parisse, Celia Weston, Liliane Montevecchi | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| How to Make a Monster | 1958 | Herbert L. Strock | 💣 | 74 | Dismal chiller involving studio makeup artist who goes berserk and turns his creations into zombielike killers. Final 11m. of film are in color. Remade (in name only) for cable TV in 2001. | tt0051746 | Robert Harris, Walter Reed, Gary Clarke, Paul Brinegar | Horror | NULL | |||
| How to Make an American Quilt | 1995 | Jocelyn Moorhouse | ★★ | 116 | Aimless young woman leaves her fiancé behind to spend the summer with her grandmother and great-aunt. Soon she's delving into their lives and the experiences of their female friends who work together in a nonstop quilting bee. Episodic 'woman's film' (based on Whitney Otto's novel) offers at least one flashback too many in its quiltlike pattern. It's genteel, good looking, and well acted, but has no narrative momentum. | tt0113347 | [PG-13] | Winona Ryder, Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, Maya Angelou, Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, Samantha Mathis, Alfre Woodard, Lois Smith, Kate Capshaw, Johnathon Schaech, Holland Taylor, Maria Celedonio, Claire Danes, Loren Dean, Melinda Dillon, Dermot Mulroney, Derrick O'Connor, Esther Rolle, Rip Torn, Mykelti Williamson, Alicia (Lecy) Goranson, Adam Baldwin | Drama | NULL | ||
| How to Marry a Millionaire | 1953 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 95 | Terrific ensemble work in dandy comedy of three man-hunting females pooling resources to trap eligible bachelors. Nunnally Johnson scripted and produced this remake of THE GREEKS HAD A WORD FOR THEM, which is preceded by Alfred Newman conducting his famed 'Street Scene' theme (a prologue designed to show off stereophonic sound). | tt0045891 | Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, William Powell, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Alex D'Arcy, Fred Clark, Cameron Mitchell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| How to Murder Your Wife | 1965 | Richard Quine | ★★★ | 118 | Engaging comedy that almost holds up to finale. Cartoonist Lemmon marries Lisi while drunk and spends rest of film devising ways to get rid of her. Mayehoff is standout as Lemmon's lawyer friend. | tt0058212 | Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, Terry-Thomas, Eddie Mayehoff, Claire Trevor, Sidney Blackmer, Max Showalter, Jack Albertson, Mary Wickes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| How to Murder a Rich Uncle | 1957 | Nigel Patrick. | ★★½ | 80 | Amusing cash-in on THE LADYKILLERS, with nouveau poor British family deciding to knock off visiting American relative Coburn for his money, succeeding only in doing themselves in. No classic, but entertaining. Script by John Paxton; Michael Caine has a tiny bit. | tt0050527 | Charles Coburn, Nigel Patrick, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Newley, Katie Johnson, Athene Seyler. | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) | 1968 | Fielder Cook | ★½ | 108 | Typical 1960s sex farce has swinging bachelor Dino mistaking Stella for his best friend's mistress, with predictable complications. Stevens wasted again. | tt0063102 | Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Betty Field, Jack Albertson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| How to Steal a Million | 1966 | William Wyler | ★★★ | 127 | Hepburn and O'Toole are a delightful match in this sophisticated comedy about a million-dollar theft in a Paris art museum. Boyer, O'Toole's boss, and Griffith, Hepburn's father, are equally good. | tt0060522 | Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Charles Boyer, Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| How to Stuff a Wild Bikini | 1965 | William Asher | ★★ | 93 | The fatigue is palpable in this sixth BEACH PARTY movie, which tries out another new leading man (with Frankie Avalon again shunted to a cameo role). As usual, the veterans— especially Rooney— liven things a little, but overall, pretty mediocre. Followed by GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI. | tt0059287 | Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Buster Keaton, Mickey Rooney, Harvey Lembeck, Beverly Adams, Jody McCrea, John Ashley, Bobbi Shaw | Comedy | NULL | |||
| How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | 1967 | David Swift | ★★★½ | 121 | Delightful musical from Broadway hit about ambitious window-washer (Morse) who uses wiles, and a handbook, to rise to prominence in Vallee's Worldwide Wicket Co. Superb farce, good Frank Loesser songs (including 'Brotherhood of Man' and 'I Believe in You'), imaginative staging of musical numbers by Bob Fosse. | tt0061791 | Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee, Anthony Teague, Maureen Arthur, Sammy Smith, Robert Q. Lewis | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| How to Train Your Dragon | 2010 | Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders | ★★★ | 98 | Hiccup, the wimpy son of a Viking warrior (who speaks like a modern-day American boy, along with the other kids in the story), can't seem to do anything right—until he brings down a supposedly fearsome dragon who turns out to be a loving pet. His challenge: to keep this a secret from the villagers, and especially his father. Often-enthralling animated feature, adapted from a British series of books by Cressida Cowell, only resorts to formula storytelling at the climax. Inventively staged for the camera, especially in 3-D. Note the resemblance of the dragon, Toothless, to the filmmakers' earlier Disney creation, Stitch in LILO & STITCH. | tt0892769 | [PG] | Voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T. J. Miller, Kristen Wiig | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Howard the Duck | 1986 | Willard Huyck | 💣 | 111 | Steve Gerber's sarcastic comic-book creation is (unwisely) turned into a live-action character for this hopeless mess of a movie set in Cleveland. Gargantuan production produces gargantuan headache. Executive produced, but disowned, by George Lucas. | tt0091225 | [PG] | Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Paul Guilfoyle, Holly Robinson, Miles Chapin, Virginia Capers, David Paymer, Thomas Dolby; voice of Richard Kiley | Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Howards End | 1992 | James Ivory | ★★★★ | 140 | Sumptuous, stimulating adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel of class distinction— and what happens when members of different social strata collide in 1910 England. Thompson won an Oscar for her terrific performance as an audacious and independent young woman of no means who is ever-so-subtly seduced by Hopkins, a successful man whose social veneer masks an insidious (and even cruel) nature. Extraordinarily good on every level. Also won Oscars for Best Screenplay (by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) and Art Direction-Set Decoration. Simon Callow appears unbilled as a lecturer. | tt0104454 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson, James Wilby, Sam West, Jemma Redgrave, Nicola Duffett, Prunella Scales | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Howards of Virginia | 1940 | Frank Lloyd | ★★½ | 122 | Historical account of Revolutionary War is OK, but too long for such standard retelling. Look for young Peter Cushing. | tt0032612 | Cary Grant, Martha Scott, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Marshal, Richard Carlson, Paul Kelly, Irving Bacon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Howl | 2010 | Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | ★★★ | 84 | Unusual, provocative, semi-narrative film from documentarians Epstein and Friedman about the creation of Allen Ginsberg’s landmark poem and its impact on the cultural landscape of the 1950s. Effectively blends a re-creation of Ginsberg (Franco) reading the poem at San Francisco’s City Lights bookstore in 1955 and responding to an interviewer’s questions about his life; the 1957 obscenity trial of Howl’s publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti; and some dazzling animation. Images of the real individuals portrayed are cleverly integrated with those of Franco and the other actors. | tt1049402 | [R] | James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Bob Balaban, Alessandro Nivola, Treat Williams, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels, Aaron Tveit, Todd Rotondi, Jon Prescott | Drama | NULL | ||
| Howl's Moving Castle | 2004 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 119 | A girl falls under the spell of a witch and is transformed into a wrinkled old woman . . . but in her new form she acquires a sense of daring and wisdom she never had before, especially when she discovers a magical moving castle. This mystical fable offers a unique experience. It asks the viewer to take a leap of faith-and then offers constant surprise, turning from humor to sadness to a sense of wonder in the blink of an eye. Animation master Miyazaki adapted Diana Wynne Jones' novel. Simmons, Bacall, and Crystal contribute rich vocal performances to the U.S. version. | tt0347149 | [PG] | Voices of Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Emily Mortimer, Blythe Danner, Josh Hutcherson, Jena Malone, Moosie Drier | Japanese | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf | 1985 | Philippe Mora | 💣 | 90 | Ridiculous sequel is set in Transylvania where unlikely siblings Danning and Lee head up a family of werewolves. Attempt at sending up the genre falls flat. | tt0089308 | [R] | Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Sybil Danning, Marsha A. Hunt, Ferdy Mayne | Horror | NULL | ||
| Howling III | Marsupials, The: The Howling III | 1987 | Philippe Mora | ★★ | 94 | OK horror spoof stars Annesley, a Kim Basinger-like beauty, as an Australian marsupial werewolf, who gives birth to a cute little creature that lives in a pouch on her belly. Unusual addition to werewolf genre features some funny cameos, including Thring as an Alfred Hitchcock-style director. | tt0093227 | [PG-13] | Barry Otto, Imogen Annesley, Dasha Blahova, Max Fairchild, Frank Thring, Michael Pate, Barry Humphries | Australian | Comedy, Horror | NULL |
| Howling IV: The Original Nightmare | 1988 | John Hough | 💣 | 92 | Being based somewhat more closely on Gary Bradner's original novel doesn't save this film from being a turkey in wolf's clothing. Isolated in a distant cabin, a young woman battles werewolves, including her boyfriend, a newly minted howler. Shot in South Africa, unsuccessfully passing itself off as California. Poor makeup effects. | tt0095334 | [R] | Romy Windsor, Michael T. Weiss, Anthony Hamilton, Susanne Severeid | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Howling V: The Rebirth | 1989 | Neal Sundstrom | ★★ | 99 | Much better than II or IV, this still suffers from a very low budget— so low there are no werewolves to be seen! All the hairy monster stuff takes place off-screen in this variation on Ten Little Indians, as a group in a picturesque old castle is knocked off one by one by the secret werewolf among them. Some suspense, OK performances, and a genuine surprise at the end. | tt0097534 | [R] | Victoria Catlin, Elizabeth Silverstein, Mark Faulkner, Stephanie Shockley, William Stavin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Howling VI- The Freaks | 1991 | Hope Perello | ★½ | 102 | This time the werewolf is the hero, a drifter who turns up in a Southwestern desert town just ahead of a circus full of monsters. Intelligently written, especially for this series, but pretentious, with vague Ray Bradburyesque overtones. Awkward and confusing, of appeal to buffs only. | tt0102067 | [R] | Brendan Hughes, Michelle Matheson, Bruce Martyn Payne, Jered Barclay, Sean Gregory Sullivan, Antonio Fargas, Carlos Cervantes | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Howling | 1981 | Joe Dante | ★★★ | 91 | A female TV news reporter is sent to a strange California encounter-group community to recover from a sexual trauma, unaware that virtually everyone there is a werewolf. A hip, well-made horror film, brimming with film-buff jokes (almost every character is named after a werewolf movie director) and Rob Bottin's amazing wolf transformations. Only complaint: Why set the horror against such a patently bizarre backdrop? Coscripter John Sayles has a funny cameo as a morgue attendant. Followed by several so-called sequels. | tt0082533 | [R] | Dee Wallace-Stone, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, Elisabeth Brooks, Robert Picardo, Noble Willingham, Kenneth Tobey, Dick Miller, Meshach Taylor. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Huckleberry Finn | 1931 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 80 | Life on the Mississippi with Huck, Tom Sawyer, and Becky Thatcher. Charming but very, very dated; a follow-up to previous year's TOM SAWYER, with same cast. | tt0021981 | Jackie Coogan, Mitzi Green, Junior Durkin, Eugene Pallette, Jackie Searl, Clarence Muse, Jane Darwell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Huckleberry Finn | 1939 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 90 | Subdued Rooney fine, Ingram excellent as Huck and Jim in classic Mark Twain tale of early 19th-century America; Connolly and Frawley are amusing as riverboat con-artists. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031020 | Mickey Rooney, Walter Connolly, William Frawley, Rex Ingram, Lynne Carver | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Huckleberry Finn | 1974 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 118 | Little of Mark Twain is left in this handsome but empty-headed musical version of his classic story. Score by Richard and Robert Sherman is as forgettable as their script. | tt0071634 | [G] | Jeff East, Paul Winfield, Harvey Korman, David Wayne, Arthur O'Connell, Gary Merrill | Adventure, Musical | NULL | ||
| Huckleberry Finn | 1975 | Robert Totten | Above Average TV Movie | 78 | Folksy treatment of the classic by Twain (played by Dano), minus the social criticism and sinister aspects of the literary adventure favorite. | tt0073130 | Ron Howard, Donny Most, Antonio Fargas, Jack Elam, Merle Haggard, Royal Dano, Rance Howard, Clint Howard | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Hucksters | 1947 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 115 | Glossy dig at advertising and radio industries, with Gable battling for integrity among yes-men. Greenstreet memorable as despotic head of soap company; Kerr's first American movie. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039477 | Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner, Keenan Wynn, Edward Arnold | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Hud | 1963 | Martin Ritt | ★★★★ | 112 | Excellent story of moral degradation set in modern West, with impeccable performances by all. Neal won Best Actress Oscar as family housekeeper who doesn't want to get involved with no-account Newman. Douglas received Best Supporting Oscar as Newman's ethical, uncompromising father, and James Wong Howe's cinematography also earned a statuette. Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr. scripted from Larry McMurtry's novel Horseman, Pass By. | tt0057163 | Paul Newman, Patricia Neal, Melvyn Douglas, Brandon de Wilde, John Ashley | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Huddle | 1932 | Sam Wood. | ★★ | 104 | Novarro is a working-class Italian American who wins a football scholarship to Yale and comes up against snobbery and class distinction. Fatuous, overlong star vehicle bolstered by grade-A MGM production values. European version substituted soccer for football. | tt0023034 | Ramon Novarro, Madge Evans, Una Merkel, Ralph Graves, John Arledge, Frank Albertson, Kane Richmond, Martha Sleeper, Henry Armetta. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hudson Hawk | 1991 | Michael Lehmann | ★★ | 95 | Wildly overblown vanity film (Willis cowrote the story and the title song) about a cat burglar, just sprung from prison, who's blackmailed into performing several daring art heists, including one from the Vatican! Blissfully incoherent, with some good action scenes, but nothing to hang them on except a steady stream of Willis wisecracks, only some of which are funny. | tt0102070 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, Richard E. Grant, Sandra Bernhard, Donald Burton, Don Harvey, David Caruso, Andrew Bryniarski, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallone, Leonardo Cimino | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hudson's Bay | 1940 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 95 | Muni's good, but life of founder of Hudson Bay fur-trading company lacks punch. Expansive production. | tt0032613 | Paul Muni, Gene Tierney, Laird Cregar, John Sutton, Virginia Field, Vincent Price, Nigel Bruce | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Hudsucker Proxy | 1994 | Joel Coen | ★★★ | 111 | A country bumpkin arrives in the Big City and becomes the unwitting pawn in a scheme to ruin a thriving corporation. The Coen brothers' most extravagant creation to date, an eye-popping '50s fantasy of big business gone berserk, with Robbins absolutely perfect as the wide-eyed patsy who miraculously rises to the top. Newman is a crafty villain, and Leigh is fun (if a bit one-note) as a fast-talking, Kate Hepburn-ish reporter. Written by Ethan and Joel Coen with Sam Raimi; the Coens rival Fellini in the selection of unusual faces to populate their films. | tt0110074 | [PG] | Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, John Mahoney, Jim True, William Cobbs, Bruce Campbell, Joe Grifasi, Peter Gallagher, Noble Willingham, Steve Buscemi, Anna Nicole Smith, Jon Polito | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Hue and Cry | 1946 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 82 | Snappy romp as young Fowler suspects that details in the stories published in his favorite weekly pulp magazine are being used as a code by a gang of crooks. Nicely filmed on location on the streets of post-WW2 London. The first of many good Ealing comedies; written by T.E.B. Clarke. Released in the U.S. in 1950. | tt0039478 | Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Valerie White, Harry Fowler, Jack Lambert, Frederick Piper, Joan Dowling | British | Comedy, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Huey Long | 1985 | Ken Burns | ★★★½ | 88 | Entertaining, thoroughly fascinating documentary portrait of Huey Long, controversial Depression-era Louisiana governor and one of the most intriguing personalities in American history. Crammed with priceless footage; a must. | tt0089310 | Unrated | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Hugo | 2011 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 126 | An orphaned boy (Butterfield) maintains all the clocks in a Paris railway station in 1930, just as his late uncle did, and lives in the midst of the clockworks, unnoticed. His fascination with all things mechanical brings him to the attention of an irascible old man (Kingsley) who runs a toy shop in the station arcade. Then he and the man's friendly granddaughter (Moretz) begin to unlock the mystery of the toy vendor's past life as one of the pioneers of moving pictures. A journey into a world of wonder, beautifully translated from the pages of Brian Selznick's illustrated book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Kudos to all involved, including screenwriter John Logan, cinematographer Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, composer Howard Shore, and visual effects supervisor Rob Legato. Their use of 3-D is organic—and exciting to watch. Who better than Scorsese to pilot this valentine to the earliest days of filmmaking? Oscar winner for Cinematography, Art Direction, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing. | tt0970179 | [PG] | Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, Jude Law | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hugo Pool | 1997 | Robert Downey | ★★ | 94 | Strained whimsy about an L.A. pool cleaner (Milano) and her dealings with her dysfunctional parents and assorted oddball clients, one of whom— a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease— she falls in love with. Self-indulgent shaggy-dog farce comes off like an actors' improv exercise and varies wildly from deadpan absurdist comedy to mawkish sentimentality. Laura Downey (the director's wife) coscripted. | tt0119327 | [R] | Alyssa Milano, Patrick Dempsey, Cathy Moriarty, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Downey/Jr., Richard Lewis, Sean Penn, Bert Remsen, Chuck Barris, Ann Magnuson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Hugo the Hippo | 1976 | William Feigenbaum | ★★½ | 90 | OK children's cartoon musical about a youngster's attempt to save a hippo from extinction in ancient Zanzibar. | tt0074657 | [G] | Voices of Burl Ives, Marie Osmond, Jimmy Osmond, Robert Morley, Paul Lynde | Drama, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Huk | 1956 | John Barnwell | ★½ | 84 | Philippine-made hokum about Montgomery returning to the Islands to revenge his dad's murder. | tt0049343 | George Montgomery, Mona Freeman, John Baer, James Bell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hula | 1927 | Victor Fleming. | ★★½ | 64 | Daughter of a Hawaiian plantation owner sets her sights on a British engineer but soon discovers she's out of her league. Typical silent vehicle for the irrepressible and uninhibited Bow; a forerunner of Jean Harlow's RED DUST, silly and simplistic but fun to watch. First shot of the star shows her luxuriating— ostensibly naked— in a lagoon! | tt0018016 | Clara Bow, Clive Brook, Arlette Marchal, Arnold Kent, Maude Truax, Albert Gran. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Hulk | 2003 | Ang Lee | ★★½ | 138 | Research scientist Bruce Banner represses painful childhood memories that eventually explode and turn him into The Hulk. Only his ex-girlfriend seems to understand his agony, while her father, a general with an age-old chip on his shoulder, wants to bring the big green guy down. Takes its time building character and story, then spoils it with cardboard villains, a heavy-handed KING KONG homage, and a climax where the Hulk bounces around like a video-game character. Even director Lee's ingenious comic-book graphic style wears out its welcome in this overlong, overly serious saga. Lou Ferrigno (TV's The Incredible Hulk) and Marvel's Stan Lee have an amusing cameo together. Based on the comic book created by Lee and Jack Kirby. | tt0286716 | [PG-13] | Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte, Kevin Rankin, Celia Weston | Drama, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures | 1978 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 89 | Wry comedy about the purpose and significance of art, set in an Indian palace where various people (including a British aristocrat, wonderfully played by Ashcroft) are attempting to acquire several miniature paintings. Deftly scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Originally produced for British television. | tt0079316 | Peggy Ashcroft, Victor Banerjee, Larry Pine, Saeed Jaffrey, Aparna Sen, Jane Booker | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Human Comedy | 1943 | Clarence Brown | ★★★½ | 118 | Memorable Americana, faithfully adapted from William Saroyan's sentimental Oscar-winning story of life in a small town during WW2. Unfolds like a novel, with many lovely vignettes, and one of Rooney's best performances as a teenager with growing responsibilities. Screenplay by Howard Estabrook. P.S.: Keep an eye out for those three soldiers on leave: Barry Nelson, Don DeFore, and Robert Mitchum! Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0036022 | Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins, Darryl Hickman, Donna Reed, Van Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Human Contract | 2009 | Jada Pinkett Smith | ★½ | 107 | Successful L.A. marketing exec (Clarke) on the verge of a big merger finds his life spinning out of control when he falls for a sexy mystery woman (Vega). Meanwhile, he is forced to face his family's troubled past and his own self-destructive impulses. Snail-paced, pretentious writing and directing debut for Pinkett Smith starts as a formulaic erotic thriller, then starts to feel like a therapy session as it veers off in a million different directions, none of them particularly interesting or insightful. Released direct to DVD. | tt1109477 | [R] | Jason Clarke, Paz Vega, Idris Elba, T. J. Thyne, Joanna Cassidy, Steven Brand, Jada Pinkett Smith, Ted Danson, Anne Ramsay, Tava Smiley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Human Desire | 1954 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 90 | Lang's follow-up to THE BIG HEAT is a well-directed but muddled account of railroad engineer Ford, just back from Korea, who becomes mixed up with married Grahame and murder. Based on Zola's La Bête Humaine, filmed in 1938 in France by Jean Renoir. | tt0047101 | Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Case, Diana DeLaire | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Human Duplicators | 1965 | Hugo Grimaldi | ★★ | 82 | An alien giant paves the way for a major invasion by duplicating people— but then falls in love. Some imagination here, but low-budget production sinks it. | tt0059290 | George Nader, Barbara Nichols, Richard Kiel, George Macready, Dolores Faith, Hugh Beaumont, Richard Arlen | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Human Experiments | 1980 | Gregory Goodell | ★½ | 82 | As the title says . . . | tt0080902 | [R] | Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Ellen Travolta, Aldo Ray, Jackie Coogan, Darlene Craviotto | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Human Factor | 1975 | Edward Dmytryk | ★½ | 96 | Violent, bloody chronicle of Kennedy track√ ing down the killers of his family. Decent cast wasted. | tt0073131 | [R] | George Kennedy, John Mills, Raf Vallone, Rita Tushingham, Barry Sullivan, Arthur Franz | British-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Human Factor | 1979 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 115 | Dry, unexciting filmization of Graham Greene's spy novel about a British double agent (Williamson) who's forced to defect to Russia. Top cast, script by Tom Stoppard, but results are mediocre. Preminger's final film. | tt0080903 | [R] | Nicol Williamson, Iman, Derek Jacobi, Richard Attenborough, Robert Morley, Ann Todd, John Gielgud | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Human Highway | 1982 | Bernard Shakey (Neil Young), Dean Stockwell | ★½ | 88 | Young and Tamblyn run a gas station in the middle of nowhere in this wacked-out, anti-nuke comedy. Notable for footage of Young in concert plus rock group Devo performing with a red, radioactive glow about them (caused by the nuclear power plant in the vicinity). | tt0084099 | Neil Young, Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, Sally Kirkland, Dean Stockwell, Charlotte Stewart, Devo | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Human Jungle | 1954 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 82 | Documentary-style account of a typical day at a busy police precinct house; nicely done. | tt0047102 | Gary Merrill, Jan Sterling, Paula Raymond, Emile Meyer, Regis Toomey, Chuck Connors, Lamont Johnson, Claude Akins | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Human Monster | Dark Eyes of London | 1939 | Walter Summers | ★★ | 73 | Absurd, sometimes engaging Edgar Wallace tale of evil Lugosi using blind men as pawns in elaborate murder scheme. Original British title: DARK EYES OF LONDON. Remade in West Germany as DEAD EYES OF LONDON. | tt0031208 | Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt, Edmon Ryan, Wilfred Walter | British | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Human Nature | 2001 | Michel Gondry | ★★½ | 96 | Loopy film from Charlie Kaufman, who wrote BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, about a tunnel-visioned research scientist (Robbins) who hooks up with a woman just back from the wild (where she had moved because of embarrassment over her hairy body) to attempt to civilize a man-beast (Ifans). Too laid back, but engagingly silly and unpredictable. | tt0219822 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Rosie Perez, Robert Forster, Mary Kay Place, Miguel Sandoval, Paul Giamatti | French-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Human Resources | 2000 | Laurent Cantet | ★★★ | 103 | Engrossing class-struggle drama about a business-school student who becomes a trainee at the factory where his father works, only to find that he has to fire him. Cantet achieves a seamless Ken Loach-style social realism. Cast of nonprofessionals— except for boyishly handsome lead Lespert— is impressive. | tt0220726 | Jalil Lespert, Jean-Claude Vallod, Chantal Barré, Véronique de Pandelaère, Michel Begnez | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Human Stain | 2003 | Robert Benton | ★★★½ | 105 | Moving, intelligent adaptation (by Nicholas Meyer) of Philip Roth's novel about a distinguished college professor whose life is shattered by a chance remark. As he reveals more about himself to a newfound friend (Sinise), we learn that he has been living a lie for most of his adult life. His chance for rebirth and redemption comes through an unlikely affair with a working-class woman much younger than he. Rich in nuance, filled with pitch-perfect performances, and beautifully shot by the late Jean Yves Escoffier. | tt0308383 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Wentworth Miller, Jacinda Barrett, Harry Lennix, Clark Gregg, Anna Deavere Smith, Lizan Mitchell, Phyllis Newman, Margo Martindale, Mili Avital, Mimi Kuzyk | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Human Traffic | 1999 | Justin Kerrigan | ★★ | 86 | Deeply unoriginal Gen X fare about five Welsh twenty-somethings stuck in dead-end jobs; they work for the weekend, when life becomes one big Ecstasy-drenched, debauched rave. Meant to be adrenaline-pumped, nihilistic, TRAINSPOTTING meets Tarantino, but it's way too desperate to be rebel cool. | tt0188674 | [R] | John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes, Nicola Reynolds, Danny Dyer, Dean Davies | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Humanité | 2000 | Bruno Dumont | ★★★ | 148 | Morose police superintendent (Schotté) with a troubled past investigates the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in a rural French town. Slow but never boring, and more a character study than a mystery or crime drama; a potent portrait of loneliness and depravity in a quietly ugly world. Written by the director. | tt0197569 | Emmanuel Schotté, Séverine Caneele, Philippe Tullier, Ghislain Ghesquère, Ginette Allègre | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Humanoids from the Deep | 1980 | Barbara Peeters | ★★★ | 80 | Mutated salmon monsters with penchant for bikinied beachgoers commit rape and other (graphic) mayhem in small oceanside town. Fast, occasionally hilarious gutter trash from the Roger Corman stable. The finale is not for squeamish viewers. Remade in 1996 for TV. | tt0080904 | [R] | Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Vic Morrow, Cindy Weintraub, Anthony Penya, Denise Galik | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Humboldt County | 2008 | Darren Grodsky, Danny Jacobs | ★★★ | 96 | Abandoned by his flaky one-night stand, an uptight medical school student (Strong) finds himself among unreconstructed hippies and second-generation fringe dwellers who farm marijuana in the “Lost Coast” region of Northern California. There’s a distinctively ’70s flavor to this easygoing and ingratiating indie, a character-driven comedy-drama with standout performances by Dourif and Conroy as laid-back leaders of the counterculture community. Written by the directors. | tt0870122 | [R] | Jeremy Strong, Fairuza Balk, Peter Bogdanovich, Brad Dourif, Frances Conroy, Madison Davenport, Chris Messina | Drama | NULL | ||
| Humongous | 1981 | Paul Lynch | ★½ | 93 | Slow-moving horror film opens with brutal rape and follows with every cliché in the book. A group of youths who wreck their boat on a small island are picked off one at a time by a raving man-beast. Most of the action occurs in complete darkness and you never even get a good look at the monster. | tt0082537 | [R] | Janet Julian, David Wallace, Janit Baldwin, John Wildman, Joy Boushel, Layne Coleman | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Humoresque | 1946 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★½ | 125 | Ambitious violinist Garfield gets involved with wealthy, unstable patroness Crawford. No cardboard soap opera this; superb performances, handsome production, hilarious support from Levant, and a knockout finale. Perhaps Crawford's finest hour. Young Robert Blake plays Garfield as a child, and that's Isaac Stern's violin on the soundtrack. Filmed before in 1920. | tt0038622 | Joan Crawford, John Garfield, Oscar Levant, J. Carrol Naish, Craig Stevens, Tom D'Andrea, Peggy Knudsen, Paul Cavanagh | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Humpday | 2009 | Lynn Shelton | ★★½ | 94 | The lives of a conventional young married couple are upended with the unexpected arrival of the husband's reckless college pal. Well-intentioned exploration of male friendship and sexuality benefits from naturalistic performances, but is done in by the rambling scenario and direction. | tt1334537 | [R] | Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1923 | Wallace Worsley | ★★★ | 93 | Lavish filming of Hugo classic, capturing flair of medieval Paris and strange attraction of outcast Chaney for dancing girl (Miller). Silent classic holds up well, with Chaney's makeup still incredible. | tt0014142 | Lon Chaney, Patsy Ruth Miller, Ernest Torrence, Tully Marshall, Norman Kerry | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1939 | William Dieterle | ★★★½ | 115 | Superb remake of Lon Chaney silent is even better than the original. Laughton, as Victor Hugo's misshapen bell-ringer Quasimodo, is haunting and unforgettable. Magnificently atmospheric studio recreation of 15th-century Paris also a big plus. Film debut of O'Brien and U.S. debut of O'Hara. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031455 | Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Maureen O'Hara, Edmond O'Brien, Alan Marshal, Walter Hampden, Harry Davenport, George Zucco, Curt Bois, George Tobias, Rod La Roque | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1957 | Jean Delannoy. | ★★½ | 104 | Quinn makes a valiant try in lead, but film misses scope and flavor of Hugo novel. | tt0050781 | Gina Lollobrigida, Anthony Quinn, Jean Danet, Alain Cuny. | French | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1996 | Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | ★★★ | 85 | Intensely dramatic, involving story about the pathetic, put-upon Quasimodo, his evil guardian Frollo, and the one person who shows him kindness, the gypsy Esmeralda. Disney's all-time strangest choice for an animated feature turns out surprisingly well: handsomely designed, dynamically staged, with songs that (if unmemorable) work within the fabric of the story; comic relief, however, involving Quasi's three gargoyle friends, seems contrived. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0116583 | [G] | Voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Tony Jay, Jason Alexander, Heidi Mollenhauer, Paul Kandel, Charles Kimbrough, Mary Wickes, Jane Withers, David Ogden Stiers | Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | 1982 | Michael Tuchner | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Rousing new production of the Victor Hugo classic, adapted by John Gay. Highlighted by Hopkins's carefully shaded portrait of Quasimodo and production designer John Stoll's detailed replica of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, built on the backlot of Pinewood Studios outside London. Aka HUNCHBACK. Remade for TV in 1997 with Mandy Patinkin. | tt0084100 | Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Lesley-Anne Down, Robert Powell, John Gielgud, David Suchet, Gerry Sundquist, Tim Pigott-Smith, Alan Webb, Roland Culver | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hunger | 2008 | Steve McQueen | ★★★½ | 96 | Raw, riveting, minimalist account of jailed Irish Republican Army members who are horrifically abused by their British jailors. Based on the events surrounding the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strike, during which various IRA detainees, including Bobby Sands (played here by Fassbender), starved themselves to death. Not for the faint of heart. | tt0986233 | Unrated | Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Hunger Games | 2012 | Gary Ross | ★★½ | 142 | In the bleak near future, North America has become Panem, a nation of 12 districts. Every year, two teens from each sector are chosen for a competition where they fight to the death—a televised survival game "played" for the amusement of the privileged class. Katniss Everdeen (a perfectly cast Lawrence) is a confident, resourceful 16-year-old who finds herself pitted against a boy she's known her whole life (Hutcherson). Faithful, if uninspired and unsubtle, rendition of the first volume in author Suzanne Collins' fatalistic (but phenomenally popular) young-adult trilogy. Violence is soft-pedaled for the sake of a tween audience and a PG-13 rating. | tt1392170 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jack Quaid, Amandla Stenberg | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Hunger | 1983 | Tony Scott | ★½ | 97 | Kinky trash masquerading as a horror film, with Deneuve as a vampire who needs fresh blood to survive. Bowie's quite good as Deneuve's companion— with an aging scene that's the film's highlight. As for the rest, beware, unless seeing Deneuve and Sarandon in bed together is your idea of a good time. Look for Ann Magnuson and Willem Dafoe in small roles. | tt0085701 | [R] | Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff DeYoung, Beth Ehlers, Dan Hedaya | Horror | NULL | ||
| Hungry Hill | 1947 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★ | 92 | Based on Daphne Du Maurier's book focusing on 19th-century Irish family with their vices and virtues highlighted; capable cast, with Herlie and McKenna making their film debuts. | tt0039479 | Margaret Lockwood, Dennis Price, Cecil Parker, Jean Simmons, Eileen Herlie, Siobhan McKenna | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hunk | 1987 | Lawrence Bassoff | ★★ | 102 | Youthful nerd sells his soul to become a California hunk— but still has to deal with the Devil (Coco) and his beautiful emissary (Shelton). Silly stuff benefits from an attractive and colorful cast. | tt0093231 | [PG] | John Allen Nelson, Steve Levitt, Deborah Shelton, Rebeccah Bush, James Coco, Robert Morse, Avery Schreiber | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Hunt for Red October | 1990 | John McTiernan | ★★★½ | 135 | Exciting, complex thriller from the best-seller by Tom Clancy. Connery stars as a Soviet submarine captain who may (or may not) be planning to defect to the U.S. during the maiden voyage of a supersecret nuclear sub; Baldwin is the American intelligence ace who tries to anticipate his every move. Long, potentially confusing at times, but always manages to make a course correction in the nick of time . . . and deliver another direct hit. Oscar winner for sound-effects editing. Followed by PATRIOT GAMES. | tt0099810 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Joss Ackland, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance, Jeffrey Jones, Fred Dalton Thompson, Timothy Carhart | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Hunt the Man Down | 1950 | George Archainbaud | ★★ | 68 | Ordinary whodunit: public defender Young trying to solve a murder. | tt0042582 | Gig Young, Lynne Roberts, Willard Parker, Gerald Mohr, Paul Frees | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Hunted | 1995 | J. F. Lawton | ★½ | 118 | N.Y. businessman is chased by masked ninja assassins who actively conceal their identities, which at least puts them one-up on some of their fellow cast members. Slicing and dicing via DTS sound technology suggests an episode of The Montel Williams Show gone terribly wrong: titles of bona fide Japanese classics indicate what it's like sitting through this: GATE OF HELL, STREET OF SHAME and— in Lambert's case— AN ACTOR'S REVENGE. | tt0113360 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Yoshio Harada, Yoko Shimada | Action | NULL | ||
| The Hunted | 2003 | William Friedkin | ★★★ | 94 | When a soldier (Del Toro) is suspected in a series of brutal murders, the FBI calls on the man (Jones) who helped train him as part of an elite corps of killers in Kosovo. Solid action/suspense yarn with breathtaking hand-to-hand combat scenes and kinetic camerawork (by Caleb Deschanel). Jones and Del Toro apparently did much of their own physical action— and it shows. | tt0269347 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen, Leslie Stefanson, John Finn, Jose Zuniga, Ron Canada, Lonny Chapman, Rex Linn | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Hunter | 1980 | Buzz Kulik | 💣 | 97 | Incomprehensible bio of real-life contemporary bounty hunter Ralph (Pappy) Thorson has plot holes that Hannibal could have led elephants through. McQueen's last film and probably his worst. | tt0080907 | [PG] | Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Kathryn Harrold, LeVar Burton, Ben Johnson | Action | NULL | ||
| The Hunter | 2011 | Daniel Nettheim | ★★★ | 100 | A cool, professional hunter is sent to Tasmania to hunt and kill the possibly-extinct "Tasmanian Tiger" (the thylacine, a doglike marsupial) and lodges with a couple of kids and their grieving, almost comatose mother, whose husband disappeared in the wilds. Conflicts with resentful locals, the loneliness of his quest, and growing discomfort with his task gradually lead to the hunter caring for the family. Awesome vistas of rarely seen Tasmanian scenery, intelligent handling of local issues, and the strength of the performances, especially the versatile Dafoe, give this measured, careful movie real strength. Based on the novel by Julia Leigh. | tt1703148 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Frances O'Connor, Morgana Davies, Finn Woodlock, Sullivan Stapleton | Australian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Hunters | 1958 | Dick Powell | ★★½ | 108 | Veteran pilot falls for wife of younger flyer— who crashes behind enemy lines. Fair of its type. | tt0051750 | Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Richard Egan, Mai Britt, Lee Phillips | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Hunting | 1990 | Frank Howson | ★★ | 97 | Ambitious but overwrought exercise in style, about beautiful but deeply troubled secretary Armstrong, who forsakes her self-pitying husband, and becomes involved with all-powerful (and predictably evil, hypocritical) empire-builder Savage. | tt0102076 | [R] | John Savage, Kerry Armstrong, Guy Pearce, Jeffrey Thomas, Rebecca Rigg, Rhys McConnochie | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Hunting Party | 1971 | Don Medford | 💣 | 108 | When his wife is kidnapped and raped by Reed and his gang, Hackman sets out to kill them one by one. Fine cast wasted in repellently violent Western that adds nothing new to tired plot, unless you count the bordello-equipped train. | tt0067224 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Candice Bergen, Gene Hackman, Simon Oakland, L. Q. Jones, Ronald Howard, G. D. Spradlin | Drama, Horror, Western, Action | NULL | ||
| The Hunting Party | 2007 | Richard Shepard | ★★½ | 103 | TV producer Howard returns to Bosnia 5 years after the end of the war that he covered as a cameraman with daredevil reporter Gere. Reluctant at first, he allows himself (and tyro newsman Eisenberg) to be talked into joining a now-disgraced Gere on a wild scheme to flush out the world’s most wanted war criminal, who’s still at large in the Balkans. Gripping, forceful storytelling, dotted with absurdly funny moments; rings true (and is based on real-life journalist Scott Anderson’s experiences) but deflates at the finale. | tt0455782 | [R] | Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg, James Brolin, Ljubomir Kerekes, Kristina Krepela, Diane Kruger, Joy Bryant, Dylan Baker | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Hurricane | 1979 | Jan Troell | 💣 | 119 | Look what just blew in: a $22 million remake of the 1937 classic that may well put you to sleep! Retitled FORBIDDEN PARADISE for TV. | tt0079319 | [PG] | Jason Robards, Mia Farrow, Max von Sydow, Trevor Howard, Dayton Ka'ne, Timothy Bottoms, James Keach | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hurricane Island | 1951 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 70 | Low-budget nonsense involving the fountain of youth and female buccaneer. | tt0043662 | Jon Hall, Marie Windsor, Marc Lawrence, Edgar Barrier | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hurricane Smith | 1952 | Jerry Hopper | ★★ | 90 | Romance and a search for gold as a ship is beached on a South Sea island. | tt0044729 | Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland, James Craig, Forrest Tucker | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Hurricane Streets | 1998 | Morgan J. Freeman | ★★★ | 88 | Moving drama of adolescents whose underlying decency is put to the test in a world of petty thievery in N.Y.C.'s East Village. Realistic, unsentimental acting of relative unknowns highlights this excellent first feature from writer-director Freeman (not to be confused with the actor), who puts both angst and hope into his story. | tt0119338 | [R] | Brendan Sexton III, Shawn Elliott, Isidra Vega, David Roland Frank, L. M. 'Kit' Carson, Heather Matarazzo, Edie Falco | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Hurricane | 1937 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 102 | First-rate escapism on isle of Manikoora, where idyllic native life of Hall and Lamour is disrupted by vindictive governor Massey. Climactic hurricane effects have never been equaled. Lovely score by Alfred Newman. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols and Oliver H. P. Garrett, from the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Remade in 1979. | tt0029030 | Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Thomas Mitchell, John Carradine, Jerome Cowan | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hurricane | 1999 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 125 | Washington's powerful performance as wrongly imprisoned prizefighter Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter makes this otherwise conventional drama worth seeing. Shannon plays a ghetto teenager who reads Carter's autobiography and determines to find a way to set him free. The boy's Canadian guardians are ill-defined characters and weaken the story, along with heavy-handed portrayals of Carter's victimizers. | tt0174856 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber, John Hannah, Debbi Morgan, Dan Hedaya, Clancy Brown, Harris Yulin, David Paymer, Rod Steiger | Drama | NULL | ||
| Hurry Sundown | 1967 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 142 | Often ludicrous, overripe melodrama with ruthless Southerner Caine determined to buy up cousin's land, stopping at nothing to achieve goal. A curio for Fonda and Caine's offbeat casting, not to mention Horton Foote as one of the scripters. Jane's saxophone 'solo,' though, is worth checking out. | tt0061796 | Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Diahann Carroll, Robert Hooks, Faye Dunaway, Burgess Meredith, Robert Reed, George Kennedy, Frank Converse, Loring Smith, Beah Richards, Madeleine Sherwood, Rex Ingram, Jim Backus | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30 | 1973 | Joseph Jacoby | ★★ | 88 | Mild low-budget comedy about efforts of schnook (Lefkowitz) to get his life in order before he hits 30. | tt0070201 | John Lefkowitz, Linda De Coff, Ronald Anton, Maureen Byrnes, Danny DeVito | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Hurt Locker | 2009 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★★½ | 131 | Hotshot demolitions expert reports for duty in Baghdad and drives his two teammates crazy with his recklessness. They come to understand him, at least a bit, as they work together in tense, dangerous situations disarming unexploded bombs. Episodic but thoroughly absorbing character study has many suspenseful moments, and one breathtaking sequence in which the men fight fatigue while conducting a long-range rifle battle. Renner is perfect in the central role as a man for whom "war is a drug." Vivid, credible screenplay by Mark Boal, perfectly realized by Bigelow. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Sound, Sound Editing, and Editing. | tt0887912 | [R] | Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly, Christian Camargo, Christopher Sayegh | Drama, Action, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Husbands | 1970 | John Cassavetes | ★★½ | 138 | Cassavetes' follow-up to FACES is not nearly as good; story deals with trio of middle-aged buddies who take off for Europe when their best friend dies. Some good scenes, but plagued by Cassavetes' habitual self-indulgence. Originally released at 154m. | tt0065867 | [PG] | Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Jenny Runacre, Jenny Lee Wright, Noelle Kao | Drama | NULL | ||
| Husbands and Wives | 1992 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 107 | Long-married couple startles their best friends by announcing they're going to split up; meanwhile, the friends start to stray themselves. Perceptive, witty, knowing script by Allen is brilliantly performed (especially by Davis and Pollack), though Woody and Mia's headline-making scandal at the time of the film's release made it difficult not to grimace at some pointed dialogue. Only negative note: amateurish hand-held camera and jump-cuts are jarring and distracting. | tt0104466 | [R] | Woody Allen, Blythe Danner, Judy Davis, Mia Farrow, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson, Sydney Pollack, Lysette Anthony, Cristi Conaway, Timothy Jerome, Ron Rifkin, Jerry Zaks, Bruce Jay Friedman, Benno Schmidt, Caroline Aaron, Nora Ephron | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Hush | 1998 | Jonathan Darby | ★½ | 97 | Paltrow and wealthy boyfriend Schaech are manipulated by his neurotic horse-rancher mother (Lange). Viewers could read a novel while watching this 'thriller' and still not miss anything. Lange appears to believe she's doing Blanche Dubois all over again. | tt0118744 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnathon Schaech, Nina Foch, Debi Mazar, David Thornton, Hal Holbrook | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte | 1964 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 133 | Macabre story of a family with a skeleton in its closet, confusing at times but worth watching for its cast. Bette is Olivia's victimized cousin; Cotten is Olivia's boyfriend. | tt0058213 | Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Cecil Kellaway, Victor Buono, Mary Astor, Bruce Dern | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Hussy | 1980 | Matthew Chapman | ★½ | 95 | Muddled, poorly directed melodrama centering on hooker Mirren, boyfriend Shea, and illicit drugs. | tt0080908 | [R] | Helen Mirren, John Shea, Murray Salem, Paul Angelis, Jenny Runacre | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Hustle | 1975 | Robert Aldrich | 💣 | 120 | Pretentious, foul-mouthed, foul-minded story about an L.A. cop and a high-class call-girl who dream of escaping from their gritty life but never make it. This one's the pits. | tt0073133 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Catherine Deneuve, Ben Johnson, Paul Winfield, Eileen Brennan, Eddie Albert, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Carter, Catherine Bach | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Hustle & Flow | 2005 | Craig Brewer | ★★★ | 115 | Potent drama about a small-time pimp in Memphis who, frustrated with his dead-end life, pursues his improbable dream to become a rap star. Despite the squalid setting and dialogue, this is a surprisingly old-fashioned (even corny) movie at times. First-time director Brewer lets his script and talented actors put it across without resorting to flashy editing techniques. Howard has a commanding presence from the film's opening monologue to the final shot. | tt0410097 | [R] | Terrence Howard, Taryn Manning, Anthony Anderson, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, DJ Qualls, Isaac Hayes, Ludacris | Crime, Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| The Hustler | 1961 | Robert Rossen | ★★★★ | 135 | Newman is outstanding as disenchanted drifter and pool hustler who challenges legendary Minnesota Fats (Gleason). Dingy pool-hall atmosphere vividly realized in this incisive film. Cinematographer Eugen Shuftan won an Oscar. Walter Tevis novel adapted by Sidney Carroll and director Rossen. Followed years later by THE COLOR OF MONEY. | tt0054997 | Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, Myron McCormick, Murray Hamilton, Michael Constantine, Jake LaMotta, Vincent Gardenia | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Hypnotic Eye | 1960 | George Blair | ★★ | 79 | Partially successful chiller of theatrical mesmerizer with penchant for having female victims disfigure themselves. | tt0053931 | Jacques Bergerac, Merry Anders, Marcia Henderson, Allison Hayes | Horror | NULL | |||
| Hysteria | 1965 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 85 | After a car accident, an amnesiac Yank in London finds himself entangled in a complex murder plot that may or may not be a figment of his imagination. Twisty, reasonably intriguing Hammer thriller starts out promisingly, but gets bogged down. | tt0058216 | Robert Webber, Anthony Newlands, Jennifer Jayne, Maurice Denham, Lelia Goldoni, Peter Woodthorpe, Sandra Boize | British | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Hysteria | 2011 | Tanya Wexler | ★★★ | 95 | In Victorian London, progressive young doctor Dancy is rebuffed by the medical establishment for his forward-thinking ideas. He finally finds employment with Pryce, who attends to women's "hysteria" through the deft use of his hand in a strategic spot. One of his daughters (Jones) is a model of young womanhood, while the other (Gyllenhaal) tends to the poor and needy at a settlement house, much to her father's dismay. Consistently amusing period comedy with a cast that never overplays the material. | tt1435513 | [R] | Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones, Rupert Everett, Ashley Jensen, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Jones, Georgie Glen, Anna Chancellor, Tobias Menzies | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Hysterical | 1983 | Chris Bearde | 💣 | 87 | Lame parody of AMITYVILLE/EXORCIST type pictures; the start and finish of the Hudsons' screen career. | tt0085704 | [PG] | William, Mark and Brett Hudson, Cindy Pickett, Richard Kiel, Julie Newmar, Bud Cort, Robert Donner, Murray Hamilton, Clint Walker, Franklyn Ajaye, Charlie Callas, Keenan Wynn, Gary Owens | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Hysterical Blindness | 2002 | Mira Nair | Above Average TV Movie | 99 | Ingratiating slice-of-life drama follows a couple of Jersey girls (Thurman and Lewis) on their quest for love in the 1980s. Rowlands and Gazzara, who worked so memorably together in A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE, are reunited as a waitress and frequent customer in her diner. Laura Cahill (who plays Tanya) adapted her own Off-Broadway play; Thurman coexecutive-produced. Made for cable. | tt0290664 | Uma Thurman, Gena Rowlands, Juliette Lewis, Ben Gazzara, Justin Chambers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Hèlas Pour Moi | Oh, Woe Is Me | 1993 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 84 | Pensive account of an average married couple (Depardieu and Masliah) who reside in a Swiss village, and what happens when the husband's body supposedly is borrowed by a 'god.' Of interest as an examination of the meaning of faith, but the narrative is much too fragmented and the film too cluttered with declarations and episode headings. Godard based his screenplay in part on Greek legend. Video title: OH, WOE IS ME. | tt0107175 | Gérard Depardieu, Laurence Masliah, Bernard Verley, Jean-Louis Loca | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| I Accuse! | 1958 | Jose Ferrer | ★★½ | 99 | Sincere but pretentious treatment of the treason trial of Alfred Dreyfus (Ferrer), with Williams as his defender, Emile Zola. Screenplay by Gore Vidal. | tt0051754 | Jose Ferrer, Anton Walbrook, Emlyn Williams, Viveca Lindfors, David Farrar, Leo Genn, Herbert Lom, Harry Andrews, Felix Aylmer, George Coulouris, Donald Wolfit | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Aim at the Stars | 1960 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 107 | Low-key fictional history of Nazi missile scientist Wernher von Braun and his problems adjusting to life in America. | tt0053440 | Curt Jurgens, Victoria Shaw, Herbert Lom, Gia Scala | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| I Am Cuba | 1964 | Mikhail Kalatozov | ★★★½ | 141 | Luz Maria Collazo, Jean Bouise. Sweeping, eye-popping ode to Cuba and the Castro revolution. Vignettes idealize hardworking but exploited peasants and Castro's staunch, freedom-loving revolutionaries, depicting Americans as decadent, sexist swine. And the images are consistently dazzling; the film demands to be seen and savored by any lover of pure cinema. Scripted by Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Enrique Pineda Barnet; released in the U.S. in 1995. | tt0058604 | Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Vud, Jose Gallardo, Raul Garcia | Russian-Cuban | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Am David | 2004 | Paul Feig | ★★★ | 95 | In 1952, a young boy escapes from a Bulgarian labor camp and has to make his way through Italy and Switzerland to Denmark, and safety. The only life he's ever known is one of brutality, so he's easily rattled— and confused— during his journey. Genuinely moving story avoids cheap sentimentality and earns our emotional involvement, with a remarkable performance by young Tibber. Impressive feature directing debut for Feig, who adapted Anne Holm's novel. | tt0327919 | [PG] | Ben Tibber, Joan Plowright, James Caviezel, Marie Bonnevie, Viola Carinci, Silvia De Santis. | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Am Legend | 2007 | Francis Lawrence | ★★½ | 101 | In the year 2012, scientist Smith lives alone on the island of Manhattan, following a horrifying plague spread by the use of a chemical that was supposed to cure cancer. The only thing that keeps him going is his blind determination to find an antidote to the virus before he’s destroyed by rampaging mutants. Third screen version of Richard Matheson’s novel (following THE LAST MAN ON EARTH and THE OMEGA MAN) benefits from Smith’s charisma and physicality but falls back on horror clichés when it comes to the zombies. Emma Thompson appears unbilled. | tt0480249 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith, Darrell Foster, Dash Mihok | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| I Am Love | 2010 | Luca Guadagnino | ★★★ | 120 | Patriarch of an upper-class Milanese clan announces his retirement from the family textile business, setting off a chain reaction among the younger generations. At the core of the story is his Russian-born daughter-in-law (Swinton) and her attraction to the young chef who is her son’s friend and potential business partner. Studied tale of the importance of tossing tradition aside to follow your passions, no matter the consequences, is obvious at times (as it links food and sensuality), but undeniably provocative. Some viewers may find its operatic approach difficult to digest—pun intended. | tt1226236 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Maria Paiato, Diane Fleri, Waris Ahluwalia, Mattia Zaccaro, Gabriele Ferzetti, Marisa Berenson | Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| I Am Number Four | 2011 | D. J. Caruso | ★½ | 110 | Alien teenager hides out on Earth trying to pass as a normal high schooler, hoping to avoid the enemy aliens who have already killed others like him. He’s so dazzlingly handsome (not to mention his superpowers) that a teenage girl falls in love with him. Then the bad guys show up, as well as brusquely cynical Number Five, resulting in a flashy, CGI-intensive climax on the football field. Another attempt to create a TWILIGHT-like series, only this is pseudo–science fiction rather than pseudo-horror. Despite the trappings, it’s inferior and exploits its target audience. A waste of time, except for the alien beagle. Based on a novel by Pittacus Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes). | tt1464540 | [PG-13] | Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe, Jake Abel, Jeff Hochendoner | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| I Am Suzanne! | 1933 | Rowland V. Lee. | ★★★ | 100 | Über-bizarre musical set in a Parisian marionette theater, where evil baron Banks manipulates his stars like puppets. British-born German dance and stage star Harvey, in one of her very few American films, plays a performer who tries to snip her strings, assisted by an appealing Raymond. Darn close to a psychological horror movie, with a nightmare sequence not to be missed. | tt0024150 | Lillian Harvey, Gene Raymond, Leslie Banks, Georgia Caine, Geneva Mitchell, Halliwell Hobbes, Murray Kinnell, Edward Keane. | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Am a Camera | 1955 | Henry Cornelius | ★★★½ | 98 | Intelligent adaptation of John van Druten's play (based on Christopher Isherwood stories) about prewar Berlin, with Harris a delight as a fun-loving young woman who'll accept anything from anyone. Screenplay by John Collier. Basis of Broadway musical and film. | tt0048188 | Julie Harris, Laurence Harvey, Shelley Winters, Ron Randell, Anton Diffring, Patrick McGoohan, Peter Prowse | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Am a Dancer | 1973 | Pierre Jourdan, Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 93 | Documentary on Rudolf Nureyev is handled a little better than many dance films; includes shots of rehearsals and lots of footage with Margot Fonteyn. | tt0069438 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★★ | 93 | Still packs a wallop after all these years, with Muni as innocent man brutally victimized by criminal justice system. Haunting finale is justly famous. Scripted by Sheridan Gibney and Brown Holmes, from Robert E. Burns' autobiographical story. Burns' plight is also dramatized in the made for cable TVM THE MAN WHO BROKE 1,000 CHAINS. | tt0023042 | Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson, Preston Foster, Edward Ellis, Allen Jenkins | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I Am a Thief | 1934 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 64 | Stilted adventure of jewel thieves and insurance fraud set on Orient Express. Good cast can't save indifferent script. | tt0026505 | Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges, Robert Barrat, Irving Pichel | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Am the Cheese | 1983 | Robert Jiras | ★★½ | 95 | Paper-thin but occasionally appealing tale of alienated teenager who has witnessed his parents' death, and his fantasies while under psychiatric care. From Robert Cormier's novel. Remade as LAPSE OF MEMORY. | tt0085706 | [PG] | Robert MacNaughton, Hope Lange, Don Murray, Robert Wagner, Cynthia Nixon, Lee Richardson, John Fiedler, Sudie Bond | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Am the Law | 1938 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 83 | No surprises in this story of D.A. Robinson fighting corrupt city government, but it's done so smoothly you forget you've seen it before. Don't miss E.G. dancing the Big Apple at the beginning. | tt0030254 | Edward G. Robinson, Otto Kruger, Wendy Barrie, John Beal, Louis Jean Heydt, Fay Helm, Barbara O'Neil | Crime | NULL | |||
| I Believe in You | 1952 | Michael Relph, Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 93 | Intelligent study of methods used by probation officers to reform their charges. | tt0044734 | Cecil Parker, Celia Johnson, Harry Fowler, Godfrey Tearle, Laurence Harvey, Joan Collins | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Bury the Living | 1958 | Albert Band | ★★★ | 76 | Crisp little chiller about cemetery manager who finds he may have power of life and death by sticking white (or black) pins into a map of the graveyard. | tt0051755 | Richard Boone, Theodore Bikel, Peggy Maurer, Herbert Anderson | Horror | NULL | |||
| I Can Get It for You Wholesale | Only the Best | 1951 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 90 | Hayward is aces as a model-turned dress designer determined to make it in N.Y.C.'s garment industry. Jerome Weidman's flavorful novel was adapted by Vera Caspary and scripted by Abraham Polonsky. Aka: ONLY THE BEST. | tt0043663 | Susan Hayward, Dan Dailey, Sam Jaffe, George Sanders, Randy Stuart, Marvin Kaplan, Harry Von Zell | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Capture the Castle | 2003 | Tim Fywell | ★★★ | 113 | In the mid-1930s, a wildly eccentric family living in a drafty old castle in the English countryside is changed by the arrival of two wealthy American brothers. Intelligent, involving comedy-drama from the novel by Dodie Smith (of One Hundred and One Dalmatians fame). Beautifully photographed (by Richard Greatrex) and interesting throughout, but just a shade smug. | tt0300015 | [R] | Romola Garai, Rose Byrne, Henry Thomas, Marc Blucas, Bill Nighy, Tara Fitzgerald, Sinéad Cusack, Henry Cavill | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| I Come in Peace | 1990 | Craig R. Baxley | ★★ | 92 | Black-clad alien, who looks like a giant surfer, arrives to harvest people for their endorphins; his race is addicted to them. Basically just another cop (Lundgren) and new partner (FBI agent Benben) movie, with lots of explosions. Routine and unimaginative. | tt0099817 | [R] | Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley, Matthias Hues, David Ackroyd, Jay Bilas, Michael J. Pollard, Jesse Vint | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| I Confess | 1953 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 95 | A priest hears a murderer's confession and is himself accused of the crime. Lesser Hitchcock film, made in Quebec, is nevertheless intriguing for its stark photography and symbolism. See also LE CONFESSIONALE. | tt0045897 | Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne, Dolly Haas, O. E. Hasse | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| I Could Go on Singing | 1963 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 99 | Garland is famed singer returning to England to claim illegitimate son living with real father (Bogarde). Garland is exceptional in singing sequences revealing the true Judy; sadly, this was her last film. | tt0057168 | Judy Garland, Dirk Bogarde, Jack Klugman, Aline MacMahon, Gregory Phillips | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Could Never Be Your Woman | 2007 | Amy Heckerling | ★½ | 97 | Desperately unfunny mix of toothless showbiz satire, romantic-comedy clichés, and charm-free fantasy, about a 40-something TV producer (Pfeiffer) who falls for the 29-year-old star (Rudd) of her teen-centric TV series. Despite marquee names on both sides of the camera, this received no U.S. theatrical release. | tt0466839 | [PG-13] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Saoirse Ronan, Fred Willard, Jon Lovitz, Tracey Ullman, Stacey Dash, Sarah Alexander, Sally Kellerman, Wallace Shawn | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Cover Big Town | 1947 | William C. Thomas. | ★★ | 63 | Uninspired mystery has reporter Lorelei Kilbourne (Brooke) convincing editor Steve Wilson (Reed) to let her work on a complicated murder case. Based on the popular Big Town radio series. Followed by BIG TOWN AFTER DARK. Retitled I COVER THE UNDERWORLD. | tt0039481 | Philip Reed, Hillary Brooke, Robert Lowery, Robert Shayne, Mona Barrie, Louis Jean Heydt, Vince Barnett. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Cover the War | 1937 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 68 | Second-rate pulp fiction about correspondent Wayne tangling with Arab rebel leader. | tt0029034 | John Wayne, Gwen Gaze, Major Sam Harris, James Bush, Don Barclay | Action | NULL | |||
| I Cover the Waterfront | 1933 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 70 | Dated but still entertaining yarn about tired but persistent waterfront reporter Lyon, who romances free-spirited Colbert to trap her father (Torrence), who has been smuggling Chinese immigrants. How long will it take for him to actually fall in love? Considered pretty raw in its day. | tt0024151 | Ben Lyon, Claudette Colbert, Ernest Torrence, Hobart Cavanaugh, Maurice Black, Purnell Pratt, Wilfred Lucas | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Deal in Danger | 1966 | Walter Grauman | ★★½ | 89 | Feature version of TV series Blue Light involves adventures of Goulet pretending to be Nazi convert in order to help Allies. | tt0060531 | Robert Goulet, Christine Carere, Donald Harron, Werner Peters | War | NULL | |||
| I Died a Thousand Times | 1955 | Stuart Heisler | ★★ | 109 | Overblown remake of Bogart's HIGH SIERRA with Palance as mad killer with soft spot for crippled girl (Nelson). Winters is his moll in this gangster run-through. | tt0048190 | Jack Palance, Shelley Winters, Lori Nelson, Lee Marvin, Earl Holliman, Lon Chaney/Jr., Dennis Hopper | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore | 1992 | Mitchell Marcarelli | ★★ | 112 | Chubby shoestore owner Alexander is befriended by psychology student Peeples; he wants romance, but she wants to study his compulsive eating disorder. Romantic comedy boasts a likable cast but slides too easily into caricature and stereotype. | tt0104469 | [PG] | Jason Alexander, Nia Peeples, Lainie Kazan, Lou Jacobi, Eileen Brennan, Larry Storch | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The I Don't Care Girl | 1953 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 78 | Premise of George Jessel preparing film bio of Eva Tanguay is vehicle to recreate facets in life of the vaudeville star. | tt0045898 | Mitzi Gaynor, David Wayne, Oscar Levant, Warren Stevens | Musical | NULL | |||
| I Don't Know How She Does It | 2011 | Douglas McGrath | ★½ | 90 | Focusing on the mantra "Juggling is not catching but throwing," hedge fund manager Parker tries balancing home life (unemployed hubby Kinnear, kids' needs, bff Hendricks, nanny Szohr) with her job (aloof boss Grammer, attractive banker Brosnan, icy assistant Munn, office snark Meyers). Drippy Americanization of Allison Pearson's 2002 bestseller blunts its British edge by moving everyone to Boston. A few good sight gags bolster a forced, unrealistic effort. Jane Curtin has a welcome cameo as an in-law. | tt1742650 | [PG-13] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks, Kelsey Grammer, Seth Meyers, Olivia Munn, Jessica Szohr, Busy Phillipps | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Don't Want to Talk About It | 1994 | Maria Luisa Bemberg | ★★½ | 102 | Memorable but not altogether compelling fable about a polished Casanova who finds himself attracted to a small town's most cultured woman— a dwarf whose physically attractive but repellently possessive mother has her own eyes set on this eligible bachelor. At 70, Mastroianni remains dashing. | tt0106678 | [PG-13] | Marcello Mastroianni, Luisina Brando, Alejandra Podesta | Argentinian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| I Dood It | 1943 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★ | 102 | Strained, overlong musicomedy about a tailor's assistant obsessively in love with a stage star; good songs include 'Star Eyes' and 'Taking a Chance on Love,' but patchwork film lifts its big finale from Powell's earlier BORN TO DANCE! A remake (more or less) of Buster Keaton's SPITE MARRIAGE. | tt0036025 | Red Skelton, Eleanor Powell, Richard Ainley, Patricia Dane, Lena Horne, Hazel Scott, Sam Levene, Butterfly McQueen, John Hodiak, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra | Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Dream Too Much | 1935 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 95 | Opera star Pons' Hollywood debut casts her as a singer whose fame leads to marital woes with her more ambitious composer-husband (Fonda). Look for Lucille Ball as an American tourist in Paris. | tt0026507 | Lily Pons, Henry Fonda, Eric Blore, Osgood Perkins, Lucien Littlefield, Esther Dale | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Dream of Jeanie | 1952 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 90 | Blah biography of famed 19th-century American composer Stephen Foster (Shirley), who pines over Lawrence (even though Christy, the 'Jeanie' of the title, really is the girl for him). Foster's 'story' also is told in HARMONY LANE and SWANEE RIVER. | tt0044735 | Ray Middleton, Bill Shirley, Muriel Lawrence, Eileen Christy, Lynn Bari, Richard Simmons, Rex Allen, Louise Beavers, James Kirkwood, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Dreamed of Africa | 2000 | Hugh Hudson | ★★ | 112 | Story of Kuki Gallmann, an Italian who moves with her young son and new husband to remote African ranch. She is determined to triumph over adverse conditions, and becomes passionate about animal rights. Basinger (an animal activist herself) is effective, but biopic of privileged, determined Gallmann is never quite as compelling as intended. Hawk-Scope. | tt0167203 | [PG-13] | Kim Basinger, Vincent Perez, Eva Marie Saint, Liam Aiken, Garrett Strommen | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Drink Your Blood | 1970 | David Durston | ★★ | 72 | To get revenge on sadistic band of hippies, young boy gives them meat pies infected with rabies and they go homicidally crazy. Nuff said. | tt0067229 | [R] | Bhaskar, Jadine Wong, Ronda Fultz, George Patterson | Horror | NULL | ||
| I Eat Your Skin | Zombies | 1970 | Del Tenney | 💣 | 82 | Scientifically created zombies menace two-fisted hero on Caribbean island. Worthless. Filmed in 1964. Aka VOODOO BLOODBATH. | tt0058220 | [PG] | William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, Betty Hyatt Linton, Dan Stapleton, Walter Coy, Robert Stanton | Horror | NULL | |
| I Escaped From the Gestapo | 1943 | Harold Young. | ★★ | 75 | Low-budget WW2 thriller; title tells the story. Unforgettable moment with Carradine unable to suppress an enormous yawn. Retitled: NO ESCAPE. | tt0036026 | Dean Jagger, John Carradine, Mary Brian, William Henry, Sidney Blackmer, Ian Keith. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Escaped from Devil's Island | 1973 | William Witney | 💣 | 89 | Produced by the Corman boys (Roger and Gene) in Mexico and the Caribbean, this actioner is an insult to vet director Witney's standing with buffs who know his earlier work. Violent, vulgar. | tt0070205 | [R] | Jim Brown, Christopher George, Paul Richards, Rick Ely, Richard Rust, Jan Merlin | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| I Found Stella Parish | 1935 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★ | 84 | Mild soaper in which London stage star Francis harbors a secret and mysteriously disappears; cynical newshound Hunter determines to find her. | tt0026508 | Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Paul Lukas, Sybil Jason, Jessie Ralph, Barton MacLane | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Got the Hook Up | 1998 | Michael Martin | 💣 | 93 | Witless, seemingly interminable blaxploitation comedy about a couple of South Central L.A. con artists who hoodwink the whole hood when they get their hands on a truckload of 'hot' beepers and cell phones. Dopey vehicle for rapper/producer Master P, and an unremarkable feature debut for R&B video director Martin. Makes FRIDAY look like RASHOMON. | tt0131436 | [R] | Master P, A.J. Johnson, Gretchen Palmer, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Helen Martin, John Witherspoon, *** Ice Cube, Mia X, Snoop Dogg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Hate Actors | 1986 | Gerard Krawrzyk | ★★½ | 90 | Cute, slight little satire on Hollywood, with a series of murders comically disrupting the filming of a costume epic; agent Poiret is the prime suspect. Based on a novel by Ben Hecht and filmed mostly in beautiful black-and-white; set in Tinseltown, yet all of the dialogue's in French. Look very carefully for Gérard Depardieu. | tt0091287 | [PG] | Jean Poiret, Michel Blanc, Bernard Blier, Michel Galabru, Guy Marchand, Dominique Lavanant | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| I Hate Blondes | 1981 | Giorgio Capitani | ★★★ | 89 | Funny comedy about ghostwriter Montesano, whose work inspires a series of real-life heists. Crammed with sight gags; highlighted by a sequence in which Montesano searches for stolen jewels at a party. | tt0081261 | Enrico Montesano, Jean Rochefort, Corinne Clery, Marina Langner, Paola Tedesco, Ivan Desny | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell | 2009 | Bob Gosse | ★½ | 105 | Against an anti-Proustian backdrop of video games, strip clubs, and public diarrhea, two socially stunted buds imperil the imminent wedding of a third by enticing him to take off on a boozy whim. A barrage of crudity in the early going evolves into all-too-predictable sentiment—and not the honest kind. A poor man's version of THE HANGOVER, less directed than patched together. Based on Tucker Max's best-seller. | tt1220628 | [R] | Matt Czuchry, Jesse Bradford, Geoff Stults, Keri Lynn Pratt, Marika Dominczyk, Traci Lords | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Killed Rasputin | 1967 | Robert Hossein | ★½ | 95 | Well-mounted but ponderous story of the man who befriended and then murdered Rasputin; Frobe is simply awful. | tt0061829 | Gert Frobe, Peter McEnery, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert Hossein, Ira Furstenberg, Ivan Desny | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Know What You Did Last Summer | 1997 | Jim Gillespie | ★★ | 100 | In coastal North Carolina, four friends accidentally run down a pedestrian on a lonely road. They dump the body into the sea and vow never to mention it again. But a year later, they each begin receiving the title message in the mail, and then the murders begin. . . . Scripter Kevin Williamson's attempt at a SCREAM follow-up is too routine to succeed overall. Followed by I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. | tt0119345 | [R] | Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson, Anne Heche, Muse Watson | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| I Know Where I'm Going! | 1945 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★★ | 91 | Simple film of headstrong girl (Hiller) who plans to marry for money, stranded in Scottish seacoast town for a week, where she meets and slowly falls in love with Livesey. Very little plot, but an abundance of charm and wit. A quiet gem. Beautifully scripted by the filmmakers. | tt0037800 | Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Finlay Currie, Pamela Brown, Valentine Dyall, Petula Clark | British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| I Know Who Killed Me | 2007 | Chris Sivertson | 💣 | 105 | Hopeless thriller in which a young woman is kidnapped and terrorized by a serial killer. When she wakes up in a hospital she tries to convince everyone she is not who they think she is. Woefully inept, with an incoherent plot and incompetent cinematography. HD Widescreen. | tt0897361 | [R] | Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, Brian Geraghty, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Spencer Garrett, Gregory Itzin | Thriller | NULL | ||
| I Like It Like That | 1994 | Darnell Martin | ★★★ | 105 | Fresh, vibrant little film about a Latino woman from the Bronx whose tumultuous, love/hate relationship with her husband and three kids is rocked when she stumbles into a job— an exciting one, no less— in the record business. Writer-director Darnell Martin examines real, everyday issues with zest, humor, and the ring of truth. | tt0110091 | [R] | Lauren Velez, Jon Seda, Tomas Melly, Desiree Casado, Isaiah Garcia, Jesse Borrego, Lisa Vidal, Griffin Dunne, Rita Moreno | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| I Like It That Way | 1934 | Harry Lachman. | ★★½ | 67 | Super-salesman Pryor falls in love with chance acquaintance Stuart and tries to change his wayward ways for her sake; then he learns she works as a singer in a nightclub/speakeasy. Flyweight musical built around lovely Stuart, who couldn't sing or dance. Pleasant enough time-filler. | tt0025283 | Gloria Stuart, Roger Pryor, Marian Marsh, Shirley Grey, Onslow Stevens, Noel Madison, Lucile Webster Gleason, Clarence Wilson, Mickey Rooney. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Like Money | 1960 | Peter Sellers | ★★½ | 97 | Subdued satirical remake of TOPAZE, with Sellers the timid schoolteacher who becomes an unscrupulous businessman. British title: TOPAZE. | tt0055201 | Peter Sellers, Nadia Gray, Herbert Lom, Leo McKern, Martita Hunt, John Neville, Michael Gough, Billie Whitelaw | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Like Your Nerve | 1931 | William McGann | ★½ | 69 | Devil-may-care Fairbanks breezes into Latin country and sets his sights on Loretta— even though she's engaged. Tiresome comic romance. Karloff has tiny role as a butler named Luigi. | tt0021986 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Loretta Young, Henry Kolker, Edmund Breon, Boris Karloff | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Live My Life | 1935 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 92 | Crawford and Aherne are in love, but she’s flighty and he’s an archaeologist. Glossy and empty. Scripted by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. | tt0026417 | Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, Frank Morgan, Aline MacMahon, Eric Blore,Fred Keating, Jessie Ralph, Arthur Treacher, Frank Conroy, Sterling Holloway, Vince Barnett, Hedda Hopper, Lionel Stander | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Live for Love | 1935 | Busby Berkeley. | ★★½ | 64 | Lesser Berkeley musical concerns backstage romance between Del Rio and Marshall. A couple of OK songs, but unfortunately no dancing. | tt0026512 | Dolores Del Rio, Everett Marshall, Guy Kibbee, Allen Jenkins, Berton Churchill. | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Live in Fear | 1955 | Akira Kurosawa. | ★★★ | 105 | The ordinary lives of a modern-day Tokyo patriarch's family are fundamentally shaken upon his sudden decision that they must all move to Brazil to avoid the H-bomb. Mifune is remarkable, as always, here assaying a character twice his own age. Complex effort starts as satire and ends as tragedy. Original Japanese prints run 113m. Aka RECORD OF A LIVING BEING and WHAT THE BIRDS KNEW. | tt0048198 | Toshiro Mifune, Eiko Miyoshi, Yutaka Sada, Minoru Chiaki, Haruko Togo, Kyoko Aoyama. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Love Melvin | 1953 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 76 | N.Y.C. location filming enhances this cute musical, spotlighting lowly photo assistant O'Connor's attempt to impress ambitious dancer Reynolds by pretending that he can get her picture in Look magazine. | tt0045899 | Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Allyn Joslyn, Richard Anderson, Noreen Corcoran, Jim Backus, Robert Taylor | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| I Love My . . . Wife | 1970 | Mel Stuart | ★★ | 95 | The kind of comedy for which the word 'vehicle' was invented. Rarely funny chronicle of Gould's lifelong sexual hangups suffers from witless script, bland direction. | tt0065871 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Angel Tompkins, Dabney Coleman, Joan Tompkins | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Love Trouble | 1948 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★★ | 94 | Businessman hires flippant private eye Tone to investigate his wife in this Raymond Chandleresque mystery written by Roy Huggins. | tt0040457 | Franchot Tone, Janet Blair, Janis Carter, Adele Jergens, Glenda Farrell, Steven Geray, Tom Powers, Lynn Merrick, John Ireland, Eduardo Ciannelli, Raymond Burr | Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Love Trouble | 1994 | Charles Shyer | ★★½ | 123 | Rival Chicago newspaper reporters reluctantly join forces to investigate a mysterious train wreck— and, naturally, fall in love. A likable homage to vintage Hollywood bickering/bantering romantic comedies with a touch of adventure and suspense thrown in; there are even old-fashioned 'wipes' between shots. Unfortunately, the film's overlength hampers its cuteness, and reveals the degree of contrivance at work. | tt0110093 | [PG] | Julia Roberts, Nick Nolte, Saul Rubinek, James Rebhorn, Robert Loggia, Kelly Rutherford, Olympia Dukakis, Marsha Mason, Eugene Levy, Charles Martin Smith, Dan Butler, Paul Gleason, Nora Dunn, Keith Gordon, Dorothy Lyman, Stuart Pankin, Megan Cavanagh, Jessica Lundy, Robin Duke | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Love You | 1981 | Arnaldo Jabor | ★½ | 104 | Silly, pretentiously arty chronicle of relationship between Braga and Pereio, each of whom tries to manipulate the other. Sonia, however, is lovely to look at. | tt0082343 | [R] | Sonia Braga, Paulo Cesar Pereio, Vera Fischer, Tarcisio Meira, Maria Lucia Dahl, Regina Case | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| I Love You Again | 1940 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★½ | 99 | Hilarious story of amnesiac Powell— solid citizen in a small town— reverting to former life as con-man, but trying to forestall divorce proceedings by 'his' wife (Loy). Ingenious script by Charles Lederer, George Oppenheimer, and Harry Kurnitz. | tt0032617 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh, Edmund Lowe, Donald Douglas, Nella Walker | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Love You Phillip Morris | 2010 | Glenn Ficarra, John Requa | ★★★ | 98 | A Southern churchgoer marries his high school sweetheart, then one day comes to the realization that he’s gay. In order to support his new lavish lifestyle, he becomes a con artist—and a good one, although he winds up in jail. There he meets his soul mate (McGregor) and promises to find a way they can spend the rest of their lives together. Continuously surprising blend of comedy and drama features what is arguably Carrey’s all-time best performance. And yes, it’s based on a true story, as documented in Steve McVicker’s book. Written by the directors. | tt1045772 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Antoni Corone, Brennan Brown, Michael Mandell, Annie Golden, Mary Louise Burke, Aunjanue Ellis | U.S.-French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| I Love You to Death | 1990 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★½ | 96 | Lumpy black comedy about a gregarious Italian-American pizzeria owner whose constant womanizing remains a secret to his wife— until one day when she learns the truth, and then attempts to murder him, with spectacular lack of success. Kline is fun, Plowright is hilarious as his mordant, Slavic mother-in-law, but unfortunately, the film goes flat. Director Kasdan plays a lawyer in the closing scenes; Kline's real-life wife, Phoebe Cates, has an unbilled part as one of his one-night stands. Amazingly, based on a real-life couple! | tt0099819 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, William Hurt, Keanu Reeves, James Gammon, Victoria Jackson, Miriam Margolyes, Heather Graham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Love You, Alice B. Toklas | 1968 | Hy Averback | ★★★½ | 93 | Excellent comedy about the freaking out of mild-mannered L.A. lawyer. Sellers has never been better. Written by Larry Tucker and Paul Mazursky. | tt0063115 | [R] | Peter Sellers, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young, Joyce Van Patten | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Love You, Beth Cooper | 2009 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 102 | Mega-geek Rust spends a memorably episodic graduation night with former cheerleader Panettiere after outing his ardor for her in a humiliating senior speech. Frequently funny comedy recalls John Hughes' teen epics, and was adapted by Simpsons writer Larry Doyle from his 2007 autobiographical novel. More adult than it looks; parents should heed the rating. | tt1032815 | [PG-13] | Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack T. Carpenter, Lauren London, Lauren Storm, Shawn Roberts, Alan Ruck, Cynthia Stevenson | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| I Love You, I Love You Not | 1996 | Billy Hopkins | ★★ | 92 | Disappointingly overwrought drama about a shy teen (Danes) who attends a Manhattan prep school; she has a crush on the school hunk (Law), and encounters anti-Semitism when her classmates learn that her beloved grandmother (the ever-resplendent Moreau) is a Holocaust survivor. Scripted by Wendy Kesselman, based on her play; Danes also plays the grandmother (as a young woman) in the Holocaust sequences. | tt0116592 | Jeanne Moreau, Claire Danes, Jude Law, James Van Der Beek, Kris Park, Lauren Fox, Emily Burkes-Nossiter, Robert Sean Leonard, Julia Stiles | French-German-British-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| I Love You, Man | 2009 | John Hamburg | ★★½ | 104 | Straight-arrow nice guy Rudd plans to wed girlfriend Jones, but comes to realize he doesn’t have any real buddies—and no one to serve as best man. In his quest to make friends he bonds with overage adolescent Segel, who’s fun to be with but turns out to be a very loose cannon. The two main characters are sharply drawn and well played in this comedy but the raunch factor is uncomfortably high. Incredible Hulk TV star Ferrigno plays . . . himself. | tt1155056 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J. K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Rob Huebel, Thomas Lennon, Sarah Burns, Lou Ferrigno | Romance | NULL | ||
| I Love Your Work | 2005 | Adam Goldberg | ★★½ | 111 | Hot young film actor (Ribisi) has a tempestuous relationship with his movie-star wife while being constantly pawed at in public; as he yearns for an ordinary life, he becomes convinced he's being stalked by a fan. Obvious and occasionally rambling, but still an attention-grabbing exploration of the pitfalls of contemporary celebrity. Goldberg also cowrote, coproduced, and collaborated on the music. | tt0322700 | [R] | Giovanni Ribisi, Franka Potente, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Coughlan, Christina Ricci, Jared Harris, Elvis Costello, Jason Lee, Nicky Katt, Randall Batinkoff, Haylie Duff, Judy Greer, Shalom Harlow, Vince Vaughn, Lake Bell | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Love a Bandleader | 1945 | Del Lord. | ★★ | 70 | Formula claptrap about meek Harris, who becomes a swinging bandleader; stars' personalities rise above material. | tt0037802 | Phil Harris, Leslie Brooks, Walter Catlett, Eddie Anderson, Frank Sully, Pierre Watkin. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Love a Mystery | 1945 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 70 | Bizarre, entertaining whodunit based on popular radio show, with Bannon as Jack Packard, Yarborough as Doc Young. This one involves strange Oriental cult and a prophecy of doom for bewildered Macready. First in a short-lived series. | tt0037803 | Jim Bannon, Nina Foch, George Macready, Barton Yarborough, Carole Mathews, Lester Matthews | Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Love a Soldier | 1944 | Mark Sandrich | ★★ | 106 | Reteaming of Goddard and Tufts after their hit in SO PROUDLY WE HAIL! doesn't match original; story examines problems of wartime marriages. | tt0036938 | Paulette Goddard, Sonny Tufts, Beulah Bondi, Mary Treen, Barry Fitzgerald | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Loved a Woman | 1933 | Alfred E. Green | 💣 | 91 | Robinson plays meat-packing plant owner whose life is destroyed by enticing, ambitious opera singer Francis. Absurd story moves like molasses; dialogue is good only for (unintended) laughs. | tt0024160 | Edward G. Robinson, Kay Francis, Genevieve Tobin, J. Farrell MacDonald, Robert Barrat | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Married a Communist | The Woman on Pier 13 | 1950 | Robert Stevenson | ★★ | 73 | Cornball acting and a 'better-dead-than-Red' scenario sink this noirish melodrama, which has become a relic of its era. Ryan is a shipping executive and former political radical whose past comes back to haunt him. The 'commies' (headed by Gomez) are depicted as two-bit gangsters, but Talman is especially good as a killer-for-hire. Retitled THE WOMAN ON PIER 13. | tt0041495 | Laraine Day, Robert Ryan, John Agar, Thomas Gomez, Janis Carter, Richard Rober, William Talman | Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| I Married a Monster from Outer Space | 1958 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★★½ | 78 | One of the silliest titles in film history obscures pretty good little rehash of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS: Talbott notices that husband Tryon (as well as some of his friends) has been behaving very peculiarly of late. Some nice, creepy moments in chiller which has slowly developed a cult following. Remade for TV in 1998. | tt0051756 | Tom Tryon, Gloria Talbott, Ken Lynch, John Eldredge, Jean Carson, Maxie Rosenbloom | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| I Married a Shadow | I Married a Dead Man | 1982 | Robin Davis | ★★★ | 110 | Engrossing if sometimes overwrought drama of abandoned, pregnant Baye taking on the identity of another after a train wreck. Baye is radiant, particularly in the scenes with her newborn baby. Based on a Cornell Woolrich story previously filmed as NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950). Remade in 1996 as MRS. WINTERBOURNE. Aka I MARRIED A DEAD MAN. | tt0084158 | [PG] | Nathalie Baye, Francis Huster, Richard Bohringer, Madeleine Robinson, Guy Trejan | French | Drama | NULL |
| I Married a Strange Person! | 1998 | Bill Plympton | ★★½ | 74 | Animator-director-cowriter Plympton invokes Picasso's famous quote disdaining 'good taste,' and follows through with this wild, freeform story of a man who acquires strange powers— and an overactive imagination— just as he embarks on married life. Brash, bizarre, full of deliberately 'gross' sight gags involving body parts, and often howlingly funny . . . but not for prudish viewers. Plympton fans should revel in it. | tt0119346 | Voices of Charis Michelson, Tom Larson, Richard Spore, Toni Rossi, J. B. Adams, John Russo | Drama, Comedy, Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| I Married a Witch | 1942 | René Clair | ★★★ | 76 | Witch burned in Salem centuries ago (Lake) comes back to haunt descendants of Puritan (March) who sent her to her death. Saucy comedy-fantasy based on a story by Thorne (Topper) Smith. Good special effects, too. | tt0034881 | Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward, Cecil Kellaway, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Married a Woman | 1958 | Hal Kanter | ★★ | 84 | Lackluster events concerning harassed ad man Gobel who'd rather spend time with his gorgeous wife than overtime at the office. Look fast for young Angie Dickinson and an amusing movie-star cameo. | tt0051757 | George Gobel, Diana Dors, Adolphe Menjou, Jessie Royce Landis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Married an Angel | 1942 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 84 | Playboy Eddy dreams he marries angel MacDonald in this bizarre adaptation of Rodgers and Hart musical. MacDonald and Eddy's last film together. Songs include 'Spring Is Here,' title tune. | tt0034882 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Edward Everett Horton, Binnie Barnes, Reginald Owen, Douglass Dumbrille | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Melt With You | 2011 | Mark Pellington | ★½ | 122 | Overwrought, overlong drama about four former college buddies, now on the anxious side of forty, whose annual get-together devolves into an unruly weekend of self-pity, substance abuse, and worse. Too reminiscent of too many other movies (and plays) with similar themes and narrative setups, but the four male leads—especially Jane as a womanizing failed novelist—deserve some credit for their fearless portrayals of largely unlikable characters. | tt1691920 | [R] | Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay, Carla Gugino | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Met Him in Paris | 1937 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 86 | Prolonged romantic comedy dependent entirely on charm of its stars. Vacationing Colbert, in Paris, then Switzerland, has to choose from Bowman, Young, and Douglas (you guess who wins out). | tt0029036 | Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young, Lee Bowman, Mona Barrie, Fritz Feld | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Met My Love Again | 1938 | Arthur Ripley, Joshua Logan | ★★½ | 77 | Familiar soaper of young girl Bennett running off with amorous author, with tragic consequences; acting surpasses script. | tt0030256 | Joan Bennett, Henry Fonda, Dame May Whitty, Alan Marshal, Louise Platt, Alan Baxter, Tim Holt | Romance | NULL | |||
| I Mobster | 1958 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 80 | Rugged account of gangster Cochran and events in his crime-filled life. Full title: I MOBSTER . . . THE LIFE OF A GANGSTER. | tt0051760 | Steve Cochran, Lita Milan, Robert Strauss, Celia Lovsky | Crime | NULL | |||
| I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | 1977 | Anthony Page | ★★★ | 96 | Intelligent adaptation of Hannah Green's book about her treatment for schizophrenia as a teenager, focusing on relationship between her (Quinlan) and dedicated psychiatrist (Andersson). Graphic, clinical approach is often disturbing. | tt0076172 | [R] | Bibi Andersson, Kathleen Quinlan, Ben Piazza, Lorraine Gary, Reni Santoni, Susan Tyrrell, Signe Hasso, Jeff Conaway, Diane Varsi, Barbara Steele, Sylvia Sidney, Dennis Quaid | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Never Sang for My Father | 1970 | Gilbert Cates | ★★★½ | 93 | Sensitive adaptation of Robert Anderson play about grown man (Hackman) faced with problem of caring for elderly father (Douglas). Fine job all around, but extremely depressing. Scripted by the playwright. | tt0065872 | [PG] | Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney, Estelle Parsons, Elizabeth Hubbard, Lovelady Powell | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry | 2007 | Dennis Dugan | ★★ | 110 | In order to overcome bureaucratic red tape two single, heterosexual Brooklyn firefighters, one (Sandler) a ladies' man and the other (James) a widower, pretend to be a gay couple. Generally idiotic comedy hypocritically lambastes homophobia while featuring characters who are flagrant gay stereotypes. Rob Schneider and David Spade appear unbilled. | tt0762107 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel, Dan Aykroyd, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Nicholas Turturro, Allen Covert, Rachel Dratch, Richard Chamberlain, Mary Pat Gleason, Rob Corddry, Lance Bass, Blake Clark | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Only Want You to Love Me | 1976 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★½ | 101 | Intriguing morality tale of decent, hardworking young bricklayer, whose Bavarian upbringing was noticeably lacking in parental affection. When he marries and moves to Munich, the lure of the big-city consumer society (and the ability to buy on credit) proves disastrous. Deliberately paced but offbeat examination of a shattered psyche. Made for TV; unreleased in the U.S. until 1994. | tt0074664 | Vitus Zeplichal, Elke Aberle, Alexander Allerson, Ernie Mangold, Johanna Hofer | West German | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Ought to Be in Pictures | 1982 | Herbert Ross | ★★ | 107 | Poor formula Neil Simon sitcom, adapted from his play: 19-year-old Brooklynite Manoff hitches to L.A. to make it in movies— and establishes connection with her father (Matthau), screenwriter turned gambler-drinker. Matthau and Manoff do their best; Ann-Margret wasted as Walter's mistress. | tt0084109 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Dinah Manoff, Lance Guest, Lewis Smith, Martin Ferrero, David Faustino, Michael Dudikoff | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| I Passed for White | 1960 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★ | 93 | Exploitation film handled with slight dignity involving light-skinned black woman and her rich white boyfriend. | tt0053933 | Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, Pat Michon, Elizabeth Council, Griffin Crafts, Isabelle Cooley | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Promise to Pay | 1937 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★½ | 65 | Snappy little programmer about likable, scrupulously honest family man Morris who's taken in by loan sharks. Enjoyable (if not quite credible). | tt0029039 | Chester Morris, Helen Mack, Leo Carrillo, Thomas Mitchell, John Gallaudet, Wallis Clark. | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Remember Mama | 1948 | George Stevens | ★★★½ | 134 | Beautifully realized, exquisitely detailed filming of John Van Druten's play, based on Kathryn Forbes' memoirs about growing up with her Norwegian immigrant family in San Francisco. A bit long, but richly rewarding, with top performances in each and every role. Screenplay by DeWitt Bodeen. Followed by the TV series Mama. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040458 | Irene Dunne, Barbara Bel Geddes, Oscar Homolka, Philip Dorn, Cedric Hardwicke, Edgar Bergen, Rudy Vallee, Barbara O'Neil, Florence Bates, Ellen Corby | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Sailed to Tahiti with an All Girl Crew | 1968 | Richard L. Bare | ★½ | 95 | One of the all-time camp classics, if only for its title. Unfortunately, film doesn't live down to its expectations. | tt0063117 | Gardner McKay, Fred Clark, Diane McBain, Pat Buttram, Edy Williams | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Saw What You Did | 1965 | William Castle | ★★★ | 82 | Tense, gimmick-free Castle shocker about two teenage girls who dial phone numbers at random and whisper film's title; one of their 'victims' is Ireland— who's just murdered his wife! Look out! Remade for TV in 1988. | tt0059297 | Sara Lane, Andi Garrett, John Ireland, Joan Crawford, Leif Erickson, Patricia Breslin | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| I Sent a Letter to My Love | 1981 | Moshe Mizrahi | ★★★½ | 96 | A woman (Signoret) cares for her paralyzed brother (Rochefort); through a newspaper personals column, they unknowingly begin a romantic correspondence. Perceptive character study, highlighted by brilliant Signoret performance; fine work by Rochefort and Seyrig (as their spinsterish friend). Director Mizrahi and Gerard Brach adapted Bernice Rubens' novel. | tt0082182 | [PG] | Simone Signoret, Jean Rochefort, Delphine Seyrig | French | Drama | NULL | |
| I Served the King of England | 2006 | Jirí Menzel | ★★★ | 119 | Wide-eyed young man works as a waiter in increasingly posh establishments during the 1930s, hoping to become a millionaire . . . but when the Germans invade Czechoslovakia his eye for pretty women gets him enmeshed in politics that will affect the rest of his life. Told in flashback as the leading character, now an old man just released from prison, looks back on his life. Alternately whimsical, sexy, and pointed parable about life in a country that has undergone more than its share of upheavals. Menzel adapted the novel by Bohumil Hrabal, who also wrote the director’s signature film CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS. | tt0284363 | Unrated | Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch, Martin Huba, Marián Labuda, Milan Lasica, Josef Abrhám, István Szabó | Czech | Romance, War | NULL | |
| I Shot Andy Warhol | 1996 | Mary Harron | ★★★ | 106 | In 1968, Valerie Solanas shot pop art icon Warhol, seriously wounding him. This film traces her bizarre life leading to that moment, including the writing of her 'SCUM Manifesto' decreeing males biologically obsolete. Taylor is brilliant as the delusional Solanas, and the film depicts Warhol (Harris, son of actor Richard), his 'Factory,' and the period in convincing detail. Not for all tastes and slightly pretentious, but well made and fascinating. | tt0116594 | [R] | Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Stephen Dorff, Martha Plimpton, Danny Morgenstern, Lothaire Bluteau, Michael Imperioli, Reg Rogers, Donovan Leitch, Tahnee Welch, Eric Mabius | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| I Shot Jesse James | 1949 | Samuel Fuller | ★★ | 81 | Flamboyant directorial touches (in Fuller's first film) cannot redeem essential dullness of story about Bob Ford, the man who plugged Jesse in the back. | tt0041497 | Preston Foster, Barbara Britton, John Ireland, Reed Hadley, J. Edward Bromberg | Western | NULL | |||
| I Spy | 2002 | Betty Thomas | ★½ | 96 | In-name-only reincarnation of the smart 1960s TV show (which starred Robert Culp and Bill Cosby). Here, Wilson is an inept NSA operative who uses cocky prizefighter Murphy as his cover to locate a secret weapon in Budapest. An object lesson in bad screenwriting, with an incoherent story, and characters that make no sense; only the occasional comic riffs by Murphy and Wilson keep this from complete disaster. | tt0297181 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole, Phill Lewis | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| I Stand Condemned | 1935 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 75 | Inconsequential story of jealous Russian framing young officer as a spy, to eliminate him from rivalry over woman. Worth seeing for young, dashing Olivier. British title: MOSCOW NIGHTS. | tt0027989 | Harry Baur, Laurence Olivier, Penelope Dudley Ward, Robert Cochran, Morton Selten, Athene Seyler | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | 1998 | Danny Cannon | ★½ | 101 | Hewitt and friends win a vacation to a Caribbean island, where they are pursued by the killer with a hook from the first movie, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Another film in which the cast runs around screaming while being killed, one by one. Plotless mess lacks any suspense, and makes the original look like a classic. Jack Black appears unbilled. | tt0130018 | [R] | Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Brandy, Mekhi Phifer, Muse Watson, Matthew Settle, Bill Cobbs, Jeffrey Combs, Jennifer Esposito, John Hawkes | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| I Stole a Million | 1939 | Frank Tuttle. | ★★½ | 78 | Cabdriver Raft turns to crime when his life savings are stolen; he tries to go straight after marrying Trevor, but society just won't let him. Familiar stuff, smoothly done, with appealing performances and standout photography by Milton Krasner. Nathanael West wrote the screenplay. | tt0031465 | George Raft, Claire Trevor, Dick Foran, Henry Armetta, Victor Jory, Joe Sawyer, John Hamilton, Stanley Ridges. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| I Take This Woman | 1940 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 97 | Disappointing soaper with dedicated doctor Tracy sacrificing all for Lamarr, who at first isn't grateful. Long in production, with innumerable behind-the-scenes changes, this was a notorious dud in 1940. | tt0031466 | Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Verree Teasdale, Kent Taylor, Laraine Day, Mona Barrie, Louis Calhern, Marjorie Main, Frances Drake, Jack Carson | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Thank a Fool | 1962 | Robert Stevens | ★★ | 100 | Dreary, far-fetched story about Hayward spending a year and a half in prison for mercy-killing, then becoming involved with lawyer Finch, who prosecuted her case, with bizarre results. | tt0056089 | Susan Hayward, Peter Finch, Diane Cilento, Cyril Cusack, Kieron Moore, Athene Seyler | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Think I Love My Wife | 2007 | Chris Rock | ★½ | 94 | Director-cowriter-coproducer Rock plays a successful but bored suburban family man who is contacted at his N.Y.C. office by an old pal's smoking-hot former flame (Washington). Her flirty afternoon visits become more frequent, and he is sorely tempted to stray. Rock has loosely updated Eric Rohmer's CHLOE IN THE AFTERNOON with dismal results. His own performance is leaden, and even Washington's femme fatale is wasted here. | tt0770772 | [R] | Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Gina Torres, Steve Buscemi, Edward Herrmann, Welker White, Michael K. Williams, Stephen A. Smith, Wendell Pierce | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| I Trust You to Kill Me | 2006 | Manu Boyer | ★★½ | 90 | While on hiatus from shooting his hit TV series 24, Kiefer Sutherland acts as road manager on a European tour for Rocco DeLuca & The Burden, the group he's signed to his independent record label. Frank, revealing documentary offers a candid look at a celebrity after hours, but is most effective when contrasting a famous face and a bunch of talented but unknown wannabes. Bogs down in parts, but holds your interest most of the way. Film's title is the name of one of DeLuca's songs. | tt0800081 | [R] | Documentary, Music | NULL | |||
| I Vitelloni | 1953 | Federico Fellini | ★★★★ | 107 | Magnificent comedy-drama— arguably Fellini's masterpiece— about five shiftless male adolescents in a small Adriatic town who have to cope with emerging adulthood. Film's episodic structure brings to mind AMERICAN GRAFFITI; its love of humanity anticipates the director's own AMARCORD two decades later. In any event, a lovely film. | tt0046521 | Alberto Sordi, Franco Interlenghi, Franco Fabrizi, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Wake Up Screaming | Hot Spot | 1941 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★★ | 82 | Entertaining whodunit with Grable and Mature implicated in murder of Betty's sister, pursued by determined cop Cregar. Twist finish to good mystery. Remade as VICKI; originally titled HOT SPOT. | tt0033740 | Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar, William Gargan, Alan Mowbray, Allyn Joslyn, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | ||
| I Walk Alone | 1947 | Byron Haskin | ★★ | 98 | A prison term changes Lancaster's outlook on life, and return to outside world makes him bitter. Good cast, weak film. | tt0039482 | Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Wendell Corey, Kristine Miller, George Rigaud, Marc Lawrence | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I Walk the Line | 1970 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 95 | Rural sheriff Peck falls for moonshiner's daughter Weld, thereby destroying both his professional and personal life. Offbeat but aimless drama, helped by excellent Weld performance. Johnny Cash sings five songs. | tt0065874 | [PG] | Gregory Peck, Tuesday Weld, Estelle Parsons, Ralph Meeker, Lonny Chapman, Charles Durning | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Walked with a Zombie | 1943 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★½ | 69 | Nurse Dee comes to Caribbean island to treat zombielike wife of troubled Conway, finds skeletons in family closet, plus local voodoo rituals and legends that cannot be ignored. Exceptional Val Lewton chiller with rich atmosphere, mesmerizing story. Loosely adapted from Jane Eyre! Read small-print disclaimer in opening credits carefully. | tt0036027 | Frances Dee, Tom Conway, James Ellison, Edith Barrett, Christine Gordon, Theresa Harris, James Bell | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| I Wanna Hold Your Hand | 1978 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★ | 104 | Teenagers connive to get tickets for the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. If this original comedy seems occasionally silly and overbearing, that's the price it pays for being a generally accurate portrayal of a raucous event. Comedian Jordan is as hilariously Sullivan-like as ever. Steven Spielberg was executive producer. | tt0077714 | [PG] | Nancy Allen, Bobby DiCicco, Marc McClure, Susan Kendall Newman, Theresa Saldana, Eddie Deezen, Wendie Jo Sperber, Will Jordan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With | 2007 | Jeff Garlin | ★★½ | 80 | Garlin makes an unassumingly engaging impression as an overweight, unlucky-in-love comic who thinks he would be perfect for the lead role in a proposed remake of MARTY (and not just because he still lives with his mother). Mildly amusing ensemble comedy (based on Garlin’s stage show) includes fellow alumni of the famed Second City comedy troupe. Silverman is a standout as a crazy/sexy ice cream parlor waitress. | tt0391229 | Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, Bonnie Hunt, Amy Sedaris, David Pasquesi, Gina Gershon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Want What I Want | 1972 | John Dexter | ★★½ | 91 | Interesting little piece about sexual crisis in the life of man who wants a sex-change operation. | tt0068726 | Anne Heywood, Harry Andrews, Jill Bennett, Nigel Flatley, Paul Rogers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| I Want You | 1951 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 102 | Dated yet still touching Americana detailing effects of the Korean War on a small-town family. An artifact of its era, with fine performances all around. Screenplay by Irwin Shaw. | tt0043664 | Dana Andrews, Dorothy McGuire, Farley Granger, Peggy Dow, Robert Keith, Mildred Dunnock, Martin Milner, Ray Collins, Jim Backus | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Want a Divorce | 1940 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 75 | Powell and Blondell have just gotten married but already they're beginning to wonder in this light comedy. The two stars were married at the time in real life, too. | tt0032619 | Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Gloria Dickson, Frank Fay, Dorothy Burgess, Jessie Ralph, Harry Davenport, Conrad Nagel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Want to Go Home | 1989 | Alain Resnais | 💣 | 101 | Musical writer-performer Green (SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN) plays a neurotic American cartoonist who travels to Paris for an art gallery show—and to see his estranged daughter (Benson). Depardieu, an exuberant admirer, brings him to his mother’s country home for the weekend. Written by Jules Feiffer, with a score by John Kander, this Franco-American curio is appallingly bad, marked by amateurish performances and stilted dialogue. | tt0097555 | Adolph Green, Gérard Depardieu, Linda Lavin, Laura Benson, Micheline Presle, Geraldine Chaplin, John Ashton, Ludivine Sagnier | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Want to Live! | 1958 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 120 | Hayward won an Oscar for her gutsy performance as prostitute-crook Barbara Graham who (according to the film) is framed for murder and goes to gas chamber. Smart presentation, fine acting, memorable jazz score by Johnny Mandel. Nelson Gidding and Don Mankiewicz based script on articles about Graham. Look fast for Jack Weston, Brett Halsey. Remade as a 1983 TVM with Lindsay Wagner. | tt0051758 | Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Virginia Vincent, Theodore Bikel, John Marley, Dabbs Greer, Gavin MacLeod | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| I Wanted Wings | 1941 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 131 | Stale plot of three men undergoing Air Force training served to introduce Lake as star material; that remains only real point of interest. However, the special effects for this did garner an Oscar. | tt0033741 | Ray Milland, William Holden, Wayne Morris, Brian Donlevy, Constance Moore, Veronica Lake, Hedda Hopper | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Was Born, But . . . | 1932 | Yasujiro Ozu. | ★★★ | 89 | Two little brothers go on a hunger strike to force their father to stand up to his boss and to increase their own stature as new kids in a neighborhood gang (one of whose members is the boss' son). Amusing satire of cultural mores has a serious underside about the personal sacrifices one must make to get ahead in business and the power of peer group pressure. Ozu remade it in color in 1959 as GOOD MORNING. | tt0023634 | Tatsuo Saito, Tokkanikozo (Tomio Aoki), Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Takeshi Sakamoto, Teruyo Hayami. | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Was Monty's Double | 1958 | John Guillermin | ★★★½ | 100 | Exciting, true WW2 story of actor persuaded to pose as Gen. Montgomery in order to divert German intelligence in North Africa. Cast is first-rate. | tt0051759 | M. E. Clifton-James, John Mills, Cecil Parker, Marius Goring, Michael Hordern, Leslie Phillips, Bryan Forbes | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| I Was a Communist for the FBI | 1951 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 83 | Documentary-style counterspy caper, low key and effective. | tt0043665 | Frank Lovejoy, Dorothy Hart, Philip Carey, James Millican | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I Was a Male War Bride | 1949 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 105 | Delightful comedy of errors has French Army officer Grant trying to accompany WAC wife Sheridan back to U.S. with hilarious results. Grant in drag makes this one worth watching. | tt0041498 | Cary Grant, Ann Sheridan, Marion Marshall, Randy Stuart, William Neff, Ken Tobey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| I Was a Shoplifter | 1950 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 82 | Fair programmer with cop Brady going undercover to bust open a shoplifting gang. Look for Rock Hudson as a department-store detective. | tt0042588 | Scott Brady, Mona Freeman, Charles Drake, Andrea King, Anthony (Tony) Curtis | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| I Was a Spy | 1933 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 83 | Unmemorable account of espionage agent Carroll, a Belgian nurse who aids the British after her country is overrun by the Germans during WW1. Veidt is perfectly cast as a German commandant. | tt0024161 | Madeleine Carroll, Conrad Veidt, Herbert Marshall, Gerald du Maurier, Edmund Gwenn, Donald Calthrop, Nigel Bruce | British |
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| I Was a Teenage Frankenstein | 1957 | Herbert L. Strock | ★½ | 72 | Campy junk about mad scientist who pulls young Conway from an auto wreck and 'repairs' him. Doesn't live up to that title; worth catching only for Bissell's immortal line, 'Answer me! You have a civil tongue in your head! I know— I sewed it in there!' One sequence is in color. | tt0050531 | Whit Bissell, Gary Conway, Phyllis Coates, Robert Burton | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| I Was a Teenage Werewolf | 1957 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★★★ | 75 | Landon plays a hair-trigger-temper teen who's got a nut (Bissell) for a psychotherapist with dangerous ideas about hypnotic regression and man's prehistoric past. Result: a werewolf in a high school jacket. As good as a low-budget drive-in monster movie gets; it launched Landon's career. | tt0050530 | Michael Landon, Yvonne Lime, Whit Bissell, Vladimir Sokoloff, Guy Williams | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| I Was a Teenage Zombie | 1987 | John E. Michalakias | 💣 | 92 | Low-grade horror spoof concerns teen zombie Ruben battling McCoy, the zombie version of a drug pusher who's been preying on adolescents. Amateur night at the movies. | tt0093238 | Michael Ruben, George Seminara, Steve McCoy, Cassie Madden | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| I Was an Adventuress | 1940 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 81 | Jewel thief Zorina goes straight, marries Greene, but can't shake off former associates von Stroheim, Lorre, et al. With that cast, it should have been better. | tt0032620 | Vera Zorina, Erich von Stroheim, Richard Greene, Peter Lorre, Sig Ruman | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| I Was an American Spy | 1951 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 85 | Dvorak is chanteuse in Manila who helps combat Japanese attack in WW2 spy story, elevated by veteran star. Song: 'Because of You. | tt0043666 | Ann Dvorak, Gene Evans, Douglas Kennedy, Richard Loo, Philip Ahn, Lisa Ferraday | Drama | NULL | |||
| I Went Down | 1997 | Paddy Breathnach | ★★½ | 107 | A good but down-on-his-luck guy is forced to pull off a kidnapping in order to work off a large debt he owes some gangsters. Quirky Irish action comedy has genuine affection for its unlikely heroes but never really catches fire, despite a wily performance from Gleeson as an aging petty thug who can't even steal a car properly. A big hit in Ireland. | tt0126344 | [R] | Brendan Gleeson, Peter McDonald, Tony Doyle, Peter Caffrey, Antoine Byrne | Irish-British |
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| I Will, I Will . . . For Now | 1976 | Norman Panama | ★★ | 96 | Fair satire on frigidity, infidelity, marriage counselling and a sex clinic. Gould and ex-wife Keaton spend film rediscovering each other. | tt0074659 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Diane Keaton, Paul Sorvino, Victoria Principal, Robert Alda, Warren Berlinger, Madge Sinclair, Candy Clark | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | 1999 | Aris Iliopulos | 💣 | 90 | An unproduced screenplay by Edward D. Wood, Jr., served as the 'inspiration' for this tedious chronicle of a thief (Zane) who breaks out of a mental institution. The intention was to make a bad (read: unintentionally funny) movie in the style of Ed Wood, but the result is just boring. Made as a silent movie, with sound effects and music. Zane coproduced. | tt0125211 | Billy Zane, Abraham Benrubi, Sandra Bernhard, Karen Black, Conrad Brooks, Tippi Hedren, Eartha Kitt, Ann Magnuson, Andrew McCarthy, Ron Perlman, Will Patton, Max Perlich, Summer Phoenix, Tara Reid, Christina Ricci, John Ritter, Rick Schroeder, Nicolette Sheridan, Carel Struycken, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Vampira, Steven Weber | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? | 1976 | Steven Hilliard Stern | ★★½ | 87 | Luckless husband hires someone to bump off his wife for insurance money, then tries to call it off; uneven but often funny farce, written by Woody Allen's one-time collaborator Mickey Rose. | tt0073139 | [PG] | Bob Dishy, Joanna Barnes, Bill Dana, Vito Scotti | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now | 1947 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 104 | Innocuous recreation of life and loves of 1890s songwriter Joseph E. Howard. As usual, music is better than script. Gene Nelson makes his film debut. | tt0039483 | June Haver, Mark Stevens, Martha Stewart, Reginald Gardiner, Lenore Aubert, William Frawley | Musical | NULL | |||
| I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes | 1948 | William Nigh. | ★★½ | 70 | Knox teams with cop Toomey to save her tap-dancer husband, who was railroaded after throwing a pair of shoes out the window to silence a wailing cat, only to be convicted of murder after police find his shoe prints near the corpse of a rich man. Minor film noir based on a Cornell Woolrich story has good shabby atmosphere and fairly engrossing story; twist ending is pretty obvious, but still satisfying. | tt0040460 | Don Castle, Elyse Knox, Regis Toomey, Charles D. Brown, Rory Mallinson, Robert Lowell, Bill Kennedy. | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I'd Climb the Highest Mountain | 1951 | Henry King | ★★★ | 88 | Simple good-hearted slice of Americana filmed on location in Georgia, with Lundigan as a preacher whose bride must learn a new way of life in Southern hill country. | tt0043667 | Susan Hayward, William Lundigan, Rory Calhoun, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Donnelly, Barbara Bates, Lynn Bari, Alexander Knox | Drama | NULL | |||
| I'd Rather Be Rich | 1964 | Jack Smight | ★★½ | 96 | Airy remake of IT STARTED WITH EVE. Dee finds substitute fiancé to please dying grandfather who wants to see her happy. Only Chevalier-Gingold scenes have spice. | tt0058222 | Sandra Dee, Maurice Chevalier, Andy Williams, Robert Goulet, Gene Raymond, Charles Ruggles, Hermione Gingold, Allen Jenkins, Rip Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I'll Be Home for Christmas | 1998 | Arlene Sanford | ★★½ | 86 | Conniving college kid tries to make his way cross-country to be home for Christmas dinner, only because his dad has promised him a Porsche if he does. Fairly predictable boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-again-and-learns-a-lesson comedy aimed at young fans of the teenage star. | tt0155753 | [PG] | Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jessica Biel, Adam LaVorgna, Sean O'Bryan, Gary Cole, Kathleen Freeman, Amzie Strickland | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| I'll Be Seeing You | 1945 | William Dieterle. | ★★½ | 85 | Overblown David Selznick schmaltz. Rogers, convict home on parole, meets disturbed soldier Cotten and they fall in love. | tt0036940 | Ginger Rogers, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Spring Byington, Tom Tully, John Derek. | Drama | NULL | |||
| I'll Be Yours | 1947 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 93 | Pleasant but undistinguished remake of THE GOOD FAIRY with Deanna in hot water after telling white lie to wealthy and amorous Menjou. | tt0039484 | Deanna Durbin, Tom Drake, Adolphe Menjou, William Bendix, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I'll Cry Tomorrow | 1955 | Daniel Mann | ★★★½ | 117 | Superlative portrayal by Hayward of star Lillian Roth, her assorted marriages and alcoholic problems. Everything a movie biography should be. Helen Rose won an Oscar for her costumes. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0048191 | Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Jo Van Fleet, Ray Danton, Eddie Albert, Margo | Drama | NULL | |||
| I'll Do Anything | 1994 | James L. Brooks | ★★ | 115 | Self-absorbed actor whose career is on the ropes is suddenly forced to care for his six-year-old daughter. Writer-director Brooks tries to weave a tale of fatherhood into a cutting look behind the scenes of Hollywood, with discouragingly spotty results. Some great 'in' material shares screen time with an array of truly dislikeable characters. Kavner and Albert Brooks come off best, as a neurotic match made in heaven. This is the notorious movie that was shot as a musical, before test screenings indicated all the musical numbers should come out! | tt0110097 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Albert Brooks, Julie Kavner, Joely Richardson, Tracey Ullman, Whittni Wright, Jeb Brown, Joely Fisher, Ian McKellen, Suzzanne Douglas, Robert Joy, Harry Shearer, Rosie O'Donnell, Ken Page, Woody Harrelson, Patrick Cassidy, Anne Heche | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| I'll Get By | 1950 | Richard Sale | ★★½ | 83 | Remake of TIN PAN ALLEY, involving songwriter and his girlfriend; Jeanne Crain, Victor Mature, and Dan Dailey make guest appearances. | tt0042589 | June Haver, William Lundigan, Gloria DeHaven, Dennis Day, Thelma Ritter | Musical | NULL | |||
| I'll Get You | 1953 | Seymour Friedman, Peter Graham Scott | ★★ | 79 | OK gangster yarn of Raft (FBI man) and Gray (British Intelligence) cracking a kidnapping syndicate. Original British title: ESCAPE ROUTE. | tt0044596 | George Raft, Sally Gray, Clifford Evans, Reginald Tate, Patricia Laffan | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| I'll Give a Million | 1938 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 75 | Residents of a French town learn that one of the many local hobos is actually a millionaire who's prepared to give a million francs to the first person who is kind to him with no thought of reward— but which hobo? The Riviera becomes a vagrants' paradise in this charming comedy with European flavor. Remake of 1935 Italian film DARO UN MILIONE with Vittorio De Sica. | tt0030261 | Warner Baxter, Lynn Bari, Jean Hersholt, John Carradine, Peter Lorre | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| I'll Never Forget What's 'Isname | 1967 | Michael Winner. | ★★★½ | 99 | Excellent comedy-drama in which one man rebels against his good life and tries vainly to go back to simpler days. Script by Peter Draper. | tt0061801 | Orson Welles, Oliver Reed, Carol White, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern, Wendy Craig, Marianne Faithfull, Peter Graves, Frank Finlay, Edward Fox. | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| I'll Never Forget You | 1951 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 90 | American (Power) working in London is transported back to 18th century, where he falls in love with Blyth. Remake of BERKELEY SQUARE. Opens in b&w, switches to color. | tt0043668 | Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth, Michael Rennie, Dennis Price, Beatrice Campbell | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| I'll See You in My Dreams | 1951 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 110 | Warner Bros. formula musical biography at its hokiest: trite telling of Gus Kahn's life and times; songs include 'Ain't We Got Fun,' 'It Had to Be You.' | tt0043669 | Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Frank Lovejoy, Patrice Wymore, James Gleason | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| I'll Take Romance | 1937 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 85 | Silly story of opera star Moore kidnapped by agent Douglas has lovely title tune, operatic arias to keep it moving along. | tt0029043 | Grace Moore, Melvyn Douglas, Stuart Erwin, Helen Westley, Margaret Hamilton | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| I'll Take Sweden | 1965 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 96 | Pseudo-sexy Hope vehicle, with everyone frantic over life and love; witless proceedings. | tt0059298 | Bob Hope, Dina Merrill, Tuesday Weld, Frankie Avalon, Jeremy Slate | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I'll sleep when I'm dead | 2004 | Mike Hodges | ★½ | 102 | Sudden death of a young would-be hustler brings his brother— a former local crime boss— out of isolation, looking for explanations and revenge. Lugubrious drama doesn't lead anywhere especially interesting, and takes its time getting there, to boot. A disappointing reunion for the director and star of CROUPIER. | tt0319531 | [R] | Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malcolm McDowell | U.S.-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| I'm All Right Jack | 1959 | John Boulting | ★★★½ | 104 | Carmichael works for his uncle and unwittingly upsets an elaborate and crooked business scheme in this memorable comedy. Sellers wonderful as labor leader. Scripted by Frank Harvey, John Boulting, and Alan Hackney, from Hackney's novel Private Life. Sequel to PRIVATE'S PROGRESS. Produced by Roy Boulting. | tt0052911 | Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Rutherford, Dennis Price, Irene Handl, Miles Malleson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | 1982 | Jack Hofsiss | ★★½ | 107 | Successful Valium-addicted TV documentary filmmaker Clayburgh undergoes harrowing ordeal when she quits pills cold-turkey. Searing because of subject matter, but not particularly well made; still, Clayburgh and costars are first-rate. Screenplay by David Rabe (Clayburgh's husband), based on Barbara Gordon's memoir. | tt0084111 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Nicol Williamson, Dianne Wiest, Daniel Stern, Joe Pesci, Geraldine Page, James Sutorius, Cordis Heard, Richard Masur, Ellen Greene, John Lithgow | Drama | NULL | ||
| I'm From Missouri | 1939 | Theodore Reed. | ★★ | 80 | Homespun Burns sails to England with a load of Army mules and encounters London society. Episodic, occasionally funny comedy. | tt0031469 | Bob Burns, Gladys George, Gene Lockhart, William Henry, George P. Huntley, Judith Barrett, Patricia Morison. | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| I'm Going Home | 2001 | Manoel de Oliveira | ★★★ | 90 | Poignant, carefully observed account of a celebrated actor (Piccoli) and his solitude upon learning that his family has been wiped out in a car crash, leaving only his grandson behind. A beautifully realized film, from a 93-year-old filmmaker, about the need to maintain one's personal and artistic integrity, the passage of time, and the fleeting nature of life. | tt0283422 | Michel Piccoli, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Antoine Chappey, Jean Koeltgen | French-Portuguese | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | 1988 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | ★★★ | 87 | Hip spoof of '70s blaxploitation films with Wayans (who also wrote and directed) as Jack Spade, vowing to avenge the death of his brother, who died of an o.g. (overdose of gold chains). Loose and good-natured, with some laugh-out-loud gags. Jim Brown and Isaac Hayes, who made so many straight-faced films of this kind, contribute some of the funniest moments. Look for Robert Townsend in a cameo. | tt0095348 | [R] | Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas, Steve James, Isaac Hayes, Jim Brown, Ja'net DuBois, Dawnn Lewis, John Vernon, Clu Gulager, Kadeem Hardison, Damon Wayans, Jester Hairston, Anne Marie Johnson, Gary Owens, Eve Plumb, Clarence Williams III, David Alan Grier, Kim Wayans, Robin Harris, Chris Rock | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| I'm Losing You | 1999 | Bruce Wagner | ★★½ | 100 | Interesting, adult film about a Hollywood producer who learns he's dying just as his grown children (Arquette, McCarthy) are going through crises of their own. Full of incisive vignettes, though one is left wanting to know more about some of the characters. A creditable directing debut for Wagner, who adapted his own novel. Gina Gershon appears unbilled. Executive produced by David Cronenberg. | tt0142393 | [R] | Frank Langella, Rosanna Arquette, Salome Jens, Andrew McCarthy, Elizabeth Perkins, Amanda Donohoe, Buck Henry, Laraine Newman, Daniel von Bargen | Drama | NULL | ||
| I'm No Angel | 1933 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★½ | 87 | West in rare form as star of Arnold's sideshow who chases after playboy Grant; Mae's courtroom plea caps it. | tt0024166 | Mae West, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, Gertrude Michael, Kent Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| I'm Not Rappaport | 1996 | Herb Gardner | ★★½ | 136 | Too long— and too literal— adaptation of Gardner's 1986 Tony Award-winning Broadway play about a pair of old codgers who develop an adversarial friendship in Central Park. Strong performances by Matthau, as an aged radical and congenital tale-spinner, and Davis, as a nearly blind building superintendent just trying to hang on. The characters are so good and so likable that they almost overcome the silliness of the climactic sequence (standing up to drug pusher Nelson) . . . but not quite. | tt0116601 | [PG-13] | Walter Matthau, Ossie Davis, Amy Irving, Martha Plimpton, Craig T. Nelson, Guillermo Diaz, Boyd Gaines, Ron Rifkin, Irwin Corey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I'm Not Scared | 2003 | Gabriele Salvatores | ★★★ | 101 | A ten-year-old (Cristiano) inadvertently discovers a boy hidden away in a covered hole in the ground near a spot where he and his friends play; neither one understands what's going on or why, though we in the audience put the pieces together one by one. Understated yet evocative film, set in rural Southern Italy in 1978, is told from an innocent child's point of view. Based on Niccòlo Ammaniti's best-selling book. | tt0326977 | [R] | Aitana Sánchez-Gichón, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Giuseppe Cristiano, Mattia Di Pierro, Diego Abatantuono | Italian-Spanish-British | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| I'm Not There | 2007 | Todd Haynes | ★★½ | 135 | Fragmented portrait of Bob Dylan, with six actors (including Blanchett, who is extraordinary) playing different aspects of the musician's biographical and fictional personas. Provocative attempt to circumvent the clichés of a biopic; extremely well filmed and acted, but becomes an exercise that provides little insight into Dylan, his work, or his cultural impact. Dylan fans may find more to enjoy; film buffs will have fun spotting references to Fellini, Godard, and other directors. | tt0368794 | [R] | Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams | U.S.-German | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| I'm the One That I Want | 2000 | Lionel Coleman | ★★★½ | 96 | Terrific concert film of Cho's one-woman show at San Francisco's Warfield Theater details her rise, fall, and rebirth after barely living through All-American Girl, a TV sitcom based on her Korean-American family. Alternately poignant and hilarious material tackles the double standard that women— especially minority women— face in the entertainment industry. | tt0251739 | [R] | Margaret Cho | Comedy | NULL | ||
| I've Always Loved You | 1946 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 117 | Heartfelt romantic drama (from the master of the genre, Borzage) about a young woman who studies to be a concert pianist with a brilliant but harsh taskmaster— and falls in love with him. Beautifully photographed in Technicolor, with Artur Rubinstein providing the actual piano renditions on the soundtrack. That's young Andre Previn as a piano student in the opening scene. | tt0038629 | Philip Dorn, Catherine McLeod, Bill Carter, Maria Ouspenskaya, Felix Bressart, Elizabeth Patterson, Vanessa Brown, Lewis Howard, Adele Mara, Stephanie Bachelor |
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NULL | |||
| I've Heard the Mermaids Singing | 1987 | Patricia Rozema. | ★★½ | 81 | Wistful, original comedy-drama about a young woman who's never been successful at anything but lands a job as assistant to a chic, intelligent art gallery owner whom she comes to idolize. McCarthy's winning and empathetic performance, in her film debut, keeps us hooked even when the movie starts to wander, which it does, more than once, before redeeming itself with the final shot. A slight but impressive first feature for writer-director Rozema. | tt0093239 | Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, Ann-Marie McDonald, John Evans. | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| I've Lived Before | 1956 | Richard Bartlett. | ★★½ | 82 | Strange small-budget film from the 1950s era of the Bridey Murphy (reincarnation) fad, about pilot who thinks he is an aviator who died in WW1. | tt0049353 | Jock Mahoney, Leigh Snowden, Ann Harding, John McIntire. | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| I, Jane Doe | 1948 | John H. Auer | ★½ | 85 | Ludicrous courtroom 'drama' of murderess Ralston, with the victim's wife (Hussey) defending her. | tt0040463 | Ruth Hussey, John Carroll, Vera Ralston, Gene Lockhart, John Howard, John Litel | Drama | NULL | |||
| I, Madman | 1989 | Tibor Takács | ★★½ | 89 | A young woman's reading of a novel brings its murderous, supernatural author back to life. A nice, small surprise: the story is imaginative, scary and funny, the effects are clever, and the cast above average; there's also a wow of an ending. If it only made sense . . . | tt0097557 | [R] | Jenny Wright, Clayton Rohner, Randall William Cook, Steven Memel, Stephanie Hodge | Horror | NULL | ||
| I, Monster | 1971 | Stephen Weeks | ★★ | 74 | Good, atmospheric production and ensemble performances cannot completely redeem boring adaptation of Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This time, early student of Freud develops serum to relieve human inhibitions. Film was intended to be shown in 3-D, which explains some of the unusual camera movement. | tt0068727 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mike Raven, Richard Hurndall, George Merritt, Kenneth J. Warren | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| I, Robot | 2004 | Alex Proyas | ★★½ | 115 | In the year 2035, Chicago cop Smith harbors a deep resentment toward the robots that have become ubiquitous as servants and laborers in American society. When a prominent scientist dies, he (and he alone) suspects foul play, and won't rest until he connects the dots at the monopolistic corporation that manufactures and sells the robots. Interesting premise is squandered in this obvious and overlong film, with cartoonish special effects and too many Will Smith-isms. 'Suggested' by Isaac Asimov's classic short story collection. | tt0343818 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Shia LaBeouf, Adrian L. Ricard, Alex Tudyk | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| I, the Jury | 1953 | Harry Essex | ★★½ | 87 | Screen debut of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (and Elliot as well) finds the thuggish sleuth spending his Christmas holidays hunting down the killer of a close pal. Naturally, more corpses ensue. Dark-humored fun, with a moody Franz Waxman score and stunning 3-D photography by John Alton, including some eye-popping shots inside L.A.'s famed Bradbury Building. Screenplay by Essex. Remade in 1982. | tt0045902 | Biff Elliot, Preston Foster, Peggie Castle, Elisha Cook/Jr., John Qualen | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| I, the Jury | 1982 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★ | 111 | Mickey Spillane's hard-boiled Mike Hammer seems out of place in this updated remake, though contemporary levels of violence and nudity suit the material. Lots of action and some truly beautiful women help camouflage the holes in Larry Cohen's script; Assante is a sulky Hammer. | tt0084112 | [R] | Armand Assante, Barbara Carrera, Alan King, Laurene Landon, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Sorvino, Judson Scott | Adventure, Crime | NULL | ||
| I.Q. | 1994 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★ | 95 | Pleasant romantic comedy (perhaps too 'cute' for some viewers) about a garage mechanic who falls in love with a customer at first sight, and gets some unusual matchmaking help from her uncle— Albert Einstein! Likable performances by well-matched Robbins and Ryan, with Matthau having fun as the cagey Professor. Set in 1950s Princeton, N.J. | tt0110099 | [PG] | Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Walter Matthau, Lou Jacobi, Gene Saks, Joseph Maher, Stephen Fry, Tony Shalhoub, Frank Whaley, Keene Curtis, Charles Durning, Alice Playten, Danny Zorn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ice Age | 2002 | Chris Wedge | ★★★ | 81 | Funny, imaginative computer-animated feature that's sort of a prehistoric THREE GODFATHERS, with a woolly mammoth and a loopy sloth named Sid trying to return a human baby to its tribe. They're joined by a saber-toothed tiger whose motives aren't so altruistic. Distinctively designed, with humor geared for young and old alike. Leguizamo's vocal performance as Sid is a riot. Wonderful score by David Newman. | tt0268380 | [PG] | Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Tara Strong, Cedric the Entertainer, Stephen Root, Jane Krakowski | Adventure, Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | 2009 | Carlos Saldanha | ★★★ | 93 | There's a greater emphasis on thrills and spills in this third go-round, as our CG-animated heroes wander into an underground realm where supposedly extinct prehistoric creatures are alive and well—and, quite often, ravenously hungry. A swashbuckling weasel amusingly voiced by Pegg is the latest addition to the cast, but even he can't upstage old favorites Manny, Diego, and Sid. Neatly balances witty wordplay, rambunctious slapstick, and action sequences worthy of comparison to similar spectacle in live-action features. 3-D. | tt1080016 | [PG] | Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Simon Pegg, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Bill Hader, Chris Wedge | Comedy, Animation, Family, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ice Age: The Meltdown | 2006 | Carlos Saldanha | ★★½ | 90 | In this sequel, our heroes learn that the ice around them is melting and they'd better move or be flooded out. Along the way, Manny (possibly the last of his species) encounters a fetching female wooly mammoth who thinks she's a possum! CG-animated family fare lacks the freshness of the original (and makes Diego the sabertooth tiger rather toothless), but it's enjoyable enough. The misadventures of Scrat, the hapless rodent from the first film, punctuate this story. | tt0438097 | [PG] | Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Will Arnett, Jay Leno, Stephen Root, Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Ice Castles | 1979 | Donald Wrye | ★★★ | 109 | Successful ice skating career of Iowa farm girl is interrupted after she is blinded in freak accident. Tops for the disease/affliction genre, with well-photographed skating sequences and good performances by all. | tt0077716 | [PG] | Lynn-Holly Johnson, Robby Benson, Colleen Dewhurst, Tom Skerritt, Jennifer Warren, David Huffman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ice Follies of 1939 | 1939 | Reinhold Schunzel | ★★ | 93 | Stewart and Ayres are skating partners who split after Jimmy marries Joan; rather than risk hurting their act and getting in the way of Jimmy's dream to start a musical ice revue, she goes off on her own and becomes a movie star overnight! Strange pastiche obviously concocted by MGM to showcase Shipstad and Johnson's Ice Follies show— complete with a (boring) Technicolor finale. | tt0031470 | Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Lew Ayres, Lewis Stone, Bess Ehrhardt, Lionel Stander, Roy Shipstad, Eddie Shipstad, Oscar Johnson | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Ice Harvest | 2005 | Harold Ramis | ★★ | 88 | A recounting of how a 'perfect' crime goes awry one Christmas Eve introduces us to a variety of lowlifes in Wichita, Kansas, including lawyer Cusack and porn purveyor Thornton, who've been skimming money from their boss. Mostly unfunny black comedy must have worked better on the pages of Scott Phillips' novel, adapted by the film's coexecutive producers Richard Russo and Robert Benton. | tt0400525 | [R] | John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Platt, Randy Quaid, Mike Starr, T.J. Jagodowski | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ice Palace | 1960 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 143 | Typically sprawling (and silly) Edna Ferber saga of two men whose friendship turns to bitter rivalry, and whose lives parallel the development of Alaska. Watchable, to be sure, but hokey from start to finish. | tt0053936 | Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Carolyn Jones, Martha Hyer, Jim Backus, Ray Danton, Shirley Knight, Diane McBain, Karl Swenson, George Takei | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ice Pirates | 1984 | Stewart Raffill | ★★ | 91 | Spoofy blend of space opera and swashbuckler, set in an arid future where water has become the most precious of commodities. Script vacillates between clever and half-baked; claustrophobic direction (which won't help on TV) keeps this from being more than a passable rainy-afternoon flick. | tt0087451 | [PG] | Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, John Matuszak, Anjelica Huston, Ron Perlman, John Carradine, Robert Symonds | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Ice Princess | 2005 | Tim Fywell. | ★★★ | 92 | High school science whiz applies her intellectual curiosity to a study of ice skating and unexpectedly becomes a competitive skater, to the chagrin of her mom, a feminist teacher who has no respect for the sport. Entertaining film for young audiences realistically portrays teenage life, parental pressures, the harsh reality of competition, and the exhilaration of pursuing something you love. Real-life Olympic skating champs Michelle Kwan and Brian Boitano appear as themselves. | tt0396652 | [G] | Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden Panettiere, Trevor Blumas, Connie Ray, Kirsten Olson, Juliana Cannarozzo, Jocelyn Lai. | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Ice Rink | 1999 | Jean-Philippe Toussaint | ★★★ | 77 | Cineastes will savor this witty, allegorical film about the making of a movie, completely set in the title locale. Cast includes a sultry French leading lady (Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie), a Hollywood action-hero leading man, and Lithuanian hockey players; the filmmaking process is amusingly portrayed as organized chaos. | tt0120785 |
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Tom Novembre, Mireille Perrier, Bruce Campbell, Dolores Chaplin, Marie-France Pisier, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Gilbert Melki, Dominique Deruddere | French-Belgian-Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Ice Station Zebra | 1968 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 148 | Standard Cold War nail-biter with all-male cast has Hudson a sub commander sailing for North Pole to await orders, not knowing that Cold War incident will ensue; McGoohan a British agent out to trap a Russian spy. Based on the Alistair MacLean novel; originally in Cinerama. Infamous as Howard Hughes' favorite movie! | tt0063121 | [G] | Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown, Tony Bill, Lloyd Nolan | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Ice Storm | 1997 | Ang Lee | ★★½ | 113 | Icy adaptation of Rick Moody's much-praised novel about a real-life ice storm in 1973 and how it parallels activities in upscale New Canaan, Connecticut. A sober and absorbing chronicle of sexuality— repressed and unleashed— in '70s suburbia (love those clothes!), but also somewhat clinical and off-putting, until the heartrending finale. A film one can admire without actually enjoying. | tt0119349 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, Henry Czerny, Adam Hann-Byrd, Tobey Maguire, Jamey Sheridan, Kate Burton, Larry Pine, Katie Holmes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Iceland | 1942 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 79 | Labored love story defeats this Henie musical, although skating and singing interludes are pleasant; song hit, 'There Will Never Be Another You.' | tt0034886 | Sonja Henie, John Payne, Jack Oakie, Felix Bressart, Osa Massen, Joan Merrill | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Iceman | 1984 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★½ | 99 | A Neanderthal man is found frozen in ice. Scientists manage to bring him back to life, but only Hutton is interested in him as a human being and not a lab specimen. Fascinating, credible science fiction made all the more involving by Schepisi's fine direction. Haunting score by Bruce Smeaton; remarkable performance as the caveman by Lone. Story by John Drimmer; scripted by Chip Proser and Drimmer. | tt0087452 | [PG] | Timothy Hutton, Lindsay Crouse, John Lone, Josef Sommer, David Strathairn, Danny Glover, James Tolkan | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Iceman Cometh | 1973 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★½ | 178 | Remarkably successful film of Eugene O'Neill's play about assorted barflies in a 1912 saloon; Marvin's Hickey is only adequate, but Ryan dominates an outstanding supporting cast. An American Film Theatre production. First shown at 239m. This was March's last film. | tt0070212 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Martyn Green, Moses Gunn, Bradford Dillman, Evans Evans | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Icicle Thief | 1989 | Maurizio Nichetti | ★★½ | 85 | Ingenious satire of contemporary commercialism— and disrespect for the art of film on television— has Nichetti's BICYCLE THIEF-type drama being presented on TV with so many commercials that soon no one can separate the program from the ads . . . including the actors in the film! Nichetti plays with his audience, often amusingly, but pulls the rug out from under a bit too often. | tt0097702 | Maurizio Nichetti, Caterina Sylos Labini, Heidi Komarek, Renato Scarpa | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Idaho | 1943 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 70 | Local judge (Shannon) wants to clean up the community for the sake of his Boys' Town, but outlaws passing through know a secret from his past and use it against him. Meanwhile, Roy has competition for the attentions of the judge's daughter. Lots of music but too little action in this Rogers vehicle. | tt0036033 | Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Virginia Grey, Harry Shannon, Ona Munson, Dick Purcell, Onslow Stevens, Arthur Hohl, Hal Taliaferro, Robert Mitchell Boy Choir, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| An Ideal Husband | 1948 | Alexander Korda | ★★½ | 96 | Oscar Wilde's drawing room comedy receives classy presentation but is slow-moving. Remade in 1999. | tt0039485 | Paulette Goddard, Michael Wilding, Diana Wynyard, C. Aubrey Smith, Glynis Johns, Michael Medwin | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Ideal Husband | 1999 | Oliver Parker | ★★★ | 96 | Delightful revision of Oscar Wilde's classic 1895 comedy about a stalwart Member of Parliament who becomes a blackmail target— and can't stand the idea that his devoted wife will find him less than perfect. One couldn't ask for a more attractive or appealing cast, though Everett practically steals the film with his effortless insouciance. | tt0122541 | [PG-13] | Cate Blanchett, Rupert Everett, Jeremy Northam, Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver, John Wood, Jeroen Krabbé, Peter Vaughan, Lindsay Duncan | British-U.S. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Identification of a Woman | 1982 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★½ | 128 | A familiar Antonioni theme— alienation and the difficulty of initiating relationships in contemporary society— is explored in this low-key tale of a movie director (Milian) and his involvement with two women. Atmospheric, allegorical film of interest mostly to Antonioni diehards. Released in the U.S. in 1996. | tt0084116 | Tomas Milian, Daniela Silverio, Christine Boisson, Sandra Monteleoni, Giampaolo Saccarola | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Identity | 2003 | James Mangold | ★½ | 90 | A group of seemingly unrelated people find themselves holed up in a fleabag motel on a stormy night with a psycho killer on the loose— or so it seems. Means to be clever but at its core is a harsh, unrelentingly ugly rip-off of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. Also hampered by clichéd characters and some truly dumb dialogue. A good cast is wasted. | tt0309698 | [R] | John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Rebecca De Mornay, Alfred Molina, John C. McGinley, Clea DuVall, Jake Busey, William Lee Scott, Leila Kenzle, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Matt Letscher, Bret Loehr, Holmes Osborne | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Identity Crisis | 1990 | Melvin Van Peebles | 💣 | 98 | Crude, messy pseudo-farce, in which the spirit of a white, stereotypically effeminate fashion designer is mysteriously transferred into the body of black, stereotypically superhip rapper. Excruciating and, ultimately, boring. Scripted by Mario; produced by Melvin (who appears as a police inspector). | tt0099825 | [R] | Mario Van Peebles, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Nicholas Kepros, Shelley Burch, Rick Aviles, Stephen J. Cannell, Olivia Brown, Larry 'Bud' Melman, Bobby Rivers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Identity Unknown | 1945 | Walter Colmes. | ★★½ | 71 | Occasionally moving but uneven psychological drama about a soldier with amnesia, who treks around the country attempting to discover his identity. The scenes with young Driscoll, who thinks Arlen's his dad, are a highlight. | tt0037811 | Richard Arlen, Cheryl Walker, Roger Pryor, Bobby Driscoll, Lola Lane, Ian Keith, John Forrest, Sarah Padden. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ides of March | 2011 | George Clooney | ★★ | 101 | Idealistic press secretary Gosling makes some crucial mistakes (both personal and professional) while working on the presidential primary campaign of a man he genuinely believes in, a popular governor (Clooney). Purported inside look at backroom politics covers awfully familiar ground and offers no real surprises; with a cast of this caliber it's easy to take but still doesn't add up to much. Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon adapted and expanded Willimon's play Farragut North. | tt1124035 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle, Gregory Itzin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Idiocracy | 2006 | Mike Judge | ★★½ | 84 | It's as simple as this: stupid people procreate at a much greater rate than smart people, so in just a few years the U.S. will be overpopulated with idiots. When a military experiment sends Wilson and Rudolph 500 years into the future, even they are stupefied by the moronic state of affairs that has all but paralyzed society. Smart, funny ideas by Judge and cowriter Etan Cohen can't quite keep this scattershot movie afloat, but it's got some laugh-out-loud moments. Barely released to theaters. Stephen Root appears unbilled. | tt0387808 | [R] | Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, Terry Alan Crews, David Herman, Andrew Wilson, Brad 'Scarface' Jordan, Justin Long, Thomas Haden Church, Sara Rue; narrated by Earl Mann | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Idiot's Delight | 1939 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 105 | Disparate characters— including a tacky vaudevillian and his one-time flame, who's come up in the world— are forced to share each other's company in a hotel near the Italian border as WW2 is about to erupt. Robert E. Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize- winning play is badly dated, an interesting period piece, notable for its pacifist ideals . . . but frankly more interesting for Gable's famous song-and-dance routine to 'Puttin' on the Ritz.' Alternate ending for European release was added to U.S. laserdisc. | tt0031473 | Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Edward Arnold, Charles Coburn, Joseph Schildkraut, Burgess Meredith, Virginia Grey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Idiot | 1951 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 166 | Kurosawa coscripted this updated version of the Dostoyevsky novel, about a prince and his friend who both love the same woman. Dramatically uneven (because the release version was edited down from Kurosawa's original cut), but there are enough flashes of brilliance to make it worthwhile. | tt0043614 | Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Setsuko Hara, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Idiots | 1998 | Lars von Trier | ★½ | 114 | Pretending to be mentally handicapped, a group of 20-ish dropouts boorishly disrupt restaurants and swimming pools to gain gratis treatment. Too dull to be controversial, this was the first Danish film shot under the 'pure cinema' manifesto called Dogma 95; the results look about as groundbreaking in a modern context as Vitaphone. One character talks about trying to find his 'inner idiot,' which, of course, Jerry Lewis has been doing for half a century. | tt0154421 | [R] | Bodil Jorgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing, Troels Lyby, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Henrik Prip | Danish-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Idle Hands | 1999 | Rodman Flender | ★½ | 90 | Lazy, dope-smoking teenager Sawa discovers that his right hand is possessed and a killer. He, or it, murders his parents and his two best friends, then he tries to remedy matters. Horror comedy (with ideas reminiscent of many other films, notably EVIL DEAD II) is doomed by too many crude and genuinely tasteless jokes. | tt0138510 | [R] | Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba, Fred Willard, Jack Noseworthy, Vivica A. Fox | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Idlewild | 2006 | Bryan Barber | ★½ | 120 | Train wreck of a musical featuring the hip-hop duo OutKast set in Prohibition-era Georgia. Patton is a smooth talker who runs a nightclub and performs; Benjamin is a stifled mortician's son who moonlights as a pianist and songwriter. Writer-director Barber's self-consciously cool shots can't make up for long-winded, heavy-handed storytelling and clichéd dialogue. Fragmented song-and-dance numbers unsuccessfully try to merge 1930s swing and hip-hop. Benjamin's climactic song-performed during an embalming ceremony-has to be seen to be disbelieved. | tt0417225 | [R] | André Benjamin, Antwan A. Patton, Paula Patton, Terrence Howard, Malinda Williams, Macy Gray, Ben Vereen, Ving Rhames, Faizon Love, Patti LaBelle, Cicely Tyson, Bill Nunn, Paula Jai Parker | Crime, Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Idol | 1966 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 107 | Trash about worthless type who makes it with both mother and girl of his best friend; interesting only as chance to see latter-day Jones and watch Parks try to ape James Dean. Filmed in England. | tt0060533 | Jennifer Jones, Michael Parks, John Leyton, Jennifer Hilary, Guy Doleman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Idolmaker | 1980 | Taylor Hackford | ★★½ | 119 | Fictionalized bio of rock producer Bob Marcucci, who guided (pushed?) Frankie Avalon and Fabian to stardom in the late '50s. A great idea overcome by a script that builds momentum and then drops the ball. Good performances, sharp direction, though little period flavor (even in rock vet Jeff Barry's slick music score). | tt0080913 | [PG] | Ray Sharkey, Tovah Feldshuh, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Joe Pantoliano, Maureen McCormick, Olympia Dukakis | Drama | NULL | ||
| If Ever I See You Again | 1978 | Joe Brooks | ★½ | 105 | Producer-director-writer-composer-arranger-conductor Brooks' follow-up to his mediocre YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE is even worse; this time he stars, as a songwriter trying to rekindle old flame with Hack (in her starring movie debut). Breslin should stick to his typewriter. | tt0077720 | [PG] | Joe Brooks, Shelley Hack, Jimmy Breslin, Jerry Keller, George Plimpton, Danielle Brisebois | Romance | NULL | ||
| If He Hollers, Let Him Go | Dead Right | 1968 | Charles Martin | ★½ | 106 | Prison escapee St. Jacques tries to clear himself of false rape-murder charge. Lots of clichés, plus McNair's celebrated nude scenes. Aka DEAD RIGHT. | tt0063124 | [R] | Raymond St. Jacques, Kevin McCarthy, Barbara McNair, Dana Wynter, Arthur O'Connell, John Russell, Ann Prentiss, Royal Dano | Crime | NULL | |
| If I Had My Way | 1940 | David Butler | ★★½ | 94 | Title tune is chief asset of pleasant but standard Crosby vehicle in which he helps little Gloria find her guardian, vaudevillian Winninger. | tt0032624 | Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, Charles Winninger, El Brendel, Allyn Joslyn, Claire Dodd | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| If I Had a Million | 1932 | James Cruze, H. Bruce Humberstone, Stephen Roberts, William A. Seiter, Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★½ | 83 | Wealthy Bennett gives that sum to various people; all the episodes are good, but the most famous are Laughton's worm-turning and Fields' revenge on road hogs. | tt0023049 | Gary Cooper, George Raft, Mary Boland, Charles Laughton, W. C. Fields, Wynne Gibson, Gene Raymond, Charlie Ruggles, Alison Skipworth, Jack Oakie, Frances Dee, Richard Bennett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| If I Were Free | 1933 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 66 | Dunne and Brook shine as lovers trying to break away from their respective failing marriages. First-rate cast and production do wonders with tearjerker material. | tt0024170 | Irene Dunne, Clive Brook, Nils Asther, Henry Stephenson, Vivian Tobin, Tempe Pigott, Lorraine MacLean, Laura Hope Crews, Halliwell Hobbes | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| If I Were King | 1938 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 101 | Colman (with that inimitable voice) is ideally cast as the French poet-rogue François Villon, who matches wits with the crafty King Louis XI (Rathbone) and falls hopelessly in love with a lady-in-waiting (Dee). Forget historical accuracy; this is just good entertainment. Scripted by Preston Sturges. Filmed before in 1920 and, as the operetta THE VAGABOND KING, in 1930 and again in 1956. Villon was also played by John Barrymore in THE BELOVED ROGUE (1927). | tt0030265 | Ronald Colman, Frances Dee, Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, C. V. France, Henry Wilcoxon, Heather Thatcher, Sidney Toler | Adventure | NULL | |||
| If I'm Lucky | 1946 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 79 | James' band is broke and unemployed, and becomes involved with politician Buchanan's 'common man' campaign. Paper-thin remake of THANKS A MILLION, occasionally uplifted by Silvers' and Miranda's spunk. | tt0038632 | Vivian Blaine, Perry Como, Harry James, Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Edgar Buchanan, Reed Hadley | Musical | NULL | |||
| If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium | 1969 | Mel Stuart | ★★★ | 99 | Funny study of Americans abroad on quickie tour; filmed throughout Europe. Host of cameos sprinkled throughout. Rehashed as a TV movie in 1987. | tt0064471 | [G] | Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, Mildred Natwick, Murray Hamilton, Sandy Baron, Michael Constantine, Norman Fell, Peggy Cass, Joan Collins | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| If Looks Could Kill | 1991 | William Dear | ★★ | 88 | Class clown is mistaken for a top undercover agent while touring Paris with his high school class; standard flunk-out slapstick ensues. Negligible, though Hunt adds a touch of class as a whip-wielding villainess. | tt0102095 | [PG-13] | Richard Grieco, Linda Hunt, Roger Rees, Robin Bartlett, Gabrielle Anwar, Geraldine James, Carole Davis, Roger Daltrey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| If Lucy Fell | 1996 | Eric Schaeffer | ★½ | 94 | Puerile 'romantic comedy,' with writer-director Schaeffer playing an artist of arrested emotional development who shares an apartment with Parker, a therapist (!) with whom he also shares a 'death pact,' if neither one has found the perfect mate by the age of 30. Any resemblance between these characters and actual human beings is strictly coincidental. Schaeffer isn't dumb, however; he wrote himself a makeout scene with supermodel Macpherson. | tt0116606 | [R] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Eric Schaeffer, Ben Stiller, Elle Macpherson, James Rebhorn, Robert John Burke, David Thornton, Dominic Chianese, Mujibur Rahman, Sirajul Islam | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| If These Walls Could Talk | 1996 | Nancy Savoca, Cher | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Strong abortion-themed trilogy about three women (coexecutive producer Moore in the '50s, Spacek in the '70s, Heche in the '90s) and the ways they deal with unplanned pregnancies in different social and political climates. Cher made her directing debut with the third tale and turns up in a red wig as an abortion clinic doctor. Nancy Savoca, director of the first two stories, wrote or cowrote all three. Followed in 2000 by a sequel. | tt0116607 | Demi Moore, Shirley Knight, Kevin Cooney, CCH Pounder, Sissy Spacek, Xander Berkeley, Joanna Gleason, Hedy Burress, Diana Scarwid, Lindsay Crouse, Anne Heche, Eileen Brennan, Jada Pinkett, Craig T. Nelson, Cher | Drama | NULL | |||
| If These Walls Could Talk 2 | 2000 | Jane Anderson, Martha Coolidge, Anne Heche | Above Average TV Movie | 96 | Follow-up to the acclaimed original features another trio of women's stories in three different decades, this time focusing on lesbianism. The best is the first, featuring Redgrave in a heartbreaking, Emmy Award-winning performance as a woman who loses everything when her lover dies. | tt0206036 | Vanessa Redgrave, Ellen DeGeneres, Sharon Stone, Chloë Sevigny, Michelle Williams, Nia Long, Natasha Lyonne, Marian Seldes, Elizabeth Perkins, Paul Giamatti, Regina King, Kathy Najimy, Mitchell Anderson | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| If This Be Sin | 1949 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 98 | Maudlin multi-love-affair story set on isle of Capri. Original British title: THAT DANGEROUS AGE. | tt0041501 | Roger Livesey, Myrna Loy, Peggy Cummins, Richard Greene, Elizabeth Allan | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| If Winter Comes | 1947 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 97 | Good cast fails to enliven wooden drama about a crisis in the life of kindly, highly principled Pidgeon, living in a stuffy small town outside London and trapped in a marriage to coldhearted Lansbury. | tt0039486 | Walter Pidgeon, Deborah Kerr, Angela Lansbury, Binnie Barnes, Janet Leigh, Dame May Whitty, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| If You Could Only Cook | 1935 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 70 | Arthur and Marshall are superb team in this delightful comedy of wealthy automobile tycoon/inventor and penniless woman, who, for complex reasons, become mobster Carrillo's maid and butler. This film wrongly carried Frank Capra's name as director in many European prints as a fraudulent studio effort to exploit his massive popularity. | tt0026519 | Herbert Marshall, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo, Lionel Stander, Alan Edwards | Comedy | NULL | |||
| If You Could See What I Hear | 1982 | Eric Till. | ★★ | 103 | Well-intentioned but overly cute, ultimately unreal biography of Tom Sullivan (Singer), the writer, composer, athlete, TV personality and Renaissance man who happens to be blind. | tt0084117 | [PG] | Marc Singer, R. H. Thompson, Sarah Torgov, Shari Belafonte Harper, Douglas Campbell, Helen Burns. | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| If You Knew Susie | 1948 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 90 | Weak film of show biz couple is a delight for Cantor-Davis fans but pointless for others. | tt0040464 | Eddie Cantor, Joan Davis, Allyn Joslyn, Charles Dingle | Comedy | NULL | |||
| If a Man Answers | 1962 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 102 | Trite pap of Dee and Darin (then married in real life) trying to outdo each other with jealousy-baiting antics. | tt0056093 | Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Micheline Presle, John Lund, Cesar Romero, Stefanie Powers, Christopher Knight, Charlene Holt | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Igby Goes Down | 2002 | Burr Steers | ★★½ | 97 | Somber comedy-drama about a screwed-up rich kid with a nutty mother and a schizophrenic father; he refuses to stay in school and won't listen to anyone, least of all his preppie older brother. As a result, he's kicked around, literally and figuratively, by life in general and most of the people he meets. Some striking vignettes but not a successful film on the whole; Culkin's fine performance helps, along with a talented cast. Written by the director. Gore Vidal makes a cameo appearance. | tt0280760 | [R] | Kieran Culkin, Ryan Phillippe, Claire Danes, Amanda Peet, Jeff Goldblum, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman, Celia Weston, Bill Irwin, Rory Culkin, Jared Harris | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Igor | 2008 | Anthony Leondis | ★★½ | 87 | Mad scientist's hunchbacked lab assistant takes over when his master unexpectedly dies. With the help of a sarcastic laboratory rabbit and a fussy robot, Igor creates a she-monster and later saves the kingdom from an evil ruler. Lots of lightning and electrical effects . . . but nothing comes to life. Mediocre computer-generated animated feature feels like a Tim Burton wannabe without any of Burton’s style or appeal. | tt0465502 | [PG] | Voices of John Cusack, Jennifer Coolidge, John Cleese, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, Sean Hayes, Eddie Izzard, Jay Leno, Christian Slater | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Ikiru | 1952 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 143 | Minor bureaucrat Shimura, dying of cancer, searches for meaning in his life. Thoughtful, poignant examination of loneliness, with a brilliant performance by Shimura. Serves as inspiration for LIFE AS A HOUSE. | tt0044741 | Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoko Seki, Miki Odagiri, Yunosuke Ito | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Il Divo | 2008 | Paolo Sorrentino | ★★★ | 113 | Factual, contemporary saga of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti unfolds as if a Borgia were one of the President's Men. A seemingly mild-mannered hypochondriac, he secretly colludes with the Mafia while publicly decrying them, and thus is the concrete centerpiece in a flashy, violent gangster flick about deceptive, Machiavellian politicians. Helpful on-screen character IDs somewhat clarify an almost incomprehensibly complex epic that is otherwise delivered with bloody, juicy brio. Written by the director. Full title is IL DIVO: THE SPECTACULAR LIFE OF GUILIO ANDREOTTI. | tt1023490 | [NR] | Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, Giulio Bosetti, Flavio Bucci, Carlo Buccirosso, Piera Degli Esposti, Massimo Popolizio, Aldo Ralli | Italian-French | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| Il Grido | 1957 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★½ | 115 | Leisurely paced yet compelling study of Cochran's mental disintegration due to lack of communication with those he loves; Cochran is quite good. Aka THE OUTCRY. | tt0050458 | Steve Cochran, Alida Valli, Dorian Gray, Betsy Blair, Lyn Shaw | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Il Posto | 1961 | Ermanno Olmi. | ★★★½ | 93 | This early Olmi feature has something of the feel of early Truffaut and Milos Forman in its portrayal of everyday life with its tiny triumphs and failures. Simple story concerns a teenaged boy getting his first job and meeting a girl, but the beauty of the film is in the loving and perceptive observation of human behavior. A small-scale gem. | tt0055320 | Sandro Panseri, Loredana Detto, Tullio Kezich, Mara Revel. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Illegal | 1955 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 88 | Former D.A. Robinson becomes criminal attorney with gangster client, but lays reputation— and life— on the line to defend former assistant Foch for homicide. Valiant attempt to recapture spark of earlier Robinson vehicles; remake of THE MOUTHPIECE. | tt0048199 | Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe, Jayne Mansfield, Albert Dekker, Ellen Corby, DeForest Kelley, Howard St. John | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Illegal Entry | 1949 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 84 | Harsh narrative of federal agent assigned to uncover smuggling racket. | tt0041502 | Howard Duff, Marta Toren, George Brent, Gar Moore | Action, Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Illegal Tender | 2007 | Franc. Reyes | ★★ | 108 | N.Y.C. drug dealer is gunned down the same night his wife gives birth. Twenty years later, the mother is living a nice life in a suburb with her college-student son. When thugs arrive to finish off a job started two decades earlier, she shows her true colors, turning into a pistol-packing mama. Pulpy, Latin-flavored melodrama has lots of fireworks and a good performance by De Jesus, but is brought down by mindless violence and an incredulous plotline that wallows in stereotypes. | tt0775488 | [R] | Rick Gonzalez, Wanda De Jesus, Dania Ramirez, Antonio Ortiz, Tego Calderon, Jessica Pimentel, Manny Perez | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Illegal Traffic | 1938 | Louis King. | ★★★ | 66 | Federal agent Preston goes undercover to get the goods on Naish, who runs a transport company that specializes in smuggling criminals out of danger in exchange for a hefty cut of their loot. Crackling cops-and-robbers stuff is one of the best of Paramount's G-Men films of the period. | tt0030266 | J. Carrol Naish, Mary Carlisle, Robert Preston, Judith Barrett, Pierre Watkin, Larry (Buster) Crabbe, Richard Denning, Richard Stanley (Dennis Morgan). | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Illegal in Blue | 1994 | Stu Segall | ★★½ | 94 | Cop Gauthier, on leave without pay after turning in some crooked coworkers, becomes involved with a sultry nightclub singer (Dash) who may or may not have murdered her husband. Atmospheric 1990s film noir is occasionally illogical but fun nonetheless, and quite sexy. Available on video in R and unrated versions. | tt0113388 | [R] | Stacey Dash, Dan Gauthier, Louis Giambalvo, Trevor Goddard, Michael Durrell, Sandra Reinhardt, David Groh, Raye Birk | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Illegally Yours | 1988 | Peter Bogdanovich | 💣 | 102 | Juror Lowe is shocked to see that defendant Camp was once the girl he lusted for in elementary school, and snoops around on his own to clear her of the charge. Barely released, painfully unfunny farce, with Bogdanovich still trying to emulate Howard Hawks; how bizarre to see pratfalling Lowe (in glasses) aping Ryan O'Neal in WHAT'S UP DOC?— who, in turn, was aping Cary Grant in BRINGING UP BABY. | tt0095357 | [PG] | Rob Lowe, Colleen Camp, Harry Carey/Jr., Kenneth Mars, Kim Myers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Illicit | 1931 | Archie Mayo | ★½ | 81 | Independent-minded Stanwyck loves Rennie, but doesn't want marriage to taint her happiness. Boring, badly directed, overly talky 'talkie.' Remade two years later as EX-LADY. | tt0021992 | Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, Joan Blondell, Charles Butterworth, Natalie Moorhead | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Illicit Interlude | Summerplay | 1951 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 94 | Moody film using flashback retells Nilsson's romance with now-dead lover, and its relationship to her present frame of mind. Original title: SUMMERPLAY; video title: SUMMER INTERLUDE. | tt0044060 | Maj-Britt Nilsson, Alf Kjellin, Birger Malmsten, Georg Funkquist | Swedish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Illuminata | 1999 | John Turturro | ★★ | 111 | Life, love, lust, and ambition in a theatrical troupe in turn-of-the-20th-century N.Y.C. (although the flavor is distinctly European). Playwright Turturro is in love with the company's star/manager, and longs to have her perform his latest play. Lively, even campy, roles for a fine cast spark this good-looking but often lumbering production, which plays like a French farce in slow motion. Turturro coscripted with Brandon Cole, based on the latter's play. | tt0120709 | [R] | John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, Rufus Sewell, Beverly D'Angelo, Donal McCann, Georgina Cates, Ben Gazzara, Aida Turturro | Drama | NULL | ||
| Illusion Travels by Streetcar | 1953 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★½ | 90 | Two transit workers steal a streetcar destined for the scrap heap, take it on one last run, picking up odd assortment of passengers. Agreeable (if lesser) Buñuel fable. | tt0045907 | Lilia Prado, Carlos Navarro, Domingo Soler, Fernando Soto, Agustin Isunza. | Mexican | Comedy, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Illusionist | 2006 | Neil Burger | ★★½ | 109 | In turn-of-20th-century Vienna the imperious Crown Prince Leopold (Sewell) sees a master stage magician (Norton) as a threat-especially when it's clear that the Prince's fiancée (Biel) is smitten with the illusionist. Intriguing story lets down toward the end and becomes disappointingly ordinary. Giamatti is especially good as a tenacious police inspector. Based on a short story by Steven Millhauser. Music by Philip Glass. | tt0443543 | [PG-13] | Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Edward Marsan, Jake Wood, Tom Fisher | Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Illusionist | 2010 | Sylvain Chomet | ★★½ | 80 | A down-and-out vaudeville magician, who now plays seedy theaters, finds acceptance on a Scottish island—and from a waiflike girl who attaches herself to him as a father figure. They move to Edinburgh and try to start a new life together, but fate pulls them in different directions. Chomet (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE) brings Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot to vivid life again in animated form, adapting an unproduced Tati script (and providing the music score), but despite moments of charm and whimsy it’s slow and emotionally distant. Combining animation techniques produces a strange visual effect as well . . . but the film has its fervent supporters. | tt0775489 | [PG] | British-French | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Illustrated Man | 1969 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 103 | Young wanderer Drivas meets tattooed man Steiger, searching for the strange woman (Bloom), who 'illustrated' his entire body. The wanderer sees futuristic tales in three of the illustrations, all of which also star Steiger and/or Bloom and Drivas. Disappointing, slow-paced adaptation of stories from Ray Bradbury. | tt0064473 | [M] | Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Robert Drivas, Don Dubbins, Jason Evers, Tim Weldon, Christie Matchett | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Imagemaker | 1986 | Hal Wiener | ★★ | 93 | The President's ex-media adviser, still reeling from his wife's death, has an audio tape that could incriminate his former boss; genuine or bogus, people are literally dying to get their hands on it. A muddled mess, though a sometimes entertaining one; high point is a hilariously melodramatic scene on a Washington talk show. Twomey good as an ambitious TV reporter. | tt0091259 | [R] | Michael Nouri, Jerry Orbach, Jessica Harper, Anne Twomey, Farley Granger, Maury Povich, Marcia Gay Harden |
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| Images | 1972 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 101 | Difficult but fascinating film about a troubled woman who tries to sort out her life; images of reality and fantasy clash in a kind of continuous hallucination. Off-putting at first, but worth the effort to hang on. Filmed in Ireland. | tt0068732 | [R] | Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi, Hugh Millais, Cathryn Harrison | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | 2009 | Terry Gilliam | ★★½ | 122 | An old man who harbors dark secrets presides over a quaint traveling show that offers spectators a chance to explore their imagination—be it dark or light—by stepping through a magic mirror. Visually impressive metaphoric muddle offers colorful set pieces, if not a fully satisfying story. Ledger died during production, so Depp, Law, and Farrell play his alter egos on the other side of the mirror—a conceit that actually works to the film's benefit. Gilliam coscripted with Charles McKeown. | tt1054606 | [PG-13] | Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell | British-French-Canadian | Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Imaginary Crimes | 1994 | Anthony Drazan | ★★½ | 105 | Thoughtful, moving (if ultimately overly familiar) coming-of-age story with Keitel doing well as a hustler-dreamer who tries to be the best father he can to his two motherless daughters: drab 17-year-old Balk and younger sister Moss. Lynch shines in her few flashback scenes as the family's deceased wife-mother. | tt0110115 | [PG] | Harvey Keitel, Fairuza Balk, Kelly Lynch, Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Moss, Diane Baker, Christopher Penn, Amber Benson, Seymour Cassel, Annette O'Toole | Drama | NULL | ||
| Imaginary Heroes | 2004 | Dan Harris | ★★½ | 111 | A shape-shifting drama laced with dark humor about a suburban family struck by tragedy. A strong-willed mother, a disconsolate father, and an emotionally fragile brother each struggles to cope with his own demons and each other. Writer-director Harris (in his feature debut) presents a dysfunctional family to match any in ancient Greek tragedy, with mixed results— but superior performances. | tt0373024 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch, Jeff Daniels, Michelle Williams, Kip Pardue, Deirdre O'Connell, Ryan Donowho, Suzanne Santo, Jay Paulson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Imagine Me & You | 2006 | Ol Parker | ★★½ | 93 | Amiable romance with a twist: Perabo weds her longtime boyfriend, only to question her feelings for him when she senses a mutual attraction with the woman hired to provide flowers for their nuptials. Generally winning exploration of the unpredictability of life and love is hampered only by the formulaic (and highly unlikely) finale. | tt0421994 | [R] | Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, Celia Imrie, Anthony (Stewart) Head, Darren Boyd, Sue Johnston, Eva Birthistle, Ruth Sheen | British-German | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Imagine That | 2009 | Karey Kirkpatrick | ★★½ | 107 | Lightweight but likable fantasy about a stressed-for-success financial manager (Murphy) whose precocious preteen daughter (Shahidi) claims access to "invisible playmates" with exceptionally prescient investment advice. Mildly amusing, albeit a trifle bland; arguably the most innocuous movie of Murphy's career. Aptly chosen covers of Beatles songs pepper the soundtrack. | tt0780567 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Thomas Haden Church, Yara Shahidi, Ronny Cox, Nicole Ari Parker, Vanessa Williams, Martin Sheen, Stephen Root, Richard Schiff | U.S.-British-German | Drama, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Imagine: John Lennon | 1988 | Andrew Solt | ★★½ | 103 | Unusual documentary, produced by Solt and David L. Wolper, assembled from 240 hours of footage from Yoko Ono's personal archives. Not exactly a puff job, but a bit discomforting given the obvious calculation that went into the project. Not to be missed are Lennon's confrontations with Al Capp and journalist Gloria Emerson. | tt0095360 | [R] | Narrated by John Lennon | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Imagining Argentina | 2004 | Christopher Hampton | ★★½ | 108 | A military dictatorship rules Argentina in 1976, and journalist-activist Thompson is among the thousands whom the authorities indiscriminately kidnap and imprison-or murder. Husband Banderas searches for her in vain, then begins having visions of the fates of other victims. Sobering, well-intentioned drama pointedly parallels the plight of Argentineans during this period to victims of the Holocaust . . . but despite some powerful sequences, the story lacks dramatic cohesion. Hampton scripted, based on a much-lauded novel by Lawrence Thornton. Barely released in the U.S. | tt0314197 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Rubén Blades, María Canals, Kuno Becker, John Wood, Claire Bloom | British-Spanish-U.S. | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Imitation General | 1958 | George Marshall | ★★ | 88 | Tepid, occasionally tasteless WW2 comedy defeats its game cast. Ford is a sergeant who impersonates superior officer. | tt0051767 | Glenn Ford, Red Buttons, Taina Elg, Dean Jones, Kent Smith, Tige Andrews | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Imitation of Life | 1934 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 109 | Believable but dated first version of Fannie Hurst's soaper of working-girl Colbert who makes good with Beavers' pancake recipe; Washington is fine as latter's daughter who passes for white. Ultrasentimental. Adapted for the screen by Preston Sturges. | tt0025301 | Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Rochelle Hudson, Louise Beavers, Fredi Washington, Ned Sparks, Alan Hale/Sr., Henry Armetta | Drama | NULL | |||
| Imitation of Life | 1959 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★½ | 124 | Plush remake of Fannie Hurst story, with Turner as career-driven actress; Moore is the good-hearted black woman who shares her life, and whose troubled daughter (Kohner) passes for white. Fine performances and direction overcome possible soapiness to make this quite credible and moving. | tt0052918 | Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Dan O'Herlihy, Susan Kohner, Robert Alda, Juanita Moore, Mahalia Jackson, Troy Donahue, Jack Weston | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Immediate Disaster | 1954 | Burt Balaban. | ★½ | 75 | Tame rehash of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (with the same leading actress) as friendly Venusian (Dantine) arrives hoping to curtail our nuclear ambitions. Slow and dry but achingly sincere. Original British title: STRANGER FROM VENUS. | tt0047529 | Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond, Cyril Luckham, Willoughby Gray, Marigold Russell. | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Immediate Family | 1989 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★½ | 95 | Well-off professional marrieds yearn for a child and hook up with a pregnant, underprivileged teenager via an adoption agency. Watchable change of pace from a pair of often angst-ridden leads but more slick and rose-colored than need be. Masterson stands out in a solid acting quartet. | tt0097567 | [PG-13] | Glenn Close, James Woods, Mary Stuart Masterson, Kevin Dillon, Linda Darlow, Jane Greer, Jessica James, Mimi Kennedy | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Immortal Bachelor | 1979 | Marcello Fondato | ★★½ | 95 | Cleaning woman Vitti is on trial for killing philandering husband Giannini; jury member Cardinale decides she'd prefer him to her boring husband (Gassman). Slight Neapolitan comedy, with a fine cast wasted. | tt0072595 | Monica Vitti, Giancarlo Giannini, Vittorio Gassman, Claudia Cardinale, Renato Pozzetto | Italian | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Immortal Beloved | 1994 | Bernard Rose | ★★★ | 121 | Handsome, absorbing biography is told in picture-puzzle style, as Beethoven's most ardent admirer and confidant (Krabbé) tries to learn the identity of the composer's 'immortal beloved,' addressed in a passionate letter found after his death. Filmed in and around Prague, it's a sumptuous-looking and sumptuous-sounding tale (with Beethoven's music performed by Sir Georg Solti and the London Symphony) but apparently takes as many liberties with the facts as those corny Hollywood composer biopics of yore. Oldman is ideal in the leading role. The director also scripted. | tt0110116 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini, Johanna Ter Steege, Marco Hofschneider, Miriam Margolyes, Barry Humphries, Valeria Golino | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Immortal Sergeant | 1943 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 91 | OK wartime drama of inexperienced corporal who is forced to take command of patrol in Africa after sergeant dies. | tt0036037 | Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, Thomas Mitchell, Allyn Joslyn, Reginald Gardiner, Melville Cooper | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Immortal Story | 1968 | Orson Welles | ★★★ | 63 | Intriguing tale (from an Isak Dinesen story) about a morally bankrupt merchant (Welles) who contrives to make a myth about a sailor seducing a wealthy man's wife come true. Generally well done and, at times, dazzling; originally made for French television. | tt0063127 | Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Roger Coggio, Norman Eshley, Fernando Rey | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Immortals | 2011 | Tarsem Singh Dhandwar | ★½ | 110 | Clunky, boring film about the efforts of a heroic Greek named Theseus (Cavill) to deter King Hyperion (Rourke) from conquering his country, which seems likely if he gains possession of the powerful Epirus Bow. There's nothing Olympian about the screenplay or the artificial setting in which all the action takes place. Tarsem, noted for his visual innovations in other films, succumbs to the excesses of CGI here, to minimal effect. | tt1253864 | [R] | Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, Kellan Lutz, John Hurt, Mickey Rourke | Drama, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Impact | 1949 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 111 | Nice-guy Donlevy's wife is cheating on him. She and her lover plot to do him in . . . but there are complications. Entertaining, thoughtful drama will keep you guessing at every turn. | tt0041503 | Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Helen Walker, Charles Coburn, Anna May Wong, Robert Warwick, Mae Marsh | Film-Noir, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Impasse | 1969 | Richard Benedict | ★★½ | 100 | OK actioner with Reynolds and pals seeking out a cache of gold bullion on Corregidor. | tt0065884 | [M] | Burt Reynolds, Anne Francis, Vic Diaz, Jeff Corey, Lyle Bettger, Rodolfo Acosta | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Impatient Maiden | 1932 | James Whale. | ★★½ | 72 | Young woman forsakes true love to become her wealthy boss' mistress. Slight but interesting Depression yarn is worth seeing for Clarke's fine performance and Whale's trademark moving-camera shots. Lengthy opening sequence was shot at L.A. landmark Angels Flight. | tt0023055 | Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Una Merkel, Andy Devine, John Halliday, Oscar Apfel, Ethel Griffies, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bert Roach, Louise Beavers, Walter Brennan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Impatient Years | 1944 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 91 | Thin comedy of soldier Bowman returning to civilian life with wife Arthur, finding trouble readjusting. | tt0036950 | Jean Arthur, Lee Bowman, Charles Coburn, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Davenport, Grant Mitchell, Jane Darwell | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Imperative | 1982 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★★ | 96 | Unusual, intense chronicle of math professor Powell's attempt to find spiritual understanding. Occasionally overdone but still provocative and worthwhile. | tt0084123 | Robert Powell, Brigitte Fossey, Leslie Caron, Sigfrit Steiner, Matthias Habich | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Imperfect Lady | 1947 | Lewis Allen | ★★ | 97 | Undistinguished drama of Parliament member falling in love with ballerina in London during 1890s. | tt0039487 | Teresa Wright, Ray Milland, Cedric Hardwicke, Virginia Field, Anthony Quinn, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Imperial Venus | 1962 | Jean Delannoy | ★★ | 120 | Lumpy spectacle about how Paolina Bonaparte, Napoleon's hot-blooded sister, spread her charms around practically his entire army in her lust for power. | tt0057638 | Gina Lollobrigida, Stephen Boyd, Raymond Pellegrin, Micheline Presle, Gabriele Ferzetti, Massimo Girotti | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Importance of Being Earnest | 1952 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 95 | Oscar Wilde's peerless comedy of manners set in Victorian England is given admirable treatment. Remade in 2002. | tt0044744 | Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Richard Wattis, Edith Evans, Margaret Rutherford, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Importance of Being Earnest | 2002 | Oliver Parker | ★★ | 94 | Two lotharios pursue their women by adopting false identities in this remake of the Oscar Wilde comedy by the writer-director of AN IDEAL HUSBAND. This time, unfortunately, the tone is all wrong: the actors are terribly, terribly coy, the comedy much too self-aware. Fox fares best as a wry butler— but he's barely in the film. Witherspoon comes off quite well, British accent and all. Lively score by Charlie Mole. Dench's real-life daughter Finty Williams plays her mother's character in flashback scene. | tt0278500 | [PG] | Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Massey, Edward Fox | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Impossible Spy | 1987 | Jim Goddard | Above Average TV Movie | 96 | Absorbing spy thriller about Elie Cohen, an Egyptian-born Israeli who is persuaded to become a government agent and winds up leading a double life—as a mild-mannered (mostly absentee) husband and father in Israel, and as a wealthy businessman who infiltrates the highest levels of the Syrian government. Fascinating story based on the exploits of a real-life Israeli hero. Made for cable, and originally shown at 89m. | tt0093248 | John Shea, Eli Wallach, Michal Bat-Adam, Rami Danon, Sasson Gabay, Chaim Girafi | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Impossible Years | 1968 | Michael Gordon | 💣 | 92 | Stupid, leering sex farce from hit Broadway play about psychiatrist who has problems of his own with nubile young daughter; the most obscene G-rated film of all. | tt0063128 | [G] | David Niven, Lola Albright, Chad Everett, Ozzie Nelson, Cristina Ferrare | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Impostor | 2002 | Gary Fleder | 💣 | 95 | Is Sinise an alien spy impersonating a scientist married to Stowe in 2079? The movie's distributor apparently didn't think anyone cared enough to find out, because this malnourished Philip K. Dick adaptation sat on the shelf for more than a year. Most interesting features are the neat home appliances in the early scenes, which include a voice-activated wall-screen TV that shuts off on command. You should be so lucky when watching this movie at home. Director's cut runs 102m. and is rated R. | tt0160399 | [PG-13] | Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Mekhi Phifer, Tim Guinee, Lindsay Crouse, Elizabeth Peñta | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Impostor | 1944 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 95 | Well-acted but ordinary story of patriotic Frenchman who escapes prison, assumes new identity to join WW2 fight again. Retitled: STRANGE CONFESSION. | tt0036951 | Jean Gabin, Richard Whorf, Allyn Joslyn, Ellen Drew, Peter Van Eyck, Ralph Morgan | War | NULL | |||
| The Impostors | 1998 | Stanley Tucci | ★★★ | 100 | A rare bird for our time: an old-fashioned farce, written and directed by and starring Tucci, who's teamed (providentially) with Platt, as unemployed actors whose audacious behavior toward popular ham actor Molina sends them scurrying— and hiding out on a luxury liner. Doors slam, people trip over each other and fall in love at the drop of a hat. A treat to watch . . . especially with this cast of supremely gifted actors (including one surprise). | tt0120823 | [R] | Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt, Alfred Molina, Lili Taylor, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Isabella Rossellini, Campbell Scott, Billy Connolly, Dana Ivey, Hope Davis, Lewis J. Stadlen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Impromptu | 1991 | James Lapine | ★★★½ | 109 | Intellectual romp, in the SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT mold, about 19th-century superstars— Chopin, Liszt, Delacroix, George Sand, and the like— on a country holiday. Spirited performances and some timeless satire of culture vultures on the make; compared to A SONG TO REMEMBER, they do make them better than they used to. Film debut of stage director Lapine; screenplay by Sarah Kernochan, his wife. | tt0102103 | [PG-13] | Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Julian Sands, Ralph Brown, Georges Corraface, Anton Rodgers, Emma Thompson, Anna Massey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Improper Channels | 1981 | Eric Till | ★★½ | 92 | OK comedy with oddball architect Arkin erroneously accused of child abuse. Stevens, as his 5-year-old daughter, is cute; Hartley, as his estranged wife, is wasted. | tt0082552 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Mariette Hartley, Sarah Stevens, Monica Parker, Harry Ditson | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Impulse | 1974 | William Grefe | 💣 | 91 | Distasteful Florida-made cheapie with Shatner overacting as a lothario who cons, then kills, women. Truly awful. Originally titled WANT A RIDE, LITTLE GIRL? | tt0071654 | [PG] | Ruth Roman, William Shatner, Harold Sakata, Kim Nicholas, Jenifer Bishop, James Dobson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Impulse | 1984 | Graham Baker | ★½ | 91 | Matheson visits girlfriend Tilly in a small farming community, finds the citizens are robbing banks, shooting children, urinating on cars. Plodding reverse variation on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS— here, everyone exhibits too much emotion. | tt0087464 | [R] | Tim Matheson, Meg Tilly, Hume Cronyn, John Karlen, Bill Paxton, Amy Stryker | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Impulse | 1990 | Sondra Locke | ★★★ | 108 | Half-standard, half-fresh, and always tough: honest narc Russell, moonlighting as an L.A. streetwalker for the vice squad, briefly but fatefully yields to corruption after lousy hours and failed relationships combine to wear her down. Underrated sleeper doesn't exactly expand parameters of the cop genre, but has a memorable central character; arguably Russell's best performance. | tt0099832 | [R] | Theresa Russell, Jeff Fahey, George Dzundza, Alan Rosenburg, Nicholas Mele, Eli Danker, Charles McCaughan, Lynne Thigpen, Shawn Elliott | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Impure Thoughts | 1985 | Michael A. Simpson | ★★½ | 87 | A quartet of men have died; they meet in purgatory and recall their lives together as Catholic school students when JFK was president and no one had ever heard of Vietnam. Occasionally funny and insightful, with some truly wonderful moments, but it just doesn't hold together. | tt0089331 | [PG] | Brad Dourif, Lane Davies, Terry Beaver, John Putch, Joe Conley, Mary McDonough, Mary Nell Santacroce, narration by Dame Judith Anderson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| In & Out | 1997 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 90 | When a young actor (Dillon) wins an Oscar, he thanks his small-town high school teacher— who, he says, is gay. The popular teacher, days away from his wedding, denies this emphatically but still has to deal with the tumult and media frenzy that erupt. Very funny script by Paul Rudnick, played to a fare-thee-well by an expert cast. Enjoyable cameos by Whoopi Goldberg and Glenn Close at the mock Oscar ceremony. | tt0119360 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon, Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley, Bob Newhart, Gregory Jbara, Shalom Harlow, Lewis J. Stadlen, Ernie Sabella, Dan Hedaya, Joseph Maher, Shawn Hatosy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| In America | 2003 | Jim Sheridan | ★★★½ | 115 | Poignant, bittersweet fable of survival based on writer-director Sheridan's own experiences emigrating to the U.S. (through Canada) with his family. Seen largely through the eyes of two young sisters, who filter out the grunginess of their N.Y.C. existence (human and otherwise) and make a special connection with a seemingly hostile neighbor (Hounsou). Sheridan, always a gifted storyteller, wrote this very personal film with his daughters Naomi and Kirsten, and cast remarkable, real-life sisters as the children. | tt0298845 | [PG-13] | Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger, Juan Hernandez | Irish-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| In Bruges | 2008 | Martin McDonough | ★★★ | 107 | Black comedy about two hit men who are exiled to the Belgian tourist city of Bruges until things cool off after a bungled job at home. Easygoing Gleeson is content to take in the sights but hotheaded Farrell is bored—and itchy. Eventually their mercurial boss (Fiennes) is forced to follow them there. Ingenious feature debut for playwright McDonough, who creates truly original characters: hard-core criminals, each with his own moral code. All three leading actors are on top of their game. Exceptional score by Carter Burwell. Ciarán Hinds appears unbilled. | tt0780536 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Jérémie Rénier, Thekla Reuten, Jordan Prentice, Zeljko Ivanek | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Comedy | NULL | |
| In Caliente | 1935 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 84 | Pedestrian romantic comedy filmed in Agua Caliente, with fast-talking magazine editor O'Brien wooing dancer Del Rio. Horton's comic relief is the saving grace, along with Busby Berkeley's production numbers for 'Muchacha' and 'The Lady in Red' (sung by Wini Shaw, with a novelty chorus by Judy Canova). | tt0026523 | Dolores Del Rio, Pat O'Brien, Edward Everett Horton, Leo Carrillo, Glenda Farrell | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| In Celebration | 1975 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★★ | 110 | Overly theatrical but still taut, vivid drama depicting the pain, anger, and intense relationship of three brothers who return to the coal mining town of their youth for their parents' 40th anniversary. Based on a play by David Storey, which Anderson had directed on the stage; an American Film Theatre production. | tt0073158 | [PG] | Alan Bates, James Bolam, Brian Cox, Constance Chapman, Gabrielle Day, Bill Owen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| In Cold Blood | 1967 | Richard Brooks | ★★★★ | 134 | Excellent semidocumentary adaptation of Truman Capote's book, tracing stories of two young killers (Blake, Wilson), their motives and eventual arrest after slaughtering innocent family. Incisive, engrossing, unsensational; masterful script, direction by Brooks, fine black-and-white photography by Conrad Hall. Remade as a TV miniseries in 1996. | tt0061809 | Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Jeff Corey, Will Geer | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| In Country | 1989 | Norman Jewison | ★½ | 120 | Disappointing, poorly executed film of Vietnam vet Willis and niece Lloyd, two Kentuckians trying to come to terms with the war. Willis is good as a cynical, shell-shocked recluse, but script, from Bobbie Ann Mason's acclaimed novel, is flawed: character relationships are uneven, and too many questions are left unanswered (like Willis' medical condition). Beautifully handled concluding scenes, leading up to Washington, D.C., Veterans Memorial visit, can't redeem film. | tt0097570 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, Joan Allen, Kevin Anderson, John Terry, Peggy Rea, Judith Ivey, Richard Hamilton, Patricia Richardson, Jim Beaver | Drama | NULL | ||
| The In Crowd | 1988 | Mark Rosenthal | ★★½ | 96 | Surprisingly likable look at the lives and loves of those guys and gals who danced their hearts out on daily TV dance shows in the 1960s. Not as hip as John Waters' similarly themed HAIRSPRAY but fun anyway. Leitch is the son of '60s recording star Donovan. | tt0095362 | [PG] | Donovan Leitch, Jennifer Runyon, Scott Plank, Joe Pantoliano, Bruce Kirby, Wendy Gazelle, Page Hannah | Drama | NULL | ||
| The In Crowd | 2000 | Mary Lambert | 💣 | 104 | Sub-par cross between a slasher pic and Aaron Spelling sludge about a troubled girl, fresh out of the loony bin, who takes a summer job at an exclusive country club. There she falls in with a homicidal, bisexual young woman and her 90210 hottie friends. The pinup cast pouts, glares, and shows off its tan lines with minimal conviction. | tt0163676 | [PG-13] | Lori Heuring, Susan Ward, Nathan Bexton, Matthew Settle, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Taylor Negron, Tess Harper, Jay R. Ferguson | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| In Custody | 1993 | Ismail Merchant | ★★ | 123 | Silly tale of a doltish college lecturer and intellectual (Puri) who writes poetry no one will publish; he sets out to interview India's 'greatest living Urdu poet' (Kapoor), which quickly proves to be a disheartening experience. Means to be an allegory about the lack of respect for history, intellectualism, and scholarship in modern India, but the result is only nonsensical. Disappointing effort from Merchant (better known as James Ivory's longtime producer). | tt0107199 | [PG] | Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Sushma Seth, Neena Gupta, Tinnu Anand | British-Indian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| In Darkness | 2011 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★★ | 143 | During WW2, in the Polish city of Lvov, Jews are being rounded up and marked for death; a small group persuades a callous sewer worker named Socha (Więckiewicz) to protect them in the underground labyrinth he knows like the back of his hand. For him it is strictly a business transaction, but over the many months that follow he develops a relationship with his charges, who endure unthinkable hardships in a fierce struggle to survive. This deeply moving film illustrates what a difference one person can make in the lives of others. Based on a true story, recounted in Robert Marshall's book In the Sewers of Lvov, adapted for film by David F. Shamoon. | tt1417075 | [R] | Robert Więckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Schrader, Herbert Knaup, Kinga Preis, Krzysztof Skonieczny | German-Polish-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| In Dreams | 1999 | Neil Jordan | ★★ | 99 | Massachusetts woman is haunted by disturbing dreams which turn out to be the thoughts of a sick man who's abducting and murdering children. Is she insane, or somehow psychically connected to the killer? Extremely unpleasant adult horror film is well made but hard to watch. It's also hard to top the opening sequence, based on the real-life incident of a town being flooded to create a reservoir. Jordan coscripted with Bruce Robinson. | tt0120710 | [R] | Annette Bening, Robert Downey/Jr., Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Paul Guilfoyle, Dennis Boutsikaris, Katie Sagona, Krystal Benn | Thriller | NULL | ||
| In Enemy Country | 1968 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 107 | So-so programmer of WW2 intrigue, set in France and England, filmed on Universal's backlot. Not very convincing. | tt0063129 | Anthony Franciosa, Anjanette Comer, Guy Stockwell, Paul Hubschmid, Tom Bell, Emile Genest | War | NULL | |||
| In Fast Company | 1946 | Del Lord | ★½ | 61 | The Bowery Boys get mixed up in a full-scale taxicab war in this substandard entry. | tt0038636 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Billy Benedict, Jane Randolph, Judy Clark, David Gorcey, Douglas Fowley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In God We Tru$t | 1980 | Marty Feldman | 💣 | 97 | Naive monk Feldman treks to L.A. to raise money for his monastery. A comedy that is tragically unfunny— including Pryor, who plays God. Feldman also co-wrote the script. | tt0080917 | [PG] | Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Louise Lasser, Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Severn Darden | Comedy | NULL | ||
| In God's Hands | 1998 | Zalman King | ★★ | 96 | Three world-class surfers (played by three actual world-class surfers) embark on the ultimate global tour of duty. Fictional film suffers from amateurishness of its cast of nonperformers, but is marginally worth seeing for gorgeous cinematography and, of course, some breathtaking wave riding. A change of pace for soft-core auteur King. | tt0140282 | [PG-13] | Matt George, Matty Liu, Patrick Shane Dorian, Shaun Tomson, Maylin Pultar, Bret Michaels | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| In Good Company | 2004 | Paul Weitz | ★★★ | 109 | Successful, happily married, 50-ish sales exec Quaid has his world turned inside out when a young 20-ish hotshot with no experience is installed as his boss— and even starts seeing Quaid's college-age daughter. Smart, relevant social comedy tackles a variety of modern-day ills in a consistently entertaining way. Breakout role for Grace, who's perfect as the corporate climber who finds that his life is empty. Weitz's solo debut as writer-director. Malcolm McDowell appears unbilled. | tt0385267 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, Selma Blair, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall, Frankie Faison, Ty Burrell, Kevin Chapman, Amy Aquino, Colleen Camp, Lauren Tom | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| In Harm's Way | 1965 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 165 | Overlong, melodramatic account of warfare in the South Pacific at the outset of WW2, focusing on the exploits of larger-than-life naval officer Wayne (whose character is nicknamed 'Rock'). Most interesting for its cast of old-timers and up-and-coming stars. | tt0059309 | John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Patricia Neal, Tom Tryon, Paula Prentiss, Henry Fonda, Brandon de Wilde, Jill Haworth, Dana Andrews, Stanley Holloway, Burgess Meredith, Franchot Tone, Patrick O'Neal, Carroll O'Connor, Slim Pickens, Barbara Bouchet, Hugh O'Brian, George Kennedy, Bruce Cabot, Larry Hagman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| In Her Shoes | 2005 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 129 | A woman who struggles with her self-image is constantly undone by her sexy sister, whose life is an even bigger mess. Then her sibling travels to Florida and looks up their long-estranged grandmother, who's living at a senior community; here, of all places, she finds direction and purpose for the first time in her life. First-rate adaptation of Jennifer Weiner's best-seller by Susannah Grant, ideally cast with a great part for Diaz. MacLaine scores especially well by underplaying. | tt0388125 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Feuerstein, Ken Howard, Candice Azzara, Brooke Smith, Francine Beers, Norman Lloyd, Jerry Adler | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| In Like Flint | 1967 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 114 | Weak sequel to OUR MAN FLINT finds our hero going against secret society of women plotting to take over the world. | tt0061810 | James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Hale, Andrew Duggan, Anna Lee | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| In Love and War | 1996 | Richard Attenborough | 💣 | 115 | Lumbering catastrophe chronicles Ernest Hemingway's WW1 love affair with Red Cross nurse Agnes von Kurowsky, eight years his senior and the inspiration for the character Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms. Miscast O'Donnell might actually be more credible playing Ernest Borgnine, and the leads have no chemistry. The film leans on what used to be called 'scenic values' like a bookie who's been stiffed. | tt0116621 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Chris O'Donnell, Mackenzie Astin, Emilio Bonucci, Ingrid Lacey, Margot Steinberg | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| In My Country | 2005 | John Boorman. | ★★ | 102 | Reporter Jackson and poet Binoche are covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa, an event where opposing sides from the Apartheid era confront each other. Despite a talented cast and director, important subject matter, and a provocative setting, it all goes awry and winds up being a 3-D movie: dull, dreary, and disappointing. Even Jackson is bland. Original British title: COUNTRY OF MY SKULL. | tt0349260 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi Ngubane, Sam Ngakane, Lionel Newton. | U.S.-British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| In Name Only | 1939 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 94 | Solid soaper with wealthy, married Grant falling for widowed Lombard, trying desperately to obtain a divorce from bitchy, manipulative social climber Francis. Beautifully acted. | tt0031477 | Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, Kay Francis, Charles Coburn, Helen Vinson, Peggy Ann Garner | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| In Old Amarillo | 1951 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Edwards and her grandmother are brought to the brink of ruin by drought; rancher Watkin tries to help, but unscrupulous Barcroft schemes against their plans at every turn. Solid Western yarn marred only by the series debut of a badly miscast Lee as Roy's newest sidekick. | tt0043673 | Roy Rogers, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Pinky Lee, Roy Barcroft, Pierre Watkin, Kenneth Howell, Elisabeth Risdon, William Holmes, The Roy Rogers Riders. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Arizona | 1929 | Raoul Walsh, Irving Cummings. | ★★ | 97 | Novelty of first major sound Western and first talkie to take microphones outdoors has long since worn off, leaving only stilted performances led by Baxter's dubious Oscar winner as the Cisco Kid. Burgess tops him for broken-English dialect honors as Mexican vamp who betrays him to Army sergeant Lowe. Earthy scenes alternate with acres of talk during which the camera is bolted to the floor. Walsh began filming as both star and solo director before an accident in which he was blinded in one eye. | tt0020018 | Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess, J. Farrell MacDonald, Fred Warren, Henry Armetta | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Caliente | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 57 | Gringo Rogers makes peace between settlers and Old California Mexican landholders when renegades led by Woods steal precious gold. One of Roy's best early starring films blends story, romance, action, and music in just the right proportions. | tt0031478 | Roy Rogers, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jack La Rue, Katherine DeMille, Frank Puglia, Harry Woods. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old California | 1942 | William McGann | ★★ | 88 | Wayne moves into Western town controlled by shifty Dekker, with inevitable confrontation. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034889 | John Wayne, Binnie Barnes, Albert Dekker, Helen Parrish, Patsy Kelly, Edgar Kennedy, Dick Purcell, Harry Shannon | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Cheyenne | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 58 | When Gabby is forced to become an outlaw by cattle baron Rosener, young Eastern news reporter Rogers travels West to get the real story. This one never quite comes together. | tt0033752 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Joan Woodbury, J. Farrell MacDonald, Sally Payne, George Rosener, William Haade, Hal Taliaferro, Iron Eyes Cody. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Chicago | 1938 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 95 | Lavish period piece building up to Chicago fire of 1871; Oscar-winning Brady is Mrs. O'Leary, whose sons Power, Ameche, and Brown find their own adventures in the Windy City. Scripted by Lamar Trotti and Sonya Levien, based on a story by Niven Busch. Originally released at 115m. | tt0029047 | Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Alice Brady, Andy Devine, Brian Donlevy, Phyllis Brooks, Tom Brown, Berton Churchill, Sidney Blackmer, Gene Reynolds, Bobs Watson | Drama | NULL | |||
| In Old Colorado | 1941 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★½ | 67 | Crooked foreman pits ranchers against one another over water rights in hopes of rustling their cattle. Story packs punch, borrowing many elements from the debut series film, HOP-ALONG CASSIDY, though stock footage and indoor sets betray cost cutting. Hayden, without credit, coauthored the screenplay. Russell Harlan's cinematography of Lone Pine's snowcapped skyline is superb. Attractive heroine Hayes was featured the next year in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS. | tt0033753 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Margaret Hayes (Dana Dale), Morris Ankrum, Cliff Nazarro. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Kentucky | 1935 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 86 | Story is as old as the hills— a family feud— but Rogers' natural charm and Bojangles' fantastic footwork make it most enjoyable. | tt0026524 | Will Rogers, Dorothy Wilson, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Russell Hardie, Louise Henry, Charles Sellon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In Old Mexico | 1938 | Edward Venturini. | ★★½ | 68 | Escaping prison, notorious bandit 'El Zorro' (The Fox), aided by his treacherous sister, seeks to even the score against captors Colonel Gonzales and Hopalong Cassidy. Much detective work by Hoppy to unravel the mystery confines too much of this film to rancho interiors. Based on Clarence E. Mulford's 1927 novel Corson of the JC. A sort-of sequel to BORDERLAND, later remade as UNDERCOVER MAN. Clayton was then Mrs. Russell Hayden. | tt0030270 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Paul Sutton, Betty Amann, Jane (Jan) Clayton, Allan Garcia. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Monterey | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 73 | Republic upped the budget and running time for this Autry Western. Gene works for the Army and is assigned to purchase land for training. Unpatriotic types try to profit from the situation but are thwarted by Gene, Smiley, and Gabby (who was added for extra box-office clout). | tt0031480 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jonathan Hale, Hoosier Hot Shots, Stuart Hamblen, Billy Lee. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Old Oklahoma | War of the Wildcats | 1943 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★½ | 102 | Slugger Wayne brooks no nonsense in this oil-drilling yarn; good action, oblig√ atory romance. Aka WAR OF THE WILDCATS. | tt0036038 | John Wayne, Martha Scott, Albert Dekker, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, Sidney Blackmer, Dale Evans | Western | NULL | ||
| In Old Santa Fe | 1934 | David Howard. | ★★★ | 64 | Maynard takes a shine to Knapp, whose father (Warner) owns a dude ranch. Slick Eastern gangster Thomson blackmails Warner but senses that Ken is a threat. Entertaining B Western marked the beginning of the end for Maynard— arguably the first singing cowboy, though his voice here is dubbed by Bob Nolan— and launched Autry's career with a musical interlude featuring him and his pal Burnette. Hayes also solidified his old-codger character here before joining Hopalong Cassidy. | tt0025303 | Ken Maynard, Evalyn Knapp, H. B. Warner, Kenneth Thomson, Wheeler Oakman, George Hayes, Gene Autry, Lester (Smiley) Burnette. | Western | NULL | |||
| In Our Hands | 1984 | ★★★ | 90 | Impressive record of June 1982 anti-nuclear rally in N.Y.C. Speeches and musical performances by Helen Caldicott and Benjamin Spock, Pete Seeger, Carly Simon, Peter, Paul & Mary, Holly Near, Roy Scheider, Ellen Burstyn, Jill Clayburgh, Orson Welles, Meryl Streep, and dozens of others. | tt0087466 | Documentary, Music | NULL | |||||
| In Our Time | 1944 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 110 | Lupino and Henreid try to save Poland from Nazi takeover in plush soaper that seeks to be meaningful propaganda; Nazimova is touching as Henreid's aristocratic mother. Never quite hits the mark. | tt0036952 | Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid, Nazimova, Nancy Coleman, Mary Boland, Victor Francen, Michael Chekhov | Drama | NULL | |||
| In Person | 1935 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 85 | In between TOP HAT and FOLLOW THE FLEET, Rogers made this formula comedy about a movie star who's had a nervous breakdown; while recuperating, she spars romantically with Brent. Trivial, but pleasant. | tt0026525 | Ginger Rogers, George Brent, Alan Mowbray, Grant Mitchell, Samuel S. Hinds, Joan Breslau | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In Praise of Love | 2001 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 97 | Two-part film is a return to form for the ever-provocative director. Part one deals with discussions of a project in the works called 'Éloge de L'amour,' from which the film took its original French title. In part two, set two years earlier, an elderly couple attempt to sell their story of fighting in the French Resistance to Hollywood. Doesn't always hit its mark, particularly when it takes potshots at Steven Spielberg and SCHINDLER'S LIST, but this challenging film is worth seeing, especially for Godard fans. | tt0181912 | [PG] | Bruno Putzulu, Cécile Camp, Jean Davy, Françoise Verney, Audrey Klebaner, Jeremy Lippman, Jean Lacouture | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| In Praise of Older Women | 1978 | George Kaczender | 💣 | 108 | Hungarian stud recalls nearly two decades' worth of conquests, all of whom are paraded across the screen in various stages of undress. Strasberg and Stewart are particularly praiseworthy, but nothing else is in this tease of a movie. Remade in 1997. | tt0077728 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Karen Black, Susan Strasberg, Helen Shaver, Alexandra Stewart, Marilyn Lightstone | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| In Search of Gregory | 1970 | Peter Wood | ★★ | 90 | Muddled film set in Geneva, about two potential lovers who fantasize about, but never meet, each other. | tt0063130 | [M] | Julie Christie, John Hurt, Michael Sarrazin, Adolfo Celi, Paola Pitagora | British-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| In Search of the Castaways | 1962 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 100 | Expedition tries to locate missing sea captain, in journey that encounters fire, flood, earthquake and other disasters. Disney adaptation of Jules Verne suffers from muddled continuity; good cast does its best. | tt0056095 | Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier, George Sanders, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Michael Anderson/Jr., Keith Hamshire | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| In Society | 1944 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 75 | Minor A&C, with the boys as plumbers mistaken for members of society; hectic slapstick finale. Includes chase footage lifted from NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK. | tt0036953 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marion Hutton, Arthur Treacher, Thomas Gomez, Thurston Hall, Kirby Grant | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In The Mix | 2005 | Ron Underwood | 💣 | 95 | Lame vehicle for rap star Usher, who is adequate-and nothing more-in this gangsta nap about a club deejay recruited to guard a mob boss' daughter. When they get involved romantically, Dad gets ticked off. Predictable comedy-drama merges the worlds of hip-hop and the Mob in pedestrian manner. Skip the movie and download the soundtrack instead. Usher coexecutive produced. | tt0426615 | [PG-13] | Usher, Chazz Palminteri, Robert Costanzo, Robert Davi, Matt Gerald, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Anthony Fazio, Kevin Hart, Nick Mancuso, Deezer D, Geoff Stults | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Music, Romance | NULL | ||
| In This Our Life | 1942 | John Huston | ★★★ | 97 | Fine drama of neurotic family with husband-stealing Davis ruining sister de Havilland's life, and eventually her own; Davis at histrionic height. Based on Ellen Glasgow novel. Walter Huston has cameo role as bartender in one scene. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034890 | Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan, Charles Coburn, Frank Craven, Billie Burke, Hattie McDaniel, Lee Patrick, Ernest Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| In This World | 2003 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 90 | Teenage Jamal and his slightly older uncle Enayat pool their resources for cross-country transportation from an Afghan refugee camp to London. They travel by truck, train, and boat with surprisingly few complications— but those few can be deadly. Intriguing, unscripted film was shot as the two protagonists, playing themselves, actually made the journey. This, coupled with handheld photography, creates a powerful sense of realism. Engrossing, almost hypnotic at times, though the ultimate point remains elusive. Digital Video Widescreen. | tt0310154 | [R] | Jamal Udin Torabi, Enayatullah | British | Drama | NULL | |
| In Time | 2011 | Andrew Niccol | ★★ | 109 | In the near future, time—not money—is the valued currency, and people stop aging at 25, at which time they have to earn, borrow, or purchase a longer lifespan if they can. But as working stiff Timberlake discovers, the cards are stacked against the poor and in favor of the wealthy, who live in a separate part of the city. Then he's given the "gift" of a hundred years' lifespan and decides to investigate how the other half lives, and how he might even things up a bit. Runs out of steam pretty quickly as its central metaphor becomes painfully obvious. Another dystopian tale from writer-director Niccol (GATTACA, S1MØNE). | tt1637688 | [PG-13] | Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Alex Pettyfer, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki, Vincent Kartheiser, Yaya DaCosta, Elena Satine, Matthew Bomer, Rachel Roberts | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| In Too Deep | 1999 | Michael Rymer | ★★½ | 95 | Police academy grad (Epps) goes undercover to take on a ruthless crimelord known as 'God' (LL Cool J) but finds he can't get out. Gritty, realistic gangsploitation actually avoids most of the clichés of the genre and has a commanding, understated performance from Epps at its core. Hip-hoppers Jermaine Dupri, Mya and Nas appear in cameos. | tt0160401 | [R] | Omar Epps, *** LL Cool J, Nia Long, Stanley Tucci, Hill Harper, Pam Grier, Veronica Webb | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| In Which We Serve | 1942 | Noel Coward, David Lean | ★★★★ | 115 | Unlike many WW2 films, this masterpiece doesn't date one bit; superb film about men on a British fighting ship, told through flashback. Written, codirected, and scored by costar Coward (who was given a special Oscar 'for his outstanding production achievement'). Lean's first directing credit. Film debuts of Johnson, Attenborough, young Daniel Massey, and infant Juliet Mills. | tt0034891 | Noel Coward, John Mills, Bernard Miles, Celia Johnson, Kay Walsh, Joyce Carey, Michael Wilding, James Donald, Richard Attenborough | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| In a Better World | 2010 | Susanne Bier | ★★★½ | 113 | Altruistic Danish doctor who treats the sick in Africa returns home to find his son the victim of a bully at school. The boy is befriended by a new arrival from England who’s got serious psychological problems of his own, angry over the death of his mother. Bier and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen create a story that’s both gripping and harrowingly believable, an exploration of violence that simmers just below the surface of polite society. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt1340107 | [R] | Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Jøhnk Nielsen, Bodil Jorgensen | Danish-Swedish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| In a Lonely Place | 1950 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★½ | 91 | Mature, powerful drama about a feisty, self-destructive screenwriter (Bogart) who has an affair with starlet Grahame while trying to clear himself of a murder rap. Excellent performances in this study of two turbulent characters set against realistic and cynical Hollywood backdrop. Written by Andrew Solt. | tt0042593 | Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Robert Warwick, Jeff Donnell, Martha Stewart | Drama, Romance, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| In a Shallow Grave | 1988 | Kenneth Bowser | 💣 | 92 | Gloomy, slow-moving tale of WW2 veteran Biehn, disfigured at Guadalcanal, who has retreated to his family's desolate Virginia homestead to brood about his condition (and wallow in self-pity). Biehn tries hard but is overpowered by film's snail-like pacing and bizarre, romantic story line (involving drifter Dempsey, whose character is weird in the extreme). One of the oddest and most maudlin dramas ever made. An American Playhouse presentation. | tt0095364 | [R] | Michael Biehn, Maureen Mueller, Michael Beach, Patrick Dempsey, Thomas Boyd Mason | Drama | NULL | ||
| In a Year of Thirteen Moons | 1978 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★½ | 129 | Extraordinary performance by Spengler in the difficult role of a pathetic transsexual conceived and abandoned by his mother while her husband was in a prison camp. Powerful, disturbing tale of loneliness, alienation, rejection, winningly written and directed by Fassbinder. | tt0077729 | Volker Spengler, Ingrid Caven, Gottfried John, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Eva Mattes. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| In for Treatment | 1979 | Eric van Zuylen, Marja Kok | ★★★½ | 99 | Simple, pointed, powerful story of a middle-aged man who checks into a hospital for tests but is really dying of cancer; he must deal with a distant, maddeningly impersonal hospital system. Hard to watch because of the subject, but still poignant and never maudlin; a production of the Werkteater, a Dutch theater collective. | tt0079674 | Helmert Woudenberg, Frank Groothof, Hans Man In't Veld, Marja Kok, Joop Admiraal | Netherlands | Drama | NULL | ||
| In the Army Now | 1994 | Daniel Petrie/ Jr | ★½ | 91 | Pauly is a pacifist who joins the army so he can 'be all that he can be for free,' only to learn that there's more to enlisting than receiving complimentary room and board. Latest in a long line of barracks comedies proves no competition for BUCK PRIVATES. Pauly's fans might disagree. Brendan Fraser appears unbilled. | tt0110123 | [PG] | Pauly Shore, Lori Petty, David Alan Grier, Andy Dick, Esai Morales, Lynn Whitfield, Art LeFleur, Tom Villard, Keith Coogan | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| In the Bedroom | 2001 | Todd Field | ★★★ | 138 | An avuncular small-town Maine doctor and his wife, who teaches music in the local school, don't approve of the 'older' woman their son has fallen in love with . . . but no one is prepared for the events that then unfold. Quiet, observant film explores how grief affects a longtime married couple and the people around them. Rock-solid performances by all the lead actors. Field's feature directing debut; he also coscripted with Rob Festinger, from a story by Andre Dubus. | tt0247425 | [R] | Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, William Mapother, William Wise, Celia Weston, Karen Allen | Drama | NULL | ||
| In the Company of Men | 1997 | Neil LaBute | ★★ | 93 | Provocative but stark and discomfiting low-budget film about two yuppie office workers who— frustrated by the world around them, and women in particular— make a pact that while they're on assignment in another city, they'll both date a woman and then dump her, just for the satisfaction of it. The slicker of the two (Eckhart) turns out to have a hidden agenda, however. Alternately absorbing, humdrum, and distasteful. Eckhart's creepy character does get under your skin. Highly praised in some circles. Written by the director. | tt0119361 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Stacy Edwards, Matt Malloy, Mark Rector | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| In the Cool of the Day | 1963 | Robert Stevens | ★★ | 89 | Good cast flounders in turgid soaper, with Finch (who is married to bitchy Lansbury) mediating marital rift between Hill and his emotionally and physically fragile wife Fonda; soon Finch and Fonda fall in love. The on-location filming in Greece helps. Produced by John Houseman. | tt0057178 | Peter Finch, Jane Fonda, Angela Lansbury, Arthur Hill, Constance Cummings, Alexander Knox, Nigel Davenport, Alec McCowen | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| In the Cut | 2003 | Jane Campion | ★★½ | 118 | An English teacher becomes involved with a homicide detective who's investigating a series of brutal murders of women in her Manhattan neighborhood. A daring look at a sexual relationship between two emotionally fragile people, set against the backdrop of a murder mystery. Provocative and doggedly antiromantic, the storytelling is faulty and drawn out, but the atmosphere and performances are first-rate. Adapted by Campion and Susanna Moore from the latter's novel. Nicole Kidman coproduced. Kevin Bacon appears unbilled. Unrated director's cut runs 119m. | tt0199626 | [R] | Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Damici, Sharrieff Pugh | U.S.-Australian | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| In the Devil's Garden | Tower of Terror | 1971 | Sidney Hayers | ★½ | 89 | Undistinguished thriller of rapist-killer in girls' school; of interest mainly for the presence of Down, in an early role as one of the victims. Aka ASSAULT, THE CREEPERS, TOWER OF TERROR and SATAN'S PLAYTHINGS. | tt0067243 | [R] | Suzy Kendall, Frank Finlay, Freddie Jones, Lesley-Anne Down, James Laurenson, Tony Beckley | British | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| In the Electric Mist | 2009 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★½ | 102 | Recovering-alcoholic Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux (Jones) is trying to solve a series of gruesome murders when the corpse of a black man killed forty years ago surfaces in a nearby marsh. Atmospheric and well cast, this police procedural with mystical undertones is highly watchable, although some of the characters and relationships seem a bit sketchy (and may come to life more fully in James Lee Burke’s novel or Tavernier’s European cut, which runs 117m.). John Sayles has a hilarious cameo as a foulmouthed movie director. Alec Baldwin played Robicheaux in 1996’s HEAVEN’S PRISONERS. | tt0910905 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Sarsgaard, Kelly Macdonald, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Justina Machado, Ned Beatty, James Gammon, Levon Helm, Buddy Guy, Julio César Cedillo | Mystery | NULL | ||
| In the French Style | 1963 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 105 | Originally screened at 195m., then released in the U.S. in a badly dubbed 165m. version. Visconti tinkered with the film repeatedly over the years, finally pronouncing the 187m. print “definitive” (although Lancaster’s voice is still dubbed by another actor in the original foreign version). Seberg is memorable as a young American who heads off to Paris to study painting and becomes romantically involved with Forquet and Baker. Based on two Irwin Shaw stories, “In the French Style” and “A Year to Learn the Language.” | tt0056096 | Jean Seberg, Stanley Baker, Addison Powell, James Leo Herlihy, Philippe Forquet, Claudine Auger | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| In the Good Old Summertime | 1949 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 102 | Musical remake of THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, with Garland and Johnson the pen pals who fall in love. Not up to most MGM Garland vehicles, but pleasant. That's young Liza Minnelli with Judy in the finale. | tt0041507 | Judy Garland, Van Johnson, S. Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, Buster Keaton | Musical | NULL | |||
| In the Heat of Passion | 1992 | Rodman Flender | ★★½ | 102 | Low-budget but diverting film noir, with Corri a young garage mechanic who puts the moves on wealthy, mysterious Kirkland. When her husband gets in the way, what's a lover to do? Twisty tale encompasses a serial rapist and the reality-TV show tracking him, with Corri's assistance. Genuinely suspenseful, sexually frank film hindered by mediocre production values. | tt0104499 | [R] | Sally Kirkland, Nick Corri, Jack Carter, Michael Greene, Gloria LeRoy, Carl Franklin | Thriller | NULL | ||
| In the Heat of the Night | 1967 | Norman Jewison | ★★★★ | 109 | Redneck Southern sheriff grudgingly accepts help from big-city black detective in solving bizarre murder. Marvelous social thriller hasn't dated one bit— tough, funny, and atmospheric, with unbeatable acting and splendid Quincy Jones score. Five Oscars include Best Picture, Actor (Steiger), Screenplay (Stirling Silliphant), Editing (Hal Ashby). Poitier reprised his character in THEY CALL ME MISTER TIBBS! and THE ORGANIZATION. Followed by a TV series 20 years later. | tt0061811 | Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, Scott Wilson, Larry Gates, Quentin Dean, James Patterson, Anthony James, William Schallert | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| In the Land of Blood and Honey | 2011 | Angelina Jolie | ★★★ | 127 | Jolie's writing and directing debut impressively chronicles the Bosnian War of the early '90s through the eyes of a woman who becomes a captive in the camp of a man with whom she once had a relationship. Local Bosnian actors are superbly cast in this harrowing tale, and Jolie pulls no punches in showing the horrors of a senseless civil war, particularly for women. Graphic and intense, this may be hard for some to watch. Released theatrically with subtitles; also shown in English-language version. | tt1714209 | [R] | Žana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, Rade Šerbedžija, Branko Djurić, Vanesa Glodjo, Nikola Djurićko, Dzana Pinjo | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| In the Land of Women | 2007 | Jonathan Kasdan | ★★ | 98 | A 26-year-old L.A. writer, feeling he's a failure, moves to Michigan to care for his elderly (i.e., frail but feisty) grandmother and soon gets to know/help/save an upscale (i.e., cold and empty) family across the street. Oh, yes-he also finds himself in the process. Brody (The O.C.) is good in his first film lead, and Ryan and Stewart (as the mother and teen daughter he befriends) go through the motions, but this is pretty predictable stuff. Feature writing and directing debut for Jonathan Kasdan (son of Lawrence, brother of Jake). | tt0419843 | [PG-13] | Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart, Meg Ryan, Olympia Dukakis, Makenzie Vega, Elena Anaya, Clark Gregg, JoBeth Williams, Dustin Milligan, Ginnifer Goodwin. | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| In the Line of Fire | 1993 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★★½ | 128 | Crackling, well-made thriller about a would-be presidential assassin who pulls Secret Service agent Eastwood— who failed to protect President Kennedy in 1963— into a cruel game of cat-and-mouse as he plans to murder the current president. Eastwood, as an older, vulnerable, piano-playing loner, has never been better, and Malkovich matches him as the superintelligent loony. Steve Railsback appears unbilled. Written by Jeff Maguire. | tt0107206 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, Fred Dalton Thompson, John Mahoney, Jim Curley, Clyde Kusatsu, Patrika Darbo, John Heard | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| In the Loop | 2009 | Armando Iannucci | ★★★ | 106 | British bureaucrat Hollander has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth every time he talks to the press, which is especially awkward as both the British and American governments are toying with the idea of going to war. Lively, often hilarious and very foul-mouthed look at backroom politics on both sides of the Pond. Inspired by the TV series The Thick of It, from the same director and writers, in which Capaldi played the same character, England's ultimate spin doctor. | tt1226774 | Unrated | Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Mimi Kennedy, Anna Chlumsky, Chris Addison, Gina McKee, Steve Coogan | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| In the Meantime, Darling | 1944 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 72 | Predictable period piece about wealthy child-bride Crain, who learns duty and humility when forced to rough it after marrying G.I. Latimore. That's young Blake Edwards jitterbugging with Jeanne. | tt0036955 | Jeanne Crain, Frank Latimore, Eugene Pallette, Mary Nash, Cara Williams, Reed Hadley, Stanley Prager, Gale Robbins | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| In the Money | 1958 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 61 | The final Bowery Boys outing, with Sach and the gang escorting a poodle on a cruise, and the ubiquitous thieves after diamonds concealed on the pooch. | tt0051771 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, David Gorcey, Eddie LeRoy, Patricia Donahue, Paul Cavanagh, Leonard Penn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In the Mood | 1987 | Phil Alden Robinson | ★★½ | 99 | Engaging if low-key comedy based on true story of 1944's 'woo woo kid' Sonny Wisecarver, a 15-year-old California boy who made headlines because of his affairs with two 'older' women, one of whom he actually married. Dempsey is ideal and Robinson's script is delightfully wry, but film lacks a certain punch. The real-life Wisecarver appears as a mailman in newsreel sequence (narrated by an uncredited Carl Reiner). Wonderful score by Ralph Burns, incorporating many vintage songs. | tt0093253 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Talia Balsam, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael Constantine, Betty Jinette, Kathleen Freeman, Peter Hobbs, Edith Fellows | Comedy | NULL | ||
| In the Mood for Love | Fa yeung nin wa | 2000 | Wong Kar-wai | ★★½ | 97 | In 1962 Hong Kong, two lonely, married people are drawn to each other, but dare not pursue their feelings. An intriguing study of repressed emotions, ingeniously filmed so we're often peeking around corners, only partially seeing what is going on. An exceptional mood piece that, like its characters, too often keeps us at an emotional distance. | tt0118694 | [PG] | Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Lai Chin, Rebecca Pan, Siu Ping-lam, Chin Tsi-ang | Hong Kong-French | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| In the Mouth of Madness | 1995 | John Carpenter | ★★½ | 95 | From his padded cell, desperate Neill relates his story to Warner: Hired to locate reclusive horror writer Prochnow, Neill finds him in a small New England town. But then people, places, and even reality begin undergoing horrific transformations. The first two-thirds is among Carpenter's best work as a director, and Neill is outstanding, but the last third becomes pointlessly obscure, and the ending is a pretentious letdown. Derived, without credit, from concepts created by H. P. Lovecraft. | tt0113409 | [R] | Sam Neill, Jürgen Prochnow, Charlton Heston, David Warner, John Glover, Julie Carmen, Bernie Casey, Peter Jason, Frances Bay, Hayden Christensen | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| In the Name of the Father | 1993 | Jim Sheridan | ★★★½ | 127 | Searing, fact-based account of youthful Belfast no-good who's picked up— along with a friend and most of his family— by British police and accused of a terrorist bombing he had nothing to do with. Director Sheridan (reunited with his MY LEFT FOOT star) grabs you by the collar and never lets go; Day-Lewis is extraordinarily intense and believable, Postlethwaite every bit as good as his simple, straightforward dad. Gerry Conlon's book Proved Innocent adapted by Sheridan and Terry George. Gabriel Byrne executive-produced. | tt0107207 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson, John Lynch, Corin Redgrave, Beatie Edney, Daniel Massey | U.S.-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale | 2008 | Uwe Boll | 💣 | 126 | Reluctant warrior Statham joins forces with a brave king (Reynolds) to battle a treacherous usurper (Lillard) and a wicked wizard (Liotta). Another video-game-inspired fiasco from the unfortunately prolific Boll. Even with a bigger budget and better actors than usual, this is a plodding patchwork of derivative fantasy-adventure, with substandard CGI effects and haphazardly edited action sequences. | tt0460780 | [PG-13] | Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Matthew Lillard, Leelee Sobieski, Burt Reynolds, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Kristanna Loken | German-Canadia | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| In the Name of the Pope King | In Nome del Papa Re | 1977 | Luigi Magni. | ★★★ | 105 | Manfredi gives one of the best performances of his career in this moving tale, set in the mid-19th century, of a magistrate to the pontificial state whose son is suspected of terrorism. Not released in U.S. until 1986. Aka IN NOME DEL PAPA RE. | tt0076185 | Nino Manfredi, Danilo Mattei, Carmen Scarpitta, Giovannella Grifea, Carlo Bagno. | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| In the Navy | 1941 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 85 | Bud and Lou are somehow in the Navy; Lou has hallucinations and nearly wrecks the entire fleet. Powell and Andrews Sisters provide songs, and Costello shows Abbott how 7 x 13 = 28. | tt0033754 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, The Andrews Sisters, Claire Dodd, Dick Foran | Comedy | NULL | |||
| In the Realm of the Senses | 1976 | Nagisa Oshima | ★★½ | 105 | Sexually insatiable Matsuda will do anything to possess husband Fuji. Explicit, controversial, often erotic and well-acted, but overall a pretentious film. The story was previously told in A WOMAN CALLED SADA ABE: BEYOND THE REALM OF THE SENSES. | tt0074102 | Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda, Aio Nakajima, Meika Seri | Japanese-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro | 1986 | Raju Patel | 💣 | 97 | There's a drought in the African bush, so 90,000 baboons are looking for dinner— and begin attacking humans. A ponderous, obvious, stupid movie that's also unnecessarily, disgustingly gory. Filmed on location in Kenya and based on a series of true events. | tt0091264 | [R] | John Rhys-Davies, Timothy Bottoms, Michele Carey, Irene Miracle, Calvin Jung, Don Blakely, Patty Foley | U.S.-British-Kenya | Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| In the Shadow of the Moon | 2007 | David Sington | ★★★★ | 100 | The story of the Apollo space program, as told by ten of the men who flew to (and in some cases walked on) the moon, illustrated by breathtaking NASA footage, some of which has never been seen before. The astronauts are candid, articulate, and reflective, nearly forty years after their otherworldly exploits. (The most impressive: Mike Collins, who’s kept a low profile since Apollo 11.) An unexpectedly moving reminder of a time when Americans were united in justifiable pride over a towering human achievement. | tt0925248 | [PG] | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| In the Shadow of the Stars | 1991 | Irving Saraf, Allie Light | ★★★ | 93 | Absorbing documentary about members of the chorus of the San Francisco Opera Company— the drive that makes them want to sing, the yearning to take center stage, the sacrifices made, the dreams fulfilled. Even nonopera lovers will be caught up in this very human story, simply but eloquently told (with a healthy selection of operatic excerpts). Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature. | tt0102114 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| In the Soup | 1992 | Alexandre Rockwell | ★★½ | 90 | Absurdist comedy about a naive, ambitious writer (Buscemi) who's penned a 500-page screenplay and the eccentric small-time hood (Cassel, in a canny, award-caliber performance) who promises to produce his film. At times very funny, but also downright silly; coscripted by Rockwell. Filmed in color, released in b&w. Both versions available on video. | tt0104503 | Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassel, Jennifer Beals, Pat Moya, Will Patton, Sully Boyar, Jim Jarmusch, Carol Kane, Stanley Tucci, Rockets Redglare, Elizabeth Bracco | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| In the Spirit | 1990 | Sandra Seacat | ★★ | 94 | Oddball throwback to black comedies of the 1970s, as mystic Thomas and house guest May get targeted by the mysterious killer who's murdered the prostitute next door. Packed with characters and performances that tend to grate on the nerves, though it is fun to see Thomas and May doing Abbott and Costello (or is it a neurotic version of Lucy and Ethel?). Griffith has just one scene. | tt0099841 | [R] | Marlo Thomas, Elaine May, Peter Falk, Jeannie Berlin, Olympia Dukakis, Melanie Griffith, Michael Emil, Christopher Durang | Comedy | NULL | ||
| In the Time of Butterflies | 2001 | Mariano Barroso | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | Vivid dramatization of how the regime of the Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo (intensely played by Olmos) was brought down with the help of the four upper-middle-class Mirabel sisters (led by Hayek). Three of the sisters became political dissidents called 'La Mariposas' (The Butterflies) and eventually were murdered in 1960 for their anti-Trujillo activities. Adapted from Julia Alvarez's novel by Judy and David Klass. Made for cable. | tt0263467 | Salma Hayek, Edward James Olmos, Mia Maestro, Demián Bichir, Pilar Padilla, Lumi Cavazos, Marc Anthony | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| In the Valley of Elah | 2007 | Paul Haggis | ★★★½ | 120 | Retired Army investigator Jones takes matters into his own hands when his son, just returned from duty in Iraq, is reported AWOL. In time he convinces police detective Theron that his suspicions are worth checking out, in spite of stonewalling from Army officials and the young man’s fellow soldiers. Riveting whodunit takes us into dark, difficult terrain, all of it mirrored on Jones’ haunted face; his exceptional performance anchors this outstanding film. Haggis scripted from a story he wrote with Mark Boal, inspired by real-life events. | tt0478134 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon, Jason Patric, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Frances Fisher, Jonathan Tucker, Mehcad Brooks, Wes Chatham, Jake McLaughlin, Victor Wolf, Barry Corbin | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| In the Wake of a Stranger | 1958 | David Eady. | ★★ | 69 | Sailor implicated in murder tries to clear himself; just fair. | tt0179865 | Tony Wright, Shirley Eaton, Danny Green, Harry H. Corbett, Willoughby Goddard, Barbara Archer, David Hemmings. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| In the White City | 1983 | Alain Tanner | ★★★½ | 108 | Involving, thought-provoking, Kafkaesque tale of seaman Ganz's experiences while in Lisbon, highlighted by his relationship with chambermaid Madruga. The work of a filmmaker in complete command of his art. | tt0085400 | Bruno Ganz, Teresa Madruga, Julia Vonderlinn, Jose Carvalho | Swiss-Portuguese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The In-Laws | 1979 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 103 | Wacky comedy about a dentist (Arkin) who becomes involved in the bizarre intrigues of his daughter's father-in-law-to-be (Falk), who claims to be a CIA agent. Andrew Bergman's script commendably unpredictable start to finish; Libertini hilarious as Latin dictator with a Señor Wences fetish. Enjoyable score by John Morris. Remade in 2003. | tt0079336 | [PG] | Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser, Arlene Golonka, Michael Lembeck, Ed Begley/Jr., Rosana (de) Soto, Art Evans, David Paymer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The In-Laws | 2003 | Andrew Fleming | ★★½ | 98 | Needless but amusing-enough remake of the fondly remembered 1979 comedy, bolstered by its well-cast stars. Douglas is a reckless CIA agent— and neglectful father of groom-to-be Reynolds— who takes Brooks, a timid, nebbishy father of the bride, on the adventure of his life in the days leading up to their kids' wedding. Suchet is a standout as the crazed French arms buyer and megalomaniac. | tt0314786 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney, Ryan Reynolds, Candice Bergen, David Suchet, Lindsay Sloane, Maria Ricossa | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Inadmissible Evidence | 1968 | Anthony Page | ★★½ | 96 | John Osborne's play about barrister who has reached saturation point with everyone and everything preserves Williamson's fine stage performance, but still a photographed play, not a film. Music by Dudley Moore. | tt0063131 | [R] | Nicol Williamson, Eleanor Fazan, Jill Bennett, Peter Sallis, David Valla, Eileen Atkins | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Inbetweeners Movie | 2011 | Ben Palmer | ★½ | 97 | Having just graduated from school, four 18-year-old friends go on vacation in Greece to sow their wild oats. This feature serves as a finale for the popular British TV series. Whereas the show is charming, awkward, and silly, the movie turns crude and vulgar, losing its sweetness. Aimed squarely at fans of the well-liked series (and peppered with many of its recurring cast members); some may be disappointed at the change in tone, though it was a hit in the U.K. | tt1716772 | Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, Emily Head, Lydia Rose Bewley, Laura Haddock, Tamla Kari, Theo James, Anthony Head | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Incendiary | 2008 | Sharon Maguire | ★½ | 96 | Suicide bombers attack a North London stadium during a high-profile soccer match. One of the victims is Williams’ young son; as she mourns, she fixates on a boy whose father she believes was one of the terrorists. Barely watchable drama accomplishes the near impossible: It portrays issues relating to terrorism and its impact on individual lives as hackneyed soap opera. Williams’ gutsy performance is the sole interest here. Maguire scripted, from Chris Cleave’s 2005 novel. | tt0984200 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Matthew Macfadyen, Nicholas Gleaves, Sidney Johnston, Usman Khokhar, Sasha Behar | British | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Incendiary Blonde | 1945 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 113 | Hollywoodized biography of 1920s nightclub queen Texas Guinan is Hutton all over. Plenty of old-time songs. | tt0037816 | Betty Hutton, Arturo de Cordova, Charlie Ruggles, Albert Dekker, Barry Fitzgerald, Mary Phillips, Bill Goodwin | Musical | NULL | |||
| Incendies | 2010 | Denis Villeneuve | ★★★½ | 130 | A brother and sister, who are twins, attend the reading of their mother’s will and learn that they have a sibling they never knew about—and a father who, despite what they were told, is very much alive. The sister embarks on a journey of discovery to their homeland in the Middle East, retracing her mother’s steps and learning how much the woman suffered at the hands of family, neighbors, and captors during her difficult life. A tough, spellbinding story that deals with forgiveness and resolution, adapted by the director from Wajdi Mouawad’s play. Note that the Middle Eastern country is never named. | tt1255953 | [R] | Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman | Canadian-French | Drama, Mystery, War | NULL | |
| Inception | 2010 | Christopher Nolan | ★★½ | 148 | DiCaprio and his team are masters of a form of corporate spying: entering a selected target’s dream state and extracting information, for which competitors pay huge sums. Having underestimated the complexities of the tool, DiCaprio mishandled it to the point of severely rupturing his personal life, forcing him to flee the U.S. Now, at a psychological impasse, he’s offered a challenging job he can’t refuse by corporate giant Watanabe. But this means facing his demons by virtually retracing the same nightmarish territory that nearly destroyed him. Ambitious, exceedingly well-crafted film, written by Nolan, works too hard to show off its cleverness and intricacy and even betrays its own ground rules when it suits the filmmaker. Oscar winner for Cinematography (Wally Pfister), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. | tt1375666 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Dileep Rao, Lukas Haas, Pete Postlethwaite | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Inchon! | 1982 | Terence Young | 💣 | 105 | Empty-headed Korean war epic produced by Rev. Sung Myung Moon's Unification Church. Olivier looks like a wax museum figure in his makeup as Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Laughable script punctuated by epic-scale battle scenes. Cut from 140m. length. | tt0084132 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, Toshiro Mifune, Richard Roundtree | Korean-U.S. | War | NULL | |
| Incident at Midnight | 1963 | Norman Harrison | ★★ | 58 | Based on Edgar Wallace short story, film deals with drugstore hangout of dope addicts and gangsters who ply their trade there; trim yarn. | tt0179867 | Anton Diffring, William Sylvester, Tony Garnett, Martin Miller | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Incident at Oglala | 1992 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 89 | Incisive documentary detailing the alleged framing of Leonard Peltier, Native American who was jailed in the wake of a 1975 'incident' at South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation that resulted in the deaths of two FBI agents. Must viewing in tandem with the thematically related THUNDERHEART, also directed by Apted. Redford also is executive producer. | tt0104504 | [PG] | Narrated by Robert Redford | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Incident at Phantom Hill | 1966 | Earl Bellamy | ★★½ | 88 | Solid little Western about greedy trio chasing after horde of gold, combating Indians, the elements and each other. | tt0060537 | Robert Fuller, Dan Duryea, Jocelyn Lane, Claude Akins | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Incident at Victoria Falls | 1991 | Bill Corcoran | ★★½ | 120 | Just before retiring to Sussex to raise bees, Sherlock Holmes (Lee) is persuaded by King Edward (Ackland) to bring a valuable diamond back from South Africa. This leads to an encounter with Teddy Roosevelt (Akins), lots of chugging about in steam trains, and a great deal of intrigue. Lee is fine as an aging Holmes, but Macnee's a bit too comic as Watson. Cut down from a four-hour miniseries, accounting for some story abruptness—and Jenny Seagrove's name in the credits, though she does not appear on screen. Aka SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE INCIDENT AT VICTORIA FALLS. Followed SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE LEADING LADY. | tt0102115 | Christopher Lee, Patrick Macnee, Claude Akins, Richard Todd, Joss Ackland, John Indi, Stephen Gurney | Belgian-British-Italian-Luxembourg | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Incident | 1967 | Larry Peerce | ★★★ | 107 | Tough, brutal story of two drunken hoods who terrorize passengers in N.Y.C. subway. Well made but unpleasant— and still topical. Film debuts of Sheen and Mills. | tt0061814 | Tony Musante, Martin Sheen, Beau Bridges, Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Ed McMahon, Diana Van Der Vlis, Mike Kellin, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, Donna Mills | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Incognito | 1997 | John Badham | ★★½ | 107 | An art forger (Patric) who's hired to create a fake Rembrandt goes to Europe and falls for an art expert (Jacob) who happens to be the world's foremost Rembrandt authority, and forces her to go on the run with him after he's framed for murder. Barely released, would-be Hitchcockian thriller. Ian Holm appears unbilled. | tt0119365 | [R] | Jason Patric, Irène Jacob, Rod Steiger, Thomas Lockyer, Ian Richardson, Simon Chandler | U.S.-British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| An Inconvenient Truth | 2006 | Davis Guggenheim | ★★★ | 96 | Intelligent filmed version of Al Gore's multimedia presentation on the phenomenon of global climate change, in which the former vice president clearly, succinctly explains global warming and its potentially disastrous consequences. While the film persuasively explores an issue that is relevant to the future of planet earth, it also serves as a celluloid press release for Gore by spotlighting the major events in his life, stressing his deep commitment to the issue at hand. | tt0497116 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant | 1971 | Anthony M. Lanza | ★½ | 88 | The head of an insane murderer is attached to the head of a mental incompetent. But who can we blame for this movie? | tt0067245 | [PG] | Bruce Dern, Pat Priest, Casey Kasem, Albert Cole, John Bloom, Berry Kroeger | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Incredible Hulk | 2008 | Louis Leterrier | ★★★ | 112 | Bruce Banner lives in exile in Brazil, trying to figure out what causes him to become the Hulk when he becomes angry. Then his old nemesis, General Ross (Hurt), tracks him down, with a ferocious fighting-man (Roth) in tow, and sends him on the run—back to the college lab where he first experimented on himself (and fell in love). Straightforward comic-book movie has energy to spare and a first-rate performance by Norton. Monstrous street-fight finale is reminiscent of the climax of TRANSFORMERS. Offers pleasing nods to the vintage TV series and its stars. The Hulk’s cocreator Stan Lee cameos. | tt0800080 | [PG-13] | Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Christina Cabot | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Incredible Journey | 1963 | Fletcher Markle | ★★★ | 80 | Entertaining, well-made Disney story of three pets— two dogs and a cat— who make 250-mile journey across Canada on their own to be with their family of humans. Remade by Disney in 1993 as HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. | tt0057180 | Emile Genest, John Drainie, Tommy Tweed, Sandra Scott | Family, Short, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Incredible Melting Man | 1978 | William Sachs | ★½ | 86 | Rebar is only survivor of outer space mission which has turned his body into a melting muck. Cheap, old-fashioned B horror film whose only saving grace is Rick Baker's excellent makeup effects. | tt0076191 | [R] | Alex Rebar, Burr DeBenning, Myron Healey, Michael Aldredge, Ann Sweeney, Lisle Wilson | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Incredible Mr. Limpet | 1964 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 102 | Knotts plays a milquetoast who dreams of becoming a fish— and miraculously gets his wish (turning into an animated cartoon figure). What's more, he helps the Navy spot Nazi submarines during WW2. Innocuous family fare goes on too long. | tt0058230 | Don Knotts, Jack Weston, Carole Cook, Andrew Duggan, Larry Keating | Animation, Comedy, Family, War | NULL | |||
| The Incredible Petrified World | 1957 | Jerry Warren | 💣 | 78 | Four people explore the ocean depths in Dr. Carradine's diving bell and are plunged into land of catacombed tunnels. Not uninteresting sci-fi entry, but ultimately defeated by poor acting, leaden pacing. | tt0053944 | John Carradine, Robert Clarke, Allen Windsor, Phyllis Coates, Lloyd Nelson, George Skaff | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Incredible Sarah | 1976 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 106 | Broadly sketched portrait of legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt; Jackson chews the scenery in a flamboyant performance, but someone should have chewed up the script instead. Filmed in England. | tt0074678 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Daniel Massey, Yvonne Mitchell, Douglas Wilmer, David Langton, Simon Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Incredible Shrinking Man | 1957 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 81 | Accidents result in Williams shrinking ever smaller; trapped in his own basement, he has memorable encounters with a cat and (even smaller) a spider. Intelligent, serious approach, exceptional effects for the period, and a vigorous leading performance result in a genuine sci-fi classic, unsurpassed by later attempts. No dialogue in the last third, just Williams’ occasional narration. Director Arnold’s best movie. Screenplay by Richard Matheson, from his own novel. | tt0050539 | Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, William Schallert, Billy Curtis | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Incredible Shrinking Woman | 1981 | Joel Schumacher | ★★ | 88 | Semi-spoof of SHRINKING MAN with Tomlin in three roles, principally as a suburban housewife whose constant exposure to household products causes her to dwindle; she becomes a media darling, then the target of an evil corporation. Never as funny or pointed as it would like to be, but worth catching for really peculiar color schemes and an amazing performance by Rick Baker as a gorilla named Sidney. Schumacher's directorial debut. | tt0082558 | [PG] | Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, Henry Gibson, Elizabeth Wilson, Mark Blankfield, Pamela Bellwood, John Glover, Mike Douglas | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Incredibles | 2004 | Brad Bird | ★★★ | 115 | Dynamic computer-animated film from Pixar about a family of superheroes who now live in a witness-protection program and have to suppress their superpowers . . . until a mysterious source calls on Mr. Incredible for help. Starts out as sharp comedy, then morphs into a comic-book-style action film; result is a shift in tone and a lengthening of the story, but it all comes together. Writer-director Bird provides the voice of costume designer Edna Mode, and includes a cameo by (and tribute to) legendary Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Snazzy music score by Michael Giacchino. Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature and Sound Editing. | tt0317705 | [PG] | Voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Elizabeth Peña, John Ratzenberger | Comedy, Animation, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? | The Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary | 1963 | Ray Dennis Steckler | ★★½ | 82 | Legendary (thanks to that title) low-budget horror film about hideous goings-on at a carny sideshow, with lots of rock numbers thrown in. Truly bizarre film features gorgeously saturated color, awful acting, hideous dialogue, haunting atmosphere and little plot. Cinematography by Joe Micelli (author of American Cinematographers' Manual) with very young Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond helping. Aka THE TEENAGE PSYCHO MEETS BLOODY MARY. | tt0057181 | Cash Flagg (Ray Dennis Steckler), Brett O'Hara, Atlas King, Sharon Walsh, Madison Clarke, Son Hooker | Horror, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love | 1995 | Maria Maggenti | ★★ | 94 | A grungily dressed, white tomboy from a lesbian household falls for a financially secure black beauty— a reciprocated romance that has the latter's snooty high school pals reeling. Given the physical characteristics of the two leads and the script's lack of mean streak, the tolerant may overlook this meagerly budgeted comedy's total lack of cinematic interest. Otherwise, it's more interminable than incredible. | tt0113416 | [R] | Laurel Holloman, Nicole Parker, Maggie Moore, Kate Stafford, Sabrina Artel | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Incubus | 1966 | Leslie Stevens | ★★★ | 74 | First— and so far only— movie ever made in the language of Esperanto concerns a beautiful succubus who tries to corrupt a pure soul, only to fall in love instead. Long-lost, genuinely creepy curio written and directed by the creator of The Outer Limits plays like a feature-length episode of that series— as made by Ingmar Bergman. Conrad Hall's expressionistic b&w photography of the striking Big Sur locations is a major asset. | tt0059311 | William Shatner, Allyson Ames, Eloise Hardt, Robert Fortier, Ann Atmar, Milos Milos | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Incubus | 1982 | John Hough | 💣 | 90 | Repulsive, poorly made horror thriller about sex murders in small Wisconsin town. | tt0084133 | [R] | John Cassavetes, Kerrie Keane, Helen Hughes, Erin Flannery, Duncan McIntosh, John Ireland | Canadian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Indecent Proposal | 1993 | Adrian Lyne | ★★ | 118 | A cocky high roller offers destitute couple Harrelson and Moore a million dollars to sleep with her for one night. They accept, but are immediately plunged into a whirlpool of remorse, jealousy, and bitterness. Intriguing premise bogged down by sheer silliness (not to mention overlength), though it remains watchable. | tt0107211 | [R] | Robert Redford, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Oliver Platt, Seymour Cassel, Billy Bob Thornton, Rip Taylor, Joel Brooks, Billy Connolly, Sheena Easton, Herbie Hancock | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Independence Day | Follow Your Dreams | 1983 | Robert Mandel | ★★ | 110 | Interesting but unfocused little picture about a young woman who's aching to leave her claustrophobic hometown but held back (in part) by romance with car mechanic Keith. Subplot about battered wife (superbly played by Wiest) seems to be a separate film altogether. Shown on TV as FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. | tt0085724 | [R] | Kathleen Quinlan, David Keith, Frances Sternhagen, Cliff DeYoung, Dianne Wiest, Josef Sommer, Bert Remsen, Richard Farnsworth, Brooke Alderson, Noble Willingham, Susan Ruttan | Drama | NULL | |
| Independence Day | 1996 | Roland Emmerich | ★★½ | 145 | Spectacular— and spectacularly stupid— sci-fi saga of alien ships hovering over the earth and apparently planning to attack. U.S. President Pullman tries to determine how best to fight, as the stakes keep changing on an hour-to-hour basis. Big, Oscar-winning special effects are impressive, but the human stories are so dumb, the writing so lame, and some of the performances so broad they make some silly '50s sci-fi movies look brilliant by comparison. 15m. added for special edition. | tt0116629 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, Brent Spiner, James Duval, Vivica A. Fox, Lisa Jakub, Ross Bagley, Bill Smitrovich, Harry Connick/Jr. | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Independent | 2001 | Stephen Kessler | ★★½ | 85 | Mockumentary about legendary schlock film producer Morty Fineman (Stiller), who enlists his estranged daughter to save his bankrupt production company. Uneven, but the cast is game and the clips from Morty's extremely prolific oeuvre are very funny. Many cameos from filmmakers like Ron Howard, Peter Bogdanovich, and Roger Corman, along with Stiller's wife, Anne Meara, and son, Ben. Stay through the credits for the entire Fineman filmography. | tt0160403 | [R] | Jerry Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Max Perlich, Andy Dick, John Lydon, Ginger Lynn Allen, Billy Burke, Fred Dryer, Richard Paul, Larry Hankin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Indestructible Man | 1956 | Jack Pollexfen | ★★ | 70 | Scientist is able to return from the dead a fabled, just-executed criminal, “Butcher Benton” (Chaney, Jr.), who goes on to seek revenge against his shyster lawyer and others. Not-bad sci-fi/horror entry will entertain fans of the genre. | tt0049363 | Lon Chaney, Jr., Casey Adams, Marion Carr, Ross Elliot, Stuart Randall, Robert Shayne | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Indian Fighter | 1955 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 88 | Exciting account of Douglas leading wagon train through rampaging Indian country. | tt0048204 | Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau, Elsa Martinelli, Walter Abel, Lon Chaney | Western | NULL | |||
| Indian Paint | 1964 | Norman Foster | ★★ | 91 | Fifteen-year-old Arikara (Crawford), his foal, and his coming-to-manhood. Harmless, forgettable. | tt0057182 | Johnny Crawford, Jay Silverheels, Pat Hogan, Robert Crawford/Jr., George J. Lewis | Western | NULL | |||
| The Indian Runner | 1991 | Sean Penn | ★★★ | 125 | Mood piece about a young man's desperate attempts to understand— and get closer to— his troubled kid brother, who's just returned from Vietnam. Lethargic at times, but filled with emotion and truth, and ultimately quite moving. Strong performances all around, with offbeat but effective casting of Bronson as the boys' melancholy father. Impressive achievement for first-time writer/director Penn. Penn's real-life mother, actress Eileen Ryan, plays Mrs. Baker. Inspired by Bruce Springsteen's song 'Highway Patrolman.' | tt0102116 | [R] | David Morse, Viggo Mortensen, Valeria Golino, Patricia Arquette, Charles Bronson, Sandy Dennis, Dennis Hopper, Benicio Del Toro, Kenny Stabler | Drama | NULL | ||
| Indian Summer | 1993 | Mike Binder | ★★★ | 97 | Good-natured yuppie nostalgia about thirtysomethings who return to the beloved summer camp of their youth for a reunion weekend. Arkin is wonderful as the camp director, and the cast couldn't be more appealing. Writer-director Binder based this on his own memories, and filmed at the actual Camp Tamakwa he attended in Canada. That's director Sam Raimi playing Arkin's flunky. | tt0107212 | [PG-13] | Alan Arkin, Matt Craven, Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Pollak, Vincent Spano, Julie Warner, Kimberly Williams | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Indian Territory | 1950 | John English. | ★★ | 70 | Government agent Autry is working undercover for the Chief of Indian Affairs to stop Indian uprisings perpetrated by renegade white gunrunners Van Zandt and Griffith. OK Western with good action but a shaky script. | tt0042595 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Kirby Grant, James Griffith, Phil Van Zandt, Pat Collins, Roy Gordon. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Indian Tomb | Journey to the Lost City | 1959 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 97 | The pace picks up a bit in this second of Lang's Indian diptych, chronicling the events leading up to lovers Paget and Hubschmid's escape from the clutches of maharajah Reyer. Paget's exotic dance is a highlight. This and Part One (THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR) were originally dubbed, edited down to 95m., and released in the U.S. as JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY. | tt0052924 | Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walther Reyer, Claus Holm, Sabine Bethmann, René Deltgen | German | Adventure | NULL | |
| Indian Uprising | 1952 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 75 | Geronimo on the warpath again. | tt0179868 | George Montgomery, Audrey Long, Carl Benton Reid, Robert Shayne | Western | NULL | |||
| The Indian in the Cupboard | 1995 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 96 | A boy (Scardino) receives an old cupboard as a birthday present, and finds that when he puts a plastic Indian inside and turns the key, the Indian comes to life. Then he learns that the Indian is not a toy, but a real person, and complications ensue— especially when his best friend conjures up a real-life cowboy. First-rate adaptation of Lynne Reid Banks' popular children's book, scripted by Melissa Mathison (of E.T. fame); full of wonder and simple wisdom . . . if a few too many giant closeups of the boy's face. | tt0113419 | [PG] | Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Jenkins, Rishi Bhat, Steve Coogan, David Keith, Sakina Jaffrey, Vincent Kartheiser, Nestor Serrano | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 2008 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★½ | 122 | After a 19-year hiatus, Indy returns with the same brand of high adventure that marked the original RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. In 1957 the intrepid archeologist-teacher runs afoul of Russian spies (including a wily Blanchett), then follows a young man (LaBeouf) who bears a letter from an old friend, now lost in the jungles of Peru, that may lead them to the Crystal Skull of Akator—and the lost city of El Dorado. Opens with slam-bang action, falls into a lull of exposition, then revs into high gear for an eye-filling finale. Ford reclaims the role he invented in fine fashion. Written by David Koepp from a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. | tt0367882 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Shia LaBeouf, Igor Jijikine | Adventure, Fantasy, Action | NULL | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 127 | Follow-the-numbers adventure spectacle has Ford in fine form and Connery adding panache as Indy's archeologist father, whose mysterious disappearance (while searching for the Holy Grail) sets the story in motion. This deliberately old-fashioned Saturday matinée yarn has everything money can buy, but never really generates a sense of wonder and excitement. A definite improvement over the second Indiana Jones outing, but it still bears the mark of one too many trips to the well. Oscar winner for sound effects editing. | tt0097576 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, Michael Byrne, Alex Hyde-White | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 1984 | Steven Spielberg | ★★ | 118 | Headache-inducing prequel to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but this time the 1930s archaeologist/adventurer has a weaker story and wimpier heroine. Re-creates (and outdoes) a bunch of great cliffhanger stunts, but never gives us a chance to breathe . . . and tries to top the snake scene in RAIDERS by coming up with a variety of new 'gross-out' gags. Oscar winner for Visual Effects. Followed by INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. | tt0087469 | [PG] | Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan (Jonathan Ke Quan), Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Dan Aykroyd | Fantasy, Romance, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Indianapolis Speedway | 1939 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 82 | Routine but watchable remake of Howard Hawk’s THE CROWD ROARS, about the rivalry between brothers O’Brien and Payne on the racetrack. James Cagney’s patented cockiness, the best thing about the original, is what’s missing here. | tt0031482 | Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, John Payne, Gale Page, Frank McHugh, John Ridgely, Regis Toomey | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Indiscreet | 1931 | Leo McCarey | ★½ | 81 | Tiresome romantic comedy-drama with Swanson trying to keep her scarlet past from Lyon. Art deco sets, and Gloria's rendition of two DeSylva-Brown-Henderson songs, aren't compensation enough for sitting through this one. Original running time 92m. | tt0022000 | Gloria Swanson, Ben Lyon, Barbara Kent, Arthur Lake, Monroe Owsley | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Indiscreet | 1958 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 100 | Bergman is renowned actress whom American playboy Grant romances and can't forget. Delightful comedy from Norman Krasna play Kind Sir. Made in England. Remade as a 1988 TVM with Robert Wagner and Lesley-Anne Down. | tt0051773 | Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Cecil Parker, Phyllis Calvert, David Kossoff, Megs Jenkins | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Indiscretion of an American Wife | Terminal Station | 1953 | Vittorio De Sica. | ★★½ | 63 | Turgid melodrama set in Rome's railway station, with Jones the adulterous wife meeting lover Clift for one more clinch. De Sica's original 87m. version, titled TERMINAL STATION, was restored in 1983. Remade in 1998 for TV. | tt0046366 | Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift, Gino Cervi, Richard Beymer. | U.S.-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Indochine | 1992 | Régis Wargnier | ★★ | 155 | Soap opera set against political upheaval in French Indochina during the 1930s. Deneuve plays a wealthy French landowner who's raised an orphaned Indochinese girl, and now must contend with the fact that she's grown— and has a mind of her own. Interesting historical elements, set against a fascinating landscape, but story is mostly tripe. Even so, nabbed the Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0104507 | [PG-13] | Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Perez, Linh Dan Pham, Jean Yanne, Dominique Blanc, Henri Marteau, Carlo Brandt, Gerard Lartigau | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt | 1983 | Harrison Engle | ★★★ | 94 | Excellent and innovative documentary about the remarkable, larger-than-life figure who became our 26th president. Artfully mixes newsreel footage with meticulous recreations featuring Bob Boyd in the role of T.R. Set to the stirring music of John Philip Sousa. | tt0087470 | Narrated by George C. Scott | Drama, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Inevitable Grace | 1994 | Alex Canawati | 💣 | 103 | Lame psychological thriller about a psychiatrist at a mental institution who gets involved in a nasty (and ludicrous) triangle with her patient and the woman's husband. Seemingly endless movie does offer a chance to check out the acting ability of Jack Nicholson and Sandra Knight's daughter Jennifer, but that's not much of a. | tt0110136 | Maxwell Caulfield, Stephanie Knights, Jennifer Nicholson, Tippi Hedren, Samantha Eggar, Sandra Knight, Rob Sheiffele, Taylor Negron | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Infamous | 2006 | Douglas McGrath | ★★★ | 118 | Writer Truman Capote (a superb Jones), darling of 1950s New York society, heads to Kansas with novelist pal Nelle Harper Lee (Bullock) when a random murder spree piques his interest. Based on a George Plimpton book, this film covers the same ground as 2005's CAPOTE, but on a broad canvas, with more humor and panache. Written by the director. | tt0420609 | [R] | Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, Sigourney Weaver, Daniel Craig, Hope Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Juliet Stevenson, Lee Pace, Gwyneth Paltrow, Peter Bogdanovich, John Benjamin Hickey | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| Infernal Affairs | 2002 | Andrew Lau, Alan Mak. | ★★★ | 101 | Hong Kong cop goes deep undercover to infiltrate a Triad crime gang and spends 10 years rising to the top, then learns that the gang has planted a mole in the police department for the same amount of time. Tense game of cat and mouse ensues as each one tries to discover the other's identity. Stylish, character-driven thriller delivers plenty of action while dealing with philosophical notions of morality, identity, and loyalty. Followed by a prequel and a sequel. | tt0338564 | [R] | Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Chapman To, Lam Ka-tung, Ng Ting-yip, Wan Chi-keung. | Hong Kong | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Inferno | 1953 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 107 | Fleming plots rich husband Ryan's demise, with surprising results. Good desert sequences. Originally in 3-D. Remade as a TV movie, ORDEAL. | tt0045911 | Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Henry Hull, Carl Betz, Larry Keating | Drama | NULL | |||
| Inferno | 1980 | Dario Argento | ★★½ | 107 | American returns to N.Y. from studies in Rome to investigate the gruesome murder of his sister, and discovers 'evil mothers' wreaking supernatural havoc on both sides of Atlantic. Surreal, hypnotic shocker by Italian horror maestro Argento is short on sense, but long on style. | tt0080923 | [R] | Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Sacha Pitoeff, Daria Nicolodi, Eleonora Giorgi, Veronica Lazar, Alida Valli | Italian | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Infinity | 1996 | Matthew Broderick | ★★½ | 117 | Sweet but uneven movie based on the life of Richard Feynman, whose relationship with Arline Greenbaum (Arquette) in pre-WW2 N.Y.C. takes a fateful turn when he is recruited to work on the Manhattan Project. (The theoretical physicist won the Nobel Prize in 1965.) Effective when dealing with the love story, but meanders when Feynman moves to Los Alamos. Broderick's directorial debut; scripted by his mother, Patricia Broderick. | tt0116635 | [PG] | Matthew Broderick, Patricia Arquette, Peter Riegert, Dori Brenner, Peter Michael Goetz, Zeljko Ivanek, Matt Mulhern, Joyce Van Patten, James LeGros | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Informant! | 2009 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 108 | Mark Whitacre (Damon), a rising executive at Midwestern biofuel corporation Archer Daniels Midland, decides to blow the whistle on some of its shady practices in the early 1990s, and works with the FBI to nail his greedy bosses. Whitacre has no idea of what lies in store for him, but it turns out the feds are in for some big surprises, too. A story so nutty it could only be true—although an opening title card cheekily admits that some elements have been fictionalized for dramatic effect. True-life saga gets better (and loopier) as it goes along, and Damon is terrific. Adapted from journalist Kurt Eichenwald's book. Delightfully puckish, "retro" score by Marvin Hamlisch. | tt1130080 | [R] | Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Rick Overton, Tom Papa, Tom Wilson, Clancy Brown, Tony Hale, Ann Cusack, Allan Havey, Rusty Schwimmer, Eddie Jemison, Candy Clark, Bob Zany, Scott Adsit, Patton Oswalt, Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers | Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Informer | 1935 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 91 | Dated but still potent study of human nature tells of hard-drinking McLaglen, who informs on buddy to collect reward during Irish Rebellion of 1922. Powerful drama, based on Liam O'Flaherty's novel, with a memorable Max Steiner score. McLaglen's performance won the Oscar, as did Ford, Steiner, and Dudley Nichols (for Best Screenplay). Filmed before in England in 1929. Remade as UP TIGHT. | tt0026529 | Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O'Connor, J. M. Kerrigan, Joe Sawyer, Donald Meek | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Informers | 2009 | Gregor Jordan | 💣 | 98 | Returning to the bored, drug-addled, sex-obsessed L.A. deadheads he made famous in Less Than Zero, author and co-screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis’ collection of familiar and wasted Hollywood types adds up to way less than zero this time. A good cast is lost in the fog of clichéd writing and indifferent direction. There’s the sinister studio exec, the neglected wife having an affair with the pool boy, the aging newscaster, the low-level hood, and a host of beautiful, vapid young people who spend their days doing drugs and their nights in bed with each other. Yecccch. This was Renfro’s last film. | tt0865554 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Brad Renfro, Jon Foster, Amber Heard, Rhys Ifans, Chris Isaak, Austin Nichols, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mel Raido, Theo Rossi | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Infra-Man | 1976 | Hua-Shan | ★★★ | 92 | Princess Dragon Mom (Liu) and her odd assortment of monster underlings attempt to take over the earth— and it's Infra-Man (Hsiu-hsien) to the rescue. Action-packed, with gloriously corny dialogue (dubbed), outlandish costumes and sets, adequate special effects. Great fun. | tt0073168 | [PG] | Li Hsiu-hsien, Wang Hsieh, Yuan Man-tzu, Terry Liu, Tsen Shu-yi, Huang Chien-lung, Lu Sheng | Hong Kong | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Inglorious Bastards | G.I. Bro | 1978 | Enzo G. Castellari | ★★ | 100 | Ragtag group of American soldiers, headed for court-martialing, escape during a German attack and make their way to the Swiss border. Dubious acting-and dubbing-make this Hollywood-wananbe action yarn something of a hoot, but some energetic action in the second half helps to redeem it. This inspired Quentin Tarantino's INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, though the two films have almost nothing in common. | tt0076584 | [R] | Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Peter Hooten, Ian Bannen, Michael Pergolani, Jackie Basehart, Michel Constantin, Debra Berger | Italian | Comedy, Action, War | NULL |
| Inglourious Basterds | 2009 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★½ | 153 | Cartoonish WW2 vignettes, each one teasingly tense but long, focus on a band of Jewish vigilante U.S. soldiers who are out for Nazi blood . . . a French woman whose family was slaughtered and now runs a Paris movie theater . . . an operation involving a German movie star who's working undercover for the Allies . . . and a cheerfully sly S.S. officer who's one step ahead of his enemies. (Waltz's rich performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.) In this boys' adventure-cum-fantasy, moviemaking plays a crucial role in the outcome of the war. A colorful, flamboyant concoction that's well-staged but awfully self-indulgent, a handful of scenes in search of a real movie. Inspired by INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (1978), directed by Enzo G. Castellari, who has a cameo here. | tt0361748 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Jacky Ido, B. J. Novak, Julie Dreyfus, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor | U.S.-German | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Inherit the Wind | 1960 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★½ | 127 | Vocals by Leslie Uggams. Absorbing adaptation of Jerome Lawrence-Robert E. Lee play based on notorious Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, when Clarence Darrow defended and William Jennings Bryan prosecuted a schoolteacher arrested for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Names are changed (Kelly's character is based on acid-tongued H. L. Mencken), but the issue is real and still relevant. An acting tour de force, with solid support from Morgan as the judge, Reid as a lawyer, Eldridge as March's devoted wife. Only offbeat casting of Kelly doesn't quite come off. Screenplay by Nathan E. Douglas (Nedrick Young) and Harold Jacob Smith. Remade as 1988 TVM with Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards. Also remade as a TVM in 1999 with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott. | tt0053946 | Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Florence Eldridge, Dick York, Harry Morgan, Donna Anderson, Elliott Reid, Claude Akins, Noah Beery/Jr., Norman Fell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Inheritance | 1947 | Charles Frank | ★★★ | 98 | Well-appointed chiller, with Simmons as innocent preyed upon by corrupt uncle; situated in Victorian London and Paris. Based on a novel by Sheridan Le Fanu. Original British title: UNCLE SILAS. | tt0039492 | Jean Simmons, Derrick DeMarney, Derek Bond, Katina Paxinou, Esmond Knight | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Inheritance | 1976 | Mauro Bolognini | ★★½ | 105 | Moody melodrama about dying patriarch (Quinn) who wants to disown everyone but his calculating daughter-in-law (Sanda), who offers him sexual comforts. Well-acted, handsome production with emphasis on eroticism. Originally 121m. | tt0074487 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Dominique Sanda, Fabio Testi, Adriana Asti, Luigi Proietti | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| The Inheritors | 1998 | Stefan Ruzowitzky | ★★★ | 95 | A landowner dies and bequeaths his assets to the seven lowly peasants who worked his farm. Spirited, pointed (if predictable) political allegory, set in an Austrian village in the 1930s. Vivid characterizations add punch to the proceedings. | tt0141824 | [R] | Simon Schwarz, Sophie Rois, Lars Rudolph, Julia Gschnitzer, Ulrich Wildgruber, Elizabeth Orth, Tilo Pruckner, Susanne Silverio | Austrian | Drama | NULL | |
| Inkheart | 2008 | Iain Softley | ★★ | 106 | When Fraser reads aloud he brings characters from books to life—with often frightening results. He and his daughter go to Europe in search of the rare book that can free her mother from imprisonment within its pages. Elaborate fantasy based on Cornelia Funke’s novel borrows from other, better, stories (including The Wizard of Oz) and never coalesces into a great yarn of its own. Nice in-joke has Jennifer Connelly doing a cameo as Bettany’s wife. | tt0494238 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Eliza Hope Bennett, Rafi Gavron; narrated by Roger Allam | U.S.-German | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Inkwell | 1994 | Matty Rich | ★½ | 110 | A 16-year-old, whose toy doll confidante naturally worries his parents, learns about love, SUMMER OF '42-style, in this Summer of '76 nostalgia piece set in a black section of Martha's Vineyard. Clumsily written and directed and (doll aside) irritatingly derivative. Filmmakers groused that the result would have been better without studio interference. | tt0110137 | [R] | Larenz Tate, Joe Morton, Suzzanne Douglas, Glynn Turman, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Adrienne-Joi Johnson, Morris Chestnut, Jada Pinkett, Duane Martin, Mary Alice, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney | Family, Romance, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Inland Empire | 2006 | David Lynch | ★★½ | 179 | Demanding, surreal Lynchian experiment is almost impossible to describe. Suffice it to say that Dern offers staggering performances in several roles (which may or may not be the same character), most prominently as an actress who is cast as the lead in a new movie. A digitally shot companion piece to MULHOLLAND DRIVE. Not for every filmgoer; Lynch buffs will probably rate this higher. Dern also coproduced. | tt0460829 | [R] | Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Peter J. Lucas, Karolina Gruszka, Jan Hench, Grace Zabriskie, Diane Ladd, Julia Ormond, Ian Abercrombie, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Laura Harring, Nastassja Kinski, Michael Paré; voice of Naomi Watts | U.S.-Polish-French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Inn of the Damned | 1974 | Terry Bourke | ★★½ | 118 | Bounty hunter Cord investigates the disappearances of travelers at an inn operated by sickies Anderson and Furst. Fair of its type, uplifted immeasurably by Anderson's entertaining performance. | tt0071661 | Judith Anderson, Alex Cord, Michael Craig, Joseph Furst, Tony Bonner, John Meillon | Australian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Inn of the Frightened People | Terror From Under the House | 1971 | Sidney Hayers. | ★★ | 89 | Parents of young girl who was raped and murdered take revenge on man they believe guilty. Sordid, low-budget thriller with some interesting moments. British title: REVENGE. Aka TERROR FROM UNDER THE HOUSE. | tt0067248 | Joan Collins, James Booth, Ray Barrett, Sinead Cusack, Tom Marshall, Kenneth Griffith. | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Inn of the Sixth Happiness | 1958 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 158 | True story of English servant (Bergman) who, despite her lack of credentials, realizes her dream of becoming a missionary in China. Bergman is wonderful and Donat memorable in final screen performance. Simple, effective score by Malcolm Arnold. | tt0051776 | Ingrid Bergman, Curt Jurgens, Robert Donat, Ronald Squire, Athene Seyler, Richard Wattis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Inn on the River | 1962 | Alfred Vohrer | ★★½ | 95 | Remake of THE RETURN OF THE FROG, this Edgar Wallace yarn involves series of brutal murders on the waterfront by the 'Shark's' gang. | tt0056012 |
|
Joachim Fuchsberger, Klaus Kinski, Brigitte Grothum, Richard Much | German | Crime | NULL | |
| The Inner Circle | 1991 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★½ | 134 | Intriguing if ultimately obvious, disappointing saga of life in the Soviet Union under the iron rule of Stalin. Story follows naive, humble projectionist (Hulce) who gets to screen a film for the dictator. Much more subtlety is in order here, as Hulce's performance soon becomes grating and one-dimensional. Based on a true story; some sequences were shot inside the Kremlin, and even KGB headquarters. | tt0103838 | [PG-13] | Tom Hulce, Lolita Davidovich, Bob Hoskins, Alexandre Zbruev, Feodor Chaliapin/Jr., Bess Meyer, Maria Baranova | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Inner Life of Martin Frost | 2007 | Paul Auster | ★★★ | 93 | Work-weary novelist Thewlis, decompressing alone in a borrowed country home, is startled to wake up one morning next to lovely, cheerful Jacob. Romance blooms—how could it not?—but soon he learns she's not what she appears to be. Intriguing Orphic fable intimately addresses large themes of literature, philosophy, and the creative process, while delicately tiptoeing across the balance beam of fantasy. Adapted from his own novel and austerely narrated by director Auster. | tt0479074 | [NR] | David Thewlis, Irène Jacob, Michael Imperioli, Sophie Auster | U.S.-French-Spanish-Portuguese | Drama, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |
| Inner Sanctum | 1948 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 62 | Not-bad little film noir. A man kills his wife in the dark of night at a train station. A boy witnesses the crime, finds his life in jeopardy. 'Inspired by' the radio series of the same name. | tt0040472 | Charles Russell, Mary Beth Hughes, Lee Patrick, Nana Bryant, Billy House, Roscoe Ates | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Innerspace | 1987 | Joe Dante | ★★½ | 120 | Diverting tale of rambunctious Navy test pilot (Quaid) who undergoes miniaturization experiment and is accidentally injected into the body of hypochondriac Short. Heady combination of science fiction and comedy, with an off-the-wall sensibility that keeps things unpredictable . . . though tightening would have helped. Short is a delight as the comic hero. Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects. | tt0093260 | [PG] | Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Vernon Wells, Robert Picardo, Wendy Schaal, Harold Sylvester, William Schallert, Henry Gibson, Orson Bean, Kevin Hooks, Kathleen Freeman, Dick Miller, Ken Tobey | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Innkeepers | 2012 | Ti West | ★★½ | 100 | On the last weekend of an old Connecticut hotel, two part-time employees entertain themselves by trying to get proof on video that the historic place is haunted. Well, of course it is! Carefully made movie builds very slowly (too slowly, you might say) to an intense climax. Handsomely filmed in the real hotel, the Yankee Pedlar. | tt1594562 | [R] | Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Alison Bartlett, Kelly McGillis, George Riddle, Lena Dunham | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Innocence | 2000 | Paul Cox | ★★★½ | 94 | Complex, poignant tale of a long-widowed man and a long-married woman (Tingwell, Blake) who rekindle a romance that first blossomed four decades earlier. This wise, nuanced tale explores the meaning of love, and dares to be both tender and sensuous while dealing with characters who are in the twilight of their lives. Cox also scripted. | tt0251141 | Julia Blake, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Terry Norris, Robert Menzies, Marta Dusseldorp, Kristien Van Pellicom, Chris Haywood, Norman Kaye | Australian-Belgian | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Innocent Affair | 1948 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 90 | Outmoded marital sex comedy of love and jealousy, bolstered by teaming of MacMurray and Carroll— their fifth and final pairing. Retitled: DON'T TRUST YOUR HUSBAND. | tt0040473 | Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, Buddy Rogers, Rita Johnson, Alan Mowbray, Louise Allbritton, Anne Nagel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Innocent Blood | 1992 | John Landis | ★★★ | 112 | Guilty-pleasure time: a sexy French vampire (Parillaud) sinks her teeth into mob boss Loggia and unwittingly unleashes a brood of blood-sucking gangsters! Meanwhile, good cop LaPaglia tries to figure out just what's going on. Wild and woolly crossbreed of urban action thriller and vampire movie, with a wicked sense of humor; doesn't always make sense, but fun to watch (if you can take the blood). Rickles is terrific as Loggia's loyal lawyer. Landis casts other film directors, as usual, in cameo roles, including Dario Argento, Michael Ritchie, and Sam Raimi. | tt0104511 | [R] | Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, Anthony LaPaglia, David Proval, Don Rickles, Chazz Palminteri, Rocco Siusto, Tony Sirico, Tony Lip, Kim Coates, Angela Bassett, Luis Guzman, Leo Burmester, Linnea Quigley, Frank Oz | Comedy, Horror, Romance | NULL | ||
| Innocent Bystanders | 1973 | Peter Collinson | ★★½ | 111 | Baker plays James Bond-like character involved in international manhunt for Russian scientist who has escaped from Siberia. Well-made but standard fare, with heavy doses of sadism and violence. | tt0068742 | [PG] | Stanley Baker, Geraldine Chaplin, Donald Pleasence, Dana Andrews, Sue Lloyd, Derren Nesbitt | British | Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| An Innocent Man | 1989 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 113 | Happily married airline mechanic is mistaken for a drug contact by a pair of on-the-take cops who've burst into his home; victim gets a hearty course of 'Slammer 101' after both slugs frame him. Slick and soft at the center, despite some potentially compelling script elements; not too strong on credibility, either. | tt0097579 | [R] | Tom Selleck, F. Murray Abraham, Laila Robins, David Rasche, Richard Young, Badja Djola | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Innocent Sleep | 1996 | Scott Michell | ★★ | 95 | A drunken derelict in London finds himself being pursued by a corrupt cop after witnessing a murder and stumbling onto a high-level international conspiracy. Old-fashioned, would-be Hitchcockian 'innocent-man-on-the-run' thriller is extremely slow moving and murkily plotted, with a cop-out finale that fails to wrap up the myriad loose ends. | tt0113425 | [R] | Rupert Graves, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Gambon, Franco Nero, John Hannah, Graham Crowden | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Innocent Victim | Tree of Hands | 1989 | Giles Foster | ★★½ | 89 | When the young son of unmarried writer Shaver unexpectedly dies, her disturbed mother (Bacall) kidnaps another boy, the abused son of a would-be singer (Hardie). Deliberately paced thriller with too many plot twists; well acted, but wears out its welcome. Based on a novel by Ruth Rendell. Original British title: TREE OF HANDS. | tt0099846 | Helen Shaver, Lauren Bacall, Malcolm Stoddard, Peter Firth, Paul McGann, Katie Hardie, Tony Haygarth, Phyllida Law | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Innocent Voices | 2005 | Luis Mandoki | ★★½ | 112 | Heartfelt story of an 11-year-old boy who, with his brother, sister, and hardworking mother, struggles to survive in the midst of the civil war in 1980s El Salvador. It's not a matter of choosing sides when bullets fly through their makeshift house or when the government recruits schoolboys at the age of 12. Based on the experiences of writer Oscar Torres, the storytelling is simplistic at times, but it still has the ring of truth and sincerity. | tt0387914 | [R] | Carlos Padilla, Leonor Varela, Gustavo Muñoz, José María Yazpik, Ofelia Medina, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Jesús Ochoa | Mexican-U.S.-Puerto Rican | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Innocent | 1976 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★★ | 115 | Director Visconti's final film is among his greatest, a lavishly mounted tragedy about a Sicilian aristocrat who has the tables turned on him by the luscious wife he has chosen to ignore. | tt0074686 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Laura Antonelli, Jennifer O'Neill | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| The Innocent | 1985 | John Mackenzie | ★★½ | 101 | Medium drama about a young boy (Hawley) on the edge of puberty, growing up in a Yorkshire town during the Depression. Occasionally striking but too often slow. | tt0089341 | Andrew Hawley, Kika Markham, Kate Foster, Liam Neeson, Patrick Daley, Tom Bell, Clive Wood, Miranda Richardson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Innocent | 1993 | John Schlesinger | ★★ | 107 | Blah Cold War/paranoia thriller, set in the 1950s, about an ingenuous British circuitry expert (Scott) sent to Berlin to help set up a complicated phone-tapping apparatus to be used against the East Germans; along the way, he becomes involved in a passionate romance. Hopkins is fine as usual (although he does seem miscast as a blustery American CIA official). The characters are strictly one-dimensional; a minor credit for all concerned. Unreleased in U.S. till 1996. | tt0106185 | [R] | Isabella Rossellini, Anthony Hopkins, Campbell Scott, Ronald Nitschke, Hart Bochner, James Grant, Jeremy Sinden | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Innocents in Paris | 1953 | Gordon Parry | ★★★ | 93 | Engaging comedy about seven diverse types crossing the Channel to France, each having wacky adventures. Original British running time 102m. | tt0044749 | Alastair Sim, Ronald Shiner, Claire Bloom, Margaret Rutherford, Claude Dauphin, Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, Richard Wattis, Louis de Funes, Christopher Lee | British | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Innocents of Paris | 1929 | Richard Wallace. | ★★½ | 78 | An antiques vendor fosters a boy whose mother drowned herself in the Seine and becomes involved with his aunt (Beecher, in her only talkie). Already a major figure in French cinema for 20 years, Chevalier literally introduces himself to an American audience in his first talkie. Sentimental star showcase features one of his trademark songs, Leo Robin and Richard Whiting's 'Louise.' From the play Flea Market by Charles E. Andrews; originally produced in both silent and sound editions. | tt0020026 | Maurice Chevalier, Sylvia Beecher, Russell Simpson, George Fawcett, John Miljan, Margaret Livingston, David Durand, Jack Luden, Johnnie Morris. | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Innocents | 1961 | Jack Clayton | ★★★½ | 100 | First-rate thriller based on Henry James' 'The Turn of the Screw,' with Kerr as governess haunted by specters that may or may not be real. Script by William Archibald and Truman Capote, brilliantly realized on film. Photographed by Freddie Francis. Remade in 1992 as THE TURN OF THE SCREW. | tt0055018 | Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Pamela Franklin, Martin Stephens | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Inquiry | 1987 | Damiano Damiani | ★★½ | 107 | Intriguing story treats the resurrection of Christ as a mystery thriller. Carradine is a hardnosed investigator sent from Rome to find out what happened to the missing body of Jesus Christ; an official cover-up is presumed. Offbeat point of view holds interest. Excellent dubbing of the Italian supporting characters, but it's still distracting to hear Keitel's Bronx accent as Pontius Pilate. | tt0093255 | Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Phyllis Logan, Lina Sastri | Italian | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Inserts | 1975 | John Byrum | 💣 | 99 | Pretentious, unending nonsense played out by five characters on one set: decaying Hollywood mansion in early thirties where once-famous director now makes porno films. Dreadful. The British version runs 117m. | tt0073172 | [X] | Richard Dreyfuss, Jessica Harper, Veronica Cartwright, Bob Hoskins, Stephen Davies | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Inside | 1996 | Arthur Penn | ★★ | 94 | South African university professor Stoltz is accused of conspiring against the apartheid government and is subjected to ruthless interrogation by a sadistic colonel (Hawthorne). Years later, the colonel is subject to questioning by Gossett. The cast is first rate and the subject matter is interesting, but film lacks dramatic spark. First shown on cable TV. | tt0116640 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Nigel Hawthorne, Louis Gossett/Jr., Ian Roberts, Jerry Mofokeng | Drama | NULL | ||
| Inside Daisy Clover | 1965 | Robert Mulligan | ★★½ | 128 | Potentially biting account of Wood's rise as Hollywood star in 1930s misfires; pat situations with caricatures instead of people. | tt0059314 | Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Christopher Plummer, Roddy McDowall, Ruth Gordon, Katherine Bard | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Inside Deep Throat | 2005 | Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato. | ★★½ | 92 | Saga of DEEP THROAT, the 1972 porno film that became a landmark: the first such movie to enjoy huge mainstream success and a lightning rod for government attacks on obscenity. Neatly mixes archival footage, interviews with the participants (actors Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems, director Gerard Damiano), and popular-culture commentators (Hugh Hefner, Erica Jong, Norman Mailer, Helen Gurley Brown, John Waters, et al.). Interesting, to be sure, but not as profound as its filmmakers would have you believe. | tt0418753 | [NC-17] | Narrated by Dennis Hopper. | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Inside Detroit | 1955 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 82 | Ordinary exposé-style narrative of corruption in automobile industry. | tt0048209 | Dennis O'Keefe, Pat O'Brien, Margaret Field, Mark Damon | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Inside Job | 1946 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★★ | 65 | Sensible minor film of struggling young marrieds tempted to enter life of crime to solve their financial problems. | tt0038643 | Preston Foster, Ann Rutherford, Alan Curtis, Jimmy Moss. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Inside Job | 2010 | Charles Ferguson | ★★★½ | 109 | Careful exploration of the economic meltdown of 2008 begins by showing what happened when unbridled greed overtook the long-stable economy of Iceland a decade earlier. That serves as prelude to a sea of bad decision-making and outright corruption in the U.S. and elsewhere, with seemingly no one minding the store, and no one being punished for the dire results except the public. A riveting, clearheaded, and infuriating film. Oscar winner for Best Documentary. | tt1645089 | [PG-13] | Narrated by Matt Damon | Documentary, Crime | NULL | ||
| Inside Man | 2006 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 128 | Clever reinvention of a bank-heist story with a streetwise N.Y.C. detective (Washington) trying to figure out the real motive of the wily robber (Owen) who is staked out inside the bank building. Laced with uniquely New York-flavored moments of humor and character riffs, though it overplays its hand and goes on too long. Foster brings no color whatsoever to her role as a high-stakes power broker. | tt0454848 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carlos Andréas Gómez, Kim Director, James Ransone, Bernard Rachelle, Peter Gerety, Victor Colicchio, Peter Frechette, Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Inside Monkey Zetterland | 1992 | Jefery Levy | ★★½ | 93 | Hit-and-miss L.A. comedy about the title character (Antin), a young screenwriter, and his complex connections with family (most tellingly, soap opera star mom Helmond) and friends. Filled with moments of humor and insight, and tolerance for its various offbeat characters, but at other times affected and formulaic. Loosely autobiographical; star Antin scripted and coproduced. | tt0107220 | [R] | Steven Antin, Katherine Helmond, Patricia Arquette, Tate Donovan, Sandra Bernhard, Sofia Coppola, Rupert Everett, Bo Hopkins, Martha Plimpton, Debi Mazar, Ricki Lake, Lance Loud, Francis Bay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Inside Moves | 1980 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 113 | Offbeat drama about a young suicide survivor (Savage) who falls in with a group of upbeat misfits and learns about self-esteem. A well-meaning film with some excellent performances and emotional highpoints but a few too many story flaws— including the final scene. Russell's first film since THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. | tt0080928 | [PG] | John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, Amy Wright, Tony Burton, Bill Henderson, Bert Remsen, Harold Russell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Inside Out | 1975 | Peter Duffell | ★★½ | 97 | Savalas engineers break-in at maximum security prison in East Germany to free notorious war criminal who knows whereabouts of a secret cache of gold. Not bad international caper. Retitled HITLER'S GOLD and THE GOLDEN HEIST. | tt0073174 | [PG] | Telly Savalas, James Mason, Robert Culp, Aldo Ray, Charles Korvin | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Inside Out | 1986 | Robert Taicher | ★★½ | 87 | Sad little film about a man whose problems only begin with his agoraphobia— his irrational fear of being in public places. An interesting story that after a while, like its main character, has nowhere to go. Still, the vignette about the homeless man in the hallway is quite touching. | tt0091268 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Howard Hesseman, Jennifer Tilly, Beah Richards, Dana Elcar, Nicole Norman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Inside Story | 1948 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 87 | Warm, minor film set in Depression days in Vermont, involving sudden circulation of large amount of money. | tt0040474 | Marsha Hunt, William Lundigan, Charles Winninger, Gail Patrick | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Inside Straight | 1951 | Gerald Mayer | ★★½ | 89 | Study of greed and corruption as ambitious man rises to fortune in 1870s San Francisco only to find life empty. | tt0043676 | David Brian, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan, Mercedes McCambridge | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Inside the Mafia | 1959 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★½ | 72 | Gun-blasting account of the Black Hand organization, with cast having field-day. | tt0052927 | Cameron Mitchell, Elaine Edwards, Robert Strauss, Jim L. Brown, Ted de Corsia, Grant Richards | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison | 1951 | Crane Wilbur | ★★½ | 87 | Straightforward prison saga set in the 1920s was actually shot at Folsom, and is narrated by the prison itself! De Corsia plays a vicious warden. | tt0043677 | Steve Cochran, David Brian, Philip Carey, Ted de Corsia, Dick Wesson, Paul Picerni, William Campbell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Insider | 1999 | Michael Mann | ★★★½ | 157 | Dynamic fact-based story of a gutsy segment producer for TV's 60 Minutes (Pacino) who sniffs out a story in disaffected scientist Crowe, who's just been fired by a major tobacco company. Compelling, adult entertainment that finds great drama in the real-life machinations of TV journalism (and big business). Great performances all around. Screenplay by Mann and Eric Roth, based on a magazine story by Marie Brenner. | tt0140352 | [R] | Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall, Lindsay Crouse, Debi Mazar, Stephen Tobolowsky, Colm Feore, Bruce McGill, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon, Rip Torn, Lynne Thigpen, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Wings Hauser, Pete Hamill | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Insidious | 2011 | James Wan | ★★ | 103 | A family moves into an aging house, then a fall from a ladder sends the son into a coma from which he can’t seem to awaken. Meanwhile, the family is terrorized by a series of spooky apparitions. A medium (Shaye) is brought in, but things only get worse. Old-fashioned haunted-house thriller aimed at adults boasts effective scares and a dark, mysterious mood, but it plays as a belated knockoff of POLTERGEIST. Decent B melodrama from the creators of SAW, director Wan, and writer Whannell, who also costars as Specs. | tt1591095 | [PG-13] | Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Ty Simpkins, Andrew Astor, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Insignificance | 1985 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★★½ | 110 | Striking, gloriously cinematic examination of the meaning of fame in America and the perils of atomic warfare. The stars are cast as unnamed celebrities— a ballplayer, senator, actress, and professor— who resemble Joe DiMaggio, Joseph McCarthy, Marilyn Monroe, and Albert Einstein, and meet in a N.Y.C. hotel room in 1954. Funny, ironic, thought provoking. Wonderfully acted by all. Screenplay by Terry Johnson. | tt0089343 | [R] | Gary Busey, Tony Curtis, Theresa Russell, Michael Emil, Will Sampson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Insomnia | 1997 | Erik Skjoldbjaerg | ★★★ | 97 | Moody police thriller with two criminal investigators traveling to remote, arctic Norway on a murder case; soon the relentless midnight sun and tactical missteps cause one of the men to unravel. Skarsgård is good, as always, in this psychological maelstrom. Remade in 2002. | tt0119375 | Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Gisken Armand, Bjorn Floberg, Maria Bonnevie, Kristian Figenschow | Norwegian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Insomnia | 2002 | Christopher Nolan | ★★★½ | 118 | Famous LAPD detective Pacino and his partner (Donovan) are sent to small town in Alaska to help solve a grisly murder— and to get them away from the firing line of a department controversy. It turns out that whodunit is not the problem, but how to catch the culprit . . . especially when he starts playing a cat-and-mouse game with Pacino. Multilayered story is enhanced by Nolan's cunning use of visual and aural devices, plus top-notch performances. Remake of 1997 film of the same name, adapted by Hillary Seitz. | tt0278504 | [R] | Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt, Paul Dooley, Jonathan Jackson | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Inspecteur Lavardin | 1986 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 99 | Crime and comedy make for an unusual mix in this tale of quirky police detective Poiret's murder investigation in a French seaside village. Lafont— newly widowed, wealthy, and an old flame of the inspector's— and her wacky brother (Brialy) head the list of suspects. A sequel to Chabrol's COP AU VIN/POULET AU VINAIGRE (1984) which introduced Poiret's Lavardin character in a supporting role. | tt0091270 | Jean Poiret, Jean-Claude Brialy, Bernadette Lafont, Jacques Dacqmine, Jean-Luc Bideau, Hermine Claire, Pierre-Francois Dumeniaud, Florent Gibassier, Guy Louret, Jean Depusse | French | Crime | NULL | ||
| An Inspector Calls | 1954 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★ | 80 | J. B. Priestley play detailing British police detective Sim's investigation of girl's suicide. Via flashbacks he learns a family's responsibility for her fate. Clever plot finale. | tt0047119 | Alastair Sim, Arthur Young, Olga Lindo, Eileen Moore | British | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Inspector Clouseau | 1968 | Bud Yorkin | ★★ | 94 | Scotland Yard calls on inept French detective to crack potential robbery; in spite of Arkin's talents, Peter Sellers is too well identified with the role (from other Pink Panther movies) for one to fully accept this characterization. Besides, film isn't particularly funny. Made in England. | tt0063135 | [G] | Alan Arkin, Delia Boccardo, Frank Finlay, Patrick Cargill, Beryl Reid, Barry Foster | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Inspector Gadget | 1999 | David Kellogg | ★★ | 80 | Desperate gimmick comedy for kids based on the 1980s animated TV series. After a severe accident, Broderick's body is pieced back together with cutting-edge technology, just right for chasing bad guys like Everett (aka Claw). Gizmos and slapstick galore, but precious few laughs in this Disney concoction. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0141369 | [PG] | Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher, Michelle Trachtenberg, Andy Dick, Cheri Oteri, Michael G. Hagerty, Dabney Coleman, Rene Auberjonois, Frances Bay; voices of D. L. Hughley, Don Adams | Family, Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Inspector General | 1949 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 102 | Kaye plays a buffoon who pretends to be a visiting bureaucrat in an Eastern European village. Entertaining musical adaptation of the Gogol story. | tt0041509 | Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale/Sr., Walter Catlett | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Inspector Maigret | 1958 | Jean Delannoy | ★★½ | 110 | Famed French detective must track down notorious woman-killer. Retitled: WOMAN-BAIT. | tt0050669 | Jean Gabin, Annie Girardot, Oliver Hussenot, Jeanne Boitel | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Inspiration | 1931 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 74 | Lesser Garbo vehicle about beautiful Parisian woman whose past makes her decide to leave Montgomery, even though she still loves him. A modern version of Alphonse Daudet's Sappho. | tt0022001 | Greta Garbo, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone, Marjorie Rambeau, Beryl Mercer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Instinct | 1999 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★½ | 124 | Ambitious psychiatric resident (Gooding) evaluates brilliant and/or insane primatologist (Hopkins), who's been living among the Rwandan gorillas he studied and who may have murdered some park rangers. Talky drama sets off a few sparks whenever the two leads square off, and has some CUCKOO'S NEST flourishes throughout. | tt0128278 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Donald Sutherland, Maura Tierney, George Dzundza, John Ashton, John Aylward | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Insurance Man | 1985 | Richard Eyre | ★★★ | 77 | Dramatically uneven yet still ambitious, impressive account of a young dyeworker named Franz (Hines), whose body develops a rash, and his dealings with both the bureaucracy and a man named Mr. Kafka (Day-Lewis), a claims assessor who also writes. A tribute to Kafka and his work, with a screenplay by Alan Bennett. | tt0124758 | Robert Hines, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Fraser, Tony Haygarth | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Intacto | 2001 | Juan Carlos Fresnadillo | ★★ | 108 | Ambitious but muddled thriller involving an aging high-stakes gambler/Holocaust survivor (von Sydow) who enjoys, and appears to be able to control, good fortune; he takes away the luck of an underling who's announced his wish to go off on his own. Means to be eerie and compelling, but pretentious and confusing instead. | tt0220580 | [R] | Max von Sydow, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Eusebio Poncela, Mónica López, Antonio Dechent, Guillermo Toledo | Spanish | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Intended | 2003 | Kristian Levring | ★★ | 110 | In 1920s Malaya, a miserable wretch who works as an ivory trading-post overseer (Fricker) makes life intolerable for one and all, including a youthful surveyor (Feild) and his older fiancée (McTeer). An altogether unpleasant— and unnecessary— experience, despite some good performances. Levring and McTeer coscripted. | tt0331525 | [R] | Janet McTeer, Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker, Tony Maudsley, JJ Feild, David Bradley, Philip Jackson | Danish-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Intent to Kill | 1958 | Jack Cardiff | ★★½ | 89 | OK thriller about South American president Lom, who's been shot, and who arrives in Montreal incognito for brain surgery— where assassins plot to do him in. Scripted by Jimmy Sangster. | tt0051781 | Richard Todd, Betsy Drake, Herbert Lom, Warren Stevens, Carlo Justini, Alexander Knox, Lisa Gastoni, Jackie Collins | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Interiors | 1978 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 93 | Allen's first screen drama as writer-director is an Ingmar Bergmanesque study of a family full of unhappy, frustrated men and women; this drama of anguished lives is not for all tastes, but extremely well done. | tt0077742 | [PG] | Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, E.G. Marshall, Maureen Stapleton, Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Sam Waterston | Drama | NULL | ||
| Interlude | 1968 | Kevin Billington | ★★★ | 113 | Charming, sentimental tale of symphony conductor and reporter who have an affair; told in flashback. Previously filmed as WHEN TOMORROW COMES and INTERLUDE (1957). | tt0063136 | [M] | Oskar Werner, Barbara Ferris, Virginia Maskell, Donald Sutherland, Nora Swinburne, Alan Webb, John Cleese | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Intermezzo | 1936 | Gustaf Molander | ★★★ | 88 | Young pianist Bergman and famous— but married— violinist Ekman fall in love. Ingrid is ravishing in her sixth Swedish film; its remake, three years later, was to be her Hollywood debut. Coscripted by Molander. | tt0027796 | Gosta Ekman, Inga Tidblad, Ingrid Bergman, Bullen Berglund, Britt Hagman | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Intermezzo | 1939 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★★½ | 70 | One of the best love stories ever filmed, as married Howard, renowned violinist, has an affair with musical protégée Bergman (in her first English-speaking film). Short and sweet, highlighted by Robert Henning- Heinz Provost love theme. Original title: INTERMEZZO, A LOVE STORY; Bergman played same role in Gustav Molander's Swedish version. Remade, after a fashion, as HONEYSUCKLE ROSE. | tt0031491 | Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best, Cecil Kellaway, John Halliday | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Intermission | 2003 | John Crowley | ★★★ | 102 | A lively mosaic of stories in modern-day Dublin involving working-class people whose dysfunctional lives collide as they search for love, vent their anger, and commit crimes that can't possibly pay. Alternately furious and funny, shot with a great feeling of spontaneity on high-definition video by a first-time director. The girl with the ice cream cone in the film's first scene is Emma Bolger, who costars in IN AMERICA. | tt0332658 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Shirley Henderson, Kelly Macdonald, Colm Meaney, Cillian Murphy, Ger Ryan, Brían F. O'Byrne, Barbara Bergin, Michael McElhatton, Deirdre O'Kane, David Wilmot | Irish-British | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Internal Affairs | 1990 | Mike Figgis | ★★ | 117 | Smarmy, overripe, and overlong drama about a young cop who joins L.A.'s Internal Affairs Dept. and becomes obsessed with nailing a cocky, corrupt officer (Gere) who's a past master at manipulating people. Intriguing ideas get lost, and illogic takes over pretty quickly. | tt0099850 | [R] | Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf, Richard Bradford, William Baldwin, Michael Beach, Annabella Sciorra, Elijah Wood | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| International Crime | 1938 | Charles Lamont. | ★★½ | 61 | Lamont Cranston, host of a true-crime radio show (sometimes identifying himself as The Shadow), and eager would-be radio star Allwyn investigate a murder, but the plot, involving international criminals, is not the point. Breezy, entertaining quickie is graced with snappy dialogue and the presence of witty, urbane La Rocque, who at one point wryly admits, 'the Shadow doesn't know.' Far better than his first Shadow outing, THE SHADOW STRIKES. | tt0030273 | Rod La Rocque, Astrid Allwyn, Thomas E. Jackson, Oscar O'Shea, Lou Hearn, William von Brincken. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| International House | 1933 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★½ | 70 | Offbeat, delightful film with early television experiment bringing people from all over the world to large Oriental hotel. Spotlight alternates between Fields and Burns & Allen, all in rare form, with guest spots by various radio entertainers. Short and sweet, a must-see film. Calloway sings the memorable 'Reefer Man.' | tt0024183 | W. C. Fields, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Stuart Erwin, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Bela Lugosi, Franklin Pangborn, Rudy Vallee, Sterling Holloway, Cab Calloway, Baby Rose Marie | Comedy | NULL | |||
| International Lady | 1941 | Tim Whelan | ★★½ | 102 | Massey is a femme fatale spy, Brent the U.S. government agent involved in cracking espionage ring. Superficial but entertaining. | tt0033758 | Ilona Massey, George Brent, Basil Rathbone, Gene Lockhart, Martin Kosleck, Clayton Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| International Settlement | 1938 | Eugene Forde | ★★ | 75 | Mediocre tale of Shanghai intrigue with Sanders masquerading as notorious smuggler, pursued by various crooks and sultry Del Rio. | tt0030274 | George Sanders, Dolores Del Rio, June Lang, Dick Baldwin, Leon Ames, John Carradine, Harold Huber | Adventure | NULL | |||
| International Squadron | 1941 | Lothar Mendes | ★★½ | 87 | Air Force straightens out no-account Reagan and turns him into fighting ace. Standard war story, a remake of CEILING ZERO. | tt0033759 | Ronald Reagan, James Stephenson, Olympe Bradna, William Lundigan, Joan Perry, Julie Bishop, Cliff Edwards | War | NULL | |||
| International Velvet | 1978 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 127 | Long overdue sequel to NATIONAL VELVET has Velvet (Newman) a grown woman with a live-in lover (Plummer) and a niece (O'Neal) primed to follow in her footsteps as an Olympic horsewoman. Too lengthy and shunned by the critics, but deftly played by Hopkins and Plummer; exquisitely filmed, entertaining. | tt0077743 | [PG] | Tatum O'Neal, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Hopkins, Nanette Newman, Dinsdale Landen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The International | 2009 | Tom Tykwer | ★★ | 118 | Interpol agent Owen teams up with Manhattan D.A. Watts in an effort to get the goods on an international bank that’s involved in all sorts of dirty deals. Slick suspense thriller circles the globe but is discouragingly sparse on suspense or thrills, except for a long, bravura shootout inside N.Y.C.’s Guggenheim Museum. Its seemingly topical subject matter has surprisingly little resonance. | tt0963178 | [R] | Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, Brian F. O’Byrne, Jack McGee, Felix Solis, James Rebhorn | U.S.-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Internecine Project | 1974 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 89 | Lackluster espionage drama with Coburn as opportunist who tries to eliminate skeletons in his closet by having a handful of industrial spies kill each other off. | tt0071663 | [PG] | James Coburn, Lee Grant, Harry Andrews, Ian Hendry, Michael Jayston, Keenan Wynn | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Internes Can't Take Money | 1937 | Alfred Santell | ★★½ | 77 | Fairly successful hybrid of medical drama and gangster tale, with a bit of mother-love sentiment thrown in for good measure. Young intern McCrea helps ex-con Stanwyck rescue her daughter from crooks in the first film to be adapted from the Dr. Kildare stories by Max Brand. | tt0029050 | Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Lloyd Nolan, Stanley Ridges, Lee Bowman, Irving Bacon, Pierre Watkin, Charles Lane, Fay Holden | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Interns | 1962 | David Swift | ★★★ | 120 | Glossy, renovated DR. KILDARE soap opera, kept afloat by an interesting young cast. Followed by sequel THE NEW INTERNS. | tt0056101 | Michael Callan, Cliff Robertson, James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Suzy Parker, Haya Harareet, Stefanie Powers, BuddyEbsen, Telly Savalas | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Interpreter | 2005 | Sydney Pollack. | ★★½ | 128 | U.N. interpreter Kidman overhears what sounds like an assassination plot against the leader of her homeland, Matobo, who's about to visit N.Y.C. Federal agent Penn is assigned to investigate the credibility of her claim and becomes emotionally involved. Star wattage and filmmaking craftsmanship help compensate for many loose ends in this thriller (credited to three separate screenwriters, 'with the help of' a novel), but it seems neither the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, U.N. security, nor the NYPD can keep an eye on a suspect for long! Pollack has a small role as Penn's boss. | tt0373926 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, Jesper Christensen, Yvan Attal, Earl Cameron, Michael Wright, George Harris, Clyde Kusatsu, Hugo Speer. | U.S.-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Interrupted Journey | 1949 | Daniel Birt | ★★½ | 80 | Eerie film about Todd, who runs off with another woman, finds himself caught in a living nightmare. OK thriller is hampered by a cornball finale. | tt0041511 | Richard Todd, Valerie Hobson, Christine Norden, Tom Walls, Ralph Truman | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Interrupted Melody | 1955 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 106 | Fine biography of Marjorie Lawrence, Australian opera star, who made a comeback after being crippled by polio. Eileen Farrell sings for Parker. William Ludwig and Sonya Levien won Oscars for their story and screenplay. | tt0048210 | Eleanor Parker, Glenn Ford, Roger Moore, Cecil Kellaway, Ann Codee, Stephan Bekassy | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Intersection | 1994 | Mark Rydell | ★½ | 98 | Dreary romantic triangle of wealthy architect Gere, who has drifted apart from his aloof wife (Stone), and taken up with spunky Davidovich. Meanwhile, all involved feel terribly guilty about the teenage daughter they're hurting. Title comes from an accident site, which prompts all this moping around in a series of flashbacks. Derived from a 1970 French feature, LES CHOSES DE LA VIE (THE THINGS OF LIFE), directed by Claude Sautet. | tt0110146 | [R] | Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovich, Martin Landau, David Selby, Jenny Morrison, Ron White | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Interval | 1973 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 84 | A globetrotting woman, running from her past, finds true love with a much younger man (Wolders, who became Oberon's husband in real life). Drippy May-December romance, filmed in Mexico and produced by Oberon, whose last film this was. | tt0070221 | [PG] | Merle Oberon, Robert Wolders, Claudio Brook, Russ Conway, Charles Bateman, Barbara Ransom | Mexican | Romance | NULL | |
| Interview | 2007 | Steve Buscemi | ★★★ | 86 | Political reporter reluctantly carries out an assignment to interview a beautiful young actress who’s put off by his obvious indifference to the task. Over the course of an evening, they take turns seducing and bamboozling each other. Remake of Theo van Gogh’s Dutch movie of the same name, shot in a series of lengthy handheld takes, ebbs and flows but never completely loses its momentum because of the two stars’ compelling performances. Buscemi and David Schechter adapted Theodor Holman’s original screenplay. | tt0480269 | [R] | Sienna Miller, Steve Buscemi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Interview With the Assassin | 2002 | Neil Burger | ★★★ | 88 | An unemployed cameraman interviews and tapes his terminally ill next-door neighbor (Barry, in a riveting performance), who claims to be the so-called second gunman who assassinated John F. Kennedy. This documentary-style film is a bit gimmicky, but still interesting and disturbing, a worthy companion piece to Oliver Stone's JFK. | tt0308411 | Raymond J. Barry, Dylan Haggerty, Renee Faia, Kelsey Kemper, Dennis Lau, Jared McVay | Drama | NULL | |||
| Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles | 1994 | Neil Jordan | ★½ | 122 | In contemporary San Francisco, a young man grants an interview about his 200-year existence as a vampire— a 'life' with which he has never felt completely comfortable. Likely to satisfy fans of Anne Rice's popular novel, and female fans of its star 'hunks,' but this descent into the netherworld is unappealing, unrelenting, and (after a while) downright boring. The actors can't be faulted, nor can the handsome production design. Followed by QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. | tt0110148 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea, Christian Slater, Kirsten Dunst, Domiziana Giordano, Thandie Newton, Indra Ove | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Intervista | 1987 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 108 | Engaging, illuminating mock-documentary about the making of a film about Fellini; the master is depicted in production of an adaptation of Kafka's Amerika. Mastroianni and Ekberg (who costarred almost 30 years before in LA DOLCE VITA) appear as themselves. The film also serves as an homage to Cinecittà, the studio where Fellini shot all of his classics. To fully appreciate this very personal movie about the moviemaking process, you must be familiar with— and an admirer of— Fellini and his work. Released in the U.S. in 1992. | tt0093267 | Sergio Rubini, Antonella Ponziani, Maurizio Mein, Paola Liguori, Lara Wendel, Antonio Cantafora, Nadia Ottaviani, Anita Ekberg, Marcello Mastroianni, Federico Fellini | Italian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Intimacy | 1966 | Victor Stoloff | ★½ | 87 | Grade-C drama may get more interesting response on TV than it deserves, since plot involves the spying on a Washington official by hidden cameras. Remade as THE WASHINGTON AFFAIR. | tt0060542 |
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Jack Ging, Nancy Malone, Joan Blackman, Barry Sullivan, Jackie de Shannon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Intimate Lighting | 1965 | Ivan Passer | ★★★ | 72 | Unpretentious, day-in-the-life story of two old friends, professional musicians, reuniting after long absence at country home. Excellent performances. | tt0060543 | Vera Kresadlova, Zdenek Brezusek, Karel Blazek, Jaroslava Stedra, Jan Vostrcil, Vlastmila Vlkova, Karel Uhlik | Czech | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Intimate Relations | 1996 | Philip Goodhew | ★★★ | 105 | Black comedy/melodrama of romantic obsession in 1954 England. Housewife Walters (wickedly effective) takes in sailor Graves as a lodger, and in no time passions are aroused throughout the household. Interesting British Empire tale (fact based, and for mature viewers) reminiscent in many ways of both A PRIVATE FUNCTION and HEAVENLY CREATURES. | tt0116643 | [R] | Julie Walters, Rupert Graves, Matthew Walker, Laura Sadler, Holly Aird, Les Dennis, Elizabeth McKechnie | British-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Intimate Strangers | 2004 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 105 | A woman forces her way into a psychiatrist's office and pours her heart out about her marital woes; he doesn't have the heart to tell her that she's come to the wrong office, as he is a mere tax adviser. Their relationship blossoms just the same in this charming, often piquant film, with two masterly performances guided by the gifted Leconte. The girl who asks a question in the library is Aurore Auteuil, daughter of Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart. | tt0363532 | [R] | Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Bonnaire, Michel Duchaussoy, Anne Brochet, Gilbert Melki, Laurent Gamelon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport | 2000 | Mark Jonathan Harris | ★★★½ | 122 | Well-crafted documentary covers a heretofore unexplored subject: the extraordinary efforts to place Jewish children from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia out of harm's way by sending them to live with families in England during WW2. Told in large part by the people who lived through this experience, with the help of some incredibly rare footage from the period. From the same writer-director responsible for THE LONG WAY HOME. Oscar winner for Best Documentary. | tt0248912 | [PG] | Narrated by Judi Dench | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Into the Blue | Man in the Dinghy | 2005 | John Stockwell | ★½ | 110 | While diving in the Bahamas, a quartet of Beautiful People encounters the remains of a crashed plane laden with a cache of cocaine. Picturesque scenery and plenty of eye candy don’t compensate for a half-baked storyline, routine suspense, and mindless violence. | tt0378109 | [PG-13] | Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin, James Frain, Tyson Beckford | Crime, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Into the Fire | Legend of Wolf Lodge | 1987 | Graeme Campbell | ★★ | 93 | Old-fashioned murder/sex triangle thriller has the novelty of a wintry Canadian setting where lodge owner Anspach is an impressive seductress. Almost outdone by one too many plot twists. Precocious d'Abo is also a stunning, contrasting femme fatale. Aka LEGEND OF WOLF LODGE. | tt0093270 | [R] | Susan Anspach, Olivia d'Abo, Art Hindle | Canadian |
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| Into the Night | 1985 | John Landis | ★★★ | 115 | Engaging, episodic film about a middle-class nerd who helps a beautiful woman who's being chased by killers. Convoluted story filled with offbeat vignettes and colorful characters, many of them played by Hollywood directors (Don Siegel, Jonathan Demme, Jack Arnold, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Bartel, David Cronenberg, Richard Franklin, Colin Higgins, Andrew Marton, Jonathan Kaufer, Amy Heckerling). Landis himself is very funny as one of the Iranian bad guys. Probably more appealing to film buffs than general audiences. | tt0089346 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Richard Farnsworth, Irene Papas, Kathryn Harrold, Paul Mazursky, Roger Vadim, Dan Aykroyd, David Bowie, Bruce McGill, Vera Miles, Clu Gulager | Action, Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Into the Sun | 1992 | Fritz Kiersch | ★½ | 100 | Hall plays a conceited actor who tags along with U.S. pilot Paré in order to research an upcoming film role. Virtually identical in plot to the Michael J. Fox/James Woods comedy THE HARD WAY, with a change in milieu (and budget). Aerial stunts aren't bad considering the threadbare production values, but it's only for those who'll try out anything that pops up on the video store shelves. | tt0104521 | [R] | Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Paré, Deborah Maria Moore, Terry Kiser, Brian Haley | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Into the West | 1993 | Mike Newell | ★★★ | 97 | Dark, melancholy fable about two young brothers who flee their drab Dublin life (with a morose, widowed father) on the back of a mystical white horse. A highly original film with equal parts charm, dour Irish moods, and the theme of family and its inexorable pull on us all. Byrne was film's associate producer. Written by Jim Sheridan. | tt0104522 | [PG] | Gabriel Byrne, Colm Meaney, Ellen Barkin, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Ruaidhri Conroy, David Kelly, Johnny Murphy, John Kavanagh, Pauline Delaney | Irish | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Into the Wild | 2007 | Sean Penn | ★★★½ | 148 | Recent college graduate Chris McCandless spurns his parents—and America's capitalist society—in search of quieter, more personal fulfillment in the Alaskan wilderness. But along the road he meets a variety of people who become something like extended family. Idiosyncratic melding of hippie sensibility and nature documentary results in writer-director-producer Sean Penn's most artistic and powerful release to date—and a heartbreaker. Working on a large canvas, Penn elicits some wonderful vignettes and expert performances and punctuates it all with music by Eddie Vedder, among others. Based on the nonfiction bestseller by Jon Krakauer. | tt0758758 | [R] | Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Brian Dierker, Zach Galifianakis, Thure Lindhardt | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Intolerable Cruelty | 2003 | Joel Coen | ★★½ | 100 | A swaggering divorce attorney meets his match in a gold digger who sets her cap for him as the ultimate conquest. Clooney is terrific, Zeta-Jones is luminous, and they're supported by canny costars and faces out of Fellini's old casting directory . . . but the fun turns sour after a while, as no one is 'real' enough to root for. Still, there are many funny moments, especially with Herrmann, Rush, and Thornton. Bruce Campbell appears unbilled. | tt0138524 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Richard Jenkins, Billy Bob Thornton, Julia Duffy, Jonathan Hadary, Tom Aldredge | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Intolerance | 1916 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★★ | 178 | Landmark American epic interweaves four stories of prejudice and inhumanity, from the Babylonian era to the modern day. Melodramatic, to be sure, but gains in momentum and power as it moves toward its stunning climax. That's Lillian Gish as the mother rocking the cradle; Constance Talmadge gives a most appealing and contemporary performance as the sprightly Mountain Girl. Shown in a variety of prints with variant running times— as long as 208m. | tt0006864 | Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Mae Marsh, Constance Talmadge, Bessie Love, Seena Owen, Alfred Paget, Eugene Pallette | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Intouchables | 2011 | Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache | ★★★ | 102 | Wealthy, refined Cluzet is a quadriplegic since a parasailing accident, but when it comes time to hire a new caregiver he bypasses all the qualified candidates and chooses a boisterous immigrant (Sy) from Senegal, who's just spent 6 months in jail, hoping to shake up the status quo. Sy does just that, as well as introducing his new boss to vintage American pop music, and an unexpected bond develops between the two men. Charming, funny, and moving at times, even though you're aware that it's pushing your buttons. "Based on a true story," although the real-life caregiver is from Algeria and isn't black. Written by the directors. | tt1675434 | [R] | François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot, Clotilde Mollet, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Cyril Mendy, Christian Ameri | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Intrigue | 1947 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 90 | Predictable Raft vehicle of ex-military man with mar on his record turning Shanghai crime ring over to cops to clear himself. | tt0039496 | George Raft, June Havoc, Helena Carter, Tom Tully, Marvin Miller, Dan Seymour, Philip Ahn, Michael Ansara | Adventure, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | 1999 | Martha Coolidge | Average TV Movie | 120 | Berry dazzles as equally dazzling Dandridge, whose performing career (and love life) took tragic turns in racist Hollywood of the 1950s. Based, a bit too obviously, on the book by Earl Mills, Dandridge's white friend, manager, and protector, played here by Spiner. Brandauer plays the despotic director Otto Preminger. Singing was dubbed by Wendi Williams. Made for cable. | tt0172348 | Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Obba Babatundé, Loretta Devine, Cynda Williams, LaTanya Richardson, D.B Sweeney, Klaus Maria Brandauer, William Atherton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Introducing the Dwights | 2007 | Cherie Nowlan | ★★½ | 105 | A soft-spoken teenage boy has put his own life on hold in order to shuttle his mother—a force of nature not to be trifled with—to engagements in comedy clubs around greater Sydney. But when he acquires a girlfriend for the first time, Mom goes ballistic. Mild comedy-drama about a messed-up family is easy to take, and offers Blethyn a great showcase. Original Australian title: CLUBLAND. | tt0432264 | [R] | Brenda Blethyn, Rebecca Gibney, Khan Chittenden, Richard Wilson, Frankie J. Holden, Russell Dykstra, Emma Booth, Katie Wall, Philip Quast | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Intruder in the Dust | 1949 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 87 | Black man (Hernandez, in a solid performance) is accused of murder in a Southern town, and a gathering mob wants to lynch him. First-rate adaptation of William Faulkner novel. Surprisingly strong for a mainstream Hollywood film of that period; good use of locations, superbly photographed by Robert Surtees. Biggest problem: Brian's character is always speechifying and moralizing. Screenplay by Ben Maddow. | tt0041513 | David Brian, Claude Jarman/Jr., Juano Hernandez, Porter Hall, Elizabeth Patterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Intruder | Shame | 1962 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 80 | Racist Shatner drifts from one small Southern town to another inciting townspeople to riot against court-ordered school integration. Corman's only 'message' film— and one of his few box-office flops— still packs a punch; low budget and location filming aid authenticity. Script by Charles Beaumont. Reissued as I HATE YOUR GUTS! and SHAME. | tt0055019 | William Shatner, Frank Maxwell, Beverly Lunsford, Robert Emhardt, Leo Gordon, Jeanne Cooper, Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, William F. Nolan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Intruder | 2005 | Claire Denis | ★★★ | 129 | Unusual drama of one man's journey, both literal and metaphysical, as he leaves his hearty life behind on the French-Swiss border, arranges for a heart transplant, and moves to a remote South Seas island. Denis demands a great deal of the viewer as she interweaves past, present, and future and alternates between reality and a kind of dream-state. Difficult and fascinating at the same time; beautifully shot by Agnes Godard. Inspired by Jean-Luc Nancy's memoir. | tt0422491 |
|
Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Katia Golubeva, Bambou, Florence Loiret-Caille, Beatrice Dalle | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Intruders | 2011 | Juan Carlos Fresnadillo | ★★ | 100 | Murky psychological horror yarn jumps back and forth between the stories of two children—one in Spain, the other in England—who are terrorized by a faceless, possibly imaginary, creature that wants to possess them. Nightmarish fairy tale has some genuinely creepy moments but is ultimately confusing and rather pointless. Buffs may be amused that, for no apparent reason, Owen's character is named John Farrow and his daughter is named Mia. | tt1634121 | [R] | Clive Owen, Carice van Houten, Daniel Brühl, Pilar López de Ayala, Ella Purnell, Izán Corchero, Kerry Fox | Spanish | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Invader | 1992 | Philip J. Cook | ★★ | 95 | A tabloid reporter learns that aliens have taken over a U.S. Air Force base, and teams up with military types to defeat them. Low budget and weak humor hamper things, but script is clever and the effects are impressive for what they must have cost. | tt0104525 | [R] | Hans Bachmann, A. Thomas Smith, Rick Foucheux, John Cooke, Robert Bidermann, Ralph Bluemke, Allison Sheehy | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Invaders From Mars | 1953 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★★ | 78 | Starkly stylish sci-fi told from little boy's point of view, as he alone witnesses arrival of aliens who capture and brainwash residents of average small town. Remade in 1986. Alternate British version runs 83m.— and changes the ending! | tt0045917 | Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke, Bert Freed | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Invaders From Mars | 1986 | Tobe Hooper | ★½ | 100 | Remake of '50s fantasy favorite about a boy's nightmarish experiences when aliens land in his back yard and overtake everyone around him— even his parents. Starts fine, rapidly goes downhill toward utter disaster. Hunt, the youngster in the original film, plays a police chief here; the boy this time is real-life son of costar Black. | tt0091276 | [PG] | Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms, Laraine Newman, James Karen, Louise Fletcher, Bud Cort, Jimmy Hunt | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Invasion | 1966 | Alan Bridges | ★★½ | 82 | Entertaining sci-fi film involving interplanetary travelers forced to land on earth, and their conflict with humans. | tt0060544 | Edward Judd, Yoko Tani, Lyndon Brook, Eric Young, Anthony Sharp, Stephanie Bidmead | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Invasion U.S.A. | 1985 | Joseph Zito | 💣 | 107 | Political-paranoia action film about retired CIA agent (Norris) back on the job when Russian terrorists invade Florida, try to overtake entire country by causing panic and turmoil. Repellent in the extreme. | tt0089348 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet, Alex Colon | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Invasion USA | 1952 | Alfred E. Green | ★½ | 74 | Red Scare movie depicting full-fledged invasion of America by 'The Enemy' — while Mohr romances Castle. Hopelessly cheap and ineffectual, using tons of stock footage showing actual air battles and bombings. Trivia note: Both women who played Lois Lane on TV's Superman series appear in the cast. | tt0044750 | Gerald Mohr, Peggie Castle, Dan O'Herlihy, Phyllis Coates, Robert Bice, Tom Kennedy, Noel Neill | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Invasion of the Animal People | 1962 | Virgil Vogel, Jerry Warren | ★½ | 73 | John Carradine is narrator and American link for Swedish-made 1958 production about rampaging monster who escapes from spaceship and terrorizes Lapland. Low-grade nonsense. Original Swedish version, TERROR IN THE MIDNIGHT SUN, available on DVD. | tt0053232 | Robert Burton, Barbara Wilson, Sten Gester, Bengt Bomgren | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Invasion of the Bee Girls | 1973 | Denis Sanders | ★★★ | 85 | Wonderfully campy (and sexy) sci-fi outing about a strange force that's transforming women into dangerous creatures who you-know-what men to death in a small California town. Written by Nicholas Meyer pre-SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION. | tt0070222 | [R] | Victoria Vetri, William Smith, Anitra Ford, Cliff Osmond, Wright King, Ben Hammer | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Invasion of the Body Snatchers | 1956 | Don Siegel | ★★★½ | 80 | Classic, influential, and still very scary science-fiction (with McCarthy-era subtext) about small-town residents who are being replaced by duplicates hatched from alien 'pods.' Tense script by Daniel Mainwaring from Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers; Sam Peckinpah can be glimpsed as a meter reader. Appropriately frightening musical score by Carmen Dragon. Reissued in 1979 at 76m., minus unnecessary, studio-imposed prologue and epilogue with Whit Bissell and Richard Deacon. Remade in 1978 and 1994 (as BODY SNATCHERS). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0049366 | Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Virginia Christine | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Invasion of the Body Snatchers | 1978 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★ | 115 | Chilling remake of 1956 classic with many new twists and turns; unfortunately, it runs out of steam and offers one climax too many. Kevin McCarthy and Don Siegel, star and director of original film, have significant cameo roles; look fast for Robert Duvall. Weird score by Denny Zeitlin. | tt0077745 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Invasion of the Saucer Men | 1957 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 69 | Slow-paced, minor sci-fi comedy about bulbous-headed aliens trying to pin the death of one of them on a teenager. Cheap, but has some atmosphere and Paul Blaisdell's outlandish aliens. Remade as THE EYE CREATURES. | tt0050545 | Steve Terrell, Gloria Castillo, Frank Gorshin, Raymond Hatton, Ed Nelson | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invasion | 2007 | Oliver Hirschbiegel | ★½ | 99 | Third remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS is not the charm, as this mess never comes together as both the sci-fi thriller and human drama it seeks to be. Kidman is a Washington, D.C., psychiatrist who slowly discovers that a mysterious disease taking over the planet may be alien-inspired. With the help of doctor Craig she must find the antidote before most of humankind is lost. Widely reported reshoots couldn't salvage this film. | tt0427392 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Veronica Cartwright, Jeffrey Wright, Josef Sommer, Celia Weston, Roger Rees, Eric Benjamin, Adam LeFevre | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Inventing the Abbotts | 1997 | Pat O'Connor | ★★ | 120 | Two working-class brothers try to woo the beautiful and wealthy Abbott sisters in 1950s Midwest America. Aspires to be a classic coming-of-ager like SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, but despite a very attractive cast, the proceedings are pretty flaccid. Lush surroundings can't compensate for dull scripting; plays like an anemic Douglas Sirk melodrama or a return to Peyton Place. Michael Keaton narrates unbilled. | tt0119381 | [R] | Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Billy Crudup, Joanna Going, Kathy Baker, Will Patton, Barbara Williams, Alessandro Nivola, Shawn Hatosy | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Invention of Lying | 2009 | Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson | ★★ | 99 | Comedy is set in a hypothetical world where everyone tells the absolute truth, until one day when hard-luck Gervais utters a lie . . . and gets away with it. Yet somehow he can't seem to win over beautiful but superficial Garner. Clever premise is squandered, with funny moments adrift in an anemic story. Gervais cowrote and codirected, but deserves a better vehicle. | tt1058017 | [PG-13] | Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C., Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Fionnula Flanagan, Stephanie March, Nate Corddry, John Hodgman, Christopher Guest, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Investigating Sex | Intimate Affairs | 2006 | Alan Rudolph | ★★ | 108 | Talky film, set in the 1920s, in which a group of artists and intellectuals initiate a discourse on the subject of sexuality. Occasionally tart dialogue is overshadowed by long stretches of boredom and an outdated sense of daring. Hart Bochner appears unbilled. Completed in 2001. Aka INTIMATE AFFAIRS. | tt0243991 | [R] | Dermot Mulroney, Julie Delpy, Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Jeremy Davies, Alan Cumming, Til Schweiger, John Light, Nick Nolte, Terrence Dashon Howard, Tuesday Weld, Emily Bruni | U.S.-German | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion | 1970 | Elio Petri | ★★★ | 115 | Oscar-winning foreign film about powerful police chief who slashes the throat of his mistress, then waits entire movie to see if he'll be caught. Interesting, but not overly gripping. Superbly creepy score by Ennio Morricone. | tt0065889 | [R] | Gian Maria Volonte, Florinda Bolkan, Salvo Randone, Gianni Santuccio, Arturo Dominici | Italian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Invictus | 2009 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 137 | As Nelson Mandela is elected President of South Africa in 1994, he seizes an opportunity to unite the white and black people of his country by encouraging its (mostly white) rugby team to push itself and compete for the World Cup. Inspiring true story about the sound instincts of a remarkable man who understood the power of sports. Narrative offers no surprises but tells its story well; it's hard to imagine anyone playing Mandela better than Freeman, and Damon is completely believable as an Afrikaner rugby star. Based on John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy. | tt1057500 | [PG-13] | Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Julian Lewis Jones, Adjoa Andoh, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Leleti Khumalo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Invincible | 2002 | Werner Herzog | ★★ | 127 | A sweetly naïve young Polish Jew becomes a false symbol of hope for Jewry in pre-Hitler Berlin upon winning fame as a strongman in a cabaret show staged by Hanussen (Roth), the magician-clairvoyant. This fact-based account is overlong and by the numbers; it's a compelling tale that deserves a far more subtle, pointed treatment. Hanussen's story is told much more forcefully in Istvan Szabo's HANUSSEN. | tt0245171 | [PG-13] | Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, Jacob Wein, Max Raabe, Gustav Peter Wöehler, Udo Kier | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Invincible | 2006 | Ericson Core | ★★★ | 104 | Working-class stiff who's been laid off from his job and dumped by his wife pursues a whim when the new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles football team holds an open tryout. Fact-based story of Vince Papale (well played by Wahlberg) captures the hold a team can have on its hometown fans, especially when they have little else to believe in. Solid entertainment. | tt0445990 | [PG] | Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Conway, Michael Rispoli, Michael Nouri, Kirk Acevedo, Dov Davidoff, Michael Kelly, Sal Darigo, Nicoye Banks | Biography, Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Invincible Six | 1970 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 96 | Energetic action film about a motley crew on the lam who come to the aid of isolated villagers under the thumb of a bandit gang. It's THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN transplanted to present-day mid-East in this Iranian-made production. | tt0063137 | Stuart Whitman, Elke Sommer, Curt Jurgens, James Mitchum, Ian Ogilvy | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Invisible Agent | 1942 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 81 | Hall plays agent fighting Nazis with invisibility. Fun for the kids; dialogue is witless. | tt0034902 | Ilona Massey, Jon Hall, Peter Lorre, Cedric Hardwicke, J. Edward Bromberg, John Litel | Comedy, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Invisible Avenger | 1958 | James Wong Howe, John Sledge. | ★½ | 60 | Lamont Cranston, the invisible Shadow (Derr), comes to New Orleans to investigate the murder of a jazz musician friend. Episodes of unsold Shadow TV series grafted together; mildly interesting, but no feather in the cap of great cinematographer Howe. Derr is quite good. Also known as BOURBON STREET SHADOWS. | tt0051783 | Richard Derr, Jeanne Neher, Dan Mullin, Mark Daniels, Lee Edwards, Helen Westcott, Leo Bruno. | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Boy | 1957 | Herman Hoffman | ★★★ | 89 | The movies' first supercomputer not only helps scientist Abbott's lonely son Eyer become invisible (briefly) but also makes him smarter, so he can reassemble FORBIDDEN PLANET's Robby the Robot. However, the computer wants to use Robby to control the world. Robot-loving kids will take this straight, but it’s an amusing, intelligent, low-key spoof of itself. | tt0050546 | Richard Eyer, Philip Abbott, Diane Brewster, Harold J. Stone, Robert H. Harris | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Circus | 2001 | Adam Brooks | ★★ | 92 | A teenage girl tries to retrace the footsteps of her older sister, a free spirit who died mysteriously in Europe seven years earlier. Diaz is excellent, but Brewster hits just one note in this unsatisfying film. Brooks adapted Jennifer Egan's novel. | tt0178642 | [R] | Jordana Brewster, Christopher Eccleston, Cameron Diaz, Blythe Danner, Patrick Bergin, Camilla Belle, Moritz Bleibtreu | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Invisible Creature | 1959 | Montgomery Tully | ★★ | 70 | Oddball little film of ghost interfering with homicide plot in eerie English mansion. Retitled: THE HOUSE ON MARSH ROAD. | tt0053952 | Sandra Dorne, Patricia Dainton, Tony Wright | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Invisible Dr. Mabuse | 1961 | Harald Reinl | ★★½ | 89 | Well-paced entry in the arch-villain series, with FBI agent Barker coming to Germany to investigate the murder of a colleague, becoming involved with Mabuse and the mysterious 'Operation X.' Aka THE INVISIBLE HORROR. | tt0056639 |
|
Lex Barker, Karin Dor, Siegfried Lowitz, Wolfgang Priess, Rudolf Fernau | German | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Invisible Ghost | 1941 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 64 | Whenever Lugosi catches sight of his insane wife, whom he thinks is dead, he goes into a trance and commits another unsolvable murder. Better written and directed than most of Bela's 1940s cheapies, but still a far cry from DRACULA. | tt0033760 | Bela Lugosi, John McGuire, Polly Ann Young, Virginia Kessler, Clarence Muse, George Pembroke, Betty Compson, Ernie Adams | Crime, Horror | NULL | |||
| Invisible Invaders | 1959 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 67 | Invisible aliens from the moon possess corpses and attack the living; holed up in a cave, scientists race against time to stop them. Cheap, silly, and boring. | tt0052929 | John Agar, Jean Byron, Robert Hutton, Philip Tonge, John Carradine, Hal Torey | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Kid | 1988 | Avery Crounse | 💣 | 95 | High-school dolt stumbles onto invisibility formula, which enables him to poke into the girls' locker room and such. Crude in all respects. | tt0095381 | [PG] | Jay Underwood, Karen Black, Wally Ward, Chynna Phillips, Brother Theodore, Mike Genovese, Jan King | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Invisible Man Returns | 1940 | Joe May | ★★★ | 81 | Fine follow-up, with Price going invisible to clear himself of murder charge. Considered by many to be Price's first horror film. | tt0032635 | Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, John Sutton, Nan Grey, Cecil Kellaway, Alan Napier | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Man's Revenge | 1944 | Ford Beebe | ★★ | 77 | Hall allows unsuspecting scientist Carradine to make him invisible so he can seek vengeance on former business partners. Mixed-up script, unfunny comic relief (Errol), and slightly below par special effects add up to weakest INVISIBLE MAN sequel. | tt0036959 | Jon Hall, Alan Curtis, Evelyn Ankers, Leon Errol, John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, Ian Wolfe, Billy Bevan | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Man | 1933 | James Whale | ★★★½ | 71 | H. G. Wells' fantasy brilliantly materializes on screen in tale of mad scientist who makes himself invisible, wreaking havoc on British country village. Rains' starring debut is dated but still enjoyable. Look fast for John Carradine phoning in a 'sighting'; that's Walter Brennan whose bicycle is stolen. | tt0024184 | Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Una O'Connor, William Harrigan, E. E. Clive, Dudley Digges, Dwight Frye | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Menace | 1938 | John Farrow | ★★ | 55 | Not a horror/fantasy film, as the title implies, but a Grade-B whodunit set at a military installation, with Karloff as the woebegone prime suspect. Wilson and Craven supply incongruous comedy relief, while the FBI is rather poorly represented by Cy Kendall. Remade as MURDER ON THE WATERFRONT. | tt0030277 | Boris Karloff, Marie Wilson, Regis Toomey, Henry Kolker, Edward Craven, Eddie Acuff, Charles Trowbridge | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Ray | 1936 | Lambert Hillyer | ★★½ | 81 | Scientist Karloff contracts radiation poisoning that gives him touch of death (and makes him glow in the dark). Interesting yarn, but a notch below other Karloff-Lugosi vehicles. | tt0027800 | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake, Frank Lawton, Walter Kingsford, Beulah Bondi | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Invisible Stripes | 1939 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 82 | Earnest account of parolee Raft trying to go straight, protecting brother Holden from gangster Bogart; subdued acting is effective. | tt0032636 | George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden, Flora Robson, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Kelly, Moroni Olsen, Tully Marshall | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Invisible Woman | 1941 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 72 | Great cast in likable comedy about screwy professor Barrymore turning model Bruce invisible, arousing the curiosity of playboy sponsor Howard, as well as the more monetary interests of gangster Homolka. Slick and sprightly, with Ruggles terrific as Howard's long-suffering butler; Maria Montez has a bit as one of Bruce's fellow models. | tt0032637 | John Barrymore, Virginia Bruce, John Howard, Charlie Ruggles, Oscar Homolka, Margaret Hamilton, Donald MacBride, Edward Brophy, Shemp Howard, Charles Lane, Thurston Hall | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Invisible | 2007 | David S. Goyer | ★½ | 97 | Dreary teen ghost story about a promising high school senior who is caught in limbo between life and death, “invisible” to all around him and headed for expiration unless he can solve the mystery of his own murder. Sort of a cross between GHOST and RIVER'S EDGE, this tries to be a spiritual whodunit but winds up a whydidtheymakeit instead. Based on a 2002 Swedish film of the same name. | tt0435670 | [PG-13] | Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Marquette, Alex O'Loughlin, Callum Keith Rennie, Michelle Harrison, Ryan Kennedy, Andrew Francis. | Drama, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Invitation | 1952 | Gottfried Reinhardt | ★★½ | 84 | Society tearjerker decked out in MGM gloss about invalid McGuire; her father (Calhern) tries to buy Johnson to romance dying daughter. Memorable theme by Bronislau Kaper (which was originally used in A LIFE OF HER OWN). | tt0044751 | Van Johnson, Dorothy McGuire, Louis Calhern, Ray Collins, Ruth Roman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Invitation to Happiness | 1939 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 95 | Ordinary story, well acted: society girl marries fighter, but marriage can't survive because of his driving ambition in boxing ring. | tt0031493 | Irene Dunne, Fred MacMurray, Charles Ruggles, William Collier/Sr., Eddie Hogan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Invitation to a Gunfighter | 1964 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 92 | Cast surpasses turgid, talky script about town that hires gunslinger to kill an outcast, with surprising results. | tt0058238 | Yul Brynner, George Segal, Janice Rule, Pat Hingle, Brad Dexter | Western | NULL | |||
| Invitation to the Dance | 1956 | Gene Kelly | ★★½ | 93 | Kelly's ambitious film tells three stories entirely in dance. Earnest but uninspired, until final 'Sinbad' segment with Kelly in Hanna-Barbera cartoon world. Music by Jacques Ibert, Andre Previn, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Filmed in 1952. | tt0049367 | Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevitch, Claire Sombert, David Paltenghi, Daphne Dale, Claude Bessy, Tommy Rall, Carol Haney, Tamara Toumanova, Belita | Animation, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Ipcress File | 1965 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★★½ | 108 | First and best of Len Deighton's Harry Palmer series, with Caine as unemotional Cockney crook turned secret agent, involved in grueling mental torture caper. Eerie score by John Barry. Followed by two sequels— FUNERAL IN BERLIN and BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN — and a pair of cable TV followups in 1997, BULLET TO BEIJING and MIDNIGHT IN ST. PETERSBURG. | tt0059319 | Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Sue Lloyd, Gordon Jackson | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Iphigenia | 1977 | Michael Cacoyannis | ★★½ | 127 | Ambitious but over-directed adaptation of Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, in which Agamemnon becomes convinced that, to earn military victory, he will have to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia (impressively played by young Papamoskou). The elements of high drama are present, but Cacoyannis opts for eye-popping visuals rather than focusing on the heart of the story. | tt0076208 | Irene Papas, Tatiana Papamoskou, Costa Kazakos, Costa Carras, Christos Tsangas | Greek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ira & Abby | 2007 | Robert Cary | ★★½ | 100 | Westfeldt (KISSING JESSICA STEIN) wrote this “comedy of divorce” about neurotic New Yorker Ira (Messina), who can’t ever make a decision. At the other end of the spectrum, Abby (Westfeldt) wants to get married minutes after meeting him. She’s a warmhearted, outgoing person, and he gets caught up in her upbeat life—at least for a while. Light and Klein are funny as Messina’s analyst parents, as are Conroy and Willard as Westfeldt’s sunny mom and dad. Uneven but often very funny. Donna Murphy appears unbilled. | tt0480251 | [R] | Chris Messina, Jennifer Westfeldt, Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Jason Alexander, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, Maddie Corman, Darrell Hammond, Chris Parnell, Jon Hamm, B. D. Wong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Iraq in Fragments | 2006 | James Longley | ★★★ | 94 | Documentary takes its cameras from southern to northern Iraq to see the effect war-and opposing religious philosophies-have taken on the country, in three segments that spotlight Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. Using no intruding narration, filmmaker Longley tells the story through the eyes and words of the Iraqi people, painting a compelling portrait of a troubled country and presenting a largely nonpolitical view Americans have rarely seen. Longley photographed, coedited, coproduced, and scored the film. | tt0492466 | Unrated | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Irene | 1940 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 104 | Pleasant remake of venerable musical (done as a silent film with Colleen Moore) minus most of the songs. Wealthy playboy Milland romances working-girl Neagle; some offbeat touches make it pleasing. 'Alice Blue Gown' sequence originally filmed in color. | tt0032638 | Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, Roland Young, Alan Marshal, May Robson, Billie Burke, Marsha Hunt, Arthur Treacher, Tommy Kelly | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Irina Palm | 2008 | Sam Garbarski | ★★★ | 100 | A sixtyish widow (Faithfull), in a financial bind due to her grandson’s illness, takes a job as a “hostess” (translation: sex worker) in a Soho, London, club. Simple, no-frills drama presents a hardnosed look at human relations in a cold, cynical world while offering an unusual, nonexploitive spin on the sex industry. Only falters during a couple of unnecessary scenes near the finale. | tt0762110 | [R] | Marianne Faithfull, Miki Manojlovic, Kevin Bishop, Siobhân Hewlett, Dorka Gryllus, Jenny Agutter | Belgian-French-German-British-Luxembourgian | Drama | NULL | |
| Iris | 2001 | Richard Eyre | ★★½ | 90 | Dench plays noted British author and psychologist Dame Iris Murdoch, with Broadbent as her devoted husband; Winslet and Bonneville play the characters in flashbacks to the 1950s when they first met at Oxford. As Iris descends into the world of Alzheimer's, her husband loses his grip, and the results become difficult to watch, despite the fine performances. Broadbent won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. | tt0280778 | [R] | Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton, Juliet Aubrey, Samuel West, Timothy West, Eleanor Bron | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Irish Eyes Are Smiling | 1944 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 90 | Colorful corn about Ernest R. Ball, composer of famous Irish songs, with pleasant cast and familiar tunes like 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,' 'Mother Machree,' and a lavish non-Ball number: 'Bessie With a Bustle' (by Mack Gordon and James V. Monaco). | tt0036961 | Monty Woolley, June Haver, Dick Haymes, Anthony Quinn, Maxie Rosenbloom, Veda Ann Borg, Maeve McGrail | Musical | NULL | |||
| Irish Whiskey Rebellion | 1972 | Chester Erskine | ★★ | 93 | Pedestrian action tale of Irish rum-running during America's Prohibition era hoping to raise money for IRA struggles back home. Strong performances by all. | tt0179894 | [PG] | William Devane, Anne Meara, Richard Mulligan, David Groh, Judie Rolin, William Challee, Stephen Joyce | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Irish in Us | 1935 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 84 | Pretty stale comedy about rivalry between policemen and prizefighters, with good cast to hold one's interest. | tt0026534 | James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Olivia de Havilland, Frank McHugh, Allen Jenkins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Irishman | 1978 | Donald Crombie | ★★★ | 108 | Effective, wonderfully acted drama of teamster Craig, his wife and sons, and his refusal to accept change and progress during the 1920s. A touching portrait of a family in turmoil. | tt0077749 | Michael Craig, Simon Burke, Robin Nevin, Lou Brown, Andrew Maguire | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Irma Vep | 1996 | Olivier Assayas | ★★★ | 96 | Keen, insightful satire of movies and the disorder surrounding the moviemaking process. Hong Kong action-film star Cheung (cast as herself) comes to Paris to star in a reworking of Louis Feuillade's 1915-16 serial LES VAMPIRES. However, the inspiration for her character is not so much Feuillade as Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in BATMAN RETURNS. Crammed with cinematic references and biting criticisms of contemporary moviemaking. The title, incidentally, is an anagram. | tt0116650 | Maggie Cheung, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Nathalie Richard, Alex Descas, Nathalie Boutefeu, Dominique Faysse, Bulle Ogier, Arsinée Khanjian, Lou Castel | French | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Irma la Douce | 1963 | Billy Wilder | ★★½ | 142 | Wilder's straight comedy adaptation of Broadway musical is a Parisian fairytale for adults. Gendarme Lemmon falls for prostitute MacLaine and will do anything to keep her for himself. Red Light District is vividly recreated, but reteaming of stars and director can't equal THE APARTMENT. André Previn won an Oscar for his scoring. Look fast for young James Caan in walk-on. | tt0057187 | Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Lou Jacobi, Herschel Bernardi, Joan Shawlee, Hope Holiday, Bill Bixby | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Iron & Silk | 1990 | Shirley Sun | ★★★ | 92 | Charming true story of Salzman, an American who worked for two years in China as an English teacher, while studying with martial arts great Pan Qingfu. The cultural differences are both amusing and at times serious in this spectacularly photographed family film. Screenplay by Salzman, based on his book. | tt0099857 | [PG] | Mark Salzman, Pan Qingfu, Jeannette Lin Tsui, Vivian Wu | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Iron Crown | 1941 | Alessandro Blasetti. | ★★★ | 99 | Lavish medieval spectacle about a ruthless king who murders his own brother in pursuit of a magical iron crown. Stylish and sometimes campy 'Fascist' pageantry blends elements from Robin Hood, Hercules, Tarzan, and Shakespeare. Not released in the U.S. until 1949. | tt0033489 | Gino Cervi, Elisa Cegani, Massimo Girotti, Luisa Ferida, Osvaldo Valenti, Rina Morelli, Paolo Stoppa. | Italian | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Iron Curtain | Behind the Iron Curtain | 1948 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 87 | Well-made, based-on-fact 'anti-commie' saga of Igor Gouzenko (Andrews), who with wife Tierney attempts to defect to the West with top-secret documents. Filmed on location in Canada. Retitled: BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN. | tt0040478 | Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, June Havoc, Berry Kroeger, Edna Best | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Iron Duke | 1934 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 88 | Arliss is his usual sterling self as the Duke of Wellington, seemingly the only man who can make peace between England, its allies, and France in 1815. Entertaining history lesson gets better and better as it draws us into international and political intrigues. Cooper is outstanding as the Duchess of Angouleme (vengeful daughter of Marie Antoinette); young Williams is fun as a malicious newspaperman. | tt0025314 | George Arliss, Gladys Cooper, Ellaline Terriss, A. E. Matthews, Allan Aynesworth, Lesley Wareing, Emlyn Williams, Felix Aylmer, Norma Varden | British | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| Iron Eagle | 1986 | Sidney J. Furie | ★½ | 119 | Dum-dum comic-book movie about an 18-year-old who commandeers an F-16 fighter jet and flies to the Middle East (playing rock music on his Walkman all the way) in order to save his dad, who's been taken prisoner. Full of jingoistic ideals, dubious ethics, and people who die and miraculously come back to life. Not boring, just stupid. Followed by three sequels. | tt0091278 | [PG-13] | Louis Gossett/Jr., Jason Gedrick, David Suchet, Tim Thomerson, Larry G. Scott, Caroline Lagerfelt, Jerry Levine, Michael Bowen | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Iron Eagle II | 1988 | Sidney J. Furie | ★½ | 105 | Equally idiotic sequel, with General Gossett recruiting pilot Humphrey to team with his Soviet counterparts on a secret mission in the Mideast. Humphrey may be a Tom Cruise clone, but the film makes TOP GUN seem like FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. Sequels: ACES: IRON EAGLE III and IRON EAGLE IV. | tt0095382 | [PG] | Louis Gossett/Jr., Mark Humphrey, Stuart Margolin, Alan Scarfe, Sharon H. Brandon, Maury Chaykin | Canadian-Israeli | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | |
| The Iron Giant | 1999 | Brad Bird | ★★★ | 86 | Striking and original animated feature gently pokes fun at 1950s paranoia (and sci-fi movies), as a boy befriends a huge robotic creature from outer space. That writer-director Bird and his animators can bring such feeling to a metallic character is just one of this film's triumphs. Based on the book The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Celco- | tt0129167 | [PG] | Voices of Jennifer Aniston, Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick/Jr., Vin Diesel, Christopher McDonald, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, John Mahoney, M. Emmet Walsh | Family, Animation, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Iron Glove | 1954 | William Castle | ★★½ | 77 | Typical swashbuckler about 18th-century England and Prince James, pretender to the throne. | tt0047121 | Robert Stack, Ursula Thiess, Richard Stapley, Charles Irwin, Alan Hale/Jr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Iron Horse | 1924 | John Ford | ★★★ | 119 | Epic-scale silent film about building of transcontinental railroad, intertwined with predictable human-interest subplots involving surveyor O'Brien, sweetheart Bellamy, traitor Kohler, etc. May seem hackneyed today, but it's important to note that this movie invented what later became clichés. | tt0015016 | George O'Brien, Madge Bellamy, Cyril Chadwick, Fred Kohler, Gladys Hulette, J. Farrell MacDonald | Western | NULL | |||
| Iron Jawed Angels | 2004 | Katja von Garnier | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Contemporary take on the true story of fiercely dedicated young WWI activists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who took the women's suffrage movement by storm. They never became household names like the flamboyant Carrie Chapman Catt (Huston) or Susan B. Anthony, who isn't seen. Apparently written by committee, with four names credited and several others not, from a story by Jennifer Friedes. | tt0338139 | Hilary Swank, Frances O'Connor, Molly Parker, Julia Ormond, Patrick Dempsey, Anjelica Huston, Carrie Snodgress, Lois Smith, Laura Fraser, Vera Farmiga, Bob Gunton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Iron Lady | 2011 | Phyllida Lloyd | ★★½ | 105 | Uneven biopic of Margaret Thatcher, who rose from a working-class background to become the first female Prime Minister of England. We get a CliffsNotes review of her life and career, but nothing personal or professional is explored in a meaningful way except for Thatcher's stubbornness. Abi Morgan's screenplay opens in the present day, with the former PM an elderly woman in the first stages of dementia. It's not clear whether this is meant to humanize or diminish her. Roach does a solid job playing Thatcher as a young woman, but it's Streep's towering and credible performance, which earned her an Oscar (in J. Roy Helland and Mark Coulier's Oscar-winning makeup), that makes the movie worth seeing. | tt1007029 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Iain Glen, Victoria Bewick, Nicholas Farrell, John Sessions, Anthony Head, Richard E. Grant, Roger Allam | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Iron Major | 1943 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 85 | O'Brien goes through the paces as Frank Cavanaugh, famed football coach/WW1 hero, in this ultra-patriotic, by-the-numbers biography. Based on a story by Cavanaugh's wife Flo (played by Warrick). | tt0036044 | Pat O'Brien, Ruth Warrick, Robert Ryan, Leon Ames, Russell Wade, Bruce Edwards, Barbara Hale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Iron Man | 2008 | Jon Favreau | ★★½ | 126 | When wealthy weapons manufacturer Tony Stark is taken prisoner on a trip to Afghanistan he cobbles together a super-suit . . . and vows to get out of the arms business, having seen the misery they produce firsthand. Not-bad adaptation of the Marvel comic book, with Downey in good form as the brainy billionaire, but there are too many misfired ideas (like the Middle Eastern setting, uncomfortably real for a piece of escapist entertainment) and a retro heroine in Paltrow’s lovesick Girl Friday. As usual there’s a cameo by the character’s cocreator Stan Lee. | tt0371746 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey, Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Clark Gregg, Bill Smitrovich, Jon Favreau, Peter Billingsley | Drama, Crime, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Iron Man 2 | 2010 | Jon Favreau | ★★½ | 124 | Now that everyone knows Tony Stark's alter ego, the U.S. government wants access to his suit, to use as a weapon, which he refuses to surrender. This puts Lt. Col. "Rhodey" Rhodes (Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard) in an awkward position. Meanwhile, disaffected Russian Rourke confronts Iron Man with a replica suit—and high-tech knowledge—in order to bring him down. There's no shortage of action or incident, and a slew of new characters, in this follow-up to the 2008 hit, but when all is said and done it's just a sequel, without the freshness and sense of discovery that made the original so popular. | tt1228705 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Kate Mara, Leslie Bibb, Garry Shandling; voice of Paul Bettany | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Iron Mask | 1929 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 87 | Entertaining Dumas tale (later filmed as THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK) told from point of view of D'Artagnan (Fairbanks), who becomes Louis XIV's protector from birth to later time when scheming Rochefort (Haupt) tries to pass off twin brother as heir to throne. Lavish silent swashbuckler originally had talkie sequences. Final scenes are especially poignant as this was Doug's farewell to the swashbuckling genre. Most current prints are of the 1940 reissue with narration by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. | tt0020030 | Douglas Fairbanks, Belle Bennett, Marguerite De La Motte, Dorothy Revier, Vera Lewis, William Bakewell, Nigel de Brulier, Ullrich Haupt | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Iron Maze | 1991 | Hiroaki Yoshida | ★½ | 102 | Japanese industrialist Murakami, hoping to build an amusement park in a Pennsylvania steel town, is near-fatally assaulted; his American wife (Fonda) and a laid-off steelworker (Fahey) offer different perceptions of events leading to the incident. Muddled, pretentious RASHOMON remake, coexecutive-produced by Oliver Stone. | tt0102128 | [R] | Jeff Fahey, Bridget Fonda, Hiroaki Murakami, J. T. Walsh, Gabriel Damon, John Randolph | U.S.-Japanese | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Iron Mistress | 1952 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 110 | Spotty Western adventure of Jim Bowie (Ladd), who invented the famed frontier knife. | tt0044753 | Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Joseph Calleia, Phyllis Kirk | Western | NULL | |||
| Iron Monkey | 1993 | Yuen Wo Ping | ★★★ | 87 | In medieval China, a kindly village doctor masquerades as Iron Monkey, a Robin Hood type who fights a corrupt governor and helps the downtrodden. Made years before CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (and directed by its action choreographer), this anticipates some of its high-flying action techniques but has no pretensions: just a fast, entertaining action yarn with the exaggerated acting style of Hong Kong escapist fare. Pure fun. Cowritten by Tsui Hark. New music score added for slightly edited U.S. release in 2001. | tt0108148 | [PG-13] | Yu Rong Guang, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Tsang Sze Man, Yuen Shun Yi, James Wong, Yen Yee Kwan | Hong Kong | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Iron Petticoat | 1956 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 87 | Curious comedy made in England tries to update NINOTCHKA theme with Hepburn as humorless Russian and Hope as American military man who tries to win her over. Stars' surprising rapport is film's chief value; mediocre script and direction kill the rest. | tt0049369 | Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, David Kossoff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Iron Sheriff | 1957 | Sidney Salkow | ★½ | 73 | Marshal Hayden sets out to prove son is not guilty of murder. | tt0050547 | Sterling Hayden, Constance Ford, John Dehner, Kent Taylor, Darryl Hickman | Western | NULL | |||
| The Iron Triangle | 1989 | Eric Weston | ★★ | 91 | A U.S. Army captain, serving in Vietnam in 1969, is captured by a 17-year-old Vietcong soldier, and the pair develop a bond. Intriguing as a look at the war from the side of the 'enemy,' but the result is confused and slight. | tt0097593 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Haing S. Ngor, Johnny Hallyday, Liem Whatley, James Ishida | War | NULL | ||
| Iron Will | 1994 | Charles Haid | ★½ | 109 | Youngster enters a Winnipeg-to-St. Paul dog-sled race in the WW1 era; result is so 'by the numbers' that you almost expect the numerals to start flashing on the screen, à la John Waters' POLYESTER. Two additional writers polished the original script by veteran John Michael Hayes (REAR WINDOW), presumably to make it more like a bad Disney Channel entry. There's a faint pulse whenever Spacey (as a journalist) shows up on screen. | tt0110157 | [PG] | Mackenzie Astin, Kevin Spacey, August Schellenberg, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Cox, George Gerdes, John Terry | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ironclad | 2011 | Jonathan English | ★½ | 121 | To pacify the barons who've been rebelling against the throne of King John (Giamatti) in medieval England, the monarch signs the Magna Carta, which supports citizens' rights. But the tyrannical king schemes to override the charter and thwart the barons, assembling a mercenary army to decimate them. Potentially provocative historical epic wallows in one-dimensional theatrics, cornball dialogue, and in-your-face gore. | tt1233301 | [R] | James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Kate Mara, Paul Giamatti, Jason Flemyng, Jamie Foreman, Aneurin Barnard, Mackenzie Crook, Vladimir Kulich, Charles Dance | British-U.S.-German | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Ironweed | 1987 | Hector Babenco | ★★½ | 144 | William Kennedy adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about street people, set in Albany, N.Y., 1938. Nicholson plays a man trying to come to terms with the life he turned his back on years ago. Streep is his longtime companion who, like him, can't stay off the bottle for long. Babenco's first American film is strong on atmosphere and filled with haunting images . . . but it's long and unremittingly bleak, with a few too many dramatic peaks. The salvation is Nicholson and Streep, whose rich performances are a privilege to watch. | tt0093277 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe, Diane Venora, Fred Gwynne, Margaret Whitton, Tom Waits, Jake Dengel, Nathan Lane, James Gammon, Joe Grifasi, Bethel Leslie, Ted Levine, Frank Whaley | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Iroquois Trail | 1950 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 85 | Too often flabby account of French and Indian War, lacking sufficient plot motivation and action sequences. | tt0042602 | George Montgomery, Brenda Marshall, Dan O'Herlihy, Glenn Langan | Western | NULL | |||
| Irreconcilable Differences | 1984 | Charles Shyer | ★★★ | 117 | Bittersweet comedy about a bright young couple who marry and prosper, until success in Hollywood causes them to lose sight of what's really important in their lives. Result: Their ten-year-old daughter sues them for divorce! Perceptive script by Nancy Meyers and first-time director Shyer, with especially funny jabs at Hollywood. Also the only film in memory to drop the name of Sig Rumann! | tt0087482 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore, Sam Wanamaker, Allen Garfield, Sharon Stone, David Paymer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Irréversible | 2002 | Gaspar Noé | ★½ | 95 | 'Controversial' does not begin to describe this ugly, over-the-top rape-and-revenge tale, told in reverse a la MEMENTO, spotlighting events surrounding the defiling of beautiful Bellucci. Graphically violent, even by contemporary standards, this glorified exploitation film features an extended rape sequence and brutal murder that's hard to stomach. Though gimmicky and repugnant, some will admire the film for its audacity. Nahon's character, a butcher, appears in the director's earlier I STAND ALONE. Bellucci and Cassel are married in real life. Super 16. | tt0290673 | Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon, Jo Prestia | French | Drama, Action, Romance, Horror | NULL | ||
| Is Anybody There? | 2009 | John Crowley | ★★½ | 92 | Ten-year-old boy (the talented Milner, from SON OF RAMBOW) has an insatiable curiosity about death, not surprising since he lives among elderly people in his parents’ nursing home. His life changes with the arrival of the Amazing Clarence (Caine), a retired magician. Agreeable, if unremarkable, film buoyed by its two lead performances. British title: IS THERE ANYBODY THERE? | tt1130088 | [PG-13] | Michael Caine, Bill Milner, Anne-Marie Duff, David Morrissey, Rosemary Harris, Elizabeth Spriggs, Leslie Phillips, Sylvia Syms, Peter Vaughan, Linzey Cocker | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Is My Face Red? | 1932 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 66 | Cortez does well as a wisecracking, Walter Winchell-like columnist. Some snappy dialogue, but film really goes nowhere— and main character is such a total heel that our sympathies aren't with him when script demands they should be. That's director Seiter as the ship's purser. | tt0023066 | Ricardo Cortez, Helen Twelvetrees, Jill Esmond, Robert Armstrong, Sidney Toler, ZaSu Pitts | Drama | NULL | |||
| Is Paris Burning? | 1966 | René Clément | ★★ | 173 | Rambling pseudo-documentary-style recreation of WW2 France, showing liberation of Paris and Nazis' attempt to burn the city. Cameos by international players confuse blotchy film made in Europe. Screenplay by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, from the Larry Collins-Dominique Lapierre book. | tt0060814 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Dauphin, Alain Delon, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Gert Frobe, Daniel Gelin, Yves Montand, Anthony Perkins, Simone Signoret, Robert Stack, Orson Welles | French-U.S. | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Is There Sex After Death? | 1971 | Jeanne and Alan Abel | ★★★ | 97 | Crude but funny satire of porn films. Famous hoaxer Abel (who, with his wife, also produced and scripted) plays a traveling sexologist; Efron hilarious as an X-rated-film director. | tt0125263 | [R] | Buck Henry, Alan Abel, Marshall Efron, Holly Woodlawn, Earle Doud | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Isadora | The Loves of Isadora | 1968 | Karel Reisz | ★★★½ | 131 | Extremely long but gripping study of Isadora Duncan, first of modern dancers and most prominent free-thinker of her time. Interesting technique and carefully studied performances combine together in this offbeat biography. Originally released at 168 minutes, later recut to 131 minutes and retitled THE LOVES OF ISADORA. A third version, supervised by the director, was released to television in 1987 under the original title. | tt0063141 | [M] | Vanessa Redgrave, James Fox, Jason Robards, Ivan Tchenko, John Fraser, Bessie Love, Cynthia Harris | British | Biography, Drama | NULL |
| Ishtar | 1987 | Elaine May | ★★ | 107 | The HEAVEN'S GATE of movie comedies made headlines because of its huge expense and costly delays, but the only thing wrong with it is that it isn't very funny. Beatty and Hoffman go the Hope and Crosby route as untalented singer-songwriters who get involved with international intrigue in North Africa (shades of ROAD TO MOROCCO!). A blind camel and a flock of vultures steal the show. Paul Williams' deliberately awful songs are funny, too, but not funny enough to overcome the flatness of director May's script. Produced by Beatty. | tt0093278 | [PG-13] | Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston, Tess Harper, Carol Kane, Aharon Ipale | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Island | 1989 | Paul Cox | ★★½ | 93 | Three women— each struggling with a personal emotional crisis— meet on a remote Greek island. Knowing they are only to cross paths briefly, they unburden their innermost feelings to each other. Atmospheric psychological drama lacks a strong central core. | tt0097597 | Irene Papas, Eva Sitta, Anoja Weerasinghe, Chris Haywood, Francois Bernard | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Island Princess | 1954 | Paolo Moffa | ★★ | 98 | Rather hackneyed yarn set in 1500s, with Mastroianni a Spanish captain falling in love with princess of the Canary Islands. | tt0047367 | Marcello Mastroianni, Silvana Pampanini, Gustavo Rojo | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Island Rescue | 1951 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 87 |
Lukewarm comedy involving rescue of cows from German-occupied island during WW2. Original British title: APPOINTMENT WITH VENUS.|
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David Niven, Glynis Johns, George Coulouris, Barry Jones, Kenneth More, Noel Purcell, Bernard Lee, Jeremy Spenser, Anton Diffring
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British
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Comedy, War
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| Island Woman | 1958 | William Berke | ★½ | 72 | Sailboat captain Edwards falls for tourist Earle, while her aunt (Windsor) connives to win him for herself. Dull; spiced with calypso music. | tt0122119 | Marie Windsor, Vincent Edwards, Marilee Earle, Leslie Scott, Maurine Duvalier, George Symonette | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Island at the Top of the World | 1974 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 93 | Disney's attempt to score again in Jules Verne territory misses bull's-eye; simplistic, derivative story of Arctic expedition which stumbles across 'lost' Viking civilization. Mainly for kids. | tt0071671 | [G] | David Hartman, Donald Sinden, Jacques Marin, Mako, David Gwillim, Agneta Eckemyr | Drama, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Island in the Sky | 1953 | William Wellman | ★★★½ | 109 | Transport plane goes down in snowy Labrador, and the crew's flying buddies devote all their energies to locating them. Meanwhile, pilot Wayne has to keep his crew's spirits up as they try to survive in frigid weather with little food and no heat. Moving drama with a striking score by Emil Newman. Ernest K. Gann based his screenplay (and novel) on a real-life incident from WW2. Gann, Wellman, and Wayne reteamed a year later for THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. Look fast for Fess Parker. | tt0045919 | John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, James Arness, Andy Devine, Walter Abel, Allyn Joslyn | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Island in the Sun | 1957 | Robert Rossen | ★★ | 119 | Misfire adaptation of Alec Waugh's book about idyllic West Indies island torn by racial struggle. Good cast can't do much with unconvincing script. | tt0050549 | James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie, Diana Wynyard, John Williams, Stephen Boyd, Harry Belafonte | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Island of Desire | 1952 | Stuart Heisler | ★½ | 103 | Sun-drenched, romantic WW2 drama of nurse, Marine, and injured pilot all washed ashore on tropical desert island. Parched performances. British title: SATURDAY ISLAND. | tt0044755 | Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, Donald Gray, John Laurie, Sheila Chong | British | Romance | NULL | ||
| Island of Doomed Men | 1940 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 67 | Sadistic Lorre turns parolees into slave labor for his island diamond mine. Stock characters, stale melodramatics. | tt0032641 | Peter Lorre, Robert Wilcox, Rochelle Hudson, George E. Stone, Don Beddoe, Kenneth MacDonald | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Island of Dr. Moreau | 1977 | Don Taylor | ★★★ | 104 | Handsomely produced remake of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS with Lancaster heading a solid cast as demented doctor who has spent years creating half-man, half-beast 'humanimals.' Good horror-fantasy chiller, based on H. G. Wells' novel. Remade in 1996. | tt0076210 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera, Richard Basehart | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Island of Dr. Moreau | 1996 | John Frankenheimer | ★½ | 95 | Heavy-handed retelling of H. G. Wells' novel, as Thewlis is rescued at sea and brought to Dr. Moreau's island, where he's horrified to discover experiments turning animals into humans. Grotesque in the extreme, obvious, and ultimately pointless, but Brando devotees will want to check out his flamboyantly silly performance, and makeup buffs should admire Stan Winston's remarkable creations. Director's cut version runs 99m. | tt0116654 | [PG-13] | Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk, Ron Perlman, Marco Hofschneider, Temuera Morrison | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Island of Lost Men | 1939 | Kurt Neumann | ★½ | 63 | In Malaysia, half-caste sadist Naish, who has a slave-labor jungle workforce (and a 'What Is Home Without Mother' sign in his house!), is opposed by beautiful Wong. Remake of WHITE WOMAN, complete with stock footage; a few atmospheric scenes, but stilted. | tt0031497 | Anna May Wong, J. Carrol Naish, Eric Blore, Ernest Truex, Anthony Quinn, Broderick Crawford | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Island of Lost Souls | 1933 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★★½ | 70 | Strong adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of a mad scientist isolated on a remote island, where he transforms jungle beasts into half-human abominations ('. . . are we not men?'). Laughton hams it up a bit, but despite more explicit horror films of late, this retains its frightening aura, particularly in the grisly finale. Remade as THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU in 1977 and 1996. | tt0024188 | Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen, Stanley Fields, Kathleen Burke, Leila Hyams | Romance, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Island of Lost Women | 1959 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 71 | Plane forced down on remote island leads to complications with a scientist and his three beautiful daughters who inhabit the jungle isle. | tt0052932 | Jeff Richards, Venetia Stevenson, John Smith, Diane Jergens, Alan Napier, June Blair | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Island of Love | 1963 | Morton DaCosta | ★½ | 101 | Con artist Preston sets out to transform a Greek isle into a tourist trap while evading the clutches of vengeful gangster Matthau. Silly, unfunny comedy wastes the talents of all concerned. | tt0057189 | Robert Preston, Tony Randall, Giorgia Moll, Walter Matthau, Betty Bruce, Michael Constantine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Island of Terror | 1966 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 90 | Sci-fi tale about cancer research gone wild and mutations that result is directed and acted by veterans of the field, but result is nothing special. | tt0060548 | Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Niall MacGinnis | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Island of the Blue Dolphins | 1964 | James B. Clark | ★½ | 93 | True story of Indian girl (Kaye) abandoned on small island, befriended only by wild dogs. Set in early 19th century. Well meaning but not very good. Based on the novel by Scott O'Dell. | tt0058241 | Celia Kaye, George Kennedy, Ann Daniel, Carlos Romero, Larry Domasin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Island of the Burning Doomed | Night of the Big Heat | 1967 | Terence Fisher. | ★★½ | 94 | Aliens cause a massive heatwave during winter. Good sci-fi, with Lee and Cushing at their best. Also known as ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED and NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT. | tt0062037 | Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Patrick Allen, Sarah Lawson, Jane Merrow, William Lucas. | British | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Island of the Lost | 1967 | John Florea, Ricou Browning | ★½ | 91 | Anthropologist Greene takes his family on an expedition to find an uncharted South Sea isle but becomes shipwrecked. Clean-cut, highly innocuous travelogue from the Ivan Tors studio, cowritten by Tors and actor Richard Carlson. Underwater expert Browning appeared with Carlson years before as the CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. | tt0061824 | Richard Greene, Luke Halpin, Mart Hulswit, Jose De Vega, Robin Mattson, Irene Tsu | Adventure, Action, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Island | 1962 | Kaneto Shindô | ★★★ | 96 | Engrossing documentary-style study of peasant family living on rocky island near Japan, struggling to survive. Visually stunning film contains not a single word of dialogue. | tt0056049 | Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Island | 1980 | Michael Ritchie | 💣 | 114 | Absolutely awful thriller about magazine reporter who investigates strange doings in the Caribbean and winds up a prisoner of primitive island tribe. You know you're in trouble when David Warner plays the most normal guy on the island! Peter Benchley scripted from his own novel. | tt0080934 | [R] | Michael Caine, David Warner, Angela Punch McGregor, Frank Middlemass, Don Henderson, Zakes Mokae, Jeffrey Frank | Adventure, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Island | 2005 | Michael Bay | ★★ | 136 | In a futuristic underground city, society is rigidly controlled and a lottery decides who'll get to move to an idyllic island. When McGregor suspects something is amiss, he enlists Johansson's aid to escape into a world they didn't expect. Well-cast but overheated thriller burns itself up with increasingly unbelievable action scenes and an unconvincing plot similar to that of PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR. | tt0399201 | [PG-13] | Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ethan Phillips, Brian Stepanek | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Islands in the Stream | 1977 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★½ | 105 | Film version of Hemingway novel about an island-dwelling sculptor and his three sons begins well but falls apart completely in the final third. Still one of the better adaptations of this author, with one of Scott's best performances. | tt0076211 | [PG] | George C. Scott, David Hemmings, Claire Bloom, Susan Tyrrell, Gilbert Roland, Richard Evans, Hart Bochner, Julius Harris | Drama | NULL | ||
| Isle of Forgotten Sins | 1943 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 82 | Standard programmer with deep sea divers Carradine and Fenton going up against conniving ship captain Toler over a gold treasure. As usual, Ulmer's direction is much better than the material. Based on his short story; retitled MONSOON. | tt0036046 | John Carradine, Gale Sondergaard, Sidney Toler, Frank Fenton, Rita Quigley, Veda Ann Borg, Rick Vallin, Betty Amann, Tala Birell | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Isle of Fury | 1936 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 60 | Mild remake of Somerset Maugham novel The Narrow Corner, involving love triangle on South Sea island. | tt0027805 | Humphrey Bogart, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Woods, Paul Graetz, Gordon Hart, E. E. Clive | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Isle of the Dead | 1945 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 72 | Eerie horror tale of assorted characters stranded on Greek island during quarantine— one of them possibly a vampire. Good Val Lewton production. | tt0037820 | Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery, Helene Thimig, Jason Robards | Horror | NULL | |||
| Isn't It Romantic? | 1948 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 87 | No. | tt0040479 | Veronica Lake, Mary Hatcher, Mona Freeman, Billy DeWolfe, Patric Knowles, Roland Culver, Pearl Bailey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Isn't Life Wonderful | 1924 | D. W. Griffith | ★★½ | 115 | Combination grim drama and tender love story about a family of Polish refugees in inflation-laden post-WW1 Germany. The spotlight is on Inge (Dempster) and her sweetheart Paul (Hamilton), a veteran who suffers from gas poisoning, and their attempt to build a life together. A perfect example of how the style and substance of Griffith had become dated by 1924. Nonetheless, a fascinating curio, with some stark and powerful sequences. Filmed on location in Germany. | tt0015018 | Carol Dempster, Neil Hamilton, Erville Alderson, Helen Lowell, Marcia Harris, Frank Puglia, Lupino Lane | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Isn't She Great | 2000 | Andrew Bergman | ★★ | 95 | Ill-conceived film about highly driven actress turned authoress Jacqueline Susann (Valley of the Dolls) and the one man who believes in her, her press agent husband, Irving Mansfield. Not funny enough to succeed as a comedy, not serious or solid enough to work as a biography; Lane is awfully hard to resist, however, as the irrepressibly upbeat Mansfield. Screenplay by Paul Rudnick, from Michael Korda's magazine article. | tt0141399 | [R] | Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, Stockard Channing, David Hyde Pierce, John Cleese, John Larroquette, Amanda Peet | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Isn’t It Shocking? | 1973 | John Badham | Above Average TV Movie | 73 | Virtually everything clicks in brilliant, oddball comedy-mystery about series of bizarre murders disrupting normal day-to-day routine of small New England town’s police department. Excellent cast, script (by Lane Slate), and direction. A film to remember. . | tt0070229 | Alan Alda, Louise Lasser, Edmond O’Brien, Ruth Gordon, Will Geer, Dorothy Tristan, Lloyd Nolan | Horror | NULL | |||
| Istanbul | 1957 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 84 | Cornell Borchers, John Bentley, Torin Thatcher, Leif Erickson, Martin Benson, Nat 'King' Cole, Werner Klemperer. Dull drama of flyer Flynn returning to Istanbul, discovering his ladylove (whom he believed had perished in a fire) to be alive and an amnesiac. Sole bright spot: Cole singing 'When I Fall in Love.' Remake of SINGAPORE. | tt0050552 | Errol Flynn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Istanbul | 1990 | Mats Arehn | 💣 | 88 | Journalist Bottoms arrives in Istanbul with his daughter to seek information on family of his wife's son, becomes enmeshed in confusing intrigue. Twiggy is a mystery woman. Murky, clumsy, international coproduction is about as interesting as watching camel spit dry. | tt0097599 | [PG-13] | Timothy Bottoms, Twiggy, Emma Kilberg, Robert Morley, Lena Endre, Sverre Anker Ousdal | Turkish-Swedish |
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| It | 1927 | Clarence Badger | ★★½ | 72 | Bow is dazzling in this otherwise ordinary tale of a spirited, gold-digging department-store salesgirl with designs on her handsome boss (Moreno). Based on Elinor Glyn's trendy story of the same title; Madame Glyn appears briefly as herself. Look for Gary Cooper in a walk-on as a reporter. | tt0018033 | Clara Bow, Antonio Moreno, William Austin, Jacqueline Gadsdon (Jane Daly), Priscilla Bonner | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| It Ain't Hay | 1943 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 80 | Pretty good A&C from Damon Runyon story, 'Princess O'Hara,' of racehorse Teabiscuit; good supporting cast helps. | tt0036047 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patsy O'Connor, Grace McDonald, Leighton Noble, Cecil Kellaway, Eugene Pallette, Eddie Quillan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It All Came True | 1940 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 97 | Offbeat story combines comedy, drama, music, and sentiment as gangster Bogart hides out in quaint boarding-house. Fine showcase for Sheridan, who sings 'Angel in Disguise' and 'The Gaucho Serenade. | tt0032643 | Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart, Jeffrey Lynn, ZaSu Pitts, Jessie Busley, Una O'Connor, Grant Mitchell, Felix Bressart | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| It All Starts Today | 1999 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 117 | Wrenchingly believable study of a dedicated schoolteacher in a working-class French community who tries to overcome one hurdle after another— from government bureaucracy to negligent parents— to provide his children with a decent education. No false dramatics here, just a potent slice of life. Written by the director, his daughter Tiffany, and her husband, Dominique Sampiero (based on his experience as a teacher). | tt0186730 | Philippe Torreton, Maria Pitarresi, Nadia Kaci, Véronique Ataly, Nathalie Bécue, Emmanuelle Bercot | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| It Always Rains on Sunday | 1947 | Robert Hamer | ★★★½ | 92 | Excellent mosaic of characters whose lives intertwine in a drab London neighborhood. McCallum is escaped convict seeking refuge with his ex-lover, Withers. (In real life, the two stars married the following year.) Arthur La Bern's novel was scripted by Henry Cornelius, Angus MacPhail, and Hamer. | tt0040481 | Googie Withers, Jack Warner, John McCallum, Edward Chapman, Jimmy Hanley, John Carol, John Slater, Susan Shaw, Sydney Tafler, Alfie Bass, Betty Ann Davies, Jane Hylton, Hermione Baddeley | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| It Came From Beneath the Sea | 1955 | Robert Gordon | ★★★ | 80 | Breathtaking special effects highlight this sci-fi thriller. Huge octopus emerges from Pacific Ocean and wreaks havoc on San Francisco. First film made by the team of Ray Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer. | tt0048215 | Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis, Ian Keith, Harry Lauter | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| It Came From Hollywood | 1982 | Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt | ★½ | 80 | Contemporary comedy stars are spectacularly unfunny introducing and narrating clips from some of Hollywood's worst movies— most of which are funny enough without additional wisecracks. What's more, this pointless, poorly constructed compilation includes scenes from good movies like WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN! Even so, howlers like MARS NEEDS WOMEN and PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE still offer some genuine laughs. | tt0084156 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Cheech and Chong, Gilda Radner | Documentary, Comedy | NULL | ||
| It Came From Outer Space | 1953 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 81 | Intriguing science-fiction based on a Ray Bradbury story. An alien ship crashes in the Arizona desert; its passengers assume the identities of nearby townspeople so they can effect repairs unnoticed— they think. Remarkably sober for its era, with crisp performances and real restraint, even in its use of 3-D. The 1996 TV movie IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE II is a much inferior remake, rather than the sequel the title suggests. | tt0045920 | Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Russell Johnson, Joe Sawyer, Kathleen Hughes | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| It Conquered the World | 1956 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 68 | Low-budget sci-fi which intelligently attempts to create atmospheric excitement in yarn of carrot-shaped monster from Venus, Paul Blaisdell's finest creation. One of Corman's best early quickies, well acted and interesting but awkwardly plotted. Remade as ZONTAR, THE THING FROM VENUS. | tt0049370 | Peter Graves, Beverly Garland, Lee Van Cleef, Sally Fraser | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| It Could Happen to You | 1994 | Andrew Bergman | ★★★ | 101 | Charming romantic comedy about a Good Samaritan cop who shares a lottery ticket with a hard-luck waitress— little dreaming it will make them both millionaires. Warm, winning performances by Cage and Fonda carry this N.Y.-based fairy tale, with a plot not intended for close scrutiny. Inspired by a true-life story. | tt0110167 | [PG] | Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez, Wendell Pierce, Isaac Hayes, Victor Rojas, Seymour Cassel, Stanley Tucci, J. E. Freeman, Red Buttons, Richard Jenkins | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| It Grows on Trees | 1952 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 84 | Dunne's last feature is slim vehicle of wife who discovers backyard foliage is blossoming crisp money. | tt0044758 | Irene Dunne, Dean Jagger, Joan Evans, Richard Crenna, Les Tremayne | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| It Had To Be You | 1947 | Don Hartman, Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 98 | Rogers has severe indecision before every scheduled marriage, until dream lover Wilde appears. Airy, fanciful comedy. | tt0039500 | Ginger Rogers, Cornel Wilde, Percy Waram, Spring Byington, Ron Randell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Had to Happen | 1936 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 79 | Italian immigrant Raft working his way to political power in N.Y.C., trying to romance upper-class Russell. | tt0027808 | George Raft, Leo Carrillo, Rosalind Russell, Alan Dinehart, Arline Judge | Drama | NULL | |||
| It Happened Here | 1966 | Kevin Brownlow, Andrew Mollo | ★★★ | 95 | Imaginative fable of Britain taken over by the Nazis during WW2, made in semidocumentary style by two ingenious young filmmakers. To get along in a harsh time, most Brits collaborate with the invaders, including nurse Murray, who has personal reasons to hate the resistance movement. | tt0055024 | Pauline Murray, Sebastian Shaw, Fiona Lelard, Honor Fehrson | British | Drama, Fantasy, War | NULL | ||
| It Happened One Night | 1934 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 105 | Legendary romantic comedy doesn't age a bit. Still as enchanting as ever, with reporter Gable and runaway heiress Colbert falling in love on rural bus trip. Hitch-hiking travails, the Walls of Jericho, other memorable scenes remain fresh and delightful. First film to win all five major Oscars: Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay (Robert Riskin). Based on Samuel Hopkins Adams' story 'Night Bus,' originally published in Cosmopolitan. Remade as musicals EVE KNEW HER APPLES and YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM IT. | tt0025316 | Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Alan Hale/Sr., Ward Bond | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Happened Tomorrow | 1944 | René Clair | ★★★ | 84 | Diverting if somewhat static fantasy yarn about a turn-of-the-century reporter who gets inside track on tomorrow's headlines, leading to unexpected complications. Low key, often charming. | tt0036962 | Dick Powell, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie, Edgar Kennedy, John Philliber, Edward Brophy, George Cleveland, Sig Ruman, Paul Guilfoyle | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| It Happened at the World's Fair | 1963 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 105 | Entertaining Presley vehicle set at Seattle World's Fair, with Elvis and O'Brien brought together by little Ginny Tiu. Listenable tunes (including 'One Broken Heart for Sale,' 'A World of Our Own' and 'Happy Ending') help make this most enjoyable. Young Kurt Russell, who later played Elvis in a TV movie, makes his film debut in a small role. | tt0057191 | Elvis Presley, Joan O'Brien, Gary Lockwood, Yvonne Craig | Adventure | NULL | |||
| It Happened in Athens | 1962 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 92 | Silly, juvenile charade made somewhat watchable by Mansfield in a variety of revealing costumes as an actress who agrees to marry the winner of the marathon at the 1896 Olympics. | tt0056109 | Jayne Mansfield, Trax Colton, Lili Valenty, Maria Xenia, Bob Mathias, Nico Minardos | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Happened in Brooklyn | 1947 | Richard Whorf | ★★ | 105 | Hokey musical with Brooklynite Sinatra returning to his beloved borough after WW2; complications follow as he falls for music teacher Grayson. Some good songs, including 'Time After Time' and wonderful Sinatra-Durante duet, 'The Song's Gotta Come From the Heart.' | tt0039501 | Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Jimmy Durante, Peter Lawford, Gloria Grahame | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| It Happened on 5th Avenue | 1947 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 115 | Overlong comedy about elegant N.Y.C. mansion taken over by thoughtful bum, who invites horde of friends and real owner in disguise to be his guests. | tt0039502 | Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charlie Ruggles, Victor Moore, Gale Storm, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Happened to Jane | Twinkle and Shine | 1959 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 98 | Breezy, likable comedy: Doris runs a Maine lobstery, and Jack is her lawyer; together they tangle with ultracheap villain Kovacs (who hams mercilessly). Aka TWINKLE AND SHINE. | tt0052933 | Doris Day, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Steve Forrest, Teddy Rooney, Russ Brown, Mary Wickes, Parker Fennelly | Comedy | NULL | ||
| It Happens Every Spring | 1949 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★½ | 87 | Clever little comedy of chemistry professor (Milland) accidentally discovering a chemical mixture which causes baseballs to avoid all wooden surfaces, namely baseball bats. He takes leave from academia and embarks on meteoric pitching career. A most enjoyable, unpretentious picture. Story by Shirley W. Smith and Valentine Davies; scripted by Davies. | tt0041514 | Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ed Begley, Ted de Corsia, Ray Collins, Jessie Royce Landis, Alan Hale/Jr., Debra Paget | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| It Happens Every Thursday | 1953 | Joseph Pevney | ★★★ | 80 | Warm comedy about married couple who buy small-town newspaper and try every method conceivable to make it click. Young's final theatrical film. | tt0045921 | Loretta Young, John Forsythe, Frank McHugh, Edgar Buchanan, Jane Darwell, Dennis Weaver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Lives Again | It's Alive II | 1978 | Larry Cohen | ★½ | 91 | Sequel to IT'S ALIVE offers not one but three murderous babies. More of a horror film than a thriller— and not a very good one. Constantine's first American film in many years. Aka IT'S ALIVE II; followed by IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE. | tt0077756 | [R] | Frederic Forrest, Kathleen Lloyd, John Ryan, John Marley, Andrew Duggan, Eddie Constantine | Horror | NULL | |
| It Only Happens to Others | 1971 | Nadine Trintignant | ★★ | 88 | Loss of young child causes happily married couple to withdraw from society. Heavy on the syrup. Panoramica. | tt0068026 | [PG] | Marcello Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Serge Marquand, Dominique Labourier, Catherine Allegret | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| It Runs in My Family | My Summer Story | 1994 | Bob Clark | ★★ | 85 | Follow-up to A CHRISTMAS STORY— with a new cast— is a huge disappointment, chronicling the same family's adventures in the early '40s— from the boy's efforts to win at top-spinning to the Old Man's feud with his hillbilly neighbors. Culkin and Grodin are no match for Peter Billingsley and Darren McGavin in the earlier film, and many of writer/narrator Jean Shepherd's nostalgic musings don't come off nearly as well as they do in his writings and broadcasts. Barely released theatrically; retitled MY SUMMER STORY. | tt0110168 | [PG] | Charles Grodin, Kieran Culkin, Mary Steenburgen, Christian Culkin, Al Mancini, Troy Evans, Roy Brocksmith, Glenn Shadix, Dick O'Neill, Wayne Grace | Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| It Runs in the Family | 2003 | Fred Schepisi | ★★ | 109 | Superficial story about conflicts between fathers, sons, girlfriends, and spouses serves merely as an excuse to bring three generations of Douglases together on-screen (not to mention Kirk's ex, Diana). But this contrivance is just that, with a script that might not pass muster as a TV movie. Michael Douglas also produced. | tt0311110 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Kirk Douglas, Cameron Douglas, Diana Douglas, Bernadette Peters, Rory Culkin, Michelle Monaghan, Sarita Choudhury | Drama | NULL | ||
| It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time | Good Idea! | 1975 | John Trent | ★★ | 106 | Tired comedy with a mostly tired cast, centering on Newley's attempts to woo back his remarried ex-wife. Dane and Candy appear as a pair of bumbling cops, characters they replayed a year later in FIND THE LADY. Aka GOOD IDEA! | tt0073181 | [PG] | Anthony Newley, Stefanie Powers, Isaac Hayes, Lloyd Bochner, Yvonne De Carlo, Henry Ramer, Lawrence Dane, John Candy | Canadian | Comedy | NULL |
| It Should Happen to You | 1954 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 87 | Holliday is Gladys Glover of Binghamton, N.Y., who has come to N.Y.C. to make a name for herself— and does so, by plastering her moniker across a Columbus Circle billboard. Judy is radiant in this charming romantic comedy/satire, scripted by Garson Kanin. Lemmon's first film. | tt0047123 | Judy Holliday, Peter Lawford, Jack Lemmon, Michael O'Shea, Vaughn Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog | 1946 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★½ | 70 | Fluff about reporter Joslyn, who erroneously thinks policewoman Landis and a Doberman pinscher named Rodney robbed a bar. | tt0038648 | Carole Landis, Allyn Joslyn, Margo Woode, Harry Morgan, Reed Hadley, John Alexander, Jean Wallace, John Ireland | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| It Started With Eve | 1941 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 90 | Delightful romantic comedy; Deanna poses as Cummings' fiancée to please his dying father (Laughton). Trouble starts when Laughton shows signs of recovery. Remade as I'D RATHER BE RICH. | tt0033766 | Deanna Durbin, Charles Laughton, Robert Cummings, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Tallichet, Walter Catlett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Started With a Kiss | 1959 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 104 | Airy comedy about wacky Reynolds and her Army officer husband Ford, trying to make a go of marriage; set in Spain. | tt0052934 | Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Eva Gabor, Fred Clark, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Morgan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Started in Naples | 1960 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 100 | Gable is American lawyer, in Italy to bring nephew back to America, but sexy Aunt Sophia won't agree. Star duo never clicks as love match, but they do their best. Attractive fluff. | tt0053957 | Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Marietto, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It Takes All Kinds | 1969 | Eddie Davis | ★★ | 98 | Fair double-cross drama about Miles' shielding of Lansing when he accidentally kills sailor in a brawl in Australia. Nothing special. | tt0064500 | Robert Lansing, Vera Miles, Barry Sullivan, Sid Melton, Penny Sugg | U.S.-Australian | Crime | NULL | ||
| It Takes Two | 1995 | Andy Tennant | ★★½ | 101 | Surprisingly well-wrought comedy for kids about lookalikes who trade places in order to help each other. The fabulously wealthy girl has a father who's about to marry a patently awful woman, while the orphan is about to lose her best friend, the social worker who supervises the orphanage. The twins give very likable performances, as do their adult costars. A cross between THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER and THE PARENT TRAP. | tt0113442 | [PG] | Kirstie Alley, Steve Guttenberg, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Philip Bosco, Jane Sibbett, Michelle Grison, Desmond Roberts, Ernie Grunwald, Lawrence Dane | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| It Takes a Thief | 1960 | John Gilling | ★★ | 90 | Mansfield is gangland leader with big heist in the workings; supporting cast uplifts flick. Original title: THE CHALLENGE. | tt0053958 | Jayne Mansfield, Anthony Quayle, Carl Mohner, Peter Reynolds, Barbara Mullen, Edward Judd | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| It! | 1967 | Herbert J. Leder | ★★ | 96 | McDowall brings hulking stone statue— the Golem, no less— to life and soon finds it makes a great murderer. Kill it! Filmed in England. | tt0061826 | Roddy McDowall, Jill Haworth, Ernest Clark, Paul Maxwell, Aubrey Richards | Horror | NULL | |||
| It! The Terror From Beyond Space | 1958 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★½ | 69 | The second spaceship to Mars heads for Earth with the sole survivor of the first expedition, accused of murdering his crewmates— but the real killer is a Martian monster (Ray 'Crash' Corrigan), which has crept aboard the returning ship. ALIEN owes a lot to this tidy, suspenseful, but underproduced movie, scripted by sci-fi writer Jerome Bixby. | tt0051786 | Marshall Thompson, Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| It'$ Only Money | 1962 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★ | 84 | TV repairman Jerry wants to be a detective like his idol (White!), so he sets out to locate a missing heir— and guess who it turns out to be? Slick mystery-comedy is one of Lewis' best vehicles, thanks to solid script (by John Fenton Murray) and direction, fine cast, and memorable climax involving runaway army of robot lawn mowers. | tt0056110 | Jerry Lewis, Joan O'Brien, Zachary Scott, Jack Weston, Jesse White, Mae Questel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's Alive III: Island of the Alive | 1987 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 91 | Part 3 makes serious comments on issues ranging from the AIDS crisis to abortion as Moriarty, father of a monster baby, succeeds in preventing society from exterminating all the monster infants, who are quarantined on a desert island. Wild fun, loaded with dark humor. | tt0093286 | Michael Moriarty, Karen Black, Laurene Landon, Gerrit Graham, James Dixon, Neal Israel, Macdonald Carey | Horror | NULL | |||
| It's Alive! | 1974 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 91 | Schlocky thriller about a baby who goes on a murderous rampage. Has a devoted following, but not for all tastes. Effective score by Bernard Herrmann. Sequels: IT LIVES AGAIN and IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE. | tt0071675 | [PG] | John Ryan, Sharon Farrell, Andrew Duggan, Guy Stockwell, James Dixon, Michael Ansara | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| It's All True | 1993 | Richard Wilson, Myron Meisel, Bill Krohn | ★★★ | 87 | Fascinating assemblage of the remaining 'lost' footage from Orson Welles' abandoned three-part documentary he was shooting in Brazil in 1942 as RKO brass was taking a knife to THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS back in Hollywood. Only tantalizing snippets remain of the My Friend Bonito episode (shot in Mexico by Norman Foster under Welles' supervision) and of the seductive Carnaval footage (some in color); virtually intact is what would have been the original's centerpiece: the Four Men on a Raft tribute to Brazilian fishermen. A major contribution to movie history, albeit one for specialized tastes; film concludes with an audio track of Welles with Carmen Miranda. For film buffs who think they've experienced it all. | tt0107233 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| It's Always Fair Weather | 1955 | Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 102 | Three WW2 buddies meet ten years after their discharge and find they have nothing in common. Pungent Comden and Green script falls short of perfection but still has wonderful moments, and some first-rate musical numbers (like Cyd's 'Baby, You Knock Me Out' and Dolores' 'Thanks a Lot But No Thanks'). Best: the ash-can dance, although clever use of wide-screen is lost on TV. | tt0048216 | Gene Kelly, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, Cyd Charisse, Dolores Gray, David Burns | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| It's Complicated | 2009 | Nancy Meyers | ★★★ | 120 | Light-as-air, easy-to-take romantic comedy about a successful woman and mother of three nearly grown-up kids who's survived her ten-year-old divorce—and then succumbs to her ex-husband's wooing, just as a new man has come into her life. Appealing performances by three fine actors in peak form, in the most attractive settings imaginable, make this highly pleasurable escapism from writer-director Meyers. | tt1230414 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell, Rita Wilson, Mary Kay Place, Alexandra Wentworth, Zoe Kazan, Hunter Parrish, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Nora Dunn, Bruce Altman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| It's Love Again | 1936 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 83 | Lighter-than-air musical-comedy vehicle for Matthews following her success with Saville on EVERGREEN. Young is wise-guy publicity man who dreams up idea of creating an imaginary socialite, until Matthews steps out of the chorus line to fill the role. Funny, charming and imaginatively done, with several pleasant songs. | tt0027810 | Robert Young, Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Ernest Milton, Robb Wilton, Sara Allgood | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| It's Love I'm After | 1937 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 90 | Delightful, witty comedy of ego-struck actor Howard and his fiancée/costar Davis, who explodes when he becomes involved with infatuated admirer de Havilland. Reminiscent in spirit of TWENTIETH CENTURY; Blore is marvelous as Howard's ultra-dedicated valet. | tt0029058 | Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Eric Blore, Bonita Granville, Spring Byington, Veda Ann Borg | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's My Party | 1996 | Randal Kleiser | ★★½ | 109 | Roberts portrays a successful L.A. designer suffering from AIDS, who decides he'd prefer to die with dignity and throws himself a wild weekend party for a final fling. Quite moving and often very funny. Roberts is excellent in the lead. | tt0113443 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, Margaret Cho, Bruce Davison, Lee Grant, Devon Gummersall, Marlee Matlin, Roddy McDowall, Olivia Newton-John, Bronson Pinchot, Paul Regina, George Segal, Dimitra Arlys (Arliss), Christopher Atkins, Ron Glass, Victor Love, Joel Polis, Nina Foch, Sally Kellerman, Greg Louganis | Drama | NULL | ||
| It's My Turn | 1980 | Claudia Weill | ★★★ | 91 | Enjoyable, low-key romantic comedy-drama about a young woman trying to balance her life as a career woman, mate, and daughter. A quirky and consistently surprising little film with good performances, especially from Grodin as Clayburgh's aloof lover. Film debut of Dianne Wiest. | tt0080936 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, Charles Grodin, Beverly Garland, Steven Hill, Teresa Baxter, Joan Copeland, John Gabriel, Charles Kimbrough, Jennifer Salt, Daniel Stern, Dianne Wiest | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| It's Never Too Late | 1956 | Michael McCarthy | ★★½ | 95 | Pleasant frou-frou about Calvert becoming famed writer, caught between choice of being good mother or living a celebrity's life. | tt0049373 | Phyllis Calvert, Guy Rolfe, Sarah Lawson, Peter Illing, Patrick Barr | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| It's Never Too Late to Mend | 1937 | David MacDonald. | ★★★ | 70 | Ruthless squire Slaughter feigns kindness but is eager to snare beautiful neighbor Taylor; he also runs the local prison with a brutal hand. Fast-paced, entertaining barnstorming melodrama, one of Slaughter's best. Based on Charles Reade's 1856 novel that led to British prison reform. Aka NEVER TOO LATE. | tt0029301 | Tod Slaughter, Jack Livesey, Marjorie Taylor, Ian Colin, Lawrence Hanray, D. J. Williams, Roy Russell. | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| It's Not the Size That Counts | Percy's Progress | 1974 | Ralph Thomas. | 💣 | 90 | Abominable sequel to PERCY, even worse, if that's possible; Lawson replaces Hywel Bennett as penis-transplant recipient. Original title PERCY'S PROGRESS. | tt0071677 | [R] | Leigh Lawson, Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Vincent Price, Judy Geeson, George Coulouris, Milo O'Shea. | British | Comedy | NULL |
| It's Pat | 1994 | Adam Bernstein | 💣 | 77 | Sweeney's cheerfully obnoxious, androgynous character from Saturday Night Live skits is not a prime candidate for feature-film stardom, but that was obvious to most observers before this picture was ever made! If you can get through the first five minutes, you may get through the whole movie, as Pat finds true love with the equally androgynous Chris (Foley). Barely released theatrically. Sweeney coscripted. | tt0110169 | [PG-13] | Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, Charles Rocket, Kathy Griffin, Julie Hayden, Kathy Najimy, Larry Hankin, Tim Meadows, Camille Paglia | Comedy | NULL | ||
| It's Showtime | 1976 | ★★★ | 86 | Enjoyable compilation of animal sequences from movies, reaching back to Rin Tin Tin's silent films. Maximum footage from NATIONAL VELVET and LASSIE COME HOME, but everything—from canine version of 'Singin' in the Rain' to Bonzo the Chimp being bottle-fed by Ronald Reagan—is great fun. | tt0074699 | Documentary | NULL | |||||
| It's Tough to Be Famous | 1932 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 79 | Pungent story of naval hero who becomes a much-manipulated media celebrity against his wishes. Done with usual Warner Bros. pizazz— and still surprisingly timely. | tt0023068 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Mary Brian, Walter Catlett, Lilian Bond, Terrence Ray, David Landau | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| It's Your Move | 1968 | Robert Fiz | ★★ | 93 | Good cast aids limp tale of Englishman who uses lookalikes for four bank tellers to pull off robbery. | tt0063556 | Edward G. Robinson, Terry-Thomas, Adolfo Celi | Italian-Spanish | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| It's a Big Country | 1951 | Charles Vidor, Richard Thorpe, John Sturges, Don Hartman, Don Weis, Clarence Brown, William Wellman | ★★½ | 89 | Dore Schary's plug for America uses several pointless episodes about the variety of people and places in U.S. Other segments make up for it in very uneven film. | tt0043680 | Ethel Barrymore, Keefe Brasselle, Gary Cooper, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Gene Kelly, Keenan Wynn, Fredric March, Van Johnson, James Whitmore | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| It's a Bikini World | 1967 | Stephanie Rothman | ★½ | 86 | Superlover Kirk loves bikinied Debbie, but she doesn't dig him until he masquerades as an intellectual. Not among the best of its kind, if there even is a best of its kind. The Animals, however, do perform 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place.' | tt0061827 | Deborah Walley, Tommy Kirk, Bob Pickett, Suzie Kaye, The Animals, The Gentrys | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Date | 1940 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 103 | Durbin faces unique growing pains when she's offered a Broadway role intended for her mother (Francis) and then is courted by a man her mother's age (Pidgeon). Star trio shines brightly in this enjoyable contrivance, which unfortunately goes on too long and ends (incongruously) with Deanna singing 'Ave Maria'! Remade as NANCY GOES TO RIO. | tt0032644 | Deanna Durbin, Walter Pidgeon, Kay Francis, Eugene Pallette, Lewis Howard, S. Z. Sakall, Samuel S. Hinds, Cecilia Loftus | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| It's a Dog's Life | 1955 | Herman Hoffman | ★★½ | 88 | Film uses gimmick of having the canine star tell his life story from slums to luxury. Retitled: BAR SINISTER. | tt0048217 | Jeff Richards, Edmund Gwenn, Dean Jagger, Sally Fraser | Drama | NULL | |||
| It's a Gift | 1934 | Norman Z. McLeod. | ★★★★ | 68 | Fields is a grocery store owner who goes West with his family. Beautiful comedy routines in one of the Great Man's unforgettable films. Charles Sellon as a blind man, T. Roy Barnes as a salesman looking for Carl LaFong, contribute some hilarious moments. A remake of Fields' silent film IT'S THE OLD ARMY GAME. | tt0025318 | W. C. Fields, Baby LeRoy, Kathleen Howard, Tommy Bupp, Morgan Wallace. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Great Feeling | 1949 | David Butler | ★★½ | 85 | Gentle spoof of Hollywood with Carson's ego making filming difficult for himself and partner Morgan; guest appearances by many Warner Bros. players and directors, including Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Michael Curtiz, Jane Wyman, Sydney Greenstreet, Danny Kaye, Edward G. Robinson, King Vidor, Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Raoul Walsh, Ronald Reagan— and even Reagan and Wyman's daughter Maureen! | tt0041515 | Dennis Morgan, Doris Day, Jack Carson, Bill Goodwin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Joke, Son | 1947 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★ | 63 | Folksy comedy featuring further exploits of Senator Claghorn (Delmar) from the Fred Allen radio show. | tt0039503 | Kenny Delmar, Una Merkel, June Lockhart, Kenneth Farrell, Douglass Dumbrille | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World | 1963 | Stanley Kramer | ★★½ | 154 | Supercomedy cast in attempt at supercomedy, about group of people racing to find hidden bank loot under watchful eye of detective Tracy. Big, splashy, generally funny, but bigness doesn't equal greatness. Homevideo version restored to 175m. | tt0057193 | Spencer Tracy, Edie Adams, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Dorothy Provine, Phil Silvers, Jonathan Winters, Peter Falk, Jimmy Durante, Terry-Thomas, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, William Demarest | Family, Action, Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Pleasure! | 1945 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 90 | Skater Henie and hockey player O'Shea get married but can't seem to break the ice; pretty weak. | tt0037822 | Sonja Henie, Michael O'Shea, Bill Johnson, Marie McDonald, Gus Schilling, Iris Adrian | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| It's a Small World | 1950 | William Castle | ★★ | 68 | Truly strange B movie stars Dale (a deejay in real life) as a midget who suffers a succession of life's hard knocks until finally becoming 'adjusted' and even finding romance in a circus. Director Castle (who appears in a cameo as a cop) makes it interesting but unnecessarily nasty for the little guy. | tt0042608 | Paul Dale, Lorraine Miller, Will Geer, Steve Brodie, Todd Karns | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's a Wonderful Life | 1946 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 129 | Sentimental tale of Stewart, who works all his life to make good in small town, thinking he's failed and trying to end his life. Guardian angel Travers comes to show him his mistake. Only Capra and this cast could pull it off so well; this film seems to improve with age. Capra, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, and Jo Swerling expanded Philip Van Doren Stern's short story 'The Greatest Gift' (which had originally been written by Stern as a Christmas card!). Remade for TV as IT HAPPENED ONE CHRISTMAS. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038650 | James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds, Mary Treen, Sheldon Leonard, Ellen Corby | Drama, Fantasy, Family, Romance | NULL | |||
| It's a Wonderful World | 1939 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 86 | Screwball comedy with Colbert a runaway poetess, Stewart a fugitive chased by cops Pendleton and Kennedy. Very, very funny, with Stewart having a field day. Scripted by Ben Hecht, from his and Herman J. Mankiewicz' story. We swear by our eyes. | tt0031500 | Claudette Colbert, James Stewart, Guy Kibbee, Nat Pendleton, Frances Drake, Edgar Kennedy, Ernest Truex, Sidney Blackmer, Hans Conried | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| It's in the Air | 1935 | Charles Riesner | ★★ | 80 | Benny plays it mostly straight as a con artist who woos, weds, then loses Merkel. Dull comedy leads to a climax involving a hot-air balloon that's patently phony— and consequently not funny. | tt0026540 | Jack Benny, Una Merkel, Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, Mary Carlisle, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's in the Bag! | 1945 | Richard Wallace | ★★★ | 87 | Story similar to THE TWELVE CHAIRS with flea-circus promoter Allen entitled to inheritance; plot soon goes out the window in favor of unrelated but amusing episodes, including hilarious encounter between Allen and Benny. | tt0037823 | Fred Allen, Binnie Barnes, Robert Benchley, Sidney Toler, Jack Benny, Don Ameche, Victor Moore, Rudy Vallee, William Bendix | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's the Old Army Game | 1926 | Edward Sutherland. | ★★★ | 70 | Fields is a small-town druggist, constantly harassed by the world, who gets mixed up in a phony Florida real estate deal. Very funny silent comedy, a string of the Great Man's best routines (dealing with idiotic customers, naps constantly interrupted by cacophonous noises, etc.). Later revamped as his talkie masterpiece IT'S A GIFT. | tt0017004 | W. C. Fields, Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring, William Gaxton, Mary Foy, Mickey Bennett, Josephine Dunn. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| It's the Rage | 2000 | James D. Stern | ★½ | 97 | The lives of a group of seemingly disparate people are connected by personal crises . . . which lead to resolutions with guns. Loud, heavy-handed satire about individual and cultural violence gets worse as it goes along, despite the efforts of a good cast, of whom only Allen and Forster emerge unscathed. Keith Reddin adapted his own play. Made for theaters, but U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0176426 | [R] | Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, Andre Braugher, Gary Sinise, Josh Brolin, Robert Forster, Anna Paquin, Giovanni Ribisi, David Schwimmer | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Italian Connection | Manhunt | 1973 | Fernando Di Leo | ★★ | 92 | Violent gangster meller has Milanese hood Adorf set up by gang boss Celi for the blame in a six-million-dollar heroin heist. For action fans only. Video title: MANHUNT. | tt0068902 | [R] | Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Mario Adorf, Luciana Paluzzi, Sylva Koscina, Adolfo Celi | Italian | Crime | NULL |
| The Italian Job | 1969 | Peter Collinson | ★★½ | 101 | $4,000,000 in gold bullion's the object in average caper film about prison-based mastermind Coward's plan to divert authorities in Turin, Italy, causing 'history's biggest traffic jam.' Wild chases galore, plus truly bizarre ending, but characterizations are pat, forgettable. Remade in 2003. | tt0064505 | [G] | Michael Caine, Noel Coward, Maggie Blye, Benny Hill, Tony Beckley, Raf Vallone | British | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Italian Job | 2003 | F. Gary Gray | ★★★ | 110 | Entertaining caper starts out with a daring robbery, then a traitor disrupts business as usual with the otherwise loyal band of thieves. Winds up in L.A. with a wild chase sequence through the city's streets and subway system. Slick script, superior action scenes, and an array of colorful, well-drawn characters make this fun from start to finish. Remake of the 1969 film includes a brief homage to its star, Michael Caine. | tt0317740 | [PG-13] | Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, Franky G, Donald Sutherland | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Italian for Beginners | 2000 | Lone Scherfig | ★★★ | 99 | Sweet, upbeat romantic comedy in which several lonely, vulnerable thirty-something singles mix and match while taking an Italian-language adult education class. Most enjoyable, and definitely not for cynics! Filmed using the 'pure cinema' rules of Dogma 95. Originally shown at 112m. | tt0243862 | [R] | Anders W. Berthelsen, Anette St¿velbaek, Peter Gantzler, Ann Elonora J¿rgensen, Lars Kaalund, Sara Indrio Jensen, Bent Mejding | Danish | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Italian | 2005 | Andrei Kravchuk | ★★½ | 99 | Six-year-old Vanya (Spiridonov) resides in an orphanage in contemporary Russia, whose administrators sell their charges for profit. Even though an Italian couple has adopted him, he remains determined to find his birth mother, who abandoned him. Dickensian slice-of-life about a youngster who is wise beyond his years and whose childhood has been stolen from him. Occasionally affecting, but not as involving as it should be. | tt0450450 | [PG-13] | Kolya Spiridonov, Maria Kuznetsova, Nikolai Reutov, Yriy Itskov, Denis Moiseenko | Russian | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Italiano Brava Gente | Attack and Retreat | 1965 | Giuseppe De Santis | ★★★ | 156 | Expansive chronicle of Italian-Russian warfront during WW2, focusing on a variety of strata of soldiers and civilians. Much edited since European opening. Retitled: ATTACK AND RETREAT. | tt0059323 | Arthur Kennedy, Peter Falk, Tatyana Samoilova, Raffaele Pisu, Andrea Checchi | Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| It’s Kind of a Funny Story | 2010 | Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | ★★ | 101 | Stressed-out 16-year-old considers suicide but checks himself into a mental ward at the local hospital instead. There he’s mentored by a savvy patient (Galifianakis) and develops a crush on a smart girl his own age (Roberts). What’s more, he begins to see that he’s not nearly as bad off as he thought. The directors adapted Ned Vizzini’s semiautobiographical novel, but the results are superficial: not serious enough to have real weight or funny enough to work as a comedy. | tt0804497 | [PG-13] | Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts, Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Zoë Kravitz, Jeremy Davies, Aasif Mandvi, MacIntyre Dixon, Novella Nelson, Morgan Murphy | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ivan the Terrible, Part One | 1943 | Sergei Eisenstein | ★★★★ | 99 | Film spectacle of the highest order. Eisenstein's incredibly lavish, detailed chronicle of Czar Ivan IV's life from coronation to defeat to reinstatement, forging fascinating image of the man and his country. Enhanced by Prokofiev's original score. Heavy going, but worthwhile; the story continues in IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART TWO. | tt0037824 | Nikolai Cherkassov, Ludmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ivan the Terrible, Part Two | 1946 | Sergei Eisenstein. | ★★★½ | 88 | Continuation of the saga of Czar Ivan IV, in which he takes on the boyars in a battle for power. Impressive film is just a shade below its predecessor. Banned by Stalin because of controversial depiction of Ivan's secret police, and not released until 1958. (The director had planned to shoot Part Three— which, needless to say, he never did.) Banquet-dance sequence was originally in color. | tt0051790 | Nikolai Cherkassov, Serafima Birman, Mikhail Nazvanov, Pavel Kadochnikov, Andrei Abrikosov. | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ivanhoe | 1952 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 106 | Almost a classic spectacular, marred by draggy scripting of Walter Scott's epic of England in Middle Ages, in days of chivalrous knights; beautifully photographed on location in Great Britain. Remade as a TVM in 1982. | tt0044760 | Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor, Emlyn Williams, George Sanders, Robert Douglas, Finlay Currie, Felix Aylmer, Francis de Wolff, Guy Rolfe, Norman Wooland, Basil Sydney | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ivory Hunter | 1951 | Harry Watt | ★★½ | 107 | Documentary-ish account of establishment of Mount Kilimanjaro Game Preserve Park in Africa. Retitled: WHERE NO VULTURES FLY. | tt0043682 | Anthony Steel, Dinah Sheridan, Harold Warrender, Meredith Edwards, William Simons | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ivy | 1947 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 99 | Average drama of murderess snared in her own seemingly faultless plans. Good cast gives film added boost. | tt0039504 | Joan Fontaine, Patric Knowles, Herbert Marshall, Richard Ney, Cedric Hardwicke, Lucile Watson | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| I’ve Loved You So Long | 2008 | Philippe Claudel | ★★★ | 117 | Zylberstein brings her sister (Scott Thomas) home to live with her husband and family, to whom she is a stranger: she’s been away for 15 years. As details of her absence are revealed we come to empathize with this fragile woman’s tentative reentry into society. The story can’t bear much scrutiny but it’s worth seeing for Scott Thomas, who conveys so much through her facial expressions and body language; Zylberstein is also quite good as her well-meaning sister. Directing debut for novelist and screenwriter Claudel. | tt1068649 | [PG-13] | Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill, Frédéric Pierrot, Lise Ségur, Jean-Claude Arnaud | French-German | Mystery | NULL | |
| I’m Still Here | 2010 | Casey Affleck | ★ | 107 | Words like “strange” and “self-indulgent” don’t begin to describe this up-close-and-personal chronicle of Joaquin Phoenix, the Oscar-nominated actor who “retired” from his film career to enter the world of hip-hop. Is this a documentary or mockumentary? A comedy or tragedy? Is Phoenix a narcissist and boor, a deeply troubled soul—or both? The world is not breathlessly waiting for answers. Affleck, by the way, is Phoenix’s brother-in-law. Many famous faces appear throughout. | tt1356864 | [R] | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| J W Coop | 1972 | Cliff Robertson | ★★★½ | 112 | Vivid character study of none-too-bright drifter who sets his sights on becoming No. 1 rodeo star. Tour de force: director/cowriter/star Robertson scores in all departments. | tt0067258 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Geraldine Page, Cristina Ferrare, R. G. Armstrong, John Crawford | Western | NULL | ||
| J'Accuse | 1937 | Abel Gance | ★★★ | 95 | Very good— but not great— antiwar film, focusing on exploited war veteran Francen; in a vivid sequence, he calls on war casualties to rise from their graves. Previously filmed by Gance in 1918. | tt0031503 | Victor Francen, Jean Max, Delaitre, Renee Devillers | French | Drama, Horror, War | NULL | ||
| J-Men Forever! | 1979 | Richard Patterson | ★★★ | 75 | Clever stunt that really works— scenes from countless Republic serials are re-edited into new feature, with redubbed soundtrack and a few new scenes. Story (by Firesign Theatre's Proctor and Bergman) has The Lightning Bug ('From the Moon, Baby!') out to conquer Earth by flooding radio airwaves with rock; various heroes try to make the world safe for Lawrence Welk. Amazing job of editing by Gail Werbin; one great gag involves a young Leonard Nimoy. | tt0080940 | [PG] | Philip Proctor, Peter Bergman, voice of M. G. Kelly |
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| J. D.'s Revenge | 1976 | Arthur Marks | ★★ | 95 | Black horror melodrama: possession of innocent man by vengeful spirit. Fairly well executed. | tt0074703 | [R] | Glynn Turman, Joan Pringle, Lou Gossett, Carl Crudup, James Louis Watkins, Alice Jubert | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| J. Edgar | 2011 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 137 | One-note portrait of J. Edgar Hoover covers his many decades as director of the FBI. Long, often boring account encompasses his single-minded pursuit of Communists, his involvement in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case, and his adversarial relationship with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy... but his personal life is also handled superficially. Given that he was dominated by his mother (Dench), repressed in his sexuality, and loyal to his longtime companion Clyde Tolson (Hammer), Dustin Lance Black's screenplay provides little insight or understanding. DiCaprio works hard, but is miscast and never embodies the bulldog-like Hoover. Hammer's old-age makeup is so ludicrous it almost torpedoes the entire film. | tt1616195 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Jeffrey Donovan, Denis O'Hare, Stephen Root, Zach Grenier, Damon Herriman, Lea Thompson, Ken Howard, Josh Hamilton, Jessica Hecht, Geoff Pierson, Michael O'Neill | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| JCVD | 2008 | Mabrouk El Mechri | ★★★ | 96 | Down-on-his-luck action hero ditches Hollywood (and a costly child custody case) and returns to his European roots. By chance he walks straight into a bloody bank heist and becomes a celebrity, a hostage, and a suspect. Dour, desaturated art-house thriller—partly scripted, partly improvised—seems set in an alternate reality. Van Damme, playing "himself" but not himself, proves he's a real actor as well as a movie star. Who'da thunk it? | tt1130988 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, François Beukelaers, Saskia Flanders | Belgian-Luxembourgian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| JFK | 1991 | Oliver Stone | ★★★½ | 188 | Absolutely riveting film about New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison and his gradual involvement (and eventual obsession) with finding the truth about President Kennedy's assassination. Full of startling scenes, and bravura acting; as dramatic moviemaking, it's superb. Not to be mistaken for a documentary, however, despite its sanctimonious attitude toward the truth. Oscar winner for Robert Richardson's cinematography and Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia's phenomenal editing. Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar. The real Garrison can be glimpsed playing Earl Warren. Lolita Davidovich and Frank Whaley appear unbilled. Director's cut runs 205m. | tt0102138 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Beata Pozniak, Joe Pesci, Donald Sutherland, John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Edward Asner, Vincent D'Onofrio, Sally Kirkland, Brian Doyle-Murray, Wayne Knight, Tony Plana, Tomas Milian, Sean Stone | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Jabberwocky | 1977 | Terry Gilliam | ★★½ | 100 | Gilliam and Palin of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL fame give us another satire of medieval times, but the humor is even more spotty than its predecessor's. For fans. | tt0076221 | [R] | Michael Palin, Max Wall, Deborah Fallender, John Le Mesurier, Annette Badland | British | Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| Jack | 1996 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★ | 113 | A boy born prematurely— but fully developed— turns out to be aging at four times normal rate. At 10, with the physical characteristics of a 40-year-old man, he leaves his cloistered home to go to school and deal with other kids his age for the first time in his life. Williams is the perfect choice to play this man-child, but the script goes nowhere. Overlong, too adult for kids, too redundant for grownups; destined to please no one. | tt0116669 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez, Brian Kerwin, Fran Drescher, Bill Cosby, Michael McKean, Don Novello, Allan Rich, Adam Zolotin, Todd Bosley | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jack & Sarah | 1995 | Tim Sullivan | ★★½ | 110 | A London lawyer is crushed when his young wife dies in childbirth, but he finds a reason to live in his infant daughter. He hires a young American as a nanny, which leads to romance— and complications. Good performances, particularly by the two leads, keep this uneven film watchable and pleasant. PG version available on video. | tt0113448 | [R] | Richard E. Grant, Samantha Mathis, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Cherie Lunghi, Eileen Atkins, Imogen Stubbs | British-French | Romance | NULL | |
| Jack Be Nimble | 1993 | Garth Maxwell | ★★½ | 93 | Weird, clever little chiller in which the title character is adopted into a family of cretins and abused beyond endurance; he sets out to find his long-lost sister, and also to seek revenge. Doesn't quite work when it takes itself too seriously; otherwise, this is devilishly entertaining, and has cult possibilities. | tt0107242 | [R] | Alexis Arquette, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Bruno Lawrence, Tony Barry, Elizabeth Hawthorne | New Zealand | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Jack Frost | 1998 | Troy Miller | ★★½ | 95 | A neglectful dad dies in a car accident and comes to life one year later as a snowman in his son's front yard! Warm, likable performances and an absence of treacle make this an OK family film, but it never overcomes its fundamental problem: a very strange premise. | tt0141109 | [PG] | Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Mark Addy, Joseph Cross, Henry Rollins, Dweezil Zappa | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jack Goes Boating | 2010 | Philip Seymour Hoffman | ★★ | 89 | Hoffman’s directorial debut is Marty-lite, a cloying character study about an oafish lonelyheart (Hoffman) who is set up with an equally awkward plain Jane (Ryan). They go boating and try to forge a relationship; that’s pretty much it. Based on a play Hoffman performed Off-Broadway, the film is slow and just as tentative as the people it portrays. | tt1278379 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Ryan, Daphne Rubin-Vega, John Ortiz, Richard Petrocelli, Thomas McCarthy | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Jack Johnson | 1971 | William Cayton | ★★★ | 90 | Documentary on world-famous heavyweight champion. Features excellent jazz score by Miles Davis. | tt0065906 | [PG] | Narrated by Brock Peters | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Jack London | The Adventures of Jack London | 1943 | Alfred Santell | ★½ | 94 | Hokey, episodic 'biography' of famed writer spends too much time maligning Japanese— which was supposed to give topical slant to this period drama in 1943. Aka THE ADVENTURES OF JACK LONDON and THE LIFE OF JACK LONDON. | tt0036051 | Michael O'Shea, Susan Hayward, Osa Massen, Harry Davenport, Frank Craven, Virginia Mayo | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Jack McCall Desperado | 1953 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 76 | Civil War yarn of Southerner Montgomery capturing man who framed him as spy. | tt0045924 | George Montgomery, Angela Stevens, Jay Silverheels, Douglas Kennedy | Western | NULL | |||
| Jack Slade | 1953 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 90 | Oater programmer of Stevens turning criminal with tragic results; Malone is wasted. | tt0045925 | Mark Stevens, Dorothy Malone, Barton MacLane, John Litel | Western | NULL | |||
| Jack and Jill | 2011 | Dennis Dugan | ★½ | 91 | Jack and his twin sister Jill (both played by Sandler) have always been complete opposites and as they've gotten older, the differences have made them grow apart. When Jill moves in with Jack's family their relationship, and his patience, are tested. Sandler keeps trying to make movies that are equally family-friendly and raunchy. He has yet to find a balance and this comedy is no exception. As usual, celebrity cameos abound. Pacino has one of the most ridiculous and oddly entertaining roles of his career. | tt0810913 | [PG] | Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino, Eugenio Derbez, Elodie Tougne, Rohan Chand, Nick Swardson, Tim Meadows, David Spade, Allen Covert, Norm Macdonald, Geoff Pierson, Dana Carvey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jack and the Beanstalk | 1952 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★½ | 78 | A&C version of fairy tale OK for kids, but not as funny as their earlier films. Begins in sepiatone, then changes to color, like THE WIZARD OF OZ. | tt0044762 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown, Buddy Baer | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Family | NULL | |||
| Jack of Diamonds | 1967 | Don Taylor | ★½ | 105 | Hamilton plays a cat burglar who robs jewels from Baker, Gabor, and Palmer, who are 'special guests' in this film. Skip this one and wait for TO CATCH A THIEF to be shown. | tt0061831 | George Hamilton, Joseph Cotten, Marie Laforet, Maurice Evans, Carroll Baker, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Lilli Palmer | U.S.-German | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jack the Bear | 1993 | Marshall Herskovitz | ★★½ | 98 | Sporadically affecting, but mostly muddled comedy-drama about the emotional unraveling of a widowed TV horror-movie host whose neighbor is a pro-Nazi psycho who poses a threat to children. Kept on track at least some of the time by Steinmiller's exceptional performance as DeVito's older son (age 12). Set in 1972; based on Dan McCall's novel. | tt0107247 | [PG-13] | Danny DeVito, Robert J. Steinmiller, Miko Hughes, Gary Sinise, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Reese Witherspoon, Bert Remsen, Andrea Marcovicci | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jack the Giant Killer | 1962 | Nathan Juran | ★★★ | 94 | Marvelous Fantascope special effects make this costume adventure yarn (in the SINBAD tradition) great fun. Beware reissue, which was dubbed into an ersatz musical! | tt0056112 | Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, Torin Thatcher, Walter Burke | Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Jack the Ripper | 1988 | David Wickes | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Taut, evocative drama about the infamous 1888 East End London serial killer, with Caine as Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Frederick Abberline, who conducted the original investigation. In this fictionalized account, he unmasks the real murderer (based on director-cowriter Wickes' contemporary research). Originally broadcast in two parts. | tt0095388 | Michael Caine, Armand Assante, Ray McAnally, Susan George, Jane Seymour, Lewis Collins, Ken Bones | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jack's Back | 1988 | Rowdy Herrington | ★½ | 97 | Umpteenth retelling of the JACK THE RIPPER saga is updated to contemporary L.A. where young doctor Spader is the #1 suspect when prostitutes are killed in grisly fashion 100 years to the day after Bloody Jack's legendary crimes. Plot twist halfway through is preposterous; Spader is earnest but miscast. | tt0095389 | [R] | James Spader, Cynthia Gibb, Rod Loomis, Rex Ryon, Robert Picardo, Chris Mulkey, Danitza Kingsley | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Jackal | 1997 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★½ | 124 | When the FBI and the KGB are stumped as to how to capture an international assassin called The Jackal, they turn to the one man who knows him— an Irish terrorist (Gere) who's serving time in a U.S. prison. Watchable globe-trotting thriller is weakened by lapses of credibility, but boosted by Gere's charismatic performance. Venora is also a standout as a no-nonsense Russian agent. Bears only the slightest resemblance to the superior THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, despite being 'officially' based on that screenplay. | tt0119395 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier, Diane Venora, Tess Harper, J. K. Simmons, Mathilda May, Stephen Spinella, Richard Lineback | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jackals | American Justice | 1986 | Gary Grillo | ★★ | 92 | Predictable, forgettable action drama starring TV's Simon & Simon duo with ex-cop Lucarelli taking on evil McRaney, a white slave trader. You've seen this one a hundred times before. Aka AMERICAN JUSTICE. | tt0091281 | [PG] | Jack Lucarelli, Gerald McRaney, Wilford Brimley, Jameson Parker, Jeannie Wilson | Action, Crime | NULL | |
| The Jackals | 1967 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 105 | William Wellman's striking YELLOW SKY reset in the South African Transvaal, with six bandits terrorizing a grizzled old miner (Price) and his granddaughter into surrendering their gold. | tt0061832 | Vincent Price, Diana Ivarson,Robert Gunner, Bob Courtney, Patrick Mynhardt | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jackass 3D | 2010 | Jeff Tremaine | ★★ | 94 | The 3-D effects occasionally enhance the trademarked gross-out shenanigans on display, but, as usual, it’s mostly a gimmick in search of a movie. Some of the bits include a guy in a flying outhouse and a sexual encounter with a barnyard animal. Having maxed out so many ideas in previous films, the emphasis here seems to be on how far to go without getting killed in the process. Still, this was a box-office hit and will likely please JACKASS devotees. 3-D | tt1116184 | [R] | Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Steve-O, Jason “Wee Man” Acuna, Preston Lacy, Chris Pontius, Ehren McGhehey, Dave England, Spike Jonze, Rip Taylor | Comedy, Documentary, Action | NULL | ||
| Jackass Mail | 1942 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 80 | Easygoing Beery vehicle about fugitive who accidentally becomes a hero. Take it or leave it; no harm done either way. | tt0034909 | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, J. Carrol Naish, Darryl Hickman, William Haade, Dick Curtis | Western | NULL | |||
| The Jacket | 2005 | John Maybury. | ★★ | 103 | Following a violent 1991 incident while serving in the Gulf War, soldier Brody ends up in Vermont and later in a time-travel journey to 2007. There he deals with the ramifications of a good Samaritan deed he performed— before another act of violence— in his previous life. Ugly to look at and apparently conceived from body parts of previous movies, modest head-case story (with the obligatory shady shrink) is only worth the time if you're curious to see the normally well-scrubbed Knightley sporting the goth look. | tt0366627 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Craig, Kelly Lynch, Brad Renfro, Mackenzie Phillips, Jason Lewis. | U.S.-German-Scottish | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Jackie Brown | 1997 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★★ | 154 | Leisurely paced but enjoyable adaptation of Elmore Leonard's crime caper Rum Punch, reset in Southern California. Grier (in a standout performance) plays a flight attendant who's been trafficking in hot money for lowlife Jackson; when caught, she plays all the angles she can think of to keep herself out of jail, managing to keep the cops, her chief client, and everyone else on ice. Dynamite performances all around sustain film through its periodic lulls. | tt0119396 | [R] | Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda, Robert De Niro, Michael Bowen, Chris Tucker, Sid Haig | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jackie Chan's First Strike | 1996 | Stanley Tong | ★★½ | 110 | Hong Kong's most physically agile cop finds himself in a James Bond-like intrigue involving the CIA, Russian mafia, a nuclear device, and of course, a good-looking female scuba diver. The dubbing here is typically wretched, yet in a lark like this it really doesn't matter; the last two thirds is almost wall-to-wall action, including a doozy of a donnybrook in which Chan makes memorable use of a ladder. Technovision and Panavision. | tt0116704 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Chen Chun Wu, Jackson Lou, Bill Tung, Jouri Petrov | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Jackie Chan's Who Am I? | Who Am I? | 1998 | Jackie Chan, Benny Chan | ★★★ | 108 | Chan is part of a secret military team sent on a fatal mission; although he survives, he loses his memory, and can't understand why so many people are pursuing him. Lame dialogue and cardboard performances are outshone by one fantastic action scene after another, including a unique episode involving wooden shoes in Rotterdam. Chan also wrote the screenplay. Filmed in English. Originally 117m. | tt0127357 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Michelle Ferre, Mirai Yamamoto, Ron Smerczak, Ed Nelson, Tom Pompert | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| The Jackie Robinson Story | 1950 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 76 | Straightforward bio of Robinson, the first black man to play major-league baseball. Fascinating as a social history; pointed in its presentation of the racial issues involved. Interestingly, Robinson's Negro League ball club is called the Black Panthers! Dee plays Robinson's wife; 40 years later, she was cast as his mother in the TV movie THE COURT-MARTIAL OF JACKIE ROBINSON. | tt0042609 | Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee, Minor Watson, Louise Beavers, Richard Lane, Harry Shannon, Ben Lessy, Joel Fluellen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jacknife | 1989 | David Hugh Jones | ★★★ | 102 | Simple and involving story of a Vietnam vet (De Niro) who looks up an old Army buddy (Harris) and tries to get him to face up to his repressed memories of Nam, and their mutual best friend who died there. Meanwhile, a romance blossoms between De Niro and Harris' wallflower sister, with whom he lives. Three terrific performances make this a must. Stephen Metcalfe adapted his play Strange Snow. | tt0097607 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Kathy Baker, Charles Dutton, Loudon Wainwright III | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jackpot | 2001 | Michael Polish | ★★ | 96 | An over-the-hill desert rat (Gries) ditches his wife and baby daughter to become a traveling karaoke cowboy, playing the Nevada circuit with his clingy, overambitious manager (Morris). Shot on high-definition video, the film looks even more fantastic than Mark and Michael Polish's first feature, TWIN FALLS, IDAHO, but this irony-drenched movie about a failed American dream gets pretty dreary once we realize we're stuck in the company of an irredeemable loser. | tt0261755 | [R] | Jon Gries, Daryl Hannah, Garrett Morris, Peggy Lipton, Crystal Bernard, Anthony Edwards, Mac Davis, Adam Baldwin | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Jackpot | 1950 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 87 | Dated, minor comedy, uplifted by stars; Stewart is winner of radio contest but can't pay taxes on winnings. | tt0042610 | James Stewart, Barbara Hale, James Gleason, Fred Clark, Natalie Wood | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jackson County Jail | 1976 | Michael Miller | ★★½ | 89 | Prisoner Yvette, dumped on by everyone she meets, goes on the lam with fellow inmate in yet another chase pic. Livelier than most, this one has eveloped a cult reputation. Miller later remade it for TV as OUTSIDE CHANCE; it was remade again in 1996 as MACON COUNTY JAIL. | tt0074706 | [R] | Yvette Mimieux, Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Carradine, Frederic Cook, Severn Darden, Howard Hesseman, Mary Woronov | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang | 1977 | Theodore J. Flicker | ★★½ | 80 | Engaging fantasy for kids written by Mordecai Richler, about a boy who dreams he's sent to chil√ dren's prison. Low-budget production values are unfortunate detriment. | tt0076222 | [G] | Stephen Rosenberg, Alex Karras, Guy L'Ecuyer, Joy Coghill, Earl Pennington, Claude Gail | Canadian | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Jacob the Liar | 1974 | Frank Beyer | ★★★ | 95 | Touching, sometimes comic tale of Polish Jew Brodsky, whose false tales to fellow ghetto dwellers give some hope against their Nazi captors. Remade in 1999 as JAKOB THE LIAR. | tt0071688 | Vlastimil Brodsky, Erwin Geschonneck, Manuela Simon, Henry Hubchen, Blanche Kommerell, Armin Mueller-Stahl | East German | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Jacob's Ladder | 1990 | Adrian Lyne | ★★½ | 114 | Brooding, only occasionally effective psychological study of Robbins, who is maimed in combat in Vietnam and exists in a netherworld between life and death, refusing to die. Bruce Joel Rubin’s script is reminiscent of Ambrose Bierce’s classic An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge | tt0099871 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Matt Craven, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jason Alexander, Patricia Kalember, Eriq La Salle, Danny Aiello, Ving Rhames, Brian Tarantina, S. Epatha Merkerson | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jacqueline | 1956 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 92 | Captivating drama of lovable little Irish girl and how she helps her tippler father find work. Lots of warmth. | tt0049377 | John Gregson, Kathleen Ryan, Jacqueline Ryan, Noel Purcell, Cyril Cusack | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough | Once Is Not Enough | 1975 | Guy Green | 💣 | 121 | Trashy film based on Susann's trashy novel of jet-set intrigue, and a blossoming young woman (Raffin) with a father-fixation. Incurably stupid, and surprisingly dull. Vaccaro offers brightest moments as unabashed man-chaser. | tt0073190 | [R] | Kirk Douglas, Alexis Smith, David Janssen, Deborah Raffin, George Hamilton, Melina Mercouri, Brenda Vaccaro | Drama | NULL | |
| Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris | 1975 | Denis Héroux | ★★ | 98 | Musical revue featuring 26 bittersweet songs on life, love, war and death by Belgian balladeer Jacques Brel. No plot, no dialogue. Based on 1968 stage show. An American Film Theater Production. | tt0121411 | [PG] | Elly Stone, Mort Shuman, Joe Masiell, Jacques Brel | Musical | NULL | ||
| Jacquot de Nantes | 1991 | Agnés Varda | ★★★½ | 118 | Deeply moving chronicle of the sum of a man's life, as Varda creates a portrait of her late husband, French filmmaker Jacques Demy. Varda cuts from interviews with Demy (lovingly photographed in extreme close-up), to clips from his films, to the re-created story of young 'Jacquot' growing up in Nantes during the 1940s and developing a passion for cinema. A heartfelt valentine from one life partner to another. Released in U.S. in 1993 as JACQUOT. Varda has since directed several other celluloid tributes to Demy. | tt0102141 | Philippe Maron, Edouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier, Brigitte de Villepoix | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jade | 1995 | William Friedkin | ★★ | 101 | While investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy San Franciscan, assistant D.A. Caruso realizes to his dismay that his old flame (Fiorentino, married to his good friend Palminteri) may be involved. Sordid mystery/thriller from the seedy pen of Joe Eszterhas; has its moments (including an exciting S.F. car chase) but never rises above the mire. Unrated video edition has 12m. additional footage. | tt0113451 | [R] | David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Biehn, Richard Crenna, Donna Murphy, Ken King, Holt McCallany, David Hunt, Angie Everhart, Kevin Tighe | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Jade Mask | 1945 | Phil Rosen | ★½ | 66 | Curmudgeonly old scientist is murdered in an isolated country house and there isn't a relative or servant in the place without a motive. Only the greenest of armchair sleuths will fail to guess whodunit in this subpar Monogram Charlie Chan mystery. | tt0037826 | Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Edwin Luke, Janet Warren, Edith Evanson, Hardie Albright, Frank Reicher, Alan Bridge, Ralph Lewis | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Jagged Edge | 1985 | Richard Marquand | ★★½ | 108 | Wealthy publishing magnate is accused of murdering his wife; hotshot lawyer Close will defend him only if she believes he's innocent. Not only is she convinced— she immediately falls in love with him! Credibility goes out the window in this otherwise well-made, often gripping combination of thriller and courtroom drama. How could such a 'smart' movie allow so many silly loopholes? Loggia is terrific as usual as Close's street-smart leg man. | tt0089360 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Peter Coyote, Robert Loggia, John Dehner, Leigh Taylor-Young, Karen Austin, Lance Henriksen, James Karen, Michael Dorn | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jaguar | 1956 | George Blair. | ★½ | 66 | Presence of former elephant boy Sabu is only virtue of ridiculous programmer about mysterious murders on an oilfield. | tt0049379 | Sabu, Chiquita, Barton MacLane, Jonathan Hale, Touch (Mike) Connors. | Mystery, Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Jaguar Lives! | 1979 | Ernest Pintoff | ★½ | 90 | Karate champ Lewis is featured in this predictable action cheapie as a special agent sent to dispatch narcotics biggies in various world capitals. Top cast, but don't be fooled. | tt0079362 | [PG] | Joe Lewis, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Barbara Bach, Capucine, Joseph Wiseman, Woody Strode, John Huston | Action | NULL | ||
| Jail Bait | 1954 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | ★½ | 70 | Farrell leads young Malone into life of crime; when the law closes in, he forces Malone's plastic surgeon father to change his face. Misleadingly titled thriller is less inept than Wood's 'classics,' and thus less funny, but inspired teaming of Talbot and Reeves (in his first speaking part) as cops is good for a few giggles. | tt0047127 | Timothy Farrell, Lyle Talbot, Steve Reeves, Herbert Rawlinson, Dolores Fuller, Clancey Malone, Theodora Thurman, Mona McKinnon | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Jail Bait | 1972 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 99 | Another provocative, controversial exploration of emptiness in post-WW2 Germany from the prolific Fassbinder. Here, a seductive 14-year-old (Mattes) becomes involved with Baer, eventually coaxing him into murdering her father. Originally made for German television; not released in the U.S. until 1977. | tt0069502 | Eva Mattes, Harry Baer, Jorg von Liebenfels, Ruth Drexel, Kurt Raab, Hanna Schygulla | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jail Busters | 1955 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 61 | The Bowery Boys go up the river to settle the score with convicts who beat up David Gorcey, an undercover reporter. | tt0048222 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Barton MacLane, Anthony Caruso, Percy Helton, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Murray Alper, Fritz Feld, Lyle Talbot | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jailbreakers | 1994 | William Friedkin | Average TV Movie | 76 | The 1950s: High school cheerleader's involvement with attractive hoodlum causes her problems, especially when he breaks out of jail to be with her. Unusual for depicting a motorcycle-riding rebel as a sociopath and the young heroine as irredeemable, but not very involving. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old American-International pictures; this uses only the title of the 1960 original. | tt0110179 | Shannen Doherty, Antonio Sabato/Jr., Adrienne Barbeau, Adrien Brody, Vince Edwards, George Gerdes, Dana Barron, Chris Conrad, Charles Napier | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Jailbreakers | 1960 | Alexander Grasshoff. | ★½ | 64 | Escaped prisoners harass a young couple in a deserted town. Tepid programmer. | tt0053962 | Robert Hutton, Mary Castle, Michael O'Connell, Gabe Delutri, Anton Van Stralen. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Jailhouse Rock | 1957 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 96 | Elvis learns to pick a guitar in the Big House, later becomes a surly rock star. Presley's best film captures the legend in all his nostril-flaring, pre-Army glory. Great Leiber-Stoller score, including 'Treat Me Nice,' 'Don't Leave Me Now,' and terrific title song. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0050556 | Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Vaughn Taylor, Dean Jones, Mickey Shaughnessy | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Jake Speed | 1986 | Andrew Lane | 💣 | 104 | Utter waste of time about a paperback hero who turns up in real life to help a damsel in distress. Crawford, who has all the star appeal of a can of tuna, presumably got the lead role because he also cowrote and coproduced the film. | tt0091282 | [PG] | Wayne Crawford, Dennis Christopher, Karen Kopins, John Hurt, Leon Ames, Roy London, Donna Pescow, Barry Primus, Monte Markham | Adventure, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jakob the Liar | 1999 | Peter Kassovitz | ★★½ | 114 | In a Polish ghetto in 1944, a wistful widower (Williams) raises hopes among his fellow townspeople after he accidentally hears an optimistic report about the war on a Nazi radio. Soon, he is besieged for more 'radio reports,' which he is forced to invent. Modest film from Jurek Becker's novel is only mildly successful, though Williams does his best. He also coexecutive-produced the film. Mueller-Stahl also appeared in the 1974 version. | tt0120716 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Hannah Taylor Gordon, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Liev Schreiber, Michael Jeter, Nina Siemaszko, Mathieu Kassovitz | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jalna | 1935 | John Cromwell. | ★★ | 78 | Moderately interesting filmization of an old-fashioned novel about a city girl marrying into a tight-knit family that lives on a remote farm in Canada. Hackneyed plot situations interfere with some fine performances and fluid camerawork. Johnson and director Cromwell were married. | tt0026542 | Kay Johnson, Ian Hunter, Nigel Bruce, C. Aubrey Smith, David Manners, Peggy Wood, Jessie Ralph. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Jalopy | 1953 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 62 | Sputtering laughs as the Bowery Boys enter an auto race with the help of a supercharged gas formula invented by Sach. | tt0045926 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Bernard Gorcey, Robert Lowery, Murray Alper, Jane Easton, Richard Benedict | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jam Session | 1944 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 77 | Mild musical of showgirl Miller trying to crash Hollywood; notable for many musical guests doing enjoyable specialty numbers. | tt0036966 | Ann Miller, Jess Barker, Charles Brown, Eddie Kane, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and His Band, Glen Gray and His Band, Teddy Powell and His Band, Charlie Barnet Orchestra, Nan Wynn, Pied Pipers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Jamaica Inn | 1939 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★ | 98 | Stodgy Victorian costumer of cutthroat band headed by nobleman Laughton; O'Hara is lovely, but plodding Hitchcock film is disappointing. Based on Daphne du Maurier novel; Hitch had far more success a year later with du Maurier's Rebecca. Remade for British TV in 1985 with Jane Seymour and Patrick McGoohan. | tt0031505 | Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams, Mervyn Johns | British | Adventure, Crime | NULL | ||
| Jamaica Run | 1953 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 92 | Milland works for Dahl's nutty family, salvage diving in the Caribbean. Dull production. | tt0045927 | Ray Milland, Arlene Dahl, Wendell Corey, Patric Knowles | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jamboree | Disc Jockey Jamboree | 1957 | Roy Lockwood. | ★★ | 71 | Slight plot— singers Carr and Halloway fall in love, are manipulated by ambitious manager Medford— highlighted by rock, rockabilly, and jazz vignettes. Avalon looks about 12 years old, and Lewis sings 'Great Balls of Fire.' Aka DISC JOCKEY JAMBOREE. | Kay Medford, Robert Pastine, Paul Carr, Freda Halloway, Slim Whitman, Jodie Sands, Frankie Avalon, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Lewis Lymon and The Teen Chords, Buddy Knox, Count Basie, Joe Williams, Sandy Singer. | NULL | ||||
| Jamboree! | 1957 | Roy Lockwood | ★★ | 71 | Slight plot— singers Carr and Halloway fall in love, are manipulated by ambitious manager Medford— highlighted by rock, rockabilly, and jazz vignettes. Avalon looks about 12 years old, and Lewis sings 'Great Balls of Fire.' Aka DISC JOCKEY JAMBOREE. | tt0050557 | Kay Medford, Robert Pastine, Paul Carr, Freda Halloway, Slim Whitman, Jodie Sands, Frankie Avalon, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Lewis Lymon and The Teen Chords, Buddy Knox, Count Basie, Joe Williams, Sandy Singer | Musical | NULL | |||
| James Dean | 2001 | Mark Rydell | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Franco's magnetic portrayal of the screen icon, his battles with costars, fellow workers, directors, even his boss, Jack Warner (well delineated by director Rydell), give this somewhat downbeat film its oomph. Moriarty is equally affecting as Dean's estranged father in this biopic written by playwright Israel Horovitz. For comparison, see the same-named TV movie (1976) with Stephen McHattie and the direct-to-video JAMES DEAN: RACE WITH DESTINY (1997) with Casper Van Dien (and Robert Mitchum as director George Stevens). Made for cable. | tt0240628 | James Franco, Michael Moriarty, Mark Rydell, Barry Primus, Valentina Cervi, Enrico Colantoni, Edward Herrmann, Joanne Linville, John Pleshette | Drama | NULL | |||
| The James Dean Story | 1957 | George W. George, Robert Altman | ★★ | 82 | Uninspired use of available material makes this a slow-moving documentary on life of 1950s movie star. | tt0050558 | Narrated by Martin Gabel | Documentary | NULL | |||
| James and the Giant Peach | 1996 | Henry Selick | ★★★½ | 80 | Wondrous adaptation of Roald Dahl's fantasy about a beleaguered boy, tended by two harridan aunts, who discovers a magic pathway inside a giant peach. Together with a grasshopper, a spider, a centipede, a worm, a glowworm, and a ladybug, he sets sail for the city of his dreams— N.Y. Starts in live action, then segues to cutting-edge stop-motion animation to bring Dahl's (typically) bizarre but delightful story to life. Gets better and better as it goes along, with impeccable voice characterizations and charming songs by Randy Newman. A rare movie that creates a world all its own, and an even rarer children's film that has real wit and imagination. | tt0116683 | [PG] | Paul Terry, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, Mike Starr; voices of Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, Miriam Margolyes, David Thewlis | Family, Fantasy, Musical, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Jamón Jamón | 1992 | José Juan Bigas Luna | ★★★ | 93 | Clever, erotic black comedy-melodrama about sex and food, which also serves to mirror Spanish society in transition. The scenario focuses on the various members of two families from different classes, and what follows after beautiful Cruz falls for (and becomes pregnant by) her boss' spoiled son (Molla). A delight from start to finish, and a sleeper hit in Europe. | tt0104545 | Penélope Cruz, Stefania Sandrelli, Anna Galiena, Juan Diego, Jordi Molla, Javier Bardem | Spanish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Jane Austen Book Club | 2007 | Robin Swicord | ★★★ | 106 | Agreeable fare about five women—and one unlikely man—who form a book club devoted to Jane Austen’s novels, only to discover that the storylines parallel their own dealings with marriage, divorce, fidelity, etc. Likable cast propels this easy-to-take material, with Blunt a standout as a repressed (yet snooty) schoolteacher. Directing debut for screenwriter Swicord, who also adapted Karen Joy Fowler’s novel. | tt0866437 | [PG-13] | Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Hugh Dancy, Marc Blucas, Kevin Zegers, Lynn Redgrave, Nancy Travis | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jane Austen in Manhattan | 1980 | James Ivory | ★½ | 108 | Dreary, confusing oddity about charismatic acting-teacher Powell and his rival Baxter, each trying to produce a newly discovered play written by Jane Austen. Overlong; a disappointment from director Ivory. Hodiak is the daughter of Baxter and John Hodiak. | tt0080945 | Robert Powell, Anne Baxter, Michael Wager, Tim Choate, John Guerrasio, Katrina Hodiak, Kurt Johnson, Sean Young | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jane Austen's Mafia! | Mafia! | 1998 | Jim Abrahams | ★★½ | 84 | Parody from the AIRPLANE/NAKED GUN school takes aim at THE GODFATHER and CASINO but throws in gags referring to everything from FORREST GUMP to JURASSIC PARK. Disorganized, to say the least, but full of funny stuff— funny enough to overlook many of its shortcomings. Bridges' last film. Aka MAFIA! | tt0120741 | [PG-13] | Jay Mohr, Billy Burke, Christina Applegate, Lloyd Bridges, Pamela Gidley, Olympia Dukakis, Jason Fuchs, Joe Viterelli, Tony Lo Bianco | Comedy, Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Jane Eyre | 1934 | Christy Cabanne | ★★ | 67 | Thin version of the oft-filmed Brontë novel, produced by Monogram, of all studios, with Bruce in the title role and Clive as Mr. Rochester. Still, it's not uninteresting as a curio. | tt0025323 | Virginia Bruce, Colin Clive, Beryl Mercer, Aileen Pringle, David Torrence, Lionel Belmore | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Jane Eyre | 1944 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 96 | Artistically successful if slow-moving version of Charlotte Brontë novel about orphan girl who grows up to become a governess in mysterious household. One of Elizabeth Taylor's early films. | tt0036969 | Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O'Brien, Henry Daniell, John Sutton, Agnes Moorehead, Elizabeth Taylor, Peggy Ann Garner, Sara Allgood, Aubrey Mather, Hillary Brooke | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Jane Eyre | 1996 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★ | 117 | Unremarkable remake of Brontë's classic romance features Gainsbourg as a very credible Jane. Unfortunately, there is a lack of chemistry between the leads, and a rushed ending that is completely out of sync with the rest of the film. The 1944 version remains the best attempt. | tt0116684 | [PG] | William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna Paquin, Geraldine Chaplin, Fiona Shaw, Elle Macpherson, John Wood, Joan Plowright, Amanda Root, Charlotte Attenborough | French-Italian-U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Jane Eyre | 1971 | Delbert Mann | Average TV Movie | 110 | Sumptuous Gothic settings and Scott's great performance highlight this pleasant if somewhat uninspired retelling of the Brontë classic. | tt0065911 | George C. Scott, Susannah York, Ian Bannen, Jack Hawkins, Rachel Kempson, Jean Marsh, Nyree Dawn Porter | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jane Eyre | 2011 | Cary Joji Fukunaga | ★★★ | 115 | Wasikowska is well cast as the resilient heroine of Charlotte Brontë’s classic, oft-filmed 19th-century novel. After a loveless childhood and harsh adolescence, she finds herself working as governess for an enigmatic, mercurial—but somehow magnetic—man named Mr. Rochester (well played by Fassbender). Exquisite but restrained interpretation rests largely on its talented leading lady’s shoulders. Screenwriter Moira Buffini has juggled the chronology of the novel but retained its dramatic power. | tt1229822 | [PG-13] | Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins, Holliday Grainger, Tamzin Merchant, Imogen Poots, Amelia Clarkson, Simon McBurney | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Janie | 1944 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 106 | Naive (now) but pleasant comedy about small-town teenage girl falling in love with serviceman despite father's objections to love-hungry soldiers. From the Broadway play by Josephine Bentham and Herschel Williams. Followed by JANIE GETS MARRIED. | tt0036970 | Joyce Reynolds, Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Robert Benchley, Robert Hutton, Alan Hale/Sr., Hattie McDaniel | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Janie Gets Married | 1946 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 89 | Pleasant follow-up to JANIE, with bright-eyed Leslie helping soldier-hubby Hutton readjust to civilian life. | tt0038652 | Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Malone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Janis | 1975 | Howard Alk, Seaton Findlay | ★★★ | 96 | Documentary on Janis Joplin was filmed with cooperation of her family, so it ignores the singer's dark side. OK within its limits, with a dozen or so songs performed (including 'Piece of My Heart,' 'Me and Bobby McGee,' 'Kozmic Blues,' 'Mercedes Benz'). | tt0073193 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Janky Promoters | 2009 | Marcus Raboy | ★★ | 85 | Two chronically cash-strapped concert promoters resort to increasingly desperate measures while trying to organize a rap concert in beautiful downtown Modesto, California. Genially slapdash, brazenly non-PC comedy was barely released in theaters, but is good for a few laughs. | tt1210071 | [R] | Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Young Jeezy, Lahmard Tate, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Tamala Jones, Li’l JJ James Lewis, Glenn Plummer, Juanita Jennings | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The January Man | 1989 | Pat O'Connor | ★½ | 97 | Appallingly wrongheaded mix of cop movie, romantic drama, and offbeat comedy written by John Patrick Shanley, with Kline as a self-styled eccentric whose brother, the police commissioner of N.Y.C., is forced to hire him to help catch a serial killer. Fine cast founders in this unfunny, illogical mess. | tt0097613 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Keitel, Danny Aiello, Rod Steiger, Alan Rickman, Faye Grant, Tandy Cronyn | Comedy, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Japanese Story | 2003 | Sue Brooks | ★★½ | 99 | Geologist Collette is chosen to escort a Japanese businessman to a remote area of Australia where her company operates. They share unexpected adventures and eventually break through their professional reserve; then fate steps in. Intriguing story about the role of chance in our lives; deliberately pulls the rug out from under the audience, but doesn't fully compensate us for that jarring experience. Collette is excellent as usual. | tt0304229 | [R] | Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Matthew Dyktynski, Lynette Curran, Yumiko Tanaka, Kate Atkinson | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Japanese War Bride | 1952 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 91 | Penetrating study of WW2 veterans who return to life in U.S.A. with Asian brides. | tt0044764 | Don Taylor, Shirley Yamaguchi, Cameron Mitchell, Marie Windsor, Philip Ahn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jarhead | 2005 | Sam Mendes | ★★★ | 123 | Visual diary of a raw Marine recruit who's shipped to the Arabian desert in 1990, where he and fellow newbies are placed in a holding pattern called Operation Desert Shield, waiting to fight in what eventually became Operation Desert Storm. Absurdities mount up on a daily basis in this surreal, sun-baked atmosphere. William Broyles, Jr., adapted Anthony Swofford's best-selling memoir; Mendes consciously echoes FULL METAL JACKET, APOCALYPSE NOW, and others in this offbeat but compelling war film in which there is precious little combat. | tt0418763 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Brian Geraghty, Jacob Vargas, Laz Alonso, Evan Jones, Chris Cooper, Dennis Haysbert | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday | 1993 | Adam Marcus | ★½ | 88 | Ninth entry in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, ignores the plots of the last six or so, and opens with Jason being blown to pieces in an ambush. However, his evil spirit takes over a convenient bystander, and reborn, he heads for home to confront his (hitherto unmentioned) sister. Erratic, illogical, and pointlessly cruel; some fans liked it because of its delight in including elements from other contemporary horror movie series. Followed in 2002 by JASON X. | tt0107254 | [R] | John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Kane Hodder, Steven Williams, Steven Culp, Erin Gray, Rusty Schwimmer, Billy Green Bush | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Jason X | 2002 | Jim Isaac | ★½ | 93 | In this, the tenth FRIDAY THE 13TH installment (and first since 1993's JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY), cryogenically frozen Jason (Hodder) and a sexy scientist (Doig) are thawed while on board a spacecraft in the year 2455. You can guess what happens next. For dedicated slasher fans only. David Cronenberg appears briefly as Dr. Wimmer. Not to be confused with MALCOLM X. Followed by FREDDY VS. JASON. | tt0211443 | [R] | Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, Jonathan Potts, Peter Mensah, Melyssa Ade | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Jason and the Argonauts | 1963 | Don Chaffey | ★★★ | 104 | Great special effects (by Ray Harryhausen) and colorful backgrounds in fable about Jason's search for golden fleece. Encounters with mythic monsters and gods highlight this sweeping adventure. Rich score by Bernard Herrmann. | tt0057197 | Todd Armstrong, Gary Raymond, Nancy Kovack, Honor Blackman, Nigel Green | British | Action, Family, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Jason's Lyric | 1994 | Doug McHenry | ★★ | 119 | Overly familiar (not to mention confusing) tale of good-and-evil brothers. Jason (Payne) is an honest and dependable workingman; Joshua (Woodbine) is a drug-abusing thief. Jason falls in love with an attractive waitress named Lyric (Pinkett)— more a romantic male fantasy than a real person— and you know what's coming. Several sex scenes were trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating, but gruesome violence remains intact. | tt0110186 | [R] | Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett, Forest Whitaker, Bokeem Woodbine, Treach, Lisa Carson, Suzzanne Douglas, Eddie Griffin, Lahmard Tate | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jassy | 1947 | Bernard Knowles | ★★½ | 96 | Brooding drama of gypsy girl accused of causing her husband's death; well-mounted 19th-century yarn. | tt0039509 | Margaret Lockwood, Patricia Roc, Dennis Price, Dermot Walsh, Basil Sydney, Nora Swinburne | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Java Head | 1934 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★★ | 70 | Perceptive, literate account of 19th-century sea captain Loder, whose roots are in a puritanical English port city, and his marriage to a Mandarin princess (Wong). Based on the Joseph Hergesheimer best-seller (which was set in Massachusetts). | tt0025326 | Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Allan, Edmund Gwenn, John Loder, Ralph Richardson, Herbert Lomas | British | Romance | NULL | ||
| Jawbreaker | 1999 | Darren Stein | ★½ | 90 | Monotonous— and unpleasant— black comedy about a tight-knit band of girls who rule their high school— until an accidental murder forces them to 'adopt' a geeky student who could cause trouble for them. A short-subject idea padded to feature length. | tt0155776 | [R] | Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Evans Greer, Carol Kane, William Katt, Jeff Conaway, Tatyana Ali, Pam Grier, Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson), P.J. Soles, The Donnas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jaws | 1975 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★★ | 124 | A rare case of a bubble-gum story (by Peter Benchley) scoring as a terrific movie. The story: New England shore community is terrorized by shark attacks; local cop (Scheider), ichthyologist (Dreyfuss) and salty shark expert (Shaw) determine to kill the attacker. Hold on to your seats! Screenplay by Benchley and Gottlieb. Three Oscars include John Williams' now-classic score, Verna Fields' sensational editing. Benchley has cameo as reporter on beach. Followed by three sequels. | tt0073195 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Jeffrey Kramer, Susan Backlinie, Carl Gottlieb | Adventure, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jaws 2 | 1978 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★★½ | 117 | Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your TV set again, here comes another gratuitous sequel. The shark scenes deliver the goods, but Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are sorely needed when film is on land. | tt0077766 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jaws 3-D | 1983 | Joe Alves | ★★ | 97 | Road-company Irwin Allen-type disaster film, unrelated to first two JAWS except by contrivance; this time a shark's on the loose in Florida's Sea World. (Does this make it an unofficial remake of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE?) Might play on TV, but in theaters its only real assets were excellent 3-D effects. Retitled JAWS III for TV and homevideo. | tt0085750 | [PG] | Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett/Jr., John Putch, Lea Thompson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jaws the Revenge | 1987 | Joseph Sargent | ★½ | 89 | Watchable but mediocre retread of JAWS, the fourth time around, with Gary as the widow of sheriff Scheider (from the original film) who's convinced the great white shark is deliberately seeking out and killing off members of her family. Marginal movie really sunk by stupid, abrupt finale; Caine wasted in frivolous supporting role. Set mostly in the Bahamas. | tt0093300 | [PG-13] | Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young, Michael Caine, Lynn Whitfield | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | 2001 | Kevin Smith | ★★ | 104 | The two crude doper-slackers from CLERKS, MALLRATS, etc., journey to Hollywood to stop a movie being made about them— or at least collect some dough. Giant in-joke comedy where the people on screen are clearly having a better time than we are in the audience. Moviemaking scene with Affleck and Matt Damon is arguably the funniest; many cameos include stars of earlier Smith films. | tt0261392 | [R] | Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Shannon Elizabeth, Ali Larter, Eliza Dushku, Jennifer Schwalbach, Jason Lee, Will Ferrell, Judd Nelson, Seann William Scott, Carrie Fisher, Jon Stewart, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Chris Rock, Mark Hamill, Morris Day | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Jayhawkers | 1959 | Melvin Frank | ★★½ | 100 | Turgid Western set in 1850s, with Chandler and Parker battling for power, Maurey the love interest. | tt0052941 | Jeff Chandler, Fess Parker, Nicole Maurey, Henry Silva, Herbert Rudley | Western | NULL | |||
| Jazz Boat | 1960 | Ken Hughes | ★★½ | 90 | Energetic caper of handyman Newley pretending to be a crook and then having to carry through, with dire results. | tt0053963 | Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries, David Lodge, Bernie Winters, James Booth | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Jazz Singer | 1927 | Alan Crosland | ★★½ | 89 | Legendary first talkie is actually silent with several sound musical and talking sequences. Story of Cantor Oland's son (Jolson) going into show business is creaky, but this movie milestone should be seen once. Songs: 'My Mammy,' 'Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye,' 'Blue Skies,' etc. Look fast for Myrna Loy as a chorus girl. Remade twice (so far!). | tt0018037 | Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, William Demarest, Roscoe Karns | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Jazz Singer | 1953 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 107 | Slick remake benefits from Curtiz' no-nonsense direction and presence of Lee and Dunnock . . . but it's still just so schmaltzy. | tt0044765 | Danny Thomas, Peggy Lee, Mildred Dunnock, Eduard Franz, Tom Tully, Allyn Joslyn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Jazz Singer | 1980 | Richard Fleischer | 💣 | 115 | Cantor Olivier shouts, 'I hef no son!'— one of the highpoints of this moth-balled sudser in which Diamond becomes a rock star in about as much time as it takes to get a haircut. This remake may actually contain more clichés than the 1927 version! | tt0080948 | [PG] | Neil Diamond, Laurence Olivier, Lucie Arnaz, Catlin Adams, Franklyn Ajaye, Paul Nicholas, Sully Boyar, Mike Kellin | Musical | NULL | ||
| Jazz on a Summer's Day | 1959 | Bert Stern | ★★★½ | 85 | Candid, enjoyable filmed record of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. A must for jazz aficionados. | tt0052942 | Louis Armstrong, Big Maybelle, Chuck Berry, Dinah Washington, Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, Anita O'Day, Mahalia Jackson, Sonny Stitt, Jack Teagarden | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Je Vous Aime | 1981 | Claude Berri | ★½ | 105 | Shallow, solemn tale of liberated career-woman Deneuve, who is unable to remain monogamous. Good cast can do little with material; disappointing. | tt0080951 | Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Gérard Depardieu, Alain Souchon, Christian Marquand, Serge Gainsbourg | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Jealousy | 1945 | Gustav Machaty | ★★ | 71 | Whodunit set in L.A. that, after a promising start, descends into mediocrity. Machaty's touch is still evident in unusual camera shots and montages. Based on a story by Dalton Trumbo. | tt0037829 | John Loder, Nils Asther, Jane Randolph, Karen Morley | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Jean de Florette | 1986 | Claude Berri | ★★★½ | 122 | Proud, cocky French farmer schemes with his simple-minded nephew to acquire some nearby farmland by making sure the new owners never discover an all-important natural spring on the property. Richly textured, emotionally powerful adaptation of Marcel Pagnol novel, exquisitely and meticulously filmed, with galvanizing performances— especially by Depardieu as the doggedly optimistic novice farmer. Story continues in MANON OF THE SPRING. | tt0091288 | [PG] | Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu, Ernestine Mazurowna, Marcel Champel, Armand Meffre | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Jeanne Eagels | 1957 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 109 | Novak tries but can't rise to demands of portraying famed actress of 1920s. Chandler is her virile love interest. | tt0050560 | Kim Novak, Jeff Chandler, Agnes Moorehead, Gene Lockhart, Virginia Grey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jeanne and the Perfect Guy | 1999 | Olivier Ducastel | ★★½ | 98 | Musical comedy about a beautiful young woman who finally meets the love of her life, only to lose him when he disappears after learning he is HIV-positive. Unusual subject matter for a musical, to say the least, but Ducastel (seemingly inspired by Jacques Demy films) almost pulls it off. Downbeat subject matter is eclipsed by inventive use of songs and ultimately life-affirming message. | tt0123923 | Virginie Ledoyen, Mathieu Demy, Valerie Bonneton, Jacques Bonnaffe | French | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Jeannie | 1941 | Harold French | ★★★ | 101 | Enjoyable comedy-romance with Scottish lass Mullen vacationing in Vienna and becoming involved with washing machine salesman Redgrave and gigolo Lieven. Anatole de Grunwald was one of the writers. Aka GIRL IN DISTRESS. Remade as LET'S BE HAPPY. | tt0033769 | Michael Redgrave, Barbara Mullen, Wilfrid Lawson, Kay Hammond, Albert Lieven, Edward Chapman, Googie Withers, Rachel Kempson, Ian Fleming | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Jeepers Creepers | 2001 | Victor Salva | ★★½ | 90 | A brother and sister driving across the American South stop to investigate what looks like a murder, but turns out to be something far worse. Well directed and exciting, with an imaginatively conceived monster. This is genuinely scary at times, but the ending is unsatisfying and unpleasantly cynical. Written by the director. Followed by a sequel. | tt0263488 | [R] | Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan, Brandon Smith, Peggy Sheffield | Horror, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jeepers Creepers 2 | 2003 | Victor Salva | ★★ | 106 | The Creeper returns to attack a school bus filled with teenagers returning from a football game. Well-crafted film creates a tangible sense of fear and dread, and has plenty of good scares . . . but after a while its bag of tricks empties out. Francis Ford Coppola coexecutive produced. | tt0301470 | [R] | Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Garikayi Mutambirwa, Eric Nenninger, Nicki Aycox, Travis Schiffner, Lena Cardwell, Billy Aaron Brown, Diane Delano, Luke Edwards | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Jeff, Who Lives at Home | 2012 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | ★★★ | 83 | Sharply drawn character study is a triumph for Segel as an emotionally fragile thirtysomething slacker who leaves his mother's basement just long enough to prove his own self-worth as he follows his brother's wife, who may or may not be having an affair. Segel underplays to great effect and Helms is ideal as his clueless sibling, who adopts a pose of bravado. Sarandon is also quite touching as their perplexed mother. Slight, like most Duplass Brothers films, but heads in unexpected and rewarding directions. | tt1588334 | [R] | Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon, Rae Dawn Chong, Steve Zissis, Evan Ross, Katie Aselton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jefferson in Paris | 1995 | James Ivory | ★★ | 144 | While serving as U.S. Ambassador to France in the 1780s, a widowed Thomas Jefferson (Nolte) begins to fall in love with an Italian-born Englishwoman (Scacchi), but also finds himself attracted to a black, teenaged slave (Newton) on his household staff; meanwhile, his strong-willed daughter (Paltrow) seems to want to be the only woman in his life. Story is framed, in flashback, by Jones as free black man who claims to be Jefferson's son. Ambitious, well-appointed drama is also long and sluggish. | tt0113463 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Greta Scacchi, Thandie Newton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Seth Gilliam, James Earl Jones, Simon Callow, Michael Lonsdale, Nancy Marchand, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Daniel Mesguich | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jeffrey | 1995 | Christopher Ashley | ★★½ | 92 | Thirtyish New Yorker Jeffrey (Weber), who is gay, has sworn off sex in this era of AIDS— only to meet hunky gym rat Weiss. They launch into a relationship and encounter just about every sort of 'type' (gay or straight) imaginable, including Stewart (very good as a homosexual interior designer with a biting wit). Paul Rudnick's off-Broadway success works best when going for laughs; the intended poignancy of this very '90s romantic comedy is more forced. Rudnick also scripted and coproduced. Kevin Nealon appears unbilled. | tt0113464 | [R] | Steven Weber, Michael T. Weiss, Patrick Stewart, Bryan Batt, Sigourney Weaver, Nathan Lane, Olympia Dukakis, Christine Baranski, Robert Klein, Kathy Najimy, Irma St. Paule, Camryn Manheim. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jekyll & Hyde | 1990 | David Wickes | Average TV Movie | 100 | Caine, reunited with much of the same behind-the-scenes talent from JACK THE RIPPER (1988), has a high old scenery-chewing time playing the famous Robert Louis Stevenson character. Director Wickes wrote the script for this atmospheric but unmemorable remake. | tt0099875 | Michael Caine, Cheryl Ladd, Joss Ackland, Ronald Pickup, Kim Thomson, Lionel Jeffries, Kevin McNally, Lee Montague | U.S.-British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Jekyll & Hyde . . . Together Again | 1982 | Jerry Belson | ★½ | 87 | Nothing here that Jerry Lewis's Nutty Professor didn't do better, as Blankfield exaggerates on his druggist character from Fridays TV show in tasteless excursion into cheap sex and drug jokes. A few scattered laughs in disappointing directorial debut by veteran comedy writer Belson. | tt0084171 | [R] | Mark Blankfield, Bess Armstrong, Krista Errickson, Tim Thomerson, Michael McGuire, George Chakiris | Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jennie Gerhardt | 1933 | Marion Gering | ★★★ | 85 | Meticulously produced version of Theodore Dreiser saga of poor girl Sidney finding kind benefactor Arnold, losing him, and living as Cook's back-street lover. Actors and elaborate production lend credibility to episodic soaper set at turn of the century. | tt0024193 | Sylvia Sidney, Donald Cook, Mary Astor, Edward Arnold, Louise Carter, Cora Sue Collins, H. B. Warner | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jennifer | 1978 | Brice Mack | ★★ | 90 | Unusually good cast in blatant rip-off of CARRIE, with Pelikan as ostracized high-school girl whose powers include ability to unleash deadly snakes on her victims. Retitled JENNIFER (THE SNAKE GODDESS) for TV. | tt0077769 | [PG] | Lisa Pelikan, Bert Convy, Nina Foch, Amy Johnston, John Gavin, Jeff Corey, Wesley Eure | Horror | NULL | ||
| Jennifer Eight | 1992 | Bruce Robinson | ★★½ | 127 | Taut, entertaining thriller in which burned-out L.A. cop Garcia relocates to a small Northern California town, where he promptly finds himself investigating a series of brutal murders. Will the next victim be beautiful, blind Thurman? Strong performances and eerie snowbound locations are plusses, but unfortunately, credibility dwindles as the story plays out. | tt0104549 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, Lance Henriksen, Kathy Baker, Graham Beckel, Kevin Conway, John Malkovich, Perry Lang, Lenny von Dohlen | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Jennifer on My Mind | 1971 | Noel Black | 💣 | 90 | Probably the worst of many drug films released in the early '70s; rootless American drifter and rich American girl smoke grass in Venice, advance to hard drugs back home. Awful script by Erich Segal; of interest mainly for presence of Robert De Niro, in small, prophetic role of gypsy cab driver. | tt0067266 | [R] | Michael Brandon, Tippy Walker, Lou Gilbert, Steve Vinovich, Peter Bonerz, Renee Taylor, Chuck McCann, Barry Bostwick, Jeff Conaway | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jennifer's Body | 2009 | Karyn Kusama | ★★ | 102 | Nerdy high school girl's best friend is the student hottie, but after an encounter with a narcissistic rock band she begins acting very, very strange. Could she be involved with a series of murders in which teenage boys have been eaten? Attempt to layer horror-movie tropes onto a story of female friendship (and the roles young women inhabit) doesn't work. Written by Diablo Cody, but this teenage outsider isn't as easy to embrace as the heroine of JUNO. Lance Henricksen appears unbilled. Alternate version runs 107m. | tt1131734 | [R] | Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, Cynthia Stevenson, Joshua Emerson | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Jenny | 1970 | George Bloomfield | 💣 | 88 | Sappy soaper about filmmaker who marries pregnant girl in order to avoid the draft. Opening scene includes a clip from A PLACE IN THE SUN, which is best thing in film. | tt0064510 | [M] | Marlo Thomas, Alan Alda, Marian Hailey, Elizabeth Wilson, Vincent Gardenia, Stephen Strimpell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jeopardy | 1953 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 69 | Uneven thriller with Stanwyck, on vacation in Mexico, attempting to save husband Sullivan from drowning— and then being kidnapped herself by killer-on-the-lam Meeker. Starts off well, but then fizzles. Paging Alex Trebek. | tt0045932 | Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker, Lee Aaker | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Jeremiah Johnson | 1972 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 116 | Atmospheric chronicle of life of a mountain man, surviving wintry wilderness, Indians, rival trappers. Unfortunately, film doesn't know where to quit, rambling on to inconclusive ending. Geer is delightful as feisty mountain hermit. Script by John Milius and Edward Anhalt. | tt0068762 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Will Geer, Stefan Gierasch, Allyn Ann McLerie, Charles Tyner, Josh Albee | Western | NULL | ||
| Jeremy | 1973 | Arthur Barron | ★★★ | 90 | Two shy teenagers in N.Y.C. meet, fall in love, then separate. Poignant and real; situations, characters, and atmosphere are memorable. Some scenes cut for TV, others added from cutting-room floor to build running time. | tt0070238 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Glynnis O'Connor, Len Bari, Leonard Cimino, Ned Wilson, Chris Bohn | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Jerk | 1979 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 94 | Martin's first starring feature is a hit-or-miss comedy about the misadventures of a terminally stupid man. Some very funny moments, but after a while they're spread pretty thin. Martin later produced a TV version, THE JERK, TOO. | tt0079367 | [R] | Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King, Richard Ward, Dick Anthony Williams, Bill Macy, Jackie Mason | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Jerky Boys | 1995 | James Melkonian | ★½ | 82 | Crank-call practitioners (who in real life had a hit record in N.Y.C.) who describe themselves as 'two low-lifes from Queens' palm themselves off as Chicago hit men, thoroughly confusing N.Y. mobster Arkin (who must wonder what he's doing in this 'comedy'). Result doesn't exactly expand the possibilities of cinema, though it may appeal to the type of person who enjoys vandalizing suburban mailboxes. | tt0110189 | [R] | John G. Brennan, Kamal Ahmed, Alan Arkin, William Hickey, Alan North, Brad Sullivan, James Lorinz | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Jerry Maguire | 1996 | Cameron Crowe | ★★★½ | 138 | Cocky, super-successful sports agent has a crisis of conscience, which costs him his job and all but one of his clients— the most difficult one on the roster (Gooding, in a charismatic, Oscar-winning performance). His only ally is a young woman (with a little boy) who's devoted to him professionally and personally. Intelligent, original, layered screenplay (by Crowe) with characters who are actually interesting and three-dimensional. Cruise's earnestness is perfect for the part, and Zellweger is a real find. Various sports figures play themselves; Beau Bridges appears unbilled. Only complaint: It goes on too long. Some prints have a faux athletic shoe commercial at the end. | tt0116695 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King, Jonathan Lipnicki, Glenn Frey, Eric Stoltz, Jann Wenner, Alexandra Wentworth, Lucy Alexis Liu | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Jerry and Tom | 1999 | Saul Rubinek | ★★ | 92 | Flashback film about a couple of hit men: a mentor and his protégé. A fine cast fires expectations, but despite some good moments, the film never really delivers. Rubinek's first directing effort debuted on U.S. cable. | tt0120867 | [R] | Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, Maury Chaykin, Ted Danson, Charles Durning, William H. Macy, Peter Riegert, Sarah Polley | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Jersey Girl | 2004 | Kevin Smith | ★½ | 102 | High-powered music-industry publicist is shattered by his wife's death in childbirth and moves back to his father's house in New Jersey to raise his daughter and lick his wounds . . . until he meets a free-spirited video-store clerk (Tyler) who shakes him out of his stupor. Ultra-sentimental modern-day fairy tale is false and hollow— and played that way by everyone but Tyler. Writer-director Smith's most atypical movie to date— and his worst. | tt0300051 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, George Carlin, Jason Biggs, Raquel Castro, Mike Starr, Stephen Root, Jason Lee, Matt Damon, Will Smith | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jerusalem | 1996 | Bille August | ★★½ | 166 | In late 19th-century Sweden, a poor, rural community is swept up in religious fervor; the town becomes bitterly divided, separating a pair of young sweethearts (Friberg, Bonnevie). When the converted emigrate to a Christian commune in Palestine, led by American Dukakis, they find new strife and strain. Long, fact-based epic (from Selma Lagerlof's novel) is earnest to a fault. Made for Swedish TV. | tt0116696 | [PG-13] | Maria Bonnevie, Ulf Friberg, Lena Endre, Pernilla August, Sven-Bertil Taube, Reine Brynolfsson, Olympia Dukakis, Max von Sydow | Swedish-Danish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Jerusalem File | 1972 | John Flynn | ★★ | 96 | Uneasy mixture of political intrigue and straight action as American student Davison gets entangled in Arab-Israeli terrorism following the Six Day War. | tt0068763 | [PG] | Bruce Davison, Nicol Williamson, Daria Halprin, Donald Pleasence, Ian Hendry, Koya Yair Rubin | U.S.-Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| Jesse James | 1939 | Henry King | ★★★ | 105 | Sprawling, glamorous Western with Power and Fonda as Jesse and Frank James; movie builds a case that the Old West's most notorious outlaw was misguided. Sequel: THE RETURN OF FRANK JAMES. | tt0031507 | Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott, Henry Hull, Brian Donlevy, John Carradine, Jane Darwell | Western | NULL | |||
| Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter | 1966 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 88 | Low-budget nonsense mixes horror and Western genres, with Dr. Frankenstein's daughter practicing brain experiments— including turning Jesse's pal into a new monster. | tt0060558 | John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Cal Bolder, Estelita, Jim Davis, Steven Geray, William Fawcett | Horror, Sci-Fi, Western | NULL | |||
| Jesse James at Bay | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 56 | Roy's last historical Western casts him as Jesse James, who steals from crooked railroad magnate Watkin to aid farmers, and an evil lookalike, hired by Watkin to sully Jesse's 'good' name. Complex script from future Oscar winner James Webb is not given the time required to do it justice. Payne and Storm play two of the dumbest Eastern newspaper reporters ever seen. | tt0033771 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Sally Payne, Pierre Watkin, Ivan Miller, Hal Taliaferro, Gale Storm, Roy Barcroft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Jesse James vs. the Daltons | 1954 | William Castle | ★★ | 65 | Prairie pariah King hooks up with the Dalton gang to try and verify that he really is the son of the notorious outlaw— who may still be alive. Blah Sam Katzman quickie lacks even a colorful supporting cast. Originally in 3-D. | tt0047129 | Brett King, Barbara Lawrence, James Griffith, Bill Phipps, John Cliff | Western | NULL | |||
| Jesse James' Women | 1954 | Donald Barry | ★½ | 83 | Romancing a variety of women leaves James little time for outlaw activities; cute premise doesn't work out. | tt0047130 | Don 'Red''Barry, Jack Buetel, Peggie Castle, Lita Baron | Western | NULL | |||
| Jessica | 1962 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 112 | Dickinson is an Italian midwife who has men in her village lusting for her, with Chevalier as the local priest. Malarkey. | tt0056117 | Angie Dickinson, Maurice Chevalier, Noel-Noel, Gabriele Ferzetti, Sylva Koscina, Agnes Moorehead | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Jesus | 1979 | Peter Sykes, John Krish | ★★½ | 117 | Straightforward but unmemorable retelling of Jesus' life, produced by The Genesis Project and filmed in Israel. | tt0079368 | [G] | Brian Deacon, Rivka Noiman, Yossef Shiloah, Niko Nitai, Gadi Roi, David Goldberg. Narrated by Alexander Scourby | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jesus Camp | 2006 | Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady | ★★★ | 87 | Fascinating and frightening look at the evangelical movement as seen through the eyes of three kids from Missouri who spend the summer at a camp for future Jerry Falwells. Artfully shows the indoctrination of children with ideas about politics and religion at an early age, demonstrating how the movement plans to spread its word to future generations. The curriculum includes lectures on the evils of homosexuality and abortion and the importance of working toward a Supreme Court populated by 'believers.' | tt0486358 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Jesus Christ Superstar | 1973 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 103 | From record album to Broadway show to motion picture— film retains the Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber score, adds some interesting settings and visual trappings. It's not everyone's cup of religious experience, but certainly innovative. Watch for ubiquitous porno star Paul Thomas in the chorus. | tt0070239 | [G] | Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, Joshua Mostel, Bob Bingham | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Jesus Trip | 1971 | Russ Mayberry | ★★ | 84 | Motorcycle gang kidnaps attractive young nun in film that isn't as bad as it sounds; cast is good. | tt0067268 | [PG] | Tippy Walker, Robert Porter, Billy 'Green' Bush, Frank Orsati, Robert Tessier, Allan Gibbs | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jesus of Montreal | 1989 | Denys Arcand | ★★★½ | 119 | A group of actors come together to stage an unconventional production of the Passion Play, and find themselves embroiled in controversy. Writer-director Arcand takes on religious hypocrisy, commercialism, and other social ills in this wise, profoundly moving and sometimes savagely funny film. A real gem. Arcand also appears in the role of the judge. | tt0097635 | [R] | Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening, JohanneMarie Tremblay, Remy Girard, Robert Lepage, Gilles Pelletier, Marie-Christine Barrault | Canadian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Jesus' Son | 1998 | Alison Maclean | ★★ | 109 | A stream-of-consciousness reminiscence by one young man who's swallowed up in the drug culture of the 1970s. Told in nonlinear flashback style, with vignettes involving a variety of characters who cross his path (played by Leary, Hopper, Hunter). Main problem: it's hard to care about the leading character. Based on Denis Johnson's acclaimed collection of short stories. | tt0186253 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton, Denis Leary, Jack Black, Will Patton, Greg Germann, Holly Hunter, Dennis Hopper | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Jet Attack | 1958 | Edward L. Cahn | 💣 | 68 | Sloppy Korean War programmer about rescue of U.S. scientist caught behind North Korean lines. | tt0051797 | John Agar, Audrey Totter, Gregory Walcott, James Dobson | War | NULL | |||
| Jet Lag | 2002 | Danièle Thompson | ★★½ | 91 | A beautician and a chef meet randomly during an airport layover and over the course of 24 hours fall in love. Featherweight romance is just an excuse to see two star performers at the height of their charm . . . but what's wrong with that? Veteran screenwriter Thompson (COUSIN, COUSINE, QUEEN MARGOT) cowrote with her son Christopher. | tt0293116 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, Jean Reno, Sergi López | French-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Jet Li's Fearless | Fearless | 2006 | Ronny Yu | ★★★ | 103 | Li apparently caps his career in this genre playing martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, China's most famous fighter at the turn of the 20th Century, who nearly dies in a tragic incident in which he loses most of his family. In time he returns to the ring and is pitted against four imposing fighters who represent the major foreign powers dominating China at that time. Emotionally charged and visually striking; with extraordinary choreography Li shows why he is a master of the art. Unrated version runs 104m. Aka FEARLESS. | tt0446059 | [PG-13] | Jet Li, Shido Nakamura, Li Sun, Yong Dong, Hee Ching Paw, Nathan Jones, Brandon Rhea, Anthony De Longis, Jean Claude Leuyer | Hong Kong | Action, Drama, History | NULL |
| Jet Over the Atlantic | 1960 | Byron Haskin | ★★ | 95 | Capable cast in clichéd situation of plane with bomb on board. Madison's the former Air Force pilot saving the day; predictable plot line. | tt0052943 | Guy Madison, Virginia Mayo, George Raft, Ilona Massey, Margaret Lindsay, George Macready, Anna Lee, Venetia Stevenson, Mary Anderson, Bret Halsey | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Jet Pilot | 1957 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★ | 112 | One of Howard Hughes' movie curios, updating his HELL'S ANGELS interest in aviation with cold war theme, as American pilot Wayne falls in love with Russian jet ace Leigh. Ridiculous, to say the least, though some of its humor seems to have been intentional. Completed in 1950, unreleased for seven years! Incidentally, some of the stunt flying was done by Chuck Yeager. | tt0050562 | John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, Paul Fix, Richard Rober, Roland Winters, Hans Conried | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Jetsons: The Movie | 1990 | William Hanna, Joseph Barbera | ★★ | 81 | Disappointing expansion of the 1960s animated TV sitcom has nothing to offer now-grown-up fans of the series, but remains a palatable offering for very young children, with pro-social messages thrown in at the end. | tt0099878 | [G] | Voices of George O'Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Mel Blanc, Tiffany, Don Messick, Patric Zimmerman | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jewel Robbery | 1932 | William Dieterle | ★★★½ | 70 | Lubitsch-like bauble with wealthy, married Francis (who aches for excitement in her life) being captivated by debonair burglar Powell. Breathlessly paced, witty and charming. Screenplay by Erwin Gelsey, based on a play by Ladislaus Fodor. | tt0023074 | William Powell, Kay Francis, Hardie Albright, Henry Kolker, Spencer Charters, Alan Mowbray, Helen Vinson | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Jewel of the Nile | 1985 | Lewis Teague | ★★ | 104 | Contrived 'high adventure' involving an evil potentate and a precious 'jewel.' Sequel to ROMANCING THE STONE can't capture charm of original, because the characters are set— and character change (particularly Turner's) is what made the first movie fun. Some good stunts and funny lines, but it all rings hollow. | tt0089370 | [PG] | Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Spiros Focas, Avner Eisenberg, The Flying Karamazov Brothers | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Jeweller's Shop | The Goldsmith's Shop | 1987 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 97 | Lancaster is a mysterious old Polish jeweler at the start of WW2 who brings together two pairs of lovers. Of particular interest both as one of the star's last film appearances and for the fact that it's based on a play by Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II. Aka THE GOLDSMITH'S SHOP. | tt0094787 | Burt Lancaster, Ben Cross, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Occhipinti | Italian-Canadian |
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| Jezebel | 1938 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 103 | Davis won her second Oscar as tempestuous Southern belle who goes too far to make fiancé Fonda jealous; Bainter also received Oscar as Davis' sympathetic aunt. Fine production, entire cast excellent. John Huston was one of the writers. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0030287 | Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Fay Bainter, Spring Byington, Richard Cromwell, Henry O'Neill | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jigsaw | 1949 | Fletcher Markle | ★★ | 70 | Pedestrian caper of assistant D.A. Tone on the trail of a journalist's killer, uncovering a racist hate group. Sparked by unbilled appearances of Marlene Dietrich, Henry Fonda, John Garfield, Burgess Meredith, Marsha Hunt. Retitled: GUN MOLL. | tt0041523 | Franchot Tone, Jean Wallace, Myron McCormick, Marc Lawrence, Betty Harper (Doe Avedon) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Jigsaw | 1968 | James Goldstone | ★★½ | 97 | Fast-paced, utterly confusing yarn about amnesiac Dillman trying to figure out his past and unravel murder caper he was involved in. Frantic editing and music don't help viewer; remake of MIRAGE. Made for TV but shown theatrically first. | tt0063155 | Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, Hope Lange, Pat Hingle, Diana Hyland, Victor Jory, Paul Stewart, Susan Saint James, Michael J. Pollard, James Doohan, Kent McCord | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Jigsaw Man | 1984 | Terence Young | ★★ | 91 | Caine, an ex-British Secret Service honcho who defected to Russia, comes back to England (following rejuvenating plastic surgery) for one final mission. Will he serve one country, the other, or play both ends against the middle? Unfortunately this Caine-Olivier pairing is no SLEUTH, so you won't care. | tt0085755 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Susan George, Robert Powell, Charles Gray, Michael Medwin | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Jim Thorpe- All-American | 1951 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 107 | The life of the famed American Indian athlete who was stripped of his Olympic medals for playing professional baseball. Lancaster lends dignified vigor to title role; Bickford is especially outstanding as Thorpe's mentor, legendary coach Pop Warner. | tt0043687 | Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Steve Cochran, Phyllis Thaxter, Dick Wesson | Biography, Drama, Sport | NULL | |||
| Jimi Hendrix | 1973 | Joe Boyd, John Head, Gary Weis | ★★½ | 102 | Documentary on life of noted black rock guitarist; good segments from various concerts, interviews with those who knew him well. Songs include 'Purple Haze,' 'Wild Thing,' 'Johnny B. Goode.' | tt0070242 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Jiminy Glick in La La Wood | 2005 | Vadim Jean. | ★★ | 90 | Ill-conceived extension of Primetime Glick, Short's TV series, in which he plays a character introduced on The Martin Short Show: a thickheaded, roly-poly celebrity interviewer-critic from Butte, Montana. Here, Jiminy and his family attend the Toronto Film Festival and become involved in a complicated murder plot. Film buffs will enjoy Short's impersonation of David Lynch, and Jiminy is always hilarious, but he and guest star Steve Martin provide the only bright spots in this painfully unfunny comedy. Other stars appear on camera, caught at the Toronto festivities. | tt0347369 | [R] | Martin Short, Jan Hooks, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Perkins, Linda Cardellini, Janeane Garofalo, Corey Pearson, Peter Breck. | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains | 2007 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 126 | Intimate documentary portrait of the former U.S president follows him on his 2006-07 book tour for Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, in which he stresses that a Middle East peace only will come when the Israelis and Palestinians agree to live in harmony. Compelling account of Carter's life since leaving office in 1981. | tt0913958 | [PG] | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| Jimmy Hollywood | 1994 | Barry Levinson | ★★ | 109 | Well-meaning but one-note tale of hard-luck middle-aged dreamer Pesci, a would-be actor who earns fame by playing out the role of a lifetime: Jericho, an urban vigilante. Obvious look at life in seedy, contemporary Hollywood, which once was a 'mecca of dreams.' Pesci is good, but his character quickly becomes wearying. Watch for director Levinson at the finale. Levinson also scripted. | tt0110197 | [R] | Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, Victoria Abril, Jason Beghe, John Cothran/Jr., Rob Weiss, Chad McQueen | Crime, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius | 2001 | John A. Davis | ★★½ | 83 | Clever computer-generated cartoon produced by Nickelodeon. When a young inventor inadvertently causes alien invaders to kidnap all the parents in the neighborhood, it's up to him and his classmates to travel through space and mount a rescue. Cute kids' film with plenty of visual and verbal humor, but lavish settings (particularly in outer space) clash with weak character designs and low-budget animation. Followed by a TV series. | tt0268397 | [G] | Voices of Megan Cavanagh, Mark DeCarlo, Debi Derryberry, Patrick Stewart, Martin Short, Rob Paulsen, David L. Lander, Laraine Newman, Andrea Martin, Mary Hart, Bob Goen | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Jimmy and Sally | 1933 | James Tinling. | ★★½ | 68 | Go-getter Dunn lets his ambition cloud his devotion to Trevor in amiable little film of no consequence whatsoever. | tt0024195 | James Dunn, Claire Trevor, Harvey Stephens, Lya Lys, Jed Prouty. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jimmy the Gent | 1934 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 67 | Crooked businessman Cagney pretends to refine himself to impress Davis in this bouncy comedy. | tt0025330 | James Cagney, Bette Davis, Alice White, Allen Jenkins, Philip Reed, Mayo Methot | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jimmy the Kid | 1983 | Gary Nelson | ★½ | 85 | Bored, brilliant son of wealthy husband-and-wife singing team is kidnapped by gang of pathetically incompetent bunglers who teach him how to enjoy being a kid. Coleman returns favor by bringing good cast down to his level of nonacting, consisting of endless mugging and exaggerated eyeball rolling, in this lame comedy. Based on a Donald Westlake novel, with LeMat as the same character played by Robert Redford in THE HOT ROCK. | tt0085756 | [PG] | Gary Coleman, Paul LeMat, Walter Olkewicz, Dee Wallace, Ruth Gordon, Don Adams, Cleavon Little, Avery Schreiber | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jindabyne | 2006 | Ray Lawrence | ★★★ | 123 | Gas station owner (Byrne) and three pals take off for an annual fishing weekend at a remote spot where there isn't cell phone reception. They come upon a woman's dead body floating in the river, and while they're shocked they figure there's nothing they can do to help her, so they continue fishing. That decision has unexpected repercussions not only with their families but with the community at large. Absorbing, multifaceted drama flavored by aboriginal mysticism. Based on Raymond Carver's story “So Much Water So Close To Home,” which was also dramatized in Robert Altman's SHORT CUTS. | tt0382765 | [R] | Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell, Stelios Yiakmis, Simon Stone, Betty Lucas. | Australian | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Jingle All the Way | 1996 | Brian Levant | ★★ | 88 | Neglectful father promises his son a Turbo Man action figure, then frantically searches to find the sold-out toy the day before Christmas. His chief rival in the search (Sinbad) turns out to be not just a competitor but a major sicko. Even at 88 minutes this feels prolonged and protracted, a dubious '90s addition to the canon of holiday movies. Arnold gives it his best, but he simply isn't funny. | tt0116705 | [PG] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Robert Conrad, Martin Mull, James Belushi, Harvey Korman, Laraine Newman, Jake Lloyd | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Jinnah | 1998 | Jamil Dehlavi | ★★★ | 94 | Lee is outstanding as the dedicated, brittle and reserved Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, in this odd biography in which, on the verge of death, he's shown the events of his past in Ebenezer Scrooge style. Fox, Ashby, and Dastor are also fine as Mountbatten, Nehru, and Gandhi. A worthwhile, intelligent movie that deserves, like its subject, to be better known. | tt0183306 | Christopher Lee, James Fox, Maria Aitken, Shashi Kapoor, Shireen Shah, Richard Lintern, Robert Ashby, Sam Dastor | U.S.-Pakistani-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jinx Money | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 68 | The Bowery Boys stumble upon $50,000 of a dead gangster's loot and spend a slow hour being chased by his cohorts. | tt0040489 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Sheldon Leonard, Donald MacBride, Wanda McKay, John Eldredge | Crime, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jinxed! | 1982 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 103 | Messy black comedy about a Vegas lounge singer, the lout she lives with, and a young blackjack dealer the lout has managed to jinx at his own table. Though a characteristically ripped Rip provides some amusement, the much-reported lack of rapport between Midler/Wahl and Midler/Siegel comes through on the screen. Screenwriter 'Bert Blessing' is really Frank D. Gilroy. | tt0084173 | [R] | Bette Midler, Ken Wahl, Rip Torn, Val Avery, Jack Elam, Benson Fong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jitterbugs | 1943 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★ | 74 | One of the team's better later efforts, with Blaine sharing the spotlight and doing quite nicely. Ollie's scene with Southern belle Lee Patrick is a gem. Previously filmed as ARIZONA TO BROADWAY. | tt0036055 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Vivian Blaine, Robert Bailey, Douglas Fowley, Noel Madison | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jivaro | 1954 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 91 | Cornball adventure with beautiful Fleming arriving in the Amazon to search for her missing fiancé; promptly and predictably, she hooks up with Lamas. | tt0047133 | Fernando Lamas, Rhonda Fleming, Brian Keith, Lon Chaney/Jr., Richard Denning, Rita Moreno | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jive Junction | 1943 | Edgar G. Ulmer. | ★★½ | 62 | Classical music student braves his disapproving teachers to organize an all-girl orchestra that plays for soldiers. Though ex-child star Moore is a bit geeky as the bandleader, this WW2 musical's home front setting (with no men around) feels genuine, and Ulmer's direction is a textbook example of how to make something out of nothing. Script cowritten by Irving Wallace. Sole film by soprano Young, who sings Delibes' 'Bell Song. | tt0034917 | Tina Thayer, Dickie Moore, Johnny Michaels, Jan Wiley, Jack Wagner, Gerra Young, Beverly Boyd, Johnny Duncan. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling | 1986 | Richard Pryor | ★★ | 97 | Pryor examines his life, with the help of an alter-ego character; largely autobiographical film only sparks when chronicling the comedian's early life and first show-biz encounters. From there it's downhill: jumbled, at arm's-length, and boring. Pryor's directorial debut, if you don't count an earlier concert film (he also coscripted and produced). | tt0091295 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Debbie Allen, Art Evans, Fay Hauser, Barbara Williams, Carmen McRae, Paula Kelly, Diahnne Abbott, Scoey Mitchell, Billy Eckstine, Wings Hauser, E'lon Cox, Virginia Capers, Dennis Farina | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work | 2010 | Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg | ★★★ | 84 | Veteran stand-up comic Rivers proves to be the hardest-working woman in show business, at the age of 75. By following her for the better part of a year, the filmmakers show us what drives her and explore what shaped her psyche and her incredible neediness. Rivers’ remarkable candor makes this a fascinating portrait, but the foundation of her career (and this documentary) remains the fact that she is consistently, often brutally funny. One comes away with new, or renewed, respect for her. | tt1568150 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Joan of Arc | 1948 | Victor Fleming | ★★½ | 100 | Bergman is staunchly sincere in this overlong, faithful adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play. Not enough spectacle to balance talky sequences. Originally released theatrically at 145m. | tt0040491 | Ingrid Bergman, Jose Ferrer, Francis L. Sullivan, J. Carrol Naish, Ward Bond, Shepperd Strudwick, Hurd Hatfield, Gene Lockhart, John Emery, Cecil Kellaway, George Coulouris, John Ireland | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Joan of Ozark | 1942 | Joseph Santley | ★★ | 80 | Hillbilly Canova hunts down Nazi underground ring in U.S. | tt0034918 | Judy Canova, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Foy/Jr., Jerome Cowan, Alexander Granach, Anne Jeffreys | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Joan of Paris | 1942 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★½ | 91 | Excellent WW2 tale of dedicated Morgan giving herself up so Henreid and fellow pilots can return to Allied lines. U.S. debuts for both Morgan and Henreid. | tt0034919 | Michele Morgan, Paul Henreid, Thomas Mitchell, Laird Cregar, May Robson, Alexander Granach, Alan Ladd | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Joan the Woman | 1917 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★★ | 138 | DeMille's first historical epic is nicely mounted, spotlighting the heroism and sacrifice of Joan of Arc (a miscast Farrar) as she evolves from peasant girl to saintlike figure and becomes involved with Englishman Reid. Fashioned as an accolade to France, with the story bookended by sequences set during WW1 involving a soldier who is inspired by Joan's bravery. Some of the effects are in color. | tt0008150 | Geraldine Farrar, Raymond Hatton, Hobart Bosworth, Theodore Roberts, Wallace Reid, Charles Clary, James Neill, Tully Marshall, Lillian Leighton, Walter Long. | Drama, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Joanna | 1968 | Michael Sarne | ★★½ | 107 | Flashy story of wide-eyed girl falling in with loose-living London crowd, growing up through heartbreak, conflict. Sutherland steals film in flamboyant role as frail, wealthy young man trying to enjoy life to fullest. | tt0063157 | [R] | Genevieve Waite, Christian Doermer, Calvin Lockhart, Donald Sutherland, Glenna Forster-Jones | British | Musical, Drama | NULL | |
| Jocks | 1987 | Steve Carver | ★½ | 91 | Silly teen comedy of college tennis team's hijinx in Las Vegas. Despite oddball roles for vets Lee and Armstrong, picture only comes to life on the tennis court. Filmed in 1984. | tt0093315 | [R] | Scott Strader, Perry Lang, Mariska Hargitay, Richard Roundtree, R. G. Armstrong, Christopher Lee, Stoney Jackson, Adam Mills, Katherine Kelly Lang, Trinidad Silva, Don Gibb | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Joe | 1970 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 107 | Sleeper film brought Boyle to prominence as hardhat bigot who practices genteel blackmail on executive Patrick, who's murdered his daughter's hippie boyfriend. Overrated film owes much to Boyle's characterization, not to contrived plot. Sarandon's film debut. | tt0065916 | [R] | Peter Boyle, Dennis Patrick, K. Callan, Audrey Caire, Susan Sarandon, Patrick McDermott | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joe Butterfly | 1957 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 90 | Mildly amusing variation on THE TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON, set in post-WW2 Japan. American soldiers at mercy of wily Japanese Meredith to get needed supplies. | tt0050564 | Audie Murphy, Burgess Meredith, George Nader, Keenan Wynn, Fred Clark | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs and Englishmen | 1971 | Pierre Adidge | ★★★ | 119 | Excellent rockumentary of Cocker's '70 American tour, highlighted by Cocker, Russell, and Linnear in performance. Songs include 'Feelin' Alright,' 'With a Little Help from My Friends,' 'Darlin' Be Home Soon,' many others. Aka MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN. Multiple Screen. | tt0067275 | [PG] | Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Chris Stainton, Carl Radle, John Price, Bobby Keys, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Linnear | British | Documentary | NULL | |
| Joe Dakota | 1957 | Richard Bartlett | ★★½ | 79 | Folksy oater of Mahoney renewing a town's pride in itself. | tt0050565 | Jock Mahoney, Luana Patten, Charles McGraw, Barbara Lawrence, Claude Akins, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| Joe Dirt | 2001 | Dennie Gordon | ★½ | 91 | One would need more than a spade to dig up laughs in this mucky saga of a white-trash loser with a big heart and an even bigger mullet hairdo who's on a quest to find the parents who ditched him when he was eight. Charming comic bits involve frozen animal testicles, incest, excrement, vomit, and the amputation of limbs. Joe Don Baker, Rosanna Arquette, Kevin Nealon, and Carson Daly all appear sans credit, while Walken (as a tap-dancing janitor who calls himself Gert E. Frobe) may wish he had done the same. Adam Sandler coexecutive-produced. | tt0245686 | [PG-13] | David Spade, Dennis Miller, Brittany Daniel, Adam Beach, Kid Rock, Jaime Pressly, Christopher Walken, Caroline Aaron, Fred Ward | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Joe Gould's Secret | 2000 | Stanley Tucci | ★★★ | 104 | New Yorker profile writer Joseph Mitchell (Tucci) is introduced to 'the king of the Bohemians,' street savant Joe Gould (Holm), and becomes fascinated (and sucked in) by this bombastic Greenwich Village habitue. Notable for its loving recreation of 1940s N.Y.C. and the world that Mitchell documented so vividly. Holm is simply superb. Screenplay by Howard A. Rodman. | tt0172632 | [R] | Ian Holm, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Hope Davis, Steve Martin, Susan Sarandon, Patrick Tovatt, Celia Weston, Allan Corduner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joe Hill | 1971 | Bo Widerberg | ★★★ | 114 | Fabricated story of legendary labor leader has usual Widerberg matter-of-taste glossiness, but also some affecting scenes and pleasant performances. Joan Baez sings title song. | tt0067276 | [PG] | Thommy Berggren, Ania Schmidt, Kelvin Malave, Everl Anderson, Cathy Smith | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Joe Kidd | 1972 | John Sturges | ★★ | 88 | Eastwood is hired to hunt down some Mexican-Americans by land baron Duvall in ordinary Western; nice photography and a rousing scene where Eastwood drives a train through a barroom. Written by Elmore Leonard. | tt0068768 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon, Don Stroud, Stella Garcia, James Wainwright | Western | NULL | ||
| The Joe Louis Story | 1953 | Robert Gordon | ★★ | 88 | Biopic of the heavyweight champ is interesting historically but dramatically hokey; Wallace looks the part of Louis, but is no actor. | tt0045936 | Coley Wallace, Paul Stewart, Hilda Simms, James Edwards, John Marley, Dots Johnson | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |||
| Joe Macbeth | 1955 | Ken Hughes | ★★½ | 90 | Occasionally amusing variation on Shakespeare's Macbeth, with Douglas a 1930s gangster whose wife (Roman) nags him into murdering his way to the top of his 'profession. | tt0048230 | Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman, Bonar Colleano, Gregoire Aslan, Sidney James | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Joe Panther | 1976 | Paul Krasny | ★★★ | 110 | Good family film about modern-day Seminole youth (Tracey) striving to make his way in the white man's world. | tt0074716 | [G] | Brian Keith, Ricardo Montalban, Alan Feinstein, Cliff Osmond, A Martinez, Ray Tracey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joe Smith, American | 1942 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 63 | Dated WW2 morale booster about munitions worker Young and what happens when he is kidnapped by enemy spies. Paul Gallico story later remade as THE BIG OPERATOR. Watch for Ava Gardner in a bit, and Robert Blake in the flashback, as Young's son. | tt0034920 | Robert Young, Marsha Hunt, Harvey Stephens, Darryl Hickman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Joe Somebody | 2001 | John Pasquin | ★★½ | 98 | Beaten-down corporate worker finally stands up for his rights by fighting with a bully in the company parking lot— and discovers that he suddenly has the attention, and respect, of coworkers who never even noticed him before. Allen is good in his usual comedic everyman role, but the concept is a bit hazy and underdeveloped. | tt0279889 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Julie Bowen, Kelly Lynch, Hayden Panettiere, James Belushi, Greg Germann, Robert Joy, Patrick Warburton | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten | 2007 | Julien Temple | ★★★ | 125 | Compelling documentary traces the life and death of Clash star, showing his vast influence both musically and personally on those around him. Employing super 8 home movies, photos, and current interviews (with everyone from Bono to Johnny Depp), Temple presents a telling portrait of a pioneering musician from his childhood influences to his heyday in the late ’70s and ’80s to his latter-day life as a radio star, husband, and father. Musical sequences are superbly chosen and edited in this worthwhile look at a true rock music legend. | tt0800099 | Irish-British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Joe Versus the Volcano | 1990 | John Patrick Shanley | ★★½ | 102 | Pleasant if pointless fable about a stressed-out nerd who learns he has six months to live, and accepts an eccentric millionaire's offer to enable him to live like a king— so long as he jumps into a volcano at the end of his 'vacation.' Unfortunately, the story also takes a dive. Writer Shanley's directorial debut turns out to be a shaggy-dog story that doesn't pay off. However, it is fun watching Ryan play three distinctively different women . . . and remember, luggage is everything. | tt0099892 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Dan Hedaya, Abe Vigoda, Ossie Davis, Barry McGovern, Amanda Plummer, Carol Kane, Nathan Lane | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President | 1939 | Robert B. Sinclair | ★★½ | 70 | Cute little B film from Damon Runyon story about Brooklynites Sothern and Gargan who go all the way to the White House to see the President (Stone) when their favorite mailman (Brennan) is jailed for destroying a registered letter. | tt0031510 | Ann Sothern, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan, William Gargan, Marsha Hunt, Tom Neal | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Joe the King | 1999 | Frank Whaley | ★★ | 83 | A 14-year-old boy's life is one long, losing battle. With a drunken, irresponsible father (Kilmer) and an absentee mother (Young), he's descended into a life of theft and antisocial behavior. He's not really a bad kid, but there is no relief, and certainly no hope, in sight for him. Actor Whaley's writing-directing debut is a vivid portrait of working-class life, but is so dismal it might be retitled THE 800 BLOWS. | tt0160672 | [R] | Noah Fleiss, Val Kilmer, Karen Young, Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Austin Pendleton, Max Ligosh, James Costa, Camryn Manheim, Amy Wright | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Joe's Apartment | 1996 | John Payson | ★★½ | 80 | Joe (O'Connell) lives in a N.Y.C. slum apartment infested by thousands of singing, dancing, and talking cockroaches, who help him defeat the schemes of his evil landlord (Don Ho). To put it mildly, not for all tastes, but if you can handle break-dancing vermin, the effects are excellent, the musical numbers inventive, and the whole thing harmlessly silly. Written by the director. Based on a short that first aired on MTV in 1992. | tt0116707 | [PG-13] | Jerry O'Connell, Megan Ward, Robert Vaughn, Don Ho, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Jim Sterling, Sandra Denton, Toukie Smith, Scott 'Bam Bam' Bigelow, Paul Bartel; voices of Billy West, Reginald Hudlin, Dave Chappelle, B. D. Wong | Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Joey | 1985 | Joseph Ellison | ★★ | 97 | Hokey but harmless ode to Oldies and Doo Wop, chronicling the troubled personal life of teen rock musician Barry and his relationship with his dad (Quinn), who used to turn out hit records but now toils in a gas station and drinks away his paycheck. Otherwise minor item features cameo appearances by The Limelights (who perform 'Daddy's Home'), Silhouettes ('Get a Job'), Ad-Libs ('Boy From New York City'), Elegants ('Little Star'), Screamin' Jay Hawkins ('I Put a Spell on You') and, fleetingly, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the only surviving Teenagers ('Why Do Fools Fall in Love?'). | tt0089378 | [PG] | Neill Barry, James Quinn, Elisa Heinsohn, Linda Thorson, Ellen Hammill, Dan Grimaldi, Frankie Lanz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joey Breaker | 1993 | Steven Starr | ★★½ | 92 | Astute, candid, but too often dramatically static portrait of a suave, self-absorbed N.Y. talent agent (Edson), and how his consciousness is raised. Marley (the daughter of Bob Marley) plays the romantic interest, a Jamaican nursing student. Starr, an ex-William Morris agent, also scripted and coproduced. | tt0107273 | [R] | Richard Edson, Cedella Marley, Fred Fondren, Erik King, Gina Gershon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Imperioli, Parker Posey | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| John Carter | 2012 | Andrew Stanton | ★★½ | 132 | Truculent Civil War vet Carter (Kitsch) miraculously finds himself transported to Mars, or as the locals call it, Barsoom. Unfortunately, he lands in the midst of a tribal war. Will he take sides and fight? And can a beautiful princess win his loyalty? Elaborate adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars," from his John Carter of Mars series, benefits from a strong leading performance but is difficult to follow if you're not already familiar with the material. Live-action debut for Pixar director Stanton, who also coscripted. | tt0401729 | [PG-13] | Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Bryan Cranston, Polly Walker, Daryl Sabara, Jon Favreau, David Schwimmer | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums | 1964 | Bruce Herschensohn | ★★★★ | 85 | Brilliant documentary, originally commissioned by the United States Information Agency, on the life and times of John Kennedy. | tt0060562 |
|
Documentary | NULL | |||
| John Goldfarb, Please Come Home | 1965 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 96 | Trapped in desert kingdom, two Americans (pilot, woman reporter) conspire to help Arabian chief Ustinov's football team beat Notre Dame. Notre Dame University found this spoof so offensive it sued in court; the viewer has an easier alternative. Screenplay by William Peter Blatty. Look for Teri Garr. | tt0059336 | Shirley MacLaine, Peter Ustinov, Richard Crenna, Scott Brady, Jim Backus, Charles Lane, Jerome Cowan, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Fred Clark, Harry Morgan, Telly Savalas, Richard Deacon, Jackie Coogan, Jerome (Jerry) Orbach, Barbara Bouchet | Comedy | NULL | |||
| John Loves Mary | 1949 | David Butler | ★★½ | 96 | Genial adaptation of Norman Krasna's Broadway hit about a soldier (Reagan) who does his pal a favor by marrying the fellow's British girlfriend, so she can come to the U.S.— intending to get divorce upon arrival. Naive fluff was Neal's film debut. | tt0041526 | Ronald Reagan, Jack Carson, Patricia Neal, Wayne Morris, Edward Arnold, Virginia Field | Comedy | NULL | |||
| John Meade's Woman | 1937 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 87 | Arnold plays another Great American Businessman, marrying one girl to spite another. Idea backfires; so does film. | tt0029069 | Edward Arnold, Gail Patrick, Francine Larrimore, George Bancroft, Aileen Pringle, Sidney Blackmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| John Paul Jones | 1959 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 126 | Empty spectacle of 18th-century American naval hero, with cameo by Davis as Russian empress, Catherine the Great. Look for Mia Farrow (daughter of film's director and Maureen O'Sullivan) in film debut. | tt0052946 | Robert Stack, Marisa Pavan, Charles Coburn, Erin O'Brien, Macdonald Carey, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Peter Cushing, Bruce Cabot, Bette Davis | Action, War | NULL | |||
| John Q | 2002 | Nick Cassavetes | ★★½ | 118 | Factory worker who's struggling to make ends meet learns that his insurance will not cover his son's heart transplant surgery. Assaulted by red tape and uncaring bureaucrats, he commandeers the hospital's emergency room— willing to do anything to save his child's life. Story ingredients ring true, but the film shamelessly pushes emotional buttons, with speechifying and two-dimensional supporting characters. Redeemed, to a surprising extent, by Washington's powerful performance. | tt0251160 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, James Woods, Robert Duvall, Anne Heche, Ray Liotta, Kimberly Elise, Eddie Griffin, Shawn Hatosy, Obba Babatundé, Troy Beyer, Paul Johansson, Daniel E. Smith | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| John Tucker Must Die | 2006 | Betty Thomas | ★½ | 90 | When three high school girls discover they have all been dating the same two-timing lothario, they convince an innocent classmate to seduce the smooth-talking jock and break his heart. Charmless and predictable teen comedy loses touch with reality about halfway through and winds up a ludicrous mess. Any similarity between these characters and actual human beings is purely coincidental. | tt0455967 | [PG-13] | Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, Sophia Bush, Arielle Kebbel, Jenny McCarthy, Penn Badgley, Fatso-Fasano, Kevin McNulty, Patricia Drake | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| John and Mary | 1969 | Peter Yates | ★★½ | 92 | John and Mary meet, make love, but don't know if the relationship should end right there. Innocuous, uncompelling trifle. Hoffman seems to be sleepwalking; audience may join him. | tt0064513 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Mia Farrow, Michael Tolan, Sunny Griffin, Stanley Beck, Tyne Daly, Alix Elias, Marian Mercer, Olympia Dukakis, Cleavon Little, Kristoffer Tabori | Drama | NULL | ||
| Johnny Allegro | 1949 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 81 | Seamy gangster melodrama of ex-racketeer Raft helping federal agents capture counterfeiting gang. Last half of story imitates THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. | tt0041527 | Nina Foch, George Raft, George Macready, Will Geer | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Johnny Angel | 1945 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 79 | Tough, well-done melodrama, with Raft cleaning up notorious mob, solving mystery of father's murder. Trevor lends good support. | tt0037832 | George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso, Lowell Gilmore, Hoagy Carmichael, Marvin Miller, Margaret Wycherly, J. Farrell MacDonald | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Johnny Apollo | 1940 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 93 | Good-natured Power turns crook, resentful of father Arnold, white-collar thief. Good acting, especially by Lamour as the girlfriend. | tt0032651 | Tyrone Power, Dorothy Lamour, Edward Arnold, Lloyd Nolan, Charles Grapewin, Lionel Atwill, Marc Lawrence | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Johnny Be Good | 1988 | Bud Smith | 💣 | 84 | Offensive, bottom-of-the-barrel comedy about star high-school jock Hall and how various colleges attempt to illegally recruit him. The seriousness of the issue completely eludes the makers of this turkey. R-rated scenes were added for homevideo version. | tt0095409 | [PG-13] | Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey/Jr., Paul Gleason, Uma Thurman, Steve James, Seymour Cassel, Howard Cosell, Jim McMahon, Robert Downey/Sr., Jennifer Tilly | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Johnny Belinda | 1948 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★½ | 103 | Sensitively acted, atmospheric drama of young deaf-mute girl (Wyman) and doctor (Ayres) who works with her. Setting of provincial fishing-farming community vividly realized. Wyman won an Oscar for her fine performance. Elmer Harris play was scripted by Irmgard von Cube and Allen Vincent. Remade for TV in 1982 with Rosanna Arquette. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040495 | Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Jan Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, Rosalind Ivan, Alan Napier, Dan Seymour | Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Come Lately | 1943 | William K. Howard | ★★½ | 97 | Tame but amusing Cagney vehicle, with Jimmy as wandering newspaperman who helps elderly editor George in small-town political battle. | tt0036057 | James Cagney, Grace George, Marjorie Main, Marjorie Lord, Hattie McDaniel, Ed McNamara | Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Concho | 1956 | Don McGuire | ★★½ | 84 | Plodding Western with novelty of Sinatra as cowardly soul who must build courage for inevitable shoot-out. Adapted from a Studio One TV play. | tt0049384 | Frank Sinatra, Keenan Wynn, William Conrad, Phyllis Kirk, Wallace Ford, Dorothy Adams, Jean Byron, Claude Akins, John Qualen | Western | NULL | |||
| Johnny Cool | 1963 | William Asher | ★★★ | 101 | Sadistic study of vicious gangster seeking revenge. Brutal account, realistically told. | tt0057200 | Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Sammy Davis/Jr., Richard Anderson, Jim Backus, Wanda Hendrix, Brad Dexter, Joey Bishop, Marc Lawrence, John McGiver, Mort Sahl, Telly Savalas, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Dangerously | 1984 | Amy Heckerling | ★½ | 90 | Lame comedy about Prohibition-era gangsters; looks like a TV show and plays that way, too, with scattershot jokes (only a few of them funny) instead of a script. | tt0087507 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton, Peter Boyle, Griffin Dunne, Richard Dimitri, Glynnis O'Connor, Byron Thames, Danny DeVito, Dom DeLuise, Ray Walston, Sudie Bond | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Johnny Dark | 1954 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 85 | Curtis is energetic as auto designer who enters big race. | tt0047135 | Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Don Taylor, Paul Kelly, Ilka Chase, Sidney Blackmer | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | |||
| Johnny Doesn't Live Here Any More | 1944 | Joe May | ★★½ | 77 | WW2 ancestor of THE APARTMENT, with Simon's flat becoming a madhouse. Retitled: AND SO THEY WERE MARRIED. | tt0036972 | Simone Simon, James Ellison, Minna Gombell, Alan Dinehart, Robert Mitchum, Grady Sutton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Johnny Doughboy | 1942 | John H. Auer. | ★★½ | 64 | Jane plays an adolescent movie star who wants to break out of her little-girl roles and a lookalike fan who switches places with her. Most interesting aspect of this B-movie musical is its casting of former child actors as themselves, including Bobby Breen, Cora Sue Collins, Robert Coogan, Baby Sandy, and Our Gang's Spanky McFarland and 'Alfalfa' Switzer, who sing a Sammy Cahn-Jule Styne song about being all washed up. | tt0034921 | Jane Withers, Henry Wilcoxon, William Demarest, Ruth Donnelly, Etta McDaniel. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Johnny Eager | 1941 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 107 | Slick MGM melodrama with convoluted plot about sociology student (and daughter of D.A. Arnold) Turner falling in love with unscrupulous racketeer Taylor. Heflin won Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Taylor's alcoholic friend. | tt0033774 | Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold, Van Heflin, Robert Sterling, Patricia Dane, Glenda Farrell, Barry Nelson | Drama, Crime, Romance, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Johnny English | 2003 | Peter Howitt | ★★★ | 86 | Very funny James Bond spoof with Atkinson as a hopelessly clumsy office functionary who gets to live out his fantasy and become a secret agent. His adversary: a wily French criminal named Pascal Sauvage, played with brio by Malkovich. Atkinson is in prime form in this engagingly silly sight-gag comedy. Based on a series of British TV commercials from the 1990s. | tt0274166 | [PG] | Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Ben Miller, Douglas McFerran, Tim Pigott-Smith, Kevin McNally, Greg Wise | British-U.S. | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Johnny English Reborn | 2011 | Oliver Parker | ★★ | 101 | Not so much reborn as rehashed, Atkinson's bumbling spy returns from his Asian habitat on a new mission to foil an assassination plot against the Chinese premier. Atkinson's Johnny English is clearly the umpteenth James Bond spoof, but fans of the star and his slapstick antics should be glad he's back in this delayed follow-up to 2003's original. Unfortunately, the film is by-the-numbers; many of the gags are predictable and tired, and Atkinson's shtick is getting a little long in the tooth for anyone but his most dedicated followers. | tt1634122 | [PG] | Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Richard Schiff, Daniel Kaluuya, Pik-Sen Lim, Togo Igawa | U.S.-British-French | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Johnny Got His Gun | 1971 | Dalton Trumbo | ★★ | 111 | Morbid film version of Trumbo's novel about WW1 basket case has moving opening and climax, but everything in the middle is either talky, pretentious, or amateurish. | tt0067277 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Diane Varsi, David Soul, Tony Geary | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Johnny Guitar | 1954 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★½ | 110 | The screen's great kinky Western, a memorable confrontation between saloonkeeper Crawford and righteous hellion McCambridge, who wants her run out of town and/or hanged. Simply fascinating with symbolism rampant throughout. Script by Philip Yordan. | tt0047136 | Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Scott Brady, Mercedes McCambridge, Ward Bond, Ben Cooper, Ernest Borgnine, Royal Dano, John Carradine, Paul Fix, Frank Ferguson | Western | NULL | |||
| Johnny Hamlet | 1972 | Enzo G. Castellari | ★★ | 91 | Texan returns home, gets involved in robbery, murder, and torture in undistinguished oater with Shakespearean plot line. | tt0063479 | [PG] | Chip Corman, Gilbert Roland, Horst Frank | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Western | NULL | |
| Johnny Handsome | 1989 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 94 | Disfigured Rourke is imprisoned after his abandonment by fellow lowlifes during a heist; a doctor then proposes performing plastic surgery on his features, hoping to lower his recidivism potential. Eccentric, to say the least, and not totally without interest given the cast, but eventually wears out its welcome. Given Rourke's standard appearance, this must be the only skull surgery ever performed without benefit of a shampoo. | tt0097626 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Lance Henriksen, Scott Wilson, Blake Clark | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Johnny Holiday | 1949 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★★ | 92 | Remarkably sincere study of juvenile delinquent torn between friends from dishonest past and those trying to help him at reform farm. | tt0041528 | William Bendix, Allen Martin/Jr., Stanley Clements, Jack Hagen | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Johnny Mnemonic | 1995 | Robert Longo | ★½ | 98 | In the very ugly future of 2021, a world-weary courier (who carries info in his head) takes one final run from Beijing to Newark, his storage capacity dangerously overloaded with volatile data sought by a huge, ruthless corporation. Intriguing premise, written by William Gibson and directed by artist Longo, goes absolutely nowhere, as uninteresting characters mouth laughable dialogue against a landscape of urban hell. Despite the computer graphics, this is cyberclaptrap. Runs about 15m. longer in Japan. | tt0113481 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Takeshi, Ice-T, Dina Meyer, Udo Kier, Denis Akiyama, Henry Rollins, Tracy Tweed, Don Francks | Canadian | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Johnny Nobody | 1961 | Nigel Patrick | ★★★ | 88 | Irish priest suspects murder when drunken author is killed. Unusual plot twists with religious overtones. Neat, well-made little thriller. | tt0055030 | Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, Aldo Ray, William Bendix, Cyril Cusack | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Johnny O'Clock | 1947 | Robert Rossen | ★★½ | 95 | Cast and director make script about high-class gambler in trouble with the law seem better than it is; Powell is fine in lead role. | tt0039515 | Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb, Ellen Drew, Nina Foch, Jeff Chandler | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Johnny One-Eye | 1950 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 78 | Schmaltzy Damon Runyon yarn of O'Brien, a gangster with a heart of gold, on the lam. | tt0042618 | Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Dolores Moran, Gayle Reed | Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Reno | 1966 | R. G. Springsteen | 💣 | 83 | Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lon Chaney (Jr.), John Agar, Lyle Bettger, Tom Drake, Richard Arlen, Robert Lowery. Laughably clichéd Western has Marshal Andrews trying to save accused killer from lynching. Only for buffs who want to play 'spot the star.' | tt0060564 | Dana Andrews, Jane Russell, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Agar, Lyle Bettger, Tom Drake, Richard Arlen, Robert Lowery | Western | NULL | |||
| Johnny Rocco | 1958 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 84 | Gangster's son (Eyer) is focal point of gangland hunt because he witnessed a killing; OK drama. | tt0051800 | Richard Eyer, Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Russ Conway | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Johnny Shiloh | 1963 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 90 | Young Corcoran leaves his family and tags along with Civil War Army led by Keith. Set-bound adventure, but well acted and easy to watch. Originally shown in two parts on the Disney TV show. | tt0057201 | Kevin Corcoran, Brian Keith, Darryl Hickman, Skip Homeier | Family | NULL | |||
| Johnny Stecchino | 1991 | Roberto Benigni | ★★★ | 100 | A mild and meek school bus driver is the spitting image of a notorious gangster— Johnny Stecchino ('Toothpick'). When the latter's luscious girlfriend drags the naive look-alike down to her Sicilian villa all sorts of shenanigans ensue. Bright physical comedy was Italy's most successful film ever at the box office, and director-cowriter-star Benigni has thrown in a wide array of his trademark physical gags. Material wears a little thin after a while, but it's hard to dislike a film with a heroine whose favorite exclamation is 'Holy Cleopatra!' | tt0102164 | [R] | Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Paolo Bonacelli, Ignazio Pappalardo, Franco Volpi | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Johnny Stool Pigeon | 1949 | William Castle | ★★½ | 76 | Standard drama of convict being sprung from prison so he can lead federal agents to former gang members. | tt0041529 | Howard Duff, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Anthony (Tony) Curtis | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Johnny Suede | 1991 | Tom DiCillo | ★★★ | 95 | Pitt is perfectly cast as Johnny Suede, who sports a glorious pompadour and dreams of stardom as a Ricky Nelson-type pop singer. Clever, winningly hip little film; at its best contrasting Johnny's dream world with the reality that surrounds him. | tt0104567 | Brad Pitt, Calvin Levels, Alison Moir, Catherine Keener, Tina Louise, Nick Cave, Samuel L. Jackson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Johnny Tiger | 1966 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 102 | Set in Florida, tame tale of teacher Taylor, doctor Brooks, and half-breed Seminole Everett trying to come to conclusions about Indians' role in modern world. | tt0060565 | Robert Taylor, Geraldine Brooks, Chad Everett, Brenda Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Tremain | 1957 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 80 | Excellent Disney film, from Esther Forbes' novel about a young boy who gets involved in the Revolutionary War; sprinkles fiction with fact to bring history to life. | tt0050567 | Hal Stalmaster, Luana Patten, Jeff York, Sebastian Cabot, Dick Beymer, Walter Sande | Family, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Johnny Trouble | 1957 | John H. Auer | ★★½ | 80 | Tender story of elderly Barrymore, convinced that her long-missing son will return and that he wasn't a bad boy. Ethel's final film. Remake of SOMEONE TO REMEMBER. | tt0050568 | Ethel Barrymore, Cecil Kellaway, Carolyn Jones, Stuart Whitman, Jesse White, Jack Larson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Johnny Yuma | 1966 | Romolo Guerrieri | ★★ | 99 | Blood-drenched story of man fighting for his inheritance. | tt0061846 |
|
Mark Damon, Lawrence Dobkin, Rosalba Neri, Louis Vanner | Spanish-Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Johnson Family Vacation | 2004 | Christopher Erskin | 💣 | 97 | Uptight insurance man takes his family— including his estranged wife— on a disaster-prone motor trip from L.A. to Missouri for a family reunion and competition. Amateurish comedy is played so broadly you expect Kingfish Stevens to turn up at any minute. Cedric stars and also plays a bombastic, mush-mouthed character named Uncle Earl; he also coproduced. | tt0359517 | [PG-13] | Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow, Shannon Elizabeth, Solange Knowles, Steve Harvey, Christopher B. Duncan, Jennifer Freeman, Gabby Soleil, Wade Williams, Aloma Wright, Shari Headley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Johnstown Flood | 1926 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 70 | Silent-era disaster film, and no worse than a lot of newer ones; compactly told, with still-dazzling special effects. Gaynor's first feature-length movie. Look fast for Carole Lombard as a bridesmaid, and look closely for Clark Gable in the bar scene. | tt0017010 | George O'Brien, Florence Gilbert, Janet Gaynor, Anders Randolf |
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| A Joke of Destiny | 1983 | Lina Wertmuller | ★½ | 105 | A high government official is accidentally locked in his computer-controlled limousine, and his dilemma is dealt with as if it's a national crisis. Loud, overwrought satire has a couple of laughs but will either put you to sleep or give you a headache. Full title: A JOKE OF DESTINY, LYING IN WAIT AROUND THE CORNER LIKE A BANDIT. | tt0086253 | [PG] | Ugo Tognazzi, Piera Degli Esposti, Gastone Moschin, Renzo Montagnani, Valeria Golino | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Joker Is Wild | All the Way | 1957 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 126 | Sinatra is fine in biography of nightclub performer Joe E. Lewis, with Crain and Gaynor diverting as his two loves. Cahn and Van Heusen song 'All the Way' won an Oscar; in fact, the film was reissued as ALL THE WAY. | tt0050569 | Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain, Eddie Albert, Beverly Garland, Jackie Coogan, Sophie Tucker | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Jokers | 1966 | Michael Winner | ★★★ | 94 | Droll satire on the Establishment with Reed and Crawford two brothers from upper classes, putting everyone on and carrying out perfect caper; ironic results. | tt0060566 | Michael Crawford, Oliver Reed, Gabriella Licudi, Harry Andrews, James Donald, Daniel Massey, Michael Hordern, Frank Finlay, Rachel Kempson, Edward Fox | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Jolene | 2010 | Dan Ireland | ★★ | 115 | E. L. Doctorow’s short story is given overlong—and overly melodramatic—screen treatment in this episodic road movie elevated by a fine cast. Chastain plays an orphaned teen who travels cross country, engaging in a lot of bad-end relationships and encounters with a variety of colorful if unsavory characters. Uneven film is rescued by a memorable performance by the young, promising Chastain. | tt0867334 | [R] | Jessica Chastain, Frances Fisher, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Friend, Theresa Russell, Denise Richards, Michael Vartan, Chazz Palminteri, Zeb Bewnab | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Jolly Bad Fellow | They All Died Laughing | 1964 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 94 | Peculiar yarn of college professor who plays God by trying to kill those people whom he feels are evil parasites; strange blend of drama-satire. Retitled: THEY ALL DIED LAUGHING. | tt0058248 | Leo McKern, Janet Munro, Maxine Audley, Duncan MacRae | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Jolson Sings Again | 1949 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 96 | Attempt to continue THE JOLSON STORY only partially succeeds, and is a curio at best . . . especially when Parks (playing Jolson) meets Parks (playing Parks). Jolson standards ('Baby Face,' 'Sonny Boy,' 'Back In Your Own Back Yard,' and many others) are still great. | tt0041530 | Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, William Demarest, Ludwig Donath, Tamara Shayne | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Jolson Story | 1946 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★½ | 128 | Hokey but very entertaining biography of all-time great Al Jolson, with Parks giving his all in story of brash vaudeville performer's rise in the show biz world. Songs: 'April Showers,' 'Avalon,' 'You Made Me Love You,' 'My Mammy' plus many others, all dubbed by Jolson; that's the real Jolson in long shot on the runway during the 'Swanee' sequence. Morris Stoloff earned an Oscar for his scoring. Sequel: JOLSON SINGS AGAIN. | tt0038661 | Larry Parks, Evelyn Keyes, William Demarest, Bill Goodwin, Ludwig Donath, Tamara Shayne | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jonah Hex | 2010 | Jimmy Hayward | 💣 | 81 | Dreadful comic book/western hybrid in which Brolin plays a disfigured bounty hunter enlisted to stop a Civil War–era rebel terrorist who has mass destruction on his mind. Buried beneath a mound of makeup, Brolin can’t make the character (introduced in a 1972 D.C. comic book) come alive. Fox is embarrassingly bad and the script is incoherent. Brief running time suggests heavy cuts were made during production, but considering the mess on-screen that’s probably a good thing. | tt1075747 | [PG-13] | Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, Aidan Quinn, John Gallagher/Jr., Tom Wopat, Michael Shannon, Wes Bentley | Drama, Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 | 1976 | Alain Tanner | ★★★½ | 115 | Sensitive, literate, engaging comedy about eight individuals affected by the political events of the late '60s. Miou-Miou is lovely as supermarket clerk with no qualms about liberating groceries. A companion to Tanner's later NO MAN'S LAND (1985). | tt0074718 | Myriam Boyer, Jean-Luc Bideau, Miou-Miou, Roger Jendly, Jacques Denis | Swiss | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Jonah: a VeggieTales Movie | 2002 | Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki | ★★½ | 82 | The VeggieTales gang learns a lesson in compassion and mercy in the story of Jonah, the messenger of God who is swallowed by a whale, then given a second chance to deliver his message to the wayward people of Nineveh. A feature-length spin-off from a popular series of direct-to-video programs, this low-budget computer-generated Bible-themed animated feature is fine for young kids but a little too slow paced for adult viewers. | tt0298388 | [G] | Voices of Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Tim Hodge, Lisa Vischer, Dan Anderson, Kristin Blegen | Comedy, Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Jonathan Livingston Seagull | 1973 | Hall Bartlett | ★★½ | 120 | Unique film based on Richard Bach's best-seller about an existential seagull. Superb photography allows us to take bird's point of view as he forsakes his flock to explore wonders of flying. Dialogue doesn't work nearly as well, nor does Neil Diamond's overbearing score. | tt0070248 | [G] | Voices of James Franciscus, Juliet Mills, Hal Holbrook, Kelly Harmon, Dorothy McGuire, Richard Crenna | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Joneses | 2010 | Derrick Borte | ★★★ | 96 | Pertinent, funny, and well-written comedy finds a fake "perfect" family-for-hire, actually employees of a stealth marketing firm, moving into an upscale neighborhood in order to impress the residents with their trendy clothes, fancy cars, neat gadgets, and cool lifestyle. Smart, original satire on our materialistic society doesn't completely work but still gets enough right to be well worth seeing. | tt1285309 | [R] | Demi Moore, David Duchovny, Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth, Gary Cole, Glenne Headly, Catherine Dyer, Chris Williams, Lauren Hutton | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Joni | 1980 | James F. Collier | ★★½ | 108 | Earnest account of Eareckson's actual struggle to rebuild her life and find religion after breaking her spine in a diving mishap. Based on a book by Eareckson; financed by Billy Graham. | tt0080966 | [G] | Joni Eareckson, Bert Remsen, Katherine De Hetre, Cooper Huckabee, John Milford, Michael Mancini, Richard Lineback | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jory | 1972 | Jorge Fons | ★★ | 96 | Familiar Western about 15-year-old who becomes a man when father and close friends are senselessly murdered. Filmed in Mexico. | tt0068773 | [PG] | John Marley, B. J. Thomas, Robby Benson, Brad Dexter, Patricia Aspillaga, Linda Purl, Anne Lockhart, Howard Hesseman | Western | NULL | ||
| Joseph Andrews | 1977 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 103 | Director Richardson returns to Henry Fielding but TOM JONES lightning fails to strike again; well-photographed farce based on concealed identities is dull throughout. | tt0076234 | [R] | Ann-Margret, Peter Firth, Michael Hordern, Beryl Reid, Jim Dale, Natalie Ogle, Peter Bull, Karen Dotrice | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Joseph and His Brethren | 1962 | Irving Rapper | ★★ | 103 | Juvenile biblical tale, lavishly produced but empty-headed. | tt0056124 | Marietto, Geoffrey Horne, Belinda Lee, Finlay Currie, Antonio Segurini, Charles Borromel, Carlo Giustini | Drama | NULL | |||
| Josette | 1938 | Allan Dwan | ★½ | 73 | Idiotic romance about two very different brothers (Ameche and Young); they become involved with virtuous Simon, who's been forced to impersonate a famous chanteuse. Lahr and Davis are wasted. Among the forgettable songs: 'May I Drop a Petal in Your Glass of Wine. | tt0030291 | Don Ameche, Simone Simon, Robert Young, Bert Lahr, Joan Davis, Tala Birell, Paul Hust, William Collier/Sr., Lynn Bari, William Demarest | Comedy, Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Josh and S.A.M. | 1993 | Billy Weber | ★★ | 98 | Odd, unsatisfying road movie about a pair of emotionally put-upon brothers, the offspring of otherwise occupied (as well as divorced) parents, who end up stealing a car and picking up hitchhiker Plimpton. The scenario strains credibility, if only because the boys are aged 12 and 7. There's the germ of an engaging film here, but the result is just too silly. | tt0107277 | [PG-13] | Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss, Martha Plimpton, Stephen Tobolowsky, Joan Allen, Christopher Penn, Maury Chaykin, Udo Kier, Allan Arbus, Amy Wright | Adventure, Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Joshua | The Black Rider | 1976 | Larry Spangler | ★½ | 75 | Modest Western of Williamson patiently tracking down and killing one by one the bandits who murdered his mother, maid to a frontier family. Embarrassing, cynical script by Williamson insults the audience; Mexican superstar Vega is wasted. Originally titled: THE BLACK RIDER. | tt0074719 | [PG] | Fred Williamson, Isela Vega, Brenda Venus, Stacy Newton, Kathryn Jackson | Drama, Western | NULL | |
| Joshua | 2002 | Jon Purdy | ★★ | 91 | Bland religious parable of affable drifter Goldwyn, a woodworker whose presence in small American town makes nearly everyone happier except grumpy, distrustful Catholic priest Abraham. Giannini plays the Pope! Music by Christian pop star Michael W. Smith. A good substitute if the babysitter cancels. | tt0271582 | [G] | Tony Goldwyn, F. Murray Abraham, Kurt Fuller, Stacy Edwards, Colleen Camp, Giancarlo Giannini | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joshua | 2007 | George Ratliff | ★★ | 106 | A precocious 9-year-old in an upper-middle-class N.Y.C. household appears to deeply resent the arrival of his newborn baby sister. Strong performances by indie faves Rockwell and Farmiga, as the understandably stressed-out parents, compensate for a storyline that, though chilling, is also a bit repetitious. Strong on atmosphere and production design but weak on logic. Young couples with dreams of enlarging their families might want to steer clear of young Josh. | tt0808331 | [R] | Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Kogan, Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts, Michael McKean, Haviland Morris | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Joshua Then and Now | 1985 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★ | 118 | Unorthodox life and times of a Jewish writer in Canada whose father was a small-time gangster and who marries into a politically and socially prominent WASP family. Uneven but entertaining comedy-drama, based on Mordecai Richler's semiautobiographical novel; Woods is fine in one of his first leading-man roles, Arkin terrific as his colorful dad. | tt0089383 | [R] | James Woods, Gabrielle Lazure, Alan Arkin, Michael Sarrazin, Linda Sorenson, Alan Scarfe, Alexander Knox, Robert Joy | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Josie and the Pussycats | 2001 | Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan | ★★ | 95 | Live-action treatment finds the Archie Comics girl group used by record execs and the government to front subliminal marketing campaigns to kids. Goofy send-up of trendy teen pop culture often misses the mark, but the occasional hit is straight on. Best part comes early on with the top boy band Dujour (Word!). Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Donald Faison, and Eugene Levy appear unbilled. | tt0236348 | [PG-13] | Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, Parker Posey, Gabriel Mann, Paulo Costanzo, Missi Pyle, Alex Martin, Carson Daly, Jann T. Carl, Russ Leatherman | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Jour de Fete | 1949 | Jacques Tati | ★★★½ | 70 | In this exquisite feature-film directorial debut French comedian/mime Tati plays a postman whose attempts to modernize delivery link up a series of delightful gags built around a small town's Bastille Day celebration. Tati's cleverness and timing make him one of the most accomplished cinematic comedians since Buster Keaton. Originally filmed in color, but released in b&w with color tinting. Restored to its original color version in 1997. Some prints run 87m. Aka THE BIG DAY. | tt0040497 | Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur, Santa Relli, Maine Vallee, Roger Rafal | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Journal of a Crime | 1934 | William Keighley. | ★★½ | 65 | Chatterton shoots hubby Menjou's mistress in a jealous rage and an innocent man is arrested for the crime. Then she loses her memory in an accident while en route to make a confession. Outlandish but quite watchable melodrama with a most unusual pre-Code ending. | tt0025333 | Ruth Chatterton, Adolphe Menjou, Claire Dodd, George Barbier, Douglass Dumbrille, Henry O'Neill, Walter Pidgeon. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Journey | 1972 | Paul Almond | 💣 | 87 | Young woman, saved from drowning by head of wilderness commune, believes that she brings bad luck to everyone with whom she comes in contact. Including the people who made this film. Heavy going. | tt0068774 | [PG] | Geneviève Bujold, John Vernon, Gale Garnett, George Sperdakos, Elton Hayes | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | 2012 | Brad Peyton | ★★½ | 94 | Sort-of follow-up to 2008's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH has Hutcherson (the only returning cast member), a diehard "Verne-ian," receiving a coded radio message from his long-unseen grandfather in the South Pacific. Stepfather Johnson, trying to bond with the boy, agrees to take him there to find the elusive adventurer (in the fastest bit of exposition you'll ever see). Along with pilot Guzmán and his nubile daughter Hudgens, they find Grandpa Caine all right—on an island filled with wonders and hazards alike. Genially preposterous family film is innocuous and fun, but never for an instant believable. | tt1397514 | [PG] | Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzmán, Vanessa Hudgens, Kristin Davis | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Journey Back to Oz | 1974 | Hal Sutherland | ★★½ | 90 | Long-delayed (made in 1964) animated sequel without the Wizard. Okay for the kids; main interest for grownups is familiar voices, including Minnelli in her late mother's role. | tt0067280 | [G] | Voices of Liza Minnelli, Milton Berle, Margaret Hamilton, Jack E. Leonard, Paul Lynde, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Rise Stevens, Danny Thomas, Mel Blanc | Comedy, Animation, Adventure, Musical | NULL | ||
| Journey Beneath the Desert | L'Atlantide | 1961 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 105 | Enjoyable hokum in which three mining engineers find themselves trapped in the Lost City of Atlantis, located beneath the Sahara desert (as well as smack dab in the middle of a nuclear testing site). Aka L'ATLANTIDE. Previously filmed in 1921, 1932, and 1948 (as SIREN OF ATLANTIS). | tt0054641 | Haya Harareet, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Rad Fulton, Amedeo Nazzari, Georges Riviere, Giulia Rubini, Gabriele Tinti, Gian Maria Volonte | French-Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Journey Into Fear | 1942 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 69 | Often baffling WW2 spy drama started by Welles, taken out of his hands. Much of tale of smuggling munitions into Turkey still exciting. Cotten and Welles scripted this adaptation of the Eric Ambler novel. Remade in 1975. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034922 | Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead, Everett Sloane, Jack Moss, Hans Conried | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Journey Into Fear | 1975 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 103 | Muddled remake of 1942 film, shot throughout Europe, with Waterston as research geologist involved in international intrigue. | tt0073213 | [R] | Sam Waterston, Zero Mostel, Yvette Mimieux, Scott Marlowe, Ian McShane, Joseph Wiseman, Shelley Winters, Stanley Holloway, Donald Pleasence, Vincent Price | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Journey Through Rosebud | 1972 | Tom Gries | ★★½ | 93 | Sympathetic but dully directed drama about the modern-day Indian's plight. Location footage in South Dakota helps. | tt0068775 | [PG] | Robert Forster, Kristoffer Tabori, Victoria Racimo, Eddie Little Sky, Roy Jenson, Wright King | Western, Drama | NULL | ||
| Journey Through the Past | 1972 | Bernard Shakey (Neil Young) | ★½ | 78 | Overblown, phony, pseudo-hip home movie centering on rock superstar Young. | tt0068776 | [R] | Crosby/ Stills/ Nash & Young, Buffalo Springfield, Carrie Snodgress, Jack Nitzsche | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Journey Together | 1945 | John Boulting | ★★½ | 95 | Documentary-like chronicle of wannabe R.A.F. pilots Attenborough and Watling, and their training in England and the U.S. during WW2. Robinson is on hand in a supporting role as one of the flight instructors. Most of those involved with the film's production were then R.A.F. members. Boulting also scripted, based on a story by Terence Rattigan. | tt0038663 | Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling, Edward G. Robinson, Bessie Love, David Tomlinson, John Justin, George Cole, Ronald Squire, Hugh Wakefield, Sebastian Shaw | British | War | NULL | ||
| Journey for Margaret | 1942 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 81 | Stirring WW2 drama of children left homeless by British bombing. O'Brien is very appealing scene-stealer, Young her adopted father. | tt0034923 | Robert Young, Laraine Day, Fay Bainter, Nigel Bruce, Margaret O'Brien, William Severn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Journey into Light | 1951 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 87 | Thought-provoking theme, poorly paced; Hayden is clergyman who finds his belief in God again with aid of blind Lindfors. | tt0043692 | Sterling Hayden, Viveca Lindfors, Thomas Mitchell, H. B. Warner, Ludwig Donath | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Journey of August King | 1995 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 95 | Troubled, widowed farmer August King (Patric) comes to the assistance of Annalees Williamsburg (Newton), a vulnerable young slave who has run away from her master in 1815 North Carolina. Contemplative and civilized tale, beautifully filmed and richly humanistic. Waterston (cast as a landowner) also coproduced. Scripted by John Ehle, based on his novel. | tt0113490 | [PG-13] | Jason Patric, Thandie Newton, Larry Drake, Sam Waterston, Sara-Jane Wylde, Eric Mabius | Drama | NULL | ||
| Journey of Hope | 1990 | Xavier Koller | ★★★½ | 110 | Heartbreaking, based-on-fact account of what happens when a poor Turkish couple and their young son set off for Switzerland, in the hope of finding a better life. This could have wallowed in sentiment and clichés, but director-coscripter Koller consistently keeps it on the right emotional track. Deserving Best Foreign Film Academy Award winner packs a real wallop. | tt0100470 | Necmettin Cobanoglu, Nur Surer, Emin Sivas, Erdinc Akbas, Yaman Okay | Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Journey of Natty Gann | 1985 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★★★ | 101 | Girl travels cross-country during the hardest days of the Depression, in order to be with her father; along the way she acquires an unlikely companion and protector— a wolf. Low-key but entertaining Disney film travels smoothly to expected conclusion. Rich 1930s atmosphere helps a lot, and the wolf (actually played by a dog!) is great. | tt0089385 | [PG] | Meredith Salenger, John Cusack, Ray Wise, Lainie Kazan, Barry Miller, Scatman Crothers, Verna Bloom | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Journey to Freedom | 1957 | Robert C. Dertano. | ★½ | 60 | Lukewarm spy hunt, with Communist agents tracking down pro-American Scott, a refugee who's come to the U.S. | tt0050571 | Jacques Scott, Geneviève Aumont, Morgan Lane, Fred Kohler, Don Marlowe, Tor Johnson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Journey to Shiloh | 1968 | William Hale | ★½ | 101 | Limp Civil War programmer about young Texans anxious to engage in battle. Veterans Rex Ingram, John Doucette, and Noah Beery are lost in this jumble. | tt0063161 | James Caan, Michael Sarrazin, Brenda Scott, Don Stroud, Paul Petersen, Harrison Ford | Western, Drama | NULL | |||
| Journey to the Center of Time | Time Warp | 1967 | David L. Hewitt | ★½ | 82 | Very cheap sci-fi time travel adventure to future and past, using plot elements from earlier THE TIME TRAVELERS. Aka TIME WARP. | tt0061850 | Scott Brady, Gigi Perreau, Anthony Eisley, Abraham Sofaer, Poupee Gamin, Lyle Waggoner | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | 1959 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 132 | Entertaining, old-fashioned fantasy-adventure, from Jules Verne's story of daring expedition headed by Mason; long in telling, with silly digressions, but generally fun. Remade for TV in 1999, and as WHERE TIME BEGAN. Best enjoyed in CinemaScope. | tt0052948 | James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker, Thayer David, Alan Napier | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | 2008 | Eric Brevig | ★★½ | 93 | Hoping to salvage the reputation of his vanished brother, scientist Fraser heads for Iceland with his bored nephew Hutcherson. They join forces with an attractive guide (Briem) and set out hiking, as the title says, on a journey to the earth’s center, evading dinosaurs and other menaces along the way. Lively, ingratiating family-friendly comedy-adventure is so loosely based on Jules Verne’s novel that a copy of the book is a plot element. Good effects and design help, especially when the movie is seen in the intended 3D, imaginatively used throughout. | tt0373051 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Seth Meyers | Family, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Journey to the Far Side of the Sun | Doppelganger | 1969 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 99 | Entertaining exploration of planet hidden behind the sun. The ending makes the movie. Originally titled DOPPELGANGER. | tt0064519 | [G] | Roy Thinnes, Lynn Loring, Herbert Lom, Patrick Wymark | British | Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Journey to the Seventh Planet | 1961 | Sidney Pink. | ★½ | 83 | In year 2001, expedition to Uranus discovers hostile alien brain that can turn thoughts into reality. Cheap, clumsy, dull, with just a smidge of imagination. | tt0056127 | John Agar, Greta Thyssen, Ann Smyrner, Mimi Heinrich, Carl Ottosen. | Danish | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Journey's End | 1930 | James Whale. | ★★½ | 125 | Whale's first film is a stagy early-talkie adaptation of R. C. Sherriff's play set in the British trenches behind enemy lines during WW1, as a group of stiff-upper-lip officers crack up while waiting for the next big attack. Historically valuable as a record of a famous theater piece, but extremely slow and veddy British. Whale evidently saved all his visual bravado for his next film with Clive, FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0021013 | Colin Clive, Ian MacLaren, David Manners, Billy Bevan, Anthony Bushell, Robert Adair, Charles Gerrard. | British-U.S. | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Journey | 1959 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 125 | Colorful and unexpected events (including romance) surround a group of Westerners as they attempt to leave Budapest after the Soviet uprising in 1956. Glossy drama marked feature-film debuts of Robards and young Howard. | tt0052950 | Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Jason Robards/Jr., Robert Morley, E. G. Marshall, Anne Jackson, Ronny Howard, Kurt Kasznar, Gérard Oury, Anouk Aimée | Drama | NULL | |||
| Joy House | The Love Cage | 1964 | René Clément | ★★½ | 98 | Living on his looks, a playboy on the run seeks refuge in gloomy French mansion run by two American women. Fate and quicker wits than his control this brooding tale of irony. Aka THE LOVE CAGE. | tt0058123 | Jane Fonda, Alain Delon, Lola Albright, Sorrell Booke | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Joy Luck Club | 1993 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 135 | Rich tapestry of eight stories; the incredible saga of four women who survived— and prevailed— against all odds in China, and their assimilated American daughters, whose troubles seem almost trivial by comparison. Starts losing its grip in the penultimate sequence, but soars again for a powerhouse finale that will have you reaching for a crying towel. Screenplay by Amy Tan and Ronald Bass, from Tan's best-selling novel. | tt0107282 | [R] | Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu, Ming-Na Wen, Tamlyn Tomita, Lauren Tom, Rosalind Chao, Andrew McCarthy, Diane Baker, Chao-Li Chi, Melanie Chang, Victor Wong, Irene Ng | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Joy Ride | 2001 | John Dahl | ★★½ | 97 | Egged on by his no-account brother (Zahn), a young man (Walker) plays a prank on a trucker using his CB radio— but the victim of the joke doesn't find it funny and exacts terrifying revenge by stalking the two and the girlfriend who joins them on the road. Lots of action and suspense in this improbable yarn, but the fun drains a bit toward the end. | tt0206314 | [R] | Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn, Jessica Bowman | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Joy in the Morning | 1965 | Alex Segal | ★★ | 103 | Betty Smith's gentle novel of struggling law student and his marital problems becomes mild vehicle for Chamberlain, who crusades for human dignity amid stereotypes of a college town. | tt0059339 | Richard Chamberlain, Yvette Mimieux, Arthur Kennedy, Sidney Blackmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Joy of Living | 1938 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 90 | Delightful screwball musicomedy with gay-blade Fairbanks wooing singing star Dunne. | tt0030293 | Irene Dunne, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Alice Brady, Guy Kibbee, Jean Dixon, Eric Blore, Lucille Ball | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Joy of Sex | 1984 | Martha Coolidge | 💣 | 93 | Virgin Meyrink, believing she has weeks to live, decides to 'do it all' before she dies. Nothing of Alex Comfort's book— including his name— is left (and despite the title, no one seems to be having a good time) in embarrassingly bad high-school comedy. | tt0087513 | [R] | Michelle Meyrink, Cameron Dye, Lisa Langlois, Charles Van Eman, Christopher Lloyd, Colleen Camp, Ernie Hudson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Joyeux Noël | 2005 | Christian Carion | ★★★½ | 116 | Potent dramatization of a real-life incident in which French, German, and Scottish soldiers on the front lines in WW1 decide to risk court-martial-or worse-and call a one-night Christmas Eve truce. This simple act demonstrates a clear reason why sometimes the 'rules of engagement' should be broken, despite what superiors far from the battlefields dictate. With a flawless international cast, this delivers a lesson worth remembering in any era-or any war. Written by the director. | tt0424205 | [PG-13] | Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon, Alex Ferns, Daniel Brühl, Bernard Le Coq, Ian Richardson | French-German | War, Drama | NULL | |
| Joyful Noise | 2012 | Todd Graff | ★★ | 118 | Georgia church choir always comes in second in a national competition. When its longtime director passes away, his widow (Parton) is bypassed for his job in favor of her rival (Latifah). Then Parton's grandson, newly arrived in town, urges the group to adopt a more modern repertoire. Corny from the word go, with endless homilies as well as insults flying between the two female stars. Long, innocuous fare (save for one incongruous sex subplot) but the music is consistently enjoyable. Parton composed two of the songs. | tt1710396 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson, Courtney B. Vance, Jesse L. Martin, Dexter Darden, Angela Grovey, Kirk Franklin, Karen Peck | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Joyless Street | 1925 | G. W. Pabst | ★★★ | 96 | Asta Nielsen, Greta Garbo, Werner Krauss, Valeska Gert, Jaro Furth, Agnes Esterhazy, Einar Hanson. Fascinating, expressionistic account of economic and moral decay, focusing on the inhabitants of one sorry Viennese street after WW1. Garbo, in her third feature, plays a professor's daughter who attempts to keep her family from starving. Many varied versions of this oft-edited title exist. Aka THE STREET OF SORROW. | tt0015842 | Asta Nielsen, Greta Garbo, Werner Krauss, Valeska Gert, Jaro Furth, Agnes Esterhazy, Einar Hanson | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Joyride | 1977 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 92 | Meandering tale of two young-and-footloose couples on the road to Alaska looking for adventure but drifting into crime. Four show-biz offspring play the leads: the sons of Desi Arnaz (and Lucy) and John Carradine, the daughters of Tippi Hedren and June Lockhart. | tt0076239 | [R] | Desi Arnaz/Jr., Robert Carradine, Melanie Griffith, Anne Lockhart, Tom Ligon, Cliff Lenz | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ju Dou | 1989 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★½ | 95 | Striking, visually magnificent drama, set during the 1920s, telling the tragic story of a young peasant woman who's forced to wed an elderly, bitter factory owner, and commences an affair with his nephew. Banned in China, supposedly because of its focus on individual values and unflattering depiction of the old man (in a nation ruled by a small elite group of old men); authorities feared audiences would see it as a metaphor for the way China's leaders control society. First Chinese film ever to earn a Best Foreign Film Academy Award nomination— and those responsible for entering it in the competition were disciplined by their superiors. Controversy aside, a powerful, provocative film. | tt0099902 | Gong Li, Li Wei, Li Bao-Tian, Zhang Yi, Zhen Ji-an | Chinese-Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ju-on: The Grudge | 2003 | Takashi Shimizu. | ★★★ | 92 | Ghosts of a brutally murdered mother and her son vengefully terrorize and kill a series of people who have a connection with the modest Tokyo home where the murders took place. Not a story as such, but a series of eerie images, some quietly creepy, others outright terrifying; made in the same unnerving style as RINGU. Part of a Japanese series with a dedicated following. The imaginative director remade the movie for Hollywood as THE GRUDGE. | tt0364385 | [R] | Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Kanji Tsuda, Takako Fuji, Kayoko Shibata, Yukako Kukuri, Takashi Matsuyama, Yuya Ozeki. | Japanese | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Juarez | 1939 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 132 | Interesting biography of Mexican leader (Muni), with unforgettable performance by Rains as Napoleon III; also notable is Garfield's offbeat casting as Mexican General Diaz. Elaborately done, but never as inspiring as it's intended to be. | tt0031516 | Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Gale Sondergaard, Donald Crisp, Gilbert Roland, Louis Calhern, Grant Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Jubal | 1956 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 101 | It's Bard in the Saddle with this Western OTHELLO: when jealous rancher Borgnine seeks some lovemaking advice from cowhand Ford, along comes Steiger hinting that Ford's giving Borgnine's wife (French) a few 'lessons' as well. Brooding, intense drama is pretty good on its own terms, more intriguing if you know the original. | tt0048233 | Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, Felicia Farr, Noah Beery/Jr., Charles Bronson | Western | NULL | |||
| Jubilee Trail | 1954 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 103 | Expansive Republic Western vehicle for Ralston as heart-of-gold chanteuse sorting out rancher's life in old California. | tt0047137 | Vera Ralston, Joan Leslie, Forrest Tucker, John Russell, Ray Middleton, Pat O'Brien | Romance, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Judas Kiss | 1999 | Sebastian Gutierrez | ★★★ | 97 | Young New Orleans pick-up gang kidnaps an important official of a computer company for a big ransom payoff— but there's more to this caper than first meets the eye. Sexy Gugino (who also coproduced the film) sparks a good cast, but the real treat is watching Thompson and Rickman drawling together as Southern investigators (one Federal, one local) on the case. Written by the director. Made for theaters; debuted on cable. | tt0138541 | [R] | Carla Gugino, Hal Holbrook, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lisa Eichhorn, Greg Wise, Philip Baker Hall, Gil Bellows, Simon Baker | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Jude | 1996 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★ | 123 | Dour, generally uninvolving adaptation of Thomas Hardy's final novel, Jude the Obscure, about an unschooled but intellectually ambitious 19th-century stonemason who endures a lifetime of smashed dreams. The early going wobbily telescopes many of the book's events into the opening half hour; the movie then gets a desperately needed shot in the arm when Winslet (terrific) shows up as the cousin, lover, and academic rebel trying to exist in a society that systematically crushes rebels. | tt0116722 | [R] | Christopher Eccleston, Kate Winslet, Rachel Griffiths, Liam Cunningham, June Whitfield, Ross Colvin Turnbull | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Judge Dredd | 1995 | Danny Cannon | ★★ | 96 | Loud, ugly adaptation of the comic book set in a future world of urban chaos where new-age police are empowered to 'judge'— and kill, if need be— on the spot. Judge Dredd (Stallone) is caught in a conspiracy much bigger and more insidious than he realizes. Some interesting plotting is lost in a sea of hard-edged violence, video game-like special effects, and overripe acting. James Earl Jones reads opening narration; James Remar and Scott Wilson appear unbilled. | tt0113492 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Joan Chen, Jürgen Prochnow, Max von Sydow, Balthazar Getty, Joanna Miles, Mitchell Ryan | Action, Crime, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Judge Hardy and Son | 1939 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 91 | Rather somber Andy Hardy series entry, as the Judge tries to help an elderly couple threatened with eviction while dealing with the personal problems of his wife's illness. | tt0031517 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Sara Haden, Ann Rutherford, Maria Ouspenskaya, June Preisser, Martha O'Driscoll | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Judge Hardy's Children | 1938 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 78 | The good Judge has duties in Washington, D.C., where Andy falls for a French diplomat's daughter. Average Andy Hardy entry. | tt0030295 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Betty Ross Clark, Ruth Hussey | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Judge Priest | 1934 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 80 | Exceptional slice of Americana with Rogers as commonsensical yet controversial judge in small town; full of warm and funny character vignettes, including Walthall's stirring courtroom scene. Ford remade it in 1953 as THE SUN SHINES BRIGHT. | tt0025335 | Will Rogers, Tom Brown, Anita Louise, Henry B. Walthall, Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Judge Steps Out | 1949 | Boris Ingster | ★★½ | 91 | Judge Knox runs away from his job and shrewish wife, hides out as a short-order cook, falls in love with Sothern. Cowritten by Alexander Knox and Boris Ingster. | tt0041531 | Alexander Knox, Ann Sothern, George Tobias, Sharyn Moffett | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Judge and the Assassin | 1975 | Bertrand Tavernier. | ★★★½ | 121 | In a way, the title tells all in this incisive, expertly directed and acted drama: Judge Noiret must determine whether murderer Galabru is insane or faking. Fascinating from start to finish. | tt0073219 | Philippe Noiret, Michel Galabru, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Claude Brialy, Renee Faure. | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Judge | 1949 | Elmer Clifton | ★★ | 69 | Well-intentioned but muddled low-budget melodrama chronicling the fate of Stone, a clever criminal attorney who gets his clients off on legal technicalities. Dreadful musical accompaniment is no help. | tt0041532 | Milburn Stone, Katherine de Mille, Paul Guilfoyle, Stanley Waxman, Norman Budd, Jonathan Hale, John Hamilton | Crime | NULL | |||
| A Judgement in Stone | 1986 | Ousama Rawi | ★½ | 102 | Tushingham is well cast in this otherwise tiresome, drawn-out chiller as a repressed, illiterate, and psychotic spinster who takes a job as a housemaid with tragic results. Aka THE HOUSEKEEPER. Remade in France as LA CÉRÉMONIE. | tt0091305 | [R] | Rita Tushingham, Ross Petty, Tom Kneebone, Shelley Peterson, Jessica Stern, Jonathan Crombie, Jackie Burroughs | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Judgment Night | 1993 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★½ | 109 | Sporadically tense, competently directed programmer about four suburban buddies who end up being chased through tenements and sewers after driving their fancy RV over a shooting victim in a very tough part of Chicago. Ultimately done in by standard genre clichés, but surprisingly absorbing in the early going. Leary is a standout as the chief heavy. | tt0107286 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Denis Leary, Stephen Dorff, Jeremy Piven, Peter Greene | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Judgment at Nuremberg | 1961 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★★ | 178 | Superior production revolving around U.S. judge Tracy presiding over German war-criminal trials. Schell won Oscar as defense attorney, as did Abby Mann for his screenplay. Fine performances by Dietrich as widow of German officer, Garland as hausfrau, Clift as unbalanced victim of Nazi atrocities. Later a Broadway play. | tt0055031 | Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Maximilian Schell, Montgomery Clift, William Shatner | Drama | NULL | |||
| Judgment in Berlin | 1988 | Leo Penn | ★★ | 92 | U.S. judge Sheen, thrown into one of those Spencer Tracy/Nuremberg situations, has to determine if the hijacking of an East German jet into Berlin is justified. Ragged but just watchable, with actor Penn (the director's son) turning in one unexpectedly heartfelt cameo during some climactic courtroom testimony. Shown on TV as ESCAPE TO FREEDOM. | tt0095415 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Sam Wanamaker, Sean Penn, Max Gail, Juerger Hemrich, Carl Lumbly, Max Volkert Martens | Drama | NULL | ||
| Judith | 1966 | Daniel Mann | 💣 | 109 | Austrian Jewess Loren survives prison camp with makeup intact, comes to Israel in 1948 to locate Nazi husband who betrayed her. Film is both dull and unbelievable, a bad combination. Video title: CONFLICT. | tt0060568 | Sophia Loren, Peter Finch, Jack Hawkins, Hans Verner, Zharira Charifai | Drama | NULL | |||
| Judy Berlin | 2000 | Eric Mendelsohn | ★★★ | 96 | Cross-section of residents of Long Island town dream of happiness while facing bleak reality— and a lingering solar eclipse. Original, often eloquent (if slow-paced) statement on contemporary life and love, depicted by top-notch cast of N.Y. actors, including Kahn in her final film. Writer-director Mendelsohn's feature directing debut. | tt0181618 | Barbara Barrie, Bob Dishy, Edie Falco, Carlin Glynn, Aaron Harnick, Bette Henritze, Madeline Kahn, Julie Kavner, Anne Meara, Novella Nelson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer | 2011 | John Schultz | ★★ | 91 | Frenetic comedy, based on the popular book series by Megan McDonald, about a spirited 8-year-old girl’s attempts to alleviate boredom during summer vacation by challenging herself with adventures—tightrope walking, riding roller coasters, hunting for Bigfoot, etc.—scored on her very own “thrill chart.” May be too aggressively wacky for most grown-ups, but newcomer Beatty is engaging as the young heroine, and Graham stops just short of going over the top as her eccentric Aunt Opal. | tt1547230 | [PG] | Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller, Preston Bailey, Jaleel White, Janet Varney, Kristoffer Winters, Garrett Ryan | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Juggernaut | 1974 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 109 | Surprisingly effective thriller about bomb threat on luxury ocean liner, and demolition experts' attempts to avoid disaster. Harris is first-rate and so is Lester's direction of a formula story. | tt0071706 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley Knight, Ian Holm, Roy Kinnear, Freddie Jones | British | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Juggler | 1953 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 86 | Sentimental account of Jewish refugee Douglas going to Israel to rebuild his life, overcoming bitterness from life in a concentration camp. Filmed in Israel. | tt0045941 | Kirk Douglas, Milly Vitale, Paul Stewart, Alf Kjellin, Beverly Washburn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Juice | 1992 | Ernest Dickerson | ★★ | 92 | Impressively shot but overly contrived (and extremely violent) tale of four black teenage friends whose lives take a tragic turn when a store robbery goes out of control. Promising directorial debut for Spike Lee's talented cinematographer. Costar Herron (from the group En Vogue), Queen Latifah, and other rap stars appear, and perform on the soundtrack. | tt0104573 | [R] | Omar Epps, Jermaine Hopkins, Tupac Shakur, Khalil Kain, Cindy Herron, Vincent Laresca, Samuel L. Jackson | Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Juke Box Rhythm | 1959 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★½ | 81 | Perfectly awful minor musical focusing on various schemes of clean-cut young singer Jones. However, Otis does sing 'Willie and the Hand Jive. | tt0052951 | Jo Morrow, Jack Jones, Brian Donlevy, George Jessel, Hans Conried, Karin Booth, Marjorie Reynolds, Fritz Feld, Johnny Otis, The Treniers, The Earl Grant Trio | Musical | NULL | |||
| Juke Girl | 1942 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 90 | Exploitation of farmers is the subject of this robust Warner Bros. film, which is spoiled by typecasting of the bad guys and a melodramatic script that veers way off-course. It does provide Reagan with one of his most interesting parts, however, as an itinerant worker who becomes a farmers' rights activist(!), battling for underdog Tobias against fat-cat Lockhart. | tt0034926 | Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Richard Whorf, Gene Lockhart, Betty Brewer, Faye Emerson, George Tobias, Alan Hale/Sr., Howard da Silva, Donald MacBride, William B. Davidson, Fuzzy Knight, Willie Best | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Jules and Jim | 1961 | François Truffaut | ★★★★ | 104 | Truffaut's memorable tale of three people in love, and how the years affect their interrelationships. A film of rare beauty and charm. Screenplay by Truffaut and Jean Gruault, based on novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. Americanized by Paul Mazursky in WILLIE AND PHIL. | tt0055032 | Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Marie Dubois, Vanna Urbino | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Julia | 1977 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 118 | Fonda plays Lillian Hellman in adaptation of author's story in Pentimento about her exuberant, unusual friend Julia, and how she drew Hellman into involvement with European resistance movement in 1930s. Fine storytelling in beautifully crafted film; Robards (as Dashiell Hammett), screenwriter Alvin Sargent, and radiant Redgrave won Oscars. Streep's feature debut. | tt0076245 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Maximilian Schell, Hal Holbrook, Rosemary Murphy, Meryl Streep, Lisa Pelikan, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Glover | Drama | NULL | ||
| Julia | 2008 | Erick Zonca | ★★★ | 138 | Swinton commands our attention playing a character unlike any she’s tackled before: a self-destructive alcoholic and party girl. She’s so desperate she hatches a harebrained scheme to kidnap a Mexican neighbor’s young son and collect a ransom payoff from his wealthy grandfather. You never know where this audacious, fast-paced film is heading next, and it’s a wild ride . . . but even at its most outlandish Swinton keeps it firmly anchored. French filmmaker Zonca made this as an homage to John Cassavetes’ GLORIA. | tt0903627 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saul Rubinek, Kate del Castillo, Jude Ciccolella, Bruno Bichir | French-U.S.-Mexican | Thriller | NULL | |
| Julia Has Two Lovers | 1991 | Bashar Shbib | ★★½ | 86 | Children's author, who's 'involved' with a man but convinced she can do better, develops a fantasy relationship with a telephone wrong number, who ends up engaging her in mutually stimulating chats. Cheaply made, unevenly acted, but solid-enough premise keeps you engrossed to the end. | tt0102170 | [R] | Daphna Kastner, David Duchovny, David Charles, Tim Ray, Clare Bancroft, Martin Donovan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Julia Misbehaves | 1948 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 99 | Bouncy account of showgirl Garson returning to dignified husband Pidgeon when daughter Taylor is about to marry; Romero is fun as bragging acrobat. Stars seem right at home with slapstick situations. | tt0040498 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Elizabeth Taylor, Cesar Romero, Mary Boland, Nigel Bruce | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Julia and Julia | 1987 | Peter Del Monte | ★★½ | 97 | Turner is compelling as a woman whose life splits in two, leaving her caught between a happily married existence with Byrne and a dangerous affair with photographer Sting. Intriguing, well-acted psychological thriller that unfortunately leads nowhere. Handsomely photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno, this theatrical release was made on high-definition video, then transferred to film. | tt0093092 | [R] | Kathleen Turner, Gabriel Byrne, Sting, Gabriele Ferzetti, Angela Goodwin | Italian | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Julie | 1956 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 99 | Overbaked soaper in which Day contends with jealous, psychopathic spouse Jourdan, who strangled her first husband and now threatens to kill her. Sometimes tense, but too often unintentionally funny. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0049388 | Doris Day, Louis Jourdan, Barry Sullivan, Frank Lovejoy, Jack Kelly, Ann Robinson, Jack Kruschen, Mae Marsh | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Julie & Julia | 2009 | Nora Ephron | ★★★ | 123 | New Yorker Julie Powell (Adams), a failed novelist, finds inspiration by replicating every recipe in Julia Child's groundbreaking cookbook. As we follow her culinary adventure we learn how Child, the wife of a U.S. diplomat stationed in Paris, stumbled into the career that made her famous. Streep is a marvel to behold as the fabled chef (with Tucci a perfect partner as her loving husband), and Adams is well cast as her modern-day disciple. What might have been a great film goes on too long and doesn't provide a satisfying finale. Screenplay by Ephron, based on books by Child and Powell. | tt1135503 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch, Vanessa Ferlito, Jillian Bach, Frances Sternhagen, Deborah Rush; voice of Mary Kay Place | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Julie Darling | 1982 | Paul Nicolas, Maurice Smith | ★½ | 100 | Awful thriller, with teenager Mejias plotting to do in stepmom Danning after seeing her own mother raped and murdered. | tt0084182 | [R] | Anthony Franciosa, Isabelle Mejias, Sybil Danning, Cindy Girling | Canadian-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Julien Donkey-Boy | 1999 | Harmony Korine | ★½ | 94 | Korine (of KIDS fame and GUMMO infamy) scripted this disgustingly sordid freak show about a dysfunctional family including a schizophrenic (Bremner), his pregnant sis (Sevigny), and their sadistically cruel father (Herzog). The first American film to utilize the cinematic rules of Dogma 95. | tt0192194 | [R] | Ewen Bremner, Chloë Sevigny, Werner Herzog, Evan Neumann, Joyce Korine, Chrissy Kobylak, Alvin Law | Drama | NULL | ||
| Juliet of the Spirits | 1965 | Federico Fellini | ★★★ | 148 | Surrealistic fantasy triggered by wife's fears that her well-to-do husband is cheating on her. A film requiring viewer to delve into woman's psyche via a rash of symbolism; counterbalanced with rich visual delights. | tt0059229 | Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, Lou Gilbert, Sylva Koscina | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Julietta | 1953 | Marc Allégret | ★★½ | 96 | Frilly comedy in which pert Robin dallies with handsome Marais— even though he's engaged to wed Moreau. | tt0045942 | Jean Marais, Jeanne Moreau, Dany Robin, Denise Grey, Nicole Berger | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Julius Caesar | 1953 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★½ | 120 | Superior adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of political power and honor in ancient Rome. Lavishly produced (by John Houseman), with an excellent cast and Oscar-winning art direction-set decoration. Screenplay by director Mankiewicz. | tt0045943 | Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis Calhern, Edmond O'Brien, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, George Macready, Michael Pate, Alan Napier, Ian Wolfe, Douglass Dumbrille, Edmund Purdom | Drama | NULL | |||
| Julius Caesar | 1970 | Stuart Burge | ★★½ | 117 | Technically ragged, but acceptable version of Shakespeare play, negated somewhat by Robards' zombielike portrayal of Brutus. The 1953 version (also starring Gielgud) is much better. | tt0065922 | [G] | Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, John Gielgud, Richard Johnson, Robert Vaughn, Richard Chamberlain, Diana Rigg, Jill Bennett, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Andre Morell | Drama, History | NULL | ||
| Jumanji | 1995 | Joe Johnston | ★★ | 104 | In 1969 New England, a boy finds a board game buried underground and soon discovers that by playing it a world of terror is unleashed; 26 years later, in the same house, two kids start playing the very same game and bring that boy— now a full-grown man— back to life. A phantasmagoria of digital special effects (a virulent vine, a stampede of wild animals, giant attacking mosquitoes, etc.) seems to be this film's raison d'être. Unfortunately, we're all too aware that they are special effects. The story doesn't seem to have much of a point, except perhaps that one shouldn't play with ancient board games. Followed by an animated TV series. | tt0113497 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, Jonathan Hyde, David Alan Grier, Patricia Clarkson, Adam Hann-Byrd | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Jump Into Hell | 1955 | David Butler | ★★½ | 93 | Neatly paced actioner of paratroopers involved in Indochina war. | tt0048235 | Jacques Sernas, Kurt Kasznar, Peter Van Eyck, Pat Blake | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Jump Tomorrow | 2001 | Joel Hopkins | ★★½ | 95 | Sweet, slight romantic comedy about an uptight office worker on his way to a family-planned marriage (to a girl from his homeland, Nigeria). When he chances to meet a charming Latina, he's smitten . . . and encouraged to pursue her by a lovesick Frenchman. Debut feature for writer-director Hopkins takes its time to win you over, but succeeds. Based on Hopkins' own award-winning short subject called JORGE. | tt0273300 | [PG] | Tunde Adebimpe, Natalia Verbeke, Hippolyte Girardot, James Wilby, Patricia Mauceri, Isiah Whitlock/Jr. | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Jump for Glory | 1937 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★ | 90 | Fairbanks is suave as a cat burglar who decides to reform after becoming romantically involved with one of his victims (Hobson), unaware that she's engaged to his ex-partner, with whom he still has a score to settle. Disappointingly slow, genteel crime caper, considering it was directed by American action-movie maestro Walsh. U.S. title: WHEN THIEF MEETS THIEF. | tt0029760 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Valerie Hobson, Alan Hale, Jack Melford, Anthony Ireland, Barbara Everest, Edward Rigby, Esme Percy, Basil Radford, Leo Genn | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jumper | 2008 | Doug Liman | ★★ | 90 | Sci-fi and action-thriller genres awkwardly blend in this overblown (albeit fast-paced) account of Christensen, who can transport himself from locale to locale at will—but not without complications. Based on Steven Gould's novel. | tt0489099 | [PG-13] | Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Michael Rooker, AnnaSophia Robb, Max Thieriot, Tom Hulce, Kristen Stewart | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Jumpin at the Boneyard | 1992 | Jeff Stanzler | ★½ | 107 | Divorced, unemployed Bronx father's further burden: his younger brother, a crack addict he's reunited with after three years. Honorably intentioned but stillborn drama taking place over 24 hours. Thematically and aesthetically for masochists only. | tt0102174 | [R] | Tim Roth, Alexis Arquette, Danitra Vance, Samuel L. Jackson, Kathleen Chalfant, Luis Guzman, Elizabeth Bracco, Jeffrey Wright | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jumpin' Jack Flash | 1986 | Penny Marshall | ★½ | 100 | Computer programmer is pulled into international intrigue when spy who wants in from the cold contacts her on her terminal. Lively but stupid star vehicle for Goldberg, who's infinitely better than the script. Feature directing debut for Marshall, who cast her producer-director brother Garry as a police detective and former TV costar Michael McKean in an unbilled cameo as a British party guest. | tt0091306 | [R] | Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, John Wood, Carol Kane, Annie Potts, Peter Michael Goetz, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sara Botsford, Jeroen Krabbé, Jonathan Pryce, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman, Tracy Reiner, James Belushi, Paxton Whitehead, Tracey Ullman, Jamey Sheridan | Action, Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jumping Jacks | 1952 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 96 | Daffy duo has good opportunity for plenty of sight gags when they join military paratroop squad. | tt0044774 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Mona Freeman, Don DeFore, Robert Strauss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jumping the Broom | 2011 | Salim Akil | ★★½ | 112 | A young couple's wedding weekend will be the first time their families meet—and they couldn’t be more different. The bride (Patton) and her people are wealthy and sophisticated, while the groom (Alonso) and his family, particularly his overbearing mother (Devine), are working-class and traditional. The situations the characters find themselves in ring true, with lessons about finding common ground between loved ones and learning to pick your battles. Unfortunately, the story becomes unnecessarily complicated and loses some of its authenticity. | tt1640484 | [PG-13] | Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, Meagan Good, Tasha Smith, Julie Bowen, DeRay Davis, Valarie Pettiford, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mike Epps, Romeo Miller, Pooch Hall, Gary Dourdan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| June Bride | 1948 | Bretaigne Windust | ★★★ | 97 | Flippant comedy of magazine writers Davis and Montgomery inspired by story they are doing on June brides. Breezy script by Ranald MacDougall. Don't blink or you'll miss Debbie Reynolds in her film debut. | tt0040499 | Bette Davis, Robert Montgomery, Fay Bainter, Tom Tully, Barbara Bates, Jerome Cowan, Mary Wickes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| June Moon | 1931 | A. Edward Sutherland. | ★★½ | 71 | Oakie is well cast as a country chump in N.Y.C. trying to make it as a lyricist while romancing Dee. Cowritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this version of the Ring Lardner-George S. Kaufman play is an odd but generally amusing mix of naiveté and sophistication, with a colorful depiction of Tin Pan Alley. Real-life songwriter Akst is hilarious as wisecracking pianist Maxie Schwartz. Remade as BLONDE TROUBLE (1937). | tt0022015 | Jack Oakie, Frances Dee, Wynne Gibson, Harry Akst, June MacCloy, Sam Hardy. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| June Night | 1940 | Per Lindberg | ★★½ | 86 | Generally fine performances compensate for melodramatic nature of this soaper, detailing the plight of small-town girl Bergman after she becomes involved with sailor Sjoberg. Bergman's final film before coming to Hollywood. | tt0032655 | Ingrid Bergman, Olof Widgren, Gunnar Sjoberg, Carl Strom, Marianne Lofgren, Lill-Tollie Zellman, Alf Kjellin | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Junebug | 2005 | Phil Morrison | ★★★½ | 106 | Exceptional character study of a sophisticated Chicago art dealer and her husband, who travel to his North Carolina home after a long absence and meet head-on with family pressures and chasms in culture. Direct, spare, and moving in a way that is most unusual for an American film, with director Morrison (making his feature debut) and screenwriter Angus MacLachlan quietly and powerfully examining the effects of environment on people and relationships. Adams stands out in a perfect cast. | tt0418773 | [R] | Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Benjamin McKenzie, Alessandro Nivola, Frank Hoyt Taylor, Celia Weston, Scott Wilson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Jungle 2 Jungle | 1997 | John Pasquin | ★★★ | 105 | Very likable, if predictable, Disney comedy about a career-obsessed New Yorker who goes to the Amazon to get final divorce papers signed by his ex-wife and comes back with a son he never knew he had. The boy's jungle instincts are no match for life in Manhattan— though he does manage to score some points along the way. Good laughs throughout this family-oriented feature, a remake of the French hit LITTLE INDIAN, BIG CITY. | tt0119432 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Martin Short, JoBeth Williams, Lolita Davidovich, David Ogden Stiers, Bob Dishy, Valerie Mahaffey, Leelee Sobieski | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Jungle Book | 1942 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★ | 105 | Colorful Kipling fantasy of boy (Sabu) raised by wolves. Exciting family fare, fine Miklos Rozsa score. Remade twice (by Disney). | tt0034928 | Sabu, Joseph Calleia, John Qualen, Frank Puglia, Rosemary DeCamp, Noble Johnson | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Jungle Book 2 | 2003 | Steve Trenbirth | ★★ | 72 | Retread of the 1967 Disney feature has Mowgli leaving the village where he now lives to rejoin his old friends in the jungle— in spite of the ever-present threat of the tiger Shere Khan. Sound-alikes for Phil Harris, George Sanders, and other voices from the original film, and reuse of its hit songs, only emphasize how pointless this sequel really is. | tt0283426 | [G] | Voices of John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment, Mae Whitman, Connor Funk, Bob Joles, Tony Jay, John Rhys-Davies, Jim Cummings, Phil Collins | Animation, Family, Adventure, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Jungle Book | 1967 | Wolfgang Reitherman | ★★★ | 78 | Genial Disney animated feature freely adapted from Rudyard Kipling's stories. Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, is befriended by a laid-back bear named Baloo (memorably voiced by Harris) who joins him in his jungle adventures. Hand-picked cast of actors help create some vivid characterizations in this easygoing film. Songs include 'The Bare Necessities,' 'I Wanna Be Like You,' 'Trust in Me.' Followed by a sequel 36 years later. Remade in 1998 as a live-action direct-to-video movie: THE JUNGLE BOOK: MOWGLI'S STORY. | tt0061852 | Voices of Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, Verna Felton, Bruce Reitherman | Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Jungle Captive | 1945 | Harold Young | 💣 | 63 | Sloppy sequel to JUNGLE WOMAN deals with yet another mad scientist's attempt to transform ape-woman into beautiful girl. Three strikes and you're out. | tt0037837 | Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, Phil Brown, Vicky Lane, Jerome Cowan, Rondo Hatton | Horror | NULL | |||
| Jungle Cat | 1960 | James Algar | ★★½ | 70 | One of Disney's weaker True-Life Adventures suffers from script and presentation, not raw material: wildlife footage of the title character, a jaguar, is excellent. | tt0053977 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| Jungle Cavalcade | 1941 | Clyde Elliot, Armand Denis, Frank Buck. | ★★½ | 76 | A compilation film of Buck capturing and caging a zooful of wild animals, edited from his first three features (BRING 'EM BACK ALIVE, WHITE CARGO, FANG AND CLAW). Buck's narration is laughably hokey and self-serving, and his attitude will not endear him to animal rights activists . . . but there's still plenty of exciting footage. | tt0033775 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Jungle Fever | 1991 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 132 | Engrossing look at a love affair that crosses over racial, ethnic, cultural, and geographic boundary lines, when upwardly mobile, happily married Snipes has a fling with his new temp secretary Sciorra. Less than perfect, with a drug subplot that throws the film off-kilter toward the end— but still utterly compelling. Lee doesn't have all the answers, but he certainly raises interesting questions. Terrific songs by Stevie Wonder and score by Terence Blanchard, although the music practically drowns out the dialogue in some scenes. What's the point of that? | tt0102175 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, Anthony Quinn, Halle Berry, Tyra Ferrell, Veronica Webb, Tim Robbins, Brad Dourif, Debi Mazar, Nicholas Turturro | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Jungle Gents | 1954 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 64 | Sach develops the ability to smell diamonds, so the Boys go to Africa to strike it rich in this low-grade romp, shot on leftover sets from BOMBA, THE JUNGLE BOY. Look for a young Clint Walker as Tarzan. | tt0047138 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Patrick O'Moore, Laurette Luez, Bernard Gorcey, David (Gorcey) Condon, Joel Fluellen, Woody Strode | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Jungle Goddess | 1948 | Lewis D. Collins | ★½ | 65 | Very low-budget swamp saga is good only for laughs. | tt0040500 | Ralph Byrd, George Reeves, Wanda McKay, Armida | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jungle Jim | 1948 | William Berke | ★★ | 73 | Weissmuller leads a perilous expedition to find a miracle drug, accompanied by scientist Grey and pre-Superman Reeves in this initial adventure. Not as bizarre as what would follow. | tt0040501 | Johnny Weissmuller, Virginia Grey, George Reeves, Lita Baron, Rick Vallin, Holmes Herbert | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jungle Jim in the Forbidden Land | 1952 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 65 | Weissmuller unwillingly leads an anthropologist to the land of the giant people (with the aid of some cheap stock footage) in this ridiculous entry. | tt0044777 | Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Greene, Jean Willes, Lester Matthews, William Tannen | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Jungle Man-Eaters | 1954 | Lee Sholem | ★½ | 68 | Jungle Jim vs. diamond smugglers. Ho-hum. Last of the official Jungle Jim entries, with Weissmuller using his real name in the final three adventures. | tt0047139 | Johnny Weissmuller, Karin Booth, Richard Stapley, Bernard Hamilton, Gregory Gay, Lester Matthews | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jungle Manhunt | 1951 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 66 | Real-life gridiron hero Waterfield plays a footballer who has become leader of a small jungle tribe besieged by marauding 'skeleton men.' Never fear, Jungle Jim Weissmuller is on the case. | tt0043694 | Johnny Weissmuller, Bob Waterfield, Sheila Ryan, Rick Vallin, Lyle Talbot | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Jungle Moon Men | 1955 | Charles S. Gould | ★½ | 70 | Enjoyably bad grade-Z ripoff of SHE, about an eternally young high priestess (Stanton). | tt0048238 | Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Byron, Helene Stanton, Bill Henry, Myron Healey, Billy Curtis | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Jungle Princess | 1936 | William Thiele | ★★★ | 85 | Lamour's first sarong film is quite unpretentious and pleasant; Milland is explorer who brings her back to civilization. | tt0027830 | Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman, Molly Lamont, Mala, Hugh Buckler | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Jungle Warriors | 1984 | Ernst R. von Theumer | ★½ | 93 | How's this for a plot: fashion models are taken prisoner by South American drug kingpin and tortured by his kinky half-sister (Danning). Credible cast stuck in sub-par action yarn. | tt0087523 | Nina Van Pallandt, Paul L. Smith, John Vernon, Alex Cord, Sybil Danning, Woody Strode, Dana Elcar, Louisa Moritz, Marjoe Gortner | German-Mexican | Action | NULL | ||
| Jungle Woman | 1944 | Reginald Le Borg | ★½ | 60 | Psychiatrist fails to cure killer-ape tendencies of Acquanetta in this sorry sequel to CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN. Tries to emulate the style of Val Lewton's classy horror movies, even keeps ape-woman off-camera (until final shot). Followed by THE JUNGLE CAPTIVE. | tt0036975 | Acquanetta, Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Jungle | 1952 | William Berke | ★½ | 74 | Romantic triangle burdens tale of expedition in India that encounters still living mammoths. Shot on location but still dull and pedestrian. | tt0044778 | Rod Cameron, Cesar Romero, Marie Windsor, Sulchana | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Junior | 1994 | Ivan Reitman | ★★½ | 110 | Pleasant-enough comedy about a straitlaced scientist (Schwarzenegger) who's persuaded by an aggressive colleague (DeVito) to try injecting sperm into his body and becoming pregnant. Unexpected result: he doesn't want to give up his baby! This 'politically correct farce' boasts enthusiastic performances from its three stars, and precious few laughs after the initial 'joke' is presented. Instead, Arnold becomes a better man by experiencing childbearing like a woman. Sheesh. | tt0110216 | [PG-13] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Emma Thompson, Frank Langella, Pamela Reed, Judy Collins, James Eckhouse, Aida Turturro, Welker White | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Junior Bonner | 1972 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★½ | 103 | Totally captivating rodeo comedy-drama as an aging McQueen returns to his home and family to take part in a local contest. Peckinpah's most gentle film is full of natural performances, particularly by Preston and Lupino as McQueen's estranged parents. Written by Jeb Rosebrook. | tt0068786 | [PG] | Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson, Joe Don Baker, Barbara Leigh, Mary Murphy | Drama, Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Junior Miss | 1945 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 94 | Naive but entertaining comedy of teenager Garner and harried father Joslyn, based on Broadway play by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields (from Sally Benson's stories). | tt0037840 | Peggy Ann Garner, Allyn Joslyn, Michael Dunne, Faye Marlowe, Mona Freeman, Sylvia Field, Barbara Whiting, Mel Torme | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Junkman | 1982 | H. B. Halicki | ★½ | 96 | Cars speed, crash, and practically bring each other to orgasm. Oh, yes, there is a story . . . | tt0084184 | [PG] | H. B. Halicki, Christopher Stone, Susan Shaw, Lang Jeffries, Hoyt Axton, Lynda Day George | Action | NULL | ||
| Juno | 2007 | Jason Reitman | ★★★½ | 96 | Precocious 16-year-old girl discovers she is pregnant, and decides to deal with the situation herself, choosing the couple she wants to adopt her baby. With her too-cool demeanor and lingo, Juno may be off-putting at first, but we soon discover that she’s all too human. Exceptional screenplay by Diablo Cody grows warmer at every turn, and leads us in surprising directions. Janney and Simmons are terrific as Juno’s straight-shooting parents, and Page is peerless in the title role. Great title sequence and use of music throughout. | tt0467406 | [PG-13] | Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Rainn Wilson, Cameron Bright | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Juno and the Paycock | 1930 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★ | 96 | Faithful but dull, stagebound adaptation (by Hitchcock and Alma Reville) of Sean O'Casey's play about a poor Dublin family's travails during the civil war. The straightforward material defeats the director; however, Allgood is a standout as Juno. That's Barry Fitzgerald as 'The Orator,' in his screen debut. | tt0021015 | Sara Allgood, Edward Chapman, Sidney Morgan, Marie O'Neill, John Laurie, Dennis Wyndham, John Longden | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Jupiter's Darling | 1955 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 96 | Lavish musical of Robert Sherwood's Road to Rome, which bogs down in tedium: Williams is temptress who dallies with Hannibal (Keel) to prevent attack on Rome. | tt0048239 | Esther Williams, Howard Keel, George Sanders, Marge and Gower Champion, Norma Varden | Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Jupiter's Thigh | 1979 | Philippe De Broca | ★★ | 90 | Blah sequel to DEAR DETECTIVE, with sleuth Girardot and professor Noiret becoming involved in intrigue while honeymooning in Greece. | tt0081276 | [PG] | Annie Girardot, Philippe Noiret, Frances Perrin, Catherine Alric | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Jupiter's Wife | 1994 | Michel Negroponte | ★★★½ | 78 | Compelling documentary about a middle-aged homeless woman whom filmmaker Negroponte chanced to encounter in N.Y.'s Central Park. She claims to have ESP and be the wife of the god Jupiter and daughter of the late actor Robert Ryan! Negroponte delves into her past and discovers quite a few surprises in this extremely moving portrait of a shattered life. Shot on video. Shown on cable TV prior to its theatrical premiere. | tt0110217 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Jurassic Park | 1993 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★½ | 126 | Billionaire Attenborough invites paleontologists Dern and Neill and mathematician Goldblum to inspect his island amusement park, populated with living dinosaurs; he even has his grandchildren tag along, blissfully unconvinced that anything could go wrong. Slam-bang thriller delivers the goods with action, suspense, and hair-raising chills, plus the most astonishing special effects of this nature in cinema history: the dinosaurs seem alive. The story can't bear such close scrutiny, but while this thrill ride is going, you won't mind. Michael Crichton cowrote the screenplay from his own novel. Won three Oscars, for Visual Effects, Sound, and Sound Effects Editing. Followed by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK. | tt0107290 | [PG-13] | Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B. D. Wong, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight | Horror, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Jurassic Park III | 2001 | Joe Johnston | ★★★ | 93 | Entertaining popcorn movie that takes a formula and plays it for all it's worth: professor-paleontologist Neill is persuaded to lead an air expedition to the forbidden island where dinosaurs roam, but of course he hasn't been told the truth, and the plane lands there . . . a very bad idea. Full of scares, and lots of fun: proof that a thrill-ride type of movie doesn't have to be dumb . . . or overlong. Script by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor. Coexecutive produced by Steven Spielberg. | tt0163025 | [PG-13] | Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni, Alessandro Nivola, Trevor Morgan, Michael Jeter, John Diehl, Bruce A. Young, Laura Dern | Horror, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| The Juror | 1996 | Brian Gibson | ★★ | 116 | Shady (and, it turns out, psychopathic) underworld figure Baldwin victimizes an unsuspecting Moore so that she will sway fellow jurors into acquitting a Mafia boss. Comparisons to TRIAL BY JURY are apt, but this one goes on (much) longer and gets more ridiculous by the minute. The stars can't be faulted, but the script certainly can. | tt0116731 | [R] | Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Heche, James Gandolfini, Lindsay Crouse, Tony Lo Bianco, Michael Constantine, Matt Craven, Todd Susman, Michael Rispoli, Jack Gilpin | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Jury Duty | 1995 | John Fortenberry | 💣 | 85 | 'BOMB' may be too high a rating for this inane, insulting 'comedy' featuring Shore as a jerk who would much rather face duty on a sequestered jury (and get a free hotel room) than find himself a job. Loaded with tasteless, gratuitous references to the O. J. Simpson trial. | tt0113500 | [PG-13] | Pauly Shore, Tia Carrere, Stanley Tucci, Brian Doyle-Murray, Abe Vigoda, Charles Napier, Richard Edson, Richard Riehle, Alex Datcher, Shelley Winters, Dick Vitale, Andrew Dice Clay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Jury of One | The Verdict | 1974 | André Cayatte | ★★ | 97 | Plodding melodrama about a woman who goes to outrageous extremes to protect her son, on trial for murder and rape. Gabin plays the judge. Aka THE VERDICT. | tt0072359 | [R] | Sophia Loren, Jean Gabin, Henri Garcin, Julien Bertheau, Michel Albertini | French-Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Just Across the Street | 1952 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 78 | Mild shenanigans with working-woman Sheridan being mistaken for wealthy estate owner. | tt0044780 | Ann Sheridan, John Lund, Cecil Kellaway, Natalie Schafer, Harvey Lembeck | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. | 1993 | Leslie Harris | ★½ | 92 | A bright, sassy 17-year-old African-American (Johnson) desires to escape from her stifling Brooklyn housing project by going to college and then medical school, but her dreams are shattered when she finds herself pregnant. Cinematically, this is strictly amateur night; plus, the film's two white characters are thoughtless, mean-spirited stereotypes (proving that an African-American filmmaker can be as insensitive and racist as a white one). Sole merit: Johnson, who offers a spirited performance. | tt0104575 | [R] | Ariyan Johnson, Kevin Thigpen, Ebony Jerido, Chequita Jackson, William Badget, Jerard Washington | Drama | NULL | ||
| Just Around the Corner | 1938 | Irving Cummings | ★★ | 70 | Simpleminded corn with Shirley singlehandedly ending the Depression, manipulating pessimistic tycoon Gillingwater into creating new jobs. But the musical numbers with Robinson are still a delight. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0030302 | Shirley Temple, Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Amanda Duff, Bill Robinson, Bert Lahr, Claude Gillingwater | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Just Ask for Diamond | 1988 | Stephen Bayly | ★★★ | 94 | Clever, if occasionally cartoonish, detective-film parody, about the kid brother of a dumbbell private eye and the mystery surrounding a box of candy. Best for older children (although they might not get all the references to 1940s Hollywood detective dramas). Screenplay by Anthony Horowitz, from his novel The Falcon's Malteser. Aka DIAMOND'S EDGE. | tt0095419 | [PG] | Susannah York, Patricia Hodge, Roy Kinnear, Michael Medwin, Peter Eyre, Nickolas Grace, Dursley McLinden, Colin Dale, Bill Paterson, Jimmy Nail, Saeed Jaffrey | British | Family, Comedy | NULL | |
| Just Before Dawn | 1946 | William Castle | ★★½ | 66 | Dr. Ordway (Baxter) is tricked into giving a fatal injection to one of his patients and won't rest until he catches the real culprits in this dark and moody Crime Doctor entry. | tt0038665 | Warner Baxter, Adelle Roberts, Martin Kosleck, Mona Barrie, Marian Miller, Charles D. Brown, Craig Reynolds | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Just Between Friends | 1986 | Allan Burns | ★★½ | 110 | Genteel tearjerker about two women who strike up a friendship, unaware that they share the same man— one as wife, one as lover. Too pat, too neat and clean to really hit home, though the acting is first-rate, and Lahti is terrific as the single career woman. Nice role for Jane Greer, too, as Mary's mom. Directing debut for writer Burns. | tt0091310 | [PG-13] | Mary Tyler Moore, Ted Danson, Christine Lahti, Sam Waterston, Salome Jens, Jane Greer, James MacKrell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Just Cause | 1995 | Arne Glimcher | ★½ | 102 | Eminent Harvard Law School professor is persuaded to help a black man in Florida who's about to be executed for a heinous crime he swears he didn't commit. Starts out as an engrossing story, but goes so far afield— and becomes so preposterous (not to mention unpleasant) by the swampy climax that it winds up a huge waste of time. John Katzenbach's novel considerably changed. Connery also executive produced. | tt0113501 | [R] | Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Capshaw, Blair Underwood, Ed Harris, Christopher Murray, Ruby Dee, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel J. Travanti, Ned Beatty, Liz Torres, Lynne Thigpen, Kevin McCarthy, Hope Lange, Chris Sarandon, George Plimpton | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Just Friends | 2005 | Roger Kumble | ★½ | 94 | An unlikely airplane breakdown traps a handsome music industry bigwig (who was overweight and unpopular as a kid) and a deranged teen pop sensation in his New Jersey hometown. When he tries to get back together with his best friend from high school, who never returned his affections, the expected hijinks ensue. Caricatures, clichés, and painfully unfunny slapstick sequences ruin a potentially sweet love story. | tt0433400 | [PG-13] | Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Julie Hagerty, Stephen Root, Christopher Marquette | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Just Go With It | 2011 | Dennis Dugan | ★★ | 117 | After Sandler has a traumatic experience with a woman he decides to completely change his life, becoming a plastic surgeon and lying to all future prospects to keep them from hurting him again. When he falls for a beautiful schoolteacher (swimsuit model Decker), he enlists the help of his loyal assistant (Aniston) to try and fix the mess he's in. Predictable storyline is relatively entertaining for a while, but gets more ridiculous and unbelievable as it progresses. Sandler is still trying to find a happy medium between fart jokes and mushy love stories. Remake of CACTUS FLOWER. | tt1564367 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nick Swardson, Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews, Kevin Nealon, Rachel Dratch, Allen Covert, Minka Kelly, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just Imagine | 1930 | David Butler | ★½ | 109 | Famous but utterly disappointing sci-fi musical set in 1980, with Brendel, officially dead since 1930, suddenly revived and unable to get used to phenomenal changes in living. Futuristic sets, gags, costumes made tremendous impression on everyone who saw film in 1930, but alas, it doesn't wear well at all. Songs by DeSylva-Brown-Henderson. | tt0021016 | El Brendel, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Garrick, Marjorie White, Frank Albertson, Hobart Bosworth | Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Just Like Heaven | 2005 | Mark Waters | ★★½ | 95 | Widower Ruffalo moves into an apartment inhabited by Witherspoon's spirit and an unlikely connection begins. Amiable fluff is sustained by charming performances from the leads and a solid supporting cast. | tt0425123 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Ben Shenkman, Jon Heder, Dina Waters, Rosalind Chao, Ivana Milicevic | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just Like a Woman | 1994 | Christopher Monger | ★★½ | 102 | Amiable (if a bit overlong) comedy featuring Pasdar as Gerald, a heterosexual American in London who derives pleasure from becoming 'Geraldine' and wearing women's clothes. The film works because it's never condescending toward Gerald; he's not a caricature, but rather a guy with an unusual predilection. | tt0104576 | Julie Walters, Adrian Pasdar, Paul Freeman, Gordon Kennedy, Susan Wooldridge | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Just Looking | 2000 | Jason Alexander | ★★ | 97 | Bland coming-of-age sexcom about a 14-year-old Jewish kid (Merriman) who gets sent to his aunt and uncle in the country (read: Queens) for the summer. His mission is to watch two people in the act of love, so he starts spying on a pretty neighbor. Affectionate but disappointing memory trip plays out like an ethnic episode of TV's The Wonder Years. | tt0162236 | [R] | Ryan Merriman, Gretchen Mol, Patti LuPone, Peter Onorati, Amy Braverman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Just Married | 2003 | Shawn Levy | ★★½ | 94 | Young couple sets off for a European honeymoon, where one disaster follows another— and the bride is pursued by her onetime boyfriend. Surprisingly likable formula comedy, with Murphy and Kutcher giving it 100 percent. | tt0305711 | [PG-13] | Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy, Christian Kane, David Moscow, Monet Mazur, David Rasche, Veronica Cartwright, Raymond J. Barry | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just My Luck | 2006 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 102 | At a masked ball, the world's most naturally fortunate girl kisses a handsome stranger, who just happens to be the most ill-fated fellow alive. Their karmas magically cross, and the girl who used to beat the odds every time stumbles through the rest of the movie trying to figure out what to do about the guy who stole her luck. Romantic comedy's gimmicky switcheroo script has both good and bad gags, but it's Lohan who makes it a star vehicle. | tt0397078 | [PG-13] | Lindsay Lohan, Chris Pine, Faizon Love, Missi Pyle, Bree Turner, Samaire Armstrong, Tovah Feldshuh, Carlos Ponce, Makenzie Vega, McFly | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just Off Broadway | 1942 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★ | 66 | Acceptable Michael Shayne caper, with swanky dame on trial for murder; outcome is easy for mystery fans. | tt0034931 | Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Phil Silvers, Janis Carter | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Just One of the Guys | 1985 | Lisa Gottlieb | ★★★ | 100 | Pretty high school senior, convinced that looks have kept patronizing male teachers from supporting her in citywide journalism competition, dons male disguise and tries again at another school. Engagingly eccentric characterizations take this fast-paced sleeper out of the ordinary; performed with gusto by a cast that's aiming to please. | tt0089393 | [PG-13] | Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Billy Jacoby, Toni Hudson, William Zabka, Leigh McCloskey, Sherilyn Fenn, Arye Gross | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Just Pals | 1920 | Jack (John) Ford. | ★★★ | 55 | Jones plays the town loafer who's so lazy and shiftless that, as one title card puts it, 'just watching people makes him tired.' He changes his ways when he falls in love and befriends a troubled young boy who drifts into town. Genial, charming silent film shows why Jones became a star. | tt0011358 | Buck Jones, Helen Ferguson, George Stone, Duke R. Lee, William Buckley, Edwin Booth Tilton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Just Tell Me What You Want | 1980 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 112 | Obnoxious tycoon King drives long-time mistress MacGraw into arms of younger man, then does everything he can to get her back. Bitchy upper-class comedy may be too strident for some tastes, but King's flamboyant performance is sensational, as is Loy's quiet one as his long-suffering secretary. Screenplay by Jay Presson Allen, from her novel. Loy's last theatrical feature. | tt0080975 | [R] | Ali MacGraw, Alan King, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Tony Roberts, Peter Weller, Judy Kaye, Dina Merrill, Joseph Maher, Michael Gross, Leslie Easterbrook, David Rasche, John Gabriel | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just This Once | 1952 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 90 | Cute little comedy of stern Leigh in charge of playboy Lawford's dwindling fortunes, and their inevitable romance. | tt0044781 | Janet Leigh, Peter Lawford, Lewis Stone, Marilyn Erskine, Richard Anderson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Just Tony | 1922 | Lynn Reynolds | ★★½ | 58 | Amiable Tom Mix Western sheds spotlight on his beloved horse Tony, tracing his life from mistreated mustang to benevolent protector of cowboy Mix. | tt0013284 | Tom Mix, Claire Adams, J. P. Lockney, Duke Lee, Frank Campeau | Western | NULL | |||
| Just Visiting | 2001 | Jean-Marie Gaubert | ★★ | 89 | A 12th-century French knight and his valet are transported to the 21st century, where their only ally is the descendant of the nobleman's bride-to-be. Americanization of France's 1993 box-office smash LES VISITEURS with the same director and stars, and screenplay revisions by John Hughes. Reno and Clavier (the film's cowriter) are terrific, but this remake is heavy-handed and only occasionally funny. | tt0189192 | [PG-13] | Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Malcolm McDowell, Matthew Ross, Tara Reid, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, John Aylward, George Plimpton | French | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Just Wright | 2010 | Sanaa Hamri | ★★½ | 98 | Big-hearted physical therapist (Latifah) never seems to land a guy, while her beautiful, ambitious stepsister (Patton) has men falling at her feet—like a hot N.J. Nets basketball star (Common). Then Latifah nurses the player back to health after a crippling injury and he begins to see things differently—or so it seems. Cinderella story is attractive, innocuous fluff with some serious plot holes and more than a few cheesy moments; Latifah's likability helps a lot. | tt1407061 | [PG] | Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, James Pickens, Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Pam Grier, Laz Alonso, Mehcad Brooks | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just You and Me, Kid | 1979 | Leonard Stern | ★½ | 95 | Burns struggles to keep awful comedy afloat, but it ain't easy. Shields plays a runaway who comes to stay with the ex-vaudevillian. Commercial interruptions might help this one. | tt0079384 | [PG] | George Burns, Brooke Shields, Lorraine Gary, Nicolas Coster, Burl Ives, Ray Bolger, Leon Ames, Carl Ballantine, Keye Luke | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Just a Gigolo | 1979 | David Hemmings | ★★½ | 105 | Very interesting cast is chief attraction of weird melodrama starring Bowie as Prussian war vet who drifts from job to job in Berlin before finally discovering his true calling. Dietrich, in her last film appearance, pops in long enough to croak the title song; Rome's spirited performance gives lift to uneven film that possibly made more sense in original 147m. version released in Europe. | tt0079867 | [R] | David Bowie, Sydne Rome, Kim Novak, David Hemmings, Maria Schell, Curt Jurgens, Marlene Dietrich | West German | Drama | NULL | |
| Just a Kiss | 2002 | Fisher Stevens | ★★ | 90 | Love, sex, infidelity, and betrayal among a group of N.Y.C. hipsters, showing how a simple kiss between a philanderer (Eldard) and the girlfriend of his best pal (Breen) leads to a bizarre chain of disasters and deaths. Well-acted feature directing debut for actor Stevens is yet another self-indulgent indie riff on LA RONDE, pointlessly gimmicked up with animation, surreal flashbacks and flash-forwards, and a third-act rewind where the characters get a second chance. Unattractive digital video cinematography doesn't help either. Written by Breen, based on his play. | tt0245479 | [R] | Patrick Breen, Ron Eldard, Kyra Sedgwick, Marisa Tomei, Marley Shelton, Taye Diggs, Zoe Caldwell, Sarita Choudhury, Ron Rifkin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just a Little Harmless Sex | 1999 | Rick Rosenthal | ★★½ | 98 | After a wife kicks her husband out of the house (when he reluctantly picks up a hooker one night) their marriage is thrust into crisis mode. She calls her girlfriends together for advice, and he does the same with the guys; they all converge at a local club. Minor but entertaining, even insightful, low-budget romantic comedy with a very attractive cast. | tt0175777 | [R] | Alison Eastwood, Lauren Hutton, Kimberly Williams, Jonathan Silverman, Jessica Lundy, Rachel Hunter, William Ragsdale | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just for Fun | 1963 | Gordon Flemyng | ★½ | 85 | A wisp of a plot— teens establish their own political party to run a pop election— surrounds this forgettable musical trifle. Among the more recognizable tunes are 'The Night Has a Thousand Eyes' (Bobby Vee) and 'Keep on Dancin' ' (The Tremeloes). | tt0057213 | Mark Wynter, Cherry Roland, Richard Vernon, Reginald Beckwith, John Wood, Bobby Vee, The Crickets, Freddie Cannon, Johnny Tillotson, Ketty Lester, The Tremeloes | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Just for You | 1952 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 104 | Zesty musical of producer Crosby who can't be bothered with his growing children, till Wyman shows him the way. Pleasant Harry Warren-Leo Robin score, highlighted by 'Zing a Little Zong.' Based on Stephen Vincent Benet novel Famous. | tt0044782 | Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Ethel Barrymore, Bob Arthur, Natalie Wood, Cora Witherspoon, Regis Toomey | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Just the Ticket | 1999 | Richard Wenk | ★★½ | 115 | Mostly likable but lumpy comedy-drama about ne'er-do-well ticket scalper Garcia and his on-again, off-again relationship with MacDowell— who loves him but can't tolerate his utter irresponsibility. Nice characterizations, vivid filming on the streets of N.Y.C.; hurt by uneven narrative and overlength. Garcia produced the film and composed much of its music. Written by the director. | tt0134948 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Andie MacDowell, Richard Bradford, Laura Harris, Andre Blake, Elizabeth Ashley, Patrick Breen, Fred Asparagus, Ron Leibman, Chris Lemmon, Don Novello, Abe Vigoda, Bill Irwin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Just the Way You Are | 1984 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★★ | 94 | Episodic but likable film about crippled musician (McNichol) who goes to French ski resort with her leg in a cast— to see, for once, what it's like when people don't know she's handicapped. Elements of sharp comedy, escapist romance, and travelogue aren't seamlessly connected, but results are extremely pleasant, and McNichol has never been more appealing. Script by Allan Burns. | tt0087525 | [PG] | Kristy McNichol, Michael Ontkean, Kaki Hunter, Andre Dussolier, Catherine Salviat, Robert Carradine, Lance Guest, Alexandra Paul, Timothy Daly, Patrick Cassidy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Justine | 1969 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 116 | Jews and Moslems equal topicality, but this is merely exotic kitsch (though Cukor makes great use of widescreen). Tunisian settings and a lush brothel scene can’t rescue this condensation of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet. | tt0064526 | [R] | Anouk Aimée, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Forster, Anna Karina, Philippe Noiret, Michael York, John Vernon, Jack Albertson, Cliff Gorman, Michael Constantine, Marcel Dalio, Michael Dunn, Abraham Sofaer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Juvenile Jungle | 1958 | William Witney. | ★½ | 69 | Plodding crime caper with hep-cat punk Allen planning to kidnap wealthy Welles but going straight when he falls for her, which doesn't sit too well with his cohorts. Humdrum attempt by Republic to crash the sex-and-sin 1950s teen market. | tt0051805 | Corey Allen, Rebecca Welles, Richard Bakalyan, Anne Whitfield, Joe Di Reda, Joe Conley, Walter Coy. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Juwanna Mann | 2002 | Jesse Vaughan | ★★ | 91 | Egocentric basketball star torpedoes his own career and no one in the NBA will hire him— until he disguises himself as a woman and joins a female team. Naturally, he's attracted to one of his colleagues— and predictably, he suffers a crisis of conscience as the experience turns him into a better man. This is TOOTSIE light— or is it TOOTSIE dark? Similarities to that classic comedy are superficial at best. Several real-life sports figures appear as themselves. | tt0247444 | [PG-13] | Miguel A. Nunez/ Jr., Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Pollak, Tommy Davidson, Ginuwine, Kim Wayans, Jenifer Lewis, Lil’ Kim, Annie Corley, Kimberly Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| K-19 The Widowmaker | 2002 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★½ | 138 | In 1961, a patriotic Russian naval officer (Ford) takes out a nuclear submarine on its maiden voyage, having just usurped command from a well-liked captain (Neeson) who stays on as executive officer. But the sub, and its crew, are ill prepared for the challenges they will face. Tense and exciting at times, but its main characters' motivations are not always understandable— even less so after a climactic showdown. Much Sturm und Drang in this very long movie, but not enough meaning. Based on a real-life incident. Ford also coexecutive-produced. | tt0267626 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joss Ackland, John Shrapnel, Donald Sumpter, Tim Woodward | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| K-2 | 1992 | Franc Roddam | ★★½ | 111 | A Seattle assistant D.A. (brash) and his physics-prof pal (gentle) attempt to climb the world's steepest and most remote mountain. Gritty outdoor expansion of Patrick Meyers' play, which won a Tony for its impressive mountain set; magnificent outdoor footage compensates for that, but not for the stock movie characterizations. Film never tops its first fifteen minutes, which are spellbinding. | tt0102178 | [R] | Michael Biehn, Matt Craven, Raymond J. Barry, Hiroshi Fujioka, Patricia Charbonneau, Luca Bercovici, Julia Nickson, Jamal Shah | British | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| K-9 | 1989 | Rod Daniel | 💣 | 102 | Cop Belushi teams with a German shepherd (Jerry Lee) to crack a drug case. Dubbing this one a dog would be much too kind. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0097637 | [PG-13] | James Belushi, Mel Harris, Kevin Tighe, Ed O'Neill, Jerry Lee, James Handy, Cotter Smith | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| K-PAX | 2001 | Iain Softley | ★★ | 120 | A nutcase is brought to a N.Y.C. mental institution, claiming to be a visitor from the advanced planet K-Pax. Psychiatrist Bridges tries to figure him out, but begins to wonder if the guy isn't telling the truth. Is this movie a warm, fuzzy wish-fulfillment fantasy or a psychiatric case study? Ultimately it fails on both counts, despite the best efforts of its cast. | tt0272152 | [PG-13] | Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack, Alfre Woodard, David Patrick Kelly, Saul Williams, Peter Gerety, Celia Weston, Ajay Naidu, John Toles-Bey | Family, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Kabloonak | The Stranger | 1994 | Claude Massot | ★★½ | 105 | Dance (who played D.W. Griffith in GOOD MORNING, BABYLON) here portrays pioneer documentarian Robert Flaherty, who spends one year in Alaska befriending Inuit eskimos in order to make NANOOK OF THE NORTH (1922). Interesting throughout, if not particularly inspired. Aka THE STRANGER. | tt0110223 | Charles Dance, Adamie Quasiak Knukpuk, David Bursztein, Patty Hannock, Philippe Freturn, Peter Hudson, Geoffrey Bateman | Canadian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Kabluey | 2008 | Scott Prendergast | ★★ | 86 | Burnt-out Kudrow is attempting to raise her two bratty kids while her husband is fighting in Iraq. Her loser brother-in-law arrives on the scene to help out and gets a job that requires him to wear a large blue suit that makes him look like an overgrown extraterrestrial. Bizarre, ambitious, but mostly downright silly; doesn’t know if it wants to be a quirky farce, a cynical portrait of corporate culture, or a social commentary on the inanity of contemporary America. | tt0816545 | [PG-13] | Lisa Kudrow, Scott Prendergast, Christine Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Parnell, Teri Garr, Cameron Wofford, Landon Henninger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kadosh | 1999 | Amos Gitai | ★★★½ | 117 | Thoughtfully made, involving peek into the world of the Orthodox Jew, centering on two deeply troubled sisters who live in an ultra-religious community in Jerusalem and are oppressed by the dictates of their faith. A trenchant exploration of the nature of spirituality and the impact of blindly following the strictures of religion without considering the consequences. | tt0189630 | Yael Abecassis, Yoram Hattub, Meital Barda, Sami Hori, Uri Ran Klausner, Yussef Abu Warda, Lea Koenig | Israeli | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kafka | 1991 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 98 | Strikingly photographed and designed film about mild-mannered insurance clerk Franz Kafka (Irons), who becomes both curious and assertive for the first time when he begins investigating a friend's disappearance. Teasing, darkly comic tale takes elements from various Kafka stories about oppression and paranoia, and weaves them into an expressionistic tapestry. Set in 1919 Prague. Not a total success, and not for all tastes, but offers many delights, including some choice character vignettes. Written by Lem Dobbs; photographed on location in Prague by Walt Lloyd. | tt0102181 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell, Joel Grey, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Alec Guinness, Brian Glover, Robert Flemyng | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Kagemusha | 1980 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 159 | Sixteenth-century thief is spared execution if he will pose as secretly deceased warlord whose throne is coveted by others. Grand combination of humanism and spectacle from a great filmmaker in the twilight of his career. Released outside the U.S. at 179m. Aka KAGEMUSHA (THE SHADOW WARRIOR). | tt0080979 | [PG] | Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu, Shuji Otaki | Japanese | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Kaleidoscope | 1966 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 103 | Idea of Beatty-York teaming can't miss, but does, in bland comedy about American playboy/card-shark forced to capture narcotics smuggler or go to jail. Flashy but forgettable. Filmed in England. | tt0060581 | Warren Beatty, Susannah York, Clive Revill, Eric Porter, Murray Melvin | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Kalifornia | 1993 | Dominic Sena | ★★★ | 117 | Offbeat road-movie thriller about a writer and a photographer, researching a coffee-table book on serial killers, who get a harsh dose of reality when they hook up with Pitt and Lewis. Effectively ironic, and well acted by its talented cast. Unrated version runs 118m. | tt0107302 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, Michelle Forbes, Sierra Pecheur, Gregory Mars Martin | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love | 1996 | Mira Nair | ★★★ | 114 | Frankly erotic, spirited feminist saga of sex and sexual politics in 16th-century feudal India, telling the story of Maya (Varma), an independent-minded servant who seduces a young king. He becomes obsessed with her, but weds a princess whom he does not love. A pointed portrait of a woman who is unwilling to accept a woman's 'destiny' of being her father's property one day and her husband's property the next. Rated for video as NC-17, and as R (113m.). | tt0116743 | Indira Varma, Sarita Choudhury, Naveen Andrews, Ramon Tikaram, Rekha, Pearl Padamsee, Arundhati Rao | Indian | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Kameradschaft | 1931 | G. W. Pabst. | ★★★½ | 93 | Heartfelt, ultra-realistic account of a mining accident that occurred near the Franco-German perimeter in 1906, and what happens when German miners dig underneath the border in an attempt to rescue their French brethren. Filled with drama, irony, symbolism, and a huge dose of humanity. It should be contrasted to the content of Pabst's WESTFRONT 1918. | tt0022017 | Fritz Kampers, Alexander Granach, Ernst Busch, Elisabeth Wendt, Gustav Püttjer, Andrée Ducret. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kamikaze '89 | 1982 | Wolf Gremm | ★★★ | 106 | Police lieutenant Fassbinder (in his final screen role) attempts to foil an alleged bomb plot, set in a futuristic Germany. Exciting if sometimes confusing thriller, from Per Wahloo novel. | tt0084191 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Gunther Kaufmann, Boy Gobert, Arnold Marquis, Richy Mueller, Brigitte Mira, Frank Ripploh, Franco Nero | German | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Kamilla | 1981 | Vibeke Lokkeberg | ★★★ | 100 | Briskly paced yet quietly disturbing chronicle of 7-year-old Knapskog and the world around her: most distressingly, her constantly squabbling parents; most specially, the secret world she shares with a little boy. Knapskog is remarkable, and the film can be favorably compared to SMALL CHANGE and FORBIDDEN GAMES, the celluloid masterpieces about childhood. | tt0082689 | Nina Knapskog, Vibeke Lokkeberg, Helge Jordal, Kenneth Johansen, Karin Zetlitz Haerem | Norwegian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kanal | They Loved Life | 1956 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★ | 97 | Intense, almost unrelentingly graphic account of the final days of the September, 1944, Warsaw uprising in Nazi-occupied Poland. This is the second of Wajda's war trilogy, after A GENERATION and before ASHES AND DIAMONDS. Aka THEY LOVED LIFE. Not shown in U.S. until 1961. | tt0050585 | Teresa Izewska, Tadeusz Janczar, Wienczylaw Glinski, Wladyslaw (Vladek) Sheybal | Polish | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Kandahar | 2001 | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | ★★½ | 85 | A journalist who fled Afghanistan during one of its many civil wars returns to her birthplace after receiving a suicidal letter from her despondent sister, who remained behind. Timely film of oppression and hypocrisy in a religiously charged country is hurt by amateur actors and an underdeveloped script. The stark photography, simultaneously showing the beauty and desolation of that part of the world, is a plus. Loosely based on Pazira's real life. | tt0283431 | Nelofer Pazira, Sadou Teymouri, Hassan Tantaï, Hayatalah Hakimi | Iranian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kangaroo | 1986 | Tim Burstall | ★★ | 105 | Muddled account of controversial British writer (Friels) who exiles himself and wife Davis to Australia in the early 1920s, and develops an intellectual attachment to a group of Fascists. Potentially fascinating, insightful portrait of a man of letters and his difficulties in dealing with the real world, but there's little feel for the characters and their motivations. Adapted from D. H. Lawrence's autobiographical novel. Friels and Davis are real-life husband and wife. | tt0091325 | [R] | Colin Friels, Judy Davis, John Walton, Julie Nihill, Hugh KeaysByrne | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Kangaroo Jack | 2003 | David McNally | ★★ | 89 | Lifelong odd-couple pals are ordered (by O'Connell's mob-boss stepfather) to deliver an envelope of money to Australia— but a kangaroo makes off with the cash. Juvenile comedy has a terrible script, but kids may still respond to the amiable leads and the Australian setting. Don't blink or you'll miss Dyan Cannon in the opening flashback as O'Connell's mother. Followed by an animated direct-to-video sequel. | tt0257568 | [PG] | Jerry O�Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren, Michael Shannon, Christopher Walken, Bill Hunter, Marton Csokas | Comedy, Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Kangaroo: The Australian Story | 1952 | Lewis Milestone | ★★ | 84 | Uninspired blend of romance and adventure, salvaged by good on-location Australian landscapes and fetching O'Hara. | tt0044788 | Maureen O'Hara, Peter Lawford, Finlay Currie, Richard Boone | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Kansan | 1943 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 79 | Zippy Western, with Dix becoming town hero, taming outlaws, but facing more trouble with corrupt town official. | tt0036065 | Richard Dix, Jane Wyatt, Victor Jory, Albert Dekker, Eugene Pallette, Robert Armstrong | Western | NULL | |||
| Kansas | 1988 | David Stevens | 💣 | 108 | McCarthy gets stranded in the Midwest after his car and possessions blow up on the road, and takes it on the lam after boxcar acquaintance (and punk) Dillon implicates him in a bank robbery. Goes into fast free-fall around the time McCarthy rescues the governor's daughter from drowning (!)— and falls for the kind of farmer's daughter who wears makeup and pearls in the field. Second only to Toto as the Sunflower State's top movie dog. | tt0095428 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Andrew McCarthy, Leslie Hope, Brent Jennings, Brynn Thayer, Kyra Sedgwick | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kansas City | 1996 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 115 | Vividly atmospheric but dramatically lackluster portrait of K.C. in the 1930s, a hotbed of racketeering, political machines, and jazz, focusing on local mob kingpin Belafonte, young upstart Mulroney, and his wife, Leigh. Lots of flavor but little substance, and a redundant story line. Best part: the jazz, which is played almost continuously (often on-camera) by an all-star lineup including Nicholas Payton, Joshua Redman, Mark Whitfield, Christian McBride, Cyrus Chestnut, and Ron Carter. | tt0116745 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson, Harry Belafonte, Michael Murphy, Dermot Mulroney, Steve Buscemi, Brooke Smith, Jane Adams, A. C. Smith | U.S.-French | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Kansas City Bomber | 1972 | Jerrold Freedman | ★★ | 99 | Once you've seen five minutes, it doesn't pay to stay through the rest. Raquel stars as good-hearted roller derby star who has female colleagues jealous, male employers drooling. Dialogue, situations often unintentionally funny. | tt0068795 | [PG] | Raquel Welch, Kevin McCarthy, Helena Kallianiotes, Norman Alden, Jeanne Cooper, Dick Lane, Jodie Foster | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kansas City Confidential | 1952 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 98 | Tough action drama with hard-luck ex-con Payne implicated in a bank heist, determined to quite literally unmask the real culprits. Quentin Tarantino must have seen this one prior to scripting RESERVOIR DOGS! | tt0044789 | John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster, Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Elam, Dona Drake | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Kansas City Kitty | 1944 | Del Lord | ★★ | 71 | Programmer sparked by Davis, involved in purchase of song-publishing company on the skids. | tt0036978 | Joan Davis, Bob Crosby, Jane Frazee, Erik Rolf | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Kansas Pacific | 1953 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 73 | Inoffensive account of building of title railway during 1860s, with Reb soldiers trying to prevent its completion. | tt0045954 | Sterling Hayden, Eve Miller, Barton MacLane, Reed Hadley, Irving Bacon | Western | NULL | |||
| Kansas Raiders | 1950 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 80 | Fair Civil War Western with young Jesse James and company joining Quantrill's Raiders, who are portrayed as a vigilante group more concerned with killing and looting than fighting Northern soldiers. Most interesting are the depictions of Jesse (Murphy) as a good-boy-gone-bad and Quantrill (Donlevy) as a megalomaniac. | tt0042629 | Audie Murphy, Brian Donlevy, Marguerite Chapman, Scott Brady, Tony Curtis, Richard Arlen, Richard Long, James Best, Dewey Martin, Richard Egan | Western | NULL | |||
| The Karate Kid III | 1989 | John G. Avildsen | 💣 | 111 | Utterly stupid sequel has the 'kid' (27-year-old Macchio) being set up for slaughter by nemesis Kove (in an obligatory appearance). When Morita refuses to train him, Macchio turns instead to Griffith— a sadistic millionaire Vietnam vet (who also turns out to be a buddy of Kove's!). Will Morita save him? Naturally . . . but this film is hopeless. | tt0097647 | [PG] | Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Robyn Elaine Lively, Thomas Ian Griffith, Martin Kove, Sean Kanan, Jonathan Avildsen | Action, Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Karate Kid, Part II | 1986 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 113 | Purposeless sequel takes main characters from original film to Japan, where they're confronted by Morita's long-ago arch-enemy and his nasty nephew. Corny in the extreme (all that's missing from climax is hounds and ice floes), but made palatable by performances of Macchio and Morita. Aimed strictly at kids. | tt0091326 | [PG] | Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Nobu McCarthy, Danny Kamekona, Yuji Okumoto, Tamlyn Tomita, Martin Kove | Family, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Karate Kid | 1984 | John G. Avildsen | ★★★½ | 126 | Teenager is beset by bullies until an unlikely mentor (the Japanese handyman in his apartment house) teaches him about self-confidence— and karate. Unabashedly old-fashioned, manipulative movie is a real audience-pleaser; from director of the original ROCKY. Winning performances by Macchio and Morita. If only they'd trimmed it a bit. Followed by three sequels (last is THE NEXT KARATE KID) and animated TV series. | tt0087538 | [PG] | Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Randee Heller, Martin Kove, William Zabka, Chad McQueen, Tony O'Dell, Larry Drake | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Karate Kid | 2010 | Harald Zwart | ★★★ | 140 | American boy and his mom move to China, where he is truly a fish out of water. After a girl he meets at school is friendly to him, he’s tormented by a pack of bullies, until the reclusive janitor at his apartment building comes to his rescue, and reluctantly agrees to teach him martial arts. Remake of the 1984 hit retains only the broad outline of the original, and stretches out the story (and climactic tournament) much longer than necessary . . . but charismatic Smith (Will Smith’s son) and the always appealing Chan generate rooting interest, and the movie works as feel-good entertainment. | tt1155076 | [PG] | Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Rongguang Yu, Zhenwei Wang | U.S.-Chinese | Drama, Family, Action | NULL | |
| Kashmiri Run | 1969 | John Peyser | ★★ | 101 | Two men and a girl try to stay one step ahead of the Chinese Communists fleeing Tibet; plodding actioner. | tt0064535 | [R] | Pernell Roberts, Alexandra Bastedo, Julian Mateos, Gloria Gamata | Spanish | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Kate & Leopold | 2001 | James Mangold | ★★½ | 121 | A genial crackpot (Schreiber) manages to find a portal in time and transport a 19th-century gentleman to 21st-century N.Y.C., where he meets a driven career woman who's as foreign to his acquaintance as he is to her. Cute, funny romantic comedy goes on longer than it should— given that the finale is a forgone conclusion. Jackman is charming, and Meyer is very funny as Ryan's actor brother. | tt0035423 | [PG-13] | Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford, Paxton Whitehead, Spalding Gray, Philip Bosco | Romance, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kathleen | 1941 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★ | 88 | Predictable story of neglected daughter Temple bringing widower father Marshall and Day together. | tt0033780 | Shirley Temple, Herbert Marshall, Laraine Day, Gail Patrick, Felix Bressart | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Kathy O' | 1958 | Jack Sher | ★★½ | 99 | Sluggish frolic of temperamental child star McCormack and her desperate public relations agent Duryea. | tt0051813 | Dan Duryea, Jan Sterling, Patty McCormack, Mary Fickett, Sam Levene, Mary Jane Croft, Walter Woolf King, Joseph Sargent | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Katie Did It | 1951 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 81 | Blyth is perkier than usual as square New England librarian who becomes hep when romanced by swinging New Yorker Stevens. | tt0043700 | Ann Blyth, Mark Stevens, Cecil Kellaway, Jesse White | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Katyn | 2007 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★½ | 118 | Intense, epic drama set in Poland during and immediately following WW2. In 1940, thousands of Polish officers and civilians are massacred by the Russians in the Katyn forest, an event that the Germans use to propagandize the Poles while occupying the country. Once the war ends, the Soviets (who are building their postwar powerbase) attribute the atrocity to the Nazis . . . and heaven help anyone who disagrees. Scenario focuses on various individuals caught in the chaos; the final, extended sequence is heartbreaking. Octogenarian Wajda coscripted (based on Andrzej Mularczyk's novel); his father, a captain in the Polish infantry, died in the massacre. | tt0879843 | Unrated | Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka, Jan Englert, Magdalena Cielecka, Agnieszka Gliska | Polish | War | NULL | |
| Katzelmacher | 1969 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★ | 88 | Fassbinder's second film is an aimless seriocomic look at a group of suburban Munich slackers who spend their days sitting on the sidewalk while bitching, bickering, and putting down a Greek immigrant (Fassbinder). Interesting as an experiment in minimalism, but an artistic and dramatic dead end. Based on a play by the filmmaker. | tt0064536 | Hanna Schygulla, Lilith Ungerer, Elga Sorbas, Doris Mattes, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Harry Baer. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kazaam | 1996 | Paul Michael Glaser | ★½ | 93 | Threadbare urban fantasy has a troubled kid accidentally summoning a friendly genie from his home— a boom box. Vehicle for basketball star O'Neal confirms his pleasing personality but gets mired in a story full of grimy and unpleasant characters; far from ideal family entertainment. Glaser also wrote the story; O'Neal coexecutive-produced. | tt0116756 | [PG] | Shaquille O'Neal, Francis Capra, Ally Walker, Marshall Manesh, James Acheson, Fawn Reed | Comedy, Musical, Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Kazablan | 1974 | Menahem Golan | ★★★ | 114 | Entertaining musical made in Old Jaffa and Jerusalem, based on a popular show that puts a love story against the backdrop of a cultural divide. Singing star Gaon repeats his stage role as a streetwise war hero out to save his neighborhood from being torn down. Filmed in both English and Hebrew-language versions. | tt0071715 | [PG] | Yehoram Gaon, Arie Elias, Efrat Lavie, Joseph Graber | Israeli | Musical | NULL | |
| Keane | 2005 | Lodge Kerrigan | ★★★ | 93 | Harrowing portrait of a desperately driven man who (we learn) fell apart after losing sight of his 6-year-old daughter at the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan many months ago. A chance meeting with a single mom and her young daughter offers him the first link to stability, and reality, he's had in a long time. A tour-de-force performance by Lewis propels this lean, intense, ultimately satisfying drama shot entirely with a handheld camera. Written by the director. | tt0420291 | [R] | Damian Lewis, Amy Ryan, Abigail Breslin | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Keep 'Em Flying | 1941 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 86 | Good A&C mixed in with clichéd plot of stunt pilot Foran unable to accustom himself to Air Force discipline. Raye is fun playing twins. | tt0033781 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Carol Bruce, Martha Raye, William Gargan, Dick Foran | Comedy, Musical, War | NULL | |||
| Keep 'Em Rolling | 1934 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 69 | Effective, sentimental tale about hell-raising soldier Huston's devotion to a wild stallion he tames, which later saves his life during WW1. Hokey material is greatly enhanced by Huston's performance and comes off as oddly touching and memorable. | tt0025342 | Walter Huston, Frances Dee, Minna Gombell, Frank Conroy, G. Pat Collins, Robert Shayne. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Keep 'Em Slugging | 1943 | Christy Cabanne | ★★ | 60 | Jordan takes over the Little Tough Guys from Billy Halop, as a clerk in a shipping company beset by hijackers. | tt0036069 | Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Norman Abbott, Evelyn Ankers, Elyse Knox, Frank Albertson, Don Porter, Shemp Howard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Keep Your Powder Dry | 1945 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 93 | Hackneyed tale of playgirl Turner, by-the-book Day, and soldier's wife Peters, and their exploits as they join the WACS during WW2. | tt0037843 | Lana Turner, Laraine Day, Susan Peters, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Johnson, Natalie Schafer, Lee Patrick, Jess Barker, June Lockhart | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Keep | 1983 | Michael Mann | ★½ | 96 | German soldiers try to defend a Rumanian mountain pass during WW2 by headquartering in an ancient fortress— ignoring villagers' warnings of a strange presence inside. Outlandish, incoherent, and mostly awful; recommended only for connoisseurs of Strange Cinema. | tt0085780 | [R] | Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky, Gabriel Byrne | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Keeper of the Flame | 1943 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 100 | Reporter Tracy sets out to write the true story of a beloved, just-deceased American patriot. Dated, somewhat heavy-handed treatment of a still-timely theme: the pitfalls of blind hero worship. Scripted by Donald Ogden Stewart, with some interesting echoes of CITIZEN KANE. | tt0034936 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Richard Whorf, Margaret Wycherly, Forrest Tucker, Frank Craven, Audrey Christie, Stephen McNally, Darryl Hickman, Howard da Silva, Donald Meek | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam | 2005 | Kayvan Mashayekh | ★★★ | 95 | Family-friendly double feature: first, a Houston 12-year-old of Iranian descent embarks on a vision quest to find his roots; then, the epic story of the 11th-century Persian poet-scientist of Rubaiyat fame. Eastern and Western halves-seamlessly and subtly braided-are equally engaging, tied together by the theme of passing cultural knowledge to successive generations. In a perfectly cast film, Bleibtreu stands out as the callow sultan. | tt0294806 | [PG] | Adam Echahly, Bruno Lastra, Moritz Bleibtreu, Rade Serbedzija, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Simpson, Marie Espinosa, Diane Baker, C. Thomas Howell, Daniel Black | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Keeping Mum | 2005 | Niall Johnson | ★★★ | 103 | British black comedy set in Little Wallop, where vicar Atkinson, his sexually frustrated wife, and their two children welcome an eccentric new housekeeper (Smith). Small but delightfully realized fun, sparked by a sterling cast. Scripted by American novelist Richard Russo but transposed to bucolic English countryside by director-cowriter Johnson. | tt0444653 | [R] | Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, Patrick Swayze, Tamsin Egerton, Toby Parkes, Liz Smith | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Keeping Up with the Steins | 2006 | Scott Marshall | ★★½ | 90 | Utterly likable, if somewhat loose-jointed, comedy about a Hollywood overachiever (Piven) whose rivalry with an arch-nemesis (Miller) reaches its apex as he plans a spectacular bar mitzvah for his son. But when the boy invites his long-estranged grandfather (Marshall) to stay with the family in the days leading up to the big bash, the older mensch sets the kid on a different path. A comedy of recognition for its target audience, though first-time director Marshall (like his father Garry) is in fact a goy. Filmed in 2004. | tt0415949 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Piven, Jami Gertz, Garry Marshall, Daryl Hannah, Daryl Sabara, Doris Roberts, Larry Miller, Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Keeping the Faith | 2000 | Edward Norton | ★★½ | 129 | N.Y.C. boyhood pals grow up to be a priest and a rabbi, both contemporary thinkers with great appeal to their congregations. Into their lives comes a savvy woman who was their best friend at age eight, before she moved away; now they become caught in a most unusual triangle. Smart (if predictable) comedy goes on much too long and wears out its welcome, though the trio of stars is likable throughout. Norton's directorial debut. | tt0171433 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, Jenna Elfman, Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach, Ron Rifkin, Milos Forman, Holland Taylor, Lisa Edelstein, Rena Sofer, Ken Leung, Brian George | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Keetje Tippel | Katie's Passion | 1975 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★½ | 107 | Slickly produced tale of a poor-but-determined young woman (van de Ven), and her struggles as she rises up the social ladder in 19th-century Amsterdam. Superficial social commentary on working class life. However, van de Ven is excellent as Keetje. Aka A GIRL NAMED KATJE TIPPEL, KATIE'S PASSION, CATHY TIPPEL, and HOT SWEAT. | tt0073233 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Monique van de Ven, Eddie Brugman, Hannah De Leeuwe, Andrea Domburg | Dutch | Drama | NULL |
| Kelly and Me | 1957 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 86 | Johnson is unsuccessful hoofer who hits movie big-time with talented dog for partner. Mild musical. | tt0050589 | Van Johnson, Piper Laurie,Martha Hyer, Onslow Stevens | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kelly the Second | 1936 | Gus Meins. | ★★½ | 70 | Kelly attempts to turn brawny truck driver Williams into a championship boxer. Amiable if unmemorable slapstick farce marked comedy producer Hal Roach's attempt to create a feature-film showcase for his short-subject stars Kelly and Chase. | tt0027840 | Patsy Kelly, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Charley Chase, Pert Kelton, Edward Brophy, Harold Huber, Maxie Rosenbloom, Billy Gilbert, Syd Saylor, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kelly's Heroes | 1970 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★½ | 145 | Large-scale WW2 film tries for Sergeant Bilko-ish atmosphere with middling results; hippie soldier Sutherland isn't credible in 1940s setting. Action-filled aspects of Savalas and Eastwood's far-fetched gold heist behind enemy lines make film worth watching. | tt0065938 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, Carroll O'Connor, Gavin MacLeod, Stuart Margolin, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Comedy, Action, War | NULL | ||
| The Kennel Murder Case | 1933 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 73 | The definitive Philo Vance mystery, about an apparent suicide which Vance believes was really murder, tied to intrigue among rivals competing in a Long Island dog show. Stylish direction and photography and a fine cast make this top-notch by any standard. | tt0024210 | William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette, Ralph Morgan, Helen Vinson, Jack LaRue, Robert Barrat, Arthur Hohl, Paul Cavanagh | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Kenner | 1969 | Steve Sekely | ★★ | 92 | Small, bittersweet romance of soldier of fortune in Bombay (filmed on location), whose search for partner's murderer involves young native dancer. | tt0064539 | [G] | Jim Brown, Madlyn Rhue, Robert Coote, Ricky Cordell, Charles Horvath | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Kentuckian | 1955 | Burt Lancaster | ★★½ | 104 | Minor but spirited frontier adventure set in 1820s with Lancaster (doing double duty as star and director) traveling to Texas with his son, hoping to start new life. Based on Felix Holt's novel The Gabriel Horn. Matthau's film debut. | tt0048248 | Burt Lancaster, Diana Lynn, Dianne Foster, Walter Matthau, John McIntire, Una Merkel, John Carradine | Western | NULL | |||
| Kentucky | 1938 | David Butler | ★★★ | 95 | Lushly filmed story of rival horsebreeding families in blue-grass country, with lovers Young and Greene clinching at finale. Brennan won Best Supporting Actor Oscar. | tt0030317 | Loretta Young, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Douglass Dumbrille, Karen Morley, Moroni Olsen, Russell Hicks | Romance | NULL | |||
| The Kentucky Fried Movie | 1977 | John Landis | ★★★ | 78 | Vulgar, often funny skits strung together. Best: a lengthy Bruce Lee takeoff, a black and white spoof of the old courtroom TV shows. Idea originated with Kentucky Fried Theatre, a Madison, Wisconsin, satirical group whose key members— Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker— went on to do AIRPLANE! Followed a decade later by AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON. | tt0076257 | [R] | Evan Kim, Master Bong Soo Han, Bill Bixby, George Lazenby, Henry Gibson, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, Boni Enten, Ursula Digard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kentucky Kernels | 1934 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 75 | Wheeler & Woolsey take little Spanky into the deep South to collect inheritance, but find themselves in the midst of a family feud. Good vehicle for the team with great slapstick finale. | tt0025345 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Mary Carlisle, Spanky McFarland, Noah Beery/Sr., Lucille LaVerne | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kentucky Moonshine | 1938 | David Butler | ★★ | 85 | Radio singer Martin's ratings are slipping, so he travels Down South to find new talent; show-biz hopefuls Weaver and The Ritz Brothers pose as hillbillies in order to be discovered. Occasionally zany but mostly thin musical comedy. | tt0030318 | Tony Martin, Marjorie Weaver, Ritz Brothers, Slim Summerville, John Carradine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kes | 1969 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 113 | Refreshingly unsentimental account of a young working-class boy who finds release from the dreariness of his life by looking after and training a falcon. This is no typical boy-and-his-pet story; rather, it's a pointed commentary on the lack of opportunities for the lower classes in England— a theme that's been a constant in director Loach's work. | tt0064541 | David Bradley, Lynne Perrie, Freddie Fletcher, Colin Welland, Brian Glover, Bob Bowes | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Kettles in the Ozarks | 1956 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 81 | With Pa now gone, Ma Kettle takes the clan to visit her hillbilly brother-in-law (Hunnicutt). Percy Kilbride is sorely missed, but the cast is peppered with familiar character faces, and Ma's showdown with the backwoods moonshiners is pretty funny. | tt0049404 | Marjorie Main, Arthur Hunnicutt, Una Merkel, Ted de Corsia, Richard Eyer, David O'Brien, Joe Sawyer, Richard Deacon, Sid Tomack | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Kettles on Old Macdonald's Farm | 1957 | Virgil Vogel | ★½ | 80 | Ma Kettle plays matchmaker for a spoiled debutante and a poor lumberman in this weak final series entry, with Fennelly taking over the role of Pa. | tt0050590 | Marjorie Main, Parker Fennelly, Gloria Talbott, John Smith, Claude Akins, Roy Barcroft, Pat Morrow | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Key Exchange | 1985 | Barnet Kellman | ★★★ | 90 | Masters plays a neurotic New Yorker who exchanges apartment keys with Adams but can't commit himself to her alone. Amusing adaptation of Kevin Wade's off-Broadway play with fine performances and good use of N.Y.C. locations. | tt0089411 | [R] | Ben Masters, Brooke Adams, Daniel Stern, Danny Aiello, Nancy Mette, Tony Roberts | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Key Largo | 1948 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 101 | Dandy cast in adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play about tough gangster (Robinson) holding people captive in Florida hotel during tropical storm. Trevor won Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Robinson's boozy moll. Script by Huston and Richard Brooks. Score by Max Steiner. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040506 | Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Thomas Gomez, Jay Silverheels, Marc Lawrence, Dan Seymour, Harry Lewis | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Key Man | 1954 | Paul Guilfoyle | ★★½ | 78 | Competent little picture about illicit love affair leading to mysterious accidents involving Lansbury's architect husband. | tt0047178 | Angela Lansbury, Keith Andes, Brian Keith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Key Witness | 1960 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 82 | Overlong but effective narrative of pressures from street gang on Hunter's family to prevent his wife from testifying in criminal case. | tt0053993 | Jeffrey Hunter, Pat Crowley, Dennis Hopper, Joby Baker, Susan Harrison, Johnny Nash, Corey Allen | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Key to the City | 1950 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 101 | Bland romance between Gable and Young, two mayors who meet at convention in San Francisco. | tt0042634 | Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Frank Morgan, Marilyn Maxwell, Raymond Burr, James Gleason | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Key | 1934 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 71 | Atmospheric story set in 1920 as a love triangle unfolds against the backdrop of Ireland under martial law, with England's 'Black and Tan' unit dispatched to maintain the peace. Good little film with some understated but lovely visual moments. | tt0025346 | William Powell, Edna Best, Colin Clive, Hobart Cavanaugh, Halliwell Hobbes, Phil Regan, Arthur Treacher | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Key | 1958 | Carol Reed | ★★½ | 125 | Jan de Hartog novel becomes pointless romance tale. Loren is disillusioned woman passing out key to her room to series of naval captains during WW2, hoping to make their dangerous lives a little happier. Michael Caine has a small role. | tt0051816 | William Holden, Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, Oscar Homolka, Kieron Moore, Bernard Lee | British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| The Keyhole | 1933 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★½ | 69 | Francis' wealthy older husband suspects her of being unfaithful and hires private eye Brent to shadow her . . . but he falls in love with her and discovers she's being blackmailed by her sleazy first husband. Seedy romantic drama with Francis anguishing in a variety of elegant Orry-Kelly gowns. | tt0024211 | Kay Francis, George Brent, Glenda Farrell, Allen Jenkins, Monroe Owsley, Helen Ware, Henry Kolker. | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Keys of the Kingdom | 1944 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 137 | Peck is fine in this long but generally good film about missionary's life (played as boy by McDowall); from A. J. Cronin novel. | tt0036983 | Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price, Edmund Gwenn, Roddy McDowall, Cedric Hardwicke, Peggy Ann Garner | Drama | NULL | |||
| Keys to Tulsa | 1997 | Leslie Greif | ★½ | 113 | Or, Time Spent with Low-lifes in Oklahoma. Tiresome crime melodrama about a perpetual screw-up (Stoltz) who gets involved with a blackmail scheme instigated by seedy Spader, who also happens to be married to Stoltz's longtime heartthrob Unger. Diaz is fun in the first scene, but then disappears— and with her, all hope for some form of entertainment. | tt0116762 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, James Spader, Deborah Kara Unger, Joanna Going, Michael Rooker, Randy Graff, Mary Tyler Moore, James Coburn, Peter Strauss, Cameron Diaz | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Keys to the House | 2004 | Gianni Amelio. | ★★½ | 105 | Well-meaning, low-key story has a young father meeting his teenage handicapped son for the first time, slowly trying to establish the relationship they never had, and would never have had until fate intervened. Rampling is moving as a woman with a disabled daughter who teaches the man the joy of caring and responsibility. Film might have had more impact if the performance of leading actor Stuart were more affecting. Young Rossi, who is disabled in real life, does an exceptional job. | tt0345032 | Kim Rossi Stuart, Andrea Rossi, Charlotte Rampling, Alla Faerovich, Pierfrancesco Favino. | Italian-French | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Khartoum | 1966 | Basil Dearden | ★★ | 134 | Intelligent, compelling widescreen historical spectacle unfortunately lost in the shadow of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Olivier is eerily effective as an 1885-era Osama bin Laden, Heston is first-rate as "Chinese" Gordon, with solid support from a charismatic Richard Johnson. Fabulous battle sequences were staged by the legendary Yakima Canutt. | tt0060588 | Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Richard Johnson, Ralph Richardson, Alexander Knox, Johnny Sekka, Michael Hordern, Nigel Green, Hugh Williams, Ralph Michael | British | Drama, Adventure, War, Action | NULL | ||
| Khyber Patrol | 1954 | Seymour Friedman | ★★ | 71 | Cast is above pedestrian film of British officers fighting in India, with usual love conflicts. | tt0047146 | Richard Egan, Dawn Addams, Patric Knowles, Raymond Burr | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Kick-Ass | 2010 | Matthew Vaughn | ★★ | 113 | Nerdy high school teen fulfills his dream of becoming a superhero called Kick-Ass, though he has no superpowers, just nerve. He runs afoul of a crime kingpin, only to find two unexpected allies: a father-and-daughter vigilante duo. (She's an 11-year-old "hit-man" with an alarming vocabulary.) Starts out as an engaging wish-fulfillment story, and Cage is fun as a Batman-like crime fighter . . . then goes to extremes, turning from guilty-pleasure entertainment to an orgy of excess that leaves a bad taste behind. Created in tandem with a comic book by Mark Millar and John S. Romita, Jr. | tt1250777 | [R] | Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Chloë Grace Moretz, Omari Hardwick, Xander Berkeley, Michael Rispoli, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Jason Flemyng, Randall Batinkoff | British-U.S. | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Kickboxer | 1989 | Mark DiSalle | ★½ | 105 | Dull, dumb martial-arts time-killer. Van Damme seeks revenge against Thai fighter who crippled his brother. Strictly by the numbers. Followed by several unrelated sequels. | tt0097659 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Denis Alexio, Dennis Chan, Tong Po, Haskell Anderson, Rochelle Ashana | Action | NULL | ||
| Kicked in the Head | 1997 | Matthew Harrison | 💣 | 88 | Woefully inept N.Y. comedy about a would-be author of a meaning-of-life book and the tiresome characters he meets in the passing parade— among them motormouthed uncle Woods and flight attendant Fiorentino. Scripted by the director and his star. Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese. | tt0119457 | [R] | Kevin Corrigan, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Rapaport, James Woods, Lili Taylor, Burt Young | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kickin' It Old Skool | 2007 | Harv Glazer | 💣 | 108 | Michael Rosenbaum, Christopher McDonald, Debra Jo Rupp, Bobby Lee, Alan Ruck, Aris Alvarado, Vivica A. Fox. Think of it as BIG meets BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, but then again thinking about this abysmal break-dancing comedy is not advised. Kennedy falls off a stage while bustin' some fancy moves at the age of 10 and doesn't wake from a coma until 20 years later. With his mind still in the '80s he puts together his old dance team to challenge a new generation of fancy foot-steppers. This moronic exercise gets its only laughs from a David Hasselhoff cameo. TV's Webster, Emmanuel Lewis, also appears. | tt0772178 | [PG-13] | Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kicking & Screaming | 2005 | Jesse Dylan. | ★★½ | 96 | Frenetic family sports comedy is a perfect vehicle for Ferrell's everyman appeal and ballistic comic style. When his über-competitive father (Duvall) dumps his own grandson from his kids' soccer team, Ferrell is drafted to coach their ragtag competitors. Less about movie-cute kids than out-of-control parents who adopt a 'win at all cost' attitude, this upbeat trifle has some hilarious moments, as when an overcaffeinated Ferrell goes nuts in a coffee store. Former Chicago Bears legend Ditka has a sizeable and amusing role as himself, recruited to juice up Ferrell's timid coaching style. | tt0384642 | [PG] | Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, Kate Walsh, Musetta Vander, Dylan McLaughlin, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Bergman, Elliot Cho, Steven Anthony Lawrence, Laura Kightlinger. | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Kicking and Screaming | 1995 | Noah Baumbach | ★★ | 96 | Guess what? It's another we-just-graduated-from-college-what-do-we-do-now film! This one centers on a group of young men and their life-and-death crises concerning relationships, jobs, parents, etc. Successful in spots, but should have been better. Funniest scene is the opening— a grad night lawn party. Eigeman virtually reprises the roles he had in Whit Stillman's METROPOLITAN and BARCELONA. Question: Are there any hip, low-budget American movies that don't feature Eric Stoltz? | tt0113537 | [R] | Josh Hamilton, Eric Stoltz, Olivia d'Abo, Chris Eigeman, Parker Posey, Jason Wiles, Cara Buono, Carlos Jacott, Elliott Gould, Jessica Hecht | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kid Blue | 1973 | James Frawley | ★½ | 100 | Pseudo-hip Western comedy about misfit Hopper's faltering attempts to exist in small Texas town in early 20th century. Laughs, excitement, and interest are at a minimum here in spite of cast; Hopper is too old for his role. | tt0070267 | [PG] | Dennis Hopper, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Peter Boyle, Janice Rule, Lee Purcell, Ralph Waite, Clifton James, Howard Hesseman, M. Emmet Walsh | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Kid Brother | 1927 | Ted Wilde, J. A. Howe. | ★★★★ | 82 | Delightfully winning, beautifully filmed silent comedy with Harold as Cinderella-type kid brother in robust all-male family, who gets to prove his mettle in exciting finale where he subdues beefy villain. One of Lloyd's all-time best. | tt0018051 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Walter James, Leo Willis, Olin Francis. | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | |||
| Kid Dynamite | 1943 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 73 | Rambunctious East Side Kids entry, basically an extended fight between Muggs (Gorcey) and Danny (Jordan). | tt0036073 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Bobby Stone, Gabriel Dell, Pamela Blake, Bennie Bartlett, Dave Durand | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Brooklyn | 1946 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 113 | Comedy of milkman accidentally turned into prizefighter is often overdone but still a funny Kaye vehicle; remake of Harold Lloyd's THE MILKY WAY. | tt0038668 | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden, Walter Abel, Lionel Stander, Fay Bainter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Cleveland | 1949 | Herbert Kline | ★½ | 89 | Sports reporter Brent becomes involved with troubled (but baseball-crazy) youth Tamblyn. Numbingly awful; of interest solely for the presences of Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, Tris Speaker, Hank Greenberg and other baseball immortals. | tt0041545 | George Brent, Lynn Bari, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Cook, Ann Doran, Bill Veeck, the Cleveland Indians | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Kansas | 1941 | William Nigh. | ★½ | 66 | When a fruit buyer offers ridiculously low prices for planters' crops, competitors take drastic measures; low budget, low quality. | tt0033783 | Leo Carrillo, Andy Devine, Dick Foran, Ann Doran. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Kokomo | 1939 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★★ | 93 | Hayseed boxer Morris won't fight until he finds the mother who abandoned him as a baby; O'Brien is scheming manager who gets him into the ring by hiring gin-soaked kleptomaniac Robson to pose as the old dame. Disarmingly silly riff on LADY FOR A DAY, with Robson once again stealing the show. Based on a story by Dalton Trumbo. | tt0031530 | Pat O'Brien, Wayne Morris, Joan Blondell, May Robson, Jane Wyman, Stanley Fields, Maxie Rosenbloom, Sidney Toler, Ed Brophy, Ward Bond. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Left Field | 1953 | Harmon Jones | ★★ | 80 | Homey little film with Dailey as ex-baseball star turned ballpark vendor who uses his son as cover while trying to turn a losing team around. Remade as 1979 TV movie with Gary Coleman. | tt0045958 | Dan Dailey, Anne Bancroft, Billy Chapin, Lloyd Bridges, Ray Collins, Richard Egan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Spain | 1932 | Leo McCarey | ★★★ | 96 | Lavish Cantor musical with Eddie mistaken for famed bullfighter; Roberti is his vivacious leading lady. Striking Busby Berkeley musical numbers; look for Paulette Goddard and Betty Grable in the chorus line. | tt0023088 | Eddie Cantor, Lyda Roberti, Robert Young, Ruth Hall, John Miljan, Stanley Fields | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Kid From Texas | 1950 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 78 | Slapdash Western, Murphy's first, in which he plays Billy the Kid. He's hired by kindly New Mexico rancher Strudwick, and becomes a victim of circumstance— and an outlaw. | tt0042638 | Audie Murphy, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker, Shepperd Strudwick, Will Geer, William Talman, Paul Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Kid Galahad | 1937 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 101 | Well-paced yarn with promoter Robinson making naive bellhop Morris a boxing star, tangling with mobster Bogart at every turn. Remade in 1941 (as THE WAGONS ROLL AT NIGHT) and in 1962. Shown on TV for years as BATTLING BELLHOP. | tt0029080 | Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Wayne Morris, Jane Bryan, Harry Carey, Veda Ann Borg | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Kid Galahad | 1962 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 95 | This remake lacks wallop of the original. Elvis stars as a boxer who wins championship— and sings six forgettable songs— but prefers quiet life as garage mechanic. | tt0056138 | Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson, Ned Glass | Musical | NULL | |||
| Kid Glove Killer | 1942 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★ | 74 | Solid B film about police chemist Heflin uncovering the killer of a mayor, with taut direction by Zinnemann. Look for Ava Gardner as a car hop. | tt0034941 | Van Heflin, Lee Bowman, Marsha Hunt, Samuel S. Hinds, Cliff Clark, Eddie Quillan | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Kid Millions | 1934 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 90 | Elaborate Cantor musical about Eddie inheriting a fortune. Musical numbers (including one by The Nicholas Brothers) and comedy set pieces boost a weak script. Color segment in ice-cream factory a delight. Songs include 'When My Ship Comes In.' Lucille Ball is one of the Goldwyn Girls. | tt0025347 | Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Warren Hymer, The Nicholas Brothers | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Kid Monk Baroni | 1952 | Harold Schuster. | ★★ | 80 | Coached by a priest, an amateur pugilist tries to fight his way out of New York's mean streets but winds up badly scarred instead. After plastic surgery, he seeks a comeback but may now be thwarted by an avaricious woman. Passable boxing-ring drama is remembered (if at all) for Nimoy's only pre-Star Trek leading movie role. | tt0044796 | Richard Rober, Bruce Cabot, Allene Roberts, Mona Knox, Leonard Nimoy, Jack Larson, Budd Jaxon, Kathleen Freeman. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Kid Rodelo | 1966 | Richard Carlson | ★½ | 91 | After jail term, cowboys go off to search for hidden $50,000 in gold. You've seen it all before. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. Filmed in Spain. | tt0059356 | Don Murray, Janet Leigh, Broderick Crawford, Richard Carlson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Kid Stays in the Picture | 2002 | Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgen | ★★ | 93 | From garment-center hotshot to screen actor to movie mogul and ladies man, Robert Evans has lived a colorful (and often public) life. This documentary allows him to tell his story, but his self-absorption grows tiresome after a while, and only vintage video and film clips bring it to life. Not nearly as much fun as listening to Evans' audiobook version of his autobiography. Highlight: Dustin Hoffman's impression of Evans, shown during the closing credits. | tt0303353 | Narrated by Robert Evans | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Kid Vengeance | 1977 | Joe Manduke | ★½ | 94 | Bloody, gory, obnoxious Western about young Garrett seeking revenge against outlaws who killed his parents and kidnapped his sister. | tt0076261 | Lee Van Cleef, Jim Brown, John Marley, Leif Garrett, Glynnis O'Connor, Matt Clark | Western | NULL | |||
| The Kid and I | 2005 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★ | 93 | Arnold plays a despondent, down-on-his-luck actor who reluctantly agrees to write and appear in a film with a nonpro: a 17-year-old boy with cerebral palsy (Gores) whose father is bankrolling the movie. Comedy mixes fact and fiction (in real life Gores proposed the idea to Arnold, who wrote and coproduced) and avoids becoming overly maudlin without excelling in any other way. A number of familiar faces appear in cameos. | tt0416891 | [PG-13] | Tom Arnold, Eric Gores, Richard Edson, Linda Hamilton, Henry Winkler, Joe Mantegna, Brenda Strong, Shannon Elizabeth, Arrielle Kebbel, Penelope Spheeris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Kid for Two Farthings | 1955 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 96 | Imaginative fable of a poor little London boy (Ashmore) with a vivid imagination; he looks for a unicorn he believes will work miracles, and finds instead a sick, one-horned goat. Script by Wolf Mankowitz, based on his novel. | tt0048250 | Celia Johnson, Diana Dors, David Kossoff, Jonathan Ashmore, Brenda De Banzie, Primo Carnera, Sidney Tafler, Lou Jacobi | British | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| A Kid in King Arthur's Court | 1995 | Michael Gottlieb | ★★½ | 89 | Innocuous kids' comedy about a teenaged boy who's magically transported to ancient Camelot, where he helps to redeem the doddering King Arthur and undo the arch-villain Lord Belasco. Parents may yawn, but it's a pleasant-enough outing for kids. Young Nicholas is engaging and Ackland is solid as a rock, playing the good King. | tt0113538 | [PG] | Thomas Ian Nicholas, Joss Ackland, Art Malik, Paloma Baeza, Kate Winslet, Ron Moody | Family, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Kid with a Bike | 2011 | Jean-Pierre, Luc Dardenne | ★★★½ | 87 | Angry young boy can't accept the fact that his father has abandoned him at an orphanage. A sympathetic woman who lives in town offers to take him on weekends, but he is unable to respond to her kindness, at least at first. Another moving slice of life from the Dardenne brothers that unfolds almost like a documentary, without commenting on the action. It's up to us to respond as we choose, and the results are emotionally devastating. The boy's father is played by Renier, who started out with the Dardennes as a boy himself, in LA PROMESSE. | tt1827512 | Cécile de France, Thomas Doret, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gourmet | Belgian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Kid | 1921 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★½ | 60 | Chaplin's first real feature mixes slapstick and sentiment in a winning combination, as the Tramp raises a streetwise orphan. Wonderful film launched Coogan as major child star, and it's easy to see why. | tt0012349 | Charlie Chaplin, Jack (Jackie) Coogan, Edna Purviance, Chuck Reisner, Lita Grey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Kidco | 1984 | Ronald F. Maxwell | ★★½ | 105 | Okay comedy about the problems of preteen entrepreneur Schwartz and his cohorts, yuppies-in-training all. Ideal fare for the money-obsessed '80s yet barely released theatrically. Based on a true-life story; filmed in 1982. | tt0087550 | [PG] | Scott Schwartz, Cinnamon Idles, Tristine Skyler, Elizabeth Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kidnap Syndicate | 1975 | Fernando Di Leo | ★★ | 83 | Crime drama about the snatching of two youngsters— the son of a multimillionaire and an auto mechanic's boy— and how the industrialist's rash actions cause all manner of violence and a rampage of vengeance. | tt0072786 | [R] | James Mason, Valentina Cortese, Luc Merenda, Irina Maleeva, Vittorio Caprioli | Italian | Crime | NULL | |
| Kidnapped | 1938 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★½ | 90 | Good adventure yarn of 1750s Scotland and England but not Robert Louis Stevenson; fine cast in generally entertaining script. | tt0030321 | Warner Baxter, Freddie Bartholomew, Arleen Whelan, C. Aubrey Smith, Reginald Owen, John Carradine, Nigel Bruce | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Kidnapped | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 80 | Disappointing low-budget adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Look for Hugh O'Brian as a sailor. | tt0040507 | Roddy McDowall, Sue England, Dan O'Herlihy, Roland Winters, Jeff Corey | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Kidnapped | 1960 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 97 | Disney feature filmed in England is faithful to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, but surprisingly dull. Good cast and vivid atmosphere are its major assets. | tt0053994 | Peter Finch, James MacArthur, Bernard Lee, Niall MacGinnis, John Laurie, Finlay Currie, Peter O'Toole | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Kidnapped | 1971 | Delbert Mann | ★★ | 100 | Disappointing version of Stevenson tale is made endurable by Caine's pleasing performance as Alan Breck. | tt0067302 | [G] | Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Jack Hawkins, Donald Pleasence, Gordon Jackson, Vivien Heilbron | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Kidnapped | 1995 | Ivan Passer | Above Average TV Movie | 195 | Assante swashbuckles through this full-bodied, spectacularly filmed version of the classic; probably as close to Robert Louis Stevenson as any that preceded it through the years. Adapted by John Goldsmith and Michael Barlow and enacted with verve by a cast of predominantly English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh actors; newcomer McCardie is quite admirable as David Balfour. Shot entirely in Ireland and coexecutive produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Made for cable; originally shown in two parts. | tt0113539 | Armand Assante, Brian McCardie, Patrick Malahide, Michael Kitchen, Brian Blessed, Adam Blackwood, Brian McGrath | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Kidnapping of the President | 1980 | George Mendeluk. | ★★½ | 113 | The title tells all: Third World terrorists kidnap president Holbrook, with Secret Service chief Shatner intervening. OK actioner is certainly topical; based on Charles Templeton's novel. | tt0080997 | [R] | William Shatner, Hal Holbrook, Van Johnson, Ava Gardner, Miguel Fernandes, Cindy Girling. | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Kids | 1995 | Larry Clark | ★★½ | 90 | Photographer/skateboardist Clark's filmmaking debut is a cinema verité-style look at aimless N.Y.C. teens, focusing on Telly (Fitzpatrick), who loves to deflower virgins, and Jennie (Sevigny), who's facing the consequences of one such encounter. A telling portrait of '90s-style hedonism and the results of kids growing up without parents to guide them. Utterly matter-of-fact and nonjudgmental about its sexual frankness and violence, (which is precisely what disturbed many viewers). Is it purely exploitive, or true to life? You be the judge. | tt0113540 | Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Yakira Peguero, Harold Hunter, Sarah Henderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Kids Are All Right | 2010 | Lisa Cholodenko | ★★★ | 106 | Teenaged brother and sister have been raised by two loving moms but are curious to know about the man who made their birth possible, so they look up their sperm donor and—to their mothers’ dismay—befriend him. Savvy, funny, and unexpectedly poignant look at an alternative family, with first-rate performances across the board. Cholodenko cowrote the screenplay with Stuart Blumberg. | tt0842926 | [R] | Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Rebecca Lawrence | NULL | |||
| The Kids Are Alright | 1979 | Jeff Stein | ★★★ | 108 | Overlong and disjointed, yet frequently exhilarating documentary on The Who that manages to capture the anarchic spirit of the group— and of rock 'n' roll. Brief appearances by Steve Martin, Tom Smothers, and Ringo Starr, along with wild interviews with Townshend, Daltrey, Moon, and Entwistle. Songs include 'Magic Bus,' 'Happy Jack,' and several numbers from Tommy. | tt0079400 | [PG] | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |||
| Kika | 1993 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★ | 111 | Wacky, very adult story about free-spirited makeup artist Kika (Forque, whose performance is positively infectious) and the men in her life, including an American expatriate writer (Coyote) and a psychotic prison escapee. Almodóvar has given his favorite actress, Abril, the role of a lifetime: a tabloid TV hostess who cruises Madrid with a camera strapped to her head, seeking to capture criminal acts on videotape. Very funny, explicitly sexual film doesn't quite sustain its momentum to the end, but remains fresh and certainly different. Will undoubtedly shock those unfamiliar with Almodóvar. | tt0107315 | Peter Coyote, Veronica Forque, Victoria Abril, Alex Casanovas, Rossy de Palma, Santiago Lajusticia, Anabel Alonso, Bibi Andersson | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kiki's Delivery Service | Majo no takkyubin | 1989 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 103 | Enchanting coming-of-age fable about a friendly, precocious witch who must leave home on her 13th birthday to find her place in life. With her talking cat in tow, she makes friends (and uses her powers and flying broom) as the delivery girl for a small-town bakery. Another beautifully animated, kindhearted gem from filmmaker Miyazaki. | tt0097814 | [G] | Voices of Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Matthew Lawrence, Debbie Reynolds, Janeane Garofalo, Tress MacNeille, Edie McClurg | Japanese | Comedy, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL |
| Kikujiro | 1999 | Takeshi Kitano | ★★ | 116 | Half road movie, half variation on the unhappy child/crusty adult genre, a listless story of a young boy's journey to seek out his long-gone mother— with a low-life chaperone. Title character (played by the director under his 'Beat Takeshi' monicker) is an unsympathetic bully, while young Sekiguchi is a bit of a lump. By the time this very protracted story tries turning fanciful by introducing two of the most unlikely bikers in history, a cutting-edge action filmmaker has lost control of his picture. | tt0199683 | [PG-13] | Beat Takeshi, Yasuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, Yuko Daike, Beat Kiyoshi | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | |
| Kill A Dragon | 1967 | Michael Moore | ★½ | 91 | Complicat√ ed, far-fetched tale of feudal baron in modern China and his American adversary. | tt0180781 | Jack Palance, Fernando Lamas, Aldo Ray, Alizia Gur | Action | NULL | |||
| Kill Bill Vol. 1 | 2003 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★★½ | 110 | A blood-spattered bride vows revenge on her former boss and colleagues, a team of elite assassins who left her for dead. Tarantino channels a dizzying array of pop culture influences, including spaghetti Westerns, samurai films, vintage Hong Kong chop-socky vehicles, and anime, but the result is all his own: a wild, adrenaline-charged, operatically violent, comic-book action yarn. This would be indefensible if it pretended to be anything other than what it is. The women are all terrific, and the climactic swordfight is a knockout. Ends with a cliffhanger leading to VOL. 2, though originally planned to be one long film. | tt0266697 | [R] | Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gordon Liu (Chia-hui), Michael Parks, Julie Dreyfus, Bo Svenson | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kill Bill Vol. 2 | 2004 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★★ | 137 | Perfect companion piece to VOL. 1 doesn't have the same energy or enormous set pieces but establishes its own pace and style. Thurman must eliminate two more assassins (Madsen and Hannah) before her ultimate showdown with the boss, Bill. Carradine gives the performance of his career as Thurman's wily, articulate, and deadly mentor. Parks and Liu play (albeit briefly) entirely different roles than in VOL. 1. Tarantino continues to pay homage to favorite films and genres; there's even a quick shot of Roy Rogers in a William Witney Western. | tt0378194 | [R] | Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, Sid Haig, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeannie Epper, Bo Svenson | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kill Her Gently | 1957 | Charles Saunders. | ★★ | 73 | Brutal B film of supposedly cured mental patient hiring two convicts-at-large to kill his wife. | tt0050593 | Marc Lawrence, Maureen Connell, George Mikell, Griffith Jones, John Gayford. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kill Me Again | 1989 | John Dahl | ★★½ | 94 | Femme fatale Whalley-Kilmer makes like Jane Greer in this contemporary film noir, sexily scamming her way through the Nevada desert (and a couple of big cities) trying to steal gangland booty. Fans of detective genre will enjoy this mild send-up of crime flicks. Fun, but also inherently derivative. | tt0097662 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Michael Madsen, Jonathan Gries, Pat Mulligan, Nick Dimitri, Bibi Besch | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kill Me Later | 2001 | Dana Lustig | ★★★ | 105 | Young woman who's sour on life is about to end it all when she's taken hostage by a bungling bank robber, who takes it on the lam. In time (of course), they drop their defenses and actually bring out the best qualities in each other, even as the cops close in. Modest but entertaining mix of black comedy and romance with good performances by the two leads. Director Lustig appears as Beesley's ex-wife. | tt0243595 | [R] | Selma Blair, Max Beesley, O'Neal Compton, Lochlyn Munro, D.W. Moffett, Brendan Fehr, Tom Heaton | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kill Me Tomorrow | 1957 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 80 | Adequate B film about newspaperman cracking murder case leading to arrest of diamond-smuggling syndicate. | tt0050594 | Pat O'Brien, Lois Maxwell, George Coulouris, Robert Brown, Tommy Steele | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Kill and Kill Again | 1981 | Ivan Hall | ★★ | 100 | OK chop-socky actioner, with Ryan foiling scientist Meyer's plot to take over the world. Filmed in South Africa. | tt0082612 | [PG] | James Ryan, Anneline Kriel, Ken Gampu, Norman Robinson, Michael Meyer | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Kill or Be Killed | 1980 | Ivan Hall | ★★ | 90 | Karate champions lock limbs as ex-Nazi coach seeks revenge against Japanese counterpart who bested him in a tournament during WW2. A cut above the usual martial arts fodder. | tt0080999 | [PG] | James Ryan, Norman Combes, Charlotte Michelle, Danie DuPlessis | Action | NULL | ||
| Kill the Umpire | 1950 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 78 | Lightweight comedy about baseball lover who becomes the sport's most hated man, the umpire. Ends with spectacular slapstick chase. Screenplay by Frank Tashlin. | tt0042641 | William Bendix, Una Merkel, Ray Collins, Gloria Henry, William Frawley, Tom D'Andrea, Richard Taylor (Jeff Richards) | Comedy, Sport | NULL | |||
| Kill! Kill! Kill! | 1972 | Romain Gary | ★½ | 90 | Interpol agent Mason, on the trail of Italian drug kingpins, gets competition from fellow agent Boyd, who believes in playing dirty. Hardened violence clashes with writer-director Gary's purple prose. Original title KILL, at 102m. | tt0068801 | Jean Seberg, James Mason, Stephen Boyd, Curt Jurgens, Daniel Emilfork | French-Spanish-German-Italian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kill, Baby, Kill | Curse of the Living Dead | 1966 | Mario Bava | ★★★ | 83 | One of horror maestro Bava's best films, spoiled only by his overuse of a zoom lens. Suicide victims in a small Transylvanian village are found with gold coins embedded in their hearts. Stylish, witty and colorful, with many astonishing sequences. Also shown in cut version under title CURSE OF THE LIVING DEAD. | tt0060794 | [PG] | Erika Blanc, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Fabienne Dali, Giana Vivaldi, Piero Lulli, Max Lawrence | Italian | Horror | NULL |
| The Kill-Off | 1990 | Maggie Greenwald | ★★★½ | 110 | A miserable, manipulative, bedridden woman terrorizes her small seaside town by spreading malicious gossip over the phone. Clearly, this cannot last. First-rate realization of Jim Thompson's novel in this modest, moody film noir, scripted by Greenwald, perfectly photographed by Declan Quinn, with an ideal score by Evan Lurie. | tt0097665 | [R] | Loretta Gross, Andrew Lee Barrett, Jackson Sims, Steve Monroe, Cathy Haase, William Russell |
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| Killer Ape | 1953 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★½ | 68 | Jungle Jim Weissmuller takes on evil white hunters who are using animals to test their germ warfare weapons. Former cowboy star Corrigan, who frequently worked in an ape suit for jungle cheapies, appears here sans costume. | tt0045959 | Johnny Weissmuller, Carol Thurston, Ray Corrigan, Max Palmer, Nestor Paiva, Nick Stuart | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Killer Elite | 2011 | Gary McKendry | ★★½ | 117 | In order to rescue his abducted mentor (De Niro), an ex–special ops agent (Statham) is forced out of retirement and agrees to assassinate members of a British secret military society. Rugged, well-acted espionage actioner raises intriguing questions about morality and abuse of power, only to abandon them in favor of the usual slam-bang Statham heroics. "Based on a true story," according to the opening credits, from a fictionalized memoir by Ranulph Fiennes. No relation whatsoever to Sam Peckinpah's 1975 film. | tt1448755 | [R] | Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Strahovski, Ben Mendelsohn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje | U.S.-Australian | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Killer Elite | 1975 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★ | 122 | Mercenary Duvall double-crosses partner Caan, leading to characteristic but lesser Peckinpah bloodbath involving the CIA. Trashy script slightly redeemed by director's flair for action sequences. | tt0073240 | [PG] | James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins, Mako, Burt Young, Gig Young | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Killer Fish | Deadly Treasure of the Piranha | 1979 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★ | 101 | Pursuit of stolen jewels dumped in lake full of deadly piranha fish forms basis for this predictable outing filmed in Brazil. Same fishy predators were used in much more enjoyable film, PIRANHA. Also known as DEADLY TREASURE OF THE PIRANHA. | tt0077800 | [PG] | Lee Majors, Karen Black, James Franciscus, Margaux Hemingway, Marisa Berenson, Gary Collins | Italian-Brazilian | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| Killer Force | 1975 | Val Guest | ★★ | 101 | Dirty doings at diamond syndicate's desert mine in South Africa. Has cast and potential but overly diffuse and complex. | tt0073241 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Telly Savalas, Hugh O'Brian, Christopher Lee, Maud Adams, O. J. Simpson, Ian Yule | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Killer Inside Me | 1976 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★ | 99 | Bizarre opus about a psychotic deputy sheriff (flashbacks accounting for his present state) about to go off the deep end; saved and made believable by strong performance from Keach. | tt0074746 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Susan Tyrrell, Keenan Wynn, Tisha Sterling, Don Stroud, Charles McGraw | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Killer Inside Me | 2010 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★ | 109 | In early 1950s Texas, a quiet deputy sheriff who’s grown up in the community reveals a dark side no one in town has ever seen: He brutalizes women and does whatever it takes to cover up his misdeeds. Ostensibly faithful adaptation (by John Curran) of Jim Thompson’s landmark 1952 novel succeeds in capturing only the externals and never allows us to get inside the protagonist’s head. As a result the movie is remote and off-putting, smeared with truly repellent violence. | tt0954947 | [R] | Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Simon Baker, Bill Pullman, Ned Beatty, Elias Koteas, Tom Bower, Brent Briscoe, Jay R. Ferguson, Liam Aiken | U.S.-British-Swedish | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Killer Is Loose | 1956 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 73 | Cop Cotten accidentally kills the wife of quiet bank-clerk-turned-robber Corey, who later escapes from prison with eye-for-an-eye revenge in mind. Fast-paced suspenseful sleeper, with excellent L.A. location photography and perhaps Corey's best performance: he's both scary and pathetic. | tt0049405 | Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey, Alan Hale/Jr., Michael Pate | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Killer Klowns From Outer Space | 1988 | Stephen Chiodo | ★★½ | 88 | One-of-a-kind alien invasion sci-fi featuring blood-drinking alien clowns harvesting a small city. Routinely plotted, but vividly designed, with cheeky humor, it plays its premise to the hilt, all circus bases touched. A cult favorite. | tt0095444 | [PG-13] | Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Vernon, John Allen Nelson, Peter Licassi, Michael Siegel, Royal Dano | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Killer Leopard | 1954 | Ford Beebe, Edward Morey/ Jr | ★½ | 70 | Bomba the Jungle Boy guides a Hollywood starlet through the bush to find her missing husband. Did this next-to-last series entry really require two directors. | tt0047148 | Johnny Sheffield, Beverly Garland, Barry Bernard, Donald Murphy, Leonard Mudie, Smoki Whitfield | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Killer McCoy | 1947 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 104 | Good drama of fighter Rooney accidentally involved in murder, with fine supporting cast of promoters and racketeers. Remake of THE CROWD ROARS (1938). | tt0039531 | Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, Ann Blyth, James Dunn, Tom Tully, Sam Levene | Drama | NULL | |||
| Killer Shark | 1950 | Oscar (Budd) Boetticher | ★½ | 76 | Back Bayite McDowall learns new values as skipper of shark-hunting vessel; cheapie film. | tt0042642 | Roddy McDowall, Laurette Luez, Roland Winters, Edward Norris, Douglas Fowley, Dick Moore | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Killer Shrews | 1959 | Ray Kellogg | ★★½ | 70 | No, this isn't about an attack of nagging wives, it's an inventive but silly sci-fi tale of people isolated on a Texas island, menaced by title creatures created by well-intentioned scientist. | tt0052969 | James Best, Ingrid Goude, Ken Curtis, Baruch Lumet, Gordon McLendon | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Killer That Stalked New York | 1950 | Earl McEvoy | ★★½ | 79 | Interesting B film of a diamond-smuggling couple sought by police because they contracted contagious disease while abroad. | tt0042643 | Charles Korvin, Evelyn Keyes, William Bishop, Dorothy Malone, Lola Albright, Jim Backus, Whit Bissell, Richard Egan | Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Killer of Sheep | 1977 | Charles Burnett | ★★★½ | 80 | Starkly simple series of documentary-style vignettes set in the Watts district of L.A., focusing primarily on a working-class man (Sanders) who's become emotionally numb, especially with his wife. Could it be the result of his job at a slaughterhouse? These quiet slices of black ghetto life are connected by the thinnest possible thread, but offer a portrayal that's both profound and poetic. Barely released in 1977, when it was a thesis project at UCLA film school; theatrically released in 2007. Soundtrack features black artists ranging from Paul Robeson to Earth Wind & Fire. Burnett also photographed and edited. | tt0076263 | Henry Gayle Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, Jack Drummond. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Killer's Kiss | 1955 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★ | 67 | Meandering account of revenge when boxer's courting of working-girl causes her boss to commit murder. Interesting early Kubrick; the inspiration for the film-within-a-film of STRANGERS KISS. Leading lady Kane is now TV and newspaper journalist Chris Chase. | tt0048254 | Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, Irene Kane, Jerry Jarret | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Killer | Die xue shuang xiong | 1989 | John Woo | ★★★½ | 110 | Spectacular thriller about a hit man (Yun-Fat) who forms an unusual relationship with a singer (Yeh) he accidentally blinds and the cop (Lee) assigned to stop him. Pulp melodrama achieves near-operatic grandeur, thanks to multileveled characterizations and story, creative direction, and phenomenal action scenes that make most American films look anemic by comparison. Woo also wrote the screenplay. | tt0097202 | Chow Yun-Fat, Sally Yeh, Danny Lee, Kenneth Tsang, Chu Kong, Lam Chung, Shing Fui-On | Hong Kong | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Killer: A Journal of Murder | 1996 | Tim Metcalfe | ★½ | 91 | In 1929, young Jewish prison guard Leonard befriends Leavenworth convict Carl Panzram (Woods), smuggling him forbidden writing supplies. Panzram, a habitual killer, writes his story, which we see in flashbacks. Woods is brilliant, but the point of view is hackneyed and outmoded. Badly written and directed. | tt0113542 | [R] | James Woods, Robert Sean Leonard, Steve Forrest, Robert John Burke, Cara Buono, Ellen Greene, Jeffrey DeMunn, Christopher Petrosino, Richard Riehle, Harold Gould | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Killers | 2010 | Robert Luketic | 💣 | 100 | Desperately unfunny, drearily frenetic action-comedy about an attractive but unobservant suburban wife who’s shocked to discover her hunky husband (Kutcher) is a retired assassin—and her seemingly friendly neighbors want to collect the price on his head. Heigl is atypically unappealing here, acting at the top of her lungs to nerve-grating effect, while Kutcher simply mugs, shrugs, and skates through. | tt1103153 | [PG-13] | Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara, Katheryn Winnick, Kevin Sussman, Lisa Ann Walter, Casey Wilson, Rob Riggle, Martin Mull, Alex Borstein, Usher Raymond | Comedy, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Killers From Space | 1954 | W. Lee Wilder | 💣 | 71 | Scientist Graves, killed in a plane crash, is brought back to life by aliens from the planet Astron Delta. They're planning to invade Earth and want him to pilfer atomic data. Poor in all departments— and too dull to be funny. | tt0047149 | Peter Graves, James Seay, Steve Pendleton, Barbara Bestar, Frank Gerstle | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Killers Three | 1968 | Bruce Kessler | 💣 | 88 | Knock-off of BONNIE AND CLYDE doesn't offer much by way of comparison, unless you find the idea of Dick Clark in wirerims a gas. | tt0063184 | [M] | Robert Walker, Diane Varsi, Dick Clark, Norman Alden, Maureen Arthur, Merle Haggard | Crime | NULL | ||
| Killers of Kilimanjaro | 1959 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 91 | Spotty adventure yarn of railroad-building in East Africa. | tt0052970 | Robert Taylor, Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Gregoire Aslan, Alan Cuthbertson, Donald Pleasence | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Killers | 1946 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★★ | 105 | Compelling crime drama (based on Hemingway story) of ex-fighter found murdered, subsequent investigation. Film provides fireworks, early success of Lancaster (in film debut) and Gardner. Miklos Rozsa's dynamic score features the familiar dum-da-dum-dum theme later utilized by Dragnet. Screenplay by Anthony Veiller (and, uncredited, John Huston). Reworked in 1964. | tt0038669 | Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, Virginia Christine, William Conrad, Charles McGraw | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Killers | 1964 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 95 | Two inquisitive hit men piece together the story of the man they've just murdered, in this free adaptation of Hemingway's short story. Originally shot for TV, it was rejected as 'too violent' and released to theaters instead. Some latter-day notoriety derives from Reagan's casting as a brutal crime kingpin; it was his last movie role. Marvin has a great closing line. | tt0058262 | Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, Ronald Reagan, Clu Gulager, Claude Akins, Norman Fell | Crime | NULL | |||
| Killing 'em Softly | 1985 | Max Fischer | 💣 | 81 | Segal kills a rock band manager who owes him money; Cara's boyfriend is charged with the crime. Guess what— Segal and Cara fall in love. Sloppily made and embarrassingly bad. | tt0084206 | George Segal, Irene Cara, Clark Johnson, Nicholas Campbell, Joyce Gordon | Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Killing Affair | 1988 | David Saperstein | ★½ | 100 | Dreary goings on in the Southern backwoods, circa 1943, where Weller kills Baker's hateful husband, and then develops a turbulent relationship with her. Based on Robert Houston's novel Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, this marks writer Saperstein's directing debut. Filmed in 1985. | tt0095445 | [R] | Peter Weller, Kathy Baker, John Glover, Bill Smitrovich | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Killing Bono | 2011 | Nick Hamm | ★★ | 113 | In the late '70s, Dubliner Neil McCormick (Barnes) puts together a band with schoolmates and his kid brother (Sheehan) and engages in a rivalry with a local group that soon changes its name to U2. Neil also refuses to let his brother join Bono's band—but neglects to tell his sibling. This is just the first in a series of bad moves the determined but self-deluded McCormick makes over the next decade while Bono and U2 become world-famous. Interesting at first, but ultimately enervating. Barnes gives a vivid performance but his character is impossibly obnoxious. Based on real events as recounted by McCormick in his book I Was Bono's Doppelgänger. Postlethwaite's final film. | tt1535101 | [R] | Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Krysten Ritter, Peter Serafinowicz, Stanley Townsend, Martin McCann, Pete Postlethwaite | Irish-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Killing Fields | 1984 | Roland Joffé | ★★★½ | 141 | Highly charged drama based on the memoirs of N.Y. Times reporter Sidney Schanberg, who remained in Cambodia after American evacuation— putting his native translator and assistant Dith Pran in great jeopardy. Frighteningly realistic depiction of a country torn apart by war and terrorism; an emotional powerhouse. Long but worthwhile. Impressive feature debut for Malkovich and documentary director Joffé; Ngor (who lived through Cambodian turmoil in real life) won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his acting debut. Oscars also went to cinematographer Chris Menges, editor Jim Clark. | tt0087553 | [R] | Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson, Bill Paterson, Athol Fugard, Spalding Gray | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Killing Game | 1967 | Alain Jessua | ★★½ | 94 | Mystery comic strip writer comes up with his ultimate puzzler. Not bad. | tt0061841 | Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claudine Auger, Michel Duchaussoy, Eleanore Hirt | French | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Killing Me Softly | 2002 | Chen Kaige | ★★ | 100 | American Graham, living in London and already in a relationship, is drawn to a handsome stranger. Will this attraction be fatal? Potentially intriguing tale of desire, obsession, and the fine line between ecstasy and terror starts off promisingly but falls apart, becoming just another predictable thriller. Kaige’s English-language debut. Released direct to video in the U.S. Also available in an unrated version. | tt0250468 | [R] | Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone, Ulrich Thomsen, Ian Hart, Jason Hughes, Kika Markham | U.S.-British | Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Killing Time | 1987 | Rick King | ★★ | 94 | Stale noir-ish thriller about sex, sin, violence and duplicity in a small California town. Sutherland has murdered a deputy, assumed his identity, while new sheriff Bridges and mistress Kath plot to do in her evil husband (Rogers). DOUBLE INDEMNITY it ain't! | tt0093347 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Wayne Rogers, Joe Don Baker, Camelia Kath, Janet Carroll, Michael Madsen, Gracie Harrison | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Killing Zoe | 1994 | Roger Avary | ★★½ | 98 | Writer-director Avary, coscripter of PULP FICTION, spreads mayhem and body tissue in his own Paris-set directorial debut— a Bastille Day bank caper in which some participants are preoccupied with drugs, and their imported Yank safecracker is preoccupied with a call girl who has surpassed all expectations. Plot twists and stylistic flourishes notwithstanding, zippy melodrama is too little, too late. Extremely violent. Quentin Tarantino coexecutive-produced. | tt0110265 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Julie Delpy, Tai Thai, Bruce Ramsey, Kario Salem, Salvator Xurev, Gary Kemp, Martin Raymond, Cecilia Peck | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Killing of Angel Street | 1981 | Donald Crombie | ★★½ | 101 | Fair melodrama about corrupt real estate manipulators harassing homeowners to sell their property. Communist Hargreaves and geologist Alexander take on the villains when her activist father mysteriously dies. Supposedly based on actual events that also inspired HEATWAVE (1983). | tt0082614 | Liz Alexander, John Hargreaves, Alexander Archdale, Reg Lye, Gordon McDougall | Australian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Killing of Sister George | 1968 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 138 | Overwrought but entertaining drama, with comedy touches, about soap opera actress Reid who fears her character (Sister George) is due to be 'killed.' Story follows her deteriorating lesbian relationship with dependent, childlike York, who's caught the eye of network executive Browne. Very good performances in this adaptation of Frank Marcus' play. | tt0063185 | [R] | Beryl Reid, Susannah York, Coral Browne, Ronald Fraser, Patricia Medina | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Killing of a Chinese Bookie | 1976 | John Cassavetes | ★½ | 109 | Strange, self-indulgent (even for Cassavetes) home movie centering around the owner of a strip joint, the mob and what used to be called 'B-girls.' Small cult may take to this; others beware. | tt0074749 | [R] | Ben Gazzara, Timothy Agoglia Carey, Seymour Cassel, Azizi Johari, Meade Roberts, Alice Friedland | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Killing | 1956 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★½ | 83 | The film that really put Kubrick on the map— a case study of a racetrack heist, with a colorful cast of characters, including the ultimate nebbish (Cook, married to vixenish Windsor) and an ultra-cool killer for hire (Carey). Major flaw: the Dragnet-style narration. Kubrick scripted from Lionel White's novel Clean Break. | tt0049406 | Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Ted de Corsia, Marie Windsor, Joe Sawyer, Elisha Cook, Timothy Carey | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Killpoint | 1984 | Frank Harris | ★½ | 89 | Dreary, one-dimensional actioner with cop Fong and agent Roundtree on the trail of gunrunners. Sickeningly violent. | tt0087556 | [R] | Leo Fong, Richard Roundtree, Cameron Mitchell, Stack Pierce, Hope Holiday | Action | NULL | ||
| Killshot | 2009 | John Madden | ★★ | 95 | Routine crime thriller based on Elmore Leonard's novel about a divorcing couple (Lane, Jane) forced to enter the Federal Witness Protection Program after running afoul of a weary, half-Indian hit man (Rourke) and his psychotic young partner (Gordon Levitt). Quintessential B-movie material is drained of action and suspense via pretentious treatment from the director of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, although interesting cast keeps it watchable. Made in 2006 and barely released theatrically (at 84m.), film underwent extensive reshoots and recutting. | tt0443559 | [R] | Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Lois Smith, Don McManus, Hal Holbrook | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kilroy Was Here | 1947 | Phil Karlson | ★½ | 68 | Topical comedy (then) is pretty limp now, with innocent victim of 'Kilroy Was Here' joke trying to lead normal life despite his name. | tt0039532 | Jackie Cooper, Jackie Coogan, Wanda McKay, Frank Jenks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kim | 1950 | Victor Saville | ★★★½ | 113 | Rousing actioner based on Kipling classic, set in 1880s India, with British soldiers combatting rebellious natives. Flavorful production. Remade for TV in 1984 with Peter O'Toole. | tt0042644 | Errol Flynn, Dean Stockwell, Paul Lukas, Thomas Gomez, Cecil Kellaway | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Kim | 1984 | John Davies | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Enthusiastic new version of the Kipling tale about Indian boy recruited by the British for some high adventure. Brown has the old Errol Flynn role, Sheth makes an impressive debut as Kim, and O'Toole has a high old time as an Indian mystic in a bald wig. James Brabazon wrote this colorful adaptation. | tt0087557 | Peter O'Toole, Bryan Brown, John Rhys-Davies, Ravi Sheth, Julian Glover, Lee Montague | Drama | NULL | |||
| Kimberley Jim | 1965 | Emil Nofal | ★★ | 82 | Minor musical of two carefree gamblers who win diamond mine in fixed poker game, and then have a change of heart. Rare screen appearance by late country singer Reeves. | tt0059357 | Jim Reeves, Madeleine Usher, Clive Parnell, Arthur Swemmer, Mike Holt | South African | Musical, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kind Hearts and Coronets | 1949 | Robert Hamer | ★★★½ | 104 | Peerless black comedy of castoff member of titled family setting out to eliminate them all. Guinness plays all eight victims! Hamer and John Dighton adapted Roy Horniman's novel Israel Rank. | tt0041546 | Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Miles Malleson, Hugh Griffith, Jeremy Spenser, Arthur Lowe | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kind Lady | 1951 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 78 | Creepy little chiller about a genteel older woman (Barrymore) who is victimized by a charmer (Evans), who takes over her home— and her life. Wynn is particularly effective as a thug/butler. Coscripted by Edward Chodorov and based on his play; filmed previously in 1936. | tt0043709 | Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Angela Lansbury, Betsy Blair, Keenan Wynn, John Williams, Doris Lloyd | Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Kind of Loving | 1962 | John Schlesinger | ★★★ | 112 | Intelligent account of young couple forced to marry when girl becomes pregnant, detailing their home life; well acted. | tt0056141 | Alan Bates, June Ritchie, Thora Hird, Bert Palmer, Gwen Nelson, Malcolm Patton, Leonard Rossiter, Peter Madden | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kindergarten Cop | 1990 | Ivan Reitman | ★★½ | 111 | Macho cop is forced to masquerade as a kindergarten teacher in order to find a youngster who's living with his mother incognito. Amusing but overly contrived Schwarzenegger vehicle blends elements of comedy, cop thriller, and romance. Despite the presence of cute kids, this is definitely not for children— especially the finale. | tt0099938 | [PG-13] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penelope Ann Miller, Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt, Richard Tyson, Carroll Baker, Cathy Moriarty, Park Overall, Richard Portnow, Angela Bassett | Action, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Kindred | 1987 | Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow | ★★½ | 97 | Enjoyable horror flick of teens in danger from a scientific experiment that resulted in a grotesque monster. OK special effects in a film marking Steiger's latter-day entry into Donald Pleasence- type horror roles. | tt0091343 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Kim Hunter, David Allen Brooks, Amanda Pays, Talia Balsam, Timothy Gibbs, Peter Frechette, Julia Montgomery | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| King & Country | 1964 | Joseph Losey | ★★★½ | 90 | Vivid antiwar treatise beautifully acted by strong supporting cast. Bogarde is detached Army captain lawyer assigned to defend deserter private Courtenay during WW1. Score composed by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. | tt0058263 | Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, Leo McKern, Barry Foster, James Villiers, Peter Copley | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| King Arthur | 2004 | Antoine Fuqua. | ★★½ | 126 | Camelot is nowhere in sight in this revisionist look at the legend of King Arthur: the dark, gritty story concerns a warrior who fights long and hard, only to be betrayed by his sovereign. Better than one might expect, with Owen an ideal lead and Winstone supplying welcome rough-and-tumble comedy relief, but Knightley is too young for the role of Guinevere (and her skimpy costume in the climactic battle scene is laughable). Unrated director's cut runs 138m. | tt0349683 | [PG-13] | Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Ioan Gruffudd, Stephen Dillane, Stellan Skarsgård, Ray Winstone, Hugh Dancy, Til Schweiger, Mads Mikkelsen, Ray Stevenson. | U.S.-British-Irish | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| King Creole | 1958 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 116 | Elvis is quite good as young New Orleans night-club singer who is eventually dragged into the criminal underworld. Toned-down adaptation of Harold Robbins' A Stone For Danny Fisher (which was set in Chicago), coscripted by Michael V. Gazzo. Songs include 'Hard Headed Woman,' 'Trouble,' title number. | tt0051818 | Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Dolores Hart, Dean Jagger, Liliane Montevecchi, Walter Matthau, Paul Stewart, Vic Morrow | Drama, Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| King David | 1985 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 114 | Solid biblical story traces young David's life from boyhood battle with Goliath to uneasy reign as king; only goes awry in second half, where abruptness undermines narrative. Visually striking, with Donald McAlpine's photography, Carl Davis' music strong assets— along with outstanding performance by Woodward as deposed King Saul. | tt0089420 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Edward Woodward, Alice Krige, Denis Quilley, Niall Buggy, Cherie Lunghi, Hurd Hatfield, Jack Klaff | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| King Dinosaur | 1955 | Bert I. Gordon. | 💣 | 63 | A wandering planet enters the solar system, so an expedition is launched to explore it; they happen upon an island full of dinosaurs (clearly portrayed by lizards). First and worst of director Gordon's many 1950s sci-fi films, usually featuring supersized creatures. Boring, silly, and awesomely cheap, with a cast that defines the word 'bland. | tt0048256 | Bill Bryant, Wanda Curtis, Douglas Henderson, Patricia Gallagher. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| King Kong | 1933 | Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★★★ | 103 | Classic version of beauty-and-beast theme is a moviegoing must, with Willis O'Brien's special effects and animation of monster ape Kong still unsurpassed. Final sequence atop Empire State Building is now cinema folklore; Max Steiner music score also memorable. Followed immediately by THE SON OF KONG. Remade in 1976. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024216 | Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher, Sam Hardy, Noble Johnson, James Flavin | Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| King Kong | 1976 | John Guillermin | ★½ | 134 | Addle-brained remake of 1933 classic has great potential but dispels all the mythic, larger-than-life qualities of the original with idiotic characters and campy approach. Highly touted special effects (which earned a special Oscar) run hot-and-cold; real marvel is Rick Baker in a gorilla suit. Extra footage added for network showing. Lange's film debut; Joe Piscopo has a small role; look fast for Corbin Bernsen playing a reporter. Followed a decade later by KING KONG LIVES. | tt0074751 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Jessica Lange, John Randolph, Rene Auberjonois, Julius Harris, Jack O'Halloran, Ed Lauter, John Lone | Adventure, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| King Kong | 2005 | Peter Jackson | ★★★½ | 187 | In Depression-era N.Y.C. conniving movie producer Carl Denham (Black) shanghais a crew, a screenwriter (Brody), and a leading lady (Watts) for an ocean voyage to Skull Island on the biggest gamble of his career. They soon find themselves in a desperate struggle to survive in a jungle inhabited by predatory prehistoric creatures, while Kong is distracted by the feisty blonde girl. A rare remake that reinvents the original film while honoring it at the same time. Jackson pulls us into a world of wonder, both on Skull and Manhattan island, and takes us on a long but thrilling adventure that's hard to beat. He also cowrote with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Oscar winner for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. | tt0360717 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell, Kyle Chandler | Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| King Kong Escapes | 1967 | Ishirô Honda | 💣 | 96 | Contrived new plot involving girl who wins ape's heart, battle against would-be world conqueror. Kong never had it so bad. | tt0061868 | [G] | Rhodes Reason, Mie Hama, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| King Kong Lives | 1986 | John Guillermin | 💣 | 105 | Dino De Laurentiis sequel gives the ape a mate with everything he loves: She's tall, statuesque, with great mossy teeth. The Army tries to kill them (naturally), but not before a finale that actually rips off the final scene in SPARTACUS. Desperate. | tt0091344 | [PG-13] | Brian Kerwin, Linda Hamilton, John Ashton, Peter Michael Goetz, Frank Maraden, Alan Sader | Adventure | NULL | ||
| King Kong Vs. Godzilla | 1963 | Thomas Montgomery, Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 90 | Essentially a KONG remake, with Tokyo subbing for N.Y.C. and Godzilla showing up to make that mess even bigger. (Oh yes, there's also a gigantic octopus.) Third Godzilla movie— the first in color and widescreen— was originally a clever satire of the worst excesses of TV journalism, but the U.S. version eliminates most of this (as well as Akira Ifukube's thrilling score), and adds awful new scenes with Michael Keith, Harry Holcombe, Byron Morrow, and Victor Milian. Still worth a look. (P.S.: Despite urban legend, only one ending was shot.) Japanese running time 98m. | tt0056142 | Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Ichiro Arishima, Mie Hama, Akihiko Hirata, Jun Tazaki. | Japanese | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| King Lear | 1971 | Peter Brook | ★★★½ | 137 | This version of Shakespeare tragedy could be heavy going for the uninitiated, but often a strong and rewarding experience. Starkly photographed in Denmark. | tt0067306 | [PG] | Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Jack MacGowran, Alan Webb, Cyril Cusack, Patrick Magee | British | Drama | NULL | |
| King Lear | 1987 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★½ | 91 | Bizarre, garish, contemporary punk-apocalyptic updating of Shakespeare classic. Little to be said about this pretentious mess except . . . avoid it. | tt0093349 | [PG] | Peter Sellars, Burgess Meredith, Molly Ringwald, Jean-Luc Godard, Woody Allen, Norman Mailer, Kate Mailer | U.S.-Swiss | Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | |
| King Ralph | 1991 | David S. Ward | ★★½ | 97 | Mild, one-joke comedy about a Las Vegas lounge entertainer who is found to be the only living heir to the throne of England. Inoffensive but hardly inspired; Goodman's likability has to carry this a long, long way. Based on Emlyn Williams' novel Headlong. | tt0102216 | [PG] | John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, John Hurt, Camille Coduri, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, James Villiers, Joely Richardson, Niall O'Brien, Julian Glover, Judy Parfitt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| King Rat | 1965 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 133 | James Clavell novel of WW2 Japanese POW camp, focusing on effect of captivity on Allied prisoners. Thoughtful presentation rises above clichés; many exciting scenes. | tt0059358 | George Segal, Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Patrick O'Neal, Denholm Elliott, James Donald, John Mills, Alan Webb | War | NULL | |||
| King Richard and the Crusaders | 1954 | David Butler | ★½ | 114 | Cardboard costumer of Middle Ages, with laughable script. Indeed, Sanders as The Lion Heart and Harrison as a Saracen warrior do appear to be having a good time. | tt0047150 | Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders, Laurence Harvey, Robert Douglas | Adventure | NULL | |||
| King Solomon's Mines | 1937 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 80 | Robust adventure given full-blooded treatment by fine cast, exploring Africa in search of treasure-filled mines. One of Robeson's best screen roles even allows him to sing. H. Rider Haggard story remade in 1950 and 1985. | tt0029081 | Paul Robeson, Cedric Hardwicke, Roland Young, John Loder, Anna Lee | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| King Solomon's Mines | 1950 | Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton | ★★★½ | 102 | Remake of H. Rider Haggard story is given polished production, with Granger-Kerr-Carlson trio leading safari in search for legendary diamond mines. Scripted by Helen Deutsch. This won Oscars for Cinematography (Robert Surtees) and Editing; excess footage used in WATUSI and other later jungle films. | tt0042646 | Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson, Hugo Haas | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| King Solomon's Mines | 1985 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 100 | H. Rider Haggard's adventure yarn is updated for the Indiana Jones generation, but the results are unsuccessful. Cartoon characters and outlandish cliffhanger situations abound— but where's the charm? Followed by sequel (shot simultaneously), ALLAN QUATERMAIN AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD. | tt0089421 | [PG-13] | Richard Chamberlain, Sharon Stone, Herbert Lom, John Rhys-Davies, Ken Gampu | Adventure | NULL | ||
| King Solomon's Treasure | 1977 | Alvin Rakoff | ★½ | 89 | Silly, low-budget adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain has miscast trio of Colicos, McCallum (with comedy-relief stutter) and Macnee hunting for African treasure, fighting off dinosaurs and meeting Phoenician queen Ekland. Despite obvious similarities, this is no RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. | tt0076270 | David McCallum, John Colicos, Patrick Macnee, Britt Ekland, Yvon Dufour, Ken Gampu, Wilfrid Hyde-White | Canadian-British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The King Steps Out | 1936 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 85 | Fanciful musical romance with fine cast supporting Moore's lovely voice; direction big asset to otherwise average musical. | tt0027847 | Grace Moore, Franchot Tone, Walter Connolly, Raymond Walburn, Elizabeth Risdon, Nana Bryant, Victor Jory | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The King and Four Queens | 1956 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 86 | Static misfire with Gable on the search for money hidden by husbands of four women he encounters. | tt0049407 | Clark Gable, Eleanor Parker, Jo Van Fleet, Jean Willes, Barbara Nichols, Sara Shane, Jay C. Flippen | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The King and I | 1956 | Walter Lang | ★★★½ | 133 | Excellent film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical, based on book filmed in 1946 as ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM (and remade as ANNA AND THE KING). Kerr plays widowed English schoolteacher who travels to Siam to teach the King's many children, and finds dealing with His Highness her greatest challenge. Brynner gives the performance of a lifetime, and won an Oscar recreating his Broadway role. Kerr is charming; her singing voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon. Songs include 'Hello, Young Lovers,' 'Getting to Know You,' 'Shall We Dance.' Also won Oscars for art direction-set decoration, Irene Sharaff's costumes, Alfred Newman and Ken Darby's scoring. Screenplay by Ernest Lehman. | tt0049408 | Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson, Terry Saunders, Rex Thompson, Alan Mowbray | Musical | NULL | |||
| The King and I | 1999 | Richard Rich | ★★½ | 87 | Condensed animated kiddie version of classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical now includes romps with animal chums, black magic by the king's evil minister, and unfunny slapstick with his racially stereotyped sidekick. Artwork and settings are colorful and lavish, but animation is erratic. Eight songs (out of twenty) survive somewhat unscathed; Barbra Streisand sings medley over end credits. | tt0160429 | [G] | Voices of Miranda Richardson, Christiane Noll, Martin Vidnovic, Ian Richardson, Darrell Hammond, Adam Wylie, Allen D. Hong | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| The King and the Chorus Girl | 1937 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 94 | Gravet is nobleman on a lark, finding true love with beautiful chorine Blondell. Lively production. Written by Norman Krasna and Groucho Marx. | tt0029082 | Joan Blondell, Fernand Gravet, Edward Everett Horton, Jane Wyman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A King in New York | 1957 | Charles Chaplin | ★★½ | 100 | Unseen in U.S. until 1973, supposedly anti-American film is rather mild satire of 1950s sensibilities, witch hunts, and technology. Chaplin over-indulges himself, and film lacks focus, but there are good moments, and interesting performance by son Michael as young malcontent. | tt0050598 | Charlie Chaplin, Dawn Addams, Oliver Johnston, Maxine Audley, Harry Green, Michael Chaplin | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| King in Shadow | 1956 | Harald Braun. | ★★ | 87 | Buchholz is mentally disturbed young King of Sweden in 1760s; court intrigue encouraged by his domineering mother (Versois) makes for tepid costume tale. | tt0050504 | O. W. Fischer, Horst Buchholz, Odile Versois, Günther Hadank. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The King is Alive | 2000 | Kristian Levring | ★½ | 108 | Dreary, sun-baked drama about a group of exceptionally unpleasant people stranded in the African desert who, to pass the time, stage a production of King Lear. Supposedly inspired by Lear, it plays more like a cross between a Greek tragedy and an episode of Survivor. A Dogma 95 film, written and directed by one of the movement's founders. | tt0208911 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Janet McTeer, Bruce Davison, Miles Anderson, Romane Bohringer, David Bradley, David Calder, Brion James, Peter Kubheka, Vusi Kunene, Chris Walker, Lia Williams | Danish-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| King of Alcatraz | 1938 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 56 | Alcatraz escapee Naish takes over passenger ship, encountering rough-and-tumble seamen Nolan and Preston. Film moves like lightning, with outstanding cast making you forget this is just a B picture. | tt0030322 | J. Carrol Naish, Gail Patrick, Lloyd Nolan, Harry Carey, Robert Preston, Anthony Quinn | Drama | NULL | |||
| King of Burlesque | 1935 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 83 | Dumb but enjoyable musical; cliché-ridden story of burlesque producer who risks all on ambitious Broadway show. Faye, Fats Waller (used all too briefly), hit song 'I'm Shootin' High' provide highspots. | tt0026571 | Warner Baxter, Jack Oakie, Alice Faye, Mona Barrie, Dixie Dunbar | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| King of California | 2007 | Mike Cahill | ★★★½ | 93 | Sixteen-year-old Wood’s life turns chaotic when her father is released from a mental institution. A free spirit (to say the least), he is obsessed with locating an ancient Spanish treasure right under their noses in California and pulls her into his crazy scheme—against her better judgment. Whimsically inventive story isn’t easily pigeonholed, embracing comedy and drama, dreams and reality, and contrasting individuality vs. “progress.” A genuine original, and an impressive debut film for writer-director Cahill. Douglas has never been better. | tt0388182 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood, Willis Burks II, Laura Kachergus, Paul Lieber, Kathleen Wilhoite | Comedy | NULL | ||
| King of Chinatown | 1939 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 60 | Interesting little B movie with good cast, about underworld racketeers trying to gain power in Chinatown. | tt0031534 | Anna May Wong, Sidney Toler, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, Anthony Quinn, Roscoe Karns, Philip Ahn | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The King of Comedy | 1983 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 109 | Pungent black comedy about a show-business hanger-on and world class loser who idolizes America's top TV comedian/talk-show host and figures out a bizarre scheme to get on the program. The denouement is a wow! Too mordant and 'sick' for many viewers' taste, though it's all been done with a minimum of exaggeration . . . and a pair of knock-out performances by De Niro and Lewis. Written by Paul D. Zimmerman. Filmed in 1981. | tt0085794 | [PG] | Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard, Shelley Hack, Tony Randall, Ed Herlihy, Fred de Cordova | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| King of Devil's Island | 2010 | Marius Holst | ★★½ | 116 | Atmospheric story, based on real-life events, set in 1915 on a snowy Norwegian island where juveniles live in a combination reform school and prison. Enigmatic Skarsgård rules the roost and turns a blind eye to indefensible behavior by some of his deputies. Then a cocky 17-year-old (Helstad) arrives on the scene, determined to escape and shake things up on the island. Brooding drama meanders at times but, just when you think you know where it's going, heads off in a new and intriguing direction. Well made, but some characters (and their motivations) remain muddled. | tt1332134 | Benjamin Helstad, Trond Nilssen, Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Magnus Langlete, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Morten Løvstad, Daniel Berg | Norwegian-Swedish-Polish-French | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| King of Hearts | 1966 | Philippe De Broca | ★★★ | 102 | Scotsman Bates walks into French town in WW1 that has been abandoned by everyone except those in the insane asylum. Stylish film isn't for all tastes, but has become a cult favorite. Offbeat. | tt0060908 | Alan Bates, Pierre Brasseur, Jean-Claude Brialy, Geneviève Bujold, Francoise Christophe, Adolfo Celi | French-British | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| King of Jazz | 1930 | John Murray Anderson | ★★★ | 93 | Million-dollar musical revue, shot in two-color Technicolor process, is filled with larger-than-life production numbers and wonderful songs. Highlights include Walter Lantz's cartoon sequence, Joe Venuti's swing violin, young Bing Crosby with the Rhythm Boys, and, of course, Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' (which in early Technicolor is more a rhapsody in turquoise). Uneven, to be sure, but a lot of fun. Originally released at 105m. | tt0021025 | Paul Whiteman and Orchestra, John Boles, Jeanette Loff, The Rhythm Boys, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker, Harry Barris | Musical | NULL | |||
| King of Kings | 1961 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★½ | 168 | The life of Christ, intelligently told and beautifully filmed; full of deeply moving moments, such as the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's healing of the lame, and many others. Memorable Miklos Rozsa score. Not without flaws, but well worthwhile; grandly filmed in widescreen, bound to lose some of its visual impact on TV. | tt0055047 | Jeffrey Hunter, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Ryan, Hurd Hatfield, Viveca Lindfors, Rita Gam, Rip Torn | Drama | NULL | |||
| The King of Kings | 1927 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 155 | Lavish silent film holds up rather well, benefits from DeMille's superb storytelling skills and reverence for the subject. The Resurrection sequence is in two-color Technicolor. 155m. roadshow version now available on DVD. Remade in 1961. | tt0018054 | H. B. Warner, Ernest Torrence, Jacqueline Logan, Joseph Schildkraut, Victor Varconi, Robert Edeson, William Boyd | Drama, History | NULL | |||
| King of Kong Island | Kong Island | 1978 | Robert Morris | 💣 | 92 | Mercenary Harris on the trail of loony scientist Lawrence, who's been monkeying around with the brains of apes, making them act like robots. Couldn't be any worse; not even good for laughs. Aka KONG ISLAND. | tt0062946 | Brad Harris, Esmeralda Barros, Marc Lawrence, Adrianna Alben, Mark Farran | Italian | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters | 2007 | Seth Gordon | ★★★½ | 82 | Vastly entertaining documentary about Billy Mitchell, who has held the world's record for highest score on the first-generation video game Donkey Kong since 1982, and unassuming Seattle schoolteacher Steve Wiebe, who threatens to rob him of his title. Although the film takes us deep inside the video-game community it isn't really about the game at all, but a portrait of some amazing characters. Gordon wisely allows the viewer to make his own judgments. | tt0923752 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The King of Marvin Gardens | 1972 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★½ | 104 | Pretentious but genuinely haunting, original drama about Nicholson's failure to discourage brother Dern's outlandish financial schemes. Burstyn's performance as an aging beauty is chilling in its perfection, and Laszlo Kovacs' photography rates with the best of the decade. | tt0068805 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Julia Anne Robinson, Scatman Crothers | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The King of Masks | 1997 | Tian-Ming Wu | ★★★½ | 101 | Beautifully realized story, set in 1930s Sichuan, about an aged street performer who realizes he has no heir to whom he can pass on his ancient tradition (and secrets) . . . so he purchases a child on the black market. Simple, eloquent, and moving. Written by Wei Minglun. | tt0115669 | Chu Yuk, Chao Yim Yin, Zhang Riuyang, Zhao Zhigang | Chinese | Drama | NULL | ||
| King of New York | 1990 | Abel Ferrara | ★★ | 103 | Fidgety Walken plays the ex-con lord to a band of black drug dealers who regularly annihilate their Colombian-Italian-Chinese rivals. Cult director Ferrara offers style and little more in this ultraviolent outing; one extended monsoon shootout makes this presumably tongue-in-cheek effort worth a glance on a very draggy night. Walken's improbable headquarters, the Plaza Hotel, begs for a scene between his low-rent minions and Ivana Trump in the service elevator. | tt0099939 | [R] | Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes, Janet Julian, Joey Chin, Steve Buscemi, Paul Calderon, Giancarlo Esposito | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| King of the Coral Sea | 1956 | Lee Robinson | ★★½ | 74 | On-location filming in Australia aids this account of wetback smuggling into the mainland. | tt0049409 | Chips Rafferty, Charles Tingwell, Ilma Adey, Rod Taylor, Lloyd Berrell, Reginald Lye | Australian | Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| King of the Cowboys | 1943 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 67 | Roy works undercover to trap a band of WW2 saboteurs who are blowing up government warehouses. Title indicates how popular Rogers had become, and this musical Western thriller shows the cowboy at his very best. | tt0036075 | Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Peggy Moran, Gerald Mohr, Dorothea Kent, Lloyd Corrigan, Stuart Hamblen, Eddie Dean, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| King of the Grizzlies | 1970 | Ron Kelly | ★★½ | 93 | Standard Disney animal-adventure about Indian who was 'brother' to bear as a cub, and who now faces the full-grown grizzly in a different light. Filmed in the Canadian Rockies. | tt0065943 | [G] | John Yesno, Chris Wiggins, Hugh Webster, Jack Van Evera; narrated by Winston Hibler | Family, Western | NULL | ||
| King of the Gypsies | 1978 | Frank Pierson | ★★½ | 112 | Loose adaptation of Peter Maas' best-seller about three generations of gypsies in N.Y.C. Dying Hayden passes tribe leadership to grandson Roberts (in his film debut), skipping over sleazy son Hirsch, who promptly sets out to kill his offspring. Initially fascinating melodrama turns into conventional chase thriller, but still intriguing, with fine acting, moody Sven Nykvist photography, and infectious score by David Grisman and Stephane Grappelli (who also appear in the film). | tt0077807 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Judd Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, Sterling Hayden, Annette O'Toole, Brooke Shields, Shelley Winters, Annie Potts, Michael V. Gazzo, Michael Higgins, Mary Louise Wilson, Matthew Laborteaux, Danielle Brisebois, Patti LuPone, Linda Manz, Tom Mason, Rachel Ticotin | Drama | NULL | ||
| King of the Hill | 1993 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★½ | 103 | A 12-year-old St. Louis boy, whose mother is ill and whose flaky father is often away, is forced to fend for himself in the depths of the Great Depression, using his wits to survive against extraordinary odds. One of the most vivid depictions of the Depression ever captured on film; full of rich, often harrowing detail that draws us in to vicariously experience everything young Aaron (Bradford) is going through. Director Soderbergh also scripted this adaptation of the memoir by A. E. Hotchner. Exceptional in every way. Super-35. | tt0107322 | [PG-13] | Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, Lisa Eichhorn, Karen Allen, Spalding Gray, Elizabeth McGovern, Joseph Chrest, Adrien Brody, Cameron Boyd, Amber Benson, Kristin Griffith, Remak Ramsay, Katherine Heigl | Drama | NULL | ||
| King of the Jungle | 1933 | H. Bruce Humberstone, Max Marcin | ★★½ | 72 | Imitation Tarzan yarn comes off well, with Crabbe being dragged into civilization against his will. Good fun. | tt0024219 | Buster Crabbe, Frances Dee, Sidney Toler, Nydia Westman, Robert Barrat, Irving Pichel, Douglass Dumbrille | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| King of the Khyber Rifles | 1953 | Henry King | ★★½ | 100 | Power is half-caste British officer involved in native skirmishes, Moore the general's daughter he loves. Film version of Talbot Mundy's novel lacks finesse or any sense of Kipling-style reality-fantasy. | tt0045961 | Tyrone Power, Terry Moore, Michael Rennie, John Justin | Adventure | NULL | |||
| King of the Mountain | 1981 | Noel Nosseck | ★★ | 90 | Garage mechanic Hamlin and friends guzzle beer and race their cars down L.A.'s treacherous Mulholland Drive. Pretentious, clichéd script and situations, with superficial and obvious finale. Hopper overacts outrageously as a burned-out former king of the Drive. Inspired by David Barry's feature in New West magazine. | tt0082619 | [PG] | Harry Hamlin, Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Cox, Dennis Hopper, Dan Haggerty, Seymour Cassel | Drama | NULL | ||
| King of the Newsboys | 1938 | Bernard Vorhaus. | ★★½ | 65 | Ayres promises a newspaper editor a circulation boost by spotlighting 'stuffed shirts in trouble . . . beautiful girls in trouble . . . hangings, fires, and legs.' Pretty good B movie about tabloid journalism. Look carefully at that managing editor: it's George 'Gabby' Hayes. Unbilled Marjorie Main plays essentially the same role she did in DEAD END. Story cowritten by Horace McCoy. | tt0030323 | Lew Ayres, Helen Mack, Alison Skipworth, Victor Varconi, Sheila Bromley, Alice White, Horace McMahon, William 'Billy' Benedict, Jack Pennick, Mary Kornman. | Drama | NULL | |||
| King of the Pecos | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 54 | Boy watches homesteader parents viciously murdered by Texas claim jumper; a decade later he returns as lawyer for retribution against the killer, who is now a powerful, corrupt figure controlling water rights ranchers depend on. Slick production values, continuous action, and beautifully photographed Lone Pine exteriors elevate this early Republic effort. | tt0027849 | John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Cy Kendall, Jack Clifford, Arthur Aylesworth, Herbert Heywood. | Western | NULL | |||
| King of the Roaring 20's- The Story of Arnold Rothstein | 1961 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 106 | Slow-paced narrative of famous gambler's rise and fall miscasts lead role (real Rothstein was short and fat), slightly whitewashes him, and gets most of the facts wrong. Stray gangster-movie elements are inappropriately added. | tt0055048 | David Janssen, Dianne Foster, Jack Carson, Diana Dors, Mickey Rooney | Drama | NULL | |||
| King of the Underworld | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 69 | Far-fetched tale of doctor Francis, falsely linked to gangster Bogart, the 'last of the public enemies,' setting out to prove her innocence. Remake of DR. SOCRATES. | tt0031536 | Humphrey Bogart, Kay Francis, James Stephenson, John Eldredge, Jessie Busley | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| King of the Wild Horses | 1947 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 79 | Mild Western about 10-year-old Sheffield's devotion to a fierce stallion. | tt0039534 | Preston Foster, Gail Patrick, Bill Sheffield, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. | Western | NULL | |||
| King of the Wild Stallions | 1959 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★ | 75 | Horse is the hero of this oater, protecting a widow and her son. | tt0052971 | George Montgomery, Diane Brewster, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Byron Foulger | Western | NULL | |||
| King of the Zombies | 1941 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 67 | American aviators crash-land on Caribbean Island, where mad scientist Victor uses voodoo and hypnotism to uncover key military secrets. Stiff-necked zombies are incidental, but pop-eyed Moreland is a delight. | tt0033787 | Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, Mantan Moreland, Henry Victor, John Archer | Drama, Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The King's Pirate | 1967 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 100 | Cardboard, juvenile swashbuckler set in 18th century, with McClure the nominal hero. Remake of AGAINST ALL FLAGS. | tt0061867 | Doug McClure, Jill St. John, Guy Stockwell, Mary Ann Mobley | Adventure | NULL | |||
| King's Ransom | 2005 | Jeff Byrd. | ★½ | 97 | Stereotypes abound in this entirely unfunny comedy. A wealthy mogul (Anderson), hated by everyone around him, attempts to get out of paying off his ex-wife-to-be by having himself kidnapped, unaware that someone else is really planning to abduct him. Screwball antics and obvious mix-ups add up to naught, even with this talented cast. | tt0388183 | [PG-13] | Anthony Anderson, Jay Mohr, Kellita Smith, Nicole Parker, Regina Hall, Loretta Devine, Donald Faison, Charlie Murphy, Jackie Burroughs. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| A King's Story | 1965 | Harry Booth | ★★★ | 100 | Strong documentary focusing on early life of Duke of Windsor and his ultimate abdication from throne of England to marry the woman he loved. | tt0059359 | Orson Welles, Flora Robson, Patrick Wymark, David Warner | British | Drama, History | NULL | ||
| The King's Thief | 1955 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 78 | The king is England's Charles II (Sanders) and the thief is brash Purdom, whose pilfering of a valuable book sets off plenty of intrigue in this lavish costumer. Niven makes a fine villain. | tt0048259 | Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven, George Sanders, Roger Moore, John Dehner, Sean McClory | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The King's Vacation | 1933 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 60 | Refreshing story of monarch Arliss returning to ex-wife Gateson in search for 'the simple life,' only to find she's living even better than he is! Typical of Arliss' lighter vehicles. | tt0024221 | George Arliss, Dudley Digges, Dick Powell, Patricia Ellis, Marjorie Gateson, Florence Arliss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The King's Whore | The King's Mistress | 1990 | Axel Corti | ★★½ | 115 | Lavishly filmed but dramatically uneven historical melodrama. In the royal court of Piedmont in Northern Italy, king Dalton becomes consumed by his burning desire for beautiful but unwilling Golino, the wife of his chamberlain. Scripted by Corti, Frederic Raphael, and Daniel Vigne. Aka THE KING'S MISTRESS. | tt0100440 | [R] | Timothy Dalton, Valeria Golino, Stephane Freiss, Feodor Chaliapin, Margaret Tyzack, Eleanor David, Robin Renucci | French-Austrian-British-Italian | Drama | NULL |
| King, Queen, Knave | 1972 | Jerzy Skolimowski | 💣 | 92 | Coarse, heavy-handed adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov novel about a klutzy youth who falls in love with his sexy aunt (Lollobrigida). Never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0068806 | [R] | David Niven, Gina Lollobrigida, John Moulder-Brown, Mario Adorf | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The King | 2006 | James Marsh | ★★ | 105 | A 21-year-old dreamer, just out of the Navy, returns to his hometown to seek out the father he has only heard about from his deceased Mexican mother. Now a happily married minister with two all-American kids, Dad wants nothing to do with him. Then the young man shatters taboos by taking up romantically with his unwitting half-sister. Dreary tale isn't helped by Bernal's less-than-appealing character and the sick nature of the film's evolving relationships. Predictably violent events unravel what little interest the film holds in its first half. | tt0396688 |
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Gael García Bernal, William Hurt, Pell James, Laura Harring, Paul Dano, Derek Alvarado, Milo Addica | Drama | NULL | ||
| King: A Filmed Record . . . Montgomery to Memphis | 1970 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 153 | Superior documentary covering life of Dr. Martin Luther King from 1955 until his death in 1968 is marred only by the pretentious and unnecessary 'bridges' featuring such stars as Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and James Earl Jones. Otherwise, well-chosen compilation of news footage carries tremendous wallop. TV version is shortened to 90m. | tt0065944 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Kingdom Come | 2001 | Doug McHenry | ★★★ | 92 | A funeral brings a raucous family together, but nothing can quell the tumult. Warmhearted, often broadly funny comedy-drama, adapted from the play Dearly Departed by its authors, David Dean Bottrell and Jessie Jones. Impressive performance by LL Cool J as a man coming to terms with his feelings about his father. | tt0246002 | [PG] | LL Cool J, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine, Anthony Anderson, Toni Braxton, Cedric the Entertainer, Darius McCrary, Richard Gant, Masasa, Clifton Davis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kingdom of Heaven | 2005 | Ridley Scott. | ★★★ | 145 | A blacksmith, reeling from personal tragedy, is persuaded to join the Crusades by an illustrious knight, who reveals himself to be the young man's father. The new recruit shows his mettle by proving himself a man of the people who struggles to achieve peace between the Muslims and the Christians while defending Jerusalem. Impressive, epic-scale film manages to find nobility in the Crusades, but never loses sight of its main character's personal journey. Like the man he portrays, Bloom definitely carries his weight. | tt0320661 | [R] | Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Iain Glen. | British-Spanish-U.S.-German | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| Kingdom of the Spiders | 1977 | John ‘Bud’ Cardos | ★★★ | 94 | Unsurprising but well-made chiller about veterinarian Shatner and entomologist Bolling discovering that tarantulas are going on the warpath in Arizona. | tt0076271 | [PG] | William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling, Woody Strode, Lieux Dressler, Altovise Davis | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Kingdom | 1994 | Lars von Trier | ★★★½ | 271 | Four-hour film is actually four Danish TV episodes strung together, set and shot at the real National State Hospital in Copenhagen (known as 'The Kingdom'). As virtually every critic has pointed out, this is ER meets Twin Peaks, with crackpot doctors, paranormal goings-on, sex, black humor, etc. A must for those who think they've seen everything. Note: The unusual look of the film (a brownish, dirty-looking print texture) was achieved by shooting on 16mm, transferring to video, editing on video, transferring back to 16mm, and finally blowing up to 35mm! Followed by THE KINGDOM, PART 2. | tt0108906 | Ernst-Hugo Jaregard, Kirsten Rolffes, Ghita Norby, Soren Pilmark, Holger Juul Hansen, Annevig Schelde Ebbe, Jens Okking, Otto Brandenburg, Baard Owe, Solbjorg Hojfeldt | Danish | Drama, Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Kingdom | 2007 | Peter Berg | ★★★ | 110 | The political thriller reinvented as an action movie: blood-pumping story of an elite FBI team that travels surreptitiously to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to investigate a massacre at a U.S. compound. Special Agent Foxx teams up with a sympathetic Saudi colonel (Barhom) who cuts through red tape to find the perpetrator of this atrocity. Plays like escapist action fare—except that the setting and political climate are all too real. Director Berg makes a cameo early on. | tt0431197 | [R] | Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Jeremy Piven, Danny Huston, Richard Jenkins, Frances Fisher, Anna Deavere Smith, Tim McGraw | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Kingfisher Caper | Diamond Lust | 1975 | Dirk DeVilliers | ★★½ | 90 | Typical tale of intrigue, love and passion interwoven with a family feud over the running of a South African diamond empire. Aka DIAMOND LUST. | tt0073247 | [PG] | Hayley Mills, David McCallum, Jon Cypher | South African | Drama | NULL |
| Kingpin | 1996 | Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly | ★½ | 113 | Once-promising bowling champ whose career was ruined by a sleazy competitor sees his chance for reflected glory when he discovers a potential ace, who turns out to be Amish. Stupid and proud of it, this comedy goes the gross-out route and then, halfway through, asks us to care about these pinhead characters! Setups for laugh lines or visual punch lines are muffed time and time again. What a waste. 117m. R-rated version debuted on video in 1999. | tt0116778 | [PG-13] | Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, Bill Murray, Chris Elliott, William Jordan, Richard Tyson, Rob Moran, Lin Shaye, Zen Gesner, Prudence Wright Holmes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kings Go Forth | 1958 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 109 | Soapy but well-done three-cornered romance, set in WW2 France. Two GI buddies both fall for same girl, unaware that she is half-black. Script by Merle Miller; several jazz greats, including Red Norvo and Pete Candoli, put in appearances. | tt0051819 | Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Leora Dana, Karl Swenson | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Kings Row | 1942 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 127 | Forerunner of PEYTON PLACE still retains its sweep of life in pre-WW1 Midwestern town, with the fates of many townsfolk intertwined. Beautiful Erich Wolfgang Korngold music score backs up plush production, fine characterizations. Notable, too, as Reagan's finest performance. Screenplay by Casey Robinson, from Henry Bellamann's best-selling book. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034946 | Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn, Claude Rains, Judith Anderson, Maria Ouspenskaya | Drama, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Kings and Desperate Men | 1983 | Alexis Kanner | ★½ | 118 | Abrasive talk-show host McGoohan is held hostage in his studio by amateurish terrorists seeking public forum to debate plight of their comrade, convicted of manslaughter. Interesting premise sabotaged by poor direction, choppy editing. McGoohan overacts shamelessly. Trudeau has limited footage as his wife. | tt0085797 | [PG-13] | Patrick McGoohan, Alexis Kanner, Andrea Marcovicci, Margaret Trudeau, Robin Spry, Frank Moore | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Kings of the Road | 1976 | Wim Wenders | ★★★½ | 176 | Deliberately slow, introspective, disarming tale (written by the director) of itinerant cinema mechanic Vogler, traveling with Zischler along the underpopulated, forgotten border regions between East and West Germany— a dying area that serves as a metaphor for the decline of the German film industry. It's also about cars, rock 'n' roll, and the American cultural imperialism of Wenders' homeland. The last (and best) in Wenders' 'road movie' trilogy, after ALICE IN THE CITIES and WRONG MOVE. | tt0073152 | Rudiger Vogler, Hanns Zischler, Lisa Kreuzer, Rudolf Schundler, Marquard Bohm | German | Action | NULL | ||
| Kings of the Sun | 1963 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 108 | Skin-deep spectacle, badly cast, telling of Mayan leader who comes to America with surviving tribesmen and encounters savage Indians. Filmed in Mexico. | tt0057225 | Yul Brynner, George Chakiris, Shirley Anne Field, Richard Basehart, Brad Dexter | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The King’s Speech | 2010 | Tom Hooper | ★★★★ | 118 | As it becomes increasingly evident that the Prince of Wales (Pearce) is not comfortable in his soon-to-be role as King of England in the mid-1930s, his more solid and responsible brother (Firth) is forced to deal with his greatest impediment to success: his stammer. He is eventually persuaded, by his wise and patient wife (Bonham Carter), to consult an unorthodox Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). Amazing—and inspiring—true story brought to life with verve and considerable wit in David Seidler’s screenplay, enacted by a truly wonderful cast. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Original Screenplay. | tt1504320 | [R] | Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Anthony Andrews, Claire Bloom, Eve Best, Michael Gambon | British-Australian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects | 1989 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 97 | Glum urban thriller pitting supercop Bronson against scummy pimp Fernandez, who specializes in turning teenage girls to prostitution. Also involved is a Japanese businessman, newly come to L.A., whose daughter is kidnapped by the pimp. Some interesting ideas, but mostly formulaic. | tt0097670 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Juan Fernandez, James Pax, Kumiko Hayakawa, Perry Lopez, Peggy Lipton, Amy Hathaway, Bill McKinney, Sy Richardson, Alex Hyde-White, Richard Egan/Jr. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kinky Boots | 2005 | Julian Jarrold | ★★½ | 107 | Comedy in the mold of such feel-good films as THE FULL MONTY and CALENDAR GIRLS, about a transvestite club entertainer who comes to the aid of a young man who's inherited his father's failing shoe factory. When they hatch an idea of creating outrageous boots for man-sized feet they set a course for reinventing the business and saving the soul (or is that sole?) of the company and its workforce. Worth seeing for the high-octane performance of Ejiofor, who looks great in heels and gets to perform such songs as 'These Boots Were Made for Walking.' | tt0434124 | [PG-13] | Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarah-Jane Potts, Jemima Rooper, Linda Bassett, Nick Frost, Robert Pugh, Mona Hammond, Stephen Marcus | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Kino-Eye | 1924 | Dziga Vertov. | ★★★ | 74 | Celebrated experimental film is a visual newsmagazine that extols the virtues of everyday life in a post-Revolutionary Russian village, centering on a group of 'young pioneers' and their work on a cooperative. Vertov augments this with sequences in a slaughterhouse and an insane asylum (among other locations), and explores the language of cinema by playfully running footage backward. Photographed by the filmmaker's brother, Mikhail Kaufman. | tt0015039 | Russian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Kinsey | 2004 | Bill Condon | ★★★ | 118 | Provocative look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, who during a sexually repressed childhood developed a keen interest in biology that ultimately led to his great mission in life: freeing Americans from ignorance about sex, and publishing the results of a massive survey about sexual behavior. Startlingly frank, evocative biopic boasts superior performances and a keen sense of period detail, although it tries to cover too much ground, and much like its leading character, loses its way toward the end. Written by the director. | tt0362269 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, John Lithgow, Tim Curry, Oliver Platt, Dylan Baker, Julianne Nicholson, William Sadler, Heather Goldenhersh, John McMartin, Veronica Cartwright, Kathleen Chalfant, Dagmara Dominczyk, Lynn Redgrave, Katharine Houghton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kipperbang | 1982 | Michael Apted | ★½ | 80 | Annoyingly lightweight comedy detailing the romantic fantasies and predicaments of young teens and their elders— particularly, their English teacher— in 1948 Britain. Originally made for British television, released here theatrically in 1984. Original title: P'TANG YANG KIPPERBANG. | tt0084459 | [PG] | John Albasiny, Alison Steadman, Gary Cooper, Abigail Cruttenden, Maurice Lee | British |
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| Kipps | 1941 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 82 | Meticulous adaptation of H. G. Wells' story about a shopkeeper who inherits money and tries to crash Society. Faithfully scripted by Sidney Gilliat, but a bit stodgy overall. Basis for musical HALF A SIXPENCE. Originally released in U.S. as THE REMARKABLE MR. KIPPS. Original British running time 108m. | tt0033790 | Michael Redgrave, Diana Wynyard, Arthur Riscoe, Phyllis Calvert, Max Adrian, Helen Haye, Michael Wilding | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kippur | 2000 | Amos Gitai | ★★★ | 117 | A unique vision of the Yom Kippur War as seen through the eyes of two volunteer soldier brothers, both completely unprepared for battle. A painstaking, grueling picture of war. | tt0218379 | Liron Levo, Tomer Ruso, Uri Ran Klauzner, Yoram Hattab, Guy Amir, Ran Kauchinsky | Israeli | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Kismet | 1944 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 100 | Colman tries a change of pace playing the 'king of beggars,' a wily magician whose daughter is wooed by the handsome young Caliph in this plot-heavy Arabian Nights-type tale. Passably entertaining but nothing special, despite opulent MGM production. Best of all is Dietrich, with tongue in cheek and body painted gold for one famous dance scene. Filmed before in 1920 and 1930; remade in 1955 after the Broadway musical version. Retitled ORIENTAL DREAM. | tt0036984 | Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, Edward Arnold, Florence Bates, James Craig, Joy Ann Page, Harry Davenport | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Kismet | 1955 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 113 | Handsome but uninspired filming of the Broadway musical of this Arabian Nights-type tale. Robert Wright-George Forrest songs (based on Borodin themes) include 'Stranger in Paradise,' 'Baubles, Bangles, and Beads.' | tt0048260 | Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, Dolores Gray, Monty Woolley, Sebastian Cabot, Vic Damone | Adventure, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| A Kiss Before Dying | 1956 | Gerd Oswald | ★★★ | 94 | Effective chiller with Wagner superb as psychopathic killer and Astor his devoted mother; well paced. Based on an Ira Levin novel. Remade in 1991. | tt0049414 | Robert Wagner, Virginia Leith, Jeffrey Hunter, Joanne Woodward, Mary Astor, George Macready | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Kiss Before Dying | 1991 | James Dearden | ★½ | 95 | Almost completely ineffectual thriller about an ambitious young sicko who charms— and murders— his way into a powerful family. Young plays twin sisters, enabling us to watch her give two bad performances. Writer-director Dearden even dares to have her looking at Hitchcock's VERTIGO on TV, a reminder (as if we needed one) of the right way to make this kind of film. Ira Levin's novel was filmed before in 1956. | tt0102220 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Sean Young, Max von Sydow, Diane Ladd, James Russo, Martha Gehman, Ben Browder, Joie Lee, Adam Horovitz | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Kiss Before the Mirror | 1933 | James Whale | ★★½ | 67 | While defending Lukas for killing his adulterous wife, attorney Morgan begins to see the entire chain of events recurring in his own home! Strange romantic melodrama is made even stranger by being shot on leftover FRANKENSTEIN sets; good performances and typical Whale stylistics keep one watching. Remade by the director as WIVES UNDER SUSPICION. | tt0024222 | Frank Morgan, Paul Lukas, Nancy Carroll, Jean Dixon, Gloria Stuart, Walter Pidgeon, Donald Cook, Charles Grapewin | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Kiss Daddy Good Night | 1987 | Peter Ily Huemer | ★½ | 89 | Vague, forgettable melodrama-thriller about a young vamp (Thurman, in her screen debut), who seduces and robs men, and her strange relationship with older bohemian Richards. | tt0093351 | [R] | Uma Thurman, Paul Dillon, Paul Richards, Steve Buscemi, Annabelle Gurwitch, David Brisbin | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang | 2005 | Shane Black | ★★ | 102 | Thief-turned-actor and a gay detective team up with an aspiring actress (the actor's old flame) to solve several murders. Uneven neo-noir/screwball comedy starts out as mindless entertainment but quickly grows confusing and tiresome. LETHAL WEAPON scribe Black seems awfully impressed with himself for repeatedly having the protagonist break away from the story to mock the film's use of narrative and genre clichés. Enjoyably pulpy characters and charismatic stars make it somewhat bearable. Downey's real-life son plays his character as a boy. Loosely based on a Brett Halliday novel. | tt0373469 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen, Dash Mihok, Larry Miller, Shannyn Sossamon | Action, Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kiss Kiss-Bang Bang | 1966 | Duccio Tessari | ★★½ | 90 | Routine spy yarn of British Secret Service efforts to prevent sale of secret formula to foreign powers. | tt0061870 | Giuliano Gemma, George Martin, Antonio Casas, Daniele Vargas | Spanish | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Kiss Me Again | 1931 | William A. Seiter. | ★★ | 75 | Faded version of Victor Herbert operetta Mlle. Modiste, centering on amorous mix-ups between a French lieutenant and a dress shop model-turned-singer. Pretty stiff, though the charming Claire has a nice voice. Originally shown in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0022029 | Bernice Claire, Walter Pidgeon, Edward Everett Horton, June Collyer, Frank McHugh, Claude Gillingwater. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Kiss Me Deadly | 1955 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 105 | Meeker is a perfect Mike Hammer in moody, fast, and violent adaptation of Mickey Spillane novel. Years ahead of its time, a major influence on French New Wave directors, and one of Aldrich's best films. Leachman's film debut. Some video versions have 82 seconds of additional footage that completely change the finale. | tt0048261 | Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman, Wesley Addy, Nick Dennis, Maxine Cooper, Gaby Rodgers, Jack Elam, Strother Martin, Jack Lambert | Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Kiss Me Goodbye | 1982 | Robert Mulligan | ★★ | 101 | Strained romantic comedy-fantasy about young woman who's visited by her dead husband just as she's about to remarry. Attractive cast is pretty much wasted in this reworking of the Brazilian film DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS. | tt0084210 | [PG] | Sally Field, James Caan, Jeff Bridges, Paul Dooley, Claire Trevor, Mildred Natwick, Dorothy Fielding, William Prince | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kiss Me Kate | 1953 | George Sidney | ★★★½ | 109 | Bright filmization of Cole Porter's Broadway musical, adapted from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Grayson and Keel are erstwhile married couple whose off-stage and on-stage lives intertwine. Songs include 'So in Love,' 'Always True to You in My Fashion,' 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare' (delightfully performed by Wynn and Whitmore); the 'From This Moment On' number, highlighting Fosse and Carol Haney, is outstanding. Originally in 3-D. | tt0045963 | Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Bobby Van, Keenan Wynn, James Whitmore, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall, Kurt Kasznar, Ron Randell | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Kiss Me, Guido | 1997 | Tony Vitale | ★★½ | 86 | Earnest comedy about a heterosexual Pacino/De Niro wannabe (Scotti) from the Bronx who moves to Manhattan and unknowingly takes a gay roommate. Occasionally funny, even though the set-up is artificial and the characters are stereotypes. Later a TV series: Some of My Best Friends. | tt0119465 | [R] | Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, Anthony DeSando, Craig Chester, Dominick Lombardozzi, Molly Price, Christopher Lawford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kiss Me, Stupid | 1964 | Billy Wilder | ★★ | 122 | Martin plays womanizing crooner named 'Dino' whose interest in unsuccessful songwriter Walston might increase if he gets a crack at his wife. Lewd farce (by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond) was condemned as 'smut' when first released, and hasn't improved very much— although it does have its defenders. DVD features the alternate European ending. | tt0058265 | Dean Martin, Ray Walston, Kim Novak, Felicia Farr, Cliff Osmond, Barbara Pepper, Doro Merande, Henry Gibson, John Fiedler, Mel Blanc | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kiss Them for Me | 1957 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 105 | Forced comedy about romantic entanglements of navy officers on shore leave. | tt0050599 | Cary Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Leif Erickson, Suzy Parker, Larry Blyden, Ray Walston | Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 102 | Violent thriller in the wake of WHITE HEAT, with Cagney as criminal so ruthless he even blackmails crooked cops! Despite impressive cast, Jimmy's practically the whole show; only Adler as shyster lawyer gives him any competition. Cagney's brother William produced— and also plays his brother. | tt0042648 | James Cagney, Barbara Payton, Luther Adler, Ward Bond, Helena Carter, Steve Brodie, Barton MacLane, Rhys Williams, Frank Reicher, John Litel, William Frawley, Neville Brand, Kenneth Tobey | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Kiss and Tell | 1945 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 90 | Film of successful Broadway play about wacky teenager Corliss Archer is a bit forced but generally funny; one of Temple's better grown-up roles. Sequel: A KISS FOR CORLISS. | tt0037848 | Shirley Temple, Jerome Courtland, Walter Abel, Katherine Alexander, Robert Benchley, Porter Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Kiss for Corliss | 1949 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 88 | Puffed-up comedy of teenager Temple convincing everyone that she and playboy Niven are going together; naïve fluff. Limp follow-up to KISS AND TELL with Shirley as Corliss Archer; this was her final film. Retitled ALMOST A BRIDE. | tt0041549 | Shirley Temple, David Niven, Tom Tully, Virginia Welles | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Kiss in the Dark | 1949 | Delmer Daves | ★★ | 87 | One-note farce about uptight concert pianist Niven, who loosens up when his business manager uses his savings to purchase an apartment building— where one of the residents is perky model Wyman. | tt0041550 | David Niven, Jane Wyman, Victor Moore, Wayne Morris, Broderick Crawford, Joseph Buloff, Maria Ouspenskaya | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Kiss of Death | 1947 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 98 | Famous gangster saga is showing its age, with both the cops and robbers a little too polite— except, of course, for Widmark, in his notorious film debut as giggling, psychopathic killer who shoves a wheelchair-bound old woman down a flight of stairs! Mature is solid as thief who turns state's evidence. Scripted by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer; filmed on authentic N.Y.C. locations. Remade in 1995. | tt0039536 | Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Taylor Holmes, Mildred Dunnock | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Kiss of Death | 1995 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★½ | 101 | Mediocre '90s remake of '40s crime yarn (with Richard Price script) has Caruso as an ex-con trying to go straight who's swept back into the underworld— then forced to turn stoolie for the D.A. Caruso is OK— nothing more— in first starring film, but Cage is a parody of a mad-dog bad guy. Jackson shines, as usual, in a solid supporting role. Jay O. Sanders appears unbilled as a Federal agent. | tt0113552 | [R] | David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Hunt, Kathryn Erbe, Stanley Tucci, Michael Rapaport, Ving Rhames, Philip Baker Hall, Anthony Heald, Anne Meara | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Kiss of Fire | 1955 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 87 | Run-of-the-mill costumer. Rush gives up Spanish throne to remain in America with true love. | tt0048262 | Barbara Rush, Jack Palance, Rex Reason, Martha Hyer | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Kiss of the Dragon | 2001 | Chris Nahon | ★★ | 98 | In Paris on a secret mission, Chinese agent Li is framed for murder by a corrupt French official and has to go on the run. His only ally is mistreated prostitute Fonda. Lots of fights, but not as well staged or photographed as Jet Li's Hong Kong movies. A convoluted plot slows the action, although Karyo is an entertaining villain. Overall, highly forgettable. Cowritten and coproduced by Luc Besson. | tt0271027 | [R] | Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, Tchéky Karyo, Ric Young, Burt Kwouk, Laurence Ashley | U.S.-French | Action | NULL | |
| Kiss of the Spider Woman | 1985 | Hector Babenco | ★★★ | 119 | Adaptation of Manuel Puig's highly regarded novel actually gets better as it goes along, revealing layers in story of gay man and political activist locked together in South American prison cell. Hurt is superb in Oscar-winning performance as man whose only food for survival is his memory of tacky Hollywood movies. Script by Leonard Schrader. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0089424 | [R] | William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jose Lewgoy, Nuno Leal Maia, Denise Dumont | U.S.-Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Kiss of the Vampire | Kiss of Evil | 1963 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 88 | Luckless honeymooners run out of petrol in eastern Europe and take refuge in the castle of Count Ravna, leader of a vampire cult. Ornate masked ball anticipates Polanski’s FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS. Intelligent Hammer production with many chilling sequences. | tt0057226 | Clifford Evans, Edward DeSouza, Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel | British | Thriller, Horror, Drama | NULL | |
| Kiss or Kill | 1997 | Bill Bennett | ★★★ | 93 | Neat, noirish murder mystery with Day and O'Connor well cast as a pair of scam-artists who take it on the lam after their latest dupe unexpectedly dies. The style, impudence, and unusual characters overcome the formulaic story. | tt0119467 | [R] | Matt Day, Frances O'Connor, Chris Haywood, Barry Otto, Andrew S. Gilbert, Barry Langrishe, Max Cullen | Australian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Kiss the Blood off My Hands | 1948 | Norman Foster | ★★ | 80 | Disappointing romance-thriller follows the plight of two lost souls, lonely nurse-war widow Fontaine and deeply troubled ex-POW Lancaster, who's on the lam for murder in London. Some potent scenes and good Miklos Rozsa score cannot salvage tepid film. | tt0040512 | Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Kiss the Boys Goodbye | 1941 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★½ | 85 | Enjoyable backstage musical of aspiring actress and director, with good support from Levant and bright Frank Loesser- Victor Schertzinger score based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce. | tt0033791 | Mary Martin, Don Ameche, Oscar Levant, Virginia Dale, Barbara Jo Allen, Raymond Walburn, Elizabeth Patterson, Connee Boswell | Musical | NULL | |||
| Kiss the Girls | 1997 | Gary Fleder | ★★½ | 116 | When a police forensic psychologist learns that his niece has been abducted, he uses his considerable skills to try and identify the culprit— a devious sicko who doesn't kill all his victims, but holds them captive instead. Surprisingly discreet for a '90s film— but in its final segments, increasingly conventional and formulaic. And too long. Freeman is— typically— solid as a rock; Judd is very good as a doctor who refuses to be treated as a victim. Followed by ALONG CAME A SPIDER. | tt0119468 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Cary Elwes, Tony Goldwyn, Bill Nunn, Jeremy Piven, Roma Maffia, Jay O. Sanders, Alex McArthur, Mena Suvari | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die | 1966 | Henry Levin | 💣 | 101 | Dull spy spoof about power-crazy industrialist who has a satellite capable of sterilizing the world, which is something Bond, Flint, and Matt Helm wouldn't mind. Awful film. | tt0060592 | Michael Connors, Dorothy Provine, Terry-Thomas, Raf Vallone, Beverly Adams, Oliver McGreevy | Italian | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Kiss the Other Sheik | 1965 | Luciano Salce, Eduardo De Filippo | 💣 | 85 | Off-color and off-base comedy of crazy man and his sexy wife. | tt0059535 | Marcello Mastroianni, Pamela Tiffin, Virna Lisi, Luciano Salce | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Kiss | 1929 | Jacques Feyder | ★★★ | 89 | Married Garbo gives young Ayres, who is smitten with her, an innocent goodnight kiss, which leads to misunderstanding and tragedy. Sleek, fluidly filmed Garbo vehicle was her last silent and Ayres' first starring role. Farfetched but very enjoyable. | tt0020062 | Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, Andres Randolf, Holmes Herbert, Lew Ayres, George Davis | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Kiss | 1988 | Pen Densham | ★★ | 101 | Occasionally scary horror film builds up to but downplays the sexual implications of its CAT PEOPLE-style story of a family curse passed down to each generation by a woman-to-woman kiss. Salenger is the unlucky target of beautiful aunt Pacula's evil smooch. | tt0095454 | [R] | Joanna Pacula, Meredith Salenger, Mimi Kuzyk, Nicholas Kilbertus, Jan Rubes | Horror | NULL | ||
| Kissed | 1996 | Lynne Stopkewich | ★½ | 73 | A woman infatuated with corpses since childhood gets her dream job working in a mortuary, then meets a man who becomes obsessed with her flirtation with death. Dull, occasionally repulsive thought provoker seeks poetry in necrophilia. Only pluses are Parker and Morley's transfixing performances. Educational value: everything you ever wanted to know about embalming. | tt0116783 | Molly Parker, Peter Outerbridge, Jay Brazeau, Natasha Morley, Jessie Winter Mudie | Canadian | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kisses for My President | 1964 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 113 | Thirties-style comedy of Bergen becoming President of the U.S., with MacMurray her husband caught in unprecedented protocol. Sometimes funny, often witless. | tt0058266 | Fred MacMurray, Polly Bergen, Arlene Dahl, Edward Andrews, Eli Wallach | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Kissin' Cousins | 1964 | Gene Nelson | ★★½ | 96 | Elvis has a dual role as military officer trying to convince yokel relative to allow missile site to be built on homestead; good supporting cast, usual amount of singing— mostly forgettable— and dancing. | tt0057227 | Elvis Presley, Arthur O'Connell, Glenda Farrell, Jack Albertson, Pamela Austin, Yvonne Craig, Donald Woods | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Kissing Bandit | 1948 | Laslo Benedek | ★★ | 102 | Frail Sinatra vehicle about son of Western kissing bandit who picks up where Dad left off; song 'Siesta' sums it up. | tt0040513 | Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, J. Carrol Naish, Ricardo Montalban, Mildred Natwick, Cyd Charisse, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Kissing Jessica Stein | 2002 | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | ★★★ | 97 | A single Jewish woman in N.Y.C., tired of looking for Mr. Right, answers a personal ad and hooks up with a woman, which leads to unexpected emotional consequences. Smart, funny romantic comedy that balances sitcom-style moments with clever insights, good supporting characters, and terrific chemistry between Westfeldt and Juergensen, who cowrote the screenplay based on their play Lipschtick. | tt0264761 | [R] | Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, Scott Cohen, Tovah Feldshuh, Jackie Hoffman, Michael Mastro, Carson Elrod, David Aaron Baker | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Kissing a Fool | 1998 | Doug Ellin | ★½ | 93 | Thoroughly charmless romantic comedy, told via flashback in an irritating narrative form, about a betrothed Chicago sportscaster who badgers a novelist buddy into testing his fiancée's fidelity as he himself is playing around. Subliminally sleazy but wrapped in a cozily sentimental veneer, which means the film doesn't even have the courage of its convictions. Avital is appealing as the pretty book editor who deserves better. Schwimmer also coexecutive-produced. | tt0120723 | [R] | David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital, Bonnie Hunt, Vanessa Angel, Kari Wuhrer, Bitty Schram | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Kit Carson | 1940 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 97 | Sturdy Western with Hall in title role, Andrews as cavalry officer, Bari the woman they fight over; plenty of action in Indian territory. Also shown in a computer-colored version. | tt0032670 | Jon Hall, Lynn Bari, Dana Andrews, Harold Huber, Ward Bond, Renie Riano, Clayton Moore | Western | NULL | |||
| Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | 2008 | Patricia Rozema | ★★★ | 100 | Unusually smart family film with Breslin as a plucky 10-year-old (and aspiring newspaper reporter) who experiences the effects of the Great Depression firsthand in 1934 Cincinnati. Her father leaves home in search of work and her mother is forced to take in boarders, including a magician (Tucci) who bears watching—and not just when he’s performing tricks. Evocative look at everyday life in the 1930s has entertainment value for grown-ups as well as kids. Based on Valerie Tripp’s stories, which were inspired by a popular line of dolls and books. | tt0846308 | [G] | Abigail Breslin, Joan Cusack, Glenne Headly, Jane Krakowski, Chris O’Donnell, Julia Ormond, Wallace Shawn, Stanley Tucci, Max Thieriot, Willow Smith, Zach Mills | Family, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Kitchen Stories | 2003 | Bent Hamer | ★★★ | 95 | Offbeat but warm human comedy set in a remote town in post-WW2 Norway has a research institute sending scientific 'observers' to sit in tall chairs in the kitchen corner to study the cooking habits of single men. Although not allowed to speak to the subjects or interrupt any activities, one analyst bends the rules and learns more about himself in the process than he ever possibly imagined. Quirky, completely original movie grows on you as it goes along. Written by Hamer and Jörgen Bergmark. | tt0323872 | Joachim Calmeyer, Tomas Nordström, Bjørn Floberg, Reine Brynolfsson, Sverre Anker Ousdal | Norwegian-Swedish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Kitchen Toto | 1987 | Harry Hook | ★★★ | 96 | Moving account of Kenya's final break from British rule in the mid-1950s. This complicated and violent struggle for freedom is told through the eyes of a young 'kikuyu' boy slowly drawn into these events when he goes to work in the household of the British police chief after his father is murdered by terrorists. Demanding but ultimately rewarding; first-rate debut for director Hook, who grew up in Kenya during the period depicted here. | tt0093354 | [PG-13] | Edwin Mahinda, Bob Peck, Phyllis Logan, Robert Urquhart, Kirsten Hughes, Edward Judd | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Kite Runner | 2007 | Marc Forster | ★★★ | 128 | Iranian man living in San Francisco receives a phone call summoning him home, where he tries to undo a wrong he committed years earlier. In flashback we learn about his boyhood friendship with the son of his father's household servant, their participation in Kabul's kite-flying competition, and the incident that changes both their lives. David Benioff adapted Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel. Well done, although it never reaches the emotional heights the story calls for. The acting is exceptional, and the faces of the two boys are unforgettable. | tt0419887 | [PG-13] | Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Zekiria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada, Shaun Toub, Nabi Tanha, Said Taghmaoui, Atossa Leoni | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Kitten With a Whip | 1964 | Douglas Heyes | ★★ | 83 | Uninspired account of delinquent (Ann-Margret) and friends victimizing wannabe senator Forsythe and forcing him to drive to Mexico. | tt0058267 | Ann-Margret, John Forsythe, Patricia Barry, Peter Brown, Ann Doran | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Kitty | 1945 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 104 | Overlong but entertaining costumer of girl's rise from guttersnipe to lady in 18th-century England with help of impoverished rake Milland; one of Goddard's best roles. | tt0037849 | Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Patric Knowles, Reginald Owen, Cecil Kellaway, Constance Collier | Drama | NULL | |||
| Kitty Foyle | 1940 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 107 | Tender love story won Rogers an Oscar as Christopher Morley's working-girl heroine; Ciannelli memorable as speakeasy waiter. | tt0032671 | Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, James Craig, Eduardo Ciannelli, Ernest Cossart, Gladys Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Kitty and the Bagman | 1982 | Donald Crombie | ★★½ | 95 | Flavorful period detail is the star of this inconsequential comedy-drama about crooked cop Stanton and young Clark, who becomes Underworld Queen of Sydney in the Roaring Twenties. | tt0084212 | [R] | Liddy Clark, John Stanton, Val Lehman, Gerard McGuire, Collette Mann, Reg Evans | Australian | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Klansman | KKK | 1974 | Terence Young | 💣 | 112 | Thoroughly trashy racial melodrama casts Marvin as a Southern sheriff and Burton as a local landowner who get involved in a hotbed (and hot beds) of racial activity. Original director Sam Fuller (who is still credited as coscripter) wisely took an early hike. Aka THE BURNING CROSS and KKK. | tt0071721 | [R] | Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, Cameron Mitchell, Lola Falana, Luciana Paluzzi, Linda Evans, O. J. Simpson | Drama | NULL | |
| Klimt | 2005 | Raúl Ruiz | ★½ | 97 | Gorgeous but faux-artsy biopic of the Symbolist radical Gustav Klimt is fop cinema, set in fin de siècle Vienna. Pretentious, factually questionable, and annoyingly hallucinatory, elevated only by the luminous paintings and abundant nudity. A somnolent Malkovich makes not the slightest effort to sound anything but pure Illinoisan. Written by the director, whose version runs 131m. | tt0417871 | [NR] | John Malkovich, Veronica Ferres, Stephen Dillane, Saffron Burrows, Sandra Ceccarelli, Nikolai Kinski | Austrian-German-British-French | Drama, Biography | NULL | |
| Klondike Annie | 1936 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 80 | West and McLaglen are rugged team, with Mae on the lam from police, going to the Yukon and masquerading as Salvation Army worker. West chants 'I'm An Occidental Woman in An Oriental Mood For Love,' and other hits. | tt0027851 | Mae West, Victor McLaglen, Philip Reed, Helen Jerome Eddy, Harry Beresford, Harold Huber, Soo Young, Lucille Webster Gleason | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Klondike Fever | Jack London's Klondike Fever | 1980 | Peter Carter | ★½ | 106 | Jack London (East) in Alaska during the Gold Rush. Poorly made adventure yarn. Aka JACK LONDON'S KLONDIKE FEVER. | tt0081004 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, Angie Dickinson, Jeff East, Lorne Greene, Barry Morse | Adventure | NULL | |
| Klondike Kate | 1943 | William Castle | ★½ | 64 | Low-budget humdrum of innocent Neal accused of murder in Alaska, fighting for his life and his girl. | tt0036079 | Ann Savage, Tom Neal, Glenda Farrell, Constance Worth, Sheldon Leonard, Lester Allen | Western | NULL | |||
| Klute | 1971 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★½ | 114 | Fine combination detective-thriller/character-study, with Sutherland a private-eye searching for suburban husband last seen in N.Y.C. Fonda won Oscar as call girl who once saw man in question. Beware: Commercial TV print runs 108m. and omits one crucial scene that helps Sutherland solve the mystery! | tt0067309 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider, Dorothy Tristan, Rita Gam, Jean Stapleton | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Knack, and How to Get It | 1965 | Richard Lester. | ★★★½ | 84 | One of the funniest comedies ever imported from Britain. One man's a whiz with the ladies, and his buddy simply wants to learn his secret. Fast-moving, constantly funny. Charles Wood and director Lester scripted, from Ann Jellicoe's play. Look sharp for Charlotte Rampling (as a water skier) and Jacqueline Bisset. | tt0059362 | Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks, Michael Crawford, Donal Donnelly. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Knickerbocker Holiday | 1944 | Harry Joe Brown | ★★ | 85 | Plodding film of Kurt Weill-Maxwell Anderson musical of N.Y.C.'s early days; score includes 'September Song.' | tt0036988 | Nelson Eddy, Charles Coburn, Constance Dowling, Shelley Winters, Percy Kilbride, Chester Conklin | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Knife in the Head | 1978 | Reinhard Hauff | ★★★½ | 113 | Ganz is excellent as a biogeneticist who is paralyzed after being shot in the head in a police raid, then used as a pawn by both police and political radicals. Fascinating, disturbing drama. | tt0077924 | Bruno Ganz, Angela Winkler, Hans Christian Blech, Hans Honig, Hans Brenner | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Knife in the Water | 1962 | Roman Polanski | ★★★★ | 94 | Absorbing drama grows out of the tensions created when a couple off for a sailing weekend pick up a student hitchhiker. Polanski's first feature film is a brilliant piece of cinematic storytelling, and a must-see movie. | tt0056291 | Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Knight Moves | 1992 | Carl Schenkel | ★★½ | 96 | Chess master Lambert finds himself a murder suspect during a competition on an island in Washington state. Meanwhile, the killer teases Lambert by providing the chess champion with clues he must decipher for himself. OK thriller; has its moments, but also more than its share of lulls. | tt0104627 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Diane Lane, Tom Skerritt, Daniel Baldwin | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Knight Without Armour | 1937 | Jacques Feyder | ★★★ | 101 | Secret agent Donat helps countess Dietrich flee Russian revolutionaries. Sumptuous production, charismatic stars. | tt0029087 | Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat, Irene Vanbrugh, Herbert Lomas, Miles Malleson, David Tree | British | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Knight and Day | 2010 | James Mangold | ★★★ | 109 | Woman finds herself on a flight with a man who claims to be a secret agent; mayhem erupts wherever he goes, but he swears he’s one of the “good guys,” and she’s swept up in a worldwide whirlwind adventure. Entertaining vehicle for the two well-cast stars delivers exactly what it promises: pure escapism, not intended to be taken too seriously. Evokes such movies as NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and while it isn’t in that league, it’s still fun to watch. | tt1013743 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Viola Davis, Jordi Mollà, Paul Dano, Maggie Grace, Marc Blucas, Celia Weston, Falk Hentschel, Lennie Loftin, Dale Dye | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Knight's Tale | 2001 | Brian Helgeland | ★★ | 132 | High-concept moviemaking at its screwiest: a gleefully anachronistic medieval tale of a would-be knight who becomes a jousting champion, set to rock 'n' roll music. If it had gone completely over the top it might be fun, but writer-director Helgeland wants us to care about his characters and story— while undermining them at every turn. Almost rescued by Ledger's star quality and strong supporting performances. (P.S. The jousting itself becomes surprisingly monotonous.) | tt0183790 | [PG-13] | Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Shannyn Sossamon, Alan Tudyk, Christopher Cazenove | Action, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Knightriders | 1981 | George A. Romero | ★★★ | 145 | Ambitious, unusual film about a traveling band that stages medieval fairs at which knights joust on motorcycles, and their self-styled King Arthur, who tries to get his followers to live under an old-fashioned code of honor. Finely crafted little change-of-pace for horror master Romero, who also wrote the screenplay; Stephen King has a funny cameo as a beer-guzzling spectator. | tt0082622 | [R] | Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, Christine Forrest, Warner Shook, Brother Blue | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Knights and Emeralds | 1986 | Ian Emes | ★★½ | 94 | Fair chronicle of young, white, working-class musician Wild, and what happens when he begins associating with his black counterparts. A well-meaning examination of racism and its effects, combined with mostly forgettable musical numbers. | tt0091350 | [PG] | Christopher Wild, Beverly Hills, Warren Mitchell, Bill Leadbitter, Rachel Davies, Tracie Bennett | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Knights of the Round Table | 1953 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 115 | MGM's first widescreen film (made in England) was excuse for this pretty but empty mini-spectacle of King Arthur's Court, revealing famous love triangle. | tt0045966 | Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Stanley Baker, Felix Aylmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Knock Off | 1998 | Tsui Hark | ★½ | 91 | Van Damme teams up with American agents to combat terrorists. Having Van Damme play a Hong Kong clothing designer/importer in an action film pinned to a plot about designer jeans is peculiar but not interesting . . . which also describes the movie. Director Hark abandons his usual vivid fight choreography for standard swift intercutting instead. Samo Hung appears unbilled. | tt0120724 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rob Schneider, Lela Rochon, Michael Fitzgerald Wong, Paul Sorvino, Carmen Lee | U.S.-Hong Kong | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Knock Out Cop | Trinity: Tracking For Trouble | 1978 | Steno | ★★ | 113 | Silly live-action comic strip with tough, beefy police inspector Spencer on the hunt for drug smugglers. For prepubescent boys only. Originally titled FLATFOOT. Video title: TRINITY: TRACKING FOR TROUBLE. | tt0076544 | Bud Spencer, Werner Pochath, Enzo Cannavale, Joe Stewardson, Bodo, Dagmar Lassander | Italian-German | Action, Drama, Crime, Comedy | NULL | |
| Knock on Any Door | 1949 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 100 | More a showcase for young Derek— as a 'victim of society' who turns to crime— than a vehicle for Bogart, as conscience-stricken attorney who defends him. Serious but dated drama. Sequel: LET NO MAN WRITE MY EPITAPH. | tt0041555 | Humphrey Bogart, John Derek, George Macready, Allene Roberts, Susan Perry | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Knock on Wood | 1954 | Norman Panama, Melvin Frank | ★★★ | 103 | Superior Kaye vehicle, with ventriloquist Danny involved with beautiful Zetterling and international spies; good Kaye routines. | tt0047152 | Danny Kaye, Mai Zetterling, Torin Thatcher, David Burns, Leon Askin, Abner Biberman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Knockaround Guys | 2002 | David Levien, Brian Koppelman | ★★½ | 93 | Interesting variation on the usual gangster saga, examining the younger generation of today's remaining gangland dinosaurs. Pepper, the son of mob boss Hopper, doesn't have his father's respect, or a career to call his own. He begs for the chance to do something important, so his father finally gives him an assignment, which goes completely awry, sending him and his Brooklyn-based cousins to the wilds of Montana. Good cast and offbeat setting keep this lively, but the finale doesn't entirely add up. Filmed in 1999; released in Italy in 2001 as DANGEROUS COMPANY. | tt0211465 | [R] | Barry Pepper, John Malkovich, Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Andrew Davoli, Dennis Hopper, Tom Noonan | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Knocked Up | 2007 | Judd Apatow | ★★★ | 129 | Fast-rising entertainment reporter (Heigl) finds herself pregnant after a drunken one-night stand with an amiable, scruffy goof-off (Rogen). She decides to have the baby and, to the surprise of both, a wobbly relationship develops between them. Overlong but often hysterically funny comedy is also sweet, romantic, and, despite the exceedingly foul-mouthed dialogue, downright moral. Written by the director. Numerous celebrities appear as themselves. Unrated version also available. | tt0478311 | [R] | Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Harold Ramis, Jay Baruchel, Joanna Kerns, Jonah Hill, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Wiig, Bill Haber | Drama, Romance, comedy | NULL | ||
| Knockout | 2000 | Lorenzo Doumani | ★½ | 100 | B-movie about an East L.A. homegirl (Hernandez) who becomes a boxer, following in the footsteps of her dad (Plana), who gave up life in the ring to become a cop. Potentially intriguing subject matter KO'd by hammy performances (especially McNamara as a yuppie sleaze promoter), flat direction and a clichéd script that would shame Syd Field. | tt0143344 | [R] | Sophia-Adella Hernandez, Eduardo Yanez, Tony Plana, William McNamara, Maria Conchita Alonso, Paul Winfield | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Knowing | 2009 | Alex Proyas | ★★ | 121 | In 1959, students in a Boston-area school draw pictures to put in a time capsule, but one spooky little girl scribbles down a bunch of numbers on a paper. Fifty years later, the paper winds up with a boy whose father, M.I.T. astrophysics professor Cage, discovers that the numbers accurately predicted the dates, locations, and death tolls of major catastrophes of the past—and quite possibly the future. Intriguing premise would have made a great Twilight Zone episode, but this New Age doomsday thriller becomes increasingly dour and tedious, with a particularly preposterous finale blending science fiction and biblical prophecy. Shot mostly in Australia. | tt0448011 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Chandler Canterbury, Ben Mendelsohn, Lara Robinson, Nadia Townsend, Alan Hopgood, Danielle Carter | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Knute Rockne All American | 1940 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★★ | 96 | Corny but entertaining bio of famed Notre Dame football coach (O'Brien, in a standout performance), with Reagan as his star player, George Gipp. Several long-excised scenes, including O'Brien's famous locker-room pep talk and Reagan's 'win just one for the Gipper' speech have now been restored to most prints. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032676 | Pat O'Brien, Gale Page, Donald Crisp, Ronald Reagan, Albert Bassermann, John Qualen. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Kolya | 1996 | Jan Sverák | ★★½ | 110 | Sentimental tale of a mid-fiftyish cellist, an unattached lothario who unexpectedly is made guardian of a small Russian boy. Set in 1988 Prague, on the eve of independence from the Russians, this is a sweet-natured love story that unfortunately seems too pat and manufactured. You'll laugh and certainly cry, but same essential story has been told on film many times before. Lead actor/screenwriter is the director's father. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0116790 | [PG-13] | Zdenek Sverak, Andrej Chalimon, Libuse Safrankova, Ondrej Vetchy, Stella Zazvorkova, Ladislav Smoljak, Irena Livanova | Czech-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Komediant | 2000 | Arnon Goldfinger | ★★★ | 82 | Lively, informative documentary that follows the lives of Pesach Burstein and Lillian Lux, Yiddish stage stars who spent decades traveling the world to entertain the masses. Along the way, their twin children, Mike and Susan, joined them-and took to show business in very different ways. Filled with warmth and insight. The Bursteins are living proof that the Nazis did not completely wipe out Yiddishkeit. | tt0213569 |
|
Israeli | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Kon-Tiki | 1951 | No director credited. | ★★★ | 58 | Oscar-winning documentary based on Heyerdahl’s best-selling book about his raft trip from Peru to Tahiti, which substantiated his theory that ancient sailing boats crossed the Pacific Ocean. Revised and rescored in 1995; that version runs 58m. | tt0042650 | Narrated by Ben Grauer, Thor Heyerdahl. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Kona Coast | 1968 | Lamont Johnson | ★★½ | 93 | Good cast in routine melodrama of fishing boat skipper's fight to get the guys who murdered his daughter. Fifties rock star Duane Eddy has small part. Filmed in Hawaii. From a screen story by John D. MacDonald. | tt0063194 | Richard Boone, Vera Miles, Joan Blondell, Steve Ihnat, Chips Rafferty, Kent Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Konga | 1961 | John Lemont | ★½ | 90 | Very mad scientist Gough, intent on creating a plant-animal hybrid, occasionally enlarges his chimpanzee friend to gorilla size, then sends the ape out to kill his enemies. A climactic overdose makes Konga king-sized for an exceptionally dull rampage. Brassy, silly Herman Cohen-produced knockoff of KING KONG has only Gough's juicy, hammy performance to recommend it. | tt0055058 | Michael Gough, Margo Johns, Jess Conrad, Claire Gordon | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Kongo | 1932 | William Cowen | ★★★ | 85 | Bizarre, fascinating melodrama of crippled madman Huston ruling African colony, seeking revenge on man who paralyzed him by torturing his daughter. Not for the squeamish. Remake of WEST OF ZANZIBAR. | tt0023101 | Walter Huston, Lupe Velez, Conrad Nagel, Virginia Bruce, C. Henry Gordon | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Kontroll | 2003 | Nimród Antal | ★★★ | 106 | Highly original thriller set entirely in the Budapest underground system, where a ticket inspector has to deal with gangs of rival workers, a mystery woman who's caught his eye, and a fiendishly clever, elusive murderer. Cowriter-director Antal creates a dense and dynamic universe all his own. | tt0373981 | [R] | Sandor Csányi, Sándor Badár, Zoltán Mucsi, Zsolt Nagy, Csaba Pindroch, Eszter Balla | Hungarian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Korczak | 1990 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★ | 118 | Tremendously moving, real-life story of a truly remarkable man: Janusz Korczak (Pszoniak, in a powerful performance), a respected doctor, writer and children's rights advocate who operated a house for Jewish orphans in Warsaw during the 1930s and maintained his moral standards after the Nazis invaded his homeland. Simple, poignant script by Agnieszka Holland. | tt0099949 | Wojciech Pszoniak, Ewa Dalkowska, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyzanowska, Piotr Kozlowski, Jan Peszek | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kotch | 1971 | Jack Lemmon | ★★★ | 113 | Matthau is the entire show in this winning comedy-drama about a friendly, child-loving septuagenarian who is out of sync with the coolness of the contemporary world, and who helps a young unwed mother-to-be. Lemmon's lone film as director; look fast for him as a mustachioed sleeping passenger on a bus. Farr is Lemmon's wife; Saroyan is Matthau's stepdaughter. | tt0067314 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Deborah Winters, Felicia Farr, Charles Aidman, Ellen Geer, Darrell Larson, Lucy Saroyan, Larry Linville | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Koyaanisqatsi | 1983 | Godfrey Reggio | ★★★★ | 87 | Spellbinding, senses-staggering nonnarrative film soars across the United States in search of vistas both natural and man-made. Much of the photography is slow-motion or time-lapse (the title is Hopi Indian for 'life out of balance'), all of it set to a mesmerizing score by Philip Glass. So rich in beauty and detail that with each viewing it becomes a new and different film. Should be seen in a theatre for maximum impact. Followed by POWAQQATSI and NAQOYQATSI. | tt0085809 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Krakatoa, East of Java | Volcano | 1969 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★★½ | 101 | Muddled epic-adventure of disparate group sailing for location of treasure-laden sunken ship. Attempt at Jules Verneish saga hampered by shallow characterizations, dialogue, but action footage is first-rate, climaxed by volcanic explosion and tidal wave. Heavily cut after premiere, leaving story more jumbled than before. P.S.: Krakatoa was West of Java. Retitled VOLCANO. Originally 136m. | tt0064555 | [G] | Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, John Leyton, Rossano Brazzi, Sal Mineo | Drama | NULL | |
| Kramer vs. Kramer | 1979 | Robert Benton | ★★★★ | 104 | Wife walks out on upwardly mobile husband, leaving him to fend for himself and young son; intelligent, beautifully crafted, intensely moving film. Adapted by Benton from Avery Corman's novel and acted to perfection by entire cast. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Actor, Screenplay, Director, Supporting Actress (Streep). | tt0079417 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry, Howard Duff, George Coe, JoBeth Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Krays | 1990 | Peter Medak | ★★★ | 119 | Brutal but stylish bio of the real-life twins (one gay, one straight) who ruled London's underworld in the 1960s, aided immeasurably by the title-role casting of two sibling members (not twins) of the Brit pop group Spandau Ballet. Picks up, after an iffy beginning, when the Kemps take over from an assortment of child actors; would have been even stronger had it gone beyond character study and dealt more with the lowlife Mod milieu. Whitelaw is good, as usual, as the boys' smothering mother. | tt0099951 | [R] | Billie Whitelaw, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Susan Fleetwood, Charlotte Cornwell, Jimmy Jewel, Avis Bunnage, Kate Hardie, Alfred Lynch, Tom Bell, Steven Berkoff, Victor Spinetti, Barbara Ferris, Julia Migenes, John McEnery, Sadie Frost | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Kremlin Letter | 1970 | John Huston | ★½ | 113 | Dull, complicated thriller based on best-seller concerns efforts to retrieve bogus treaty supposedly signed by U.S. and Soviet Union that will pit them against Red China. Good cast is thrown away; film does provide rare opportunity to see Sanders in drag. | tt0065950 | [M] | Bibi Andersson, Richard Boone, Max von Sydow, Orson Welles, Patrick O'Neal, Barbara Parkins, Dean Jagger, George Sanders, Raf Vallone | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Krippendorf's Tribe | 1998 | Todd Holland | ★★ | 94 | Widowed anthropology professor, who's spent all his grant money, is forced to present his findings on an unknown tribe in New Guinea. Trouble is, he never found such a tribe, so he makes one up, then shoots bogus videos with his three kids to back up his claims. Farcical comedy fizzles with wildly inconsistent characters (particularly Elfman) and desperate plot devices which never quite gel. | tt0120725 | [PG-13] | Richard Dreyfuss, Jenna Elfman, Natasha Lyonne, Gregory Smith, Carl Michael Lindner, Stephen Root, Elaine Stritch, Tom Poston, David Ogden Stiers, Lily Tomlin, Zakes Mokae | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kristin Lavransdatter | 1995 | Liv Ullmann | ★★ | 144 | Intense, plodding drama, set in the 14th century, about the title character (Matheson) and how pressures from family and society thwart her from being with her true love and steer her to marry another man instead. It's a conflict between religious obligation and 'the sin of passion,' and well acted, but never as profound or involving as intended. Ullmann also scripted, based on novel by Nobel Prize-winner Sigrid Undset. Originally shown at 180m. | tt0113576 | Elisabeth Matheson, Bjorn Skagestad, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Henny Moan, Rut Tellefsen, Erland Josephson, Lena Endre | Norwegian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kronos | 1957 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 78 | Diverting science-fiction with unique monster: an enormous metallic walking machine capable of absorbing the Earth's energy. Occasionally shaky special effects are compensated for by nice touch of mysterioso and convincing performances, especially by Emery as the alien's catspaw. | tt0050610 | Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence, John Emery, George O'Hanlon, Morris Ankrum | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Krull | 1983 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 117 | Overly familiar story elements and plodding treatment keep this traditional fantasy quest from going anywhere, despite its elaborate trappings. Marshall is the young hero who must recover a magic ornament to save damsel and kingdom. | tt0085811 | [PG] | Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis, David Battley, Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane | Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Krush Groove | 1985 | Michael Schultz | ★★ | 97 | Yet another rap musical, with a silly (almost nonexistent) story but lots of music, rapping, and street culture artifacts. Aficionados of this kind of music rate the soundtrack very highly. | tt0089444 | [R] | Blair Underwood, Joseph Simmons, Sheila E., Fat Boys, Daryll McDaniels, Kurtis Blow | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Kuffs | 1992 | Bruce Evans | ★½ | 100 | Smarmy Slater desperately needs a job after abandoning his pregnant girlfriend; as luck would have it, his brother gets shot in the line of duty as a private policeman in San Francisco. Unbearably flip, especially during frequent breaks for Slater's straight-to-camera narration. You keep waiting for Dirty Harry to show up and toss this kiddie cop one of his patented glares. | tt0104647 | [PG-13] | Christian Slater, Tony Goldwyn, Milla Jovovich, Bruce Boxleitner, George De La Pena, Troy Evans, Lu Leonard, Leon Rippy, Mary Ellen Trainor, Ashley Judd | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kull the Conqueror | 1997 | John Nicolella | ★★ | 95 | In ancient times, Kull, a barbarian from Atlantis, unexpectedly becomes king of a troubled country, and soon finds himself involved in swordfights, magic, and palace intrigue. Passionless, incoherent, and routine, with a few good performances, very uneven effects and makeup, and not enough sorcery. Based on a character created by Conan creator Robert E. Howard; in fact, this began life as a script for a third Conan movie. | tt0119484 | [PG-13] | Kevin Sorbo, Tia Carrere, Karina Lombard, Thomas Ian Griffith, Litefoot, Roy Brocksmith, Harvey Fierstein, Edward Tudor-Pole, Douglas Henshall, Sven Ole Thorsen | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Kundun | 1997 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★ | 134 | The fascinating saga of the 14th Dalai Lama begins with the discovery that he has been reincarnated in the body of a two-year-old boy. We follow his journey through life, including education, exile, and a confrontation with the Chinese government, led by Mao Tse-tung. Search in vain for a Scorsese 'edge'— this is just good, solid storytelling, from Melissa Mathison's script (written with the Dalai Lama's cooperation). A cast of nonprofessional actors is simply remarkable, and so is Philip Glass' score. | tt0119485 | [PG-13] | Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin, Tenzin Yeshi Paichang, Tencho Gyalpo, Tsewang Migyur Khangsar, Sonam Phuntsok, Robert Lin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Kung Fu Hustle | 2005 | Stephen Chow. | ★★ | 99 | In Pig Sty Alley, the brutal Axe Gang terrorizes the locals but doesn't know what to make of a young gangster-wannabe (Chow). Less a story than a series of action sequences, this heavy-handed mix of martial arts and slapstick (with a dollop of romance) pays homage to everything from THE SHINING and Road Runner cartoons to TOP HAT! The novelty of live-action cartoon violence wears thin pretty fast. Chow cowrote and coproduced; choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, THE MATRIX). | tt0373074 | [R] | Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Leung Siu Lung, Dong Zhi Hua, Chiu Chi Ling, Xing Yu, Chan Kwok Kwan, Lam Tze Chung, Tin Kai Man, Jia Kang Xi, Fung Hak On, Feng Xiao Gang, Lam Suet. | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Kung Fu Panda | 2008 | John Stevenson, Mark Osborne | ★★★ | 91 | Entertaining animated feature about a panda who dreams of being a martial arts hero, instead of the son of a dumpling chef. Then, through a quirk of fate, he is chosen as the Dragon Warrior to help save a city that’s about to be attacked by a ferocious leopard. Uncommonly handsome production design and exciting action scenes enhance a simple storyline. Black’s engaging performance as the schlump who wants to make good is matched by Hoffman’s deadpan delivery as his kung fu master. | tt0441773 | [PG] | Voices of Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim, James Hong, Dan Fogler, Michael Clarke Duncan | Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Kung Fu Panda 2 | 2011 | Jennifer Yuh Nelson | ★★★ | 90 | When he tries to ward off plunderers, alongside the Furious Five, Po finds himself blinded by images of his panda parents—and begins to wonder, for the first time, where he came from. This is his Achilles’ heel as he tries to combat the evil peacock Lord Shen, who is bent on conquering China with his all-powerful cannons. Surprisingly good sequel to the 2008 feature minimizes Master Shifu’s role and sacrifices laughs for more serious storytelling, in the vein of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Beautifully designed and realized. | tt1302011 | [PG] | Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Victor Garber, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme | NULL | |||
| Kung Pow: Enter the Fist | 2002 | Steve Oedekerk | ★½ | 81 | Writer-director Oedekirk redubs, and adds deliberately clunky new footage to, a 1976 Hong Kong martial arts movie, TIGER & CRANE FISTS (directed by Jimmy Wang Yu), turning the original into a parody of itself, with a nonstop barrage of gags— occasionally funny, but obvious and repetitive. Oedekirk also stars, as The Chosen One. Not nearly as good as WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?, but if you do watch, be sure to stay till the very end of the credits. | tt0240468 | [PG-13] | Steve Oedekirk, Lung Fai, Leo Lee, Chen Hui Lou, Jennifer Tung | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Kwaidan | Kaidan | 1964 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★½ | 164 | Four tales of the supernatural, based on works by Lafcadio Hearn, focusing on samurais, balladeers, monks, spirits. Subtle, moody, well staged; stunning use of color and widescreen. Released in U.S. in 1965 at 125m., with the second episode (featuring Kishi and Nakadai) deleted. | tt0058279 | Rentaro Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Keiko Kishi, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Horror | NULL | |
| L!fe Happens | 2012 | Kat Coiro | ★½ | 100 | Single mom and struggling working girl Ritter discovers that having a baby is a buzz kill for a woman trying to stay active on the dating scene. When she meets a guy she really likes, she lies to him and says the kid belongs to her smart-mouthed roommate (Bosworth), which leads to further complications. Ritter wrote the strained, unfunny screenplay with director Coiro. | tt1726589 | [R] | Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Geoff Stults, Justin Kirk, Fallon Goodson, Andrea Savage, Kristen Johnston, Rhys Coiro, Jason Biggs, Seymour Cassel, Lauren Conrad | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| L'Addition | 1985 | Denis Amar | ★★ | 85 | Drab prison drama of criminal Berry vs. ruthless guard Bohringer. Never finds the spark to catch fire, despite presence of Spanish actress Abril (who resembles Rosanna Arquette). | tt0086852 | [R] | Richard Berry, Richard Bohringer, Victoria Abril, Farid Chopel | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| L'Adolescente | The Adolescent | 1979 | Jeanne Moreau | ★★½ | 90 | One-dimensional tale of anxious, confused Chauveau, just beginning her teen years at the outset of WW2. A heartfelt effort by Moreau that falls flat. Aka THE ADOLESCENT. | tt0077123 | [PG] | Laetitia Chauveau, Simone Signoret, Edith Clever, Jacques Weber, Francis Huster | French-German | Drama | NULL |
| L'Age d'Or | 1930 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★★ | 63 | Bishops turn into skeletons and the cow wanders into the bedroom in Buñuel's first feature, a surrealistic masterpiece coscripted by Salvadore Dali. Right-wing agitators caused a riot at the film's first (and for a long time, only) public screening; its anticlericalism put it into the 'banned film' category for decades. Still has the power to delight, if no longer shock. | tt0021577 | Gaston Modot, Lya Lys, Max Ernst, Pierre Prévert | French | Drama, Romance, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| L'Argent | 1983 | Robert Bresson | ★★★½ | 90 | How the petty maneuverings of some upper-class boys and shopkeepers result in the ruin of workingman Patey: the rich lie, and get their workers to lie for them, but are aghast when the workers lie to them. Subtle, powerful film, simply and effectively directed by a master filmmaker; based on a Tolstoy story. | tt0085180 | Christian Patey, Sylvie van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Caroline Lang, Jeanne Aptekman | French-Swiss | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| L'Atalante | 1934 | Jean Vigo | ★★★★ | 89 | Naturalism and surrealist fantasy blend beautifully in all-time masterpiece about a young couple who begin their life together sailing down the Seine on a barge. Ultimate in romantic cinema also anticipated neorealist movement by more than a decade; Vigo died at 29, just as film premiered. Restored in 1990 to its full length; avoid 82m. version, which circulated for years. | tt0024844 | Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, Jean Dasté, Gilles Margaritis, Louis Lefèvre, Diligent Raya | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| L'Auberge Espagnole | 2002 | Cedric Klapisch | ★★ | 116 | A 25-year-old French grad student goes to Spain for his year abroad and winds up living in a cramped apartment with seven strangers of all different nationalities. Fictitious version of The Real World is bland and overlong despite an appealing cast. Disappointing follow-up from the writer-director of the infinitely more charming WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY. Title translates literally to SPANISH APARTMENT, or in French slang, EURO PUDDING. | tt0283900 | [R] | Romain Duras, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France, Kelly Reilly, Cristina Brondo | French-Spanish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| L'Avventura | The Adventure | 1960 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★★½ | 145 | Massari mysteriously disappears on an uninhabited island after arguing with boyfriend Ferzetti, impelling him and her friend Vitti to look for her. Subtle, incisive allegory of spiritual and moral decay makes for demanding viewing. Antonioni's first international success was also the first of a trilogy (followed by LA NOTTE and L'ECLISSE). | tt0053619 | Monica Vitti, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar, James Addams | French-Italian | Drama, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |
| L'Enfant | 2005 | Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | ★★★ | 95 | A young, amoral thief and his girlfriend have a baby, but responsibility is such a foreign concept to him that he sells the child to a black-market ring, with unexpected consequences. As forceful and naturalistic as the Dardennes' other films, but the story is uncharacteristically schematic, which dilutes its impact somewhat. Said to be inspired by Crime and Punishment and Robert Bresson's PICKPOCKET. The leading actor starred in the filmmakers' LA PROMESSE when he was a boy. Winner of the Palme D'Or at Cannes. | tt0456396 | [R] | Jérémie Renier, Déborah François, Jérémie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gourmet | Belgian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| L'Enfer | 1994 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 105 | Cluzet and sexy Béart marry, become settled in domesticity and seem very happy— until the husband becomes convinced that the wife is cheating on him. Chabrol ponders some interesting questions— how well can two people know each other? how far can they trust each other?— but result is one-note, with Cluzet becoming a laughable caricature of an insanely jealous man. Scripted by Chabrol, from original screenplay by Henri-Georges Clouzot (which the latter had started filming in 1964 but never completed). | tt0109731 | [R] | Emmanuelle Béart, Francois Cluzet, Marc Lavoine, Nathalie Cardone, Andre Wilms, Christiane Minazzoli, Dora Doll, Jean-Pierre Cassel | French | Drama | NULL | |
| L'Etoile du Nord | 1982 | Pierre Granier-Deferre | ★½ | 101 | Boring tale of down-and-out Noiret murdering wealthy businessman Ratib, and his relationships with gold digger Cottencon and her mother (Signoret). Just talk, flashbacks, and more talk, with insufficient action or character development. Signoret can't save this one. Based on a Georges Simenon novel. | tt0084962 | [PG] | Simone Signoret, Philippe Noiret, Fanny Cottencon, Julie Jezequel, Gamil Ratib | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The L-Shaped Room | 1963 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 125 | French woman crosses the Channel to face pregnancy alone, comes to meet interesting assortment of characters in shabby London boarding house. Caron is superb in the lead. | tt0057239 | Leslie Caron, Tom Bell, Brock Peters, Avis Bunnage, Emlyn Williams, Cicely Courtneidge, Bernard Lee, Patricia Phoenix, Nanette Newman | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| L. 627 | 1992 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 145 | 'Lulu' Marguet is a career cop who fights drug dealers with a keen sense of commitment— which is more than can be said for many of his colleagues. Pungent satire of contemporary French police force, and the way an 'elite' drug-busting unit tries to function amid the absurdities of red tape and administrative bungling. Funny, yet frightening. Director Tavernier's son plays Vincent. | tt0104658 | Didier Bezace, Charlotte Kady, Philippe Torreton, Nils Tavernier, Jean-Paul Comart, Jean-Roger Milo, Lara Guirao | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| L.A. Confidential | 1997 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★½ | 136 | Vividly atmospheric tale of L.A. in the early 1950s, run by corrupt cops— one of whom (Spacey) works hand in hand with the publisher of a sleazy tabloid (DeVito). Self-righteous Pearce, however, thinks he can rise above the muck in the department. Director Hanson and Brian Helgeland's Oscar-winning adaptation of the James Ellroy novel is overlong but compelling and richly detailed; a bleak worldview, to be sure. Basinger won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as the Veronica Lake-ish call girl, but she's surrounded by Oscar-worthy costars. | tt0119488 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, David Strathairn, Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Graham Beckel, Brenda Bakke, Paul Guilfoyle, Ron Rifkin, Simon Baker | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| L.A. Story | 1991 | Mick Jackson | ★★½ | 95 | Martin wrote this amusing piece of fluff about a wacky TV weatherman trying to sort out his life. Slender story thread allows Martin to make comic observations about living in trend-conscious L.A., some of them mild, some of them worthy of laughing out loud. Several of Martin's comedy cronies make cameo appearances. A deleted scene with John Lithgow was added for the film's cable-TV debut. | tt0102250 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kevin Pollak, Sam McMurray, Patrick Stewart, Iman | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| L.I.E. | 2001 | Michael Cuesta | ★★★½ | 100 | Challenging, perceptive mood piece about an upper-middle-class 15-year-old boy who lives near the Long Island Expressway: his mother recently died, his sleazy father is mostly absent, and he has become a lost soul. This would seem to make him easy prey for a local Fagin-like pederast named Big John . . . but things aren't that simple. Intelligent, believable drama whose characters reveal themselves layer by layer. Great performances by Cox and young Dano. Written by the director, Gerald Cuesta, and Stephen M. Ryder. | tt0242587 | [NC-17] | Brian Cox, Paul Franklin Dano, Billy Kay, Bruce Altman, James Costa, Tony Donnelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| LOL | 2012 | Lisa Azuelos | 💣 | 96 | Shapeless and charmless teen-skewing dramedy, with Cyrus offering a charisma-free performance as a Chicago high schooler who often gives her mom (Moore) cause for concern while texting, interacting and sometimes misbehaving with her buddies. Director Azuelos adapted this trifle from her own French comedy LOL (LAUGHING OUT LOUD), but something must have gotten lost in the translation. | tt1592873 | [PG-13] | Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, Ashley Greene, Douglas Booth, Adam G. Sevani, Thomas Jane, Jay Hernandez, Marlo Thomas, Nora Dunn, Gina Gershon, Fisher Stevens | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Balance | 1982 | Bob Swaim | ★★★ | 102 | Extremely tough, violent Parisian cop movie (directed and cowritten by an American) about effort to nail criminal kingpin by forcing one-time associate (Leotard) to turn informer. Baye is excellent as prostitute in love with victimized pimp. Winner of many Cesar Awards (France's Oscar) including Best Picture. | tt0083611 | [R] | Nathalie Baye, Philippe Leotard, Richard Berry, Maurice Ronet, Christophe Malavoy, Jean-Paul Connart | French | Drama | NULL | |
| La Bamba | 1987 | Luis Valdez | ★★★ | 108 | Solid musical biography of Ritchie Valens, a poor Mexican-American who became a rock 'n' roll sensation at age 17. Writer-director Valdez can't avoid some standard Hollywood bio trappings, but good-time music and Phillips' commanding, sympathetic performance more than compensate. Morales is excellent as Ritchie's troubled brother. Valens' music is performed by Los Lobos on soundtrack— they appear as the Tijuana band. Original music by Carlos Santana and Miles Goodman. | tt0093378 | [PG-13] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosana De Soto, Elizabeth Pena, Danielle von Zerneck, Joe Pantoliano, Rick Dees, Marshall Crenshaw, Brian Setzer | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| La Bandera | 1935 | Julien Duvivier. | ★★★ | 96 | French criminal on the lam in Africa takes time to find love with an Arab girl, even though he knows he's being pursued by a detective, Javert-style. Old-fashioned in the best sense, this Foreign Legion adventure shot in southern Morocco made Gabin a star and is redolent with the director's poetic realism. Cowritten by Pierre (MacOrlan) Dumarchais from his 1931 novel. Aka ESCAPE FROM YESTERDAY. | tt0026095 | Jean Gabin, Annabella, Robert Le Vigan, Raymond Aimos, Pierre Renoir, Gaston Modot, Viviane Romance. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Belle Noiseuse | Divertimento | 1991 | Jacques Rivette | ★★★½ | 240 | Riveting story of the relationship between a once-famed artist and the young woman who inspires him to paint after 10 years of inactivity, and becomes his model. A stunning examination of the artistic process and its accompanying obsessions, with outstanding performances by Piccoli as the artist and gorgeous Béart as his subject. Extremely long, deliberately paced but always involving; beautifully directed by Rivette and photographed by William Lubtchansky. Screenplay by Rivette, Pascal Bonitzer, and Christine Laurent. Dufour, by the way, supplies the artist's hand. A new version, reworked and with a new perspective, was released in 1993. Its title: DIVERTIMENTO, running 125m. | tt0101428 | Michel Piccoli, Jane Birkin, Emmanuelle Béart, Marianne Denicourt, David Bursztein, Gilles Arbona, Bernard Dufour | French | Drama | NULL | |
| La Bohème | 1926 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 94 | Charming, floridly romantic silent vehicle for Gish and Gilbert (at their very best) as the star-crossed lovers who live among the starving artists in Paris' Latin Quarter. Gilbert and director Vidor had just made THE BIG PARADE together; this was a worthy follow-up. Based on an 1851 novel, by the way, and quite different from Puccini's famous opera. | tt0016669 | Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, Renee Adoree, George Hassell, Roy D'Arcy, Edward Everett Horton, Karl Dane, Gino Corrado | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| La Boum | 1981 | Claude Pinoteau | ★★½ | 100 | Clichéd but harmless chronicle of the life of pretty 13-year-old Marceau, whose parents (Brasseur, Fossey) are having marital difficulties. A French box-office smash. Sequel: LA BOUM 2. | tt0082100 | Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, Sophie Marceau, Denise Grey, Bernard Giraudeau | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Boum 2 | 1982 | Claude Pinoteau | ★★½ | 109 | Here teenager Marceau is two years older and has a romance with another student. Her parents are still squabbling. A formula film, no better or worse than the original. | tt0083686 | Sophie Marceau, Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, Pierre Cosso, Shiela O'Connor, Denise Grey | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Buche | 1999 | Daniele Thompson | ★★★ | 107 | Penetrating examination of three sisters who must deal with their problems and differences (not to mention their long-estranged parents) as the Christmas holiday approaches. A refreshing antidote to all those sugary seasonal films. Directorial debut for Thompson, a top French screenwriter, who coscripted with her son Christopher (who also plays Joseph). | tt0211286 | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emmanuelle Béart, Sabine Azema, Claude Rich, Françoise Fabian, Christopher Thompson, Jean-Pierre Darroussin | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| La Bête Humaine | Judas Was a Woman | 1938 | Jean Renoir | ★★★½ | 99 | Locomotive engineer Gabin displays fits of uncontrollable violence against women. When he forms a liaison with the flirtatious wife of a deputy stationmaster, he becomes entangled in a plot to kill the husband. Sublimely atmospheric adaptation of Emile Zola's novel suited the fatalistic mood of Europe in 1938, as the Nazis overran Czechoslovakia. That's Renoir himself in the role of Cabuche; he also scripted. Aka THE HUMAN BEAST and JUDAS WAS A WOMAN. Fritz Lang remade it in the U.S. as HUMAN DESIRE. | tt0029957 | Jean Gabin, Julien Carette, Simone Simon, Fernand Ledoux, Blanchette Brunoy, Gerard Landry | French | Drama | NULL | |
| La Cage aux Folles | 1978 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★★ | 91 | A gay couple tries to act straight for the sake of Tognazzi's son, who's bringing home his fiancée and her parents. Entertaining adaptation of French stage farce, with some hilarious moments and a wonderful performance by Serrault as the more feminine half of the middle-aged twosome— but why this became such a raging success is a mystery. Followed by two sequels, as well as a hit Broadway musical. Remade in 1996 as THE BIRDCAGE. | tt0077288 | [R] | Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault, Michel Galabru, Claire Maurier, Remy Laurent, Benny Luke | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| La Cage aux Folles 3: The Wedding | 1985 | Georges Lautner. | ★½ | 87 | Pointless sequel has drag queen Albin (Serrault) in line for big inhertance— if he marries and produces a son. This farce has been milked dry by now. | tt0088873 | [PG-13] | Michel Serrault, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Galabru, Benny Luke, Stephane Audran, Antonella Interlenghi. | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| La Cage aux Folles II | 1980 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★½ | 101 | St. Tropez nightclub owner (Tognazzi) and his female-impersonator housemate (Serrault) become involved with a spy ring in this mild sequel. | tt0080489 | [R] | Michel Serrault, Ugo Tognazzi, Marcel Bozzuffi, Michel Galabru, Paola Borboni, Benny Luke | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| La Chienne | 1931 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 95 | Renoir's first sound film, and first sound-film masterpiece: a terse, somber drama of mild-mannered bank cashier Simon, with an overbearing wife, who plays into the hands of prostitute Mareze and her scheming pimp. Renoir coscripted; Mareze died in a car accident a couple of weeks after filming was completed. Fritz Lang redid this as SCARLET STREET; what a video double bill they would make! | tt0021739 | Michel Simon, Janie Mareze, Georges Flamant, Madeleine Berubet | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Chinoise | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 95 | Five young Maoists share an apartment and try to apply their politics to the reality of their lives. Godard aficionados will be fascinated; others may be bored. | tt0061473 | Anne Wiazemsky, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Michel Semianko, Lex de Bruijn, Juliet Berto | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Chèvre | The Goat | 1982 | Francis Veber | ★★★ | 91 | No-nonsense sleuth Depardieu sets out to locate an industrialist's daughter who's disappeared in Mexico, finds himself comically hampered by his employer's accountant (Richard), an amateur detective. Amiable, amusing comedy was a box-office smash in France. Veber also scripted. Aka THE GOAT. Americanized remake: PURE LUCK. | tt0082183 | Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, Michel Robin, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Corynne Charbit, Andre Valardy | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| La Collectionneuse | 1971 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 88 | No. 3 of Rohmer's 'Six Moral Tales' is less compelling than later films, still intriguing for fans of contemplative stories in this series, focusing on young man's attraction to aloof young girl sharing summer villa on the Mediterranean. Made in 1967. | tt0061495 | Patrick Bauchau, Haydee Politoff, Daniel Pommerulle, Alain Jouffroy, Mijanou Bardot | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Cérémonie | 1995 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 111 | Slow-moving but effective Chabrol thriller, with Huppert and Bonnaire as lower-class pals in rural Brittany, who resent the wealthy household in which Bonnaire is employed as maid. Nice turn by Bisset, as sympathetic matriarch. | tt0112769 | Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Virginie Ledoyen, Valentin Merlet | French-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Danse: Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris | 2009 | Frederick Wiseman | ★★★½ | 158 | Without commentary, Wiseman simply, straightforwardly records dancers in performance; just as significantly, he includes extensive footage of rehearsals, meetings, and other backstage business. A must for balletomanes, and well worth seeing for anyone interested in the artistic process and the challenges inherent in operating a world-class cultural entity. | tt1500496 | Unrated | Deeply insightful documentary from veteran filmmaker Wiseman offers an up-close-and-personal look at the inner workings of the Paris Opera Ballet | French-U.S. | Documentary | NULL | |
| La Discrète | 1990 | Christian Vincent | ★★★ | 94 | Insightful allegory about a heartless writer/Don Juan (Luchini) who allows vengeful publisher Garrel to convince him to toy with the emotions of typist Henry, to extract raw material for a book. Solid performances (especially by Henry) help put this one over. | tt0099436 | Fabrice Luchini, Judith Henry, Maurice Garrel, Francois Toumarkine | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Dolce Vita | 1960 | Federico Fellini | ★★★½ | 175 | Lengthy trend-setting film, not as ambiguous as other Fellini works— much more entertaining, with strong cast. Mastroianni stars as tabloid reporter who sees his life in shallow Rome society as worthless but can't change. Story and screenplay by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli, with Brunello Rondi. Piero Gherardi's costumes won an Oscar. | tt0053779 | Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux, Magali Noel, Alain Cuny, Annibale Ninchi, Walter Santesso, Lex Barker, Jacques Sernas, Nadia Gray | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Femme Infidèle | The Unfaithful Wife | 1969 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 98 | Razor-sharp thriller about a husband who thinks his wife is cheating on him. Audran and Bouquet are well cast in one of writer-director Chabrol’s finest films, which chips away at the façade of a seemingly ordinary marriage. Remade in 2002 as UNFAITHFUL. Aka THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE. | tt0064323 | [R] | Stephane Audran, Michel Bouquet, Maurice Ronet, Stephen Di Napolo, Michel Duchaussoy | French-Italian | Thriller, Drama | NULL |
| La Femme Nikita | 1990 | Luc Besson | ★★★ | 117 | Slick, ultra-violent saga of a hedonistic young woman who runs with a punked-out gang— until she's recruited by a French intelligence officer, determined to make her an undercover agent and 'hit-man.' Stylish and compelling, if not always believable, with a star-making role for Parillaud. Remade in the U.S. as POINT OF NO RETURN, and in Hong Kong as BLACK CAT; later a U.S. cable TV series. | tt0100263 | [R] | Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Reno, Jean Bouise | French-Italian | Thriller | NULL | |
| La Fièvre Monte à El Pao | 1959 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★★ | 97 | Incisive look at life in a tiny Latin American dictatorship filled with political prisoners, where corruption and sexual deviance run rampant. Idealistic but cowardly official Philipe tries to make a difference. Lesser-known Buñuel, a ripe, steamy mixture of melodrama, satire, and pure star power. Philipe's final film. Mexican title: LOS AMBICIOSOS. Known in the U.S. as REPUBLIC OF SIN and FEVER MOUNTS AT EL PAO. | tt0052810 | Gérard Philipe, Maria Felix, Jean Servais, Raoul Dantes, Miguel Ángel Ferriz, Domingo Soler, Victor Junco. | French-Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Gran Fiesta | 1987 | Marcos Zurinaga | ★★½ | 101 | Sometimes low-keyed and other times melodramatic account of intrigue— both personal and political— among the various folk who attend the final grand ball in the Casino at Old San Juan on the eve of its takeover by U.S. Armed Forces in 1942. Interesting subject, but misses the mark. | tt0122578 | Daniel Lugo, Miguelangel Suarez, Luis Prendes, Cordelia Gonzalez, Laura Delano, Raul Julia, E.G. Marshall, Julian Pastor | Puerto Rican |
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| La Grande Bourgeoise | 1974 | Mauro Bolognini | ★★½ | 115 | Strong cast adds some punch to true story about Giannini's murder of sister Deneuve's loutish husband and the political storm it generates. Stylish but not terribly compelling. | tt0071242 | [R] | Catherine Deneuve, Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Tina Aumont, Paolo Bonicelli | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| La Guerre Est Finie | 1966 | Alain Resnais | ★★★½ | 121 | Aging, tired leftist Montand travels from Spain to Paris, reports to his political associates, and visits mistress Thulin. Complex, emotionally powerful drama, with striking direction, performances. Screenplay by Jorge Semprun. | tt0060481 | Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin, Geneviève Bujold, Jean Daste, Michel Piccoli | French-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Habañera | 1937 | Detlev Sierk (Douglas Sirk). | ★★½ | 93 | Swedish tourist in Puerto Rico impulsively marries a captivating nobleman. A decade later, virtually her husband's prisoner, she discovers he's deliberately suppressing news of an epidemic sweeping the island nation. Feverish melodrama— with Sirk's florid imagery floating the implausibilities— was one of the Danish-born director's best-appreciated pictures abroad, made just prior to his flight from Hitler to the U.S. | tt0028974 | Zarah Leander, Ferdinand Marian, Karl Martell, Julia Serda, Boris Alekin, Paul Bildt. | German | NULL | |||
| La Lectrice | 1988 | Michel Deville | ★★★ | 98 | Fascinating, multi-textured account of Miou-Miou reading a book aloud to her boyfriend and imagining herself the heroine in the story: a professional reader who becomes involved in the lives of her various clients. Scripted by Deville and his wife, Rosalinde. | tt0095511 | [R] | Miou-Miou, Christian Ruché, Sylvie Laporte, Michel Raskine, Brigitte Catillion, Régis Royer, Maria Casarés, Pierre Dux | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| La Marseillaise | 1938 | Jean Renoir | ★★★½ | 130 | Renoir scripted this stirring account of the French Revolution, featuring dialogue extracted from documents of the 1790s. Begins with news of the fall of the Bastille reaching Louis XVI, ends with the Marseilles Battalion of the French Revolutionary Army storming the Tuilleries and marching to Valmy. Renoir opted for a humanist approach to history, avoiding what he considered the false solemnity of most historical epics. | tt0030424 | Pierre Renoir, Louis Jouvet, Julien Carette, Lisa Delamare | French |
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| La Maternelle | 1932 | Jean Benoit-Levy | ★★★ | 86 | Insightful, compassionate drama about the plight of slum children in Montmartre day nursery. The focus is on little Elambert's pain, confusion, and attachment to nurse Renaud. Its observations about children's perceptions have dated not one bit. | tt0024310 | Madeleine Renaud, Alice Tissot, Paulette Elambert, Sylvette Fillacier, Mady Berri, Henri Debain | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Notte | The Night | 1961 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★½ | 120 | Moreau is bored and troubled by one-dimensional husband Mastroianni in this study of noncommunication. Moody, introverted, abstract— and superficial— filled with 'empty, hopeless images.' The second of a trilogy, preceded by L'AVVENTURA and followed by L'ECLISSE. Aka THE NIGHT. | tt0054130 | Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti, Bernhard Wicki | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| La Nuit Fantastique | 1942 | Marcel L'Herbier. | ★★★ | 91 | Witty fantasy centering on a student (Gravey) who, while working at night, continually dreams of adventures with a mysterious beauty dressed in white (Presle). Then he meets her in real life and tries to save her from a plot hatched by her evil magician father. Or does he? Don't look for normal narrative logic in this delightfully surreal look at illusion and reality. | tt0041705 | Fernand Gravey, Micheline Presle, Saturnin Fabre, Charles Granval, Bernard Blier, Marcel Levesque. | French | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| La Nuit de Varennes | 1982 | Ettore Scola | ★★★ | 133 | Witty historical fable allows such famous figures as Casanova and Thomas Paine to cross paths at the time of the French Revolution. Original French running time 150m. | tt0084423 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Jean-Louis Barrault, Hanna Schygulla, Harvey Keitel, Jean-Claude Brialy | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| La Parisienne | Une Parisienne | 1957 | Michel Boisrond | ★★ | 85 | Flimsy comedy with Bardot the daughter of the Premier of France. To get back at her Don Juan husband (Vidal), she has an affair with married prince Boyer. Aka UNE PARISIENNE. | tt0051133 | Brigitte Bardot, Charles Boyer, Henri Vidal, André Luguet, Nadia Gray, Noel Roquevert, Claire Maurier | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| La Passante | 1982 | Jacques Rouffio | ★★★ | 106 | Why does nonviolence advocate Piccoli kill a Paraguayan ambassador, an ex-Nazi living under an assumed name? Interesting drama is ambitious in scope, but could have been better. Schneider, in her final film, plays both Piccoli's wife and the woman who sheltered him as a boy. | tt0084479 | Romy Schneider, Michel Piccoli, Wendelin Werner, Helmut Griem, Gerard Klein, Dominique Labourier, Mathieu Carriere, Maria Schell | French-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Pelle | 1981 | Liliana Cavani | ★½ | 131 | Distastefully bitter panorama of American troops in Naples after the Liberation, based on the memoirs of Curzio Malaparte (played here by Mastroianni). Overlong; poorly directed and scripted (by Cavani and Robert Katz). A disaster. | tt0082893 | Marcello Mastroianni, Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Ken Marshall, Alexandra King, Carlo Giuffre | Italian-French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| La Petite Lili | 2003 | Claude Miller. | ★★★ | 104 | A family's country retreat becomes charged with emotion when the hotheaded son— an aspiring filmmaker/artiste— discovers that his girlfriend is intrigued with his mother's boyfriend, a successful director of mainstream movies. Ingenious film inspired by Chekhov's The Seagull, exploring the line between art and life, and how the two affect each other. Screenplay by Miller and Julien Boivent. | tt0335351 | Nicole Garcia, Bernard Giraudeau, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Ludivine Sagnier, Robinson Stévenin, Julie Depardieu, Yves Jacques, Michel Piccoli. | French-Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Prima Cosa Bella | 2010 | Paolo Virzì | ★★★ | 118 | Woman’s radiant beauty and innocent charm are her blessing and her curse as they attract equal parts good and bad to her life. It especially affects her son, who takes all the mean-spirited, small-town gossip and domestic abuse of the father to heart, knowing that somehow his mother is the cause of it all. Now grown, he learns she is ill and is dragged to her bedside, where he is forced to reconcile his warring feelings about her and their relationship. Melancholy tale slips back and forth from past to present. Sandrelli as the younger and Pandolfi as the elder Anna are luminous. | tt1467273 | Unrated | Valerio Mastandrea, Micaela Ramazzotti, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudia Pandolfi, Marco Messeri, Fabrizia Sacchi | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| La Prisonniere | 1969 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★ | 104 | From the director of DIABOLIQUE comes this obscure, confused study of woman obsessed with a photographer of sado-masochism. Strikingly photographed. | tt0063458 | Laurent Terzieff, Bernard Fresson, Elsabeth Wiener, Dany Carrel, Dario Moreno, Daniel Riviere | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Promesse | 1996 | Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | ★★★½ | 93 | Harrowing tale of a boy being raised by a father who mercilessly exploits illegal immigrants— as their supposed savior, landlord, and employer. Trouble begins when the boy, who's always obeyed his father unquestioningly, develops a friendship with one of the illegals. Moving in its understated, matter-of-fact look at a young man at a moral crossroads in his life. Remarkably raw . . . and real. Written by the directors. | tt0117398 | Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Assita Ouedraogo, Rasmané Ouedraogo | Belgian-French-Luxembourg-Tunisian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Ronde | 1950 | Max Ophuls | ★★★½ | 97 | Wise, witty account of various people having affairs, forming a chain that eventually comes full circle, all held together by sarcastic Walbrook. A film of style and charm, based on an Arthur Schnitzler play. Screenplay by Jacques Natanson and director Ophuls. Remade as CIRCLE OF LOVE and CHAIN OF DESIRE. | tt0042906 | Anton Walbrook, Serge Reggiani, Simone Simon, Simone Signoret, Daniel Gelin, Danielle Darrieux, Fernand Gravet, Odette Joyeux, Jean-Louis Barrault, Isa Miranda, Gérard Philipe | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Salamandre | 1971 | Alain Tanner | ★★★ | 125 | Simple, funny examination of truth: journalist Bideau and writer Denis research facts behind the case of mysterious Ogier, accused by her uncle of attempted murder. Fine performances by the three leads. | tt0067701 | Bulle Ogier, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jacques Denis | Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Separation | 1994 | Christian Vincent | ★★★ | 85 | Knowingly detailed, beautifully acted chronicle of the simmering tensions between a married couple (Huppert and Auteuil) as their relationship disintegrates. In its best moments, this sobering film compares favorably with Bergman's SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE. Released in the U.S. in 1998. | tt0111342 | Isabelle Huppert, Daniel Auteuil, Jerome Deschamps, Karin Viard, Laurence Lerel | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| La Signora Di Tutti | 1934 | Max Ophuls. | ★★★ | 89 | Ophuls' only film made in Italy is an intricately structured flashback tale about the tragic life of a beautiful peasant girl who becomes a movie star (a radiant Miranda). Superbly photographed and elegantly directed; a moving study of love, loss, and illusion that not only feels like a warm-up for Ophuls' own 1955 masterpiece, LOLA MONTES, but also bears several similarities to Joseph L. Mankiewicz's THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA. | tt0025791 | Isa Miranda, Memo Benassi, Tatiana Pavlova, Federico Benfer, Nelly Corradi, Franco Coop. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Strada | 1954 | Federico Fellini | ★★★★ | 115 | Deceptively simple tale of brutish strongman Quinn taking simple-minded Masina with him as he tours countryside, where he encounters gentle acrobat Basehart. Best Foreign Film Oscar winner; stunning performances, haunting Nino Rota score. Story and screenplay by Fellini and Tullio Pinelli. | tt0047528 | Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani, Marcella Rovere, Livia Venturini | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Symphonie Pastorale | 1946 | Jean Delannoy | ★★★½ | 105 | Quietly powerful classic about pastor Blanchar's all-consuming passion for blind girl Morgan, whom he takes under his wing and educates. This sensitive study of moral and spiritual corruption was coscripted by the director, and based on an Andre Gide novel. | tt0039004 | Pierre Blanchar, Michele Morgan, Jean Desailly, Line Noro, Andrée Clément | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Terra Trema | 1947 | Luchino Visconti. | ★★★★ | 154 | Powerful, lyrical neorealist classic about a poor family in a Sicilian fishing village, exploited by fish wholesalers and boat owners. Filmed on location, and in Sicilian dialect, with a non-professional cast. Francesco Rosi and Franco Zeffirelli were Visconti's assistant directors. Beware of severely edited versions. | tt0040866 | Narrated by Luchino Visconti, Antonio Pietrangeli. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Traviata | 1982 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★★ | 112 | Verdi's opera, adapted from the Alexandre Dumas Camille saga, makes a magnificent film. If Domingo looks too old for Alfredo, he still sings beautifully, while Stratas' performance as the tragic Violetta matches her brilliant voice. The cinematography and production design are the equal of anything from the Golden Age of moviemaking in a film that even those who dislike opera will enjoy. | tt0084821 | [G] | Teresa Stratas, Placido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil, Alan Monk, Axelle Gail | Italian | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| La Viaccia | 1962 | Mauro Bolognini | ★★½ | 103 | Zesty yarn of country youth finding romance in the city with prostitute. Retitled: THE LOVEMAKERS. | tt0056657 | Jean-Paul Belmondo,Claudia Cardinale, Pietro Germi, Romolo Valli, Gabriella Pallotta, Gina Sammarco | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Vie Continue | 1982 | Moshe Mizrahi | ★½ | 93 | Dreary sudser wastes Girardot as middle-aged woman whose husband suddenly drops dead of a heart attack; she struggles with her new-found widowhood. Loosely remade in U.S. as MEN DON'T LEAVE. | tt0083286 | [PG] | Annie Girardot, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Pierre Dux, Giulia Salvatori, Emmanuel Gayet, Rivera Andres | French | Drama | NULL | |
| La Vie Promise | 2002 | Olivier Dahan | ★★ | 93 | A hooker must flee Nice when her estranged daughter commits a violent crime. A new bond develops between the two women as they travel the French countryside, where the mother comes face-to-face with gut-wrenching decisions she made in the past as well as an uncertain future. Exquisite cinematography, eclectic music score, and a fine performance from Huppert (as always) can't redeem this earnest but slow-moving and mostly uninvolving story of a woman at the crossroads of a life that didn't go the way she planned. | tt0295004 | Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Maud Forget, André Marcon, Fabienne Babe | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Vie de Bohème | 1992 | Aki Kaurismäki | ★★★ | 100 | Pleasantly offbeat comic/absurdist slice-of-life about three poor, struggling artists: a painter, composer and writer. While at best mediocre talent-wise, each is dedicated to the artistic life and values his books, piano, or paint over all else. A loose updating of a novel by Henri Murger, which was the inspiration for Puccini's La Bohème. | tt0105750 | Matti Pellonpää, Andre Wilms, Kari Vaananen, Christine Murillo, Evelyne Didi, Samuel Fuller, Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Léaud | Finnish-French-Swedish-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| La Vie en Rose | 2007 | Olivier Dahan | ★★★ | 140 | Not a conventional biography, but a series of snapshots (jumbled out of chronological order) about the difficult life and transcendent talent of French singer Edith Piaf. Randomness of the narrative is a liability, but a must-see for Cotillard’s astonishing performance. She transforms herself into the Little Sparrow in her youth, at her peak, and during her precipitous decline . . . and does a remarkable job lip-synching Piaf. Original French title: LA MÔME. | tt0450188 | [PG-13] | Marion Cotillard, Clotilde Courau, Jean-Paul Rouve, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Jean-Pierre Martins, Emmanuelle Seigner, Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Allégret | French-British-Czech | Drama, Biography | NULL | |
| Labyrinth | 1986 | Jim Henson | ★★★ | 101 | Teenage girl's baby brother is kidnapped by the King of the Goblins (Bowie); in order to rescue him she must navigate a devilish labyrinth. Entertaining variation on Alice in Wonderland written by Monty Python's Terry Jones, executive produced by George Lucas, and filtered through the sensibilities of The Muppets' Jim Henson. A treat for kids and the young at heart (Muppet fans in particular); only weakness is that it does get slow at times. | tt0091369 | [PG] | David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud | Family, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Labyrinth of Passion | 1982 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★ | 100 | Zany, energetic sex farce, most of which is beyond the power of description. It does involve a gallery of comically outlandish characters scurrying about Madrid, including transvestites, punk rockers, nymphomaniacs— and Islamic fundamentalists. Occasionally crude, and always rude, but that's all part of the fun. | tt0084228 | Celia Roth, Imanol Arias, Helga Line, Antonio Banderas | Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lacombe, Lucien | 1974 | Louis Malle | ★★★★ | 137 | Brilliant, perceptive account of opportunist French peasant Blaise, who joins the Gestapo during the Nazi Occupation— after setting out to join the Resistance— and falls in love with a Jewish tailor's daughter. Subtle, complex tale of guilt, innocence, and the amorality of power; masterfully directed. | tt0071733 | [R] | Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clement, Holger Lowenadler, Therese Giehse | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Lad: A Dog | 1962 | Aram Avakian, Leslie H. Martinson | ★★½ | 98 | Genuine if schmaltzy version of Albert Payson Terhune novel of dog who brings new zest for life to lame child. | tt0056162 | Peter Breck, Peggy McCay, Carroll O'Connor, Angela Cartwright, Maurice Dallimore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ladder 49 | 2004 | Jay Russell | ★★★ | 114 | Straightforward story of a Baltimore fireman, from the day he reports for work as a rookie to his ultimate challenge inside a burning factory. Warm depiction of firemen's lives as brothers in an extended family. Full of white-knuckle sequences depicting daring (but realistic) rescue operations, which cumulatively pay tribute to some of the bravest men on earth. Solid, old-fashioned storytelling. | tt0349710 | [PG-13] | Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Robert Patrick, Morris Chestnut, Balthazar Getty, Tim Guinee | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Ladies Club | 1986 | A. K. Allen | ★★ | 90 | Policewoman and rape victim team up with other angry women to teach rapists a lesson they won't forget. May offer distaff viewers some vicarious pleasure, but it's still not a very good film. Made in 1984. | tt0091370 | [R] | Karen Austin, Diana Scarwid, Christine Belford, Bruce Davison, Shera Danese, Beverly Todd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ladies Courageous | 1944 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 88 | Well-meant idea fails because of hackneyed script and situations; saga of the WAFs during WW2 who played a vital part in air warfare. | tt0036529 | Loretta Young, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Diana Barrymore, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Jenks, Ruth Roman, Anne Gwynne, Phillip Terry, Lois Collier, Kane Richmond | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Ladies Man | 2000 | Reginald Hudlin | ★★ | 84 | Kinky comedy about a sex-driven radio talk-show host who has a bad habit of sleeping with married women. Meadows is exceedingly funny, but the film once again proves that Saturday Night Live TV skits are meant to be just that: skits. Meadows coscripted. | tt0213790 | [R] | Tim Meadows, Karyn Parsons, Billy Dee Williams, Kevin McDonald, Tiffani (Amber) Thiessen, Lee Evans, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Julianne Moore, Eugene Levy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ladies Should Listen | 1934 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 62 | Grant's life is manipulated by telephone operator Drake in flimsy comedy, no great shakes. | tt0025363 | Cary Grant, Frances Drake, Edward Everett Horton, Nydia Westman, Ann Sheridan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ladies They Talk About | 1933 | Howard Bretherton, William Keighley | ★★½ | 69 | Stanwyck is terrific in this punchy but occasionally silly pre-Code women's prison picture. She's a tough cookie who's sent up the river after participating in a bank heist. | tt0024238 | Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess, Maude Eburne, Lillian Roth, Ruth Donnelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ladies Who Do | 1963 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★★½ | 85 | When a charwoman discovers that waste paper scraps contain valuable stock market tips, a mild satire on British financial world unfolds. | tt0057241 | Peggy Mount, Robert Morley, Harry H. Corbett, Nigel Davenport, Carol White, Miriam Karlin | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains | 1982 | Lou Adler | ★★ | 87 | Antisocial teenage girl decides to become a punk rock star and takes to the road. Unreleased major studio film is strident and unappealing, despite good cast. Lahti shines in her two scenes. Members of Clash and The Sex Pistols appear as a British punk band. | tt0082639 | [R] | Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, Peter Donat, David Clennon, John Lehne, Cynthia Sikes, Laura Dern, John (Fee) Waybill, Christine Lahti | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Ladies in Lavender | 2004 | Charles Dance | ★★★ | 103 | Dames Dench and Smith add luster to this lightly likable drama about a pair of aging sisters in pre-WW2 England whose lives are changed when a handsome young Polish man mysteriously washes ashore one morning near their seaside Cornwall cottage. Not a great film by any means, but it's as cozy and inviting as a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Actor Dance's screenwriting and big-screen directing debut. | tt0377084 | [PG-13] | Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Natascha McElhone, Daniel Brühl, Miriam Margolyes, Freddie Jones, David Warner, Clive Russell | British | Drama, Music | NULL | |
| Ladies in Love | 1936 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 97 | Manhunting girls in Budapest stick together to find likely victims; large cast makes it entertaining; young Power seen to good advantage. | tt0027860 | Janet Gaynor, Loretta Young, Constance Bennett, Simone Simon, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas, Tyrone Power | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ladies in Retirement | 1941 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 92 | Static but well-made gothic melodrama about housekeeper Lupino's attempt to cover up murder in eccentric British household. Not as potent— or as shocking— as it must have been in 1941, but still good. Remade as THE MAD ROOM. | tt0033802 | Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett, Isobel Elsom, Emma Dunn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ladies of Leisure | 1930 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 98 | Stanwyck falls in love with playboy-artist Graves, but cannot shake her reputation as golddigger. Creaky story made worthwhile by Stanwyck's believable performance and Capra's fluent filmmaking technique. Remade as WOMEN OF GLAMOR. | tt0021040 | Barbara Stanwyck, Ralph Graves, Lowell Sherman, Marie Prevost, Nance O'Neill, George Fawcett | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ladies of the Big House | 1931 | Marion Gering. | ★★½ | 76 | Sidney is framed and imprisoned; a tearful, well-acted prison drama. | tt0022042 | Sylvia Sidney, Gene Raymond, Wynne Gibson, Purnell Pratt, Louise Beavers, Jane Darwell, Noel Francis. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ladies of the Chorus | 1949 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 61 | Cheapie musical about mother/daughter burlesque chorines, with young Monroe seemingly headed for the same romantic blunder that mom Jergens made. Worth a look for MM in her first sizable role. Garr (who plays a burlesque clown) is the father of Teri. | tt0041571 | Adele Jergens, Rand Brooks, Marilyn Monroe, Eddie Garr, Nana Bryant | Musical | NULL | |||
| Ladies of the Jury | 1932 | Lowell Sherman | ★★½ | 65 | Oliver shines as society matron evaluating a murder trial who makes a shambles of courtroom and jury room. Unfortunately, surrounding production is static and unimaginative. Title is odd misnomer, since jury is coed; Guinn Williams appears unbilled as juror with French wife. Remade in 1937 as WE'RE ON THE JURY. | tt0023108 | Edna May Oliver, Jill Esmond, Roscoe Ates, Ken Murray, Kitty Kelly, Cora Witherspoon, Florence Lake | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ladies' Day | 1943 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 62 | Slight baseball farce with Albert a top hurler with an eye for the ladies whose athletic skills disappear each time he gets a new girlfriend. The latest to catch his eye is movie star Velez. | tt0036091 | Lupe Velez, Eddie Albert, Patsy Kelly, Max Baer, Jerome Cowan, Iris Adrian, Joan Barclay | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Ladies' Man | 1961 | Jerry Lewis | ★★★ | 96 | Pretty funny comedy with Jerry the handyman in a girls' school run by Mrs. Wellenmelon (Traubel). Enormous set is the real star; Buddy Lester and George Raft have amusing cameo appearances. | tt0055069 | Jerry Lewis, Helen Traubel, Kathleen Freeman, Hope Holiday, Pat Stanley, Jack Kruschen, Doodles Weaver, Harry James and His Band | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ladrón que roba a ladrón . . . | 2007 | Joe Menendez | ★★½ | 99 | Innocuous U.S.-produced Spanish-language OCEAN’S ELEVEN–inspired caper comedy in which a pair of Robin Hood–like thieves plot to rip off a pompous L.A. infomercial king, who has built his fortune by duping poor Latino immigrants. Occasionally clever, but mostly covers familiar ground. Title’s English translation is A THIEF WHO STEALS FROM A THIEF; the main actors are veterans of Spanish-language telenovelas. | tt0859760 | [PG-13] | Fernando Colunga, Miguel Varoni, Gabriel Soto, Julie Gonzalo, Ivonne Montero, Sonya Smith, Saúl Lisazo | Action, Comedy, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Lady Be Good | 1941 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 111 | Spunky musical of married songwriters Sothern and Young, with Powell and Skelton along for good measure. Fine score: title tune, 'Fascinating Rhythm,' 'You'll Never Know,' Oscar-winning 'Last Time I Saw Paris.' | tt0033803 | Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, John Carroll, Red Skelton, Virginia O'Brien, Dan Dailey, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lady Beware | 1987 | Karen Arthur | ★★½ | 108 | Lane's mildly kinky store-window displays arouse a married psychotic; he soon graduates from irritating phone calls and mail interception to breaking into her window-barred loft. Imperfect, but compelling, feminist exploitation film builds to a satisfying (and surprisingly nonviolent) conclusion; Lane's performance is uneven, but her rage convincing. Filmed and set in Pittsburgh. | tt0093379 | [R] | Diane Lane, Michael Woods, Cotter Smith, Viveca Lindfors, Peter Nevargic, Edward Penn, Tyra Ferrell | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lady Caroline Lamb | 1972 | Robert Bolt | 💣 | 118 | Wretched filmization of famous story; wife of English politician scandalizes everyone by her open affair with Lord Byron. Bolt's banal script is often unintentionally funny. | tt0068827 | [PG] | Sarah Miles, Jon Finch, Richard Chamberlain, John Mills, Margaret Leighton, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier | British | Romance | NULL | |
| Lady Chatterley | 2006 | Pascale Ferran | ★★★ | 168 | Beautifully filmed, leisurely adaptation of D. H. Lawrence’s erotic novel about a wealthy woman’s affair with the gamekeeper on her paralyzed husband’s estate. Sensuous and startlingly fine performance by Hands as the Lady who explores her sexual feelings. Graphic, but tasteful, telling of the once-notorious book milks its romantic content for everything it’s worth. Winner of five César awards including Best Film. European TV version runs 220m. Also available in R-rated version. | tt0459880 | Marina Hands, Jean Louis Coullo’ch, Hippolyte Girardot, Hélene Alexandridis, Hélene Fillères, Bernard Verley, Sava Lolov | French-Belgian | Romance | NULL | ||
| Lady Chatterley's Lover | 1981 | Just Jaeckin | 💣 | 105 | Dull, cheap version of the D. H. Lawrence classic, with Kristel as the lady and Clay as the lover. Kristel is beautiful, but still cannot act. From the director of EMMANUELLE. Previously filmed in France in 1955. | tt0082640 | [R] | Sylvia Kristel, Nicholas Clay, Shane Briant, Ann Mitchell, Elizabeth Spriggs, Peter Bennett | French-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Lady Consents | 1936 | Stephen Roberts. | ★★½ | 75 | Pat triangle with married Marshall discovering that he still loves his ex-wife. | tt0027862 | Ann Harding, Herbert Marshall, Margaret Lindsay, Walter Abel. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady Doctor | 1956 | Camillo Mastrocinque | ★★½ | 90 | Pungent nonsense as Toto and De Sica try to con doctor Lane out of a fortune hidden in her house. | tt0052310 | Abbe Lane, Vittorio De Sica, Toto, Titina De Filippo, German Cobos, Teddy Reno | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lady Dracula | 1973 | Richard Blackburn | 💣 | 80 | Perfectly awful low-budgeter about a lady vampire with lesbian tendencies. Bring back Gloria Holden! Aka LEGENDARY CURSE OF LEMORA and LEMORA, THE LADY DRACULA. | tt0070300 | [PG] | Cheryl Smith, Lesley Gilb, William Whitton, Richard Blackburn | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Lady Eve | 1941 | Preston Sturges | ★★★½ | 94 | Stanwyck is a con artist who sets her eyes on wealthy Fonda— the dolt to end all dolts, who proclaims 'snakes are my life.' Sometimes silly and strident, this film grows funnier with each viewing— thanks to Sturges's script, breathless pace, and two incomparable stars. Remade as THE BIRDS AND THE BEES. | tt0033804 | Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest, Eric Blore, Melville Cooper | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lady Frankenstein | 1971 | Mel Welles | 💣 | 84 | Poor horror entry with Cotten a tired, ill-fated Baron; his daughter (Bey) takes up where he leaves off in the monster-making department. | tt0067321 | [R] | Joseph Cotten, Mickey Hargitay, Sarah Bey, Paul Muller, Peter Whiteman | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Lady From Cheyenne | 1941 | Frank Lloyd | ★★½ | 87 | Average fare of schoolteacher Young (in 1869 Wyoming) striking a blow for women's rights about a century too early, as she fights for the opportunity to sit on a jury. Good supporting cast helps. | tt0033807 | Loretta Young, Robert Preston, Edward Arnold, Frank Craven, Gladys George | Drama, Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Lady From Chungking | 1942 | William Nigh. | ★★ | 66 | Charismatic, dignified Wong is the only reason to wade through this plodding, heavy-handed film about a Chinese freedom fighter who poses as a courtesan to a warlord (Huber) and has to endure the scorn of her followers. | tt0036093 | Anna May Wong, Harold Huber, Mae Clarke, Rick Vallin, Paul Bryar, Ted Hecht, Louis (Ludwig) Donath. | War | NULL | |||
| Lady From Louisiana | 1941 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 82 | Wayne and Munson fall in love, then discover they're on opposite sides of gambling controversy; so-so period-piece. | tt0033808 | John Wayne, Ona Munson, Ray Middleton, Henry Stephenson, Helen Westley, Jack Pennick, Dorothy Dandridge | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lady From Shanghai | 1948 | Orson Welles | ★★★ | 87 | The camera's the star of this offbeat thriller, with the cast incidental in bizarre murder mystery about an Irish adventurer (Welles) who joins seductive Hayworth and her husband (Sloane) on a Pacific cruise. The famous hall of mirrors climax is riveting. Cinematography by Charles Lawton, Jr. Based on novel by Sherwood King; scripted and produced by Welles. That's Errol Flynn's yacht, Zaca, in the seagoing scenes. | tt0040525 | Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders, Ted de Corsia, Erskine Sanford, Gus Schilling | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Lady From Texas | 1951 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 77 | Strange minor film of eccentric old lady Hull; Duff and Freeman come to her rescue. | tt0043723 | Howard Duff, Mona Freeman, Josephine Hull, Gene Lockhart, Craig Stevens | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Lady Gambles | 1949 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 98 | The LOST WEEKEND of gambling films, a well-acted drama chronicling Stanwyck's decline from respectable writer's wife to desperate, addicted gambler and all-around screwup. Look for Tony Curtis— then billed as 'Anthony'— as a bellboy. | tt0041572 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally, Edith Barrett, John Hoyt, Leif Erickson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady Godiva | 1955 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 89 | Cardboard costumer of famed lady and her horseback ride set in Middle Ages England— What a dull ride! Look for Clint Eastwood, billed as 'First Saxon.' | tt0048279 | Maureen O'Hara, George Nader, Victor McLaglen, Torin Thatcher, Robert Warwick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady Godiva Rides Again | 1951 | Frank Launder | ★★ | 90 | Intriguing cast keeps one watching this OK comedy about a simple lass who wins a beauty contest and is exposed to the seamy side of glamour. Joan Collins' film debut, as one of the contestants. | tt0043719 | Dennis Price, John McCallum, Stanley Holloway, Pauline Stroud, Diana Dors, George Cole, Kay Kendall, Sidney James, Dagmar (Dana) Wynter, Googie Withers, Alastair Sim | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Lady Has Plans | 1942 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 77 | Jumbled spy comedy with innocent Goddard suspected of being agent and Milland tailing her in Lisbon. | tt0034960 | Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Roland Young, Albert Dekker, Margaret Hayes, Cecil Kellaway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady Ice | 1973 | Tom Gries | ★★ | 93 | Dull caper film pairs insurance investigator Sutherland and wealthy O'Neill, whose father is a major 'fence' for stolen jewels. Good cast wasted. | tt0070284 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Jennifer O'Neill, Robert Duvall, Patrick Magee, Eric Braeden, Jon Cypher | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lady Is Willing | 1942 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 92 | Agreeable comedy; glamorous Dietrich wants to adopt a baby, so she marries pediatrician MacMurray. Dramatic segment near the end spoils lively mood. | tt0034961 | Marlene Dietrich, Fred MacMurray, Aline MacMahon, Arline Judge, Stanley Ridges, Roger Clark | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady Jane | 1985 | Trevor Nunn | ★★★ | 142 | Absorbing historical drama about the machinations that put a 16-year-old girl on the throne of England for just nine days. Exquisite looking, well acted, just a trifle slow at times. Same story told before in a 1936 film, TUDOR ROSE. | tt0091374 | [PG-13] | Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes, John Wood, Michael Hordern, Jill Bennett, Jane Lapotaire, Sara Kestelman, Patrick Stewart, Warren Saire, Joss Ackland, Ian Hogg, Richard Johnson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Lady Killer | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 74 | Vintage Cagney, with tangy tale of mobster becoming Hollywood actor, torn between two professions; Cagney repeats his Clarke slapfest. | tt0024239 | James Cagney, Mae Clarke, Leslie Fenton, Margaret Lindsay, Henry O'Neill, Raymond Hatton, George Chandler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady L | 1965 | Peter Ustinov | ★★½ | 107 | Stars and sets are elegant, but this wacky comedy set in early 20th-century London and Paris fizzles, despite Ustinov's writing, directing, and cameo appearance. | tt0059377 | Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven, Claude Dauphin, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lady Liberty | Mortadella | 1972 | Mario Monicelli | ★½ | 95 | Dull comedy of immigrant bride-to-be who tries to get an enormous sausage through U.S. customs. Watch for Warhol's Candy Darling in transvestite cameo; originally titled MORTADELLA. | tt0068970 | [PG] | Sophia Loren, William Devane, Luigi Proietti, Beeson Carroll, Danny DeVito, David Doyle, Richard Libertini, Edward Herrmann, Alan Feinstein, Christopher Norris, Susan Sarandon | Italian | Comedy | NULL |
| Lady Luck | 1946 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 97 | Hale marries gambler Young with hopes of reforming him but meets more problems than she bargained for. | tt0038680 | Robert Young, Barbara Hale, Frank Morgan, James Gleason | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lady Pays Off | 1951 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 80 | Fanciful drama of schoolteacher Darnell who must pay off gambling debts in Reno by tutoring casino owner's daughter. | tt0043720 | Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, Gigi Perreau, Virginia Field | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady Possessed | 1952 | William Spier, Roy Kellino | ★★ | 87 | Bizarre film of ill woman thinking she is controlled by will of Mason's dead wife. | tt0044817 | James Mason, June Havoc, Pamela Kellino (Mason), Fay Compton, Odette Myrtil | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lady Says No | 1952 | Frank Ross | ★★ | 80 | Lightweight comedy of fickle Caulfield, who won't decide if marriage is for her. | tt0043721 | David Niven, Joan Caulfield, Lenore Lonergan, James Robertson Justice | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady Scarface | 1941 | Frank Woodruff | ★★ | 69 | Anderson tries to elevate this episodic yarn of police hunting for dangerous gunwoman and her gang. | tt0033805 | Dennis O'Keefe, Judith Anderson, Frances Neal, Mildred Coles, Eric Blore, Marc Lawrence | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Lady Sings the Blues | 1972 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★½ | 144 | Black version of Hollywood cliché-biography, sparked by superb performance by Ross (in her acting debut) as Billie Holiday, legendary jazz singer whose life was ruined by drug addiction. Valueless as biography, but OK as soap opera, with excellent support from Pryor as 'Piano Man.' | tt0068828 | [R] | Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James Callahan, Paul Hampton, Sid Melton | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Lady Takes a Chance | 1943 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 86 | Wayne and Arthur make fine comedy team as burly rodeo star and wide-eyed city girl who falls for him; Silvers adds zip as bus-tour guide. | tt0036092 | Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Charles Winninger, Phil Silvers, Mary Field, Don Costello | Comedy, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Lady Takes a Flyer | 1958 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 94 | Different-type Turner fare. Lana is lady flier who marries pilot Chandler, each finds it hard to settle down to married life. | tt0051839 | Lana Turner, Jeff Chandler, Richard Denning, Andra Martin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lady Takes a Sailor | 1949 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 99 | Featherweight fluff about Morgan inadvertently ruining career woman Wyman's reputation as a consumer watchdog. Sheer silliness. | tt0041573 | Jane Wyman, Dennis Morgan, Eve Arden, Robert Douglas, Allyn Joslyn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lady Vanishes | 1938 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 97 | An old woman's disappearance during a train ride leads baffled young woman into a dizzying web of intrigue. Delicious mystery-comedy; Hitchcock at his best, with a witty script by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and wonderful performances by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford, who scored such a hit as a pair of twits that they repeated those roles in several other films! Based on Ethel Lina White's novel The Wheel Spins. Remade in 1979. | tt0030341 | Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame May Whitty, Googie Withers, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers, Catherine Lacey | British | Action, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lady Vanishes | 1979 | Anthony Page | ★½ | 99 | Remake of Hitchcock classic retains basic story but is sabotaged by the obnoxious characterizations of its 'screwball' stars, Gould and Shepherd. Screenplay by George Axelrod. | tt0079428 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Cybill Shepherd, Angela Lansbury, Herbert Lom, Arthur Lowe, Ian Carmichael | British | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Lady Vengeance | 2005 | Park Chan-wook | ★★½ | 115 | Conclusion of the director's 'revenge trilogy' (preceded by SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE and OLDBOY) focuses on a woman, wrongfully imprisoned for kidnapping and murdering a young boy when she was 19, who is released after serving 13 years. While trying to reunite with the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption, she executes an elaborate and grisly revenge against the killer for whom she took the fall. Dazzlingly directed film is an undeniable display of cinematic virtuosity, but also a deeply unpleasant experience that seems to revel in brutality and torture, much of it involving children. | tt0451094 | [R] | Lee Yeong-ae, Choi Min-sik, Kim Si-hu, Nam Il-woo, Kim Byeong-ok, Oh Dal-Su | South Korean | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Lady Wants Mink | 1953 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 92 | Most diverting little film of wife Hussey breeding mink to get the coat she's always wanted. | tt0045982 | Eve Arden, Ruth Hussey, Dennis O'Keefe, William Demarest, Gene Lockhart | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady Windermere's Fan | 1925 | Ernst Lubitsch. | ★★★½ | 89 | Smart, elegant adaptation of Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners, in which Lord Darlington (Colman) announces his love for married Lady Windermere (McAvoy); meanwhile, the calculating Mrs. Erlynne (a superb Rich) drifts into London and reveals a secret. Lubitsch captures the essence of Wilde's play in this absorbing tale of love, desire, deception, and misunderstanding, while brilliantly satirizing upper-class mores. Previously filmed in England in 1916; remade in Germany in 1935, in Mexico in 1944, in 1949 (as THE FAN), and in 2004 (as A GOOD WOMAN). | tt0016004 | Ronald Colman, May McAvoy, Bert Lytell, Irene Rich, Edward Martindel, Mme. Daumery | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady With Red Hair | 1940 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 81 | Breathless pace, likable cast make up for silliness in story of actress Mrs. Leslie Carter and her colorful mentor David Belasco. Look fast for young Cornel Wilde at boardinghouse. | tt0032687 | Miriam Hopkins, Claude Rains, Richard Ainley, Laura Hope Crews, Helen Westley, John Litel, Victor Jory | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady With a Dog | 1959 | Josif Heifits | ★★½ | 90 | Middle-aged man and young woman, both married, meet and fall in love on vacation. Intelligent tale of adulterous love, sensibly handled, with no contrived ending. Based on the short story by Anton Chekov, also partly the basis of DARK EYES (1987). | tt0053746 | Iya Savvina, Alexei Batalov, Ala Chostakova, N. Alisova | Russian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Lady With a Lamp | 1951 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 112 | Methodical recreation of 19th century nurse-crusader Florence Nightingale, tastefully enacted by Neagle. | tt0043724 | Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Felix Aylmer, Maureen Pryor, Gladys Young, Julian D'Albie | British |
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| Lady With a Past | 1932 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 80 | Chic fluff about rich 'good girl' Bennett who discovers that she's much more popular with the opposite sex when she acts 'bad. | tt0023110 | Constance Bennett, Ben Lyon, David Manners, Astrid Allwyn, Merna Kennedy, Nella Walker, Blanche Frederici | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Lady Without Passport | 1950 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 72 | Turgid melodrama as Lamarr seeks to leave Havana, former romantic and business associations behind her. | tt0042664 | Hedy Lamarr, John Hodiak, James Craig, George Macready | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Lady and the Bandit | 1951 | Ralph Murphy | ★★ | 79 | Harmless costumer about career and love of highwayman Dick Turpin. | tt0043722 | Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, Suzanne Dalbert, Tom Tully | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Lady and the Duke | 2001 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 125 | Intelligent, provocative historical drama set during the French Revolution. The lady of the title is Grace Elliott (Russell), a Scottish blueblood expatriate; the duke is Philippe d'Orleans (Dreyfus), a cousin to Louis XVI. The two share a complex relationship as the politics and events of the period swirl around them. Conversation is the hallmark of a Rohmer film, and here it is never less than illuminating. Shot in digital video; the 81-year-old filmmaker also scripted (based on Elliott's memoirs). | tt0239234 | [PG-13] | Lucy Russell, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Alain Libolt, Charlotte Véry, Léonard Cobiant, François Marthouret, Caroline Morin | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Lady and the Mob | 1939 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★½ | 66 | Bainter gives dignity to mini-tale of eccentric rich lady involved with gangster mob. | tt0031547 | Fay Bainter, Lee Bowman, Ida Lupino, Henry Armetta | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Lady and the Monster | 1944 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 86 | Pretty good chiller of mysterious brain taking over man's life. Remakes: DONOVAN'S BRAIN, THE BRAIN. | tt0036999 | Vera Ralston, Erich von Stroheim, Richard Arlen, Sidney Blackmer | Horror | NULL | |||
| Lady and the Tramp | 1955 | Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson | ★★★½ | 75 | One of Walt Disney's most endearing animated features, based on Ward Greene's story about a rakish dog named Tramp who helps pedigreed canine named Lady out of a jam— and into a romance. Elements of adventure and drama are masterfully blended with comedy and music in this stylish film, the Disney studio's first feature cartoon in CinemaScope. Songs by Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee (who's the voice of Peg, Darling, Si and Am, the Siamese cats). Followed in 2001 by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0048280 | Voices of Peggy Lee, Barbara Luddy, Bill Thompson, Bill Baucon, Stan Freberg, Verna Felton, Alan Reed | Drama, Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lady by Choice | 1934 | David Burton | ★★½ | 78 | Enjoyable follow-up to LADY FOR A DAY; dancer Lombard takes in scraggly Robson, makes her proper lady. | tt0025366 | Carole Lombard, May Robson, Roger Pryor, Walter Connolly, Arthur Hohl | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady for a Day | 1933 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 96 | Wonderful Damon Runyon fable of seedy apple vendor Robson transformed into perfect lady by softhearted racketeer William. Robert Riskin adapted Runyon's story 'Madame La Gimp.' Sequel: LADY BY CHOICE. Remade by Capra as POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES. | tt0024240 | Warren William, May Robson, Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Jean Parker, Walter Connolly, Ned Sparks, Nat Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady for a Night | 1942 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 87 | Plodding costume drama of wealthy, status-seeking gambling queen Blondell and her plight upon marrying impoverished society drunk Middleton. Good cast seems out of place. | tt0033806 | Joan Blondell, John Wayne, Ray Middleton, Philip Merivale, Blanche Yurka, Edith Barrett, Hattie Noel | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady in Cement | 1968 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 93 | Sequel to TONY ROME finds Sinatra discovering nude corpse with feet encased in cement. Typical private-eye hokum, with heavy doses of violence, leering sex. | tt0063210 | [PG] | Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Dan Blocker, Richard Conte, Martin Gabel, Lainie Kazan, Richard Deacon, Joe E. Lewis | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Lady in Distress | 1939 | Herbert Mason | ★★★ | 76 | Redgrave falls for wife of jealous magician after witnessing what looked like her murder. Original British title: A WINDOW IN LONDON. | tt0031548 | Paul Lukas, Sally Gray, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Roc, Hartley Power | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lady in Question | 1940 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 81 | Aherne plays a juror interested in defendant Hayworth. He manages to save her, but later falls prey to jealousy. Varies awkwardly from comedy to drama. | tt0032686 | Brian Aherne, Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Irene Rich, George Coulouris, Lloyd Corrigan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lady in Red | Guns, Sin and Bathtub Gin | 1979 | Lewis Teague | ★★½ | 93 | Martin suffers a life on the lam, before and after her period of notoriety as girlfriend of John Dillinger (Conrad). Lurid, low-budget retread of familiar material is handled with surprising verve. A Roger Corman production; screenplay by John Sayles. Robert Forster appears uncredited in key supporting role. Retitled GUNS, SIN AND BATHTUB GIN. | tt0079429 | [R] | Pamela Sue Martin, Robert Conrad, Louise Fletcher, Robert Hogan, Laurie Heineman, Glenn Withrow, Christopher Lloyd, Dick Miller | Action | NULL | |
| Lady in White | 1988 | Frank LaLoggia | ★★★ | 112 | Sleeper film combines 1960s nostalgia with supernatural horror in original fashion. An inquisitive youngster (Haas) becomes involved with ghosts in mystery story about an unsolved murder and the legendary Lady in White (Helmond) residing in a spooky house nearby. Villain's identity is a bit too easy to guess, but there are plenty of chills and great period atmosphere along the way. Director's cut version runs 6m. longer. | tt0095484 | [PG-13] | Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond, Jason Presson, Jared Rushton, Renata Vanni, Angelo Bertolini | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lady in a Cage | 1964 | Walter Grauman | ★★★ | 93 | Bone-chilling psychological drama in which incapacitated widow de Havilland finds herself stuck in an elevator in her home, then is terrorized by thugs. Allegorical tale of alienation and mindless cruelty in an impersonal society; unpleasant to watch, but undeniably truthful and prophetic. Starkly directed and well acted. | tt0058283 | Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sothern, Jeff Corey, James Caan, Jennifer Billingsley, Rafael Campos, Scatman Crothers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady in a Jam | 1942 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 78 | Thirties-type screwball comedy doesn't really hit bull's-eye, with wacky Dunne convincing psychiatrist Knowles to marry her to cure her ills. | tt0034963 | Irene Dunne, Patric Knowles, Ralph Bellamy, Eugene Pallette, Queenie Vassar | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lady in the Car With Glasses and a Gun | 1970 | Anatole Litvak | ★★½ | 105 | Eggar is best thing about otherwise unexceptional film. Psychological thriller about attempt to drive young woman crazy is only occasionally interesting. | tt0065957 | [R] | Samantha Eggar, Oliver Reed, John McEnery, Stephane Audran, Billie Dixon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Lady in the Dark | 1944 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 100 | Overproduced Technicolor adaptation of the groundbreaking Moss Hart Broadway show (minus most of the Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin songs) about a career woman who undergoes psychoanalysis to find the root of her problems. Intriguing but ultimately ponderous. | tt0037000 | Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Jon Hall, Warner Baxter, Barry Sullivan, Gail Russell, Mischa Auer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lady in the Iron Mask | 1952 | Ralph Murphy | ★★ | 78 | Variation of Dumas tale, with Three Musketeers still about; moderate costumer. | tt0044818 | Louis Hayward, Patricia Medina, Alan Hale/Jr., John Sutton | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Lady in the Lake | 1946 | Robert Montgomery | ★★½ | 103 | Raymond Chandler whodunit has novelty of camera taking first-person point of view of detective Philip Marlowe (Montgomery); unfortunately, confusing plot is presented in more prosaic (and dated) manner. | tt0039545 | Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Tom Tully, Leon Ames, Jayne Meadows | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Lady in the Water | 2006 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★½ | 110 | Superintendent in an apartment complex discovers an ethereal young woman in the swimming pool and senses that she needs protection. As this fable (or bedtime story, as Shyamalan would have it) unfolds, we're given more and more 'information' to swallow until it becomes laughably absurd. Giamatti's empathetic performance helps, but writer-director Shyamalan was unwise to put himself in a key role-as mankind's savior! | tt0452637 | [PG-13] | Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeffrey Wright, Bob Balaban, Sarita Choudhury, Cindy Cheung, M. Night Shyamalan, Freddy Rodriguez, Bill Irwin, Mary Beth Hurt, Jared Harris, Tovah Feldshuh | Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lady of Burlesque | 1943 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 91 | Stanwyck attempts to uncover— no pun intended— killer of strippers in this amusing adaptation of Gypsy Rose Lee's G-String Murders. | tt0036094 | Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea, J. Edward Bromberg, Iris Adrian, Marion Martin, Pinky Lee, Frank Conroy, Gloria Dickson | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Lady of Secrets | 1936 | Marion Gering. | ★★½ | 73 | Smooth but soapy story of woman whose one unhappy love affair has made her live a life of seclusion. Good cast makes standard film worth seeing. | tt0027865 | Ruth Chatterton, Otto Kruger, Lionel Atwill, Marian Marsh, Lloyd Nolan, Robert Allen. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lady of Vengeance | 1957 | Burt Balaban. | ★★ | 73 | Tedious account of man hiring killer to avenge a girl's death, becoming embroiled in further murder. | tt0050620 | Dennis O'Keefe, Ann Sears, Patrick Barr, Vernon Greeves. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lady of the Tropics | 1939 | Jack Conway | ★★ | 92 | Sad love affair between playboy Taylor and half-breed Lamarr in exotic setting; slow-moving. | tt0031549 | Hedy Lamarr, Robert Taylor, Joseph Schildkraut, Frederick Worlock, Natalie Moorhead | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lady on a Train | 1945 | Charles David | ★★★ | 93 | Excellent comedy/murder-mystery with Deanna witnessing a murder, then getting involved with nutty family of the deceased tycoon. You'll never guess killer's identity in neatly plotted yarn which even allows Deanna to sing a few tunes. Based on a Leslie Charteris story. | tt0037859 | Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, Edward Everett Horton, George Coulouris, Allen Jenkins, David Bruce, Patricia Morison, Dan Duryea, William Frawley | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Lady on the Bus | 1978 | Neville D'Almedia | ★½ | 102 | Braga, the least likely of all actresses to project frigidity, is unresponsive on her wedding night— but wait! Soon she begins sampling other men, and sampling, and sampling. . . . Follow-up to DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS has even more sex but far less wit and charm. A dull ride. | tt0077393 | [R] | Sonia Braga, Nuno Leal Maia, Paulo Cesar Pereio, Jorge Doria, Yara Amaral, Claudio Marzo | Brazilian | Comedy | NULL | |
| A Lady to Love | 1930 | Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) | ★★ | 92 | Stilted early talkie version of Sidney Howard's play They Knew What They Wanted, previously filmed in 1928, and remade in 1940 under its original title. Robinson is miscast as an Italian vintner in San Francisco who gets a young mail-order bride (Banky) by sending her a picture of his hunky foreman (Ames). Between Robinson's heavy-handed Chico Marx-like dialect and Banky's Budapest accent, subtitles might have helped. | tt0021044 | Edward G. Robinson, Vilma Banky, Robert Ames, Richard Carle, Lloyd Ingraham | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Lady's From Kentucky | 1939 | Alexander Hall. | ★★½ | 67 | Regardless of title, Raft's horse takes precedence over his lady in this well-done horse-racing saga. | tt0031550 | George Raft, Ellen Drew, Hugh Herbert, ZaSu Pitts, Louise Beavers, Stanley Andrews. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Lady's Morals | 1930 | Sidney Franklin | ★★ | 75 | First attempt to make star of opera singer Moore doesn't click. She plays Jenny Lind, who learns value of love from devoted Denny. | tt0021045 | Grace Moore, Reginald Denny, Wallace Beery, Jobyna Howland | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Lady | 2011 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 130 | True-life saga of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose father was murdered in Burma in 1947 after helping to free the country from British rule. Decades later, married to an Oxford professor and living in England with her two sons, she returns home to tend to an ailing mother and is seen as a threat by the country's military leadership—because she remains a symbol of the fight for freedom. She has no way of knowing that her (eventual) activism will lead to a 15-year house arrest and separation from her family. Real-life story demands more effective screen treatment than this; the movie drags on far too long and only summons real emotions toward the end (too little, too late). Yeoh and Thewlis are fine but have little to work with. Handsomely filmed in Thailand. | tt1802197 | [R] | Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Jonathan Raggett, Jonathan Woodhouse, Susan Wooldridge, Benedict Wong, Htun Lin | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Ladybird, Ladybird | 1993 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 102 | Shattering, based-on-fact account of a durable but deeply troubled single mother of four (extremely well played by Rock), who has a history of being abused by men; she becomes involved with kindly Vega, but this relationship will not be without its share of crises. Another impassioned look at British working class life from Loach. | tt0110296 | Crissy Rock, Vladimir Vega, Ray Winstone, Sandie Lavelle, Mauricio Venegas, Clare Perkins | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ladybug Ladybug | 1963 | Frank Perry | ★★★ | 84 | Ambitious and provocative (if a bit too obvious) account of some rural schoolchildren and their reactions when a civil defense system warns of an impending nuclear attack. Screenplay by Eleanor Perry; a followup of sorts to DAVID AND LISA. Based on an actual incident. | tt0057242 | Jane Connell, William Daniels, James Frawley, Richard Hamilton, Kathryn Hays, Jane Hoffman, Elena Karam, Judith Lowry, Nancy Marchand, Estelle Parsons, Miles Chapin, Alice Playten | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ladybugs | 1992 | Sidney J. Furie | ★½ | 89 | To placate his boss and secure a promotion, Rodney becomes the coach of a girls' soccer team— complete with an in-drag male player (the son of his fiancée). Slapdash execution of what sounds like a sure-fire Dangerfield premise; the best zingers concern rival female coach Parsons. | tt0104670 | [PG-13] | Rodney Dangerfield, Jackée, Jonathan Brandis, Ilene Graff, Vinessa Shaw, Tom Parks, Jeanetta Arnette, Nancy Parsons, Blake Clark, Tommy Lasorda | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ladyhawke | 1985 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 124 | Overlong but generally entertaining medieval fantasy adventure about star-crossed lovers caught in an evil spell— and a young thief who becomes their unlikely ally. Hauer and Pfeiffer are perfectly cast as stalwart hero and heroine, but Broderick's manner and dialogue seem better suited to a Woody Allen movie! Thunderous music by Andrew Powell. | tt0089457 | [PG-13] | Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood, Ken Hutchison, Alfred Molina | Fantasy, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Ladykillers | 1955 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★½ | 90 | Droll black comedy of not-so-bright crooks involved with seemingly harmless old lady. Guinness scores again (even his teeth are funny) with top-notch supporting cast in this little Ealing Studios gem, written by William Rose. Original British running time: 97m. Remade in 2004. | tt0048281 | Alec Guinness, Katie Johnson, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Frankie Howerd | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Ladykillers | 2004 | Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | ★★★ | 104 | Obsequiously polite Southern gentleman rents a room from a churchgoing widow, then plots a daring heist in her basement with an ill-chosen group of accomplices. The Coens keep a sure hand on this farcical black comedy with impeccable casting, finely tuned performances, and a bedrock of Southern gospel music (produced by T-Bone Burnett). Remake of the well-remembered Ealing comedy of 1955. | tt0335245 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, George Wallace, Diane Delano, Stephen Root | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Lafayette | 1962 | Jean Dreville | ★★ | 110 | Overblown, badly scripted costumer of famed 18th- century Frenchman; an episodic minor spectacle. | tt0055070 | Jack Hawkins, Orson Welles, Howard St. John, Edmund Purdom, Vittorio De Sica, Michel Le Royer | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Lafayette Escadrille | 1958 | William Wellman | ★★ | 93 | Wellman's final film is a well-intentioned but flat account of the celebrated French flying legion of WW1, spotlighting the coming to maturity of wayward Hunter. Mostly of interest for its cast, with Wellman, Jr., playing his father (who actually was a pilot during the war). Wellman, Sr., wrote the story and narrates. | tt0051840 | Tab Hunter, Etchika Choureau, Marcel Dalio, David Janssen, Clint Eastwood, Tom Laughlin | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India | 2001 | Ashutosh Gowariker | ★★★½ | 224 | India, 1893: an arrogant British military commander offers to cancel the crippling land tax in a drought-ridden farming village for three years if the locals, led by defiant peasant Khan (who also produced the film) can beat his team in a cricket match. If the villagers lose, they'll have to pay triple tax! Long but entertaining historical drama is a quintessential Bollywood epic, expertly combining action, romance, humor, and songs in a resplendent widescreen package. | tt0169102 | [PG] | Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne, Suhasini Mulay, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Raghuveer Yadav | Indian | Drama, Musical, Romance, Sport | NULL | |
| The Lair of the White Worm | 1988 | Ken Russell. | ★★½ | 94 | Typically outrageous Ken Russell farce, adapted from a novel by Bram Stoker (of Dracula fame). Strange doings begin when an archaeologist unearths a huge wormlike skull on the grounds of an estate; they get curiouser and curiouser when it turns out worms are the stuff of legend in that area. Bizarre, campy, and altogether outlandish. | tt0095488 | [R] | Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Capaldi, Sammi Davis, Stratford Johns, Paul Brooke, Christopher Gable. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Lake House | 2006 | Alejandro Agresti | ★★½ | 98 | Chicago architect Reeves moves into a striking lakefront glass house and finds a letter from its former occupant-doctor Bullock-waiting for him. They begin to correspond, leaving their letters in the old-fashioned mailbox at the front of the property, and eventually discover that they are living two years apart, he in 2004, she in 2006. Romantic drama stretches credulity (to put it mildly) but still creates a moodiness that's intriguing . . . enough to allow a willing viewer to go along for the ride. Based on a Korean film, IL MARE (2000). | tt0410297 | [PG] | Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dylan Walsh, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Christopher Plummer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Lynn Collins. | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Lake Placid | 1999 | Steve Miner | ★★ | 82 | The creature terrorizing a Maine lake (which is not Lake Placid, N.Y.) turns out to be a very large crocodile. Between arguments, paleontologist Fonda, game warden Pullman, sheriff Gleeson, and irritating, wealthy academic Platt try to figure out what to do about it. David E. Kelley, writing down to the material, provides lots of wisecracks, but few scares. Brief but tiresome film tries— but fails— to be a monster movie and environmentally correct at the same time. Adam Arkin appears unbilled. | tt0139414 | [R] | Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White, David Lewis, Mariska Hargitay, Meredith Salenger | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Lake Placid Serenade | 1944 | Steve Sekely | ★★ | 85 | Flimsy musical romance about an ice skater, played by real-life skating queen Ralston. Supporting cast does its best. | tt0037003 | Vera Hruba Ralston, Robert Livingston, Barbara Jo Allen, Eugene Pallette, Stephanie Bachelor, Walter Catlett, John Litel; guest star Roy Rogers | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lake of Fire | 2007 | Tony Kaye | ★★★½ | 152 | It’s shot in stark b&w, but this scrupulously balanced and profoundly troubling documentary depicts the ongoing debate over abortion in painfully ambiguous shades of gray. Filmed over a 17-year period, Kaye’s emotionally and intellectually challenging film forces viewers on both sides of the issue to rethink assumptions while exposing them to archival footage, on-the-street interviews, and sometimes dispassionate, sometimes fanatical testimony from journalists, activists, philosophers, academics, ministers–-and, of course, women who have chosen (and, in some cases, regretted their decisions) to have abortions. | tt0841119 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Lakeboat | 2001 | Joe Mantegna | ★★½ | 98 | A series of vignettes about the crew of a cargo freighter that travels Lake Michigan. David Mamet adapted his play, with younger brother Tony taking one of the leading roles as a student who signs on for the summer. Never quite becomes a movie, but does offer wonderful dialogue and superb performances. Forster is particularly good. Andy Garcia appears unbilled. Feature directing debut for veteran Mamet actor Mantegna. | tt0210149 | [R] | Peter Falk, Tony Mamet, Robert Forster, Charles Durning, Denis Leary, J.J. Johnston, Jack Wallace, George Wendt, Saul Rubinek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lakeview Terrace | 2008 | Neil LaBute | ★★½ | 106 | Mixed-race couple moves into a suburban cul-de-sac next door to an angry veteran L.A. cop (and single father) who feels empowered to impose his moral code on everyone around him. Provocative and well acted, but film’s constantly shifting sympathies make it difficult to know what the point is supposed to be. | tt0947802 | [PG-13] | Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Ron Glass, Justin Chambers, Jay Hernandez, Robert Pine | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lamb | 1985 | Colin Gregg | ★★½ | 110 | Neeson is good in this otherwise obvious drama spotlighting the complex relationship between an idealistic Brother who teaches at a Roman Catholic school for problem boys and a deeply troubled pupil (O'Conor) who is maltreated by the authoritarian headmaster. Not released in the U.S. until 1995. | tt0091375 | Liam Neeson, Hugh O'Conor, Ian Bannen, Rouan Wilmot, Frances Tomelty, Dudley Sutton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lambada | 1990 | Joel Silberg | 💣 | 98 | By day, Peck teaches math to snots in a posh Beverly Hills high school; by night, he tries to 'reach' barrio kids in an East L.A. lambada club. In other words, it's STAND AND DELIVER with better buns; avoid at all costs unless you never miss a Shabba-Doo movie. | tt0099969 | [PG-13] | J. Eddie Peck, Melora Hardin, Adolfo Quinones, Ricky Paull Goldin, Basil Hoffman, Dennis Burkley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lamerica | 1994 | Gianni Amelio | ★★★½ | 116 | Deeply touching, laced-in-acid drama, set in the wake of Albania's emancipation from communism and detailing the manner in which fate links up a young, arrogant Italian capitalist (Lo Verso) and the just-liberated political prisoner (Di Mazzarelli) he is attempting to exploit. A politically savvy account of how the downtrodden go from one kind of exploitation to another as political systems change. Amelio effectively captures the feeling of what it's like to be a poor and powerless refugee. | tt0110299 | Enrico Lo Verso, Michele Placido, Carmelo Di Mazzarelli, Piro Milkani, Elida Janushi | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lancer Spy | 1937 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★★ | 84 | Sanders disguises himself as German officer to get information in this taut thriller; Del Rio has to choose between love and loyalty to her country. | tt0029108 | Dolores Del Rio, George Sanders, Peter Lorre, Joseph Schildkraut, Virginia Field, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure | 1994 | Roy Allen Smith | ★★★ | 74 | Charming direct-to-video sequel to earlier animated feature has young brontosaurus Littlefoot and his dino pals contending with omnivores and a baby T-Rex who wants to join their group! Kids will identify with the young reptiles in this delightful adventure. Songs by The Roches; original theme music by James Horner. Followed by several more video sequels. | tt0110300 | [G] | Voices of Jeff Bennett, Heather Hogan, Kenneth Mars, John Ingle, Linda Gary, Candace Hutson, Scott McAfee | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Land Before Time | 1988 | Don Bluth | ★★½ | 69 | A young dinosaur is orphaned and must make his way to a valley green with vegetation where he and his tribe can survive. Along the way he meets other young friends of different dinosaur species, and they make the trek together. Enjoyable if leisurely paced (and plotted) cartoon feature for younger viewers. Followed by far too many video sequels. | tt0095489 | [G] | Voices of Pat Hingle, Gabriel Damon, Helen Shaver, Candace Hutson, Judith Barsi, Will Ryan, Burke Barnes | Adventure, Family, Drama, Animation | NULL | ||
| The Land Girls | 1998 | David Leland | ★★ | 110 | Disappointing soap opera based on the potentially fascinating story of the Women's Land Army, formed in 1941 to put women to work on English farms whose men had gone off to war. The three attractive young women who come to live with farmer Georgeson wind up dallying with his randy son (Mackintosh), and after a while it all seems rather silly. Leland coscripted from a novel by Angela Huth. | tt0119494 | [R] | Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh, Tom Georgeson, Maureen O'Brien, Gerald Down | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Land Raiders | 1970 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 100 | Even if you can accept Savalas and Maharis as brothers, this Western about family feuds amidst Indian attacks has little to offer. | tt0065962 | Telly Savalas, George Maharis, Arlene Dahl, Janet Landgard, Jocelyn Lane, George Coulouris, Guy Rolfe | Western | NULL | |||
| The Land That Time Forgot | 1975 | Kevin Connor | ★★½ | 90 | Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1918 sci-fi novel about Germans and Americans in WW1 submarine discovering unknown land in South America is not bad as adventure yarn, but special effects (dinosaurs, volcanic eruption) are not convincing. Sequel: THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT. | tt0073260 | [PG] | Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon, Keith Barron, Anthony Ainley | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Land Unknown | 1957 | Virgil Vogel | ★★ | 78 | Naval helicopter exploring Antarctica is forced down in tropical subterranean valley of prehistoric animals. Monsters are clumsily done but film is OK. | tt0050622 | Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Land and Freedom | 1995 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 109 | Perceptive, passionate account of the Spanish Civil War, centered on a young, working-class British Communist (Hart) who comes to Spain to join the anti-fascists in their battle against Franco. Rich human drama of political idealism and reality, if a bit too moralistic at times. Highlight: that pseudo-documentary ad hoc town meeting. | tt0114671 | Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor, Iciar Bollain, Tom Gilroy, Marc Martines, Frederic Pierrot, Angela Clarke | U.S.-Spanish-German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Land of Liberty | 1939 | ★★½ | 80 | All-star salute to the heroes of American history was cobbled together from a slew of Hollywood films, silent and sound. Produced at 138m. for both the New York World's Fair and San Francisco's Golden Gate Exposition, it was cut in 1941 for theatrical release to benefit the Red Cross. Finally ended up as a 16mm staple in classrooms, where baby boomers learned that Jean Lafitte and Wild Bill Hickok looked like Fredric March and Gary Cooper. Supervised and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille. | tt0033809 | History | NULL | |||||
| Land of Plenty | 2004 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 119 | In post-9/11 L.A., a psychologically disconnected Vietnam veteran (Diehl) cruises around the city, looking for suspected terrorists. He and his niece (Williams), newly arrived in town and working in a homeless shelter, investigate the drive-by shooting of a destitute Middle Easterner. This mournful meditation on paranoia, homelessness, and violence in America is at best a plea for peace and understanding in our post-9/11 world, but it meanders and is way overlong. | tt0382357 |
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John Diehl, Michelle Williams, Richard Edson, Wendell Pierce, Gloria Stuart, Burt Young, Shaun Toub, Bernard White | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Land of the Dead | 2005 | George A. Romero | ★★½ | 93 | Survivors of a disaster that turned the dead into flesh-eating zombies hole up in a city on a river with barricades to keep the zombies out. Inside, tensions increase while outside the dead are getting smarter. Romero's fourth walking dead movie is well produced and suspenseful, with a dose of social satire and a standout performance by Leguizamo . . . but we've seen it all before, and it never really catches fire. Title onscreen is GEORGE ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD. Also available in unrated version. | tt0418819 | [R] | Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, Eugene Clark, Joanne Boland, Tony Nappo | U.S.-Canadian-French | Action, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Land of the Lost | 2009 | Brad Silberling | ★½ | 101 | An obnoxious scientist, his assistant, and a redneck survivalist are sucked into a space-and-time vortex that takes them to an alternate universe populated by dinosaurs and a guy in a monkey suit named Chaka. Bloated, unfunny big-screen version of Sid and Marty Krofft's hokey but endearing Saturday morning kid show. Ferrell has a funny bit involving a prehistoric bee sting but mostly mugs his way through this ill-conceived mess. The dino effects are way overdone considering the juvenile shenanigans on display. You know it's bad when Today Show host Matt Lauer gets all the real laughs. | tt0457400 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone, John Boylan, Leonard Nimoy, Bobb'e J. Thompson | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Land of the Minotaur | Minotaur | 1976 | Costa Carayiannis | ★½ | 88 | Tourists are kidnapped by Greek Minoan devil-worship cult, and a local priest tries to save them, in this draggy, uninteresting yarn. Aka MINOTAUR. Released in England at 94m. as THE DEVIL'S MEN. | tt0074769 | [PG] | Donald Pleasence, Luan Peters, Peter Cushing, Nikos Verlekis, Costas Skouras | U.S.-British | Mystery, Horror | NULL |
| Land of the Pharaohs | 1955 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 106 | Entertaining, if fruity spectacle about building of the Great Pyramid, filmed on an epic scale. Hawks claimed neither he nor his writers (including William Faulkner and Harry Kurnitz) 'knew how a pharaoh talked' . . . and it shows. Still worth catching for great revenge ending and now-campy villainy by Collins. | tt0048283 | Jack Hawkins, Joan Collins, James Robertson Justice, Dewey Martin, Alexis Minotis, Sydney Chaplin, James Hayter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Landlord | 1970 | Hal Ashby | ★★★½ | 113 | Vibrant comedy-drama with Bridges as aimless rich-kid who buys Brooklyn tenement planning to renovate it for himself, changing plans when he meets tenants. Delightful comic touches combined with perceptive sidelights on black experience. Ashby's first film as director. TV version runs 104m. | tt0065963 | [PG] | Beau Bridges, Pearl Bailey, Diana Sands, Louis Gossett, Lee Grant, Susan Anspach, Robert Klein, Trish Van Devere | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Landslide | 1992 | Jean-Claude Lord | ★½ | 95 | Muddled, forced psychological drama/mystery about the sole survivor of a car crash (Edwards). He suffers from selective memory loss, and attempts to piece together his past while confronting shady dealings in a small town. | tt0104678 | [PG-13] | Anthony Edwards, Tom Burlinson, Melody Anderson, Ronald Lacey, Ken James, William Colgate, Lloyd Bochner, Joanna Cassidy | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Langrishe, Go Down | 1978 | David Hugh Jones | ★★★ | 112 | Dench is superb in this understated drama, set in the 1930s, as one of the daughters of a faded aristocratic Irish family; she experiences an array of emotions while immersing herself in an affair with a calculating Bavarian intellectual (Irons). Starts off slowly and becomes more involving as it goes along. Scripted by Pinter, from a novel by Aidan Higgins. Originally made for British television, this opened theatrically in the U.S. in 2002. | tt0077830 | Judi Dench, Jeremy Irons, Annette Crosbie, Harold Pinter, Margaret Whiting, Susan Williamson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lantana | 2001 | Ray Lawrence | ★★★½ | 121 | Moving, adult story of relationships thwarted by boredom, habit, and lack of communication. LaPaglia plays a cop whose marriage has stagnated, leading him to sleep with another woman; meanwhile, he investigates the disappearance of a woman whose own marriage is in jeopardy. Beautifully nuanced at every turn. Screenplay by Andrew Bovell from his play Speaking in Tongues. | tt0259393 | [R] | Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Vince Colosimo, Daniela Farinacci, Peter Phelps | Australian-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Laputa: Castle in the Sky | Castle in the Sky | 1986 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★★ | 124 | Magnificent animated adventure fantasy about an orphan girl who is pursued by sky pirates and an evil government agent who want to get their hands on the magical crystal that allows her to float— and also holds the secret to finding a mythical treasure-laden island above the clouds. Stunning visuals, thrilling set pieces and compelling characters make this a masterpiece of action filmmaking, animated or otherwise, inspiring a true sense of awe. Aka CASTLE IN THE SKY. | tt0092067 | Voices of James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, Mandy Patinkin, Andy Dick | Japanese | Animation, Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Family | NULL | |
| Lara Croft Tomb Raider | Tomb Raider | 2001 | Simon West | ★½ | 100 | Jolie plays the sexy British archeologist-adventurer who follows her late father's instructions to find— and destroy— both pieces of an ancient relic that can control time. Perhaps the dullest action-adventure film ever made, with flat writing and performances (save for Jolie) and lifeless direction, sparked now and then by some flashy set-pieces. Voight, Jolie's real-life father, plays Croft's dad. Based on a popular computer game. To quote a character in the film itself, 'Enough of this twaddle!' Followed by a sequel. | tt0146316 | [PG-13] | Angelina Jolie, Jon Voight, Noah Taylor, Iain Glen, Daniel Craig, Christopher Barrie, Richard Johnson, Leslie Phillips | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | 2003 | Jan De Bont | ★½ | 117 | Pouting and plundering in a variety of revealing outfits, Jolie returns as the video-game adventuress who teams up with her shady ex in a race to find Pandora's Box before it falls into the hands of an evil scientist who wants to harness its power to create biological weapons. Astonishingly inept and interminable sequel gives new meaning to the word 'boring.' Game over. | tt0325703 | [PG-13] | Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Noah Taylor, Ciarán Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, Til Schweiger, Christopher Barrie, Simon Yam | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Laramie Project | 2002 | Moisés Kaufman | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Offbeat look at a community reexamining itself in the wake of the infamous 1998 hate-crime murder by homophobes of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, enacted by a top-notch cast. Adapted from the acclaimed Off-Broadway play by Kaufman and the N.Y.C. Tectonic Theater Project, a group that went to Laramie after the killing to record more than 400 hours of interviews with the town's citizens. This was one of three TV movies dealing with the Shepard murder. Made for cable. | tt0257850 | Dylan Baker, Tom Bower, Clancy Brown, Steve Buscemi, Nestor Carbonell, Jeremy Davies, Clea DuVall, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo, Bill Irwin, Terry Kinney, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Summer Phoenix, Christina Ricci, Lois Smith, Frances Sternhagen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Larceny | 1948 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 89 | Slick but ordinary underworld tale, with roguish Payne deciding to help lovely Caulfield; Duryea is slimy villain. | tt0039550 | John Payne, Joan Caulfield, Dan Duryea, Shelley Winters, Dorothy Hart | Crime | NULL | |||
| Larceny in Her Heart | 1946 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 68 | Sleuth Michael Shayne (Beaumont) gets mixed up with a femme fatale during a murder investigation in this passable minor entry, though seeing the Beaver's future TV dad in the lead may be the chief point of interest today. | tt0038682 | Hugh Beaumont, Cheryl Walker, Ralph Dunn, Paul Bryar, Charles Wilson, Douglas Fowley | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Larceny, Inc. | 1942 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★½ | 95 | Hilarious little comedy of ex-cons Robinson, Crawford, and Brophy using luggage store as front for shady activities; villain Quinn tries to horn in. Look for Jackie Gleason in a small role as a soda jerk. | tt0034965 | Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford, Jack Carson, Anthony Quinn, Edward Brophy | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Larger Than Life | 1996 | Howard Franklin | ★½ | 93 | Disappointing comedic misfire of motivational speaker Murray trying to get an elephant cross-country in a hurry. One hysterical sequence of Murray's mishandling of a truck is the only real laugh. Promising possibilities fall flat, with McConaughey way over the top and Fiorentino completely wasted. | tt0116823 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Janeane Garofalo, Matthew McConaughey, Linda Fiorentino, Keith David, Pat Hingle, Jeremy Piven, Maureen Mueller, Harve Presnell, Lois Smith, Tai | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Larry Crowne | 2011 | Tom Hanks | ★★½ | 95 | When a loyal store manager is fired because he never went to college, he’s forced to take stock of his life and enrolls in a local community college. There he makes young friends who open him up to new experiences and falls under the spell of his teachers—especially Roberts, who offers a course in informal public speaking. Self-consciously whimsical and uneven; still lightly enjoyable as a vehicle for its stars and an agreeable ensemble. Hanks coscripted with Nia Vardalos (who’s the voice of Roberts’ GPS device and whose husband, Ian Gomez, plays restaurant owner Frank). | tt1583420 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Rita Wilson, George Takei, Rob Riggle, Bob Stephenson, Holmes Osborne, Rami Malek, Grace Gummer, Dale Dye | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector | 2006 | Trent Cooper | ★½ | 89 | Whitney brings his blue-collar 'Larry' character-a beer-bellied, foulmouthed, endlessly flatulent dimwit-to the screen in this low-rent, low-laugh-quotient comedy about a bungling health inspector who investigates a series of restaurant food poisonings. 'Larry' fans and aficionados of redneck humor may rate this higher. | tt0462395 | [PG-13] | Larry the Cable Guy (Dan Whitney), Iris Bahr, Bruce Bruce, Joanna Cassidy, Brooke Dillman, Tony Hale, David Koechner, Lisa Lampanelli, Megyn Price, Tom Wilson, Joe Pantoliano, Kid Rock, Jerry Mathers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lars and the Real Girl | 2007 | Craig Gillespie | ★★★ | 106 | Sweet film about socially traumatized Gosling, who purchases a life-sized doll and treats her as if she’s real—to the dismay of his older brother and sister-in-law (who feel protective of him) and the neighbors in their tight-knit community. Fortunately, a sympathetic doctor (Clarkson) steers them in the right direction. This could have been written as farce, but instead it’s a story about caring and compassion in the face of genuinely odd behavior . . . and it’s disarmingly effective. Written by Nancy Oliver. | tt0805564 | [PG-13] | Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Kelli Garner, Paul Schneider | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Las Vegas Hillbillys | 1966 | Arthur C. Pierce | ★½ | 90 | How does country hick Husky become a big-time Las Vegas entrepreneur? You really don't want to know. A once-in-a-lifetime cast. Sequel: HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. | tt0060618 | Ferlin Husky, Jayne Mansfield, Mamie Van Doren, Richard Kiel, Sonny James, Del Reeves, Bill Anderson, Connie Smith | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Las Vegas Lady | 1976 | Noel Nosseck | 💣 | 87 | Substandard heist pic about a security guard who flips for title femme. Even LAS VEGAS HILLBILLYS is better. | tt0074775 | [PG] | Stella Stevens, Stuart Whitman, George DiCenzo, Lynne Moody, Linda Scruggs, Joseph Della Sorte, Jesse White | Drama | NULL | ||
| Las Vegas Shakedown | 1955 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 79 | Improbable yet diverting account of O'Keefe's effort to run an honest gambling house, with on-location filming in Las Vegas. | tt0048285 | Dennis O'Keefe, Coleen Gray, Charles Winninger, Thomas Gomez, Elizabeth Patterson, Robert Armstrong | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Las Vegas Story | 1952 | Robert Stevenson | ★★ | 88 | Synthetic murder yarn supposedly set in gambling capital, sparked by Russell's vitality. | tt0044825 | Jane Russell, Victor Mature, Vincent Price, Hoagy Carmichael, Brad Dexter | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Laser Mission | 1989 | Beau Davis | ★★ | 83 | Freelance secret agent Lee and tough Monahan travel across a South African desert to rescue laser expert Borgnine, kidnapped by the Soviets. Lee is appealing, but this low-rent 007-type adventure has nothing new to offer. | tt0099978 | Brandon Lee, Debi Monahan, Ernest Borgnine, Werner Pochath, Graham Clarke, Maureen Lahoud, Pierre Knoessen | German-South African-U.S. | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Laserblast | 1978 | Michael Raye | ★★½ | 90 | Low-budget sci-fi with teen Milford finding alien ray gun which enables him to become a creature who can destroy his enemies. David Allen's stop-motion effects are a highlight. | tt0077834 | [PG] | Kim Milford, Cheryl Smith, Roddy McDowall, Ron Masak, Keenan Wynn, Dennis Burkley | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Lash | 1930 | Frank Lloyd. | ★★ | 75 | Barthelmess is miscast as a Spanish cattle rancher in 1800s California who becomes a Robin Hood-type bandit to avenge his people against unscrupulous American land agents. Dated early-talkie Western adventure features some sweeping spectacle, especially an impressive cattle stampede. Filmed both in 35mm and in a pioneering 65mm widescreen process called Vitascope. | tt0021048 | Richard Barthelmess, James Rennie, Mary Astor, Marian Nixon, Fred Kohler, Barbara Bedford, Robert Edeson, Arthur Stone. | Western | NULL | |||
| Lassie | 1994 | Daniel Petrie | ★★★ | 92 | A city family with some problems decides to start over again at the old family farm; along the way, a remarkably smart dog 'adopts' them. Young Guiry is a standout as the troubled boy who (quite credibly) changes under the influences of Lassie and his new country environment. Painted in broad strokes, for its intended youthful audience. | tt0110305 | [PG] | Helen Slater, Thomas Guiry, Jon Tenney, Brittany Boyd, Frederic Forrest, Richard Farnsworth, Michelle Williams, Charlie Hofheimer | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Lassie | 2005 | Charles Sturridge | ★★★ | 100 | The setting is Yorkshire, 1938: young Joe (Mason) is heartbroken when his impoverished parents are forced to sell his beloved collie to the Duke of Rudling (O'Toole, in fine fettle). But Lassie has no intention of staying with the Duke, even after he brings the dog to his Glasgow estate, and makes the long journey home, meeting a variety of colorful characters along the way. Pleasing, straightforward retelling of Eric Knight's story, filmed before as LASSIE COME HOME (1943). | tt0431213 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, John Lynch, Peter Dinklage, Steve Pemberton, Jemma Redgrave, Jonathan Mason, Edward Fox, John Standing, Gregor Fisher, Robert Hardy, Kelly Macdonald, Nicholas Lyndhurst. | British-Irish-French-U.S. | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Lassie Come Home | 1943 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★★½ | 88 | Winning, wonderful film from Eric Knight's book about a poor family forced to sell their beloved dog, who undertakes several tortuous journeys to return to them. A tearjerker of the first order, and one of the all-time great family films. Lassie is played— quite remarkably— by a male collie named Pal. Sequel: SON OF LASSIE. Remade as GYPSY COLT and THE MAGIC OF LASSIE. | tt0036098 | Roddy McDowall, Donald Crisp, Dame May Whitty, Edmund Gwenn, Nigel Bruce, Elsa Lanchester, Elizabeth Taylor | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Lassiter | 1984 | Roger Young | ★★½ | 100 | A second-story man is shanghaied into doing espionage work in London on the eve of WW2. Stylish and nicely acted, but too plodding to overcome its basic problem of ordinariness. Selleck's second star vehicle is at least an improvement over his first (HIGH ROAD TO CHINA). | tt0087589 | [R] | Tom Selleck, Jane Seymour, Lauren Hutton, Bob Hoskins, Joe Regalbuto, Ed Lauter, Warren Clarke | Action, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Last Action Hero | 1993 | John McTiernan | ★★ | 130 | Noisy, smug, self-conscious blockbuster-wannabe about a boy whose 'magic ticket' transports him into an action movie alongside his No. 1 hero, Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger). Genuinely bad writing and an overall air of unpleasantness torpedo this film; good action scenes and occasional clever ideas can't save it. (And how exactly did an Ingmar Bergman picture work its way into the story?) A raft of cameo appearances add to the in-joke tone of the picture. | tt0107362 | [PG-13] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance, Frank McRae, Tom Noonan, Robert Prosky, Anthony Quinn, Mercedes Ruehl, Austin O'Brien, Ian McKellen, Toru Tanaka, Joan Plowright, Tina Turner, Rick Ducommun, Michael V. Gazzo | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Last Adventure | 1967 | Robert Enrico | ★★½ | 102 | Two adventurers and a beautiful woman go on a very engaging treasure hunt. | tt0061376 | Alain Delon, Lino Ventura, Joanna Shimkus, Hans Meyer | French | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last Airbender | 2010 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★ | 103 | Live-action adaption of popular Nickelodeon animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender is a near-total misfire, with sporadically impressive special effects offering inadequate compensation for flat performances, clunky pacing, and speechifying dialogue. Muddled fantasy-adventure plot pivots on efforts by 12-year-old would-be messiah (charisma-free Ringer) to master control of four elements—earth, fire, water, and, of course, air—to defend disparate tribes against a wicked warlord (Curtis). Last-minute conversion to 3-D is spectacularly ineffective. 3-D | tt0938283 | [PG] | Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, Cliff Curtis, Katharine Houghton | Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last American Hero | Hard Driver | 1973 | Lamont Johnson | ★★★ | 100 | Unusual, engrossing saga of Junior Jackson, North Carolinan moonshiner and racing fanatic, pitting his ability against the System. Three-dimensional, believable characters enhance cynical point of view. Retitled HARD DRIVER. | tt0070287 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perrine, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Art Lund, Gary Busey, Ed Lauter, Ned Beatty | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Angry Man | 1959 | Daniel Mann | ★★★ | 100 | Sentimental story of an old, dedicated family doctor in Brooklyn whose life is going to be portrayed on TV. Muni (in his last film) makes it worth seeing. Adapted by Gerald Green from his novel. Remade as 1974 TVM with Pat Hingle. | tt0052990 | Paul Muni, David Wayne, Betsy Palmer, Luther Adler, Joby Baker, Joanna Moore, Godfrey Cambridge, Billy Dee Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Blitzkrieg | 1958 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★ | 84 | WW2 actioner trying to focus on German point of view. | tt0051844 | Van Johnson, Kerwin Mathews, Dick York, Larry Storch | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Last Boy Scout | 1991 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 105 | Hardcore action film with Willis as a fired Secret Service agent now supporting himself through sticky gumshoe hire-outs; Wayans is his buddy in bonding (and an ex-pro-football quarterback) who helps him investigate gridiron corruption. More of the same from LETHAL WEAPON screenwriter Shane Black. Violent, even by this genre's standards, but zippy enough to make it an OK view. | tt0102266 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans, Chelsea Field, Noble Willingham, Taylor Negron, Danielle Harris, Halle Berry, Bruce McGill | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Last Bridge | 1954 | Helmut Kautner | ★★★½ | 95 | Schell gives well-modulated performance as German doctor captured by Yugoslavian partisans during WW2, first administering medical aid reluctantly, then realizing all people deserve equal attention. Released in the U.S. in 1957. | tt0047172 | Maria Schell, Bernhard Wicki, Barbara Rutting, Carl Mohner | Austrian-Yugoslavian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Last Butterfly | 1991 | Karel Kachyna | ★★★ | 110 | Acidly ironic drama of famous French mime Courtenay, who is 'hired' by the Nazis to give one performance for the children of Terezin, the infamous 'city of the Jews,' during WW2. It's meant for propaganda purposes, to show the world that Jews in concentration camps were living the Life of Riley. Occasionally heavy going because of subject matter, but always moving. | tt0100393 | [PG-13] | Tom Courtenay, Brigitte Fossey, Ingrid Held, Freddie Jones, Milan Knazko, Josef Kemer, Linda Jablonska | Czech-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Castle | 2001 | Rod Lurie | ★★ | 131 | After a controversial court-martial, a highly respected general is sent to a military prison, where he squares off against the warden and ultimately leads a revolt. Redford plays the kind of quiet rebel he virtually invented in the 1970s, but the script is swimming in movie clichés, and Gandolfini is too obvious a target. | tt0272020 | [R] | Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Burton, Delroy Lindo, Paul Calderon, Clifton Collins/Jr., Samuel Ball, Frank Military | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Last Challenge | 1967 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 105 | Punk Everett is out to get Marshal Ford in well-cast but routine Western; Angie plays saloon-keeper, which makes one wonder why the two men don't just settle their problems over a drink. | tt0061893 | Glenn Ford, Angie Dickinson, Chad Everett, Gary Merrill, Jack Elam, Delphi Lawrence, Royal Dano | Western | NULL | |||
| Last Chance Harvey | 2008 | Joel Hopkins | ★★★ | 90 | A poor shlub (Hoffman) whose career is on the skids flies to London for his daughter’s wedding but feels alienated from the festivities, presided over by his ex-wife and her new husband. Then he chances to meet a middle-aged working woman (Thompson) and strikes up a conversation. A poignant portrait of two mature people who form a kinship; this shows off the two stars at their very best. | tt1046947 | [PG-13] | Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, James Brolin, Eileen Atkins, Richard Schiff, Liane Balaban | U.S.-British | Romance | NULL | |
| The Last Chase | 1981 | Martyn Burke | ★½ | 101 | Oil shortage causes the demise of auto travel during the 1980s; 20 years later, ex-race-car driver Majors reassembles his Porsche and becomes a 'symbol of freedom' as he races across the country. Flimsy drama that reeks of Reaganomics. | tt0082642 | [PG] | Lee Majors, Burgess Meredith, Chris Makepeace, Alexandra Stewart, Ben Gordon | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Last Command | 1928 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★★ | 88 | Stunning silent drama of refugee Russian general Jannings, who is now reduced to working as a Hollywood extra— and destined to appear in a movie depicting the Russian revolution. A fascinating story laced with keen perceptions of life and work in Hollywood. Lajos Biros' story was based on an actual person; Jannings' gripping performance won him an Oscar (shared for his work in THE WAY OF ALL FLESH). | tt0019071 | Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent, William Powell, Nicholas Soussanin, Michael Visaroff, Jack Raymond, Fritz Feld | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Command | 1955 | Frank Lloyd | ★★½ | 110 | Elaborate, sweeping account of the battle of the Alamo, hampered by tedious script. Story centers on wandering adventurer Jim Bowie (Hayden), who is galvanized by Mexican threats against Texas. All the historical Alamo set pieces are here, with Hunnicutt a refreshingly rustic Davy Crockett. Music by Max Steiner; 'Jim Bowie' sung by Gordon MacRae. | tt0048287 | Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Slim Pickens | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Last Dance | 1996 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 103 | Younger brother of governor's chief of staff arrives in state capitol and gets a make-work job in the Clemency Office. He throws himself into his first case, launching a crusade to save a woman convicted of double murder from being executed. Stone gives a creditable performance in this severely deglamorized role, though it's hard to empathize with a murderer heroine. (By film's end, you can't help but feel something.) Morrow is good, too, but his character's motivations are muddy. Suffers from comparison to the previous year's superior DEAD MAN WALKING. Charles S. Dutton appears unbilled. | tt0116827 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Rob Morrow, Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher, Jack Thompson, Jayne Brook, Pamala Tyson, Skeet Ulrich | Drama | NULL | ||
| Last Days | 2005 | Gus Van Sant | ★★ | 97 | Ambitious but ineffective minimalist drama chronicling the final hours in the life of a Kurt Cobain-like rock star (Pitt). Van Sant attempts to get inside the character's head and explore his mental and emotional state; despite some striking images, the result is meandering . . . and the religious references are preposterous. | tt0403217 | [R] | Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, Scott Green, Nicole Vicius, Ricky Jay, Ryan Orion, Harmony Korine, Kim Gordon | Music, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Days of Chez Nous | 1993 | Gillian Armstrong. | ★★½ | 96 | Aspiring novelist with a teenage daughter endures marital discord when her aimless younger sister moves in. Director Armstrong returns to her roots for this interesting, if not entirely successful, film about relationships— between spouses, siblings, children and parents. (Biggest problem: an enigmatic and unappealing lead character.) A movie for real grown-ups, though it lacks the emotional power of MY BRILLIANT CAREER. Offers a view of Sydney (the bleaker part) that other movies usually don't show. | tt0104685 | [R] | Lisa Harrow, Bruno Ganz, Kerry Fox, Miranda Otto, Kiri Paramore, Bill Hunter. | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Days of Disco | 1998 | Whit Stillman | ★★★ | 113 | Two friends, naive but smart Sevigny and critical Beckinsale, hang out at a trendy disco in the early 1980s, trying— like everyone they know— to make the transition from group activity to pairing off. Sardonic but sympathetic to its characters, the movie is amusing and well acted but not particularly insightful. Said to be the last in Stillman's romantic-yuppies trilogy with METROPOLITAN and BARCELONA; some of the characters from those films turn up here. | tt0120728 | [R] | Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman, Mackenzie Astin, Matt Keeslar, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Beals, Burr Steers, David Thornton, Jaid Barrymore, Carolyn Farina | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Days of Dolwyn | 1949 | Emlyn Williams | ★★½ | 95 | A dowager is called upon for help when her Welsh village is slated for extinction as part of a reservoir project; well acted but somewhat aloof. Written by actor-director Williams; Burton's first film. Aka WOMAN OF DOLWYN. | tt0041579 | Edith Evans, Emlyn Williams, Richard Burton, Anthony James, Hugh Griffith | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Days of Frankie the Fly | 1997 | Peter Markle | 💣 | 95 | Hopper is a lowly runner for a neighborhood thug (Madsen, surprise!) who's looking to get out from under the creep's thumb— as a screenwriter. Unsympathetic characters in a harsh and violent world, spouting quirky dialogue amidst the L.A. porn scene; the price we pay for PULP FICTION keeps getting higher. Debuted on U.S. cable TV. | tt0116828 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Daryl Hannah, Kiefer Sutherland, Michael Madsen, Dayton Callie | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Days of Man on Earth | The Final Programme | 1973 | Robert Fuest. | ★½ | 78 | Muddled sci-fi comedy set in Lapland, London and Turkey as world nears its end. A few scattered laughs. Longer, original British version (called THE FINAL PROGRAMME, running 89m.) has more substance. Based on one of Michael Moorcock's 'Jerry Cornelius' stories; film has gained cult reputation. | tt0070289 | [R] | Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre, Sterling Hayden, Patrick Magee, Hugh Griffith, Harry Andrews. | British | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1913 | Mario Caserini. | ★★½ | 88 | Melodramatic account of the lives, loves, and fates of various characters in A.D. 79 Pompeii, before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Back in 1913, this was an impressive, state-of-the-art disaster film; today, it's primarily a curio. Based on Edward George Bulwer-Lytton's oft-filmed novel. | tt0003489 | Fernanda Negri Pouget, Eugenia Tettoni Fior, Ubaldo Stefani, Antonio Grisanti, Cesare Gani-Carini, Vitale Di Stefano. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1935 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★★ | 96 | Former blacksmith Foster aspires to wealth and power as gladiator; climactic spectacle scenes are thrilling and expertly done, by the same special effects team responsible for KING KONG. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026605 | Preston Foster, Basil Rathbone, Dorothy Wilson, David Holt, Alan Hale/Sr., John Wood, Louis Calhern | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Days of Pompeii | 1960 | Mario Bonnard | ★★½ | 105 | New version of venerable tale focuses on muscleman Reeves and synthetic account of Christian martyrs. Very little spectacle. | tt0054422 | Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, Barbara Carroll, Anne Marie Baumann, Mimmo Palmara | Italian | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last Days | 1999 | James Moll | ★★★½ | 90 | Exceptional documentary about five survivors of the Holocaust who suffered through Hitler's 'final solution' in the last year of the war in Hungary. Brilliantly compiled from archive footage, vivid interviews and contemporary visits to Germany and Hungary, with five well-chosen subjects whose stories gradually meld into a mosaic. Produced by Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. Oscar winner as Best Documentary. | tt0174852 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Last Detail | 1973 | Hal Ashby | ★★★½ | 105 | Superior comedy-drama about two career sailors ordered to transport a kleptomaniac prisoner to the brig. Robert Towne's brilliant off-color dialogue contributes to a quintessential Nicholson performance. Based on a Darryl Ponicsan novel. Look quickly for Gilda Radner. | tt0070290 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, Carol Kane, Michael Moriarty, Nancy Allen | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Dragon | 1985 | Michael Schultz | ★★ | 109 | Juvenile film about would-be martial arts master who gets involved with glamorous video deejay (Vanity) and some overwrought gangsters. Campy and heavy-handed; strictly kid stuff, except for one gag: the name of the Chinatown warehouse. Released theatrically as BERRY GORDY'S THE LAST DRAGON. Look fast for Chazz Palminteri as a thug. | tt0089461 | [PG-13] | Taimak, Vanity, Chris Murney, Julius J. Carry 3rd, Faith Prince, Ernie Reyes/Jr., Keshia Knight (Pulliam), William H. Macy | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Last Embrace | 1979 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 102 | CIA agent Scheider sees wife ambushed, spends rest of the picture believing he's next. One of the better Hitchcock-influenced suspense thrillers offers good performances and a punchy climax at Niagara Falls. Fine Miklos Rozsa score; watch for Mandy Patinkin. | tt0079437 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Janet Margolin, John Glover, Sam Levene, Christopher Walken, Charles Napier | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Last Emperor | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★½ | 160 | Remarkable film inspired by true story of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, who is crowned at age three and lives a cloistered life in the Forbidden City until he is deposed (as a young man) during the revolution and forced to fend for himself in the outside world for the first time. A magnificent journey to another time and place, hampered by unanswered questions in the narrative and a main character who remains somewhat cold. Nothing can top the spectacle of life in the Forbidden City (where scenes were actually filmed)— or the twists of fate that fill Pu Yi's life. Photographed by Vittorio Storaro; music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, and Cong Su. Winner of nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay (Mark Peploe, Bertolucci), Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, Costume Design, and Original Score. Hong Kong-produced version, based on Pu Yi's autobiography, predates this. Director's cut runs 218m. | tt0093389 | [PG-13] | John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Maggie Han, Ric Young | Italian-British-Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Escape | 1970 | Walter Grauman | ★½ | 90 | O.S.S. Captain Whitman is ordered to sneak rocket expert out of Germany near the end of WW2 with predictable results. | tt0065966 | [G] | Stuart Whitman, John Collin, Pinkas Braun, Martin Jarvis, Gunther Neutze, Margit Saad | War | NULL | ||
| Last Exit to Brooklyn | 1989 | Uli Edel | ★★½ | 102 | Gritty, brutal but stylish adaptation of Hubert Selby, Jr.'s notorious slice-of-life novel set on the mean streets of 1952 Brooklyn, where violence— verbal, physical, sexual, and otherwise— rules. Crammed with local color, but all the characters are thoroughly repellent and the film is difficult to like and to take. Selby himself appears as a cab driver. | tt0097714 | [R] | Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young, Peter Dobson, Jerry Orbach, Stephen Baldwin, Ricki Lake, John Costelloe, Alexis Arquette | West German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Exorcism | 2010 | Daniel Stamm | ★★ | 87 | Phony evangelist/spiritualist (Fabian) is on the verge of revealing himself to documentary filmmakers when he decides to conduct one last exorcism, of an angelic teenaged farm girl (Bell). Things don’t go as he planned. Faux documentary is very well acted, especially by Fabian and Bell, and remains interesting and occasionally absorbing, until it goes off the tracks near the end. Not particularly violent. | tt1320244 | [PG-13] | Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley, John Wright/Jr. | U.S.-French | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Last Fight | 1983 | Fred Williamson | ★½ | 86 | Poor melodrama with salsa music star Blades a singer-turned-boxer vying for the world championship. Doesn't even come up to level of old boxing B movies. | tt0084236 | [R] | Willie Colon, Rubén Blades, Fred Williamson, Joe Spinell, Darlanne Fluegel, Nereida Mercado, Jose 'Chegui' Torres, Don King | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Flight of Noah's Ark | 1980 | Charles Jarrott | ★★½ | 97 | Typical Disney sentimentality, somewhat effective. Pilot Gould, missionary Bujold, stowaway children, and a planeload of animals are forced down in the Pacific, where they unite with two Japanese soldiers, who didn't know WW2 was over, to convert the plane into an ark. Filmed largely on Waikiki Beach. Story by Ernest K. (THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY) Gann. | tt0081031 | [G] | Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold, Ricky Schroder, Tammy Lauren, John Fujioka, Yuki Shimoda, Vincent Gardenia | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Last Flight | 1931 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 80 | Piquant film about an ex-WW1 flying ace (Barthelmess) and his flippant friends in 1920s Paris. Written by John Monk Saunders (of WINGS fame), and based on his novel, this focuses on the same 'lost generation' that Hemingway wrote about in The Sun Also Rises. Not a perfect film, but an interesting and unusual one. German director Dieterle's English-language debut. | tt0022054 | Richard Barthelmess, John Mack Brown, Helen Chandler, Walter Byron, Elliott Nugent, David Manners | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Frontier | 1956 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 98 | Three wilderness scouts see their lives change with the coming of cavalry outpost and military martinet (Preston). Offbeat characterizations in this cavalry drama. Aka SAVAGE WILDERNESS. | tt0049431 | Victor Mature, Guy Madison, Robert Preston, James Whitmore, Anne Bancroft | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Gangster | 1937 | Edward Ludwig | ★★★ | 81 |
Robinson's dynamic performance, and slick MGM production, elevate this tale of an underworld chief who's sent away for ten years, obsessed by the thought of the son he's never met. Entertaining story by William Wellman and Robert Carson was originally to have been called Another Public Enemy.|
tt0029118
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Edward G. Robinson, James Stewart, Rosa Stradner, Lionel Stander, Douglas Scott, John Carradine, Sidney Blackmer, Louise Beavers, Edward Brophy, Grant Mitchell
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Crime, Drama, Thriller
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NULL
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| The Last Gentleman | 1934 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 80 | Delightful comedy with Arliss as dying millionaire whose family descends on him in hopes of carting away a piece of his fortune. Ingenious denouement gives Arliss last laugh. | tt0025368 | George Arliss, Edna May Oliver, Charlotte Henry, Janet Beecher, Ralph Morgan, Edward Ellis, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Last Good Time | 1994 | Bob Balaban | ★★★ | 91 | Well-observed little chamber drama about an elderly widower who takes in a young woman hiding from her lowlife boyfriend. Well acted all around, and nicely detailed, with a fine score by Jonathan Tunick. | tt0110306 | [R] | Armin Mueller-Stahl, Maureen Stapleton, Lionel Stander, Olivia d'Abo, Adrian Pasdar, Zohra Lampert, Kevin Corrigan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Grenade | 1970 | Gordon Flemyng | ★★½ | 94 | Solid cast in grim, unevenly plotted tale of duel to death between two British mercenaries. Good location shooting can't hide lack of character development, motivation. | tt0065967 | [M] | Stanley Baker, Alex Cord, Honor Blackman, Richard Attenborough, Rafer Johnson, Andrew Keir | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Last Hard Men | 1976 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★½ | 103 | Outlaw Coburn leads a gang of men on a jailbreak, then sets into motion plan of vengeance on sheriff Heston: kidnapping daughter Hershey and threatening to gang-rape her. Repellently violent and tasteless Western, loosely based on a Brian Garfield novel, saved only by Parks' interesting performance as reform-minded sheriff. | tt0074776 | [R] | Charlton Heston, James Coburn, Barbara Hershey, Michael Parks, Jorge Rivero, Larry Wilcox, Thalmus Rasulala, Morgan Paull, Robert Donner, Christopher Mitchum | Western | NULL | ||
| Last Holiday | 1950 | Henry Cass | ★★★ | 89 | Ordinary man is told he is dying and decides to live it up at a swank resort. A droll, biting script by J. B. Priestley (who also coproduced), with sterling performances by all. | tt0042665 | Alec Guinness, Beatrice Campbell, Kay Walsh, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Sidney James, Ernest Thesiger | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Last Holiday | 2006 | Wayne Wang | ★★½ | 112 | Affable reworking of the 1950 Alec Guinness film (written by J. B. Priestley), with Latifah in good form as a shy department store salesclerk who decides to go for broke when she learns she is terminally ill. Squanders its good vibes by going on too long toward an obvious conclusion, but Latifah's warmhearted performance carries it most of the way. | tt0408985 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Giancarlo Esposito, Alicia Witt, Gérard Depardieu, Jane Adams, Mike Estime, Susan Kellermann, Ranjit Chowdhry, Michael Nouri, Emeril Lagasse, Smokey Robinson | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Hour | 1991 | William Sachs | ★★½ | 85 | A gangster kidnaps the ex-wife of cop Paré and current wife of high-living Pucci, who previously double-crossed the gangster, and holds her hostage in an old L.A. building. Pretty good low-rent imitation DIE HARD with atmospheric photography and occasionally amusing dialogue. | tt0102271 | [R] | Michael Paré, Shannon Tweed, Bobby Di Cicco, Robert Pucci, Robert Miano, George Kyle, Danny Trejo, Raye Hollitt | Action | NULL | ||
| The Last House on the Left | 1972 | Wes Craven | ★½ | 84 | Group of thugs rapes and kills two girls, then meets bloody vigilante justice from one girl’s parents. Cheap, and looks it. Repellent but admittedly powerful and (for better or worse) influential horror shocker. Surprisingly, based on Bergman’s VIRGIN SPRING. First film by director Wes Craven. Also available in unrated version. Remade in 2009. | tt0068833 | [R] | David Hess, Lucy Grantham, Sandra Cassel, Marc Sheffler, Jeramie Rain, Fred Lincoln. | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Last House on the Left | 2009 | Dennis Iliadis | ★½ | 110 | Attractive teenage girl leaves her parents’ vacation home with a friend, but they’re captured by brutal prison escapees with rape and murder on their minds. Later, the killers take refuge from a storm—with the girl’s parents. Remake of the 1972 horror film is better made but lacks its crude, direct power; this wastes such good actors as Dillahunt and Goldwyn. Not as violent as the original, but still more gruesome than some recent slasher movies. | tt0844708 | [R] | Garret Dillahunt, Michael Bowen, Joshua Cox, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, Sara Paxton, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Spencer Treat Clark, Martha MacIsaac | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Last Hunt | 1956 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 108 | In the Old West, Granger and Taylor form an uneasy partnership to hunt the last remaining herds of buffalo; Granger is sick of killing, Taylor likes it all too well. Complex characters and good dialogue help, but overlength and slow pace damage this serious Western drama. | tt0049432 | Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Lloyd Nolan, Debra Paget, Russ Tamblyn, Constance Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Hurrah | 1958 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 121 | Sentimental version of Edwin O'Connor novel of politics, loosely based on life of Boston's mayor James Curley who in this story is mounting his final election campaign. Top-notch veteran cast makes film sparkle. Remade for TV in 1977 by (and with) Carroll O'Connor. | tt0051845 | Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Basil Rathbone, Pat O'Brien, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Ed Brophy, John Carradine, Ricardo Cortez, Frank McHugh, Jane Darwell, Anna Lee, Charles FitzSimmons, Ken Curtis, O. Z. Whitehead, Jack Pennick, Dan Borzage | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last King of Scotland | 2006 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★★ | 121 | Aimless young Scottish doctor (McAvoy) travels to Uganda and, through odd circumstances, finds himself personal physician to General Idi Amin (Whitaker). He lives the high life until the dictator's brutal nature is revealed. Provocative story goes exactly where you expect it to but is powered by Whitaker's mesmerizing, Oscar-winning performance, which captures all of Amin's charm and danger. Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock adapted Giles Foden's novel. Fiction feature debut for documentary filmmaker Macdonald. | tt0455590 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson, Simon McBurney, David Oyelowo, Stephen Rwangyezi. | British-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Last Kiss | 2001 | Gabriele Muccino | ★★★ | 114 | A man about to turn 30— and become a father with his lover— begins to regret that he no longer feels great passion. Meanwhile, his friends plan a way to escape their lives and flee, and his lover's mother (Sandrelli), wracked by fear of growing old, attempts to leave her husband. A very passionate, very Italian drama. | tt0265930 | [R] | Stefano Accorsi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudio Santamaria, Marco Cocci, Giorgio Pasotti, Martina Stella, Pierfrancesco Favino | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Last Kiss | 2006 | Tony Goldwyn | ★★★ | 104 | Braff has a good job and comfortable life, and is contemplating marriage to his pregnant girlfriend . . . but he and his pals are suffering a collective panic attack as they near the age of 30, still wary of accepting adult responsibility. Meanwhile, Braff's future in-laws (Danner and Wilkinson) are going through a crisis of their own. The characters are refreshingly human in this satisfying drama set in Madison, Wisconsin. Paul Haggis scripted this remake of the 2001 Italian film. | tt0434139 | [R] | Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson, Michael Weston, Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, Eric Christian Olsen, Marley Shelton, Lauren Lee Smith, Harold Ramis | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Last Laugh | 1924 | F. W. Murnau | ★★★½ | 87 | Silent-film classic told entirely by camera, without title cards. Jannings plays proud doorman at posh hotel who is suddenly demoted; film details his utter and grievous humiliation. Brilliantly filmed by pioneer cameraman Karl Freund, with towering performance by Jannings. Remade in Germany in 1955. | tt0015064 | Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Hans Unterkirchen | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Legion | 2007 | Doug Lefler | ★★½ | 102 | After barbarian hordes invade the crumbing Roman Empire in A.D. 476, a loyal military officer (Firth) and his brave men escort the newly crowned 12-year-old emperor (Sangster) to relative safety in far-off Britannia. There are faint echoes of Robert Louis Stevenson in this fitfully rousing, amusingly retro action-adventure. Kingsley is well cast as a cryptic sage (and occasional wizard) who serves as mentor to Sangster’s resilient young hero. | tt0462396 | [PG-13] | Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai, Peter Mullan, John Hannah, Thomas Sangster, Kevin McKidd, Iain Glen, Rupert Friend | British-French-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Last Man Standing | 1996 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 101 | Willis chances to pass through a dreary Texas town where two Chicago gangs are at each other's throats— and tries to work both sides of the street to his own advantage. Remake of YOJIMBO (which itself became FISTFUL OF DOLLARS), set in the 1930s, is rife with gunplay, but overcome by sheer boredom. | tt0116830 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern, Alexandra Powers, David Patrick Kelly, William Sanderson, Karina Lombard, Ned Eisenberg, Michael Imperioli, R. D. Call, Leslie Mann | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Last Man on Earth | 1964 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 86 | Often crude chiller with Price the sole survivor of plague, besieged by victims who arise at night thirsting for his blood; erratic production. Based on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend; remade as THE OMEGA MAN. | tt0058700 | Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Tony Cerevi | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Last Man to Hang | 1956 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 75 | Forthright courtroom film of man on trial for alleged murder of wife. | tt0049433 | Tom Conway, Elizabeth Sellars, Eunice Gayson, Freda Jackson, Raymond Huntley, Anthony Newley | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Last Married Couple in America | 1980 | Gilbert Cates | ★½ | 103 | Likable cast in stupid sex comedy about happily married couple so upset by breakup of married friends that they begin to question their own relationship. Smutty and ridiculous. | tt0081032 | [R] | George Segal, Natalie Wood, Richard Benjamin, Valerie Harper, Bob Dishy, Dom DeLuise | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Last Metro | 1980 | François Truffaut | ★★½ | 133 | A beautiful actress struggles to keep her 'exiled' husband's theater alive during the German occupation of Paris. A film with charm and style but no point— a problem underscored by its abrupt and quizzical finale. Watching the elegant Deneuve provides most of this film's appeal. | tt0080610 | [PG] | Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret, Heinz Bennent, Andrea Ferreol, Paulette Dubost | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Mile | 1932 | Sam Bischoff | ★★★ | 70 | Stark, atmospheric drama about life on death row, with Killer Mears (Foster) leading a takeover of the cell block. Based on John Wexley's play. Remade in 1959. | tt0023117 | Howard Phillips, Preston Foster, George E. Stone, Noel Madison, Alan Roscoe, Paul Fix | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Mile | 1959 | Howard W. Koch | ★★½ | 81 | The 'big house' oldie dusted off as a dramatic vehicle for Rooney. | tt0052992 | Mickey Rooney, Clifford David, Harry Millard, Don 'Red' Barry, Ford Rainey, Leon Janney | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Last Millionaire | 1934 | René Clair | ★★★ | 90 | Light, mildly funny satire about the world's wealthiest man (Dearly), who is asked to govern a bankrupt, mythical kingdom; he is knocked on the head, and his idiotic rulings are interpreted as acts of genius. Not bad, but not up to Clair's best films of the period. | tt0025043 | Max Dearly, Renée Saint-Cyr, Jose Noguero, Raymond Cordy, Paul Olivier | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Last Mimzy | 2007 | Bob Shaye | ★½ | 90 | Two Seattle kids find a box sent back from the future; the devices inside increase their intelligence and give them abilities to help them change the future for the better. Treacly misfire tosses science-fiction and fantasy elements into the same hopper; wants to be the new E.T. but falls far short. Loosely based on the short story 'Mimsy Were the Borogoves' by Lewis Padgett. The director's day job is running New Line Cinema. | tt0768212 | [PG] | Chris O'Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Joely Richardson, Timothy Hutton, Rainn Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Clarke Duncan | Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman | 2005 | Barry Avrich | ★★½ | 110 | Compelling documentary chronicles the life and career of MCA-Universal kingpin Wasserman from his early days to his huge success as an agent to his years as head of one of Hollywood's most important studios. Told in straightforward fashion, this unauthorized look does not shy away from controversial areas of his life, including his reputed association with mob figures. Still, while well made and researched, the film doesn't appear to cover the whole picture; key people, including family members and longtime associates Sid Sheinberg and Steven Spielberg, are conspicuous by their absence. | tt0388201 | [PG-13] | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| The Last Movie | Chinchero | 1971 | Dennis Hopper | ★½ | 108 | Hopper's fatally pretentious follow-up to EASY RIDER is interesting only as curio; incomprehensible story of small Peruvian village after a movie company pulls out has lovely photography, good acting by Adams. Otherwise, you've been warned. Among the supporting cast: Dean Stockwell, Russ Tamblyn, Michelle Phillips. Kristofferson's film debut (he also wrote the music). Also known as CHINCHERO. | tt0067327 | [PG] | Dennis Hopper, Julie Adams, Peter Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Sylvia Miles, John Phillip Law, Rod Cameron, Sam Fuller | Drama | NULL | |
| Last Night | 1998 | Don McKellar | ★★ | 93 | Rumination on the last night of civilization, and how various people deal with their impending demise. Not exactly profound, though Oh's heartrending performance almost makes this worth watching. Written by leading actor McKellar, making his directorial debut. | tt0156729 | [R] | Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley, Callum Keith Rennie, David Cronenberg, Robin Gammel, Geneviève Bujold, Jackie Burroughs | Canadian-French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Last Night | 2010 | Massy Tadjedin | ★★ | 93 | One fateful evening after a party, a young N.Y.C. couple suffers a divisive turning point during a fight about fidelity. The next night, on a Philly business trip, Worthington is tempted by a new colleague (Mendes), while at home Knightley unexpectedly meets up with an old amour (Canet). Realizing that once accused, guilty or not, you could just go for it, this morose quartet must puzzle out by morning who will or who won't. Talky characters, self-absorbed to a fault, inhabit an OK date movie that might be a glum sit for anyone who's been there. | tt1294688 | [R] | Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes, Griffin Dunne, Guillaume Canet, Scott Adsit, Daniel Eric Gold, Stephanie Romanov, Anson Mount | U.S.-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Last Night at the Alamo | 1983 | Eagle Pennell | ★★★ | 80 | The last night at the Alamo, no famous battle site but a small, obscure Houston bar. A fascinating portrayal of the modern-era 'cowboy' as henpecked, alcoholic, ultimately pathetic. Independently produced, with a hilariously profane script by Kim Henkel, author of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. | tt0085821 | Sonny Davis, Lou Perry, Steve Matilla, Tina Hubbard, Doris Hargrave | Drama | NULL | |||
| Last Orders | 2001 | Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 109 | Four longtime friends agree to take a pal's remains to be scattered into the sea and recall their sometimes-rocky relationships. Inevitably entertaining, with such a strong cast, but not completely satisfying. Director Schepisi adapted prize-winning novel by Graham Swift. That's Hemmings' look-alike son Nolan playing him as a young man. | tt0253200 | [R] | Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone, JJ Field, Cameron Fitch, Anatol Yusef, Kelly Reilly, Stephen McCole, George Innes, Laura Morelli, Sally Hurst, Denise Black, Sue James, Meg Wynn Owen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Outlaw | 1936 | Christy Cabanne | ★★★ | 72 | Delightful blend of comedy and Western ingredients with Carey as a once notorious bandit released from prison after 25 years, only to find the Old West gone. Carey is wonderful (along with entire cast). There's even a hilarious dig at singing cowboys! John Ford coauthored the story. | tt0027868 | Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Henry B. Walthall, Tom Tyler, Margaret Callahan | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Outpost | 1951 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★½ | 88 | Burst of action saves wornout yarn of two brothers on opposite sides of Civil War, teaming up to fight off Indian attack. This was Reagan's first starring Western. Video title: CAVALRY CHARGE. | tt0043725 | Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams, Peter Hanson, Noah Beery/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Party | 1993 | Mark Benjamin, Marc Levin | ★★★ | 96 | Robert Downey, Jr., takes his video camera on an odyssey of America, focusing on 1992 Democratic and Republican national conventions, to get a sense of the country and its political attitudes. Along the way he interviews such colleagues as Sean Penn and Mary Stuart Masterson, and such varied notables as Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, G. Gordon Liddy, Jerry Falwell, and even his father, filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr. Not quite a documentary, but an entertaining journey (in the ROGER & ME vein); ultimately, we learn more about Downey, Jr., than we do about the state of the union. | tt0107372 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Last Picture Show | 1971 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★★ | 118 | Brilliant study of life in small Texas town during 1950s, and how characters' lives intertwine, from Larry McMurtry's novel (he and Bogdanovich wrote the script). Oscars went to Johnson and Leachman for sensitive performances, but entire cast works at same level. Beautifully photographed in b&w by Robert Surtees. Shepherd's film debut. Sequel: TEXASVILLE. 'Special Edition' reedited by Bogdanovich in 1990 includes 7m. of material originally cut from the film. | tt0067328 | [R] | Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Cybill Shepherd, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Sam Bottoms, Randy Quaid, John Hillerman, Noble Willingham | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Posse | 1953 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 73 | Sheriff's men track down robbers, not without surprising results. | tt0045986 | Broderick Crawford, John Derek, Charles Bickford, Wanda Hendrix, Warner Anderson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Rebel | 1971 | Denys McCoy | 💣 | 89 | Namath plays Confederate soldier who raises havoc in small Missouri town after the Civil War. Film has obvious camp value, but it's not enough; Joe makes Ty Hardin look like John Gielgud. | tt0065968 | [PG] | Joe Namath, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Ty Hardin, Victoria George | Western | NULL | ||
| The Last Remake of Beau Geste | 1977 | Marty Feldman | ★★½ | 83 | After uproarious first half, Feldman's Foreign Legion spoof falters and gropes its way to weak conclusion. Enough belly-laughs to make it worthwhile, and sidesplitting performance by butler Milligan. Feldman also cowrote this, his directorial debut. | tt0076297 | [PG] | Marty Feldman, Ann-Margret, Michael York, Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones, Trevor Howard, Henry Gibson, Terry-Thomas, Spike Milligan, Roy Kinnear | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Last Resort | 1986 | Zane Buzby | ★★½ | 80 | Newly unemployed Grodin decides, on impulse, to take his family to a Club Med-type vacation resort, with predictably comic results. Likable but iffy comedy does have some genuine laughs. First-time director Buzby also appears as resort's baby sitter. | tt0091387 | [R] | Charles Grodin, Robin Pearson Rose, John Ashton, Ellen Blake, Megan Mullally, Christopher Ames, Jon Lovitz, Gerrit Graham, Mario Van Peebles, Phil Hartman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Last Resort | 2000 | Pawel Pawlikowski | ★★★ | 73 | Abandoned by her British fiancé, a Russian woman and her young son are detained in England at a holding area for refugees and befriended by an arcade manager. Spare, affecting story has few surprises, but is compellingly told in quasi-naturalistic style and very well acted. | tt0258761 | Dina Korzun, Artiom Strelnikov, Paddy Considine, Lindsey Honey | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Reunion | 1980 | Jay Wertz | ★½ | 98 | Violent drama of WW2 platoon's reunion in the Philippines, where in 1945 they slaughtered a Japanese general and his wife. Now, 33 years later, the sole witness is out for revenge. Not very good. | tt0139418 | Cameron Mitchell, Leo Fong, Chanda Romero, Vic Silayan, Hal Bokar, Philip Baker Hall | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Last Rites | 1988 | Donald P. Bellisario | ★★ | 103 | Routine drama of a priest who uses the auspices of the church to protect a girl on a Mafia hit list. Of course, he falls in love with her. Of course, he also happens to be the son of a Mafia chieftain himself. And of course, the studio sent this one straight to video. | tt0095496 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Daphne Zuniga, Chick Vennera, Anne Twomey, Dane Clark, Paul Dooley, Vassili Lambrinos | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Last Roman | 1968 | Robert Siodmak | ★★ | 92 | Big cast in spears and togas look baffled at what has become of Felix Dann's German bestseller Kamf um Rom about the decline of the Roman Empire. Edited down from a two-part spectacular. | tt0063174 | Laurence Harvey, Orson Welles, Sylva Koscina, Honor Blackman, Michael Dunn, Harriet Andersson, Lang Jeffries, Robert Hoffman | German-Romanian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last Round-Up | 1947 | John English. | ★★★ | 77 | Government agent Autry tries to relocate an Indian tribe so an aqueduct can be built to irrigate their land, but crooked Morgan wants that land and attempts to incite an Indian uprising to get it. A bit long, with more drama than music, but still good and one of Gene's favorites; it was the first film produced under his banner for Columbia Pictures. Naturally, he sings the title song. | tt0039553 | Gene Autry, Jean Heather, Ralph Morgan, Carol Thurston, Mark Daniels, Bobby (Robert) Blake, Russ Vincent, The Texas Rangers, Jay Silverheels, Iron Eyes Cody. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Run | 1971 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 99 | Mediocre tale of aging gangland driver who has to make one more run for his ego. Great photography by Sven Nykvist. Started by John Huston, who left early on. | tt0067329 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere, Colleen Dewhurst | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Last Safari | 1967 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 110 | Uninteresting action tale with depressed professional hunter (Stewart) coming to terms with himself and rich young couple who hire him. Good cast can't handle script. | tt0061894 | Kaz Garas, Stewart Granger, Gabriella Licudi, Johnny Sekka, Liam Redmond | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last Samurai | 2003 | Edward Zwick | ★★★ | 154 | Burnt-out U.S. cavalry officer is hired to go to Japan in 1876 and train the emperor's soldiers to fight the last samurai warriors, who oppose their emperor's decision to abandon their traditional way of life. When the American is taken prisoner, he and captor Watanabe develop a mutual respect as fellow warriors, and Cruise comes to appreciate traditional Japanese customs, especially their code of honor. Epic-scale film flirts with greatness but falls short because it succumbs to Hollywood clichés a few times too many. (There's even a scene uncomfortably reminiscent of a famous Cruise moment in RISKY BUSINESS!) Still, there is much to admire, including strong performances and a vivid sense of time and place. Zwick coscripted; Cruise coproduced. | tt0325710 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Hiroyuki Sanada, Masato Harada, Koyuki, Scott Wilson, William Atherton | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Last Seduction | 1994 | John Dahl | ★★★ | 110 | Pathologically evil— and stunningly sexual— woman ditches her husband, grabs the cash he's made in a drug deal, and flees N.Y.C., encamping in a small upstate town where she attracts and mystifies a local man— her latest patsy. Fiorentino's fiery femme fatale makes Stanwyck in DOUBLE INDEMNITY look like Snow White! Sizzling, sexy thriller from modern film noir expert Dahl and writer Steve Barancik. Unrelenting meanness wears it down a bit toward the end. Made U.S. debut on cable. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0110308 | [R] | Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, J. T. Walsh, Bill Nunn, Bill Pullman, Michael Raysses, Zach Phifer | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last September | 1999 | Deborah Warner | ★★ | 103 | A less-than-compelling look at the last days of the Anglo-Irish, the British ruling class who live in cloistered elegance in Ireland as a storm brews all around them. The year is 1920, and a wealthy couple's young ward (Hawes) enters into a forbidden relationship with a young Irishman who's wanted for murder. Based on Elizabeth Bowen's novel. | tt0180793 | [R] | Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Jane Birkin, Fiona Shaw, Lambert Wilson, Keeley Hawes, David Tennant, Gary Lydon | British-Irish-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Last Shot | 2004 | Jeff Nathanson | ★★½ | 93 | Entertaining farce, inspired by a true story, about an FBI agent (Baldwin) who pretends to produce a movie in order to snare a mobster with ties to the Teamsters union. Baldwin begins to like his 'role' as producer, as he brings hope into the life of sincere, would-be filmmaker Broderick. Uneven, but has some hilarious moments. Directing debut for screenwriter Nathanson. Joan Cusack appears unbilled; other actors turn up in gag cameos. | tt0357054 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Toni Collette, Tony Shalhoub, Calista Flockhart, Tim Blake Nelson, Buck Henry, Ray Liotta, James Rebhorn, Jon Polito, Pat Morita | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Last Song | 2010 | Julie Anne Robinson | ★★½ | 107 | Rebellious girl spends the summer in a small Southern beach town with her estranged father; there she finds first love, reignites her passion for music, and learns what'simportant in life. Cyrus vehicle cowritten for the young star by sapmeister Nicholas Sparks is surprisingly devoid of the usual clichés for this sort of sudsy drama. Cyrus acquits herself nicely in her first "grown-up" role, and Kinnear is touching as a dad reconnecting with his kids just in the nick of time. | tt1294226 | [PG] | Miley Cyrus, Greg Kinnear, Bobby Coleman, Liam Hemsworth, Kelly Preston, Kate Vernon, Nick Searcy, Hallock Beals | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Last Stagecoach West | 1957 | Joseph Kane | ★½ | 67 | Fair cast cannot save bland Western about stage driver who loses government contracts and goes out of business. Filmed in Naturama. | tt0050624 | Jim Davis, Victor Jory, Mary Castle, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| Last Stand at Saber River | 1997 | Dick Lowry | Average TV Movie | 100 | Bitter Reb soldier Selleck returns to his Arizona homestead to battle Union sympathizers laying claim to the spread in this energetic Western based on Elmore Leonard's novel. Made for cable. | tt0119501 | Tom Selleck, Suzy Amis, Keith Carradine, David Carradine, Haley Joel Osment, David Dukes, Harry Carey/Jr., Rachel Duncan, Tracey Needham | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Starfighter | 1984 | Nick Castle | ★★½ | 100 | Sci-fi for kids, about a youngster whose video-game prowess makes him a prime recruit to help save real-life planet under attack. Likable but toothless adventure (with an arch-villain who simply disappears from the proceedings) benefits greatly from performances of old pros Preston and O'Herlihy, who's unrecognizable in lizardlike makeup. Preston's last film. | tt0087597 | [PG] | Lance Guest, Robert Preston, Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Barbara Bosson, Norman Snow, Cameron Dye, Wil Wheaton | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Last Station | 2009 | Michael Hoffman | ★★½ | 113 | Near the end of Leo Tolstoy's life, his loyal but mercurial wife tries to protect him from what she sees as exploitation by a sycophant (Giamatti) who believes that ownership of the great man's novels should be given to the Russian people. A soldier in the utopian Tolstoyan movement (McAvoy) is sent to monitor the situation. Hoffman adapted Jay Parini's intriguing historical novel, which is well served by two commanding performances (Plummer and Mirren), but the film loses its momentum and goes on far too long. McAvoy and Duff are real-life husband and wife. | tt0824758 | [R] | James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti, Anne-Marie Duff, Kerry Condon, Patrick Kennedy, John Sessions | German-Russian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Last Summer | 1969 | Frank Perry | ★★★½ | 97 | Powerful story based on Evan Hunter novel of teenagers playing on the beach in a summer resort. Film follows their games, sexual awakenings, and how evil manifests itself with calculated determination. Cathy Burns a standout. | tt0064573 | [R] | Richard Thomas, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison, Cathy Burns, Ralph Waite, Conrad Bain | Drama | NULL | ||
| Last Summer in the Hamptons | 1995 | Henry Jaglom | ★★ | 105 | An insecure young movie star (Foyt) arrives in the summer community of East Hampton, Long Island, and becomes involved with the assorted theater folk who comprise a circle of friends-lovers-colleagues. Another of Jaglom's occasionally insightful talk-fest/confessionals in which the characters reveal their jealousies, neuroses, and feelings. For inveterate Jaglom fans only. Scripted by Jaglom and Foyt (who are husband and wife). | tt0113612 | [R] | Victoria Foyt, Viveca Lindfors, Jon Robin Baitz, Savannah Boucher, Roscoe Lee Browne, Andre Gregory, Nick Gregory, Melissa Leo, Roddy McDowall, Martha Plimpton, Holland Taylor, Ron Rifkin, Brooke Smith, Diane Salinger, Kristoffer Tabori | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Sunset | 1961 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 112 | Strange on the Range, courtesy Aldrich and scripter Dalton Trumbo; philosophical outlaw Douglas and pursuing sheriff Hudson play cat-and-mouse with each other during lengthy cattle drive. Throws in everything from incest to Indians. | tt0055073 | Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Cotten, Carol Lynley, Neville Brand, Regis Toomey, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Supper | 1996 | Stacy Title | ★★ | 94 | Five grad student friends decide to rid the world of antisocial extremists who don't happen to conform to their worldview. Intriguing premise plays itself out too soon and stretches credibility in the name of satire; ultimately unpleasant and unsatisfying, though the cast is excellent and some of the cameos (Paxton, Durning, Harmon, Perlman) are first-rate. Costar Penner also coproduced the film. Filmed in 1994. | tt0360736 | [R] | Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Jonathan Penner, Courtney B. Vance, Nora Dunn, Ron Perlman, Bill Paxton, Charles Durning, Mark Harmon, Jason Alexander, Bryn Erin | Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Last Tango in Paris | 1973 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★½ | 129 | Expatriate American in Paris tries purging himself of bad memories after his wife's suicide, enters into a tragic 'no questions asked' sexual liaison with a chance acquaintance. The most controversial film of its era is still explicit by today's standards, though it's mellowed somewhat with age. A sterling showcase for Bertolucci's camera mastery; Brando's performance, then as now, is among the best of his career. | tt0070849 | [X] | Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Darling Legitimus, Catherine Sola, Mauro Marchetti, Dan Diament | French-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Last Temptation of Christ | 1988 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★ | 164 | Thought-provoking and deeply felt drama adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis' book which speculates about Jesus' self-doubts when he realizes he has been chosen by God to carry His message. Moments of great power and beauty are diminished somewhat by mundane dialogue and slow stretches; still worthwhile, with a genuine feeling for time and place that helps make the story vivid and real. Music by Peter Gabriel. | tt0095497 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie, Verna Bloom, Andre Gregory, Juliette Caton, Roberts Blossom, Irvin Kershner, Nehemiah Persoff, Barry Miller | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Ten Days | 1956 | G. W. Pabst | ★★★ | 113 | Finely etched study of downfall of leader of Third Reich. Retitled: LAST TEN DAYS OF ADOLPH HITLER. | tt0048295 | Albin Skoda, Oskar Werner, Lotte Tobisch, Willy Krause, HelgaKennedy-Dohrn | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Time I Committed Suicide | 1997 | Stephen Kay | ★½ | 93 | Mordantly stylized, cliché-laden story of beat icon Neal Cassady, ostensibly based on a letter he once wrote to Jack Kerouac. Totally unsympathetic, angst-filled characters are put to even greater disadvantage by a jittery camera and harsh lighting. | tt0119502 | [R] | Thomas Jane, Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, John Doe, Claire Forlani, Jim Haynie, Marg Helgenberger, Lucinda Jenney, Gretchen Mol | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Time I Saw Archie | 1961 | Jack Webb | ★★ | 98 | Webb's sole attempt at comedy is less funny than some of his more serious films; a pity, because William Bowers' script— based on his own Army experiences— had real potential, and Mitchum nicely underplays as the titular con man. (By the way, the real Archie Hall sued for invasion of privacy! | tt0055074 | Robert Mitchum, Jack Webb, Martha Hyer, France Nuyen, Louis Nye, Richard Arlen, Don Knotts, Joe Flynn, Robert Strauss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Last Time I Saw Paris | 1954 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 116 | Updated version of F. Scott Fitzgerald story, set in post-WW2 Paris, of ruined marriages and disillusioned people. MGM gloss helps. | tt0047162 | Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Donna Reed, Walter Pidgeon, Eva Gabor, George Dolenz, Roger Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Time | 2007 | Michael Caleo | ★★ | 96 | Country bumpkin Fraser is transferred to the home office of a business where sales exec Keaton prides himself on his take-no-prisoners tactics. He mentors the naïve newcomer and winds up in bed with his beautiful wife. There’s more going on than meets the eye . . . though the setup is awfully obvious. Minor-league stuff, but Keaton is good. | tt0469689 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, Amber Valletta, Daniel Stern, Neal McDonough, Michael G. Hagerty, Michael Lerner, William Ragsdale | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Last Trail | 1927 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★★ | 58 | Mix rides his horse Tony to the rescue once more in this silent saga set during the Nevada gold rush. An old friend, now the Carson City sheriff, entreats his help to halt a plague of stagecoach robberies. This was one of Mix's biggest hits; the fast and furious stagecoach race may remind you of BEN-HUR. Based on a Zane Grey novel; filmed before in 1921 and again in 1933. | tt0018081 | Tom Mix, Carmelita Geraghty, William B. Davidson, Jerry Madden, Frank Hagney, Lee Shumway. | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| Last Train From Gun Hill | 1959 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 94 | Superior Western of staunch sheriff determined to leave Gun Hill with murder suspect, despite necessity for shoot-out. | tt0052993 | Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Carolyn Jones, Earl Holliman, Brad Dexter, Brian Hutton, Ziva Rodann | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Train From Madrid | 1937 | James Hogan | ★★★ | 77 | Imitation GRAND HOTEL linking vignettes of various people escaping from wartorn Spain during 1930s. Modest but well-made film, with impressive cast. | tt0029119 | Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres, Gilbert Roland, Anthony Quinn, Lee Bowman, Karen Morley, Helen Mack, Evelyn Brent, Robert Cummings, Lionel Atwill, Olympe Bradna | Drama | NULL | |||
| Last Train Home | 2010 | Lixin Fan | ★★★½ | 87 | Once a year in China, 130 million people who have moved from farms to cities in order to earn money return home to be with their families for the New Year’s holiday. With often startling intimacy, we witness the schism within one such family: the parents have sacrificed everything by leaving their children behind to become day laborers, but their older daughter is openly resentful and leaves school to earn her own living. Eye-opening and heart-rending; a thoroughly remarkable documentary, photographed and coedited by director Fan. | tt1512201 | Unrated | Canadian-Chinese | Drama, Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Last Tycoon | 1976 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 125 | Low-keyed but effective Harold Pinter adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel benefits immeasurably from De Niro's great, uncharacteristic performance as 1930s movie producer (inspired by Irving Thalberg) who is slowly working himself to death. Along with Joan Micklin Silver's TV film BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR, the best Fitzgerald yet put on the screen. Lew Ayres appears unbilled; Kazan's final feature as director. | tt0074777 | [PG] | Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Nicholson, Donald Pleasence, Peter Strauss, Ingrid Boulting, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, Theresa Russell, John Carradine, Anjelica Huston | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last Unicorn | 1982 | Arthur Rankin/ Jr., Jules Bass | ★★½ | 92 | Set in the time of Robin Hood, this pleasing animated fable tells of the adventures of a beautiful white unicorn who enters a forest in search of others of its kind. The weakest element: those bland, forgettable Jimmy Webb songs. Scripted by Peter S. Beagle, and based on his novel. | tt0084237 | [G] | Voices of Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Tammy Grimes, Robert Klein, Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Keenan Wynn, Paul Frees, Rene Auberjonois | British | Family, Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Last Valley | 1970 | James Clavell | ★★ | 128 | Thinking man's adventure epic is an unfortunate misfire; 17th-century story brings warrior Caine and his soldiers to peaceful valley which has remained untouched by the Thirty Years War. | tt0065969 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Omar Sharif, Florinda Bolkan, Nigel Davenport, Per Oscarsson, Arthur O'Connell | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Last Voyage | 1960 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★★ | 91 | Engrossing drama of luxury ship that goes down at sea, and the ways the crew and passengers are affected. (To heighten the realism of the film, they really sank a ship.) Sanders is ill-fated captain, Stack and Malone a married couple in jeopardy. | tt0054016 | Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, George Sanders, Edmond O'Brien, Woody Strode | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last Wagon | 1956 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 99 | Widmark is condemned killer who saves remnants of wagon train after Indian attack, leading them to safety. Clichéd plot well handled. | tt0049434 | Richard Widmark, Felicia Farr, Susan Kohner, Tommy Rettig, Stephanie Griffin, Ray Stricklyn, Nick Adams, Timothy Carey | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last Waltz | 1978 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★★ | 117 | Truly wonderful documentary about The Band's Thanksgiving, 1976, farewell concert, filmed by state-of-the-art Hollywood talent. A pair of studio-shot numbers involving The Staples and Harris are as exciting to watch as listen to, but the whole film is beautifully done. | tt0077838 | [PG] | The Band, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, The Staples, Muddy Waters, Emmylou Harris, Paul Butterfield, Dr. John, Ronnie Hawkins, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Last Warning | 1929 | Paul Leni. | ★★½ | 89 | A theater is reopened five years after a murder was committed there during a performance; will the killer strike again? Leni's last film before his untimely death; it's the flamboyant camera moves and opulent production design that make this worth watching, not the silly story. Originally released in both silent and part-talkie versions. Remade as THE HOUSE OF FEAR in 1939. | tt0020080 | Laura La Plante, Montagu Love, Roy D'Arcy, Margaret Livingston, John Boles, Burr McIntosh, Mack Swain, Bert Roach, Slim Summerville. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Last Wave | 1977 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 106 | Fascinating chiller about Australian lawyer (Chamberlain) defending aborigine accused of murder. Modern symbolism and ancient tribal rituals make for unusual and absorbing film. | tt0076299 | [PG] | Richard Chamberlain, Olivia Hamnett, (David) Gulpilil, Frederick Parslow, Vivean Gray, Nanjiwarra Amagula | Australian | Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Last Woman on Earth | 1960 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 71 | Dull three-cornered romance involving last survivors on Earth after unexplained disaster. Screenplay by Robert Towne— his first. He also costars, using acting pseudonym Edward Wain. Shot in Puerto Rico. | tt0054017 | Antony Carbone, Edward Wain, Betsy JonesMoreland | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Last Woman | 1976 | Marco Ferreri | ★★ | 112 | Provocative subject matter is superficially handled in this pointlessly sensationalistic drama about macho, self-absorbed engineer Depardieu, insensitive to women and confused by a world of changing roles and relationships. His final act of self-mutilation is as ridiculous as it is shocking. | tt0075364 | [X] | Gérard Depardieu, Ornella Muti, Michel Piccoli, Zouzou, Renato Salvatori, David Biffani, Nathalie Baye | French | Action | NULL | |
| Last Year at Marienbad | 1961 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 93 | Murky, difficult but oddly fascinating tale in which Albertazzi confronts bewildered Seyrig, claiming they'd had an affair 'last year at Frederiksbad, or perhaps at Marienbad.' An art-house hit in its day, beautifully photographed (by Sacha Vierny); scripted by Alain-Robbe Grillet. | tt0054632 | Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoeff | French-Italian | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | 1929 | Sidney Franklin | ★★½ | 94 | Young woman who has charmed a group of British society types turns out to be involved with a ring of jewel thieves. Very much an early-talkie stage play, with some terribly arch performances, but still quite watchable. Based on the play by Frederick Lonsdale. Remade in 1937. | tt0020081 | Norma Shearer, Basil Rathbone, George Barraud, Herbert Bunston, Hedda Hopper, George K. Arthur | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | 1937 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★ | 98 | Glossy remake of Norma Shearer's 1929 success, from Frederick Lonsdale's play about a chic American jewel thief in England. Great fun for star watchers, though it was considered a dated dud in 1937. Remade in 1951 as THE LAW AND THE LADY. | tt0029120 | Joan Crawford, William Powell, Robert Montgomery, Frank Morgan, Jessie Ralph, Nigel Bruce | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last of Sheila | 1973 | Herbert Ross | ★★★½ | 120 | Super murder-puzzler about jet-set gamester who devises what turns into a deadly game of whodunit. Many red herrings make it all the more fun. Script by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, real-life puzzle fans. | tt0070291 | [PG] | James Coburn, James Mason, Dyan Cannon, Ian McShane, Joan Hackett, Raquel Welch, Richard Benjamin | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Last of the Badmen | 1957 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 79 | Western about Chicago detectives in 1880s chasing after killers of their fellow-worker. | tt0050625 | George Montgomery, Meg Randall, James Best, Michael Ansara, Keith Larsen | Western | NULL | |||
| Last of the Buccaneers | 1950 | Lew Landers | ★½ | 79 | Quickie costumer tainting the legendary name of Jean Lafitte with plodding account of his post-Battle of New Orleans exploits. | tt0042666 | Paul Henreid, Jack Oakie, Mary Anderson, John Dehner | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Last of the Comanches | 1952 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 85 | Capable rehash of cavalrymen fighting off Indian attack. Western remake of SAHARA. | tt0044828 | Broderick Crawford, Barbara Hale, Lloyd Bridges, Martin Milner, John War Eagle, William Andrews (Steve Forrest) | Western | NULL | |||
| Last of the Dogmen | 1995 | Tab Murphy | ★★ | 120 | Annoyingly clichéd, eminently forgettable adventure with crackerjack tracker Berenger setting out to bring back a trio of prison escapees who meet a horrible fate as he nears their campsite. Could it have been the work of the mysterious, legendary Cheyenne 'dog soldiers'? You may not want to stick around to find out. | tt0113617 | [PG] | Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, Kurtwood Smith, Steve Reevis, Andrew Miller, Gregory Scott Cummins, Molly Parker; narrated by Wilford Brimley | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Last of the Fast Guns | 1958 | George Sherman | ★★ | 82 | Adequately told Western of search for missing man, and obstacles the hired gunslinger must overcome. | tt0051846 | Jock Mahoney, Gilbert Roland, Linda Cristal, Eduard Franz | Western | NULL | |||
| The Last of the Finest | 1990 | John Mackenzie | ★★ | 106 | Honest, independent-minded L.A. cop Dennehy and his comrades discover sinister forces at work while attempting to bust drug traffickers. Dennehy's usual solid performance can't overcome occasionally outlandish scenario, with obvious parallels to the Iran-Contra affair. | tt0099991 | [R] | Brian Dennehy, Joe Pantoliano, Jeff Fahey, Bill Paxton, Deborra-Lee Furness, Guy Boyd, Henry Darrow, Lisa Jane Persky | Action | NULL | ||
| The Last of the High Kings | Summer Fling | 1996 | David Keating | ★★★ | 104 | Solid coming-of-age tale, set in Dublin, which tells the story of idealistic 17-year-old Frankie (Leto) and the individuals who affect his life— beginning with his eccentric, egocentric actor father (Byrne) and his comically pro-Protestant mom (O'Hara, who has never been better). Loaded with charm and thoughtfully scripted by Keating and Byrne. Aka SUMMER FLING. | tt0116833 | [R] | Gabriel Byrne, Catherine O'Hara, Jared Leto, Christina Ricci, Colm Meaney, Stephen Rea, Lorraine Pilkington, Emily Mortimer, Jason Barry, Ciaran Fitzgerald | Irish-Danish | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Last of the Mobile Hot-Shots | 1970 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 108 | Ambitious flop from Tennessee Williams' Seven Descents of Myrtle about volatile interracial triangle set in Deep South. ('Mobile' refers to the Alabama town.) | tt0064574 | [R] | James Coburn, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Hooks, Perry Hayes, Reggie King | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last of the Mohicans | 1920 | Maurice Tourneur, Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 75 | Colorful retelling of the James Fenimore Cooper classic, pitting the villainous Magua (Beery, who's well cast) against Hawkeye, Uncas, Chingachgook, and the story's other characters. First-rate silent drama. Look for Boris Karloff in a bit part as an Indian. Brown took over directing when Tourneur was injured during production. | tt0011387 | Wallace Beery, Barbara Bedford, Albert Roscoe, Lillian Hall, Henry Woodward, James Gordon, Harry Lorraine | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Last of the Mohicans | 1936 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 91 | Effective and exciting adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper novel about conflicts between British Army and Colonial settlers during the French and Indian War. Scott is a stout Hawkeye, Cabot an appropriately hissable Magua. Screenplay by Philip Dunne. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027869 | Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Heather Angel, Hugh Buckler, Henry Wilcoxon, Bruce Cabot, Phillip Reed, Robert Barrat | Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Last of the Mohicans | 1992 | Michael Mann | ★★★½ | 113 | Rousing, kinetic update of the James Fenimore Cooper classic, replete with 1990s sensibilities, potent depiction of violence, and a charismatic central performance by Day-Lewis as Hawkeye. Wavers between sweep of historical fiction and smaller canvas of its love story, but never fails to entertain. Oscar winner for Best Sound. Screenplay by Mann and Christopher Crowe from Philip Dunne's script for the 1936 film. Evocative score by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman. Expanded version runs 117m. | tt0104691 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig, Jodhi May, Steven Waddington, Wes Studi, Maurice Roëves, Patrice Chereau, Colm Meaney, Pete Postlethwaite | Western, War, Romance | NULL | ||
| Last of the Pagans | 1935 | Richard Thorpe. | ★★½ | 72 | MGM reteamed Mala and Long (who were discovered for the 1933 docudrama ESKIMO) as South Seas island lovers whose idyllic existence is shattered when he is forced to become a mine digger for slimy white slavers. Picturesque melodrama very loosely based on Herman Melville's Typee, with a shark fight, a cave-in, and a hurricane adding thrills to beautiful Tahiti locations. Photographed by Clyde De Vinna, who also shot WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS, TRADER HORN, and ESKIMO. | tt0026609 | Mala, Lotus Long, Telo A. Tematua, Ae A Faaturia, Rangapo A Taipoo. | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Last of the Pony Riders | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 59 | Gene's setting up a stage line during the waning days of the Pony Express; Jones is a young pony rider with a romantic interest in Case. Autry's last feature film is a good one with an interesting storyline. | tt0045987 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Dick Jones, Kathleen Case, John Downey, Gregg Barton, Arthur Space. | Western | NULL | |||
| Last of the Red Hot Lovers | 1972 | Gene Saks | 💣 | 98 | Appalling film version of typical Neil Simon play concerns Arkin's unsuccessful attempts to carry on sneaky love affair with three different women (not all at once). Actors scream at each other for more than an hour and a half in shoddy production for which the term 'photographed stage play' must have been invented. | tt0068835 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Paula Prentiss, Renee Taylor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Last of the Redmen | 1947 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 77 | OK adaptation of THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, with Hall cast as Hawkeye, O'Shea as Major Hayward and Crabbe as Magua. Story focuses on Hawkeye's attempt to escort a British general's children through dangerous Indian country. | tt0039554 | Jon Hall, Michael O'Shea, Evelyn Ankers, Julie Bishop, Buster Crabbe | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Last of the Secret Agents? | 1966 | Norman Abbott | ★½ | 90 | Tiring spoof on spy movies ends up unintentional self-mockery. Strictly for Allen and Rossi fans. Look for Harvey Korman as a German colonel. | tt0060619 | Marty Allen, Steve Rossi, John Williams, Nancy Sinatra, Lou Jacobi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Last of the Ski Bums | 1969 | Dick Barrymore | ★★★ | 86 | Made by same team that produced THE ENDLESS SUMMER, film details exploits of three men who win large sum of money, spend it on long ski holiday. Weak narrative conflicts with beauty of visuals. | tt0064575 | [G] | Ron Funk, Mike Zuetell, Ed Ricks | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Last of the Vikings | 1961 | Giacomo Gentilomo | ★★ | 102 | Filmed with gusto, elaborate epic deals with Mitchell out to punish the Norse for devastating his homelands; poorly acted. | tt0054423 | Cameron Mitchell, Edmund Purdom, Isabelle Corey, Helene Remy | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Late August, Early September | 1999 | Olivier Assayas | ★★★ | 112 | Bittersweet, subtly rendered slice of life about various friends, lovers, and acquaintances who are unable to set down roots— professionally, personally, or romantically. The specter of mortality hangs over the proceedings as one of them, a novelist (Cluzet) who has just turned 40, suffers from an unnamed illness. A heartfelt and potent portrait of self-involvement and emotional stagnation. | tt0167925 | Mathieu Amalric, Virginie Ledoyen, François Cluzet, Jeanne Balibar, Arsinée Khanjian, Alex Descas, Nathalie Richard | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Late Autumn | 1960 | Yasujiro Ozu | ★★★ | 127 | Widowed Hara seeks a husband for unmarried daughter Tsukasa. Solid Ozu drama reworking his LATE SPRING. | tt0053579 | Setsuko Hara, Yoko Tsukasa, Mariko Okada, Keiji Sada, Shin Saburi | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Late Chrysanthemums | 1954 | Mikio Naruse. | ★★★½ | 101 | Subtle character study about a quartet of retired, middle-aged geishas. Once celebrated for their beauty and elegance, each now must face the grind of daily life. A superbly made saga of aging, memory, solitude, and disappointment. Naruse (who deserves to be better known in the West) infuses the film with an authentic sense of everyday life. | tt0046750 | Haruko Sugimura, Sadako Sawamura, Chikako Hosokawa, Yûko Mochizuki, Ken Uehara, Hiroshi Koizumi. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Late George Apley | 1947 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 98 | John P. Marquand's gentle satire of Boston bluebloods is smoothly entertaining. Colman is perfectly cast as the stuffy patriarch who strives to uphold his family's social status. | tt0039556 | Ronald Colman, Peggy Cummins, Vanessa Brown, Richard Haydn, Charles Russell, Richard Ney, Percy Waram, Mildred Natwick, Edna Best | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Late Liz | 1971 | Dick Ross | 💣 | 119 | Campy drama about Baxter's rejection of alcohol due to religion is well intentioned, but hardly convincing as presented here; viewers may need a good stiff drink by the time it's over. | tt0067331 | [PG] | Anne Baxter, Steve Forrest, James Gregory, Coleen Gray, Joan Hotchkis, Jack Albertson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Late Marriage | 2001 | Dover Kosashvili | ★★½ | 102 | Handsome bachelor is caught in the cross fire of tradition and emotion. His Georgian Jewish heritage dictates that he must choose a young virgin to marry, but he is secretly in love with a divorcée who has a six-year-old daughter. Intriguing film contains graphic sexual scenes and nudity. | tt0287471 | Lior Ashkenazi, Ronit Elkabetz, Moni Moshonov, Lili Kosashvili, Aya Steinovits Laor, Rozina Cambos | Israeli-French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Late Show | 1977 | Robert Benton | ★★★½ | 94 | Carney is an aging private eye who tries to solve murder of his ex-partner (Duff), 'helped' by flaky, aimless young woman (Tomlin). Echoes of Chandler and Hammett resound in Benton's complex but likable script; chemistry between Carney and Tomlin is perfect. Later a short-lived TV series called Eye to Eye. | tt0076301 | [PG] | Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, Joanna Cassidy, John Considine, Howard Duff | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Late Spring | 1949 | Yasujiro Ozu. | ★★★★ | 108 | A widower pretends he is going to be remarried in order to get his devoted daughter to leave home and get married herself. One of Ozu's personal favorites, this serene, acutely observed examination of filial relationships and middle-class life is a transcendent and profoundly moving work rivaling TOKYO STORY as the director's masterpiece. Original title: BANSHUN. | tt0041154 | Setsuko Hara, Chishu Ryu, Haruko Sugimura, Jun Usamai, Yumeji Tsukioka. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Late for Dinner | 1991 | W. D. Richter | ★★½ | 99 | Two friends, on the lam and in need of help, are frozen by a doctor who's experimenting with cryonics; when they're awakened 29 years later, physically unchanged, they stumble to put their lives back together. Offbeat, to say the least, and movingly acted, but the transition from loopy comedy to deeply felt sentiment (in the film's denouement) doesn't quite come off. | tt0102279 | [PG] | Brian Wimmer, Peter Berg, Marcia Gay Harden, Peter Gallagher, Colleen Flynn, Kyle Secor, Michael Beach, Bo Brundin, Janeane Garofalo | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Lathe of Heaven | 1980 | Fred Barzyk, David Loxton | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | First-rate science fiction, adapted from Ursula K. Le Guin's celebrated novel set in the near future, about a young man whose dreams have the ability to change reality. When he goes to see a government-appointed psychiatrist, the doctor decides to exploit this great power. Imaginative and well acted. Adapted by Diane English and Roger E. Swaybill. | tt0081036 | Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, Margaret Avery, Vandi Clark | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Latin Lovers | 1953 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 104 | Hokey romance yarn set in South America, with Turner seeking true love; pointless script. | tt0045988 | Lana Turner, Ricardo Montalban, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Rita Moreno | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Latino | 1985 | Haskell Wexler | ★★★ | 105 | Gut-wrenching drama of Vietnam replayed, with Chicano Green Beret Beltran 'advising' the U.S.-backed Contras in their war against the Sandanistas in Nicaragua. Unabashedly left-wing; to some it will be propaganda, while to others it will be truth. Striking direction with a fine sense of irony; however, Beltran's relationship with Cardona just doesn't ring true. Filmed in Nicaragua; Wexler's first 'fiction' film since MEDIUM COOL in 1969. | tt0089463 | Robert Beltran, Annette Cardona, Tony Plana, Ricardo Lopez, Luis Torrentes, Juan Carlos Ortiz, Julio Medina, James Karen | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Latitude Zero | 1969 | Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 99 | Better than average imported cast helps usual wide-eyed sci-fi adventure of underwater civilization of benevolent geniuses fighting legions of Malic (Romero), out to control world. Some good sets, but action and suspense poorly handled. Based on the old (American) radio series. | tt0064470 | [G] | Joseph Cotten, Cesar Romero, Richard Jaeckel, Patricia Medina, Linda Haynes, Akira Takarada | Japanese | Family, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Latter Days | 2004 | C. Jay Cox | ★★½ | 97 | A young Mormon missionary gets involved with a sexually aggressive gay party boy, causing lots of friction within his archconservative family. Very low budget independent effort doesn't score a dramatic bull's-eye, but interesting premise and solid acting from its attractive, mostly unknown cast make it worthwhile viewing for discerning adult audiences. | tt0345551 | [R] | Steve Sandvoss, Wes Ramsey, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rebekah (Jordan) Johnson, Amber Benson, Khary Payton, Erik Palladino, Mary Kay Place, Dave Power, Jacqueline Bisset | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Laugh, Clown, Laugh | 1928 | Herbert Brenon. | ★★★ | 73 | In this touching silent drama, circus clown Chaney adopts an orphan who grows to be a beautiful young woman (15-year-old Young, in her first major role). When she learns he is in love with her, she must choose between her devotion to him and the wealthy nobleman who has asked her to marry him. Perfect example of Chaney's unmatched talent for turning tearjerking melodrama into heartbreaking tragedy. | tt0019074 | Lon Chaney, Bernard Siegel, Loretta Young, Cissy Fitzgerald, Nils Asther, Gwen Lee. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Laughing Policeman | 1974 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 111 | Reasonably engrossing San Francisco cop drama about search for mass slayer of bus passengers. Matthau and Dern are good as cops with contrasting styles. Based on the Martin Beck novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. | tt0070292 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Lou Gossett, Albert Paulsen, Anthony Zerbe, Anthony Costello, Cathy Lee Crosby, Joanna Cassidy | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Laughing Sinners | 1931 | Harry Beaumont | ★★ | 72 | Crawford attempts suicide after Hamilton dumps her; Salvation Army preacher Gable (!) stops her. The rest is predictable. | tt0022059 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Neil Hamilton, John Mack Brown, Marjorie Rambeau, Guy Kibbee, Roscoe Karns | Drama | NULL | |||
| Laughing at Life | 1933 | Ford Beebe. | ★★½ | 70 | No comedy this, with a rough-'n'-ready ex-civil engineer gunrunning, fighting in WW1, and spearheading a South American revolution, all while searching for his lost son. Preposterous tale spans the years and roams the globe as twists strain credibility, but it's never less than entertaining, thanks to McLaglen's generously oversized performance. | tt0024245 | Victor McLaglen, Conchita Montenegro, William 'Stage' Boyd, Lois Wilson, Henry B. Walthall, Regis Toomey, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Noah Beery/Sr., Tully Marshall, Henry Armetta, Frankie Darro. | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Laughter | 1930 | Harry D'Arrast | ★★½ | 81 | Lumpy film with a few bright sequences about Follies girl Carroll marrying millionaire but finding life empty, unhappy. | tt0021053 | Nancy Carroll, Fredric March, Frank Morgan, Leonard Carey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Laughter in Paradise | 1951 | Mario Zampi | ★★½ | 95 | Notorious practical joker dies, and leaves hefty sum to four relatives if they will carry out his devilish instructions. Pleasant little comedy. Audrey Hepburn appears fleetingly as cigarette girl. Remade in 1969 as SOME WILL, SOME WON'T. | tt0043727 | Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, Hugh Griffith, Fay Compton, John Laurie | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Laughter in the Dark | 1969 | Tony Richardson | ★½ | 101 | Excruciating film from Nabokov novel about wealthy married man (Williamson) whose fascination with young girl (Karina) backfires at every turn, eventually ruining his life. Exceedingly unpleasant, and seemingly interminable. | tt0064576 | [X] | Nicol Williamson, Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Drouot, Peter Bowles, Sian Phillips | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Laura | 1944 | Otto Preminger | ★★★★ | 85 | Classic mystery with gorgeous Tierney subject of murder plot; detective Andrews trying to assemble crime puzzle. Fascinating, witty, classic, with Webb a standout as cynical columnist Waldo Lydecker and Price in his finest non-horror performance as suave Southern gigolo. Based on the Vera Caspary novel; also features David Raksin's theme. Rouben Mamoulian started directing film, Preminger took over. Screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Betty Reinhardt. Joseph LaShelle's cinematography earned an Oscar. Several minutes of dialogue were cut from all prints after initial release; this footage has been restored on home video. | tt0037008 | Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson, Grant Mitchell, Lane Chandler, Dorothy Adams | Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Laurel Canyon | 2003 | Lisa Cholodenko | ★★½ | 101 | Med-school grad Bale and prim fiancée Beckinsale reluctantly move in with his flaky mother (McDormand), a rock-music producer. Soon the uptight young woman is seduced by the free-spirited lifestyle of her future mother-in-law . . . while the son is attracted to a beautiful doctor. Superficial but diverting hijinks with an attractive cast, and McDormand in a role unlike any she's done before. Follows the same pattern as Cholodenko's previous, more richly textured film, HIGH ART. | tt0298408 | [R] | Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Louis Knox Barlow, Russell Pollard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's | 1965 | Robert Youngson | ★★★½ | 90 | Compiled by Robert Youngson. Some of L&H's best moments on film are included, with everything from pie-throwing to pants-ripping. Also some excellent sequences of Charley Chase, adding to the fun. | tt0059379 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, James Finlayson, Anita Garvin | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| The Lavender Hill Mob | 1951 | Charles Crichton | ★★★½ | 82 | Excellent comedy with droll Guinness a timid bank clerk who has perfect scheme for robbing a gold bullion truck, with a madcap chase climax. Won an Oscar for Best Story and Screenplay (T. E. B. Clarke); look for Audrey Hepburn in opening scene. | tt0044829 | Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass, Marjorie Fielding, John Gregson, Edie Martin | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Law Abiding Citizen | 2009 | F. Gary Gray | ★★ | 109 | Loving husband and father (Butler) sees his wife and daughter brutalized and murdered in his own home; then an ambitious city prosecutor (Foxx) accepts a plea bargain from one of the killers in order to nail his partner. Ten years later, the crazed, embittered man exacts his revenge, not only on Foxx and the justice system but on the entire city of Philadelphia! Outlandish modern spin on DEATH WISH gets the visceral response it seeks but makes less and less sense as its story unfolds. Super 35. | tt1197624 | [R] | Jamie Foxx, Gerard Butler, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney, Leslie Bibb, Regina Hall, Michael Irby, Gregory Itzin, Christian Stolte, Annie Corley, Richard Portnow, Viola Davis, Michael Kelly | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Law Is the Law | 1959 | Christian-Jaque | ★★½ | 103 | Two top Continental comedians work well together in yarn of French customs official and his pal who smuggle items over the border. | tt0051851 | Fernandel, Toto, Mario Besozzi, René Genin | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Law and Disorder | 1974 | Ivan Passer | ★★★ | 103 | Intelligent, original comedy-drama of two middle-aged New Yorkers incensed at rising crime who become auxiliary cops. At first they treat it as a lark, but soon it becomes deadly serious. Full of fine perceptions, interesting vignettes. | tt0071743 | [R] | Carroll O'Connor, Ernest Borgnine, Ann Wedgeworth, Anita Dangler, Leslie Ackerman, Karen Black, Jack Kehoe | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Law and Jake Wade | 1958 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 86 | Robust Western drama in which Taylor, a lawman with a past, tangles with nasty Widmark over some buried loot. The two stars make good adversaries. | tt0051848 | Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, Patricia Owens, Robert Middleton, Henry Silva, DeForest Kelley | Western | NULL | |||
| Law and Order | 1932 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★★½ | 70 | Exceptional Western that takes a familiar story (Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday vs. the Clantons) and reworks it with style but no flourishes. Huston plays Saint Johnson, gunslinger and lawman. Stark, realistic, with a knockout finale. Coscripted by John Huston. Remade in 1953. | tt0023121 | Walter Huston, Harry Carey, Raymond Hatton, Russell Hopton, Ralph Ince, Andy Devine, Walter Brennan | Western | NULL | |||
| Law and Order | 1953 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 80 | Lawman Reagan wants to retire to marry Malone, but first must tame bad guy Foster. Standard Western was filmed far more successfully in 1932. | tt0045991 | Ronald Reagan, Dorothy Malone, Alex Nicol, Preston Foster, Ruth Hampton, Russell Johnson, Dennis Weaver, Jack Kelly | Western | NULL | |||
| The Law and the Lady | 1951 | Edwin H. Knopf | ★★½ | 104 | Stylish if standard remake of THE LAST OF MRS. CHEYNEY with Garson (gowned by Cecil Beaton) teaming up with Wilding for slick society jewel robberies. | tt0043728 | Greer Garson, Michael Wilding, Fernando Lamas, Marjorie Main, Hayden Rorke, Margalo Gillmore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Law of Desire | 1987 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★ | 100 | Surreal, hedonistic, and hilarious comedy focusing on a gay love triangle, with equal doses of passion, sex, fantasy, and tragedy. Maura is a standout as a free-spirited transsexual; Almodóvar is one of the brightest talents to emerge on the international filmmaking scene during the 1980s. | tt0093412 | Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Miguel Molina, Bibi Andersson, Manuela Velasco, Nacho Martinez | Spanish | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Law of the Lawless | 1964 | William F. Claxton | ★★½ | 88 | Veteran cast is chief interest here, with Robertson an ex-gunman turned judge. | tt0058286 | Dale Robertson, Yvonne De Carlo, William Bendix, Bruce Cabot, Richard Arlen, John Agar, Lon Chaney/Jr., Kent Taylor | Western | NULL | |||
| Law of the Pampas | 1939 | Nate Watt. | ★★½ | 71 | Range hero Hopalong Cassidy journeys to South America, delivering prize cattle to a ranch beset by a shifty foreman who's been arranging murders so as to marry the heir and get rich. Average Hoppy outing with good action scenes, Lone Pine passing for Argentina. Sidney Toler, on leave from Charlie Chan series, offers comedy relief during post-George Hayes and pre-Andy Clyde era. Unfortunately, The King's Men sing but Eddie Dean doesn't. | tt0031557 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Sidney Toler, Steffi Duna, Sidney Blackmer, Pedro de Cordoba, William Duncan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Law of the Tropics | 1941 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 76 | Fair cast in routine drama of man discovering his wife is accused murderess. Remake of OIL FOR THE LAMPS OF CHINA. | tt0033821 | Constance Bennett, Jeffrey Lynn, Regis Toomey, Mona Maris, Hobart Bosworth | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Law vs. Billy the Kid | 1954 | William Castle | ★★ | 73 | Title gives away plotline of unmemorable Western. | tt0047163 | Scott Brady, Betta St. John, James Griffith, Alan Hale/Jr., Paul Cavanagh | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lawless Breed | 1952 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 83 | Solid Western drama that recounts the life and times of legendary (and misunderstood) outlaw John Wesley Hardin (well played by Hudson, in his starring debut). | tt0045992 | Rock Hudson, Julia Adams, John McIntire, Mary Castle, Hugh O'Brian, Lee Van Cleef, Dennis Weaver, Michael Ansara | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lawless Eighties | 1957 | Joe Kane. | ★★ | 70 | Gunman Crabbe comes to the rescue of circuit rider Smith, who's run afoul of crooked Indian agent de Corsia in this OK post-Civil War Western. | tt0050627 | Buster Crabbe, John Smith, Marilyn Saris, Ted de Corsia, Anthony Caruso, John Doucette, Frank Ferguson, Walter Reed. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lawless Frontier | 1934 | R. N. Bradbury. | ★½ | 56 | After a Mexican outlaw kills young Wayne's parents, he joins forces with Hayes for retribution. Substandard B Western made in 5-plus days in California's Red Rock Canyon. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025373 | John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Jack Rockwell, George Hayes, Jay Wilsey, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Lawless Heart | 2001 | Neil Hunter, Tom Hunsinger | ★★★ | 86 | Clever three-part story about lives that intersect in a small seaside town when friends and family gather for a young man's funeral: first one person's story is told, then two others that overlap in interesting and unpredictable ways. Satisfying, well written, and original, with rich performances throughout. Written by the directors. | tt0276276 | [R] | Douglas Henshall, Tom Hollander, Bill Nighy, Clementine Celarie, Josephine Butler, Ellie Haddington, Stuart Laing, Sukie Smith | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Lawless Nineties | 1936 | Joe Kane. | ★★ | 56 | Government dispatches undercover federal agent Wayne to lawless 1890s Wyoming in hopes of restoring order before a vote on statehood. Hayes and bad guy Woods boost this ordinary B Western. | tt0027876 | John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Harry Woods, George Hayes, Al Bridge, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, Etta McDaniel. | Western | NULL | |||
| Lawless Range | 1935 | R. N. Bradbury. | ★½ | 59 | Stock Western tale of cattle rustling and villainous banker grabbing gold mines. Holds few surprises, save one: weak warbling by Wayne. Several frontier skullduggery scenes filmed at the picturesque Vasquez Rocks. | tt0026614 | John Wayne, Sheila Mannors (Bromley), Frank McGlynn/Jr., Jack Curtis, Wallace Howe, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| A Lawless Street | 1955 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 78 | Hard-bitten marshal Scott tries to eliminate evil forces from western town, then confronts his bittersweet past when musical star Lansbury comes to town. Entertaining Western with disappointing resolution. | tt0048289 | Randolph Scott, Angela Lansbury, Warner Anderson, Jean Parker, Wallace Ford, Ruth Donnelly, Michael Pate | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lawless | 1950 | Joseph Losey | ★★ | 83 | Vaguely interesting study of Mexican-American fruit-pickers in Southern California, with facets of racial discrimination pointed out. | tt0042669 | Gail Russell, Macdonald Carey, Lalo Rios, Lee Patrick, John Sands, Martha Hyer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lawman | 1971 | Michael Winner | ★★★ | 98 | Intriguing thought-Western about stoic marshal (Lancaster) who comes into unfamiliar town to bring back wanted men, refusing to sway from duty even though entire town turns against him. Unsatisfactory resolution mars otherwise compelling story; Ryan gives one of his finest performances as timid sheriff. | tt0067333 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Duvall, Sheree North, Albert Salmi, Joseph Wiseman, J.D. Cannon, Richard Jordan, John McGiver, Ralph Waite, John Beck, John Hillerman | Western | NULL | ||
| Lawn Dogs | 1998 | John Duigan | ★★½ | 100 | Odd but intriguing story of the unlikely relationship that develops between a misfit kid who lives in an antiseptic, gate-guarded community, and a drop-out gardener who grew up in the area but has long been an outcast in the community. Sometimes uneasy mix of black comedy and social satire, but marked by good performances and a piquant sense of humor. | tt0119506 | [R] | Kathleen Quinlan, Sam Rockwell, Christopher McDonald, Bruce McGill, Tom Aldredge, Mischa Barton | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace | 1996 | Farhad Mann | ★★ | 93 | Moron-turned-genius Jobe is back, still intent on ruling the world from cyberspace. This involves ruthless billionaire Conway, reclusive computer expert Bergin, doctor Pouget, and young O'Brien, returning from the original film. The plot is both complicated and simpleminded, and aimed primarily at teenage computer fans— but the standardized BLADE RUNNER future, routine action, and only intermittent computer graphics will likely leave them as disinterested as everyone else. Aka: LAWNMOWER MAN 2: JOBE'S WAR. | tt0116839 | [PG-13] | Patrick Bergin, Matt Frewer, Austin O'Brien, Ely Pouget, Camille Cooper, Patrick La Brecque, Crystal Celeste Grant, Kevin Conway | U.S.-British-Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Lawnmower Man | 1992 | Brett Leonard | ★½ | 105 | Scientist Brosnan needs a guinea pig for hitherto failed experiments in drug therapy and computer instruction; who better than the grinning mental defective who mows his lawn? At least the pyrotechnics at the end (simulating 'virtual reality') are full of visual buzz. Fahey in a blond wig is really tough to take. Has nothing to do with the Stephen King short story it's ostensibly based on. Director's cut, available on video, has more than 30m. of additional footage. Followed by a sequel. | tt0104692 | [R] | Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan, Jenny Wright, Mark Bringleson, Geoffrey Lewis, Jeremy Slate, Dean Norris, Austin O'Brien | Action, Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lawrence of Arabia | 1962 | David Lean | ★★★★ | 216 | Blockbuster biography of enigmatic adventurer T. E. Lawrence is that rarity, an epic film that is also literate. Loses some momentum in the second half, but still a knockout— especially in 1989 reissue version, which restored many cuts made over the years (and made a few judicious trims in the process). Still, the only way to really appreciate this film is on a big screen. Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson, based on Lawrence's book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Seven Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Cinematography (Freddie Young), Score (Maurice Jarre), Editing, and Art Direction. O'Toole's first leading role made him an instant star. Beware of shorter prints. Originally 222m. | tt0056172 | Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Claude Rains, Anthony Quayle, Arthur Kennedy, Omar Sharif, Jose Ferrer | British | Adventure, War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Laws of Attraction | 2004 | Peter Howitt | ★★½ | 90 | N.Y.C. divorce lawyer Moore has never lost a case but meets her match in wily opposing counsel Brosnan, who also manages to get her to let her guard down. Romantic comedy never nears the bull's-eye, but showcases Brosnan's easygoing charm and gives Moore a rare comedic opportunity. There are worse ways to spend some time than in their company. | tt0323033 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Frances Fisher, Parker Posey, Michael Sheen, Nora Dunn, David Kelly | British-Irish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Laws of Gravity | 1991 | Nick Gomez | ★★★ | 100 | Intense, vivid chronicle of three momentous days in the lives of a pair of young blue-collar Brooklyn thieves and their girlfriends. Shot on a minuscule budget, and distinguished by gritty, Scorsese-like realism. The performances are collectively terrific, and Jean de Segonzac's hand-held camera is a major plus. | tt0104693 | [R] | Peter Greene, Adam Trese, Edie Falco, Arabella Field, Paul Schulzie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lawyer Man | 1932 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 72 | Powell is aces in this amusing pre-Code drama as an ambitious lawyer— with a near-fatal eye for the ladies— who tangles with crooked politicians. Blondell is his loyal, lovesick secretary. Powell even speaks Yiddish in this one. | tt0023125 | William Powell, Joan Blondell, Claire Dodd, Sheila Terry, Alan Dinehart, David Landau, Helen Vinson, Allen Jenkins, Roscoe Karns, Sterling Holloway | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lawyer | 1970 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★½ | 117 | Lively story loosely based on famous Dr. Sam Sheppard murder case; Newman is stubborn young lawyer defending doctor accused of murdering his wife, battling legal protocol and uncooperative client. Unexceptional but diverting; Newman later revived role in TV series Petrocelli. | tt0065970 | [R] | Barry Newman, Harold Gould, Diana Muldaur, Robert Colbert, Kathleen Crowley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lay That Rifle Down | 1955 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 71 | Mild Cinderella story featuring Canova as an overworked drudge who finds herself contending with a nasty aunt, a greedy banker, and a pair of swindlers. | tt0048290 | Judy Canova, Robert Lowery, Jacqueline de Wit, Jil Jarmyn, Richard Deacon, Tweeny Canova | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Layer Cake | 2004 | Matthew Vaughn. | ★★½ | 105 | London drug dealer who tries to approach what he does on a strictly-business basis comes to learn that he has no control over his life or the actions of the people around him. Superficial crime yarn boasts a good cast but travels an all-too-familiar path. First-time director Vaughn (who produced LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH) indulges in look-at-me camera shots that add nothing. Adapted by J. J. Connolly from his novel. | tt0375912 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon, Marcel Iures, Tom Hardy, Jason Flemyng. | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Lazy River | 1934 | George B. Seitz. | ★★ | 76 | Aimless story of escaped convicts led by Young who ingratiate themselves into Parker's Louisiana Bayou family, intending to fleece them but predictably having a change of heart. Pleasant, though nothing special, apart from Gregg Toland's cinematography. | tt0025375 | Jean Parker, Robert Young, Ted Healy, C. Henry Gordon, Nat Pendleton, Ruth Channing, Maude Eburne, Raymond Hatton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lazybones | 1925 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 79 | Story of endearing but aimless character, his romances, and the path life takes him down as years go by. Poignant evocation of small-town life from turn of the century into the 1920s. Unusual role for Jones, better known as cowboy hero. | tt0016013 | Charles 'Buck' Jones, Madge Bellamy, Virginia Marshall, Edythe Chapman, Leslie Fenton, ZaSu Pitts | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Le Amiche | 1955 | Michelangelo Antonioni. | ★★★ | 99 | Early work by Antonioni (and one of his most accessible films) takes a penetrating look at a group of women in Turin— including a fashion designer, a model, an artist, and a socialite— and the pressures that drive one of them to suicide. Sensitive direction and highly capable cast make the most of a potentially soapy story. Aka THE GIRL FRIENDS. | tt0047821 | Eleonora Rossi Drago, Valentina Cortese, Gabriele Ferzetti, Yvonne Furneaux, Madeleine Fischer, Franco Fabrizi. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Bal | 1982 | Ettore Scola | ★★★ | 112 | Original, stylish panorama of life, love, loneliness, war and peace, from the mid-'30s to '80s. Set in a ballroom, with no major characters; the actors play different roles, in different time periods. No dialogue, just music and sound effects. Quite different, but most definitely worthwhile. | tt0085213 | Christophe Allwright, Marc Berman, Regis Bouquet, Chantal Capron, Nani Noel, Jean-François Perrier | Italian-French | Musical | NULL | ||
| Le Beau Mariage | The Good Marriage | 1982 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 97 | Headstrong young woman rather arbitrarily decides she will be married (to no one in particular), initiates an embarrassing pursuit of male with other ideas. If you can accept this hard-to-swallow premise, film is a beautifully acted comedy of humiliation. Romand, incidentally, is the now-grown-up adolescent from Rohmer's CLAIRE'S KNEE, made 11 years earlier. Aka THE GOOD MARRIAGE. | tt0082053 | [PG] | Beatrice Romand, Andre Dussollier, Feodor Atkine, Hugette Faget, Arielle Dombasle | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Le Beau Serge | 1958 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 97 | Considered to be the first New Wave film, this rural tale also marked the feature directing debut of Cahiers du Cinéma film critic Claude Chabrol. When Brialy returns to his tiny home town, he is stunned to find how drastically his old school chum (Blain) has changed. Perceptive examination of the trials of life in a poor farming community and the moral questions raised by how one treats a friend. Brialy, Blain, and young Lafont (a teenaged nymphet) continued to collaborate with Chabrol (who also wrote and produced) for three decades. | tt0051404 | Jean-Claude Brialy, Gérard Blain, Michele Meritz, Bernadette Lafont, Edmond Beauchamp | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Bonheur | Happiness | 1965 | Agnés Varda | ★★½ | 87 | Happily married carpenter Drouot falls for postal clerk Boyer, feels he can love both her and wife and they will share him. Intriguing, but emotionally uninvolving and unbelievable. Drouot's real wife and children portray his cinematic spouse and offspring. Aka HAPPINESS. | tt0058985 | Jean-Claude Drouot, Claire Drouot, Sandrine Drouot, Oliver Drouot, Marie-France Boyer | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Le Boucher | The Butcher | 1969 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 93 | Another good psychological thriller from Chabrol, focusing on sympathetic murderer and his relationship with beautiful schoolteacher in small French village. Aka THE BUTCHER. | tt0064106 | [PG] | Stephane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passallia, Mario Beccaria, Pasquale Ferone | French-Italian | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| Le Cercle Rouge | The Red Circle | 1970 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★★½ | 140 | Super-cool gangster Delon is released from prison on the same day another hood (Volonté) makes a daring escape from custody. The two hook up, along with Montand, for an ambitious heist, all the while humiliating a patient police inspector (marvelously played by Bourvil). Another winner from the star and writer-director of LE SAMOURAI. Cut to 100m. for initial U.S. release, restored in 2003. | tt0065531 | Alain Delon, Gian-Maria Volonte, André Bourvil, Yves Montand, François Périer, Rene Berthier | French-Italian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Le Combat Dans L’île | 1962 | Alain Cavalier | ★★ | 104 | Somewhat cold, aloof drama about a troubled couple: she’s given up her acting career onstage because she feels she isn’t good enough, while he’s secretly become part of an extremist group that’s training its members to use weapons against the government. Political parable is an interesting period piece but not terribly entertaining on any level. First released in the U.S. in 2010, when it received many rave reviews. | tt0054758 | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, Henri Serre, Diana Lepvrier, Robert Bousquet, Jacques Berlioz | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Confessionale | 1995 | Robert Lepage | ★★½ | 100 | Elaborate, challenging, but only intermittently successful tale which intercuts two scenarios set years apart, involving a pregnant adolescent in 1952 Quebec (as Alfred Hitchcock is in town shooting I CONFESS) who is determined not to reveal her lover's identity, and the adopted brother (Bluteau) of her natural father. Fluidly directed, with clever visual references to Hitch, but the result somehow seems disconnected and unnecessarily complex. Worth a look, especially for Hitchcock aficionados. Stage director Lepage's debut feature; he also scripted. | tt0112714 | Lothaire Bluteau, Patrick Goyette, Jean-Louis Millette, Kristin Scott Thomas, Richard Frechette, Marie Gignac | Canadian-British-French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Le Corbeau | The Raven | 1943 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★★½ | 92 | Ingenious suspenser detailing what happens when a series of mysterious poison pen letters begins circulating in a small French town. Quite controversial in its day, because it was financed by a German movie company and considered to be anti-French propaganda. Remade in Hollywood as THE 13TH LETTER. Aka THE RAVEN. | tt0035753 | Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Helena Manson, Noel Roquevert, Sylvie, Louis Seigner | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Le Crabe Tambour | 1977 | Pierre Schoendoerffer | ★★★½ | 120 | Expertly directed, detailed chronicle, mostly told in flashback, of the complex relationship between dying naval captain Rochefort and legendary officer Perrin, a character out of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Both, along with Rich as the doctor and Dufilho as the chief engineer, offer top-notch performances, and Raoul Coutard's cinematography is breathtaking. | tt0075885 | Jean Rochefort, Claude Rich, Jacques Dufilho, Jacques Perrin, Odile Versois, Aurore Clement | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Le Dernier Combat | 1984 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 90 | Wildly overpraised science-fiction film is basically another post-apocalypse epic. Jolivet is curious survivor wandering around a devastated landscape having odd, pointless encounters with strange people. Novelty item is without dialogue, in black and white, with stereo sound, but CinemaScope widescreen visuals are lost on TV. | tt0085426 | [R] | Pierre Jolivet, Jean Bouise, Fritz Wepper, Christiane Kruger, Jean Reno | French | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Le Deuxième Souffle | 1966 | Jean-Pierre Melville. | ★★★½ | 150 | Ventura means business as Gu, a tough crook who escapes from jail and becomes involved in a big heist, but is duped into helping the cops. Melville pulls out all the cinematic stops in his definitive caper film, a major reworking of his favorite themes of criminal loyalty, betrayal, and professionalism. | tt0060305 | Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Raymond Pellegrin, Christine Fabréga, Marcel Bozzufi, Paul Frankeur, Michel Constantin. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Divorce | 2003 | James Ivory | ★★ | 117 | Large, impressive cast flounders in this paper-thin comedy-of-manners about the sexual and romantic plight of an inexperienced American in Paris (Hudson) and her pregnant, abandoned sister (Watts). There are plenty of plot complications, but they don't add up to much; the potential for exploring the cultural differences between Americans and the French is wasted. Scripted by Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, based on Diane Johnson's highly regarded novel. | tt0306734 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Thierry Lhermitte, Sam Waterston, Melvil Poupaud, Stephen Fry, Matthew Modine, Bebe Neuwirth, Romain Duris, Jean-Marc Barr, Samuel Labarthe, Thomas Lennon, Nathalie Richard, Daniel Mesguich | U.S.-French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Le Doulos | Doulos- The Finger Man | 1962 | Jean-Pierre Melville. | ★★★ | 108 | Hard-boiled crime tale centering on the search for hidden loot stolen by Reggiani and whether or not fellow crook Belmondo ratted him out to the cops. Slick Melville imitation of an American film noir is a notch below his best, but still an entertaining study of duplicity and honor among thieves. Aka DOULOS— THE FINGER MAN. | tt0054821 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly, Fabienne Dali, Michel Piccoli, René Lefèvre, Monique Hennessy. | French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Le Jouet | 1976 | Francis Veber | ★★½ | 92 | To show up his cutthroat father, a rich boy buys a human toy. Sometimes funny, sometimes not . . . but it's miles ahead of the American remake, THE TOY. Veber also scripted. | tt0074720 | [PG] | Pierre Richard, Michel Bouquet, Fabrice Greco, Suzy Dyson, Jacques Francois | French | Action | NULL | |
| Le Jour Se Lève | Daybreak | 1939 | Marcel Carné | ★★★½ | 93 | A staple of French cinema, from the writer-director team that later created CHILDREN OF PARADISE; factory worker Gabin, trapped in a building, flashes back on events that drove him to murder. Generally holds up, while going a long way toward defining Gabin's screen persona. Written by Jacques Prévert, from Jacques Viot's story. U.S. title: DAYBREAK. Later remade here as THE LONG NIGHT. | tt0031514 | Jean Gabin, Jacqueline Laurent, Jules Berry, Arletty, Mady Berry | French | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | |
| Le Mans | 1971 | Lee H. Katzin | ★★★ | 106 | Exciting study of Grand Prix auto racing with exceptionally fine camera work on the track. | tt0067334 | [G] | Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen, Ronald Leigh-Hunt | Action | NULL | ||
| Le Million | 1931 | René Clair | ★★★½ | 85 | A chase after a lost lottery ticket propels this charming, whimsical, innovative gem from Clair. The actors sing some of their dialogue; as much fun today as when first released. | tt0022150 | Annabella, René Lefevre, Vanda Greville, Paul Olivier, Louis Allibert | French |
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| Le Petit Lieutenant | 2005 | Xavier Beauvois | ★★★ | 111 | Engrossing, low-key account of life in a Parisian criminal investigation police unit. The main characters are the title one (Lespert), newly graduated from the police academy, who's been assigned to the unit, and his superior officer (Baye), a world-weary recovering alcoholic who's haunted by the death of her son. There's a plot, involving the tracking of a pair of Russian thugs, but the emphasis is on the drudgery-and heartbreak-of everyday police work. Beauvois, who coscripted, also plays one of the cops. | tt0431979 | Nathalie Baye, Jalil Lespert, Roschdy Zem, Antoine Chappey, Jacques Perrin, Patrick Chauvel, Xavier Beauvois | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Petit Soldat | 1960 | Jean-Luc Godard. | ★★★ | 88 | Godard's second feature concerns the terrorist activities of Algerian rebels who capture French army deserter Subor and blackmail him into committing an assassination. Godard's future wife Karina makes her feature debut as a leftist activist with whom Subor falls in love. Featuring an unforgettable torture scene, this powerful film was banned in France until 1963, but is less about politics than personal freedom and the banality of evil. | tt0054177 | Michel Subor, Anna Karina, Henri-Jacques Huet, Paul Beauvais, László Szabó, Georges de Beauregard. | French | War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Le Plaisir | 1951 | Max Ophuls | ★★★½ | 97 | The joy and heartache of l'amour and the pursuit of pleasure is explored with subtlety and sophistication in a trilogy of stories by Guy de Maupassant: in "Le Masque," a vain old man tries to regain his youth by donning a mask to a ball; in "Le Maison Tellier," a group of prostitutes travels to the country to attend the first communion of the madam's niece; in "Le Modele," a free-living artist's affair with a model takes a tragic turn. Brilliantly acted by a superb cast and directed with customary virtuosity and a dazzlingly fluid style. Jean Marais narrates the French version of the film as de Maupassant (Peter Ustinov narrates the English version; Anton Walbrook narrates the German version). | tt0045034 | Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon, Claude Dauphin, Gaby Morlay, Pierre Brasseur, Pauline Dubost, Madeleine Renaud, Daniel Gelin | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Le Rouge et le Noir | The Red and the Black | 1954 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★★ | 145 | Solidly acted, handsomely produced historical drama based on the Stendahl novel about a man of the lower classes (Philipe) and his obsession with making it in society in 1830 France; Darrieux and Lualdi are the women in his life. Released in the U.S. in 1958; European running time 170m. Aka THE RED AND THE BLACK, which is its video title. | tt0047432 | Gérard Philipe, Danielle Darrieux, Antonella Lualdi, Jean Martinelli | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Le Samourai | 1967 | Jean-Pierre Melville | ★★★½ | 101 | Delon is the ultimate existential hit man in this tale of an assassin who's hired to kill a nightclub owner, but is double-crossed by his mysterious employers. Alain Delon was never better than in this quintessential Melville policier, a marvelously stylish meditation on crime and solitude that was a direct influence on John Woo's THE KILLER. | tt0062229 | Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, François Périer, Cathy Rosier, Jacques Leroy, Jean-Pierre Posier, Catherine Jourdan | French | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Le Sex Shop | 1973 | Claude Berri | ★★★ | 92 | Amiable spoof of our preoccupation with sex; failing bookstore owner starts selling porno material, becomes increasingly fascinated by it. Clever idea well done; originally rated X because of its candid (yet unsensational) scenes. | tt0072142 | [R] | Claude Berri, Juliet Berto, Nathalie Delon, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Beatrice Romand, Catherine Allegret | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Le Silence de la Mer | 1947 | Jean-Pierre Melville. | ★★★ | 86 | During the Occupation, a patrician German officer is assigned lodging with a provincial family who is unwilling even to speak to him. Nevertheless, each evening he reminisces about life and war in the face of their stubborn silence. Melville's intimately contained first feature clearly reflects postwar attitudes, particularly concerning what defines an enemy. From a 1942 novella by Vercors (Jean Bruller), a classic of Resistance literature. | tt0039822 | Howard Vernon, Nicole Stéphane, Jean-Marie Robain, Ami Aroe, Denis Sadier. | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Le Testament du Dr. Cordelier | 1959 | Jean Renoir. | ★★★ | 100 | Barrault gives a marvelous, swaggering performance in this adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde set in contemporary Paris. Eschewing elaborate makeup or special effects, Renoir directs in a deceptively simple style, stripping the story down to its basics to present stinging social satire and a sympathetic but unflinching portrait of the dark side of human nature. Originally made for TV. Aka EXPERIMENT IN EVIL and THE DOCTOR'S HORRIBLE EXPERIMENT. | tt0053348 | Jean-Louis Barrault, Michel Vitold, Teddy Billis, Jean Topart, Micheline Gary, Gaston Modot. | French | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Le Trou | 1960 | Jacques Becker. | ★★★½ | 120 | Four prisoners in Paris' La Santé jail, though suspicious of a newly arrived convict in their cell, have no choice but to involve him in their slow, agonizingly laborious escape attempt. Acted by nonactors, all but plotless and without music, this harrowing near-documentary thriller is riveting in its detail and holds one in thrall to the bitter end. From the 1947 autobiographical (!) novel by future director José Giovanni. Becker's last film. Aka THE HOLE. | tt0054407 | Michel Constantin, Jean Keraudy, Philippe Leroy, Raymond Meunier, Marc Michel, André Bervil, Catherine Spaak. | French-Italian | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Le Voyage en Douce | 1980 | Michel Deville | ★★½ | 98 | What do women talk about when men aren't around? Friends Sanda and Chaplin travel to the South of France; they gab, flirt, tell each other lies. Sometimes witty, but ultimately disappointing; director Deville asked 15 French writers of both sexes to provide him with sexual anecdotes, which he worked into screenplay. | tt0081729 | Dominique Sanda, Geraldine Chaplin | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leadbelly | 1976 | Gordon Parks | ★★★½ | 126 | Poignant biography of the legendary folksinger Huddie Ledbetter, master of the 12-string guitar and long-time convict on Texas and Louisiana chain gangs. Stunning musical performances (including 'Rock Island Line,' 'Goodnight Irene' and many more classics), with Mosley effectively restrained in the title role. Superior entertainment. | tt0074781 | [PG] | Roger E. Mosley, Paul Benjamin, Madge Sinclair, Alan Manson, Albert P. Hall, Art Evans, Loretta Greene | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leader of the Band | 1987 | Nessa Hyams | ★★ | 90 | Clichés abound in this innocuous tale of unemployed musician Landesberg whipping an inept high school marching band into shape. | tt0093396 | [PG] | Steve Landesberg, Mercedes Ruehl, Gailard Sartain, James Martinez, Calvert DeForest | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Leading Man | 1997 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 100 | British backstage theater romance about an American movie star who seduces a playwright's lonely wife and his leading-lady mistress. While it can't quite make up its mind whether it's a comic drama or a light thriller, it's still very entertaining stuff. Bon Jovi is good as the brash, amoral Yankee, and Galiena and Newton are fetching as the women caught in his web. | tt0116845 | [R] | Jon Bon Jovi, Anna Galiena, Lambert Wilson, Thandie Newton, Barry Humphries, David Warner | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen | 2003 | Stephen Norrington | ★★ | 110 | Intriguing premise— a gathering of notorious 19th-century fictional figures, from Dr. Jekyll and Dorian Gray to Dracula's Mina Harker, whose various attributes combine to form a kind of Justice League— is undone by lumpy storytelling, poorly staged action, and outsized, cartoonish special effects sequences. Connery is charismatic as ever playing heroic Allan Quatermain; he also coexecutive produced. Based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. | tt0311429 | [PG-13] | Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Shane West, Stuart Townsend, Richard Roxburgh, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Jason Flemyng, David Hemmings, Max Ryan | Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The League of Frightened Men | 1937 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 65 | Second Nero Wolfe film casts relatively amiable Connolly in the role of Rex Stout's sleuth for a none-too-inscrutable mystery about a band of former college chums who are being killed off one by one. | tt0029127 | Walter Connolly, Lionel Stander, Eduardo Ciannelli, Irene Hervey, Victor Kilian, Walter Kingsford | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The League of Gentlemen | 1960 | Basil Dearden | ★★★½ | 114 | Ex-army colonel enlists the aid of former officers (through blackmail) to pull off big bank heist. High-class British humor makes this tale of crime a delight. Forbes also wrote the script. Look for Oliver Reed as a ballet dancer! | tt0052997 | Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Roger Livesey, Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes, Kieron Moore, Robert Coote, Nanette Newman | British | Comedy, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A League of Their Own | 1992 | Penny Marshall | ★★★ | 128 | Thoroughly entertaining comedy about the women's baseball league that sprang up when male ballplayers were off fighting in WW2. Davis and Madonna stand out in a first-rate cast, with Hanks giving a terrific comedy performance as the drunken ex-baseball star who manages their team. Good-natured fiction that sheds light on a neglected chapter of real-life sports history. Later, briefly a TV series. | tt0104694 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Megan Cavanagh, Rosie O'Donnell, Renee Coleman, Ann Cusack, Tracy Reiner, Janet Jones, Tea Leoni, Bill Pullman | Comedy, Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| Lean on Me | 1989 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 109 | The story of 'Crazy Joe' Clark, the real-life baseball bat, bullhorn toting high school principal from New Jersey who whips his students into shape by alternately bolstering and bullying them. Freeman is riveting in the central role, making up for script's shortcomings and Avildsen's all-too-familiar approach. | tt0097722 | [PG-13] | Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North, Lynne Thigpen, Robin Bartlett, Michael Beach, Ethan Phillips, Regina Taylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leap Into the Void | 1979 | Marco Bellocchio | ★★★ | 120 | A compassionate comedy about a very unusual topic: suicide. Magistrate Piccoli uses Placido to try to induce his mentally ill sister (Aimée) to do herself in. Of course, things do not go as planned. | tt0079845 | Michel Piccoli, Anouk Aimée, Michele Placido, Gisella Burinato, Antonio Piovanelli | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Leap Year | 2010 | Anand Tucker | ★½ | 100 | Charm-free romantic comedy brings out the worst in everyone involved. Even the usually appealing Adams is off-putting as a stressed-for-success Boston yuppie who, en route to a Dublin rendezvous with her longtime boyfriend, is repeatedly humiliated and unconvincingly humanized while forced to journey across most of Ireland with a hunky but cranky pub owner/cabdriver (Goode). Try to imagine what IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT might have been like if Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert had little charisma and no chemistry. | tt1216492 | [PG] | Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow, Noel O’Donovan, Tony Rohr, Pat Laffan | U.S.-Irish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Leap of Faith | 1992 | Richard Pearce | ★★½ | 108 | Nicely textured look at an evangelist's traveling tent show— though Martin is never credible as a religious pitchman who connects with his gullible audiences. Director Pearce has a keen eye for detail and atmosphere, but the film's story flaws are hard to overlook. The real treat: watching Winger as Martin's savvy partner-in-crime. | tt0104695 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Debra Winger, Lolita Davidovich, Liam Neeson, Lukas Haas, *** Meat Loaf, Philip Seymour Hoffman, M. C. Gainey, La Chanze, Delores Hall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Learning Tree | 1969 | Gordon Parks | ★★½ | 107 | Parks called virtually every shot in brilliantly photographed but surprisingly mild film version of his autobiographical novel about young black growing up in Kansas. Film's appeal lies more in its intentions than in what it actually accomplishes. | tt0064579 | [M] | Kyle Johnson, Alex Clarke, Estelle Evans, Dana Elcar, Mita Waters | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lease of Life | 1954 | Charles Frend | ★★½ | 94 | Donat makes anything worth watching, even this mild tale of poor-but-honest country vicar with one year to live, struggling to make ends meet and maintain his integrity. | tt0047165 | Robert Donat, Kay Walsh, Denholm Elliott, Adrienne Corri, Cyril Raymond | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Leather Boys | 1963 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★★ | 105 | Uncompromising study of impulsive Tushingham's incompatible marriage to motorcycle-loving mechanic, focusing on their opposing viewpoints and sleazy environment. Released in U.S. in 1966. | tt0057244 | Rita Tushingham, Colin Campbell, Dudley Sutton, Gladys Henson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leather Gloves | 1948 | Richard Quine, William Asher. | ★★ | 75 | Fight flick about on-the-skids boxer Mitchell lacks sufficient punch to push over clichés. | tt0040531 | Cameron Mitchell, Virginia Grey, Sam Levene, Jane Nigh, Henry O'Neill, Blake Edwards. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Leather Jackets | 1991 | Lee Drysdale | 💣 | 90 | Leather-jacketed Elwes and friends rip off and murder a Vietnamese mob bagman, whose associates vow vengeance— and plenty of it. Newly engaged Sweeney and Fonda try to help, and get caught in the crossfire, which they deserve for being in such a turkey. What a bloody mess! | tt0104696 | [R] | D. B. Sweeney, Bridget Fonda, Cary Elwes, Craig Ng, Marshall Bell, Christopher Penn, Jon Polito, James LeGros, Neil Giuntoli | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Leather Saint | 1956 | Alvin Ganzer | ★★½ | 86 | Forthright account of clergyman who becomes a boxer to earn money to help congregation. | tt0049436 | Paul Douglas, John Derek, Jody Lawrance, Cesar Romero, Ernest Truex | Drama | NULL | |||
| Leatherburners | 1943 | Joseph E. Henabery. | ★★½ | 66 | Rustlers use abandoned gold mine to store stolen cattle, but Hopalong Cassidy discovers secret entrance. Comedian Givot is cast against type as an insane villain. Fine script and action, and well directed by Henabery, who played Lincoln in THE BIRTH OF A NATION. | tt0036103 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Victor Jory, George Givot, Shelley Spencer, George Reeves, Bob (Robert) Mitchum. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III | 1990 | Jeff Burr | ★½ | 81 | Mostly a remake of the first film: cannibal clan battles three would-be dinners. Severely damaged by prerelease cuts designed to reduce gore but which only make the film incoherent. Followed by TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION. | tt0099994 | [R] | Kate Hodge, Ken Foree, R. A. Mihailoff, Viggo Mortensen, William Butler, Joe Unger | Horror, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Leatherheads | 2008 | George Clooney | ★★½ | 113 | Hotshot gridiron player Clooney, desperate to keep his team afloat in the early ragtag days of pro football in 1925, recruits a WW1 hero (Krasinski) who’s become a star college player. Meanwhile, hotshot reporter Zellweger is assigned to attach herself to the hero and expose him as a fraud. Attempt to replicate a smart, sassy 1930s Hollywood movie succeeds only sporadically; likable enough but overlong and slow. | tt0379865 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Gerety, Jack Thompson, Stephen Root, Wayne Duvall | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Leathernecks Have Landed | 1936 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★½ | 68 | Enjoyable B-picture fare about Marine (Ayres) who, with help of beauty Jewell, starts running guns to rebel forces in Shanghai. Written by Seton I. Miller. | tt0027877 | Lew Ayres, Isabel Jewell, Jimmy Ellison, James Burke, J. Carrol Naish, Ward Bond, Henry Mowbray. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Leave All Fair | 1985 | John Reid | ★★★ | 88 | Intelligent, rewarding account of the elderly John Middleton Murry (Gielgud), husband and editor of Katherine Mansfield, and his manipulative relationship with her. She's portrayed in flashback by Birkin, who also appears as a young woman who reminds Murry of her. Stick with this one. | tt0089467 | John Gielgud, Jane Birkin, Feodor Atkine, Simon Ward | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leave Her to Heaven | 1945 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 110 | Tierney's mother says, 'There's nothing wrong with Ellen. It's just that she loves too much.' In fact, she loves some people to death! Slick trash, expertly handled all around with Tierney breathtakingly photographed in Technicolor by Oscar-winner Leon Shamroy. And how about those incredible homes in New Mexico and Maine! Remade for TV as TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE in 1988. | tt0037865 | Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, Mary Philips, Ray Collins, Darryl Hickman, Gene Lockhart | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| Leave It to Beaver | 1997 | Andy Cadiff | ★★★ | 89 | Cute family comedy based on the vintage TV series, with Finley an appealing Theodore Cleaver, for whom things never seem to go quite right . . . especially when he volunteers to play football in order to please his dad. Brother Wally (who experiences his first taste of puppy love) and unctuous Eddie Haskell are here, too. Billingsley, Osmond, and Bank (June, Eddie, and Lumpy from the original show) make token appearances. | tt0119509 | [PG] | Christopher McDonald, Janine Turner, Cameron Finley, Erik von Detten, Adam Zolotin, Barbara Billingsley, Ken Osmond, Frank Bank, Erika Christensen, Alan Rachins | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Leave It to Blondie | 1945 | Abby Berlin | ★★ | 75 | The Bumsteads enter a songwriting contest in this trivial Blondie entry. | tt0037866 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jonathan Hale, Chick Chandler, Marjorie Ann Mutchie, Danny Mummert, Eddie Acuff, Jack Rice | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Leave It to Henry | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★½ | 57 | Quickie film has Walburn destroying the town bridge when son is fired as toll-booth collector. Second in a B-picture series, followed by FATHER MAKES GOOD. | tt0041586 | Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, Gary Gray, Mary Stuart. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Leaves of Grass | 2010 | Tim Blake Nelson | ★★ | 105 | Annoyingly uneven Coen Brothers knockoff is a showcase for Norton as identical twin brothers, one a rising star in academia and the other a skuzzy drug dealer who lures his sibling back to his Oklahoma roots. Potentially intriguing story wallows in silliness, and much of the quirky humor falls flat. Still, Norton does make two entirely different characters wholly believable. Nelson also scripted. | tt1151359 | [R] | Edward Norton, Keri Russell, Tim Blake Nelson, Josh Pais, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Siff, Ty Burrell, Lee Wilkof, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Leaving | 2009 | Catherine Corsini | ★★ | 86 | Thomas’ fine performance isn’t quite enough to help this somewhat familiar adultery saga. At least there’s a halfway credible reason (beyond a chilly walking ego of a husband) that her character risks a secure upscale existence for an ex-con handyman who’s building her an office. Except for Scott, nothing really stands out here, but the compact running time keeps the drama from wearing down, and picks up its share of “melo-” as tragic events unfold. | tt1315962 | Unrated | Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Aladin Reibel | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Leaving Las Vegas | 1995 | Mike Figgis | ★★★½ | 111 | Cage is a hopeless alcoholic who moves to Las Vegas, determined to drink himself to death, while Shue is a prostitute who demeans herself on a nightly basis. Their attachment to one another (and their willingness to accept each other as they are) makes this an unusually powerful and moving love story, in spite of the seamy trappings. Cage and Shue give brave, honest performances (Cage won the Best Actor Oscar). Figgis scripted from John O'Brien's novel and also composed the score, with vocals by Sting. Ironically, O'Brien committed suicide after selling the movie rights to his book. | tt0113627 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Valeria Golino, Graham Beckel, Carey Lowell, R. Lee Ermey, Mariska Hargitay, Laurie Metcalf, Julian Lennon, Lou Rawls, Ed Lauter, Xander Berkeley, Susan Barnes | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Leaving Normal | 1992 | Edward Zwick | ★★½ | 110 | An aggressively cynical cocktail waitress and her quieter, twice-wed friend take off for Alaska after failing to find fulfillment in Normal, Wyoming. Smug collection of on-the-road episodes fails to build a solid foundation, though the film does improve marginally once the characters settle down at their destination. Tilly is well cast, but Lahti is atypically insufferable. Cinematographer Ralf Bode's color vistas help. | tt0104697 | [R] | Christine Lahti, Meg Tilly, Lenny Von Dohlen, Maury Chaykin, James Gammon, Patrika Darbo, Eve Gordon, James Eckhouse, Brett Cullen, Rutanya Alda | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lebanon | 2009 | Samuel Maoz | ★★★ | 93 | A portrait of four Israeli soldiers in a tank, in the earliest moments of their country’s incursion into Lebanon in 1982. Hard-edged look at the brutality of war and the psychological impact on its combatants features endless scenes of gruesome violence while effectively capturing the fears and claustrophobia of the men. Maoz also scripted, based on his experiences during the Lebanon War. | tt1483831 | [R] | Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss, Dudu Tassa, Ashraf Barahum | Israeli-German-French-Lebanese | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Ledge | 2011 | Matthew Chapman | ★★ | 101 | Via convoluted circumstances eventually explained by what follows, scruffy Hunnam finds himself perched high up on a tall building's ledge as matrimonially troubled cop Howard implores him not to jump. A stew of subplots fails to mix in an appetizing way, as the story veers off into a theological dispute between its atheist protagonist and a fundamentalist couple (Tyler and Wilson). You can learn a ton about the speed and efficiency that were the norm for old-school Hollywood movies by contrasting this with Henry Hathaway's FOURTEEN HOURS, which also centered on the cop/potential leaper dilemma in far more intriguing fashion. | tt1535970 | [R] | Charlie Hunnam, Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Christopher Gorham | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Leech Woman | 1960 | Edward Dein | ★½ | 77 | In Africa, an aging woman obtains power that restores her youth, but requires her to murder— including her rotten husband. Back in L.A. it's more of the same. Gray is very good; the movie isn't. | tt0054020 | Coleen Gray, Grant Williams, Phillip Terry, Gloria Talbott, John Van Dreelen | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Left Behind | 2000 | Vic Sarin | ★½ | 100 | What do religion, international bankers, control of the world's food supply, and the sudden disappearance of millions of people have in common? They're all pieces of a puzzle intrepid reporter Cameron is trying to put together. Intriguing story (based on a best-selling book inspired by biblical prophecies) is defeated by one-dimensional treatment. Debuted on home video before theatrical release. Followed by a sequel. | tt0190524 | [PG-13] | Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Janaya Stephens, Chelsea Noble, Clarence Gilyard | Action, Drama, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Left Hand of God | 1955 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 87 | Bogart manages to be convincing as American caught in post-WW2 China, posing as clergyman with diverting results. | tt0048291 | Humphrey Bogart, Gene Tierney, Lee J. Cobb, Agnes Moorehead, E.G. Marshall, Benson Fong | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Left Handed Gun | 1958 | Arthur Penn | ★★½ | 102 | Faltering psychological Western dealing with Billy the Kid's career, method-acted by Newman. Penn's first feature, based on a 1955 Philco Playhouse TV play by Gore Vidal in which Newman starred. See also GORE VIDAL'S BILLY THE KID. | tt0051849 | Paul Newman, Lita Milan, John Dehner, Hurd Hatfield | Western | NULL | |||
| Left Luggage | 1998 | Jeroen Krabbé | ★★½ | 97 | In 1972 Antwerp, a free-spirited Jewish woman (Fraser), the daughter of Holocaust survivors, hires on as nanny for a Hasidic family and immediately bonds with a mute, cherubic five-year-old who is terrified of his rigid father. Emotionally charged drama explores a host of issues, but despite some powerful moments, is far too obvious and even schmaltzy at times. Opened in the U.S. in 2000. | tt0119512 | Isabella Rossellini, Maximilian Schell, Laura Fraser, Jeroen Krabbé, Marianne Sägebrecht, David Bradley, Adam Monty, Chaim Topol, Miriam Margolyes | Dutch-Belgian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Left Right and Center | 1959 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★½ | 95 | Simple, entertaining comedy about opponents in political campaign falling in love. Sim is hilarious, as always, as Carmichael's conniving uncle. | tt0055079 | Ian Carmichael, Patricia Bredin, Alastair Sim, Eric Barker | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Left-Handed Woman | 1978 | Peter Handke | ★★ | 119 | Clever, as The Woman, demands that husband Ganz leave her. He complies. Time passes . . . and the audience falls asleep. | tt0076316 | Edith Clever, Bruno Ganz, Michael Lonsdale, Markus Muhleisen, Angela Winkler, Ines de Longchamps, Bernhard Wicki, Gérard Depardieu | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Legacy | 2010 | Thomas Ikimi | ★ | 93 | Betrayal and collateral damage lie at the heart of this psychological thriller involving a former military man turned private contractor for hire (Elba) and his fast-tracking, politically savvy brother (Walker), who had Elba sent overseas on a covert assignment that went horribly wrong. Returning stateside, Elba appears intent on exposing his brother’s corrupt government dealings, even though it may put his own life at risk. Promising opening sequence leads to a claustrophobic and one-note, overly psychotic film; too tiresome to be effective. | tt1436034 | [R] | Idris Elba, Eamonn Walker, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Clarke Peters, Richard Brake, Julian Wadham, Lara Pulver | Nigerian-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Legacy of Rage | 1986 | Ronny Yu | ★★½ | 87 | Lee's debut film has him framed for the murder of a cop by a mobster 'friend' who then tries to steal his fiancée; eight years later he's released from prison and is out for blood. Martial arts mayhem is surprisingly kept to a bare minimum in this imitation John Woo crime drama filled with gory shootouts, bone-crushing violence and hyperkinetic car chases and explosions. | tt0091428 | Brandon Lee, Michael Wong, Regina Kent, Onno Boelee (Bolo Yeung), Tanya George, Wai-Man Chan, Randy Mang | Hong Kong | Action | NULL | ||
| The Legacy | The Legacy of Maggie Walsh | 1979 | Richard Marquand | ★★½ | 100 | Two Americans find themselves among group of people shanghaied to British mansion where strange deaths and an occult ceremony await. Acceptable fare for fans of this genre. Filmed in England; aka THE LEGACY OF MAGGIE WALSH. | tt0079450 | [R] | Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, John Standing, Ian Hogg, Margaret Tyzack, Charles Gray, Lee Montague, Roger Daltrey | Horror | NULL | |
| Legal Eagles | 1986 | Ivan Reitman | ★★½ | 114 | Underwritten, overproduced romantic comedy about assistant D.A. who becomes involved with flaky lawyer (Winger) and her even flakier client (Hannah). Redford's charisma is at its brightest, which helps make up for lack of spark between him and Winger, and film's other weaknesses. Commercial TV version of this film offers a completely different ending from the original theatrical movie! | tt0091396 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah, Brian Dennehy, Terence Stamp, Steven Hill, David Clennon, John McMartin, Jennifer Dundas, Roscoe Lee Browne, Christine Baranski, Jay Thomas | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Legalese | 1998 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 92 | Unscrupulous attorney Garner (at his latter-day best) uses a front—a green lawyer who becomes his protégé—to defend a wiggy actress in a high-profile murder case, calling the shots and manipulating the media. Sharp contemporary comedy. Turner plays an aggressive TV tabloid reporter. Billy Ray wrote the witty, rapid-fire script. Made for cable. | tt0155833 | James Garner, Gina Gershon, Mary-Louise Parker, Edward Kerr, Kathleen Turner, Brian Doyle-Murray | Drama | NULL | |||
| Legally Blonde | 2001 | Robert Luketic | ★★½ | 96 | A way-perky sorority girl gets accepted at Harvard Law School in order to win her ex-boyfriend back, then discovers she has the right stuff to become a lawyer. Witherspoon is practically the whole show in this very predictable but engagingly silly comedy that, like its heroine, has more smarts than you'd expect. Followed by a sequel. | tt0250494 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Ali Larter, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach, Oz Perkins, Raquel Welch | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde | 2003 | Charles Herman-Wurmfeld | ★½ | 94 | Appallingly imbecilic sequel sends Witherspoon's effervescent Elle Woods to Washington (like Mr. Smith, who is briefly invoked) to push through a bill that will prevent chemical testing on animals. She gets some quick lessons on 'playing the game,' capitol-style. Any film that begins with its heroine hiring a detective to locate her dog's birth mother isn't going for credibility . . . but this one can't even give us an emotionally satisfying climax when Elle addresses Congress! | tt0333780 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jessica Cauffiel, Alanna Ubach, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Legend | 1985 | Ridley Scott | ★★ | 89 | Lavishly mounted fantasy, in the Grimm's Fairy Tale mold, about the demon Darkness trying to gain control over young girl who represents absolute innocence. Incredibly handsome but story lacks momentum and characters are not well defined. Kids might enjoy it. Released in U.S. in 1986 with Tangerine Dream score; European version had a Jerry Goldsmith score. Director's cut runs 113m. | tt0089469 | [PG] | Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty | British | Fantasy, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |
| The Legend of 1900 | 1998 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★ | 116 | Expansive fable about an infant named 1900, born (and abandoned) on a huge ocean liner at the turn of the 20th century; he spends his entire life on that ship, and turns out to be a uniquely gifted pianist. Ambitious tale has some wonderful moments— including a piano duel with Jelly Roll Morton (Williams)— but rambles inconclusively. Italian title: THE LEGEND OF THE PIANIST ON THE OCEAN, which runs 170m. | tt0120731 | [R] | Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Bill Nunn, Clarence Williams III, Melanie Thierry, Harry Ditson | Italian | Drama, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Legend of Bagger Vance | 2000 | Robert Redford | ★★★ | 127 | A once-promising golfer from Savannah, Georgia, shattered by his experiences in WW1, is goaded into competing against champions Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in an exhibition match . . . with the help of a mysterious caddy named Bagger Vance. Leisurely paced, beautifully rendered fable; fortunately, some undercooked mysticism doesn't get in the way. Jack Lemmon appears unbilled in his final feature film. | tt0146984 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Bruce McGill, Joel Gretsch, Lane Smith, Harve Presnell, J. Michael Moncrief | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Billie Jean | 1985 | Matthew Robbins | ★★ | 96 | Texas girl and her brother are implicated in a shooting; unjustly accused of other crimes, they run from police and soon become rebel heroes. Slater is very good, and film is watchable, but its adult characters come out as caricatures and the 'message' gets muddy. Christian Slater's first feature film. | tt0089470 | [PG-13] | Helen Slater, Keith Gordon, Christian Slater, Richard Bradford, Peter Coyote, Martha Gehman, Dean Stockwell | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Boggy Creek | 1972 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★ | 90 | Docudrama about sightings of a horrifying swamp monster in an Arkansas community. This modest but well-touted endeavor became a huge success, inspiring many similar films— including RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK and THE BARBARIC BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK PART II (which is actually the third in the series). | tt0068837 | [G] | Willie E. Smith, John P. Nixon, John W. Gates, Jeff Crabtree, Buddy Crabtree | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Frenchie King | Petroleum Girls | 1971 | Christian-Jaque, Guy Casaril. | ★½ | 97 | Clumsy attempt at bawdy Western in the style of VIVA MARIA, with Bardot and her sisters as female outlaws at a French settlement in New Mexico, circa 1880. Badly dubbed. Aka PETROLEUM GIRLS. | tt0067637 | [R] | Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Michael J. Pollard, Patty Shepard, Micheline Presle. | French-Spanish-Italian-British | Comedy, Western | NULL |
| The Legend of Hell House | 1973 | John Hough | ★★★ | 95 | Harrowing story of occult phenomena as four researchers agree to spend one week in house known to be inhabited by malignant spirits. Not the usual ghost story, and certain to curl a few hairs. Michael Gough turns up as a corpse at conclusion. Written by Richard Matheson from his novel Hell House. | tt0070294 | [PG] | Roddy McDowall, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt, Roland Culver, Peter Bowles | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Legend of Hillbilly John | Who Fears the Devil | 1973 | John Newland | ★★★ | 86 | Odd, intriguing surprise, independently produced, in which two Johns— one (Pyle) an old man and the other (Capers) his grandson— set out to do battle with the devil. Based on several North and South Carolina legends and most deserving of its cult-film status. Aka WHO FEARS THE DEVIL (the title of the book upon which it's based) and MY NAME IS JOHN. | tt0070295 | [G] | Susan Strasberg, Percy Rodrigues, R. G. Armstrong, Alfred Ryder, Severn Darden, Denver Pyle, Harris Yulin, Hedges Capers | Drama | NULL | |
| The Legend of Lobo | 1962 | ★★½ | 67 | Narrated by Rex Allen, with songs by Sons of the Pioneers. Disney film follows a wolf named Lobo from birth to adulthood, as he learns the ways of life in the West. Well-done, if unmemorable, with bright soundtrack. | tt0056173 | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||||
| The Legend of Lylah Clare | 1968 | Robert Aldrich | ★★ | 130 | Has-been Hollywood director fashions young woman into the image of his late wife for screen biography; flamboyantly awful, but some think it's so bad it's good. Judge for yourself. Based on a 1963 Dupont Show of the Week TV play by Robert Thom. | tt0063219 | [R] | Kim Novak, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine, Milton Selzer, Valentina Cortese, Michael Murphy, Lee Meriwether, Coral Browne, Ellen Corby | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Nigger Charley | 1972 | Martin Goldman | ★★½ | 98 | Violent, routine black Western about Virginia slave who becomes a fugitive after killing treacherous overseer; Lloyd Price sings title tune. Sequel: THE SOUL OF NIGGER CHARLEY. | tt0068838 | [PG] | Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Don Pedro Colley, Gertrude Jeanette, Marcia McBroom, Alan Gifford | Western | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Rita | 2000 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★★ | 103 | Trenchant look at the youthful idealism of headline-grabbing political firebrands who were active in West Germany during the 1970s. The fictional title character (Beglau) is a radical/zealot who finds herself in East Germany living under a false identity and toiling alongside drab, discontented fellow workers. With much irony, Schlöndorff examines the era's politics, passions, and harsh realities. | tt0234805 | Bibiana Beglau, Martin Wuttke, Nadja Uhl, Harald Schrott, Alexander Beyer, Jenny Schilly, Mario Irrek | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Legend of Tom Dooley | 1959 | Ted Post | ★★ | 79 | Landon is pleasing in title role of Rebel soldier who robs a stage for the cause, only to discover war is over and he's now an outlaw. Based on the hit song. | tt0052998 | Michael Landon, Jo Morrow, Jack Hogan, Richard Rust, Dee Pollock | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Legend of Zorro | 2005 | Martin Campbell | ★★½ | 129 | Zorro, now married and the father of a son, is persuaded to retire by his wife as Californians vote to become part of the U.S., but the arrival of a mysterious stranger from Europe signals a need for him to return to action. Escapism with a capital E, made with a family audience in mind, full to overflowing with grandiose action and stunts . . . but like the first film, there's too much of everything. The charismatic stars do their best to combat a plot-heavy script. | tt0386140 | [PG] | Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rufus Sewell, Nick Chinlund, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Shuler Hensley, Michael Emerson, Adrian Alonso, Mary Crosby | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole | 2010 | Zack Snyder | ★★ | 97 | An owlet named Soren has always been inspired by his father’s stories of their species’ magnificent guardians. After he and his competitive brother are kidnapped by “the pure ones,” who seek absolute power, Soren escapes and finds that the legend is true. Now he must find strength in himself to protect his family and fellow owls. Impressive-looking CGI animated feature stuffs a lot of story—and warfare—into its narrative, but everything feels secondhand and contrived, including the sparse comedy relief. It’s also pretty bleak for a so-called family film. Based on Kathryn Lasky’s series of novels for kids. | tt1219342 | [PG] | Voices of Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Hugo Weaving, Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Sam Neill, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony La Paglia, David Wenham, Richard Roxburgh, Miriam Margolyes | U.S.-Australian | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Legend of the Holy Drinker | 1988 | Ermanno Olmi. | ★★★½ | 125 | Subtle, poetic tale of a down-and-out man (Hauer, in a very uncharacteristic performance), who drinks too much, sleeps under a bridge, and is haunted by his past. The scenario chronicles what happens when he's presented 200 francs by a stranger. As in Olmi's best films, there are often long silences— but those silences are golden. | tt0095513 | Rutger Hauer, Anthony Quayle, Sandrine Dumas, Dominique Pinon, Sophie Segalen. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Legend of the Lone Ranger | 1981 | William A. Fraker | ★★ | 98 | A middling effort to tell the origin of the Masked Man, which wavers between seriousness and tongue-in-cheek. Some fine action, great scenery, and a promising storyline, but sabotaged by awkward handling, uncharismatic leads (Spilsbury was dubbed to no great effect), and an awful 'ballad' narration by Merle Haggard. Bring back Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels! | tt0082648 | [PG] | Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, Christopher Lloyd, Jason Robards, Matt Clark, Juanin Clay, Richard Farnsworth, John Bennett Perry, John Hart | Western | NULL | ||
| Legend of the Lost | 1957 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 109 | Incredibly insipid hodgepodge interesting as curio: Wayne and Brazzi on treasure hunt in Sahara battle over rights to Loren. | tt0050629 | John Wayne, Sophia Loren, Rossano Brazzi, Kurt Kasznar, Sonia Moser | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Legend of the Werewolf | 1975 | Freddie Francis | ★★ | 87 | Trite version has handsome Rintoul as the hairy guy, working in French zoo, tracked down by coroner-investigator Cushing. Man-to-Wolf transformation scenes are subpar. | tt0073275 | Peter Cushing, Ron Moody, Hugh Griffith, Roy Castle, David Rintoul, Lynn Dalby | British | Crime, Mystery, Horror | NULL | ||
| Legendary | 2010 | Mel Damski | ★★ | 107 | Nerdy teen, fatherless and harassed by a school bully, finds salvation in wrestling, and establishes a connection with his older brother (World Wrestling Entertainment champion Cena), a once celebrated high school jock who’s now on the skids. Innocuous “inspirational” tale is formulaic to an extreme; worth watching only for Clarkson, who is aces as the boys’ mom. No surprise that this was produced by the WWE. | tt1563704 | [PG-13] | Patricia Clarkson, John Cena, Devon Graye, Madeleine Martin, Danny Glover, John Posey, Tyler Posey, Teo Olivares, Kareem Grimes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Legends of the Fall | 1994 | Edward Zwick | ★★ | 134 | Sprawling family saga about three brothers raised in Montana by their iconoclastic father— a former cavalry officer who turned his back on bloodshed and the exploitation of Indians. Lumbering, Edna Ferber-esque plot is rife with sibling rivalry, pregnant looks, and heated exchanges. Many moviegoers— especially fans of red-hot Pitt— embraced this film, but its earnest, straight-faced story gets sillier as it goes along. Performances are fairly one-note, as well, except for Thomas as the youngest brother. Based on a novella by Jim Harrison. Oscar winner for John Toll's cinematography. | tt0110322 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, Henry Thomas, Karina Lombard, Gordon Tootosis, Tantoo Cardinal, Paul Desmond | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| Legion | 2010 | Scott Stewart | ★★ | 104 | When God decides—in an apparent fit of pique—to destroy humankind, rebellious archangel Michael (Bettany) descends to Earth, clips his own wings, and speeds to a remote desert café to protect a besieged cross-section of lost souls. (Think of it as THE PROPHECY meets THE PETRIFIED FOREST.) As Michael smites the wicked with automatic weaponry while rival angel Gabriel (Durand) launches attacks by zombiefied bit players, it’s hard not to laugh out loud. Admirably straight-faced performances and first-rate action scenes laced with nifty special effects keep this biblical-themed fantasy-thriller from toppling irrevocably into absurdity. | tt1038686 | [R] | Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, Jon Tenney, Kevin Durand, Willa Holland, Kate Walsh | Action, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Legionnaire | 1998 | Peter MacDonald | ★½ | 99 | Boxer Van Damme joins the French Foreign Legion in 1925 and flees to Morocco after defying a mobster who orders him to take a dive. The script is so dated and unintentionally hilarious that you keep expecting to see Ramon Novarro show up in a turban, or at least Marty Feldman; but alas, it's all played with numbing seriousness and a lack of style and imagination. Released straight to video in the U.S. | tt0126388 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Steven Berkoff, Nicholas Farrell, Jim Carter, Ana Sofrenovic | Action | NULL | ||
| The Lemon Drop Kid | 1951 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 91 | Hope is hilarious as racetrack tout who owes big money to gangster and must pay or else. Adapted from Damon Runyon story, filmed before in 1934. Film introduced Livingston-Evans Christmas hit 'Silver Bells.' | tt0043733 | Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Lloyd Nolan, Jane Darwell, William Frawley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lemon Sisters | 1990 | Joyce Chopra | ★½ | 93 | Dopey female buddy comedy revolving around the relationships of three women; doesn't take off despite an impressive cast. Although the laughs are few, the scene in which Kane sings 'Rawhide' is almost worth a look. This film sat on the shelf awhile before its desultory release to theaters. | tt0100003 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Carol Kane, Kathryn Grody, Elliott Gould, Rubén Blades, Aidan Quinn, Estelle Parsons, Richard Libertini, Nathan Lane | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lemonade Joe | 1964 | Oldrich Lipsky | ★★★ | 84 | Sometimes repetitious but often quite funny spoof of the American Western; title refers to hero, who drinks Kola Loca lemonade instead of booze. Original running time is 99m. Scope. | tt0058275 | Carl Fiala, Olga Schoberova, Veta Fialova, Miles Kopeck, Rudy Dale, Joseph Nomaz | Czech | Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Western, Musical | NULL | ||
| Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | 2004 | Brad Silberling | ★★★ | 107 | Three newly orphaned siblings are sent to live with their very strange uncle, would-be actor Count Olaf, who intends to do them in and steal their inheritance. When they manage to escape from his clutches, they are taken in by a series of odd and unusual guardians. Grand Guignol family fodder based on three Lemony Snicket novels (written by Daniel Handler), impeccably designed by longtime Tim Burton colleague Rick Heinrichs. Unbeatable cast strikes just the right darkly comic tone, led by Carrey in one of his richest performances. Oscar winner for Valli O'Reilly and Bill Corso's makeup. Stick around for the ingenious, entertaining closing credits. | tt0339291 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, Jude Law, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Meryl Streep, Luis Guzman, Jamie Harris, Craig Ferguson, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Adams, Cedric the Entertainer | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Leningrad Cowboys Go America | 1989 | Aki Kaurismäki | ★★★ | 80 | Straight-faced comedy from Kaurismaki about a group of dreadful musicians from Finland; they're so bad that they decide to head for the U.S.— where people will listen to 'anything'— and they set out on tour through the modern wasteland of small-town America. Shot in the U.S. and Finland, and scripted by the prolific Kaurismaki; while his films have become known and admired at festivals, this was the first to have a major theatrical release in the U.S. | tt0097728 | [PG-13] | Matti Pellonpaa, Kari Vaananen, Jim Jarmusch, Nicky Tesco. | Finnish | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Lenny | 1974 | Bob Fosse | ★★★★ | 112 | Powerful biography of troubled nightclub comic Lenny Bruce, whose hip humor and scatological dialogue made him a controversial figure in the 1950s. Fine direction, evocative b&w camerawork (by Bruce Surtees) showcase excellent performances by Hoffman and Perrine (as Lenny's wife, stripper Honey Harlowe). Script by Julian Barry, expanded from his Broadway play. | tt0071746 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Stanley Beck, Gary Morton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lensman | 1984 | Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Kazuyuki Hirokawa | ★★½ | 107 | Japanese animated feature based on classic sci-fi novels of American E. E. 'Doc' Smith, which also inspired STAR WARS. Unfortunately, this film plays like a mediocre rip-off of the George Lucas film; computer-generated animation sequences are interesting to watch but don't move the story along. For comic book buffs only. | tt0088028 | Voices of Kerrigan Mahan, Tom Wyner, Greg Snegoff, Michael McConnohie | Japanese | Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina | Anna Karenina | 1997 | Bernard Rose | ★★ | 108 | Practically passionless recounting of the oft-filmed tale of the title character (Marceau), a wife and mother who commences an illicit affair with dashing Count Vronsky (Bean) in 19th-century Russia. Handsomely mounted, but dramatically flat. Notable only as the first Western-produced ANNA to be filmed in Russia— notably St. Petersburg. | tt0118623 | [R] | Sophie Marceau, Sean Bean, Alfred Molina, Mia Kirshner, James Fox, Fiona Shaw, Danny Huston, Phyllida Law, David Schofield, Saskia Wickham, Jennifer Hall | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Leo and Loree | 1980 | Jerry Paris | ★★ | 97 | Uneven romantic comedy about Most moving to Hollywood and suffering typical difficulties of novice actors. He falls in love with Purl, daughter of an Oscar-winning actress, who is trying to make it on her own. Nothing unusual, ambitious, or offensive about it. | tt0081044 | [PG] | Donny Most, Linda Purl, David Huffman, Jerry Paris, Shannon Farnon, Allan Rich | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Leo the Last | 1970 | John Boorman | ★★ | 103 | Oddball film about reticent Mastroianni, last in a line of princes, who gradually emerges from decaying London mansion to become involved with people living on his black ghetto block. Enigmatic, unsatisfying film, with occasional bright touches. Boorman explored some of the same ideas 20 years later in WHERE THE HEART IS. | tt0065974 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Billie Whitelaw, Calvin Lockhart, Glenna Forster-Jones, Graham Crowden | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man | 2005 | Lian Lunson | ★★½ | 105 | Agreeable if unspectacular documentary-concert film that charts the life and times of the famed Canadian songwriter-novelist-poet. Most interesting are Cohen's recollections of his early success and his decision to interrupt his career to pass time in a Zen monastery. Cohen and others (including Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Beth Orton, and Jarvis Cocker) perform in a tribute concert at the Sydney Opera House. | tt0478197 | [PG-13] | Documentary, Biography, Music | NULL | |||
| Leonard Part 6 | 1987 | Paul Weiland | 💣 | 85 | With a band of mad animals knocking off the government's top-secret agents, restaurateur Cos comes out of retirement to avenge his one-time colleagues by foiling the villainess responsible. Even Cosby warned audiences to stay away from this megabomb (for which he receives story and producer credit). | tt0093405 | [PG] | Bill Cosby, Tom Courtenay, Joe Don Baker, Moses Gunn, Pat Colbert, Gloria Foster, Victoria Rowell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Leonor | 1975 | Juan Buñuel | 💣 | 90 | Medieval mishmash with Lady Liv rising from the dead a decade after husband Piccoli seals her in a tomb. Deadening and idiotic. Directed by the son of Luis Buñuel. | tt0073278 | [PG] | Michel Piccoli, Liv Ullmann, Ornella Muti, Antonio Ferrandis, Jorge Rigaud | French-Spanish-Italian | Fantasy, Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| The Leopard Man | 1943 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 66 | Intriguing but flawed Val Lewton thriller about series of murders in small New Mexico town blamed on escaped leopard. Based on novel Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. | tt0036104 | Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, James Bell, Margaret Landry, Abner Biberman | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Leopard Son | 1996 | Hugo Van Lawick | ★★★½ | 84 | Sweeping, beautifully filmed documentary following the birth, growing pains, and coming-of-age of a leopard cub. Shot over a two-year period in Africa's Serengeti Plain, this eye-opening film shows just how much luck plays a part in any animal's survival. Parents should know that there are disturbing scenes of animal death, though handled with discretion. Music by Stewart Copeland. Discovery Channel's first theatrical release. | tt0116859 | [G] | Narrated by John Gielgud | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Leopard in the Snow | 1978 | Gerry O'Hara | ★★½ | 90 | First movie produced by publishers of Harlequin Romance paperbacks is predictably tearful love story about English girl who falls for a testy, reclusive American who's afraid to admit his feelings. | tt0077847 | [PG] | Keir Dullea, Susan Penhaligon, Kenneth More, Billie Whitelaw, Jeremy Kemp, Yvonne Manners | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Leopard | 1963 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★★ | 195 | Originally screened at 195m., then released in the U.S. in a badly dubbed 165m. version. Visconti tinkered with the film repeatedly over the years, finally pronouncing the 187m. print “definitive” (although Lancaster’s voice is still dubbed by another actor in the original foreign version). | tt0057091 | Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Rina Morelli, Paolo Stoppa | French-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Lepke | 1975 | Menahem Golan | ★★½ | 110 | Cut above usual gangster film, with Curtis surprisingly convincing as title character, head of '30s Murder, Inc. Berle has serious cameo as Comer's father. Recut to 98m. by Golan for cable TV release. | tt0073279 | [R] | Tony Curtis, Anjanette Comer, Michael Callan, Warren Berlinger, Milton Berle, Vic Tayback | Drama | NULL | ||
| Leprechaun | 1993 | Mark Jones | 💣 | 92 | Inept horror drama in which a pint-sized Irish fairy (Davis) goes on a rampage after being ripped off of a hundred gold-pieces. Gratuitous gore and cheap shocks take the place of moviemaking skill. | tt0107387 | [R] | Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Gorman, John Sanderford, Shay Duffin | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Leprechaun 2 | 1994 | Rodman Flender | ★½ | 85 | A spurned, vengeful leprechaun arrives in L.A. from ancient Ireland to claim his bride— the descendant of a lass he was tricked out of 1,000 years ago. Just another excuse for high-body-count gratuitous gore, begorrah! | tt0110329 | [R] | Warwick Davis, Charlie Heath, Shevonne Durkin, Sandy Baron, Adam Biesk, James Lancaster, Clint Howard, Kimmy Robertson | Horror | NULL | ||
| Les Biches | 1968 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 104 | Excellent film of rich, aging lesbian who picks up unformed waif who earns her living drawing on the sidewalks of Paris. | tt0062728 | [R] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacqueline Sassard, Stephane Audran, Nane Germon | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Les Bonnes Femmes | 1960 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 93 | Offbeat, intriguing Chabrol concoction, an important film of the early French New Wave, about a quartet of French shopgirls and their varied hopes and dreams. The most interesting storyline spotlights dreamy Joano and her fascination with a mysterious motorcyclist who appears to be following her. The finale is a real knockout. | tt0053666 | Bernadette Lafont, Clotilde Joano, Stephane Audran, Lucile Saint-Simon, Pierre Bertin, Jean-Louis Maury, Claude Berri, Mario David | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Carabiniers | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard. | ★★★ | 80 | In an unspecified time and place, two peasants are offered money and the promise of great adventures if they fight for the king; they accept, but are executed when a peace treaty is signed. Critically lambasted upon its release, this (intentionally) crudely made and anachronistic fable remains one of the few honest films about the insanity and immorality of war: it refuses to romanticize its subject. Written by Godard, Jean Gruault, and Roberto Rossellini. | tt0056905 | Albert Juross, Marino Masé, Genevieve Galea, Catherine Ribeiro, Gérard Poirot, Jean Brassat, Alvaro Gheri, Barbet Schroeder. | French-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Les Choristes | The Chorus | 2004 | Christophe Barratier | ★★½ | 97 | New supervisor reports for work at a reform school for 'difficult' boys run by a severe and unenlightened man. By starting a choir, the new man gives his young charges unity and hope. Well made, but obvious from the word go, which undercuts its emotional impact. Coproducer Jacques Perrin plays the conductor in the opening scene; that's his son Maxence as Pépinot. Remake of LA CAGE AUX ROSSIGNOLS (1947). Aka THE CHORUS. | tt0372824 | [PG-13] | Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Kad Merad, Jacques Perrin, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Marie Bunel, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Maxence Perrin | French-Swiss | Romance, Drama, Musical | NULL |
| Les Compères | 1984 | Francis Veber | ★★★ | 92 | Endearing comedy in which beautiful, desperate Duperey manipulates former boyfriends Richard and Depardieu into searching for runaway son Bierry by making each think that the boy is his. This one works primarily because of the stars' knowing performances. Veber also scripted. Remade in the U.S. as FATHERS' DAY. | tt0085354 | [PG] | Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, Anny Duperey, Michel Aumont, Stephane Bierry | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Les Dames du Bois du Boulogne | 1945 | Robert Bresson. | ★★½ | 90 | A woman schemes to avenge herself on the man who rejected her by making him fall for a femme who he doesn't know was a prostitute. Early piece by this most austere of all French realisateurs proves again that Hell hath no fury, etc. Cowritten by Jean Cocteau (but bereft of his personal touch) from an episode in the determinist philosopher Denis Diderot's 1796 novel Jacques le Fataliste. Aka LADIES OF THE PARK. | tt0037630 | Maria Casarès, Elina Labourdette, Paul Bernard, Jean Marchat. | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Les Destinées | 2000 | Olivier Assayas | ★★½ | 174 | Heartfelt, sumptuously filmed but disappointing epic set during the first decades of the 20th century, centering on small-town minister Berling, who agrees to take over his family's porcelain-manufacturing business, and his evolving relationship with beautiful Béart. Sporadically on target when spotlighting the importance of love in a cold, fast-changing world, but never as involving as it should be . . . and terribly overlong. Originally titled LES DESTINÉES SENTIMENTALES. | tt0216689 | Emmanuelle Béart, Charles Berling, Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Perrier, Dominique Reymond, André Marcon, Alexandra London, Julie Depardieu, Catherine Mouchet | French-Swiss | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Les Enfants Terribles | 1949 | Jean-Pierre Melville. | ★★★ | 105 | Jean Cocteau (who also narrates) chose Melville to direct this adaptation of his daring play detailing the perverse, fantasy-filled relationship between a brother and sister and the tragedy that ensues when their private world is shattered by outsiders. Handsomely crafted, well acted, and beautifully shot by Henri Decaë. U.S. title: THE STRANGE ONES. | tt0042436 | Nicole Stéphane, Edouard Dermithe, Renée Cosima, Jacques Bernard, Melvyn Martin, Maria Cyliakus, Jean-Marie Robain. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Girls | 1957 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 114 | Charming, sprightly musical involving three show girls who (via flashback) reveal their relationship to hoofer Kelly; chicly handled in all departments, with Cole Porter tunes and Oscar-winning Orry-Kelly costumes. John Patrick adapted Vera Caspary's novel. | tt0050631 | Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Jacques Bergerac, Leslie Phillips, Henry Daniell, Patrick Macnee | Musical | NULL | |||
| Les Grandes Manoeuvres | 1955 | René Clair. | ★★★ | 106 | In a pre-WW1 garrison town, soldier Philipe wagers he can seduce and abandon divorced beauty Morgan, but the tables are turned when the Don Juan finds himself succumbing to a new emotion: love. Entertaining Clair confection (his first in color) is amusing, if not quite as witty or imaginative as his finest films. Aka THE GRAND MANEUVER; SUMMER MANEUVERS. | tt0048133 | Gérard Philipe, Michele Morgan, Brigitte Bardot, Yves Robert, Pierre Dux, Jean Desailly, Jacques Fabri. | French-Italian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Miserables | 1935 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★½ | 108 | Meticulous production of Victor Hugo's classic tale. Minor thief March tries to bury past and become respectable town mayor, but police inspector Javert (Laughton) won't let him. John Carradine has bit part as student radical. Screenplay by W. P. Lipscomb. | tt0026725 | Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Rochelle Hudson, Frances Drake, John Beal, Florence Eldridge, Jessie Ralph, Leonid Kinskey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Les Miserables | 1947 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★★ | 118 | Intelligent, handsomely mounted version of the oft-filmed Victor Hugo story, with Cervi making a fine Jean Valjean. Mario Monicelli was one of the scripters. Originally 140m. | tt0039629 | Gino Cervi, Valentina Cortesa, John Hinrich, Aldo Nicodemi, Duccia Giraldi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Miserables | 1952 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 104 | Glossy but thoughtful remake of the venerable Victor Hugo classic. | tt0044907 | Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, Robert Newton, Sylvia Sidney, Edmund Gwenn, Cameron Mitchell, Elsa Lanchester, Florence Bates | Drama | NULL | |||
| Les Miserables | 1978 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Lavish remake of the perennial with a cerebral interpretation of Valjean by Jordan and a determined one of Javert by Perkins. Sparkling cameos by Dauphin (in his last role) and some British stalwarts. | tt0077936 | Richard Jordan, Anthony Perkins, Cyril Cusack, Claude Dauphin, John Gielgud, Flora Robson, Celia Johnson, Joyce Redman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Les Misérables | 1957 | Jean-Paul Le Chanois | ★★½ | 210 | Victor Hugo tale, with Gabin as Jean Valjean, Blier as Javert. Respectful but uninspiring. Often shown in two parts. | tt0050709 | Jean Gabin, Daniele Delorme, Bernard Blier, Bourvil, Gianni Esposito, Serge Reggiani | French-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Misérables | 1995 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★½ | 178 | Extraordinary recycling of Victor Hugo's sprawling novel into a 20th-century landscape, culminating in a story of WW2 France. Belmondo plays a simple man who takes on the qualities of Jean Valjean as he helps a Jewish family fleeing from the Nazis. Lelouch's modern parable/adaptation emphasizes the impact that one good man can have on the lives of people around him; the result is absolutely riveting. Great, humanistic storytelling. Marais (from the Cocteau classics of the 1940s) plays the Monseigneur; Presle plays the Mère Supérieure. The ballerina and her daughter are played by Lelouch's real-life wife and daughter. | tt0113828 | [R] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Boujenah, Alessandra Martines, Annie Girardot, Clementine Celarie, Philippe Leotard, Rufus, Jean Marais, Micheline Presle, Darry Cowl, Salome, Ticky Holgado, Philippe Kohrsand, Nicole Croisille, Paul Belmondo | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Les Misérables | 1998 | Bille August | ★★½ | 131 | Respectful, well-made adaptation of the Hugo classic, with strong performances from Neeson (as Jean Valjean), Thurman (as Fantine), Danes (as Cosette), and of course Rush (as the villainous Javert). Location filming in Paris (and Prague) is another asset. Yet there is a certain fire missing, especially at the finale, which keeps this from soaring. | tt0119683 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Claire Danes, Hans Matheson, Reine Brynolfsson, Mimi Newman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Parents Terribles | 1948 | Jean Cocteau | ★★★ | 98 | Absorbing drama of a dysfunctional middle-class family, with in-experienced young Marais falling in love with Day, unaware that she's been his father's mistress. De Bray is outstanding as Marais's neurotic mother, who subtly expresses incestuous feelings toward her son. Cocteau scripted based on his play (which featured these same actors). Remade in England as INTIMATE RELATIONS. | tt0040682 | Jean Marais, Josette Day, Yvonne de Bray, Marcel André, Gabrielle Dorziat | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Les Visiteurs du Soir | 1942 | Marcel Carné. | ★★½ | 120 | In the Middle Ages, the Devil sends two envoys disguised as minstrels to a chateau to break up a love affair, but one of them falls for the woman he is trying to seduce. Celebrated but somewhat disappointing French fantasy made during the Nazi occupation, intended by writers Jacques Prévert and Pierre Laroche as an allegory, with the Devil representing Hitler. Beautiful to look at but rather cold and artificial. Aka THE DEVIL'S ENVOYS. | tt0035521 | Arletty, Jules Berry, Marie Déa, Fernand Ledoux, Alain Cuny, Marcel Herrand. | French | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Les Voleurs | Thieves | 1996 | André Téchiné | ★★ | 117 | Something different from Téchiné (who last teamed with these two stars on MA SAISON PRÉFÉRÉE): a crime picture, laced with his usual emotional/sexual twists. Here, as a boy pieces together his father's death, the viewer meets his outcast uncle, a cop (Auteuil), a cipher-like professor (Deneuve), and the young woman who comes between them (Côte). More an acting exercise than a cogent drama. Aka THIEVES. | tt0118100 | Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Laurence Côte, Fabienne Babe, Julien Rivière, Benoît Magimel, Didier Bezace, Ivan Desny | French | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Less Than Zero | 1987 | Marek Kanievska | ★★ | 96 | Bret Easton Ellis' nihilistic novel about young, disengaged L.A. have-it-alls is sanitized into pointlessness, though a faithful adaptation would have turned off everyone; try to imagine it with Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, and Sonny Tufts. The two leads are awful, but Spader is creepy as a drug-dealing slug, Downey exceptional as a wealthy addict. Almost good-bad. | tt0093407 | [R] | Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey/Jr., James Spader, Tony Bill, Nicholas Pryor, Brad Pitt | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Lesson Before Dying | 1999 | Joseph Sargent | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Moving drama set in late '40s rural Louisiana dealing with a well-spoken black teacher persuaded to work with an illiterate plantation worker who's been railroaded onto death row. Peabody Award-winning film lovingly adapted by Ann Peacock from the longtime best-seller by Ernest J. Gaines. | tt0179940 | Don Cheadle, Cicely Tyson, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall, Brent Jennings, Dana Ivey | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Lesson in Love | 1954 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 95 | Obstetrician Bjornstrand, happily married for 15 years to Dahlbeck, has an affair with a patient; Dahlbeck then returns to her former lover— the husband's best friend. Medium Bergman. | tt0047167 | Gunnar Bjornstrand, Eva Dahlbeck, Yvonne Lombard, Harriet Andersson, Ake Gronberg | Swedish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Let 'Em Have It | 1935 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 90 | Predictable gangster saga is interesting for depiction of newly formed FBI at work. Some strong action scenes. | tt0026621 | Richard Arlen, Virginia Bruce, Alice Brady, Bruce Cabot, Harvey Stephens, Eric Linden, Joyce Compton, Gordon Jones | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Let Freedom Ring | 1939 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 87 | Ben Hecht scripted this fascinating Western drama with music about a singing lawyer (Eddy) who returns to his hometown and battles corrupt Arnold. Sermonizes a bit, but its points about the power of the press and a citizen's responsibilities in a free society are as relevant as ever. | tt0031565 | Nelson Eddy, Virginia Bruce, Victor McLaglen, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Raymond Walburn | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Let Him Have It | 1991 | Peter Medak | ★★★ | 115 | Absorbing drama based on the true story of Derek Bentley, a slow-witted youth who was pulled into a life of crime in post-war England and sentenced to death for a murder actually committed by his youthful cohort. Medak's sympathetic point of view is abetted by vivid performances, including young Eccleston in the lead, and a gallery of top British actors in supporting roles. | tt0102288 | [R] | Chris Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Courtenay, Tom Bell, Eileen Atkins, Clare Holman, Mark McGann, Michael Gough, Ronald Fraser, James Villiers, Murray Melvin, Norman Rossington, Clive Revill | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Let It Be | 1970 | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | ★★★ | 80 | Uneven, draggy documentary is rescued and abetted by brilliant, Oscar-winning score by The Beatles. When they perform it becomes magical; when others are thrown in it becomes a bore. | tt0065976 | [G] | John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison | British | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |
| Let It Ride | 1989 | Joe Pytka | ★★ | 86 | Disjointed, only sporadically funny tale of a compulsive gambler who finally hits a winning streak at a Florida racetrack. First-time director Pytka tries for a Damon Runyon flavor and a fast pace, but it doesn't come off; screenwriter Nancy Dowd had her name removed from credits. | tt0097731 | [PG-13] | Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, David Johansen (Buster Poindexter), Jennifer Tilly, Allen Garfield, Ed Walsh, Michelle Phillips, Mary Woronov, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Edson, Cynthia Nixon | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Let Me In | 2010 | Matt Reeves | ★★★ | 116 | Lonely, bullied boy finds an unusual friend in his new next-door neighbor, who turns out to be a vampire. Writer-director Reeves has crafted one of Hollywood’s best adaptations of a foreign film, remaining faithful to the Swedish original but placing greater emphasis on the attraction between his two main characters. Still, if you’ve seen the 2008 original, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, there aren’t any real surprises. Terrifically effective score by Michael Giacchino. | tt1228987 | [R] | Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Elias Koteas, Cara Buono, Sasha Barrese, Ritchie Coster | U.S.-Swedish-British | Drama, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Let No Man Write My Epitaph | 1960 | Philip Leacock | ★★★ | 106 | Bizarre account of slum life, focusing on Darren and his dope-addicted mother involved with a variety of corrupt individuals. Sequel to KNOCK ON ANY DOOR. | tt0054021 | Burl Ives, Shelley Winters, James Darren, Jean Seberg, Ricardo Montalban, Ella Fitzgerald | Drama | NULL | |||
| Let Us Live | 1939 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 68 | Weepy melodrama about innocent man Fonda convicted of murder and his girl O'Sullivan trying to clear him. | tt0031566 | Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Fonda, Ralph Bellamy, Alan Baxter, Stanley Ridges | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Let the Devil Wear Black | 2000 | Stacy Title | ★★½ | 89 | Son of a deceased millionaire returns to L.A. and comes to believe his shady uncle, now linked to his mother, murdered his father. Urban thriller based on Hamlet is alternately insightful and silly (the Hamlet character meets his father's ghost in a toilet). Penner coscripted with his wife, Title. Worth a look. | tt0151331 | Jonathan Penner, Jacqueline Bisset, Mary-Louise Parker, Jamey Sheridan, Philip Baker Hall, Jonathan Banks, Maury Chaykin, Chris Sarandon | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Let the Good Times Roll | 1973 | Sid Levin, Bob Abel | ★★★ | 98 | Rockumentary with flavor and wit. Study of 1950s told through incredible compilation of film footage, and some fine performances by leading rock 'n' rollers of the period in revival concerts, highlighted by terrific finale with Berry and Diddley dueting on 'Johnny B. Goode.' Imaginative multi-image widescreen effects are letterboxed on most TV prints. | tt0143367 | [PG] | Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Five Satins, Shirelles, Coasters, Bill Haley and The Comets | Documentary, Music | NULL | ||
| Let the Right One In | 2008 | Tomas Alfredson | ★★★½ | 115 | Unique gothic horror tale set against the snowy backdrop of a suburban town outside of Stockholm. There a lonely 12-year-old boy who’s bullied at school finds an unlikely soul mate in a strange girl who lives in the apartment next door—and turns out to be a vampire. Unusual melding of horror and adolescent angst in an utterly ordinary setting; adapted by John Ajvide Lindqvist from his novel. Artfully staged and photographed in widescreen, this doles out its moments of shock in leisurely fashion—which magnifies their impact when they occur. | tt1139797 | [R] | Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Mikael Rahm, Karl-Robert Lindgren, Patrik Rydmark | Swedish | Romance, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Let's Be Happy | 1957 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 93 | Featherweight musical of girl going to Scotland to claim a castle she's inherited. | tt0050632 | Tony Martin, Vera-Ellen, Zena Marshall, Guy Middleton | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Let's Dance | 1950 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 112 | Lesser-known Astaire vehicle is still fun, with war widow Hutton attempting to shield her young son from the clutches of his wealthy, stuffy great-grandmother. Astaire is the man who loves her, and his dancing (particularly in the 'Piano Dance' number) is wonderful. Songs by Frank Loesser. | tt0042674 | Betty Hutton, Fred Astaire, Roland Young, Ruth Warrick, Shepperd Strudwick, Lucile Watson, Barton MacLane, Melville Cooper | Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Do It Again | 1953 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 95 | Musical remake of THE AWFUL TRUTH with Milland in Cary Grant's role, Wyman in Irene Dunne's, and Ray in Ralph Bellamy's. Songs add to spicy plot, but no classic like original '37 film. | tt0045995 | Jane Wyman, Ray Milland, Aldo Ray, Leon Ames, Tom Helmore | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Do It Again | 1975 | Sidney Poitier | ★★★ | 112 | Hilarious follow-up to UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT; lodge brothers Poitier and Cosby hypnotize Walker into becoming great boxer, figuring they can clean up on bets. Yes, it's an old 'Bowery Boys' plot, but still well done. Followed by A PIECE OF THE ACTION. | tt0073282 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Jimmie Walker, Calvin Lockhart, John Amos, Denise Nicholas, Lee Chamberlain | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Let's Face It | 1943 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 76 | Brassy comedy with loud Hutton competing with Hope for laughs in forced wartime comedy of soldiers hired as male companions. | tt0036105 | Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, ZaSu Pitts, Phyllis Povah, Dave Willock, Eve Arden | Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Get Harry | The Rescue | 1986 | Alan Smithee (Stuart Rosenberg) | ★½ | 107 | Inherently stupid, unbelievable action yarn about a soldier of fortune's attempt to rescue pipeline worker Harmon, who's been kidnapped (along with an ambassador) by an underground group of drug dealers in South America. Busey and Duvall give lively performances, but that's all one can recommend about this turkey. Director Stuart Rosenberg had his name removed from the credits. Barely received theatrical release. Video title: THE RESCUE. | tt0091400 | [R] | Michael Schoeffling, Tom Wilson, Glenn Frey, Gary Busey, Robert Duvall, Rick Rossovich, Ben Johnson, Matt Clark, Gregory Sierra, Elpidia Carrillo, Mark Harmon, Jere Burns | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Let's Get Lost | 1989 | Bruce Weber | ★★★ | 119 | Chet Baker, jazz trumpeter and singer from the 'cool' school of the 1950s, is the subject of photographer Weber's high-style, b&w documentary. It's a fascinating (and sometimes disquietingly personal) look at the charismatic musician once referred to as the James Dean of jazz, whose long involvement with drugs never seemed to deter him from making beautiful music. Overlong, but worthwhile. | tt0095515 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Let's Get Tough! | 1942 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 62 | The East Side Kids take on Japanese spies in this rampantly jingoistic entry. The kids ad lib shamelessly, with frequently amusing results. | tt0034973 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Bobby Stone, David Gorcey, Tom Brown, Florence Rice, Robert Armstrong, Gabriel Dell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Let's Go Native | 1930 | Leo McCarey. | ★★½ | 75 | Fashion designer MacDonald, hoping to stage a musical revue, sails for South America but is shipwrecked on a tropical isle ('It was one of the Virgin Islands, but it drifted'). Strange film plays like an elongated two-reel comedy with gags both old-hat and wildly ingenious. Musical numbers are haphazard, the best a shipboard novelty with Oakie and chorus girls that uses 'arty' camera angles and even a kaleidoscope effect. | tt0021061 | Jack Oakie, Jeanette MacDonald, Skeets Gallagher, James Hall, William Austin, Kay Francis, David Newell, Eugene Pallette, Grady Sutton. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Go Navy! | 1951 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 68 | The Bowery Boys sign up and ship out to catch some crooks who are posing as gobs. One of their funniest outings. | tt0043735 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, William Benedict, David Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey, Allen Jenkins, Buddy Gorman, Charlita, Dorothy Ford, Tom Neal, Frank Jenks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Let's Go To Prison | 2006 | Bob Odenkirk | 💣 | 84 | Prisoner vows to avenge the judge who put him behind bars by framing his wealthy, spoiled son and introducing him to the horrors of penitentiary life. Quirky, charismatic performers are trapped in a humorless, poorly directed, generally deadening film. Even people who find 'don't drop the soap in the shower' jokes amusing will probably be bored. Also available in unrated version. | tt0454987 | [R] | Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Chi McBride, David Koechner, Dylan Baker | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Let's Hope It's a Girl | 1985 | Mario Monicelli | ★★★ | 114 | Complex, funny, seriocomic account of what happens when Count Noiret returns to his former wife (Ullmann) and family and attempts to sell part of their estate. The men all have a variety of faults, and the women can very well live without them. Blier is great as the elderly, hilariously senile uncle. | tt0090055 | Liv Ullmann, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Bernard Blier, Giuliana De Sio, Athina Cenci, Stefania Sandrelli | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Let's Kill Uncle | 1966 | William Castle | ★★½ | 92 | Green's ham is just right for this outrageous tale of 12-year-old who tries to kill his uncle because his uncle is trying to kill him over a $5 million inheritance. Lots of hokey thrills involving sharks, tarantulas and the like. Loosely based on Rohan O'Grady novel. | tt0060626 | Nigel Green, Mary Badham, Pat Cardi, Robert Pickering, Linda Lawson, Reff Sanchez, Nestor Paiva | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Let's Live a Little | 1948 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 85 | Amusing but unspectacular romantic comedy, with Lamarr and Cummings falling in love. | tt0040535 | Hedy Lamarr, Robert Cummings, Anna Sten, Robert Shayne, Mary Treen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Let's Make It Legal | 1951 | Richard Sale | ★★ | 77 | Trifling comedy in which Colbert divorces Carey and is tempted to wed ex-beau Scott. Monroe is wasted as a bathing beauty. | tt0043736 | Claudette Colbert, Macdonald Carey, Zachary Scott, Robert Wagner, Barbara Bates, Marilyn Monroe | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Let's Make Love | 1960 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 118 | Billionaire Montand hears of show spoofing him, wants to stop it, then meets the show's star, Monroe. To charm her, he hires Bing Crosby to teach him to sing, Milton Berle to coach on comedy, Gene Kelly to make him dance. Bubbly cast, snappy musical numbers. | tt0054022 | Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand, Tony Randall, Frankie Vaughan, Wilfrid Hyde-White, David Burns | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Let's Make Music | 1940 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 85 | Nathanael West wrote this entertaining B musical about bandleader Crosby turning prim schoolteacher's football victory song into a hit. Good fun; other songs include 'Big Noise from Winnetka. | tt0032700 | Bob Crosby, Jean Rogers, Elisabeth Risdon, Joseph Buloff | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Make Up | 1954 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★ | 94 | Froth about overimaginative Neagle trying to decide between suitors Flynn and Farrar. Sean Connery has a bit in his film debut. Original title: LILACS IN THE SPRING. | tt0048294 | Errol Flynn, Anna Neagle, David Farrar, Kathleen Harrison, Peter Graves | British | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Let's Rock! | 1958 | Harry Foster | ★★ | 79 | Balladeer La Rosa resists changing his singing style with the popularity of rock 'n' roll. KING LEAR it isn't. Danny and the Juniors sing 'At the Hop'; the Royal Teens do 'Short Shorts.' Aka KEEP IT COOL. | tt0051856 | Julius La Rosa, Phyllis Newman, Conrad Janis, Della Reese, Joy Harmon, Royal Teens, Paul Anka, Danny and the Juniors, Roy Hamilton, Wink Martindale | Musical | NULL | |||
| Let's Scare Jessica to Death | 1971 | John Hancock | ★★½ | 89 | Creepy little tale of murder and deception as unstable girl gets full fright-treatment at country home. | tt0067341 | [PG] | Zohra Lampert, Barton Heyman, Kevin O'Connor, MariClaire Costello, Gretchen Corbett | Horror | NULL | ||
| Let's Spend the Night Together | 1982 | Hal Ashby | ★★ | 94 | Tired concert film, edited from three separate performances from the Rolling Stones' 1981 tour. Flirts with excitement only when lookers in appropriate garb help Mick Jagger perform 'Honky Tonk Woman.' This is at least the third Stones concert film, and the republic will stand if it's the last. | tt0084242 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Let's Talk About Men | 1965 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★ | 93 | Amusing episodic film (four stories tied to a fifth): Manfredi competently and comically plays five different men involved with different women and situations. Made right after Ettore Scola's LET'S TALK ABOUT WOMEN, this took 11 years to cross the ocean but was worth the wait. | tt0059627 | Nino Manfredi, Luciana Paluzzi, Margaret Lee, Milena Vukotic, Patrizia DeClara, Alfredo Baranchini | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Let's Talk About Sex | 1998 | Troy Beyer | ★½ | 82 | Let's not and say we did. Miami advice columnist enlists her two roomies to help make a documentary about what women really think about men and sex. Intriguing concept is poorly handled with lame attempts at shock humor and mawkish dramatic material. This film would lead you to believe that the peak of sexual freedom derives from all-night, frozen-yogurt binging, teary-eyed confessionals. Directorial debut for actress Beyer, who also wrote the infantile B*A*P*S. | tt0165857 | [R] | Troy Beyer, Paget Brewster, Randi Ingerman, Joseph C. Phillips, Michaline Babich, Tina Nguyen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Let's Talk About Women | 1964 | Ettore Scola | ★★½ | 108 | Nine-episode comedy with Gassman starring in each, and encountering a variety of women. Some segments better than others; one of the best has Gassman discovering that the prostitute he's hired is married to an old friend of his! Lina Wertmuller's LET'S TALK ABOUT MEN came a year later. | tt0058556 | Vittorio Gassman, Maria Fiore, Donatella Mauro, Giovanna Ralli, Antonella Lualdi, Slyva Koscina, Heidi Stroh, Rosanna Ghevardi, Walter Chiari, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Jean Valerie | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lethal Weapon | 1987 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 110 | Undercover cop Gibson, a borderline psychopath who's always on the edge, is partnered with stable family-man Glover, and they prove a good team as they go after a particularly scummy drug ring. Loud, violent, trashy cop movie done to a turn; fast paced and entertaining so long as you don't think about it too much. Director's cut runs 117m. Followed by three sequels. | tt0093409 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Lethal Weapon 2 | 1989 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 113 | Ultraviolent, superslick sequel is just as cartoonish as the first— and possibly even more entertaining. This time around, our heroes tangle with a nefarious smuggling kingpin hiding behind diplomatic immunity, but doesn't reckon with Gibson's reckless ways. A must for action fans. Director's cut runs 118m. | tt0097733 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor, Patsy Kensit, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Steve Kahan | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lethal Weapon 3 | 1992 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 115 | Glover is about to retire when he and partner Gibson find themselves in the midst of an escalating war with a former cop turned criminal mastermind. Despite lazy writing and pointless plot turns, manages to crank out enough thrills, laughs, and violent action to rate as acceptable escapism. Director's cut runs 117m. | tt0104714 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Stuart Wilson, Steve Kahan, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Gregory Millar, Jason MeshoverIorg, Delores Hall | Crime, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lethal Weapon 4 | 1998 | Richard Donner | ★★★ | 127 | Those wacky cops are at it again, this time battling a Chinese ganglord— and facing domestic crises involving pregnancy and marriage. Added this time: Rock, as an overzealous cop, and Li, as a formidable bad guy. The cast is so likable and their energy so infectious that the filmmakers get away with murder, presenting an overlong, incoherent story and peppering it with supercharged action sequences. Fans of the series won't be disappointed; others needn't bother. Richard Libertini appears unbilled. | tt0122151 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, Jet Li, Steve Kahan, Kim Chan, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe | Crime, Action, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Letter From an Unknown Woman | 1948 | Max Ophuls | ★★★ | 90 | Lush romantic flavor of direction and performances obscures clichés and improbabilities in story of Fontaine's lifelong infatuation with musician Jourdan. | tt0040536 | Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet, Art Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Letter for Evie | 1945 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 89 | Inconsequential romancer in which insecure G.I. Cronyn begins pen-pal relationship with pretty Hunt; complications arise when she asks for a photo, and he sends her one of playboy buddy Carroll. | tt0037870 | Marsha Hunt, John Carroll, Hume Cronyn, Spring Byington, Pamela Britton, Norman Lloyd, Donald Curtis | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Letter of Introduction | 1938 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 104 | Aspiring actress Leeds calls on her father, faded matinee idol Menjou, who hasn't seen her since she was a baby. Bergen and McCarthy add laughs to this slick concoction. | tt0030359 | Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, George Murphy, Rita Johnson, Eve Arden, Ann Sheridan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Letter to Brezhnev | 1985 | Chris Bernard | ★★★ | 94 | Bored, unemployed Pigg and zany girlfriend Margi Clarke meet Russian sailors Firth and Molina, who are on leave in dreary Liverpool. There's the potential for love, yet in a few hours they'll be far apart, perhaps forever. Charming, disarming fable about taking risks and dreaming dreams, whose many assets far outweigh its few defects. Very much a product of Liverpool. | tt0089477 | [R] | Peter Firth, Alfred Molina, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Neil Cunningham, Ken Campbell, Angela Clarke, Tracy Lea | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| A Letter to Three Wives | 1949 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★★ | 103 | Delicious Americana showing reactions of three women who receive a letter from town flirt who has run off with one of their husbands. Celeste Holm provides the voice of the letter's authoress. Mankiewicz won Oscars for his terrific script and direction. Based on a novel by John Klempner, adapted by Vera Caspary. Remade as a TVM in 1985. | tt0041587 | Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Jeffrey Lynn, Barbara Lawrence, Connie Gilchrist, Florence Bates, Thelma Ritter | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Letter | 1940 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 95 | Lushly photographed Somerset Maugham drama set in Malaya, tells of murderess (Davis) who tries to cover up her deed by pleading self-defense. Davis quite appealing in her unsympathetic role. DVD offers an alternate ending. Previously filmed in 1929 (also with Herbert Marshall in cast); remade as THE UNFAITHFUL, then again for TV in 1982 with Lee Remick. | tt0032701 | Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaard | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Letters From Iwo Jima | 2006 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★½ | 141 | Exceptional companion piece to FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS depicts the battle of Iwo Jima from the Japanese point of view: General Kuribayashi (Watanabe) is sent to the desolate island to shore up defenses against incoming American forces, knowing full well that few, if any, of his soldiers are expected to survive. Spare, almost pointilistic examination of human behavior in the shadows of war and death, with Watanabe a tower of quiet strength. Cinematographer Tom Stern's desaturated colors lend grave elegance to the historic events. Screenplay by Iris Yamashita; story by Yamashita and Paul Haggis, inspired by Kuribayashi's published letters. Eastwood's son Kyle cowrote the score. Coproduced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. Oscar winner for Sound Editing. | tt0498380 | [R] | Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shidou Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe, Takumi Bando, Nae (Yuuki), Mark Moses, Roxanne Hart, Ryan Carnes | Drama, History, War | NULL | ||
| Letters From My Windmill | 1954 | Marcel Pagnol | ★★★½ | 140 | A trio of delights from Pagnol: 'The Three Low Masses,' 'The Elixir of Father Gaucher,' 'The Secret of Master Cornille.' The second is best, with monk Rellys leading his monastery into liquor business. Pagnol scripted, and the English subtitles were penned by Preston Sturges! | tt0047171 | Henri Velbert, Daxely, Yvonne Gamy, Rellys, Robert Vattier, Roger Crouzet | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Letters to Juliet | 2010 | Gary Winick | ★★½ | 105 | Aspiring author (Seyfried) and her up-and-coming restaurateur fiancé (Bernal) decide to take a pre-honeymoon trip to Verona. She's hoping for romance but he'd rather meet with his food and wine vendors. While roaming the city alone she discovers a group of women who voluntarily answer all of the ladies who write to Shakespeare's Juliet seeking her advice on love. Little does she expect that her own response to one of the letters will be the catalyst for a life-changing adventure. Sappy and completely predictable, but it's pleasant enough and filmed on gorgeous locations. Redgrave and Nero are a longtime couple in real life. Oliver Platt appears unbilled. | tt0892318 | [PG] | Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Egan, Gael García Bernal, Franco Nero, Luisa Ranieri | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Letters to an Unknown Lover | 1985 | Peter Duffell. | ★★½ | 101 | Unconvincing but not uninteresting tale of escaped POW Beneyton and his relationship with sisters Lunghi and May. Neat direction and an intriguing portrait of life in France during the Occupation, but the characterizations just don't hold up. Filmed in both English and French versions; the latter is titled LES LOUVES. | tt0089479 | Cherie Lunghi, Mathilda May, Yves Beneyton, Ralph Bates, Andrea Ferreol. | British-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Letty Lynton | 1932 | Clarence Brown. | ★★½ | 84 | Once she meets Montgomery on a romantic ocean liner, Crawford realizes she has to end her relationship with Asther, whom she left behind in Montevideo. Slick Crawford vehicle with a nifty pre-Code finale; the star has never looked more glamorous. Inspired by a notorious 1857 case in Glasgow, Scotland, as was DISHONORED LADY and MADELEINE (1950). Film was also subject of a plagiarism suit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. | tt0023132 | Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Nils Asther, Lewis Stone, May Robson, Louise Closser Hale, Emma Dunn, Walter Walker. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Leviathan | 1989 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★½ | 98 | Yet one more dreadful ALIEN clone, this one set underwater (like several other 1989 releases), with a team of men and women imperiled as they toil in the depths of the Atlantic. Skip it. | tt0097737 | [R] | Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays, Daniel Stern, Ernie Hudson, Michael Carmine, Lisa Eilbacher, Hector Elizondo, Meg Foster | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Levity | 2003 | Ed Solomon | ★★★ | 100 | Released from prison after 23 years, a shell-shocked Thornton seeks out the sister of the young man he murdered and is taken in by a storefront preacher/neighborhood activist (Freeman). Thoughtful, slow-paced rumination on guilt, shame, responsibility, and redemption doesn't give its characters easy solutions to their dilemmas. Directing debut for screenwriter Solomon, better known for cowriting the BILL & TED movies and MEN IN BLACK. Freeman also executive-produced. | tt0304328 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, Kirsten Dunst, Dorian Harewood, Geoffrey Wigdor, Luke Robertson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Li'l Abner | 1940 | Albert S. Rogell | ★½ | 78 | Actors in grotesque makeup bring Al Capp's Dogpatch comic strip characters to life, but despite the presence of many silent comedy veterans (Keaton, Edgar Kennedy, Chester Conklin, Billy Bevan, Al St. John, to name a few) there's nary a laugh in sight. Later musical is much better. | tt0032703 | Granville Owen, Martha O'Driscoll, Mona Ray, Johnnie Morris, Buster Keaton, Kay Sutton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Li'l Abner | 1959 | Melvin Frank | ★★★ | 113 | Lively Gene DePaul-Johnny Mercer musical based on Broadway version of Al Capp's comic strip; loud and brassy, with corny comedy, some good songs. Stubby Kaye is fine as Marryin' Sam; other Dogpatch characters vividly enacted. Look sharp for young Valerie Harper and Beth Howland among the chorus girls. | tt0053001 | Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Howard St. John, Julie Newmar, Stella Stevens, Billie Hayes, Robert Strauss | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Liam | 2001 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 90 | Vivid evocation of 1930s working-class England, seen through the eyes of a young boy (Borrows) who watches his father lose his job, his mother try to maintain her pride, his sister take a job, and his priest and schoolteacher warn him about the sins that will have him burning in hell forever. Well done in every respect, with a sharp-eyed script by Jimmy McGovern . . . but damaged by an unsatisfying conclusion. | tt0255321 | [R] | Ian Hart, Claire Hackett, Anthony Borrows, Anne Reid, David Hart, Megan Burns, Russell Dixon, Julia Deakin, Bernadette Shortt | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lianna | 1983 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 110 | Young woman, trapped in an unhappy marriage, finds herself attracted to another woman, and tries to come to grips with being lesbian. Writer-director Sayles hasn't a false note or an unsure line of dialogue, though the film goes on a bit too long. As usual, he's written himself a good role, as a film professor; look for Chris Elliott as a lighting technician. | tt0085838 | [R] | Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries, Jo Henderson, Jessica Wight MacDonald, Jesse Solomon, Maggie Renzi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Liar Liar | 1997 | Tom Shadyac | ★★½ | 87 | Unscrupulous lawyer with a penchant for lying gets his just deserts when his neglected son makes a birthday wish that his dad has to tell the truth for 24 hours— and it comes true. Carrey vehicle delivers the laughs for his fans, but once the premise unfolds it's pretty formulaic. Bob Hope lived through a similar 24 hours in NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (1941). | tt0119528 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Jennifer Tilly, Swoosie Kurtz, Amanda Donohoe, Jason Bernard, Mitchell Ryan, Anne Haney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Cheri Oteri | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Liar's Moon | 1981 | David Fisher | ★★½ | 105 | Hokey and obvious but still engaging soaper of poor Dillon and wealthy Fisher falling in love, with a 'terrible secret' between them. Director Fisher also wrote the screenplay. Filmed with two different endings; both were released. | tt0082656 | [PG] | Matt Dillon, Cindy Fisher, Christopher Connelly, Hoyt Axton, Maggie Blye, Susan Tyrrell, Yvonne DeCarlo, Broderick Crawford, Mark Atkins, Molly McCarthy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Libel | 1959 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 100 | Engrossing if uninspired filming of Edward Wooll's vintage play about a baronet (and former prisoner of war) who is challenged in court to prove his identity— which turns out to be unusually difficult. | tt0053003 | Dirk Bogarde, Olivia de Havilland, Robert Morley, Paul Massie, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Anthony Dawson, Richard Wattis, Millicent Martin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Libeled Lady | 1936 | Jack Conway | ★★★★ | 98 | Wonderful comedy with the four stars working at full steam: conniving newspaper editor Tracy uses his fiancee (Harlow) and ex-employee (Powell) to get the goods on hot-headed heiress Loy— but everything goes wrong. Sit back and enjoy. Screenplay by Maurine Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, and George Oppenheimer. Remade as EASY TO WED. | tt0027884 | Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Walter Connolly, Charley Grapewin, Cora Witherspoon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Liberation of L. B. Jones | 1970 | William Wyler | ★★½ | 102 | Wyler's final film is militant tale of racism in the South. Some good performances, especially Falana's, but slow pace and many subplots hurt. | tt0065979 | [R] | Lee J. Cobb, Anthony Zerbe, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lola Falana, Lee Majors, Barbara Hershey, Yaphet Kotto, Chill Wills | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Libertine | 2005 | Laurence Dunmore | ★★½ | 114 | The Earl of Rochester (Depp) promises, 'You will not like me.' Moreover, this witty social gadfly doesn't like himself, as he proves through his creatively and sexually self-destructive behavior. He squanders the goodwill bestowed upon him by King Charles II (Malkovich) and tests our patience in this often leaden, drawn-out drama . . . but there's still something magnetic about the character as written by Stephen Jeffreys (from his play) and portrayed by Depp. | tt0488888 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Rosamund Pike, Tom Hollander, Johnny Vegas, Kelly Reilly, Jack Davenport, Richard Coyle, Francesca Annis, Rupert Friend, Claire Higgins | U.S.-British | Short, Drama | NULL | |
| Liberty Heights | 1999 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 127 | A family living in a Jewish suburb in 1954 Baltimore must deal with changing times and values represented by 'the other kind,' i.e., gentiles and African Americans. Director-writer Levinson's fourth Baltimore tale (following DINER, TIN MEN and AVALON) is well mounted and has many insightful and humorous moments, but is also surprisingly bland, with rather pedestrian plot turns and revelations of character and theme. | tt0165859 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Orlando Jones, Bebe Neuwirth, Joe Mantegna, Rebekah Johnson, David Krumholtz, Richard Kline, Vincent Guastaferro, Justin Chambers, Carolyn Murphy, James Pickens/Jr., Shane West | Drama | NULL | ||
| Liberty Kid | 2008 | Ilya Chaiken | ★★★ | 92 | Frank, flavorful slice-of-life about two young New Yorkers, blue-collar workers on Liberty Island (home of the Statue of Liberty), and their plight upon losing their jobs after 9/11. Rambles a bit but offers a sobering look at the struggles of the N.Y.C. underclasses. | tt0850307 | Unrated | Al Thompson, Kareem Saviñon, Johnny Rivera, Fly Williams, Rayniel Rufino, Anny Mariano, Raquel Jordan, Rosa Ramos | Drama | NULL | ||
| Licence to Kill | 1989 | John Glen | ★★★ | 133 | Tough, mean James Bond adventure, with Dalton pursuing a drug kingpin to avenge an attack on his best friend. Dazzling stunts, high adventure, and a sexy companion for Bond (Lowell) make this one of the best of the series since Sean Connery's departure (yet it still lacks that old-time panache). | tt0097742 | [PG-13] | Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Anthony Zerbe, Frank McRae, Everett McGill, Wayne Newton, Benicio Del Toro, Desmond Llewelyn, David Hedison, Priscilla Barnes | British | Action | NULL | |
| License to Drive | 1988 | Greg Beeman | ★★ | 88 | Noisy teen comedy about a 16-year-old who's just flunked his driver's test, and sneaks his grandfather's prized car out for a 'dream' date that turns into a nightmare. Appealing performance by Haim, and a terrific one by the underrated Masur. Uneven comedy; low point: a long, tasteless sequence involving a drunk driver. | tt0095519 | [PG-13] | Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Carol Kane, Richard Masur, Heather Graham, Michael Manasseri, Harvey Miller, Nina Siemaszko, Grant Goodeve, Parley Baer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| License to Kill | 1964 | Henri Decoin | ★★ | 95 | Constantine is modern-day Nick Carter involved with Oriental spies and superduper guided missile weapon wanted by Allies; elaborate nonsense. | tt0058290 |
|
Eddie Constantine, Yvonne Monlaur, Daphne Dayle, Paul Frankeur, Vladimir Inkijinoff, Charles Belmont | French | Drama, Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| License to Wed | 2007 | Ken Kwapis | 💣 | 91 | Thoroughly embarrassing comedy wastes a talented cast in a laughless story about a reverend who puts an unsuspecting engaged couple through a series of “tests” to determine if they are ready to be married. Gag after gag falls hopelessly flat, with one involving a mechanical baby hitting new lows, even for this kind of lame-brained affair. A comic misfire for Williams, who is basically straitjacketed here. | tt0762114 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, John Krasinski, Mandy Moore, Christine Taylor, Eric Christian Olsen, Peter Strauss, Josh Flitter, DeRay Davis, Grace Zabriskie, Roxanne Hart, Rachael Harris | Romance | NULL | ||
| Liebelei | 1932 | Max Ophuls. | ★★★½ | 82 | Haunting, exquisitely filmed adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's play about a tragic love affair between a worldly army officer (Leibeneiner) and an innocent fraulein (Schneider) in turn-of-the-20th-century Austria. Ophuls' lyrical direction and Franz Planer's glistening photography create an evocative picture of old Vienna, with nocturnal sleigh rides through snowy woods and duels at twilight. Schneider's daughter Romy played the fraulein role in a 1958 remake called CHRISTINE. | tt0024252 | Wolfgang Leibeneiner, Magda Schneider, Luise Ullrich, Gustaf Grundgens, Olga Tschechowa, Willy Eichberger. | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Liebestraum | 1991 | Mike Figgis | ★★½ | 109 | An architectural writer visits his dying mother in a small town, only to get involved in a forty-year-old sex scandal, his own adultery, and the demolition of the town's most distinctive building by his lover's husband. So-so material with a truly insane title; directed (overdirected?) with some style by the maker of STORMY MONDAY. Novak, who's wasted, spends most of the film bedridden in a gloomy hospital. Available on video in R and unrated versions. | tt0102299 | [R] | Kevin Anderson, Pamela Gidley, Bill Pullman, Kim Novak, Graham Beckel, Zach Grenier, Thomas Kopache, Max Perlich, Catherine Hicks, Taina Elg | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lies | 1983 | Ken Wheat, Jim Wheat | ★★½ | 100 | Not bad little thriller about an actress who's used as a pawn in elaborate inheritance scam. Well-cast low budgeter piles up too many contrivances toward the climax. | tt0085846 | [R] | Ann Dusenberry, Bruce Davison, Gail Strickland, Clu Gulager, Terence Knox, Bert Remsen, Dick Miller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lies & Alibis | 2006 | Kurt Mattila, Matt Checkowski | ★★½ | 90 | Coogan plays an entrepreneur who runs a service that provides alibis for cheating spouses, but gets in over his head when a longtime client's randy son accidentally kills a woman. Not great by any means but very watchable, with a clever denouement in which all its story threads and characters intersect. It's also unusual to find a modest film in which virtually every part, no matter how small, is filled by a familiar actor! Completed in 2004. | tt0409681 | [R] | Steve Coogan, Rebecca Romijn, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Sam Elliott, Jaime King, John Leguizamo, James Marsden, Debi Mazar, Henry Rollins, Deborah Kara Unger, Sharon Lawrence, Jerry O'Connell, Allan Rich, Jon Polito | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lies My Father Told Me | 1975 | Jan Kadar | ★★★½ | 102 | Tender film about young boy in Canadian-Jewish ghetto of the 1920s who idolizes his grandfather, a simple, old-fashioned junk collector. Author Ted Allan plays Mr. Baumgarten. Simple and moving drama. | tt0073293 | [PG] | Yossi Yadin, Len Birman, Marilyn Lightstone, Jeffrey Lynas | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Lieutenant Wore Skirts | 1956 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 99 | Ewell makes nonsense acceptable as he chases after wife who reenlisted in service thinking he'd been drafted again. | tt0049443 | Tom Ewell, Sheree North, Rita Moreno, Rick Jason, Les Tremayne, Jean Willes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life | 1999 | Ted Demme | ★★½ | 108 | A slick Harlem pickpocket and a none-too-bright patsy meet up in the early 1930s and are railroaded into a Mississippi prison, where they spend the next 55 years. Broad comedy is juxtaposed against unexpectedly poignant and serious moments in this episodic film; not always on target, but entertaining just the same. Murphy and Lawrence are very funny, and age believably in Rick Baker's makeup. | tt0123964 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Obba Babatundé, Ned Beatty, Bernie Mac, Miguel A. Nuñtez/Jr., Clarence Williams III, Bokeem Woodbine, Nick Cassavetes, Poppy Montgomery, Noah Emmerich, Rick James, R. Lee Ermey, Lisa Nicole Carson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou | 2004 | Wes Anderson | ★★½ | 118 | A Jacques Cousteau-like figure who's seen better days tries to regain his professional footing when into his life comes a young man who may or may not be his son from a 30-year-old relationship. Droll, quirky comedy expands on ideas and themes from Anderson's other films, but it's his oddest, most elusive and self-indulgent work to date. Devotees will enjoy Murray's deadpan performance, the vocal-and-guitar renditions of David Bowie songs by Jorge (from CITY OF GOD), and Henry Selick's animated sea creatures; others may flounder. | tt0362270 | [R] | Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Bud Cort, Seu Jorge, Seymour Cassel | Comedy, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Life As We Know It | 2010 | Greg Berlanti | ★★ | 114 | Two single adults with nothing in common but a one-time disastrous dating experience have their lives turned upside down when their married mutual best friends are tragically killed and leave the mismatched pair as guardians of their baby girl. Predictable storyline is usually the stuff of cable TV movies, but this warm comedy-drama works fairly well thanks to the chemistry of the two attractive stars. | tt1055292 | [PG-13] | Katharine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Christina Hendricks, Josh Lucas, Hayes MacArthur, Sarah Burns, Jessica St. Clair, Melissa McCarthy, Faizon Love | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Life Before Her Eyes | 2008 | Vadim Perelman | ★★½ | 90 | Two girlfriends share their hopes and dreams—until an outbreak of violence at their high school changes the course of their lives in an instant. This is paralleled by scenes from Wood’s later life as a wife and mother (Thurman) who is tormented by the upcoming anniversary of that school incident. Compelling but elliptical drama, based on Laura Kasischke’s novel, leads to an unsatisfying conclusion that poses more questions than it answers . . . yet it can’t completely negate the interesting drama that has unfolded. | tt0815178 | [R] | Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri, Gabrielle Brennan, Brett Cullen, Oscar Isaac, Jack Gilpin, Maggie Lacey | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Life Begins | 1932 | James Flood, Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 71 | Offbeat film of maternity ward, with fine Warner Bros. cast depicting nurses, mothers, and others involved in life-giving process. Remade as A CHILD IS BORN. | tt0023139 | Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Glenda Farrell, Vivienne Osborne, Eric Linden, Preston Foster, Elizabeth Patterson, Dorothy Tree | Drama | NULL | |||
| Life Begins at 17 | 1958 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★½ | 75 | Rich punk Damon is dating plain Anders, but is only using her to get to her beauty-queen sister. Demented specimen of producer Sam Katzman's low-budget (albeit successful) 1950s teenpics. | tt0051862 | Mark Damon, Dorothy Johnson, Edd Byrnes, Luana Anders, Ann Doran, Hugh Sanders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Life Begins at Eight-Thirty | 1942 | Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 85 | Drunken washed-up actor Woolley disrupts daughter Lupino's life. Highlight is scene of Woolley as intoxicated Santa Claus. Produced and adapted by Nunnally Johnson from Emlyn Williams's play. | tt0034976 | Monty Woolley, Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, Sara Allgood, Melville Cooper, J. Edward Bromberg | Drama | NULL | |||
| Life Begins at Forty | 1935 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 85 | Delightful Americana, with newspaper editor Rogers trying to clear name of Cromwell, who was framed for bank robbery years ago. Rogers' comments on American life remain surprisingly contemporary. | tt0026629 | Will Rogers, Rochelle Hudson, Richard Cromwell, Jane Darwell, Slim Summerville, George Barbier, Thomas Beck, Sterling Holloway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life Begins for Andy Hardy | 1941 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 100 | Andy decides to get a job in the Big Apple before starting college and is confronted with the harsh realities of life and love. Unusually adult and cynical addition to the series. Garland's third and final appearance; her songs were cut(!) from the finished film. | tt0033832 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Judy Garland, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Patricia Dane, Ray McDonald | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Life Begins in College | 1937 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 94 | Sis-boom-bah college nonsense with zany Ritz trio helping the school team win the big game. Pendleton is fun as an Indian who comes to college. | tt0029144 | Joan Davis, Tony Martin, Ritz Brothers, Gloria Stuart, Nat Pendleton, Fred Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life During Wartime | 2010 | Todd Solondz | ★★★ | 98 | Writer-director Solondz revisits the characters from his 1998 film HAPPINESS (all recast here) and finds them still mired in guilt, self-doubt, and yearning. Most tellingly, a boy (Snyder) about to be bar mitzvahed has vexing questions about manhood, sexuality, and his father, a pederast. A series of nearly self-contained vignettes, the film opens on a comic note, then comes full circle emotionally as it pulls its many threads together for a poignant finale. Notable production design by Roshelle Berliner; photographed by Ed Lachman. | tt0808526 | [R] | Shirley Henderson, Ciarán Hinds, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Chris Marquette, Rich Pecci, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Reubens, Ally Sheedy, Dylan Riley Snyder, Renée Taylor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Gaby Hoffmann | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Life Is Beautiful | 1997 | Roberto Benigni | ★★★½ | 116 | Extraordinary film by comedy star Benigni about an irrepressible spirit who refuses to ever give in to adversity, even when he is taken to a concentration camp with his wife (Benigni's real-life wife, Braschi) and young son. He determines that the boy will be shielded from the horrors around them— and somehow finds a way to do it. A unique and beguiling fable that celebrates the human spirit. Benigni cowrote with Vincenzo Cerami. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Actor, Best Score (Nicola Piovani). Original title: LA VITA E BELLA. | tt0118799 | [PG-13] | Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano, Sergio Bustric, Marisa Paredes, Horst Buchholz | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Life Is Cheap . . . but Toilet Paper Is Expensive | 1990 | Wayne Wang | ★★ | 89 | Courier is sent to Hong Kong with metal briefcase handcuffed to his wrist; upon arrival, he's unable to deliver his mysterious attaché, so he decides to take in the colorful sights of the city instead. Extremely bizarre, graphic, and dense little film, of interest mainly to fans of filmmaker Wang. Some bloody scenes threatened to earn this an X rating, so the film was released unrated and visually intact. | tt0100023 | Spenser Nakasako, Lo Wai, Cora Miao, Victor Wong, Cheng Kwan Min | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life Is Sweet | 1991 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 102 | Another slice of working-class life from Leigh, focusing on an endearing couple and their iconoclastic twin daughters— one of whom (Horrocks) is waist-deep in self-loathing. More a series of vignettes than a conventional story, and filled with deliciously offbeat humor; not for every taste, but a bittersweet treat for fans of Leigh's work. Leading lady Steadman was then the director's wife. | tt0100024 | Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Claire Skinner, Jane Horrocks, Stephen Rea, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Life Is a Bed of Roses | 1983 | Alain Resnais | ★★★½ | 111 | Enchanting, magical, original fable paralleling the stories of wealthy Raimondi building a 'temple of happiness' circa WW1, and a conference on alternative education at that site in the present day. Resnais and screenwriter Jean Gruault beautifully illustrate that there are no simple solutions to problems, that those who impose their ideas of perfection on the world are just as dangerous as those who cause disorder. | tt0086542 | [PG] | Vittorio Gassman, Ruggero Raimondi, Geraldine Chaplin, Fanny Ardant, Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azema | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Life Is a Long Quiet River | 1987 | Etienne Chatiliez | ★★★ | 95 | A mixup of babies is revealed twelve years after the fact, and two very different families must learn to deal with the life-changing events it causes. Delightful French comedy that examines the differences between the lower class and the bourgeois. Wry, winning directorial debut for Chatiliez. | tt0096386 | Benoît Magimel, Valerie Lalande, Tara Romer, Jerome Floch, Sylvie Cubertafon, Emmanuel Cendrier | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Life Less Ordinary | 1997 | Danny Boyle | ★★½ | 103 | Black comedy about a janitor who kidnaps his ex-boss's daughter, a spoiled heiress who finds life a bore. Meanwhile, two emissaries from Heaven (Hunter and Lindo) have to find a way to make these two fated souls fall in love. Fans of the two likable stars will perhaps be more forgiving than others of this oddball, sporadically funny outing from the SHALLOW GRAVE/TRAINSPOTTING team. | tt0119535 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian Holm, Ian McNeice, Stanley Tucci, Dan Hedaya, Tony Shalhoub, Maury Chaykin, Judith Ivey | British | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Life Stinks | 1991 | Mel Brooks | ★★ | 95 | Money-hungry developer Brooks takes a bet that he won't survive on the streets of L.A. for one month without a cent. Usual Brooks smorgasbord of gags, but the success rate is pretty low. Attempts to make meaningful statement about homelessness are thin at best, tasteless at worst. Brooks also cowrote the screenplay. | tt0102303 | [PG-13] | Mel Brooks, Lesley Ann Warren, Jeffrey Tambor, Stuart Pankin, Howard Morris, Rudy De Luca, Teddy Wilson, Michael Ensign, Matthew Faison, Billy Barty, Carmine Caridi | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Life With Blondie | 1946 | Abby Berlin | ★★½ | 64 | Genial nonsense about the Bumsteads' dog, Daisy, winning a Navy pinup contest and being kidnapped by gangsters. | tt0038691 | Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Kent, Jonathan Hale, Ernest Truex, Marc Lawrence, Veda Ann Borg, Jack Rice, Bobby Larson, Eddie Acuff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life With Father | 1947 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★★ | 118 | Rich adaptation of long-running Broadway play (by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) based on Clarence Day's story of growing up in turn-of-the-century N.Y.C. with his loving but eccentric father. Utterly delightful, and a handsome production as well. Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. | tt0039566 | William Powell, Irene Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Edmund Gwenn, ZaSu Pitts, Jimmy Lydon, Martin Milner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life With Henry | 1941 | Ted Reed | ★★½ | 80 | Follow-up to WHAT A LIFE brings Cooper back to role of Henry Aldrich, the perpetual foul-up who this time wants to win a trip to Alaska. Bracken is fun as his comic pal. | tt0033834 | Jackie Cooper, Leila Ernst, Eddie Bracken, Fred Niblo, Hedda Hopper, Kay Stewart, Moroni Olsen, Rod Cameron, Pierre Watkin, Lucien Littlefield, Frank M. Thomas | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Life With Mikey | 1993 | James Lapine | ★★★ | 91 | Former child TV star Fox lackadaisically runs a Manhattan talent agency for kids with his more dedicated brother. Then he tries to turn 10-year-old pickpocket Vidal into a star of cookie commercials and finds himself fired up in the process. Funny film, with serious overtones, is a perfect vehicle for Fox and appealing newcomer Vidal. Audition scenes are particularly good. Ruben Blades appears unbilled as Vidal's father. | tt0107413 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, Christina Vidal, Nathan Lane, Cyndi Lauper, David Krumholtz, David Huddleston, Victor Garber, Tony Hendra | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | Colonel Blimp | 1943 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★★ | 163 | Superb, sentimental story of a staunch British soldier, and incidents that dovetail in his long, eventful life. Opens in WW2 and flashes back as far as the Boer War. Kerr charming as three different women in the Colonel's life. (Title character bears no relation to famous David Low caricature buffoon on whom he's supposedly based.) Heavily cut for various reissues; often shown in b&w. | tt0036112 | Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, John Laurie, James McKechnie, Neville Mapp | British | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Life and Nothing But | 1990 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 135 | Two years after the WW1 armistice, French Army officer Noiret is still tabulating French casualties and identifying bodies, a job which brings him into contact with a wealthy and repressed young woman who's been searching obsessively for her husband. Subject matter is more compelling than the script, which loses its edge; still worthwhile. | tt0098596 | [PG] | Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azema, Pascale Vignal, Maurice Barrier, Francois Perrot | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | 1976 | Richard Friedenberg | ★½ | 93 | Poorly made, clumsily scripted family/wilderness saga, about fur trapper innocently pursued for crime, who finds peace in the mountains where he befriends a massive bear. Followed by THE MARK OF THE BEAR in 1991, GRIZZLY MOUNTAIN in 1998, the 1982 made-for-TV movie THE CAPTURE OF GRIZZLY ADAMS and a TV series. | tt0074797 | [G] | Dan Haggerty, Don Shanks, Lisa Jones, Marjorie Harper, Bozo | Action | NULL | ||
| The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | 2000 | Aviva Kempner | ★★½ | 95 | Heartfelt but flawed documentary about Hall of Fame baseball player Greenberg. Spotlights his humanity and his travails as a Jew playing in the major leagues during the 1930s and '40s— but leaves the erroneous impression that he was the only Jewish ballplayer of this period. Among the interviewees: Alan Dershowitz, Walter Matthau, and several of Greenberg's ballplayer contemporaries. | tt0208261 | Documentary, Biography, Sport | NULL | ||||
| The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | 1972 | John Huston | ★★★ | 120 | Tongue-in-cheek Western saga with surrealistic touches. Newman plays self-appointed 'Judge' who rules over barren territory, encountering various colorful characters as town grows and matures. Engaging cameos by Keach, Huston, McDowall, and Gardner as Lillie Langtry. Written by John Milius. | tt0068853 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Ava Gardner, Victoria Principal, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Perkins, Tab Hunter, John Huston, Stacy Keach, Roddy McDowall, Ned Beatty, Richard Farnsworth | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Life as a House | 2001 | Irwin Winkler | ★★½ | 124 | Talk about a midlife crisis: Kline is divorced, his teenage son won't speak to him (or anyone else in the family), he's just been fired, and he learns he's dying of cancer. So he decides to build his dream house and enlist his son's help, in order to bond with the boy. Uneven film benefits from Kline's commanding performance; manages to push some emotional buttons, but goes for the obvious and wraps things up too neatly. Inspired by Akira Kurosawa's IKIRU. | tt0264796 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen, Jena Malone, Mary Steenburgen, Mike Weinberg, Jamey Sheridan, Scott Bakula, Sam Robards | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Life at the Top | 1965 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★½ | 117 | Follow-up to ROOM AT THE TOP picks up the account a decade later; film lacks flavor or life— best moments are flashbacks to Signoret-Harvey romance. | tt0059389 | Laurence Harvey, Jean Simmons, Honor Blackman, Michael Craig, Donald Wolfit, Robert Morley, Margaret Johnston, Nigel Davenport | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Life in the Balance | 1955 | Harry Horner | ★★ | 74 | Lukewarm narrative set in a Latin American city, about a series of woman-killings; the police hunt for guilty person. | tt0048301 | Ricardo Montalban, Anne Bancroft, Lee Marvin, Jose Perez | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Life of Brian | Monty Python's Life of Brian | 1979 | Terry Jones | ★★★ | 93 | This Monty Python religious parable will probably offend every denomination equally, but it shouldn't. Story of a man whose life parallels Christ is the funniest and most sustained feature from Britain's bad boys. | tt0079470 | [R] | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin | British | Comedy | NULL |
| The Life of David Gale | 2003 | Alan Parker | ★★★ | 130 | Absorbing tale of a man on death row (Spacey) who requests a specific newsmagazine reporter (Winslet) to interview him during the last days of his life. In flashback, we learn the story of this passionate activist for the abolition of capital punishment, and how his life falls apart, but that still doesn't explain his conviction for murder— at first. A good yarn that may not stand up to close scrutiny. | tt0289992 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Gabriel Mann, Matt Craven, Rhona Mitra, Leon Rippy, Elizabeth Gast, Cleo King, Jim Beaver | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Life of Emile Zola | 1937 | William Dieterle | ★★★★ | 116 | Sincere biography of famed 19th-century French writer who rose to cause of wrongly exiled Captain Dreyfus (Schildkraut); detailed production filled with fine vignettes. Won Oscars for Best Picture, Screenplay (Norman Reilly Raine, Geza Herczeg, and Heinz Herald), Supporting Actor (Schildkraut). | tt0029146 | Paul Muni, Gale Sondergaard, Joseph Schildkraut, Gloria Holden, Donald Crisp, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Morris Carnovsky, Louis Calhern, Harry Davenport, Marcia Mae Jones, Dickie Moore, Ralph Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Life of Her Own | 1950 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 108 | Turner is at the center of three-cornered romance leading to heartbreak for all. MGM fluff; Dvorak wraps it up with her expert portrayal of an aging model. Bronislau Kaper's musical theme was later reused for his classic INVITATION. | tt0042677 | Lana Turner, Ray Milland, Tom Ewell, Louis Calhern, Ann Dvorak, Margaret Phillips, Jean Hagen, Barry Sullivan, Phyllis Kirk | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Life of Jimmy Dolan | 1933 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 89 | Fast-moving account of boxer Fairbanks, on the run after he thinks he killed a reporter, winding up at a home for crippled children. Look for Mickey Rooney as one of the kids, John Wayne in boxing trunks. Remade as THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL. | tt0024257 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Loretta Young, Guy Kibbee, Fifi D'Orsay, Aline MacMahon, Lyle Talbot | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Life of Oharu | Diary of Oharu | 1952 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★½ | 146 | Clichéd account of beautiful Tanaka, banished for loving a samurai (Mifune, in a small role) below her station, ending up an aged prostitute. Also shown at 118m. and known as DIARY OF OHARU. | tt0045112 | Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiro Mifune, Hisako Yamane, Yuriko Hamada, Ichiro Sugai | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| The Life of Riley | 1948 | Irving S. Brecher | ★★½ | 87 | Adaptation of the popular radio comedy series about hard-luck working stiff Chester A. Riley. More bittersweet than the subsequent TV series but enjoyable, with the black comedy of Brown's Digger O'Dell a real novelty. | tt0041590 | William Bendix, James Gleason, Rosemary DeCamp, Bill Goodwin, Beulah Bondi, Meg Randall, Richard Long, John Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Life of Vergie Winters | 1934 | Alfred Santell | ★★½ | 82 | Successful adaptation of Louis Bromfield weeper chronicling life of Harding, who defies smalltown gossip, following her own instincts. | tt0025393 | Ann Harding, John Boles, Helen Vinson, Betty Furness, Lon Chaney/Jr., Bonita Granville | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Life of the Party | 1937 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 77 | Young Raymond will forfeit $3 million if he weds Hilliard before he turns 30. Second-rate musical comedy. | tt0029145 | Gene Raymond, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Ann Miller, Joe Penner, Parkyakarkus, Victor Moore, Billy Gilbert, Helen Broderick, Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Life on a String | 1991 | Chen Kaige | ★★★ | 110 | Lyrical, beautifully filmed tale of a blind boy who's told by his master that his sight will be restored if he devotes his life to music; he becomes a saintly old man (still without sight) who travels from village to village with his young disciple singing songs, which he finds spiritually nurturing. Thoughtful film crammed with poetic imagery, soundtrack of wonderful folk songs. | tt0101440 | Liu Zhong Yuan, Huang Lei, Xu Qing, Ma Ling, Zhang Zhengguan | Chinese-British-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Life or Something Like It | 2002 | Stephen Herek | ★★ | 103 | Career-driven Seattle TV reporter is told by a street prophet that she has one week to live. A down-to-earth cameraman tries to show her what life is really about, even as a tempting job offer looms in N.Y.C. Romantic comedy gives Jolie a good opportunity to show her lighter side, with Burns a likable leading man, but logic goes out the window as the story builds to a pat and improbable resolution. | tt0282687 | [PG-13] | Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, Tony Shalhoub, Christian Kane, James Gammon, Melissa Errico, Stockard Channing, Lisa Thornhill, Gregory Itzin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | 2001 | Robert Allan Ackerman | Above Average TV Movie | 180 | Engrossing biography surpasses usual treatment of showbiz legends by virtue of exceptional lead performances by Davis (portraying Garland as an adult) and uncanny lookalike Blanchard (as a youngster)—both of whom lip-sync to actual Garland recordings. Evocative depiction of Hollywood's Golden Age and well-staged re-creations of production numbers from Judy's classic musicals are impressive, though story palls in latter stages as it dwells on her drug abuse, financial troubles, and domestic turmoil. Based on the memoir by Garland's daughter Lorna Luft. | tt0250581 | Judy Davis, Tammy Blanchard, Hugh Laurie, Victor Garber, Al Waxman, Marsha Mason, John Benjamin Hickey, Stewart Bick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Life, Above All | 2011 | Oliver Schmitz | ★★★½ | 106 | Twelve-year-old South African girl is forced to shoulder adult responsibilities when her mother takes ill (following the death of her baby) and the people of her rural village begin to shun her. Absorbing story about the reverberations of the AIDS epidemic in a culture steeped in ignorance and beset by superstition. Vividly filmed on location. Young Manyaka gives a remarkably assured performance in her screen debut. Based on the novel Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton; screenplay by Dennis Foon. | tt1646111 | [PG-13] | Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Manamela, Aubrey Poolo, Tinah Mnumzana, Mapaseka Mathebe | South African-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lifeboat | 1944 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 96 | Penetrating revelations about shipwreck survivors adrift in lonely lifeboat during WW2. Bankhead remarkable as spoiled journalist, Slezak fine as Nazi taken aboard. Only Hitchcock would take on the challenge of such a film— and succeed. Jo Swerling adapted John Steinbeck's original story. Remade as a 1993 TVM, LIFEPOD. | tt0037017 | Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Lifeforce | 1985 | Tobe Hooper | ★★ | 101 | Completely crazy science-fiction yarn starts as outer space saga, then becomes a vampire movie, then turns into an end-of-the-world story! Ridiculous, to say the least, but so bizarre, it's fascinating: people disintegrate, London is overrun by zombies, and controlling it all is a beautiful nude space vampiress! Don't say we didn't warn you. Based on Colin Wilson's novel Space Vampires. Foreign release version running 116m. available on video. | tt0089489 | [R] | Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, Patrick Stewart, Michael Gothard | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lifeguard | 1976 | Daniel Petrie | ★★½ | 96 | After his 15-year high school reunion, Elliott can't decide whether to chuck the title job to become a salesman. Slight drama resembles made-for-TV movie, but attractive cast and locations make it pleasant enough. | tt0074798 | [PG] | Sam Elliott, Anne Archer, Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Young, Parker Stevenson, Steve Burns, Sharon Weber | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lift | 1983 | Dick Maas | ★★½ | 98 | Sleek horror thriller set in a new highrise, where the elevators are involved in a suspicious number of accidents. Maas is a better director than writer; smoothly made, suspenseful, and witty, but talky, with no satisfactory explanation for the bizarre events. Remade by the director in 2001 as THE SHAFT. | tt0087622 | [R] | Huub Stapel, Willeke Van Ammelrooy, Josine Van Dalsum, Pret Romer, Gerard Thoolen, Hans Veerman | Dutch | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Light Across the Street | 1956 | Georges Lacombe. | ★★½ | 76 | Above-par Bardot fare: she's wed to jealous Pellegrin, who begins to suspect she's fooling around with the new next-door neighbor. Original running time: 99m. Retitled: FEMALE AND THE FLESH. | tt0048321 | Brigitte Bardot, Raymond Pellegrin, Roger Pigaut, Claude Romain. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Light Ahead | 1939 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★★ | 94 | Heartfelt, pleasingly sentimental saga, based on the writings of Mendele Mocher Sforim (Mendele the bookseller), detailing the plight of poor, luckless lovers Beverly and Opatoshu, and how they are helped by wise old bookseller Cashier in a provincial Russian town during the 1880s. Yiddish-language gem was shot in Newton, New Jersey! | tt0031571 | Isidore Cashier, Helen Beverly, David Opatoshu, Rosetta Bialis, Tillie Rabinowitz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Light Fingers | 1957 | Terry Bishop | ★★ | 90 | Miserly husband (Culver) thinks wife is kleptomaniac; hires bodyguard butler who is really a thief. Adequate production. | tt0050642 | Guy Rolfe, Eunice Gayson, Roland Culver, Lonnie Donegan, Hy Hazell, Ronald Howard | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Light It Up | 1999 | Craig Bolotin | ★★½ | 99 | Well-intentioned but preachy drama about a group of N.Y.C. students who occupy their high school after their favorite teacher is unfairly suspended and a police officer is accidentally shot. Attempts to deal with a number of serious issues, but results are forced and melodramatic. Written by the director. | tt0172726 | [R] | Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Marcello Robinson, Rosario Dawson, Robert Ri'chard, Judd Nelson, Fredro Starr, Sara Gilbert, Glynn Turman, Vanessa L. Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| Light Sleeper | 1992 | Paul Schrader | ★★★ | 103 | Quintessential Schrader Lonely Guy film, with Dafoe an aging sadsack who wants more out of life than his dead-end job taxi-ing cocaine to upscale users in N.Y. Well performed by all, and with surprising dashes of loopy humor— though leading to an inevitable bloodbath given the standard blueprint for most Schrader movies. Quite the image-altering showcase for Delany. | tt0102307 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany, David Clennon, MaryBeth Hurt, Victor Garber, Jane Adams, Paul Jabara, David Spade | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Light That Failed | 1939 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 97 | Fine cast in Kipling melodrama of London artist Colman going blind, determined to finish portrait of Lupino, whose florid cockney performance steals film. | tt0031572 | Ronald Colman, Walter Huston, Ida Lupino, Dudley Digges, Muriel Angelus, Fay Helm, Francis McDonald | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Light Touch | 1951 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 110 | On-location shooting in Europe perks up lukewarm drama of art thief Granger and his innocent girlfriend Angeli. | tt0043743 | Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli, George Sanders, Kurt Kasznar | Crime | NULL | |||
| Light Years | 1988 | Rene Laloux | ★★ | 71 | Pretentious animated sci-fi fantasy, about a prince who time-travels into the future; he's surrounded by characters named Ambisextra, Metamorphosis, Chief of the Deformed, and The Collective Voice (so you know this wasn't made with young children in mind). The animation is nothing special, and the talky script is by none other than Isaac Asimov. | tt0095525 | [PG] | Voices of Glenn Close, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Grey, John Shea, David Johansen, Terrence Mann, Penn and Teller | French | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Light Years Away | 1981 | Alain Tanner | ★★★ | 105 | Irritable old Howard, who resides in a deserted, dilapidated gas station, becomes the mentor of drifter Ford. Thoughtful yarn is well acted by its two leads. Filmed in Ireland. | tt0080373 | Trevor Howard, Mick Ford, Bernice Stegers, Henri Vorlogeux | French-Swiss |
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| The Light at the Edge of the World | 1971 | Kevin Billington | ★½ | 119 | Amidst their fight for possession of an island, lighthouse keeper Douglas and sea pirate Brynner battle it out for affections of shipwreck victim Eggar. Jules Verne tale has some excitement, but is more often unintentionally funny. | tt0067345 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Yul Brynner, Samantha Eggar, Jean-Claude Druout, Fernando Rey | Spanish-Lichtensteinian | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Light in the Forest | 1958 | Herschel Daugherty | ★★★ | 93 | Absorbing Disney for young people, from Conrad Richter's story of a white boy, raised by Indians, who has difficulty readjusting to life with his real parents. Lynley's film debut. | tt0051864 | James MacArthur, Carol Lynley, Fess Parker, Wendell Corey, Joanne Dru, Jessica Tandy, Joseph Calleia, John McIntire | Family, Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Light in the Jungle | 1990 | Gray Hofmeyer | ★★ | 89 | Languid story of Nobel prize winner Albert Schweitzer's years as a doctor in Africa, where he battles both the superstitions of the natives and the interference of his European benefactors. Inspired visuals, but choppy storytelling hampers this potentially interesting bio. | tt0100558 | [PG] | Malcolm McDowell, Susan Strasberg, Andrew Davis, John Carson, Helen Jessop, Henry Cele, Patrick Shai | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Light in the Piazza | 1962 | Guy Green | ★★★½ | 101 | Splendid soaper about mother who's anxious to marry off retarded daughter but isn't sure she's being fair to suitor. Beautifully filmed on location in Italy. Screenplay by Julius Epstein, from Elizabeth Spencer's novel. | tt0056183 | Olivia de Havilland, Rossano Brazzi, Yvette Mimieux, George Hamilton, Barry Sullivan | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Light of Day | 1987 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 107 | Family angst movie masquerading as a rock 'n' roll tale. Jett and Fox are sister and brother who perform together in a local Cleveland band that starts to gain some recognition, just as personal problems threaten to tear the family apart. Rowlands, in a gratuitous subplot, plays their dying mother. Real-life rock star Jett steals the movie with her compelling performance, but the film degenerates as it goes along. Occasional sparks can't save Schrader's muddled script. | tt0093415 | [PG-13] | Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands, Joan Jett, Michael McKean, Thomas G. Waites, Cherry Jones, Michael Dolan, Jason Miller, Michael Rooker | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lighthorsemen | 1987 | Simon Wincer | ★★½ | 111 | Saga of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, and their involvement in a daunting desert campaign during WW1. Sweeping widescreen adventure, stunningly filmed, but marred by simplistic characterizations, and overlength (though trimmed for U.S. release). Climactic charge on Beersheba is genuinely exciting. Original Australian running time: 128m. | tt0093416 | [PG] | Jon Blake, Peter Phelps, Nick Wateres, Tony Bonner, Bill Kerr, John Walton, Tim McKenzie, Sigrid Thornton, Anthony Andrews | Australian | War | NULL | |
| Lightnin' | 1925 | John Ford. | ★★★ | 104 | Swindlers learn that a hotel straddling the California-Nevada state line (where women come for quickie divorces) stands on a proposed railroad site and try to cheat the owners, a lazy old boozehound and his kindly wife. Amusing silent comedy, full of folksy humor, adapted by Frances Marion from the play by Frank Baron and Winchell Smith. Remade in 1930 with Will Rogers. | tt0016022 | Jay Hunt, Madge Bellamy, Wallace MacDonald, J. Farrell MacDonald, Ethel Clayton, James Marcus, Edythe Chapman, Otis Harlan. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Lightning Jack | 1994 | Simon Wincer | ★★ | 93 | Hogan attempts to repeat his 'CROCODILE' DUNDEE success with this amiable but obvious, undistinguished Western/comedy. He's the whole show in his role as two-bit desperado Lightning Jack Kane, but all his charm can't save it. Gooding is his mute sidekick. Hogan also scripted and coproduced. | tt0110353 | [PG-13] | Paul Hogan, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Beverly D'Angelo, Kamala Dawson, Pat Hingle, Richard Riehle, Frank McRae, Roger Daltrey, L. Q. Jones, Max Cullen | Australian | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| Lightning Swords of Death | 1974 | Kenji Misumi | ★★★ | 83 | Discredited samurai roams medieval Japan pushing his young son ahead of him in baby cart in this edited entry from Sword of Vengeance series. Unending action and beautifully staged fights, with climactic battle rivaling finale of THE WILD BUNCH. Very bloody, though; followed by SHOGUN ASSASSIN. | tt0068817 | [R] | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Masahiro Tomikawa, Goh Kato | Japanese | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Lightning in a Bottle | 2004 | Antoine Fuqua. | ★★★½ | 106 | Spirited Blues-tribute concert film, staged in 2003 at Radio City Music Hall, opens with an onstage intro by Martin Scorsese (who also coexecutive produced). Then it rips up the joint. What little backstage material there is proves compelling, but director Fuqua wisely lets the performers dominate a roughly chronological history featuring both veteran and contemporary performers. For a blues movie, smiley-face moments abound: Natalie Cole surprises with a super-charged 'St. Louis Blues,' while veterans B. B. King and Solomon Burke prove they can still belt, even though they're sitting down. | tt0396705 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Lightning, the White Stallion | 1986 | William A. Levey | ★½ | 95 | Extremely weak family fare with Rooney a wealthy man whose racehorse is stolen. The Mick can't save it. | tt0091411 | [PG] | Mickey Rooney, Isabel Lorca, Susan George, Billy Wesley | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Lights of New York | 1928 | Bryan Foy. | ★★½ | 57 | Country boy opens a barber shop in the big city and gets mixed up with crooks. Story may be routine, production crude, and acting laughable, but all that is overshadowed by the fact that this fascinating artifact was the first '100% All-Talking Picture' and created the template for future Warner Bros. crime movies. | tt0019096 | Helene Costello, Cullen Landis, Gladys Brockwell, Mary Carr, Wheeler Oakman, Eugene Pallette, Robert Elliott, Tom Dugan. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Lights of Old Santa Fe | 1944 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 78 | Roy must save rodeo company owner Dale from competitor Powers, who wants to marry her and combine their shows. Music and romance dominate this unexciting entry, with title tune, 'Cowboy Jubilee,' and 'Ride 'Em Cowboy.' | tt0037018 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Lloyd Corrigan, Richard Powers (Tom Keene), Claire Du Brey, Arthur Loft, Roy Barcroft, Lucien Littlefield, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Lightship | 1985 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★ | 89 | Duvall, practically unrecognizable, gives an outrageously inventive performance as a slimy homosexual thug in this otherwise muddled, pretentiously symbolic saga of a trio of criminals who besiege Brandauer's lightship. Narration, spoken by Brandauer's son (Lyndon— real-life son of Skolimowski), is laughably hokey. | tt0089491 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Tom Bower, Robert Costanzo, Badja Djola, William Forsythe, Arliss Howard, Michael Lyndon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Like Crazy | 2011 | Drake Doremus | ★★★ | 90 | An American guy and a British girl meet as college students in L.A. and fall in love. But she foolishly overextends her student visa, so once she goes home to the U.K. she's stuck there, while he tends a growing business in California. Highly intimate depiction of a relationship from its heady beginning through the doldrums—and emotional pressure—of separation. Vividly brought to life by its impassioned actors, who improvised all of their dialogue from a script by director Doremus and Ben York Jones. | tt1758692 | [PG-13] | Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead, Chris Messina, Finola Hughes, Ben York Jones | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Like Father, Like Son | 1987 | Rod Daniel | 💣 | 98 | Heart surgeon accidentally sprinkles an ancient Indian potion into his Bloody Mary and presto!— he and his teenage son have somehow switched identities. Moore's mugging talents get a major workout in this Hall of Fame embarrassment, first of four 1987/1988 comedies to utilize an adult-teen switcheroo theme. | tt0093418 | [PG-13] | Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, Margaret Colin, Catherine Hicks, Patrick O'Neal, Sean Astin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Like Mike | 2002 | John Schultz | ★★★ | 99 | Cute film for kids about an orphaned boy who acquires sneakers that may have belonged to Michael Jordan and turns into a basketball-playing phenomenon . . . but what he really wants is a father. Engaging, well cast, and family friendly, with a notable absence of crude humor, bad language, and violence. Film debut for hip-hop recording sensation Lil' Bow Wow. Many basketball stars appear as themselves. | tt0308506 | [PG] | Lil’ Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Robert Forster, Crispin Glover, Eugene Levy, Brenda Song, Jesse Plemons, Anne Meara | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Like Normal People | 1979 | Harvey Hart | Average TV Movie | 100 | Rock idol Shaun Cassidy's dramatic acting debut was in this drama of mentally retarded young adults who decide to marry despite angry resistance from their families. Virtually identical to the same year's NO OTHER LOVE. | tt0079471 | Shaun Cassidy, Linda Purl, Zalman King, Hope Lange, Michael McGuire, Maureen Arthur, James Keach, Rhea Perlman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Like Water for Chocolate | 1992 | Alfonso Arau | ★★★ | 113 | Striking and sensuous film (from a novel by Laura Esquivel, the director's then-wife), set in the early part of the 20th century: a young woman's life is shaped first by her stern and unyielding mother, and more important, by the overwhelming power of cooking. Sumptuous fable— not without humor— with a good cast and a top-notch performance from lead actress Cavazos. Piquant, sometimes mystical, and enjoyably unpredictable. Original running time was 144m. | tt0103994 | Lumi Cavazos, Marco Leonardi, Regina Torne, Mario Ivan Martinez, Ada Carrasco | Mexican | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Like a Turtle on Its Back | 1978 | Luc Beraud | ★★½ | 110 | Uneven yet absorbing tale of blocked writer Stevenin's efforts to create, offering a hint of the real struggle a writer must make to pound out meaningful sentences on his typewriter. | tt0070818 | Jean-Francois Stevenin, Bernadette Lafont, Virginie Thevenet, Veronique Silver, Claude Miller | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Likely Story | 1947 | H. C. Potter | ★½ | 88 | Williams and Hale, then real-life newlyweds, star in this inane comedy about a deluded, shellshocked ex-GI who thinks he's dying and the determined young artist who rescues him. Levene adds the only spark as a Runyonesque crook. | tt0039568 | Bill Williams, Barbara Hale, Sam Levene, Lanny Rees, Dan Tobin, Nestor Paiva | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lila Says | 2004 | Ziad Doueiri | ★★½ | 90 | Vahina Giocante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Ben Haddou, Lotfi Chakri, Hamid Dhkissi, Carmen Lebbos, Edmonde Franchi. A Marseille teenager on the brink of manhood thinks about becoming a writer, but he's broke, ghettoized, and pressured by his peers to remain a loser . . . until he meets a blonde bombshell who sparks his literary fuse, and then some. Faintly surreal saga of contemporary French-Arabian relations stays lightweight and nymphet-fixated until its inevitable bittersweet ending. Written by the director. 1.85:1. | tt0424237 | [R] | French-Italian-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lilac Time | 1928 | George Fitzmaurice. | ★★½ | 90 | Rickety aviation yarn a la WINGS, with WW1 biplane pilots aloft over France, raring to survive the mission and return to their mamzelles on the ground. In truth, it's a weepy star vehicle for Moore and a showcase for up-and-comer Cooper. Based on a 1917 play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin, this late silent introduced the song 'Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time.' White-knuckle dogfights in the sky are a reminder that stunt pilot Frank Baker was killed during production. | tt0019098 | Colleen Moore, Gary Cooper, Burr McIntosh, Cleve Moore, Kathryn McGuire, Eugenie Besserer, Emile Chautard, Jack Stone, Arthur Lake. | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Lili | 1953 | Charles Walters | ★★★★ | 81 | Enchanting musical with Leslie as French orphan who attaches herself to carnival and self-pitying puppeteer Ferrer. Bronislau Kaper's Oscar-winning score includes 'Hi Lili, Hi Lo.' Helen Deutsch scripted, from Paul Gallico's story. | tt0046000 | Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Amanda Blake, Kurt Kasznar | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lili Marleen | 1981 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★½ | 120 | Secondrate Fassbinder about third-rate cabaret singer Schygulla, whose recording of the title song becomes a hit in Nazi Germany. Intriguing subject matter is pretentiously handled. | tt0082661 | [R] | Hanna Schygulla, Giancarlo Giannini, Mel Ferrer, Karl Heinz von Hassel, Christine Kaufmann, Hark Bohm, Karin Baal, Udo Kier | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lilies of the Field | 1963 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 93 | A 'little' film that made good, winning Poitier an Oscar as handyman who helps build chapel for Skala and her German-speaking nuns. Quiet, well acted, enjoyable. Director Nelson followed this with a TV movie, CHRISTMAS LILIES OF THE FIELD. | tt0057251 | Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Stanley Adams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Liliom | 1934 | Fritz Lang. | ★★★½ | 116 | After fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933, Lang went to France and made this version of Molnár's celebrated fantasy, previously filmed in the U.S. in 1930 and subsequently musicalized as CAROUSEL. Boyer stars as the brutish carnival barker who is killed while committing a robbery to support his pregnant girlfriend and returns to Earth years later to visit his now-grown daughter. Dreamily romantic yet appropriately dark, with superbly stylish sets and photography, particularly in the imaginative sequences depicting heaven. | tt0025397 | Charles Boyer, Madeleine Ozeray, Florelle, Robert Arnoux, Roland Toutain. | French | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Lilith | 1964 | Robert Rossen | ★★½ | 114 | Fairly faithful version of controversial J. R. Salamanca novel about a novice therapist who falls in love with a troubled patient. A probing if not altogether satisfying look at the many facets of madness— and love. Director-writer Rossen's last film. | tt0058294 | Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg, Peter Fonda, Kim Hunter, Jessica Walter, Anne Meacham, Gene Hackman, Rene Auberjonois | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lilli Marlene | 1950 | Arthur Crabtree | ★★ | 75 | Potentially exciting film is middling fare, with Daniely the girl used by the Nazis to broadcast pessimistic news to British army. Followed by THE WEDDING OF LILLI MARLENE. | tt0042679 | Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott, Richard Murdoch, Leslie Dwyer, John Blythe, Stanley Baker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lillian Russell | 1940 | Irving Cummings | ★★ | 127 | Strained bio of early 20th-century star; lavish backgrounds and weak plotline diminish Faye's vehicle; Arnold repeats his Diamond Jim Brady role with gusto. | tt0032710 | Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda, Edward Arnold, Warren William, Leo Carrillo, Nigel Bruce | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lilly Turner | 1933 | William A. Wellman. | ★★½ | 65 | Wildly melodramatic tale following the sorrows of carnival performer Chatterton, who gets mixed up with one worthless man after another. Then she meets nice-guy Brent, but can their happiness last? Redeemed by the acting and Wellman's typically pungent touches. | tt0024258 | Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Frank McHugh, Guy Kibbee, Robert Barrat, Ruth Donnelly, Marjorie Gateson. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lilo & Stitch | 2002 | Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois | ★★★ | 85 | Forlorn Hawaiian girl being raised by her older sister finds an unlikely friend at the dog pound: a monstrous alien whom she names Stitch. Meanwhile, emissaries from Stitch's planet have landed on earth to retrieve the destructive little fellow. Lively Disney cartoon feature takes time to warm up to— since Stitch is so mean-spirited— but eventually wins you over. Unique character design and beautiful watercolor backgrounds are major assets. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0275847 | [PG] | Voices of Daveigh Chase, Christopher Michael Sanders, Tia Carrere, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, David Ogden Stiers, Zoe Caldwell, Jason Scott Lee, Kevin Michael Richardson | Comedy, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lily Dale | 1996 | Peter Masterson | Average TV Movie | 98 | Leisurely adaptation by Horton Foote of his 1968 Off-Broadway memory play dealing with a young man whose tentative return home to 1910 Houston is fraught with anxiety and unwelcomed by his shallow sister. A family affair, with Foote as off-screen narrator, actress daughter Hallie as executive producer, cousin Peter Masterson as director, and the latter's daughter Mary Stuart rather miscast in the title role. An elegantly mounted enterprise. Made for cable. | tt0116884 | Mary Stuart Masterson, Sam Shepard, Stockard Channing, Tim Guinee, John Slattery, Jean Stapleton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lily in Love | 1985 | Károly Makk | ★½ | 103 | Flat, unfunny (and uncredited) reworking of Molnar's THE GUARDSMAN and THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER. Egotistical actor Plummer disguises himself as an Italian, and courts wife Smith. Tries to be charming and sophisticated, but fails dismally despite Plummer and Smith's efforts. | tt0089365 | [PG-13] | Christopher Plummer, Maggie Smith, Elke Sommer, Adolph Green, Szabo Sandor | U.S.-Hungarian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Lilya 4-Ever | 2002 | Lukas Moodysson | ★★★ | 109 | Obvious but stinging account of an adolescent girl (Akinshina) who lives in what once was the Soviet Union and yearns to go to America, but is abandoned and abused by everyone around her, starting with her mother. Of the countless films that have focused on child abuse, few are as edgy or as vividly memorable. | tt0300140 | [R] | Oksana Akinshina, Artiom Bogucharskij, Elina Benenson, Lilia Sinkarjova, Pavel Ponomarjov | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Limbo | 1972 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 112 | Emotional melodrama about three women, whose husbands are either missing or captured in Vietnam, who become friends. One of the first major Hollywood productions to examine homefront repercussions of the war, but its intentions are better than its results. Screenplay by Joan (Micklin) Silver and James Bridges. Aka WOMEN IN LIMBO. | tt0068860 | [PG] | Kathleen Nolan, Kate Jackson, Katherine Justice, Stuart Margolin, Hazel Medina, Russell Wiggins | Drama | NULL | ||
| Limbo | 1999 | John Sayles | ★★★½ | 126 | Novelistic film by writer-director Sayles set in modern-day Alaska about characters who find themselves at emotional crossroads: a quiet man with a skeleton in his closet (Strathairn), an itinerant nightclub singer (Mastrantonio) with a habit of picking rotten male companions, and her teenage daughter (Martinez), who's filled with self-loathing and tired of her mother's mercurial relationships. Surprising, intelligent, and richly textured. | tt0164085 | [R] | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Kris Kristofferson, Casey Siemaszko, Leo Burmester, Kathryn Grody, Rita Taggart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Limehouse Blues | 1934 | Alexander Hall. | ★★ | 65 | Atmospheric but predictable melodrama of race and class differences, set in London's Limehouse district, where brutalized 'white girl' Parker is taken in by half-American/half-Chinese saloonkeeper Raft. Watch for Ann Sheridan in a bit. Retitled: EAST END CHANT. | tt0025399 | George Raft, Jean Parker, Anna May Wong, Kent Taylor, Billy Bevan, Robert Loraine, Eric Blore. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Limelight | 1952 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★ | 145 | Sentimental story of aging, washed-up music hall clown (Chaplin) who saves ballerina Bloom from suicide and regains his own confidence while building her up. Overlong, indulgent Chaplin effort still has many moving scenes, historic teaming of Chaplin and Keaton in comedy skit. Young Geraldine Chaplin (the director's daughter) makes her film debut as a street urchin. This won an Oscar for its score in 1972, the year in which it was first eligible for the competition— because it had not been shown in an L.A. theater until then! | tt0044837 | Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Chaplin, Norman Lloyd | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Limey | 1999 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 90 | A taciturn Britisher, just out of prison, comes to L.A. to avenge the suspicious death of his daughter, who fell under the spell of a sleazy music magnate (Fonda). Stylish and understated, with great use of L.A. locations, but the story at the core isn't all that interesting. Stamp appears in flashbacks lifted from his 1967 film POOR COW. | tt0165854 | [R] | Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman, Barry Newman, Joe Dallesandro, Nicky Katt, Amelia Heinle | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Limitless | 2011 | Neil Burger | ★★★ | 105 | Imaginative, propulsively paced thriller about an underachieving author (Cooper) who becomes an overachieving genius after obtaining experimental pills that turbo-charge his cognitive abilities. As his fortunes rise, however, he’s drawn dangerously close to an autocratic Wall Street tycoon (De Niro) and a borderline-psychotic Russian loan shark (Howard). Cooper evidences unmistakable star power with a performance that neatly balances witty swagger and skittish paranoia. Adapted from Alan Glynn’s novel The Dark Fields. | tt1219289 | [PG-13] | Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth, Robert John Burke, Ned Eisenberg, T. Carpio | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Limits of Control | 2009 | Jim Jarmusch | ★½ | 116 | Incomprehensible and downright boring drama about a mysterious man with a criminal past who arrives in Spain, ostensibly to finish a job. His journey is never quite clear, taking him to places that may be real or imagined. Mainly he walks around a lot, encountering people who utter clues like, “Wait three days until you see the bread and the guitar will find you.” Indulgent exercise by Jarmusch wastes a talented cast, although Swinton, in too brief a cameo, is vibrant and original. Her character sums the whole thing up by saying, “Sometimes there are films where people just sit there. | tt1135092 | [R] | Isaach De Bankolé, Alex Descas, Jean François Stévenin, Óscar Jaenada, Luis Tosar, Paz de la Huerta, Tilda Swinton, Youki Kudoh, John Hurt, Gael García Bernal, Hiam Abbass, Bill Murray | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Limping Man | 1953 | Charles De Latour | ★★ | 76 | Passable mystery with ex-GI Bridges returning to London to rekindle romance with actress Lister, and finding himself embroiled in murder and mayhem. | tt0046001 | Lloyd Bridges, Moira Lister, Leslie Phillips, Helene Cordet, Alan Wheatley, Rachel Roberts, Jean Marsh | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Lincoln Lawyer | 2011 | Brad Furman | ★★½ | 118 | L.A. criminal lawyer Mick Haller, who works out of his chauffeured Lincoln Continental, takes on an unusually high-profile case defending Phillippe, the scion of a wealthy family who’s accused of raping a prostitute. There’s clearly more to it than meets the eye, and it may tie into a case he tried some years ago. Adaptation of Michael Connelly’s best-selling novel is well cast and neatly plotted but loses its spark long before the unexpected finale. Not bad, but not as solid as it promises to be at the outset. Makes creative use of offbeat L.A. locations. | tt1189340 | [R] | Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, Josh Lucas, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston, Trace Adkins, Shea Whigham, Michael Paré | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story | 1996 | Susan Warms Dryfoos | ★★★½ | 87 | Outstanding documentary about Al Hirschfeld, the most famous— and durable— caricaturist of the 20th century. The articulate artist is seen throughout and some of his admiring, amused subjects appear, including Lauren Bacall, Carol Channing, Joan Collins and Robert Goulet. Jules Feiffer offers commentary as well. The highest praise possible: the film is truly worthy of its subject. Beware the hour-long broadcast TV version. | tt0116886 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Line | 1980 | Robert Siegel | ★½ | 94 | Poorly made anti-military drama, based on an incident in which 27 prisoners staged a sit-down strike at the Presidio, California military stockade. One-third of the film is made up of footage from Siegel's '71 film, PARADES. | tt0081058 | Russ Thacker, Brad Sullivan, Lewis J. Stadlen, Jacqueline Brooks, David Doyle, Erik Estrada |
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| The Lineup | 1958 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 86 | Expanded version of TV series set in San Francisco, focusing on gun-happy hoodlum after a cache of dope. Cult favorite with fans of director Siegel. Pretty ordinary except for final car-chase stunt. | tt0051866 | Warner Anderson, Emile Meyer, Eli Wallach, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Keith | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Linguini Incident | 1992 | Richard Shepard | ★½ | 98 | Even pasta lovers should probably steer clear of this dismal trendy-cutesy-quirky caper comedy. Arquette (quite appealing) is a Houdini-obsessed waitress at a N.Y.C. restaurant who wants to rob the place, Bowie is an illegal alien bartender, and Matlin is a cashier. Story concerns magic acts, wagers, and an antique wedding ring. Julian Lennon and Iman have cameos. | tt0102313 | [R] | Rosanna Arquette, David Bowie, Eszter Balint, Andre Gregory, Buck Henry, Viveca Lindfors, Marlee Matlin, Lewis Arquette | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Link | 1986 | Richard Franklin | 💣 | 103 | Primatologist Stamp is experimenting on chimps . . . and his activities get predictably out of hand. A horror film that's not horrifying, or suspenseful, or even mildly entertaining. | tt0091415 | [R] | Terence Stamp, Elisabeth Shue, Steven Pinner, Richard Garnett | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Lion Has Wings | 1939 | Michael Powell, Brian Desmond Hurst, Adrian Brunel | ★★½ | 76 | Dated British WW2 morale-builder, produced by Alexander Korda in a (then) unique 'docudrama' style. Top-notch cast and technical credits boost the propagandist elements dramatizing England's entry into the war and the strength of the RAF. | tt0031575 | Merle Oberon, Ralph Richardson, June Duprez, Robert Douglas, Anthony Bushell, Derrick de Marney, Brian Worth, Austin Trevor, Ivan Brandt | British | Documentary, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Lion Hunters | 1951 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 75 | It's Bomba the Jungle Boy to the rescue when a hunting expedition is slaughtering lions on sacred Masai grounds. Typical juvenile adventure with even lower production values than usual for this cut-rate series. | tt0043746 | Johnny Sheffield, Morris Ankrum, Ann B. Todd, Douglas Kennedy, Smoki Whitfield, Robert Davis, Woodrow (Woody) Strode | Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Lion Is in the Streets | 1953 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 88 | Cagney, in a Huey Long take-off, is lively as a swamp peddler turned politician, but rambling screenplay prevents film from having much impact. Well photographed by Harry Stradling. | tt0046002 | James Cagney, Barbara Hale, Anne Francis, Warner Anderson, John McIntire, Jeanne Cagney, Lon Chaney/Jr., Frank McHugh | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lion King | 1994 | Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | ★★★ | 88 | A lion cub raised to take his father's place someday as king of the jungle is sabotaged by his evil uncle— and lives in exile until he realizes his rightful place in the circle of life. With distant echoes of BAMBI, this entertaining Disney cartoon feature (highlighted by Oscar-winning Elton John-Tim Rice songs and Oscar-winning music score by Hans Zimmer) has dazzling scenics, some show-stopping animation, and outstanding voice work— but drama so intense (and comedy so hip), it's not really for very young viewers. Followed by animated TV series, two direct-to-video sequels, and a Broadway musical. Rereleased in Imax in 2002 at 89m. | tt0110357 | [G] | Voices of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Ernie Sabella, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings | Family, Adventure, Animation, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Lion and the Horse | 1952 | Louis King | ★★ | 83 | Warm B film of valiant horse who combats a fierce African lion; geared for children. | tt0044838 | Steve Cochran, Bob Steele, Sherry Jackson, Ray Teal | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lion in Winter | 1968 | Anthony Harvey | ★★★★ | 135 | Brilliant, fierce, and personal drama (adapted by James Goldman from his play) of Henry II deliberating over a successor on fateful Christmas Eve. Hepburn co-won Best Actress Oscar for her strong performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine. Oscars also went to Goldman and composer John Barry. Film debuts of Hopkins and Dalton. O'Toole also played Henry II in BECKET. Remade for cable TV in 2004. | tt0063227 | Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Merrow, Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Stock, John Castle | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lion of the Desert | 1981 | Moustapha Akkad | ★★★ | 162 | Sweeping 'David vs. Goliath' spectacle, with Quinn as Omar Mukhtar, guerrilla leader who stymied Italian forays into Libya between 1911 and 1931. Steiger is Benito Mussolini. Filmed in 1979. | tt0081059 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, John Gielgud, Irene Papas, Raf Vallone, Gastone Moschin | Libyan-British | War | NULL | |
| The Lion | 1962 | Jack Cardiff | ★★ | 96 | Beautiful scenery of Kenya is far better than melodrama about young girl attached to pet lion, with family concerned it is turning her into a savage. | tt0056186 | William Holden, Trevor Howard, Capucine, Pamela Franklin, Samuel Romboh, Christopher Agunda | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lionheart | 1987 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★ | 104 | Seeking Richard the Lionhearted, who's passing through France headed for the Crusades, runaway young knight Stoltz gradually forms his own children's crusade as more and more homeless children follow him. Richly produced, well acted, with a superb Jerry Goldsmith score, it's a shame this sincere, if slight, film received almost no theatrical release. | tt0093424 | [PG] | Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Byrne, Nicola Cowper, Dexter Fletcher, Deborah Barrymore, Nicholas Clay | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lionheart | 1991 | Sheldon Lettich | ★★ | 105 | By-the-numbers programmer with Van Damme deserting the foreign legion, becoming a professional streetfighter, and battling a variety of villains. Only for those who like films in which fights are staged ad nauseam. Aka A.W.O.L. and WRONG BET. | tt0100029 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Rennard, Harrison Page, Lisa Pelikan, Ashley Johnson | Action | NULL | ||
| Lions for Lambs | 2007 | Robert Redford | ★★★ | 88 | Hotshot senator (Cruise) summons a star reporter (Streep) to unveil his plan to attack terrorists in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a college professor (Redford) tries to inspire a student with great potential who seems to have drifted, even though his last two protégés took his call for involvement to extremes. Unusual chamber piece allows three commanding actors to make long, pointed speeches about everything from Washington games-playing to empty-headed TV journalism. Short on subtlety but obviously impassioned. Screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan. | tt0891527 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Andrew Garfield, Michael Peña, Derek Luke, Peter Berg, Kevin Dunn | War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lipstick | 1976 | Lamont Johnson | 💣 | 89 | Gorgeous model is brutally raped, must ultimately take justice into her own hands. Totally wretched film gives new dimension to term 'exploitation picture.' Mariel's film debut. | tt0074802 | [R] | Margaux Hemingway, Chris Sarandon, Perry King, Anne Bancroft, Robin Gammell, Mariel Hemingway | Drama | NULL | ||
| Liquid Dreams | 1991 | Mark Manos | ★★½ | 92 | Beautiful Daly, determined to uncover her sister's killer, becomes immersed in a world of decadent, nightmarish dance halls and clubs, and various hidden evils. Provocative if overly slick thriller with sci-fi elements. Released on video in R and unrated versions. | tt0104735 | [R] | Richard Steinmetz, Candice Daly, Barry Dennen, Juan Fernandez, Tracey Walter, Frankie Thorn, Paul Bartel, Mink Stole, John Doe | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Liquid Sky | 1983 | Slava Tsukerman | ★★★ | 112 | Gleefully nasty original about a lesbian punker whose Manhattan penthouse patio is trespassed by a UFO. A one-joke movie, but a pretty good joke; Carlisle, who also plays a gay male model, is remarkable, and there's some potent imagery despite the minuscule budget. Not for every taste, but you knew that when you read the plot synopsis. | tt0085852 | [R] | Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas, Otto Von Wernherr, Bob Brady | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Liquidator | 1966 | Jack Cardiff | ★★½ | 105 | Nice location photography and adequate acting add up to a rather limp Bondian imitation. Even Taylor can't save this one. | tt0059390 | Rod Taylor, Trevor Howard, Jill St. John, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lisa | 1962 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 112 | Jan de Hartog's suspenseful novel of Dutch-Jewish girl in post-WW2 Europe trying to get to Palestine. Exciting film despite gaps in story logic. Stylishly photographed on location by Arthur Ibbetson. Released in England as THE INSPECTOR. | tt0056187 | Stephen Boyd, Dolores Hart, Leo McKern, Hugh Griffith, Donald Pleasence, Harry Andrews, Robert Stephens, Marius Goring, Finlay Currie | U.S.-British | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lisa Picard is Famous | 2001 | Griffin Dunne | ★★½ | 87 | Kirk is a struggling N.Y.C. actress whose (painfully) ordinary life is being documented by filmmaker Dunne. DeWolf is her gay pal, whose success is equally meager. Satire of fame, actors, and the show-business milieu has many sharp moments but wears thin after a while. Written by costars Kirk and DeWolf. Mira Sorvino and Fisher Stevens are two of the producers; they are among many celebrities who pop up in choice cameos. | tt0233699 | [PG-13] | Laura Kirk, Nat DeWolf, Griffin Dunne, Daniel London | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lisa and the Devil | The House of Exorcism | 1972 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 95 | A tourist (Sommer) gets lost in an unidentified European town and winds up at an eerie mansion replete with rotting corpses, wax dummies, a blind woman, and a man who thinks she's the reincarnation of his dead wife. Oh yes, there's also an evil lollipop-sucking butler (Savalas), who just happens to be Satan. Truly strange, surreal psychological horror tale filled with hallucinatory imagery. Re-edited in 1975 as THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM, with gory new footage and unrelated scenes with Robert Alda as a priest. | tt0068863 | Elke Sommer, Telly Savalas, Sylva Koscina, Alida Valli, Alessio Orano, Gabriele Tinti, Kathy Leone, Eduardo Fajardo | Italian-Spanish-West German | Horror | NULL | |
| Lisbon | 1956 | Ray Milland | ★★½ | 90 | On-location tale of international thief Rains hiring skipper Milland to rescue Maureen's husband from Communist imprisonment. Nice scenery, nothing special. | tt0049446 | Ray Milland, Maureen O'Hara, Claude Rains, Yvonne Furneaux, Francis Lederer, Percy Marmont, Jay Novello | Adventure, Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The List of Adrian Messenger | 1963 | John Huston | ★★★ | 98 | Good murder mystery has a gimmick: Curtis, Douglas, Lancaster, Mitchum, and Sinatra are all heavily disguised in character roles. All that trouble wasn't necessary; the mystery is good on its own. The director's son Tony (billed as Anthony Walter Huston) plays Wynter's son. | tt0057254 | George C. Scott, Clive Brook, Dana Wynter, Herbert Marshall, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, John Huston, Bernard Fox | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones | 1990 | Ellen Weissbrod | ★★½ | 114 | Ultraslick look at the life and times of Quincy Jones, the famed musician-composer-arranger-producer. Not so much a documentary as a visual and musical collage; sometimes effective, but too often plays like a music video— and is much too self-congratulatory. Dozens of Jones' friends, associates, and admirers appear, including Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Jesse Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Steven Spielberg, Sidney Lumet, Ella Fitzgerald, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Charles, Ice T, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane. | tt0102315 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Listen to Me | 1989 | Douglas Day Stewart | ★½ | 107 | Slick travesty about a renowned small-college debating squad, set on the kind of party-school campus where Dick Dale and The Del-Tones wouldn't be out of place. Climactic abortion debate— before the Supreme Court, no less— is cheap and hokey in roughly equal measure. Beware of Cameron's shifting Oklahoma accent. | tt0097756 | [PG-13] | Kirk Cameron, Jami Gertz, Roy Scheider, Amanda Peterson, Tim Quill, George Wyner, Anthony Zerbe, Christopher Atkins | Drama | NULL | ||
| Listen, Darling | 1938 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 70 | Judy and Freddie try to land mother (Astor) a husband; Garland sings 'Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart.' | tt0030368 | Judy Garland, Freddie Bartholomew, Mary Astor, Walter Pidgeon, Alan Hale/Sr., Scotty Beckett | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lisztomania | 1975 | Ken Russell | ★½ | 105 | So-called biography of Franz Liszt is, in truth, one of Ken Russell's most outlandish extravaganzas; director's devotees may enjoy this visual, aural (and sexual) assault. Others beware! | tt0073298 | [R] | Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas, Fiona Lewis, Ringo Starr | British | Fantasy, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Little Annie Rooney | 1925 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 97 | One of Mary's weaker starring vehicles mixes comedy, sentiment, melodrama, and blarney in uneven doses, as ragamuffin girl and her brother set out to avenge their father's murder. | tt0016028 | Mary Pickford, William Haines, Walter James, Gordon Griffith, Carlo Schippa | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Little Ark | 1972 | James B. Clark | ★★★ | 100 | Another good children's film from producer Robert Radnitz; this one concerns two Dutch youngsters who try to find their father after being separated from him during a flood. | tt0068864 | [G] | Theodore Bikel, Philip Frame, Genevieve Ambas, Max Croiset, Johan De Slaa | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Little Ashes | 2009 | Paul Morrison | ★★ | 112 | It’s Madrid in the jazz age of the anything-goes ’20s when 18-year-old artist Salvador Dali arrives at the university and strikes up a friendship with two other aspiring young talents, director Luis Buñuel and poet Fernando García Lorca. As time and events drag on Dali is increasingly attracted (intellectually and otherwise) to Garcia Lorca. Loosely structured quasi-biopic takes mucho liberties with its key subjects and never gets below the surface. Soft-core gay love scene may surprise Pattinson’s rabid fans from TWILIGHT, but he does show acting chops as well. | tt1104083 | [R] | Robert Pattinson, Javier Beltrán, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell, Arly Jover | Spanish-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Little Big Horn | 1951 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★½ | 86 | Small-budget film manages to generate excitement in its account of Custer's Last Stand. | tt0043747 | Lloyd Bridges, John Ireland, Marie Windsor, Reed Hadley, Hugh O'Brian | Western | NULL | |||
| Little Big League | 1994 | Andrew Scheinman | ★★ | 119 | A 12-year-old boy inherits the Minnesota Twins from his grandfather, and decides to manage the baseball team himself. Could have and should have been a cute family movie, but it has no energy— and goes on forever. Special appearances by real-life major leaguers Ken Griffey, Jr., Lou Piniella, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Tim Raines, Wally Joyner, and others. Directing debut for producer Scheinman. | tt0110363 | [PG] | Luke Edwards, Timothy Busfield, John Ashton, Ashley Crow, Kevin Dunn, Jonathan Silverman, Dennis Farina, Jason Robards, Wolfgang Bodison | Drama, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Little Big Man | 1970 | Arthur Penn | ★★★★ | 139 | Sprawling, superb filmization of Thomas Berger's novel about Jack Crabb, 121-year-old man who reminisces about his life as young pioneer, adopted Indian, drinking pal of Wild Bill Hickok, medicine-show hustler, and survivor of Custer's Last Stand. Rich humor, colorful characterizations, moving tragedy are among ingredients, and they all click. Screenplay by Calder Willingham. Originally released at 150 minutes. | tt0065988 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan, Chief Dan George, Jeff Corey, Alan Oppenheimer, Aimee Eccles, William Hickey | Comedy, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Little Big Shot | 1935 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★½ | 71 | Warners' first attempt to create their own Shirley Temple (see LITTLE MISS THOROUGHBRED) stars 5-year-old South African-born Jason playing a gangster's orphaned daughter who is taken in by a pair of Broadway con men. Engaging cast and swift direction make it painless. Jason's impressions of Garbo, Mae West, and Jimmy Durante are pretty cute. | tt0026632 | Sybil Jason, Glenda Farrell, Robert Armstrong, Edward Everett Horton, Jack LaRue, Arthur Vinton, J. Carrol Naish, Edgar Kennedy. | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Big Soldier | 2010 | Ding Sheng | ★★★ | 96 | Enjoyable, picaresque adventure set in ancient China, with Chan (who also wrote the story) as a farmer who is drafted into the army. He survives a massacre, captures a general, and battles enemy soldiers and bandits while journeying home to collect a reward. Jackie may be getting a little long in the tooth for this kind of martial arts romp but can still perform some dazzling stunts and top-notch fight scenes (which he choreographed). | tt1319718 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Leehom Wang, Steve Yoo, Lin Peng, Du Yuming | Chinese-Hong Kong | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| A Little Bit of Heaven | 1940 | Andrew Marton. | ★★ | 87 | Jean has vocal outing as 12-year-old singer supporting family; OK vehicle. | tt0032714 | Gloria Jean, Robert Stack, Hugh Herbert, C. Aubrey Smith, Stuart Erwin, Nan Grey. | Musical | NULL | |||
| A Little Bit of Heaven | 2012 | Nicole Kassell | ★½ | 106 | Well-meaning but meandering story about a vital young career woman whose life takes a sudden turn when she is stricken with cancer. Improbable subplot involving a budding romance with her doctor (played unconvincingly by Bernal) would sink this film if that hadn't already been accomplished by some embarrassing heavenly scenes set in the clouds with Whoopi Goldberg as a God-like character who dispenses advice to Hudson! | tt1440161 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, Gael García Bernal, Lucy Punch, Kathy Bates, Treat Williams, Romany Malco, Rosemarie DeWitt, Whoopi Goldberg, Steven Weber, Peter Dinklage, Alan Dave | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Little Bit of Soul | 1998 | Peter Duncan | ★★ | 85 | Wacko Aussie black comedy about two scientists (and ex-lovers) working on an immortality serum who make a pact with their married benefactors— who just happen to be your average, everyday Satanists! Attempted satire of science and religion is ultimately too shrill and strained to generate many laughs despite a capable cast. Soundtrack of Louis Jordan oldies helps liven things up. | tt0119546 | [R] | Geoffrey Rush, David Wenham, Frances O'Connor, Heather Mitchell, John Gaden | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Little Black Book | 2004 | Nick Hurran | ★½ | 106 | Murphy lands a job at a trash-TV talk show and becomes a protégée of ambitious staffer Hunter, who encourages her to spy on her boyfriend using his handheld PDA. Vehicle for Murphy has too many plot threads, many of them dark and unpleasant, and doesn't seem to have a point . . . except to pay homage to better movies like WORKING GIRL and BROADCAST NEWS. The actors (other than Murphy) are photographed in the most unflattering manner imaginable. | tt0361841 | [PG-13] | Brittany Murphy, Holly Hunter, Ron Livingston, Kathy Bates, Stephen Tobolowsky, Julianne Nicholson, Josie Maran, Sharon Lawrence | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Boy Lost | 1953 | George Seaton | ★★★ | 95 | Synthetic tear-jerker set in post-WW2 France, where newspaperman Crosby is trying to locate his son, not knowing which boy at orphanage is his. | tt0046003 | Bing Crosby, Claude Dauphin, Nicole Maurey, Gabrielle Dorziat | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Buddha | 1993 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★ | 123 | Disappointing, dramatically muddled Bertolucci epic with obvious similarities to THE LAST EMPEROR, telling the parallel stories of an aged Tibetan monk (Ruocheng) who believes that a young Seattle boy (Wiesendanger) is the reincarnation of his respected mentor, and the young Prince Siddhartha (Reeves), who lived 2,500 years ago. Pretty to look at, but otherwise pretty much of a bore. | tt0107426 | [PG] | Keanu Reeves, Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda, Alex Wiesendanger, Ying Ruocheng, Raju Lal, Rudraprsad, Jo Champa | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Caesar | 1930 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 80 | Small-time hood becomes underworld big-shot; Robinson as Caesar Enrico Bandello gives star-making performance in classic gangster film, still exciting. Francis Faragoh and Robert E. Lee adapted W. R. Burnett's novel. | tt0021079 | Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Glenda Farrell, Stanley Fields, Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Ince, George E. Stone | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Little Children | 2006 | Todd Field | ★★★★ | 137 | Intensely emotional story, which unfolds in novelistic fashion (complete with narration) about lives that crisscross in an upscale Connecticut town: a woman who's unhappy as a wife and mother (Winslet), a house-husband who can't get his act together (Wilson), a sex offender (Haley) just released from prison who still lives with his mother, and an ex-cop (Emmerich) who's obsessed with the predator in their midst. Spellbinding look at how frustrated people act out without thinking about the consequences, told with an ironic point of view. Tom Perrotta adapted his own novel with director Field. | tt0404203 | [R] | Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly, Gregg Edelman, Noah Emmerich, Jackie Earle Haley, Phyllis Somerville, Trini Alvarado, Helen Carey, Mary B. McCann, Jane Adams, Raymond J. Barry; narrated by Will Lyman | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Little Cigars | 1973 | Chris Christenberry | ★★★ | 92 | Crime-caper comedy with a midget gang committing the mayhem. Fast and funny, with Tompkins especially good as a former mistress to gangster De Santis, and Curtis, the leader of the tiny troupe. Look for a funny bit by dwarf Angelo Rossitto during a police lineup. | tt0070323 | [PG] | Angel Tompkins, Billy Curtis, Jerry Maren, Frank Delfino, Emory Souza, Felix Silla, Joe De Santis | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Little City | 1999 | Roberto Benabib | ★★ | 89 | Life and loves— gay and straight, platonic and passionate— among a group of young people in San Francisco. Pleasant-enough time-filler, with an attractive cast and postcard views of the city, but nothing special. Released direct to video. | tt0119548 | [R] | Jon Bon Jovi, Penelope Ann Miller, Josh Charles, Annabella Sciorra, JoBeth Williams, Joanna Going | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Little Colonel | 1935 | David Butler | ★★★ | 80 | Even non-fans should like this, one of Shirley's best films, as she mends broken ties between Grandpa Barrymore and Mama Venable in the Reconstruction South . . . and does that famous step dance with Robinson. Final scene was filmed in Technicolor. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0016029 | Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, John Lodge, Sidney Blackmer, Bill Robinson | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Darlings | 1980 | Ronald F. Maxwell | ★★ | 95 | Tatum and Kristy wager which one will be the first to lose her virginity at summer camp. Not quite as sleazy as it sounds, but not very inspiring, either. McNichol easily out-acts her costar with a solid performance. | tt0081060 | [R] | Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante, Matt Dillon, Maggie Blye, Nicolas Coster, Krista Erickson, Alexa Kenin, Cynthia Nixon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Dorrit | Nobody's Fault | 1988 | Christine Edzard | ★★ | 177 | PART ONE: NOBODY'S FAULT (C-177m.) Ambitious adaptation of Charles Dickens' satiric novel concerns upstanding but ineffectual Jacobi, and the young seamstress Little Dorrit (Pickering) who lives with her father (Guinness) in debtors' prison. Low-budget production is painstakingly slow moving: viewers will either adore this or despise it. PART TWO: LITTLE DORRIT'S STORY (C-183m.) Second half of saga unfortunately insists on recreating almost the entire first half scene for scene before moving forward. As in first part, there are several good performances (notably Guinness') but screenplay is inadequate. | tt0095530 | [G] | Derek Jacobi, Alec Guinness, Roshan Seth, Sarah Pickering, Miriam Margolyes, Cyril Cusack, Max Wall, Eleanor Bron, Michael Elphick, Joan Greenwood, Patricia Hayes, Robert Morley, Sophie Ward, Bill Fraser | British | Drama | NULL |
| The Little Dragons | 1980 | Curtis Hanson | ★½ | 90 | Junior Kung Fu aficionados solve a kidnapping mystery. May appeal to the less discriminating 9-year-old. Lane and particularly Sothern are wasted. | tt0081061 | [PG] | Charles Lane, Ann Sothern, Chris Petersen, Pat Petersen, Sally Boyden, Rick Lenz, Sharon Weber, Joe Spinell, Tony Bill | Action | NULL | ||
| The Little Drummer Girl | 1984 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 130 | Adaptation of John Le Carré's best-selling spy thriller is long, slow, confusing, not always believable— but still worthwhile, if only for Keaton's strong performance as a mercurial pro-Palestinian actress recruited to perform as Israeli agent. Globe-trotting story about a novice caught in the world of terrorists holds interest throughout, even with its flaws. Kinski is first-rate as Israeli counterintelligence officer. | tt0087629 | [R] | Diane Keaton, Yorgo Voyagis, Klaus Kinski, Sami Frey, Michael Cristofer, Thorley Walters, Anna Massey | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Little Egypt | 1951 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 82 | Chicago Fair in the 1890s is setting for tale of entrepreneurs who popularized the later-famous belly dancer. | tt0043748 | Mark Stevens, Rhonda Fleming, Nancy Guild, Charles Drake, Tom D'Andrea, Verna Felton, John Litel, Fritz Feld | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Little Fauss and Big Halsy | 1970 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★½ | 97 | So-so character study of two motorcycle racers, one timid and gullible (Pollard), the other a self-centered braggart (Redford) who takes advantage of cohort. Beery and Benson outstanding as Pollard's folks; flavorful song score by Johnny Cash. | tt0065989 | [R] | Robert Redford, Michael J. Pollard, Lauren Hutton, Noah Beery/Jr., Lucille Benson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Fish | 2005 | Rowan Woods | ★★★ | 114 | Gritty kitchen-sink drama with the always-watchable Blanchett playing an ex-heroin addict who faces all sorts of pressures and temptations while struggling to stay straight. She's surrounded by an array of vividly etched characters, with Weaving and Neill especially good as an addict and a gang lord. | tt0382810 | [R] | Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Martin Henderson, Dustin Nguyen, Noni Hazlehurst, Joel Tobeck, Lisa McCune, Susie Porter | Australian | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Little Fockers | 2010 | Paul Weitz | 💣 | 98 | Greg (Stiller), now the father of twins, continues to run afoul of dad-in-law Jack (De Niro), climaxing in the fisticuffs teased at in MEET THE PARENTS and promised in MEET THE FOCKERS. With enema, vomit, wee-wee, and e.d. gags, and tedious sitcom-plications over building a house, planning a birthday party, and maybe or maybe not having an affair, the whole dispiriting endeavor leads to an alarming ensemble finale that sets up yet another sequel. | tt0970866 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Jessica Alba, Teri Polo, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Laura Dern, Colin Baiocchi, Daisy Tahan, Kevin Hart, Yul Vazquez, Harvey Keitel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Little Foxes | 1941 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 116 | Outstanding filmization of Lillian Hellman's play of greed and corruption within a crumbling Southern family on the financial outs, headed by majestic Davis as ruthless Regina. Collinge, Duryea, Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and John Marriott all recreate their Broadway roles, with Collinge, Duryea, Reid, and Teresa Wright making their film debuts. Scripted by Hellman. Prequel: ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST. | tt0033836 | Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright, Richard Carlson, Patricia Collinge, Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Fugitive | 1953 | Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin | ★★★ | 75 | A young boy who thinks he has killed his brother wanders lost through Coney Island. A lyrical little comedy-drama, produced independently and on a threadbare budget. A minor classic. | tt0046004 | Richie Andrusco, Rickie Brewster, Winifred Cushing, Will Lee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Giant | 1946 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 91 | Bud and Lou don't work as a team in this atypical comedy with Lou becoming a vacuum cleaner salesman; filled with amusing, tried-and-true routines. | tt0038694 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Brenda Joyce, Jacqueline de Wit, George Cleveland, Elena Verdugo, Mary Gordon, Margaret Dumont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Little Giant | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 74 | Just three years after LITTLE CAESAR, Robinson spoofed his own gangster image in this bright comedy about a bootlegger who decides to better himself and crash high society. | tt0024262 | Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Helen Vinson, Kenneth Thomson, Russell Hopton | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Little Giants | 1994 | Duwayne Dunham | ★★½ | 105 | Moranis has always lived in the shadow of big brother O'Neill, a swaggering football star; when Moranis' daughter— a first-rate player— doesn't get picked for O'Neill's Pop Warner football team, she persuades her dad to launch a rival team, as a haven for all the town's misfit kids. Amiable juvenile comedy is formula to the max, but knows how to please its youthful audience. Several real-life football players appear as themselves. | tt0110364 | [PG] | Rick Moranis, Ed O'Neill, Shawna Waldron, Mary Ellen Trainor, Matthew McCurley, Susanna Thompson, Brian Haley, Devon Sawa, Michael Zwiener, John Madden, Harry Shearer, Dabbs Greer | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane | 1976 | Nicolas Gessner | ★★★ | 94 | Complex, unique mystery with Foster as young girl whose father never seems to be home— and she gets very nervous when anyone goes near the basement. Think you've figured it out? Forget it, Charlie; you haven't even scratched the surface. Engrossing, one-of-a-kind film written by Laird Koenig. | tt0074806 | [PG] | Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Scott Jacoby, Mort Shuman, Alexis Smith | Canadian | Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Little Hut | 1957 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 90 | Busy husband Granger takes sexy wife Gardner for granted. Will her friendship with Niven stay platonic when all three are stranded on an island? Static, flat, talky sex farce, from the Andre Roussin play. | tt0050646 | Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, David Niven, Finlay Currie, Walter Chiari | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Little Indian, Big City | 1994 | Hervé Palud | ★½ | 90 | Dopey French kiddie comedy about a stockbroker who goes to the Amazon to divorce his estranged wife and discovers he has a 13-year-old son, whom he brings back to Paris. A big hit in France, Disney released it in the U.S., with terrible American dubbing. Jokes are mainly of the scatalogical variety: the little kid's name Mimi-Siku means 'cat pee' in his native tongue. Americanized in 1997 as JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE. | tt0111543 | [PG] | Thierry Lhermitte, Ludwig Briand, Patrick Timsit, Arielle Dombasle | French | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Little Kidnappers | 1953 | Philip Leacock | ★★★½ | 95 | Splendid children's story set in Nova Scotia, 1900. Two orphan youngsters 'adopt' abandoned baby when strict grandfather forbids them having a dog. Whiteley and Winter won special Oscars for outstanding juvenile performances. British title: THE KIDNAPPERS. Remade for cable TV in 1990 with Charlton Heston. | tt0046006 | Jon Whiteley, Vincent Winter, Adrienne Corri, Duncan Macrae, Jean Anderson, Theodore Bikel | British | Family | NULL | ||
| Little Laura & Big John | 1973 | Luke Moberly, Bob Woodburn | ★★½ | 82 | Surprisingly engaging road company BONNIE AND CLYDE set in Everglades country. One-time teen rock 'n' roll idol Fabian made his acting comeback in this one, although Warren Beatty needn't be too concerned about the competition. | tt0070325 | [R] | Fabian Forte, Karen Black, Ivy Thayer, Ken Miller, Paul Gleason, Cliff Frates, Evie Karafotias | Crime | NULL | ||
| Little Lord Fauntleroy | 1936 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 98 | Young New Yorker Bartholomew suddenly finds himself a British lord in this charming film from classic story. Handsome, well-cast production. Previously filmed in England in 1914 and in 1921; remade for TV in 1980 with Ricky Schroder and Alec Guinness, and in Russia in 2003. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027893 | Freddie Bartholomew, C. Aubrey Smith, Guy Kibbee, Dolores Costello, Mickey Rooney, Jessie Ralph | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Malcolm | 1974 | Stuart Cooper | ★★ | 112 | Hurt is prototypical angry young man (booted out of art school) who forms neofascist cult and rails out against society in this well-acted adaptation of David Halliwell's play criticizing 1960s protest movements. Warner takes acting honors as Hurt's obsessive verbal adversary. Ex-Beatle George Harrison's first venture into film production. Original British title: LITTLE MALCOLM AND HIS STRUGGLE AGAINST THE EUNUCHS. | tt0071760 | John Hurt, John McEnery, David Warner, Rosalind Ayres, Raymond Platt | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Man | 2006 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | 💣 | 98 | Diminutive criminal drops a stolen diamond in a woman's purse and is forced to disguise himself as a baby left on her doorstep to get it back. Idiotic gags involving breast feeding, anal thermometers, and dirty diapers ensue. A running joke in which 'the baby' molests unsuspecting women is particularly offensive. The three Wayans who wrote this admit they were inspired by the Bugs Bunny cartoon 'Baby Buggy Bunny'-which is funnier (and shorter). See also the Our Gang comedy 'Free Eats.' | tt0430304 | [PG-13] | Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Tracy Morgan, Kerry Washington, John Witherspoon, Chazz Palminteri, Molly Shannon, David Alan Grier | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Little Man Tate | 1991 | Jodie Foster | ★★★ | 99 | Moving, extraordinarily empathic look at a child genius; his single, working-class mom (Foster) can't give him the support and stimulation he needs— but neither can the director (Wiest) of a school for exceptional children who takes him under her wing. Beautifully realized by Foster in her directing debut; her performance is equally strong. Bittersweet screenplay by Scott Frank; solid jazz score by Mark Isham. Bob Balaban appears unbilled as a quizmaster. | tt0102316 | [PG] | Jodie Foster, Dianne Wiest, Adam Hann-Byrd, Harry Connick/Jr., David Hyde Pierce, P.J. Ochlan, Debi Mazar, Celia Weston, Danitra Vance, Josh Mostel, George Plimpton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Man, What Now? | 1934 | Frank Borzage | ★★★½ | 91 | Impoverished German newlyweds are further strapped when wife becomes pregnant. Splendid romance was also the first Hollywood film to deal even peripherally with conditions that resulted in Hitler's rise to power. Sullavan is luminous. William Anthony McGuire scripted, from the novel by Hans Fallada. | tt0025408 | Margaret Sullavan, Douglass Montgomery, Alan Hale/Sr., Catherine Doucet, Mae Marsh, Alan Mowbray, Hedda Hopper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Manhattan | 2005 | Mark Levin | ★★★ | 90 | In an ideal N.Y.C. where nothing bad ever happens, 10-year-old Gabe and Rosemary discover a mutual attraction during karate class, though they've known each other since kindergarten. Wonder Years-style narration and bright, imaginative visual design combine with sweet performances in an Upper West Side story filled with bubbles and balloons. The dialogue is a bit precocious, but this miniaturized romantic comedy is genuinely cute. | tt0412922 | [PG] | Josh Hutcherson, Charlie Ray, Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon, Talia Balsam, John Dossett, Willie Garson, Tonye Patano, J. Kyle Manzay, Josh Pais | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Little Men | 1940 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 84 | Occasionally cute but slight, predictable adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel, focusing on rough adolescent Lydon 'learning the ways' at Francis' school. Oakie easily steals the film as an irrepressible con man. Remade in 1998. | tt0032717 | Kay Francis, Jack Oakie, George Bancroft, Jimmy Lydon, Ann Gillis, Charles Esmond, William Demarest | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Men | 1998 | Rodney Gibbons | ★★½ | 98 | Pleasant TV-style period piece based on Louisa May Alcott's followup to Little Women. Jo and Mr. Bhaer are now married and running a home for wayward boys; they turn their kind attention to a newly orphaned street urchin and his rowdy friend. Official title is: LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE MEN. | tt0145048 | [PG] | Mariel Hemingway, Chris Sarandon, Michael Caloz, Ben Cook, Ricky Mabe, Gabrielle Boni; narrated by Kathleen Fee | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Little Mermaid | 1989 | John Musker, Ron Clements | ★★★ | 82 | Delightful Disney animated feature loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen story about a young mermaid named Ariel who longs to be human. One could squabble about certain story points, but the film is so enjoyable it's foolish to try. Buoyant musical numbers include 'Kiss The Girl,' 'Part of Your World,' and 'Under the Sea,' sung by a Jamaican crab named Sebastian (Wright). Won Oscars for Best Original Score (Alan Menken) and Song ('Under the Sea,' by Menken and Howard Ashman). Followed by an animated TV series and a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0097757 | [G] | Voices of Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Rene Auberjonois, Ben Wright | Family, Animation, Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Little Minister | 1934 | Richard Wallace | ★★★½ | 110 | Charming film of James M. Barrie story about Scottish pastor falling in love, with Hepburn radiant in period romance. | tt0025409 | Katharine Hepburn, John Beal, Donald Crisp, Andy Clyde, Beryl Mercer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Miss Broadway | 1938 | Irving Cummings | ★★ | 70 | Not bad Temple, with Shirley bringing Oliver's theatrical boarding house to life; Shirley and Durante are good together. Songs include 'Be Optimistic.' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0030371 | Shirley Temple, George Murphy, Jimmy Durante, Phyllis Brooks, Edna May Oliver, George Barbier | Musical | NULL | |||
| Little Miss Marker | 1934 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 80 | Winning Damon Runyon tale of bookie Menjou and N.Y.C. gambling colony reformed by adorable little Shirley, left as IOU for a debt. Remade as SORROWFUL JONES and 40 POUNDS OF TROUBLE, and again in 1980. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025410 | Adolphe Menjou, Shirley Temple, Dorothy Dell, Charles Bickford, Lynne Overman, Warren Hymer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Little Miss Marker | 1980 | Walter Bernstein | ★★ | 103 | Boring remake of the Damon Runyon story, with Matthau as the bookie, Stimson the little girl, Andrews the love interest, Curtis the heavy. Veteran screenwriter Bernstein's first directing credit. | tt0081063 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, Tony Curtis, Bob Newhart, Sara Stimson, Lee Grant, Brian Dennehy, Kenneth McMillan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Miss Sunshine | 2006 | Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | ★★★½ | 101 | Winning comedy-drama about a seriously off-kilter family, including a 7-year-old girl who wants to enter beauty contests. Each family member undergoes a change during an eventful road trip to California in an old Volkswagen bus to get the little girl to an all-important pageant. Impressive feature debut for top TV commercial directors Dayton and Faris, who capture all the telling details in the script by first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt. The cast simply couldn't be better. | tt0449059 | [R] | Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Bryan Cranston, Beth Grant, Wallace Langham, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Gordon Thomson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Miss Thoroughbred | 1938 | John Farrow. | ★★ | 63 | Litel is a hard-boiled gambler named 'Nails' Morgan who adopts moppet Chapman and reforms. Pretty sappy attempt to copy LITTLE MISS MARKER as Warner Bros. tried to turn 6-year-old Chapman (in her film debut) into another Shirley Temple. | tt0030374 | John Litel, Ann Sheridan, Janet Chapman, Frank McHugh, Eric Stanley, Robert Homans, John Ridgely. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Mister Jim | 1946 | Fred Zinnemann. | ★★ | 92 | Sentimental story of young Army brat Jenkins, whose officer father hits the bottle when his pregnant wife dies; family's philosophizing Chinese cook Lee helps set things straight. Early commercial chore for Zinnemann is an OK family film that starts as light comedy then takes a tearjerking turn to melodrama. | tt0038697 | Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins, James Craig, Frances Gifford, Luana Patten, Spring Byington, Ching Wah Lee, Laura La Plante, Henry O'Neill. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Monsters | 1989 | Richard Alan Greenberg | ★½ | 100 | BEETLE JUICE-inspired fantasy comedy suffers from clumsy script and obvious postproduction cuts. Boy finds prankish monster (Mandel) under his bed; their friendship leads to various crises, in our world and in the dimly lit land of the monsters. Premise was promising but results are dismal. Cast tries hard. | tt0097758 | [PG] | Fred Savage, Howie Mandel, Ben Savage, Daniel Stern, Margaret Whitton, Rick Ducommun, Amber Barretto, Frank Whaley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Little Murders | 1971 | Alan Arkin | ★★★ | 110 | Jules Feiffer's ultrablack comedy about life in nightmarish N.Y.C. focuses on aggressive urbanite (Rodd) who lassoes passive photographer Gould into marriage. Superb performance by Gardenia as Rodd's father, hilarious cameo by Arkin as mind-blown detective, but even funniest moments are overshadowed by frighteningly depressing atmosphere. | tt0067350 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson, Jon Korkes, Donald Sutherland, Lou Jacobi, Alan Arkin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Little Nellie Kelly | 1940 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 100 | Lightweight musical based on George M. Cohan play about Judy patching up differences between father Murphy and grandfather Winninger. Garland sings 'It's A Great Day For The Irish.' | tt0032718 | Judy Garland, George Murphy, Charles Winninger, Douglas McPhail | Musical | NULL | |||
| Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland | 1990 | Masami Hata, William T. Hurtz | ★★½ | 85 | Beautifully rendered animation about a young boy's odyssey into the world of dreams— and the perils of Nightmare Land. Starts with a knockout opening sequence, and has much to entertain youngsters (and animation buffs), but its story loses momentum. Inspired by Winsor McCay's comic strip classic. Songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. Concept for the screen by Ray Bradbury. Not released in the U.S. until 1992. | tt0104740 | [G] | Voices of Gabriel Damon, Mickey Rooney, Rene Auberjonois, Danny Mann, Laura Mooney, Bernard Erhard | Japanese | Family, Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Little Nicky | 2000 | Steven Brill | ★★ | 90 | The sweetest of the Devil's three sons must go to Earth and bring back his two errant brothers or his father will die. Meanwhile, his siblings are turning N.Y.C. into a living hell. Outrageous, sometimes appalling, occasionally funny comedy revels in extraordinary crudeness. Full of gag cameos (many by Sandler's onetime Saturday Night Live costars). Sandler cowrote and coproduced. | tt0185431 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister/Jr., Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Smigel, Allen Covert, Blake Clark, Kevin Nealon, Reese Witherspoon, Quentin Tarantino | Fantasy, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Little Night Music | 1978 | Harold Prince | ★½ | 124 | Laughably stilted film version of the Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler stage musical which in turn was based on Ingmar Bergman's sex-at-a-country-estate comedy, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT. Liz's rendition of 'Send in the Clowns' is no chart buster. Filmed in Austria. | tt0076319 | [PG] | Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Rigg, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne Down, Hermione Gingold, Lawrence Guittard, Christopher Guard, Chloe Franks | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Little Nikita | 1988 | Richard Benjamin | ★★ | 98 | Intriguing premise— young, all-American Phoenix learning that his parents are Soviet agents— fails to catch fire in this sometimes entertaining but ultimately incoherent thriller. Poitier adds a bit of spark as an FBI agent. | tt0095532 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Richard Jenkins, Caroline Kava, Richard Bradford, Richard Lynch, Loretta Devine, Lucy Deakins | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Noises | 1991 | Jane Spencer | ★★½ | 110 | Ambitious but muddled account of Glover, a failure who calls himself a writer (even though he's never penned anything); he finds status and monetary reward after passing off the poetry of a deaf mute orphan as his own. | tt0102317 | Crispin Glover, Tatum O'Neal, Rik Mayall, Tate Donovan, John C. McGinley, Nina Siemaszko, Carole Shelley, Steven Schub | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Little Odessa | 1994 | James Gray | ★★★ | 98 | Melancholy drama set during a bleak Brooklyn winter, about Joshua (Roth), a hitman whose Russian-Jewish family resides in Brighton Beach. He has been disowned by his adulterous father (Schell), and his mother (Redgrave) is dying; his kid brother (Furlong) is caught between Russian and American cultures, and between his love for Joshua and the knowledge that his brother is evil. Grim, disturbing, brilliantly directed with a distinctive visual style by 24-year-old Gray (who also scripted). | tt0110365 | [R] | Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, Paul Guilfoyle, Natasha Andreichenko, David Vadim, Mina Bern | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Little Old New York | 1940 | Henry King | ★★½ | 100 | Claims to be story of Robert Fulton and his steamboat; merely serves as framework for standard romance. | tt0032719 | Alice Faye, Brenda Joyce, Fred MacMurray, Richard Greene, Henry Stephenson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Little Prince | 1974 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 88 | Antoine de St. Exupery's children's book is considered a classic, but this musical fantasy doesn't do it justice. Kiley plays aviator who counsels and guides a young boy who wants to learn about life. Unmemorable score by Lerner and Loewe is just one of this fable's major letdowns. | tt0071762 | [G] | Richard Kiley, Steven Warner, Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder, Joss Ackland, Clive Revill, Donna McKechnie, Victor Spinetti | British | Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| A Little Princess | 1995 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★★ | 97 | A little jewel of a movie about a fanciful young girl (Matthews) whose father deposits her at a boarding school while he goes off to fight in WW1— unaware that the headmistress is a spiteful woman. Devotees of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel (filmed before with Shirley Temple) may be dismayed at liberties taken with the original— moving it to N.Y.C. in the teens, for instance— but its spirit is intact. Hard to believe this handsome production was filmed almost entirely on a Burbank studio backlot! | tt0113670 | [G] | Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews, Rusty Schwimmer, Arthur Malet, Vanessa Lee Chester, Errol Sitahal, Vincent Schiavelli | Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Little Princess | 1939 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 91 | Shirley stars as a Victorian waif who makes good in this lavishly mounted, colorful production. Filmed again in 1995. | tt0031580 | Shirley Temple, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Cesar Romero, Arthur Treacher, Marcia Mae Jones, Sybil Jason | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Little Rascals | 1994 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★ | 72 | Spanky and the members of the He-Man Woman Haters Club try to sabotage Alfalfa's budding romance with Darla. Aimed squarely at young children, who will probably enjoy it, though it's no match for the original 1930s Hal Roach comedy shorts. The kids are cute, but Alfalfa (played by Hall) is the only standout— along with Pete the Pup. Gag cameos by a few stars and celebrities seem extraneous. | tt0110366 | [PG] | Travis Tedford, Bug Hall, Brittany Ashton Holmes, Kevin Jamal Woods, Zachary Mabry, Ross Elliot Bagley, Sam Saletta, Blake Jeremy Collins | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Little Romance | 1979 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 108 | Engaging film about relationship of young American girl (Lane, in her film debut) living in Paris and running off with a charming French boy (Bernard), chaperoned by wily old con man (Olivier, wonderfully hammy). A throwback to director Hill's WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT in its winning treatment of adolescence, but not quite as good. Crawford has funny cameo as himself. Georges Delerue's music score won a well-deserved Oscar. | tt0079477 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Thelonious Bernard, Arthur Hill, Sally Kellerman, David Dukes, Broderick Crawford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Little Sex | 1982 | Bruce Paltrow | ★★ | 95 | MTM Enterprises' first theatrical feature is basically an R-rated TV-movie, with Matheson marrying long-time girlfriend Capshaw hoping it will cure him of his womanizing. It doesn't. Tired but watchable comedy-drama has pretty N.Y.C. locations and pleasing performances, particularly by Herrmann as Matheson's wiser older brother. Capshaw's film debut. | tt0084259 | [R] | Tim Matheson, Kate Capshaw, Edward Herrmann, John Glover, Joan Copeland, Susanna Dalton, Wendie Malick, Wallace Shawn, Melinda Culea, Bill Smitrovich | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come | 1961 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 108 | Bland family-type film of boy who fought for the North during Civil War and his return to rural life. Based on the 1903 novel by John William Fox. Kennedy's film debut. | tt0055091 | Jimmie Rodgers, Luana Patten, Chill Wills, George Kennedy, Neil Hamilton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Shop of Horrors | 1986 | Frank Oz | ★★½ | 88 | Very entertaining black comedy/musical about a nebbish (played to perfection by Moranis) whose 'unusual' new plant brings him good fortune— but turns into a Frankenstein. Greene (repeating her stage role) is a delight as his squeaky-voiced heartthrob, Martin hilarious as her macho boyfriend. But when Audrey II, the plant, turns really mean and monstrous, with super-duper special effects, the fun drains away. Based on the off-Broadway musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, which in turn was based on Roger Corman's 1960 low-budget black comedy (written by Charles B. Griffith). | tt0091419 | [PG-13] | Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, James Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, Bill Murray, voice of Levi Stubbs | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Little Shop of Horrors | 1960 | Roger Corman | ★★★½ | 70 | Classic black comedy about young schnook who develops bloodthirsty plant and is forced to kill in order to feed it. Initially infamous as The Film Shot In Two Days, but now considered one of Corman's best pictures. Nicholson has hilarious bit as masochist who thrives on dental pain; delightful screenplay by Charles Griffith (who also plays the hold-up man and is the voice of 'Audrey, Jr.'). Later a stage musical, which was filmed in 1986. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0054033 | Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Jack Nicholson, Marie Windsor | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir | Le Petit Théâtre de Jean Renoir | 1971 | Jean Renoir | ★★★ | 100 | Quartet of short sketches about human dignity and goodness of country life (as opposed to surviving in a dehumanized urban wilderness). Renoir's celluloid swan song may not be among his best, but still has much to offer. Made for television in 1969. | tt0067571 | Jeanne Moreau, Fernand Sardou, Françoise Arnoul, Jean Carmet, Marguerite Cassan, Dominique Labourier | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Little Thief | 1989 | Claude Miller | ★★½ | 104 | So-so character portrait of the title lass, an alienated, amoral teen drifting through life in postwar France. If she comes off as a female Antoine Doinel, it's because the original story was cowritten by François Truffaut, who was supposedly planning to film this at the time of his death; resulting film lacks the director's inimitable touch. Miller was for ten years Truffaut's assistant; Gainsbourg is the daughter of Jane Birkin. | tt0098087 | [R] | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Didier Bezace, Simon de la Brosse, Nathalie Cardone, Raoul Billerey | French | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Little Tough Guy | 1938 | Harold Young | ★★ | 80 | When his dad is railroaded into jail, young Halop rounds up his refined pals (you know— Pig, Ape, Dopey, et al.) and tears up the town. First entry of a minor series spun off from the Dead End Kids (see Bowery Boys entry for further details). | tt0030378 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly, David Gorcey, Hally Chester, Helen Parrish, Robert Wilcox, Jackie Searl, Marjorie Main, Peggy Stewart | Crime | NULL | |||
| Little Tough Guys in Society | 1938 | Erle C. Kenton | ★½ | 76 | Paper-thin tale of title delinquents— junior Dead End Kids— and their escapades. Auer, Boland, and Horton can't save it. | tt0030379 | Mischa Auer, Mary Boland, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Parrish, Jackie Searl, Peggy Stewart, Harold Huber, David Oliver, Frankie Thomas | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Little Treasure | 1985 | Alan Sharp | ★½ | 95 | A stripper ventures to Mexico to meet her long-lost father but spends most of her time searching for treasure with a dropout American. Unsatisfying story marked directing debut for writer Sharp. Danson comes off best. | tt0089496 | [R] | Margot Kidder, Ted Danson, Burt Lancaster, Joseph Hacker, Malena Doria, John Pearce | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Little Vampire | 2000 | Uli Edel | ★★½ | 96 | A nine-year-old California schoolboy moves to Scotland and makes friends with a nine-year-old vampire who sucks him into his world and shows him the time of his life. Good-natured if uninspired adaptation of Angela Sommer-Bodenburg's popular German children's books. Lipnicki is cute as always, but Weeks steals the show as his vampire pal. | tt0192255 | [PG] | Jonathan Lipnicki, Richard E. Grant, Alice Krige, Anna Popplewell, Jim Carter, John Wood, Pamela Gidley, Rollo Weeks | German-Dutch-U.S. | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |
| Little Vegas | 1990 | Perry Lang | ★★ | 91 | Subtle comedy revolving around offbeat characters in trailer park located in desolate area that Mafia developers want to turn into a 'little' Las Vegas. Intriguing possibilities, but it doesn't quite gel. | tt0100036 | [R] | Anthony John Denison, Catherine O'Hara, Jerry Stiller, Michael Nouri, Perry Lang, Bruce McGill, John Sayles, Jay Thomas, Bob Goldthwait | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Little Vera | 1988 | Vassili Pitchul | ★★★ | 133 | Groundbreaking, post-glasnost look at life in modern Russia. Negoda offers a fresh performance as an alienated, working-class, rock music-loving young woman; the depiction of her sexual relationship with Sokolov, plus the manner in which Western culture has affected her life, make this unlike any other Soviet film you've ever seen. Not surprisingly, it was a smash hit in its homeland. | tt0095574 | Natalya Negoda, Andrei Sokolov, Yuri Nazarov, Ludmila Zaisova, Alexander Niegreva | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Little Voice | 1998 | Mark Herman | ★★★ | 96 | When a sleazy talent agent (Caine) and an equally greasy nightclub owner (Broadbent) discover that the reclusive daughter of a middle-aged shrew has the uncanny ability to sing like Judy Garland and other show-business greats, they smell money. But the mousy girl, known as Little Voice, sings for other reasons entirely. Vivid adaptation of Jim Cartwright's London play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, with Horrocks re-creating her sensational performance, joined by a superb cast that (to put it mildly) doesn't hold back. | tt0147004 | [R] | Jane Horrocks, Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Jim Broadbent, Ewan McGregor, Annette Badland, Philip Jackson | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Little Women | 1933 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 115 | Film offers endless pleasure no matter how many times you've seen it; a faithful, beautiful adaptation of Alcott's book by Victor Heerman and Sarah Y. Mason, who deservedly received Oscars. The cast is uniformly superb. Remade in 1949, 1978 (for TV), and 1994. | tt0024264 | Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas, Frances Dee, Jean Parker, Edna May Oliver, Douglass Montgomery, Spring Byington | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Women | 1949 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 121 | Glossy remake of Louisa May Alcott's gentle account of teenage girls finding maturity and romance— patly cast. | tt0041594 | June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Little Women | 1994 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★★★ | 118 | Exquisite rendering of Louisa May Alcott's Civil War-era classic about four devoted sisters who eventually have to leave their New England nest. A perfect cast is led by Ryder as the headstrong Jo, with Sarandon as that tower of strength, Marmee. Not a false moment or false move in the entire film, though purists may object to Marmee mouthing 1990s-style feminist doctrine. Veteran character actress Wickes threatens to steal every scene she's in, as crotchety Aunt March. Screenplay by Robin Swicord. | tt0110367 | [PG] | Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Christian Bale, Eric Stoltz, John Neville, Mary Wickes | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Little Women | 1978 | David Lowell Rich | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Sugarplum refilming of the classic, sparked by McGuire's Marmee and Garson's Aunt March (her TV movie debut). The pallid short-lived series spun off from this adaptation by Suzanne Clauser. | tt0077861 | Meredith Baxter Birney, Susan Dey, Ann Dusenberry, Eve Plumb, Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Greer Garson, Cliff Potts, William Shatner | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Little World of Don Camillo | 1951 | Julien Duvivier. | ★★½ | 96 | Fernandel is the whole show in this comic tale of a small-town priest who's outraged when the Communists are elected to local office. Moderately funny satire of religion and politics, coscripted by Duvivier and based on the novel by Giovanni Guareschi. English-language version is narrated by Orson Welles. Followed by several sequels. | tt0043918 | Fernandel, Sylvie, Gino Cervi, Vera Talqui, Franco Interlenghi, Saro Urzi. | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Littlest Horse Thieves | Escape From the Dark | 1977 | Charles Jarrott | ★★★ | 104 | Well-made Disney period piece, filmed in England, about three children's efforts to save pit-ponies who work the mines from abuse and death. Set at the turn of the century. Good location photography. Originally titled ESCAPE FROM THE DARK. | tt0076320 | [G] | Alastair Sim, Peter Barkworth, Maurice Colbourne, Susan Tebbs, Andrew Harrison, Chloe Franks | Family, Drama | NULL | |
| The Littlest Outlaw | 1955 | Roberto Gavaldon | ★★★ | 75 | Unpretentious little Disney film about Mexican boy (Velasquez) who runs away with a horse rather than see it killed for its misdeeds; filmed on location. | tt0048304 | Pedro Armendáriz, Joseph Calleia, Rodolfo Acosta, Andres Velasquez, Pepe Ortiz | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Littlest Rebel | 1935 | David Butler | ★★★ | 73 | One of Shirley's best films, a Civil War saga set in the Old South, with our heroine managing to wrap Union officer Holt around her little finger and protect her Confederate officer father (Boles). Temple and Robinson do some delightful dancing as well. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026641 | Shirley Temple, John Boles, Jack Holt, Karen Morley, Bill Robinson, Stepin Fetchit, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Live Fast, Die Young | 1958 | Paul Henreid | ★★ | 82 | Turgid B film of runaway girl and her sister who prevents her from starting a life of crime. | tt0051871 | Mary Murphy, Norma Eberhardt, Michael Connors | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Live Flesh | 1997 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★½ | 100 | Smitten son of a prostitute is jailed for accidentally shooting and paralyzing a cop during an altercation with a dishy drug user. Upon his release, he discovers that the woman is married to his victim! What might have been a melodramatic howler is instead Almodóvar's best feature since WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN. After a bumpy start, film becomes a model of how to change moods. The director scripted from the novel by Ruth Rendell. | tt0118819 | [R] | Liberto Rabal, Francesca Neri, Javier Bardem, Angela Molina, Jose Sancho, Penélope Cruz | Spanish-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Live Free or Die | 2007 | Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin | ★★ | 90 | Quirky comedy spotlighting John “Rugged” Rudgate (Stanford), a “legendary” criminal who thinks he's a modern-day Al Capone/Billy the Kid but is actually a tenth-rate, self-deluded loser. Schneider does a Will Ferrell imitation as Rudgate's trusting, mentally challenged protégé, and the bizarre scenario consists of an escalating series of misadventures and coincidences. The only problem is that none of it is particularly funny. The directors, who also coscripted, were occasional writers of Seinfeld. | tt0432318 | [R] | Aaron Stanford, Paul Schneider, Michael Rapaport, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Judah Friedlander, Kevin Dunn, Zooey Deschanel. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Live Free or Die Hard | 2007 | Len Wiseman | ★★★ | 129 | While snooping on his daughter, NYPD cop (and overprotective father) John McClane picks up a N.J. suspect for a federal sweep of computer geeks and brings him to Washington, just as cyber-lord Olyphant initiates a plan to shut down the entire country. DIE HARD is effectively reinvented for a post-9/11 world, with the techies proving no match for an indestructible old-school cop. Credibility gives way to preposterous action scenes toward the end, but it’s still fun to watch. Released overseas as DIE HARD 4.0. Also available in unrated version. | tt0337978 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Cliff Curtis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Maggie Q, Kevin Smith, Zeljko Ivanek, Yancey Arias, Christina Chang | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Live Nude Girls | 1995 | Julianna Lavin | ★★ | 92 | A bunch of galpals come together for a bachelorette party and pass the time talking, at which point assorted jealousies, fantasies, and feelings come to the surface. Well intentioned, to be sure, but oh, so predictable. | tt0113674 | [R] | Dana Delany, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Stevenson, Laila Robins, Lora Zane, Olivia d'Abo, Glenn Quinn, Tim Choate | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Live Wire | 1992 | Christian Duguay | ★★½ | 85 | FBI bomb expert Brosnan is puzzled when several people in Washington literally explode; his nemesis is terrorist Cross. Silver is a crooked senator, one of Cross' targets. OK thriller with good performances and an unusual, if absurd, premise. Theatrical film debuted on cable TV instead. Available on video in R-rated and unrated (87m.) versions. | tt0104743 | Pierce Brosnan, Ron Silver, Ben Cross, Lisa Eilbacher, Brent Jennings, Tony Plana, Al Waxman, Philip Baker Hall, Michael St. Gerard. | Action | NULL | |||
| Live Wires | 1946 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 64 | Gorcey tangles with gangsters in this first official Bowery Boys entry, a smooth mix of crime and slapstick. Remake of HE COULDN'T TAKE IT (1933). | tt0038699 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Billy Benedict, William Frambes, Claudia Drake, Pamela Blake, Mike Mazurki | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Live a Little, Love a Little | 1968 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 90 | Elvis manages to land two well-paying photographer's jobs and work them both by hopping back and forth from office to office. Pleasant, if standard, Presley fare. | tt0063231 | Elvis Presley, Michele Carey, Don Porter, Rudy Vallee, Dick Sargent, Sterling Holloway, Eddie Hodges | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Live a Little, Steal a Lot | You Can't Steal Love | 1975 | Marvin J. Chomsky | ★★½ | 101 | Unremarkable but engrossing tale based on real-life story of two Florida beach bums who engineered 'impossible' heist of 564-carat Star of India. Fine TOPKAPI-like caper scenes, plus good speedboat chase. Originally titled MURPH THE SURF and retitled YOU CAN'T STEAL LOVE. | tt0073302 | [PG] | Robert Conrad, Don Stroud, Donna Mills, Robyn Millan, Luther Adler, Burt Young, Paul Stewart | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Live and Let Die | 1973 | Guy Hamilton | ★★½ | 121 | Barely memorable, overlong James Bond movie seems merely an excuse to film wild chase sequences; superagent goes after master criminal subverting U.S. economy via drugs. Works on level of old-time serial. This was Moore's first appearance as 007; title song by Paul McCartney. | tt0070328 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Clifton James, Geoffrey Holder, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Live for Life | 1967 | Claude Lelouch | ★★½ | 130 | TV documentary producer Montand leaves wife Girardot for fashion model Bergen in glossy film helped by some good acting; picture was follow-up to Lelouch's A MAN AND A WOMAN. | tt0062452 | Yves Montand, Annie Girardot, Candice Bergen, Irene Tunc, Anouck Ferjac | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Live, Love and Learn | 1937 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★½ | 78 | Stars glide through this formula MGM fluff, with ritzy Russell marrying nonconformist artist. | tt0029157 | Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Robert Benchley, Mickey Rooney, Helen Vinson, Monty Woolley, Al Shean, Billy Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Lively Set | 1964 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 95 | Empty-headed account of cocky Darren, quitting college to become a champion sports car racer. Several forgettable songs— including The Surfaris' 'Boss Barracuda. | tt0058296 | James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Doug McClure, Marilyn Maxwell, Charles Drake, Greg Morris | Action | NULL | |||
| The Lives of Others | 2006 | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | ★★★½ | 137 | In 1984 East Berlin a single-minded officer (Muehe) in the Stasi, the country's well-staffed secret police, is assigned to eavesdrop on playwright Koch, refusing to believe that the popular writer is completely loyal to his government. But this obsessive quest has an unexpected effect on the professional spy. Fascinating drama deals with the poisonous nature of a society built on suspicion and doubt. Outstanding performances in this impressive writing and directing debut for von Donnersmarck. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Language Film. Hawk-Scope. | tt0405094 | [R] | Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Volkmar Kleinert. | German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Lives of a Bengal Lancer | 1935 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★★ | 109 | Delightful Hollywood foray into empire building in Northwest India. Cooper and Tone are pals in famed British regiment, Cromwell the callow son of commander Standing whom they take under their wing. Top story, action, repartee— and wonderful snake-charming scene. Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, Achmed Abdullah, Waldemar Young, and John Balderston coscripted; from the novel by Major Francis Yeats-Brown. Remade, with obvious changes, as GERONIMO (1939). | tt0026643 | Gary Cooper, Franchot Tone, Richard Cromwell, Sir Guy Standing, C. Aubrey Smith, Monte Blue, Kathleen Burke, Noble Johnson, Lumsden Hare, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, Douglass Dumbrille | Action, War, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Livin' Large | 1991 | Michael Schultz | ★★ | 96 | Young streetwise black desperately wants to be a TV newsman— and gets his chance by sheer fluke; then he learns that staying on top in the TV game means selling his soul. Farcical comedy has moments, but grows increasingly shallow, predictable; only energetic, likable cast keeps it alive. | tt0102322 | [R] | Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, Lisa Arrindell, Blanche Baker, Nathaniel 'Afrika' Hall, Julia Campbell, Bernie McInerney, Loretta Devine. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Living Daylights | 1987 | John Glen | ★★½ | 130 | Dalton makes an impressive debut as James Bond in this entertaining, globe-trotting spy story about a double-dealing Russian general; it's brimming with great stunts and gimmicks, and eschews the smirking comic attitude of other recent Bond outings. But like some other Bonds, this one goes on far too long. Caroline Bliss debuts as Miss Moneypenny. | tt0093428 | [PG] | Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Andreas Wisniewski, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Living Desert | 1953 | James Algar | ★★★ | 69 | Disney's first True-Life Adventure feature has dazzling footage of the American desert and its inhabitants, but attracted justifiable criticism for its gimmicky treatment of some material like the famous 'scorpion dance.' Still worthwhile. Academy Award winner. | tt0046008 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| The Living End | 1992 | Gregg Araki | ★★★ | 92 | Frank, impertinent black comedy-road movie about Dytri and Gilmore. Each is twentyish, gay, and HIV-positive, and they set out on a nihilistic journey. Despite the characters' situation, the film is spirited and devilishly funny, but there's still no shortage of rage over their circumstances. Araki also scripted, photographed, and edited this ultra-low-budget gem. | tt0104745 | Mike Dytri, Craig Gilmore, Mark Finch, Mary Woronov, Johanna Went, Darcy Marta, Nicole Dillenberg, Paul Bartel | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Living Free | 1972 | Jack Couffer | ★★½ | 91 | Sequel to BORN FREE details further adventures of lioness Elsa and her three cubs. Nice photography but far too leisurely. | tt0068866 | [G] | Susan Hampshire, Nigel Davenport, Geoffrey Keen | British | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | |
| The Living Ghost | 1942 | William Beaudine. | 💣 | 61 | Dunn hams outrageously as a detective trying to find a murderer in a houseful of suspects. Grade Z comedy-mystery-thriller. Video title: A WALKING NIGHTMARE. | tt0034985 | James Dunn, Joan Woodbury, Paul McVey, Norman Willis, J. Farrell MacDonald, Jan Wiley. | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Living It Up | 1954 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 95 | Bright remake of NOTHING SACRED. Jerry has Carole Lombard's role as supposed radiation victim brought to N.Y.C. as publicity stunt by reporter Leigh; Martin is Jerry's doctor. Scene at Yankee Stadium is a classic. That's sexy Sheree North, in her film debut, doing what was billed as 'the first rock 'n' roll dance on the screen. | tt0047184 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh, Edward Arnold, Fred Clark, Sheree North, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Living Out Loud | 1998 | Richard LaGravenese | ★★½ | 100 | Deeply felt comedy-drama about loneliness, focusing on a woman who can't get over the breakup of her marriage and an elevator operator in her Manhattan building who falls in love with her. Because there's no strong story line it bobs and weaves a bit, but there are many fine vignettes and moments of truth . . . and a dynamite opening, with Latifah singing a beautiful rendition of 'Lush Life.' Inspired in part by two Chekhov short stories. Directing debut for top screenwriter LaGravenese. | tt0120722 | [R] | Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, Martin Donovan, Richard Schiff, Elias Koteas, Suzanne Shepherd, Rachael Leigh Cook | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Living in Oblivion | 1995 | Tom DiCillo | ★★★ | 91 | Clever, amusing look at a low-budget movie in progress, from several points of view. Writer-director DiCillo has several tricks up his sleeve to go along with his pointed perceptions about how egos collide— and how things go wrong on every movie set. Most of the cast also worked behind the scenes. Mulroney and Keener are married in real life. | tt0113677 | [R] | Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle Von Zerneck, James Le Gros, Rica Martens, Peter Dinklage, Hilary Gilford, Michael Griffiths, Matthew Grace, Robert Wightman | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Living in a Big Way | 1947 | Gregory La Cava | ★★ | 103 | Kelly returns from WW2 to get to know his war bride for the first time and clashes with her nouveau riche family. A notorious flop in its day, but not all that bad; Kelly does a couple of first-rate dance numbers. | tt0039574 | Gene Kelly, Marie McDonald, Charles Winninger, Phyllis Thaxter, Spring Byington | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Living on Velvet | 1935 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 80 | Amateur pilot Brent, sole survivor of a crash in which his parents and sister died, becomes reckless and irresponsible in the wake of the tragedy; upper-class Francis marries him, thinking she can turn him around. Offbeat romantic drama never rings true. | tt0026644 | Kay Francis, George Brent, Warren William, Russell Hicks, Maude Turner Gordon, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lizzie | 1957 | Hugo Haas | ★★½ | 81 | Interesting, if ultimately pedantic, adaptation of Shirley Jackson's The Bird's Nest, with Parker as a mousy woman who turns out to have three distinct personalities. Boone is a psychiatrist trying to help her. A project of rare distinction for cultish director Haas, though he injects his familiar personality by playing a kibitzing neighbor. Parker is excellent. Eclipsed by release of similar (and superior) THE THREE FACES OF EVE soon after. | tt0050650 | Eleanor Parker, Richard Boone, Joan Blondell, Hugo Haas, Ric Roman, Marion Ross, Johnny Mathis | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lizzie McGuire Movie | 2003 | Jim Fall | ★★½ | 90 | A teenage girl travels to Rome with her classmates and meets a handsome Italian pop star who offers her romance and adventure— not to mention the chance of posing as his singing partner. Innocuous feature film based on the popular Disney Channel TV series for preadolescent girls. Punctuated by amusing animated vignettes designed by Debra Solomon— including a final nod to Tinker Bell. | tt0306841 | [PG] | Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, Jake Thomas, Ashlie Brillault, Clayton Snyder, Alex Borstein, Yani Gellman | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Lloyd's of London | 1936 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 115 | Handsomely mounted fiction of rise of British insurance company; young messenger boy Bartholomew grows up to be Power, who competes with Sanders for affection of Carroll. | tt0027902 | Freddie Bartholomew, Madeleine Carroll, Sir Guy Standing, Tyrone Power, C. Aubrey Smith, Virginia Field, George Sanders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Loaded | 1994 | Anna Campion | ★★½ | 105 | Seven young-adult friends spend a weekend in the British countryside to make an amateur horror movie. They are by turns aimless, repressed, rebellious, scared (etc.); before the weekend ends, recklessness and tragedy permanently alter their relationships. Slow-moving but worthwhile film. Feature directing debut for Anna Campion, sister of director Jane. | tt0110374 | [R] | Oliver Milburn, Nick Patrick, Catherine McCormack, Thandie Newton, Mathew Eggleton, Danny Cunningham, Biddy Hodson, Dearbhla Molloy | British-New Zealand | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Loaded Pistols | 1949 | John English. | ★★½ | 70 | A man is killed during a blackout in a dice game and Gene must figure out the real culprit. Leisurely paced effort with interesting mystery angle. Gene sings title song and 'When the Bloom Is on the Sage.' | tt0040543 | Gene Autry, Barbara Britton, Chill Wills, Jack Holt, Russell Arms, Robert Shayne, Vince Barnett, Leon Weaver, Fred Kohler, Clem Bevans. | Western | NULL | |||
| Loan Shark | 1952 | Seymour Friedman | ★★ | 74 | Raft tries hard to instill life into flabby yarn about ex-convict smashing a loan-shark racket. | tt0044847 | George Raft, Dorothy Hart, Paul Stewart, John Hoyt | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Local Boy Makes Good | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 67 | Entertaining Brown vehicle, with mousy Joe turning into a track-and-field star. | tt0022085 | Joe E. Brown, Dorothy Lee, Ruth Hall, Robert Bennett, Edward Woods | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Local Color | 2006 | George Gallo | ★★★ | 99 | Teenaged boy with a passion to paint attaches himself to a Russian émigré who's a great artist-and a foul-mouthed iconoclast. Over the course of a season at the painter's rural summer home the boy soaks up life lessons that will inform his art. Mueller-Stahl is wonderful, and the youthful Morgan keeps up with him at every turn. Deeply felt autobiographical drama by Gallo. | tt0472126 | Armin Mueller-Stahl, Trevor Morgan, Ray Liotta, Diana Scarwid, Samantha Mathis, Ron Perlman, Julie Lott, Charles Durning | Drama | NULL | |||
| Local Hero | 1983 | Bill Forsyth | ★★★½ | 111 | Enchantingly off-kilter comedy about an oil company rep (Riegert) who's assigned to buy up a Scottish coastal village which is badly needed for a refinery site. Nothing normal or predictable happens from that point on; writer-director Forsyth is more interested in quirkiness than belly-laugh gags, and his film is overflowing with ingenious characters and incidents. A little gem. | tt0085859 | [PG] | Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Fulton MacKay, Denis Lawson, Norman Chancer, Peter Capaldi, Jenny Seagrove | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Local Stigmatic | 1990 | David Wheeler | ★★½ | 54 | Lots of chatter in this mostly two-character exploration of envy and evil, centering on a pair of disaffected British hooligans (Pacino, Guilfoyle) who converse, go to a movie, drink in a pub—and commit a senseless act of violence. Not terribly cinematic—which was Pacino’s intention—but a must for Pacino completists, as he offers a bravura performance. Based on a one-act play by Heathcote Williams (in which Pacino starred onstage in 1969). Never released theatrically. (NOTE: According to the credits on the back of the DVD, the film was directed by “Al Pacino and David F. Wheeler.” However, according to the on-screen credits, the director is “David Wheeler” only.) | tt0097769 | Al Pacino, Paul Guilfoyle, Joe (Joseph) Maher, Michael Higgins, Brian Mallon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Loch Ness | 1996 | John Henderson | ★★½ | 101 | Lighthearted adventure-fantasy with jaded scientist Danson going to Scotland to prove Loch Ness monster is a hoax, only to discover some real magic and fall in love with single mom Richardson. Innocuous, but amiable, family fare. U.S. debut on network TV. Filmed in 1994. | tt0113682 | [PG] | Ted Danson, Joely Richardson, Ian Holm, Harris Yulin, James Frain, Kirsty Graham, Keith Allen, Nick Brimble | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Lock Up | 1989 | John Flynn | ★½ | 106 | With six months to go on his sentence, convict Stallone gets abducted from his country-club cell and transported to a hellhole run by old Hun-like adversary Sutherland. Missing are Linda Blair, John Vernon, a lesbian guard, and 15 gratuitous showers; you do get a body-shop montage backed by Ides of March's 'Vehicle.' Bottom of the world, ma. | tt0097770 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, Darlanne Fleugel, John Amos, Sonny Landham, Tom Sizemore, Frank McRae | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lock Up Your Daughters! | 1969 | Peter Coe | 💣 | 102 | Film version of Henry Fielding play tries to be another TOM JONES, but tale of mistaken identities in 18th-century England couldn't be more forced. | tt0064597 | [R] | Christopher Plummer, Susannah York, Glynis Johns, Ian Bannen, Tom Bell, Elaine Taylor | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | 1998 | Guy Ritchie | ★★½ | 106 | PULP FICTION, British style: a young smart aleck tries to beat a professional gambling ring and sinks in over his head, while others peripheral to this action are drawn into a vortex of coincidence, misunderstanding, and violence. Outlandish, audacious, and funny, though it wears thin after a while, and its ultimate resolution is apparent a bit too soon. Followed by SNATCH. | tt0120735 | [R] | Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Steven Mackintosh, Vinnie Jones, Sting, Lenny McLean, P.H. Moriarty | U.S.-British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Locket | 1946 | John Brahm | ★★ | 86 | Another of those post-WW2 psychological dramas, with Day as a woman who makes men fall in love with her— blinding them to her true personality (and problems). Famed for its flashback within a flashback within a flashback . . . but not very good. Look for young brunette Martha Hyer as a party guest and Ellen Corby as a household servant. | tt0038700 | Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, Gene Raymond, Sharyn Moffet, Ricardo Cortez | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Lockout | 2012 | James Mather, Stephen St. Leger | ★★½ | 95 | Pearce's Bogart-like banter lifts this futuristic action tale in which he plays an unfairly convicted spy who is given a chance at freedom if he can rescue the President's daughter, who is stranded in an outer-space Alcatraz. With violent cons staging a takeover, it's up to Pearce to save the day. He definitely saves this over-the-top testosterone yarn by deftly creating an easygoing style of delivery for his clever, smart-aleck rogue. Reminiscent of TAKEN, which like this film was cowritten by Luc Besson. | tt1592525 | [PG-13] | Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan, Joseph Gilgun, Lennie James | U.S.-French | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Locusts | 1997 | John Patrick Kelley | ★½ | 124 | A hunk of a drifter comes to town and is hired by oversexed ranch queen Kate Capshaw to work for her, both day and night; along the way, he develops a friendship with her highly disturbed son. Brooding drama of cruel family secrets gives viewers a reprieve whenever local-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold Judd is on-screen. Set in 1950s Kansas. | tt0119557 | [R] | Ashley Judd, Kate Capshaw, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Davies, Vince Vaughn, Jessica Capshaw | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lodger | 1926 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 75 | The director's first suspense thriller, with a classic Hitchcockian theme: lodger Novello is accused by jealous detective Keen of being a killer. Memorable finale: Novello chased by bloodthirsty mob. Aka THE CASE OF JONATHAN DREW. Remade in 1932 (again with Novello), 1944, and in 1954 as MAN IN THE ATTIC. Look for Hitchcock's first cameo. | tt0017075 | Ivor Novello, Malcolm Keen, June, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lodger | 1944 | John Brahm | ★★★ | 84 | That new lodger at a turn-of-the-century London boarding house may be Jack the Ripper. Good, atmospheric chiller with fine performances. Remade as MAN IN THE ATTIC. | tt0037024 | Merle Oberon, George Sanders, Laird Cregar, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Sara Allgood, Aubrey Mather, Queenie Leonard, Doris Lloyd, Billy Bevan | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Logan's Run | 1976 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 120 | Dazzling first half, showing life of unending pleasure and extinction at age 30 in the year 2274, canceled out by dreary second half. Earned a special Oscar for visual effects. From novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Later a brief TV series. | tt0074812 | [PG] | Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Peter Ustinov, Farrah Fawcett, Roscoe Lee Browne | Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Loggerheads | 2005 | Tim Kirkman | ★★★ | 96 | Sincere, low-key drama of several lives that intersect in North Carolina during the 1990s: a drifter who knows he hasn't long to live strives to help endangered turtles on the Carolina shore . . . a woman who's haunted by thoughts of the child she gave up for adoption nearly twenty years ago . . . and a preacher's wife who has regrets about having driven away her gay son. Everyone hits the right notes in this simply told drama, inspired by a real woman's encounter with adoption bureaucracy in her state. Kirkman also scripted. | tt0406038 |
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Bonnie Hunt, Kip Pardue, Tess Harper, Chris Sarandon, Michael Learned, Michael Kelly, Robin Weigert | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lola | 1961 | Jacques Demy | ★★★ | 90 | Contemporary fable of love, with several disparate people's lives intertwining in port city of Nantes. Aimée is enchanting as cabaret dancer and carefree single mother; Michel is young man looking for life's meaning— and romance. Demy's first feature successfully links coincidence and Hollywood-movie fantasy with '60s realism and sexual frankness. References to Lola pop up in Demy's later films. Music score by Michel Legrand; film is dedicated to Max Ophuls. | tt0055093 | Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, Alan Scott, Elina Labourdette | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lola | 1969 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 88 | Sixteen-year-old nymphet initiates relationship with 38-year-old porno book writer; hyperkinetic film misses target, despite good cast and likable performance by Bronson. Released in England as TWINKY, at 98m. Aka THE STATUTORY AFFAIR. | tt0064598 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Susan George, Trevor Howard, Michael Craig, Honor Blackman, Lionel Jeffries, Robert Morley, Jack Hawkins, Orson Bean, Kay Medford, Paul Ford | British-Italian | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Lola | 1982 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★½ | 114 | Brilliantly directed and edited chronicle of repercussions when cynical, calculating singer-whore Sukowa sets sights on respectable Mueller-Stahl, the new Building Commissioner and only honest politician in town. Striking, unusual use of lighting and color. One-third of Fassbinder's trilogy of life in postwar Germany (with THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN and VERONIKA VOSS.) | tt0082671 | [R] | Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf, Mathias Fuchs, Helga Feddersen, Karin Baal, Ivan Desny | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lola Montes | The Sins of Lola Montes | 1955 | Max Ophuls | ★★★ | 110 | Legendary film about beautiful circus performer and her effect on various men nonetheless suffers from Carol's lack of magnetism in title role. Ophuls' superb use of wide-screen won't mean much on TV; the celebrated director's last film. Recently discovered German premiere version runs 115m. | tt0048308 | Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Oskar Werner, Ivan Desny | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Lola Versus | 2012 | Daryl Wein | ★★★ | 86 | Quirky 29-year-old Gerwig is happily engaged—then her life turns to mush when her fiancé dumps her mere weeks before they're to wed. Luckily, she's flanked by her two best friends, who do their utmost to support her through every misstep as she determines to maneuver out of an enormous depression maze. It's a comedy. Really. Well cast and cleverly scripted second feature by Lister-Jones and director Wein. | tt1710417 | [R] | Greta Gerwig, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Lister-Jones, Hamish Linklater, Bill Pullman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jay Pharoah, Debra Winger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lolita | 1962 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★ | 152 | Sexually precocious Lyon becomes involved with stolid professor Mason, and bizarre Sellers provides peculiar romance leading to murder and lust. Screenplay for this genuinely strange film is credited to Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the novel of the same name, but bears little relation to his actual script, later published. Winters is outstanding as Lyon's sex-starved mother. Reissued in U.S. with 1m. of additional dialogue from British version. Remade in 1997. | tt0056193 | James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, Sue Lyon, Marianne Stone, Diana Decker | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lolita | 1997 | Adrian Lyne | ★★★½ | 137 | Exceptional remake of Vladimir Nabokov's notorious novel about a man's overwhelming (and ultimately, self-destructive) infatuation with a nymphet. In this version we're told the source of his obsession, which is just one reason it stands up against Kubrick's 1962 version and in some ways surpasses it . . . though Peter Sellers is sorely missed. Irons is a perfect Humbert, Swain ideal as his object of desire. Screenplay by Stephen Schiff. | tt0119558 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Dominique Swain, Frank Langella, Suzanne Shepherd | British-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Lolly Madonna XXX | The Lolly-Madonna War | 1973 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★ | 103 | Modern-day Hatfield-McCoy feud erupts between two backwoods families, prompted by mistaken identity situation involving innocent girl (Hubley). Histrionics galore, but no point to it at all. Aka THE LOLLY-MADONNA WAR. | tt0070332 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Scott Wilson, Season Hubley, Katherine Squire, Ed Lauter, Gary Busey, Randy Quaid | Drama | NULL | |
| London | 2006 | Hunter Richards | 💣 | 92 | Poorly written movie about coke-heads. Biel plays a woman named London, the object of Evans' affection who broke up with him; as the film goes on it's easy to see why. Most of the action occurs in the bathroom as Evans and Statham do drugs, drink, and discuss God, love, and all of life's Big Questions. Depressing and drawn out, with graphic sex and nudity, but there are no revelations, resolutions, or warm feelings here. | tt0449061 | [R] | Chris Evans, Jessica Biel, Jason Statham, Joy Bryant, Kelli Garner, Isla Fisher, John Newton, Dane Cook, Leelee Sobieski | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| London Boulevard | 2010 | William Monahan | ★★½ | 103 | After serving 3 years in prison, tough guy Farrell vows never to return and takes a gig watching the back of paparazzi-plagued actress Knightley. Challenging this decision is gang lord Winstone, who runs everybody and wants to add Farrell to his list of flunkies. Middling crime drama, adapted from a Ken Bruen novel by first-time director Monahan, Oscar-winning screenwriter of THE DEPARTED. Aided by skillful acting and a retro '60s gangster-movie feel. | tt1213648 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Ben Chaplin, Ray Winstone, Eddie Marsan, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Stephen Graham, Ophelia Lovibond | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| London Kills Me | 1991 | Hanif Kureishi | 💣 | 107 | Glossy, phony tale of a homeless, rootless young man who steals and deals drugs, and decides he wants to go straight. This shallow cop-out of a movie does little more than serve as a recruiting poster for thieving and shooting heroin. Directorial debut of playwright-screenwriter Kureishi (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID). | tt0102328 | [R] | Justin Chadwick, Steven Mackintosh, Fiona Shaw, Emer McCourt, Brad Dourif, Roshan Seth, Tony Haygarth, Stevan Rimkus, Eleanor David, Alun Armstrong | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| London Melody | 1937 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★ | 75 | Static account of Cockney street entertainer Neagle— made up to look like a movie queen despite her character's station in life— who is taken under the wing of diplomat Carminati. Released in the U.S. a year later as GIRL IN THE STREET. | tt0029160 | Anna Neagle, Tullio Carminati, Robert Douglas, Horace Hodges, Grizelda Hervey | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Lone Gun | 1954 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 78 | Standard Western of valiant hero shooting it out with outlaws, winning hand of rancher's daughter, nicely played by Malone. | tt0047188 | George Montgomery, Dorothy Malone, Frank Faylen, Neville Brand | Western | NULL | |||
| Lone Hand | 1953 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 80 | Sturdy McCrea is undercover agent posing as outlaw to get the goods on a gang. | tt0046009 | Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, James Arness, Charles Drake | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold | 1958 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 80 | Typical Lone Ranger Western is fine for younger audiences, involving hooded killers and mysterious clues to a hidden treasure city. | tt0051876 | Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Douglas Kennedy, Charles Watts | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lone Ranger | 1956 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 86 | Action-packed feature version of the popular TV series, focusing on the Masked Man and Tonto as they tangle with scheming rancher Bettger, who has been stirring up trouble with the Indians. | tt0048310 | Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger, Bonita Granville, Perry Lopez, Robert J. Wilke | Western | NULL | |||
| Lone Star | 1952 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 94 | Glossy MGM western about conflict over Texas joining the Union. Sam Houston (Olsen) wins wealthy, powerful Gable to his cause, which pits him against state senator Crawford (and his crusading newspaper-editor girlfriend Gardner). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0043751 | Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Broderick Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, Beulah Bondi, Ed Begley, James Burke, William Farnum, Moroni Olsen, William Conrad | Western | NULL | |||
| Lone Star | 1996 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 134 | Absorbing multicharacter story set in small Texas border town, where the memory of a former sheriff looms large— especially to his son, who's the current lawman. Keenly observed character studies are woven together by writer-director Sayles with his usual eye for detail and ear for good dialogue. | tt0116905 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peñta, Joe Morton, Ron Canada, Miriam Colon, Clifton James, Matthew McConaughey, Stephen J. Lang, Tony Plana, Frances McDormand | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Lone Wolf & Cub 4: Baby Cart in Peril | 1972 | Buiichi Saito | ★★½ | 81 | This time, Ogami is hired to kill a tattooed woman, an expert with a short sword, who's carving up those connected to the man who raped her. Meanwhile, more Yagyu assassins try to kill our stone-faced hero. Stylistically overblown, with flashbacks, narration, and voice-overs galore; slowly paced, but has a great climactic fight. | tt0143348 | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Yooichi Hayashi, Michie Azuma, Akihiro Tomikawa, So Yamamura | Japanese | Action | NULL | ||
| Lone Wolf & Cub 5: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons | 1973 | Kenji Misumi | ★★★ | 89 | One by one, five samurai face Ogami to test his skills before hiring him. As each one dies, he gives Ogami another part of his instructions: to kill their lord, his concubine, and their five-year-old daughter. Grimmest of the lot, but also graced with the finest photography in the series and a powerful incident centering on Daigoro, Ogami's young son. | tt0143428 | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Michiyo Yasuda, Akihiro Tomikawa, Shingo Yamashiro, Tomomi Satoo, Akira Yamauchi, Eiji Okada, Minoru Ooki | Japanese | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lone Wolf & Cub 6: White Heaven in Hell | 1974 | Yoshiyuki Kuroda | ★★★ | 83 | Ogami is confronted by the last remaining son of his archenemy, Retsudo Yagyu; this time, the supernatural plays a part, and for the first time the Lone Wolf is afraid— but not for long. The photography particularly resembles the comic books. Robust battle on a snowy mountain climaxes the series, one of the best, not just in Japanese cinema history, but world cinema. | tt0071695 | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Goroo Mutsumi, Minoru Ooki, Isao Kimura | Japanese | Action | NULL | ||
| Lone Wolf & Cub: Sword of Vengeance | 1972 | Kenji Misumi | ★★★ | 83 | In 17th-century Japan, Itto Ogami (Wakayama), the Shogun's executioner, is framed by the Yagyu clan, who also murder his wife. Embittered, he becomes a traveling assassin for hire, wheeling his young son Daigoro around Japan in a baby cart loaded with more gadgets than James Bond's Aston-Martin. First in the outstanding series is largely a setup for the sequels, but it's still beautifully stylized, gorily violent, and intelligent. Based on a long-running manga (comic book) series written by Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Goseki Kojima. LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH and SHOGUN ASSASSIN were composed of segments from this and/or the sequels. | tt0068815 | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Yunosuke Itoo, Fumio Watanabe, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Tomoko Mayama, Tomoo Uchida | Japanese | Action | NULL | ||
| The Lone Wolf Keeps a Date | 1941 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 65 | Listless episode has the Lone Wolf mixed up with a kidnapped millionaire and stolen ransom money in Miami. | tt0033848 | Warren William, Frances Robinson, Bruce Bennett, Eric Blore, Thurston Hall, Jed Prouty, Don Beddoe | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Lone Wolf McQuade | 1983 | Steve Carver | ★★½ | 107 | Maverick Texas Ranger Norris takes on gun-running operation headed by Carradine. Played as a spaghetti Western, providing perfect milieu for Norris' fighting skills. A little long, with a sappy emotional sub-plot, but mostly good action fare. | tt0085862 | [PG] | Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Robert Beltran, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Sharon Farrell | Action | NULL | ||
| The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady | 1940 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 71 | The nonchalant reformed crook comes to the aid of a socialite (Muir) whose $100,000 necklace is lifted on the eve of her wedding. Standard entry with a plethora of complications. | tt0032725 | Warren William, Eric Blore, Jean Muir, Victor Jory, Roger Pryor, Warren Hull, Thurston Hall, Fred A. Kelsey, Bruce Bennett | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf Returns | 1935 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 69 | Urbane jewel thief Douglas wants to retire but is blackmailed by gangsters into helping them pull a heist. Stylish and delightfully lighthearted caper; filmed before in 1926. | tt0026646 | Melvyn Douglas, Gail Patrick, Tala Birell, Arthur Hohl, Thurston Hall, Raymond Walburn, Douglass Dumbrille | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt | 1939 | Peter Godfrey | ★★★ | 67 | Highly satisfactory blend of screwball comedy and genuine suspense as spies in Washington, D.C., kidnap Lanyard in an attempt to steal military secrets. William's first effort as the Lone Wolf, and certainly his best, with a top-notch cast worthy of a bigger budget. Script by ace mystery writer Jonathan Latimer (his first), based on 1929's THE LONE WOLF'S DAUGHTER. Hayworth, not yet a star, makes a sultry femme fatale. | tt0031589 | Warren William, Ida Lupino, Rita Hayworth, Virginia Weidler, Ralph Morgan, Tom Dugan, Don Beddoe, Marc Lawrence, James Craig | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf Strikes | 1940 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 57 | Nimble entry focusing on an heiress' stolen string of pearls which the Lone Wolf is trying to return to its owner. | tt0032726 | Warren William, Joan Perry, Eric Blore, Alan Baxter, Astrid Allwyn, Montagu Love, Robert Wilcox, Don Beddoe, Fred A. Kelsey | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance | 1941 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 76 | The Lone Wolf is framed for murder and uncovers a counterfeiting racket in an attempt to prove his innocence. Well-paced entry; early appearance by Lloyd Bridges. | tt0033849 | Warren William, June Storey, Henry Wilcoxon, Eric Blore, Thurston Hall, Don Beddoe, Evalyn Knapp, Fred Kelsey, Regis Toomey | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Lone Wolf and Cub 2: Baby Cart at the River Styx | 1972 | Kenji Misumi | ★★★½ | 81 | Ogami is hired to kill a defecting worker who knows the secret of a dye process, the basis of the prosperity of a province. Best in the series, with amazing fights (Ogami is attacked with a radish at one point), superlative photography, great period atmosphere, and a sense of humor about itself. As with all in the series, very violent and bloody, with some nudity. | tt0068816 | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ooki, Shooji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida, Akihiro Tomikawa | Japanese | Action | NULL | ||
| The Lone Wolf and His Lady | 1949 | John Hoffman | ★½ | 60 | The Wolf turns newshound to cover the exhibition of a famous gem, and of course it's stolen, and of course he's suspected. Randell previously helped kill the Bulldog Drummond series, and does the same here in this final entry. Mowbray inherits Eric Blore's role as Jamison the valet. | tt0041597 | Ron Randell, June Vincent, Alan Mowbray, William Frawley, Colette Lyons, Douglass Dumbrille | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf in London | 1947 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 68 | Some valuable jewels are stolen and Scotland Yard naturally suspects the Wolf. Glib entry not helped by Mohr's lack of charm. | tt0039579 | Gerald Mohr, Nancy Saunders, Eric Blore, Evelyn Ankers, Richard Fraser, Queenie Leonard, Alan Napier | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf in Mexico | 1947 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 69 | Mohr's third and final appearance as the Wolf, as the series was becoming increasingly prosaic. This time he's accused of both robbery and murder down Mexico way. | tt0039580 | Gerald Mohr, Sheila Ryan, Jacqueline de Wit, Eric Blore, Nestor Paiva, John Gallaudet | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Lone Wolf in Paris | 1938 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 66 | Lederer takes over for this one entry, becomes mixed up in political intrigue when he's hired by a princess to steal back her mother's crown jewels from a greedy duke. | tt0030383 | Francis Lederer, Frances Drake, Walter Kingsford, Leona Maricle, Olaf Hytten, Albert Van Dekker | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | 1962 | Tony Richardson | ★★★★ | 103 | Engrossing story of rebellious young man chosen to represent reform school in track race. Superbly acted film confronts society, its mores and institutions. Screenplay by Alan Sillitoe, from his own story. Key British film of 1960s. | tt0056194 | Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Peter Madden, Alec McCowen, James Fox, Julia Foster, John Thaw | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lonely Are the Brave | 1962 | David Miller | ★★★ | 107 | Penetrating study of rebellious cowboy Douglas escaping from jail, pursued by posse utilizing modern means of communications and transportation. Script by Dalton Trumbo, from Edward Abbey's novel, Brave Cowboy. | tt0056195 | Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau, Michael Kane, Carroll O'Connor, William Schallert, George Kennedy, Bill Bixby | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Lonely Guy | 1984 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 90 | Unusually subdued and offbeat vehicle for Martin, who's quite likable as a nerd-ish type who's just been thrown out by his girlfriend . . . only to find he's not alone. Grodin is a delight as a melancholy soulmate who inducts him into the society of Lonely Guys in N.Y.C. Too prolonged and uneven. Based on Bruce Jay Friedman's book The Lonely Guy's Book of Life. Adapted by Neil Simon, scripted by Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels. | tt0087635 | [R] | Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey, Robyn Douglass, Steve Lawrence, Merv Griffin, Dr. Joyce Brothers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lonely Hearts | 1981 | Paul Cox | ★★★ | 95 | Delightfully quirky romantic comedy about an unlikely match— a middle-aged piano tuner with a flair for theatrics, and a painfully shy office worker. Lovely performances match director Cox's offbeat screenplay. | tt0084264 | [R] | Wendy Hughes, Norman Kaye, Jon Finlayson, Julia Blake, Jonathan Hardy | Australian | Romance | NULL | |
| Lonely Hearts | 2007 | Todd Robinson | ★★ | 107 | Real-life story of Ray Fernandez (Leto), who conned women who advertised in “lonely hearts” newspaper ads, and how his twisted relationship with Martha Beck (Hayek) led to a series of grisly murders in the 1940s. Travolta plays Nassau County detective Elmer Robinson (grandfather of this film's writer-director), who became obsessed with capturing these heartless killers. Uninspired treatment of acutely unpleasant material, dramatized before in THE HONEYMOON KILLERS and DEEP CRIMSON. | tt0441774 | [R] | John Travolta, Salma Hayek, James Gandolfini, Jared Leto, Scott Caan, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Dagmara Dominczyk, Michael Rispoli, Ellen Travolta. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lonely Lady | 1983 | Peter Sasdy | 💣 | 92 | Terrible movie about an aspiring screenwriter who's used and abused while on her way to the Top in Hollywood; adapted from the Harold Robbins novel. Pia does her best, but this is rock-bottom stuff, not even fun on a trash level (although there's campy dialogue to spare). Filmed mostly in Italy. | tt0085863 | [R] | Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, Bibi Besch, Joseph Cali, Anthony Holland, Jared Martin, Ray Liotta, Kenneth Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lonely Man | 1957 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 87 | Solid acting and taut direction remove sting of hackneyed gunslinger-trying-to-reform plot. | tt0050652 | Anthony Perkins, Jack Palance, Elaine Aiken, Neville Brand, Claude Akins | Western | NULL | |||
| The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne | 1987 | Jack Clayton | ★★½ | 116 | Smith gives a knockout performance as a lonely, driven Irish woman whose life takes another turn for the worse after moving into a boardinghouse run by snippy Kean. Hoskins is equally fine as a garrulous gentleman with whom she sparks a relationship based on mutual misunderstanding. In fact, all the performances are superb in this long-awaited adaptation of Brian Moore's 1955 novel about a woman's blind faith in the church— and total lack of faith in herself . . . but dramatically the story has a few too many peaks and valleys. | tt0093431 | [R] | Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins, Wendy Hiller, Marie Kean, Ian McNeice, Alan Devlin, Rudi Davies, Prunella Scales | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Lonely Trail | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 57 | OK historical Western, with a nondescript title, set in Texas following the Civil War tells of carpetbaggers exploiting the South. Wayne is adequate as ex-Union officer; the story does have some interesting turns. | tt0027905 | John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Cy Kendall, Bob Kortman, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones, Denny Meadows (Dennis Moore), Yakima Canutt. | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Lonelyhearts | 1958 | Vincent J. Donehue | ★★½ | 101 | Superior cast in interesting adaptation of Nathanael West's book and Howard Teichmann's play, both titled Miss Lonelyhearts. Clift is would-be reporter assigned to title column and becomes too deeply involved in the problems of his readers. A bit dated by today's standards, but watchable; scripted and produced by Dore Schary. West's book had previously been filmed as ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN. Film debuts of Stapleton and director Donehue. | tt0053017 | Montgomery Clift, Robert Ryan, Myrna Loy, Dolores Hart, Maureen Stapleton, Frank Maxwell, Jackie Coogan, Mike Kellin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Loners | 1972 | Sutton Roley | ★★ | 79 | Standard bike movie with several screen veterans and a plot involving three drop-out cyclists who turn their backs on society and take it on the lam across the Southwest. | tt0068873 | [R] | Dean Stockwell, Todd Susman, Scott Brady, Gloria Grahame, Pat Stich, Alex Dreier, Tim Rooney | Action | NULL | ||
| Lonesome Jim | 2006 | Steve Buscemi | ★★★ | 91 | A young man of vague ambition who's failed in N.Y.C. has nowhere to go but home to Indiana, where he is less than thrilled to be with his parents again. Suffering from 'chronic despair,' he doesn't know how to deal with a nice, non-neurotic woman he meets who actually likes him. So low-key it makes a Jim Jarmusch film seem like PEARL HARBOR, but grows on you, especially if you happen to share its sly, specific (and dark) sense of humor. Affleck is terrific. Written by novelist James C. Strouse. | tt0385056 | [R] | Casey Affleck, Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel, Kevin Corrigan, Jack Rovello, Mark Boone Junior | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Long Ago, Tomorrow | Raging Moon | 1970 | Bryan Forbes | ★★ | 100 | Rather wrong-headed drama of love between paraplegics. Could have been sensitive if script and direction weren't so porous and obvious. Original British title: THE RAGING MOON. | tt0067357 | [PG] | Malcolm McDowell, Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown, Bernard Lee, Gerald Sim, Michael Flanders | British | Drama | NULL |
| The Long Dark Hall | 1951 | Anthony Bushell, Reginald Beck | ★★½ | 86 | Sturdy melodrama of man accused of killing girlfriend, with wife remaining loyal to him. | tt0043752 | Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, Tania Held, Henrietta Barry | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Long Day Closes | 1992 | Terence Davies | ★★★ | 83 | Poignant, painterly slice of life, an autobiographical remembrance by writer-director Davies of working-class England in the 1950s. The depiction of family life is far rosier than in Davies' earlier DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES, picturing a dreary postwar England yearning for an idealized beauty found in Hollywood movies and romantic pop songs. | tt0104753 | [PG] | Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson, Aysee Owens, Nicholas Lamont, Tina Malone | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Long Day's Dying | 1968 | Peter Collinson | ★½ | 93 | Dull story of three British soldiers and their German captive during weary trek through European countryside. | tt0063237 | [R] | David Hemmings, Tom Bell, Tony Beckley, Alan Dobie | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Long Day's Journey Into Night | 1962 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★★ | 174 | Faithful, stagy adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's detailed study of family in the 1910s. Hepburn is dope-addicted wife, Richardson her pompous actor husband, Stockwell the son dying of TB, and Robards the alcoholic son. Later cut to 136m. | tt0056196 | Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards/Jr., Dean Stockwell, Jeanne Barr | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Long Duel | 1967 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 115 | Brynner leads peasant revolt against British raj in 1920s India; routine adventure saga. Look for Edward Fox. | tt0061916 | Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Andrew Keir, Charlotte Rampling | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Long Good Friday | 1980 | John Mackenzie | ★★★½ | 114 | Occasionally confusing but otherwise terrific portrait of hoodlum rivalry in contemporary London; takes its rightful place with the best gangster movies of all time. Hoskins, brilliant as underworld entrepreneur, is matched by Mirren as subtly sexy mistress. Original screenplay by Barrie Keeffe. | tt0081070 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Eddie Constantine, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson, George Coulouris, Stephen Davies, Pierce Brosnan | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Long Goodbye | 1973 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 112 | Strange, almost spoofy updating of Raymond Chandler's novel, with Gould as a shabby Philip Marlowe involved with mysterious Van Pallandt, alcoholic Hayden, evil Gibson, missing pal Bouton, and Jewish gangster Rydell. Some nice touches, especially John Williams' jokey score, but Altman's attitude toward the genre borders on contempt. Screenplay by Leigh Brackett, who had earlier coscripted THE BIG SLEEP. Look for Arnold Schwarzenegger as a muscleman, David Carradine as a prisoner. | tt0070334 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Henry Gibson, Mark Rydell, Jim Bouton, David Arkin, Warren Berlinger | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Long Gray Line | 1955 | John Ford | ★★★ | 138 | Lengthy sentimental melodrama of West Point athletic trainer Power and his many years at the Academy. O'Hara is radiant as his wife. | tt0048312 | Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Robert Francis, Ward Bond, Donald Crisp, Betsy Palmer, Phil Carey, Harry Carey/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Long Haul | 1957 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 88 | Mature is truck driver whose turbulent marriage paves way for his becoming involved with crooks. Minor fare. | tt0050653 | Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen, Gene Anderson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Long Hot Summer | 1958 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 117 | Well-blended William Faulkner short stories make a flavorful, brooding drama of domineering Southerner (Welles) and a wandering handyman (Newman), who decides to stick around and marry daughter Woodward. Excellent Alex North score, weak finish to strong film; the Newmans' first film together. Remade for TV with Don Johnson. | tt0051878 | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury | Drama | NULL | |||
| Long John Silver | Return to Treasure Island | 1954 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 109 | Newton reprises title role from TREASURE ISLAND (with same director as the Disney film) and chews the scenery in this loose adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson. Look for Rod Taylor in a small role. Aka RETURN TO TREASURE ISLAND. | tt0047189 | Robert Newton, Connie Gilchrist, Kit Taylor, Grant Taylor | Australian | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Long Kiss Goodnight | 1996 | Renny Harlin | ★★½ | 120 | If you find a kitchen sink, it's the one screenwriter Shane Black forgot to throw into this over-the-top action yarn, which starts out seriously, then changes tone. Davis plays an amnesiac with a young daughter, whose happy life is disrupted when she's forced to confront her past— as a professional undercover assassin! Jackson is a low-rent private eye who goes along for this roller-coaster ride, full of large-scale stunts and humor with Davis as a combination Pauline (as in PERILS OF . . .) and Rambo. No one seems to mind or care that a child is also part of the mayhem. | tt0116908 | [R] | Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Craig Bierko, Yvonne Zima, Tom Amandes, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, David Morse, Joseph McKenna, G. D. Spradlin, Alan North | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Long Lost Father | 1934 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★½ | 63 | Minor Barrymore vehicle casts him as man who deserted daughter Chandler years ago, tries to make up for it when she gets in a jam. | tt0025417 | John Barrymore, Helen Chandler, Donald Cook, Alan Mowbray, Claude King | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Long Memory | 1952 | Robert Hamer | ★★★ | 91 | Mills is framed for murder by girlfriend Sellars. When released from prison 12 years later, he sets out to prove his innocence. Well-done drama. | tt0044849 | John Mills, John McCallum, Elizabeth Sellars, Geoffrey Keen, John Chandos, Vida Hope | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Long Night | 1947 | Anatole Litvak | ★★ | 101 | Factory worker Fonda kills Price, then holes up in his boarding house (besieged by police) and relives in flashbacks, and flashbacks within flashbacks, the events leading up to his predicament. Plodding and sullen; a long night indeed. Remake of Jean Gabin film LE JOUR SE LEVE. | tt0039581 | Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price, Ann Dvorak, Howard Freeman, Elisha Cook/Jr., Queenie Smith, Charles McGraw | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Long Pants | 1927 | Frank Capra | ★★ | 61 | Langdon's follow-up to THE STRONG MAN is one of the most curious silent comedies ever made: a dark, mostly unfunny story of a boy in knickers who fantasizes about being a great lover (based on books he's read), and gets his chance when a sexy femme fatale passes through town. However, this does require that he murder his hometown bride first! For what it's worth, Capra didn't complete the film, and didn't like what was done with it. | tt0018102 | Harry Langdon, Gladys Brockwell, Al Roscoe, Alma Bennett, Frankie Darro, Priscilla Bonner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Long Ride from Hell | 1970 | Alex Burks (Camillo Bazzoni) | ★½ | 94 | Title is another instance of truth-in-advertising; dreary Western co-authored by Reeves has to do with rancher who tries to clear himself of phony train-robbery charge. | tt0065997 | [R] | Steve Reeves, Wayde Preston, Dick Palmer, Silvana Venturelli, Lee Burton, Ted Carter | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| The Long Riders | 1980 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 100 | All in the Family out West. The Carradines, Keaches, Quaids, and Guests portray, respectively, the Younger, James, Miller, and Ford brothers in this stylish but extremely bloody film. Typically meticulous direction by Hill, with David Carradine and Reed igniting sparks as Cole Younger and Belle Starr. Excellent score by Ry Cooder. | tt0081071 | [R] | David Carradine, Keith Carradine, Robert Carradine, Stacy Keach, James Keach, Randy Quaid,Dennis Quaid, Nicholas Guest, Christopher Guest, Pamela Reed, Savannah Smith, James Whitmore/Jr., Harry Carey/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| The Long Ships | 1964 | Jack Cardiff | ★★ | 125 | Fairly elaborate but comic-book-level costume adventure of Vikings battling Moors for fabled treasure. Good cast deserves better. | tt0057259 | Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Rosanna Schiaffino, Russ Tamblyn, Oscar Homolka, Colin Blakely | British-Yugoslavian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Long Voyage Home | 1940 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 105 | Evocative look at men who spend their lives at sea, adapted (by Dudley Nichols) from four short O'Neill plays. Richly textured drama with many beautiful vignettes; exquisitely photographed by Gregg Toland. | tt0032728 | John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, Mildred Natwick, John Qualen, Arthur Shields, Joe Sawyer, J. Warren Kerrigan | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Long Wait | 1954 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 93 | Meandering, actionless account of man with loss of memory discovering he's been framed for several crimes. | tt0047190 | Anthony Quinn, Charles Coburn, Gene Evans, Peggie Castle, Dolores Donlan, Mary Ellen Kay | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Long Walk Home | 1990 | Richard Pearce | ★★★ | 97 | Perceptive, extremely well-acted account of the life and changing times in the segregated American South of the mid-1950s. The focus is on the consciousness-raising of Spacek, a privileged pillar of Southern womanhood; Goldberg is her hard-working housekeeper, who's struggling to help support her own family. Fine sense of period detail; most intriguing of all, John Cork's script mirrors the connection between feminism and the civil rights movement. | tt0100046 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, Dwight Schultz, Ving Rhames, Dylan Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Long Way Home | 1997 | Mark Jonathan Harris | ★★★½ | 119 | Exceptional, Oscar-winning documentary about the incredible story of Jews who— once freed from Nazi concentration camps— were forced to endure yet another ordeal. Unwelcome in their homelands, bereft of families, they were held in squalid detention camps or arrested for illegal immigration until the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. Well told through the use of archival footage, on-camera interviews, and the words of survivors and participants. | tt0119561 | Narrated by Morgan Freeman | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Long and the Short and the Tall | Jungle Fighters | 1961 | Leslie Norman | ★★★ | 105 | Well-delineated account of British patrol unit during WW2, focusing on their conflicting personalities and raids on Japanese. Retitled: JUNGLE FIGHTERS. | tt0054037 | Richard Todd, Laurence Harvey, Richard Harris, David McCallum, Ronald Fraser | British | War | NULL | |
| The Long, Long Trailer | 1954 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 96 | The joy and heartache of l'amour and the pursuit of pleasure is explored with subtlety and sophistication in a trilogy of stories by Guy de Maupassant: in "Le Masque," a vain old man tries to regain his youth by donning a mask to a ball; in "Le Maison Tellier," a group of prostitutes travels to the country to attend the first communion of the madam's niece; in "Le Modele," a free-living artist's affair with a model takes a tragic turn. Brilliantly acted by a superb cast and directed with customary virtuosity and a dazzlingly fluid style. Jean Marais narrates the French version of the film as de Maupassant (Peter Ustinov narrates the English version; Anton Walbrook narrates the German version). | tt0047191 | Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn, Gladys Hurlbut | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Longest Day | 1962 | Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki | ★★★★ | 180 | One of the last great epic WW2 films. Brilliant retelling of the Allied invasion of Normandy, complete with all-star international cast, re-creation of historical events on a grand scale; Oscar-winning special effects and cinematography. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0056197 | John Wayne, Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Peter Lawford, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, Richard Beymer, Jeffrey Hunter, Sal Mineo, Roddy McDowall, Eddie Albert, Curt Jurgens, Gert Frobe, Sean Connery, Robert Wagner, Red Buttons, Mel Ferrer | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Longest Night | 1936 | Errol Taggart. | ★★½ | 50 | Owner of a department store finds romance, mystery, and murder all in one night as he teams up with a pretty female employee to track down a gang of thieves hiding in the store. Slick, enjoyable MGM mini-feature, with an abbreviated running time working to its advantage. | tt0027906 | Robert Young, Florence Rice, Ted Healy, Julie Haydon, Catharine Doucet, Janet Beecher, Leslie Fenton, Sidney Toler. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Longest Yard | 1974 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 123 | Convict Reynolds, a former football pro, quarterbacks a squad of dirty players against warden Albert's hand-picked team. An audience picture if there ever was one; hilarious bone-crunching comedy written by Tracy Keenan Wynn. Remade in 2001 as MEAN MACHINE (the original film's British title) and in 2005. | tt0071771 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, Jim Hampton, Bernadette Peters, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Harry Caesar, Richard Kiel, Robert Tessier, Malcolm Atterbury | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Longest Yard | 2005 | Peter Segal. | ★★½ | 107 | By-the-numbers remake (the second, after MEAN MACHINE) with Sandler as the disgraced former pro quarterback who is sent up the river. There, he is coerced by the hard-nosed warden (Cromwell) into creating a football team out of fellow inmates. Blends comedy and violence as well as the 1974 film, but lacks its freshness and spark. Reynolds takes over the Michael Conrad role with a knowing wink. (Ed Lauter shows up, too.) Populated with many recognizable sports figures . . . and, yes, Rob Schneider. | tt0398165 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, William Fichtner, Nelly, Michael Irvin, James Cromwell, Nick Turturro, Terry Crews, Cloris Leachman, Courteney Cox, Tracy Morgan. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Longshot | 1986 | Paul Bartel | 💣 | 89 | Four lower-middle-class losers borrow $5,000 from the local break-ya-fingas financier to finance a sure thing at the track. Pathetic comedy is full of toilet gags and can't even coast on the good will established by the cast in better days. Mike Nichols (Mike Nichols!!!) executive-produced. | tt0091430 | [PG-13] | Tim Conway, Jack Weston, Harvey Korman, Ted Wass, Jonathan Winters, Stella Stevens, Anne Meara, George DiCenzo | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Longshots | 2008 | Fred Durst | ★★ | 94 | Routine “inspirational” drama based on true story of a young girl who becomes the only female on a Pop Warner football team. Urged on and later coached by her ne’er-do-well uncle, a former pro player now fallen on hard times, she quarterbacks a footloose, ragtag group right to the cusp of junior pigskin glory. As she proved in AKEELAH AND THE BEE, Palmer is endearing and irresistible, while Cube gets his best screen outing in a while . . . but neither of them can rescue this by-the-numbers family film swimming in sports-movie clichés. | tt1091751 | [PG] | Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, Tasha Smith, Dash Mihok, Matt Craven, Glenn Plummer, Garrett Morris, Jill Marie Jones, Michael Colyar, Malcolm Goodwin | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Longtime Companion | 1990 | Norman René | ★★★ | 96 | Emotional pre-PHILADELPHIA examination of AIDS in the '80s, focusing on a closely knit group of gay men in N.Y.C. Film spans the entire decade, from first reports of a mystery illness to a time when the disease became a tragic part of everyday life. Craig Lucas's script is insightful, heart-wrenching, and funny. Entire cast is excellent, especially Davison. A PBS American Playhouse presentation. | tt0100049 | [R] | Stephen Caffrey, Patrick Cassidy, Brian Cousins, Bruce Davison, John Dossett, Mark Lamos, Dermot Mulroney, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Schoeffling, Campbell Scott, Robert Joy | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Look At Me | 2004 | Agnès Jaoui. | ★★★ | 110 | Another smart, sophisticated comedy from Jaoui (THE TASTE OF OTHERS) about a group of people who have all the answers for improving each other's lives but not a clue of what to do about their own. Flawless ensemble includes real-life husband and wife Jaoui and Bacri, who also cowrote the screenplay, set in the world of literature and music, but shining an all-knowing light on the mystery (and fragility) of human nature. | tt0374583 | [PG-13] | Marilou Berry, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui, Laurent Grévill, Virginie Desarnauts, Keine Bouhiza. | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Look Back in Anger | 1959 | Tony Richardson | ★★★½ | 99 | John Osborne's trend-setting angry-young-man play, with Burton rebelling against life and wife, realistically filmed and acted; dialogue bristles. | tt0051879 | Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Edith Evans, Mary Ure, Gary Raymond, Glen Byam Shaw, Donald Pleasence | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Look Both Ways | 2005 | Sarah Watt | ★★★ | 100 | A woman who sees disaster lurking around every corner and a photojournalist who's facing a genuine health crisis meet under unusual circumstances and feel a connection between them. Meanwhile, everyone around them is dealing with their mortality in one way or another. Fresh, likeable comedy-drama tackles the biggest subjects of all-life and death-using animation to illustrate the characters' deepest fears. Feature debut for animator Watt, who also scripted. Winner of multiple Australian Film Institute awards, including Best Film. | tt0382806 | [PG-13] | Justine Clarke, William McInnes, Anthony Hayes, Lisa Flanagan, Andrew S. Gilbert, Daniela Farinacci, Sacha Horler, Maggie Dence | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Look Who's Laughing | 1941 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 78 | Bergen's plane inadvertently lands in Wistful Vista, where he becomes involved in a municipal squabble with Fibber and Molly. Slim vehicle for radio favorites only comes alive when Charlie McCarthy takes the spotlight. | tt0033850 | Edgar Bergen, Jim Jordan, Marion Jordan, Lucille Ball, Harold Peary, Lee Bonnell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Look Who's Talking | 1989 | Amy Heckerling | ★★★ | 90 | Amiable comedy about an unmarried woman who has a baby (by her no-good married boyfriend) and then sets out to find a suitable 'daddy' for him. Good showcase for costars Alley and Travolta. Written by director Heckerling. One quibble: though set in N.Y.C., it's all too obvious that it was shot somewhere else (Vancouver, to be precise). Followed by two sequels and the TV series Baby Talk. | tt0097778 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis, George Segal, Abe Vigoda; voice of Bruce Willis | Romance, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Look Who's Talking Now | 1993 | Tom Ropelewski | ★★ | 92 | Third entry in the series isn't bad, thanks to some cute dogplay and the delightful voice-over work by DeVito and Keaton, as a kind of live-action LADY AND THE TRAMP, who wreak havoc on the lives of the Umbriacco family. Passable family entertainment. | tt0107438 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, George Segal, Olympia Dukakis, David Gallagher, Tabitha Lupien, Lysette Anthony; voices of Danny DeVito, Diane Keaton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Look Who's Talking Too | 1990 | Amy Heckerling | 💣 | 81 | Militantly offensive sequel adds a baby girl to the formula— with the voice of Barr. It took a million bad poo-poo jokes and a gratuitous Travolta dance number to pad the running time. Climactic apartment fire may traumatize young children. | tt0100050 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis, Elias Koteas, Twink Caplan, Gilbert Gottfried, Lorne Sussman; voices of Bruce Willis, Roseanne Barr, Damon Wayans, Mel Brooks | Family, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Look for the Silver Lining | 1949 | David Butler | ★★½ | 100 | Superficial biography of Marilyn Miller's career in show business, with vintage vaudeville numbers bolstering trivial plot line. | tt0041599 | June Haver, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Charles Ruggles, Rosemary DeCamp | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Look in Any Window | 1961 | William Alland | ★★ | 87 | Unhappy home life sets Anka on path of crime. Ho-hum. | tt0055097 | Paul Anka, Ruth Roman, Alex Nicol, Gigi Perreau, Jack Cassidy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Look-Out Sister | 1947 | Bud Pollard. | ★★½ | 65 | Overworked bandleader Jordan dreams that he's on an Arizona dude ranch, where he becomes immersed in typical B-Western shenanigans. Above-average all-black-cast entertainment is loaded with musical numbers, including a lively performance of Jordan's hit 'Caledonia.' | tt0127666 | Louis Jordan, Suzette Harbin, Monte Hawley, Bob Scott, Glenn Allen, Tommy Southern, Jack Clisby, Maceo Sheffield. | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Looker | 1981 | Michael Crichton | 💣 | 94 | Conglomerate head Coburn produces the computerized images of gorgeous models to hawk products and political candidates on TV— and also murders his subjects. As he is losing all his clients, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Finney investigates. Intriguing premise is illogically and boringly handled; even Finney cannot save this turkey. Watch for Vanna White. | tt0082677 | [PG] | Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, Leigh Taylor-Young, Dorian Harewood, Tim Rossovich, Darryl Hickman | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lookin' to Get Out | 1982 | Hal Ashby | 💣 | 104 | Implausible, often embarrassing comedy about two losers who talk their way into a suite at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with a plan to win big at blackjack. Remsen’s performance as a wily old card shark is the only bright spot in this utter catastrophe. Voight coscripted, coproduced, and seems to be trying out his Al Pacino impression. In 2009 an alternate version of the film surfaced, edited by Ashby before his untimely death; it runs 120m. and is a definite improvement. Incidentally, the little girl at the end is Voight’s four-year-old daughter, Angelina Jolie. | tt0084268 | [R] | Jon Voight, Burt Young, Ann-Margret, Bert Remsen, Jude Farese, Allen Keller, Richard Bradford, Angelina Jolie | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Looking Forward | 1933 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 82 | Stone gives one of his best performances as a man trying to keep his London department store (founded by his family 200 years ago) afloat during the depths of the Depression; Barrymore is a mousy clerk who's been with the store for 40 years. Superficial but pleasant drama boasts that its title came from a speech by F.D.R. | tt0024269 | Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Benita Hume, Elizabeth Allan, Phillips Holmes, Colin Clive, Doris Lloyd | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Looking Glass War | 1970 | Frank Pierson | ★½ | 108 | Dull film version of John le Carré's best-seller has Jones risking his life to photograph a rocket in East Berlin. Good opportunity to study the leads' bone structure, since they never change facial expressions. | tt0066001 | [M] | Christopher Jones, Pia Degermark, Ralph Richardson, Anthony Hopkins, Paul Rogers, Susan George, Anna Massey, Ray McAnally, Vivian Pickles | British | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World | 2006 | Albert Brooks | ★★½ | 96 | Brooks (playing his usual onscreen self) is asked by the U.S. government to bridge a vital cultural gap in the post-9/11 world by traveling to India and Pakistan to learn what makes Muslim people laugh. What might have been brilliant as a short is a bit mild at feature length but still has many funny and inspired moments. Brooks hits a bull's-eye as he targets show-business egotists, government drones . . . and, as always, himself. | tt0433116 | [PG-13] | Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, John Carroll Lynch, Jon Tenney, Amy Ryan, Homie Dooradian, Fred Dalton Thompson, Penny Marshall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Looking for Danger | 1957 | Austen Jewell | ★★ | 62 | Genial Bowery Boys caper, relating a flashback adventure in North Africa to trap some Nazis during WW2. | tt0050654 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, Eddie LeRoy, David (Gorcey) Condon, Jimmy Murphy, Otto Reichow, Lili Kardell, Percy Helton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Looking for Eric | 2009 | Ken Loach | ★★★ | 117 | Depressed postal worker, traumatized by a car crash, seeks spiritual healing from an unlikely source: U.K. football league Manchester United's #7, the French center forward Cantona, known for his pithy philosophizing as well as his fine kicking. Through a series of spliff-fueled fantasy therapy sessions, the bloke learns to reconnect with his ex-wife, his stepsons, his best mates, and himself. Likable, and lighter than most Loach fodder, but not without his usual bleak stamp. | tt1242545 | Unrated | Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns, Stefan Gumbs, Lucy-Jo Hudson, John Henshaw, Justin Moorhouse | British-French-Italian-Belgian-Spanish | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Looking for Love | 1964 | Don Weis | 💣 | 83 | They should have looked for a script instead. Plastic show-biz romance with little help from various guest stars, including Carson (who wound up making HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT-type jokes about this— his first film appearance). | tt0059398 | Connie Francis, Susan Oliver, Jim Hutton, Barbara Nichols, Danny Thomas, Johnny Carson, George Hamilton, Paula Prentiss | Musical | NULL | |||
| Looking for Mr. Goodbar | 1977 | Richard Brooks | ★½ | 135 | Sordid rewrite (by director Brooks) of Judith Rossner's novel begins as intelligent study of repressed young girl, then wallows endlessly in her new 'liberated' lifestyle. Keaton's performance outclasses this pointless movie. Story recycled in the TVM TRACKDOWN: FINDING THE GOODBAR KILLER. | tt0076327 | [R] | Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, William Atherton, Tuesday Weld, Richard Kiley, LeVar Burton, Tom Berenger, Brian Dennehy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Looking for Richard | 1996 | Al Pacino | ★★★½ | 109 | Fascinating documentary-style film about Pacino's staging of Richard III and his simultaneous exploration of the relevance of Shakespeare to people in every walk of life. Every scene is dissected— by actors and scholars— before we see it performed, bringing this play to vivid life, especially for those of us who aren't already Shakespeare buffs. A treat from start to finish. Among the interviewees: Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline, James Earl Jones, Rosemary Harris, Peter Brook, Derek Jacobi, Vanessa Redgrave, and John Gielgud. | tt0116913 | [PG-13] | Al Pacino, Frederic Kimball, Harris Yulin, Penelope Allen, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Estelle Parsons, Winona Ryder, Aidan Quinn | Documentary, Drama | NULL | ||
| Looking for Trouble | 1934 | William A. Wellman. | ★★★ | 76 | Tracy and Oakie click as telephone linemen troubleshooters who find the time to track down a wiretapping and bank-robbing gang while trading wisecracks and kisses with phone operators Cummings and Judge. Highly enjoyable yarn is packed with crackling dialogue and serial-like thrills; it even incorporates real footage of the 1933 Long Beach, California, earthquake. | tt0025418 | Spencer Tracy, Constance Cummings, Jack Oakie, Morgan Conway, Arline Judge, Judith Wood, Paul Harvey, Joe Sauers (Sawyer). | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lookout | 2007 | Scott Frank | ★★★½ | 102 | Onetime Midwest high school prince (Gordon-Levitt) now struggles through every day since surviving a devastating car accident. He shares an apartment with a sardonic blind man (Daniels) and holds down a simple job as night janitor at the local bank. This makes him a prime target for crafty Goode, who's planning a bank heist and needs an inside man to help. Crackerjack thriller is also a superb (if dark) character study. Every person on-screen is well drawn, no matter how small the part; Gordon-Levitt is terrific as usual. Directing debut for screenwriter Frank. | tt0427470 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino, Bruce McGill, Alberta Watson, Alex Borstein, Sergio Di Zio, David Huband. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Looks and Smiles | 1981 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 104 | Working-class teenager Green cannot find a job or place for himself in society. Solid, realistic story of alienation, frustration, anger. | tt0082678 | Graham Green, Carolyn Nicholson, Tony Pitts, Phil Askham, Cilla Mason | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Looney Tunes: Back in Action | 2003 | Joe Dante | ★★½ | 91 | Humorless Warner Bros. V.P. of Comedy Elfman is forced to join forces with ex-studio guard Fraser to bring the recently fired Daffy Duck back to the studio, unaware that he's fallen prey to the machinations of the Acme Company's evil chairman (Martin). Bugs Bunny, Daffy, and friends are just as funny as ever, but the live-action story line is strained at best. Even obscure WB cartoon characters make brief but welcome appearances. As always, Dante fills his movie with in-jokes for buffs (watch carefully!) and cameos. | tt0318155 | [PG] | Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy Dalton, Joan Cusack, Heather Locklear, Mary Woronov, Robert Picardo, Marc Lawrence; voices of Joe Alaskey, Billy West, Jeff Glenn Bennett, Bob Bergen | Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie | Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie | 1981 | Friz Freleng | ★★½ | 80 | Feature-length compilation of classic Warner Bros. cartoons is divided into three parts. In the first, Yosemite Sam must return Bugs Bunny to the Devil in order to save his own soul. Second part has Bugs rescuing Tweety from gangsters Rocky and Muggsy. Third and best segment is a parody of Hollywood award shows featuring Freleng's wonderful 1957 cartoon THE THREE LITTLE BOPS. Also includes Bugs Bunny's Oscar-winning KNIGHTY KNIGHT BUGS (1958). Official billing is FRIZ FRELENG'S LOONEY, LOONEY, LOONEY BUGS BUNNY MOVIE. | tt0082679 | [G] | Voice of Mel Blanc | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | |
| Loophole | Break In | 1980 | John Quested | ★★½ | 105 | Slick but very ordinary caper film about an unemployed architect who's persuaded to participate in an ambitious break-in of 'impenetrable' London bank. Aka BREAK IN. | tt0081073 | Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Christopher Guard | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Loose Ankles | 1930 | Ted Wilde. | ★★★ | 67 | Young and her greedy family will inherit a fortune if she stays scandal-free and marries a man whom her prissy aunts approve of. She decides to teach her relatives a lesson by advertising for a gigolo, who shows up in the person of love-struck Fairbanks. Giddy early-talkie farce performed with zeal, boasting some smart lines and a fine sense of the absurd. | tt0021087 | Loretta Young, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Louise Fazenda, Ethel Wales, Otis Harlan, Daphne Pollard, Inez Courtney. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Loose Cannons | 1990 | Bob Clark | ★½ | 94 | Below-rock-bottom car-chase excuse about two D.C. cops caught between ex-Nazis and Israeli adversaries scuffling over a mysterious Hitler home movie. Unfunny and offensive, film stagnated on the shelf while the studio figured out what to do with it. Career nadir for most of its participants. | tt0100053 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Dan Aykroyd, Dom DeLuise, Ronny Cox, Nancy Travis, Robert Prosky, Paul Koslo, Dick O'Neill, Jan Triska, David Alan Grier | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Loose Shoes | Quackers | 1980 | Ira Miller | ★★½ | 74 | Very mixed bag of spoofs of coming-attractions previews, some hilarious, some duds. Highlights: 'Skateboarders From Hell,' 'The Yid and the Kid' (Chaplin), 'The Sneaker' (Woody Allen), 'Welcome to Bacon County,' 'Jewish Star Wars,' and unbearably funny 'Darktown After Dark.' Dunne also composed score and songs. Filmed mostly in 1977. Originally titled COMING ATTRACTIONS. Aka QUACKERS. | tt0076582 | [R] | Bill Murray, Howard Hesseman, David Landsburg, Ed Lauter, Susan Tyrrell, Avery Schreiber, Misty Rowe, Jaye P. Morgan, Buddy Hackett, Murphy Dunne | Comedy | NULL | |
| Loose in London | 1953 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 63 | When Sach is thought to be related to a dying British earl, the Bowery Boys head to England and expose some scheming heirs in this enjoyable romp. | tt0046011 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey, John Dodsworth, Norma Varden, Angela Greene, Walter Kingsford, Joan Shawlee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Loot | 1970 | Silvio Narizzano | ★★½ | 101 | Frantic black comedy from Joe Orton's stage hit. Holder and Bennett knock over a bank, hide the swag in the coffin of the former's mother, and then have a spot of trouble retrieving it. Despite Mod trappings, basically an old-fashioned, door-slamming farce; funny for those in the mood. | tt0066002 | [PG] | Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough, Roy Holder, Hywel Bennett, Milo O'Shea, Dick Emery, Joe Lynch | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Looters | 1955 | Abner Biberman | ★★½ | 87 | OK drama of survivors of plane crash fighting amongst themselves for money aboard wreckage. | tt0048313 | Rory Calhoun, Julie Adams, Ray Danton, Thomas Gomez | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Lorax | 2012 | Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda | ★★ | 101 | A boy who lives in a shiny, artificial city hopes to impress a girl by fulfilling her wish to see a real-life tree. Leaving the city, he goes in search of the Once-ler, who explains what happened to the natural habitat, and learns the story of the Lorax, who fought to preserve the trees. Brisk but superficial animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss' groundbreaking environmental book—minus the wit and the author's distinctive drawings. Younger viewers may be satisfied with the constant distractions of funny animals and sight gags. | tt1482459 | [PG] | Voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate, Stephen Tobolowsky, Nasim Pedrad | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Lord Byron of Broadway | 1930 | Harry Beaumont, William Nigh. | ★★ | 77 | Kaley uses personal relationships as fodder for the songs he writes, fancying himself a modern-day Lord Byron. Swell songs and wisecracks from 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards are the only compensation for a hackneyed script, terrible performances by short-lived film stars Kaley and Terry, and dull two-color Technicolor musical numbers. | tt0021090 | Charles Kaley, Ethelind Terry, Marion Shilling, Cliff Edwards, Gwen Lee, Benny Rubin. | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lord Jeff | 1938 | Sam Wood | ★★ | 86 | Acceptable family film about good-boy Bartholomew led astray, sent to straighten out at naval school. | tt0030384 | Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Charles Coburn, Herbert Mundin, Terry Kilburn, Gale Sondergaard, Peter Lawford, Monty Woolley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lord Jim | 1965 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 154 | Overlong, uneven adaptation of Joseph Conrad's story about idealistic young man in British Merchant Marine in the 19th century discredited as a coward who lives with scar for the rest of his life. Film's great moments provided by outstanding supporting cast. | tt0059399 | Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Curt Jurgens, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins, Paul Lukas, Daliah Lavi, Akim Tamiroff | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Lord Love a Duck | 1966 | George Axelrod | ★★★ | 105 | Madcap black comedy about progressive Southern California high school where botany is called 'plant skills.' Film wavers uncomfortably between comedy and drama at times, but really delivers some belly laughs. Terrific performances in movie that was ahead of its time. Directorial debut of cowriter Axelrod. | tt0060636 | Tuesday Weld, Roddy McDowall, Lola Albright, Martin West, Ruth Gordon, Harvey Korman, Martin Gabel, Sarah Marshall, Lynn Carey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lord of Illusions | 1995 | Clive Barker | ★★½ | 108 | Private eye Bakula, a specialist in the supernatural, is in L.A. on a 'normal' case when a stage magician is apparently killed during a performance. This is linked to the pending resurrection of an evil sorcerer, and soon Bakula is battling the forces of darkness again. Intelligent thriller, written by the director, is better than the usual genre fodder, but it's thinly plotted, and condescends slightly to its audience. Also available in 122m. unrated 'director's cut.' | tt0113690 | [R] | Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O'Connor, Famke Janssen, Vincent Schiavelli, Barry Del Sherman, Sheila Tousey, Joel Swetow, Joseph Latimore, Susan Traylor, Daniel Von Bargen | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lord of War | 2005 | Andrew Niccol | ★★★ | 122 | Biting satire of the arms industry with Cage as a Russian immigrant who's desperate to escape his dead-end life in 1980s Brooklyn, and sees a way out: selling guns, without regard to the consequences of who buys them or why. Ultimately he learns that there is a price to pay for his success. Raw and relevant, this cuts awfully close to the bone, which is why it's no candidate for Feel Good Movie of the Year. Written by the director. Cage also coproduced. | tt0399295 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm, Ethan Hawke, Eamonn Walker, Sammi Rotibi | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lord of the Flies | 1963 | Peter Brook | ★★★ | 90 | Unique story of a group of British schoolboys stranded on remote island. Their gradual degeneration into a savage horde is compelling. Adapted from William Golding's novel. Remade in 1990. | tt0057261 | James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin, Tom Gaman | British | Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lord of the Flies | 1990 | Harry Hook | ★★½ | 90 | Color update of the novel-to-film turns William Golding's savage schoolboys into TV-savvy American kids; it may make the story more immediate (though even that's arguable), but it also purges the original of its poetry. Visceral, and improves as it progresses, but inferior to Peter Brook's 1963 version whose amateur actors, by and large, were superior to this brood. | tt0100054 | [R] | Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh, Danuel Pipoly, Badgett Dale, Edward and Andrew Taft | Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lord of the Jungle | 1955 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 69 | Bomba the Jungle Boy tries to weed out a rogue elephant to save the entire herd from extinction; final entry of this shoddy series. | tt0048314 | Johnny Sheffield, Wayne Morris, Nancy Hale, Paul Picerni, William Phipps, Smoki Whitfield, Leonard Mudie, Harry Lauter, Joel Fluellen, Juanita Moore | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Lord of the Rings | 1978 | Ralph Bakshi | ★★½ | 133 | Ambitious animated version of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy saga covers 11/2 books of his trilogy (ending rather abruptly). Story of different races in Middle-earth competing for ownership of all-powerful Rings is inspired and exciting, but begins to drag— and confuse— during last hour. Bakshi's technique awkwardly combines animation and live-action tracings. Remade in 2001. | tt0077869 | [PG] | Voices of Christopher Guard, William Squire, John Hurt, Michael Sholes, Dominic Guard | Animation, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 2001 | Peter Jackson | ★★★ | 178 | Sprawling, epic adaptation of the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy about Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit chosen to destroy a powerful ring that threatens Middle-earth. Moves in fits and starts, but intelligent and beautifully executed by director/cowriter Jackson, with phenomenal production values and a fine cast, led by McKellen, perfect as the wizard Gandalf. Won Oscars for Makeup, Visual Effects, Cinematography (Andrew Lesnie), and Original Score (Howard Shore). Extended video version runs 208m. Followed by THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS. | tt0120737 | [PG-13] | Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm | Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 2003 | Peter Jackson | ★★★½ | 200 | Final film in the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy ends on a high note as Frodo approaches his destiny at Mount Doom and the forces of good prepare for final battle against the evil minions of Sauron. Long, to be sure, with a few too many endings, but still a staggering achievement— alone and in concert with the previous two films. Cast, production, and direction are splendid and the astounding visual effects are always at the service of a story that scales heroic and very human heights. Winner of 11 Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay (by Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens), Costumes (Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor), Art Direction (Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Alan Lee), Score (Howard Shore), Song ('Into the West'), Sound Mixing, Editing, Makeup, and Visual Effects. Also available in an extended version that runs 250m. | tt0167260 | [PG-13] | Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Sean Bean | Fantasy, Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2002 | Peter Jackson | ★★★½ | 179 | Spectacular continuation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, with Frodo and a far-ranging group of warriors plunging ahead in the quest to prevent evil Lord Sauron from destroying Middle-earth. Darker, more focused, more deeply emotional, and more exciting than the first installment, with a stunning array of technical wizardry and an ideal cast. Highlighted by the presence of Gollum, an amazing blend of CGI and Serkis' performance. Rhys-Davies also provides the voice of Treebeard. Oscar winner for Visual Effects and Sound Editing. Extended video version runs 223m. Followed by THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. | tt0167261 | [PG-13] | Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Andy Serkis | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Lord's of Flatbush | 1974 | Stephen Verona, Martin Davidson | ★★★ | 88 | Fun story of a Flatbush gang, circa 1957, with original music score. Training ground for two future stars, with Stallone writing some of the dialogue and Winkler trying out his Fonzie character. Look for Ray Sharkey as a student, Armand Assante as a wedding guest. | tt0071772 | [PG] | Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, Paul Mace, Susan Blakely, Paul Jabara, Dolph Sweet | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lords of Discipline | 1983 | Franc Roddam | ★★½ | 102 | Familiar but satisfactory military school drama, set in 1964 South Carolina. Keith plays senior asked to keep an eye on first black cadet (Breland) who's being systematically tortured by secret society called 'The Ten.' Good performances, especially by Prosky as school's number-two officer; based on the Pat Conroy novel. Unbelievable as it may appear, most of the film was shot in England! | tt0085867 | [R] | David Keith, Robert Prosky, G. D. Spradlin, Rick Rossovich, John Lavachielli, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Mark Breland, Michael Biehn, Barbara Babcock, Judge Reinhold, Bill Paxton, Jason Connery, Matt Frewer, Sophie Ward | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lords of Dogtown | 2005 | Catherine Hardwicke | ★★ | 107 | Venice, California, 1975: a group of raucous teens find themselves on the cutting edge of the skateboarding craze. High-energy account is inspired by a true story, and scripted by one of the “lords,” Stacy Peralta (played here by Robinson), who made the documentary DOGTOWN AND Z BOYS, but there’s not enough material to sustain a feature film. Attempts to capture the purity and joy of skateboarding, but instead merely glorifies insufferable behavior. Unrated version also available. | tt0355702 | [PG-13] | Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Rebecca De Mornay, Heath Ledger, Johnny Knoxville, Vincent Laresca, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Sofia Vergara, Pablo Schreiber, Elden Henson, America Ferrera, Jeremy Renner, William Mapother, Bai Ling, Charles Napier | U.S.-German | Drama, Biography | NULL | |
| Lords of the Deep | 1989 | Mary Ann Fisher | 💣 | 79 | In undersea base of future, menace seems to be manta-shaped aliens, but it's really loony leader Dillman. Clumsy, cheap, and amateurish, this was the fourth and last of 1989's undersea sci-fi thrillers, and the worst by far. Roger Corman appears unbilled (which is just as well). | tt0097781 | [PG-13] | Bradford Dillman, Priscilla Barnes, Daryl Haney, Melody Ryane, Eb Lottimer, Stephen Davies | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lorenzo's Oil | 1992 | George Miller | ★★★ | 135 | True-life story of Michaela and Augusto Odone, who learned their son had adrenoleukodystrophy, an incurable degenerative disease, and proceeded to turn the medical community upside down to keep him alive. Powerful film transcends its 'disease of the week' roots, thanks to a highly cinematic visual style and an intelligent script (cowritten by director Miller, a physician by training, and Nick Enright). Nolte and Sarandon are excellent, and Ustinov offers fine support as a sympathetic doctor. The physical torture that Lorenzo goes through is often painful to watch. | tt0104756 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Peter Ustinov, Kathleen Wilhoite, Gerry Bamman, Margo Martindale, James Rebhorn, Ann Hearn, Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Laura Linney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lorna Doone | 1935 | Basil Dean | ★★★ | 89 | Well-photographed tale of 17th-century love affair between farmer and outlaw's daughter (though she is hiding her true identity). Lovely locations, fine acting; remade in 1951 and for TV in 1990. | tt0026649 | John Loder, Margaret Lockwood, Victoria Hopper, Roy Emerson, Edward Rigby, Mary Clare, Roger Livesey | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lorna Doone | 1951 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 88 | Middling screen version of Richard D. Blackmore's novel of 1680s England, with farmers rebelling against oppressive landlords. Done on small budget, but not bad. | tt0043756 | Barbara Hale, Richard Greene, Carl Benton Reid, William Bishop | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lorna's Silence | 2008 | Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | ★★½ | 105 | Sobering drama, told in the Dardennes' usual documentary-like style, follows an Albanian woman who has married a junkie in order to acquire citizenship papers in Belgium. This will enable her to earn a tidy sum by marrying a Russian—after the junkie is disposed of. Trouble brews when she develops a conscience about her actions. Engrossing and believable, but lacks the dramatic impact of other Dardenne films. | tt1186369 | [R] | Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj, Morgan Marinne | Belgian-French-Italian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Los Olvidados | The Young and the Damned | 1950 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 88 | Gripping story of juvenile delinquency among slums of Mexico, with surreal dream sequences interspersed. An offbeat winner from Buñuel, aka THE YOUNG AND THE DAMNED. | tt0042804 | Alfonso Mejia, Roberto Cobo, Stella Inda, Miguel Inclan | Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| Loser | 2000 | Amy Heckerling | ★★ | 95 | Disappointing teen romantic comedy from the director of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and CLUELESS about a nice small-town kid who goes to college in N.Y.C. He's branded a loser by his roommates, and falls in love with a classmate who's caught in a bad relationship with an English professor. Gen Y variation of THE APARTMENT has adorable leads but they seem way too smart to endure the contrivances in Heckerling's script. Not helped by abrupt ending. | tt0217630 | [PG-13] | Jason Biggs, Mena Suvari, Greg Kinnear, Zak Orth, Thomas Sadoski, Dan Aykroyd, Twink Caplan, Andy Dick, Steven Wright, David Spade, Colleen Camp | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Loser Takes All | 1956 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 88 | Brazzi and Johns celebrate their honeymoon in Monte Carlo and try out their 'perfect system' for winning at roulette, with unusual effect on their marriage. On-location filming helps. Remade in 1990 as STRIKE IT RICH. | tt0049451 |
|
Rossano Brazzi, Glynis Johns, Robert Morley, Tony Britton, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Illing | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Losers | 2010 | Sylvain White | ★★ | 98 | After being set up and left for dead in the remote jungles of Bolivia, a group of elite U.S. Special Forces seek revenge on the powerful man who tried to have them killed. Things get complicated when Saldana, a take-no-prisoners operative, gets involved romantically and professionally. Lots of explosions, chases, and gunplay can't disguise this A-TEAM/DIRTY DOZEN hybrid as anything more than a mediocre adaptation of a comic book franchise. Maybe they should have just called it THE B TEAM instead. | tt0480255 | [PG-13] | Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoë Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Jason Patric, Oscar Jaenada | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Losin' It | 1983 | Curtis Hanson | ★★½ | 104 | Pleasant enough but predictable film about three teenagers out for a wild time in Tijuana— with more bluster than experience. Appealing cast gives it extra value. | tt0085868 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley, John Stockwell, Shelley Long, John P. Navin/Jr., Henry Darrow, Hector Elias, Rick Rossovich | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Losing Chase | 1996 | Kevin Bacon | ★★★ | 92 | Well-acted character-driven drama, set on Martha's Vineyard, about a psychologically troubled woman (Mirren) and her complex relationship with the new mother's helper (Sedgwick) hired to look after her children. This premiered on cable TV prior to theatrical release; Bacon's feature directing debut. Sedgwick (Bacon's wife) executive-produced. | tt0116920 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Kyra Sedgwick, Beau Bridges, Michael Yarmush, Lucas Denton, Nancy Beatty | Drama | NULL | ||
| Losing Isaiah | 1995 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ★★★ | 108 | Dedicated white Chicago social worker adopts a black infant who's been thrown in the trash (literally) by his crack-addicted mother; several years later, when the young woman straightens out her life, she goes to court to reclaim her son. Wrenching (and believable) drama scores points by making all of its characters human and flawed; first-rate performances make the most of Naomi Foner's intelligent script. Only disappointment is the final scene, which isn't very satisfying. Incidentally, Jackson and Richardson, who play opposing attorneys, are real-life husband and wife. | tt0113691 | [R] | Jessica Lange, Halle Berry, David Strathairn, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Daisy Eagan, Marc John Jeffries, Samuel L. Jackson, Joie Susannah Lee, Regina Taylor, La Tanya Richardson, Jacqueline Brookes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Loss of Innocence | The Greengage Summer | 1961 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 99 | York gives poignant performance as teenager who, through love affair, becomes a woman; events leave her and younger sister and brother stranded on the Continent. Original title: THE GREENGAGE SUMMER. | tt0055098 | Kenneth More, Danielle Darrieux, Susannah York, Maurice Denham | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Loss of Sexual Innocence | 1999 | Mike Figgis | 💣 | 106 | An outlandish, pretentious, and pointless film with parallel story threads from different phases of a man's life contrasting contemporary sexual relations and the first loss of innocence in the Garden of Eden. Almost plays like a parody of an 'art' film. | tt0126859 | Julian Sands, Saffron Burrows, Stefano Dionisi, Kelly MacDonald, Gina McKee, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Bernard Hill, Rossy De Palma | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond | 2009 | Jodie Markell | ★½ | 103 | It's 1923 and southern heiress Howard is obsessed with poor but educated Evans, the son of her wicked father's drunken commissary caretaker. Vocally scornful of snobbish Memphis high society, Howard seeks their favor all the same. Southern soapy stew is seasoned with, mostly, two types of people: vapid or noxious. Based on a recently discovered, unproduced Tennessee Williams play. Too bad someone produced it. | tt0896031 | [PG-13] | Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, Ann-Margret, Will Patton, Peter Gerety, Jennifer Sipes, Mamie Gummer | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lost | 1955 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 89 | Offbeat account of effects of a child kidnapping on parents, police, press, and crooks. | tt0048315 | David Farrar, David Knight, Julia Arnall, Anthony Oliver, Marjorie Rhodes | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Lost & Found | 1999 | Jeff Pollack | ★½ | 95 | Spade plots to win his beautiful new neighbor's affections while they search for her missing dog— which he has kidnapped. Crude, offensive, unoriginal, often painful to watch; only redeeming feature is an engaging Marceau. Fundamental error: her 'slimy' ex-boyfriend is more likable than the leading man. Spade also takes credit as cowriter. | tt0120836 | [PG-13] | David Spade, Sophie Marceau, Patrick Bruel, Artie Lange, Mitchell Whitfield, Martin Sheen, Jon Lovitz, Estelle Harris, Rose Marie, Marla Gibbs, Carole Cook | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lost Angel | 1944 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 91 | O'Brien is winning as precocious child— trained as a genius by scientists— who learns life's simple pleasures when she moves in with reporter Craig. Look for Ava Gardner as a hat-check girl. | tt0036120 | Margaret O'Brien, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Philip Merivale, Henry O'Neill, Donald Meek, Keenan Wynn, Robert Blake | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lost Angels | 1989 | Hugh Hudson | ★★ | 116 | Sincere but obvious and compromised drama of teenager Horovitz, unjustly sent to a mental clinic treating teenagers far more troubled than he. Sutherland is sole sympathetic psychiatrist. Shallow story grows increasingly incoherent and uninvolving. Horovitz, of singing group Beastie Boys, is good in acting debut. | tt0097782 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Adam Horovitz, Amy Locane, Don Bloomfield, Celia Weston, Graham Beckel, Kevin Tighe, John C. McGinley, Park Overall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lost Boundaries | 1949 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 99 | Robert Dunn, Carleton Carpenter. Penetrating, well-meaning if slow-moving account of a dedicated, light-skinned Negro doctor (Ferrer, in his screen debut) who (with his family) passes for white in a small New Hampshire town. A clear-eyed look at segregated America. | tt0041600 | Beatrice Pearson, Mel Ferrer, Richard Hylton, Susan Douglas, Canada Lee, Rev. Robert Dunn, Carleton Carpenter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lost Boys | 1987 | Joel Schumacher | ★★ | 97 | Family moves to California town where the local teenage gang turns out to be a pack of vampires! Slick movie aimed at juvenile audiences; both the humor and the plotting are pretty obvious. Only real fireworks come at the end during final showdown. | tt0093437 | [R] | Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes, Edward Herrmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Lost Canyon | 1942 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 61 | Hopalong Cassidy's young sidekick is wrongly accused of bank robbery, so the Bar 20 boys must nab the real culprit, a lawyer who is also behind a band of land-grabbing outlaws. Routine remake of 1937 Hoppy entry RUSTLER'S VALLEY draws extensive stock footage from that film (including clear shots of Lee J. Cobb!). Clyde is funny, Fowley weak in the Cobb role. Contemporary song hit 'Jingle, Jangle, Jingle' is shoehorned into proceedings. | tt0034996 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Lola Lane, Doug Fowley, Herbert Rawlinson. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Lost City | 2005 | Andy Garcia | ★★½ | 138 | Heartfelt attempt to bring Guillermo Cabrera Infante's sweeping saga of the Cuban revolution to life through the story of one family (a university professor and his three sons, one a cabaret owner, the others fired up to bring about social change). Captures the spirit of that time and place, along with its music and color, but bites off more than it can chew . . . and goes on far too long. The romantic story seems trivial and Murray's wisecracks (as a character inspired by Infante himself) seem out of place. Hoffman is amusing as Meyer Lansky. | tt0343996 |
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Andy Garcia, Bill Murray, Ines Sastre, Tomás Milian, Dustin Hoffman, Steven Bauer, Enrique Murciano, Danny Pino, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Nestor Carbonell, Millie Perkins, Richard Bradford, Lorena Feijóo, Tony Plana, Elizabeth Pena, Victor Rivers | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lost Command | 1966 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 130 | Taut, well-made story of French-Algerian guerrilla warfare in North Africa, with Quinn as the peasant who has risen to a position of command. Fine international cast, good direction, and some top-notch action sequences blend very well. | tt0060637 | Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, George Segal, Michele Morgan, Maurice Ronet, Claudia Cardinale, Gregoire Aslan, Jean Servais | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Lost Continent | 1951 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 86 | Lavish production values are obviously lacking as Romero leads expedition to prehistoric mountaintop to recover missing rocket, encounters stop-motion dinosaurs. Some scenes are tinted. | tt0043757 | Cesar Romero, Hillary Brooke, John Hoyt, Whit Bissell, Sid Melton, Acquanetta | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Lost Continent | 1968 | Michael Carreras | ★★½ | 89 | Tramp steamer wanders into the seaweed-choked Sargasso Sea and finds isolated freak civilization derived from Spanish monarchy. Good cast handles lopsided script straightfaced; occasional good action. Based on Dennis Wheatley's novel Uncharted Seas. | tt0063240 | [G] | Eric Porter, Hildegard Knef, Suzanna Leigh, Tony Beckley, Nigel Stock, Neil McCallum | British | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | |
| Lost Highway | 1997 | David Lynch | ★★½ | 135 | Very bizarre Lynchian story that makes Twin Peaks seem as easy to follow as a Sesame Street episode. Basic plot involves Pullman as a jazz musician who, believing his wife is having an affair, suddenly finds himself the main suspect in her murder. Or is he? Or was she? Lynch fans will have fun trying to figure it out; others will find it incomprehensible. Blake is particularly enigmatic as a mystery man with a bad makeup job. | tt0116922 | [R] | Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Richard Pryor, Lisa Boyle, Michael Massee, Jack Nance, Henry Rollins, Gary Busey, Robert Loggia, Marilyn Manson, Giovanni Ribisi | U.S.-French | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Lost Honeymoon | 1947 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 71 | Trivial comedy of ex-GI Tone aware that he had amnesia while stationed in London during WW2, but unaware that he had married and fathered two children. | tt0039582 | Franchot Tone, Ann Richards, Tom Conway, Frances Rafferty, Una O'Connor, Clarence Kolb | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum | 1975 | Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta | ★★★½ | 106 | Solid drama about a woman persecuted because she is suspected of aiding terrorists that is also a stinging commentary on individual freedom, political repression, and the dangers of media manipulation. Based on the Henrich Boll novel; remade as a TVM, THE LOST HONOR OF KATHRYN BECK with Marlo Thomas. | tt0073858 | [R] | Angela Winkler, Mario Adorf, Dieter Laser, Heinz Bennent, Jürgen Prochnow | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lost Horizon | 1937 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 132 | James Hilton's classic story about five people stumbling into strange Tibetan land where health, peace, and longevity reign. A rare movie experience, with haunting finale. Screenplay by Robert Riskin. After being shown in edited reissue prints for years, this classic has been restored to its original length— though several scenes are still missing, and are represented by dialogue only, illustrated with stills. Remade with music in 1973. | tt0029162 | Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, John Howard, Edward Everett Horton, Margo, Sam Jaffe, H. B. Warner, Isabel Jewell, Thomas Mitchell | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Lost Horizon | 1973 | Charles Jarrott | ★½ | 143 | First half hour copies 1937 film scene-for-scene, and everything's fine; then we get to Shangri-La and awful Burt Bacharach-Hal David songs, and it falls apart. 'Lost' is right. Originally released at 150m. | tt0070337 | [G] | Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Sally Kellerman, George Kennedy, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Bobby Van, James Shigeta, Charles Boyer, John Gielgud | Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Lost Man | 1969 | Robert Alan Aurthur | ★★½ | 122 | Uncomfortable updating of ODD MAN OUT from an Irish setting to present-day black underground has some tension, but doesn't really work. Three stars are good. | tt0064602 | [M] | Sidney Poitier, Joanna Shimkus, Al Freeman/Jr., Michael Tolan, Leon Bibb, Richard Dysart, David Steinberg, Paul Winfield | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lost Missile | 1958 | Lester Berke | ★★ | 70 | Super-hot alien missile circles Earth, setting fires and melting cities. Loggia races against time to destroy it before it reaches N.Y.C. Too cheap for its ideas, but Loggia is good. Ending is surprisingly downbeat. | tt0051881 | Robert Loggia, Ellen Parker, Larry Kerr, Phillip Pine | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Lost Moment | 1947 | Martin Gabel | ★★★ | 88 | Henry James' Aspern Papers becomes offbeat drama. Publisher Cummings in Italy seeking lost love letters of famous writer, comes across neurotic Hayward who claims to have access to them. | tt0039583 | Robert Cummings, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, Joan Lorring, Eduardo Ciannelli | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lost One | 1951 | Peter Lorre | ★★ | 97 | Lorre's only film as director is a talky, grim, but not uninteresting drama about the downfall of a German researcher (played by Peter himself, with appropriate weariness), whose girlfriend is thought to have been passing on his discoveries to the British during WW2. Of interest mostly as a footnote to Lorre's career; based on a true story. | tt0044188 | Peter Lorre, Karl John, Renate Mannhardt, Johanna Hofer | German | Drama, Crime, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| The Lost Patrol | 1934 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 73 | McLaglen's small British military group lost in Mesopotamian desert, as Arabs repeatedly attack the dwindling unit. Classic actioner filled with slice-of-life stereotypes, headed by religious fanatic Karloff. Fast-moving fun, great Max Steiner score. Scripted by Dudley Nichols, from Philip MacDonald's novel Patrol. Previously filmed in 1929, as a British silent starring Victor McLaglen's brother, Cyril, in the lead role; reworked many times (BAD LANDS, SAHARA, BATAAN, etc.). | tt0025423 | Victor McLaglen, Boris Karloff, Wallace Ford, Reginald Denny, Alan Hale/Sr., J. M. Kerrigan, Billy Bevan | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra | 2004 | Larry Blamire | ★★½ | 89 | Genial spoof of tacky, low-budget 1950s sci-fi films, with writer-director Blamire as an earnest scientist scouring the countryside (with his wife in tow) in search of a meteor. Along the way they encounter an alien couple who try their best to blend in. The actors never wink at the audience in this affectionate homage, made on a shoestring. Most inspired decision: using authentic 1950s 'stock library' music. | tt0307109 | [PG] | Larry Blamire, Fay Masterson, Andrew Parks, Susan McConnell, Brian Howe, Jennifer Blaire, Dan Conroy | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lost Souls | 2000 | Janusz Kaminski | ★½ | 97 | Ryder, survivor of a childhood exorcism, becomes convinced that atheist true-crime writer Chaplin will become Satan incarnate on his 33rd birthday. As the directional debut of famed cinematographer Kaminski, it's not surprising that this looks great, and it's well acted, but it's just another religious-themed horror film, more pretentious— and boring— than most. | tt0160484 | [R] | Winona Ryder, Ben Chaplin, Sarah Wynter, Philip Baker Hall, Elias Koteas, John Hurt, John Beasley, Victor Slezak, John Diehl | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Lost Squadron | 1932 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 79 | WW1 pilots forced to find work as stunt fliers for movies; interesting idea boosted by von Stroheim's overacting as director 'Arthur von Furst.' | tt0023151 | Richard Dix, Mary Astor, Erich von Stroheim, Joel McCrea, Dorothy Jordan, Robert Armstrong | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lost Tribe | 1949 | William Berke | ★★ | 72 | Action-packed Jungle Jim romp, with Weissmuller fighting lions, crocodiles, and sharks to help save an African city from plunderers. | tt0041602 | Johnny Weissmuller, Myrna Dell, Elena Verdugo, Joseph Vitale, Ralph Dunn, George J. Lewis | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Lost Volcano | 1950 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 67 | Bomba the Jungle Boy (Sheffield) fights greedy African guides who are after buried treasure. | tt0042686 | Johnny Sheffield, Donald Woods, Marjorie Lord, John Ridgely, Robert Lewis, Elena Verdugo, Tommy Ivo | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Lost Weekend | 1945 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 101 | Unrelenting drama of alcoholism— and a landmark of adult filmmaking in Hollywood. Milland's powerful performance won him an Oscar; there's fine support from bartender da Silva, sanitarium aide Faylen. Won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay (Wilder and Charles Brackett). | tt0037884 | Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard da Silva, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lost World | 1925 | Harry Hoyt | ★★½ | 93 | Silent film version of A. Conan Doyle adventure yarn is remarkable for special effects recreating prehistoric beasts encountered on scientific expedition to remote plateau. Interesting as precursor to KING KONG— in story structure and in Willis O'Brien's special effects. Shown in severely truncated prints for years; two restored versions now exist. Remade twice. | tt0016039 | Bessie Love, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Lloyd Hughes | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Lost World | 1993 | Timothy Bond | ★½ | 99 | In 1912, an expedition journeys to an African plateau where dinosaurs still live. Rhys-Davies as Professor Challenger and Warner as his rival are good, but others in the too-large cast are amateurish, and the dinosaurs are not only badly done, but extremely scarce. A cheap, insignificant version of Conan Doyle's wonderful novel, which still deserves a lavish remake. Sequel, RETURN TO THE LOST WORLD (1994), was shot simultaneously. | tt0104759 | John Rhys-Davies, David Warner, Eric McCormack, Nathania Stanford, Darren Peter Mercer, Tamara Gorski, Innocent Chosa, Kate Egan | Canadian | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Lost World | 1960 | Irwin Allen | ★★ | 98 | Despite cinematic advances, this remake of the 1925 film doesn't match original's special effects. OK juvenile entry of an expedition into remote territory hopefully inhabited by prehistoric monsters ('played' by photographically enlarged lizards). | tt0054038 | Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, David Hedison, Claude Rains, Fernando Lamas, Richard Haydn | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park | 1997 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 134 | It turns out that madman Attenborough left a menagerie of dinosaurs behind on a second island— and wants to sponsor an expedition there. Goldblum knows the dangers, but his girlfriend is already there and he's forced to follow, along with assorted others. Havoc ensues. Completely contrived sequel to JURASSIC PARK benefits from Goldblum's deprecating dialogue and superior special effects. Enough cliffhanger-style action scenes to make up for the lulls. Followed in 2001 by JURASSIC PARK III. | tt0119567 | [PG-13] | Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite, Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, Vince Vaughn, Vanessa Lee Chester, Peter Stormare, Harvey Jason, Richard Schiff, Thomas F. Duffy, Joseph Mazzello, Ariana Richards | Horror, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Lost and Delirious | 2001 | Léa Pool | ★★½ | 103 | Sensitive coming-of-age tale about two budding lesbians at a Canadian girls boarding school and the reverberations of their secret relationship. Though it makes an awkward shift into Gothic melodrama in its second half, the film features handsome production values and a magnetic lead performance from Perabo as a jilted lover. | tt0245238 | [R] | Piper Perabo, Jessica Paré, Mischa Barton, Graham Greene, Jackie Burroughs, Mimi Kuzyk | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Lost and Found | 1979 | Melvin Frank | ★★ | 112 | Widowed college prof and British divorcee meet in a French ski resort and quickly cool their romance by marrying. Attempt to recapture the success of the overrated A TOUCH OF CLASS is just more old-fashioned nonsense posing as hip comedy. | tt0079486 | [PG] | George Segal, Glenda Jackson, Maureen Stapleton, Hollis McLaren, John Cunningham, Paul Sorvino, John Candy, Martin Short | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lost in Alaska | 1952 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 76 | Unremarkable slapstick set in 1890s, with A&C off to the wilds to help a friend but doing more hindering. | tt0044851 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mitzi Green, Tom Ewell, Bruce Cabot | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lost in America | 1985 | Albert Brooks | ★★★ | 91 | Two yuppies drop out of the rat race and take to the road ('just like EASY RIDER') in this low-key, often hilarious satire of upwardly mobile types. Written by Brooks and Monica Johnson. And isn't that Albert's voice on the phone as the Mercedes salesman? | tt0089504 | [R] | Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Garry Marshall, Art Frankel, Michael Greene | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lost in La Mancha | 2002 | Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe | ★★★ | 92 | Fascinating documentary case study of a movie production where everything goes wrong, as filmmaker and dreamer Terry Gilliam prepares to shoot his longtime pet project, THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE, with Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp. The director's own drawings, brought to life through animation, give us an idea of what might have been. A unique, close-up study of the many factors— including human folly— that go into making a film. | tt0308514 | [R] | Narrated by Jeff Bridges | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | |
| Lost in Space | 1998 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★ | 122 | In 2058, with the hope of opening a gateway to a new planet for denizens of the overcrowded Earth, a family is launched into space, accompanied by a he-man pilot and the weasely doctor who tried to sabotage the journey. The 1960s TV series is re-created on a lavish scale, but hurt by crudely episodic story, grim tone, and paper-thin characters. Oldman, curiously, underplays the role of Dr. Smith, the inept saboteur. Angela Cartwright, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, and June Lockhart, stars of the original TV series, have cameo roles. Also available in PG version. | tt0120738 | [PG-13] | Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Lacey Chabert, Jack Johnson, Jared Harris, Edward Fox; voice of Dick Tufeld | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Lost in Translation | 2003 | Sofia Coppola | ★★★½ | 105 | Beguiling mood piece about a wry movie star who travels to Tokyo on business, without his family, and forms a friendship with the young wife of a busy American photographer. A wistful, telling, often very funny film about two lonely people, far from home, who find solace in each other's company. Writer-director Coppola captures the poignancy of that unique life experience, the chance meeting, while observing the natural humor of Americans bumbling their way through the Japanese culture. A perfect showcase for Murray, who seems to ad-lib many of his best lines; Johansson comes across equally well. Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay. Francis Ford Coppola coexecutive produced. | tt0335266 | [R] | Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Catherine Lambert | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lost in Yonkers | 1993 | Martha Coolidge | ★★½ | 112 | Struggling widower leaves his two sons with his steely German mother, and his sweet but simple-minded grown-up sister, while he goes off to make a living during WW2. Faithful adaptation of Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize- winning comedy-drama. Simon's script and Coolidge's direction try to make you forget it's a photographed play, and they almost succeed. Worth seeing if only to watch Ruehl and Worth repeat their moving, Tony Award- winning stage performances. | tt0107443 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Mercedes Ruehl, Irene Worth, David Strathairn, Brad Stoll, Mike Damus, Robert Guy Miranda, Jack Laufer, Susan Merson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lost in a Harem | 1944 | Charles Riesner | ★★½ | 89 | Slicker-than-usual A&C (made on infrequent trip to MGM), but strictly routine. Some good scenes here and there with sultan Dumbrille; Maxwell is perfect harem girl. | tt0037027 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell, John Conte, Douglass Dumbrille, Lottie Harrison, Jimmy Dorsey and Orchestra | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lost in the Stars | 1974 | Daniel Mann | ★★★ | 114 | Good American Film Theatre version of the Kurt Weill-Maxwell Anderson musical, based on Alan Paton's CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY (filmed on its own in 1951). Owes much of its power to Peters' portrayal of the South African minister. Filmed in Jamaica, B.W.I., and Hollywood. | tt0071773 | [G] | Brock Peters, Melba Moore, Raymond St. Jacques, Clifton Davis, Paula Kelly |
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| A Lot Like Love | 2005 | Nigel Cole. | ★★½ | 107 | Romantic comedy about how, after a chance airport meeting, two people who are attracted to each other don't get together, for a variety of reasons, over a period of years. The stars are affable enough to keep this afloat, but the story seems one episode too long. | tt0391304 | [PG-13] | Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, Kathryn Hahn, Kal Penn, Ali Larter, Taryn Manning, Gabriel Mann, Jeremy Sisto, Molly Cheek, Amy Aquino, Holmes Osborne. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Lottery Bride | 1930 | Paul L. Stein | ★★½ | 80 | Delightfully creaky musical with Norwegian setting; Jeanette must deny her true love when she becomes lottery bride for his older brother. Impressive sets, forgettable music, enjoyable comic relief from Brown and Pitts. | tt0021094 | Jeanette MacDonald, John Garrick, Joe E. Brown, ZaSu Pitts, Robert Chisholm | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lottery Ticket | 2010 | Erik White | 💣 | 99 | Young man (Bow Wow), growing up in the projects with his grandmother (Devine), has to survive a three-day weekend when his opportunistic neighbors find out he's holding on to a lottery ticket worth $370 million. Tired plot with stereotypical characters is punctuated with scenes of sex and violence; the results waver between being boring and offensive. Tries to be too many things all at once. | tt0979434 | [PG-13] | Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Loretta Devine, Ice Cube, Teairra Mari, Keith David, Terry Crews, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Mike Epps, Charlie Murphy, Bill Bellamy, T-Pain | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Lotus Eaters | 1993 | Paul Shapiro | ★★★ | 101 | Amiably amusing 1960s nostalgia set on an island in Western Canada, where a change of wind (signified by the arrival of a new schoolteacher) blows a gust of drama into the lives of a mildly eccentric school principal, his wife, and their two impressionable daughters. Winner of three Genie Awards including Best Actress for McCarthy and Best Screenplay (Peggy Thomson). | tt0107445 | [PG-13] | Sheila McCarthy, R. H. Thomson, Michele-Barbara Pelletier, Aloka McLean, Tara Frederick, Frances Hyland, Andrea Libman, Gabe Khouth, Paul Soles | Canadian |
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| Louis L'Amour's Crossfire Trail | 2001 | Simon Wincer | Average TV Movie | 96 | Drifter Selleck arrives in Wyoming and stands up to various varmints while attempting to keep a promise to his late friend. Crammed with stock Western characters, including a victimized schoolmarm/damsel in distress and an outwardly respectable but ruthless, power-mad villain, but still fun for genre fans. Selleck coexecutive-produced. | tt0218127 | Tom Selleck, Virginia Madsen, Wilford Brimley, Brad Johnson, Mark Harmon, David O'Hara, Christian Kane, Barry Corbin, Joanna Miles, Ken Pogue, Patrick Kilpatrick, Rex Linn, William Sanderson | Western | NULL | |||
| Louisa | 1950 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 90 | Delightful romantic yarn of Byington seeking to become a December bride, undecided between Coburn and Gwenn; most disarming. Film debut of Piper Laurie. | tt0042687 | Ronald Reagan, Charles Coburn, Ruth Hussey, Edmund Gwenn, Spring Byington, Piper Laurie, Scotty Beckett, Martin Milner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Louisiana Purchase | 1941 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 98 | Brassy Irving Berlin musicomedy, with Hope's comedy very funny, especially famous filibuster scene in Congress. Zorina, Moore and Bordoni re-create their Broadway roles. Opening scene of chorus girls (including Barbara Britton, Margaret Hayes and Jean Wallace) singing lines about characters being fictitious is probably a movie first . . . and last. Best tune: 'It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow.' | tt0033851 | Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, Irene Bordoni, Dona Drake | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Louisiana Story | 1948 | Robert Flaherty | ★★★★ | 77 | Classic, influential documentary set in the Louisiana bayous, with a young boy observing oil drillers at work. Beautifully made; produced by the Standard Oil Company. Music by Virgil Thomson. | tt0040550 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Loulou | 1980 | Maurice Pialat | ★★★½ | 110 | Huppert leaves stable hubby for topsy-turvy life with loutish Depardieu. Two leads have terrific sexual rapport in dynamic star vehicle. | tt0081076 | Isabelle Huppert, Gérard Depardieu, Guy Marchand, Humbert Balsan, Bernard Tronczyk | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lovable Cheat | 1949 | Richard Oswald | ★★ | 75 | Interesting more for cast and credits than actual achievement, this rather odd independent production (based on a Balzac play) centers on the comic antics of Ruggles battling against his creditors. | tt0041603 | Charlie Ruggles, Peggy Ann Garner, Richard Ney, Alan Mowbray, Fritz Feld, Ludwig Donath, Buster Keaton, Curt Bois | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love | 1927 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 82 | Silent version of Anna Karenina in modern setting, as married Garbo falls in love with dashing military guard Gilbert, an affair doomed from start. Lesser entry for famed screen lovers, with Gilbert's eyebrow-raising gestures at their worst. Garbo's 1935 remake (ANNA KARENINA) is much better. MGM actually filmed two endings— one happy, one sad. | tt0018107 | Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, George Fawcett, Emily Fitzroy, Brandon Hurst, Philippe De Lacy | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love & Sex | 2000 | Valerie Breiman | ★★½ | 82 | Romantic comedy in which a magazine writer (Janssen), doing a piece on how to maintain a relationship, recalls her own involvement with a wisecracking, neurotic painter (Favreau). Director-writer Breiman provides some snappy, sitcom-style one-liners, although the results are predictable. David Schwimmer appears uncredited. | tt0234137 | Famke Janssen, Jon Favreau, Noah Emmerich, Cheri Oteri, Ann Magnuson, Josh Hopkins, Robert Knepper, David Steinberg | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Actually | 2003 | Richard Curtis | ★★½ | 135 | It seems as if every Brit from the prime minister to a fading rock star to a widow is falling in love, which helps to explain a mild comedy's grandiose running time. Full of charm and wit but also highly uneven, and the hopscotching stories turn into overkill actually. Highlights include Nighy's original performance as the aging rocker, Thompson's portrayal of a wife betrayed, and funny bits by P.M. Grant. FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, BRIDGET JONES' DIARY, and NOTTING HILL screenwriter Curtis' directorial debut. | tt0314331 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Rowan Atkinson, Andrew Lincoln, Billy Bob Thornton, Shannon Elizabeth, Denise Richards, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Heike Makatsch, Rodrigo Santoro, Lucia Moniz, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page | U.S.-British-French | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| Love Affair | 1932 | Thornton Freeland | ★★ | 68 | Romance between a spoiled heiress and a dedicated aircraft engineer; pretty tired stuff, even with the curiosity value of a clean-cut Bogart as leading man. | tt0023153 | Dorothy Mackaill, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Kennedy, Barbara Leonard, Astrid Allwyn | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Affair | 1939 | Leo McCarey | ★★★½ | 87 | Superior comedy-drama about shipboard romance whose continuation on-shore is interrupted by unforseen circumstances. Dunne and Boyer are a marvelous match. Screenplay by Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart, from story by Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey. Remade by McCarey as AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, and a second time (by Warren Beatty). Beware public-domain copy with entirely new music score. | tt0031593 | Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lee Bowman, Astrid Allwyn, Maurice Moscovich, Joan Brodel (Leslie) | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Affair | 1994 | Glenn Gordon Caron | ★★½ | 108 | Soulless remake of the 1939 weepie (itself remade as AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER), with Beatty as an ex-jock-turned-sportscaster and ladies man who chances to meet Bening on an eventful plane ride. Frustrating film runs hot and cold; high point is the sequence with Hepburn (in her final feature film) as Beatty's feisty aunt. Intrusive songs on the soundtrack are a debit, Conrad Hall's silky cinematography is a plus, but the biggest letdown is the ending, which stops short of a big, old-fashioned sentimental Hollywood finish— just what the movie really needs. Beatty produced and cowrote with Robert Towne. | tt0110391 | [PG-13] | Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Katharine Hepburn, Garry Shandling, Chloe Webb, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Capshaw, Paul Mazursky, Brenda Vaccaro, Glenn Shadix, Barry Miller, Harold Ramis, Elya Baskin, Taylor Dayne, Carey Lowell, Dan Castellaneta, Rosalind Chao, Wendie Jo Sperber, Frank Campanella, Ray Charles | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Among the Millionaires | 1930 | Frank Tuttle. | ★½ | 74 | Fiery Bow's trackside cafe is the center of life for local railroaders, two of whom compete for her attentions. Limp demi-musical shows off Bow's surprisingly good voice, but penny-dreadful script demonstrates all too clearly how her studio allowed her career to languish. | tt0023154 | Clara Bow, Stanley Smith, Stuart Erwin, Mitzi Green, Skeets Gallagher, Charles Sellon, Claude King, Barbara Bennett, Theodor von Eltz. | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Love Among the Ruins | 1975 | George Cukor | Above Average TV Movie | 102 | Grand romantic comedy teaming two acting legends for the first time. Aging actress being sued by a young gigolo for breach of promise is defended by a prominent barrister who had been her long-ago lover. Rich and lustrous with Emmy Awards for its two stars, to director Cukor (his TV movie debut) and to writer James Costigan. Bouquets all around. | tt0073310 | Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Colin Blakely, Joan Sims, Richard Pearson, Leigh Lawson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Love Before Breakfast | 1936 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 70 | Fast-starting comedy slows down to obvious ending, but Lombard (as object of Foster's and Romero's attention) is always worth watching. Preston Sturges worked uncredited on the script. | tt0027908 | Carole Lombard, Preston Foster, Cesar Romero, Janet Beecher, Betty Lawford, Douglas Blackley (Robert Kent) | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Love Bug | 1969 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★½ | 107 | Delightful Disney comedy about a Volkswagen with a mind of its own; subtle it ain't, but the slapstick and stunts are great fun to watch. Followed by three HERBIE sequels and a 1997 made-for-TV movie. | tt0064603 | Dean Jones, Michele Lee, Buddy Hackett, David Tomlinson, Joe Flynn, Benson Fong, Iris Adrian | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Love Child | 1982 | Larry Peerce | ★★ | 96 | Trifling melodrama of prisoner Madigan who has baby by Bridges and fights for the right to motherhood. Plays like an R-rated made-for-TV movie; based on a true story. | tt0084273 | [R] | Amy Madigan, Beau Bridges, Mackenzie Phillips, Albert Salmi, Joanna Merlin, Rhea Perlman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Crazy | 1941 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 99 | One misunderstanding leads to another in this energetic marital farce that loses steam halfway through. Highlighted by Powell's attempts to prove himself insane and Carson's hilarious characterization as Ward Willoughby. | tt0033852 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Gail Patrick, Jack Carson, Florence Bates, Sidney Blackmer, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love Crime | 2010 | Alain Corneau | ★★★½ | 106 | Powerful and vindictive business executive (Scott Thomas) manipulates her protégé (Sagnier) for her own advancement and perverse pleasure, but when she goes too far, the seemingly naïve young woman hatches a diabolical revenge. Superbly acted and incisively written tale (by Corneau and Natalie Carter) of office politics and the ruthless corporate mind-set turns into a twisty suspense thriller that's all the more chilling because of its coolly detached style. Corneau's final film. | tt1459012 | Ludivine Sagnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Mille, Guillaume Marquet, Gérald Laroche, Julien Rochefort, Olivier Rabourdin, Marie Guillard | French | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Love Crimes | 1992 | Lizzie Borden. | 💣 | 85 | Astonishingly inept, confusing thriller with Young (in a lifeless performance) playing an assistant district attorney who becomes involved with Bergin who, posing as a fashion photographer, exploits and rips off unsuspecting women. The director's cut (which is unrated and runs 97m.) is far more coherent. However, the scenario remains obvious and superficial. That version is rated **. | tt0102340 | [R] | Sean Young, Patrick Bergin, Arnetia Walker, James Read, Ron Orbach, Wayne Shorter. | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Love Don't Cost a Thing | 2003 | Troy Beyer | ★★ | 101 | Remake of the similarly forgettable 1987 comedy CAN'T BUY ME LOVE with a change of color. High school nerd (Cannon) hires the most popular girl in class to pretend to be his girlfriend, and undergoes an extreme personality change once he's perceived as being cool by his classmates. Cannon's character quickly becomes a caricature in this low-grade, superficial teen comedy. | tt0337592 | [PG-13] | Nick Cannon, Christina Milian, Kenan Thompson, Kal Penn, Steve Harvey, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Dante Basco | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Eternal | 1943 | Jean Delannoy. | ★★★ | 100 | Modern-dress retelling of the Welsh legend of Tristan and Isolde, in which a man under the spell of a love potion cannot help but fall for his uncle's wife. Screenplay by Jean Cocteau delineates the tragic consequences of honor and is characteristically full of his poetry from a higher plane. Released in U.S. in 1948. Aka THE ETERNAL RETURN. | tt0036566 | Jean Marais, Madeleine Sologne, Jean Murat, Piéral, Alexandre Rignault, Junie Astor, Roland Toutain, Jeanne Marken, Jean d'Yd, Yvonne de Bray. | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Field | 1992 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★½ | 104 | Small, sensitive film of Dallas beautician (a platinum-blond Pfeiffer) who is enthralled by President and Mrs. Kennedy— and is like an excited schoolgirl at the thought of their fateful 1963 visit to her hometown. (Love Field is the name of Dallas' airport.) Really a road movie, with Pfeiffer deserting her husband and traveling halfway across the country with the unlikely duo of black father and daughter (Haysbert and McFadden). Rich performances (especially Pfeiffer's), rural flavor, and an unflinching look at race relations almost compensate for the sometimes overly contrived plot. | tt0104765 | [PG-13] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert, Stephanie McFadden, Brian Kerwin, Louise Latham, Peggy Rea, Mark Miller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Finds Andy Hardy | 1938 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 90 | One of the best of the series finds young Andrew frantically trying to juggle two girlfriends at the same time. Classy support by ingenues Garland and Turner. Judy sings three songs, including 'Meet the Beat of My Heart.' | tt0030386 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Betsy Ross Clark, Lana Turner, Gene Reynolds | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Love Flower | 1920 | D. W. Griffith. | ★★½ | 70 | After he has murdered his wife's lover, a man escapes to a West Indian isle and finds forgiveness in his daughter's adoration. Then a detective catches up with him. Griffith's best collaboration with Dempster still falls overboard, but has glorious cinematography (by Paul H. Allen and G. W. Bitzer), shimmering underwater scenes, and contributes much to the myth of the sultry tropics. | tt0011415 | Carol Dempster, Richard Barthelmess, George McQuarrie, Anders Randolf, Florence Short, Crauford Kent. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Love God? | 1969 | Nat Hiken | ★★ | 101 | Comedy for those who are amused by Knotts playing Hugh Hefner type; film is final work of Nat Hiken, who created Sergeant Bilko in better days. | tt0064606 | [M] | Don Knotts, Anne Francis, Edmond O'Brien, James Gregory, Maureen Arthur, Maggie Peterson, Jesslyn Fax | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Love Goddesses | 1965 | Saul J. Turell, Graeme Ferguson | ★★★ | 87 | Compiled by Saul J. Turell and Graeme Ferguson. Compilation covers a lot of ground, featuring many major female stars from silent days to the present. Not always the ideal clips, but well done, with many welcome classic scenes. Some color sequences. Revised for 1972 theatrical reissue. | tt0059402 | Marilyn Monroe, Mae West, Jean Harlow, Theda Bara, Rita Hayworth, Claudette Colbert, Dorothy Lamour | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Love Guru | 2008 | Marco Schnabel | ★★ | 86 | Myers hams it up as an American-born self-help guru raised in India, who is hired by the fetching owner (Alba) of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team to help a struggling star player regain his confidence. Myers also cowrote this silly little farce that has a few laughs but is mostly filled with juvenile double entendres and recycled Austin Powers shtick. | tt0811138 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, Ben Kingsley, Manu Narayan, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan | Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Happens | 2009 | Brandon Camp | ★★ | 109 | Eckhart plays a long-grieving widower who can't seem to marshal his own skills as a self-help guru to solve his personal problems. Into his life comes unlucky-in-love florist Aniston, who slowly warms to the idea of a new relationship with guess who. Thoroughly flat, sometimes melodramatic romantic drama unfortunately lacks much drama or romance. Eckhart is fine, while Aniston is shuffled off to the sidelines. | tt0899106 | [PG-13] | Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer, John Carroll Lynch, Frances Conroy, Martin Sheen, Joe Anderson, Sasha Alexander | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Happy | 1949 | David Miller | ★★½ | 91 | No NIGHT AT THE OPERA, but even diluted Marx Brothers are better than none. Putting on a musical forms background for Harpo's antics, with Chico in support, Groucho in a few unrelated scenes. Marilyn Monroe has a brief bit. Among the writers were Ben Hecht and Frank Tashlin. | tt0041604 | Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Groucho Marx, Ilona Massey, Vera-Ellen, Marion Hutton, Raymond Burr, Eric Blore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love Has Many Faces | 1965 | Alexander Singer | ★★½ | 105 | Timid attempt at lurid soaper; playgirl Turner's costume changes are the highlights. O'Brian and Robertson are gigolos. Filmed in Acapulco. | tt0059403 | Lana Turner, Cliff Robertson, Hugh O'Brian, Ruth Roman, Stefanie Powers, Virginia Grey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Love Hurts | 1990 | Bud Yorkin | ★★ | 106 | Unhappily divorced Daniels goes home for his sister's wedding, only to find his ex-wife and their kids staying with his folks. Bittersweet comedy-drama has some good moments, but not enough. Mahoney and Leachman's performances as Daniels' parents border uncomfortably on caricature. | tt0102341 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Judith Ivey, Cynthia Sikes, John Mahoney, Cloris Leachman, Amy Wright, Mary Griffin, Brady Quaid | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love Hurts | 2009 | Barra Grant | ★½ | 95 | Grant and Moss once were young and in love. Now they are married, middle-aged, and miserable. She's frustrated by his patronizing demeanor; he acts like a blithering idiot when she leaves him. Astonishingly bad romantic comedy. A subplot involving their teenage son's infatuation with a ballet dancer seems to be taken from another film, and the touchy-feely finale is highly improbable. | tt1213825 | [PG-13] | Richard E. Grant, Carrie-Anne Moss, Johnny Pacar, Jenna Elfman, Janeane Garofalo, Camryn Manheim, Caroline Aaron, Jeffrey Nordling, Rita Rudner, Olga Fonda | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love Is All There Is | 1996 | Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna | ★½ | 90 | Taylor and Bologna scripted this loud, sentimental, silly romantic comedy of two rival Italian catering families whose children fall in love. This modern-day Romeo and Juliet makeover is set in City Island, The Bronx, where the scenery upstages the largely wasted cast. Filmed in 1994. | tt0116928 | [R] | Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, Lainie Kazan, Paul Sorvino, Barbara Carrera, Angelina Jolie, Nathaniel Marston, William Hickey, Abe Vigoda, Connie Stevens, Dick Van Patten | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love Is Better Than Ever | 1952 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 81 | Forgettable froth involving talent agent Parks and dance teacher Taylor. Mild MGM musical, but Liz looks terrific. Gene Kelly has an unbilled cameo. | tt0044852 | Elizabeth Taylor, Larry Parks, Josephine Hutchinson, Tom Tully, Ann Doran, Elinor Donahue, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Is Forever | Passion and Valor | 1983 | Hall Bartlett | Average TV Movie | 150 | Controversial dramatization of journalist John Everingham's heralded rescue of his Laotian girlfriend following Communist takeover of her country. Behind-the-scenes details of this film's production are more interesting than the film itself, which was aimed for theatrical release as COMEBACK. Produced by Landon, who also reportedly took a hand in directing. Moira Chen is better known as softcore pornography actress Laura Gemser. Revamped and reedited for later showing at 100m. Video title: PASSION AND VALOR. | tt0085870 | Michael Landon, Priscilla Presley, Moira Chen, Jurgen Prochnow, Edward Woodward | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Is News | 1937 | Tay Garnett | ★★ | 78 | Heiress Young decides to get even with relentless reporter Power by announcing she's going to marry him— so he'll see what it's like to be in the spotlight for a change. Comedy misfire was remade more successfully as THAT WONDERFUL URGE, with Power repeating his starring role. | tt0029165 | Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Don Ameche, Slim Summerville, George Sanders, Jane Darwell, Stepin Fetchit, Pauline Moore, Elisha Cook/Jr., Dudley Digges, Walter Catlett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love Is a Ball | 1963 | David Swift | ★★½ | 111 | Forced froth trying hard to be chic; gold-digging and romance on the Riviera. | tt0057262 | Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Charles Boyer, Ricardo Montalban, Telly Savalas | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love Is a Headache | 1938 | Richard Thorpe. | ★★ | 68 | Fading Broadway diva adopts a pair of bratty orphans as a publicity stunt, which leads to a fake kidnapping plot and the usual amorous complications. Frantic romantic trifle is good for a few chuckles but strains for screwball zaniness. | tt0030387 | Gladys George, Franchot Tone, Ted Healy, Mickey Rooney, Frank Jenks, Ralph Morgan, Virginia Weidler, Jessie Ralph, Fay Holden. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Is a Many Splendored Thing | 1955 | Henry King | ★★★ | 102 | Well-mounted soaper set in Hong Kong at time of Korean War. Eurasian doctor Jones falls in love with war correspondent Holden. Effective telling of true story, beautifully executed, with Oscar-winning costumes (Charles LeMaire), scoring (Alfred Newman), and title song (Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster). | tt0048316 | William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Murray Matheson, Torin Thatcher, Jorja Curtright, Virginia Gregg, Isobel Elsom, Richard Loo, Soo Yong, Philip Ahn, James Hong, Keye Luke | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Is a Racket | 1932 | William Wellman | ★★ | 72 | Attractive cast in curiously unappealing story of a Broadway columnist and his private intrigues. Tracy, who portrayed Winchell types so often, here plays the columnist's legman. | tt0023157 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee, Lee Tracy, Lyle Talbot, André Luguet, Warren Hymer | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Is on the Air | 1937 | Nick Grinde | ★★ | 61 | Reagan's first film casts him as a brash headline-making radio personality who goes after corrupt city officials— but is sidetracked by his cautious boss. Passable B picture with meaningless title; one of several remakes of Paul Muni's HI, NELLIE. | tt0029166 | Ronald Reagan, June Travis, Eddie Acuff, Ben Welden, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards | Drama, Crime, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Love Laughs at Andy Hardy | 1946 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★½ | 94 | Andy (played by a 26-year-old Rooney) returns to college after serving in WW2 to find that his sweetheart is engaged to someone else. The naive Hardy sentimentality was out of tune with the postwar mood and the series came to a close after this (although a reunion film was made 12 years later). | tt0038704 | Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, Sara Haden, Bonita Granville, Fay Holden, Lina Romay, Dorothy Ford, Addison Richards, Hal Hackett | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Love Letter | 1999 | Peter Ho-sun Chan | ★★ | 88 | Low-key romantic comedy of New England seaside hamlet; bookstore owner/single mom Capshaw finds a love letter that inadvertently gets passed around town. Fun at first, but slows to a crawl at the midway point. Capshaw coproduced; her daughters Jessica Capshaw and Sasha Spielberg briefly appear. Based on the novel by Cathleen Schine. Jack Black appears unbilled. | tt0166252 | [PG-13] | Kate Capshaw, Blythe Danner, Ellen DeGeneres, Geraldine McEwan, Julianne Nicholson, Tom Everett Scott, Tom Selleck, Gloria Stuart | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Letters | 1945 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 101 | Artificial soaper of amnesiac Jones cured by Cotten's love; only real asset is Victor Young's lovely title song. Ayn Rand adapted Chris Massie's book, Pity My Simplicity. | tt0037885 | Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ann Richards, Anita Louise, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Denny | Drama, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Letters | 1983 | Amy Holden Jones | ★★★ | 98 | Moving drama about a young single woman (nicely played by Curtis) who discovers deceased mother's correspondence with lover, then takes up with a married man of her own (Keach). Originally titled MY LOVE LETTERS. Aka PASSION PLAY. | tt0143459 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, James Keach, Amy Madigan, Bud Cort, Matt Clark, Bonnie Bartlett, Sally Kirkland | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Love Light | 1921 | Frances Marion. | ★★ | 89 | Ambitious but disappointing Pickford vehicle casts Mary as a humble young Italian woman whose boyfriend and brothers head off to war. She becomes a lighthouse keeper, and then a mysterious stranger washes ashore. Pickford is excellent, but the film is far too melodramatic. One of screenwriter Marion's rare directorial efforts; she also scripted. | tt0012408 | Mary Pickford, Evelyn Dumo, Raymond Bloomer, Fred Thomson, Albert Prisco, Georges Rigas (George Regas), Edward (Eddie) Phillips. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Love Liza | 2002 | Todd Louiso | ★★½ | 90 | Offbeat story of a man desperately trying to cope with an unthinkable tragedy— the suicide of his wife, who's left behind a letter he can't bear to read. Unlike mainstream movies, this one doesn't try to solve its character's problems in a neat and tidy way, which is admirable but also off-putting at times. Interesting and surprising from start to finish. Written by the star's brother, playwright Gordy Hoffman. | tt0282698 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Sarah Koskoff, Stephen Tobolowsky, Erika Alexander | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Love Lottery | 1954 | Charles Crichton | ★★ | 89 | Niven is movie star involved in international lottery; the winner gets him! Vernon is girl he really loves. Potential satire never comes off. Humphrey Bogart has guest bit in finale. | tt0046013 | David Niven, Peggy Cummins, Anne Vernon, Herbert Lom, Hugh McDermott | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Love Machine | 1971 | Jack Haley/ Jr | ★½ | 108 | Ridiculous screen version of Jacqueline Susann's best-seller about Robin Stone (Law), ruthless TV executive who uses others for self-gain. | tt0067359 | [R] | John Phillip Law, Dyan Cannon, Robert Ryan, Jackie Cooper, David Hemmings, Shecky Greene, Maureen Arthur | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Me Forever | 1935 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★½ | 90 | Entertaining musical of down-and-out singer who miraculously rises to top and becomes star. Good cast helped make Moore become star in real life too. | tt0026654 | Grace Moore, Leo Carrillo, Robert Allen, Spring Byington, Douglass Dumbrille | Musical | NULL | |||
| Love Me Tender | 1956 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 89 | Debra Paget, Elvis Presley, Robert Middleton, William Campbell, Neville Brand, Mildred Dunnock. Presley's film debut is Civil War yarn of conflicting politics among sons in a Southern family, and their mutual love for Paget. Elvis' singing ('Let Me,' 'We're Gonna Move (to a Better Home),' 'Poor Boy,' and the title tune) highlights so-so Western. Elvis' swivel hips might not be authentic period detail! | tt0049452 | Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Elvis Presley, Robert Middleton, William Campbell, Neville Brand, Mildred Dunnock | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Love Me Tonight | 1932 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★★ | 96 | One of the best musicals ever made; Chevalier plays a tailor who falls in love with a princess (MacDonald). Along the way they get to sing Rodgers and Hart's 'Lover,' 'Mimi,' 'Isn't It Romantic?,' among others. Mamoulian's ingenious ideas, and mobile camera, keep this fresh and alive. Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein, Waldemar Young, and George Marion, Jr., from a play by Leopold Marchand and Paul Armont. Originally released at 104m. | tt0023158 | Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charlie Ruggles, Myrna Loy, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Butterworth, Robert Greig | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Love Me if You Dare | 2003 | Yann Samuell | ★★ | 94 | Alternately whimsical and cruel romantic comedy chronicling the twisted, hypnotic relationship of a boy and girl through adulthood. As children they begin daring each other to commit silly pranks in defiance of authority; years later the challenges become increasingly dangerous, both physically and psychologically. Feature directing debut from animator Samuell employs many gimmicks in this complex tale of love, but it eventually becomes tiresome. | tt0364517 | [R] | Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard, Thibault Verhaeghe, Joséphine Lebas-Joly, Gérard Watkins, Gilles Lellouc | French-Belgian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Love Me or Leave Me | 1955 | Charles Vidor | ★★★½ | 122 | Engrossing musical bio (from an Oscar-winning story by Daniel Fuchs) of singer Ruth Etting, whose life and career were dominated by a gangster called the Gimp. Day and Cagney give strong performances. Score includes Doris' hit 'I'll Never Stop Loving You,' plus oldies like 'Ten Cents a Dance,' 'Shaking the Blues Away.' | tt0048317 | Doris Day, James Cagney, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Keith, Tom Tully | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love N' Dancing | 2009 | Robert Iscove | ★½ | 95 | Grade-school teacher Smart hires two-time U.S. Open Swing Dance champion Malloy to give her and her fiancé dance lessons for their impending wedding. Big on dance, short on plot. Advanced dance skills of the champion West Coast swingers used throughout the film merely underscore the weak skills of the leads, especially Malloy, who's supposed to be one of the best. (He also wrote the film.) | tt1028581 | [PG-13] | Amy Smart, Tom Malloy, Billy Zane, Nicola Royston, Caroline Rhea, Rachel Dratch, Betty White, Leila Arcieri, Gregory Harrison, Catherine Mary Stewart | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Nest | 1951 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 84 | Cheerful but bland comedy about an Army returnee whose wife has bought a broken-down brownstone apartment, and whose tenants become part of their lives. Interesting only for early looks at Monroe and future TV host Paar. | tt0043759 | June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Paar, Leatrice Joy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Love Parade | 1929 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 110 | Initial teaming of Chevalier and MacDonald is enjoyable operetta with chic Lubitsch touch, about love among the royalty of Sylvania. Acrobatic comedian Lane and personality performer Roth make wonderful second leads. Virginia Bruce is one of Jeanette's ladies-in-waiting. 'Dream Lover' is film's best song. Score by Victor Schertzinger (later a film director himself) and Clifford Grey. MacDonald's film debut. | tt0020112 | Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lillian Roth, Lionel Belmore, Lupino Lane, Ben Turpin | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love Potion No. 9 | 1992 | Dale Launer | ★★ | 96 | Sluggish, often silly comedy in which two timid people, biochemist Donovan and animal psychologist Bullock, become human guinea pigs for a love potion. Launer also produced and scripted. | tt0102343 | [PG-13] | Tate Donovan, Sandra Bullock, Mary Mara, Dale Midkiff, Hillary Bailey Smith, Dylan Baker, Anne Bancroft | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Ranch | 2010 | Taylor Hackford | ★★ | 118 | In the 1970s, husband and wife Pesci and Mirren run the first legal brothel in Nevada, although keeping the law and protestors at bay is a full-time job. Pesci is also a serial womanizer, but when he decides to back a Spanish prizefighter, the last thing he expects is that his wife will fall in love with him. Pesci’s character is so thoroughly unlikable that he throws this already ragtag film way off-kilter, in spite of a typically solid performance by Mirren and a credible one by Peris-Mencheta. Inspired by real people, but not inspired enough. | tt1125929 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Gina Gershon, Bai Ling, Taryn Manning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Elise Neal, Emily Rios, Gil Birmingham, Raoul Trujillo, Bryan Cranston, Rick Gomez, M. C. Gainey, Melora Walters | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Love Serenade | 1996 | Shirley Barrett | ★★½ | 101 | Oddball black comedy about a desperate, clingy beautician (Frith) and her reclusive younger sister (Otto) vying for the affections of a self-centered hipster deejay (Shevtsov)— who seems to be the only eligible man in town. Often poignant and deadpan funny, but the ending is unsatisfying. Worth seeing for the performances, especially Otto, a compendium of hilariously paranoid body tics. Film takes its title from a Barry White song, one of many featured on the groovy '70s soundtrack. Written by the director. | tt0116930 | [R] | Miranda Otto, Rebecca Frith, George Shevtsov, John Alansu, Jessica Napier | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Love Slaves of the Amazons | 1957 | Curt Siodmak. | ★★ | 81 | Programmer about a city of women and their male captives offers no more surprises than the title. Shot in Brazil. | tt0050656 | Don Taylor, Eduardo Ciannelli, Gianna Segale, Harvey Chalk. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Love Song for Bobby Long | 2004 | Shainee Gabel. | ★★ | 119 | Upon the death of her mother, from whom she was estranged, a young woman returns to her New Orleans home, which is now occupied by two of her mother's friends: a boozy Southern character, once an admired professor of English literature, and his emotionally paralyzed protégé. Picaresque, richly imbued with Louisiana flavor, but overlong and unconvincing. Feature debut for writer-director Gabel, inspired by Ronald Everett Capps' novel Off Magazine Street. | tt0369672 | [R] | John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger, Dane Rhodes, David Jensen. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Songs | 1986 | Elie Chouraqui | ★★ | 107 | Lightweight, predictable soap opera about the loves and ambitions of rock singers (Anconina, Lambert), focusing mostly on the latter's relationship with an older woman (Deneuve). Attempts to be touching and bittersweet but doesn't ring true. | tt0087885 | Catherine Deneuve, Richard Anconina, Christopher Lambert, Jacques Perrin, Nick Mancuso, Dayle Haddon, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Canadian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Songs | 2007 | Christophe Honoré | ★★★ | 100 | Ambitious, generally winning (and very French) romantic musical in which Garrel and Sagnier commence—he wholeheartedly, she reluctantly—a ménage à trois with Hesme. Then tragedy strikes. Bold attempt to explore the way people are drawn to each other, how they deal with their feelings, and the curveballs that life tosses at them. Stylistically, Honoré pays homage to the French New Wave; musical interludes are reminiscent of Demy’s THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. | tt0996605 | Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni, Clotilde Hesme, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Brigitte Roüan, Jean-Marie Winling, Yannick Renier | French | Musical, Drama | NULL | ||
| Love Stinks | 1999 | Jeff Franklin | ★½ | 93 | Love is not the only thing that stinks in this barely funny (and mean-spirited) tale of a television comedy writer (Stewart) who becomes romantically involved with a sociopathic beauty-from-hell (Wilson). Plays like a one-note, R-rated TV sitcom episode. | tt0188863 | [R] | French Stewart, Bridgette Wilson, Bill Bellamy, Tyra Banks, Steve Hytner, Jason Bateman, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Colleen Camp | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love Story | 1970 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 99 | Just what it says: simple, modern boy-meets-girl story set against New England college backdrop, tinged with tragedy of girl's sudden illness. Can't hold a candle to older Hollywood schmaltz, but on its own terms, pretty good (and a box-office smash). Screenplay by Erich Segal, who also wrote the bestselling novel. Francis Lai won an Oscar for his score. Followed by OLIVER'S STORY. | tt0066011 | [PG] | Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, Ray Milland, John Marley, Katherine Balfour, Russell Nype, Tom (Tommy) Lee Jones | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love Streams | 1984 | John Cassavetes | ★★ | 141 | Typical Cassavetes fodder about a brother and sister with a strong emotional bond: for her, love never ends; and for him, love is an abstract undone by the harsh realities of life. Cassavetes aficionados will probably like it; for others, only marginally bearable. Based on a play by Ted Allan, who cowrote screenplay with Cassavetes. | tt0087644 | [PG-13] | Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Diahnne Abbott, Risa Martha Blewitt, Seymour Cassel, Margaret Abbott | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love That Brute | 1950 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 85 | Douglas is well cast as a loud-talking, good-natured prohibition racketeer with a yen for innocent Peters. Romero, who's the heavy here, had the lead in TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME, of which this is a remake. | tt0042688 | Paul Douglas, Jean Peters, Cesar Romero, Joan Davis, Arthur Treacher, Keenan Wynn, Peter Price, Jay C. Flippen | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Love Thy Neighbor | 1940 | Mark Sandrich | ★★ | 82 | Contrived attempt to capitalize on Benny-Allen radio feud. Martin still good, though, and Rochester has some sprightly scenes, but disappointment for fans of both Benny and Allen. | tt0032730 | Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Mary Martin, Verree Teasdale, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Virginia Dale, Theresa Harris | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Love Trap | 1929 | William Wyler. | ★★½ | 70 | Pleasant if unremarkable silent-talkie hybrid has former dancer La Plante marrying well, only to be recognized by her new husband's uncle from a long-ago wild party. Early Wyler effort is mainly a vehicle for its likable star, La Plante. | tt0020114 | Laura La Plante, Neil Hamilton, Robert Ellis, Rita La Roy, Jocelyn Lee, Norman Trevor. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love Under Fire | 1937 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 75 | Romance and adventure as detective Ameche has to arrest alleged thief Young in Madrid amid Spanish Civil War. Disjointed but enjoyable. | tt0029169 | Loretta Young, Don Ameche, Frances Drake, Walter Catlett, Sig Ruman, John Carradine, Holmes Herbert | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Love Walked In | 1998 | Juan José Campanella | ★★ | 90 | Routine, low-rent film noir about a sour nightclub pianist who agrees to use his beautiful girlfriend as bait to entrap a wealthy admirer. Object: a big cash payoff. Adequate but uninspired time filler. | tt0118727 | [R] | Denis Leary, Terence Stamp, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Danny Nucci, Moira Kelly, Michael Badalucco, Marj Dusay | U.S.-Argentinian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Love With the Proper Stranger | 1963 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 100 | Nifty, cynical romance tale of working girl Wood and trumpet player McQueen. Much N.Y.C. on-location filming, nice support from Adams. Written by Arnold Schulman. Good bit: the title tune. | tt0057263 | Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen, Edie Adams, Herschel Bernardi, Tom Bosley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Love Your Mama | 1993 | Ruby Oliver | ★★ | 92 | Low-budget, semi-autobiographical melodrama about a mother in a Southside Chicago ghetto whose tribulations include an unfaithful, alcoholic husband, a pregnant teenage daughter, and two sons whose lives seem to be headed nowhere. Debuting writer-director Oliver must be commended for surmounting all obstacles to get her vision on the screen; in point of fact, her saga of getting the movie made is more inspiring than the film itself. | tt0102344 | [PG-13] | Carol E. Hall, Audrey Morgan, Andre Robinson, Earnest Rayford III, Kearo Johnson, Jacqueline Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love and Anarchy | 1973 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★ | 108 | Italian bumpkin Giannini tries to assassinate Mussolini in 1932, falls for a prostitute in the brothel serving as his base of operation. Uneven but stylish drama helped establish Wertmuller's reputation in the U.S. | tt0070061 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Lina Polito, Eros Pagni, Pina Cel, Elena Fiore | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Love and Basketball | 2000 | Gina Prince-Bythewood | ★★★ | 124 | A most agreeable hybrid of love story and coming-of-age saga. Lathan plays a precocious, talented basketball player, Epps the cocky son of an NBA professional; their relationship goes through many phases from the time they're 11 years old to young adulthood, as the story breaks down into four 'quarters.' A crowd-pleaser from start to finish, if a little long; only the final resolution seems contrived. Feature debut for writer-director Prince-Bythewood. | tt0199725 | [R] | Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Debbi Morgan, Harry J. Lennix, Kyla Pratt, Glenndon Chatman | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love and Bullets | 1979 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★ | 103 | Bronson is supposed to nab gangster's moll Ireland for the FBI, but falls in love with her during his pursuit in Switzerland. Routine action yarn . . . for Bronson fans only. | tt0079488 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Rod Steiger, Jill Ireland, Strother Martin, Bradford Dillman, Henry Silva, Michael V. Gazzo | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Love and Death | 1975 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 82 | One of Woody's most pretentious films won applause for its spoofs of Russian literature and foreign films, but this tale of a devout coward in the Napoleonic wars is more like a remake of Bob Hope's MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE. Funny but uneven, with music by Prokofiev. | tt0073312 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Harold Gould, Alfred Lutter, Olga GeorgesPicot, Zvee Scooler | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Love and Death on Long Island | 1997 | Richard Kwietniowski | ★★★½ | 93 | Quiet gem about an eccentric, reclusive British writer who stumbles into the wrong movie theater and, while watching HOT PANTS COLLEGE II, becomes intrigued, and then obsessed, with one of its cast members (Priestley). Before long, he flies to Long Island, N.Y., in the hope of somehow consummating his fantasy relationship with the actor. A marvel of nuance and quiet observation, with Hurt simply perfect in the lead; impressive feature directing debut for Kwietniowski, who also scripted (from Gilbert Adair's novel). | tt0119574 | [PG-13] | John Hurt, Jason Priestley, Fiona Loewi, Sheila Hancock, Maury Chaykin, Gawn Granger, Elizabeth Quinn | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Love and Fear | 1988 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★★ | 114 |
Involving if occasionally melodramatic account of the lives and loves of a trio of sisters: the oldest (Ardant) is an intellectual and all too aware of passing time and advancing age; the middle one (Scacchi) has no professional identity and lives by her emotions; the youngest (Golino) is a passionate, idealistic premed student. Crammed with ideas and observations about how life is in constant flux; loosely based on Chekhov's Three Sisters.|
tt0095839
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Fanny Ardant, Greta Scacchi, Valeria Golino, Peter Simonischek, Sergio Castellito, Agnes Sorel, Paolo Hendel
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Italian-German-French
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Drama, Romance
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NULL
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| Love and Hisses | 1937 | Sidney Lanfield. | ★★½ | 82 | Bandleader Bernie concocts a sneaky strategy to get his songbird (Simon) written up in the papers. Lahr and Davis' solid supporting turns are better than this aptly titled musical. Gordon-Revel score includes 'Broadway's Gone Hawaiian' and the reflexive 'I Want to Be in Winchell's Column.' Scott group performs its classic 'Power House. | tt0029170 | Walter Winchell, Ben Bernie and His Orchestra, Simone Simon, Bert Lahr, Joan Davis, Dick Baldwin, Ruth Terry, Douglas Fowley, The Peters Sisters, The Brewster Twins, Raymond Scott Quintet. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love and Human Remains | 1993 | Denys Arcand | ★★★ | 100 | Arcand's first English-language film is a provocative portrait of confused, restless urban singles, focusing on a pair of ex-lovers who are still roommates: Gibson, a gay, 30-ish former teen TV star who now works as a waiter, and Marshall, who's straight and desperate for tenderness. Meanwhile, there's a maniac on the loose murdering unsuspecting women! An astute look at what it means to fall in love in the era of AIDS, ambiguous sexuality, and pervasive violence. Scripted by Brad Fraser, based on his play. | tt0107447 | Thomas Gibson, Ruth Marshall, Cameron Bancroft, Mia Kirshner, Joanne Vannicola, Matthew Ferguson, Rick Roberts | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love and Kisses | 1965 | Ozzie Nelson | ★★½ | 87 | Harmless fare. Rick gets married, disrupting his family's life. | tt0059408 | Ricky Nelson, Kristin Nelson, Jack Kelly, Jerry Van Dyke, Pert Kelton, Madelyn Hines | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love and Larceny | 1963 | Dino Risi | ★★½ | 94 | Saucy comedy of exuberant con-man Gassman making no pretense about his carefree life and pleasures. | tt0054068 | Vittorio Gassman, Anna Maria Ferrero, Dorian Gray, Peppino De Filippo | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love and Learn | 1947 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 83 | Overdone idea of songwriters Carson and Hutton waiting for their big break; young girl comes to their aid, but she doesn't save film. | tt0039585 | Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Martha Vickers, Janis Paige, Otto Kruger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Love and Money | 1982 | James Toback | ★★ | 90 | Convoluted drama about Sharkey's entanglement in international scheme plotted by billionaire businessman Kinski; has its bright spots, but disappoints nonetheless because director Toback distances himself from his material. Sex scenes with Sharkey and Muti were toned down before film's release. Of interest mainly for presence of legendary director Vidor as Sharkey's senile grandfather. Completed in 1980. | tt0084274 | [R] | Ray Sharkey, Ornella Muti, Klaus Kinski, Armand Assante, King Vidor, Susan Heldfond, William Prince | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love and Other Catastrophes | 1996 | Emma-Kate Croghan | ★★½ | 76 | Agreeable comedy about the various crises, crushes and romances among a group of twentysomething Melbourne University students who are male and female, straight and gay. An amusing look at a point in young adulthood in which switching one's major is a pivotal life decision; also refreshing in its depiction of the easy mixing and socializing between characters with different sexual preferences. A promising debut for 23-year-old director/coscripter Croghan. | tt0116931 | [R] | Frances O'Connor, Alice Garner, Radha Mitchell, Matt Day, Matthew Dyktynski | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Love and Other Drugs | 2010 | Edward Zwick | ★★★ | 112 | Gyllenhaal comes from a family of achievers but is something of a screwup, until he takes a job as a pharmaceutical salesman and finds he has what it takes, especially when he starts breaking rules. He pursues a beautiful woman he meets on his rounds but finds her to be his biggest challenge yet: she loves having sex but doesn’t want a relationship, for reasons she won’t reveal (at first). Sexy, adult romantic drama is unusually (and refreshingly) frank for a Hollywood movie, and its two stars hold nothing back. Loosely based on Jamie Reidy’s book, Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. | tt0758752 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, Gabriel Macht, Judy Greer, George Segal, Jill Clayburgh, Kate Jennings Grant, Katheryn Winnick, Kimberly Scott | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love and Pain (and the Whole Damn Thing) | 1972 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★ | 110 | Charming story of two introverts who miraculously and humorously find each other, fall in love while touring Spain; written by Alvin Sargent. | tt0068850 | [PG] | Maggie Smith, Timothy Bottoms | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love and a .45 | 1994 | C. M. Talkington | ★★½ | 101 | Derivative (although not uninteresting) young-lovers-on-the-lam melodrama, about a white-trash couple who become criminals and outlaws. Features the same over-the-top comic-book violence that made RESERVOIR DOGS an instant cult favorite. | tt0110395 | [R] | Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, Rory Cochrane, Jeffrey Combs, Jace Alexander, Michael Bowen, Ann Wedgeworth, Peter Fonda | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Love and the Frenchwoman | 1961 | Jean Delannoy, Michel Boisrond, René Clair, Christian-Jaque, JeanPaul Lechannois | ★★★ | 143 | Savory account of the seven ages of love in a woman's life, sensitively acted. | tt0053833 | Martine Lambert, Claude Rich, Dany Robin, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Annie Girardot, Martine Carol | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love and the Midnight Auto Supply | 1978 | James Polakof | ★½ | 93 | Yahoo action-comedy has ringleader of stolen auto-parts gang turning Robin Hood to help farm workers combat corrupt politicians. Retitled MIDNIGHT AUTO SUPPLY. | tt0077872 | [PG] | Michael Parks, Linda Cristal, Scott Jacoby, Colleen Camp, John Ireland, Rory Calhoun, Rod Cameron | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love at First Bite | 1979 | Stan Dragoti | ★★★ | 96 | Silly but likable comedy about Count Dracula's adventures in New York City, and love affair with fashion model St. James. Hamilton's comic performance is bloody good. Written by Robert Kaufman. | tt0079489 | [PG] | George Hamilton, Susan St. James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Barry Gordon, Ronnie Schell, Eric Laneuville | Horror, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love at First Sight | Love Is Blind | 1974 | Rex Bromfield | 💣 | 85 | Excruciatingly dumb comedy with Aykroyd (pre-Saturday Night Live, and in his first starring role) cast as a young man who's blind, and in love with McDonald. Very predictable, and very unfunny. Aka LOVE IS BLIND and AT FIRST SIGHT. | tt0071777 | Mary Ann McDonald, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Mallett, George Murray, Barry Morse, Mignon Elkins, Les Carlson | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Love at Large | 1990 | Alan Rudolph | ★★ | 97 | A challenge to Rudolph cultists everywhere, this coy mess involves rival private detectives (male and female) who keep tripping over each other while following a case that's already plagued by problems of mistaken identity. Made watchable by the director's typically beguiling use of color and decor, plus his penchant for offbeat casting. Rocker Neil Young has a straight part (uh . . . so to speak). | tt0100065 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Anne Archer, Elizabeth Perkins, Kate Capshaw, Annette O'Toole, Ted Levine, Ann Magnuson, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ruby Dee, Barry Miller, Neil Young | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Love at Stake | 1987 | John Moffitt | ★★½ | 83 | Wacky, overlooked comedy spoofs the Salem witch trials in the irreverent Mel Brooks tradition (producer Michael Gruskoff coproduced several Brooks pictures). Ingenues Cassidy and Preston (who plays baker Sarah Lee) are appealing, but the show is stolen by Carrera as a very sexy witch and Pankin and Thomas as corrupt officials. | tt0093443 | [R] | Patrick Cassidy, Kelly Preston, Bud Cort, Barbara Carrera, Stuart Pankin, Dave Thomas, Georgia Brown, Annie Golden | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Love at Twenty | 1962 | François Truffaut, Renzo Rossellini, Shintaro Ishihara, Marcel Ophüls, Andrzej Wajda | ★★½ | 113 | Quintet of middling stories produced in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland; variations on theme of love among younger generation. Truffaut's ANTOINE ET COLETTE is a sequel to THE 400 BLOWS (the first of his Antoine Doinel films). Original French running time: 123m. | tt0055747 | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Zbigniew Cybulski, Nami Tamura, Marie-France Pisier, Barbara Lass | International | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love at the Top | The French Way Is | 1974 | Michel Deville | ★★ | 105 | Slick but superficial, muddled account of club-footed writer Cassel advising Trintignant on how to become rich and sleep with lots of women. Birkin, Bolkan, and Schneider are attractive, but it's all window dressing. Aka THE FRENCH WAY IS. | tt0071864 | [R] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin, Florinda Bolkan, Georges Wilson | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Love in Bloom | 1935 | Elliott Nugent | ★★ | 75 | Burns and Allen are forced to take back seat to sappy romantic story about struggling songwriter and his girlfriend; George and Gracie give this minor film its only value. | tt0026656 | George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joe Morrison, Dixie Lee, J. C. Nugent, Lee Kohlmar | Romance | NULL | |||
| A Love in Germany | 1984 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★½ | 110 | German shopkeeper, her husband off fighting at the front, risks life and reputation by romancing a much younger Polish POW. Wimpy Lysak doesn't look as if he could drive a girl's hopscotch team into sexual delirium, creating severe credibility problems in this subpar Wajda effort. Barrault is effectively cast against type as conniving Nazi sympathizer. | tt0085843 | [R] | Hanna Schygulla, Marie-Christine Barrault, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Daniel Olbrychski, Piotr Lysak, Bernhard Wicki | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Love in a Goldfish Bowl | 1961 | Jack Sher | 💣 | 88 | Film is as bad as its title, a worthless, boring trifle about teenagers taking over a beach house. Forget it. | tt0055099 | Tommy Sands, Fabian, Jan Sterling, Edward Andrews | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Love in the Afternoon | 1957 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 130 | Forget age difference between Cooper and Hepburn and enjoy sparkling romantic comedy, with Chevalier as Audrey's private-eye dad. McGiver lends good support in witty comedy set in Paris. Wilder's first film cowritten with I.A.L. Diamond, and a tribute to his idol, Ernst Lubitsch. | tt0050658 | Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier, John McGiver | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love in the City | 1953 | Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Dino Risi, Carlo Lizzani, Alberto Lattuada, Francesco Maselli, Cesare Zavattini | ★★ | 90 | The title tells all in this episodic, six-part neorealist chronicle— filmed cinéma verité style— of various aspects of romance in Rome. This was supposed to be the first edition of a film journal, known as 'The Spectator.' Originally 110m.; the Lizzani-directed sequence, about prostitution, was deleted from foreign-release prints. | tt0045504 | Ugo Tognazzi, Maresa Gallo, Caterina Rigoglioso, Silvio Lillo, Angela Pierro | Italian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Love in the Rough | 1930 | Charles F. Riesner. | ★★ | 84 | Montgomery is a shipping clerk who gives the boss tips on the links while romancing his daughter in this fluffy, forgettable addition to that extremely obscure subgenre: Golf Musicals. Rubin easily steals the movie as a Yiddish-speaking caddy from Brooklyn. Remake of 1927's SPRING FEVER with William Haines and Joan Crawford. | tt0021100 | Robert Montgomery, Dorothy Jordan, Benny Rubin, J. C. Nugent, Dorothy McNulty (Penny Singleton), Allan Lane. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Love in the Time of Cholera | 2007 | Mike Newell | ★★★½ | 138 | Mild-mannered young man falls in love with a woman on sight, and though she marries a wealthy doctor, he never abandons his obsessive dream of being with her. Robust interpretation of Gabriel García Marquez’ novel captures its “magical realism”—and disarming sense of humor—as it spans fifty years. Filled with colorful characters, beautiful women, and a quixotic central character beautifully played by Bardem. Inspired adaptation by Ronald Harwood; exquisite production design (by Wolf Kroeger) and costumes (by Marit Allen). | tt0484740 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Hector Elizondo, Liev Schreiber, Ana Claudia Talancon, Fernanda Montenegro, Unax Ugalde, John Leguizamo, Laura Harring | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Love of Jeanne Ney | 1927 | G. W. Pabst. | ★★★½ | 105 | Alfred Ney, a 'foreign observer' in the Crimea, is murdered by a Bolshevik who is the lover of his daughter, Jeanne (Jehanne). Her past follows her as she settles in Paris, where she finds herself immersed in intrigue and betrayal. One of the near-classics of late-1920s German cinema, this piercing drama mirrors the disarray of post-WW1 Europe. Helm (of METROPOLIS fame) is a striking presence as a victimized blind girl. | tt0018087 | Edith Jehanne, Uno Henning, Fritz Rasp, Brigitte Helm, Adolph Edgar Licho, Eugen Jensen, Hans Jaray, Siegfried Arno, Vladimir Sokoloff. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Love of Sunya | 1927 | Albert Parker | ★★★ | 77 | Lavish vehicle for silent-star Swanson has Eastern yogi enabling her to envision her life with two potential husbands— neither of whom is the man she truly loves. Soap opera deluxe, remake of earlier EYES OF YOUTH. | tt0018113 | Gloria Swanson, John Boles, Anders Randolph, Andres de Segurola, Hugh Miller, Pauline Garon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Love on a Pillow | 1962 | Roger Vadim | ★★ | 102 | Charitable Bardot bestows her pleasures on young man, hoping to divert his intended suicide; saucy little comedy. | tt0056404 | Brigitte Bardot, Robert Hossein, James Robertson Justice, Jean-Marc Bory | French | Romance | NULL | ||
| Love on the Dole | 1941 | John Baxter | ★★★ | 100 | Serious, well-acted study of struggling London family during Depression. From Walter Greenwood novel. | tt0033853 | Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, Mary Merrall, George Carney, Geoffrey Hibbert, Joyce O'Neill | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Love on the Ground | 1984 | Jacques Rivette | ★½ | 126 | Boring, confusing, pretentious story of actresses Chaplin and Birkin, hired by Kalfon to rehearse and perform his play— whose ending has not yet been written. For Rivette admirers only. | tt0086889 | Geraldine Chaplin, Jane Birkin, Andre Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Facundo Bo, Laszlo Szabo | French | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Love on the Run | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 80 | Roving newspaper correspondent Gable takes it on the lam with frustrated heiress Crawford and becomes involved with international spies. This stale IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT variation relies solely on its star power. | tt0027914 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Reginald Owen, Mona Barrie, Ivan Lebedeff, Charles Judels, William Demarest, Donald Meek | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Love on the Run | 1979 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 90 | Further romantic adventures of Truffaut's alter ego, Antoine Doinel (Léaud): Here, he divorces wife Jade and sets out again on his hopeless chase after love. Fine, but not top-notch Truffaut. Fifth entry in series, following BED AND BOARD; included are clips of others, which don't work here. Léaud's final appearance as Doinel. | tt0078771 | [PG] | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marie-France Pisier, Claude Jade, Dani, Dorothee, Rosy Varte, Julien Bertheau, Daniel Mesguich | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Love the Hard Way | 2003 | Peter Sehr | ★★ | 104 | Dull noir about a two-bit grifter who seduces a prim college coed into a life of crime, with tragic results. Brody and Ayanna have chemistry (and some steamy sex scenes) but the script fails to make their relationship plausible. Gritty Manhattan atmosphere helps somewhat, as does some off-the-wall comic dialogue (but not enough). Oddly, based on a Chinese pulp novel. | tt0263671 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda, August Diehl, Pam Grier, Katherine Moennig | U.S.-German | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Love! Valour! Compassion! | 1997 | Joe Mantello | ★★½ | 110 | Entertaining but overlong adaptation of Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play about eight gay male acquaintances who spend countryside weekends at their host's dream Victorian home over three summer holidays. Too much of the text tiresomely depends on Backbiting! Pettiness! and Sniping!, though Glover (reprising his Tony Award-winning performance) is impressive in a dual role as twins of wildly differing dispositions (last name, uh, Jeckyll). | tt0119578 | [R] | Jason Alexander, Randy Becker, Stephen Bogardus, John Glover, John Benjamin Hickey, Justin Kirk, Stephen Spinella | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Love's Labour's Lost | 2000 | Kenneth Branagh | ★½ | 95 | Shakespeare's comic romp becomes a 1930s musical. The King of Navarre (Nivola) and three comrades swear off women— just as the King of France's daughter (Silverstone) arrives with three attractive friends. Hollywood-inspired production numbers are downright embarrassing at times; everyone tries hard, but only Lane emerges unscathed. Uses old Fred & Ginger songs, but reminds one more of Burt & Cybill (from AT LONG LAST LOVE). | tt0182295 | [PG] | Kenneth Branagh, Natascha McElhone, Alicia Silverstone, Nathan Lane, Adrian Lester, Alessandro Nivola, Matthew Lillard, Timothy Spall, Carmen Ejogo, Emily Mortimer, Geraldine McEwan, Richard Briers | U.S.-British-French | Romance, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| The Love-Ins | 1967 | Arthur Dreifuss | 💣 | 92 | Professor Timothy Leary— er, Richard Todd— advocates LSD, becomes a hippie messiah. A bad trip. | tt0061922 | James MacArthur, Susan Oliver, Richard Todd, Mark Goddard, Carol Booth | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Loved One | 1965 | Tony Richardson | ★★★½ | 116 | Correctly advertised as the picture with something to offend everyone. Britisher Morse attends to uncle's burial in California, encountering bizarre aspects of funeral business. Often howlingly funny, and equally gross. Once seen, Mrs. Joyboy can never be forgotten. Based on the Evelyn Waugh novel, adapted by Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood. | tt0059410 | Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, Rod Steiger, Dana Andrews, Milton Berle, James Coburn, John Gielgud, Tab Hunter, Margaret Leighton, Liberace, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Lionel Stander, Ayllene Gibbons, Bernie Kopell, Alan Napier, Jamie Farr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Loveless | 1983 | Kathryn Bigelow, Monty Montgomery | ★★½ | 84 | A group of bikers stop in a small Southern town while on their way to the races at Daytona. Uneven homage to THE WILD ONE: pretentious and practically plotless, with about five times as much rockabilly music as dialogue; still, visually stunning, like an Edward Hopper painting of the 1950s. | tt0085872 | [R] | J. Don Ferguson, Willem Dafoe, Marin Kanter, Robert Gordon, Tina L'Hotsky, Liz Gans | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lovely & Amazing | 2002 | Nicole Holofcener | ★★½ | 89 | A laid-back character study of two dysfunctional sisters and their well-meaning but screw-loose mother. Keener approaches the world with unbridled anger, while Mortimer has no self-esteem; young children affect the lives of all the women in the story. Uneven seriocomedy from the creator of WALKING AND TALKING is strident at times, but resolves itself quite movingly. | tt0258273 | Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, Aunjaue Ellis, Clark Gregg, Jake Gyllenhaal, James LeGros, Michael Nouri, Dermot Mulroney | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Lovely Bones | 2009 | Peter Jackson | ★★½ | 135 | A 14-year-old girl (a luminous Ronan) has a typical 1970s existence with her family in a small Pennsylvania town—until she is murdered. It's her voice narrating the story as she moves on to her next life, unable to surrender her earthly ties or forget about the man who killed her. Well-made, well-acted adaptation of Alice Sebold's bestseller suffers from overabundant, heavy-handed images of heaven that don't connect with the rest of the film. | tt0380510 | [PG-13] | Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, Saoirse Ronan, Rose McIver, Christian Ashdale, Reece Ritchie, Andrew James Allen | U.S.-New Zealand-British | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Lovely To Look At | 1952 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 105 | Second screen version of ROBERTA is a lesser MGM musical, but definitely has its moments as American comic Skelton inherits half-interest in a Paris dress salon run by Grayson and Marge Champion. Miller and the Champions add punch to the musical sequences; Vincente Minnelli directed the fashion show sequence. Songs include 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,' 'I Won't Dance,' and title tune. | tt0044855 | Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Marge & Gower Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Lovely Way to Die | 1968 | David Lowell Rich | ★★½ | 103 | Odd detective suspenser. Douglas is likable cop turned private eye assigned by D.A. (Wallach) to protect Koscina, awaiting murder trial. Pacing and script offbeat at right moments, otherwise standard. Look for Ali MacGraw in screen debut. | tt0063246 | Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, Eli Wallach, Kenneth Haigh, Sharon Farrell, Gordon Peter, Martyn Green | Crime | NULL | |||
| Lovely, Still | 2009 | Nik Fackler | ★★★ | 92 | Elderly man, about to spend yet another Christmas alone, meets and falls in love with a sweet, kind woman, but there are surprises in store—and they’re not what you think. Heartfelt, moving drama of old age and enduring love features superlative performances by Burstyn and especially Landau. Debut feature for Fackler, who scripted with Tim Kasher. | tt1150947 | [PG] | Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lover Come Back | 1946 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 90 | Bright little comedy of Lucy suing Brent for divorce when she sees his companion during war, photographer Zorina. Retitled WHEN LOVERS MEET. | tt0038705 | Lucille Ball, George Brent, Vera Zorina, Carl Esmond, William Wright, Charles Winninger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lover Come Back | 1961 | Delbert Mann | ★★★½ | 107 | Early Day-Hudson vehicle is one of the best. Funny, fast-moving comedy has ad exec Doris trying to get account away from rival Rock— unaware that the product doesn't exist! Edie Adams stands out in fine supporting cast. | tt0055100 | Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Edie Adams, Jack Oakie, Jack Kruschen, Ann B. Davis, Joe Flynn, Jack Albertson, Howard St. John, Donna Douglas | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lover's Knot | 1996 | Pete Shaner | ★½ | 88 | Cutesy romantic trifle in which cupid Curry must bring together a poetry scholar and a beautiful doctor, then keep them an item for the rest of this movie's seemingly endless running time. Cupid's bow definitely misses the funny bone here; just a space-filler at the video store. | tt0116934 | [R] | Bill Campbell, Jennifer Grey, Tim Curry, Adam Baldwin, Dr., Joyce Brothers, Anne Francis, Zelda Rubinstein, Dawn Wells | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Lover | 1992 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★½ | 110 | Exotic, soft-core adaptation of Marguerite Duras' autobiographical novel about a teenage girl who's initiated into sex by an older Chinese dandy in 1929 Indochina. Borderline tedious, yet offbeat and well mounted enough to amuse anyone inclined to see it in the first place. Peripheral characters are more interesting than the two leads (at least when clothed). Sexier European version is available unrated. | tt0161896 | [R] | Jane March, Tony Leung, Frédérique Meininger, Arnaud Giovaninetti, Melvil Poupaud, Lisa Faulkner, Xiem Mang | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Loverboy | 1989 | Joan Micklin Silver | ★½ | 98 | Paper-thin comedy of pizza delivery boy Dempsey turning on a bevy of frustrated older women, with resulting predictable complications. Curiously anachronistic, and not even up to sitcom level; a major disappointment from the otherwise dependable Silver. | tt0097790 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Kate Jackson, Robert Ginty, Nancy Valen, Charles Hunter Walsh, Barbara Carrera, Bernie Coulson, Ray Girardin, Robert Camilletti, Vic Tayback, Kim Miyori, Kirstie Alley, Carrie Fisher | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Loverboy | 2005 | Kevin Bacon | ★½ | 84 | Story of a woman whose sole goal in life is to have a child. She feeds her obsession by smothering her son with attention and affection in all the wrong ways while everyone around her is oblivious-or just moronic. Director Bacon turns Victoria Redel's novel of an unbalanced woman into an unbalanced film, with his wife Sedgwick in the leading role. He tries hard but can't make this offbeat tale engrossing or believable. Bacon and Sedgwick's children Sosie and Travis Bacon have small roles. | tt0388213 | [R] | Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Blair Brown, Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Campbell Scott, Marisa Tomei, Melissa Errico, Dominic Scott Kay, Sandra Bullock | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lovers | 1991 | Vicente Aranda | ★★★½ | 103 | Handsome youth snuggles up with his sexy older landlady, while leaving his deceptively innocent fiancée in the lurch. Erotic true-crime saga, based on a murder case from 1955 Franco Madrid. Impressively acted and photographed. Screenplay by director Aranda, Alvaro Del Amo, and Carlos Perez Merinero. | tt0101317 | Victoria Abril, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdu | Spanish | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lovers Like Us | 1975 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | ★★½ | 103 | Globetrotting screwball comedy has Deneuve and Montand running away from their respective spouses, meeting and falling in love with each other. Nothing special, but easy to take. | tt0073663 | [PG] | Catherine Deneuve, Yves Montand, Luigi Vannucchi, Tony Roberts, Dana Wynter | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Lovers and Liars | Travels With Anita | 1979 | Mario Monicelli | ★★ | 96 | Forgettable black comedy centering on complications surrounding romance between American tourist Hawn and Italian bank exec Giannini. Aka TRAVELS WITH ANITA; originally ran 125m. | tt0080094 | [R] | Goldie Hawn, Giancarlo Giannini, Claudine Auger, Aurore Clement, Laura Betti, Andrea Ferreol | Italian | Comedy | NULL |
| Lovers and Lollipops | 1955 | Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin | ★★½ | 80 | Sweet but flawed little film about 7-year-old Dunn becoming jealous when her widowed mother begins dating a nice guy. The story rambles, and the music score is intrusive, but the N.Y.C. location footage is exceptional, as it was in Engel and Orkin's landmark film LITTLE FUGITIVE. | tt0049453 | Lori March, Gerald O'Loughlin, Cathy Dunn, William Ward | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lovers and Other Strangers | 1970 | Cy Howard | ★★★½ | 106 | Vividly real, genuinely funny movie about side effects, reverberations when young couple gets married. Film won fame for Castellano, with catch-line 'So what's the story?' just one of many memorable vignettes. Gig Young delightful as perennially cheerful father of the bride. From the play by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna (they scripted with David Z. Goodman); with Oscar-winning song, 'For All We Know.' Diane Keaton's film debut. | tt0066016 | [PG] | Gig Young, Beatrice Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Anne Jackson, Harry Guardino, Michael Brandon, Richard Castellano, Bob Dishy, Marian Hailey, Cloris Leachman, Anne Meara | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lovers of Paris | 1957 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 115 | Spirited drama of Philipe coming to Paris bent on success and marriage; Darrieux is his perfect choice. Original title: POT-BOUILLE. | tt0050854 | Gérard Philipe, Danielle Darrieux, Dany Carrel | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lovers of the Arctic Circle | 1998 | Julio Medem | ★★★ | 112 | Beguiling romantic drama about two young people who first meet as eight-year-old schoolmates and gradually realize they are destined to be together; in fact, their entire lives are linked by a series of odd parallels. It's no coincidence that the main characters' names, Anna and Otto, are palindromes; director Medem's conceit is that love is circular and eternal. Only sour note is film's conclusion. | tt0133363 | [R] | Najwa Nimri, Fele Martinez, Nancho Novo, Maru Valdivielso, Kristel Díaz, Victor Hugo Oliveira | Spanish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Lovers on the Bridge | 1991 | Léos Carax | ★★½ | 129 | Binoche is a lustrous presence in this otherwise hot-and-cold tale as a homeless, half-blind painter who, with manipulative street-performer Lavant, camps out on Paris's crumbling Pont Neuf Bridge while it's closed down for restoration. Some dazzling imagery combined with an air of pretension make this a decidedly mixed bag. Lavant plays the same character in BOY MEETS GIRL and BAD BLOOD (1987). Released in the U.S. in 1999. | tt0101318 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Klaus-Michael GrÀber, Daniel Buain, Marion Stalens, Edith Scob | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Lovers, Happy Lovers! | 1954 | René Clément | ★★★ | 103 | Philipe is wed to Hobson but tries to seduce her friend (Parry) in this witty, deftly ironic sex comedy. Original title: KNAVE OF HEARTS. Retitled: LOVER BOY. | tt0047243 | Gérard Philipe, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Margaret Johnston, Natasha Parry | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lovers | 1958 | Louis Malle | ★★★ | 88 | Chic, once-controversial tale of wealthy, married, spiritually empty Moreau and her two very different extramarital involvements. Malle's first major international success, and one of Moreau's most important early credits. | tt0052556 | Jeanne Moreau, Alain Cuny, Jose Luis de Villalonga, Jean-Marc Bory, Gaston Modot | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Loves and Times of Scaramouche | 1975 | Enzo G. Castellari | ★½ | 95 | Scaramouche has his way with women, and runs afoul of an oafish Napoleon in this energetic but empty-headed farce. Maccione adds some laughs as Bonaparte. Poorly dubbed. Filmed in Rome and Zagreb. | tt0073315 | Michael Sarrazin, Ursula Andress, Aldo Maccione, Giancarlo Prete, Michael Forest | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Loves of Carmen | 1927 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★★ | 94 | Del Rio is a fiery Carmen in spirited silent adaptation of the famous story. McLaglen is his usual swaggering self as the toreador seduced by the gypsy spitfire. Walsh treats the story in a pleasantly tongue-in-cheek manner, packing the film with typically lusty touches. | tt0018118 | Dolores Del Rio, Victor McLaglen, Don Alvarado, Nancy Nash, Rafael Valverde, Mathilde Comont, Fred Kohler | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Loves of Carmen | 1948 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 99 | Hayworth's beauty is all there is in this colorful but routine retelling of the story of a gypsy man-killer, minus Bizet's music. | tt0040552 | Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, Ron Randell, Victor Jory, Luther Adler | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe | 1942 | Harry Lachman | ★★ | 67 | Plodding biography of 19th-century writer and women who influenced him. | tt0034997 | Linda Darnell, John Shepperd (Shepperd Strudwick), Virginia Gilmore, Jane Darwell, Mary Howard, Harry Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Loves of Three Queens | 1953 | Marc Allégret | ★★ | 90 | Three-part film involving lives and loves of Genevieve of Brabant, Empress Josephine, and Helen of Troy (Lamarr). Originally three-hour meandering epic, now chopped down; still lacks continuity or interest. Retitled: THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED A THOUSAND SHIPS. | tt0045499 | Hedy Lamarr, Massimo Serato, Cathy O'Donnell, Luigi Tosi, Guido Celano, Robert Beatty | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Loves of a Blonde | 1965 | Milos Forman | ★★★½ | 88 | Sweet, poignant tale of idealistic shoe-factory worker Brejchova, and what happens after she spends the night with— and falls in love with— womanizing pianist Pucholt. Gentle comedy-drama is both entertaining and revealing. | tt0059415 | Hana Brejchova, Josef Sebanek, Vladimir Pucholt, Jan Vostrell, Vladimir Mensik | Czech | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lovesick | 1983 | Marshall Brickman | ★★ | 95 | 'Sick' is right; this romantic comedy (about a psychiatrist who falls in love with his newest patient) needs a shot of adrenalin. Fine cast founders; Guinness's turn as the shade of Sigmund Freud is a waste. Only Silver gets real laughs as a Pacino-like actor. | tt0085873 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, Alec Guinness, John Huston, Wallace Shawn, Alan King, Renee Taylor, Ron Silver, Gene Saks, David Strathairn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lovespell | Tristan and Isolde | 1979 | Tom Donovan | 💣 | 91 | Thoroughly inept retelling of the romantic Tristan and Isolde legend. One-take-only filming on Irish locations has static direction and writing from a Classics Illustrated comic book. Mulgrew is too old for the Isolde role, and her American accent clashes with the rest of the cast. Aka TRISTAN AND ISOLDE. | tt0079492 | Richard Burton, Kate Mulgrew, Nicholas Clay, Cyril Cusack, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Niall Toibin, Diana Van Der Vlis, Niall O'Brien | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lovin' Molly | 1974 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 98 | Danner is just right in otherwise indifferent filmization of Larry McMurtry's novel Leaving Cheyenne, about two friends in Texas and their lifelong love for the same woman. | tt0071780 | [R] | Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner, Edward Binns, Susan Sarandon, Conard Fowkes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Loving | 1970 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★½ | 90 | Extremely good drama chronicles Segal's marital and occupational problems. Director Kershner has great feeling for day-to-day detail; film's superb climax involves public lovemaking. | tt0066017 | [R] | George Segal, Eva Marie Saint, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Nancie Phillips, Janis Young, Roy Scheider, Sherry Lansing | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Loving Couples | 1980 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 97 | Couples MacLaine/Coburn and Sarandon/Collins switch partners. A titillating title for a predictable comedy. | tt0081080 | [PG] | Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Collins, Sally Kellerman, Nan Martin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Loving Jezebel | 2000 | Kwyn Bader | ★½ | 90 | Shrill romantic comedy about a frustrated waiter/writer and his penchant for sleeping with neurotic, unavailable women. Deserves some points for its casual depiction of interracial relationships, but is full of irritating characters and substitutes histrionics for hilarity. The women are gorgeous but are reduced to man-crazed, screaming harpies. | tt0174885 | [R] | Hill Harper, Nicole Ari Parker, Laurel Holloman, Sandrine Holt, Phylicia Rashad, David Moscow | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Loving You | 1957 | Hal Kanter | ★★½ | 101 | Publicist Liz and country-western musician Corey discover gas station attendant Presley and promote him to stardom. Elvis' second movie is highlighted by his performance of 'Teddy Bear' and the title tune. | tt0050659 | Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott, Wendell Corey, Dolores Hart, James Gleason | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Low Down Dirty Shame | 1994 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | ★★½ | 108 | Occasionally amusing comedy-actioner with Wayans as a private detective hired by the DEA to uncover some missing drug money. However, you might say that it's a low-down dirty shame that this film isn't funnier— or that Wayans (who also scripted) so often resorts to unsubtle stereotyping for cheap laughs. Pinkett really scores as Wayans' loyal assistant. | tt0110399 | [R] | Keenen Ivory Wayans, Charles S. Dutton, Jada Pinkett, Salli Richardson, Andrew Divoff, Corwin Hawkins, Gary Cervantes, Gregory Sierra, Kim Wayans | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Low Down | 2001 | Jamie Thraves | ★★ | 96 | Low-low-low-key slice of slacker London life about a successful artist in his late 20s who lives in a slum neighborhood and grapples with moving up and moving on. Gillen makes for an appealing commitment-phobe but it's hard to care when all he and his mates do is sit around, drink beer and smoke cigarettes. Feature-film debut for music video director Thraves. | tt0251191 | Aidan Gillen, Kate Ashfield, Dean Lennox Kelly, Tobias Menzies, Rupert Proctor, Samantha Power | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Low Life | 1996 | George Hickenlooper | ★★ | 98 | Wannabe writer Cochrane comes to L.A. and finds himself surrounded by aimless companions and a woman (Sedgwick) who cannot commit. Well acted, but depressing and unfulfilling. | tt0110400 | [R] | Rory Cochrane, Kyra Sedgwick, Sean Astin, Ron Livingston, Christian Meoli, Sara Melson, James Le Gros, Shawnee Smith, J.T. Walsh, Renée Zellweger | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lower City | 2005 | Sérgio Machado | ★★½ | 98 | Two lifelong pals operate a cargo boat, leading a rough-and-tumble existence. Their relationship changes after they give a lift to a beautiful young prostitute in return for sexual favors: both men are deeply attracted to her, and she refuses to choose between them. Resolution isn't terribly satisfying, but story takes a backseat to the atmosphere in this striking, sexy slice-of-life drama. Debut feature for documentary filmmaker Machado, who also coscripted. Walter Salles coproduced. Braga is the niece of actress Sônia. | tt0456899 | [R] | Alice Braga, Lázaro Ramos, Wagner Moura | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Lower Depths | 1936 | Jean Renoir | ★★½ | 92 | Sordid drama about assorted characters in a squalid home for derelicts. Pepel (Gabin), a professional thief, loves the younger sister of his mistress, and commits murder to save her from the clutches of a police officer to whom she has been 'given' as a bribe. Loose adaptation of the 1902 Maxim Gorki play changes the setting from Czarist Russia to an imaginary land. Renoir scripted with Charles Spaak. Remade 21 years later by Akira Kurosawa, who was more faithful to the play. Original title: LES BASFONDS. | tt0027336 | Jean Gabin, Louis Jouvet, Suzy Prim, Vladimir Sokoloff, Junie Astor, Robert Le Vignan | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lower Depths | 1957 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 125 | Well-directed and acted but endlessly talky drama of tortured, poverty-stricken souls, with Mifune a thief who becomes involved with Kagawa. Based on a Maxim Gorki play. | tt0050330 | Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Ganjiro Nakamura, Kyoko Kagawa | Japanese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Loyalties | 1986 | Anne Wheeler | ★★½ | 97 | Nicely paced but predictable psychological drama about an ever-so-proper British couple (Welsh, Wooldridge) who've settled in a remote Canadian village, and what happens when they take on half-Indian Cardinal as a housekeeper. | tt0091443 | [R] | Kenneth Welsh, Tantoo Cardinal, Susan Wooldridge, Vera Martin, Christopher Barrington-Leigh | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN | 1966 | Byron Paul | 💣 | 110 | Labored Disney comedy is unworthy of Van Dyke, who plays modern-day Robinson Crusoe, a navy pilot who drifts onto deserted island, becomes involved with pretty native girl. Film has virtually nothing of merit to recommend. Story by Retlaw Yensid (spell it backwards). | tt0060640 | Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan, Akim Tamiroff, Arthur Malet, Tyler McVey | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Lucas | 1986 | David Seltzer | ★★★ | 100 | Thoroughly winning story of a precocious 14-year-old boy who develops a serious crush on the new girl in town— and the various ramifications that follow. One of the few Hollywood films about young people in the '80s that doesn't paint its characters in black and white only. A real sleeper, marking writer Seltzer's directing debut as well as screen debut for Ryder. | tt0091445 | [PG-13] | Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Winona Ryder, Thomas E. Hodges | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lucia, Lucia | 2002 | Antonio Serrano | ★★½ | 110 | An unhappily married middle-aged author gets a new lease on life when her husband disappears. Two men— one older, one younger— fall in love with her while helping her track him down. Curious romantic comedy-thriller set in Mexico City can't figure out what it wants to be; still a dynamic vehicle for Roth (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER), who's never been more appealing. | tt0314170 | [R] | Cecilia Roth, Carlos Alvarez Novoa, Kuno Becker | Mexican-Spanish | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| Lucie Aubrac | 1997 | Claude Berri | ★★½ | 116 | Married couple Auteuil and Bouquet are members of the Resistance in Lyon, France. When he is captured by the Gestapo, she determines to free him. WW2 drama emphasizes real-life love story but suffers from deliberate pacing. Based on the book Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac herself. Leading French director Chereau portrays Max. | tt0119586 | [R] | Carole Bouquet, Daniel Auteuil, Patrice Chereau, Jean-Roger Milo, Heino Ferch, Pascal Greggory | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Luck of Ginger Coffey | 1964 | Irvin Kershner. | ★★★ | 100 | Effective kitchen-sink drama with Shaw in one of his best performances as an out-of-work Irish-born dreamer, approaching middle age, who moves to Montreal with wife Ure and their teenage daughter, hoping to find success. Scripted by Brian Moore, based on his novel. | tt0058305 | Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, Liam Redmond, Tom Harvey, Libby McClintock. | Canadian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Luck of the Irish | 1948 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 99 | Leprechaun Kellaway becomes reporter Power's conscience in this 'cute' but unremarkable romance. | tt0040553 | Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, Cecil Kellaway, Lee J. Cobb, Jayne Meadows | Fantasy, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Luckiest Man in the World | 1989 | Frank D. Gilroy | ★★★ | 82 | Scrooge-like businessman Bosco is almost killed in a plane crash, and abruptly decides to change his ways. Gilroy also scripted this unpretentious, well-acted little tale; the 'voice' in the bathroom is that of Moses Gunn. | tt0097792 | Philip Bosco, Doris Belack, Joanne Camp, Matthew Gottlieb, Arthur French, Stan Lachow | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lucky Break | 2001 | Peter Cattaneo | ★★½ | 107 | Cattaneo's follow-up picture to THE FULL MONTY is at best an amusing story of inmates who literally stage an escape by producing and appearing in a musical written by the prison governor. Slight but diverting, well-acted tale should please fans of British comedy, especially when it finally gets around to the night of the big show. Lyrics for that show were written by Stephen Fry. | tt0246134 | [PG-13] | James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Lennie James, Ron Cook, Frank Harper, Christopher Plummer | British-German | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Lucky Devils | 1933 | Ralph Ince | ★★ | 64 | Stuntman Gargan likes extra Wilson, but she loves stuntman Boyd. Hokey programmer, but great opening scene; Hollywood-on-film buffs will surely want to see it. Veteran stuntman Rose costars, cowrote screenplay. | tt0024276 | William Boyd, Dorothy Wilson, William Gargan, Bruce Cabot, Lon Chaney/Jr., Roscoe Ates, William Bakewell, Bob Rose, Julie Haydon, Betty Furness | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lucky Jim | 1957 | John Boulting | ★★½ | 95 | Comic misadventures of puckish history professor at provincial British university; amusing adaptation of Kingsley Amis book, though not up to Boulting Brothers standard. | tt0050660 | Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Hugh Griffith, Sharon Acker, Jean Anderson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Lucky Jordan | 1942 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 84 | Far-fetched story of smart-mouthed hood Ladd reluctantly drafted into the Army, becoming entangled with U.S.O. worker Walker (in her feature debut) and Nazi spies. | tt0034998 | Alan Ladd, Helen Walker, Marie McDonald, Mabel Paige, Sheldon Leonard, Lloyd Corrigan | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Lucky Lady | 1975 | Stanley Donen | ★★ | 118 | Star trio make an engaging team, as amateur rum-runners in the 1930s who practice a ménage-à-trois after business hours . . . script goes astray and drags along to a limp, hastily refilmed conclusion. Unfortunate waste of talent; written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz. | tt0073317 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, Geoffrey Lewis, John Hillerman, Robby Benson, Michael Hordern | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Lucky Losers | 1950 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 69 | Stale Bowery Boys comedy, with Slip and Sach trading their overalls for pinstripes when they land jobs as stockbrokers. | tt0042693 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Hillary Brooke, Gabriel Dell, Lyle Talbot, Bernard Gorcey, Billy Benedict, Joseph Turkel, Frank Jenks, David Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lucky Luciano | 1974 | Francesco Rosi | ★★ | 110 | Fair international coproduction about the deported crime kingpin, given a good interpretation by Volonte. Former federal narcotics agent Charles Siragusa, Luciano's real-life nemesis, plays himself. | tt0071782 | [R] | GianMaria Volonte, Rod Steiger, Edmond O'Brien, Vincent Gardenia, Charles Cioffi | Italian-French-U.S. | Crime | NULL | |
| Lucky Me | 1954 | Jack Donohue | ★★ | 100 | Bright-faced but doggedly mediocre musical set in Miami, with Doris as star of Silvers' third-rate theatrical troupe who attracts the attention of Broadway songwriter Cummings. Look for young Angie Dickinson in first film appearance. | tt0047194 | Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Phil Silvers, Eddie Foy/Jr., Nancy Walker, Martha Hyer, Bill Goodwin | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lucky Nick Cain | 1951 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 87 | Acceptable gangster yarn of Raft involved with counterfeiting gang, accused of murder; filmed in Italy. | tt0042590 | George Raft, Coleen Gray, Charles Goldner, Walter Rilla | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Lucky Night | 1939 | Norman Taurog | ★½ | 82 | Incoherent, interminable mess, in which magnate's daughter Loy and down-and-out gambler Taylor meet, get drunk, and get married— all in one evening. Sounds far more promising than it plays. | tt0031595 | Myrna Loy, Robert Taylor, Henry O'Neill, Joseph Allen, Douglas Fowley, Charles Lane, Marjorie Main | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Lucky Number Slevin | 2006 | Paul McGuigan | ★★½ | 110 | A mysterious figure (Willis) tells a stranger about a crime committed long ago; the rest of the film reveals the other side of that coin. Hartnett is mistaken for a friend he's visiting in N.Y.C. and is summoned by two rival crime bosses (Freeman, cast against type, and Kingsley, as a rabbi-crimelord with a New York accent) who expect him to do their bidding in order to save his life. Challenging, puzzlelike script is never dull but is too self-consciously clever. Liu is a standout as Hartnett's love interest who's also the city coroner. | tt0425210 | [R] | Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, Danny Aiello, Kevin Chamberlin, Mykelti Williamson, Robert Forster | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Lucky Numbers | 2000 | Nora Ephron | ★½ | 105 | Hapless local TV weatherman Travolta, who's in debt, is persuaded to try rigging the station's weekly state lottery drawing, with the help of 'lottery girl' Kudrow. Witless comedy full of unpleasant characters; a total turn-off. | tt0219952 | [R] | John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth, Ed O'Neill, Michael Rapaport, Daryl Mitchell, Bill Pullman, Richard Schiff, Michael Moore, Michael Weston, Sam McMurray | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Lucky One | 2012 | Scott Hicks | ★★½ | 101 | While serving in Iraq, Efron stops to pick up a snapshot of a pretty woman that's lying on the ground, and that moment's pause saves his life. When he returns home he determines to find the woman, but when he does he can't explain his story, so he takes a job in her family's dog kennel instead. She's tough to win over (unlike her family) and her ex-husband, a bullying sheriff's deputy, tries to make life miserable for both of them. Innocuous romantic drama from a Nicholas Sparks novel, though the melodramatic scenes (including the climax) are a bit much. | tt1327194 | [PG-13] | Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner, Riley Thomas Stewart, Jay R. Ferguson, Adam LeFevre, Robert Terrell Hayes | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Lucky Ones | 2008 | Neil Burger | ★★½ | 113 | Three lost souls who have just returned to the U.S. after serving in Iraq take off on a cross-country road trip and discover an America that is at best appreciative of—but mostly indifferent to—their sacrifices. Episodic tale features touching moments and solid performances (particularly by McAdams), but some unnecessary attempts at comic relief fall flat. | tt0981072 | [R] | Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins, Michael Peña, Annie Corley, John Diehl, John Heard, Molly Hagan, Spencer Garrett, Arden Myrin | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Lucky Partners | 1940 | Lewis Milestone | ★★ | 99 | Far-fetched comedy about Colman and Rogers winning sweepstakes together, then taking 'imaginary' honeymoon. Stars try to buoy mediocre script. | tt0032733 | Ronald Colman, Ginger Rogers, Jack Carson, Spring Byington, Cecilia Loftus, Harry Davenport | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Lucky Star | 1980 | Max Fischer | ★★★ | 110 | Entertaining tale of a young Jewish boy (Marx) whose parents are taken away by the Nazis. He is sheltered on a Rotterdam farm and singlehandedly goes up against German Colonel Steiger. A sleeper. | tt0081083 | [PG] | Louise Fletcher, Rod Steiger, Lou Jacobi, Brett Marx, Helen Hughes | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Lucky Stiff | 1988 | Anthony Perkins | ★★ | 82 | Uneven black comedy about cannibalism improves as it goes along. Fat Alaskey, full of jokes and yearning to be married, is romanced by gorgeous Dixon, but doesn't know that she's selected him as Mr. Christmas Dinner for her inbred family. Awkwardly structured script and odd rhythms of film are helped by Alaskey's ingratiating performance. | tt0095556 | [PG] | Joe Alaskey, Donna Dixon, Jeff Kober, Morgan Sheppard, Barbara Howard, Charles Frank, Fran Ryan, Leigh McCloskey, Bill Quinn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Lucky Stiff | 1949 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 99 | Sturdy cast in slim vehicle of lawyer setting trap for actual killer after girl suspect has death sentence reprieved. Produced by, of all people, Jack Benny. | tt0041607 | Dorothy Lamour, Brian Donlevy, Claire Trevor, Irene Hervey, Marjorie Rambeau | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Lucky Texan | 1934 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★½ | 55 | Pleasing treatment of trite story: Wayne teams up with likable Hayes, a friend of his deceased father, discovers gold, and gets cheated by crooked assayers who try to steal their claim and ranch. Canutt doubles both Wayne and the villain, so in one hard-riding scene chases himself out of town. Other novel pursuits involve a railroad handcar and 'surfing' on a tree branch down a shallow water canal. | tt0025440 | John Wayne, Barbara Sheldon, Lloyd Whitlock, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Lucky to Be a Woman | What a Woman! | 1956 | Alessandro Blasetti | ★★½ | 95 | Boyer is lecherous count who helps make peasant gal Loren a cultured movie star; Mastroianni is her photographer boyfriend; charmingly acted. Aka WHAT A WOMAN! Panoramica. | tt0049226 | Charles Boyer, Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Nino Besozzi, Titina De Filippo | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Lucy Gallant | 1955 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 104 | Spiritless soaper of success-bent Wyman rejecting suitors Heston et al., wanting to get ahead instead; set in Western oil town. Wyman plays dressmaker, and veteran Hollywood costume designer Edith Head makes a rare on-screen appearance near the end. | tt0048318 | Charlton Heston, Jane Wyman, Thelma Ritter, Claire Trevor, William Demarest, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ludwig | 1972 | Luchino Visconti | ★★ | 173 | Lavish film about Mad King of Bavaria keeps main character so cold, aloof that one feels no sympathy; after nearly three hours, effect is deadening. Authentic locations are breathtaking. Schneider and Howard excellent, but slow-moving film doesn't work. Incredibly, the original version of this runs 246m.! Video runs 231m. | tt0068883 | [PG] | Helmut Berger, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Griem, Gert Frobe | Italian-French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Lullaby of Broadway | 1951 | David Butler | ★★½ | 92 | Musical comedy star Day returns to N.Y.C., unaware that her singer mother has hit the skids. Warner Bros. musical is decent but no big deal; good cast and lots of great old songs keep it moving. | tt0043762 | Doris Day, Gene Nelson, Gladys George, S. Z. Sakall, Billy de Wolfe, Florence Bates, Anne Triola | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Lulu Belle | 1948 | Leslie Fenton | ★★ | 87 | Hackneyed drama of singer stepping on anyone and everyone to achieve fame. | tt0040555 | Dorothy Lamour, George Montgomery, Albert Dekker, Otto Kruger, Glenda Farrell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lulu on the Bridge | 1999 | Paul Auster | ★★★ | 103 | Jazz saxophonist Keitel's career abruptly ends after he is a victim of random violence. After coming upon a magic stone on a Manhattan street, he enters into an unusual, intensely romantic relationship with a struggling actress (Sorvino). Jarring, provocative film is crammed with twists and surprises and explores the roles that coincidence and fate play in everyday life. Sorvino has never been lovelier. Solo directing debut for novelist Auster, who also scripted. | tt0125879 | [PG-13] | Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Willem Dafoe, Gina Gershon, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Don Byron, Richard Edson, Victor Argo, Kevin Corrigan, Harold Perrineau, Lou Reed, David Byrne; voice of Stockard Channing | Mystery, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lumberjack | 1944 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 65 | When a friend of Hopalong Cassidy's is murdered, he not only helps the widow fulfill her logging contracts but nabs the killer as well. Rare series entry emphasizing almost continuous brawling action and gunplay. Exciting, holds up well. | tt0037030 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Douglass Dumbrille, Ellen Hall, Francis McDonald, Hal Taliaferro. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Lumiere | 1976 | Jeanne Moreau | ★★½ | 95 | Elaborate but not very involving drama about four actresses of different ages and status and their relationships with careers, men, each other. Curio is worth seeing for Moreau's directorial debut. | tt0074826 | [R] | Jeanne Moreau, Francine Racette, Lucia Bose, Caroline Cartier, Marie Henriau, Keith Carradine, Bruno Ganz, François Simon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Luminarias | 2000 | Jose Luis Valenzuela | ★★★ | 100 | Four L.A. Latina women of a certain age cling to one another as they try to find the right men— while battling their own social prejudices. A sharply observed portrait of women with ethnic identity crises, told with vigor and humor. Written by its impressive leading lady, Fernandez. | tt0160498 | [R] | Evelina Fernandez, Marta DuBois, Angela Moya, Diana Ortelli, Sal Lopez, Scott Bakula, Cheech Marin, Robert Beltran, Andrew Kim, Pepe Serna, Liz Torres |
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| Lumumba | 2000 | Raoul Peck | ★★★½ | 115 | Powerful account of the life and times of Patrice Lumumba (Ebouaney, who is magnetic), the dedicated but ill-fated first prime minister of the Congo (now Zaire) after it was granted independence from Belgium in 1960. Both a top-notch thriller and a fair-minded biography of a courageous, charismatic individual and the complex time in which he lived. Written by Peck and Pascal Bonitzer. | tt0246765 | Eriq Ebouaney, Alex Descas, Théophile Sowié, Maka Kotto, Dieudonné Kabongo, Pascal N'Zonzi | French-Belgian-German-Haitian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Luna | 1979 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 144 | Initially dazzling tale of male adolescent's identity crisis becomes ponderous when it turns into a mother-son soap opera with incestuous implications. Cinematically exciting, though, with a bravura finale. | tt0079495 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Matthew Barry, Veronica Lazar, Renato Salvatori, Fred Gwynne, Alida Valli, Roberto Benigni | Drama | NULL | ||
| Lunatics and Lovers | 1976 | Flavio Mogherini | ★½ | 93 | Aristocrat Mastroianni has an imaginary wife; an organ grinder convinces prostitute Mori to 'impersonate' her. When it's not silly, it's dull. | tt0073320 | Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Mori, Lino Morelli, Flora Carabella, Adriano Celentano | Italian | Action | NULL | ||
| Lunatics: A Love Story | 1992 | Josh Becker | ★★½ | 87 | Raimi is a gentle paranoid, confined by his fears to his lonely, foil-lined L.A. apartment; Foreman is convinced she causes the death of everyone she loves. Odd low-budget comedy has real, if eccentric, charm. 'Presented' by Sam Raimi. | tt0102357 | [PG-13] | Theodore Raimi, Deborah Foreman, Bruce Campbell, Brian McCree, Eddie Rosmaya, Michele Stacey | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Lunch Wagon | Lunch Wagon Girls | 1980 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★½ | 88 | Above average drive-in comedy about trio of young lovelies who set up their lunch truck at a prime construction site, unaware that their competition is really a cover for a planned bank robbery. Good cast, spirited direction; Dale Bozzio sings 'Mental Hopscotch.' Reissued as LUNCH WAGON GIRLS and COME 'N' GET IT. | tt0081088 | [R] | Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, Candy Moore, Rick Podell, Rose Marie, Chuck McCann, Vic Dunlop, James Van Patten, Dick Van Patten | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Lure of the Swamp | 1957 | Hubert Cornfield | ★½ | 74 | Tawdry B film of man's lust for wealth, leading to destruction of group hunting loot in murky swamp. | tt0050661 | Marshall Thompson, Willard Parker, Joan Vohs, Jack Elam | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lure of the Wilderness | 1952 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 92 | Remake of SWAMP WATER doesn't match earlier version's atmosphere of Southern swamps where murderer holds young man hostage to keep his whereabouts secret. | tt0044859 | Jeffrey Hunter, Jean Peters, Constance Smith, Walter Brennan, Jack Elam | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Lured | 1947 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 102 | Ball turns detective in this melodrama, encounters strange characters and harrowing experiences while tracking murderer; pretty good, with top cast. Remake of Robert Siodmak's 1939 French film PIÈGES. | tt0039589 | George Sanders, Lucille Ball, Charles Coburn, Alan Mowbray, Cedric Hardwicke, Boris Karloff, George Zucco | Thriller, Crime | NULL | |||
| Lurking Fear | 1994 | C. Courtney Joyner | ★½ | 76 | On a hot, sunny Christmas in Massachusetts, crooks and monster fighters confront one another in an old church, waiting for the creatures who live in tunnels below to make their annual attack. Seedy and tiresome, this seems more derived from KEY LARGO than from H. P. Lovecraft's story. Shot in Romania, and looks it. From Full Moon. | tt0110410 | Jon Finch, Blake Bailey, Ashley Lauren, Jeffrey Combs, Allison Mackie, Paul Mantee, Vincent Schiavelli | Horror | NULL | |||
| Lush Life | 1994 | Michael Elias | Above Average TV Movie | 96 | Nicely played character study with Goldblum and Whitaker as working musicians and buddies on the N.Y. music scene. Baker is Goldblum's long-suffering wife, who wants to get out of the City and lead a more 'normal' life. Sags a bit along the way, but still satisfying, especially for jazz fans; tasty score supervised by Lennie Niehaus. | tt0107464 | Jeff Goldblum, Forest Whitaker, Kathy Baker, Lois Chiles, Tracey Needham, Zack Norman, Jack Sheldon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lust for Gold | 1949 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 90 | Lupino gets overly dramatic as grasping woman stopping at nothing to obtain riches of gold-laden mine. Remade as SECRET OF TREASURE MOUNTAIN. | tt0041610 | Ida Lupino, Glenn Ford, Gig Young, Jay Silverheels, Eddy Waller | Western | NULL | |||
| Lust for Life | 1956 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★★ | 122 | Brilliant adaptation of Irving Stone's biography of painter Van Gogh, vividly portraying his anguished life. Quinn won well-deserved Oscar for performance as painter-friend Gauguin, in this exquisite color production. Script by Norman Corwin. Produced by John Houseman. Fine music score by Miklos Rozsa. | tt0049456 | Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald, Pamela Brown, Everett Sloane, Niall MacGinnis, Noel Purcell, Henry Daniell, Jill Bennett, Lionel Jeffries, Eric Pohlmann | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lust for a Vampire | To Love a Vampire | 1971 | Jimmy Sangster | ★½ | 95 | Carmilla, the seductress from THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, preys on students at a girls' school. Third-rate Hammer horror, anemically produced. Followed by TWINS OF EVIL. Original title: TO LOVE A VAMPIRE. | tt0067367 | [R] | Ralph Bates, Yutte Stensgaard, Barbara Jefford, Michael Johnson, Suzanna Leigh, Mike Raven, Christopher Neame | British | Horror | NULL |
| Lust in the Dust | 1985 | Paul Bartel | 💣 | 85 | Hunter and Divine descend on a New Mexico hellhole— he (like most of the cast) to locate some buried treasure, she (he?) to fulfill a dream of becoming a saloon singer. Dreadful attempt at camp despite an apparently whimsical casting director; what's to say about a movie where Divine's warbling is the comical highlight? | tt0089523 | [R] | Tab Hunter, Divine, Lainie Kazan, Geoffrey Lewis, Henry Silva, Cesar Romero, Gina Gallego, Woody Strode, Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Lust, Caution | 2007 | Ang Lee | ★★★ | 157 | Idealistic student in early 1940s Shanghai is recruited to join a resistance movement against Chinese people who are collaborating with the Japanese invaders. Her job is to win over a hardened official in order to set him up for assassination, but their relationship becomes so intense—sexually and psychically—that her emotions are blurred. Unusual story unfolds at great length yet maintains an almost hypnotic mood; sex scenes are graphic, but it’s the looks in the leading actors’ eyes that really tell the tale. Exquisite score by Alexandre Desplat. | tt0808357 | [NC-17] | Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Wai Teng, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang, Chung Hua Tou, Chih-ying Chu, Ying-hsien Kao, Anupam Kher | Hong Kong-U.S.-Chinese | Thriller, War, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Lusty Men | 1952 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 113 | Intelligent, atmospheric rodeo drama, with ex-champ Mitchum becoming mentor of novice Kennedy— and finding himself attracted to Kennedy's no-nonsense wife (Hayward). Solid going most of the way— until that hokey finale. Well directed by Ray. | tt0044860 | Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy, Arthur Hunnicutt, Frank Faylen | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| Luther | 1973 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 112 | Sincere but placid American Film Theatre recreation of John Osborne's play about Martin Luther (Keach), leader of the Protestant Reformation. | tt0070346 | Stacy Keach, Patrick Magee, Hugh Griffith, Robert Stephens, Alan Badel, Judi Dench | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Luther | 2003 | Eric Till | ★★ | 113 | Handsomely mounted but one-dimensional historical soap opera about the life and times of Martin Luther (Fiennes), the father of the Protestant Reformation. Dramatically over-the-top and filled with corny dialogue, but its major failing is that it reduces complex historical issues to good-versus-evil simplicity. | tt0309820 | [PG-13] | Joseph Fiennes, Alfred Molina, Bruno Ganz, Jonathan Firth, Peter Ustinov, Claire Cox, Benjamin Sadler | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Luv | 1967 | Clive Donner | ★½ | 95 | Murray Schisgal's three-character hit play about pseudo-intellectuals was not a natural for the screen anyway, but this version is truly an abomination. The cast tries. Look for a young Harrison Ford. | tt0061927 | Jack Lemmon, Peter Falk, Elaine May, Eddie Mayehoff, Paul Hartman, Severn Darden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Luxury Liner | 1948 | Richard Whorf | ★★ | 98 | MGM fluff aboard a cruise ship, with Powell singing her heart out. | tt0040556 | George Brent, Jane Powell, Lauritz Melchior, Frances Gifford, Xavier Cugat | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Luzhin Defence | 2000 | Marleen Gorris | ★★★ | 106 | Intriguing adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov novel about a Russian chess master who falls in love while attending a world tournament in Italy during the 1920s. But his longtime teacher knows his dark secret: chess is not a game for him, but a compulsion. A treat to watch Turturro and Watson in this modest but well-made period piece. | tt0211492 | [PG-13] | John Turturro, Emily Watson, Geraldine James, Stuart Wilson, Christopher Thompson, Fabio Sartor | British-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Lydia | 1941 | Julien Duvivier | ★★★ | 104 | Sentimental tale of elderly woman (Oberon) meeting her former beaux and recalling their courtship. Remake of Duvivier's own French classic, UN CARNET DE BAL. | tt0033858 | Merle Oberon, Edna May Oliver, Alan Marshal, Joseph Cotten, Hans Yaray, George Reeves | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Lydia Bailey | 1952 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 89 | Handsome but empty version of Kenneth Roberts actioner of 1800s Haiti and revolt against French rulers. | tt0044861 | Dale Robertson, Anne Francis, Luis Van Rooten, Juanita Moore, William Marshall | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Lying Lips | 1939 | Oscar Micheaux. | ★★ | 68 | Nightclub singer Harris is framed on a murder rap; her manager-boyfriend and a policeman set out to prove her innocence. Low-grade Micheaux effort, primarily of note for its cast. | tt0031599 | Edna Mae Harris, Carman Newsome, (Robert) Earl Jones, Frances Williams, Cherokee Thornton, 'Slim' Thompson, Gladys Williams, Juano Hernandez, Amanda Randolph. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Lymelife | 2009 | Derick Martini | ★★★ | 94 | Meek, adolescent boy (Rory Culkin) sees his parents’ strained marriage dissolve before his eyes, even as he falteringly initiates his first relationship—with the pretty girl next door (Roberts). Coming-of-age tale set in Long Island in 1979, as the boy’s father (Baldwin) brashly pursues the American dream, covers familiar turf with some original touches and winning performances. Lean, independent film written by the director and his brother Steve Martini; the real-life Culkin brothers play siblings on-screen. | tt0363780 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon, Kieran Culkin, Emma Roberts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Léolo | 1992 | Jean-Claude Lauzon | ★★★ | 107 | Bizarrely funny black comedy about a boy, on the verge of adolescence, surviving in the slums of Montreal. He's stifled by a family he aptly describes as a 'black hole,' and is convinced he's the offspring of a contaminated, sperm-laden tomato! Lauzon penned the semiautobiographical script. | tt0104782 | Maxime Collin, Ginette Reno, Roland Blouin, Julien Guiomar, Pierre Bourgault, Giuditta Del Vecchio, Denys Arcand; narrated by Gilbert Sicotte | Canadian-French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| M | 1931 | Fritz Lang | ★★★★ | 99 | Harrowing melodrama about psychotic child murderer brought to justice by Berlin underworld. Riveting and frighteningly contemporary; cinematically dazzling, especially for an early talkie. Lorre's performance is unforgettable. Original 111m. version, available on video, features a different ending: a brief courtroom coda that subtly changes film's final message. Remade in 1951. | tt0022100 | Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Gustav Grundgens | German | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| M | 1951 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 88 | Interesting, intelligent re-thinking of Fritz Lang classic set in L.A., with Wayne as child-killer hunted down by community of criminals. | tt0043766 | David Wayne, Howard da Silva, Luther Adler, Karen Morley, Jorja Curtright, Martin Gabel, Norman Lloyd | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| M'Liss | 1918 | Marshall Neilan. | ★★★ | 73 | Pickford does a delightful Annie Oakley imitation in this entertaining Western set in the mining town of Red Gulch. The spunky daughter of an old geezer, she attracts the town's new schoolmaster (Meighan) while drawn into a murder case and a plot to pilfer an inheritance. Plenty of comic shtick enlivens this adaptation (by Frances Marion) of a Bret Harte story, filmed before in 1915 and again in 1936. | tt0009326 | Mary Pickford, Theodore Roberts, Thomas Meighan, Tully Marshall, Charles Ogle, Monte Blue, Winnifred Greenwood. | Short | NULL | |||
| M. Butterfly | 1993 | David Cronenberg | ★★ | 101 | Surprisingly tame and conventional Cronenberg rendering of David Henry Hwang's Tony-winning Broadway play— about the bizarrely extended relationship between a French diplomatic functionary and a Chinese diva/spy who managed to conceal the fact from him that she was a man. Cinematic closeups blatantly telegraph Lone's maleness; it's symptomatic of the movie's failure that office politics and even Irons' weary marriage are more compelling than the central ruse. | tt0107468 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, John Lone, Barbara Sukowa, Ian Richardson, Annabel Leventon, Shizuko Hoshi, The Beijing Opera Troupe | Drama | NULL | ||
| MASH | 1970 | Robert Altman | ★★★★ | 116 | Altman's first major success gave new meaning to the word 'irreverence,' set new style for contemporary filmmaking; follows black-comedy exploits of wild and woolly medical unit during Korean War in hilarious, episodic fashion. Oscar-winning screenplay by Ring Lardner, Jr.; reissued in 1973 at 112m., with new title music by Ahmad Jamal. Later a hit TV series (M*A*S*H). | tt0066026 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Jo Ann Pflug, Rene Auberjonois, Roger Bowen, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, John Schuck, Bud Cort, G. Wood | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| MGM's The Big Parade of Comedy | Big Parade of Comedy | 1964 | Robert Youngson | ★★½ | 90 | Compiled by Robert Youngson. Fifty of the greatest stars of all time appear in this compilation, but too briefly. Still worthwhile for many priceless sequences with Garbo, Laurel and Hardy, Keaton, Gable, Robert Benchley, Jean Harlow, Marion Davies, Marx Brothers, et al. | tt0058310 | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| MVP: Most Valuable Primate | 2000 | Robert Vince | ★½ | 93 | Contrived time-filler about a trained chimp who becomes the star player on a minor-league hockey team. This boring AIR BUD on ice may serve as perfect bedtime viewing for young tykes of worn-out parents. Followed in 2002 by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0196106 | [PG] | Kevin Zegers, Jaime Renée Smith, Oliver Muirhead, Russell Ferrier, Dave Thomas, Ric Ducommun, Jay Brazeau, Patrick Cranshaw, Bernie, Mac, Louie | U.S.-Canadian | Family, Comedy | NULL | |
| Ma Barker's Killer Brood | 1960 | Bill Karn | ★★ | 90 | Energetic performance by Tuttle and surprisingly sadistic violence hoist this programmer gangster yarn above tedium. | tt0054041 | Lurene Tuttle, Tristram Coffin, Paul Dubov, Nelson Leigh | Crime | NULL | |||
| Ma Saison Préférée | 1993 | André Téchiné | ★★★ | 124 | Story of intertwining relationships, and more interestingly, familial bonds and duties. Deneuve (married, with successful small business but stress at home) and eccentric brother Auteuil (a bachelor and neurosurgeon) make realistic, offbeat leads as adults trying to understand and enjoy life. Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni's real-life daughter, Chiara, makes her film debut, playing Deneuve's daughter. Talky, but worthwhile. | tt0107471 | Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Marthe Villalonga, Jean-Pierre Bouvier, Chiara Mastroianni, Carmen Chaplin, Anthony Prada | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ma Vie en Rose | 1997 | Alain Berliner | ★★★ | 88 | Ludovic (Du Fresne), a sweet little boy who resides with his parents in a Belgian suburb, has decided that, when he grows up, he wants to be a girl. To him this is perfectly logical; he already favors wearing dresses and makeup, and is determined to eventually wed the boy-next-door. Needless to say, mom and dad are perplexed and none too pleased. All points of view are well served in this charming and compassionate comedy-drama. | tt0119590 | [R] | Michele Laroque, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Helene Vincent, Georges Du Fresne, Julien Riviere | Belgian-French-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Ma and Pa Kettle | 1949 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 75 | The Kettles and their fifteen kids are threatened with eviction, but Pa wins a tobacco slogan contest and they all move into a luxurious 'home of the future.' First in the series of lowbrow bread-and-butter programmers. The futuristic home is a lot of fun. Video title: FURTHER ADVENTURES OF MA AND PA KETTLE. | tt0041613 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Meg Randall, Patricia Alphin, Esther Dale | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm | 1951 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 80 | The Kettles have to contend with their snobby in-laws while dealing with crooks who think there are uranium deposits on their land. Typical cornball entry. | tt0043767 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Meg Randall, Barbara Brown, Ray Collins, Emory Parnell, Peter Leeds | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town | 1950 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 70 | The Kettles get mixed up with crooks on a trip to New York, and their country smarts naturally subdue the city slickers. One of the series' best. | tt0042697 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, Meg Randall, Gregg Martell, Charles McGraw, Jim Backus, Elliott Lewis, Bert Freed, Hal March | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Home | 1954 | Charles Lamont | ★★★ | 81 | Sixth and best entry in the series has the Kettles trying to impress an Eastern magazine editor (Mowbray) in order to win a scholarship prize. One slapstick gag follows another, leading to a wild climactic chase; there's some homespun sentiment, too, as we spend Christmas with the Kettles (and, at last count, fifteen kids). | tt0047197 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Alan Mowbray, Ross Elliot, Alice Kelley, Brett Halsey, Mary Wickes, Irving Bacon, Emory Parnell, Oliver Blake | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki | 1955 | Lee Sholem | ★★ | 79 | To help out a relative, the Kettles travel to Hawaii where Pa immediately blows up the family pineapple factory and gets himself kidnapped. Pretty weak. Kilbride's last film. | tt0048328 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Lori Nelson, Byron Palmer, Loring Smith, Lowell Gilmore, Mabel Albertson, Esther Dale, Ida Moore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair | 1952 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 78 | Standard entry centering on the Kettles' efforts to win money at a country fair (with Ma's cooking) to send their daughter to college. Funny finale features Pa in a hectic horse race. | tt0044862 | Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride, Lori Nelson, James Best, Esther Dale, Russell Simpson, Emory Parnell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation | 1953 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 75 | The formula's wearing thin, as Ma and Pa travel to Paris as the guests of the Parkers and get mixed up with spies and femmes fatales. Look fast for a young Rita Moreno. | tt0046020 | Percy Kilbride, Marjorie Main, Ray Collins, Bodil Miller, Sig Ruman, Barbara Brown, Oliver Blake, Teddy Hart | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mac | 1992 | John Turturro | ★★★ | 118 | Rock-solid tale of a trio of Italian-American brothers in Queens, New York, during the mid-1950s. The eldest (Turturro), a carpenter, is fiercely determined to realize his American Dream, so he starts up his own construction company. Crammed with offbeat humor, but most refreshing as a sincere depiction of the lives and struggles of blue-collar Americans. Turturro's directorial debut; he coscripted with Brandon Cole. The film is dedicated to Turturro's father, a carpenter, and inspired by the senior Turturro's life. | tt0104783 | [R] | John Turturro, Michael Badalucco, Carl Capotorto, Katherine Borowitz, John Amos, Olek Krupa, Ellen Barkin, Joe Paparone | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mac and Me | 1988 | Stewart Raffill | ★½ | 93 | Slight E.T. clone about Mac, an outer space creature, and his plight in suburban L.A. More a TV commercial than a movie: There's a production number set in a McDonald's, and the alien survives by sipping Coca-Cola. | tt0095560 | [PG] | Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Katrina Caspary, Lauren Stanley, Jade Calegory | Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| MacArthur | 1977 | Joseph Sargent | ★★★ | 130 | Solid, absorbing saga of flamboyant military chief during WW2 and Korean War. Peck is excellent but film doesn't pack the punch of PATTON. Originally trade-screened at 144m. then cut for release. | tt0076342 | [PG] | Gregory Peck, Dan O'Herlihy, Ed Flanders, Sandy Kenyon, Dick O'Neill, Marj Dusay, Art Fleming | Drama | NULL | ||
| MacArthur's Children | 1985 | Masahiro Shinoda | ★★★½ | 115 | Extremely poignant, proud, loving remembrance of life in a small Japanese fishing village immediately following that nation's defeat in WW2. Most effectively delineated are the Japanese reaction to losing the war, as well as the cultural effects of the American occupation— from styles of dress to baseball. | tt0088093 | [PG] | Masako Natsume, Shima Iwashita, Hiromi Go, Takaya Yamauchi, Yoshiyuka Omori, Shiori Sakura, Juzo Itami | Japanese | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |
| MacGruber | 2010 | Jorma Taccone | ★★½ | 84 | How much mileage can a comedy get from a single joke? Quite a bit, judging from the guffaws-to-groaners ratio in this broadly played, raunchily written farce inspired by Saturday Night Live sketches spoofing the 1985–92 MacGyver TV series. Forte is undeniably funny as a lost-in-the-'80s action hero who somehow tries (with a little help from allies Phillippe and Wiig) to prevent an over-the-top bad guy (Kilmer) from nuking Washington, D.C. | tt1470023 | [R] | Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph, Val Kilmer | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Macabre | 1958 | William Castle | ★★ | 73 | Weird goings-on in small town where doctor's young daughter mysteriously vanishes— and an anonymous phone caller announces that the child has been buried alive. Film promises much, delivers little. Famous for Castle's gimmick of handing out policies insuring moviegoers for $1,000 against death by fright. | tt0051885 | William Prince, Jim Backus, Christine White, Jacqueline Scott | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Macao | 1952 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★ | 80 | Flat yarn supposedly set in murky title port, with Russell a singer and Mitchum the action-seeking man she loves. | tt0044863 | Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix, Gloria Grahame, Thomas Gomez, Philip Ahn | Film-Noir, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Macaroni | 1985 | Ettore Scola | ★★½ | 104 | Uptight American businessman goes to Naples and finds some unfinished personal business left over from his last visit— when he was an amorous soldier during WW2. Two of the world's most endearing actors try to keep this soufflé from falling, and almost succeed. | tt0089529 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Marcello Mastroianni, Daria Nicolodi, Isa Danieli, Maria Luisa Saniella | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Macbeth | 1948 | Orson Welles | ★★★ | 89 | Welles brought the Bard to Republic Pictures with this moody, well-done adaptation, filmed entirely on bizarre interiors (which deliberately emphasize its theatricality). Most revival houses now show Welles' original version, which runs 105m. and has the actors speaking with authentic Scot accents. | tt0040558 | Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Herlihy, Edgar Barrier, Roddy McDowall, Robert Coote, Erskine Sanford, Alan Napier, Peggy Webber, John Dierkes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Macbeth | 1971 | Roman Polanski | ★★★½ | 140 | Gripping, atmospheric, and extremely violent recreation of Shakespeare tragedy of young Scots nobleman lusting for power, driven onward by crazed wife and prophecies. Great example of film storytelling, thanks to excellent direction. | tt0067372 | [R] | Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Nicholas Selby, John Stride, Stephan Chase | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Macbeth | 2006 | Geoffrey Wright | ★★ | 109 | Ill-conceived retelling of the Shakespeare classic set among warring gangsters in contemporary Melbourne (but with Shakespearean dialogue intact). Macbeth is depicted as a shaggy-haired hood who resembles a grunge rock star; Lady Macbeth is a cocaine-snorting, mentally unhinged schemer. There’s precious little conversation during the film’s first nine minutes, but plenty of bloody corpses. Adapted by Wright and Hill (who plays Lady M.); both coproduced. | tt0434541 | Sam Worthington, Victoria Hill, Lachy Hulme, Gary Sweet, Steve Bastoni, Mick Molloy, Matt Doran | Australian | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Machete | 2010 | Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis | ★★ | 105 | Feature-length extension of one of the fake coming-attractions trailers from 2007’s GRINDHOUSE, with Danny Trejo as the titular character, a former Mexican federale who seeks revenge on those who set him up to “assassinate” a Texas legislator (De Niro). It’s fun to see the imposing Trejo in a leading role, but cowriter-codirector-coeditor Rodriguez’s usual over-the-top mock-exploitation genre excesses—and undernourished plot—quickly become wearying. Amusing casting choices throughout, although De Niro is wasted in a no-account part. | tt0985694 | [R] | Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Shea Whigham, Daryl Sabara, Tom Savini, Gilbert Trejo, Billy Blair, Nimród Antal | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Machine Gun McCain | 1968 | Giuliano Montaldo | ★★ | 94 | Junk about just-released gangster who tries to rob Mafia-controlled casino in Las Vegas. | tt0065895 | [PG] | John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, Gabriele Ferzetti, Salvo Randone, Gena Rowlands | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Machine Gun Preacher | 2011 | Marc Forster | ★★½ | 129 | Savage true-lifer about Sam Childers, a thuggish ex-con who returns home to find his junkie stripper wife has found God. Eventually, so does he, but it's not enough for him until a visiting pastor's plea for African relief ignites a missionary zeal to build a Christian orphanage in unholy war-torn Sudan. Actionful fictionalization of Childers' autobiography Another Man's War surely has its heart in the right place, but comes off emotionally manipulative and rather sanctimonious. Shot in Detroit and South Africa. | tt1586752 | [R] | Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker, Souleymane Sy Savane, Madeline Carroll | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Machine to Kill Bad People | 1948 | Roberto Rossellini. | ★★½ | 80 | Eye-catching title for a sober postwar parable about a demonic camera that assassinates the villagers whose pictures it snaps. While the photographer's imagination is initially piqued by the political and societal potential inherent in such a device, he soon learns how hard it can be for a god to discern between good and evil. Original title: LA MACCHINA AMMAZZACATTIVI. | tt0040559 | Gennaro Pisano, Giovanni Amato, Marilyn Buferd, Pietro Carloni. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Machine | 1994 | François Dupeyron | ★★★ | 96 | Scientist Depardieu's experiment works better than he expected, and he switches minds with a psychotic killer of women. Suspenseful, well-plotted Gallic variation on old themes; good direction, better acting. From the novel La Machine by Rene Belletto. | tt0110425 | Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Didier Bourdon, Natalia Woerner, Erwan Baynaud, Marc Andreoni, Julie Depardieu | French-German | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Machine-Gun Kelly | 1958 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 80 | With typical efficiency, Corman gives this gangster chronicle pacing and more than passing interest. Bronson is fine in title role. | tt0051887 | Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot, Barboura Morris, Morey Amsterdam, Wally Campo, Jack Lambert, Connie Gilchrist | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Machinist | 2004 | Brad Anderson | ★★★ | 102 | Machine shop worker Bale is deeply troubled: he hasn't slept in a year . . . mysterious notes appear on his refrigerator . . . he converses with a coworker who doesn't appear to exist . . . and he's losing weight at an alarming rate. Eerie, weirdly compelling psychological thriller is beautifully designed and shot. If Franz Kafka ever scripted a movie, this might have been it. Bale's mere presence is disturbing: he shed 63 pounds in preparation for this role and moves through the film like a walking skeleton. | tt0361862 | [R] | Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian, Michael Ironside, Larry Gilliard, Reg E. Cathey, Anna Massey | Spanish | Thriller, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Macho Callahan | 1970 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★★½ | 99 | Janssen miscast as Civil War POW-escapee, out to kill man who got him arrested in first place; will recognize latter by his yellow shoes. Interesting view of West, but dialogue often unbelievable. | tt0066033 | [R] | David Janssen, Lee J. Cobb, Jean Seberg, David Carradine, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., James Booth, Richard Anderson | Western | NULL | ||
| Maciste the Mighty | Son of Samson | 1960 | Carlo Campogalliani | ★★ | 87 | Forest in title role tries to instill some animation in wooden tale of old Egypt and the barbaric Persians. Aka SON OF SAMSON. | tt0054044 |
|
Mark Forest, Chelo Alonso, Angelo Zanolli, Federica Ranchi | Italian | Action | NULL |
| Mack the Knife | 1989 | Menahem Golan | 💣 | 120 | Name cast over-emotes in this ill-conceived, overly stylized version of The Threepenny Opera. More a filmed stage revue than anything else, and not a very good one; Golan adapted the script, and completely misses the spirit of the original. This one blots the memory of Brecht and Weill (not to mention Bobby Darin). | tt0097800 | [PG-13] | Raul Julia, Richard Harris, Julia Migenes, Roger Daltrey, Julie Walters, Rachel Robertson, Clive Revill | Comedy, Crime, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Mack | 1973 | Michael Campus | ★★ | 110 | Extremely violent melodrama about a black pimp in Oakland was one of the most popular blaxploitation films; strange, because it's utterly ordinary. | tt0070350 | [R] | Max Julien, Don Gordon, Richard Pryor, Carol Speed, Roger E. Mosley, William C. Watson | Crime | NULL | ||
| Mackenna's Gold | 1969 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 128 | Overblown adventure saga about search for lost canyon of gold, with doublecrosses, conflicts, mysterious clues, etc. Super cast saddled with ludicrous script, made worse by pre-release tampering that cut extremely long film, leaving abrupt denouement, several loose ends. Fine Quincy Jones score; produced by Carl Foreman (who also scripted) and Dimitri Tiomkin. Narrated by Victor Jory. | tt0064615 | [M] | Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, Telly Savalas, Camilla Sparv, Keenan Wynn, Julie Newmar, Lee J. Cobb, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Anthony Quayle, Edward G. Robinson, Eli Wallach, Ted Cassidy, Eduardo Ciannelli | Western | NULL | ||
| The Mackintosh Man | 1973 | John Huston | ★★½ | 105 | Well-made espionage thriller has only one problem: it's all been done before. Filmed in Ireland, England, and Malta; screenplay credited to Walter Hill. | tt0070351 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda, James Mason, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen, Nigel Patrick, Michael Hordern | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mackintosh and T.J. | 1975 | Marvin J. Chomsky | ★★ | 96 | Old-fashioned modern-day Western about an aging ranch hand and a young boy. Those charmed by idea of Roy Rogers' comeback will want to see it; others beware. Music by Waylon Jennings. | tt0073328 | [PG] | Roy Rogers, Clay O'Brien, Billy Green Bush, Andrew Robinson, Joan Hackett | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The Macomber Affair | 1947 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★½ | 89 | Penetrating, intelligent filmization of Hemingway story about conflicts that develop when hunter Peck takes married couple (Preston, Bennett) on safari. Bristling performances help make this one of the most vivid screen adaptations of a Hemingway work. Based on 'The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber'; scripted by Casey Robinson and Seymour Bennett. | tt0039591 | Gregory Peck, Joan Bennett, Robert Preston, Reginald Denny, Carl Harbord | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Macon County Line | 1974 | Richard Compton | ★★★ | 89 | In 1954, two fun-loving brothers from Chicago roam the South before military service, but get into trouble with a Georgia sheriff. Drive-in classic was a huge hit and created a sub-genre. Intelligent, well acted and suspenseful; shot around Sacramento, California. And despite the introductory claim, it's not based on a true story. Baer produced and scripted. Followed by RETURN TO MACON COUNTY. | tt0071788 | [R] | Alan Vint, Cheryl Waters, Max Baer/Jr., Jesse Vint, Joan Blackman, Geoffrey Lewis, James Gammon, Leif Garrett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Macumba Love | 1960 | Douglas Fowley | ★½ | 86 | Trivia of supernatural debunker Reed delving into voodoo practices in Haiti. Shot in Brazil. | tt0054045 | Walter Reed, Ziva Rodann, William Wellman/Jr., June Wilkinson | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mad About Mambo | 1999 | John Forte | ★★½ | 92 | Belfast lad desperately wants to play football (Americans: read 'soccer'), but isn't any good— until he hears a Brazilian pro say it's all in the rhythm, which inspires him to take Latin dance lessons. There he meets a rich girl who's determined to win an upcoming competition. Utterly predictable fluff, but nicely done, with a dollop of social commentary and a radiant Russell. Gabriel Byrne coexecutive-produced. P.S. The film is about the samba, not the mambo. | tt0156757 | [PG-13] | William Ash, Keri Russell, Brian Cox, Theo Fraser Steele, Rosaleen Linehan, Maclean Stewart, Tim Loane | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Mad About Men | 1954 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 90 | Mermaid and young woman look-alike change places in this pleasant fantasy, and love takes its course. Sequel to MIRANDA. | tt0047199 | Glynis Johns, Donald Sinden, Anne Crawford, Margaret Rutherford, Dora Bryan, Noel Purcell | British | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mad About Money | 1937 | Melville Brown. | ★★ | 74 | Nifty cast sparks hoary plot of motion-picture entrepreneurs attempting to milk a cattle baroness who's actually a showgirl in mufti trying to get into their movie. Bland on every level, but likable cast and a few lively songs help. Original title: STARDUST. U.S. title: HE LOVED AN ACTRESS. | tt0030221 | Lupe Velez, Ben Lyon, Wallace Ford, Harry Langdon, Mary Cole, Cyril Raymond, Ronald Ward. | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Mad About Music | 1938 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 98 | Excellent Durbin vehicle; busy mother Patrick leaves Deanna in Swiss girls' school, where she pretends Marshall is her father. Holds up better than remake TOY TIGER. | tt0030395 | Deanna Durbin, Herbert Marshall, Gail Patrick, Arthur Treacher, Helen Parrish, Marcia Mae Jones, William Frawley | Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mad Adventures of 'Rabbi' Jacob | 1974 | Gerard Oury | ★★★ | 96 | Broad slapstick comedy about hotheaded, bigoted businessman who— for complicated reasons— is forced to disguise himself as a rabbi. Uneven but often quite funny, with echoes of silent-screen humor. | tt0069747 | [G] | Louis De Funes, Suzy Delair, Marcel Dalio, Claude Giraud, Claude Pieplu | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Mad Bomber | Police Connection | 1972 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★ | 95 | Hardnosed cop Edwards relentlessly dogs paranoid villain Connors who's out to waste those he imagines have wronged him. Aka THE POLICE CONNECTION. | tt0068892 | [R] | Vince Edwards, Chuck Connors, Neville Brand, Hank Brandt, Cristina Hart | Crime | NULL | |
| Mad City | 1997 | Costa-Gavras | ★★ | 114 | Recently fired museum guard Travolta tries to get his job back at gunpoint, accidentally taking some children hostage and giving disgraced TV newsman Hoffman a chance to get back into the big time. Well-crafted movie with a knockout performance by Hoffman is unfortunately routine and obvious. Does anyone still find it outrageous that a TV newsman might exploit his subjects for self-gain? Bill Nunn appears unbilled. | tt0119592 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Alda, Mia Kirshner, William Atherton, Raymond J. Barry, Ted Levine, Robert Prosky, Blythe Danner | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mad Doctor of Blood Island | Tomb of the Living Dead | 1969 | Gerry de Leon, Eddie Romero | 💣 | 85 | Newcomers to remote tropical island quickly discover why it has a reputation for evil. It's a tossup which is worse: the dialogue, the music, or the hyperactive zoom lens. Filmed in Philippines. Retitled TOMB OF THE LIVING DEAD; followed by a sequel(!), BEAST OF BLOOD. | tt0063255 | [M] | John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Ronald Peary, Alicia Alonzo | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Mad Doctor of Market Street | 1942 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 61 | Mini-chiller from Universal about insane scientist (Atwill) marooned on Pacific isle, worshipped by its natives, and using fellow castaways for strange experiments. | tt0035007 | Lionel Atwill, Una Merkel, Claire Dodd, Nat Pendleton, Anne Nagel | Horror, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mad Doctor | 1941 | Tim Whelan | ★★ | 90 | Not a horror film, but a polished B about suave medico who marries women and murders them for their money. Interesting for a while, but misses the mark. | tt0033861 | Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, John Howard, Barbara Jo Allen, Ralph Morgan, Martin Kosleck | Crime | NULL | |||
| Mad Dog Coll | 1961 | Burt Balaban | ★½ | 86 | Minor crime melodrama about the career of Vincent 'Mad Dog' Coll, the most vicious killer in all gangland. Hayward is the daughter of Margaret Sullavan and the author of Haywire; that's Vincent Gardenia as Dutch Schultz, Gene Hackman (in his film debut) as a cop. | tt0055118 | John Davis Chandler, Brooke Hayward, Kay Doubleday, Jerry Orbach, Telly Savalas | Crime | NULL | |||
| Mad Dog Morgan | 1976 | Philippe Mora | ★★★ | 102 | Hopper gives lively performance as legendary Australian outlaw of the 1800s in this moody, well-made, but extremely violent film; TV print runs 93m. Retitled: MAD DOG. | tt0074836 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson, David Gulpilil, Frank Thring, Michael Pate | Australian | Western | NULL | |
| Mad Dog Time | Trigger Happy | 1996 | Larry Bishop | ★★ | 93 | On another, but almost identical, Earth, gangsters rule supreme. Sleek Goldblum is continually challenged by upstarts, primarily MacLachlan, but his real rival is big boss Dreyfuss, fresh out of prison. Dry and intelligent, but slow and ostentatiously stylish. Goldblum is sensational, however. Written by the director, the son of Joey Bishop, who appears unbilled. Retitled TRIGGER HAPPY. | tt0116953 | [R] | Ellen Barkin, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Diane Lane, Gregory Hines, Kyle MacLachlan, Burt Reynolds, Christopher Jones, Henry Silva, Michael J. Pollard, Billy Idol, Billy Drago, Paul Anka, Rob Reiner, Richard Pryor, Angie Everhart | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Mad Dog and Glory | 1993 | John McNaughton | ★★★ | 96 | Offbeat concoction from street-smart writer Richard Price, about a nerdy cop (De Niro) who does a favor for a Chicago hood (Murray), and is repaid by having Thurman delivered to him as a 'present' for one week. Though it's low-key, and doesn't quite hit the bull's-eye, it's still oddly endearing. Coproduced by Price, Martin Scorsese, and Barbara De Fina. | tt0107473 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, Kathy Baker, David Caruso, Mike Starr, Tom Towles, J. J. Johnston, Richard Belzer | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mad Executioners | 1963 | Edwin Zbonek | ★★ | 94 | Muddled Edgar Wallaceish suspenser about Scotland Yard inspector setting up his own court of justice to execute criminals. | tt0057138 |
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Wolfgang Preiss, Harry Riebauer, Rudolf Fernau, Chris Howland | German | Crime, Horror | NULL | |
| The Mad Genius | 1931 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 81 | Followup to SVENGALI has Barrymore a deranged entrepreneur who lives vicariously through Cook's dancing career. Bizarre, entertaining film with hilarious Butterworth as Barrymore's crony, Alberni as a dope fiend. Karloff has small role near the beginning as Darro's sadistic father. | tt0022103 | John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Cook, Carmel Myers, Charles Butterworth, Mae Madison, Frankie Darro, Luis Alberni, Boris Karloff | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mad Ghoul | 1943 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 65 | Strong cast buoys grim story of scientist Zucco turning assistant Bruce into a zombie in order to clear the path to romance with Bruce's girl. | tt0036125 | David Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, George Zucco, Turhan Bey, Charles McGraw, Robert Armstrong, Milburn Stone, Rose Hobart | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mad Holiday | 1936 | George B. Seitz. | ★★½ | 71 | Mildly amusing blend of mystery and comedy with Lowe as a movie detective who's fed up with his tired cinematic adventures and takes a cruise to escape. Naturally he becomes embroiled in a real-life murder, with pulp novelist Landi and studio press agent Healy aboard for the ride. | tt0027923 | Edmund Lowe, Elissa Landi, ZaSu Pitts, Ted Healy, Edmund Gwenn, Edgar Kennedy, Walter Kingsford. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mad Hot Ballroom | 2005 | Marilyn Agrelo. | ★★★ | 105 | Irresistible documentary about public elementary school students who learn ballroom dancing, with the hope of participating in a citywide competition. Upbeat without being saccharine, this film says a lot about the possibilities that unfold for children when given an opportunity to learn poise, politeness, and self-confidence through dance. The very embodiment of a feel-good movie. | tt0438205 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mad Little Island | Rockets Galore! | 1957 | Michael Relph | ★★½ | 94 | Sequel to TIGHT LITTLE ISLAND finds that little Scottish isle's tranquility disturbed again, this time by imminent installation of missile base. Not up to its predecessor, but on its own terms, decent enough. Original title: ROCKETS GALORE. | tt0050910 | Jeannie Carson, Donald Sinden, Roland Culver, Noel Purcell, Ian Hunter, Duncan MacRae, Catherine Lacey, Jean Cadell, Gordon Jackson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mad Love | 1935 | Karl Freund | ★★★ | 70 | Famous Hands of Orlac story refitted for Lorre as mad Paris surgeon in love with married Drake. He agrees to operate on her pianist husband's injured hands, with disastrous results. Stylishly directed by legendary cameraman Freund; only debit is unwelcome comedy relief by Healy. | tt0026663 | Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Isabel Jewell, Ted Healy, Sara Haden, Edward Brophy, Keye Luke | Romance, Horror | NULL | |||
| Mad Love | 1995 | Antonia Bird | ★½ | 95 | Teen-lovers-on-the-lam movie with a difference: she's mentally unstable. Attractive young stars do the best they can, but the script peters out and leaves them nothing to work with. A waste of time. By the way, this is not a remake of the 1935 movie; too bad— they could have used a dose of Peter Lorre. | tt0113729 | [PG-13] | Chris O'Donnell, Drew Barrymore, Joan Allen, Jude Ciccolella, Kevin Dunn, Liev Schreiber, Richard Chaim, Robert Nadir, Matthew Lillard | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Mad Magician | 1954 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 72 | Amusing knockoff of HOUSE OF WAX, made by many of the same hands (and also shot in 3-D). This time Price is an illusionist, but otherwise the plots are pretty much alike. Much better than it has any right to be; Brahm, no stranger to Victorian-era melodrama, keeps it moving swiftly, with Lane upstaging the stars as a nosy crime novelist. Lyle Talbot appears unbilled as a program hawker. | tt0047200 | Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor, Patrick O'Neal, John Emery | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mad Max | 1979 | George Miller | ★★★½ | 93 | In the desolate near-future, the police have their hands full keeping roads safe from suicidally daring drivers and roving gangs. Top cop Gibson tires and quits, but when his wife and child are murdered by vicious cyclists, he embarks on high-speed revenge. Weird atmosphere and characters combine with amazing stunt work in this remarkable action film. Thrown away by its U.S. distributor (which also redubbed it with American voices), later found its audience in the wake of successful sequel. | tt0079501 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns, Roger Ward | Australian | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome | 1985 | George Miller, George Ogilvie. | ★★½ | 106 | In the desolate future Mad Max comes upon Turner's cutthroat city of Bartertown, survives a battle-to-the-death in Roman-style Thunderdome arena, and is exiled to the desert, where he's rescued by tribe of wild children. Thunderous film has lots of action and stunts, and even some philosophical moments, but lacks the kinetic energy of THE ROAD WARRIOR (MAD MAX 2). | tt0089530 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Angelo Rossitto, Helen Buday, Rod Zuanic, Frank Thring, Angry Anderson. | Australian | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Mad Miss Manton | 1938 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 80 | Socialite Stanwyck involves her friends in murder mystery; trivial but enjoyable film, with sleuthing and slapstick combined. | tt0030396 | Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene, Frances Mercer, Stanley Ridges, Vicki Lester, Whitney Bourne, Hattie McDaniel, Penny Singleton, Grady Sutton | Comedy, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mad Money | 2008 | Callie Khouri | ★★★ | 104 | Entertaining comedy about a nouveau poor suburbanite (Keaton) who goes to work as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City and realizes there is a way to steal money so it will never be traced, or even missed. She recruits two other workers to be her partners in crime, and off they go! Engaging farce is played with verve by the three female costars. Remake of a 2001 British TV movie called HOT MONEY. | tt0951216 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Adam Rothenberg, Roger Cross, Stephen Root, Christopher McDonald, Finesse Mitchell, Meagen Fay | Comedy, Romance, Crime | NULL | ||
| Mad Monster Party? | 1967 | Jules Bass | ★★ | 94 | Famous monsters are brought together by Baron von Frankenstein (voice of Karloff), who wants to announce his retirement, in this silly animated kiddie feature from Rankin/Bass. | tt0061931 | Voices of Phyllis Diller, Boris Karloff, Gale Garnett, Ethel Ennis | Animation, Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Mad Monster | 1942 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 72 | Dull, low-budget mad-scientist thriller drags heavy feet for unintended laughs. Zucco effortlessly steals show as crazed doctor changing man into beast in bargain-basement WOLF MAN knockoff. | tt0035009 | Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel, Sarah Padden, Glenn Strange, Gordon DeMain | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Mad Room | 1969 | Bernard Girard | ★★ | 92 | Mild but unexceptional remake of LADIES IN RETIREMENT concerns the skeletons in Stella's closet. Grisly tale has a few shocking scenes. | tt0064617 | [M] | Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, James Ward, Carol Cole, Severn Darden, Beverly Garland, Michael Burns | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mad at the World | 1955 | Harry Essex | ★½ | 72 | Pointless study of Brasselle seeking vengeance on teenage slum gang who harmed his baby; Lovejoy is detective on case. The 'teens' (Stanley Clements, Joe Turkel, Paul Dubov) are played by actors long out of adolescence. | tt0048329 | Frank Lovejoy, Keefe Brasselle, Cathy O'Donnell, Karen Sharpe | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Madadayo | 1993 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 134 | Kurosawa's final film, made when he was 83, is a gentle and contemplative series of vignettes depicting two decades in the life of a revered professor— his retirement in 1943, the bombing of his house during an air raid, building a new home, finding and losing a stray cat, etc.— all centered around a string of birthday parties thrown for him by his ex-students at which he shouts 'madadayo!' ('not yet!') to indicate he's not ready to be taken by death. A warmhearted and life-affirming finale to the career of a cinematic master. Released in the U.S. in 1998. | tt0107474 | Tatsuo Matsumura, Kyoko Kagawa, Hisashi Igawa, George Tokoro | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Madagascar | 2005 | Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath | ★★ | 86 | A zebra wants to leave his comfy home at N.Y.C.'s Central Park Zoo. His best friends (a lion, a hippo, and a giraffe) try to stop him, which leads to a series of misadventures-and finds them all deposited in the wilds of Madagascar. Computer-animated feature has all the moves and rhythms of a sitcom, with 'clever' references for grown-ups in the audience, but it isn't very funny. Instantly forgettable. Director McGrath provides the voice of the head penguin. | tt0351283 | [PG] | Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G), Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | 2012 | Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon | ★★ | 85 | Colorful, fast-paced, occasionally funny sequel finds the Central Park Zoo crew leaving Africa, plotting their return to N.Y.C. by joining a European traveling circus. Passing for circus performers under the suspicious eye an of acrobatic knife-throwing Russian tiger (Cranston) and pursued by an obsessed animal control officer (McDormand), they finally make it back—but not before chase sequences, painful pratfalls, and multiple explosions. More than previous outings, this film sacrifices story logic and heart for sight gags and frantic action. Short's enthusiastic performance as a circus sea lion stands out among the new voices. | tt1277953 | [PG] | Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short, Jessica Chastain, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Paz Vega | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | 2008 | Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath | ★★½ | 89 | The animal characters of the original attempt to return to N.Y.C. but instead find themselves in Africa, where they mix with their wild (rather than zoo-raised) brethren. Computer-animated comedy is a rarity for kids’ movies: a sequel that improves on the original. | tt0479952 | [PG] | Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, Will I. Am, Tom McGrath | NULL | |||
| Madam Satan | 1930 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 115 | Bizarre semimusical extravaganza with placid Johnson posing as wicked Madam Satan to win back errant husband Denny. Mad party scene on Zeppelin is certainly an eye-popper. | tt0021106 | Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Roland Young, Lillian Roth, Elsa Peterson, Tyler Brooke | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Madame | 1961 | Christian-Jaque | ★★½ | 104 | Uninspired remake of MADAME SANS-GENE (filmed in 1925) with Loren, who uses looks and wits to rise from laundress to nobility in Napoleonic France. | tt0056208 |
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Sophia Loren, Robert Hossein, Julien Bertheau, Marina Berti | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Madame Bovary | 1949 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★½ | 115 | Gustave Flaubert's 19th-century heroine sacrifices her husband and their security for love, meets a horrible end. Once-controversial adaptation looks better every year, despite an odd 'framing' device involving Flaubert's morals trial. Justifiably celebrated ball sequence is among the greatest set pieces of Minnelli's— or anyone else's— career. Screenplay by Robert Ardrey. Previously filmed in 1932 (as UNHOLY LOVE) and 1934 (in France, by Jean Renoir); remade in France in 1991. | tt0041615 | Jennifer Jones, James Mason, Van Heflin, Louis Jourdan, Christopher Kent (Alf Kjellin), Gene Lockhart, Gladys Cooper, George Zucco, Harry Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame Bovary | 1991 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 130 | Huppert's persona is far too chilly to convey the passion of Emma Bovary in this faithful but exhaustingly dull rendering of Flaubert's classic. Vincente Minnelli's version may turn the novel upside-down, but it's a far more significant movie. Even viewers with unusually refined auteurist radar would have a tough time pegging this as a Chabrol. | tt0102368 | [PG-13] | Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Francois Balmer, Christophe Malavoy, Jean Yanne, Lucas Belvaux, Jean-Claude Bouilland | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Madame Bovary | 1934 | Jean Renoir | ★★ | 102 | Uneven, unsatisfying version of the oft-filmed Flaubert story, about the romantic, ill-fated title character. Originally three hours long, Renoir (who also scripted) was forced to drastically edit it. While the first version may have been more compelling than the existing film, the fact remains that Tessier is miscast as Emma Bovary. | tt0025442 |
|
Valentine Tessier, Pierre Renoir, Max Dearly, Daniel Lecourtois, Fernand Fabre, Alice Tissot, Helena Manson | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Madame Butterfly | 1932 | Marion Gering | ★★½ | 86 | Puccini opera (minus music) of Oriental woman in love with American (Grant) is sensitive, tragic romance, dated but well handled. | tt0023169 | Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Charlie Ruggles, Irving Pichel, Helen Jerome Eddy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame Curie | 1943 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 124 | Despite stretches of plodding footage, bio of famed female scientist is generally excellent. Garson and Pidgeon team well, as usual. | tt0036126 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Henry Travers, Albert Bassermann, Robert Walker, C. Aubrey Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame Du Barry | 1934 | William Dieterle. | ★★ | 77 | Intriguing cast can't do much with this superficial historical charade about the life and loves of the infamous courtesan during the wicked reign of King Louis XV. At least it looks good, with lavish costumes and sets. | tt0025443 | Dolores Del Rio, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory, Osgood Perkins, Verree Teasdale, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Dorothy Tree, Anita Louise, Henry O'Neill. | Comedy, Drama, History | NULL | |||
| Madame Racketeer | 1932 | Alexander Hall, Henry Wagstaff Gribble | ★★½ | 71 | Entertaining vehicle for Skipworth as con-woman supreme known as The Countess, who reveals a heart of gold when she encounters her two grown daughters for the first time. | tt0023170 |
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Alison Skipworth, Richard Bennett, George Raft, Evalyn Knapp, Gertrude Messinger, J. Farrell MacDonald, Robert McWade | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Madame Rosa | 1977 | Moshe Mizrahi | ★★½ | 105 | Signoret's magnetic performance gives substance to interesting but aimless film about an aging madam who earns her keep sheltering prostitutes' children. Won Best Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0076348 | [PG] | Simone Signoret, Samy Ben Youb, Claude Dauphin, Gabriel Jabbour, Michal Bat-Adam, Costa-Gavras | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Madame Sousatzka | 1988 | John Schlesinger | ★★★ | 122 | Eccentric, reclusive London piano teacher (MacLaine, wearing clanky jewelry and piles of makeup) implores her students to cultivate their artistic spirit and bring passion to their music. She meets her match in her star pupil, a 15-year-old boy of Indian heritage. Beautifully made film succeeds largely due to the strong emotions being played out, and to the superb supporting cast (especially young Chowdhry and mother Azmi— the latter a major star in her native India). | tt0095564 | [PG-13] | Shirley MacLaine, Navin Chowdhry, Peggy Ashcroft, Twiggy, Shabana Azmi, Leigh Lawson, Geoffrey Bayldon, Lee Montague | Drama | NULL | ||
| Madame X | 1929 | Lionel Barrymore | ★★ | 90 | Leaden weeper, filmed previously in 1906, 1916, and 1920, about cold, cruel husband Stone forcing wife Chatterton onto the streets. Their son comes of age believing she's dead . . . and then gets to defend her on a murder charge. A curio at best; the remakes are better. | tt0020126 | Ruth Chatterton, Lewis Stone, Raymond Hackett, Holmes Herbert, Eugenie Besserer, Sidney Toler | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame X | 1937 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 71 | Alexandre Bisson's stalwart soap opera gets polished MGM treatment and a fine performance by Gladys George as the woman whose ultimate sacrifice is never detected by her son. Goes astray toward the end (with Beal a bit much), but worth a look. | tt0029179 | Gladys George, John Beal, Warren William, Reginald Owen, William Henry, Henry Daniell, Phillip Reed, Ruth Hussey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame X | 1966 | David Lowell Rich | ★★½ | 100 | Plush remake of perennial soaper of attorney defending a woman accused of murder, not knowing it's his mother. Fine cast and varied backgrounds bolster Turner's pivotal performance. Constance Bennett's last film. Remade for TV in 1981 with Tuesday Weld. | tt0060645 | Lana Turner, John Forsythe, Constance Bennett, Ricardo Montalban, Burgess Meredith, Keir Dullea, Virginia Grey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madame X | 1981 | Robert Ellis Miller | Average TV Movie | 100 | Hard to believe this hardy soap opera would show up again, but here it is, updated somewhat by writer Edward Anhalt (who also appears in the film as a judge). | tt0082695 | Tuesday Weld, Len Cariou, Eleanor Parker, Robert Hooks, Jerry Stiller, Jeremy Brett, Martina Deignan, Robin Strand, Tom Tully | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Maddening | 1996 | Danny Huston | ★½ | 97 | Addled Angie and brutal Burt hold Mia and her young daughter captive in backwoods Florida, while her estranged husband searches for her. Over-the-top Southern gothic saddled with a familiar, predictable plot and uneven acting. Filmed in 1994. | tt0113732 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, Mia Sara, Brian Wimmer, Josh Mostel, William Hickey | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Made | 2001 | Jon Favreau | ★★★ | 95 | Favreau and Vaughn (who worked so well together in SWINGERS) play L.A. slackers hired by Falk to handle some shady business in N.Y.C. involving big-shot Combs (in his screen-acting debut). The stars' rapport, especially Vaughn's inept character, make MADE a whole lot funnier than many bigger movie comedies. The two stars also produced; Favreau wrote the script. Bud Cort and Sam Rockwell appear unbilled. | tt0227005 | [R] | Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Famke Janssen, Peter Falk, Sean Combs, Faizon Love, Vincent Pastore, Jonathan Silverman | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Made For Each Other | 1939 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 93 | First-rate soaper of struggling young marrieds Stewart and Lombard battling illness, lack of money, Stewart's meddling mother Watson. Fine acting makes this all work. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031602 | Carole Lombard, James Stewart, Charles Coburn, Lucile Watson, Alma Kruger, Esther Dale, Ward Bond, Louise Beavers | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Made for Each Other | 1971 | Robert B. Bean | ★★★ | 101 | Exceptionally funny tale of two oddball types who meet at encounter session and fall in love. Screenplay by Taylor and Bologna. | tt0067377 | [PG] | Renee Taylor, Joseph Bologna, Paul Sorvino, Olympia Dukakis, Adam Arkin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Made in America | 1993 | Richard Benjamin | ★★ | 110 | Fiercely proud, independent Goldberg is forced to reveal to her teenage daughter that she was conceived from a sperm bank. The daughter then learns that her 'father' is a blowhard car salesman— who's white. Dishearteningly stupid movie based on a clever premise. The two ladies trapped in Whoopi's store, by the way, are Frances Bergen (Candice's mother) and '50s TV leading lady Phyllis Avery. | tt0107478 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson, Will Smith, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Jennifer Tilly, Peggy Rea, Clyde Kusatsu, Lu Leonard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Made in Dagenham | 2010 | Nigel Cole | ★★ | 113 | Routine dramatization of a meaty, true-life story about women who went on strike at a Ford Motor Co. plant outside of London in 1968, causing unexpected repercussions. The film gives its audience no credit for understanding anything that isn’t spelled out and underlined. Good performances, especially by Hawkins as the unlikely labor leader, make it watchable. | tt1371155 | [R] | Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays, Richard Schiff, Kenneth Cranham, Rupert Graves, John Sessions, Roger Lloyd Pack; voice of Danny Huston | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Made in Heaven | 1987 | Alan Rudolph | ★★ | 103 | Young man dies and goes to heaven, where he meets a yet-unborn beauty and falls in love. The Big Question: how long will it take for them to meet, in their new identities on earth, and realize that they were 'made for each other'? Potentially sweet fantasy-romance is undermined by too many kinky touches and inside-joke cameos (Debra Winger, in drag, plays Hutton's guardian angel). This is apparently director Rudolph's idea of a mainstream Hollywood movie. Among the other cameos: Neil Young, Tom Petty, Ellen Barkin, Ric Ocasek, David Rasche, Tom Robbins, Gary Larson. | tt0093467 | [PG] | Timothy Hutton, Kelly McGillis, Maureen Stapleton, Don Murray, Marj Dusay, Ray Gideon, Amanda Plummer, Mare Winningham, Timothy Daly | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Made in Italy | 1967 | Nanni Loy | ★★½ | 101 | Enjoyable collage of short vignettes about natives, tourists, sophisticates, laborers and all others in Italy. Episodic, of course, but well done. | tt0061934 |
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Virna Lisi, Anna Magnani, Sylva Koscina, Walter Chiari, Lea Massari, Alberto Sordi, Jean Sorel, Catherine Spaak | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Made in Paris | 1966 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 101 | Witless, unpolished shenanigans of Ann-Margret, fashion designer in France, falling for Jourdan. | tt0060646 | Ann-Margret, Louis Jourdan, Richard Crenna, Edie Adams, Chad Everett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Made in U.S.A | 1966 | Jean-Luc Godard. | ★★★ | 85 | Journalist Karina turns into a trench-coated shamus to discover who killed her lover and gets mixed up in a labyrinthine mystery in a place called Atlantic City (even though the action is clearly set in France). Thoroughly whacked-out and completely unauthorized adaptation of a Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) novel is a bracing (if sometimes incomprehensible) homage to American noir, filled with typical Godardian movie references, allusions to political conspiracies and assassinations, and characters named Richard Widmark, Donald Siegel, Inspector Aldrich, David Goodis, Robert McNamara, and Richard Nixon. | tt0060647 | Anna Karina, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Lászlo Szabó, Yves Afonso, Ernest Menzer, Marianne Faithfull. | French-Italian | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Made of Honor | 2008 | Paul Weiland | ★★½ | 101 | Dempsey is a serial womanizer but loves spending time with best friend Monaghan. Only when she announces that she’s getting married (to a Scotsman she’s just met) does he realize he’s going to lose her. As her “maid of honor” he determines to undo her wedding plans. Slick romantic comedy covers familiar ground, but does it with brio—and great Scottish scenery. Dempsey’s first star vehicle since his reemergence on TV’s Grey’s Anatomy. | tt0866439 | [PG-13] | Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kathleen Quinlan, Sydney Pollack, Kadeem Hardison, Chris Messina, Richmond Arquette, Busy Philipps, Whitney Cummings, Emily Nelson, James B. Sikking, Kevin Sussman | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Made-Up | 2004 | Tony Shalhoub | ★★½ | 96 | Actor Shalhoub's directing debut purports to show us the making of a mockumentary about the extremes people go to to counterattack the aging process with all sorts of cosmetic help. A genuine family affair benefits from occasionally amusing script from Shalhoub's real-life sister-in-law Lynne Adams and fine lead performance from his wife, Brooke Adams, as a former actress who's put family ahead of show business. Overdone faux-documentary form is weakly employed here, but rescued by smart, funny dialogue, especially from Amurri's character. | tt0274643 | Brooke Adams, Lynne Adams, Eva Amurri, Kalen Conover, Light Eternity, Tony Shalhoub, Gary Sinise, Jim Issa, Lance Krall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Madea's Family Reunion | 2006 | Tyler Perry | ★½ | 107 | Cliché-ridden comedy-soaper about a class-conscious louse (Whitfield) who relishes manipulating her daughters. One is engaged to an abusive scoundrel, the other is a single mom who's been burned in previous relationships. Like writer-director-star Perry's DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, this is based on his play, and he appears in three roles, most prominently the title character, a feisty matriarch. Uneasy mixture of shameless moralizing and crude humor is as subtle as a sledgehammer-but Perry's faithful following will probably eat this up. | tt0455612 | [PG-13] | Lynn Whitfield, Tyler Perry, Blair Underwood, Rochelle Aytes, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Boris Kodjoe, Henry Simmons, Cicely Tyson, Maya Angelou, Keke Palmer, Jenifer Lewis | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Madea’s Big Happy Family | Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family | 2011 | Tyler Perry | ★★ | 106 | Perry’s cross-dressing antics as the irrepressible, language-mangling matriarch Madea are back in full force as she tries to bring her extended dysfunctional family back together when her niece gets distressing health news and needs help in dealing with it. Perry’s awkward, sometimes mawkish blend of broad comedy and overwrought melodrama is tempered by a game cast who make the most of the director’s formulaic script. If you’re a fan, however, the prolific Perry serves up just what you’re expecting. Aka TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY. | tt1787759 | [PG-13] | Tyler Perry, Loretta Devine, Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, David Mann, Cassi Davis, Shannon Kane, Isaiah Mustafa, Teyana Taylor, Lauren London, Natalie Desselle Reid | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Madeleine | Strange Case of Madeleine | 1950 | David Lean | ★★½ | 101 | Superior cast improves oft-told drama of woman accused of murdering her lover. A vehicle for Lean's then wife, Ann Todd, and one of the filmmaker's few disappointments. Retitled: STRANGE CASE OF MADELEINE. | tt0042700 | Ann Todd, Leslie Banks, Elizabeth Sellars, Ivor Barnard | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Madeline | 1998 | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | ★★★ | 90 | Genteel adaptation of Ludwig Bemelmans' beloved children's books about a mischievous orphan girl and the wise nun, Miss Clavel (McDormand), who looks after her and her classmates. Combining elements from several stories with new plot devices, the film captures the spirit of the books and benefits from location filming in Paris. Too bland for older children— and, most likely, their parents— but just right for young ones. | tt0123987 | [PG] | Frances McDormand, Hatty Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Daniels, Stéphane Audran | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mademoiselle | 1966 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 103 | Ponderous, sometimes hilariously pretentious film written by Jean Genet, about a sexually repressed schoolteacher in a small French village who secretly poisons animals, sets fires, and tries to destroy an Italian woodcutter whom she can't seduce. Woeful foray into arty s&m was shot in both French and English-language versions. | tt0060648 | Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Manni, Keith Skinner, Umberto Orsini, Jane Berretta, Mony Rey | British-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mademoiselle Fifi | 1944 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 69 | A laundress reveals more integrity and patriotic spirit than her condescending fellow passengers on an eventful coach ride during the Franco-Prussian war. Uneven Val Lewton production (with allegorical implications about WW2), adapted from two Guy de Maupassant stories. | tt0037034 | Simone Simon, John Emery, Kurt Kreuger, Alan Napier, Jason Robards/Sr., Helen Freeman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Madhouse | 1974 | Jim Clark | ★★★ | 89 | Price plays horror-film actor making a TV comeback after a long mental breakdown— until he's implicated in a series of grisly homicides. Good, if somewhat unimaginative, adaptation of Angus Hall novel Devilday. | tt0071790 | [PG] | Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri, Natasha Payne, Linda Hayden | British | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Madhouse | 1990 | Tom Ropelewski | ★½ | 90 | Larroquette and Alley find themselves unable to enjoy their new home when unwanted house guests drop in and never leave. Gags are drawn out endlessly; though Larroquette is a talented farceur, he can't sustain the whole film. Humor here would never pass muster on the stars' later TV series. | tt0100087 | [PG-13] | John Larroquette, Kirstie Alley, Alison LaPlaca, John Diehl, Jessica Lundy, Bradley Gregg, Dennis Miller, Robert Ginty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Madhouse Mansion | 1974 | Stephen Weeks | ★★½ | 86 | Bizarre, sometimes effective chiller about affable chap Dann, who with a couple of mysterious college acquaintances spends a holiday in a spooky old house that seems to be caught in a time warp. Originally titled GHOST STORY. | tt0071791 | Marianne Faithfull, Leigh Lawson, Anthony Bate, Larry Dann, Sally Grace, Penelope Keith, Barbara Shelley | British | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Madigan | 1968 | Don Siegel | ★★★½ | 101 | Excellent, unpretentious film blends day-to-day problems of detective Madigan (Widmark) with endless dilemmas facing police commissioner Fonda. Shot largely on location in N.Y.C.; fine work by Guardino, Whitmore, and supporting cast. Adapted as TV series. | tt0063256 | Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, Inger Stevens, James Whitmore, Susan Clark, Michael Dunn, Sheree North | Crime | NULL | |||
| Madigan's Million | 1968 | Stanley Prager | 💣 | 86 | Pre-GRADUATE Hoffman is caught in amateurish movie released to capitalize on later success; he plays bumbling Treasury agent sent to Italy to recover money stolen by recently murdered gangster Romero. Inept. | tt0063303 | [G] | Dustin Hoffman, Elsa Martinelli, Cesar Romero | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Madison | 2005 | William Bindley. | ★★½ | 94 | Old-fashioned underdog story about a man's attempt to overcome a troubling memory and win an annual hydroplane race. Loosely based on a true story; set in Madison, Indiana, in 1971. Sincere and straightforward; definitely not for cynics. Made in 1999. | tt0206113 | [PG] | Jake Lloyd, Mary McCormack, James Caviezel, Bruce Dern, Reed Diamond, Richard Lee Jackson, Brent Briscoe, Paul Dooley, Chelcie Ross. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Madison Avenue | 1962 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 94 | Tightly produced programmer centering on machinations in N.Y.C.'s advertising jungle. | tt0056209 | Dana Andrews, Eleanor Parker, Jeanne Crain, Eddie Albert, Howard St. John, Henry Daniell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Madman | 1978 | Dan Cohen | ★½ | 92 | Bitterly vengeful Soviet-Jewish mental patient joins the Israeli army, intent on killing Russians. Slow, poorly directed film lacks conviction. Casting of Weaver, in her first leading role, and future Oscar-winner Abraham, gives this film its only distinction. | tt0077886 | [R] | Michael Beck, F. Murray Abraham, Alan Feinstein, Sigourney Weaver, Esther Zevko | Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| The Madness of King George | 1994 | Nicholas Hytner | ★★★ | 107 | In the late 18th century, England's benevolent King George (Hawthorne) suddenly takes ill, and shows signs of mental instability— opening the door for court intrigue and the usurping of the throne by his ne'er-do-well son, the Prince of Wales (Everett). Hawthorne vividly recreates his stage performance (surrounded by a first-rate cast) in Alan Bennett's adaptation of his witty and intriguing play; Bennett also appears in a cameo near the end as a member of Parliament. First film for theater director Hytner. Oscar winner for Art Direction. | tt0110428 | Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Ian Holm, Rupert Everett, Rupert Graves, John Wood, Amanda Donohoe, Julian Rhind-Tutt | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Madonna of the Seven Moons | 1946 | Arthur Crabtree. | ★★★ | 105 | Calvert is pushed in two directions because of strange gypsy curse; she is wife, mother, and mistress at same time. Taut melodrama, may be considered camp in some circles. | tt0037035 | Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc, Jean Kent, John Stuart, Peter Glenville. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Madonna's Secret | 1946 | William Thiele. | ★★ | 79 | OK whodunit involving hunt for killer of artist's model. | tt0038714 | Francis Lederer, Gail Patrick, Ann Rutherford, Linda Stirling, John Litel. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Madron | 1970 | Jerry Hopper | ★★ | 93 | A nun who survived wagon-train massacre and a scowling gunslinger try to elude Apaches on the warpath in this ho-hum Western shot in Israel's Negev Desert. | tt0066034 | [PG] | Richard Boone, Leslie Caron, Paul Smith, Gabi Amrani, Chaim Banai, Avraham Telya | Western | NULL | ||
| The Madwoman of Chaillot | 1969 | Bryan Forbes | ★★ | 132 | Unfortunate misfire, with Hepburn as eccentric woman who refuses to believe the world no longer beautiful. Stellar cast wasted in heavy-handed allegory that just doesn't work; adapted from Jean Giraudoux's play. | tt0064621 | [G] | Katharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer, Claude Dauphin, Edith Evans, John Gavin, Paul Henreid, Oscar Homolka, Margaret Leighton, Giulietta Masina, Nanette Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Yul Brynner, Donald Pleasence, Danny Kaye | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mafioso | 1962 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★★ | 99 | Sicilian Sordi has a good job in Milan and is about to embark on his first vacation in years: a visit home to show off his Northern Italian wife and children to his skeptical family and friends. He soon learns that the village Mafia don, now a grandfatherly figure, has lost none of his power. You'll never guess where this story is headed! Fascinating blend of comedy and drama and a tailor-made vehicle for Sordi, who personified the Italian working-class hero. | tt0056210 |
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Alberto Sordi, Norma Bengell, Gabriella Conti, Ugo Attanasio, Cinzia Bruno, Katiusca Piretti, Armando Tine | Italian | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Mafu Cage | My Sister, My Love | 1978 | Karen Arthur | ★½ | 102 | Grant and Kane are sisters in this offbeat, unfocused melodrama of incest, jealousy, and murder. Mafu is Kane's pet orangutan; each protagonist in turn assumes animal's caged, victimized role. Retitled MY SISTER, MY LOVE and THE CAGE. | tt0077888 | [R] | Lee Grant, Carol Kane, Will Geer, James Olson | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Magdalene Sisters | 2002 | Peter Mullan | ★★★½ | 119 | Harrowing, fact-based drama set in 1960s Ireland in a convent where young women are incarcerated for committing such 'misdeeds' as flirting with boys, becoming pregnant out of wedlock, and being raped. They are physically and psychologically abused by the head nun and her sadistic staff, who are convinced they are doing the Lord's work. Sometimes painful to watch, but it's a story that needs to be told. Director Mullan plays one girl's furious father; he based his screenplay on the experiences of actual Magdalene inmates. | tt0318411 | [R] | Geraldine McEwan, Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy, Eileen Walsh, Mary Murray, Britta Smith, Frances Healy, Eamonn Owens | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Magic | 1978 | Richard Attenborough | ★★ | 106 | Ludicrous thriller about demented ventriloquist Hopkins who's tormented by his dummy— even as he tries to rekindle romance with high-school sweetie Ann-Margret. Wait for a rerun of DEAD OF NIGHT (1945) instead. Screenplay by William Goldman, from his novel. | tt0077889 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter, Jerry Houser, David Ogden Stiers | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Magic Bow | 1947 | Bernard Knowles | ★★½ | 105 | As usual, music overshadows weak plot in biography of violinist Paganini. | tt0039594 | Stewart Granger, Phyllis Calvert, Jean Kent, Dennis Price, Cecil Parker | British | Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Magic Box | 1951 | John Boulting | ★★★★ | 103 | Practically every British star appears in this superb biography of William Friese-Greene, the forgotten inventor of movies. Beautifully done; one scene where Donat perfects the invention, pulling in a cop off the street (Olivier) to see it, is a gem. | tt0043769 | Robert Donat, Maria Schell, Margaret Johnston, Robert Beatty; guest stars Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Eric Portman, Glynis Johns, Emlyn Williams, Richard Attenborough, Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Peter Ustinov, Bessie Love, Cecil Parker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magic Carpet | 1951 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 84 | Mild costumer that has virtue of Ball as heroine, and little else. | tt0043770 | Lucille Ball, John Agar, Patricia Medina, Raymond Burr, George Tobias | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Magic Christian | 1969 | Joseph McGrath | ★★★ | 93 | In series of wacky schemes, world's wealthiest man and his protégé wreak havoc on society by demonstrating how people will do anything for money. Fiendishly funny adaptation of Terry Southern's insane novel, scripted by Southern and McGrath, with contributions from Sellers, Cleese, and Chapman. Some prints run 88m. | tt0064622 | [M] | Peter Sellers, Ringo Starr; guest stars Richard Attenborough, Christopher Lee, Raquel Welch, Laurence Harvey, Yul Brynner, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Spike Milligan, Dennis Price, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Roman Polanski | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Magic Face | 1951 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 89 | Low-key study of impersonator who murders Hitler and assumes his place; Adler rises above material. | tt0043771 | Luther Adler, Patricia Knight, William L. Shirer, Ilka Windish | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Magic Fire | 1956 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 95 | Uninspired musical biography of 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner. | tt0049461 | Yvonne De Carlo, Carlos Thompson, Rita Gam, Valentina Cortese, Alan Badel | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magic Flute | 1974 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 134 | Lively, intelligent filmization of Mozart's opera of activities surrounding the kidnapping of Urrila, the Queen's daughter, by sorcerer Cold. Shot for Swedish TV, released as a feature in the U.S. | tt0073822 | [G] | Ulric Cold, Josef Kostlinger, Erik Saeden, Birgit Nordin, Irma Urrila, Hakan Hagegard | Swedish | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart | 1970 | Leonard Horn | ★½ | 117 | Vapid film from Robert Westbrook's novel about sexual and drug-oriented experiences of aimless college student trying to put his head together. A yawn, except for Greer, and Stanley's underground film 'Headless.' | tt0066036 | [R] | Don Johnson, Linda Gillin, Michael Greer, Dianne Hull, Holly Near, Victoria Racimo | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magic Sword | 1962 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★½ | 80 | Entertaining, often (unintentionally) hilarious adventure. Young knight Lockwood sets out to rescue beautiful princess Helm, who's been kidnapped by evil sorcerer Rathbone. In their better moments, Lockwood and Helm seem like refugees from a Beach Party movie; Rathbone and Winwood offer knowingly hammy performances. | tt0056211 | Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood, Gary Lockwood, Anne Helm, Liam Sullivan, Jacques Gallo | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Magic Town | 1947 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 103 | Intriguing satire of pollster Stewart finding perfect average American town, which ruins itself when people are told his discovery. Doesn't always hit bull's-eye but remains engrossing throughout; written by Frank Capra's frequent scripter, Robert Riskin. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039595 | James Stewart, Jane Wyman, Kent Smith, Regis Toomey, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Magic World of Topo Gigio | 1965 | Luca de Rico. | ★½ | 75 | Unsuccessful attempt to build a feature-film around the little puppet mouse who scored such success on TV's Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. | tt0179657 |
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Ermanno Roveri, Ignazio Colnaghi, Frederica Milani, Topo Gigio. | Italian | Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Magic in the Water | 1995 | Rick Stevenson | ★½ | 98 | In the laid-back community of Glenorky a number of residents believe there's a monster that lives in the lake; a vacationing family comes to learn there is some 'truth' to the myth. All the magic must be in the water; there's certainly none on the screen. Routine family film feels like recycled Spielberg. | tt0113737 | [PG] | Mark Harmon, Harley Jane Kozak, Joshua Jackson, Sarah Wayne, Willie Nark-Orn | Canadian | Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Magic of Lassie | 1978 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 100 | Stewart is worth watching in this bland remake of LASSIE COME HOME, as grandfather of Zimbalist and Sharrett, who are forced to turn over their beloved Lassie to mean owner Roberts. Songs performed by Pat and Debby Boone, plus Faye and even Stewart. | tt0077890 | [G] | James Stewart, Lassie, Mickey Rooney, Alice Faye, Stephanie Zimbalist, Pernell Roberts, Michael Sharrett, Mike Mazurki | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magician of Lublin | 1979 | Menahem Golan | ★½ | 105 | Turn-of-the-century Jewish magician tries for the big time in stilted, poorly acted version of Isaac Bashevis Singer's Polish-based novel. However, you do get to see Winters destroy a jailhouse even more impressively than Sam Jaffe's elephant did in GUNGA DIN. | tt0079504 | [R] | Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, Valerie Perrine, Shelley Winters, Lou Jacobi, Maia Danziger, Lisa Whelchel | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magician | 1958 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 102 | Complex, provocative account of Albert Emanuel Vogler (von Sydow), a 19th-century hypnotist-magician who has studied with Mesmer but finds himself debt-ridden and charged with blasphemy. A thoughtful (and too-long underrated) portrait of a man who is part-faker, part-genius. | tt0051365 | Max von Sydow, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Naima Wifstrand, Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magnet | 1951 | Charles Frend | ★★★ | 78 | Disarming study of fun-loving children at play, told intelligently from their own point of view; no phony psychology thrown in. Young William Fox is known today as James Fox. | tt0043772 |
|
William Fox, Kay Walsh, Stephen Murray | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Magnetic Monster | 1953 | Curt Siodmak | ★★½ | 76 | Magnetic isotope is stolen, grows in size and creates havoc; stunning climax features special effects lifted from 1930s German film GOLD. | tt0046026 | Richard Carlson, King Donovan, Jean Byron, Byron Foulger | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Ambersons | 1942 | Orson Welles | ★★★★ | 88 | Brilliant drama from Booth Tarkington novel of family unwilling to change its way of life with the times; mother and son conflict over her lover. Welles' follow-up to CITIZEN KANE is equally exciting in its own way, though film was taken out of his hands, recut and reshot by others. Previously filmed in 1925 as PAMPERED YOUTH. Also shown in computer-colored version. Remade for cable TV in 2001. | tt0035015 | Tim Holt, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Richard Bennett, Erskine Sanford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Ambersons | 2001 | Alfonso Arau | Average TV Movie | 150 | Sixty-years-on remake of Orson Welles' famously flawed movie. Booth Tarkington's saga about the rise and fall of three generations of a prominent Midwestern family at the turn of the 20th century—stunningly filmed entirely outside Dublin, Ireland—remains flawed, sorry to say. It was apparently cut by one hour without Arau's participation, another unfortunate echo of the 1942 production. No screenwriting credits other than 'Based on Orson Welles' screenplay.' Made for cable. | tt0252147 | Madeleine Stowe, Bruce Campbell, James Cromwell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Gretchen Mol, Jennifer Tilly, William Hootkins, Dina Merrill | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Brute | 1936 | John G. Blystone. | ★★ | 80 | Pertly acted love triangle, with McLaglen the roughneck blast furnace boss, involved in romance and stolen money. | tt0027930 | Victor McLaglen, Binnie Barnes, William Hall, Jean Dixon. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Cuckold | 1966 | Antonio Pietrangeli | ★★½ | 111 | Saucy sex comedy of marital infidelity, with Tognazzi, the businessman husband of Cardinale, outwitted by his curvaceous wife. | tt0058316 | Claudia Cardinale, Ugo Tognazzi, Michele Girardon, Bernard Blier | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Magnificent Doll | 1946 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 95 | Rogers just isn't right as Dolley Madison, and historical drama with Meredith as President Madison and Niven as Aaron Burr falls flat. | tt0038715 | Ginger Rogers, Burgess Meredith, David Niven, Stephen McNally, Peggy Wood | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Dope | 1942 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 83 | Entertaining comedy of hopeless hayseed Fonda who shows up sharper Ameche in big city; Bari is the girl between them. | tt0035016 | Henry Fonda, Lynn Bari, Don Ameche, Edward Everett Horton, Hobart Cavanaugh, Pierre Watkin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Fraud | 1939 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 78 | Actor who's a master of disguise is recruited to take the place of a recently assassinated Latin American dictator. Good premise is hampered by an unconvincing romantic subplot involving gangster Nolan. Still, it's a great showcase for Tamiroff. Supposedly this was the inspiration for MOON OVER PARADOR. | tt0031604 | Akim Tamiroff, Lloyd Nolan, Patricia Morison, Mary Boland, George Zucco, Steffi Duna, Robert Warwick | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Matador | 1955 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 94 | Another of director Boetticher's bullfighting films has Quinn an aging matador who reexamines his commitment to bullfighting, while protecting his young 'protégé' (Rojas) and being romanced by American O'Hara. | tt0048331 | Anthony Quinn, Maureen O'Hara, Manuel Rojas, Thomas Gomez, Richard Denning, Lola Albright | Drama | NULL | |||
| Magnificent Obsession | 1935 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 101 | Dated but sincere adaptation of Lloyd Douglas' story about drunken playboy who mends his ways, becomes respected surgeon in order to restore the eyesight of a woman (Dunne) he blinded in an auto accident. Soap opera gave Taylor his first important lead— and made him a star. Original running time was 112m. Remade in 1954. | tt0026667 | Irene Dunne, Robert Taylor, Betty Furness, Charles Butterworth, Sara Haden, Ralph Morgan, Arthur Treacher | Drama | NULL | |||
| Magnificent Obsession | 1954 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 108 | Director Sirk pulls out all the stops in this baroque, melodramatic remake of 1935 film which remains faithful to original story. Like its predecessor, a smash hit which (once again) boosted its male lead to stardom. | tt0047203 | Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Otto Kruger, Agnes Moorehead, Gregg Palmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Rebel | 1962 | Georg Tressler | ★★½ | 95 | Boehm makes an intense Beethoven in this rather serious Disney film, not really for kids at all. Great musical sequences and very good German location photography, though romantic angle of story never really compels attention. Released theatrically in Europe, shown in U.S. as two-part Disney TV show. | tt0142825 | Karl Boehm, Ernst Nadhering, Ivan Desny, Gabriele Porks | Family | NULL | |||
| Magnificent Roughnecks | 1956 | Sherman A. Rose | 💣 | 73 | Allied Artists disaster with the two stars as partners trying to wildcat oilfields. | tt0049463 | Jack Carson, Mickey Rooney, Nancy Gates, Jeff Donnell | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Magnificent Seven Ride! | 1972 | George McCowan | ★★½ | 100 | Newly married gunfighter decides to help his buddy fight bandits after they kidnap his wife. Fourth 'ride' for the Seven isn't bad. | tt0068897 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Stefanie Powers, Mariette Hartley, Michael Callan, Luke Askew, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| The Magnificent Seven | 1960 | John Sturges | ★★★½ | 126 | Enduringly popular Western remake of SEVEN SAMURAI, about paid gunslingers who try to rout the bandits who are devastating a small Mexican town. Great cast of stars-to-be; memorable Elmer Bernstein score. Followed by three sequels, starting with RETURN OF THE SEVEN, and a TV series. Remade as a TVM in 1998. | tt0054047 | Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Horst Buchholz, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter | Western, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Magnificent Sinner | 1959 | Robert Siodmak | ★★ | 97 | Lackluster proceedings of Schneider as mistress to Russian Czar, involved in court intrigue. Remake of 1938 French film KATIA with Danielle Darrieux. | tt0052964 | Romy Schneider, Curt Jurgens, Pierre Blanchar, Monique Melinand | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Magnificent Yankee | 1950 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 80 | Genteel, entertaining saga of Oliver Wendell Holmes and his devoted wife, spanning many decades from the day they arrive in Washington, D.C., in 1902 so he may join the Supreme Court. A pleasure from start to finish, with Calhern re-creating his triumphant Broadway role. | tt0042702 | Louis Calhern, Ann Harding, Eduard Franz, James Lydon, Philip Ober, Richard Anderson, Hayden Rorke, John Hamilton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Magnolia | 1999 | Paul Thomas Anderson | ★★★ | 188 | A mosaic of misery, with an array of characters— ranging from a dying man and his angelic male nurse to a precocious kid pressured to perform on a TV game show— who must deal with anger, guilt, isolation, the sins of the fathers, and ultimately, forgiveness, on an almost biblical level. Fine performances in this emotionally exhausting film, including a dynamic Cruise as a self-invented Pied Piper of satyrdom. Overall impact is muted by the film's sheer length. Haunting songs by Aimee Mann. Written by the director. Robards' final film. | tt0175880 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, Melinda Dillon, April Grace, Luis Guzman, Ricky Jay, Alfred Molina, Michael Murphy, Henry Gibson, Felicity Huffman, Eileen Ryan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Magnum Force | 1973 | Ted Post | ★★½ | 124 | Eastwood's second go-round as individualistic San Francisco cop Dirty Harry Callahan. This time he traces a series of mysterious slayings to the police department itself, and finds himself in extra-hot water. Some brutal scenes; not nearly as stylish as the original. Written by John Milius and Michael Cimino. Look for Suzanne Somers at gangster's pool party. Followed by THE ENFORCER. | tt0070355 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Felton Perry, Robert Urich, Kip Niven, Tim Matheson | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Magus | 1968 | Guy Green | 💣 | 117 | Pretentious, hopelessly confusing story from John Fowles' novel about a magus, or magician (Quinn), who tries to control destiny of Caine, new arrival on his Greek island. At first mazelike story is fun, but with no relief it grows tiresome. | tt0063260 | Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine, Candice Bergen, Anna Karina, Paul Stassino, Julian Glover | British | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mahler | 1974 | Ken Russell | ★★★ | 115 | Not for every taste (could it be a Russell film if it were?) but one of the director's best films; a gorgeously shot, set, and costumed bio about the turn-of-the-century composer and his tormented life. If you think this means it's refined, check out the purposely anachronistic Nazi humor. Energetic to a fault. | tt0071797 | [PG] | Robert Powell, Georgina Hale, Richard Morant, Lee Montague, Rosalie Crutchley | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Mahogany | 1975 | Berry Gordy | ★½ | 109 | Silly, contrived affair about fashion designer who becomes world famous, then finds happiness only in arms of unsuccessful boy friend. Wooden performances except for Perkins' extension of PSYCHO role. | tt0073335 | [PG] | Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Perkins, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Beah Richards, Nina Foch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Maid in Manhattan | 2002 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 105 | Fiennes and Lopez meet cute in a frothy, old-fashioned Cinderella story about a wealthy senatorial candidate who has a whirlwind affair with a hotel chambermaid (and single mother) who he believes to be a socialite. Formulaic to be sure, but Fiennes' charm and Lopez's believability as a hardworking mom make it an enjoyable romantic fantasy. | tt0252076 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci, Bob Hoskins, Tyler Garcia Posey, Frances Conroy, Chris Eigeman, Marissa Matrone, Amy Sedaris | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Maid in Paris | 1956 | Pierre Gaspard-Huit. | ★★ | 84 | Bland story of country girl Robin heading to the City of Light in search of romance. | tt0137157 | Dany Robin, Daniel Gélin, Marie Daëms, Tilda Thamar. | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Maid of Salem | 1937 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 86 | Sul-te-wan. Colonial witch-burning era is backdrop for fine drama with many similarities to Arthur Miller's The Crucible (minus the philosophy). | tt0029190 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Louise Dresser, Gale Sondergaard, Beulah Bondi, Bonita Granville, Virginia Weidler, Donald Meek, Harvey Stephens, Edward Ellis, Mme | Drama | NULL | |||
| Maid to Order | 1987 | Amy Holden Jones | ★★½ | 96 | Cute fairytale comedy about spoiled rich girl who's robbed of her identity, and forced to work as a maid for a gaudy and self-centered Malibu couple (played to perfection by Perrine and Shawn). D'Angelo is fun as her fairy godmother, and Ontkean is a sweet Prince Charming. Clayton scores as the household cook who belts out two numbers. Film's good-heartedness makes up for its shortcomings. | tt0093476 | [PG] | Ally Sheedy, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael Ontkean, Valerie Perrine, Dick Shawn, Tom Skerritt, Merry Clayton, Begonia Plaza | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Maid's Night Out | 1938 | Ben Holmes | ★★ | 64 | On a wager, Lane (who wants to study the home life of fish) delivers milk for his father's company and mistakes debutante Fontaine for a servant. Inane screwball comedy with one clever bit: Hopper's in the cast, and one of Lane's projects involves a fish that eats its young—named Louella! Look for Jack Carson as a roller coaster operator. | tt0030400 |
|
Joan Fontaine, Allan Lane, Hedda Hopper, George Irving, William Brisbane, Billy Gilbert, Cecil Kellaway | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Maid | 1991 | Ian Toynton | ★★ | 91 | Wall Street ladies' man Sheen poses as a 'maid' to ingratiate himself with French businessmom Bisset and her spoiled young daughter. Warm but predictable romantic comedy which gets off to a faulty start. | tt0102377 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Victoria Shalet, James Faulkner | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Maid | 2009 | Sebastián Silva | ★★★ | 96 | Raquel (Saavedra) has been housemaid, cook, and nanny for a busy, affluent Chilean family for more than twenty years. She’s part of the family but also moody, paranoid, and highly territorial, an almost inscrutable loner—until one person penetrates her outer shell. Startlingly intimate (to a point of discomfort at times) and bracingly real, with an unexpected and cathartic resolution. Written by the director and Pedro Peirano. | tt1187044 | Unrated | Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedón, Mariana Loyola, Andrea García-Huidobro, Alejandro Goic, Augustín Silva, Anita Reeves, Delfina Guzmán | Chilean | Drama | NULL | |
| The Maiden Heist | 2009 | Pete Hewitt | ★★★ | 90 | Lifer security guards (Walken, Freeman, Macy) devise a risky, high-tech museum heist when the art exhibit they've protected for years is callously sold out from under them to an overseas gallery. Not a gut-buster, but stellar performances turn this comedic caper into a very enjoyable romp. Released direct to DVD. | tt1107860 | [PG-13] | Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy, Marcia Gay Harden, Breckin Meyer, Wynn Everett, Joseph McKenna | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Maids | 1975 | Christopher Miles | ★★ | 95 | Jean Genet's windy, pointless, exasperating play about two maids who hate their mistress. Excellent acting wasted on tripe. An American Film Theater Production. | tt0071798 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Susannah York, Vivien Merchant, Mark Burns | British | Adult | NULL | |
| Mail Order Bride | 1964 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 83 | Harmless— and plotless— Western with rambunctious young rancher Dullea marrying widow Nettleton to satisfy his late father's old friend (Ebsen). Climactic shoot-out is virtual duplicate of the one in RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY. | tt0058318 | Buddy Ebsen, Keir Dullea, Lois Nettleton, Warren Oates, Marie Windsor, Barbara Luna | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Mailbag Robbery | 1957 | Compton Bennett. | ★★ | 70 | Title explains full contents of programmer. Original British title: THE FLYING SCOT. | tt0050670 | Lee Patterson, Kay Callard, Alan Gifford, Kerry Jordan. | British | NULL | |||
| The Main Attraction | 1962 | Daniel Petrie | ★½ | 90 | Boone is fatally out of his depth as a guitar-playing drifter in Europe who causes romantic complications when he falls in with a traveling circus. Filmed in England. | tt0056212 | Pat Boone, Mai Zetterling, Nancy Kwan, Yvonne Mitchell, Kieron Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Main Event | 1979 | Howard Zieff | ★½ | 112 | Tortuous farce about a bankrupt executive who inherits a hapless boxer and goads him into resuming his career. O'Neal comes off slightly better than Streisand, but only because his yelling and screaming isn't as abrasive as hers; D'Arbanville tops them both as a girl with a really bad cough. | tt0079510 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Paul Sand, Whitman Mayo, Patti D'Arbanville, Richard Lawson, James Gregory, Rory Calhoun, Ernie Hudson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Main Street | 2011 | John Doyle | ★½ | 94 | During an economic downturn in Durham, N.C., a smooth-talking visitor (Firth) offers to help the struggling community—and please his employers—by storing hazardous waste in an empty warehouse owned by the once wealthy grande dame (Burstyn) of a tobacco-manufacturing family. Impressive (and game) cast is largely wasted in this disappointingly tepid, flatly directed drama taken from the final screenplay of award-winning playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote. It's hard to shake the suspicion that, had Foote lived longer, he might have attempted a few more rewrites. | tt1586752 | [PG] | Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson, Amber Tamblyn, Orlando Bloom, Margo Martindale, Andrew McCarthy, Victoria Clark, Isiah Whitlock /Jr., Tom Wopat | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Main Street After Dark | 1944 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★½ | 57 | Offbeat drama of family pickpocket gang put out of business by civic clean-up campaign. | tt0037038 | Edward Arnold, Audrey Totter, Dan Duryea, Hume Cronyn, Selena Royle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Main Street to Broadway | 1953 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 102 | Very slight story of romance, struggle, and success on the Great White Way; chief interest is large cast of Broadway stars in cameo appearances. Rodgers & Hammerstein appear on camera and contribute a song, 'There's Music in You.' | tt0046027 | Tom Morton, Mary Murphy, Clinton Sundberg, Rosemary DeCamp, guest stars Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Shirley Booth, Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Tallulah Bankhead, Mary Martin | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Maisie | 1939 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 74 | First entry in the series is a mild romantic comedy, centering on the sassy showgirl's adventures on a Wyoming ranch where she falls for foreman Young and clears him of a murder charge. | tt0031608 | Ann Sothern, Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, Ian Hunter, Anthony Allan, Cliff Edwards, George Tobias | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Maisie Gets Her Man | 1942 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 85 | Maisie joins a theatrical agency in Chicago and starts a stage act with hick Skelton. Amusing entry brightened by a strong supporting cast of veteran comics. | tt0035018 | Ann Sothern, Red Skelton, Leo Gorcey, Pamela Blake, Allen Jenkins, Donald Meek, Walter Catlett, Fritz Feld, Rags Ragland, Frank Jenks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Maisie Goes to Reno | 1944 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 90 | OK series entry with Maisie taking a trip to Reno where she has her hands full intervening in the divorce of a soldier and his wife (a young Gardner). | tt0037040 | Ann Sothern, John Hodiak, Tom Drake, Marta Linden, Paul Cavanagh, Ava Gardner, Bernard Nedell, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Maisie Was a Lady | 1941 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 79 | Maisie gets a job as maid to a family of bluebloods and straightens out their sorry personal lives in this well-cast entry with Ayres taking a break from Dr. Kildare. | tt0033867 | Ann Sothern, Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Ashley, Joan Perry, Paul Cavanagh | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Maitresse | 1976 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★★ | 112 | Wickedly amusing comedy about a woman (Ogier) who earns her keep as a dominatrix, and puts her profession aside in her romantic relationship with Depardieu. Decidedly not for all tastes, but delicious fun for those who are game. | tt0074883 | Gérard Depardieu, Bulle Ogier, Andre Rouyer, Nathalie Keryan, Roland Bertin, Tony Taffin | French | Action | NULL | ||
| The Majestic | 2001 | Frank Darabont | ★★ | 152 | A Capraesque approach to the Hollywood witch hunt of the 1950s. Apolitical screenwriter Carrey loses his memory in an accident and winds up in an idyllic coastal town where he is mistaken for Landau's long-missing son, a WW2 hero. Carrey is good in a Jimmy Stewart-ish role, but the film is long, slow, and maddeningly uneven, relying too often on secondhand emotions. Landau stands out as the owner of the town's dilapidated movie theater. Features the voices of Matt Damon, Rob Reiner, Garry Marshall, Paul Mazursky, and Sydney Pollack. | tt0268995 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, Laurie Holden, David Ogden Stiers, James Whitmore, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ron Rifkin, Hal Holbrook, Bob Balaban, Brent Briscoe, Gerry Black, Susan Willis, Chelcie Ross, Allen Garfield, Daniel von Bargen, Bruce Campbell | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Major Barbara | 1941 | Gabriel Pascal | ★★★★ | 121 | Topnotch adaptation of Shaw play about wealthy girl who joins Salvation Army; Harrison is a professor who woos her. Excellent cast in intelligent comedy (scripted by Anatole de Grunwald and Shaw). Kerr's film debut. Also shown at 115m. | tt0033868 | Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, Robert Morley, Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams, Sybil Thorndike, Deborah Kerr, David Tree, Stanley Holloway | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Major Dundee | 1965 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★½ | 124 | Obsessive Union officer Heston leads a ragtag brigade (including recently sprung Confederate prisoner Harris) to Mexico to rescue three children who've been kidnapped by Apaches. Sweeping, violent, epic-scale Western with an Ahab-like protagonist was severely cut prior to release; Peckinpah disowned the film and its score. In 2005 it was reconstituted to 136m., 6m. shy of its intended length, with a supportive new score by Christopher Caliendo. This version is more meaningful if no less flawed. | tt0059418 | Charlton Heston, Richard Harris, Jim Hutton, James Coburn, Michael Anderson/Jr., Senta Berger, Mario Adorf, Brock Peters, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, Ben Johnson, R.G. Armstrong, L.Q. Jones, Michael Pate, Dub Taylor | Western | NULL | |||
| Major League | 1989 | David S. Ward | ★★½ | 107 | Bitchy baseball team owner Whitton seeks to get out of her Cleveland franchise by organizing a team that's guaranteed to lose games— and fans. Pleasant but completely unremarkable baseball comedy, with no surprises whatsoever. Followed by two sequels. | tt0097815 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Dennis Haysbert, Charles Cyphers, Bob Uecker | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Major League II | 1994 | David S. Ward | ★½ | 104 | Excruciatingly unfunny, decidedly minor-league sequel, with most of the principals returning for a second season; the key exclusion is Wesley Snipes, replaced by Epps as Willie Mays Hayes. Crammed with cheap jokes; except for Uecker's quips, there's barely a laugh in sight. What's more, it's shamelessly loaded with plugs for commercial products. | tt0110442 | [PG] | Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, James Gammon, Omar Epps, Eric Bruskotter, Bob Uecker, David Keith, Alison Doody, Margaret Whitton, Takaaki Ishibashi, Michelle Burke, Randy Quaid | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Major League: Back to the Minors | 1998 | John Warren | ★★ | 100 | Ex-ballplayer Bakula hires on as manager of a minor league team, transforming it from loser to contender. Sound familiar? Ho-hum comedy isn't as irritating as MAJOR LEAGUE II and does have Uecker around for laughs, but that's about it. | tt0120742 | [PG-13] | Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Takaaki Ishibashi, Jensen Daggett, Eric Bruskotter, Ted McGinley, Bob Uecker, Walt Goggins, Kenneth Johnson, Lobo Sebastian, Peter MacKenzie | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Major Payne | 1995 | Nick Castle | ★½ | 97 | Major Benson Payne is a warrior without a war, a disciplinarian with a rigid military mentality who is oblivious to humanity and feeling. This is about to change upon his taking command of a group of underage cadets. Inane, by-the-numbers comedy, with a miscast Wayans too often hard to take in the title role. A remake of THE PRIVATE WAR OF MAJOR BENSON (1955). Wayans coscripted and coexecutive produced. | tt0110443 | [PG-13] | Damon Wayans, Karyn Parsons, William Hickey, Michael Ironside, Albert Hall, Steven Martini, Orlando Brown, Andrew Harrison Leeds, Joda Blare-Hershman, Damien Wayans, R. Stephen Wiles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Major and the Minor | 1942 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 100 | Memorable comedy of working girl Rogers disguised as 12-year-old to save train fare, becoming involved with Milland's military school. Wilder's first directorial effort (written with Charles Brackett) is still amusing. Story suggested by Edward Childs Carpenter's play Connie Goes Home and Saturday Evening Post story 'Sunny Goes Home' by Fannie Kilbourne. That's Ginger's real-life mom playing her mother near the end of the film. Remade as YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG. | tt0035019 | Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley, Diana Lynn, Frankie Thomas/Jr., Charles Smith, Larry Nunn, Norma Varden | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Majority of One | 1962 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 153 | Compared to Broadway play, this is overblown, overacted account of Jewish matron Russell falling in love with Japanese widower Guinness. Written by Leonard Spiegelgass. | tt0055124 | Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, Ray Danton, Madlyn Rhue, Mae Questel | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | |||
| Make Haste to Live | 1954 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 90 | McGuire gives believable performance as woman faced with criminal husband who's returned to seek vengeance. | tt0047205 | Dorothy McGuire, Stephen McNally, Mary Murphy, Edgar Buchanan, John Howard, Carolyn Jones | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Make Me an Offer | 1955 | Cyril Frankel | ★★½ | 88 | Satisfactory highbrow shenanigans in the antique-buying field, with Finch after priceless vase. | tt0048333 | Peter Finch, Adrienne Corri, Rosalie Crutchley, Finlay Currie | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Make Mine Laughs | 1949 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 64 | RKO mini-musical, no more than uninspired footage lumped together à la vaudeville. | tt0041621 |
|
Frances Langford, Joan Davis, Leon Errol, Ray Bolger, Gil Lamb | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Make Mine Mink | 1960 | Robert Asher | ★★★ | 100 | Former military man Terry-Thomas organizes unlikely band of fur thieves in this delightful British farce. Beware of shorter version on tape. | tt0054049 | Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques, Billie Whitelaw, Elspeth Duxbury, Raymond Huntley, Ron Moody, Jack Hedley, Kenneth Williams, Sidney Tafler | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Make Mine Music | 1946 | Joe Grant | ★★½ | 74 | Ten-part Walt Disney animated feature with such segments as 'Peter and the Wolf,' 'Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet,' and 'Casey at the Bat.' At its worst when it tries to be 'arty,' and at its best when it offers bright, original pieces like 'The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met,' and the dazzling Benny Goodman number 'After You've Gone.' A mixed bag, to be sure. Video version has only nine segments. | tt0038718 | Voices of Nelson Eddy, Dinah Shore, Jerry Colonna, The Andrews Sisters, Andy Russell, Sterling Holloway | Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | |||
| Make Way For Tomorrow | 1937 | Leo McCarey | ★★★½ | 92 | Sensitive film of elderly couple in financial difficulty, shunted aside by their children, unwanted and unloved; shatteringly true, beautifully done. | tt0029192 | Victor Moore, Beulah Bondi, Fay Bainter, Thomas Mitchell, Porter Hall, Barbara Read, Louise Beavers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Make Way for a Lady | 1936 | David Burton. | ★★ | 65 | Routine comedy of Shirley playing match-maker for her widowed father Marshall; pleasant enough. | tt0027932 | Herbert Marshall, Anne Shirley, Gertrude Michael, Margot Grahame, Clara Blandick, Frank Coghlan/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Make Your Own Bed | 1944 | Peter Godfrey | ★½ | 82 | Forced comedy of detective Carson disguised as butler, Wyman as maid, to get lowdown on racketeer. | tt0037042 | Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, Alan Hale/Sr., Irene Manning, George Tobias, Ricardo Cortez | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Make a Wish | 1937 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 76 | Inconsequential musical about a summer camp for boys where singing prodigy Breen encounters composer Rathbone. Supporting comedians offer most of the film's best moments. | tt0029193 |
|
Basil Rathbone, Bobby Breen, Marion Claire, Ralph Forbes, Henry Armetta, Leon Errol, Donald Meek, Billy Lee | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Maker | 1997 | Tim Hunter | ★★ | 98 | Troubled teenager, just coming of age, falls prey to his long-lost older brother who leads him into a life of crime. Off-putting at first, interesting for a while, but overall an unsatisfying brew. Never released theatrically. | tt0119598 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Mary-Louise Parker, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Fairuza Balk, Jesse Borrego, Michael Madsen, Lawrence Pressman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Making It | 1971 | John Erman | ★★ | 97 | Uneven, seriocomic 'youth picture' with Tabori (son of Viveca Lindfors, impressive in his first starring role) as a 17-year-old with little but sex on his mind— until he shares a traumatic experience with his mother. Filmed in Albuquerque. | tt0067383 | [R] | Kristoffer Tabori, Joyce Van Patten, Marlyn Mason, Bob Balaban, Lawrence Pressman, Louise Latham, Dick Van Patten | Drama | NULL | ||
| Making Love | 1982 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 113 | Repressed homosexual doctor jeopardizes 8-year marriage by coming out of the closet with sexually carefree novelist. Soaper is easy to take, but that's its problem; script, direction, nonstereotyped performances, lack edge in bland attempt to avoid offending anyone. From the director of LOVE STORY. | tt0084293 | [R] | Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin, Wendy Hiller, Arthur Hill, Nancy Olson, Terry Kiser | Drama | NULL | ||
| Making Mr. Right | 1987 | Susan Seidelman | ★★½ | 95 | Nerdy scientist Malkovich has created a nearly human android in his own image; public relations whiz Magnuson is hired to sell the concept of Ulysses to the public. Hit-or-miss comedy has good performances and many effective moments, but misses the bull's-eye. Filmed and set in Miami Beach. | tt0093477 | [PG-13] | John Malkovich, Ann Magnuson, Glenne Headly, Ben Masters, Laurie Metcalf, Polly Bergen, Harsh Nayyar, Hart Bochner, Polly Draper, Susan Anton | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Making the Grade | 1984 | Dorian Walker | ★½ | 105 | Spoiled rich kid hires young hustler to take his place at prep school. Better than the average raunchy youth comedies of the '80s, but that's faint praise. Andrew Clay plays a character here named Dice. | tt0087666 | [R] | Judd Nelson, Jonna Lee, Carey Scott, Dana Olsen, Gordon Jump, Walter Olkewicz, Ronald Lacey, Scott McGinnis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Makioka Sisters | 1985 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★ | 140 | Emotionally distant, occasionally confusing tale of four upper-class sisters, two married and two single, and the manner in which they contend with tradition and social change in pre-WW2 Osaka. Ichikawa coscripted, from a highly regarded novel by Junichiro Tanizaki. | tt0086242 | Keiko Kishi, Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yuko Kotegawa, Juzo Itami | Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mako: The Jaws of Death | The Jaws of Death | 1976 | William Grefe | ★★½ | 93 | Good horror premise has Jaeckel a friend and protector of sharks who goes berserk when both he and his 'friends' are exploited. Shown theatrically as THE JAWS OF DEATH. | tt0074845 | [PG] | Richard Jaeckel, Jenifer Bishop, Harold Sakata, John Chandler, Buffy Dee | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Malaga | Moment of Danger | 1960 | Laslo Benedek | ★★½ | 97 | Bizarre casting in routine robbery tale is primary diversion. Originally titled MOMENT OF DANGER. | tt0054053 | Trevor Howard, Dorothy Dandridge, Edmund Purdom, Michael Hordern | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Malaya | 1949 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 98 | Routine WW2 melodrama set in the Pacific, about Allies' efforts to smuggle out rubber. Good cast let down by so-so script. | tt0041622 | Spencer Tracy, James Stewart, Valentina Cortese, Sydney Greenstreet | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Malcolm | 1986 | Nadia Tass | ★★★ | 86 | Charming, disarmingly offbeat comedy about a slow-witted young man with a genius for Rube Goldberg-like mechanical devices and his unusual entry into a life of crime. Surefooted directorial debut for actress Tass, whose husband David Parker wrote the screenplay (and designed the Tinkertoys) and whose real-life brother was the inspiration for the character of Malcolm. Infectious music score performed by The Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Australian Film Institute winner for Best Picture and other awards. | tt0091464 | [PG-13] | Colin Friels, John Hargreaves, Lindy Davies, Chris Haywood, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Beverly Phillips, Judith Stratford | Australian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Malcolm X | 1992 | Spike Lee | ★★★½ | 201 | Sweeping biography of the black leader, tracing his transformation from street hustler to prison inmate to religious convert— and his ascension to national leadership while preaching the words of Elijah Muhammad. Compelling every step of the way, with a superb performance by Washington, and sure-footed guidance from director/cowriter Lee. A surprisingly measured and intelligent portrait of a still-controversial figure, with Lee's expected indulgences limited to the main title sequence and epilogue. Screenplay by Lee and Arnold Perl, based on the book The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley. Many famous people appear as themselves. | tt0104797 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman/Jr., Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, Theresa Randle, Kate Vernon, Lonette McKee, Tommy Hollis, Giancarlo Esposito, Craig Wasson, John Ottavino, David Patrick Kelly, Shirley Stoler | Drama | NULL | ||
| Malcolm X | 1972 | ★★★ | 92 | Excellent documentary about the life and times of the black revolutionary leader, which allows him to speak for himself. (Passages from his autobiography are spoken by James Earl Jones; his eulogy is read, as it was in real life, by Ossie Davis.) A fascinating time capsule and history lesson. Particularly interesting to see alongside Spike Lee's later film, which was produced and cowritten by Marvin Worth and Arnold Perl, the same partnership responsible for this Oscar-nominated documentary. | tt0068903 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Male Animal | 1942 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★½ | 101 | Intelligent, entertaining Elliott Nugent-James Thurber comedy of college professor Fonda defending his rights, while losing wife de Havilland to old flame Carson. Excellent performances in this fine, contemporary film, with spoof on typical football rallies a highlight. Remade as SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE. | tt0035020 | Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, Joan Leslie, Jack Carson, Herbert Anderson, Don DeFore, Hattie McDaniel, Eugene Pallette | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Male Hunt | 1964 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★★ | 92 | Spicy romp about trio of Frenchmen avoiding the clutches of marriage-minded women. | tt0057936 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Claude Brialy, Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Marie Laforet | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Male and Female | 1919 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★★½ | 117 | Swanson and Meighan are perfectly cast as a spoiled lady and her worldly-wise butler. Will their class differences evaporate when they, along with her snooty family, find themselves shipwrecked? Eloquent story is extremely well told, with Lee adorable as a scullery maid. This is the film in which Swanson takes her famously risqué rosewater bath. And what would a DeMille film be without a Babylonian fantasy sequence? Based on J. M. Barrie's The Admirable Crichton, which was previously filmed in 1918 and remade in 1957. | tt0010418 | Gloria Swanson, Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Theodore Roberts, Raymond Hatton, Mildred Reardon, Robert Cain, Bebe Daniels, Julia Faye. | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Male of the Century | 1975 | Claude Berri | ★★½ | 90 | Writer-director Berri stars in this slight, occasionally perceptive comedy as a jealous chauvinistic husband; his wife is taken hostage during a bank robbery . . . and he's positive that she's becoming sexually involved with her captor. | tt0073428 | Juliet Berto, Claude Berri, Hubert Deschamps, Laszlo Szabo, Yves Afonso | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Malena | 2000 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★½ | 94 | Maddeningly uneven farce, set in 1941 Sicily, about an earthy, stunningly beautiful woman (Bellucci) whose husband has gone off to war and who must suffer the brunt of small-town sexism, jealousy, and gossip; one of her ardent admirers is an imaginative, obsessive 13-year-old boy (Sulfaro). A decidedly mixed bag, at once bittersweet and simplistic. | tt0213847 | [R] | Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana, Pietro Notarianni, Gaetano Aronica | Italian-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Malibu Express | 1985 | Andy Sidaris | ★★ | 101 | Hinton is a private detective working on a complex espionage and blackmail case, but this film is just an excuse to showcase the charms of numerous Playboy centerfold models (accounting for its frequent programming on pay-cable services). A loose remake of Sidaris' 1973 STACEY. | tt0089539 | [R] | Darby Hinton, Sybil Danning, Art Metrano, Shelley Taylor Morgan, Lori Sutton, Barbara Edwards | Action | NULL | ||
| Malibu's Most Wanted | 2003 | John Whitesell | ★★ | 86 | B-Rad (a character Kennedy introduced on his self-named TV series) is a pampered white boy from Malibu, California, who has adopted the personality and patois of an urban black rapper. His father (O'Neal) is running for governor, so campaign manager Underwood hires two black actors to kidnap B-Rad and scare him out of his pose. Diggs and Anderson, as the 'homies for hire,' bring the most laughs to this one-joke comedy. | tt0328099 | [PG-13] | Jamie Kennedy, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Blair Underwood, Regina Hall, Damien Dante Wayans, Ryan O’Neal, Bo Derek, Jeffrey Tambor, Kellie Martin; Voice of Snoop Dogg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Malice | 1993 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 107 | A professor at a New England college finds himself undermined— and overshadowed— by the arrival in town of a hotshot surgeon who rents a room from him and his wife. The plot thickens, and gets progressively sillier, in this slick, engrossing, sexy thriller. Good performances help disguise story holes until the denouement, when it all goes to pieces. Overheated and fairly absurd. | tt0107497 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, Bebe Neuwirth, George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Peter Gallagher, Josef Sommer, Tobin Bell, Debrah Farentino, Gwyneth Paltrow | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Malicious | 1973 | Salvatore Samperi | ★★½ | 97 | Seriocomic slice of life about a sexy, though innocent young woman who comes to work as housekeeper for a widower and his three sons— and tantalizes both the father and one of his teenage boys. Intriguing but often unpleasant look at mores, morals, and hypocrisy, with typically titillating role for Antonelli. Originally titled MALIZIA. | tt0070358 | [R] | Laura Antonelli, Turi Ferro, Alessandro Momo, Angela Luce, Pino Caruso, Tina Aumont | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mallrats | 1995 | Kevin Smith | ★½ | 95 | Inert, unfunny film, from the creator of CLERKS, about a band of friends, enemies, former girl-and boyfriends, and geeks who hang out at a suburban mall. Don't look for more story than that . . . or much else. Comic book legend Stan Lee plays himself in a rather contrived subplot. | tt0113749 | [R] | Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Michael Rooker, Renee Humphrey, Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Priscilla Barnes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Malone | 1987 | Harley Cokliss | ★½ | 92 | Robertson is a megalomaniac plotting to take over America; lucky for us the mountain-town gas station essential to his plans is the same one ex-CIA agent Reynolds stops at for a fill-up. Hybrid of SHANE and a modern-day shoot-em-up turns pretty ludicrous after a passable beginning; note how quickly Burt recovers from a golf ball-size bullet wound. | tt0093483 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Cliff Robertson, Kenneth McMillan, Cynthia Gibb, Scott Wilson, Lauren Hutton | Action | NULL | ||
| Malta Story | 1953 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★½ | 98 | On-location filming of this WW2 British-air-force-in-action yarn is sparked by underplayed acting. | tt0046029 | Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Maltese Bippy | 1969 | Norman Panama | ★★ | 88 | Werewolves, haunted houses, good cast, but few true laughs in tired horror-movie spoof. Film tried to cash in on the great success of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In TV show— and their 'bippy' catchword. | tt0064627 | [G] | Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Carol Lynley, Julie Newmar, Mildred Natwick, Fritz Weaver, Robert Reed | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Maltese Falcon | 1931 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 80 | First film version of Dashiell Hammett story is quite good, with Cortez more of a ladies' man than Bogart; otherwise very similar to later classic. Remade in 1936 (as SATAN MET A LADY) and 1941. | tt0022111 | Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges, Robert Elliott, Thelma Todd, Una Merkel, Dwight Frye | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Maltese Falcon | 1941 | John Huston | ★★★★ | 100 | Outstanding detective drama improves with each viewing; Bogey is Dashiell Hammett's 'hero' Sam Spade, Astor his client, Lorre the evasive Joel Cairo, Greenstreet (in his talkie film debut) the Fat Man, and Cook the neurotic gunsel Wilmer. Huston's first directorial effort (which he also scripted) moves at lightning pace, with cameo by his father Walter Huston as Captain Jacobi. Previously filmed in 1931 and in 1936 (as SATAN MET A LADY). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033870 | Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond, Gladys George, Barton MacLane, Elisha Cook/Jr., Lee Patrick, Jerome Cowan | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mam'zelle Pigalle | That Naughty Girl | 1956 | Michel Boisrond | ★★ | 77 | Dull doings with Bardot as a schoolgirl who pursues crooner Bretonniere and becomes mixed up with counterfeiters. Scripted by Boisrond and Roger Vadim. Retitled: NAUGHTY GIRL and THAT NAUGHTY GIRL. Scope. | tt0049063 | Brigitte Bardot, Jean Bretonniere, Françoise Fabian, Bernard Lancret, Mischa Auer | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Mama Dracula | 1980 | Boris Szulzinger | 💣 | 90 | Dreadful vampire satire with Fletcher as the title character, an eternity away from the cuckoo's nest. | tt0081107 | Louise Fletcher, Maria Schneider, Marc-Henri Wajnberg, Alexander Wajnberg, Jess Hahn | French-Belgian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Mama Loves Papa | 1945 | Frank R. Strayer. | ★★ | 61 | Errol is a small-town nobody goaded by his social-climbing wife to get some ambition. He ends up being appointed park commissioner and exposes political corruption. Errol has to strain for laughs in routine RKO farce, a partial remake of a 1933 movie of the same name (with Charles Ruggles and Mary Boland). | tt0037891 | Leon Errol, Elisabeth Risdon, Edwin Maxwell, Emory Parnell, Charles Halton, Paul Harvey, Lawrence Tierney. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mama, There's a Man in Your Bed | 1989 | Coline Serreau | ★★★ | 111 | Unlikely romance between the harried CEO of a yogurt company and the financially strapped cleaning woman who will do anything to keep her five children (from five different marriages) from going hungry. Clever, heartwarming story from the director of THREE MEN AND A CRADLE has a lot to say about class and color differences in a world none too tolerant of either. Original French title: ROMUALD ET JULIET. | tt0098220 | Daniel Auteuil, Firmine Richard, Pierre Vernier, Maxime Leroux, Gilles Privat, Muriel Combeau, Catherine Salviat | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mama’s Boy | 2007 | Tim Hamilton | ★½ | 92 | Irredeemably clunky “comedy” with Heder as a self-absorbed 29-year-old slacker whose emotional bullying of his widowed mother (Keaton) is far too creepy to be funny. When mom falls for a motivational speaker (Daniels), the son rightly senses a rival for her attention and sets out to sabotage the budding romance. Keaton and Daniels are better than the movie deserves. Barely released, and with good reason. | tt0415141 | [PG-13] | Jon Heder, Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels, Anna Faris, Eli Wallach, Mary Kay Place, Sarah Chalke, Laura Kightlinger | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mambo | 1954 | Robert Rossen | ★★½ | 94 | Offbeat romance set in Venice; young saleswoman, her love life complicated by a penniless gambler and a sickly count, becomes a famous dancer. Strong cast keeps it watchable. Original Italian running time 107m. | tt0047207 | Silvana Mangano, Michael Rennie, Shelley Winters, Vittorio Gassman, Eduardo Ciannelli, Mary Clare, Katherine Dunham | U.S.-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mambo Italiano | 2003 | Émile Gaudreault | ★½ | 89 | Or, My Big Fat Gay Wedding. Bombastic, by-the-numbers comedy about a nice Italian-Canadian boy (Kirby) who's struggling to find a way to tell his stereotypically ethnic parents that he's gay. Plays like a tired, dated TV sitcom, though it's based on a play by Steve Galluccio. | tt0330602 | [R] | Luke Kirby, Paul Sorvino, Ginette Reno, Claudia Ferri, Peter Miller, Mary Walsh, Sophie Lorain | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Mambo Kings | 1992 | Arne Glimcher | ★★½ | 104 | Two brothers leave Cuba for the U.S. in the early 1950s and try to establish their own band. Colorful adaptation of Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is disappointingly underwritten and one-dimensional. Most intriguing sequence involves Desi Jr. playing his father and inviting the brothers to appear on an episode of I Love Lucy. Adapted for the stage in 2005. | tt0104802 | [R] | Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Maruschka Detmers, Desi Arnaz/Jr., Celia Cruz, Roscoe Lee Browne, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Tito Puente, Talisa Soto | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mame | 1974 | Gene Saks | 💣 | 131 | Hopelessly out-of-date musical taken from Jerry Herman's Broadway hit and based on AUNTIE MAME will embarrass even those who love Lucy. Calling Fred and Ethel Mertz! Bea Arthur recreates her Tony-winning stage role; Lucy's final feature film. | tt0071803 | [PG] | Lucille Ball, Robert Preston, Beatrice Arthur, Bruce Davison, Joyce Van Patten, Don Porter, Audrey Christie, Jane Connell, Kirby Furlong, John McGiver | Musical | NULL | ||
| Mamele | 1938 | Joseph Green, Konrad Tom | ★★½ | 100 | Picon shines in this otherwise all-too-obvious Yiddish-language musical comedy as the youngest daughter of a widower who's forced to play Mama to the rest of her family. Based on a play which starred Picon over a decade earlier. The title's English-language translation is LITTLE MOTHER. | tt0030407 | Molly Picon, Edmund Zayenda, Max Bozyk, Gertrude Bullman, Simcha Fostel | Polish | NULL | |||
| Mamma Mia! | 2008 | Phyllida Lloyd | ★★★ | 108 | Cheerful adaptation of the internationally successful stage show based on the enduring songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Seyfried has been raised by her mom (Streep) on a Greek island; now that she’s going to be married, she sends wedding invitations to the three men who might be her father. Thin story strings together a parade of songs by an attractive cast (though Streep’s pipes outshine her costars’), with beautiful Greek scenery as the backdrop. The creators of the show also put together this feel-good film, which seemingly has four or five finales . . . but they’re all fun. | tt0795421 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Mamma Roma | 1962 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★★½ | 110 | Magnani dominates the screen as the title character, an earthy, larger-than-life woman attempting to abandon her career as a prostitute and enter the middle class. The scenario charts her complex relationship with (and high hopes for) her adolescent son, with whom she is reunited after many years. Pasolini scripted this fascinating, intensely involving drama which is loaded with cinematic references; Mamma Roma would be the same character Magnani played in Rossellini's OPEN CITY had that character not been killed at the finale! Watch for Lamberto Maggiorani, the star of De Sica's THE BICYCLE THIEF, in a small but pivotal role. Released theatrically in the U.S. in 1994. | tt0056215 | Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini, Luisa Orioli, Paolo Volponi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mammoth | 2009 | Lukas Moodysson | ★★ | 125 | Complex, ambitious, but flawed account of an affluent N.Y.C. couple: businessman Bernal and doctor Williams. They have a young daughter and a caring Filipino nanny, whose own children remain in her homeland, thousands of miles away and wallowing in poverty. Plot threads involve Bernal’s trip to Bangkok, where he helps out an exploited young hooker, and Williams’ reaction as she doctors a child who has been stabbed by his mother. Overlong, meandering film still offers astute commentary on how all children are not created equal. Moodysson also scripted. | tt1038043 | Unrated | Gael García Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Run Srinikornchot, Tom McCarthy, Jan Nicdao | Swedish-Danish-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Mammy | 1930 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 84 | Story of backstage shooting in a minstrel troupe is only tolerable during musical numbers; Jolson sings 'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy,' 'To My Mammy,' and 'The Call of the South.' Some sequences originally filmed in color. | tt0021110 | Al Jolson, Lois Moran, Louise Dresser, Lowell Sherman, Hobart Bosworth | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Man About Town | 1947 | René Clair | ★★ | 89 | Minor Clair farce with Chevalier a middle-aged film director in 1906 Paris who takes on sensitive young Perier as his protégé. Originally titled LE SILENCE EST D'OR, running 106m. U.S. version is neither dubbed nor subtitled: Chevalier narrates the goings-on on the soundtrack— which doesn't quite work. It also includes a special prologue, filmed under the supervision of Robert Pirosh, in which Chevalier sings 'Place Pigalle. | tt0039823 | Maurice Chevalier, François Périer, Marcelle Derrien, Dany Robin, Raymond Cordy, Paul Olivier | French-U.S. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Man About Town | 2005 | Mike Binder | ★★ | 98 | As both clients and wife slip away, a disaffected talent agent starts keeping a secret daily journal to examine his smileless existence . . . only to have it stolen by a ruthless, amoral reporter. Affleck gives a fine performance as a loser who has everything, but this act of Hollywood self-flagellation, though optically clever, is an unlikable pageant of past and present pain. Written by the director, who also plays a fellow rep. | tt0420757 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Rebecca Romijn, John Cleese, Gina Gershon, Adam Goldberg, Howard Hesseman, Bai Ling, Jerry O'Connell, Kal Penn, Samuel Ball, Damien Dante Wayans | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| A Man About the House | 1947 | Leslie Arliss | ★★½ | 83 | Murky drama of repressed Victorian sisters Johnston and Gray, who travel to the Italian villa they have inherited and contend with earthy but manipulative Moore. | tt0039600 | Kieron Moore, Margaret Johnston, Dulcie Gray, Guy Middleton, Felix Aylmer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Man Afraid | 1957 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 84 | Well-acted story of clergyman Nader protecting family against father of boy he killed in self-defense. | tt0050674 | George Nader, Phyllis Thaxter, Tim Hovey, Reta Shaw, Martin Milner | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Man Alive | 1945 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 70 | Amusing comedy of O'Brien, supposedly dead, playing ghost to scare away wife's new love interest; moves along at brisk pace. | tt0037892 | Pat O'Brien, Adolphe Menjou, Ellen Drew, Rudy Vallee, Fortunio Bonanova, Joseph Crehan, Jonathan Hale, Minna Gombell, Jason Robards/Sr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Man Alone | 1955 | Ray Milland | ★★½ | 96 | Intelligent oater of fugitive from lynch mob (Milland) hiding with sheriff's daughter (Murphy) in small town. Milland's first directorial attempt isn't bad. | tt0048336 | Ray Milland, Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| A Man Apart | 2003 | F. Gary Gray | ★★ | 109 | Undercover DEA operatives Diesel and Tate bust a Mexican drug lord whose replacement— a fiendish, mysterious figure called El Diablo— is even more ruthless than his predecessor. Slick, bullet-riddled action yarn gives Diesel a star vehicle in the mold of earlier Stallone movies, but yields to predictability at every turn. Diesel coexecutive-produced. | tt0266465 | [R] | Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Timothy Olyphant, Geno Silva, Jacqueline Obradors, Steve Eastin, Juan Fernandez, Jeff Kober | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man Bait | 1952 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 78 | British-made suspense programmer has Brent a book dealer entangled in blackmail and murder. British title: THE LAST PAGE. | tt0044871 | George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Diana Dors, Raymond Huntley, Peter Reynolds | U.S.-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Man Beast | 1955 | Jerry Warren | 💣 | 72 | An expedition goes in search of the abominable snowman but comes up with this turkey instead. Star 'Rock Madison' is nonexistent; director Warren simply made up a name that would look good in publicity! | tt0049468 | Rock Madison, Virginia Maynor, George Skaff, Lloyd Nelson, Tom Maruzzi | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Man Behind the Gun | 1952 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 82 | Army man Scott goes undercover to investigate southern California secessionist movement in 1850s. Formula stuff. | tt0044872 | Randolph Scott, Patrice Wymore, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Lina Romay | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man Behind the Mask | 1936 | Michael Powell. | ★★½ | 79 | Schwartz is a megalomaniacal astronomer, holed up in a futuristic, art deco mansion with a giant telescope, who kidnaps the daughter of a lord to serve his evil plans. Like THE 39 STEPS, film alternates serious whodunit elements with sly humor, but it eventually goes overboard in its outlandishness. | tt0027935 | Hugh Williams, Jane Baxter, Maurice Schwartz, Donald Calthrop, Henry Oscar, Peter Gawthorne, Kitty Kelly. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man Betrayed | Wheel of Fortune | 1941 | John H. Auer | ★★ | 83 | Country lawyer crusades against father of girlfriend to prove that he's crooked politician. Minor melodrama with the Duke in one of his oddest roles. Retitled: WHEEL OF FORTUNE. | tt0033871 | John Wayne, Frances Dee, Edward Ellis, Wallace Ford, Ward Bond, Harold Huber, Alexander Granach | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Man Between | 1953 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 101 | Hardened black-market dealer falls in love and finds himself torn between East and West. Taut, moody, and well-acted drama set in post-WW2 Berlin. | tt0046031 | James Mason, Claire Bloom, Hildegarde Neff, Geoffrey Toone | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man Bites Dog | 1992 | Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benôt Poelvoorde | ★★★ | 88 | Controversial, no-holds-barred portrait of an unashamedly brutal serial killer (played by codirector Poelvoorde). The nonstop, graphic brutality can be viewed either as sensationalism, a sick joke, or as a comment on violence on-screen and in society. Shot in cinéma-vérité documentary style; codirectors Belvaux and Bonzel play a reporter and cameraman making a film about the killer (whose actions clearly are spurred on by their presence). Definitely not for all tastes. Available on video in original NC-17 version and edited, unrated version. | tt0103905 | [NC-17] | Benôt Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert, Hector Pappaert, Jenny Drye | Belgian | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Horror | NULL | |
| A Man Called Adam | 1966 | Leo Penn | ★★ | 102 | Pretentious melodrama of trumpet-player Davis trying to find some purpose in life; amateurishly produced. | tt0060660 | Sammy Davis/Jr., Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra/Jr., Peter Lawford, Mel Torme, Lola Falana, Gerald O'Loughlin | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Man Called Dagger | 1968 | Richard Rush | 💣 | 86 | Ex-Nazi scientist journeys to L.A. followed by secret agent Richard Dagger to assist former S.S. colonel (Murray!) in world-conquering plan. Embarrassing script, acting. | tt0061946 | Terry Moore, Jan Murray, Sue Ane Langdon, Paul Mantee, Eileen O'Neill, Maureen Arthur | Action, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Man Called Flintstone | 1966 | Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | ★★½ | 87 | Feature-length cartoon based on TV series of Stone Age characters satirizes superspy films. Mainly for kids. | tt0060661 | Voices of Alan Reed, Mel Blanc, Jean Vander Pyl, June Foray | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Man Called Gannon | 1969 | James Goldstone | ★½ | 105 | Remade version of MAN WITHOUT A STAR is poor substitute. It's ranch-war time again. . . . | tt0064629 | [M] | Anthony Franciosa, Michael Sarrazin, Judi West, Susan Oliver, John Anderson, Gavin MacLeod | Western | NULL | ||
| A Man Called Horse | 1970 | Elliot Silverstein | ★★½ | 114 | English aristocrat gets captured by Sioux Indians, undergoes torture to prove his worth. Sometimes gripping, sometimes gory; fine score by Leonard Rosenman. Followed by RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE and TRIUMPHS OF A MAN CALLED HORSE. | tt0066049 | [M] | Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Manu Tupou, Corinna Tsopei, Dub Taylor | Western | NULL | ||
| A Man Called Peter | 1955 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 119 | Moving account of Scotsman Peter Marshall who became clergyman and U.S. Senate chaplain; sensitively played by Todd, with fine supporting cast. | tt0048337 | Richard Todd, Jean Peters, Marjorie Rambeau, Doris Lloyd, Emmett Lynn | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| A Man Called Sledge | 1970 | Vic Morrow | ★★ | 93 | Violent Western about a gunman whose gang goes after a cache of gold stored in a prison, and then fights over the loot. Notable mainly for Garner's atypical role as brutal outlaw. | tt0066050 | [R] | James Garner, Dennis Weaver, Claude Akins, John Marley, Laura Antonelli, Wayde Preston | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| A Man Could Get Killed | 1966 | Ronald Neame, Cliff Owen | ★★½ | 99 | Businessman Garner is mistaken for international spy in this so-so secret agent spoof with beautiful Rome and Lisbon locations. Bert Kaempfert's score introduces the hit tune 'Strangers in the Night.' | tt0060662 | James Garner, Melina Mercouri, Sandra Dee, Anthony Franciosa, Robert Coote, Roland Culver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Man Escaped | 1956 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★½ | 99 | Spellbinding drama about French resistance fighter Leterrier, who is jailed by the Gestapo during WW2 and condemned to die. Bresson masterfully explores the character's inner turmoil and struggle to maintain his humanity under the most trying conditions. The director scripted, from a memoir by André Devigny. | tt0049902 | François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod, Jacques Ertaud. | French | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Man Facing Southeast | 1986 | Eliseo Subiela | ★★★ | 108 | Intriguing movie about a staff psychiatrist at a large mental hospital who tries to penetrate the enigma of a new patient who claims to be an alien visitor—and who, in fact, does seem to possess unusual powers. Fascinating at first, slow going at times, this is the kind of film that deliberately leaves the viewer to draw his own conclusions... and that is a great part of its mystique. | tt0091214 | [R] | Lorenzo Quinteros, Hugo Soto, Ines Vernengo | Argentinian | Drama | NULL | |
| Man Friday | 1976 | Jack Gold | ★½ | 115 | Defoe classic rewritten to conform to today's racial standards. Amid gore and confusing flashbacks, Friday revolts against bondage, outwits master Crusoe, and also drives him mad (as shown in Cannes, Crusoe, having failed to 'educate' Friday to British standards, and himself refused admission to Friday's tribe, blows his brains out!). | tt0074849 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Richard Roundtree, Peter Cellier, Christopher Cabot, Joel Fluellen | British | Action | NULL | |
| The Man From Bitter Ridge | 1955 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 80 | Peppy oater of Barker tracking down outlaws by tying in with local banker. | tt0048341 | Lex Barker, Mara Corday, Stephen McNally, Trevor Bardette | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Button Willow | 1965 | David Detiege | ★★ | 84 | Cartoon Western featuring the voices of Dale Robertson, Edgar Buchanan, Howard Keel, Herschel Bernardi, Ross Martin and others is only for small kiddies; story deals with America's first undercover agent in 1869 who prevents crooks from forcing settlers to get rid of their land. | tt0059422 | Adventure, Western, Animation | NULL | ||||
| Man From Cairo | 1953 | Ray Enright. | ★★ | 81 | Disappointing mishmash with Raft becoming immersed in a scheme to find a gold reserve in Africa lost during WW2. | tt0045705 | George Raft, Gianna Maria Canale, Massimo Serato, Irene Papas. | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Man From Cheyenne | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 60 | Roy tries to get the goods on a cattle-rustling gang and discovers that the unlikely ringleader is pretty, flirtatious Carver. Unusually good screenplay by Winston Miller, who went on to work on such A Westerns as MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. | tt0035025 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Sally Payne, Lynne Carver, William Haade, James Seay, Gale Storm, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Colorado | 1948 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 99 | Unusual Western of brutal Ford appointed Federal judge, taking tyrannical hold of the territory. | tt0041625 | Glenn Ford, William Holden, Ellen Drew, Ray Collins, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Dakota | 1940 | Leslie Fenton | ★★½ | 75 | Above-average Beery vehicle set in Civil War times, with glamorous Del Rio helping him and Howard, Union spies, cross Confederate lines. | tt0031617 | Wallace Beery, John Howard, Dolores Del Rio, Donald Meek, Robert Barrat | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Man From Del Rio | 1956 | Harry Horner | ★★ | 82 | Dank Western of Mexican gunslinger Quinn saving a town from outlaws. | tt0049472 | Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney, Douglas Fowley, John Larch, Whit Bissell | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Down Under | 1943 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 103 | Overblown, overplotted vehicle for Laughton, who's delightful as a bluff, bragging Aussie who raises two French orphans from WW1 as his own. Look for young Peter Lawford as an Australian soldier toward the end of the film. | tt0031612 | Charles Laughton, Binnie Barnes, Richard Carlson, Donna Reed, Christopher Severn, Clyde Cook | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man From Frisco | 1944 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 91 | O'Shea is pushy shipbuilding genius who meets resistance from residents of small town where he wants to build a new plant. Fairly entertaining action hokum with a little too much romance. | tt0037045 | Michael O'Shea, Anne Shirley, Dan Duryea, Gene Lockhart, Stephanie Bachelor, Ray Walker. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man From Galveston | 1963 | William Conrad | ★★ | 57 | Unsatisfying little Western with lawyer Hunter defending ex-girlfriend Moore on a murder charge in a frontier town. | tt0057283 | Jeffrey Hunter, Preston Foster, James Coburn, Joanna Moore, Edward Andrews, Kevin Hagen, Martin West, Ed Nelson | Western | NULL | |||
| Man From God's Country | 1958 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 72 | Quiet oater involving land-hungry ranchers trying to outfox the railroad. | tt0051897 | George Montgomery, Randy Stuart, Gregg Barton, Kim Charney, Susan Cummings | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Hong Kong | 1975 | Brian Trenchard-Smith | ★★ | 103 | Undemanding action fans should get their fill in this stunt-crazy story of Hong Kong emissary (and Kung Fu expert) called to Sydney to help nail drug kingpin. Originally titled THE DRAGON FLIES; surprisingly triggered a hit song, 'Sky High.' | tt0073343 | [R] | Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby, Ros Spiers, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rebecca Gilling | Australian-Chinese | Action | NULL | |
| The Man From Laramie | 1955 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 104 | Taut action tale of revenge, with Stewart seeking those who killed his brother. | tt0048342 | James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Cathy O'Donnell, Alex Nicol, Aline MacMahon, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Monterey | 1933 | Mack V. Wright. | ★½ | 57 | U.S. military officer Wayne brandishes sword and aids 1848 Monterey locals trying to safeguard Spanish land-grant homes from a swindler. Pretty stiff, short on action. The last of six in Wayne's series of Ken Maynard remakes for Warner Bros. | tt0024293 | John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Luis Alberni, Donald Reed, Francis Ford, Nina Quartaro. | Western | NULL | |||
| Man From Music Mountain | 1943 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 71 | Roy returns to his hometown and investigates the murder of an old friend while causing sparks between two sisters. Average Rogers Western with good finale; Pat Brady got elevated here to comic foil. Renamed TEXAS LEGIONNAIRES for TV so as not to be confused with the same-named Autry movie. | tt0036132 | Roy Rogers, Ruth Terry, Paul Kelly, Ann Gillis, George Cleveland, Pat Brady, Paul Harvey, Jay Novello, Hal Taliaferro, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Music Mountain | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 58 | Gene and pal Smiley must foil swindlers who are selling worthless ghost-town land with the promise of water and power to come. Mediocre film features newsreel footage of actual Boulder Dam opening in 1936. Not to be confused with the same-named Roy Rogers movie. | tt0030409 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, Sally Payne, Ivan Miller, Ed Cassidy, Lew Kelly, Howard Chase, Polly Jenkins and Her Plowboys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Man From O.R.G.Y. | 1970 | James Hill | ★½ | 92 | Banal counterespionage comedy-drama. Who's got the secrets? | tt0066056 | [R] | Robert Walker, Steve Rossi, Slappy White, Louisa Moritz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man From Oklahoma | 1945 | Frank McDonald. | ★★½ | 68 | Roy and the Sons get involved in a feud between Gabby and a rival rancher who happens to be Dale's grandmother (Eburne). One of Roy's bigger-budgeted mid-1940s vehicles with a greater emphasis on musical numbers still offers a wild-and-woolly wagon race/land rush scene. | tt0037894 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Sons of the Pioneers, Roger Pryor, Arthur Loft, Maude Eburne. | Musical, Western, Action | NULL | |||
| The Man From Planet X | 1951 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 70 | Scottish Highlands are visited by alien from wandering planet; at first he is benign, but evil designs of Schallert turn him against human race. Extremely cheap, but atmospheric; script is stilted but story is strong and somewhat unusual. | tt0043778 | Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond, William Schallert | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Man From Snowy River | 1982 | George Miller | ★★★½ | 115 | Grand, old-fashioned Western saga, based on epic Australian poem, about strong-willed young man who goes to work for an empire-building cattleman, and falls in love with his daughter. Hokey, simplistic, but great fun, with eye-filling scenery and incredible action scenes with some wild horses. Douglas has fun in a dual role; Thompson's part is virtually a cameo. Followed by RETURN TO SNOWY RIVER. | tt0084296 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Jack Thompson, Lorraine Bayly, Tommy Dysart, Bruce Kerr | Australian | Romance, Western | NULL | |
| The Man From Utah | 1934 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★ | 55 | Town marshal Hayes offers young Wayne assignment as undercover agent to investigate crooked rodeo racket draining locals' loot. Routine sagebrusher burdened by obvious rodeo stock footage. Remade as Tex Ritter's TROUBLE IN TEXAS and Hoot Gibson's UTAH KID. | tt0025455 | John Wayne, Polly Ann Young, Anita Campillo, Edward Peil, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man From Yesterday | 1932 | Berthold Viertel | ★★★ | 71 | Story of Colbert marrying Boyer thinking husband Brook has died is surprisingly well done, thanks mainly to top performances. | tt0023185 | Claudette Colbert, Clive Brook, Charles Boyer, Andy Devine, Alan Mowbray | War | NULL | |||
| The Man From the Alamo | 1953 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 79 | Ford leaves the Alamo to protect his family but is branded a coward and is forced to prove his heroism while battling lawless Jory. Typically offbeat Boetticher Western, well acted and exciting. | tt0046035 | Glenn Ford, Julie Adams, Chill Wills, Hugh O’Brian, Victor Jory, Neville Brand, Jeanne Cooper, Dennis Weaver | Western | NULL | |||
| Man Hunt | 1941 | Fritz Lang | ★★★½ | 105 | Farfetched yet absorbing drama of man attempting to kill Hitler, getting into more trouble than he bargained for. Tense, well done. Screenplay by Dudley Nichols, from Geoffrey Household's novel. Remade as ROGUE MALE. | tt0033873 | Walter Pidgeon, Joan Bennett, George Sanders, John Carradine, Roddy McDowall | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Man I Love | 1946 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 96 | Slick, well-acted melodrama casts Ida as nightclub singer pursued by no-good mobster Alda. Forget logic and just enjoy. This film inspired Scorsese's NEW YORK, NEW YORK. | tt0038721 | Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Bruce Bennett, Andrea King, Dolores Moran, Martha Vickers, Alan Hale/Sr. | Drama, Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Man I Married | 1940 | Irving Pichel. | ★★★ | 77 | Strong story of German Lederer taken in by Nazi propaganda while American wife Bennett tries to stop him. Taut, exciting script. | tt0032746 | Joan Bennett, Francis Lederer, Lloyd Nolan, Anna Sten, Otto Kruger. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Inside | 1990 | Bobby Roth | ★★ | 93 | Crusading West German investigative reporter infiltrates a scandal-sheet newspaper in order to write an indictment of their sleazy practices. A misfire, despite its intriguing premise and cast; it may just be that the film bites off more than it can chew. Story seems dated already. | tt0100102 | [PG] | Jürgen Prochnow, Peter Coyote, Nathalie Baye, Dieter Laser, Monique van de Ven, Philip Anglim, Henry G. Sanders | U.S.-French |
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| Man Killer | 1933 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 67 | Powell accepts job with shady private detective Hohl and agrees to dupe wealthy Lindsay, but falls in love with her instead. Warner Bros. programmer picks up after a slow start. Originally released as PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62. | tt0024471 | William Powell, Margaret Lindsay, Ruth Donnelly, Arthur Hohl, Natalie Moorehead, Arthur Byron | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man Made Monster | 1941 | George Waggner | ★★ | 59 | Sci-fi yarn of scientist Atwill making Chaney invulnerable to electricity and able to kill with his touch; fairly well done. Reissued as ATOMIC MONSTER. | tt0033879 | Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney/Jr., Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds, William Davidson, Ben Taggart, Connie Bergen | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Man Outside | 1986 | Mark Stouffer | ★½ | 109 | Why has Logan dropped out and chosen to isolate himself and live off the land in rural Arkansas? Anthropology professor Quinlan decides to find out and promptly falls for him . . . even as he's accused of kidnapping a young boy. Slickly made but obvious, overbaked, and a bore. In addition to Helm, other former members of The Band (Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel) appear. | tt0091468 | [PG-13] | Robert Logan, Kathleen Quinlan, Bradford Dillman, Levon Helm, Andrew Barach | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man Outside | 1968 | Samuel Gallu | ★★½ | 98 | Heflin is fired from CIA job but cannot extricate himself from international tug-of-war over Russian defector; unpretentious spy stuff. | tt0061948 | [G] | Van Heflin, Heidelinde Weis, Pinkas Braun, Peter Vaughan, Charles Gray, Ronnie Barker | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Man Push Cart | 2006 | Ramin Bahrani | ★★★ | 87 | Pakistani immigrant hauls his food cart into place every morning to sell coffee and snacks to a myriad of New Yorkers. His private life isn't nearly as orderly: he's battling his in-laws for custody of his young son, he's abandoned a once-thriving musical career, and his inner turmoil prevents him from making the most of new contacts and acquaintances. Penetrating character study in which location, looks, and silences tell more than dialogue. Writer-director Bahrani's feature debut. Also Razvi's acting debut; he used to work as a pushcart vendor | tt0464105 | Ahmad Razvi, Leticia Dolera, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Ali Reza, Farooq “Duke” Muhammad. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man They Could Not Hang | 1939 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 65 | First of series of four Karloff vehicles with basically same plot; hanged man brought back to life seeks revenge on judge, jury, et al. Good of its type. | tt0031614 | Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox, Roger Pryor, Ann Doran | Crime, Horror | NULL | |||
| Man Trouble | 1992 | Bob Rafelson | ★½ | 100 | Opera singer Barkin is troubled by a frightening break-in and other harassment so she hires guard-dog specialist Nicholson to beef up security. This mongrel of a screwball comedy consistently misses the target. Particularly disappointing in light of reteaming Nicholson with FIVE EASY PIECES director Rafelson and writer Carole Eastman. Way below par for all concerned. | tt0104804 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Ellen Barkin, Beverly D'Angelo, Harry Dean Stanton, Michael McKean, Veronica Cartwright, David Clennon, Paul Mazursky, Saul Rubinek, Lauren Tom | U.S.-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Man Under Suspicion | 1984 | Norbert Kuckelmann | ★★½ | 126 | Lawyer Schell investigates the motives behind a young man's act of violence at a political rally. Provocative subject matter— how the roots of fascism must be destroyed before they are given the opportunity to blossom— but low-keyed to the point of tedium, and much too long, though final twenty minutes are fairly effective. | tt0087744 | Maximilian Schell, Lena Stolze, Robert Aldini, Wolfgang Kieling, Kathrin Ackermann, Reinhard Hauff | German | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Man Upstairs | 1958 | Don Chaffey | ★★★ | 88 | Compact study, excellently acted, of Attenborough, a man gone berserk much to everyone's amazement. | tt0051894 | Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, Donald Houston, Virginia Maskell | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man Upstairs | 1992 | George Schaefer | Average TV Movie | 100 | Escaped petty jewel thief finds friendship and redemption while hiding out in the home of an elderly woman. Lightweight comedy-drama brought Hepburn back before the cameras, reuniting her with director Schaefer and writer James Prideaux for the third time on TV. Executive produced by Burt Reynolds, who had originally hoped to costar until scheduling intervened. | tt0104805 | Katharine Hepburn, Ryan O'Neal, Henry Beckman, Helena Carroll, Brenda Forbes | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Man Wanted | 1932 | William Dieterle. | ★★½ | 62 | Francis is a workaholic magazine editor who puts up with the philandering ways of her playboy husband but yearns for a little excitement of her own after she hires a young hunk to be her secretary. Dated look at sexual equality and gender stereotypes is uplifted by chic Francis and exudes a sophisticated, sensuous quality. | tt0023180 | Kay Francis, David Manners, Una Merkel, Andy Devine, Kenneth Thomson, Claire Dodd, Elizabeth Patterson, Edward Van Sloan. | Romance, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo | 1935 | Stephen Roberts | ★★½ | 66 | Flimsy film carried by Colman charm, translating famous title song into story of man who calculates to clean out treasury of Riviera gambling establishment. | tt0026671 | Ronald Colman, Joan Bennett, Colin Clive, Nigel Bruce, Montagu Love | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Came Back | 1931 | Raoul Walsh. | ★½ | 87 | Perfectly dreadful early talkie for a duo who were tremendously popular in silent romantic dramas. Here, they're given an insipid change-of-image tale with Farrell as an alcoholic playboy who drives Gaynor to prostitution and drug addiction in a Shanghai opium den. Sounds juicy but consists of endless monologues and stilted histrionics. | tt0022114 | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Kenneth MacKenna, William Holden, Mary Forbes. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Came to Dinner | 1941 | William Keighley | ★★★½ | 112 | Acerbic radio commentator Woolley (re-creating his Broadway role) is forced to stay with Burke's Midwestern family for the winter, driving them crazy with assorted wacky friends passing through. Delightful adaptation of George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play, inspired by the celebrated critic and columnist Alexander Woollcott. Scripted by the Epstein brothers. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033874 | Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley, Billie Burke, Jimmy Durante, Richard Travis, Grant Mitchell, Mary Wickes, Elisabeth Fraser, Reginald Gardiner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Cheated Himself | 1950 | Felix E. Feist | ★★½ | 81 | Good cast uplifts typical murder film. | tt0042707 | Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Terry Frost | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Could Cheat Death | 1959 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 83 | OK remake of THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET, about sculptor with somewhat messy method of retarding the aging process; typical Hammer production. | tt0053041 | Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marle, Delphi Lawrence | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Could Work Miracles | 1936 | Lothar Mendes | ★★★½ | 82 | H. G. Wells' fantasy of timid British department store clerk (Young) endowed with power to do anything he wants. Special effects are marvelous, supported by good cast, in charming film. | tt0029201 | Roland Young, Ralph Richardson, Edward Chapman, Ernest Thesiger, Joan Gardner, George Zucco, Wallace Lupino, Joan Hickson, George Sanders, Torin Thatcher | British | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Cried Wolf | 1937 | Lewis R. Foster. | ★★½ | 66 | Hammy actor Stone confesses to various murders, convinces cops he's crazy, planning perfect alibi for real killing. Cheaply filmed; Stone is mainstay of film, with Marjorie Main in good supporting role as society woman. | tt0029202 | Lewis Stone, Tom Brown, Barbara Read, Robert Gleckler, Forrester Harvey. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Cried | 2000 | Sally Potter | ★★ | 100 | Strange, unsatisfying saga— with a capital S— about a girl separated from her father in 1920s Russia. She grows up in England and winds up in Paris during the 1930s, where she's taken under the wing of a flamboyant nightclub dancer (Blanchett, almost unrecognizable), pursued by a self-important Italian tenor (Turturro), and charmed by a quiet, self-assured gypsy (Depp) as storm clouds gather over Europe. What's the point? We still don't know. Her costars act rings around a blank-faced Ricci. Written by the director. | tt0206917 | [R] | Christina Ricci, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Harry Dean Stanton, Oleg Yankovskiy, Claudia Lander-Duke | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Man Who Dared | 1933 | Hamilton McFadden. | ★★½ | 75 | Modest but engrossing biography of Anton Cermak, Bohemian immigrant who became Chicago mayor and died when hit by bullet intended for FDR. Foster is excellent. | tt0024296 | Preston Foster, Zita Johann, Joan Marsh, Frank Sheridan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Died Twice | 1958 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 70 | When a nightclub owner is killed in a car wreck, his cop brother comforts widowed Ralston while helping local authorities investigate the dead man's drug racket. Well-written B movie has few surprises, but is competently made. | tt0051895 | Rod Cameron, Vera Ralston, Mike Mazurki, Gerald Milton, Richard Karlan, Louis Jean Heydt, Don Megowan, Paul Picerni, Luana Anders. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Fell to Earth | 1976 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★★½ | 140 | Title character ostensibly heads world conglomerate, but is actually here to find water for his planet. Highly original, fabulously photographed adaptation of Walter Tevis' classic fantasy novel is riveting for the first two-thirds, goes downhill toward the end. Still tops of its kind. Originally released in the U.S. at 118m. Remade as 1987 TVM. | tt0074851 | [R] | David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark, Buck Henry, Bernie Casey, Jackson D. Kane | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Man Who Finally Died | 1962 | Quentin Lawrence | ★★ | 100 | Tepid attempt at Hitchcock-like thriller: Baker returns to German home town and tries to discover what happened to his father during WW2. | tt0056216 | Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling, Eric Portman, Niall MacGinnis, Nigel Green, Barbara Everest | British | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Had Power Over Women | 1970 | John Krish | ★★½ | 89 | Seriocomic satire about an executive with ethics in a London talent agency. Andrew Meredith's script (from the Gordon Williams novel) tends toward overstatement, which a good cast tries to moderate. | tt0066052 | [R] | Rod Taylor, James Booth, Carol White, Penelope Horner, Charles Korvin, Clive Francis, Magali Noel | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Man Who Haunted Himself | 1970 | Basil Dearden. | ★★ | 94 | Strange psychological drama about Moore encountering a duplicate of himself in the aftermath of a car crash. Mildly interesting; good location footage of London. | tt0066053 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Hildegarde Neil, Alastair Mackenzie, Hugh Mackenzie, Kevork Malikyan. | British | Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Man Who Knew Too Little | 1997 | Jon Amiel | ★★ | 94 | Curiously flat Murray vehicle about a dolt who visits his brother in England, is signed up for an 'interactive theater' experience, but walks instead into the midst of a complex espionage scheme. Murray is game as always, in the kind of situation that used to serve Bob Hope and Danny Kaye so well, but the script lets him down. The title is the funniest part of the picture. | tt0120483 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher, Joanne Whalley, Alfred Molina, Richard Wilson, Geraldine James, John Standing, Anna Chancellor, Nicholas Woodeson | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Knew Too Much | 1934 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 75 | Film buffs argue which version of exciting story is better. We vote this one, with Hitchcock in fine form weaving dry British humor into a story of heart-pounding suspense; young girl is kidnapped to prevent her parents from revealing what they've learned about assassination plot. | tt0025452 | Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Peter Lorre, Nova Pilbeam, Frank Vosper, Pierre Fresnay | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Knew Too Much | 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 120 | Hitchcock's remake of his 1934 film is disappointing. Even famous Albert Hall assassination sequence rings flat in tale of American couple accidentally involved in international intrigue. Doris's 'Que Sera, Sera' won Jay Livingston and Ray Evans Best Song Oscar. Composer Bernard Herrmann is conducting orchestra at the climax. | tt0049470 | James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman, Daniel Gelin, Alan Mowbray, Carolyn Jones, Hillary Brooke | Adventure, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Laughs | 1928 | Paul Leni | ★★★ | 110 | Visually dazzling adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel with Veidt well cast as the title character, a man whose smile has been carved into his face. Because of this freakish look, it's almost impossible for him to express his true feelings, even to the love of his life. More striking than moving, this is typical of the European influence on Hollywood filmmaking at the end of the silent era. | tt0019130 | Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin, Olga Baclanova, Brandon Hurst, Cesare Gravina, Stuart Holmes, Sam De Grasse, George Siegmann, Josephine Crowell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Lived Again | 1936 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 61 | Mad doctor Karloff has been transferring personalities from one monkey to another. How soon will he be experimenting with human subjects? Solid, above-par chiller. Original British title: THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND. | tt0027938 | Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, John Loder, Frank Cellier, Lyn Harding, Cecil Parker | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Lived Twice | 1936 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 73 | Killer (Bellamy) ditches his cohorts, undergoes brain surgery which literally changes him into a new man. Interesting premise should have made for better film. Remade as MAN IN THE DARK. | tt0027939 | Ralph Bellamy, Marian Marsh, Thurston Hall, Isabel Jewell, Nana Bryant, Ward Bond | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing | 1973 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★★ | 122 | Western tale of defiant woman who leaves her husband and takes up riding along with a band of outlaws. Sluggish in spots, but enjoyable; script by Eleanor Perry. | tt0070363 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Sarah Miles, George Hamilton, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Warden, Bo Hopkins, Robert Donner, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Loved Redheads | 1955 | Harold French | ★★★ | 103 | Delightful British comedy written by Terence Rattigan about a man with lifelong crush on redheads, dating back to boyhood meeting with beautiful Shearer. American print runs 89m. | tt0048338 | John Justin, Moira Shearer, Roland Culver, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews, Patricia Cutts | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Loved Women | 1977 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 119 | Charming, sophisticated comedy about a bachelor who is obsessed with women and, it turns out, they with him. To make sense of the fact that he falls in love with almost every woman he meets, he writes his autobiography. Remade in 1983. | tt0076155 | Charles Denner, Brigitte Fossey, Nelly Borgeaud, Leslie Caron, Genevieve Fontanel. | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Loved Women | 1983 | Blake Edwards | ★★ | 110 | Lackluster, snail's pace remake of the François Truffaut film— minus the climactic revelation that gave the earlier movie its point. Reynolds gives one of his most appealing performances, but spends an eternity discussing his adoration of women with stone-faced psychoanalyst Andrews. Director-writer Edwards gave coscreenplay credit to his own psychiatrist! | tt0085891 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Julie Andrews, Kim Basinger, Marilu Henner, Barry Corbin, Cynthia Sikes, Jennifer Edwards, Tracy Vaccaro | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Never Was | 1956 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 103 | Good WW2 spy yarn based on true story of Allies planting elaborate red herring to divert attention from invasion of Sicily. | tt0049471 | Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin, Stephen Boyd | British | War | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Played God | 1932 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 81 | Well-acted tale of musician Arliss going deaf, infatuated student Davis sticking by him. Not as stagy as other Arliss films, with Bette getting her first big break and young Milland in a small role. Remake of Arliss' silent vehicle; later remade as SINCERELY YOURS. | tt0023181 | George Arliss, Bette Davis, Violet Heming, Louise Closser Hale, Donald Cook, Ray Milland | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Reclaimed His Head | 1934 | Edward Ludwig | ★★★ | 80 | Odd drama adapted from Jean Bart stage play, told in flashback. Struggling writer and advocate of world peace used by capitalists (led by Atwill) to their own, selfish ends. Unusual story well acted, especially by Rains, but too slowly paced. | tt0025453 | Claude Rains, Lionel Atwill, Joan Bennett, Baby Jane, Henry O'Neill, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | 1962 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 123 | Tenderfoot lawyer Stewart helps civilize the West, but needs help from he-man Wayne to do so. Panned and patronized upon original release, but now regarded as an American classic by virtually every Ford scholar; one of the great Westerns. Producer Willis Goldbeck and James Warner Bellah adapted Dorothy Johnson's story. | tt0056217 | James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Andy Devine, Woody Strode, Jeanette Nolan, Ken Murray, John Qualen, Strother Martin, Lee Van Cleef, John Carradine, Carleton Young | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Skied Down Everest | 1976 | F. R. Crawley | ★★½ | 86 | Irresistible idea for a documentary (Japanese sports figure Yuichiro Miura's 1970 skiing expedition) sabotaged by inane narration on soundtrack of English language version. Oscar winner for Best Documentary. | tt0073340 | [G] | Canadian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Talked Too Much | 1940 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 75 | Good courtroom drama with D.A. Brent and lawyer Lundigan, brothers fighting same case. Remake of THE MOUTHPIECE, made again as ILLEGAL (1955). | tt0032747 | George Brent, Virginia Bruce, Brenda Marshall, Richard Barthelmess, William Lundigan, George Tobias | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Turned to Stone | 1957 | Leslie Kardos | 💣 | 71 | Women's detention home wardens Jory et al. stay immortal by siphoning off the life forces of inmates. If they don't get renewed, they petrify. So does the movie. | tt0050675 | Victor Jory, Ann Doran, Charlotte Austin, William Hudson, Paul Cavanagh, Jean Willes, Victor Varconi | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Understood Women | 1959 | Nunnally Johnson | 💣 | 105 | Inept— not to mention inane— invisibility comedy that touted its 3-D effects but offered little in any dimension. Better writing, directing, and acting can be found at a nursery school pageant. | tt0053043 | [R] | Leslie Caron, Henry Fonda, Cesare Danova, Myron McCormick, Marcel Dalio, Conrad Nagel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Wagged His Tail | 1957 | Ladislao Vajda | ★★½ | 91 | Scrooge-like slumlord Ustinov is transformed into a dog. OK fantasy filmed in Madrid and Brooklyn. Released in the U.S. in 1961. | tt0051237 | Peter Ustinov, Pablito Calvo, Aroldo Tieri, Silvia Marco | Spanish-Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Wasn't There | 2001 | Joel Coen | ★★½ | 116 | Exquisitely detailed black & white homage to film noir, and James M. Cain in particular, set in the 1940s. Thornton gives a striking performance as a taciturn small-town barber who gets involved in a crime that snowballs out of control. Unfortunately, the script takes one of those Coen Brothers left turns, changes gears, and goes on much longer than it should. Still, there's incredible production design, Roger Deakins' cinematography, and a gallery of rich, colorful performances to compensate. | tt0243133 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco, Katherine Borowitz, Jon Polito, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Jenkins, Tony Shalhoub, Adam Alexi-Malle, Christopher McDonald | Comedy, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Wasn't There | 1983 | Bruce Malmuth | 💣 | 111 | Inept—not to mention inane—invisibility comedy that touted its 3-D effects but offered little in any dimension. Better writing, directing, and acting can be found at a nursery school pageant. | tt0085892 | [R] | Steve Guttenberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Lisa Langlois, Art Hindle, Morgan Hart, Bill Forsythe, Vincent Baggetta | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Would Be King | 1975 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 129 | Old-fashioned adventure and derring-do from Kipling via Huston: two British soldier-pals try to bamboozle high priests of remote Kafiristan into turning over their riches by convincing them that Connery is a god. Caine and Connery are ideal, script is superb, and film is entertaining, if not quite in the realm of GUNGA DIN. | tt0073341 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Saeed Jaffrey, Shakira Caine | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Man Who Wouldn't Die | 1942 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★ | 65 | Nolan is efficient as wisecracking detective Mike Shayne with a tougher caper than usual. | tt0035027 | Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Helene Reynolds, Henry Wilcoxon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Man Who Wouldn't Talk | 1958 | Herbert Wilcox. | ★½ | 97 | Britain's foremost female lawyer (Neagle) defends Quayle on murder charge, even though he cannot speak, for fear of revealing top-secret information. Dreadful. | tt0051896 | Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Katherine Kath, Dora Bryan. | British | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| The Man With Bogart's Face | 1980 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 106 | Offbeat mystery about present-day detective who has plastic surgery to resemble his idol and immediately becomes involved in MALTESE FALCON-esque case. Not really a comedy, although it has its lighter moments; good fun, especially for buffs. Adapted from his own novel and produced by Andrew J. Fenady; Raft's final film. Aka SAM MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE. | tt0081110 | [PG] | Robert Sacchi, Michelle Phillips, Olivia Hussey, Franco Nero, Misty Rowe, Victor Buono, Herbert Lom, Sybil Danning, Dick Bakalyan, George Raft, Mike Mazurki, Yvonne DeCarlo, Henry Wilcoxon, Victor Sen Yung, Jay Robinson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man With Connections | 1970 | Claude Berri | ★★½ | 93 | Good-natured comedy about young Frenchman who tries to use 'pull' to make Army hitch as pleasant as possible. Autobiographical film is, like Berri's others, amiable, quietly entertaining. | tt0066229 | [R] | Guy Bedos, Yves Robert, Rosy Varte, Georges Geret, Zorica Lozic | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Man With Nine Lives | 1940 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 73 | Scientist Karloff seeks cure for cancer by freezing bodies in suspended animation. Hokey, but fun when Karloff himself thaws out. Also known as BEHIND THE DOOR. | tt0032753 | Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, Jo Ann Sayers, Stanley Brown, John Dilson, Hal Taliaferro | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Man With One Red Shoe | 1985 | Stan Dragoti | ★★ | 93 | Flat remake of THE TALL BLOND MAN WITH ONE BLACK SHOE, about an innocent guy wrongly targeted by CIA types for elimination. Wastes the considerable comic talents of its cast— and doesn't allow leading man Hanks to be funny at all! | tt0089543 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Dabney Coleman, Lori Singer, Charles Durning, Carrie Fisher, Edward Herrmann, James Belushi, Irving Metzman, Gerrit Graham, David L. Lander, David Ogden Stiers | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Man With Two Brains | 1983 | Carl Reiner | ★★★ | 93 | While trapped in a loveless marriage with venal Turner, brilliant surgeon Michael Hfuhruhurr (Martin) falls in love with a brain in a jar (voiced by Sissy Spacek) and immediately starts searching for a new 'home' for it. As silly as it sounds, but put your brain in neutral and the laughs are there, particularly the decor of Warner's condo and the identity of 'The Elevator Killer.' | tt0085894 | [R] | Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner, Paul Benedict, Richard Brestoff, James Cromwell, George Furth, Randi Brooks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man With Two Faces | 1934 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 72 | Minor but entertaining yarn (from a play by Alexander Woollcott and George S. Kaufman) with Robinson well cast as a brilliant actor who tries to protect actress sister Astor from her sinister husband. | tt0025459 | Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Mae Clarke, Louis Calhern, Arthur Byron, John Eldredge, David Landau | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man With a Cloak | 1951 | Fletcher Markle | ★★½ | 81 | Intriguing little mystery, set in 19th-century N.Y.C.; housekeeper Stanwyck plots to kill Calhern for his money and romances Cotten, whose identity is kept secret until the climax. Not bad, with spooky David Raksin score, but having Barbara sing was a mistake. | tt0043782 | Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Cotten, Louis Calhern, Leslie Caron, Jim Backus, Margaret Wycherly, Joe DeSantis | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Man With a Million | The Million Pound Note | 1954 | Ronald Neame | ★★ | 92 | Often tedious telling of Mark Twain story 'The Million Pound Bank Note,' in which penniless American Peck is given the title sum of money on a wager, leading to various complications. Original title: THE MILLION POUND NOTE. Remade as A MILLION TO JUAN. | tt0046072 | Gregory Peck, Jane Griffiths, Ronald Squire, A. E. Matthews, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Reginald Beckwith | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Man With a Movie Camera | 1929 | Dziga Vertov. | ★★★★ | 68 | Visually dazzling landmark film that straddles the line between documentary and experimental cinema. Via editing, special effects, and cinematography (by Mikhail Kaufman, the director's brother), Vertov offers a dawn-to-dusk view of the city of Moscow. A visual feast and a stimulating exploration of the visual language of film. | tt0019760 | Russian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Man With the Balloons | 1965 | Marco Ferreri | ★★ | 85 | Mastroianni plays successful businessman who loses his girl, eventually goes mad because he becomes obsessed with finding out how much air a balloon needs before it bursts. Offbeat idea, to be sure, but result is just plain silly. Panoramica. | tt0059851 | Marcello Mastroianni, Catherine Spaak | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Man With the Golden Arm | 1955 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 119 | Then-daring film of drug addiction is now dated, but still powerful; Sinatra is the junkie, Parker the crippled wife. Memorable Elmer Bernstein jazz score. | tt0048347 | Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Darren McGavin, Arnold Stang, Doro Merande | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man With the Golden Gun | 1974 | Guy Hamilton. | ★★★ | 125 | Moore's second shot as super agent James Bond is good, gimmicky fun but the actor had one more film to go (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME) before actually growing into the character; Lee is excellent as assassin Scaramanga. Great car stunts, worldwide locales. | tt0071807 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize, Clifton James, Richard Loo, Marc Lawrence, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn. | British | Action | NULL | |
| Man With the Gun | 1955 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 83 | Mitchum as lawman who brings peace to a Western town is the whole show. | tt0048339 | Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Angie Dickinson, Barbara Lawrence, Karen Sharpe, Henry Hull | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man Without a Body | 1957 | W. Lee Wilder, Charles Saunders. | ★½ | 80 | Tyrannical industrialist Coulouris, dying of brain cancer, hopes to preserve his mind by convincing the living, disembodied head of Nostradamus that it is actually he, the industrialist. Hutton is a scientist working with living monkey heads, eyes on wall plaques, and whatnot. Confused? Not half as much as this sober but deranged little epic. | tt0050676 | George Coulouris, Robert Hutton, Julia Arnall, Nadja Regin, Sheldon Lawrence, Michael Golden. | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Man Without a Face | 1993 | Mel Gibson | ★★★ | 114 | Literate, absorbing drama exploring the evolving relationship between lonely 12-year-old Stahl, who's intent on gaining entrance to a military academy, and reclusive, facially scarred ex-teacher Gibson, who becomes his mentor. Despite some dramatic lapses, Gibson's directorial debut is more than respectable; he and Stahl offer excellent performances. From Isabelle Holland's novel. | tt0107501 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Nick Stahl, Margaret Whitton, Fay Masterson, Gaby Hoffmann, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Masur, Michael DeLuise, Ethan Phillips, Jean De Baer, Viva | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man Without a Past | 2002 | Aki Kaurismäki | ★★★½ | 97 | After being brutally beaten by muggers upon his arrival in Helsinki and miraculously cheating death, a middle-aged man becomes a penniless amnesiac. Without knowing a single person, 'The Man' must try to survive. Existential black comedy contrasts society's emphasis on the importance of identity with the individual and idiosyncratic imprint that makes each of us spiritually unique. Fascinating and funny; written and produced by the prolific Kaurismäki. | tt0311519 | [PG-13] | Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Juhani Niemelä, Kaija Pakarinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, Esko Nikkari | Finnish-German-French | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Man Without a Star | 1955 | King Vidor | ★★★ | 89 | Boisterous Western with drifter Douglas befriending young Campbell, tangling with manipulative rancher Crain. Kirk gets to sing and play the banjo in this one. Remade as A MAN CALLED GANNON. | tt0048340 | Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, Richard Boone, Jay C. Flippen, William Campbell | Western | NULL | |||
| The Man Without a World | 1991 | Eleanor Antin | ★★★ | 98 | Unusual, fascinating fiction written, produced, and directed by performance artist Antin and presented as a long-lost, recently discovered silent 'Yiddish shtetl film' made decades ago in Cracow by one Yevgeny Antinov, the 'controversial Soviet silent film director.' The scenario is a folktale about daily life in a shtetl (Jewish village), centering on a young girl (Berry) who falls in love with a poet (Marton). A valentine to shtetl life and silent film technique; however, you won't find its frank sexuality and nudity in any real period Yiddish film. Antin herself appears as a gypsy dancer. | tt0102385 |
|
Christine Berry, Anna Henriques, Pier Marton, George Leonard, Don Sommese, Marcia Goodman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Man and Boy | 1972 | E. W. Swackhamer | ★★½ | 98 | Civil War vet and young son take after the thief who has stolen their horse in a kind of black BICYCLE THIEF. Decent enough family film with Cosby in rare dramatic role. | tt0068907 | [G] | Bill Cosby, Gloria Foster, Leif Erickson, George Spell, Douglas Turner Ward, John Anderson, Yaphet Kotto, Henry Silva, Dub Taylor | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| A Man and a Woman | 1966 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★½ | 102 | Moving romantic drama about young widow and widower who fall in love; one of the 1960s' most popular love stories, thanks to intelligent script, winning performances, innovative direction and camerawork, Francis Lai's music score. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, Best Original Screenplay. Remade by cowriter/director Lelouch in 1977 as ANOTHER MAN, ANOTHER CHANCE, and followed by A MAN AND A WOMAN: 20 YEARS LATER. | tt0061138 | Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Pierre Barouh, Valerie Lagrange | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later | 1986 | Claude Lelouch | ★½ | 108 | Badly misconceived sequel to one of the '60s' essential 'date' movies finds former script girl Aimee now a film producer, race driver Trintignant involved in a Paris-to-Dakar rally. Silly film-within-a-film pays homage to DIAL M FOR MURDER and— in one desert scene— the opening to HATARI! Someone should have reminded Lelouch that 'hatari!' means 'danger' in Swahili. | tt0092130 | [PG] | Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Richard Berry, Evelyne Bouix, Robert Hossein, Marie-Sophie Pochat | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Man and the Monster | 1959 | Rafael Baledón. | ★★★ | 78 | Rambal, the greatest pianist in the world, has hidden himself away; we learn that he was a failure who sold his soul to the devil to be a virtuoso, but whenever he plays he becomes a werewolf-like monster. Aimed at an adult audience, this mixes horror and music in a novel way, but despite its Gothic style it's hampered by monster makeup that's unintentionally funny (and poor dubbing as well). | tt0051731 | Abel Salazar, Enrique Rambal, Martha Roth, Ofelia Guilmáin, María Roth, Carlos Suárez. | Mexican | Horror | NULL | ||
| Man at the Top | 1975 | Mike Vardy | ★★★ | 92 | Feature spin-off of British TV show which in turn is a spin-off of ROOM AT THE TOP, with Haigh as Joe Lampton, now caught in EXECUTIVE SUITE-type business conflicts. | tt0073342 | Kenneth Haigh, Nanette Newman, Harry Andrews, John Quentin, Mary Maude | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man for All Seasons | 1966 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 120 | Splendid film based on Robert Bolt's play about Sir Thomas More's personal conflict when King Henry VIII asks his support in break with Pope and formation of Church of England. Scofield's rich characterization matched by superb cast, vivid atmosphere. Six Oscars: Best Actor, Director, Picture, Screenplay (Robert Bolt), Cinematography (Ted Moore), Costumes. Remade for TV in 1988 with Charlton Heston. | tt0060665 | Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles, Susannah York, John Hurt, Nigel Davenport, Vanessa Redgrave | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man for All Seasons | 1988 | Charlton Heston | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | A fine showcase for Heston, who plays Thomas More in Robert Bolt's reworking of his outstanding stage play. Having recently performed the part on stage in London, Heston opted to direct and star in this TV adaptation, with able support from Gielgud and Redgrave (who had a small part in the 1966 movie version). Made for cable. | tt0095578 | Charlton Heston, Vanessa Redgrave, John Gielgud, Richard Johnson, Roy Kinnear, Martin Chamberlain | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man from Elysian Fields | 2002 | George Hickenlooper | ★★★ | 105 | A failed novelist with a loving wife and son is so desperate that he accepts a stranger's offer to work for his escort service. He becomes involved with a beautiful woman and, unexpectedly, her husband, a gruff, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who is nearing the end of his life. Consistently intriguing fable creates a world of its own, and has enough going for it (including strong, sincere performances) to forgive it its imperfections. Garcia also coproduced. | tt0265307 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, Julianna Margulies, Olivia Williams, James Coburn, Anjelica Huston, Michael Des Barres, Richard Bradford, Xander Berkeley, Rosalind Chao, Joe Santos | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man from the Diner's Club | 1963 | Frank Tashlin | ★★ | 90 | Labored slapstick comedy about a bungling credit-card company clerk who inadvertently OKs an account for gangster Savalas. Look for Harry Dean Stanton as a beatnik. Cowritten by Bill (William Peter) Blatty. Title song sung (and cowritten) by Steve Lawrence. | tt0057284 | Danny Kaye, Martha Hyer, Cara Williams, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ann Morgan Guilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Man in Black | 1949 | Francis Searle. | ★★½ | 80 | A wealthy dabbler in yoga (James) dies during a trance, leaving his estate to his meek daughter (Penwarden). His scheming widow (Davies) and her daughter (Burrell) plot to get the money for themselves. Clever little thriller with some surprises and a rare noncomic role for James. Based on the British radio series Appointment with Fear that featured the title character (Dyall) as the 'Story-Teller. | tt0041627 | Betty Ann Davies, Sheila Burrell, Sid James, Anthony Forwood, Hazel Penwarden, Courtney Hope, Valentine Dyall. | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Man in Grey | 1943 | Leslie Arliss | ★★★ | 116 | Wealthy Calvert befriends impoverished schoolmate Lockwood; years later, Lockwood repays the kindness by trying to steal her husband. Elaborate costume drama, told in flashback, is entertaining, and notable for boosting Mason (as Calvert's hateful husband) to stardom. Originally shown in the U.S. at 93m. | tt0036135 | Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger, Helen Haye, Martita Hunt | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man in Half Moon Street | 1944 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 92 | Not-bad horror tale of scientist Asther experimenting with rejuvenation; done on better scale than many of these little epics. Remade as THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH. | tt0037046 | Nils Asther, Helen Walker, Brandon Hurst, Reginald Sheffield | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Man in Hiding | 1953 | Terence Fisher | ★½ | 79 | Tame detective-capturing-elusive-killer plot. | tt0046041 | Paul Henreid, Lois Maxwell, Kieron Moore, Hugh Sinclair | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| A Man in Love | 1987 | Diane Kurys | ★★★ | 117 | Full-blooded romance about a married American actor who falls in love with his leading lady while making a movie in Rome. Coyote and Scacchi are believable (and extremely sexy) in this sensual and intelligent film, written by Israel Horovitz and director Kurys, whose first English language film this is. | tt0094208 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Greta Scacchi, Peter Riegert, Claudia Cardinale, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Berry, Vincent Lindon, Jean Pigozzi | French-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Man in Possession | 1931 | Sam Wood. | ★★½ | 84 | English bailiff Montgomery takes possession of more than debt-ridden Purcell's home when he poses as her butler and falls in love with her. Saucy light comedy benefits from polished cast and a double-entendre-laden script, cowritten by P. G. Wodehouse. Remade as PERSONAL PROPERTY. | tt0022117 | Robert Montgomery, Irene Purcell, Charlotte Greenwood, C. Aubrey Smith, Beryl Mercer, Reginald Owen, Alan Mowbray, Maude Eburne. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Man in a Cocked Hat | Carlton-Browne of the F.O. | 1959 | Jeffrey Dell, Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 88 | Screwball farce about Island of Gallardia, a British protectorate forgotten for 50 years; when rediscovered, bumbling Terry-Thomas of the Foreign Office is left in charge. British title: CARLTON-BROWNE OF THE F.O. | tt0053044 | Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Luciana Paluzzi, Thorley Walters, Ian Bannen, John Le Mesurier, Miles Malleson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Man in a Uniform | 1993 | David Wellington | ★★★ | 99 | Startlingly effective TAXI DRIVER variation about an actor (McCamus, who is excellent) who wins a role as a cop on a TV series and begins wearing his costume uniform in public, with jarring results. Film effectively examines the difference between real and reel life in an impersonal, randomly violent society. Well worth watching. Original title: I LOVE A MAN IN. | tt0107179 | Tom McCamus, Brigitte Bako, Kevin Tighe, David Hemblen, Graham McPherson | Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man in the Attic | 1954 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 82 | Flavorful account of notorious Jack the Ripper, with Palance going full-blast. Remake of THE LODGER. | tt0047209 | Jack Palance, Constance Smith, Byron Palmer, Frances Bavier, Rhys Williams, Sean McClory, Isabel Jewell, Leslie Bradley | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Man in the Chair | 2007 | Michael Schroeder | ★★½ | 107 | Alcoholic down-on-his-luck former studio gaffer meets a rebellious young filmmaker at a fading revival movie theater. They forge a friendship that leads to a collaboration, which also reinvigorates the lives of several residents of a motion-picture retirement home. Well-meaning drama is awkward at times but Plummer’s tour-de-force performance (and a fine supporting cast) make it worth a look. | tt0489225 | [PG-13] | Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, M. Emmet Walsh, Robert Wagner, George Murdock, Mimi Kennedy, Joshua Boyd, Allan Rich, Mitch Pileggi, Tracey Walter, Ellen Geer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Man in the Dark | 1953 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 70 | Convict O'Brien undergoes brain surgery to eliminate criminal bent and loses memory in the process; his old cohorts only care that he remember where he stashed their stolen loot. OK remake of THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE was originally shown in 3-D. | tt0046036 | Edmond O'Brien, Audrey Totter, Ruth Warren, Ted de Corsia, Horace McMahon | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Man in the Glass Booth | 1975 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 117 | American Film Theatre version of Robert Shaw's play about a glib Jewish industrialist brought to trial for Nazi war crimes. Schell is good, but overall effect is contrived. Shaw had his name removed from credits of film. | tt0073345 | [PG] | Maximilian Schell, Lois Nettleton, Luther Adler, Lawrence Pressman, Henry Brown, Richard Rasof | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | 1956 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★★½ | 153 | Sloan Wilson's slick novel of Madison Avenue executive struggling to get ahead and to find meaning in his home life. Nice cameo by Ann Harding as March's wife. Scripted by the director; music by Bernard Herrmann. | tt0049474 | Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Keenan Wynn, Gene Lockhart, Gigi Perreau, Arthur O'Connell, Henry Daniell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man in the Iron Mask | 1939 | James Whale | ★★★ | 110 | Rousing adventure of twin brothers: one becomes King of France, the other a carefree gay blade raised by D'Artagnan (William) and the Three Musketeers. Fine swashbuckler. Filmed in 1929 with Douglas Fairbanks as THE IRON MASK. | tt0031619 | Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William, Joseph Schildkraut, Alan Hale/Sr., Walter Kingsford, Marion Martin | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Man in the Iron Mask | 1998 | Randall Wallace | ★★★ | 132 | Handsome retelling of the durable Alexandre Dumas tale of a man unjustly imprisoned and encased in an iron mask— because his very existence threatens the reigning king of France, the young, selfish Louis XIV. The fate of both are soon in the hands of the aging but still passionate Musketeers. It would be hard to miss with that cast; the film is quite enjoyable, but it does go on too long. | tt0120744 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gérard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche, Edward Atterton, Peter Sarsgaard, Hugh Laurie | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man in the Iron Mask | 1977 | Mike Newell | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Stylish romantic adventure in this William Bast adaptation of the Dumas classic acted with panache by a sterling cast. Chamberlain can swashbuckle with the best of them. Grand entertainment. | tt0074853 | Richard Chamberlain, Patrick McGoohan, Louis Jourdan, Jenny Agutter, Vivien Merchant, Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Man in the Middle | 1964 | Guy Hamilton | ★★ | 94 | Unconvincing, confusing film of Howard Fast novel The Winston Affair, about American military officer accused of homicide; static courtroom sequences. | tt0058323 | Robert Mitchum, France Nuyen, Barry Sullivan, Keenan Wynn, Alexander Knox, Trevor Howard | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Man in the Moon | 1961 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 98 | Top comedy satirizing space race. Government recruits man unaffected by cold, heat, speed, etc., to be perfect astronaut. | tt0055133 | Kenneth More, Shirley Anne Field, Norman Bird, Michael Hordern, John Phillips | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Man in the Moon | 1991 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 99 | Ingratiatingly old-fashioned weeper set in rural Louisiana in 1957, about a 14-year-old girl in love with an older boy, who in turn prefers her college-bound sis. Newcomer Witherspoon is unforgettable as the younger sister— more early adolescent lightning for director Mulligan, who guided TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and SUMMER OF '42. Nicely shot by Freddie Francis. Waterston has some effective scenes as the girls' father. | tt0102388 | [PG-13] | Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail Strickland, Reese Witherspoon, Jason London, Emily Warfield, Bentley Mitchum, Ernie Lively | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man in the Net | 1959 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 97 | Fair drama of Ladd trying to clear himself of murder charge for wife's death. | tt0053045 | Alan Ladd, Carolyn Jones, Diane Brewster, Charles McGraw, John Lupton, Tom Helmore | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Man in the Raincoat | 1957 | Julien Duvivier | ★★ | 97 | Middling comedy-mystery with Fernandel as a bumbling musician who accidentally becomes involved with murder. Tries hard and has its moments but simply doesn't jell. | tt0050519 | Fernandel, John McGiver, Bernard Blier, Claude Sylvain, Jean Rigaux, Rob Murray | French-Italian | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Man in the Road | 1957 | Lance Comfort | ★½ | 83 | Despite sturdy cast, humdrum telling of Communists trying to get scientist to divulge secret formula. | tt0050679 |
|
Derek Farr, Ella Raines, Donald Wolfit, Karel Stepanek | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Man in the Saddle | 1951 | André De Toth | ★★ | 87 | Scott is involved in romantic triangle causing death on the range; justice triumphs. | tt0043781 | Randolph Scott, Joan Leslie, Ellen Drew, Alexander Knox | Western | NULL | |||
| Man in the Shadow | 1957 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 80 | Welles chomps his way through role of rancher responsible for helper's death. Chandler is the earnest sheriff. | tt0050680 | Jeff Chandler, Orson Welles, Colleen Miller, James Gleason | Drama, Thriller, Western | NULL | |||
| Man in the Vault | 1956 | Andrew V. McLaglen. | ★½ | 73 | Programmer of drab locksmith Campbell, who becomes involved in a robbery. Drab is right. | tt0049476 | William Campbell, Karen Sharpe, Anita Ekberg, Berry Kroeger, Mike Mazurki, Paul Fix. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man in the White Suit | 1951 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★½ | 84 | Guinness is inventor who discovers a fabric that can't wear out or soil; dismayed garment manufacturers set out to bury his formula. Most engaging comedy. Screenplay by Roger Macdougall, John Dighton, and Mackendrick, from Macdougall's play. | tt0044876 | Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Vida Hope, George Benson, Edie Martin | British | Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Man in the Wilderness | 1971 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★★ | 105 | Trapper Harris abandoned in wasteland, must fight for survival, and revenge as well. Well-made, engrossing, but bloody film. | tt0067388 | [PG] | Richard Harris, John Huston, John Bindon, Ben Carruthers, Prunella Ransome, Henry Wilcoxon | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Man of Aran | 1934 | Robert Flaherty | ★★★★ | 73 | Superb, classic documentary about day-to-day existence, and constant fight for survival, of fisherman in remote Irish coastal community. Scenes at sea are breathtaking. | tt0025456 | Colman (Tiger) King, Maggie Dillane | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Man of Conflict | 1953 | Hal Makelim. | ★★ | 72 | Lukewarm drama of generation clash between father Arnold and son Agar over business and philosophy of life. | tt0046039 | Edward Arnold, John Agar, Susan Morrow, Russell Hicks. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man of Conquest | 1939 | George Nicholls/ Jr | ★★½ | 105 | Republic Pictures tried to give this biography of Texas' Sam Houston good production values, but script slows down action. | tt0031620 | Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Edward Ellis, Joan Fontaine | Western | NULL | |||
| Man of Evil | 1944 | Anthony Asquith | ★★ | 90 | Elaborate but ponderous costumer of maniac who tries to run people's lives to suit his fancy; overdone and not effective. Original title: FANNY BY GASLIGHT. | tt0036814 | Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger, Wilfrid Lawson, Jean Kent | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man of Flowers | 1984 | Paul Cox | ★★½ | 91 | Kaye, a wealthy flower-loving bachelor with a mother fixation, pays artist's model Best $100 a week to disrobe for him on call. Original but monotonal mix of somberness and silliness; may catch your interest if you're in the right mood. Werner Herzog plays Kaye's father in flashback. | tt0085893 | Norman Kaye, Alyson Best, Chris Haywood, Sarah Walker, Julia Blake, Bob Ellis, Barry Dickins | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Man of Iron | 1956 | Pietro Germi | ★★★ | 116 | Somber account of Germi, railroad engineer, whose life takes a tragic turn, affecting his whole family; realistically presented. Original title: THE RAILROAD MAN. | tt0049207 | Pietro Germi, Luisa Della Noce, Sylva Koscina, Carlo Giuffre | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Man of Iron | 1980 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★½ | 152 | Sequel to MAN OF MARBLE finds documentary filmmaker Janda married to son of the fallen hero whose life she had been researching. Rousing march for Solidarity is not quite up to its predecessor, but two films taken together are as epic in scope as our own GODFATHER sagas. Lech Walesa appears briefly as himself. | tt0082222 | [PG] | Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Krystyna Janda, Marian Opiana | Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| Man of La Mancha | 1972 | Arthur Hiller | 💣 | 130 | Plodding, abysmal adaptation of Dale Wasserman's popular musical based on Cervantes' Don Quixote, with Joe Darion- Mitch Leigh score. Beautiful source material has been raped, murdered, and buried. | tt0068909 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco, Harry Andrews, John Castle | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Man of Marble | 1977 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★★★ | 160 | Compelling, controversial, brilliantly directed tale of determined filmmaker Janda retracing the life of Radziwilowicz, naive bricklayer lionized in the 1950s as a worker-hero of the State. Wajda celebrates the role of filmmaker as a speaker of truth; ironically, the film's finale, an explanation of the bricklayer's fate, was excised by the Polish censors. Followed by MAN OF IRON. | tt0075902 | Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Jacek Lomnicki, Krystyna Zachwatowicz | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man of No Importance | 1994 | Suri Krishnamma | ★★½ | 98 | While staging Oscar Wilde's controversial Salome at his local Dublin church, a theater-loving bus conductor examines his repressed sexual feelings— toward both his leading actress and the bus' handsome driver. Initially lightweight comedy-drama gradually becomes more complex, possibly taking on more than it can handle; Finney, however, devours the role with his usual feeling and conviction. | tt0110455 | [R] | Albert Finney, Brenda Fricker, Michael Gambon, Tara Fitzgerald, Rufus Sewell, Patrick Malahide, David Kelly, Mick Lally | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Man of a Thousand Faces | 1957 | Joseph Pevney | ★★★½ | 122 | Surprisingly dedicated, well-acted biography of silent star Lon Chaney. Cagney as Chaney, Malone as disturbed first wife, Greer as wife who brings him happiness, are all fine. Chaney's life and career are recreated with taste (if not accuracy). Touching portrayal of movie extra by Rambeau. Ralph Wheelwright's story was adapted by R. Wright Campbell, Ivan Goff, and Ben Roberts. | tt0050681 | James Cagney, Dorothy Malone, Jane Greer, Marjorie Rambeau, Jim Backus, Jeanne Cagney, Robert J. Evans, Roger Smith, Jack Albertson, Snub Pollard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man of the Century | 1999 | Adam Abraham | ★★ | 80 | A snappy-talking newspaper reporter named Johnny Twennies (Frazier) lives in a 1920s world, immersed in its slang, customs, and music, unaware of the realities around him, or the very contemporary sexual longing of his girlfriend (Egan). An obvious labor of love, this somewhat amateurish film has enthusiasm to spare, and some amusing cameos, but one overriding problem: it makes no sense. Written by the director and his star. | tt0138537 | [R] | Gibson Frazier, Susan Egan, David Margulies, Frank Gorshin, Bobby Short, Anne Jackson, Gary Beach, Marisa Ryan, Lester Lanin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Man of the House | 1995 | James Orr | ★★ | 96 | Thomas is the center of attention in this tepid comedy, as the sometimes overbearing son of Fawcett, whom district attorney Chase intends to marry. Stepdad-to-be attempts to ingratiate himself with the boy, who plots to eliminate the man from his mom's life. The humor— what there is of it— is plenty predictable, but kids will probably lap it up. | tt0113755 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, George Wendt, David Shiner, Art LaFleur, Richard Portnow | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Man of the House | 2005 | Stephen Herek. | ★½ | 97 | Destined to go down in history as the movie in which Jones buys tampons, this lamer-than-lame comedy casts him as a Texas Ranger house-sitting a band of cheerleaders who've witnessed a murder. Though there's potential in the idea of the girls giving Jones a makeover (once he gets smitten with Archer and friendly with his wards), the actor's dyspeptic facial expression seems to have been exacerbated by reading the script. Incredibly, he was one of the executive producers. | tt0331933 | [PG-13] | Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Archer, Cedric the Entertainer, Christina Milian, Paula Garcés, Monica Keena, Vanessa Ferlito, Kelli Garner, R. Lee Ermey, Curtis Armstrong, Paget Brewster. | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Man of the West | 1958 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 100 | Dismissed in 1958, this powerful story deserves another look. Cooper plays a reformed outlaw who is forced to rejoin his ex-boss (Cobb) to save himself and other innocent people from the gang's mistreatment. Strong, epic-scale Western, with script by Reginald Rose. | tt0051899 | Gary Cooper, Julie London, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur O'Connell, Jack Lord, John Dehner, Royal Dano | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Man of the World | 1931 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 71 | Routine tale of good girl Lombard in love with con man Powell. If Carole's performance seems heartfelt, it may be due to the fact the two stars married the same year. | tt0022119 | William Powell, Carole Lombard, Wynne Gibson, Guy Kibbee, George Chandler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Man of the Year | 2006 | Barry Levinson | ★★ | 108 | Glib talk-show host runs for President as a lark, then finds himself elected. The reason: there's a flaw in a new computer voting program, and the firm that created it can't afford to admit the mistake. Linney tries to go public with the information, but only Williams seems to believe her. Muddled mess of a movie tries to be topical, funny, suspenseful, and romantic. Scattered sharp, funny moments can't salvage Levinson's unwieldy screenplay. Various TV personalities and politicos appear as themselves. | tt0483726 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Christopher Walken, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum, Rick Roberts, David Alpay | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man of the Year | 1996 | Dirk Shafer | ★★ | 87 | Odd combination of documentary and 'mockumentary' (à la THIS IS SPINAL TAP) tells the story of Dirk Shafer, the Playgirl Centerfold Star of 1992 who hid his gay lifestyle in order to become a symbol of heterosexual male beefcake... and an expert on 'what women want from a man.' The potentially rich premise doesn't really pay off, as the 'real' footage used here is far more interesting than the re-creations. | tt0113756 | [NR] | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Man on Fire | 1987 | Elie Chouraqui | 💣 | 93 | International mishmash of pacifist Glenn, hired as young Malle's bodyguard, who turns into a minor league Rambo when she is kidnapped. Good cast wasted. Remade in 2004. | tt0093489 | [R] | Scott Glenn, Jade Malle, Paul Shenar, Brooke Adams, Jonathan Pryce, Joe Pesci, Danny Aiello | French-Italian | Drama, Thriller, Action | NULL | |
| Man on Fire | 2004 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 146 | Guilt-ridden military ops veteran Washington is hired as a bodyguard for young Fanning to protect her from the constant threat of kidnapping in Mexico City. After a good first hour the film becomes a vigilante saga, urging us to cheer on the violent deaths of scummy characters who 'deserve' it. Told in director Scott's self-indulgent style, with uncomfortable ultra-close-ups, smash cuts with loud sound effects, and handheld grainy shots in the middle of scenes for no reason at all. Too bad. | tt0328107 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony, Radha Mitchell, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Giannini, Rachel Ticotin, Jesus Ochoa, Mickey Rourke | Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Man on Fire | 1957 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★½ | 95 | Divorced father (Crosby) refuses to grant his remarried ex-wife partial custody of their son in this modest domestic drama. | tt0050682 | Bing Crosby, Mary Fickett, Inger Stevens, E.G. Marshall, Malcolm Broderick, Anne Seymour, Richard Eastham | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man on Wire | 2008 | James Marsh | ★★★½ | 94 | On August 7, 1974, daredevil Philippe Petit made big news as he took a leisurely 45-minute stroll back and forth on a steel cable between New York's World Trade Center towers. Vertiginous documentary, based on Petit's 2002 memoir To Reach the Clouds, unveils his support crew's rehearsals, subterfuge, and reservations, while questioning the sanity of a gutsy artist whose arrest report provides the title. Literally breathtaking account is all a thriller should be, yet it's real, aside from a few dramatic reenactments and one nutty sex scene. Not for the acrophobic. Oscar winner as Best Documentary. | tt1155592 | [PG-13] | U.S.-British | Documentary, Crime | NULL | ||
| Man on a Ledge | 2012 | Asger Leth | ★★ | 102 | Ex-cop who was framed and is now serving 25 years in prison escapes and works his way to Manhattan, where he steps out onto the ledge of a building. The only one he'll talk to is crisis negotiator Banks who, like him, has been ostracized by the NYPD. His attention-getting stunt turns out to be part of an elaborate scheme through which he hopes to clear his name. There are clever moments, but the plot gets progressively more ridiculous and eventually loses steam; the depiction of dirty cops and a ruthless business tycoon are pretty shopworn. | tt1568338 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, Edward Burns, Genesis Rodriguez, Kyra Sedgwick, Titus Welliver, Bill Sadler | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man on a String | 1960 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 92 | Fictionalized account of counterspy Boris Morros, involved in Russian-U.S. Cold War conflict. Taut action sequences. | tt0054058 | Ernest Borgnine, Kerwin Mathews, Colleen Dewhurst, Alexander Scourby, Glenn Corbett | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Man on a Swing | 1974 | Frank Perry | ★★½ | 110 | Mysterious clairvoyant (Grey) offers to help a cop (Robertson) solve sex-slaying that's been troubling him, but generates more questions than answers. Intriguing idea sadly misses the mark by building up to an unsatisfying conclusion. Based on a true story. | tt0071806 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Joel Grey, Dorothy Tristan, Elizabeth Wilson, George Voskovec | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Man on a Tightrope | 1953 | Elia Kazan | ★★½ | 105 | Passable based-on-fact account of an obscure, downtrodden little circus troupe and its escape from Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia to freedom in Austria. Has its moments, but the characters are far too broadly drawn. Scripted by Robert E. Sherwood. | tt0046040 | Fredric March, Gloria Grahame, Terry Moore, Cameron Mitchell, Adolphe Menjou, Richard Boone, Robert Beatty | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Man on the Eiffel Tower | 1949 | Burgess Meredith | ★★ | 97 | Tiresome adaptation of a Georges Simenon thriller with Laughton as Inspector Maigret and Tone as a madman who thinks he can carry out a perfect crime. Meredith’s directorial debut, filmed entirely in Paris. Shot in experimental AnscoColor process; most surviving prints don’t look very good. | tt0041628 | Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Burgess Meredith, Robert Hutton, Jean Wallace, Patricia Roc, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Belita | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Man on the Flying Trapeze | 1935 | Clyde Bruckman | ★★★½ | 65 | Hilarious Fieldsian study in frustration, with able assistance from hardboiled wife Howard, good-for-nothing Sutton. Best sequence has W. C. receiving four traffic tickets in a row. | tt0026676 | W. C. Fields, Mary Brian, Kathleen Howard, Grady Sutton, Vera Lewis, Walter Brennan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Man on the Moon | 1999 | Milos Forman | ★★ | 118 | The writers of ED WOOD and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, reteamed with FLYNT director Forman, strike out with this bio of the late comedy performer Andy Kaufman. Carrey perfectly embodies his subject, but it's impossible to get inside Kaufman's head and understand what made him so very, very strange, on-stage and off . . . if indeed it's even worth the effort. Some of Kaufman's real-life acting colleagues appear as themselves. | tt0125664 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Courtney Love, Paul Giamatti, Vincent Schiavelli, Peter Bonerz, Gerry Becker, Leslie Lyles | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Man on the Roof | 1977 | Bo Widerberg | ★★★½ | 110 | A cop killer is the subject of a Stockholm manhunt in this police film with substance and style. Absorbing for its look at police methodology as well as its suspense and action. Based on the Martin Beck novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo (Walter Matthau played Beck in THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN). | tt0074857 | [R] | Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, Hakan Serner, Sven Wollter, Thomas Hellberg | Swedish | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Man on the Train | 2002 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 90 | A gun-toting stranger comes to a small town and rooms with a retired schoolteacher; the two men couldn't be more different, but as they get to know each other each one sees in the other qualities he's always longed for in his own life. A minor but entertaining fable that makes the most of its two stars' exceptional screen presence. | tt0301414 | [R] | Jean Rochefort, Johnny Hallyday, Jean-François Stevenin, Charlie Nelson, Pascal Parmentier, Isabelle Petit-Jacques | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Man on the Train | 2011 | Mary McGuckian | ★★½ | 100 | Aptly billed as a "translation" rather than a remake of French filmmaker Patrice Leconte's 2002 acclaimed original, this leisurely paced yet consistently engrossing drama focuses on the improbable friendship that grows between a retired literature professor (Sutherland) and a taciturn bank robber (Mullen) as they spend a few days together before each faces a date with destiny. Mullen, drummer for the rock band U2, is credible and creditable, but Sutherland dominates the movie with his affecting portrayal of a buttoned-down intellectual who finds himself questioning, near the end of his life, whether he's ever truly lived. | tt0301414 | Donald Sutherland, Larry Mullen /Jr., Graham Greene, Tony Nardi, Kate O'Toole, Carlo Rota | Canadian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man or Gun | 1958 | Albert C. Gannaway | ★★ | 79 | Bland Western with Carey cleaning up the town. Filmed in Naturama. | tt0051901 | Macdonald Carey, Audrey Totter, James Craig, James Gleason | Western | NULL | |||
| Man to Man Talk | 1958 | Louis Saslavsky. | ★★ | 89 | Muddled account of pregnant Berger and husband Montand, who is forced to explain the facts of life to their son. Done in by several confusing subplots. Original title: PREMIER MAY. | tt0050389 | Yves Montand, Nicole Berger, Yves Nöel, Georges Chamarat, Bernadette Lange, Laurent Terzieff, Walter Chiari. | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Man to Remember | 1938 | Garson Kanin | ★★★ | 80 | Character actor Ellis (who played the title role in THE THIN MAN) is showcased as a selfless doctor with an abundance of commonsense wisdom who spends twenty years serving an often-ungrateful town. Kanin's directorial debut was much praised in 1938 and made this a breakout B movie; it seems dated now, but builds up to an unexpectedly moving finale. Remake of ONE MAN'S JOURNEY (1933) | tt0030410 | Anne Shirley, Edward Ellis, Lee Bowman, William Henry, Granville Bates, Harlan Briggs, Frank M. Thomas, Charles Halton, Dickie Jones. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man's Best Friend | 1993 | John Lafia | ★★½ | 97 | Investigative reporter Sheedy rescues big doggy, Max, from scientist Henricksen's vivesection lab . . . but Max is genetically engineered with many odd abilities— and a bad attitude. Modestly clever thriller pushes clichés associated with dogs (mailmen, junkyards, cats) to amusingly violent extremes. Derivative but fun. Written by the director. | tt0107504 | [R] | Ally Sheedy, Lance Henriksen, Robert Costanzo, Fredric Lehne, John Cassini, J. D. Daniels, William Sanderson, Trula Marcus, Rick Barker | Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Man's Castle | 1933 | Frank Borzage | ★★★½ | 66 | Typically lovely Borzage romance; penniless Young moves in with shantytown tough-guy Tracy, hoping to develop a real relationship in spite of his reluctance. Tracy's ultra-macho character is a bit tough to stomach at times, but film's enormous heart conquers all, bolstered by appealing performances. Originally released at 75m. | tt0024302 | Spencer Tracy, Loretta Young, Marjorie Rambeau, Arthur Hohl, Walter Connolly, Glenda Farrell, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Man's Favorite Sport? | 1964 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 120 | Amusing, often labored variation on Hawks' own BRINGING UP BABY. Fishing 'expert' Hudson, who in reality has never fished, is forced to enter big tournament by pushy Prentiss (in her best performance). Loaded with slapstick and sexual innuendo; Norman Alden is hilarious as wisecracking Indian guide. | tt0058324 | Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, John McGiver, Maria Perschy, Roscoe Karns, Charlene Holt | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Man | 1972 | Joseph Sargent | ★★ | 93 | Black Senator Jones becomes President of U.S. after freak disaster kills chief executive in Europe. Originally made for TV but released theatrically; marginally interesting Rod Serling adaptation of Irving Wallace best-seller plus acceptable performances add up to forgettable experience. Cameo appearance by Jack Benny. | tt0068912 | [G] | James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, Burgess Meredith, Lew Ayres, William Windom, Barbara Rush, Janet MacLachlan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Man | 2005 | Les Mayfield | 💣 | 83 | A case of mistaken identity forces a tough ATF agent (Jackson) to team up with nerdy dental-supply salesman (Levy) to pull off a sting operation. Contrived, derivative, mismatched-buddies romp mixes lame action and juvenile humor. Yet another waste of Levy's comic talent. | tt0399327 | [PG-13] | Samuel L. Jackson, Eugene Levy, Luke Goss, Miguel Ferrer, Susie Essman, Anthony Mackie, Horatio Sanz, Rachael Crawford, Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Man, Woman and Child | 1983 | Dick Richards | ★★★ | 99 | Unabashed tearjerker (from Erich Segal's book) about a happily married man, with two children, who learns that a brief affair he had with a Frenchwoman 10 years ago produced a son— and that the boy has just been orphaned. Simple, honestly sentimental movie. | tt0085895 | [PG] | Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Sebastian Dungan, Arlene McIntyre, Missy Francis, Craig T. Nelson, David Hemmings, Nathalie Nell | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Man, a Woman and a Bank | 1979 | Noel Black. | ★★½ | 100 | Needless but inoffensive caper movie about a $4 million bank heist, with pleasing performances by the three leads. Magicovsky isn't too appealing as a suicidal whipped cream freak, but how many suicidal whipped cream freaks do you know that are? | tt0079520 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Paul Mazursky, Allen Magicovsky, Leigh Hamilton. | Canadian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Man-Eater of Hydra | 1967 | Mel Welles | ★★ | 88 | Remote island with meat-eating plants is setting for predictable, mildly entertaining horror pic. Interesting special effects and atmosphere obscure silly script. Alternate title: ISLAND OF THE DOOMED. | tt0059215 |
|
Cameron Mitchell, Elisa Montes, George Martin, Kay Fischer, Ralph Naukoff | West German-Spanish | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Man-Eater of Kumaon | 1948 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 79 | Good adventure tale of hunter determined to kill deadly tiger on the loose. | tt0040567 | Sabu, Wendell Corey, Joanne Page, Morris Carnovsky, Argentina Brunetti | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Man-Proof | 1938 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 74 | Flimsy plot with bright stars: Loy and Russell both love Pidgeon, but Tone is ready to step in any time. | tt0030412 | Myrna Loy, Franchot Tone, Rosalind Russell, Walter Pidgeon, Nana Bryant, Rita Johnson, Ruth Hussey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Man-Trap | 1961 | Edmond O'Brien | ★★½ | 93 | Capable cast involved in adultery, robbery and disaster; unusual fling at directing by O'Brien. | tt0055134 | Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Stella Stevens, Hugh Sanders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Management | 2009 | Stephen Belber | ★★★ | 93 | Whimsical comedy-drama of an almost childlike 30-something misfit (Zahn) who lives and works at his parents’ Arizona motel. When businesswoman Aniston checks in he is instantly smitten, and though she’s unresponsive at first, he is undeterred. How—and why—their relationship develops is the heart and soul of this small-scale but entertaining film. At turns disarming, poignant, and funny. Playwright Belber’s debut feature as writer-director. | tt1082853 | [R] | Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn, Woody Harrelson, Margo Martindale, Fred Ward, James Liao, Mark Boone, Jr., Tzi Ma | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery | 1973 | Dean Hargrove | ★★½ | 80 | Fairly successful satire of tough private eye melodramas of 1940s. Cast and director on top of their material help make up for cheapness of production. | tt0070366 | [PG] | Gabriel Dell, Will Geer, Joyce Van Patten, Anjanette Comer, Jackie Coogan, Huntz Hall, Barbara Harris | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Manchurian Candidate | 1962 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★½ | 126 | Tingling political paranoia thriller about strange aftermath of a Korean war hero's decoration and his mother's machinations to promote her Joseph McCarthy-like husband's career. Harrowing presentation of Richard Condon story (adapted by George Axelrod). Score by David Amram. Rereleased theatrically in 1987; remade in 2004. | tt0056218 | Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory, John McGiver, Leslie Parrish, Khigh Dhiegh | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Manchurian Candidate | 2004 | Jonathan Demme | ★★½ | 130 | Washington, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, is obsessed by the feeling that something isn't right about his memories of combat or the decorations given his comrade in arms (Schreiber), who's now running for Vice-President, with his powerful mother, a Senator (Streep), pushing him along. Remake of a genuinely great film puts an intriguing, modern spin on the depiction of backroom power brokers but lacks the chilling edge— and starkness— that marked the original. Tina Sinatra coproduced. | tt0368008 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine, Bruno Ganz, Miguel Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Jude Ciccolella, Simon McBurney, Vera Farmiga, Obba Babatundé, Zeljko Ivanek, John Bedford Lloyd, Anthony Mackie, Robyn Hitchcock, Bill Irwin, Charles Napier, Roger Corman, Tracey Walter | Thriller, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mandalay | 1934 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 65 | Abandoned in Burma by her gunrunner boyfriend, Russian girl Francis is forced to become notorious cafe hostess Spot White (who 'should be called Spot Cash,' according to one observer); reformation comes hard. Shirley Temple is supposed to be in this film, but we can't find her. | tt0025461 | Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Lyle Talbot, Warner Oland, Rafaela Ottiano, Ruth Donnelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mandarin Mystery | 1937 | Ralph Staub | ★½ | 63 | Famous sleuth Ellery Queen solves locked-room murder puzzle and recovers stolen stamp worth $50,000. Hopelessly muddled script and fatal miscasting of diminutive Quillan as EQ sabotages this low-budget mystery. TV version cut to 54m. | tt0029207 | Eddie Quillan, Charlotte Henry, Rita Le Roy, Wade Boteler, Franklin Pangborn, George Irving | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mandela | 1996 | Jo Menell, Angus Gibson | ★★★ | 120 | Documentary chronicling the life of one of South Africa's greatest leaders, famed political prisoner and Nobel prizewinner Nelson Mandela. From his tribal upbringing to his work with the African National Congress, viewers are given a sense of what shaped his future role under apartheid rule to then become South Africa's first black president. Insightful and inspiring. Coproduced by Jonathan Demme. | tt0116980 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Mandela | 1987 | Philip Saville | Above Average TV Movie | 135 | Danny Glover and Woodard are perfectly cast in this literate, poignant (and partisan) social history as Nelson and Winnie Mandela, who lead a lifelong struggle against South African apartheid... much of the time with Nelson in hiding, and finally imprisoned. Ronald Harwood's script is simple and effective; filmed on location in Zimbabwe. Made for cable. | tt0093490 | Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, John Matshikiza, Warren Clarke, Allan Corduner, Julian Glover | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mandela and de Klerk | 1997 | Joseph Sargent | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Poitier offers another towering performance as Nelson Mandela, toward the end of his 27 years in prison and as the newly installed president; bald-pated Caine is equally splendid as pragmatic F. W. de Klerk, who knows that the days of Apartheid are numbered. An arresting if talky drama, filmed on location in South Africa and at Robbin Island, where Mandela long had been imprisoned. Made for cable. | tt0119607 | Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Tina Lifford, Ben Kruger, Jerry Mofokeng, Ian Roberts, Gerry Maritz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Manderlay | 2005 | Lars von Trier | ★½ | 139 | Venal follow-up to DOGVILLE, with the same bare-bones staging, finds righteous idealist Grace (now played by Howard) in the Deep South in 1933; she and her gangster father discover a plantation where blacks still live as slaves. Grace opts to remain at Manderlay as liberator, but obstacles and dysfunction make that exceedingly difficult. Writer-director Von Trier's contempt for the U.S. practically oozes from the screen. Title may refer to the Manderley estate in REBECCA, with its own themes of domination, and possibly also MANDINGO. | tt0342735 |
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Bryce Dallas Howard, Isaach de Bankolé, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Jeremy Davies, Lauren Bacall, Chloë Sevigny, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Zeljko Ivanek; narrated by John Hurt | Danish-Swedish-Dutch-French-German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Mandingo | 1975 | Richard Fleischer | 💣 | 127 | Trashy potboiler will appeal only to the s & m crowd. Mason is a bigoted plantation patriarch, George his oversexed daughter, Norton— what else?— a fighter. Stinko! Based on the Kyle Onstott novel, the first of a long series, although only one more— DRUM— was filmed. | tt0073349 | [R] | James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Richard Ward, Brenda Sykes, Ken Norton, Lillian Hayman, Roy Poole, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Paul Benedict, Ben Masters | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Mandroid | 1993 | Jack Ersgard | ★★ | 80 | Intrigue centers on remote-controllable robot of the title, and an absurd 'Supercon' drug that does whatever the plot requires. There's even an invisible man. Acceptable comic book-style thriller set in Eastern Europe, with weak script but good direction. Sequel: INVISIBLE: THE CHRONICLES OF BENJAMIN KNIGHT. From Full Moon. | tt0107505 | [R] | Brian Cousins, Jane Caldwell, Michael Dellafemina, Curt Lowens, Patrick Ersgard, Costel Constantin, Robert Symonds | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Manfish | 1956 | W. Lee Wilder | ★★ | 76 | Variation of Edgar Allan Poe stories 'The Gold-Bug' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart'; mild account of treasure hunt in Jamaica. | tt0049477 | John Bromfield, Lon Chaney/Jr., Victor Jory, Barbara Nichols | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Manganinnie | 1980 | John Honey | ★★½ | 90 | White child Ralph, separated from her family, is watched over by aborigine Yanthalawuy, separated from her tribe. Slow and uninvolving, though the scenery is pretty. | tt0081111 | Mawuyul Yanthalawuy, Anna Ralph, Phillip Hinton, Elaine Mangan | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mangler | 1995 | Tobe Hooper | ★½ | 106 | An evil, gargantuan steam iron and speed-folder at a rural industrial laundry has been eating the employees lately; a local cop tries to exorcise the demons responsible. Englund is good as the laundry's crazed owner, but ridiculous 'scares' and lack of logic defeat this forgettable genre entry based on a Stephen King short story. Horror fans will be disappointed with the results of this Englund-Hooper-King convergence. Unrated version available on video. Followed by an in-name-only sequel in 2001. | tt0113762 | [R] | Robert Englund, Ted Levine, Daniel Matmor, Jeremy Crutchley, Vanessa Pike | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mango Tree | 1977 | Kevin James Dobson | ★★½ | 93 | A young man's coming of age in Australia, around the time of WW1; pictorially pleasing, with a warm performance by Fitzgerald as the young man's wise, gentle grandmother, but nothing out of the ordinary. Written and produced by former actor Michael Pate, whose son plays the lead. | tt0076359 | Christopher Pate, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Robert Helpmann, Diane Craig, Gerald Kennedy, Gloria Dawn | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Manhandled | 1949 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 97 | Crooked private eye Duryea tries to pin robbery-murder rap on innocent Lamour. Turgid drama that reliable cast can't salvage. | tt0041631 | Dorothy Lamour, Dan Duryea, Sterling Hayden, Irene Hervey, Philip Reed | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Manhattan | 1979 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 96 | Bittersweet slice-of-life about a N.Y.C. comedy writer and his cerebral friends; blisteringly accurate and ultimately poignant, a worthy follow-up to Woody's ANNIE HALL. Mag√ nificently photographed (in b&w) by Gordon Willis, with splendid use of Gershwin music on the soundtrack. Wallace Shawn's role is especially funny; that's Mark LinnBaker as one of the Shakespearean actors, and Karen Allen (in blonde wig) and David Rasche on TV show. | tt0079522 | [R] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne, Tisa Farrow | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Manhattan Melodrama | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 93 | Boyhood pals remain adult friends though one is a gangster and the other a D.A. (a plot device reused many times). What might be unbearably corny is top entertainment, thanks to this star trio and a director with gusto. Arthur Caesar's original story won an Oscar. Footnoted in American history as the film John Dillinger saw just before being gunned down at the Biograph Theatre in Chicago. Reworked as a 1942 B movie, NORTHWEST RANGERS. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025464 | Clark Gable, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Leo Carrillo, Isabel Jewell, Mickey Rooney, Nat Pendleton | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Manhattan Merry-Go-Round | 1938 | Charles Riesner | ★★ | 80 | Gangster Carrillo takes over a record company. Flimsy script, with romantic subplot, is just an excuse for none-too-thrilling specialty numbers by Gene Autry, Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, Louis Prima, The Kay Thompson Singers, and Joe DiMaggio (!), to name just a few. | tt0029209 | Phil Regan, Ann Dvorak, Leo Carrillo, James Gleason | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Manhattan Murder Mystery | 1993 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 108 | Slight but enjoyable caper, with Allen and Keaton as a married couple who suspect their seemingly harmless neighbor has murdered his wife. A return (of sorts) to 'earlier, funnier' filmmaking for Allen, this is no classic but it is consistently entertaining, with the usual quota of one-liners and some very funny set pieces. Best of all is the marvelous chemistry between Allen and Keaton (taking over the role originally intended for Mia Farrow), who play off each other's neuroses with intuitive ease. Allen cowrote the screenplay with his ANNIE HALL and MANHATTAN collaborator Marshall Brickman. | tt0107507 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen, Ron Rifkin, Joy Behar, Marge Redmond, Aida Turturro | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Manhattan Project | 1986 | Marshall Brickman | ★★ | 117 | Precocious teenager breaks into top-secret plant, steals some plutonium, and builds his own nuclear reactor, ostensibly to make a point but also to show off. Slick, extremely well-acted film is blatantly irresponsible and has us cheering for the kid as he outwits the dopey grownups and nearly blows up the world! | tt0091472 | [PG-13] | John Lithgow, Christopher Collet, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Eikenberry, John Mahoney, Sully Boyar, Gregg Edelman, Robert (Sean) Leonard | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Manhunt in the Jungle | 1958 | Tom McGowan | 💣 | 79 | Hackneyed safari set in Brazil. | tt0051903 |
|
Robin Hughes, Luis Alvarez, James Wilson, Jorge Montoro, John B. Symmes | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Manhunt | 1986 | Larry Ludman (Fabrizio De Angelis) | ★★ | 89 | Wayne (son of John Wayne) is a young, would-be horse trainer unjustly arrested as a horse thief. Cast uplifts routine plot in this made-in-U.S.A. Italian production, filmed in 1984. | tt0088881 | John Ethan Wayne, Raymund Harmstorf, Henry Silva, Bo Svenson, Ernest Borgnine | Italian | Action, Western | NULL | ||
| Manhunter | Red Dragon | 1986 | Michael Mann | ★★★ | 121 | Forceful contemporary cops-and-robbers melodrama told with Miami Vice stylistics (and hard-pounding music) by that show's creator, writer-director Mann. Petersen plays a troubled former FBI agent who's called back to service to capture a serial killer, which he does by getting himself to think just like the murderer! Gripping all the way and surprisingly nonexploitive, considering subject matter. Don't examine story too carefully or the holes start to show through. Jailed killer Hannibal Lecter figures in the story; later he'd become the subject of his own story, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Based on Thomas Harris' novel Red Dragon. Director's cut runs 124m. Alternate TV title: RED DRAGON, also the name of the 2002 remake. | tt0091474 | [R] | William L. Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, Stephen Lang, Tom Noonan | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Mania | The Psycho Killers | 1959 | John Gilling | ★★★ | 87 | Deliciously lurid shocker with Cushing going all out as an Edinburgh scientist who employs graverobbers Pleasence and Rose to supply him with corpses for his experiments. Originally titled THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS (and released at 97m.). Aka PSYCHO KILLERS and THE FIENDISH GHOULS; the latter runs 74m. | tt0052811 | Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, George Rose, June Laverick, Dermot Walsh, Billie Whitelaw | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Maniac | 1962 | Michael Carreras | ★★½ | 86 | One of the better British thrillers made in wake of PSYCHO, with Mathews as vacationing artist in France arousing hatred of girlfriend's sick father. Good plot twists. Written by Jimmy Sangster. | tt0056219 | Kerwin Mathews, Nadia Gray, Donald Houston, Justine Lord | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Maniac | 1980 | William Lustig | 💣 | 87 | Unrelenting exercise in nihilistic gore about a cretin who murders women and then scalps them so that he can dress up his mannequins. Although an excellent character actor, coscriptwriter-producer-star Spinell bears most of the blame for this claustrophobic, sickening film. | tt0081114 | [R] | Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro, Gail Lawrence (Abigail Clayton), Kelly Piper, Rita Montone, Tom Savini | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Maniac Cop | 1988 | William Lustig | ★½ | 85 | Potentially intriguing premise, of a killer on the police force striking terror in the hearts of N.Y.C. residents, is bungled by failed black humor and ham-fisted direction into standard stalk-and-slash fare. Best work is done by North as a crippled, embittered policewoman. Followed by several sequels. | tt0095583 | [R] | Tom Atkins, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Richard Roundtree, William Smith, Robert Z'dar, Sheree North | Action, Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Manic | 2003 | Jordan Melamed | ★★ | 100 | Interesting but uneven drama about emotionally troubled teens in a mental hospital. Shot with handheld digital cameras, the film has a feeling of spontaneity, which works best in group therapy scenes (led by the rock-solid Cheadle), but the constant use of ultra-tight close-ups becomes tiresome after a while. Written by two of the film's actors, Bacall and Weaver. | tt0252684 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall, Don Cheadle, Elden Henson, Sara Rivas, Blayne Weaver, Cody Lightning | Drama | NULL | ||
| Manifesto | A Night of Love | 1988 | Dusan Makavejev | ★★½ | 96 | Set in the 1920s, this anarchic dark comedy depicts a small Balkan community that's a hotbed of assassination plots, sexual freedom, and repressive ideas. Loosely derived from a story by Emile Zola, the film is brightly colored and impishly written (by the director), but eventually becomes too anarchic for its own good. More notable for what it attempts than what it achieves. Makavejev's first film in Yugoslavia after a 17-year exile. Video title: A NIGHT OF LOVE. | tt0097826 | [R] | Camilla S¿eberg, Alfred Molina, Simon Callow, Eric Stoltz, Lindsay Duncan, Rade S'erbedz'ija, Svetozar Svetkovic', Chris Haywood, Patrick Godfrey, Linda Marlowe, Gabrielle Anwar, Ronald Lacey | U.S.-Yugoslavian | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Manila Calling | 1942 | Herbert I. Leeds. | ★★ | 81 | Pat WW2 drama of Allied radio technicians trapped in Manila after the Japanese invasion heroically battling the enemy. | tt0035033 | Lloyd Nolan, Carole Landis, Cornel Wilde, James Gleason, Martin Kosleck, Ralph Byrd, Elisha Cook/Jr., Louis Jean Heydt. | War | NULL | |||
| The Manitou | 1978 | William Girdler | 💣 | 104 | Long-dead Indian medicine man gets himself resurrected through a fetus on Strasberg's neck. Veterans Curtis, Sothern, and Meredith look properly embarrassed. Based on a novel by Graham Masterson. | tt0077904 | [PG] | Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Michael Ansara, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith, Stella Stevens | Horror | NULL | ||
| Mannequin | 1937 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 95 | Prototype rags-to-riches soaper, with working-girl Crawford getting ahead via wealthy Tracy. Predictable script, but nice job by stars, usual MGM gloss (even in the tenements!). | tt0030413 | Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Alan Curtis, Ralph Morgan, Leo Gorcey, Elisabeth Risdon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mannequin | 1987 | Michael Gottlieb | 💣 | 89 | Cattrall is an ancient Egyptian spirit who embodies a department store mannequin; McCarthy is the only one who sees her come to life, and falls in love with her. Attempt to recreate the feeling of old screwball comedies is absolute rock-bottom fare. Dispiriting to anyone who remembers what movie comedy ought to be. Followed by a sequel. | tt0093493 | [PG] | Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty, G. W. Bailey, James Spader, Meshach Taylor, Carole Davis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mannequin Two: On the Move | 1991 | Stewart Raffill | 💣 | 95 | This inept sequel to MANNEQUIN makes you think the original was not so bad by comparison. Again, a window dresser (Ragsdale) in a department store frees the spirit of a medieval peasant (Swanson) who has been imprisoned inside a mannequin's form for— quite logically— 1,000 years. Torpor ensues. | tt0102395 | [PG] | Kristy Swanson, William Ragsdale, Meshach Taylor, Terry Kiser, Stuart Pankin, Cynthia Harris | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Manny & Lo | 1996 | Lisa Krueger | ★★★ | 97 | Orphaned 11-year-old Manny (Johansson) and her more naive 16-year-old sister Lo (Palladino) sleep in model homes and drive about in an old station wagon, until it's obvious Lo is pregnant, so they kidnap prissy Place to help with the delivery while hiding out in a woodsy cabin. Wise, warm comedy-drama is fresh and unexpected; a notable debut for writer-director Krueger. Place is particularly good. | tt0116985 | [R] | Scarlett Johansson, Aleksa Palladino, Mary Kay Place, Paul Guilfoyle, Glenn Fitzgerald, Novella Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Manon of the Spring | Manon des sources | 1986 | Claude Berri | ★★★ | 113 | Conclusion of the story begun in JEAN DE FLORETTE resumes with Manon, now a beautiful, free-spirited young shepherdess, learning the truth behind her father's death, and plotting her revenge on the pathetic Auteuil and the scheming Montand. Berri spins his story slowly, deliberately, savoring every moment leading to the unexpected conclusion. Only thing missing in this second half is the strong presence of Gérard Depardieu. Filmed before in 1952 by Marcel Pagnol. | tt0091480 | [PG] | Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil, Hippolyte Girardot, Elisabeth Depardieu, Gabriel Bacquier | French | Drama | NULL |
| Manpower | 1941 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 102 | Lively, typical Warner Bros. film, with nightclub 'hostess' Dietrich coming between high-voltage power line workers Robinson and Raft. Scene in a diner is worth the price of admission. | tt0035034 | Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Alan Hale/Sr., Walter Catlett, Frank McHugh, Eve Arden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mansfield Park | 1999 | Patricia Rozema | ★★½ | 99 | In early 19th-century England, an impoverished girl is sent to live with wealthy relatives. Working as their servant she grows to be an astute, imaginative and surprisingly independent-minded woman. Very loosely based on Jane Austen's novel and personal journals. O'Connor shines as the heroine among a top-notch cast, but story lacks the wit and satirical edge of other Austen adaptations. | tt0178737 | [PG-13] | Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, Jonny Lee Miller, Alessandro Nivola, Harold Pinter, Lindsay Duncan, Sheila Gish | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Mansion of the Doomed | 1977 | Michael Pataki | ★½ | 85 | Eye surgeon Basehart seeks eyeballs for blinded daughter from hapless victims who pile up in basement. Cheap horror opus. | tt0076361 | Richard Basehart, Gloria Grahame, Trish Stewart, Lance Henriksen, Al Ferrara | Horror | NULL | |||
| Manslaughter | 1922 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★½ | 100 | Melodramatic account of wealthy, self-centered jazz baby Joy and her fate after causing the death of a motorcycle cop; Meighan is the district attorney who loves yet prosecutes her. Meant to condemn 1920s-style debauchery, but not without its titillating images; the Roman orgy fantasy sequence is vintage DeMille. Remade in 1930. | tt0013372 | Thomas Meighan, Leatrice Joy, Lois Wilson, John Miltern, George Fawcett, Julia Faye, Edythe Chapman, Jack Mower, Raymond Hatton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mansome | 2012 | Morgan Spurlock | ★★ | 82 | Dubious documentary about men's changing attitudes toward grooming and self-image. Punctuated by footage of Will Arnett and Jason Bateman chatting at a day spa, this superficial, scattershot film plays like an extended episode of a magazine-style TV show. Aside from various beard aficionados and assorted oddballs, interviewees include Paul Rudd, Judd Apatow, John Waters, and Zach Galifianakis. | tt2294729 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Manufactured Landscapes | 2007 | Jennifer Baichwal | ★★★ | 87 | Provocative documentary portrait of photographer Edward Burtynsky, who takes stark, stunning images that reflect on how natural landscapes are altered by industrialization while showing the impact that industrial waste is having on the environment and the future of humankind Well worth watching—and pondering. | tt0832903 | Canadian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Manxman | 1929 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 90 | Fisherman Brisson and lawyer Keen, best friends since childhood, both love Ondra. OK melodrama was Hitchcock's last silent film. | tt0020142 | Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen, Anny Ondra, Randle Ayrton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Many Happy Returns | 1934 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 60 | Gracie wants to replace father's department store with a bird sanctuary! Typically silly Burns and Allen comedy, with Lombardo providing the music. For Larry Adler's harmonica number, Guy Lombardo's band appears on screen, but the music was performed by Duke Ellington! | tt0025468 |
|
George Burns, Gracie Allen, Joan Marsh, George Barbier, Franklin Pangborn, Ray Milland, William Demarest, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Many Rivers to Cross | 1955 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 92 | Parker shows more vim and vigor than Taylor in this 1800s Western, centering on her yen for him. Raucous, energetic frontier comedy. | tt0048350 | Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Victor McLaglen, James Arness, Josephine Hutchinson, Rosemary DeCamp | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Mao’s Last Dancer | 2009 | Bruce Beresford | ★★ | 117 | At age 11, a scrawny boy is taken from his family in a rural Chinese village and brought to Beijing to learn ballet. Years later he is sent to Houston, Texas, as part of a cultural exchange program, and though he’s been indoctrinated by his Communist government, he finds he likes America—and especially likes the freedom he feels when he dances. Absorbing true-life story, adapted from Li Cunxin’s autobiography, is flattened by uninspired treatment and plays like a corny Hollywood movie of years gone by. Chi Cao’s impressive dancing helps redeem the film. | tt1071812 | [PG] | Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Chi Cao, Amanda Schull, Wang Shuang Bao, Cheng Wu Guo, Camilla Vergotis, Jack Thompson, Huang Wen Bin | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Map of the Human Heart | 1993 | Vincent Ward | ★★★ | 126 | Fascinating, if not altogether successful, fable about an Inuit Eskimo boy plucked from his Canadian homeland and taken to 'civilization' by a mapmaker in the 1930s. The rest of the young man's life unfolds like a strange dream. Director Ward's sometimes hallucinatory images and a mystical atmosphere make this a compelling film to watch even when it falters storywise. Filled with extraordinary performances, including a cameo by the always wonderful Moreau. | tt0104812 | [R] | Jason Scott Lee, Anne Parillaud, Patrick Bergin, John Cusack, Robert Joamie, Annie Galipeau, Jeanne Moreau, Ben Mendelson, Clotilde Courau | British-Australian-French-Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| A Map of the World | 1999 | Scott Elliott | ★★★ | 126 | School nurse Weaver, whose family life is fragmented, observes the world with ironic detachment until she's imprisoned for abusing a student. She regards jail as almost a vacation from her responsibilities, but cannot evade her own memories. Excellent performances, especially by Weaver, enliven this intelligent adaptation of the novel by Jane Hamilton. The middle seems to mark time, but the first third is outstanding. | tt0160513 | [R] | Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, David Strathairn, Ron Lea, Arliss Howard, Chloë Sevigny, Louise Fletcher | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mara Maru | 1952 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 98 | Turgid adventure pits Flynn against Burr as they vie for sunken treasure, with Roman the love interest. | tt0044884 | Errol Flynn, Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr, Richard Webb, Nestor Paiva | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Maracaibo | 1958 | Cornel Wilde | ★★½ | 88 | Wilde is expert firefighter who goes to Venezuela to combat oil blaze, romancing exgirlfriend between action scenes. | tt0051907 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Abbe Lane, Francis Lederer, Michael Landon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Marat/Sade (The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade) | 1966 | Peter Brook | ★★★★ | 115 | Chilling adaptation of Peter Weiss play about 'performance' staged by inmates of French insane asylum, under direction of Marquis de Sade. Lurid atmosphere is so vivid that it seems actors are breathing down your neck; brilliantly directed by Brook. Not for weak stomachs. Screenplay by Adrian Mitchell; Jackson's starring film debut. | tt0060668 | Patrick Magee, Clifford Rose, Glenda Jackson, Ian Richardson, Brenda Kempner, Ruth Baker, Michael Williams, Freddie Jones | British | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Marathon Man | 1976 | John Schlesinger | ★★½ | 125 | Glossy thriller adapted by William Goldman from his book. Basic premise of graduate student Hoffman propelled into dizzying world of international intrigue spoiled by repellent violence and some gaping story holes. Hoffman and arch-villain Olivier are superb but film doesn't do them justice. | tt0074860 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Marc Lawrence, Richard Bright | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Marc Pease Experience | 2009 | Todd Louiso | ★★ | 83 | Mirthfully delusional doofus (a goony Schwartzman) pesters long-ago high school music teacher (a slick, smarmy Stiller) to produce a demo CD of his a capella group, unaware that they shared a senior-year girlfriend (Kendrick, in an underdeveloped role). Painful satire of teen FAME-mania, cowritten by the director, finds its sparse laughs in goofy theater games and vocal exercises, but easily could have been a horror movie in other hands. Viewers may catch more of The Wiz than they wish. | tt0913413 | [PG-13] | Jason Schwartzman, Ben Stiller, Anna Kendrick, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Gabrielle Dennis, Jay Paulson, Amber Wallace | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember, Yes I Remember | 1997 | Anna Maria Tató | ★★★ | 98 | Film lovers in general and fans of the late actor in particular should savor this full-bodied documentary portrait, made by Mastroianni's longtime companion, who filmed him not long before his death in 1996. Mastroianni reminisces, jokes, reflects on his career and the directors with whom he worked— and, most tellingly, exudes a love of and passion for life. Originally 199m.; made for Italian television. | tt0119614 | Italian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| March of the Penguins | 2005 | Luc Jacquet | ★★★ | 80 | Entertaining, beautifully filmed documentary about the journey of the Emperor penguins and their cycle of mating, breeding, and surviving in the unbelievably harsh climate of the Antarctic. A simple story compellingly told, with the title characters an endearing, scrappy, and endlessly photogenic lot. Original 85m. French version had actors providing 'voices' for the penguins; the American release (wisely) dropped this, added a new music score by Alex Wurman, and Freeman's narration. Stay through the credits to get an idea of the conditions the filmmakers faced. | tt0428803 | [G] | Narrated by Morgan Freeman | French | Documentary, Family | NULL | |
| March or Die | 1977 | Dick Richards | ★★ | 104 | Homage to French Foreign Legion adventures of filmdom's past. Good cast wages losing battle with static script and walks downheartedly through action scenes. Disappointing epic-that-might-have-been. Additional footage tacked on for network showing. | tt0076175 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Terence Hill, Max von Sydow, Catherine Deneuve, Ian Holm | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Marci X | 2003 | Richard Benjamin | 💣 | 84 | Abysmal satire involving a vapid, aging Jewish-American Princess (Kudrow), who is forced by circumstance to enter the uptown world of a controversial bad-boy rap star (Wayans). Offers nary a laugh, not to mention some mind-bogglingly tasteless stereotypes. Written by Paul Rudnick. Completed in 2001. | tt0266747 | [R] | Lisa Kudrow, Damon Wayans, Richard Benjamin, Christine Baranski, Paula Garcés, Jane Krakowski, Veanne Cox, Sherie Rene Scott, Billy Griffith, Charles Kimbrough | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Marco | 1973 | Seymour Robbie | ★★ | 109 | Lavish but lumbering musical, filmed on Oriental locations, with Arnaz as young Marco Polo and Mostel as Kublai Khan. Disappointing. | tt0070371 | [G] | Desi Arnaz/Jr., Jack Weston, Zero Mostel | Adventure, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Marco Polo | 1962 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 90 | Unspectacular epic about medieval adventurer and his journey to China. Calhoun and film lack needed vigor. | tt0055141 | Rory Calhoun, Yoko Tani, Robert Hundar, Camillo Pilotto, Pierre Cressoy, Michael Chow | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Marco the Magnificent | 1965 | Denys de La Patelliere, Noel Howard | ★★½ | 100 | Laughable mini-epic, extremely choppy, with episodic sequences pretending to recount events in life of medieval adventurer. | tt0059429 | Horst Buchholz, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Elsa Martinelli, Akim Tamiroff, Orson Welles | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mardi Gras | 1958 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 107 | Perky, unpretentious musical with energetic cast. Boone wins military school raffle date with movie star Carere. | tt0051908 | Pat Boone, Christine Carere, Tommy Sands, Sheree North, Gary Crosby | Musical | NULL | |||
| Marebito | 2004 | Takashi Shimizu | ★★½ | 92 | Freelance video journalist totes his camcorder deep into the Tokyo subway system to solve a grisly suicide. There, the electronic-age Orpheus finds his unlikely Eurydice: a chained-up naked girl. With fangs. He takes her home. Subtitled A STRANGER FROM AFAR, this morbid study of a man who shouldn't have thrown away his Prozac is both a descent into the netherworld and an ascent into the metaphysical. Morose and unsettling, but a mundane resolution drags the disturbing back into the ordinary. Script by Chaiki Konaka, from his novel. | tt0434179 | [R] | Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara, Miho Ninagawa, Shun Sugata | Japanese | Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Margaret | 2011 | Kenneth Lonergan | ★★½ | 150 | A tragic traffic accident and an increasing sense of guilt throw a 17-year-old high school student into personal crisis. When she tries to make things right she finds it won't be easy, as the incident changed her and all of her relationships. Writer-director Lonergan's ambitious if overlong drama was shot in 2005 but was tied up in a nasty legal snarl with his backers. It was finally given limited theatrical release in a version considerably shorter than the director's 186m. cut. Despite the flawed film's woes there are some interesting ideas and exceptional acting, particularly from Berlin and Paquin. | tt0466893 | [R] | Anna Paquin, J. Smith-Cameron, Jean Reno, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Jeannie Berlin, Allison Janney, Kieran Culkin, Rosemarie DeWitt, Matthew Broderick, Olivia Thirlby, Krysten Ritter, Adam LeFevre, Michael Ealy, Sarah Steele, Matt Bush | Drama | NULL | ||
| Margaret Cho: Assassin | 2005 | Kerry Asmussen | ★★ | 85 | Cho's fourth concert film, taped in Washington, D.C., is strictly by-the-numbers, with the comedian offering commentary on gay marriage and animal activists, Martha Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan, Zhang Ziyi . . . and Laura and George W. Bush. What once was fresh now seems tired, preachy, and only intermittently funny. Strictly for diehard Cho fans. | tt0462333 |
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Comedy | NULL | |||
| Margaret's Museum | 1995 | Mort Ransen | ★★½ | 118 | Bonham Carter has one of her better roles as a maverick who lives in a Nova Scotia mining town that seems to be on the edge of civilization; she despises the mines, which have killed her father and brother and embittered her mother (Nelligan). Then she falls in love with a burly former miner (Russell). Well meaning— with some strong moments— but gloomy and predictable. | tt0113774 | [R] | Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Nelligan, Clive Russell, Craig Olejnik, Andrea Morris, Peter Boretski, Kenneth Welsh | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Margie | 1946 | Henry King | ★★★ | 89 | Sweet nostalgia about ultra-sensitive teen (Crain) in 1920s who gets more than a crush on her handsome new French teacher. The manner in which the teacher relates to Margie is innocent enough, but it surely would get him thrown in jail today! Loaded with snippets of period songs ('April Showers,' 'My Time Is Your Time,' the title tune, etc.). | tt0038727 | Jeanne Crain, Glenn Langan, Lynn Bari, Alan Young, Barbara Lawrence, Conrad Janis, Esther Dale, Hobart Cavanaugh, Ann Todd, Hattie McDaniel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Margin Call | 2011 | J. C. Chandor | ★★½ | 107 | Absorbing inside look at an investment bank and how one man's discovery that they're sitting on a house of cards brings many of its key players—as well as its rank-and-file employees—to the brink of crisis. First-time writer-director Chandor tries to put a human face on the 2008 financial meltdown in this well-cast (and well-acted) drama, but it's awfully dry, and as insular as the people it depicts. | tt1615147 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi, Grace Gummer | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Margin for Error | 1943 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 74 | Dated, awkward 'comedy' of Jewish cop Berle assigned to guard German consul in N.Y.C. during WW2. Director Preminger should have told actor Preminger to stop overacting. | tt0036142 | Joan Bennett, Milton Berle, Otto Preminger, Carl Esmond, Howard Freeman, Ed McNamara | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Margot at the Wedding | 2007 | Noah Baumbach | ★★ | 91 | Margot (Kidman) hasn’t talked to her sister (Leigh) in a long time, but agrees to attend her wedding—to a layabout “artist” (Black)—at the home where they grew up in the Hamptons. Yet from the minute she arrives Margot’s poisonous mind, and mouth, take over, with little regard for the turmoil she creates—or the effect it has on her vulnerable, adolescent son. Spending time with this spectacularly neurotic family is no fun at all. Occasional insights and observations can’t make up for the lack of story, or the loathsome cast of characters, in Baumbach’s Chekhovian comedy-drama. | tt0757361 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Ciarán Hinds, Zane Pais, Flora Cross, Halley Feiffer | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Maria Full of Grace | 2004 | Joshua Marston | ★★★½ | 101 | Exceptional film about a 17-year-old Colombian girl, dissatisfied with her dead-end life, who accepts a job as a 'mule,' digesting packets of drugs and smuggling them into the U.S. She has no idea what lies in store for her . . . and neither do we. There is no artifice in debuting writer-director Marston's presentation of the story, nor is there a feeling of 'acting' in any of the utterly believable performances. A knockout. | tt0390221 | [R] | Catalina Sandino Moreno, Wilson Guerrero, Yenny Paola Vega, Jhon Álex Toro, Jaime Osorio Gómez, Guilied López, Patricia Rae | U.S.-Colombian | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | |
| Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn | 1935 | Milton Rosmer. | ★★½ | 70 | A secretly corrupt squire (Slaughter) impregnates a country girl (Stewart) then murders her, burying her body in his barn. First of Slaughter's authentic, old-style melodramas, the sort he performed on stage for years. If you dislike this kind of thing, drop a star from the rating. Loosely based on a real event. | tt0026743 | Tod Slaughter, Sophie Stewart, D. J. Williams, Eric Portman, Claire Greet, Gerard Tyrell. | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Maria's Lovers | 1984 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★ | 100 | Young soldier returns home from WW2, after suffering nervous breakdown, and finds himself unable to consummate his love with new bride. Richly atmospheric film, set in Pennsylvania mining town, has fine performances and other attributes, but is unrelievedly ponderous. Opening sequence cleverly integrates footage from John Huston's famous documentary LET THERE BE LIGHT with newly shot material of Savage. | tt0087682 | [R] | Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Robert Mitchum, Keith Carradine, Anita Morris, Bud Cort, Karen Young, Tracy Nelson, John Goodman, Vincent Spano, Bill Smitrovich | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Marianne | 1929 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 112 | Davies' first talkie also one of her best; fine vehicle for her charm and comic talent as French girl pursued by two American soldiers during WW1. | tt0020144 | Marion Davies, George Baxter, Lawrence Gray, Cliff Edwards, Benny Rubin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Marianne and Juliane | 1982 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★★½ | 106 | Profound, multileveled, and memorable chronicle of the relationship between two sisters, alike in some ways yet so very different in others. Juliane (Lampe) is a feminist editor working within the system; Marianne (Sukowa) is a radical political terrorist. Superbly acted, a must-see. | tt0082081 | Jutta Lampe, Barbara Sukowa, Rudiger Vogler, Doris Schade, Franz Rudnick | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Marie | 1985 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 112 | Solid drama about divorcée and mother of three who takes a job in Tennessee state government, then blows the whistle on corruption and finds herself in very hot water. Might be hard to believe if it wasn't true (though knowing the outcome of the case will certainly remove a lot of the suspense). Based on Peter Maas' book; defense attorney Thompson plays himself. | tt0089555 | [PG-13] | Sissy Spacek, Jeff Daniels, Keith Szarabajka, Morgan Freeman, Fred (Dalton) Thompson, Don Hood, John Cullum | Drama | NULL | ||
| Marie Antoinette | 1938 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 149 | Opulent MGM production of life of 18th-century French queen lacks pace but has good acting, with great performance by Morley as Louis XVI. Shearer captures essence of title role as costumer retells her life from Austrian princess to doomed queen of crumbling empire. | tt0030418 | Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, John Barrymore, Robert Morley, Gladys George, Anita Louise, Joseph Schildkraut | Drama | NULL | |||
| Marie Antoinette | 1955 | Jean Delannoy | ★★½ | 108 | Epic on life of famed 18th-century French queen has marvelous Morgan in title role but lacks perspective and scope. | tt0048355 | Michele Morgan, Richard Todd, Jean Morel | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Marie Antoinette | 2006 | Sofia Coppola | ★★½ | 123 | Visually sumptuous account of a teenager's journey from Vienna to the Palace at Versailles and the throne of France. Writer-director Coppola's Marie (as played by Dunst) is a contemporary girl, with modern music set against the pomp and detail of the 18th-century life in the fast lane. Starts to tire after a while and ends with a whimper, not a bang . . . but there's much to enjoy here. Based on Antonia Fraser's book Marie Antoinette: The Journey. Francis Ford Coppola coexecutive-produced. | tt0422720 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston, Marianne Faithfull, Mary Nighy, Sarah Adler | Biography, Drama, History | NULL | ||
| Marie Galante | 1934 | Henry King | ★★ | 88 | So-so adventure in which down-on-her-luck Gallian links up with good guy Tracy to thwart a scheme to blow up the Panama Canal. French actress Gallian's first American film; she's attractive, but her career went nowhere. Morgan sings two forgettable songs. | tt0025472 | Spencer Tracy, Ketti Gallian, Ned Sparks, Helen Morgan, Sig Rumann, Leslie Fenton, Jay C. Flippen, Stepin Fetchit | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Marigold | 2007 | Willard Carroll | ★★ | 112 | Obnoxious grade-Z Hollywood actress (“I don’t do ‘grateful’ very well,” she admits) flies to India to make a movie, only to find that the production has fallen apart. Before long she’s hired to participate in a Bollywood musical, and a mutual attraction grows between her and the handsome choreographer . . . but he isn’t forthcoming about his family background. Opening scenes with Larter are incredibly off-putting; the rest is innocuous but trite. | tt0329354 | [PG-13] | Ali Larter, Salman Khan, Nandana Sen, Ian Bohen, Helen Khan, Suchitra Pillai, Shari “Truth Hurts” Watson | U.S.-Indian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Marihuana | 1936 | Dwain Esper | 💣 | 58 | Some naive, fun-loving kids puff on the title weed, offered them by a man you know is evil incarnate because he has a mustache, and the result is nude swimming, a drowning . . . and worse! This exploitation fare is a real scream, almost mind-boggling in its dopiness. And don't forget that it was researched 'with the help of federal, state and police narcotic officers.' A companion piece to REEFER MADNESS. Originally titled 'MARIJUANA'— THE DEVIL'S WEED. | tt0026683 | Harley Wood, Hugh McArthur, Pat Carlyle, Paul Ellis, Dorothy Dehn, Richard Erskine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Marilyn | 1963 | Rock Hudson (Narrated) | ★★½ | 83 | Standard, often patronizing documentary on Marilyn Monroe built around clips from most of her movies, including the unfinished SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE. | tt0057290 |
|
Documentary | NULL | |||
| Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School | 2006 | Randall Miller | ★½ | 103 | When a recent widower aids a dying accident victim it sets in motion a quest to find that man's long-lost love at a school reunion. This leads to a ballroom dance school and a dreary, hokey, overly sentimentalized story. Based on Miller's 1990 short film, there's more padding here than in a Wonderbra. Meant to be romantic and moving, but succeeds only in wasting its considerable on-screen talent. | tt0409034 | [PG-13] | Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Sean Astin, John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Walhberg, David Paymer, Camryn Manheim, Adam Arkin, Sonia Braga, Elden Henson, Ernie Hudson, Miguel Sandoval, Danny DeVito, Ian Abercrombie | Musical, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Marine Raiders | 1944 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 91 | Typical RKO WW2 film, this time focusing on Marine training. | tt0037048 | Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hussey, Frank McHugh, Barton MacLane | War | NULL | |||
| The Marine | 2006 | John Bonito | ★★ | 93 | In South Carolina, fleeing diamond robbers make the mistake of kidnapping the wife (Carlson) of a recently discharged Marine (Cena), who doggedly pursues them down highway and through swamps, despite everything in sight exploding in impressive fireballs. Backed by World Wrestling Entertainment, this didn't turn poker-faced wrestler Cena into a movie star, but it's an occasionally lively, jokey throwback to 1980s-style action adventures. Patrick is fun as the sarcastic villain; so is Parker as his main henchman. Also available in unrated version. | tt0419946 | [PG-13] | John Cena, Robert Patrick, Kelly Carlson, Anthony Ray Parker, Abigail Bianca, Jerome Ehlers, Manu Bennett, Damon Gibson | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Marines, Let's Go | 1961 | Raoul Walsh | ★½ | 104 | Tedium about four soldiers, their comic adventures on leave in Tokyo, and their dramatic encounters on Korean battlefield. | tt0055144 | Tom Tryon, David Hedison, Barbara Stuart, William Tyler | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Marius | 1931 | Alexander Korda | ★★★ | 125 | Amusing, flavorful if a bit too theatrical satire of provincial life, centering on the love of Marius (Fresnay) for Fanny (Demazis). Raimu is wonderful as Cesar, cafe owner and father of Marius. Screenplay by Marcel Pagnol; first of a trilogy, followed by FANNY and CESAR. All three were the basis of the play and movie FANNY (1961). | tt0022125 | Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Charpin, Alida Rouffe, Orane Demazis | French | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Marjoe | 1972 | Howard Smith, Sarah Kernochan | ★★½ | 88 | Oscar-winning documentary about life of fake evangelist Marjoe Gortner is certainly interesting, but is a little too pleased with itself, a little too pat to be totally convincing. Marjoe himself is likable enough. | tt0068924 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Marjorie Morningstar | 1958 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 123 | Diluted adaptation of Herman Wouk’s best-seller about a well-to-do Jewish girl, conflicted about her religion and background, who’s swept off her feet by a musical theater director-performer at a Catskills resort one summer. Kelly is perfectly cast. | tt0051911 | Gene Kelly, Natalie Wood, Claire Trevor, Ed Wynn, Everett Sloane, Carolyn Jones, Martin Milner, Martin Balsam, Ruta Lee | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mark of Zorro | 1920 | Fred Niblo | ★★★½ | 90 | Silent classic with Fairbanks as the masked hero of old California; perhaps Doug's best film— his first swashbuckler. Nonstop fun. | tt0011439 | Douglas Fairbanks/Sr., Marguerite De La Motte, Noah Beery/Sr./Sr., Robert McKim, Charles Hill Mailes | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Mark of Zorro | 1940 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★½ | 93 | Lavish swashbuckler with Power as son of California aristocrat in 1800s, alternately a foppish dandy and a dashing masked avenger of evil: climactic swordplay with Rathbone a swashbuckling gem. Great score by Alfred Newman. Remade for TV in 1974. | tt0032762 | Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Eugene Pallette, J. Edward Bromberg, Montagu Love | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Mark of Zorro | 1974 | Don McDougall | Average TV Movie | 78 | Langella buckles and swashes in this tepid remake. Montalban is properly villainous, Roland surprisingly spry at wall-scaling. Best of all: unforgettable Alfred Newman musical score from the 1940 film, interpolated here. | tt0071817 | Frank Langella, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Yvonne de Carlo, Louise Sorel, Anne Archer, Robert Middleton | Western, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mark of the Gorilla | 1950 | William Berke | ★½ | 68 | A ruthless gang in search of gold disguise themselves as apes in this ludicrous Jungle Jim entry. | tt0042713 | Johnny Weissmuller, Trudy Marshall, Suzanne Dalbert, Onslow Stevens, Selmer Jackson, Robert Purcell, Pierce Lyden | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Mark of the Hawk | Shaka Zulu | 1957 | Michael Audley | ★★★ | 83 | Unusual tale intelligently acted, set in contemporary Africa, with peaceful vs. violent means for racial equality the main theme. Originally titled ACCUSED. Aka SHAKA ZULU. | tt0050692 | Eartha Kitt, Sidney Poitier, Juano Hernandez, John McIntire | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Mark of the Renegade | 1951 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 81 | Colorful adventure, based on a story by Zorro creator Johnston McCulley, set in 1820s California, then part of Mexico. Dashing Montalban is sent to Los Angeles, which has been besieged by pirates, on a mission that also requires him to romance the gorgeous Charisse. Forget the plot, just enjoy the cast, gorgeous costumes, Charisse's fiery dance number, and the novelty (for 1951) of a Latino as a leading man. | tt0043787 | Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, J. Carrol Naish, Gilbert Roland | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mark of the Vampire | 1935 | Tod Browning | ★★★ | 61 | Delightful, intriguing tale of vampires terrorizing European village; inspector Atwill, vampire expert Barrymore investigate. Beautifully done, with an incredible ending. Remake of Browning's silent LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. | tt0026685 | Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Carol Borland, Jean Hersholt, Donald Meek | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mark of the Whistler | 1944 | William Castle | ★★★ | 61 | Dix is a tramp who pretends to be the long-lost owner of a dormant trust fund in this compelling entry of The Whistler series, based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. | tt0037049 | Richard Dix, Janis Carter, Porter Hall, Paul Guilfoyle, John Calvert | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mark | 1961 | Guy Green | ★★★½ | 127 | Whitman is excellent in his portrayal of emotionally broken sex criminal who has served time, now wants to make new start. Thoughtful, well-acted adult drama written by Sidney Buchman and Stanley Mann. | tt0055146 | Stuart Whitman, Maria Schell, Rod Steiger, Brenda De Banzie, Maurice Denham, Donald Wolfit, Paul Rogers, Donald Houston | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Marked Woman | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 99 | Bristling gangster drama of D.A. Bogart convincing Bette and four girlfriends to testify against their boss, underworld king Ciannelli. | tt0029217 | Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli, Allen Jenkins, Mayo Methot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Marked for Death | 1990 | Dwight H. Little | ★★ | 94 | Familiar, brainless actioner with ex-drug agent Seagal taking on Jamaican dope pushers who've, as the title says, marked him and his family for extinction. Cliff and band appear briefly and perform on soundtrack. | tt0100114 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Basil Wallace, Keith David, Tom Wright, Joanna Pacula, Elizabeth Gracen, Bette Ford, Danielle Harris, Al Israel, Arlen Dean Snyder, Jimmy Cliff | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Marksman | 1953 | Lewis D. Collins | ★½ | 62 | Flabby little tale of Morris, a law enforcer with a telescopic gun, chasing after outlaws. | tt0046047 |
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Wayne Morris, Elena Verdugo, Frank Ferguson, Rick Vallin | Western | NULL | ||
| Marlene | 1984 | Maximilian Schell | ★★★ | 96 | Utterly, unexpectedly fascinating look at Marlene Dietrich, built on unusual foundation of a tape-recorded interview with Schell that she refused to allow to be filmed! How Schell turns this liability into an asset for the film— just one of its layers— and how Dietrich reveals so much about herself even in her stubborn rejection of basic interview questions, is all part of the film's mystique (and Marlene's). Includes most of her finest moments on screen. | tt0085905 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Marley | 2012 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★★ | 144 | The life, career, and legacy of Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley is chronicled in this ambitious, straightforward documentary. Utilizing concert footage, a rare interview clip with Marley, and candid new interviews with his family and friends, the family-authorized film paints a rich portrait of Marley from his troubled childhood, in which he had to cope with mixed-race heritage, to his rise to musical super-stardom and his premature death from cancer at the age of 36 in 1981. | tt1183919 | [PG-13] | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Marley & Me | 2008 | David Frankel | ★★★ | 116 | Sweet film about the life of a rambunctious dog and how he affects a young couple and their growing family. Wilson plays a happily married newspaper reporter whose career takes an unexpected turn when he starts writing a column drawn from his own life. Parents and dog lovers should approach with caution: the movie follows the dog’s life to its very end. Based on the autobiographical book by newspaperman John Grogan; screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos. | tt0822832 | [PG] | Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Nathan Gamble, Haley Bennett, Joyce Van Patten | Drama, Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Marlowe | 1969 | Paul Bogart | ★★★ | 95 | Slick updating of Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister with Garner as Philip Marlowe, hired by girl to find missing brother. Really belongs in 1940s, but works fairly well; Moreno memorable as stripper who helps solve case in exciting finale, plus hilarious scene where Lee reduces Marlowe's office to rubble. | tt0064638 | [M] | James Garner, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carroll O'Connor, Rita Moreno, Sharon Farrell, William Daniels, Jackie Coogan, Bruce Lee | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Marmaduke | 2010 | Tom Dey | ★ | 88 | Fans of the long-running comic strip by Brad Anderson and Phil Leeming may be surprised to learn that Marmaduke, the humongous Great Dane who often tests the patience of his “two-legger” owners, speaks in a lazy-hipster voice (supplied by Wilson) that suggests a California stoner. Unfortunately, that’s one of the very few novelties in this otherwise derivative, unimaginative comedy that relies heavily on the intermingling of human actors in thankless parts and CGI-tweaked live animals voiced by familiar actors. Strictly kid stuff. | tt1392197 | [PG] | Lee Pace, Judy Greer, William H. Macy, David Walliams; voices of Owen Wilson, Emma Stone, George Lopez, Kiefer Sutherland, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Fergie, Marlon Wayans, Damon Wayans/Jr., Sam Elliott | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Marnie | 1964 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 129 | This story of a habitual thief (Hedren) whose employer (Connery) is determined to understand her illness was considered a misfire in 1964 . . . but there's more than meets the eye, especially for Hitchcock buffs. Script by Jay Presson Allen. Look for Bruce Dern, Mariette Hartley, and Melody Scott Thomas in small roles. | tt0058329 | Sean Connery, Tippi Hedren, Diane Baker, Martin Gabel, Louise Latham, Alan Napier | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Maroc 7 | 1967 | Gerry O'Hara | ★★ | 91 | Slow robbery-murder tale of secret agent out to catch split-personality thief. | tt0061956 | Gene Barry, Elsa Martinelli, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Phillips | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Marooned | Space Travellers | 1969 | John Sturges | ★★ | 134 | Glossy but disappointing story of astronauts unable to return to earth, while space agency head Peck tries to keep lid from blowing off. Alternately boring and excruciating; climactic scenes in space produce agony, not excitement. Oscar-winning special effects are chief asset. Retitled SPACE TRAVELLERS. | tt0064639 | [M] | Gregory Peck, Richard Crenna, James Franciscus, David Janssen, Gene Hackman, Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, Mariette Hartley | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Marquise of O | 1976 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 102 | Delicate, disarmingly simple story set in 18th-century Italy; a young widow saved from rape by a Russian soldier during Franco-Prussian war finds herself pregnant some months later, and doesn't understand how. Beautiful period flavor, but film's charm is very low-key. | tt0074870 | [PG] | Edith Clever, Bruno Ganz, Peter Luhr, Edda Seippel, Otto Sander | French-German | Action | NULL | |
| The Marriage Circle | 1924 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 90 | Classic, influential silent comedy about the flirtations and infidelities of several well-to-do characters in Vienna, the 'city of laughter and romance.' Lubitsch's initial American comedy of manners, inspired by Chaplin's A WOMAN OF PARIS. Remade by Lubitsch and George Cukor as the musical ONE HOUR WITH YOU. | tt0015119 | Florence Vidor, Monte Blue, Marie Prevost, Creighton Hale, Adolphe Menjou, Harry Myers, Dale Fuller, Esther Ralston | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Marriage Is a Private Affair | 1944 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 116 | Somewhat dated, glossy MGM yarn of man-chasing Turner, not about to be stopped just because she's married. | tt0037051 | Lana Turner, James Craig, John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, Hugh Marlowe, Keenan Wynn | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Marriage Italian-Style | 1964 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★ | 102 | Spicy account of Loren's efforts to get long-time lover Mastroianni to marry her and stay her husband. Based on Eduardo De Filippo's 1946 play Filumena. | tt0058335 | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Puglisi, Pia Lindstrom, Vito Moriconi, Marilu Tolo | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Marriage of Maria Braun | 1978 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★½ | 120 | Schygulla shines in the Joan Crawfordesque role of a penniless soldier's wife who builds an industrial empire after the end of WW2. Riveting; the first of Fassbinder's three parables of postwar Germany, followed by LOLA and VERONIKA VOSS. | tt0079095 | [R] | Hanna Schygulla, Ivan Desny, Gottfried John, Klaus Lowitsch, Gisela Uhlen. | German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker | 1971 | Lawrence Turman | ★★½ | 95 | Humorous and sad depiction of marital breakdown; husband indulges in voyeurism, wife has own problems. Good cast working with script that seems uncertain as to what point it wants to drive across. Director Turman, who'd produced THE GRADUATE, hoped lightning would strike twice with this adaptation of novel by same author, Charles Webb. | tt0067398 | [PG] | Richard Benjamin, Joanna Shimkus, Elizabeth Ashley, Adam West, Patricia Barry, Tiffany Bolling | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Marriage on the Rocks | 1965 | Jack Donohue | ★★½ | 109 | Frank and Deborah have marital spat, get quickie Mexican divorce, she ends up married to his best pal, Dino. A waste of real talent. | tt0059431 | Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Dean Martin, Cesar Romero, Hermione Baddeley, Tony Bill, Nancy Sinatra, John McGiver, Trini Lopez | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Marriage-Go-Round | 1960 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 98 | Film version of Leslie Stevens' saucy play about marriage: Mason is professor attracted to free-love-oriented Newmar. Amusing, but lacks real bite. | tt0054064 | Susan Hayward, James Mason, Julie Newmar, Robert Paige, June Clayworth | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Married Bachelor | 1941 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★½ | 81 | Needing cash to pay off a gambling debt to a gangster (who else but Sheldon Leonard?), Young finds a manuscript of a bachelor's guide to marriage and pretends to be the author, which brings him fame and fortune. Unfortunately, he's married, and wife Hussey is understandably miffed. Pleasant comic fluff, written by Dore Schary. | tt0033883 | Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, Felix Bressart, Lee Bowman, Sam Levene, Sheldon Leonard. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Married Before Breakfast | 1937 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★½ | 71 | Zany fluff about carefree inventor Young, who sells his hair-removing cream to a razor company for $250,000 and spends a crazy night out on the town, during which he gets mixed up with thieves, loses his fiancée, and gains a new one. Breezy and painless. | tt0029218 | Robert Young, Florence Rice, June Clayworth, Barnett Parker, Warren Hymer, Hugh Marlowe. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Married Life | 2008 | Ira Sachs | ★★½ | 90 | Successful businessman Cooper tells his best friend (Brosnan) that he plans to leave his wife (Clarkson) and disrupt their apparently happy marriage, because he’s found a (younger) woman who truly loves him. He just can’t figure out how to break the news to his spouse. Intriguing blend of social commentary, soap opera, and noir-ish melodrama set in 1949 plays like one long pregnant pause; elevated by a quartet of good actors in top form. Adapted from John Bingham’s novel Five Roundabouts to Heaven by Sachs and Oren Moverman. | tt0804505 | [PG-13] | Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, David Wenham, David Richmond-Peck | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Married Woman | 1964 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★ | 94 | Turgid three-cornered romance, with Meril unable to decide between husband Leroy and lover Noel; then, she finds herself pregnant. Godard narrates this pretentious allegory of middle-class alienation. | tt0058701 | Macha Meril, Philippe Leroy, Bernard Noel | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Married to It | 1993 | Arthur Hiller | ★★ | 112 | Several married couples meet in Manhattan and become the unlikeliest of friends. Each spouse manages to embrace several annoyingly bland clichés: yuppie, young newlywed, ex-hippie, bitchy stepmother— you get the picture. Cast of decent actors can't begin to save the pedestrian script. This one sat on the shelf for a couple of years. | tt0107523 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Stockard Channing, Robert Sean Leonard, Mary Stuart Masterson, Cybill Shepherd, Ron Silver, Don Francks, Donna Vivino | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Married to the Mob | 1988 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 103 | A woman tries to escape from the Mafia after the death of her hit man husband, only to find that the local boss has the hots for her. Amiable, entertaining farce with right-on performances by Pfeiffer and Stockwell (in a neat comic turn as the mafioso). Only director Demme could make a mob movie with likable characters in it! Score by David Byrne. | tt0095593 | [R] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Trey Wilson, Charles Napier, Tracey Walter, Al Lewis, Nancy Travis, David Johansen (Buster Poindexter), Chris Isaak, Oliver Platt, Todd Solondz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Marry Me Again | 1953 | Frank Tashlin | ★★ | 73 | Mild shenanigans of aviator Cummings and beauty contest winner Wilson's on-again, off-again romance. | tt0046048 | Robert Cummings, Marie Wilson, Mary Costa, Jess Barker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Marry Me, Marry Me | 1969 | Claude Berri | ★★★ | 87 | Delightful story of love and (what else?) marriage, Berri-style. | tt0064646 | [M] | Elisabeth Wiener, Regine, Claude Berri, Luisa Colpeyn | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Marrying Kind | 1952 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 93 | Bittersweet drama of young couple on verge of divorce recalling their life together via flashbacks; sensitive performers outshine talky script— but story and situations haven't dated one bit. | tt0044888 | Judy Holliday, Aldo Ray, Madge Kennedy, Sheila Bond, John Alexander, Rex Williams, Phyllis Povah, Peggy Cass, Mickey Shaughnessy, Griff Barnett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Marrying Man | 1991 | Jerry Rees | ★★½ | 115 | Engaged L.A. playboy joyrides with buddies to post-WW2 Las Vegas— and falls for a gorgeous chanteuse who happens to be Bugsy Siegel's mistress. Neil Simon original was notorious for its on-set hijinks, in-fighting, and star egos, causing just about everyone down to the Key Grip to disown the thing. In truth, the picture's fairly entertaining, with sexy Baldwin and super-sultry Basinger hard to resist. | tt0102411 | [R] | Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin, Robert Loggia, Elisabeth Shue, Armand Assante, Paul Reiser, Fisher Stevens, Peter Dobson, Gretchen Wyler | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mars Attacks! | 1996 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 103 | Overly self-satisfied spoof of '50s alien-invasion movies (and '50s attitudes) has Martians landing in flying saucers. President Nicholson urges calm and reason, but the little guys turn out to be predators . . . nasty ones at that! Great effects and animation (of the Martian characters) but awfully broad and one-note in tone, spoofing something that's already funny in the straight-faced originals of the period. One can't completely dislike a film in which Slim Whitman figures so prominently, however. Inspired by a gum card series of the same name. | tt0116996 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Sylvia Sidney, Lisa Marie, Joe Don Baker, Christina Applegate, Barbet Schroeder | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mars Needs Moms | 2011 | Simon Wells | ★★★ | 88 | Engaging adaptation of Berkeley Breathed’s children’s book about a boy named Milo who resents his mother’s nagging and insistence that he do chores around the house—until she’s swept away by a Martian spaceship. He manages to tag along and discovers that Mars needs his mother’s brain matter in order to sustain its baby life forms. Funny, imaginative, and well-paced animated yarn was filmed in motion-capture medium; it isn’t hard to recognize the leading actors in “cartoon” form—except for Green, whose facial features have been morphed onto a little boy. | tt1305591 | [PG] | Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon, Tom Everett Scott | Animation, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mars Needs Women | 1968 | Larry Buchanan | ★½ | 80 | Just as the title suggests, Martians Kirk and four pals, hoping to increase birthrate on their planet, arrive here to capture live women. Strangely sincere but extremely silly and distended. Texas-made film written by the director. Most important revelation: Mars abandoned neckties 50 years ago. | tt0060672 | Tommy Kirk, Yvonne Craig, Byron Lord, Roger Ready, Warren Hammack, Anthony Houston | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Marshal's Daughter | 1953 | William Berke | ★½ | 71 | Cornpone oater with Murray and Anders ridding their town of outlaws; Tex Ritter even sings a song, with veteran Gibson in supporting role. | tt0046050 | Ken Murray, Laurie Anders, Preston Foster, Hoot Gibson | Western | NULL | |||
| Martha | 1973 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★½ | 112 | Unsubtle account of spinsterish Carstensen, who has spent her life under the control of her father. He dies and she immediately marries, with disastrous results. A film very much of the early 1970s, a time when women were discovering feminism. Now it serves as a curio and a history lesson. Cineastes take note: Martha's last name is Heyer (as in Martha Hyer), and she lives on Douglas Sirk Street! First made available in the U.S. in 1994. | tt0070374 | Margit Carstensen, Karlheinz Bohm, Gisela Fackeldey, Adrian Hoven, Peter Chatel | West German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Martha + Ethel | 1994 | Jyll Johnstone | ★★★ | 80 | Incisive documentary look at the title duo, one a German refugee and the other an African-American, who were the childhood nannies of director Johnstone and Barbara Ettinger, the film's producer. A valentine to two totally dissimilar women, and a keenly observed examination of U.S. cultural change during the second half of the 20th century. | tt0110473 | [G] | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |||
| Martha Marcy May Marlene | 2011 | Sean Durkin | ★★★ | 101 | Vulnerable girl (Olsen, in a powerful starring debut) drifts into a communal farm in upstate New York, and some time later seizes a chance to escape, calling on her only family, a sister she hasn't spoken to in two years. Flips back and forth from her life under commune leader Hawkes' watchful eye to her frustrated attempt to return to "normal" life with her sister (Paulson) and brother-in-law (Dancy), clueless about how messed up she is. First-time writer-director Durkin deliberately doesn't tell us a lot about Martha, or why she and her sister have such a fractured relationship. That's for us to fill in, or debate. Slow and deliberate but fascinating. | tt1441326 | [R] | Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, Brady Corbet, Louisa Krause, Christopher Abbott, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Martian Child | 2007 | Menno Meyjes | ★★ | 106 | By turns annoyingly sappy and affectingly sentimental, uneven comedy-drama focuses on the father-son bond that develops between a recently widowed sci-fi author (John Cusack) and an orphaned youngster (Coleman) who claims to be an extraterrestrial. Joan Cusack, John’s real-life sibling, offsets the schmaltz with her sassy supporting performance as the writer’s sister. Based on David Gerrold’s novella. | tt0415965 | [PG] | John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Anjelica Huston, Sophie Okonedo, Richard Schiff, Howard Hesseman | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Martians Go Home | 1990 | David Odell | ★½ | 89 | TV songwriter Quaid accidentally summons a billion green wisecracking Martians to Earth; chaos (limited by the film's low budget) ensues. Fredric Brown's classic sci-fi humor novel misfires on the screen, partly because the pesky Martians are all played by mediocre standup comics. | tt0100116 | [PG-13] | Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, Anita Morris, Barry Sobel, Vic Dunlop, John Philbin, Gerrit Graham, Ronny Cox, Harry Basil | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Martin | 1978 | George A. Romero | ★★★ | 95 | Typical Romero mix of social satire and stomach-churning gore: 17-year-old Amplas thinks he's a vampire (lacking fangs, he must resort to razor blades); thanks to his frequent calls to a late-night radio show, he's also something of a local celebrity! Intriguing little shocker is worth seeing, but not right after dinner. | tt0388440 | [R] | John Amplas, Lincoln Maazel, Christine Forrest, Elayne Nadeau, Tom Savini, Sarah Venable, George A. Romero | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Martin's Day | 1984 | Alan Gibson | ★★ | 98 | Creditable cast in utterly ordinary 'family film' about escaped prisoner who kidnaps (and ultimately befriends) young boy. Bland and unconvincing. | tt0087685 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Lindsay Wagner, James Coburn, Justin Henry, Karen Black, John Ireland | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Marty | 1955 | Delbert Mann | ★★★½ | 91 | Oscar for Borgnine as Bronx butcher who doesn't plan to find love, but does, in this moving Paddy Chayefsky script, originally a TV play; also won Oscars for Chayefsky, Mann, and Best Picture. | tt0048356 | Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Joe Mantell, Joe De Santis, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, Frank Sutton | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Marvin and Tige | 1983 | Eric Weston | ★★½ | 104 | Tearjerker about a loser (Cassavetes) who takes in an aimless 11-year-old (Brown) who tried to kill himself. Well acted, and well intentioned, but pretty standard stuff. Aka LIKE FATHER AND SON, running 109m. | tt0085908 | [PG] | John Cassavetes, Gibran Brown, Billy Dee Williams, Denise Nicholas Hill, Fay Hauser | Drama | NULL | ||
| Marvin's Room | 1996 | Jerry Zaks | ★★★½ | 98 | Affecting adaptation of Scott McPherson's Off-Broadway play about a woman who's devoted her adult life to caring for her stroke-ridden father and a dithery aunt; now she must call on her long-estranged sister and nephews to help out in her own health emergency. A poignant and pointed look at family ties, old wounds, love, and responsibility, with uniformly fine performances. Cronyn adds immeasurable strength, though he says not a word. Rachel Portman's beautiful score is another asset. Broadway director Zaks' film debut. | tt0116999 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Dan Hedaya, Hal Scardino, Victor Garber | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mary Burns, Fugitive | 1935 | William K. Howard | ★★★ | 84 | Fine gangster melodrama. Sidney is dragged into underworld, valiantly tries to escape her gangster lover (Baxter). | tt0026688 | Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas, Pert Kelton, Alan Baxter, Wallace Ford, Brian Donlevy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mary Poppins | 1964 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★★ | 140 | There's charm, wit, and movie magic to spare in Walt Disney's adaptation of P. L. Travers' book about a 'practically perfect' nanny who brings profound change to the Banks family of London, circa 1910. Oscars went to Richard and Robert Sherman for their tuneful score, the song 'Chim-Chim-Cheree,' the formidable Visual Effects team, Cotton Warburton for his editing, and Andrews, in her film debut (though Van Dyke is equally good as Bert, the whimsical jack of all trades). That's Jane Darwell, in her last screen appearance, as the bird lady. A wonderful movie. Scripted by coproducer Bill Walsh and Donald Da Gradi. Adapted for the stage in 2004. | tt0058331 | Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Ed Wynn, Hermione Baddeley, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, Arthur Treacher, Reginald Owen | Animation, Family, Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Mary Reilly | 1996 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 108 | Intriguing premise: the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the point of view of a housemaid in his employ. Unfortunately, this chamber drama is played out in ponderous fashion and almost sinks under its own weight, despite the interesting performances by its stars. (Admittedly, Roberts' Irish accent comes and goes at whim.) Close is fun in a flamboyant part as a madam. Screenplay by Christopher Hampton from the novel by Valerie Martin. | tt0117002 | [R] | Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, George Cole, Michael Gambon, Kathy Staff, Michael Sheen, Bronagh Gallagher, Linda Bassett, Ciaran Hinds | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | Frankenstein | 1994 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★ | 128 | Hugely disappointing, 'faithful' rendition of the Frankenstein saga. Energetic to a fault, with a camera that refuses to stand still. Branagh allows us to understand what makes Dr. F. tick, but the story goes askew once his creation is unleashed. And what's with that story framework with sea captain Quinn? De Niro's monster remains doggedly De Niro-ish, and makes one yearn for Karloff. (Even Peter Boyle would do.) | tt0109836 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, Aidan Quinn, Ian Holm, Richard Briers, John Cleese, Robert Hardy, Cherie Lunghi | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Mary of Scotland | 1936 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 123 | Lavish historical drama in which Mary, Queen of Scots (Hepburn), returns to her homeland from France, to rule 'fairly and justly.' She falls in love with lord March and contends with various treacheries. Based on a play by Maxwell Anderson. | tt0027948 | Katharine Hepburn, Fredric March, Florence Eldridge, Douglas Walton, Moroni Olsen, John Carradine, Robert Barrat, Ian Keith, Ralph Forbes, Alan Mowbray, Donald Crisp | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mary, Mary | 1963 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 126 | Unremarkable, stagy adaptation of Jean Kerr's sex comedy about divorced couple trying to screw up each other's new romances. Stick with THE AWFUL TRUTH. | tt0057293 | Debbie Reynolds, Barry Nelson, Michael Rennie, Diane McBain, Hiram Sherman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mary, Queen of Scots | 1971 | Charles Jarrott | ★★★ | 128 | Inaccurate history lesson but good costume drama, with strong performances from Redgrave as Mary, Jackson as Queen Elizabeth, rivals for power in Tudor England. | tt0067402 | [PG] | Vanessa Redgrave, Glenda Jackson, Patrick McGoohan, Timothy Dalton, Nigel Davenport, Trevor Howard, Daniel Massey, Ian Holm | Drama | NULL | ||
| Maryjane | 1968 | Maury Dexter | ★½ | 104 | 1960s version of REEFER MADNESS casts Fabian as high school art teacher who tries to keep his students from smoking grass; terrible, but may play better if you're stoned. | tt0063281 | Fabian, Diane McBain, Michael Margotta, Kevin Coughlin, Patty McCormack, Teri Garr | Drama | NULL | |||
| Maryland | 1940 | Henry King | ★★½ | 92 | Predictable story given elaborate treatment. Bainter refuses to let son Payne ride horses since his father was killed that way. Beautiful color scenery. | tt0032766 | Walter Brennan, Fay Bainter, Brenda Joyce, John Payne, Charles Ruggles, Marjorie Weaver | Drama | NULL | |||
| Masculine-Feminine | 1966 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 103 | Engaging, original concoction mixes politics, sex, comedy, nostalgia with standard boy-meets-girl theme. Interviewer/journalist Léaud has affair with would-be rock star singer Goya; they're Godard's 'children of Marx and Coca-Cola.' Adapted, oddly enough, from a Guy de Maupassant story! | tt0060675 | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Chantal Goya, Marlene Jobert, Michel Debord, Catherine-Isabelle Duport, Eva-Britt Strandberg, Brigitte Bardot | French-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mask | 1985 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★½ | 120 | Irresistible film based on true story of Rocky Dennis, teenage boy whose face has been terribly disfigured by a rare disease, and his mother Rusty, who's instilled a sense of confidence and love in her son, though her own defenses are easily broken down. Anna Hamilton Phelan's script dodges cliché, while Cher and Stoltz make their characters warm and real. A winner. Director's cut runs 127m. | tt0089560 | [PG-13] | Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, Estelle Getty, Richard Dysart, Laura Dern, Harry Carey/Jr., Lawrence Monoson, Marsha Warfield, Barry Tubb, Andrew Robinson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mask of Diijon | 1946 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 73 | Von Stroheim is hypnotist who has delusions of grandeur and schemes to commit murder; exciting finish. | tt0038731 | Erich von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates, Denise Vernac, William Wright, Edward Van Sloan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mask of Dimitrios | 1944 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 95 | Fine, offbeat melodrama with mild-mannered mystery writer Lorre reviewing life of notorious scoundrel Scott (in film debut). Frank Gruber adapted Eric Ambler's novel A Coffin for Dimitrios. As always, Lorre and Greenstreet make a marvelous team. | tt0037055 | Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Victor Francen, George Tobias, Steve Geray, Eduardo Ciannelli, Florence Bates | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Mask of Fu Manchu | 1932 | Charles Brabin | ★★½ | 68 | Elaborate chiller of Chinese madman Karloff menacing expedition searching for tomb of Genghis Khan. Adaptation of Sax Rohmer novel is ornate and hokey, but fun; Loy is terrific as Fu's deliciously evil daughter. | tt0023194 | Boris Karloff, Lewis Stone, Karen Morley, Myrna Loy, Charles Starrett, Jean Hersholt | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Mask of Zorro | 1998 | Martin Campbell | ★★★ | 136 | An aging Zorro passes the mantle of public protector to a younger man, who's reluctant at first but soon relishes his secret identity with cape and sword. Exquisite, exciting, with great swordplay and horse action— but has too much of everything, as if the filmmakers want to wear you out. Banderas is an ideal Zorro, Hopkins a surprisingly engaging one, Zeta-Jones a saucy and beautiful heroine. | tt0120746 | [PG-13] | Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stuart Wilson, Matt Letscher, Maury Chaykin, Tony Amendola, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., L.Q. Jones, Victor Rivers | Action, Western, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mask of the Avenger | 1951 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 83 | Not up to snuff; man posing as count of Monte Cristo is involved in swordplay. | tt0043790 | John Derek, Anthony Quinn, Jody Lawrance, Arnold Moss | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Mask | 1988 | Fiorella Infascelli | ★½ | 90 | Trivial, dull account of self-centered count's son who becomes obsessed with pretty young actress Carter. She's put off by him, so he woos her by donning various masks and changing his identity. Extremely slow-moving. | tt0095598 | Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Maloney, Feodor Chaliapin, Roberto Herlitzka | Italian | Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Mask | 1994 | Charles Russell | ★★½ | 101 | A wimpy bank clerk discovers a mask that turns him into a sizzling Superdude who acts out his alter ego's fantasies. Pretty entertaining, though it's seamier (and more violent) than it needs to be, and has some real lulls during its plottier moments. The already rubber-faced Carrey is aided and abetted by stunning digital computer effects, inspired by the manic 1940s cartoons of Tex Avery. Based on the comic book. Followed by SON OF THE MASK and an animated TV series. Also available in PG version. | tt0110475 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, Orestes Matacena, Timothy Bagley, Nancy Fish, Ben Stein | Fantasy, Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Masked and Anonymous | 2003 | Larry Charles | ★½ | 112 | A faded music legend is freed from jail to headline a televised benefit concert. Dylan and Charles (using pseudonyms) penned this misfire, set in a fictional America that's become a police state. Shaggy storytelling, Dylan's nonperformance, and an air of pomposity do this in. Angela Bassett, Bruce Dern, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Cheech Marin, Chris Penn, Giovanni Ribisi, Mickey Rourke, Christian Slater, and Fred Ward are among those who appear in cameos. | tt0319829 | [PG-13] | Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Luke Wilson | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Masque of the Red Death | 1989 | Larry Brand | ★★ | 83 | Roger Corman produced this remake of one of his best films. Poe's Prince Prospero (Paul) is still dissipated, but this time more thoughtful and troubled. Despite an interesting approach to figure of the Red Death and literate (if talky) script, overall cheapness and very slow pace cripple this medieval melodrama. | tt0097844 | [R] | Adrian Paul, Clare Hoak, Jeff Osterhage, Patrick Macnee, Tracy Reiner | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Masque of the Red Death | 1964 | Roger Corman | ★★★½ | 86 | The most Bergman-like of Corman's films, an ultra-stylish adaptation of the Poe tale (with another, Hop Frog, worked in as a subplot), starring Price as evil Prince Prospero, living it up in eerie, timeless castle while Plague ravages the countryside. Beautifully photographed in England by Nicolas Roeg. Remade in 1989. | tt0058333 | Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Patrick Magee, Skip Martin, Nigel Green, John Westbrook | Horror | NULL | |||
| Masquerade | 1965 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 101 | Above-average spy satire highlighted by Robertson's portrayal of recruited agent. Good support casting with good location shooting to give Arabic atmosphere. | tt0059433 | Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Bill Fraser, John LeMesurier | British | Adventure, Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Masquerade | 1988 | Bob Swaim | ★★½ | 91 | Lowe essentially has the ambiguous Cary Grant SUSPICION role: Does he really love delicate (and in this case, filthy rich) spouse Tilly— or is he planning to murder her at the first opportunity? Romantic suspense thriller has its moments, and might have had more with a better leading man. Merely OK, with Tilly, Glover, Delany and lovely Hamptons scenery offering compensation. | tt0095599 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Meg Tilly, Kim Cattrall, Doug Savant, John Glover, Dana Delany, Erik Holland | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Masquerade in Mexico | 1945 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 96 | Frivolous plot, forgettable songs combine in this limp musicomedy of bullfighters, romance, and Mexican intrigue. Remake of MIDNIGHT (1939) by the same director. | tt0037903 | Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Cordova, Patric Knowles, Ann Dvorak, George Rigaud, Natalie Schafer, Billy Daniels | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Masquerader | 1933 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 78 | Dated but enjoyable film goes on theory that two Colmans are better than one; journalist pretends he is his drug-addict cousin, a member of Parliament. Hobbes is splendid as loyal and long-suffering butler. | tt0024308 | Ronald Colman, Elissa Landi, Halliwell Hobbes, Helen Jerome Eddy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mass Appeal | 1984 | Glenn Jordan | ★★★ | 100 | Zeljko Ivanek, Charles Durning, Louise Latham, Lois de Banzie, James Ray, Talia Balsam, Gloria Stuart. Feisty young seminarian rattles the complacency of a popular parish priest in this entertaining filmization of Bill C. Davis' glib Broadway play. Lemmon is first-rate as usual, and though film belies its stage origins it still works fine. | tt0087688 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon., Zeljko Ivanek, Charles Durning, Louise Latham, Lois de Banzie, James Ray, Talia Balsam, Gloria Stuart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Massacre | 1956 | Louis King | ★★ | 76 | Uninspired account of greedy Indian gun-sellers. | tt0049485 |
|
Dane Clark, James Craig, Marta Roth, Miguel Torruco, Jaime Fernandez | Western | NULL | ||
| Massacre River | 1949 | John Rawlins | ★½ | 75 | Minor Western, with trio of soldiers fighting over women. | tt0041643 |
|
Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, Johnny Sands, Carole Mathews, Cathy Downs | Western | NULL | ||
| Massacre at Central High | 1976 | Renee Daalder | ★★★ | 85 | Newcomer to California high school doesn't like the way students are being terrorized by a gang, so he decides to eliminate them, in ultra-violent fashion . . . but that's not the end of the story. Seemingly typical blend of teen and revenge formulas given offbeat twists by writer-director Daalder. | tt0074875 | [R] | Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Kimberly Beck, Robert Carradine, Roy Underwood, Steve Bond | Horror | NULL | ||
| Massacre in Rome | 1973 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★★ | 103 | Good drama: priest Mastroianni opposed to idealistic German Colonel Burton, who must execute 330 Roman hostages in retaliation for deaths of 33 Nazi soldiers. | tt0070592 | [PG] | Richard Burton, Marcello Mastroianni, Leo McKern, John Steiner, Anthony Steel | French-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Master Gunfighter | 1975 | Frank Laughlin | 💣 | 121 | BILLY JACK'S creator-star is an intense gunfighter who hates to kill but does it just the same. Lots of rhetoric. Remake of a 1969 Japanese samurai film, GOYOKIN. | tt0073357 | [PG] | Tom Laughlin, Ron O'Neal, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Geo Anne Sosa, Barbara Carrera, Victor Campos | Western | NULL | ||
| Master Harold... and the Boys | 2010 | Lonny Price | ★★★ | 83 | Athol Fugard's acclaimed, Tony Award–winning play about institutional racism in 1950s apartheid-era South Africa is opened up and expanded in this powerful adaptation. Highmore is very good as Hally, a white teen whose idyllic friendship with his black caretaker (Rhames) becomes strained after the boy learns that his alcoholic, bigoted father is coming home from the hospital. Director Price played Hally in the original 1982 Broadway production. Previously filmed in 1984 as a TV movie starring Matthew Broderick. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1234546 | [PG-13] | Freddie Highmore, Ving Rhames, Patrick Mofokeng, Jennifer Steyn, Michael Maxwell, Redd-Valentino Debray | South African | Drama | NULL | |
| Master Minds | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 64 | Temporarily psychic Sach (Hall) is kidnapped by mad scientist Napier, who swaps his personality with that of hulking, hairy Strange. Strange, acting like the goofy Sach, is a daunting and occasionally funny sight. Standard Bowery Boys stuff, with Leo Gorcey's malaprops particularly outrageous. | tt0041644 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Bennie Bartlett, David Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Alan Napier, Jane Adams, Bernard Gorcey, Glenn Strange, Skelton Knaggs | Horror, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Master Race | 1944 | Herbert J. Biberman | ★★½ | 96 | The Germans are losing WW2 and Nazi Colonel Coulouris goes incognito in a Belgian village, schemes to keep the 'Master Race' alive. Thoughtful if overly melodramatic account; the character of the heroic Russian doctor/POW (Esmond) is most intriguing. | tt0037056 | George Coulouris, Stanley Ridges, Osa Massen, Nancy Gates, Lloyd Bridges, Carl Esmond, Morris Carnovsky, Helen Beverly | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Master Touch | 1973 | Michele Lupo | ★★ | 96 | Safecracker Douglas, just out of jail, attempts to trip up a foolproof alarm and rip off a safe for $1 million. Deadening. | tt0069446 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Florinda Bolkan, Giuliano Gemma, Rene Koldehoff | Italian-German | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | 2003 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 139 | Lavish adaptation of Patrick O'Brian's series of naval novels, with Crowe as British Captain Jack Aubrey leading the crew of the HMS Surprise against a dangerous enemy during the Napoleonic era. Heavier on atmosphere than on story, but Crowe is an ideal commander, the human element is nicely played, and the physical production is impressive in every detail. Screenplay by director Weir and John Collee. Oscar winner for Best Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Sound Editing. | tt0311113 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, James D'Arcy, Lee Ingleby, George Innes, Mark Lewis Jones, Chris Larkin, Richard McCabe, Robert Pugh, David Threlfall | Action, Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Master of Ballantrae | 1953 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 89 | Robert Louis Stevenson's historical yarn has Flynn involved in plot to make Bonnie Prince Charles king of England; on-location filming in Scotland, Sicily, and England adds scope to costumer. Remade for TV in 1984. | tt0046054 | Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, Anthony Steel, Yvonne Furneaux | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Master of Disguise | 2002 | Perry Andelin Blake | ★½ | 80 | Simpleminded Italian waiter named Pistachio Disguisey must rescue his kidnapped parents from a super-criminal after learning that he's descended from a long line of secret agent-type disguise masters. Purportedly aimed at little kids, yet packed with spoofs of SCARFACE, THE EXORCIST, and other grown-up movies. Silly, fart-filled, often embarrassingly unfunny pretext for Carvey (who also cowrote) to do goofy impersonations and act like an imbecile. Cameos include Bo Derek, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Nealon. | tt0295427 | [PG] | Dana Carvey, Brent Spiner, Jennifer Esposito, Harold Gould, James Brolin, Maria Canals, Mark Devine, Edie McClurg, Austin Wolff | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Master of the House | 1925 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | ★★★ | 81 | Solid domestic comedy-drama about a haughty brute who criticizes and humiliates his wife and children until his elderly nanny steps in to teach him a lesson in obedience. Scenario by Dreyer and Sven Rindom, from Rindom's play. | tt0015768 |
|
Johannes Meyer, Astrid Holm, Karin Mellemose, Mathilde Nielson, Clara Schonfeld | Danish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Master of the World | 1961 | William Witney | ★★★ | 104 | Sci-fi adventure adapted from two Jules Verne novels about a 19th-century genius (Price) seeking to stop war from his ingenious flying machine, a cross between a zeppelin and a helicopter. Bronson (oddly cast) admires his ends, deplores his methods, and sets out to stop him. Very well done. Screenplay by Richard Matheson. | tt0055152 | Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Mary Webster, Henry Hull, Richard Harrison | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mastermind | 1976 | Alex March | ★★★ | 131 | Enjoyable spoof of Charlie Chan films with Mostel as Inspector Hoku, who tries to protect robot-like invention sought by international interests. Some good slapstick, rousing car chase. Received limited release after sitting on shelf since 1969. | tt0074877 | [G] | Zero Mostel, Bradford Dillman, Keiko Kishi, Gawn Grainger, Herbert Berghof, Jules Munshin, Sorrell Booke | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Masterminds | 1997 | Roger Christian | ★½ | 105 | High-tech action/adventure yarn finds evil genius Stewart taking over an exclusive private school for ransom, but former student and computer whiz kid Kartheiser stands in his way. Kids might find the attitude-driven script harmless fantasy, but adults may cringe watching Fricker and Stewart in this DIE HARD for preteens. | tt0119630 | [PG-13] | Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, Brenda Fricker, Brad Whitford, Matt Craven, Annabelle Gurwitch | Action, Thriller, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Masters of the Universe | 1987 | Gary Goddard | ★★ | 106 | He-Man (Lundgren) comes to Earth seeking a key that controls the power of the universe, stolen by cosmic crud Skeletor (unrecognizable Langella); somehow two teen puppy-lovers get involved. Elaborate comic book nonsense (which has had another life in kiddie animation) is dumb but inoffensive. | tt0093507 | [PG] | Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Courteney Cox, James Tolkan, Meg Foster, Christina Pickles, Billy Barty, Jon Cypher | Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Masterson of Kansas | 1954 | William Castle | ★★ | 73 | Despite presence of trio of famed gunmen— Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and Bat Masterson— film is just standard. | tt0048358 | George Montgomery, Nancy Gates, James Griffith, Jean Willes, Benny Rubin | Western | NULL | |||
| Mata Hari | 1932 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★★ | 90 | Garbo is the alluring spy of WW1, beguiling everyone from Novarro to Barrymore. Highlights: Garbo's exotic dance sequence, Morley stalked by gang executioner. That's an unbilled Mischa Auer in opening scene as condemned man who won't betray Garbo's love. | tt0023196 | Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, C. Henry Gordon, Karen Morley | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mata Hari | 1985 | Curtis Harrington | ★½ | 108 | The famous femme fatale of WW1 must have been more interesting than this! Kristel's frequent nudity is only possible attraction. | tt0089565 | [R] | Sylvia Kristel, Christopher Cazenove, Oliver Tobias, Gaye Brown, Gottfried John | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Mata Hari's Daughter | 1954 | Renzo Meruis. | ★★ | 102 | Humdrum account of alleged daughter of famed WW1 spy in 1940 Java involved in espionage; sterile dubbing. Retitled: DAUGHTER OF MATA HARI. | tt0046974 | Frank Latimore, Ludmilla Tcherina, Erno Crisa. | Italian | NULL | |||
| Matador | 1986 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★ | 106 | Dazzling black comedy chronicles plight of retired matador Martinez, passing time by compulsively watching snuff films— and his young, troubled protégé (Banderas). Opening sequence is a real stunner. | tt0091495 | Assumpta Serna, Antonio Banderas, Nacho Martinez, Carmen Maura, Eva Cobo, Julieta Serrano, Chus Lampreave | Spanish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Matador | 2005 | Richard Shepard | ★★★ | 97 | Amusing black comedy/character study about a paid assassin who strikes up an acquaintance with a straitlaced American businessman while on assignment in Mexico. The two men couldn't be more different, but at a moment of crisis, the hit man realizes that the square is in fact his only friend. Low-key from start to finish, but sharply defined performances by Brosnan, Kinnear, and Davis and Shepard's offbeat script make this worth watching. Brosnan coproduced. | tt0365485 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker, Adam Scott | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Match Factory Girl | 1990 | Aki Kaurismäki | ★★★ | 70 | A drab, oppressed young woman allows herself to fall for the wrong man; he unceremoniously dumps her, but her reaction is anything but passive. Clever, ironic pitch-black comedy from prolific Kaurismaki. | tt0098532 | Kati Outinen, Elina Salo, Esko Nikkari, Vesa Vierikko | Finnish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Match King | 1932 | Howard Bretherton, William Keighley | ★★½ | 80 | Clever, ambitious man will stop at nothing to succeed, becomes a multimillionaire buying exclusive rights to manufacture matches around the world! Interesting if uneven, story is doubly compelling because it's mostly true, based on life of Ivar Kreuger. | tt0023198 | Warren William, Lili Damita, Glenda Farrell, Harold Huber, John Wray, Hardie Albright | Drama | NULL | |||
| Match Point | 2005 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 124 | Dramatic effort from Allen about an ambitious young tennis coach in London who gets involved with the daughter of a prominent family as well as a sexy American actress, with consequences that no one-he least of all-can foresee. Dark examination of chance and fate covers familiar ground, but Allen responds to the fresh British milieu with some of his most urgent and (surprisingly) passionate filmmaking. Echoes of Crime and Punishment and An American Tragedy abound. | tt0416320 | [R] | Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton, Ewen Bremner, James Nesbitt, Rupert Penry-Jones, Margaret Tyzack | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Matchmaker | 1958 | Joseph Anthony | ★★★ | 101 | Endearing Thornton Wilder comedy about middle-aged widower deciding to re-wed . . . but the matchmaker he consults has plans of her own. Solid performances, fine period detail; later musicalized as HELLO, DOLLY! | tt0051913 | Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, Shirley MacLaine, Paul Ford, Robert Morse, Wallace Ford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Matchmaker | 1997 | Mark Joffe | ★★★ | 96 | Cute comedy about a campaign worker for a less than exemplary U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, who's given the job of tracing his relatives to a small village in Ireland and setting up a photo opportunity to entice the state's Irish-American vote. Garofalo arrives in the remote village during its annual matchmaking festival and, despite everything, gets caught up in a relationship. Fanciful, rather than realistic, but entertaining. | tt0119632 | [R] | Janeane Garofalo, David O'Hara, Milo O'Shea, Denis Leary, Jay O. Sanders, Rosaleen Linehan, Paul Hickey, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Robert Mandan | U.S.-Irish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Matchstick Men | 2003 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 116 | Phobic con artist discovers he has a teenage daughter, which casts a new light on his work, his relationship with his protégé-partner, and his life in general. Lively, engaging yarn with pinpoint performances and a nice eye for detail, though it goes on a bit longer than it should . . . and then pulls the rug out. Inventive score by Hans Zimmer and great use of source music, too. Based on the novel by Eric Garcia. | tt0325805 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, Bruce Altman, Bruce McGill, Sheila Kelley, Beth Grant | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Material Girls | 2006 | Martha Coolidge | ★★ | 97 | Two spoiled cosmetics industry heiresses lose their money after a controversy involving face cream and a disfiguring skin disease. Forced to suffer indignities like riding the bus and wearing last year's fashions, they eventually learn the value of hard work and sensible shoes and fight to reclaim their company's reputation. This movie glorifies 'the high life' while praising its heroines for transcending it. Filled with absurdities, but director Coolidge keeps things fast-paced, colorful, and painless. | [PG] | Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Maria Conchita Alonso, Anjelica Huston, Brent Spiner, Lukas Haas, Marcus Coloma | Comedy, Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Matewan | 1987 | John Sayles | ★★★½ | 130 | Compelling and compassionate drama about labor troubles in the heart of coal-mining country, Matewan, West Virginia, in the 1920s. As usual, writer-director Sayles (who appears briefly as a preacher) makes every note ring true in this meticulous period piece; he even cowrote some phony labor songs! Beautifully photographed by Haskell Wexler. | tt0093509 | [PG-13] | Chris Cooper, Will Oldham, Mary McDonnell, Bob Gunton, James Earl Jones, Kevin Tighe, Gordon Clapp, Josh Mostel, Joe Grifasi, Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Matilda | 1978 | Daniel Mann | 💣 | 103 | Good cast wasted in awful kiddie pic about a boxing kangaroo, played by a man in a suit (Gary Morgan). Paul Gallico's novel loses everything in translation. | tt0077917 | [G] | Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum, Harry Guardino, Clive Revill, Karen Carlson, Lionel Stander, Larry Pennell, Art Metrano | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Matilda | 1996 | Danny DeVito | ★★½ | 93 | Cursed with a cretinous family and a witch of a school principal, a bright young girl learns self-reliance— and develops unusual powers. Wilson's irresistible charm anchors this very black comedy from the book by Roald Dahl. The bizarre goings-on, and the strange sensibilities, may play better on the printed page (and in a reader's imagination) than they do when acted out literally on-screen. Anne Ramsey being dead, DeVito had to find another harpy— in this case the furious Ferris. Jon Lovitz appears unbilled; DeVito narrates. | tt0117008 | [PG] | Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, Pam Ferris, Mara Wilson, Paul Reubens, Tracey Walter, Kiami Davael | Family, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Matinee | 1993 | Joe Dante | ★★★ | 98 | Goodman is delightful as a movie schlockmeister (inspired by real-life producer William Castle) previewing his latest scare-the-pants-off-'em horror movie at a Key West theater— the very weekend of the Cuban missile crisis, when everyone's nerves are on edge. Sweet-natured film, full of nostalgia and in-jokes for film buffs, but a little slow (and soft) until it gets rolling. Film-within-a-film, MANT, is a real hoot, with appearances by sci-fi stalwarts William Schallert, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Cornthwaite. | tt0107529 | [PG] | John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin, Jesse Lee, Lucinda Jenney, James Villemaire, Robert Picardo, Jesse White, Dick Miller, John Sayles, David Clennon, Luke Halpin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Matinee Idol | 1928 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 56 | Delightful farce about Broadway star Walker who, while stranded in the country, appears incognito in Love's local play, then brings her amateur theater group to N.Y. to put on a hilariously bad Civil War show. Long-lost Capra silent is an expert mixture of comedy, romance, and sentiment. | tt0019151 | Johnnie Walker, Bessie Love, Lionel Belmore, Ernest Hilliard, Sidney D'Albrook | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mating Call | 1928 | James Cruze. | ★★½ | 70 | Very odd silent film about a WW1 soldier (Meighan) who comes home to find his small-town sweetheart married to another man— but she's still as amorous as ever. This riles up the no-account husband who's the power behind a secret KKK-like society! Meanwhile, Meighan 'buys' himself a wife straight off the boat at Ellis Island. After all that plot, the film ends rather abruptly; still strangely compelling. Based on a Rex Beach novel; produced by Howard Hughes. | tt0019152 | Thomas Meighan, Evelyn Brent, Renée Adorée, Alan Roscoe, Gardner James, Helen Foster, Cyril Chadwick. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mating Game | 1959 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 96 | Zippy comedy romp of tax agent Randall falling in love with farm girl Reynolds, with Douglas rambunctious as Debbie's father. | tt0053054 | Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, Una Merkel, Philip Ober, Charles Lane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Mating Season | 1951 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★½ | 101 | Excellent, underrated comedy with cynical undertones about the American dream. Hardworking Lund marries socialite Tierney, suffers embarrassment when his plain-talking mother (Ritter) comes to town and is mistaken for servant. Ritter is simply superb. Written by Walter Reisch, Richard Breen, and producer Charles Brackett. | tt0043792 | Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, Thelma Ritter, Jan Sterling, Larry Keating, James Lorimer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mating of Millie | 1948 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 87 | Ford tries to help Keyes trap a husband so she can adopt a child, but falls in love with her himself. Predictable but pleasant. | tt0040577 | Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, Ron Randell, Willard Parker, Virginia Hunter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Matrimaniac | 1916 | Paul Powell. | ★★½ | 46 | By-the-numbers farce by Anita Loos about comical complications that result when lovesick (and ever-resourceful) Fairbanks attempts to elope with girlfriend Talmadge. Doug's boundless enthusiasm and athleticism make this worth watching. | tt0007047 | Douglas Fairbanks, Constance Talmadge, Wilbur Higby, Fred Warren, Clyde Hopkins, Winifred Westover, Monte Blue, Mildred Harris, Carmel Myers. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Matrix Revolutions | 2003 | The Wachowski Brothers | ★½ | 130 | No one expected the third JAWS movie to be any good, but the Wachowski Brothers' failure to cap their franchise with any real meaning was one of 2003's bigger disappointments. Like Santa Anna's troops at the Alamo or the Blob in any neighborhood, the so-called Machines are on the march to outpost Zion, with only Neo and the remaining humans left to stop them. Pinkett Smith's piloting of a tricky aircraft is actually more compelling than the love story between Reeves and Moss. BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY should not be the better sequel on Reeves' resumé. | tt0242653 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mary Alice, Harold Perrineau/ Jr., Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix, Lambert Wilson, Nona Gaye, Anthony Zerbe | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Matrix | 1999 | Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski | ★★½ | 136 | A computer hacker (Reeves) discovers the world he is living in is an illusion maintained by computers that have taken over the world . . . and he is thought to be 'the chosen one' to save humanity. Cutting-edge visuals and production design compete with an overlong script, written by the directors, that's got a high MJQ (Mumbo-Jumbo Quotient), and a tendency to keep changing its own complicated 'rules.' Martial arts scenes staged by Yuen Wo Ping are highlights. Oscar winner for Film Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects. Followed by THE MATRIX: RELOADED and the DVD collection of animated shorts, THE ANIMATRIX. | tt0133093 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Gloria Foster, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Matrix: Reloaded | 2003 | Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski | ★★½ | 138 | Big, booming sequel is more straightforward in its storytelling than the original, as our heroes race against time to stop a marauding army from overtaking the last outpost of humankind, Zion. Doesn't have the feeling of stylistic innovation that the first film did, but there's plenty of action and special effects to compensate. Ironically, the highlight of this dense, futuristic saga is a car chase on a California freeway! Followed by THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS. | tt0234215 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gloria Foster, Harold Perrineau/ Jr., Monica Bellucci, Harry Lennix, Lambert Wilson, Randall Duk Kim, Anthony Zerbe | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Mattei Affair | 1973 | Francesco Rosi | ★★½ | 118 | Semi-documentary study of rise of Italian industrialist and his mysterious death. | tt0068346 | [R] | Gian Maria Volonte, Luigi Squarizina, Peter Baldwin | Italian | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| A Matter of Dignity | 1958 | Michael Cacoyannis. | ★★½ | 101 | Affluent Athenian family, jolted by the threat of impending bankruptcy, pins all its hopes on the ring finger of the most eligible daughter, though the intended groom could not be more boring or the bride-to-be less willing. Meanwhile, their resentful maid— unpaid for months— tends to her injured son. Clash of the classes is Upstairs/Downstairs as Greek tragedy. Aka THE FINAL LIE. | tt0051065 | Ellie Lambeti, George Pappas, Athena Michaelidou, Eleni Zafirou, Michaelis Nikolinakos, Dimitris Papamichael. | Greek | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Matter of Innocence | 1967 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 102 | Plain Jane (Mills) travels to Singapore with aunt, has an affair with Eurasian Kapoor and becomes a woman. Trite soaper with unusual role for suave Howard; from Noel Coward story 'Pretty Polly.' | tt0061960 | Hayley Mills, Trevor Howard, Shashi Kapoor, Brenda De Banzie | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Matter of Resistance | 1966 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | ★★½ | 92 | Pleasant French comedy of bored housewife (Deneuve) who welcomes arrival of soldiers to her village prior to Normandy invasion. Originally titled LA VIE DE CHATEAU. | tt0059872 | Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, Pierre Brasseur, Mary Marquet, Henri Garcin, Carlos Thompson | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Matter of Time | 1976 | Vincente Minnelli | 💣 | 99 | Depressing schmaltz about a chambermaid in pre-WW1 Europe taught to love life by a batty contessa. Director Minnelli's worst film, though, for his part, he denounced this version as edited. Final film for both Boyer and the director. Bergman's daughter, Isabella Rossellini, makes her screen debut as a nun. | tt0074878 | [PG] | Liza Minnelli, Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Spiros Andros, Tina Aumont, Anna Proclemer | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Matter of WHO | 1961 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 90 | Occasionally entertaining mystery with Thomas in a rare straight role as a World Health Organization bureaucrat who turns detective to trace a smallpox carrier. | tt0055156 | Terry-Thomas, Alex Nicol, Sonja Ziemann, Guy Deghy, Richard Briers, Carol White, Honor Blackman | British | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Maurice | 1987 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 135 | Typically meticulous Merchant-Ivory production of a literary work (by E. M. Forster) about a young Britisher's coming of age in the 1910s, and coming to terms with his homosexuality. Beautifully realized and extremely well acted all around . . . but overlong. Helena Bonham Carter makes a cameo appearance. | tt0093512 | [R] | James Wilby, Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Billie Whitelaw, Ben Kingsley, Judy Parfitt, Phoebe Nicholls, Barry Foster | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Maurie | Big Mo | 1973 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 113 | Well-meaning but downbeat tearjerker based on true story of basketball star Maurice Stokes (Casey). His sudden paralysis spurs teammate Jack Twyman (Svenson) to devote himself to Maurie's rehabilitation. Too similar to other sports-tragedy films to stand out. Shown on TV as BIG MO. | tt0070377 | [G] | Bernie Casey, Bo Svenson, Janet MacLachlan, Stephanie Edwards, Paulene Myers, Bill Walker | Drama | NULL | |
| Mauvaise Graine | 1933 | Billy Wilder, Alexandre Esway. | ★★★ | 77 | Sweet comedy-drama about a disinherited layabout (Mingand) who becomes involved with a band of professional thieves while falling for a seemingly innocent 17-year-old (Darrieux). Wilder cowrote and took his first directorial credit for this film, made during the brief time he spent in Paris before coming to the U.S. Freewheeling shooting style in Paris and Marseilles and use of jump cuts prefigure the French New Wave of the '50s. | tt0025480 | Pierre Mingand, Danielle Darrieux, Raymond Galle, Paul Escoffier, Michel Duran, Jean Wall. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Maverick | 1994 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 129 | Lackadaisical update of the fondly remembered '60s TV show relies heavily on personal charm to carry a thin storyline that moseys along much too slowly— and much too long. Gibson is fun as a wily cardsharp on his way to a big-stakes poker game, and the cast is peppered with familiar faces from the world of vintage TV Westerns and contemporary country music; look for a couple of cameos by stars of earlier movies from director Donner. Garner, who starred in the old TV series, is cast here as a marshal. Script by William Goldman. | tt0110478 | [PG] | Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, James Coburn, Alfred Molina, Paul Smith, Geoffrey Lewis, Max Perlich, Dub Taylor | Western, Action, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Maverick Queen | 1956 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 92 | Stanwyck is peppy as outlaw who's willing to go straight for lawman Sullivan. Filmed in Naturama. | tt0049487 | Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Scott Brady, Mary Murphy, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Max | 2002 | Menno Meyjes | ★½ | 109 | What might have happened if Adolf Hitler had been encouraged to pursue a career in art in the days following WW1? Fascinating idea is bungled by writer-director Meyjes, with a miscast Cusack (spouting incongruously modern vernacular) as a German-Jewish art dealer who is drawn to the angry young artist (well played by Taylor). Best/worst line: 'Hitler, come on, I'll buy you a glass of lemonade.' | tt0290210 | [R] | John Cusack, Noah Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Molly Parker, Ulrich Thomsen, David Horovitch, Janet Suzman, Caroleen Feeney | Hungarian-British-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Max Dugan Returns | 1983 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 98 | Sweet, simple Neil Simon comedy about a long-lost father who tries to make amends to his daughter (a struggling schoolteacher and single parent) by showering her with presents— using money he's obtained by slightly shady means. Acted with verve and sincerity by a perfect cast. Film debuts of Matthew Broderick and Kiefer Sutherland. | tt0085919 | [PG] | Marsha Mason, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Broderick, Dody Goodman, Sal Viscuso, David Morse, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Lau | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Max Havelaar | 1976 | Fons Rademakers | ★★ | 167 | Uneven chronicle of colonial exploitation in 19th century Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), with Faber an officer struggling to change the rules. Tries hard, but predictable and unexciting most of the way. | tt0074880 | Peter Faber, Sacha Bulthuis, Elang Mohanad, Adenan Soesilanigrat | Dutch-Indonesian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Max Keeble's Big Move | 2001 | Tim Hill | ★★ | 86 | Loud, often obnoxious cookie-cutter comedy about seventh-grader Max (Linz), who is harassed at school by fellow students and even the principal. Upon learning that his family is moving out of town, he plots a hit-and-run-style revenge, but there are predictable complications. | tt0273799 | [PG] | Alex D. Linz, Larry Miller, Jamie Kennedy, Nora Dunn, Zena Grey, Josh Peck, Robert Carradine, Clifton Davis, Noel Fisher, Orlando Brown | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Max Payne | 2008 | John Moore | ★★ | 100 | A Dirty Harry–like homicide cop (Wahlberg) seeks revenge against the killers of his loved ones. Good-looking film falls flat dramatically. There’s plenty of gore, though it’s not graphic enough to earn this an R rating. Based on a popular video game. Unrated version runs 103m. | tt0467197 | [PG-13] | Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris �Ludacris� Bridges, Chris O�Donnell, Donal Logue, Amaury Nolasco, Kate Burton, Olga Kurylenko, Joel Gordon, Jamie Hector, Nelly Furtado | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Max et les Ferrailleurs | 1971 | Claude Sautet | ★★★½ | 110 | Top-notch film about a moralistic police inspector who, tired of seeing a gang of bank robbers escape, decides to set up a situation where he can be assured of capturing some thieves. This involves forming a relationship with the girlfriend of his target thief, but he doesn't foresee how living a lie will affect his own integrity. A crackling, diamond-hard story, perfectly enacted by Piccoli, Schneider, and Fresson. Written by Sautet and Claude Néron. Aka MAX AND THE JUNKMEN. | tt0067409 | Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Bernard Fresson, Georges Wilson, François Périer, Maurice Auzel, Philippe Léotard, Bobby Lapointe | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Maxed Out | 2007 | James D. Scurlock | ★★½ | 87 | Frequently compelling, even eye-opening, but resorts to obvious tactics a bit too much and often confuses self-righteousness with effective reportage. Stay through the end credits | tt0762117 | Outraged, muckraking documentary about our country's consumer-lending industry and the vicious cycle of profit and debt it has created and gladly fuels. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Maxie | 1985 | Paul Aaron | ★★ | 90 | Roaring twenties flapper inhabits the body of hardworking eighties woman, and titillates her husband to boot! Very old-fashioned screwball comedy-fantasy just doesn't come off, despite good intentions. Incidentally, the actress playing Maxie in authentic silent movie footage is Carole Lombard. | tt0089569 | [PG] | Glenn Close, Mandy Patinkin, Ruth Gordon, Barnard Hughes, Valerie Curtin, Googy Gress, Harry Hamlin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Maxime | 1958 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 93 | Morgan is good match for Parisian scoundrel Boyer in this love tale set in 1910s. | tt0145900 | Michele Morgan, Charles Boyer, Arletty, Felix Marten | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Maximum Overdrive | 1986 | Stephen King | 💣 | 97 | Customers and employees of interstate truck stop are terrorized by the trucks themselves, which have come to demonic life as part of a global rebellion of machines. Novelist King, making his directing debut, said he set out to create a junk movie, nothing more . . . but he made it stupid and boring. Remade as a 1997 cable movie, TRUCKS. | tt0091499 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, Yeardley Smith, John Short, J.C. Quinn | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Maximum Risk | 1996 | Ringo Lam | ★★½ | 100 | The FBI and the Russian mafia are both after former French soldier Van Damme, who's out to avenge the death of an identical twin brother that everyone seems to think he is. He even inherits the brother's dishy girlfriend in the deal. Marginally closer to a real movie than most Van Damme efforts, thanks to some stylish touches by Hong Kong action specialist Lam. | tt0117011 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Zach Grenier, Paul Ben-Victor, Frank Senger | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| May | 2002 | Lucky McKee | ★★ | 93 | Wacko who grew up with only a doll for a best friend wigs out in adulthood and goes to gruesome lengths to make a friend . . . literally. Yucky chiller is well acted, with acutely observed characterizations, but is way too pleased with its own cruelty to be able to watch on a full stomach. The writer-director cameos in a couple of self-serving scenes in an elevator. | tt0303361 | [R] | Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris, James Duval, Nichole Hiltz, Kevin Gage, Merle Kennedy | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| May Fools | 1990 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 108 | Ensemble piece, set in the French countryside in 1968. A grandmother's death brings assorted relatives to their ancestral home; most of them, like MiouMiou, are more money grubbing than grieving. Piccoli is splendid as the head of the clan, a contented vintner who truly mourns his late mother. There are romantic entanglements, an interesting subtext of Paris student rebellion, jazzy Stephane Grappelli score— but it's all rather slight. Not top-notch Malle, but still diverting. | tt0097884 | [R] | Michel Piccoli, Miou-Miou, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Blanc, Bruno Carette, Harriet Walter, François Berléand, Martine Gautier, Paulette Dubost | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Maya | 1966 | John Berry | ★★ | 91 | Silly juvenile jungle tale has young North temporarily losing respect for his big-game hunter father Walker, who has lost his nerve. | tt0060681 | Clint Walker, Jay North, I. S. Johar, Sajid Kahn, Jairaj, Sonia Sahni | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision | 1994 | Freida Lee Mock | ★★½ | 96 | Respectful, Oscar-winning documentary about artist Maya Lin, best known as the designer of the Washington, D.C., Vietnam Veterans Memorial. While effective as a record of the artist's creative process, her conception for the Memorial and the controversy it created, this is not a particularly insightful or memorable film. | tt0110480 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Maybe . . . Maybe Not | 1995 | Sönke Wortmann | ★★ | 93 | Thrown out for cheating on his girlfriend, a heterosexual male finds respite at the home of a gay acquaintance. While the ensuing advances of gay suitors are somewhat humorous, the film is filled with characters about whom we care very little. The most successful German film to date, it is based on a series of German comic books, entitled 'Der Bewegte Mann' and 'Pretty Baby,' by comic artist Ralf König. | tt0109255 | [R] | Til Schweiger, Katja Riemann, Joachim Król, Rufus Beck, Antonia Lang, Armin Rohde | German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Maybe Baby | 2000 | Ben Elton | ★★½ | 93 | BBC-TV executive and his talent-agent wife are desperately trying to have a baby while dealing with the vicissitudes of their show-business careers. Anyone who's faced difficulty getting pregnant will recognize the truth in Elton's amusing screenplay; his leading actors' charm helps make up for the unevenness of surrounding story elements. Cameos by the likes of Thompson and Atkinson don't hurt, either. | tt0206926 | [R] | Hugh Laurie, Joely Richardson, Adrian Lester, James Purefoy, Tom Hollander, Joanna Lumley, Rowan Atkinson, Matthew Macfadyen, Dawn French, Emma Thompson | British-French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Mayerling | 1936 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 92 | Touching, well-made romantic tragedy based on true story of Austrian Crown Prince Rudolph, who dared to fall in love with a commoner. Good performances spark international hit; miles ahead of 1969 remake. | tt0027951 | Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Suzy Prim, Jean Dax, Vladimir Sokoloff | French |
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| Mayerling | 1969 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 140 | Remake of 1936 version casts Sharif as Austrian prince who defies convention, and his father (Mason), by falling in love with commoner Deneuve. Old-fashioned tragic romance is pleasant but uncompelling. Justice steals film as spirited Prince of Wales. | tt0064645 | [M] | Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, Ava Gardner, James Robertson Justice, Genevieve Page | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Mayor of 44th Street | 1942 | Alfred E. Green. | ★★ | 86 | Weird but watchable mix of music and mobsters stars Murphy as the head of a big-band booking agency harassed by ex-con Barthelmess and teenage gangs trying to muscle in on his biz. Real-life bandleader Freddy Martin is on hand with his orchestra to provide swing tunes. | tt0035048 | George Murphy, Anne Shirley, William Gargan, Richard Barthelmess, Joan Merrill, Rex Downing, Millard Mitchell, Mary Wickes. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mayor of Hell | 1933 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 90 | Fascinating, somewhat strange melodrama with political-machine appointee Cagney taking a genuine interest in the way kids are being mistreated at reform school run by slimy Digges. Climax is both unexpected and bizarre. Remade as CRIME SCHOOL and HELL'S KITCHEN. | tt0024314 | James Cagney, Madge Evans, Allen Jenkins, Dudley Digges, Arthur Byron, Frankie Darro, Allen 'Farina' Hoskins | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Maytime | 1937 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 132 | One of singing duo's best films, despite occasional heavy-handedness and piercing operatic sequence near the end (composed especially for film, based on Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony). Exquisite filming of simple story: opera star and penniless singer fall in love in Paris, but her husband/mentor (Barrymore) interferes. Only song retained from Sigmund Romberg's hit Broadway score is 'Will You Remember (Sweetheart).' | tt0029222 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore, Herman Bing, Tom Brown, Lynne Carver, Rafaela Ottiano, Paul Porcasi, Sig Ruman, Walter Kingsford, Harry Davenport | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Maytime in Mayfair | 1949 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 96 | Pleasant, light-as-a-soufflé romantic trifle in which Wilding inherits a London dress shop which he intends to sell . . . until he meets the manager (Neagle). | tt0041647 | Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Peter Graves, Tom Walls, Nicholas Phipps, Thora Hird | British | Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Maze | 2000 | Rob Morrow | ★★½ | 97 | While his best friend's away, an artist with Tourette Syndrome falls in love with his pregnant girlfriend. Lightweight romantic drama and personal project for Morrow isn't as bad as it sounds. Linney, in a lovely low-key performance, steals the show. Playwright Jon Robin Baitz cameos as an art gallery patron. | tt0246072 | [R] | Rob Morrow, Laura Linney, Craig Sheffer, Rose Gregorio, Gia Carides, Robert Hogan | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Maze | 1953 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★ | 81 | Mysterious doings at a Scottish castle; a low-budgeter with a ludicrous (and unsatisfying) payoff. Stylishly composed as a 3-D movie by designer-director Menzies. | tt0046057 | Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, Hillary Brooke, Michael Pate, Katherine Emery | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mazes and Monsters | 1982 | Steven Hilliard Stern | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Four college students become involved in the medieval fantasy world of game-playing. Tom Lazarus's intriguing 'Dungeons and Dragons' script from Rona Jaffe's book makes this an engrossing suspenser. | tt0084314 | Tom Hanks, Wendy Crewson, David Wallace, Chris Makepeace, Lloyd Bochner, Peter Donat, Anne Francis, Murray Hamilton, Vera Miles, Louise Sorel, Susan Strasberg | Canadian | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| McBain | 1991 | James Glickenhaus | ★★ | 102 | Waites, Victor Argo, Chick Vennera. To pay back a debt, ex-Vietnam P.O.W. Walken joins rebels in a battle against a corrupt Colombian dictatorship. Predictable, by-the-numbers actioner. | tt0102422 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Ironside, Steve James, Jay Patterson, T.G. Waites, Victor Argo, Chick Vennera | Action | NULL | ||
| McCabe & Mrs. Miller | 1971 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 121 | Richly textured mood piece about an ambitious small-timer who opens bordello in turn-of-the-century boom town. Altman deglamorizes Hollywood image of period with his realistic visions. Beatty is first-rate as the two-bit braggart McCabe. Edmund Naughton's novel McCabe adapted by Brian McKay and Altman. | tt0067411 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Keith Carradine, William Devane, Shelley Duvall, Michael Murphy, Hugh Millais, Jack Riley | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The McConnell Story | 1955 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 107 | Weepy yet effective fictional biography of jet test pilot, with Allyson as his understanding wife. | tt0048364 | Alan Ladd, June Allyson, James Whitmore, Frank Faylen | Drama | NULL | |||
| The McGuffin | 1985 | Colin Bucksey | ★★ | 95 | Meandering, confusing thriller about film critic Dance, whose curiosity about a couple of his neighbors leads to his involvement in murder and mayhem. Starts off nicely but goes downhill all too quickly. An homage to Hitchcock in general, REAR WINDOW in particular. | tt0089570 | Charles Dance, Ritza Brown, Francis Matthews, Brian Glover, Phyllis Logan, Jerry Stiller, Anna Massey, Ann Todd, Bill Shine | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| McGuire, Go Home! | The High Bright Sun | 1965 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 101 | Set in 1954 Cyprus; peppy account of terrorist campaign against British occupation, with side plot of officer Bogarde in love with American girl Strasberg. Video titles: A DATE WITH DEATH; THE HIGH BRIGHT SUN. | tt0059268 | Dirk Bogarde, George Chakiris, Susan Strasberg, Denholm Elliott | British | Adventure, War | NULL | |
| McHale's Navy | 1964 | Edward Montagne | ★★½ | 93 | Theatrical feature inspired by popular TV series finds the PT-73 crew doing everything possible to try and raise money to pay off gambling debts. Usual blend of slapstick and snappy dialogue; entertaining for fans. | tt0058336 | Ernest Borgnine, Joe Flynn, Tim Conway, George Kennedy, Claudine Longet, Bob Hastings, Carl Ballantine, Billy Sands, Gavin MacLeod, Jean Willes | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| McHale's Navy | 1997 | Bryan Spicer | ★★ | 109 | Former Navy man who now wheels and deals from a remote Pacific island is called back to service to do battle with 'the second-best terrorist in the world.' Broad approach, simplistic script make this strictly a juvenile outing. Very loosely based on the 1960s TV series; Borgnine, who played McHale back then, appears here as a Pentagon security chief. | tt0119640 | [PG] | Tom Arnold, Dean Stockwell, Ernest Borgnine, Debra Messing, David Alan Grier, Tim Curry, Brian Haley, French Stewart, Bruce Campbell, Tommy Chong | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force | 1965 | Edward Montagne | ★★½ | 90 | Rather unusual comedy with little relation to either the first feature or the TV series (including no Borgnine). Ensign Parker (Conway) is mistaken for an Air Force hot-shot, and the more he screws up, the higher he's promoted! John Fenton Murray's intricate script adds some mild satire to normal quota of slapstick; a genuine curio. | tt0059437 | Tim Conway, Joe Flynn, Bob Hastings, Ted Bessell, Susan Silo, Henry Beckman, Billy Sands, Gavin MacLeod, Tom Tully, Jacques Aubuchon | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The McKenzie Break | Escape | 1970 | Lamont Johnson | ★★★ | 106 | Daring escape from a P.O.W. camp for Germans in Scotland makes for engrossing movie fare. Aka ESCAPE. | tt0066064 | [PG] | Brian Keith, Helmut Griem, Ian Hendry, Jack Watson, Patrick O'Connell | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| McLintock! | 1963 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★★ | 122 | Brawling cattle baron G. W. McLintock (Wayne) locks horns with his feisty, estranged wife (O'Hara) who has returned home to get a divorce; their daughter visiting from college only complicates matters. Rowdy slapstick seldom stops— a giant mud pit free-for-all and a public spanking for O'Hara are just a few of the stops along the way in this Western version of The Taming of the Shrew. Not recommended for feminists. Produced by Michael Wayne. | tt0057298 | John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Yvonne De Carlo, Chill Wills, Bruce Cabot, Jack Kruschen, Jerry Van Dyke, Perry Lopez, Strother Martin | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The McMasters | 1970 | Alf Kjellin | ★★½ | 97 | Pretty grim drama of bigotry and violence gone crazy as black Union soldier (Peters) returns to ranch of former master (Ives), eventually made co-owner of land. Dual running times indicate two different endings: bad guys (led by Palance) win out or good guys emerge victorious. Both versions were released to theaters. | tt0064649 | [PG] | Burl Ives, Brock Peters, David Carradine, Nancy Kwan, Jack Palance, John Carradine | Western | NULL | ||
| McQ | 1974 | John Sturges | ★★ | 116 | An aging Duke tries to be Clint Eastwood as a Firebird-driving cop out to get the gangster who murdered his partner. Good action, but that's about all. | tt0071824 | [PG] | John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager, David Huddleston, Al Lettieri, Julie Adams | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| McVicar | 1980 | Tom Clegg | ★★★ | 111 | Impressive drama about John McVicar (Daltrey), England's Public Enemy Number 1, and his escape from prison. Screenplay by McVicar, who adapted his book; Daltrey is surprisingly good; Faith and Campbell fine as his prison buddy/fellow escapee and his common-law wife. | tt0081144 | [R] | Roger Daltrey, Adam Faith, Cheryl Campbell, Brian Hall, Steven Berkoff, Jeremy Blake, Ian Hendry | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Me Myself I | 1999 | Pip Karmel | ★★½ | 104 | Fiercely independent career woman realizes that she may have made a mistake putting off marriage and family. She gets to see how the other half lives when she comes face-to-face with the husband and kids she would have experienced had she gone the 'soccer mom' route. Comedy-drama takes its time unfolding, but Griffiths is good as always in a 'dream' role. Directing debut for Karmel, the editor of SHINE. | tt0183503 | [R] | Rachel Griffiths, David Roberts, Sandy Winton, Yael Stone, Shaun Loseby, Trent Sullivan | Australian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Me Myself and I | 1992 | Pablo Ferro | ★★½ | 97 | Novelist-TV writer Segal becomes involved with his next-door neighbor, a schizophrenic (well played by Williams) who is intelligent and nurturing when 'sane,' but otherwise totally off-the-wall. Bizarre comedy is uneven, sometimes enjoyable and other times annoying. | tt0104835 | JoBeth Williams, George Segal, Don Calfa, Shelley Hack, Betsy Lynn George, Bill Macy, Sharon McNight, Ruth Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Me Without You | 2001 | Sandra Goldbacher | ★★½ | 107 | Shy, sensitive Williams and loose, outgoing Friel have been best pals since childhood, but as they come of age their friendship is compromised. Potentially intriguing female buddy film has some forceful moments, but it doesn’t gel. | tt0263725 | [R] | Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Oliver Milburn, Trudie Styler, Marianne Denicourt, Steve John Shepherd, Nicky Henson, Allan Corduner, Kyle MacLachlan, Anna Popplewell | British-German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Me and Him | 1989 | Doris Dörrie | 💣 | 94 | Embarrassingly unfunny story of a man and his talking sex organ. Based on an Italian novel, clever idea goes absolutely limp. Linn-Baker supplies the voice of Dunne's 'special friend.' | tt0093240 | [R] | Griffin Dunne, Ellen Greene, Kelly Bishop, Carey Lowell, Craig T. Nelson, Mark Linn-Baker | U.S.-West German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Me and My Gal | 1932 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 78 | Wholly entertaining film blending comedy, romance, melodrama in one neat package; cop Tracy falls in love with waitress Bennett, whose sister and father become involved with a gangster. Stars at their most charming, with bottomless reserve of snappy dialogue. | tt0023202 | Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Marion Burns, George Walsh, J. Farrell MacDonald, Noel Madison | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Me and Orson Welles | 2009 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 114 | Teenager with an artistic bent stumbles into a job with Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater troupe as they’re preparing their groundbreaking stage production of Julius Caesar in 1937. Quite suddenly he finds himself in fast company, attracted to the company’s girl Friday (Danes) and in the orbit of the mercurial but brilliant Welles. Wonderfully vivid evocation of a storied time in Welles’ career. McKay is a standout in the fine ensemble as the larger-than-life boy genius. Based on a novel by Robert Kaplow. | tt1175506 | [PG-13] | Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Zoe Kazan, James Tupper, Leo Bill, Kelly Reilly | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Me and You and Everyone We Know | 2005 | Miranda July | ★★★ | 90 | Highly original, observational comedy-drama about lonely people of all ages-from children to senior citizens-who are desperately trying to connect. Hawkes is a newly divorced shoe salesman trying to raise two boys (the younger of whom is making 'friends' on the Internet); July plays a struggling artist who's more comfortable creating videos than dealing with people in person. Earns its R-rating with some sexually explicit material. Debut feature as writer-director for performance artist July. | tt0415978 | [R] | John Hawkes, Miranda July, Miles Thompson, Brandon Ratcliff, Carlie Westerman, Natasha Slayton, Najarra Townsend, Hector Elias, Tracy Wright, JoNell Kennedy, Brad Henke, Ellen Geer, James Mathers | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Me and the Colonel | 1958 | Peter Glenville | ★★½ | 109 | Franz Werfel's Jacobowsky and the Colonel is source for spotty satire; Jacobowsky is played by Kaye, and Jurgens is the anti-Semitic military officer, both brought together during crisis in WW2. Filmed in France. | tt0051915 | Danny Kaye, Curt Jurgens, Nicole Maurey, Françoise Rosay | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Me and the Kid | 1993 | Dan Curtis | ★½ | 94 | Rich kid is kidnapped in a bungled robbery attempt and sets out on the road with a couple of cons— who get more than they bargained for. Low-budget attempt to cash in on the HOME ALONE bonanza, with a decent cast wasted; recommended only for the most undemanding young viewers. | tt0081145 | [PG] | Danny Aiello, Alex Zuckerman, Joe Pantoliano, Cathy Moriarty, David Dukes, Anita Morris, Abe Vigoda, Demond Wilson, Rick Aiello, Ben Stein | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Me, Myself & Irene | 2000 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★★ | 100 | A mild-mannered Rhode Island state trooper suddenly develops an alter ego, unleashing years of pent-up fury. Revealing more of the 'plot' would be pointless. A typical Farrelly mishmash of oddball characters and non sequitur bad-taste gags, this one has an air of desperation about it. | tt0183505 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, Robert Forster, Tony Cox, Anthony Anderson, Mongo Brownlee, Jerod Mixon, Chris Cooper, Michael Bowman, Richard Jenkins, Rob Moran | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Me, Natalie | 1969 | Fred Coe | ★★½ | 111 | Soap opera-ish tale about unattractive N.Y.C. girl struggling to find herself gets tremendous boost by Duke's great performance; otherwise, film wavers uncomfortably between comedy and drama. Pacino's feature debut. | tt0064651 | [M] | Patty Duke, James Farentino, Martin Balsam, Elsa Lanchester, Salome Jens, Nancy Marchand, Deborah Winters, Al Pacino | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mean Creek | 2004 | Jacob Aaron Estes. | ★★½ | 90 | Surprisingly adept tale of a bullied boy (Culkin) who plots revenge, with his older brother and friends, on his tormentor. The performances are realistic, with unforced emotional revelations and insight, but the film can't escape echoes of similar stories. Still, a promising feature debut for writer-director Estes. | tt0377091 | [R] | Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelly, Scott Mechlowicz, Carly Schroeder, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mean Dog Blues | 1978 | Mel Stuart | ★★½ | 108 | Henry is railroaded onto prison farm run by Kennedy and a team of bloodthirsty Dobermans; unsurprising but well-made action film. | tt0077919 | [R] | George Kennedy, Gregg Henry, Kay Lenz, Scatman Crothers, Tina Louise, Felton Perry, Gregory Sierra, James Wainwright, William Windom | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Mean Frank and Crazy Tony | 1975 | Michele Lupo. | ★★ | 85 | Cute Italian gangster film closely resembles the buddy-format of a Western, with Lo Bianco the young groupie who attaches himself to his hero Van Cleef. U.S. version of this 1973 Dino De Laurentiis production was prepared by film doctor Simon Nuchtern. | tt0069979 | [R] | Lee Van Cleef, Tony Lo Bianco, Jean Rochefort, Jess Hahn. | Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Mean Girls | 2004 | Mark Waters | ★★½ | 97 | Sixteen-year-old who's been home-schooled (in Africa!) goes to Illinois public school for the first time. She's immediately torn between two outcasts who adopt her as a friend and a clique of popular girls who set their own agenda and make fun of almost everyone else. Sounds awfully familiar, but the script by Saturday Night Live's Fey (based on Rosalind Wiseman's book Queen Bees and Wannabes) has sharp, funny moments one doesn't usually find in teen movies; she also plays a sympathetic teacher. Reverts to formula, but still a cut above the norm. | tt0377092 | [PG-13] | Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Jonathan Bennett, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Neil Flynn | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mean Johnny Barrows | 1976 | Fred Williamson | ★★ | 85 | Mean but dull; Vietnam vet gets involved with the Mafia. Slow-paced, notable for unlikely cast and Gould's incongruous comedy relief. | tt0074885 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Jenny Sherman, Aaron Banks, Anthony Caruso, Luther Adler, Stuart Whitman, Roddy McDowall, Elliott Gould | Crime | NULL | ||
| Mean Machine | 2001 | Barry Skolnick | ★½ | 98 | Disgraced ex- soccer star Jones winds up in a high-security prison, where he is caught between brutal guards and embittered fellow prisoners and ends up involved in a cons-versus-guards soccer match. By-the-numbers remake of THE LONGEST YARD (which was titled THE MEAN MACHINE in the U.K.) is as subtle as a jackhammer and sorely missing the spunk of the original. Strictly for those who delight in bone-crunching brutality. | tt0291341 | [R] | Vinnie Jones, David Kelly, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood, Robbie Gee, Geoff Bell, Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham | British-U.S. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Mean Season | 1985 | Phillip Borsos | ★★½ | 103 | Miami newspaper reporter (Russell, in a very credible performance) becomes sole contact for crazed killer, but as the headlines (and murders) continue, it becomes a question of who is 'using' whom. Intriguing and initially believable idea goes awry in latter half of this mean movie. | tt0089572 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, Richard Jordan, Richard Masur, Joe Pantoliano, Andy Garcia | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mean Streets | 1973 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★★ | 110 | Masterpiece about small-time hood Keitel, irresponsible friend De Niro, and their knockabout cronies in N.Y.C.'s Little Italy. Technically dazzling film put director Scorsese on the map and deservedly so. | tt0070379 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus, Cesare Danova, George Memmoli, Robert Carradine, David Carradine | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Meanest Gal in Town | 1934 | Russell Mack. | ★★★ | 62 | Sleepy little town is disrupted by arrival of a hotshot dame (Kelton) who's been stranded by a theatrical troupe. When barber Brendel hires her as a manicurist, he incurs the wrath of longtime sweetheart Pitts. A fine cast of pros milks every possibility from a clever script, full of good laughs. | tt0025481 | ZaSu Pitts, Pert Kelton, El Brendel, James Gleason, Skeets Gallagher. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Meanest Man in the World | 1943 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 57 | Snappy yarn of good-natured lawyer Benny discovering that he can only succeed in business by being nasty. Benny-Rochester repartee is hilarious; film is a must for Benny devotees. That's cult figure Tor Johnson as a wrestler. | tt0036149 | Jack Benny, Priscilla Lane, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Edmund Gwenn, Matt Briggs, Anne Revere | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Meantime | 1983 | Mike Leigh | ★★½ | 104 | Downbeat kitchen-sink drama about the problems of a working-class London family; no one captures this milieu quite like director Leigh, though it can be pretty bleak. Molina and Oldman later costarred in PRICK UP YOUR EARS. | tt0082727 | Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Pam Ferris, Jeff Robert, Alfred Molina, Gary Oldman | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Meatballs | 1979 | Ivan Reitman | ★½ | 92 | Alternately cruel and sloppily sentimental comedy about summer camp will no doubt wow fifth graders of all ages, though myopic screen characters named 'Spaz' aren't really all that funny. Pretty desperate. Followed by several so-called sequels. | tt0079540 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Meatballs III | 1987 | George Mendeluk | ★½ | 94 | What do you say about a movie dealing with a dead porno star who coaches a teen-age nerd on how to lose his virginity at summer camp? As little as possible. | tt0093516 | [R] | Sally Kellerman, Patrick Dempsey, Al Waxman, Isabelle Mejias, Shannon Tweed, Ian Taylor, George Buza | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meatballs Part II | 1984 | Ken Wiederhorn | ★★ | 87 | In-name-only sequel throws in everything from Jewish aliens to FROM HERE TO ETERNITY take-off, as the fate of Camp Sasquatch rides on a boxing match against nearby Camp Patton ('Where Outdoor Living Molds Killers'). Slightly better than its predecessor (which isn't saying much). | tt0087700 | [PG] | Richard Mulligan, John Mengatti, Hamilton Camp, Kim Richards, Tammy Taylor, John Larroquette, Archie Hahn, Misty Rowe, Paul Reubens, Elayne Boosler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mechanic | 1972 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 100 | Detailed study of James Bond-type assassin and youth he trains to take his place. Worth it for the double-twist ending; terse script by Lewis John Carlino. | tt0068931 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Keenan Wynn, Jan-Michael Vincent, Jill Ireland | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Mechanic | 2011 | Simon West | ★★ | 93 | Remake of Charles Bronson’s 1972 crime thriller about an elite assassin who takes his mentor’s aimless son and teaches him the trade. Souped-up and contemporized, this basically retains the same elements as the original. First half is heavy on exposition and character development; then, as the new partners prepare for a hit, inevitable complications arise. Plenty of action, but the brutal violence becomes deadening after a while. Foster is good in an underwritten role, and Statham has undeniable presence, but it’s hard to care about any of these people. | tt0472399 | [R] | Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland, Tony Goldwyn, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden, James Logan, Christa Campbell | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Medal for Benny | 1945 | Irving Pichel | ★★★½ | 77 | Small town hypocritically honors one of its war dead. Excellent comedy-drama scripted by Frank Butler from a story by John Steinbeck and Jack Wagner. | tt0037906 | Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Cordova, J. Carrol Naish, Mikhail Rasumny, Fernando Alvarado, Charles Dingle, Frank McHugh | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Medallion | 2003 | Gordon Chan | ★½ | 90 | Hong Kong cop joins forces with Interpol to capture a nefarious villain who has kidnapped a mystic child; his medallion holds the key to immortality. OK story framework is pounded into senselessness by bad writing, overacting, hammy comedy touches, and incongruous special effects. Chan is still fun to watch, and a handful of action scenes (sans fx) show what he's capable of. Action directed by Sammo Hung. | tt0288045 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, Claire Forlani, Julian Sands, Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Anthony Wong, Christy Chung | Hong Kong-U.S. | Comedy, Action, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Medicine Ball Caravan | 1971 | Francois Reichenbach | ★★½ | 90 | The Caravan is a 150-member troupe that traveled the U.S. during the summer of '70 to spread peace, love, music— and make a movie. Superficially arty direction; Martin Scorsese was associate producer and supervising editor. | tt0067414 | [R] | B. B. King, Alice Cooper, Delaney and Bonnie, Doug Kershaw, David Peel | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Medicine Man | 1992 | John McTiernan | ★★½ | 106 | Connery plays a research scientist, sequestered in the Brazilian rain forest, who's found the cure for cancer— but can't duplicate it. Bracco is his brainy superior from the U.S. who's come to check up on him. Connery carries this movie singlehandedly, and as usual he's commanding to watch, but the film is weak, and Bracco's abrasive performance (and poorly written character) practically sink it. | tt0104839 | [PG-13] | Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, Jose Wilker | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Medicine Man | 1930 | Scott Pembroke | ★½ | 66 | Smooth-talking carny medicine man comes to the aid of Bronson and her brother, who live with maybe the most abusive father in screen history! Dull melodrama would be worthless if not for curiosity value of Benny in the lead. | tt0021134 |
|
Jack Benny, Betty Bronson, Eva Novak, E. Alyn Warren, Billy Butts, Adolph Milar, George E. Stone, Tom Dugan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mediterraneo | 1991 | Gabriele Salvatores | ★★★ | 92 | It's 1941 and Greek-island males are off fighting in WW2, so some stranded Italian soldiers partake in la dolce vita— for years. Sweet memory movie with double-digit guffaws, though a slight choice to have won the Best Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0102426 | Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bigagli, Giuseppe Cederna, Claudio Bisio, Gigio Alberti, Vanna Barba | Italian | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Medium Cool | 1969 | Haskell Wexler | ★★★★ | 110 | Arresting, unique film of TV cameraman who remains detached though surrounded by events demanding his involvement. Director/writer/cameraman Wexler used real footage of his actors at 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, and subsequent riots, as basis for ultrarealistic film. Score by Mike Bloomfield; Paul Butterfield and The Mothers of Invention are among the artists on the soundtrack. | tt0064652 | [R] | Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill, Harold Blankenship, Peter Boyle | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Medium | 1951 | Gian-Carlo Menotti | ★★½ | 84 | Murky filmization of Gian-Carlo Menotti opera about eccentric spiritualist, the girl living in her seedy apartment, the outcast mute boy in love with girl. | tt0043794 | Marie Powers, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Leo Coleman, Belva Kibler | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Medusa Touch | 1978 | Jack Gold | ★★ | 110 | Burton has spent his whole life willing people's deaths, and now he's completely out of control; Remick is his psychiatrist in this derivative, unappealing film. | tt0077921 | [PG] | Richard Burton, Lino Ventura, Lee Remick, Harry Andrews, Alan Badel, Marie-Christine Barrault, Jeremy Brett, Michael Hordern, Gordon Jackson, Derek Jacobi | British-French | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Meek’s Cutoff | 2011 | Kelly Reichardt | ★★★ | 104 | In 1845, three families of settlers follow their garrulous tracker (an unrecognizable Greenwood) across Oregon Territory, but begin to suspect that in spite of their leader’s outward confidence, they’re lost. Arid and slowly paced, like Reichardt’s other features, which will turn some people off. Still, without ever raising a fuss or showing off the incredible degree of detail that went into every shot, the filmmaker and her cast make us feel as if we’re right there alongside them. No movie has ever captured the harshness of life on the trail quite like this before. Screenplay by Reichardt’s frequent collaborator Jon Raymond. | tt1518812 | [PG] | Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, Rod Rondeaux | Western | NULL | ||
| Meet Bill | 2008 | Bernie Goldmann, Melisa Wallack | ★★½ | 92 | Bill’s life is a mess; he hates his job, his wife is cheating on him, and he’s unhappy. It isn’t until he (reluctantly) begins mentoring a remarkably intelligent but rebellious teenager (Lerman) that he finally gains confidence in himself. Though uneven in tone, this is an honest and relatable comedy with strong performances by Eckhart and Lerman. | tt0790623 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Banks, Logan Lerman, Timothy Olyphant, Holmes Osborne, Jessica Alba, Reed Diamond, Craig Bierko, Kristen Wiig, Marisa Coughlan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet Boston Blackie | 1941 | Robert Florey | ★★★ | 61 | First in the Boston Blackie series is a slick and fast-paced mystery-comedy, introducing Morris as the whimsical ex-thief tracking down spies hiding out at Coney Island. Franz Planer's stylish cinematography enhances this solid programmer. | tt0033890 | Chester Morris, Rochelle Hudson, Richard Lane, Charles Wagenheim, Constance Worth | Crime | NULL | |||
| Meet Danny Wilson | 1952 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 86 | Minor but engaging musical about a young singer and his piano-playing pal, who make the mistake of signing a contract with nightclub owner/racketeer Burr— then moving in on his 'girl.' No original songs, but Sinatra does sing plenty of old favorites and even does a winning duet with Winters on 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find.' | tt0044893 | Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet Dave | 2008 | Brian Robbins | ★★ | 90 | High-concept fish-out-of-water family fantasy about tiny aliens who construct a spacecraft in the image of a man (who looks amazingly like Murphy) and come to Earth on a mission to drain its oceans in order to save their own planet. Predictable complications arise in the form of a pretty single mom (Banks), her bullied son, and the discovery of such human emotions as love. Innocuous and overstretched, but easily amused kids may go for it. | tt0765476 | [PG] | Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Scott Caan, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Mike O’Malley, Pat Kilbane, Judah Friedlander, Marc Blucas, Jim Turner, Austyn Lind Myers | Comedy, Family, Romance, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Meet Dr. Christian | 1939 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★ | 63 | Typically folksy entry in film series of small-town doctor who solves everyone's difficulties. | tt0031635 | Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Enid Bennett, Paul Harvey, Marcia Mae Jones, Jackie Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Meet Joe Black | 1998 | Martin Brest | ★★ | 178 | Death comes to claim a billionaire industrialist (Hopkins), and decides to take human form (Pitt), emerging as a mysterious stranger with a childlike manner and a fondness for peanut butter. Odd rethinking of DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY adds subplots that make it go on for days, toward a preposterous and unsatisfying conclusion. Hopkins is terrific, but Death's character simply makes no sense. Sumptuous production design. | tt0119643 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeffrey Tambor, David S. Howard | Fantasy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Meet John Doe | 1941 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 132 | Overlong but interesting social commentary, with naive Cooper hired to spearhead national goodwill drive benefitting corrupt politician Arnold. Wordy idealism can't bury good characterizations; usual Capra touches exulting populism. Virtually all existing prints (from reissue) run 123m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033891 | Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Meet Me After the Show | 1951 | Richard Sale | ★★½ | 86 | Undistinguished Grable musical lacking bounce of her other vehicles, with usual show biz storyline. | tt0043795 | Betty Grable, Macdonald Carey, Rory Calhoun, Eddie Albert, Lois Andrews, Irene Ryan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet Me at the Fair | 1953 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 87 | Dailey is good as a sideshow medicine man who helps a young orphan and courts Lynn; pleasant musical. | tt0046059 | Dan Dailey, Diana Lynn, Hugh O'Brian, Carole Mathews, Rhys Williams, Chet Allen, Scatman Crothers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet Me in Las Vegas | 1956 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 112 | Charisse's dancing is highlight of mild musical involving rancher Dailey and ballet star Cyd in gambling capital. Cameos by many top stars add to the flavor. Liliane Montevecchi is one of the dancers. George Chakiris (billed as Kerris) has a tiny part. | tt0049490 | Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Agnes Moorehead, Lili Darvas, Jim Backus; guest stars Jerry Colonna, Paul Henreid, Lena Horne, Frankie Laine, Mitsuko Sawamura | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet Me in St. Louis | 1944 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★★ | 113 | Captivating musical based on Sally Benson's slice of Americana about a family's experiences during the year of the St. Louis World's Fair, 1903. Judy sings wonderful Ralph Blane-Hugh Martin songs 'The Boy Next Door,' 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' 'The Trolley Song,' while Margaret O'Brien steals every scene she's in as little sister Tootie. (In fact, she won a special Oscar, as the year's best child actress.) Screenplay by Irving Brecher and Fred F. Finklehoffe. Years later adapted for Broadway. | tt0037059 | Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main, June Lockhart, Harry Davenport, Joan Carroll, Hugh Marlowe | Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet Mr. Lucifer | 1953 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★ | 83 | Meek little satire on the evils of television, with Holloway in dual role as Devil and his earthly helper. | tt0046060 | Stanley Holloway, Peggy Cummins, Jack Watling, Barbara Murray, Joseph Tomelty, Gordon Jackson, Jean Cadell, Kay Kendall, Ian Carmichael | British | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Meet Nero Wolfe | 1936 | Herbert J. Biberman | ★★½ | 73 | Rex Stout's corpulent detective makes his screen debut, with Arnold faithfully playing him as demanding and difficult— in short, none too endearing (though he laughs a bit too much); Stander is his legman, Archie. The mystery itself (with two seemingly unrelated murders) is not bad. Bonus: a young and beautiful Rita Cansino (later Hayworth) in a minor role. Followed by THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN. | tt0027952 | Edward Arnold, Lionel Stander, Joan Perry, Victor Jory, Nana Bryant, Dennie Moore | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Meet Wally Sparks | 1997 | Peter Baldwin | ★½ | 104 | Embarrassingly unfunny vehicle for Dangerfield, as a trashy TV talk show host attempting to save his program. Instead of successfully satirizing elements of the morally bankrupt TV talk genre, the screenplay (cowritten by Dangerfield) sinks to its level. Look for mercifully short cameos from Tony Danza, Tim Allen, Roseanne, Jay Leno, and Gilbert Gottfried. | tt0119644 | [R] | Rodney Dangerfield, Debi Mazar, Cindy Williams, Burt Reynolds, David Ogden Stiers, Alan Rachins | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the Applegates | The Applegates | 1991 | Michael Lehmann | ★★½ | 90 | Brazilian beetles in human form assimilate (sort of) in U.S. suburbia, but still manage to stock their quota of human prey in the basement. Spotty, but sometimes funny comedy, wittily designed but marred by a weak conclusion. Released on video, for no apparent reason, as THE APPLEGATES. | tt0100129 | [R] | Ed Begley/Jr., Stockard Channing, Dabney Coleman, Bobby Jacoby, Cami Cooper, Glenn Shadix, Susan Barnes | Comedy | NULL | |
| Meet the Baron | 1933 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 68 | Comic hodgepodge was an attempt to fashion a movie vehicle for radio comedian Pearl, in character as the tale-spinning, malaprop-laden Baron Munchausen. Supporting comics steal the show, especially Healy and his (Three) Stooges. There's also— out of left field— a Busby Berkeleyish musical number with nearly nude coeds singing 'Clean as a Whistle' while taking a shower. | tt0024320 | Jack Pearl, Jimmy Durante, ZaSu Pitts, Ted Healy and His Stooges, Edna May Oliver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Meet the Browns | 2008 | Tyler Perry | ★★ | 100 | Single mother barely making ends meet gets talked into taking her family to the funeral of the father she never met. She gets more than she bargained for: a boisterous extended family, a new romance, and a surprise piece of ol’ dad’s “estate.” Bassett tries to elevate this but it’s typical Perry fodder, veering wildly between broad comedy and overwrought melodrama. Perry appears briefly toward the end as the cross-dressing Madea in a shameless preview for his next feature. Aka TYLER PERRY’S MEET THE BROWNS. | tt1047494 | [PG-13] | Angela Bassett, David Mann, Rick Fox, Irma P. Hall, Jenifer Lewis, Tamela J. Mann, Frankie Faison, Margaret Avery, Lance Gross, Chloe Bailey, Mariana Tolbert, Sofia Vergara, Tyler Perry | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the Chump | 1941 | Edward Cline. | ★★ | 60 | Wacky Herbert plays inept trustee of estate due young Lewis Howard, desperate to find a way to cover the fact that he's dissipated $10 million. Mildly amusing, but generally routine. | tt0033894 | Hugh Herbert, Lewis Howard, Jeanne Kelly (Brooks), Anne Nagel, Kathryn Adams, Shemp Howard, Richard Lane. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Meet the Deedles | 1998 | Steve Boyum | ★½ | 92 | Idiotic BILL & TED clone about twin surfer dude brothers from Hawaii whose filthy rich father schemes to teach them responsibility by dispatching them to a summer camp. Bottom-of-the-barrel Disney wipeout; less discriminating teens might go for it for about three minutes. Hopper plays a villainous ex-park ranger, and Bart the Bear has a cameo. | tt0120645 | [PG] | Steve Van Wormer, Paul Walker, A. J. Langer, John Ashton, Dennis Hopper, Megan Cavanaugh, Eric Braeden, Richard Lineback, M. C. Gainey, Robert Englund | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the Fockers | 2004 | Jay Roach. | ★½ | 115 | Unnecessary follow-up to MEET THE PARENTS has Stiller taking his future in-laws and fiancée Polo to meet his parents. Hoffman and Streisand are the wacky, liberal, free-spirited Fockers; De Niro and Danner are the stuffed-shirt, conservative Byrneses. Together they make humiliation, embarrassment, and misunderstandings the foundation of a lame comedy . . . but the public loved it! De Niro coproduced. | tt0290002 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Alanna Ubach, Tim Blake Nelson, Shelley Berman, Owen Wilson. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the Parents | 2000 | Jay Roach | ★★½ | 108 | A male nurse spends a weekend with his girlfriend's parents, hoping to ask her uptight father for her hand in marriage . . . but the dad is so intimidating that he starts bungling things and can't seem to stop. Funny setup, ideal cast, but the results are frustratingly uneven. Based on a low-budget film of the same name from 1992. De Niro coproduced. Followed by MEET THE FOCKERS. | tt0212338 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, James Rebhorn, Jon Abrahams, Owen Wilson, Phyllis George | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the People | 1944 | Charles Riesner | ★★½ | 100 | Complications follow when shipyard worker Powell convinces stage star Ball to bring to Broadway the 'common man' musical he's coauthored. OK musicomedy; so-so score. | tt0037062 | Lucille Ball, Dick Powell, Virginia O’Brien, Bert Lahr, Rags Ragland, June Allyson, Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra, Spike Jones and His City Slickers, Robert Blake | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Meet the Robinsons | 2007 | Stephen Anderson | ★★½ | 96 | Orphaned boy becomes a science whiz; then one day he's whisked off to the future by a kid in a time-traveling space vehicle. There he meets a family just like the one he's always longed for. Disney CGI cartoon feature follows a wildly uneven story path, and suffers from some lackluster voice performances (including director Anderson as the villain), but finally hits its emotional stride for the home stretch. Based on the book A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce. | tt0396555 | [G] | Voices of Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, Wesley Singerman, Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenney. | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Meet the Spartans | 2008 | Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer | 💣 | 84 | The creators of DATE MOVIE and EPIC MOVIE concocted this moronic, product-placement-laden spoof of the homoeroticism of 300, aimed at adolescent boys. Plot involves King Leonidas of Sparta (Maguire) and his self-adoring, scantily clad warriors as they battle the Persians. Oodles of pop-cultural references are complete duds. | tt1073498 | [PG-13] | Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian, Kevin Sorbo, Diedrich Bader, Method Man, Jareb Dauplaise, Travis Van Winkle, Nicole Parker | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Meet the Stewarts | 1942 | Alfred E. Green. | ★★½ | 73 | Wealthy girl marries hard-working Holden, can't adjust to new financial arrangement; not earthshaking, but enjoyable. | tt0035052 | William Holden, Frances Dee, Grant Mitchell, Anne Revere, Mary Gordon, Marjorie Gateson, Margaret Hamilton, Don Beddoe. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Meeting Evil | 2012 | Chris Fisher | ★★ | 89 | After his wife and kids leave their attractive home, just-fired Wilson is confronted by apparent passerby Jackson, who insists that he accompany him. Wilson is disturbed by Jackson's highly erratic behavior, especially when he begins killing most of the people they encounter. Modestly compelling movie has an intriguing setup, but all the characters are dislikable and there's an annoyingly unresolved ending. Based on the novel by Thomas Berger. | tt1810697 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Wilson, Leslie Bibb, Peyton List, Tracie Thoms, Ryan Lee, Muse Watson, Jillian Batherson | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Meeting Venus | 1991 | Istvan Szabo | ★★★ | 117 | During the tumultuous preparations for a multinational production of Wagner's Tannhauser, a Hungarian conductor (Arestrup) and a Swedish diva (Close, who's outstanding) find themselves involved in an affair. Witty, knowing romantic farce about the politics of art, which also works as a metaphor for the aftereffects of European reunification. Veteran Hungarian director Szabo's first film in English. Close's singing voice is dubbed by Kiri Te Kanewa. | tt0102428 | [PG-13] | Glenn Close, Niels Arestrup, Erland Josephson, Johanna Ter Steege, Jay O. Sanders, Maria de Medeiros, Ildiko Bansagi | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Meetings With Remarkable Men | 1979 | Peter Brook. | ★★½ | 110 | Uneven account of G. I. Gurdjieff (Maksimovic), the famed, inspirational cult leader, focusing on his quest through Asia to uncover the meaning of human existence. Has its moments of insight, but will ultimately be of interest only to those fascinated by the subject. Based on Gurdjieff's memoirs. | tt0079542 | [G] | Terence Stamp, Dragan Maksimovic, Mikica Dimitrijevic, Athol Fugard, Warren Mitchell, Gerry Sundquist, Bruce Myers, Natasha Parry, Martin Benson. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Megaforce | 1982 | Hal Needham | 💣 | 99 | Atrocious bubble-gum movie about an ultra-modern fighting force headed by one Ace Hunter (Bostwick, badly miscast). Embarrassing performances, clunky hardware, uninspired action scenes. | tt0084316 | [PG] | Barry Bostwick, Persis Khambatta, Michael Beck, Edward Mulhare, George Furth, Henry Silva | Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Megamind | 2010 | Tom McGrath | ★★ | 96 | Two infants are rocketed to Earth—just like you-know-who—before their planets are destroyed. One becomes a handsome hero called Metro Man, while the other leads a star-crossed life as Megamind, inept master villain. When Megamind finally manages to subdue his adversary, life loses all meaning—until he gets to know a crusading female TV reporter. CGI-animated feature is long on wisecracks and attitude (over the heads of little kids), but when the story finally kicks into gear it’s fun to watch. | tt1001526 | [PG] | Voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Ben Stiller, J. K. Simmons. | Comedy, Animation, Action | NULL | ||
| Megiddo | 2001 | Brian Trenchard-Smith | ★½ | 106 | From the people who brought you THE OMEGA CODE (this was subtitled in ads as OMEGA CODE 2) comes another tale of York's desire for world domination. This one includes a flashback of the bad seed's childhood, and his relationship with his brother (Biehn). Silly, pathetic; just another attempt to capitalize on the intriguing premise of Armageddon. | tt0263728 | [PG-13] | Michael York, Michael Biehn, Diane Venora, R. Lee Ermey, Udo Kier, Franco Nero, Jim Metzler | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mein Kampf | 1961 | Erwin Leiser | ★★★ | 117 | Technically smooth, impressive documentary chronicle of the horrors of Nazi Germany. Restrained narration allows the visuals to speak for themselves. | tt0052635 | Narrated by Claude Stephenson | Swedish | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Melancholia | 2011 | Lars von Trier | ★★ | 135 | Apocalypse in two parts: first, bride Dunst suffers from clinical depression, which puts an end to her wedding reception; second, she and her sister Gainsbourg face the possibility of newly discovered planet Melancholia colliding with Earth. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Potentially intriguing—and often gripping—meditation about fate and the reconciliation of personal pain grows increasingly tiresome and symbolically ludicrous, despite a brave cast that takes it all as seriously as writer-director von Trier. Nonetheless, many critics hailed this as a masterpiece. Strikingly photographed by Manuel Alberto Claro, particularly an opening series of slow-motion scenes that render the rest of the film almost unnecessary. | tt0097861 | [R] | Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, Jesper Christensen, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgård, Udo Kier, Kiefer Sutherland | Danish-Swedish-French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Melba | 1953 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 113 | Occasionally interesting biography of Australian opera star Nellie Melba. | tt0046062 | Patrice Munsel, Robert Morley, Sybil Thorndike, Martita Hunt, John McCallum | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Melinda | 1972 | Hugh A. Robertson | ★½ | 109 | Black disc jockey goes after his girlfriend's killers in violent melodrama; typical of the films that helped kill the blaxploitation genre. | tt0068934 | [R] | Calvin Lockhart, Rosalind Cash, Vonetta McGee, Paul Stevens, Rockne Tarkington | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Melinda and Melinda | 2005 | Woody Allen. | ★★ | 100 | Two playwrights discuss how they would approach a story they've heard about a young woman who shows up unannounced on an old friend's Manhattan doorstep— one in comedic terms, the other dramatic. Both stories unfold but don't lead anywhere; meandering film offers echoes and reminders of earlier, better Allen movies, though it serves as a good showcase for Mitchell. Ferrell's dialogue is stuffed with Woodyesque one-liners. | tt0378947 | [PG-13] | Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Amanda Peet, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Brooke Smith, Josh Brolin, Gene Saks, Vinessa Shaw, Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Melody | 1971 | Waris Hussein | ★★★ | 103 | Adolescent view of life, disarmingly played by Lester and Wild (from OLIVER!) as friends who rebel against adult establishment, particularly when Lester and girlfriend Hyde decide they want to get married. Music by The Bee Gees. | tt0067418 | [G] | Jack Wild, Mark Lester, Tracy Hyde, Sheila Steafel, Kate Williams, Roy Kinnear | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Melody Cruise | 1933 | Mark Sandrich | ★★½ | 76 | Sexy (pre-Production Code) musical comedy with Harris romancing Mack and Ruggles providing the laughs. Notable for its imaginative use of photography and optical effects, which virtually steal the show. Director Sandrich went on to do the Astaire-Rogers musicals. Look for Betty Grable in a bit. | tt0024323 | Charlie Ruggles, Phil Harris, Helen Mack, Greta Nissen, Chick Chandler, June Brewster | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Melody Ranch | 1940 | Joseph Santley. | ★★★ | 84 | Radio star Autry goes back to his hometown to get more authentic Western experience. Entertaining attempt to put Gene into a larger-scale musical, but with Durante, Vera Vague, and Gabby dominating so much of the footage it seems like even the comedy relief has comedy relief. Not aimed at Autry purists. Gene sings 'We Never Dream the Same Dream Twice.' | tt0032779 | Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, Ann Miller, Barton MacLane, Barbara Allen (Vera Vague), George 'Gabby' Hayes, Mary Lee, Joe Sawyer, Jerome Cowan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Melody Time | 1948 | Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney, Wilfred Jackson. | ★★★ | 75 | Alternately cute and arty mélange of Disney cartoon shorts lines up several winners in a row: the greeting-card charm of 'Once Upon a Wintertime,' the surreally frenetic 'Bumble Boogie,' a jaunty 'Johnny Appleseed,' the prairie saga of 'Pecos Bill,' the return of Jose Carioca in 'Blame It on the Samba,' the somber Joyce Kilmer poem 'Trees,' and more. | tt0040580 | Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan and The Sons of the Pioneers, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, The Andrews Sisters, Ethel Smith, The Dinning Sisters, Freddy Martin and His Orchestra, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians. | Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Melody Trail | 1935 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 60 | Autry's second starring film for Republic is essentially a comedy involving mistaken identities, with a baby-stealing dog, Smiley's antics, and a fast-paced action climax. Nothing special, but it did set the tone for Gene's— and other similar cowboys'— future Westerns. | tt0026697 | Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, Smiley Burnette, Wade Boteler, Willy Costello, Al Bridge, Fern Emmett, Marie Quillan, Gertrude Messinger. | Western | NULL | |||
| Melody for Three | 1941 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★ | 67 | Wray's presence uplifts this adequate entry in Hersholt's Dr. Christian series; she's the music-teacher mother of violin prodigy Standish, and is divorced from orchestra conductor King. You canbe sure that, by the final reel, the kindly doctor will reunite them. | tt0033898 |
|
Jean Hersholt, Fay Wray, Walter Woolf King, Astrid Allwyn, Schuyler Standish, Irene Ryan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Melvin and Howard | 1980 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★½ | 95 | Wonderful slice-of-life comedy based on the story of Melvin Dummar, who once gave a lift to a grizzled Howard Hughes and later produced a will naming himself as heir to the Hughes fortune. An endearing, bittersweet American fable, with Oscar winner Steenburgen providing most of the comic highlights, including a memorable TV talent contest. Bo Goldman's script also won an Academy Award. (That's the real Melvin Dummar behind a bus station lunch counter.) | tt0081150 | [R] | Paul LeMat, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Jack Kehoe, Pamela Reed, Dabney Coleman, Michael J. Pollard, Gloria Grahame, Elizabeth Cheshire, Martine Beswicke, Charles Napier, John Glover | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Member of the Wedding | 1952 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★ | 91 | Carson McCullers' sensitive account of child Harris prodded into growing up by her brother's forthcoming marriage. Waters, Harris, and de Wilde movingly recreate their Broadway roles, the latter two making their film debuts. Slow but worthwhile. Remade for cable TV in 1997. | tt0044896 | Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, Brandon de Wilde, Arthur Franz, Nancy Gates, James Edwards | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Member of the Wedding | 1997 | Fielder Cook | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Heartfelt version of Carson McCullers' novel and play about a young white girl's struggle with adolescence and her relationship with the family cook in mid-1940s Georgia. Woodard is splendid and Oscar-winning New Zealander Paquin makes her American TV debut as Frankie. Filmed before in 1952; a 1982 'live' TV version starred Pearl Bailey. Made for cable. | tt0119649 | Alfre Woodard, Anna Paquin, Corey Dunn, Enrico Colantoni, Pat Hingle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Memed My Hawk | 1987 | Peter Ustinov | ★★ | 101 | Disappointing drama with Ustinov cast as Abdi Aga, slimy, self-centered dictator of a Turkish village. Boring, despite the cast. Scripted by Ustinov, from the Yashar Kemal novel. | tt0087706 | [PG-13] | Peter Ustinov, Herbert Lom, Denis Quilley, Michael Elphick, Simon Dutton, Leonie Mellinger, Barry Dennen, Siobhan McKenna, T.P. McKenna, Michael Gough | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Memento | 2001 | Christopher Nolan | ★½ | 113 | A man with short-term memory loss tries to keep his life in order while avenging his wife's murder. Is he being helped, or manipulated, by the people around him? Pretentious pap plays with storytelling conventions and juggles 'real time,' but adds up to zero (though the film has many ardent fans). | tt0209144 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone/Jr., Stephen Tobolowsky, Jorja Fox, Callum Keith Rennie | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Memoirs of a Geisha | 2005 | Rob Marshall | ★★½ | 144 | Sumptuous adaptation of Arthur Golden's bestseller about a young peasant woman's training in the art of the geisha, even as its traditions collide with the demands of increasingly modern times and WW2. Intriguing story is Hollywoodized at every turn but still reasonably entertaining thanks to the presence of Zhang, Yeoh, and Li. Spectacular production that earned Oscars for Art-Set Decoration (John Myhre, Gretchen Rau), Costumes (Colleen Atwood), and Cinematography (Dion Beebe). | tt0397535 | [PG-13] | Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Koji Yakusho, Youki Kudoh, Kaori Momoi, Tsai Chin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Randall Duk Kim, Mako, Ted Levine | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Memoirs of a Survivor | 1981 | David Gladwell | ★½ | 117 | Christie's presence cannot save this dismal, badly directed fantasy about a woman and a teenager (Mellinger) surviving in a decayed urban civilization. Good idea— film is based on a Doris Lessing novel— but poorly realized. | tt0082733 | Julie Christie, Christopher Guard, Leonie Mellinger, Debbie Hutchings, Nigel Hawthorne, Pat Keen | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Memoirs of an Invisible Man | 1992 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 99 | Clever (but endless) special effects are the star of this stale, paper-thin dud. Chase plays a securities analyst who's rendered invisible after an accident, and finds himself involved in a by-the-numbers spy scenario. | tt0104850 | [PG-13] | Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill, Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Rosalind Chao | Comedy, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Memories of Me | 1988 | Henry Winkler | ★★ | 105 | A heart surgeon, who recently suffered a heart attack himself, seeks out his father, from whom he's been estranged, hoping to put his life in order. Contrived comedy-drama combines comic shtick with mawkish emotional scenes and never quite manages to be convincing. Crystal cowrote the screenplay and coproduced with King. | tt0095613 | [PG-13] | Billy Crystal, Alan King, JoBeth Williams, Janet Carroll, David Ackroyd, Phil Fondacaro, Robert Pastorelli, Sidney Miller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Memory of Justice | 1976 | Marcel Ophüls | ★★★★ | 278 | Outstanding documentary from the director of THE SORROW AND THE PITY questions how one country can pass judgment on the atrocities of others by examining the Nuremberg trials and their aftermath, the French performance in Algeria and the American intervention in Vietnam. Always riveting in spite of its mammoth length. | tt0074891 | [PG] | German-U.S. | Documentary, War | NULL | ||
| Memory of Us | 1974 | H. Kaye Dyal | ★★½ | 93 | Modest, interesting contemporary drama about a happily married woman who begins to question her role as wife and mother; script by star Ellen Geer, whose father Will makes brief appearance. | tt0071830 | [PG] | Ellen Geer, Jon Cypher, Barbara Colby, Peter Brown, Robert Hogan, Rose Marie, Will Geer | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Memory of a Killer | 2003 | Erik Van Looy | ★★★ | 123 | An aging professional assassin (Decleir) in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease refuses to carry out a hit on a 12-year-old prostitute and tries to help the cops nail the powerful Baron who hired him-before he loses his memory. Gripping police procedural/character study is as slick and stylish as any American crime thriller, while offering stinging social commentary with a worldly European sensibility. | tt0374345 | [R] | Jan Decleir, Koen De Bouw, Werner De Smedt, Hilde De Baerdemaeker, Geert Van Rampelberg, Jo De Meyere, Tom Van Dyck | Belgian-Dutch | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Memphis Belle | 1990 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★ | 101 | If you can make it through the first hour (a virtual catalogue of war-movie clichés) this film ultimately provides an exciting fictional reenactment of the famous B-17's final bombing raid over Germany during WW2. Still, it's hard to believe that such a cornball script could be concocted in 1990. Coproduced by Catherine Wyler, whose father, William Wyler, made the 1944 documentary THE MEMPHIS BELLE. | tt0100133 | [PG-13] | Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Harry Connick/Jr., Reed Edward Diamond, Courtney Gains, Neil Giuntoli, David Strathairn, John Lithgow, Jane Horrocks | British | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Men | 1998 | Zoe Clarke-Williams | ★★ | 93 | Trite, pretentious tearjerker about a young woman whose journey of self-discovery and sexual fulfillment takes her from N.Y. to California, where she gets involved with a married middle-aged man and a radical young photographer. Young is good, even if she's too old for the part, but much of her dialogue is unintentionally funny. Karen Black, who cowrote the script, livens things up with a cameo as a blind lesbian with an indecipherable accent. | tt0119653 | [R] | Sean Young, John Heard, Dylan Walsh, Richard Hillman/Jr., Karen Black, Beau Starr, Shawnee Smith, Glenn Shadix, Annie McEnroe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men . . . | 1985 | Doris Dörrie | ★★★½ | 95 | Ingenious comedy-satire about an uptight adman who becomes haplessly jealous when he learns that his wife's having an affair. He promptly befriends her lover and becomes his roommate, with hilarious results. | tt0089656 | Heiner Lauterbach, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Ulrike Kriener, Janna Marangosoff | German | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Men Against the Sky | 1940 | Leslie Goodwins. | ★½ | 75 | Dix is a defamed ex-pilot who becomes involved with the invention of a state-of-the-art wing design at an aircraft factory. Uninspired and uninspiring drama. | tt0032781 | Richard Dix, Wendy Barrie, Kent Taylor, Edmund Lowe, Granville Bates, Grant Withers. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Men Are Not Gods | 1936 | Walter Reisch | ★★½ | 90 | Talky predecessor to A DOUBLE LIFE, with Harrison et al. almost making their play-acting Othello come true. | tt0027954 | Miriam Hopkins, Gertrude Lawrence, Sebastian Shaw, Rex Harrison, A.E. Matthews | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men Don't Leave | 1990 | Paul Brickman | ★★★ | 115 | Widowed Lange, left broke with two sons, relocates from small-town Maryland to downtown Baltimore high rise. Erratic but well-performed comedy-drama is compromised by introduction of movie-predictable Mr. Right. Good moments abound, though, particularly between Lange and Cusack. And ultimately, film offers a good cry. Brickman's second directorial credit, following a seven-year layoff after RISKY BUSINESS. Remake of French film LA VIE CONTINUE. | tt0100134 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Arliss Howard, Joan Cusack, Chris O'Donnell, Charlie Korsmo, Kathy Bates | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men Must Fight | 1933 | Edgar Selwyn | ★★★ | 72 | Top-notch drama in which nurse Wynyard falls for ill-fated flyer Young during WW1 and becomes pregnant; the scenario eventually jumps ahead to 1940, with the world on the brink of a new Great War. This powder keg of a film is fascinating on many levels, particularly as it looks into the 'future' and uncannily depicts the world at war and the mainstream popularity of television. | tt0024325 | Diana Wynyard, Lewis Stone, Phillips Holmes, May Robson, Ruth Selwyn, Robert Young, Hedda Hopper | Drama, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | |||
| The Men Who Stare at Goats | 2009 | Grant Heslov | ★★ | 94 | Reporter McGregor stumbles onto the story of a bold, New Agey experimental unit formed by the U.S. Army in the 1980s to train so-called Jedi warriors to use paranormal powers in the cause of peace. Then he meets one of the unit’s stars (Clooney), now supposedly retired, and tags along for a series of misadventures in Iraq. Sporadically amusing but never quite delivers on its promise and squanders an A-list quartet of stars. Based on Jon Ronson’s nonfiction book. | tt1234548 | [R] | George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Root, Robert Patrick, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Mader, Glenn Morshower | U.S.-British | Comedy, War | NULL | |
| The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | 1945 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★½ | 60 | Lyrical, humanistic (if modestly produced) fable, set in the 12th century and based on a Kabuki play about a lord who is being hunted by his brother; he and six generals dress as monks and set out on a journey across a heavily fortified barrier. Banned first by Japanese censors, who alleged it was not true to its source material, then by the country's post-WW2 military occupiers because of its depiction of feudal militarism; released in 1953. Enomoto is especially good as a porter. | tt0038182 | Denjiro Okochi, Susumu Fujita, Kenichi Enomoto, Suhu Nishina, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men With Guns | 1998 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 126 | Dedicated, idealistic Central American doctor decides to track down former students from a government-sponsored program to bring good medicine to remote villages and tribes. This trek becomes an odyssey of discovery for the affluent but naive doctor, who acquires some unlikely companions along the way. Writer-director Sayles takes us on a road we've never traveled before— in Spanish, no less— and though it's long, it's a fascinating journey. | tt0119657 | [R] | Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, Dan Rivera González, Damián Alcázar, Mandy Patinkin, Katherine Grody, Tania Cruz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men With Wings | 1938 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 105 | Fictional tale of the epic of flight, with usual love triangle. After good start, it drags on. Donald O'Connor is one of the kids in the opening scenes. | tt0022139 | Fred MacMurray, Louise Campbell, Ray Milland, Andy Devine, Walter Abel, Virginia Weidler | Drama | NULL | |||
| Men Without Souls | 1940 | Nick Grinde. | ★★ | 62 | Strictly standard prison film, with young Ford caught up in prison scandal. MacLane repeats role from dozens of other big-house epics. | tt0032783 | Barton MacLane, John Litel, Rochelle Hudson, Glenn Ford, Don Beddoe, Cy Kendall. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Men Without Women | 1930 | John Ford. | ★★★ | 73 | Accomplished early talkie is the granddaddy of all submarine-trapped-on-the-bottom-of-the-ocean movies; subplot involves a disgraced British naval officer posing as an American on board the sub. Starts as a slam-bang action comedy and turns into a tense study of courage, cowardice, and grace under pressure. Keep an eye out for John Wayne as a member of the rescue crew. Surviving prints blend some talkie sequences with silent footage, music, and sound effects. | tt0021140 | Kenneth MacKenna, Frank Albertson, Paul Page, Walter McGrail, Warren Hymer, J. Farrell MacDonald, Stuart Erwin. | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Men at Work | 1990 | Emilio Estevez | ★★ | 99 | Estevez and real-life brother Sheen play garbage men whose freewheeling lifestyle is interrupted when they discover a dead body along their route. Estevez also wrote the screenplay. Laurel and Hardy they're not, but this sibling duo does provide some undemanding fun— if you check your brain at the door. | tt0100135 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Leslie Hope, Keith David, Dean Cameron, John Getz, Cameron Dye, John Putch | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Men in Black | 1997 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★★ | 98 | Hip, funny spin on the usual sci-fi invasion saga. Street-smart NYPD cop Smith is recruited to join Jones on the super-secret team that keeps an eye on thousands of aliens who already populate our planet, without most of us knowing it. When one especially violent visitor starts acting up, it's a race to find the prize he's looking for before Earth is destroyed. Outrageous and original at every turn, with great aliens by Rick Baker (Academy Award winner for Best Makeup, with David LeRoy Anderson), sharp pacing that never lets up, and a snappy script by Ed Solomon, based on the Malibu comic by Lowell Cunningham. Followed by a sequel and an animated TV series. | tt0119654 | [PG-13] | Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shalhoub, Siobhan Fallon | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Men in Black 3 | 2012 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★★ | 105 | Fearsome alien criminal named Boris the Animal (Clement) escapes from lunar prison seeking revenge on Agent K (Jones), who sent him up and shot off his arm. Agent J (Smith) soon realizes that the only way he can fend off this villain, and a larger threat he poses, is to travel back in time to 1969, the time of his arrest. Once there he meets the much-younger version of K (Brolin), who hasn't yet become the taciturn partner he knows so well. Clever, complex extension of the MEN IN BLACK premise by writer Etan Cohen draws on the affection we have for the Smith-Jones relationship from 1997. Eye-popping production designed by Bo Welch, with Rick Baker aliens, Ken Ralston and Jay Redd visual effects, and Danny Elfman music. Great fun. | tt1409024 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Bill Hader, Nicole Scherzinger, David Rasche | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Men in Black II | 2002 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★ | 88 | Agent Smith tries to coax Agent Jones out of retirement to help fight humankind's latest enemy, an alien in the form of a seductress who can morph into other less-appealing creatures at will. All the fun and freshness of the first film have evaporated in this sequel, which feels as if it was manufactured, like so much product. Cheesy, unconvincing special effects don't help, and celebrity cameos offer only fleeting chuckles. A talking dog gets most of the good lines. | tt0120912 | [PG-13] | Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Rip Torn, Lara Flynn Boyle, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, Patrick Warburton, Johnny Knoxville | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Men in Her Diary | 1945 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 73 | Zesty comedy of jealous wife, helpless husband, and knockout secretary; vivacious Allbritton, who never really got her due in films, is seen to good advantage here. | tt0037908 |
|
Peggy Ryan, Jon Hall, Louise Allbritton, Ernest Truex, Virginia Grey, William Terry, Alan Mowbray, Eric Blore, Maxie Rosenbloom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Men in Her Life | 1941 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 90 | Ballerina Young marries her dancing teacher but recalls many suitors she's known in the past. Fairly interesting love-life saga. | tt0033900 | Loretta Young, Conrad Veidt, Dean Jagger, Eugenie Leontovich, John Shepperd (Shepperd Strudwick), Otto Kruger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Men in War | 1957 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 104 | Standard war film set in Korea in 1950s, with good action scenes distinguishing usual story. | tt0050699 | Robert Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith, Vic Morrow, James Edwards, Scott Marlowe, Victor Sen Yung | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Men in White | 1934 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 80 | Sterling cast in sterile filming of Sidney Kingsley's play; Gable is doctor torn between study with Hersholt and marriage to society girl Loy. | tt0025489 | Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Jean Hersholt, Elizabeth Allan, Otto Kruger, Wallace Ford, Henry B. Walthall, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama | NULL | |||
| Men of America | 1932 | Ralph Ince. | ★★★ | 57 | Interesting Depression-era Western has rancher Boyd the object of suspicion when gangsters on the lam murder a local farmer. Boyd must avoid a lynching by rounding up the gang. Pre-'Hopalong Cassidy' Boyd, wearing a black shirt but a white hat here, fills the role nicely. Produced by David O. Selznick. | tt0023208 | William Boyd, Charles 'Chic' Sale, Dorothy Wilson, Ralph Ince, Henry Armetta, Alphonse Ethier, Theresa Maxwell Conover, Eugene Strong, Fatty Layman. | Drama, Crime, Western | NULL | |||
| Men of Boys Town | 1941 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 106 | If you liked BOYS TOWN . . . | tt0033902 | Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Bobs Watson, Larry Nunn, Darryl Hickman, Henry O'Neill, Lee J. Cobb | Drama | NULL | |||
| Men of Honor | 2000 | George Tillman/Jr | ★★★ | 129 | Old-fashioned but rock-solid biopic of Carl Brashear, the first African-American to become a Navy diver, in the 1950s. Gooding is sincere and believable as a young man of extraordinary determination, even in the face of abuse from his superiors— including diver-turned-instructor De Niro. A real crowd-pleaser, if not exactly true to life. | tt0203019 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis, Hal Holbrook, David Keith, Michael Rapaport, Powers Boothe, Joshua Leonard, Glynn Turman, Carl Lumbly, Lonette McKee | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men of Respect | 1991 | William Reilly | ★½ | 113 | Pretentious modern-day Macbeth: Hood Turturro, pushed by an ambitious wife, rises to the top by helping blow away mob rivals. The classic sleepwalking scene (you keep wondering how it will be staged) takes place in a courtyard with Borowitz carrying a flashlight! Overacted and underlit. Columbia Pictures' first gangster/Shakespeare hybrid since JOE MACBETH; we're in no hurry for them to try it again. | tt0102432 | [R] | John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Dennis Farina, Peter Boyle, Rod Steiger, Lilia Skala, Steven Wright, Stanley Tucci | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men of Sherwood Forest | 1954 | Val Guest | ★★ | 77 | Yet another Robin Hood yarn, with Taylor properly sword-wielding and cavalier. | tt0047229 | Don Taylor, Reginald Beckwith, Eileen Moore, David King Wood | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Men of Two Worlds | 1946 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★ | 107 | Unhappy conglomeration of clichés about well-meaning British officials trying to protect natives in Africa. Retitled WITCH DOCTOR. | tt0038736 | Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman, Robert Adams, Cathleen Nesbitt, Orlando Martins, Cyril Raymond | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Men of the Fighting Lady | 1954 | Andrew Marton | ★★★ | 80 | Above-par Korean War actioner, focusing on lives of men on U. S. aircraft carrier. | tt0047230 | Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern, Dewey Martin, Keenan Wynn, Frank Lovejoy, Robert Horton, Bert Freed | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Men's Club | 1986 | Peter Medak | 💣 | 100 | Jumbled, barely released expansion of Leonard Michaels' novel (scripted by the author) about seven males who try starting an encounter group in Jordan's home. Undistinguished performances despite that interesting cast; only noteworthy aspect is the elegant brothel for high-rollers, 'The House of Affection.' Ridiculous finale. | tt0091508 | [R] | David Dukes, Richard Jordan, Harvey Keitel, Frank Langella, Roy Scheider, Craig Wasson, Treat Williams, Stockard Channing, Cindy Pickett, Gwen Welles, Ann Dusenberry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ann Wedgeworth | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Men | Battle Stripe | 1950 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★½ | 85 | Brando excels in film debut as ex-GI adjusting to life in wheelchair after wartime injury; low-key acting is most effective. Story and screenplay by Carl Foreman. Retitled: BATTLE STRIPE. | tt0042727 | Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright, Everett Sloane, Jack Webb, Richard Erdman, Dorothy Tree, Howard St. John, DeForest Kelley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Menace II Society | 1993 | Allen and Albert Hughes | ★★★ | 97 | Powerful, unflinching story of life in the Watts district of Los Angeles and one teenager (Turner) who is too immersed in that violent world to get out. Social points are often hammered home, but the atmosphere of tension and random brutality is captured with searing authenticity. Extremely bloody (and profane) but gripping and well acted in naturalistic fashion. Strong debut by Hughes Brothers, who also cowrote story with screenwriter Tyger Williams. | tt0107554 | [R] | Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, Jada Pinkett, Vonte Sweet, MC Eiht, Ryan Williams, Too $hort, Samuel L. Jackson, Charles Dutton, Glenn Plummer, Bill Duke | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Menace in the Night | 1958 | Lance Comfort. | ★½ | 78 | Tired tale of witness to murder being pressured by gang not to testify. | tt0051921 | Griffith Jones, Lisa Gastoni, Vincent Ball, Eddie Byrne. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Menace | 1932 | Roy William Neill | ★★ | 64 | Man seeks revenge on his stepmother and her cohorts, who framed him for his father's murder. Based on an Edgar Wallace story; handsome, but stodgy, and pretty obvious. Davis plays a demure British ingenue. | tt0020875 | H. B. Warner, Bette Davis, Walter Byron, Natalie Moorhead, William B. Davidson, Crauford Kent | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Menage | 1986 | Bertrand Blier | ★★★ | 84 | Outrageous, fast-paced farce about a roguish, gay crook (Depardieu), who thoroughly disrupts the lives of an impoverished couple (Blanc and Miou-Miou)— sexually and otherwise. Peters out at the end but still worth a look. | tt0092068 | Gérard Depardieu, Michel Blanc, Miou-Miou, Bruno Cremer, Jean-Pierre Marielle | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mephisto | 1981 | Istvan Szabo | ★★★ | 135 | Brandauer is magnetic as a vain, brilliant German actor who sells himself to gain prestige when the Nazis come to power. Engrossing drama is handsomely produced if a bit uneven. Based on a novel by Klaus Mann, son of Thomas, who committed suicide allegedly because he could not get the book published. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. First of a trilogy, followed by COLONEL REDL and HANUSSEN. | tt0082736 | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Ildiko Bansagi, Karin Boyd, Rolf Hoppe | Hungarian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mephisto Waltz | 1971 | Paul Wendkos | ★★★ | 108 | Chiller about young journalist who falls prey to Satanic cult after meeting dying concert pianist Jurgens; good occult story with some truly frightening moments. Adapted by Ben Maddow from the Fred Mustard Stewart novel. | tt0067419 | [R] | Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Parkins, Curt Jurgens, Brad Dillman, William Windom, Kathleen Widdoes | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mercenary | A Professional Gun | 1968 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★½ | 105 | Better-than-average Italian pasta Western with loads of action and violence and a welcome serving of humor. At odds with one another: a stalwart mercenary (Nero), his sadistic rival (Palance), a patriotic revolutionary (Musante), a lusty peasant girl, a greedy mineowner. Video title: A PROFESSIONAL GUN. | tt0063293 | [PG] | Franco Nero, Tony Musante, Jack Palance, Giovanna Ralli | Italian | Western | NULL |
| The Merchant of Four Seasons | 1971 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★ | 88 | Fruit peddler trapped in unhappy marriage and frustrated with life disintegrates mentally and emotionally in this surprisingly rich and poignant meditation on mundane existence and failed dreams. | tt0067227 | Hans Hirschmuller, Irm Hermann, Hanna Schygulla, Andrea Schober. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Merchant of Venice | William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice | 2004 | Michael Radford. | ★★★½ | 126 | Intelligent, frequently riveting adaptation of Shakespeare's controversial tale of Shylock (Pacino), a Jewish moneylender in 1596 Venice, and his plight after advancing 3,000 ducats to merchant Irons. Shylock may have been fashioned as a caricature, but Radford (who also adapted the play) presents the character sympathetically and emphasizes that, in 16th-century Venice, Jews were the victims of prejudice. Exceedingly well acted, particularly by Pacino (despite his New York accent). Aka WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. | tt0379889 | [R] | Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins, Zuleikha Robinson, Kris Marshall, Charlie Cox, Heather Goldenhersh, Mackenzie Crook, John Sessions, Gregor Fisher, Ron Cook, Allan Corduner. | U.S.-Italian-British-Luxembourg | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Merci Docteur Rey | 2003 | Andrew Litvack. | ★★ | 91 | Campy mystery-comedy involving a young phone-sex fanatic, his diva mother, and several other oddball characters, including a Vanessa Redgrave wannabe (and the star herself, in a brief cameo). Murder, mayhem, and, sadly, a shortage of real wit fill this mixed bag. Without the talents of the glorious Wiest and the sublime Paris locations there would be little to recommend here. A Merchant-Ivory production. | tt0338249 | Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin, Stanislas Merhar, Bulle Ogier, Karim Salah, Simon Callow, Jerry Hall, Vanessa Redgrave. | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Merci Pour le Chocolat | Nightcap | 2000 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 99 | Swiss heiress remarries her first husband, a piano virtuoso. Then an attractive young female pianist shows up and reveals she may be part of the family. Subdued psychological thriller is mostly nuanced talk, with Chabrol favorite Huppert well suited to the role of perverse matriarch. Aka NIGHTCAP. | tt0232083 | Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, Anna Mouglalis, Rodolphe Pauly, Brigitte Catillon | French-Swiss | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Mercury Rising | 1998 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 112 | An autistic nine-year-old boy innocently cracks a top-secret government code; cold-eyed bureaucrat Baldwin orders him killed, while over-the-hill FBI agent Willis tries to protect him. Except for the boy's autism, a routine suspense thriller, but well made and interesting throughout. Willis's standard action hero character shows a softer side here, while Baldwin plays an out-and-out heavy. | tt0120749 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens, Robert Stanton, Bodhi Pine Elfman, Carrie Preston, L. L. Ginter, Camryn Manheim | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Meridian | 1990 | Charles Band | ★★ | 85 | Gothic tale about art student (Fenn) who becomes heiress to Italian castle— and its curse. OK variation on Beauty and the Beast doesn't hold up past the first hour, in spite of extensive nudity. Aka KISS OF THE BEAST. From Full Moon. | tt0100139 | [R] | Sherilyn Fenn, Malcolm Jamieson, Charlie, Hilary Mason, Alex Daniels | Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Romance | NULL | ||
| Merlin | 1998 | Steve Barron | Above Average TV Movie | 180 | In this exhilarating, effects-driven, multimillion-dollar fantasy based on the Arthurian legend, the true stars are those wizards toiling in London's FrameStore and the Jim Henson Creature Shop, crafting a dazzling array of form-shifting, morphing characters who people this magical tale set in Camelot. Look fast for the venerable Gielgud, who despite prominent billing is on screen for less than 10 seconds and utters a word or two before the title credits. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0130414 | [PG] | Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, John Gielgud, Rutger Hauer, Miranda Richardson, Isabella Rossellini, Martin Short, Billie Whitelaw; voice of James Earl Jones | Drama, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mermaids | 1990 | Richard Benjamin | ★★★ | 111 | Saucy, sexy single mother of two is a source of constant embarrassment to her teenage daughter, who's trying to deal with her own sexual awakening— and not having an easy time of it. Lively mix of comedy and drama set in New England in the early 1960s. Funny and affecting, with a standout performance by Ryder; based on a novel by Patty Dann. | tt0100140 | [PG-13] | Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Michael Schoeffling, Christina Ricci, Caroline McWilliams, Jan Miner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Merrill's Marauders | 1962 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 98 | Gritty war film; a WW2 actioner with Chandler (his last screen role) cast as Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, leader of a band of GIs battling the Japanese in the Burmese jungle. Fuller coscripted. | tt0056234 | Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin, Peter Brown, Andrew Duggan, Will Hutchins, Claude Akins, John Hoyt | Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Merrily We Go to Hell | 1932 | Dorothy Arzner | ★½ | 78 | Plodding story (despite intriguing title) of heiress Sidney marrying reporter March on whim, discovering that he's a problem drinker. Starts well but sinks fast. | tt0023213 | Fredric March, Sylvia Sidney, Adrianne Allen, Skeets Gallagher, Kent Taylor, Cary Grant | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Merrily We Live | 1938 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 90 | It's all been done before, but fluttery Burke hires suave Aherne as butler to tame spoiled Bennett. Engaging fun. | tt0030442 | Constance Bennett, Brian Aherne, Alan Mowbray, Billie Burke, Bonita Granville, Tom Brown, Ann Dvorak, Patsy Kelly | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Merry Andrew | 1958 | Michael Kidd | ★★½ | 103 | Danny is a British teacher-archeologist with a yen for the circus and one of its performers (Angeli) in this bright musicomedy. Not as wacky as earlier Kaye efforts, but good. | tt0051924 | Danny Kaye, Pier Angeli, Baccaloni, Robert Coote | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence | 1983 | Nagisa Oshima. | ★★★ | 122 | Oshima's first film in English (for the most part) is strange, haunting drama set in Japanese POW camp, centering on test of wills between martinet commander Sakamoto and British major Bowie. Quite rewarding for those willing to stick with it, but it does take some effort; splendid performances all around, especially Takeshi as tough sergeant and Conti as title character, camp's only bilingual prisoner. Japanese music superstar Sakamoto also composed the score. | tt0085933 | [R] | Tom Conti, David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi, Jack Thompson. | British-Japanese | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Merry Frinks | 1934 | Alfred E. Green. | ★★★ | 67 | Warm, wacky portrait of an eccentric family living in a tiny N.Y.C. apartment, including drunk sportswriter Herbert, hardworking wife MacMahon, and their three annoying kids. Long-lost uncle Kibbee leaves MacMahon a fortune on the condition she leaves the crazy clan. Endearing mix of sentiment and screwball comedy. | tt0025492 | Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins, Helen Lowell, Joan Wheeler, Frankie Darro, Ivan Lebedeff, Harold Huber, Louise Beavers. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Merry Gentleman | 2009 | Michael Keaton | ★★★ | 96 | Austere but stylish chamber thriller about a woman (Macdonald) fleeing an abusive husband (Cannavale) who tries to start a new life in Chicago. Extremely vulnerable, she keeps to herself but strikes up a relationship with another loner (Keaton) who, unbeknownst to her, works as a hit man. Impressive directorial debut for Keaton, working from Ron Lazzeretti’s screenplay, but it’s Macdonald who really makes the film worth seeing. | tt0967945 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Kelly Macdonald, Tom Bastounes, Bobby Cannavale, Darlene Hunt, Guy Van Swearingen, William Dick | Drama | NULL | ||
| Merry Go Round of 1938 | 1937 | Irving Cummings. | ★★½ | 87 | Disappointing backstage story with sentimental overtones as comedy foursome adopts little girl. Good specialty acts, great cast make tired tale endurable. | tt0029234 | Bert Lahr, Jimmy Savo, Billy House, Mischa Auer, Alice Brady, Joy Hodges, Louise Fazenda. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Merry Monahans | 1944 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 91 | Spirited cast does its best with bland, utterly predictable vaudeville saga, filled with period tunes like 'When You Wore a Tulip. | tt0037070 | Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, Ann Blyth, Rosemary De Camp, John Miljan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Merry War | 1997 | Robert Bierman | ★★★ | 102 | Sweet, enjoyable comedy-satire about an advertising man (Grant) who is captivated by the concept of offering his life to 'art.' He quits his day job and embraces a Bohemian lifestyle as he sets out to become a full-time poet, all the while maintaining a relationship with his ex-coworker/girlfriend (Bonham Carter). Based on Keep the Aspidistra Flying, a semi-autobiographical novel by George Orwell; it played the film festival circuit under that title. | tt0119453 | Richard E. Grant, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Wadham, Jim Carter, Harriet Walter, Lesley Vickerage, Liz Smith, Barbara Leigh-Hunt | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Merry Widow | 1925 | Erich von Stroheim | ★★★ | 113 | A playboy prince (Gilbert) falls in love with an American showgirl (Murray). Lavish, well-produced silent version of the Franz Lehar operetta is probably von Stroheim's most 'normal' film, though he still manages to inject his usual bizarre touches (including a character with a foot fetish). See if you can spot young Clark Gable as an extra. Remade twice. | tt0016104 | Mae Murray, John Gilbert, Roy D'Arcy, Tully Marshall, Josephine Crowell | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Merry Widow | 1934 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 99 | Chevalier (as Count Danilo) is sent to Paris to lure a wealthy widow (MacDonald) back to her homeland of Marshovia, where her taxes keep the tiny country afloat. Charming reinvention of the famous operetta gets the fabled Lubitsch touch. Many of the original Franz Lehar songs remain, with new lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Gus Kahn. Filmed before in 1925, again in 1952. | tt0025493 | Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Una Merkel, Edward Everett Horton, George Barbier, Herman Bing | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Merry Widow | 1952 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 105 | Franz Lehar’s operetta has been rewritten (the widow is now a glamorous American who poses as a Parisian chorus girl) and the production is sumptuous, but there’s no zing in this glossy remake. | tt0044900 | Lana Turner, Fernando Lamas, Una Merkel, Richard Haydn | Musical | NULL | |||
| Merry Wives of Reno | 1934 | H. Bruce Humberstone. | ★★★ | 64 | Sexy fun and games revolving around three couples at a hotel in Reno, Nevada, the quickie divorce capital. A pet sheep also figures prominently in the plot. Breezy Warner Bros. farce in the wake of their notorious (lost) film CONVENTION CITY (1933) from the same writer (Robert Lord), with many of the same cast members. | tt0025494 | Guy Kibbee, Glenda Farrell, Donald Woods, Margaret Lindsay, Hugh Herbert, Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Roscoe Ates, Hobart Cavanaugh, Hattie McDaniel. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Merry-Go-Round | 1923 | Rupert Julian. | ★★½ | 114 | In Old Vienna, a pretty girl who works as an organ grinder is pursued by several men, including a count who keeps his identity a secret. Written and directed by Erich von Stroheim, with all of his signature ingredients (including a painstaking recreation of Vienna), but completed and reshaped by others. Still interesting, though it doesn't quite work, especially its absurd plot resolutions. Philbin is downright amateurish at times. | tt0013386 | Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, George Siegmann, Dale Fuller, Maude George, Cesare Gravina, Edith Yorke, George Hackathorne. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Merton of the Movies | 1947 | Robert Alton | ★★ | 82 | Lifeless remake of George S. Kaufman-Marc Connelly play (filmed before in 1924 and 1932) about movie-struck simpleton's adventures in Hollywood. A real disappointment. Choreographer Alton's directing debut. | tt0039619 | Red Skelton, Virginia O' Brien, Gloria Grahame, Leon Ames, Alan Mowbray, Hugo Haas | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mesa of Lost Women | 1953 | Herbert Tevos, Ron Ormond. | 💣 | 70 | In Mexico on the title mesa, mad scientist Coogan tries to infuse women with the ferocity of spiders. Why? Why not? Deranged but dull, with occasionally striking photography by Karl Struss; Coogan is a long way from THE KID. Weirdly complicated plot is the result of an unfinished film being completed by other hands after the fact. | tt0046066 | Jackie Coogan, Allan Nixon, Richard Travis, Mary Hill, Robert Knapp, Tandra Quinn, Chris-Pin Martin, Harmon Stevens; narrated by Lyle Talbot. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mesmerized | Shocked | 1986 | Michael Laughlin | ★½ | 97 | Weird, ultimately silly drama about innocent orphan Foster who weds older man Lithgow in late-19th-century New Zealand. Laughlin adapted from Jerzy Skolimowski story. Aka SHOCKED. | tt0091513 | [PG] | Jodie Foster, John Lithgow, Michael Murphy, Harry Andrews, Dan Shor, Reg Evans | British-Australian-New Zealand | Drama | NULL |
| Mesrine: Part 1—Killer Instinct | 2008 | Jean-François Richet | ★★★ | 113 | Opening with the ambush that brought down notorious criminal Jacques Mesrine in 1979, film flashes back to the character’s experiences at war in Algeria, which steep him in violence and make it impossible for him to readjust to “normal” life at home. Instead he begins a life of crime, brashly climbing his way to the top—mentored by Depardieu, then teaming up with de France—until he is both celebrated and feared, first in France, then in Canada. Cassel is exceptionally charismatic as the antihero in this breathless biopic, based on Mesrine’s best-selling memoir. | tt1259014 | [R] | Vincent Cassel, Cécile de France, Gérard Depardieu, Roy Dupuis, Gilles Lellouche, Elena Anaya, Michel Duchaussoy, Myriam Boyer, Florence Thomassin, Ludivine Sagnier | French-Canadian-Italian | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Mesrine: Part 2—Public Enemy Number 1 | 2008 | Jean-François Richet | ★★★ | 133 | The “man of a hundred faces” continues to fascinate his countrymen with audacious crimes committed in broad daylight, impudent encounters with courtroom judges, and repeated jailbreaks. Sagnier is his latest partner in crime, and although there is no question where all this will lead, Mesrine refuses to live his life any other way. Richet maintains the same terrific pace he set in Part 1, and again Cassel dominates the action with his bold performance—although he gets great support from Amalric and Sagnier. | tt0411272 | [R] | Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Samuel Le Bihan, Gérard Lanvin, Olivier Gourmet, Georges Wilson, Michel Duchaussoy, Anne Consigny, Myriam Boyer | French-Canadian | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Message from Space | 1978 | Kinji Fukasaku | ★★½ | 105 | Embattled planet sends SOS, and intergalactic team comes to its rescue. Cardboard performances take back seat to special effects and 'cute' robot, both obviously patterned after STAR WARS. | tt0078435 | [PG] | Vic Morrow, Sonny Chiba, Philip Casnoff, Peggy Lee Brennan, Sue Shiomi, Tetsuro Tamba | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Message in a Bottle | 1999 | Luis Mandoki | ★★½ | 132 | Sappy, old-fashioned romance based on Nicholas Sparks' novel about a Chicago newspaper researcher who finds a bottle washed ashore and in it a passionate letter from a man to his lover. She becomes obsessed with tracking down the writer, and when she finds him (widower Costner) she doesn't reveal that their meeting was not by chance. Too long, too slow, but enjoyable escapism if you buy into it, with Wright Penn nicely cast against type, and Newman in fine form as Costner's starchy father. | tt0139462 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, John Savage, Illeana Douglas, Robbie Coltrane, Jesse James, Bethel Leslie, Tom Aldredge, Viveka Davis, Raphael Sbarge, Rosemary Murphy | Romance | NULL | ||
| A Message to Garcia | 1936 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 77 | Historical fiction about agent Boles trying to reach General Garcia during Spanish-American war, with dubious help of roguish Beery and well-bred Stanwyck. Very entertaining. | tt0027959 | Wallace Beery, Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Alan Hale/Sr., Mona Barrie, Herbert Mundin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival | 1996 | Murray Lerner | ★★★ | 128 | Top-notch documentary chronicling the on-and offstage activities at Great Britain's version of Woodstock/Altamont: the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, a musical smorgasbord that was as ineptly organized as it was musically significant. Priceless footage of vintage rock acts, including Hendrix and The Doors' Jim Morrison just before their deaths. Because of financing problems, it took Lerner a quarter-century to complete this. | tt0117028 | The Who, The Doors, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Tiny Tim, The Moody Blues, Kris Kristofferson, Miles Davis, Donovan | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Messenger of Death | 1988 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 91 | Boring Bronson vehicle casts him as a reporter determined to get to the bottom of an odd murder case involving two warring Mormon sects led by Corey and Ireland. By-the-numbers filmmaking wastes a potentially interesting look at a different culture. | tt0095626 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Trish Van Devere, Laurence Luckinbill, Jeff Corey, Marilyn Hassett, John Ireland, Daniel Benzali | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Messenger | 2009 | Oren Moverman | ★★★ | 103 | Decorated Iraq war veteran Foster, back home and dealing with various ailments, is assigned to the Casualty Notification Office, where he and his superior (Harrelson) have the unwelcome task of informing next of kin whenever a soldier dies. Episodic but moving look at the different ways people deal with anger, pain, repressed emotions, and grief—which includes these two messengers as well as the people who receive the dreaded news. Foster and Harrelson are first-rate, along with a fine ensemble who often have just moments to create their performances. Written by the (first-time) director and Alessandro Camon. | tt0790712 | [R] | Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Steve Buscemi, Eamonn Walker | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | 1999 | Luc Besson | ★★½ | 148 | Arresting approach to the story of Joan of Arc, with a vibrant Jovovich as the peasant girl who leads her countrymen into battle. But in this version (scripted by Besson and Andrew Birkin) she also questions herself, which causes the film to lose momentum after a rousing first half that's filled with vivid, in-your-face battle scenes. Alternate version runs 158m. | tt0151137 | [R] | Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Pascal Greggory, Vincent Cassel, Tchéky Karyo, Richard Ridings, Desmond Harrington, Timothy West | French-U.S. | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Messengers | 2007 | Danny Pang, Oxide Pang | ★★ | 90 | A family trying to make a fresh start moves from the city to an abandoned farm (where, it turns out, the prior owners were mysteriously murdered). Troubled teenage daughter Stewart immediately sees and senses things that her parents are unaware of; before long, these nasty spirits close in on her and her baby brother. Anemic horror film is all setup with little payoff, eerie but not scary. American debut for Hong Kong directors the Pang Brothers. | tt0425430 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, Dustin Milligan | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn | 1983 | Charles Band | 💣 | 84 | Derivative sci-fi film set in the future, with an intrepid hunter searching out megalomaniac who wants to rule the planet. Even 3D couldn't do much to help this amateurish— and seemingly interminable— outing. | tt0085935 | [PG] | Jeffrey Byron, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston, Mike Preston, Richard Moll | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Metamorphosis | 1990 | G. L. Eastman | ★½ | 96 | Low-budget, technically inept ripoff of THE FLY (1986), with self-obsessed professor/genius who tests his experimental immortality drug on himself. Result: he slowly devolves to a sawed-off dinosaur, then primordial slime. Movie treats its tired clichés with awed respect for their presumed originality. | tt0097874 | [R] | Gene LeBrock, Catherine Baranov, Harry Cason, David Wicker, Stephen Brown, Jason Arnold | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Meteor | 1979 | Ronald Neame | ★½ | 103 | Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Manhattan all get a big piece of the rock when a giant meteor comes crashing to Earth. Late entry in Hollywood's disaster cycle wastes fine cast with dull script, shoddy effects. | tt0079550 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Meteor Man | 1993 | Robert Townsend | ★½ | 100 | Townsend plays a timid inner-city schoolteacher (with a fear of heights) who's hit by an odd emerald meteor that turns him into a superhero. Townsend also wrote this 'Superman N the Hood' tale, full of pro-social values— but not many laughs. As a comedy it just doesn't fly. | tt0107563 | [PG] | Robert Townsend, Marla Gibbs, Eddie Griffin, Robert Guillaume, James Earl Jones, Roy Fegan, Cynthia Belgrave, Marilyn Coleman, Don Cheadle, Bill Cosby, Frank Gorshin, Sinbad, Luther Vandross, Samuel L. Jackson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Metro | 1997 | Thomas Carter | ★★½ | 117 | Murphy is a self-assured hostage negotiator for the San Francisco police, but this action film needs his thousand-watt personality to keep it afloat. Plotting is cluttered and predictable, with a heinous villain (Wincott) who proves so indestructible that when he finally dies, there's no satisfaction because we're not sure he's really finished! Action highlight: a runaway cable car. | tt0119664 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, Michael Wincott, Carmen Ejogo, Denis Arndt, Art Evans, Donal Logue, Kim Miyori | Action, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Metroland | 1998 | Philip Saville | ★★½ | 97 | 1977: Chris (Bale), a comfortably married man, is visited by his oldest friend, a vagabond poet, who forces him to reflect on his Bohemian days in late '60s Paris and question the value of middle-class existence in London suburbia. A thoughtful though basically unsurprising examination of compromised dreams, bolstered by the performances of Bale and Watson. Adrian Hodges adapted Julian Barnes' novel. | tt0119665 | Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Lee Ross, Elsa Zylberstein, Rufus, Jonathan Aris, Ifan Meredith, Amanda Ryan, John Wood | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Metropolis | 1927 | Fritz Lang | ★★★★ | 120 | Classic silent-film fantasy of futuristic city and its mechanized society, with upper-class young man abandoning his life of luxury to join oppressed workers in a revolt. Heavy going at times, but startling set design and special effects command attention throughout. Innumerable shorter versions of this film exist, including a 1984 reissue with color tints and a Giorgio Moroder score. Major 2010 restoration, with much long-missing footage, runs 153m. | tt0017136 | Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Froelich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp | German | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Metropolis | 2001 | Rintaro | ★★★ | 106 | A private detective and his nephew track a suspect to futuristic Metropolis, meet a mysterious girl who is actually a very powerful robot, and unravel a plot by a military leader who plans to take over the city. Spectacular Japanese anime with original story inspired by Fritz Lang's classic film. Written by Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA), based on a graphic novel by Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy). Opulent backdrops contrast with cartoony-looking lead characters, but dramatic storytelling and powerful visuals overcome film's shortcomings. | tt0293416 | [PG-13] | Voices of Yuka Imoto, Kei Kobayashi, Kohki Okada, Taro Ishida, Kousei Tomita | Japanese | Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi, Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Metropolitan | 1990 | Whit Stillman | ★★★ | 98 | Title might suggest teeming masses, but this thoroughly original little film looks instead at N.Y.C.'s upper crust— specifically, the inner circle of debutantes (who haven't yet 'come out'), preppies, and their way of life. Social comedy, brimming with irony, is set during Christmas season, with loner Clements drawn into small clique of friends. Sharply written by first-time director Stillman, and well acted by cast of newcomers; Eigeman, as Nick, is a standout. | tt0100142 | [PG-13] | Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Christopher Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Rutledge-Parisi, Dylan Hundley, Isabel Gillies, Bryan Leder, Will Kempe, Elizabeth Thompson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Metropolitan | 1935 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 75 | Enjoyable if predictable musical with Tibbett ideally cast as a talented but struggling opera singer who yearns for stardom. Tibbett's many songs include 'Road to Mandalay' and 'Figaro,' which he performs most impressively. | tt0026705 |
|
Lawrence Tibbett, Virginia Bruce, Alice Brady, Cesar Romero, Thurston Hall, Luis Alberni, Ruth Donnelly, George Marion/Sr., Jane Darwell | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Mexicali Rose | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★★ | 60 | When Gene discovers his radio sponsor is fronting a stock promotion fraud, he sets out to save one of its victims, Walters' orphanage, with the help of a Mexican Robin Hood (a hammy Beery). Nothing terribly original here, but great fun just the same. Gene sings 'Cielito Lindo,' 'El Rancho Grande,' 'You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven,' and the title tune. | tt0031640 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Noah Beery, Luana Walters, William Farnum, William Royle, LeRoy Mason, Wally Albright, Roy Barcroft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Mexican Bus Ride | 1951 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★★ | 85 | A newlywed has to postpone his honeymoon to make a two-day journey to see his dying mother so that his brothers don't steal his inheritance. During the trip he is seduced by a local tart and the bus gets stuck in a river, among other bizarre incidents. Plot merely serves as a pretext for Buñuel to indulge in erotically charged dream sequences in a darkly comical parable about birth, love, and death. Not one of Buñuel's major works, but quite enjoyable all the same. Original title: SUBIDA AL CIELO. | tt0044084 | Lilia Prado, Carmen (Carmelita) Gonzáles, Esteban Marquez, Leonor Gómez, Luis Aceves Castañeda. | Mexican | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mexican Hayride | 1948 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 77 | Lackluster A&C vehicle, with the boys on a wild goose chase with a mine deed in Mexico. Based on a Cole Porter Broadway musical, but without the songs! | tt0040582 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Virginia Grey, Luba Malina, John Hubbard, Pedro de Cordoba, Fritz Feld | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Manhunt | 1953 | Rex Bailey | ★½ | 71 | Actors walk through thin script about solving of old crime. | tt0046067 | George Brent, Hillary Brooke, Morris Ankrum, Karen Sharpe | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire | 1939 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★★ | 67 | First official entry in the series is a retread of THE GIRL FROM MEXICO, but shifts focus from bland leading man Woods to hilarious Errol in dual role of Uncle Matt and the tipsy Lord Epping. Meanwhile, Matt's wife (Risdon) attempts to break up her nephew's marriage to the fiery Carmelita. Some solid belly laughs here. | tt0031641 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods, Linda Hayes, Cecil Kellaway, Elisabeth Risdon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire Out West | 1940 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 76 | The tempestuous Latin bombshell decides that her hubby isn't paying enough attention to her, so she goes to Reno for a divorce. Lively farce repeats many gags from first Spitfire film, but they're still funny. | tt0032786 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Donald Woods, Elisabeth Risdon, Cecil Kellaway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost | 1942 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 70 | Errol's riotous turn in three roles fails to save this weak 'haunted' house comedy. | tt0035059 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Elisabeth Risdon, Donald MacBride, Minna Gombell, Mantan Moreland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire at Sea | 1942 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 73 | Protracted shipboard antics as the Spitfire causes chaos on an ocean liner in pursuit of a business deal. Series was simply repeating itself by now. | tt0035060 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, ZaSu Pitts, Elisabeth Risdon, Florence Bates, Marion Martin, Lydia Bilbrook | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire's Baby | 1941 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 69 | The Spitfire and her husband (Rogers, replacing Donald Woods) get more than they bargained for when their newly adopted French war orphan turns out to be a very grown-up (and very sexy) blonde, nicely played by Marion Martin. | tt0033907 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Elisabeth Risdon, Lydia Bilbrook, ZaSu Pitts, Fritz Feld | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event | 1943 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 63 | Last entry in the frantic series revolves around the Spitfire's often riotous masquerade of motherhood in an effort to help her husband clinch a big business deal. | tt0036155 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed, Elisabeth Risdon, Lydia Bilbrook, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Carney, Wally Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mexican Spitfire's Elephant | 1942 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 64 | Smugglers on a ship use Errol to unwittingly smuggle a gem through customs in a miniature elephant in this frenetic farce. | tt0035061 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Walter Reed, Elisabeth Risdon, Marion Martin, Lydia Bilbrook, Lyle Talbot, Luis Alberni | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mexican | 2001 | Gore Verbinski | ★★ | 123 | Barely adequate, overlong caper comedy starring America's sweethearts as a bickering couple who (separately) get involved with thugs all over the Southwest and Mexico. While Pitt hunts down the titular weapon, an antique pistol, amid every conceivable calamity, Roberts and mobster Gandolfini become irrepressible buddies. Gandolfini, predictably, steals the show. Gene Hackman appears unbilled. | tt0236493 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, J.K. Simmons, Michael Cerveris, Bob Balaban, David Krumholtz, Steve Rossi | Action, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mi Vida Loca | My Crazy Life | 1994 | Allison Anders | ★★★ | 92 | Powerful look at hopes and realities of Latina gang girls in L.A.'s Echo Park area. Episodic structure takes some getting used to (as do some of the performances), but writer-director Anders ultimately succeeds in capturing the frustrations of the characters' world and the cycle of social rituals and violence affecting them daily. | tt0107566 | Angel Aviles, Seidy Lopez, Jacob Vargas, Marlo Marron, Jessie Borrego, Magali Alvarado, Julian Reyes, Salma Hayek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Miami Blues | 1990 | George Armitage | ★★ | 99 | Psychopathic thief and murderer (Baldwin) arrives in Miami, hooks up with a naive young woman who's blind to his problems, and sets a world-weary cop on his trail by stealing the detective's badge and I.D. Three dynamic performances and some hip, high-style filmmaking command your attention— but the rampant amorality and violence leave a bad taste. Jonathan Demme and costar Ward were among the producers. From the Charles Willeford novel. | tt0100143 | [R] | Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nora Dunn, Charles Napier, Jose Perez, Paul Gleason, Obba Babatundé, Martine Beswicke | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miami Expose | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 73 | Boring round-up of criminal syndicate in Sunshine State. | tt0049500 | Lee J. Cobb, Patricia Medina, Edward Arnold, Michael Granger | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Miami Rhapsody | 1995 | David Frankel | ★★ | 95 | Young woman is afraid of committing to marriage, given the tumult of her parents' and siblings' marital lives. Only problem is that she can't seem to stop talking about it. Light comedy, with serious undertones, almost sinks under the weight of talk: an incessant stream of one-line, sitcom-style jokes. Written by the director. Overbearing big band-style score by Mark Isham. | tt0113808 | [PG-13] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Mia Farrow, Antonio Banderas, Gil Bellows, Paul Mazursky, Carla Gugino, Naomi Campbell, Kevin Pollak, Mark Blum, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Miami Story | 1954 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 75 | Stern ex-con Sullivan redeems himself in Florida resort city. | tt0047232 | Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler, John Baer, Adele Jergens, Beverly Garland | Crime | NULL | |||
| Miami Vice | 2006 | Michael Mann | ★★½ | 134 | Miami detectives Crockett and Tubbs are back from the stylish 1980s TV series, but this time their pursuit of a ruthless drug lord takes them to Central and South America . . . and Crockett pursues an improbable relationship with the drug czar's sexy business partner. Super-cool cars, boats, planes keep this fantasy version of cops-and-robbers watchable on a make-believe level, but the final showdown is awfully conventional. Mann, who coexecutive produced the original series, also wrote this screenplay. Director's cut runs 140m. | tt0430357 | [R] | Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, Naomie Harris, Ciarán Hinds, Justin Theroux, Barry Shabaka Henley, Luis Tosar, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Eddie Marsan, John Hawkes | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Michael | 1996 | Nora Ephron | ★★★ | 105 | A pair of cynical reporters and a phony 'angel expert' discover that a dotty old lady's claim that the archangel Michael is living with her is true. Michael, however, turns out not to be your average angel. Genial, wry movie never goes quite where you expect and takes its sweet time getting there, but the trip is charming, and Travolta, as the seedy, randy Michael, is perfectly cast. Ideal music score by Randy Newman. | tt0117038 | [PG] | John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Robert Pastorelli, Bob Hoskins, Jean Stapleton, Teri Garr, Wally Ward, Joey Lauren Adams, Carla Gugino, Tom Hodges, Wallace Langham | Drama, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Michael Clayton | 2007 | Tony Gilroy | ★★★ | 120 | The morals of a corporate law firm's fixer (Clooney) are put to the test when one of its lead attorneys (Wilkinson) reveals damaging evidence in a huge class-action lawsuit. Rock-solid thriller and character study may fall back on some stock elements, but writer/first-time director Gilroy tells his story with supreme assurance, avoiding a lot of obvious melodramatic pitfalls. Wilkinson is tops in an excellent cast and Clooney offers a textbook lesson in understated acting by a Movie Star. Be sure to sit through the credits. | tt0465538 | [R] | George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Michael O'Keefe, Ken Howard, David Lansbury, Denis O'Hare, Austin Williams | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Michael Collins | 1996 | Neil Jordan | ★★★ | 132 | Politically charged story of Irish rebel leader Collins (Neeson), who with charm, guts, and idealistic fervor leads the fight against British rule in the teens and '20s. Dynamic and powerful first half gives way to more sober and inevitable conclusion, in which Collins is forced to become a diplomat and compromiser— sowing the seeds of his own demise. Neeson is excellent and surrounded by a first-rate cast in this persuasive, believable, and violent period piece, beautifully filmed by Chris Menges. Jordan also scripted. | tt0117039 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman, Ian Hart, Brendan Gleeson, Charles Dance | U.S.-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Michael Shayne, Private Detective | 1940 | Eugene Forde | ★★½ | 77 | Nolan gives vivid portrayal of detective Shayne, keeping an eye on heavy gambler Weaver in average private-eye thriller. | tt0032788 | Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Joan Valerie, Walter Abel, Elizabeth Patterson, Donald MacBride | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Michigan Kid | 1947 | Ray Taylor | ★★ | 69 | Colorful but routine refilming of Rex Beach story of female ranch owner Johnson falling victim to corrupt town government. | tt0039622 | Jon Hall, Victor McLaglen, Rita Johnson, Andy Devine, Byron Foulger | Western | NULL | |||
| Mickey | 1948 | Ralph Murphy | ★★ | 87 | Silly, predictable yarn of spirited teen Butler, a tomboy who learns how to be a young lady—and who plays matchmaker for her widowed dad (Goodwin). | tt0040586 |
|
Lois Butler, Bill Goodwin, Irene Hervey, Hattie McDaniel, John Sutton, Rose Hobart, Skippy Homeier | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mickey Blue Eyes | 1999 | Kelly Makin | ★★½ | 103 | Fitfully amusing farce about a N.Y.C. art auctioneer who asks his girlfriend to marry him— never dreaming that she's part of an Italian mob family. Soon, he's pressed into doing favors for some of 'the boys.' Starts out funny but soon sputters. | tt0130121 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Burt Young, James Fox, Joe Viterelli, Gerry Becker, Maddie Corman | U.S.-British | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Mickey One | 1965 | Arthur Penn | ★★½ | 93 | Nightclub comic in trouble with mob takes it on the lam and assumes a new identity. Offbeat, to say the least; Penn's version of a French New Wave film; heavy with visual symbols but we're not quite sure what it's all about. Fine jazz score by Eddie Sauter with solos by Stan Getz. | tt0059447 | Warren Beatty, Hurd Hatfield, Alexandra Stewart, Franchot Tone, Teddy Hart, Jeff Corey, Kamatari Fujiwara, Donna Michelle | Crime | NULL | |||
| Micki + Maude | 1984 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 118 | Dudley has a wife and a girlfriend— and they're both pregnant! Surprisingly warmhearted comedy that turns into old-fashioned farce. Runs out of steam somewhere along the line but benefits from winning performances by all three leads. | tt0087718 | [PG-13] | Dudley Moore, Amy Irving, Ann Reinking, Richard Mulligan, George Gaynes, Wallace Shawn, John Pleshette, Lu Leonard, Priscilla Pointer, George Coe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Micmacs | 2009 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | ★★ | 105 | A soldier dies while uncovering a land mine; years later a stray bullet punctures the skull of his son, who decides to seek revenge on the arms manufacturers he holds accountable for both incidents. He teams up with a motley gang of misfits, each with a specialty, to pull off a series of ingenious dirty tricks on the two tycoons of weaponry. Jeunet’s visual flair and fondness for mechanical gimmickry make this fun at first, but the whimsy is smothered as the film goes on and the warfare grows larger in scope. A frustrating misfire with some good ingredients. | tt1149361 | [R] | Dany Boon, André Dussolier, Nicolas Marié, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Yolande Moreau, Julie Ferrier, Omar Sy, Dominique Pinon, Michael Crémadès, Marie-Julie Baup | French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Microcosmos | 1996 | Claude Nuridsany, Marie Perennou | ★★★½ | 77 | Strikingly visual nature documentary using high-powered lenses to record a magical universe that hardly can be seen by the human eye: the world of insects, in which beetles, snails, caterpillars, ladybugs, and dragonflies exist amid grass and vines, dewdrops and poppies. An immensely entertaining, endlessly fascinating visual treat; stunningly photographed and edited. U.S. prints feature narration by Kristen Scott Thomas. | tt0117040 | [G] | French-Swiss-Italian | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Mid-August Lunch | 2008 | Gianni Di Gregorio | ★★★ | 76 | Disarming observational comedy about a man who lives with his aged mother in a Rome apartment they can no longer afford. As people prepare to leave town for the Ferragosto holiday on August 15, Gianni finds himself tending to other people’s elderly mothers and aunts, in return for rent money and medical services. Leisurely and utterly charming. Leading actor Di Gregorio’s directorial debut; he also wrote the semiautobiographical screenplay (from a story he developed with Simone Riccardini). | tt1277728 | Unrated | Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini Sforza, Alfonso Santagata | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Midaq Alley | 1995 | Jorge Fons | ★★ | 144 | Overwrought soap opera featuring several storylines involving characters who frequent a bar at the title locale in Mexico City. Although based on a novel by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz, the characters are disappointingly one-dimensional. Hayek is a striking presence as Alma, a poor beauty driven to desperate acts. | tt0112619 | Ernesto Gómez Cruz, María Rojo, Salma Hayek, Bruno Bichir, Delia Casanova, Margarita Sanz, Claudio Obregón | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Midas Run | 1969 | Alf Kjellin | ★★½ | 106 | British secret serviceman plots a daring gold heist in this routine caper film, enlivened by Astaire's peerless presence in lead. Fred Astaire, Jr., appears briefly as plane's copilot. | tt0064664 | [M] | Fred Astaire, Richard Crenna, Anne Heywood, Ralph Richardson, Roddy McDowall, Cesar Romero | Crime | NULL | ||
| Middle Age Crazy | 1980 | John Trent | ★½ | 95 | Title tells all: 40-year-old Dern buys a Porsche, some new threads, and leaves wife Ann-Margret for pro-football cheerleader Wakeham. Nothing new; inspired by the hit song. | tt0081157 | [R] | Bruce Dern, Ann-Margret, Graham Jarvis, Eric Christmas, Deborah Wakeham | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Middle Men | 2010 | George Gallo | ★★ | 109 | What would seem to be a tall tale is in fact based on the true story of a straight-arrow businessman (Wilson) who pioneered Internet transactions—but happened to do so for a pair of airheads who had the idea of selling pornography online. Happily married family man Wilson tells himself he can remain above the sleaze, but it doesn’t turn out that way. Lively, often boisterously funny film is wildly uneven, providing more plot detail than we really need and turning unpleasant in the process. | tt1251757 | [R] | Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht, James Caan, Jacinda Barrett, Kevin Pollak, Laura Ramsey, Rade Serbedzija, Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer, Graham McTavish, Jason Antoon, Robert Forster, John Ashton, Martin Kove | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Middle of the Night | 1959 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 118 | Slow-moving screen version of Paddy Chayefsky play, with March a middle-aged man about to marry much younger Novak. | tt0053065 | Kim Novak, Fredric March, Glenda Farrell, Jan Norris, Lee Grant, Effie Afton, Martin Balsam | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Middle of the World | 1974 | Alain Tanner | ★★★ | 115 | Intelligent, quietly effective tale of married engineer Leotard, running for political office, who has scandalous affair with waitress Carlisi. | tt0071842 | Olimpia Carlisi, Philippe Leotard, Juliet Berto, Jacques Denis, Roger Jendly | French-Swiss | Romance | NULL | ||
| Midnight | 1934 | Chester Erskine | ★★½ | 80 | Jury foreman is persecuted by the press— and even his family— after sending woman to the electric chair. Dated but interesting theatrical piece, reissued as CALL IT MURDER to capitalize on Bogart's later stardom. | tt0025499 | Sidney Fox, O. P. Heggie, Henry Hull, Margaret Wycherly, Lynne Overman, Richard Whorf, Humphrey Bogart | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | NULL | |||
| Midnight | 1939 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★½ | 94 | Penniless Colbert masquerades as Hungarian countess in chic Parisian marital mixup; near-classic comedy written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. Barrymore's antics are especially memorable. Remade as MASQUERADE IN MEXICO. | tt0031647 | Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer, Mary Astor, Hedda Hopper, Monty Woolley | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Midnight | 1981 | John Russo | ★★½ | 94 | Low-budget horror, shot in Pennsylvania, isn't bad. Unfortunate teenager Verliin, driven out of her home by a lecherous policeman stepfather (Tierney), meets two young thieves and then a family of cultists who sacrifice young women. Russo adapted his own novel. Aka BACKWOODS MASSACRE. Followed by a sequel. | tt0082744 | [R] | Lawrence Tierney, Melanie Verliin, John Amplas, John Hall, Charles Jackson, Doris Hackney | Horror | NULL | ||
| Midnight | 1989 | Norman Thaddeus Vane | ★½ | 86 | Tiresome story of TV horror-movie hostess who finds people around her mysteriously dying. Always-watchable Redgrave does her best, but meager, slow-moving script does her in. A longer 'director's cut' had theatrical showings following its video release. | tt0097876 | [R] | Lynn Redgrave, Tony Curtis, Steven Parrish, Frank Gorshin, Wolfman Jack, Rita Gam | Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Midnight Clear | 1992 | Keith Gordon | ★★★½ | 107 | Top-notch anti-war drama, about a squad of young American GI's (led by Hawke) on a mission in the Ardennes Forest near the end of WW2. Refreshingly unhurried film is filled with insight, irony, and eloquence. Extremely well acted and directed; Gordon also scripted, from William Wharton's novel. | tt0102443 | [R] | Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise, Frank Whaley, John C. McGinley, Larry Joshua, Curt Lowens | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Midnight Club | 1933 | Alexander Hall, George Somnes. | ★★★ | 64 | Clever crime yarn about a gang of crooks with impeccable alibis— because they all have lookalikes! Coscripted by Leslie Charteris. Title on-screen is E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM'S MIDNIGHT CLUB, in recognition of the then-popular author. | tt0024333 | Clive Brook, George Raft, Helen Vinson, Alison Skipworth, Sir Guy Standing, Alan Mowbray, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Ethel Griffies, Billy Bevan. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Midnight Cop | 1989 | Peter Patzak | ★★½ | 96 | Slow but interesting murder mystery pitting quirky Berlin cop against both a serial killer and a blackmailer. Overdone tenor sax jazz score and murky plot developments hamper things, but Mueller-Stahl is very good. | tt0095446 | [R] | Armin Mueller-Stahl, Michael York, Morgan Fairchild, Frank Stallone, Julia Kent, Monica Bleibtreu, Allegra Curtis | West German | Thriller | NULL | |
| Midnight Cowboy | 1969 | John Schlesinger | ★★★★ | 113 | Emotionally shattering dramatization of James Leo Herlihy's novel was rated X in 1969, but it's essentially an old-fashioned story with some unusual modern twists: hayseed Voight comes to N.Y.C. in hopes of becoming a freelance stud, and develops unusual and deep friendship with seedy Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman). Seamiest side of N.Y.C. is backdrop for compelling, keen-eyed character study that if anything looks better today than it did when it came out. Won Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Waldo Salt) Oscars. Graphic effects by Pablo Ferro. Please don't watch it on commercial TV: the most lenient prints run 104m. and are ludicrously dubbed to remove profane language. | tt0064665 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Barnard Hughes, Ruth White, Jennifer Salt, Bob Balaban | Drama | NULL | ||
| Midnight Crossing | 1988 | Roger Holzberg | ★½ | 104 | Hokey, boring, needlessly violent soaper-adventure, with insurance agent Travanti intent on recovering some booty he and his late pal buried years before. Dunaway is thanklessly cast as his wife, who is blind. | tt0095629 | [R] | Faye Dunaway, Daniel J. Travanti, Kim Cattrall, Ned Beatty, John Laughlin | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Midnight Express | 1978 | Alan Parker | ★★★½ | 121 | Riveting, harshly violent story of young American Billy Hayes (Davis), who faces physical and emotional brutalization in Turkish prison after being caught drug-smuggling. Great moviemaking, though not as faithful to Hayes' true story as filmmakers would have us believe. Oscar winner for Oliver Stone's script and Giorgio Moroder's score. | tt0077928 | [R] | Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Mike Kellin, Paul Smith | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Midnight Lace | 1960 | David Miller | ★★★ | 108 | Shrill murder mystery; unbelievable plot line, but star cast and decor smooth over rough spots. Set in London; redone as a TVM in 1980. | tt0054084 | Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, Roddy McDowall, Herbert Marshall, Natasha Parry, Anthony Dawson | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Midnight Madness | 1980 | David Wechter, Michael Nankin | 💣 | 110 | Idiotic comedy about college students participating in an all-night scavenger hunt. Nothing to stay up for (unless you want to see Michael J. Fox in his feature film debut). | tt0081159 | [PG] | David Naughton, Debra Clinger, Eddie Deezen, Brad Wilkin, Maggie Roswell, Stephen Furst | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Midnight Man | 1974 | Roland Kibbee, Burt Lancaster | ★★½ | 117 | Involved, overlong mystery with Lancaster as college security officer looking into a coed's murder. Lancaster and Kibbee also cowrote and coproduced. | tt0071838 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Cameron Mitchell, Morgan Woodward, Joan Lorring, Ed Lauter, Catherine Bach, Linda Kelsey, Harris Yulin | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Midnight Mary | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 74 | Visually arresting story, told in flashback, of hard luck Young, orphaned at nine, seduced at sixteen, sent to prison. Loaded with Wellman flourishes, and Loretta is mesmerizingly beautiful. Story by Anita Loos. | tt0024334 | Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, Franchot Tone, Andy Devine, Una Merkel, Frank Conroy, Warren Hymer | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Midnight Run | 1988 | Martin Brest | ★★★½ | 122 | Socko action-comedy with bounty hunter (and ex-cop) De Niro determined to bring bail-jumper Grodin, an embezzling accountant, from N.Y. to L.A. What De Niro doesn't know is that the Mob is also on Grodin's trail— with orders to kill. Sensational byplay between the stars is matched by first-rate action and a sharply written script by George Gallo. Director Brest handles the blend of violence and comedy as well as he did in BEVERLY HILLS COP. Dynamic music score by Danny Elfman. Followed by a TV series. | tt0095631 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, Wendy Phillips, Richard Foronjy | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Midnight Story | 1957 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 89 | Atmospheric murder yarn with Curtis an ex-cop seeking the culprit who killed neighborhood priest. | tt0050704 | Tony Curtis, Marisa Pavan, Gilbert Roland, Ted de Corsia, Kathleen Freeman | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Midnight in Paris | 2011 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 100 | Hack Hollywood writer Wilson travels to Paris with his fiancée, hoping to find inspiration for a novel from the city that was home to so many legendary artists and writers in the 1920s. Then, magically, he is transported back to that time and meets them face-to-face. A divertissement from Allen filled with wistful charm, although it won’t stand up to scrutiny; either you go along with its fantasy premise or you don’t. Wilson is the best in a long line of Woody surrogates because he truly makes the part his own. | tt1605783 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Mimi Kennedy, Kurt Fuller, Alison Pill, Tom Hiddleston, Léa Seydoux, Corey Stoll, Carla Bruni, Gad Elmaleh | U.S.-Spanish | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | 1997 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 155 | Meandering adaptation of John Berendt's best-seller about some of the more eccentric denizens of Savannah, Georgia. Cusack plays a N.Y. reporter assigned to cover Spacey's A-list Christmas party; when that gracious, noveau riche bon vivant is accused of murder later the same night, Cusack decides to stick around and see what happens. Never terribly compelling, despite several likable performances, and fatally overlong. | tt0119668 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Jack Thompson, The Lady Chablis, Alison Eastwood, Irma P. Hall, Paul Hipp, Jude Law, Dorothy Loudon, Anne Haney, Kim Hunter, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Herd, James Moody | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1935 | Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle | ★★★ | 117 | Hollywood-Shakespeare has good and bad points; Cagney as Bottom and the Mendelssohn music are among good parts; Hugh Herbert and other incongruous cast members make up the latter. After a while Rooney (as Puck) gets to be a bit too much. Hal Mohr's glistening cinematography won an Oscar— the only one ever awarded on a write-in. This was the only sound film of esteemed European stage director Reinhardt. Film debut of Olivia de Havilland (who had appeared in Reinhardt's Hollywood Bowl production of the play a year earlier). Originally 132m. | tt0026714 | James Cagney, Dick Powell, Joe E. Brown, Jean Muir, Hugh Herbert, Olivia de Havilland, Ian Hunter, Frank McHugh, Victor Jory, Ross Alexander, Verree Teasdale, Anita Louise, Mickey Rooney, Arthur Treacher, Billy Barty | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1966 | Dan Eriksen | ★★½ | 93 | Filmed record of New York City Ballet's presentation of Shakespeare's comedy is mostly for dance buffs; makes some attempt to be cinematic, but not enough. | tt0060694 | Suzanne Farrell, Edward Villella, Arthur Mitchell, Mimi Paul, Nicholas Magallanes | Musical | NULL | |||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1968 | Peter Hall. | ★★½ | 124 | Fine cast of England's Royal Shakespeare Co. in middling performance of the Shakespeare classic. | tt0063297 | Diana Rigg, David Warner, Michael Jayston, Ian Richardson, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Bill Travers, Helen Mirren. | British | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1999 | Michael Hoffman | ★★½ | 115 | Shakespeare's classic comedy transported from ancient Greece to late-19th-century Italy (complete with newly invented bicycles). Young love runs wild, with Everett and Pfeiffer as King and Queen of the Fairies, Tucci a spirited Puck and Kline (in his element) a buffoonish Bottom. Works better in parts than as a whole, but still enjoyable for lovers of the play. Full on-screen title is WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. | tt0140379 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, Dominic West, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, Roger Rees, Max Wright, Gregory Jbara, Bill Irwin, Sam Rockwell, Bernard Hill, John Sessions | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy | 1982 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 88 | SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, Woody Allen-style; a quirky, entertaining diversion about sexual byplay among three couples on a summer weekend in the country, circa 1900. Appealing cast (including Farrow, in first film with Woody), exquisite Gordon Willis photography. | tt0084329 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Jose Ferrer, Mary Steenburgen, Tony Roberts, Julie Hagerty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Midway | 1976 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 132 | Prominent cast acts to reels of stock shots from THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO, antique Japanese war films, and actual wartime footage. Silly soap opera (Heston's ensign son in love with Japanese girl) doesn't help. Still, some of the drama and impact of the great naval battle comes through. Many familiar faces in cast: Tom Selleck, Kevin Dobson, Pat Morita, Dabney Coleman, Erik Estrada, Steve Kanaly, etc. | tt0074899 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Wagner, Edward Albert, Robert Webber, Ed Nelson, James Shigeta, Monte Markham, Christopher George, Glenn Corbett | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| A Midwinter's Tale | In the Bleak Midwinter | 1995 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★½ | 98 | Unemployed actor decides to mount a free-form production of Hamlet in a remote English town with an all-volunteer cast and crew. Uneven comedy hits its stride in the final portion of the film as the cast and production for the play come together and the parallels between their real lives and their stage lives are revealed. A little too pat, but likable. Original screenplay by Branagh, who tailored many of the parts for these specific actors. Original British title: IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER. | tt0113403 | [R] | Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Mark Hadfield, Nicholas Farrell, Gerard Horan, John Sessions, Celia Imre, Hetta Charnley, Julia Sawalha, Joan Collins, Jennifer Saunders | British | Comedy | NULL |
| Mifune | 1999 | Soren Kragh-Jacobsen | ★★½ | 99 | A newly married businessman returns home to take care of his mentally handicapped brother after their father dies. Complications follow when the housekeeper he hires turns out to be an ex-hooker with problems of her own. Filmed according to the spartan cinematic rules of Dogma 95, this has good acting and lovely isolated moments, but not enough to overcome a thin story with few surprises. Mifune, by the way, refers to actor Toshiro. | tt0164756 | [R] | Anders W. Berthelsen, Iben Hjejle, Jesper Asholt, Emil Tarding, Anders Hove, Sofie Gråbol, Paprika Steen, Mette Bratlann | Danish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Mighty Aphrodite | 1995 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 95 | Highly entertaining fluff with Woody as a happily married man whose wife convinces him to adopt a baby; then, years later, he becomes obsessed with learning about (and getting to know) the boy's real mother. Sorvino is sensational in an Oscar-winning, star-making performance as the woman in question. | tt0113819 | [R] | F. Murray Abraham, Woody Allen, Claire Bloom, Helena Bonham Carter, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Warden, Peter Weller, Steven Randazzo, Donald Symington, Rosemary Murphy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mighty Barnum | 1934 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 87 | Fanciful biography of the famed showman is strung together by unlikely plot turns, coincidences, etc. While based on Gene Fowler's biography (and a subsequent play), the film admits it isn't truthful! There's more Beery than Barnum here; Menjou plays his reluctant partner, Bailey. | tt0025501 | Wallace Beery, Adolphe Menjou, Virginia Bruce, Rochelle Hudson, Janet Beecher, Herman Bing | Biography, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mighty Ducks | 1992 | Stephen Herek | ★★ | 100 | Harmless, clichéd Disney yarn of self-centered yuppie lawyer Estevez who's busted for drunk-driving, ordered to do community service, and assigned to coach a ragtag inner-city peewee hockey team. Guess what happens next. (Anaheim-based pro hockey team was formed by Disney in 1993 called . . . you guessed it.) Followed by D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS, D3: THE MIGHTY DUCKS, an animated series, and a TVM based on that series. | tt0104868 | [PG] | Emilio Estevez, Joss Ackland, Lane Smith, Heidi Kling, Josef Sommer, Joshua Jackson, Elden Henson, Shaun Weiss, Matt Doherty | Action, Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport | NULL | ||
| A Mighty Heart | 2007 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 108 | Gripping account of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl's 2002 kidnapping in Pakistan and the desperate efforts of his journalist wife Mariane (Jolie) and others to find him. Jolie is excellent in this superbly crafted film, which unfolds in documentary style that does not cheapen the tragic subject matter but tends to keep the viewer at an emotional distance. Based on Mariane's memoir. Brad Pitt coproduced. | tt0829459 | [R] | Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Irrfan Khan, Will Patton, Denis O'Hare, Adnan Siddiqui, Gary Wilmes, Alyy Khan | Biography, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mighty Joe Young | 1998 | Ron Underwood | ★★★ | 114 | Entertaining update of the 1949 movie: Theron is raised in the jungle alongside a giant gorilla. In order to protect Joe from poachers, she agrees to bring him to an L.A. animal habitat— but no one understands the big guy as she does. What is more, a bad guy is out to get him, leading to an inevitable rampage. Good fun, earnestly done. Terry Moore (star of the 1949 film) and Ray Harryhausen (who helped animate the original Joe) have a cameo together; so does Dina Merrill, whose husband produced the film. Joe was designed by Rick Baker. | tt0120751 | [PG] | Bill Paxton, Charlize Theron, David Paymer, Regina King, Rade Sherbedgia (Serbedzija), Peter Firth, Linda Purl, Robert Wisdom, Lawrence Pressman, John Alexander | Family, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mighty Joe Young | 1949 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★★ | 94 | Updating of KING KONG theme has comparable (and Oscar-winning) stop-motion special effects by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen, but no matching storyline, and Moore is no Fay Wray. Mr. Young is good, though. Last sequence was originally shown with color tints, which have been restored for most prints. Also shown in computer-colored version. Remade in 1998. | tt0041650 | Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong, Mr. Joseph Young, Frank McHugh | Adventure, Fantasy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mighty Macs | 2011 | Tim Chambers | ★★½ | 98 | Thoroughly predictable but lightly enjoyable inspirational sports drama, based on the true-life exploits of the 1971–72 Immaculata College basketball team, which set a new standard for achievement in women's sports. Gugino is perfectly cast as Cathy Rush, who kicked off her storied career as a college coach by leading the Immaculata underdogs to a series of improbable victories. Burstyn is an amusing scene-stealer as Mother St. John, Immaculata's stern but dry-witted dean. Cowritten by the director. | tt1034324 | [G] | Carla Gugino, Ellen Burstyn, Marley Shelton, David Boreanaz, Katie Hayek, Kim Blair | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mighty McGurk | 1946 | John Waters | ★½ | 85 | Formula Beery vehicle with the star a punchy prizefighter and Stockwell as adorable boy he adopts. | tt0038739 | Wallace Beery, Dean Stockwell, Dorothy Patrick, Edward Arnold, Aline MacMahon, Cameron Mitchell |
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| Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie | 1995 | Bryan Spicer | ★★½ | 95 | The teenage Rangers temporarily lose their powers when primordial bad guy Ivan Ooze reappears after centuries of captivity and attacks their mentor, sending them on a quest for renewed power. Juvenile fantasy/adventure aimed squarely at the huge audience of the same-named TV series . . . and not bad, for what it is. Followed by TURBO: A POWER RANGERS MOVIE, then in 1999 a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0113820 | [PG] | Karan Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Jason David Frank, Amy Jo Johnson, David Yost, Paul Schrier, Jason Narvy, Paul Freeman, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Bell | U.S.-Japanese | Family, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Mighty Quinn | 1989 | Carl Schenkel | ★★½ | 98 | Washington plays the independent-minded police chief of a Caribbean island who's determined to get to the bottom of a murder, even though it apparently involves political sensitivities— and his boyhood pal, a now-notorious character played by Townsend. Colorful locale spices this ordinary tale and makes it a pleasant time-filler. | tt0097880 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, James Fox, Mimi Rogers, M. Emmet Walsh, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Art Evans, Esther Rolle, Norman Beaton, Keye Luke | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Mighty Ursus | 1962 | Carlo Campogalliani | ★★ | 92 | In title role Fury does expected gymnastics, rescuing his woman from marauding natives. | tt0055577 |
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Ed Fury, Christina Gajoni, Moira Orfei, Mario Scaccia, Mary Marlon, Luis Prendez | Italian | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| A Mighty Wind | 2003 | Christopher Guest. | ★★★ | 87 | When a veteran folk-music promoter dies, one of his sons launches a reunion concert of disparate folkies at N.Y.C.'s Town Hall. So droll that you sometimes have to pinch yourself to realize just how dead-on its satirical skewering is, including a host of bogus '60s folk songs (and even album covers). Treats its targets a bit more gently than WAITING FOR GUFFMAN and BEST IN SHOW; it's even touching at times. Willard is a scream as a showbiz promoter and 'idea man' whose ideas could sink a continent. Screenplay by Guest and Levy. | tt0310281 | [PG-13] | Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Bob Balaban, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Begley/ Jr., Larry Miller, Michael Hitchcock, Paul Dooley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mighty | 1998 | Peter Chelsom | ★★★½ | 100 | Beautifully realized story of two young misfits who bond together and become, in their hearts and imaginations, invincible as the knights of old. Poetic and heart-rending, with remarkable performances by the youthful leading actors. Screenplay by Charles Leavitt from the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. | tt0119670 | [PG-13] | Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini, *** Meat Loaf, Jenifer Lewis | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mikado | 1939 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★★ | 90 | Baker may not be the ideal Nanki-Poo, but this color film of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta is still worthwhile, with the marvelous G&S songs intact. | tt0031650 | Kenny Baker, John Barclay, Martyn Green, Jean Colin, Constance Wills | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mike's Murder | 1984 | James Bridges | ★½ | 109 | One of the worst movies ever made by a filmmaker of Bridges' stature; after an acquaintance is butchered in a drug deal, Winger decides to investigate for herself. Filmed in 1982, followed by years at the editing table to no avail; Winfield provides only life as jaded record exec. Escapes BOMB rating only because several critics thought highly of it. | tt0087722 | [R] | Debra Winger, Mark Keyloun, Darrell Larson, Paul Winfield, Brooke Alderson, William Ostrander, Dan Shor | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Mikey and Nicky | 1976 | Elaine May | ★★½ | 116 | Ragged film (in the editing room for several years) improves as it goes along, examining relationship between small-time hoods who were childhood pals, one of whom may be fingering the other for hit man Beatty. Superb performances by Falk and Cassavetes. | tt0074901 | [R] | Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Ned Beatty, Rose Arrick, Carol Grace, Joyce Van Patten | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Milagro Beanfield War | 1988 | Robert Redford | ★★★½ | 117 | Spirited, fanciful tale of a rugged individualist (dirt-poor, hard-luck Vennera) who decides to stand up to the big, brash developers who plan to milk his (and his neighbors') New Mexico land for all it's worth. Distilled from John Nichols' sprawling novel by Nichols and David Ward, this film takes a whimsical tone that's positively infectious . . . aided by a top ensemble cast, beautiful scenery, and Dave Grusin's lyrical, Oscar-winning score. | tt0095638 | [R] | Rubén Blades, Richard Bradford, Sonia Braga, Julie Carmen, James Gammon, Melanie Griffith, John Heard, Carlos Riquelme, Daniel Stern, Chick Vennera, Christopher Walken, Freddy Fender, Robert Carricart, M. Emmet Walsh, Trinidad Silva | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mildred Pierce | 1945 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 109 | Crawford won an Oscar as housewife-turned-waitress who finds success in business but loses control of ungrateful daughter Blyth— especially when she finds they're competing for the love of the same man. Solid adaptation (scripted by Ranald MacDougall) of James M. Cain's novel with top supporting cast. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037913 | Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Butterfly McQueen | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| Miles From Home | 1988 | Gary Sinise | ★½ | 114 | The 'Farm of the Year' from 1959 goes bankrupt in 1988; heir Gere burns it down rather than see it taken over by the bank, then takes off on a Midwest spree accompanied by acquiescent brother Anderson. Gere's actions (and performance) are so off-putting that you begin to wonder if he doesn't deserve his fate, which can hardly be the point. Miller and Metcalf put spins on marginal roles. | tt0095640 | [R] | Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson, Penelope Ann Miller, Laurie Metcalf, John Malkovich, Brian Dennehy, Judith Ivey, Helen Hunt, Terry Kinney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Milk | 2008 | Gus Van Sant | ★★★½ | 127 | Exceptional biopic about Harvey Milk, America’s pioneering openly-gay elected official who changed both laws and perceptions as a San Francisco city supervisor in the 1970s. Penn disappears into the character of the sweet but forceful man who never gave up, despite repeated setbacks—and the knowledge that he might be cut down in his prime. Dustin Lance Black’s expansive screenplay covers a lot of territory, both personal and public, while Van Sant’s seamless interweaving of vintage news footage and recreations transports us back in time. Milk’s crusade, and the vitriolic response to it, has uncanny modern-day resonance. Oscar winner for Best Actor (Penn) and Best Screenplay. | tt1013753 | [R] | Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, Alison Pill, Victor Garber, Denis O’Hare, Joseph Cross, Stephen Spinella | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Milk Money | 1994 | Richard Benjamin | ★½ | 102 | 'Family-values' comedy about a 12-year-old who raises funds to ogle a sexy hooker— who later turns up in his hometown! Not as grubby as it sounds, but still an unlikely candidate to contribute to anyone's Irving G. Thalberg Award chances. McDowell overplays it, if that's possible in this kind of DOA dud, as a mobster. | tt0110516 | [PG-13] | Melanie Griffith, Ed Harris, Michael Patrick Carter, Malcolm McDowell, Anne Heche, Casey Siemaszko, Philip Bosco | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Milkman | 1950 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 97 | War vet O'Connor's dad owns a dairy; when father refuses to hire him, he takes a job with the rival company, which employs his pal Durante. Mindless comedy, worth watching only for Durante and his irrepressible personality. | tt0042733 | Donald O'Connor, Jimmy Durante, Piper Laurie, Joyce Holden, William Conrad, Henry O'Neill, Jess Barker, Frank Nelson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Milky Way | 1936 | Leo McCarey | ★★★ | 89 | Milquetoasty milkman is recruited by scheming fight promoter Menjou after inadvertently knocking out the middleweight champion! Bland but entertaining film is one of Lloyd's best talkies. Remade, almost scene for scene, as THE KID FROM BROOKLYN, with Danny Kaye, but they couldn't top the hilarious ducking scene with Lloyd and matron Marjorie Gateson. Some prints run 83m. | tt0027969 | Harold Lloyd, Adolphe Menjou, Verree Teasdale, Helen Mack, William Gargan, George Barbier, Dorothy Wilson, Lionel Stander | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Milky Way | 1969 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 102 | Two men making religious pilgrimage through France form basis for string of Buñuel 'jokes,' parables, surrealistic visions. Heretical, funny, haunting, thoroughly enjoyable. | tt0066534 | [M] | Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff, Alain Cuny, Bernard Verley, Michel Piccoli, Pierre Clementi, Georges Marchal, Delphine Seyrig | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Mill of the Stone Women | 1960 | Giorgio Ferroni. | ★★★ | 94 | Young writer (Brice) comes to the misty canal area of Flanders to write about an old windmill now converted into an attraction featuring statues of women in a carousel-like display. But the artist (Boehme) who owns the mill and his doctor companion (Preiss) share a dark secret about the owner's mysterious daughter (Gabel). Beautifully shot in Technicolor on fog-wreathed locations and handsome sets, this deliberately paced horror film is among the best of the wave of often-elegant 'Eurohorror' that crested in the 1960s. | tt0054099 | Pierre Brice, Scilla Gabel, Wolfgang Preiss, Robert Boehme, Dany Carrel, Marco Guglielmi, Liana Orfei. | French-Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mill on the Floss | 1937 | Tim Whelan | ★★ | 94 | Disappointing, dramatically uneven adaptation of George Eliot novel about a feud between a mill owner and solicitor; the latter's crippled son (Lawton) falls for the former's daughter (Fitzgerald), and var√ ious complications and tragedies ensue. Remade for TV in 1997 with Emily Watson. | tt0029245 | Frank Lawton, Victoria Hopper, Fay Compton, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Griffith Jones, Mary Clare, James Mason | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Millennium | 1989 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 108 | Intriguing premise features time travelers from the future kidnapping doomed passengers from crashing airliners; suspicious crash investigator Kristofferson becomes involved with Ladd, one of the time travelers. Story slowly falls apart, decaying into sheer corn. Highly regarded sci-fi writer John Varley adapted his own short story 'Air Raid,' but someone didn't trust the audience's intelligence. | tt0097883 | [PG-13] | Kris Kristofferson, Cheryl Ladd, Robert Joy, Daniel J. Travanti, Brent Carver, Maury Chaykin, David McIlwraith, Al Waxman, Lloyd Bochner | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Millennium Actress | Sennen joyu | 2002 | Satoshi Kon | ★★½ | 87 | A legendary actress agrees to give a rare interview to a documentary filmmaker and reveals personal secrets that allow the director and his cameraman to vicariously experience her life and times. Mature, literate Japanese animated feature makes innovative use of flashbacks but never quite lives up to the potential inherent in the story. Especially interesting to anyone who knows Japanese film history, as the actress spans the eras of propaganda films, Samurai sagas, and monster movies. | tt0291350 | [PG] | Voices of Miyoko Shôji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shozo Iizuka, Masaya Onosaka | Japanese | Drama, Animation, Romance, Fantasy | NULL |
| Millennium Mambo | 2001 | Hou Hsiao Hsien | ★½ | 119 | Disappointing downer from acclaimed director concerns a young, beautiful girl caught in a dead-end life in Taipei. Scenes with her drugged-out boyfriend and a small-time mobster at the club where she occasionally works don't add up to much. Film's apparent point is that it's tough being young nowadays. Hip score and flashy camerawork can't really compensate for the empty tale being told. | tt0283283 | [R] | Shu Qi, Jack Kao, Tuan Chun-Hao, Chen Yi-Hsuan, Maggie Cheung | French-Taiwanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Miller's Crossing | 1990 | Joel Coen | ★★½ | 115 | Moody, stylish, and pretentious take on gangster films by the Coen brothers (Joel directed and cowrote with producer-brother Ethan). Byrne plays a black-hearted Irish mobster with a code of ethics known only to himself, and a vow of loyalty to crime kingpin Finney. Dense and dour, it's almost doggedly off-putting at first, but gets more involving as its serpentine story unfolds. Some bravura moments, along with Barry Sonnenfeld's compelling cinematography. Frances McDormand has unbilled bit as a secretary. | tt0100150 | [R] | Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman, Mike Starr, Al Mancini, Michael Jeter, Steve Buscemi | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Millerson Case | 1947 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 72 | The Crime Doctor (Baxter) probes the death of a physician and battles typhoid in the backwoods of Virginia in this entry that's par for the series. | tt0039625 | Warner Baxter, Nancy Saunders, Barbara Pepper, Clem Bevans, Paul Guilfoyle | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Baby | 1941 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 102 | The sudden acquisition of a million dollars causes strain between wide-eyed Lane and her boyfriend (Reagan), a poor but proud pianist. Innocuous comedy sparked by Robson's patented performance as gruff but good-hearted millionairess. | tt0033910 | Priscilla Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, Ronald Reagan, May Robson, Lee Patrick, Helen Westley | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Baby | 2004 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 133 | Aging fight manager/trainer reluctantly takes on a 31-year-old woman as his newest client and is soon won over by her heart, determination, and talent. Entertaining, picaresque look at emotionally wounded people who find comfort in each other's protection; propelled by strong performances and flavorful narration by Freeman. Screenplay by Paul Haggis, from stories in Rope Burns by F. X. Toole. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Supporting Actor (Freeman). | tt0405159 | [PG-13] | Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Mackie, Jay Baruchel, Mike Colter, Lucia Rijker, Brian O'Byrne, Margo Martindale | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Million Dollar Duck | 1971 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 92 | A duck who lays golden eggs spurs predictable twists and turns in this standard Disney comedy. | tt0066728 | [G] | Dean Jones, Sandy Duncan, Joe Flynn, Tony Roberts, James Gregory, Lee H. Montgomery | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Million Dollar Hotel | 2000 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 122 | Wacko, DAVID AND LISA-type story of two mentally ill young lovers in an L.A. welfare hotel. Bono (of U2) cowrote the confounding, convoluted script, which will try your patience, but Wenders's lensing has its share of visual poetry, and Davies and Jovovich are effective leads. Colorful supporting cast helps, too. (Gibson, as an FBI agent with a Frankenstein-like back brace, seems to be in a different movie altogether.) | tt0120753 | [R] | Jeremy Davies, Milla Jovovich, Mel Gibson, Jimmy Smits, Donal Logue, Gloria Stuart, Bud Cort, Amanda Plummer, Julian Sands, Peter Stormare, Charlayne Woodard, Ellen Cleghorne, Harris Yulin, Tim Roth | German-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Million Dollar Kid | 1944 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 65 | Fair East Side Kids entry about a rich kid who's leading a life of crime and taken in by the boys in an attempt to reform him. | tt0037074 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Al Stone, Bobby Stone, Dave Durand, Gabriel Dell, Louise Currie, Noah Beery/Sr., Iris Adrian | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Legs | 1932 | Edward F. Cline | ★★★½ | 61 | Wacky nonsense with Fields as President of Klopstokia, a nutty country entering the Olympics. Oakie is a young American pursuing W. C.'s daughter (Fleming). Joseph Mankiewicz was one of the writers of this little gem. Title on-screen is MILLION $ LEGS. | tt0023225 | W. C. Fields, Jack Oakie, Susan Fleming, Lyda Roberti, Andy Clyde, Ben Turpin, Dickie Moore, Billy Gilbert, Hugh Herbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Legs | 1939 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 65 | Title supposedly refers to winning horse, but Grable is star so draw your own conclusions. Pleasant college comedy of school trying to keep on its feet. Look fast for William Holden. | tt0031652 | Betty Grable, Jackie Coogan, Donald O'Connor, Buster Crabbe, Peter Lind Hayes, Richard Denning | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Manhunt | 1956 | Maclean Rogers. | 💣 | 79 | Drab account of American agent Denning on the tail of counterfeiters and $12 million printed in Nazi Germany. Aka ASSIGNMENT REDHEAD. | tt0049504 | Richard Denning, Carole Mathews, Ronald Adam, Danny Green, Brian Worth, Hugh Moxey. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Million Dollar Mermaid | 1952 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 115 | Williams does OK as real-life aquatic star Annette Kellerman, alternating her swimming with romancing Mature. Some typically elaborate production numbers by Busby Berkeley. | tt0044903 | Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, David Brian, Donna Corcoran, Jesse White, Maria Tallchief | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Million Dollar Mystery | 1987 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 95 | Bosley, in his dying breath, informs customers at a roadside diner that $4 million is hidden nearby— giving them just enough clues to send the rabid group scrambling in the same direction. Shameless rip-off of IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD is directed with more gusto than you'd expect from Fleischer. See how many plugs for Glad Bags (cosponsor, along with De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, of a real-life promotional million-dollar treasure hunt) you can spot. | tt0093539 | [PG] | Eddie Deezen, Penny Baker, Tom Bosley, Rich Hall, Wendy Sherman, Rick Overton, Mona Lyden, Kevin Pollak | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Million Dollar Weekend | 1948 | Gene Raymond | ★★ | 72 | Average mystery yarn with veteran cast. Stockbroker steals firm's money and heads for Hawaii, where complications snowball. | tt0040590 | Gene Raymond, Francis Lederer, Stephanie Paull (Osa Massen), Robert Warwick, James Craven | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Million Eyes of Su-Muru | 1967 | Lindsay Shonteff | ★★ | 95 | Tongue-in-cheek tale of murder and women's organization bent on enslaving all of mankind. From a Sax Rohmer story. | tt0061976 | Frankie Avalon, George Nader, Shirley Eaton, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Klaus Kinski | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Million to Juan | 1993 | Paul Rodriguez | ★★½ | 97 | Poor but honest, much put-upon Rodriguez, widowed with a ten-year-old son, is inexplicably given a check for $1 million. Predictable comedy-fantasy is uplifted by some sweet, touching moments. Based on a Mark Twain story, 'The Million Pound Bank Note'; previously filmed as MAN WITH A MILLION. | tt0110518 | [PG] | Paul Rodriguez, Tony Plana, Bert Rosario, Polly Draper, Jonathan Hernandez, Larry Linville, Victor Rivers, David Rasche, Edward James Olmos, Pepe Serna, Paul Williams, Cheech Marin, Rubén Blades | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Million to One | 1938 | Lynn Shores | ★½ | 60 | Static account of athlete preparing for the Olympic decathlon; a showcase for Brix's abilities— in fact, he competed in the 1932 games as a shot-putter. Fontaine is the society girl who falls for him. | tt0029248 | Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett), Joan Fontaine, Monte Blue, Kenneth Harlan, Suzanne Kaaren, Reed Howes | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Millionaire for Christy | 1951 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 91 | 1930s-type screwball comedy; fast, unpretentious, very funny, with winning performances by Parker and MacMurray in tale of gold-digging girl out to snare rich husband. | tt0043807 | Fred MacMurray, Eleanor Parker, Richard Carlson, Una Merkel | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Millionaire | 1931 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 80 | One of Arliss' audience-proof formula films, about a Henry Ford-like industrialist who's forced to retire— but can't stay idle for long. Pleasant fluff, with Cagney memorable in a one-scene appearance as a go-getting insurance salesman. Based on a story by Earl Derr Biggers— with dialogue by Booth Tarkington! Remade as THAT WAY WITH WOMEN. | tt0022151 | George Arliss, Evalyn Knapp, David Manners, Noah Beery/Sr., Florence Arliss, J. Farrell MacDonald, James Cagney | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Millionairess | 1960 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 90 | Loren is an heiress who thinks money can buy anything, until she meets Indian doctor Sellers, who won't sell his principles, or his love. Sophia is stunning, but this adaptation of G. B. Shaw's play is heavy-handed comedy. | tt0054086 | Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Vittorio De Sica, Dennis Price | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Millions | 2005 | Danny Boyle. | ★★★ | 98 | A smart, surprising and spiritual change of pace for TRAINSPOTTING director Boyle. Two young brothers have one week to spend a bagful of money they've come across, before the British pound switches over to the Euro. The choices the boys make not only say a lot about each of them but serve as a reflection of how society views the conflict between instant wealth and moral values. Newcomer Etel provides genuinely touching moments that are never maudlin. Boyle's zippy visuals are another plus; he forgoes the usually dreary movie look of British neighborhoods to make these sunny English 'burbs look like a Technicolor haven. | tt0366777 | [PG] | Alexander Nathan Etel, Lewis Owen McGibbon, James Nesbitt, Daisy Donovan, Christopher Fulford, Jane Hogarth. | British | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Family | NULL | |
| Millions Like Us | 1943 | Frank Launder, Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 103 | Memorable depiction of ordinary people coping with war. Roc is an airplane-factory worker during WW2, rooming in nearby hostel with women from varied social classes. Boasts realistic approach sorely missing from SWING SHIFT forty years later. | tt0036160 | Eric Portman, Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Megs Jenkins, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Irene Handl, Brenda Bruce | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Milwaukee, Minnesota | 2005 | Allan Mindel | ★★ | 95 | Paper-thin account of a mentally challenged young man (Garity) who is an expert ice fisherman, and the con artists who attempt to exploit him. Aims for a quirky tone, but turns out to be conventional-and forgettable. | tt0285727 | [R] | Troy Garity, Alison Folland, Randy Quaid, Bruce Dern, Hank Harris, Debra Monk, Josh Brolin, Holly Woodlawn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mimi | 1935 | Paul L. Stein | ★½ | 98 | Lawrence is badly miscast as the tragic heroine in this straight adaptation of La Boheme, set in Paris' Latin Quarter, though she does get to perform one song. Incredibly sluggish, even in current 62m. prints. | tt0026718 |
|
Gertrude Lawrence, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Diana Napier, Harold Warrender, Carol Goodner, Austin Trevor | British | Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| Mimic | 1997 | Guillermo Del Toro | ★★★ | 105 | Entomologist Sorvino creates a non-breeding insect to wipe out a plague of disease-carrying cockroaches. This works, but three years later, the cure is getting out of hand. The hybrids bred after all, and have become giants, capable of disguising themselves as their favorite prey: people. Lively, scary sci-fi thriller becomes conventional in the last third; until then it's great fun. From Donald A. Wollheim's short story. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0119675 | [R] | Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Charles S. Dutton, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini, Josh Brolin, F. Murray Abraham | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Min and Bill | 1930 | George W. Hill | ★★½ | 70 | Sentimental early talkie with unforgettable team of Beery and Dressler as waterfront characters trying to protect Jordan from her alcoholic mother (Rambeau). Dressler won an Academy Award for her performance. | tt0021148 | Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Dorothy Jordan, Marjorie Rambeau, Frank McGlynn | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mina Tannenbaum | 1994 | Martine Dugowson | ★★★ | 123 | Entertaining melodrama about the friendship between two Jewish Parisian girls, an introspective artist and a brash reporter, and its disintegration when they fall in love with the same man. First half plays like a Nora Ephron coming-of-age comedy, while the rest is pure Max Ophuls. Despite the unevenness, the film is buoyed by two great performances from Zylberstein and Bohringer (in the title role). | tt0110521 | [R] | Romane Bohringer, Elsa Zylberstein, Florence Thomassin, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Nils Tavernier, Stephane Slima, Hugues Quester | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Minbo: Anti-Extortion Woman | 1992 | Juzo Itami | ★★★ | 123 | Wonderful wish-fulfillment comedy with the canny, super-competent (but diminutive) Miyamoto helping hapless hotel managers to confront the most intimidating Yakuza members in Hong Kong. A big hit in Japan, this film also inspired real-life Yakuza to attack writer-director Itami. Aka MINBO: THE GENTLE ART OF JAPANESE. | tt0104874 | Nobuku Miyamoto, Akira Takarada, Masahiro Murata, Yasuo Daichi, Hideji Otaki, Hoboru Mitani, Shiro Ito, Akira Nakao | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mind Benders | 1963 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 101 | Top cast in slow-moving but compelling account of experiments in sensory deprivation, with espionage theme worked into plot. | tt0057311 | Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant, Wendy Craig, Edward Fox | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mind Field | 1990 | Jean-Claude Lord | ★★ | 92 | Montreal cop Ironside is plagued by problems on the job, mysterious killings, and strange LSD-like flashbacks connected to CIA researcher Plummer. Complicated, slow movie tries to cover too much ground (including police unions and JFK's assassination). | tt0097886 | [R] | Michael Ironside, Lisa Langlois, Sean McCann, Christopher Plummer, Stefan Wodoslawsky, Harvey Atkin, Eugene Clark | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Mind Reader | 1933 | Roy Del Ruth. | ★★★ | 69 | William is at his slimy peak as a medicine-show grifter who excels in the highly lucrative world of phony clairvoyants with partner Jenkins, then moves into high society selling info to rich wives about their cheating spouses. A consistently witty treat, capped by a great closing line by Jenkins. | tt0024339 | Warren William, Constance Cummings, Allen Jenkins, Natalie Moorhead, Mayo Methot, Clarence Muse. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mind of Mr. Soames | 1970 | Alan Cooke | ★★★½ | 95 | Exceptionally fine sci-fi tale of man who has been in a coma since birth; finally revived, he must be taught thirty years' worth of knowledge in brief span of time. | tt0066080 | [M] | Terence Stamp, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport, Christian Roberts | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Mindhunters | 2004 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 106 | A group of FBI agents-in-training are left on an isolated island designed to test their skills as profilers-but one of them is a serial killer intent on murdering the others, one by one. Moderately suspenseful and well-acted thriller sticks too closely to the TEN LITTLE INDIANS formula. Filmed in 2002. | tt0297284 | [R] | Eion Bailey, Patricia Velasquez, Clifton Collins/Jr., Will Kemp, Val Kilmer, Jonny Lee Miller, Kathryn Morris, Christian Slater, *** LL Cool J, Cassandra Bell | British-Dutch-Finnish-U.S. | Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Mindwalk | 1991 | Bernt Capra | ★★ | 110 | Unusual ecological talkfest may be the MY DINNER WITH ANDRE of the environmental movement. Mainly a conversation on the sad state of the world among three people (a poet, a physicist, and a politician) roaming a picturesque French isle. Sometimes fascinating; mostly static, pretentious. If you met up with any of these people at a party, you'd be fumbling for the car keys. | tt0100151 | [PG] | Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston, John Heard, Ione Skye | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mine Own Executioner | 1947 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★★ | 108 | Engrossing drama about a brilliant, dedicated psychoanalyst (Meredith), who can't seem to sort out his own problems, and his efforts to help a schizophrenic ex-POW (Moore). Perceptive screenplay by Nigel Balchin, from his novel; solid performances all around, and some arresting visual highlights. | tt0039627 | Burgess Meredith, Dulcie Gray, Kieron Moore, Christine Norden, Barbara White, John Laurie, Michael Shepley | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mini's First Time | 2006 | Nick Guthe | ★½ | 91 | Slutty teen (THIRTEEN's Reed), living in a hilltop L.A. mansion, opts to turn tricks to spite her mother. Soon stepfather Baldwin gets involved-in more ways than one. Tantalizingly overripe performances from the strong cast cannot overcome this unconvincingly scripted satire. | tt0425253 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, Nikki Reed, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jeff Goldblum, Luke Wilson, Svetlana Metkina, Sprague Grayden, Rick Fox | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Miniskirt Mob | 1968 | Maury Dexter | ★½ | 82 | McBain plays leader of female motorcycle gang, even though she looks as if she'd be more comfortable on a Tournament of Roses float. Those who like the title will probably like the film. | tt0063306 | Jeremy Slate, Diane McBain, Sherry Jackson, Patty McCormack, Ross Hagen, Harry Dean Stanton, Ronnie Rondell | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Ministry of Fear | 1944 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 85 | Atmospheric thriller of wartime London, with Milland framed in complicated espionage plot; good cast, fine touches by director Lang. From the Graham Greene novel. | tt0037075 | Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond, Dan Duryea, Hillary Brooke, Alan Napier, Percy Waram | Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Miniver Story | 1950 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 104 | Sequel to MRS. MINIVER (filmed this time in England) doesn't work as well, but Garson and Pidgeon have some poignant scenes as family reunited in post-WW2 England. Young James Fox, billed as William, makes his film debut. | tt0042735 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, John Hodiak, Leo Genn, Cathy O'Donnell, Henry Wilcoxon, Reginald Owen, Peter Finch | Drama | NULL | |||
| Minnesota Clay | 1965 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★ | 95 | Standard European oater, with Mitchell giving a good performance as gunslinger who escapes prison to find the man who can clear him. He's going blind and faces his enemies aided by a heightened sense of hearing. | tt0058202 | Cameron Mitchell, Georges Riviere, Ethel Rojo, Diana Martin, Anthony Ross | French-Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| Minnie and Moskowitz | 1971 | John Cassavetes | ★★★ | 114 | One of Cassavetes' most likable films chronicles manic romance between lonely museum curator (Rowlands) and crazy parking-lot attendant (Cassel). Touching, amusing, and most enjoyable. | tt0067433 | [PG] | Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, Val Avery, Timothy Carey, Katherine Cassavetes, Elsie Ames | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Minority Report | 2002 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 144 | In the year 2054, Cruise is the top cop in an elite D.C. unit that uses seers to predict and stop crimes before they occur, but the controversial program is under fire by the Feds. High-tech, highly charged sci-fi saga has many fine ingredients, but goes on far too long (especially considering it was adapted from a short story— not a novel— by Philip K. Dick). Multiple endings, and growing confusion, diminish the effectiveness of the film, one of Spielberg's harshest. Excellent score by John Williams. | tt0181689 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, Lois Smith, Peter Stormare, Tim Blake Nelson, Kathryn Morris, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Harper, Arye Gross | Crime, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Minotaur | 1961 | Silvio Amadio | ★½ | 92 | Occasional atmosphere and Schiaffino's appearance still cannot elevate story of mythological hero thwarting attempt of evil queen to subjugate city-dwellers with hideous monster. | tt0055518 | Bob Mathias, Rosanna Schiaffino, Alberto Lupo, Rik Battaglia | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Minstrel Man | 1944 | Joseph H. Lewis. | ★★ | 67 | Sappy story of a minstrel singer who abandons his daughter after wife dies in childbirth but reunites with the girl years later. Notable only as a vehicle for famed vaudevillian Fields, this low-budget musical received Oscar nominations for Best Score and Best Original Song ('Remember Me to Carolina'). | tt0037076 | Benny Fields, Gladys George, Alan Dinehart, Roscoe Karns, Judy Clark, Jerome Cowan, Molly Lamont, John Raitt, Lee 'Lasses' White. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Minus Man | 1999 | Hampton Fancher | ★★½ | 112 | Serial killer takes up residence in a middle-age suburban couple's spare room and hires on as a fellow postal worker with his landlord. Film's low-budget creepiness, though fairly effective, would have played better years ago before the screen's oversaturation with quiet, sensitive psychotics. Interesting for its sometimes-successful casting against type: comedic Wilson as the killer, the usually acerbic Garofalo as a lonely alcoholic and rocker Crow as a bar-hopper with asthma. | tt0151582 | [R] | Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Brian Cox, Sheryl Crow, Mercedes Ruehl, Dennis Haysbert, Dwight Yoakam | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die | Outlaw Gun | 1967 | Franco Giraldi | ★★★ | 97 | Outlaw seeks refuge in Escondido from outlaws, bounty hunters, territorial lawmen, and anyone out to take advantage of his occasional paralytic seizures. Outstanding color photography adds to great atmosphere. Aka OUTLAW GUN. | tt0063308 | [R] | Alex Cord, Arthur Kennedy, Robert Ryan, Mario Brega | Italian | Western | NULL |
| Miracle | 2004 | Gavin O'Connor | ★★★ | 135 | The story of coach Herb Brooks, who's hired to prepare a U.S. hockey team to compete with the unassailable Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. He knows that the only way to do this is to beat them at their own game— and build a team that breathes as one, no matter what sacrifices that requires along the way. Exciting, even though the conclusion is a given. Russell has never been better; most of the younger cast members are athletes making their acting debuts. Karl Malden played Brooks in the 1981 TV movie MIRACLE ON ICE. | tt0349825 | [PG] | Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich, Sean McCann, Kenneth Welsh, Eddie Cahill, Patrick O'Brien Demsey, Michael Mantenuto, Nathan West | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Miracle Man | 1932 | Norman McLeod. | ★★★ | 87 | On the lam, Chinatown-based crook Morris settles in a small town; when he meets faith healer Bosworth he sees an opportunity for a major scam. Offbeat, effective film with strong performances, including Wray as Frog, the part Lon Chaney played in the 1919 silent film. Karloff is an improbable Asian character with an awful accent. Based on a novel later turned into a play by George M. Cohan. | tt0023228 | Sylvia Sidney, Chester Morris, Robert Coogan, John Wray, Ned Sparks, Hobart Bosworth, Lloyd Hughes, Virginia Bruce, Boris Karloff, Irving Pichel. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miracle Mile | 1989 | Steve DeJarnatt | ★½ | 87 | Good-natured musician who's just gotten to first base with a coffee shop waitress picks up a ringing pay phone and learns that the U.S. has fired a nuclear warhead— which means that the end of the world is about an hour away. Artificial and overwrought from the word go. Credible costars Edwards and Winningham can't do anything with this material. | tt0097889 | [R] | Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, John Agar, Lou Hancock, Mykel T. Williamson, Kelly Minter, Kurt Fuller, Denise Crosby, Robert Doqui, Danny De La Paz | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Miracle Woman | 1931 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 90 | Stanwyck plays an evangelist (patterned after Aimee Semple McPherson) whose splashy sermons become big business. Manners is a blind man who falls in love with her. Story contrivances overcome by fine performances, direction, and camerawork (by Joseph Walker). | tt0022153 | Barbara Stanwyck, David Manners, Sam Hardy, Beryl Mercer, Russell Hopton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Miracle Worker | 1962 | Arthur Penn | ★★★½ | 107 | Austerely beautiful treatment of William Gibson's play about Annie Sullivan (Bancroft), the remarkable woman who accepts the challenge of getting through to blind, deaf Helen Keller (Duke). There is absolutely no sentiment, which only increases the emotional power of the piece. Bancroft and Duke had been playing these parts on Broadway for over a year, but you'd never know it from their spontaneous and totally compelling performances, which earned them both Oscars. Originally staged as a 1957 Playhouse 90 on TV, also directed by Penn. Remade for TV in 1979, with Duke in the role of Sullivan, and again in 2000. | tt0056241 | Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine, Beah Richards, Kathleen Comegys | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miracle at St. Anna | 2008 | Spike Lee | ★★★½ | 160 | A modern crime story cues a flashback to 1944: four black members of the Buffalo Soldiers division of the U.S. Army are separated from their unit in Italy. As they fend for themselves in a Tuscan village, they contend with internal friction—and questions about their role in the war—as well as partisans, Fascists, racist superiors, a Nazi prisoner, and a frightened boy whom one of them adopts. Long but picaresque, rich with detail about this unique chapter of WW2 history. James McBride adapted his own novel. | tt1046997 | [R] | Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino, Valentina Cervi, Matteo Sciabordi, John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington, D. B. Sweeney, Walton Goggins, Robert John Burke, Omero Antonutti, Sergio Albelli | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Miracle in Milan | 1951 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★½ | 95 | Toto the Good (Golisano) brings cheer to a dreary village of poor people, aided by the old lady who raised him, who is now in heaven. Bitingly comic condemnation of the manner in which displaced Europeans were treated after WW2. | tt0043809 | Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa, Emma Gramatica, Guglielmo Barnabo | Italian | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Miracle in the Rain | 1956 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 107 | Above-par soaper of two lost souls, Wyman and Johnson, falling in love in N.Y.C. during WW2. | tt0049509 | Jane Wyman, Van Johnson, Peggie Castle, Fred Clark, Eileen Heckart, Josephine Hutchinson, Barbara Nichols, William Gargan, Alan King, Arte Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Miracle of Morgan's Creek | 1944 | Preston Sturges | ★★★★ | 99 | Frantic, hilarious comedy of Betty attending all-night party, getting pregnant and forgetting who's the father. Bracken and Demarest have never been better than in this daring wartime farce. Filmed in 1942; sort of remade as ROCK-A-BYE BABY. | tt0037077 | Eddie Bracken, Betty Hutton, William Demarest, Diana Lynn, Brian Donlevy, Akim Tamiroff, Porter Hall, Almira Sessions, Jimmy Conlin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima | Miracle of Fatima | 1952 | John Brahm | ★★★ | 102 | Thoughtful account of religious miracle witnessed by farm children in 1910s; intelligent script. Retitled: MIRACLE OF FATIMA. | tt0044905 | Gilbert Roland, Angela Clarke, Frank Silvera, Jay Novello, Sherry Jackson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Miracle of the Bells | 1948 | Irving Pichel | ★½ | 120 | Contrived story of miracle occurring when movie star is laid to rest in coal-mining home town; often ludicrous, despite sincere cast. Screenplay by Ben Hecht and Quentin Reynolds. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040594 | Fred MacMurray, Valli, Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb, Charles Meredith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miracle of the Hills | 1959 | Paul Landres. | ★½ | 73 | Timid little Western of town-running gal who bucks new clergyman. | tt0053068 | Rex Reason, Theona Bryant, Jay North, Gilbert Smith, Tracy Stratford, Gene Roth. | Western | NULL | |||
| Miracle of the White Stallions | 1963 | Arthur Hiller | ★½ | 117 | Long, talky, confusing drama about evacuation of prized Lippizan show-horses from Vienna during WW2. A most un-Disneylike Disney film. | tt0057312 | Robert Taylor, Lilli Palmer, Curt Jurgens, Eddie Albert, James Franciscus, John Larch | Family, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Miracle on 34th Street | 1947 | George Seaton | ★★★½ | 96 | Classic Valentine Davies fable of Kris Kringle (Gwenn) working in Macy's, encountering an unbelieving child (Wood), and going on trial to prove he's Santa. Delightful comedy-fantasy won Oscars for Gwenn, Davies, and screenwriter Seaton. Thelma Ritter's auspicious screen debut; an amusing bit for young Jack Albertson, as a postal employee. Remade in 1973 (for TV) and 1994. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039628 | Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart, Natalie Wood, Porter Hall, William Frawley, Jerome Cowan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miracle on 34th Street | 1994 | Les Mayfield | ★★½ | 114 | Pretty good remake of the 1947 charmer. Attenborough is wonderful as the man who calls himself Kris Kringle, and Wilson is irresistible as the little girl who doesn't believe in Santa. Loses its way whenever it veers from the original script— as in the relationship between Mara's mom (Perkins) and her neighbor/friend (McDermott) . . . and when it manages to keep the adorable youngster off-screen. Tellingly, this version is almost 20 minutes longer than the earlier film. Produced and written by John Hughes. Joss Ackland appears unbilled. | tt0110527 | [PG] | Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, Mara Wilson, Robert Prosky, J. T. Walsh, James Remar, Jane Leeves, Simon Jones, William Windom | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Miracle on Main Street | 1939 | Steve Sekely. | ★★ | 68 | Limp drama about depressed carnival dancer Margo, and what happens after she finds an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. Artistically ambitious B movie that doesn't work. | tt0031656 | Margo, Walter Abel, Jane Darwell, Lyle Talbot, William Collier/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Miracle | 1959 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 121 | Claptrap vehicle resurrected as glossy, empty spectacle of 1810s Spain, with Baker the would-be nun unsure of her decision, Moore the soldier she romances. | tt0053069 | Carroll Baker, Roger Moore, Walter Slezak, Vittorio Gassman, Katina Paxinou, Dennis King, Isobel Elsom | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Miracle | 1991 | Neil Jordan | ★★★ | 100 | Evocative coming-of-age drama about Byrne and Pilkington, a pair of bright, bored Irish teens who view the world with youthful cynicism, and become intrigued by a beautiful mystery woman (D'Angelo) arriving in town. Soon Byrne is pursuing her romantically, but he has no idea how her presence will affect his life. Collectively well acted, with intelligent, precise script by Jordan. | tt0102450 | [R] | Beverly D'Angelo, Donal McCann, Niall Byrne, Lorraine Pilkington, J. G. Devlin | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Miracles | 1986 | Jim Kouf | ★½ | 86 | Conti and Garr, recently divorced, are whisked away to South American hellhole by jewel thief Rodriguez in this clone of ROMANCING THE STONE. The stars do their best, but we've seen it all before, and better. Written by first-time director Kouf. | tt0091524 | [PG] | Tom Conti, Teri Garr, Paul Rodriguez, Christopher Lloyd, Adalberto Martinez, Jorge Russek | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miracles | 1989 | Jackie Chan | ★★½ | 127 | A naïve newcomer to 1930s Hong Kong accidentally becomes head of a powerful mob and battles a rival racketeer. Meanwhile, he befriends a flower seller and agrees to help her impress her visiting daughter, who thinks she's wealthy. Uncredited remake of Frank Capra's LADY FOR A DAY and POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES follows that part of the story faithfully— punctuated by mind-boggling fight scenes! An amusing oddity. Aka MR. CANTON AND LADY ROSE, later retitled BLACK DRAGON. | tt0098019 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Wu Ma, Richard Ng, Bill Tung, Gui Ya-Lei, Gloria Yip, Billy Lau, Lo Lieh, Ko Chuen-Hsiang, Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung, Ricky Hui, Amy Yip | Hong Kong | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Miracles for Sale | 1939 | Tod Browning. | ★★½ | 71 | Young is an ex-magician who now devises elaborate illusions for a living and tries to expose fake spiritualists. When murder rears its head and Rice is threatened, he has his hands full. Browning's last movie is a slick whodunit that cheats its audience a bit too often and features a red herring character who's painfully obvious. | tt0031657 | Robert Young, Florence Rice, Frank Craven, Henry Hull, Lee Bowman, Cliff Clark, Astrid Allwyn, Walter Kingsford. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Miraculous Journey | 1948 | Peter Stewart (Sam Newfield). | ★½ | 83 | Substandard psychological study of victims of plane crash in jungle. | tt0040596 | Rory Calhoun, Andrew Long, Virginia Grey, George Cleveland. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mirage | 1965 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 109 | Fine Hitchcock-like thriller, with Peck the victim of amnesia, and everyone else out to get him. Matthau steals film as easygoing private-eye; interesting on-location footage in N.Y.C. Remade as JIGSAW (1968). | tt0059448 | Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Weston, Leif Erickson, Walter Abel, George Kennedy | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Miral | 2011 | Julian Schnabel | ★★ | 112 | Uneven saga dives into Israeli-Palestinian conflict by focusing on four women from different generations whose lives parallel the tumultuous relationship between the warring neighbors. Instantly controversial, the simplistic storyline about women of different eras living under Israeli occupation is actually benign, bolstered by the performances of a sterling international cast. Segmented, confused plotting doesn’t help matters as film ambles along, never allowing the audience to get inside its complex subjects. Schnabel does at least try to offer some modicum of hope through the eyes of the title character, well played by Pinto. Screenplay by Rula Jebreal, from her novel. | tt1366409 | [PG-13] | Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, Jamil Khoury, Willem Dafoe, Vanessa Redgrave, Alexander Siddig, Yasmine Al Massri, Omar Metwally, Ruba Blal | Drama | NULL | ||
| Miranda | 1948 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 80 | Cute movie (adapted by Peter Blackmore from his play) about a happily married doctor who's abducted by a mermaid; she agrees to send him back to dry land only if she can accompany him to see what the human world is like. Charming fluff. Amusing to see Johns and Tomlinson together years before they were husband and wife in MARY POPPINS. Title song by Jean Sablon. Followed by a sequel, MAD ABOUT MEN. | tt0040597 | Googie Withers, Glynis Johns, Griffith Jones, John McCallum, David Tomlinson, Margaret Rutherford, Maurice Denham | British | Fantasy, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Mirror Crack'd | 1980 | Guy Hamilton | ★★½ | 105 | A mild Agatha Christie whodunit made enjoyable by its quartet of 1950s stars, particularly Taylor and Novak, fun as catty rival movie stars. Lansbury is a crisp Miss Marple. This ought to play better on TV. A highlight: the b&w movie-within-a-movie, Murder at Midnight. | tt0081163 | [PG] | Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, Edward Fox, Geraldine Chaplin, Wendy Morgan, Charles Gray, Pierce Brosnan | British | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Mirror Has Two Faces | 1958 | André Cayatte | ★★½ | 98 | Morgan is quite good as woman who begins life anew after plastic surgery. Remade in U.S. in 1996. | tt0051933 | Michele Morgan, Bourvil, Gérard Oury, Ivan Desny, Elizabeth Manet, Sylvie, Sandra Milo | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mirror Has Two Faces | 1996 | Barbra Streisand | ★★½ | 126 | A nerdy college prof, smarting from love affairs gone bad, enters into a cerebral relationship with fellow professor Streisand in which sex plays no part. Then she begins to long for something more. A Very Barbra Movie— she even cowrote the love theme— that deals with self-image and the impact of physical beauty, then undermines its own convictions in a nonsensical climax. Still, entertaining and attractively cast, with Bacall terrific as Streisand's self-absorbed mother. Based on the 1958 French movie. | tt0117057 | [PG-13] | Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall, Mimi Rogers, George Segal, Pierce Brosnan, Brenda Vaccaro, Austin Pendleton, Elle Macpherson | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mirror Mirror | 2012 | Tarsem Singh | ★★ | 106 | Retelling of the Snow White story with a few modern twists. Roberts is the narcissistic queen, Collins the virginal heroine. A sad excuse for a fairy tale, lacking in whimsy, magic, and heart. The dwarves are without question the best part of the film. This might have worked better as a TV movie and could still serve as entertainment at a little girls' sleepover. | tt1667353 | [PG] | Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, Robert Emms, Mare Winningham, Michael Lerner, Sean Bean, Jordan Prentice, Mark Povinelli, Joe Gnoffo, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Martin Klebba, Ronald Lee Clark | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Mirror | 1976 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★½ | 106 | Extremely personal, moving tale of life in Russia during WW2. Superbly directed; overall, it works most effectively as an homage to childhood innocence. | tt0072443 | Margarita Terekhova, Philip Yankovsky, Ignat Daniltsev, Oleg Yankovsky | Russian | Action | NULL | ||
| Mirrormask | 2006 | David McKean | ★★★ | 96 | Teenage girl who feels alienated from her parents-and their threadbare traveling circus-expresses her frustrations through drawing. When her mother takes ill, the guilt-ridden girl goes into a dream state inspired by those drawings and embarks on an odyssey to keep the world from being overtaken by dark forces. Wildly imaginative fantasy uses THE WIZARD OF OZ as a template, but the visuals are utterly original, the work of famed artist/designer McKean, making his directing debut. Screenplay by McKean's frequent collaborator Neil Gaiman, from a story they cowrote. Presented by the Jim Henson Company. | tt0366780 | [G] | Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, Gina McKee | U.S.-British | Fantasy | NULL | |
| Mirrors | 2008 | Alexandre Aja | ★★ | 110 | Aja, director of the 2006 THE HILLS HAVE EYES remake, has apparently decided that mirrors have eyes, too. Troubled ex-cop Sutherland takes a job as a night security guard in an abandoned department store, where evil mirrors seem to take on a life of their own. Haunted by the deaths of the previous guard and a family member, and contending with problems at home, Sutherland must convince everyone he’s not crazy before it’s too late. Pretty lame attempt at horror bungles what could have been a decent psychological tale of a man in crisis. Based on a 2001 Korean film, INTO THE MIRROR. | tt0790686 | [R] | Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart, Paula Patton, Cameron Boyce, Erica Gluck, Mary Beth Peil, John Shrapnel, Jason Flemyng | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Misadventures of Merlin Jones | 1964 | Robert Stevenson | ★½ | 88 | Skimpy Disney comedy about college brain (Kirk) and his misadventures with mind-reading and hypnotism. Sequel: THE MONKEY'S UNCLE. | tt0058355 | Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Leon Ames, Stuart Erwin, Alan Hewitt, Connie Gilchrist | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Misadventures of Mr. Wilt | Wilt | 1989 | Michael Tuchner. | ★★½ | 92 | Two stars of the hit British TV series Alas Smith and Jones are featured in this silly farce about college lecturer Henry Wilt (Rhys-Jones), who hates his bitchy wife— and becomes the prime suspect when the police think she's been murdered. Smith is the twit of an inspector assigned to the case. Funny— if it hits you in the right mood. Based on Tom Sharpe's best-seller. Original British title: WILT. | tt0097891 | Griff Rhys-Jones, Mel Smith, Alison Steadman, Diana Quick, Jeremy Clyde, Roger Allam. | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Misbehaving Husbands | 1940 | William Beaudine. | ★½ | 65 | Hapless department store owner forgets his wedding anniversary and, worse, is mistakenly accused of infidelity (with a mannequin!). Painful to watch the two aging leads straining to prolong their careers in this rock-bottom comedy. | tt0032799 | Harry Langdon, Betty Blythe, Ralph Byrd, Byron Barr (Gig Young), Gayne Whitman, Vernon Dent. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mischief | 1985 | Mel Damski | ★★ | 93 | Amiable but leaden-paced teen movie set in 1950s. Likable cast and vivid period atmosphere are chief assets— but any film that shows a clip from REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and then tries to duplicate the scene is asking for trouble. | tt0089601 | [R] | Doug McKeon, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelly Preston, Chris Nash, D. W. Brown, Jami Gertz, Terry O'Quinn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Misery | 1990 | Rob Reiner | ★★½ | 107 | Stephen King white-knuckler about a successful romance novelist who's nursed back to health after a snowy car crash by his Number One Fan— who turns out to be a serious sicko. Extremely well acted, but the suspense ebbs and flows; there was much more nuance, and more interesting development of the relationship between fan and prisoner, in the novel. Bates won an Oscar for her unforgettable performance. Screenplay by William Goldman; striking cinematography by Barry Sonnenfeld. J. T. Walsh has unbilled cameo as a park ranger. Later adapted as a stage play in London. | tt0100157 | [R] | James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall, Graham Jarvis | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Misfit Brigade | Wheels of Terror | 1987 | Gordon Hessler | ★★ | 99 | At once clichéd and lighthearted (!) DIRTY DOZEN variation, about a group of German prisoners who find themselves recruited into the military by the Nazis (who are desperate for fighting men). Aka WHEELS OF TERROR. | tt0093546 | [R] | Bruce Davison, David Patrick Kelly, David Carradine, D.W. Moffett, Jay O. Sanders, Keith Szarabajka, Oliver Reed | U.S.-British | War | NULL |
| The Misfits | 1961 | John Huston | ★★★ | 124 | Unsatisfying but engrossing parable authored by Arthur Miller, involving disillusioned divorcee Monroe and her brooding cowboy friends. Both Monroe's and Gable's last film. | tt0055184 | Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Thelma Ritter, Eli Wallach, James Barton, Estelle Winwood | Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mishima | 1985 | Paul Schrader | ★★★ | 120 | Narration read by Roy Scheider. Ambitious, highly stylized drama about Japan's most controversial post-WW2 author, playwright, actor, director, and militarist, Yukio Mishima, whose passion to merge life and art led to his ritualistic suicide in 1970. Scenes of Mishima's life (shot in black & white) are contrasted with vivid dramatizations (in opulent color) of key fictional works that grappled with his emotional crises. Long, difficult, not always successful, but fascinating. Beautifully photographed by John Bailey, swept along by stunning Philip Glass score. | tt0089603 | [R] | Ken Ogata | Drama | NULL | ||
| Miss Annie Rooney | 1942 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 84 | Moore gives Shirley her first screen kiss in slight tale of girl from wrong side of tracks in love with rich boy. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035068 | Shirley Temple, William Gargan, Guy Kibbee, Dickie Moore, Peggy Ryan, Gloria Holden, Selmer Jackson, June Lockhart | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miss Bala | 2011 | Gerardo Naranjo | ★★½ | 113 | Young working-class Mexican woman (Sigman), who is pretty but rough around the edges, is determined to enter a beauty contest and be crowned Miss Baja California. Standing in her way: a crime-riddled, drug-saturated culture where there is no respect for life. Grim, gritty narrative, inspired by a real-life incident, is meant as a metaphor for the way the Mexican people have been held hostage by drug lords and corrupt officials. Intriguing, to be sure, but leading lady Sigman's impassive reaction to everything that goes on makes it difficult to relate to her. | tt1911600 | [R] | Stephanie Sigman, Noé Hernández, Lakshmi Picazo, Leonor Victorica, Irene Azuela, José Yenque, James Russo | Mexican | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Miss Congeniality | 2000 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 111 | All-too-predictable comedy about a tomboyish FBI agent who goes undercover as a contestant in the Miss United States beauty pageant to find a dangerous criminal. Likable cast (with Caine a standout) does its best with a disappointing script. Followed by a sequel. | tt0212346 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, John DiResta, Candice Bergen, Heather Burns | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous | 2005 | John Pasquin. | ★½ | 115 | Bullock returns as FBI agent Gracie Hart who, for public relations purposes, becomes the 'face of the FBI.' When Burns and Shatner are kidnapped, the bureau's beauty and her bodyguard (King) abandon their PR duties and try to find the hostages. Forced (and, needless to say, redundant) sequel has only a couple of bright moments, and never hits a comedic stride. Several celebrities have bit parts. Bullock coproduced. | tt0385307 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Regina King, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, Enrique Murciano, Heather Burns, Treat Williams, Diedrich Bader, Eileen Brennan, Abraham Benrubi, Stephen Tobolowsky. | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Miss Evers' Boys | 1997 | Joseph Sargent | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Dramatization of a shameful medical experiment kept secret for nearly forty years: the Tuskegee Study, in which the U.S. Public Health Service withheld treatment from a group of African-American men with syphilis. Woodard plays a caring nurse and co-conspirator, until urged by her conscience (four decades later) to tell of the sordid affair to a Senate subcommittee. Adapted by writer Walter Bernstein from the play by David Feldshuh. Made for cable. | tt0119679 | Alfre Woodard, Laurence Fishburne, Craig Sheffer, Joe Morton, Obba Babatundé, E.G. Marshall, Ossie Davis, Thom Gossom/Jr., Von Coulter | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |||
| Miss Firecracker | 1989 | Thomas Schlamme | ★★★ | 102 | Beth Henley's Off-Broadway play, The Miss Firecracker Contest, becomes a most enjoyable movie, with a peerless Hunter recreating her stage role. In a Mississippi hamlet, lonely, pitiful (and hilarious) Hunter yearns for love and self-esteem. Cast is first-rate in this sweet-natured comedy-drama, scripted by Henley; reminiscent of 1930s screwball films. Director Schlamme's feature debut; that's his real-life wife, Christine Lahti, as a neighbor (holding their own newborn baby!). | tt0097892 | [PG] | Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, Scott Glenn, Ann Wedgeworth, Trey Wilson, Amy Wright, Bert Remsen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miss Grant Takes Richmond | 1949 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 87 | Ball is wacky secretary innocently involved with crooks; she's the whole show. | tt0041652 | Lucille Ball, William Holden, Janis Carter, James Gleason, Frank McHugh | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Miss Julie | 1950 | Alf Sjöberg | ★★★ | 87 | Masterful adaptation of August Strindberg's tragic play about the love affair between an aristocratic young woman and a commoner. Superbly acted and photographed, with imaginative use of flashbacks. A milestone in Swedish cinema. Remade in 1999. | tt0043567 | Anita Bjork, Ulf Palme, Marta Dorff, Anders Henrikson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Miss Julie | 1999 | Mike Figgis | ★★½ | 103 | Pungent adaptation of August Strindberg's fiery 19th-century play about the mistress of a household who toys with the affections of her footman— who in turn plays sexual games with her. Well acted, vigorously filmed, but awfully dismal. | tt0189744 | [R] | Saffron Burrows, Peter Mullan, Maria Doyle Kennedy | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Miss March | 2009 | Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore | ★½ | 89 | Young man has a terrible accident moments before he is about to lose his virginity to his high school sweetheart. He awakens four years later to discover that she is now a Playboy Playmate. If you're a fan of the stars’ work on the TV show The Whitest Kids U’ Know you might find this movie funny, but when you don't care about the characters or their objectives, it's hard to enjoy. | tt1151922 | [R] | Raquel Alessi, Craig Robinson, Molly Stanton, Hugh M. Hefner, Geoff Meed, Cedric Yarbrough, Eve Mauro, Alexis Raben | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miss Mary | 1986 | Maria Luisa Bemberg | ★★½ | 100 | Proper, prim British governness Christie arrives in Argentina in 1938, to look after the children in a proper, prim, upper-class family. A few nice touches but mostly forgettable tale of unreleased passion and emerging sexuality. An offbeat role for Christie. | tt0091528 | Julie Christie, Nacha Guevara, Luisina Brando, Iris Marga, Eduardo Pavlovsky, Gerardo Romano | Argentinian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | 2008 | Bharat Nalluri | ★★ | 92 | Headstrong Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) has lost one job after another and winds up penniless on the streets of London in 1939, until she bluffs her way into a job as social secretary for flighty would-be actress Delysia Lafosse (Adams), who’s juggling three men in her life. Arch, self-consciously cute rendering of Winifred Watson’s 1930s novel, though the two female stars give it their all. | tt0970468 | [PG-13] | Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Mark Strong, Tom Payne | U.S.-British | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Miss Pinkerton | 1932 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★ | 66 | Elizabeth Patterson, Holmes Herbert. Nurse Blondell has sixth sense for mysteries, decides to go after one in easy-to-take story. | tt0023230 | Joan Blondell, George Brent, John Wray, Ruth Hall, C. Henry Gordon. | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Miss Potter | 2006 | Chris Noonan | ★★★ | 91 | Lifelong dreamer Beatrix Potter marches to her own drummer, to the dismay of her Victorian parents, but the feisty young woman surprises everyone by landing a publisher for her whimsical stories and watercolors about Peter Rabbit. Warm, genteel, and whimsical film about the famous author, with an utterly charming performance by McGregor as the gentleman-publisher who falls in love with his author. Written by Broadway veteran Richard Maltby, Jr. Noonan's first directorial effort since BABE in 1995. | tt0482546 | [PG] | Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn, Bill Paterson, Matyelok Gibbs, Anton Lesser, David Bamber, Phyllida Law, Lloyd Owen, Lucy Boynton | U.S.-British | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| Miss Robin Crusoe | 1954 | Eugene Frenke | ★½ | 75 | Female version of Robinson Crusoe; nothing added, a lot to be desired. | tt0047240 | Amanda Blake, George Nader, Rosalind Hayes | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Miss Robin Hood | 1952 | John Guillermin | ★★ | 78 | OK mixture of fantasy and farce, Rutherford an elderly nut seeking retrieval of family whiskey formula; Hearne is meek girl's-magazine writer aiding her. | tt0044908 | Margaret Rutherford, Richard Hearne, Edward Lexy, Frances Rowe | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Miss Sadie Thompson | 1953 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 91 | Rita gives a provocative performance in musical of Somerset Maugham's RAIN, previously made as SADIE THOMPSON and DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A. Originally in 3-D. | tt0046076 | Rita Hayworth, Jose Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Russell Collins, Charles Bronson | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Miss Susie Slagle's | 1945 | John Berry | ★★ | 88 | Mild tale of turn-of-the-century boardinghouse for aspiring doctors and nurses. | tt0037917 | Veronica Lake, Sonny Tufts, Joan Caulfield, Lillian Gish, Ray Collins, Billy DeWolfe, Lloyd Bridges | Drama | NULL | |||
| Miss Tatlock's Millions | 1948 | Richard Haydn | ★★½ | 101 | Original comedy of Hollywood stuntman Lund hired to masquerade as a wealthy nitwit; offbeat, to say the least. Haydn, billed as 'Richard Rancyd,' appears as a lawyer; watch for cameos by Ray Milland and director Mitchell Leisen. | tt0040599 | John Lund, Wanda Hendrix, Barry Fitzgerald, Monty Woolley, Robert Stack, Ilka Chase, Dorothy Stickney | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Missile to the Moon | 1959 | Richard E. Cunha | ★½ | 78 | Preposterous low-budget sci-fi about lunar expedition finding sinister female presiding over race of moon-women. Lots of laughs, for all the wrong reasons. Remake of CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON (ROCKET TO THE MOON). | tt0053072 | Richard Travis, Cathy Downs, K.T. Stevens, Tommy Cook | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Missiles From Hell | 1958 | Vernon Sewell. | ★★ | 72 | British work with Polish partisans during WW2 to obtain projectile weapon held by Nazis; choppy editing. | tt0051402 | Michael Rennie, Patricia Medina, Milly Vitale, David Knight, Christopher Lee. | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Missing | 1982 | Costa-Gavras | ★★★½ | 122 | A carefully manipulated drama that works, because of Costa-Gavras' convincing direction, and Lemmon's emphatic performance as a stiff-backed father who comes to a politically volatile Latin American country in search of his missing son— unable and unwilling to believe that American representatives there might not be telling him the truth. Based on the true experiences of Ed Horman; Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart earned Oscars for their screenplay adaptation. | tt0084335 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea, Charles Cioffi, David Clennon, Joe Regalbuto, Richard Venture, Janice Rule | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Missing Corpse | 1945 | Albert Herman. | ★½ | 62 | Slight, silly comedy-melodrama in which newspaper publisher Bromberg finds himself implicated in the murder of a slimy rival. | tt0037918 | J. Edward Bromberg, Isabel Randolph, Frank Jenks, Eric Sinclair, Paul Guilfoyle. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Missing Guest | 1938 | John Rawlins | ★½ | 68 | As in many 1930s B melodramas, a newspaper reporter (named 'Scoop,' no less) is on hand when murders are being committed, this time in a haunted house. Routine. Filmed before as SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM, later as MURDER IN THE BLUE ROOM. | tt0030455 | Paul Kelly, Constance Moore, William Lundigan, Edwin Stanley, Selmer Jackson, Billy Wayne | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Missing Juror | 1944 | Oscar (Budd) Boetticher | ★★★ | 66 | Brisk, engrossing drama of unknown killer taking revenge on jury that sent innocent man to his death; low budget, but quite good. | tt0037078 | Jim Bannon, Janis Carter, George Macready, Jean Stevens, Joseph Crehan, Carole Mathews | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Missing Lady | 1946 | Phil Karlson. | ★★½ | 60 | 'The Shadow' tangles with thugs and the police while hunting down a 'missing lady,' which is actually a stolen jade statuette that leaves a trail of murder and numerous suspects in its wake. Last of three Monogram Shadow movies from 1946 is the best of the series, played like a straight film noir and offering a few surprise twists. | tt0038743 | Kane Richmond, Barbara Reed, George Chandler, James Flavin, Pierre Watkin, Dorothea Kent, Claire Carleton, Jo Carroll Dennison. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Missing Pieces | 1996 | Leonard Stern | ★★ | 93 | Silly slapstick farce about two pals who try to solve the riddle of a mysterious inheritance that's made them a target for some deadly criminals. Amiable enough, but the gags are hit-or-miss. Filmed in 1990, never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0102453 | [PG] | Eric Idle, Robert Wuhl, Lauren Hutton, Richard Belzer, Bob Gunton, Bernie Kopell, James Hong | Comedy, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Missing Pieces | 1983 | Mike Hodges | Above Average TV Movie | 96 | Montgomery turns private eye to track down the killers of her reporter husband in this engaging thriller which director Hodges adapted from Karl Alexander's novel A Private Investigation. Karabatsos nearly steals the film from her as the world-weary detective for whom she goes to work. | tt0085945 | Elizabeth Montgomery, Louanne, John Reilly, Ron Karabatsos, Robin Gammell, Julius Harris | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Missing in Action | 1984 | Joseph Zito | ★★ | 101 | Colonel Norris, an ex-POW in Vietnam, returns to Asia to liberate American prisoners. A simplistic, revisionist fantasy-actioner, in the mold of UNCOMMON VALOR and RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2. Followed by a prequel. | tt0087727 | [R] | Chuck Norris, M. Emmet Walsh, David Tress, Lenore Kasdorf, James Hong | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Missing in Action 2- The Beginning | 1985 | Lance Hool | ★½ | 96 | In this limp prequel to you-know-what, Norris escapes from a POW camp in Vietnam. For Norris lovers only. Followed by BRADDOCK: MISSING IN ACTION III. | tt0089604 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven Williams, Bennett Ohta, Cosie Costa | Action, War | NULL | ||
| The Missing | 2003 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 135 | Grim, gritty Western story of a healer (Blanchett), long estranged from her father (Jones), who reluctantly joins him in order to rescue her daughter from the clutches of a mystical Apache and his gang of savages. Engrossing and unpredictable, but also unexpectedly brutal. Strong performances and unfamiliar-looking New Mexico scenery are major assets; overlength is a liability. Based on Thomas Eidson's novel The Last Ride. | tt0338188 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Eric Schweig, Evan Rachel Wood, Jenna Boyd, Steve Reevis, Ray McKinnon, Val Kilmer, Aaron Eckhart, Max Perlich, Simon Baker, Jay Tavare, Sergio Calderón, Clint Howard, Rance Howard | Drama, Action, Thriller, Western | NULL | ||
| Mission Batangas | 1969 | Keith Larsen | ★½ | 100 | Callous American flyer in early WW2 eventually becomes a hero; poor excuse for a war movie. | tt0064673 | Dennis Weaver, Vera Miles, Keith Larsen, Vic Diaz | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Mission Hill | 1982 | Robert Jones | ★★★½ | 90 | Solid, uncompromising drama of working-class dreams and disappointments, centering on aspiring singer Barrett and her troublesome teenage brother (Burke). Sensitively directed; filmed in Boston. | tt0084337 |
|
Brian Burke, Alice Barrett, Barbara Orson, Robert Kerman, Daniel Silver, Nan Mulleneaux, John Mahoney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mission Mars | 1968 | Nicholas Webster | ★½ | 95 | Typical as√ tronaut drama has three U.S. space men battling unseen forces while on a mission. | tt0063311 | Darren McGavin, Nick Adams, George DeVries, Heather Hewitt, Michael DeBeausset, Shirley Parker | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mission Over Korea | 1953 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 85 | Substandard Korean War tale. | tt0046079 | John Hodiak, John Derek, Maureen O'Sullivan, Audrey Totter | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Mission to Mars | 2000 | Brian De Palma | ★★ | 112 | Stupefyingly dull drama about a pioneering voyage to Mars in the year 2020, marked by mishap, tragedy, and some mind-blowing cosmic discoveries. Film takes a matter-of-fact approach to space travel that soon becomes deadening, with a spell-it-all-out climax for those who still don't get 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. There is, however, an ingenious bit of product placement for Dr Pepper. Armin Mueller-Stahl appears unbilled. | tt0183523 | [R] | Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, Kim Delaney, Elise Neal | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mission to Moscow | 1943 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 123 | Fascinating propaganda of real-life ambassador Joseph Davies (played by Huston) in then-peaceful Russia. Well done, giving interesting insights to American concepts of USSR at the time. Davies himself introduces the film. | tt0036166 | Walter Huston, Ann Harding, Oscar Homolka, George Tobias, Gene Lockhart, Frieda Inescort, Eleanor Parker | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mission | 1986 | Roland Joffé | ★★½ | 125 | Productive (and profitable) Jesuit mission in the jungles of Brazil is threatened by greedy merchants and political factions within the church, in the late 18th century. Magnificent-looking film (Chris Menges' cinematography won an Oscar), rich in imagery, goes on so long— to such an inevitable conclusion— that its dramatic power is drained. Literate, high-minded screenplay by Robert Bolt; fine performances by Irons and De Niro. | tt0091530 | [PG] | Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi, Ronald Pickup, Chuck Low, Liam Neeson, Daniel Berrigan | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Mission: Impossible | 1996 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 110 | Slick update of the vintage TV spy series about a crack undercover unit is full of high-tech hijinks, as 'team leader' Cruise tries to learn what went wrong on a crucial mission in Prague— and discover who set them up. Energy wanes at several junctions, only to be revved up again for a train-and-helicopter chase finale. Lalo Schifrin's memorable TV theme is reused here, at a much higher decibel level. Cruise coexecutive-produced. Emilio Estevez appears unbilled. Followed by a sequel. | tt0117060 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol | 2011 | Brad Bird | ★★★½ | 133 | Once Cruise is sprung from a Russian prison, he joins a new IMF undercover team (including mysterious newcomer Renner) for a series of far-flung adventures, in Dubai and Mumbai—although they've been disavowed by the government. The story is just a clothesline on which to hang one big action set-piece after another, but when it's accomplished with such polish and pizazz it's hard to complain. The best of the M:I series to date, with Cruise as indestructible as The Terminator! Imposing live-action debut for animation director Bird (THE INCREDIBLES, THE IRON GIANT). Tom Wilkinson appears unbilled; actors from earlier M:I films make cameo appearances. | tt1229238 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mission: Impossible II | 2000 | John Woo | ★★ | 126 | Cruise is called into action in Sydney when a ruthless renegade spy (Scott) captures a virus and its antidote and murders its creator. Cruise looks great, performs nifty martial-arts stunts and engages in hair-raising car and motorcycle chases, but there isn't a character to care about, or a story worth two hours' time; after a while it's simply boring, in spite of Woo's flamboyant treatment (and a script by Robert Towne). Anthony Hopkins appears unbilled. | tt0120755 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Dougray Scott, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Radé Sherbedgia | Action, Adventure, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mission: Impossible III | 2006 | J. J. Abrams | ★★★ | 125 | Slam-bang action yarn and Cruise-controlled star vehicle has the deep-cover agent trying to hide his activities from fiancée Monaghan while jetting around the globe to rescue his protégé (Russell) and deal with a nefarious arms dealer (Hoffman). Debuting feature writer-director Abrams, creator of TV’s Felicity, Alias, and Lost, favors ultra-close-ups and handheld camerawork but knows how to stage big action scenes—just as Cruise knows how to work his Movie Star persona. Highlight: a Cruise-Hoffman doppelganger sequence. Cruise also coproduced. | tt0317919 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Laurence Fishburne, Simon Pegg, Eddie Marsan | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Missionary | 1982 | Richard Loncraine | ★★ | 90 | Fans of Monty Python's Palin may be surprised by this mild comedy, which he also wrote and coproduced. Returning from Africa, young man of the cloth is recruited to run a home for fallen women ('Women who've tripped?') and quickly finds himself the recipient of, uh, fringe benefits. Great supporting cast, gorgeous locations, beautiful cinematography (by Peter Hannan) overwhelm modest picture. | tt0083449 | [R] | Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Phoebe Nicholls, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Michael Hordern, Graham Crowden | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mississippi | 1935 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★½ | 73 | Fine cast in musicomedy of riverboat captain Fields and singer Crosby, with Rodgers-Hart score including 'It's Easy To Remember But So Hard to Forget.' Unforgettable poker game with Fields. Based on Booth Tarkington's 'Magnolia,' filmed before as THE FIGHTING COWARD. Look quickly for Ann Sheridan. | tt0026723 | Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, Joan Bennett, Queenie Smith, Gail Patrick, Claude Gillingwater | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Mississippi Blues | 1983 | Bertrand Tavernier, Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 96 | Easygoing documentary from American Parrish and Frenchman Tavernier about the American South—its country folk, its landscape, its customs and, most wonderfully, its music. | tt0085946 | [NR] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mississippi Burning | 1988 | Alan Parker | ★★★ | 125 | Two FBI agents— one a tight-jawed, by-the-book type, the other an experienced Southern lawman who knows how to handle people— head the government investigation into the disappearance of three civil rights workers in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. Vivid re-creation of the period and setting helps carry a less-than-perfect script (inspired by real-life events); Hackman gives a dynamic performance as the former small-town sheriff who figures out how to crack the case. Peter Biziou's cinematography won an Oscar. | tt0095647 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Gailard Sartain, Stephen Tobolowsky, Michael Rooker, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Park Overall | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mississippi Gambler | 1953 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 98 | Power is title figure with ambitions of establishing a gambling business in New Orleans. | tt0046080 | Tyrone Power, Piper Laurie, Julie Adams, John McIntire, Dennis Weaver | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mississippi Masala | 1992 | Mira Nair | ★★½ | 118 | Affecting, leisurely paced story of interracial romance between Washington and Choudhury and the problems it causes their respective communities in Greenwood, Mississippi. Starts out fine, with lively characters and interesting observations of a transplanted Indian lifestyle in the Deep South, then bogs down in standard— and extenuated— melodrama. Good performances by Washington (as always) and especially by Seth as Choudhury's proud lawyer father who wants to return home to Uganda. 'Masala,' by the way, is a collection of hot and colorful spices. Director Nair also appears as a gossipmonger. | tt0102456 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Ranjit Chowdhry | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mississippi Mermaid | 1969 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 123 | One of the director's few flops, but any film with Belmondo-Deneuve-Truffaut combo is of interest; story concerns tobacco planter whose mail-order bride turns out to be Deneuve. Always buy brand names. Based on the Cornell Woolrich novel Waltz Into Darkness. Originally shown in the U.S. at 110m. Remade as ORIGINAL SIN. | tt0064990 | [PG] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Deneuve, Michel Bouquet, Nelly Borgeaud | French-Italian | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Missouri Breaks | 1976 | Arthur Penn | 💣 | 126 | Dynamite star combo in hired gun vs. horse thief confrontation— all for naught. Jumbled, excessively violent pseudo-event; a great director's worst film and one of the worst 'big' movies ever made. | tt0074906 | [PG] | Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Lloyd, Randy Quaid, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton | Western | NULL | ||
| The Missouri Traveler | 1958 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 104 | Folksy, minor account of orphaned youth (de Wilde) finding new roots in Southern country town in 1910s; earnest but predictable. | tt0051936 | Brandon de Wilde, Lee Marvin, Gary Merrill, Mary Hosford, Paul Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mist | 2007 | Frank Darabont | ★★★ | 127 | After a fierce storm and the arrival of a mysterious mist, an artist (Jane) and his young son (Gamble) are among those forced to take refuge in a Maine supermarket. Then they learn that there are strange things out in that mist—things that kill. The people in the market gradually form into antagonistic factions. Suspenseful and graced with very good effects, this is a monster movie in the classic mode. It also has some social commentary, ported over from Stephen King’s novella by director-writer Darabont. Controversial ending is changed from the story. | tt0884328 | [R] | Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mister 880 | 1950 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 90 | Easygoing comedy, with Gwenn an elderly N.Y.C. counterfeiter tracked down by federal agent Lancaster. Script by Robert Riskin, based on a true story. | tt0042742 | Dorothy McGuire, Burt Lancaster, Edmund Gwenn, Millard Mitchell, Minor Watson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mister Buddwing | 1966 | Delbert Mann | ★★ | 100 | Misfire; over-familiar amnesia plot with Garner trying to fill in his past, meeting assorted women who might have been part of his prior life. | tt0059453 | James Garner, Jean Simmons, Suzanne Pleshette, Angela Lansbury, Katharine Ross, Raymond St. Jacques, Nichelle Nichols | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mister Cory | 1957 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 92 | Curtis does OK as poor-boy-turned-rich-gambler who returns to home town to show off his wealth. | tt0050710 | Tony Curtis, Charles Bickford, Martha Hyer, Kathryn Grant | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mister Drake's Duck | 1950 | Val Guest | ★★★ | 76 | American newlyweds Fairbanks and Donlan (wife of director Guest) buy a small English farm, then run into maddening military bureaucracy when one— but which one?— of their 60 ducks lays uranium eggs. Mild but diverting spoof of postwar red tape, with good performances. | tt0043821 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Yolande Donlan, Howard Marion-Crawford, Reginald Beckwith | British | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mister Dynamite | 1935 | Alan Crosland. | ★★★ | 67 | Peppy B movie with Lowe at his smart-aleck best as T. N. Thompson, a San Francisco private eye known as Mr. Dynamite who always seems to be one step ahead of the police. That's why he's hired to investigate a murder that's caused Watson's gambling club to be shuttered. Based on a story by Dashiell Hammett. | tt0026724 | Edmund Lowe, Jean Dixon, Victor Varconi, Esther Ralston, Verna Hillie, Minor Watson, Matt McHugh. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mister Frost | 1990 | Philip Setbon | ★★ | 92 | Goldblum is blithe, cheerful serial killer who tells psychiatrist Baker that he's really the Devil, something ex-cop Bates already believes. It all has to do with Lucifer's annoyance over lack of belief in him. Goldblum is clearly having a great time, but you're not likely to. | tt0100161 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Alan Bates, Kathy Baker, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Daniel Gelin, Francois Negret, Maxime Leroux, Vincent Schiavelli, Catherine Allegret, Charley Boorman | French-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Mister Johnson | 1991 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 101 | Africa, 1923: an ambitious, educated (and larcenous) black man who works for the local British magistrate continually gets into trouble by being too smart for his own good. Handsome, well-made, well-acted film still leaves one wanting to know more about Mister Johnson and what makes him tick. Based on a novel by Joyce Cary. | tt0102458 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Edward Woodward, Maynard Eziashi, Beatie Edney, Denis Quilley, Nick Reding | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mister Lonely | 2008 | Harmony Korine | 💣 | 112 | When a Michael Jackson impersonator meets a Marilyn Monroe look-alike in Paris, she invites him to join her at a mountainside commune filled with doppelgangers (for everyone from Buckwheat to the Pope). Meanwhile, in a jungle somewhere in Latin America, nuns are taking to the skies. Achingly awful movie, though as one character says of her comrades, “It isn’t the Stooges’ fault!” | tt0475984 | Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, James Fox, Melita Morgan, Anita Pallenberg, Rachel Korine, Jason Pennycooke, Richard Strange, Werner Herzog, David Blaine | U.S.-British-French-Irish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mister Moses | 1965 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 113 | Malarkey of rugged Mitchum and virtuous Baker leading African native tribe to their new homeland. | tt0059454 | Robert Mitchum, Carroll Baker, Ian Bannen, Alexander Knox, Raymond St. Jacques, Reginald Beckwith | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mister Roberts | 1955 | John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★★ | 123 | Superb comedy-drama with Fonda recreating his favorite stage role as restless officer on WW2 cargo ship who yearns for combat action but has to contend with an irascible and eccentric captain (Cagney) instead. Fonda, Cagney, Powell (in his last screen appearance) as a philosophical doctor, and Lemmon (in an Oscar-winning performance) as the irrepressible Ensign Pulver, are all terrific. Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan's Broadway hit was adapted for film by Logan and Frank Nugent. LeRoy replaced Ford as director sometime during production . . . but it certainly doesn't show. Sequel: ENSIGN PULVER. | tt0048380 | Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon, Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Nick Adams, Philip Carey, Harry Carey/Jr., Ken Curtis, Martin Milner, Jack Pennick, Perry Lopez, Pat Wayne | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Mister Scoutmaster | 1953 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 87 | Child-hater Webb becomes scoutmaster in this airy film which will appeal mainly to kids. | tt0046081 | Clifton Webb, Edmund Gwenn, George Winslow, Frances Dee, Veda Ann Borg | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mister Superinvisible | 1973 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★½ | 91 | Engaging comedy made in Geneva has American researcher Jones becoming invisible as he seeks a cure for the common cold. Good for kids, okay for grownups. | tt0065842 | [G] | Dean Jones, Ingeborg Schoener, Gastone Moschin, Peter Carsten | Italian-German-Spanish | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | |
| Mister Universe | 1951 | Joseph Lerner | ★½ | 89 | Quickie comedy with good cast wasted on bad material; young Edwards plays wrestler promoted by Carson. | tt0043823 | Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Vincent Edwards, Bert Lahr, Robert Alda | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mistress | 1991 | Barry Primus | ★★ | 109 | Hollywood comedy-drama about a washed-up writer (Wuhl) who gets a chance to try to realize his dream— thanks to a has-been producer (Landau, who's marvelous). Plot concerns rounding up the money— and placating the money-men's mistresses. Paper-thin story has several choice moments, but never builds to a satisfying result. Veteran actor Primus' feature directing debut; De Niro coproduced. | tt0104892 | [R] | Robert Wuhl, Martin Landau, Jace Alexander, Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello, Eli Wallach, Laurie Metcalf, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jean Smart, Tuesday Knight, Christopher Walken, Ernest Borgnine, Stefan Gierasch, Roberta Wallach | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Misty | 1961 | James B. Clark | ★★★ | 92 | Marguerite Henry's popular children's book is nicely realized, with Ladd and Smith as children on island off Virginia coast who fall in love with a wild horse. | tt0055186 | David Ladd, Pam Smith, Arthur O'Connell, Anne Seymour | Family | NULL | |||
| Misunderstood | 1984 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★½ | 91 | Boy cries out for the love of his father, who's too busy (and too consumed by the loss of his wife) to understand how much the boy needs his attention— and affection. Extremely well acted but emotionally uneven drama. Filmed in Tunisia in 1982. | tt0087730 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Henry Thomas, Rip Torn, Huckleberry Fox, Maureen Kerwin, Susan Anspach | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mitchell | 1975 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 96 | Baker plays tough cop whose singleminded pursuit of drug ring leads to expected action and violence; slick handling of typical action fodder. | tt0073396 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Martin Balsam, Linda Evans, John Saxon, Merlin Olsen, Morgan Paull | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Mix Me a Person | 1962 | Leslie Norman | ★½ | 116 | Unexceptional drama of psychiatrist Baxter proving teenager Faith innocent of murdering a policeman. | tt0056243 | Anne Baxter, Donald Sinden, Adam Faith, Jack MacGowran, Topsy Jane, Walter Brown | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Mixed Blood | 1985 | Paul Morrissey | ★½ | 97 | Wildly overrated black comedy set in the 'alphabet city' district of East Greenwich Village where Brazilian crime matriarch Pera has run-in with rival gang's young punks. Leading man Ulacia's acting is embarrassing, while director Morrissey's tongue-in-cheek violence is strictly amateur night. | tt0089607 | Marilia Pêra, Richard Ulacia, Linda Kerridge, Geraldine Smith | French | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mixed Company | 1974 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 109 | Less than heartwarming but still entertaining comedy of losing basketball coach Bologna coping with wife Harris' adopting orphans of mixed ethnic backgrounds. | tt0071850 | [PG] | Barbara Harris, Joseph Bologna, Tom Bosley, Lisa Gerritsen, Dorothy Shay | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mixed Nuts | 1994 | Nora Ephron | ★½ | 97 | Genuinely strange black comedy (or is it black farce?) about the genially bumbling staff of a suicide helpline in Venice, California, and their misadventures on Christmas Eve. Occasional laughs sputter through the haze, but this oddity never really finds its comic center. Written by Ephron and her sister Delia, based on a 1982 French film, LE PERE NOEL EST UNE ORDURE. Garry Shandling and Steven Wright appear unbilled. | tt0110538 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rita Wilson, Robert Klein, Anthony LaPaglia, Juliette Lewis, Rob Reiner, Adam Sandler, Liev Schreiber, Joely Fisher, Parker Posey, Jon Stewart, Haley Joel Osment | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mo' Better Blues | 1990 | Spike Lee | ★★ | 127 | Backstage look at a self-centered jazz trumpeter who manages to keep everyone at arm's length— including the two ladies in his life. Colorful, musically alive, with some good vignettes from members of Lee's stock company, but it goes on forever— with barely enough story to keep it afloat. Branford Marsalis' Quartet with Terence Blanchard is featured on the soundtrack; music score by Bill Lee (Spike's father). | tt0100168 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Robin Harris, Joie Lee, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Dick Anthony Williams, Cynda Williams, Nicholas Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson, Rubén Blades, Abbey Lincoln, Joe Seneca | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mo' Money | 1992 | Peter Macdonald | ★★ | 91 | Slapdash, needlessly violent comedy-actioner which barely runs on the energy of its talented stars. Damon Wayans plays a streetwise jerk who, in order to woo Dash, takes a job on the bottom rung of the credit card company where she works, and (with kid brother Marlon) becomes involved with fraud, blackmail, and mayhem. Look for Bernie Mac as a doorman. Damon Wayans also scripted and executive produced. | tt0104897 | [R] | Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Stacey Dash, Joe Santos, John Diehl, Harry J. Lennix, Almayvonne | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moana | 1925 | Robert Flaherty | ★★★½ | 85 | Flaherty's follow-up to NANOOK OF THE NORTH is at once a realistic yet poetic look at life in the South Seas, focusing on a young Polynesian (Moana) and his family. Filmed over a two-year period on the island of Savai'i, in the Somoas. A classic, influential film (although not as highly regarded as NANOOK or LOUISIANA STORY). | tt0017162 | Ta'avale, Fa'amgase, Tu'ugaita, Moana, Pe'a | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mob Town | 1941 | William Nigh | ★½ | 70 | Cop Foran tries to reform Halop after his gangster brother is sent to the death house, but Halop and his gang have other ideas. Insubstantial Little Tough Guys entry. | tt0033914 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly, Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, Darryl Hickman, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mob | 1951 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 87 | Crawford is tough as nails as undercover cop on the trail of waterfront racketeers and their mystery boss. Sharp dialogue, good suspense in this combination crime drama-whodunit. | tt0043812 | Broderick Crawford, Betty Buehler, Richard Kiley, Otto Hulett, Neville Brand, Ernest Borgnine, John Marley, Charles Bronson | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Mobsters | 1991 | Michael Karbelnikoff | ★★ | 104 | What promised to be YOUNG TOMMY GUNS turns out to be simply boring: a fanciful rehash of the Prohibition Era, with youthful actors as Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Bugsy Siegel, and Meyer Lansky. Long, convoluted, and unrewarding. Only distinction: Richard Sylbert's handsome production design. | tt0102460 | [R] | Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Costas Mandylor, Richard Grieco, F. Murray Abraham, Michael Gambon, Lara Flynn Boyle, Anthony Quinn, Christopher Penn, Nicholas Sadler | Crime | NULL | ||
| Moby Dick | 1930 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 75 | Barrymore is a vivid Captain Ahab, though film is more Hollywood than Melville. Pointless love story added to original narrative, as in Barrymore's earlier silent-film version, THE SEA BEAST. Remade in 1956. | tt0021149 | John Barrymore, Joan Bennett, Walter Long, Nigel de Brulier, Noble Johnson, Virginia Sale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Moby Dick | 1956 | John Huston | ★★★ | 116 | Moody version of Herman Melville sea classic, with Peck lending a deranged dignity to the role of Captain Ahab. Fine scenes throughout, including second-unit camera work by the great Freddie Francis. Screenplay by Huston and Ray Bradbury. Remade in 1998 as a TV miniseries with Patrick Stewart. | tt0049513 | Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Friedrich Ledebur, Leo Genn, Orson Welles, James Robertson Justice, Harry Andrews, Bernard Miles, Royal Dano | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mod Squad | 1999 | Scott Silver | ★½ | 94 | Brain-dead rehash of the late '60s-early '70s TV series. Here, the title trio— all young delinquents recruited to work undercover in the LAPD— go into action in a scenario involving the theft of confiscated drugs and other mayhem. Plays like an extended, R-rated episode that was spit out of a computer. | tt0120757 | [R] | Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi, Omar Epps, Dennis Farina, Josh Brolin, Michael Lerner, Steve Harris, Richard Jenkins, Bodhi Elfman | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Model For Murder | 1958 | Terry Bishop | ★★ | 75 | Andes is American in England seeking late brother's girlfriend, becoming involved in jewel robbery. Adequate yarn. | tt0051940 | Keith Andes, Hazel Court, Jean Aubrey, Michael Gough | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Model Shop | 1969 | Jacques Demy | ★★★ | 95 | Twenty-four hours in life of disenchanted young architect (Lockwood), his affair with recently abandoned fashion model (Aimée). Director Demy's eye for L.A. is striking, but overall feel to story is ambiguous. | tt0064679 | [M] | Anouk Aimée, Gary Lockwood, Alexandra Hay, Carole Cole, Severn Darden, Tom Fielding | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Model Wife | 1941 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 78 | Joan's boss won't let her get married, but she does, to Powell, and has to keep it a secret. Fairly amusing comedy. | tt0033915 | Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Lee Bowman, Charlie Ruggles, Lucile Watson, Ruth Donnelly, Billy Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Model and the Marriage Broker | 1951 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 103 | Poignant, perceptive little comedy-drama chronicling the affairs of marriage broker Ritter, who plays Cupid for model Crain and X-ray technician Brady. However, most of her clients don't have pretty faces: they're shy, lonely, desperate for companionship. A winner. | tt0043813 | Jeanne Crain, Scott Brady, Thelma Ritter, Zero Mostel, Michael O'Shea, Frank Fontaine, Nancy Kulp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Modern Affair | 1996 | Vern Oakley | ★★ | 90 | Small, moderately amusing comedy about a successful corporate executive who undergoes artificial insemination, gets pregnant, and then impulsively tracks down the anonymous sperm donor. Results are predictable, but Tucci and Eichhorn lift the material up a couple of notches. This forgettable concoction may play better on the small screen. | tt0113839 | [R] | Lisa Eichhorn, Stanley Tucci, Caroline Aaron, Wesley Addy, Robert LuPone, Tammy Grimes, Robert Joy | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Modern Girls | 1986 | Jerry Kramer | 💣 | 84 | Three femme free spirits club-hop raucous L.A. punk spots in the course of a single early a.m.; a spiritual odyssey it's not. Trashy, barely released bomb degrades young performers who've made much stronger impressions in other films; low point is Madsen's near gang rape on a pool table. | tt0091534 | [PG-13] | Daphne Zuniga, Virginia Madsen, Cynthia Gibb, Clayton Rohner, Chris Nash, Steve Shellen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Modern Hero | 1934 | G. W. Pabst. | ★★★ | 71 | Barthelmess is excellent in one of his best roles as an ambitious circus performer who claws his way to the top of the business world as an automobile tycoon and munitions manufacturer, only to suffer tragedies in his personal and professional life. Fascinating and compelling social drama was the only American film made by famed German director Pabst. | tt0025510 | Richard Barthelmess, Jean Muir, Marjorie Rambeau, Verree Teasdale, Florence Eldridge, Dorothy Burgess, Hobart Cavanaugh. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Modern Love | 1990 | Robby Benson | ★★ | 109 | Paper-thin comedy which director-star Benson also produced and scripted. The film should be titled FAMILY AFFAIR: DeVito, Benson's wife, plays his on-screen mate, and their daughter Lyric is cast as the couple's offspring. The scenario— the duo meet, fall in love, wed, and deal with various 'modern problems'— is run-of-the-mill. Filmed in South Carolina, while Benson was teaching a university moviemaking class. | tt0100171 | [R] | Robby Benson, Karla DeVito, Rue McClanahan, Burt Reynolds, Frankie Valli, Louise Lasser, Kaye Ballard, Lou Kaplan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Modern Problems | 1981 | Ken Shapiro | ★½ | 91 | Air-traffic controller Chase ac√ quires telekinetic powers. A couple of funny bits; mostly flat, boring. | tt0082763 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Patti D'Arbanville, Mary Kay Place, Nell Carter, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dabney Coleman, Mitch Kreindel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Modern Romance | 1981 | Albert Brooks | ★★½ | 93 | Writer-director Brooks plays a world-class neurotic who's obsessively devoted to Harrold but unable to maintain a normal relationship with her. Alternately obnoxious and hilarious, with wonderful in-jokes about moviemaking (Brooks plays a film editor); Brooks' brother Bob Einstein plays a sporting-goods salesman in a nice cameo. Real-life writer-director James L. Brooks plays a director; he returned the favor by writing Albert a plum role in BROADCAST NEWS several years later. | tt0082764 | [R] | Albert Brooks, Kathryn Harrold, Bruno Kirby, Jane Hallaren, James L. Brooks, George Kennedy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Modern Times | 1936 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★★ | 89 | Charlie attacks the machine age in inimitable fashion, with sharp pokes at other social ills and the struggle of modern-day survival. Goddard is the gamin who becomes his partner in life. Chaplin's last silent film (with his own music— including 'Smile'— sound effects and gibberish song) is consistently hilarious, and unforgettable. Final shot is among Chaplin's most famous and most poignant. One of Goddard's sisters early on is young Gloria DeHaven (daughter of Chaplin's assistant director). | tt0027977 | Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Chester Conklin, Stanley 'Tiny' Sandford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Moderns | 1988 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 128 | Beautifully mounted but dramatically flawed period piece about a community of 'artistes' in 1926 Paris. Bland Carradine is a major liability as an art forger; portraits of Hemingway and Gertrude Stein are less than half baked. Lone and Fiorentino are standouts as a menacing U.S rubber baron and wife, she a lost love of Carradine's. Worthy but iffy. | tt0095649 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone, Geneviève Bujold, Geraldine Chaplin, Wallace Shawn, Kevin J. O'Connor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Modesty Blaise | 1966 | Joseph Losey | ★★ | 119 | Director Losey ate watermelon, pickles, and ice cream, went to sleep, woke up, and made this adaptation of the comic strip about a sexy female spy. Filmed at the height of the pop-art craze, it tries to be a spoof at times, doesn't know what it's supposed to be at other moments. | tt0060708 | Monica Vitti, Dirk Bogarde, Terence Stamp, Harry Andrews, Michael Craig, Scilla Gabel, Tina Marquand, Clive Revill, Alexander Knox | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mogambo | 1953 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 115 | Lusty remake of RED DUST. Gable repeats his role, Ava replaces Harlow, Kelly has Mary Astor's part. John Lee Mahin reworked his 1932 screenplay. Romantic triangle in Africa combines love and action; beautifully filmed by Robert Surtees and Freddie Young. | tt0046085 | Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden, Philip Stainton, Eric Pohlmann, Laurence Naismith, Denis O'Dea | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mohammad, Messenger of God | The Message | 1977 | Moustapha Akkad. | ★★★ | 180 | Spectacle of the beginnings of Moslem religion is sincere effort, more impressive with action than religious angles. In accordance with the religion, Mohammad is never shown. Aka THE MESSAGE. | tt0074896 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Johnny Sekka, Michael Forest, Neville Jason. | Arabic | Drama, War | NULL |
| Mohawk | 1956 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 79 | Unintentionally hilarious hokum of devil-may-care painter Brady attempting to thwart Iroquois uprising while tangling with squaw Gam, among other femmes. There's plenty of heavy breathing, 1950s-style, here. Includes lengthy chase scene lifted from DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK. | tt0049515 | Scott Brady, Rita Gam, Neville Brand, Lori Nelson, Allison Hayes, John Hoyt, Barbara Jo Allen, Mae Clarke, Ted de Corsia | Western | NULL | |||
| Mokey | 1942 | Wells Root. | ★★ | 88 | Reed has problems with her stepson, who almost winds up in reform school. Typical of genre. | tt0035074 | Dan Dailey, Donna Reed, Bobby (Robert) Blake, William 'Buckwheat' Thomas, Cordell Hickman, Matt Moore, Etta McDaniel. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Mole People | 1956 | Virgil Vogel | ★★ | 78 | Agar and others find lost underground civilization of albino Sumerians, who have half-human creatures as their slaves. Probably the worst of Universal-International's '50s sci-fi movies. | tt0049516 | John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Molière | 2007 | Laurent Tirard, | ★★★½ | 120 | The great 17th-century French playwright (Duris) learns a valuable life lesson at a crucial moment in his career. He’s rescued from debtor’s prison by a wealthy man (Luchini) who needs coaching for his first, stumbling effort as an actor-playwright, which is designed to impress the beautiful Sagnier. Meanwhile, Molière becomes involved with the smitten man’s neglected wife (Morante). Hints of Molière plays to come are cleverly sprinkled throughout the elegant, bittersweet screenplay by director Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron. A delight. | tt0796335 | [PG-13] | Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante, Edouard Baer, Ludivine Sagnier, Fanny Valette | French | Comedy, History | NULL | |
| Moll Flanders | 1996 | Pen Densham | ★★½ | 123 | Daniel Defoe's 18th-century heroine was the inspiration for this newly spun tale of a girl, born to poverty and abuse, who spends her whole life standing up to men (and women) who would 'use' her. Wright is rock-solid as Moll, but the interesting story has its share of lulls. Filmmaker Jim Sheridan plays a priest. | tt0117071 | [PG-13] | Robin Wright, Morgan Freeman, Stockard Channing, John Lynch, Brenda Fricker, Geraldine James, Aisling Corcoran, Jeremy Brett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Molly | 1999 | John Duigan | ★½ | 91 | Female spin on CHARLY is a saccharine vehicle for Shue as a childlike autistic person who gets a major brain upgrade. Solid support from Eckhart as her reluctant older brother and Jane as her shy boyfriend can't make up for a major case of the cutes. Film preaches endlessly (and irresponsibly) about how kooky and free-spirited autistic people can be and how wretched we are for not enjoying the simple things in life as they do. Made its U.S. debut as an inflight movie! | tt0143746 | [PG-13] | Elisabeth Shue, Aaron Eckhart, Thomas Jane, Jill Hennessy, D.W. Moffett, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lucy Liu | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Molly Maguires | 1970 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 123 | Well-crafted film about secret society of Irish mine-workers in Pennsylvania, circa 1876, led by Connery; newcomer Harris is working as informer. Vivid atmosphere, good performances, but downbeat film lacks appeal, and is hurt by inconclusive ending. | tt0066090 | [M] | Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Art Lund, Anthony Costello | Drama | NULL | ||
| Molly and Lawless John | 1971 | Gary Nelson | ★★ | 97 | Slow-moving but not-uninteresting feminist Western, with Miles doing well as a repressed sheriff's wife who chooses to assist a brash young killer (Elliott) in a prison escape. Their developing relationship forms the basis of the story. | tt0068962 | [PG] | Vera Miles, Sam Elliott, Clu Gulager, John Anderson | Western | NULL | ||
| Molly and Me | 1945 | Lewis Seiler | ★★★ | 76 | Unemployed actress-turned-housekeeper Fields goes about brightening the life (and solving the problems) of her new boss, a dour and snippy disgraced politician (Woolley). Well played by a fine cast, with Gardiner almost stealing the film as Woolley's butler. | tt0037923 | Gracie Fields, Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Reginald Gardiner, Natalie Schafer, Edith Barrett, Doris Lloyd | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Mollycoddle | 1920 | Victor Fleming. | ★★★ | 86 | Amusing, cleverly devised comedy that begins with Fairbanks satirizing himself as a pampered boob who's been softened by a life of leisure in Monte Carlo. He's transformed into an all-American hero after being mistaken for a Secret Service agent and tangles with a shifty diamond smuggler (Beery). Great fun. | tt0011474 | Douglas Fairbanks, Ruth Renick, Wallace Beery, Paul Burns, Morris Hughes, George Stewart, Charles Stevens. | Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Molokai: The Story of Father Damien | 1999 | Paul Cox | ★★½ | 113 | True story of Father Damien and his battle to get proper medical and religious care for the outcast inhabitants of a leper colony in the Hawaiian islands. Hansen's disease is graphically shown; not for the fainthearted. Beautifully filmed on the site of the original colony, but given the subject matter, film is never as compelling as it ought to be. | tt0165196 | David Wenham, Derek Jacobi, Alice Krige, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Neill, Peter O'Toole, Leo McKern | Australian-Dutch |
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NULL | ||
| Mom and Dad | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 97 | The saga of pretty, innocent Joan Blake, whose repressive mother neglects to inform her about the birds and bees; she does 'it,' and finds herself 'in trouble.' Even though this notorious film opens with the National Anthem, and is a 'vital educational production, appealing to all true-Americans,' it was banned as obscene in some communities. Today, it's pretty tame; a fascinating curio. | tt0040603 | Hardie Albright, Lois Austin, George Eldredge, June Carlson, Jimmy Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mom and Dad Save the World | 1992 | Greg Beeman | ★½ | 88 | Perfectly dreadful comedy/ fantasy about the megalomaniacal ruler of a tiny planet (Lovitz) who's about to blow up Earth. He becomes attracted to a suburban Mom (Garr) and spirits her and her husband (Jones) to his planet so she can be his bride. Some imaginative visuals can't buoy this strained and unfunny concoction. | tt0104905 | [PG] | Teri Garr, Jeffrey Jones, Jon Lovitz, Thalmus Rasulala, Wallace Shawn, Eric Idle, Dwier Brown, Kathy Ireland | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Moment by Moment | 1978 | Jane Wagner | 💣 | 102 | Role-reversal romance with Travolta as sex object, Tomlin as bored Malibu resident gives new dimension to the word 'dreary.' | tt0077942 | [R] | Lily Tomlin, John Travolta, Andra Akers, Bert Kramer, Shelley R. Bonus | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Moment of Truth | 1952 | Jean Delannoy | ★★ | 90 | Effective playing of trite yarn of married couple realizing how little they know each other. | tt0140381 |
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Michele Morgan, Jean Gabin, Daniel Gelin, Simone Paris | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Moment to Moment | 1966 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 108 | Unconvincing, confused murder mystery set on the Riviera, but filmed largely on Universal's sound stage. | tt0060711 | Jean Seberg, Honor Blackman, Sean Garrison, Arthur Hill | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Momma's Man | 2008 | Azazel Jacobs | ★★★ | 99 | Thirtysomething Mikey (Boren), who lives in L.A. with his wife and infant daughter, visits his parents in their cramped N.Y.C. loft. Seemingly out of nowhere, he refuses to return to his adult responsibilities and retreats into a world of toys, comic books, high school friendships, and mother love. Not much happens in this naturalistic, deliberately paced psychological portrait, but what does is engrossing and insightful. Writer-director Jacobs' real parents (his father is Ken Jacobs, the noted experimental filmmaker) play his mom and dad. | tt1122599 | Matt Boren, Flo Jacobs, Ken Jacobs, Richard Edson, Dana Varon, Eleanor Hutchins, Piero Arcilesi | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mommie Dearest | 1981 | Frank Perry | ★★½ | 129 | Vivid, well-crafted filmization of Christina Crawford's book about growing up the adopted and abused daughter of movie queen Joan Crawford (brilliantly played by Dunaway). Knowing that the story is (allegedly) real makes watching this film a creepy experience, something akin to voyeurism . . . though now it's seen as a camp classic! | tt0082766 | [PG] | Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest, Howard da Silva, Mara Hobel, Rutanya Alda, Harry Goz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mommy | 1995 | Max Allan Collins | ★★½ | 89 | Pretty good little thriller set (and shot) in Muscatine, Iowa, with McCormack as The Bad Seed grown up: a smothering mommy who murders freely to get her way (and to protect her beloved daughter). Now the daughter starts to wonder how to deal with Mommy. McCormack is chillingly good, and the film seldom betrays its low-budget status. Scripted by the director, who also wrote (and sings) several songs on the soundtrack! Followed by MOMMY 2: MOMMY'S DAY. | tt0113843 | Patty McCormack, Jason Miller, Brinke Stevens, Majel Barrett, Mickey Spillane, Rachel Lemieux, Sarah Jane Miller | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mon Homme | My Man | 1996 | Bertrand Blier | ★★★ | 95 | Gleefully amoral sex fable about a sweet-natured, nymphomaniac prostitute (Grinberg) and what happens when she falls in love with a homeless man and turns him into her pimp. Full of typically perverse and surreal Blier touches, but also surprisingly affecting. Aka MY MAN. | tt0117073 | Anouk Grinberg, Gérard Lanvin, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Olivier Martinez, Sabine Azema, Bernard Le Coq | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Mon Oncle | My Uncle, Mr. Hulot | 1958 | Jacques Tati | ★★★★ | 126 | Tati's first color film is a masterpiece. M. Hulot's simple, uncluttered life is sharply contrasted to that of his sister and brother-in-law, who live in an ultramodern, gadget-laden home reminiscent of those in Buster Keaton's silent classics. Continuous flow of sight gags (including the funniest fountain you'll ever see) makes this easygoing, nearly dialogue-less comedy a total delight. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. Aka MY UNCLE and MY UNCLE, MR. HULOT. Original U.S. release ran 110m. | tt0050706 | Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie, Alain Bercourt | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mon Oncle d'Amerique | 1980 | Alain Resnais | ★★★½ | 123 | Intensely directed, acted, and written (by Jean Gruault) film illustrating research scientist Laborit's theories on human conduct. The focus is on the intertwined lives of a plant manager (Depardieu), actress (Garcia), and media executive (Pierre). Intelligent, thought-provoking. | tt0081176 | [PG] | Gérard Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Roger Pierre, Marie Dubois, Nelly Bourgeaud, Henri Laborit | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Mona Lisa | 1986 | Neil Jordan | ★★★ | 104 | Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson, Sammi Davis. Absorbing adult drama about a small-time hood who's given a job driving around a high-priced callgirl but remains naive about the life she leads, and about the degree of depravity his underworld chums have sunk to. Director Jordan (who cowrote screenplay with David Leland) leads us into this nether world along with Hoskins, allowing us to discover things at the same time. Hoskins and newcomer Tyson are terrific; Caine is wonderfully slimy in support. | tt0091538 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, Michael Caine, Robbie Coltrane, Clarke Peters, Kate Hardie, Zoe Nathenson, Sammi Davis | British | Comedy, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| Mona Lisa Smile | 2003 | Mike Newell | ★★ | 119 | Dedicated, freethinking art history prof Roberts molds young Wellesley women— even spoiled, mouthy Dunst— in the culturally stifling 1950s, but quickly learns that she's bucking the system in and out of the classroom. There's a certain amount of fun seeing contemporary young actresses in a period setting, but the movie is so smug and condescending that even anti-nostalgists may be put off. Pop culture reminders of the 1950s are laid on with a trowel . . . and even the villains in DELIVERANCE would know Columbia Records' superstar Doris Day did not record for RCA Victor, though one close-up implies that she did. | tt0304415 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Juliet Stevenson, Dominic West, Ginnifer Goodwin, Topher Grace, Marcia Gay Harden, John Slattery, Jordan Bridges, Marian Seldes | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Monarch of the Moon | 2005 | Richard Lowry | ★★★ | 98 | Entertaining parody of 1940s Saturday matinee serials (divided into six chapters), with the heroic Yellowjacket using his winged backpack to soar into action at a moment's notice to protect the interests of the U.S.A.-and locking horns with the evil villainess Dragonfly. Executed on a micro-budget with great verve and humor; even the sometimes-primitive special effects are fun to watch. This is the film SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW aspired to be. Made by the same team that created DESTINATION MARS! | tt0439709 | Blane Wheatley, Monica Himmelheber, Brent Moss, Kimberly Page, Will McMillan, Penny Drake, Kyle Vogt. | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Mondays in the Sun | 2002 | Fernando León de Aranoa | ★★★ | 113 | Fine if somber study of men who have lost their jobs as dockworkers and manage to survive on little more than hope. Bardem is very effective, and the film has something universally important to say. Based on a true story. Winner of the Goya, Spain's Oscar, for Best Picture. | tt0319769 | Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar, José Ángel Egido, Nieve de Medina, Enrique Villén, Celso Bugallo, Aida Folch, Joaquín Climent | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mondo Cane | 1963 | Gualtiero Jacopetti | ★★½ | 105 | Producer: Gualtiero Jacopetti. First and best of Italian shockumentaries, with dubbed American narration; focuses on bizarre peculiarities of man in various parts of the world. Features hit song 'More.' | tt0057318 | Italian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Money From Home | 1953 | George Marshall | ★★ | 100 | One of Dean and Jerry's weakest outings is slickly made but wanders all over the place, with Jerry as an aspiring veterinarian who gets involved with gangsters, steeplechase racing, an Arab ruler and his harem. Based on a Damon Runyon story. Originally in 3-D. | tt0046087 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Marjie Millar, Pat Crowley, Richard Haydn, Robert Strauss, Gerald Mohr, Sheldon Leonard, Jack Kruschen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Money Money Money | 1973 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★ | 113 | Gang of successful thieves decide that changing times demand their switch to political crimes, which pay more handsomely. Clever, funny spoof of our heated political era as seen through eyes of men whose only belief is in money. | tt0066798 | [PG] | Lino Ventura, Jacques Brel, Charles Denner, Aldo Maccione, Charles Gerard | French | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Money Pit | 1986 | Richard Benjamin | ★★ | 91 | A young couple's slapstick misadventures trying to repair and remodel a lemon of a house. Hanks and Long are very likable, but this yuppie update of MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE loses all contact with reality (and humor). Starts out funny but just gets worse and worse. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Co. | tt0091541 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Maureen Stapleton, Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco, Josh Mostel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Money Talks | 1997 | Brett Ratner | ★★ | 95 | TV newsman Sheen stumbles into a big story involving fugitive Tucker, and is forced to palm off the hustler as a longtime friend to fiancée Locklear and her rich parents. Surprise box-office success is familiar and lightweight, but has one genuine spark of whimsy: Tucker's phony masquerade as 'Vic Damone, Jr.,' brought on by the movie's amusingly concocted TV ad for an album of Vic Sr.'s hit recordings. Tucker coexecutive produced. | tt0119695 | [R] | Chris Tucker, Charlie Sheen, Heather Locklear, Paul Sorvino, Veronica Cartwright, Gerard Ismael, Paul Gleason, David Warner | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Money Train | 1995 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 103 | The costars of WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP try to reignite their chemistry as randy N.Y.C. transit cops— and brothers (!)— who fight over the same woman, argue over Woody's gambling fever, and get involved in the theft of a money-laden subway car. Violent, overly contrived buddy flick with some big subterranean action scenes. The stars are funny together, but Blake is way over the top as the boys' megalomaniac supervisor. All in all, 'token' entertainment. | tt0113845 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez, Robert Blake, Chris Cooper, Joe Grifasi | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Money Trap | 1966 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 92 | Ford is detective turned crook in pedestrian murder yarn. Hayworth most convincing as middle-aged woman no longer self-sufficient. Rare non-Western from Kennedy; adapted by Walter Bernstein from Lionel White's novel. | tt0059460 | Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, Elke Sommer, Joseph Cotten, Ricardo Montalban | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Money and the Woman | 1940 | William K. Howard. | ★★ | 67 | Convoluted quickie based on a James M. Cain story about a bank executive who falls in love with the wife of an embezzling employee. Minor programmer from a once-major director. | tt0032806 | Jeffrey Lynn, Brenda Marshall, John Litel, Lee Patrick, Henry O'Neill, Roger Pryor, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Money for Nothing | 1993 | Ramón Menéndez | ★★ | 100 | True story of unemployed longshoreman who finds over a million bucks which has fallen out of an armored car; he sees it as his ticket to the good life, but it doesn't work out that way. Earnest but drab treatment of an interesting story; promoted as a comedy, which it is not. The real-life Joey Coyle, on whom the film is based, committed suicide shortly before its release. | tt0107594 | [R] | John Cusack, Debi Mazar, Michael Madsen, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Rapaport, Maury Chaykin, James Gandolfini, Fionnula Flanagan, Philip Seymour Hoffman | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Money, Women and Guns | 1958 | Richard Bartlett | ★★ | 80 | Modest Western about lawman sent to track down killers and to find heirs to victim's will. | tt0051946 | Jock Mahoney, Kim Hunter, Tim Hovey, Gene Evans | Western | NULL | |||
| Moneyball | 2011 | Bennett Miller | ★★★ | 133 | In 2001, after repeatedly being beaten by better-funded teams, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) hires a savvy statistician (Hill) who gives him a radical new approach to filling his roster and playing each game. This wins him no friends among his players, coaches, scouts, and fans, but he's determined to see the idea through. A divorced dad, he has only his adolescent daughter to turn to for solace. Smart, interesting drama based on Michael Lewis' best-selling book, with a story by Stan Chervin and screenplay by two heavy hitters, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Only shortcoming is Beane's aloofness (as portrayed here), which even keeps the audience at arm's length. | tt1210166 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard, Jack McGee, Kerris Dorsey, Arliss Howard, Glenn Morshower | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mongol | 2007 | Sergei Bodrov | ★★★ | 126 | Surprisingly personal portrait of the man who would be known as Genghis Khan—warrior and conqueror —and his extraordinary bond with the woman he chose to be his wife when he was nine years old. Vivid character portrait is played out on an enormous canvas, with eye-filling images and massive battle scenes, though the film’s storytelling momentum flags from time to time. | tt0416044 | [R] | Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun, Honglei Sun | Kazakhstanian | Biography, Drama, Romanace, War | NULL | |
| The Mongols | 1961 | André De Toth, Leopoldo Savona | ★★ | 102 | Unimaginative spectacle set in 13th century, with Palance the son of Genghis Khan on the rampage in Europe, Ekberg his girl. | tt0055190 | Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Antonella Lualdi, Franco Silva | Italian | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Monitors | 1969 | Jack Shea | ★★ | 92 | Great cast wasted in this failed attempt at science fiction satire filmed in Chicago by Second City company. Alien Monitors control Earth and keep everything peaceful, but rebels plot against them. From novel by popular sci-fi writer Keith Laumer. | tt0064684 | [M] | Guy Stockwell, Susan Oliver, Avery Schreiber, Larry Storch, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Alan Arkin, Xavier Cugat, Stubby Kaye, Jackie Vernon, Everett Dirksen | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Monkey Business | 1931 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★½ | 77 | Four brothers stow away on luxury liner; Groucho goes after Thelma, all four pretend to be Maurice Chevalier to get off ship. Full quota of sight gags and puns in typically wacky comedy, coscripted by S. J. Perelman; their first film written directly for the screen. | tt0022158 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx , Zeppo Marx, Thelma Todd, Ruth Hall, Harry Woods | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Monkey Business | 1952 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 97 | Grant discovers rejuvenation serum, which affects him, wife Rogers, boss Coburn, and secretary Monroe in this zany comedy. Coburn's classic line to MM: 'Find someone to type this.' Written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, and I.A.L. Diamond; that's Hawks' voice during the opening credits. | tt0044916 | Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, Charles Coburn, Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Marlowe | Fantasy, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monkey Grip | 1982 | Ken Cameron | ★★½ | 101 | Unmemorable drama detailing the trials of singleminded single mother Hazlehurst, particularly her relationship with obnoxious drug addict boyfriend Friels. Nice performance by Hazlehurst, but ultimately just a superficial soap opera. | tt0084350 | Noni Hazlehurst, Colin Friels, Alice Garner, Harold Hopkins, Candy Raymond | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Monkey Hustle | 1977 | Arthur Marks | ★½ | 90 | Appealing cast is only saving grace of dumb comedy actioner designed for black audiences, shot in Chicago. Kotto is a black Fagin; ghetto neighborhood's impending demise for an expressway forms a bit of plot. | tt0076404 | [PG] | Yaphet Kotto, Rosalind Cash, Rudy Ray Moore, Kirk Calloway, Randy Brooks | Drama | NULL | ||
| Monkey Shines: An Experiment in Fear | 1988 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 115 | A cute monkey (injected with human brain cells) is enlisted to help a quadraplegic get on with his life. From that premise writer-director Romero tries to build horror and suspense, but it only works in spurts, and taxes our credibility (and our patience) far too often. | tt0095652 | [R] | Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten, Christine Forrest, Stephen Root, Stanley Tucci, Janine Turner | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Monkey Trouble | 1994 | Franco Amurri | ★★★ | 95 | Nicely done family film about Eva (Birch), a clever nine-year-old who yearns for a pet; she adopts a Capuchin monkey, whom she hides from her parents. Splendid change-of-pace for Keitel, as a gypsy who'd been using the monkey to pick pockets; the monkey, whom Eva names 'Dodger' (played by 'Finster'), is a real scene-stealer. Kids Eva's age should love it. Amurri scripted, with Stu Krieger. Ridley Scott executive-produced. | tt0110557 | [PG] | Thora Birch, Harvey Keitel, Mimi Rogers, Christopher McDonald, Kevin Scannell | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Monkey on My Back | 1957 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 93 | Mitchell as fighter Barney Ross, who became a dope addict, turns in sincere performance. Well-meant, engrossing little film. | tt0050719 | Cameron Mitchell, Paul Richards, Dianne Foster, Jack Albertson, Kathy Garver | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Monkey's Uncle | 1965 | Robert Stevenson | ★★ | 87 | Juvenile Disney comedy has Kirk again as Merlin Jones, college whiz-kid who first tries sleep-learning method on monkey, then sets himself up in makeshift flying machine. Flight sequences provide brightest moments. Unforgettable title song warbled by Annette and The Beach Boys. Sequel to THE MISADVENTURES OF MERLIN JONES. | tt0059462 | Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Leon Ames, Frank Faylen, Arthur O'Connell, Norman Grabowski | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| MonkeyBone | 2001 | Henry Selick | ★½ | 92 | Simply awful fantasy-comedy about a cartoonist who's created a mischievous-monkey cartoon alter ego. When he slips into a coma, he enters a bizarre, nightmarish netherworld in which the monkey runs rampant; then the creature wreaks havoc in his 'real life' too. Overblown, ugly, unfocused mess; Kattan steals the show in a small but hilarious part. Thomas Haden Church appears uncredited. Based on the graphic novel Dark Town. | tt0166276 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Dave Foley, Whoopi Goldberg, Giancarlo Esposito, Rose McGowan, Megan Mullally, Lisa Zane, Chris Kattan; voice of John Turturro | Animation, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Monkeys, Go Home! | 1967 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 101 | Disney trivia about a man who inherits French olive farm and trains monkeys to pick his crop. Gossamer-thin, for kids only. Chevalier's final film appearance. | tt0061989 | Maurice Chevalier, Dean Jones, Yvette Mimieux, Bernard Woringer, Clement Harari, Yvonne Constant | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Monogamy | 2011 | Dana Adam Shapiro | ★★ | 96 | Feeling in a rut shooting wedding photos amid the mundane details of planning his own coming marriage, Brooklyn photographer Messina starts a sideline service where clients hire him to take covert pics of them (shot from afar) in their everyday lives. Derivative premise (think BLOWUP and its progeny) gets somewhat of a fresh slant (wounded fiancée Jones senses that her intended is, well . . . becoming distracted). A virtuoso filmmaker could have gone to town with this obsession-spurred hook; the payoff here is middling and on the labored side. | tt1502714 | Unrated | Chris Messina, Rashida Jones, Meitel Dohan, Zak Orth, Ivan Martin | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Monolith | 1994 | John Eyres | 💣 | 95 | Nonsensical sci-fi/action adventure of cops Paxton and Frost chasing an invincible killer alien. Attempts at repartee are embarrassing. | tt0107597 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Lindsay Frost, John Hurt, Louis Gossett/Jr., Paul Ganus, Musetta Vander, Andrew Lamond | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Monolith Monsters | 1957 | John Sherwood | ★★½ | 77 | Engrossing sci-fi mystery set in desert town. When exposed to water, fragments of shattered meteorites grow and reproduce— wreaking havoc on innocent bystanders. | tt0050720 | Lola Albright, Grant Williams, Les Tremayne, Trevor Bardette | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monsieur Beaucaire | 1946 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 93 | Pleasing Hope vehicle with Bob in costume as bar√ ber sent on mission as dead duck sure to be murdered. Plush settings, funny gags. | tt0038747 | Bob Hope, Joan Caulfield, Patric Knowles, Marjorie Reynolds, Cecil Kellaway, Joseph Schildkraut, Reginald Owen, Constance Collier | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Monsieur Hire | 1989 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★½ | 88 | Bald, middle-aged Peeping Tom falls in love with the object of his obsession— a young woman, peripherally involved in a murder, who lives across the courtyard. Cold, but involving and terrifically acted version of a Georges Simenon novel; the short running time helps. Previously filmed in 1946 as PANIQUE. | tt0097904 | [PG-13] | Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, Eric Berenger | French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Monsieur Ibrahim | 2003 | François Dupeyron | ★★½ | 94 | A resourceful Jewish teen (Boulanger) in 1960s Paris gets to know the philosophical Muslim shopkeeper across the street . . . and the neighborhood prostitutes as well. The growing friendship between the elder and the adolescent, along with the life lessons, are nicely played, but story is rather slight and leisurely paced. Adjani has a bit as a movie star. | tt0329388 | [R] | Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melki, Isabelle Renauld, Lola Naymark, Anne Suarez, Mata Gabin, Isabelle Adjani | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Monsieur Lazhar | Bachir Lazhar | 2011 | Philippe Falardeau | ★★★ | 94 | When a teacher hangs herself in her classroom, her students and colleagues must find a way to deal with their shock and grief. Then an Algerian immigrant comes along, ready to take her place, and finds himself dealing with the kids' emotional problems as much as their curriculum. He also discreetly avoids discussing his own turbulent history. Moving, humanistic drama maintains a light touch and avoids sentimentality, which is why it works so well. Adapted by Falardeau from a one-man play by Evelyne de la Chenelière. First screened at film festivals as BACHIR LAZHAR. | tt2011971 | [PG-13] | (Mohamed) Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip, Daniel Gadouas, Louis Champagne | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Monsieur N. | 2003 | Antoine de Caunes. | ★★ | 128 | Fanciful yarn set on the island of St. Helena, where a British military martinet (Grant) is sent to guard Napoleon Bonaparte (Torreton) in 1815, certain that the ingenious emperor is planning to escape. Told through the eyes of a British lieutenant (Rodan) who suspects, 20 years later, that history has been hoodwinked. Promising story actually grows less interesting as it develops, despite impressive production values. | tt0308595 | Philippe Torreton, Richard E. Grant, Jay Rodan, Elsa Zylberstein, Roschdy Zem, Bruno Putzulu, Stéphane Freiss, Frédéric Pierrot, Siobhan Hewlett. | French-British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Monsieur Verdoux | 1947 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★½ | 123 | Chaplin's controversial black comedy about a Parisian Bluebeard who murders wives for their money was years ahead of its time; its wry humor and pacifist sentiments make it quite contemporary when seen today. Broad comic sequence with Raye is particular highlight. | tt0039631 | Charlie Chaplin, Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, Marilyn Nash, Irving Bacon, William Frawley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Monsieur Vincent | 1947 | Maurice Cloche | ★★★ | 114 | Absorbing biography of Vincent de Paul (Fresnay), the selfless 17th-century French priest who earned fame (and sainthood) for his devotion to and advocacy of the poor. Occasionally slow-moving but not without powerful dramatic moments; film mirrors the time in which it was made as it offers the point of view that the wealthy should take responsibility for those less fortunate in a war-torn world. Coscripted by Jean Anouilh and Jean Bernard-Luc. Winner of a special Academy Award, given before there was a Best Foreign Language Film category. | tt0039632 | Pierre Fresnay, Aimé Clariond, Jean Debucourt, Lise Delamare, Germaine Dermoz, Gabrielle Dorziat, Pierre Dux, Yvonne Gaudeau | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Monsignor | 1982 | Frank Perry | ★★ | 122 | Saga of ambitious priest who commits every heresy imaginable (including having an affair with a nun!) while operating as the Vatican's business manager. Grows more ridiculous as it goes along— with unintentional comedy on a grand scale— culminating in an astonishing final shot involving the Pope. Another camp classic from the producer and director of MOMMIE DEAREST. | tt0084351 | [R] | Christopher Reeve, Geneviève Bujold, Fernando Rey, Jason Miller, Joseph Cortese, Adolfo Celi, Leonardo Cimino, Tomas Milian, Robert Prosky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Monsignor Quixote | 1988 | Rodney Bennett | ★★½ | 118 | To his surprise, a quiet, provincial Spanish priest (Guinness), a descendant of Don Quixote, is appointed monsignor. To celebrate, he and a local Communist politician (McKern) take a journey that mirrors the adventures of Cervantes' knight errant. Gentle film features fine acting and an interesting story but never engages the emotions. Based on a Graham Greene novel. Made for British television. | tt0089616 | Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Ian Richardson, Graham Crowden, Maurice Denham, Philip Stone, Rosalie Crutchley, Valentine Pelka, Don Fellows | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Monsoon Wedding | 2002 | Mira Nair | ★★★ | 113 | A middle-class Punjabi man plans an elaborate wedding that is well beyond his means for his daughter, who has only met the groom weeks ago. In the days leading up to the event, the tangled relationships of his extended family— and his daughter's own doubts— lead to tumult. Long but richly textured comedy-drama emphasizing how love, betrayal, and ambition impose themselves on even the most tradition-bound societies. | tt0265343 | Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shetty, Vasundhara Das, Parvin Dabas, Vijay Raaz, Tilotama Shome, Rajat Kapoor | Indian-U.S. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Monster | 2003 | Patty Jenkins | ★★★ | 109 | Theron won an Oscar for her raw, no-holds-barred performance as Aileen Wuornos, the infamous prostitute and serial killer who murdered seven men and was executed in 2002. The film works better as a love story between the emotionally scarred Wuornos and a young woman she grows to trust (Ricci) than as an incisive social commentary. Impressive feature debut for writer-director Jenkins. Theron also coproduced; her extraordinary makeup was crafted by Toni G. | tt0340855 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Lee Tergesen, Annie Corley | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Monster Club | 1980 | Roy Ward Baker | ★½ | 97 | A trio of horror stories, all told by vampire Price. Disappointing and unimaginative, with only the barest of shudders; never released theatrically in the U.S. The club, by the way, is a disco patronized by Transylvanians. | tt0081178 | Vincent Price, John Carradine, Donald Pleasence, Stuart Whitman, Warren Saire, Richard Johnson, Britt Ekland, Simon Ward, Anthony Steel, Patrick Magee | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Monster From Green Hell | 1957 | Kenneth G. Crane | ★½ | 71 | Laboratory wasps are sent into orbit, crashland in Africa as giant mutations. Standard 1950s sci-fi formula stuff, with lots of talk, little action. Uses ample stock footage from STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE. Climax originally filmed in color. | tt0050723 | Jim Davis, Robert E. Griffin, Barbara Turner, Joel Fluellen, Vladimir Sokoloff, Eduardo Ciannelli | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monster From the Ocean Floor | 1954 | Wyott Ordung | 💣 | 64 | Producer Roger Corman's first effort is a dreadful film about a squidlike creature pursued by a minisubmarine; 20,000 yawns under the sea. | tt0047244 | Anne Kimball, Stuart Wade, Wyott Ordung | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monster House | 2006 | Gil Kenan | ★★½ | 91 | Two adolescent boys and a girl they've just met realize that the spooky house across the street is actually alive and swallowing up people! Story gets stranger as it goes along (try explaining it to your kids) but offers some good, spooky moments for juvenile audiences. Why it's done with 'motion capture,' to make animated characters act like real people, is a question adults will have to grapple with. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. | tt0385880 | [PG] | Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kevin James, Nick Cannon, Jason Lee, Jon Heder, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Kathleen Turner, Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke | Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Monster Island | 1981 | Juan Piquer Simon | ★½ | 100 | Humdrum actioner, with Serra and Hatton shipwrecked on an island loaded with gold and strange creatures. Based on a story by Jules Verne. | tt0082769 | Terence Stamp, Peter Cushing, Ian Serra, David Hatton, Blanca Estrada | U.S.-Spanish | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Monster Maker | 1944 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 62 | Peculiarly distasteful horror yarn with mad scientist Naish infecting his enemies with acromegaly 'germs,' causing hideous deformities. | tt0037084 | J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Wanda McKay, Terry Frost | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Monster Squad | 1987 | Fred Dekker | ★★½ | 81 | Young friends belong to a club that's devoted to monsters, but they unexpectedly encounter the horror heavies in real life when Dracula (accompanied by the Frankenstein monster, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, and the Gill Man) comes to their town in search of an amulet vital to his continued existence. Affectionate homage to classic horror films and their monster stars is ultimately too bland and unbelievable (even for a kiddie horror film). Climactic showdown boasts Richard Edlund's super-duper special effects. | tt0093560 | [PG-13] | Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank | Adventure, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Monster That Challenged the World | 1957 | Arnold Laven | ★★½ | 83 | Above-average giant-bug-on-the-loose film is set in the Salton Sea, where colossal mollusks (like big caterpillars in snail shells) menace locals. Intelligent, low-key, with good monsters. | tt0050722 | Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton, Hans Conried, Casey Adams | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Monster Walks | 1932 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 63 | Campy old-house thriller, good for some fun. Heiress Reynolds is marked for death by paralyzed uncle Lewis, who wants moronic Auer to kill her and blame it on an ape that's kept in the cellar for scientific experiments. Willie bests Mischa for laughs, but it's a close race. | tt0023236 | Rex Lease, Vera Reynolds, Mischa Auer, Sheldon Lewis, Willie Best | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Monster Zero | Godzilla vs. Monster Zero | 1966 | Ishirô Honda | ★½ | 92 | Godzilla and Rodan are swiped from Earth to battle Ghidrah on an alien planet. Lesser monster movie from the Toho Studio. Aka GODZILLA VS. MONSTER ZERO. | tt0059346 | Nick Adams, Akira Takarada | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Monster and the Girl | 1941 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 65 | Unusual B film starts off with story of gangsters dragging Drew into life of prostitution, then veers off into horror as Zucco transfers her dead brother's brain into body of a gorilla! White slavery angle more original than the mad-scientist stuff. | tt0033916 | Ellen Drew, Robert Paige, Paul Lukas, Joseph Calleia, George Zucco, Rod Cameron | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monster in a Box | 1992 | Nick Broomfield | ★★★ | 96 | The second film adaptation of a Spalding Gray monologue, this one chronicling various adventures from L.A. to the Soviet Union which interrupt Gray's efforts to write a huge autobiographical novel (the monster of the title). The direction and the music are more obtrusive than in the previous SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA, but Gray's stories and observations are still funny, profound, and extremely compelling. Our favorite anecdote: Gray's semi-disastrous stint as the Stage Manager in a N.Y. revival of Our Town. | tt0102467 | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||||
| Monster in the Closet | 1986 | Bob Dahlin | ★★★ | 87 | Perceptive and funny homage to 1950s sci-fi flicks. Clark Kent-type reporter Grant and scientist DuBarry team up to track down and destroy California monsters who pop out of closets and kill people. A must for buffs. Filmed in 1983. | tt0091544 | [PG] | Donald Grant, Denise DuBarry, Claude Akins, Howard Duff, Henry Gibson, Donald Moffat, Paul Dooley, John Carradine, Jesse White, Stella Stevens | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Monster of Piedras Blancas | 1961 | Irvin Berwick | ★½ | 71 | Sluggish chiller with humanoid sea monster thirsting for blood on a desolate seacoast; obvious and amateurish. | tt0051947 | Les Tremayne, Don Sullivan, Forrest Lewis, Jeanne Carmen, John Harmon, Frank Arvidson | Horror | NULL | |||
| Monster on the Campus | 1958 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 76 | Mild-mannered college prof Franz, experimenting with the body of a fish long thought to be extinct, is unaware that its blood occasionally turns him into a murderous Neanderthal man. Silly script saved by Arnold's efficient direction and Franz's sensitive performance. | tt0051948 | Arthur Franz, Joanna Moore, Judson Pratt, Nancy Walters, Troy Donahue | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Monster's Ball | 2001 | Marc Forster | ★★★½ | 112 | A soft-spoken Georgia prison functionary who's repressed his feelings for years— through family tragedies and the emotional upheavals of his job— begins to change after his son, a fellow prison guard, reacts badly to their latest execution. Challenging film tackles issues of darkness and light with great feeling and nuance, as Thornton becomes involved with the unstable widow of the man he just put to death. Unlike some dramas that wallow in misery, this one provides a meaningful— and plausible— catharsis, with superb acting right down the line. Berry's shattering performance earned her a Best Actress Oscar. Written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. | tt0285742 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs, Mos Def, Coronji Calhoun | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Monster | 1994 | Roberto Benigni | ★★½ | 112 | Bumbling Benigni is mistaken by the police for a wanted serial killer, and he's followed by an attractive female cop hoping to get the goods on him. Moderately amusing comedy will mostly please those who already adore Benigni; others will find fewer laughs. Original title: IL MOSTRO. | tt0110570 | Roberto Benigni, Michel Blanc, Nicoletta Braschi, Jean-Claude Brialy, Massimo Girotti, Dominique Lavanant, Ivano Marescotti | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Monster-in-Law | 2005 | Robert Luketic. | ★★ | 95 | Nice girl meets nice guy, and he asks her to marry him. Now she has to contend with the mother-in-law from hell, a vain, controlling woman who'll stop at nothing to prevent the nuptials from taking place. Professionalism (and Sykes' well-calculated one-liners) just barely sustain this obvious, heavy-handed comedy. Fonda is still a formidable presence after fifteen years off-screen; too bad she couldn't have found a better script for her return. | tt0369735 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes, Adam Scott, Monet Mazur, Annie Parisse, Will Arnett, Elaine Stritch. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Monsters | 2010 | Gareth Edwards | ★★ | 94 | Alien life accidentally brought to Earth has multiplied, overrunning northern Mexico, but it’s kept isolated by the regional governments. Years later, two young Americans have to travel overland from central Mexico back to the U.S. across an alien-infested wilderness populated by a few scattered locals. The two become close as they make their dangerous trek. Unusually conceived, ultra-low-budget film is surprisingly intelligent and occasionally suspenseful, though it’s overlong, inconclusive, and the acting level varies sharply. Still, an impressive debut for writer-director-cinematographer-production designer Edwards. | tt1470827 | [R] | Scoot McNary, Whitney Able, Annalee Jefferies, Justin Hall, Victor Vejan | British | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Monsters vs. Aliens | 2009 | Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon | ★★½ | 94 | Young woman who’s about to be married has a close encounter with a meteorite and becomes a giant. The government seizes her and closets her away with other assorted monsters—then realizes that these creatures might be just the ones to fend off an alien invasion. Jokey monster movie is also (no kidding) a female empowerment story. Innocuous animated family entertainment (especially good in 3-D) but the final gags fall curiously flat. | tt0892782 | [PG] | Voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Paul Rudd, Julie White, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Poehler, Ed Helms, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski | Animation, Family, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Monsters, Inc. | 2001 | Peter Docter | ★★★ | 92 | Clever, funny computer-animated tale of life in Monstropolis, a city powered by the screams of children frightened by monsters who come out of their closets at night. Trouble begins when a little girl named Boo invades this world— to the dismay of furry monster Sulley and his talkative squire, Mike Wazowski. Goodman and Crystal give wonderful vocal performances; full of laughs for kids and grownups alike. Randy Newman's song 'If I Didn't Have You' won an Oscar. Another winner from Pixar and Disney. | tt0198781 | [G] | Voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz, Bonnie Hunt | Animation, Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Montana | 1950 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 76 | Flynn plays an Aussie who tries to raise sheep in Montana cattle country; slick but formulaic Western. | tt0042744 | Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S. Z. Sakall, Monte Blue, Douglas Kennedy | Western | NULL | |||
| Montana Belle | 1952 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 81 | Mildly interesting Western with Russell as Belle Starr, involved with fellow outlaws, the Dalton Brothers. Filmed in 1948. | tt0044919 | Jane Russell, George Brent, Scott Brady, Andy Devine, Forrest Tucker | Western | NULL | |||
| Montana Moon | 1930 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★ | 89 | OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS goes west, with hot jazz baby Joan marrying down-to-earth cowboy Brown. Dated, and stiff as a board. | tt0021152 | Joan Crawford, John Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, Ricardo Cortez, Benny Rubin, Cliff Edwards, Karl Dane | Comedy, Drama, Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Montana Territory | 1952 | Ray Nazarro. | ★★ | 64 | McCallister is deputized cowboy who's out to bring in the outlaws. | tt0044921 | Lon McCallister, Wanda Hendrix, Preston Foster, Jack Elam, Clayton Moore. | Western | NULL | |||
| Monte Carlo | 1930 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 90 | Dated but enjoyable musical froth with Jeanette an impoverished countess wooed by royal Buchanan, who's incognito, of course. Lubitsch's methods of integrating songs into the film were innovations in 1930; most memorable is 'Beyond the Blue Horizon.' | tt0021153 | Jeanette MacDonald, Jack Buchanan, ZaSu Pitts, Claude Allister | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Monte Carlo | 2011 | Thomas Bezucha | ★½ | 109 | Three girls from a small town in Texas spend their savings on a dream trip to Paris. Once there, the girls discover that one of them (Gomez) looks just like a British socialite and use her mistaken identity to their advantage. Cast is attractive and likable but the story is predictable... and dull. Although its target audience may not notice the poor editing and plot development, this still should have been a better movie. Loosely based on the novel Headhunters by Jules Bass. | tt1067774 | [PG] | Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, Katie Cassidy, Catherine Tate, Cory Monteith, Pierre Boulanger, Luke Bracey, Andie MacDowell, Brett Cullen | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Monte Carlo Story | 1957 | Sam Taylor | ★★ | 99 | Charming stars try to support thin story of troubled romance between two compulsive gamblers; filmed on location. | tt0049520 | Marlene Dietrich, Vittorio De Sica, Arthur O'Connell, Natalie Trundy, Mischa Auer | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Monte Walsh | 1970 | William A. Fraker | ★★★ | 106 | Melancholy Western with Marvin a veteran cowboy who finds himself part of a dying West. Sensitive filming of novel by Jack Schaefer (who wrote SHANE). Fine performance by Palance in atypical good-guy role. Directorial debut for noted cinematographer Fraker. Remade for TV in 2003. | tt0066093 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitch Ryan, Jim Davis, Allyn Ann McLerie, Richard Farnsworth | Western | NULL | ||
| Montenegro | 1981 | Dusan Makavejev | ★★★ | 98 | Bored middle-class housewife Anspach becomes sexually liberated when she accidentally falls in with Yugoslav workers who frequent a boisterous bar. Funny and entertaining. Aka MONTENEGRO— OR PIGS AND PEARLS. | tt0082770 | [R] | Susan Anspach, Erland Josephson, Per Oscarsson, John Zacharias, Svetozar Cvetkovic, Patricia Gelin | Swedish-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Monterey Pop | 1969 | James Desmond, Barry Feinstein, D.A. Pennebaker | ★★★½ | 88 | Otis Redding, Mamas and Papas, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Animals, Jefferson Airplane. First major rock concert film, shot at 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, is still one of the best ever, with Joplin's 'Ball and Chain' and Hendrix's pyrotechnical 'Wild Thing' among the highlights. Video version includes 9m. extra footage. | tt0064689 | Pennebaker, Albert Maysles, Roger Murphy, Richard Leacock, Nick Proferes. | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Month by the Lake | 1995 | John Irvin | ★★½ | 94 | Garrulous, unmarried Brit (Redgrave) vacations at Italy's Lake Como on the eve of WW2. She's interested in a fellow hotel guest, stiff-upper-lip Fox, but her hesitancy opens the door for flirtatious American Thurman. Sweetly entertaining (and picturesque), if painted in very broad strokes. That's Vittorio Gassman's son as the young lothario. Based on the novella by H. E. Bates. | tt0113849 | [PG] | Vanessa Redgrave, Edward Fox, Uma Thurman, Alida Valli, Alessandro Gassman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Month in the Country | 1987 | Pat O'Connor | ★★★ | 96 | Occasionally slow but still thoughtful, rewarding drama about shellshocked WW1 vet Firth, and his experiences while uncovering a medieval painting on a church wall in a remote Yorkshire town. Screenplay by Simon Gray, from a novel by J. R. Carr. Stick with this one. | tt0093562 | [PG] | Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson, Patrick Malahide, Tony Haygarth, Jim Carter | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Montparnasse 19 | 1958 | Jacques Becker | ★★½ | 120 | Unusual biography of Modigliani, with Philipe as the struggling early-20th-century painter; plays up the women in his life but at the same time presents a harshly realistic view of the Parisian art world and its denizens. Philipe is fine as the impoverished, boozing— and romantic— lead (the French star died in 1959, at age 36). Film was prepared by (and is dedicated to) director Max Ophuls, who died prior to shooting. Aka MODIGLIANI OF MONTPARNASSE and MODIGLIANI. | tt0050123 | Gérard Philipe, Lilli Palmer, Anouk Aimée, Gerard Sety, Lila Kedrova, Lino Ventura | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl | 1982 | Terry Hughes | ★★★ | 77 | Britain's bad boys invade Los Angeles with this madcap series of sketches and routines, including many old favorites. A must for Python aficionados. Videotaped, then transferred to film. | tt0084352 | [R] | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Neil Innes, Carol Cleveland | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Monty Python and the Holy Grail | 1975 | Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones. | ★★½ | 90 | The Python troupe's second feature is wildly uneven, starting out well and then getting lost— in the 'story' of a medieval quest. Some inspired lunacy, and a lot of dry stretches; awfully bloody, too. Recommended for fans only. Adapted into a stage musical, Spamalot, in 2004. | tt0071853 | [PG] | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin. | British | Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | 1983 | Terry Jones | ★★★ | 103 | Original, outrageous comedy exploring various facets of life and death— from procreation to the Grim Reaper himself— with typical Python irreverence. Highlights include the world's most obese man (an unforgettable scene, like it or not) and a cheerful, elaborate production number about sperm! A barrel of bellylaughs for Python fans; others beware. | tt0472471 | [R] | Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Simon Jones | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Monument Ave. | 1998 | Ted Demme | ★★ | 90 | Substitute Boston-Irish hoods for Martin Scorsese's Italian counterparts, and you get a sense of what this aspires to be. Serviceable drama deals with the tension between an older mentor and his band of younger car thieves, as well as the women who mourn at the funerals their actions have engendered. Might have been more impressive had it come out ten years earlier. | tt0119802 | [R] | Denis Leary, Billy Crudup, Ian Hart, Jason Barry, Colm Meaney, Martin Sheen, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Famke Janssen, Noah Emmerich, John Diehl | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Moolaadé | 2005 | Ousmane Sembene. | ★★★½ | 124 | Deceptively simple but riveting account of a single-minded wife/mother in a small West African village, who defiantly gives refuge to some terrified young girls who want to avoid the ritualistic mutilation of their genitals— a custom throughout many parts of Africa. Difficult subject matter is potently handled by octogenarian Senegalese writer-director Sembene, who has fashioned a multilayered, politically savvy drama that also brims with charm and wit. | tt0416991 | Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maïmouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traoré, Dominique T. Zeïda, Mah Compaoré, Aminata Dao. | Senegalese-French-Moroccan-Tunisian-Burkina Faso-Cameroon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Moon | 2009 | Duncan Jones | ★★★ | 97 | On the eve of his expiring contract and a return home to his loved ones, a moon-based maintenance man for a mining company (Rockwell) begins to sense that matters are not as they seem. Adding to his disorientation is a computer/robot (Spacey) whose resemblance to 2001's duplicitous HAL is obviously very much on the minds of the filmmakers. A good example of how to make a resourceful movie and maintain viewer interest with minimal production components. Director Jones is the son of rock royalty and occasional actor David Bowie. | tt1182345 | [R] | Sam Rockwell, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario; voice of Kevin Spacey | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Moon 44 | 1990 | Roland Emmerich | ★½ | 102 | In the 21st century, a multinational company forces its prisoners to protect their claim on a 'moon' from takeover attempt by rival company. Paré plays a tough undercover agent. Annoyingly derivative, drearily obvious sci-fi epic. | tt0097910 | [R] | Michael Paré, Lisa Eichhorn, Malcolm McDowell, Dean Devlin, Brian Thompson, Stephen Geoffreys, Mechmed Yilmaz, Leon Rippy, Roscoe Lee Browne | West German | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Moon Is Blue | 1953 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 99 | Once-saucy sex comedy about a young woman who flaunts her virginity now seems tame, too much a filmed stage play, with most innuendoes lacking punch. Adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from his stage hit. Hardy Kruger (who has a small part here) played the lead in a German-language version that Preminger filmed simultaneously. | tt0046094 | William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara, Tom Tully, Dawn Addams, Gregory Ratoff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Moon Is Down | 1943 | Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 90 | Fine drama from Steinbeck novel of Norway's invasion by Nazis, tracing local effect and reactions. | tt0036170 | Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Travers, Lee J. Cobb, Dorris Bowdon, Margaret Wycherly, Peter Van Eyck, William Post/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Moon Over Broadway | 1997 | D. A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus | ★★★ | 92 | Revealing— and entertaining— documentary about the Broadway production of Ken Ludwig's comedy Moon Over Buffalo, starring Carol Burnett, in her first Broadway play in many years, and Philip Bosco. The assorted behind-the-scenes power trips, emotions, and distresses are captured in vivid detail; a fascinating look at what goes into creating a high-profile Broadway production. A must for theater buffs. | tt0125412 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Moon Over Burma | 1940 | Louis King | ★★ | 76 | Island setting tries to cover up for same old triangle with Foster and Preston fighting over Lamour. | tt0032809 | Dorothy Lamour, Preston Foster, Robert Preston, Doris Nolan, Albert Bassermann, Frederick Worlock | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Moon Over Harlem | 1939 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 70 | Fascinating all-black melodrama with music, about a wealthy widow who marries a heel, and the daughter she unjustly accuses of trying to seduce him. Oh yes, there's a subplot about gangsters preying on pushcart vendors. Possibly the cheapest of Ulmer's fabled ultra-low-budget projects; shot in just four days, but retains a real sense of time and place. | tt0031668 | Bud Harris, Cora Green, Izinetta Wilcox, Earl Gough, Zerritta Stepteau, Petrina Moore, Christopher Columbus and His Swing Band, Sidney Bechet and His Clarinet | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Moon Over Miami | 1941 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 91 | Grable, sister Landis, and Greenwood go fortune-hunting in Miami, come up with more than they bargained for in smoothly entertaining musical romance, especially nice in color. Tuneful songs include title number, 'You Started Something.' Remake of THREE BLIND MICE, also remade as THREE LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE. | tt0033918 | Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Robert Cummings, Carole Landis, Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Haley | Musical | NULL | |||
| Moon Over Parador | 1988 | Paul Mazursky | ★★½ | 105 | Amiable comedy about an American actor who's shanghaied into portraying a recently deceased Latin American dictator; reluctant at first, he soon finds he enjoys the charade (and the despot's sexy companion). Entertaining enough, but never hits the bull's-eye. Cowriter/director Mazursky has a hilarious cameo in drag. Inspired by THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD (1939). | tt0095654 | [PG-13] | Richard Dreyfuss, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Jonathan Winters, Michael Greene, Polly Holliday, Charo, Marianne Sägebrecht, Sammy Davis/Jr., Dick Cavett, Edward Asner | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moon Pilot | 1962 | James Neilson | ★★★ | 98 | Dated but enjoyable Disney comedy about astronaut Tryon who meets mysterious girl from another planet (Saval) just before his mission. | tt0056249 | Tom Tryon, Brian Keith, Edmond O'Brien, Dany Saval, Tommy Kirk, Bob Sweeney, Kent Smith | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Moon Zero Two | 1970 | Roy Ward Baker | ★½ | 100 | Sci-fi adventure is almost like a Western, with people making mining claims on the moon and having to fight for their rights. You've seen it before without the craters. | tt0064691 | James Olson, Catherine Schell., Warren Mitchell, Adrienne Corri, Ori Levy, Dudley Foster | British | Western, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Moon and Sixpence | 1942 | Albert Lewin | ★★★ | 89 | Surprisingly adult adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel based on the life of Paul Gauguin, with Sanders as the restless (and selfish) spirit who turns his back on his family, and society, to become a painter. A postscript, tacked on to satisfy Hollywood's moral code, weakly tries to undermine the character that Sanders and writer-director Lewin have just portrayed so well! Climactic scene of paintings originally shown in color. | tt0035078 | George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Doris Dudley, Eric Blore, Albert Bassermann, Molly Lamont, Elena Verdugo, Florence Bates, Heather Thatcher | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Moon in the Gutter | 1983 | Jean-Jacques Beineix | ★½ | 126 | Overbaked, pompously surreal tale of dockworker Depardieu, seeking his sister's rapist, and his involvement with wealthy, beautiful Kinski. Both stars couldn't be worse. | tt0085878 | [R] | Nastassja Kinski, Gérard Depardieu, Victoria Abril, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Dominique Pinon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Moon's Our Home | 1936 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 83 | Flyweight comedy about turbulent courtship and marriage of movie star and N.Y. novelist; too silly to matter, though stars do their best. (Footnote: Fonda and Sullavan had already been married and divorced when this film was made.) | tt0027979 | Margaret Sullavan, Henry Fonda, Charles Butterworth, Beulah Bondi, Walter Brennan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Moon-Spinners | 1964 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 118 | Disney's attempt at Hitchcock-like intrigue with a light touch has Hayley a vacationer in Crete who becomes involved with jewelry-smuggling ring. Too long and muddled to hit bull's-eye, but still entertaining, with Negri (off-screen since 1943) an enjoyable villainess. | tt0058371 | Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach, Pola Negri, Peter McEnery, Joan Greenwood, Irene Papas | Family, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Moonfleet | 1955 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 89 | Moderately entertaining costumer, set in Southern England, with suave gentleman bootlegger Granger forging a father-son relationship with orphaned Whiteley amid much intrigue. | tt0048387 | Stewart Granger, George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, Viveca Lindfors, Jon Whiteley, Melville Cooper, Liliane Montevecchi | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Moonlight Mile | 2002 | Brad Silberling | ★★½ | 117 | Young man whose fiancée was murdered just before their wedding continues to live with the girl's parents as they all try to deal with their grief— and he grapples with feelings of guilt and indecision. Delicate material is handled with skill and good humor, until the young hero meets a woman who's too good to be true, and the story's credibility is derailed. Salvaged, to a great degree, by superior acting from Hoffman and Sarandon. Silberling wrote this in response to the murder of his girlfriend, actress Rebecca Schaffer, in 1989. | tt0179098 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Holly Hunter, Ellen Pompeo, Richard T. Jones, Allan Corduner, Dabney Coleman | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moonlight Sonata | 1937 | Lothar Mendes | ★★½ | 80 | Well-made but stodgy romance, set in household of Swedish baroness, is excuse for screen appearance by famous concert pianist. | tt0030460 | Ignace Jan Paderewski, Charles Farrell, Marie Tempest, Barbara Greene, Eric Portman | British | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Moonlight and Cactus | 1944 | Edward Cline. | ★½ | 60 | Singing trio find themselves out West running a ranch and chasing romance. Lightweight production. | tt0037086 | The Andrews Sisters, Elyse Knox, Leo Carrillo, Eddie Quillan, Shemp Howard. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Moonlight and Valentino | 1995 | David Anspaugh | ★★★ | 104 | A young woman cannot deal with the reality of suddenly being widowed— despite the support of her best friend, her younger sister, and her ex-stepmother, who rally around her. Unusual subject matter portrayed with skill and unpredictability, though some will find it too talky and/or too studied in its quirkiness. Perkins gives an outstanding performance. Ellen Simon (daughter of Neil) adapted her stage play, based on her own experience. Peter Coyote appears unbilled as Goldberg's husband. | tt0113851 | [R] | Elizabeth Perkins, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathleen Turner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Bon Jovi, Jeremy Sisto, Josef Sommer | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Moonlighter | 1953 | Roy Rowland | ★★ | 75 | Drifter MacMurray returns home to find that sweetheart Stanwyck is about to marry his brother. Complications ensue but there are no sparks, though Stanwyck is convincing as a rugged woman of the West. Mediocre Western written by Niven Busch. Originally in 3-D. | tt0046095 | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Ward Bond, William Ching, John Dierkes, Jack Elam | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Moonlighting | 1982 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★★★ | 97 | Slow-paced but mesmerizing allegory about a Polish man sent to London with a trio of workmen to renovate a wealthy man's apartment. The supervisor (Irons) must keep their job a secret, since they have no work permits; the pressure increases when he learns that Poland has imposed martial law. Fascinating study of loneliness and desperation, full of irony and bittersweet humor; Irons is superb. Written and directed by Polish emigré Skolimowski. | tt0084354 | [PG] | Jeremy Irons, Eugene Lipinski, Jiri Stanislav, Eugeniusz Haczkiewicz | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Moonraker | 1979 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★ | 126 | James Bond no longer resembles Ian Fleming's creation; now he's a tired punster pursuing an intergalactic madman. Overblown comic-strip adventure is strictly for the bubble-gum set . . . but tune in for eye-popping free-fall opening, the best part of this movie. Lee's last appearance as 'M.' | tt0079574 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell | Action, Sci-Fi, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Moonraker | 1958 | David MacDonald | ★★★ | 82 | Colorful action-packed adventure, set in 1650s England. The Earl of Dawlish (Baker) leads a double life as the dashing and mysterious hero known as The Moonraker, who sides with the royalists and protects Prince Charles Stuart against Oliver Cromwell. | tt0050724 | George Baker, Sylvia Syms, Marius Goring, Peter Arne, Gary Raymond | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Moonrise | 1948 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 90 | Uneven script does in this psychological melodrama of angry, alienated Clark and his plight after accidentally killing the banker's son who's been taunting him for years. But it's beautifully directed; check out stunning opening shot, and opening sequence. | tt0040607 | Dane Clark, Gail Russell, Ethel Barrymore, Allyn Joslyn, Harry Morgan, Lloyd Bridges, Selena Royle, Rex Ingram, Harry Carey/Jr. | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Moonrise Kingdom | 2012 | Wes Anderson | ★★½ | 94 | In the summer of 1965, two adolescent loners (Gilman and Hayward) conspire to run away together on the New England coastal island where she lives and he's been camping with a scout troop. This causes consternation on the part of her parents, his scout leader, and the local sheriff, whose lives become further intertwined during the search. Arch and precious, even by Wes Anderson standards, this period fable threatens to suffocate from self-awareness and visual detail. Rescued somewhat by its sheer originality and a game cast. Written by Anderson and Roman Coppola. | tt1748122 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Harvey Keitel | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moonrunners | 1974 | Gy Waldron | ★★ | 102 | Action-comedy about modern day bootleggers sputters because of Mitchum's lethargic acting and the script's lack of credibility. Later developed into the Dukes of Hazzard TV series. | tt0071854 | [PG] | James Mitchum, Kiel Martin, Arthur Hunnicutt, Joan Blackman, Waylon Jennings, Chris Forbes | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Moonshine County Express | 1977 | Gus Trikonis | ★★½ | 95 | Murdered moonshiner's three sexy daughters decide to compete with local biggie (Conrad) whom they believe caused their father's death. Strong cast buoys good action programmer. | tt0076409 | [PG] | John Saxon, Susan Howard, William Conrad, Morgan Woodward, Claudia Jennings, Jeff Corey, Dub Taylor, Maureen McCormick | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Moonshine War | 1970 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 100 | Tediously plotted mixture of comedy and drama during late Prohibition era enlivened by unusual cast and honest attempt to evoke country atmosphere. Script by Elmore Leonard, from his novel. Look for Teri Garr as the tourist's wife. | tt0066096 | [PG] | Richard Widmark, Alan Alda, Patrick McGoohan, Melodie Johnson, Will Geer, Joe Williams, Lee Hazlewood | Drama | NULL | ||
| Moonstruck | 1987 | Norman Jewison | ★★★★ | 102 | A gem of a movie that unfolds like a good play, without ever seeming static or stagy. Cher plays an independent young widow who agrees to marry an older man (Aiello) — and then finds herself inexorably drawn to his misfit younger brother (Cage). John Patrick Shanley's script is brimming with wonderful vignettes and acute observations about Italian-American families. Cher, Dukakis (terrific as the mother), and Shanley won Oscars for their work. | tt0093565 | [PG] | Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso, John Mahoney, Louis Guss, Feodor Chaliapin, Anita Gillette | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moontide | 1942 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 94 | Jean Gabin's portrayal of rough seaman who cares for potential suicide (Lupino) saves an otherwise average 'realistic' movie. | tt0035082 | Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell, Claude Rains, Jerome Cowan, Helene Reynolds, Ralph Byrd, (Victor) Sen Yung, Tully Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Moontrap | 1989 | Robert Dyke | ★★½ | 92 | OK entertainment, as aging space shuttle pilot and younger partner are sent to the Moon to investigate alien artifacts, but inadvertently restart alien machinery designed to invade the Earth. Very low-budget production shows ingenuity in its special effects and imagination in the story, but dramatic values are highly variable. | tt0097911 | [R] | Walter Koenig, Bruce Campbell, Leigh Lombardi, Robert Kurcz | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| More American Graffiti | 1979 | B.W.L. Norton | ★½ | 111 | More is less, in this sequel to 1973 hit, placing that film's likable characters in a quartet of pointless vignettes. Look sharp for Harrison Ford as a motorcycle cop. | tt0079576 | [PG] | Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Anna Bjorn, Scott Glenn, Mary Kay Place, Rosanna Arquette, Delroy Lindo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| More Than a Game | 2009 | Kristopher Belman | ★★★ | 105 | Inspiring sports documentary follows NBA legend-in-the-making LeBron James and four of his teammates (Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, and Willie McGee) as they conquer high school basketball in Akron, Ohio, anticipating James' remarkable pro career. Although hoop fans are the likely audience, the film's title indicates filmmakers have more on their mind in chronicling this likable group. Using a mix of real footage and CGI enhancements, director Belman depicts a story of true camaraderie and a love for the game. | tt1286821 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| More Than a Miracle | 1967 | Francesco Rosi | ★★ | 105 | Sophia has never looked better but this absurd fairy tale about a prince and a peasant girl is just a waste of time. | tt0061433 | Sophia Loren, Omar Sharif, Dolores Del Rio, Georges Wilson, Leslie French, Marina Malfatti | Italian-French | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| More Than a Secretary | 1936 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 77 | Arthur's charm gives distinction to routine comedy of secretary in love with handsome boss Brent. | tt0027985 | Jean Arthur, George Brent, Lionel Stander, Ruth Donnelly, Reginald Denny, Dorothea Kent | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The More the Merrier | 1943 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 104 | The wartime housing shortage forces Arthur to share a Washington, D.C., apartment with McCrea and crafty old codger Coburn (who won an Oscar for this comic performance). Highly entertaining, with Arthur at her peerless best. Remade as WALK, DON'T RUN. | tt0036172 | Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Richard Gaines, Bruce Bennett, Ann Savage, Ann Doran, Frank Sully, Grady Sutton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Morgan Stewart's Coming Home | 1987 | Alan Smithee (Paul Aaron) | ★½ | 96 | Inane comedy from the notorious, and pseudonymous, director Smithee (in this case Paul Aaron) about a teenager who returns home from boarding school and tries to change the ways of his obnoxious, politically ambitious parents. Plays like an unsold sitcom pilot. Redgrave is wasted, and even Cryer's considerable charm can't make this worth coming home to see. | tt0093567 | [PG-13] | Jon Cryer, Lynn Redgrave, Nicholas Pryor, Viveka Davis, Paul Gleason | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Morgan the Pirate | 1961 | André De Toth | ★★ | 95 | Considering cast and Reeves' career, fairly lively and interesting swashbuckler based on life of illustrious pirate. Original Italian running time: 105m. | tt0055192 | Steve Reeves, Valerie Lagrange, Lydia Alfonsi, Chelo Alonso | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Morgan! | 1966 | Karel Reisz | ★★★½ | 97 | Decidedly offbeat gem. Artist Warner verges on insanity, keyed off by wife Redgrave's divorcing him, and goes on eccentric escapades. Script by David Mercer, from his play. Vanessa's film debut. Complete title is MORGAN— A SUITABLE CASE FOR TREATMENT. | tt0060714 | Vanessa Redgrave, David Warner, Robert Stephens, Irene Handl | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Morning After | 1986 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 103 | So-called thriller about alcoholic actress waking in bed with a dead man and not knowing how it happened. Tiresome story and ill-defined characters send this one down the tubes, despite promising star combo. Look fast for Kathy Bates as neighbor of victim. | tt0091554 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Raul Julia, Diane Salinger, Richard Foronjy, Geoffrey Scott, James (Gypsy) Haake, Kathleen Wilhoite, Frances Bergen, Rick Rossovich | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Morning Glory | 1933 | Lowell Sherman | ★★★ | 74 | Dated but lovely film from Zoe Akins' play about stagestruck young girl called Eva Lovelace who tries to succeed in N.Y.C. Good cast, sharp script, but it's magically compelling Hepburn who makes this memorable; she won her first Oscar for her work. Remade in 1958 as STAGE STRUCK. | tt0024353 | Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Duncan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Morning Glory | 2010 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 107 | Hardworking local TV producer (McAdams) gets a shot at the big time at a struggling network morning show in N.Y.C. The catch: she has to deal with the unbridled ego of the female host (Keaton) and the overwhelming surliness of her new partner, a past-his-prime anchorman (Ford) who finds his new assignment beneath his dignity. Bright, funny comedy written by Aline Brosh McKenna (who scripted another “inside” comedy, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA). All three stars hit the bull’s-eye, but it’s a special treat to see Ford in such an atypical role. Many famous TV figures appear as themselves. | tt1126618 | [PG-13] | Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, John Pankow, Matt Malloy, Patti D’Arbanville, Ty Burrell | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Morning Light | 2008 | Mark Monroe, Paul Crowder | ★★ | 97 | Longtime sailing enthusiast (and racing cup holder) Roy E. Disney sponsors a competition to select 15 young people from various backgrounds to participate in the Transpac, a grueling 2,300-mile race across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. Curiously uninvolving reality-TV-type fare in which even the finale fails to pack a punch. | tt1198405 | [PG] | Narrated by Patrick Warburton | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Morocco | 1930 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 92 | Dietrich is alluring and exotic in her first Hollywood film, as a cabaret singer (improbably stuck in Morocco) who must choose between wealthy Menjou and Foreign Legionnaire Cooper. A treat. Marlene sings three numbers, including 'What Am I Bid.' | tt0021156 | Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Adolphe Menjou, Francis McDonald, Eve Southern, Paul Porcasi | Romance | NULL | |||
| Morons From Outer Space | 1985 | Mike Hodges | ★★½ | 87 | Chaos reigns supreme in this inventive, uneven, but sometimes hilarious comedy about some very human aliens with British accents— who also happen to be brainless twits— and what happens when their spaceship crash-lands on Earth. Sight gags galore. | tt0089622 | [PG-13] | Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, James B. Sikking, Dinsdale Landen, Jimmy Nail, Joanne Pearce, Paul Brown | British | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Mortal Kombat | 1995 | Paul Anderson | ★½ | 102 | Shou, Ashby, and Wilson are among those kompeting in a martial arts tournament with nothing less than the fate of Earth in the balance. Elaborate special effects and impressive set design are helpless against a weak story, uneven akting, and komikally thin karakters. Mostly one fight after another, as you might expect from a movie based on a video game. Followed by a sequel. | tt0113855 | [PG-13] | Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | 1997 | John Leonetti | 💣 | 95 | Mind-numbing sequel rehashes battle between good and evil for the fate of mankind (yawn). OK visual effects but endless fight scenes and dreadful acting stop film dead in its tracks. Of interest only to American Gladiator fanatics and vidkids with really low attention spans. Remar's morph from David Carradine-style kung fu sensei to turbo warrior is unintentionally hilarious. | tt0119707 | [PG-13] | Robin Shou, Talisa Soto, James Remar, Brian Thompson, Lynn 'Red' Williams, Irina Pantaeva | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Mortal Storm | 1940 | Frank Borzage | ★★★½ | 100 | Nazi takeover in Germany splits family, ruins life of father, professor Morgan; Stewart tries to leave country with professor's daughter (Sullavan). Sincere filming of Phyllis Bottome's novel is beautifully acted, with one of Morgan's finest performances. Screenplay by Claudine West, Andersen Ellis, and George Froeschel. Film debut of Dan Dailey (billed as Dan Dailey, Jr.); look sharp in second classroom scene for Tom Drake. | tt0032811 | Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young, Frank Morgan, Robert Stack, Bonita Granville, Irene Rich, Maria Ouspenskaya, Gene Reynolds, Ward Bond | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mortal Thoughts | 1991 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 104 | Two police detectives question a woman about the incidents surrounding the murder of her best friend's husband, an abusive lout. Interesting, flashback-framed film boasts some good performances, but a cast of characters it's hard to care much about, and a conclusion that pulls the rug out from everything else we've just seen. Meaningless 'touches' (like use of slow-motion) don't add anything. Moore coproduced. | tt0102469 | [R] | Demi Moore, Glenne Headly, Bruce Willis, John Pankow, Harvey Keitel, Billie Neal | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Morvern Callar | 2002 | Lynne Ramsay | ★★★ | 97 | Effectively moody, stunningly visual portrait of reckless youth and aimlessness. Morton is a Scottish supermarket clerk floating through a club-hopping, booze-swilling, pill-popping youth scene; her writer-boyfriend has killed himself, and she shamelessly claims to be the author of his unpublished novel. This cautionary tale about not having goals and accepting responsibilities exudes a quiet, poignant sadness. Based on the novel by Alan Warner. | tt0300214 | Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan, Carolyn Calder, Jim Wilson, Dolly Wells, Jean Ruby Milton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears | 1980 | Vladimir Menshov | ★★★ | 152 | A trio of young women come to Moscow during the late '50s to seek love and work. Enjoyable if slow moving; closer in spirit to THE BEST OF EVERYTHING than WAR AND PEACE. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0079579 | Vera Alentova, Irina Muravyova, Raisa Ryazonova, Natalia Vavilova, Alexei Batalov | Russian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Moscow on the Hudson | 1984 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★½ | 115 | Fine original comedy-drama by Mazursky and Leon Capetanos about a Russian musician who defects during a trip to N.Y.C. — in Bloomingdale's, no less— and tries to come to grips with his new life in a new land. Full of endearing performances, perceptive and bittersweet moments— but a few too many false endings. Williams is superb in the lead. | tt0087747 | [R] | Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Alejandro Rey, Savely Kramarov, Elya Baskin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mosquito Coast | 1986 | Peter Weir | ★★★½ | 117 | Utterly compelling, novelistic saga of iconoclastic inventor and idealist (Ford, in a knockout performance) who moves his family to remote village in Central America where he creates an incredible utopia . . . and proceeds to play God. Not for all tastes, since Ford's character is unsympathetic (though he was even worse in Paul Theroux's novel!). Beautifully crafted, with fine screenplay by Paul Schrader. A serious and emotionally gripping film. | tt0091557 | [PG] | Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Jadrien Steele, Hilary Gordon, Rebecca Gordon, Conrad Roberts, Andre Gregory, Dick O'Neill, Martha Plimpton, Butterfly McQueen, Jason Alexander | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mosquito Squadron | 1969 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 90 | Good ensemble performances in tired story of Canadian-born RAF pilot (McCallum)'s crucial behind-the-lines mission to destroy Germany's ultimate weapon project. | tt0064699 | [G] | David McCallum, Suzanne Neve, David Buck, David Dundas, Dinsdale Landen, Charles Gray | British | War | NULL | |
| Moss Rose | 1947 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 82 | OK period piece of ambitious chorus girl who blackmails her way into high society; scheme nearly backfires on her. | tt0037089 | Peggy Cummins, Victor Mature, Ethel Barrymore, Vincent Price, Margo Woode | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Most Beautiful | 1944 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★ | 85 | One of Kurosawa's earliest features includes considerable WW2 propaganda; young women factory workers are exhorted by foreman Shimura (star of Kurosawa's IKIRU and SEVEN SAMURAI) to become production warriors by increasing output of optical weaponry. Tearful young girl Yaguchi later married Kurosawa. Not released in America until 1987. | tt0036947 | Takashi Shimura, Ichiro Sugai, Soji Kiyokawa, Takako Irie, Yoko Yaguchi | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Most Dangerous Game | 1932 | Ernest B. Schoedsack, Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 63 | Vivid telling of Richard Connell's famous, oft-filmed story about a megalomaniac named Count Zaroff who hunts human beings on his remote island. Banks is a florid, sometimes campy villain. Made at the same time as KING KONG by many of the same people. Remade as A GAME OF DEATH and RUN FOR THE SUN, and ripped off many other times. | tt0023238 | Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson | Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Most Precious Thing in Life | 1934 | Lambert Hillyer. | ★★ | 67 | Working girl Arthur has a child out of wedlock with the son of an Important Man and lives out the rest of her years keeping an eye on her boy. Sappy soaper opens in 1910; by 1916 Arthur is old and gray, and 25 years later she looks worse than Darwell. | tt0025516 | Jean Arthur, Richard Cromwell, Donald Cook, Anita Louise, Mary Forbes, Jane Darwell, Ben Alexander, Ward Bond. | NULL | ||||
| Most Wanted | 1997 | David Hogan | ★★ | 99 | Wayans coexecutive-produced and scripted this slick but boring, predictable, and instantly forgettable actioner about a G.I., trained as a government assassin, who takes it on the lam after being framed for murdering the First Lady. Voight makes the most of his role as a creepy, power-obsessed general. | tt0119709 | [R] | Keenen Ivory Wayans, Jon Voight, Jill Hennessy, Paul Sorvino, Robert Culp, Wolfgang Bodison, Simon Baker Denny, David Groh, John Diehl, Eric Roberts | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Most Wanted Man in the World | 1953 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 85 | Fernandel vehicle is heavy-handed buffoonery, with bucolic comic mistaken for arch-criminal. Retitled: THE MOST WANTED MAN. | tt0045730 | Fernandel, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Nicole Maurey, Alfred Adam | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Most Wonderful Moment | Wasted Lives | 1957 | Luciano Emmer | ★★ | 94 | By-the-numbers soaper of poor young obstetrician Mastroianni, and what happens when his girlfriend, nurse Ralli, becomes pregnant. | tt0050716 |
|
Marcello Mastroianni, Giovanna Ralli, Marisa Merlini, Ernesto Calindri | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Mostly Martha | 2002 | Sandra Nettelbeck | ★★★ | 105 | Food, love and human relationships blend seamlessly in this tasty concoction about a neurotically obsessive chef (Gedeck), whose life of order and isolation is jolted upon the arrival of her 8-year-old niece (Foerste) and a charming new coworker (Castellitto). Nothing spectacular or innovative here, just a diverting entertainment that's as fun to watch as the mouthwatering dishes Martha concocts. | tt0246772 | [PG] | Martina Gedeck, Maxime Foerste, Sergio Castellitto, August Zirner, Sibylle Canonica, Katja Studt | German | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Motel Hell | 1980 | Kevin Connor | ★½ | 92 | Just what are Calhoun and his rotund sister putting in their smoked sausage out there in the boondocks? Good to see Rory and Wolfman sharing screen credit, but scattered laughs and a lively finish fail to distinguish this gory horror comedy. | tt0081184 | [R] | Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack, Elaine Joyce, Dick Curtis, John Ratzenberger | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Moth Diaries | 2012 | Mary Harron | ★★ | 82 | Bolger and best friend Gadon are curious about Cole, a new arrival at their boarding school. When Cole seems to be controlling Gadon, Bolger begins to suspect the newcomer is a vampire. Good photography and attractive locations cannot overcome uneven acting and an enervating feeling of familiarity. Based on the best-selling novel by Rachel Klein. | tt1407065 | [R] | Lily Cole, Sarah Gadon, Sarah Bolger, Scott Speedman, Judy Parfitt, Melissa Farman, Laurence Hamelin, Gia Sandhu, Anne Day-Jones, Valerie Tian | Canadian-Irish | Horror | NULL | |
| Mother | 1996 | Albert Brooks | ★★★ | 104 | Typically low-key but likable Brooks movie about a twice-divorced man who decides to move back in with his mother in an attempt to understand the root of his problems with women. A benign comedy of recognition, with Brooks as endearing as ever and Reynolds in a well-modulated, nonjokey performance as Mother. Brooks scripted with frequent collaborator Monica Johnson. | tt0117091 | [PG-13] | Albert Brooks, Debbie Reynolds, Rob Morrow, Lisa Kudrow, John C. McGinley, Isabel Glasser, Peter White | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mother | 2009 | Joon-ho Bong | ★★★½ | 128 | Gripping tale of a poor working woman who's always looking out for her slow-witted son. When he is arrested and accused of brutally murdering a girl in their village, she does everything she can to defend him—and get him to concentrate, so he can remember what actually happened that fateful night. More than a mere whodunit, this multilayered story also evokes life in a tight-knit community with all its alliances, prejudices, and corruption. Kim gives a riveting performance as the desperate mother. The director also coscripted. | tt1216496 | [R] | Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won, Goo Jin, Yoon Jae-Moon, Mi-sun Jun, Young-Suck Lee, Sea-Beauk Song, Mun-hee Na | Korean | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Mother Carey's Chickens | 1938 | Rowland V. Lee. | ★★ | 82 | Pleasant if predictable, sentimental soaper of the Carey family and its attempt to set down roots despite poverty and tragedy. Based on the novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin and play by Wiggin and Rachel Crothers. Remade as SUMMER MAGIC by Disney. | tt0030464 | Fay Bainter, Anne Shirley, Ruby Keeler, James Ellison, Walter Brennan, Frank Albertson, Virginia Weidler, Ralph Morgan, Margaret Hamilton, Donnie Dunagan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mother Didn't Tell Me | 1950 | Claude Binyon | ★★½ | 88 | Naive young woman marries a doctor, not contemplating demands of being a professional man's wife. McGuire brightens this lightweight comedy. | tt0042749 | Dorothy McGuire, William Lundigan, June Havoc, Gary Merrill, Jessie Royce Landis | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mother Ghost | 2007 | Rich Thorne | ★★★ | 76 | Self-assured businessman has been acting strange since the death of his mother a year ago; his wife and best friend tell him he needs help, but he's in denial. Then he chances to hear a radio psychiatrist and impulsively calls in; before long he's spilling his guts. Modestly made film does what few major movies accomplish, focusing on a character who lays bare his emotions. Pollak is especially good as the shrink. Thompson (half of the morning-radio team Mark & Brian) also wrote the script. Made in 2002. | tt0284320 | Mark Thompson, Kevin Pollak, Dana Delany, Jere Burns, Charles Durning, Joe Mantegna, Garry Marshall, James Franco, David Keith. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mother Is a Freshman | 1949 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 81 | Refreshing, wholesome confection; Young and daughter Lynn both attend college, vying for Van's affection. | tt0041659 | Loretta Young, Van Johnson, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Robert Arthur, Betty Lynn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven | 1975 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★ | 108 | When a factory worker goes berserk and commits suicide after killing his boss' son, his shocked widow tries to learn how such a thing could occur, only to find herself being exploited by both right-and left-wing groups as well as her own family. Darkly satirical, politically charged fable is one of Fassbinder's most straightforward and accessible films. | tt0073424 | Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Karl-Heinz Bohm, Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, Gottfried John. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mother Lode | Search for the Mother Lode: The Last Great Treasure | 1982 | Charlton Heston | ★★ | 101 | Heston's a meanie here— in twin brother roles— playing a Scottish miner who'll stop at nothing to get his sullied hands on a mother lode of gold in the mountains of British Columbia. Lackluster script was written by his son, Fraser Clarke Heston, who also produced the film. Reissued as SEARCH FOR THE MOTHER LODE: THE LAST GREAT TREASURE. | tt0084359 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Nick Mancuso, Kim Basinger, John Marley | Adventure | NULL | |
| Mother Night | 1996 | Keith Gordon | ★★★ | 110 | American prisoner in an Israeli jail writes his memoirs, flashing back to his upbringing in Germany, where his career as a successful playwright was interrupted by his recruitment as a U.S. spy. His mission: to pose as a Nazi propagandist on the radio. Nolte takes on the challenging role in this adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's provocative novel by writer-producer Robert B. Weide. Somber, fascinating, and unsettling. Vivid contributions by Arkin, Goodman, and others in supporting roles. Vonnegut himself makes a cameo appearance near the end of the film. | tt0117093 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kirsten Dunst, Arye Gross, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Bernard Behrens, Brawley Nolte | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Mother Riley Meets the Vampire | Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire | 1952 | John Gilling | ★★ | 74 | Overbearing vampire satire with Lugosi cast as Von Housen, crazed criminal who tangles with Old Mother Riley, a comical storekeeper. Last entry in the Old Mother Riley series of British farces, with Lucan playing the series title character in drag. Aka MY SON, THE VAMPIRE. | tt0044925 | Bela Lugosi, Arthur Lucan, Dora Bryan, Richard Wattis, Philip Leaver, Judith Furse | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Mother Wore Tights | 1947 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 107 | One of Grable's most popular films, about a vaudeville family. Colorful production, costumes, nostalgic songs, and an Oscar-winning Alfred Newman score, plus specialty act by the great Señor Wences. | tt0039634 | Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Mona Freeman, Connie Marshall, Vanessa Brown, Veda Ann Borg | Musical | NULL | |||
| Mother and Child | 2010 | Rodrigo Garcia | ★★★ | 126 | Long but absorbing drama about three women involved with adoption from completely different perspectives: prickly caregiver Bening (who gave up her baby as a teenage mother), ambitious attorney Watts (who never knew her parents), and Washington, who desperately wants to have a child. Some of the plot turns are contrived, but the emotions all ring true in director Garcia's screenplay—and the performances are exceptional. | tt1121977 | [R] | Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. Jackson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Cherry Jones, Eileen Ryan, Elpidia Carrillo, Marc Blucas, David Ramsey, Shareeka Epps, Lisa Gay Hamilton, David Morse, Michael Warren, LaTanya Richardson, Amy Brenneman, Carla Gallo, Tatyana Ali, Elizabeth Peña, Lawrence Pressman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mother of Tears | La terza madre | 2007 | Dario Argento | ★½ | 102 | American archaeologist in Rome opens an ancient urn, releasing the last witch on Earth, and must elicit her own unsuspected psychic power to rout the evil flooding the city with waves of murder and mayhem. Gory, nonsensical eye-roller was made (unconvincingly) in English, delivering cliché after cliché with little of Argento's usual rococo élan. Third entry in director's Three Mothers trilogy, preceded by SUSPIRIA (1977) and INFERNO (1980), and drawn from Thomas De Quincey's 1845 De Profundis. Daria Nicolodi, Asia's mom, plays her ghost mom. | tt0804507 | Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Moran Atias, Valeria Cavalli, Udo Kier | U.S-Italian-British | NULL | ||
| Mother's Boys | 1994 | Yves Simoneau | ★★ | 95 | Curtis makes an unwise return to the horror genre in this silly mom-who-deserted-family-wants-them-back revenge film. Gallagher, in a rare sympathetic turn, plays the husband, and Edwards is the eldest of three sons (and the one whose buttons Mother tries her best to push). Suspense is minimal, and story is too undernourished to have much bite. Despite one (odd) nude scene, Jamie Lee fans would fare better re-renting HALLOWEEN. | tt0107606 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, Peter Gallagher, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Vanessa Redgrave, Luke Edwards, Colin Ward, Joey Zimmerman, Joss Ackland | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mother's Day | 1980 | Charles Kaufman | ★½ | 98 | Just about the final word in the horror-misogyny genre. Three college chums are victimized by, then turn the tables on, a hillbilly mother and her two sons. No MURDER, HE SAYS, but Drano/electric carving-knife finale does boast showmanship. | tt0081186 | Tiana Pierce, Nancy Hendrickson, Deborah Luce, Rose Ross, Holden McGuire, Billy Ray McQuade | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Mother, Jugs & Speed | 1976 | Peter Yates | ★★★ | 95 | Hilarious black comedy about a rundown ambulance service more interested in number of patients serviced than their welfare. Hagman especially good as oversexed driver. | tt0074923 | [PG] | Bill Cosby, Raquel Welch, Harvey Keitel, Allen Garfield, Larry Hagman, Bruce Davison, Dick Butkus, L.Q. Jones, Toni Basil | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mother | 2003 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 112 | During a family visit to London a recently widowed grandmother explores rediscovered sexual desire when she secretly carries on a red-hot affair with her whiny daughter's boyfriend, a carpenter half her age. Absorbing and explicit drama benefits from Reid's luminous performance as an older woman not fulfilled just playing with the grandkids. Dramatic sparks between her and Craig (as her hunky lover) lift what could have been perverse melodrama into a different league. Challenging, well-written script by Hanif Kureishi. | tt0323298 | [R] | Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Peter Vaughan, Cathryn Bradshaw, Anna Wilson-Jones, Danira Govich | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Motherhood | 2009 | Katherine Dieckmann | ★★ | 89 | One long hot day in the life of a struggling Greenwich Village mom, as she juggles an eccentric hubby, two toddlers, an incontinent dog, an impending birthday party, a towed Volvo, a bitter best friend, and a midnight deadline for a competition at a parenting blog. Agitated, mildly satiric seriocomedy, written by the director, may work best for grown-ups who have been there. Jodie Foster has an odd wordless cameo as herself. | tt1220220 | [PG-13] | Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver, Daisy Tahan, Alice Drummond, Samantha Bee, Stephanie Szostak, Dale Soules, Clea Lewis, Arjun Gupta | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mothman Prophecies | 2002 | Mark Pellington | ★★ | 119 | Newspaper reporter Gere's wife has a paranormal experience. Then, several years later, he finds himself in a West Virginia town where scary, unexplainable incidents are happening right and left. Science-fiction meets conspiracy thriller in this muddled film; creepy at first, then simply tiresome. Based on real-life events, but so what? | tt0265349 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, Will Patton, Lucinda Jenney, Alan Bates, David Eigenberg, Ann McDonough | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Mothra | 1961 | Ishirô Honda, Lee Kresel | ★★½ | 100 | Colorful Japanese monster movie about a giant caterpillar who invades Tokyo to rescue tiny twin girls, who are guiding it with their supernatural powers. Caterpillar then turns into a giant moth (natch), which carries on the destruction. Mothra (or its descendants) turned up in later films too. | tt0055198 | Franky Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa, Emi Itoh, Yumi Itoh, Jelly Itoh, Ken Uehara | Japanese | Family, Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Motorcycle Diaries | Diarios de motocicleta | 2004 | Walter Salles | ★★★★ | 126 | Two friends set off from Buenos Aires in 1952 on a beat-up motorcycle to see South America before they settle down. We share a journey of self-discovery (and political awakening) with these passionate young men as they travel through Chile, Peru, and Venezuela, winding up at a leper colony where they have volunteered their services. One of them will become famous as Che Guevara, but that lies far ahead. Jose Rivera's screenplay is based on the two friends' published memoirs, beautifully realized by director Salles. A profoundly moving film. Robert Redford coexecutive produced. Oscar winner for Jorge Drexler's song 'Al Otro Lado Del Rio.' | tt0318462 | [R] | Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mia Maestro, Gustavo Bueno, Jorge Chiarella | U.S.-British-Argentinian | Drama, Adventure | NULL |
| Motorcycle Gang | 1957 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 78 | Cheap production dealing with crackdown on rampaging cycle gang. Remade, in name only, in 1994. | tt0050728 | Anne Neyland, John Ashley, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer, Raymond Hatton, Edmund Cobb | Drama | NULL | |||
| Motorcycle Gang | 1994 | John Milius | Average TV Movie | 84 | The 1950s: Father, mother, and teenaged daughter drive across the Southwest, but run afoul of the title criminals, led by Busey in the kind of role his father Gary used to play. Lots of talk, not much action, but it has a raw, brutal climax. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old American-International pictures; this uses only the title of the 1957 film. | tt0110573 | Gerald McRaney, Jake Busey, John Cassini, Richard Edson, Carla Gugino, Elan Oberon, Marshall Teague, Robert Miranda | Action | NULL | |||
| Mouchette | 1967 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★ | 90 | Affecting tale of a 14-year-old girl who tries to escape her unhappy life with an abusive, alcoholic father and invalid mother, but only finds more cruelty and misery in the outside world. Sensitive Bresson study about the inherent pain of existence is relentlessly bleak, but essential viewing for serious students of cinema; beautifully shot by Ghislain Cloquet. From the novel by Georges Bernanos. | tt0061996 | Nadine Nortier, Marie Cardinal, Paul Hébert, Jean Vimenet, Jean-Claude Guilbert. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Moulin Rouge | 1952 | John Huston. | ★★★½ | 119 | Rich, colorful film based on life of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the 19th century Parisian artist whose growth was stunted by childhood accident. Huston brilliantly captures the flavor of Montmartre, its characters, and Lautrec's sadly distorted view of life. Excellent cast; memorable theme song by Georges Auric. Oscar winner for its stunning art direction-set decoration and costumes. | tt0044926 | Jose Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Eric Pohlmann, Colette Marchand, Christopher Lee, Michael Balfour, Peter Cushing. | Biography, Drama | NULL | |||
| Moulin Rouge! | 2001 | Baz Luhrmann | ★★ | 128 | Visually dazzling but maddening, hyperkinetic musical about a star-crossed love affair at Paris' Moulin Rouge circa 1900. A hybrid of Luhrmann's earlier films (STRICTLY BALLROOM and WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET), this one is full of extraordinary images— but the 'story' is anemic and aloof, leaving the two leads to attempt sincerity in the midst of a grotesque circus. Kidman and McGregor sing quite well; the songs are mostly a pastiche of past pop hits. Oscar winner for Art Direction and Costume Design. | tt0203009 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, Garry McDonald, Kylie Minogue, Lara Mulcahy | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |
| Mountain Family Robinson | 1979 | John Cotter | ★★½ | 100 | Kids may not understand 'déjà vu,' but they'll feel it if they watch this clone of earlier Wilderness Family pictures. Not bad, but so similar to others it hardly seems worth the effort. | tt0079580 | [G] | Robert F. Logan, Susan Damante Shaw, William Bryant, Heather Rattray, Ham Larsen, George 'Buck' Flower | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mountain Justice | 1937 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★★ | 82 | Backwoods story of Hutchinson struggling to break away from abusive hillbilly father Barrat and become a nurse; lawyer Brent becomes her ally when the situation gets out of hand. Surprisingly realistic melodrama, stylishly shot by Ernest Haller. | tt0029263 | George Brent, Josephine Hutchinson, Robert Barrat, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Hamilton, Mona Barrie, Robert McWade, Fuzzy Knight. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Mountain Men | 1980 | Richard Lang | 💣 | 102 | Heston and Keith star as fur trappers in this unnecessarily bloody, crude, tiresome good-guys-vs.-Indians epic. Screenplay by Fraser Clarke Heston, the star's son. | tt0081187 | [R] | Charlton Heston, Brian Keith, Victoria Racimo, Stephen Macht, John Glover, Seymour Cassel, David Ackroyd, Victor Jory | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Mountain Rhythm | 1939 | B. Reeves Eason. | ★★ | 61 | Gene comes to the aid of Smiley's aunt and other ranchers in danger of losing their land to Eastern promoter Fenner, who is intent on developing a resort and health farm. Autry formula is wearing a bit thin here, with too much emphasis on music and comedy; Gene introduces 'It Makes No Difference Now. | tt0031674 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Maude Eburne, Ferris Taylor, Walter Fenner, Jack Pennick, Hooper Atchley, Jack Ingram, Tom London. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Mountain Road | 1960 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 102 | Stewart is always worth watching, but this saga of American squadron working in China during waning days of WW2 is pretty flat. | tt0054095 | James Stewart, Lisa Lu, Glenn Corbett, Harry Morgan, Frank Silvera, James Best | War | NULL | |||
| The Mountain | 1956 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 105 | Turgid tale of brothers Tracy and Wagner climbing Alpine peak to reach plane wreckage, for different reasons. | tt0049523 | Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Claire Trevor, William Demarest, Richard Arlen, E.G. Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mountains of the Moon | 1990 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★½ | 135 | Captivating saga of explorer Sir Richard Burton and his search for the source of the Nile River in the late 1800s. Bergin is a charismatic lead, with Glen as John Hanning Speke, the dilettante who accompanies him. Vivid, stimulating, and satisfying; manages to embrace the sweep of an epic film along with a compellingly personal story. Screenplay by Rafelson and William Harrison, based on the latter's biographical novel Burton and Speke and on actual journals of the two explorers. | tt0100196 | [R] | Patrick Bergin, Iain Glen, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw, John Savident, James Villiers, Adrian Rawlins, Delroy Lindo, Paul Onsongo, Bernard Hill, Roshan Seth, Anna Massey, Leslie Phillips, Roger Rees | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mourning Becomes Electra | 1947 | Dudley Nichols | ★★½ | 173 | Eugene O'Neill's play set in New England and adapted from the Greek tragedy Oresteia. Civil War general is killed by wife and their children seek revenge. Heavy, talky drama, even in 105m. version shown on TV. British version runs 159m. | tt0039636 | Rosalind Russell, Michael Redgrave, Raymond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Nancy Coleman, Leo Genn, Kirk Douglas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mouse Hunt | 1997 | Gore Verbinski | ★★½ | 97 | Two hapless brothers inherit a musty old house and a string factory from their father; the house has promise but is inhabited by one small, very crafty rodent who defies extermination. Black comedy and slapstick combine for surprisingly clever results, but after a while it's simply exhausting. Lane and Evans are an ideal (and very funny) team, but Laurel & Hardy and The Three Stooges did this sort of thing in twenty minutes flat. | tt0119715 | [PG] | Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Vicki Lewis, Maury Chaykin, Eric Christmas, Michael Jeter, Debra Christofferson, Camilla Soeberg, William Hickey, Christopher Walken | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mouse That Roared | 1959 | Jack Arnold | ★★★½ | 83 | Hilarious satire about the Duchy of Grand Fenwick declaring war on the U. S. Sellers stars in three roles, equally amusing. Gag before opening titles is a masterpiece. Roger Macdougall and Stanley Mann adapted Leonard Wibberley's novel. Sequel: THE MOUSE ON THE MOON. | tt0053084 | Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, David Kossoff, William Hartnell, Monty Landis, Leo McKern | British | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| The Mouse and His Child | 1977 | Fred Wolf, Chuck Swenson | 💣 | 83 | Boring animated film about a toy mouse and his child, and their adventures in the real world. Talk, talk, talk and no action. | tt0076416 | [G] | Voices of Peter Ustinov, Alan Barzman, Marcy Swenson, Cloris Leachman, Andy Devine, Sally Kellerman | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| The Mouse on the Moon | 1963 | Richard Lester | ★★★½ | 82 | Hilarious sequel to THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, about Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Tiny country enters space race, with little help from its befuddled Grand Duchess, Margaret Rutherford. | tt0057328 | Margaret Rutherford, Bernard Cribbins, Ron Moody, Terry-Thomas, Michael Crawford | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Moustache, La | 2005 | Emmanuel Carrère | ★★★ | 84 | On a whim, a man shaves off his moustache and no one remembers that he ever had one-beginning with his wife. Disturbing, challenging allegorical drama that ponders the nature of intimate human relationships and asks how well two people ever really know each other. Carrère adapted his own novel with Jerome Beaujour. | tt0428856 |
|
Vincent Lindon, Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric, Hippolyte Girardot, Cylia Malki, Macha Polikarpova, Fantine Camus | French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Mouth to Mouth | 1978 | John Duigan | ★★★½ | 95 | A pair of unemployed, aimless teenage couples steal and hustle to survive. Fascinating, funny, sad, with lively direction by Duigan. | tt0077951 | Kim Krejus, Sonia Peat, Ian Gilmour, Sergio Frazetto, Walter Pym | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mouth to Mouth | 1995 | Manuel Gomez Pereira | ★★½ | 105 | Moderately amusing comedy about an out-of-work actor who soon finds his thespian talents in hot demand on a phone-sex line. Complications arise when he becomes romantically involved with one of his customers. Attractive cast makes this erotic romp actually funnier than it has a right to be. Original title: BOCA A BOCA. | tt0112546 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Maria Barranco, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, José-Maria Flotats, Myriam Mezieres | Spanish | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Mouthpiece | 1932 | Elliott Nugent, James Flood | ★★★½ | 90 | Solid story based on life of flamboyant attorney William Fallon; up-and-coming prosecutor in D.A.'s office turns to defending people instead, becomes slick and successful, leaving morals behind. First-rate all the way. Scripted by Joseph Jackson and Earl Baldwin. Remade as THE MAN WHO TALKED TOO MUCH and ILLEGAL (1955). | tt0023240 | Warren William, Sidney Fox, Mae Madison, Aline MacMahon, John Wray, Guy Kibee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Move | 1970 | Stuart Rosenberg | 💣 | 90 | One of those comedies that helped to kill Gould's career within a year; porn-writer/dog-walker has problems when he moves from one apartment to another, but not as many as viewers will have trying to make sense out of the film. | tt0066102 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Paula Prentiss, Genevieve Waite, John Larch, Joe Silver, Ron O'Neal | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Move Over, Darling | 1963 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 103 | Woman long thought dead returns from desert island sojourn, to find her husband has remarried. Slick, amusing remake of MY FAVORITE WIFE, with strong cast of character actors milking every laugh. Film was intended to star Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin, under the title SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, but production was halted early on, and Marilyn died shortly thereafter. | tt0057329 | Doris Day, James Garner, Polly Bergen, Chuck Connors, Thelma Ritter, Fred Clark, Don Knotts, Elliott Reid, John Astin, Pat Harrington/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Movers and Shakers | 1985 | William Asher | ★½ | 79 | Satiric look at moviemaking in the '80s, written and coproduced by Grodin, who spent years trying to get it made. Talented cast (including cameos by Steve Martin and Penny Marshall) largely wasted in this unfunny comedy sprinkled with just an occasional insight or laugh. Too bad . . . Love in Sex had great possibilities. | tt0089628 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, Vincent Gardenia, Tyne Daly, Bill Macy, Gilda Radner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Movie Crazy | 1932 | Clyde Bruckman | ★★★ | 84 | Lloyd's best talkie recaptures the spirit of his silent-comedy hits, telling story of small-town boy who goes to Hollywood with stars in his eyes, gets rude awakening but finally makes good. Includes his famous magician's coat scene. Cummings is a charming leading lady. | tt0023241 | Harold Lloyd, Constance Cummings, Kenneth Thomson, Sydney Jarvis, Eddie Fetherstone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Movie Movie | 1978 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 107 | Affectionate parody of 1930s double feature: 'Dynamite Hands' is b&w boxing saga with Hamlin in the John Garfield-ish role; 'Baxter's Beauties of 1933' is Busby Berkeley-type musical, with numbers staged by Michael Kidd (who plays Hamlin's father in first story). There's even a Coming Attractions prevue! Introduced by George Burns. | tt0077952 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Eli Wallach, Red Buttons, Barbara Harris, Barry Bostwick, Harry Hamlin, Art Carney, Rebecca York, Ann Reinking, Kathleen Beller | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Movietone Follies of 1929 | 1929 | David Butler. | ★★ | 80 | Rattletrap backstage musical centers on a gentlemanly investor from Virginia who tries to close down a new show on the Great White Way because he doesn't want his ambitious fiancée to be in it. Book was old hat even then, but there's a pretty good score. Originally presented with Multicolor sequences and shot in 70mm Grandeur, Hollywood's first true widescreen system. Official title on-screen is WILLIAM FOX MOVIETONE FOLLIES OF 1929. | tt0019896 | John Breeden, Lola Lane, Sue Carol, Dixie Lee, David Rollins, De Witt Jennings, Sharon Lynn, Arthur Stone, Stepin Fetchit. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Movietone Follies of 1930 | 1930 | Benjamin Stoloff. | ★½ | 84 | Mistaken identity misfire about a ladies' man and a butler with eyes on a prize stageful of showgirls, all emoting arthritically. Numbers range from the winning 'Cheer Up and Smile' to the humiliating blackface 'Here Comes Emily Brown.' All-talking, all-singing, all-dancing, all-boring. An unbilled Betty Grable is one of the chorines. | tt0021179 | El Brendel, Marjorie White, Frank Richardson, Noel Francis, William Collier/Jr., Miriam Seegar, Yola d'Avril. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Moving | 1988 | Alan Metter | ★½ | 89 | Mass transit engineer Pryor falls into a dream job following his unexpected and unceremonious firing— only hitch: he and the family must relocate from New Jersey to Boise, Idaho. Wallows in the predictable (kids rebel, the movers are psychos), with a modest chuckle every half-hour or so. Pryor seems uncomfortable as Ozzie Nelson. | tt0095662 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, Randy Quaid, Dave Thomas, Dana Carvey, Stacey Dash, Gordon Jump, Morris Day, Rodney Dangerfield, King Kong Bundy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Moving Target | 1967 | Sergio Corbucci | ★½ | 92 | Incredibly plotted spy/counterspy stuff set in Athens, marred even further by sadistic, explicitly violent action. | tt0061397 | Ty Hardin, Michael Rennie, Grazielle Granata, Paola Pitagora, Vittorio Caprioli | Italian | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Moving Violation | 1976 | Charles S. Dubin | ★★ | 91 | Redneck sheriff goes after young couple, leading to usual car chases. So what else is new? | tt0074924 | [PG] | Stephen McHattie, Kay Lenz, Eddie Albert, Lonny Chapman, Will Geer, Jack Murdock, John S. Ragin | Crime | NULL | ||
| Moving Violations | 1985 | Neal Israel | ★½ | 90 | Threadbare comedy of adventures in traffic violations school; more potholes than laughs. Incidentally, wiseacre star Murray is Bill M.'s brother. | tt0089629 | [PG-13] | John Murray, Jennifer Tilly, James Keach, Brian Backer, Sally Kellerman, Fred Willard, Lisa Hart Carroll, Wendie Jo Sperber, Clara Peller, Nedra Volz, Ned Eisenberg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Moving the Mountain | 1994 | Michael Apted | ★★★½ | 83 | Life-affirming documentary about young Chinese student Li Lu and others of his generation who became demonstrators at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The film also chronicles Li Lu's life during the Cultural Revolution and his reasons for deciding to defy his government. Revealing, never less than riveting; the 'mountain' of the title is communist Chinese authorities. | tt0110583 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mozambique | 1965 | Robert Lynn | ★½ | 98 | Tiresome programmer with world-weary pilot Cochran unknowingly becoming immersed in drug smuggling and white slavery. | tt0059475 |
|
Steve Cochran, Hildegarde Neff, Vivi Bach, Paul Hubschmid, Martin Benson | British | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Mozart & the Whale | 2006 | Petter Næss | ★★½ | 93 | Hartnett and Mitchell meet and begin dating. They have much in common: both like animals, both are fragile and vulnerable, and both suffer from Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. Well-intentioned 'fictional story inspired by true events' (scripted by Ronald Bass) strives to be meaningful but seems unreal, particularly when people stand by passively as the lead characters are conspicuously loud and emotional in public. While touching at times and well acted, it's just too formulaic. | tt0392465 | [PG-13] | Josh Hartnett, Radha Mitchell, Gary Cole, Sheila Kelley, Erica Leerhsen, John Carroll Lynch, Nate Mooney, Rusty Schwimmer, Robert Wisdom | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr 3000 | 2004 | Charles Stone III | ★★★ | 102 | A Milwaukee Brewers baseball star with a giant ego retires after making his 3000th hit . . . but is forced to return years later when the statistic is found to be erroneous. Mac somehow makes this insufferable braggart appealing, and the script treats his relationship with sports reporter Bassett in a surprisingly refreshing, adult manner. Entertaining comedy manages to touch all the bases. Various celebrities and sports figures appear as themselves. | tt0339412 | [PG-13] | Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett, Paul Sorvino, Chris Noth, Michael Rispoli, Brian J. White | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Jones | 1993 | Mike Figgis | ★½ | 114 | A manic depressive and a shrink on the rebound have a professionally taboo romance. Gere's behavior— bounding on stage during a concert, tightrope-walking a high construction beam— turns this into THE JESTER OF TIDES. Gere is OK; Olin gives an awkward performance and is horribly lit. Sat on the shelf for a year. | tt0107611 | [R] | Richard Gere, Lena Olin, Anne Bancroft, Tom Irwin, Delroy Lindo, Bruce Altman, Lauren Tom, Anna Maria Horsford, Lucinda Jenney, Taylor Negron | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. & Mrs. Bridge | 1990 | James Ivory | ★★ | 124 | Portrait of straitlaced, well-to-do Kansas City couple, and how they are affected by the demands of their growing children, and the changes that overtake them in the 1930s and '40s. A plethora of intriguing but undeveloped, half-baked story threads make it frustrating and unsatisfying. Newman and Woodward are excellent, as usual. Based on two novels by Evan S. Connell, Mrs. Bridge (1959) and Mr. Bridge (1969). | tt0100200 | [PG-13] | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Blythe Danner, Simon Callow, Kyra Sedgwick, Robert Sean Leonard, Margaret Welsh, Saundra McClain, Diane Kagan, Austin Pendleton, Remak Ramsay | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | 1941 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 95 | Madcap comedy of Lombard and Montgomery discovering their marriage wasn't legal. One of Hitchcock's least typical films, but bouncy nonetheless; written by Norman Krasna. | tt0033922 | Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery, Gene Raymond, Jack Carson, Philip Merivale, Betty Compson, Lucile Watson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | 2005 | Doug Liman | ★★★ | 120 | Not your parents' romantic star vehicle: a slick, sexy, supercharged showcase for the well-paired Pitt and Jolie, as a bored married couple who discover that they both work as undercover assassins. Never before have a man and woman engaged in a slugfest like the one in this film, but it's not to be taken seriously (or literally). Director Liman attempts to outdo his car chase from THE BOURNE IDENTITY-and succeeds. Dynamic score by John Powell. | tt0356910 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody, Kerry Washington, Keith David, Chris Weitz, Rachael Huntley, Michelle Monaghan | Action, Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mr. Ace | 1946 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 84 | Ordinary dirty-politics drama of office-seeking Sidney using Raft to achieve her goals. | tt0038752 | George Raft, Sylvia Sidney, Stanley Ridges, Sara Haden, Jerome Cowan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mr. Arkadin | Confidential Report | 1955 | Orson Welles | ★★½ | 99 | Overblown Welles curiosity (thematically similar to CITIZEN KANE) in which he stars as a famed tycoon with a shady past; the scenario follows his actions after being threatened with blackmail by his daughter's suitor. Filmed in English and Spanish-language versions. Aka CONFIDENTIAL REPORT. | tt0048393 | Orson Welles, Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, Akim Tamiroff, Mischa Auer, Katina Paxinou, Robert Arden | Spanish-French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Mr. Baseball | 1992 | Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 113 | Pleasant if uninspired comedy about a washed-up big leaguer who's traded to Japan, where his smart-ass attitude almost does him in with his team, his manager, and the young Japanese woman who takes a liking to him. Selleck is ingratiating as usual. | tt0104926 | [PG-13] | Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Aya Takanashi, Toshi Shioya, Dennis Haysbert | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. Bean’s Holiday | 2007 | Steve Bendelack | ★★★ | 88 | Bumbling Mr. Bean wins a dream vacation to the south of France, but from the moment he arrives in Paris he finds himself in one jam after another. He also acquires a traveling companion, a boy who’s been separated from his father, and becomes the bête noire of a pompous filmmaker (Dafoe) whose latest opus is playing at the Cannes Film Festival. Thoroughly enjoyable sight-gag comedy; the last word comes at the end of the credits. | tt0453451 | [G] | Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Max Baldry, Willem Dafoe, Jean Rochefort, Karel Roden, Steve Pemberton | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mr. Belvedere Goes to College | 1949 | Elliott Nugent | ★★ | 83 | The sharp-tongued character from SITTING PRETTY enrolls in college, with predictable results. Nothing special. Jeff Chandler has bit as a policeman. | tt0041662 | Clifton Webb, Shirley Temple, Tom Drake, Alan Young, Jessie Royce Landis, Kathleen Hughes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell | 1951 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 87 | Another follow-up to SITTING PRETTY isn't as witty. Webb enters old folks' home to prove his theory that age has nothing to do with leading a full life. | tt0043820 | Clifton Webb, Joanne Dru, Hugh Marlowe, Zero Mostel, Doro Merande, Billy Lynn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Billion | 1977 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★ | 93 | Uninspired comedy about a lowly Italian mechanic (Hill, in his American debut) on a mad, cross-country scramble to claim a billion-dollar legacy, and the attempts of scoundrels to swindle him out of it. | tt0076417 | [PG] | Terence Hill, Valerie Perrine, Jackie Gleason, Slim Pickens, Chill Wills, William Redfield | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Action | NULL | ||
| Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House | 1948 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 94 | Slick comedy of city couple attempting to build a house in the country; expertly handled, with Cary at his peak. And no one ever described room colors better than Loy! Norman Panama and Melvin Frank scripted, from Eric Hodgins' novel. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040613 | Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Reginald Denny, Sharyn Moffett, Connie Marshall, Louise Beavers, Ian Wolfe, Lurene Tuttle, Lex Barker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Brooks | 2007 | Bruce A. Evans | ★★½ | 120 | Respected businessman, husband, and father (Costner) has a deadly secret: he's a serial killer. He battles his addiction just as an alcoholic would, but he's egged on by his evil alter ego (Hurt). Detective Moore, whose private life is a wreck, is determined to catch the multiple murderer, while eyewitness Cook has a different reaction: he wants in on the adrenaline rush of killing. Interesting ingredients, but a lumpy stew; sometimes laughably absurd. Costner coproduced. | tt0780571 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, William Hurt, Marg Helgenberger, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Danielle Panabaker, Aisha Hinds, Lindsay Crouse. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. | 1999 | Errol Morris | ★★★ | 92 | Documentarian Morris has found another oddball to profile: a milquetoast type who's had a lifelong fascination with instruments of death. After becoming an expert at building and repairing electric chairs and the like, he's hired by Holocaust deniers to gather 'evidence' as to whether Hitler's gas chambers in Poland were really used for their stated purpose. Leuchter strikes the viewer as amusing at first, then misguided, possibly insidious, and ultimately pathetic. Music by Caleb Sampson. | tt0192335 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mr. Deeds | 2002 | Steven Brill | 💣 | 96 | Sloppy remake of MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN follows the original's basic outline, with small-town good guy Sandler brought to N.Y.C., where he's taken advantage of by tycoon Gallagher and reporter Ryder, who falls in love with him. The new ingredients: Sandler's imbecilic persona and fondness for crude humor. You don't have to know Frank Capra's 1936 classic to know this one stinks; it doesn't even believe in its own story. Rob Schneider appears unbilled. | tt0280590 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher, Jared Harris, Allen Covert, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Conchata Ferrell, Harve Presnell, Erick Avari, Blake Clark | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | 1936 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 115 | Cooper is Longfellow Deeds, who inherits 20 million dollars and wants to give it all away to needy people. Arthur is appealing as the hard-boiled big-city reporter who tries to figure out what makes him tick. Capra won his second Oscar for this irresistible film, written by Robert Riskin (from Clarence Budington Kelland's story 'Opera Hat'). Later a short-lived TV series. Remade in 2002. | tt0027996 | Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, George Bancroft, Lionel Stander, Douglass Dumbrille, Mayo Methot, Raymond Walburn, Walter Catlett, H. B. Warner | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Denning Drives North | 1953 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★½ | 93 | Cast's sincerity makes this murder yarn palatable, the biggest hunt being for the corpus delicti. | tt0044928 | John Mills, Phyllis Calvert, Eileen Moore, Sam Wanamaker | British | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Mr. Destiny | 1990 | James Orr | ★★ | 110 | Blah, by-the-numbers fantasy with Belushi an average, bored working stiff who gets to go back in time and replay an at-bat in a high school baseball game— which significantly alters his fate. Well intentioned but heavy-handed; comparisons to IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE are more hopeful than actual. | tt0100201 | [PG-13] | James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, Michael Caine, Jon Lovitz, Hart Bochner, Rene Russo, Bill McCutcheon, Pat Corley, Courteney Cox, Kathy Ireland | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Hex | 1946 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 63 | Satisfying Bowery Boys silliness, as Sach is turned into a pugilistic powerhouse with the help of a hypnotist. | tt0038753 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Gale Robbins, Ian Keith, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation | 1962 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 116 | Glossy Hollywood family fare, '60s-style, about various misadventures as Stewart and O'Hara's clan rent a house by the ocean for the summer. Based on a novel by Edward Streeter, the same man who wrote Father of the Bride. | tt0056255 | James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Fabian, John Saxon, Marie Wilson, Reginald Gardiner, Lauri Peters, John McGiver | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Mr. Holland's Opus | 1995 | Stephen Herek | ★★★ | 142 | Disney dips into GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS for this sentimental, old-fashioned story of a musician who reluctantly takes a job as a high school music teacher, then spends the next thirty years of his life dedicated to imbuing students with a love of music. It's his own family that suffers. Too much time is spent on the climactic school play, but it's still a heartwarming tearjerker and Dreyfuss is perfect in the lead. | tt0113862 | [PG] | Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, Alicia Witt, Jean Louisa Kelly, Nicholas John Renner, Joseph Anderson, Anthony Natale, Joanna Gleason | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Hulot's Holiday | 1953 | Jacques Tati | ★★★½ | 86 | Tati introduced his delightful Hulot character in this amusing excursion to a French resort town; a fond throwback to the days of silent-screen comedy. French version runs 114m. | tt0046487 | Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Michelle Rolla, Valentine Camax, Louis Perrault | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Imperium | 1951 | Don Hartman | ★★½ | 87 | Threadbare romance between Turner and Pinza, now a monarch; colorful but paper-thin. | tt0043822 | Lana Turner, Ezio Pinza, Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan, Cedric Hardwicke, Debbie Reynolds | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Mr. Jealousy | 1998 | Noah Baumbach | ★★½ | 105 | Stoltz meets Sciorra and they hit it off, but his suspicions and jealousy over her former boyfriend start driving them both crazy. Talky but humorous romance with real N.Y.C. flavor and some priceless group therapy sequences. Stoltz also executive-produced. | tt0119717 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Annabella Sciorra, Chris Eigeman, Carlos Jacott, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brian Kerwin, Peter Bogdanovich, Bridget Fonda | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. Kingstreet's War | Heroes Die Hard | 1973 | Percival Rubens | ★★½ | 92 | Loner and his wife find idyllic life at African game preserve disrupted by WW2 and set out to do something about it. Interesting and unusual. Aka HEROES DIE HARD. | tt0070416 | John Saxon, Tippi Hedren, Rossano Brazzi, Brian O'Shaughnessy | Drama, War, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Mr. Klein | 1977 | Joseph Losey | ★★★ | 122 | A French art dealer exploits Jews who are desperately in need of money during WW2, then finds he is mistaken for a Jew with the same name. Enigmatic, interesting parable about the nature of identity. Delon also produced. | tt0074916 | [PG] | Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, Michael Lonsdale, Juliet Berto, Suzanne Flon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Mr. Love | 1985 | Roy Battersby | ★★★ | 98 | Gentle, winning tale of quiet, reserved gardener, in a loveless marriage for almost 30 years and whom most everybody thinks is a joke— so why do all those women appear at his funeral? The CASABLANCA scene is a gem. | tt0089633 | [PG-13] | Barry Jackson, Maurice Denham, Christina Collier, Helen Cotterill, Julia Deakin, Linda Marlowe, Margaret Tyzack | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Mr. Lucky | 1943 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 100 | Gambling-ship-owner Grant intends to fleece virtuous Day, instead falls in love and goes straight. Basis for later TV series has spirited cast, engaging script. Love that rhyming slang! | tt0036174 | Cary Grant, Laraine Day, Charles Bickford, Gladys Cooper, Alan Carney, Henry Stephenson, Paul Stewart, Kay Johnson, Florence Bates | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mr. Magoo | 1997 | Stanley Tong | ★½ | 87 | Alarmingly unfunny feature based on the famous nearsighted cartoon character (revived in the animated credits, with Greg Burson filling in for Jim Backus as the voice of Magoo). Nielsen does his best, as always, but the pointlessly complicated plot— about the theft of a precious ruby— just goes on and on. And there are an awful lot of mean-spirited characters for a kids' movie. Inauspicious Hollywood debut for Jackie Chan's frequent director and collaborator; even the closing outtakes aren't funny! | tt0119718 | [PG] | Leslie Nielsen, Kelly Lynch, Matt Keeslar, Nick Chinlund, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ernie Hudson, Jennifer Garner, Malcolm McDowell, Miguel Ferrer | Animation, Family, Comedy, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium | 2007 | Zach Helm | ★★½ | 93 | A 243-year-old proprietor of a magical toy store prepares to leave his lifelong business and bequeaths it to his number-one clerk. When financial problems are revealed, a crisis ensues as dark and strange things begin to happen to the toys . . . until a young customer takes matters into his own hands. Harmless family fare with amusing, old-fashioned toy creations will appeal primarily to the under-8 set, but the sugar-coated plot may find adults wanting to fast-forward. Hoffman seems to be channeling Ed Wynn. | tt0457419 | [G] | Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Zach Mills, Jason Bateman, Ted Ludzik | Family, Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Majestyk | 1974 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 103 | Above average Bronson thriller, casting him as Colorado watermelon farmer (!) marked for destruction by syndicate hit man Lettieri; surprisingly tongue-in-cheek script by Elmore Leonard. | tt0071866 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Al Lettieri, Linda Cristal, Lee Purcell, Paul Koslo, Alejandro Rey | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Mr. Mom | 1983 | Stan Dragoti | ★★½ | 91 | Pleasant enough rehash of age-old sitcom premise: Mom gets a job when dad gets fired, leaving him to learn the perils of running a household. Likable stars make it palatable, but you've seen it all before. | tt0085970 | [PG] | Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, Christopher Lloyd, Frederick Koehler, Taliesin Jaffe, Graham Jarvis, Jeffrey Tambor | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Moto Takes a Chance | 1938 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 63 | Moto teams up with a British spy (Hudson) to uncover a munitions site in the jungles of Indochina. Bromberg is improbably but effectively cast as potentate. | tt0030469 | Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, Robert Kent, J. Edward Bromberg, Chick Chandler, George Regas | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation | 1939 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 63 | A pleasure trip becomes business for Moto as he tries to thwart criminal mastermind after the Queen of Sheba's crown as it's being transported to a museum. Brisk final entry in the Lorre series. | tt0031676 | Peter Lorre, Joseph Schildkraut, Lionel Atwill, Virginia Field, Iva Stewart, Victor Varconi | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Moto in Danger Island | 1939 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★½ | 63 | Moto faces death at every turn as he tracks a diamond smuggling ring to Puerto Rico. Minor entry highlighted by Hymer as the dim-witted 'Twister McGurk.' Remake of MURDER IN TRINIDAD (1934) with Moto character grafted onto original plot. Aka DANGER ISLAND. | tt0031677 | Peter Lorre, Jean Hersholt, Amanda Duff, Warren Hymer, Richard Lane, Leon Ames | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Moto's Gamble | 1938 | James Tinling | ★★½ | 71 | Moto probes the death of a boxer and discovers a crooked gambling racket. Charlie Chan fans will note a guest appearance by Number One Son (Luke) assisting Moto. Originally scripted as a Chan film but reassigned to Moto after the sudden death of Warner Oland. | tt0030470 | Peter Lorre, Keye Luke, Dick Baldwin, Lynn Bari, Douglas Fowley, Jayne Regan, Harold Huber | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Moto's Last Warning | 1939 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 71 | Moto battles a fine rogues' gallery of character villains, as murderous saboteurs converge on the Suez Canal and do their best to dispose of the pesky sleuth. | tt0031678 | Peter Lorre, Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, George Sanders, Robert Coote, John Davidson | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Mr. Muggs Rides Again | 1945 | Wallace Fox | ★½ | 63 | Jockey Gorcey is suspended after being framed by some crooked gamblers, but (surprise!) redeems himself in the end. Lame East Side Kids romp. | tt0037930 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Johnny Duncan, Bud Gorman, Nancy Brinkman, Minerva Urecal, George Meeker, Mende Koenig, Pierre Watkin, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Muggs Steps Out | 1943 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 63 | Gorcey gets a job as chauffeur to a society lady and ends up catching some jewel thieves. Some good laughs as crude Gorcey and the East Side Kids crash snooty high society. | tt0036175 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, Bobby Stone, Bud Gorman, Dave Durand, Jimmy Strand, Joan Marsh, Gabriel Dell, Noah Beery/Sr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Music | 1950 | Richard Haydn | ★★½ | 113 | Easygoing vehicle for crooner Crosby as Broadway songwriter who wants to live the easy life. Remake of ACCENT ON YOUTH. | tt0042753 | Bing Crosby, Nancy Olson, Charles Coburn, Ruth Hussey, Marge and Gower Champion, Peggy Lee, Groucho Marx | Musical | NULL | |||
| Mr. Nanny | 1993 | Michael Gottlieb | ★½ | 84 | Lamebrained comedy featuring Hogan as a struggling wrestler hired to look after a pair of spoiled, ignored rich kids (whom weirdo Johansen is plotting to kidnap). Strictly for die-hard fans of the Hulkster. Hemsley and Hogan are no threat to Clark and McCullough. | tt0107612 | [PG] | Hulk Hogan, Sherman Hemsley, Austin Pendleton, Robert Gorman, Madeline Zima, David Johansen, *** Mother Love | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Nice Guy | 1997 | Samo Hung | ★★★ | 113 | Jackie, a TV chef(!), is pursued by two sets of bad guys who are after an incriminating videotape that's fallen into his hands. One of Jackie's better later films, set in Melbourne and, like almost all his best movies, an action comedy. Dazzling and exciting fights abound, the best (and funniest) staged at a construction site. Only the climax, involving a colossal truck flattening a luxury home, is below par for the astounding Mr. Chan. Director Samo, Jackie's lifelong friend, has a cameo as an irritated bicyclist. | tt0117786 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Karen McLymont, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Vince Poletto | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Mr. North | 1988 | Danny Huston | ★★½ | 92 | Bright but penniless young man makes a major impact on Newport high society in the 1920s by being forthright, ingenious, and possessing an unusual amount of electricity in his body! Agreeable fable based on Thornton Wilder's Theophilus North has many assets (fine cast, beautiful locations) as well as some liabilities (uneven performances, shifts of tone). Coscripted by John Huston, who also executive-produced just before his death; this marks his son's theatrical feature debut as director. | tt0095665 | [PG] | Anthony Edwards, Robert Mitchum, Lauren Bacall, Harry Dean Stanton, Anjelica Huston, Mary Stuart Masterson, Virginia Madsen, Tammy Grimes, David Warner, Hunter Carson, Christopher Durang, Mark Metcalf, Katharine Houghton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Patman | Crossover | 1980 | John Guillermin | ★½ | 105 | Coburn is well cast in this convoluted, poorly made tale of a charming but slightly mad psycho-ward orderly and his shenanigans. Aka CROSSOVER. | tt0081192 | James Coburn, Kate Nelligan, Fionnula Flanagan, Les Carlson, Candy Kane, Michael Kirby | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid | 1948 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 89 | Mild comedy-fantasy by Nunnally Johnson has its moments, with unsuspecting Powell coming across a lovely mermaid while fishing. Powell makes anything look good. | tt0040614 | William Powell, Ann Blyth, Irene Hervey, Andrea King, Clinton Sundberg | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill | 1948 | Lawrence Huntington | ★★ | 90 | Lukewarm study of progressive vs. conservative schoolteaching. | tt0040615 | Marius Goring, David Farrar, Greta Gynt, Raymond Huntley | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Popper’s Penguins | 2011 | Mark Waters | ★★½ | 95 | Divorced N.Y.C. real estate manipulator Carrey—who’s never gotten over the fact that his father was always away from home on travel adventures—inherits a penguin and then gets sent five more. This not only changes his relationship with his two kids and ex-wife but his outlook on life itself. Complete reinvention of Richard and Florence Atwater’s beloved 1938 book is an OK comedy vehicle for Carrey, and the penguins (both real and CG-animated) are irresistible . . . but the story makes strange, sudden turns that undermine its emotional impact as it stumbles toward the finale. | tt1396218 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Madeline Carroll, Clark Gregg, Jeffrey Tambor, David Krumholtz, Philip Baker Hall, Maxwell Perry Cotton, James Tupper, Dominic Chianese, William C. Mitchell | NULL | |||
| Mr. Quilp | The Old Curiosity Shop | 1975 | Michael Tuchner | ★★★ | 118 | Entertaining musical version of Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop with songs by Newley and musical score by Elmer Bernstein. Light-hearted until last reel when it goes serious in the Dickens vein. Retitled THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. Remade for cable in 1995. | tt0073480 | [G] | Anthony Newley, David Hemmings, David Warner, Michael Hordern, Jill Bennett, Sarah Jane Varley | British | Musical | NULL |
| Mr. Ricco | 1975 | Paul Bogart | ★★ | 98 | Martin in offbeat casting as criminal lawyer involved with racist killings, sex and assorted violence, but looks too tired to care. Good mystery angle. | tt0073411 | [PG] | Dean Martin, Eugene Roche, Thalmus Rasulala, Geraldine Brooks, Denise Nicholas, Cindy Williams, Philip Michael Thomas | Crime | NULL | ||
| Mr. Robinson Crusoe | 1932 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 76 | An aging but agile Doug is up to his old tricks, betting that he can survive on a South Sea island à la Robinson Crusoe. Great fun; lovely score by Alfred Newman. Also released in silent version. | tt0023243 | Douglas Fairbanks/Sr., William Farnum, Earle Browne, Maria Alba | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mr. Rock and Roll | 1957 | Charles S. Dubin | ★★ | 86 | The saga of how Alan Freed 'discovered' rock 'n' roll. In AMERICAN HOT WAX, Berry played opposite Tim McIntire portraying Freed; here, he acts with the real McCoy. Vintage footage of McPhatter, Lymon, Little Richard; Rocky Graziano is along for comic relief. Also of note: The 1999 TVM MR. ROCK 'N' ROLL: THE ALAN FREED STORY. | tt0050711 | Alan Freed, Little Richard, Clyde McPhatter, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Teddy Randazzo, Chuck Berry, Rocky Graziano, Lois O'Brien, Lionel Hampton, Ferlin Husky, The Moonglows, Brook Benton, LaVern Baker | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Mr. Sardonicus | 1961 | William Castle | ★★ | 89 | Recluse count with face frozen in hideous grin lures wife's boyfriend/doctor to castle to cure him. Minor fare despite good ending; Castle gave the theatrical audiences the option of voting 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' via a 'Punishment Poll' (but only one conclusion was filmed). Screenplay by Ray Russell from his novella Sardonicus. | tt0055200 | Ronald Lewis, Audrey Dalton, Guy Rolfe, Oscar Homolka | Drama, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Saturday Night | 1992 | Billy Crystal | ★★½ | 119 | Saga of a comedian who turns out to be his own worst enemy. Many moments of truth and insight, but too long, with too many climaxes, and Crystal's old-age makeup is garish and unbelievable. It's also tough to make an appealing movie about an unappealing character. The real treat is watching Paymer in a terrific performance as Crystal's long-suffering brother. Crystal's directing debut; he also cowrote with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (both of whom appear fleetingly as inept TV writers). | tt0104928 | [R] | Billy Crystal, David Paymer, Julie Warner, Helen Hunt, Mary Mara, Jerry Orbach, Ron Silver, Sage Allen, Jackie Gayle, Carl Ballantine, Slappy White, Conrad Janis, Jerry Lewis | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Skeffington | 1944 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 127 | Grand soap opera spanning several decades of N.Y.C. life from 1914 onward. Davis is vain society woman who marries stockbroker Rains for convenience, discovering his true love for her only after many years. Lavish settings, bravura Davis performance. Restored to original 146m. release for homevideo. | tt0037094 | Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter Abel, Richard Waring, Jerome Cowan, Charles Drake, Gigi Perreau | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mr. Skitch | 1933 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 70 | Airy Rogers vehicle follows family's adventures driving to California. Pure fluff, highlighted by British entertainer Florence Desmond's comic impressions of costar Pitts and Greta Garbo. | tt0024358 | Will Rogers, Rochelle Hudson, ZaSu Pitts, Eugene Pallette, Harry Green, Charles Starrett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | 1939 | Frank Capra | ★★★★ | 129 | Stewart is young idealist who finds nothing but corruption in U.S. Senate. Fine Capra Americana, with Stewart's top performance bolstered by Arthur as hard-boiled dame won over by earnest Mr. Smith, and a stellar supporting cast; Carey is magnificent as the Vice President. Brilliant script by Sidney Buchman; however, Lewis R. Foster's Original Story received the Oscar. Later a brief TV series. Remade as BILLY JACK GOES TO WASHINGTON. | tt0031679 | James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell, Eugene Pallette, Beulah Bondi, Harry Carey, H. B. Warner, Charles Lane, Porter Hall, Jack Carson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mr. Soft Touch | 1949 | Henry Levin, Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 93 | Ford and Keyes are mild romantic duo in unimportant story of ex-G.I. involved with social worker and gangster-run nightclub. | tt0041663 | Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, John Ireland, Beulah Bondi, Percy Kilbride, Ted de Corsia | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mr. Sycamore | 1974 | Pancho Kohner | ★½ | 88 | A milquetoasty mailman with a nagging wife (and a crush on local librarian) decides to escape rat race by turning into a tree! A definite curio, sadly defeated by heavy-handed treatment of material. | tt0071867 | Jason Robards, Sandy Dennis, Jean Simmons, Robert Easton, Mark Miller | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Universe | 1988 | Gyorgy Szomjas | ★½ | 96 | Tedious film mixes fact and fancy as a Hungarian dreamer comes to America to make a movie about Hungarian-born Mickey Hargitay, husband of Jayne Mansfield and a former Mr. Universe. Could have been an intriguing look at the American dream, as seen through a foreigner's eyes, but turns out pretentious and boring. | tt0095666 | Mickey Hargitay, Laszlo Szabo, George Pinter, Mariska Hargitay | Hungarian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Untouchable | 2007 | Marc Levin | ★★ | 92 | Uneven, occasionally unsettling chronicle of the rise, fall, and ongoing survival of 1970s Harlem drug kingpin Leroy “Nicky” Barnes, who continues to hide from former accomplices he “ratted out” to authorities. Even though Barnes is filmed only in silhouette—director Levin duly notes that his reclusive subject has a $1 million bounty on his head—the unrepentant gangster, living large in exile, has an undeniable star power, which this documentary does little to diminish. | tt1086340 | [R] | Crime, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mr. Winkle Goes to War | 1944 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 80 | Wilbert Winkle (Robinson) is timid, henpecked, physically unfit, and past 40, yet he's drafted into WW2. Clever, insightful little comedy. | tt0037095 | Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Warrick, Ted Donaldson, Robert Armstrong, Bob Haymes, Richard Lane | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Mr. Wise Guy | 1942 | William Nigh | ★½ | 70 | Trivial (but well cast) East Side Kids romp, about corruption at a reform school, from which they break out to catch a killer. | tt0035092 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, David Gorcey, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Guinn Williams, Bill Lawrence, Joan Barclay, Gabriel Dell, Bobby Stone, Billy Gilbert, Benny Rubin, Douglas Fowley, Ann Doran, Jack Mulhall, Warren Hymer | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mr. Wonderful | 1993 | Anthony Minghella | ★★½ | 98 | Onetime childhood sweethearts Dillon and Sciorra get divorced, after she broadens her blue-collar horizons; to get out of paying her alimony, he tries to marry her off. Takes its time, but succeeds when exploring its characters' feelings. The attractive (and competent) cast helps. | tt0107613 | [PG-13] | Matt Dillon, Annabella Sciorra, Mary-Louise Parker, William Hurt, Vincent D'Onofrio, David Barry Gray, Bruce Kirby, Dan Hedaya, Bruce Altman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mr. Wong in Chinatown | 1939 | William Nigh | ★½ | 70 | Blah Mr. Wong mystery, third in the series, with the sleuth becoming involved in the case of a Chinese princess' murder. | tt0031680 | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, William Royle, Marjorie Reynolds, Peter George Lynn, Lotus Long, Richard Loo | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Wong, Detective | 1938 | William Nigh | ★★ | 69 | First and best of five films in which Karloff portrays Hugh Wiley's Chinese detective Mr. Wong. The murder is neatly carried out— and the murderer's identity is a real surprise. Monogram Pictures' attempt to emulate the success of the Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto series. | tt0030473 | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Maxine Jennings, Evelyn Brent, Lucien Prival, William Gould | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mr. Woodcock | 2007 | Craig Gillespie | ★½ | 87 | Successful self-help book author is confronted with painful high school memories when he comes home to discover his mother is engaged to his terrifying phys. ed. coach. One-joke premise thrusts him into a series of competitions with the gym teacher, who seems to take joy in humiliating his future son-in-law. Gillespie’s original version was heavily reshot and retooled by the studio, but it’s still a mess, despite Thornton’s game efforts. | tt0419984 | [PG-13] | Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler, Melissa Sagemiller, Ethan Suplee, M. C. Gainey, Brent Briscoe, Bill Macy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. Write | 1994 | Charlie Loventhal | 💣 | 89 | Astonishingly awful comedy about a would-be writer with no talent who falls head over heels for an advertising executive (Tuck) when he chances to work on a TV commercial. Clichéd at best, annoyingly amateurish at worst. This was completed in 1992 before Reiser launched his TV series Mad About You. | tt0110587 | [PG-13] | Paul Reiser, Jessica Tuck, Martin Mull, Doug Davidson, Jane Leeves, Calvert De Forest, Gigi Rice, Tom Wilson, Wendie Jo Sperber, Darryl M. Bell, voice of Ben Stein | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mr. Wrong | 1996 | Nick Castle | ★★ | 92 | Single DeGeneres finds the perfect man in Pullman . . . or so she thinks. Not the light, funny romantic comedy you might expect, but a dark-humored attempt at satire on stalking. DeGeneres, in her starring debut, turns in a fine performance opposite the always reliable Pullman, but an uneven script works against the cast. | tt0117102 | [PG-13] | Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman, Joan Cusack, Dean Stockwell, Joan Plowright, Ellen Cleghorne, John Livingston, Robert Goulet, Polly Holliday, Louie Anderson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mr. and Mrs. North | 1941 | Robert B. Sinclair | ★★½ | 67 | Radio characters come to screen in comedy involving dead bodies being discovered; sometimes funny, sometimes forced, though it's interesting to see Gracie without George. Later a TV series. | tt0033926 | Gracie Allen, William Post/Jr., Paul Kelly, Rose Hobart, Virginia Grey, Tom Conway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont | 2005 | Dan Ireland | ★★★ | 108 | An elderly widow moves into a residential hotel in London to live out her days. A chance meeting with a charming if rootless young writer develops into genuine friendship, and makes Mrs Palfrey the most envied member of the sedate but gossipy Claremont 'family.' Played in broad strokes at first, this comedy-drama deepens and becomes more satisfying as it goes along. A sweet film with a typically commanding-and honest-performance by Plowright. That's Peter O'Toole's son playing Plowright's grandson. Adapted from Elizabeth Taylor's novel by Ruth Sacks. | tt0421229 | Unrated | Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, Zoe Tapper, Anna Massey, Robert Lang, Marcia Warren, Millicent Martin, Lorcan O'Toole | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Mrs. Brown | Her Majesty Mrs. Brown | 1997 | John Madden | ★★★ | 103 | Rewarding drama, set in the 1860s. Queen Victoria (Dench) has been in mourning for years, following the death of her beloved husband Albert; living in Windsor Castle, away from London and public life, she only comes out of her shell when her husband's trusted Highland horseman, John Brown (Connolly), refuses to coddle her. An unusual relationship develops between the two— much to the consternation of everyone else on the Queen's staff. Richly detailed, with two superb performances at the forefront; Sher is also impressive as the bemused Benjamin Disraeli. Screenplay by Jeremy Brock. | tt0119280 | [PG] | Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, Gerald Butler, Richard Pasco, David Westhead | British-U.S.-Irish | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter | 1968 | Saul Swimmer | ★★ | 110 | A silly excuse for a movie, with Herman and his Hermits heading for London to enter their greyhound in a race. In between the suspense they sing 'There's a Kind of Hush All Over the World' and the title tune. | tt0063325 | [G] | *** Herman's Hermits, Stanley Holloway, Mona Washbourne, Sara Caldwell, Lance Percival | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Mrs. Dalloway | 1998 | Marleen Gorris | ★★★ | 97 | Redgrave is radiant as the wife of a British M.P. who, on the day of a major soiree, thinks back to her youth when she chose between a safe, secure life and a more daring existence with a man who truly loved her. McElhone is an excellent match for Redgrave in the flashback scenes. Thoughtful, intelligent drama adapted by actress Eileen Atkins from the Virginia Woolf novel. | tt0119723 | [PG-13] | Vanessa Redgrave, Natascha McElhone, Rupert Graves, Michael Kitchen, Alan Cox, Lena Headey, Amelia Bullmore, Sarah Badel, Oliver Ford Davies, Katie Carr, John Standing, Robert Hardy, Margaret Tyzack, Phyllis Calvert | British-Dutch | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Mrs. Doubtfire | 1993 | Chris Columbus | ★★★ | 125 | Crowd-pleasing comedy (with serious overtones) about a free spirit whose wife divorces him after fourteen years; he can't bear being separated from his three kids, so he disguises himself as a dowdy British housekeeper (under an Oscar-winning makeup job) and gets himself hired to look after them. Williams is in peak form, and director Columbus keeps story and characters reasonably realistic in order to drive home a humanistic message. Based on the book Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. Williams and his wife produced. | tt0107614 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday, Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson, Robert Prosky, Anne Haney, Scott Capurro | Comedy, Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mrs. Henderson Presents | 2005 | Stephen Frears | ★★½ | 103 | Recently widowed Dench decides to assert her newfound independence by buying a London theater, The Windmill, and hitting on the idea of staging nude tableaux. With the coming of WW2, the theater becomes a haven for soldiers and war-weary Londoners. Entertaining fluff based on a true story (which inspired the 1945 movie TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT). Bright musical numbers, good period flavor, but a bit calculated in its cuteness. Hoskins coexecutive produced. | tt0413015 | [R] | Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Will Young, Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow, Anna Brewster, Rosalind Halstead | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Mrs. Mike | 1949 | Louis King | ★★½ | 99 | Powell and Keyes are pleasing duo, as Canadian mountie indoctrinates his urban wife to rural life. | tt0041664 | Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, J. M. Kerrigan, Angela Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mrs. Miniver | 1942 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 134 | Moving drama about middle-class English family learning to cope with war. Winner of six Academy Awards— for Garson, Wright, director Wyler, and Best Picture, among others— this film did much to rally American support for our British allies during WW2, though its depiction of English life was decidedly Hollywoodized. Screenplay by Arthur Wimperis, George Froeschel, James Hilton, and Claudine West; based on Jan Struther's short stories. Sequel: THE MINIVER STORY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035093 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Dame May Whitty, Teresa Wright, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Richard Ney, Henry Wilcoxon, Helmut Dantine, Peter Lawford | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone | 1950 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 69 | Main is rambunctious but can't elevate film about small-towner winning prize contest, involved with murder on a N.Y.C-bound train. Whitmore is most enjoyable. | tt0042755 | Marjorie Main, James Whitmore, Ann Dvorak, Fred Clark, Dorothy Malone, Phyllis Kirk | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | 1994 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 125 | Closeup look at Dorothy Parker, fabled writer and charter member of the Algonquin Round Table in the 1920s; a vivid re-creation of that period and those celebrated wits, but Parker's chronic unhappiness (and Leigh's often mannered performance) makes for tough going in this longish film. Scott is a standout as Robert Benchley in the well-chosen supporting cast; the famous humorist's grandson, author Peter Benchley, appears early on as editor Frank Crowninshield. Stanley Tucci appears unbilled. | tt0110588 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Campbell Scott, Matthew Broderick, Andrew McCarthy, Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Robards, Martha Plimpton, Tom McGowan, Stephen Baldwin, Wallace Shawn, Lili Taylor, James Le Gros, Keith Carradine, Nick Cassavetes, Jane Adams, Gary Basaraba, Rebecca Miller, Heather Graham, Jake Johannsen, Chip Zien | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mrs. Parkington | 1944 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 124 | Overlong but well-mounted soaper involving poor, naive Garson and how she changes after marrying wealthy, charismatic Pidgeon. | tt0037096 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Edward Arnold, Gladys Cooper, Agnes Moorehead, Frances Rafferty, Selena Royle, Dan Duryea, Lee Patrick, Rod Cameron, Tom Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Peter Lawford | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mrs. Pollifax- Spy | 1971 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★½ | 110 | A bored widow volunteers as a CIA agent— and gets accepted— in this lame comedy spy caper. Russell's last theatrical film (for which she did the screenplay, under pseudonym) is also one of her worst. | tt0067451 | [G] | Rosalind Russell, Darren McGavin, Nehemiah Persoff, Harold Gould, John Beck, Dana Elcar | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mrs. Santa Claus | 1996 | Terry Hughes | Average TV Movie | 100 | In this tuneful star vehicle (though the score's hardly memorable), Angela finds herself stranded in 1910 Manhattan when her sleigh is downed by a wind current while she is checking out a new round-the-world night-before-Xmas route for hubby. Lansbury's often overlooked singing talents are spotlighted in this original television musical reuniting her with composer Jerry Herman, who wrote both Mame and Dear World, the shows for which she won two of her four Broadway Tonys. | tt0117103 | Angela Lansbury, Charles Durning, Michael Jeter, Terrence Mann, David Norona, Debra Wiseman | Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Mrs. Soffel | 1984 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★ | 110 | Interesting but gloomy, emotionally aloof rendering of true story, set in 1901, when wife of Pittsburgh prison warden falls in love with convicted murderer Gibson. Well made, but a pall hangs over entire film. | tt0087751 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Matthew Modine, Edward Herrmann, Trini Alvarado, Jennifer Dundas, Danny Corkill, Terry O'Quinn | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch | 1934 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 80 | Venerable melodrama about a good-hearted woman and her ever-growing brood gets a shot of comic adrenalin from Fields, who's perfectly matched with Pitts. Not a typical Fields vehicle by any means. Based on the 1901 novel by Alice Hegan Rice; filmed before in 1914 and 1919; remade in 1942. | tt0025523 | W. C. Fields, Pauline Lord, ZaSu Pitts, Evelyn Venable, Kent Taylor, Donald Meek, Virginia Weidler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch | 1942 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 80 | Abandoned wife with large family waits patiently for husband to return. A notch above average. | tt0035094 |
|
Fay Bainter, Hugh Herbert, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Britton, Carolyn Lee, Billy Lee, Carl Switzer, Moroni Olsen | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mrs. Winterbourne | 1996 | Richard Benjamin | ★★½ | 104 | Wide-eyed Lake is impregnated by her sleazy boyfriend, who then kicks her out; a coincidental meeting with another pregnant woman on a train leads to mistaken identity, and she's taken in by a wealthy Boston family who think she's one of their own. Likable comedy goes flat, but benefits from earnest performances. Based on Cornell Woolrich's I Married a Dead Man, which was filmed before, more seriously, as NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950) and I MARRIED A SHADOW (1982). Paula Prentiss appears unbilled as an obnoxious nurse. | tt0117104 | [PG-13] | Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, Brendan Fraser, Miguel Sandoval, Loren Dean, Peter Gerety, Susan Haskell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ms. 45 | 1981 | Abel Ferrara | ★★½ | 84 | Tamerlis is raped twice, gets her 'revenge' by murdering every male in sight. Well-made, violent role-reversal formula film with echoes of PSYCHO, REPULSION, CARRIE, etc., which won some strong reviews and a cult reputation. Aka ANGEL OF VENGEANCE. | tt0082776 | [R] | Zoe Tamerlis, Steve Singer, Jack Thibeau, Peter Yellen, Darlene Stuto | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Ms. Don Juan | 1973 | Roger Vadim | ★½ | 87 | Bardot, in title role, seduces and/or humiliates everyone in her sight: a priest (who's also her cousin), a politician, a businessman. Glossy but limp; may be good for some unintended laughs. | tt0069990 | Brigitte Bardot, Maurice Ronet, Robert Hossein, Mathieu Carriere, Jane Birkin, Michele Sand | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Much Ado About Nothing | 1993 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★★ | 111 | Shakespeare's comedy of the wooing of Benedick (played by actor-director-screenwriter Branagh) and Beatrice (his then wife, Thompson) is set and shot entirely in and around an Italian villa in Tuscany and features a top-notch supporting cast. Rowdy, high spirited, and remarkably fast paced; this brings vigor to the Bard's text, though the poetry sometimes gets lost in the shenanigans. Branagh does impressive job, but cannot match earlier Shakespearean effort, HENRY V (1989). | tt0107616 | [PG-13] | Kenneth Branagh, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Richard Briers, Kate Beckinsale, Brian Blessed, Richard Clifford, Ben Elton, Gerard Horan, Phyllida Law, Imelda Staunton, Jimmy Yuill | British-U.S. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Muddy River | 1982 | Kohei Oguri | ★★★½ | 105 | Life in postwar Japan, as perceived by two young boys. Stunning, memorable Ozu-like tale, with lovely b&w photography. Independently produced. | tt0082280 | Nobutaka Asahara, Takahiro Tamura, Yumiko Fujita, Minoru Sakurai, Makiko Shibato | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mudlark | 1950 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 99 | Offbeat drama of Queen Victoria (Dunne), a recluse since her husband's death, coming back to reality after meeting waif who stole into her castle. Dunne does quite well as Queen, with Guinness a joy as Disraeli. Filmed in England. | tt0042757 | Irene Dunne, Alec Guinness, Finlay Currie, Anthony Steel, Andrew Ray, Beatrice Campbell, Wilfrid Hyde-White | Drama | NULL | |||
| Mug Town | 1943 | Ray Taylor | ★★ | 60 | The Little Tough Guys take on racketeers in this 'patriotic' series entry. | tt0036176 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsly, Gabriel Dell, Grace McDonald, Edward Norris, Murray Alper, Tommy Kelly | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Mulan | 1998 | Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft | ★★★ | 88 | Disney's animated musical rendering of an ancient Chinese legend, about a headstrong daughter who disguises as a boy in order to take her father's place in the Imperial Army— and bring honor to her family. Strikingly staged and designed, with a strong and appealing leading character; the constant comedy 'relief,' while funny, seems jarring and unnecessary in such a strong dramatic tale. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0120762 | [G] | Voices of Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga, Eddie Murphy, B. D. Wong, Donny Osmond, Harvey Fierstein, Miguel Ferrer, Pat Morita, June Foray, Miriam Margolyes, George Takei, James Shigeta, Gedde Watanabe, James Hong | Family, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Musical, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mule Train | 1950 | John English. | ★★★ | 69 | Buttram's 'natural cement' claim is threatened by a crooked contractor (Livingston) and a shady female sheriff (Ryan) until Gene, a U.S. marshal, interferes. The music— including the title song, right off the Hit Parade— makes this one. | tt0042761 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Sheila Ryan, Robert Livingston, Frank Jacquet, Vince Barnett, Syd Saylor, Gregg Barton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Mulholland Dr. | 2001 | David Lynch | ★★★½ | 145 | A plucky young actress arrives in Hollywood and tries to solve the mystery of an amnesiac woman's identity. Hypnotic, full-bore Lynchian strangeness, loaded with the writer-director's trademark visual fetishes and unexplainable dream logic, anchored by a knockout performance from Watts. Certainly not for all tastes. Originally a rejected TV pilot (!), later reshot and expanded to present length. Miller's final film. | tt0166924 | [R] | Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Ann Miller, Scott Wulf, Robert Forster, Brent Briscoe, Dan Hedaya, Michael Des Barres, Billy Ray Cyrus, Katharine Towne, Lee Grant, James Karen, Chad Everett | U.S.-French | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Mulholland Falls | 1996 | Lee Tamahori | ★★ | 107 | L.A. period piece (and CHINATOWN wannabe) about an elite squad of cops who make their own rules . . . until their leader (Nolte) becomes personally involved in a murder case with far-reaching consequences. Story unfolds in an obvious, heavy-handed way, and much of the cast is wasted. Tiresome, redundant score by Dave Grusin. That's production designer Richard Sylbert (who also worked on CHINATOWN) as the coroner. William L. Petersen, Rob Lowe, Louise Fletcher, and Bruce Dern appear unbilled. | tt0117107 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich, Daniel Baldwin, Kyle Chandler, Ed Lauter, Aaron Neville | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Multiplicity | 1996 | Harold Ramis | ★★½ | 117 | Working stiff who feels pulled in all directions by his job and his family finds a solution: he clones himself— again and again and again. Amusing gimmick comedy, in the same vein as Ramis' GROUNDHOG DAY, but not quite as good. Keaton has a field day with his multiple characters, but the premise is stretched way beyond credibility and wears thin. | tt0117108 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Harris Yulin, Richard Masur, Eugene Levy, Ann Cusack, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mumford | 1999 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★½ | 112 | Quirky, novelistic film about a quiet, clean-cut psychologist who wins over a small town with his commonsense approach to their problems— while remaining an enigma himself. Original and amusing in a nice, old-fashioned way, but awfully tidy. Written by Kasdan. | tt0140397 | [R] | Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee, Alfre Woodard, Mary McDonnell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Short, David Paymer, Jane Adams, Ted Danson, Kevin Tighe, Dana Ivey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mummy Returns | 2001 | Stephen Sommers | ★½ | 129 | Fraser and wife Weisz (with a precocious son in tow) desecrate an ancient crypt and inadvertently discover the means to raise an ancient army from the dead. Big Dumb Sequel to the original Big Dumb Hit has all the same ingredients (plus skeletal pygmy warriors!). A long, noisy action-adventure film made up entirely of climaxes. Followed by THE SCORPION KING and an animated TV series. | tt0209163 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velazquez, Freddie Boath, Alun Armstrong, The Rock | Adventure, Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Mummy's Boys | 1936 | Fred Guiol. | ★★ | 68 | Slackly developed comedy about two moronic ditch diggers, recruited for an archeology expedition, getting mixed up with jewel thieves and an ancient Egyptian 'curse.' One of the duo's lesser vehicles, filled with lame puns and moldy mummy gags. | tt0027999 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Barbara Pepper, Moroni Olsen, Frank M. Thomas, Willie Best. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mummy's Curse | 1944 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 62 | Kharis and the reincarnated Ananka, last seen slipping into a New England swamp, are unaccountably dug up in a Louisiana bayou, where he's soon strangling people again. Surprisingly eerie and effective, with a good performance by Christine. Silent star William Farnum has a bit role as a caretaker. Last of the series. | tt0037098 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Peter Coe, Virginia Christine, Kay Harding, Dennis Moore, Martin Kosleck, Kurt Katch | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Mummy's Ghost | 1944 | Reginald Le Borg | ★½ | 60 | Sequel to THE MUMMY'S TOMB finds seemingly unkillable Kharis and his mentor (Carradine) on the trail of a woman who is the reincarnation of Princess Ananka. Least interesting of the series, with nothing new or different to offer. Followed by THE MUMMY'S CURSE. | tt0037099 | Lon Chaney/Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Robert Lowery, Barton MacLane, George Zucco | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Mummy's Hand | 1940 | Christy Cabanne | ★★★ | 67 | Archeologists seeking lost tomb of Egyptian princess get more than they bargained for when they find it guarded by a living— and very deadly— mummy (Tyler). First of the 'Kharis' series is entertaining blend of chills and comedy, with good cast, flavorful music and atmosphere. Not a sequel to THE MUMMY (1932), although it does utilize flashback footage; itself followed by three sequels, starting with THE MUMMY'S TOMB. | tt0032818 | Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, Peggy Moran, Cecil Kellaway, George Zucco, Tom Tyler, Eduardo Ciannelli, Charles Trowbridge | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Mummy's Shroud | 1967 | John Gilling | 💣 | 90 | British expedition takes mummy of child pharaoh back to Cairo; boy's guardian, also a mummy, murders those responsible. One of the least of the Hammer horrors. | tt0062006 | Andre Morell, John Phillips, David Buck, Elizabeth Sellars, Maggie Kimberley, Michael Ripper | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mummy's Tomb | 1942 | Harold Young | ★★ | 61 | Sequel to THE MUMMY'S HAND finds Kharis (now played by Chaney) transported to America to kill off surviving members of the expedition. Weak script and too much stock footage are the real villains. | tt0035096 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Elyse Knox, John Hubbard, Turhan Bey, Dick Foran, Wallace Ford, George Zucco, Mary Gordon | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Mummy | 1932 | Karl Freund | ★★★½ | 72 | Horror classic stars Karloff as Egyptian mummy, revived after thousands of years, believing Johann is reincarnation of ancient mate. Remarkable makeup and atmosphere make it chills ahead of many follow-ups. | tt0023245 | Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Arthur Byron, Edward Van Sloan, Bramwell Fletcher, Noble Johnson | Horror, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Mummy | 1959 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 88 | Against warnings of severe consequences, archaeologists desecrate ancient tomb of Egyptian Princess Ananka. They return to England and those consequences. Stylish Hammer resurrection of Universal's Kharis series. | tt0053085 | Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, Eddie Byrne, Felix Aylmer, Raymond Huntley | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mummy | 1999 | Stephen Sommers | ★½ | 124 | Hokey, jokey, Indiana Jones-ish adventure yarn has little to do with earlier Mummy movies. Librarian and Egyptologist Weisz (a clumsy character in the first scene— then, oddly, never again) hires Fraser to lead her to the 'lost' city of Hamunaptra, where the tomb of Imhotep (Vosloo) is desecrated, to everyone's regret. Special effects galore, but no sense of awe or wonder; what's more, it goes on forever. Is that Dick Foran in the mummy attack scene? Followed by THE MUMMY RETURNS. | tt0120616 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jonathan Hyde, Oded Fehr | Adventure, Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | The Mummy 3 | 2008 | Rob Cohen | ★½ | 112 | Third in the series that began with the 1999 MUMMY finds adventurer Fraser, his wife (Bello), and son (Ford), plus hangers-on, in China battling the resurrected Emperor Han (Li), who’s after an immortality formula. Fast-paced, with lots of effects, but a dopey story and ruinously over-edited action sequences sink what might have been a fun film. Li and Yeoh are badly used. Bring back Kharis! | tt0859163 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, David Calder, Isabella Leong, Chau Sang Anthony Wong, Russell Wong, Liam Cunningham | U.S.-German-Canadian | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy | NULL |
| Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly | Girly | 1970 | Freddie Francis. | 💣 | 101 | Rock-bottom murder tale of eccentric family where children's 'game-playing' has lethal overtones. Stupid. Aka GIRLY. | tt0064704 | [R] | Vanessa Howard, Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pat Heywood, Howard Trevor. | British | Crime, Horror | NULL |
| Munich | 2005 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 164 | In the wake of the 1972 massacre of the Israeli Olympic team, the government of Israel hires a low-level operative (Bana) to head a secret squad. Its mission: to murder the terrorists responsible for the attack. Bana and his cohorts immerse themselves in the cloak-and-dagger world, but before long begin to question their own motives-and the toll the job may be taking on their humanity. Despite a script by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth (based on George Jonas' book Vengeance, which inspired the 1986 TV movie SWORD OF GIDEON), there is less here than meets the eye. A seeming lack of focus, and a feeling of treading familiar ground, dissipates the impact of key suspense scenes. | tt0408306 | [R] | Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Ayelet Zurer, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Almaric, Lynn Cohen, Marie-Josée Croze, Yvan Attal | Crime, Drama, History, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Munster, Go Home! | 1966 | Earl Bellamy | ★★½ | 96 | Monster family goes to England to claim a castle they've inherited; juvenile production based on the popular TV sitcom. TVM HERE COME THE MUNSTERS followed in 1995. | tt0060726 | Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Terry-Thomas, Hermione Gingold, John Carradine, Debby Watson, Butch Patrick | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | Brian Henson | ★★★ | 85 | Delightful adaptation of the Dickens perennial, with a human Scrooge (Caine, in a nicely modulated performance) surrounded by mostly Muppet characters. Jerry Juhl's script neatly balances humor with the story's robust melodrama, and Paul Williams' songs add perfect punctuation. | tt0104940 | [G] | Michael Caine; Performed by Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson | Family, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Muppet Movie | 1979 | James Frawley | ★★★ | 94 | Enjoyable showcase for Jim Henson's irresistible characters, charting Kermit's odyssey from a Georgia swamp to Hollywood. Unnecessary movie-star cameos can't dim Muppets' appeal in their first feature film. Trimmed from 97m. after initial release. | tt0079588 | [G] | Performed by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz; guest stars Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Muppet Treasure Island | 1996 | Brian Henson | ★★½ | 99 | The Muppets take on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate story, with Kermit the Frog as Captain Smollett and Miss Piggy as 'Benjamina' Gunn. Good fun, but seems longer than it is, and Curry is— of all things— a bit more subdued as Long John Silver than you'd expect. Of course, after Robert Newton, anyone would seem subdued! | tt0117110 | [G] | Performed by Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz; guest stars Tim Curry, Kevin Bishop, Billy Connolly, Jennifer Saunders | Family, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Musical, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Muppets Take Manhattan | 1984 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 94 | The Muppets try to crash Broadway with their college show, but Kermit soon discovers there's a broken heart for every light . . . Enjoyable outing with bouncy songs, nice use of N.Y.C. locations. | tt0087755 | [G] | Performed by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire; guest stars Dabney Coleman, Art Carney, James Coco, Joan Rivers, Gregory Hines, Linda Lavin | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Muppets from Space | 1999 | Tim Hill | ★★½ | 82 | Gonzo learns that he's really a stranded alien, and that others of his race are on the way. Conspiracy-minded Tambor is sure this means an invasion. Weak Muppet outing turns the story over to supporting characters, and loses the edge that sparked their earlier adventures. OK overall. | tt0158811 | [G] | Performed by Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz; guest stars Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, Ray Liotta, David Arquette, Andie MacDowell, Pat Hingle, Hulk Hogan | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Muppets | 2011 | James Bobin | ★★★ | 98 | Segel and his puppet brother Walter head to Los Angeles to visit their mecca, the Muppet Studio, only to find it run-down and in danger of being demolished by a greedy tycoon (Cooper). The solution is to locate Kermit the Frog and persuade him to reassemble the old gang to put on a fund-raising show. Pure enjoyment for Muppet fans young and old, with bright new songs by Bret McKenzie (director Bobin's collaborator from The Flight of the Conchords) and some old favorites, as well. A parade of celebrity cameos maintain that inside-show-biz feeling that was a part of TV's The Muppet Show. Written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller. Oscar winner for Best Song, "Man or Muppet." | tt1204342 | [PG] | Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones; The Muppet Performers: Steve Whitmire, Peter Linz, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Murder Ahoy | 1964 | George Pollock | ★★★½ | 93 | This time out, Miss Marple investigates murder on a naval cadet training-ship. Original screenplay (by David Persall and Jack Seddon) based on wonderful Agatha Christie character. | tt0058382 | Margaret Rutherford, Lionel Jeffries, Charles Tingwell, William Mervyn, Joan Benham, Stringer Davis, Miles Malleson | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder Is My Beat | 1955 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 77 | Standard B treatment of alleged killer Payton discovering actual criminal. | tt0048396 | Paul Langton, Barbara Payton, Robert Shayne, Selena Royle | Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Murder Is My Business | 1946 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 64 | Programmer Mike Shayne caper, with Beaumont a tame shamus on prowl for killer. | tt0038757 | Hugh Beaumont, Cheryl Walker, Lyle Talbot, George Meeker, Pierre Watkin | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Murder Man | 1935 | Tim Whelan | ★★★ | 70 | Tracy is good as usual playing a hard-drinking newspaper reporter who specializes in covering murders. Snappy little film also offers Stewart in his first feature appearance (playing a fellow reporter named Shorty). | tt0026739 | Spencer Tracy, Virginia Bruce, Lionel Atwill, Harvey Stephens, Robert Barrat, James Stewart | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Murder Most Foul | 1965 | George Pollock | ★★★ | 90 | When Miss Marple is lone jury member who believes defendant is innocent, she sets out to prove it. Based on Agatha Christie's Mrs. McGinty's Dead. | tt0058383 | Margaret Rutherford, Ron Moody, Charles Tingwell, Andrew Cruickshank, Stringer Davis, Francesca Annis, Dennis Price, James Bolam | British | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder Over New York | 1940 | Harry Lachman | ★★½ | 65 | Charlie Chan (Toler) uncovers a gang of saboteurs while in Manhattan for a police convention. Briskly paced, well-directed entry. | tt0032819 | Sidney Toler, Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery, Ricardo Cortez, Donald MacBride, Melville Cooper, (Victor) Sen Yung | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder She Said | 1961 | George Pollock | ★★★ | 87 | Miss Marple takes a job as a domestic in order to solve a murder she witnessed. Based on Agatha Christie's 4:50 From Paddington; first of four films starring Rutherford as Marple. Trivia note: Rutherford has several scenes with Hickson, later to play Miss Marple herself in a fine British TV series. | tt0055205 | Margaret Rutherford, Arthur Kennedy, Muriel Pavlow, James Robertson Justice, Charles Tingwell, Thorley Walters | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder Will Out | 1952 | John Gilling | ★★★ | 83 | Underplayed suspenser with creditable red herrings to engage the viewer. Retitled: THE VOICE OF MERRILL. | tt0044931 | Valerie Hobson, Edward Underdown, James Robertson Justice, Henry Kendall | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder With Pictures | 1936 | Charles Barton. | ★★½ | 71 | Newsroom/courtroom murder mystery, with a dash of comedy, about skirmishes between determined photojournalists and the racketeers they chase off the streets into jail. Ayres delivers a dizzying array of rat-tat-tat dialogue in this briskly paced B. | tt0028004 | Lew Ayres, Gail Patrick, Joyce Compton, Paul Kelly, Onslow Stevens, Ernest Cossart, Benny Baker. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Murder at 1600 | 1997 | Dwight H. Little | ★★ | 107 | Muddled, predictable mystery thriller in which Washington, D.C., homicide cop Snipes wades his way through assorted cover-ups and intrigue upon discovery of the bloody corpse of a beautiful White House staffer in an Oval Office bathroom. One Good Cop vs. Big Bad Bureaucracy scenario is done in by its endless plot holes, not to mention ludicrous finale. | tt0119731 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Alan Alda, Daniel Benzali, Ronny Cox, Dennis Miller, Tate Donovan, Diane Baker, Charles Rocket, Harris Yulin, Nicholas Pryor | Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Murder at 45 R.P.M. | 1959 | Etienne Perier | ★★ | 105 | Darrieux is a popular singer who publicly professes her love for her songwriter husband, while having an affair with her accompanist; after dying in a car 'accident,' the husband seemingly returns from his grave. Neat plot twists cannot uplift this slow-moving suspenser. | tt0053063 | Danielle Darrieux, Michel Auclair, Jean Servais, Henri Guisol | French | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Murder at the Gallop | 1963 | George Pollock | ★★★½ | 81 | Amateur sleuth Miss Marple suspects foul play when wealthy old recluse dies. Based on Agatha Christie's After the Funeral. | tt0057334 | Margaret Rutherford, Robert Morley, Flora Robson, Charles Tingwell, Duncan Lamont, Stringer Davis, James Villiers, Robert Urquhart | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder at the Vanities | 1934 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 89 | Offbeat murder mystery set backstage at Earl Carroll's Vanities, with detective McLaglen holding everyone under suspicion, including show's stars (Carlisle, Brisson). Songs include 'Cocktails for Two,' bizarre 'Sweet Marijuana' number; look for Ann Sheridan as chorus girl. | tt0025529 | Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle, Carl Brisson, Victor McLaglen, Donald Meek, Gail Patrick, Toby Wing, Gertrude Michael, Jessie Ralph, Dorothy Stickney, Duke Ellington | Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder by Contract | 1958 | Irving Lerner | ★★ | 81 | Intriguing little film about a hired killer and what makes him tick; ultimately sabotaged by pretentious dialogue and posturing. | tt0051959 | Vince Edwards, Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernardi, Caprice Toriel | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Murder by Death | 1976 | Robert Moore | ★★★ | 94 | Capote invites world's greatest detectives to his home and involves them in a baffling whodunit. Neil Simon spoofs such characters as Charlie Chan, Miss Marple, and Sam Spade in this enjoyable all-star comedy, with marvelous sets by Stephen Grimes. Simon followed this with THE CHEAP DETECTIVE. | tt0074937 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, Eileen Brennan, Nancy Walker, Estelle Winwood, Truman Capote | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Murder by Decree | 1979 | Bob Clark | ★★★ | 121 | Sherlock Holmes investigates slayings of prostitutes by Jack the Ripper, with surprising results. Involved, often lurid story doesn't sustain through conclusion, but flaws overshadowed by warm interpretations of Holmes and Watson by Plummer and Mason. For another version of Holmes vs. the Ripper, see A STUDY IN TERROR. | tt0079592 | [PG] | Christopher Plummer, James Mason, Donald Sutherland, Geneviève Bujold, Susan Clark, David Hemmings, Frank Finlay, John Gielgud, Anthony Quayle | Canadian-British | Crime, Mystery, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Murder by Natural Causes | 1979 | Robert Day | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Outstanding thinking man's thriller that has the unfaithful wife of a famed mentalist trying to do him in by literally scaring him to death. Well acted and written—and don't blink for the last reel or you'll miss countless clever twists. One of the best from the writing/producing team of Richard Levinson and William Link. | tt0079593 | Hal Holbrook, Katharine Ross, Richard Anderson, Barry Bostwick, Bill Fiore, Jeff Donnell | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder by Numbers | 2002 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★½ | 120 | Homicide detective Bullock— a brilliant loner with heavy emotional baggage— works with her new partner (Chaplin) on a brutal murder committed by two high schoolers out to stage the perfect crime, a la Leopold and Loeb. Yet another contemporary thriller that squanders all its good qualities by tacking on a silly, old-fashioned Hollywood finale. By that time, the two sick teenage criminals have worn out their welcome anyway. Bullock coexecutive-produced. | tt0264935 | [R] | Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt, Agnes Bruckner, Christopher Penn, R.D. Call | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Murder by Phone | 1980 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 79 | Talented cast and director go slumming in this hoary horror exercise involving a crazed killer who literally phones in his murders, doing in his victims by ingenious long distance device. Filmed as BELLS. | tt0081203 | [R] | Richard Chamberlain, John Houseman, Sara Botsford, Robin Gammell, Gary Reineke, Barry Morse | Canadian | Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Murder by Television | 1935 | Clifford Sandforth | ★½ | 60 | A professor who perfects the technology of television is murdered; Lugosi, his assistant, is a prime suspect. Grade Z production holds some interest as a curio. | tt0026740 | Bela Lugosi, June Collyer, Huntley Gordon, George Meeker, Claire McDowell | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Murder by the Clock | 1931 | Edward Sloman | ★★½ | 76 | Creepy, creaky mystery designed and played like a horror film. Complicated plot involves elderly woman who installs a horn in her crypt in case she's buried alive, a mysterious reincarnation drug, and drooling half-wit Pichel. Plenty of atmosphere if not much sense. | tt0022173 | William 'Stage' Boyd, Lilyan Tashman, Irving Pichel, Regis Toomey, Blanche Frederici, Sally O'Neil, Lester Vail | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder in Greenwich Village | 1937 | Albert S. Rogell. | ★★ | 68 | Dated romantic mystery comedy with heiress Wray using photographer Arlen as alibi for whereabouts when murder took place. Mystery is secondary, solved only as an. | tt0029274 | Richard Arlen, Fay Wray, Raymond Walburn, Wyn Cahoon, Scott Colton, Thurston Hall. | Comedy, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder in Harlem | 1935 | Oscar Micheaux. | ★★½ | 102 | Better-than-average all-black-cast independent is the fact-based account of a night watchman who is falsely accused of murdering a white woman. His sister (Van Engle) and a lawyer (Brooks) set out to prove his innocence. Also known as LEM HAWKINS' CONFESSION; previously made by Micheaux as THE GUNSAULUS MYSTERY (1922). | tt0026741 | Clarence Brooks, Dorothy Van Engle, Andrew Bishop, Alec Lovejoy, Laura Bowman, Bee Freeman, 'Slick' Chester, Oscar Micheaux. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder in Times Square | 1943 | Lew Landers. | ★★½ | 67 | Lowe hams it up as a conceited, arrogant playwright-actor who's suspected of a series of murders in which all the victims died from poisonous snake venom— just as in his latest play. Minor but well-plotted B mystery. | tt0036180 | Edmund Lowe, Marguerite Chapman, John Litel, William Wright, Bruce Bennett, Esther Dale, Veda Ann Borg, Gerald Mohr, Sidney Blackmer. | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder in the Air | 1940 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 55 | The fourth and final Ronald Reagan Brass Bancroft film, with the Secret Service agent assigned to stop enemy spies from stealing government plans. | tt0032820 | Ronald Reagan, John Litel, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy/Jr., Lya Lys | Action, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Murder in the Blue Room | 1944 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 61 | Film has distinction of being an Old Dark House musical, but otherwise has nothing to recommend it. Typical brassy songs against OK whodunit background; filmed before as SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM and THE MISSING GUEST. | tt0037100 | Anne Gwynne, Donald Cook, John Litel, Grace McDonald, Betty Kean, June Preisser, Regis Toomey, Bill Williams | Comedy, Mystery, Musical | NULL | |||
| Murder in the First | 1995 | Marc Rocco | ★★½ | 122 | Young lawyer in the public defender's office is given his first assignment: defending an Alcatraz prisoner who murdered a fellow inmate. Only extenuating circumstance: the young prisoner was driven to madness by unspeakably brutal treatment for three straight years. Bacon's bravura performance is the centerpiece of this imperfect but commanding drama, which is a bit too self-satisfied and manipulative. Based on a true story, and set in the 1930s and '40s. Bacon's wife Kyra Sedgwick is amusingly cast in a cameo. With this film, director Rocco has used up his moving-camera allotment for at least 10 years. | tt0113870 | [R] | Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz, William H. Macy, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Mia Kirshner, Stefan Gierasch | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Murder in the Music Hall | 1946 | John English | ★★½ | 84 | Neat little mystery in which troubled 'ballet on ice' performer Ralston finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is accused of murder. To the rescue comes bandleader boyfriend Marshall. | tt0038758 | Vera Hruba Ralston, William Marshall, Helen Walker, Nancy Kelly, William Gargan, Ann Rutherford, Julie Bishop, Jerome Cowan, Edward Norris, Jack LaRue | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder in the Private Car | 1934 | Harry Beaumont. | ★★ | 63 | An heiress' life is at stake during an eventful railroad trip. Bizarre, incredibly silly, and incoherent, with an exciting runaway-car finale that offers too little too late. Ruggles, as a 'crime deflector,' spouts a stream of non sequiturs that are meant to be funny but mostly aren't. Walter Brennan and Akim Tamiroff have bit parts. | tt0024359 | Charles Ruggles, Una Merkel, Mary Carlisle, Russell Hardie, Snowflake (Fred Toones), Porter Hall, Berton Churchill. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder on Approval | 1956 | Bernard Knowles. | ★★ | 90 | Humdrum thriller with private eye Conway hired to determine the authenticity of a rare stamp. Original British title: BARBADOS QUEST. | tt0049525 | Tom Conway, Delphi Lawrence, Brian Worth, Michael Balfour. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murder on a Bridle Path | 1936 | Edward Killy, William Hamilton | ★½ | 65 | Broderick takes over the role of Hildegarde Withers for this extremely unsatisfying series mystery about a socialite who's killed during an early morning horseback ride. A terrific finale can't make up for 60 minutes of deadly dullness. | tt0028003 | James Gleason, Helen Broderick, Louise Latimer, Owen Davis/Jr., John Arledge, John Carroll, Leslie Fenton, Christian Rub, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder on a Honeymoon | 1935 | Lloyd Corrigan | ★★★ | 74 | After a murder takes place on a seaplane ride to Catalina Island, Hildegarde Withers (who happened to be on the plane) gets Inspector Oscar Piper to come there and solve the crime. Entertaining entry in the Withers series, cowritten by Robert Benchley and actually filmed on the picturesque island. | tt0026744 | Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Lola Lane, Chick Chandler, George Meeker, Dorothy Libaire, Morgan Wallace, Leo (G.) Carroll | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder on the Blackboard | 1934 | George Archainbaud | ★★★ | 72 | A young female schoolteacher is murdered, and fellow teacher Hildegarde Withers (Oliver) becomes involved in solving the case with Inspector Oscar Piper. Enjoyable entry in the brief Withers series. | tt0025532 | Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Bruce Cabot, Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey, Tully Marshall, Edgar Kennedy, Jackie Searle, Frederick Vogeding, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murder on the Orient Express | 1974 | Sidney Lumet. | ★★★ | 128 | Elegant all-star production of Agatha Christie's whodunit set in the 1930s, with unrecognizable Finney as super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, and all his suspects on the same railroad train. Colorful entertainment, but awfully sluggish; sharp viewers will be able to guess the denouement, as well. Bergman won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. First of several lavish Christie adaptations; followed by DEATH ON THE NILE. Remade for TV in 2001. | tt0071877 | [PG] | Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark, Michael York, Colin Blakely, George Coulouris. | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Murder! | 1930 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 104 | Good early Hitchcock casts Marshall as actor who serves on jury at murder trial and believes accused woman innocent. | tt0021165 | Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring, Phyllis Konstam, Edward Chapman | British | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Murder, Czech Style | 1968 | Jiri Weiss | ★★½ | 90 | Clever, gentle spoof of romantic triangle melodramas, with pudgy middle-aged clerk (Hrusinsky) marrying beautiful woman, realizing she's been cheating on him, planning revenge, via dream sequences. | tt0062462 | Rudolf Hrusinsky, Kyeta Fialova, Vaclav Voska, Vladimir Mensik | Czech | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Murder, He Says | 1945 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 93 | Zany slapstick of pollster MacMurray encountering Main's family of hayseed murderers. Too strident at times, but generally funny; clever script by Lou Breslow. | tt0037931 | Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Marjorie Main, Jean Heather, Porter Hall, Peter Whitney, Barbara Pepper, Mabel Paige | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Murder, Inc. | 1960 | Burt Balaban, Stuart Rosenberg | ★★★ | 103 | Solid little fact-based chronicle of the title crime organization, with Falk in particular scoring as Abe Reles, the syndicate's ill-fated number-one killer. Lots of familiar faces (Vincent Gardenia, Sylvia Miles, Seymour Cassel) in supporting roles. | tt0054102 | Stuart Whitman, May Britt, Henry Morgan, Peter Falk, David J. Stewart, Simon Oakland, Morey Amsterdam, Sarah Vaughan, Joseph Campanella | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Murder, My Sweet | 1944 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★½ | 95 | Adaptation of Raymond Chandler's book Farewell My Lovely gave Powell new image as hardboiled detective Philip Marlowe, involved in homicide and blackmail. Still packs a wallop. Scripted by John Paxton. Story previously used for THE FALCON TAKES OVER; remade again as FAREWELL, MY LOVELY in 1975. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037101 | Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger, Mike Mazurki, Miles Mander | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Murderball | 2005 | Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro | ★★★½ | 88 | Electrifying documentary look at a group of gung-ho athletes who play their sport with the same competitive fire as the best pro and amateur jocks-only they are quadriplegics, and their game is rugby in wheelchairs. While the game sequences are riveting, the film is at its best when it focuses on the players' personalities and challenges off the field. | tt0436613 | [R] | Documentary, Sport | NULL | |||
| The Murderers Are Among Us | 1946 | Wolfgang Staudte. | ★★★½ | 84 | Riveting post-WW2 propaganda, filmed on location among the ruins of Berlin, about the evolving relationship between a young German ex-concentration camp inmate (Knef) and an embittered former surgeon-soldier (Borchert). Grim story of the survivors of war is of special note for its sympathetic point of view of German citizens who also suffered during WW2. | tt0038769 | Hildegard Knef, Ernst Wilhelm Borchert, Erna Sellmer, Arno Paulsen, Wolfgang Dohnberg. | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Murderers' Row | 1966 | Henry Levin | 💣 | 108 | Malden kidnaps A-M's father, threatens to melt Washington, D.C., with a 'helio beam'; only Matt Helm can save both. (What if he'd had to make a choice?) Second Helm caper— after THE SILENCERS— offers one funny jibe at Frank Sinatra, absolutely nothing else. Sequel: THE AMBUSHERS. | tt0060728 | Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Camilla Sparv, James Gregory, Beverly Adams | Action | NULL | |||
| Murderous Maids | 2000 | Jean-Pierre Denis | ★★★ | 94 | A new take on the notorious 1933 murder case that rocked all of France. Christine Papin (Testud) and her younger sister Léa, like their mother before them, work as housemaids, but Christine's simmering resentment of her mother, her situation, and her employers boils over in various destructive ways. Denis' unsparing approach to the material doesn't even allow for a music score; Testud's performance is riveting and real. | tt0216578 | Sylvie Testud, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Isabelle Renauld, François Levanthal, Dominique Labourier, Jean-Gabriel Nordmann, Marie Donnio | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Murders in the Rue Morgue | 1932 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 62 | Expressionistic horror film based on Poe story, with Lugosi as fiendish Dr. Mirakle, with eyes on lovely Fox as the bride of his pet ape in 1845 Paris. Considered strong stuff back then. John Huston was one of the writers. Remade as PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE, and twice more (once for TV in 1986) under original title. | tt0023249 | Bela Lugosi, Sidney Fox, Leon Waycoff (Ames), Brandon Hurst, Arlene Francis, Bert Roach, Noble Johnson | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Murders in the Rue Morgue | 1971 | Gordon Hessler | ★½ | 87 | Sensationalistic reworking of Poe story; players at Grand Guignol-type theater suddenly become victims of real-life murders, gory goings-on. Set in Paris, but filmed in Spain. | tt0067457 | [PG] | Jason Robards, Herbert Lom, Christine Kaufmann, Lilli Palmer, Adolfo Celi, Maria Perschy, Michael Dunn | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Murders in the Zoo | 1933 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 62 | Astonishingly grisly horror film about an insanely jealous zoologist and sportsman (Atwill) who dispatches his wife's suitors (genuine and otherwise) with the help of various animals. Pretty potent stuff, right from the opening scene of Atwill sewing a victim's mouth shut! | tt0024360 | Lionel Atwill, Charles Ruggles, Randolph Scott, Gail Patrick, John Lodge, Kathleen Burke | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Muriel | 1963 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 115 | Poignant drama of alienation, about a widow (Seyrig) and her stepson (Thierée); she's haunted by the memory of her first love, he by his involvement in the torture and death of a woman named Muriel during the Algerian War. | tt0057336 | Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Nita Klein, Claude Sainval, Jean-Baptiste Thierée | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Muriel's Wedding | 1994 | P. J. Hogan | ★★★½ | 105 | Ugly duckling with a strikingly dysfunctional family (and a blustery, small-time politico father) yearns for a happier life, and starts on that road by leaving her home town of Porpoise Spit for Sydney, in the company of her fast-track girlfriend. Not the simple, straight-ahead 'feel good' movie you might expect, but a darker, more idiosyncratic comedy-drama about friendship, dreams, reality, and the joys of ABBA music. A very satisfying film, full of wonderful performances; written by the director. | tt0110598 | [R] | Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Gennie Nevinson, Matt Day, Chris Haywood, Daniel Lapaine | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Murmur of the Heart | 1971 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 118 | Fresh, intelligent, affectionately comic tale of bourgeois, sensuous Massari and her precocious 14-year-old son (Ferreux), builds to a thoroughly delightful resolution. Wonderful performances. | tt0067778 | [R] | Lea Massari, Benoit Ferreux, Daniel Gelin, Marc Winocourt, Michael Lonsdale | French-German-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Murphy's Law | 1986 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 100 | All-too-typical Bronson vehicle about a cop framed for murders by psychopathic ex-con he originally sent to prison; only novelty is that the psycho is a woman (Snodgress). Strictly formula; violent and unpleasant. | tt0091575 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Kathleen Wilhoite, Carrie Snodgress, Robert F. Lyons, Richard Romanus, Angel Tompkins, Bill Henderson, James Luisi, Janet MacLachlan, Lawrence Tierney | Action | NULL | ||
| Murphy's Romance | 1985 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 107 | Young divorcée (with 12-year-old son) makes fresh start in small Arizona community, where she's attracted to older, laid-back, widowed pharmacist— and vice versa. Charming, easygoing comedy written by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr. (from Max Schott's novella), with Garner in a standout performance as Murphy, the last of the rugged individualists. In fact, this earned him his first Oscar nomination. | tt0089643 | [PG-13] | Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin, Corey Haim, Dennis Burkley, Georgann Johnson, Charles Lane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Murphy's War | 1971 | Peter Yates | ★★★ | 108 | Well-staged, gripping action sequences combine with psychological study of Irish seaman (O'Toole) only survivor of German massacre, out to get revenge. Good idea, but nonaction sequences tend to bog film down; script by Stirling Silliphant. | tt0067458 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Sian Phillips, Philippe Noiret, Horst Janson, John Hallam, Ingo Morgendorf | British | War | NULL | |
| Muscle Beach Party | 1964 | William Asher | ★★½ | 94 | Follow-up to BEACH PARTY picks up the pace as the gang finds the beach has been invaded by Rickles and his stable of body-builders. Usual blend of surf, sand, and corn; Rickles' first series appearance and the screen debut of 'Little' Stevie Wonder. Sequel: BIKINI BEACH. | tt0058384 | Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Buddy Hackett, Luciana Paluzzi, Don Rickles, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Morey Amsterdam, Peter Lupus, Candy Johnson, Dan Haggerty | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Muse | 1999 | Albert Brooks | ★★★ | 96 | Brooks plays a Hollywood screenwriter who's told that he's out of touch— until he hooks up with a bona fide muse (Stone), a capricious woman whose working methods are unconventional at best. As with so many of Brooks' movies, the parts are greater than the whole, but his gibes at Hollywood are priceless, and some of the cameo appearances (which we won't give away) are very funny indeed. | tt0164108 | [PG-13] | Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges, Mark Feuerstein, Steven Wright, Bradley Whitford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Music Box | 1989 | Costa-Gavras | ★★½ | 123 | Chicago criminal attorney Lange is thrown for a loop when her Hungarian-immigrant dad is accused of heinous war crimes and threatened with deportation. She defends him in a sensational trial but has trouble— legally and emotionally— proving his innocence. What could have been a crackling political thriller becomes a high-gloss melodrama instead, plodding and far-fetched, though Lange is good in (rare) ethnic role, and Mueller-Stahl is strong as the enigmatic elder. A disappointment from the director of Z and MISSING. | tt0100211 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest, Donald Moffat, Lukas Haas, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Michael Rooker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Music Is Magic | 1935 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 65 | Limp musical with Faye as a struggling vaudevillian who heads for Hollywood. Will she find stardom? Daniels is outstanding as a vain, aging movie star; her young boyfriend (Beck) is named Tony Bennett. | tt0026747 | Alice Faye, Ray Walker, Bebe Daniels, Frank Mitchell, Jack Durant, Rosina Lawrence, Thomas Beck, Hattie McDaniel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Music Lovers | 1971 | Ken Russell | ★★½ | 122 | Occasionally striking but self-indulgent and factually dubious account of Tchaikovsky (Chamberlain), who marries and abandons the whorish Nina (Jackson). Overacted, overdirected. | tt0066109 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Richard Chamberlain, Max Adrian, Christopher Gable, Kenneth Colley | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| The Music Man | 1962 | Morton DaCosta | ★★★½ | 151 | Peerless Preston reprises his Broadway performance as super salesman/ con man Prof. Harold Hill, who mesmerizes Iowa town with visions of uniformed marching band. Faithful filmization of Meredith Willson's affectionate slice of Americana. Score includes '76 Trombones,' 'Till There Was You,' and showstopping 'Trouble.' Remade for TV in 2003. | tt0056262 | Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, Ron Howard | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Music Never Stopped | 2011 | Jim Kohlberg | ★★ | 105 | A father tries to forge a relationship with his estranged son, whose brain tumor has rendered him incapable of creating new memories. Music is the only thing that registers for him, and it's the only language that can bring them together. Predictable medical melodrama isn't for everyone, but the performances (especially Simmons) are well worth watching. Based on a true story, chronicled as an essay by Dr. Oliver Sacks. | tt1613062 | [PG] | J. K. Simmons, Lou Taylor Pucci, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Tammy Blanchard, Mia Maestro, James Urbaniak, Scott Adsit | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Music Teacher | 1988 | Gerard Corbiau | ★★½ | 95 | A familiar plot and stale script sink this musical drama detailing what happens when opera star Van Dam retires at the pinnacle of his fame to train fetching young Roussel and petty thief Volter. The charisma and magnificent singing voice of Van Dam, the Belgian bass-baritone, almost (but not quite) redeem this. | tt0095606 | [PG] | Jose Van Dam, Anne Roussel, Philippe Volter, Sylvie Fennec, Patrick Bauchau, Johan Leyson | Belgian | Drama | NULL | |
| Music Within | 2007 | Steven Sawalich | ★★½ | 104 | Young man from Portland, Oregon, is stymied in pursuing his dream of public speaking, goes to Vietnam instead, and loses his hearing in an explosion. Back home he overcomes his disability and becomes a celebrated advocate for veterans’ rights, but doesn’t fare as well in his private life. True story of Richard Pimentel seems to have the right stuff—including a showy performance by Sheen as a man with cerebral palsy—but winds up resembling a pat TV movie. Further hampered by a heavy-handed '70s jukebox score. | tt0422783 | [R] | Ron Livingston, Melissa George, Michael Sheen, Yul Vazquez, Rebecca De Mornay, Hector Elizondo, Leslie Nielsen, Marion Ross, Clint Howard, Dale Dye | Biography, Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Music and Lyrics | 2007 | Marc Lawrence | ★★½ | 96 | Paper-thin but cute romantic comedy about a washed-up '80s pop star (Grant) who's presented with a big break-getting to perform an original song with a contemporary music star (Bennett)-if he can only find a lyricist with whom he can collaborate. She appears in the unlikely person of a ditzy woman who's supposed to take care of the plants in his N.Y.C. apartment. Grant is at his best, with a steady stream of funny lines. | tt0758766 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garrett, Kristen Johnson, Campbell Scott, Haley Bennett, Aasif Mandvi, Adam Grupper | Comedy, Music, Romance | NULL | ||
| Music for Madame | 1937 | John Blystone. | ★★★ | 81 | Enjoyable musical-comedy vehicle for opera star Martini as an Italian immigrant trying to make good as a singer in Hollywood, used as a patsy by a jewel thief, and turned into a wanted man. Silly plot serves as a showcase for Martini's charm, with some pretty good songs and a colorful array of character comedians. | tt0029277 | Nino Martini, Joan Fontaine, Alan Mowbray, Billy Gilbert, Lee Patrick, Grant Mitchell, Alan Hale, Erik Rhodes, Romo Vincent, Frank Conroy, Jack Carson. | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Music for Millions | 1944 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 120 | Teary tale of war-bride Allyson, a cellist in Iturbi's orchestra, gallantly waiting to have a baby— and for husband's return. O'Brien is her precocious kid sister. While there's plenty of Chopin and Debussy, Durante steals film with 'Umbriago.' Watch for Ava Gardner in a bit. | tt0037104 | Margaret O'Brien, Jimmy Durante, June Allyson, Marsha Hunt, Hugh Herbert, Jose Iturbi, Connie Gilchrist, Harry Davenport, Marie Wilson, Larry Adler, Ethel Griffies | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Music in Manhattan | 1944 | John H. Auer. | ★★ | 80 | Song-and-dance team partners Shirley and Day are engaged, but circumstances force her to pretend she's married to war hero Terry. Three guesses what happens next. Competent, thoroughly innocuous wartime musical, indistinguishable from scads of others. | tt0037105 | Anne Shirley, Phillip Terry, Dennis Day, Raymond Walburn, Jane Darwell, Patti Brill, Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra, Nilo Menendez and His Rhumba Band. | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Music in My Heart | 1940 | Joseph Santley. | ★★½ | 69 | Cheerful grade-B musical about a singer wanted for deportation who hides out with a friendly family in a colorful, multiethnic N.Y.C. neighborhood. The cast couldn't be more appealing, and Tony warbles some good songs (including 'It's a Blue World') by Robert Wright and Chet Forrest. | tt0032823 | Tony Martin, Rita Hayworth, Edith Fellows, Alan Mowbray, George Tobias, Joseph Crehan, George Humbert. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Music in the Air | 1934 | Joe May. | ★★★ | 85 | Quarrelsome leading lady Swanson and lyricist Boles are both distracted by the arrival of young songwriter Montgomery and pretty Lang. Predictable plot given chic treatment; good Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein score enhances bright production. | tt0025536 | Gloria Swanson, John Boles, Douglass Montgomery, June Lang, Reginald Owen, Al Shean. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Music of Chance | 1993 | Philip Haas | ★★½ | 98 | A man gives a lift to a fellow stumbling alongside a country road, learns he's a high-stakes poker player, and decides to back him in an upcoming game against two eccentric millionaires. Low-key adaptation of Paul Auster's existential novel offers as many questions as answers while it spins its interesting— but oddball— tale. Coscripted by director Haas, a documentarian making his feature debut. Superior performances by a hand-picked cast; Spader is a particular standout as a slimeball with his own peculiar code of ethics. | tt0107623 | James Spader, Mandy Patinkin, M. Emmet Walsh, Charles Durning, Joel Grey, Samantha Mathis, Christopher Penn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Music of the Heart | 1999 | Wes Craven | ★★★ | 124 | Newly single woman moves to East Harlem and starts a violin class, against all odds, giving her kids a sense of discipline, purpose, and pride. Pamela Gray's script sidesteps the obvious as often as possible, and makes many of the student characters worth caring about. Reaches its emotional peak before the climactic concert— but still a sweet, upbeat film. Inspired by the documentary SMALL WONDERS about the real-life Roberta Guaspari. Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and many other noted musicians appear as themselves. | tt0166943 | [PG] | Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett, Gloria Estefan, Jane Leeves, Cloris Leachman, Kieran Culkin, Charlie Hofheimer, Jay O. Sanders | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Musketeer | 2001 | Peter Hyams | 💣 | 105 | Clumsily revamped version of THE THREE MUSKETEERS crams in Hong Kong-style martial arts action, but loses many of the characters— not to mention the charm and wit— from the novel. The Three Musketeers barely get a word in! Drab looking, badly photographed (by the director), and seemingly endless, this unattractive film may be the worst version ever of Dumas' evergreen. | tt0246544 | [PG-13] | Catherine Deneuve, Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Tim Roth, Justin Chambers, Bill Treacher, Daniel Mesguich, Nick Moran, Steven Speirs, Jan Gregor Kremp | German-U.S.-Luxembourg | Action, Drama, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |
| Musketeers of the Sea | 1960 | Massimo Patrizi | ★★ | 116 | Anonymous sea yarn, standard in all departments, involving search for gold in Maracaibo. | tt0054104 |
|
Robert Alda, Pier Angeli, Aldo Ray | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Must Love Dogs | 2005 | Gary David Goldberg | ★★½ | 98 | Amiable if unremarkable romantic comedy about two divorced people who meet through an Internet personals ad: a woman whose family insists she start dating again, and a guy whose best friend does likewise. Sheer likability of the two stars carries this a long way over familiar territory. | tt0417001 | [PG-13] | Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Dermot Mulroney, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Tony Bill, Ben Shenkman, Brad Hall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Must Read After My Death | 2009 | Morgan Dews | ★★½ | 73 | A woman dies, leaving behind hours of audio recordings and home movies. Dews is her grandson; from this material, he has fashioned an unsettling portrait of an outwardly happy but tragically dysfunctional American family. While the film offers the point of view that families suffered greatly because of predetermined gender roles in prefeminist 1960s America, there also is the sense that Dews is disrespecting his relatives’ privacy. Watching this film is akin to peeking through a window and staring at an open wound. Dews wrote, directed, produced, and edited. | tt1249414 | Unrated | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Mustang Country | 1976 | John Champion | ★★★ | 79 | Excellent Western set along Montana-Canadian border in 1925. 70-year-old McCrea most convincing as ex-rancher and rodeo star who shares adventures with runaway Indian boy while hunting a wild stallion. | tt0074940 | [G] | Joel McCrea, Robert Fuller, Patrick Wayne, Nika Mina | Western | NULL | ||
| Mutant Chronicles | 2008 | Simon Hunter | ★½ | 101 | Necromutants unleashed on the planet Earth strive (for no apparent reason other than it’s what they do) to turn all humans into violent, blood-lusting creatures like themselves. Perlman plays a monk who believes he’s the one to bring the mutants down, and rounds up a group of miscreant soldiers to help. By the time they do, who cares? Futuristic blood-and-guts thriller takes itself much too seriously; not even worth watching for a laugh. Drawn from the popular role-playing board game. | tt0490181 | [R] | Ron Perlman, Thomas Jane, Devon Aoki, Sean Pertwee, Benno Fürmann, John Malkovich, Anna Walton, Tom Wu, Steve Toussaint, Luis Echegaray | U.S.-British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Mutations | Freakmaker | 1973 | Jack Cardiff | ★★ | 92 | Scientist Pleasence crossbreeds humans with plants— and his unsuspecting university students are abducted as guinea pigs. Predictable story with truly grotesque elements and characters. Not recommended for dinnertime viewing. Video title: THE FREAKMAKER. | tt0070423 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris, Julie Ege, Michael Dunn, Jill Haworth | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Mute Witness | 1995 | Anthony Waller | ★★½ | 98 | The mute makeup artist on an American horror movie being shot in Moscow sees a snuff film being shot after-hours, and soon finds hit men from the Russian Mafia out to kill her. Impressive directing debut for Waller, who makes superb use of locations, but his script is second-rate; the story goes on too long, and is riddled with coincidences. Alec Guinness, in his final film, appears unbilled as a master criminal. | tt0110604 | [R] | Marina Sudina, Fay Ripley, Evan Richards, Oleg Jankowskij, Igor Volkow, Sergei Karlenkov, Alex Bureew | British-German-Russian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Mutineers | 1949 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★½ | 60 | Sloppy account of sailor Hall, who becomes immersed in shipboard intrigue. Retitled PIRATE SHIP. | tt0041670 | Jon Hall, Adele Jergens, George Reeves, Noel Cravat. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mutiny | 1952 | Edward Dmytryk | ★½ | 77 | Angela Lansbury, Patric Knowles, Gene Evans, Rhys Williams. Sleep-inducing actioner set amidst the War of 1812, with rival sailors Stevens and Knowles vying for adventuress Lansbury. | tt0044936 | Mark Stevens | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1935 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★★ | 132 | Storytelling at its best, in this engrossing adaptation of the Nordhoff-Hall book about mutiny against tyrannical Captain Bligh (Laughton) on voyage to the South Seas. Whole cast is good, but Laughton is unforgettable. Scripted by three top writers: Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, and Carey Wilson. Oscar winner for Best Picture; leagues ahead of its 1962 remake and the 1984 film THE BOUNTY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026752 | Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin, Eddie Quillan, Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp, Movita, Henry Stephenson, Spring Byington, Ian Wolfe, Mamo | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1962 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 179 | Lavish remake of 1935 classic can't come near it, although visually beautiful; Howard good as Captain Bligh, but Brando is all wrong as Fletcher Christian. Best thing about this version is spectacular score by Bronislau Kaper. | tt0056264 | Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Richard Haydn, Tim Seely, Percy Herbert, Tarita, Gordon Jackson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Mutual Appreciation | 2006 | Andrew Bujalski | ★★★ | 110 | Deadpan indie about an alternative rock musician who moves to N.Y.C. in search of a gig, stays with an old buddy and his girlfriend, and frets about romance and life. Ultra-ultra low-budget film has some stretches of tedium, but writer/director/editor Bujalski creates an improvisational mood of quiet, gently comic 20-something angst that few films achieve. The characters look, sound, and feel like real human beings. | tt0446747 | [R] | Justin Rice, Rachel Cliff, Andrew Bujalski, Seung-Min Lee, Kevin Micka, Bill Morrison. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My 20th Century | 1989 | Ildiko Enyedi | ★★★ | 92 | Compelling tale of twin sisters, born in 1880 Budapest, who are separated during childhood; one becomes a seductress, the other an anarchist. Enyedi incisively depicts an era that begins with promise, as Thomas Edison (Andorai) demonstrates the wonders of electricity, but develops into an age in which human relations do not keep pace with technological innovation. Segda is excellent as both sisters, and also appears as their mother. Enyedi also scripted. | tt0096863 | Dorotha Segda, Oleg Jankovskij, Paulus Manker, Peter Andorai, Gabor Maté | Hungarian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Afternoons with Margueritte | 2010 | Jean Becker | ★★½ | 86 | Mildly eccentric, near-illiterate handyman with mother issues strikes up an in-the-park conversation with a lover of books (well into her '90s) who resides in a nearby home for the aged. Sparks strike—intellectually, we mean—and a once underutilized mind suddenly kicks into gear. Story lays it on thick all the way through an unlikely finale, but two engaged leads and the short running time deter the conclusion that the film isn't much more than pedestrian. Born in 1914, actress Casadesus is actually close in age to the character she's playing. Based on a novel by Marie-Sabine Roger. | tt1455151 | Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, François-Xavier Demaison, Maurane, Patrick Bouchitey, Jean-François Stévenin, Claire Maurier | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My American Cousin | 1985 | Sandy Wilson | ★★★ | 95 | Well-acted, nostalgic coming-of-age story set in British Columbia in the summer of 1959, about a young girl's infatuation with her James Dean-like California cousin. Winner of six Genie awards (Canada's Oscar) including Best Picture. Donat is Robert Donat's nephew. Followed by a sequel, AMERICAN BOYFRIENDS. | tt0089647 | [PG] | Margaret Langrick, John Wildman, Richard Donat, Jane Mortifee | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| My Architect | 2003 | Nathaniel Kahn | ★★★★ | 116 | The illegitimate son of noted American architect Louis Kahn sets out to learn about his father, who died when the boy was 11. He visits his father's buildings around the world, talks to friends, colleagues (including such admiring architects as Philip Johnson, I.M. Pei, and Frank Gehry), and members of Kahn's 'alternate' families. In making such a personal odyssey, the younger Kahn comes up with something much more resonant and universal; a quietly profound and beautiful film about dreams, goals, disappointments, and realities. | tt0373175 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| My Baby's Daddy | 2004 | Cheryl Dunye | 💣 | 86 | 'Comedy' with alleged heart is story of three buddies (and roommates) whose three girlfriends all become pregnant around the same time. All-too-predictable antics ensue as they grapple with raising infants while still trying to grow up themselves. Griffin was also cowriter and coproducer of this time waster. | tt0332712 | [PG-13] | Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli, Paula Jai Parker, Joanna Bacalso, Bai Ling, Marsha Thomason, Bobb'e J. Thompson, *** Method Man, Amy Sedaris, John Amos, Tom 'Tiny' Lister/ Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Beautiful Laundrette | 1985 | Stephen Frears | ★★★½ | 98 | Extremely entertaining, perceptive examination of both race relations and the economic state in Britain, centering on a pair of young friends, Omar (Warnecke) and Johnny (Day-Lewis), and what happens when they take over a beat-up laundrette. On-target script by Hanif Kureishi, a Pakistani playwright who resides in England. Originally made for British TV. | tt0091578 | [R] | Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, Derrick Branche, Shirley Anne Field | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| My Best Fiend | 1999 | Werner Herzog | ★★★½ | 95 | Klaus Kinski starred in many of Werner Herzog's most notable films, but his intensity, ego and near-demented behavior made the productions tough going for everyone; at times the director and star actually plotted to murder each other. Hosting this unique documentary, Herzog revisits the locations of his Kinski films, musing over the actor's bizarre behavior. Funny, insightful, touching and deeply engrossing, it can't really explain Kinski, but it's a grand journey. Claudia Cardinale and Eva Mattes are among those interviewed. | tt0200849 | German-British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| My Best Friend | 2006 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 94 | Charming comedy about an antique dealer (Auteuil) who pays more attention to objects than human beings. Challenged by business associates who claim he has no personal life, he claims that he can produce a “best friend” and then desperately tries to find one, settling on talkative, outgoing cabdriver Boon. | tt0778784 | [PG-13] | Daniel Auteuil, Dany Boon, Julie Gayet, Julie Durand, Henri Garcin, Jacques Mathou, Marie Pillet, Jacques Spiesser | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| My Best Friend Is a Vampire | 1988 | Jimmy Huston | ★½ | 90 | One-joke comedy, in the wake of TEEN WOLF, has a high-school kid transformed into a vampire and trying to cope with it as a fact of life. Solid supporting cast does what it can to help. | tt0095684 | [PG] | Robert Sean Leonard, Evan Mirand, Cheryl Pollak, Rene Auberjonois, Cecilia Peck, Fannie Flagg, Kenneth Kimmins, David Warner, Paul Wilson | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| My Best Friend's Girl | 1983 | Bertrand Blier | ★★½ | 99 | Medium sex comedy with Lhermitte bringing home pick-up Huppert; she moves in, and his best friend (Coluche) falls for her. A familiar Blier theme (the sexual relationship between one woman and two men) is indifferently handled. | tt0085529 | Coluche, Isabelle Huppert, Thierry Lhermitte, Daniel Colas, Francois Perrot | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Best Friend's Wedding | 1997 | P. J. Hogan | ★★★ | 105 | Roberts and Mulroney are old friends, and former lovers, who have pacted to wed at age 28 if they're both still single. When Mulroney springs fiancée Diaz on Julia, she starts to freak out and tries to sabotage the nuptials. Smart and funny romantic comedy (written by Ronald Bass) with Roberts scoring in a tailor-made role, and Everett stealing every scene he's in as her gay pal. | tt0119738 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, Philip Bosco, M. Emmet Walsh, Rachel Griffiths, Carrie Preston, Susan Sullivan, Chris Masterson, Harry Shearer | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Best Friend’s Girl | 2008 | Howard Deutch | ★★ | 102 | In the world according to this aggressively foulmouthed but only fitfully funny comedy, any guy who’s dumped by his girlfriend can win her back simply by paying Tank (Cook), a smooth-talking rogue, to treat her to the worst date of her life. Complications arise when Tank genuinely falls for the lovely former flame (Hudson) of his best buddy (Biggs). Baldwin steals scenes right and left as Cook’s equally swinish college-professor father. Cop-out ending plays like a last-minute improvised compromise. Unrated version runs 112m. | tt1046163 | [R] | Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Alec Baldwin, Diora Baird, Lizzy Caplan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Best Girl | 1927 | Sam Taylor. | ★★★ | 80 | Pickford's final silent feature is a slick (if strictly formulaic) romantic comedy about a five-and-dime stock girl who's attracted to the handsome new stock boy; he's the boss' son, working in disguise. Crowd-pleasing star vehicle was the only Pickford-Rogers screen pairing; they later married. | tt0018183 | Mary Pickford, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Sunshine Hart, Lucien Littlefield, Carmelita Geraghty, Hobart Bosworth, Evelyn Hall, Mack Swain. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | 2002 | Joel Zwick | ★★½ | 95 | Amiable comedy about a Greek-American woman trying to break free of her family's stifling adherence to old-world customs and falling in love with a WASP. You don't have to be Greek to relate to her story, especially with old pros like Constantine and Kazan as her parents. Expansion of Vardalos' one-woman show is slight, predictable, and sometimes broad, but entertaining, and became an unexpected box-office smash. Written by its star. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are coproducers. Later a TV series. | tt0259446 | [PG] | Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, Gia Carides, Louis Mandylor | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Big Fat Independent Movie | 2005 | Philip Zlotorynski | 💣 | 80 | Two hit men hook up with a man mistaken for a fellow professional to pull off a 'botched robbery' in Las Vegas. SCARY MOVIE-style treatment of independent cinema (PULP FICTION, SWINGERS, etc.,) is unfunny, self-indulgent, and a struggle to watch. Brought to you, in part, by the folks at Film Threat. | tt0385890 | [R] | Paget Brewster, Neil Barton, Ashley Head, Eric Hoffman, Brian Krow, Darren Keefe, Clint Howard; voice of Jason Mewes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Bill | 1938 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 64 | Heart-tugging soaper about well-meaning, poverty-stricken small-town widow Francis and her four children; three are ingrates, but the youngest, Bill (Moore), is extra-special. Originally filmed in 1930 as COURAGE. | tt0030479 | Kay Francis, Bonita Granville, Anita Louise, Bobby Jordan, John Litel, Dickie Moore, Elisabeth Risdon | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Blood Runs Cold | 1965 | William Conrad | ★★½ | 104 | Young man thinks girl is long-dead ancestor, and recalls love affair from generations before. Not all that bad, but not worth missing I Love Lucy for, either. | tt0059487 | Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, Barry Sullivan, Jeanette Nolan | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Bloody Valentine | 1981 | George Mihalka | ★½ | 91 | Another gory HALLOWEEN/FRIDAY THE 13th clone. Coal miner axes various victims (male as well as female) in the friendly little town of Valentine Bluffs. Ecch. | tt0082782 | [R] | Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, Neil Affleck, Keith Knight, Alf Humphreys | Canadian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| My Bloody Valentine | 2009 | Patrick Lussier | ★½ | 101 | Remake of notorious 1981 slasher flick relied on 3-D gimmickry to increase the shock value of its full-bore gore in theatrical release. In 2-D it’s just a routine reprise of a low-budget horror opus that wasn’t very good to begin with. While a masked killer fatally applies a pickaxe to various unfortunates in a small mining town, local sheriff Smith suspects a recently returned mining-company heir (Ackles), the ex-boyfriend of the sheriff’s wife (King), is behind the killing spree. Rue deserves some sort of good sport prize for remaining feisty and formidable during one of the longest displays of gratuitous nudity in the history of horror movies. Released to theaters as MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D. | tt1179891 | [R] | Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue, Tom Atkins, Kevin Tighe | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| My Blue Heaven | 1950 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 96 | Pleasing musicomedy with Grable and Dailey as radio stars who try to adopt a child. | tt0042767 | Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, David Wayne, Jane Wyatt, Mitzi Gaynor, Una Merkel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| My Blue Heaven | 1990 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 95 | Lightweight but entertaining comedy about an Italian hood from N.Y.C. who's moved to suburban California as part of the FBI's witness protection program, where he's watched over by straight-arrow G-man Moranis. No fireworks, but does have some good laughs, and enjoyable performances. Written by Nora Ephron. | tt0100212 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Joan Cusack, Melanie Mayron, Bill Irwin, Carol Kane, William Hickey, Deborah Rush, Daniel Stern, Ed Lauter, Julie Bovasso, Colleen Camp | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Blueberry Nights | 2008 | Wong Kar Wai | ★½ | 90 | Jones is a sweet, sensitive young woman in N.Y.C. with romantic problems who makes a friend in cafe owner Law—the dreamiest, most unlikely counter man in all of Manhattan. Balance of film takes place in Memphis and out West, with Jones on a personal, solo odyssey to . . . nowhere. Good cast is wasted; jazz-pop sensation Jones is all too obviously an acting tyro. Inauspicious English-language debut for the noted Hong Kong filmmaker, for whom style often trumps story. | tt0765120 | [PG-13] | Norah Jones, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, David Strathairn, Natalie Portman, Frankie Faison, Chan Marshall | Hong Kong-French | Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| My Bodyguard | 1980 | Tony Bill | ★★½ | 96 | Pleasant little film about high-school boy who hires a behemoth classmate to protect him from toughs at school. Totally likable but ultimately simplistic comedy-drama. Filmed in and around Chicago; look for Tim Kazurinsky, George Wendt, and Jennifer Beals as a classmate. Bill's directorial debut. | tt0081207 | [PG] | Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Martin Mull, Ruth Gordon, Matt Dillon, John Houseman, Joan Cusack, Craig Richard Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Boss's Daughter | 2003 | David Zucker | 💣 | 86 | Smitten with the title girl of his dreams (Reid), Kutcher is trapped into house-sitting for her wealthy father, a clean-freak who warns him against letting the inevitable happen: the thorough trashing of the family mansion. The leads have no chemistry in this trendily crude comedy that makes a short running time seem longer than the uncut GREED. This sat on the shelf for a couple of years before being dumped on the market. R-rated version also available. | tt0270980 | [PG-13] | Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Jeffrey Tambor, Andy Richter, Michael Madsen, Terence Stamp, Jon Abrahams, David Koechner, Carmen Electra, Molly Shannon, Kenan Thompson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Boy | 1921 | Albert Austin, Victor Heerman. | ★★½ | 43 | A little refugee who's about to be deported escapes from Ellis Island to confront his uncertain future in America. A crusty old sea captain and the boy's desperate (and wealthy) grandmother figure significantly. Silent cinema's most revered child star, age 7, is appealing as ever. Sentimental almost to a fault, but it works. | tt0012486 | Jackie Coogan, Claude Gillingwater, Mathilde Brundage, Patsy Marks. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| My Boyfriend's Back | 1993 | Bob Balaban | ★½ | 84 | Terminally moronic comedy about a teen (Lowery) who is killed and comes back to life to take pretty Lind to the prom. Easy-to-please thirteen-year-olds might like it; others, beware. Talented cast is wasted. | tt0107626 | [PG-13] | Andrew Lowery, Traci Lind, Danny Zorn, Edward Herrmann, Mary Beth Hurt, Matthew Fox, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Austin Pendleton, Cloris Leachman, Jay O. Sanders, Paul Dooley, Bob Dishy, Paxton Whitehead, Renée Zellweger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Boys Are Good Boys | 1978 | Bethel Buckalew | ★½ | 90 | Odd little film mixes 1940s approach to juvenile delinquency with far-fetched story of teenagers robbing armored car. Produced by Meeker and his wife. | tt0077962 | [PG] | Ralph Meeker, Ida Lupino, Lloyd Nolan, David Doyle, Sean T. Roche | Crime | NULL | ||
| My Brilliant Career | 1979 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★★½ | 101 | Excellent portrait of a headstrong young woman determined to live a life of independent and intelligent pursuits in turn-of-the-century Australia. Armstrong's eye for detail and Davis' performance dominate this fine import, based on a true story. | tt0079596 | [G] | Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb, Max Cullen, Pat Kennedy | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| My Brother Talks to Horses | 1946 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★ | 93 | Gimmick comedy that's fun at the start but drags to slow finish. | tt0038761 | 'Butch' Jenkins, Peter Lawford, Beverly Tyler, Edward Arnold, Charlie Ruggles, Spring Byington | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Brother is an Only Child | 2007 | Daniele Luchetti | ★★★ | 108 | Absorbing tale of two brothers’ relationship through the tumultuous 1960s and ’70s. The older sibling (Scamarcio) is a Communist agitator, while the younger one (Germano) aligns himself—at first—with old-line Fascists. They also come to care for the same woman. From raucously funny family scenes to highly dramatic events, the film remains more personal than political, which is why it’s so affecting. Screenplay by Luchetti and the team that wrote THE BEST OF YOUTH, Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. | tt0846040 | Elio Germano, Riccardo Scamarcio, Diane Fleri, Angela Finocchiaro, Alba Rohrwacher, Vittorio Emanuele Propizio | Italian-French | Drama, Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Brother's Keeper | 1948 | Alfred Roome | ★★ | 96 | Hunt-the-escaped-convicts film has gimmick of the two escaped prisoners being handcuffed together. | tt0040624 | Jack Warner, Jane Hylton, George Cole, Bill Owen, David Tomlinson, Christopher Lee | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Brother's Wedding | 1983 | Charles Burnett | ★★★ | 115 | Impressive, knowing tragicomedy from the talented director of TO SLEEP WITH ANGER, about a 30-year-old product of the Watts ghetto who is pleased with his lot in life and despises his lawyer brother's upward mobility. Now he reluctantly agrees to be best man at his brother's nuptials. Impressively captures the urban black experience. | tt0087763 | Everett Silas, Jessie Holmes, Gaye Shannon-Burnett, Ronnie Bell, Dennis Kemper, Sally Easter | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Chauffeur | 1986 | David Beaird | ★★ | 97 | Heavily male chauvinist chauffeur service has to contend not only with Foreman's hiring, but her emergence as the most popular employee on the staff. Strange mix of 30s screwball with today's cruder comedies doesn't really come off, yet is enough of a curiosity to keep you watching. | tt0091579 | [R] | Deborah Foreman, Sam J. Jones, E.G. Marshall, Sean McClory, Howard Hesseman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Country, My Country | 2006 | Laura Poitras | ★★★½ | 90 | Dr. Riyadh feels it is his obligation to run for office, to serve his community and his country, but the inherent danger frightens his family, and the actions of the U.S. forces cause nothing but anger and frustration. An intimate look at the ripple effect of the American occupation on the Iraqi people. Originally aired on PBS' series P.O.V. | tt0810983 | Heartrending (and eye-opening) documentary follows a civic-minded humanitarian Sunni doctor during the months leading up to the January 2005 elections in Iraq. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| My Cousin Rachel | 1952 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 98 | Successful filmization of Daphne du Maurier mystery, with Burton (in his American debut) trying to discover if de Havilland is guilty or innocent of murder and intrigue. | tt0044937 | Olivia de Havilland, Richard Burton, Audrey Dalton, John Sutton, Ronald Squire | Mystery, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Cousin Vinny | 1992 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★½ | 119 | Very likable (if much too lackadaisical) comedy about Brooklyn 'lawyer' Pesci's attempt to defend his innocent cousin (Macchio) and a friend on a murder charge in the Deep South. Pesci is perfect in a tailor-made part, and Tomei (in an Oscar-winning performance) is a delight to watch as his girlfriend. But there's no reason for this simple comedy to take so long to get where it's going. | tt0104952 | [R] | Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Fred Gwynne, Lane Smith, Austin Pendleton, Bruce McGill | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| My Darling Clementine | 1946 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 97 | Beautifully directed, low-key Western about Wyatt Earp (Fonda) and Doc Holliday (Mature), leading to inevitable gunfight at O.K. Corral. Full of wonderful details and vignettes; exquisitely photographed by Joseph P. MacDonald. One of director Ford's finest films, and an American classic. Screenplay by Samuel G. Engel and Winston Miller, from a story by Sam Hellman. Based on a book by Stuart N. Lake. Remake of FRONTIER MARSHAL (1939). In 1994 an archival print was found of the 104m. preview version, containing a number of minor differences and a slightly different finale. | tt0038762 | Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature, Walter Brennan, Cathy Downs, Tim Holt, Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, John Ireland, Jane Darwell, Grant Withers, J. Farrell MacDonald | Western | NULL | |||
| My Dear Secretary | 1948 | Charles Martin | ★★½ | 94 | Entertaining (if trivial) comedy of wannabe writer Day hiring on as secretary to best-selling author Douglas. Wynn steals the show as Douglas' comical pal. | tt0040626 | Laraine Day, Kirk Douglas, Keenan Wynn, Helen Walker, Rudy Vallee, Florence Bates, Alan Mowbray | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Demon Lover | 1987 | Charlie Loventhal | ★★ | 86 | Trendy horror comedy has Valentine turning into a variety of monsters whenever he becomes sexually aroused, with Little the modern girl who tries to save him. Cast, including knockout beauty Gallego, is far better than the special effects-oriented material would indicate. | tt0093589 | [PG-13] | Scott Valentine, Michelle Little, Arnold Johnson, Gina Gallego, Robert Trebor | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| My Dinner With Andre | 1981 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 110 | Playwright-actor Shawn has dinner with his old friend, theater director Gregory, who's been having a series of strange life experiences; they talk about them and their philosophies for nearly two hours. A daring and unique film, written by its two principals, with moments of insight, drama, and hilarity— but not enough to sustain a feature-length film. | tt0082783 | [PG] | Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Dog Skip | 2000 | Jay Russell | ★★★ | 95 | Sweet (but not cloying) family film based on Mississippi-born author Willie Morris' memoir of growing up in the 1940s with his beloved English fox terrier, who helps see him through childhood, boyhood, adolescence and young manhood. Warm and winning for grownups as well as children . . . but have a handkerchief handy! | tt0156812 | [PG] | Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Kevin Bacon, Luke Wilson, Caitlin Wachs, Bradley Coryell, Clint Howard; narrated by Harry Connick/Jr. | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| My Dog Tulip | 2010 | Paul Fierlinger, Sandra Fierlinger | ★★ | 82 | Hand-crafted animated feature based on J. R. Ackerley’s famous book about his enduring love for a German shepherd. Plummer narrates as the witty and iconoclastic author, for whom Tulip could do no wrong. Visually striking but awfully low-key; alternately amusing and arch. | tt0843358 | Unrated | Voices of Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, Isabella Rossellini, Peter Gerety, Brian Murray, Paul Hecht | Drama, Animation | NULL | ||
| My Dream Is Yours | 1949 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 101 | Carson makes Day a radio star in standard musicomedy; highlights are Bugs Bunny dream sequence, Edgar Kennedy's performance as Day's uncle. Remake of TWENTY MILLION SWEETHEARTS, with Doris stepping into Dick Powell's role (and reprising the 1934 hit 'I'll String Along With You'). | tt0041671 | Jack Carson, Doris Day, Lee Bowman, Adolphe Menjou, Eve Arden | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| My Fair Lady | 1964 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 170 | Ultrasmooth filmization of Lerner and Loewe's enchanting musical from Shaw's PYGMALION, with Prof. Henry Higgins (Harrison) transforming guttersnipe Hepburn into regal lady, to win a bet. Sumptuously filmed, with 'The Rain in Spain,' Harrison's soliloquys among highlights. Eight Oscars include Picture, Actor, Director, Cinematography (Harry Stradling), Costumes (Cecil Beaton), Score Adaptation (Andre Previn), Art Direction (Beaton and Gene Allen). | tt0058385 | Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel, Henry Daniell, Mona Washbourne, Isobel Elsom | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Family/Mi Familia | 1995 | Gregory Nava | ★★★ | 128 | A Mexican-American writer (Olmos) looks back at his family's colorful history since immigrating to L.A. in the 1920s. Evocative, well-cast, multigenerational saga indulges in melodrama at times, but never seems false, and redeems itself with a healthy sense of humor. Written by Nava and producer Anna Thomas, who also made EL NORTE. | tt0113896 | [R] | Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Edward James Olmos, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Jenny Gago, Elpidia Carrillo, Lupe Ontiveros, Jacob Vargas, Jennifer Lopez, Maria Canals, Leon Singer, Michael De Lorenzo, Jonathan Hernandez, Constance Marie, Mary Steenburgen, Scott Bakula, DeDee Pfeiffer | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Father Is Coming | 1991 | Monika Treut | ★★★ | 82 | Engrossing low-budget drama of German-born Kastner, who's struggling to find someone to love (whether it be male or female), and make it as an actress in N.Y.C.; her father's visit proves to be an awakening for both parent and child. In its best moments, an astute commentary on the importance of accepting who you are, as well as the differences in others. Notable for the appearances of porn star/performance artist Annie Sprinkle and 'modern primitive' Fakir Musafar (who must be seen to be believed). | tt0102491 | Alfred Edel, Shelley Kastner, Mary Lou Graulau, David Bronstein, Michael Massee, Annie Sprinkle, Fakir Musafar | German | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Father The Hero | 1994 | Steve Miner | ★★★ | 90 | Longtime absentee father takes his resentful 14-year-old daughter on a Caribbean vacation, where (to impress potential suitors) she spins a web of lies— starting with the 'fact' that he's not her father, but her lover. Depardieu recreates his role from the 1991 French film MON PÈRE, CE HÉROS, and brings his considerable charisma and credibility to a potentially silly comedy, making it a lot of fun. | tt0110612 | [PG] | Gérard Depardieu, Katherine Heigl, Dalton James, Lauren Hutton, Faith Prince, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ann Hearn, Robyn Peterson, Frank Renzulli | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Father's Glory | 1990 | Yves Robert | ★★★½ | 110 | Richly rewarding reminiscence, set in rural France at the turn of the century, chronicling the life of a precocious little boy and his family and a summer trip to Provence, where the child becomes immersed in the country and village life. Based on Marcel Pagnol's childhood memoirs. This is storytelling, and moviemaking, of the first order. The story continues in MY MOTHER'S CASTLE. | tt0099669 | [G] | Philippe Caubere, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain, Therese Liotard, Julien Caimaca | French | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| My Favorite Blonde | 1942 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 78 | Bob and his trained penguin become sitting ducks when spy Madeleine uses them to help deliver secret orders; very funny WW2 Hope vehicle. | tt0035100 | Bob Hope, Madeleine Carroll, Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco, Victor Varconi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Favorite Brunette | 1947 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 87 | Better-than-usual Hope nonsense with Bob as a photographer mixed up with mobsters; Lorre and Chaney add authenticity. Two very funny surprise cameos at beginning and end of film. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039645 | Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney, John Hoyt, Reginald Denny | Comedy, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |||
| My Favorite Martian | 1999 | Donald Petrie | ★★ | 93 | Strictly juvenile update of the 1960s TV sitcom, with Lloyd as the Martian who lands on Earth and moves in with good-natured lunkhead Daniels, a TV news producer. Broad, sometimes crass special-effects comedy for undemanding kids. The presence of Walston (from the original show) may bring a smile to those who remember the series. An unbilled Wayne Knight provides the voice of the Suit. | tt0120764 | [PG] | Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Hurley, Daryl Hannah, Wallace Shawn, Christine Ebersole, Michael Lerner, Ray Walston | Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| My Favorite Spy | 1951 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 93 | Bob resembles murdered spy, finds himself thrust into international intrigue. Fast-moving fun, with glamorous Hedy aiding Bob on all counts. | tt0043827 | Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr, Francis L. Sullivan, Mike Mazurki, John Archer, Iris Adrian, Arnold Moss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Favorite Wife | 1940 | Garson Kanin | ★★★ | 88 | Dunne, supposedly dead, returns to U.S. to find hubby Grant remarried to Patrick, in familiar but witty marital mixup, remade as MOVE OVER, DARLING. Inspired by Enoch Arden; Grant's character even has the same last name. Produced and co-written (with Sam and Bella Spewack) by Leo McCarey. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029284 | Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Gail Patrick, Randolph Scott, Ann Shoemaker, Scotty Beckett, Donald MacBride | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Favorite Year | 1982 | Richard Benjamin | ★★★ | 92 | Enjoyable comedy about a young writer on TV's top comedy show in 1954 who's given the job of chaperoning that week's guest star, screen swashbuckler and off-screen carouser Alan Swann (O'Toole, in a tailor-made role). Shifts gears, and focus, a bit too often, but has many good moments, and likable performances (including Bologna as Sid Caesar-ish TV star). The woman O'Toole dances with in night club is 1930s leading lady Gloria Stuart. Benjamin's directorial debut. Musicalized on Broadway a decade later (also with Kazan). | tt0084370 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Anne DeSalvo, Lou Jacobi, Adolph Green, George Wyner, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Fellow Americans | 1996 | Peter Segal | ★★★ | 101 | Two ex-presidents of the U.S.— longtime enemies— are forced to work together to uncover a plot to blame one of them for a dirty deal conducted by the current head of state. On the lam and left to their own devices, they have to deal with ordinary citizens for the first time in years. Breezy comedy, short on subtlety and long on punchlines and occasional bathroom humor . . . but it works, thanks to the charisma and professionalism of Lemmon and Garner. Bacall (as Lemmon's wife) has almost nothing to do. | tt0117119 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, John Heard, Bradley Whitford, Sela Ward, Wilford Brimley, Esther Rolle | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My First Mister | 2001 | Christine Lahti | ★★★½ | 109 | A suicidal teenaged girl who hates her life, and especially hates her parents, is unexpectedly attracted to a schlumpy middle-aged clothing salesman. Soon, she is affecting his outlook on life as much as he is hers. A wonderfully fresh comedy-drama written by Jill Franklyn, with great performances by the two stars. An impressive feature directing debut for Lahti. | tt0206963 | [R] | Leelee Sobieski, Albert Brooks, Desmond Harrington, Carol Kane, Mary Kay Place, John Goodman, Michael McKean, Rutanya Alda | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| My First Wife | 1984 | Paul Cox | ★★½ | 95 | Painful, provocative drama about self-centered man who literally goes crazy when his wife leaves him after 10 years. Achingly real, superbly acted, but slow and talky at times. Cox coscripted with Bob Ellis, based on his own experiences. | tt0087765 | John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, Lucy Angwin, Anna Jemison, David Cameron | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Foolish Heart | 1949 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 98 | Deftly handled sentimental WW2 romance tale between soldier Andrews and Hayward; Victor Young's lovely theme helps. Based on J. D. Salinger's story 'Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut,' the only one of the author's works ever adapted to film. | tt0041672 | Dana Andrews, Susan Hayward, Kent Smith, Lois Wheeler, Jessie Royce Landis, Robert Keith, Gigi Perreau | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Forbidden Past | 1951 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 81 | Silly tripe about Gardner, who's got a skeleton in her family closet, seeking revenge on Mitchum for jilting her. Fast-moving, watchable nonsense set in antebellum New Orleans. | tt0043828 | Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Janis Carter | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Friend Flicka | 1943 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★★ | 89 | Sentimental story of boy who loves rebellious horse; nicely done, beautifully filmed in color. Followed by sequel THUNDERHEAD, SON OF FLICKA and a TV series. | tt0036182 | Roddy McDowall, Preston Foster, Rita Johnson, Jeff Corey, James Bell | Western | NULL | |||
| My Friend Irma | 1949 | George Marshall | ★★ | 103 | Based on radio series, movie concerns Wilson in title role as dumb blonde, Lynn as her level-headed pal, encountering wacky Martin and Lewis in their film debut. Followed by a sequel. Later a TV series. | tt0041673 | Marie Wilson, John Lund, Diana Lynn, Don DeFore, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Hans Conried | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Friend Irma Goes West | 1950 | Hal Walker | ★★½ | 90 | Daffy Irma (Wilson) and pals join Martin and Lewis on their trek to Hollywood. | tt0042769 | John Lund, Marie Wilson, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Corinne Calvet, Diana Lynn, Lloyd Corrigan, Donald Porter, Kenneth Tobey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Gal Sal | 1942 | Irving Cummings | ★★★ | 103 | Nostalgic Gay 90s musical about songwriter Paul Dresser (Mature) in love with beautiful singer Hayworth. Includes Dresser's songs, such as title tune and other old-time numbers. The two stars (and knockout Technicolor) really put this one across. That's co-choreographer Hermes Pan featured with Rita in the 'Gay White Way' number. Based on the story My Brother Paul by Theodore Dreiser. | tt0035103 | Rita Hayworth, Victor Mature, John Sutton, Carole Landis, James Gleason, Phil Silvers, Mona Maris, Walter Catlett | Musical | NULL | |||
| My Geisha | 1962 | Jack Cardiff | ★★½ | 120 | Occasionally amusing comedy. MacLaine is movie star who tries the hard way to convince husband-director Montand that she's right for his movie. Loosely based on MacLaine's relationship with husband Steve Parker (who produced the film). Filmed in Japan. | tt0056267 | Shirley MacLaine, Yves Montand, Edward G. Robinson, Bob Cummings, Yoko Tani | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Giant | 1998 | Michael Lehmann | ★★½ | 97 | Ne'er-do-well showbiz agent chances to meet a 7ñ7' giant in Romania— and sees in him a way to resurrect his career and win back his estranged wife and kid. Sweet and amusing as long as Muresan's stomping around but the film turns borderline mawkish toward the end. Crystal is likeable as always, and real-life Washington Wizards center Muresan is winning in the title role. That's Crystal's daughter Lindsay as a put-upon production assistant. | tt0120765 | [PG-13] | Billy Crystal, Gheorghe Muresan, Kathleen Quinlan, Joanna Pacula, Zane Carney, Jere Burns, Dan Castellaneta, Harold Gould, Doris Roberts, Lorna Luft, Estelle Harris, Steven Seagal | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| My Girl | 1991 | Howard Zieff | ★★½ | 102 | Likable if soft-centered tale of an 11-year-old girl crying for attention from her widowed father, a mortician who doesn't know how to reach out to his precocious daughter. Bittersweet comedy touches on love, friendship, puberty, and most of all, death, but its telling moments are muted by an overall air of predictability. Appealing cast sparked by Chlumsky's mature performance. Followed by a Culkin-less sequel. | tt0102492 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin, Anna Chlumsky, Richard Masur, Griffin Dunne, Ann Nelson, Peter Michael Goetz, Tom Villard, Ray Buktenica | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Girl 2 | 1994 | Howard Zieff | ★★½ | 99 | Budding teenager Chlumsky travels to L.A. (where her uncle lives) to try and learn something about her mother, who died giving birth to her; her companion on this odyssey is the son of her uncle's girlfriend. Bland but likeable fodder aimed squarely at young viewers. | tt0110613 | [PG] | Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anna Chlumsky, Austin O'Brien, Richard Masur, Christine Ebersole, John David Souther, Angeline Ball, Aubrey Morris, Gerrit Graham, Ben Stein, Richard Beymer, George D. Wallace | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| My Girl Tisa | 1948 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 95 | Sincere but uninspiring tale of devoted immigrant girl Palmer working to bring her father to the U. S. Palmer is fine as usual in lead. | tt0040628 | Lilli Palmer, Sam Wanamaker, Akim Tamiroff, Alan Hale/Sr., Hugo Haas, Gale Robbins, Stella Adler | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Gun Is Quick | 1957 | George White, Phil Victor | ★½ | 88 | Drab Mickey Spillane yarn about detective Mike Hammer tracking down a murderer. | tt0050737 | Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Pamela Duncan, Donald Randolph | Mystery | NULL | |||
| My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys | 1991 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 106 | Aging collection of contusions (Glenn) comes home from the rodeo circuit to care for his father, only to battle sis and her husband, who'd just as soon the old man be put away. If you've seen Sam Peckinpah's sublime JUNIOR BONNER (which also featured Johnson) this has got to ring a bit hollow. Capable cast looks good in blue jeans, but cowpie cinema has been better served. | tt0102493 | [PG] | Scott Glenn, Kate Capshaw, Ben Johnson, Balthazar Getty, Tess Harper, Gary Busey, Mickey Rooney, Clarence Williams III, Dub Taylor, Clu Gulager, Dennis Fimple | Drama | NULL | ||
| My House in Umbria | 2003 | Richard Loncraine | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Poignant drama with an always colorful Dame Maggie as a romance novelist who invites a rather unlikely group of Milan-bound train companions to her villa in the Tuscany countryside (actually a small hotel she runs) following what was thought to be a terrorist explosion. Leisurely adaptation of William Trevor's 1991 psychological thriller novella by playwright Hugh Whitemore. Made for cable. | tt0323332 | Maggie Smith, Ronnie Baker, Chris Cooper, Benno Furmann, Giancarlo Giannini, Timothy Spall, Emmy Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Kid Could Paint That | 2007 | Amir Bar-Lev | ★★★ | 84 | Fascinating documentary about Marla Olmstead, a 4-year-old girl whose abstract paintings became the hit of the New York art world until questions surfaced about their authenticity. What begins as an amusing look at modern art becomes an unsettling examination of the nature of documentary filmmaking itself, unintended by director Bar-Lev, who found himself caught between his relationship with the Olmstead family and the facts he felt obliged to pursue. The film allows the viewer to draw his own conclusions, and raises questions that are troubling and well worth considering. | tt0912592 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| My Lady of Whims | 1925 | Dallas M. Fitzgerald. | ★½ | 42 | Underweight comedy about a flapper debutante and the fellow her stern father hires to keep her out of mischief. Slim effort is too short, not sweet at all, and utterly devoid of wit. One of 14 pictures Bow made that year, and it shows. | tt0017184 | Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Carmelita Geraghty, Francis McDonald, Lee Moran, Betty Baker. | NULL | ||||
| My Left Foot | 1989 | Jim Sheridan | ★★★½ | 103 | Exhilarating film with Day-Lewis in a tour de force as Christy Brown, feisty Irish artist-writer who was born with cerebral palsy. This is no disease-of-the-week weeper; it's an intensely moving story with just the right touches of humor, warmth, and poignancy. Fricker and McAnally are ideal as Christy's parents, and O'Conor is absolutely remarkable as the young Christy. Sheridan coscripted (with Shane Connaughton) from Brown's autobiography. Lovely score by Elmer Bernstein. Both Day-Lewis and Fricker won Oscars for their performances. | tt0097937 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Hugh O'Conor, Fiona Shaw, Cyril Cusack, Adrian Dunbar, Ruth McCabe, Alison Whelan | Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| My Life | 1993 | Bruce Joel Rubin | ★★½ | 112 | Successful ad executive, whose wife is pregnant, learns he's dying and doesn't know how to deal with the unfinished business in his life (particularly his feelings of anger toward his family) or the fact that he may never see his child. Many truthful and poignant moments in this unabashed tearjerker, but contrivances ultimately take over— especially toward the finale. Directing debut for screenwriter Rubin (the screenwriter of another misty-eyed Hollywood concoction, GHOST). | tt0107630 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Haing S. Ngor, Bradley Whitford, Queen Latifah, Michael Constantine, Rebecca Schull, Mark Lowenthal, Lee Garlington, Toni Sawyer | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Life So Far | 1999 | Hugh Hudson | ★★★ | 93 | Delightful memoir of growing up in an eccentric family, set in the Scottish highlands during the 1920s and '30s. Firth is a dreamer/inventor, Mastrantonio his patient wife, McDowell his scheming man-about-town brother who has no patience for Firth's peccadilloes, and Jacob the alluring Frenchwoman who captures the imagination of every male in the household. Spirited, funny, and handsomely made. Based on the book Son of Adam by Sir Denis Forman. | tt0120899 | [PG-13] | Colin Firth, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Malcolm McDowell, Rosemary Harris, Irène Jacob, Robert Norman, Tchéky Karyo, Brendan Gleeson | English-Scottish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| My Life With Caroline | 1941 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 81 | Colman's charm sustains this frothy comedy of man suspecting his wife of having a lover. | tt0033932 | Ronald Colman, Anna Lee, Charles Winninger, Reginald Gardiner, Gilbert Roland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Life Without Me | 2003 | Isabel Coixet | ★★★ | 106 | A trailer-dwelling mom in her early '20s (Polley) learns that she has incurable cancer. She makes a list of things she wants to accomplish in her remaining time on earth, including preparing her children for her absence and having an affair— in this case, with a Laundromat acquaintance (Ruffalo). Polley nips the potential for any mawkish excess, but modestly moving drama isn't a one-woman show. Richings is a standout as a shy, gentle doctor mortified by his bad-news plight. Adapted by the director from a short story by Nanci Kincaid. Alfred Molina appears unbilled. | tt0314412 | [R] | Sarah Polley, Scott Speedman, Deborah Harry, Mark Ruffalo, Leonor Watling, Amanda Plummer, Julian Richings, Maria de Medeiros | Spanish-Canadian | Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| My Life and Times with Antonin Artaud | 1994 | Gérard Mordillat | ★★ | 93 | Slow-moving fiction set in 1946, depicting the curious friendship between Jacques Prevel (Barbé), an eager, starving young poet, and Artaud (Frey), the brilliant but tortured, self-involved, and drug-addicted writer/actor/intellectual who has just been released from an asylum. A real downer, of interest mainly to aficionados of Artaud. Crisply filmed in b&w; also in 1993, Mordillat codirected a companion documentary, THE TRUE STORY OF ARTAUD THE MOMO. | tt0106810 | Sami Frey, Marc Barbé, Julie Jézéquel, Valerie Jeannet, Clotilde de Bayser, Charlotte Valandrey | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Life as a Dog | 1985 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 101 | Warm-hearted look at the tumultuous life of an irrepressibly mischievous 12-year-old boy who's shipped off to live with relatives in a rural village in 1950s Sweden. Both comedic and poignant, this is ultimately an honest depiction of the often confusing nature of childhood. Glanzelius is excellent in the lead; based on an autobiographical novel by Reidar Jönsson. Later a cable-TV series. | tt0089606 | Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Liden, Melinda Kinnaman, Kicki Rundgren, Ing-mari Carlsson | Swedish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Life in Ruins | 2009 | Donald Petrie | ★½ | 95 | Lame comedy doubling as a travelogue has gorgeous Greek locations . . . and nothing else to recommend it. Vardalos is a sweet rookie guide who must deal with a group of stereotypical tourist "types," underhanded competitors, and a budding romance with her macho driver during a summer in Greece. At best it comes off as Love Boat–lite, although Vardalos is appealing as ever. | tt0865559 | [PG-13] | Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Alistair McGowan, Harland Williams, Rachel Dratch, Caroline Goodall, Ian Ogilvy, Sophie Stuckey, María Botto, María Adánez, Brian Palermo | U.S.-Spanish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| My Life to Live | Vivre Sa Vie | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 85 | Complex, fascinating 12-chapter portrait of a prostitute (Karina, who was then wed to Godard), told in documentary style. Probing look at the manner in which women and men view one another— and a celluloid valentine to Karina, upon whose mere presence Godard seems to be transfixed. Aka VIVRE SA VIE. | tt0056663 | Anna Karina, Saddy Rebbot, Andre S. Labarthe, Guylaine Schlumberger | French | Drama | NULL | |
| My Life's in Turnaround | 1994 | Eric Schaeffer, Donal Lardner Ward | ★½ | 84 | Tired inside-Hollywood (or fringes-of-Hollywood) comedy might elicit a few approving snorts from the rarefied audience for which it's intended. Aspiring filmmakers exploit any presumed break that comes their way, be it a taxicab encounter with Phoebe Cates or a restaurant encounter with Martha Plimpton. Someone should have put this in turnaround. | tt0107631 | Eric Schaeffer, Donal Lardner Ward, Lisa Gerstein, Dana Wheeler Nicholson, Debra Clein, Sheila Jaffe, John Dore, John Sayles, Martha Plimpton, Phoebe Cates, Casey Siemaszko | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Little Chickadee | 1940 | Edward F. Cline | ★★½ | 83 | Team of West and Fields out West is good, but should have been funnier; W. C.'s saloon scenes are notable. The two stars also wrote screenplay. | tt0032828 | Mae West, W. C. Fields, Joseph Calleia, Dick Foran, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| My Little Girl | 1986 | Connie Kaiserman | ★★★ | 113 | Subtle, perceptive account of affluent, romantic, naive young Masterson, who volunteers to work one summer in a children's detention center. Extremely well played by all, with a special nod to Alexander and Lin (as a pair of troubled, abused girls). | tt0091583 | [R] | Mary Stuart Masterson, James Earl Jones, Geraldine Page, Pamela Payton Wright, Anne Meara, Peter Gallagher, Page Hannah, Erika Alexander, Traci Lin, Jordan Charney, Jennifer Lopez | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Little Pony | 1986 | Michael Joens | ★★ | 89 | Animated fantasy pits the good Little Ponies against an evil witch. Highlight is an encounter with the Smooze, an evergrowing mass of living lava— a good idea hampered by bad animation. Too 'cute' for anyone over the age of 7. Followed by a TV series. | tt0091584 | [G] | Voices of Danny DeVito, Madeline Kahn, Tony Randall, Cloris Leachman, Rhea Pearlman | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| My Love Came Back | 1940 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 81 | Entertaining little romance of violinist de Havilland looking for husband. | tt0032829 | Olivia de Havilland, Jeffrey Lynn, Eddie Albert, Jane Wyman, Charles Winninger, Spring Byington, Grant Mitchell | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Lucky Star | 1938 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 84 | Typical Henie vehicle with the skating star becoming the belle of a college campus— and helping department-store heir Romero score a hit with his dad. Finale is an imaginative 'Alice in Wonderland' ice ballet. | tt0030481 | Sonja Henie, Richard Greene, Cesar Romero, Buddy Ebsen, Joan Davis, Arthur Treacher, Billy Gilbert, Gypsy Rose Lee, George Barbier | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Man Adam | 1985 | Roger L. Simon | ★★ | 84 | Yet another youth wish-fulfillment comedy, done as a teen version of UP THE SANDBOX. Sbarge is a pizza delivery boy who fantasizes about dreamgirl Hannah (Daryl's redheaded sister, in her first starring role) and becomes involved in a real-life murder adventure. Barely released film is pleasant but uneventful. | tt0089649 | [R] | Raphael Sbarge, Page Hannah, Veronica Cartwright, Larry B. Scott, Dave Thomas, Charlie Barnett, Austin Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Man Godfrey | 1936 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★½ | 95 | Delightful romp with Lombard and crazy household hiring Powell as butler thinking he's a tramp who needs a job; he teaches them that money isn't everything. Auer is impressive as starving artist, sheltered by patroness Brady. But Pallette— as harried head of household— has some of the best lines. Screenplay by Morrie Ryskind and Eric Hatch, from Hatch's novel. Jane Wyman is an extra in the party scene. Classic screwball comedy; remade in 1957. | tt0028010 | William Powell, Carole Lombard, Gail Patrick, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Alan Mowbray, Mischa Auer, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Man Godfrey | 1957 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 92 | Shallow compared to original, but on its own a harmless comedy of rich girl Allyson finding life's truths from butler Niven. | tt0050738 | June Allyson, David Niven, Martha Hyer, Eva Gabor, Jeff Donnell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Man and I | 1952 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 99 | Interesting curio about cheerful, kindly Mexican-born Montalban, who despite his trials and struggles is fiercely proud of his American. | tt0044938 | Shelley Winters, Ricardo Montalban, Wendell Corey, Claire Trevor | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Mom’s New Boyfriend | 2008 | George Gallo | ★★ | 97 | Flatfooted comedy casts a willing Ryan as Hanks’ fat, depressed mother who—while he’s gone, training as an FBI agent—slims down and rejuvenates her life. But when he brings his fiancée home he discovers that his now-hot mom is being wooed by a slick art thief (Banderas), who’s a wanted man. This might have played better as a broad farce; as is it just lays there. Released direct to DVD. | tt0780534 | [PG-13] | Antonio Banderas, Meg Ryan, Colin Hanks, Selma Blair, Trevor Morgan, John Valdeterro, Eli Danker, Keith David, Enrico Colantoni, Marco St. John | NULL | |||
| My Mother's Castle | 1990 | Yves Robert | ★★★ | 98 | Sweet, warm continuation of the story which begins in MY FATHER'S GLORY. Here, young Marcel further enjoys weekend family outings to his beloved Provence. Based on Marcel Pagnol's childhood memoirs; a notch below the first film, but still most worthwhile (and must-viewing in tandem with its predecessor, as well as with Claude Berri's JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING). | tt0099266 | Julien Caimaca, Philippe Caubere, Nathalie Roussel, Didier Pain, Therese Liotard | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Name Is Ivan | The Youngest Spy | 1962 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★ | 94 | Taut, poignant account of 12-year-old Burlaiev, whose family is slaughtered during WW2, and his plight as he's sent as a spy into Nazi territory. Tarkovsky's first feature. Retitled: THE YOUNGEST SPY. | tt0056111 | Kolya Burlaiev, Valentin Zubkov, Ye Zharikov, Nikolai Grinko | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| My Name Is Julia Ross | 1945 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★★ | 65 | An unsuspecting young woman answers a London newspaper ad for a job and winds up the prisoner of a crazy family. Often cited as a model B movie, it does go a long way on a low budget, though it's a bit more obvious now than it must have been in 1945. Foch's performance is still a standout. Later the inspiration for DEAD OF WINTER. | tt0037932 | Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready, Roland Varno, Anita Bolster, Doris Lloyd | Drama, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| My Name Is Nobody | 1973 | Tonino Valerii | ★★★ | 115 | Underrated, enjoyable if overlong Western spoof with Hill as an easygoing gunman who worships aging Fonda, a gunfighter who wants to retire. Filmed in the U.S. and Spain; produced by Sergio Leone. Released in Italy at 130m. | tt0070215 | [PG] | Henry Fonda, Terence Hill, Jean Martin, Leo Gordon, R. G. Armstrong, Steve Kanaly, Geoffrey Lewis | Italian-French-German | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| My Name is Joe | 1998 | Ken Loach | ★★½ | 105 | Likable loser Mullan is a recovering alcoholic eking out a life in Glasgow, Scotland. Mullan's tentative romance with health-care worker Goodall is worth a look . . . and more engaging than the melodramatic turn the story takes involving local thugs. | tt0151691 | [R] | Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, Gary Lewis, Lorraine McIntosh, David McKay, Anne-Marie Kennedy, David Hayman, Scott Hannah | British-German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| My Neighbor Totoro | Tonari no Totoro | 1988 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★ | 88 | Gentle, infectious animated tale of two young sisters in rural Japan and their magical adventures with Totoro, a giant furry forest spirit. Beautiful art direction and excellent English-language treatment make this a treat for small children and parents; older kids may chafe at the story's leisurely pace. Wait till you see the 12-legged cat-bus! Written by Miyazaki. First released in the U.S. in 1993; this revised English-language version (with an all-new voice cast) came out in 2006. | tt0096283 | [G] | Voices of Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly, Pat Carroll, Paul Butcher, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker | Japanese | Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL |
| My New Gun | 1992 | Stacy Cochran | ★★½ | 99 | Deadpan comedy about a quietly put-upon suburban housewife whose life takes unexpected turns when her loutish husband insists on buying her a .38 pistol. Some amusing moments and wry performances, but the film seems a bit undernourished. Feature debut for writer-director Cochran. | tt0104954 | [R] | Diane Lane, James LeGros, Stephen Collins, Tess Harper, Bill Raymond, Bruce Altman, Maddie Corman, Natasha Lyonne, Philip Seymour Hoffman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| My New Partner | 1984 | Claude Zidi | ★★½ | 106 | So-so comedy-drama about corrupt veteran cop Noiret, and how he responds when teamed with by-the-book rookie Lhermitte. Noiret is fine as always, but the film is strictly standard (despite its great popularity in France and its Best Picture/Director César awards). Followed by a sequel. | tt0088002 | [R] | Philippe Noiret, Thierry Lhermitte, Regine, Grace de Capitani, Claude Brosset | French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| My New Partner 2 | 1990 | Claude Zidi | ★★½ | 107 | Intricately plotted sequel finds the amiably corrupt French cops suspended from the force and plotting to oust their replacements, who turn out to be even more corrupt than they were! Breezy farce deals frivolously with such serious issues as police brutality, but has several amusing sequences and the comic chemistry of its stars. Not released in the U.S. until 1997. Aka MY NEW PARTNER AT THE RACES. | tt0100496 | Philippe Noiret, Thierry Lhermitte, Guy Marchand, Line Renaud, Grace de Capitani, Michel Aumont, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Jean-Claude Brialy | French | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| My Night at Maud's | 1969 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 105 | No. 3 of Rohmer's 'Six Moral Tales' is most intellectual, with Trintignant as moral Catholic man infatuated with woman completely unlike himself. Talky, fascinating, more specialized in appeal than later entries in series. Barrault's first film. | tt0064612 | [PG] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault, Antoine Vitez | French | Drama | NULL | |
| My Old Man's Place | Glory Boy | 1972 | Edwin Sherin | ★★½ | 93 | Moriarty (in his first film) returns home from war with two soldier pals; inevitable tensions lead to rape and murder. Not profound, but moody and interesting. Original title: GLORY BOY. | tt0068984 | [R] | Mitchell Ryan, Arthur Kennedy, William Devane, Michael Moriarty, Topo Swope | Drama, War | NULL | |
| My One and Only | 2009 | Richard Loncraine | ★★ | 85 | In 1953, a flighty woman walks out on her philandering husband, takes her two adolescent sons, buys a Cadillac, and leaves N.Y.C. for points unknown in search of a new meal ticket. Seriocomic road trip hits familiar notes from start to finish and rings hollow, even though the story was inspired by real-life incidents in the young life of actor George Hamilton. | tt1185431 | [PG-13] | Renée Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall, Chris Noth, Nick Stahl, Eric McCormack, Steven Weber, David Koechner, Troy Garity | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| My Outlaw Brother | 1951 | Elliott Nugent | ★★ | 82 | Texas Ranger Preston takes on villainous Stack, the brother of dude Rooney. Strictly conventional south-of-the-border oater. | tt0043829 | Mickey Rooney, Wanda Hendrix, Robert Preston, Robert Stack, Jose Torvay | Western | NULL | |||
| My Own Love Song | 2011 | Olivier Dahan | ★★½ | 102 | Former singer (Zellweger), now paraplegic after a car crash, and her only friend (Whitaker), a psychiatric case who speaks with ghosts, embark on a quixotic road trip from Kansas to Louisiana, in search of the boy (Frantz) she gave up for adoption years before. On the highway, the two dead-end characters encounter a charming thief (Koteas), an abandoned newlywed (Zima), and a grizzled bluesman (Nolte), all strangers who become life changers. Well-meaning if not always successful musical drama is appealingly played. Replete with Bob Dylan ditties. Written by the director. | tt1193507 | [PG-13] | Renée Zellweger, Forest Whitaker, Madeline Zima, Elias Koteas, Nick Nolte, Annie Parisse, Chandler Frantz, John Henry Cox, Jay Patterson | U.S.-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| My Own Private Idaho | 1991 | Gus Van Sant | ★★½ | 102 | Uniquely distinctive portrayal of male street-hustling in the American Northwest, with Phoenix as a narcoleptic sex-for-hiree and Reeves as the son of Portland's mayor— slumming in the trade. Film opens terrifically, promising to surpass even Van Sant's DRUGSTORE COWBOY— then gets bogged down in a long, dreadfully conceived gay variation on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I, from which it never fully recovers. Many potent scenes, though, and Phoenix is excellent; cult status is assured. | tt0102494 | [R] | River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert, Rodney Harvey, Flea, Grace Zabriskie, Tom Troupe, Udo Kier | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Own True Love | 1949 | Compton Bennett | ★★ | 84 | Calvert is placed in the awkward position of choosing between two suitors, a father and son; drama lacks ring of truth. | tt0040629 | Melvyn Douglas, Phyllis Calvert, Wanda Hendrix, Philip Friend, Binnie Barnes | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| My Pal Gus | 1952 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 83 | Wholesome film of Widmark coming to realize importance of son Winslow, finding romance with teacher Dru. | tt0044939 | Richard Widmark, Joanne Dru, Audrey Totter, George Winslow, Regis Toomey | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Pal Trigger | 1946 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 79 | Roy wants to breed his mare to the prize palomino stud on Gabby's ranch, but gambler Holt has similar plans and frames Roy for the death of Gabby's horse. Roy gives one of his best performances in this solid Western saga that features his famous horse. | tt0038764 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Jack Holt, LeRoy Mason, Roy Barcroft, Kenne Duncan, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| My Pleasure Is My Business | 1974 | Al Waxman. | 💣 | 85 | 'The Happy Hooker' makes her own attempt at acting in this witless comedy which purports to tell her true story (albeit just as cleaned-up as THE HAPPY HOOKER itself). Hollander is so expressionless she can't even play herself well. | tt0071882 | [R] | Xaviera Hollander, Henry Ramer, Colin Fox, Kenneth Lynch, Jayne Eastwood. | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| My Reputation | 1946 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 94 | Well-mounted soaper with Stanwyck excellent as a long-stifled recent widow who causes scandal in her conservative community when she begins dating Major Brent. Completed in 1944. | tt0038765 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner Anderson, Lucile Watson, John Ridgely, Eve Arden, Jerome Cowan, Esther Dale, Scotty Beckett, Bobby Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Science Project | 1985 | Jonathan Beteul | 💣 | 94 | Laughless, often tasteless comedy about high school kids who unearth an other-worldly device that can create time and space warps. Lost in the quagmire is Hopper in funny role as a latter-day hippie science teacher. | tt0089652 | [PG] | John Stockwell, Danielle Von Zerneck, Fisher Stevens, Raphael Sbarge, Dennis Hopper, Barry Corbin, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Masur | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| My Seven Little Sins | 1954 | Jean Boyer | ★★ | 98 | Pleasant, inconsequential musicomedy, with Chevalier an old roué 'adopting' group of Riviera chorines. Retitled: I HAVE SEVEN DAUGHTERS. | tt0047125 |
|
Maurice Chevalier, Collette Ripert, Paolo Stoppa, Delia Scala | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| My Side of the Mountain | 1969 | James B. Clark | ★★½ | 100 | Children should enjoy this tale about 13-year-old Canadian boy who runs away from home to get closer to nature. | tt0064708 | [G] | Ted Eccles, Theodore Bikel, Tudi Wiggins, Frank Perry, Peggi Loder | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| My Sin | 1931 | George Abbott. | ★★½ | 78 | Bankhead is a nightclub singer in Panama who shoots a man and is defended by alcoholic lawyer March. After acquittal, she flees to N.Y.C. and becomes a successful interior decorator but is haunted by her shady past. Bankhead's second talkie failed to make her a genuine movie star, but March is quite good. Interesting film was one of a handful directed by theatre legend Abbott. | tt0022178 | Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March, Harry Davenport, Scott Kolk, Anne Sutherland, Margaret Adams, Joseph Calleia, Eric Blore. | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Sister Eileen | 1942 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 96 | Amusing tale of two Ohio girls trying to survive in Greenwich Village apartment; strained at times. Belongs mainly to Russell as older sister of knockout Blair. Ruth McKinney, Joseph Fields, and Jerome Chodorov adapted their Broadway hit (based on McKinney's autobiographical book). Remade as a musical in 1955 (and musicalized on Broadway as Wonderful Town). Finale features a gag cameo. | tt0035105 | Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Janet Blair, George Tobias, Allyn Joslyn, Elizabeth Patterson, June Havoc | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Sister Eileen | 1955 | Richard Quine | ★★★½ | 108 | Delightful, unpretentious musical version of 1942 movie about Ohio girls seeking success in the big city, moving into nutty Greenwich Village apartment. Especially interesting to see young Lemmon singing and equally young Fosse dancing; this was the first film he choreographed on his own. Not to be confused with the Broadway musical Wonderful Town, based on the same source. | tt0048401 | Betty Garrett, Janet Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Kurt Kasznar, Dick York, Horace McMahon, Bob Fosse, Tommy Rall | Musical | NULL | |||
| My Sister's Keeper | 2002 | Ron Lagomarsino | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Bates is at her heart-tugging best as a woman afflicted by mental illness, in and out of hospitals since her teens. Perkins is her career-obsessed sister who struggles to form a workable relationship with her following the death of their mother (Redgrave), who tried to cope as best she could. Adapted by Susan Tarr from the book by Margaret Moorman (the Perkins character). | tt0298454 | Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Perkins, Lynn Redgrave, Clark Gregg, Kathleen Wilhoite, Kimberly J. Brown, Hallee Hirsh | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Sister's Keeper | 2009 | Nick Cassavetes | ★★½ | 106 | When a couple discovers their 2-year-old daughter has leukemia, they have another child who can help to keep their firstborn alive. Now 11, the "donor child" sues them for medical emancipation so she won't have to supply a kidney. Heartrending material, from Jodi Picoult’s best-selling novel, never quite reaches the emotional heights for which it aims, despite good performances. Vassilieva is incredible as the ailing adolescent. | tt1078588 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Jason Patric, Joan Cusack, Sofia Vassilieva, Evan Ellingson, Thomas Dekker, Heather Wahlquist, Emily Deschanel | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Six Convicts | 1952 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★★ | 104 | Unusual comedy of prison life centering on title group who manage to make jail routine tolerable, egged on by prison. | tt0044940 | Millard Mitchell, Gilbert Roland, John Beal, Marshall Thompson, Alf Kjellin, Harry Morgan, Jay Adler, Regis Toomey, John Marley, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Six Loves | 1963 | Gower Champion | ★★½ | 101 | Syrupy fluff of theater star Reynolds 'adopting' six waifs. | tt0057341 | Debbie Reynolds, Cliff Robertson, David Janssen, Eileen Heckart, Hans Conried, Alice Pearce, Jim Backus | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Son John | 1952 | Leo McCarey | ★★½ | 122 | Archetypal apple-pie parents (Hayes, Jagger) suspect their son (Walker) of being a Communist in this reactionary period piece. Dramatically overwrought, but fascinating as social history. Walker (who's superb) died before film was finished; most shots of him in final reel are cribbed from STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. | tt0044941 | Helen Hayes, Robert Walker, Dean Jagger, Van Heflin, Frank McHugh, Richard Jaeckel | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Son the Fanatic | 1997 | Udayan Prasad | ★★★ | 89 | Writer Hanif Kureishi again examines a Pakistani coming to terms with his life in England. In this case it's a taxi driver (Puri) who's alienated from his wife, and whose son is rebelling against him for reasons he can't understand— even while he fosters a relationship with prostitute Griffiths. A multi-layered story, pointed and insightful. | tt0119743 | Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Stellan Skarsgård, Akbar Kurtha, Gopi Desai, Harish Patel, Bhasker Patel | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| My Son, My Son | 1940 | Charles Vidor | ★★ | 115 | Drawn-out, unconvincing tale of rags-to-riches Aherne who spoils his son, and lives to regret it. Some good performances wasted on banal script. | tt0032831 | Madeleine Carroll, Brian Aherne, Louis Hayward, Laraine Day, Henry Hull, Josephine Hutchinson, Scotty Beckett | Drama | NULL | |||
| My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done | 2009 | Werner Herzog | ★★ | 91 | In San Diego, a strange young man (Shannon) stabs his mother to death with a sword and takes a couple of his “neighbors” hostage. What’s his story? Is he seeking something spiritual in a world that is cold and corrupt, or has he simply gone mad? Genuinely odd film is ambitious but only intermittently successful, as it leaves too many unanswered questions about its characters. Inspired by a true story; Herzog coscripted. Given the film’s general weirdness, it’s no surprise that David Lynch is an executive producer. | tt1233219 | [R] | Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Udo Kier, Michael Peña, Grace Zabriskie, Irma P. Hall, Loretta Devine, Brad Dourif | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| My Son, the Hero | 1962 | Duccio Tessari | ★★ | 122 | Costume picture about evil King Cadmus of Thebes, who defies the gods and faces the wrath of the Titans. Originally released in the U.S. at 111m., with comic dubbing à la WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY?, which it preceded. | tt0054637 | Pedro Armendáriz, Jacqueline Sassard, Antonella Lualdi, Giuliano Gemma | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| My Soul to Take | 2010 | Wes Craven | 💣 | 107 | In a small Connecticut town, a wounded serial killer disappears after being captured. Sixteen years later, the seven youngsters born on the day the serial killer vanished (or died) begin to be murdered one by one. Is one of them the culprit? Boring, routine slasher film with unappealing characters; a real comedown for horror vet Craven, who also scripted. 3-D adds little, if anything, to the picture. | tt0872230 | [R] | Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Denzel Whitaker, Zena Grey, Nick Lashaway, Paulina Olszynski, Jeremy Chu, Emily Meade, Raúl Esparza, Shareeka Epps | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| My Stepmother Is an Alien | 1988 | Richard Benjamin | ★½ | 108 | Luscious Basinger, who knows nothing of romance or sex, marries widowed scientist (Aykroyd); he wants to settle into domesticity, while her mind is only on saving her planet from destruction. Somehow, Jimmy Durante imitations get worked into this new low in 'high-concept' comedy. | tt0095687 | [PG-13] | Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz, Alyson Hannigan, Joseph Maher, Ann Prentiss (voice of purse), Seth Green, Wesley Mann, Harry Shearer (voice of Carl Sagan) | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| My Summer of Love | 2004 | Pawel Pawlikowski | ★★★ | 86 | Emotion-packed coming-of-age drama that happily veers from formula. Two adolescent girls meet one summer at a Yorkshire village and become fast friends: working-class Mona (Press), who is shy and lives with her ex-con, born-again Christian brother, and Tamsin (Blunt), who is aggressive and presents herself as experienced and sophisticated. As their relationship deepens, their story becomes intricate in ways that are better seen than described. Based on a novel by Helen Cross. | tt0382189 | [R] | Nathalie Press, Emily Blunt, Paddy Considine, Dean Andrews, Michelle Byrne, Paul Antony-Barber, Lynette Edwards, Kathryn Sumner | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| My Super Ex-Girlfriend | 2006 | Ivan Reitman | ★★ | 96 | After breaking up with a needy art gallery owner with emotional problems, an architect learns the hard way that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned-especially when that woman is actually a superhero bent on revenge. The cast is likable and the concept of a neurotic female superhero is amusing, but the film fizzles out in a welter of mechanical plotting, perfunctory action scenes, and shoddy special effects. | tt0465624 | [PG-13] | Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Rainn Wilson, Anna Faris, Eddie Izzard, Wanda Sykes, Stelio Savante, Mike Iorio, Mark Consuelos | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| My Tutor | 1983 | George Bowers | ★★ | 97 | Rich, hunky (but still virginal) Lattanzi won't graduate high school unless he passes French, so his folks hire beautiful Kaye to spend the summer tutoring him. Earns points for sincerity, but credulity is low. | tt0085980 | [R] | Matt Lattanzi, Caren Kaye, Kevin McCarthy, Arlene Golonka, Clark Brandon, Bruce Bauer, Crispin Glover | Drama | NULL | ||
| My Uncle Antoine | Mon Oncle Antoine | 1971 | Claude Jutra | ★★½ | 104 | Fifteen-year-old Gagnon observes those around him while growing up in a small mining town during the 1940s. Not bad, but nothing special. Video title: MON ONCLE ANTOINE. | tt0067439 | Jean Duceppe, Olivette Thibault, Claude Jutra, Jacques Gagnon, Helene Loiselle | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| My Week with Marilyn | 2011 | Simon Curtis | ★★★ | 99 | Rose-colored memory piece about the troubled production of THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL with exasperated actor-director Laurence Olivier (Branagh, clearly having a great time) trying to deal with the insecurities and peccadilloes of his star, Marilyn Monroe (a persuasive Williams). The supposedly true story is told through the eyes of young, naïve production assistant Colin Clark (Redmayne), who becomes Monroe's unexpected confidant. Film buffs will particularly appreciate the depiction of moviemaking at that time and the parade of famous faces, including Dench as Sybil Thorndike and Ormond as Vivien Leigh. | tt1655420 | [R] | Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench, Emma Watson, Dominic Cooper, Julia Ormond, Zoë Wanamaker, Toby Jones, Dougray Scott, Derek Jacobi | British | Drama | NULL | |
| My Wife is an Actress | 2001 | Yvan Attal | ★★½ | 95 | Sportswriter married to a Julia Roberts-type star must deal with her fame, his jealousies, and trying to live a normal life away from the spotlight. Entertaining froth with star-writer-director Attal (who resembles Al Pacino) delightful as the befuddled hubby. Stamp also scores as the star's latest leading man. Incidentally, Gainsbourg and Attal are married in real life. | tt0269499 | [R] | Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal, Terence Stamp, Noémie Lvovsky, Laurent Bateau, Ludivine Sagnier | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| My Wife's Best Friend | 1952 | Richard Sale | ★★ | 87 | Unexceptional film of married couple confessing their past indiscretions when their plane seems about to crash. | tt0044942 | Anne Baxter, Macdonald Carey, Cecil Kellaway, Leif Erickson, Frances Bavier | Comedy | NULL | |||
| My Wild Irish Rose | 1947 | David Butler | ★★ | 101 | Irish songs galore support limp biography of songwriter Chauncey Olcott. | tt0039647 | Dennis Morgan, Andrea King, Arlene Dahl, Alan Hale/Sr., George Tobias | Musical | NULL | |||
| My Winnipeg | 2008 | Guy Maddin | ★★★½ | 80 | Another ingenious, deeply personal cinematic exercise from Maddin, a self-described “docu-fantasia” in which he plays tour guide on a journey through his Winnipeg, Manitoba, hometown. Maddin narrates and offers up a subjective portrait of his childhood and the city in which he came of age (and which defines him). What is fact and what is exaggeration? Who cares? Just sit back and enjoy. Great to see Savage (of DETOUR fame) as Maddin’s mother. | tt1093842 | Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Amy Stewart, Louis Negin, Brendan Cade, Wesley Cade | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| My World Dies Screaming | 1958 | Harold Daniels. | ★½ | 85 | Newlywed O'Donnell suffers from recurrent nightmares about a spooky house, then husband Mohr takes her to that very house. Looks for a while like GASLIGHT, JR., but veers off in a different direction. Thin, cheap thriller, not quite a horror movie, was notorious for featuring one-frame subliminal images (skulls, monsters) in the would-be scary sections; they were removed when the title was changed to TERROR IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE but restored for the video release under that title. | tt0051962 | Gerald Mohr, Cathy O'Donnell, Bill (William) Ching, John Qualen, Barry Bernard. | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Myra Breckinridge | 1970 | Michael Sarne | 💣 | 94 | Gore Vidal's loosely structured comic novel about sex-change operation was probably unfilmable, but this version doesn't even give book a chance; as bad as any movie ever made, it tastelessly exploits many old Hollywood favorites through film clips. That's Tom Selleck— minus mustache— as one of Mae's 'studs.' | tt0066115 | [R] | Mae West, John Huston, Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, Roger Herren, Farrah Fawcett, Jim Backus, John Carradine, Andy Devine, Grady Sutton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Myrt and Marge | 1934 | Al Boasberg | ★★ | 62 | Lackluster backstage musical, based on popular radio show of the same name. Mainly a curio for fans of the Stooges, who get to sing as well as clown. | tt0025542 | Myrtle Vail, Donna Damerel, Eddie Foy/Jr., Grace Hayes, Ted Healy, The Three Stooges, Bonnie Bonnell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Mysterians | 1957 | Ishirô Honda | ★★½ | 85 | Centuries after the destruction of their planet, the title aliens land on Earth, install an impregnable dome by a lake, and demand women. The world does not take this well. Colorful special effects and fast pace make this one of the better Japanese sci-fis. | tt0050251 | Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata | Japanese | Drama, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| Mysteries of Lisbon | 2010 | Raúl Ruiz | ★★★ | 257 | Orphaned 14-year-old boy named João, with the help of a kindly priest, is determined to learn his true parentage. He ends up on a quest that lasts decades and takes him across Europe. Complex, absorbing tale of faith and friendship, romance and melancholy, class distinctions and quirks of fate is artfully directed by Ruiz— even though it's occasionally confusing, as some characters are played by multiple actors and some actors play multiple roles! Based on a 19th-century novel by Portuguese writer Camilo Castelo Branco. Originally a six-hour TV miniseries. | tt1236371 | Adriano Luz, Maria João Bastos, Ricardo Pereira, Clotilde Hesme, Afonso Pimentel, João Luís Arrais, Albano Jerónimo, João Baptista, Martin Loizillon, Julien Alluguette, Léa Seydoux, Malik Zidi, Melvil Poupaud | Portuguese-French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Mysterious Doctor | 1943 | Ben Stoloff. | ★★½ | 57 | A headless ghost terrorizes tin miners in a foggy English village. Moor locations interesting; cast adequate. | tt0036187 | John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Bruce Lester, Lester Matthews, Forrester Harvey. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu | 1929 | Rowland V. Lee. | ★★½ | 81 | Fu Manchu's wife and child are inadvertently killed by British troops during the Boxer Rebellion. Years later, he comes to London and uses his hypnotized white ward (Arthur) as part of a diabolical plan of vengeance. The first talkie about Sax Rohmer's Chinese supervillain is an enjoyably hokey guilty pleasure, with striking sets, tongue-in-cheek humor, and lurid, serial-like thrills. | tt0020197 | Warner Oland, Neil Hamilton, Jean Arthur, O. P. Heggie, William Austin, Claude King, Noble Johnson. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Mysterious Intruder | 1946 | William Castle | ★★½ | 61 | Dix is an unscrupulous private eye who resorts to murder in an attempt to find some rare Jenny Lind wax recordings in this atmospheric Whistler series entry. | tt0038766 | Richard Dix, Nina Vale, Regis Toomey, Pamela Blake, Charles Lane, Helen Mowery, Mike Mazurki | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mysterious Island | 1961 | Cy Endfield | ★★★ | 101 | Deliberately paced fantasy adventure based on two-part Jules Verne novel, a sequel to his 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Confederate prison escapees hijack observation balloon and are blown off course; find uncharted island with gigantic animals. Great special effects by Ray Harryhausen; rousing Bernard Herrmann score. Filmed before in 1929. | tt0055207 | Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo | 1974 | Juan Antonio Bardem, Henri Colpi | ★★ | 96 | Jules Verne's Nemo (Sharif) again sees service in juvenile-level action piece, a bit less acceptable than others of genre. | tt0068748 | [PG] | Omar Sharif, Philippe Nicaud, Gerard Tichy, Jess Hahn, Rafael Bardem, Ambrose Bia | French-Italian | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Mysterious Lady | 1928 | Fred Niblo | ★★½ | 96 | Austrian military officer (Nagel) falls in love with Garbo, unaware that she's a Russian spy. Another contrived plot made worthwhile by Garbo herself. | tt0019195 | Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Albert Pollet, Edward Connelly | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Mysterious Mr. Moto | 1938 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 62 | The Oriental sleuth travels to London, where a secret assassination society has Scotland Yard baffled. | tt0030483 | Peter Lorre, Henry Wilcoxon, Mary Maguire, Erik Rhodes, Harold Huber, Leon Ames, Forrester Harvey | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Mysterious Mr. Wong | 1935 | William Nigh | ★★ | 63 | Lugosi, complete with Hungarian accent, plays the title character: a power-mad Chinaman obsessed with possessing 12 coins that were once the property of Confucius. He's also cast as Wong's shy, quiet alter-ego in this campy programmer. Not related in any way to Boris Karloff's MR. WONG series. | tt0026755 | Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Arline Judge, Fred Warren, Lotus Long, Robert Emmett O'Connor | Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| Mysterious Skin | 2004 | Gregg Araki. | ★★★ | 99 | Absorbing, disturbing drama about two adolescents who are linked by a painful incident in their past. One (Gordon-Levitt) is a reckless, jaded gay hustler; the other (Corbet) is a deeply troubled introvert who has erased the occurrence from his memory. Often difficult to watch, but well worth seeing and pondering. The director scripted, based on a novel by Scott Heim. | tt0370986 | [NC-17] | Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elisabeth Shue, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jeffrey Licon, Lisa Long, Bill Sage, George Webster, Chase Ellison, Richard Riehle, Billy Drago, Chris Mulkey. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mystery Date | 1991 | Jonathan Wacks | ★★½ | 99 | Shy Hawke dreams of dating a dishy neighbor, so older brother McNamara rings her up and arranges a date . . . but it turns out he has an agenda of his own, which includes a corpse in the trunk of the car Hawke is driving. Surprisingly black youth comedy with more than a few unexpected twists. Wong is a scream as a criminal rival in McNamara's highstakes schemes. | tt0102500 | [PG-13] | Ethan Hawke, Teri Polo, Brian McNamara, Fisher Stevens, B. D. Wong, Tony Rosato, Don Davis, James Hong, Victor Wong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mystery Liner | 1934 | William Nigh | ★★ | 62 | A mysterious secret radio-control weapon being developed aboard a cruise ship is sought by various parties in this intriguing but slow-paced B-picture. That's a clean-shaven Gabby Hayes as the crew member named Wathman! Based on an Edgar Wallace novel. | tt0025543 | Noah Beery/Sr., Astrid Allyn (Allwyn), Cornelius Keefe, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Edwin Maxwell, Ralph Lewis, Zeffie Tilbury | Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mystery Man | 1944 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 58 | Epic battles ensue when Bar 20 cowhands drive a herd to market and come up against notorious outlaw and his desperadoes seeking to rustle cattle. Costello as master heavy and lovely Stewart are strong, but Rogers is wooden as Hopalong Cassidy's young sidekick. Still enjoyable, with the series' usual first-rate production values. | tt0037113 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Don Costello, Eleanor Stewart, Francis McDonald, Forrest Taylor. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Mystery Men | 1999 | Kinka Usher | ★★½ | 111 | Silly, flimsy story of wannabe superheroes with specious powers uniting to rescue a genuine hero from an evil villain. Good dialogue and a fun cast make up for the overblown special effects and cluttered array of characters. | tt0132347 | [PG-13] | Hank Azaria, Claire Forlani, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Lena Olin, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, Wes Studi, Tom Waits, Jenifer Lewis, Ricky Jay, Louise Lasser, Eddie Izzard | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie | 1996 | Jim Mallon | ★★★ | 73 | Theatrical presentation of cable TV cult favorite has shorter running time than an average episode but just as many laughs. Nelson plays a hapless human trapped on orbiting spaceship with crew of wisecracking puppet robots, forced to watch an edited version of 1955's sci-fi outing THIS ISLAND EARTH. Silhouettes of Nelson and robots appear at lower right of screen, and their running commentary during the film is often hilarious. Brief framing setup and occasional break segments throughout are not so clever, especially compared to original series created by comedian Joel Hodgson. | tt0117128 | [PG-13] | Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Kevin Murphy, Jim Mallon, John Brady | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Mystery Street | 1950 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 93 | The skeleton of a murdered B girl is studied by Cape Cod cop Montalban and Harvard doctor Bennett in an early movie depiction of forensic science. Intelligent, realistic mystery is well acted and engrossing, if slow paced. | tt0042771 | Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett, Elsa Lanchester, Marshall Thompson, Jan Sterling, Eamon Ryan, Betsy Blair | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Mystery Submarine | 1963 | C. M. Pennington-Richards | ★½ | 90 | Tame WW2 espionage tale of German sub manned by British crew— captured by English fleet. Aka DECOY. | tt0057342 | Edward Judd, James Robertson Justice, Laurence Payne, Arthur O'Sullivan, Albert Lieven | British | Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Mystery Train | 1989 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★★ | 113 | Typically quirky slice-of-life from Jarmusch, trio of stories depicts foreigners' stays in sleazy Memphis hotel. Jarmusch's minimalist style results in some slow stretches, but there are enough genuinely funny moments to make this worth seeing. | tt0097940 | [R] | Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinque Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Joe Strummer, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi, Tom Noonan, Rockets Redglare, Rufus Thomas, voice of Tom Waits | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Mystery in Mexico | 1948 | Robert Wise | ★★ | 66 | Competent but overly familiar second-feature mystery about insurance investigator Lundigan who goes to Mexico City to find out what happened to White's brother. | tt0040631 | William Lundigan, Jacqueline White, Ricardo Cortez, Tony Barrett, Jacqueline Dalya, Walter Reed | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | 1993 | Timothy Forder. | ★★ | 102 | Dickens' unfinished novel of a suspicious choirmaster, whose deadly jealousy over his fiancée gets him into hot water, gets another go-round here, but the results are mediocre at best. Powell is an uncharismatic lead, but the cast is peppered with familiar British actors. | tt0107636 | Robert Powell, Michelle Evans, Jonathan Phillips, Rupert Rainsford, Finty Williams, Peter Pacey, Nanette Newman, Freddie Jones, Gemma Craven, Rosemary Leach, Ronald Fraser. | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | 1935 | Stuart Walker | ★★½ | 87 | Seemingly respectable English choirmaster Rains is actually responsible for horrible murder. Pretty good Hollywood adaptation of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, which inspired a Broadway musical in the 1980s. Remade in 1993. | tt0026758 | Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel, David Manners, E. E. Clive, Francis (L.) Sullivan, Valerie Hobson | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mystery of Marie Roget | 1942 | Phil Rosen | ★★½ | 60 | Poe story provides basis for fairly good murder mystery. Detective tries to unravel mystery of actress' strange disappearance in 1880s Paris. | tt0035107 | Maria Montez, Maria Ouspenskaya, John Litel, Patric Knowles, Charles Middleton | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Mystery of Mr. Wong | 1939 | William Nigh | ★½ | 67 | Modest Mr. Wong mystery, second entry in the series, has Oriental sleuth becoming embroiled in mystery surrounding a rare gem and a suspiciously changed will. | tt0031704 | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Dorothy Tree, Lotus Long, Morgan Wallace, Holmes Herbert | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Mystery of Mr. X | 1934 | Edgar Selwyn | ★★★ | 85 | Stylish, highly enjoyable mixture of suspense and light comedy, with urbane London jewel thief Montgomery suspected of a string of police murders and trying to clear himself while romancing Scotland Yard chief's daughter. | tt0025546 | Robert Montgomery, Elizabeth Allan, Lewis Stone, Ralph Forbes, Henry Stephenson, Forrester Harvey, Ivan Simpson, Leonard Mudie | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Mystery of Oberwald | 1980 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★ | 129 | Static adaptation of Cocteau's play The Eagle Has Two Heads, about a queen who protects and gradually falls in love with an assassin sent to kill her. Notable for being shot on video and then transferred to 35mm., as well as for the director's experiments with some odd and rather labored color effects, which do little to relieve the tedium of the melodramatic plot. | tt0081165 | Monica Vitti, Ahmad Saha Alan, Paolo Bonacelli, Franco Branciaroli, Luigi Diberti, Elisabetta Pozzi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Mystery of Picasso | The Picasso Mystery | 1956 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★★½ | 85 | Fascinating documentary about Pablo Picasso, who discusses his work and creates a number of paintings before the camera (all of which were destroyed after shooting ended, meaning that they exist only on film). Photographed by Claude (nephew of Jean and grandson of Auguste) Renoir. | tt0049531 | French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Mystery of the Black Jungle | 1956 | Ralph Murphy. | ★½ | 72 | Embarrassing lowjinks set in India involving idol-worshiping natives. Retitled: THE BLACK DEVILS OF KALI. | tt0036493 | Lex Barker, Jane Maxwell, Luigi Tosi, Paul Muller. | German | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Mystery of the Wax Museum | 1933 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 77 | Vintage horror film strays somewhat into excess 'comic relief' and contrivances, but plot of madman Atwill encasing victims in wax, with Wray next on his list, is still exciting. Filmed in early two-color Technicolor; noteworthy as first horror film with contemporary urban setting. Remade as HOUSE OF WAX. | tt0024368 | Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Glenda Farrell, Allen Vincent, Frank McHugh, Arthur Edmund Carewe | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Mystery of the White Room | 1939 | Otis Garrett | ★★★ | 58 | Very good Crime Club mystery of murders in an operating room; modest, nicely done. | tt0031705 |
|
Bruce Cabot, Helen Mack, Constance Worth, Joan Woodbury, Mabel Todd, Tom Dugan | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Mystery, Alaska | 1999 | Jay Roach | ★★ | 118 | Remote Alaskan town's hockey team is given the chance to play against the professional N.Y. Rangers as a publicity stunt. A hodgepodge of characters and an inevitable big-game finale, coupled with derivative storylines, prove that David E. Kelley (who coscripted and coproduced) should stick to TV. Crowe is the only one to rise above the material. | tt0134618 | [R] | Russell Crowe, Burt Reynolds, Hank Azaria, Mary McCormack, Lolita Davidovich, Colm Meaney, Maury Chaykin, Ron Eldard, Michael McKean, Mike Myers, Little Richard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Mystic Masseur | 2002 | Ismail Merchant | ★★ | 117 | Rare directorial effort from the producing half of the Merchant-Ivory team is an adaptation of Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul's novel about a fledgling author who suddenly becomes known for his 'mystical' abilities to heal people. First part of the film is more successful than the second, when it gets bogged down in politics. Acting is first-rate, however, and colorful locations in the Indian community of mid-20th-century Trinidad add flavor. | tt0282771 | [PG] | Aasif Mandvi, Om Puri, Ayesha Dharker, James Fox, Jimi Mistry, Sakina Jaffrey, Zohra Segal | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Mystic Pizza | 1988 | Donald Petrie | ★★ | 104 | The amorous adventures of three young women who work at a pizzeria in Mystic, Connecticut. Superficial in the extreme but geared for a young female audience. A 'nice little film' that isn't all that good. | tt0095690 | [R] | Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio, William R. Moses, Adam Storke, Conchata Ferrell, Joanna Merlin, Matt Damon | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mystic River | 2003 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★½ | 138 | The lives of three boyhood pals from a tight-knit, working-class Boston neighborhood intersect years later: one is now a cop, another a potent figure in the community, and the other still bears deep emotional scars from a tragic childhood incident. Brian Helgeland expertly adapted Dennis Lehane's powerful novel about friendship, murder, neighborhood ties, and a criminal code of honor. Penn and his costars are exceptional, and Eastwood's handling of the material is masterful, if perhaps too leisurely at times. Penn and Robbins won Oscars for their performances. Eli Wallach and Kevin Conway appear unbilled. | tt0327056 | [R] | Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden, Laura Linney, Kevin Chapman, Thomas Guiry, Emmy Rossum | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Myth of Fingerprints | 1997 | Bart Freundlich | ★★ | 90 | A dysfunctional New England family reunion at Thanksgiving reveals WASP angst simmering below the surface of gentility. Too many characters leave little time for any depth of understanding. Notable casting includes Wyle as Scheider's son; he was also associate producer. | tt0119746 | [R] | Blythe Danner, Roy Scheider, Julianne Moore, Noah Wyle, Arija Bareikis, Brian Kerwin, Michael Vartan, Laurel Holloman, Hope Davis, James Le Gros | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Mäedchen in Uniform | 1931 | Leontine Sagan | ★★★½ | 98 | Winning drama about sensitive student Thiele forming lesbian relationship with teacher Wieck in oppressive girls boarding school. Simply, sympathetically handled by Sagan; this highly acclaimed and once-controversial film was based on a novel written by a woman, Christa Winsloe, who also coscripted. Beware of edited prints. Title sometimes is listed as MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM. Remade in 1958. | tt0022183 | Dorothea Wieck, Hertha Thiele, Emilia Unda, Hedwig Schlichter, Ellen Schwannecke | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Mäedchen in Uniform | 1958 | Geza von Radvanyi | ★★½ | 91 | Rather talky story of girls' school and one particularly sensitive youngster (Schneider) who is attracted to her teacher (Palmer). Remake of famous 1931 movie is a shade above average. | tt0051964 | Lilli Palmer, Romy Schneider, Christine Kaufmann, Therese Giehse | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Mélo | 1986 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 110 | Different sort of film experiment from innovator Resnais, rigorously adapting Henry Bernstein's 1929 play about a tragic love triangle. Top-notch acting and direction make this one a winner, but the (intentionally) stagy production makes it not for all tastes. | tt0091507 | Sabine Azéma, Pierre Arditi, Andre Dussollier, Fanny Ardant, Jacques Dacqmine, Catherine Arditi | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nabonga | 1944 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 75 | Incredible cheapie of little girl who survives jungle plane crash and makes friends with a local gorilla; she grows up (now played by London) to become a jungle goddess. Good for laughs, anyway. Retitled: GORILLA. | tt0037115 | Buster Crabbe, Julie London, Fifi D'Orsay, Barton MacLane, Bryant Washburn | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Nacho Libre | 2006 | Jared Hess | ★★½ | 91 | Extremely offbeat concept for a comedy feature casts Black as a Mexican friar who moonlights as a masked wrestler to raise money for the orphanage where he works. Black's engaging silliness is showcased against the kind of deadpan-humor landscape you'd expect from the director and writers of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, but it doesn't jell as one might like. Black also coproduced. | tt0457510 | [PG] | Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Héctor Jiménez, Troy Gentile, Moises Arias, Lauro Chartrand, Peter Stormare, Richard Montoya | Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Nada | 1974 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 107 | Riveting political thriller about a group of hapless left-wing terrorists who kidnap the American Ambassador to France, but then have to deal with a fascistic police chief who's even more violent than they are and doesn't care about getting the hostage back alive. Chabrol is at the top of his cool, calculated, and ultra-cynical form in this superbly filmed blend of razor-sharp action and absurdist humor. Written by Chabrol and Jean Patrick Manchette, from the latter's novel. Original running time: 134m. Aka THE NADA GANG. | tt0071890 | Fabio Testi, Michel Duchaussoy, Maurice Garrel, Michel Aumont, Lou Castel, Didier Kaminka, Viviane Romance, Mariangela Melato | French-Italian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nadine | 1987 | Robert Benton | ★★★ | 82 | Lightweight but pleasing comedy set in 1954 Austin, about a pregnant but nearly divorced hairdresser who accidentally witnesses a murder while trying to retrieve some nude 'art studies' she posed for in a weak moment. Very well cast, with Basinger a surprising standout; catchy credit tune is performed by Sweethearts of the Rodeo. | tt0093596 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Rip Torn, Gwen Verdon, Glenne Headly, Jerry Stiller, Jay Patterson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nadja | 1994 | Michael Almereyda | ★★★ | 92 | Cleverly amusing vampire movie with the vampirish title character (perfectly played by Lowensohn) stalking the streets and late-night clubs of Manhattan's East Village. Fonda is a hoot as 'Dr. Van Helsing,' who has murdered Nadja's father and now is after her and her twin brother. Most enjoyable, but the stylish visuals sometimes swallow up the story. Filmed in b&w, in part using a plastic toy Pixelvision video camera! Executive produced by David Lynch, who appears as a morgue attendant. | tt0110620 | [R] | Elina Löwensohn, Peter Fonda, Suzy Amis, Galaxy Craze, Martin Donovan, Jared Harris, Karl Geary | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nails | 1992 | John Flynn | ★★½ | 100 | Wired Hopper slips into his profane, law-bending cop bit, battling druggies and crooked politicians. Misplaced theatrical release debuted on cable. | tt0104966 | Dennis Hopper, Anne Archer, Tomas Milian, Keith David, Carlos Carrasco, Charles Hallahan, Cliff De Young | Thriller, Crime | NULL | |||
| Naked | 1993 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 131 | Unique, contemporary, energized examination of a drifter from Manchester (Thewlis) who arrives unannounced at an ex-girlfriend's London flat and proceeds to verbally abuse and amuse everyone in sight. Bleak, often brutal, and frequently hilarious look at people drifting in an alienated modern society, with a very impressive performance by Thewlis; its only real shortcoming is its overlength. Another challenging film from writer-director Leigh. | tt0107653 | David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Ewen Bremner | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Naked Alibi | 1954 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 86 | Dismissed from force because of 'police brutality,' ex-cop Hayden continues to stalk cop-killer suspect Barry. | tt0047263 | Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame, Gene Barry, Marcia Henderson, Casey Adams, Chuck Connors | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Naked Ape | 1973 | Donald Driver | ★½ | 85 | Tongue-in-cheek Playboy production loosely based on the pop anthropology of Desmond Morris's nonfiction best-seller. Snickering sex jokes and mediocre animation (by Charles Swenson) add nothing to this episodic summary of 10 million years of Man's evolution. Musical score by Jimmy Webb. | tt0070433 | [PG] | Johnny Crawford, Victoria Principal, Dennis Oliveri, Diana Darrin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Naked Brigade | 1965 | Maury Dexter | ★★ | 99 | Mild WW2 actioner of Eaton hiding from Nazi invasion of Crete. | tt0059494 | Shirley Eaton, Ken Scott, Mary Chronopoulou, John Holland, Sonia Zoidou | War | NULL | |||
| The Naked Cage | 1986 | Paul Nicholas | ★★ | 97 | Standard women's prison drama as innocent Stattuck is framed for a bank robbery and ends up in the slammer. | tt0091603 | [R] | Shari Shattuck, Angel Tompkins, Lucinda Crosby, Faith Minton, Christina Whitaker, John Terlesky | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Naked City | 1948 | Jules Dassin | ★★★ | 96 | Time (and decades of TV cop shows) have dulled the edge of this once-trendsetting crime drama, produced by columnist Mark Hellinger on the streets of N.Y.C., following the investigation of a murder case step by step. Fitzgerald is still first-rate, cast against type as the detective in charge, and the cast is peppered with soon-to-be-familiar character actors (Arthur O'Connell, Paul Ford, James Gregory, Celia Adler, et al.). Cinematographer William Daniels and editor Paul Weatherwax won Oscars for their work. Screenplay by Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald. Later a TV series. | tt0040636 | Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Don Taylor, Dorothy Hart, Ted de Corsia, House Jameson, Frank Conroy, David Opatoshu | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Naked Dawn | 1955 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 82 | Modern Western about a snowballing series of crimes. Based on a story by Gorky, and much admired by Ulmer buffs. | tt0048411 | Arthur Kennedy, Betta St. John, Roy Engel, Eugene Iglesias, Charita | Crime, Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Naked Earth | 1958 | Vincent Sherman | ★½ | 96 | Misguided soap opera set in 1890s Africa, trying to build up aspiring star Greco. | tt0051977 | Juliette Greco, Richard Todd, John Kitzmiller, Finlay Currie | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Naked Edge | 1961 | Michael Anderson | ★★½ | 99 | Uneven suspenser of Kerr thinking husband Cooper is guilty of murder. Cooper's last film, made in London. | tt0055214 | Gary Cooper, Deborah Kerr, Eric Portman, Diane Cilento, Hermione Gingold, Michael Wilding | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Naked Face | 1985 | Bryan Forbes | ★★½ | 103 | Change of pace for Moore, playing a psychiatrist suspected of murdering one of his patients. Low-budget adaptation of Sidney Sheldon novel crudely injects clues and red herrings. | tt0087777 | [R] | Roger Moore, Rod Steiger, Elliott Gould, Anne Archer, David Hedison, Art Carney | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Naked Gun 21/2: The Smell of Fear | 1991 | David Zucker | ★★½ | 85 | Frank Drebin is back, this time to save America from a plot hatched by oil, coal, and nuclear power brokers to keep the country from adopting a new energy policy. Lots of gags, some of them funny, but film lacks the freshness of its predecessor and empties out its bag of tricks sooner than it should. | tt0102510 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O. J. Simpson, Robert Goulet, Richard Griffiths, Jacqueline Brookes, Lloyd Bochner, Tim O'Connor, Peter Mark Richman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult | 1994 | Peter Segal | ★★ | 82 | Sloppy sequel in which a now retired Frank Drebin returns to Police Squad for one more case . . . losing the love of his wife in the process. The most slapdash slapstick yet, with some real laughs here and there, and a passel of cameo appearances at the climactic Oscar ceremony. | tt0110622 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Fred Ward, Kathleen Freeman, Anna Nicole Smith, Ellen Greene, Ed Williams, Randall 'Tex' Cobb | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | 1988 | David Zucker | ★★★ | 85 | A failed (but loyally supported) TV sitcom, Police Squad, is reincarnated as a hilarious feature film, with a deadpan, dead-perfect Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin, the stupidest law officer since Inspector Clouseau. Writers David and Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Pat Proft can't keep their momentum from slowing a bit during the baseball game finale, but they provide solid, silly laughs from start to finish. Followed by two sequels. | tt0095705 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, O.J. Simpson, Nancy Marchand | Comedy, Crime, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Naked Heart | 1950 | Marc Allégret | ★★ | 96 | Little of consequence happens in this sad story based on book Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon. Filmed before in 1935 (in France) and again in 1983 (in Canada). | tt0042712 | Michele Morgan, Kieron Moore, Françoise Rosay, Jack Watling | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Naked Hills | 1956 | Josef Shaftel | ★½ | 73 | Raggedy account of Wayne who has gold fever and spends life searching for ore, ignoring wife and family. | tt0049540 | David Wayne, Keenan Wynn, James Barton, Marcia Henderson, Jim Backus | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Naked Jungle | 1954 | Byron Haskin | ★★★ | 95 | High-class South American jungle adventure, with Heston and wife Parker surrounded on their plantation by advancing army of red ants. Produced by George Pal. | tt0047264 | Eleanor Parker, Charlton Heston, Abraham Sofaer, William Conrad | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Naked Kiss | 1964 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★ | 93 | In-your-face melodrama opens with a bang and never lets up, as prostitute Towers arrives in a small town hoping to start a new life. By turns lurid, sentimental, romantic, surprising; a mélange that could only have been concocted by writer-director Fuller. | tt0058390 | Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, Virginia Grey, Patsy Kelly, Betty Bronson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Naked Lunch | 1991 | David Cronenberg | ★★★ | 115 | A no-holds-barred, graphic filming of William S. Burroughs' thoroughly unfilmable 1959 novel, weaving elements of the author's life in with the fictional material. Weller is an aspiring writer and N.Y.C. exterminator in 1953; when his loony drug-addict wife (Davis, who's great) dies, the real story takes off. He is immersed in an extended, drug-laced odyssey to a Casablanca-like community that's seething with oddballs and weirdos. Cronenberg was undeniably the right person to direct this, but be warned: mutating, oozing typewriter-size talking bugs fill the screen throughout. | tt0102511 | [R] | Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands, Roy Scheider, Monique Mercure, Nicholas Campbell, Michael Zelniker, Robert A. Silverman, Joseph Scorsiani | Canadian-British | Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Naked Maja | 1959 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 111 | Mishmash involving 18th-century Spanish painter Goya and famed model for title painting. | tt0051891 | Ava Gardner, Anthony Franciosa, Amedeo Nazzari, Gino Cervi, Massimo Serato, Lea Padovani, Carlo Rizzo | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Naked Paradise | Thunder Over Hawaii | 1957 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 68 | On-location filming in Hawaii can't salvage this balderdash about crooks using cruise boat to rob a local plantation. Retitled: THUNDER OVER HAWAII. Remade as BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE and CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA. | tt0050748 | Richard Denning, Beverly Garland, Lisa Montell, Richard (Dick) Miller, Leslie Bradley | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Naked Prey | 1966 | Cornel Wilde | ★★★ | 94 | Harrowing, well-done safari movie. African natives give prisoner Wilde headstart before they close in on him for kill, forcing Wilde to combat them with savage tactics; memorable brutal sequences. | tt0060736 | Cornel Wilde, Gert Van Den Bergh, Ken Gampu | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Naked Runner | 1967 | Sidney J. Furie | ★½ | 104 | Dull spy melodrama focusing on American who is pawn in bizarre plot to get him to assassinate enemy agent. Farfetched, too heavily plotted. | tt0062029 | Frank Sinatra, Peter Vaughan, Toby Robins, Edward Fox | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Naked Spur | 1953 | Anthony Mann | ★★★½ | 91 | One of the best Westerns ever made: a tough, hard little film about self-styled bounty hunter Stewart trying to capture Ryan, who stirs tension among Stewart's newly acquired 'partners.' Strikingly directed and photographed (by William Mellor) on location in the Rockies. Written by Sam Rolfe and Harold Jack Bloom. | tt0044953 | James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Millard Mitchell | Western | NULL | |||
| The Naked Street | 1955 | Maxwell Shane | ★★ | 84 | Capable cast wasted in bland yarn of reporter exposing crime. | tt0048412 | Farley Granger, Anthony Quinn, Anne Bancroft, Peter Graves, Jerry Paris, Jeanne Cooper | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Naked Tango | 1991 | Leonard Schrader | ★★ | 90 | Very dark look at the Tango underground of 1920s Buenos Aires, in which the famous dance symbolizes the obsessive and strange passions of three people caught up in this forbidden world. Uneasy mixture of sex and violence, with an unconvincing central performance by D'Onofrio, though stunning production design and cinematography compensate a little for the murky storytelling. A real letdown from the producer (David Weisman) and screenwriter (Schrader) of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN. | tt0100222 | [R] | Vincent D'Onofrio, Mathilda May, Esai Morales, Fernando Rey, Cipe Lincovski, Josh Mostel, Constance McCashin | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Naked Youth | 1959 | John F. Schreyer | 💣 | 69 | Awful potboiler about drug smuggling, murder and some youths who escape from the 'State Boys Honor Farm.' That 'Switch'— short for switchblade— is a real peach. Plenty of blasting saxophones and bongo drums on the soundtrack. Aka WILD YOUTH. | tt0053098 | Carol Ohmart, Robert Hutton, Steve Rowland, Jan Brooks, Robert Arthur, John Goddard | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Naked and the Dead | 1958 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 131 | Norman Mailer's intensive novel about WW2 soldiers in the Pacific gets superficial but rugged filmization. Ray is the tough sergeant, Robertson the rich-kid lieutenant, Bishop the comic Jew, Jones the hick, Gist the loner, etc. | tt0051978 | Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson, Raymond Massey, William Campbell, Richard Jaeckel, James Best, Joey Bishop, L. Q. Jones, Robert Gist, Lili St. Cyr, Barbara Nichols | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Naked in New York | 1994 | Dan Algrant | ★★½ | 91 | Unsuccessful, but generally watchable backstage comedy about an aspiring playwright who can't decide whether to pursue his career in N.Y.C. or remain with the woman he loves in their Ivy League environment. Stoltz and Macchio aren't aggressive enough for their roles, but Turner (as a soap actress) and Curtis (a Broadway producer) give mild film a boost. Amusing literati cameos; Martin Scorsese executive-produced. | tt0110623 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Mary-Louise Parker, Ralph Macchio, Kathleen Turner, Tony Curtis, Timothy Dalton, Jill Clayburgh, Roscoe Lee Browne | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Naked in the Sun | 1957 | R. John Hugh | ★★ | 79 | Somewhat sluggish account of Indian tribes involved with slave traders. | tt0050750 |
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James Craig, Lita Milan, Barton MacLane, Tony Hunter | Western | NULL | ||
| The Name of the Game Is Kill | 1968 | Gunnar Hellstrom | ★★ | 88 | Crazy melodrama concerns refugee Lord's problems in Arizona when he gets mixed up with a trio ofsisters and their mother. Retitled THE FEMALE TRAP. | tt0063335 | Jack Lord, Susan Strasberg, Collin Wilcox, Tisha Sterling, T. C. Jones | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Name of the Rose | Name der Rose, Der | 1986 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★ | 130 | Unusual film (to say the least) based on Umberto Eco's best-seller, which places a Sherlock Holmesian monk (Connery) in the midst of a mysterious Italian abbey during the inquisition of the 13th century. Too provocative to dismiss, too lumbering to thoroughly enjoy, buoyed considerably by Connery's charismatic performance. | tt0091605 | [R] | Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Christian Slater, Elya Baskin, Feodor Chaliapin/Jr., William Hickey, Michael Lonsdale, Ron Perlman; narrated by Dwight Weist | Italian-German-French | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL |
| The Namesake | 2007 | Mira Nair | ★★★ | 122 | Richly layered saga of a Bengali family's cultural journey, spanning two generations. After an arranged marriage in Calcutta, a young man and his wife move to N.Y.C., where he pursues a career and she must adjust to life in a strange new land. Their son (Penn) grows up an assimilated American and has mixed feelings about his heritage, his identity, and even his name. Episodic drama covers some familiar territory about the clash of cultures but delves beneath the surface and is ultimately quite moving. Based on a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. | tt0433416 | [PG-13] | Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson, Rhuma Guha Thakurta, Tamal Roy Choudhury, Glenne Headly, Daniel Gerroll, Linus Roache, Brooke Smith, Amy Wrig | Drama | NULL | ||
| Namu, the Killer Whale | 1966 | Laslo Benedek | ★★½ | 88 | Intriguing tale, based on true story of naturalist Lansing capturing and training a killer whale. Nicely done, good family fare. Aka NAMU, MY BEST FRIEND. | tt0060737 | Robert Lansing, John Anderson, Lee Meriwether, Richard Erdman, Robin Mattson | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Nana | 1934 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 89 | Initially interesting adaptation of Emile Zola story of luxury-loving woman in tragic love affair runs out of steam towards the middle. Producer Samuel Goldwyn's first attempt to make a new Garbo out of exotic but wooden Sten. | tt0025555 | Anna Sten, Phillips Holmes, Lionel Atwill, Muriel Kirkland, Richard Bennett, Mae Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nancy Drew | 2007 | Andrew Fleming | ★★½ | 99 | Pleasant, somewhat bland movie about the teenage sleuth (created in the 1930s by “Carolyn Keene”) who accompanies her father to L.A. and moves into a creepy old house; it once belonged to a glamorous movie star whose murder was never explained. Nancy has promised her dad she won’t “sleuth” anymore but she just can’t help it. Roberts is good as Nancy, who’s portrayed as the ultimate square. Bruce Willis, Eddie Jemison, and Chris Kattan appear unbilled. | tt0479500 | [PG] | Emma Roberts, Josh Flitter, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tate Donovan, Amy Bruckner, Barry Bostwick, Laura Elena Harring, Caroline Aaron, Pat Carroll, Adam Goldberg | Comedy, Crime, Family, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase | 1939 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 60 |
Nancy comes to the aid of two aging sisters plagued by mysterious occurrences in their old mansion; best of the short-lived series, and only one of two actually based on a Carolyn Keene novel, The Hidden Staircase.|
tt0031708
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Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas, John Litel, Frank Orth, Renie Riano, Vera Lewis, John Ridgely
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Crime, Mystery
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| Nancy Drew, Detective | 1938 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 66 | Nancy investigates a wealthy woman's disappearance in the series' debut film, with Granville's energetic performance scoring a bull's-eye. Based on The Password to Larkspur Lane. | tt0030491 | Bonita Granville, John Litel, James Stephenson, Frankie Thomas, Frank Orth, Renie Riano, Dick Purcell | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Nancy Drew- Reporter | 1939 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 68 | One of the series' best entries has school newspaper reporter Nancy determined to prove a girl innocent of murder charges. | tt0031709 | Bonita Granville, John Litel, Frankie Thomas, Mary Lee, Dickie Jones | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Nancy Drew- Troubleshooter | 1939 | William Clemens | ★★ | 69 | More emphasis on comedy than mystery in this potboiler with Nancy helping to clear a friend of her Dad's who's been accused of murder. | tt0031710 | Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas/Jr., John Litel, Aldrich Bowker, Renie Riano | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Nancy Goes to Rio | 1950 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 99 | Agreeable if artificial MGM musical (remake of Deanna Durbin's IT'S A DATE), with Sothern and Powell as mother and daughter who compete for a plum acting role and, through misunderstanding, the same man. | tt0042779 | Ann Sothern, Jane Powell, Barry Sullivan, Carmen Miranda, Louis Calhern, Fortunio Bonanova, Hans Conried | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Nancy Steele Is Missing! | 1937 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 85 | McLaglen is so opposed to war he abducts the baby daughter of a WW1 munitions king; many complications ensue. Offbeat sympathetic portrayal of a kidnapper. | tt0029292 | Victor McLaglen, Walter Connolly, Peter Lorre, June Lang, Jane Darwell, John Carradine | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Nanny Diaries | 2007 | Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini | ★★ | 105 | Aimless working-class NYU grad stumbles into a job as a nanny for pampered “perfect wife” Linney, who has virtually nothing to do with her little boy. Bland, defanged adaptation of Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus’ delicious book, which was based on their real-life experiences tending to spoiled children and impossibly demanding women. | tt0489237 | [PG-13] | Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Alicia Keys, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Paul Giamatti, Nicholas Reese Art, Nathan Corddry, Cady Huffman, Julie White | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nanny McPhee | 2006 | Kirk Jones | ★★½ | 96 | Victorian-era widower with seven unruly children finds the perfect nanny on his doorstep: a serene, strange-looking woman who has almost magical powers to calm the kids and bring out the best in them. Raucous variation on MARY POPPINS has an abundance of slapstick and grotesquerie, enacted by a first-class ensemble, but the end result is unmemorable. Thompson scripted from the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand. | tt0396752 | [PG] | Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Derek Jacobi, Patrick Barlow, Imelda Staunton, Celia Imrie, Angela Lansbury, Thomas Sangster | British | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Nanny McPhee Returns | 2010 | Susanna White | ★★ | 109 | Writer-star Thompson goes back to the well with this Mary Poppins wannabe (based on Christiana Brand’s books) in this sequel to her 2005 hit, set during WW2. This time the magical nanny shows up to help a young farm wife tend to her children and their rambunctious cousins while her husband is away at war. Full of slapstick and mayhem, which kids ought to eat up, and an inspired takeoff on synchronized swimming with pigs. As usual there’s a moral to the tale, but Thompson’s blend of warmth and wit makes it bearable. Original British title: NANNY McPHEE AND THE BIG BANG. | tt1415283 | [PG] | Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Maggie Smith, Rosie Taylor-Ritson, Bill Bailey, Sam Kelly, Daniel Mays, Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes | U.S.-French-British | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Nanny | 1965 | Seth Holt | ★★★ | 93 | Twisting, scary plot plus fine direction reap results. Suspects of child murder narrowed to governess Davis and disturbed youngster Dix. Unusual Hammer production, written by Jimmy Sangster. From the novel by Evelyn Piper. | tt0059496 | Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett, James Villiers, Pamela Franklin, William Dix, Maurice Denham | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Nanook of the North | 1922 | Robert Flaherty | ★★★½ | 79 | Pioneer documentary of Eskimos' daily life withstands the test of time quite well, remains as absorbing saga, well filmed. Set the standard for many documentaries to follow. Soundtrack added in 1939. The film's production is recreated in KABLOONAK. | tt0013427 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Napoleon | 1927 | Abel Gance | ★★★★ | 235 | Hard to put into words the impact of this monumental silent epic. Dieudonné mesmerizingly plays the famed emperor; notable sequences include snowball fight, the Reign of Terror, and eye-popping three-screen Polyvision finale. Recut and shortened many times over the years (often by Gance himself), finally painstakingly pieced together by historian Kevin Brownlow and reissued in 1981 with a serviceable music score by Carmine Coppola. Not the kind of film one can best appreciate on TV. Filmed in part- | tt0018192 | Albert Dieudonné, Antonin Artaud, Pierre Batcheff, Armand Bernard, Harry Krimer, Albert Bras, Abel Gance | French | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Napoleon Dynamite | 2004 | Jared Hess. | ★★★ | 90 | Deadpan comedy about a geeky high school kid (Heder), his family, and friends, who inhabit an alternate universe but struggle to get by in the real world of rural Idaho. Trying to connect with a female classmate, contending with a macho uncle who moves in when his guardian grandma gets injured, or resentfully feeding the family's pet llama, Napoleon is one of a kind. Not for every taste, but it's the sort of film that gets funnier with repeated viewing. Five-minute epilogue was added after closing titles midway during the film's theatrical run. Vote for Pedro! Written by Hess and his wife Jerusha. | tt0374900 | [PG] | Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader, Haylie Duff, Trevor Snarr, Shondrella Avery. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Napoleon and Samantha | 1972 | Bernard McEveety | ★★½ | 92 | Disney tale of two kids who run away with pet lion is OK family fare. Foster's film debut. | tt0068990 | [G] | Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, Johnny Whitaker, Will Geer, Arch Johnson, Henry Jones | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Narc | 2002 | Joe Carnahan | ★★½ | 105 | Disgraced Detroit narcotics detective (Patric) gets a chance to redeem himself when he is asked to probe the murder of a cop with the man's former partner (Liotta), a violent maverick who may know more than he is telling. Visceral look at the brutal realities of undercover work is relentlessly grim, although the two stars give forceful performances, and the opening sequence is certainly a grabber. Liotta also coproduced; scripted by the director. | tt0272207 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride, Busta Rhymes, Anne Openshaw, Richard Chevolleau, John Ortiz, Krista Bridges | Crime, Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Narcotic | 1933 | Dwain Esper. | 💣 | 57 | Another gloriously awful Esper epic, presented as a case history of a doctor's decline into hopeless drug addiction. Includes plenty of stock footage, astoundingly wooden acting, and laughable Asian stereotypes. A hoot if you're in the right mood. . . . | tt0121587 | Harry Cording, Joan Dix, Patricia Farley, Jean Lacey, J. Stuart Blackton/Jr. | Biography, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Narrow Corner | 1933 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 71 | Fairbanks is on the lam, and winds up on an East Indies island where he finds friendship— and illicit romance. Remarkably adult adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham novel (made in the pre-Production Code era), with only minor flaws. Remade as ISLE OF FURY. | tt0024373 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Patricia Ellis, Ralph Bellamy, Dudley Digges, William V. Mong, Sidney Toler, Henry Kolker, Willie Fung | Drama | NULL | |||
| Narrow Margin | 1990 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 97 | Hackman is superb as an assistant D.A. who accompanies murder witness Archer on an eventful train ride through the Canadian Rockies— pursued by henchmen of the gangster who set up the killing she saw. Some sharp dialogue for Hackman, and a great action climax atop the train, but dramatically it misses the bull's-eye— and cannot top the original 1952 film. | tt0100224 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Anne Archer, James B. Sikking, J.T. Walsh, M. Emmet Walsh, Susan Hogan, Nigel Bennett, J.A. Preston, Harris Yulin | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Narrow Margin | 1952 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★½ | 70 | Hard-boiled cop, transporting a gangster's widow against his will to the trial in which she'll testify, must dodge hit men aboard their train who are trying to silence her. One of the best B's ever made— fast paced, well acted, impressively shot in claustrophobic setting. Photographed by George E. Diskant; scripted by Earl Fenton, from a story by Martin Goldsmith and Jack Leonard. Remade in 1990. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044954 | Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White, Queenie Leonard | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Nashville | 1975 | Robert Altman | ★★★★ | 159 | Altman's brilliant mosaic of American life as seen through 24 characters involved in Nashville political rally. Full of cogent character studies, comic and poignant vignettes, done in seemingly free-form style. Carradine's song 'I'm Easy' won an Oscar; Elliott Gould and Julie Christie appear as themselves. Screenplay by Joan Tewkesbury. | tt0073440 | [R] | Henry Gibson, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Lily Tomlin, Michael Murphy, Barbara Harris, Allen Garfield, Ned Beatty, Barbara Baxley, Shelley Duvall, Keenan Wynn, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Gwen Welles, Bert Remsen, Robert Doqui | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Nashville Girl | 1976 | Gus Trikonis | ★★ | 93 | OK low-budgeter about small-town girl who wants to make it big as a singer and falls in with typical no-good types in the music biz. Country superstar Rodriguez makes his movie debut. Reissued as COUNTRY MUSIC DAUGHTER. | tt0074954 | [R] | Monica Gayle, Glenn Corbett, Roger Davis, Johnny Rodriguez, Jesse White | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Nasty Girl | 1990 | Michael Verhoeven | ★★★½ | 92 | Biting serio-comic story of a young woman (Stolze) from a small Bavarian town whose attempts to enter a national essay contest on the subject of 'My Hometown During the Third Reich' results in her obsessive quest for the truth. Stolze convincingly ages from adolescence to womanhood in this remarkable film, which is based on a true story (and scripted by the director). Verhoeven's visual style is equally striking, mixing real locations and theatrical backdrops for his actors. | tt0100557 | [PG-13] | Lena Stolze, Monika Baumgartner, Michael Gahr, Fred Stillkrauth, Elisabeth Bertram, Robert Giggenbach | German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Nasty Habits | 1977 | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | ★½ | 96 | Labored comedy sets allegory of Nixon and Watergate scandal in Philadelphia convent, with Jackson as conniving Mother Superior, Dennis a dead ringer for John Dean. A one-joke film. | tt0076440 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Melina Mercouri, Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Anne Jackson, Anne Meara, Susan Penhaligon, Edith Evans, Rip Torn, Eli Wallach, Jerry Stiller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Nasty Rabbit | Spies à Go Go | 1964 | James Landis | ★★ | 85 | Weak spoof with serious overtones involving Russian attempt to set loose a disease-infected rabbit in the U. S. Retitled: SPIES A GO GO. | tt0058392 | Arch Hall/Jr., Micha Terr, Melissa Morgan, John Akana | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nate and Hayes | 1983 | Ferdinand Fairfax | ★★ | 100 | An adventure movie for people who've never seen a real adventure movie: watchable enough but pretty pale. Seagoing rogue 'Bully' Hayes (Jones) helps a young missionary rescue his fiancée, who's been kidnapped by a scurrilous pirate. Lots of serial-type action, but the leading characters lack charisma. Cowritten by John Hughes. | tt0085994 | [PG] | Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O'Keefe, Max Phipps, Jenny Seagrove, Grant Tilly, Peter Rowley | U.S.-New Zealand | Adventure | NULL | |
| Nathalie . . . | 2004 | Anne Fontaine. | ★★ | 101 | Muddled account of the evolving relationship between two women: a married gynecologist and the prostitute she hires to seduce her philandering husband. Even the hooker's vivid descriptions of their sexual encounters fail to light a spark under this pretentious character study. | tt0348853 | Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Gérard Depardieu, Wladimir Yordanoff, Judith Magre, Aurore Auteuil. | French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon Goes to the Movies | National Lampoon's Movie Madness | 1981 | Henry Jaglom, Bob Giraldi | 💣 | 89 | Incredibly idiotic parody of the movies, presented in three excruciating parts, each one worse than the next. 'Personal growth' films, Harold Robbins/Sidney Sheldon soap operas and police movies are spoofed; a fourth segment, parodying disaster films and featuring Allen Goorwitz (Garfield), Marcia Strassman, and Kenneth Mars, was excised. It's easy to see why this never received theatrical release. Aka NATIONAL LAMPOON'S MOVIE MADNESS. | tt0082799 | [R] | Peter Riegert, Diane Lane, Candy Clark, Teresa Ganzel, Ann Dusenberry, Robert Culp, Bobby DiCicco, Fred Willard, Joe Spinell, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller, Robby Benson, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lloyd, Elisha Cook, Julie Kavner, Henny Youngman | Comedy | NULL | |
| National Lampoon's Animal House | Animal House | 1978 | John Landis | ★★ | 109 | Spoof of early 1960s college life is only sporadically funny, depends largely on Belushi's mugging as frat-house animal. Not nearly as roisterous or amusing as any issue of the Lampoon, but it became a tremendous hit— and spawned a number of truly terrible imitations— as well as a short-lived TV series, Delta House. | tt0077975 | [R] | John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom Hulce, Cesare Danova, Peter Riegert, Stephen Furst, Donald Sutherland, Karen Allen, Sarah Holcomb, Bruce McGill, Martha Smith, Mary Louise Weller, James Daughton, Kevin Bacon, Mark Metcalf, James Widdoes | Comedy | NULL | |
| National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation | 1989 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | ★★★ | 97 | Funny (if typically spotty, sometimes tasteless) saga of the Griswold family's disaster-filled holiday season, with Chase as the terminally stupid head of the household. Sprinkles some believably poignant moments into its slapstick brew with surprising deftness. Third in the VACATION series. Written by John Hughes. Followed by VEGAS VACATION and a direct-to-video spinoff. | tt0097958 | [PG-13] | Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mae Questel, William Hickey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki, Nicholas Guest, Miriam Flynn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Class Reunion | 1982 | Michael Miller | 💣 | 84 | Spectacularly unfunny comedy about a high school reunion shaken by mad killer on the prowl. If you went to school with people like this, no jury in the world would convict you for turning homicidal, either. | tt0084395 | [R] | Gerrit Graham, Michael Lerner, Fred McCarren, Miriam Flynn, Stephen Furst, Marya Small, Shelley Smith, Zane Buzby, Anne Ramsey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's European Vacation | 1985 | Amy Heckerling | ★½ | 94 | Pretty sorry sequel to VACATION, with idiotic Chase and his family stumbling through Europe. Misfire gags right and left, and surprising sexism in a film directed by a woman. Script by John Hughes and Robert Klane. Followed by NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION. | tt0089670 | [PG-13] | Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Jason Lively, Dana Hill, Eric Idle, Victor Lanoux, John Astin, Paul Bartel, Mel Smith, Robbie Coltrane | Comedy | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Gold Diggers | 2004 | Gary Preisler. | 💣 | 87 | Two inept overgrown teenagers arrive in L.A. hoping to con their way into the good life. They select a pair of creepily libidinous elderly sisters as their prey and move into their mansion, intent on courting them. If it's possible to insult the National Lampoon brand with lack of humor and crass inanity, this is the proof. Taylor's real-life husband, Joe Bologna, is credited as 'creative consultant,' and their son Gabriel plays a jail guard. Unrated version also available. | tt0376717 | [PG-13] | Will Friedle, Chris Owen, Louise Lasser, Renee Taylor, Rudy De Luca, Nikki Ziering. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 | 1993 | Gene Quintano | ★★ | 83 | Lethal Weapon, Loaded Weapon, get it? Quality-caboose of the movie-spoof genre initiated by AIRPLANE! has at least a few laugh-out-loud gags: a takeoff on the BASIC INSTINCT interrogation scene and a skewering of the standard cop film convenience-store shootup. Estevez is no Leslie Nielsen, but you knew that. | tt0107659 | [PG-13] | Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, Frank McRae, William Shatner, James Doohan, Charlie Sheen, Bill Nunn, F. Murray Abraham, Richard Moll, Denis Leary, Corey Feldman, Phil Hartman, J.T. Walsh, Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Paul Gleason, Allyce Beasley, Rick Ducommun, Charles Napier, Beverly Johnson, Denise (Lee) Richards | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Senior Trip | 1995 | Kelly Makin | ★★ | 91 | Conniving senator is exposed by the expected array of Lampoon honor-rollers: dopers, drop-outs, the class tramp, a Cheetos freak, a self-described 'frigid head case,' etc. Lower-than-low humor, but fairly fast paced. | tt0113936 | [R] | Matt Frewer, Valerie Mahaffey, Lawrence Dane, Tommy Chong, Jeremy Renner, Rob Moore | Comedy | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Vacation | 1983 | Harold Ramis | ★★★ | 98 | Enjoyable lightweight comedy about a sappy middle-class family's cross-country trip by car. Given the obvious premise, there are a surprising number of genuine laughs— including the ultimate fate of Aunt Edna. Written by John Hughes. Followed by three sequels, starting with NATIONAL LAMPOON'S EUROPEAN VACATION. | tt0085995 | [R] | Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron, Christie Brinkley, John Candy, Eddie Bracken, Brian Doyle-Murray, Eugene Levy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| National Lampoon's Van Wilder | Van Wilder | 2002 | Walt Becker | ★½ | 95 | Reynolds is the title character, a slick campus wheeler-dealer who never wants to graduate. Homage to ANIMAL HOUSE and other, better teen comedies even casts actors associated with those films in supporting roles . . . but this is just a rehash of the same old stuff with new gross-out gags. Tom Everett Scott appears unbilled. | tt0283111 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, Kal Penn, Teck Holmes, Daniel Cosgrove, Paul Gleason, Erik Estrada, Curtis Armstrong, Edie McClurg | Comedy | NULL | |
| National Lampoon's Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj | 2006 | Mort Nathan | 💣 | 97 | Taj (Penn), a protégé of Van Wilder, heads off to England to attend grad school, where he butts heads with an elitist aristocrat while somehow attracting the attention of a sexy scholar. Charmless male-fantasy comedy is sloppily made and loaded with lame humor that will appeal only to the most indiscriminating beer guzzlers. Unrated version also available. | tt0480271 | [R] | Kal Penn, Lauren Cohan, Daniel Percival, Holly Davidson, Anthony Cozens, Steven Rathman, Glen Barry. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| National Security | 2003 | Dennis Dugan | ★★½ | 88 | Two adversarial ex-cops discover malfeasance in high legal places while working as security guards— and yes, you've probably heard that one before. Buddy comedy doesn't make much sense even on its predictably moronic level, yet Lawrence and Zahn are surprisingly in sync, and as funny as they've ever been. The scene that leads to Zahn getting ousted from the force is first-rate by any standards; everything else is pretty much recycled. | tt0271668 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Steve Zahn, Colm Feore, Bill Duke, Eric Roberts, Timothy Busfield, Robinne Lee, Matt McCoy, Brett Cullen, Stephen Tobolowsky, Joe Flaherty | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| National Treasure | 2004 | Jon Turteltaub. | ★★★ | 130 | Surprisingly entertaining yarn about a man who's devoted (some say 'wasted') his life to the pursuit of a hidden treasure, its clues on the back of the Declaration of Independence. The Da Vinci Code lite, this thoroughly engaging action-adventure offers a clever script, good characters, and imaginative use of its Washington, D.C., Boston, and N.Y.C. locations. Longer than it needs to be, but still fun. | tt0368891 | [PG] | Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Sean Bean, Christopher Plummer, Harvey Keitel, Hunter Gomez, Justin Bartha. | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| National Treasure: Book of Secrets | 2007 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★½ | 124 | Treasure hunter Cage has a personal stake in his latest quest: proving the innocence of an ancestor who may have been involved in planning Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Pretty good premise is given slick treatment, with lots of action set pieces and a first-rate cast, although it’s all too obvious that it’s a sequel, with contrived plotting at every turn. | tt0465234 | [PG] | Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Helen Mirren, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Bruce Greenwood, Ty Burrell, Brent Briscoe, Randy Travis | Comedy, Thriller, Mystery, Adventure | NULL | ||
| National Velvet | 1944 | Clarence Brown | ★★★★ | 125 | Outstanding family film about a girl who determines to enter her horse in the famed Grand National Steeplechase. Taylor is irresistible, Rooney was never better, and they're surrounded by a perfect supporting cast. Revere won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Taylor's mother. Screenplay by Theodore Reeves and Helen Deutsch, from Enid Bagnold's novel. Followed years later by INTERNATIONAL VELVET and a TV series. | tt0037120 | Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Donald Crisp, Anne Revere, Angela Lansbury, Reginald Owen, Norma Varden, Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins, Terry Kilburn | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Native Son | 1986 | Jerrold Freedman | ★★½ | 112 | Second, star-studded filming of Richard Wright's landmark 1940 novel. Nineteen-year-old Bigger Thomas (played by newcomer Love) is a poor black in 1930s Chicago whose life takes a tragic turn. Capable cast and serviceable script cannot overcome film's deliberate alterations and softening of some of the novel's key plot points and themes. Still, for those unfamiliar with the book, an OK melodrama. A coproduction of PBS's American Playhouse. | tt0091613 | [PG] | Victor Love, Matt Dillon, Elizabeth McGovern, Geraldine Page, Oprah Winfrey, Akosua Busia, Carroll Baker, John McMartin, Art Evans, John Karlen, Willard E. Pugh, David Rasche, Ving Rhames | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Nativity Story | 2006 | Catherine Hardwicke | ★★½ | 101 | Familiar saga of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus gets a reverent (if uninspired) mounting that endows well-known figures with emotional cores. Set in a time-circa 9 months B.C.-when conceiving a child of mysterious parentage is punishable by death, 16-year-old Mary has to deal not only with the imminent birth of the Israelites' deliverer but also how to explain things to her skeptical husband. Detailed script even provides a reasonable explanation for the Star of Bethlehem, but screenwriter Mike Rich fails to credit the original author. | tt0762121 | [PG] | Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Alexander Siddig, Ciarán Hinds, Shohreh Aghdashloo. | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Natural Born Killers | 1994 | Oliver Stone | ★½ | 119 | Supposed satire of America's infatuation with outlaws and social miscreants, focusing on a hedonistic couple who murder more than 50 people on their 'honeymoon.' Whatever points Stone wants to make are delivered early on, with a bludgeon; the rest is all sound and fury. Sixties-inspired hyperkinetic filmmaking style soon becomes boring and repetitious. Story by Quentin Tarantino; three others (including Stone) are credited with the screenplay. Director's cut (with 3m. of new footage) available on video. | tt0110632 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey/Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore, Russell Means, Rodney Dangerfield, Edie McClurg, Steven Wright, Joe Grifasi, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Balthazar Getty, Dale Dye, James Gammon, Arliss Howard | Action, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Natural Enemies | 1979 | Jeff Kanew | ★½ | 100 | Successful publisher Holbrook wakes up one day with the urge to kill his family. Cold, uninvolving, and (needless to say) strange little film, written, directed and edited by Kanew. | tt0079613 | [R] | Hal Holbrook, Louise Fletcher, Peter Armstrong, Beth Berridge, Steve Austin, Jose Ferrer, Viveca Lindfors | Drama | NULL | ||
| Natural Selection | 2012 | Robbie Pickering | ★★★ | 89 | Engagingly offbeat indie dramedy about a devoutly religious Texas housewife (Harris, in a standout performance) whose husband suffers a stroke after years of making secret deposits at a sperm bank. Determined to find at least one of the children he's spawned, she locates a scruffy twentysomething ne'er-do well (O'Leary) recently escaped from prison. Seriocomic complications arise during their amusing road trip back to her hometown, as the woman's feelings for her traveling companion evolve into something other than maternal. Feature debut for writer-director Pickering. | tt1621426 | [R] | Rachael Harris, Matt O'Leary, Jon Gries, John Diehl, Gayland Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Natural | 1984 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 134 | Serpentine saga of a young man with a gift for baseball, whose life takes more than a few surprising turns. Freely adapted from Bernard Malamud's offbeat novel, with heavy doses of sentiment and larger-than-life imagery (courtesy of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel). Some effective moments, with a fine cast, but too long and inconsistent. Best of all: Randy Newman's score. Darren McGavin appears unbilled. | tt0087781 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Richard Farnsworth, Barbara Hershey, Robert Prosky, Joe Don Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Naughty But Nice | 1939 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 90 | Stuffy music professor Powell unwittingly writes popular song hit, leading to various complications and gradual personality change. Silly but fun; songs adapted from Wagner, Liszt, Mozart, Bach. | tt0031712 | Dick Powell, Ann Sheridan, Gale Page, Helen Broderick, Ronald Reagan, Allen Jenkins, ZaSu Pitts, Jerry Colonna | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Naughty Flirt | 1931 | Edward Cline. | ★½ | 56 | A wild young socialite (White) is tamed by a hardworking lawyer, but a fortune hunter and his sister scheme to break up the happy couple. Dated jazz-baby flapper stuff notable only for Loy's early appearance as a seductress and the scene where Page puts the annoyingly perky White over his knee for a good spanking. You may wish to do the same. | tt0022191 | Alice White, Paul Page, Myrna Loy, Robert Agnew, Douglas Gilmore, George Irving. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Naughty Marietta | 1935 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 106 | First teaming of Eddy and MacDonald has her a French princess running off to America, falling in love with Indian scout Eddy. Agreeable operetta with Victor Herbert score, including 'The Italian Street Song,' 'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp,' and the immortal 'Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.' | tt0026768 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Elsa Lanchester, Douglass Dumbrille, Cecilia Parker | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Naughty Marietta | 1935 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 106 | Charming update of Victor Herbert's 1910 operetta about a French princess fleeing to New Orleans to escape an arranged marriage and falling in love with an Indian scout. First teaming of MacDonald and Eddy is bright and tuneful, with such Herbert classics as "The Italian Street Song," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," and "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life." | tt0026768 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Elsa Lanchester, Douglass Dumbrille, Walter Kingsford, Cecilia Parker, Akim Tamiroff, Harold Huber, Edward Brophy | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Naughty Nineties | 1945 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 76 | Ordinary A&C comedy of riverboat gamblers, sparked by duo's verbal exchanges (including 'Who's on First?') and slapstick finale. | tt0037939 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson, Henry Travers, Lois Collier, Joe Sawyer, Joe Kirk | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind | Warriors of the Wind | 1984 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 116 | Imaginative anime feature set in a postapocalyptic world. When a peaceful kingdom is invaded by an evil race determined to retrieve a deadly weapon that has crashed into its valley, a princess leads the defense against all manner of invading hordes, giant insects, and poisonous plants. Based on his own graphic novel, Miyazaki's sci-fi epic blends terrific action set pieces with poignant emotional confrontations, and even an important ecological message. Originally released in the U.S. in 1985, heavily edited, as WARRIORS OF THE WIND. This superior English-language version, supervised by Pixar, was released in 2005. | tt0087544 | Unrated | Voices of Alison Lohman, Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, Shia LaBeouf, Chris Sarandon, Edward James Olmos, Mark Hamill, Jodi Benson | Japanese | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL |
| Navajo Joe | 1966 | Sergio Corbucci | ★½ | 92 | Sole survivor of massacre swears revenge on his enemies in this tepid Western, of interest only for Reynolds' presence. | tt0061587 | Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sanbrell, Tanya Lopert, Fernando Rey | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| The Navigator | 1924 | Buster Keaton, Donald Crisp | ★★½ | 69 | Buster plays (yet again) a pampered millionaire who— by sheer circumstance, with a dash of stupidity— winds up on a huge, deserted ship with the woman he wants to marry. Many great gags and amusing sequences, but this silent doesn't have the momentum of Buster's best comedies. | tt0015163 | Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Frederick Vroom | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey | 1988 | Vincent Ward | ★★★ | 92 | Engrossing, very imaginative tale of psychic boy in tiny medieval English village who, to protect villagers from the plague, leads a tunneling expedition— which emerges in a modern city in 1988. Directed and written with great clarity, the film has much of the feel of a genuine medieval fable. Beautifully produced on a low budget. | tt0095709 | [PG] | Hamish McFarlane, Bruce Lyons, Chris Haywood, Marshall Napier, Noel Appleby, Paul Livingston, Sarah Pierse | New Zealand | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Navy Blue and Gold | 1937 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 94 | Hackneyed but entertaining saga of three pals (one rich and innocent, one a cynic, and one mysterious 'with a past') going to Annapolis. Predictable football game climax is fun. That's Dennis Morgan (billed under his real name, Stanley Morner) dancing with Billie Burke. | tt0029297 | Robert Young, James Stewart, Florence Rice, Billie Burke, Lionel Barrymore, Tom Brown, Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Kelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| Navy Blues | 1929 | Clarence Brown. | ★★ | 75 | Standard gobs-on-shore-leave antics centering on the whirlwind affair of wisecracking sailor Haines and good girl Page. Moderately amusing until treacle takes over. Haines takes his go-getter character to an overbearing extreme in his first talkie. | tt0020210 | William Haines, Anita Page, Karl Dane, J. C. Nugent, Edythe Chapman, Wade Boteler, Mary Brian. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Navy Blues | 1941 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 108 | Brassy musical with fine cast (including young Jackie Gleason), with Raye stealing most of the film. | tt0033942 | Ann Sheridan, Jack Oakie, Martha Raye, Jack Haley, Herbert Anderson, Jack Carson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Navy Comes Through | 1942 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 82 | Ultrapatriotic time-capsule with U.S. Navy (led by O'Brien), stationed aboard a Merchant Marine ship, heroically battling the Nazis. | tt0035113 | Pat O'Brien, George Murphy, Jane Wyatt, Jackie Cooper, Carl Esmond, Max Baer, Desi Arnaz, Ray Collins | War | NULL | |||
| Navy SEALS | 1990 | Lewis Teague | ★★ | 113 | Middle Eastern terrorists are mere putty in the hands of U.S. Navy's elite commando unit (SEa, Air, Land); 'inspired' by the actual team formed under J.F.K.'s administration. G.I. Joe-level action is name of the game here. Sheen's character operates at the maturity level of Dennis the Menace. | tt0100232 | [R] | Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Rick Rossovich, Cyril O'Reilly, Bill Paxton, Dennis Haysbert, Paul Sanchez | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Navy Wife | 1956 | Edward Bernds | ★½ | 83 | Trivial tale of Japanese women revolting to obtain equal treatment from their men as they observe American military and their wives. | tt0049544 | Joan Bennett, Gary Merrill, Shirley Yamaguchi, Maurice Manson, Judy Nugent, Martin Milner, Dennis Weaver | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Navy vs. the Night Monsters | 1966 | Michael Hoey | 💣 | 90 | 1) Look at the title. 2) Examine the cast. 3) Be aware that the plot involves omniverous trees. 4) Don't say you weren't warned. | tt0060741 | Mamie Van Doren, Anthony Eisley, Pamela Mason, Bill Gray, Bobby Van, Walter Sande, Edward Faulkner, Phillip Terry | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Nazarin | 1958 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★ | 92 | Powerful and pointed (if relentlessly grim) drama about saintly priest Rabal, and how hypocritical peasants deal with him as he tries to interpret the lessons of Christ. | tt0051983 | Francisco Rabal, Rita Macedo, Marga Lopez, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Ofelia Guilmain | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nazi Agent | 1942 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 83 | Veidt plays twin brothers: one a peaceful American; the other a Nazi official. When the latter blackmails the former into spying, the good Veidt kills the bad Veidt and impersonates him. Slow-moving, rather arid tale that could have been much better. Dassin's first feature; good photography by Harry Stradling. | tt0035114 |
|
Conrad Veidt, Anne Ayars, Dorothy Tree, Frank Reicher, Sidney Blackmer, Martin Kosleck, Marc Lawrence, William Tannen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Neanderthal Man | 1953 | E. A. Dupont | ★½ | 78 | Shayne turns a tiger into a sabertooth and himself into a murderous caveman in this below-par '50s entry. Colorless and cheap; director Dupont was a long way from his German classic VARIETY. | tt0046121 | Robert Shayne, Richard Crane, Robert Long, Doris Merrick | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Near Dark | 1987 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★½ | 95 | Better-than-average vampire yarn actually plays more like a werewolf film. Cowboy Pasdar is literally bitten by Wright and joins a band of hillbilly bloodsuckers who roam the West in a van. Stylishly directed horror film reunites three cast members from ALIENS: Henriksen, Paxton, and Goldstein. | tt0093605 | [R] | Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson | Western, Horror | NULL | ||
| Nearly a Nasty Accident | 1962 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 86 | Minor comedy of mechanic who innocently puts the touch of disaster on everyone. | tt0055221 | Jimmy Edwards, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Richard Wattis, Ronnie Stevens, Jon Pertwee, Eric Barker | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Neath Brooklyn Bridge | 1942 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 61 | The East Side Kids band together when Jordan is framed for murder in this terse entry. | tt0034420 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Stanley Clements, Bobby Stone, Anne Gillis, Noah Beery/Jr., Marc Lawrence, Gabriel Dell, Dave O'Brien | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Neath the Arizona Skies | 1934 | Harry Fraser. | ★½ | 53 | Wayne serves as guardian for young Indian girl who, as heiress to an oil fortune, becomes a kidnap target for outlaws. Tattered, uninspired direction of story filmed the year before as CIRCLE CANYON. Worthwhile only for Hayes' dry run of subsequent 'Windy' and 'Gabby' characterizations. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024805 | John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Shirley Jean Rickert, Jack Rockwell, Yakima Canutt, Jay Wilsey, George Hayes. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Nebraskan | 1953 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 68 | Six characters trapped at a desolate outpost try to hold off surrounding Sioux. OK little oater features strong early performance by Van Cleef as a psychotic cavalryman . . . not to mention Jay Silverheels as an evil Indian chief! Originally in 3-D. | tt0046122 | Philip Carey, Roberta Haynes, Wallace Ford, Richard Webb, Lee Van Cleef, Maurice Jara, Pat Hogan, Regis Toomey, Dennis Weaver | Western | NULL | |||
| Necessary Roughness | 1991 | Stan Dragoti | ★½ | 108 | A 34-year-old quarterback at a Texas college reeling from NCAA penalties discovers that his cute no-nonsense prof is closet football junkie. Formulaic enough to insult anyone's intelligence, with a cast of quirky teammates transparently contrived (swimsuit model Kathy Ireland is the squadron's placekicker). Beware of Bill Conti's feel-good score. | tt0102517 | [PG-13] | Scott Bakula, Robert Loggia, Hector Elizondo, Harley Jane Kozak, Larry Miller, Sinbad, Fred Dalton Thompson, Rob Schneider, Jason Bateman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Necromancy | The Witching | 1972 | Bert I. Gordon | ★½ | 83 | High priest Welles tries to manipulate Franklin into becoming a witch. Mindless, poorly crafted thriller was originally released without its nude coven scenes, if anybody cares. Some prints run 75m. Video titles: THE WITCHING and ROSEMARY'S DISCIPLES. | tt0068994 | [PG] | Orson Welles, Pamela Franklin, Michael Ontkean, Lee Purcell, Harvey Jason | Horror | NULL | |
| Ned Kelly | 1970 | Tony Richardson | ★★½ | 100 | Ambitious telling of the life and adventures of Australia's most famous outlaw, emphasizing the Irish-British conflict at the heart of his story. Many good songs on the soundtrack, written by Shel Silverstein. Retitled NED KELLY, OUTLAW. | tt0066130 | [PG] | Mick Jagger, Clarissa Kaye, Mark McManus, Frank Thring | British | Western | NULL | |
| Ned Kelly | 2003 | Gregor Jordan | ★★½ | 109 | When he responds to brutal mistreatment from Protestant 'policemen,' Irish Catholic farmer Ned Kelly is thrown into prison; after serving his time, it doesn't take much to transform him into an outlaw who becomes a folk hero to all the oppressed immigrants of Australia during the late 1800s. Ledger's sturdy performance anchors this well-crafted but dour film. Same story was done in 1970 with Mick Jagger. | tt0277941 | [R] | Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths, Laurence Kinlan, Philip Barantini, Joel Edgerton, Kiri Paramore | Australian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Needful Things | More Needful Things | 1993 | Fraser C. Heston | ★½ | 120 | Bottom-of-the-barrel bore about a devilish old man (von Sydow) who opens a curiosity shop in a small Maine town, with predictably horrific results. Scripted by W. D. Richter, based on the best-seller by (who else?) Stephen King. Also shown on TV in 186m. version called MORE NEEDFUL THINGS. | tt0107665 | [R] | Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Amanda Plummer, J. T. Walsh, Ray McKinnon, Duncan Fraser, Valri Bromfield | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Negatives | 1968 | Peter Medak | ★★ | 90 | Strange movie about unmarried couple who dress up like notorious Dr. Crippen and his wife for kicks; he later switches his characterization to Baron von Richtofen. Jackson is good, but direction is too mannered. | tt0063338 | [R] | Peter McEnery, Diane Cilento, Glenda Jackson, Maurice Denham, Steven Lewis, Norman Rossington | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Negotiator | 1998 | F. Gary Gray | ★★★ | 138 | One of Chicago's top police hostage negotiators (Jackson) is framed for embezzling money from his union's pension fund— and has a murder pinned on him, to boot. His only chance is to take hostages and clear himself with the help of another crack negotiator (Spacey). Highly watchable, if not 100% credible, but the two stars (and a strong supporting cast) make the most of it. | tt0120768 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, J.T. Walsh, Regina Taylor, Siobhan Fallon, Paul Giamatti | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Neighbors | 1981 | John G. Avildsen | 💣 | 94 | Appallingly unfunny and tiresome 'comedy' based on Thomas Berger's novel about a middle-class milquetoast whose suburban existence is shaken by the arrival of bizarre and destructive neighbors. Screenplay credited to Larry Gelbart. Pointless; sadly, Belushi's last film. | tt0082801 | [R] | John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cathy Moriarty, Kathryn Walker, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Tim Kazurinsky | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Neil Young: Heart of Gold | 2006 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★½ | 103 | Baby boomers in general and Young fans in particular will savor this sublime concert film, shot during two 2005 performances at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Young and his band members perform songs both old and new. What makes the film especially poignant is the knowledge that the folk rocker penned his newer compositions after learning he had a brain aneurism, for which he successfully underwent surgery. | tt0473692 | [PG] | Documentary, Music | NULL | |||
| Nell | 1994 | Michael Apted | ★★ | 113 | The death of a hermit woman brings a small-town Southern doctor into the backwoods, where he discovers she had a daughter who's been raised completely apart from civilization. He becomes fascinated— and so does a research scientist at a nearby university, who wants to 'capture' the woman. Intriguing premise goes flat as the story loses focus, and the characters' motivations and relationships grow fuzzy. Foster gives a bravura performance but it's hard to forget it is a performance. | tt0110638 | [PG-13] | Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson, Richard Libertini, Nick Searcy, Robin Mullins, Jeremy Davies | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nell Gwyn | 1934 | Herbert Wilcox. | ★★★ | 85 | Neagle has one of her best roles as the sassy title character, who is cold-shouldered by Britain's aristocracy while attracting the attention of King Charles II, thereby incurring the wrath of the monarch's mistress. Hardwicke's sly wit matches Neagle's feistiness in this entertaining historical yarn written by actor Malleson. Ten minutes of bawdy humor and sexual innuendo were deleted from U.S. release version. Wilcox previously directed Dorothy Gish in NELL GWYNNE (1926). | tt0025558 | Anna Neagle, Cedric Hardwicke, Jeanne De Casalis, Muriel George, Miles Malleson, Esme Percy, Moore Marriott. | British | History | NULL | ||
| Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud | 1995 | Claude Sautet | ★★★ | 106 | Subtle, beautifully acted story of a 25-year-old woman in debt and stuck in a nowhere marriage, who meets an elegant and instantly infatuated man some 40 years her senior who offers to pay her bills and give her a job typing his memoirs. Sautet proves that in his 70s he's still as effective as ever in painting the difficulties and heartbreak of human relationships. | tt0113947 | Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Serrault, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Claire Nadeau, Françoise Brion, Michael Lonsdale | French-Italian-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Nelson Affair | A Bequest to the Nation | 1973 | James Cellan Jones | ★★½ | 118 | Handsome retelling of Lord Nelson-Lady Hamilton affair, making the 'Lady' a slut; interesting but claustrophobic— even climactic sea battle was shot indoors! British title: A BEQUEST TO THE NATION. | tt0070437 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Michael Jayston, Anthony Quayle, Margaret Leighton, Dominic Guard, Nigel Stock, Barbara Leigh-Hunt | British | Drama | NULL |
| Nemesis | 1993 | Albert Pyun | ★½ | 94 | In 2027, tough cop Gruner, who's had many body parts replaced with mechanical duplicates, fights a group of androids (here called 'cyborgs') intent on conquering world. Just another amalgam of ideas borrowed from better movies. Gruner has some appeal, though. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0107668 | [R] | Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Marjorie Monaghan, Merle Kennedy, Brion James, Deborah Shelton, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Nicholas Guest, Jackie Earle Haley | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nenette et Boni | 1996 | Claire Denis | ★★★ | 103 | Arresting, emotionally involving chronicle of two children of divorced parents: Nenette (Houri), who is 15 and very pregnant, and lonely 18-year-old Boni (Colin), who is erotically obsessed with a baker's wife. A potent exploration of a brother-sister bond and how a dysfunctional family damages its youngest and most vulnerable members. | tt0117221 | Alice Houri, Gregoire Colin, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Vincent Gallo, Jacques Nolot | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Neon Bible | 1995 | Terence Davies | ★★ | 92 | Slow-as-molasses Truman Capote-like reminiscence about a young boy coming of age in the American South and his eccentric, melancholy Aunt Mae (Rowlands, who is good as always). Despite its abundant atmosphere and good intentions, this cannot compare with Davies' earlier works. He scripted, based on a novel by John Kennedy Toole. | tt0113952 | Gena Rowlands, Denis Leary, Diana Scarwid, Jacob Tierney, Leo Burmester, Frances Conroy, Peter McRobbie | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Neptune Factor | An Undersea Odyssey | 1973 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 98 | Deep-sea-diving sub races to save three men trapped by an earthquake in ocean floor laboratory. Soggy underwater yarn lifts its plot almost in toto from MAROONED. Aka AN UNDERWATER ODYSSEY and THE NEPTUNE DISASTER. | tt0070438 | [G] | Ben Gazzara, Yvette Mimieux, Walter Pidgeon, Ernest Borgnine | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Neptune's Daughter | 1949 | Edward Buzzell | ★★★ | 93 | Musical romance with Esther a bathing-suit designer, Skelton a no-account mistaken for polo star by Garrett. Bubbly fun, with Academy Award-winning song: 'Baby It's Cold Outside.' | tt0041687 | Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Keenan Wynn, Betty Garrett, Ricardo Montalban, Mel Blanc | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Nest | 1980 | Jaime De Arminan | ★★★ | 109 | Diverting but predictable drama detailing the relationship between wealthy, aging widower Alterio and alienated 13-year-old Torrent. Helped immeasurably by Arminan's precise script and direction. | tt0079625 | [PG] | Hector Alterio, Ana Torrent, Luis Politti, Agustin Gonzalez, Patricia Adriani | Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Nest | 1988 | Terence H. Winkless | ★★ | 88 | Trifling, ever so familiar chronicle of a failed scientific experiment resulting in the creation of large, hungry cockroaches. Neither the best nor the worst of its type. | tt0095719 | [R] | Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz, Terri Treas, Stephen Davies, Diana Bellamy, Nancy Morgan | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Nesting | 1981 | Armand Weston | ★★ | 104 | Gothic novelist moves into eerie Victorian mansion to which she's mysteriously drawn. Starts off interestingly but wanders and drags on to unsatisfying finish. | tt0082804 | [R] | Robin Groves, Christopher Loomis, Michael David Lally, John Carradine, Gloria Grahame, Bill Rowley | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Net | 1995 | Irwin Winkler | ★★½ | 118 | The techno-thriller as plodding Sandra Bullock vehicle: She plays a mousy, vulnerable computer whiz. When bad guys need a disc she possesses, they stop at nothing— including deleting, then manipulating her identity on official computer records. Anyone who's ever seen a real thriller will be ahead of this story at every turn. Later a cable TV series. | tt0113957 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller, Diane Baker, Wendy Gazelle, Ken Howard, Ray McKinnon | Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Network | 1976 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★★ | 121 | Paddy Chayefsky's outrageous satire on television looks less and less like fantasy as the years pass; uninhibited tale chronicles fourth-place network that will air anything for a big rating, including a patently insane, profanity-shouting 'mad prophet of the airwaves' (Finch). Entire cast explodes, particularly Dunaway as ruthless programmer, Holden as conscientious newsman, Duvall as sharklike v.p., and Beatty as evangelistical board chairman. Well-deserved Oscars went to Finch (posthumously), Dunaway, Straight, and Chayefsky. | tt0074958 | [R] | William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight, Wesley Addy, Darryl Hickman, Ken Kercheval, William Prince, Marlene Warfield | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Nevada | 1944 | Edward Killy | ★★ | 62 | Standard Zane Grey Western of good-guy Mitchum mopping up gang of outlaws. Filmed before in 1935. | tt0037124 | Robert Mitchum, Anne Jeffreys, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Nancy Gates, Harry Woods | Western | NULL | |||
| Nevada City | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 56 | Lively B Western has Roy as a stagecoach driver who tries to intervene in a dispute between railroad owner Crehan and stage line boss Cleveland, while the man behind a riverboat company (Watkin) and his sidekick Black Bart (Kohler) stay busy sabotaging both sides! Written by James R. Webb, who went on to do such Westerns as THE BIG COUNTRY and HOW THE WEST WAS WON. | tt0033944 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Sally Payne, George Cleveland, Billy Lee, Joseph Crehan, Fred Kohler/Jr., Pierre Watkin, Jack Ingram. | Western | NULL | |||
| Nevada Smith | 1966 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 135 | Good Western story. Smith swears revenge for senseless murder of his parents at the hands of outlaw gang. Based on character from THE CARPETBAGGERS. Remade as a TVM in 1975. | tt0060748 | Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy, Suzanne Pleshette, Raf Vallone, Pat Hingle, Howard da Silva, Martin Landau | Western | NULL | |||
| The Nevadan | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 81 | So-so Western with mystery man Scott befriending crook Tucker, who has hidden away a stash of stolen gold, and courting spunky Malone, the daughter of greedy Macready. | tt0042782 | Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Forrest Tucker, Frank Faylen, George Macready, Charles Kemper, Jeff Corey, Jock Mahoney | Western | NULL | |||
| Never Back Down | 2008 | Jeff Wadlow | ★★ | 113 | Faris plays a hardheaded high school jock whose single-parent family moves from Iowa to Orlando, where it seems every teen lives in nouveau riche decadence. Happily, he stumbles into an underground mixed–martial arts world and starts training at a gym run by spiritual loner Hounsou. Wildly improbable plot piles cliché on cliché but should entertain its target action audience. Nemesis Gigandet can glare with the best of them. | tt1023111 | [PG-13] | Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Amber Heard, Cam Gigandet, Evan Peters, Leslie Hope | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Never Been Kissed | 1999 | Raja Gosnell | ★★½ | 107 | Twenty-five-year-old newspaper copy editor gets her first chance as a reporter by going undercover and pretending to be a 17-year-old high school student. All this does is bring back vivid memories of her nerdy school days, while the assignment remains vague and unfulfilled. Star vehicle, if ever there was one, is buoyed by Barrymore's charm (she also coproduced), but burdened with a muddled and barely believable story. | tt0151738 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Garry Marshall, Leelee Sobieski, Sean Whalen, Jordan Ladd, Jessica Alba | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Never Cry Wolf | 1983 | Carroll Ballard | ★★★ | 105 | Smith plays real-life Canadian author Farley Mowat who braved the Arctic, alone, to study behavior of wolves . . . and wound up learning as much about himself. Uneven, but filled with striking moments and passages, plus a wonderful performance by Smith. There's also the irony of a Walt Disney production in which the leading character takes to eating mice! | tt0086005 | [PG] | Charles Martin Smith, Brian Dennehy, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah | Drama | NULL | ||
| Never Die Alone | 2004 | Ernest Dickerson | ★★ | 88 | Narrated by a shot-to-death corpse (all similarities to SUNSET BLVD. end here), off-the-cuff drug melodrama from a Donald Goines novel traces the semi-rise but unambiguous fall of a dealer named King David (DMX), who tricks his girlfriends into snorting truly horrific substances. Arquette is the wannabe journalist who, by stumbling onto David's story, hopes to parlay it into the Bob Woodward big time. Moderately watchable in its tawdriness, but lacks the momentous central figure it thinks it has and the commanding lead actor it needs. | tt0354766 | [R] | DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Clifton Powell, Jennifer Sky, Drew Sidora, Antwon Tanner, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Aisha Taylor | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Never Fear | The Young Lovers | 1950 | Ida Lupino | ★★½ | 82 | Young dancer Forrest's life comes apart when she develops polio. Sincere drama scripted by Lupino and her then-husband, Collier Young. Aka THE YOUNG LOVERS. | tt0042783 | Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle, Hugh O'Brian, Eve Miller, Lawrence Dobkin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Never Forever | 2007 | Gina Kim | ★★½ | 101 | A couple’s inability to conceive a child is the only contentious issue in their otherwise happy marriage. Farmiga’s oddly curious solution is risky at best. Film rests on the relationship between Farmiga and Jung-Woo, whose likability as a mismatched pair makes it worth watching. | tt0817544 | [R] | Vera Farmiga, Jung-Woo Ha, David Lee McInnis | U.S.-South Korean | Drama | NULL | |
| Never Give a Sucker an Even Break | 1941 | Edward F. Cline | ★★★½ | 71 | Completely insane comedy with Fields (in his last starring film) playing himself; no coherent plot, but a lot of funny scenes. Dumont plays 'Mrs. Hemoglobin.' Climactic chase is a classic, reused by Abbott and Costello in IN SOCIETY. Story by 'Otis Criblecoblis.' | tt0033945 | W. C. Fields, Gloria Jean, Leon Errol, Susan Miller, Franklin Pangborn, Margaret Dumont | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Never Let Go | 1960 | John Guillermin | ★★ | 90 | Sellers gives heavy-handed performance as ruthless and sadistic racketeer in weak story about car thievery. Billed as his first dramatic role, it was a poor choice. | tt0054115 | Richard Todd, Peter Sellers, Elizabeth Sellars, Carol White, Mervyn Johns | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Never Let Me Go | 1953 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 94 | Unconvincing yet smooth account of Gable trying to smuggle ballerina-wife Tierney out of Russia. | tt0046124 | Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, Bernard Miles, Richard Haydn, Kenneth More, Belita, Theodore Bikel | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Never Let Me Go | 2010 | Mark Romanek | ★★★ | 103 | Students lead a fairly typical life at a traditional English boarding school, but these children are anything but ordinary, as we soon discover: they have no control over their lives, which are destined to be cut short (for reasons we won’t reveal here). Somber but moving adaptation by Alex Garland of Kazuo Ishiguro’s highly acclaimed novel turns on its leading actors’ deeply felt performances and a haunting music score by Rachel Portman. | tt1334260 | [R] | Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Isobel Meikle-Small, Ella Purnell, Charlie Rowe | British-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Never Love a Stranger | 1958 | Robert Stevens | ★★ | 91 | Chronicle of a racketeer, from Harold Robbins' novel; predictable all the way. | tt0051987 | John Drew Barrymore, Lita Milan, Peg Murray, Robert Bray, Steve McQueen | Crime | NULL | |||
| Never Never Land | 1980 | Paul Annett | ★★★ | 86 | Nice little film about lonely child (Miller), her fascination with Peter Pan and connection with elderly Nesbitt. Best for the kids. | tt0081224 | [G] | Petula Clark, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Castle, Anne Seymour, Evelyn Laye, Roland Culver, Heather Miller | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Never Put It in Writing | 1964 | Andrew L. Stone | ★½ | 93 | Grade-B comedy, set in London, with Pat trying to retrieve a letter that will get him fired from his job if the boss sees it. Not much. | tt0058397 | Pat Boone, Milo O'Shea, Fidelma Murphy, Reginald Beckwith, Harry Brogan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Never Say Die | 1939 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 80 | Bob marries Martha at Swiss spa of Bad Gaswasser, thinking he has only two weeks to live. Good cast in lively, trivial romp. Cowritten by Preston Sturges. | tt0031716 | Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Andy Devine, Gale Sondergaard, Sig Ruman, Alan Mowbray, Monty Woolley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Never Say Goodbye | 1946 | James V. Kern | ★★½ | 97 | Light, predictable comedy with Flynn, the doting father of seven-year-old Brady, attempting to win back her mother (Parker) on the first anniversary of their divorce. | tt0038773 | Errol Flynn, Eleanor Parker, Lucile Watson, S. Z. Sakall, Forrest Tucker, Donald Woods, Peggy Knudsen, Hattie McDaniel, Patti Brady | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Never Say Goodbye | 1956 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 96 | Spotty tearjerker of Hudson and Borchers, long separated, discovering one another again and creating fit home for their child. Remake of THIS LOVE OF OURS. Clint Eastwood is cast as Rock's lab assistant. | tt0049547 | Rock Hudson, Cornell Borchers, George Sanders, Ray Collins, David Janssen, Shelley Fabares | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Never Say Never Again | 1983 | Irvin Kershner | ★★½ | 137 | Connery's stylish performance and self-deprecating humor make his return performance as James Bond (after twelve years) a real treat— but the film, a remake of THUNDERBALL, is uneven and overlong. Brandauer is a smooth villain, and Carrera a memorably sexy villainess, Fatima Blush. | tt0086006 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger, Bernie Casey, Alec McCowen, Edward Fox, Rowan Atkinson | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Never So Few | 1959 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 124 | WW2 action/romance tale; salty performances which make one forget the clichés and improbabilities. | tt0053108 | Frank Sinatra, Gina Lollobrigida, Peter Lawford, Steve McQueen, Richard Johnson, Paul Henreid, Brian Donlevy, Dean Jones, Charles Bronson | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Never Steal Anything Small | 1959 | Charles Lederer | ★★½ | 94 | Odd musical comedy-drama, with Cagney a waterfront union racketeer who'll do anything to win union election. From Maxwell Anderson-Rouben Mamoulian play The Devil's Hornpipe. | tt0053109 | James Cagney, Shirley Jones, Roger Smith, Cara Williams, Nehemiah Persoff, Royal Dano, Horace McMahon | Musical | NULL | |||
| Never Talk to Strangers | 1995 | Peter Hall | ★½ | 102 | Criminal psychologist falls for a charming, mysterious stranger, while at the same time unexplained, terrifying incidents begin occurring. Standard-issue thriller would be more at home on television. De Mornay also coexecutive produced. | tt0113965 | [R] | Rebecca De Mornay, Antonio Banderas, Dennis Miller, Len Cariou, Beau Starr, Tim Kelleher, Harry Dean Stanton | U.S.-Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Never Too Late | 1965 | Bud Yorkin | ★★½ | 105 | Occasionally amusing film version of hit Broadway play about impending parenthood of middle-agers Ford and O'Sullivan. Older performers are funny; Hutton, Stevens, script, and direction are not. | tt0059502 | Paul Ford, Connie Stevens, Maureen O'Sullivan, Jim Hutton, Jane Wyatt, Henry Jones, Lloyd Nolan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Never Too Young To Die | 1986 | Gil Bettman | ★½ | 92 | Stamos, son of a spy, takes up with Vanity, one of his father's associates, to find out who murdered his dad. Pretty awful, though Simmons scores a few points for outrageousness in his portrayal of a power-crazed hermaphrodite. | tt0091621 | [R] | John Stamos, Vanity, Gene Simmons, George Lazenby, Peter Kwong, Ed Brock, John Anderson, Robert Englund | Action | NULL | ||
| Never Trust a Gambler | 1951 | Ralph Murphy | ★½ | 79 | Hackneyed account of man on the run, seeking shelter from ex-wife who has fallen in love with detective seeking him. | tt0043848 | Dane Clark, Cathy O'Donnell, Tom Drake, Jeff Corey, Myrna Dell | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Never Wave at a WAC | 1952 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 87 | Expanded from a TV play, this farce involves socialite Russell joining the WACs, forced to buckle down to hard work; Wilson as dumb comrade-at-arms is most diverting. | tt0044962 | Rosalind Russell, Marie Wilson, Paul Douglas, Arleen Whelan, Hillary Brooke, Louise Beavers, Frieda Inescort | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Never a Dull Moment | 1950 | George Marshall | ★★ | 89 | Chic Park Avenue songwriter Dunne weds rancher MacMurray, and adjusts to life in rural Wyoming. Silly, predictable comedy is only of interest for its cast; you'll find this especially annoying if you're a feminist or an Indian. | tt0042784 | Irene Dunne, Fred MacMurray, William Demarest, Andy Devine, Gigi Perreau, Natalie Wood, Philip Ober, Ann Doran | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Never a Dull Moment | 1968 | Jerry Paris | ★★ | 100 | Tired Disney comedy belies title, as TV performer Van Dyke gets involved with gangsters; even Robinson's performance is lifeless. | tt0063341 | Dick Van Dyke, Edward G. Robinson, Dorothy Provine, Henry Silva, Joanna Moore, Tony Bill | Family, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Never a Dull Moment | 1943 | Edward Lilley | ★★½ | 60 | Pretty good comedy with the Ritzes getting involved with gang of hoods; fast-paced, with LaRue enjoyable as semicomic heavy. | tt0036200 |
|
Ritz Brothers, Frances Langford, Stuart Crawford, Elisabeth Risdon, Mary Beth Hughes, George Zucco, Jack LaRue, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Never on Sunday | 1960 | Jules Dassin | ★★★½ | 91 | Charming idyll of intellectual boob coming to Greece, trying to make earthy prostitute Mercouri cultured. Grand entertainment, with Oscar-winning title song by Manos Hadjidakis. Later a Broadway musical, Illya Darling. | tt0054198 | Melina Mercouri, Jules Dassin, George Foundas, Titos Vandis, Mitsos Liguisos, Despo Diamantidou | Greek | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Never the Twain Shall Meet | 1931 | W. S. Van Dyke. | ★½ | 79 | Rich, proper Howard loves rich, proper Morley . . . and then he becomes the guardian of beautiful, uninhibited Montenegro. Wooden soaper of clashing cultures. | tt0022197 | Leslie Howard, Conchita Montenegro, C. Aubrey Smith, Karen Morley, Mitchell Lewis, Clyde Cook. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | 1990 | George Miller | ★½ | 89 | Mom's dead, dad's busy, and the swim coach says he suffers from a 'high wimp factor.' So, it's back to Fantasia (a magic land) for the young boy who loses himself in a storybook, where a child empress (as childlike as Drew Barrymore) is in danger. Poky and cheesy, though kids might take to some of the animal sidekicks. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0100240 | [PG] | Jonathan Brandis, Kenny Morrison, Clarissa Burt, John Wesley Shipp, Martin Umbach, Alexandra Johnes | U.S.-German | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The NeverEnding Story | 1984 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★★ | 92 | Magical, timeless fantasy built around young Oliver visualizing what he's reading from a mystical book: boy warrior Hathaway is the only hope of saving the empire of Fantasia from being swallowed up by The Nothing. Amazing, unique effects, characters, and visual design (and a not-so-subtle message that Reading Is Good). Followed by two live-action sequels and an animated TV movie and series. U.S. version was cut by 7m. | tt0088323 | [PG] | Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Moses Gunn, Patricia Hayes, Sydney Bromley, Gerald McRaney, voice of Alan Oppenheimer | West German-British | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Neverwas | 2005 | Joshua Michael Stern | ★★ | 108 | Fantasy and reality fail to blend in this account of psychiatrist Eckhart, who comes to work at the facility where his father, a schizophrenic children’s book author, once was treated. It’s no wonder that, despite its A-list cast, this paper-thin fairy tale failed to earn U.S. theatrical distribution. Eckhart coproduced. | tt0418004 | [PG-13] | Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellen, Brittany Murphy, William Hurt, Nick Nolte, Alan Cumming, Jessica Lange, Bill Bellamy, Vera Farmiga, Michael Moriarty, Cynthia Stevenson, Ryan Drescher | Mystery, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford | 1931 | Sam Wood. | ★★★ | 94 | Breezy crime comedy centering on capers of bon vivant con man J. Rufus Wallingford (Haines) and his crew, Blackie (Torrence) and Schnozzle (Durante). Moves at a brisk clip; singing and wisecracking Durante is a riot. Witty script by Charles MacArthur based on magazine stories by George Randolph Chester, which inspired a George M. Cohan play as well as some silent films. | tt0022198 | William Haines, Jimmy Durante, Ernest Torrence, Leila Hyams, Guy Kibbee, Hale Hamilton, Robert McWade, Clara Blandick. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking | 1988 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 100 | Dreary Americanization of Astrid Lindgren's popular books about a plucky young girl— here, transformed into a tiresome troublemaker. May entertain undiscriminating children; adults should avoid at all costs. | tt0093744 | [G] | Tami Erin, Eileen Brennan, Dennis Dugan, Dianne Hull, George DiCenzo, John Schuck, Dick Van Patten | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The New Adventures of Tarzan | 1935 | Edward Kull, W. F. McGaugh | ★½ | 75 | Feature version of the serial about the search for priceless Mayan idol in Guatemala. Strictly for the kiddies. Shot on location by Edgar Rice Burroughs' own company, but no threat to Johnny Weissmuller and MGM. TV print of this feature is completely redubbed by voices other than the actors on-screen! | tt0026773 | Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett), Ula Holt, Don Castello, Frank Baker, Lewis Sargent, Dale Walsh | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The New Age | 1994 | Michael Tolkin | ★½ | 110 | Deadening deadpan satire, which its studio barely released, about a married couple who launch a born-to-go-bust boutique after they both lose their glitzy jobs on the same Recession-era day. Tolkin wrote THE PLAYER; perhaps this film would have benefitted from Robert Altman's wag-in-the-moon viewpoint. Jackson's sequence, in which he 'motivates' some scam-artist telemarketers, is the only one with any real juice. | tt0110649 | [R] | Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Patrick Bauchau, Corbin Bernsen, Jonathan Hadary, Patricia Heaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Audra Lindley, Paula Marshall, Adam West | Drama | NULL | ||
| New Best Friend | 2002 | Zoe Clarke-Williams | 💣 | 91 | Interminable would-be thriller about a sociopath working-class coed (Kirshner) determined to score with the rich and popular at an exclusive North Carolina college. Dreary teen exploitation is full of RASHOMON-like flashbacks and lesbian sex scenes but is so anemic you're unlikely to care. Terrible performances, with Diggs as a sheriff with an intermittent Southern accent. | tt0191074 | [R] | Meredith Monroe, Rachel True, Dominique Swain, Mia Kirshner, Taye Diggs, Scott Bairstow, Glynnis O'Connor, Oliver Hudson, Eric Michael Cole | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The New Centurions | 1972 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 103 | Fine, episodic adaptation by Stirling Silliphant of Joseph Wambaugh novel of rookie cops on modern-day L.A. police force, ultimately pessimistic in outlook. Great casting, performances; good storytelling. | tt0068997 | [R] | George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander, Rosalind Cash, Scott Wilson, Erik Estrada, Clifton James, Isabel Sanford, James B. Sikking, Ed Lauter, William Atherton, Roger E. Mosley | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| New Faces | 1954 | Harry Horner | ★★½ | 99 | Vaudeville hodgepodge of variety numbers, based on Leonard Sillman's popular Broadway revue, which was springboard for much new talent. One of the writers was Melvin (Mel) Brooks. | tt0047276 | Ronny Graham, Robert Clary, Eartha Kitt, Alice Ghostley, Paul Lynde, Carol Lawrence | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| New Faces of 1937 | 1937 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 100 | Silly movie with same initial premise as THE PRODUCERS, as Berle is patsy left as owner of unwatchable Broadway show. Comic highlight is Berle's stockbroker skit with Richard Lane; Ann Miller featured in finale as one of the New Faces. | tt0029303 | Joe Penner, Milton Berle, Parkyakarkus, Harriet Hilliard (Nelson), Jerome Cowan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| New Frontier | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★ | 57 | When crooked land grabbers threaten to flood the condemned valley homes of ranchers in order to construct an unwanted dam, the Three Mesquiteers ride to the rescue. Wayne's post-STAGECOACH swan song as Stony Brooke marked his final B picture and Jones' feature debut. No relation to 1935 Wayne movie of the same name. Reissue title: FRONTIER HORIZON. | tt0031718 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Raymond Hatton, Phylis Isley (Jennifer Jones), Eddy Waller, Sammy McKim, LeRoy Mason. | Western | NULL | |||
| The New Frontier | 1935 | Carl L. Pierson. | ★½ | 54 | After trail herder Wayne's father is murdered, he agrees to serve as sheriff of the town of Frontier, Oklahoma, vanquishing all vice and lawlessness. Wayne's second Republic Western falls flat; only the finale is good. Features footage from Ken Maynard's silent THE RED RAIDERS. No relation to 1939 Wayne movie of the same name. | tt0026774 | John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Warner Richmond, Alan Bridge, Sam Flint, Glenn Strange. | Western | NULL | |||
| The New Guy | 2002 | Ed Decter | ★½ | 89 | A harassed teenage nerd (Qualls) is transformed into an intimidating new person by a prison inmate (Griffin) and proceeds to live the cool life at a different high school. Revenge/teensploitation comedy has enough quirks to make one wonder what might have been with a better script, better director, and better actors. | tt0241760 | [PG-13] | DJ Qualls, Eliza Dushku, Zooey Deschanel, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Griffin, Jerod Mixon, Parry Shen, Gene Simmons, M.C. Gainey, Geoffrey Lewis, Illeana Douglas, Jerry O'Connell, Charlie O'Connell, Tommy Lee, Vanilla Ice, Henry Rollins, David Hasselhoff, Kool Mo Dee, Tony Hawk, Horatio Sanz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The New Interns | 1964 | John Rich | ★★½ | 123 | Follow-up to THE INTERNS contains unusual hospital soap opera with better than average cast and a nifty party sequence. | tt0058398 | Michael Callan, Dean Jones, Telly Savalas, Inger Stevens, George Segal, Greg Morris, Stefanie Powers, Lee Patrick, Barbara Eden | Drama | NULL | |||
| The New Invisible Man | 1957 | Alfred B. Crevenna | ★★ | 89 | OK updating of the classic story, with de Córdova falsely convicted of murder; he's rendered invisible so he can prove his innocence. A remake of THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS. Aka H. G. WELLS' NEW INVISIBLE MAN. | tt0050516 | Arturo de Cordova, Ana Luisa Peluffo, Augusto Benedico, Raul Meraz | Mexican | Horror, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| New Jack City | 1991 | Mario Van Peebles | ★★ | 97 | N.Y.C. police detective hires two maverick ex-cops to bring down a Napoleonic drug lord who's made his fortune selling crack (and whose role model, apparently, is the Al Pacino character in SCARFACE!). Lots of emotional energy, and strong performances, but its clearly stated anti-drug message is clouded by overblown melodrama— and several climaxes too many. | tt0102526 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson, Michael Michele, Bill Nunn, Russell Wong, Vanessa Williams, Nick Ashford, Thalmus Rasulala | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| New Jersey Drive | 1995 | Nick Gomez | ★★ | 95 | Two teenagers are drawn into the underground world of carjacking in Newark, N.J., and soon find the full weight of the local police force coming down around them. Spike Lee executive-produced this gritty, well-meaning drama; unfortunately, it never shifts into high gear. Corley makes his film debut here; at one time he lived the life he portrays on-screen. | tt0113967 | [R] | Sharron Corley, Gabriel Casseus, Saul Stein, Gwen McGee, Andre Moore, Donald Adeosun Faison | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The New Kids | 1985 | Sean S. Cunningham | ★★ | 90 | Unexciting thriller about a brother and sister (Presby, Loughlin), two nice kids who are harassed by meanie Spader and his cronies. There's no gratuitous gore, but there are also no real chills. | tt0089679 | [PG] | Shannon Presby, Lori Loughlin, James Spader, John Philbin, Eric Stoltz | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A New Kind of Love | 1963 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 110 | Silly but enjoyable fluff with sportswriter Newman and fashion buyer Woodward tangling, and then falling in love, in Paris. The stars really put this one over; Chevalier appears as himself, title song sung by Frank Sinatra. | tt0057360 | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Thelma Ritter, Eva Gabor, Maurice Chevalier, George Tobias, Marvin Kaplan, Robert Clary | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The New Land | 1972 | Jan Troell | ★★★½ | 161 | Sequel to THE EMIGRANTS follows same characters as they settle in Minnesota, up to the ends of their lives. Superior performances, photography, many stirring scenes. A real winner; both films have been edited together for TV, dubbed in English, and presented as THE EMIGRANT SAGA. See also THE OX. | tt0069035 | [PG] | Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Hans Alfredson, Monica Zetterlund, Per Oscarsson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| A New Leaf | 1971 | Elaine May | ★★½ | 102 | Amusing comedy of destitute Matthau planning to marry and murder klutzy May in order to inherit her fortune. Many funny moments, and May is terrific, but it's wildly uneven. Director/writer/star May disavowed finished film, which was reedited by others. | tt0067482 | [G] | Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston, George Rose, William Redfield, James Coco, Graham Jarvis, Doris Roberts, Renee Taylor, David Doyle | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A New Life | 1988 | Alan Alda | ★★½ | 104 | Pleasant but pat comedy about a middle-aged couple's trials and tribulations after divorcing. Alda (sporting a beard and curly hair) also wrote the script. | tt0095726 | [PG-13] | Alan Alda, Ann-Margret, Hal Linden, Veronica Hamel, John Shea, Mary Kay Place, Beatrice Alda | Comedy | NULL | ||
| New Mexico | 1951 | Irving Reis | ★★½ | 76 | Moderately exciting Western of cavalry vs. Indians. | tt0043849 | Lew Ayres, Marilyn Maxwell, Robert Hutton, Andy Devine, Raymond Burr | Western | NULL | |||
| New Moon | 1940 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 105 | Nelson and Jeanette in old Louisiana, falling in love, singing 'One Kiss,' 'Softly as in a Morning Sunrise,' 'Lover Come Back to Me,' 'Stout-Hearted Men.' Oscar Hammerstein-Sigmund Romberg score sung before in 1930 filming with Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore. | tt0032840 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Mary Boland, George Zucco, H. B. Warner, Grant Mitchell, Stanley Fields | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| New Moon | 2009 | Chris Weitz | ★★½ | 130 | Second installment in the TWILIGHT series. After Bella's ill-fated 18th birthday party, the Cullens leave the town of Forks to keep her out of danger. But when she discovers that Edward's image appears every time she's in peril, Bella takes more and more risks, hoping to bring him back. This leads her to her childhood friend Jacob Black (Lautner), who has secrets of his own. This installment of the series serves mainly as a transitional chapter, introducing us to the Volturi clan as well as werewolves. With forlorn stares, plot twists, and a love triangle, this is catnip to the series' fervent fans. | tt1259571 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Rachel Lefevre, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Anna Kendrick, Michael Sheen, Graham Greene, Christian Serratos, Michael Welch, Jamie Campbell Bower, Elizabeth Reaser, Gil Birmingham, Dakota Fanning | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| New Orleans | 1947 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 89 | Hackneyed fictionalization of the birth of jazz, spanning 40 years, but there's plenty of good music. Holiday (cast as a maid!) does 'Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans' with Armstrong and all-star band, and it's sublime. Shelley Winters appears briefly as de Córdova's secretary. | tt0039655 | Arturo de Cordova, Dorothy Patrick, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman & Band, Meade Lux Lewis, other jazz stars | Musical | NULL | |||
| New Orleans After Dark | 1958 | John Sledge. | ★½ | 69 | Location filming in the Crescent City adds some value to this drab programmer about the hunt for a band of dope smugglers. | tt0051988 | Stacy Harris, Louis Sirgo, Ellen Moore, Tommy Pelle. | Crime | NULL | |||
| New Orleans Uncensored | 1955 | William Castle | ★½ | 76 | Weak exposé account of racketeer-busting in Louisiana, with competent cast trying to overcome script. | tt0048420 | Arthur Franz, Beverly Garland, Helene Stanton, Michael Ansara | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| New Rose Hotel | 1999 | Abel Ferrara | ★½ | 92 | Ludicrously steamy sleaze in which a pair of industrial spies (Walken, Dafoe) attempt to entice a brilliant geneticist (Amano) into switching firms by hiring a hooker (Argento) to seduce him. Meant to be a moody morality tale, but comes off silly and pompous. Based on a short story by sci-fi/cyberpunk writer William Gibson. Shot in 1997. | tt0133122 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, Asia Argento, Yoshitaka Amano, Annabella Sciorra, Gretchen Mol, John Lurie, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Drama, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| New Waterford Girl | 2000 | Allan Moyle. | ★★½ | 97 | Agreeable but uneven account of dreamy 15-year-old Mooney Pottie (Balaban), who has artistic aspirations and yearns for a life in Paris, New York, or Barcelona . . . all of which makes her an odd duck to the natives in her provincial Nova Scotia hometown. On the money when zeroing in on Mooney and her frustrations, but the scenario often meanders, and some of the comic moments fall flat. U.S. version runs 90m. | tt0213121 | Liane Balaban, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Nicholas Campbell, Mary Walsh, Mark McKinney, Andrew McCarthy, Cathy Moriarty. | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The New World | 2005 | Terrence Malick | ★★½ | 149 | Ambitious film about the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 and how Captain John Smith's relationship with a local chief's favorite daughter, Pocahontas, changes the dynamics between the natives and the new arrivals from Britain. Writer-director Malick's third film in thirty years is exquisitely detailed, with a vivid sense of time and place and a wonderfully fresh performance by 15-year-old Kilcher as Pocahontas . . . but it's still a bit like watching paint dry. At least it's beautiful paint. James Horner makes great use of Wagner themes on the soundtrack. Cut to 135m. after its initial release; longer version also available on DVD. | tt0402399 | [PG-13] | Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, David Thewlis, Yorick van Wageningen, Ben Mendelsohn, Raoul Trujillo, Brian F. O'Byrne, Irene Bedard, John Savage, Noah Taylor, Jonathan Pryce, Ben Chaplin, Roger Rees | Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance | NULL | ||
| New Year's Day | 1989 | Henry Jaglom | ★★½ | 89 | Another personal, hit-and-miss film from Jaglom, who plays a writer attempting to reclaim the N.Y.C. apartment he's sublet to Jakobson, Winter, and Welles. Typically, there is much talk about relationships and sex (among other subjects); some of it illuminating, much of it pretentious. Odd casting: filmmaker Forman as the apartment house janitor. | tt0097964 | [R] | Henry Jaglom, Gwen Welles, Maggie Jakobson, Melanie Winter, David Duchovny, Milos Forman, Michael Emil, Tracy Reiner | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| New Year's Eve | 2011 | Garry Marshall | ★½ | 118 | On New Year's Eve in N.Y.C. we're introduced to people of all ages and at every stage of life, hoping this one night will change them forever—from a workaholic secretary (Pfeiffer) with a wish list of resolutions to a cancer patient (De Niro). Cheesy, overly complicated yarn has so many subplots and characters that it's hard to care about anything that's going on. An unfortunate waste of talent from the folks who brought us VALENTINE'S DAY. Several celebrities and actors appear unbilled. | tt1598822 | [PG-13] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Heigl, Jon Bon Jovi, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Til Schweiger, Sarah Paulson, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Carla Gugino, Hector Elizondo, Chris ‘Ludacris' Bridges, Cary Elwes, Alyssa Milano, Halle Berry, Sofia Vergara, Abigail Breslin, Russell Peters, Jim Belushi, Yeardley Smith, Jack McGee, Larry Miller, Sean O'Bryan, Cherry Jones, Joey McIntyre, Common, Penny Marshall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| New Year's Evil | 1981 | Emmett Alston | 💣 | 90 | Atrocious thriller revolving around disc jockey Kelly and killer Niven. Another HALLOWEEN ripoff. | tt0082806 | [R] | Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace, Grant Cramer, Louisa Moritz | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| New York Confidential | 1955 | Russell Rouse | ★★½ | 87 | Supposed inside story of an N.Y.C. mob family, told in semi-documentary style, doesn’t wear well. | tt0048421 | Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell, Anne Bancroft, J. Carrol Naish, Onslow Stevens, Barry Kelley, Mike Mazurki, Celia Lovsky | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| New York Minute | 2004 | Dennie Gordon | ★★½ | 91 | Twin sisters have grown apart— one's an uptight super-student, the other a class-cutting slob— but they come together during an adventurous day in N.Y.C. as a would-be spy attempts to kidnap one of them. You get pretty much what you'd expect from this innocuous Olsen vehicle; Levy plays an overzealous truant officer on the trail of his prize prey, Mary-Kate. | tt0363282 | [PG] | Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Eugene Levy, Andy Richter, Riley Smith, Jared Padalecki, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Darrell Hammond, Andrea Martin, Jack Osbourne | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| New York Stories | 1989 | Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen | ★★½ | 123 | Three-part anthology film: Scorsese's is an obvious, heavy-handed tale of a macho artist (Nolte) and his assistant/lover (Arquette) who wants to fly the coop. Coppola's is a cute but pointless variation on the old children's book Eloise about a little rich girl who lives in a N.Y.C. hotel while her parents globetrot. Finally, we get to the good stuff, with Allen in great form as a man literally haunted by his nagging mother (Questel, a howl). A waste of time until the concluding sequence. | tt0097965 | [PG] | Nick Nolte, Rosanna Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Peter Gabriel, Deborah Harry, Heather McComb, Talia Shire, Giancarlo Giannini, Don Novello, Chris Elliott, Carole Bouquet, Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Mae Questel, Julie Kavner, Mayor Edward I. Koch, Adrien Brody, Illeana Douglas, Kirsten Dunst | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| New York Town | 1941 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 76 | Bright little comedy of wide-eyed Martin manhunting in N.Y.C., assisted by photographer MacMurray. Songs include 'Love in Bloom.' Preston Sturges worked uncredited on the script. | tt0033947 | Fred MacMurray, Mary Martin, Robert Preston, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman, Eric Blore, Fuzzy Knight | Comedy | NULL | |||
| New York, I Love You | 2009 | Jiang Wen, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin, Joshua Marston, Randy Balsmeyer | ★★ | 104 | Lackluster follow-up to PARIS, JE T'AIME offers a range of episodes set in N.Y.C., mostly dealing with chance encounters. Most of them are slight and boring; these vignettes about the city that never sleeps just may put you to sleep. The few noteworthy pieces include Ratner's clever take on a 17-year-old (Yelchin) and his unusual prom date (Thirlby) and Portman's touching snapshot of a little girl (Geare) and her devoted caregiver (Acosta). Writers include some of the directors plus Israel Horovitz and Anthony Minghella. Two additional segments, by Scarlett Johansson (featuring Kevin Bacon) and Andrey Zvyagintsev (featuring Nicholas Purcell, Carla Gugino, and Goran Visnjic) are DVD extras. | tt0808399 | [R] | Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, Rachel Bilson, Natalie Portman, Irrfan Khan, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Maggie Q, Ethan Hawke, Chris Cooper, Robin Wright Penn, Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, Blake Lively, Drea de Matteo, Bradley Cooper, Julie Christie, John Hurt, Shia LaBeouf, Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, Jacinda Barrett, Ugur Yücel, Shu Qi, Burt Young, Eli Wallach, Cloris Leachman, Emilie Ohana, Eva Amurri, Justin Bartha | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| New York, New York | 1977 | Martin Scorsese | ★½ | 164 | Elaborate but off-putting musical drama loosely based on THE MAN I LOVE; saxophonist De Niro and vocalist Minnelli love and fight with each other right through the Big Band era. Some people consider this film extraordinary, but we're not among them; kudos, though, to production designer Boris Leven, music arranger Ralph Burns, and the Kander-Ebb title song. Initially released at 153m., then cut to 137m., and finally reissued in 1981 at current length with splashy 'Happy Endings' number (featuring Larry Kert) added. | tt0076451 | [PG] | Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Lionel Stander, Georgie Auld, Mary Kay Place, George Memmoli, Barry Primus, Dick Miller, Diahnne Abbott | Musical, Drama | NULL | ||
| New in Town | 2009 | Jonas Elmer | ★½ | 97 | Hopelessly formulaic romantic comedy finds tough-as-nails businesswoman Zellweger sent by a multinational company to a small town to shut down the local factory. After butting heads with the union organizer (laconically played by Connick, Jr.) she predictably falls in love and sets out to find a way to save the plant. Familiar approach of NEW IN TOWN is about as old hat as they come. | tt1095174 | [PG] | Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick /Jr., Siobhan Fallon Hogan, J. K. Simmons, Frances Conroy, Mike O’Brien, Ferron Guerreiro, James Durham, Barbara James Smith | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Newly Rich | 1931 | Norman Taurog. | ★★½ | 77 | Amusing semisatirical look at child stars and early '30s Hollywood, with Oliver and Fazenda funny as rival stage mothers competing through their kids. Somehow, they all end up in London and have adventures with a runaway boy king. Cowritten by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, from a story by Sinclair Lewis. Aka FORBIDDEN ADVENTURE. | tt0022201 | Mitzi Green, Edna May Oliver, Jackie Searl, Louise Fazenda, Bruce Line, Virginia Hammond, Dell Henderson, Lawrence Grant. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Newman's Law | 1974 | Richard T. Heffron | ★½ | 98 | Honest cop Peppard, bounced from the force for alleged corruption, investigates the case on his own. Dreary and predictable. | tt0071902 | [PG] | George Peppard, Roger Robinson, Eugene Roche, Gordon Pinsent, Louis Zorich, Abe Vigoda | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| News Hounds | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 68 | Scoop Mahoney and Shutterbug Sach vs. sports-fixing mobsters. The usual Bowery Boys hokum. | tt0039656 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Gorcey, Tim Ryan, Bill Kennedy, Robert Emmett Keane, Christine McIntyre, Anthony Caruso | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Newsfront | 1978 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 106 | Enjoyable, well-crafted tale of newsreel filmmakers— centering on dedicated cameraman Hunter— is a valentine to the movie newsreel industry. Among highlights are actual late 1940s and 1950s newsreel footage, nicely integrated into scenario. Cut by 6m. for initial U.S. release. | tt0077986 | [PG] | Bill Hunter, Gerard Kennedy, Angela Punch, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood, John Ewart, Bryan Brown | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Newsies | 1992 | Kenny Ortega | ★½ | 125 | Or, Howard the Paperboy. Ambitious musical about the 1899 strike by urchin peddlers of Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's Journal. Done in by lackluster score, and cramped production numbers that seem cheap despite the film's hefty production budget. Duvall, looking like one of the Smith Brothers, plays Pulitzer; Ann-Margret needlessly pads film's bloated running time as musical performer who inexplicably befriends the lads. Score by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman. Directing debut for choreographer Ortega. | tt0104990 | [PG] | Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, Ann-Margret, Michael Lerner, Kevin Tighe, Charles Cioffi, David Moscow, Luke Edwards, Max Casella | Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Newton Boys | 1998 | Richard Linklater | ★★ | 113 | Lackadaisical true-life saga of four Texas brothers who robbed banks across the country from 1919 to 1924 and lived to tell about it. Gen-X auteur Linklater is largely unsuccessful at making a period actioner; indifferent pacing and superficial characterizations make this 'The Mild Bunch.' Best performance comes from Yoakam as a meek safecracking expert. Terrific honkytonk score by a group called Bad Livers (!); if you stick it out, the end credits feature interview footage of the real Newton Boys that's more entertaining than anything that preceded it. | tt0120769 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Skeet Ulrich, Vincent D'Onofrio, Julianna Margulies, Dwight Yoakam, Chloe Webb, Bo Hopkins | Action, Crime, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Next | 2007 | Lee Tamahori | ★½ | 96 | Grade-B action film that somehow attracted A-List stars. Moore is an aggressive FBI agent pursuing a clairvoyant Vegas lounge magician whom she is convinced is the only one who can foil a terrorist plot to nuke L.A. What, David Copperfield had another gig? Cage, who also produced, gamely plays this stuff with a straight face, while the normally reliable Moore looks decidedly uncomfortable. Based on the Philip K. Dick story “The Golden Man.” | tt0435705 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, Jose Zuniga, Jim Beaver, Jason Butler Harner, Michael Trucco, Peter Falk. | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Next Best Thing | 2000 | John Schlesinger | 💣 | 108 | Awful soap opera about yoga instructor having a child with her best friend, who's gay, which works fine until she falls in love with another man. Unconvincing, even condescending at times, despite its self-satisfied script. Everett keeps telling Madonna how beautiful she is, but it takes late '40s-style Joan Crawford lighting to try to put that over. | tt0156841 | [PG-13] | Madonna, Rupert Everett, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Vartan, Josef Sommer, Lynn Redgrave, Malcolm Stumpf, Neil Patrick Harris, Illeana Douglas | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Next Day Air | 2009 | Benny Boom | ★★½ | 84 | When delivery man Faison, perpetually high on weed, unwittingly delivers a large box full of cocaine to the wrong apartment, two inept criminals decide to cash in on this surprise gift while the intended recipient and his girlfriend frantically try to track it down. Farcical premise works in spite of director Boom’s efforts to insert pointless violence via quick flashbacks that are jarringly out of place. A game cast keeps it watchable. | tt1097013 | [R] | Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Wood Harris, Omari Hardwick, Emilio Rivera, Darius McCrary, Cisco Reyes, Yasmin Deliz, Mos Def, Debbie Allen, Lobo Sebastian, Malik Barnhardt | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Next Friday | 2000 | Steve Carr | ★½ | 92 | Slacker/stoner (Cube) finds that his problems are just beginning when, to escape the wrath of bully Lister, he is dispatched from the 'hood to his uncle and cousin in the 'burbs. Shrill, stupid sequel to FRIDAY is a sloppy pastiche of crude comic skits filled with lame stereotypes. Cube scripted and coexecutive-produced. Followed by FRIDAY AFTER NEXT. | tt0195945 | [R] | *** Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Justin Pierce, John Witherspoon, Don 'D.C.' Curry, Jacob Vargas, Lobo Sebastian, Rolando Molina, Lisa Rodriguez, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Next Karate Kid | 1994 | Christopher Cain | ★★ | 104 | Harmless, formulaic KARATE KID sequel (fourth in the series) with a twist: the 'kid' is now a girl (Swank), an alienated teen who is taught self-esteem and martial arts by the benevolent Mr. Miyagi (Morita). | tt0110657 | [PG] | Noriyuki (Pat) Morita, Hilary Swank, Michael Ironside, Constance Towers, Chris Conrad | Drama, Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| The Next Man | The Arab Conspiracy | 1976 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★★ | 108 | Good melodrama in which scenery (N.Y.C., Bavaria, London, Morocco, etc.) and violence are blended to tell of international hit lady Sharpe falling in love with Saudi Arabian ambassador Connery as he tries to arrange peace with Palestine. Video titles: DOUBLE HIT and THE ARAB CONSPIRACY. | tt0074962 | [R] | Sean Connery, Cornelia Sharpe, Albert Paulsen, Adolfo Celi, Charles Cioffi | Action | NULL | |
| The Next One | The Time Traveller | 1984 | Nico Mastorakis | ★★ | 105 | Dullea, a Christ-like visitor from the future, washes up on a Greek island where widow Barbeau, living with her young son, falls in love with him. Mediocre sci-fi strains for significance. Filmed in 1981. | tt0087788 | Keir Dullea, Adrienne Barbeau, Jeremy Licht, Peter Hobbs | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Next Stop Wonderland | 1998 | Brad Anderson | ★★★ | 104 | Unabashedly old-fashioned romantic comedy about a recently jilted nurse (Davis) whose love life takes a new turn when her meddling mother (Taylor, fun as ever) secretly places a personals ad for her. Somewhere amidst a sea of overeager bachelors is her Mr. Right (Gelfant), but their lives seem to intersect without so much as a meeting. Indie spin on SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE has silly subplots but is bolstered by a wintry Boston locale, charm to spare, and a wonderfully bittersweet performance from Davis. | tt0119778 | [R] | Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant, Holland Taylor, Jose Zuniga, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Klein, Roger Rees | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Next Stop, Greenwich Village | 1976 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★ | 109 | Comic, poignant film about Brooklyn boy Baker who moves to Greenwich Village in 1953 hoping to become an actor. Wonderful period atmosphere and characterizations; Winters is excellent as Baker's domineering mother. Look fast for Bill Murray in a bar. Semiautobiographical script by Mazursky. | tt0074963 | [R] | Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Christopher Walken, Lou Jacobi, Mike Kellin, Lois Smith, Dori Brenner, Antonio Fargas, Jeff Goldblum | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Next Three Days | 2010 | Paul Haggis | ★★ | 133 | College professor (Crowe) teaches himself how to pull off a prison break—mostly by surfing the Internet and interviewing a notorious ex-con (Neeson, in a striking cameo)—in order to free his increasingly distraught wife (Banks) three years after she’s convicted of killing her boss. Generally well-acted thriller occasionally strains credibility and fails to fully exploit some intriguing plot elements. But writer-director Haggis often generates suspense and offers an exciting high-speed getaway in his Americanized remake of the 2008 French thriller POUR ELLE. | tt1458175 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Brian Dennehy, Liam Neeson, Lennie James, Olivia Wilde, Ty Simpkins, Daniel Stern, Helen Carey, Kevin Corrigan, RZA, Jason Beghe, Aisha Hines | U.S.-French | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Next Time I Marry | 1938 | Garson Kanin. | ★★½ | 65 | Silly, likable nonsense about a spoiled heiress who must dump her fortune-hunting foreign beau and marry a regular American guy in order to gain her inheritance. Unjustly maligned screwball comedy is one of Lucy's better programmers of the '30s. | tt0030500 | Lucille Ball, James Ellison, Lee Bowman, Granville Bates, Mantan Moreland, Elliott Sullivan. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Next Time We Love | 1936 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 87 | Trim romantic soaper with Milland in love with actress Sullavan, who is married to struggling reporter Stewart. Preston Sturges worked uncredited on the script. | tt0028029 | Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Ray Milland, Grant Mitchell, Robert McWade, Hattie McDaniel | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Next Voice You Hear . . . | 1950 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 83 | The voice of God is heard nightly on the radio (but not by the audience) and has a profound impact on average American Whitmore, his wife and son. Ambitious if not terribly successful message film produced by Dore Schary. | tt0042786 | James Whitmore, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Lillian Bronson, Jeff Corey, Gary Gray | Drama | NULL | |||
| Next of Kin | 1989 | John Irvin | ★½ | 108 | Chicago cop Swayze, of Appalachian descent, takes on Mr. Mob with the help of backwoods brother Neeson. High-concept, low-rent star vehicle. Would you stay in a hotel managed by Pollard? | tt0097967 | [R] | Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Andreas Katsulas, Bill Paxton, Ben Stiller, Michael J. Pollard | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Next to No Time | 1958 | Henry Cornelius | ★★★ | 93 | Whimsical comedy from Paul Gallico story, about mild-mannered engineer (More) who loses inhibitions on ocean voyage where he's trying to put over important business deal. | tt0054117 | Kenneth More, Betsy Drake, Bessie Love, Harry Green, Patrick Barr, Roland Culver | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Niagara | 1953 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 89 | Black murder tale of couple staying at Niagara Falls, the wife planning to kill husband. Produced and cowritten by Charles Brackett; good location work. | tt0046126 | Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Casey Adams, Don Wilson, Richard Allan | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Niagara, Niagara | 1998 | Bob Gosse | ★½ | 96 | A teenage girl with Tourette Syndrome meets her soulmate while they're both shoplifting. Any film that launches a 'romance' on that note provides ample warning for viewers who dare to continue. Tunney is unflinching in her performance as the gratingly foul-mouthed girl in this notably unpleasant film that adds a novel spin to lovers-on-the-lam cinema. | tt0119780 | [R] | Robin Tunney, Henry Thomas, Michael Parks, Stephen Lang, John MacKay | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Nice Girl Like Me | 1969 | Desmond Davis | ★★ | 91 | Orphaned Ferris accidentally becomes impregnated twice by different men, is looked after by caretaker Andrews, whom she really loves. Appealing, silly and predictable. | tt0064723 | [M] | Barbara Ferris, Harry Andrews, Gladys Cooper, Bill Hinnant, James Villiers | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Nice Girl? | 1941 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 95 | Little Deanna grows up in this cute comedy, with Tone and Stack developing amorous ideas about her. Songs: 'Love At Last,' 'Thank You America.' Video includes alternate ending. | tt0033950 | Deanna Durbin, Franchot Tone, Walter Brennan, Robert Stack, Robert Benchley | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Nice Girls Don't Explode | 1987 | Chuck Martinez | ★★ | 92 | Silly comedy (with a memorable title) about a girl who causes things to explode, especially when she gets amorous. Harris and Meyrink, as mother and daughter who share this curse, give it their best, but the sparks don't ignite. | tt0093617 | [PG] | Barbara Harris, Michelle Meyrink, William O'Leary, Wallace Shawn, James Nardini | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Nice Little Bank That Should Be Robbed | 1958 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 87 | Cast is game, but story is pure cornball about goofy crooks using their gains to buy a racehorse. | tt0051990 | Tom Ewell, Mickey Rooney, Mickey Shaughnessy, Dina Merrill | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nicholas Nickleby | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | 1947 | Alberto Cavalcanti | ★★★ | 108 | Dickens's classic tale of young man's struggle to protect his family from scheming uncle and a cruel world is vividly brought to life. Can't compare with the Royal Shakespeare Company's 81/2-hour stage version— but still quite good. Some American prints run 95m. | tt0039657 | Derek Bond, Cedric Hardwicke, Alfred Drayton, Bernard Miles, Sally Ann Howes, Mary Merrall, Sybil Thorndike, Cathleen Nesbitt | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Nicholas Nickleby | 2002 | Douglas McGrath | ★★★ | 132 | Dickens' colorful story of a young man trying to make his way after the death of his father is good, old-fashioned entertainment, with Hunnam an appealing hero, Bell a poignant sidekick, Plummer an unrepentant villain (Nicholas' heartless uncle), and the best character actors in England filling other key roles. Most inspired casting: American Lane and Dame Edna (Humphries) as the kindhearted owners of a traveling theater troupe. | tt0309912 | [PG] | Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Christopher Plummer, Jim Broadbent, Romola Garai, Tom Courtenay, Stella Gonet, Timothy Spall, Anne Hathaway, Juliet Stevenson, Nathan Lane, Barry Humphries, Alan Cumming, Edward Fox, Sophie Thompson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nicholas and Alexandra | 1971 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★½ | 183 | Lavishly filmed (with Oscar-winning art direction-set decoration and costumes), well-acted chronicle of Russian leaders, and revolution that turned their world upside down. Sure and steady, but eventually tedious, despite cameos by Olivier et al. | tt0067483 | [PG] | Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, Tom Baker, Harry Andrews, Jack Hawkins, Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Alexander Knox, Curt Jurgens | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist | 2008 | Peter Sollett | ★★½ | 90 | Heartsick N.J. high schooler Cera still carries a torch for Dziena but can’t pretend he isn’t attracted to Dennings, whom he chances to meet during a night on the town in N.Y.C. Alternates between sweet, sincere moments and self-conscious artificiality; at its best capturing the atmosphere of the City at night. Aimed squarely at a teenage audience. Based on a novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. | tt0981227 | [PG-13] | Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena, Zachary Booth, Jay Baruchel, Seth Meyers, Kevin Corrigan, John Cho, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Frankie Faison, Devendra Banhart | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Nick Carter- Master Detective | 1939 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★ | 60 | Pidgeon is good, tracking down industrial spy in slickly done detective film. Starts out very snappy, then slows to a crawl and loses its way. Memorable for some striking aerial shots. | tt0031721 | Walter Pidgeon, Rita Johnson, Henry Hull, Donald Meek, Milburn Stone, Addison Richards, Sterling Holloway | Crime, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |||
| Nick of Time | 1995 | John Badham | ★★½ | 89 | Businessman arrives in L.A. with his young daughter and within moments, she's taken hostage while he's instructed to commit murder! Watchable suspense yarn draws you in, but hurls credibility roadblocks in your path at every turn. A game cast gives it 100 percent. Attempt to create heightened suspense by playing out the story in 'real time' (with endless closeups of clocks) doesn't pay off at all. | tt0113972 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton, Courtney Chase, Marsha Mason, Roma Maffia, Peter Strauss, Gloria Reuben, Bill Smitrovich, G. D. Spradlin | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nickel Mountain | 1985 | Drew Denbaum | ★★½ | 88 | Warm drama of unwed teenage mother growing up in rural America, befriended by pathetic older man. Winning performance by Langenkamp. Adapted from John Gardner's novel; filmed in 1983. | tt0089683 | Michael Cole, Heather Langenkamp, Patrick Cassidy, Brian Kerwin, Grace Zabriskie, Don Beddoe, Ed Lauter | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Nickel Ride | 1975 | Robert Mulligan | ★★ | 99 | Uneven and generally obscure little drama about a syndicate contact man (Miller) who keeps keys to L.A. warehouses used by dealers in stolen goods. | tt0073451 | [PG] | Jason Miller, Linda Haynes, Victor French, John Hillerman, Bo Hopkins | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Nickelodeon | 1976 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★ | 121 | Heartfelt valentine to early days of moviemaking, with O'Neal literally stumbling into his job as director, Reynolds an overnight screen hero. Based on reminiscences of such veterans as Raoul Walsh and Allan Dwan, film unfortunately loses steam halfway through. Entertaining on the whole, sparked by fine cast; script by Bogdanovich and W.D. Richter. | tt0074964 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum O'Neal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens, John Ritter, Jane Hitchcock, Harry Carey/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nico-Icon | 1995 | Susanne Ofteringer | ★★★ | 67 | Fascinating documentary about a compelling, sadly tragic subject: Christa Päffgen, the beautiful but self-destructive German-born model and singer who re-created herself as Nico, one of Andy Warhol's 'Superstars.' Nico was no candidate for Mother-of-the-Year: she was a heroin addict who initiated her own son into using the drug! Warhol's interview, along with one of Nico filmed two years before her death in 1988, are among the highpoints. Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, and Paul Morrissey are among those seen on-camera in this trenchant documentary. | tt0113973 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Nicotina | 2003 | Hugo Rodríguez. | ★★ | 93 | So-so crime caper/black comedy finds nerdy guy involved with Russian mobsters after he mistakenly delivers the wrong computer disk, throwing several characters' lives into turmoil. Gimmicky movie shot (mostly) in real time also deals with every aspect of cigarette addiction imaginable. Unfortunately nothing else about this film could be described as smokin'. | tt0337930 | [R] | Diego Luna, Marta Beláustegui, Lucas Crespi, Jesús Ochoa, Rafael Inclán, Rosa María Bianchi, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Carmen Madrid. | Mexican | Comedy | NULL | |
| Night After Night | 1932 | Archie Mayo | ★★ | 70 | Story of nightclub owner Raft's infatuation with 'classy' Cummings is a crashing bore, but when Mae West comes on the screen lights up. It's her film debut, and she's in rare form. | tt0023266 | George Raft, Mae West, Constance Cummings, Wynne Gibson, Roscoe Karns, Louis Calhern, Alison Skipworth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Ambush | Ill Met By Moonlight | 1957 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★ | 93 | Taut WW2 actioner set in Crete, with fine British cast. Originally released in England as ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT at 104m. | tt0049357 | Dirk Bogarde, Marius Goring, David Oxley, Cyril Cusack, Christopher Lee | British | Action, War | NULL | |
| The Night Before | 1988 | Thom Eberhardt | ★★ | 85 | Mild (and all-too-familiar) comic misadventures, as a high-school nerd tries to remember what happened to him the previous night on the way to the prom. | tt0095730 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Lori Loughlin, Theresa Saldana, Trinidad Silva, Suzanne Snyder, Morgan Lofting, Gwil Richards, Michael Greene | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Night Call Nurses | 1972 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★ | 85 | Kaplan's feature debut is typical drive-in sex comedy; light-hearted and fast-paced, with good comic performances by Dugan and the ubiquitous Miller. Third in Roger Corman-produced series; followed by THE YOUNG NURSES. | tt0069001 | [R] | Patti Byrne, Alana Collins, Mittie Lawrence, Dick Miller, Dennis Dugan, Stack Pierce | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night Caller | 1975 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 91 | Detective Belmondo tackles both a bank robbery case and an obscene phone caller who murders women at the end of the line. Action but little else. | tt0073535 | [R] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Denner, Adalberto-Maria Meril, Lea Massari, Rosy Varte | French-Italian | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Night Caller from Outer Space | Blood Beast from Outer Space | 1965 | John Gilling. | ★★½ | 84 | Well-done sci-fi thriller of alien kidnapping humans to take back to his home, a moon of Jupiter. U.S. theatrical title: BLOOD BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE. | tt0059504 | John Saxon, Maurice Denham, Patricia Haines, Alfred Burke, Jack Watson, Aubrey Morris. | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Night Catches Us | 2010 | Tanya Hamilton | ★★★ | 90 | With formative racial tensions still flaring in 1976 Philadelphia, drifter Mackie returns home, under a mysterious cloud, into the remnants of wounding Black Panther personal history. The same thoughts weigh as heavily upon the lawyer for whom he harbors deeps feelings (Washington). Subject matter portends a melodrama, and we’re shown here and there that Mackie’s character does know how to handle himself in barroom altercations, and with Washington’s punk cousin. Overall treatment, however, is uncommonly contemplative, a movie whose characterizations and evocative use of neighborhood locations sneak up on you. Written by first-time director Hamilton. | tt0775543 | [R] | Kerry Washington, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Ron Simons, Kevin C. Walls, Tariq Trotter | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Night Club Scandal | 1937 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 70 | Enjoyable B mystery with detectives seeking murderer who tried to frame innocent man. Remake of 1932 film GUILTY AS HELL. | tt0029308 |
|
John Barrymore, Lynne Overman, Louise Campbell, Charles Bickford, Evelyn Brent, Elizabeth Patterson, J. Carrol Naish | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night Court | 1932 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 90 | Phillips Holmes, Walter Huston, Anita Page, Lewis Stone, Mary Carlisle, John Miljan, Jean Hersholt. Slimy, crooked night court judge Huston will stop at nothing to avoid being pinned by city watchdog Stone; that includes framing an innocent young couple. Watchable but far from subtle, or surprising, until final twist. | tt0023268 | Phillips Holmes, Walter Huston, Anita Page, Lewis Stone, Mary Carlisle, John Miljan, Jean Hersholt | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Night Creature | Out of the Darkness | 1978 | Lee Madden | 💣 | 83 | Macho writer Pleasence lives on Xanadu-like island retreat near Thailand, but a prowling leopard is giving him the jitters. Low-grade thriller, minus the thrills. Aka OUT OF THE DARKNESS. | tt0079626 | [PG] | Donald Pleasence, Nancy Kwan, Ross Hagen, Lesly Fine, Jennifer Rhodes | Thriller, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| Night Creatures | Captain Clegg | 1962 | Peter Graham Scott | ★★½ | 81 | In 18th century England, country parson is also the notorious 'dead' pirate leader of smugglers who pose as ghosts. Good fun with some scary moments. Remake of DR. SYN. Original British title: CAPTAIN CLEGG. | tt0056277 | Peter Cushing, Yvonne Romain, Patrick Allen, Oliver Reed, Michael Ripper, Martin Benson, David Lodge | British | Drama, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| Night Crossing | 1981 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 106 | Unexceptional though well-cast and not unexciting tale of two families' escape from East Berlin via hot-air balloon. A Walt Disney production, based on a true story. | tt0082810 | [PG] | John Hurt, Jane Alexander, Glynnis O'Connor, Doug McKeon, Beau Bridges, Ian Bannen, Klaus Lowitsch, Kay Walsh | British | Family, Drama | NULL | |
| The Night Digger | The Road Builder | 1971 | Alastair Reid | ★★★ | 100 | Odd, usually effective psychological thriller adapted from Joy Cowley novel by Roald Dahl. With the unexpected arrival of young handyman, sad relationship between two country women takes turn for the better, until they discover what he does on off-hours. Excellent performances, fine Bernard Herrmann score. Aka THE ROAD BUILDER. | tt0067486 | [R] | Patricia Neal, Pamela Brown, Nicholas Clay, Jean Anderson, Graham Crowden, Yootha Joyce | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL |
| Night Editor | 1946 | Henry Levin. | ★★ | 68 | Minor yarn about Gargan, a law enforcer gone wrong, trying to redeem himself. | tt0038774 | William Gargan, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell, Coulter Irwin. | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave | 1971 | Emilio Miraglia | ★½ | 90 | Dreadful horror whodunit about British lord released from psychiatric clinic following wife's death, who begins to suspect she is still alive when her crypt is discovered empty. | tt0067487 | [R] | Anthony Steffen, Marina Malfatti, Rod Murdock, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Raho | Italian | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Night Falls on Manhattan | 1997 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 113 | Cop turned lawyer joins the D.A.'s staff in N.Y.C. and rises to the top by prosecuting a headline-making case in which his father, a veteran detective, was shot. Then he has to deal with the stickier issue of police corruption, which hits awfully close to home. Intense and watchable saga (adapted by Lumet from Robert Daley's novel Tainted Evidence) suffers from one major flaw: its central character's naïveté. He's constantly shocked by what we in the audience already know— or have guessed. Leibman is dynamite as the bombastic D.A. | tt0119783 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Richard Dreyfuss, Lena Olin, Ian Holm, Ron Leibman, James Gandolfini, Colm Feore, Shiek Mahmud-Bey, Paul Guilfoyle | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Night Fighters | A Terrible Beauty | 1960 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 85 | Sporadically actionful tale of Irish Revolution, with Mitchum joining the cause against his will. Original title: A TERRIBLE BEAUTY. | tt0054120 | Robert Mitchum, Anne Heywood, Dan O'Herlihy, Cyril Cusack, Richard Harris, Marianne Benet | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Night Flier | Stephen King's The Night Flier | 1998 | Mark Pavia | ★★½ | 99 | Blackhearted tabloid reporter meets his match when he tracks a mysterious bloodsucking serial killer who flies a black Cessna plane from crime scene to crime scene. Genuinely creepy mood is bolstered by Ferrer's enjoyably hissable heavy. Not-bad directorial debut for Pavia until the film's final third, which descends into typical gorefest shtick. Originally shown on cable, then released in theaters. Aka STEPHEN KING'S THE NIGHT FLIER. | tt0119784 | [R] | Miguel Ferrer, Julie Entwisle, Dan Monahan, Merton H. Moss | Horror | NULL | |
| Night Flight | 1933 | Clarence Brown. | ★★★ | 85 | During the inaugural 24 hours of a night airmail service in South America, the hard-nosed boss pushes pilots to fly over treacherous mountains in the fog and rain to deliver serum to a hospital, while their women anxiously wait for their return. Absorbing and well made, with a poetic and arty quality that's unusual for an MGM blockbuster, yet somehow falls short of greatness. The all-star cast members rarely share the screen together. Based on the novel Vol de Nuit by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who based it on his experiences as airmail pilot in France. | tt0024381 | John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, William Gargan, C. Henry Gordon, Leslie Fenton, Frank Conroy. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Flight From Moscow | The Serpent | 1973 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 113 | Espionage thriller about the defection of Russian diplomat Brynner is compromised by the middling screenplay adapted from Pierre Nord's cloak-and-dagger novel Le 13e Suicide. Originally titled THE SERPENT. | tt0069251 | [PG] | Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde, Philippe Noiret, Virna Lisi, Farley Granger, Robert Alda, Marie Dubois, Elga Andersen | French-Italian-West German | Thriller | NULL |
| Night Freight | 1955 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★★½ | 79 | Straightforward tale about the bitter rivalry between railroad operator Tucker and trucker Gomez, who compete for business. | tt0048422 | Forrest Tucker, Barbara Britton, Keith Larsen, Thomas Gomez, George Sanders. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Night Full of Rain | The End of the World in Our Usual Bed in a Night Full of Rain | 1978 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★ | 104 | Wertmuller's first English language effort (shot in Rome and San Francisco) is unsatisfying fantasy drama about relationship between journalist Giannini and feminist wife Bergen, who's quite good. Full title: THE END OF THE WORLD IN OUR USUAL BED IN A NIGHT FULL OF RAIN. | tt0077548 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Candice Bergen, Allison Tucker, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Anne Byrne | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Night Gallery | 1969 | Boris Sagal, Steven Spielberg, Barry Shear | Above Average TV Movie | 98 | Three-story anthology, each part revolving around lessons learned (via Rod Serling) from paintings: despicable nephew (McDowall) speeds up death of wealthy old uncle who is resurrected via spooky oil painting; cruel art collector (Crawford) arranges for eye transplant from living donor; death camp Nazi (Kiley) in South American country picks the worst possible place to evade pursuers. Effective mixture of melodrama, morality, and supernatural spawned popular series; middle tale was Spielberg's maiden directorial effort. | tt0064725 | Roddy McDowall, Ossie Davis, Barry Sullivan, Tom Bosley, George Macready, Joan Crawford, Richard Kiley, Sam Jaffe | Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Night Game | 1989 | Peter Masterson | ★½ | 95 | Texas police detective goes after a serial killer. What a shame to find good actors and a talented director wasting their time with such third-rate material. | tt0097971 | [R] | Roy Scheider, Karen Young, Richard Bradford, Paul Gleason, Carlin Glynn | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Night Games | 1980 | Roger Vadim | ★½ | 100 | Frigid housewife will make it only with guy who shows up at night in a bird suit. Vadim may be kidding, but it's tough to tell. | tt0081228 | [R] | Cindy Pickett, Joanna Cassidy, Barry Primus, Paul Jenkins, Gene Davis | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night Has Eyes | 1942 | Leslie Arliss | ★★½ | 79 | OK mystery of schoolteacher Howard discovering why a friend disappeared in the Yorkshire Moors; Mason is a shellshocked composer she loves. Aka TERROR HOUSE. | tt0035123 | James Mason, Joyce Howard, Mary Clare, Wilfrid Lawson, Tucker McGuire | British | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Night Has a Thousand Eyes | 1948 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 80 | Intriguing story of magician who has uncanny power to predict the future; script is corny at times. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. | tt0040643 | Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund, Virginia Bruce, William Demarest | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Night Heaven Fell | 1958 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 90 | Turgid drama of Bardot dallying with Boyd, who's planning to kill her uncle. | tt0050193 | Brigitte Bardot, Alida Valli, Stephen Boyd, Pepe Nieto | French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Night Holds Terror | 1955 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 86 | Somber little film of family being held captive for ransom. | tt0048423 | Jack Kelly, Hildy Parks, Vince Edwards, John Cassavetes, Jack Kruschen, Joel Marston, JonathanHale | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Night Into Morning | 1951 | Fletcher Markle | ★★★ | 86 | Small-town professor loses family in fire, almost ruins own life through drink and self-pity. Realistic settings in modest production, with fine performance by Milland. | tt0043852 | Ray Milland, John Hodiak, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Lewis Stone, Jean Hagen, Rosemary DeCamp | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Is My Future | 1948 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 87 | Somber, brooding tale of young Malmsten, blinded while in military service; he struggles for self-respect, and is befriended by housemaid Zetterling. Early, minor Bergman. Aka MUSIC IN DARKNESS. | tt0040622 | Mai Zetterling, Birger Malmsten, Olof Winnerstrand, Naima Wifstrand, Hilda Borgstrom | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night Is Young | 1935 | Dudley Murphy. | 💣 | 81 | Novarro, wretchedly miscast and mugging mercilessly, brings his 10-year MGM career to a pitiful end playing a Viennese archduke who spurns his royal fiancée for a fling with ballerina Laye (who bolted back to England after this disaster). Oscar Hammerstein-Sigmund Romberg score, including 'When I Grow Too Old to Dream,' is an insufficient saving grace. | tt0026775 | Ramon Novarro, Evelyn Laye, Charles Butterworth, Una Merkel, Edward Everett Horton, Donald Cook, Rosalind Russell, Henry Stephenson, Herman Bing. | Romance, Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Key | 1937 | Lloyd Corrigan | ★★ | 67 | Middling yarn about crooks forcing elderly inventor to help them with their crimes. | tt0029309 | Boris Karloff, Warren Hull, Jean Rogers, Hobart Cavanaugh | Crime, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Night Life of the Gods | 1935 | Lowell Sherman. | ★★½ | 73 | Mowbray dreams that he can turn people (like his annoying family) into statues and bring statues (like the Greek gods at the local museum) to life. Amusing if watered-down version of Thorne Smith's risqué novel doesn't make the most of its premise but remains a fascinating curio. John Fulton's special effects are impressive. Title on-screen is THORNE SMITH'S NIGHT LIFE OF THE GODS. | tt0026776 | Alan Mowbray, Florine McKinney, Peggy Shannon, Richard Carle, Theresa Maxwell Conover, Phillips Smalley, Wesley Barry, Henry Armetta, Geneva Mitchell, Robert Warwick. | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Night Listener | 2006 | Patrick Stettner | ★★ | 81 | A radio host who spins stories drawn from his experiences responds to a young fan in a series of phone calls, but soon begins to suspect that something is not right with the boy and his overprotective mother. The nascent intrigue in this adaptation of Armistead Maupin's novel never bears fruit here; a gloomy, unsatisfying film that thwarts a talented cast. Maupin cowrote and coexecutive-produced the film | tt0448075 | [R] | Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Bobby Cannavale, Rory Culkin, Joe Morton, John Cullum, Sandra Oh, Becky Ann Baker | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night Monster | 1942 | Ford Beebe | ★★½ | 73 | Intriguing grade-B thriller about creepy supernatural figure stalking country estate, murdering doctors who are visiting crippled Morgan. | tt0035124 | Irene Hervey, Don Porter, Nils Asther, Lionel Atwill, Leif Erickson, Bela Lugosi, Ralph Morgan | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Night Moves | 1975 | Arthur Penn | ★★★½ | 99 | L.A. detective Hackman puts aside his marital woes to track nymphet Griffith to Florida Keys. Complicated but underrated psychological suspenser by Alan Sharp leads to stunning climax. | tt0073453 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Susan Clark, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin, Kenneth Mars, James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Dugan, Max Gail | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night Must Fall | 1937 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 117 | Famous film of Emlyn Williams' suspenseful play. Young woman (Russell) slowly learns identity of mysterious brutal killer terrorizing the countryside. Montgomery has showy role in sometimes stagy but generally effective film, with outstanding aid from Russell and Whitty. Screenplay by John Van Druten. Remade in 1964. | tt0029310 | Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Dame May Whitty, Alan Marshal, Kathleen Harrison, E. E. Clive, Beryl Mercer | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Night Must Fall | 1964 | Karel Reisz | ★★½ | 105 | Cerebral attempt to match flair of original, this remake is too obvious and theatrical for any credibility. Reisz and Finney produced. | tt0058401 | Albert Finney, Susan Hampshire, Mona Washbourne, Sheila Hancock, Michael Medwin, Joe Gladwin, Martin Wyldeck | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Night My Number Came Up | 1955 | Leslie Norman. | ★★★★ | 94 | First-rate suspense film will have you holding your breath as it recounts tale of routine military flight, the fate of which may or may not depend on a prophetic dream. Screenplay by R. C. Sherriff, from an article by Victor Goddard. | tt0047278 | Michael Redgrave, Sheila Sim, Alexander Knox, Denholm Elliott, Ursula Jeans, Michael Hordern, George Rose, Alfie Bass. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night Nurse | 1931 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 72 | Excellent, hard-bitten tale of nurse (Stanwyck) who can't ignore strange goings-on in home where she works. Blondell adds zingy support; one of Gable's most impressive early appearances. Still potent today. | tt0022208 | Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell, Clark Gable, Charlotte Merriam, Charles Winninger | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Night Parade | 1929 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★½ | 71 | Innocent prizefighter is seduced by a 'dirty Broadway tramp' and a racketeer, who pay him to take a dive. Crudely filmed early talkie enlivened by climactic bout in a thunderstorm but otherwise a compendium of boxing genre clichés. Based on a play cowritten by George Abbott. Look for Oscar Levant as a piano player in a party scene. | tt0020218 | Aileen Pringle, Hugh Trevor, Dorothy Gulliver, Robert Ellis, Ann Pennington, Lloyd Ingraham | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Passage | 1957 | James Neilson | ★★★ | 90 | Sound Western of Stewart working for railroad, brother Murphy belonging to gang planning to rob train payroll; exciting climactic shoot-out. | tt0050763 | James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Brandon de Wilde, Dianne Foster | Western | NULL | |||
| Night Patrol | 1985 | Jackie Kong | 💣 | 82 | Threadbare rip-off of POLICE ACADEMY combines Barty's flatulence with crude one-liners. See if you can figure out why the opening sequence has subtitles. | tt0087795 | [R] | Linda Blair, Pat Paulsen, Jaye P. Morgan, Jack Riley, Billy Barty, Murray Langston, Pat Morita, Andrew Dice Clay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Night People | 1954 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★★ | 93 | Sensibly told, intertwining plots of Cold War espionage; filmed on location in Berlin. | tt0047279 | Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Bjork, Rita Gam, Walter Abel, Buddy Ebsen | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Night Plane From Chungking | 1943 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★½ | 69 | Adequate adventure yarn about a plane shot down in the jungle, with captain Preston falling for Drew while going up against the Japanese. | tt0035125 | Ellen Drew, Robert Preston, Otto Kruger, Steven Geray, (Victor) Sen Yung, Tamara Geva, Soo Yong. | Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Night Porter | 1974 | Liliana Cavani | ★★ | 115 | Sleazy, bizarre drama, set in 1957, about a sado-masochistic relationship between an ex-Nazi and the woman he used to abuse sexually in a concentration camp. | tt0071910 | [R] | Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy, Gabriele Ferzetti, Isa Miranda | Italian | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| The Night Riders | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 58 | The Three Mesquiteers are uncharacteristically transposed back into the 19th century, where they wear hoods and capes to combat a megalomaniac with a forged land grant. Some scenes uncomfortably (though unintentionally) suggest parallels to the Ku Klux Klan. Based on a true incident. Slick Western with throbbing action throughout. Minor complaint: too many interiors. | tt0031722 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Doreen McKay, Ruth Rogers, Tom Tyler, Kermit Maynard, Sammy McKim. | History, Western | NULL | |||
| The Night Runner | 1957 | Abner Biberman. | ★★ | 79 | Violent B film of insane Danton on killing spree, about to gun down his girlfriend. | tt0050764 | Ray Danton, Colleen Miller, Merry Anders, Eddy Waller. | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Night School | 1981 | Ken Hughes | 💣 | 88 | Female students attending title place of learning are being decapitated. Not as graphically bloody as others of its genre, but still pretty bad. Ward's feature debut. | tt0082812 | [R] | Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward, Drew Snyder, Joseph R. Sicari | Horror | NULL | ||
| Night Shadows | Mutant | 1984 | John ‘Bud’ Cardos | ★★ | 99 | Yet another tale of toxic waste creating monsters that terrorize small Southern town. Same old stuff, with inferior special effects and makeup. Aka MUTANT. | tt0087796 | [R] | Wings Hauser, Bo Hopkins, Lee Montgomery, Jennifer Warren, Jody Medford, Cary Guffey | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Night Shift | 1982 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 105 | A nebbish takes a night job at the city morgue, seeking peace and quiet, but his new assistant draws him into wild scheme to start a prostitution business! Delightful, good-natured comedy (despite seamy subject matter) written with verve by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. (Soundtrack features Rod Stewart singing 'That's What Friends Are For,' years before it became a hit.) Winkler has never been better; Keaton's smash debut performance made him an instant star. Is this a great country or what? Look for Kevin Costner as an extra. | tt0084412 | [R] | Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, Shelley Long, Gina Hecht, Pat Corley, Bobby DiCicco, Nita Talbot, Richard Belzer, Charles Fleischer, Shannen Doherty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Night Song | 1947 | John Cromwell | ★★ | 101 | Overlong, soapy drama of socialite Oberon falling in love with blind pianist Andrews. Barrymore is very good in the unusual role of comic relief. Artur Rubinstein and conductor Eugene Ormandy appear in the climactic concert sequence, playing the concerto composed especially for the film by Leith Stevens. | tt0039659 | Dana Andrews, Merle Oberon, Ethel Barrymore, Hoagy Carmichael, Jacqueline White | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Night Stage to Galveston | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 62 | Weak outing as Gene and his pal Pat reform the disbanded Texas Rangers to fight corrupt state police while looking after orphan Nugent. Poor pacing, ineffectual villains scuttle this latter-day Autry. | tt0044966 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Virginia Huston, Thurston Hall, Judy Nugent, Robert Livingston, Clayton Moore, Harry Lauter. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Night Stalker | 1987 | Max Kleven | ★★ | 89 | Napier steps out impressively from supporting roles to star as a down and out L.A. cop who goes after a serial killer preying on prostitutes. Standard B movie was made in 1985. | tt0093621 | [R] | Charles Napier, Michelle Reese, Katherine Kelly Lang, Robert Viharo, Robert Zdar, Joey Gian, Leila Carlin, Gary Crosby, James Louis Watkins, Ola Ray, Tally Chanel, Joan Chen | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Night Stalker | 1971 | John Llewellyn Moxey | Above Average TV Movie | 73 | Wise-guy reporter assigned to series of strange murders in Las Vegas. Near-brilliant mixture of double-edged horror, comedy; well-constructed script by Richard Matheson. Kudos to flawless cast. Sequel: THE NIGHT STRANGLER. Later a TV series. | tt0067490 | Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Kent Smith, Barry Atwater | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Night Strangler | 1972 | Dan Curtis | Above Average TV Movie | 90 | Sequel to THE NIGHT STALKER finds McGavin eking out living in Seattle; he latches onto series of murders involving blood drainage by syringe, discovers secret underground city and lone 'resident.' | tt0069002 | Unrated | Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Jo Ann Pflug, Richard Anderson, John Carradine, Margaret Hamilton, Wally Cox | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Night Sun | 1990 | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | ★★★ | 112 | Evocative film about an idealistic, sensitive young man (Sands), who wishes to find inner peace in a world of temptation. Based on the Tolstoi story 'Father Sergius'; Sands' voice is dubbed into Italian by Giancarlo Giannini. | tt0100650 | Julian Sands, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nastassja Kinski, Massimo Bonetti, Margarita Lozano, Rudiger Vogler | Italian-French-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night They Raided Minsky's | 1968 | William Friedkin | ★★★ | 99 | Flavorful period-piece about Amish girl (Ekland) who comes to N.Y.C., gets involved with burlesque comic Robards and accidentally invents the striptease. Many nice backstage and onstage moments. Abruptness of Lahr's role is due to his death during filming. Produced and cowritten by Norman Lear. | tt0063348 | [M] | Jason Robards, Britt Ekland, Norman Wisdom, Forrest Tucker, Harry Andrews, Joseph Wiseman, Denholm Elliott, Elliott Gould, Jack Burns, Bert Lahr; narrated by Rudy Vallee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Night Tide | 1963 | Curtis Harrington | ★★½ | 84 | Lonely sailor Hopper falls for Lawson, who works as a mermaid at the Santa Monica pier, but learns she may be a killer— and a descendant of the sirens. Odd, dreamy little drama is strangely compelling, though not a horror film, as often promoted. Written by the director. | tt0055230 | Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir, Luana Anders, Marjorie Eaton, Tom Dillon, H. E. West, Cameron | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Time in Nevada | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Years after her father is murdered by unscrupulous miner Withers, Mara comes to claim her inheritance and becomes a target of bad men . . . until Roy steps in. Top-notch screenplay, with Withers a memorably despicable villain. Good example of one of Rogers' later, hard-edged Westerns. Only b&w prints seem to survive. | tt0040644 | Roy Rogers, Adele Mara, Andy Devine, Grant Withers, Marie Harmon, Joseph Crehan, George Carleton, Holly Bane, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Night Train | 1959 | Jerzy Kawalerowicz | ★★ | 90 | Murky account of young woman on a train, forced to share compartment with a doctor; their lack of communication and presence of killer on train are film's focal points. | tt0053176 | Lucyna Winnicka, Leon Niemczyk, Teresa Szmigielowna, Zbigniew Cybulski | Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Night Train to Munich | Night Train | 1940 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 93 | Expert Hitchcockian thriller about British intelligence agent Harrison trying to rescue Czech scientist who escaped from the Nazis to London only to be kidnapped back to Berlin. Stylishly photographed (by Otto Kanturek), sharply scripted by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, who also wrote Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES (which introduced the comic characters reprised here by Radford and Wayne). Based on Gordon Wellesley's novel Report on a Fugitive. Originally released in U.S. as NIGHT TRAIN. | tt0032842 | Rex Harrison, Margaret Lockwood, Paul Henreid, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Felix Aylmer, Roland Culver | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Night Train to Venice | 1995 | Carlo U. Quinterio | 💣 | 98 | Upon completing a book on neo-Nazis, writer Grant travels to Venice to meet with a publisher— and is followed (and menaced) by skinheads. If you're looking for a boyishly charming Grant, look elsewhere; he's a dull dolt in this trashy film, made in 1993 and passed over for theatrical release. | tt0107683 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Tahnee Welch, Malcolm McDowell, Kristina Soderbaum, Rachel Rice | German | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Night Unto Night | 1949 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 85 | Somber, unconvincing film about relationship of dying scientist and mentally disturbed widow. Finished in 1947 and shelved for two years. Reagan's performance isn't bad, but script is against him. | tt0039660 | Ronald Reagan, Viveca Lindfors, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp, Osa Massen, Art Baker, Craig Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Visitor | 1989 | Rupert Hitzig | ★★ | 94 | Teenage Rydall discovers his most hated teacher (Garfield) is a Satanist and serial killer of prostitutes; when no one believes him, he turns to retired cop Gould for help. Silly, unconvincing blend of teenage comedy and thriller, helped by good performances. | tt0100254 | [R] | Derek Rydall, Allen Garfield, Teresa Vander Woude, Elliott Gould, Michael J. Pollard, Brooke Bundy, Richard Roundtree, Shannon Tweed | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Night Visitor | 1970 | Laslo Benedek | ★★½ | 106 | An inmate plots to escape from an asylum for the criminally insane for one night, to avenge himself on people who put him away. Heavy in detail, but interesting. Filmed in Denmark and Sweden. | tt0066141 | [PG] | Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Trevor Howard, Per Oscarsson, Rupert Davies, Andrew Keir | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Night Walker | 1964 | William Castle | ★★★ | 86 | One of the better Castle horror films has Stanwyck as wealthy widow discovering cause of recurring dreams about lost husband. Effective psychological thriller with good cast, unusual script by Robert Bloch. Title on-screen is WILLIAM CASTLE'S THE NIGHT WALKER. | tt0058403 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Lloyd Bochner, Rochelle Hudson, Judi Meredith, Hayden Rorke | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Night Warning | 1982 | William Asher | ★★½ | 94 | Explosive, tour-de-force acting by Tyrrell distinguishes this formula horror film. She's a sexually repressed aunt, overly protective of her nephew McNichol, who finally turns to murder. | tt0082813 | [R] | Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Marcia Lewis, Julia Duffy | Horror | NULL | ||
| Night Watch | 1973 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★½ | 105 | Woman (Taylor) believes she has witnessed a murder, but cannot prove it. Tired plot based on Lucille Fletcher play. | tt0070444 | [PG] | Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw, Robert Lang, Tony Britton | British | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Night Watch | 2004 | Timur Bekmambetov | ★★ | 114 | Russian horror/sci-fi drama focuses on the 'Others,' a group that divided into forces of darkness and light centuries ago after signing a truce agreeing that the 'dark' would control the night and the 'light' would patrol the day. Now, in Moscow, the dark Others are out in force in the form of vampires and must be kept in check. Hardly a typical Russian art-house movie, this clearly shows the influence of American popcorn fare, with impressive special effects. Doesn't measure up to similar Hollywood product but makes a game attempt to play in the same sandbox. | tt0403358 | [R] | Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valeri Zolotukhin, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Yuri Kutsenko | Russian | Action, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Night We Never Met | 1993 | Warren Light | ★★ | 99 | Disappointing romantic comedy in which about-to-be-married yuppie Anderson time-shares his rent-controlled N.Y.C. apartment with Broderick and Sciorra; all are strangers, and use the pad on alternate days. | tt0107685 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Annabella Sciorra, Kevin Anderson, Louise Lasser, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Justine Bateman, Michael Mantell, Christine Baranski, Doris Roberts, Dominic Chianese, Garry Shandling, Ranjit Chowdhry, Katharine Houghton, Tim Guinee | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Night Without Sleep | 1952 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★ | 77 | Pat treatment of man thinking he's committed murder. | tt0044967 | Linda Darnell, Gary Merrill, Hildegarde Neff, Hugh Beaumont, Mae Marsh | Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Night Without Stars | 1951 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★½ | 86 | Adequate mystery with partially blind lawyer Farrar becoming involved with Gray and a murder. | tt0043855 | David Farrar, Nadia Gray, Maurice Teynac, June Clyde, Gerard Landry | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Night World | 1932 | Hobart Henley | ★★★ | 56 | Outrageous little pre-Code item about the various goings-on in a Prohibition-era nightclub. Karloff is its corrupt owner; Ayres a troubled young man whose mother has murdered his father; Clarke a wiscracking chorus girl; Muse a philosophical doorman; Raft (in a small role) a Broadway tinhorn. Add to this some vintage Busby Berkeley choreography . . . and the result is a real curio. | tt0023271 | Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier, Russell Hopton, Clarence Muse, Hedda Hopper, Bert Roach, George Raft | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night Zoo | 1987 | Jean-Claude Lauzon | ★★ | 115 | French-Canadian melodrama, wildly overrated on its home turf, unconvincingly mixes a moving story of love between ex-con Maheu and his father with a brutal tale of sex and drugs. Title refers to a ludicrous climax at the local zoo. Graphic sex scenes almost reduce this one to exploitation film level. | tt0094210 | Roger Le Bel, Gilles Maheu, Lyne Adams, Lorne Brass, Germain Houde | Canadian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night and Day | 1946 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 128 | Music only worthy aspect of fabricated biography of songwriter Cole Porter, stiffly played by Grant, who even sings 'You're The Top.' Martin recreates 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' in film's highlight. | tt0038776 | Cary Grant, Alexis Smith, Monty Woolley, Ginny Simms, Jane Wyman, Eve Arden, Mary Martin, Victor Francen, Alan Hale/Sr., Dorothy Malone | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Night and the City | 1950 | Jules Dassin | ★★½ | 101 | Interesting film noir portrait of assorted losers in the netherworld of London, focusing on a young American hustler (Widmark) who's desperate to succeed. Marvelous showcase for Sullivan as an oily nightclub owner. Filmed in England. Remade in 1992. | tt0042788 | Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe, Francis L. Sullivan, Herbert Lom, Mike Mazurki, Kay Kendall | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Night and the City | 1992 | Irwin Winkler | ★★½ | 98 | De Niro is dynamic as always, playing a hustler who tries promoting a boxing match— setting himself up for personal and professional disaster at every turn. Colorful N.Y.C. ambience and solid cast combat the utter predictability of the story. Screenplay by Richard Price (who also plays a doctor), based on the 1950 film and its source novel by Gerald Kersh. | tt0105001 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange, Cliff Gorman, Alan King, Jack Warden, Eli Wallach, Barry Primus, Gene Kirkwood, Ignazio Spalla | Drama | NULL | ||
| Night at the Golden Eagle | 2002 | Adam Rifkin | ★½ | 87 | Grim, distasteful melodrama set at an L.A. skid-row hotel, mostly during one hot night. Despite some good performances, the film is unconvincing and uninvolving. Stylized cinematography features coarse, solarized color. James Caan appears unbilled. | tt0250617 | [R] | Donnie Montemarano, Vinny Argiro, Natasha Lyonne, Ann Magnuson, Fayard Nicholas, Sam Moore, Kitten Natividad | Drama | NULL | ||
| Night at the Museum | 2006 | Shawn Levy | ★★★ | 108 | Divorced dad (and perpetual screwup) Stiller can't afford to disappoint his son again. Desperate for a job, he tries out as night watchman at Manhattan's Museum of Natural History, unaware that the exhibits come to life every night and cause all sorts of havoc. Engaging fantasy for kids, based on Milan Trenc's book, artfully employs an arsenal of special effects; the imaginative story just happens to involve famous figures in world history. Stiller has a funny scene with a woman at an employment agency-nicely played by his mom, Anne Meara. | tt0477347 | [PG] | Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Jake Cherry, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Kim Raver, Patrick Gallagher, Paul Rudd | Action, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | 2009 | Shawn Levy | ★★ | 104 | With a setup that makes the word “contrived” seem mild, onetime security guard Stiller—now inexplicably a TV inventor/pitchman—comes to the rescue of his old friends, the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History, when they’re shipped to cold storage underneath the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Hilarity ensues (it says here). Lazy writing and silly, self-indulgent ideas fill this moneyed sequel—but if you’re under 10 years old it will probably play just fine. There are some funny moments, and Azaria is a hoot as the Pharaoh who sounds like movies’ original Im-ho-tep. Jonah Hill appears unbilled along with surprise guests. | tt1078912 | [PG] | Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Ricky Gervais, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, Jon Bernthal, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Clint Howard | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Night at the Opera | 1935 | Sam Wood | ★★★★ | 92 | The Marx Brothers invade the world of opera with devastating results. Arguably their finest film (a close race with DUCK SOUP), with tuneful music and appealing romance neatly interwoven. One priceless comedy bit follows another: the stateroom scene, the Party of the First Part contract, etc. This is as good as it gets. | tt0026778 | Groucho, Chico, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle, Allan Jones, Walter Woolf King, Margaret Dumont, Sigfried Rumann | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Night at the Roxbury | 1998 | John Fortenberry | ★½ | 82 | The uncool Butabi Brothers from Saturday Night Live get (rather than rate) their feature film debut: a limp comedy about their attempt to wile themselves into the town's trendiest nightspot. Talk about the last days of disco; five minutes of material gets stretched into nearly an hour and a half. The two stars also scripted. Chazz Palminteri has a cameo. Grieco completists should be aware that he plays himself. | tt0120770 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Dan Hedaya, Loni Anderson, Elisa Donovan, Gigi Rice, Richard Grieco, Dwayne Hickman, Colin Quinn, Michael Clarke Duncan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Night in Casablanca | 1946 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 85 | No classic, but many funny sequences in latter-day Marx outing, ferreting out Nazi spies in Casablanca hotel. | tt0038777 | Groucho, Harpo, Chico Marx, Lisette Verea, Charles Drake, Lois Collier, Dan Seymour, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Night in Heaven | 1983 | John G. Avildsen | ★★ | 80 | Teacher Warren lets her friends drag her to a male strip joint, where the star attraction (Atkins) is a student she's flunking. Off-beat romantic drama penned by Joan Tewkesbury had real possibilities, but many of them were apparently left on the cutting room floor (note brief running time). Still worth a peek for fine performance by Warren. | tt0086011 | [R] | Lesley Ann Warren, Christopher Atkins, Robert Logan, Carrie Snodgress, Deborah Rush, Sandra Beall, Alix Elias, Denny Terrio, Andy Garcia | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Night in New Orleans | 1942 | William Clemens. | ★½ | 75 | Thin yarn of Morison trying to clear husband Foster of murder charge. | tt0035126 | Preston Foster, Patricia Morison, Albert Dekker, Charles Butterworth, Dooley Wilson, Cecil Kellaway. | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Night in Paradise | 1946 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 84 | Tongue-in-cheek costumer of Aesop wooing lovely princess Oberon in ancient times; colorful, at least. | tt0038778 | Merle Oberon, Turhan Bey, Thomas Gomez, Gale Sondergaard, Ray Collins, Ernest Truex | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon | 1988 | William Richert | ★★½ | 90 | Richert's film of his own youthful novel (Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?) doesn't work overall . . . but it has something. Phoenix is a high school Romeo preparing for a fall from grace when his more affluent friends prepare to leave for ritzier colleges; Magnuson's cameo (as an amorous family friend) is a standout, but other performances fall short. Handsomely photographed by John Connor. | tt0095736 | [R] | River Phoenix, Ann Magnuson, Meredith Salenger, Ione Skye, Louanne, Matthew Perry | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Night of Adventure | 1944 | Gordon Douglas. | ★★½ | 65 | Entertaining little drama with lawyer Conway attempting to exonerate bored wife Long's suitor on a murder rap, all the while avoiding scandal. A remake of HAT, COAT AND GLOVE. | tt0037130 | Tom Conway, Audrey Long, Nancy Gates, Emory Parnell, Jean Brooks, Louis Borell, Edward Brophy, Addison Richards. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Night of Dark Shadows | 1971 | Dan Curtis | 💣 | 97 | Ripoff exploitation film bears little resemblance to popular TV serial in predictable yawner about ghosts and reincarnation in New England. Follow-up to HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS lacks everything that made first one so good. | tt0067491 | [PG] | David Selby, Lara Parker, Kate Jackson, Grayson Hall, John Karlen, Nancy Barrett | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Night of January 16th | 1941 | William Clemens | ★½ | 79 | Hit Broadway play receives lackluster screen treatment; a talky and uninspired whodunit. | tt0033954 |
|
Robert Preston, Ellen Drew, Nils Asther, Donald Douglas, Rod Cameron, Alice White, Cecil Kellaway | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Night of Mystery | 1937 | E. A. Dupont | ★★ | 66 | Tedious remake of THE GREENE MURDER CASE with Richards no match for William Powell as detective Philo Vance. | tt0029312 | Grant Richards, Roscoe Karns, Helen Burgess, Ruth Coleman, Elizabeth Patterson, Harvey Stephens, June Martel | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Night of Terror | 1933 | Benjamin Stoloff | 💣 | 60 | Empty, inept 'B' chiller about ugly homicidal madman prowling the grounds of swanky estate. Top-billed Lugosi is wasted in nothing part as Hindu servant. Almost worth sitting through for really unbelievable ending. | tt0024382 | Sally Blane, Wallace Ford, Tully Marshall, Bela Lugosi, George Meeker, Edwin Maxwell, Bryant Washburn | Horror | NULL | |||
| Night of the Blood Beast | 1958 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★½ | 65 | Astronaut returns from space apparently dead; when he awakens, he's found to have alien embryos within him— a pregnant man! The alien also turns up murderously. Well directed but too low budget to succeed. | tt0051993 | Michael Emmet, Angela Greene, John Baer, Ed Nelson, Tyler McVey | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Night of the Blood Monster | 1970 | Jesus Franco (Jess Frank) | ★½ | 84 | Lee is fine as Judge Jeffreys, a brutal magistrate presiding over 'Bloody Assizes' after the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II, but movie itself is tedious and grisly. | tt0064727 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Maria Schell, Leo Genn, Maria Rohm, Margaret Lee | Spanish-Italian-West German | Horror | NULL | |
| Night of the Comet | 1984 | Thom Eberhardt | ★★½ | 94 | World comes to an end, leaving only a couple of California valley girls behind! Smart satire, with clever and occasionally chilling moments, but plays all its cards too soon. | tt0087799 | [PG-13] | Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Geoffrey Lewis, Mary Woronov, Sharon Farrell, Michael Bowen | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Night of the Cyclone | 1990 | David Irving | ★½ | 90 | Unimaginative, predictable thriller with some mildly unusual character relationships, about cop (Kristofferson) who goes to Caribbean island when his teenage daughter doesn't return from a modeling job. Plot takes odd turns, but they aren't interesting turns. Graham is billed as 'Bud T. Chud.' | tt0100256 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Meek, Marisa Berenson, Alla Kurot, Winston Ntshona, Dick Reineke, Marcel van Heerden, Gerrit Graham | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night of the Demons | Halloween Party | 1987 | Kevin S. Tenney | ★½ | 89 | On Halloween night, wouldn't you know it, some Typical Teenagers pick the wrong possessed mortuary to party in. Everything about this amateurish movie is gratuitous, including the movie itself. Good makeup, though . . . especially the prosthetics on Quigley! Aka HALLOWEEN PARTY. Followed by two sequels. | tt0093624 | [R] | Cathy Podewell, Alvin Alexis, William Gallo, Mimi Kinkade, Linnea Quigley, Lance Fenton | Horror | NULL | |
| The Night of the Following Day | 1969 | Hubert Cornfield | ★★½ | 93 | Good cast makes this sordid tale of young girl's kidnapping somewhat more interesting than it should be; pretty rough in spots. Filmed in France. | tt0064728 | [R] | Marlon Brando, Richard Boone, Rita Moreno, Pamela Franklin, Jess Hahn, Gerard Buhr | Crime | NULL | ||
| Night of the Generals | 1967 | Anatole Litvak | ★½ | 148 | A WW2 whodunit, film has potential but gets lost in murky script, lifeless performances. A dud. | tt0062038 | Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet, Christopher Plummer, John Gregson, Philippe Noiret | British | Crime, Thriller, Mystery, War | NULL | ||
| The Night of the Grizzly | 1966 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 102 | Acceptable Western of rancher Walker overcoming all obstacles, even a persistent vicious bear, to Western life. | tt0060754 | Clint Walker, Martha Hyer, Keenan Wynn, Nancy Kulp, Ron Ely, Regis Toomey, Jack Elam | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Night of the Hunter | 1955 | Charles Laughton | ★★★½ | 93 | Atmospheric allegory of innocence, evil, and hypocrisy, with psychotic religious fanatic Mitchum chasing homeless children for money stolen by their father. Mitchum is marvelously menacing, matched by Gish as wise matron who takes in the kids. Starkly directed by Laughton; his only film behind the camera. Screenplay credited to James Agee, from the Davis Grubb novel. Remade as a TVM in 1991 with Richard Chamberlain. | tt0048424 | Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, Evelyn Varden, Peter Graves, James Gleason, Billy Chapin, Sally Jane Bruce | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Night of the Iguana | 1964 | John Huston | ★★★ | 118 | Plodding tale based on Tennessee Williams play; alcoholic former clergyman Burton, a bus-tour guide in Mexico, is involved with Kerr, Gardner, and Lyon. Dorothy Jeakins won an Oscar for her costumes. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0058404 | Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, Sue Lyon, Skip Ward, Grayson Hall, Cyril Delevanti | Drama | NULL | |||
| Night of the Juggler | 1980 | Robert Butler | ★½ | 101 | A sickie mistakenly kidnaps the daughter of an ex-cop (Brolin), who then leads a city-wide rampage to get her back. Fast-paced but wildly implausible movie paints a notably ugly portrait of N.Y.C. and its people. | tt0081230 | [R] | James Brolin, Cliff Gorman, Richard Castellano, Abby Bluestone, Linda G. Miller, Julie Carmen, Barton Heyman, Mandy Patinkin | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night of the Lepus | 1972 | William F. Claxton | ★½ | 88 | Rabbits weighing 150 pounds and standing four feet high terrorize the countryside; National Guard, not Elmer Fudd, comes to the rescue. | tt0069005 | [PG] | Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley, Paul Fix, Melanie Fullerton | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Night of the Living Dead | 1968 | George A. Romero | ★★★½ | 96 | Romero's first feature is the touchstone modern horror film: seven people barricade themselves inside a farmhouse while an army of flesh-eating zombies roams the countryside. Once considered the ne plus ultra of gore, film is less stomach-churning by today's standards, yet its essential power to chill remains undiminished despite scores of imitations. Shoestring production values merely add to authentic feel. Don't watch this alone! Remade in 1990. Sequel: DAWN OF THE DEAD. Also shown in computer-colored version. Beware '30th Anniversary Edition' with new footage, dubbing, and music. | tt0063350 | Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Russell Streiner, Karl Hardman, Keith Wayne | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Night of the Living Dead | 1990 | Tom Savini | ★★ | 96 | Until near the end, this is a scene-for-scene remake of the disturbing original; it's in color, with a tougher heroine and more potent violence, but it has almost none of the impact of the first version. Makeup expert Savini's direction can't overcome the extreme familiarity of the material. Romero scripted, none too well. | tt0100258 | [R] | Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson, William Butler, Katie Finnerman | Horror | NULL | ||
| Night of the Living Dead 3D | 2006 | Jeff Broadstreet | 💣 | 80 | Pointless remake of the 1968 shocker that even 3-D couldn't salvage in its theatrical presentation. A brother and sister drive to a cemetery where their aunt is supposed to be buried; instead, they encounter a pack of flesh-eating zombies, and all hell breaks loose. Undernourished low-budget horror outing foolishly includes scenes of George Romero's original (seen on television), as if to underscore the gulf that separates the two films. | tt0489244 | [R] | Brianna Brown, Joshua DesRoches, Johanna Black, Greg Travis, Ken Ward, Sid Haig. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Night of the Quarter Moon | Flesh and Flame | 1959 | Hugo Haas | ★½ | 96 | Trite handling of miscegenation theme; good cast wasted. Retitled: FLESH AND FLAME. | tt0053113 | Julie London, John Drew Barrymore, Nat 'King' Cole, Dean Jones, James Edwards, Anna Kashfi, Agnes Moorehead, Jackie Coogan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night of the Shooting Stars | 1982 | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. | ★★★½ | 106 | Extraordinarily touching, involving, richly textured drama of a group of Tuscan villagers during WW2, in final days before liberation by Americans. With simple, lyrical images, the filmmakers unravel this life-affirming story of war's absurdities— and hope, survival. | tt0084422 | [R] | Omero Antonutti, Margarita Lozano, Claudio Bigagil, Massimo Bonetti, Norma Martel. | Italian | Drama, War, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Night on Earth | 1991 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★★ | 125 | Exhilirating five-part slice-of-life, each story unraveling at the same time in L.A., N.Y.C., Paris, Rome, and Helsinki. All are set in taxis, and spotlight brief but eloquent encounters between cab driver and passenger. The best of many highlights: the scene in which black Brooklynite Esposito and East German refugee Mueller-Stahl reveal to each other their names. Jarmusch's most fully developed feature to date. | tt0102536 | [R] | Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Rosie Perez, Isaach De Bankolé, Beatrice Dalle, Roberto Benigni, Paolo Bonacelli, Matti Pellonpää | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia | 1981 | Ronald F. Maxwell | ★★½ | 120 | Kristy, the more ambitious half of brother-sister country music duo, tries in vain to keep sibling Quaid out of romantic scrapes. Poor beginning and conclusion somewhat redeemed by rather appealing middle. Inspired by title-named hit record. | tt0082816 | [PG] | Kristy McNichol, Mark Hamill, Dennis Quaid, Sunny Johnson, Don Stroud, Arlen Dean Snyder | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Night the World Exploded | 1957 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 64 | Scientists discover a strange, exploding mineral that threatens to bring about title catastrophe and rush to prevent it. OK idea hampered by low budget. | tt0050767 | Kathryn Grant, William Leslie, Tris Coffin, Raymond Greenleaf, Marshall Reed | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| A Night to Remember | 1943 | Richard Wallace | ★★★½ | 91 | Sparkling comedy-mystery of whodunit author Aherne and wife Young trying to solve murder. | tt0036203 | Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Jeff Donnell, William Wright, Sidney Toler, Gale Sondergaard, Donald MacBride, Blanche Yurka | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Night to Remember | 1958 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★★ | 123 | Meticulously produced documentary-style account of sinking of the 'unsinkable' passenger liner Titanic. Superb combination of disaster spectacle and emotional byplay; a notable contrast to Hollywood's Titanic films. Vivid adaptation by Eric Ambler of Walter Lord's book. | tt0051994 | Kenneth More, David McCallum, Jill Dixon, Laurence Naismith, Frank Lawton, Honor Blackman, Alec McCowen, George Rose | British | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Night, Mother | 1986 | Tom Moore | ★★ | 96 | Unhappy young woman who lives with her mother decides to commit suicide; her mother spends the night trying to talk her out of it. Well acted, directed, and edited, but still just a photographed stage drama, missing the electricity of a live performance . . . and without the element of doubt about its conclusion that marked Marsha Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. | tt0090556 | [PG-13] | Sissy Spacek, Anne Bancroft | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nightbreed | 1990 | Clive Barker | ★★½ | 99 | Mistaken for a serial killer, Sheffer is killed at the gates of mysterious Midian, 'where the monsters go.' He returns from the dead to join the monsters there, confusing girlfriend Bobby and enticing his psychiatrist Cronenberg, the real killer. Intelligent, imaginative horror epic, but as adapted by Barker from his novel Cabal, the complicated film never becomes fully involving. Eye-popping apocalyptic climax. | tt0100260 | [R] | Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, Hugh Ross, Doug Bradley, Catherine Chevalier, Bob Sessions, Malcolm Smith, Oliver Parker, John Agar | U.S.-Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| The Nightcomers | 1972 | Michael Winner | ★★ | 96 | Poor direction hurts attempt to chronicle what happened to the children in Henry James' Turn of the Screw before original story began. | tt0069007 | [R] | Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews, Verna Harvey, Christopher Ellis, Anna Palk | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Nightfall | 1956 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★ | 78 | Ray plays an innocent man who's being hunted by an insurance investigator and two deadly holdup men who think he has their money. Rock-solid cast in a taut thriller written by Stirling Silliphant, from a novel by David Goodis. Great location work in Los Angeles and snowy Utah by cinematographer Burnett Guffey. | tt0049552 | Aldo Ray, Brian Keith, Anne Bancroft, Jocelyn Brando, James Gregory, Frank Albertson, Rudy Bond | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Nightfall | 1988 | Paul Mayersberg | 💣 | 82 | Hopelessly muddled adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic short story about an alien world in a three-star solar system whose inhabitants face the coming darkness of nightfall (occurring only once every 1000 years) with abject terror. Birney is miscast in this cheesy production. Remade in 2000 as ISAAC ASIMOV'S NIGHTFALL. | tt0095738 | [PG-13] | David Birney, Sarah Douglas, Alexis Kanner, Andra Millian, Charles Hayward, Susie Lindeman, Starr Andreeff | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Nightforce | 1987 | Lawrence D. Foldes | ★½ | 82 | Cornball action film has Blair and fellow youngsters organizing a commando mission to Central America to free a kidnapped daughter of a U. S. senator. | tt0093627 | [R] | Linda Blair, James Van Patten, Richard Lynch, Chad McQueen, Dean R. Miller, James Marcel, Claudia Udy, Bruce Fisher, Cameron Mitchell | Action | NULL | ||
| Nighthawks | 1981 | Bruce Malmuth | ★★★ | 99 | Exciting story of two N.Y.C. street cops reassigned to special unit that's tracking a ruthless international terrorist (Hauer). On target from the first scene to the fade-out, with plenty of hair-raising moments along the way. | tt0082817 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta, Nigel Davenport, Rutger Hauer, Joe Spinell, Catherine Mary Stewart | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square | The Big Scam | 1979 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 102 | American ex-con Jordan, released from a British prison, is coerced into taking part in an elaborate bank heist masterminded by Niven. Grahame, seen briefly as Jordan's brassy mom, is a joy to watch in one of her last roles. Video titles: THE BIG SCAM and THE MAYFAIR BANK CAPER. | tt0079630 | Richard Jordan, David Niven, Oliver Tobias, Elke Sommer, Gloria Grahame, Hugh Griffith, Richard Johnson | Crime | NULL | ||
| Nightkill | 1980 | Ted Post | ★★½ | 97 | Confused suspense drama involving a love triangle that ends in murder and a cat-and-mouse game between a wealthy widow and a mysterious investigator. Filmed on location in Arizona by a German company. | tt0081232 | Jaclyn Smith, Mike Connors, James Franciscus, Robert Mitchum, Fritz Weaver, Sybil Danning | German | Thriller, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Nightmare | 1956 | Maxwell Shane | ★★½ | 89 | Location filming in New Orleans is a major asset of this moody psychological drama about musician McCarthy, who has an all-too-real nightmare in which he commits murder. Robinson sparks the proceedings as a crafty homicide detective. Remake of FEAR IN THE NIGHT, based on a story by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich). | tt0049553 | Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, Connie Russell, Virginia Christine, Rhys Williams, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Billy May | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Nightmare | 1964 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 83 | Linden returns to her family mansion, plagued by nightmares, and fears that she may be turning into an insane killer, like her mother before her. Typical Hammer Films it's-all-a-plot plot in DIABOLIQUE vein is heightened by elegant camera work and good performances. | tt0058405 | David Knight, Moira Redmond, Jennie Linden, Brenda Bruce, George A. Cooper, Clytie Jessop, Irene Richmond | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Nightmare Alley | 1947 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 111 | Morbid but fascinating story of carnival heel Power entangled with mind-reading Blondell, blackmailing psychiatrist Walker, other assorted sideshow weirdos in highly original melodrama. Compelling look at carny life. Jules Furthman scripted, from William Lindsay Gresham's novel. | tt0039661 | Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes, Mike Mazurki, Ian Keith, Julia Dean | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | 1993 | Henry Selick | ★★★ | 75 | Highly imaginative, stop-motion animation feature about Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, who tires of the old routine in Halloween Town and becomes enamored of Christmas instead— unaware that his brand of Grand Guignol and the wintry holiday don't really go together. Constantly surprising visuals and character delineation mesh with Danny Elfman's lively score (he also provides Jack's beautiful singing voice). Produced by Tim Burton, who concocted the story and many of the designs years earlier. | tt0107688 | [PG] | Voices of Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page | Animation, Horror, Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Nightmare Castle | 1966 | Allan Grunewald (Mario Caiano) | ★★ | 90 | Typically atmospheric European horror film about doctor experimenting in regeneration of human blood through electrical impulses. Good photography. | tt0060097 |
|
Barbara Steele, Paul Mueller, Helga Line, Lawrence Clift | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Nightmare Honeymoon | 1973 | Elliot Silverstein | ★★ | 115 | Young couple suffers at thehands of rural killers and rapists; routine and unpleasant. | tt0070446 |
|
Dack Rambo, Rebecca Dianna Smith, Pat Hingle, Bob Steele, David Huddleston, John Beck, Jeanette Nolan | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Nightmare Inn | 1970 | Eugenio Martin | ★★ | 95 | Geeson goes to small Spanish inn looking for relative who has disappeared, and confronts two mad sisters who run establishment; several murders follow. Passable thriller. Video title: IT HAPPENED AT NIGHTMARE INN. | tt0070869 |
|
Judy Geeson, Aurora Bautista, Esperanza Roy, Victor Alcazar, Lone Fleming | Spanish | Horror | NULL | |
| Nightmare in Blood | 1976 | John Stanley | ★★½ | 89 | Horror film actor visiting fan convention turns out to be a real vampire after all; low-budget spoof made in San Francisco will appeal particularly to horror buffs for its many in-jokes. | tt0077994 | [R] | Jerry Walter, Dan Caldwell, Barrie Youngfellow, Kathleen Quinlan, Kerwin Mathews | Action | NULL | ||
| Nightmare in Wax | 1969 | Bud Townsend | ★★ | 91 | Paraphrase of HOUSE OF WAX has Mitchell as former movie makeup man whose wax museum is full of actors 'missing' from the studio. | tt0064729 | [M] | Cameron Mitchell, Anne Helm, Scott Brady, Berry Kroeger, Victoria Carroll | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Nightmare in the Sun | 1964 | Marc Lawrence | ★½ | 80 | Turgid account of what happens when sexy Andress picks up hitchhiker Derek. Look for Richard Jaeckel and Robert Duvall as motorcyclists! | tt0059505 | John Derek, Aldo Ray, Arthur O'Connell, Ursula Andress, Sammy Davis/Jr., Allyn Joslyn, Keenan Wynn | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Nightmare on Elm Street 3, A: Dream Warriors | 1987 | Chuck Russell | ★★★ | 96 | When troubled teens in a psychiatric hospital begin to be visited in their dreams by the chuckling, murderous shade of Freddy Krueger, Nancy (Langenkamp), the survivor of the first film and now a psychiatrist, helps another doctor and the frightened teens battle Freddy. Well written and imaginatively directed, this is the best of the Elm Street films, and boasts some of the most startling effects as well. | tt0093629 | [R] | Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Laurence Fishburne, Priscilla Pointer, Craig Wasson, Robert Englund, Brooke Bundy, Rodney Eastman, John Saxon, Dick Cavett, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Comedy, Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Nightmare on Elm Street 4, A: The Dream Master | 1988 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 92 | Revived by flaming dog urine (!), Freddy Krueger finally kills all the children of those who originally burned him to death, and looks for new teens to terrorize, but he's opposed by a 'dream master,' his spiritual opposite. Series was showing its age by this point, with extravagant effects, a thin story, and far too many wisecracks. A 1989 sequel and TV series followed. | tt0095742 | [R] | Robert Englund, Rodney Eastman, Danny Hassel, Andras Jones, Tuesday Knight, Toy Newkirk, Ken Sagoes, Brooke Theiss, Lisa Wilcox, Brooke Bundy | Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2, A: Freddy's Revenge | 1985 | Jack Sholder | ★★ | 84 | Reworking of first film's story (set five years later) has teenage boy plagued by dreams of demonic Freddy, who is intent on taking over both his mind and body . . . so he can kill all the neighborhood teens. Gruesome special effects dominate this slasher saga. | tt0089686 | [R] | Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler, Clu Gulager, Hope Lange, Marshall Bell, Sydney Walsh, Robert Englund | Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Nightmare on Elm Street | 1984 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 92 | Several teenagers discover they're all having nightmares about the same character, scarfaced Fred Krueger— a kind of ghost who can enter their dreams at will, and kill them in macabre ways. It's up to surviving teen Nancy (Langenkamp) to try to stop him. Imaginative premise given routine treatment, but this box-office smash led to a handful of sequels and a TV series, Freddy's Nightmares. | tt0087800 | [R] | John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Nick Corri, Johnny Depp, Charles Fleischer, Robert Englund | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Nightmare on Elm Street | 2010 | Samuel Bayer | ★★½ | 95 | Surprisingly well-crafted remake of Wes Craven’s seminal 1984 shocker about a scar-faced, razor-clawed bogeyman who haunts the dreams of suburban teens he intends to slay. Haley does a passable job of subbing for Robert Englund as Fred Krueger, the wisecracking, teen-shredding villain of the piece, and the scriptwriters add a few genuinely clever touches while updating the plot. Fans of the ’84 version may be amused by several visual quotes from Craven’s original. | tt1179056 | [R] | Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz, Clancy Brown, Connie Britton | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Nightmare on Elm Street, A: The Dream Child | 1989 | Stephen Hopkins | ★½ | 89 | Fifth in the NIGHTMARE series, with everyone except Englund just going through the paces. Here, scarred, dream-haunting Freddy Krueger (Englund) uses the unborn child of Wilcox to strike at her friends. As usual, special effects are a highlight but don't save the film from being a bore. Followed by FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE. | tt0097981 | [R] | Robert Englund, Lisa Wilcox, Kelly Jo Minter, Erika Anderson, Whitby Hertford, Danny Hassel | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nightmares | 1983 | Joseph Sargent | ★★ | 99 | Four-part film (originally made for TV) with Twilight Zone aspirations but uninspired writing, and mostly predictable outcomes. Hasn't anyone read O. Henry lately? Themes range from a knife-wielding loony on the loose to a kid who becomes obsessed with beating a video arcade game. | tt0086014 | [R] | Cristina Raines, Timothy James, William Sanderson, Emilio Estevez, Moon Zappa, Lance Henriksen, Robin Gammell, Richard Masur, Veronica Cartwright, Bridgette Andersen, Albert Hague | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Nights in Rodanthe | 2008 | George C. Wolfe | ★★½ | 96 | Busy mother of two, still smarting from her husband’s infidelity, agrees to look after her best friend’s seashore bed-and-breakfast inn in Rodanthe, on the outer banks of North Carolina. Her only guest is a handsome doctor who’s come there to settle some unfinished business. Before long the man and woman—both in need of nurturing—fall in love. Utterly contrived setup for an agreeable-enough romantic drama adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ novel. Gere and Lane are well matched. James Franco appears unbilled. Filmmaking debut for renowned theater director Wolfe. | tt0956038 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis, Mae Whitman | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Nights of Cabiria | Notti di Cabiria, Le | 1957 | Federico Fellini | ★★★★ | 117 | Masina is a joy as waifish prostitute dreaming of rich, wonderful life but always finding sorrow. Basis for Broadway musical and film SWEET CHARITY. One of Fellini's best, and a most deserving Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. Restored in 1998 to put back a 7m. sequence Fellini was forced to cut after the premiere. | tt0050783 | Giulietta Masina, François Périer, Amedeo Nazzari, Franca Marzi, Dorian Gray | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Nights of Rasputin | 1960 | Pierre Chenal | ★★ | 87 | Purdom is miscast as Rasputin in this plodding biography of the conniving, libidinous hypnotist who gained influence in Czarina Alexandra's court prior to WW1. European version runs 93m., and is in color. Aka THE NIGHT THEY KILLED RASPUTIN. | tt0122195 | Edmund Purdom, Gianna Maria Canale, John Drew Barrymore, Jany Clair | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nightwatch | 1998 | Ole Bornedal | ★★½ | 101 | McGregor hires on as a part-time night watchman in spooky morgue, while a serial killer is on a city-wide rampage. Arquette is his girlfriend, Brolin his daredevil buddy, and Nolte the police inspector on the case. Remake of writer-director Bornedal's own 1995 Danish hit, NATTEVAGTEN, is stylishly creepy, but weighs down in the final third. And remember: Don't let that door close. | tt0119791 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Patricia Arquette, Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin, Lauren Graham, Alix Koromzay, Lonny Chapman, John C. Reilly, Brad Dourif | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Nightwing | 1979 | Arthur Hiller | ★½ | 105 | Warner is an oddball who comes to Arizona to kill vampire bats in their caves. Well . . . it's a living. From a Martin Cruz Smith novel. | tt0079631 | [PG] | Nick Mancuso, David Warner, Kathryn Harrold, Stephen Macht, Strother Martin, Pat Corley | Horror | NULL | ||
| Nijinsky | 1980 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 125 | Handsome but disappointing chronicle of the homosexual relationship between the legendary dancer Nijinsky (De La Pena) and Ballet Russe impresario Sergei Diaghilev (Bates). Worthy subject matter defeated by soap-opera scenario, allegedly inauthentic characterizations. Fine performance by Bates, superb one by Badel as a wealthy patron. Irons' film debut. | tt0081235 | [R] | Alan Bates, George De La Pena, Leslie Browne, Ronald Pickup, Alan Badel, Colin Blakely, Ronald Lacey, Carla Fracci, Jeremy Irons, Janet Suzman, Sian Phillips | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky | 2001 | Paul Cox | ★★★ | 95 | Striking, sumptuous meshing of words and images in which Nijinsky's diary— written in 1919, as he suffered a mental breakdown— is pictorialized by Cox while read off-camera by Jacobi. The great dancer's words express his deepest feelings and fears, yet the accompanying images are so beautiful that the film may be appreciated for its visuals alone. Cox used a similar approach in VINCENT. | tt0295480 | Narrated by Derek Jacobi | Australian-German-Swedish-Dutch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nikki, Wild Dog of the North | 1961 | Jack Couffer, Don Haldane | ★★★ | 74 | Wolfdog Nikki is separated from his master, a Canadian trapper, and fends for himself in a variety of adventures. Exciting Disney film. | tt0055232 | Jean Coutu, Emile Genest, Uriel Luft, Robert Rivard | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Nil by Mouth | 1997 | Gary Oldman | ★★★ | 128 | First-time director Oldman also scripted this gritty, in-your-face, cinéma vérité-style portrait of a desperate, dysfunctional family in working-class South London, focusing on an unhappily married couple (Winstone, Burke). Often difficult to watch with its unrelenting rage, despair, and (domestic) violence, but it's heartfelt and well acted (particularly by Burke). | tt0119792 | [R] | Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse, Edna Dore, Chrissie Cotterill, Jon Morrison | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Nim’s Island | 2008 | Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin | ★★★ | 96 | Wonderfully imaginative family film, from Wendy Orr’s novel about a father and daughter who live on an isolated island in the South Pacific. When he gets lost at sea, the only person who responds to her is her favorite adventure-book author—an agoraphobic woman who’s made her acquaintance via e-mail. Ingenious visual presentation, with likable performances from all three stars, including Foster in a rare comedic role. | tt0410377 | [PG] | Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, Gerard Butler | U.S.-Australian | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Nina Takes a Lover | 1994 | Alan Jacobs | ★★ | 100 | Nina's husband is out of town for a few weeks, and on the spur of the moment she takes a lover— a Welsh artist. If this is what 'woman's pictures' have come to in the '90s, heaven help the genre. Stevens steals every scene he's in— and gives the film its only injection of life— as Nina's friend's lover. | tt0110671 | [R] | Laura San Giacomo, Paul Rhys, Michael O'Keefe, Cristi Conaway, Fisher Stevens | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Nine | 2009 | Rob Marshall | ★★★ | 118 | Fabled (and pampered) Italian film director has run dry of ideas, though he's under the gun to start a new picture. Then the various women in his life, including his mother, his neglected wife, and his mistress, appear to him in a series of dreamlike musical vignettes and fire his imagination. Lavish adaptation of Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit's 1982 Broadway show, inspired by Fellini's 8½, is a stylish treat, featuring some fabulous women, John Myhre's stunning production design, Dion Beebe's rich cinematography, and three newly minted Yeston songs. There are even scenes of Rome's famous Cinecittá studios, where Fellini made his masterworks. Screenplay by Michael Tolkin and Anthony Minghella. | tt0875034 | [PG-13] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Ricky Tognazzi | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Nine 1/2 Weeks | 1986 | Adrian Lyne | ★½ | 113 | Saga of an obsessive sexual relationship; uninvolving and unerotic, not to mention degrading. Promises sexual fireworks, but all it delivers is a big tease (some explicit material was cut prior to release). Video version is more explicit, though not so much as European version. Followed by several direct-to-video sequels. | tt0091635 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Margaret Whitton, David Margulies, Christine Baranski, Dwight Weist, Roderick Cook | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Nine Girls | 1944 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 78 | Wisecrack-laden comedy-mystery about murder at a sorority house. | tt0037131 | Ann Harding, Evelyn Keyes, Jinx Falkenburg, Anita Louise, Jeff Donnell, Nina Foch, Marcia Mae Jones, Leslie Brooks, Lynn Merrick, Shirley Mills, William Demarest | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Nine Hours to Rama | 1963 | Mark Robson | ★★½ | 125 | Ambitious attempt to make meaningful story of events leading up to assassination of Mahatma Gandhi; bogs down in trite script. Filmed on location in India. | tt0057362 | Horst Buchholz, Jose Ferrer, Robert Morley, Diane Baker, Harry Andrews | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nine Lives | 2005 | Rodrigo Garcia | ★★★½ | 112 | Exquisitely acted, perceptively told vignettes about nine women, of all kinds, at emotional crossroads in their lives, from a teenage girl who feels trapped by her needy parents to a woman trying to suppress her turbulent emotions while incarcerated. Each segment is a perfect short story (written by the director), enacted in real time in one continuous camera shot, amazingly executed (on film, not digital video) by cinematographer Xavier Pérez Grobet. | tt0420015 | [R] | Glenn Close, Robin Wright Penn, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Elpidia Carrillo, Dakota Fanning, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Molly Parker, Mary Kay Place, Amanda Seyfried, Stephen Dillane, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Ian McShane, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Aidan Quinn, Miguel Sandoval | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nine Lives Are Not Enough | 1941 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 63 | Reagan is an aggressive newspaperman who solves a murder case. Enjoyable, fast-paced Warner Bros. B comedy-mystery. | tt0033955 | Ronald Reagan, Joan Perry, James Gleason, Peter Whitney, Faye Emerson, Howard da Silva | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat | 1974 | Robert Taylor | ★★½ | 76 | Animated sequel to X-rated original finds Fritz in the '70s, now on welfare with a nagging wife. He smokes pot for escape, and imagines himself in eight other lives— including being an astronaut, as an orderly to Adolf Hitler, and an aide to President Kissinger(!). Not as bold (or as memorable) as the first film, but certainly lively, with some funny moments. | tt0071913 | [R] | Voices of Skip Hinnant, Reva Rose, Bob Holt, Robert Ridgely, Pat Harrington | Drama, Comedy, Animation, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Nine Months | 1995 | Chris Columbus | ★★ | 103 | Farcical tale of a couple whose blissful five-year relationship is blindsided by unexpected pregnancy: He simply can't deal with it. Slick Hollywood concoction tries to coast on Grant's boyish charm and Moore's radiant beauty, with Arnold adding bombastic comedy relief. But utter predictability and oafish silliness drain it dry. Williams' pair of scenes as a nervous, malaprop-spouting Russian obstetrician are definite high point. Based on popular 1994 French movie, NEUF MOIS. | tt0113986 | [PG-13] | Hugh Grant, Julianne Moore, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Arnold, Joan Cusack, Robin Williams, Ashley Johnson, Emily Yancy, Kristin Davis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nine Queens | 2000 | Fabián Bielinsky | ★★★ | 114 | Entertaining Mamet-style thriller about a young con man who teams up with an old pro in present-day economically depressed Buenos Aires to try to sell a forged set of rare stamps . . . but one of them may be trying to double-cross the other. Serpentine story will keep you guessing until the end, and has a refreshing sense of humor. Written by the director, making his feature debut. Remade as CRIMINAL. | tt0247586 | [R] | Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice, Tomas Fonzi, Celia Juarez | Argentinian | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Nine to Five | 1980 | Colin Higgins | ★★½ | 110 | Three savvy secretaries have to contend with a doltish boss— and inadvertently find their chance to take revenge. The first half of this comedy is dynamite, culminating in Tomlin's Disneyesque fantasy of murdering the slavedriver, but film takes a disastrous turn, losing its bearings and momentum. Appealing performances by the star trio help make up for the ultimate silliness. Parton's first film. Later a TV series. | tt0080319 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, Sterling Hayden, Elizabeth Wilson, Henry Jones, Lawrence Pressman, Marian Mercer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Nines | 2007 | John August | ★★½ | 99 | Reynolds plays a Hollywood star with a dysfunctional private life . . . and a TV series producer . . . and a video-game inventor/family man in this triptych in which the three parts intriguingly overlap. Writer John August (who similarly explored multiple-viewpoint narrative in GO) makes his feature-directing debut with this offbeat drama that boasts a number of interesting characters while providing a showcase for Reynolds. | tt0810988 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, Elle Fanning, Dahlia Salem, David Denman, Octavia Spencer, Ben Falcone | Sci-Fi, Mystery, Drama | NULL | ||
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | 1984 | Michael Radford | ★★★ | 115 | Appropriately grim, well-cast version of the Orwell classic, with Hurt as the government functionary who illegally falls in love, Hamilton as his bedmate, and Burton— excellent in his final feature— as the party official who somehow seems human even when feeding his victims' faces to the rats. Superior to the 1956 version, though the oppressive gloominess of the second half does wear you down. Seedily impressive production design. | tt0087803 | [R] | John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher, James Walker, Phyllis Logan | British | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Nineteen Nineteen | 1985 | Hugh Brody | ★★ | 99 | Scofield and Schell are former patients of Sigmund Freud, who come together years later to reminisce and remember. Slow and boring, wasting talents of a fine cast. | tt0088646 | Paul Scofield, Maria Schell, Frank Finlay, Diana Quick, Clare Higgins, Colin Firth | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ninety Degrees in the Shade | 1964 | Jiri Weiss | ★★½ | 90 | Turgid account of Heywood, who works in food store, accused of theft; intertwined with passionate love episodes. Czech-made, with British stars. | tt0059512 | Anne Heywood, James Booth, Donald Wolfit, Ann Todd | Czech | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ninja Assassin | 2009 | James McTeigue | ★ | 99 | Rain, trained since childhood by the villainous Ozunu clan to be a killer ninja, breaks away after the murder of his sweetheart and plots bloody revenge. Enter Harris, a special agent who’s investigating the clan. Nauseatingly gory martial arts mishmash. | tt1186367 | [R] | Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, Shô Kosugi, Randall Duk Kim | German-British | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Ninja III- The Domination | 1984 | Sam Firstenberg | ★★½ | 95 | Follow-up to REVENGE OF THE NINJA about an evil Ninja, 'killed' by the police, who forces his spirit on innocent Dickey. Lots of action; good of its type. | tt0087805 | [R] | Lucinda Dickey, Jordan Bennett, Sho Kosugi, David Chung | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Ninotchka | 1939 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★½ | 110 | Amid much outdated sociological banter, a lighthearted Garbo still shines. Lubitsch's comedy pegged on tale of cold Russian agent Garbo coming to Paris, falling in love with gay-blade Douglas. Supporting cast shows fine comedy flair. Script by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch was basis for Broadway musical and film SILK STOCKINGS. | tt0031725 | Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Alexander Granach, Richard Carle | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Ninth Configuration | 1980 | William Peter Blatty | ★★★½ | 118 | In old castle used by U.S. government as asylum, new head shrink Keach quickly proves to be nuttier than any of the patients. Hilarious yet thought-provoking, with endlessly quotable dialogue and an amazing barroom fight scene. Blatty also produced and adapted his novel Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane (this film's title at one point). Myriad versions run anywhere from 99m. to 140m.; above time is Blatty's cut, and rating applies to this version only. | tt0081237 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, Neville Brand, Moses Gunn, George Di Cenzo, Robert Loggia, Tom Atkins, Alejandro Rey, Joe Spinell, Steve Sandor | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Ninth Day | 2004 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★★ | 93 | Catholic priest (Matthes), incarcerated in Dachau during WW2, is given nine days' leave and returns to his home in Luxembourg, where the Nazis attempt to use him as a political pawn. Stark, riveting drama about a principled, deeply religious man who maintains his integrity, humanity, and spirituality under the most trying circumstances. The sheer horror of Dachau is vividly etched. Loosely based on the prison diary of Father Jean Bernard. | tt0411702 |
|
Ulrich Matthes, August Diehl, Bibiana Beglau, Germain Wagner, Götz Burger, Michael König, Hilmar Thate | German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Ninth Gate | 1999 | Roman Polanski | ★★ | 133 | Mercenary N.Y.C. rare-book sleuth Depp combs Europe for an ancient demonic tome. Part mystery, part travelogue, with traces of Polanski's sardonic wit, but can't hold a satanic candle to his 1968 ROSEMARY'S BABY. One scene is strikingly similar to a sequence in Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT. Also shown at 127m. | tt0142688 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford, Jack Taylor, José Lopez Rodero, James Russo | French-Spanish-U.S. | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Ninth Guest | 1934 | R. (Roy) William Neill. | ★★½ | 67 | Not-bad adaptation of Owen Davis' play, a kissin' cousin to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. Eight people with shady pasts are invited to a swanky penthouse party, but no one knows the identity of the host— a disembodied voice who reveals that 'the ninth guest is Death. | tt0025566 | Donald Cook, Genevieve Tobin, Hardie Albright, Edward Ellis, Edwin Maxwell, Helen Flint, Vince Barnett, Samuel S. Hinds, Nella Walker. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Nitwits | 1935 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 81 | Enjoyable comedy-musical-mystery with Wheeler and Woolsey seeking to uncover the identity of the Black Widow, a blackmailer-killer. Grable plays Wheeler's girlfriend, a murder suspect. Based on a story by Stuart Palmer. | tt0026781 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Betty Grable, Fred Keating, Evelyn Brent, Erik Rhodes, Hale Hamilton, Willie Best | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nixon | 1995 | Oliver Stone | ★★★ | 190 | Controversial, fragmented portrait of the U.S. politician and president, presented as a driven man beset by deep-rooted insecurities. Younger viewers might have a hard time keeping track of the players, and may fall prey to director-cowriter Stone's expected, and outrageous, historical inventions. Overlong, to be sure, but still compelling, with Hopkins' persuasive lead performance, and an array of fine supporting players, especially Allen as Pat Nixon. | tt0113987 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, E.G. Marshall, David Paymer, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, J. T. Walsh, James Woods, Brian Bedford, Kevin Dunn, Fyvush Finkel, Annabeth Gish, Tony Goldwyn, Larry Hagman, Ed Herrmann, Madeline Kahn, Saul Rubinek, Tony Lo Bianco, Corey Carrier, Tony Plana, Dan Hedaya, Michael Chiklis, John C. McGinley, John Diehl, Robert Beltran, Joanna Going, George Plimpton, Donna Dixon, James Karen | Drama | NULL | ||
| No Big Deal | 1983 | Robert Charlton | ★★½ | 86 | Fair drama about troubled, alienated, streetwise teen Dillon and his attempt to fit in with his peers. A decent effort at portraying adolescent problems, but the result is a bit too pat. Interestingly, Miles is cast as a strict, bureaucratic school principal. | tt0086015 | Kevin Dillon, Christopher Gartin, Mary Joan Negro, Jane Krakowski, Tammy Grimes, Sylvia Miles | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Blade of Grass | 1970 | Cornel Wilde | ★½ | 97 | Sober-sided film trying to drive home ecology message is just an update of films like PANIC IN YEAR ZERO, with family fleeing virus-stricken London for Scottish countryside, facing panic and attack along the way. Based on John Christopher's popular novel. | tt0066154 | [R] | Nigel Davenport, Jean Wallace, John Hamill, Lynne Frederick, Patrick Holt, Anthony May | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 | Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | ★★★½ | 122 | Crackling tale of three men whose lives intersect in the early 1980s: a brutal, psychopathic killer (Bardem) on the loose, an ordinary guy (Brolin) who seizes a chance to get rich quick, and a laconic West Texas sheriff (Jones) who doesn’t care for the way civilization is crumbling before his very eyes. Creating tension from the first moments onward (and without the use of music), the Coens’ adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel is a brooding tale of fate set against a stark backdrop . . . but not without irony and humor. Set on fire by Bardem’s Academy Award–winning performance; brilliantly photographed by Roger Deakins. Also won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director(s), and Best Adapted Screenplay. | tt0477348 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, Rodger Boyce, Ana Reeder, Beth Grant, Gene Jones | Thriller, Western, Crime | NULL | ||
| No Deposit, No Return | 1976 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 112 | Two neglected kids stage their own bogus kidnapping to stir up attention and enable them to join their mother in Hong Kong. OK Disney slapstick comedy. | tt0074968 | [G] | David Niven, Darren McGavin, Don Knotts, Herschel Bernardi, Barbara Feldon, Brad Savage, Kim Richards, Charlie Martin Smith, Vic Tayback, John Williams | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| No Down Payment | 1957 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 105 | Topical suburban soaper of intertwining problems of several young married couples. | tt0050771 | Joanne Woodward, Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, Tony Randall, Cameron Mitchell, Patricia Owens, Barbara Rush, Pat Hingle | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Drums, No Bugles | 1971 | Clyde Ware | ★★½ | 85 | Nicely done drama, based on West Virginia legend about conscientious objector during Civil War who spends three years in a cave rather than fight. Good acting by Sheen, who's the only one on screen for most of film. | tt0067497 | [G] | Martin Sheen | Drama | NULL | ||
| No End in Sight | 2007 | Charles Ferguson | ★★★★ | 102 | Masterful screen equivalent of the myriad books that share on-the-record accounts from former military/policy players to explain how the Bush administration leaped before it looked in 2003 before invading Iraq. A standout in what is already a litany of Iraq-quagmire documentaries. The interviewees—many still bewildered by how their former superiors arrogantly brushed off or ignored experts with political/geographic/linguistic experience in the region—are photographed in like fashion to comparably dramatic effect, compounding the power of what they have to say. | tt0912593 | Narrated by Campbell Scott | Documentary | NULL | |||
| No Escape | 1994 | Martin Campbell | ★★ | 118 | Odd mix of high tech and MOST DANGEROUS GAME finds Liotta in a maximum security prison (year 2022) before escaping to a jungle colony where isolated inmates are left to die. Not the worst of its grungy ilk, but too protracted. Wilson is amusing as a key nemesis. | tt0110678 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Stuart Wilson, Kevin Dillon, Ian McNeice, Michael Lerner, Ernie Hudson | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| No Good Deed | 2003 | Bob Rafelson | ★★ | 97 | Sorry attempt to update a Dashiell Hammett story ('The House on Turk Street') with Jackson as a cop who stumbles into the hideout of a criminal gang and becomes their prisoner as they plan a daring heist. Nothing rings true here. | tt0292610 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Milla Jovovich, Stellan Skarsgård, Doug Hutchison, Joss Ackland, Grace Zabriskie, Jonathan Higgins | U.S.-German | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| No Greater Glory | 1934 | Frank Borzage. | ★★★ | 77 | Rival gangs of street kids engage in deadly war games as they vie for control of a vacant lot in 1914 Hungary. Deeply felt antiwar allegory, based on Molnár's The Paul Street Boys, strikingly photographed by Joseph August and passionately acted by its juvenile cast. Remade in 1969 as THE BOYS OF PAUL STREET. | tt0025569 | George Breakston, Jimmy Butler, Jackie Searl, Frankie Darro, Donald Haines, Rolf Ernest, Samuel S. Hinds, Ralph Morgan, Christian Rub. | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Greater Love | The Human Condition Part I | 1959 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★½ | 208 | South Manchuria, 1943: Kaji (Nakadai), a humane, married Japanese steel company employee who is about to be conscripted into the military, is assigned to supervise a rural ore-mining operation whose workers are Chinese POWs. Stirring epic mirrors age-old enmity between Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans while offering a deeply felt portrait of a man who must play a deadly balancing act as he struggles to maintain his values. Scripted by Kobayashi and Zenzo Matsuyama, based on a six-volume novel by Junpei Gomikawa. Aka THE HUMAN CONDITION PART I; followed by THE ROAD TO ETERNITY and A SOLDIER’S PRAYER. | tt0053114 | Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Ineko Arima, Chikage Awashima, Keiji Sada, Sô Yamamura, Akira Ishihama, Eitarô Ozawa, Shinji Nambara | Japanese | NULL | ||
| No Highway in the Sky | 1951 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 98 | Offbeat, engrossing drama with Stewart as an engineer who desperately tries to convince others that aircraft can suffer from metal fatigue, and should be grounded after a given time. Dietrich is a glamorous passenger on the fateful flight. Based on a novel by Nevil Shute. Made in England, where it was released as NO. | tt0043859 | James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins, Janette Scott, Elizabeth Allan, Ronald Squire, Niall MacGinnis, Kenneth More, Maurice Denham, Wilfrid Hyde-White | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| No Holds Barred | 1989 | Thomas J. Wright | ★★ | 91 | For those who can't get enough of Hulk Hogan, he appears here as a TV wrestling star who must defend himself after refusing a greedy businessman's offer to switch networks. Aimed squarely at the legion of Hulkster fans. | tt0097987 | [PG-13] | Hulk Hogan, Joan Severance, Kurt Fuller, Tiny Lister, Mark Pellegrino, Jesse Ventura, Bill Henderson | Action | NULL | ||
| No Leave, No Love | 1946 | Charles Martin | ★★ | 119 | No script, no laughs; Johnson and Wynn are sailors on the town in this overlong romantic comedy. | tt0038779 | Van Johnson, Keenan Wynn, Pat Kirkwood, Guy Lombardo, Edward Arnold, Marie Wilson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No Limit | 1931 | Frank Tuttle. | ★★ | 72 | Manhattan movie-palace usherette is courted by a Park Avenue suitor but falls instead for a jewel thief who operates a floating gambling den. Improbable light comedy turns serious toward the end. Clumsy at times, though futuristic art deco sets and N.Y.C. location filming are assets. Bow seems miscast as a troubled but virtuous character. | tt0022211 | Clara Bow, Norman Foster, Stuart Erwin, Dixie Lee, Harry Green, Thelma Todd. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| No Looking Back | 1998 | Edward Burns | ★★ | 96 | Working-class romantic triangle provides nice lead role for Holly as waitress with an OK but dead-end life with boyfriend Bon Jovi, thrown off balance by return of old sweetheart Burns. Attractive cast can't overcome a very slight story; the strong soundtrack (Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, etc.) overpowers the script. Executive-produced by Robert Redford. | tt0119560 | [R] | Lauren Holly, Edward Burns, Jon Bon Jovi, Blythe Danner, Connie Britton | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| No Love for Johnnie | 1961 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 110 | Civilized study of politician who cares only about winning the election. | tt0055234 | Peter Finch, Stanley Holloway, Mary Peach, Mervyn Johns, Donald Pleasence, Dennis Price, Oliver Reed | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| No Man Is an Island | 1962 | John Monks/Jr, Richard Goldstone | ★★½ | 114 | Jeffrey Hunter, Marshall Thompson, Barbara Perez, Ronald Remy, Paul Edwards, Jr., Rolf Bayer, Vicente Liwanag. Spotty production values mar true story of serviceman Hunter trapped on Guam during the three years Japanese controlled area. | tt0056283 | Jeffrey Hunter, Marshall Thompson, Barbara Perez, Ronald Remy, Paul Edwards/Jr., Rolf Bayer, Vicente Liwanag | War | NULL | |||
| No Man of Her Own | 1932 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 85 | Snappy story of heel reformed by good girl, noteworthy for only co-starring of Gable and Lombard (then not married). | tt0023277 | Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Dorothy Mackaill, Grant Mitchell, Elizabeth Patterson, Lillian Harmer, George Barbier | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Man of Her Own | 1950 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 98 | Turgid drama based on Cornell Woolrich tale of Stanwyck assuming another's identity, later being blackmailed by ex-boyfriend. Remade in 1982 as I MARRIED A SHADOW and in 1996 as MRS. WINTERBOURNE. | tt0041694 | Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, Jane Cowl, Phyllis Thaxter, Richard Denning, Milburn Stone | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| No Man's Land | 1985 | Alain Tanner | ★★★ | 110 | Sober, provocative account of several characters involved with smuggling contraband across the French-Swiss border, focusing on their motivations and disillusionment. May be effectively contrasted to Tanner's earlier JONAH WHO WILL BE 25 IN THE YEAR 2000. | tt0089693 | Hugues Quester, Myriam Mezieres, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Betty Berr, Marie-Luce Felber | French-Swiss | Crime | NULL | ||
| No Man's Land | 2001 | Danis Tanovic | ★★★½ | 97 | Riveting seriocomic war parable about two soldiers, one Bosnian and one Serb, who are trapped together with another unfortunate man in a foxhole between enemy lines in 1993. As a result, no one is willing to take responsibility for their welfare or rescue, including the United Nations forces. Debuting writer-director Tanovic manages to take a difficult, even remote subject and personalize it— with the welcome addition of dark humor— in this terrific film. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt0283509 | [R] | Brancko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic, Georges Siatidis, Katrin Cartlidge, Simon Callow, Serge-Henri Valcke | Bosnian | Comedy, War, Drama | NULL | |
| No Man's Land | 1987 | Peter Werner | ★★ | 106 | Rookie cop goes undercover to trap a wealthy young auto buff who operates a hot car ring, finds he likes his target, the target's sister, and stealing Porsches. Good premise largely botched. | tt0093638 | [R] | Charlie Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, Lara Harris, Randy Quaid, Bill Duke, R.D. Call, M. Emmet Walsh | Crime | NULL | ||
| No Man's Woman | 1955 | Franklin Adreon | ★★ | 70 | OK whodunit about finding murderer of strong-willed woman. | tt0048426 |
|
Marie Windsor, John Archer, Patric Knowles, Nancy Gates, Louis Jean Heydt | Mystery | NULL | ||
| No Mercy | 1986 | Richard Pearce | ★½ | 105 | Chicago cop Gere storms into Louisiana Bayou country seeking the killer of his partner, falls for Cajun beauty Basinger— who's been 'sold' to the kingpin perpetrator of the murder. Even mindless melodramas have to make sense, at least on their own terms; this one's pretty ridiculous. The two sexy stars don't really click. | tt0091637 | [R] | Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Jeroen Krabbé, George Dzundza, Gary Basaraba, William Atherton, Ray Sharkey | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| No Minor Vices | 1948 | Lewis Milestone | ★★ | 96 | Pretentious comedy in which stereotypically eccentric artist Jourdan attempts to come between pediatrician Andrews and wife Palmer. Starts off well but bogs down. | tt0040646 | Dana Andrews, Lilli Palmer, Louis Jourdan, Jane Wyatt, Norman Lloyd, Bernard Gorcey, Beau Bridges | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No More Ladies | 1935 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 81 | Crawford marries playboy Montgomery, tries to settle him down by making him jealous over her attention to Tone. Airy comedy. Joan Burfield (Fontaine) made her film debut here. | tt0026787 | Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Charlie Ruggles, Franchot Tone, Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No More Women | 1934 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★★ | 77 | Typically lusty vehicle for the two stars, as rival deep-sea divers who swear off brawling over 'dames'— until the new owner of their ship turns out to be gorgeous Blane! Good action and underwater sequences. | tt0025571 |
|
Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Sally Blane, Minna Gombell, Alphonse Ethier, Tom Dugan | Drama | NULL | ||
| No My Darling Daughter | 1961 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 97 | Generally funny film with Mills, rich industrialist's daughter, torn between two suitors, playboy and hard-working businessman. | tt0055235 | Michael Redgrave, Michael Craig, Juliet Mills, Roger Livesey, Rad Fulton, Renee Houston | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| No Name on the Bullet | 1959 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 77 | A quiet, cultured gunman (Murphy, in a fine performance) rides into a small town to kill someone, though no one but he knows who his target is. Guilt and paranoia create their own victims. Slow, philosophical, and intelligent, this is the best of sci-fi director Arnold's several Westerns. | tt0052002 | Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Joan Evans, Virginia Grey, Warren Stevens, Edgar Stehli, R. G. Armstrong, Willis Bouchey, Karl Swenson, Charles Watts, Jerry Paris, Whit Bissell | Western | NULL | |||
| No Nukes | The Muse Concert: No Nukes | 1980 | Julian Schlossberg, Daniel Goldberg, Anthony Potenza | ★★★ | 103 | Super-Springsteen joins several appealing, if long in the tooth, fellow rock stars to protest nuclear power. Pleasant, if not very magnetic, concert film-documentary does boast chillingly hilarious clip from pro-nuke 'Big Picture' episode from early '50s. Aka THE MUSE CONCERT: NO NUKES. | tt0081242 | [PG] | Jackson Browne, Crosby/ Stills & Nash, The Doobie Brothers, John Hall, Gil Scott-Heron, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Jesse Colin Young, Jane Fonda | Documentary | NULL | |
| No One Man | 1932 | Lloyd Corrigan | ★★ | 73 | Another tired love triangle, with spoiled rich girl Lombard caught between suave but heartless Cortez and earnest doctor Lukas. Becomes laughable before long. | tt0023279 | Carole Lombard, Ricardo Cortez, Paul Lukas, George Barbier | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Other Woman | 1933 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★½ | 58 | Mining-town couple Dunne and Bickford go from rags to riches with young Linden's great chemical discovery but sacrifice their happiness in the process. OK soap opera dignified by solid performances. Impressive montages by the great Slavko Vorkapich. | tt0024388 | Irene Dunne, Charles Bickford, Gwili Andre, Eric Linden, Christian Rub, Leila Bennett, J. Carrol Naish. | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Place Like Homicide! | What a Carve Up! | 1962 | Pat Jackson | ★★ | 87 | At times strained satire about group of people gathered at haunted house for the reading of a will. Remake of THE GHOUL. British title: WHAT A CARVE UP! | tt0056285 | Kenneth Connor, Sidney James, Shirley Eaton, Donald Pleasence, Dennis Price, Michael Gough | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| No Place for Jennifer | 1951 | Henry Cass | ★★ | 89 | Low-key sob story of little girl with bleak future when parents divorce. | tt0043860 |
|
Leo Genn, Rosamund John, Beatrice Campbell, Guy Middleton | British | Drama | NULL | |
| No Place to Hide | 1956 | Josef Shaftel | ★★½ | 71 | Tense account of search for two children who accidentally have disease-spreading pellets in their possession; filmed in Philippines. | tt0049557 | David Brian, Marsha Hunt, Hugh Corcoran, Ike Jariega/Jr., Celia Flor | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Place to Land | 1958 | Albert C. Gannaway | ★½ | 78 | Sleazy little film of three-cornered romance, leading nowhere. | tt0052003 |
|
John Ireland, Mari Blanchard, Gail Russell, Jackie Coogan | Drama | NULL | ||
| No Questions Asked | 1951 | Harold F. Kress | ★★½ | 81 | Snappy little film of insurance company lawyer Sullivan seeking easy road to success via crime rackets. | tt0043861 | Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, Jean Hagen, George Murphy, William Reynolds, Mari Blanchard | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| No Regrets for Our Youth | 1946 | Akira Kurosawa. | ★★★ | 111 | In prewar Kyoto, a well-bred university student's frivolous world quakes when her professor father is arrested as a political criminal. Then, when her lover is executed as a spy, she moves to the country home of her would-have-been in-laws, who reveal themselves as nothing more than malicious peasants. Feminist drama, portraying a sturdy heroine's victory over governmental oppression and emotional abuse, still rings true. | tt0039090 | Denjiro Okochi, Eiko Miyoshi, Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, Kuninori Kodo, Haruko Sugimura, Aritake Kono, Takashi Shimura. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| No Reservations | 2007 | Scott Hicks | ★★★ | 105 | Light, frothy comedy-drama about a career-minded N.Y.C. chef who faces two simultaneous challenges: becoming the guardian of her 9-year-old niece (Breslin) and fending off competition in her restaurant kitchen from a talented chef (Eckhart) who develops amorous feelings toward her. Attractive stars help keep this soufflé from falling. Remake of the 2002 German film MOSTLY MARTHA. | tt0481141 | [PG] | Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson, Jenny Wade, Bob Balaban, Brian F. O’Byrne, Lily Rabe, John McMartin, Celia Weston | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| No Road Back | 1957 | Montgomery Tully | ★★ | 83 | Blind and deaf woman sacrifices everything for son, becomes involved with criminals— who then try to pin robbery on the innocent son. Plodding melodrama. | tt0050772 | Sean Connery, Skip Homeier, Paul Carpenter, Patricia Dainton, Norman Wooland, Margaret Rawlings | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| No Room for the Groom | 1952 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 82 | Harmless shenanigans of ex-G.I. Curtis returning home to find it filled with in-laws. | tt0044970 | Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Spring Byington, Don DeFore, Jack Kelly | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No Sad Songs for Me | 1950 | Rudolph Maté | ★★★ | 89 | Moving account of dying mother Sullavan preparing her family to go on without her. Ironically, Sullavan's last film. | tt0042790 | Margaret Sullavan, Wendell Corey, Viveca Lindfors, Natalie Wood, Ann Doran | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Small Affair | 1984 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★ | 102 | Self-possessed, smartassy, but virginal teenager becomes obsessed with an 'older woman'— struggling rock singer Moore— and will do just about anything to make her like him. Some good moments here and there, but basically unappealing characters torpedo its chances. | tt0087810 | [R] | Jon Cryer, Demi Moore, George Wendt, Peter Frechette, Elizabeth Daily, Ann Wedgeworth, Jeffrey Tambor, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Tilly, Rick Ducommun, Tate Donovan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| No Strings Attached | 2011 | Ivan Reitman | ★★ | 110 | Portman and Kutcher, who first met as adolescents, run into each other as grown-ups and are immediately attracted to one another, but she doesn’t want to be in a relationship. Instead, she asks if he’d be willing to agree to be sex partners and nothing more. Naturally, he says yes, and just as naturally, we know it isn’t going to last. Slick, well-cast film has women talking frankly about sex, which gives a fresh coat of paint to this otherwise predictable romantic comedy, buoyed by attractive stars and colorful supporting characters. Reitman appears briefly as a director. | tt1411238 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, Lake Bell, Olivia Thirlby, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jake Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Talia Balsam, Ophelia Lovibond, Ben Lawson, Tim Matheson, Guy Branum, Abby Elliott, Gary David Goldberg, Nasim Pedrad | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| No Such Thing | 2002 | Hal Hartley | ★½ | 102 | Good cast is completely wasted in this embarrassing takeoff on Beauty and the Beast. A young TV journalist is sent to follow up an investigative news story on a murderous monsterlike creature in Iceland after the original news crew disappears. Hartley goes astray here, with pretensions beyond anything he actually manages to get on the screen. Christie works far too infrequently to turn up in psychobabble such as this. Francis Ford Coppola coexecutive-produced. | tt0248190 | [R] | Robert John Burke, Julie Christie, Sarah Polley, Helen Mirren, Ilene Bergelson, Helgi Bjornsson | U.S.-Icelandic-German | Drama, Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| No Surrender | 1985 | Peter K. Smith | ★★½ | 103 | Interesting parable of modern British society and its problems, set in a remote nightclub where two warring sets of old folks come into conflict, paralleling the troubles in Northern Ireland. Ambitious script by Alan Bleasdale tries to cover too much ground, but McAnally stands out as ruthless IRA gunman. | tt0089697 | [R] | Michael Angelis, Ray McAnally, Avis Bunnage, James Ellis, Bernard Hill, Mark Mulholland, Joanne Whalley, Michael Ripper, Elvis Costello | British-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| No Time for Comedy | 1940 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 98 | Slick but dated adaptation of S. N. Behrman play about actress who tries to keep her playwright-husband from taking himself too seriously. Smoothly done but artificial. Aka GUY WITH A GRIN. | tt0032846 | James Stewart, Rosalind Russell, Genevieve Tobin, Charles Ruggles, Allyn Joslyn, Louise Beavers | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| No Time for Flowers | 1952 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 83 | Low-grade version of NINOTCHKA set in Prague; a pale shadow of its ancestor. | tt0044971 | Viveca Lindfors, Paul Christian, Ludwig Stossel, Manfred Ingor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No Time for Love | 1943 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 83 | Cute but obvious romance between famous magazine photographer Colbert and down-to-earth MacMurray. The stars give this a lift. | tt0036208 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Ilka Chase, Richard Haydn, Paul McGrath, June Havoc | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| No Time for Sergeants | 1958 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 119 | Funny military comedy based on Ira Levin's Broadway play (which got its start as a 1955 U.S. Steel Hour TV play). Griffith and McCormick repeat roles as hayseed inducted into service and his harried sergeant. Griffith's best comedy, with good support from Adams, and, in a small role as a noncommissioned officer, Knotts. Script by John Lee Mahin. Followed years later by a TV series. | tt0052005 | Andy Griffith, Myron McCormick, Nick Adams, Murray Hamilton, Don Knotts | Comedy | NULL | |||
| No Time to Be Young | 1957 | David Lowell Rich | ★★ | 82 | Pedestrian programmer about a trio of troubled young men: arrogant Vaughn's just been booted out of college; confused Smith is hung up on older woman; and insecure Pittman lies to his girlfriend. Skip it. | tt0050774 | Robert Vaughn, Roger Smith, Merry Anders, Kathy Nolan, Tom Pittman, Dorothy Green | Drama | NULL | |||
| No Trees in the Street | 1958 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 108 | Lower-class British life examined for its strengths and weaknesses; too sterile a human document. | tt0052006 | Sylvia Syms, Stanley Holloway, Herbert Lom, Ronald Howard, Joan Miller | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| No Way Out | 1950 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★ | 106 | Violent tale of racial hatred involving bigot Widmark, who has gangster pals avenge his brother's death by creating race riots. Once-provocative film is still engrossing but seems a bit artificial at times. Film debuts of Poitier, Dee, and Davis. | tt0042792 | Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Bill Walker | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| No Way Out | 1987 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 116 | Taut melodramatic thriller about a murder and cover-up within the inner circles of the federal government. Young is tantalizingly sexy as the woman involved with both CIA liaison Costner and Secretary of Defense Hackman. Hard to tell at first that this is a remake of THE BIG CLOCK, but it is— except for a ludicrous (and totally unnecessary) 'twist' ending. Script by Robert Garland, who also produced. | tt0093640 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard, Iman, Fred Dalton Thompson, David Paymer | Thriller | NULL | ||
| No Way to Treat a Lady | 1968 | Jack Smight | ★★★½ | 108 | Delicious blend of romantic comedy and murder, with Steiger as flamboyant ladykiller, Segal as 'Mo Brummel,' cop on his trail, Remick as Segal's new lady-friend who could be next victim. Script by John Gay, from the William Goldman novel. | tt0063356 | Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, George Segal, Eileen Heckart, Murray Hamilton, Michael Dunn, Barbara Baxley, Ruth White, Doris Roberts, David Doyle | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Noah's Ark | 1929 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 100 | Hokey and derivative story (by Darryl F. Zanuck) has devil-may-care O'Brien, gallivanting through Europe, falling in love with German girl Costello on the eve of WW1, and finally realizing his duty and enlisting in the U.S. Army. Somehow all this is paralleled to the days of Noah in a lengthy flashback sequence. Biblical segment is dazzlingly elaborate and full of great special effects. Silent film with somewhat awkward talking sequences; originally 135m., restored in 1989; beware of 1957 reissue prints running 75m. | tt0020223 | Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery/Sr., Louise Fazenda, Gwynne (Guinn) Williams, Paul McAllister, Myrna Loy | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Nob Hill | 1945 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 95 | Gold Coast saloon owner Raft has his head turned when socialite Bennett shows an interest in him. Predictable formula musical given handsome Technicolor production. | tt0037946 | George Raft, Joan Bennett, Vivian Blaine, Peggy Ann Garner, Alan Reed, B. S. Pully, Emil Coleman, Smith and Dale, Rory Calhoun | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Nobody Knows | 2004 | Hirokazu Kore-eda. | ★★★ | 141 | Overlong but emotionally engaging drama based on a true 1988 story of four young children left home alone in Tokyo by their mother, who simply disappears. Deliberate pacing may challenge impatient viewers, but film's simplicity and almost complete focus on the kids hit the mark. Kore-eda shot this chronologically over a period of one year. Twelve-year-old Yagira became the youngest ever to receive the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his nuanced performance as a boy who takes on responsibilities far beyond his years. | tt0408664 | [PG-13] | Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu, Hanae Kan, You. | Japanese | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Nobody Lives Forever | 1946 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 100 | Well-done but familiar yarn of con man Garfield fleecing rich widow Fitzgerald, then falling in love for real. | tt0038780 | John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Walter Brennan, Faye Emerson, George Coulouris, George Tobias | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Nobody Loves Me | 1994 | Doris Dörrie | ★★½ | 104 | Quirky oddity about the trials of Fanny Fink (Schrader), a death-obsessed airport security officer who is turning thirty. She says she doesn't need a man, but is nonetheless desperate to find one. Her gay next-door neighbor (and kindred spirit) tells her she will soon be meeting the love of her life. Not without interest but too often as flaky and unglued as its main character. | tt0110251 | Maria Schrader, Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss, Michael von Au, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Peggy Parnass | German | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nobody Waved Goodbye | 1965 | Don Owen | ★★★ | 80 | Straightforward, perceptive account of alienated teenager Kastner. A sequel, UNFINISHED BUSINESS, is set 20 years later, and details the plight of Kastner and Biggs's own teen offspring. | tt0059515 | Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs, Claude Rae, Toby Tarnow, Charmion King, Ron Taylor | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nobody's Children | 1994 | David Wheatley | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | A-M (as the real-life Carol Stevens) goes to Romania in 1990 to adopt a child and gets entangled in Red red tape and a political thriller. A notch above the usual. Made for cable. | tt0110683 | Ann-Margret, Dominique Sanda, Reiner Schone, Clive Owen, Jay O. Sanders | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nobody's Fool | 1986 | Evelyn Purcell | ★★½ | 107 | Innocuous romantic comedy by Beth Henley about a flaky waitress in a small Southwestern town who's become an outcast (after having a baby out of wedlock), and only begins to find herself when she meets Roberts, who's passing through town. Very modest film that benefits from a relaxed and unmannered performance by Roberts. | tt0091642 | [PG-13] | Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts, Mare Winningham, Jim Youngs, Louise Fletcher, Gwen Welles, Stephen Tobolowsky, Charlie Barnett, Lewis Arquette | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nobody's Fool | 1994 | Robert Benton | ★★★½ | 110 | Picaresque look at a small-town ne'er-do-well and his extended (dysfunctional) family of cronies; after turning his back on his real family years ago, he now finds himself spending time with his grown-up son and his young grandson. An irresistibly appealing Newman is surrounded by wonderful actors in this charmingly unpredictable character study— including Willis, as his friendly nemesis. Benton scripted, from Richard Russo's novel. Elizabeth Wilson appears unbilled as Newman's ex-wife. | tt0110684 | [R] | Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nobody's Perfect | 1968 | Alan Rafkin | ★★½ | 103 | Witless military service comedy involving pat shenanigans of U.S. submarine based in Japan, with every predictable gimmick thrown in. | tt0063361 | Doug McClure, Nancy Kwan, James Whitmore, David Hartman, Gary Vinson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nobody's Perfect | 1989 | Robert Kaylor | ★★½ | 91 | Shy guy at a new college wants to make friends with an attractive girl, but is too tongue-tied, so at a friend's urging, disguises himself as a girl and ends up his target's roommate. Little comedy based on the last line of SOME LIKE IT HOT is predictable but entertaining. | tt0097994 | [PG-13] | Chad Lowe, Gail O'Grady, Patrick Breen, Kim Flowers, Eric Bruskotter, Robert Vaughn | Swiss-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Nobody's Perfekt | 1981 | Peter Bonerz | 💣 | 95 | Entirely unfunny comedy, made in Miami, about three misfits who decide to fight City Hall when their car is totalled in a pothole and— because of a loophole— they can't sue. Klein does awful imitations of James Cagney and Bette Davis. An inauspicious theatrical directing debut for Bonerz. | tt0082822 | [PG] | Gabe Kaplan, Alex Karras, Robert Klein, Susan Clark, Paul Stewart, Alex Rocco, Peter Bonerz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nocturna | 1978 | Harry Hurwitz (Tampa) | 💣 | 83 | Grade-Z sleaze with a tired Carradine phoning in his performance as Dracula. The Count, in trouble with the taxman, turns his castle into a disco! | tt0079635 | [R] | Yvonne de Carlo, John Carradine, Nai Bonet, Brother Theodore | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Nocturne | 1946 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 88 | A ladykiller-songwriter is murdered, the police think it's suicide, but stubborn tough-guy cop Raft knows otherwise. Moderately entertaining mystery. | tt0038782 | George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney, Myrna Dell | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Noel | 2004 | Chazz Palminteri | ★★½ | 96 | Ambitious tearjerker about the interactions of fearful, vulnerable friends, lovers, coworkers, and strangers on Christmas Eve: a lonely book editor (Sarandon) whose mother is suffering from Alzheimer's, a cop (Walker) whose irrational jealousy is stifling his Sophia Loren-esque fiancée (Cruz), and a heartbroken waiter (Arkin) with a strange reincarnation fantasy. Gets better as it goes along, as it zeros in on issues relating to acceptance and reconciliation. Robin Williams appears unbilled in a pivotal role. | tt0383534 | [PG] | Penelope Cruz, Susan Sarandon, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin, Marcus Thomas, Chazz Palminteri, Chantal Lonergan, Erika Rosenbaum | Drama | NULL | ||
| Noise | 2008 | Henry Bean | ★★½ | 91 | A New Yorker, driven to distraction by the incessant noise of car alarms, starts vandalizing the cars and disabling the devices—in the guise of The Rectifier—but his vigilante tactics become so obsessive they disrupt his entire life. Darkly funny, thoughtful musing on righteous anger and the absurdity of modern life, though it can’t sustain its momentum from start to finish. Written by the director. | tt0425308 | Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, William Hurt, Margarita Levieva, Gabrielle Brennan, Maria Ballesteros, William Baldwin, Colleen Camp | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Noises Off | 1992 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★½ | 104 | Energetic filming of Michael Frayn's play, a clever variation on a traditional British sex farce— with the added dimension of behind-the-scenes tumult among the acting troupe. This kind of door-slamming comedy doesn't ever work on film— but Bogdanovich comes closer than anyone ever has before, with the help of a willing cast. | tt0105017 | [PG-13] | Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Mark Linn-Baker, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Nicollette Sheridan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nomad | 2005 | Sergei Bodrov, Ivan Passer | ★★ | 110 | On the barren steppes of 18th-century Kazakhstan, while rival tribes battle for sovereignty, mystic warrior Oraz (Lee) rescues an infant descended from Genghis Khan who is destined to unite the nation as “Mansur” (GOAL!'s Becker). Historical epic has vicious sabers-on-horseback duels and good production design (real human extras-no CGI!) but plodding storytelling. Reputedly rocky production also had a third filmmaker: Talgat Temenov, who in this dubbed 2007 U.S. release is billed as “Local Director.” Original Kazakh-language version runs 112m. AKA: NOMAD: THE WARRIOR. | tt0374089 | [R] | Kuno Becker, Jay Hernandez, Jason Scott Lee, Mark Dacascos, Ayanat Yesmagambetova; voice of Bai Ling. | Kazakhstan-French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Nomads | 1986 | John McTiernan | ★½ | 95 | Doctor (Down) treats an apparent madman, then undergoes a hallucinatory rerun of his recent experiences: he's a French anthropologist who's come to L.A. and has been drawn to a band of strange street people. Potentially interesting idea for a half-hour Twilight Zone but pretty deadly as a feature. Unpleasant, too. | tt0091647 | [R] | Lesley-Anne Down, Pierce Brosnan, Adam Ant, Anna-Maria Monticelli, Hector Mercado, Mary Woronov | Horror | NULL | ||
| Non-Stop New York | 1937 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 71 | Fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek Hitchcock-like yarn about a woman who can provide alibi for innocent man accused of murder— but no one believes her. Love that luxury airplane! | tt0029319 | John Loder, Anna Lee, Francis L. Sullivan, Frank Cellier, Desmond Tester | British | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| None But the Brave | 1965 | Frank Sinatra | ★★½ | 105 | Taut war drama focusing on crew of cracked-up plane and Japanese army patrol who make peace on a remote island during WW2. | tt0059518 | Frank Sinatra, Clint Walker, Tommy Sands, Tony Bill, Brad Dexter | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| None But the Lonely Heart | 1944 | Clifford Odets | ★★½ | 113 | Odets' moody drama of a Cockney drifter features one of Grant's most ambitious performances, and some fine moments, but suffers from censorship restrictions of the time, and misplaced WW2 rhetoric. Barrymore won Supporting Actress Oscar as Grant's dying mother. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037135 | Cary Grant, Ethel Barrymore, Barry Fitzgerald, Jane Wyatt, Dan Duryea, George Coulouris, June Duprez | Drama | NULL | |||
| None Shall Escape | 1944 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 85 | Trial of Nazi officer reviews his savage career, in taut drama that retains quite a punch. Released before, but set after, the end of WW2. | tt0037136 | Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, Richard Crane, Dorothy Morris, Trevor Bardette | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Noose Hangs High | 1948 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 77 | Mistaken identity leads to complications with the boys robbed of a large sum of money; typical A&C, bolstered by presence of Errol. Highlight: 'Mudder and Fodder.' | tt0040652 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nora Prentiss | 1947 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 111 | Proper married doctor Smith falls for kicked-around singer Sheridan, leading to plenty of complications. Entertaining, albeit predictable, drama. | tt0039666 | Ann Sheridan, Kent Smith, Bruce Bennett, Robert Alda, Rosemary DeCamp, John Ridgely, Robert Arthur, Wanda Hendrix | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Nora’s Will | Five Days Without Nora | 2008 | Mariana Chenillo | ★★★ | 92 | Matriarch of a family commits suicide in her high-rise apartment just before Passover, having left all the makings for a traditional dinner behind. Her sardonic ex-husband discovers the body and, because the holiday prevents her from being buried in a timely manner, endures an endless parade of people through the apartment over the next five days—with the corpse present in the bedroom. Droll, often poignant comedy-drama about family dynamics and religious hypocrisy is bracing in its originality, and perfectly cast. Impressive debut feature for writer-director Chenillo. Aka FIVE DAYS WITHOUT NORA. | tt1143148 | Unrated | Fernando Luján, Cecilia Suárez, Ari Brickman, Enrique Arreola, Juan Carlos Colombo, Max Kerlow, Verónica Langer, Martín LaSalle, Silvia Mariscal | Mexican | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Norbit | 2007 | Brian Robbins | ★½ | 102 | Mighty Rasta, Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams, Marlon Wayans. As in COMING TO AMERICA and the NUTTY PROFESSOR vehicles Murphy plays several characters: Norbit, a meek young man brought up by Chinese restaurant owner Mr. Wong and stuck in a terrifying marriage with the hideously overweight Rasputia. All three are in search of a script. Murphy shows his comedic range but is let down by the material, which includes all the fat jokes the writers (including Murphy and his brother Charles) could come up with. Prophetic ad line for the movie asked, “Have You Ever Made a Really Bad Mistake?” | tt0477051 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Terry Crews, Clifton Powell, Cuba Gooding, Jr. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Norma Jean & Marilyn | 1996 | Tim Fywell | Above Average TV Movie | 129 | Offbeat psychological study of Marilyn Monroe by writer Jill Isaacs, with the two lead actresses battling as the alter egos of the screen icon, from childhood to her final days. Nudity will deter this from being broadcast (it premiered on cable). | tt0117201 | Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Josh Charles, Ron Rifkin, Peter Dobson, Lindsay Crouse, David Dukes, John Rubinstein, Taylor Nichols | Drama | NULL | |||
| Norma Rae | 1979 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 113 | Field is excellent in Oscar-winning performance as real-life poor Southern textile worker gradually won over toward unionization by N.Y.C. labor organizer. Entertaining, though not entirely believable; haunting theme 'It Goes Like It Goes,' sung by Jennifer Warnes, also won an Oscar. | tt0079638 | [PG] | Sally Field, Ron Leibman, Beau Bridges, Pat Hingle, Barbara Baxley, Gail Strickland, Lonny Chapman, Noble Willingham, Grace Zabriskie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Normal Life | 1996 | John McNaughton | ★★★ | 102 | Fascinating true-crime story of a straight-arrow suburban cop who becomes the classic enabler to a drug-addicted shopaholic wife, leading him to a successful run as a bank robber! Perry and (especially) Judd are terrific in this downbeat, straightforward, morbidly compelling tale of twisted love. Made for theatrical release, debuted on cable TV. | tt0117202 | [R] | Luke Perry, Ashley Judd, Darwin Moxey, Tom Towles, Penelope Milford | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Norman . . . Is That You? | 1976 | George Schlatter | ★★ | 91 | Leering comedy based on flop Broadway show and revamped with black stars: Foxx is distraught when he discovers his son is gay and determines to 'straighten him out.' Shot on videotape. | tt0074973 | [PG] | Redd Foxx, Pearl Bailey, Dennis Dugan, Michael Warren, Tamara Dobson, Vernee Watson, Jayne Meadows | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Norman Loves Rose | 1982 | Henri Safran | ★★½ | 98 | OK comedy of teenager Owen enamored with sister-in- law Kane. She becomes pregnant, and who is the father? | tt0084419 | [R] | Carol Kane, Tony Owen, Warren Mitchell, Myra de Groot, David Downer | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Norseman | 1978 | Charles B. Pierce | ★½ | 90 | Stodgy period adventure casts Majors as 11th-century Viking prince who sails to North America in search of his father, a Norse king abducted by Indians. | tt0078007 | [PG] | Lee Majors, Cornel Wilde, Mel Ferrer, Jack Elam, Chris Connelly, Kathleen Freeman, Susie Coelho (Bono), Denny Miller | Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| North | 1994 | Rob Reiner | ★½ | 88 | Eleven-year-old boy who's convinced his folks don't appreciate him goes to court and wins the right to choose new parents, then travels the world to find the ideal mom and dad. Wrong-headed movie never connects, and leads to an unemotional and predictable finale. Reiner coscripted with Alan Zweibel, on whose novel this was based. | tt0110687 | [PG] | Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, Kathy Bates, Abe Vigoda, John Ritter, Faith Ford, Richard Belzer, Jon Lovitz, Alan Arkin, Alan Rachins, Matthew McCurley, Alexander Godunov, Kelly McGillis, Rosalind Chao, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The North Avenue Irregulars | 1979 | Bruce Bilson | ★★½ | 99 | Young priest (Herrmann) enlists churchgoing ladies for crime-fighting brigade; innocuous Disney comedy starts well but reverts to formula, including obligatory car pile-up finale. Fine actresses like Harris, Clark, and Leachman wasted. | tt0079639 | [G] | Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, Susan Clark, Karen Valentine, Michael Constantine, Cloris Leachman, Patsy Kelly, Virginia Capers | Comedy, Crime, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| North Country | 2005 | Niki Caro | ★★ | 126 | Single mom with two kids goes to work in a Minnesota mine in 1989, where the sexual harassment is intense, but no other women want to rock the boat and risk their jobs. Dramatization of a landmark real-life case has good performances (especially Theron's), but it's no NORMA RAE: too pat, too obvious, and too long. | tt0395972 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sissy Spacek, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, Rusty Schwimmer, Jillian Armenante, Xander Berkeley | Drama | NULL | ||
| North Dallas Forty | 1979 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★½ | 118 | Seriocomic version of Peter Gent's best-seller about labor abuse in the National Football League is the best gridiron film ever made and one of the best on any sport. Boasts Super Bowl-level performances for the most part. Scripted by its producer (Frank Yablans), director, and author. | tt0079640 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon, G. D. Spradlin, Bo Svenson, Steve Forrest, John Matuszak, Dabney Coleman | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| North Shore | 1987 | William Phelps | ★★ | 96 | The top young surfer in Arizona (think about it) pits himself against the famed title Oahu waves, as well as the family of the native Hawaiian local he loves. Exceptional surfing photography carries a generally dippy script only so far. | tt0093648 | [PG] | Matt Adler, Nia Peeples, John Philbin, Gerry Lopez, Cristina Raines, Gregory Harrison | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The North Star | Armored Attack | 1943 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 105 | Dramatic battle sequences in WW2 Russia marred by uninteresting stretches until German von Stroheim matches wits with village leader Huston. Good performances all around; script by Lillian Hellman. Later edited to 82m. to deemphasize the good Russians and retitled ARMORED ATTACK. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0036217 | Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter Huston, Ann Harding, Erich von Stroheim, Jane Withers, Farley Granger, Walter Brennan | Drama | NULL | ||
| North West Mounted Police | 1940 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★½ | 125 | DeMille at his most ridiculous, with Cooper as Dusty Rivers, Goddard a fiery half-breed in love with Preston, Lynne Overman as Scottish philosopher in superficial tale of Texas Ranger searching for fugitive in Canada. Much of outdoor action filmed on obviously indoor sets. | tt0032850 | Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Preston Foster, Paulette Goddard, Robert Preston, George Bancroft, Akim Tamiroff, Lon Chaney/Jr., Robert Ryan | Drama, Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| North by Northwest | 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 136 | Quintessential Hitchcock comedy-thriller, with bewildered ad-man Grant chased cross country by both spies (who think he's a double agent) and the police (who think he's an assassin). One memorable scene after another, including now-legendary crop-dusting and Mount Rushmore sequences; one of the all-time great entertainments. Witty script by Ernest Lehman, exciting score by Bernard Herrmann. | tt0053125 | Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau, Jessie Royce Landis, Philip Ober, Adam Williams, Josephine Hutchinson, Edward Platt | Thriller | NULL | |||
| North of the Great Divide | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Indian agent Rogers is sent into Canada to quell trouble between Indians and a ruthless salmon-cannery owner (Barcroft) who's starving them out. Solid story in this Trucolor outing. | tt0042795 | Roy Rogers, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Roy Barcroft, Jack Lambert, Douglas Evans, Noble Johnson, Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| North of the Rio Grande | 1937 | Nate Watt. | ★★½ | 72 | When his brother is killed in a railroad holdup, Hopalong Cassidy poses as a desperado to solve the mystery and administer retribution to the dual-identity culprit, masked villain 'The Lone Wolf.' Good series entry climaxes with an exciting train chase. Based on 1924 novel Cottonwood Gulch by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Feature debut of Lee J. Cobb, fresh from N.Y.C.'s Group Theater. | tt0029321 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Stephen Morris (Morris Ankrum), Bernadene Hayes, John Rutherford. | Western | NULL | |||
| North to Alaska | 1960 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 122 | Fast-moving actioner with delightful tongue-in-cheek approach; prospectors Wayne and Granger have their hands full dealing with latter's kid brother Fabian, con artist Kovacs, and gold-digging (in the other sense) Capucine. | tt0054127 | John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, Capucine, Mickey Shaughnessy, Joe Sawyer, John Qualen | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Northern Lights | 1979 | John Hanson, Rob Nilsson | ★★★½ | 90 | Incisive, unforgettable Americana about the struggles of farmers in pre-WW1 North Dakota, with Behling attempting to organize populist Nonpartisan League. Fine first feature for Hanson and Nilsson. | tt0078008 | Robert Behling, Susan Lynch, Joe Spano, Henry Martinson, Marianne Astrom-DeFina, Ray Ness, Helen Ness | Drama | NULL | |||
| Northern Lights | 1997 | Linda Yellen | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Quirky Disney comedy about a compulsive, dyed-in-the-wool Noo Yawker who ends up in a New England burg to claim an inheritance. There she encounters all manner of daffy small-towners in this quite unorthodox tale adapted by Hoffman from his one-man off-Broadway show (he wrote, directed, and played all the parts; here he has a supporting role as a local bumbler). The film was executive-produced by, among others, Keaton and Meg Ryan. Made for cable. | tt0123197 | Diane Keaton, Maury Chaykin, Joseph Cross, Kathleen York, John Hoffman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Northern Pursuit | 1943 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 94 | Flynn, a Mountie of German descent, pretends to have Nazi sympathies in order to learn the objectives of Nazis operating in Canada, in this standard but slickly done drama. | tt0036218 | Errol Flynn, Julie Bishop, Helmut Dantine, John Ridgely, Gene Lockhart, Tom Tully | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Northfork | 2003 | Michael Polish | ★★ | 103 | Third in the Polish Brothers' Northwest 'trilogy' (following TWIN FALLS, IDAHO and JACKPOT) is an allegory about the shuttering of a Montana town in 1955 to make way for a dam. Fascinating at first, but both precious and pretentious as angels and otherworldly characters take center stage; even the imagery, though striking, becomes heavy-handed after a while. Woods also coexecutive produced. | tt0322659 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, James Woods, Anthony Edwards, Daryl Hannah, Peter Coyote, Duel Farnes, Mark Polish, Josh Barker, Graham Beckel, Jon Gries, Ben Foster, Robin Sachs, Marshall Bell, Kyle MacLachlan, Claire Forlani | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Northwest Outpost | 1947 | Allan Dwan | ★½ | 91 | Rudolf Friml operetta of California calvarymen lumbers along pretty lamely. | tt0039667 | Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey, Hugo Haas, Elsa Lanchester, Lenore Ulric | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Northwest Passage (Book I- Rogers' Rangers) | 1940 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 125 | Gritty, evocative filming of Kenneth Roberts' book about Rogers' Rangers and their stoic leader (Tracy), enduring hardships and frustrations while opening up new territory in Colonial America. Young and Brennan are greenhorns who learn hard knocks under taskmaster Tracy. The river-fording sequence is a knockout. | tt0032851 | Spencer Tracy, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Ruth Hussey, Nat Pendleton, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards | Adventure, Drama, History, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Northwest Stampede | 1948 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★½ | 79 | Lightweight oater about lady rancher Leslie competing with cowboy Craig for prize horses. | tt0040654 | Joan Leslie, James Craig, Jack Oakie, Chill Wills, Victor Kilian, Stanley Andrews | Western | NULL | |||
| Norwood | 1970 | Jack Haley/ Jr | ★★ | 96 | Ex-Marine Campbell hits the road for series of unrelated adventures with service buddy Namath, a midget, a Greenwich Village girl, a shiftless brother-in-law, a dancing chicken, and a young girl with whom he falls in love. Easy to take, but pointless. Look for Cass Daley and Jack Haley (the director's father) in a brief appearance. | tt0066162 | [G] | Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Joe Namath, Carol Lynley, Pat Hingle, Tisha Sterling, Dom DeLuise, Billy Curtis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nosferatu | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens | 1922 | F. W. Murnau | ★★★½ | 84 | Early film version of Dracula is brilliantly eerie, full of imaginative touches that none of the later films quite recaptured. Schreck's vampire is also the ugliest in film history. The making of this film is dramatized in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. Remade in 1979. | tt0013442 | Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schroeder | German | Horror | NULL | |
| Nosferatu the Vampyre | 1979 | Werner Herzog | ★★★½ | 107 | Spooky, funny, reverent remake of F. W. Murnau's vampire masterpiece should please Dracula fans of all persuasions. Kinski is magnificent as the good Count, and Adjani's classic beauty is utilized to the hilt. English-language version, which runs 96m., also exists. | tt0079641 | [PG] | Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor | West German | Horror | NULL | |
| Nostalghia | 1983 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★½ | 126 | Deeply personal, stunningly directed tale of a Russian poet (Yankovsky) and his beautiful translator (Giordano) who are trekking across Italy, inquiring into the life of a long-dead composer. The poet is so immersed in himself that he barely can communicate with those around him; then he meets a recluse (Josephson) who is certain that the end of the world is near. A provocative, insightful epic, lovingly rendered by one of the cinema's true poets. | tt0086022 | Oleg Yankovsky, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano, Laura Del Marchi, Delia Boccardo, Patrizia Terreno | Italian-Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nostradamus | 1994 | Roger Christian | ★★ | 118 | Cornball biographical drama about the fabled 16th-century astrologer-physician (Karyo), who is seen prophesizing everything from Hitler's rise to the Kennedy assassination— all the while retaining his allure for the females of his own time. Best watched when in a silly mood. | tt0110689 | [R] | Tchéky Karyo, F. Murray Abraham, Rutger Hauer, Amanda Plummer, Julia Ormond, Anthony Higgins | British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Not Another Teen Movie | 2001 | Joel Gallen | ★½ | 89 | On a wager, a high school hunk (Evans) sets out to woo a rebellious plain Jane named Janey (Leigh) and transform her into a prom queen. Barely funny parody lifts plotlines, characters, and entire scenes from a variety of recent films. Loaded with in-jokes, sight gags, and (quite literally) bathroom humor, but the results are tepid at best. | tt0277371 | [R] | Chyler Leigh, Chris Evans, Jaime Pressly, Mia Kirshner, Eric Christian Olsen, Deon Richmond, Eric Jungmann, Ron Lester, Randy Quaid, Paul Gleason, Ed Lauter, *** Mr. T, Molly Ringwald | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Not Easily Broken | 2009 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 99 | Although there’s enough soap operatics to fill a Douglas Sirk ’50s melodrama, this sincere story of a troubled marriage still manages to engage. When Henson is hurt in an auto accident it puts added pressure on her already wobbly relationship with well-meaning husband Chestnut. Adding to their woes is his budding “friendship” with her white physical therapist and her teenage son, and constant interference from Henson’s live-in mother. With a rare, male point of view and fine acting by the leads, this recognizable human drama overcomes a rather pedantic plotline to make its points. Based on the novel by T. D. Jakes, who shows up in a brief cameo. | tt0795438 | [PG-13] | Morris Chestnut, Taraji P. Henson, Maeve Quinlan, Kenny Hart, Eddie Cibrian, Jenifer Lewis, Wood Harris, Albert Hall, Niecy Nash | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Not One Less | 1999 | Zhang Yimou | ★★ | 106 | A young student (Wei) is asked to act as teacher to her near-peers in a rural Chinese village after the regular schoolmaster leaves for a month to tend to his ailing mother. The stipulation: She must not permit any dropouts if she wants to earn an extra 10 yuan in pay. Based-on-fact story results in a notably slight exercise for China's top filmmaker. The actors are non-professionals, and show it, in lifeless and repetitive scenes. | tt0209189 | [G] | Wei Minzhi, Zhang Huike, Tian Zhenda, Gao Enman, Sun Zhimei | Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| Not Quite Paradise | Not Quite Jerusalem | 1986 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 105 | Love on a kibbutz; pleasant, low-key story of volunteers from the U.S., England, and other nations adjusting to the hard life on an Israeli farm, where Yank Robards falls in love with sabra Pacula. Not much oomph but an OK, old-fashioned romance. Originally titled: NOT QUITE JERUSALEM. | tt0091652 | [R] | Joanna Pacula, Sam Robards, Todd Graff, Kevin McNally, Selina Cadell, Kate Ingram, Libby Morris | British | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Not So Dumb | 1930 | King Vidor. | ★★★ | 76 | Davies is delightful as a well-meaning scatterbrain who throws a big weekend bash to advance the career of her aspiring businessman beau, only to turn it into a disaster. Deft precursor to screwball farces of the 1930s and '40s, with celebrated playwright Stewart very funny in a rare acting role. Based on the play Dulcy by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. Previously filmed in 1923 and remade in 1940 under that title. | tt0021189 | Marion Davies, Elliott Nugent, Raymond Hackett, Franklin Pangborn, Julia Faye, William Holden, Donald Ogden Stewart, Sally Starr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Not Wanted | 1949 | Elmer Clifton | ★★½ | 94 | Well-intentioned account of unwed mother seeking affection and understanding; produced and co-scripted by Ida Lupino (who also apparently directed most of the film). | tt0041700 | Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle, Leo Penn, Dorothy Adams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Not With My Wife You Don't! | 1966 | Norman Panama | ★★½ | 118 | Trivial fluff about air force officer Curtis and bored wife Lisi; pointless and aimless, but attractive to the eye. | tt0060760 | Tony Curtis, Virna Lisi, George C. Scott, Carroll O'Connor, Richard Eastham | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Not Without My Daughter | 1991 | Brian Gilbert | ★★★ | 114 | American woman accompanies her Iranian-born husband on a visit to his homeland. Once there, he decides to stay, and she learns (to her horror) that in Iran she has no rights, as a wife or as a woman, so she must find a way to flee the country with her daughter. Absorbing film based on real-life experience of Betty Mahmoody; the drama works because Field is so believable, and because her husband is not portrayed as a one-dimensional monster. Filmed in Israel. | tt0102555 | [PG-13] | Sally Field, Alfred Molina, Sheila Rosenthal, Roshan Seth, Sarah Badel, Mony Rey, Georges Corraface | Drama | NULL | ||
| Not as a Stranger | 1955 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★ | 135 | Morton Thompson novel of Mitchum marrying nurse de Havilland who supports him through medical school despite oft-strained relationship. Glossy tribute to medical profession contains excellent performances by all. Producer Kramer's directorial debut. | tt0048432 | Olivia de Havilland, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, Charles Bickford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Lee Marvin, Lon Chaney, Harry Morgan, Virginia Christine, Jerry Paris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Not for Publication | 1984 | Paul Bartel | ★★ | 88 | Unsuccessful attempt to replicate an old-fashioned screwball comedy. Allen leads double life as the star reporter of a sleazy N.Y.C. tabloid and a worker in the reelection campaign of oddball mayor Luckinbill. Along the way shy photographer Naughton falls for her. | tt0087815 | [R] | Nancy Allen, David Naughton, Laurence Luckinbill, Alice Ghostley, Richard Paul, Barry Dennen, Cork Hubbert, Paul Bartel | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Not of This Earth | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 67 | Above par low-budget entry from Roger Corman with blank-eyed Birch as an alien vampire here to get blood for his atomic war-ravaged home world. Good supporting cast; great bit by Dick Miller. Remade in 1988, 1996 (for TV), and 1997 (as STAR PORTAL). | tt0050778 | Paul Birch, Beverly Garland, Morgan Jones, William Roerick | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Not of This Earth | 1988 | Jim Wynorski | ★★ | 80 | Strictly standard remake of the Roger Corman quickie, in which Roberts comes to earth in search of blood to replenish his dying planet's population. Film's chief interest is the casting of ex-porn queen Lords as a nurse. | tt0095756 | [R] | Traci Lords, Arthur Roberts, Lenny Juliano, Ace Mask, Roger Lodge | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Not on the Lips | 2003 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 117 | Charming musical farce is set in 1925 and involves various well-heeled Parisians and their affairs of the heart. Enjoyable trifle is as light as a soufflé, and features some gentle lampooning of pompous Americans and the era’s art movements. Songs are effortlessly integrated into the action, and the actors often address the camera with observations that fit right into the flow of the story. Adapted from a 1925 Andre Bardé–Maurice Yvain operetta that was filmed before in 1931. | tt0356999 | Sabine Azéma, Isabelle Nanty, Audrey Tautou, Pierre Arditi, Darry Cowl, Jalil Lespert, Daniel Prévost, Lambert Wilson | French-Swiss | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Notebook on Cities and Clothes | 1989 | Wim Wenders. | ★★★ | 80 | Fascinating documentary about Yohji Yamamoto, the influential Japanese high-fashion designer. The film is as much an observation of the moviemaking process (and a collaboration between filmmaker and subject) as it is a straight-on look at Yamamoto and his world. | tt0096852 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Notebook | 2004 | Nick Cassavetes | ★★★ | 124 | Emotional, richly romantic drama told in flashback, as Garner reads nursing home patient Rowlands the star-crossed love story of a boy and girl. Eventually, the modern story and the vintage one intertwine. A rare, no-holds-barred portrait of love and passion without cynicism or 'ironic distance.' Gosling and McAdams are exceptionally good. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. | tt0332280 | [PG-13] | Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands, James Marsden, Kevin Connolly, Joan Allen, Sam Shepard, David Thornton, Jamie Anne Brown, Heather Wahlquist, Obba Babtundé | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Notes From Underground | 1995 | Gary Walkow | ★★★ | 88 | Biting adaptation of the Dostoyevsky novella features a soul-baring performance by Czerny as Underground Man: a sarcastic loner-loser who is at once miserable and proud, brutal and deeply human. At the crux of the narrative is his recollection of a party at school, where his presence was unwanted, and his attempt to connect with a prostitute (Lee). Difficult to watch, at times, because of its stinging insights and emotional truths, but well worth the effort. | tt0114005 | Henry Czerny, Sheryl Lee |
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| Notes on a Scandal | 2006 | Richard Eyre | ★★★½ | 91 | Fascinating drama about a spinster teacher (Dench) who adopts the new art instructor (Blanchett) at her school as a friend, which is more of a burden than the emotionally vulnerable younger woman can possibly realize. When Blanchett has a fling with one of her students, the stage is set for high drama on all fronts. Playwright Patrick Marber (Closer) adapted Zoe Heller's novel What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal, which was inspired by the real-life case of Mary Kay Letourneau. Sensational performances by both stars (and Nighy, as Blanchett's husband). | tt0465551 | [R] | Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Bill Nighy, Andrew Simpson, Phil Davis, Michael Maloney, Juno Temple, Julia McKenzie | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Nothing But Trouble | 1944 | Sam Taylor | ★★ | 69 | Lesser L&H vehicle with duo hired as servants, meeting young boy king whose life is in danger. Boland is amusing as usual. | tt0037138 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mary Boland, Philip Merivale, David Leland, Henry O'Neill | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nothing But the Truth | 1941 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 90 | Entertaining comedy based on sure-fire idea: Bashful stockbroker Hope wagers that he can tell the absolute truth for 24 hours. Good fun. Filmed before in 1920 (with Taylor Holmes) and 1929 (with Richard Dix); also an ancestor of Jim Carrey's LIAR LIAR. | tt0033963 | Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Edward Arnold, Leif Erickson, Helen Vinson, Willie Best | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Nothing But the Truth | 2008 | Rod Lurie | ★★★ | 108 | Washington reporter Beckinsale “outs” a CIA agent (Farmiga), who happens to be a fellow mom at her daughter’s school. She’s willing to go to jail to protect her source, and does, but can’t anticipate how great a toll it will take on her life and her family. Potent topical drama inspired by the Judith Miller–Valerie Plame affair of 2005 explores intriguing, personal facets of a situation that’s usually explored only for the principle involved. The punch line that packs a wallop. Famed First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams, who argued for The New York Times’ Miller in court, is very good here as the trial judge. Written by the director. | tt1073241 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, Edie Falco, Alan Alda, David Schwimmer, Noah Wyle, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Peter Coyote, Jamey Sheridan | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nothing Lasts Forever | 1984 | Tom Schiller | ★★½ | 82 | Strange, occasionally entertaining comedy of aspiring artist Galligan's experiences in a N.Y.C. of the future— and also on a trip to the moon. A most unusual cast; much better seen than described. Written by first-time director Schiller, produced by Lorne Michaels, both of TV's Saturday Night Live. | tt0087817 | [PG] | Zach Galligan, Apollonia van Ravenstein, Lauren Tom, Dan Aykroyd, Imogene Coca, Eddie Fisher, Sam Jaffe, Paul Rogers, Mort Sahl, Bill Murray, Anita Ellis | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Nothing Like the Holidays | 2008 | Alfredo De Villa | ★★★ | 98 | Christmas brings a Puerto Rican family together in the Humboldt Park section of Chicago. One of the three grown children (Rodriguez) has just returned from active duty in Iraq, while various rivalries, unfinished business, and a mystery surrounding the patriarch (Molina) create emotional tumult in the household. Familiar setup yields a satisfying holiday concoction with comedy, drama, and sentimentality all part of the mix—and an exceptionally good cast to carry it off. | tt1151915 | [PG-13] | Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Peña, Freddy Rodríguez, Luis Guzmán, Jay Hernandez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Vanessa Ferlito, Melonie Diaz | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Nothing Personal | 1980 | George Bloomfield | ★½ | 97 | Sutherland is a professor attempting to stop a corporation from slaughtering baby seals, Somers a lawyer who helps him. Inane romantic comedy. Look for appearances by Craig Russell, Tony Rosato, Joe Flaherty, and Eugene Levy. | tt0081246 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Suzanne Somers, Lawrence Dane, Roscoe Lee Browne, Dabney Coleman, Saul Rubinek, Catherine O'Hara, John Dehner, Chief Dan George | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Nothing Sacred | 1937 | William Wellman | ★★★½ | 75 | Classic comedy about hotshot reporter (March) who exploits Vermont girl's 'imminent' death from radium poisoning for headline value in N.Y.C. Ben Hecht's cynical script vividly enacted by March and Lombard (at her best). Gershwinesque music score by Oscar Levant. Trivia note: Connolly's character is named Oliver Stone! Remade as LIVING IT UP. | tt0029322 | Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Walter Connolly, Charles Winninger, Sig Rumann, Frank Fay | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Nothing but Trouble | 1991 | Dan Aykroyd | 💣 | 93 | Chase and Moore, off on a weekend, get nabbed for speeding in a hellhole town under the complete domination of ancient judge Aykroyd (unrecognizable under mounds of makeup); rest of film deals with their attempted escape. Stupefyingly unwatchable; Aykroyd's directorial debut (he also wrote it). And yes, his nose is supposed to look like a penis. Watch for Tupac Shakur as a 'digital underground member.' | tt0102558 | [PG-13] | Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Demi Moore, Taylor Negron, Bertila Damas, Valri Bromfield | Adventure, Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nothing but a Man | 1964 | Michael Roemer | ★★★½ | 92 | Quietly powerful look at blacks in the South, with Dixon as a railroad worker who tries to settle down for the first time in his life with schoolteacher Lincoln, and has to deal with a level of prejudice— and self-denial— he's never faced before. Perceptive and honest, this film manages to make its points without melodrama. A small gem. Look for Esther Rolle and Moses Gunn in small roles. | tt0058414 | Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Julius Harris, Gloria Foster, Martin Priest, Leonard Parker, Yaphet Kotto, Stanley Greene | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nothing but the Best | 1964 | Clive Donner | ★★★½ | 99 | Biting look at social-climbing playboy Bates who commits murder to get ahead in the world. Written by Frederic Raphael. | tt0058415 | Alan Bates, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews, Millicent Martin, Pauline Delany | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nothing but the Night | The Resurrection Syndicate | 1972 | Peter Sasdy | ★½ | 90 | Uninvolving supernatural thriller about a cult that attempts immortality by projecting their personalities into the bodies of children. Filmed by Lee's production banner in a failed attempt to encourage more serious genre films. Aka THE DEVIL'S UNDEAD and THE RESURRECTION SYNDICATE. | tt0069024 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Georgia Brown, Keith Barron, Fulton Mackay, Gwyneth Strong | British | Horror | NULL |
| Nothing in Common | 1986 | Garry Marshall | ★★ | 118 | Interminably long, highly uneven comedy-drama about a perpetual adolescent who's forced to deal with his aging, unloving father when his mom leaves him flat. Some poignant, relevant conclusions about love and responsibility (and some funny shots at the advertising business) are undermined by overlength and meandering nature of film. Hanks is excellent; Gleason is abrasive (in his last film appearance). Later a TV series. | tt0091653 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Jackie Gleason, Eva Marie Saint, Hector Elizondo, Barry Corbin, Bess Armstrong, Sela Ward, John Kapelos, Jane Morris, Dan Castellaneta, Tracy Reiner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Nothing to Lose | 1997 | Steve Oedekerk | ★★½ | 97 | Stunned to find his wife in bed with his boss, Robbins drives away in a daze— only to be carjacked by out-of-work Lawrence. Having nothing to lose, Robbins roars off into the desert with his surprised passenger; this being a buddy comedy, they try to help each other out. OK comedy, with a likable cast, is undercut by predictability (and not exploiting the premise for its full comic value). | tt0119807 | [R] | Martin Lawrence, Tim Robbins, John C. McGinley, Giancarlo Esposito, Kelly Preston, Michael McKean, Rebecca Gayheart, Samaria Graham, Irma P. Hall, Steve Oedekerk | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Notorious | 1946 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 101 | Top-notch espionage tale by Ben Hecht, set in post-WW2 South America, with Ingrid marrying spy Rains to aid U.S. and agent Grant. Frank, tense, well acted, with amazingly suspenseful climax (and one memorably passionate love scene). Remade for cable TV in 1992. | tt0038787 | Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin, Reinhold Schunzel, Moroni Olsen | Film-Noir, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Notorious | 2009 | George Tillman /Jr. | ★★ | 122 | Overlong biopic of mysteriously assassinated-at-24 Brooklyn rap artist Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) has the authorized feel that inevitably comes with a movie listing Smalls' mother (played here by Bassett) and Sean Combs (Luke) as producers. Movie reaps sporadic snap from the dynamic performance of Woolard as the sometimes awkward, overweight kid and onetime drug dealer sired by a religious mom, which allegedly led to tension between spiritual living and the flashy pleasures that money and available women can bring. Movie opened theatrically on the Martin Luther King birthday weekend—a stretch. Christopher Jordan Wallace, the real-life son of Biggie and Faith Evans, plays his father as a boy. | tt0472198 | [R] | Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Naturi Naughton, Antonique Smith, Aunjanue Ellis | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Notorious Affair | 1930 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★ | 69 | Rathbone is uncomfortably cast as a neurotic violinist married to Dove; she finds out he is having an affair but dutifully nurses him back to health when he has a breakdown. Plush production can't save this stagy soap opera. | tt0021191 | Billie Dove, Basil Rathbone, Kay Francis, Montagu Love, Kenneth Thomson, Philip Strange, Gino Corrado. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Notorious Bettie Page | 2006 | Mary Harron | ★★★ | 100 | Absorbing biopic about a nice, churchgoing girl from Nashville who rebounds from several ugly encounters with men, heads to N.Y.C. in the 1940s, and becomes a pinup icon. Her naiveté is contrasted with the sometimes-sordid world in which she works, posing for bondage photos and movies, which eventually run afoul of a U.S. Senate crackdown on smut. Mol is a pluperfect Page in this laid-back biopic that captures its era (and its mores) quite nicely. | tt0404802 | [R] | Gretchen Mol, Chris Bauer, Jared Harris, Sarah Paulson, Cara Seymour, David Strathairn, Lili Taylor, John Cullum, Matt McGrath, Austin Pendleton, Norman Reedus, Dallas Roberts, Victor Slezak, Jonathan Woodward, Max Casella | Drama | NULL | ||
| Notorious C.H.O. | 2002 | Lorene Machado | ★★★ | 95 | Lively, entertaining concert film not only presents Cho's hilarious one-woman show, as performed in Seattle, but takes us backstage and even introduces us to Margaret's mother, who figures so prominently in her monologues. A good follow-up to I'M THE ONE THAT I WANT, with more of Cho's uncensored comedy, tackling sexual and gender issues for an audience packed with fans. | tt0300274 | Margaret Cho | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Notorious Gentleman | The Rake's Progress | 1945 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 123 | Philandering life of irresponsible playboy is told with wit and style in this handsome production. British title: THE RAKE'S PROGRESS. | tt0037950 | Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer, Godfrey Tearle, Griffith Jones, Margaret Johnston, Guy Middleton, Jean Kent | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Notorious Landlady | 1962 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 123 | Lemmon entranced by houseowner Novak, decides to find out if she really did kill her husband; set in London. Offbeat comedy-mystery written by Quine and Larry Gelbart. | tt0056289 | Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire, Lionel Jeffries, Estelle Winwood, Maxwell Reed | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Notorious Lone Wolf | 1946 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 64 | The Lone Wolf returns from WW2 and is embroiled in a museum jewel theft. Mohr replaced Warren William for this humdrum entry. | tt0038788 | Gerald Mohr, Janis Carter, Eric Blore, John Abbott, William B. Davidson, Don Beddoe, Adele Roberts, Peter Whitney | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Notorious Mr. Monks | 1958 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 70 | Tame Ralston vehicle involving a hitchhiker and murder. | tt0052010 |
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Vera Ralston, Don Kelly, Paul Fix, Leo Gordon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Notorious Sophie Lang | 1934 | Ralph Murphy | ★★ | 64 | Police use the title character (Michael) to lead them to an international crime ring. This should be more fun than it is; after a clever opening, the script lets a game cast down. | tt0025577 | Gertrude Michael, Paul Cavanagh, Alison Skipworth, Leon Errol, Arthur Hoyt | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Notre Musique | 2004 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 80 | Maddening yet fascinating Godardian foray into the effect of violence on the human spirit, divided into three sections: 'Hell,' 'Purgatory,' and 'Heaven.' There's plenty of theoretical chatter in the skimpy narrative, set at a literary conference in war-ravaged Sarajevo whose attendees include Godard himself and a young Israeli journalist who is researching an article about a place 'where reconciliation is possible.' Godard contrasts footage of real-life brutality with the violence staged in Hollywood movies to entertain the masses. | tt0360845 | Sarah Adler, Nade Dieu, Rony Kramer, Simon Eine, Jean-Christophe Bouvet, Jean-Luc Godard | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Notting Hill | 1999 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 123 | Bemused London bookshop owner chances to meet world-famous movie star, and sparks fly . . . but their budding relationship is bumpier than either could imagine. Enjoyable romantic comedy is a complete contrivance, but so smoothly done, and so engagingly performed, that you don't much mind. Written by Richard Curtis, whose script for FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL made Grant a star. Alec Baldwin and Matthew Modine appear unbilled. | tt0125439 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Hugh Bonneville, Emma Chambers, James Dreyfus, Rhys Ifans, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee | British | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| Nouvelle Vague | New Wave | 1990 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 88 | Delon and Giordano are cast as a handsome, ultra-rich, powerful couple; the narrative focuses on sexual and political issues that run through all of Godard's films. This one's strictly a matter of taste— and one's tolerance for latter-day Godard. Aka NEW WAVE. | tt0100274 | Alain Delon, Domiziana Giordano, Roland Amstutz, Laurence Cote, Christophe Odent | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| A Novel Affair | 1957 | Muriel Box | ★★★ | 83 | Amusing tale of Leighton who writes a sexy novel, finding the fantasy come true. Nearly everyone plays dual roles, in real life and scenes from the novel! Original British title: THE PASSIONATE STRANGER. | tt0050784 | Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, Patricia Dainton, Carlo Justini, Marjorie Rhodes, Megs Jenkins | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| November | 2004 | Greg Harrison | ★★ | 78 | Artsy indie about a traumatized woman whose boyfriend has been murdered in a convenience-store robbery. A month later, he telephones her . . . or maybe not. Cox (bleakly deglamorized) passes through denial, despair, and acceptance as she, her mom (Archer), and her shrink (Dunn) try to figure out if she's psychic, psychotic, or merely overmedicated. Bloody and befuddling foray is derivative of both BLOWUP and RUN LOLA RUN. Slow end-title crawl extends a slight film barely over an hour long. The director also edited. | tt0368089 | [R] | Courteney Cox, James Le Gros, Michael Ealy, Nora Dunn, Nick Offerman, Anne Archer, Matthew Carey, Robert Wu | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Novocaine | 2001 | David Atkins | ★★ | 95 | Successful dentist who's about to marry his hygienist is fatally attracted to a new female patient, and makes one misstep that quickly snowballs into Big Trouble. Mix of film noir and black comedy starts off well, but becomes distinctly unpleasant, despite some clever twists and good performances. Kevin Bacon appears unbilled. | tt0234354 | [R] | Steve Martin, Helena Bonham Carter, Laura Dern, Elias Koteas, Scott Caan, Keith David, Lynne Thigpen | Comedy, Mystery, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Now You See Him, Now You Don't | 1972 | Robert Butler | ★★½ | 88 | Follow-up to THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES has student Russell inventing an invisible spray, which of course is coveted by a gang of crooks. Some good special effects in this so-so Disney comedy. | tt0069031 | [G] | Kurt Russell, Cesar Romero, Joe Flynn, Jim Backus, William Windom, Michael McGreevy, Ed Begley/Jr. | Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Now and Forever | 1934 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 81 | Standard jewel-thief-going-straight yarn; Lombard overshadowed by Cooper and Temple. On tape only in a computer-colored version. | tt0025580 | Gary Cooper, Carole Lombard, Shirley Temple, Sir Guy Standing, Charlotte Granville | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Now and Forever | 1983 | Adrian Carr | ★★ | 93 | Chic Ladd's husband is unfaithful, then is falsely accused of rape and sent to jail. This puts quite a strain on their marriage. Based on Danielle Steel's novel. If you like Harlequin romances . . . | tt0086024 | [R] | Cheryl Ladd, Robert Coleby, Carmen Duncan, Christine Amor, Aileen Britton | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Now and Then | 1995 | Lesli Linka Glatter | ★★½ | 96 | Essentially a distaff version of STAND BY ME in which we get to know four friends during their last summer of adolescence in 1970. The film is bookended by sequences of the friends reminiscing at a baby shower 20 years later. Nicely done, but covers awfully familiar territory; strongest asset is the lovely performances of its young stars. Moore also produced. Brendan Fraser appears unbilled. | tt0114011 | [PG-13] | Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffman, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson, Willa Glen, Bonnie Hunt, Janeane Garofalo, Lolita Davidovich, Cloris Leachman, Hank Azaria | Drama | NULL | ||
| Now, Voyager | 1942 | Irving Rapper | ★★★½ | 117 | Vintage, first-class soaper with Bette as sheltered spinster brought out of her shell by psychiatrist Rains, falling in love with suave Henreid, helping shy girl Wilson. All this set to beautiful, Oscar-winning Max Steiner music makes for top entertainment of this kind. Olive Higgins Prouty's best-seller was adapted by Casey Robinson. | tt0035140 | Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville, John Loder, Ilka Chase, Lee Patrick, Mary Wickes, Janis Wilson | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Nowhere | 1997 | Gregg Araki | ★★ | 85 | CALIGULA for the CLUELESS set. Araki's slickest film to date focuses on a herd of oversexed L.A. teens searching for true love in the wasteland of SoCal. Pop visual design and eclectic cast make for some twisted fun, although the director's taste for gallows humor and brutal violence isn't for everyone. Various pop culture celebrities turn up in cameos. Filmed in 1995. | tt0119809 | [R] | James Duval, Rachel True, Nathan Bexton, Christina Applegate, Chiara Mastroianni, Debi Mazar, Kathleen Robertson, Jordan Ladd, Sarah Lassez, Guillermo Diaz, Jeremy Jordan, Alan Boyce, Jaason Simmons, Ryan Phillippe, Heather Graham, Scott Caan, John Ritter, Beverly D'Angelo, Denise Richards, Rose McGowan, Mena Suvari | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Nowhere Boy | 2009 | Sam Taylor-Wood | ★★★ | 99 | In 1950s Liverpool, a teenaged John Lennon experiences growing pains. Having been raised by his tightly wound aunt (Scott Thomas), he now meets the mother (Duff) who abandoned him as a child and is drawn to the outgoing woman without really knowing what happened back then. Meanwhile, his budding interest in music leads him to start a band. Poignant story is beautifully played and never throws foreshadowing of later history in our face. | tt1266029 | [R] | Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, David Morrissey, David Threlfall, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Josh Bolt, Sam Bell, Ophelia Lovibond | British-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Nowhere in Africa | 2001 | Caroline Link | ★★★★ | 135 | A Jewish family manages to get out of Germany in 1938, just in the nick of time, and moves to Kenya, where they must rebuild their lives from the ground up. A sweeping, subtly powerful drama that manages to tell its story from three separate points of view— the husband, wife, and daughter— as each one forges an individual relationship with a strange, new environment. Director Link adapted the autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig, and presents the story with compassion and a keen eye for detail. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt0161860 | Juliane Köhler, Merab Ninidze, Matthias Habich, Sidede Onyulo, Karoline Eckertz, Lea Kurka | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nowhere to Go | 1958 | Seth Holt | ★★★ | 97 | Unsung, beautifully realized film noir stars Nader as a smooth Canadian burglar in England who hides out with Smith while on the run. Brilliant deep-focus photography by Paul Beeson and a moody score by jazz trumpeter Dizzy Reece stand out. Smith's film debut. | tt0052013 | George Nader, Maggie Smith, Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Bessie Love | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Nowhere to Hide | 1987 | Mario Azzopardi | ★★ | 90 | Obvious thriller with Madigan cast as the wife of Marine Kelly. He's killed while investigating suspicious helicopter crashes . . . and she becomes a target. Madigan is much better than the material. | tt0093654 | [R] | Amy Madigan, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Robin MacEachern, Michael Ironside, John Colicos | Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| Nowhere to Run | 1993 | Robert Harmon | ★½ | 95 | Embarrassingly awful Van Damme vehicle, in which he's an escaped con who comes to the aid of widow-in-distress Arquette and her two kids. Based on a story by Joe Eszterhas and Richard Marquand; Eszterhas also scripted. | tt0107711 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rosanna Arquette, Kieran Culkin, Ted Levine, Joss Ackland, Tiffany Taubman | Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Nude Bomb | The Return of Maxwell Smart | 1980 | Clive Donner | ★★½ | 94 | Secret Agent 86 from 1960s Get Smart sitcom returns in feature-length spoof about a madman whose bombs will destroy the world's clothing; coscripter Bill Dana has a funny bit as fashion designer Jonathan Levinson Siegel. Agreeable time-filler. Shown on TV as THE RETURN OF MAXWELL SMART. Followed by the TV movie GET SMART, AGAIN! | tt0081249 | [PG] | Don Adams, Andrea Howard, Vittorio Gassman, Dana Elcar, Pamela Hensley, Sylvia Kristel, Robert Karvelas, Norman Lloyd, Rhonda Fleming, Joey Forman | Comedy | NULL | |
| Nude in a White Car | 1960 | Robert Hossein | ★★½ | 87 | Hossein's only clue to a crime is title person; suspenser set on French Riviera. Retitled: BLONDE IN A WHITE CAR. | tt0054131 | Marina Vlady, Robert Hossein, Odile Versois, Helena Manson, Henri Cremieux | French | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Nudo di Donna | 1981 | Nino Manfredi | ★★★ | 105 | Suffering marital problems with wife of 16 years (Giorgi), Manfredi becomes infatuated with a nude rearview photo and takes up with its model, who looks just like his wife! Stunning location photography in Venice and a solid cast highlight this social comedy. | tt0082830 | Nino Manfredi, Eleonora Giorgi, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Georges Wilson | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Nuisance | 1933 | Jack Conway. | ★★★ | 83 | Fast-talker extraordinaire Tracy gives one of his quintessential wiseguy performances as a conniving ambulance chaser who falls in love with Evans, unaware she's a special investigator for a streetcar company he's repeatedly victimized. Laugh-a-minute caper only slows down a bit toward the end for romance. Sparkling script by Samuel and Bella Spewack. Remade as THE CHASER (1938). | tt0024396 | Lee Tracy, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Charles Butterworth, John Miljan, Virginia Cherrill, David Landau. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Number 23 | 2007 | Joel Schumacher | ★★ | 97 | City dog catcher reads a book that messes with his mind-because it seems to resemble his own life, makes him obsess about the number 23, and drives him to believe he's going to murder his wife. Utterly unconvincing thriller, especially when it finally gets around to tying up its loose ends. Visual stylistics are devoid of meaning here. Bud Cort appears unbilled. | tt0481369 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Rhona Mitra, Michelle Arthur, Lynn Collins, Mark Pellegrino, Ed Lauter | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Number One | 1969 | Tom Gries | ★½ | 105 | Heston turns in his loincloth for a jockstrap in this ludicrous drama about a New Orleans Saints quarterback who's fighting advancing age; interesting subject matter deserves better treatment. | tt0064743 | [M] | Charlton Heston, Jessica Walter, Bruce Dern, John Randolph, Diana Muldaur | Drama | NULL | ||
| Number One Fan | 1994 | Jane Simpson | ★★ | 93 | Action movie megastar McQueen allows himself to be seduced by kittenish fan, who turns out to be a psycho. Oh-so-familiar erotic thriller is entertaining nonetheless, until preposterous finale. McQueen reminds one of Bruce Willis rather than his late father Steve; Matthau is the son of Walter (and looks it); Da Re is the son of Aldo Ray. Watch for Mary Woronov and Dick Miller in cameos. | tt0114016 | [R] | Chad McQueen, Catherine Mary Stewart, Renee Ammann, Paul Bartel, Eric Da Re, Charles Matthau, Dean Norris, Hoyt Axton | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Number One With a Bullet | 1987 | Jack Smight | ★★½ | 101 | Carradine and Williams do well in this otherwise standard actioner, cast as a pair of 'odd couple' detectives out to dethrone a drug kingpin. | tt0093658 | [R] | Robert Carradine, Billy Dee Williams, Valerie Bertinelli, Peter Graves, Doris Roberts, Bobby Di Cicco | Action, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Number Seventeen | 1932 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 63 | Entertaining comedy-thriller has tramp Lion stumbling upon a jewel thieves' hideout. Exciting chase sequence involves a train and bus (though the 'special effects' are pretty obvious). Screenplay by Hitchcock. | tt0023285 | Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey, John Stuart, Donald Calthrop, Barry Jones, Garry Marsh | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Numbered Men | 1930 | Mervyn LeRoy. | ★★ | 65 | After being framed for counterfeiting, Hackett tries to prove his innocence while working on a road gang that lets him visit sweetheart Claire at a nearby farmhouse. Starchy prison picture with most of the action taking place outside the walls of the big house. LeRoy fared better when he directed I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG two years later. | tt0021192 | Conrad Nagel, Bernice Claire, Raymond Hackett, Ralph Ince, Ivan Linow, George Cooper, Tully Marshall. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Numéro Deux | 1975 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 88 | Fascinating but self-conscious and confusing aural and visual smorgasbord detailing the effects of capitalism on a modern family. Shot on videotape. | tt0073471 | Sandrine Battistella, Pierre Dudry, Alexandre Rignault, Rachel Stefanopoli | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Nun's Story | 1959 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★½ | 149 | Tasteful filming of Kathryn Hulme book, with Hepburn the nun who serves in Belgian Congo and later leaves convent. Colleen Dewhurst, as a homicidal patient, is electrifying. Screenplay by Robert Anderson. | tt0053131 | Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Dean Jagger, Mildred Dunnock | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nuns on the Run | 1990 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★½ | 90 | Genial farce about two career henchmen, fed up with their violent young boss, who try to make a score for themselves but bungle the job and hide out in a convent, disguised as nuns. Idle and Coltrane are great, and the film is genuinely funny at times— enough to forgive its periodic lulls. Written by director Lynn. | tt0100280 | [PG-13] | Eric Idle, Robbie Coltrane, Camille Coduri, Janet Suzman, Doris Hare, Lila Kaye, Robert Patterson | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Nunzio | 1978 | Paul Williams | ★★½ | 87 | Retarded Brooklyn grocery delivery boy Proval imagines he's Superman, falls in love with bakery assistant Feldshuh. Mild story enhanced by Proval's fine performance; script by Andronica, who plays his tough but loving brother. | tt0078011 | [R] | David Proval, James Andronica, Tovah Feldshuh, Morgana King, Vincent Russo, Theresa Saldana, Monica Lewis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nurse Betty | 2000 | Neil LaBute | ★★★½ | 109 | Strikingly original, darkly comic (and perfectly cast) tale of sweet waitress whose fondness for a soap-opera actor turns to obsession after she witnesses a traumatic event. Screenwriters John C. Richards and James Flamberg create wonderfully surprising twists and turns— including some harsh moments of violence— yet tie everything up at the end. | tt0171580 | [R] | Morgan Freeman, Renée Zellweger, Chris Rock, Greg Kinnear, Aaron Eckhart, Tia Texada, Crispin Glover, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Allison Janney, Kathleen Wilhoite, Sheila Kelley | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Nurse Edith Cavell | 1939 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 108 | Neagle is fine as dedicated WW1 nurse who worked with the Brussels underground to aid wounded soldiers. Sturdy production. | tt0031737 | Anna Neagle, Edna May Oliver, George Sanders, ZaSu Pitts, May Robson, H. B. Warner, Robert Coote | Drama | NULL | |||
| Nurse on Wheels | 1963 | Gerald Thomas | ★★★ | 86 | The trials of nurse Mills, who settles down to practice in a rural community. Entertaining, often touching. | tt0057371 | Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, Joan Sims, Noel Purcell, Raymond Huntley, Jim Dale | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Nut | 1921 | Ted Reed. | ★★★½ | 74 | Fairbanks is charming as a Greenwich Village romantic who adores a progressive-minded damsel (De La Motte) and must compete for her with a no-account gambler. There's one funny sight gag after another in this enormously entertaining comedy, one of Fairbanks' best. Highlight: Doug's 'impersonations' of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and Tom Thumb. Cowritten by Fairbanks (under the pseudonym Elton Thomas). | tt0012513 | Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, William Lowery, Gerald Pring, Morris Hughes, Barbara La Marr. | Romance | NULL | |||
| Nutcracker | 1982 | Anwar Kawadri | ★½ | 101 | Silly soaper about a Russian dancer who defects and joins the ballet company of a powerful, rich bitch (who else but Collins, in a role she can play in her sleep— and does). | tt0084425 | [R] | Joan Collins, Carol White, Paul Nicholas, Finola Hughes, William Franklyn, Leslie Ash | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Nutcracker Prince | 1990 | Paul Schibli | ★½ | 75 | Young girl dreams of aiding toy soldiers in battle against evil Mouse King in this flat reworking of the classic story, set to Tchaikovsky music. Slow-paced low-budget animated feature based on the E. T. A. Hoffmann book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King; a Disney wannabe that simply isn't. | tt0100281 | [G] | Voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Megan Follows, Peter O'Toole, Mike McDonald, Peter Boretski, Phyllis Diller | Canadian | Family, Adventure, Animation | NULL | |
| Nutcracker in 3D | 2010 | Andrei Konchalovsky | 💣 | 107 | Woeful, what-were-they-thinking musical mess shoves E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 gothic fairy tale into 1920s Vienna, presumably to name-drop Freud and center-stage a singing Einstein (Lane's Everything is Relative is among several wretched Tchaikovsky pastiches). Wide-eyed Fanning escapes unscathed, but Turturro's grotesque Rat King suggests Dana Carvey doing Phil Spector. Intermittently beautiful but generally atrocious mishmash pilfers George Lucas, steampunk, and the Ice Capades, and was shot in 2007. 3-D. | tt1041804 | [PG] | Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, Frances de la Tour, John Turturro, Richard E. Grant, Yulia Visotskaya, Aaron Michael Drozin, Charlie Rowe, Shirley Henderson. | British-Hungarian | Family, Action, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Nutcracker | 1993 | Emile Ardolino | ★★ | 92 | Much-too-stagy version of the famed, beloved ballet, set on Christmas Eve and telling the story of a little girl (Cohen) who finds herself in a fantasy-world of oversized toys. Culkin (the film's star attraction) is nothing special as the Nutcracker Prince. Adapted by Peter Martins, from the New York City Ballet production. Aka GEORGE BALANCHINE'S THE NUTCRACKER. | tt0107719 | [G] | Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen; narrated by Kevin Kline | Musical | NULL | ||
| Nutcracker, The Motion Picture | 1986 | Carroll Ballard | ★★½ | 89 | Much of this version of The Nutcracker, performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet, is like a music video: quick cutting and close-ups of legs, faces, and elbows. Very annoying. But the Tchaikovsky music is, of course, wonderful, as are Maurice Sendak's sets and costumes. | tt0091658 | [G] | Hugh Bigney, Vanessa Sharp, Patricia Barker, Wade Walthall, Russell Burnett, voice of Julie Harris |
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| Nuts | 1987 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 116 | Compelling drama about a belligerent woman assigned a Legal Aid lawyer who must fight for her right to stand trial for manslaughter, when both the state and her own parents insist that she's not in her right mind. Peerless cast of pros, and nimble staging by Ritt, manage to make you forget that this was a stage play, until the climax, when Streisand delivers a lengthy monologue— in loving close-up (she also produced). Tom Topor adapted his play, with Darryl Ponicsan and Alvin Sargent. Streisand also composed the score. | tt0093660 | [R] | Barbra Streisand, Richard Dreyfuss, Maureen Stapleton, Eli Wallach, Robert Webber, James Whitmore, Karl Malden, Leslie Nielsen, William Prince, Hayley Taylor Block | Drama | NULL | ||
| Nutty Professor II: The Klumps | 2000 | Peter Segal | ★★ | 106 | Professor Sherman Klump can't marry his sweetheart (Jackson) until he can get control of his demonic inner voice: the crass Buddy Love. Slimmest possible excuse for a sequel is just a vehicle for Murphy, who's brilliant as five members of the Klump family. The comic material is thunderously crude, however, and quickly runs out of steam. Director's cut runs 109m. | tt0144528 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson, Larry Miller, John Ales, Melinda McGraw, Anna Maria Horsford, Richard Gant, Chris Elliott, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Nutty Professor | 1963 | Jerry Lewis | ★★★ | 107 | Jerry's wildest (and most narcissistic) comedy casts him as chipmunk-faced college professor who does Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation into swaggering Buddy Love (whom some have interpreted as a Dean Martin caricature). More interesting than funny, although 'Alaskan Polar Bear Heater' routine with Buddy Lester is a riot; Lewis buffs regard this as his masterpiece. Remade in 1996. | tt0057372 | Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens, Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman, Med Flory, Howard Morris, Elvia Allman, Henry Gibson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Nutty Professor | 1996 | Tom Shadyac | ★★★ | 95 | Sherman Klump is a sweet stumblebum of a science professor who's grossly overweight; when he meets a beautiful teaching assistant, he's motivated to try his lab experiments with DNA restructuring on himself and he's transformed into a thin, testosterone-overloaded superstud. Eddie is appealing and convincing as the prof, and hilarious as his alter ego; through camera magic (and the eye-popping, Oscar-winning makeup by Rick Baker and David Leroy Anderson) he also plays almost every member of his family! One ingredient Jerry Lewis never thought of: enough flatulence jokes to last ten lifetimes. Followed by a sequel. | tt0117218 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, James Coburn, Dave Chappelle, Larry Miller, John Ales | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Nutty, Naughty Chateau | 1964 | Roger Vadim | ★★½ | 100 | Bizarre minor comedy involving the strange inhabitants of a castle romping about in 1750s styles; most diverting cast. Based on a Françoise Sagan play. | tt0056934 | Monica Vitti, Curt Jurgens, Jean-Claude Brialy, Sylvie, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Hardy | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| O | 2001 | Tim Blake Nelson | ★★★ | 95 | Potent modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, with Hartnett as the neglected son of a driven prep school basketball coach who turns his anger toward star player Phifer. Contemporary setting allows screenwriter Brad Kaaya to deal with teen angst, racism— and violence— while following the Bard's timeless story of jealousy and deceit. Fine performances all around. Completed in 1999, film's release was postponed because of real-life school shootings. | tt0184791 | [R] | Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Rain Phoenix, Elden Henson, John Heard, Andrew Keegan | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 2000 | Joel Coen | ★★★½ | 107 | Three escaped convicts share a series of adventures, and inadvertently become a singing sensation performing 'old-timey' music in 1930s Mississippi. Delightfully eccentric adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, full of clever ideas, irresistible music, and sharp dialogue. Screenplay by Ethan and Joel Coen; the title is derived from Preston Sturges' SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS. Innovative use of color by cinematographer Roger Deakins. | tt0190590 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, John Goodman, Michael Badalucco, Stephen Root, Daniel von Bargen | Comedy, Adventure, Crime | NULL | ||
| O Lucky Man! | 1973 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★★★ | 178 | Mammoth allegory with surrealistic flavor about young coffee salesman who pushes his way to the top only to fall and rise again. Brilliant performances (several actors have multiple roles) throughout; incredible score by Alan Price. Written by David Sherwin. | tt0070464 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, Rachel Roberts, Arthur Lowe, Ralph Richardson, Alan Price, Lindsay Anderson, Helen Mirren, Mona Washbourne | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| O Pioneers! | 1992 | Glenn Jordan | Average TV Movie | 100 | Lange, in her TV movie debut, is the centerpiece as a hearty prairie woman in this admirable but lifeless adaptation of Willa Cather's 1913 classic about the hardships and rewards of Nebraska farm life. Done better several months earlier in an American Playhouse version with Mary McDonnell. | tt0105038 | Jessica Lange, David Strathairn, Tom Aldredge, Reed Diamond, Anne Heche, Heather Graham, Leigh Lawson, Graham Beckel |
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| O'Hara's Wife | 1982 | William S. Bartman | ★★½ | 87 | Only Asner is aware of the presence of wife Hartley, who's a ghost. Earnest but forgettable. | tt0084431 | [PG] | Edward Asner, Mariette Hartley, Jodie Foster, Perry Lang, Tom Bosley, Ray Walston, Allen Williams, Mary Jo Catlett, Richard Schaal, Nehemiah Persoff | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| O'Shaughnessy's Boy | 1935 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 88 | Sentimental tale of Beery searching for his son, taken from him by cruel wife. | tt0026799 | Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Spanky McFarland, Henry Stephenson, Leona Maricle, Sara Haden | Drama | NULL | |||
| O. Henry's Full House | 1952 | Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, Henry Koster, Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 117 | Five varying stories by O. Henry, introduced by John Steinbeck; cast better than script. 'The Clarion Call,' 'Last Leaf,' 'Ransom of Red Chief,' 'Gift of the Magi,' and 'Cop and the Anthem. | tt0044981 | Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Charles Laughton, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Ratoff, Jeanne Crain, Oscar Levant, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Farley Granger | Drama | NULL | |||
| O.C. & Stiggs | 1987 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 109 | Quirky (even by Altman standards) film recounts title teens' summer adventures, which consist mainly of making life miserable for the Schwab family and the cutthroat insurance agent father (Dooley) who cut off Stiggs' grandfather's old-age policy. Not without its moments and Altman weirdos— including Hopper as a drug-and gun-dealing vet, Louise as the sexy school nurse, and Curtin as the drunken Schwab matriarch— but ultimately incoherent. Sat on the shelf for several years. | tt0089715 | [R] | Daniel H. Jenkins, Neill Barry, Paul Dooley, Jane Curtin, Jon Cryer, Ray Walston, Louis Nye, Tina Louise, Martin Mull, Dennis Hopper, Melvin Van Peebles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| O.S.S. | 1946 | Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 107 | Brisk WW2 espionage film with Ladd and company on important mission in France unaware that D-Day is rapidly approaching. | tt0038794 | Alan Ladd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, Richard Benedict, Richard Webb, Don Beddoe, Onslow Stevens | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies | 2006 | Michel Hazanavicius | ★★½ | 99 | Hit-and-miss spoof of 1960s spy thrillers with daring, dashing French secret agent Dujardin (perfectly cast) heading off to Egypt in 1955 to unearth the murderer of his old pal and WW2 cohort. When it works, which is often enough, it's laugh-out-loud funny. The OSS 117 character, created by Jean Bruce in 1949, has been portrayed (rather than parodied) in various unexceptional spy thrillers, mostly produced in the 1960s. Dujardin and Bejo later costarred in Hazanavicius's THE ARTIST. Followed by OSS 117: LOST IN RIO. | tt0464913 | Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, Aure Atika, Philippe Lefebvre, Constantin Alexandrov, Saïd Amadis, Laurent Bateau, Claude Brosset, François Damiens | French | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| OSS 117: Lost in Rio | 2009 | Michel Hazanavicius | ★★★ | 97 | Hilarious follow-up to OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES spotlights the further exploits of France's top secret agent (Dujardin). It's 1967, and he's off to Brazil to hunt down a Nazi-bigwig-turned-South-American-wrestling-impresario. Hazanavicius is keenly aware of the look and sound of the films he's satirizing, and the finale is a crafty homage to several Alfred Hitchcock thrillers. | tt1167660 | Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler, Alex Lutz, Reem Kherici, Pierre Bellemare | French | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Oak | 1992 | Lucian Pintilie | ★★★ | 105 | Schoolteacher Morgenstern sets out on a journey of self-discovery after her father (a former secret-police honcho) dies. Fascinating allegory- road movie mirroring the downfall of Communism in Romania. A highly personal film, strikingly directed by Pintilie, who also scripted. | tt0103969 | Maia Morgenstern, Razvan Vasilescu, Victor Rebenguic, Dorel Visan | French-Romanian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Oasis | 1955 | Yves Allegret | ★★ | 84 | Morgan's radiance brightens this oft-told story of gold-smuggling in Africa. | tt0048437 | Michele Morgan, Pierre Brasseur, Cornell Borchers, Carl Raddatz | French | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Oasis | 1984 | Sparky Greene | ★★½ | 90 | Unrelentingly grim, harrowing (and bloody) account of interaction among plane crash survivors in Mexican desert. Opening sequence is a stunner, but overall, too unpleasant. | tt0087825 |
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Chris Makepeace, Scott Hylands, Richard Cox, Dori Brenner, Rick Podell, Mark Metcalf, Anne Lockhart | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Object of Beauty | 1991 | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | ★★½ | 97 | Jet-set couple, who thrive on living beyond their means, find themselves stranded in a London hotel and decide to unload her coveted Henry Moore artifact— the one that may have been stolen by the hotel's newly hired deaf-mute maid. Definitely offbeat, but never really gets going; just enough style to keep it afloat, and the leads are well cast. | tt0102573 | [R] | John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell, Lolita Davidovich, Rudi Davies, Joss Ackland, Bill Paterson, Ricci Harnett, Peter Riegert | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Object of My Affection | 1998 | Nicholas Hytner | ★★★ | 112 | Young woman invites a gay schoolteacher who's just been dumped by his boyfriend to move into her spare room. They enjoy each other's company so much that she proposes a long-term, nonsexual 'arrangement.' Appealing actors carry this longish, serpentine, unconventional romantic comedy, written by Wendy Wasserstein, from the novel by Stephen McCauley . . . though the supporting actors (Alda, Janney, Hawthorne) threaten to steal it from the stars. | tt0120772 | [R] | Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Nigel Hawthorne, John Pankow, Timothy Daly, Allison Janney, Steve Zahn, Amo Gulinello, Bruce Altman, Joan Copeland | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Objective, Burma! | 1945 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 142 | Zestful WW2 action film with Flynn and company as paratroopers invading Burma to wipe out important Japanese post; top excitement. Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Lester Cole. Reworked as DISTANT DRUMS, also directed by Walsh. Some prints cut to 127m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037954 | Errol Flynn, William Prince, James Brown, George Tobias, Henry Hull, Warner Anderson | War | NULL | |||
| Obliging Young Lady | 1941 | Richard Wallace. | ★★½ | 80 | Agreeable comedy about youngster, center of custody fight, finding herself the focal point at a country resort. | tt0033968 | Eve Arden, Edmond O'Brien, Ruth Warrick, Joan Carroll, Franklin Pangborn, George Cleveland. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Oblomov | A Few Days in the Life of I. I. Oblomov | 1980 | Nikita Mikhalkov | ★★★½ | 146 | Thirtyish civil servant and absentee landlord, nicely played by Tabakov, retires to a listless existence in bed. Lyrical adaptation of Ivan Goncharov's 1858 novel; flashback sequences of Oblomov as a boy in his mother's arms are wonderful. Outstanding cinematography. Aka A FEW DAYS IN THE LIFE OF I. I. OBLOMOV. | tt0079619 | Oleg Tabakov, Yuri Bogatryev, Elena Soloyei, Andrei Popov | Russian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Oblong Box | 1969 | Gordon Hessler | ★★ | 91 | Price plays British aristocrat tormented by disfigured brother who's out for revenge after briefly being buried alive. Hammy performances, long drawn-out narrative, lackluster direction. | tt0064747 | [M] | Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Alastair Williamson, Hilary Dwyer, Peter Arne, Maxwell Shaw, Sally Geeson | British | Crime, Horror | NULL | |
| Observe and Report | 2009 | Jody Hill | ★½ | 86 | Delusional, bipolar mall cop Rogen decides to be all that he can be, by dating the cosmetics salesgirl he covets (Faris) and joining the local police department, if they’ll have him. Flagrantly, proudly perverse comedy produced in an alternate universe where the ravings of a nutcase are considered funny. Or, a queasy drama about a loser who doesn’t realize how ill suited he is to exist alongside “normal” people. Or, both. | tt1197628 | [R] | Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Anna Faris, Michael Peña, Celia Weston, Dan Bakkedahl, Collette Wolfe, John Yuan, Matthew Yuan, Patton Oswalt, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Obsessed | 1989 | Robin Spry | ★★½ | 100 | Good but slightly meandering drama pitting Keane against Rubinek, the thoughtless hit-and-run driver who killed her son. Well cast and engrossing, marred slightly by tendency toward sensationalism. | tt0095772 | [PG-13] | Kerrie Keane, Daniel Pilon, Saul Rubinek, Lynne Griffin, Alan Thicke, Colleen Dewhurst | Canadian | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Obsessed | 2009 | Steve Shill | ★★ | 105 | Elba is a top executive at a financial services company who makes the mistake of being courteous to the smoking-hot new office temp (Larter). With his beautiful wife (Knowles) busy at home with their young baby, Idris’ life becomes nightmarish, as the manipulative Larter plays out her own version of FATAL ATTRACTION. Predictably unsurprising genre thriller has its share of loopy logic, and isn’t helped by a surprisingly mediocre performance from Elba. Not a whole lot to obsess over here. | tt1198138 | [PG-13] | Idris Elba, Beyoncé Knowles, Ali Larter, Bruce McGill, Jerry O’Connell, Christine Lahti, Matthew Humphreys | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Obsession | 1976 | Brian De Palma | ★★½ | 98 | Viewers who don't remember Hitchcock's VERTIGO might enjoy this rehash by De Palma and writer Paul Schrader. Robertson loses his wife and child to kidnappers, then miraculously finds wife 'reborn' in another woman. Holds up until denouement. Superb Bernard Herrmann score. | tt0074991 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, John Lithgow, Sylvia Kuumba Williams, Wanda Blackman | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ocean's Eleven | 1960 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 127 | Fanciful crime comedy about 11-man team headed by Danny Ocean (Sinatra) attempting to rob five Vegas casinos simultaneously. Entire Rat Pack's in it, but no one does much, including some surprise guests. There is a clever twist ending, though. Remade in 2001. | tt0054135 | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis/Jr., Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Cesar Romero, Patrice Wymore, Joey Bishop, Akim Tamiroff, Henry Silva, Ilka Chase, Norman Fell | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Ocean's Eleven | 2001 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★ | 116 | Remarkably lifeless caper film, based in name only on the 1960 Rat Pack film, with ex-con Clooney masterminding a major Las Vegas heist and gathering ten other 'specialists' to pull it off. It also turns out that his victim, casino mogul Garcia, is keeping company with Clooney's ex-wife (Roberts). There's nothing in the script to elicit interest in any of these characters, who succeed only in being 'cool.' The real standout is old pro Reiner! Cameos include Angie Dickinson and Henry Silva, of the 1960 cast. Don Cheadle appears unbilled. Followed by OCEAN'S TWELVE. | tt0240772 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Ocean's Twelve | 2004 | Steven Soderbergh | ★½ | 125 | Sorry sequel has casino boss Garcia demanding that Ocean (Clooney) and his gang repay the money they stole from him . . . so they go to Europe to plan a heist or two. Lots of talk (meant to be cool but mostly incoherent) and little action, plus in-jokes and guest-star cameos to show how much fun everyone had making the film. Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, and Topher Grace appear unbilled. | tt0349903 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Vincent Cassel, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Elliott Gould, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Izzard, Cherry Jones, Jeroen Krabbé, Jared Harris | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Oceans | 2010 | Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud | ★★★ | 84 | Eye-popping survey of life underwater around the world, capturing amazing sights and even sounds. The result of four years of filming using state-of-the-art camerawork, this family-friendly documentary shows rare species, migratory rituals, and much, much more. Like EARTH, this is an American adaptation of a 2009 French documentary by the Disney company, edited from 102m., with new narration and a closing song sung by Joe Jonas. | tt0765128 | [G] | Narrated by Pierce Brosnan | U.S.-French-Spanish | Drama, Documentary | NULL | |
| Ocean’s Thirteen | 2007 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★ | 122 | Suave con man Danny Ocean reunites his crew one more time to pull off one more elaborate heist at a casino, whose ruthless owner (Pacino) double-crossed Danny's mentor (Gould). Another smart-alecky exercise in the art of cool, this breezy caper is so lightweight it threatens to evaporate before your eyes, but the addition of a snarling Pacino to the cast adds some gravitas to the glossy proceedings. | tt0496806 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner, Elliott Gould, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin, Vincent Cassel, David Paymer, Julian Sands | Thriller, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Octagon | 1980 | Eric Karson | ★★ | 103 | OK Kung Fu drama with Norris taking on all comers when hired by Carlson for protection from Ninja assassins. Fair of its kind, with above-average production values. | tt0081259 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, Lee Van Cleef, Art Hindle, Jack Carter | Action | NULL | ||
| Octaman | 1971 | Harry Essex | 💣 | 90 | Rick Baker's 'octopus' creation almost— but not quite— makes this dreadful thriller about the title monster discovered on an expedition to Mexico tolerable. Angeli died during shooting. | tt0067515 | Kerwin Mathews, Pier Angeli, Jeff Morrow, Jerry Guardino, Norman Fields | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| October | 1928 | Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Alexandrov | ★★★ | 103 | Brilliant reconstruction of the Russian Revolution contains some of Eisenstein's most striking use of montage, though most impressive sequences— such as the masterful massacre around the bridges of St. Petersburg— are in the film's first half. Based on John Reed's Ten Days That Shook the World, the film's alternate title. | tt0018217 | Nikandrov, N. Popov, Boris Livanov | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The October Man | 1947 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 98 | Stranger with history of mental disorders is suspected of murder and must prove innocence, even to himself. Strong character study and good local atmosphere enhance suspenseful mystery written by Eric Ambler. British running time 110m. | tt0039676 | John Mills, Joan Greenwood, Edward Chapman, Joyce Carey, Kay Walsh, Felix Aylmer, Juliet Mills | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| October Moth | 1959 | John Kruse. | ★½ | 54 | Turgid melodrama set on lonely farm, with Morris trying to cope with dim-witted brother who has injured a passerby. | tt0053132 | Lee Patterson, Lana Morris, Peter Dyneley, Robert Crawdon. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| October Sky | 1999 | Joe Johnston | ★★★½ | 107 | Sincere, heartwarming drama based on the true story of Homer Hickam, Jr. (Gyllenhaal), who grew up in an insular West Virginia coal-mining town. When he sees Sputnik soaring across the nighttime sky in 1957, he becomes obsessed with the idea of building his own rocket and enlists his friends to share the dream . . . against the wishes of his father, a harsh man who's the mine foreman. Rich performances, well-drawn characters, and an old-fashioned sense of can-do American spirit make this something special. Written by Lewis Colick from Hickam's book Rocket Boys. | tt0132477 | [PG] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen, William Lee Scott, Chad Lindberg, Natalie Canerday, Scott Miles | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Octopussy | 1983 | John Glen | ★★★½ | 130 | Grand escapist fare as Moore, growing nicely into the role of James Bond, matches wits with a handful of nemeses, including title-named character (Adams), whose motives— and modus operandi— are more than a bit vague. Film throws in everything but the kitchen sink for the sake of an entertaining show. | tt0086034 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff, Desmond Llewelyn, Vijay Amritraj, Lois Maxwell | British | Action | NULL | |
| The Odd Angry Shot | 1979 | Tom Jeffrey | ★★½ | 92 | Interesting film about a group of Australian professional soldiers stationed in Vietnam. Personal drama emphasized more than combat in poignant, sometimes broadly comic work about soldiers dealing with a war they don't think is really theirs. | tt0079652 | John Hargreaves, Graham Kennedy, Bryan Brown, John Jarratt | Australian | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Odd Birds | 1985 | Jeanne Collachia | ★★½ | 90 | Awkward direction and uneven performances defeat this sensitive drama about a dreamy teenager with braces who yearns for a career as an actress, and her friendship with compassionate but disillusioned brother-teacher Moriarty. Nice feel for the way real teen girls acted back in 1965, and for the pain of being fifteen and shy. | tt0089719 | Michael Moriarty, Donna Lai Ming Lew, Nancy Lee, Bruce Gray, Karen Maruyama, Scott Crawford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Odd Couple II | Neil Simon's Odd Couple II | 1998 | Howard Deutch | ★½ | 96 | Neil Simon wrote this sorry sequel reuniting Felix and Oscar after 17 years when their children announce their impending marriage. The two cronies meet up in L.A., get lost while driving to the ceremony, and find themselves in a series of escalating mishaps. Sporadically funny one-liners can't save this tired film. A real shame. Officially titled NEIL SIMON'S THE ODD COUPLE II. | tt0120773 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Christine Baranski, Barnard Hughes, Jonathan Silverman, Jean Smart, Lisa Waltz, Mary Beth Peil, Jay O. Sanders, Rex Linn, Alice Ghostley, Florence Stanley, Estelle Harris, Amy Yasbeck | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Odd Couple | 1968 | Gene Saks | ★★★ | 105 | Film version of Neil Simon stage hit about two divorced men living together, sloppy Oscar (Matthau) and fussy Felix (Lemmon). Lemmon's realistic performance makes character melancholy instead of funny; other surefire comic sequences remain intact. Later developed into two TV series. Followed by a sequel. | tt0063374 | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman, Monica Evans, Carole Shelley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Odd Job | 1978 | Peter Medak | ★★½ | 86 | British update of time-worn premise (used as early as 1916 by Douglas Fairbanks in FLIRTING WITH FATE): an unhappy man, jilted by his wife, hires a hit man to murder her, then has a change of heart . . . but convincing the hired killer is a formidable challenge! Coscripted by Bernard McKenna and Chapman, of Monty Python fame. | tt0078016 | Graham Chapman, David Jason, Diana Quick, Simon Williams, Edward Hardwicke | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Odd Jobs | 1984 | Mark Story | ★★ | 88 | Lame comedy about five college students working for a moving company over the summer. Radio personality Don Imus has a cameo. | tt0087829 | [PG-13] | Paul Reiser, Robert Townsend, Scott McGinnis, Paul Provenza, Julianne Phillips, Leon Askin, Richard Dean Anderson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Odd Man Out | 1947 | Carol Reed | ★★★★ | 115 | McCormick, William Hartnell, Fay Compton, Denis O'Dea, Dan O'Herlihy. Incredibly suspenseful tale of Irish rebel leader hunted by police after daring robbery. Watch this one! Scripted by R. C. Sherriff and F. L. Green, from the latter's novel. Remade as THE LOST MAN. | tt0039677 | James Mason, Robert Newton, Kathleen Ryan, Robert Beatty, Cyril Cusack, F.J. McCormick, William Hartnell, Fay Compton, Denis O'Dea, Dan O'Herlihy | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Odd Obsession | 1959 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★½ | 96 | Elderly, vain Nakamura tempts beautiful wife (Kyo) into an affair with his young doctor (Nakadai). Uneven soap opera; a few bright moments, but disappointing overall. Original running-time 107m. Remade in Italy in 1984 as THE KEY, which is also this film's alternative title (a literal translation of the Japanese title, KAGI). | tt0052957 | Machiko Kyo, Ganjiro Nakamura, Tatsuya Nakadai, Junko Kano | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Oddball Hall | 1990 | Jackson Hunsicker | ★★ | 87 | Four jewel thieves hole up in an African town, posing as members of a fraternal order called The Oddballs, and waiting to collect on a heist they pulled off years ago; a simpleminded native comes along seeking their help, and they mistake him for an Oddball chieftain. Simplistic farce is good-natured but heavy-handed; the only thing missing is laughs. | tt0100284 | [PG] | Don Ameche, Burgess Meredith, Bill Maynard, Tullio Moneta, Tiny Skefile | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Odds Against Tomorrow | 1959 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 95 | A smorgasbord trio of 'types' plots to rob an upstate N.Y. bank, but one of them is black Belafonte and another is a racist played by Ryan-one of those prime sociopath portrayals on which the actor held the patent. Tough, brutal, and a window to Wise's versatility, half a dozen years before he directed THE SOUND OF MUSIC. John Lewis did the jazz score, and familiar faces turn up in small parts, including Wayne Rogers, Robert Earl Jones, Zohra Lampert, and a young Cicely Tyson as a bartender. Written by Nelson Gidding and Abraham Polonsky (who was blacklisted at the time; credit was properly awarded to him years later). | tt0053133 | Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Ode to Billy Joe | 1976 | Max Baer | ★★ | 108 | Bobbie Gentry's 1967 song hit provides basis for standard rural romance that grows progressively ridiculous. Benson and O'Connor, reunited after JEREMY, still have appeal. | tt0074995 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Glynnis O'Connor, Joan Hotchkis, Sandy McPeak, James Best, Terence Goodman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Odessa File | 1974 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 128 | Voight carries this plodding adaptation of the Frederick Forsyth best-seller, set in 1963, about a German journalist who tracks down former Nazis. OK time killer, no more. Music score by Andrew Lloyd Webber. | tt0071935 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell, Mary Tamm, Derek Jacobi, Klaus Lowitsch | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Odette | 1950 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 100 | Neagle is excellent in true story of Odette Churchill, undercover British agent imprisoned by Nazis during WW2. | tt0043871 | Anna Neagle, Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, Peter Ustinov, Bernard Lee | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Odongo | 1956 | John Gilling | 💣 | 85 | Juvenile jungle flick about search for missing native boy. | tt0049568 | Rhonda Fleming, Macdonald Carey, Juma, Eleanor Summerfield, Francis De Wolff | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Odyssey of the Pacific | The Emperor of Peru | 1981 | Fernando Arrabal | ★★ | 100 | Slight tale of Rooney, a retired train engineer living near an abandoned railway station, befriending a trio of homeless youngsters. Originally titled THE EMPEROR OF PERU. | tt0082323 | Mickey Rooney, Monique Mercure, Jean-Louis Roux, Guy Hoffman | Canadian-French |
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| Oedipus Rex | 1967 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★½ | 110 | Pictorially arresting but dull, disappointing adaptation of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, with Citti, as Oedipus, murdering his father and marrying his mother. Presented in both contemporary and historical settings; that's Pasolini himself as the High Priest. | tt0061613 | Franco Citti, Silvana Mangano, Alida Valli, Carmelo Bene, Julian Beck | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Oedipus the King | 1968 | Philip Saville | ★★½ | 97 | Film version of Sophocles play is OK for students who have a test on it the next day, but others won't appreciate this version. Static, despite that cast. | tt0063376 | [G] | Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles, Lilli Palmer, Richard Johnson, Cyril Cusack, Roger Livesey, Donald Sutherland | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Of Flesh and Blood | 1962 | Christian Marquand | ★★½ | 92 | Murky account of passerby Salvatori having an affair with Aimée, involved with card-cheat-turned-murderer Hossein. | tt0056038 | Robert Hossein, Renato Salvatori, Anouk Aimée, André Bervil, Jean Lefebvre | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Of Gods and Men | 2010 | Xavier Beauvois | ★★★ | 120 | In 1996, the Trappist monks at a monastery in Algeria who tend to the needs of the local villagers find themselves ensnared in political strife, of which they want no part. Whether to flee to safety from terrorists (and the Army) or stay and continue their good works becomes the pressing question—and gets right to the root of the brothers’ beliefs. A most unusual meditation on faith in the context of the “real world,” with exceptional performances by Wilson and the entire ensemble. Beauvois scripted with Etienne Comar; based on a real-life incident. | tt1588337 | [PG-13] | Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach, Jacques Herlin, Loïc Pichon, Xavier Maly, Jean-Marie Frin, Abdelhafid Metalsi | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Of Human Bondage | 1934 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 88 | Smoothly filmed, well-acted version of W. Somerset Maugham's story of doctor Howard's strange infatuation with a vulgar waitress (Davis). Many find Davis' performance overdone, but by any standards it's powerfully impressive, and put her on the map in Hollywood. Howard, lovely Johnson, others are superb. Remade in 1946 and 1964. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025586 | Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Frances Dee, Kay Johnson, Reginald Denny, Alan Hale/Sr., Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Human Bondage | 1946 | Edmund Goulding | ★★ | 105 | Henreid and Parker give it the old college try but are fatally miscast in this bowdlerized adaptation of Somerset Maugham's steamy novel about the sadomasochistic relationship between a clubfooted artist/medical student and a sluttish waitress. Plush production can't compensate for the dearth of erotic heat, which was plentiful in the 1934 Bette Davis version. | tt0038795 | Paul Henreid, Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Edmund Gwenn, Janis Paige, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Marten Lamont, Isobel Elsom, Una O’Connor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Human Bondage | 1964 | Ken Hughes | ★★½ | 98 | Third and least successful filming of Maugham novel of doctor's passion for lowbrow waitress, marred by miscasting and general superficiality. | tt0058425 | Kim Novak, Laurence Harvey, Siobhan McKenna, Robert Morley, Roger Livesey, Nanette Newman, Brenda Fricker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Of Human Hearts | 1938 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 100 | Odd blend of potent 19th-century Americana and mile-high corn, in tale of dedicated preacher Huston who never established rapport with his son. When Abraham Lincoln (Carradine) lectures Stewart about neglecting his mother, it gets to be a bit much. | tt0030517 | Walter Huston, James Stewart, Gene Reynolds, Beulah Bondi, Guy Kibbee, Charles Coburn, John Carradine, Ann Rutherford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Life and Love | 1957 | Aldo Fabrizi, Luchino Visconti, Mario Soldati, Giorgio Pastina | ★★½ | 103 | Four satisfactory episodes, three of which are based on Pirandello tales; fourth is actual event in Magnani's life ('The Lapdog'). Actually distilled from two Italian episodic features from 1953 and 1954. | tt0163802 | Anna Magnani, Walter Chiari, Natale Cirino, Turi Pandolfini, Myriam Bru, Lucia Bose | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Of Love and Desire | 1963 | Richard Rush | ★½ | 97 | Beautiful settings (including Oberon's lavish Mexican home) offset overwrought sexual drama of neurotic woman who plays with the affection of several men— including her own stepbrother. | tt0057378 | Merle Oberon, Steve Cochran, Curt Jurgens, John Agar, Steve Brodie | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Love and Shadows | 1994 | Betty Kaplan | ★½ | 109 | Young fashion journalist meets a mysterious photographer and— well, more than just film develops. Adapted from an Isabel Allende novel, this love story set against the backdrop of a Chilean military dictatorship in 1973 is a complete misfire. Convoluted plot makes little sense, and there's no chemistry between the attractive leads. | tt0110712 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Connelly, Stefania Sandrelli, Diego Wallraft, Camillo Gallardo | Spanish-Argentinian | Drama | NULL | |
| Of Mice and Men | 1992 | Gary Sinise | ★★★ | 110 | More than respectable rendering of the Steinbeck warhorse, with Malkovich and Sinise respectively cast as Lennie and George— the sweet simpleton and his weary protector. Rescued from mothballs (and high school English) by the subtext of today's homeless; robust performances and impressive sun-baked look (photographed by Kenneth MacMillan) make it worthwhile. Screenplay by Horton Foote. | tt0105046 | [PG-13] | John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Alexis Arquette, Sherilyn Fenn, Joe Morton, Richard Riehle, Casey Siemaszko, John Terry, Ray Walston, Noble Willingham | Drama | NULL | ||
| Of Mice and Men | 1939 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★★ | 107 | Chaney gives best performance of his career as feeble-brained Lennie who, with migrant-worker Meredith, tries to live peacefully on ranch. John Steinbeck's morality tale remains intact in sensitive screen version. The film's action begins before the main title credits— an arty innovation for 1939. Script by Eugene Solow. Music by Aaron Copland. Remade in 1992 and for TV in 1981 with Robert Blake. | tt0031742 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Charles Bickford, Bob Steele, Noah Beery/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Mice and Men | 1981 | Reza Badiyi | Above Average TV Movie | 125 | Fulfilling a long-time dream, producer-star Blake turns out a sturdy remake of the Steinbeck classic with his Barettaand Joe Dancerproduction buddies. | tt0082838 | Robert Blake, Randy Quaid, Lew Ayres, Pat Hingle, Mitchell Ryan, Cassie Yates, Ted Neeley, Whitman Mayo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Of Time and the City | 2009 | Terence Davies | ★★★½ | 74 | Profoundly personal memory piece about Davies’ coming-of-age in Liverpool, his fascination with the cinema, his cynicism about British royalty and his own Catholicism, and dealing with his homosexual feelings. He also ruminates on how one ages and processes the passage of time. Loaded with footage of Liverpool, accompanied by period music and poetic narration. Beautifully done, and tremendously moving. | tt1232790 | British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Of Unknown Origin | 1983 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★ | 88 | N.Y.C. businessman, bacheloring it temporarily, is driven to distraction by a giant rodent on the loose in his apartment. Slightly better than simultaneously released rat-themed DEADLY EYES. | tt0086036 | [R] | Peter Weller, Jennifer Dale, Lawrence Dane, Kenneth Welsh, Louis Del Grande, Shannon Tweed | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Off Beat | 1986 | Michael Dinner | ★★ | 92 | Library worker Reinhold, filling in for policeman friend at rehearsal for a dance recital, falls in love with female cop. Modest comedy works hard to live up to its name but comes up short. Reinhold and Tilly are so low-key, they almost disappear! Great cast can't save it. Written by playwright Mark Medoff (who plays Sgt. Tiegher). | tt0091668 | [PG] | Judge Reinhold, Meg Tilly, Cleavant Derricks, Joe Mantegna, Jacques D'Amboise, James Tolkan, Amy Wright, John Turturro, Anthony Zerbe, Julie Bovasso, Fred Gwynne, Harvey Keitel, Austin Pendleton, Penn Jillette, Bill Sadler, Christopher Noth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Off Limits | 1953 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 87 | Peppy but predictable comedy with fight manager Hope finding himself in the Army; he attempts to romance Maxwell (whose nephew, Rooney, wants Hope to train him as a boxer). | tt0046138 | Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Marilyn Maxwell, Eddie Mayehoff, Stanley Clements, Jack Dempsey, Marvin Miller, Tom Harmon, Carolyn Jones | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Off Limits | 1988 | Christopher Crowe | ★½ | 102 | Sluggish, predictable, unusually sordid melodrama about two pros in the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Detachment (CID) who track down the ghoul murdering Vietnamese hookers in 1968 Saigon. Dafoe's goo-goo eyes at nun Pays are good for a few unintentional chuckles; if you can't guess the murderer, get a new hobby. | tt0095774 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Gregory Hines, Fred Ward, Amanda Pays, Scott Glenn, Kay Tong Lim, David Alan Grier, Keith David | Action, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Off the Black | 2006 | James Ponsoldt | ★★½ | 90 | Nolte plays a boozing, aging baseball coach who develops a relationship with a young player whom he convinces to pose as his son for an upcoming high school reunion. Slight, character-driven story gives Nolte a prime acting opportunity and he hits it out of the park. The chemistry between him and Morgan is tangible. | tt0479965 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Trevor Morgan, Sonia Feigelson, Sally Kirkland, Rosemarie DeWitt, Timothy Hutton, Noah Fleiss, Michael Higgins, Jonathan Tchaikovsky. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Off the Map | 2004 | Campbell Scott | ★★★½ | 108 | Beautifully realized story, set in the 1970s, about an individualistic, self-reliant New Mexico family dealing with a precocious adolescent daughter, a father who's fallen into a stupor of depression, and the arrival of an agent from the Internal Revenue Service. Never simplistic or superficial, filled with interesting characters, telling visual and verbal detail, and wonderful performances, including young de Angelis in her film debut. Slowly paced film rewards the viewer for being patient. Joan Ackermann adapted her stage play. | tt0332285 | [PG-13] | Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, Valentina de Angelis, J.K. Simmons, Jim True-Frost, Amy Brenneman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Off the Record | 1939 | James Flood. | ★★½ | 71 | Columnist Blondell and reporter husband O'Brien become guardians of delinquent Jordan after she writes an exposé of mobsters who use kids for a gambling racket. Plot thickens when the boy gets mixed up in his brother's jailbreak. Fairly entertaining B movie bogs down in sentimental domestic scenes. Dead End Kid Jordan goes solo here, but we do get David Gorcey (Leo's brother) and Cagney imitator extraordinaire Frankie Burke. | tt0031743 | Pat O'Brien, Joan Blondell, Bobby Jordan, Alan Baxter, William Davidson, Morgan Conway, Clay Clement. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Off the Wall | 1983 | Rick Friedberg | 💣 | 85 | Phony comedy set in a Tennessee prison. Rosanna Arquette is wasted as daughter of state governor (Markham). | tt0086037 | [R] | Paul Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Patrick Cassidy, Billy Hufsey, Ralph Wilcox, Dick Chudnow, Monte Markham, Brianne Leary, Mickey Gilley, Lewis Arquette | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Offence | 1973 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 112 | Intense drama about how London detective Connery's frustrations cause him to beat a suspect to death; a fine performance by Connery. | tt0070468 | [R] | Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Vivien Merchant, Ian Bannen, Derek Newark | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Office Space | 1999 | Mike Judge | ★★ | 89 | Fitfully funny satire of office life in modern-day corporate America, with Livingston as a computer programmer who hates his job and eventually finds a way to express his disdain for his company— and his boss (Cole). Dry and undernourished, though there are some laughs along the way. Live-action writing and directing debut for Judge, creator of the animated TV series Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill. | tt0151804 | [R] | Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Diedrich Bader, Stephen Root, Gary Cole, Richard Riehle | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Office Wife | 1930 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★½ | 58 | Sexy secretary (Mackaill) at a publishing company sets a trap for her wealthy older boss (Stone), who resists her charms until he learns his young new bride (Moorhead) is cheating. Charmingly dated piece of 'naughty' fluff, with sassy support by Blondell as Mackaill's impudent sister and Frederici in a bizarre bit as an ultra-masculine, cigar-smoking authoress. | tt0021197 | Dorothy Mackaill, Lewis Stone, Natalie Moorhead, Hobart Bosworth, Joan Blondell, Blanche Frederici. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| An Officer and a Gentleman | 1982 | Taylor Hackford | ★★½ | 125 | Two misfits seek direction in their dead-end lives— he by enrolling in Naval Officer Candidate School, she by trying to snag him as a husband. Four-letter words and steamy sex scenes can't camouflage a well-worn Hollywood formula script— with virtually every plot point telegraphed ahead of time! Made agreeable by an appealing cast, though even Gossett's Oscar-winning performance as a drill instructor is just a reprise of earlier work like Jack Webb's in THE D.I. Film's love song, 'Up Where We Belong,' also won an Oscar. | tt0084434 | [R] | Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Louis Gossett/Jr., Robert Loggia, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, Victor French, Grace Zabriskie, David Caruso | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Official Story | 1985 | Luis Puenzo | ★★★★ | 113 | Aleandro is exceptional as woman who lives the good life, sheltered from political turmoil that surrounds her in Argentina . . . until she begins to suspect that her adopted daughter may have been the offspring of a political prisoner. One of those rare films that manages to make a strong political statement in the midst of a crackling good story. Hard to believe it was director Puenzo's first feature film (he also scripted with Aida Bortnik). Oscar winner as Best Foreign Language Film. A knockout. | tt0089276 | Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio, Analia Castro, Chunchuna Villafane | Argentinian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Offside | 2006 | Jafar Panahi | ★★★½ | 93 | A group of Iranian girls disguise themselves as men in order to attend a soccer game in which their national team is competing for the World Cup. In real time, the film shows their arrest and their interactions with the captors and each other. Extraordinarily well-acted film that humorously and movingly demonstrates the struggles of a group of people eager to break free from the shackles of a conservative government's values. Not surprisingly, it was banned in Iran. | tt0499537 | [PG] | Sima Mobarak Shahi, Safar Samandar, Shayesteh Irani, M. Kheyrabadi, Ida Sadeghi. | Iranian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Offspring | From a Whisper to a Scream | 1986 | Jeff Burr | ★½ | 99 | Small-town historian Price spins a quartet of horror tales, each of which took place in his hamlet. None is worth listening to. Helluva cast, however. Aka FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM. | tt0091671 | [R] | Vincent Price, Clu Gulager, Terry Kiser, Harry Caesar, Cameron Mitchell, Rosalind Cash, Susan Tyrrell, Martine Beswick, Angelo Rossitto, Lawrence Tierney | Horror | NULL | |
| The Ogre | 1996 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 117 | Seriocomic anti-Nazi parable is not nearly as good as Schlöndorff's classic THE TIN DRUM, but it's an interesting (if heavy-handed), horrific fairy tale about a childlike Frenchman (a miscast Malkovich) who willingly goes to work for the Nazis after being captured during the war and is used to 'recruit' German children to join the army. | tt0118043 | John Malkovich, Gottfried John, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Marianne Sägebrecht, Volker Spengler, Heino Ferch, Dieter Laser | German-French-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Oh . . . Rosalinda!! | 1955 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★½ | 101 | Johann Strauss' opera Die Fledermaus is updated to contemporary Vienna but retains its elements of a masked ball, mistaken identity, flirtation, etc. Not entirely successful, but still stylish, witty, and colorful, as you'd expect from the team that brought you THE RED SHOES and TALES OF HOFFMAN. Redgrave, Quayle, and Rothenberger use their own singing voices, by the way. ‹xw. | tt0048441 | Michael Redgrave, Ludmilla Tcherina, Anton Walbrook, Mel Ferrer, Dennis Price, Anthony Quayle, Annelise Rothenberger; voices of Sari Barabas, Alexander Young, Dennis Dowling, Walter Berry | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad | 1967 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 86 | Impressive cast tries to sustain black comedy about overpossessive widow (Russell) and weirdo son (Morse) taking vacation on tropical island accompanied by coffin of her late husband. From the Arthur Kopit play. | tt0062067 | Rosalind Russell, Robert Morse, Barbara Harris, Hugh Griffith, Jonathan Winters, Lionel Jeffries, Cyril Delevanti | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Oh God! Book II | 1980 | Gilbert Cates | ★½ | 94 | Burns returns as title character; here, he enlists a child (Louanne) to remind the world that God is not dead. Contrived sequel with just a trickle of laughs; Pleshette, as usual, is wasted. | tt0081268 | [PG] | George Burns, Suzanne Pleshette, David Birney, Louanne, Howard Duff, Hans Conried, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Conrad Janis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Oh in Ohio | 2006 | Billy Kent | ★★½ | 88 | Cleveland high school science teacher feels like less than a man since his wife has never experienced an orgasm. He finally seeks satisfaction elsewhere, and so does she-with the help of a vibrator that soon becomes her best friend. Engaging, amusing adult comedy meanders more than it should but has its fair share of funny moments and likable characters. Heather Graham appears unbilled. | tt0422861 | [R] | Parker Posey, Paul Rudd, Danny DeVito, Mischa Barton, Miranda Bailey, Liza Minnelli, Keith David, Robert John Burke | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Oh! Susanna | 1951 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 90 | Too much feuding between cavalry officers and too little real action mar this Western. | tt0043874 | Rod Cameron, Forrest Tucker, Adrian Booth, Chill Wills | Western | NULL | |||
| Oh! What a Lovely War | 1969 | Richard Attenborough | ★★½ | 139 | Actor Attenborough's directing debut; impressive but cumbersome series of vignettes on WW1, ranging from colorful musical numbers to poignant human sidelights. Adapted from stage show. Beautifully designed, wildly cinematic, but too drawn-out to make maximum antiwar impact. | tt0064754 | [G] | Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Vanessa Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, Susannah York, Maggie Smith, Jack Hawkins, Kenneth More, Corin Redgrave, Jane Seymour | British | Musical | NULL | |
| Oh, God! | 1977 | Carl Reiner | ★★★ | 104 | God appears in person of Burns to summon Denver as his messenger, to tell the world that he's alive and well. Film eschews cheap jokes to build a credible story with warm performances and upbeat message. Followed by a pair of sequels. | tt0076489 | [PG] | George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino, George Furth, Ralph Bellamy, Barnard Hughes, David Ogden Stiers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Oh, God! You Devil | 1984 | Paul Bogart | ★★ | 96 | Third go-round for Burns gives him dual role of God and the Devil, with Wass as struggling songwriter and performer who sells his soul for success. Good cast and good-natured attitude can't overcome blandness and predictability of this comedy. Written by Andrew Bergman. | tt0087835 | [PG] | George Burns, Ted Wass, Ron Silver, Roxanne Hart, Eugene Roche, Robert Desiderio | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Oh, Heavenly Dog! | 1980 | Joe Camp | ★★½ | 103 | Private eye Chase returns to earth in the form of a dog to solve his own murder. Benji (in his third film) is as adorable as ever as Chase's alter ego. Filmed in England. Followed by BENJI THE HUNTED. | tt0081269 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Benji, Jane Seymour, Omar Sharif, Donnelly Rhodes, Robert Morley, Alan Sues | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Oh, Men! Oh, Women! | 1957 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★½ | 90 | Often bouncy sex farce revolving around psychiatrist and his assorted patients. Randall's feature debut. | tt0050795 | Ginger Rogers, David Niven, Dan Dailey, Barbara Rush, Tony Randall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Oh, Susanna! | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 59 | Gene is mistaken for outlaw Howard (and vice versa) in this fast-moving early Autry Western, the first to employ country music groups with regional radio fame. The Doughboys sing 'Ride On, Vaquero' and Gene does 'I'll Go Ridin' Down That Texas Trail' (which he wrote with Burnette). | tt0029334 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Frances Grant, Earle Hodgins, Donald Kirke, Boothe Howard, The Light Crust Doughboys, Ed Peil/Sr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Oh, You Beautiful Doll | 1949 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 93 | Chipper period musical about song plugger who turns serious composer's works into popular songs. Based on true story of Fred Fisher. Songs include title tune, 'Peg o' My Heart,' 'Dardanella. | tt0041712 | June Haver, Mark Stevens, S. Z. Sakall, Charlotte Greenwood, Gale Robbins, Jay C. Flippen | Musical | NULL | |||
| Oil | 1977 | Mircea Dragan | 💣 | 95 | A Sahara oilfield ablaze. After the 28th shot of the fire, you'll be ready to douse your TV set. | tt0076490 | Stuart Whitman, Woody Strode, Ray Milland, George Dinica, William Berger, Tony Kendall | Italian | Action | NULL | ||
| Oil for the Lamps of China | 1935 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 110 | Dated but absorbing saga (from best-selling book by Alice Tisdale Hobart) about a man who dedicates his life to working in China for big oil company, which shows little regard for him in return. Hutchinson's role, as his dedicated wife, is particularly interesting today in light of her comments about a woman's place in a man's life . . . while the film's foreword (and deus ex machina ending) indicates an uneasiness about attacking powerful oil companies too harshly. | tt0026805 | Pat O'Brien, Josephine Hutchinson, Jean Muir, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Byron, John Eldredge, Henry O'Neill, Donald Crisp, Keye Luke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Okay America | 1932 | Tay Garnett. | ★★½ | 78 | Ayres is good but hopelessly miscast as an embittered, hard-boiled newspaperman in the Walter Winchell vein. Promising at first but doesn't maintain the punch of its opening sequences. Where is Lee Tracy when you really need him. | tt0023291 | Lew Ayres, Maureen O'Sullivan, Louis Calhern, Edward Arnold, Walter Catlett, Alan Dinehart, Henry Armetta. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Okinawa | 1952 | Leigh Jason | ★★ | 67 | Adequate programmer about men on a warship during the Pacific campaign of WW2. | tt0044987 | Pat O'Brien, Cameron Mitchell, James Dobson, Richard Denning, Richard Benedict, Alvy Moore | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Oklahoma Annie | 1952 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 90 | Rambunctious Canova is involved with mopping up corruption in her Western town. | tt0044988 | Judy Canova, John Russell, Grant Withers, Allen Jenkins, Almira Sessions | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Oklahoma Crude | 1973 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★ | 108 | Old-fashioned, nonthink entertainment. Strong-willed, man-hating Dunaway determined to defend lone oil well from pressures of Palance, who represents big oil trust, hires drifter Scott to help her. Scott gives brilliant comic performance in mildly enjoyable film. | tt0070472 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Faye Dunaway, John Mills, Jack Palance, Harvey Jason, Woodrow Parfrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Oklahoma Kid | 1939 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 80 | Cagney's the hero, Bogey's the villain in this sturdy Western about a cowboy seeking redress for the lynching of his father. Classic scene has Cagney singing 'I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard.' | tt0031747 | James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Donald Crisp, Harvey Stephens, Charles Middleton, Ward Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Oklahoma Territory | 1960 | Edward L. Cahn. | ★★ | 67 | Western concentrating on Williams' effort to find actual killer of local Indian agent. | tt0054138 | Bill Williams, Gloria Talbott, Ted de Corsia, Grant Richards, Walter Sande. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Oklahoma Woman | 1956 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 72 | Grade Z Corman quickie Western about ex-con Denning attempting to stay clean but tangling instead with the title character, who is 'queen of the outlaws.' | tt0049570 | Richard Denning, Peggie Castle, Cathy Downs, Touch (Mike) Connors, Tudor Owen, Richard (Dick) Miller | Western | NULL | |||
| Oklahoma! | 1955 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★½ | 145 | Expansive film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's landmark 1943 Broadway musical, filled with timeless songs (and the beautiful voices of MacRae and Jones to sing them) . . . plus a fine supporting cast led by incomparable Grahame as Ado Annie. Enough fine ingredients to make up for overlength of film. Songs include 'Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin' ' and showstopping title tune. This was filmed in two versions, one in Todd-AO and the other in CinemaScope—it's the latter version that's been used for TV and video. In 1994 the Todd-AO negative (made from entirely separate 'takes') was used for laserdisc; many think it's markedly superior. | tt0048445 | Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood, Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame, Eddie Albert, James Whitmore, Gene Nelson, Barbara Lawrence, Jay C. Flippen | Musical, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Oklahoman | 1957 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★½ | 80 | Town doc McCrea tries to keep Indian Pate from getting rooked out of his land. Pretty routine, though Talbott cultists may want to see her play an Indian maiden the same year she had the title role in DAUGHTER OF DR. JEKYLL. Laundry note: Hale wears the same outfit in a disturbingly high number of scenes. | tt0050797 | Joel McCrea, Barbara Hale, Brad Dexter, Gloria Talbott, Verna Felton, Douglas Dick, Michael Pate | Western | NULL | |||
| Old Acquaintance | 1943 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 110 | Well-matched stars of THE OLD MAID are reunited as childhood friends who evolve personal and professional rivalry that lasts 20 years. Davis is noble and Hopkins is bitchy in this entertaining film. John Van Druten and Lenore Coffee scripted, from the former's play. Remade as RICH AND FAMOUS. | tt0036230 | Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Gig Young, John Loder, Dolores Moran, Phillip Reed, Roscoe Karns, Anne Revere | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Old Barn Dance | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 60 | Horse trainers Gene and Smiley aid farmers who are being cheated by a company selling tractors and unwittingly get involved with a radio station owned by that same company. Autry's easygoing, bashful charm is on full display here, along with action and plenty of music. Roy Rogers (using the name Dick Weston) appears as a square-dance caller! | tt0029337 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Joan Valerie, Sammy McKim, Walt Shrum and His Colorado Hillbillies, The Stafford Sisters, The Maple City Four, Ivan Miller, Earle Dwire, Hooper Atchley, Carleton Young, Earle Hodgins. | Western | NULL | |||
| Old Boy | 2003 | Chan-wook Park. | ★★½ | 120 | A man, mysteriously imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years, has only 5 days after release to find his captor and exact revenge. Extremely violent and unpleasant— check out the live octopus this poor guy has to digest in the sushi bar scene; however, Park's action-packed opus will appeal to his faithful fans. Production values are top grade for this genre. Winner of the Grand Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. | tt0364569 | [R] | Min-shik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-Jeong Kang, Dae-han Ji, Dal-su Oh, Byeong-ok Kim. | Korean | Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Old Boyfriends | 1979 | Joan Tewkesbury | 💣 | 103 | Distressing botch of an intriguing idea about woman who seeks out her former lovers in an attempt to analyze her past. Shire is too lightweight to carry the acting load, and Belushi is totally wasted. Written by Paul and Leonard Schrader. | tt0079660 | [R] | Talia Shire, Richard Jordan, Keith Carradine, John Belushi, John Houseman, Buck Henry | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Old Corral | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 57 | Fearing for her life after she witnesses a Chicago gangland murder, Manning travels west and hides out in Turquoise City, where Gene is sheriff. Entertaining B Western is also historically important as one of three Autry films in which Roy Rogers also appears. | tt0028054 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Hope (Irene) Manning, Cornelius Keefe, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Bradford, Oscar and Elmer, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Old Curiosity Shop | 1995 | Kevin Connor | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Picturesque Disney re-creation of Dickens' classic, with newcomer Walsh as Little Nell, Ustinov chewing the scenery as her skinflint grandfather, and Courtenay as moneylender Quilp. John Goldsmith's adaptation was lovingly filmed in and around Dublin. Previously filmed three times in the silent era, then in 1935, and in 1975 (as MR. QUILP). Originally shown in two parts. Made for cable. | tt0108886 | Peter Ustinov, James Fox, Tom Courtenay, Julia McKenzie, Sally Walsh, Adam Blackwood | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Old Dark House | 1932 | James Whale | ★★★½ | 71 | Outstanding melodrama (with tongue-in-cheek) gathers stranded travelers in mysterious Welsh household, where brutish butler Karloff is just one of many strange characters. A real gem, based on J. B. Priestley's Benighted; screenplay by Benn W. Levy and R. C. Sherriff. Remade in England in 1963. | tt0023293 | Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Raymond Massey, Eva Moore | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Old Dark House | 1963 | William Castle | ★★½ | 86 | Uneven blend of comedy and chiller, with Poston at loose ends in eerie mansion. Released theatrically in b&w. Check out the 1932 version instead. | tt0057379 | Robert Morley, Janette Scott, Joyce Grenfell, Tom Poston, Mervyn Johns, Fenella Fielding, Peter Bull | British | Thriller, Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Old Dogs | 2009 | Walt Becker | ★★ | 88 | Hoped-for sparks from the teaming of Travolta and Williams never materialize as the pair play business partners whose big Japanese deal is disrupted when they unexpectedly inherit 7-year-old twins. The stars seem to be having a better time than the audience. Only the youngest kids are going to find this slapstick material (including Green's antics with a lovestruck gorilla) very funny. Notable only as the debut for Travolta's daughter Ella Bleu and Mac's final film appearance. Luis Guzmán appears unbilled. | tt0976238 | [PG] | John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Conner Rayburn, Ella Bleu Travolta, Lori Loughlin, Matt Dillon, Bernie Mac, Ann-Margret, Rita Wilson, Amy Sedaris | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Old Dracula | Vampira | 1974 | Clive Donner | ★½ | 89 | Niven somehow maintains his dignity in this one-joke Dracula spoof that has him extracting samples from the necks of various Playboy Bunnies in search of correct blood type to resurrect his departed wife. British title: VAMPIRA. | tt0071938 | [PG] | David Niven, Teresa Graves, Peter Bayliss, Jennie Linden, Linda Hayden | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL |
| Old English | 1930 | Alfred E. Green. | ★★★ | 86 | Aged shipping magnate Arliss, known as Old English, is deep in debt and wants to help the widow of his illegitimate son with money for her children, whom he loves. Ripe Arliss performance, full of stage business, in this entertaining star vehicle based on a John Galsworthy story and play. | tt0021203 | George Arliss, Doris Lloyd, Harrington Reynolds, Reginald Sheffield, Betty Lawford, Murray Kinnell, Ivan Simpson, Leon Janney, Ethel Griffies. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Old Enough | 1984 | Marisa Silver | ★★½ | 91 | Two adolescent girls from wildly diverse socioeconomic backgrounds forge a tenuous friendship, then try to keep it going through thick and thin. Boyd (the rich one) has infinitely more screen appeal than counterpart Harvest, which further undercuts an already too-mild comedy. Funny subplot about sexy hairdresser who lives in Harvest's building. Written by first-time director Silver. | tt0087837 | [PG] | Sarah Boyd, Rainbow Harvest, Neill Barry, Danny Aiello, Susan Kingsley, Roxanne Hart, Fran Brill, Alyssa Milano, Anne Pitoniak | Drama | NULL | ||
| Old Explorers | 1990 | William Pohland | ★★ | 100 | Two elderly pals— Ferrer and Whitmore— get together once a week to spin tales and embark on flights of fancy. Imagining themselves as famed adventurers (usually African explorer Henry Stanley or Troy archaeologist Henry Schliemann), they recount fictional quests for lost treasures and safaris to mythical lands. Extremely slow pace robs this interesting idea of its potential. | tt0100287 | [PG] | Jose Ferrer, James Whitmore, Jeffrey Gadbois, Caroline Kaiser, William Warfield, Christopher Pohland, Storm Richardson, Dominique Berrand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Old Gringo | 1989 | Luis Puenzo | ★★★ | 119 | A youngish spinster, a fiery young Mexican general, and an agingAmerican writer, Ambrose Bierce, cross paths amid the tumult of Pancho Villa's revolution in 1913. Intense, epic scale drama has its share of flaws, but its rich atmosphere and superlative star performances make it well worth seeing. Director Puenzo and Aida Bortnik wrote the screenplay, from Carlos Fuentes' novel. | tt0098022 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits, Patricio Contreras, Jenny Gago, Jim Metzler, Gabriela Roel, Anne Pitoniak, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr. |
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| Old Hutch | 1936 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★ | 80 | Cute story of shiftless bum discovering $100,000, trying to use it without arousing suspicion. Filmed before in 1920 with Will Rogers as HONEST HUTCH. | tt0028056 | Wallace Beery, Eric Linden, Cecilia Parker, Elizabeth Patterson, Robert McWade | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Old Ironsides | 1926 | James Cruze | ★★★ | 111 | Elaborate, expansive hokum based on the American Merchant Marine's run-ins with Mediterranean pirates in the early 19th century. Full of rollicking, boisterous seamen— and in their midst, a prim leading lady and leading man. Subtle it ain't, but certainly entertaining, especially with Gaylord Carter's rousing organ score on the homevideo release. Boris Karloff has small role as a Saracen sailor. | tt0017226 | Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery, George Bancroft, Charles Hill Mailes, Johnnie Walker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Old Joy | 2006 | Kelly Reichardt | ★★★ | 76 | Two old friends who haven't seen each other for a while set off for a weekend camping trip in Oregon. One (Oldham) is somewhat settled and about to become a father; the other (London) is an aging hippie, still drifting through life. At first their conversations only accentuate how much they've grown apart, but as they reach their destination, the serenity of the setting takes hold. Subtle, graceful mood piece about friendship and the way our environment affects who we are and how we live. Reichardt scripted with Jonathan Raymond (whose original short story was inspired by the photographs of Justine Kurland). | tt0468526 | Will Oldham, Daniel London, Tanya Smith. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea | 1995 | Laurent Heynemann | ★★★ | 95 | Moreau's star presence sparks this entertaining, often outrageous comedy, in which she plays a veteran swindler-hustler-blackmailer named Lady M— an aged, wrinkled version of Barbara Stanwyck's LADY EVE— who becomes the mentor of a good-looking but unrefined young beach boy (Thuillier). Serrault is excellent as always as Moreau's longtime partner-in-crime. | tt0103207 | Jeanne Moreau, Michel Serrault, Luc Thuillier, Geraldine Danon | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Old Maid | 1939 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 95 | Soap opera par excellence based on Zoe Akins play and Edith Wharton novel about rivalry and sacrifice in the Old South, focusing on cousins Davis and Hopkins. Builds to an unusually poignant finale. Exquisitely designed and detailed production. | tt0031750 | Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Jane Bryan, Donald Crisp, Louise Fazenda, James Stephenson, William Lundigan, Jerome Cowan, Rand Brooks, DeWolf (William) Hopper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Old Man | 1997 | John Kent Harrison | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Playwright/ author Horton Foote scripted this adaptation of William Faulkner's short story (originally part of Faulkner's 1939 novel The Wild Palms) about two lost souls— a pregnant farm woman living in the bayous and a convict conscripted to help battle a flood along the Mississippi in 1927. This essentially two-person drama, imaginatively shot on location in the Louisiana swamps, provides its stars with meaty roles that they devour. | tt0119823 | Jeanne Tripplehorn, Arliss Howard, Leo Burmester, Daro Latiolas, Ray McKinnon, Jerry Leggio | Drama | NULL | |||
| Old Man Rhythm | 1935 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 75 | Business tycoon Barbier goes back to college to keep an eye on his playboy son (Rogers) in this light, fluffy musical; songwriter Johnny Mercer appears as one of the students. | tt0026811 | Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, George Barbier, Barbara Kent, Grace Bradley, Betty Grable, Eric Blore | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Old Man and the Sea | 1958 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 86 | Well-intentioned but uneven parable of aging fisherman's daily battle with the elements. Tracy is the whole film, making the most of Hemingway's un-filmic story; Dimitri Tiomkin's expressive score won an Oscar. Remade as a TVM in 1990 with Anthony Quinn. | tt0052027 | Spencer Tracy, Felipe Pazos, Harry Bellaver | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Old San Francisco | 1927 | Alan Crosland. | ★★½ | 88 | Spanish flower Costello is abducted and enslaved by evil Oland, the czar of Chinatown's underworld, who is plotting to steal her family's land. Politically incorrect Asian stereotypes abound in this wildly melodramatic silent (from a story by Darryl Zanuck), with an impressively staged climax depicting the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. | tt0018218 | Dolores Costello, Warner Oland, Charles Emmett Mack, Josef Swickard, John Miljan, Anders Randolf, Sojin, Angelo Rossitto, Anna May Wong. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Old School | 2003 | Todd Phillips | ★★½ | 90 | Three 30-something pals try to rekindle their youth by opening an 'unofficial' fraternity house. That's the hook for this amusing film that never quite takes off, leaving most of the laughs to individual moments involving Ferrell and Vaughn. Andy Dick and Seann William Scott turn up, presumably as a favor to their ROAD TRIP director. | tt0302886 | [R] | Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Pompeo, Juliette Lewis, Leah Remini, Perrey Reeves, Craig Kilborn, Harve Presnell, Snoop Dogg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| An Old Spanish Custom | 1936 | Adrian Brunel | 💣 | 61 | Depressing, bottom-of-the-barrel comedy, with Buster a wealthy yachtsman who docks in Spain and is duped by temptress Tovar. Only for terminally curious Keaton fans. Original title: THE INVADER. | tt0026533 | Buster Keaton, Lupita Tovar, Esme Percy, Lyn Harding, Hilda Moreno | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Old West | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★★★ | 61 | Gene is shot by a rival (Talbot), who sells horses to Davis' stagecoach line, and is nursed back to health by the new town parson (silent-film matinee idol Peters, Sr.). Entertaining Autry Western. | tt0044991 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Lyle Talbot, Louis Jean Heydt, House Peters/Sr., House Peters/Jr., Dick Jones. | Western | NULL | |||
| Old Yeller | 1957 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 83 | Disney's first film about a boy and his dog, from Fred Gipson's popular novel, is still one of the best. Atmospheric re-creation of farm life in 1869 Texas, where Kirk becomes attached to a yellow hunting dog. Sequel: SAVAGE SAM. | tt0050798 | Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, Jeff York, Beverly Washburn, Chuck Connors | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Old-Fashioned Way | 1934 | William Beaudine | ★★★½ | 74 | Fields is in fine form managing troupe of old-time melodrama The Drunkard, encountering various troubles as they travel from town to town. Baby LeRoy has memorable scene throwing W. C.'s watch into a jar of molasses; also contains Fields' classic juggling routine. | tt0025590 | W. C. Fields, Judith Allen, Joe Morrison, Baby LeRoy, Jack Mulhall, Oscar Apfel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Oldest Profession | 1967 | Franco Indovina, Mauro Bolognini, Philippe De Broca, Michel Pfleghar, Claude Autant-Lara, Jean-Luc Godard | ★½ | 97 | Totally unfunny six-part story of prostitution through the ages. Original French running time: 115m. | tt0062137 | Elsa Martinelli, Jeanne Moreau, Raquel Welch, Anna Karina, France Anglade, Jean-Pierre Léaud | French-German-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Oleanna | 1994 | David Mamet | ★★ | 89 | Maddeningly uneven two-character drama about a frustrated, self-involved male professor whose connection with a troubled, vulnerable female student leads to dire consequences. Potentially dynamic material suffers from too much staginess and dramatic obviousness. Scripted by Mamet, based on his play. | tt0110722 | William H. Macy, Debra Eisenstadt |
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NULL | |||
| Oliver & Company | 1988 | George Scribner | ★★½ | 72 | Free adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist in the cartoon world: homeless kitten falls in with the jaunty Dodger and his canine pals, who work for Fagin, a human nebbish in debt to the heartless Sikes. Dodger (Joel) has the film's best song, 'Why Should I Worry?'— but an excitable Chihuahua voiced by Marin provides the biggest laughs. Disney's grittiest (grungiest?) animated feature is no classic, but it's likeable enough. | tt0095776 | [G] | Voices of Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Dom DeLuise, Taurean Blacque, Robert Loggia, Bette Midler, Natalie Gregory | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Oliver Twist | 1922 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 77 | Entertaining silent version of the Charles Dickens classic, geared as a vehicle for Coogan, who was then at the height of his juvenile stardom. Chaney, that master of makeup, is ideally cast as Fagin. | tt0013450 | Jackie Coogan, Lon Chaney, Gladys Brockwell, George Siegmann, Esther Ralston | Drama | NULL | |||
| Oliver Twist | 1933 | William Cowen | ★★ | 77 | Superficial, low-budget version of Dickens' story is mediocre by any standards, but pales particularly in comparison to the later British classic. | tt0024405 | Dickie Moore, Irving Pichel, William 'Stage' Boyd, Doris Lloyd, Barbara Kent | Drama | NULL | |||
| Oliver Twist | 1948 | David Lean | ★★★★ | 105 | Superlative realization of Dickens tale of ill-treated London waif involved with arch-fiend Fagin (Guinness) and his youthful gang, headed by the Artful Dodger (Newley). Later musicalized as OLIVER! Original British running time: 116m. | tt0040662 | Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, John Howard Davies, Kay Walsh, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Newley, Henry Stephenson | British | Adventure, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Oliver Twist | 2005 | Roman Polanski | ★★★ | 130 | Stark, literate adaptation (by Ronald Harwood) of the Charles Dickens classic, spotlighting young, orphaned Oliver (Clark) and his escapades among the criminal element of Victorian London. Polanski offers a sobering portrait of the muck and grime that engulfs the poor in any era. Well done, but still no match for David Lean's 1948 masterpiece. | tt0380599 | [PG-13] | Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark, Leanne Rowe, Mark Strong, Jamie Foreman, Harry Eden, Edward Hardwicke, Ian McNeice, Gillian Hanna, Alun Armstrong | British-French-Czech-Italian | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Oliver Twist | 1982 | Clive Donner | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Full-bodied Fagin by George C. paces this umpteenth version of the Dickens classic, from James Goldman's script. Remade again for TV in 1997 with Richard Dreyfuss. | tt0084438 | George C. Scott, Tim Curry, Michael Hordern, Timothy West, Eileen Atkins, Cherie Lunghi, Richard Charles, Lysette Anthony | Drama | NULL | |||
| Oliver! | 1968 | Carol Reed | ★★★½ | 153 | Fine film of Lionel Bart's hit stage musical of Dickens' Oliver Twist about young boy (Lester) swept into gang of youthful thieves led by scurrilous Fagin (Moody). Colorful atmosphere; rousing score including 'Consider Yourself,' 'As Long as He Needs Me.' Six Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Art Direction, Scoring (John Green), and a special prize to Onna White for her spirited choreography. | tt0063385 | [G] | Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Shani Wallis, Mark Lester, Jack Wild, Harry Secombe, Hugh Griffith, Sheila White | British | Family, Musical | NULL | |
| Oliver's Story | 1978 | John Korty | ★½ | 92 | Vapid sequel to LOVE STORY pits money against money this time around, as O'Neal romances heiress to Bonwit Teller fortune. | tt0078024 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Candice Bergen, Nicola Pagett, Edward Binns, Ray Milland, Swoosie Kurtz, Charles Haid, Kenneth McMillan, Josef Sommer | Romance | NULL | ||
| Olivier Olivier | 1992 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★½ | 110 | Exceptional, fact-based account of a country couple whose young son mysteriously disappears. Six years later he 'reappears,' but is no longer the special child who was a joy to his family; now he's a Parisian street hustler who claims to have forgotten his childhood. A fascinating film, with characters who prove to be far more intricate than they first appear. Holland also scripted. | tt0102583 | [R] | Francois Cluzet, Brigitte Rouan, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Gregoire Colin, Marina Golovine, Emmanuel Morozof, Faye Gatteau, Frederick Quiring | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Olly, Olly, Oxen Free | The Great Balloon Adventure | 1978 | Richard A. Colla | ★★ | 83 | Hepburn plays a colorful junk dealer who befriends two young boys and helps them realize their dream of hot-air ballooning. Kate's always worth watching, but except for airborne scenes, this film is nothing special. Aka THE GREAT BALLOON ADVENTURE. | tt0078025 | [G] | Katharine Hepburn, Kevin McKenzie, Dennis Dimster, Peter Kilman | Adventure | NULL | |
| Olympia | 1936 | Leni Riefenstahl | ★★★★ | 220 | Two-part record of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, highlighted by truly eyepopping cinematography, camera movement and editing. Of course, it's all supposed to be a glorification of the Nazi state. Various edited versions exist (some of which omit all footage of Hitler, who appears throughout the original print). | tt0030522 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Omaha Trail | 1942 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★½ | 62 | Satisfying actioner concerning Craig's attempts to lay railroad tracks in the Old West while contending with ruthless ox train business tycoon Jagger and marauding Indians. A couple of songs are thrown in for good measure, one of them written by director Buzzell. | tt0035149 | James Craig, Pamela Blake, Dean Jagger, Edward Ellis, Chill Wills, Donald Meek, Howard Da Silva, Henry (Harry) Morgan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Omar Khayyam | 1957 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 101 | Childish but spirited costumer set in medieval Persia; cast defeated by juvenile script. | tt0050799 | Cornel Wilde, Debra Paget, John Derek, Raymond Massey, Michael Rennie, Yma Sumac, Sebastian Cabot | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Omega Code | 1999 | Rob Marcarelli | ★½ | 99 | TV motivational guru Van Dien gets involved with wealthy businessman York, whose eventual plans to dominate the world are tied in with secret messages encoded in the Torah. Financed by televangelist Paul Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, film did grass-roots box-office business until rank-and-file filmgoers saw it for what it was: glorified direct-to-video cheese. Followed in 2001 by MEGIDDO. | tt0203408 | [PG-13] | Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Catherine Oxenberg, Michael Ironside, Jan Triska, Gregory Wagrowski | Adventure, Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Omega Man | 1971 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 98 | Visually striking but unsatisfying second filming of Richard Matheson's sci-fi thriller I Am Legend. Heston is under siege by a race of zombies spawned by apocalyptic germ warfare. Heston is superior to Vincent Price (who had role in THE LAST MAN ON EARTH). | tt0067525 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash, Anthony Zerbe, Paul Koslo, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Eric Laneuville | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Omega Syndrome | 1987 | Joseph Manduke | ★★ | 88 | Standard-issue tale of down-and-out reporter Wahl who whips into action (with Army buddy DiCenzo) when his teenage daughter (Eggert) is kidnapped by right-wing terrorists. | tt0093671 | [R] | Ken Wahl, George DiCenzo, Doug McClure, Nicole Eggert | Action | NULL | ||
| The Omen | 1976 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 111 | Effective but sensationalistic horror piece on the coming of the 'Antichrist,' personified in young son of Peck and Remick, Americans living in England. Discreet use of gore and a now-famous decapitation, for those who like that kind of thing. Jerry Goldsmith's score won an Oscar. Followed by three sequels beginning with DAMIEN— OMEN II. | tt0075005 | [R] | Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Billie Whitelaw, David Warner, Harvey Stephens, Patrick Troughton, Leo McKern | Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Omen | 2006 | John Moore | ★★ | 110 | Plodding remake finds a stone-faced Schreiber in Gregory Peck's role of an American diplomat who substitutes an orphan for his own stillborn baby without telling his wife, slowly coming to the realization that the child is the Antichrist. Virtually identical copy of the 1976 horror hit (David Seltzer wrote the script for both versions), this polished but pointless retread merely adds gory CGI effects and tasteless references to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other contemporary disasters. Farrow contributes the few genuinely scary moments as Damien's demonic nanny. | tt0466909 | [R] | Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Gambon, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Marshall Cupp, Amy Huck | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| On Again- Off Again | 1937 | Edward Cline. | ★½ | 68 | W&W are feuding operators of a pill factory who agree to settle their differences by having a wrestling match, with the winner taking control of the business and the loser becoming his servant for a year. One of the team's all-time worst. | tt0029343 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Marjorie Lord, Patricia Wilder, Esther Muir, Paul Harvey, Russell Hicks, George Meeker, Jack Carson. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| On Any Sunday | 1971 | Bruce Brown | ★★★ | 91 | Fine documentary on many aspects of motorcycling by Bruce Brown of ENDLESS SUMMER fame. Followed by a sequel. Followed in 2000 by ON ANY SUNDAY REVISITED. | tt0067527 | [G] | Steve McQueen, Mert Lawwill, Malcolm Smith | Documentary | NULL | ||
| On Any Sunday II | 1981 | Ed Forsyth, Don Shoemaker | ★★ | 90 | Undistinguished sequel to ON ANY SUNDAY, documenting the exploits of championship motorcyclists. For cycle fans only. | tt0158832 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| On Approval | 1943 | Clive Brook | ★★★ | 80 | Minor British gem showcasing the hilarious Bea Lillie as woman who decides to give her prospective husband a trial run, with unexpected results. Drawing-room comedy par excellence. Leading-man Brook also directed, produced, and cowrote script (from Frederick Lonsdale's play)— the only time he ever worked behind the camera! | tt0037149 | Beatrice Lillie, Clive Brook, Googie Withers, Roland Culver | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| On Borrowed Time | 1939 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★★ | 99 | Engrossing fable of Death, Mr. Brink (Hardwicke), coming for grandpa Barrymore, finding himself trapped in tree by Lionel and grandson Bobs Watson. Engaging whimsy from the play by Lawrence Edward Watkin. | tt0031754 | Lionel Barrymore, Cedric Hardwicke, Beulah Bondi, Una Merkel, Ian Wolfe, Phillip Terry, Eily Malyon | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| On Dangerous Ground | 1952 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 82 | Effective mood-piece with hardened city cop Ryan softened by blind-girl Lupino, whose brother is involved in rural manhunt. Bernard Herrmann's score was reportedly his favorite work. Produced by John Houseman. | tt0043879 | Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper, Anthony Ross, Ed Begley, Ian Wolfe, Cleo Moore, Olive Carey | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| On Deadly Ground | 1994 | Steven Seagal | ★½ | 101 | After the critical/popular success of UNDER SIEGE, Seagal was allowed to direct this fast-fader about the raping of Alaska's interior by an oil company run by evil Caine. Spiritual mumbo-jumbo halfway through looks like an outtake from THE DOORS, and the star's anticlimactic final speech (after the obligatory wrist-snapping) had fans bolting for the exits. Caine looks as if he's undergone cosmetic surgery by Dwight Frye. | tt0110725 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, Shari Shattuck, Billy Bob Thornton | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| On Dress Parade | 1939 | William Clemens | ★★ | 62 | Last of the official Dead End Kids movies sends the young punks off to military school where they're (unconvincingly) turned into squeaky-clean, well-behaved little cadets. Simple programmer; also known as THE DEAD END KIDS ON DRESS PARADE. | tt0031012 | Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly, Frankie Thomas, Selmer Jackson, John Litel | Drama | NULL | |||
| On Golden Pond | 1981 | Mark Rydell | ★★★ | 109 | Fonda, in his last feature, is no less than brilliant as crochety retired professor Norman Thayer, Jr., angry at being 80 years old and scared of losing his faculties. Hepburn fine as his devoted, all-knowing wife who shares his summers at Maine lakefront home; Jane is his alienated daughter. Sometimes simplistic comedy-drama, scripted by Ernest Thompson from his play, gets a heavy dose of Star Quality. Fonda, Hepburn, and writer Thompson all won Academy Awards for their work. Remade for TV in 2001. | tt0082846 | [PG] | Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Doug McKeon, Dabney Coleman, William Lanteau | Drama | NULL | ||
| On Guard | Le Bossu | 1997 | Philippe de Broca | ★★★ | 128 | A faithful swordsman rescues an infant princess from the grasp of her sinister relative; the baby's father was also the swordsman's mentor. Deliciously old-fashioned popcorn movie full of derring-do, and set in the France of Louis XIV. Auteuil is well cast as the hero; Errol Flynn would be proud. Originally titled LE BOSSU, and filmed several times before. Opened in the U.S. in 2002. | tt0118756 | Daniel Auteuil, Fabrice Luchini, Vincent Perez, Marie Gillain, Yann Collette, Jean-François Stévenin, Didier Pain, Philippe Noiret | French-German | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | Peter R. Hunt. | ★★★½ | 140 | Usual globe-hopping Bond vs. Blofeld plot with novel twist: agent Bond ends up marrying Italian contessa (Rigg)! Lazenby, first non-Connery Bond, is OK, but incredible action sequences take first chair; some 007 fans consider this the best of the series. | tt0064757 | [M] | George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Gabriele Ferzetti, Telly Savalas, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Catharina Von Schell (Catherine Schell), Bessie Love, Joanna Lumley. | British | Action, Romance, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| On Moonlight Bay | 1951 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 95 | Turn-of-the-century, folksy musical based on Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories with tomboy (Day) and next door neighbor (MacRae) the wholesome young lovers. Sequel: BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON. | tt0043880 | Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray, Mary Wickes, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| On My Own | 1992 | Antonio Tibaldi | ★★★½ | 93 | Complex, deeply felt, hauntingly powerful coming-of-age drama about 15-year-old Ferguson, who attends a boys' prep school. His parents are divorced; he's physically and emotionally distanced from his father, and learns that his mother (Davis, who is superb) is a schizophrenic. The scenario details how he is affected by her illness, her personality, and her fate. | tt0105052 | Judy Davis, Matthew Ferguson, David McIlwraith, Nicolas Van Burek, Michele Melega, Colin Fox, Jan Rubes | Italian-Canadian-Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who . . . | The Chastity Belt | 1968 | Pasquale Festa Campanile | 💣 | 93 | Weak comedy about Vitti's chastity belt was held back from release for a long time, and no wonder. Aka THE CHASTITY BELT. | tt0064167 | [R] | Tony Curtis, Monica Vitti, Hugh Griffith, John Richardson, Ivo Garrani, Nino Castelnuovo | Italian | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL |
| On Our Merry Way | 1948 | King Vidor, Leslie Fenton | ★★ | 107 | Silly multi-episode comedy, with a buoyant Meredith posing as an inquiring reporter and asking people what impact a baby has had on their life. Strained slapstick throughout. Protracted sequence, with Stewart and Fonda as laconic musician pals, was written by John O'Hara. Aka A MIRACLE CAN HAPPEN. | tt0040664 | Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Fred MacMurray, William Demarest, Dorothy Lamour, Victor Moore, Harry James, Eduardo Ciannelli, Dorothy Ford, Hugh Herbert | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| On Stage Everybody | 1945 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 65 | Run-of-the-mill Universal musical, with frantic Oakie helping to put on the big radio variety program. | tt0037959 |
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Jack Oakie, Peggy Ryan, Otto Kruger, Julie London, Wallace Ford, King Sisters | Musical | NULL | ||
| On Top of Old Smoky | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 59 | Optician and rock collector Rhodes harasses Davis because her land contains valuable isinglass. Enter Gene . . . Standard fare, with the ending a particular letdown. Gene sings the title tune and duets with Smiley on Hank Williams' 'I Hang My Head and Cry.' | tt0046141 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, Grandon Rhodes, Sheila Ryan, Kenne Duncan, Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| On Trial | 1954 | Julien Duvivier | ★★ | 70 | Chabassol, son of D.A. Vanel, investigates conviction of Gelin, discovering disparity between justice and truth; well-intentioned film gone astray. | tt0045478 | Madeleine Robinson, Daniel Gelin, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Charles Vanel, Anton Walbrook, Jacques Chabassol | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| On Valentine's Day | Story of a Marriage | 1986 | Ken Harrison | ★★½ | 106 | Literate but unmemorable account of the various goings-on in a small Texas town in 1917. Interesting characterizations, good performances, but doesn't add up to much. Semiautobiographical screenplay by Horton Foote. Followed by CONVICTS; both are prequels to 1918. Produced for PBS's American Playhouse, where it was telecast (along with 1918) as STORY OF A MARRIAGE. | tt0091676 | [PG] | William Converse-Roberts, Hallie Foote, Michael Higgins, Steven Hill, Rochelle Oliver, Richard Jenkins, Carol Goodheart, Horton Foote/Jr., Matthew Broderick | Drama | NULL | |
| On With the Show | 1929 | Alan Crosland. | ★½ | 103 | Warner Bros.' answer to MGM's BROADWAY MELODY depicts the troubled out-of-town tryouts of Broadway-bound The Phantom Sweetheart. Clunky backstage musical in two-color Technicolor boasts a leading lady who doesn't do her own singing or dancing. Waters introduces 'Am I Blue,' but we also have to listen to 'Lift the Juleps to Your Two Lips. | tt0020238 | Betty Compson, Arthur Lake, Sally O'Neil, Joe E. Brown, Louise Fazenda, Ethel Waters, William Bakewell, Sam Hardy, Lee Moran, Wheeler Oakman. | Musical | NULL | |||
| On Your Toes | 1939 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 94 | Long-winded backstage story about jealousy and attempted murder has little to do with George Abbott's Broadway hit; even the Rodgers and Hart songs are gone, relegated to background music! Fortunately, Zorina's dancing of 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue' remains, with choreography by George Balanchine. | tt0031756 | Vera Zorina, Eddie Albert, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale/Sr., James Gleason, Donald O'Connor | Musical | NULL | |||
| On a Clear Day | 2005 | Gaby Dellal | ★★★ | 99 | A bluff working man in his 50s, just fired from the shipyard where he's worked for 36 years, comes up with a crazy scheme to swim the English Channel. Haunted by the death of one son, distant from his other boy, this adventure becomes a metaphor for everyone around him to take charge of their lives. A little obvious in its message (and more than a bit reminiscent of THE FULL MONTY), but well done. Mullan is perfect in the lead. | tt0410400 | [PG-13] | Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn, Sean McGinley, Jamie Sives, Billy Boyd, Ron Cook, Jodhi May, Benedict Wong, Anne-Marie Timoney | British | Drama | NULL | |
| On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | 1970 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 129 | Colorful entertainment from Alan Jay Lerner-Burton Lane show about girl (Streisand) whose psychiatrist (Montand) discovers that she lived a former life, in 19th-century England. Sumptuous flashback scenes outclass fragmented modern-day plot, much of it apparently left on cutting-room floor. Glossy but never involving. | tt0066181 | [G] | Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand, Bob Newhart, Larry Blyden, Simon Oakland, Jack Nicholson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| On an Island With You | 1948 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 107 | Splashy musical with navy man Lawford working as technical advisor on movie star Williams' latest film; he's hopelessly in love with her, but she's engaged to costar Montalban. Durante easily steals the show. | tt0040665 | Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalban, Jimmy Durante, Cyd Charisse, Xavier Cugat, Leon Ames, Marie Windsor | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| On the Avenue | 1937 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 89 | Tasteful, intelligent musical of socialite Carroll getting involved with stage star Powell. One good Irving Berlin song after another: 'I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,' 'This Year's Kisses,' 'Let's Go Slumming,' 'The Girl on the Police Gazette.' | tt0029345 | Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, Alice Faye, Ritz Brothers, Alan Mowbray, Billy Gilbert, Cora Witherspoon, Joan Davis, Sig Rumann | Musical | NULL | |||
| On the Beach | 1959 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★★ | 133 | Thoughtful version of Nevil Shute's novel about Australians awaiting effects of nuclear fallout from explosion that has depopulated the rest of the world. Good performances by all, including Astaire in his first dramatic role. Screenplay by John Paxton. Remade for cable TV in 2000. | tt0053137 | Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, John Tate, Guy Doleman | Drama | NULL | |||
| On the Beat | 1962 | Robert Asher | ★★½ | 105 | Overly cute comedy with Wisdom a dumb-bunny helping Scotland Yard round up a criminal gang; too many pat routines and stereotyped performances. | tt0056307 |
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Norman Wisdom, Jennifer Jayne, Raymond Huntley, David Lodge | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| On the Double | 1961 | Melville Shavelson | ★★★ | 92 | Danny's resemblance to English general makes him valuable as a WW2 spy. At one point he does a Marlene Dietrich imitation! Repeats dual-identity gimmick from Kaye's earlier ON THE RIVIERA with equally entertaining results. | tt0055253 | Danny Kaye, Dana Wynter, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Margaret Rutherford, Diana Dors | Comedy | NULL | |||
| On the Edge | 1985 | Rob Nilsson | ★★ | 92 | Well-meaning but predictable, ultimately disappointing tale of middle-aged Dern, who attempts to redeem his life by competing in a grueling footrace. Available in unrated version. | tt0091677 | [PG-13] | Bruce Dern, Bill Bailey, Jim Haynie, John Marley, Pam Grier | Drama | NULL | ||
| On the Isle of Samoa | 1950 | William Berke. | ★½ | 65 | Sloppy little story of Hall finding love with native girl, inspiring him to clear up his shady past. | tt0042805 | Jon Hall, Susan Cabot, Raymond Greenleaf, Henry Marco. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| On the Line | 2001 | Eric Bross | ★½ | 85 | Nice guy meets a cute girl on the Chicago el, fails to get her name or phone number, then mounts a campaign to find her. Intended to showcase *NSYNC's Bass, who's likable enough, but this is a simplistic five-minute concept stretched to feature length. (In fact, it's a remake of a short subject by the same writers.) Bass' onscreen friends (including *NSYNC's Fatone) are obnoxious; even Stiller and Foley flounder with unfunny material. Bass executive-produced the film. | tt0279286 | [PG] | Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Dave Foley, Jerry Stiller, GQ (Gregory Qayium), James Bulliard, Tamala Jones, Richie Sambora, Dan Montgomery, Al Green | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| On the Loose | 1951 | Charles Lederer | ★½ | 78 | Lurid melodrama of teen Evans, who's alienated from her self-absorbed parents and finds herself awash in adolescent angst. Pretty awful, but intriguing as a relic of its era. | tt0043881 | Joan Evans, Melvyn Douglas, Lynn Bari, Robert Arthur, Hugh O'Brian | Drama | NULL | |||
| On the Nickel | 1980 | Ralph Waite | ★★½ | 96 | Odd, sentimental film about bums Moffat and Waite and their experiences on L.A.'s skid row. Directed, scripted, and produced by Waite, light years away from The Waltons. | tt0081277 | [R] | Donald Moffat, Ralph Waite, Penelope Allen, Hal Williams, Jack Kehoe | Drama | NULL | ||
| On the Old Spanish Trail | 1947 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 75 | Roy joins the Sons' destitute tent show to ensure its success and comes up against the show's manager (McGraw), who is secretly running a robbery ring. Fairly entertaining, with flair from Guízar and a wild, stunt-laden stagecoach chase. | tt0039678 | Roy Rogers, Tito Guízar, Jane Frazee, Andy Devine, Estelita Rodriguez, Charles McGraw, Fred Graham, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| On the Right Track | 1981 | Lee Philips | ★★½ | 98 | Coleman is a lovable 10-year-old shoeshine boy who lives out of a train station locker and predicts horserace winners like the hero of THREE MEN ON A HORSE; Stapleton is on hand as a bag lady. Coleman's theatrical starring debut is hardly feature-film material. | tt0082849 | [PG] | Gary Coleman, Lisa Eilbacher, Michael Lembeck, Norman Fell, Maureen Stapleton, Bill Russell, Herb Edelman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| On the Riviera | 1951 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 90 | Bouncy musicomedy with Danny in dual role as entertainer and French military hero. 'Ballin' the Jack,' other songs in lively film. Gwen Verdon is one of chorus girls. Remake of Maurice Chevalier's FOLIES BERGERE. | tt0043882 | Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet, Marcel Dalio, Jean Murat | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| On the Ropes | 1999 | Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgen | ★★★½ | 94 | Compelling documentary about a former boxer named Harry Keitt who works with young people at a Brooklyn gym, hoping to give them focus and purpose as well as a possible career after they're showcased at the Golden Gloves. The film follows three of his protégés— a promising young woman who's been dealt a bad hand, a cocky young man who thinks he knows the answers, and a real comer who's too easily seduced by the lure of fame and fortune. Rich, real, often heartbreaking . . . a must-see. | tt0181733 | Drama, Documentary | NULL | ||||
| On the Threshold of Space | 1956 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 98 | Capable cast merely bridges the span between sequences of astronaut endurance tests and other space-flight maneuvers. | tt0049571 | Guy Madison, Virginia Leith, John Hodiak, Dean Jagger, Warren Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| On the Town | 1949 | Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen | ★★★★ | 98 | Three sailors have 24 hours to take in the sights and sounds of N.Y.C. Exuberant MGM musical, innovatively shot on location all over the City, isn't much in terms of plot and discards some of the best songs from the Betty Comden-Adolph Green-Leonard Bernstein show on which it's based . . . but it's still terrific entertainment. Highlight: 'New York, New York.' Oscar winner for Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton's musical scoring. An impressive directing debut for Kelly and Donen. | tt0041716 | Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Vera-Ellen, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, Alice Pearce, Florence Bates | Musical | NULL | |||
| On the Waterfront | 1954 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 108 | Budd Schulberg's unflinching account of N.Y.C. harbor unions (suggested by articles by Malcolm Johnson), with Brando unforgettable as misfit, Steiger his crafty brother, Cobb his waterfront boss, and Saint the girl he loves. That classic scene in the back of a taxicab is just as moving as ever. Winner of eight Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Actor (Brando), Supporting Actress (Saint), Story & Screenplay, Cinematography (Boris Kaufman), Art Direction-Set Decoration (Richard Day), and Editing (Gene Milford). Leonard Bernstein's music is another major asset. Film debuts of Saint, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, and Pat Hingle. Adapted as a Broadway show decades later. | tt0047296 | Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, Eva Marie Saint, Leif Erickson, Tony Galento, John Hamilton, Nehemiah Persoff | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| On the Yard | 1979 | Raphael D. Silver | ★★ | 102 | Convict Heard makes a fatal mistake by mixing it up with jailhouse kingpin Waites. So-so prison picture seems hardly worth the effort, though Kellin is memorable as an aging loser trying to get paroled. | tt0079665 | [R] | John Heard, Thomas D. Waites, Mike Kellin, Richard Bright, Joe Grifasi, Lane Smith |
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| Once | 2007 | John Carney | ★★★ | 86 | Dublin busker (Hansard) performs his own compositions every night and attracts the attention of a like-minded woman (Iglova) who's also quite talented. The songs they sing-on the street, in rehearsal, and in recording studios-reflect the development of their relationship over one week's time. Disarming, intimate, and utterly winning, this plays more like a cinema vérité romance than a musical, yet that's what it is. Hansard and Iglova actually composed all the songs they perform. | tt0907657 | [R] | Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová. | Irish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Once Around | 1991 | Lasse Hallström | ★★½ | 115 | Repressed Bostonian Hunter is swept off her feet by amorous (and obnoxious) supersalesman Dreyfuss, who immediately alienates her close-knit family, and puts her in the center of an emotional tug-of-war. Malia Scotch Marmo's script embraces both offbeat romantic comedy and intense family drama, some of it extremely moving, some of it off-base. As an acting showcase, however, it's superb. Coproduced by costar Dunne; Hallström's U.S. directorial debut. | tt0102590 | [R] | Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Gena Rowlands, Laura San Giacomo, Roxanne Hart, Danton Stone, Tim Guinee, Greg Germann, Griffin Dunne | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Once Before I Die | 1965 | John Derek | ★★½ | 97 | Brutal, offbeat story of band of American soldiers in Philippines during WW2, trying to survive Japanese attack. Andress is only woman in group, and you can guess the rest. | tt0059539 | Ursula Andress, John Derek, Rod Lauren, Richard Jaeckel, Ron Ely | War | NULL | |||
| Once Bitten | 1985 | Howard Storm | 💣 | 93 | Inept comedy about vampiress (Hutton) who intrudes on amorous pursuits of some teenagers because she needs the blood of a virgin to maintain her youthful glow. Pretty anemic; Carrey is very restrained. | tt0089730 | [PG-13] | Lauren Hutton, Jim Carrey, Karen Kopins, Cleavon Little, Thomas Ballatore, Skip Lackey | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Once Fallen | 2010 | Ash Adams | ★ | 92 | Hackneyed, high-testosterone account of Presley, who’s completing a prison stretch on a drug rap. Upon his release, he returns to his blue-collar California harbor town, where he’s drawn into a racially tinged drug war. Just awful, despite the pedigree of its cast. Adams also scripted. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1087524 | [R] | Brian Presley, Taraji P. Henson, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Peter Weller, Ash Adams, Chad Lindberg, Sharon Gless, Alison Eastwood, Peter Greene, Keegan Thomas, Rance Howard, Steve Railsback, Antonio Fargas | Crime | NULL | ||
| Once In a Lifetime | 1932 | Russell Mack | ★★★ | 75 | Stagebound but still hilarious adaptation of Kaufman-Hart play about a trio of connivers who take advantage of Hollywood's state of panic when talkies arrive by pretending to be vocal coaches. Oakie is great as a simpleton, Ratoff in his element as a bombastic studio chief. | tt0023302 | Jack Oakie, Sidney Fox, Aline MacMahon, Russell Hopton, ZaSu Pitts, Louise Fazenda, Onslow Stevens, Gregory Ratoff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Once More My Darling | 1949 | Robert Montgomery | ★★½ | 94 | Satisfying comedy of young girl infatuated with middle-aged movie star. | tt0041717 | Robert Montgomery, Ann Blyth, Jane Cowl, Taylor Holmes, Charles McGraw | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Once More, With Feeling | 1960 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 92 | Despite sparkling Kendall (her last film) as musical conductor Brynner's dissatisfied wife, this marital sex comedy fizzles. | tt0054141 | Yul Brynner, Kay Kendall, Maxwell Shaw, Mervyn Johns | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Once Upon A Scoundrel | 1973 | George Schaefer | ★★½ | 90 | Minor but enjoyable comedy about selfish Mexican land baron Mostel, who schemes to frame the fiancé of the young girl he craves, and how he is hoodwinked into 'dying' by Jurado. | tt0070479 | [G] | Zero Mostel, Katy Jurado, Titos Vandis, Priscilla Garcia, A Martinez | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Crime | 1992 | Eugene Levy | ★½ | 94 | One of the loudest— and dumbest— comedies of the early '90s, about a group of strangers traveling through Europe who get mixed up with a murder and a missing dachshund. The real crime is the waste of a good cast. Directed by SCTV performer Levy. Based on a forgettable 1964 film, AND SUDDENLY IT'S MURDER! | tt0101625 | [PG] | John Candy, James Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, Sean Young, Richard Lewis, Ornella Muti, Giancarlo Giannini, George Hamilton, Joss Ackland, Elsa Martinelli | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Forest | 1993 | Charles Grosvenor | ★★ | 80 | Pro-social animated tale of young 'furlings' who leave their forest home to find a cure for a friend who's become ill breathing fumes from a chemical spill. Message of environmental awareness is imparted in a steady story with typically cute characters, but there's nothing terribly compelling about the film. | tt0107745 | [G] | Voices of Michael Crawford, Ben Vereen, Ellen Blain, Ben Gregory, Paige Gosney, Elisabeth Moss, Janet Waldo, Susan Silo | Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Honeymoon | 1942 | Leo McCarey | ★★½ | 117 | Strange but intriguing curio with status-seeking ex-burlesque queen Rogers marrying secret Nazi bigwig Slezak . . . and radio commentator Grant coming to her rescue. Some boring stretches do it in; however, the scenes in which the star duo are mistaken for Jews and almost sent to a concentration camp are fascinating. | tt0035151 | Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, Walter Slezak, Albert Dekker, Albert Bassermann, Ferike Boros, Harry Shannon, Hans Conried | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Once Upon a Horse | 1958 | Hal Kanter | ★★½ | 85 | Oddball Western spoof runs hot and cold, with some nutty gags and enough spark to make it worth watching. Old-time Western stars Bob Steele, Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene, Bob Livingston appear briefly as themselves. | tt0052029 | Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Martha Hyer, Leif Erickson, Nita Talbot, John McGiver, David Burns, James Gleason | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Once Upon a Time | 1944 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 89 | Amusing comedy-fantasy of entrepreneur Grant promoting a dancing caterpillar; trivial fun. Based on a Norman Corwin radio play, from Lucille Fletcher short story. | tt0037150 | Cary Grant, Janet Blair, James Gleason, Ted Donaldson, Art Baker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Once Upon a Time . . . When We Were Colored | 1996 | Tim Reid | ★★½ | 111 | Well-meaning saga of a boy's childhood in a tight-knit black community on the Mississippi Delta, spanning the 1940s to the early '60s. Sometimes suffers from schmaltz and heavyhanded symbolism, but there are some lovely moments. Freeman and Roundtree are standouts. | tt0114039 | [PG] | Al Freeman/Jr., Phylicia Rashad, Paula Kelly, Leon, Richard Roundtree, Salli Richardson, Isaac Hayes, Polly Bergen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Time in America | 1984 | Sergio Leone | ★★★ | 139 | Long, engrossing homage to the gangster film, following the rise and fall of Jewish childhood pals on N.Y.C.'s Lower East Side. Shorn of 88m. for U.S. release, story ceases to make sense at several points, and characters appear and disappear with amazing suddenness. Even so, Leone's feel for this genre, compelling performances by De Niro and Woods, and stunning art direction make this well worth watching. Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods. Connelly's feature film debut. Complete 227m. version is quite a different film— and not without flaws of its own. (Even this long version is minus several minutes of violent footage— notably from a key rape sequence— which exist in European prints.) Director's cut runs 229m. Originally released in U.S. at 139m. Shown on network TV at 192m. | tt0087843 | [R] | Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Larry Rapp, William Forsythe, James Hayden, Treat Williams, Darlanne Fleugel, Burt Young, Joe Pesci, Danny Aiello, Jennifer Connelly, Brian Bloom, James Russo, T. Scott Coffey | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Time in China | 1991 | Tsui Hark | ★★★ | 134 | Jet Li became a Hong Kong superstar in this influential martial-arts epic about legendary 19th-century Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung (the subject of over 100 Chinese movies, including Jackie Chan's DRUNKEN MASTER), a Confucian healer and kung fu master who clashes with Western interlopers as well as local criminal gangs. Crude dialogue and silly comic relief take backseat to superbly choreographed fight sequences showcasing Li's balletic, gravity-defying skills, notably in climactic duel utilizing giant ladders. Also released in a 100m. dubbed version. Followed by five sequels. | tt0103285 | [R] | Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Kent Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Yan Yee-Kwan | Hong Kong | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Once Upon a Time in Mexico | 2003 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★ | 101 | Rodriguez brings back the guitar-toting gunfighter character from EL MARIACHI, reprised by Banderas in DESPERADO, with a bigger budget (for stuntmen and explosions, one presumes) but not much else. Incoherent script has Banderas involved in a coup d'état, but so many characters are double-crossing each other it's hard to keep track (or care), although Depp is fun to watch as a corrupt CIA agent. Shot on high-definition video by Rodriguez, who also wrote, scored, edited, production designed, and supervised the special effects! | tt0285823 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique Iglesias, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades, Willem Dafoe, Gerardo Vigil, Pedro Armendáriz | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | 2002 | Shane Meadows | ★★½ | 104 | Goofy homage to spaghetti Westerns set in contemporary working-class England. Volatile criminal Jimmy (Carlyle) returns home to win back his estranged girlfriend and their daughter, but they've moved on. Often laugh-out-loud funny and performed by a pitch-perfect cast, but eventually runs out of ideas. Final chapter in Meadows' so-called Midlands trilogy, following TWENTYFOURSEVEN and A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS. | tt0301684 | [R] | Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Kathy Burke, Shirley Henderson, Ricky Tomlinson, Finn Atkins. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Once Upon a Time in the West | C'era una volta il West | 1968 | Sergio Leone. | ★★★½ | 165 | Leone's follow-up to his 'Dollars' trilogy is languid, operatic masterpiece. Plot, admittedly lifted from JOHNNY GUITAR, has landowner Cardinale waiting for the railroad to come through, unaware she's been targeted by hired killer Fonda (brilliantly cast as one of the coldest villains in screen history). Exciting, funny, and reverent, with now-classic score by Ennio Morricone; not to be missed. Story by Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento. Beware chopped-up 140m. version. | tt0064116 | [M] | Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards, Gabriele Ferzetti, Paolo Stoppa, Frank Wolff, Jack Elam, Woody Strode, Lionel Stander, Keenan Wynn. | U.S.-Italian | Western | NULL |
| Once Were Warriors | 1994 | Lee Tamahori | ★★★½ | 103 | Shattering drama about a poor, urbanized Maori family, and the wife's growing realization that she can no longer endure her 'macho' husband's abuse— both physical and psychological. Striking and powerful film marks Tamahori's directing debut; trenchant script by Riwia Brown, based on Alan Duff's novel, a best-seller in New Zealand. Not to be missed. Followed by WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED. | tt0110729 | [R] | Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian (Sonny) Arahanga, Taungaroa Emile, Clifford Curtis, Julian Arahanga | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Once You Kiss a Stranger | 1969 | Robert Sparr | 💣 | 106 | Thinly disguised remake of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, with Lynley as nut who pulls golfer Burke into bizarre 'reciprocal murder' scheme. Slick but empty-headed, laughable. | tt0064760 | [M] | Paul Burke, Carol Lynley, Martha Hyer, Peter Lind Hayes, Philip Carey, Stephen McNally, Whit Bissell | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Once a Thief | 1965 | Ralph Nelson | ★★ | 107 | When young ex-con tries to go straight, he finds himself the pawn in another crime. Not at all interesting. | tt0059540 | Ann-Margret, Alain Delon, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, John Davis Chandler, Jeff Corey, Tony Musante | U.S.-French | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Once in Paris . . . | 1978 | Frank D. Gilroy | ★★★ | 100 | Gilroy produced, directed, and wrote this charming tale of Hollywood screenwriter who goes to Paris to work on script, falls in love instead. Lovely location filming; Lenoir steals the film as Rogers' all-knowing chauffeur (which he actually was prior to this picture). | tt0078029 | [PG] | Wayne Rogers, Gayle Hunnicutt, Jack Lenoir, Clement Harari, Tanya Lopert, Doris Roberts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Once in a Blue Moon | 1936 | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur. | ★½ | 67 | Attempt by writer-producer-directors Hecht and MacArthur to create a stylized fable for Broadway comedian Savo falls flat; he doesn't register well on-screen, especially in this heavy-handed film about a family of Russian refugees who joins up with a traveling circus clown. Overbearing music score by George Antheil doesn't help. Cinematographer Lee Garmes is credited as associate director. Look for young Howard da Silva in his film debut. | tt0028060 | Jimmy Savo, Nikita Balieff, Cecelia Loftus, Whitney Bourne, Edwina Armstrong, Sandor Szabo. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Once in the Life | 2000 | Laurence Fishburne | ★★ | 107 | Well-acted but wearisome look at N.Y.C. drug dealers and a crisis that tests friendship against the pressures of 'the life,' from which there is no escape. Fishburne's directing debut; he also scripted, from his one-act play Riff Raff. | tt0177068 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Titus Welliver, Eamonn Walker, Dominic Chianese/Jr., Paul Calderon, Gregory Hines, Annabella Sciorra, Michael Paul Chan, Andres 'Dres' Titus | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ondine | 2010 | Neil Jordan | ★★★ | 104 | Down-on-his-luck Irish fisherman (Farrell), recovering from a misspent life of alcoholism, hauls a drowned maiden (Bachleda) caught in his net aboard his ship. Miraculously, she is revived, but has lost her memory. She remains a mystery even as her life becomes intertwined with Farrell's and his verbally rambunctious young daughter (Barry), who is convinced that Bachleda is a mythical fairy-tale creature—a selkie—come to life. Writer-director Jordan deftly mixes dark reality into this fantasy-like saga. Diverting sequences between Farrell and Jordan regular Rea are a treat; newcomer Barry is a natural. | tt1235796 | [PG-13] | Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry, Stephen Rea, Tony Curran, Emil Hostina, Dervla Kirwan | Irish-U.S. | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| One Against the Wind | 1991 | Larry Elikann | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Davis is the whole show as real-life Mary Lindell, well-to-do Britisher living with her teenage children in Paris during WW2 and smuggling Allied soldiers out from under the noses of the Nazis. Good script by Chris Bryant. | tt0102591 | Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Denholm Elliott, Anthony Higgins, Christien Anholt, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Middlemass | U.S.-Luxembourg | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Big Affair | 1952 | Peter Godfrey | ★★ | 80 | On-location filming in Mexico highlights this lightweight romance yarn. | tt0044995 | Evelyn Keyes, Dennis O'Keefe, Mary Anderson, Connie Gilchrist | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Body Too Many | 1944 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 75 | Old dark house comedy about the reading of a will. Haley is carefree salesman mistaken for private eye, forced to solve caper. | tt0037151 | Jack Haley, Jean Parker, Bela Lugosi, Blanche Yurka, Lyle Talbot, Douglas Fowley | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| One Crazy Summer | 1986 | Savage Steve Holland | ★★ | 93 | Holland's follow-up to BETTER OFF DEAD is another loosely connected comedy (styled like a cartoon) about a teenage misfit spending summer on Nantucket Island in New England. Some good sight gags and bright moments but no story or real characterizations to hang on to. | tt0091680 | [PG] | John Cusack, Demi Moore, Joel Murray, Curtis Armstrong, Bob Goldthwait, Tom Villard, William Hickey, Joe Flaherty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| One Dangerous Night | 1943 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 77 | Solid entry in The Lone Wolf series about a murdered blackmailing gigolo, with the Wolf suspected by both cops and crooks of the crime. Gerald Mohr, who later played the Lone Wolf, has a supporting role here. | tt0036237 | Warren William, Marguerite Chapman, Eric Blore, Mona Barrie, Tala Birell, Margaret Hayes, Ann Savage, Thurston Hall, Fred Kelsey | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| One Dark Night | 1983 | Tom McLoughlin | ★½ | 89 | Teenagers spend the night in a mausoleum. You've seen it all before, and you don't want to see it again. | tt0086050 | [PG] | Meg Tilly, Robin Evans, Leslie Speights, Elizabeth Daily, Adam West | Horror | NULL | ||
| One Day | 2011 | Lone Scherfig | ★★ | 107 | Dreary, drawn-out look at a star-crossed relationship over twenty years' time, beginning in 1988, always focusing on the same day, July 15. That's when college grads Hathaway and Sturgess officially meet, don't become lovers but do become friends. We live through their ups and downs as she pines for him and he denies that he's in love with her. David Nicholls adapted his best-selling book but something's been lost in the translation; we never understand what makes Sturgess' character tick, so it's hard to care about him. | tt1563738 | [PG-13] | Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Ken Stott, Romola Garai, Rafe Spall, Jodie Whittaker | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| One Day in September | 1999 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★★ | 92 | Compelling, if slick, Oscar-winning documentary recollection of the 1972 Munich Olympics, during which Palestinian terrorists took hostage a group of Israeli athletes, with tragic consequences. The event comes alive via footage and interviews (including one with the lone surviving terrorist), but style sometimes outweighs substance, as when heavy metal rock music accompanies images of the hostages' blood-soaked corpses. | tt0230591 | [R] | Narrated by Michael Douglas | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | |
| One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich | 1971 | Caspar Wrede | ★★½ | 100 | Another instance where a novel was just too difficult to film; Alexander Solzhenitsyn's story of a prisoner in Siberian labor camp only occasionally works on the screen. Good photography by Sven Nykvist; script by Ronald Harwood. | tt0067530 | [G] | Tom Courtenay, Espen Skjonberg, James Maxwell, Alfred Burke, Eric Thompson | British-Norwegian | Drama | NULL | |
| One Deadly Summer | 1983 | Jean Becker | ★★★ | 133 | Overlong but engrossing drama with astonishing performance by Adjani as young sexpot whose disturbed behavior masks elaborate revenge plan. Extremely well acted, especially by Souchon as her likable beau and Flon as his deaf aunt, but Adjani's character is just too obnoxious to warrant much sympathy. Sebastien Japrisot's screenplay (from his novel) retains unusual device of having several characters take turns narrating. | tt0086655 | [R] | Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Francois Cluzet, Manuel Gelin, Jenny Cleve, Suzanne Flon, Michel Galabru, Maria Machado | French | Drama | NULL | |
| One Desire | 1955 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 94 | Baxter's strong performance as woman in love with gambler Hudson elevates standard soaper. | tt0048448 | Anne Baxter, Rock Hudson, Julie Adams, Natalie Wood, Betty Garde | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Down Two to Go | 1983 | Fred Williamson | 💣 | 84 | Kung fu tournament promoter Roundtree is ripped off, and Williamson, Brown, and Kelly go into action. Bottom-of-the-barrel blaxploitation actioner. | tt0086051 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Jim Kelly, Richard Roundtree, Paula Sills, Laura Loftus, Tom Signorelli, Joe Spinell | Action | NULL | ||
| One False Move | 1992 | Carl Franklin | ★★★ | 105 | Savvy L.A. cops end up in Dirt Road, Ark., awaiting three squabbling killers who are wanted for a grisly drug ripoff. Exceptionally trim— a nasty story (with a good romantic twist) methodically tracking its way toward an impending blood bath. Thornton scripted with Tom Epperson. | tt0102592 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Beach, Jim Metzler, Earl Billings, Natalie Canerday, Robert Ginnaven, Robert Anthony Bell, Kevin Hunter | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| One Fine Day | 1996 | Michael Hoffman | ★★★ | 108 | A rarity in the '90s: a genuinely nice movie about two harried and self-absorbed New Yorkers who meet by chance while taking care of their young children during an impossibly hectic career day. He's a hotshot newspaper columnist, she's with an architectural firm. Cute, funny romantic comedy will surely strike many chords with parents. Pfeiffer (never more likeable) also produced. | tt0117247 | [PG] | Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney, Mae Whitman, Alex D. Linz, Charles Durning, Jon Robin Baitz, Ellen Greene, Joe Grifasi, Pete Hamill, Anna Maria Horsford, Sheila Kelley, Robert Klein, Amanda Peet, Bitty Schram, Holland Taylor, Rachel York | Romance, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 1975 | Milos Forman | ★★★★ | 133 | Ken Kesey's story is a triumph of the human spirit; a feisty misfit (Nicholson) enters an insane asylum and inspires his fellow patients to assert themselves, to the chagrin of strong-willed head nurse (Fletcher). The first film since IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT to win all five top Oscars: Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay (Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman). Lloyd's film debut. | tt0073486 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Vincent Schiavelli, Sydney Lassick, Louisa Moritz | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| One Foot in Heaven | 1941 | Irving Rapper | ★★★½ | 108 | Superior acting in honest, appealing story of minister and wife facing various problems as church life and 20th century America clash. Very entertaining, with memorable scene of minister March going to his first movie (a William S. Hart silent). | tt0033980 | Fredric March, Martha Scott, Beulah Bondi, Gene Lockhart, Elisabeth Fraser, Harry Davenport, Laura Hope Crews, Grant Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Foot in Hell | 1960 | James B. Clark | ★★½ | 90 | Ambitious but peculiar production of sheriff seeking retribution against small town for negligent death of his wife; cowritten by Aaron Spelling. | tt0054142 | Alan Ladd, Don Murray, Dan O'Herlihy, Dolores Michaels, Barry Coe, Larry Gates, Karl Swenson | Western | NULL | |||
| One For The Money | 2012 | Julie Anne Robinson | ★★ | 91 | Routine Heigl action comedy centers on a woman who gets a job in the family bail bond business and finds her first prey is someone from her own romantic past. There's nothing remotely new or interesting in this dreary-looking, by-the-numbers vehicle for Heigl. As her grandmother, Reynolds steals every one of the (few) scenes she's in. Based on one of Janet Evanovich's popular Stephanie Plum novels. | tt1598828 | [PG-13] | Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, Debbie Reynolds, John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd, Debra Monk, Nate Mooney, Adam Paul, Fisher Stevens | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| One Frightened Night | 1935 | Christy Cabanne | ★★½ | 65 | Fast-moving, intricately plotted little chiller about crusty old millionaire Grapewin, who wishes to give away his fortune so as to avoid a new inheritance tax. | tt0026819 |
|
Charley Grapewin, Mary Carlisle, Arthur Hohl, Wallace Ford, Lucien Littlefield, Regis Toomey, Hedda Hopper, Evalyn Knapp, Rafaela Ottiano | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| One From the Heart | 1982 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★ | 99 | Lavishly produced but practically plotless romantic comedy about couple (Forrest, Garr) who quarrel, then seek out other partners (Kinski, Julia). Dean Tavoularis' stylized Las Vegas set and the cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and Ronald V. Garcia are astonishing! Unfortunately, pretty images do not a film make. Tom Waits songs fill the soundtrack while the actors play out one of Coppola's most surreal entertainments. A must for the curious— others beware. Look sharp for Rebecca De Mornay as a restaurant patron. Originally 107m., completely recut by Coppola in 2003, incorporating 7m. of previously unused footage. | tt0084445 | [R] | Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, Harry Dean Stanton, Allen Garfield, Luana Anders | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| One Girl's Confession | 1953 | Hugo Haas | ★★ | 74 | Cleo steals from her loutish guardian, then serves jail sentence knowing the loot is waiting for her. Typical Hugo Haas production, with intriguing premise but flimsy development. Moore is presented as (unbelievably) chaste— but our first look at her is in an alluring low-cut bathing suit. Thanks, Hugo. | tt0046143 | Cleo Moore, Hugo Haas, Glenn Langan, Russ Conway | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Good Cop | 1991 | Heywood Gould | ★★ | 114 | Superficial look at dedicated N.Y.C. cop (and happily married man) who— faced with the prospect of fatherhood— is forced to examine his goals and his morality. Mix of urban grittiness and heart-tugging sentiment doesn't work, especially with its many convenient dramatic turns and shortcuts. Those three little girls are adorable, though. | tt0102593 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway, Rachel Ticotin, Tony Plana, Benjamin Bratt, Charlaine Woodard | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| One Good Turn | 1954 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★ | 78 | Minor musical vehicle for man-on-the-street comedian Wisdom, putting forth such homey tunes as 'Take a Step in the Right Direction.' | tt0047298 | Norman Wisdom, Joan Rice, Shirley Abicair, William Russell, Thora Hird | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| One Heavenly Night | 1931 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★ | 82 | Lesser Goldwyn musical features Laye as a Budapest flower girl posing as a famous singer in order to trap Count Boles. OK for fanciers of old-fashioned romantic nonsense. Elegant photography by Gregg Toland and George Barnes. | tt0021280 | Evelyn Laye, John Boles, Leon Errol, Lilyan Tashman, Hugh Cameron | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| One Hour Photo | 2002 | Mark Romanek | ★★★½ | 96 | Suburban family leaves its snapshots with Sy, 'the Photo Guy,' a friendly fellow at the local chain store, little dreaming that Sy has become obsessed with them. Impressive feature by music video veteran Romanek (who also wrote the original screenplay), built on the sturdy foundation of Williams' persuasive and finely tuned performance. | tt0265459 | [R] | Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, Dylan Smith, Eriq LaSalle, Erin Daniels | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| One Hour With You | 1932 | Ernst Lubitsch, George Cukor | ★★★½ | 80 | Chic romance of happily married couple upset by arrival of flirtatious Tobin. Chevalier is delightful as always, talking (and singing) directly to the camera. Remake of Lubitsch's 1924 THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE; started by Cukor, completed by Lubitsch with Cukor as his assistant. | tt0023303 | Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young, Charlie Ruggles | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| One Hundred Men and a Girl | 1937 | Henry Koster | ★★★½ | 84 | Superior blend of music and comedy as Deanna pesters conductor Stokowski to give work to her unemployed father and musician friends. Brimming with charm— and beautiful music, with Charles Previn's score earning an Oscar. | tt0029347 | Deanna Durbin, Leopold Stokowski, Adolphe Menjou, Alice Brady, Eugene Pallette, Mischa Auer, Frank Jenks, Billy Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Hundred and One Dalmatians | 1961 | Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi | ★★★ | 79 | Likable, low-key Disney cartoon feature set in England, about the theft and recovery of some adorable dalmatian puppies by a flamboyant villainess named Cruella De Vil. The story's told from a doggy point-of-view, which is just one ingredient of the film's great appeal. Followed 42 years later by a direct-to-video sequel. Remade in 1996. | tt005525 | Voices of Rod Taylor, Lisa Davis, Cate Bauer, Ben Wright, Fred Warlock, J. Pat O'Malley, Betty Lou Gerson | Family, Animation, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |||
| One Hundred and One Nights | 1995 | Agnès Varda | ★★★ | 101 | Playful valentine to the cinema, brimming with ideas and clever homages to films and filmmakers. Piccoli stars as Simon Cinéma, a 100-year-old living symbol of film history. An array of international film personalities briefly appear, including Anouk Aimée, Fanny Ardant, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Harrison Ford, Gina Lollobrigida, Jeanne Moreau, and Hanna Schygulla. Among the highlights: Piccoli and Depardieu amusingly recall their various cinematic death scenes, and Deneuve and a French-speaking De Niro picturesquely float on a boat in a lake. Full title is ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS OF SIMON CINÉMA. | tt0112654 | Michel Piccoli, Marcello Mastroianni, Henri Garcin, Julie Gayet, Mathieu Demy, Emmanuel Salinger | French-British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| One Is a Lonely Number | 1972 | Mel Stuart | ★★★ | 97 | Sympathetic performance by Van Devere helps this better-than-usual soaper about life of an attractive divorcee; good supporting work by Douglas and Leigh. | tt0069044 | [PG] | Trish Van Devere, Monte Markham, Janet Leigh, Melvyn Douglas, Jane Elliott, Jonathan Lippe | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Last Fling | 1949 | Peter Godfrey | ★★ | 74 | Limp marital farce involving bored wife Smith, who's eager to return to work at wimpy husband Scott's music store . . . but he's planning to hire another woman. | tt0041718 | Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Douglas Kennedy, Ann Doran, Veda Ann Borg, Helen Westcott | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Last Thing . . . | 2005 | Alex Steyermark | ★★ | 93 | Inoffensive but artificial comedy-drama about a 16-year-old boy who's dying and announces his official wish: to spend a weekend alone with his fantasy woman, a supermodel whose bikini poster adorns his bedroom wall. Some likable performances keep this from becoming saccharine, but can't invest it with any form of reality. Ethan Hawke appears unbilled. | tt0452660 |
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Cynthia Nixon, Michael Angarano, Sunny Mabrey, Nelust Wyclef Jean, Matt Bush, Gideon Glilck, Johnny Messner, Gina Gershon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| One Little Indian | 1973 | Bernard McEveety | ★★½ | 90 | Garner is AWOL cavalry corporal escaping through desert with young Indian boy and a camel. Unusual Disney comedy-drama. | tt0070481 | [G] | James Garner, Vera Miles, Clay O'Brien, Pat Hingle, Andrew Prine, Jodie Foster | Family, Comedy, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| One Magic Christmas | 1985 | Phillip Borsos | ★★★ | 88 | Wife and mom enduring hard times has lost the Christmas spirit, but Santa Claus and guardian angel conspire with her daughter to show her the light. Entertaining Disney family fare, though pretty serious at times . . . and Stanton is the unlikeliest guardian angel in movie history! Made in Canada. | tt0089731 | [G] | Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, Harry Dean Stanton, Arthur Hill, Elizabeth Harnois, Robbie Magwood, Michelle Meyrink, Elias Koteas, Jan Rubes, Sarah Polley, Graham Jarvis | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| One Man Force | 1989 | Dale Trevillion | ★★ | 89 | cop who goes off the deep end when drug dealers murder his partner. Matuszak died suddenly before this film's release. | tt0098026 | [R] | John Matuszak, Ronny Cox, Charles Napier, Sharon Farrell, Sam J. Jones, Richard Lynch, Stacey Q | Action | NULL | ||
| One Man Jury | 1978 | Charles Martin | ★½ | 104 | DIRTY HARRY rip-off with Palance as vigilante cop who administers his own brand of violent justice on some particularly repulsive felons. | tt0078032 | [R] | Jack Palance, Christopher Mitchum, Pamela Shoop, Angel Tompkins, Joe Spinell, Cara Williams | Crime | NULL | ||
| One Man's Hero | 1999 | Lance Hool | ★★½ | 121 | When his men are sent to prison just before the outbreak of the Mexican-American war, Berenger attempts to free them and is attacked by the U.S. Army. The fleeing squadron is then captured by guerrilla forces, but they form a bond and decide to fight together. Obviously a labor of love for star/producer Berenger, and based on a true story, but more earnest than exciting. | tt0120775 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Daniela Romo, Stephen Tobolowsky, Joaquim de Almeida, Mark Moses, James Gammon, Patrick Bergin | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| One Man's Journey | 1933 | John S. Robertson. | ★★★ | 72 | Doctor Barrymore, who's experienced tough times in the big city, opens a practice in his rural hometown, where he heroically toils in obscurity while facing various life-altering crises. Potent drama about a man who chooses ethics over ambition. Remade as A MAN TO REMEMBER. | tt0024411 | Lionel Barrymore, May Robson, Dorothy Jordan, Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, David Landau, Buster Phelps, Sam (Samuel S.) Hinds. | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Man's Way | 1964 | Denis Sanders | ★★★ | 105 | Tasteful fictionalized biography of Norman Vincent Peale, his religious convictions and preaching; Murray is earnest in lead role. | tt0058428 | Don Murray, Diana Hyland, Veronica Cartwright, Ian Wolfe, Virginia Christine, Carol Ohmart, William Windom | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Million B.C. | 1940 | Hal Roach, Hal Roach/Jr | ★★½ | 80 | Bizarre caveman saga told in flashback is real curio, made on a big scale. Excellent special effects— from prehistoric monsters to an erupting volcano— which have turned up as stock footage in countless cheapies. Longtime rumors that D. W. Griffith directed parts are not true. Remade in 1966 as ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. | tt0032871 | Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Hubbard, Mamo Clark, Jean Porter | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| One Million Years B.C. | 1966 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 100 | Hammer remake of 1939 prehistoric adventure boosted fur-bikinied Welch to stardom; watchable saga with spectacular Ray Harryhausen dinosaurs and percussive score by Mario Nascimbene. | tt0060782 | Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert, Robert Brown, Martine Beswick | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| One Minute to Zero | 1952 | Tay Garnett | ★★ | 105 | Romance and war combine uneasily in this muddled Korean War melodrama. Mitchum is a colonel attempting to do his job despite the intrusions of girlfriend Blyth, a United Nations envoy. | tt0044997 | Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, William Talman, Richard Egan, Charles McGraw, Margaret Sheridan, Eduard Franz | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| One Missed Call | 2008 | Eric Valette | 💣 | 87 | What if you received a message on your cell phone from your future self, with the date and time of your death? No need to stay awake nights wondering, as this film lets you know how some college students deal with just such a predicament. Another Americanized remake of a Japanese horror film (Takashi Miike’s CHAKUSHIN ARI) with a good cast wasted. So bad that the title invites pithy putdowns; it’s just too easy. | tt0479968 | [PG-13] | Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns, Azura Skye, Ana Claudia Talancón, Ray Wise, Johnny Lewis, Jason Beghe, Margaret Cho, Meagan Good | U.S.-Japanese-German | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| One More River | 1934 | James Whale | ★★★ | 90 | Patrick Campbell, Jane Wyatt, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Henry Stephenson, Lionel Atwill, Alan Mowbray. Heartfelt, nicely acted but dated drama chronicling a divorce: ruthless husband Clive accuses wife Wynyard of indiscretion with young Lawton. From John Galsworthy's last novel. Film debut of Jane Wyatt. | tt0025600 | Diana Wynyard, Colin Clive, Frank Lawton, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Jane Wyatt, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Henry Stephenson, Lionel Atwill, Alan Mowbray | Drama | NULL | |||
| One More Saturday Night | 1986 | Dennis Klein | 💣 | 95 | Unfunny comedy written by and starring the nerdy duo from TV's Saturday Night Live. Unlike one of their TV skits, this feature, about various goings-on during a Saturday evening in Minnesota, runs an hour and a half. Forget it. | tt0091681 | [R] | Tom Davis, Al Franken, Moira Harris, Frank Howard, Bess Meyer, Dave Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| One More Spring | 1935 | Henry King. | ★★★ | 88 | Warm, heartfelt comedy-drama about two men and a woman who have fallen on tough times and camp out in Central Park, helping each other cope with the travails of daily existence during the Depression. Remarkably honest treatment of such subjects as bank failures, homelessness, poverty, and suicide, yet filled with good humor that holds out hope for the future. Based on Robert Nathan's novel. | tt0026822 | Janet Gaynor, Warner Baxter, Walter (Woolf) King, Jane Darwell, Roger Imhof, Grant Mitchell, Lee Kohlmar, Stepin Fetchit, Dick Foran, Rosemary Ames, John Qualen. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| One More Time | 1970 | Jerry Lewis | ★½ | 93 | Sequel to SALT AND PEPPER is even worse, with Sammy essentially imitating Jerry Lewis (who directed) as he and Lawford struggle to survive after losing their nightclub— and Lawford assumes his twin brother's identity. Excruciatingly bad; of interest as the only feature Lewis ever directed in which he didn't star. | tt0066183 | [PG] | Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis/Jr., Esther Anderson, Maggie Wright | Comedy | NULL | ||
| One More Tomorrow | 1946 | Peter Godfrey | ★★ | 88 | Light-comedy players flounder in reworking of Philip Barry's THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, about a wealthy playboy (Morgan) and a radical magazine photographer (Sheridan) who fall in love but don't get married— to their eventual regret. | tt0038802 | Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alexis Smith, John Loder, Jane Wyman, Reginald Gardiner | Drama | NULL | |||
| One More Train to Rob | 1971 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 108 | Peppard seeks revenge on former robbery partner who sent him to jail. Unremarkable Western has some flavor, nice supporting cast of familiar faces. | tt0067531 | [PG] | George Peppard, Diana Muldaur, John Vernon, France Nuyen, Steve Sandor | Western | NULL | ||
| One Mysterious Night | 1944 | Oscar (Budd) Boetticher | ★★★ | 61 | Brisk and breezy Boston Blackie entry, with the capricious ex-thief jolted into action when he's accused of stealing a precious gem from a museum. Nineteen-year-old Dorothy Malone (billed as Maloney) appears in one of her first roles as Eileen. TV title: BOSTON BLACKIE'S APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH. | tt0037153 | Chester Morris, Janis Carter, Richard Lane, William Wright, George E. Stone, Robert Williams, George McKay | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| One Night Stand | 1997 | Mike Figgis | ★★ | 103 | Flashy but empty drama about a TV commercials director (Snipes) caught up in a plastic, unfeeling world, whose life is in for quite a jolt upon renewing a friendship with seriously ill Downey and having a chance encounter with Kinski. Figgis turns up as a hotel clerk. | tt0119832 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski, Kyle MacLachlan, Ming-Na Wen, Robert Downey/Jr., John Calley, Glenn Plummer, Amanda Donohoe, John Ratzenberger, Julian Sands, Thomas Haden Church, Donovan Leitch, Ione Skye, Xander Berkeley | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Night With You | 1948 | Terence Young | ★★ | 90 | Diluted musical with socialite Roc intrigued by singer Martini. | tt0040667 | Nino Martini, Patricia Roc, Bonar Colleano, Guy Middleton, Stanley Holloway, Miles Malleson, Christopher Lee | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| One Night With the King | 2006 | Michael O. Sajbel | ★★½ | 122 | Old Testament romantic thriller about a Jewish orphan forced to hide her heritage when she's chosen as queen to Persian king Xerxes. Large-scale, rich-looking production, shot in India, is packed with tasty biblical intrigue and treachery. But it also features bad acting and dialogue, both High British and Valley Girl, with Dupont like totally wrong as a woman torn between love and loyalty. Previously filmed as ESTHER AND THE KING. O'Toole is seen for barely 30 seconds as the prophet Samuel. | tt0430431 | [PG] | Tiffany Dupont, Luke Goss, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, James Callis, Jonah Lotan, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif. | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Night at McCool's | 2001 | Harald Zwart | ★★ | 100 | One-note black comedy about three men obsessed with a beautiful vixen (Tyler)— one poor sucker who sees her for what she is, one who worships her as a goddess, and one who's only interested in kinky sex. Some funny moments, but mostly obvious and repetitive. Douglas also coproduced. | tt0203755 | [R] | Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon, John Goodman, Paul Reiser, Michael Douglas, Reba McEntire, Richard Jenkins, Andrew Dice Clay, Leo Rossi, Eric Schaeffer | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| One Night in Lisbon | 1941 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 97 | Mild screwball comedy with gorgeous Carroll falling in love with flier MacMurray despite interference from his ex (Morison). | tt0033981 | Fred MacMurray, Madeleine Carroll, Patricia Morison, Billie Burke, John Loder | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Night in the Tropics | 1940 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 82 | Ambitious but unmemorable musical with songs by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein and Dorothy Fields, from Earl Derr Biggers' gimmicky story Love Insurance (filmed before in 1919 and 1924). Abbott and Costello, in film debut, have secondary roles to Jones-Kelly-Cummings love triangle, but get to do a portion of their 'Who's on First?' routine. | tt0032873 | Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Robert Cummings, Leo Carrillo, Mary Boland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Night of Love | 1934 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★★½ | 84 | Classic musical, with an Oscar-winning Louis Silvers score, of aspiring opera star Moore and her demanding teacher Carminati. A delight from start to finish, and a must for music lovers; remains remarkably fresh and entertaining. Unquestionably Moore's best film. | tt0025601 | Grace Moore, Tullio Carminati, Lyle Talbot, Mona Barrie, Luis Alberni, Jessie Ralph | Romance | NULL | |||
| One Potato, Two Potato | 1964 | Larry Peerce | ★★★½ | 92 | Frank study of interracial marriage, beautifully acted by Barrie and Hamilton. Perceptive script by Raphael Hayes and Orville H. Hampton. | tt0058429 | Barbara Barrie, Bernie Hamilton, Richard Mulligan, Robert Earl Jones, Harry Bellaver, Faith Burwell, Tom Ligon | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Rainy Afternoon | 1936 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★½ | 79 | Silly but likable froth about a charming, impetuous young man who causes a stir by kissing a young woman in a movie theater. The song 'Sweet Rendezvous' was written by Preston Sturges! | tt0028062 | Francis Lederer, Ida Lupino, Roland Young, Hugh Herbert, Erik Rhodes, Mischa Auer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Romantic Night | 1930 | Paul L. Stein | ★½ | 71 | Static, wooden version of Molnar's The Swan, with princess Gish (in her talkie debut) half-heartedly pursued by playboy prince La Rocque while adored by commoner Nagel. Dressler comes off best, as Gish's dowager mother. Filmed previously in 1925 and again in 1956 (with Grace Kelly) as THE SWAN. | tt0021217 |
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Lillian Gish, Rod La Rocque, Conrad Nagel, Marie Dressler, O. P. Heggie, Albert Conti | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| One Russian Summer | 1973 | Antonio Calenda | 💣 | 112 | Cripple McEnery, with a score to settle, stirs up trouble for sadistic, temperamental landowner Reed, who laughs like a hyena and chews up the scenery. Fancy camerawork, one-dimensional characterizations; a mess. From M. Lermontov's novel Vadim. | tt0069949 | [R] | Oliver Reed, John McEnery, Carol Andre, Raymond Lovelock, Zova Velcova, Claudia Cardinale | Italian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| One Sings, the Other Doesn't | 1977 | Agnés Varda. | ★★ | 105 | Simplistic, sugar-coated feminist story paralleling the lives of two women from the early '60s to 1976. An honest attempt to examine the meaning of womanhood, but awfully superficial. | tt0076855 | Therese Liotard, Valerie Mairesse, Ali Raffi, Robert Dadies, Francis Lemaire. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Spy Too Many | 1966 | Joseph Sargent | ★★ | 102 | Torn tries to take over the world, with Vaughn and McCallum to the rescue. Forgettable feature, edited from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series. | tt0060783 | Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Rip Torn, Dorothy Provine, Leo G. Carroll | Action | NULL | |||
| One Step to Eternity | 1955 | Henri Decoin | ★★ | 94 | Capable cast led astray by meandering production about unknown persons trying to kill four women. | tt0046798 |
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Danielle Darrieux, Michel Auclair, Corinne Calvet, Gil Delamare | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| One Summer Love | Dragonfly | 1976 | Gilbert Cates | ★★ | 98 | Ambitious but muddled drama of Bridges, just out of a mental hospital, attempting to trace his family; Sarandon, who sells candy in a movie theater, takes a liking to him. Screenplay by N. Richard Nash; originally released as DRAGONFLY. | tt0075014 | [PG] | Beau Bridges, Susan Sarandon, Mildred Dunnock, Ann Wedgeworth, Michael B. Miller, Linda Miller | Action | NULL | |
| One Sunday Afternoon | 1933 | Stephen Roberts | ★★★ | 69 | Cooper is at boyish best in this original version of James Hagan's play about a turn-of-the-century dentist and how his infatuation with a sexy vamp (Wray) who weds his rival almost ruins his marriage and his life. Touching and lovingly made piece of Americana, exuding period charm and atmosphere, though darker in tone than the two Warner Bros. remakes by Raoul Walsh: as THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE in 1941, then under the original title as a 1948 Technicolor musical. | tt0024414 | Gary Cooper, Fay Wray, Neil Hamilton, Frances Fuller, Roscoe Karns, Jane Darwell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The One That Got Away | 1958 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 106 | Kruger gives sincere performance as Nazi prisoner in England who believes it is his duty to escape and get back to Germany. Many exciting moments. | tt0050803 | Hardy Kruger, Colin Gordon, Michael Goodliffe, Terence Alexander | British | War | NULL | ||
| One Third of a Nation | 1939 | Dudley Murphy | ★★½ | 79 | Sidney is a poor girl yearning to escape from the N.Y.C. tenements; young Lumet is her troubled brother, Erickson an unknowing slumlord who falls for her. Still timely social document. | tt0031761 | Sylvia Sidney, Leif Erickson, Myron McCormick, Hiram Sherman, Sidney Lumet, Iris Adrian, Byron Russell | Drama | NULL | |||
| One Touch of Venus | 1948 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 81 | Young man in love with department-store window statue of Venus doesn't know what to do when she magically comes to life. Amusing, but misses the bull's-eye, despite its having been a hit on Broadway. Lovely Kurt Weill-Ogden Nash score includes 'Speak Low.' Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040669 | Ava Gardner, Robert Walker, Dick Haymes, Eve Arden, Olga San Juan, Tom Conway | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| One Tough Cop | 1998 | Bruno Barreto | ★½ | 94 | Baldwin is miscast as renegade 1980s N.Y.P.D. detective Bo Dietl who, in this hackneyed, highly fictionalized account of his exploits— based on his 'autobiographical novel'— stands up to the nasty Feds when they pressure him to rat out his boyhood best friend, who's now a mob boss. Graphic violence and nonstop torrent of four-letter words are the only differences between this and a routine TV cop show. | tt0122642 | [R] | Stephen Baldwin, Christopher Penn, Gina Gershon, Mike McGlone, Paul Guilfoyle, Amy Irving, Victor Slezak, Luis Guzman | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| One True Thing | 1998 | Carl Franklin | ★★★½ | 127 | Exceptional, moving family drama about a young woman forced to temporarily move back in with her parents and come to terms with both her mother (an expert homemaker to whom she's never related) and her literary lion of a father (whom she's always idolized). Superb acting and the constant ring of truth distinguish this adaptation by Karen Croner of Anna Quindlen's best-selling novel. | tt0120776 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Renée Zellweger, William Hurt, Tom Everett Scott, Lauren Graham, Nicky Katt, James Eckhouse, Gerrit Graham, Diana Canova | Drama | NULL | ||
| One Way Passage | 1932 | Tay Garnett | ★★★½ | 69 | Tender shipboard romance of fugitive Powell and fatally ill Francis, splendidly acted, with good support by MacMahon and McHugh as con artists. Robert Lord won an Oscar for his original story. Remade as TILL WE MEET AGAIN. | tt0023305 | Kay Francis, William Powell, Aline MacMahon, Warren Hymer, Frank McHugh, Herbert Mundin | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| One Way to Love | 1945 | Ray Enright. | ★★ | 83 | Pleasant programmer about two radio writers finding romance and new program ideas on cross-country train trip. | tt0038803 | Chester Morris, Janis Carter, Marguerite Chapman, Willard Parker. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One Wild Moment | 1977 | Claude Berri | ★★ | 88 | Lightweight, unsatisfying sex farce about two middle-aged buddies (Marielle, Lanoux) who vacation with their sexy teen daughters (Soral, Dejoux). Not nearly as clever as other Berri comedies. Remade as BLAME IT ON RIO. | tt0076849 | [R] | Jean-Pierre Marielle, Victor Lanoux, Agnes Soral, Christine Dejoux, Martine Sarcey | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| One Woman or Two | 1985 | Daniel Vigne | ★½ | 97 | Paleontologist Depardieu discovers the fossil remains of the first Frenchwoman; crass ad exec Weaver is intent on exploiting this to hype perfume. An utterly silly BRINGING UP BABY derivation, with its two stars wasted. | tt0090235 | [PG-13] | Gérard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, Dr | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| One Wonderful Sunday | 1947 | Akira Kurosawa. | ★★★ | 108 | A Tokyo factory worker, disillusioned by the recent war, and his indefatigably optimistic fiancée, herself a war orphan, go out on a weekend date. How they fill what turns out to be a splendid day, though given limited funds, is the episodic, tightly time-constrained script's entire substance. Uplifting and compassionate. Original title: SUBARASHIKI NICHIYOBI. | tt0039871 | Isao Numasaki, Chieko Nakahita, Ichiro Sugai, Midori Ariyama, Masao Shimizu. | Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band | 1968 | Michael O'Herlihy | ★★½ | 117 | Musical family becomes involved in 1888 Presidential campaign; innocuous Disney entertainment with forgettable songs by the Sherman Brothers. Goldie (billed as Goldie Jeanne) Hawn debuts in tiny part as giggling dancer. | tt0063389 | [G] | Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson, Janet Blair, Kurt Russell | Family, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The One and Only | 1978 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 98 | Winkler is a brash college kid determined to make it in show biz, but winds up a flamboyant wrestler. Some truly funny moments build to gradual disenchantment with his basically obnoxious character. Written by Steve Gordon. | tt0078034 | [PG] | Henry Winkler, Kim Darby, Gene Saks, Herve Villechaize, Harold Gould, William Daniels, Polly Holliday, Ed Begley/Jr., Brandon Cruz, Charles Frank, Mary Woronov | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| One in a Million | 1936 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 95 | Debut vehicle for skating star Henie was built around then-timely Winter Olympics. Sonja plays a competitor who may get in trouble by having compromised her amateur status. Still fun; fine supporting cast. | tt0028063 | Sonja Henie, Adolphe Menjou, Don Ameche, Ned Sparks, Jean Hersholt, The Ritz Brothers, Arline Judge, Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| One of Our Aircraft Is Missing | 1942 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★½ | 106 | Thoughtful study of RAF pilots who crash-land in the Netherlands and seek to return to England. Powell and Pressburger scripted, from the latter's story. Powell makes an appearance as a dispatcher. Some U.S. prints run 82m. | tt0035153 | Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Googie Withers, Joyce Redman, Pamela Brown, Peter Ustinov, Hay Petrie, Roland Culver, Robert Helpmann, John Longden | British | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing | 1976 | Robert Stevenson | 💣 | 93 | The Disney studio's answer to insomnia, a boring film about spy with secret formula hidden in dinosaur bone, and a group of nannies determined to retrieve stolen skeleton. Filmed in England. | tt0075016 | [G] | Peter Ustinov, Helen Hayes, Clive Revill, Derek Nimmo, Joan Sims | Action | NULL | ||
| One on One | 1977 | Lamont Johnson | ★★★ | 98 | Benson cowrote this sincere, upbeat film about naive basketball player who tries to buck corrupt world of college athletics, and sadistic coach Spradlin. Director Johnson plays Benson's alumni big brother. | tt0076500 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Annette O'Toole, G. D. Spradlin, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith | Drama | NULL | ||
| The One | 2001 | James Wong | ★½ | 87 | Loud, wooden martial arts actioner plays like a video game. Li stars as a villain who's been rampaging through parallel universes, killing his alter egos and absorbing their energy; his last remaining opponent is a nice-guy L.A. lawman. The climactic showdown is all too predictable. | tt0267804 | [PG-13] | Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, James Morrison, Dylan Bruno, Richard Steinmetz | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| One, Two, Three | 1961 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 108 | Hilarious Wilder comedy about Coke executive in contemporary West Berlin freaking out when the boss's visiting daughter secretly weds a Communist. Cagney is a marvel to watch in this machine-gun-paced comedy, his last film appearance until 1981's RAGTIME. Andre Previn's score makes inspired use of Khachaturian's 'Sabre Dance.' The script, by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, was inspired by a Ferenc Molnar one-act play. | tt0055256 | James Cagney, Arlene Francis, Horst Buchholz, Pamela Tiffin, Lilo Pulver, Howard St. John, Hans Lothar, Leon Askin, Red Buttons. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| One-Eyed Jacks | 1961 | Marlon Brando | ★★★ | 141 | Fascinating but flawed psychological Western with outlaw Brando seeking revenge on former friend Malden, now a sheriff. Visually striking, and a rich character study, but overlong. Brando's only directing effort to date. | tt0055257 | Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Pina Pellicer, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Timothy Carey, Elisha Cook/Jr., Margarita Cordova | Western | NULL | |||
| One-Trick Pony | 1980 | Robert M. Young | ★★ | 98 | Aging rock star tries to salvage marriage while trying to weather changes in audience tastes. Good premise, impressive supporting cast undermined by haphazard construction, lack of Simon's appeal as a leading man. Scripted and scored by Simon; one of those Hare Krishnas is Daniel Stern. | tt0081280 | [R] | Paul Simon, Blair Brown, Rip Torn, Joan Hackett, Mare Winningham, Allen Garfield, Lou Reed, The B-52's, Harry Shearer, The Lovin' Spoonful, Sam and Dave, Tiny Tim | Drama | NULL | ||
| One-Way Street | 1950 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 79 | Turgid crime drama chronicling what happens after doctor Mason strips hood Duryea of $200,000— and his moll (Toren). Look for Rock Hudson as a truck driver. | tt0042809 | James Mason, Marta Toren, Dan Duryea, William Conrad, Jack Elam, King Donovan | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Onegin | 1999 | Martha Fiennes | ★★★ | 106 | Visually beautiful, sensitively directed love story, set in 1820s St. Petersburg and based on Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, about an aristocratic bachelor who inherits a country estate and becomes involved in a paradoxical relationship with a daughter of his new neighbor. Many nice, subtle touches, though Tyler is miscast. Director Martha is the sister of Ralph (who also executive-produced); brother Magnus Fiennes composed the music and sister Sophie Fiennes has a cameo. | tt0119079 | Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler, Toby Stephens, Lena Headey, Martin Donovan, Alun Armstrong, Harriet Walter, Irene Worth, Jason Watkins, Francesca Annis | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Onibaba | 1964 | Kaneto Shindô. | ★★★ | 103 | In war-torn medieval Japan, a widow and her mother-in-law ambush and kill soldiers to sell their armor, until the younger woman falls for one of them. Visceral, erotic, and genuinely creepy folk tale is not for the squeamish, but is expertly made, highlighted by stunning Tohoscope cinematography. | tt0058430 | Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Sato, Jukichi Uno. | Japanese | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Onion Field | 1979 | Harold Becker | ★★★ | 127 | Heart-wrenching true story about a cop who cracks up after witnessing his partner's murder and fleeing; adapted by author Joseph Wambaugh without any studio interference. Well acted and impassioned, but never quite peaks. | tt0079668 | [R] | John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson, Ronny Cox, Dianne Hull, Christopher Lloyd, Priscilla Pointer, Pat Corley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Onionhead | 1958 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 110 | Muddled mishmash with Griffith joining the Coast Guard pre-WW2 and becoming a ship's cook. Tries desperately to be a comedy, romance, and drama all at once, with elements of NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS and MISTER ROBERTS, but is only sentimental and silly. | tt0052030 | Andy Griffith, Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O'Brien, Joe Mantell, Ray Danton, James Gregory, Joey Bishop, Roscoe Karns, Claude Akins, Peter Brown, Tige Andrews | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Only Angels Have Wings | 1939 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 121 | Quintessential Howard Hawks movie, full of idealized men and women (and what men and women!) in this look at relationships among mail pilots stationed in South America— and how things heat up when a showgirl (Arthur) is tossed into the stew. An important star-boosting showcase for Hayworth, too. Jules Furthman scripted, from a story by Hawks. | tt0031762 | Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell, Sig Ruman, John Carroll, Allyn Joslyn, Noah Beery/Jr. | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Only Game in Town | 1970 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 113 | Romance of chorus girl and gambler takes place in Las Vegas, but was shot in Paris and suffers for it; restriction of action to indoor scenes slows pace of this pleasant adaptation of Frank D. Gilroy's play. Beatty is excellent. Stevens' final film. | tt0066184 | [M] | Elizabeth Taylor, Warren Beatty, Charles Braswell, Hank Henry, Olga Valery | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Only Thrill | 1998 | Peter Masterson | ★½ | 108 | A fine cast can't save this drab tearjerker about the thwarted affair between a widowed seamstress and a small-town Texas shopkeeper that begins in 1966, spans three decades, and begins to repeat itself when their grown children fall in love. Stagy, contrived, and never plausible, with some hilariously unconvincing old-age wigs and makeup effects. | tt0119837 | [R] | Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Diane Lane, Robert Patrick, Tate Donovan, Sharon Lawrence, Stacey Travis | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Only Two Can Play | 1962 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 106 | Well-intentioned filming of Kingsley Amis novel, striving for quick laughs rather than satire. Sellers is librarian flirting with society woman Zetterling. | tt0056308 | Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling, Virginia Maskell, Richard Attenborough, Kenneth Griffith | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Only When I Larf | 1968 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 104 | Fun con-game film finds three confidence men scheming to sell militant African diplomat scrap metal in ammunition cases. | tt0063390 | [G] | Richard Attenborough, David Hemmings, Alexandra Stewart, Nicholas Pennell | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Only When I Laugh | 1981 | Glenn Jordan | ★★★ | 120 | Bittersweet Neil Simon comedy about alcoholic actress Mason struggling to stay off the bottle and her relationship with teenaged daughter McNichol. Fine performances by the leads, superior ones by Coco as a gay failed actor and Hackett as an aging Park Avenue beauty. Screenplay by Simon, loosely based on his play The Gingerbread Lady. | tt0082853 | [R] | Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, James Coco, Joan Hackett, David Dukes, John Bennett Perry, Kevin Bacon | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Only Yesterday | 1933 | John M. Stahl | ★★★ | 105 | Though Boles is a drag, Sullavan's performance in her screen debut is still luminous enough to carry this familiar, flashbacked unwed mother saga spanning from the end of WW1 to the Depression. Opening scenes, depicting effect of the stock market crash on a group of partying high-rollers, are extremely evocative but tend to overshadow the rest of the film. | tt0024418 | Margaret Sullavan, John Boles, Billie Burke, Reginald Denny, Edna May Oliver, Benita Hume | Drama | NULL | |||
| Only You | 1992 | Betty Thomas | ★★ | 85 | McCarthy, dumped by his dishy girlfriend-of-the-moment, meets sexy Preston and winds up taking her on his vacation jaunt to an idyllic beach resort . . . but are looks really everything? Pleasant-enough romantic comedy, with a capable and attractive cast, gets just too predictable to sustain itself. Reni Santoni appears unbilled. Released direct to video. | tt0105059 | [PG-13] | Andrew McCarthy, Kelly Preston, Helen Hunt, Daniel Roebuck, Denny Dillon, *** Kid Creole and The Coconuts | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Only You | 1994 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 108 | Likable confection about a young woman who spends her whole life searching for her perfect mate— whose name was conjured up in childhood on a Ouija board; fate and happenstance bring her to Europe to meet her 'other half.' Tomei's earnest and appealing performance makes the far-fetched story work. Director Jewison provides a dreamy travelogue of Italy (photographed by Sven Nykvist, no less) as her backdrop. Like so many contemporary romantic comedies, this one invokes an earlier one (ROMAN HOLIDAY) to justify its existence. | tt0110737 | [PG] | Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey/Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Joaquim De Almeida, Fisher Stevens, Billy Zane, Adam LeFevre, John Benjamin Hickey, Siobhan Fallon, Phyllis Newman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Only the French Can | French Cancan | 1955 | Jean Renoir | ★★★ | 93 | Not top-drawer Renoir, but still an impressive, enjoyable fiction about beginnings of the Moulin Rouge and impresario Gabin's creation of the cancan. Originally released in the U.S. in 1956; a brilliantly beautiful restored version, with approximately 10m. of additional footage, opened theatrically in 1985. Originally released in France as FRENCH CANCAN at 102m. | tt0046998 | Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul, Maria Felix, Edith Piaf | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| Only the Lonely | 1991 | Chris Columbus | ★★★ | 102 | Chicago cop, who still lives with his mom, falls in love— and has to overcome both his mother's resistance and his feelings of guilt over leaving her. Sweet, sentimental update of MARTY shines with performances that are right on-target, including O'Hara's first since 1973's THE RED PONY. | tt0102598 | [PG-13] | John Candy, Maureen O'Hara, Ally Sheedy, James Belushi, Anthony Quinn, Kevin Dunn, Milo O'Shea, Bert Remsen, Joe V. Greco, Macaulay Culkin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Only the Strong | 1993 | Sheldon Lettich | ★★ | 96 | Ex- Green Beret, his old Miami high school now threatened by a drug lord, turns a dozen of the joint's worst malcontents into crimebusters by teaching them a rhythmic, Brazilian form of martial arts called capoeira. Real-life martial arts champ Dacascos is appealing in a can't-act kind of way. Dopey but inoffensive; at its best in potently choreographed fight scenes. | tt0107750 | [PG-13] | Mark Dacascos, Stacey Travis, Geoffrey Lewis, Paco Christian Prieto, Todd Susman, Jeffrey Anderson Gunter | Action | NULL | ||
| Only the Valiant | 1951 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 105 | Unusually brutal Western tale of hard-bitten Army officer Peck assembling a detail of misfit cavalrymen to hold off rampaging Indians. | tt0043885 | Gregory Peck, Barbara Payton, Ward Bond, Gig Young, Lon Chaney/Jr., Neville Brand, Jeff Corey | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Open City | Rome, Open City | 1945 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★★ | 105 | Classic Rossellini account of Italian underground movement during Nazi occupation of Rome; powerful moviemaking gem. Cowritten by Rossellini, Federico Fellini, and Sergio Amidei. Aka ROME, OPEN CITY. | tt0038890 | Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero, Maria Michi, Vito Annicchiarico, Nando Bruno, Harry Feist | Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Open Doors | 1990 | Gianni Amelio | ★★★ | 109 | Stimulating drama about jurist Volonte, presiding over a murder trial in Fascist Italy. A thoughtful look at the personal implications of judging others, of what it means to condemn another to death even if he is obviously guilty. It also focuses on the need to probe for truth and justice in spite of political repression. | tt0100389 | [R] | Gian Maria Volonte, Ennio Fantastichini, Renzo Giovampietro, Renato Carpentieri, Tuccio Musumeci | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Open Range | 2003 | Kevin Costner | ★★★ | 138 | In 1882, some cattle drivers run afoul of a local despot who's declared war on 'freegrazers.' Instead of moving on, the highly moral Duvall and partner Costner decide to stay and fight for what's right. The story is as simple as a Roy Rogers B movie, writ large, and while some of the dialogue tends toward declarations, it's a classical Western, carefully crafted and moving at a deliberate pace as it follows all of the genre's rituals. Duvall is a pleasure to watch. Production design and use of the Alberta landscape are first-rate. Based on a novel, The Open Range Men, by Lauran Paine. | tt0316356 | [R] | Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter, Diego Luna, James Russo, Abraham Benrubi, Dean McDermott, Kim Coates, Cliff Saunders | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The Open Road | 2009 | Michael Meredith | ★★ | 90 | During their cross-country road trip to visit his ailing mom, a discontented minor-league ballplayer (Timberlake) reluctantly reunites with his long-estranged father (Bridges), a retired baseball luminary who’s never scored many points as husband or parent. Predictable but involving dramedy benefits from vivid lead performance by Bridges as a rascally wastrel, Timberlake’s understated turn as his resentful son, and some quietly affecting scenes. The writer-director is son of famed football player Don Meredith. | tt1007018 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara, Harry Dean Stanton, Lyle Lovett, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Open Season | Recon Game | 1974 | Peter Collinson | 💣 | 103 | Sordid mixture of violence and sex as three Vietnam War buddies hunt humans. Video title: RECON GAME. | tt0071292 | [R] | Peter Fonda, John Phillip Law, Richard Lynch, William Holden, Cornelia Sharpe | Spanish | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| Open Season | 1996 | Robert Wuhl | ★★★ | 97 | Smart, funny satire of television and our competitive society. Wuhl plays a nerdy but straight-arrow worker bee at a ratings company who through personal integrity and candor has a knack for getting himself into trouble; then he stumbles into a job in public broadcasting. Fine supporting cast, including Taylor in a pungent performance as a messianic programming chief. Filmed in 1993. | tt0114047 | [R] | Robert Wuhl, Rod Taylor, Helen Shaver, Gailard Sartain, Maggie Han, Steven C. White, Timothy Arrington, Barry Flatman, Dina Merrill, Saul Rubinek, Tom Selleck, Alan Thicke, Jimmie Walker, Joe Piscopo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Open Season | 2006 | Jill Culton, Roger Allers | ★★½ | 86 | A grizzly bear lives a pampered existence with a female park ranger who's adopted him until a hyperactive mule deer comes into his life. When he's returned to the woods his only goal is to get back to his comfy home . . . but it isn't going to be easy. Expressive characters, great comedy timing, and entertaining voice work get this off to a great start, but the simple story stretches out longer than it should. | tt0400717 | [PG] | Voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise, Debra Messing, Billy Connolly, Jon Favreau, Georgia Engel, Jane Krakowski, Gordon Tootoosis, Patrick Warburton | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Open Water | 2004 | Chris Kentis | ★★★ | 80 | Young couple gets away from the stress of daily life with a last-minute vacation south of the border. After a scuba expedition they're somehow left behind by their excursion boat and must find a way to survive on their own, in the middle of the ocean, without food or water, surrounded by sharks. Intense drama eschews Hollywood clichés for a perceptive study of chance, fate, and emotions stripped raw. Debut feature for writer-director-editor-cocinematographer Kentis. His wife, Laura Lau, produced and also did camerawork. | tt0374102 | [R] | Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Open Your Eyes | Abre Los Ojos | 1998 | Alejandro Amenábar | ★½ | 119 | A handsome young man falls in love, but his jealous former girlfriend deals him a cruel blow. Murky psychological thriller bounces from present-day reality to a nightmarish vision of the past and present. The hero becomes a tortured soul, but why do we in the audience have to suffer too? Original title: ABRE LOS OJOS. Remade in 2001 as VANILLA SKY. | tt0125659 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Eduardo Noriega, Chete Lera, Fele Martínez, Najwa Nimri | Spanish-French-Italian | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL |
| Opening Night | 1977 | John Cassavetes | ★★★ | 144 | Fascinating if you appreciate Cassavetes' style (he also wrote it); interminable if you don't. Rowlands is an actress facing a midlife crisis triggered by the death of an adoring fan on the opening night of her new play. Blondell fine as the sympathetic authoress, Cassavetes himself no less interesting as Rowlands' costar. | tt0079672 | Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell, Paul Stewart, Zohra Lampert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Operation Amsterdam | 1960 | Michael McCarthy | ★★½ | 105 | Standard wartime suspense fare as British expedition tries to sneak a cache of diamonds out of Holland before Nazis can get to them. | tt0053140 | Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, Tony Britton, Alexander Knox, Malcolm Keen | British | War | NULL | ||
| Operation Bikini | 1963 | Anthony Carras | ★★ | 83 | Occasionally perky cast livens tame WW2 narrative of attempt to destroy sunken treasure before enemy grabs it. Some color sequences. | tt0057387 | Tab Hunter, Frankie Avalon, Eva Six, Scott Brady, Gary Crosby, Jim Backus | War | NULL | |||
| Operation C.I.A. | 1965 | Christian Nyby | ★★½ | 90 | Burt attempts to thwart an assassination in Saigon. Neat little actioner, and an intriguing look at a Vietnam of politics and spies, where innocent old men and children die. | tt0059548 | Burt Reynolds, Kieu Chinh, Danielle Aubry, John Hoyt, Cyril Collack | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Operation Conspiracy | 1955 | Joseph Sterling. | ★½ | 69 | Timid little espionage film involving a former British major (Friend), whose involvement with Mackenzie during WW2 resulted in his failure to nab a spy. Will that mistake be rectified a decade later? Will you care? Released in the U.S. in 1957. Original British title: CLOAK WITHOUT DAGGER. | tt0050804 | Philip Friend, Mary Mackenzie, Leslie Dwyer, Allan Cuthbertson, John G. Heller. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Operation Cross Eagles | 1969 | Richard Conte | ★½ | 90 | Undistinguished war film about a WW2 mission in Yugoslavia to rescue captured American officer. | tt0064767 | Richard Conte, Rory Calhoun, Aili King, Phil Brown | War | NULL | |||
| Operation Crossbow | The Great Spy Mission | 1965 | Michael Anderson | ★★★½ | 116 | Fine 'impossible mission' tale of small band of commandos out to destroy Nazi secret missile stronghold during WW2. Sensational ending, and the pyrotechnics are dazzling. Scripted by Robert Imrie (Emeric Pressburger), Derry Quinn, and Ray Rigby. Retitled THE GREAT SPY MISSION. | tt0059549 | George Peppard, Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, Tom Courtenay, Jeremy Kemp, Anthony Quayle, John Mills, Sylvia Syms, Richard Todd, Lilli Palmer | War | NULL | ||
| Operation Daybreak | The Price of Freedom | 1976 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 102 | Well-made but uninspiring account of Czech underground's attempt to assassinate Reinhard 'Hangman' Heydrich, Hitler's right-hand man, during WW2. Retitled PRICE OF FREEDOM. | tt0075019 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Martin Shaw, Joss Ackland, Nicola Pagett, Anthony Andrews, Anton Diffring | Adventure | NULL | |
| Operation Disaster | 1951 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 102 | Vivid actioner of submarine warfare during WW2, tautly presented. Originally titled MORNING DEPARTURE. | tt0042810 | John Mills, Helen Cherry, Richard Attenborough, Lana Morris, Nigel Patrick | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Operation Dumbo Drop | 1995 | Simon Wincer | ★★½ | 107 | In the midst of the Vietnam War, a new, by-the-book captain (Liotta) arrives in a strategic village to take the place of Glover, but finds himself on an unlikely adventure to replace the hamlet's all-important elephant. Surprisingly flat until the climax, when things finally pick up. Also an odd choice of setting and subject for a Disney family film . . . which explains the lack of swearing and the toning-down of Leary's conniving character. | tt0114048 | [PG] | Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, Denis Leary, Doug E. Doug, Corin Nemec, Dinh Thien Le, Tcheky Karyo, Hoang Ly, James Hong | Action, Adventure, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Operation Eichmann | 1961 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 93 | Fairly intriguing account of the Nazi leader's postwar life and his capture by Israelis. | tt0055261 | Werner Klemperer, Ruta Lee, Donald Buke, Barbara Turner, John Banner | Drama | NULL | |||
| Operation Haylift | 1950 | William Berke | ★★ | 75 | Minor account of Air Force assisting farmers to save stranded cattle during snowstorm. | tt0042811 | Bill Williams, Ann Rutherford, Jane Nigh, Tom Brown | Drama | NULL | |||
| Operation Kid Brother | Secret Agent 00 | 1967 | Alberto De Martino | ★½ | 104 | Screen debut of Sean Connery's brother in James Bond spinoff is a disaster, in tale of master criminal (Celi)'s plan to blackmail Allied governments into controlling half of world's gold supply. Aka: OPERATION DOUBLE 007; video title: SECRET AGENT 00. | tt0062078 | Neil Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Adolfo Celi, Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson, Lois Maxwell | Italian | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Operation Mad Ball | 1957 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 105 | Weak service comedy about crafty soldiers planning wild party off base. Dull stretches, few gags. O'Connell comes off better than supposed comedians in film. | tt0050805 | Jack Lemmon, Kathryn Grant, Mickey Rooney, Ernie Kovacs, Arthur O'Connell, James Darren, Roger Smith | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Operation Pacific | 1951 | George Waggner | ★★★ | 111 | Overzealous submariner Wayne is ultradedicated to his navy command; the WW2 action scenes are taut, and Neal makes a believable love interest. | tt0043887 | John Wayne, Patricia Neal, Ward Bond, Scott Forbes | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Operation Petticoat | 1959 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 124 | Hilarious comedy about submarine captain Grant who's determined to make his injured ship seaworthy again, and con artist Curtis who wheels and deals to reach that goal. Some truly memorable gags; Grant and Curtis are a dynamite team in this happy film. Remade for TV in 1977. | tt0053143 | Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Dina Merrill, Gene Evans, Arthur O'Connell, Richard Sargent, Virginia Gregg, Robert F. Simon, Gavin MacLeod, Madlyn Rhue, Marion Ross, Nicky Blair | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Operation Secret | 1952 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 108 | Tame WW2 actioner involving a traitor in midst of Allied division. | tt0044999 | Cornel Wilde, Steve Cochran, Phyllis Thaxter, Karl Malden, Dan O'Herlihy | War | NULL | |||
| Operation Snafu | Operation Warhead | 1961 | Cyril Frankel | ★★½ | 97 | Sluggish WW2 account of two buddies becoming heroes unintentionally; most capable cast. Retitled: OPERATION WARHEAD. Originally titled ON THE FIDDLE. | tt0055262 | Alfred Lynch, Sean Connery, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Alan King, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Eric Barker, Kathleen Harrison | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Operation Snafu | 1970 | Nanni Loy | 💣 | 97 | Aggressively unfunny comedy about a group of Algeria-based soldiers led by Falk on special mission to Sicily during WW2. Actual title on film is SITUATION NORMAL ALL FOULED UP. | tt0066312 | Peter Falk, Jason Robards, Martin Landau, Nino Manfredi, Scott Hylands, Slim Pickens, Frank Latimore, Anthony Dawson | Italian-Yugoslavian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Operation Snatch | 1962 | Robert Day | ★★ | 83 | Fitfully funny satire involving British attempt to keep 'their flag flying' on Gibraltar during WW2. | tt0056311 | Terry-Thomas, George Sanders, Lionel Jeffries, Jackie Lane, Lee Montague | British | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Operation St. Peter's | 1968 | Lucio Fulci | ★★ | 100 | Average heist film with a twist: attempt to steal Michelangelo's Pietà from Vatican— it's tough to fence. | tt0061324 | [G] | Edward G. Robinson, Lando Buzzanca, Jean-Claude Brialy | Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Operation Thunderbolt | 1977 | Menahem Golan | ★★★ | 125 | Stunning retelling of the famed raid by Israeli commandos on July 4, 1976, to rescue 104 hijacked passengers from a plane at Entebbe in Uganda. The stamp of official Israeli approval given this film and dedicated performances by a basically Israeli cast make this one outshine both star-laden American-made dramatizations, RAID ON ENTEBBE and VICTORY AT ENTEBBE. | tt0076398 | [PG] | Yehoram Gaon, Klaus Kinski, Assaf Dayan, Shai K. Ophir, Sybil Danning | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Operation X | 1950 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 79 | Heady yarn with Robinson overly ambitious businessman forgetting his scruples. Original title: MY DAUGHTER JOY. | tt0042812 | Edward G. Robinson, Peggy Cummins, Richard Greene, Nora Swinburne | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Operator 13 | 1934 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 86 | Davies plays an actress who's recruited as a Union spy during the Civil War; she spends the first half of the film in blackface disguise, the second half falling in love with Confederate officer Cooper. Patently absurd but still somehow entertaining. | tt0025607 | Marion Davies, Gary Cooper, Katharine Alexander, Jean Parker, Ted Healy, Russell Hardie, The Four Mills Brothers, Sidney Toler | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Opportunists | 2000 | Myles Connell | ★★ | 89 | Walken plays a perpetual screw-up who's persuaded to participate in a robbery that's a 'sure thing' . . . even though he served time for his last attempt. Low-key to the point of catatonia, this formulaic yarn gets its only juice from Walken; Lauper is good as his independent-minded girlfriend. | tt0138681 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Peter McDonald, Cyndi Lauper, Vera Farmiga, Donal Logue, Jose Zuniga, Tom Noonan, Anne Pitoniak, Kate Burton | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Opportunity Knocks | 1990 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 105 | Innocuous comedy about a con artist who assumes someone else's identity and falls into a plum job with a bathroom-fixture tycoon, who happens to have a cute daughter. First starring showcase for Saturday Night Live comic Carvey lets him do his dialect shticks, but never catches fire. | tt0100301 | [PG-13] | Dana Carvey, Robert Loggia, Todd Graff, Julia Campbell, Milo O'Shea, James Tolkan, Doris Belack, Sally Gracie, Del Close | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Opposing Force | 1986 | Eric Karson | ★★ | 97 | Eichhorn, only female in a military experiment designed to simulate p.o.w.-torture conditions, falls victim to madman commander Zerbe— who justifies his rape of her as a training technique. Barely released action film builds modest suspense, then fizzles out. Aka HELLCAMP. | tt0091688 | [R] | Tom Skerritt, Lisa Eichhorn, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Roundtree, Robert Wightman, John Considine | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Opposite Sex (And How to Live With Them) | 1993 | Matthew Meshekoff | 💣 | 86 | Painfully strained comedy about courtship rituals between a Jewish jock male and a WASP female with hoity-toity friends. Complete with annoying first-person, eyes-into-the-camera chat-ups to us by all four leads. Sat on the shelf, unreleased, roughly dating back to the Polk Administration. | tt0105063 | [R] | Arye Gross, Courteney Cox, Kevin Pollak, Julie Brown, Mitchell Ryan, Phil Bruns, Mitzi McCall, B. J. Ward, Jack Carter, Kimberlin Brown, Kimber Sissons, Andrea Evans | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Opposite Sex | 1956 | David Miller | ★★★ | 117 | Well-heeled musical remake of Clare Boothe Luce's THE WOMEN has stellar cast, but still pales next to brittle original (Shearer, Crawford, Russell, etc.). Major difference: music and men appear in this expanded version. | tt0049578 | June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, Sam Levene, Alice Pearce, Barbara Jo Allen, Carolyn Jones, Alan Marshal, Dick Shawn, Jim Backus, Harry James, Art Mooney, Dean Jones | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Opposite of Sex | 1998 | Don Roos | ★★★ | 105 | Bold, clever black comedy about a truculent 16-year-old girl who runs away from home to stay with her gay half-brother, willfully disrupts his relationships, and sets his life into a spin. Writer-director Roos creates a gallery of unusual and interesting characters, but it's a tie who has the smartest, funniest lines— Ricci, as the smart-alecky heroine/narrator, or Kudrow, as the brother's sour confidante. Not for all tastes. | tt0120777 | [R] | Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Galecki, William Scott Lee, Ivan Sergei | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Optimists | 1973 | Anthony Simmons | ★★★ | 110 | Entertaining comedy-drama of London busker (street entertainer) Sellers and the two tough little kids he takes in hand. Songs by Lionel Bart include effective 'Sometimes.' Alternate TV version runs 94m. | tt0070488 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Donna Mullane, John Chaffey, David Daker | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Orange County | 2002 | Jake Kasdan | ★★ | 81 | Southern California teen forsakes his fun-in-the-sun life to become a writer, hoping to be accepted at Stanford University, but his wildly dysfunctional family (including a perpetually stoned brother) keeps getting in the way. Lumpy, goofball comedy suddenly turns serious and sincere toward the end— to no great effect. Written by Mike White, who also appears briefly. Kevin Kline and Ben Stiller are unbilled. | tt0273923 | [PG-13] | Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Harold Ramis, Jane Adams, Garry Marshall, Dana Ivey, Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin, George Murdock, Leslie Mann | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Oranges and Sunshine | 2011 | Jim Loach | ★★★ | 106 | Moving account of a British woman, Margaret Humphreys (Watson), who discovers that there is a lost generation of "unwanted" English children who were sent to Australia by the government, beginning in the 1950s, and never saw their families again. Although she has a family of her own, she feels honor bound to help as many of these people as possible to put the pieces of their lives back together. Eschewing melodrama, writer Rona Munro (working from Humphreys' book Empty Cradles) and director Loach create a heartrending, and often shocking, drama. Wenham and Weaving are particularly effective, cast against type, as men who are trying to come to grips with their fractured childhoods. Feature debut for director Loach, who is following in social-political footsteps of his father Ken. | tt1438216 | [R] | Emily Watson, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving, Richard Dillane, Lorraine Ashbourne | Australian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Orca | 1977 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 92 | Killer whale avenges himself on bounty hunter Harris and crew for killing pregnant mate. For undiscriminating action fans whose idea of entertainment is watching Bo getting her leg bitten off. | tt0076504 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Peter Hooten, Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, Robert Carradine | Action, Thriller, Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Orchestra Conductor | The Conductor | 1980 | Andrzej Wajda | ★★ | 101 | Uneven drama about aged Polish conductor Gielgud returning to his hometown. Excellent cast is defeated by a superficially philosophical script. Video title: THE CONDUCTOR. | tt0079090 | John Gielgud, Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Seweryn, Jan Ciercierski | Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| Orchestra Rehearsal | 1979 | Federico Fellini | ★★½ | 72 | Heavy-handed allegory that examines an orchestra as microcosm of troubled world; occasional moments of wit and insight, but overall a disappointment. Made for Italian television. Music by Nino Rota. | tt0079759 | [R] | Baldwin Baas, Clara Colosimo, Elizabeth Lubi, Ronoldo Bonacchi, Ferdinando Villella | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Orchestra Wives | 1942 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 98 | Hokey storyline (with hotshot trumpeter Montgomery impetuously marrying moony-eyed fan Rutherford) serves as a nice showcase for Miller's band, and features such hits as 'Serenade in Blue,' 'At Last,' and 'I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo,' featuring Tex Beneke, The Modernaires, and a snazzy dance routine by The Nicholas Brothers. That's young Jackie Gleason as the band's bass player . . . and look fast for Dale Evans as Rutherford's soda-fountain pal. | tt0035157 | George Montgomery, Ann Rutherford, Glenn Miller and his Band, Lynn Bari, Carole Landis, Cesar Romero, Virginia Gilmore, Mary Beth Hughes, The Nicholas Brothers, Jackie Gleason, Harry Morgan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Ordeal by Innocence | 1984 | Desmond Davis | ★½ | 87 | Agatha Christie mystery has American Sutherland as amateur sleuth in 1950s English hamlet. Cast wasted, logic absent in utterly pointless film. Score by Dave Brubeck. Made in England. | tt0087852 | [PG-13] | Donald Sutherland, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Miles, Ian McShane, Diana Quick, Annette Crosbie | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Order of Myths | 2008 | Margaret Brown | ★★★ | 97 | Mobile, Alabama, hosts the oldest Mardi Gras in the U.S.—but to this day there are two parallel celebrations, one white and one black. Filmmaker Brown (who grew up there) explores the history of the city and reveals how age-old events still resonate there, even as eager participants gear up for the biggest event(s) of the year. A disarming and revealing slice of life that proves regionalism is alive and well in America. | tt1157694 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Order | 2003 | Brian Helgeland | ★½ | 102 | Young priest Ledger is sent to Rome to probe the mysterious death of his mentor and discovers an ancient Catholic ritual involving 'Sin Eaters,' an order of immortal renegade priests who consume people's sins. Boring, bloody, and often risible EXORCIST wannabe; the third directing misfire for Oscar-winning screenwriter Helgeland, following PAYBACK and A KNIGHT'S TALE. | tt0304711 | [R] | Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Benno Furmann, Peter Weller, Francesco Carnelutti, Mattia Sbragia, Giulia Lombardi | Mystery, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Orders Are Orders | 1954 | David Paltenghi | ★★ | 78 | Hancock as befuddled lieutenant is best item in this slapstick yarn of movie company using an Army barracks for headquarters. Based on a 1932 play, filmed once before. | tt0047310 | Margot Grahame, Maureen Swanson, Peter Sellers, Tony Hancock, Sidney James | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Orders to Kill | 1958 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 93 | American undercover agent Massie gladly accepts an assignment to kill a Paris lawyer with suspected Nazi ties— then meets and grows to like his future victim. Low-key psychological study with a memorable Gish cameo. Screenplay by Paul Dehn. | tt0052033 | Eddie Albert, Paul Massie, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice | British | War | NULL | ||
| Ordet | 1955 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | ★★★★ | 125 | Two rural families, at odds with each other over religious differences, are forced to come to grips with their children's love for each other. Arguably Dreyer's greatest film, but certainly the movies' final word on the struggle between conventional Christianity and more personalized religious faith. Truly awe-inspiring, with a never-to-be-forgotten climactic scene. Based on a play by Kaj Munk, filmed before in 1943. | tt0048452 | Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Preben Lerdorff Rye | Danish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ordinary Decent Criminal | 2000 | Thaddeus O’Sullivan | ★½ | 94 | Smug Irish criminal Spacey likes to steal and takes pleasure not only in outwitting the police but in humiliating them as well. The main character is so arrogant and unlikable that it isn't fun to watch him taunt authority. Fiorentino and Spacey fumble with their brogues in this otherwise forgettable film. Loosely based on the life of Martin Cahill, whose story was told in 1998's THE GENERAL. | tt0160611 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, Helen Baxendale, Stephen Dillane, Peter Mullan, David Hayman, PatrickMalahide, Gerard McSorley, Colin Farrell | U.S.-Irish-British | Crime, Comedy | NULL | |
| Ordinary People | 1980 | Robert Redford | ★★★★ | 123 | Superb adaptation of Judith Guest's novel about a well-to-do family's deterioration after the death of the eldest son, told mostly from the point of view of his guilt-ridden younger brother. Intelligent, meticulously crafted film, an impressive directorial debut for Redford, who won an Academy Award, and young Hutton, who took the Best Supporting Actor prize. Other Oscars for screenwriter Alvin Sargent and for Best Picture of the Year. McGovern's film debut. | tt0081283 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton, M. Emmet Walsh, Elizabeth McGovern, Dinah Manoff, James B. Sikking | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Oregon Trail | 1959 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★★ | 86 | Uneventful Western with MacMurray a reporter investigating Indian attacks on settlers; set in 19th-century Oregon. | tt0053145 | Fred MacMurray, William Bishop, Nina Shipman, Gloria Talbott, Henry Hull, John Carradine | Western | NULL | |||
| The Organization | 1971 | Don Medford | ★★★ | 107 | Poitier, in his third and final appearance as Virgil Tibbs (from IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), tries to bust open a major dope-smuggling operation. Exciting chase sequences, realistic ending. | tt0067535 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, Sheree North, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Raul Julia, Fred Beir, Allen Garfield, Ron O'Neal, Dan Travanty (Daniel J. Travanti), Max Gail | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Organizer | 1963 | Mario Monicelli | ★★★ | 126 | Serious look at labor union efforts in Italy, with Mastroianni giving low-keyed performance in title role. | tt0056945 | Marcello Mastroianni, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori, Bernard Blier | Italian | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Orgazmo | 1997 | Trey Parker | ★★½ | 90 | Surprisingly slick— and undeniably funny— low-budget farce about a young Mormon on a mission who winds up being recruited to star in a porno movie being shot in L.A. Written by Parker, and featuring his pal Stone (together, the creators of South Park); raunchy and offensive, but also surprisingly conventional in its storytelling. Unrated 95m. version also available. | tt0124819 | [NC-17] | Trey Parker, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne Raab, Michael Dean Jacobs, Ron Jeremy, Andrew W. Kemler, David Dunn, Matt Stone | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Original Gangstas | 1996 | Larry Cohen | ★★ | 98 | Fast-paced but very violent action thriller marks a return to the blaxploitation films of the '70s, reuniting many of the genre's top stars. When a gang shoots the father of a former bad boy turned good guy, he enlists the services of his ex-buddies to rid the town of this new urban terror. Serviceable but hardly inspired; it's still fun to see these actors doing what comes naturally. Williamson also produced. | tt0117260 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Isabel Sanford, Oscar Brown/Jr., Richard Roundtree, Ron O'Neal, Christopher B. Duncan, Eddie Bo Smith/Jr., Dru Down, Robert Forster, Charles Napier, Wings Hauser | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Original Kings of Comedy | 2000 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 117 | Lee's straightforward filmization of a concert in Charlotte, N.C., by four leading black stand-up comics. Uncensored, funny riffs abound, mostly on the differences between blacks and whites, but the film could've benefited from some tightening. Harvey is hands down most hilarious, whether spoofing TITANIC or praising the virtues of old-school '70s soul music. | tt0236388 | [R] | Steve Harvey, D.L.Hughley, Cedric The Entertainer, Bernie Mac | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Original Sin | 2001 | Michael Cristofer | ★½ | 112 | Overdone, laughably bad adaptation of the Cornell Woolrich novel Waltz Into Darkness (previously filmed by François Truffaut as MISSISSIPPI MERMAID). Banderas plays a rich Cuban at the beginning of the 20th century who discovers his young bride isn't exactly what he thought. On video the fast forward button will enable interested viewers to skip directly to the steamy sex scenes between Jolie and Banderas. Alternate unrated version available on DVD. | tt0218922 | [R] | Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas, Thomas Jane, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Gregory Itzin, Allison Mackie, Joan Pringle, Cordelia Richards, Jack Thompson, James Haven | U.S.-French | Thriller, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Orlando | 1993 | Sally Potter | ★★★ | 93 | Well, it's certainly unique: the story of someone who lives four hundred years (Swinton, in a stunning performance)— first as a man, and later as a woman— evolving from a young nobleman in the era of Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp portrays the monarch!) to a highly sensitized contemporary woman of the 20th century. Set in, on, and around various continents, time frames, and locales, this adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 1928 book (scripted by the director) is highly recommended for fans of the offbeat. Swinton's young daughter, Jessica, portrays Orlando's daughter at the finale. | tt0255451 | [PG-13] | Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey, Heathcote Williams, Quentin Crisp, Peter Eyre, Ned Sherrin, Jimmy Somerville | British | Drama, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | |
| Orphan | 2009 | Jaume Collet-Serra | ★★ | 123 | Formulaic bad seed–type horror movie still manages to offer up plenty of creepy Grand Guignol moments and sports a genuine you-won’t-see-it-coming twist that sets this apart from others in the overworn genre. Plot has a well-to-do couple adopting a Russian orphan to join their family but then seem clueless as havoc slowly starts to break loose and the little darling isn’t what they bargained for. Some of this goes way over the top, yet remains a guilty pleasure for genre fans. | tt1148204 | [R] | Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett, Margo Martindale | U.S.-French-German | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Orphanage | 2007 | Juan Antonio Bayona | ★★★ | 105 | A woman and her husband move into the seaside mansion where she spent part of her childhood when it was an orphanage. Their loving (adopted) son Simon has always had “imaginary” friends, but in this strange new environment “they” turn violent and abduct the boy. Gothic shocker builds suspense and terror in classical fashion, as this densely plotted story unfolds—with unusual parallels to James Barrie’s Peter Pan. Bayona’s directorial debut; coproduced by Guillermo del Toro. | tt0464141 | [R] | Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Montserrat Carulla, Andrés Gertrúdix, Edgar Vivar, Geraldine Chaplin | Mexican-Spanish | Thriller, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |
| Orphans | 1987 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★½ | 120 | Young punk brings a well-heeled drunk home one night, planning to fleece him, but soon learns that his 'victim' is no dummy; in fact, he quickly takes over the lives of the hot-tempered mugger and his slow-witted younger brother. Lyle Kessler's script (from his own play) fails to adapt its stage conventions to the new medium . . . but the performances are so powerful, and the material so emotional, that it's still worthwhile. Besides, Finney can do no wrong. | tt0093683 | [R] | Albert Finney, Matthew Modine, Kevin Anderson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Orphans of the Storm | 1922 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★ | 125 | Griffith's epic about sisters cruelly separated, one blind and raised by thieves, one innocent and plundered by lecherous aristocrats. Implausible plot segues into French Revolution, with lavish settings and race-to-the-rescue climax. For all its creaky situations, and extreme length, still dazzling. Based on a 19th-century French play, The Two Orphans, which was filmed before in 1915 and again in 1933 and 1955. | tt0012532 | Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut, Morgan Wallace, Lucille LaVerne, Sheldon Lewis, Frank Puglia, Creighton Hale, Monte Blue, Louis Wolheim | Drama | NULL | |||
| Orpheus | 1949 | Jean Cocteau | ★★★ | 95 | Compelling cinematic allegory set in modern times with poet Marais encountering Princess of Death, exploring their mutual fascination. Heavy-handed at times, but still quite special. Remade by Jacques Demy as PARKING. Original French running time: 112m. | tt0041719 | Jean Marais, François Périer, Maria Casarés, Marie Dea, Juliette Greco, Roger Blin | French | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Osaka Elegy | 1936 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★ | 71 | Early Mizoguchi gem deals with big-city life in Japan and its corrupting effect on an innocent young girl. She becomes her boss' mistress in order to help her debt-ridden family but falls into prostitution when she is fired. Moving and highly cinematic critique of an oppressive society and the subordination of women. | tt0028021 | Isuzu Yamada, Seiichi Takegawa, Chiyoko Okura, Shinpachiro Asaka, Benkei Shiganoya, Yôko Umemura. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Osama | 2003 | Siddiq Barmak | ★★★½ | 82 | When the repressive Taliban regime shuts down the small Afghan hospital at which a 12-year-old girl assists her widowed mother, any chance of eking out a living is cut off. Women are now forbidden to go outdoors unescorted by a male relative, so the child is disguised as a boy named Osama; then the real dangers begin. Harrowing drama achieves poignancy and power through its straightforward depiction of one person's destiny. Written, edited, and coproduced by the director. First film made in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban; in fact, the first film made since the Taliban rose to power and destroyed the Afghan film industry. | tt0368913 | [PG-13] | Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar, Mohamad Nader Khadjeh, Hamida Refah, Khwaja Nader | Afghani-Dutch-Irish-Japanese-Iranian | Drama | NULL | |
| Oscar | 1991 | John Landis | ★★½ | 109 | Stallone is surprisingly enjoyable in a comic change-of-pace, playing 1930s gangster Angelo 'Snaps' Provolone, who's trying to go straight, despite the domestic and financial chaos that surrounds him. Farcical comedy, complete with mistaken identities and slamming doors, offers showcases for Palminteri as Snaps' henchman, Curry as a priggish speech teacher, Bracken as a stuttering stoolie, and Shearer and Ferrero as the Finuccis but never quite takes wing. Based on a French play, filmed before in 1967 with Louis de Funes. | tt0102603 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, Don Ameche, Peter Riegert, Tim Curry, Vincent Spano, Marisa Tomei, Eddie Bracken, Linda Gray, Chazz Palminteri, Kurtwood Smith, Yvonne De Carlo, Ken Howard, William Atherton, Martin Ferrero, Harry Shearer, Richard Romanus, Kirk Douglas | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Oscar Wilde | 1960 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★★ | 96 | Morley is ideally cast as famed 19th-century playwright and wit, in film that focuses on his traumatic trials and eventual conviction for sodomy. Released at the same time as THE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE with Peter Finch. | tt0053149 | Robert Morley, Phyllis Calvert, John Neville, Ralph Richardson, Dennis Price, Alexander Knox | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Oscar and Lucinda | 1997 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★½ | 132 | Odd romance of two Australian misfits in the mid 1800s: scarred and tormented clergyman's son Fiennes and independent Victorian heiress Blanchett, both of whom are gambling fanatics. The wager of their lives becomes surreal, as an iron-and-glass church is transported by sea and overland into the wilderness. Eccentricity upstages romance and passion in this adaptation of Peter Carey's novel. Reminiscent of Herzog's FITZCARRALDO. | tt0119843 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Josephine Byrnes, Richard Roxburgh, Billie Brown | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Oscar | 1966 | Russell Rouse | ★★½ | 119 | Shiny tinsel view of Hollywood and those competing for Academy Awards; Parker as love-hungry talent agent comes off best. Loosely based on Richard Sale novel, with many guest stars thrown in. Some of the dialogue is so bad it's laughable. | tt0060801 | Stephen Boyd, Elke Sommer, Eleanor Parker, Milton Berle, Joseph Cotten, Jill St. John, Ernest Borgnine, Edie Adams, Tony Bennett, Jean Hale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Osmosis Jones | 2001 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Piet Kroon, Tom Sito | ★★ | 95 | A slovenly zoo attendant who neglects his daughter takes even worse care of his body; inside his system, a maverick blood cell named Osmosis disobeys orders and tries to defeat an invading virus. Ingenious, well-designed animated film, full of clever ideas about the workings of the human body, is all but undone by a live-action framing story about Bill Murray's character, who is simply disgusting. | tt0181739 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Elena Franklin, Molly Shannon, Chris Elliott; voices of Chris Rock, Laurence Fishburne, David Hyde Pierce, Ron Howard, Brandy Norwood, William Shatner, Kid Rock, Ben Stein | Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ossessione | 1942 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★½ | 140 | Visconti's first feature triggered the great era of Italian neorealism, transplanting James Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice quite successfully to Fascist Italy; however, as an unauthorized version of the book, it was not permitted to be shown in the U.S. until 1975. Heavy going at times, but fascinating nonetheless. Filmed earlier in France, twice later in the U.S. | tt0035160 | Massimo Girotti, Clara Calamai, Juan deLanda, Elio Marcuzzo | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Osterman Weekend | 1983 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★½ | 102 | Intriguing, sometimes confusing adaptation of Robert Ludlum thriller about a controversial talkshow host who's recruited by the CIA to expose some friends who are supposedly Soviet agents. Consistently interesting but aloof and cold, despite a top-notch cast. Peckinpah's final film. | tt0086058 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Craig T. Nelson, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon, Meg Foster, Helen Shaver, Cassie Yates, Burt Lancaster | Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Otello | 1986 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★½ | 120 | Beautifully filmed version of the Verdi opera, with Domingo in fine voice in the title role; he is more than ably assisted by Ricciarelli as wife Desdemona and Diaz as the evil, manipulative Iago. Nearly flawless in all respects; a must for opera buffs. | tt0091699 | [PG] | Placido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli, Justino Diaz, Petra Malakova, Urbano Barberini | Italian | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Othello | 1952 | Orson Welles | ★★★½ | 92 | Riveting, strikingly directed version of the Shakespeare play with Welles in the title role, lied to by Iago (MacLiammoir) into thinking that wife Desdemona (Cloutier) has been unfaithful. Shot, incredibly, between 1949 and 1952, because of budget difficulties; one of the most fascinating (and underrated) attempts at Shakespeare ever filmed. Joseph Cotten appears as a Senator, Joan Fontaine as a Page. Reconstructed (with its music score rerecorded) for 1992 reissue. | tt0045251 | Orson Welles, Micheál MacLiammóir, Suzanne Cloutier, Robert Coote, Michael Lawrence, Fay Compton, Doris Dowling | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Othello | 1965 | Stuart Burge | ★★★★ | 166 | Brilliant transferral to the screen of Shakespeare's immortal story of the Moor of Venice. Burge directed the filming, Olivier staged the production. | tt0059555 | Laurence Olivier, Frank Finlay, Maggie Smith, Joyce Redman, Derek Jacobi, Edward Hardwicke, Mike Gambon, John McEnery | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Othello | 1995 | Oliver Parker | ★★★ | 125 | Though not as brilliantly cinematic as Welles' version, Parker's film may be more accessible to modern audiences, as the dialogue is delivered in a naturalistic fashion. Fishburne is very good in the title role, bringing out the warrior Moor's essential innocence and passion, but Branagh is brilliant as the witty, scheming Iago; Jacob, as Desdemona, is less satisfactory. Overall, an intelligent, respectable adaptation. | tt0114057 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker, Michael Maloney, Anna Patrick, Nicholas Farrell, Indra Ove, Michael Sheen, Pierre Vaneck, Gabriele Ferzetti, Andre Oumansky, Philip Locke, John Savident | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Other Boleyn Girl | 2008 | Justin Chadwick | ★★½ | 114 | Impoverished family’s scheme to curry favor with England’s King Henry VIII by foisting their daughter Anne (Portman) on him backfires when he shows more interest in her sister Mary (Johansson) . . . at least, at first. Absorbing historical drama is extremely well acted, with Bana an uncharacteristically subdued Henry VIII, but looks cheap at times, and lacks a certain punch. Peter Morgan streamlined Philippa Gregory’s best-selling novel, which was filmed in 2003 for British TV. | tt0467200 | [PG-13] | Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mark Rylance, David Morrissey, Jim Sturgess, Benedict Cumberbatch, Oliver Coleman, Ana Torrent, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Biography | NULL | |
| The Other Guys | 2010 | Adam McKay | ★★★ | 107 | When two freewheeling supercops (Jackson, Johnson) literally fall in the line of duty, far less stellar NYPD detectives—a desk-bound pencil pusher (Ferrell) and a trigger-happy hothead (Wahlberg)—take over a case involving a Wall Street Ponzi schemer (Coogan). Consistently clever, robustly played farce is by turns an entertaining parody and a textbook example of an over-the-top, buddy-cop action-comedy. Wahlberg and Ferrell are perfectly mismatched, and Mendes gets some big laughs as the latter’s improbably gorgeous wife. Famous faces turn up in cameo roles; Ice-T narrates, unbilled. Unrated version runs 116m. | tt1386588 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Rob Riggle, Damon Wayans/Jr., Bobby Cannavale | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Other Love | 1947 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 95 | Dying Stanwyck decides to live wild life with gambler Conte, unaware that doctor Niven loves her. Not convincing, but enjoyable. | tt0039686 | Barbara Stanwyck, David Niven, Richard Conte, Maria Palmer, Joan Lorring, Gilbert Roland, Richard Hale, Lenore Aubert | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Other Man | 2008 | Richard Eyre | ★★½ | 88 | Successful shoe designer (Linney) drops hints, to successful software developer husband (Neeson), that her eye might be wondering. Neeson later discovers that his wife may indeed be having an affair and sets out, with murder in his heart, on a journey to unearth the truth. Stars are in fine form, but the would-be film noir becomes a lukewarm soap opera. Adapted from a story by Bernhard Schlink. | tt0974613 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney, Romola Garai | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Other Men's Women | 1931 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 70 | Love triangle set in the world of railroad men; interesting melodrama, dated in some ways, but vivid in its atmosphere, with great action finale. Cagney and Blondell have supporting roles. | tt0022236 | Grant Withers, Mary Astor, Regis Toomey, James Cagney, Joan Blondell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Other People's Money | 1991 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 101 | Ruthless Wall Street predator known as Larry the Liquidator sets his sights on acquiring— and destroying— the New England wire and cable company run in traditional and familial style by Peck . . . but he doesn't count on having to battle a lawyer as smart (or as appealing) as Miller, who just happens to be Peck's daughter. A great vehicle for DeVito, though lacking the bite (and the ethnicity) of Jerry Sterner's off-Broadway play. Slick and engaging, but never really satisfying. | tt0102609 | [R] | Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, Penelope Ann Miller, Piper Laurie, Dean Jones, Tom Aldredge, R. D. Call | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Other Side of Heaven | 2001 | Mitch Davis | ★★½ | 113 | Old-fashioned, heartfelt saga based on the life of John Groberg, a dedicated young man who leaves his fiancée in the 1940s to bring religious teachings to the people of Tonga in the South Pacific. Corny and two-dimensional at times, but the film's sincerity ultimately wins out. Although the protagonist is a missionary for the Mormon church, the film does not proselytize. | tt0250371 | [PG] | Christopher Gorham, Anne Hathaway, Joe Folau, Miriama Smith, Nathaniel Lees | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other Side of Midnight | 1977 | Charles Jarrott | 💣 | 165 | Trashy Sidney Sheldon novel gets the treatment it deserves in ponderous story, set from 1939-1947, about a woman who parlays her body into film stardom. Dull, as opposed to lively, drek. | tt0076507 | [R] | Marie-France Pisier, John Beck, Susan Sarandon, Raf Vallone, Clu Gulager, Christian Marquand, Michael Lerner, Howard Hesseman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other Side of the Bed | Otro lado de la cama, El | 2002 | Emilio Martínez Lázaro | ★★★ | 109 | The gnarled sex lives of two couples unravel and then come together again in this colorful musical, a big hit in Spain. Everyone talks a lot and sings about sex, both straight and gay. Frolicsome, with dance numbers and (mild) sex scenes galore. It's fairly pointless but good-natured fun. | tt0301524 | [R] | Ernesto Alterio, Paz Vega, Guillermo Toledo, Natalia Verbeke, Alberto San Juan, María Esteve, Ramón Barea, Nathalie Poza | Spanish | Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL |
| The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 | 1978 | Larry Peerce | ★★½ | 100 | Smooth continuation of story of crippled skier Jill Kinmont (Hassett), who finds true love with trucker Bottoms. Timothy's real-life father James plays his dad in this film. | tt0078044 | [PG] | Marilyn Hassett, Timothy Bottoms, Nan Martin, Belinda J. Montgomery, Gretchen Corbett, William Bryant | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other Side of the Mountain | 1975 | Larry Peerce | ★★½ | 101 | Pleasantly performed but undistinguished true-life tragedy about skier Jill Kinmont, once a shoo-in for the Olympics until a sporting accident left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Followed by 1978 sequel. | tt0073496 | [PG] | Marilyn Hassett, Beau Bridges, Belinda J. Montgomery, Nan Martin, William Bryant, Dabney Coleman, Dori Brenner, Griffin Dunne | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other Sister | 1999 | Garry Marshall | ★★½ | 129 | Sentimental but unfocused film about a mentally challenged girl and her first attempts to free herself from a smothering mother. Appealing performances by Lewis and Ribisi (as her boyfriend) help make up for the wandering nature of the screenplay, though it would be hard not to shed a tear by the end. | tt0123209 | [PG-13] | Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton, Tom Skerritt, Giovanni Ribisi, Poppy Montgomery, Sarah Paulson, Linda Thorson, Juliet Mills, Hector Elizondo | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Other Voices, Other Rooms | 1997 | David Rocksavage | ★★ | 94 | Colorless coming-of-age drama about a boy (Speck) who goes off to live with his father in a secluded, decaying mansion, and bonds with a couple of eccentric characters. Based on Truman Capote's early autobiographical novel, and much inferior to THE GRASS HARP (which is similar in theme and also based on Capote). | tt0119845 | Lothaire Bluteau, Anna Thomson, David Speck, Aubrey Dollar, Frank Taylor, April Turner | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other Woman | 1954 | Hugo Haas | 💣 | 81 | Typical Hugo Haas fare involving a girl's plot for revenge on her former boss. | tt0047317 | Hugo Haas, Cleo Moore, Lance Fuller, Lucille Barkley, Jack Macy, John Qualen | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Other Woman | 2009 | Don Roos | ★★ | 102 | A second wife struggles with Major Issues about her philandering father, the new husband's ex, and a puzzling 8-year-old stepson, in Portman's go as an unhappy Manhattanite. Director's adaptation of Bad Mom blogger Ayelet Waldman's 2006 novel Love and Other Impossible Pursuits explains how everyone got here . . . and a surprise near the end suggests where they're going. Persuasively acted and not bad, but bland. | tt1032825 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Scott Cohen, Charlie Tahan, Lauren Ambrose, Lisa Kudrow, Michael Cristofer, Debra Monk, Elizabeth Marvel, Anthony Rapp | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Other | 1972 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 100 | Eerie tale of supernatural, with twin brothers representing good and evil. Stark, chilling mood tale adapted by Thomas Tryon from his novel. | tt0069050 | [PG] | Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Chris Udvarnoky, Martin Udvarnoky, Norma Connolly, Victor French, Portia Nelson, John Ritter | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Others | 2001 | Alejandro Amenábar | ★★★ | 101 | Engrossing ghost story set on the Channel Islands in 1945. A troubled woman whose husband has never returned from the war tries to maintain her creepy old house while protecting— or is it overprotecting?— her two young children. A new household staff may be part of the solution, or just another manifestation of the problem. In the tradition of THE HAUNTING (1963), this eerie film builds tension by showing virtually nothing, but firing our imagination. Written by the director; coexecutive-produced by Tom Cruise. | tt0230600 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Renée Asherson | Spanish-U.S. | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Otley | 1969 | Dick Clement | ★★ | 90 | Static spy spoof about petty thief and beautiful secret agent is helped a bit by Courtenay and Schneider, but otherwise has little to recommend it. | tt0064775 | [M] | Tom Courtenay, Romy Schneider, Alan Badel, James Villiers, Leonard Rossiter, Fiona Lewis, Freddie Jones, Ronald Lacey | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Our Betters | 1933 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 83 | Dated but enjoyable film of Somerset Maugham drawing-room comedy about British lord marrying rich American girl. Costars Bennett and Roland later married in real life. | tt0024421 | Constance Bennett, Gilbert Roland, Charles Starrett, Anita Louise, Alan Mowbray, Minor Watson, Violet Kemble Cooper | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Blushing Brides | 1930 | Harry Beaumont | ★★½ | 104 | Level-headed department-store worker Crawford and flighty roommates Page and Sebastian try to nab rich husbands. Crawford shines in this otherwise unconvincing drama. | tt0021223 | Joan Crawford, Anita Page, Dorothy Sebastian, Robert Montgomery, Raymond Hackett, John Miljan, Hedda Hopper, Edward Brophy, Albert Conti | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Brand Is Crisis | 2005 | Rachel Boynton | ★★★ | 87 | Savvy documentary offers a revealing exploration of 'foreign policy for profit,' spotlighting the manner in which consulting firms market political candidates across the globe. The emphasis is on a U.S.-based firm (one of whose partners is James Carville) hired to help a less-than-forthcoming candidate win a presidential election in Brazil. While its message isn't new, the film is a worthy companion piece to such classics of the genre as THE WAR ROOM. | tt0492714 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Our Daily Bread | 1934 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 74 | Landmark experiment by always innovative filmmaker Vidor, who stepped outside the studio system to make this bold, back-to-the-soil drama about communal living. Unfortunately, the acting— especially by leading man Keene— is so pedestrian as to sabotage the film. Climactic irrigation sequence is justly famous, however. | tt0025610 | Karen Morley, Tom Keene, John Qualen, Barbara Pepper, Addison Richards, Harry Holman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Dancing Daughters | 1928 | Harry Beaumont | ★★★ | 83 | One of the best Jazz Age silents, with absurdly melodramatic story: flapper Joan loses Johnny to Anita Page, who's been pushed into marriage against her will. Crystallization of the Roaring 20s. Silent film with synchronized music track (and even an occasional bit of off-screen dialogue). | tt0019237 | Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, Nils Asther, Anita Page, Kathlyn Williams, Edward Nugent | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Family Wedding | 2010 | Rick Famuyiwa | ★½ | 90 | One Latino and one African-American father lead a family feud over the upcoming wedding of their kids, with all the expected hijinks. Overly hysterical and thuddingly unfunny farce throws in every stereotype in the book. Whitaker looks like he wandered onto the wrong set. You know it's bad when a goat gets all the laughs. | tt1305583 | [PG-13] | Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Regina Hall, Lance Gross, Diana-Maria Riva, Lupe Ontiveros, Charlie Murphy, Shannyn Sossamon, Anna Maria Horsford, Tonita Castro | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Our Hearts Were Growing Up | 1946 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 83 | Follow-up to enjoyable OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY doesn't match it, with girls on their own at Princeton. | tt0038815 | Gail Russell, Diana Lynn, Brian Donlevy, James Brown, Bill Edwards, William Demarest | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Hearts Were Young and Gay | 1944 | Lewis Allen | ★★★ | 81 | Extremely pleasant fluff from Cornelia Otis Skinner's book, detailing her travels to Europe during 1920s with her girlfriend Emily Kimbrough. Sequel: OUR HEARTS WERE GROWING UP. | tt0037158 | Gail Russell, Diana Lynn, Charlie Ruggles, Dorothy Gish, James Brown, Bill Edwards, Beulah Bondi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Hitler | 1980 | Hans-Jurgen Syberberg | ★★ | 420 | Frightfully pretentious, stage-influenced 7-hour rationalization of Hitler's rise to power would probably play better if shown in four parts, as it was on German TV. A stimulating intellectual exercise for some, a laxative for most; distributed in the U.S. by Francis Ford Coppola. | tt0076147 | Heinz Schubert, Peter Kern, Hellmut Lange, Rainer von Artenfels, Martin Sperr | German | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Our Hospitality | 1923 | Buster Keaton, Jack Blystone | ★★★★ | 74 | Buster goes to the South to claim a family inheritance, and falls in love with the daughter of a longtime rival clan. Sublime silent comedy, one of Buster's best, with a genuinely hair-raising finale. Incidentally, Buster married his leading lady in real life. | tt0014341 | Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, Joe Keaton, Joe Roberts | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Our Idiot Brother | 2011 | Jesse Peretz | ★★ | 90 | After he gets out of jail for a misguided marijuana transaction with an undercover cop, a homeless slacker (and his beloved dog named Willie Nelson) moves in with each of his three sisters, causing great havoc in the process. Tailor-made for the talented Rudd, who is stuck in a rudderless comedy that thinks it is much funnier than it is. There are some nice moments, particularly from Banks and an off-the-wall Coogan, but most of the jokes fall flat. | tt1637706 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, T. J. Miller, Shirley Knight, Hugh Dancy | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Our Lady of the Assassins | 2000 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★½ | 101 | A middle-aged writer returns to his birthplace of Medellin, Colombia, and begins an affair with a teenaged boy from the streets in the midst of the city's social and moral chaos. Fascinating subject matter, well filmed by Schroeder (in high-definition video). Undeniably powerful at times, but the points about a culture of death are repeated so often that it all loses steam by the end. Screenplay by Fernando Vallejo, based on his novel. | tt0250809 | [R] | Germán Jaramillo, Anderson Ballesteros, Juan David Restrepo, Manuel Busquets, Wilmar Agudelo, Juan Carlos Álvarez | French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Our Little Girl | 1935 | John S. Robertson | ★★½ | 63 | Usual Temple plot of Shirley bringing separated parents McCrea and Ames together again. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026835 | Shirley Temple, Rosemary Ames, Joel McCrea, Lyle Talbot, Erin O'Brien-Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Man Flint | 1966 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 107 | One of the countless James Bond spoofs, this saga of the man from Z.O.W.I.E. starts briskly, becomes forced after a while. Coburn makes a zesty hero, Golan an attractive decoration; look for James Brolin as a technician. Followed by a sequel (IN LIKE FLINT) and a TVM in 1976. | tt0059557 | James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Golan, Edward Mulhare, Benson Fong, Gianna Serra | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Man in Havana | 1960 | Carol Reed | ★★½ | 107 | Weak satirical spy spoof, adapted by Graham Greene from his novel. Guinness is vacuum cleaner salesman who becomes British secret agent in Cuba. | tt0054152 | Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, Ernie Kovacs, Noel Coward, Ralph Richardson, Jo Morrow | British | Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Our Miss Brooks | 1956 | Al Lewis | ★★½ | 85 | Fairly amusing feature based on beloved TV series has Arden's Brooks trying to snag Rockwell's Mr. Boynton and interest Adams in journalism. Crenna's screeching serenade, 'It's Magic,' is a high point. | tt0048459 | Eve Arden, Gale Gordon, Nick Adams, Robert Rockwell, Richard Crenna, Don Porter, Jane Morgan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Modern Maidens | 1929 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 75 | Entertaining silent jazz-age saga about a young 'modern' (Crawford) who disdains conventional morality and tries to help the career of her fiancé (Fairbanks) by coming on to worldly diplomat La Rocque. Special treat for film buffs: Doug Jr. does impressions of John Barrymore, John Gilbert, and his own father! This late-silent release has a synchronized music score, with crowd noises and sound effects. Crawford and Fairbanks were married in real life at this time. | tt0020247 | Joan Crawford, Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Anita Page, Josephine Dunn, Edward Nugent, Albert Gran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Mother's House | 1967 | Jack Clayton | ★★★ | 105 | Children's scheme to carry on normally when their mother dies works well until their worthless father shows up. Fine performances from all in offbeat film. | tt0062089 | Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Brooks, Louis Sheldon-Williams, John Gugolka, Pamela Franklin, Mark Lester | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Our Relations | 1936 | Harry Lachman | ★★★ | 74 | Stan and Ollie get into snowballing comedy of errors with their long-lost twins. Lots of fun; best scenes in Hale's beer garden. | tt0028070 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Alan Hale/Sr., Sidney Toler, Daphne Pollard, Betty Healy, James Finlayson, Arthur Housman, Iris Adrian, Lona Andre | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Our Sons | 1991 | John Erman | Average TV Movie | 100 | Two middle-aged mothers whose sons are a gay couple cross paths when one of the young men is stricken with AIDS. Ann-Margret plays Arkansas barmaid whose long estrangement from her son will end if wealthy Andrews (in her TV-movie debut) can deliver her to his hospital bed. Film is overloaded with two-character conversations; what's more, the young men's heartfelt scenes are much more compelling than those of the female stars, which throws off the story's intended focus. | tt0102613 | Julie Andrews, Ann-Margret, Hugh Grant, Zeljko Ivanek, Tony Roberts | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Time | Death of Her Innocence | 1974 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 88 | Nice nostalgic tale of young love, set in a Massachusetts girls' school in 1955. Bad color photography mars otherwise effective comedic and dramatic elements. Shown on network TV as DEATH OF HER INNOCENCE. | tt0071959 | [PG] | Pamela Sue Martin, Parker Stevenson, Betsy Slade, George O'Hanlon/Jr., Karen Balkin | Drama | NULL | |
| Our Town | 1940 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 90 | Sensitive adaptation of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about small New England town with human drama and conflict in every family. Splendid score by Aaron Copland and production design by William Cameron Menzies. Screenplay by Wilder, Harry Chandlee, and Frank Craven. Craven, Doro Merande, Arthur Allen, and Scott (in her film debut) recreate their Broadway roles. | tt0032881 | William Holden, Martha Scott, Frank Craven, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee, Stuart Erwin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Very Own | 1950 | David Miller | ★★½ | 93 | Melodramatic account of Blyth's shock upon discovering she is an adopted child. | tt0042819 | Ann Blyth, Farley Granger, Jane Wyatt, Donald Cook, Ann Dvorak, Natalie Wood, Martin Milner | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Vines Have Tender Grapes | 1945 | Roy Rowland | ★★★½ | 105 | Excellent view of American life in Wisconsin town with uncharacteristic Robinson as O'Brien's kind, understanding Norwegian father. | tt0037963 | Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien, James Craig, Frances Gifford, Agnes Moorehead, Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins, Morris Carnovsky | Drama | NULL | |||
| Our Wife | 1941 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 95 | Douglas adds dignity to this OK marital comedy involving musician seeking divorce to marry another. | tt0033986 |
|
Melvyn Douglas, Ruth Hussey, Ellen Drew, Charles Coburn, John Hubbard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Our Winning Season | 1978 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 92 | Yet another 1960s high school film focuses mostly on growing pains of aspiring track star Jacoby; not bad, but awfully familiar. | tt0078047 | [PG] | Scott Jacoby, Deborah Benson, Dennis Quaid, Randy Herman, Joe Penny, Jan Smithers, P. J. Soles | Drama | NULL | ||
| Out | 1982 | Eli Hollander | ★★½ | 83 | Medium road movie of existential revolutionary Coyote and his odyssey through America from the 1960s to 1980s. Sometimes imaginative, thanks to Hollander and Ronald Sukenick's clever script, but often boring as well. Aka DEADLY DRIFTER. | tt0084455 | [R] | Peter Coyote, O-Lan Shepard, Jim Haynie, Danny Glover, Scott Beach | Drama | NULL | ||
| Out All Night | 1933 | Sam Taylor. | ★★ | 68 | OK film from long-run teaming of Pitts and Summerville; this time, Slim is dominated by his mother (Crews); she's not pleased when he falls in love with ZaSu. | tt0024422 | ZaSu Pitts, Slim Summerville, Laura Hope Crews, Shirley Grey, Alexander Carr, Shirley Temple. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Out Cold | 1989 | Malcolm Mowbray | ★★ | 89 | Lithgow plays a meek butcher who wrongly believes he has killed his partner after discovering him frozen to death in the freezer. A wonderfully adept cast tries to pull off this black comedy, but the script knocks their efforts out cold. Aka STIFFS. | tt0098042 | [R] | John Lithgow, Teri Garr, Randy Quaid, Bruce McGill, Lisa Blount, Alan Blumenfeld, Morgan Paull, Barbara Rhoades, Tom Byrd, Fran Ryan | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Out Cold | 2001 | Brendan Malloy, Emmett Malloy | ★½ | 89 | Clichés and all-around idiocy dominate this crude updating of a 1960s beach-party movie. A seedy Alaska ski resort is a haven for brainless snowboarding stoners, but a greedy land developer (Majors) wants to transform it into an upscale vacation spot. | tt0253798 | [PG-13] | Jason London, Lee Majors, A.J. Cook, Willie Garson, Caroline Dhavernas, Derek Hamilton, Flex Alexander, Zach Galifianakis, Victoria Silvstedt | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Out West With the Hardys | 1938 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 84 | Adventures on a ranch where a friend of the family is having water rights problems. OK Andy Hardy outing. | tt0030535 | Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden, Ann Rutherford, Sara Haden, Don Castle, Virginia Weidler, Gordon Jones | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Out for Justice | 1991 | John Flynn | ★★ | 91 | As if he doesn't have enough trouble snapping wrists when he stops by his scum-infested deli, cop Seagal's main target is childhood buddy Forsythe— from the old Brooklyn neighborhood. Some may consider this one a Seagal stretch, but don't warm up the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award just yet. | tt0102614 | [R] | Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa, Shareen Mitchell, Sal Richards, Gina Gershon, Jay Acovone | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Out of Africa | 1985 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★½ | 161 | Exquisite, intelligent romantic drama based on life of Karen Blixen, who married for convenience, moved from Denmark to Nairobi, and fell in love with a British adventurer and idealist (before gaining latter-day fame as author Isak Dinesen). Pollack's film brilliantly captures time and place, with superb performances by Streep and Brandauer, sumptuous photography by David Watkin, and a rich score by John Barry. Film's only fault is overlength— and biggest challenge is asking us to accept Redford as an Englishman. Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Screenplay (Kurt Luedtke, who synthesized five books into one seamless script), Cinematography, and Music Score. Footage added for network TV showing. | tt0089755 | [PG] | Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Malick Bowens, Joseph Thiaka, Stephen Kinyanjui, Michael Gough, Suzanna Hamilton, Rachel Kempson, Graham Crowden | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Out of Bounds | 1986 | Richard Tuggle | ★½ | 93 | Iowa farm kid comes to L.A. and within 24 hours is hunted by the police (for murders he didn't commit) and a scuzzy drug dealer (whose stash he mistakenly took from the airport). Outlandishly unbelievable teen thriller might be retitled OUT OF BRAINS. | tt0091706 | [R] | Anthony Michael Hall, Jenny Wright, Jeff Kober, Glynn Turman, Raymond J. Barry, Pepe Serna, *** Meat Loaf | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Out of It | 1969 | Paul Williams | ★★½ | 95 | Generally amusing film about high school intellectual (Gordon) bucking high school athlete (Voight). A throwback to the days when life was an Archie comic book. | tt0063401 | [M] | Barry Gordon, Jon Voight, Lada Edmund/Jr., Gretchen Corbett, Peter Grad | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Out of Season | Winter Rates | 1975 | Alan Bridges | ★★ | 90 | Mood-triangle affair: dark stranger returns to English seaside resort 20 years after affair with woman who now has grown daughter. Hints of incest and unresolved ending. | tt0073501 | [R] | Vanessa Redgrave, Cliff Robertson, Susan George, Edward Evans, Frank Jarvis | British | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Out of Sight | 1966 | Lennie Weinrib | ★½ | 87 | A butler and a blonde band together to halt a spy organization's conspiracy against rock groups. Idiotic combination beach party-spy movie that fails in both departments. | tt0060807 | Jonathan Daly, Karen Jensen, Robert Pine, Carole Shelayne, Gary Lewis and The Playboys, The Turtles, Freddie and The Dreamers, Dobie Gray | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Out of Sight | 1998 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 122 | Career criminal Clooney busts out of Florida prison and uses federal agent Lopez as a shield; though they go separate ways, they've obviously fallen in love and have a need to reconnect, despite their conflicting views of the law. Interesting Elmore Leonard crime caper (adapted by Scott Frank), with a heavy dose of humor, has an appealing cast but needs a shot of adrenaline. Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson appear unbilled. | tt0120780 | [R] | George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn, Dennis Farina, Albert Brooks, Don Cheadle, Catherine Keener, Nancy Allen | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Out of Time | 2003 | Carl Franklin | ★★ | 105 | Chief of police in a small Florida town has been playing around with a married vixen— and becomes a key suspect when foul play rears its head. Every move he makes to cover his tracks only puts him in greater jeopardy, especially when his ex-wife, detective Mendes, is assigned to the case. This film noir wannabe would have been told effortlessly in the 1940s and '50s but seems heavy-handed and overly contrived here. Lathan is a fine femme fatale but Washington is the last person you'd cast as a patsy. | tt0313443 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, Eva Mendes, Sanaa Lathan, Dean Cain, John Billingsley, Robert Baker, Alex Carter | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Out of Towners | 1970 | Arthur Hiller | ★½ | 97 | Excruciating Neil Simon script about stupidly stubborn Lemmon and wife Dennis having everything imaginable go wrong on trip to N.Y.C. More harrowing than funny, with curiously unsympathetic leading characters. Remade in 1999. | tt0066193 | [G] | Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis, Sandy Baron, Anne Meara, Ann Prentiss, Graham Jarvis, Ron Carey, Phil Bruns, Carlos Montalban, Billy Dee Williams, Paul Dooley, Dolph Sweet, Robert Walden, Richard Libertini | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Out of the Blue | 1947 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 84 | Naive Brent is in trouble when far-from-innocent young woman is discovered unconscious in his apartment; fluffy fun. Dvorak is a delight in an offbeat role. | tt0039688 | Virginia Mayo, George Brent, Turhan Bey, Ann Dvorak, Carole Landis, Hadda Brooks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Out of the Blue | No Looking Back | 1980 | Dennis Hopper | ★★½ | 94 | Manz, daughter of ex-biker Hopper and junkie Farrell, cannot cope with the problems of her elders, with tragic results. Taut, low-key drama; could be retitled 'Child of Easy Rider.' TV title: NO LOOKING BACK. | tt0081291 | [R] | Linda Manz, Sharon Farrell, Dennis Hopper, Raymond Burr, Don Gordon | Drama | NULL | |
| Out of the Clouds | 1957 | Michael Relph, Basil Dearden | ★★ | 88 | Work and play among commercial pilots; nothing special. | tt0047319 | Anthony Steel, James Robertson Justice, Gordon Harker, Bernard Lee, Megs Jenkins | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Out of the Dark | 1988 | Michael Schroeder | ★★½ | 89 | A clown-masked killer murders the employees of an L.A. telephone sex-talk service, one by one. Good cast and sense of humor relieve heavy-handed visual approach to the material. | tt0095803 | [R] | Cameron Dye, Lynn Danielson, Tracey Walter, Silvana Gallardo, Karen Black, Bud Cort, Starr Andreeff, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Bartel, Divine, Lainie Kazan, Tab Hunter | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Out of the Fog | 1941 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 93 | Fine filmization of Irwin Shaw play The Gentle People, with racketeer Garfield terrorizing Brooklyn fishermen Qualen and Mitchell— and falling in love with the latter's daughter (Lupino). Scripted by Robert Rossen, Jerry Wald, and Richard Macauley. | tt0033987 | Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Thomas Mitchell, Eddie Albert, George Tobias, Leo Gorcey, John Qualen, Aline MacMahon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Out of the Past | 1947 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★½ | 97 | Mitchum finds he can't escape former life when one-time employer (gangster Douglas) and lover (Greer) entangle him in web of murder and double-dealings. Classic example of 1940s film noir, with dialogue a particular standout. Script by Geoffrey Homes (Daniel Mainwaring), from his novel Build My Gallows High. Remade as AGAINST ALL ODDS. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039689 | Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Richard Webb, Steve Brodie, Virginia Huston, Paul Valentine, Dickie Moore | Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| Out of this World | 1945 | Hal Walker | ★★½ | 96 | Bracken becomes pop crooner (with a very familiar-sounding voice); a cute idea mercilessly padded with loud musical specialties by Daley, Lynn, and guest stars. | tt0037964 | Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake, Diana Lynn, Cass Daley, Parkyakarkus, Donald MacBride, Florence Bates, Gary Crosby, Philip Crosby, Dennis Crosby, Lindsay Crosby | Musical | NULL | |||
| Out on a Limb | 1992 | Francis Veber | 💣 | 93 | Obnoxious comedy with Broderick cast as a yuppie who comes to the aid of his kid sister in a small town inhabited by one too many screwballs. As illogical as it is crude, and desperately unfunny. | tt0105078 | [PG] | Matthew Broderick, Jeffrey Jones, Heidi Kling, John C. Reilly, Marian Mercer, Larry Hankin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Out to Sea | 1997 | Martha Coolidge | ★★ | 106 | A chronic con man fools his pal into joining him for a Caribbean cruise— neglecting to inform him that he's signed them both on as dance hosts. The two likable stars are cast adrift with a boatload of talented costars— and a stupid script that should have been deep-sixed before they ever set sail. O'Connor's final film. | tt0119848 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Dyan Cannon, Brent Spiner, Gloria De Haven, Elaine Stritch, Hal Linden, Donald O'Connor, Edward Mulhare, Rue McClanahan, Alexandra Powers, Sean O'Brien, Estelle Harris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Out-of-Towners | 1999 | Sam Weisman | ★★½ | 92 | It's one calamity after another when a middle-aged Ohio couple travels to N.Y.C. so he can go on a job interview. Less abrasive and farcical than Neil Simon's 1970 original, this has its fair share of laughs, with Cleese well cast as a haughty hotel manager . . . but it's Martin's fine performance that really stands out. That's Hawn's real-life son (Oliver Hudson) in the film's opening scenes. | tt0129280 | [PG-13] | Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin, Mark McKinney, John Cleese, Gregory Jbara, Ernie Sabella, Josh Mostel, Joe Grifasi, John Pizzarelli | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Outback | Wake in Fright | 1971 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★ | 99 | Intriguing film about sensitive schoolteacher whose personality disintegrates after interaction with rough, primitive men in Australian outback. Toned down for TV from original 114m. version; still unlikely to be endorsed by Australian tourist commission. Original title: WAKE IN FRIGHT. | tt0067541 | [R] | Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, Jack Thompson | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL |
| Outbreak | 1995 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★½ | 127 | Crusading military research medico Hoffman must stop a deadly virus that's somehow made its way from Africa to the U.S.— little dreaming that his Army superiors have an agenda of their own. Dynamite suspense thriller with a surprising sense of humor goes almost completely awry in the second half, turning Hoffman into a kind of superhero and everyone else into a caricature or stick figure. What a shame! J.T. Walsh appears unbilled. | tt0114069 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Donald Sutherland, Patrick Dempsey, Zakes Mokae, Dale Dye, Jim Antonio, Lance Kerwin | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Outcast | 1937 | Robert Florey | ★★★ | 77 | Somber and compelling drama about a doctor who is acquitted of killing a patient. He takes refuge in a small town, but the dead woman's sister-in-law tracks him down and stirs up trouble, leading to a powerful conclusion. William is good in rare sympathetic role and Stone is marvelous as a wise old country lawyer in a moving tale of redemption, written by Dore Schary and Doris Malloy. | tt0029360 | Warren William, Karen Morley, Lewis Stone, Jackie Moran, John Wray, Esther Dale | Drama | NULL | |||
| Outcast of the Islands | 1951 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 102 | Compelling adaptation of Joseph Conrad story set on Malayan island, where a desperate, misguided man turns to crime and soon becomes the object of massive manhunt. Screenplay by William Fairchild. Good job all around. Some TV prints run 94m. | tt0045002 | Ralph Richardson, Trevor Howard, Robert Morley, Wendy Hiller, Kerima, George Coulouris, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Outcast | 1954 | William Witney | ★★½ | 90 | Simply told Western of Derek battling to win his rightful inheritance. | tt0047320 | John Derek, Joan Evans, Jim Davis, Catherine McLeod, Ben Cooper | Western | NULL | |||
| The Outcast | 1962 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★★½ | 118 | Schoolteacher Ichikawa hides his identity as member of an outcast class until a writer he greatly respects is murdered. Intense drama is well made, fascinating. | tt0056051 | Raizo Ichikawa, Shiho Fujimura, Hiroyuki Nagato, Rentaro Mikuni | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Outcasts of Poker Flat | 1952 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 81 | Obvious, uninspired version of Bret Harte tale of social rejects trapped together in cabin during snowstorm. Filmed before in 1937. | tt0045003 | Anne Baxter, Miriam Hopkins, Dale Robertson, Cameron Mitchell, John Ridgely | Western | NULL | |||
| The Outfit | 1974 | John Flynn | ★★½ | 103 | Engagingly trashy mob melodrama, with ex-con Duvall tackling the syndicate responsible for his brother's death. Solid supporting cast helps. Based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake (writing as Richard Stark). | tt0071960 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker, Robert Ryan, Timothy Carey, Richard Jaeckel, Sheree North, Marie Windsor, Jane Greer, Henry Jones, Joanna Cassidy, Elisha Cook/Jr., Anita O'Day | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Outland | 1981 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 109 | HIGH NOON on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, as 21st-century marshal Connery discovers that this outer-space mining planet is riddled with corruption— and he's the only one willing to do anything about it. Slickly made, but predictable and unpleasant in tone. Script by director Hyams. | tt0082869 | [R] | Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James B. Sikking, Kika Markham, Clarke Peters, John Ratzenberger | Crime, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Outlaw Blues | 1977 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★★ | 100 | Ex-convict Fonda is promoted into a country star by back-up singer Saint James, to the consternation of star Callahan, who had stolen Fonda's song. Saint James is good in her first major movie role; the picture is fun when it isn't too silly. | tt0076512 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Susan Saint James, John Crawford, James Callahan, Michael Lerner | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Outlaw Josey Wales | 1976 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 135 | Long, violent Western begins near the end of the Civil War; Eastwood is a peaceful farmer who turns vigilante when Union soldiers murder his family. He in turn has a price on his head, propelling cat-and-mouse chase odyssey. Clint took over direction from Philip Kaufman, who also cowrote the screenplay. Followed by THE RETURN OF JOSEY WALES— without Eastwood. | tt0075029 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon, Paula Trueman, Sam Bottoms | Action | NULL | ||
| The Outlaw Stallion | 1954 | Fred F. Sears. | ★½ | 64 | Programmer of horse thieves conning ranch woman and her son to get their herd. | tt0047321 | Phil Carey, Dorothy Patrick, Billy Gray, Roy Roberts, Gordon Jones. | Western | NULL | |||
| Outlaw Territory | Hannah Lee | 1953 | John Ireland, Lee Garmes | ★★½ | 79 | Carey is hired killer who runs afoul of marshal Ireland, and arouses the interest of cafe-owner Dru, against her better judgment. (Ireland and Dru were married in real life.) Routine Western shot in 3-D; original title: HANNAH LEE. | tt0046153 | MacdonaldCarey, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Don Haggerty, Peter Ireland, Frank Ferguson | Western | NULL | ||
| The Outlaw and His Wife | 1917 | Victor Sjostrom. | ★★★½ | 73 | Stunningly filmed love story set in 19th-century Iceland concerning an outlaw who goes to work on a farm and falls in love with the wealthy widow who owns it. Pursued by the law, the two flee to the mountains for a brief period of happiness. A landmark of Swedish cinema, this beautifully made silent drama uses the environment with great subtlety and power, and features a fine lead performance by the director. | tt0008879 | Victor Sjostrom, Edith Erastoff, John Ekman, Nils Arehn, Jenny Tschernichin-Larsson. | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Outlaw of Gor | 1989 | John ‘Bud’ Cardos | ★½ | 89 | Worthless sequel to GOR (which wasn't any good in the first place). Earthman hero is magically transported back to the barbaric planet Gor, where he's soon branded an assassin by evil priest Palance and wicked queen Denton. Lots of swords, no sorcery. Based on the John Norman novel. Filmed in 1987. | tt0098048 | [PG-13] | Urbano Barberini, Jack Palance, Rebecca Ferrati, Donna Denton, Nigel Chipps, Russel Savadier | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Outlaw's Daughter | 1954 | Wesley Barry. | ★½ | 75 | Tired B-movie fare about the title character (Ryan), offspring of the notorious James Dalton, and her involvement with a thief-murderer (Williams) and a marshal (Davis). | tt0047322 | Bill Williams, Kelly Ryan, Jim Davis, George Cleveland, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Outlaw's Son | 1957 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 89 | Clark is most earnest in modest Western about outlaw and the son he deserted years before. | tt0050812 | Dane Clark, Ben Cooper, Lori Nelson, Ellen Drew, Eddie Foy III | Western | NULL | |||
| The Outlaw | 1943 | Howard Hughes | ★★★ | 116 | Notorious 'sex West√ ern' (and Russell's ballyhooed screen debut) is actually compelling— if offbeat— story of Billy the Kid, with principal honors going to Huston as Doc Holliday. Filmed in 1941 and directed mostly by Howard Hawks, though Hughes' interest in Russell's bosom is more than evident. Some prints run 95m. and 103m. | tt0036241 | Jane Russell, Jack Buetel, Walter Huston, Thomas Mitchell, Mimi Aguglia, Joe Sawyer | Western | NULL | |||
| The Outlaws Is Coming | 1965 | Norman Maurer | ★★½ | 89 | The Stooges' last feature is one of their best, with some sharp satire and good Western atmosphere as the boys, their cowardly friend (West), and Annie Oakley (Kovack) combat an army of gunslingers and a genteel crook. Local TV kiddie-show hosts cast as outlaws, Gibson as a hip Indian. | tt0059558 | The Three Stooges, Adam West, Nancy Kovack, Mort Mills, Don Lamond, Emil Sitka, Joe Bolton, Henry Gibson | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Outlaws of the Desert | 1941 | Howard Bretherton. | ★½ | 67 | Bar 20 trio accompanies horse breeder and family to sands of Arabia, where they buy mounts from a sheik. Producer Harry Sherman relocated the Hopalong Cassidy adventures 'from their traditional western background' to . . . the Middle East! Dull (and unbelievable) story renders other shortcomings (obvious interiors for exteriors) meaningless. Hoppy demonstrates previously unsuspected fluency in Arabic. | tt0033989 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Brad King, Duncan Renaldo, Jean Phillips, Forrest Stanley. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Outpost in Malaya | Planter's Wife | 1952 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 88 | Mostly about marital disharmony on a rubber plantation. Original title: PLANTER'S WIFE. | tt0045005 | Claudette Colbert, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Jeremy Spencer | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| Outpost in Morocco | 1949 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 92 | Cardboard adventure yarn with French Foreign Legionnaire Raft attempting to quell tribal revolt, becoming romantically involved with emir's daughter Windsor (who looks to be as Moroccan as Maureen O'Hara). | tt0041724 | George Raft, Marie Windsor, Akim Tamiroff, John Litel, Eduard Franz | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Outrage | 1950 | Ida Lupino | ★★½ | 75 | Innocent young Powers is sexually molested, and then further victimized by her gossipy, narrow-minded neighbors. The scenario's sugary optimism— specifically relating to a sympathetic preacher— is much too pat, but Lupino (who also coscripted) deserves an A for effort in tackling a then-touchy theme. | tt0042824 | Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Raymond Bond, Lilian Hamilton, Hal March, Jerry Paris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Outrage | 1993 | Carlos Saura | ★½ | 108 | When reporter Banderas falls for circus performer Neri, they have a brief fling at happiness. Unfortunately, a (predictable) rape scene, which is horrifyingly graphic, and a subsequent shooting spree relegate this to the ranks of only diehard Banderas fans. | tt0108670 | [R] | Francesca Neri, Antonio Banderas, Lali Ramon, Walter Vidarte, Coque Malla, Achero Manas, Rodrigo Valverde | Italian-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Outrage | Outrage: Way Of The Yakuza | 2010 | Takeshi Kitano | ★★½ | 109 | A petty squabble between rival Yakuza clans triggers a series of increasingly violent tit-for-tat reprisals and power plays, finally erupting into all-out war in the Japanese underworld. Writer-director Kitano brings some welcome deadpan humor to his role as an old-school enforcer in this stylish—and very grisly—gangster saga with so many double- and triple-crosses that, eventually, it's hard to follow the labyrinthine plot or care about any of the characters. Aka OUTRAGE: WAY OF THE YAKUZA. | tt1462667 | [R] | Takeshi Kitano (as Beat Takeshi), Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Tomokazu Miura, Jun Kunimura, Tetta Sugimoto | Japanese | Drama, Crime | NULL |
| The Outrage | 1964 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 97 | Western remake of RASHOMON is pretentious fizzle, with Newman hamming it as Mexican bandit who allegedly rapes Bloom while husband Harvey stands by. Robinson as philosophical narrator is best thing about film. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0058437 | Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Claire Bloom, Laurence Harvey, William Shatner, Albert Salmi | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Outrageous Fortune | 1987 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 100 | Raucously funny tale of a female odd couple who learn they were both having a fling with the same man, after he apparently dies in a mysterious explosion . . . then things really get going! Bright script by Leslie Dixon is a perfect showcase for Midler and Long. | tt0093690 | [R] | Bette Midler, Shelley Long, Peter Coyote, Robert Prosky, John Schuck, George Carlin, Anthony Heald, Ji-Tu Cumbuka, Chris McDonald, Robert Pastorelli | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Outrageous! | 1977 | Richard Benner | ★★★ | 100 | Excellent comedy-drama about a very odd couple: gay hairdresser and a pregnant mental patient. McLaren's effective emoting is outshone by female impersonator Russell's flamboyant playing and imitations of Garland, Davis, Bankhead, etc. Followed ten years later by TOO OUTRAGEOUS! | tt0076513 | [R] | Craig Russell, Hollis McLaren, Richert Easley, Allan Moyle, Helen Shaver | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Outriders | 1950 | Roy Rowland | ★★ | 93 | Standard account of Reb soldiers trying to capture gold shipment for Confederate cause. | tt0042825 | Joel McCrea, Arlene Dahl, Barry Sullivan, Claude Jarman/Jr., Ramon Novarro, James Whitmore | Western | NULL | |||
| The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick | 1988 | Allan A. Goldstein | ★★★ | 96 | Pleasing tale of bright 12-year-old Zylberman, growing up in a small Canadian town in the early 1960s, who's caught between his own dreams and desires and his family's traditional Jewish values. Despite its cop-out ending, this intelligent little comedy-drama is perfect fare for preteens. | tt0095806 | [G] | Saul Rubinek, Jan Rubes, Noam Zylberman, Susan Douglas Rubes, Fairuza Balk, Nigel Bennet | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Outside Man | 1973 | Jacques Deray | ★★★ | 104 | Okay French-American actioner, made in L.A., as interesting for its cast as its offbeat quality. Hired killer Trintignant kills gang boss Ted de Corsia, then must elude Scheider, who's out to eliminate him. Ann-Margret's plunging neckline and a shootout around de Corsia's bier (he's embalmed in a sitting position) are worth looking at, also Engel's dumb housewife. | tt0070083 | [PG] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Angie Dickinson, Roy Scheider, Michel Constantin, Georgia Engel, Ted de Corsia, John Hillerman, Alex Rocco, Talia Shire | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Outside Ozona | 1998 | J.S. Cardone | ★★ | 100 | Robert Forster, Sherilyn Fenn, Kevin Pollak, Penelope Ann Miller, David Paymer, Meat Loaf, Swoosie Kurtz, Taj Mahal, Lois Red Elk. Various characters' lives intersect during an eventful day and evening as a long-dormant serial killer begins to strike again, a radio d.j. vents his frustrations on the air, and several others take to the road. Only fitfully interesting, despite a good cast. | tt0144546 | [R] | Robert Forster, Sherilyn Fenn, Kevin Pollak, Penelope Ann Miller, David Paymer, *** Meat Loaf, Swoosie Kurtz, Taj Mahal, Lois Red Elk | Drama | NULL | ||
| Outside Providence | 1999 | Michael Corrente | ★★½ | 103 | Unremarkable coming-of-age saga set in 1970s New England, with Hatosy as a rowdy blue-collar teen who winds up going away to prep school and falling in love. Notable mainly for casting of Baldwin as an Archie Bunker type, at which he's only marginally convincing. Screenplay by Corrente and Bobby and Peter Farrelly (based on the latter's novel). | tt0125971 | [R] | Shawn Hatosy, Jon Abrahams, Alec Baldwin, George Wendt, Tommy Bone, Jonathan Brandis, Jack Fever, Adam Lavorgna, Jesse Leach, Gabriel Mann, Kristen Shorten, Amy Smart | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Outside the Law | 1956 | Jack Arnold | ★½ | 81 | Half-baked yarn of Danton proving his worth by snaring counterfeiters. | tt0049586 | Ray Danton, Leigh Snowden, Grant Williams, Onslow Stevens | Crime | NULL | |||
| Outside the Law | 2010 | Rachid Bouchareb | ★★★ | 139 | Following WW2, Algerians—many of whom fought for France—demand their independence, but the French respond with bullets in the streets of Sétif. This inspires some of them to adopt radical, even terrorist, methods to achieve their goal over the next twenty years. Director and cowriter Bouchareb personalizes the story by focusing on three brothers, each quite different in outlook. Potent follow-up to the filmmaker’s WW2 saga INDIGÈNES/DAYS OF GLORY was labeled propaganda by some, but there’s no denying its dramatic power. | tt1229381 | Unrated | Jamel Debbouze, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Chafia Boudraa, Bernard Blancan, Sabrina Seyvecou, Assaad Bouab | Algerian-French-Belgian-Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Outside the Wall | 1950 | Crane Wilbur | ★★½ | 80 | Excellent cast carries off this tale of former convict snafuing a robbery syndicate. | tt0042826 | Richard Basehart, Dorothy Hart, Marilyn Maxwell, Signe Hasso, Harry Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Outsider | 1961 | Delbert Mann | ★★★ | 108 | Thoughtful biopic with Curtis giving one of his best performances as a reluctant American hero: Ira Hamilton Hayes, the Pima Indian who was one of the marines to raise the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima. | tt0055270 | Tony Curtis, James Franciscus, Bruce Bennett, Gregory Walcott, Vivian Nathan | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Outsider | 1979 | Tony Luraschi | ★★★ | 128 | A young American raised on his grandfather's stories of fighting 'the Tans' in Ireland goes there to join the IRA— and is used for political and public-relations purposes. No-frills narrative, authentic and interesting, filmed on location. Script by director Luraschi. | tt0079687 | [R] | Craig Wasson, Patricia Quinn, Sterling Hayden, Niall Toibin, Elizabeth Begley, T. P. McKenna, Frank Grimes | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Outsiders | 1983 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★½ | 91 | Florid, highly stylized treatment of S. E. Hinton's best-selling book about troubled teenagers in '60s Oklahoma, as seen through the eyes of a boy (Howell) who likes poetry and Gone With the Wind. Ambitious film evokes GWTW and '50s melodramas (right down to overstated music score by Carmine Coppola), but never quite connects, despite some powerful moments. Hinton makes a cameo appearance as a nurse. Followed by another Coppola-Hinton project, RUMBLE FISH. Later a TV series. | tt0086066 | [PG] | C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Diane Lane, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Leif Garrett, Tom Waits, Sofia Coppola | Drama | NULL | ||
| Outward Bound | 1930 | Robert Milton | ★★★ | 84 | Illicit lovers Fairbanks and Chandler, 'half-way' persons who have attempted suicide, find themselves aboard a mysterious ocean liner. Well-acted allegory, from Sutton Vane's play. Remade as BETWEEN TWO WORLDS. | tt0021225 | Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Helen Chandler, Beryl Mercer, Alec B. Francis, Alison Skipworth, Montagu Love | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Over 21 | 1945 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 102 | Zesty comedy of middle-aged Knox trying to survive in officer's training for WW2 service, with help of wife Dunne; from Ruth Gordon's play. | tt0037966 | Irene Dunne, Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Jeff Donnell, Lee Patrick, Phil Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Over Forty | 1982 | Anne Claire Poirier | ★★★½ | 105 | The Gang, a group of men and women who grew up together, reunite after 30 years to sing, then reminisce, then reveal. THE BIG CHILL for the 1940s generation but with far more depth; a magical gem of a movie about the essence of friendship, the passage of time, the capacity of innocence. Aka BEYOND FORTY. | tt0084560 |
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Roger Blay, Monique Mercure, Pierre Theriault, Patricia Nolin, Jacques Godin, Luce Guilbeault | Canadian |
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NULL | |
| Over Her Dead Body | 2008 | Jeff Lowell | ★½ | 95 | Killed in a freak accident on her wedding day (by a decorative ice sculpture), a would-be bride returns as a ghostly presence one year later to prevent her fiancé from finding happiness with another woman. Longoria Parker must have been more desperate than the “Housewife” she plays on TV to think this would make a good starring vehicle. Derivative and forgettable; BLITHE SPIRIT it ain’t. | tt0785007 | [PG-13] | Eva Longoria Parker, Paul Rudd, Lake Bell, Jason Biggs, Lindsay Sloane, Stephen Root | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Over My Dead Body | 1942 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★½ | 68 | Berle gives peppery performance in farfetched yarn about amateur sleuth who accidentally frames himself for murder. | tt0035164 | Milton Berle, Mary Beth Hughes, Reginald Denny, Frank Orth, William Davidson | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Over the Brooklyn Bridge | My Darling Shiksa | 1984 | Menahem Golan | ★★ | 106 | Brooklyn Jewish restaurant owner Gould wants to borrow money from uncle Caesar to open a fancy Manhattan eatery, but the family objects to his Catholic girlfriend (Hemingway). Some good supporting players (especially Caesar) cannot save this stupid comedy. That's Sarah Michelle Gellar playing Young's daughter. | tt0087864 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Margaux Hemingway, Sid Caesar, Burt Young, Shelley Winters, Carol Kane | Comedy | NULL | |
| Over the Edge | 1979 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★★½ | 95 | Powerful, disturbing chronicle of alienated youth in a suburban planned community; 14-year-old rebels without causes who play with guns, deal and abuse drugs, taunt cops, chug whiskey till they're blotto. Perceptive script by Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter; stunning music score by Sol Kaplan; taut direction. A winner. Dillon's film debut. | tt0079688 | [PG] | Michael Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon, Vincent Spano, Tom Fergus, Andy Romano, Ellen Geer, Lane Smith, Harry Northup | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Over the Hedge | 2006 | Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick | ★★★ | 84 | Funny CG-animated feature about a crafty, selfish raccoon who dupes a group of hibernating forest animals into helping him replace a winter’s stash of food he stole from a mean ol’ bear. Simple storyline is fleshed out with funny gags, action set-pieces, and character moments. Our favorite critter: Verne the turtle leader, voiced by Shandling. | tt0327084 | [PG] | Voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Nick Nolte, Thomas Haden Church, Allison Janney, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Avril Lavigne, Omid Djalili | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Over the Hill | 1931 | Henry King. | ★★½ | 89 | Story of a mother who sacrifices everything for her children, who go their separate ways as adults, unaware of her terrible fate. This story was an old warhorse even in 1931, but by the time Mae utters the film's closing line it's hard not to shed a tear. Based on a pair of famous poems by Will Carleton; filmed before in 1920. | tt0022241 | Mae Marsh, James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Edward Crandall, Claire Maynard, Olin Howland, Joan Peers. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Over the Moon | 1937 | Thornton Freeland, William K. Howard | ★½ | 78 | Disappointingly bad comedy of country girl squandering inherited fortune. Interesting cast cannot save clinker. Beware black-and-white prints. | tt0029365 | Merle Oberon, Rex Harrison, Ursula Jeans, Robert Douglas, Louis Borell, Zena Dare, David Tree, Elisabeth Welch, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Evelyn Ankers | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Over the Top | 1987 | Menahem Golan | 💣 | 93 | Mawkish, heavy-handed variation on THE CHAMP, with Stallone competing with his fat-cat father-in-law for the custody (and affection) of his son. It all climaxes at an arm-wrestling championship in Las Vegas. Stallone tries to underplay (speaking so quietly that you often can't hear what he's saying), but when push comes to shove, he will drive his truck through a living room! | tt0093692 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, Rick Zumwalt, David Mendenhall, Chris McCarty, Terry Funk | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Over-Exposed | 1956 | Lewis Seiler | ★½ | 80 | Flabby study of blackmail, with Cleo Moore vacationing from Hugo Haas spectacles . . . some vacation. | tt0049587 | Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna, Isobel Elsom, Raymond Greenleaf, Shirley Thomas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Overboard | 1987 | Garry Marshall | ★★★ | 112 | Cute comedy about a spoiled heiress who falls off her yacht, suffers amnesia, and is 'claimed' at the hospital by her supposed husband, a rough-hewn carpenter with a pack of unruly kids. Lightweight and good-natured, with appealing performances by the star duo. McDowall also served as executive producer; director Marshall has a cameo as a drummer, and Hector Elizondo does an unbilled bit as skipper of a garbage scow. | tt0093693 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond, Michael Hagerty, Roddy McDowall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Overcoat | 1959 | Alexei Batalov | ★★★★ | 73 | Charming, fully realized rendition of Gogol's oft-filmed story about lowly clerk and the effect a new overcoat has on his life. Runs full gamut of emotions in simple, moving style; not shown here until 1965. | tt0053274 | Roland Bykov, Y. Tolubeyev | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Overexposed | 1990 | Larry Brand | ★★ | 80 | Soap opera star Oxenberg is apparently being stalked by an angry fan, but she also has recurring and horrifying memories of a burning child at a birthday party. Well made on a tight budget, but the clueless story develops too slowly, and the ending is weirdly protracted. | tt0100317 | [R] | Catherine Oxenberg, David Naughton, Jennifer Edwards, William Bumiller, John Patrick Reger, Gretchen Eichholz, Karen Black | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Overland Pacific | 1954 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 73 | Mahoney is staunch railroad investigator trying to thwart Indian attacks on the trains. | tt0047323 | Jock Mahoney, Peggie Castle, Adele Jergens, William Bishop | Western | NULL | |||
| Overland Stage Raiders | 1938 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 55 | In modern-day Western, mining company shipping gold on busses is plagued by robberies until the Three Mesquiteers get involved and arrange transportation by air. Train chase and fistfights are among the other action highlights, with a fast pace masking some sloppy direction. Silent star and cult favorite Brooks sports different look (minus bangs) in her final film appearance. | tt0030545 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Louise Brooks, Anthony Marsh, John Archer | Western | NULL | |||
| The Overlanders | 1946 | Harry Watt | ★★★½ | 91 | Riveting account of Australian cattle drovers, headed by indomitable Rafferty, bringing their herds across the continent during WW2. Based on actual events. Simple, straightforward, and enormously entertaining. | tt0038821 | Chips Rafferty, John Nugent Hayward, Daphne Campbell, John Fernside, Jean Blue, Peter Pagan, Helen Grieve | Australian-British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Overnight | 1986 | Jack Darcus | ★★½ | 96 | Fair film industry satire about a serious but unemployed actor (Ertmanis), who takes a job in a porn movie about a vampire nymphomaniac. A few bright lines but too much silliness. | tt0091711 | Gale Garnett, Victor Ertmanis, Alan Scarfe, Duncan Fraser, Ian White, Barbara Gordon | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Overnight Delivery | 1998 | Jason Bloom | ★★½ | 87 | As Valentine's Day approaches, Rudd thinks he's caught girlfriend Taylor cheating on him. Witherspoon urges him to send a disgusting breakup letter, but when he learns his girlfriend was faithful after all, he has to find some way to keep the letter from winding up in her hands. Predictable but cute comedy; Witherspoon is adorable. Made in 1996; released direct to video. | tt0117276 | [PG-13] | Paul Rudd, Christine Taylor, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Silverman, Buffy Sedlachek, Richard Cody, Gary Wolf, Larry Drake | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Overture to Glory | 1940 | Max Nosseck. | ★★½ | 77 | Yiddish-language variation of THE JAZZ SINGER, with Oysher a Vilna cantor who forsakes his synagogue and community to sing opera. Oysher's voice is the entire show. | tt0033225 | Moishe Oysher, Helen Beverly, Florence Weiss, Baby Winkler, Maurice Krohner, Lazar Freed, Benjamin Fishbein, Jack Mylong Münz. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Owl and the Pussycat | 1970 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 95 | Hit Broadway comedy about semi-illiterate prostitute and stuffy intellectual sometimes substitutes bombast for wit, but the laughs are there. The Streisand-Segal pairing really works; adapted by Buck Henry from Bill Manoff's play. Originally released at 98m. | tt0066195 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, George Segal, Robert Klein, Allen Garfield, Roz Kelly | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Owning Mahowny | 2003 | Richard Kwietniowski | ★★★½ | 105 | Nerdy assistant bank manager in Toronto manipulates bank funds to feed his gambling addiction. His patient girlfriend tries to give him space, while an Atlantic City casino manager tries to 'read' this enigmatic new high-roller. Fascinating look at both the banking and gaming industries, based on a true story from the early 1980s. Every character, no matter how small, is interestingly written and colorfully played. A great showcase for the gifted Hoffman. Maurice Chauvet adapted Gary Ross' best-selling book Stung. | tt0285861 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin, John Hurt, Sonja Smits, Ian Tracey, Roger Dunn | Canadian-British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Ox | 1991 | Sven Nykvist | ★★★ | 91 | Acclaimed cinematographer Nykvist directed and coscripted this stark, compelling chronicle of a desperately poor family's struggle for survival in famine-ravaged Sweden during the mid-1800s. Based on a true story; the plight of their countrymen who chose to leave Sweden and settle in the U.S. is depicted in Jan Troell's THE EMIGRANTS and THE NEW LAND (which also starred von Sydow and Ullmann). | tt0102619 | Stellan Skarsgard, Ewa Froling, Lennart Hjulstrom, Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ox-Bow Incident | 1943 | William Wellman | ★★★★ | 75 | The irony and terror of mob rule are vividly depicted in this unforgettable drama about a lynch mob taking the law into its own hands, despite protests of some level-headed onlookers. Based on Walter Van Tilburg Clark's book; superb script by Lamar Trotti. | tt0036244 | Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan, Jane Darwell, Frank Conroy, Harry Davenport | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Oxford Blues | 1984 | Robert Boris | ★★½ | 97 | Lightweight remake of A YANK AT OXFORD, with rough-edged Lowe pursuing titled beauty Pays while building 'character' on the rowing team. Boris' wildly inconsistent script is salvaged by engaging performances. | tt0087866 | [PG-13] | Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Julian Sands, Amanda Pays, Michael Gough, Aubrey Morris, Gail Strickland, Alan Howard, Cary Elwes | Comedy | NULL | ||
| O’Horten | 2008 | Bent Hamer | ★★★ | 90 | Railroad engineer Odd Horten (Owe) is forced into retirement, which is troubling for a simple man who’s devoted his whole life to the routine of his job. His newfound freedom—even his attempt to attend a farewell party—leads him into a series of mild misadventures in the snowy landscape of Norway. Benign, low-key comedy (with dramatic undertones) is not for viewers seeking excitement or compelling narrative storytelling . . . but if you appreciate offbeat humor and quiet charm you’ll find much to savor here. Written by the director, who achieved the same droll results in his KITCHEN STORIES. | tt0962774 | [PG-13] | Bård Owe, Ghita Nørby, Espen Skjønberg, Henny Moan, Bjørn Floberg, Kai Remlov, Per Jansen | Norwegian-German-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| P.J. | 1968 | John Guillermin | ★★ | 109 | Private-eye takes job bodyguarding tycoon's mistress. OK for those who'll sit through any film of this genre, but no big deal; TV print runs 101m., and cuts out much violence— including memorable subway death. | tt0063402 | George Peppard, Raymond Burr, Gayle Hunnicutt, Brock Peters, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Coleen Gray, Susan Saint James | Action | NULL | |||
| P.K. and the Kid | 1982 | Lou Lombardo | ★★ | 89 | Stillborn tale of arm wrestling (made several years before the Sylvester Stallone classic OVER THE TOP, but released afterward) teams strong-wristed Le Mat with runaway teen Ringwald on the road to nowhere. With that cast and a mood resembling Le Mat's MELVIN AND HOWARD, this should have been more interesting. | tt0084460 | [PG-13] | Paul Le Mat, Molly Ringwald, Alex Rocco, Fionnula Flanagan, Charles Hallahan, Bert Remsen, Esther Rolle, Leigh Hamilton | Drama | NULL | ||
| P.O.W. The Escape | Behind Enemy Lines | 1986 | Gideon Amir | ★½ | 90 | Mindless, one-dimensional RAMBO variation, about some American P.O.W.s, headed by Col. Carradine, who battle their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Commies. Formerly titled BEHIND ENEMY LINES. | tt0091713 | [R] | David Carradine, Charles R. Floyd, Mako, Steve James, Phil Brock | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| P.S. I Love You | 2007 | Richard LaGravenese | ★★½ | 126 | After her young husband develops a brain tumor and dies, a grieving widow starts receiving a series of letters from him instructing her how to get on without him. Since Butler succumbs before the opening credits you can rest assured their courtship and marriage are going to be told completely in flashbacks. Director and cowriter LaGravenese makes this a pleasant ride most of the way, even for reluctant male viewers. | tt0431308 | [PG-13] | Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Kathy Bates, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters, Harry Connick, Jr., Jeffrey Dean Morgan | Drama, Romanace | NULL | ||
| P.S. Your Cat is Dead! | 2003 | Steve Guttenberg | ★½ | 92 | Screen version of James Kirkwood's 1972 novel and 1975 play is obviously a labor of love for debuting director Guttenberg, but some things are better left on the page. Dated premise has down-on-his-luck actor slowly 'coming out' to a burglar in a home invasion that has life-changing repercussions for all involved. Claustrophobic, one-set film features stereotypes that seem badly dated. The only character we can work up any sympathy for is the cat, which is never seen. | tt0245341 | Steve Guttenberg, Lombardo Boyar, Cynthia Watros, Shirley Knight, A. J. Benza, Paul Dillon, Tom Wright | Comedy | NULL | |||
| P2 | 2007 | Franck Khalfoun | ★½ | 98 | Derivative thriller is more PU than P2, taking a well-worn psycho-on-the-loose plot and setting it in an underground N.Y.C. office garage on Christmas Eve. Workaholic woman is the last to leave and finds herself stuck with a creepy psychotic security guard. He proceeds to terrorize her as she is forced to run around wearing a wet white slip for most of the movie. Follows a bloody path to its inevitable conclusion. | tt0804516 | [R] | Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley, Philip Akin, Stephanie Moore, Miranda Edwards | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| PCU | 1994 | Hart Bochner | ★★ | 80 | Political correctness is out of control at Port Chester University which leads to the inevitable clash between a cadre of overly militant student groups and a coed group of dormies who revel in their political incorrectness. This campus comedy gets failing grades. | tt0110759 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Piven, Chris Young, David Spade, Megan Ward, Jon Favreau, Jessica Walter, Sarah Trigger, Jake Busey, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic | Comedy | NULL | ||
| PHFFFT | 1954 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 91 | Saucy sex romp by George Axelrod, with Holliday and Lemmon discovering that they were better off before they divorced. | tt0047349 | Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, Jack Carson, Kim Novak, Donald Curtis | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| PT 109 | 1963 | Leslie H. Martinson | ★★ | 140 | Gung-ho WW2 action yarn based on President John F. Kennedy’s experiences in the Pacific as a PT boat captain. Very much of its time; it was released in June of the year JFK died. | tt0057393 | Cliff Robertson, Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp, Grant Williams, Lew Gallo, Errol John, Michael Pate, Robert Blake, Biff Elliot, Norman Fell | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Pacific Destiny | 1956 | Wolf Rilla | ★★ | 97 | Boring (but true) story of Arthur Grimble, who serves in South Seas for British Colonial service circa 1912, and tries to quell native disputes. | tt0049588 | Denholm Elliott, Susan Stephen, Michael Hordern, Gordon Jackson, Inia Te Wiata | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pacific Heights | 1990 | John Schlesinger | ★★½ | 102 | Young couple purchases a Victorian home in San Francisco, fixes it up and rents out two of its apartments, unaware that one of their tenants is a nut case. Likable and reasonably credible, but too often obvious— and never really bothers to explain Keaton's bizarre, destructive behavior. Cleverest touch: making Modine the weaker and Griffith the stronger of the twosome. Beverly D'Angelo appears unbilled in key supporting role . . . and Melanie's mom, Tippi Hedren, plays a Beverly Hills matron. | tt0100318 | [R] | Melanie Griffith, Matthew Modine, Michael Keaton, Mako, Nobu McCarthy, Laurie Metcalf, Carl Lumbly, Dorian Harewood, Luca Bercovici, Sheila McCarthy, Dan Hedaya, Miriam Margolyes, Nicholas Pryor | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pacific Liner | 1939 | Lew Landers. | ★★ | 75 | Formula programmer focusing on breakout of epidemic and mutiny aboard a ship; cast is better than the material. | tt0031774 | Chester Morris, Wendy Barrie, Victor McLaglen, Barry Fitzgerald, Alan Hale, Halliwell Hobbes, Cy Kendall, Paul Guilfoyle. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pacific Rendezvous | 1942 | George Sidney. | ★★ | 76 | Bowman is a Navy code expert who helps break up a spy ring while getting amorous with Rogers. Lackluster propaganda piece weighed down by too many romantic distractions. Remake of 1935's RENDEZVOUS, which was set in WW1. | tt0035167 | Lee Bowman, Jean Rogers, Mona Maris, Carl Esmond, Paul Cavanagh, Blanche Yurka. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Pacifier | 2005 | Adam Shankman. | ★★ | 91 | Rugged Navy SEAL Diesel is handed his toughest assignment yet: babysitting five rowdy kids while their mother tries to unravel a mystery left behind by her late husband, a scientist working for the government. Some sweet moments are smothered by heavy-handed slapstick in this strained family comedy, this generation's answer to KINDERGARTEN COP. | tt0395699 | [PG] | Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Chris Potter, Carol Kane, Brad Garrett, Morgan York, Tate Donovan, Scott Thompson. | Comedy, Family, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pack Train | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 57 | Gene leads a pack train bringing supplies to starving settlers and comes up against greedy storekeeper Duncan and cohort Ryan. Conventional Autry vehicle. | tt0046156 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, Kenne Duncan, Sheila Ryan, Tom London, Harry Lauter. | Western | NULL | |||
| Pack Up Your Troubles | 1932 | George Marshall, Ray McCarey | ★★½ | 68 | Daffy duo are drafted during WW1; after some Army shenanigans they try to locate relatives of late pal's daughter. Good fun. | tt0023312 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Mary Carr, James Finlayson, Charles Middleton, Grady Sutton, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Pack Up Your Troubles | 1939 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 75 | Watch the Ritz Brothers' opening routine, then forget the rest of this WW1 hodgepodge, especially when Jane is focus of the film. | tt0031775 | Ritz Brothers, Jane Withers, Lynn Bari, Joseph Schildkraut, Stanley Fields, Leon Ames | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The Pack | 1977 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 99 | Predictable but well-made story of resort islanders terrorized by abandoned dogs who have become a bloodthirsty pack. Aka THE LONG, DARK NIGHT. | tt0076516 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Hope Alexander-Willis, Richard B. Shull, R. G. Armstrong, Ned Wertimer, Bibi Besch | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Package | 1989 | Andrew Davis | ★★ | 108 | Slack political paranoia thriller with Hackman as a career Army sergeant who learns he's been used as a pawn in a conspiracy plot engineered by Russian and American military dissidents. Hackman is always worth watching, but the story loses ground (and credibility) just when it ought to be peaking. | tt0098051 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Tommy Lee Jones, John Heard, Dennis Franz, Pam Grier, Kevin Crowley, Reni Santoni, Ike Pappas, Thalmus Rasulala | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Paco | 1976 | Robert Vincent O'Neil | ★½ | 97 | South American urchin Gomez visits uncle Ferrer in the big city, finds him to be a Fagin-like leader of a band of juvenile thieves. Obvious and slow-moving; producer-writer Andre Marquis cast himself in vanity role as a great actor. Some prints run 87m. | tt0073507 | [G] | Jose Ferrer, Panchito Gomez, Allen Garfield, Pernell Roberts | Action | NULL | ||
| The Pad and How to Use It | 1966 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★½ | 86 | Peter Shaffer play The Private Ear is basis for sex romp involving Bedford's attempt to become Sommars' lover. | tt0060809 | Brian Bedford, Julie Sommars, James Farentino, Edy Williams | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Paddy | 1970 | Daniel Haller | ★★ | 97 | Irish lover Cave tries to juggle varied sexual encounters with uninspired home life in ordinary comedy-drama. | tt0066197 | [PG] | Milo O'Shea, Des Cave, Dearbhla Molloy, Judy Cornwell, Donal LeBlanc | Irish | Comedy | NULL | |
| Paddy O'Day | 1936 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★½ | 73 | Jane plays a plucky Irish girl who befriends a Russian family while sailing to America, where she learns her mother has died. Too much time given over to mediocre musical numbers and Givot's malapropisms, but Jane is fun to watch and young Rita is beautiful. | tt0026839 | Jane Withers, Pinky Tomlin, Rita Cansino (Hayworth), Jane Darwell, George Givot, Francis Ford, Vera Lewis, Louise Carter, Russell Simpson, Michael Visaroff. | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Padre Padrone | 1977 | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | ★★ | 114 | Sad, illiterate Sardinian boy, brutalized by his peasant father, still grows up to master Greek and Latin and graduate college. Even sadder still, uninvolving and curiously forgettable. Based on an autobiographical book by Gavino Ledda. | tt0076517 | Omero Antonutti, Saverio Marioni, Marcella Michelangeli, Fabrizio Forte | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pagan Love Song | 1950 | Robert Alton | ★★ | 76 | Keel inherits land in Tahiti, falls in love with Williams. Mediocre MGM musical made in Hawaii. | tt0042829 | Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Minna Gombell, Rita Moreno | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Pagan | 1929 | W. S. Van Dyke. | ★★½ | 78 | Van Dyke's follow-up to WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS stars matinee idol Novarro as a carefree island native who incurs the wrath of evil white trader Crisp when he falls in love with the supposedly devout man's adopted 'daughter' (after singing 'Pagan Love Song' about a thousand times). Flowery silent romance with synchronized musical sequences, sumptuously photographed in the Tuamotu Islands. | tt0020253 | Ramon Novarro, Renée Adorée, Donald Crisp, Dorothy Janis. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Pagans | 1953 | Ferrucio Cereo. | ★½ | 80 | Uninspired costumer about a conflict between two wealthy clans during a 16th-century Spanish incursion into Rome. Released in the U.S. in 1958. Aka THE BARBARIANS. | tt0046263 | Pierre Cressoy, Hélène Rémy, Vittorio Sanipoli, Luigi Tosi, Franco Fabrizi. | Italian | NULL | |||
| Page Miss Glory | 1935 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 90 | Fine cast overshadows Davies in this amiable spoof of publicity stunts, with con man O'Brien winning beauty contest with composite photograph of nonexistent girl. | tt0026840 | Marion Davies, Pat O'Brien, Dick Powell, Mary Astor, Frank McHugh, Lyle Talbot, Patsy Kelly, Allen Jenkins, Barton MacLane | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Page Turner | 2006 | Denis Dercourt | ★★½ | 85 | A 10-year-old girl who's devoted herself to becoming a piano prodigy auditions for a prestigious music conservatory, but is distracted by the president of the jury. Ten years later she insinuates herself into the same man's home, earns the family's trust, and prepares to exact revenge. Absorbing and well acted but loses its grip as it heads toward its inevitable denouement | tt0487503 | Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory, Xavier de Guillebon, Christine Citti, Clotilde Mollet, Jacques Bonnaffé. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Pagemaster | 1994 | Maurice Hunt, Joe Johnston | ★★ | 75 | Phobically nervous young boy seeks shelter from a storm in the local library, and is transported to an animated world by living books who represent Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror. Uninspired, often boring cartoon feature (with live-action framework) resembles a TV special more than a movie. Heavy-handed message about the wonder of books might better be told by a book itself. | tt0110763 | [G] | Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, Ed Begley/Jr., Mel Harris; voices of Patrick Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Welker, Leonard Nimoy | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Paid | 1931 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 80 | Not-bad early Crawford. Innocent girl sent to prison; she hardens and seeks revenge. Remade as WITHIN THE LAW. | tt0021228 | Joan Crawford, Kent Douglass (Douglass Montgomery), Robert Armstrong, Marie Prevost, John Miljan, Polly Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paid in Full | 1950 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 105 | Kind-hearted Scott loves nice-guy Cummings, but keeps her feelings to herself because he naively desires to wed her selfish kid sister (Lynn). Turgid soaper, with a based-on-fact scenario. Film debut of Carol Channing, playing a dress-shop patron. | tt0042830 | Robert Cummings, Lizabeth Scott, Diana Lynn, Eve Arden, Ray Collins, Stanley Ridges, John Bromfield, Frank McHugh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paid in Full | 2002 | Charles Stone III | ★★ | 97 | Dry-cleaning delivery boy becomes the king of crack dealing in '80s Harlem. Cautionary tale has style and a propulsive old-school soundtrack but suffers from too-familiar scripting (although based on a true story). Rappers Busy Bee and Doug E. Fresh appear as themselves. Movie takes its title from a rap by Eric B. and Rakim. | tt0259484 | [R] | Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, Kevin Carroll, Esai Morales, Chi McBride, Cam’ron, Elise Neal, Regina Hall | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Paid to Dance | 1937 | Charles C. Coleman. | ★★½ | 55 | Pretty good, tight little B about a dance-hall racket that is a front for white slavery ring. Terry sets up a rival operation and gets unusual cooperation from the city and the courts. Hmmm. . . . Retitled HARD TO HOLD, with Rita as top-billed star. | tt0029366 | Don Terry, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Rita Hayworth, Arthur Loft, Paul Fix, Paul Stanton, Louise Stanley, Ralph Byrd, Bess Flowers, Ann Doran. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paid to Kill | 1954 | Montgomery Tully | ★★ | 70 | Oft-told premise of man who hires hood to kill him for insurance and changes his mind. | tt0047325 |
|
Dane Clark, Paul Carpenter, Thea Gregory, Anthony Forwood | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Paid to Love | 1927 | Howard Hawks. | ★★ | 76 | American banker MacDonald tries to find a suitable wife for the Crown Prince (O'Brien) of a European kingdom and unexpectedly finds her in a nightclub. Starts out snappy, then slows up, adding an unexpectedly serious complication to its simple story, which throws the film a bit off balance. | tt0018247 | George O'Brien, Virginia Valli, J. Farrell MacDonald, William Powell, Thomas Jefferson, Hank Mann, Sally Eilers, Henry Armetta. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Pain in the A- - | 1974 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★★ | 90 | Very funny black comedy about the chance meeting of a hit man trying to make good on a contract and a pathetic would-be suicide who's likely to mess up the job. Wonderful performances by Ventura and Brel in adaptation of Francis Veber's stage hit, later Americanized as BUDDY BUDDY. | tt0072934 | [PG] | Lino Ventura, Jacques Brel, Caroline Cellier, Nino Castelnuovo, Jean-Pierre Darras | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Paint It Black | 1989 | Tim Hunter | ★★ | 101 | Meandering, disappointing thriller with Rossovich a sculptor who's ripped off by his lover, art dealer Kirkland, then victimized by weirdo Savant. Never released theatrically. | tt0098054 | [R] | Rick Rossovich, Sally Kirkland, Martin Landau, Julie Carmen, Doug Savant, Peter Frechette, Jason Bernard | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Paint Your Wagon | 1969 | Joshua Logan | ★★★ | 166 | Splashy, expensive musical from Lerner-Loewe play about gold-rush days in No-Name City, California, where prospectors Marvin and Eastwood share one wife (Seberg) whom they bought at auction. Pure entertainment; witty, often risqué script (by Paddy Chayefsky!). Presnell outshines cast of nonsingers with 'They Call the Wind Maria.' Marvin, however, vocalizes his rendition of 'Wand'rin' Star.' Beware of shorter prints. | tt0064782 | [M] | Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, Harve Presnell, Ray Walston, Tom Ligon, Alan Dexter | Comedy, Western, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Painted Desert | 1931 | Howard Higgin | ★★½ | 75 | Conflict and romance between the adopted son (Boyd) and daughter of two long-feuding Westerners. A bit stiff, though the scenery is beautiful; notable mainly for Gable's talkie debut. Some action shots are missing, abruptly cut out to use in 1938 remake. | tt0022243 | William Boyd, Helen Twelvetrees, William Farnum, J. Farrell MacDonald, Clark Gable | Western | NULL | |||
| Painted Faces | 1929 | Albert S. Rogell. | ★★ | 74 | Brown is cast in a completely serious role as a circus clown who is called for jury duty in a case to which he is secretly connected. The man with the spandex grin gives quite a performance as a thickly accented German immigrant with heart, soul, and guilt, but comedy fans will be disappointed. Alas, nobody's perfect. | tt0020255 | Joe E. Brown, Helen Foster, Richard Tucker, William B. Davidson, Barton Hepburn, Dorothy Gulliver. | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Painted Hills | 1951 | Harold F. Kress | ★★½ | 65 | Nicely photographed adventure drama set in the West during the 1870s. Lassie stars as Shep, a collie who is ever-loyal to her prospector owner, with the story involving greed and a gold strike. | tt0043895 | Lassie, Paul Kelly, Bruce Cowling, Gary Gray, Art Smith, Ann Doran | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| The Painted Veil | 1934 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 83 | Set in mysterious Orient, film tells Somerset Maugham's story of unfaithful wife mending her ways. Mundane script uplifted by Garbo's personality, supported by Marshall as her husband, Brent as her lover. Remade as THE SEVENTH SIN. | tt0025617 | Greta Garbo, Herbert Marshall, George Brent, Warner Oland, Jean Hersholt, Cecilia Parker, Keye Luke | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Painted Veil | 2006 | John Curran | ★★★½ | 125 | In 1920s London, a socially backward bacteriologist impulsively asks an attractive woman to marry him, and she agrees. When he learns that she's been having an affair, he forces her to accompany him to a remote outpost in China where there's been an outbreak of cholera. Although intended as punishment, this experience gradually changes and deepens their relationship. Beautifully filmed (by Stuart Dryburgh) on location in China, this finely tuned drama becomes a deeply moving love story. Watts has never been better; she and Norton coproduced. Excellent score by Alexandre Desplat. Ron Nyswaner adapted the W. Somerset Maugham novel, which was filmed before in 1934 and 1957 (as THE SEVENTH SIN). | tt0446755 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Diana Rigg, Anthony Wong | U.S.-Chinese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Painted Woman | 1932 | John G. Blystone. | ★★½ | 73 | While singing in a sleazy South Seas nightclub, Shannon accidentally murders a man who's trying to maul her. She flees to another island, where Tracy falls in love with her, ignorant of her past. Young Tracy is brash and irresistible; outdoor filming adds zest to this predictable but entertaining yarn. | tt0023314 | Spencer Tracy, Peggy Shannon, William 'Stage' Boyd, Irving Pichel, Raul Roulien, Murray Kinnell, Paul Porcasi, Stanley Fields. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Painting the Clouds With Sunshine | 1951 | David Butler | ★★ | 87 | Lukewarm musical of trio of gold-diggers in Las Vegas searching for rich husbands, a mild reworking of an old musical formula. | tt0043896 | Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Lucille Norman, Virginia Gibson, Tom Conway | Musical | NULL | |||
| Paisan | 1946 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★½ | 90 | Early Rossellini classic, largely improvised by a mostly nonprofessional cast. Six vignettes depict life in Italy during WW2; best has American nurse White searching for her lover in battle-torn Florence. Written by Rossellini and Federico Fellini; Giulietta Masina has a bit part. Italian running time 115m. | tt0038823 | Carmela Sazio, Gar Moore, Bill Tubbs, Harriet White, Maria Michi, Robert van Loon, Dale Edmonds, Carla Pisacane, Dots Johnson | Italian | War | NULL | ||
| The Pajama Game | 1957 | George Abbott, Stanley Donen | ★★★½ | 101 | Adaptation of the Broadway musical hit— with much of its original cast intact— virtually defines the word 'exuberance.' Day is a joy as the head of a factory grievance committee who unexpectedly falls in love with the new foreman (Raitt, in his only starring film). Richard Adler and Jerry Ross' songs include 'Hey, There.' Dancer Haney stands out in her 'Steam Heat' feature and in the energetic 'Once a Year Day' picnic number. Choreography by Bob Fosse. | tt0050814 | Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney, Eddie Foy/Jr., Barbara Nichols, Reta Shaw | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pajama Party | 1964 | Don Weis | ★★ | 85 | Fourth BEACH PARTY movie moves indoors, changes director and star (although Frankie Avalon and Don Rickles do have cameos). Kirk plays Martian teenager who drops in and is understandably perplexed. Just fair, though it's always nice to see Keaton at work. Teri Garr is one of the dancers buried in the sand. Went back outside for BEACH BLANKET BINGO. | tt0058440 | Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Dorothy Lamour, Elsa Lanchester, Harvey Lembeck, Jody McCrea, Buster Keaton, Susan Hart, Donna Loren | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pal Joey | 1957 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 111 | Sinatra is in peak form as a cocky nightclub singer who makes a move on every 'dame' he meets— including innocent showgirl Novak— but meets his Waterloo when wealthy, demanding Hayworth agrees to bankroll his dream of running his own club. Almost complete rewrite of the 1940 Broadway show based on John O'Hara's short stories, but entertaining just the same, with a great Rodgers and Hart score including 'Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered' (with sanitized lyrics), 'The Lady Is a Tramp.' Look fast for Robert Reed. | tt0050815 | Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Barbara Nichols, Hank Henry, Bobby Sherwood | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pale Rider | 1985 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 113 | Eastwood Western starts out just fine, the saga of a Good Stranger coming to the aid of some struggling miners, but winds up draggy, pretentious, and dull— with so much cloning of SHANE as to be preposterous. Well crafted, but attempts to be mythical come off as heavy-handed and ridiculous. | tt0089767 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Christopher Penn, Richard Dysart, Sydney Penny, Richard Kiel, Doug McGrath, John Russell | Western | NULL | ||
| The Paleface | 1948 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 91 | Enjoyable comedy-Western, a spoof of THE VIRGINIAN, has timid Bob backed up by sharpshooting Russell in gunfighting encounters; Oscar-winning song 'Buttons and Bows.' Remade as THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST. Sequel: SON OF PALEFACE. | tt0040679 | Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Robert Armstrong, Iris Adrian, Robert Watson | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Palindromes | 2005 | Todd Solondz. | ★★ | 100 | A meditation on social hypocrisy— tackling such issues as pregnancy and abortion— that follows an adolescent girl who doesn't want to give up her baby and runs away from home. That the 'girl' is played by a variety of actresses of different sizes, shapes, and races is just one aspect of this very strange (yet often striking) film, which writer-director Solondz positions as a follow-up to WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE. | tt0362004 | Unrated | Ellen Barkin, Stephen Adly-Guirgis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emani Sledge, Valerie Shusterov, Hannah Freiman, Rachel Corr, Will Denton, Sharon Wilkins, Shayna Levine, Debra Monk, Richard Masur, Matthew Faber, Walter Bobbie. | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Pallbearer | 1996 | Matt Reeves | ★★½ | 97 | Friends star Schwimmer's first film vehicle: a nerd is recruited to be a pallbearer for a 'friend' he can't quite remember. Soon he's involved with the dead fellow's sexy mother (Hershey), even while pursuing a girl he had a crush on in high school (Paltrow). Protracted story is alternately touching and infuriating, as it slowly covers well-worn territory, with occasional moments of poignancy. Schwimmer's character is one-note. | tt0117283 | [PG-13] | David Schwimmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Barbara Hershey, Michael Rapaport, Toni Collette, Carol Kane, Michael Vartan, Bitty Schram, Jean DeBaer | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Palm Beach Story | 1942 | Preston Sturges | ★★★½ | 87 | Hilarious screwball comedy with Claudette running away from hubby McCrea, landing in Palm Beach with nutty millionairess Astor and her bumbling brother Vallee; overflowing with Sturges madness— from the mystifying title sequence to the arrival of the Ale & Quail Club (not to mention the Wienie King!). | tt0035169 | Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Rudy Vallee, Mary Astor, Sig Arno, Robert Dudley, William Demarest, Jack Norton, Franklin Pangborn, Jimmy Conlin | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Palm Springs Weekend | 1963 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 100 | Cast tries to play teenagers; yarn of group on a spree in resort town is mostly predictable. | tt0057396 | Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Stefanie Powers, Robert Conrad, Ty Hardin, Jack Weston, Andrew Duggan, Carole Cook, Jerry Van Dyke, Bill Mumy | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Palmetto | 1998 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 113 | An exercise in formula film noir with embittered Florida ex-newspaperman Harrelson— just out of jail— a none-too-bright patsy for crafty (and sexy) Shue, who hires him to help her stage a phony kidnaping. Stylish and steamy, with lots of twists and turns . . . but follows a much too familiar pattern. Based on the vintage novel Just Another Sucker by James Hadley Chase. | tt0120782 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon, Rolf Hoppe, Michael Rapaport, Chloe Sevigny, Tom Wright | U.S.-German | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Palmy Days | 1931 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 77 | Cantor is the patsy for a shady fortune-teller in this so-so musical, hampered by silly comic scenes which don't quite work. Notable mostly for Busby Berkeley overhead shots and Cantor performing 'My Baby Said Yes, Yes' and 'There's Nothing Too Good for My Baby.' | tt0022246 | Eddie Cantor, Charlotte Greenwood, Charles Middleton, George Raft, Walter Catlett | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Palombella Rossa | 1989 | Nanni Moretti | ★★½ | 87 | Off-the-wall satire about the choices, both political and personal, one makes in life. The hero is Michele (Moretti), a comical communist politician/water polo player; most of the film is set during a competition in which Michele constantly debates the merits of his politics. A representative introduction to one of Italy's most popular comic actor-directors. | tt0098055 | Nanni Moretti, Mariella Valentini, Silvio Orlando, Alfonso Santagata, Claudio Morganti, Asia Argento | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Palooka | 1934 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★★ | 86 | Not much relation to Ham Fisher's comic strip, but delightful entertainment with Erwin as naive young man brought into fight game by flashy promoter Knobby Walsh (Durante). Fine cast includes James Cagney's lookalike brother William, and has Schnozzola in top form. Aka JOE PALOOKA. | tt0025619 | Jimmy Durante, Stuart Erwin, Lupe Velez, Marjorie Rambeau, Robert Armstrong, Mary Carlisle, William Cagney, Thelma Todd | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Palookaville | 1996 | Alan Taylor | ★★★ | 92 | Charming, whimsical look at a trio of lifelong friends and their amateur foray into the world of petty crime. Set in New Jersey, this comically poignant tale has everyday characters, struggling to survive, who get themselves into some genuinely suspenseful situations. A real sleeper, inspired by the Italian film BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET. | tt0117284 | [R] | William Forsythe, Vincent Gallo, Adam Trese, Frances McDormand, Robert LuPone, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Kim Dickens, Bridgit Ryan | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Pals of the Golden West | 1951 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 68 | Working for the U.S. Border Patrol, Roy tracks down the culprits responsible for sending diseased cattle over the Mexican border. Roy's last big-screen Western (before turning to TV) is pretty good. | tt0043898 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, Pinky Lee, Anthony Caruso, Roy Barcroft, Pat Brady, The Roy Rogers Riders. | Western | NULL | |||
| Pals of the Saddle | 1938 | George Sherman. | ★★★ | 55 | Modern-day Western where Wayne, framed for murder, tangles with tough government agent McKay in combating munitions ring trying to smuggle illegal chemicals to foreign enemies. First entry in third season of popular Three Mesquiteers series based on characters created by William Colt MacDonald, with Wayne replacing debonair Bob Livingston as Stony Brooke. Prime prairie picture with pulsating action, unusually strong femme interest, and rousing Cy Feuer score. | tt0030550 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Doreen McKay, Ted Adams. | Western | NULL | |||
| Pan Americana | 1945 | John H. Auer | ★★ | 84 | Another '40s gesture toward Latin-American goodwill. Magazine staff visits Latin America, with writer Long becoming involved with photographer Terry. Crammed with Latin-American musical and specialty numbers. | tt0037970 | Phillip Terry, Eve Arden, Robert Benchley, Audrey Long, Bettejane (Jane) Greer; narrated by Robert Benchley | Musical | NULL | |||
| Pan's Labyrinth | 2006 | Guillermo Del Toro | ★★★½ | 120 | A dark fairy tale plays out against the backdrop of 1944 Spain. A monstrous Fascist captain (Lopez) determines to flush out soldiers of the resistance, as his pregnant wife arrives at his countryside headquarters with her young daughter. The girl (Baquero) escapes the brutality of her new environment by drifting into a fantasy world where she is given challenging tasks to perform by a mysterious faun. Unique fable blends fantasy and fearsome violence, ultimately merging the two stories together. Superbly realized, this is a rare film that invites repeated viewings to absorb all that writer-director Del Toro has put into it. | tt0457430 | [R] | Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Álex Angulo, Doug Jones, Ariadne Gil, Manolo Solo, Roger Casamajor | Spanish-Mexican | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Panama Deception | 1992 | Barbara Trent | ★★★ | 91 | Powerful, aptly titled, Oscar-winning documentary which traces U.S. involvement in Panama through the decades, spotlighting the 1989 invasion (and condemning American foreign policy under Presidents Reagan and Bush). The mass media is portrayed as little more than an arm of the White House. Originally shot on video. | tt0105089 | [NR] | Narrated by Elizabeth Montgomery | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Panama Hattie | 1942 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 79 | Cole Porter's Broadway musical (which starred Ethel Merman) about nightclub owner in Panama falls flat on screen. Porter's score mostly absent, but Lena sings 'Just One of Those Things,' and sprightly Sothern sings 'I've Still Got My Health.' | tt0035170 | Ann Sothern, Red Skelton, Rags Ragland, Ben Blue, Marsha Hunt, Virginia O'Brien, Alan Mowbray, Lena Horne, Dan Dailey, Carl Esmond | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Panama Lady | 1939 | Jack Hively. | ★½ | 64 | Routine bungle in the jungle, as Panama cabaret gal Lucy tries to rob customer Lane but winds up accompanying him to South America, where he strikes oil and she tangles with his girlfriend, as well as her own sleazy ex. At least it's short. Remake of 1932's PANAMA FLO (with Helen Twelvetrees). | tt0031777 | Lucille Ball, Allan Lane, Steffi Duna, Evelyn Brent, Donald Briggs, Bernadene Hayes, Abner Biberman. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Panama Sal | 1957 | William Witney. | 💣 | 70 | A gentleman-playboy (Kemmer) tries to teach 'class' to an ill-bred singer (Verdugo). Not to be confused with PYGMALION. | tt0050816 | Elena Verdugo, Carlos Rivas, Joe Flynn, Edward Kemmer. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pancho Villa | 1972 | Eugenio Martin | ★★ | 92 | Noisy but dull period piece has Savalas chewing up scenery in title role, Walker playing gun-runner on his payroll, and Connors as polo-playing military martinet. Hang on, though, for smashing climax as two trains collide head-on. | tt0069057 | [PG] | Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Anne Francis, Chuck Connors, Angel del Pozo, Luis Davila | Spanish | Adventure, Western | NULL | |
| Pandemonium | 1982 | Alfred Sole | ★★ | 82 | Sporadically funny spoof of slasher films, set in a school for cheerleaders. Some clever ideas (in keeping with Canadian origin of many of those films, hero Smothers is a Mountie), but too often just forced. | tt0084464 | [PG] | Tom Smothers, Carol Kane, Miles Chapin, Debralee Scott, Candy Azzara, Marc McClure, Judge Reinhold, Paul Reubens; guest stars, Tab Hunter, Donald O'Connor, Eve Arden, Eileen Brennan | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Pandora and the Flying Dutchman | 1951 | Albert Lewin. | ★★ | 123 | Sorry to say, a big Technicolor bore, one of writer-director Lewin's misfires, about a woman who destroys the lives of all the men around her; then mystical, otherworldly Mason materializes. Intriguing but unconvincing tale, inspired by the legend of The Flying Dutchman, a man cursed to live for all eternity until he can find a woman capable of loving him. Only real attribute is Gardner's breathtaking beauty. | tt0043899 | James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim, Harold Warrender, Marius Goring, Pamela Kellino (Mason). | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pandora's Box | 1928 | G. W. Pabst | ★★★★ | 109 | Hypnotic silent film stars legendary Brooks as flower girl who becomes protégée— then wife— of editor, with bizarre and unexpected consequences. Striking sexuality and drama, with Brooks an unforgettable Lulu. Scripters Pabst and Laszlo Wajda adapted two plays by Franz Wedekind. | tt0018737 | Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner, Franz (Francis) Lederer, Carl Goetz | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pandorum | 2009 | Christian Alvart | ★½ | 108 | Twenty-second-century astronauts Quaid and Foster awake from hyper-sleep aboard a spacecraft with no memory of why they are there and discover something deadly is also along for the ride. Dreary, highly derivative sci-fi horror thriller may put you into hyper-sleep; it consists mainly of long crawls through dark corridors and quick flashes of familiar-looking alien creatures. | tt1188729 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse, Norman Reedus, André M. Hennicke | German-U.S. | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Panhandle | 1948 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 84 | Reformed gunslinger Cameron is forced into one last showdown to avenge the murder of his brother at the hands of Hadley and his gang of land grabbers. Tough B Western, coproduced and cowritten by a young Blake Edwards (in his first work behind the camera), who also does a memorable turn as a vicious hired gun. Originally released in sepiatone. | tt0033996 | Rod Cameron, Cathy Downs, Reed Hadley, Anne Gwynne, Blake Edwards, Dick Crockett. | Western | NULL | |||
| Panic | 2000 | Henry Bromell | ★★½ | 88 | A hit man with a guilty conscience undergoes therapy and, feeling estranged from his own family, takes up with a sexy younger woman. Sort of. Low-key black comedy with Freudian overtones is fresh and interesting but never quite pays off. Excellent performances all around. Writer-director Bromell cut his teeth in episodic TV (Homicide, Northern Exposure). U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0194218 | [R] | William H. Macy, Donald Sutherland, Neve Campbell, Tracey Ullman, John Ritter, Barbara Bain, David Dorfman | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Panic Button | 1964 | George Sherman | 💣 | 90 | Good cast is wasted in this amateurish, pathetically unfunny production involving the making of a TV pilot in Italy that's supposed to flop so gangster producers will have legitimate tax loss. Wait for a rerun of THE PRODUCERS. | tt0058446 | Maurice Chevalier, Eleanor Parker, Jayne Mansfield, Michael Connors, Akim Tamiroff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Panic Room | 2002 | David Fincher | ★★★ | 112 | Solid thriller wastes no time putting Foster and daughter in peril— trapped in a steel-encased 'safe room'— inside their new Manhattan brownstone. Three creepy thieves invade the house in search of money that's hidden (where else?) in that very room. Suspenseful from the word go, this entertaining film leads to a disappointingly conventional, violent finale. Written by David Koepp; excellent score by Howard Shore. | tt0258000 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam, Kristen Stewart, Ann Magnuson, Ian Buchanan, Patrick Bauchau | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Panic in Needle Park | 1971 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★★½ | 110 | Easily the best of many drug-abuse films made in the early 1970s. Spunky small-time crook and decent young girl get hooked on heroin and go straight downhill. Pacino and Winn are tremendous. Screenplay by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, from James Mills' book; produced by Dominick Dunne. | tt0067549 | [PG] | Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint, Richard Bright, Kiel Martin, Michael McClanathan, Warren Finnerty, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Raul Julia, Joe Santos, Paul Sorvino | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Panic in Year Zero! | 1962 | Ray Milland | ★★½ | 95 | Intriguing film about L.A. family that escapes atomic bomb explosion to find a situation of every-man-for-himself. Loud, tinny music spoils much of film's effectiveness. | tt0056331 | Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel, Joan Freeman, Richard Garland | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Panic in the City | 1968 | Eddie Davis | ★★ | 97 | Blah thriller with federal agent Duff attempting to prevent some commie swine from setting off an atomic bomb in L.A. Watch for Mike Farrell as a hospital radiologist. | tt0062094 | Howard Duff, Linda Cristal, Stephen McNally, Nehemiah Persoff, Anne Jeffreys, Oscar Beregi, Dennis Hopper | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Panic in the Parlor | Sailor Beware! | 1956 | Gordon Parry | ★★½ | 81 | Broad but diverting humor about sailor Lewis coming home to get married, and the chaos it causes all concerned. Look for Michael Caine in a bit as a sailor. Originally titled: SAILOR BEWARE. | tt0050818 | Peggy Mount, Shirley Eaton, Gordon Jackson, Ronald Lewis | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Panic in the Streets | 1950 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 93 | Taut drama involving gangsters, one of whom is a carrier of pneumonic plague, and the manhunt to find him. Makes fine use of New Orleans locale; Edward and Edna Anhalt won an Oscar for their story. Screenplay by Richard Murphy. | tt0042832 | Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance, Zero Mostel | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Panique | 1946 | Julien Duvivier. | ★★★½ | 91 | Sizzling thriller, beautifully directed, about a nondescript middle-aged man (Simon) who becomes obsessed with a young woman despite the presence of her boyfriend; all this transpires during a murder investigation. Based on a Georges Simenon novel; remade in 1989 as MONSIEUR HIRE. Screenplay by Duvivier and Charles Spaak. Aka PANIC. | tt0038824 | Viviane Romance, Michel Simon, Paul Bernard, Max Dalban, Emile Drain, Guy Favières. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pantaloons | 1957 | John Berry | ★★½ | 93 | Fernandel is peppy in this brisk little period piece as a phony gay blade intent on female conquests. | tt0048946 | Fernandel, Carmen Sevilla, Christine Carrere, Fernando Rey | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Panther | 1995 | Mario Van Peebles | ★★ | 124 | Despite its impressive cast, an annoyingly simple-minded and (no pun intended) whitewashed account of the militant Black Panthers, who had had their fill of the everyday oppression against Black America and began confronting authority during the Vietnam era, becoming pivotal countercultural figures. Fascinating, politically loaded subject matter yearns for a more complex, intelligent cinematic rendering. Scripted by the director's dad, Melvin, based on his novel; both coproduced. | tt0114084 | [R] | Kadeem Hardison, Bokeem Woodbine, Joe Don Baker, Courtney B. Vance, Tyrin Turner, Marcus Chong, Anthony Griffith, Bobby Brown, Nefertiti, James Russo, Jenifer Lewis, Chris Rock, Roger Guenveur Smith, Michael Wincott, Richard Dysart, M. Emmet Walsh, Dick Gregory, Jerry Rubin, James LeGros, Robert Culp, Mario Van Peebles | Drama | NULL | ||
| Papa's Delicate Condition | 1963 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 98 | Amusing nostalgia of Corinne Griffith's childhood; Gleason dominates everything as tipsy father; set in 1900s. Oscar-winning song, 'Call Me Irresponsible.' | tt0057400 | Jackie Gleason, Glynis Johns, Charlie Ruggles, Laurel Goodwin, Charles Lane, Elisha Cook, Juanita Moore, Murray Hamilton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Papa, Mama, the Maid and I | 1956 | Jean-Paul Le Chanois | ★★½ | 94 | Sometimes saucy sex comedy, fully explained by title. | tt0047328 |
|
Fernand Ledoux, Gaby Morlay, Nicole Courcel, Robert Lamoureux. | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Paparazzi | 2004 | Paul Abascal | 💣 | 84 | Hot action-movie actor and all-around nice guy (Hauser) turns real ugly when the paparazzi— and one slimy photog in particular (Sizemore)— start hounding him and his family. Odious, self-righteous revenge thriller. Chris Rock has a cameo as a pizza delivery man. Matthew McConaughey and Vince Vaughn appear as themselves. Mel Gibson coproduced and is seen briefly as a man in anger management therapy. | tt0338325 | [PG-13] | Cole Hauser, Robin Tunney, Dennis Farina, Daniel Baldwin, Tom Hollander, Kevin Gage, Blake Bryan, Tom Sizemore | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Paper Chase | 1973 | James Bridges | ★★★½ | 111 | Near-classic comedy-drama about pressures of freshman year at Harvard Law School; Bottoms' obsession with tyrannical professor Kingsfield (Houseman) becomes even more complicated when he discovers his girl friend is Kingsfield's daughter! Splendidly adapted by Bridges from the John Jay Osborn, Jr., novel, with wonderful Gordon Willis photography and peerless acting, led by Houseman's Oscar-winning performance in the role that made him a 'star' (and which he continued in the subsequent TV series). | tt0070509 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman, Graham Beckel, Edward Herrmann, Craig Richard Nelson, James Naughton, Bob Lydiard, David Clennon, Lenny Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paper Heart | 2009 | Nicholas Jasenovec | ★★ | 88 | Combining elements of documentary-style filmmaking with a comedic narrative, offbeat stand-up comic Yi sets out to make a movie about the meaning of love. She interviews several people on the subject while getting involved with the true object of her affection, actor Cera. As reality clashes with her own fantasies, we’re never sure what’s real. This interesting experiment never catches fire and seems more a conceit than a movie; Yi and Cera forget to let the audience in on the joke. | tt1331064 | [PG-13] | Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake Johnson, Demetri Martin, Seth Rogen, Brendan Paul, Martin Starr | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Paper Lion | 1968 | Alex March | ★★★ | 107 | Funny film, loosely based on George Plimpton's book, about that writer's experiences when he becomes honorary member of Detroit Lions football team. Even non-football fans should enjoy this one, especially scenes with Karras (then a member of the team). Look for Roy Scheider in small role. | tt0063410 | [G] | Alan Alda, Lauren Hutton, Alex Karras, David Doyle, Ann Turkel, John Gordy, Roger Brown, Sugar Ray Robinson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Paper Man | 2010 | Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney | ★★ | 111 | Daniels and Kudrow rent a house in the Hamptons where he can supposedly write his second novel, but he is a bundle of neuroses, a fragile soul who can't write a single sentence. What's more, he still has an imaginary friend, a superhero called Captain Excellent (Reynolds). Only a budding, unconventional friendship with an introverted high school girl (Stone) gives him any comfort. Odd, sometimes off-putting film has excellent performances but doesn't add up. Written by the first-time directors. | tt0437405 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Lisa Kudrow, Ryan Reynolds, Kieran Culkin, Hunter Parrish, Chris Parnell, Arabella Field | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Paper Mask | 1991 | Christopher Morahan | ★★★ | 105 | Taut chiller is a darkly cynical look at the medical profession. McGann plays a lowly hospital orderly who takes on the identity of a doctor who's been killed in a car crash and gets a job the deceased had applied for in a busy emergency room. Alternately tense, horrifying, and hilarious. | tt0100330 | [R] | Paul McGann, Amanda Donohoe, Frederick Treves, Tom Wilkinson, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Jimmy Yuill | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Paper Moon | 1973 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★★ | 102 | Unbeatable entertainment, harking back to Damon Runyonesque 1930s, as con man O'Neal unwillingly latches onto young girl (his real-life daughter) who's pretty sharp herself. Tatum made her film debut here, and won an Oscar for her scene-stealing work; Kahn is fun, too, as Trixie Delight. Script by Alvin Sargent from Joe David Brown's Addie Pray. Later a TV series. | tt0070510 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, P. J. Johnson, Burton Gilliam, Randy Quaid | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Paper Tiger | 1975 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 99 | Lackluster tale of a plucky kidnapped lad (Ando) and his English tutor (Niven). Since the boy is the son of Japanese ambassador Mifune, Niven sees the chance to act out his many tales of heroism that have impressed the youngster. Tepid action involving political terrorism and Disney-style cuteness muck up the proceedings entirely. | tt0073511 | [PG] | David Niven, Toshiro Mifune, Hardy Kruger, Ando, Ivan Desny, Ronald Fraser | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Paper | 1994 | Ron Howard | ★★½ | 112 | Twenty-four hours in the life of a N.Y. newspaper and its harried editors, who are trying to manage their troubled private lives against the unyielding demands of a deadline (and a few small questions about ethics). Over-the-top, far-fetched, downright silly at times, but so adrenalized— barely stopping to take a breath— that it's fun to watch just the same. Many N.Y. journalists appear in cameo roles. Music by Randy Newman. | tt0110771 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, Jason Robards, Jason Alexander, Spalding Gray, Catherine O'Hara, Lynne Thigpen, Jack Kehoe, Roma Maffia, Clint Howard, Geoffrey Owens, William Prince, Augusta Dabney, Bruce Altman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Paperback Hero | 1973 | Peter Pearson | ★★½ | 94 | Local hockey hero/womanizer leads fantasy life as town gunslinger. Interesting and well acted, but ultimately a misfire. | tt0071966 | [R] | Keir Dullea, Elizabeth Ashley, John Beck, Dayle Haddon | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Paperback Romance | 1994 | Ben Lewin | ★★ | 93 | Paper-thin black comedy about a disabled romance novelist (Carides) who breaks her leg while stalking handsome, roguish jeweler LaPaglia. Thus, he doesn't realize that she's handicapped; she tells him she was in a skiing accident. Would-be spoof of schmaltzy novels substitutes slapstick violence for actual laughs. The stars are a real-life couple, but seem mismated in this film. | tt0110405 | [R] | Gia Carides, Anthony LaPaglia, Rebecca Gibney, Robyn Nevin, Jacek Koman | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Paperhouse | 1988 | Bernard Rose | ★★★ | 94 | Insightful fantasy drama of girl on the verge of puberty who has vivid dreams that both reflect her own life and seem to be affecting the life of a boy she has never met— while awake. Tense, even frightening, psychologically valid and well acted . . . but not to every taste. Feature debut of music-video director Rose. | tt0098061 | [PG-13] | Charlotte Burke, Elliott Spiers, Glenne Headly, Ben Cross, Gemma Jones, Sarah Newbold | British | Horror, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | |
| Papillon | 1973 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★ | 150 | Henri Charrière— 'the butterfly'— (McQueen) is determined to escape from Devil's Island, despite the odds, in this exciting adventure yarn. Extreme length and graphic realism work against its total success. Script by Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple, Jr., from Charrière's best-selling book; that's Trumbo cast as the Commandant. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Cut to 132m. after original release. | tt0070511 | [PG] | Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Jory, Don Gordon, Anthony Zerbe, George Coulouris, Robert Deman, Bill Mumy, Gregory Sierra | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paprika | 2006 | Satoshi Kon | ★★★ | 90 | Vivid psychedelic images highlight this Japanese anime in which machines invade and record people’s dreams. Their creator is a colorless doctor with a freewheeling alter ego named Paprika who also dives into the subconscious. When one of the machines is stolen in order to turn these dreams into nightmares, the Doctor/Paprika must find a way to harness the technology and rein it in. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. With its imaginative visuals, this is a trip worth taking. | tt0851578 | [R] | Voices of Megumi Hayashibara, Toru Furuya, Kouichi Yamadera, Katsunosuke Hori, Toru Emori, Akio Ohtsuka | Japanese | Sci-Fi, Mystery, Animation | NULL | |
| Parachute Battalion | 1941 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 75 | Efficient pre-WW2 programmer; gets a bit sticky with flag-waving. | tt0034000 |
|
Edmond O'Brien, Nancy Kelly, Robert Preston, Harry Carey, Buddy Ebsen, Paul Kelly | Drama | NULL | ||
| Parachute Jumper | 1933 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 65 | Former flyers Fairbanks and McHugh strike up fast friendship with Davis, but all three are victimized by involvement with gangster Carrillo. Fast-moving, enjoyable Warner Bros. programmer. | tt0024426 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Leo Carrillo, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd | Drama | NULL | |||
| Parade | 1974 | Jacques Tati | ★★ | 85 | Disappointing final feature from the beloved French comic, combining assorted provincial circus acts with Tati himself performing mime routines. The result is a curio for sure, solely of interest for fans of Tati. Shot mostly on video, and transferred to celluloid. Originally made for television. | tt0071968 | Jacques Tati, Karl Kossmayr, Pia Colombo | French-Swedish | tt0071968 | NULL | ||
| The Paradine Case | 1948 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 116 | Talk, talk, talk in complicated, stagy courtroom drama, set in England. Below par for Hitchcock; producer David O. Selznick also wrote the script. Originally 132m., then cut to 125m. and finally 116m. | tt0039694 | Gregory Peck, (Alida) Valli, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton, Charles Coburn, Ethel Barrymore, Louis Jourdan, Leo G. Carroll, John Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paradise | 1982 | Stuart Gillard | ★½ | 100 | Silly BLUE LAGOON rip-off, with Aames and Cates discovering sex while stranded in the desert. Both, however, do look good sans clothes. | tt0084469 | [R] | Willie Aames, Phoebe Cates, Tuvia Tavi, Richard Curnock, Neil Vipond, Aviva Marks | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Paradise | 1991 | Mary Agnes Donoghue | ★★★ | 110 | Poignant and appealing story of a boy (Wood) who's sent to friends of his mother's in a quiet country town for the summer; there he's befriended by a precocious girl (Birch), and tries to learn what makes the married couple he's staying with so cold to one another. Idyllic film takes perhaps too much time to reach its (inevitable) climax, but offers many lovely moments. Birch is a standout. Directorial debut for screenwriter Donoghue, who adapted her script from 1988 French film LE GRAND CHEMIN (THE GRAND HIGHWAY). | tt0102631 | [PG-13] | Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Elijah Wood, Thora Birch, Sheila McCarthy, Eve Gordon, Louise Latham | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paradise Alley | 1961 | Hugo Haas | ★½ | 85 | Grade-D mishmash about elderly bit player who charmingly deceives the denizens of a slum neighborhood into believing he's directing a movie there. Interesting only for the veteran cast. Originally made in 1957. | tt0055274 | Marie Windsor, Hugo Haas, Billy Gilbert, Carol Morris, Chester Conklin, Margaret Hamilton, Corinne Griffith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paradise Alley | 1978 | Sylvester Stallone | ★½ | 109 | Sly made his directorial debut with this Damon Runyonesque story of three none-too-bright brothers from the N.Y.C. tenements, one of whom hopes to make it big as a wrestler. Some nice moments lost in comic-book-level dramatics. Director Stallone clearly admires his star (he also croons the title song!). | tt0078056 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Lee Canalito, Armand Assante, Frank McRae, Anne Archer, Kevin Conway, Joyce Ingalls, Tom Waits, Ray Sharkey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paradise Canyon | 1935 | Carl L. Pierson. | ★½ | 53 | Federal agent Wayne goes undercover working for medicine show to round up counterfeit ring. The last, languid entry in Wayne's Lone Star series. Pierson was an editor with few directing credits, and rough edges here tear credibility in this Western quickie. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0026846 | John Wayne, Marion Burns, Reed Howes, Earle Hodgins, Yakima Canutt, Gino Corrado. | Crime, Western | NULL | |||
| Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills | 1996 | Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | ★★½ | 150 | Documentary chronicling the trial of three teenage boys charged in the gruesome 1993 murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark. Interviews with key participants, townsfolk, and families help draw viewers into the insular community, but film plays like an overlong segment of a TV news magazine, and the fascinating case is dragged out by an occasionally meandering narrative. Debuted on cable TV, then went to theaters. Followed up in 2000 with REVELATIONS: PARADISE LOST 2. | tt0117293 | [NR] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Paradise Now | 2005 | Hany Abu-Assad | ★★★½ | 90 | Gripping drama of two young men living in the Palestine territory who try to reconcile their lives with family and friends; in 24 hours they will perpetrate a suicide-bombing mission in Tel Aviv. Events do not play out as planned, but we in the audience are all too aware of the literal time bomb ticking every minute. An exceptional film laced with humor and humanity. Written by the director and Bero Beyer. | tt0445620 | [PG-13] | Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, Amer Hlehel, Hiam Abbass, Ashraf Barhoum | Palestinian | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Paradise Road | 1997 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 115 | Beresford scripted and researched this heartfelt (though cliché-ridden) based-on-fact account of a band of women who become united as they are held in a Japanese POW camp in Sumatra during WW2; they form a symphonic chorus and create beautiful harmony amid their misery. Not without many dramatically effective moments, but done in by repetition and predictability. | tt0119859 | [R] | Glenn Close, Pauline Collins, Cate Blanchett, Frances McDormand, Julianna Margulies, Jennifer Ehle, Elizabeth Spriggs, Tessa Humphries, Johanna Ter Steege, Wendy Hughes, Susie Porter, Sab Shimono | U.S.-Australian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Paradise for Three | 1938 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 75 | Strange story of American businessman trying to mingle with German people to discover how they live. Good cast helps fair script. | tt0030554 |
|
Frank Morgan, Robert Young, Mary Astor, Edna May Oliver, Florence Rice, Reginald Owen, Henry Hull | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Paradise, Hawaiian Style | 1966 | Michael Moore | ★★½ | 91 | Rehash of Presley's earlier BLUE HAWAII, with Elvis a pilot who runs a charter service while romancing local dolls. Attractive fluff. | tt0059563 | Elvis Presley, Suzanna Leigh, James Shigeta, Donna Butterworth, Marianna Hill, Irene Tsu, Julie Parrish, Philip Ahn, Mary Treen | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Parallax View | 1974 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★½ | 102 | Director-photographer-production designer team later responsible for ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN gives this political thriller a brilliant 'look' as reporter Beatty investigates a senator's assassination. Frightening story unfolds with each piece of evidence he uncovers. Gripping to the very end. | tt0071970 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn, Hume Cronyn, Anthony Zerbe, Kenneth Mars | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Parallel Lives | 1994 | Linda Yellen | Average TV Movie | 95 | Men and women of various ages come together for a fraternity-sorority reunion, resulting in emotional conflict, sexual couplings— and murder. Much of the dialogue was improvised, resulting in narrative incoherence; some nice moments, but ultimately just a muddy acting exercise. Check out this movie's predecessor, CHANTILLY LACE, instead— featuring much of the same cast and crew. Made for cable. | tt0110774 | James Belushi, James Brolin, LeVar Burton, Lindsay Crouse, Jill Eikenberry, Ben Gazzara, Jack Klugman, David Lansbury, Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Gena Rowlands, Ally Sheedy, Helen Slater, Mira Sorvino, Paul Sorvino, Robert Wagner, Patricia Wettig, JoBeth Williams, Treat Williams, Matthew Perry | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Paramount on Parade | 1930 | Dorothy Arzner, Otto Brower, Edmund Goulding, Victor Heerman, Edwin H. Knopf, Rowland V. Lee, Ernst Lubitsch, Lothar Mendes, Victor Schertzinger, A. Edward Sutherland, Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 77 | Early-talkie variety revue designed to show off Paramount's roster of stars. Some amusing songs and skits, but a lot of dry spots in between. Highlights include Nancy Carroll's 'Dancing to Save Your Sole' and Chevalier's two numbers. Film originally ran 102m. with several sequences in color; current prints feature director Edmund Goulding and such stars as Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur 'introducing' a sequence that never comes. | tt0021232 | Jean Arthur, Clara Bow, Maurice Chevalier, Gary Cooper, Nancy Carroll, Leon Errol, Stuart Erwin, Kay Francis, Fredric March, Helen Kane, Jack Oakie, William Powell, Buddy Rogers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Paranoia | Orgasmo | 1968 | Umberto Lenzi | 💣 | 91 | Trash about sultry widow involved in various sexual encounters. Aka ORGASMO. | tt0063413 | Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, Colette Descombes, Tino Carraro | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paranoiac | 1963 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 80 | Murder, impersonation, insanity all part of thriller set in large English country estate. | tt0057401 | Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Liliane Brousse, Alexander Davion, Sheila Burrell, Maurice Denham | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Paranoid Park | 2007 | Gus Van Sant | ★★½ | 84 | Portland, Oregon, teenager Nevins seems barely interested in his pretty girlfriend or much of anything else, other than skateboarding with his best friend. He finally starts to care when police investigate a death in an industrial area near a popular skate park. Film is similarly laid-back and artsy (parents are mostly unseen, like a Peanuts comic strip, and as in Van Sant’s ELEPHANT, shower scenes pop up), with its long passages playing out of sequential order. This may endear it to fans of the director; others won’t see the point of it all. Based on a novel by Blake Nelson. | tt0842929 | [R] | Gabe Nevins, Jake Miller, Dan Liu, Taylor Momsen, Lauren McKinney, Grace Carter | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Paranormal Activity | 2009 | Oren Peli | ★★★ | 86 | Young man eagerly sets up a video camera to film the interior of his girlfriend's San Diego house over several days, hoping to catch shots of reported supernatural activities. They both get more than they hoped for. Presented without credits as though it really is amateur footage, this shoestring ($15,000) horror thriller was an enormous hit, one of the most profitable movies in terms of investment ever made. Though generally understated, it's often extremely tense and sometimes shocking. The actors are completely believable as the characters who bear their names. | tt1179904 | [R] | Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Paranormal Activity 2 | 2010 | Tod Williams | ★★ | 86 | Married couple moves into a suburban house with their baby, ignoring the warnings of their cook, who claims the house is dangerous. They soon discover this for themselves. Story is again seen entirely through footage supposedly shot by security cameras; the shocks still work, but in this sequel to the 2009 hit everything seems familiar and artificial. For no clear reason, the story is set prior to events in the first movie. Unrated version runs 91m. | tt1536044 | [R] | Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Vivis Cortez | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Paranormal Activity 3 | 2011 | Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | ★★½ | 84 | Third installment in popular series adheres to game plan established by predecessors—everything shown on-screen is "found footage" supposedly culled from home videos, surveillance cameras, etc. Flashbacks show us how two sisters (from the earlier films) were scared witless by unseen terrors within their house. Codirectors Joost and Schulman (CATFISH) eschew the obvious route to suspense in this fairly unsettling sequel. Watch out for falling objects in the kitchen. | tt1778304 | [R] | Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Lauren Bittner, Dustin Ingram, Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden | Horror | NULL | ||
| Parasite | 1982 | Charles Band | 💣 | 85 | In repressive near-future, scientist who's developed voracious parasites flees with one inside him and (surprise, surprise) it gets loose. Set in the California desert, with several revolting sequences copied from ALIEN. Filmed in 3-D, with blood and parasites thrust at the viewer. | tt0084472 | [R] | Robert Glaudini, Demi Moore, Luca Bercovici, James Davidson, Al Fann, Cherie Currie, Vivian Blaine | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Paratrooper | 1953 | Terence Young | ★★ | 87 | Minor Ladd vehicle involving special tactical forces and Ladd's guilt-ridden past. Original title: THE RED BERET. | tt0046161 | Alan Ladd, Leo Genn, Susan Stephen, Harry Andrews, Donald Houston, Anthony Bushell, Stanley Baker, Anton Diffring | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Pardners | 1956 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 90 | Ironically titled M&L vehicle (they were already on the road to their breakup) is pleasant remake of RHYTHM ON THE RANGE, with Jerry as Manhattan millionaire who cleans up Western town in his own inimitable fashion. Written by Sidney Sheldon. | tt0049593 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, Jackie Loughery, John Baragrey, Agnes Moorehead, Jeff Morrow, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Pardon Mon Affaire | 1977 | Yves Robert | ★★★ | 105 | Sprightly comedy about efforts of happily married Rochefort to meet and court a dazzling model he spots in a parking garage. Another enjoyable French farce from director Robert. Sequel: WE WILL ALL MEET IN PARADISE. Later Americanized as THE WOMAN IN RED. | tt0076852 | [PG] | Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux, Daniele Delorme, Anny Duperey | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Pardon My French | 1951 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 81 | Fluff of Oberon inheriting a mansion in France occupied by charming composer Henreid. | tt0043901 | Paul Henreid, Merle Oberon, Paul Bonifas, Maximilliene, Jim Gerald | U.S.-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pardon My Past | 1945 | Leslie Fenton | ★★★ | 88 | Excellent tale of unsuspecting look-alike for famous playboy, incurring his debts and many enemies; fine comedy-drama. | tt0038826 | Fred MacMurray, Marguerite Chapman, Akim Tamiroff, William Demarest, Rita Johnson, Harry Davenport | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pardon My Rhythm | 1944 | Felix E. Feist. | ★★ | 62 | Naive minor musical set in ultra-wholesome high school, with Gloria the singing belle of the ball. | tt0037164 | Gloria Jean, Evelyn Ankers, Patric Knowles, Bob Crosby. | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pardon My Sarong | 1942 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★★ | 84 | A&C in good form as bus drivers who end up on tropical island, involved with notorious jewel thieves. | tt0035173 | Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Lionel Atwill, Virginia Bruce, Robert Paige, William Demarest, Leif Erickson, Samuel S. Hinds, Nan Wynn, Four Ink Spots, Tip, Tap, Toe | Comedy, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pardon Us | 1931 | James Parrott | ★★½ | 55 | L&H's first starring feature film is amusing spoof of THE BIG HOUSE and prison films in general; slow pacing is its major debit, but many funny bits make it a must for fans of Stan and Ollie. | tt0022251 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Wilfred Lucas, Walter Long, James Finlayson, June Marlowe | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Parent Trap | 1961 | David Swift | ★★★ | 124 | Hayley plays twins who've never met until their divorced parents send them to the same summer camp; after initial rivalry they join forces to reunite their mom and dad. Attempt to mix slapstick and sophistication doesn't work, but overall it's fun. Erich Kastner's story filmed before as 1954 British film TWICE UPON A TIME. Hayley starred— as mom— in 1986 and 1989 TV sequels. Remade in 1998. | tt0055277 | Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Charlie Ruggles, Una Merkel, Leo G. Carroll, Joanna Barnes, Cathleen Nesbitt, Nancy Kulp, Frank DeVol | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Parent Trap | 1998 | Nancy Myers | ★★★ | 128 | Delightful remake of the 1961 Disney hit about eleven-year-old girls who've been raised separately, meet each other for the first time at summer camp, and contrive to bring their parents back together— though Mom lives in London and Dad in California's Napa Valley. Nicely updated to the 1990s without losing the appeal of the original. Joanna Barnes, who played the 'other woman' in the 1961 movie, appears here as that character's mother. | tt0120783 | [PG] | Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Elaine Hendrix, Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz, Polly Holliday, Maggie Wheeler, Ronnie Stevens | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Parenthood | 1989 | Ron Howard | ★★★½ | 124 | Insightful multi-character comedy about the trials and tribulations of parenthood, as seen from several points of view within the same large family. Warm, winning, and truthful; Martin is ideal in the lead, and surrounded by a perfect ensemble. Screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (from a story they concocted with fellow parent Ron Howard). Followed by a TV series. | tt0098067 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Harley Kozak, Dennis Dugan, Joaquin Phoenix, Paul Linke | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Parents | 1989 | Bob Balaban | ★★ | 82 | Coal-black horror comedy set in the 1950s centers on a young boy who worries about where his highly conformist parents get all that meat they eat . . . and what goes on down in the basement. Well acted but thinly plotted; a good sense of visual style and amusing production design can't keep it afloat. Feature directing debut for actor Balaban. | tt0098068 | [R] | Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, Bryan Madorsky, Juno Mills-Cockell, Kathryn Grody, Deborah Rush, Graham Jarvis | Horror | NULL | ||
| Pariah | 2011 | Dee Rees | ★★★ | 86 | Aside from the usual growing pains, a smart teenage girl in Brooklyn, N.Y., faces another, more difficult challenge: living a secret life away from home, as her parents refuse to accept the fact that she's gay. Still trying to find herself, she's easily influenced by the female friends she makes. Newcomer Oduye's winning, empathetic performance sparks this engrossing coming-of-age/coming-out drama, expanded from a prize-winning 2007 short subject by writer-director Rees. | tt1233334 | [R] | Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paris 36 | 2008 | Christopher Barratier | ★★★ | 120 | Atmospheric, beautifully crafted musical salutes the romantic ideal of 1930s Paris just as politics and WW2 are about to change it forever. Three workers try to save the local vaudeville theater, and their jobs, by buying it and reinventing the aging palace as an entertainment mecca. As in LES CHORISTES, Barratier blends coldhearted reality and stylish musical sequences. And don’t miss the Busby Berkeley tribute. French title: FAUBOURG 36. | tt0948535 | [PG-13] | Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Nora Arnezeder, Kad Merad, Pierre Richard, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Maxence Perrin, François Morel | French-German-Czech | Drama | NULL | |
| Paris After Dark | 1943 | Leonide Moguy | ★★½ | 85 | Preachy but effective melodrama of French patriot Dorn, who returns to Paris from concentration camp where he was coerced into accepting Nazi domination. Look for Peter Lawford as a young Resistance fighter. | tt0036251 | George Sanders, Philip Dorn, Brenda Marshall, Madeleine LeBeau, Marcel Dalio | War | NULL | |||
| Paris Blues | 1961 | Martin Ritt | ★★★ | 98 | Film improves with each viewing; offbeat account of musicians Newman and Poitier in Left Bank Paris, romancing tourists Woodward and Carroll. Great Duke Ellington score, including explosive 'Battle Royal' number; a must for jazz fans. | tt0055278 | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Diahann Carroll, Sidney Poitier, Louis Armstrong, Serge Reggiani | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paris Calling | 1941 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 95 | Exciting story of underground movement in Paris to destroy Nazis occupying France. | tt0034002 | Elisabeth Bergner, Randolph Scott, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Eduardo Ciannelli, Lee J. Cobb | War | NULL | |||
| Paris Does Strange Things | Elena and Her Men | 1956 | Jean Renoir | ★★ | 98 | Claude Renoir's exquisite cinematography highlights this otherwise so-so account of impoverished Polish princess Bergman's romantic intrigues with Marais and Ferrer. Overrated by some; far from Renoir's (or Bergman's) best. French-language version, called ELENA AND HER MEN, is better and runs 95m. | tt0049177 | Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais, Mel Ferrer, Jean Richard, Magali Noel, Juliette Greco, Pierre Bertin | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Paris Express | Man Who Watched Trains Go By | 1953 | Harold French | ★★½ | 80 | A clerk embezzles money, hoping to use it for travel, but gets into more of an adventure than he bargained for. Middling crime yarn based on a Georges Simenon novel. Original British title: THE MAN WHO WATCHED TRAINS GO BY. | tt0046034 | Claude Rains, Marta Toren, Marius Goring, Anouk Aimée, Herbert Lom, Lucie Mannheim, Felix Aylmer, Ferdy Mayne, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Paris Holiday | 1958 | Gerd Oswald | ★★½ | 100 | Mixture of French and American farce humor makes for uneven entertainment, with Hope in France to buy a new screenplay. Features writer-director Sturges in a small acting role. | tt0052047 | Bob Hope, Fernandel, Anita Ekberg, Martha Hyer, Preston Sturges | Comedy, Action, Romance | NULL | |||
| Paris Honeymoon | 1939 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 92 | Texan Crosby visits France planning to marry Ross, but meets native Franciska Gaal and falls in love with her. | tt0031787 | Bing Crosby, Shirley Ross, Edward Everett Horton, Akim Tamiroff, Ben Blue, Rafaela Ottiano, Raymond Hatton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Paris Interlude | 1934 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★ | 72 | In post-WW1 Paris, world-weary American reporter Kruger and irresponsible protégé Young are both in love with Yank tourist Evans, and spend most of their time drowning their sorrows in bars until Kruger goes off to China. Slow-moving melodrama, cleaned up from a play by S. J. and Laura Perelman. Aims in vain for sophisticated 'lost generation' feeling. | tt0025629 | Robert Young, Madge Evans, Otto Kruger, Una Merkel, Ted Healy, Louise Henry, Edward Brophy. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paris Is Burning | 1990 | Jennie Livingston | ★★★½ | 78 | Funny, revealing, and compact documentary about N.Y.C. 'drag balls'— in which black and Latino men don 'vogue-ing' disguises as everything from flamboyant queens to businessmen or members of the military. Fresh and uncondescending, with a powerful element of tragedy near the end. | tt0100332 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Paris Model | 1953 | Alfred E. Green | ★½ | 81 | Lackluster vehicle for veteran actors, revolving around a dress and four women who purchase copies of same. | tt0046165 | Eva Gabor, Tom Conway, Paulette Goddard, Marilyn Maxwell, Cecil Kellaway, Barbara Lawrence, Florence Bates | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Paris Playboys | 1954 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 62 | Sach impersonates a missing French professor and gets mixed up in a spy ring. Feeble Bowery Boys slapstick. | tt0047331 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Veola Vonn, Steven Geray, David (Gorcey) Condon, Bennie Bartlett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Paris Trout | 1991 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ★★★½ | 100 | Jarring drama, set in the late 1940s, about the mind and soul of an unrepentant racist, with Hopper (never better) as a Southerner who kills a 12-year-old black girl and cannot comprehend how he can be condemned for his action. Probing, bristling script by Pete Dexter, based on his National Book Award-winning novel. Though made as a theatrical film, this debuted in the U.S. on cable TV instead. | tt0102638 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Barbara Hershey, Ed Harris, Ray McKinnon, Tina Lifford, Darnita Henry, Eric Ware | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paris Underground | 1945 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 97 | Well-acted story of American Bennett and Britisher Fields working in underground movement even while imprisoned in Nazi POW camp. | tt0037972 | Constance Bennett, Gracie Fields, George Rigaud, Kurt Kreuger, Leslie Vincent, Charles Andre | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paris, Texas | 1984 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 150 | Man who's been lost four years tries to put his life back together— and win back his wife and son. Oblique, self-satisfied, and slow, like all of Sam Shepard's writing, but distinguished by fine performances and rich Southwestern atmosphere by Wenders and cinematographer Robby Müller. This won raves from many critics, so it may be a matter of personal taste. | tt0087884 | [R] | Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clement, Hunter Carson, Bernhard Wicki | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paris, je t’aime | 2006 | Bruno Podalydes, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuarón, Richard LaGravenese, Olivier Assayas, Olivier Schmitz, Tetsuo Nagata, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Gérard Depardieu and Frederic Auburtin, Alexander Payne | ★★½ | 120 | Series of “little romances” set in 18 distinct Parisian neighborhoods. Altogether it doesn’t amount to much, but a handful of the vignettes are well told and amusing: Craven’s graveyard set-piece with Mortimer and Sewell, who are about to marry; the Coens’ funny skit with Buscemi as an innocent bystander in the Paris Metro; a bittersweet slice of life with Rowlands and Gazzara (written by Rowlands); Payne’s musing on loneliness with a perfectly cast Martindale. | tt0401711 | [R] | Florence Muller, Bruno Podalydes, Leila Bekhti, Marianne Faithfull, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Barbet Schroeder, Sergio Castellitto, Miranda Richardson, Leonor Watling, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Hippolyte Girardot, Paul Putner, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Bob Hoskins, Fanny Ardant, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lionel Dray, Aissa Maiga, Elijah Wood, Olga Kurylenko, Emily Mortimer, Rufus Sewell, Natalie Portman, Melchior Beslon, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Margo Martindale | French | Romance | NULL | |
| Paris- When It Sizzles | 1964 | Richard Quine | ★½ | 110 | Labored, unfunny comedy defeats a game cast, in story of screenwriter and secretary who act out movie fantasies in order to finish script. Paris locations, cameos by Marlene Dietrich and other stars don't help. | tt0058453 | William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, Noel Coward, Gregoire Aslan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Parisian Love | 1925 | Louis Gasnier. | ★★ | 62 | Hackneyed silent melodrama of Apache dancer Bow, a member of a band of Parisian thieves. When a prominent scientist, one of their intended victims, 'steals' her lover, she seeks revenge. | tt0016201 | Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Lillian Leighton, James Gordon Russell, Hazel Keener, Lou Tellegen, Jean De Briac. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Park Row | 1952 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★ | 83 | Good, tough little film with newsman Evans starting his own paper, rivaling newspaper magnate Welch in 1880s N.Y.C. | tt0045009 | Gene Evans, Mary Welch, Herbert Heyes, Tina Rome, Forrest Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Parlor, Bedroom and Bath | 1931 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 75 | Buster plays a poor sap who's hired to pose as a great lover in this adaptation of a venerable stage farce filmed before in 1920. Great moments with Buster are few and far between in this contrived vehicle, but at least he's surrounded by compatible costars. | tt0022254 | Buster Keaton, Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny, Cliff Edwards, Dorothy Christy, Joan Peers, Sally Eilers, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Brophy | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Parnell | 1937 | John M. Stahl | ★½ | 119 | Biography of popular and powerful Irish nationalist leader of the late 1800s whose career was destroyed by the exposure of adulterous affair. Plodding film fails to realize great story potential; this was (understandably) a notorious flop in 1937. | tt0029377 | Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Edna May Oliver, Edmund Gwenn, Alan Marshal, Donald Crisp, Billie Burke, Donald Meek | Drama | NULL | |||
| Parole Fixer | 1940 | Robert Florey. | ★★★ | 58 | Zippy exposé of crooked lawyers and prison officials who take payoffs to give hardened criminals early paroles. The FBI moves in when one of the cons kills an agent and kidnaps a socialite. Quinn is at his nastiest as a cold-blooded killer. Based on J. Edgar Hoover's book Persons in Hiding, with one chilling moment that predates THE BIG HEAT. | tt0032890 | William Henry, Virginia Dale, Robert Paige, Gertrude Michael, Richard Denning, Fay Helm, Anthony Quinn, Harvey Stephens, Marjorie Gateson, Lyle Talbot, Louise Beavers, Jack Carson. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Parole, Inc. | 1948 | Alfred Zeisler | ★★ | 71 | By-the-numbers programmer in which federal agent O'Shea goes undercover to determine why dangerous convicts are mysteriously being granted paroles. | tt0041733 | Michael O'Shea, Turhan Bey, Evelyn Ankers, Virginia Lee, Lyle Talbot, Michael Whelan | Crime | NULL | |||
| Parrish | 1961 | Delmer Daves | ★½ | 140 | Slurpy soaper is so bad that at times it's funny; emotionless Donahue lives with his mother (Colbert, in her last theatrical film) on Jagger's tobacco plantation and falls in love with three girls there. Malden overplays tyrannical tobacco czar to the nth degree. Carroll O'Connor and Vincent Gardenia have small roles. | tt0055279 | Claudette Colbert, Troy Donahue, Karl Malden, Dean Jagger, Connie Stevens, Diane McBain, Sharon Hugueny, Sylvia Miles, Madeleine Sherwood | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Parson and the Outlaw | 1957 | Oliver Drake (John Payne) | ★½ | 71 | Minor version of life and times of Billy the Kid. | tt0050822 | Anthony Dexter, Sonny Tufts, Marie Windsor, Buddy Rogers, Jean Parker, Bob Steele | Western | NULL | |||
| The Parson of Panamint | 1941 | William McGann | ★★½ | 84 | Minor offbeat Western with Terry as preacher in mining town, involved in murder while reforming the community. | tt0034004 |
|
Charlie Ruggles, Ellen Drew, Phillip Terry, Joseph Schildkraut, Porter Hall | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Part 2, Sounder | Sounder, Part Two | 1976 | William A. Graham | ★★★½ | 98 | Excellent follow-up to SOUNDER, retaining the dignity and human values in the continuing tale of a proud family of Depression-era Southern sharecroppers. | tt0139622 | [G] | Harold Sylvester, Ebony Wright, Taj Mahal, Annazette Chase, Darryl Young | Drama | NULL | |
| Part 2, Walking Tall | Walking Tall, Part Two | 1975 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 109 | Tepid follow-up to ultraviolent movie about club-swinging Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser. Svenson now takes the role of the one-man crusader against organized crime, but makes him come off like a standard TV hero rather than a real-life character. Sequel: FINAL CHAPTER— WALKING TALL. | tt0073880 | [PG] | Bo Svenson, Luke Askew, Robert DoQui, Bruce Glover, Richard Jaeckel, Noah Beery/Jr. | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Part-Time Wife | 1961 | Max Varnel | ★½ | 70 | Lumbering account of Rodgers loaning wife Porter to scoundrel friend Warren, who wants to make an impression; wooden farce. | tt0055280 |
|
Anton Rodgers, Nyree Dawn Porter, Kenneth J. Warren, Henry McCarthy | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Parting Glances | 1986 | Bill Sherwood | ★★½ | 90 | Two longtime gay roommates spend their final 24 hours together before one leaves N.Y.C. on a job transfer. Earnest, intelligent drama is OK within its modest framework; subsidiary characters— one of them dying of AIDS (and played by Buscemi, in an eye-opening performance)— are more compelling than the two protagonists. This was Sherwood's only feature; he died of AIDS in 1990. | tt0091725 | John Bolger, Richard Ganoung, Steve Buscemi, Adam Nathan, Patrick Tull, Kathy Kinney | Drama | NULL | |||
| Partners | 1982 | James Burrows | 💣 | 98 | Foolish, offensive parody of CRUISING, with straight cop O'Neal impersonating homosexual while investigating gay murder. Hurt is wasted as O'Neal's partner, who really is gay. Screenplay by Francis (LA CAGE AUX FOLLES) Veber. Undistinguished feature debut for TV comedy director Burrows. | tt0084477 | [R] | Ryan O'Neal, John Hurt, Kenneth McMillan, Robyn Douglass, Jay Robinson, Denise Galik, Rick Jason | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Partners of the Plains | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 68 | Strong-willed absentee owner arrives from England to inspect her ranch, leading to battle of the sexes with foreman Hopalong Cassidy. Subpar Hoppy film has Clark subbing for George Hayes as (alleged) comedy relief and imperious leading lady Gaze suggesting a slimmed-down Charles Laughton in drag. Nominally adapted from Clarence E. Mulford's novel The Man From Bar-20, but drawn more from Buck Peters, Ranchman. Location scenes shot in San Jacinto National Forest. | tt0030558 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Harvey Clark, Gwen Gaze, Hilda Plowright, John Warburton, Al Bridge. | Western | NULL | |||
| Parts: The Clonus Horror | The Clonus Horror | 1978 | Robert S. Fiveson | ★★ | 90 | Cleanly made programmer about an insidious government plan to start cloning the population. Watchable but uninspired. Video title: THE CLONUS HORROR. | tt0078062 | [R] | Tim Donnelly, Dick Sargent, Peter Graves, Paulette Breen, David Hooks, Keenan Wynn | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Party Crashers | 1958 | Bernard Girard | ★½ | 78 | Sleazy goings-on of teenage gangs who become involved in reckless mayhem. Both Driscoll's and Farmer's last film. | tt0052049 | Mark Damon, Bobby Driscoll, Connie Stevens, Frances Farmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Party Girl | 1958 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★ | 99 | Crooked lawyer (Taylor) and showgirl (Charisse) try to break free from Chicago mob life. Charisse has a couple of torrid dance numbers; Ray's stylish treatment has won this film a cult following. | tt0052050 | Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, Lee J. Cobb, John Ireland, Kent Smith | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Party Girl | 1995 | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | ★★½ | 98 | Slim, low-budget film is fun, with Posey perfectly cast as a young N.Y.C. career woman without a career. Deciding she should be doing something more with her life than just throwing wild parties, she seeks job fulfillment (with admittedly no skills), and the N.Y. Public Library system will never be the same again. Posey is trendy and insouciant, likable and hilarious, and supporting cast scores as well— including the director's mother as Posey's godmother. Best bit: the Dewey Decimal Record-Spinning System! Later a TV series. | tt0114095 | [R] | Parker Posey, Omar Townsend, Sasha von Scherler, Guillermo Diaz, Anthony DeSando, Donna Mitchell, Liev Schreiber, Nicole Bobbitt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Party Line | 1988 | William Webb | 💣 | 91 | Sleazy, amateurish story capitalizing on the party-line fad in which young swingers call a special phone number to get a date— in this case, with murder. You'll want to hang up on this one long before the final credits. | tt0095825 | [R] | Richard Hatch, Shawn Weatherly, Leif Garrett, Greta Blackburn, Richard Roundtree | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Party Monster | 2003 | Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato | ★½ | 98 | Culkin gives a mannered, thoroughly annoying performance in an adult 'comeback' vehicle— his first film in 9 years— about Michael Alig, a real-life club kid who became king of N.Y.C.'s drug-fueled nightlife in the late '80s and early '90s before he was arrested for murder. There may be an interesting cautionary tale to be told about the era (indeed, the directors made a 1998 documentary with the same title), but this amateurish, shot-on-video excursion into trendy depravity certainly isn't it. | tt0320244 | [R] | Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Wilson Cruz, Chloe Sevigny, Natasha Lyonne, Diana Scarwid, Dylan McDermott, Marilyn Manson, Mia Kirshner, Wilmer Valderrama, John Stamos | Crime, Thriller, Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Party Wire | 1935 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★½ | 70 | Fairly vicious look at small-town life and how gossip can ruin a person's reputation, in this case Arthur's, who's falsely thought to be pregnant without benefit of a husband. Far from subtle, but Arthur is as appealing as ever. | tt0026852 | Jean Arthur, Victor Jory, Helen Lowell, Robert Allen, Charley Grapewin, Clara Blandick, Geneva Mitchell, Maude Eburne. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Party's Over | 1966 | Guy Hamilton | ★★ | 94 | Sordid drama of wealthy American girl becoming involved with group of aimless London youths, with tragic results. | tt0060816 | Oliver Reed, Ann Lynn, Clifford David, Louise Sorel, Eddie Albert | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Party | 1968 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 99 | Side-splitting gags highlight loosely structured film about chic Hollywood party attended by bumbling Indian actor (Sellers). Doesn't hold up to the very end, but has some memorable set pieces. | tt0063415 | Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet, Marge Champion, Denny Miller, Gavin MacLeod, Steve Franken, Carol Wayne | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pascali's Island | 1988 | James Dearden | ★★½ | 104 | A largely ignored Turkish spy for the collapsing Ottoman Empire forms a duplicitous alliance with a mysterious Brit to rob the Greek island of Nisi of an archeological treasure. Well-acted drama isn't wholly successful, but it certainly holds your interest. Scripted by the director. | tt0095827 | [PG-13] | Ben Kingsley, Charles Dance, Helen Mirren, George Murcell, Sheila Allen, Nadim Sawalha | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Pass the Ammo | 1988 | David Beaird | 💣 | 97 | Shrill, heavy-handed spoof of televangelists that blunts its satiric edge by making its 'heroes' (a young couple out to rob the church) so thoroughly disreputable. This subject cries for a better comedy. | tt0095832 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Linda Kozlowski, Tim Curry, Annie Potts, Dennis Burkley, Glenn Withrow, Anthony Geary, Richard Paul | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Passage West | 1951 | Lewis R. Foster | ★½ | 80 | Outlaws join up with wagon train with predictable results. | tt0043906 | John Payne, Dennis O'Keefe, Arleen Whelan, Mary Beth Hughes, Frank Faylen, Dooley Wilson | Western | NULL | |||
| A Passage to India | 1984 | David Lean | ★★★ | 163 | Meticulous adaptation of E. M. Forster novel set in the late 1920s, about an East/West culture clash, as a young, headstrong British woman goes to India for the first time, accompanied by the mother of her fiancé. Not a great movie, but so rich in flavor, nuance, and the sheer expressiveness of film that it offers great satisfaction, despite its shortcomings (and extreme length). Ashcroft won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her fine performance as Mrs. Moore. Maurice Jarre also got an Oscar for his anachronistic score. Lean's last film. | tt0087892 | [PG] | Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Havers, Richard Wilson, Antonia Pemberton, Michael Culver, Art Malik, Saeed Jaffrey | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Passage to Marseille | 1944 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 110 | WW2 Devil's Island escape film marred by flashback-within-flashback confusion. Not a bad war film, just too talky; a disappointment considering the cast. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037166 | Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Michele Morgan, Philip Dorn, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Helmut Dantine, John Loder, Victor Francen, Vladimir Sokoloff, Edward (Eduardo) Ciannelli, Hans Conried | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| The Passage | 1979 | J. Lee Thompson | ★½ | 99 | Trashy WW2 story of Basque guide Quinn helping chemist Mason and his family escape over the Pyrenees with Nazi fanatic McDowell in hot pursuit. McDowell's campy performance must be seen to be disbelieved. | tt0079700 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Malcolm McDowell, Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz, Christopher Lee, Paul Clemens, Michael Lonsdale, Marcel Bozzuffi | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Passed Away | 1992 | Charlie Peters | ★★½ | 96 | Likable if lightweight black comedy about the death of a patriarch (Warden) and how it affects the various members of his colorful family. Pleasantly offbeat, with a very appealing cast, though Hoskins is never quite convincing as an American. Peters also scripted. | tt0105103 | [PG-13] | Bob Hoskins, Jack Warden, William L. Petersen, Helen Lloyd Breed, Maureen Stapleton, Pamela Reed, Tim Curry, Peter Riegert, Blair Brown, Patrick Breen, Nancy Travis, Teri Polo, Frances McDormand | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Passenger 57 | 1992 | Kevin Hooks | ★★½ | 84 | Snipes is a crack anti-terrorist expert planning early retirement when he is thrust into the middle of an airline hijacking perpetrated by vile arch-criminal (Payne). Watchable action fare has a few too many coincidences but delivers both on the ground and in the air, thanks largely to the two charismatic opponents. Costar Robert Hooks, who plays FBI agent Henderson, is the director's father. Panavision and J-D-C Scope. | tt0105104 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne, Tom Sizemore, Alex Datcher, Bruce Greenwood, Robert Hooks, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael Horse, Ernie Lively | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Passenger | 1975 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★½ | 119 | Enigmatic narrative about dissatisfied TV reporter on assignment in Africa who exchanges identities with an Englishman who has died suddenly in a hotel room. Some found this brilliant; judge for yourself. | tt0073580 | [PG] | Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry, Steven Berkoff, Ambrose Bia | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Passengers | 2008 | Rodrigo García | ★★ | 93 | Grief therapist Hathaway, counseling a batch of oddly argumentative plane crash survivors, develops a special interest in euphoric stockbroker Wilson. When her patients start vanishing from the sessions, she suspects the airline of a murderous cover-up, but . . . Scareless, suspenseless, only mildly intriguing romantic thriller is a middling muddle of conspiracy paranoia, otherworldliness, and kissing. Not recommended for those with a fear of flying. | tt0449487 | [PG-13] | Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Andre Braugher, Clea DuVall, Dianne Wiest, William B. Davis | Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Passion | 1982 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 87 | Characters named Isabelle, Hanna, Michel, Jerzy and Laszlo are connected with the making of a film called PASSION, which seems to be more the visualization of a Rembrandt or Delacroix than an actual movie. Meanwhile, the extras are treated like cattle, and the moviemaking art is tainted by commerce. Truffaut's DAY FOR NIGHT celebrates the joy of filmmaking; this is, in its own way, an anti-movie. | tt0084481 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Hanna Schygulla, Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Laszlo Szabo | French-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Passion Fish | 1992 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 135 | Bitchy soap opera actress is paralyzed in an accident, and returns to her family home in Louisiana where she can be miserable to her heart's content— until her newest nurse/ companion (Woodard) stands up to her. Funny, affecting, and satisfying entertainment— if a wee bit long. McDonnell's natural aloofness is put to perfect use by writer-director Sayles, who's given her the part of a lifetime. | tt0105107 | [R] | Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, David Strathairn, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Angela Bassett, Nora Dunn, Sheila Kelley, Mary Portser, Maggie Renzi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Passion Flower | 1930 | William DeMille | ★★½ | 79 | Heiress Johnson defies her father by marrying the family chauffeur (Bickford), only to lose him to her glamorous cousin (Francis). Well-acted, effective triangle tale with some touching moments. | tt0021240 |
|
Kay Francis, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford, Winter Hall, Lewis Stone, ZaSu Pitts, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | ||
| Passion Play | 2011 | Mitch Glazer | ★½ | 94 | Jumbled noir-ish fantasy involving a once celebrated jazz trumpeter (Rourke) who now plays in a strip club. After barely avoiding being killed, he stumbles upon a carnival and becomes obsessed with Lily the Bird Girl (Fox), its main attraction, who really has wings. Murray is game, playing a hood named Happy, but even he can’t add much to this barely watchable, instantly forgettable mess. A less than auspicious directorial debut for screenwriter Glazer. | tt1396221 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox, Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch, Rhys Ifans, Rory Cochrane | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Passion in the Desert | 1998 | Lavinia Currier | ★★½ | 93 | Unusual drama, from Balzac novella, of French army captain (Daniels) and a painter in his charge (Piccoli) who get stranded in the Egyptian desert during 1798 Napoleonic campaign. The officer eventually comes face-to-face with a leopard, and their unorthodox relationship forms the crux of this story. Impressively crafted (cinematographer Alexei Rodionov also shot ORLANDO), though not for all tastes. Shot in 1995. | tt0125980 | [PG-13] | Ben Daniels, Michel Piccoli, Paul Meston, Kenneth Collard, Nadi Odeh, Auda Mohammed Badoul | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Passion of Anna | 1969 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 101 | Stark drama, beautifully acted, about von Sydow, living alone on a barely populated island, and relationship with widow Ullmann, architect Josephson, and wife Andersson. Superior cinematography by Sven Nykvist. Original title was simply— and more accurately— A PASSION. | tt0064793 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow, Erland Josephson, Erik Hell | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Passion of Ayn Rand | 1999 | Christopher Menaul | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Passionate dramatization of the real-life 15-year love affair between novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand (author of The Fountainhead) and her handsome young protégé, Nathaniel Branden— in plain sight of Branden's girlfriend (later wife, who wrote the best-selling biography on which this was based) and Rand's rather ineffectual spouse, actor-turned-painter Frank O'Connor. Mirren's imperious, often arch Rand (née Alice Rosenbaum) is a true joy. Script by Howard Korder and Mary Gallagher. Made for cable. | tt0140447 | Helen Mirren, Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, Peter Fonda, Sybil Temchen, Don McKellar | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Passion of Joan of Arc | Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La | 1928 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | ★★★★ | 117 | Joan of Arc's inquisition, trial, and burning at the stake; the scenario is based on transcript of historical trial. Masterfully directed, with groundbreaking use of close-ups; Falconetti glows in the title role. Photographed by Rudolph Maté. | tt0019254 | Maria Falconetti, Eugene Sylvain, Maurice Schutz | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Passion of Mind | 2000 | Alain Berliner | ★★ | 105 | Romantic piffle about a woman who's either a Provence widow who dreams she's a glamorous New York literary agent . . . or vice versa. Matters are complicated when she falls in love with two very different men. Indie vehicle for Moore is sleek and watchable but plays like an International Foods Coffee version of THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE. Also similar to JULIA AND JULIA, although in this version scripter Ron Bass actually bothers to solve the mystery. | tt0160644 | [R] | Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgård, William Fichtner, Sinead Cusack, Peter Riegert | Romance, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Passion of the Christ | 2004 | Mel Gibson | ★★½ | 126 | Chronicle of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus Christ dwells, in excruciating detail, on his suffering (or 'Passion'). Anyone looking for greater meaning or historical context will be left wanting. As filmmaking (and storytelling), it seems narrow and repetitive, if not downright obsessive. Using ancient languages, with extensive subtitling, doesn't make it seem any more authentic than other sincere renderings of this story. However, a film that preaches solely to the choir, yet speaks so strongly to those who share its beliefs, is difficult to judge objectively. Edited by nearly 6m. for unrated 2005 theatrical reissue, advertised as THE PASSION RECUT. | tt0335345 | [R] | James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Claudia Gerini, Maia Morgenstern, Sergio Rubini, Mattia Sbragia, Hristo Naumov Shopov, Luca De Dominicis. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Passionada | 2003 | Dan Ireland | ★★ | 108 | Flavorful but unmemorable romantic comedy about three generations of women in a close-knit Portuguese fishing town in Massachusetts. The attractive Milos plays a recent widow reluctantly drawn into romance with a handsome Britisher who neglects to tell her certain things about himself. Easy on the eyes, and to be commended for focusing on love among adult characters (a rarity nowadays), but little more than a quick diversion. | tt0285879 | [PG-13] | Jason Isaacs, Sofia Milos, Emmy Rossum, Theresa Russell, Seymour Cassel, Lupe Ontiveros, Chris Tardio | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Passionate Friends | One Woman's Story | 1949 | David Lean | ★★½ | 95 | Predictable love triangle among the upper classes, enhanced by strong cast and Lean's craftsmanship. Based on H. G. Wells novel. Originally released in U.S. as ONE WOMAN'S STORY. | tt0041735 | Ann Todd, Trevor Howard, Claude Rains, Betty Ann Davies, Isabel Dean, Wilfrid Hyde-White | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Passionate Plumber | 1932 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 73 | Stilted adaptation of HER CARDBOARD LOVER as vehicle for Keaton, hired by Parisienne Purcell to make lover Roland jealous. Not enough laughs. | tt0023322 | Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Irene Purcell, Polly Moran, Gilbert Roland, Mona Maris | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Passionate Sentry | 1952 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★ | 84 | Wispy romantic comedy about madcap gal who falls in love with a guard at Buckingham Palace. Retitled: WHO GOES THERE. | tt0045011 | Nigel Patrick, Peggy Cummins, Valerie Hobson, George Cole, A. E. Matthews, Anthony Bushell | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Passionate Thief | 1960 | Mario Monicelli | ★★½ | 105 | Offbeat serio-comedy with Magnani a film extra, Gazzara a pickpocket, Toto an unemployed actor— all meshed together in a minor tale of love and larceny. | tt0054242 | Anna Magnani, Toto, Ben Gazzara, Fred Clark, Edy Vessel | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Passione d'Amore | Passion of Love | 1981 | Ettore Scola | ★★½ | 118 | Hideous D'Obici pursues handsome cavalry officer Giraudeau, who's in love with gorgeous Antonelli. Intriguing Beauty and the Beast story is not completely convincing— and far from Scola's best work. Later musicalized for Broadway by Stephen Sondheim, as Passion. Aka PASSION OF LOVE. | tt0082883 | Bernard Giraudeau, Laura Antonelli, Valerie D' Obici, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Massimo Girotti, Bernard Blier | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Passport to China | 1961 | Michael Carreras | ★★ | 75 | Uninspired help-the-refugee-out-of-Red-China caper. | tt0055282 |
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Richard Basehart, Alan Gifford, Athene Seyler, Burt Kwouk, Eric Pohlmann | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Passport to Destiny | 1944 | Ray McCarey. | ★★ | 64 | Tidy programmer with Elsa a patriotic scrubwoman determined to eliminate the Fuehrer. Retitled: PASSPORT TO ADVENTURE. | tt0037167 | Elsa Lanchester, Gordon Oliver, Lloyd Corrigan, Gavin Muir, Lenore Aubert, Fritz Feld. | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| A Passport to Hell | 1932 | Frank Lloyd. | ★½ | 76 | A tainted woman catches the eye of a naïve young lieutenant, much to the dismay of his father, a commandant in German West Africa in the days leading up to WW1. Aptly named film (from audience's point of view), a plodding RED DUST-like triangle about people one couldn't possibly care about. | tt0023323 | Elissa Landi, Paul Lukas, Warner Oland, Alexander Kirkland, Donald Crisp, Earle Foxe, Yola d'Avril. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Passport to Pimlico | 1949 | Henry Cornelius | ★★★½ | 85 | Salty farce of ancient treaty enabling small group of Brits to form their own bounded territory in the middle of London. Screenplay by Cornelius and T.E.B. Clarke. | tt0041737 | Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Betty Warren, Hermione Baddeley, Barbara Murray, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Paul Dupuis, Michael Hordern | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Passport to Suez | 1943 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 71 | Nazi spies lead sleuth William on a wild goose chase as part of a plan to blow up the Suez Canal in this well-made Lone Wolf entry with more comedy relief from Blore than usual. | tt0036253 | Warren William, Ann Savage, Eric Blore, Robert Stanford, Sheldon Leonard, Lloyd Bridges, Gavin Muir | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Passport to Treason | 1955 | Robert S. Baker. | ★½ | 70 | Minor drama, with Cameron trying to solve homicide case for sake of friend. | tt0048471 | Rod Cameron, Lois Maxwell, Clifford Evans, John Colicos. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Password Is Courage | 1963 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★★ | 116 | Bogarde tops a fine cast in droll account of British soldier's plot to escape from WW2 prison camp. | tt0056335 | Dirk Bogarde, Maria Perschy, Alfred Lynch, Nigel Stock, Reginald Beckwith, Richard Marner | British | War | NULL | ||
| Past Caring | 1985 | Richard Eyre | ★★ | 77 | Tepid, disappointing tale of roguish Elliott, approaching old age, who finds himself incarcerated in a home for senile senior citizens. Williams scores as an elderly homosexual bent on reliving his youth. | tt0089784 | Denholm Elliott, Emlyn Williams, Connie Booth, Joan Greenwood, Dave Atkins | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Past Midnight | 1992 | Jan Eliasberg | ★★½ | 100 | Romantic thriller of social worker becoming obsessed with her paroled killer client. Hauer (who's Dutch) and Richardson (who's British) sport pretty fair American accents playing two Oregonians. A theatrical film that premiered on cable TV instead. | tt0105108 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Natasha Richardson, Clancy Brown, Guy Boyd, Ernie Lively, Tom Wright | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pastime | One Cup of Coffee | 1991 | Robin B. Armstrong | ★★½ | 94 | Quiet character study set in the world of minor-league baseball, circa 1957, focusing on a 41-year-old relief pitcher whose platitudes and gung-ho attitude alienate him from his younger, cockier teammates. Well-acted but drowsy little film does manage to catch the ambience of small-time baseball. Real-life major-league greats Ernie Banks, Bob Feller, Harmon Killebrew, Bill Mazeroski, Don Newcombe, and Duke Snider appear in minor roles. Film's climax shot at now-demolished Comiskey Park in Chicago. Aka ONE CUP OF COFFEE. | tt0105109 | [PG] | William Russ, Glenn Plummer, Scott Plank, Noble Willingham, Jeffrey Tambor, Dierdre O'Connell, Ricky Paull Goldin | Drama | NULL | |
| Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid | 1973 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★ | 122 | Revisionist look at Sheriff Garrett (Coburn) and his pursuit of ex-crony Billy the Kid (Kristofferson) is an interesting failure, largely because there isn't enough contrast in the two low-key lead performances. First released in a studio-butchered 106m. version, then revised in 1988 at 122m. A third version (assembled by Paul Seydor for the 2006 DVD) was trimmed back to 115m., though in some cases it reinstated '73 footage removed in '88. Casual moviegoers may prefer the 2006 version, a balance of tightness and coherency with fleeting bursts of greatness . . . but angry purists will argue forever over the inclusion of Dylan's lyrics to 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' over a major death scene. | tt0070518 | [R] | James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Jason Robards, Bob Dylan, Rita Coolidge, Jack Elam, R. G. Armstrong, Slim Pickens, Harry Dean Stanton, L. Q. Jones, Barry Sullivan, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| Pat and Mike | 1952 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 95 | Hepburn is Pat, top female athlete; Tracy is Mike, her manager, in pleasing comedy, not up to duo's other films. Ray is good as thick-witted sports star. Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin; many sports notables appear briefly. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0045012 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray, William Ching, Jim Backus, Carl ('Alfalfa') Switzer, Charles Bronson, William Self, Chuck Connors | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Patch Adams | 1998 | Tom Shadyac | ★★½ | 115 | Pleasant movie based on the true story of a man who wants desperately to be a doctor and help people but rejects the sober protocol of medical school in favor of clowning and making a personal connection with patients. A natural role for Williams if there ever was one but the story, heroes and villains, are all set up a little too easily and obviously for us to derive real satisfaction at the end. | tt0129290 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton, Josef Sommer, Irma P. Hall, Frances Lee McCain, Harve Presnell, Peter Coyote, Michael Jeter, Harold Gould, Ellen Albertini Dow, Richard Kiley | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Patch of Blue | 1965 | Guy Green | ★★★ | 105 | Sensitive drama of blind girl (Hartman) falling in love with black man (Poitier); well acted, not too sticky. Winters won Oscar as Hartman's harridan mother. | tt0059573 | Sidney Poitier, Shelley Winters, Elizabeth Hartman, Wallace Ford, Ivan Dixon, John Qualen, Elisabeth Fraser | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paternity | 1981 | David Steinberg | ★½ | 94 | Bachelor Burt, the manager of Madison Square Garden, yearns to be a papa, so he hires waitress-music student D'Angelo as surrogate mother. Predictable comedy with lethargic performances. Actor-comic Steinberg's directorial debut. | tt0082886 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Beverly D'Angelo, Norman Fell, Paul Dooley, Elizabeth Ashley, Lauren Hutton, Juanita Moore, Mike Kellin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Path to War | 2002 | John Frankenheimer | Above Average TV Movie | 165 | Britisher Gambon commands the screen as Texan Lyndon Johnson, agonizing about committing soldiers and money to Vietnam in 1965 at the expense of his grand vision of the Great Society. Gary Sinise appears unbilled as Governor George Wallace, reprising the part he played for director Frankenheimer in a 1997 TV movie. Frankenheimer’s last film. Written by Daniel Giat. Made for cable. | tt0218505 | Michael Gambon, Donald Sutherland, Alec Baldwin, Bruce McGill, Frederic Forrest, Felicity Huffman, Tom Skerritt, Diana Scarwid | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pather Panchali | 1955 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★½ | 112 | Unrelenting study of a poverty-stricken Indian family in Bengal. Grippingly realistic, with Karuna and Subir Banerji outstanding as the mother and her young son Apu. Ray's feature debut, and the first of his 'Apu' trilogy. Music by Ravi Shankar. | tt0048473 | Kanu Banerji, Karuna Banerji, Subir Banerji, Runki Banerji, Uma Das Gupta, Chunibala Devi | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pathfinder | 1988 | Nils Gaup | ★★★½ | 88 | A teenage boy agrees to lead a group of cutthroats to the hiding place of his fellow villagers, but takes them on a wild goose chase instead. Stunning realization of an ancient folk tale from Lapland is the first film ever made in the Lapp language— and a whale of an adventure, too. | tt0093668 | Mikkel Gaup, Nils Utsi, Svein Scharffenberg, Helgi Skulason, Sara Marit Gaup, Sverre Porsanger | Norwegian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Pathfinder | 2007 | Marcus Nispel | ★½ | 99 | Young Norse boy is left behind after Vikings fight some local Indians. Fifteen years pass as he is brought up by the tribe and then must lead them in a new battle when the bloodthirsty Norsemen return and start slaughtering everyone in their way. Ultra-violent tale puts action ahead of accuracy and doesn't seem to have much of a point other than to show inventive ways heads can be lopped off. Grainy cinematography doesn't help this B movie trying to pass itself off as something more. Gruesome stuff well worth missing. Based on the 1988 Norwegian film. | tt0446013 | [R] | Karl Urban, Russell Means, Moon Bloodgood, Clancy Brown, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Ralf Moeller, Kevin Loring. | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Pathfinder | 1996 | Donald Shebib | Average TV Movie | 105 | Atmospheric though episodic retelling of James Fenimore Cooper's French and Indian Wars saga and the friendship between Indian-raised Natty Bumppo and his adopted father Chingachgook. Keach chews the scenery in a few scenes as a pompous French general. Made for cable. | tt0117309 | Kevin Dillon, Graham Greene, Laurie Holden, Jaimz Woolvett, Michael Hogan, Frances Hyland, Russell Means, Stacy Keach | Canadian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Pathology | 2008 | Marc Schoelermann | ★½ | 93 | Take FLATLINERS, add a little SAW, throw in David Cronenberg’s CRASH and you have the recipe for this graphic, woefully inadequate horror oddity. A brilliant young pathology intern is sucked into a world of drugs and bizarre sexual practices when his new colleagues enlist his help to commit “perfect murders.” Even genre fans might cringe at the slice-and-dice antics and kinky sex. | tt0964539 | [R] | Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, Lauren Lee Smith, Johnny Whitworth, John de Lancie, Keir O’Donnell, Buddy Lewis, Larry Drake, Dan Callahan, Mei Melancon | Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Paths of Glory | 1957 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★★ | 86 | During WW1, French general Macready orders his men on a suicidal charge; when they fail, he picks three soldiers to be tried and executed for cowardice. Shattering study of the insanity of war has grown even more profound with the years; stunningly acted and directed. Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson, and Kubrick adapted Humphrey Cobb's novel— based on fact. | tt0050825 | Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, Wayne Morris, Richard Anderson, Timothy Carey, Suzanne Christian, Bert Freed | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Patient in Room 18 | 1938 | Bobby Connolly, Crane Wilbur. | ★★ | 59 | A hospital nurse teams up with her detective boyfriend to find out who killed a wealthy patient and stole the radium that was being used to treat him. Sheridan's verve and sassy appeal single-handedly make this watchable. | tt0030563 | Patric Knowles, Ann Sheridan, Eric Stanley, John Ridgely, Rosella Towne. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Patrick | 1978 | Richard Franklin | ★½ | 96 | Patrick's in a comatose state after violently murdering his mum, but his psychokinetic powers are still intact, as the hospital staff soon discovers in this tacky thriller. | tt0078067 | [PG] | Susan Penhaligon, Robert Helpmann, Robert Thompson, Rod Mullinar, Bruce Barry, Julia Blake | Australian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Patriot Games | 1992 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 116 | Edge-of-the-seat thriller has ex-CIA agent Jack Ryan (Ford) intervening in a terrorist attack— inspiring an Irish radical (Bean) to swear vengeance on him and his family. Ford's an ideal hero in this adaptation of Tom Clancy's book, with Archer and Birch rounding out the kind of family you want to root for— and do. Only the climactic chase doesn't ring true. Alec Baldwin previously played Ryan in THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. Followed by CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER. | tt0105112 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, Sean Bean, Richard Harris, James Earl Jones, James Fox, Samuel L. Jackson, Polly Walker | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Patriot | 1986 | Frank Harris | ★½ | 88 | Underwater action dominates this low-key action film. Dishonorably discharged Henry is recruited to retrieve a stolen nuclear warhead and redeem himself. | tt0091734 | [R] | Gregg Henry, Simone Griffeth, Michael J. Pollard, Jeff Conaway, Leslie Nielsen, Stack Pierce, Glenn Withrow | Action | NULL | ||
| The Patriot | 2000 | Roland Emmerich | ★★★ | 164 | A former hero of the French and Indian Wars, widowed with seven children, refuses to fight in the Continental Army in 1776; he's seen the horror of war firsthand and wants to protect his family. But after his eldest son enlists, fate and circumstance force him into the fray. Gibson gives a charismatic performance in this entertaining, old-fashioned period saga, exquisitely filmed (by Caleb Deschanel) in South Carolina. But Robert Rodat's script and Emmerich's direction are too often heavy-handed, especially in their cartoonish treatment of 'bad guy' Isaacs. | tt0187393 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Chris Cooper, Jason Isaacs, Tom Wilkinson, Donal Logue, Rene Auberjonois, Tchéky Karyo, Adam Baldwin, Trevor Morgan | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Patriot | 1998 | Dean Semler | 💣 | 90 | A paunchy, sleepy-eyed Seagal plays a peaceful, bespectacled, pony-tailed Rocky Mountain doctor who's kind to kids, animals and local Native Americans, but will snap your spine and shove the stem of a wine glass into your skull if he has to. Of course, he's the perfect man to combat a neo-Nazi militia using chemical warfare. Rock bottom, irresponsible star vehicle dumbs down and bloodies up serious subject matter for the yahoo crowd. Premiered in the U.S. on cable. | tt0120786 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Gailard Sartain, L.Q. Jones, Camilla Belle, Dan Beene, Ron Andrews | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Patsy | 1964 | Jerry Lewis | ★★ | 101 | When a top comedian is killed in a plane crash, his sycophants try to groom a bellhop (guess who?) into taking his place. Forced, unfunny combination of humor and pathos, much inferior to somewhat similar ERRAND BOY. Lorre's last film. | tt0058456 | Jerry Lewis, Ina Balin, Everett Sloane, Keenan Wynn, Peter Lorre, John Carradine, Neil Hamilton, Nancy Kulp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Patterns | 1956 | Fielder Cook | ★★★½ | 83 | Trenchant, masterfully acted drama of greed and abuse of power in corporate America, about an all-powerful company head (Sloane) who makes life miserable for humanistic underling Begley. Much better than the similar EXECUTIVE SUITE. Scripted by Rod Serling from his 1956 Kraft TV Theatre production (which also starred Sloane and Begley). | tt0049601 | Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight, Elizabeth Wilson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Patti Rocks | 1988 | David Burton Morris | ★★ | 86 | Married male chauvinist engages an estranged male pal to accompany him on a marathon drive to visit the woman he's impregnated; she turns out to be a self-assured, no-nonsense type— the very opposite of how she's been portrayed. Low budget film has a compelling idea, but doesn't play nearly as well as it should. Same characters previously seen in Victoria Wozniak's LOOSE ENDS (1975). | tt0095835 | [R] | Chris Mulkey, John Jenkins, Karen Landry, David L. Turk, Stephen Yoakum | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Patton | 1970 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★★ | 169 | Milestone in screen biographies; Scott unforgettable as eccentric, brilliant General George Patton, whose temper often interferes with his command during WW2. Malden equally impressive as General Omar Bradley in intelligently written, finely wrought biographical war drama. Winner of seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Actor, Director, Screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North). Scott reprised the role 16 years later in a TVM, THE LAST DAYS OF PATTON. Dimension-150. | tt0066206 | [M] | George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong, Frank Latimore, James Edwards, Lawrence Dobkin, Michael Bates, Tim Considine | Biography, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Patty Hearst | 1988 | Paul Schrader | ★½ | 108 | Stillborn dramatization of the newspaper heiress's kidnapping and subsequent brainwashing by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Film never recovers from a deadly opening half hour that attempts to convey, from victim's point of view, the effects of highly orchestrated psychological torture. Richardson makes a strong impression, despite having almost nothing to work with. Screenplay by Nicholas Kazan. | tt0095836 | [R] | Natasha Richardson, William Forsythe, Ving Rhames, Dana Delany, Frances Fisher, Jodi Long, Olivia Barash | Drama | NULL | ||
| Paul | 2011 | Greg Mottola | ★★★ | 104 | Two British pals, nerds to the core, set out in a Winnebago to tour famous UFO sites in the U.S. Southwest. Things change drastically when they pick up a little green man from space named Paul (voiced by Rogen). He’s been a government captive for 60 years and wants to go home. They’re pursued by various agents as they try to get the friendly but sharp-tongued, media-savvy Paul to his rendezvous. Funny, likeable fusion of science fiction and road comedy with everyone in good form. Paul seems so real you forget he’s a visual effect. There’s also a funny, appropriate voice cameo. Written by Pegg and Frost. | tt1092026 | [R] | Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig, John Carroll Lynch, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Blythe Danner; voice of Seth Rogen | U.S.-French-British | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Paul Blart: Mall Cop | 2009 | Steve Carr | ★★ | 91 | Hapless, overweight N.J. mall security guard—who’s developed a crush on a cute girl who works at a sales kiosk—steps up to bat when a wily bad guy and his team take over the mall. Straightforward vehicle for the likable James (who cowrote the script) hasn’t that many laughs but is innocuous enough to amuse kids and undemanding adults. | tt1114740 | [PG] | Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O’Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi, Shirley Knight, Adam Ferrara, Raini Rodriguez, Gary Valentine | Comedy, Crime, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Paul and Michelle | 1974 | Lewis Gilbert | 💣 | 103 | Why anyone would even want a sequel to FRIENDS requires investigation; further antics of those lovable teeny-boppers have about as much bearing on real life as anything Dullea encountered while going through the 2001 space-warp. | tt0071978 | [R] | Sean Bury, Anicee Alvina, Keir Dullea, Catherine Allegret, Ronald Lewis | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Paula | 1952 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 80 | Young gives credibility to role of woman who repents for hit-and-run accident by helping injured child regain his speech. | tt0045016 | Loretta Young, Kent Smith, Alexander Knox, Tommy Rettig | Drama | NULL | |||
| Paulie | 1998 | John Roberts | ★★★ | 91 | Satisfying, enjoyable family film. A caged parrot in the basement of a scientific institution relates his colorful life story— passing from one owner to the next— to a friendly (and lonely) janitor. A sweet-natured film that dares not to be stupid; adults should enjoy it along with their kids. Mohr, who plays the sleazy Benny, is also the voice of Paulie. Written by Laurie Craig. | tt0125454 | [PG] | Gena Rowlands, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Bruce Davison, Trini Alvarado, Jay Mohr, Buddy Hackett, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Matt Craven, Bill Cobbs | Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Pauline & Paulette | 2001 | Lieven Debrauwer | ★★★½ | 78 | Charming, sentimental look at two sisters, the mentally retarded Pauline (van der Groen), and Paulette (Petersen), a charismatic fabric shop owner and amateur opera diva whom Pauline idolizes. When fate brings the two together under one roof, Paulette tries to shove Pauline out of her life. Winner of five Belgian Plateau Awards, the film features outstanding performances by two legendary Belgian actresses and marks the feature debut of cowriter/director Debrauwer. | tt0256259 | [PG] | Dora van der Groen, Ann Petersen, Julienne De Bruyn, Rosemarie Bergmans, Idwig Stephane | Belgian-French-Dutch | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Pauline at the Beach | 1983 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 94 | Witty, entertaining comedy of morals and manners that contrasts the hypocrisy of adult relationships and the straightforwardness of young people, as seen when a teenage girl (Langlet) spends the summer with her sexy, self-possessed older cousin (Dombasle). The third of Rohmer's 'Comedies and Proverbs' series. | tt0086087 | [R] | Amanda Langlet, Arielle Dombasle, Pascal Greggory, Feodor Atkine, Simon de la Brosse, Rosette | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Pavilion of Women | 2001 | Yim Ho | ★½ | 119 | Lumbering epic set in 1938 China about free love vs. feudalism. A faithful wife falls for an American priest while her son longs for his father's new concubine. Has the distinction of being the first adaptation of a Pearl S. Buck novel to feature an Asian cast, but its lush production values can't compensate for a soapy script and flat performances. Try not to giggle when a lustful Yan and Dafoe go for a literal roll in the hay. Shot on location in China. | tt0244709 | [R] | Luo Yan, Willem Dafoe, Shek Sau, John Cho, Yi Ding, Koh Chieng Mun, Anita Loo | Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| The Pawnbroker | 1965 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★★ | 116 | Important, engrossing film; Steiger is excellent as Sol Nazerman, a Jewish pawnbroker in Harlem who lives in a sheltered world with haunting memories of Nazi prison camps. Notable editing by Ralph Rosenblum and music by Quincy Jones. Edward Lewis Wallant's novel was adapted by David Friedkin and Morton Fine. | tt0059575 | Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters, Jaime Sanchez, Thelma Oliver, Juano Hernandez, Raymond St. Jacques | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pawnee | 1957 | George Waggner | ★★ | 80 | Pat Western about Indian-raised white man with conflicting loyalties. | tt0050827 | George Montgomery, Bill Williams, Lola Albright, Francis J. McDonald, Raymond Hatton | Western | NULL | |||
| Pay It Forward | 2000 | Mimi Leder | ★★ | 122 | A teacher assigns his students to do something to change the world, which inspires Osment to help three people, unselfishly. His mom, a single parent with a drinking problem, doesn't understand her son's actions until she meets the teacher— and a romance is kindled. Well-meaning film doesn't deliver on its very real promise; the conclusion is especially unsatisfying. Osment is exceptional. Based on a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde. | tt0223897 | [PG-13] | Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel, Jon Bon Jovi, Angie Dickinson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pay or Die | 1960 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 111 | Flavorful account of Mafia activities in 1910s N.Y.C.; sturdy performances. | tt0054164 | Ernest Borgnine, Zohra Lampert, Al Austin, John Duke, Robert Ellenstein, Franco Corsaro, John Marley, Mario Siletti | Crime | NULL | |||
| Payback | 1999 | Brian Helgeland | ★½ | 102 | A slick robber is double-crossed and becomes so determined to exact revenge on his betrayer (Henry) and the crime syndicate to which he belongs that he takes on all comers, no matter how great the odds. Brutal story grows more ridiculous with each new plot turn. Based on The Hunter, the same Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) novel as POINT BLANK. James Coburn appears unbilled. | tt0120784 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, Deborah Kara Unger, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Jack Conley, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson, John Glover, Lucy Alexis Liu | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Paycheck | 2003 | John Woo | ★★½ | 119 | Computer whiz Affleck makes big bucks by regularly solving top-secret problems for companies, then having his memory of the entire operation erased. But when he tackles his biggest job yet, for a giant corporation run by Eckhart, things don't go as planned. As Affleck seeks revenge— and answers— after having three years' worth of memory wiped out, the story line grows more and more outlandish. Slick, entertaining-enough escapism if you're not too demanding. Based on a Philip K. Dick story. | tt0338337 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Michael C. Hall | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Payday | 1973 | Daryl Duke | ★★★½ | 103 | Acerbic, colorful portrait of life on the road with a smug, self-centered country music star, a hellion who counts on his manager to 'fix' any problems that crop up along the way. Biting, original screenplay by Don Carpenter. One of those prototypical early-1970s movies that makes modern American cinema seem bland. | tt0069067 | [R] | Rip Torn, Ahna Capri, Elayne Heilveil, Cliff Emmich, Michael C. Gwynne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Payment Deferred | 1932 | Lothar Mendes | ★★★ | 81 | Very theatrical yet engrossing little film about a milquetoast who finds himself tangled up in murder. Laughton is at his most idiosyncratic, with all manner of facial grimaces and gestures. | tt0023326 | Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, Dorothy Peterson, Verree Teasdale, Ray Milland, Billy Bevan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Payment on Demand | 1951 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 90 | Well-handled chronicle of Davis-Sullivan marriage, highlighting events which lead to divorce. | tt0043910 | Bette Davis, Barry Sullivan, Peggie Castle, Jane Cowl, Kent Taylor, Betty Lynn, John Sutton, Frances Dee, Otto Kruger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Payroll | 1961 | Sidney Hayers | ★★½ | 94 | Well-handled account involving widow of payroll guard tracking down culprits. | tt0055283 | Michael Craig, Françoise Prevost, Billie Whitelaw, William Lucas, Kenneth Griffith, Tom Bell | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding | 2012 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 96 | Amiable fluff about an uptight N.Y.C. lawyer (Keener) who hasn't seen her mother in twenty years, but packs up her two teenage kids and drives up to Mom's home in Woodstock after her husband announces that he wants a divorce. Mom (Fonda) is an unabashed hippie whose outlook—and that of her community—has a big effect on every member of the family. Superficial and predictable, to be sure, but pleasant enough to watch given the cast and the lovely setting. | tt1649780 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chace Crawford, Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff, Rosanna Arquette, Kyle MacLachlan, Katherine McPhee, Maddie Corman, Poorna Jagannathan, Joyce Van Patten | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Peaceful Warrior | 2006 | Victor Salva | ★★½ | 120 | An arrogant Berkeley gymnast with an eye on the Olympics crashes his motorcycle, ruining his leg and his life. Coached and rewired by a grizzled—and maddeningly nameless—service station mechanic–cum–guru, he learns to overcome himself and live in the Now. Metaphysical KARATE KID is a faithful adaptation of Dan Millman's 1980 autobiographical novel, but it's unapologetically crammed with platitudes. Not a movie for people who like things explained. | tt0438315 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Scott Mechlowicz, Amy Smart, Tim DeKay, Paul Wesley, Ashton Holmes, Agnes Bruckner, Bart Conner, Ray Wise | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Peacemaker | 1990 | Kevin S. Tenney | ★★ | 90 | Yet another alien cop after alien villain movie, pitting Forster against Edwards, with novel twist: both claim to be the cop, causing Earthwoman Shepard any number of problems. Lots of stunts and action, but also lots of absolutely awful wisecracks. Written by the director. | tt0100343 | [R] | Robert Forster, Lance Edwards, Hilary Shepard, Robert Davi, Bert Remsen | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Peacemaker | 1997 | Mimi Leder | ★★½ | 123 | A nuclear explosion in Russia— which turns out to be a terrorist act— triggers immediate response by a U.S. government troubleshooter team led by an inexperienced Kidman and a cocky, shoot-from-the-hip field agent (Clooney). Good action scenes are set in the midst of a confusing, barely believable yarn, which yields diminishing results as one climax after another piles up. | tt0119874 | [R] | George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Marcel Iures, Alexander Baluev, Rene Medvesek, Gary Werntz, Randall Batinkoff, Michael Boatman | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Peacemaker | 1956 | Ted Post | ★★ | 82 | Ex-gunslinger, now clergyman, tries to clean up the town. | tt0049604 |
|
James Mitchell, Rosemarie Bowe, Robert Armstrong, Jan Merlin, Dorothy Patrick, Jess Barker | Western | NULL | ||
| Peach-O-Reno | 1931 | William A. Seiter. | ★★½ | 63 | The boys are shyster lawyers who run a quickie divorce service in Reno by day, then transform their office into a casino after dark! Lavish musical numbers, pre-Code banter, and racy gags highlight this typical Wheeler and Woolsey vehicle. | tt0022259 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Zelma O'Neal, Joseph Cawthorn, Cora Witherspoon, Sam Hardy. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Peacock | 2010 | Michael Lander | ★½ | 91 | Strange, nearly hermetic bank clerk in the small town of Peacock, Nebraska, hides a dark secret: He lives a double life, going to work every day, then transforming himself into his late mother within the confines of his house. But when he’s accidentally seen in his female guise one day the townspeople assume she is the young man’s wife—and respond to her as they never have to him. Tedious (and obvious) drama grows more tiresome as it goes along. No wonder this went direct to DVD. | tt1188113 | [PG-13] | Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Susan Sarandon, Josh Lucas, Bill Pullman, Graham Beckel, Keith Carradine | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pearl Harbor | 2001 | Michael Bay | ★★½ | 183 | Part old-fashioned silver-screen romance, part boys' adventure, part massive recreation of December 7, 1941: a big Hollywood movie. Occasional silliness and anticlimactic rendering of Doolittle's raid on Tokyo are offset by thrilling (and horrifying) depiction of the infamous bombing attack on Pearl. Oscar winner for Sound Editing. R-rated director's cut runs 184m. | tt0213149 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Alec Baldwin, Jon Voight, Mako, Tom Sizemore, Dan Aykroyd, Colm Feore, James King, Ewen Bremner, William Lee Scott, Michael Shannon, Catherine Kellner, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Scott Wilson, Jennifer Garner | Drama, Action, War, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Pearl of Death | 1944 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 69 | Deft Sherlock Holmes entry has the sleuth searching for six busts of Napoleon, one of which contains the Borgia pearl, before all the owners are murdered by 'The Creeper' (Hatton). Suspenseful story inspired Universal to recast Hatton in two more films as 'The Creeper.' | tt0037168 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, Miles Mander, Rondo Hatton, Dennis Hoey, Richard Nugent | Mystery, Crime | NULL | |||
| Pearl of the South Pacific | 1955 | Allan Dwan | ★½ | 86 | Greedy fortune hunters mix with island natives as they search for a hidden temple and untold riches. A so-bad-it's-funny relic of its era. | tt0048474 | Virginia Mayo, Dennis Morgan, David Farrar, Murvyn Vye | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Pearl | 1948 | Emilio Fernández | ★★★ | 77 | Mexican-filmed John Steinbeck tale of poor fisherman whose life is unhappily altered by finding valuable pearl; a bit heavy-handed. Beautifully photographed by Gabriel Figueroa. | tt0037981 | Pedro Armendáriz, Maria Elena Marques | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Pearl | 1948 | Emilio Fernandez | ★★★ | 77 | Mexican-filmed John Steinbeck tale of a poor fisherman whose life is unhappily altered by finding a valuable pearl; a bit heavy-handed. Beautifully photographed by Gabriel Figueroa. | tt0037981 | Pedro Armendariz, Maria Elena Marques | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Pebble and the Penguin | 1995 | ★½ | 74 | Nice-guy penguin ends up on an aquatic globe-trotting odyssey with a gruff sidekick named Rocko, all for the love of a lady who's coveted by an evil penguin rival. Some movies have the smell of doom all over them; this animated feature for kids from the Don Bluth studio (with songs by Barry Manilow) is one of them. | tt0114108 | [G] | Voices of Martin Short, James Belushi, Tim Curry, Annie Golden, Angelyne Ball, B.J. Ward, Hamilton Camp, Will Ryan; narrated by Shani Wallis | U.S.-Irish | Family, Animation | NULL | ||
| Peck's Bad Boy | 1921 | Sam Wood | ★★★ | 51 | Still-fresh and enjoyable vehicle for Coogan as young mischief-maker; clever card-titles written by humorist Irvin S. Cobb. | tt0012563 | Jackie Coogan, Wheeler Oakman, Doris May, Raymond Hatton, Lillian Leighton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Peck's Bad Boy | 1934 | Edward F. Cline | ★★½ | 70 | Cooper is ideally cast as the title character, who enjoys an idyllic relationship with widowed dad Meighan. Trouble comes when his obnoxious aunt and bratty cousin arrive on the scene. | tt0025639 | Jackie Cooper, Thomas Meighan, Jackie Searle, O. P. Heggie | Drama | NULL | |||
| Peck's Bad Boy With the Circus | 1938 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 78 | Standard circus story slanted for kiddies. Kennedy and Gilbert wrap this one up. | tt0030565 | Tommy Kelly, Ann Gillis, Edgar Kennedy, Billy Gilbert, Benita Hume, Spanky McFarland, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pecker | 1998 | John Waters | ★★★ | 87 | Pecker (Furlong) is a happy-go-lucky guy who loves taking pictures of life as he sees it. When a N.Y.C. art gallery owner 'discovers' his work and he's embraced by the art scene, he loses his anonymity, and many of his most cherished friendships. Another slice of Baltimore life from Waters, perhaps his cheeriest yet, with doggedly likable characters in some of the unlikeliest settings. | tt0126604 | [R] | Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Lili Taylor, Mary Kay Place, Martha Plimpton, Brendan Sexton III, Patricia Hearst, Jean Schertler, Bess Armstrong, Mink Stole | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Pedestrian | 1974 | Maximilian Schell | ★★★½ | 97 | Excellent award-winner examines death and guilt, when successful industrialist Sellner is revealed to have been a Nazi officer who participated in the slaughter of a Greek village. Veteran actresses Elisabeth Bergner, Françoise Rosay, Lil Dagover and Peggy Ashcroft appear in one scene. | tt0070086 | [PG] | Gustav Rudolf Sellner, Peter Hall, Maximilian Schell, Gila von Weitershausen | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Pee-wee's Big Adventure | 1985 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 90 | A live-action cartoon (directed by former animator Burton) featuring the cartoonish Pee-wee, a nine-year-old boy in a grown-up's body. Some real laughs and clever ideas as Pee-wee searches for his stolen bicycle, but not enough to sustain a feature-length film. Best sequence: the tour of the Alamo. Wonderful music by Danny Elfman. | tt0089791 | [PG] | Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, Tony Bill, Cassandra Peterson, James Brolin, Morgan Fairchild, Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Peep World | 2011 | Barry W. Blaustein | ★½ | 79 | On the day of his 70th birthday dinner, we meet the offspring of a much-unloved patriarch (Rifkin). Three siblings feel they have been betrayed by their youngest brother (Schwartz), who has written a best-selling novel based on the family’s dirty laundry. Impressive cast is wasted in this obvious, obnoxious comedy. | tt1103273 | Unrated | Michael C. Hall, Sarah Silverman, Rainn Wilson, Ben Schwartz, Judy Greer, Taraji P. Henson, Ron Rifkin, Kate Mara, Lesley Ann Warren, Alicia Witt, Stephen Tobolowsky; narrated by Lewis Black | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Peeper | 1975 | Peter Hyams | ★½ | 87 | Tepid take-off of '40s detective dramas with Caine becoming involved with a weird family while trying to locate the long-lost daughter of his client. Best bit: the opening credits, recited by Bogart impersonator Jerry Lacy. Aka FAT CHANCE. | tt0073526 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Natalie Wood, Kitty Winn, Thayer David, Liam Dunn, Dorothy Adams | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Peeping Tom | 1960 | Michael Powell | ★★★ | 101 | Sensational film— denounced in 1960— went on to develop a fervent following; personal feelings will dictate your reaction to story of psychopathic murderer who photographs his victims at the moment of death. Originally released in the U.S. at 86m. Director Powell plays the father of Boehm in the home-movie sequences. | tt0054167 | Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley, Brenda Bruce, Martin Miller | British | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Peg o' My Heart | 1933 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 89 | Sweet, old-fashioned vehicle for Davies as spunky Irish lass who's separated from her father and brought to ritzy English manor, to fulfill terms of inheritance. Corny but fun. Filmed in 1923 with Laurette Taylor. | tt0024433 | Marion Davies, Onslow Stevens, J. Farrell MacDonald, Irene Browne, Juliette Compton, Alan Mowbray | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Peggy | 1950 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 77 | Lightweight comedy of sisters Lynn and Lawrence entered in Rose Bowl Parade beauty contest. | tt0042837 | Diana Lynn, Charles Coburn, Charlotte Greenwood, Rock Hudson, Jerome Cowan, Barbara Lawrence | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Peggy Sue Got Married | 1986 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★½ | 104 | 43-year-old woman, on the verge of divorce, magically travels back in time to her senior year in high school and has to deal with (among other things) her boyfriend and future husband. Turner's radiant star-power bolsters this pleasant, often wistful film, whose script leaves far too many plot threads dangling. Cage's annoying performance as the boyfriend is another debit. | tt0091738 | [PG-13] | Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Catherine Hicks, Joan Allen, Kevin J. O'Connor, Jim Carrey, Lisa Jane Persky, Barbara Harris, Don Murray, Maureen O'Sullivan, Leon Ames, Helen Hunt, John Carradine, Sofia Coppola, Sachi Parker | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Peking Blonde | 1967 | Nicolas Gessner | ★½ | 80 | Obscure melodrama with Chinese, Russian and American spies searching for missile information and a pearl. Robinson looks bored in a small role as a CIA agent. Aka THE BLONDE FROM PEKING. | tt0061410 |
|
Mirielle Darc, Claudio Brook, Edward G. Robinson, Pascale Roberts, Françoise Brion | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Peking Express | 1951 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 95 | Remake of SHANGHAI EXPRESS lacks flavor or distinction. Cotten is the doctor and Calvet the shady lady he encounters on train. | tt0043912 | Joseph Cotten, Corinne Calvet, Edmund Gwenn, Marvin Miller, Benson Fong | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Peking Opera Blues | 1986 | Tsui Hark | ★★★½ | 104 | Marvelously entertaining adventure yarn, set in 1913 China, which follows three women who become entangled with revolutionary guerrillas. Dazzling mix of comedy, drama, action, and incredible stunts, all set at a breathless pace by Hark. Proves you can make 'em like they used to, but not (perhaps) in America. | tt0090952 | Lin Ching-Hsia, Sally Yeh, Cherie Chung, Mark Cheng, Po-chih Leong | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| The Pelican Brief | 1993 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★ | 141 | Entertaining thriller based on John Grisham's best-selling book about a law student whose theory (or brief) about the conspiracy behind the assassination of two Supreme Court justices places her in jeopardy. The only person who can help her: investigative reporter Washington. Well cast (with Julia a perfect pick for the lead) and well crafted, though the suspense starts to peter out toward the finish. | tt0107798 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard, John Heard, Tony Goldwyn, James B. Sikking, William Atherton, Robert Culp, Stanley Tucci, Hume Cronyn, John Lithgow, Anthony Heald, Cynthia Nixon, Jake Weber | Thriller, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Pelle the Conqueror | 1988 | Bille August | ★★★½ | 150 | Wonderful 19th-century drama about a humble old widower (von Sydow) and his young son Pelle (Hvenegaard), Swedish immigrants in Denmark. They are simple folk with simple, modest dreams, yet they must valiantly struggle for survival in a world rife with everyday cruelties and injustices. The life-sustaining closeness between father and son is especially poignant. Martin Andersen Nexo's four-volume novel (only a fraction of which is depicted here) was adapted by the director. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. | tt0093713 | [PG-13] | Max von Sydow, Pelle Hvenegaard, Erik Paaske, Kristina Törnqvist, Morten Jorgensen | Danish-Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Pendulum | 1969 | George Schaefer | ★★½ | 106 | Half-baked whodunit has intriguing aspects but leaves too many loose ends, as police captain Peppard is suddenly accused of murder. Smoothly done, with flashy role for Sherwood as mother of young criminal, good score by Walter Scharf, but no great shakes. | tt0064797 | [M] | George Peppard, Jean Seberg, Richard Kiley, Charles McGraw, Madeleine Sherwood, Robert F. Lyons, Marj Dusay, Isabel Sanford, Dana Elcar | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penelope | 1966 | Arthur Hiller | ★½ | 97 | Neglected Nat robs her husband's bank of $60,000 in this quite unfunny comedy; Winters' bit lasts only three minutes. | tt0060818 | Natalie Wood, Ian Bannen, Dick Shawn, Peter Falk, Jonathan Winters, Lila Kedrova, Lou Jacobi, Jerome Cowan | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Penelope | 2008 | Mark Palansky | ★★★ | 103 | Modern-day fairy tale about a girl who�due to an ancient family curse�is born with a pig snout for a nose. Her mother�afraid of scandal and humiliation�raises her in isolation. Now, at age 28, she interviews prospective husbands, who will receive a handsome dowry if they can stand looking at Penelope. Slim but funny and sweet, for noncynics and the young at heart. Clearly filmed in England with a mixed cast of Americans and Brits doing U.S. accents. Witherspoon (who coproduced) has a small role as a street-savvy woman who befriends Penelope. | tt0472160 | [PG] | Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O’Hara, Peter Dinklage, Richard E | U.S.-British | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |
| Penguin Pool Murder | 1932 | George Archainbaud | ★★★ | 65 | Schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers (Oliver) helps cigar-chomping cop Oscar Piper (Gleason) solve a grisly murder in an aquarium. First of the short-lived but entertaining Hildegarde Withers series based on the stories of Stuart Palmer. | tt0023327 | Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Mae Clarke, Robert Armstrong, Donald Cook, Clarence Wilson, Edgar Kennedy, Rochelle Hudson, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Sidney Miller | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Penitent | 1988 | Cliff Osmond | ★★½ | 94 | Odd, ironic little fable bites off more than it can chew, with ex-con Assante seducing pal Julia's young wife. Set in a remote town whose villagers each year reenact Christ's crucifixion— which, of course, plays a major part in the proceedings. Actor Osmond's directing debut. Filmed in 1986. | tt0095845 | [PG-13] | Raul Julia, Armand Assante, Rona Freed, Julie Carmen, Lucy Reina | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penitentiary | 1979 | Jamaa Fanaka | ★★½ | 99 | Predictable but impassioned prison film, produced, directed and written by Fanaka, about a young black man (Kennedy) wrongly accused and imprisoned who improves his lot by boxing. Hard-hitting look at corruption, violence and homosexuality of daily prison life. Followed by several sequels. | tt0079709 | [R] | Leon Isaac Kennedy, Thommy Pollard, Hazel Spears, Badja Djola, Gloria Delaney, Chuck Mitchell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penitentiary II | 1982 | Jamaa Fanaka | 💣 | 103 | Atrocious, disappointing sequel, with Kennedy back in prison and the ring. Leon Isaac plays 'Too Sweet,' the villain's name is 'Half Dead,' the viewer is 'Ripped Off.' | tt0084485 | [R] | Leon Isaac Kennedy, Ernie Hudson, *** Mr. T., Glynn Turman, Peggy Blow, Malik Carter, Cephaus Jaxon, Marvin Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penitentiary III | 1987 | Jamaa Fanaka | ★½ | 91 | An improvement over number II— but that's not saying very much. Here, Kennedy is back in jail, where both warden and mob kingpin want him for their boxing teams. Silly and mindless time killer. | tt0093714 | [R] | Leon Isaac Kennedy, Anthony Geary, Steve Antin, Ric Mancini, Kessler Raymond, Jim Bailey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penn & Teller Get Killed | 1989 | Arthur Penn | ★★ | 90 | The bad boys of magic, guesting on a nationally televised talk show, touch off gore galore when partner Penn speculates how much fun life might be if some viewer would attempt to kill him. Barely released effort does have the courage of some sicko comic convictions. | tt0098073 | [R] | Penn Jillette, Teller, Caitlin Clarke, David Patrick Kelly, Jon Cryer, Christopher Durang, Leonardo Cimino, Celia McGuire | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pennies From Heaven | 1936 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 81 | Minor but pleasant Crosby vehicle about a self-styled troubadour and drifter who befriends orphaned girl (Fellows) and her grandfather (Meek). Bing's rendition of title tune is classic. | tt0028092 | Bing Crosby, Edith Fellows, Madge Evans, Donald Meek, Louis Armstrong | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pennies From Heaven | 1981 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 107 | A unique, remarkable film, parts of which are greater than the whole. Dennis Potter adapted his own British TV miniseries about a sheet-music salesman during the Depression whose restless, unhappy life is sharply contrasted with cheery songs of the day. Stunning 1930s-style musical numbers (set to original recordings) clash with bleak, Edward Hopper-esque vision of the period. The mixture is intellectually provocative, but troubling as entertainment. Beautifully photographed by Gordon Willis and designed by Ken Adam. | tt0082894 | [R] | Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken, Jessica Harper, Vernel Bagneris, John McMartin, Jay Garner, Tommy Rall | Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Penny Princess | 1951 | Val Guest | ★★★ | 91 | Charming frou-frou of American Donlan (wife of director Guest) going to Europe to collect inheritance of small principality, and Bogarde who courts her. | tt0045020 | Dirk Bogarde, Yolande Donlan, Kynaston Reeves | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Penny Serenade | 1941 | George Stevens | ★★★½ | 118 | Quintessential soap opera, with Dunne and Grant as couple who adopt baby after their unborn baby dies. A wonderful tearjerker; scripted by Morrie Ryskind, from Martha Cheavens' story. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034012 | Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Beulah Bondi, Edgar Buchanan, Ann Doran, Eva Lee Kuney | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Penrod and His Twin Brother | 1938 | William McGann | ★★ | 63 | Penrod gets blamed for something he didn't do; answer is his lookalike who's really guilty. Vaguely captures 1900s Midwest America. | tt0030571 |
|
Billy Mauch, Bobby Mauch, Frank Craven, Spring Byington, Charles Halton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Penrod and Sam | 1937 | William McGann | ★★½ | 64 | Based on Booth Tarkington characters, family-style film relates tale of Mauch getting involved with bank robbers. | tt0029386 |
|
Billy Mauch, Frank Craven, Spring Byington, Craig Reynolds, Bernice Pilot | Drama | NULL | ||
| Penrod's Double Trouble | 1938 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 61 | There's a reward up for Penrod's return, but a lookalike is turned in instead. OK for younger audiences; based on Booth Tarkington characters. | tt0030572 |
|
Billy Mauch, Bobby Mauch, Dick Purcell, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Hugh O'Connell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Penthouse | 1933 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★★½ | 90 | Terrific comedy-melodrama, with Baxter as criminal lawyer who enlists the help of sprightly call-girl Loy to nail a crime kingpin. A neglected gem. Remade as SOCIETY LAWYER. | tt0024435 | Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Charles Butterworth, Mae Clarke, C. Henry Gordon | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Penthouse | 1967 | Peter Collinson | ★½ | 96 | Lurid thriller of adulterous couple whose 'love nest' is invaded by two thugs who, by torture, bring out true nature of the pair. | tt0062112 | Suzy Kendall, Terence Morgan, Tony Beckley, Martine Beswick | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The People Against O'Hara | 1951 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 102 | Middling drama, with Tracy a noted criminal lawyer who repents for unethical behavior during a case. Look fast for Charles Bronson as one of Campbell's brothers. | tt0043914 | Spencer Tracy, Pat O'Brien, Diana Lynn, John Hodiak, Eduardo Ciannelli, Jay C. Flippen, James Arness, Arthur Shields, William Campbell | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| People I Know | 2003 | Dan Algrant | ★½ | 95 | Tedious portrait of a once-powerful N.Y.C. press agent who's operating on fumes, with one remaining client, movie star O'Neal, who has him do his dirty work. Story lurches into unexpected territory as Pacino steps on the wrong toes in a world where high-level politics and show business collide. Even Pacino can't bring life to this film. Scripted by playwright Jon Robin Baitz. Completed in 2001. | tt0274711 | [R] | Al Pacino, Ryan O’Neal, Kim Basinger, Téa Leoni, Richard Schiff, Robert Klein, Bill Nunn, Mark Webber, Paulina Porizkova, Andrew Davoli, David Marshall Grant, Jon Hendricks | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The People Next Door | 1970 | David Greene | ★★ | 93 | JP Miller's adaptation of his TV play has dated pretty badly; Wallach and Harris' hand-wringing concern over their junkie teenage daughter now seems stiff, and Winters' overacting just the opposite. Good cast and intentions, but there are many other, better films on the topic. | tt0066209 | [R] | Deborah Winters, Eli Wallach, Julie Harris, Stephen McHattie, Hal Holbrook, Cloris Leachman, Rue McClanahan, Nehemiah Persoff | Drama | NULL | ||
| The People That Time Forgot | 1977 | Kevin Connor. | ★★½ | 90 | OK sequel to THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT. Wayne leads a party back to mysterious island in 1919 to find friend McClure, lost three years before. Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' book, film has some pretty fierce monsters, though special effects are erratic. | tt0076535 | [PG] | Patrick Wayne, Doug McClure, Sarah Douglas, Dana Gillespie, Thorley Walters, Shane Rimmer. | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The People Under the Stairs | 1991 | Wes Craven | ★½ | 102 | Hoping to help his ailing mother and prevent their eviction from a ghetto slum, 13-year-old Adams finds himself trapped in the bizarre home of their insane, murderous landlords, McGill and Robie. Very strange horror movie (with occasional comedy touches) turns out to be a social parable about the exploitation of the Have-Nots by the Haves. Ambitious but extremely uneven. | tt0105121 | [R] | Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Wendy Robie, A. J. Langer, Ving Rhames, Sean Whalen | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The People Vs. Larry Flynt | 1996 | Milos Forman | ★★★½ | 127 | Engrossing saga of an unlikely American 'hero': controversial, self-proclaimed smut peddler Larry Flynt, who starts Hustler magazine in the 1970s and quickly discovers that he must fight for freedom of speech in order to keep it on the newsstands. Harrelson is perfect as the mercurial, unpredictable publisher, Love is just right as his loyal but unconventional wife, and Norton is excellent as his long-suffering lawyer. Climactic showdown at the Supreme Court is a dramatic powerhouse. Screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The real Flynt appears briefly as a Cincinnati judge. | tt0117318 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover, James Cromwell, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, James Carville, Richard Paul, Oliver Reed, Miles Chapin | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| People Will Talk | 1951 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★½ | 110 | Genuinely offbeat, absorbing comedy-drama of philosophical doctor Grant, who insists on treating his patients as human beings; a small-minded colleague (Cronyn) is intimidated by his radical approach to doctoring and sets out to defame him. Fine cast in talky but most worthwhile film, which features obvious parallels to the then-current HUAC investigation and McCarthy witchhunt. | tt0043915 | Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Finlay Currie, Walter Slezak, Hume Cronyn, Sidney Blackmer, Margaret Hamilton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| People on Sunday | 1929 | Robert Siodmak. | ★★★ | 73 | Landmark silent docudrama notable for the dazzling group of young filmmakers who made it: Siodmak was assisted by Edgar G. Ulmer; Billy Wilder wrote it based on an idea by Curt Siodmak; and it was shot by future Oscar-winning cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan, whose assistant was Fred Zinnemann. Story follows the romantic adventures of a taxi driver and his married friend as they spend one Sunday trying to pick up two women before returning to their dreary lives. A lyrical portrait of pre-WW2 Berlin and the German countryside, filmed in a style that prefigures the Italian neorealist movement of the 1940s, with amateur actors playing themselves. Original title: MENSCHEN AM SONNTAG. | tt0020163 | Brigitte Borchert, Christl Ehlers, Annie Schreyer, Wolfgang von Waltershausen, Erwin Splettstosser. | German | Drama, Documentary, Romance | NULL | ||
| The People vs. Dr. Kildare | 1941 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★ | 78 | Verbose Kildare entry finds the medic being sued for malpractice after operating on ice skater Granville's leg. Skelton's comic relief is more annoying than amusing. | tt0034013 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Bonita Granville, Alma Kruger, Red Skelton, Tom Conway, Walter Kingsford, Chick Chandler, Diana Lewis, Marie Blake, Nell Craig, Frank Orth | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pepe | 1960 | George Sidney | 💣 | 157 | Incredibly long, pointless film wastes talents of Cantinflas and many, many others (Edward G. Robinson, Maurice Chevalier, etc.). This one's only if you're desperate. Originally released at 195m. | tt0054172 | Cantinflas, Dan Dailey, Shirley Jones | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pepe Le Moko | 1937 | Julien Duvivier | ★★★★ | 95 | Gabin is magnetic (in role that brought him international prominence) as gangster who eludes capture in Casbah section of Algiers, until he is lured out of hiding by a beautiful woman. Exquisitely photographed and directed; faithfully remade the following year as ALGIERS, later musicalized as CASBAH. 9m. originally cut from U.S. release have now been restored. | tt0029453 | Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Gabriel Gabrio, Lucas Gridoux | French | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pepi, Luci, Bom | 1980 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★½ | 80 | Almodóvar's initial feature is the story of Pepi (Maura), an heiress/rape victim who becomes an advertising executive; meanwhile, housewife Luci (Siva), whose husband had raped Pepi, leaves him and commences a lesbian relationship with Bom (Gara), a rock singer. Raunchy and outrageous, but poorly made and devoid of laughs. Aka PEPI, LUCI, BOM AND THE OTHER GIRLS and PEPI, LUCI, BOM AND OTHER GIRLS LIKE MOM. | tt0081323 | Carmen Maura, Felix Rotaeta, Olvido Gara, Eva Siva | Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Peppermint Soda | 1977 | Diane Kurys | ★★★ | 97 | Sensitive, keenly realized autobiographical (by Kurys, who also scripted) examination of early adolescence, complete with disciplinarian teacher, parents' divorce, menstrual cramps, first love. Followed by COCKTAIL MOLOTOV; same theme reworked by Kurys 13 years later in C'EST LA VIE. | tt0075939 | [PG] | Eleanore Klarwein, Odile Michel, Coralie Clement, Marie-Veronique Maurin | French | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| Percy | 1971 | Ralph Thomas | ★½ | 100 | Bennett receives the world's first penis transplant and, curious, sets out to learn about its previous owner. Some interesting points could've been made, but Thomas apparently thought he was making a Carry On film; too bad. Followed by PERCY'S PROGRESS. | tt0067568 | [R] | Hywel Bennett, Denholm Elliott, Elke Sommer, Britt Ekland, Cyd Hayman, Janet Key | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | 2010 | Chris Columbus | ★★ | 119 | High school student Percy Jackson (Lerman), living in the present day, is in for quite a shock as he learns that he is the son of Poseidon. He's also a demigod, and Zeus accuses him of pilfering a lighting bolt. Jumbled, plot-heavy Harry Potter–ish adventure based on The Lightning Thief, a novel in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Preteen fans of the books may be disappointed that Percy's age has been upped from 12 to 17. | tt0814255 | [PG] | Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Melina Kanakaredes, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano, Uma Thurman | U.S.-Canadian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Perez Family | 1995 | Mira Nair | ★★½ | 112 | Cuban plantation owner, imprisoned for twenty years, is finally released in 1980 and allowed to join the boat migration to Florida, where he yearns to see his wife and daughter; along the way he meets a fiery young woman who has no ties but longs for a better life in America. Meandering comedy-drama has some pleasant and poignant moments, but never quite takes off. Strongest asset: Tomei's strong, sexy (and convincing) performance. Adapted by Robin Swicord from Christine Bell's novel. | tt0114113 | [R] | Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston, Alfred Molina, Chazz Palminteri, Trini Alvarado, Celia Cruz, Diego Wallraff, Angela Lanza, Ranjit Chowdhry, Ellen Cleghorne, Jose Felipe Padron, Lazaro Perez, Vincent Gallo | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Perfect | 1985 | James Bridges | ★½ | 120 | Rolling Stone reporter Travolta is writing an exposé of L.A. health clubs but finds himself attracted to aerobics instructor Curtis, whom he's about to trash in print. A smug, overlong, misguided, miscast movie, with hints of intelligent intentions; written by Bridges and reporter Aaron Latham. Real-life Rolling Stone editor Wenner plays himself. Wait till you hear John and Jamie Lee expound on Emersonian values! | tt0089798 | [R] | John Travolta, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jann Wenner, Anne De Salvo, Stefan Gierasch, Laraine Newman, Marilu Henner, David Paymer | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Perfect Couple | 1979 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 110 | Offbeat but endearing romantic comedy about unlikely match-up (by computer dating) of straitlaced Dooley, under the thumb of his overbearing father, and singer Heflin, whose life is wrapped up with her familial rock group. Enjoyable music by Neeley's ad hoc group Keepin' 'em Off the Streets. | tt0079710 | [PG] | Paul Dooley, Marta Heflin, Titos Vandis, Belita Moreno, Henry Gibson, Dimitra Arliss, Alan Nicholls, Ted Neeley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Perfect Friday | 1970 | Peter Hall | ★★★ | 94 | Staid bank employee Baker decides to break loose, and plans daring heist, with beautiful Andress and her oddball husband Warner in cahoots. Entertaining caper movie with some delicious twists. | tt0066212 | [R] | Stanley Baker, Ursula Andress, David Warner, Patience Collier, T.P. McKenna | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Perfect Furlough | 1958 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 93 | Diverting comedy of soldier Curtis winning trip to France, romancing military psychiatrist Leigh. | tt0052059 | Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Linda Cristal, Elaine Stritch, King Donovan, Troy Donahue | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Perfect Gentleman | 1935 | Tim Whelan. | ★★½ | 72 | Slight but likable yarn set in England about a blustering old scoundrel who is constantly embarrassing his vicar son, so he takes to the road and teams up with a female musical hall performer. Pleasant showcase for Morgan and delightful British comedienne Courtneidge in her first and only American film. | tt0026864 | Frank Morgan, Cicely Courtneidge, Heather Angel, Herbert Mundin, Una O'Connor, Richard Waring, Henry Stephenson. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Perfect Getaway | 2009 | David Twohy | ★★★ | 97 | Honeymooning couple Zahn and Jovovich decide to hike a scenic but difficult trail on Kauai. With some misgivings, they join hitchhikers Olyphant and Sanchez, and also encounter a more experienced third couple. However, news of a murderous pair of visitors to Hawaii soon leads everyone to suspect everyone else. Well-made, unpretentious thriller delivers the goods with plenty of laughs, scares, and surprises. Mostly shot in Puerto Rico rather than Hawaii; wherever, the scenery is gorgeous, almost a character itself. Also available in unrated 108m. version. | tt0971209 | [R] | Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez, Marley Shelton, Chris Hemsworth | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Perfect Holiday | 2007 | Lance Rivera | ★★ | 96 | Lightweight romantic comedy with fantasy overtones, about a divorced mom (Union) whose young daughter (Bryant) helps her connect with Mr. Right—a would-be songwriter (Chestnut) working as a department-store Santa—just in time for Christmas. Murphy (Eddie’s real-life brother) is a hoot as Union’s ex-husband, a flamboyant rap singer. | tt0841032 | [PG] | Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Terrence Howard, Malik Hammond, Charlie Murphy, Khail Bryant, Faizon Love | Romance, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Perfect Man | 2005 | Mark Rosman | 💣 | 100 | With a cast of TV stalwarts, including teen pop star Duff, this treacly romantic comedy may find an audience on the small screen, but even the most undemanding viewer might prefer having dental work to sitting through this not-so-perfect movie. Hackneyed plot finds Duff inventing the so-called perfect guy for her loser-in-love mom. When the plan works, she has to produce the mythical hunk and, well, let the hi-jinks begin! | tt0380623 | [PG] | Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Chris Noth, Mike O'Malley, Caroline Rhea, Carson Kressley, Dennis DeYoung, Aria Wallace, Vanessa Lengies, Ben Feldman | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Perfect Marriage | 1946 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 87 | Niven's tired of wife Young; Young's tired of husband Niven. Sharply observed, if talky, marital comedy. Scripted by Leonard Spiegelgass, based on a play by Samson Raphaelson. | tt0038832 | Loretta Young, David Niven, Eddie Albert, Charles Ruggles, Virginia Field, Rita Johnson, ZaSu Pitts | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Perfect Match | 1987 | Mark Deimel | ★★½ | 92 | Likable leads in a modest romantic comedy about two singles who meet through the newspaper's personal ads. | tt0093717 | [PG] | Marc McClure, Jennifer Edwards, Diane Stilwell, Rob Paulsen, Wayne Woodsen, Karen Witter, Jeane Byron | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Perfect Murder | 1998 | Andrew Davis | ★★★ | 105 | Entertaining suspense yarn which adds a few interesting twists to DIAL M FOR MURDER. Douglas is the cold-blooded husband who hires someone to kill his wife— but this time, the man he hires is her lover! The stars are perfectly cast, and the story unfolds in slick and skillful fashion. Paltrow is a perfect '90s stand-in for Grace Kelly. Special edition video includes an alternate ending. | tt0120787 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen, David Suchet, Sarita Choudhury, Constance Towers, Novella Nelson | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Perfect Score | 2004 | Brian Robbins | ★★ | 97 | A perfect heist is the plan hatched by six high school seniors looking to steal the answers to the upcoming SAT. How fortunate the corporate headquarters of the Educational Testing Service is located in their hometown! John Hughes' films of the '80s did teen-angst comedy better, although ringleader Evans underplays admirably. Real-life NBA star Miles has a role that mirrors his own career. | tt0314498 | [PG-13] | Chris Evans, Erika Christensen, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson, Darius Miles, Leonardo Nam, Matthew Lillard | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Perfect Sense | 2011 | David Mackenzie | ★★★ | 92 | Impulsive affair between a Glasgow sous chef (McGregor) and a wry epidemiologist (Green) unfolds amidst chaos as the world's population starts to lose its five natural senses. Grimly romantic medical mystery about falling in love during a plague that isn't viral or toxic, or caused by terrorists or aliens: it just happens. Actors bare their souls (and much more) in a well-thought-out scenario of one possible end of the world, a refreshingly CGI-free sci-fi yarn in which the apocalypse is odorless and tasteless. | tt1439572 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson, Anamaria Marinca, Alastair Mackenzie; narrated by Katy Engels | British-Danish-Scottish-Swedish-Irish | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Perfect Specimen | 1937 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 97 | Fairly amusing whimsy about super-rich Flynn, who's kept locked up and sheltered by grandmother Robson until vivacious Blondell comes crashing through his fence and they go off on a whirlwind courtship. | tt0029391 | Errol Flynn, Joan Blondell, Hugh Herbert, Edward Everett Horton, Dick Foran, May Robson, Beverly Roberts, Allen Jenkins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Perfect Storm | 2000 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★½ | 129 | Hard-luck skipper of a Gloucester, Mass., fishing boat rousts his crew on short notice to go for a big haul . . . just as three brutal storms converge off the coast. Adaptation of Sebastian Junger's best-selling book inspired by the real-life 1991 'storm of the century' is drenched with special effects and noisy, exciting seagoing action, but its characters and story points are bathed in cliché. | tt0177971 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane, William Fichtner, John Hawkes, Allen Payne, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Karen Allen, Cherry Jones, Bob Gunton, Christopher McDonald, Michael Ironside | Adventure, Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Perfect Stranger | 2007 | James Foley | ★★ | 109 | Muckraking undercover reporter Berry, frustrated by a setback on a major story, takes on a more personal investigation after a girlhood friend of hers is murdered. Her high-tech pal Ribisi helps trace e-mails that point to high-profile ad exec Willis as a likely suspect, so Berry gets a job working for him, hoping to get close. She does. Slick thriller gets sicker as it goes along, leading up to a revelation you can't see coming-because it doesn't make much sense. The camera makes love to Berry in this one. | tt0457433 | [R] | Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow, Gary Dourdan, Florencia Lozano, Nicki Aycox, Kathleen Chalfant, Gordon MacDonald, Daniella Van Graas, Paula Miranda, Patti D'Arbanville, Clea Lewis. | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Perfect Strangers | 1950 | Bretaigne Windust | ★★½ | 88 | Rogers and Morgan are jury members who fall in love; engaging romance story. | tt0042841 | Ginger Rogers, Dennis Morgan, Thelma Ritter, Margalo Gillmore, Paul Ford, Alan Reed | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Perfect Strangers | 1984 | Larry Cohen | ★★ | 91 | Three-year-old Stockley witnesses Rijn carrying out gangland slaying... then Rijn strikes up a romance with Stockley's mom (Carlisle) in this listlessly acted will-he-or-won't-he suspense yarn. Carlisle was seen to much better effect as the star of LIQUID SKY. Aka BLIND ALLEY. | tt0087901 | [R] | Anne Carlisle, Brad Rijn, John Woehrle, Matthew Stockley, Stephen Lack, Ann Magnuson | Crime | NULL | ||
| Perfect Understanding | 1933 | Cyril Gardner. | ★★½ | 81 | Swanson and Olivier make a marriage pact 'never to be husband and wife but lover and mistress,' but of course things don't go that smoothly. Romantic comedy trifle is filled with clever transition shots and montages. Swanson (who produced the film) also gets to sing. Interesting to see these two stars at this point in their respective careers. | tt0024436 | Gloria Swanson, Laurence Olivier, John Halliday, Nigel Playfair, Michael Farmer, Genevieve Tobin, Nora Swinburne, Miles Malleson. | British | NULL | |||
| The Perfect Weapon | 1991 | Mark DiSalle | ★½ | 85 | The Korean mob makes a very stupid move: they kill the Asian mentor of an American 'weapon' with revenge on his mind. Indistinguishable from other martial-arts/vengeance sagas, which is certainly the least of its problems; to keep things simple, Speakman's character (a loner) is named Jeff. | tt0102655 | [R] | Jeff Speakman, John Dye, Mako, James Hong, Mariska Hargitay, Dante Basco, Seth Sakai | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Perfect Woman | 1949 | Bernard Knowles | ★★½ | 89 | Screwy scientist tries to improve on nature by making a 'perfect' robot woman, modeled on his niece. Naturally mix-ups follow in this OK British comedy. | tt0041744 | Patricia Roc, Stanley Holloway, Miles Malleson, Nigel Patrick, Irene Handl, Patti Morgan | British | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| A Perfect World | 1993 | Clint Eastwood | ★★ | 137 | A prison escapee (Costner) in 1963 Texas takes young boy along with him as hostage, though they quickly build a relationship; meanwhile, an iconoclastic Texas Ranger (Eastwood) tries to pick up the convict's trail. Something new in screen entertainment: A manhunt movie with no urgency and no suspense. In its place are some interesting character vignettes and a lot of moral ambiguity. Costner, however, is commanding, in an unusually forceful performance. | tt0107808 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T. J. Lowther, Keith Szarabajka, Leo Burmester, Paul Hewitt, Bradley Whitford, Ray McKinnon, Jennifer Griffin, Bruce McGill | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Perfectly Normal | 1990 | Yves Simoneau | ★★ | 106 | Slight, peculiar comedy about 'perfectly normal' guy (Riley) who meets obnoxious restaurateur (Coltrane) with a shady past. Using Riley's inheritance, they open an Italian bistro where the waiters sing opera. Mild farce is too sluggish and awkward. Cowritten by Lipinski. Inventive photography by Alain Dostie. Video version runs 106m. | tt0100347 | [R] | Robbie Coltrane, Michael Riley, Deborah Duchene, Kenneth Welsh, Eugene Lipinski | Canadian-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Performance | 1970 | Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg | ★★★ | 105 | Psychological melodrama about criminal on the lam hiding out with rock performer, and how their lives intertwine. Not for all tastes, but a bizarre and unique film; Jagger's performance of 'Memo from Turner' a highlight. | tt0066214 | [R] | James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michele Breton, Ann Sidney, John Burdon | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Perfume: The Story of a Murderer | 2006 | Tom Tykwer | ★★½ | 147 | In 18th-century France, a mistreated foundling has a wretched childhood. As an adult his amazing sense of smell leads him to work for an Italian perfumer (Hoffman), then to strange adventures as he obsessively tries to create the ultimate scent. Unfortunately, this requires the murders of a series of women for their aromatic essence. Strange not-quite-horror movie manages to be both passionate and remote, engrossing and uninvolving, as the lead character is impossible to identify with. Lavishly produced. From a novel by Patrick Süskind. | tt0396171 | [R] | Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Karoline Herfurth, David Calder, Simon Chandler, Sian Thomas, Jessica Schwarz, Corinna Harfouch; narrated by John Hurt | German-French-Spanish | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Perfumed Nightmare | 1977 | Kidlat Tahimik | ★★★½ | 93 | Surreal, whimsical, thoroughly original fable of an idealistic young Filipino (played by the director), fascinated by American culture and technology, and his awakening to the disadvantages of 'progress' while in Paris. Crammed with striking images and a dazzling soundtrack. | tt0076341 | Kidlat Tahimik, Dolores Santamaria, Georgette Baudry, Katrin Muller, Harmut Lerch | Filipino | Drama | NULL | ||
| Perilous Holiday | 1946 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 89 | Another good O'Brien vehicle, with troubleshooter encountering dangerous counterfeiting gang south of the border. | tt0038833 |
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Pat O'Brien, Ruth Warrick, Alan Hale/Sr., Edgar Buchanan, Audrey Long | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Perilous Journey | 1953 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★ | 90 | Predictable but diverting Western of a ship manned by women who are heading to California to find husbands. | tt0046178 | Vera Ralston, David Brian, Scott Brady, Virginia Grey, Charles Winninger, Ben Cooper, Hope Emerson, Veda Ann Borg, Leif Erickson | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Perils From the Planet Mongo | 1940 | Ford Beebe, Ray Taylor. | ★★½ | 91 | Truncated version of FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE serial. On Mongo, Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov contend with the planet's civilizations, eventually restore Prince Barin as rightful ruler and return to Earth. Uninspired handling of footage from this great serial. | tt0032475 | Buster Crabbe, Carol Hughes, Charles Middleton, Frank Shannon, Anne Gwynne. | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak | 1984 | Just Jaeckin | 💣 | 88 | Idiotic adaptation of erotic French comic strip, seemingly a RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK spoof, with virginal Kitaen searching for her long-lost dad. Lots of nudity, little else. | tt0087903 | [R] | Tawny Kitaen, Brent Huff, Zabou, Bernadette Lafont, Jean Rougerie | French | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Perils of Pauline | 1947 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 96 | Lively, entertaining musical-comedy purports to be biography of silent-screen heroine Pearl White, but isn't; energetic Hutton, good Frank Loesser songs, colorful atmosphere, and presence of silent-film veterans make up for it . . . until sappy denouement. | tt0039698 | Betty Hutton, John Lund, Constance Collier, Billy de Wolfe, William Demarest | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Perils of Pauline | 1967 | Herbert B. Leonard, Joshua Shelley | ★★ | 99 | Cutesy expanded TV pilot. Boone travels the globe seeking childhood sweetheart Austin; overlong, mainly for kids. | tt0062117 | Pamela Austin, Pat Boone, Terry-Thomas, Edward Everett Horton, Hamilton Camp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Period of Adjustment | 1962 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 112 | Newlyweds (Fonda and Hutton) try to help troubled marriage of Nettleton and Franciosa, in this heartwarming comedy based on a Tennessee Williams play. Engaging performers make the most of both comic and tender moments. | tt0056341 | Anthony Franciosa, Jane Fonda, Jim Hutton, Lois Nettleton, John McGiver, Jack Albertson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Permanent Midnight | 1998 | David Veloz | ★★½ | 85 | Adequate film of TV writer Jerry Stahl's drug-abuse-packed memoirs, showing how— for a while— he was able to maintain professional productivity while making a fool of himself at parties and acting irresponsibly toward the British woman he marries (Hurley) so she can obtain a U.S. visa. Bello plays the hotel bedmate to whom he unloads his past in the subplot that frames the story, and Stahl himself appears as a doctor. Inevitably episodic. | tt0120788 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Hurley, Maria Bello, Owen Wilson, Lourdes Benedicto, Peter Greene, Cheryl Ladd, Fred Willard, Charles Fleischer, Janeane Garofalo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Permanent Record | 1988 | Marisa Silver | ★★★ | 91 | Teen drama packs a wallop in tale of model student Boyce whose unexpected suicide throws high school classmates and officials into turmoil: if he went that route, who's safe? Subtle treatment by Silver of a pressing social problem, aided by excellent cast, especially Reeves as Boyce's underachieving pal. | tt0095853 | [PG-13] | Alan Boyce, Keanu Reeves, Michelle Meyrink, Jennifer Rubin, Pamela Gidley, Michael Elgart, Richard Bradford, Barry Corbin, Kathy Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Permission to Kill | 1975 | Cyril Frankel | ★★★ | 96 | Fascinating exposé of spying as dirty business. Bogarde, spy chief of 'Western Intelligence Liaison,' tries to prevent Fehmiu, head of 'National Freedom Party' from returning to his dictator-controlled country. Beautiful, exciting production. | tt0073530 | [PG] | Dirk Bogarde, Ava Gardner, Bekim Fehmiu, Timothy Dalton, Frederic Forrest | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Perri | 1957 | N. Paul Kenworthy/ Jr, Ralph Wright | ★★★ | 75 | Unusual Disney film combines elements of BAMBI with True-Life nature photography, in a romanticized look at a squirrel through the cycle of four seasons in the forest. Based on Felix Salten's book. | tt0050837 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Family | NULL | |||
| Perrier’s Bounty | 2010 | Ian FitzGibbon | ★★★ | 88 | Harmless miscreant Murphy is in heaps of trouble when he winds up owing a large wad of cash to big-time hood Perrier (Gleeson). Things go from worse to worser when his dying father (Broadbent) arrives unannounced to make amends with his estranged son and gets involved. Dark humor cleverly softens the intensity of violent acts, which—one is ashamed to admit—generate a lot of laughs. Entire ensemble shines. | tt1003034 | Unrated | Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent, Jodie Whittaker, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Cunningham, Brendan Coyle, Padraic Delaney, Michael McElhatton; voice of Gabriel Byrne | Irish-English | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Persecution | The Terror of Sheba | 1974 | Don Chaffey | ★½ | 92 | Overwrought, disjointed thriller with Lana as monstrous cat-loving mother of Bates, whom she torments his entire life. Slow, unpleasant, and unintentionally hilarious. Aka THE TERROR OF SHEBA and THE GRAVEYARD. | tt0071988 | [PG] | Lana Turner, Trevor Howard, Ralph Bates, Olga Georges-Picot | British | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL |
| Persepolis | 2007 | Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Parronaud | ★★★½ | 95 | Remarkable animated feature from Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novels about growing up in Iran under the shah’s regime in the 1970s (from a child’s-eye point of view), then enduring the dehumanizing effect subsequent governments have on a comfortable way of life. Handsomely stylized film uses animation as few artists ever have to tell a highly personal story; starkly dramatic yet also disarmingly funny. One of a kind. English-language version features the voices of Deneuve, Mastroianni, Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn, and Iggy Pop. | tt0808417 | [PG-13] | Voices of Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian, Gabrielle Lopes, François Jerosme | French-U.S. | Animation. Biography, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Persona | 1966 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 81 | Actress Ullmann withdraws and becomes mute, is cared for by nurse Andersson; their minds and personalities switch. Haunting, poetic, for discerning viewers; also shown at 85m. and 90m. | tt0060827 | Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Margaretha Krook | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Personal Affair | 1954 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★ | 82 | Timid murder story involving suspected schoolteacher. | tt0046181 | Gene Tierney, Leo Genn, Glynis Johns, Walter Fitzgerald, Pamela Brown | British | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Personal Best | 1982 | Robert Towne | ★★★½ | 124 | Athletes Hemingway and Donnelly have lesbian relationship while training for the 1980 Olympics. Annoying direction— too many close-ups of feet— but scores touchdowns galore when dealing with feelings, and women's relationship to manipulative coach Glenn. Perceptive, sensitive performance by Hemingway. Directing debut for top screenwriter Towne. | tt0084489 | [R] | Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore, Jim Moody, Larry Pennell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Personal Foul | 1987 | Ted Lichtenfeld | ★★★ | 92 | Honest, heartfelt tale of drifter/ex-con Morse and teacher Arkin, who meet, become pals, and then rivals for Duff (who lights up the screen in her every scene). Sometimes lags but still sweet and ingratiating. | tt0093726 |
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David Morse, Adam Arkin, Susan Wheeler Duff, F. William Parker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Personal Property | 1937 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 84 | Taylor stiffly maneuvers through a series of masquerades, and finally courts Harlow in this MGM fluff. Remake of 1931 film THE MAN IN POSSESSION. | tt0029395 | Jean Harlow, Robert Taylor, Una O'Connor, Reginald Owen, Cora Witherspoon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Personal Services | 1987 | Terry Jones | ★★½ | 105 | Naive working woman stumbles into a career as a madam, and becomes bolder as business prospers. Bittersweet comedy, based on the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, is unabashedly adult, but uneven in tone. Benefits from a terrific performance by Walters. Written by David Leland. Payne's earlier years are dramatized in WISH YOU WERE HERE. | tt0093727 | [R] | Julie Walters, Alec McCowen, Danny Schiller, Shirley Stelfox, Victoria Hardcastle, Tim Woodward, Dave Atkins | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Personal Velocity | 2002 | Rebecca Miller | ★★★ | 86 | Three vignettes about women at turning points in their lives: Sedgwick has to decide whether or not to walk out on an abusive marriage; Posey puts her marriage at risk while advancing her career; Balk chooses to help an aimless young man, but pays a price for her concern. Miller (daughter of playwright Arthur) adapted her own short stories for this insightful and satisfying film; shot on digital video. | tt0295238 | [R] | Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, Fairuza Balk, David Warshofsky, Brian Tarantina, Tim Guinee, Wallace Shawn, Joel De La Fuente, Ron Leibman, Ben Shenkman, Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Gilliam, David Patrick Kelly, Patti D’Arbanville; narrated by Jon Ventimiglia | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Personals | 1981 | Peter Markle | ★★★ | 88 | Sweet, lovable— but also honest, realistic— little comedy about what happens when recently divorced, slightly balding Schoppert places a personal ad. Perhaps a bit too much extraneous footage, but still it works nicely, and 'Shelly' is a riot. Filmed independently, in Minneapolis. | tt0082898 | [PG] | Bill Schoppert, Karen Landry, Paul Eiding, Michael Laskin, Vickie Dakil | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Persuader | 1957 | Dick Ross | ★★ | 72 | Another Western involved with clergyman taking up arms to combat outlaws. | tt0050838 |
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William Talman, James Craig, Kristine Miller, Darryl Hickman | Western | NULL | ||
| Persuasion | 1995 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 107 | A young woman has never recovered from her break with a dashing but impoverished sailor whom she was advised to turn away. Seven years later, they meet again in the midst of a tumultuous period in which her family tries to adjust to poverty. A lovingly crafted, beautifully acted adaptation of Jane Austen, this film demands patience but provides ample rewards. Impeccable yet understated period detail brings early-19th-century England to life. Made for British TV. | tt0114117 | [PG] | Amanda Root, Ciaran Hinds, Susan Fleetwood, Corin Redgrave, Fiona Shaw, John Woodvine, Phoebe Nicholls, Samuel West, Sophie Thompson, Judy Cornwell, Felicity Dean | British-U.S.-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Pest | 1997 | Paul Miller | ★½ | 82 | In a manic performance that makes Jim Carrey look like Ben Kingsley, Leguizamo plays a con artist with a unique talent for transforming himself into just about every type of persona. Soon he finds himself pursued by a variety of whacked-out bad guys. Leguizamo is definitely a talent, but this is a poor showcase; he also cowrote and coproduced. | tt0119887 | [PG-13] | John Leguizamo, Jeffrey Jones, Edoardo Ballerini, Freddy Rodriguez, Tammy Townsend, Joe Morton, Aries Spears | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pet Sematary | 1989 | Mary Lambert | 💣 | 102 | Couple is shocked to discover that danger lurks for their kids just outside a newly purchased rural home; aside from a spooked adjacent pet cemetery, they somehow failed to notice that semis roar down their frontyard highway every 90 seconds or so. A box-office hit whose contempt for its audience was sensed even by undiscriminating moviegoers. Stephen King, who has a cameo as a minister, scripted from his own best-seller. Followed by a sequel. | tt0098084 | [R] | Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby, Brad Greenquist, Michael Lombard, Blaze Berdahl, Miko Hughes | Horror | NULL | ||
| Pet Sematary II | 1992 | Mary Lambert | 💣 | 100 | The son of an accidentally killed horror-movie actress discovers the pet cemetery that brings the dead back to life, causing the same kind of gore and horror as in the first film. Brown is a hoot as a resurrected sheriff, but the movie is mean-spirited and gruesome, much worse than the original BOMB! | tt0105128 | [R] | Edward Furlong, Anthony Edwards, Clancy Brown, Jared Rushton, Darlanne Fluegel, Sarah Trigger, Lisa Waltz, Jason McGuire | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Pete 'n' Tillie | 1972 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 100 | Slick comedy-drama has its moments as wry bachelor Matthau laconically woos and marries Burnett. Later turn to melodrama doesn't work, however, and supporting characters Page and Auberjonois don't make sense. Enough good points for innocuous entertainment; adapted by Julius J. Epstein from Peter de Vries' Witch's Milk. | tt0069080 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett, Geraldine Page, Barry Nelson, Rene Auberjonois, Lee H. Montgomery, Henry Jones, Kent Smith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pete Kelly's Blues | 1955 | Jack Webb | ★★½ | 95 | Tedious roaring ’20s yarn about a cornet player at a Kansas City speakeasy who tries to shield himself and his band from bootlegger/ mobster O’Brien. Webb is strictly one-note here, as actor and director, but the candy-colored production design and the music are strong assets. Lee is notable in a rare dramatic role. Based on Webb’s flop radio series, which he later revived for TV. | tt0048484 | Jack Webb, Janet Leigh, Edmond O’Brien, Peggy Lee, Andy Devine, Lee Marvin, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Milner, Than Wyenn, Herb Ellis, Jayne Mansfield | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pete's Dragon | 1977 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 134 | Heavy-handed Disney musical about orphaned boy and his only friend, a protective dragon. Endearing animated 'monster' almost makes up for the live actors' tiresome mugging. Another try for MARY POPPINS magic that doesn't come close. Some prints run 121m.; the 1985 reissue was further cut to 104m. | tt0076538 | [G] | Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Sean Marshall, Jane Kean, Jim Backus, Jeff Conaway, voice of Charlie Callas | Animation, Family, Adventure, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pete's Meteor | 1998 | Joe O’Byrne | ★½ | 103 | Myers plays a dramatic part (with an Irish brogue) in this peculiar, poorly written movie about three orphaned kids being raised by their grandmother. When a meteor lands in their backyard, they think it's been sent by their parents from the heavens, so they object when nerdy scientist Molina claims it for study. The film's central character, the oldest boy (Costello), is so off-putting that he makes watching the film a trial. Released direct to video in 2002. | tt0126423 | [R] | Brenda Fricker, Alfred Molina, Mike Myers, John Kavanagh, Ian Costello, Dervla Kirwan, Gavin Dowdall | Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Peter Ibbetson | 1935 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 88 | Most unusual fantasy-romance, based on George du Maurier novel about sweethearts who are separated in childhood but whose destinies draw them together years later, and for all eternity. Someone more ethereal than Harding might have put this over better, but it's still a moving and strikingly artistic endeavor. Beautifully photographed by Charles Lang. | tt0026866 | Gary Cooper, Ann Harding, John Halliday, Ida Lupino, Douglass Dumbrille, Virginia Weidler, Dickie Moore, Doris Lloyd | Romance | NULL | |||
| Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion | 1977 | Michael O'Herlihy | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Teenaged frontier lad becomes a Pony Express rider in the mid-1800s in this Disney-like adventure tale. Good family entertainment. Video titles: THE MEDICINE HAT STALLION and ROUGH RIDER. | tt0076539 | Leif Garrett, Milo O'Shea, Mitch Ryan, Bibi Besch, Charles Tyner, John Anderson, John Quade | Western | NULL | |||
| Peter Pan | 1924 | Herbert Brenon | ★★★ | 102 | Delightful adaptation of the James M. Barrie classic about the boy who can fly and never wants to grow up, and his adventures as he soars away with Wendy Darling and her brothers to Never Neverland. Bronson makes the role of Peter all her own in this charming fantasy. | tt0015224 | Betty Bronson, Ernest Torrence, Anna May Wong, Mary Brian, Virginia Browne Faire, Esther Ralston, Cyril Chadwick, Philippe De Lacey | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Peter Pan | 1953 | Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson | ★★★ | 77 | Delightful Walt Disney cartoon feature of the classic James M. Barrie story, with Peter leading Wendy, Michael, and John Darling to Neverland, where they do battle with Captain Hook and his band of pirates. Musical highlight: 'You Can Fly,' as the children sail over the city of London. Followed in 2002 by RETURN TO NEVER LAND. | tt0046183 | Voices of Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel, Paul Collins, Candy Candido, Tom Conway | Family, Animation, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Peter Pan | 2003 | P.J. Hogan | ★★ | 113 | Handsomely filmed adaptation of the James M. Barrie classic about the boy who won't grow up. Starts off promisingly, but adds new ideas that don't necessarily benefit the story (do we really need to see Captain Hook's severed arm?), and winds up plodding instead of soaring. Kids who've never experienced the magic of earlier stage, film, and TV productions may think this is fine— but they don't know what they're missing. | tt0316396 | [PG] | Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Heard-Wood, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Lynn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier, Geoffrey Palmer, Harry Newell, Freddie Popplewell; narrated by Saffron Burrows | U.S.-Australian | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Peter Rabbit and Tales of Beatrix Potter | Tales of Beatrix Potter | 1971 | Reginald Mills | ★★★½ | 90 | Beautiful ballet film with Royal Ballet Company tells the adventures of several creatures that live by the pond; interesting version of Beatrix Potter tales. British title: TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER. | tt0067570 | [G] | British | Family, Musical | NULL | |
| Peter's Friends | 1992 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★★½ | 100 | A collegiate musical troupe's weekend reunion, after ten years, sparks feelings of love, envy, anger, and self-doubt. Glibly described as a British BIG CHILL, it stands on its own, filled with honest humor, heartache, and finely etched performances. Thompson is a standout as the group nerd, and Rudner (who also wrote this with real-life husband Martin Bergman) is very funny as a self-absorbed Hollywood star. Thompson's mother, actress Phyllida Law, turns in a fine performance as the housekeeper. | tt0105130 | Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Rita Rudner, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Tony Slattery, Alex Lowe, Richard Briers | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Petrified Forest | 1936 | Archie Mayo | ★★★½ | 83 | Solid adaptation of Robert Sherwood play, focusing on ironic survival of the physically fit in civilized world. Bogart is Duke Mantee, escaped gangster, who holds writer Howard, dreamer Davis, and others hostage at roadside restaurant in Arizona. Stagy, but extremely well acted and surprisingly fresh. Howard and Bogart recreate their Broadway roles. Scripted by Charles Kenyon and Delmer Daves. Remade as ESCAPE IN THE DESERT. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028096 | Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Dick Foran, Humphrey Bogart, Genevieve Tobin, Charley Grapewin, Porter Hall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Petticoat Fever | 1936 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★ | 81 | Limp farce set in Labrador, with patronizing Montgomery romancing Loy (despite presence of stuffed-shirt fiancé Owen). The stars are defeated by their one-note material. | tt0028097 | Robert Montgomery, Myrna Loy, Reginald Owen, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Petty Girl | 1950 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 87 | Mild comedy of pin-up artist George Petty (Cummings) falling for prudish Caulfield; Lanchester steals every scene she's in. | tt0042844 | Robert Cummings, Joan Caulfield, Elsa Lanchester, Melville Cooper, Mary Wickes, Tippi Hedren | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Petulia | 1968 | Richard Lester | ★★★★ | 105 | Brilliant film, set against mid-'60s San Francisco scene, about recently divorced doctor and his relationship with unhappily married kook. Terrific acting, especially by Scott and Knight, in one of decade's top films; script by Lawrence B. Marcus. From John Haase's novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia. | tt0063426 | [R] | Julie Christie, George C. Scott, Richard Chamberlain, Shirley Knight, Arthur Hill, Joseph Cotten, Pippa Scott, Kathleen Widdoes, Richard Dysart, Austin Pendleton, Rene Auberjonois, The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company | Drama | NULL | ||
| Peyton Place | 1957 | Mark Robson | ★★★½ | 157 | Grace Metalious's once-notorious novel receives Grade A filming. Soap opera of life behind closed doors in a small New England town boasts strong cast, fine Franz Waxman score. Original running time: 162m. Sequel: RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE. Later a hit TV series. | tt0050839 | Lana Turner, Hope Lange, Arthur Kennedy, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Philips, Terry Moore, Russ Tamblyn, Betty Field, David Nelson, Mildred Dunnock, Diane Varsi, Barry Coe, Leon Ames, Lorne Greene | Drama | NULL | |||
| Phaedra | 1962 | Jules Dassin | ★★★ | 115 |
Mercouri, wife of shipping magnate Vallone, has an affair with stepson Perkins. Well acted and directed; inspired by Euripides' Hippolytus.|
tt0056346
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Melina Mercouri, Anthony Perkins, Raf Vallone, Elizabeth Ercy
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U.S.-French-Greek
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Drama
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| Phantasm | 1979 | Don Coscarelli | ★½ | 87 | Two dull brothers take on a flying object that punctures skulls and a creepy cemetery worker whose ties are so thin he belongs playing 'Louie, Louie' at a 1964 prom. Followed by three sequels. | tt0079714 | [R] | Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester, Angus Scrimm | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Phantasm II | 1988 | Don Coscarelli | ★½ | 90 | Bigger-budgeted sequel to the 1979 cult success is similar— psychic teenagers experiencing recurring nightmarish visions of The Tall Man (Scrimm)— only with more graphic and unrelenting gore. | tt0095863 | [R] | James Le Gros, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, Paula Irvine, Samantha Phillips, Kenneth Tigar | Horror | NULL | ||
| Phantasm III | 1994 | Don Coscarelli | ★½ | 91 | More flying silver spheres, cannibal gnomes, stolen bodies, explosions, and The Tall Man— still doesn't make much sense. The end is especially unsatisfying, with limp humor, unnecessary sex scenes, and amateurish acting. Followed by another video sequel. | tt0110823 | [R] | Reggie Bannister, A. Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm, Bill Thornbury, Gloria Lynne Henry, Kevin Connors, Cindy Ambuehl, John Chandler, Brooks Gardner | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Phantom Creeps | 1939 | Ford Beebe, Saul A. Goodkind | ★★ | 79 | U.S. government and hostile spies vie to gain control of the 'secret element,' an invention of mad scientist Dr. Zorka (Lugosi). So bad it's actually quite entertaining; the whole kettle of fish is thrown in here, including stock footage of the Hindenburg disaster! And look for Lee J. Cobb as a road-crew foreman. Edited down from a 12-episode Universal serial of the same title. | tt0031796 |
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Bela Lugosi, Robert Kent, Regis Toomey, Dorothy Arnold, Edward Van Sloan, Edward Norris | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Phantom Express | 1932 | Emory Johnson | ★★ | 66 | Melodramatic, ever-so-obvious account of some villains attempting to sabotage a railroad . . . and it's the company president's son (Collier) to the rescue. Notice those violins after engineer Smokey North is sacked from his job! | tt0023333 | William Collier/Jr., Sally Blane, J. Farrell MacDonald, Hobart Bosworth, Axel Axelson, Lina Basquette | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues | 1956 | Dan Milner. | 💣 | 72 | Oceanographer Taylor investigates deaths caused by a monster created by radiation from an undersea rock, which is now guarded by the creature. Lots of spy stuff and a lousy monster fail to enliven this deadly dull early American-International effort. | tt0049615 | Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen, Rodney Bell, Phillip Pine, Vivi Janiss, Helene Stanton. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Phantom From Space | 1953 | W. Lee Wilder | ★½ | 72 | An invisible alien crash-lands near L.A., wreaks accidental havoc as he makes his way across the city. OK idea hampered by low budget— and lack of talent. | tt0046186 | Ted Cooper, Rudolph Anders, Noreen Nash, Harry Landers, Jim Bannon | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Phantom Lady | 1944 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★½ | 87 | First-rate suspense yarn of innocent man (Curtis) framed for murder of his wife. Secretary Raines seeks real killer with help of Curtis' best friend (Tone) and detective (Gomez). Sexual innuendo in drumming scene with Cook is simply astonishing— the solo was reportedly dubbed by Buddy Rich. Based on a Cornell Woolrich novel; screenplay by Bernard C. | tt0036260 | Ella Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curtis, Thomas Gomez, Elisha Cook/Jr., Fay Helm, Andrew Tombes, Regis Toomey | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom Planet | 1961 | William Marshall | ★½ | 82 | Astronaut crash-lands on an asteroid, is shrunken to the tiny size of its inhabitants, and becomes involved in their war with silly-looking aliens. Bushman plays tiny folks' leader Sesom, but he's no Moses, backward or forward. Fascinatingly terrible movie. | tt0055294 | Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Tony Dexter, Dolores Faith, Francis X. Bushman | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Phantom President | 1932 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 80 | Musical antique about presidential candidate, with lookalike entertainer (Cohan) falling in love with former's girl (Colbert). Interesting only as a curio, with forgettable Rodgers-Hart score. | tt0023334 | George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, Jimmy Durante, Sidney Toler | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Phantom Raiders | 1940 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 70 | Slick, fast-paced Nick Carter detective entry has our hero investigating sabotage in the Panama Canal after Allied ships are sunk. | tt0032901 | Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Joseph Schildkraut, Florence Rice, Nat Pendleton, John Carroll | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Phantom Ship | Mystery of the Mary Celeste | 1935 | Denison Clift | ★★ | 80 | Slow-paced 'explanation' of one of the great unsolved maritime mysteries, the disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste, in 1872. Routine but holds interest. Lugosi is broad but entertaining as superstitious one-armed seaman. All exteriors filmed on a real ship. Original title: MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE. | tt0026759 | Bela Lugosi, Shirley Grey, Arthur Margetson, Edmund Willard, Dennis Hoey, Ben Welden, Gibson Gowland | British | Drama, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Phantom Speaks | 1945 | John English. | ★★ | 69 | Strong-willed spirit of executed killer Powers can take control of psychic researcher Ridges to avenge himself on those he hated. Arlen is a reporter sweet on the scientist's daughter. Understated horror melodrama never rises above its B-movie origins but is simple and efficient; ending is unusually grim. Ridges' role resembles his part in BLACK FRIDAY. | tt0037984 | Richard Arlen, Lynne Roberts, Stanley Ridges, Tom Powers, Charlotte Wynters, Jonathan Hale. | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Phantom Stagecoach | 1957 | Ray Nazarro | ★½ | 69 | Programmer Western about clashing stagecoach lines competing for business. | tt0050840 |
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William Bishop, Kathleen Crowley, Richard Webb, Frank Ferguson | Western | NULL | ||
| The Phantom Thief | 1946 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★½ | 65 | Murder strikes at a seance and Boston Blackie is called in to investigate. Neat series entry with plenty of haunted-house comic relief from Stone. | tt0038839 | Chester Morris, Jeff Donnell, Richard Lane, Dusty Anderson, George E. Stone, Frank Sully, Marvin Miller | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom Tollbooth | 1969 | Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow, David Monahan | ★★★ | 90 | Unusual animated feature (the first for both Jones and MGM), based on Norton Juster's book about bored little boy who enters strange world where letters and numbers are at war. A bit sophisticated for the Saturday matinee crowd, and the songs are pretty icky, but still quite worthwhile, especially for Jones fans. | tt0064806 | [G] | Butch Patrick; voices of Hans Conried, Mel Blanc, Candy Candido, June Foray, Les Tremayne, Daws Butler | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Phantom of Chinatown | 1941 | Phil Rosen | 💣 | 61 | Sixth and final mystery in the Mr. Wong series is bottom-of-the-barrel fare, with Luke replacing Boris Karloff as a younger version of the Oriental sleuth. He's on the trail of a killer out to obtain an ancient scroll and locate an oil deposit. | tt0032903 | Keye Luke, Lotus Long, Grant Withers, Paul McVey, Charles Miller | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom of Crestwood | 1932 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★★ | 77 | First-rate old-dark-house whodunit with crafty Morley calling together the men in her life for mass-blackmail scheme, resulting in murder. Eye-riveting flashback technique highlights solid mystery. | tt0023335 | Ricardo Cortez, Karen Morley, Anita Louise, Pauline Frederick, H. B. Warner, Sam Hardy, Skeets Gallagher | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom of Liberty | 1974 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 104 | A dreamlike comedy of irony, composed of surreal, randomly connected anecdotes. Highlighted is a dinner party, in which the openness of eating and the privacy of defecating are reversed, and a sequence in which adults fret over a young girl's disappearance— even though she remains present all along. | tt0071487 | [R] | Jean-Claude Brialy, Adolfo Celi, Michel Piccoli, Monica Vitti | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Phantom of Paris | 1931 | John S. Robertson | ★★★ | 72 | Paris escape artist Gilbert, arrested on a murder charge, escapes— naturally!— and goes to extraordinary lengths to prove his innocence. Far-out to say the very least, but nicely buoyed by arch dialogue and several clever touches. Based on a novel by Gaston Leroux (who wrote The Phantom of the Opera), Chéri-Bibi et Cécily; remade as CHERI-BIBI in 1937 and 1955. | tt0022264 | John Gilbert, Leila Hyams, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, C. Aubrey Smith, Natalie Moorhead, Ian Keith | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Phantom of the Opera | 1943 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 92 | First talkie version of venerable melodrama often has more opera than Phantom, but Rains gives fine, sympathetic performance as disfigured composer worshipping young soprano Foster. Oscar winner for Cinematography (Hal Mohr and W. Howard Greene) and Art Direction. | tt0036261 | Claude Rains, Susanna Foster, Nelson Eddy, Edgar Barrier, Jane Farrar, Miles Mander, J. Edward Bromberg, Hume Cronyn, Fritz Leiber, Leo Carrillo, Steven Geray, Fritz Feld | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1925 | Rupert Julian | ★★★½ | 98 | Classic melodrama with Chaney as the vengeful composer who lives in the catacombs under the Paris Opera House, and kidnaps young Philbin as his singing protégée. Famous unmasking scene still packs a jolt, and the Bal Masque is especially impressive in two-color Technicolor. One of Chaney's finest hours. Most prints are of the 1929 reissue version, but the original is available on DVD; running times vary. Remade several times, and transformed into a Broadway musical. | tt0016220 | Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Snitz Edwards, Gibson Gowland | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1962 | Terence Fisher | ★★ | 84 | Lom stars in this third screen version of the story. It's more elaborate than most Hammer horror films, but also more plodding, with only occasional moments of terror. Made worse by expansion to 90m. for TV, with added subplot of detectives investigating the murderer. | tt0056347 | Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Thorley Walters, Edward DeSouza, Michael Gough, Miles Malleson | British | Horror, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1989 | Dwight H. Little | ★½ | 90 | Good-looking but gory, slow-moving remake, shot in Budapest but set in London. Closer to original novel than other versions. Its changes are no improvements; instead of a mask, the Phantom stitches dead flesh onto his scarred face and has made a deal with the devil. He's still killing people to advance the career of a chosen singer. No chandelier, either. Englund ('Freddy Krueger') ranges from effective to hammy as the Phantom. | tt0098090 | [R] | Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Lawrence, Terence Harvey | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1999 | Dario Argento | ★★ | 99 | Argento's gory and erotic take on the classic tale with Sands as the mysterious phantom, who, in this version, is abandoned in the sewer below the opera house as an infant and raised by a loving family of rats! The director's daughter plays the beautiful young singer with whom he becomes obsessed. Disappointingly routine and unimaginative, with only a few of the director's expected flamboyant flourishes. | tt0119889 | [R] | Julian Sands, Asia Argento, Andrea Di Stefano, Nadia Rinaldi, Coralina Cataldi Tassoni, Istvan Bubik | Italian | Romance, Horror | NULL | |
| The Phantom of the Opera | 2004 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 142 | Overproduced adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical with unnecessary additions: a superfluous flashback framing device and a 'backstory' for the Phantom. The singing is fine, Rossum positively glows as Christine, major numbers like 'The Music of the Night' are beautifully done, but Webber and Schumacher subscribe to the 'more is more' school of entertainment, alas. | tt0293508 | [PG-13] | Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, Simon Callow, Ciarán Hinds | British | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1990 | Tony Richardson | Average TV Movie | 200 | Handsome but almost high-camp remake of the venerable story, with Dance making a romantic Phantom; Lancaster is his resigned but protective father, while Polo plays Christine as if she's Cinderella. It's so tame we never see the Phantom's face. The operatic interludes are atrociously dubbed. Adapted by the estimable Arthur Kopit from his 1983 play. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0100361 | [NR] | Burt Lancaster, Charles Dance, Teri Polo, Ian Richardson, Andrea Ferreol, Adam Storke, Jean-Pierre Cassel | U.S.-British | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| The Phantom of the Opera | 1983 | Robert Markowitz | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Sumptuous 80s version of the grand guignol classic is highlighted by Schell's scenery-chewing portrait of the deranged Hungarian voice teacher who's not just another pretty face. Sherman Yellen's adaptation and Stan Winston's 'Phantom' makeup aren't to be overlooked either, though this version goes far astray from the original Gaston Leroux novel— it isn't even set in Paris! | tt0086101 | Maximilian Schell, Jane Seymour, Michael York, Jeremy Kemp, Diana Quick | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Phantom of the Paradise | 1974 | Brian De Palma | ★★★ | 92 | Effective rock version of . . . OPERA, with Finley out for revenge against producer (Williams, miscast but not bad) who stole his songs. A flop in its time— it was sold as a spoof— but now finding a cult; ironically, many of the 'weird' rock performers (including Graham as 'Beef') seem pretty tame alongside some of today's artists. Williams also composed the score, and Sissy Spacek was the set decorator! | tt0071994 | [PG] | Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, George Memmoli, Gerrit Graham | Comedy, Thriller, Musical, Horror | NULL | ||
| Phantom of the Rue Morgue | 1954 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 84 | Remake of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE suffers from Malden's hamminess in the equivalent of Lugosi's role, plus little real atmosphere. On the other hand, there is Merv Griffin as a college student! Originally in 3-D. | tt0047348 | Karl Malden, Claude Dauphin, Patricia Medina, Steve Forrest, Allyn Ann McLerie, Erin O'Brien-Moore | Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Phantom | 1996 | Simon Wincer | ★★ | 101 | Lead-footed emulation of Saturday matinee serials, using Lee Falk's masked comic-strip hero ('the ghost who walks'), who starred in a bona fide serial in 1943. His longtime attempt to vanquish a society of evil puts him face-to-face with megalomaniac Xander Drax (a campy Williams). Well-meaning INDIANA JONES wannabe has no energy and offers large-scale stunts without knowing how to stage them! | tt0117331 | [PG] | Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones, James Remar, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Casey Siemaszko, Samantha Eggar, Patrick McGoohan | U.S.-Australian | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Phantoms | Dean Koontz's Phantoms | 1998 | Joe Chappelle | ★★½ | 95 | Sisters are frightened to find a Rocky Mountain town totally deserted, except for a few dead bodies; sheriff Affleck shows up to help, followed by scientist O'Toole. The answer is a mysterious underground monster from the beginning of time: intelligent, deadly, and amorphous. Not-bad thriller with good performances, astute use of locations, and some suspenseful scenes. Adapted from his own novel by Dean R. Koontz. Aka DEAN KOONTZ'S PHANTOMS. | tt0119891 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Joanna Going, Rose McGowan, Liev Schreiber, Ben Affleck, Clifton Powell, Nicky Katt | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Phar Lap | 1983 | Simon Wincer | ★★★ | 108 | Entertaining chronicle of champion New Zealand-born racehorse Phar Lap, who suddenly and mysteriously died in 1933 in America. Nicely directed and acted; Down Under, the story is now a legend. Reedited for U.S. release from original 118m. | tt0086102 | [PG] | Tom Burlinson, Martin Vaughan, Judy Morris, Ron Leibman, Celia de Burgh, Vincent Ball | Australian | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Pharaoh's Curse | 1957 | Lee Sholem | ★½ | 66 | 1903 Egyptian expedition is menaced by a rapidly aging vampiric reincarnate and his mysterious sister. Pompous, slow moving; more supernatural melodrama than horror. | tt0049616 | Mark Dana, Ziva Rodann, Diane Brewster, George Niese, Kurt Katch, Terence de Marney | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Pharaoh's Woman | 1960 | Giorgio Rivalta | ★★ | 87 | Senseless epic set in Egypt with Francioli combating Barrymore, pretender to the throne; ornate settings. | tt0055296 |
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Linda Cristal, Pierre Brice, Armando Francioli, John Drew Barrymore | Italian | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |
| Phase IV | 1974 | Saul Bass | ★★½ | 86 | Feature directing debut of famed title-maker Bass is visually stunning but rather incomprehensible science fiction about colony of super-intelligent ants (normal-sized, for a change) running rampant at a lonely scientific outpost. Difficult, but not without its rewards. | tt0070531 | [PG] | Nigel Davenport, Lynne Frederick, Michael Murphy, Alan Gifford, Helen Horton, Robert Henderson | Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Phat Beach | 1996 | Doug Ellin | ★★ | 99 | A wannabe writer (Hopkins) dreams of meeting the perfect girl at the beach, so he heads off to the surf with his best friend. Hopkins' earnest, charming performance saves this from being a typical hit-the-beach and hit-on-the-girls film. Coolio and Y?N-Vee perform on-screen. | tt0117332 | [R] | Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins, Brian Hooks, Eric Fleeks, Alma Collins, Claudia Kaleem, Jennifer Lucienne, Coolio, Gregg D. Vance, Tre Black, Tiny 'Zeus' Lister/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Phat Girlz | 2006 | Nnegest Likké | ★½ | 99 | Self-indulgent, sloppily made comedy about a full-figured wannabe fashion designer (Mo'Nique). As she struggles to deal with her issues in a weight-conscious culture, she is pursued by a hunky Nigerian doctor who is attracted to plus-sized women. Supposedly well-intentioned exploration of the importance of accepting who you are and how you look is shrill, one-note, and wallows in nastiness. Mo'Nique also coexecutive produced. | tt0490196 | [PG-13] | Mo'Nique, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Godfrey, Kendra C. Johnson, Jack Noseworthy, Joyful Drake, Eric Roberts | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Phenix City Story | 1955 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 100 | Fast-paced exposé film, compactly told, with realistic production, fine performances as lawyer returns to corrupt hometown, tries to do something about it. Sometimes shown without 13m. prologue. | tt0048488 | John McIntire, Richard Kiley, Kathryn Grant, Edward Andrews | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Phenomenon | 1996 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★ | 124 | Intriguing, humanistic story has ordinary-guy Travolta struck by a bolt of light that transforms him into a genius . . . a 'blessing' that turns out to be a curse. Unfortunately, the story heads nowhere and takes its sweet time getting there. Beautiful Northern California setting and lovely Thomas Newman score support Travolta's empathic performance . . . all for naught. Long, slow, and squishy in the center. Remade for TV in 2003 but titled PHENOMENON II. | tt0117333 | [PG] | John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Robert Duvall, Jeffrey DeMunn, Brent Spiner, Richard Kiley, Tony Genaro, Sean O'Bryan, Ellen Geer | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Philadelphia | 1993 | Jonathan Demme | ★★½ | 119 | Up-and-coming lawyer Hanks is battling AIDS; when he's fired from his prosperous Main Line Philadelphia law firm (for trumped-up reasons), he decides to bring suit. The only lawyer who'll take his case: ambulance-chaser Washington, who doesn't like gays. Well-meaning, mainstream look at AIDS and American homophobia succeeds as a tract but falls short as drama. Hanks is terrific in an Oscar-winning performance, but we don't know anything about him, or his lover (Banderas); his Norman Rockwellian family is (alas) too good to be true. That's the Rev. Robert Castle (subject of Demme's documentary COUSIN BOBBY) as Hanks' father. Bruce Springsteen also won an Oscar for Best Song. | tt0107818 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Ron Vawter, Robert Ridgely, Charles Napier, Lisa Summerour, Joanne Woodward, Roger Corman, John Bedford Lloyd, Anna Deavere Smith, Tracey Walter, Obba Babatundé, Kathryn Witt, Bradley Whitford | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Philadelphia Experiment | 1984 | Stewart Raffill | ★★½ | 102 | Sailor on WW2 ship falls through a hole in time and winds up in 1984. Just entertaining enough to cover production flaws and some gaping story holes. Followed by a sequel. | tt0087910 | [PG] | Michael Paré, Nancy Allen, Eric Christmas, Bobby Di Cicco, Kene Holliday | Drama, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Philadelphia Story | 1940 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 112 | Talky but brilliant adaptation of Philip Barry's hit Broadway comedy about society girl who yearns for down-to-earth romance; Grant is her ex-husband, Stewart a fast-talking (!) reporter who falls in love with her. Entire cast is excellent, but Stewart really shines in his offbeat, Academy Award-winning role. Donald Ogden Stewart's script also earned an Oscar. Later musicalized as HIGH SOCIETY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032904 | Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, John Howard, Roland Young, John Halliday, Virginia Weidler, Mary Nash, Henry Daniell, Hillary Brooke | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Philadelphia, Here I Come | 1975 | John Quested | ★★½ | 95 | Brian Friel adapted his stage play about a young man and his alter ego who debate whether or not he should leave his dreary Irish home town and join an aunt in Philadelphia, U.S.A. Filmed on location; fine performances. | tt0284690 | Donal McCann, Des Cave, Siobhan McKenna, Eamon Kelly, Fidelma Murphy, Liam Redmond |
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| Philo Vance Returns | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 64 | Vance (Wright) tries to solve the murder of a philandering Casanova in this first of three not-bad entries by Poverty-Row studio PRC. Ignoring the Van Dine books, Vance is now a hard-boiled, wisecracking private eye. | tt0039701 | William Wright, Terry Austin, Leon Belasco, Clara Blandick, Iris Adrian, Frank Wilcox | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Philo Vance's Gamble | 1947 | Basil Wrangell | ★★ | 62 | Vance (Curtis) is up to his neck in corpses when he takes on a gang of jewel thieves in this acceptable mystery given a (low-budget) film noir mood. | tt0039702 | Alan Curtis, Terry Austin, Frank Jenks, Tala Birell, Gavin Gordon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Philo Vance's Secret Mission | 1947 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 58 | Not-bad little mystery (last in the series) has Vance joining a detective magazine as technical advisor, only to see the publisher get bumped off. | tt0039703 | Alan Curtis, Sheila Ryan, Tala Birell, Frank Jenks, James Bell | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Phobia | 1980 | John Huston | 💣 | 90 | Absolutely terrible film about psychiatrist whose patients, suffering from various phobias, are being murdered one by one. Relentlessly stupid, illogical, and unpleasant. | tt0081334 | [R] | Paul Michael Glaser, Susan Hogan, John Colicos, David Bolt, Patricia Collins, David Eisner | Canadian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Phoebe in Wonderland | 2008 | Daniel Barnz | ★★★ | 96 | Young girl seems to live in her own world, but finds a safe haven acting in a school production of Alice in Wonderland for an artsy drama teacher (Clarkson). At the same time, her mother (Huffman) is torn between trying to finish a thesis on Alice and committing to parenting. Ambitious drama plumbs some remarkably deep emotions, especially for a film with a 9-year-old leading lady (Fanning, who’s amazing). Excellent score by Christophe Beck. | tt1034325 | [PG-13] | Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott, Bailee Madison, Austin Williams, Teala Dunn, Maddie Corman | Drama, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Phoenix | 1997 | Danny Cannon | ★★ | 107 | Gambling-addicted Arizona cop Liotta, deeply in debt to a bookie, hatches a heist with his three corrupt cop buddies to rip off a local loan shark, but naturally things unravel in typical B-movie fashion. Stylishly made neo-noir boasts a superior cast but is sunk by repellent characters and a depressingly derivative, post-modern Tarantino-esque script. Premiered on cable a year before 1998 theatrical release. | tt0383569 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Anjelica Huston, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven, Kari Wuhrer, Xander Berkeley, Tom Noonan, Giancarlo Esposito, Giovanni Ribisi, Brittany Murphy | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Phone Booth | 2003 | Joel Schumacher | ★½ | 80 | Farrell gives a tour de force performance in this extremely annoying film about a pushy, street hustler-style publicist who picks up a phone on 8th Avenue in Manhattan and finds himself trapped there— literally and psychologically— by a maniacal caller. Larry Cohen's story makes no sense whatsoever, so the film's only value is as an exercise, and on that level it runs out of steam pretty quickly. | tt0183649 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, Katie Holmes, Richard T. Jones, Keith Nobbs, Josh Pais, Tia Texada, Paula Jai Parker | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Phone Call From a Stranger | 1952 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 96 | Engrossing narrative of Merrill, survivor of a plane crash, visiting families of various victims. | tt0045029 | Bette Davis, Shelley Winters, Gary Merrill, Michael Rennie, Keenan Wynn, Evelyn Varden, Warren Stevens, Beatrice Straight, Craig Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Phony American | 1962 | Ákos Ráthonyi | ★★½ | 72 | Strange casting is more interesting than tale of a German WW2 orphan, now grown up, wishing to become an American, and a U.S. air force pilot. | tt0055531 | William Bendix, Christine Kaufmann, Michael Hinz, Ron Randell | German | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Photo Finish | 1957 | Norbert Carbonnaux | ★★ | 110 | Strained comedy about con-men at work at the racetrack. | tt0049097 | Fernand Gravet, Jean Richard, Micheline, Louis de Funes | French |
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| The Phynx | 1970 | Lee H. Katzin | 💣 | 92 | A way-off-base satire about a rock group (Miller, Chippeway, Larden, Stevens) recruited to spy behind Iron Curtain and the kidnapping of America's pop-culture heroes (in cameos, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Guy Lombardo, Joe Louis, Johnny Weissmuller, Col. Sanders, Ruby Keeler, Xavier Cugat, Dick Clark, George Jessel, and many others). Diehards may want to see some of these stars, but it's hardly worth it. | tt0066221 | [M] | A. Michael Miller, Ray Chippeway, Dennis Larden, Lonny Stevens, Lou Antonio, Mike Kellin, Joan Blondell, George Tobias, Richard Pryor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Physical Evidence | 1989 | Michael Crichton | ★½ | 99 | Boring drama with Reynolds going through the paces as a tough cop who's been suspended from the force, and is now the prime suspect in a murder case. Russell is badly miscast as a public defender who takes up his cause. | tt0098093 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Theresa Russell, Ned Beatty, Kay Lenz, Ted McGinley, Tom O'Brien | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pi | 1998 | Darren Aronofsky. | ★★½ | 85 | An obsessed math genius thinks the orderliness of numbers may be able to conquer the stock market or determine God's identity, yet his own disordered life finds him at the brink of madness. Filmed in inky 16mm black and white for around $60,000, this attention-getter is a true original. Well acted by a no-name cast and, we hope, a harbinger of things to come from filmmaker Aronofsky. Cowritten by the director, Eric Watson, and leading actor Gullette. | tt0138704 | [R] | Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Pamela Hart, Stephen Pearlman, Ajay Naidu. | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Piaf- The Early Years | 1974 | Guy Casaril | ★★½ | 104 | Maddeningly uneven depiction of the early life and career of the legendary singer. Fascinating subject matter, good Ariel performance and great music, but melodramatic and sloppily directed. Based on the best-selling book by Simone Berteaut, Piaf's half-sister (played here by Christophe). Unreleased in America until 1982. | tt0071995 | [PG] | Brigitte Ariel, Pascale Christophe, Guy Trejan, Pierre Vernier, Jacques Duby, Anouk Ferjac | U.S.-French | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| The Pianist | 2002 | Roman Polanski | ★★★½ | 148 | Emotionally draining story of Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman and his too-fantastic-to-be-anything-but-true life during WW2, beginning in Warsaw during 1939. Devastating in its portrayal of casual Nazi atrocities, but overwhelming in its depiction of survival against all rational obstacles. Brody is splendid as Szpilman, a difficult and essentially passive role. Director Polanski revisits personal memories of his own life with this film. Screenplay by Ronald Harwood, based on Szpilman's memoirs, published in 1946. Oscar winner for Best Director, Actor (Brody), and Adapted Screenplay. | tt0253474 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate Meyer, Ruth Platt | French-German-Polish-British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Piano Teacher | 2001 | Michael Haneke | ★★★½ | 130 | Magnificent, and decidedly adult, study of a middle-aged musician's psyche and her disturbing personal and professional relationships. Huppert has the role of her career as a woman with unusual views on intimacy and sex; costar Magimel matches her intensity. Harrowing and haunting, but not entirely humorless. Scripted by the director, from Elfriede Jelinek's 1983 novel. | tt0254686 | Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Magimel, Annie Girardot, Anna Sigalevitch, Susanne Lothar | French-Austrian | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Piano for Mrs. Cimino | 1982 | George Schaefer | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | A widow, diagnosed as senile by her doctor and declared incompetent by the courts, fights to regain control of her estate and her life, with Bette Davis giving another postgraduate acting course (sometimes a smidge too obviously) to her army of students and fans. John Gay wrote the sensitive script. | tt0084494 | Bette Davis, Penny Fuller, Keenan Wynn, Alexa Kenin, George Hearn, Christopher Guest, Graham Jarvis | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Piano | 1993 | Jane Campion | ★★★½ | 121 | Haunting, unpredictable tale of love and sex told from a woman's point of view. In the late 19th century, a Scottish woman, her illegitimate daughter (Paquin), and her beloved piano arrive in remote New Zealand for an arranged marriage to farmer Neill. Then headstrong Hunter (who has been mute since childhood) strikes a bargain with moody neighbor Keitel (a Maori convert) involving the piano that leads to eye-opening consequences for the entire community. Writer-director Campion has fashioned a highly original fable, showing the tragedy and triumph erotic passion can bring to one's daily life. Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances, Campion for her screenplay. | tt0107822 | [R] | Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin, Kerry Walker, Geneviève Lemon, Tungia Baker, Ian Mune | New Zealand-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Picasso Summer | 1969 | Serge Bourguignon | ★½ | 90 | Boring, rambling tale of young couple so enamored by paintings that they take European vacation to find Picasso himself. Animated sequence midway can stand on its own. Based on the Ray Bradbury story. | tt0064808 | [M] | Albert Finney, Yvette Mimieux | Drama | NULL | ||
| Picasso Trigger | 1989 | Andy Sidaris | ★★ | 99 | Harmless, low-budget James Bond-like thriller with U.S. agent Bond tracking assassin Aprea, who uses fish (from a painting he admires) as his emblem. Sequel to HARD TICKET TO HAWAII and MALIBU EXPRESS has usual mix of action and T&A, and some peculiar gadgets (a killer crutch?). | tt0095867 | [R] | Steve Bond, Dona Speir, John Aprea, Hope Marie Carlton, Harold Diamond, Roberta Vasquez, Guich Koock, Bruce Penhall | Action | NULL | ||
| Piccadilly | 1929 | E. A. Dupont. | ★★½ | 108 | Sensuous (and ambitious) scullery maid (Wong) attracts London nightclub owner Thomas, who casts aside his current flame and dancing star (Gray). Slick, oozing with atmosphere, but supremely silly, this silent film is redeemed by Wong, who is an unforgettable presence in her all-time best part. Laughton is memorable as an angry diner; look for Ray Milland as a Piccadilly Club patron. | tt0020269 | Gilda Gray, Anna May Wong, Jameson Thomas, Cyril Ritchard, King Ho-Chang, Charles Laughton, Hannah Jones. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Piccadilly Incident | 1946 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 88 | Familiar Enoch Arden theme of supposedly dead wife appearing after husband has remarried. Good British cast gives life to oft-filmed plot. | tt0038842 | Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Michael Laurence, Reginald Owen, Frances Mercer | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Piccadilly Jim | 1936 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 100 | Fine light-comedy players in P. G. Wodehouse story of father and son's romantic pursuits; overlong. | tt0028102 | Robert Montgomery, Madge Evans, Frank Morgan, Eric Blore, Billie Burke | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pick a Star | 1937 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★½ | 70 | Mistaken as L&H vehicle, actually a Hal Roach production about small-town girl (Lawrence) hoping for stardom in Hollywood. Sappy story, bizarre musical production numbers, but guest stars Stan and Ollie have two very funny scenes. Retitled: MOVIE STRUCK. | tt0029401 | Jack Haley, Rosina Lawrence, Patsy Kelly, Mischa Auer, Tom Dugan, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Pick-up | 1933 | Marion Gering | ★★½ | 80 | Occasionally entertaining little drama about ex-con Sidney, who's down on her luck; she conceals her identity, and becomes involved with cabdriver Raft. | tt0024448 |
|
Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, Lillian Bond, William Harrigan, Clarence Wilson, Brooks Benedict, Robert McWade, Louise Beavers | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Pick-up Artist | 1987 | James Toback | ★½ | 81 | Womanizing youth meets his match when he falls for the daughter of a boozy gambler in hock to the mob. Standard Toback lowlifes integrated into a conventionally romantic framework. Dismal, dour, and deadeningly dull. | tt0093737 | [PG-13] | Molly Ringwald, Robert Downey/Jr., Dennis Hopper, Danny Aiello, Mildred Dunnock, Harvey Keitel, Brian Hamill, Vanessa Williams, Victoria Jackson, Polly Draper, Robert Towne, Lorraine Bracco, Bob Gunton | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pick-up Summer | Pinball Summer | 1981 | George Mihalka | 💣 | 92 | Boys and girls prepare for pinball and beauty contests, with motorcycle rowdies thrown in for good measure. Less rewarding than an average Archie comic book. Aka PINBALL SUMMER and PINBALL PICK-UP. | tt0082902 | [R] | Michael Zelniker, Carl Marotte, Karen Stephen, Helene Udy | Canadian | Comedy | NULL |
| Picking up the Pieces | 2000 | Alfonso Arau | ★★ | 95 | A butcher who's hacked his wife into pieces flees to a New Mexico town, where the woman's hand becomes a focal point of worship— and ballyhoo. Whimsical black comedy is an almost total misfire, but the stellar cast maintains interest. Made for theaters but U.S. debut was on cable. | tt0192455 | Woody Allen, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Cheech Marin, David Schwimmer, Kiefer Sutherland, Alfonso Arau, Sharon Stone, Andy Dick, Fran Drescher, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliott Gould, Lupe Ontiveros, Lou Diamond Phillips, Pepe Serna, Kathy Kinney, Tony Plana, Richard Sarafian, Danny de la Paz, Mia Maestro | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Pickle | 1993 | Paul Mazursky | ★½ | 103 | Misfire about an aging, self-involved film director (Aiello) who's in desperate need of a hit, and whose most recent credit is a sci-fi epic about an overgrown pickle. The Turkey would be a more apt title for this opus, scripted by Mazursky, who also has a cameo. | tt0107824 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Dyan Cannon, Clotilde Courau, Shelley Winters, Barry Miller, Jerry Stiller, Christopher Penn, Little Richard, Jodi Long, Rebecca Miller, Stephen Tobolowsky, Caroline Aaron, Ally Sheedy, Spalding Gray, Griffin Dunne, Isabella Rossellini, Dudley Moore, Donald Trump | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pickpocket | 1959 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★½ | 75 | A petty thief finds himself inexorably attracted to a life of crime and spurns a woman's love to become a professional pickpocket. One of Bresson's great films, a brilliantly shot and edited minimalist portrait of the criminal as an existentialist. Paul Schrader borrowed the moving finale for the end of AMERICAN GIGOLO. | tt0053168 | Martin Lasalle, Marika Green, Kassagi, Pierre Leymarie, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal, Pierre Étaix. | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Pickup | 1951 | Hugo Haas | ★½ | 78 | First of writer-producer-director-actor Haas' tawdry low-budget melodramas is a kind of poor man's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, with gold digger Michaels marrying aging railroad inspector thinking he's got lots of dough. Not as enjoyably bad as Hugo's later efforts. | tt0043919 | Beverly Michaels, Hugo Haas, Allan Nixon, Howland Chamberlin, Jo Carroll Dennison | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Pickup Alley | 1957 | John Gilling | ★½ | 92 | Lackluster account of federal agent's trackdown of dope-smuggling syndicate. Original British title: INTERPOL. | tt0050841 | Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pickup on 101 | Where the Eagle Flies | 1972 | John Florea | ★★ | 93 | Coed who wants to be liberated hits the road with rock musician and friendly hobo in this inoffensive melodrama. Video title: WHERE THE EAGLE FLIES. | tt0069084 | [PG] | Jack Albertson, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Sheen, Michael Ontkean, Hal Baylor, George Chandler | Drama | NULL | |
| Pickup on South Street | 1953 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★½ | 80 | Pickpocket Widmark inadvertently acquires top-secret microfilm, and becomes target for espionage agents. Tough, brutal, well-made film, with superb performance by Ritter as street peddler who also sells information. Story by Dwight Taylor; screenplay by the director. Remade as THE CAPE TOWN AFFAIR. | tt0046187 | Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Richard Kiley, Murvyn Vye, Milburn Stone | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Pickwick Papers | 1952 | Noel Langley. | ★★★ | 109 | Flavorful adaptation of Dickens' classic about observations of English society by members of the Pickwick Club. | tt0045030 | James Hayter, James Donald, Hermione Baddeley, Kathleen Harrison, Hermione Gingold, Joyce Grenfell, Alexander Gauge, Lionel Murton, Nigel Patrick, Harry Fowler, Donald Wolfit. | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Picnic | 1955 | Joshua Logan | ★★★½ | 115 | Excellent film of William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about drifter (Holden) who stops over in Kansas, stealing alluring Novak from his old buddy Robertson (making his film debut). Russell and O'Connell almost walk away with the film in second leads, and supporting roles are expertly filled; adapted by Daniel Taradash. Remade in 2000 for TV. | tt0048491 | William Holden, Rosalind Russell, Kim Novak, Betty Field, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell, Verna Felton, Susan Strasberg, Nick Adams, Phyllis Newman, Elizabeth W. Wilson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Picnic at Hanging Rock | 1975 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 110 | Moody, atmospheric film set in 1900 about three schoolgirls and their teacher who mysteriously disappear during an outing one sunny day. Eerie and richly textured by director Weir; based on a novel by Joan Lindsay. Reedited by Weir in 1998; that version is about 7m. shorter. | tt0073540 | [PG] | Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Jacki Weaver, Vivean Gray, Margaret Nelson, Anne (Louise) Lambert | Australian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Picnic on the Grass | 1959 | Jean Renoir. | ★★★ | 91 | Enchanting romantic comedy depicting the intoxicating effect of Mother Nature and the charms of a sensual peasant girl on an uptight professor who's running for political office on a platform of artificial insemination! Warm, colorful, irreverent satire; gorgeous Impressionistic visual style pays homage to Renoir's famous artist father. | tt0052765 | Paul Meurisse, Catherine Rouvel, Fernand Sardou, Jacqueline Morane, Ingrid Nordine, Jean-Pierre Granval. | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Picture Bride | 1994 | Kayo Hatta | ★★★ | 95 | A young Japanese woman trying to leave her unhappy past behind travels to Hawaii in the early 1900s as a 'picture bride,' but soon finds that her new married life is a lot different than she imagined it would be. Slow-moving but engrossing study of the pioneer spirit in Hawaii. Mifune has a nice cameo as a silent-film narrator. | tt0114129 | [PG-13] | Youki Kudoh, Akira Takayama, Tamlyn Tomita, Cary-Hiroyuki Togawa, Toshiro Mifune | Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Picture Mommy Dead | 1966 | Bert I. Gordon | ★★½ | 88 | Hokey melodrama with Hyer newly married to Ameche, battling stepdaughter Gordon, possessed by late mother's spirit. | tt0060831 | Don Ameche, Martha Hyer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Signe Hasso, Susan Gordon | Horror | NULL | |||
| Picture Perfect | 1997 | Glenn Gordon Caron | ★★★ | 100 | Cute starring vehicle for Aniston, as an up-and-comer in the advertising world who invents a fiancé to become more the kind of person her boss wants working for him. Then she has to hire a guy to act the part at a business dinner, and things get complicated. Barely credible romantic comedy is little more than an excuse to showcase Aniston's appeal— but quite watchable on that basis. | tt0119896 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Aniston, Jay Mohr, Kevin Bacon, Olympia Dukakis, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Dunn, Faith Prince, Anne Twomey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Picture Show Man | 1977 | John Power | ★★ | 99 | Meandering tale of a traveling showman in 1920s Australia who brings moving pictures to small towns throughout the country. A lovely idea (based on the memoirs of Lyle Penn) that has moments of charm and period atmosphere, but no story, and not much energy. Top-billed Taylor (an Aussie by birth) appears sporadically as Meillon's rival— from Texas! | tt0076542 | [PG] | Rod Taylor, John Meillon, John Ewart, Harold Hopkins, Patrick Cargill, Judy Morris | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Picture Snatcher | 1933 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 77 | Fast, funny, exciting little film based on true story of daring photographer who got taboo photo of woman in electric chair. Remade as ESCAPE FROM CRIME. | tt0024450 | James Cagney, Ralph Bellamy, Alice White, Patricia Ellis, Ralf Harolde | Drama | NULL | |||
| Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas | 1992 | George Hickenlooper | ★★★ | 57 | Absorbing documentary about filmmaker Bogdanovich's return to the scene of his first great success, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, to make a sequel, TEXASVILLE. Cybill Shepherd, Jeff Bridges, Timothy and Sam Bottoms, Polly Platt, Randy Quaid, and others recall how the first film affected their lives (including some surprisingly candid revelations)— and townspeople compare Larry McMurtry's locally based fiction to their perception of the truth. | tt0102664 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | 1945 | Albert Lewin | ★★★½ | 110 | Haunting Oscar Wilde story of man whose painting ages while he retains youth. Young Lansbury is poignant, singing 'The Little Yellow Bird' (and her real-life mother Moyna MacGill is the Duchess). Sanders leaves indelible impression as elegant heavy. Several color inserts throughout the film. Harry Stradling's cinematography won an Oscar. Remade in 1970 as DORIAN GRAY and for TV in 1974, with Nigel Davenport. | tt0037988 | George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury, Peter Lawford, Lowell Gilmore; narrated by Cedric Hardwicke | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Pie in the Sky | 1996 | Bryan Gordon | ★★ | 95 | Comedy about a helicopter traffic reporter who has as many problems sorting out his love life as he does with freeway gridlock. Romantic tale boasts an attractive (and impressive) cast that it almost completely wastes, although Heche is a wonderfully affecting leading lady. Perfect video fodder for your next traffic jam. | tt0114131 | [R] | Josh Charles, Anne Heche, John Goodman, Christine Lahti, Peter Riegert, Bob Balaban, Christine Ebersole, Wil Wheaton, Dey Young | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story | 2000 | Shelly Dunn Fremont, Vincent Fremont | ★★★ | 76 | Absorbing documentary about the life and times of Brigid Berlin (aka Brigid Polk), the daughter of conservative Republican American aristocracy-her father was president of the Hearst Corporation-who became an Andy Warhol superstar in the 1960s. Revealing portrait of a rebellious daughter, obsessed with food and cleanliness, who becomes her parents' worst nightmare. Archival footage and recorded telephone conversations between Brigid and her disgusted patrician mother are fascinating. Among the talking heads are John Waters, Paul Morrissey, and (most intriguingly) Patty Hearst. | tt0261174 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| A Piece of the Action | 1977 | Sidney Poitier | ★★½ | 135 | Third Poitier-Cosby teaming casts them as con men obliged to help social worker set ghetto kids on the right track. Typical comic crime material offset by serious, preachy moments. | tt0076543 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones, Denise Nicholas, Hope Clark, Tracy Reed, Titos Vandis, Ja'net DuBois | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Pieces | 1983 | Juan Piquer Simon | 💣 | 85 | Gorefest about a sickie who slices up coeds to create a life-sized jigsaw puzzle. View at your own risk. | tt0082748 | Unrated | Christopher George, Edmund Purdom, Lynda Day George, Paul Smith | Italian-Spanish | Horror | NULL | |
| Pieces of April | 2003 | Peter Hedges | ★★½ | 80 | Young woman living in a N.Y.C. apartment with her new boyfriend attempts to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for her dysfunctional family, but it's debatable as to who's more nervous about the impending get-together. Quirky and funny, as you'd expect from the writer of WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE and coscenarist of ABOUT A BOY, here making his feature directing debut, though the broader comedy doesn't always work alongside the simpler, more truthful moments. Clarkson is a standout as the flaky mother whose illness has made her even more mercurial than usual. | tt0311648 | [PG-13] | Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke, Oliver Platt, Alison Pill, John Gallagher/ Jr., Sean Hayes, SisQo, Lillias White, Isiah Whitlock | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Pied Piper | 1942 | Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 86 | Woolley, not very fond of children, finds himself leading a swarm of them on chase from the Nazis. Entertaining wartime film scripted by Nunnally Johnson from a Nevil Shute novel. Remade for TV as CROSSING TO FREEDOM (1990, with Peter O'Toole). | tt0035189 | Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Otto Preminger, Anne Baxter, Peggy Ann Garner | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Pied Piper | 1972 | Jacques Demy | ★★★½ | 90 | Chilling story of piper who rids evil hamlet of rats. While originally conceived as children's tale, director Demy succeeds in weaving grimy portrait of the Middle Ages. | tt0069086 | [G] | Donovan, Donald Pleasence, Michael Hordern, Jack Wild, Diana Dors, John Hurt | British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Pier 13 | 1940 | Eugene Forde | ★½ | 66 | Routine programmer in which cop Nolan romances Bari, suspects her sister (Valerie) of being in cahoots with waterfront thief Fowley. | tt0032908 |
|
Lynn Bari, Lloyd Nolan, Joan Valerie, Douglas Fowley, Chick Chandler | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Pierre of the Plains | 1942 | George B. Seitz. | ★★ | 66 | Carroll is a happy-go-lucky French-Canadian trapper who romances Hussey while getting into scrapes with the Northwest Mounted Police and Brooklynesque bad guys Cabot and Leonard. He also has a habit of regularly bursting into his favorite song, 'Saskatchewan.' Cheerfully simple-minded B remake of a story filmed before in 1918 and 1922. | tt0035190 | John Carroll, Ruth Hussey, Bruce Cabot, Phil Brown, Reginald Owen, Henry Travers, Evelyn Ankers, Sheldon Leonard. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pierrepoint | 2005 | Adrian Shergold | ★★★ | 95 | Potent drama based on the life of Albert Pierrepoint, the most efficient hangman in England, from the 1930s to the 1950s. He views his work as a job and remains dispassionate-up to a point. Exceptional showcase for Spall, who imbues his character with a wide range of colors. Originally shown at film festivals as THE LAST HANGMAN. | tt0462477 | [R] | Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, Cavan Clerkin, Christopher Fulford, Ian Shaw, Maggie Ollerenshaw | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Pierrot le Fou | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★ | 110 | Belmondo and Karina run away together to the South of France; he is leaving his rich wife, she is escaping her involvement with gangsters. Complex, confusing, but engrossing drama, which exudes an intriguing sense of spontaneity. Allegedly shot without a script; also shown at 90m. and 95m. | tt0059592 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina, Dirk Sanders, Raymond Devus, Samuel Fuller, Jean-Pierre Léaud | French-Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Pigeon That Took Rome | 1962 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 101 | Sometimes amusing WW2 comedy of Heston, behind enemy lines, using pigeons to send message to Allies, romancing local girl in whose home he is based. | tt0056349 | Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli, Harry Guardino, Baccaloni, Marietto, Gabriella Pallotta, Debbie Price, Brian Donlevy | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Pigeons | 1971 | John Dexter | ★½ | 87 | Smug film about 24-year-old Princeton graduate who drives a taxi in Manhattan. The character is unattractive and film looks as if it were designed for stage, not screen. Aka THE SIDELONG GLANCES OF A PIGEON KICKER. | tt0067576 | [R] | Jordan Christopher, Jill O'Hara, Robert Walden, Kate Reid, William Redfield, Lois Nettleton, Elaine Stritch, Melba Moore | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Piglet's Big Movie | 2003 | Francis Glebas | ★★½ | 75 | Winnie the Pooh and his pals set off in search of a depressed Piglet who has wandered into the woods believing he is too small to be of use to his friends. Leisurely paced animated feature based on A. A. Milne's Pooh characters is moderately entertaining for young audiences and tolerable enough for their parents. Laid-back theatrical release, produced by Disney's direct-to-video division, comes to life during song sequences written and sung by Carly Simon. | tt0323642 | [G] | Voices of John Fielder, Jim Cummings, Andre Stojka, Kath Soucie, Peter Cullen, Tom Wheatley | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Pigskin Parade | 1936 | David Butler | ★★★ | 93 | Entertaining college football musicomedy with Erwin the hayseed who becomes a gridiron hero, Kelly the coach's wife who knows more about the game than the coach (Haley). Cook appears as an anarchy-spouting campus radical! Garland plays Erwin's kid sister, in her feature debut, and she swings 'It's Love I'm After.' Alan Ladd appears as a student, and sings with The Yacht Club Boys. | tt0028103 | Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, Johnny Downs, Betty Grable, Arline Judge, Dixie Dunbar, Judy Garland, Anthony (Tony) Martin, Elisha Cook/Jr., Grady Sutton, The Yacht Club Boys | Musical | NULL | |||
| Pilgrimage | 1933 | John Ford | ★★½ | 95 | Unusual film, beautifully directed by Ford, about old woman who breaks up son's romance by sending him off to war (WW1), living to regret it, but finding solace on visit to France. Delicately sentimental, it works up to a point, then goes overboard, but still has some memorable sequences. | tt0024453 | Henrietta Crosman, Heather Angel, Norman Foster, Marian Nixon, Lucille La Verne, Hedda Hopper, Charles Grapewin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pillars of the Sky | 1956 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 95 | Chandler is aptly cast as swaggering Army officer fighting Indians, courting Malone. | tt0049619 | Jeff Chandler, Dorothy Malone, Ward Bond, Keith Andes, Lee Marvin, Sydney Chaplin | Western | NULL | |||
| The Pillow Book | 1996 | Peter Greenaway | ★★½ | 126 | Sensual, if dramatically exasperating, convolution about a young woman (Wu) who seeks revenge for wrongs perpetrated against her calligrapher father, who painted elaborate words and characters on her body during an unconventional childhood. Gorgeously shot by Sacha Vierny, film belatedly hits its stride with its heroine's romance with a doomed lover (McGregor), only to fade fatally during a grueling final half hour. Wu, though, is extraordinary, both as a character and a photographic subject. | tt0114134 | Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida, Judy Ongg, Ken Mitsuishi | British-Dutch-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pillow Talk | 1959 | Michael Gordon | ★★★½ | 102 | Rock pursues Doris, with interference from Randall and sideline witticisms from Ritter. Imaginative sex comedy has two stars sharing a party line without knowing each other's identity. Fast-moving; plush sets, gorgeous fashions. Oscar-winning story and screenplay by Stanley Shapiro, Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene, and Maurice Richlin. | tt0053172 | Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter, Nick Adams, Julia Meade, Allen Jenkins, Lee Patrick, William Schallert, Frances Sternhagen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Pillow of Death | 1945 | Wallace Fox | ★★ | 66 | The final Inner Sanctum finds lawyer Chaney mixed up with spiritualists after the murder of his wife. The must-miss movie of 1945. | tt0037989 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Brenda Joyce, J. Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan, Clara Blandick | Mystery, Horror | NULL | |||
| Pillow to Post | 1945 | Vincent Sherman | ★★ | 92 | Cornball WW2 comedy of oil supplies saleswoman Lupino having soldier Prince pose as her husband so she can get a room; good cast saddled with predictable script. A highlight: Armstrong and Dandridge's all-too-brief appearance performing 'What D'ya Say? | tt0037990 | Ida Lupino, Sydney Greenstreet, William Prince, Stuart Erwin, Ruth Donnelly, Barbara Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pilot #5 | 1943 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 70 | GI pilot Tone volunteers to take on a suicide mission. As he flies to his death, his buddies recall his troubled past (including his involvement with a Huey Long-like governor). Good cast uplifts so-so curio; it's intriguing to see Kelly in a supporting part, as a morally bankrupt hothead. Watch for Peter Lawford at the opening, and see if you can spot Ava Gardner. | tt0036265 | Franchot Tone, Marsha Hunt, Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Alan Baxter, Dick Simmons | War | NULL | |||
| The Pilot | Danger in the Skies | 1979 | Cliff Robertson | ★★ | 99 | Airline pilot who flies at the end of a bottle discovers that his world is collapsing. Predictable drama given a boost by Walter Lassally's spectacular aerial photography and John Addison's soaring (and seemingly misplaced) score. Video title: DANGER IN THE SKIES. | tt0079719 | [PG] | Cliff Robertson, Diane Baker, Frank Converse, Dana Andrews, Milo O'Shea, Ed Binns, Gordon MacRae | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Pimpernel Smith | Mister V | 1941 | Leslie Howard | ★★★ | 122 | Zesty updating of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL to WW2, with Howard replaying the role of the savior of Nazi-hounded individuals. Retitled: MISTER V. | tt0034027 | Leslie Howard, Mary Morris, Francis L. Sullivan, Hugh McDermott | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Pin Up Girl | 1944 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 83 | One of Grable's weaker vehicles, despite support from Raye and Brown; songs are nil, so is plot. | tt0037175 | Betty Grable, Martha Raye, John Harvey, Joe E. Brown, Eugene Pallette, Mantan Moreland, Charlie Spivak Orchestra | Musical | NULL | |||
| Pina | 2011 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 103 | Striking, extremely pleasurable documentary-homage that celebrates the talent of Pina Bausch, the iconic German choreographer of modern dance. Includes sections from several Bausch pieces plus dancers performing solo and in pairs (and often outdoors). Originally a collaboration between Wenders and Bausch, the project (which had long been in the planning stages) was put on hold after the choreographer died unexpectedly in 2009; Wenders teamed instead with Bausch's dance company. Only quibble: those who wish to learn more about Bausch and her life beyond reverential declarations will have to look elsewhere. Use of 3-D adds immeasurably to the viewing experience. | tt1440266 | [PG] | German-French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Pineapple Express | 2008 | David Gordon Green | ★★½ | 112 | Good-natured slacker (Rogen) witnesses a murder committed by a local druglord (Cole) and clumsily leaves a joint at the scene that can be traced back to its dealer (Franco). This impels Rogen and Franco to take it on the lam, pursued by two violent goons. Audacious comedy not only revives the pothead movie but goes on to spoof violent action films—in surprisingly vivid ways. Uneven but often ridiculously funny, with Franco scoring a bull’s-eye as the ultimate stoner. Written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, from a story they cowrote with producer Judd Apatow. | tt0910936 | [R] | Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny McBride, Kevin Corrigan, Craig Robinson, Amber Heard, Ed Begley, Jr., Nora Dunn, James Remar | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pink Cadillac | 1989 | Buddy Van Horn | ★★ | 122 | Harmless but off-the-cuff throwaway comedy about a bail-bond bounty hunter who helps the wife of his latest target rescue her kidnapped baby from the neo-Nazi associates of her weakling husband. No Edsel, but at two hours, seriously in need of a tuneup. Eastwood's uncharacteristically broad performance does more for the film than the film does for him. | tt0098097 | [PG-13] | Clint Eastwood, Bernadette Peters, Timothy Carhart, Tiffany Gail Robinson, Angela Louise Robinson, John Dennis Johnston, Geoffrey Lewis, William Hickey, James (Jim) Carrey | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Pink Floyd- The Wall | The Wall | 1982 | Alan Parker | ★★½ | 99 | Visualization of Pink Floyd's somber best-selling album, about a rock star's mental breakdown, is perhaps the longest rock video to date, and certainly the most depressing. Many of the images are hypnotic, but self-indulgence, and a relentlessly downbeat theme, erode one's interest after a while. Striking animated sequences by Gerald Scarfe, who also designed the film. | tt0084503 | [R] | Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David, Bob Hoskins | British | Drama | NULL |
| The Pink Jungle | 1968 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 104 | Offbeat blend of comedy and adventure with photographer Garner and model Renzi involved in diamond smuggling in South America. Film shifts gears too often, but provides lighthearted entertainment. | tt0063429 | James Garner, Eva Renzi, George Kennedy, Nigel Green, Michael Ansara, George Rose | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pink Motel | 1983 | Mike MacFarland | 💣 | 88 | Diller and Pickens run a hot-sheets motel in this R-rated movie version of TV's Love— American Style. Corny dialogue, listless direction. | tt0086107 | [R] | Phyllis Diller, Slim Pickens, Terri Berland, Brad Cowgill, Cathryn Hartt, Andrea Howard, Tony Longo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pink Nights | 1985 | Philip Koch | ★★ | 84 | Inconsequential teen comedy about Anderson, who does not seem to have much luck with the opposite sex, and how he comes to live with a trio of girls. | tt0089810 | [PG] | Shaun Allen, Kevin Anderson, Peri Kaczmarek, Larry King, Jonathan Jancovic Michaels, Jessica Vitkus | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Pink Panther 2 | 2009 | Harald Zwart | ★½ | 92 | Second outing in Martin's updating of Blake Edwards' Inspector Clouseau character is burdened by so much cement whimsy that you'd almost guess its comic stylings were directed by Ethan Edwards from THE SEARCHERS. Fatigued farce deals with high-stakes serial thievery that begins with someone stealing the Magna Carta and eventually involves the Pope. Mortimer offers a sweet, light touch as Clouseau’s unconfident not-quite-girlfriend, but most of the fine supporting cast is wasted. Cleese replaces Kevin Kline as Clouseau's beleaguered superior, Dreyfus. Martin coscripted. | tt0838232 | [PG] | Steve Martin, John Cleese, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Lily Tomlin, Jeremy Irons, Johnny Hallyday | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Pink Panther Strikes Again | 1976 | Blake Edwards. | ★★★½ | 103 | Fifth PINK PANTHER is one of the funniest. Sellers' former boss (Lom) goes crazy, threatens to destroy the world with a ray-gun he has commandeered. Sellers' hilarious Inspector Clouseau is backed up by better-than-usual gags— with the usual number of pain-and-destruction jokes thrown in for good measure. Sequel: REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER. | tt0075066 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Colin Blakely, Leonard Rossiter, Lesley-Anne Down, Burt Kwouk, Andre Maranne. | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Pink Panther | 1964 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 113 | Delightful caper comedy introduced bumbling Inspector Clouseau to the world (as well as the cartoon character featured in the opening titles), so obsessed with catching notorious jewel thief 'The Phantom' that he isn't even aware his quarry is also his wife's lover! Loaded with great slapstick and especially clever chase sequence; beautiful European locations, memorable score by Henry Mancini. Followed by A SHOT IN THE DARK. | tt0058472 | Peter Sellers, David Niven, Capucine, Robert Wagner, Claudia Cardinale, Brenda DeBanzie, John LeMesurier, Fran Jeffries | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Pink Panther | 2006 | Shawn Levy | ★★ | 93 | As maladroit, oblivious French flic Inspector Clouseau, Steve Martin won't make anyone forget Peter Sellers. Plot doesn't amount to much: the Pink Panther diamond is lifted off the body of a soccer star in front of thousands of spectators. Still, at moments, the movie and Martin deliver the goods (the star also cowrote the script). What's lacking is the wacky grace and clever timing of Blake Edwards. There are a few surprise cameos, however. | tt0383216 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Henry Czerny, Roger Rees, Kristin Chenoweth | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Pinky | 1949 | Elia Kazan | ★★★ | 102 | Pioneer racial drama of black girl passing for white, returning to Southern home; still has impact, with fine support from Mmes. Waters and Barrymore. | tt0041746 | Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, Nina Mae McKinney, William Lundigan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pinocchio | 1940 | Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske | ★★★★ | 88 | Walt Disney's brilliant, timeless animated cartoon feature, based on the Collodi story about an inquisitive, tale-spinning wooden puppet who wants more than anything else to become a real boy. Technically dazzling, emotionally rich, with unforgettable characters and some of the scariest scenes ever put on film (Lampwick's transformation into a jackass, the chase with Monstro the whale). A joy, no matter how many times you see it. Songs include Oscar-winning 'When You Wish Upon a Star.' | tt0032910 | Voices of Dickie Jones, Christian Rub, Cliff Edwards, Evelyn Venable, Walter Catlett, Frankie Darro | Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| Pinocchio | 2002 | Roberto Benigni | ★½ | 108 | A carved wooden puppet comes to life as a mischievous boy who can't resist temptation of any kind. Benigni's interpretation of the beloved 1885 story by Carlo Collodi emerges as a test of one's tolerance for the bombastic comic actor. This was a big hit in Italy . . . but then, so was Mussolini. U.S. version was cut to 100m. and dubbed with Breckin Meyer (as Benigni) and a host of stars (Glenn Close, Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, Cheech Marin, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Regis Philbin, James Belushi, Topher Grace, David Suchet). Italian title: THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO. | tt0255477 | [G] | Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Mino Bellei, Carlo Giuffre, Peppe Barra, Franco Javarone, Max Cavallari, Bruno Arena | Italian | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night | 1987 | Hal Sutherland | ★★ | 87 | Uninspired continuation of the Pinocchio story: now a real boy, Pinocchio is guided by 'Gee Whillikers,' a wooden bug come to life, and they enjoy many adventures which parallel the Disney classic. Fully animated by Filmation Studios, but an embarrassment next to the 1940 gem. | tt0093743 | [G] | Voices of Edward Asner, Tom Bosley, Lana Beeson, Linda Gary, Jonathan Harris, James Earl Jones, Ricky Lee Jones, Don Knotts, William Windom | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pinocchio in Outer Space | 1964 | Ray Goosens | ★★ | 90 | Watchable cartoon adventure for kids, with unmemorable songs. | tt0186449 | Voices of Arnold Stang, Jess Cain | U.S.-French | Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Pipe Dreams | 1976 | Stephen Verona | ★★½ | 89 | Singing star Knight makes acting debut in highly dramatic story set against Alaskan pipeline. Excellent location shooting. Soundtrack filled with songs by Knight and her group, the Pips. | tt0075068 | [PG] | Gladys Knight, Barry Hankerson, Bruce French, Sherry Bain, Wayne Tippit, Altovise Davis, Sally Kirkland | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pippi Longstocking | 1997 | Clive A. Smith | ★★½ | 77 | Faithful animated version of Astrid Lindgren's story about the world's strongest girl, Miss Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraimsdottir Longstocking, age 9, as she encounters school, friends, the circus, and burglars, all for the first time. Nelvana studio's bright artwork and the script's cheerful characterizations will please fans, but the songs are dreary. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0119899 | [G] | Voices of Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas, Wayne Robson, Gordon Pinsent, Melissa Altro | Swedish-Canadian | Animation, Family | NULL | |
| Piranha | 1978 | Joe Dante | ★★★ | 92 | Fast-paced, funny spoof of JAWS and countless 1950s sci-fi films; in-jokes and campy supporting cast will make it particular fun for film buffs. Written by John Sayles (who also plays a small role). Followed by a sequel. Remade for TV in 1996. | tt0078087 | [R] | Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Dick Miller, Barbara Steele, Belinda Balaski, Bruce Gordon, Paul Bartel | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Piranha | 2010 | Alexandre Aja | ★★ | 88 | An earthquake opens a fissure beneath an Arizona resort lake, freeing thousands of extra-large, famished prehistoric piranhas. It’s spring break, with hundreds of often-naked college students engaged in sex, fun, and games . . . so, dinner is served. Not really a remake of PIRANHA (1978), this is 20,000 leagues more violent and gory, with people losing flesh and body parts to the hungry fishies. Tongue-in-cheek tone makes it a bit easier to watch for those who aren’t gore fans, though it’s not as clever as the original. Dreyfuss appears briefly as an ichthyologist named Matt (wink wink, nudge nudge). Advertised as PIRANHA | tt0464154 | [R] | Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Jerry O’Connell, Adam Scott, Ricardo Chavira, Steven R. McQueen, Cody Longo, Kelly Brook, Jessica Szohr, Dina Meyer, Eli Roth, Richard Dreyfuss | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Piranha 3DD | 2012 | John Gulager | ★½ | 83 | By confusing means, big prehistoric piranhas show up at another Arizona lake resort on opening day. The result: more t&a, more prop piranhas, lots of blood but less torn flesh. Sloppy script benefits from amiable, goofy approach, but attractive young people are eaten by monstrous fish over and over, and it's even cheaper than the first film (of this duo). Characters are just placeholders. Ving Rhames appears unbilled as his character from the first film, though he seemed to have been killed in that one. Very 3D. | tt1714203 | [R] | Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, David Keochner, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Chris Zylka, Paul Scheer, Meagan Tandy, Katrina Bowden, Christopher Lloyd, Gary Busey, Clu Gulager, David Hasselhoff | Comedy, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Piranha Part Two: The Spawning | 1981 | James Cameron | ★½ | 95 | A sequel in name only, this silly horror film is set at a Club Med-type resort where human mating rituals are interrupted by the spawning ritual of mutated flying fish crossed with grunions, which are oversize, deadly killers. You'd have to be psychic to have spotted any talent from director Cameron in this debut picture. | tt0082910 | [R] | Tricia O'Neil, Steve Marachuk, Lance Henriksen, Ricky G. Paul, Ted Richert, Leslie Graves | Italian-U.S. | Romance, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Pirate Movie | 1982 | Ken Annakin | 💣 | 99 | Appalling 'update' of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance not only trashes the original but fails on its own paltry terms— as a teenybopper comedy with bubblegum music. Parodies (and steals from) so many other films it should have been called THE RIP-OFF MOVIE. | tt0084504 | [PG] | Kristy McNichol, Christopher Atkins, Ted Hamilton, Bill Kerr, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Garry McDonald | Australian | Adventure, Musical, Comedy | NULL | |
| Pirate Radio | 2009 | Richard Curtis | ★★ | 111 | Rock ’n’ roll is in full bloom in the U.K. during the 1960s but the BBC barely plays it, so pirate radio stations flourish, like the (fictional) Radio Rock, which broadcasts from an old fishing trawler at sea. It’s staffed by a colorful bunch of oddballs including a super-cool dude known as The Count (Hoffman, in a likable comedic performance). Unfortunately, once the film sets its premise it goes nowhere. Good cast and a soundtrack full of oldies can only help so much. Written by the director. Original British title: THE BOAT THAT ROCKED, running 129m. | tt1131729 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost, Tom Sturridge, Talulah Riley, Rhys Darby, Chris O’Dowd, Gemma Arterton, Jack Davenport, January Jones, Emma Thompson | British-French-U.S.-German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Pirate and the Slave Girl | 1961 | Piero Pierotti | ★★ | 87 | Formula costumer with Barker the hero who sees the light of the true cause, helping benevolent pirates vs. wicked governor. | tt0053253 |
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Lex Barker, Massimo Serato, Chelo Alonso, Michele Malaspina, Enzo Maggio | Italian | Adventure, Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Pirate | 1948 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 102 | Judy thinks circus clown Kelly is really Caribbean pirate; lavish costuming, dancing and Cole Porter songs (including 'Be a Clown') bolster stagy plot. Kelly's dances are exhilarating, as usual. Based on S. N. Behrman play. | tt0040694 | Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Walter Slezak, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, George Zucco, The Nicholas Brothers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Pirates | 1986 | Roman Polanski | ★★½ | 124 | Rich-looking, robust pirate comedy, filmed on a grand scale (in widescreen), with plenty of broad comedy, a delightful performance by Matthau, a rousing score by Philippe Sarde . . . and a certain lack of story. It's still fun. | tt0091757 | [PG-13] | Walter Matthau, Damien Thomas, Richard Pearson, Cris Campion, Charlotte Lewis, Olu Jacobs, Roy Kinnear, Ferdy Mayne, Tony Peck | French-Tunisian | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Pirates Who Don�t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie | 2008 | Mike Nawrocki | ★★½ | 85 | Elliot (aka Larry the Cucumber), Sedgewick (aka Mr. Lunt), and George (aka Pa Grape) are employees of a dinner theater who dream of putting on a show about pirates, then find themselves magically transported to the 17th century, becoming pirates on a mission to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant. Well-made but lackluster animated feature may entertain small children with slapstick action and corny puns. Christian messages and themes are more muted than in other VeggieTales stories. | tt0475998 | [G] | Voices of Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Cam Clarke, Yuri Lowenthal, Alan Lee, Cydney Trent | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Pirates of Blood River | 1962 | John Gilling | ★★ | 87 | Earnest but hackneyed account of Huguenots fighting off buccaneers. | tt0056350 | Kerwin Mathews, Glenn Corbett, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, Oliver Reed, Andrew Keir, Peter Arne | British | Drama, Action, Romance, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Pirates of Capri | 1949 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 94 | Below-average adventure film has Neapolitan natives revolting against tyrant. Lots of action but not much else. Filmed in Italy. Retitled: CAPTAIN SIROCCO. | tt0041749 | Louis Hayward, Binnie Barnes, Alan Curtis, Rudolph (Massimo) Serato | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Pirates of Monterey | 1947 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 77 | Dull film of exciting period in history, the fight against Mexican control of California in the 1800s. | tt0039709 | Maria Montez, Rod Cameron, Mikhail Rasumny, Philip Reed, Gilbert Roland, Gale Sondergaard | Western | NULL | |||
| The Pirates of Penzance | 1983 | Wilford Leach | ★★★ | 112 | Joseph Papp's hit stage revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan perennial is transferred to film with the original cast (plus Lansbury) and director— who decided to make no bones about its theatricality! Not for G&S purists, perhaps, but fun. Splendid production design by Elliot Scott. | tt0086112 | [G] | Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose, Rex Smith, Tony Azito | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pirates of Tortuga | 1961 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 97 | Lumbering costumer involving buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan and a Caribbean pirate stronghold. | tt0055302 |
|
Ken Scott, John Richardson, Letitia Roman, Dave King, RaferJohnson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Pirates of Tripoli | 1955 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 72 | Veteran cast in tired costumer, with colorful scenery the only virtue. | tt0048493 | Paul Henreid, Patricia Medina, Paul Newland, John Miljan, William Fawcett | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: At World�s End | 2007 | Gore Verbinski | ★½ | 169 | Seven leagues of boredom. Will (Bloom), Elizabeth (Knightley), and a resurrected Captain Barbossa (Rush) unite to rescue Jack (Depp) from Davy Jones’ locker and embark on an epic battle against Jones and the evil East India Trading Company. Convoluted and interminable sequel is just another soulless “product,” offering precious little joie de vivre or entertainment, despite the almost nonstop action. Even a cameo by the Rolling Stones’ Richards as Depp’s even more grungy father can’t liven things up. | tt0449088 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg, Mackenzie Crook, Stellan Skarsgård, Chow Yun-Fat, Keith Richards | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 2006 | Gore Verbinski | ★★ | 151 | Will Turner (Bloom) is sent to find Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp) and retrieve a valuable compass he uses, for reasons much too complicated to explain here. Davy Jones (Nighy) is also on the prowl for Sparrow with the crew of his ghostly ship and its pirates-in-purgatory. Lumbering sequel has no real tale to tell, and drains the charm out of its three lead characters, who were so much fun to watch in the first movie. Some good action/stunt set pieces can't compensate for this cheerless, seemingly endless voyage. | tt0383574 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Mackenzie Crook, Lee Arenberg, Kevin R. McNally, Jonathan Pryce, Naomie Harris | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | 2011 | Rob Marshall | ★★ | 137 | Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp, broader than ever) finds himself on a ship with Blackbeard (McShane) and his daughter (Cruz), with whom he has a checkered history, sailing in search of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth. Meanwhile, Capt. Barbosa (Rush) is piloting his own vessel on the exact same course. Among the perils they face: a host of alluring but vicious mermaids. More of the same, with a convoluted, often incomprehensible story designed to string a series of large-scale action set pieces together. Not so much a movie as a consumer product. | tt1298650 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Sam Claflin, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Stephen Graham, Keith Richards, Richard Griffiths, Roger Allam, Judi Dench | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 2003 | Gore Verbinski | ★★½ | 143 | Besotted pirate Jack Sparrow attempts to regain control of his ship, the Black Pearl, in spite of a ghostly curse that's been placed on its crew. Stylishly designed and shot, with rollicking performances, this depends more on special effects than the fabled stunt work of classic pirate films (although there's a nice homage to THE CRIMSON PIRATE). Fans of the original Disneyland attraction will also enjoy the references that dot the film . . . but there's no reason for it to be quite so long or plot-heavy. | tt0325980 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Kevin R. McNally, Zoe Saldana | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pirates on Horseback | 1941 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 69 | Grizzled miner is murdered for his strike and relative Clyde journeys to claim inheritance, but no one, including shrewd, obsequious heel Ankrum, can locate prospector's lost lode. Suspenseful film also makes time for comedy interludes. A wonderful showcase for the majestic Sierras and the Hoppy Cabin, where Boyd and his wife bunked while on location in Lone Pine. | tt0034030 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Eleanor Stewart, Morris Ankrum, William Haade, Dennis Moore, Britt Wood. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Pirates! Band of Misfits | The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists | 2012 | Peter Lord | ★★★ | 88 | Cheerful nonsense in clay-animation form about a ridiculously inept leader called The Pirate Captain (Grant) and his oddball crew. Their misadventures begin with a showdown for the title of Pirate of the Year and go on to include colorful encounters with Charles Darwin and Queen Victoria herself. Less about story than attitude, with the distinctly British sense of humor and character design that mark the work of Aardman Animations, who brought us Wallace and Gromit. Based on a book by Gideon Defoe, who also scripted. British title: THE PIRATES! IN AN ADVENTURE WITH SCIENTISTS. | tt1430626 | [PG] | Voices of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Lenny Henry, Brian Blessed, Russell Tovey, Anton Yelchin, Brendan Gleeson, Ashley Jensen | U.S.-British | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL |
| Pistol Packin' Mama | 1943 | Frank Woodruff. | ★★½ | 64 | After being cheated out of all her money by gambler Livingston, Terry moves to N.Y.C. and gets a job singing in his nightclub. Then she takes it over— at gunpoint! Terry is appealing in this grade-B fluff, which features the (Nat) King Cole Trio. | tt0036266 | Ruth Terry, Robert Livingston, Wally Vernon, Jack La Rue, Kirk Alyn, Eddie Parker, Helen Talbot. | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Pistol for Ringo | 1966 | Duccio Tessari | ★★½ | 97 | Wood is the gun-shooting hero in Texas where he combats maurauding Mexicans hiding out at a ranch. | tt0059601 |
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Montgomery Wood, Fernando Sancho, Hally Hammond, Nieves Navarro | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Pit Stop | 1969 | Jack Hill | ★★½ | 92 | Surprisingly entertaining micro-budget drive-in fare about rivalry on the stock-car racing circuit, with some genuinely hair-raising footage during figure-eight races. | tt0064819 | Brian Donlevy, Richard Davalos, Ellen McRae (Burstyn), Sid Haig, Beverly Washburn, George Washburn | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Pit and the Pendulum | 1961 | Roger Corman | ★★★½ | 80 | Slick horror tale set right after Spanish Inquisition. Price thinks he is his late father, the most vicious torturer during bloody inquisition. Beautifully staged; watch out for that incredible pendulum . . . and bear with slow first half. The second of Corman's Poe adaptations, scripted by Richard Matheson. | tt0055304 | Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Pit and the Pendulum | 1991 | Stuart Gordon | ★★★ | 97 | In 1492, Torquemada (Henriksen), Spain's Grand Inquisitor, is haunted by his lust for a baker's wife accused of witchcraft. Strong, well-researched script (by Dennis Paoli) owes little to Poe, but is vividly realized by Gordon; graphic scenes of torture are appropriate here, and Henriksen's intense performance is mesmerizing. The best Full Moon release to date. Shot in Spain. Available in both R and unrated versions. | tt0100369 | [R] | Lance Henriksen, Rona De Ricci, Jonathan Fuller, Frances Bay, Mark Margolis, Jeffrey Combs, Oliver Reed | Horror | NULL | ||
| Pitch Black | 2000 | David N. Twohy | ★★ | 107 | Ambitious but formulaic sci-fi/horror film set in the future, with a motley planeload of passengers crash-landing on a remote planet. Not only do they have to contend with a violent, amoral ex-con (the imposing Diesel) in their midst, but an unknown terror that's magnified by the threat of total darkness. Some exciting scenes and effects, but weighed down by a feeling of déjà vu. Also available in unrated director's cut. Followed by THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. | tt0134847 | [R] | Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black, Rhiana Griffith | U.S.-Australian | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Pitfall | 1948 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 84 | Married man's brief extramarital fling may cost him his job and marriage. Intriguing film noir look at the American dream gone sour, typefied by Powell's character, who's got a house, a little boy, and a perfect wife— but feels bored and stifled. | tt0040695 | Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel, Byron Barr | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Pittsburgh | 1942 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 90 | Big John loves the coal and steel business more than he does Marlene, which leaves field open for rival Scott. Slow-moving. | tt0035195 | Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Frank Craven, Louise Allbritton, Thomas Gomez, Shemp Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pixote | 1981 | Hector Babenco | ★★★★ | 127 | Chilling drama about an abandoned 10-year-old street criminal who pimps, sniffs glue, and murders three people before the finale. Haunting performance by the baby-faced da Silva; Pera equally superb as a prostitute. Extraordinarily graphic film is not for the squeamish. | tt0082912 | Fernando Ramos da Silva, Marilia Pêra, Jorge Juliano, Gilberto Moura, Jose Nilson dos Santos, Edilson Lino | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Pizza Triangle | A Drama of Jealousy | 1970 | Ettore Scola | ★★½ | 99 | Scene-stealing stars compete in this flamboyant black comedy of two guys both in love with flower seller Vitti. Colorful photography by Carlo Di Palma. Aka A DRAMA OF JEALOUSY. | tt0065662 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Monica Vitti, Giancarlo Giannini | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Pièges | 1939 | Robert Siodmak. | ★★½ | 115 | Someone is bumping off Parisian women who answer personal column ads; a victim's roommate poses as a decoy but falls in love with a nightclub entertainer who becomes the prime suspect. Change of pace for Chevalier is a fairly absorbing and stylish mystery that dissipates its suspense with time-outs for musical numbers. Siodmak's last European film before he came to Hollywood. Remade in the U.S. as LURED. | tt0031800 | Maurice Chevalier, Marie Déa, Pierre Renoir, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Témerson, André Brunot, Jacques Varennes. | French | Musical, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Piñero | 2001 | Leon Ichaso | ★★½ | 103 | Kinetic, nonlinear biography of 'Nuyorican' writer-poet Miguel Piñero, who used his prison experience to powerful effect in the award-winning play Short Eyes in the 1970s, but couldn't shake his drug habit or chronic irresponsibility. Bratt is magnetic and persuasive, but we still don't understand what made Piñero so self-destructive. Film's coproducer, Fisher Stevens, appears briefly. | tt0261066 | [R] | Benjamin Bratt, Giancarlo Esposito, Talisa Soto, Nelson Vasquez, Michael Irby, Michael Wright, Rita Moreno, Jaime Sanchez, Mandy Patinkin, Oscar Colon, Miriam Cruz, Robert Klein, Griffin Dunne | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Place Called Glory | 1966 | Sheldon Reynolds | ★★ | 92 | German-made Western about a lawless town's annual celebration, which includes a duel between two duped gunslingers. Bizarre, yet interesting, but hurt by poor dubbing. | tt0059296 | Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, Marianne Koch, Jorge Rigaud | German | Western | NULL | ||
| Place Vendôme | 1998 | Nicole Garcia | ★★★ | 117 | When the director of a jewelry store dies, his alcoholic wife (Deneuve) becomes involved with stolen diamonds and links to past betrayal and love. Quiet, very deliberately paced story works both as low-key thriller and character study, anchored by Deneuve's excellent lead performance. | tt0119901 | Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jacques Dutronc, Bernard Fresson, François Berléand | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| A Place for Lovers | 1968 | Vittorio De Sica | 💣 | 90 | One well-known critic called this 'the most godawful piece of pseudo romantic slop I've ever seen!' Love story about American fashion designer and Italian engineer marks career low points for all concerned. | tt0062656 | [R] | Faye Dunaway, Marcello Mastroianni, Caroline Mortimer, Karin Engh | Italian-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| A Place in the Sun | 1951 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 122 | Ambitious remake of Theodore Dreiser's AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY derives most of its power from Clift's brilliant performance, almost matched by Winters as plain girl who loses him to alluring Taylor. Depiction of the idle rich, and American morals, seems outdated, and Burr's scenes as fiery D.A. are downright absurd. Everyone gets A for effort; six Oscars included Best Direction, Screenplay (Michael Wilson, Harry Brown), Score (Franz Waxman), Cinematography (William C. Mellor), Film Editing, and Costume Design. | tt0043924 | Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Keefe Brasselle, Raymond Burr, Anne Revere | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Place of One's Own | 1945 | Bernard Knowles | ★★½ | 92 | Well-made film about couple who buy 'haunted' house, and young woman who becomes possessed by spirit of former owner. Well acted but low-key. Mason plays unusual role of older, retired man. | tt0037179 | James Mason, Margaret Lockwood, Barbara Mullen, Dennis Price, Helen Haye, Ernest Thesiger | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Places in the Heart | 1984 | Robert Benton | ★★★ | 102 | Writer-director Benton's affectionate look at life in his hometown, Waxahachie, Texas, during the Depression 1930s. A bit too calculated and predictable, but Field is so good (as a young widow determined to survive as a cotton farmer), and film is so well made (beautifully shot by Nestor Almendros), it's hard not to like. Field won Best Actress Oscar for her performance as did Benton for his original screenplay. | tt0087921 | [PG] | Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Terry O'Quinn, Bert Remsen, Ray Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Plague | 1978 | Ed Hunt | 💣 | 88 | Deadly bacterium is on the loose. Phony and stultifyingly boring. Orginally titled M3: THE GEMINI STRAIN. | tt0078088 | [PG] | Daniel Pilon, Kate Reid, Celine Lomez, Michael J. Reynolds, Brenda Donohue, Barbara Gordon | Canadian | Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Plague Dogs | 1982 | Martin Rosen | ★★★ | 86 | Unusual animated adventure, adapted from Richard Adams's novel about a pair of dogs who escape from animal experimentation lab and are hunted down like criminals. A bit slow-moving but beautifully animated and most worthwhile; a poignant plea for animal rights. For adults and older children only. A follow-up to WATERSHIP DOWN from same producer-director. | tt0084509 | Voices of John Hurt, James Bolam, Christopher Benjamin, Judy Geeson, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Nigel Hawthorne, Patrick Stewart | Drama, Animation, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Plague of the Zombies | 1966 | John Gilling | ★★½ | 90 | Beautiful low-key photography and direction in fairly tense story of voodoo cult in Cornish village. Minor but effective Hammer horror. | tt0060841 | Andre Morell, Diane Clare, Brook Williams, Jacqueline Pearce, John Carson | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Plague | 1991 | Luis Puenzo | ★½ | 105 | Obvious, muddled adaptation (by director Puenzo) of the Albert Camus novel, focusing on a dedicated doctor (Hurt), a French TV reporter (Bonnaire) and cameraman (Barr), and various other characters whose lives become intertwined during a deadly plague in a South American city. A major disappointment. Never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0105127 | [R] | William Hurt, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jean-Marc Barr, Robert Duvall, Raul Julia, Victoria Tennant | French-British-Argentinian | Drama | NULL | |
| Plainsman and the Lady | 1946 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 87 | Uninspiring saga of pony express pioneer battling slimy villains and winning lovely Ralston. | tt0038846 | William Elliott, Vera Ralston, Gail Patrick, Joseph Schildkraut, Andy Clyde | Western | NULL | |||
| The Plainsman | 1936 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 113 | Typical DeMille hokum, a big, outlandish Western which somehow manages to involve Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, George Custer and Abraham Lincoln in adventure of evil Bickford selling guns to the Indians. About as authentic as BLAZING SADDLES, but who cares— it's still good fun. Look for Anthony Quinn as a Cheyenne warrior. Remade in 1966. | tt0028108 | Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Porter Hall, Victor Varconi, Helen Burgess, John Miljan, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Paul Harvey, Frank McGlynn/Sr | War, Western | NULL | |||
| The Plainsman | 1966 | David Lowell Rich | ★½ | 92 | Static remake of the Cooper-Arthur vehicle is dull even on its own. | tt0060842 | Don Murray, Guy Stockwell, Abby Dalton, Bradford Dillman, Leslie Nielsen | Western | NULL | |||
| Plainsong | 1982 | Ed Stabile | ★★★½ | 78 | Extremely moving, starkly realistic yet poetic drama of life and death in pioneer Nebraska, focusing on experiences of three young women settlers. Wonderfully directed; filmed, incredibly, in New Jersey. | tt0084511 |
|
Jessica Nelson, Teresanne Joseph, Lyn Traverse, Steve Geiger, Sandon McCall, Howard Harris | Western | NULL | ||
| Plan 9 From Outer Space | Grave Robbers From Outer Space | 1959 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | 💣 | 79 | Hailed as the worst movie ever made; certainly one of the funniest. Pompous aliens believe they can conquer Earth by resurrecting corpses from a San Fernando Valley cemetery. Lugosi died after two days' shooting in 1956; his remaining scenes were played by a taller, younger man holding a cape over his face! So mesmerizingly awful it actually improves (so to speak) with each viewing. And remember: it's all based on sworn testimony! Followed by REVENGE OF THE DEAD. | tt0052077 | Gregory Walcott, Tom Keene, Duke Moore, Mona McKinnon, Dudley Manlove, Joanna Lee, Tor Johnson, Lyle Talbot, Bela Lugosi, Vampira, Criswell | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Plan B | 1997 | Gary Leva | ★★½ | 102 | Amiable low-budget film about a group of friends, their romantic snafus, and the roadblocks they encounter in reaching their goals— to become a published novelist, to find the perfect guy, to get that big break as an actor, to conceive a child. Likable performances, reasonably credible situations and dialogue, but there are at least three endings. | tt0119902 | [R] | Jon Cryer, Lisa Darr, Lance Guest, Mark Matheisen, Sara Mornell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Planes, Trains & Automobiles | 1987 | John Hughes | ★★½ | 93 | Bittersweet farce about a businessman trying to get home for Thanksgiving who encounters disaster at every turn and has to share most of it with a lout who becomes his steadfast companion. Martin mostly plays straight to the overbearing Candy, but writer-director Hughes refuses to make either one a caricature— which keeps this amiable film teetering between slapstick shenanigans and compassionate comedy. Hurt by an awful music score. | tt0093748 | [R] | Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon, Dylan Baker, William Windom, Edie McClurg, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Planet 51 | 2009 | Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad | ★½ | 91 | ET in reverse: animated comedy about an Earth astronaut who explores an alien planet populated by green-skinned natives who live and act, in every way, like stereotypical American suburbanites of the 1950s. One-joke idea, stretched to feature length, isn't compelling enough for adults or funny enough for older kids, though abundant slapstick action may entertain the small ones. Dialogue is clichéd and repeated references to other science-fiction movies gets tiring. Explore elsewhere. | tt0762125 | [PG] | Voices of Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, John Cleese, Freddie Benedict, Alan Marriott | U.S.-British-Spanish | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Planet Earth | 1974 | Marc Daniels | Average TV Movie | 78 | Sci-fi fun as future race of humans finds itself in combat with a sadistic matriarchy. Reworking of Gene Roddenberry's GENESIS II, though not as elaborate. | tt0072000 | John Saxon, Janet Margolin, Ted Cassidy, Diana Muldaur, Johana DeWinter, Christopher Gary | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Planet of Blood | Queen of Blood | 1966 | Curtis Harrington | ★★½ | 81 | Eerie space opera (utilizing effects footage cribbed from a big-budget Russian film) about a space vampire brought to Earth. Best thing is the bizarre climax, if you can wait that long. Originally titled QUEEN OF BLOOD. | tt0060877 | John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Judi Meredith, Dennis Hopper, Florence Marly | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Planet of the Apes | 1968 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★½ | 112 | Intriguing, near-classic sci-fi. Heston leads a group of surviving astronauts in shocking future world where apes are masters, humans slaves. Only liabilities: somewhat familiar plot, self-conscious humor; otherwise, a must-see. Michael Wilson and Rod Serling scripted from Pierre Boulle's novel, spawning four sequels and two TV series. Won a special Oscar for makeup created by John Chambers. Remade in 2001. | tt0063442 | [G] | Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Planet of the Apes | 2001 | Tim Burton | ★★½ | 120 | Entertaining if forgettable rethink of the 1968 film, as an astronaut crash-lands on a strange planet ruled by apes, where humans are slaves and regarded as scum. One ape, the daughter of a prominent senator, thinks otherwise, and even agrees to help Wahlberg escape. A good yarn with great production design and impressive makeup by Rick Baker. Finale, with Rod Serling overtones, is the major letdown. Charlton Heston is arresting in his unbilled appearance, and Linda Harrison (also from the original cast) appears briefly. | tt0133152 | [PG-13] | Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, Estella Warren, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, David Warner, Kris Kristofferson, Glenn Shadix, Lisa Marie | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Planet of the Vampires | The Demon Planet | 1965 | Mario Bava | ★★½ | 86 | Eerily photographed, atmospheric science-fantasy of spaceship looking for missing comrades on misty planet where strange power controls their minds. Shown on TV as THE DEMON PLANET. | tt0059792 | Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Angel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Fernando Villena | Italian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Planets Against Us | 1961 | Romano Ferara | ★½ | 85 | Human-like aliens come to earth and destroy everyone they touch. Pretty bad. | tt0055297 |
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Michel Lemoine, Maria Pia Luzi, Jany Clair, Marco Guglielmi, Otello Toso | Italian-French | Planets Against Us | NULL | |
| The Plastic Age | 1925 | Wesley Ruggles. | ★★½ | 73 | Athletic Keith heads off to Prescott College, where he's diverted by campus 'hotsy-totsy' Bow. Vintage fun, albeit ever-so-predictable. Young Clark Gable is prominently featured as a student. | tt0016226 | Clara Bow, Donald Keith, Gilbert Roland, Mary Alden, Henry B. Walthall, David Butler. | Comedy, Romance, Sport | NULL | |||
| Platinum Blonde | 1931 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 90 | Snappy comedy about wisecracking reporter who marries wealthy girl (Harlow) but can't stand confinement of life among high society. Despite engaging presence of Harlow and Young, it's Williams' show all the way. | tt0022268 | Jean Harlow, Loretta Young, Robert Williams, Louise Closser Hale, Donald Dillaway, Walter Catlett | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Platinum High School | Trouble at 16 | 1960 | Charles Haas | ★★ | 93 | Limp attempt at sensationalism, with Rooney a father discovering that his son's death at school wasn't accidental. Retitled: TROUBLE AT 16. | tt0054187 | Mickey Rooney, Terry Moore, Dan Duryea, Yvette Mimieux, Conway Twitty, Jimmy Boyd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Platoon | 1986 | Oliver Stone | ★★★½ | 120 | Penetrating first-person account of life on the line as a young soldier in the Vietnam War. Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing, though the motives and reactions of its main character (played by Sheen, based on writer-director Stone) are hard to relate to— leaving this otherwise excellent film with a certain degree of aloofness. Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Director, Film Editing (Claire Simpson), and Sound. | tt0091763 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, John C. McGinley, Richard Edson, Kevin Dillon, Reggie Johnson, Keith David, Johnny Depp | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Platoon Leader | 1988 | Aaron Norris | 💣 | 100 | Obnoxious, bloody PLATOON rip-off, about a group of American GIs battling the commies in Southeast Asia. Director Norris is the brother of Chuck. | tt0095877 | [R] | Michael Dudikoff, Robert F. Lyons, Michael De Lorenzo, Rick Fitts, Jesse Dabson | War | NULL | ||
| Play Dirty | 1968 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 117 | British army captain leads group of ex-cons into the North African campaign in WW2; film invites comparison with THE DIRTY DOZEN and holds its own quite well. | tt0063443 | [M] | Michael Caine, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Green, Harry Andrews, Aly Ben Ayed | British | War | NULL | |
| Play Girl | 1940 | Frank Woodruff | ★★ | 75 | Contrived programmer with Francis playing an aging gold digger who takes pretty but destitute Coles under her wing, but doesn't count on her protegée falling in love. | tt0032916 |
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Kay Francis, Nigel Bruce, James Ellison, Margaret Hamilton, Mildred Coles, Katharine Alexander | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Play It Again, Sam | 1972 | Herbert Ross | ★★★½ | 87 | Delightful adaptation of Woody's own play about film buff coached by the ghost of Bogart in fumbling attempts to impress girls after his wife divorces him. More 'conventional' than other early Allen films, but just as funny. | tt0069097 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy, Susan Anspach, Jennifer Salt, Joy Bang, Viva | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Play It As It Lays | 1972 | Frank Perry | ★★½ | 99 | Film version of Joan Didion's best-seller about neglected wife of self-centered film director is helped by Weld-Perkins casting. Story is believable enough, but rambles inconclusively. Look for Tyne Daly as a journalist. | tt0069098 | [R] | Tuesday Weld, Anthony Perkins, Tammy Grimes, Adam Roarke, Ruth Ford, Eddie Firestone | Drama | NULL | ||
| Play It Cool | 1962 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 82 | Mild rock 'n' roll entry, with thin plot line of groovy group preventing a rich girl from going wrong. | tt0056353 | Billy Fury, Michael Anderson/Jr., Dennis Price, Richard Wattis, Anna Palk, Keith Hamshere, Ray Brooks | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Play It to the Bone | 1999 | Ron Shelton | ★★½ | 124 | Two boxer friends are hired as last-minute substitutes on a primo Las Vegas fight card, and express their doubts and fears while driving from L.A. to Vegas with their mutual ex-girlfriend. Relaxed pace of Shelton's script challenges the viewer to stay interested through the long road trip up to the stormy and eventful fight and its aftermath. Many sports and show-business celebrities appear as themselves. | tt0196857 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Antonio Banderas, Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Lucy Liu, Robert Wagner, Richard Masur, Willie Garson, Cylk Cozart, Aida Turturro, Jack Carter | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Play Misty for Me | 1971 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 102 | Well-done shocker of late night radio D.J. stalked by homicidal ex-fan Walter. Eastwood's first film as director; his frequent director, Don Siegel, plays Murphy the bartender. | tt0067588 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, John Larch, Irene Hervey, Jack Ging, Johnny Otis, Cannonball Adderley Quintet | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Play Time | 1967 | Jacques Tati | ★★★★ | 126 | M. Hulot (Tati) wanders through an unrecognizable modern Paris of steel and glass skyscrapers. Sight and sound gags abound in this superbly constructed film, the various episodes of which are linked by Hulot's trying to keep an appointment. Art Buchwald provided dialogue for English-speaking scenes. Alternate version runs 155m. 70mm Widescreen. | tt0062136 | Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Jacqueline Lecomte, Valerie Camille, Leon Doyen | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Playboy of the Western World | 1962 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★★ | 100 | Simple and eloquent, if a bit stagy, version of J. M. Synge's classic satire. Boyish, boastful Christy Mahon (Raymond) charms a small Irish village with his tale of how he did in his dad. | tt0056354 | Gary Raymond, Siobhan McKenna, Elspeth March, Michael O'Brian, Liam Redmond, Niall MacGinnis | Irish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Playboys | 1992 | Gillies MacKinnon | ★★½ | 110 | A young woman scandalizes her provincial Irish village in the 1950s by having a child out of wedlock, and refusing to name the father; the arrival of a traveling dramatic troupe stirs things up even more. Flavorful but heavy-handed tale; good performances can only do so much with a script that's so predictable. | tt0105150 | [PG-13] | Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn, Robin Wright, Milo O'Shea, Alan Devlin, Niamh Cusack, Ian McElhinney, Niall Buggy, Adrian Dunbar | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Player | 1992 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 123 | Sharp black comedy about a paranoid young movie executive (Robbins) who is threatened by a disgruntled screenwriter— until he begins taking the law into his own hands. Biting examination of Hollywood greed and power, with eternal renegade Altman near the top of his form (especially during the eight-minute opening tracking shot). Hilarious performances, scores of star cameos (several by Altman alumni like Elliott Gould, Lily Tomlin, Sally Kellerman, and Cher), many inside jokes . . . but a bit too much plot. Adapted by Michael Tolkin from his novel; Tolkin and his lookalike brother, Stephen, also appear as a pair of writers who meet with Robbins. | tt0105151 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Cynthia Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dean Stockwell, Richard E. Grant, Dina Merrill, Sydney Pollack, Lyle Lovett, Randall Batinkoff, Gina Gershon | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Players | 1979 | Anthony Harvey | 💣 | 120 | Aspiring tennis pro has to choose between forehand and foreplay when he falls for a 'kept' woman. There's something wrong with any movie where Pancho Gonzalez gives the best performance. | tt0079723 | [PG] | Ali MacGraw, Dean Paul Martin, Maximilian Schell, Pancho Gonzalez, Steve Guttenberg, Melissa Prophet | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Players Club | 1998 | Ice Cube | ★★ | 104 | A college journalism major looks back on the sleazy events that took place during her long employment at a black strip club, among them the lurid apartment parties that took place on the side. Not a bad hook, but the film is done in by its seen-it-all-before limitations and pedestrian script. Cube also wrote and executive-produced. | tt0119905 | [R] | LisaRaye, Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, A. J. Johnson, *** Ice Cube, Alex Thomas, Faizon Love, Charles O. Murphy, Adele Givens, Chrystale Wilson, Larry McCoy, Dick Anthony Williams, Tiny Lister, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, Michael Clarke Duncan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Playgirl | 1954 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 85 | Winters is most comfortable in drama about girl involved with gangsters. | tt0047355 | Shelley Winters, Barry Sullivan, Gregg Palmer, Richard Long, Kent Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Playing God | 1997 | Andy Wilson | ★½ | 93 | Preposterous story of drug-addicted ex-surgeon Duchovny hired by gangster Hutton to be the personal emergency physician for his shot-up and slashed cronies. The improvised medical treatment is so completely laughable, it upstages the absurdity of the story line. Why this movie was ever made is truly a case for The X-Files. | tt0119906 | [R] | David Duchovny, Timothy Hutton, Angelina Jolie, Michael Massee, Peter Stormare, Gary Dourdan, John Hawkes, Andrew Tiernan | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Playing by Heart | 1998 | Willard Carroll | ★★ | 120 | Talky film— with its heart in the right place— about a handful of L.A. men and women and their fouled-up relationships, ranging from an older couple whose marriage is strained by an illness and a long-ago affair, to a woman who comes to terms with her son for the first time as he lies in a hospital bed dying of AIDS. Attractive, well-cast, but dreary multistory mosaic, written by director Carroll. | tt0145734 | [R] | Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Madeleine Stowe, Anthony Edwards, Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Burstyn, Jay Mohr, Jon Stewart, Patricia Clarkson, Nastassja Kinski, Daniel von Bargen | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Playing for Keeps | 1986 | Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein | ★½ | 102 | After finishing high school, a group of friends band together to save a run-down hotel from a greedy developer in an unfriendly town. A youth comedy from the '80s that's aged; worth seeing only for a young Marisa Tomei. Also notable as the only directorial effort by the founders and honchos of Miramax. Beware of the frequently used montage! | tt0091767 | [PG-13] | Daniel Jordano, Matthew Penn, Leon W. Grant, Mary B. Ward, Marisa Tomei, Jimmy Baio, Harold Gould | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Playing for Time | 1980 | Daniel Mann | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Outstanding drama about Fania Fenelon, who survived Auschwitz by performing in a bizarre orchestra 'playing for time' while other inmates are marched to their death. Redgrave, as Fenelon, and Alexander, as the orchestra's leader, won Emmy Awards for their performances (Knight also received a nomination). Arthur Miller's stunning teleplay earned him an Emmy, and the film itself won as Outstanding Drama Special. | tt0081344 | Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, Maud Adams, Viveca Lindfors, Shirley Knight, Melanie Mayron, Marisa Berenson, Verna Bloom, Martha Schlamme, Marta Heflin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Playmates | 1941 | David Butler | ★½ | 94 | Poor musical 'comedy' about a has-been Shakespearean actor who teams up with bandleader Kyser in order to pay back taxes. Crude and tasteless; this was Barrymore's last film. | tt0034033 | Kay Kyser, Lupe Velez, John Barrymore, May Robson, Patsy Kelly, Peter Lind Hayes | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Plaza Suite | 1971 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 115 | One of Neil Simon's funniest plays well adapted to screen. Three separate stories about people staying in certain room at famed N.Y.C. hotel, with Matthau in all three vignettes. Best one is the last, with Matthau as flustered father of a reluctant bride. | tt0067589 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris, Lee Grant, Louise Sorel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pleasantville | 1998 | Gary Ross | ★★½ | 123 | A brother and sister are magically transported into their TV set and the black-and-white world of a '50s sitcom called Pleasantville, where everything is swell. Soon, they infiltrate this perfect environment with their worldly sensibilities, and the façade is easily cracked. Excellent performances and a striking visual design (the black-and-white world and its people slowly acquire color) spark this satire, which bites off more than it can chew, becoming slow and somber. Anyway, hooray for Don Knotts! Directing debut for screenwriter Ross. | tt0120789 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Jeff Daniels, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, J. T. Walsh, Reese Witherspoon, Don Knotts, Jane Kaczmarek | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Please Believe Me | 1950 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 87 | Pleasant fluff of Britisher Kerr aboard liner headed for America, wooed by assorted bachelors aboard, who think she's an heiress. | tt0042848 | Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, James Whitmore, Peter Lawford, Mark Stevens, Spring Byington | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Please Don't Eat the Daisies | 1960 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 111 | Bright film based on Jean Kerr's stories about a drama critic and his family. Doris sings title song; her kids are very amusing, as are Byington (the mother-in-law), Kelly (housekeeper), and especially Paige as a temperamental star. Later a TV series. | tt0054188 | Doris Day, David Niven, Janis Paige, Spring Byington, Richard Haydn, Patsy Kelly, Jack Weston, Margaret Lindsay | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Please Give | 2010 | Nicole Holofcener | ★★★½ | 90 | Keener and Platt make a good team, as husband and wife, parents of a teenage girl, and owners of a used furniture store in Manhattan. But she is consumed by guilt: There are homeless people on the street, and she feels like a predator buying goods from the children of recently deceased people. Then there's their sour, elderly neighbor, whose apartment they hope to buy. Wonderfully observant look at human nature and life in the city; writer-director Holefcener is generous toward all of her realistically flawed characters. The cast couldn't be better, but Guilbert is a standout as an old woman who's incapable of a kind word or thought. | tt0878835 | [R] | Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Sarah Steele, Ann Guilbert, Lois Smith, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Sarah Vowell, Josh Pais | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Please Murder Me | 1956 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 78 | Lansbury and Burr's energetic performances elevate this homicide yarn. | tt0049621 | Angela Lansbury, Raymond Burr, Dick Foran, John Dehner, Lamont Johnson | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Please Turn Over | 1960 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 86 | OK froth about teen daughter's lurid novel-writing and the repercussions it causes. | tt0053174 | Ted Ray, Jean Kent, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Julia Lockwood, Tim Seely | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Please! Mr. Balzac | Plucking the Daisy | 1956 | Marc Allégret | ★★ | 99 | Low-brow THEODORA GOES WILD variation, following Bardot's plight after she pens an anonymous, scandalous book. Scripted by Allegret and Roger Vadim. Aka MADEMOISELLE STRIPTEASE and PLUCKING THE DAISY. | tt0049182 | Daniel Gelin, Brigitte Bardot, Robert Hirsch, Darry Cowl | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Pleasure Cruise | 1933 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 72 | Husband and wife take 'separate vacations,' but he jealously follows her on board ocean liner. Chic Lubitsch-like comedy runs out of steam halfway through. | tt0024455 |
|
Roland Young, Genevieve Tobin, Ralph Forbes, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin, Minna Gombell | Romance | NULL | ||
| The Pleasure Garden | 1925 | Alfred Hitchcock. | ★★ | 68 | Hitchcock's first feature, shot in Munich; uneven account of a pair of chorus girls, one (Valli) sweet and knowing, the other (Geraghty) a waif who becomes a glamorous bitch. Forgettable silent melodrama. | tt0016230 | Virginia Valli, Carmelita Geraghty, Miles Mander, John Stuart, George Snell. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Pleasure Seekers | 1964 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 107 | Glossy, semi-musical remake of THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN (by same director) about three girls seeking fun and romance in Spain. | tt0058479 | Ann-Margret, Pamela Tiffin, Anthony Franciosa, Carol Lynley, Gene Tierney, Brian Keith, Gardner McKay, Isobel Elsom | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Pleasure of His Company | 1961 | George Seaton | ★★★½ | 115 | Delightful fluff, from Samuel Taylor and Cornelia Otis Skinner's play about charming ex-husband who comes to visit, enchanting his daughter and hounding his wife's new husband. Entire cast in rare form. Taylor also scripted. | tt0055307 | Fred Astaire, Lilli Palmer, Debbie Reynolds, Tab Hunter, Gary Merrill, Charlie Ruggles | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Pledge | 2001 | Sean Penn | ★★★ | 124 | Nevada police detective, on the day of his retirement, becomes involved in the case of a little girl's murder and promises her parents that he will bring the killer to justice. Another great Nicholson performance anchors this fine-tuned film, which sidesteps formula in favor of nuance. Based on a novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Filmed twice before in Germany (in 1958 as IT HAPPENED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT and as a 1997 TV movie) and in England (in 1995 as THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY). | tt0237572 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Noonan, Patricia Clarkson, Michael O'Keefe, Aaron Eckhart, Costas Mandylor, Helen Mirren, Mickey Rourke, Sam Shepard, Lois Smith, Harry Dean Stanton, Pauline Roberts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Plenty | 1985 | Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 124 | Filmization of David Hare's play about a British woman who (like Britain itself) experiences her finest hours during WW2, working for the underground . . . and never finds fulfillment or satisfaction the rest of her life. Superlative performances (Gielgud is a particular delight as aging career diplomat) and moments of insight and wit can't overcome the fact that central character played by Streep is so tedious. Schepisi makes excellent use of widescreen. | tt0089816 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Charles Dance, Tracey Ullman, John Gielgud, Sting, Ian McKellen, Sam Neill, Burt Kwouk | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Plot Against Harry | 1989 | Michael Roemer | ★★★ | 80 | Amusing, perceptive slice of N.Y.C. life about an aging racketeer, just sprung from prison, who finds the old order changing, and his life coming apart at the seams. Sad-faced Priest is perfectly cast in this modest, location-filmed production, which was shot in 1969 but never released— until film-festival showings in 1989 won critical acclaim and a distributor. | tt0064820 | Martin Priest, Ben Lang, Maxine Woods, Henry Nemo, Jacques Taylor, Jean Leslie, Ellen Herbert, Sandra Kazan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Plot Thickens | 1936 | Ben Holmes | ★★½ | 67 | Pitts takes on the role of sleuthing schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers for this amiable comic whodunit with a plot that (as the title indicates) grows more elaborate as it goes along. | tt0028111 | James Gleason, ZaSu Pitts, Oscar Apfel, Owen Davis/Jr., Arthur Aylesworth, Paul Fix, Barbara Barondess | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Plough and the Stars | 1936 | John Ford | ★★ | 78 | Dreary, theatrical filmization of Sean O'Casey's play with Foster as Irish revolutionary leader and Stanwyck as long-suffering wife who fears for his life; script by Dudley Nichols. | tt0028112 | Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Barry Fitzgerald, Una O'Connor, J. M. Kerrigan, Bonita Granville, Arthur Shields | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ploughman's Lunch | 1983 | Richard Eyre | ★★★ | 100 | Complex, cynical condemnation of British manners, morals and politics, centering on the activities of thoroughly self-centered radio reporter Pryce and others during the Falklands war. Quite perceptive, within the confines of its viewpoint. | tt0086122 | [R] | Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, Rosemary Harris, Frank Finlay, Charlie Dore | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Plumber | 1980 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 76 | Obnoxious plumber tears apart bathroom of unwilling tenants; film's single joke is stretched no further than it will go in slight but amusing black comedy made for Australian television. | tt0079727 | Judy Morris, Ivar Kants, Robert Coleby, Candy Raymond | Australian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Plunder Road | 1957 | Hubert Cornfield | ★★½ | 71 | A little sleeper about robbery caper, with competent cast giving life to intriguing story. | tt0050847 | Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper, Wayne Morris, Elisha Cook/Jr., Stafford Repp | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Plunder of the Sun | 1953 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 81 | Competent cast in above-average goings-on. Ford is involved with treasure hunt and murder in Mexico. | tt0046196 | Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Plunderers of Painted Flats | 1959 | Albert C. Gannaway | ★½ | 77 | Flabby Western of cowpoke seeking his father's killer. Filmed in widescreen Naturama. | tt0053175 | Corinne Calvet, John Carroll, Skip Homeier, George Macready, Edmund Lowe, Bea Benadaret, Madge Kennedy, Joe Besser | Western | NULL | |||
| Plunkett & Macleane | 1999 | Jake Scott | ★★★ | 102 | Rousing action-adventure about two of England's most notorious 18th-century highwaymen. Plays like BUTCH CASSIDY, with anachronistic hipster humor and a bumping techno score from Craig Armstrong. Don't think too hard about this flashy import; just sit back and enjoy the ride. As a bisexual dandy, Cumming cuts quite a swath. The debuting director is Ridley Scott's son. | tt0134033 | [R] | Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Liv Tyler, Michael Gambon, Alan Cumming, Ken Stott, Claire Rushbrook | British | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Plymouth Adventure | 1952 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 105 | Superficial soap opera, glossily done, of the cynical captain of the Mayflower (Tracy) and the settlers who sailed from England to New England in the 17th century. This won an Oscar for its special effects. | tt0045039 | Spencer Tracy, Gene Tierney, Van Johnson, Leo Genn, Dawn Addams, Lloyd Bridges, Barry Jones | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Poacher's Daughter | 1960 | George Pollock | ★★½ | 74 | Harris lends authenticity in title role as simple girl who straightens out her philandering boyfriend. Originally titled SALLY'S IRISH ROGUE. | tt0054192 | Julie Harris, Harry Brogan, Tim Seeley, Marie Keen, Brid Lynch, Noel Magee | Irish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pocahontas | 1995 | Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg | ★★★ | 82 | More serious in tone than most Disney cartoon features, this one tells of the brave and free-spirited woman who defied her father— and her tribe— by falling in love with Capt. John Smith, part of a plundering party from England. Entertaining if not particularly memorable, with Pocahontas a strong and appealing character, and her sidekicks, Meeko (a raccoon) and Flit (a hummingbird), providing delightful comedy relief. Songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz include one standout, 'Colors of the Wind.' Both that song and Menken's music score won Oscars. Special edition DVD includes one additional song and runs 84m. Direct-to-video sequel: POCAHONTAS II: JOURNEY TO A NEW WORLD. | tt0114148 | [G] | Voices of Irene Bedard, Judy Kuhn, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers, John Kassir, Russell Means, Christian Bale, Linda Hunt, Billy Connolly, Frank Welker, Michelle St. John, James Apaumut Fall | Animation, Family, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pocket Money | 1972 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 102 | Debt-ridden cowboy and shifty pal get mixed up with crooked cattleman in modern-day Western. Strangely tepid comedy is helped by good Laszlo Kovacs photography, nice bit by Peters. Marvin's car is the damnedest thing you'll ever see. Screenplay by Terrence Malick. | tt0069103 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, Strother Martin, Christine Belford, Kelly Jean Peters, Fred Graham, Wayne Rogers, Hector Elizondo, Richard Farnsworth | Western | NULL | ||
| Pocketful of Miracles | 1961 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 136 | Capra's final film, a remake of his 1933 LADY FOR A DAY, is just as sentimental, but doesn't work as well. Bette is Apple Annie, a Damon Runyon character; Ford is Dave the Dude, the racketeer who turns her into a lady. Ann-Margret is appealing in her first film. | tt0055312 | Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Arthur O'Connell, Thomas Mitchell, Peter Falk, Edward Everett Horton, Ann-Margret, Mickey Shaughnessy, David Brian, Sheldon Leonard, Barton MacLane, John Litel, Jerome Cowan, Fritz Feld, Jack Elam, Ellen Corby | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Poetic Justice | 1993 | John Singleton | ★★ | 110 | Ambitious but fatally pretentious saga of a melancholy South Central L.A. beautician (Jackson), who has retreated from the world after her boyfriend's murder; mailman Shakur attempts to break through to her, with predictable results. Implausibly, the poetry this otherwise ordinary woman composes actually is the work of Maya Angelou (who appears onscreen as Aunt June). Jackson is OK in her screen debut. | tt0107840 | [R] | Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry, Maya Angelou, Tyra Ferrell, Roger Guenveur Smith, Q-Tip, Tone Loc, Billy Zane, Lori Petty | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Poetry | 2010 | Lee Chang-dong | ★★★½ | 139 | Mija (Yun, in a luminous performance), in her upper sixties, looks after her materialistic, preoccupied grandson. As she learns she is afflicted with early-stage Alzheimer's, a teenage girl commits suicide after being assaulted for months on end by a group of boys—one of whom is her grandson. In order to find an iota of beauty in her life, Mija enrolls in a poetry class and attempts to write verses. Heartbreaking drama about one woman's effort to grab on to humanity and feeling in an inhumane, unfeeling world. Written by the director. | tt1287878 | Yun Jung-hee, Lee David, Kim Hira, Park Myung-shin, Kim Yong-taek, Han Su-young | South Korean | Drama | NULL | ||
| Point Blank | 1967 | John Boorman | ★★★½ | 92 | Marvin, shot and left for dead by unfaithful wife and mobster boyfriend, gets revenge two years later. Taut thriller, ignored in 1967, but now regarded as a top film of the decade. Based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake (writing as Richard Stark). Remade as PAYBACK in 1999. | tt0062138 | Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor, Lloyd Bochner, Michael Strong, John Vernon | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Point Break | 1991 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★½ | 122 | Maverick FBI agent Reeves is sent undercover into Southern California's surfing community to investigate a baffling series of perfect bank robberies. Incredible, mind-numbing plotline redeemed by great surfing and skydiving scenes. Assured, fast-moving direction by Bigelow keeps this movie hanging five, if not ten . . . though Swayze is in desperate need of a hair stylist here. | tt0102685 | [R] | Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Sydney Walsh, Vincent Klyn, Julian Reyes, Tom Sizemore | Action, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Point of No Return | 1993 | John Badham | ★½ | 109 | An awful, slicked-up Hollywoodization of LA FEMME NIKITA, with punkish criminal Fonda recruited by the U.S. government to shoot up a chi-chi Washington restaurant (with the Washington Post nowhere in sight). Not a genuine emotion to be found until Mulroney shows up; even then, not many more. | tt0107843 | [R] | Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, Dermot Mulroney, Anne Bancroft, Harvey Keitel, Miguel Ferrer, Olivia d'Abo, Richard Romanus, Lorraine Toussaint, Geoffrey Lewis, Calvin Levels | Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Point | 1971 | Fred Wolf | Above Average TV Movie | 73 | Engaging children's cartoon about boy banished from homeland because his head is rounded, not pointed like everybody else's. Charming score by Harry Nilsson. First network airing narrated by Dustin Hoffman; his voice was replaced by Alan Thicke's for later showings. Ringo Starr narrates the video version. | tt0067595 | Animation, Family | NULL | ||||
| Poison | 1991 | Todd Haynes | ★★★ | 85 | Jarring, disturbing film about what it means to be different, to be alienated from the mainstream, consisting of three skillfully interwoven stories: a mock documentary about a seven-year-old who's shot and killed his father, and summarily disappeared; a 1950s sci-fi movie parody, in which a brilliant scientist ingests some serum and becomes disfigured; and the chronicle of a gay thief who arrives at a prison. Scripted by Haynes, and inspired by the writings of Jean Genet. | tt0102687 | [NC-17] | Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Norman, Scott Renderer, James Lyons | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Poison Ivy | 1992 | Katt Shea Ruben | ★★ | 89 | Blah melodrama about a sluttish teen (Barrymore, who is well cast), and the insidious influence she has on the members of a wealthy, troubled family: shy Gilbert, her alcoholic dad (Skerritt) and dying mom (Ladd), and even the pet pooch. More subtlety and character development would have helped. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0105156 | [R] | Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, Cheryl Ladd, Leonardo DiCaprio | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Poison Ivy | 1953 | Bernard Borderie | ★★ | 90 | Constantine is again FBI agent Lemmy Caution, involved in stolen gold shipment in North Africa: grade-B actioner. | tt0046115 |
|
Eddie Constantine, Dominique Wilms, Howard Vernon, Dario Moreno, Gaston Modot | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Pokémon 3: The Movie | 2001 | Kuniniko Yuyama, Michael Haigney | ★★ | 90 | Most coherent and colorful of the Pokémon movies (admittedly, a small compliment). This time 'unknown' Pokémon kidnap a mother and father, and use their small daughter to paralyze a town and challenge our young heroes Ash, Brock, and Misty. Preceded by a short episode with little Pikachu and his Poké-pals getting lost in the big city. Subtitled: SPELL OF THE UNKNOWN. Followed by POKÉMON 4EVER, then, in 2003, POKÉMON HEROES. | tt0266860 | [G] | Voices of Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart, Rachael Lillis, Addie Blaustein, Ikue Otani, Ken Gates | Japanese-U.S. | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Pokémon the Movie 2000 | 2000 | Kuniniko Yuyama, Michael Haigney | ★½ | 85 | Sequel to hit movie is subtitled THE POWER OF ONE. Once again, young Ash and his pals face off against a powerful enemy, a super-scientific Pokémon collector (and his CGI flying fortress) who unleashes a flying pokémenace. Lots of thunderbolts and effects animation, but no one to root for. You can skip the opening short, PIKACHU'S RESCUE ADVENTURE. | tt0257001 | [G] | Voices of Veronica Taylor, Rachel Lillis, Addie Blaustein, Eric Stuart, Ed Paul | Japanese-U.S. | Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Pokémon: The First Movie | 1998 | Kuniniko Yuyama, Michael Haigney | ★½ | 75 | Kids' video game/TV show/card game phenomenon hits the big screen with OK story about a mutated Pokémon clone, Mewtwo, who plans to take over the world. Not very exciting, with barely adequate animation, but kids probably won't mind. Subtitle on-screen is MEWTWO STRIKES BACK. Followed by four sequels. | tt0190641 | [G] | Voices of Veronica Taylor, Philip Bartlett, Rachel Lillis, Eric Stuart, Addie Blaustein | Japanese | Animation, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Pola X | 1999 | Léos Carax | ★★ | 129 | Young aristocrat (Depardieu), the author of a cult novel, is engaged to a sweet, beautiful woman, but then a second woman enters his life. She is crazed, semi-coherent, and claims to be his half sister. This psychological portrait is an exploration of obsession, identity, and madness, but is way overlong and oozes pretension. Ambitious, but awfully hard to sit through. Based on an obscure Herman Melville novel, Pierre, or the Ambiguities. | tt0152015 | Unrated | Guillaume Depardieu, Katerina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Laurent Lucas, Patachou, Petruta Catana, Mihaella Silaghi | French-Swiss-German-Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Polar Express | 2004 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★½ | 100 | Boy who desperately wants to see Santa Claus with his own eyes on a snowy Christmas Eve gets more than he bargained for when he boards a railroad train that stops right in front of his house. Expansion of Chris Van Allsburg's beautifully illustrated children's book (set in the 1950s Midwest) retains a feeling of wonder as the boy and newfound friends journey to the North Pole. 'Performance Capture' digital animation renders all the characters slightly unreal— the kids look like they're wearing dentures— but aside from enabling Tom Hanks to play five roles it doesn't seem to have been worth all the bother. Still an entertaining-enough adventure for children. Nice songs by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri mix with vintage holiday favorites. Hanks also coexecutive-produced. | tt0338348 | [G] | Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen, Charles Fleischer, Steven Tyler; voice of Daryl Sabara | Animation, Family, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Police | 1984 | Maurice Pialat | ★★½ | 113 | Taut but repetitive drama about the thin line separating cop and criminal. Depardieu is a brutal, sex-obsessed, love-starved policeman attempting to break up a drug ring; he becomes involved with tough young Marceau, one of the dealers. | tt0089821 | Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau, Richard Anconina, Pascale Rocard, Sandrine Bonnaire | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy | 1984 | Hugh Wilson | ★★½ | 95 | Generally good-natured comedy (with typical 80's doses of sexism and tastelessness) about a group of weirdos and misfits who enroll in big-city police academy. Winslow's comic sound effects are perfect antidote for slow spots in script. Followed by far too many sequels, a TV series, and an animated TV series. | tt0087928 | [R] | Steve Guttenberg, G. W. Bailey, George Gaynes, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, Andrew Rubin, David Graf, Bruce Mahler, Leslie Easterbrook, Georgina Spelvin | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment | 1985 | Jerry Paris | 💣 | 87 | Dreadful follow-up to 1984 hit (with different writers and director responsible). There are Dragnet episodes with more laughs than this movie. | tt0089822 | [PG-13] | Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Bruce Mahler, Marion Ramsey, Colleen Camp, Howard Hesseman, Art Metrano, George Gaynes, Ed Herlihy | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy 3: Back in Training | 1986 | Jerry Paris | ★½ | 82 | An improvement over #2, but that's not saying much: just another collection of pea-brained gags and amateurish performances. | tt0091777 | [PG] | Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Marion Ramsey, Leslie Easterbrook, Art Metrano, Tim Kazurinsky, Bob Goldthwait, George Gaynes, Shawn Weatherly | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol | 1987 | Jim Drake | 💣 | 87 | More of the same, only worse. | tt0093756 | [PG] | Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Tim Kazurinsky, Sharon Stone, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Lance Kinsey, G. W. Bailey, Bob Goldthwait, George Gaynes, Billie Bird | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach | 1988 | Alan Myerson | 💣 | 90 | Gaynes is in Miami to receive an award before his mandatory retirement; arch-rival Bailey comes along to gum up the works. Fourth attempt to improve on imperfection is no charm; what can you say about a sequel that Steve Guttenberg won't even appear in? | tt0095882 | [PG] | Bubba Smith, George Gaynes, G.W. Bailey, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Janet Jones, Matt McCoy | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy 6: City Under Siege | 1989 | Peter Bonerz | 💣 | 83 | Those wacky cops are back to solve a crime wave perpetrated by a trio that makes The Three Stooges look like Nobel laureates. This entry is only— repeat only— for those who thought POLICE ACADEMY 5 was robbed at Oscar time. | tt0098105 | [PG] | Bubba Smith, David Graf, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, Marion Ramsey, Lance Kinsey, Matt McCoy, Bruce Mahler, G.W. Bailey, George Gaynes, Kenneth Mars, Gerrit Graham | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Academy VII: Mission to Moscow | 1994 | Alan Metter | 💣 | 83 | They waited five years to make another chapter in this mindless series. It wasn't worth the wait. | tt0110857 | [PG] | G. W. Bailey, George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, Claire Forlani, Ron Perlman, Christopher Lee, Charlie Schlatter | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Police Story | 1985 | Jackie Chan | ★★★ | 89 | Lightning-paced kung fu comedy about cop Chan, a one-man police force attempting to get the goods on some thugs. Crammed with incredible stuntwork; a real popcorn movie that's perfect for fans of the genre. Aka JACKIE CHAN'S POLICE STORY and POLICE FORCE. Followed by three sequels. | tt0089374 | Jackie Chan, Bridget Lin, Maggie Cheung, Cho Yuen, Bill Tung, Kenneth Tong | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Police Story III: Supercop | Supercop | 1992 | Stanley Tong | ★★½ | 96 | Third in series benefits greatly from presence of Khan, a fine action star in her own right. The two stars play cops teaming up against drug smugglers. Highlights include Khan jumping a motorcycle onto a moving train and Chan dangling from a careening helicopter. Plot slows down at times, but climactic action sequences make up for it. 1996 U.S. release version cut to 91m. and redubbed in English with a new music score. Aka SUPERCOP. Followed by POLICE STORY IV: CRIME STORY. | tt0104558 | Jackie Chan, Michelle (Yeaoh) Khan, Maggie Cheung, Yuen Wah, Bill Tung Piu, Ken Tsang | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Police Story Part 2 | 1988 | Jackie Chan | ★★ | 90 | This sequel is a slight step down for Chan as his Hong Kong cop tries to stop a wave of bomb threats. Some awesome stunts and fine comic touches, but not as well constructed as its predecessor. Followed by a third installment. | tt0095403 | Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Bill Thung, Lam Kowk-Hung, Crystal Kwok, Choh Yuen, Henny Ho | Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Police, Adjective | 2009 | Corneliu Porumboiu | ★★★ | 115 | Bucur, a cop with a conscience, serves on a police force run by lazy, petty bureaucrats. He's tailing a high school drug user, and fears that following the letter of a law that might soon be changed will ruin the boy's life. Pointed, deliberately paced portrait of stone-cold bureaucracy and how it stifles one's sense of right and wrong. One scene, involving the use of a dictionary, is positively riveting. | tt1337051 | B | Dragos Bucur, Vlad Ivanov, Ion Stoica, Irina Saulescu, Marian Ghenea, Cosmin Selesi | Romanian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Policewomen | 1974 | Lee Frost | ★½ | 99 | Unexceptional, violent actioner with talented Currie as karate-expert cop. Aka THE INSIDERS. | tt0072006 | [R] | Sondra Currie, Tony Young, Phil Hoover, Jeanne Bell, William Smith, Wes Bishop | Crime | NULL | ||
| Polish Wedding | 1998 | Theresa Connelly | ★★★ | 101 | Picaresque slice of life about a Polish-American family in Detroit. The mother of the household (Olin) is an incredible life force who is fiercely proud of her family; her husband (Byrne) has long since resigned himself to a passive role. But their daughter (Danes) is eager to experience life— perhaps too eager. First time writer-director Connelly perfectly captures the look and feel of this unusual family and the suburban atmosphere in which they live. | tt0119910 | [PG-13] | Gabriel Byrne, Lena Olin, Claire Danes, Mili Avital, Daniel Lapaine, Rade Serbedzija, Adam Trese, Ramsey Krull, Steven Petrarca | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Polisse | 2011 | Maïwenn | ★★★ | 127 | Sprawling but vivid portrait of the Paris police department's Child Protection Unit, a tight-knit group of colleagues whose emotionally draining work (like protecting children from sexual predators within their own families) affects their private lives as well as their relationships on the job. The tough case studies have the unmistakable ring of truth, while the bickering, love affairs, and dynamics of the group spring fairly naturally from the proceedings. Director-cowriter Maïwenn plays a photographer assigned to the unit; the division's big-hearted hothead is rapper Joeystarr. | tt1661420 | Karin Viard, Joeystarr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Karole Rocher, Emmanuelle Bercot, Frédéric Pierrot, Arnaud Henriet, Naidra Ayadi, Jérémie Elkaïm, Maïwenn, Riccardo Scamarcio | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Politics | 1931 | Charles Riesner. | ★★½ | 71 | Dressler runs for mayor (with Moran as her campaign manager) when a young girl is killed in a speakeasy, but then discovers her own daughter is in love with one of the crooks involved. Sociologically fascinating comedy-drama for the crowd-pleasing team of Dressler and Moran. Ates is hilarious as a stuttering barber. | tt0022273 | Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Roscoe Ates, Karen Morley, William Bakewell, John Miljan, Joan Marsh, Kane Richmond. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pollock | 2000 | Ed Harris | ★★★½ | 117 | Vivid portrait of a tortured soul, groundbreaking modern artist Jackson Pollock, superbly played by Harris, with Harden in an Oscar-winning performance as Lee Krasner, who forsook her own career to shepherd his and become his wife. First-time director Harris manages to capture the wonder of a genius at work. Difficult but rewarding. Screenplay by Barbara Turner and Susan J. Emshwiller, from the book Jackson Pollock: An American Saga by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. | tt0183659 | [R] | Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Amy Madigan, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Jeffrey Tambor, Bud Cort, John Heard, Stephanie Seymour, Tom Bower, Sada Thompson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Polly of the Circus | 1932 | Alfred Santell | ★★ | 69 | Ill-conceived vehicle for Davies as sexy trapeze artist who falls in love with minister Gable. Ray Milland has bit part as church usher. | tt0023349 | Clark Gable, Marion Davies, Raymond Hatton, C. Aubrey Smith, David Landau, Maude Eburne | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pollyanna | 1920 | Paul Powell | ★★★ | 60 | Delightful silent-film adaptation of Eleanor Porter's book about 'the glad girl,' who smiles through adversity and brings cheer even to the crabby old aunt who takes her in when she's orphaned. Pickford is at her most charming; neat blend of sentiment, slapstick, and wholesome ideals. Remade by Disney in 1960. | tt0011588 | Mary Pickford, Katherine Griffith, Herbert Ralston, Helen Jerome Eddy, William Courtleigh, Herbert Prior | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pollyanna | 1960 | David Swift | ★★★½ | 134 | Disney's treatment of Eleanor Porter story is first-rate, as 'the glad girl' spreads cheer to misanthropes of a New England town, including her own Aunt Polly (Wyman). Fine direction and script by Swift, excellent performances all around. Mills was awarded a special Oscar for Outstanding Juvenile Performance. First filmed in 1920 with Mary Pickford. Remade for TV in 1989 as POLLY. | tt0054195 | Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Richard Egan, Karl Malden, Nancy Olson, Adolphe Menjou, Donald Crisp, Agnes Moorehead | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Polo Joe | 1936 | William McGann | ★★ | 62 | Typical Brown comedy in which Joe's got to learn polo fast to impress his girl. | tt0028117 | Joe E. Brown, Carol Hughes, Skeets Gallagher, Joseph King, Gordon (Bill) Elliott, George E. Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Poltergeist | 1982 | Tobe Hooper | ★★★½ | 114 | A young family finds its home invaded by unfriendly spirits, who 'kidnap' their 5-year-old girl! Sensationally scary ghost story co-written and co-produced by Steven Spielberg. Paced like a roller-coaster ride, with dazzling special effects— and a refreshing sense of humor. Followed by two sequels. | tt0084516 | [PG] | Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O'Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Richard Lawson, James Karen | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Poltergeist II | 1986 | Brian Gibson | ★★½ | 91 | The Freeling family is terrorized again by otherworld creatures. Another pointless sequel made palatable by some jolting state-of-the-art special effects and a still-very-likable family. Be warned that an actor receives billing as The Vomit Creature. | tt0091778 | [PG-13] | JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke, Oliver Robins, Zelda Rubinstein, Will Sampson, Julian Beck, Geraldine Fitzgerald | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Poltergeist III | 1988 | Gary A. Sherman | ★★ | 97 | O'Rourke moves in with uncle Skerritt and aunt Allen— and is still pursued by strange, evil forces. Undistinguished and occasionally plodding; eerily, young O'Rourke died four months before the film's release. | tt0095889 | [PG-13] | Tom Skerritt, Nancy Allen, Heather O'Rourke, Zelda Rubinstein, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kip Wentz, Richard Fire | Horror | NULL | ||
| Polyester | 1981 | John Waters | ★★½ | 86 | Waters' first mainstream feature is wacky middle-class satire; housewife Francine Fishpaw (Divine), driven to the brink by nightmarish husband, children, and mother, is 'rescued' by handsome drive-in owner Todd Tomorrow (Hunter). Less offensive than Waters' underground films, but still not for all tastes; Vincent Peranio's sets are hilariously hideous. Released in 'Odorama' — with audience members given scratch-and-sniff cards. | tt0082926 | [R] | Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Mary Garlington, Ken King, David Samson, Mink Stole, Stiv Bators | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Pom-Pom Girls | 1976 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 90 | Comedy about spoiled suburban teenagers who celebrate their senior year having food fights, making love in the back of vans, and stealing a fire truck. Routinely good-natured mayhem. | tt0075086 | [PG] | Robert Carradine, Jennifer Ashley, Lisa Reeves, Michael Mullins, Bill Adler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Pompatus of Love | 1996 | Richard Schenkman | ★★ | 99 | Yet another smug and talky ensemble comedy about self-absorbed guys struggling with life and love in the '90s. Though it's an obvious labor of love for cowriters Schenkman, Cryer, and Oliensis, it's just a passable example of a deadly subgenre. Title takes its name from a song lyric in 'The Joker,' which is sung here by the original artist, Steve Miller, and also by Sheryl Crow. | tt0117357 | [R] | Jon Cryer, Adrian Pasdar, Tim Guinee, Adam Oliensis, Mia Sara, Kristin Scott Thomas, Arabella Field, Paige Turco, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Kristen Wilson, Michael McKean, Fisher Stevens, Jennifer Tilly, Roscoe Lee Browne, Jenny McCarthy | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ponette | 1996 | Jacques Doillon | ★★½ | 97 | Heart-rending, if unfulfilling, tale of a 4-year-old (Thivisol) who survives a car accident in which her mother is killed. Poignant look at the death of a parent, as the young girl tries to understand and cope with her mom's absence. Doillon, who also scripted, truly captures life through the eyes of a child, but there's more emotion than substance, and the ending is a cop-out. Thivisol's amazingly naturalistic performance is the film's greatest strength. | tt0117359 | Victoire Thivisol, Matiaz Bureau Caton, Delphine Schiltz, Xavier Beauvois, Claire Nebout, Marie Trintignant | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pontiac Moon | 1994 | Peter Medak | ★½ | 108 | Eccentric pop (Danson) takes 11-year-old son on dusty road trip to coincide with Apollo XI moon landing in July 1969. Think agoraphobic mom (Steenburgen) will finally have the guts to leave the house and follow them? 11-year-olds may like this. | tt0110867 | [PG-13] | Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Ryan Todd, Eric Schweig, Cathy Moriarty, Max Gail, Lisa Jane Persky, J.C. Quinn, John Schuck, Don Swayze | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pontius Pilate | 1962 | Irving Rapper | ★★ | 100 | Adequate retelling of events before and after Christ's crucifixion from viewpoint of Roman procurator. Dubbing and confused script hamper good intentions. Barrymore plays Christ and Judas. | tt0056358 | Jean Marais, Jeanne Crain, Basil Rathbone, John Drew Barrymore, Massimo Serato, Leticia Roman | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pony Express | 1953 | Jerry Hopper | ★★★ | 101 | Exuberant action Western (set in 1860s) of the founding of mail routes westward, involving historical figures Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok. | tt0046198 | Charlton Heston, Rhonda Fleming, Jan Sterling, Forrest Tucker | Western | NULL | |||
| Pony Express Rider | 1976 | Robert Totten | ★★★ | 100 | Good family outing with Peterson joining Pony Express in 1861 to help find the man whom he believes has killed his father. | tt0075087 | [G] | Stewart Petersen, Henry Wilcoxon, Buck Taylor, Maureen McCormick, Joan Caulfield, Ken Curtis, Slim Pickens, Dub Taylor, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | ||
| Pony Soldier | 1952 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 82 | Power is sturdy in actioner about Canadian mounties and their efforts to stave off Indian war. | tt0045041 | Tyrone Power, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Horton, Thomas Gomez, Penny Edwards | Western | NULL | |||
| Ponyo | PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA | 2008 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★ | 103 | Young goldfish transforms into a little girl and, despite her father's instructions, leaves the ocean to explore the world on land, becoming involved with a 5-year-old boy and his mother. Miyazaki reworks the premise of THE LITTLE MERMAID, creating a wildly imaginative, often surreal anime feature aimed at children. Miyazaki masterfully combines elements of traditional Asian folklore and Japanese cultural attitudes with a strong pro-environment message to create a strange but uniquely satisfying animated experience. Original Japanese title: PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA. Pixar supervised this U.S. release version. | tt0876563 | [G] | Voices of Tina Fey, Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, Cloris Leachman, Laraine Newman | Japanese | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| Poodle Springs | 1998 | Bob Rafelson | Average TV Movie | 105 | Semi-retired and newly married (to a much younger, wealthy woman), Philip Marlowe finds himself out of his social league while immersed in intrigue surrounding the murder of another investigator in the small desert town of Poodle Springs. Tom Stoppard wrote the script, based on the best-seller by Robert Parker, from the final Marlowe story begun but never finished by Raymond Chandler. Caan is quite good as the world-weary dick. Made for cable. | tt0145400 | James Caan, Dina Meyer, David Keith, Joe Don Baker, Tom Bower, Brian Cox, Nia Peeples | Crime | NULL | |||
| Pooh's Heffalump Movie | 2005 | Frank Nissen. | ★★½ | 67 | Depending on what you bring to it, Disney's trek back to A. A. Milne's Hundred Acre Wood will either be charmingly unpretentious in a minor key or a lost opportunity. Short running time helps, in any event, as the Wood crew takes off to find the supposedly frightening heffalump, which is actually a baby-Dumbo type named Lumpy and no threat at all to finder Roo (who's also a tot). Movie preaches tolerance to 4- and 5-year-olds, close to the age peak of the target audience. Features songs by Carly Simon. | tt0407121 | [G] | Voices of Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Kath Soucie, Nikita Hopkins, Ken Sansom, Peter Cullen, Brenda Blethyn, Kyle Stanger. | Drama, Animation, Family, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Pool | 2008 | Chris Smith | ★★★ | 104 | Two impoverished young boys fend for themselves on the streets of Panjim, India, doing odd jobs to survive, but one of them (Chavan) has higher aspirations: he’s admired the serene swimming pool at an estate on the hill overlooking the city. He tells his friend he’s going to swim in it—not by sneaking in, but by invitation. Disarmingly simple film draws on the real lives and personalities of its youthful stars (nonprofessionals working with documentary filmmaker Smith) as its warmly humanistic story unfolds. A sleeper well worth discovering. | tt0911024 | Venkatesh Chavan, Jhangir Badshah, Ayesha Mohan, Nana Patekar | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Poolhall Junkies | 2003 | Mars Callahan | ★★ | 94 | Callahan cowrote, directed, and stars in this highly forgettable film about a promising pool player who wants to go pro, but is steered instead toward a life of hustling by his mentor (Palminteri). The rest of the 'story' is a mess, with no real focus and poorly delineated characters. Walken (yet again) provides the film's brightest moments as a wealthy man who takes an interest in Callahan. Completed in 2001. | tt0273982 | [R] | Chazz Palminteri, Rick Schroder, Rod Steiger, Michael Rosenbaum, Mars Callahan, Alison Eastwood, Christopher Walken, Anson Mount, Peter Mark Richman, Glenn Plummer, Peter Dobson, Ernie Reyes/ Jr. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Poor Cow | 1967 | Kenneth Loach | ★★½ | 104 | OK drama about working-class loners, centering on promiscuous White's relationship with husband (Bindon), a thief, and his best friend (Stamp), whom she really loves. McDowell's film debut; Loach's feature directorial debut. | tt0062141 | Carol White, Terence Stamp, John Bindon, Kate Williams, Queenie Watts, Malcolm McDowell | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Poor Little Rich Girl | 1936 | Irving Cummings | ★★★½ | 72 | One of Shirley's best films, a top musical on any terms, with Temple running away from home, joining vaudeville team of Haley and Faye, winning over crusty Gillingwater, eventually joining her father (Whalen) and lovely Stuart. Best of all is closing 'Military Man' number. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028118 | Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, Jack Haley, Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, Jane Darwell, Claude Gillingwater, Henry Armetta | Family, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Poor Rich | 1934 | Edward Sedgwick. | ★★ | 76 | Impoverished Oliver urges her equally threadbare cousin Horton to marry money, so they try to fix up their run-down family mansion to impress the potential bride's family. Slack-paced grade-B comedy with a cast of old pros, including young Ward Bond and Walter Brennan in bit parts. | tt0025666 | Edward Everett Horton, Edna May Oliver, Andy Devine, Leila Hyams, Grant Mitchell, Thelma Todd, Una O'Connor, E. E. Clive, John Miljan. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pootie Tang | 2001 | Louis C.K | 💣 | 81 | Jumbled junk, spun off from skits on Rock's HBO show, finds Crouther's 'folk hero' compromised by evil mogul Vaughn, who wants to exploit Pootie's sacred rep by getting him to hawk unhealthy products. Without extended credit sequences and painful interludes featuring Bob Costas in faux interviews, this would barely run an hour and small change. Rock plays two roles: a hanger-on and Pootie's laborer dad, killed by a gorilla in a steel-mill mishap. (Don't ask— and don't watch.) | tt0258038 | [PG-13] | Lance Crouther, Chris Rock, Jennifer Coolidge, Robert Vaughn, Wanda Sykes | Comedy, Musical, Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| Pop & Me | 2000 | Chris Roe | ★★½ | 92 | Heartwarming— if slick— documentary of 29-year-old Roe's six-month journey around the world with his dad, Richard, interviewing fathers and sons across the globe (including a random encounter in Monaco with Julian Lennon, who comes clean about his famous genes) and learning about their own relationship in the process. Real-life male weepie is perfect Father's Day fare. | tt0196002 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Pop Always Pays | 1940 | Leslie Goodwins | ★★½ | 67 | Sometimes funny comedy with Errol, much to his regret, promising to allow daughter Pearce to wed O'Keefe if the latter can save $1,000— which he also promises to match. | tt0032925 |
|
Leon Errol, Dennis O'Keefe, Walter Catlett, Adele Pearce, Marjorie Gateson, Tom Kennedy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Popcorn | 1970 | Peter Clifton | ★½ | 85 | Don't be misled by the talent assembled; most of them seem to have been captured during their worst performances for this concert film. | tt0064826 | [G] | Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, The Bee Gees, Joe Cocker | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Popcorn | 1991 | Mark Herrier | ★★ | 93 | Film students put on a round-the-clock fundraiser of schlocky '50s horror pics— and who should be haunting the premises and projection booth but a ghoulish psychopathic killer? Amusing idea, awkwardly executed, though there are some knowing re-creations of vintage b&w B's. Stone, Roberts, and Walston must have been hired for about a day's shooting apiece. | tt0102690 | [R] | Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace-Stone, Tony Roberts, Ray Walston, Elliott Hurst, Yvette Solar, Derek Rydall, Malcolm Danare, Bruce Glover. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Pope Joan | The Devil's Impostor | 1972 | Michael Anderson | 💣 | 132 | Dim story of woman who, disguised as man, works her way up to the papacy, only to be destroyed when revealed. Performers seem to be embarrassed, as well they should; screenplay by John Briley. Also shown in 112m. version. Reissued as THE DEVIL'S IMPOSTOR, with much material cut. | tt0069110 | [PG] | Liv Ullmann, Keir Dullea, Robert Beatty, Jeremy Kemp, Olivia de Havilland, Patrick Magee, Maximilian Schell, Trevor Howard, Franco Nero, Nigel Havers, Lesley-Anne Down, Andre Morell | British | Drama | NULL |
| Pope John Paul II | 1984 | Herbert Wise | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Finney adds another memorable portrait to his diverse gallery of colorful, full-bodied portrayals. His charismatic Karol Wojtyla is a reverential tour de force, covering the Pontiff's adult life from an adversary of Nazism and Communism in Poland to his installation as Pope in 1978. Script by Christopher Knopf. Aka THE POPE. | tt0087931 | Albert Finney, Michael Crompton, Jonathan Newth, Nigel Hawthorne, Brian Cox, Caroline Bliss, John McEnery, Ronald Pickup, Lee Montague | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Pope Must Die | 1991 | Peter Richardson | ★★½ | 97 | So-so satire with Coltrane an honest small-town priest who, via computer error, becomes the new pontiff and finds himself in conflict with cardinal Rocco and mobster Lom. Occasionally clever but goes overboard once too often, descending into outright silliness. Controversy over the title in U.S. release caused its distributor to rename it THE POPE MUST DIET(!) | tt0102691 | [R] | Robbie Coltrane, Beverly D'Angelo, Herbert Lom, Alex Rocco, Paul Bartel, Salvatore Cascio, Balthazar Getty, Peter Richardson, Robert Stephens, Annette Crosbie | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Pope of Greenwich Village | 1984 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★★ | 120 | Richly textured, sharply observant film about a young hustler in N.Y.C.'s Little Italy and his inability to separate himself from a cousin (Roberts) who's a perpetual screw-up. Not so much a story as a collection of character studies; Page stands out in great supporting cast, as harridan mother of crooked cop. Based on Vincent Patrick's novel. | tt0087932 | [R] | Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, Tony Musante, M. Emmet Walsh, Burt Young, Jack Kehoe, Philip Bosco, Val Avery, Joe Grifasi | Action | NULL | ||
| Popeye | 1980 | Robert Altman | 💣 | 114 | The beloved sailorman (Williams, in his starring debut) boards a sinking ship in this astonishingly boring movie. A game cast does its best with Jules Feiffer's unfunny script, Altman's cluttered staging, and some alleged songs by Harry Nilsson. Tune in an old Max Fleischer cartoon instead. | tt0081353 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Paul Smith, Paul Dooley, Richard Libertini, Wesley Ivan Hurt, Linda Hunt | Adventure, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Popi | 1969 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 115 | Charming story of poverty in the ghetto, focusing on one man's often zany antics in securing better life for his children. Odd ending for far-fetched story. | tt0064827 | [G] | Alan Arkin, Rita Moreno, Miguel Alejandro, Reuben Figueroa | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Poppy | 1936 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 75 | Mild Fields, re-creating his stage role as Hudson's ever-conniving dad. Too much romantic subplot, not enough of W. C.'s antics. The Great Man also starred in a silent version, SALLY OF THE SAWDUST. | tt0028120 | W. C. Fields, Rochelle Hudson, Richard Cromwell, Catherine Doucet, Lynne Overman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Poppy Is Also a Flower | The Opium Connection | 1966 | Terence Young | 💣 | 100 | Incredibly bad anti-drug feature from story by Ian Fleming, originally produced as United Nations project for TV. Acting is downright poor at times. Though never referred to that way, title actually appears on-screen as POPPIES ARE ALSO FLOWERS. Aka THE OPIUM CONNECTION. | tt0060848 | Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, E.G. Marshall, Trevor Howard, Eli Wallach, Marcello Mastroianni, Angie Dickinson, Rita Hayworth, Yul Brynner, Trini Lopez, Gilbert Roland, Bessie Love | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Porco Rosso | 1992 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★ | 93 | A great WW1 aviator, mysteriously transformed into a pig (!), is coaxed into an aerial duel by an American sky pirate. If the plot sounds strange, don't be fooled: this anime feature is Miyazaki's most character-driven film, with plot and dialogue skewing more toward adults than children. Several spectacular air warfare sequences are dazzling highlights. This English-language version, supervised by Pixar, was released in 2005. | tt0104652 | Unrated | Voices of Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes, Kimberly Williams, Susan Egan, David Ogden Stiers, Brad Garrett, Phil Proctor, Laraine Newman | Japanese | Animation, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Porgy and Bess | 1959 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 138 | Classic Gershwin folk opera about love, dreams, and jealousy among poor folk of Catfish Row; a bit stiff, but full of incredible music: 'Summertime,' 'It Ain't Necessarily So,' 'I Got Plenty of Nothin'.' Davis shines as Sportin' Life. Music arrangers Andre Previn and Ken Darby won Oscars. Final film of producer Samuel Goldwyn. | tt0053182 | Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Sammy Davis/Jr., Brock Peters, Diahann Carroll, Ivan Dixon, Clarence Muse | Musical, Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Pork Chop Hill | 1959 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 97 | Gritty Korean War combat film about the taking of a seemingly worthless hill, and the political (and communications) problems that interfere with lieutenant Peck's efforts to get the job done. Impressive cast of stars-to-be. Based on a true story. | tt0053183 | Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn, George Peppard, James Edwards, Bob Steele, George Shibata, Biff Elliot, Woody Strode, Robert Blake, Norman Fell, Martin Landau, Bert Remsen, (Harry) Dean Stanton, Gavin MacLeod | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Porky's | 1981 | Bob Clark | ★★½ | 94 | A lusty, fun-loving bunch of high school guys in South Florida circa 1954 discover that sex is great, revenge is sweet, and Jews are OK after all. Some belly laughs. This raunchy, low-budget comedy made a fortune— and spawned two sequels. | tt0084522 | [R] | Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson, Kim Cattrall, Scott Colomby, Kaki Hunter, Nancy Parsons, Alex Karras, Susan Clark | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Porky's II: The Next Day | 1983 | Bob Clark | ★½ | 95 | In-name-only sequel has same cast of kids in new (and tamer) set of escapades— with no coherency, and not even the raunchiness that made the first film so popular. Sequel: PORKY'S REVENGE. | tt0086129 | [R] | Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Mark Herrier, Roger Wilson, Kaki Hunter, Scott Colomby, Nancy Parsons, Edward Winter | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Porky's Revenge | 1985 | James Komack | 💣 | 91 | Will the gang throw the big high school basketball game or won't they? Beware of high-school seniors with post-collegiate hairlines; these guys are starting to look older than the mid-'50s Bowery Boys. This Revenge is preferable to Montezuma's— but not by much. | tt0089826 | [R] | Dan Monahan, Wyatt Knight, Tony Ganios, Kaki Hunter, Mark Herrier, Scott Colomby | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Port Afrique | 1956 | Rudolph Maté | ★★ | 92 | Bernard Dyer's picaresque actioner gets middling screen version; adulterous wife's past comes to light when husband investigates her death. | tt0049627 | Pier Angeli, Phil Carey, Eugene Deckers, James Hayter, Rachel Gurney, Anthony Newley, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Port Sinister | 1953 | Harold Daniels. | ★★ | 65 | Sunken pirate stronghold island Port Royal rises again from Caribbean depths. Modest, somewhat dull B movie with stilted dialogue and a few giant crabs; unusual premise keeps it watchable, but little more. | tt0046199 | James Warren, Lynne Roberts, Paul Cavanagh, William Schallert, House Peters/Jr., Eric Colmar. | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Port of Call | 1948 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★ | 95 | Slim, minor early Bergman drama about troubled young outcast Jonsson and her relationship with seaman Eklund. Setting is a grim harbor slum, and film's ultimately hopeful, upbeat tone just doesn't ring true. | tt0040418 | Nine-Christine Jonsson, Bengt Eklund, Erik Hell, Berta Hall, Mimi Nelson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Port of Hell | 1954 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★½ | 80 | Tensions mount when Clark, warden of the Port of Los Angeles, imposes tough new rules and falls for tug captain Morris' sister (Mathews). Then it's learned a nuclear bomb is set to explode in one of the harbor's ships. Trim thriller with an unusual premise features extensive location shooting. | tt0047359 | Wayne Morris, Dane Clark, Carole Mathews, Otto Waldis, Marshall Thompson, Marjorie Lord, Tom Hubbard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Port of New York | 1949 | Laslo Benedek | ★★ | 86 | Gloomy tale of customs agents cracking down on narcotics smuggling; Brynner's film debut . . . with hair! | tt0041761 | Scott Brady, Richard Rober, K. T. Stevens, Yul Brynner | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Port of Seven Seas | 1938 | James Whale | ★★ | 81 | Marcel Pagnol's FANNY isn't quite suitable Beery material, but he and good cast try their best as O'Sullivan falls in love with adventuresome sailor in Marseilles. Script by Preston Sturges. | tt0030615 | Wallace Beery, Frank Morgan, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Beal, Jessie Ralph | Drama | NULL | |||
| Port of Shadows | 1938 | Marcel Carné. | ★★★ | 91 | Atmospheric, poetic-realist account of a loner, world-weary Army deserter Gabin (perfectly cast), who wanders into the port city of Le Havre and comes in contact with various characters, including Morgan, who is lusted after by her seemingly erudite guardian (Simon) and a wimpy petty thug (Brasseur). Jacques Prévert's script, from Pierre Mac Orlan's novel, is crammed with grim philosophizing and cynicism, as if the film's makers smell the coming of WW2 and can only stand aside and shrug their shoulders in despair. | tt0030643 | Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michèle Morgan, Pierre Brasseur, (René) Génin, (Marcel) Perez (Pérès), (Roger) Legris. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Portland Exposé | 1957 | Harold Schuster. | ★★★ | 71 | Family man vows to nail the ruthless mobsters who turned his neighborhood tavern into a den of iniquity and assaulted his teenage daughter. Taut, trim, and quite nasty entry in the string of '50s true-life crime exposés, well shot on real locations. Gorshin is memorably creepy as a thug with a weakness for jailbait. | tt0124076 | Edward Binns, Carolyn Craig, Virginia Gregg, Russ Conway, Lawrence Dobkin, Frank Gorshin, Joseph Marr, Rusty Lane. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Portnoy's Complaint | 1972 | Ernest Lehman | 💣 | 101 | Karen Black's excellent portrayal of 'The Monkey' is buried in otherwise incredibly inept filmization of Philip Roth's novel about a not exactly warm relationship between Jewish boy and his mother. Terrible directorial debut by famed screenwriter Lehman. | tt0069112 | [R] | Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, Lee Grant, Jack Somack, Jeannie Berlin, Jill Clayburgh | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Portrait in Black | 1960 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 112 | Average murder/blackmail mystery filled with gaping holes that producer Ross Hunter tried to hide with glamorous decor and offbeat casting. | tt0054197 | Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn, Sandra Dee, John Saxon, Richard Basehart, Lloyd Nolan, Ray Walston, Anna May Wong | Drama | NULL | |||
| Portrait of Clare | 1951 | Lance Comfort | ★★ | 94 | Unpretentious little film, pegged on gimmick of woman telling granddaughter about her past romances. | tt0043930 | Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, Robin Bailey, Ronald Howard | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Portrait of Jennie | 1948 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 86 | Strange otherworldly girl Jones inspires penniless artist Cotten. David O. Selznick craftsmanship and a fine cast work wonders with foolish story based on the Robert Nathan novella. Originally released with last reel tinted green and final shot in Technicolor; the special effects earned an Academy Award. | tt0040705 | Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, David Wayne, Albert Sharpe, Henry Hull, Florence Bates, Felix Bressart | Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Portrait of a Hitman | Jim Buck | 1977 | Allan A. Buckhantz | 💣 | 86 | Gangster Steiger hires 'sensitive' hit man Palance to kill Svenson, but there are complications: Svenson is a pal who once saved Palance's life, and both of them are in love with Turkel. B movie has ragged structure that makes it seem like an unfinished feature. Originally titled JIM BUCK. | tt0076561 | Jack Palance, Richard Roundtree, Rod Steiger, Bo Svenson, Ann Turkel, Philip Ahn | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Portrait of a Lady | 1996 | Jane Campion | ★★ | 144 | Long, often boring, and strikingly ineffectual adaptation of Henry James' novel about a young American woman, determined to live an independent life in Europe during the late 1800s. For reasons never made clear in the film, she decides to marry a man who turns out to be a spiteful, manipulative rotter. Good performances and handsome production can't overcome the dreariness of the material. A very odd, 'Campionesque' prologue attempts to set a contemporary tone for what is to follow. | tt0117364 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Donovan, Shelley Winters, Richard E. Grant, Shelley Duvall, Christian Bale, Viggo Mortensen, John Gielgud | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Portrait of a Mobster | 1961 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 108 | Pretty good gangster movie following the career of Dutch Schultz (Morrow), centering on his relationship with a woman who marries a crooked cop. Danton reprises his role as Legs Diamond from an earlier film. | tt0055317 | Vic Morrow, Leslie Parrish, Peter Breck, Ray Danton, Norman Alden, Ken Lynch | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Portrait of a Sinner | 1959 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 96 | Tiller is effective in leading role as corrupting female who taints all in her path. Based on Robin Maugham story. Original British title: THE ROUGH AND THE SMOOTH. | tt0053229 | William Bendix, Nadja Tiller, Tony Britton, Donald Wolfit, Adrienne Corri, Joyce Carey | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | 1979 | Joseph Strick | ★★★ | 98 | Literate adaptation (by Judith Rascoe) of James Joyce's legendary first novel; it focuses on Stephen Dedalus (Hogan), who questions his faith as he reaches manhood in turn-of-the-20th-century Dublin. McKenna, Linehan, and Potter play, respectively, Simon and May Dedalus, and Dante; in ULYSSES, which Strick made a dozen years before, they appeared as Buck Mulligan, Nurse Callan, and Josie Breen respectively. Filmed in Ireland. | tt0079740 | Bosco Hogan, T. P. McKenna, John Gielgud, Rosaleen Linehan, Maureen Potter, Niall Buggy, Brian Murray | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Portrait | 1993 | Arthur Penn | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | High-powered cast and director give an amiable, loving spin to the tale of an aging couple, still very much in love, and their petulant adult daughter (well played by Peck's real-life daughter), who comes home to paint their portrait. An opened-up adaptation by Lynn Roth of Tina Howe's three-character 1983 Off-Broadway play Painting Churches. Peck was the film's coexecutive producer. Made for cable. | tt0107859 | Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Cecilia Peck, Paul McCrane, Mitchell Laurance, Donna Mitchell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Poseidon | 2006 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★ | 99 | When a “rogue wave” overturns a luxury ocean liner, a random group of passengers band together to find a way to escape—and survive. Who will live? Who will die? Who will care? Well-paced remake of the 1972 hit has everything money can buy, and the requisite moments of suspense and action, but its characters are flat and uninteresting. | tt0409182 | [PG-13] | Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Jacinda Barrett, Emmy Rossum, Mia Maestro, Jimmy Bennett, Mike Vogel, Andre Braugher, Kevin Dillon, Freddy Rodriguez, Fergie | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Poseidon Adventure | 1972 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 117 | Mindless but engrossing, highly charged entertainment— the vanguard of the decade's 'disaster film' genre. Luxury cruise ship capsized by tidal wave, leaving small band of survivors to make way to top (bottom) of ship and hopefully escape. Introductory sequences are laughably bad, but one soon gets caught up in the story and ignores script's weaknesses. Oscar-winning song: 'The Morning After'; also earned a special Oscar for special effects. Sequel: BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. | tt0069113 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Leslie Nielsen, Pamela Sue Martin, Arthur O'Connell, Eric Shea | Adventure, Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Positive I.D. | 1987 | Andy Anderson | ★★ | 95 | Married woman, unable to put her life back together after a violent rape, decides instead to adopt a new identity and live a secret life away from her family. Intriguing story always seems to be leading somewhere but never does, until the final sequence. Well made on a minuscule budget in Texas by writer-producer-director Anderson. | tt0093763 | [R] | Stephanie Rascoe, John Davies, Steve Fromholtz, Laura Lane, Gail Cronauer, Matthew Sacks | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom | 1993 | Michael Ritchie | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Mirthful retelling of the same headline-making story (a Texas mother plots to kill her daughter's competitor for a spot on the high school cheerleader squad) told drearily straight in the earlier WILLING TO KILL: THE TEXAS CHEERLEADER STORY. Ritchie made this one in his SMILE mold from a smile-inducing script by Jane Anderson. Hunter won an Emmy for her portrayal of the obsessed Houston housewife. And don't miss those closing credits! Made for cable. | tt0107861 | Holly Hunter, Beau Bridges, Swoosie Kurtz, Gregg Henry, Matt Frewer, Frankie Ingrassia, Elizabeth Ruscio, Andy Richter, Giovanni Ribisi | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Posse | 1975 | Kirk Douglas | ★★★ | 94 | Watergate-era Western about a lawman (Douglas) who captures a notorious outlaw (Dern), hoping it will help propel him into public office... but the cunning criminal undermines the marshal's reputation and the loyalty of his posse. Entertaining (if not exactly subtle) revisionist yarn. | tt0073559 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Bruce Dern, Bo Hopkins, James Stacy, Luke Askew, David Canary, Alfonso Arau, Katherine Woodville, Beth Brickell | Western | NULL | ||
| Posse | 1993 | Mario Van Peebles | ★★ | 109 | Noisy, violent, but politically correct Western about a mostly black posse who do battle with a pompous, racist colonel, and a vicious white sheriff who wants to take over a peaceful black frontier settlement. Game attempt at a new take on the Old West, but at its core it's thoroughly conventional. Follow-up: LOS LOCOS. | tt0107863 | [R] | Mario Van Peebles, Stephen Baldwin, Charles Lane, Tiny Lister/Jr., Big Daddy Kane, Billy Zane, Blair Underwood, Melvin Van Peebles, Salli Richardson, Tone Loc, Pam Grier, Vesta Williams, Isaac Hayes, Robert Hooks, Richard Jordan, Paul Bartel, Stephen J. Cannell, Nipsey Russell, Reginald VelJohnson, Woody Strode, Aaron Neville, Warrington and Reginald Hudlin | U.S.-British | Western | NULL | |
| Posse From Hell | 1961 | Herbert Coleman | ★★½ | 89 | Gunslinger Murphy, a loner, agrees to pursue four deadly outlaws after they've robbed a bank and kidnapped a young woman, but he's saddled with an inexperienced posse. Murphy vehicle is surprisingly thoughtful and well written. | tt0055318 | Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Zohra Lampert, Vic Morrow, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| Possessed | 1931 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 76 | Factory girl Crawford becomes the mistress of Park Avenue lawyer Gable. Fascinating feminist drama, crammed with symbolism and featuring a radiant Crawford. Outrageous pre-Code script by Lenore Coffee. | tt0022276 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford, Skeets Gallagher, John Miljan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Possessed | 1947 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★★ | 108 | Crawford gives fine performance in intelligent study of woman whose subtle mental problems lead to ruin. Heflin and Massey are the men in her life; Brooks, as Massey's daughter, is radiant in her film debut. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039725 | Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks, Stanley Ridges | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Possession | 1981 | Andrzej Zulawski | ★½ | 127 | Adjani 'creates' a monster, to the consternation of husband Neill, lover Bennent— and the viewer. Confusing drama of murder, horror, intrigue, though it's all attractively directed. Filmed in English; hacked down to 81m. for American release. | tt0082933 | [R] | Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent, Margit Carstensen, Michael Hogben | French-West German | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Possession | 2002 | Neil LaBute | ★★ | 119 | Two modern-day academics— an impulsive American man and a cool British woman— become unlikely partners in ferreting out a mystery about a renowned romantic poet of the mid-1800s. The period story is beautifully acted and staged, but the modern story is just the opposite— full of ludicrous dialogue and arch, affected performances. Based on a novel by A. S. Byatt. | tt0256276 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Trevor Eve, Toby Stephens, Anna Massey, Graham Crowden, Lena Headey, Tom Hollander | Romance | NULL | ||
| Possession | 2010 | Joel Bergvall, Simon Sandquist | ★½ | 86 | Gellar has a sweet, loving spouse and a crude, volatile brother-in-law. A car accident renders both men comatose; only the brother-in-law awakens . . . and claims to be Gellar's hubby. What's a girl to do? Lame chiller attempts to create an air of desperation and paranoia, but fails dismally. Remake of the 2002 South Korean film JUNGDOK (ADDICTED). Completed in 2007; released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0368563 | [PG-13] | Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Pace, Michael Landes, Tuva Novotny, Chelah Horsdal | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Possession of Joel Delaney | 1972 | Waris Hussein | ★★★ | 105 | Uneven but satisfying mix of horror and social commentary with unsympathetic, affluent Manhattanite MacLaine threatened by mysterious transformations of her brother Joel (King). Offbeat throughout. | tt0067601 | [R] | Shirley MacLaine, Perry King, Lisa Kohane, David Elliott, Michael Hordern, Miriam Colon, Lovelady Powell | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Possessors | 1958 | Denys de La Patelliere | ★★½ | 94 | Diffuse yet forceful study of patriarch Gabin forcing issues to make his family self-sufficient. | tt0051679 |
|
Jean Gabin, Jean Desailly, Pierre Brasseur, Emmanuele Riva, Bernard Blier | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Post Grad | 2009 | Vicky Jenson | ★ | 88 | Book-loving college graduate Bledel has a career in publishing all mapped out until her dream editor job is filled by a rival. Suddenly, she’s living at home with her wacky family and forced to endure rounds of job interviews. Bland, inert comedy-drama, with a puppy-love subplot, strains to entertain. Keaton plays the eccentric but softhearted dad; Burnett, as the dotty grandmother, is not at her best. | tt1142433 | [PG-13] | Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Carol Burnett, Bobby Coleman, Rodrigo Santoro, Catherine Reitman, J. K. Simmons. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Postal Inspector | 1936 | Otto Brower | ★★ | 58 | A real-life postal inspector's life could never be this unusual: a novel romantic tale, a big robbery, and a major flood are all worked into this routine B picture. Lugosi plays a nightclub owner forced into crime by gambling debts. Oh, yes, there's also a song titled 'Let's Have Bluebirds on All Our Wallpaper.' | tt0028132 | Ricardo Cortez, Patricia Ellis, Michael Loring, Bela Lugosi, David Oliver, Wallis Clark | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Postcards From the Edge | 1990 | Mike Nichols | ★★★½ | 101 | Brilliantly cinematic rendering of Carrie Fisher's novel about a young woman falling prey to drugs while trying to pursue an acting career— in the shadow of a famous show-business mother. Vividly real, bitingly funny. MacLaine and Streep both have showstopping musical numbers. Fisher wrote the screenplay. | tt0100395 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Mary Wickes, Conrad Bain, Annette Bening, Simon Callow, Gary Morton, CCH Pounder, Sidney Armus, Robin Bartlett, Anthony Heald, Dana Ivey, Oliver Platt, Michael Ontkean, J.D. Souther | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | 1946 | Tay Garnett | ★★★★ | 113 | Garfield and Turner ignite the screen in this bristling drama of lovers whose problems just begin when they do away with her husband (Kellaway). Despite complaints of changes in James M. Cain's original story (mostly for censorship purposes), the film packs a real punch and outshines the more explicit 1981 remake. Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch scripted (from Cain's novel). Filmed twice before, in France and Italy. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038854 | Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Audrey Totter, Leon Ames, Alan Reed, Wally Cassell | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Postman Always Rings Twice | 1981 | Bob Rafelson | ★½ | 123 | Exceedingly unpleasant adaptation of James M. Cain's Depression-era novel about a drifter and a sensual young woman who conspire to free her from her loveless marriage. David Mamet's screenplay may be more faithful to Cain than the 1946 version, but who cares? Despite its much-touted sex scenes (more violent than erotic), it's dreary and forgettable. Moodily photographed by Sven Nykvist. | tt0082934 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner, Christopher Lloyd, John P. Ryan, Anjelica Huston | Crime, Drama, Thriller, Romance | NULL | ||
| Postman's Knock | 1962 | Robert Lynn | ★★ | 87 | Milligan is an overly efficient postal worker who upsets the equilibrium of the London post office— and some ambitious thieves. Scattered laughs in this heavy-handed comedy. | tt0056363 | Spike Milligan, Barbara Shelley, John Wood, Miles Malleson, Ronald Adam, Wilfrid Lawson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Postman | Il Postino | 1994 | Michael Radford | ★★★ | 113 | A moving film detailing the friendship between exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and the simple Italian man who delivers his mail every day. International talents combined to tell a universal story of how one person can affect another, no matter how different their life experiences may be. Noiret is masterful as always, and Troisi is understated and unforgettable in his final film role; he died of heart disease just 12 hours after the movie finished shooting. Oscar winner for Original Dramatic Score (Luis Bacalov). Original title: IL POSTINO. | tt0110877 | Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Linda Moretti, Renato Scarpa | Italian-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Postman | 1997 | Kevin Costner | ★½ | 177 | Long, boring, pretentious allegory about an itinerant performer in the post-apocalyptic future who passes himself off as a U.S. mail carrier. In that guise, he personifies hope for several isolated communities who've been beaten down by the cruel tactics of a demagogue (Patton, in a one-note performance). A well-meaning (but complete) misfire. That's Costner's son in the film's final shot; one daughter plays a mail carrier, the other sings 'America the Beautiful.' Mary Stuart Masterson appears unbilled. | tt0119925 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo, Daniel Von Bargen, Tom Petty, Scott Bairstow, Roberta Maxwell, Joe Santos, Peggy Lipton, Giovanni Ribisi, Shawn Hatosy | Drama, Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Postmark for Danger | 1955 | Guy Green | ★½ | 84 | Hokey, overbaked murder mystery about what happens when an artist's journalist brother is 'accidentally' killed in a car crash, and the actress who supposedly died with him mysteriously appears. | tt0048507 | Terry Moore, Robert Beatty, William Sylvester, Geoffrey Keen, Josephine Griffin, Allan Cuthbertson | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Pot o' Gold | 1941 | George Marshall | ★★ | 86 | Very minor item about harmonica-playing, music-mad Stewart, and his experiences with a band of struggling musicians. Stewart called this his worst movie! Look briefly for Art Carney as a radio announcer. | tt0034055 | James Stewart, Paulette Goddard, Horace Heidt, Charles Winninger, Mary Gordon, Jed Prouty | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw | 1988 | Pierre DeCelles | ★½ | 76 | Yet another TV-style cartoon based on merchandising characters, with the Pound Puppies trying to retrieve a magical bone that's been stolen from a museum. Yawn. | tt0095894 | [G] | Voices of George Rose, B. J. Ward, Ruth Buzzi, Brennan Howard | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Powaqqatsi | 1988 | Godfrey Reggio | ★★½ | 97 | Follow-up to KOYAANISQATSI is a visual collage in which scenes of various cultures around the world are edited together to show how Third World societies have been exploited. Beautifully photographed, but the result is somehow shallow— much like a coffee-table picture book— and not nearly as impressive as its predecessor. Music is again by Philip Glass. Followed by NAQOYQATSI. | tt0095895 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Powder | 1995 | Victor Salva | ★★ | 111 | Rural teen Flanery, whose skin is ghostly white and whose nickname is Powder, is the local pariah; he's scary, shy, brilliant, and seems to have electromagnetic powers (and an odd relationship to lightning storms). Suddenly he's thrust into dealing with people and prejudices for the first time in his life. Combines a zillion 1950s and 1960s B-movie themes (including reform school) into a contemporary fable. Earnest, but doesn't add up to very much. | tt0114168 | [PG-13] | Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery, Lance Henriksen, Jeff Goldblum, Brandon Smith, Bradford Tatum, Susan Tyrrell, Missy Crider, Ray Wise | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Powder River | 1953 | Louis King | ★★ | 78 | Straightforward minor Western, with Calhoun becoming town sheriff and clearing up a friend's murder. | tt0046202 | Rory Calhoun, Corrine Calvet, Cameron Mitchell, Carl Betz | Western | NULL | |||
| Powder Town | 1942 | Rowland V. Lee. | ★★ | 79 | O'Brien is an eccentric scientist working to develop a secret explosive, clashing with plant foreman McLaglen, who's assigned to keep watch and ferret out spies. Humdrum, talky WW2 propaganda is, curiously, played mainly for laughs. | tt0035205 | Victor McLaglen, Edmond O'Brien, June Havoc, Dorothy Lovett, Eddie Foy/Jr., Damian O'Flynn, Marten Lamont, Marion Martin. | Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Powdersmoke Range | 1935 | Wallace Fox. | ★★ | 72 | Partners Carey, Gibson, and Williams come to the aid of ex-con Steele, who's run up against town boss Hardy. Likable stars are lost in this snail-like story with bad dialogue and a paucity of action. Tyler steals the show as a hired gun. Touted as 'the Barnum and Bailey of Westerns,' this was the first film based on William Colt MacDonald's Three Mesquiteers characters. | tt0026886 | Harry Carey, Hoot Gibson, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Tom Tyler, Bob Steele, Sam Hardy, Boots Mallory, Sam Hardy, Buzz Barton, Wally Wales, Art Mix, Jay Wilsey, Buddy Roosevelt, Franklyn Farnum, William Farnum. | Western | NULL | |||
| Power | 1986 | Sidney Lumet | ★½ | 111 | Slick, sanctimonious story of ruthless political media manipulator (Gere) who, it turns out, isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Subject isn't headline news anymore, but this movie treats it that way. Downright embarrassing at times. | tt0091786 | [R] | Richard Gere, Julie Christie, Gene Hackman, Kate Capshaw, Denzel Washington, E.G. Marshall, Beatrice Straight, Fritz Weaver, Michael Learned, J. T. Walsh, E. Katherine Kerr, Matt Salinger | Drama | NULL | ||
| Power Play | Operation Overthrow | 1978 | Martyn Burke | ★½ | 102 | Story of a military coup in a country that looks vaguely European but where everybody sounds British or Canadian. Flat, unsuspenseful drama. Aka OPERATION OVERTHROW. | tt0078105 | Peter O'Toole, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasence, Barry Morse, Jon Granik | Canadian-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Power and the Glory | 1933 | William K. Howard | ★★★ | 76 | Considered by many a precursor to CITIZEN KANE, Preston Sturges' script tells rags-to-riches story of callous industrialist (Tracy) in flashback. Silent-star Moore gives sensitive performance as Tracy's wife. | tt0024465 | Spencer Tracy, Colleen Moore, Ralph Morgan, Helen Vinson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Power and the Prize | 1956 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 98 | Sporadically effective study of big men in corporation and their private lives. | tt0049635 | Robert Taylor, Elisabeth Mueller, Burl Ives, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke, Mary Astor | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Power of One | 1992 | John G. Avildsen | ★★ | 111 | Precisely what you'd expect when the director of ROCKY and THE KARATE KID tackles a movie about apartheid. Rah-rah mawkishness tells of a white South African lad who promotes integration by getting into the boxing ring with his oppressed black buddies. Offensive trivialization of a great subject, but at least the first half offers Freeman and Mueller-Stahl as the youth's mentors; when they're written out of the script in hour two, film becomes an ordeal to watch. | tt0105159 | [PG-13] | Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, John Gielgud, Fay Masterson, Marius Weyers, Tracy Brooks Swope, John Osborne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Power of the Whistler | 1945 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 66 | Carter tries to help amnesiac Dix recall his identity, only to discover that he's an escaped psycho killer. Third Whistler entry is a little padded but still genuinely eerie. | tt0037997 | Richard Dix, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell, Loren Tindall, Tala Birell, John Abbott | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Power | 1968 | Byron Haskin | ★★★ | 109 | Research team discovers one of their number is an evil super-genius with powerful ESP abilities who starts killing the others one by one. Can Hamilton identify the man with the power before the villain kills him too? Could you ever doubt George Hamilton? Good, underrated George Pal production. | tt0063452 | George Hamilton, Suzanne Pleshette, Richard Carlson, Yvonne De Carlo, Earl Holliman, Gary Merrill, Ken Murray, Barbara Nichols, Arthur O'Connell, Nehemiah Persoff, Aldo Ray, Michael Rennie | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Powerpuff Girls | 2002 | Craig McCracken | ★★ | 74 | Heavy-handed expansion of the clever (and cleverly designed) animated TV series about three little girls, created by a well-meaning scientist, who have superhuman powers . . . and the evil, power-hungry Mojo Jojo, who tries to take over their city and terrorize its citizens. The fun ingredients of the series give way to violence and mayhem here. A Jimmy Durante caricature is an all-too-brief novelty. Preceded by a funny Dexter's Laboratory short subject. | tt0289408 | [PG] | Voices of Catherine Cavadini, Tara Strong, E. G. Daily, Roger L. Jackson, Tom Kane, Tom Kenny, Jennifer Hale, Jennifer Martin | Comedy, Animation, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| The Powers Girl | 1942 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 93 | Trifling plot revolving about Shirley's attempt to become member of famed modeling school, with musical numbers tossed in. | tt0035206 | George Murphy, Anne Shirley, Dennis Day, Benny Goodman, Carole Landis | Musical | NULL | |||
| Powwow Highway | 1989 | Jonathan Wacks | ★★★ | 90 | Big, amiable Cheyenne, on a 'medicine' journey to New Mexico in a beat-up Buick, gives a lift to a lifelong friend, an Indian activist. Not a totally successful film, but unusual and satisfying, with a standout performance by Farmer, an immensely likable actor who makes his character both endearing and ennobling. | tt0098112 | [R] | Gary Farmer, A Martinez, Amanda Wyss, Joanelle Romero, Sam Vlahos, Wayne Waterman, Margo Kane, Graham Greene, Wes Studi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Practical Magic | 1998 | Griffin Dunne | ★★ | 104 | Two sisters grow up under the curse of their ancestor (a woman hanged as a witch): any man whom they truly love is doomed. Free-spirited Kidman ignores the threat and leaves their New England home. Bullock lives with her witchly aunts, all too aware of the prophecy . . . until circumstance brings the sisters back together to work some magic of their own. Extremely likable stars make this watchable, but it's a lumpy brew. Based on a book by Alice Hoffman. | tt0120791 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Aidan Quinn, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Chloe Webb, Goran Visnjic, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexandra Artrip, Mark Feuerstein | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Practically Yours | 1944 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 90 | Stars' expertise redeems contrived story of girl intercepting pilot's message to his dog. | tt0037190 | Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Gil Lamb, Robert Benchley, Rosemary DeCamp, Cecil Kellaway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Practice Makes Perfect | 1978 | Philippe de Broca | ★★★ | 104 | Funny, knowing comedy about bored, self-centered concert pianist, supposedly living ideal life, eventually receiving his retribution. Rochefort is perfectly cast as engaging womanizer. | tt0077308 | Jean Rochefort, Nicole Garcia, Annie Girardot, Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Alric, Lila Kedrova, Jean Desailly | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Prairie Home Companion | 2006 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 105 | The extended family involved in an old-fashioned radio variety show gathers for a final performance in this bit of whimsy inspired by Keillor's real-life public radio program. Characters drift in and out, with vignettes ranging from surreal to slapstick, in a perfect melding of Keillor's humor and Altman's signature staging of ensemble scenes that seem both effortless and spontaneous. Fans will enjoy seeing performers and musicians who appear regularly on the weekly radio show. Keillor's first screenplay; Altman's final film. | tt0420087 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Virginia Madsen, Tommy Lee Jones, Maya Rudolph, Marylouise Burke, L. Q. Jones, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Tom Keith, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band | Comedy, Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| Prairie Moon | 1938 | Ralph Staub. | ★★ | 58 | Gangster Pawley is gunned down, but before he dies he makes childhood friend Gene swear to take care of his three tough sons. They soon learn the ways of the West and help bring rustlers to justice. Odd combo of Autry and would-be Dead End Kids adds only spark to standard B Western, with Gene singing (and yodeling) 'He's in the Jailhouse Now.' | tt0030620 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Shirley Deane, Tommy Ryan, Walter Tetley, David Gorcey, Stanley Andrews, William Pawley, Warner Richmond. | Western | NULL | |||
| Prancer | 1989 | John Hancock | ★★★ | 102 | Eight-year-old farm girl Harrell, who marches to her own beat— and whose widowed father (Elliott) is knuckling under to financial pressure— nurses a wounded reindeer she believes is one of Santa's own. While it occasionally is a bit too obvious and cute, it's a charming fantasy about a child's undying devotion to an animal. Followed 12 years later by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0098115 | [G] | Sam Elliott, Rebecca Harrell, Cloris Leachman, Rutanya Alda, Abe Vigoda, Ariana Richards, Michael Constantine, John Joseph Duda | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| A Prayer for the Dying | 1987 | Mike Hodges | ★½ | 107 | Ponderous adaptation of Jack Higgins' novel about an IRA hit man (Rourke, with a dubious Irish accent) who can't escape his chosen calling, even when he tries to. Hoskins is badly miscast as a priest who becomes entangled with Rourke, while Bates chews it up as a flamboyant racketeer who doubles as a mortician. Heavy going all the way. | tt0093771 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates, Sammi Davis, Christopher Fulford, Liam Neeson, Alison Doody | British | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Prayer of the Rollerboys | 1991 | Rick King | ★★½ | 94 | To save his kid brother, orphan Haim goes undercover and joins the Rollerboys, a gang of high-powered, racist-fascist punks whose leader (Collet) might be the great-grandson of Hitler. Set in a future America in which anarchy and homelessness reign; provocative idea weakened by needlessly excessive violence— and a painfully predictable ending. | tt0102703 | [R] | Corey Haim, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Collet, Julius Harris, Devin Clark, Mark Pellegrino, Morgan Weisser, Jake Dengel, J.C. Quinn | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Preacher's Wife | 1996 | Penny Marshall | ★★½ | 125 | Appropriately old-fashioned remake of 1947's THE BISHOP'S WIFE concerns a semi-addled angel sent down here to assist a personally and professionally troubled clergyman only to become smitten with the latter's lovely spouse. Much too leisurely and long, but a notable showcase for its stars, and a rare contemporary Christmas movie to recapture the spirit of vintage holiday classics. With Houston as the wife, the gospel numbers have zing. | tt0117372 | [PG] | Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines, Jennifer Lewis, Lionel Richie, Justin Pierre Edmund, Shari Headley, Cissy Houston, Paul Bates, Loretta Devine, Toukie Smith | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Preaching to the Choir | one on one | 2006 | Charles Randolph-Wright | ★½ | 103 | Amateurish movie aspires to be rousing entertainment but fails to produce anything to rouse you out of your slumber in between gospel numbers. Almost nonexistent plot deals with the lifelong rivalry of two brothers, one a rap star named Zulu, the other a Harlem Baptist preacher. When Zulu’s life is threatened due to bad business dealings, their divergent paths cross in this hip-hop spiritual comedy-musical. Nice to see Kitt still getting work, however. | tt0374923 | [PG-13] | Billoah Greene, Darien Sills-Evans, Novella Nelson, Eartha Kitt, Janine Green, Patti LaBelle, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Marva Hicks, Tichina Arnold, Tim Reid, Ben Vereen | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire | 2009 | Lee Daniels | ★★★ | 109 | In 1987 Harlem, obese 16-year-old Precious (Sidibe) seems to be sleepwalking through life; it's the only way she can deal with the horrifying reality that engulfs her. Pregnant, again, by her father, she is abused at home by her monstrously cruel, layabout mother (Mo'Nique). Then she is transferred to a classroom where a caring teacher (Patton) begins to change her outlook. Raw adaptation of Sapphire's novel boasts unforgettable performances by newcomer Sidibe and stand-up comic Mo'Nique (who won an Oscar) . . . though Patton's character seems pat and less than credible. Geoffrey Fletcher's screenplay also won an Academy Award. | tt0929632 | [R] | Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Kimberly Russell, Bill Sage | Drama | NULL | ||
| Predator | 1987 | John McTiernan | ★★★ | 107 | Schwarzenegger and his super-SWAT-team-for-hire are assigned by the U.S. to a delicate rescue mission in South American jungle . . . but Arnold and his men soon find themselves battling a faceless, ferocious enemy that's picking them off one by one. Solid, suspenseful action film takes time getting started, but emerges a grabber. Followed by a sequel. | tt0093773 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves, R.G. Armstrong, Shane Black, Kevin Peter Hall | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Predator 2 | 1990 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★½ | 108 | Fast-paced (if too derivative) sequel, minus Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time, cop Glover and cronies take on the title alien in 1997 L.A. Good production design and lots of hit-'em-across-the-face action, but don't look for anything resembling inventive dialogue or character development. Then again, you wouldn't expect either from a film with Morton Downey, Jr., in its cast. Followed by ALIEN VS. PREDATOR. | tt0100403 | [R] | Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Rubén Blades, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Kevin Peter Hall, Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin, Kent McCord, Calvin Lockhart, Morton Downey/Jr. | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Predators | 2010 | Nimród Antal | ★★ | 107 | A group of trained soldiers wake up as they are parachuted into a jungle environment that turns out to be another planet. As these strangers grimly work together they realize they are prey imported for those familiar Predators to hunt down, with the help of alien hunting “dogs.” MOST DANGEROUS GAME-type premise is given standard treatment; reasonably entertaining but very rote. Brody makes a surprisingly effective action hero. Mostly filmed in Hawaii. | tt1424381 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Prefontaine | 1997 | Steve James | ★★ | 106 | Peter Anthony Jacobs. Steve Prefontaine, an athlete from Coos Bay, Oregon, attends college, where he excels in running, eventually going to the Munich Olympics. Well-intentioned but TV-movie-like biopic fails to reveal why the runner is remembered today. Seems endless, but well acted. Story also told in WITHOUT LIMITS. | tt0119937 | [PG-13] | Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ed O'Neill, Amy Locane, Lindsay Crouse, Laurel Holloman, Breckin Meyer, Brian McGovern, Kurtwood Smith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Prehistoric Women | Slave Girls | 1967 | Michael Carreras | ★½ | 91 | Idiotic Hammer adventure in which Great White Hunter stumbles into lost Amazon civilization where blondes have been enslaved by brunettes. Honest! Nevertheless, this does have a cult following, due to Beswick's commanding, sensual performance as the tribe's leader. Released in Britain as SLAVE GIRLS, at 74m. | tt0062150 | Michael Latimer, Martine Beswick, Edina Ronay, Carol White, John Raglan, Stephanie Randall, Steven Berkoff | British | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Prehysteria | 1993 | Albert Band, Charles Band | ★★½ | 86 | A family of raisin farmers (!) tries to protect five unusual critters their dog has hatched from eggs she stole from a greedy entrepreneur. An idea that will enchant children of all ages— pet dinosaurs the size of cats— overcomes a routine script. Followed by two sequels. From Full Moon. | tt0107870 | [PG] | Brett Cullen, Colleen Morris, Samantha Mills, Austin O'Brien, Tony Longo, Stuart Fratkin, Stephen Lee | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Prelude to a Kiss | 1992 | Norman René | ★★½ | 106 | It's love at first sight for Baldwin and Ryan, and soon they're wed— but on their honeymoon, he gets the strange feeling she's not the person he fell in love with. Winningly acted romantic comedy turns very, very odd, with a plot twist that's hard to swallow, and even harder to find endearing. A game attempt by all, including featured character actor Walker. Craig Lucas adapted his own play, with Baldwin recreating his original N.Y. stage role and Walker repeating the part he played on tour. | tt0105165 | [PG-13] | Alec Baldwin, Meg Ryan, Kathy Bates, Ned Beatty, Patty Duke, Sydney Walker, Stanley Tucci, Richard Riehle, Rocky Carroll, Annie Golden | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Premature Burial | 1962 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 81 | Title tells the story in another of Corman's Poe adaptations, with Milland oddly cast as medical student with phobia of accidental entombment. Lavish (for this series), but not one of director's best. | tt0056368 | Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Richard Ney, Heather Angel, Alan Napier, John Dierkes | Horror | NULL | |||
| Premonition | 2007 | Mennan Yapo | ★★ | 97 | Bullock is a standard-issue perfect housewife and mother who suddenly seems to be experiencing another reality: she awakens to alternating universes every other day or so. Can she convince everyone that husband McMahon is in peril-or is she just losing her mind? Whatever Hitchcock could have done with this genre thriller is not apparent here, and neither Bullock nor the script are up to the task. | tt0477071 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Nia Long, Kate Nelligan, Courtney Taylor Burness, Shyann McClure, Amber Valletta, Peter Stormare, Jude Ciccolella | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Premonition | 1976 | Robert Allen Schnitzer | ★★ | 94 | Muddled script works against eerie atmosphere in this supernatural tale that stresses parapsychology as clue to young girl's disappearance. Mediocre results. Filmed in Mississippi. | tt0075097 | [PG] | Sharon Farrell, Richard Lynch, Jeff Corey, Ellen Barber, Edward Bell | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Presenting Lily Mars | 1943 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 104 | Well, there she is, and there lies the script. Stale story of determined girl getting big chance on Broadway only comes alive when Judy sings. From a Booth Tarkington novel. | tt0036275 | Judy Garland, Van Heflin, Fay Bainter, Richard Carlson, Spring Byington, Marta Eggerth, Marilyn Maxwell, Ray McDonald, Leonid Kinskey, Connie Gilchrist, Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey | Musical | NULL | |||
| The President's Analyst | 1967 | Theodore J. Flicker | ★★★★ | 104 | Totally nutty, brilliantly maneuvered satire of many sacred cows, as Coburn is pursued by half the government when he quits title job. The ending is a beauty. Screenplay by the director. Edited for video release. | tt0062153 | James Coburn, Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden, Joan Delaney, Pat Harrington, Will Geer, William Daniels | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The President's Lady | 1953 | Henry Levin | ★★★ | 96 | Heston as Andrew Jackson and Hayward the lady with a past he marries work well together in this fictional history of 1800s America, based on the Irving Stone novel. Heston would again play 'Old Hickory' five years later in THE BUCCANEER. | tt0046204 | Charlton Heston, Susan Hayward, John McIntire, Fay Bainter, Carl Betz | Drama | NULL | |||
| The President's Mystery | 1936 | Phil Rosen | ★★★ | 80 | Utterly fascinating Depression-era curio about a prominent lawyer/lobbyist (Wilcoxon) who reluctantly helps greedy capitalists kill some pro-labor/small business legislation. Believing his life empty, he liquidates his assets and 'reinvents' himself— but not without murderous complications. This would make a great double bill with King Vidor's OUR DAILY BREAD. Based on an idea by F.D.R., developed as a magazine article by six writers (including S. S. Van Dine)! Screenplay by Lester Cole and Nathanael West. | tt0028135 | Henry Wilcoxon, Betty Furness, Sidney Blackmer, Evelyn Brent, Barnett Parker | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Presidio | 1988 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 97 | San Francisco cop Harmon investigates a murder that took place on local military base, and clashes with an old nemesis, the presidio's chief provost Connery— whose daughter he's attracted to. Strictly formula stuff, though slickly done, with some good S.F. chase scenes. | tt0095897 | [R] | Sean Connery, Mark Harmon, Meg Ryan, Jack Warden, Mark Blum, Dana Gladstone, Jenette Goldstein, Don Calfa | Action | NULL | ||
| Press for Time | 1966 | Robert Asher | ★★ | 102 | Bumbling son of a commoner is sent by his government minister granddad to work as a reporter on a provincial newspaper. Wisdom has fun doing three roles; infectious musical score by Mike Vickers. | tt0060857 | Norman Wisdom, Angela Browne, Derek Bond, Derek Francis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pressure Point | 1962 | Hubert Cornfield | ★★★ | 91 | Intelligent drama, with Poitier the prison psychiatrist trying to ferret out the problems of his Nazi patient (Darin). Based on a true case from Dr. Robert M. Lindner's The Fifty-Minute Hour. | tt0056370 | Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk, Carl Benton Reid, Mary Munday, Barry Gordon, Howard Caine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Prestige | 1932 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 71 | Flamboyant direction and solid performances elevate hackneyed melodrama about life at French Army outpost in the Far East where White Supremacy— and Douglas' sanity— are threatened. | tt0023352 | Ann Harding, Melvyn Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, Clarence Muse, Ian MacLaren | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prestige | 2006 | Christopher Nolan | ★★ | 130 | Airless, cheerless story of two magicians in London at the turn of the 20th century and how their rivalry develops into an unhealthy obsession. Somehow Nolan (who coscripted with his brother Jonathan, from Christopher Priest's novel) has managed to make a film about magic and illusion without a sense of wonder-or a drop of humor. | tt0482571 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie, Andy Serkis, Roger Rees, Ricky Jay, Edward Hibbert, Daniel Davis, Christopher Neame | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Presumed Innocent | 1990 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★ | 127 | Solid, well-cast screen version of Scott Turow's crackling best-seller about a prosecutor assigned to investigate the murder of a sexy assistant prosecutor with whom he'd had an affair. Soon, he's charged with the murder himself! Slow going at times, film misses its potential for greatness but still delivers many powerful moments. Screenplay by Pakula and Frank Pierson. | tt0100404 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield, Greta Scacchi, John Spencer, Joe Grifasi, Tom Mardirosian, Anna Maria Horsford, Sab Shimono, Christine Estabrook, Michael Tolan | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Pretender | 1947 | W. Lee Wilder | ★★½ | 69 | Dekker gives sharply etched performance as N.Y.C. financier trying to do in a competitor, discovering he may be the victim instead. | tt0039730 | Albert Dekker, Catherine Craig, Linda Stirling, Charles Drake, Charles Middleton, Alan Carney | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Pretty Baby | 1978 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 109 | Malle's first American film is beautifully mounted but distressingly low-keyed story of marriage between a 12-year-old New Orleans prostitute and an older photographer, set around time of WW1. Shields is striking in title role, but Carradine is pretty lifeless. Designed and cowritten (with Malle) by Polly Platt; photographed by Sven Nykvist. | tt0078111 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields, Antonio Fargas, Frances Faye, Gerrit Graham, Mae Mercer, Diana Scarwid, Barbara Steele | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pretty Boy Floyd | 1960 | Herbert J. Leder | ★★ | 96 | Average chronicle of infamous 1930s gangster, played energetically by Ericson. | tt0054204 |
|
John Ericson, Barry Newman, Joan Harvey, Jason Evers, Carl York, Peter Falk, Roy Fant, Shirley Smith | Crime | NULL | ||
| Pretty Maids All in a Row | 1971 | Roger Vadim | ★★★ | 92 | Silly but enjoyable black comedy; high school guidance-counselor/ coach Hudson advises frustrated Carson in sexual matters, while school is plagued with murders of pretty female students. Written and produced by Gene Roddenberry. | tt0067610 | [R] | Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, John David Carson, Roddy McDowall, James Doohan, Keenan Wynn, Amy (Aimee) Eccles, Barbara Leigh | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pretty Persuasion | 2005 | Marcos Siega | ★½ | 110 | Superficial, self-satisfied snipe at privileged Beverly Hills kids and their messed-up parents, as seen through an unenlightening portrait of a teenage psychopath (Evan Rachel Wood) who destroys everyone with whom she comes into contact. Glib, just like Woods's portrayal of the girl's scummy, bigoted father. There's no one to root for in this poisonous cast of characters. | tt0381505 | [R] | Evan Rachel Wood, Ron Livingston, James Woods, Jane Krakowski, Elisabeth Harnois, Selma Blair, Danny Comden, Robert Joy, Jaime King, Michael Hitchcock | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Pretty Poison | 1968 | Noel Black | ★★★ | 89 | Oddball arsonist Perkins enlists aid of sexy high-schooler Weld for scheme he's hatching, but soon discovers that she's got stranger notions than he does! Bright screenplay by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (from Stephen Geller's novel, She Let Him Continue), sparked by Weld's vivid performance. | tt0063456 | [R] | Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland, John Randolph, Dick O'Neill | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pretty Village, Pretty Flame | 1996 | Srdjan Dragojevic | ★★★ | 125 | Biting allegorical anti-war drama about two young men, one Muslim, the other Serbian, who came of age together as best pals (depicted in poignant flashbacks) and now find themselves on opposite sides in the Bosnian civil war— and inexorably heading toward a confrontation. | tt0116860 | Dragan Bjelogrlic, Nikola Pejakovic, Velimir Bata Zivojinovic, Dragan Maksimovic | Yugoslavian | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Pretty Woman | 1990 | Garry Marshall | ★★★ | 117 | Surprisingly successful variation on an old formula: wealthy, cold-blooded business tycoon Gere chances to meet Hollywood Boulevard hooker Roberts. He hires her to be his companion for a week, spruces her up, and— well, you can figure out the rest. Light, charming, and thoroughly entertaining, with Roberts a delight in a star-making role. Director's cut runs 124m. | tt0100405 | [R] | Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Laura San Giacomo, Hector Elizondo, Alex Hyde-White, Elinor Donahue, Larry Miller, Jane Morris | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pretty in Pink | 1986 | Howard Deutch | ★★★ | 96 | A high school have-not finds herself in a quandary when one of the 'richies' asks her out; her fellow outcast and fanatical devotee (Cryer) isn't too happy, either. Credible look at growing pains by writer-producer John Hughes, nicely acted, if a bit slow and self-serious. Stanton, as Molly's dad, has never been so tender on screen! | tt0091790 | [PG-13] | Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts, James Spader, Alexa Kenin, Andrew Dice Clay, Margaret Colin, Gina Gershon, Dweezil Zappa, Kristy Swanson | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Prettykill | 1987 | George Kaczender | 💣 | 95 | Noxious exploitation film about down on his luck cop and his girlfriend/hooker enmeshed in a case of a slasher who preys on prostitutes. Snyder gives an overwrought performance as a sweet young thing with a dual personality (she lapses into her southern fried incestuous father's voice at times!). | tt0093775 | [R] | David Birney, Season Hubley, Susannah York, Yaphet Kotto, Suzanne Snyder | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Preview Murder Mystery | 1936 | Robert Florey. | ★★★ | 62 | A murderer stalks a movie studio as the stars of a production are being bumped off one by one. Stylish, lightning-paced B movie from Florey, with a nifty mystery and good studio atmosphere. One interesting bit involves an early form of television used for surveillance. Cast features former silent-film stars, including Conway Tearle, Jack Mulhall, Bryant Washburn, Franklyn Farnum, and Chester Conklin. | tt0028136 | Reginald Denny, Frances Drake, Gail Patrick, Rod La Rocque, Ian Keith, George Barbier. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Prey for Rock & Roll | 2003 | Alex Steyermark | ★★½ | 103 | All-femme grunge band fights hard for its big break while enduring unrelenting personal tragedies. Star-producer Gershon's feral, strikingly tattooed performance grounds the otherwise predictably gritty proceedings. Based on an autobiographical play by West Coast musician-artist Cheri Lovedog. | tt0307351 | [R] | Gina Gershon, Drea de Matteo, Marc Blucas, Shelly Cole, Ivan Martin, Lori Petty, Sandra Seacat, Ashley Drane, Shakara Ledard, Eddie Driscoll, Texas Terri | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Price Above Rubies | 1998 | Boaz Yakin | ★★½ | 117 | An unhappy Hasidic housewife in N.Y.C. yearns for sexual liberation and the freedom to pursue a career. This had critics divided, but offers a truly three-dimensional heroine, and Zellweger is convincing. Worth a look for those who seek mature, alternative fare. | tt0120793 | [R] | Renée Zellweger, Christopher Eccleston, Glenn Fitzgerald, Allen Payne, Julianna Margulies, Kathleen Chalfant, Edie Falco, John Randolph, Kim Hunter, Phyllis Newman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Price of Fear | 1956 | Abner Biberman | ★★½ | 79 | Middling account of Oberon involved in hit-and-run accident which snowballs her life into disaster. | tt0049636 | Merle Oberon, Lex Barker, Charles Drake, Gia Scala, Warren Stevens | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Price of Glory | 2000 | Carlos Avila | ★★½ | 118 | (Clifton Gonzales Gonzales), Maria del Mar, Sal Lopez, Louis Mandylor, John Verea, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Perlman. Boxing saga centered around a Latino family with Smits pushing his three sons toward a success that eluded him in his fighting days. Earnest performances, and some good action in the ring, but plays like a TV movie. | tt0188160 | [PG-13] | Jimmy Smits, Jon Seda, Clifton Collins/Jr. (Clifton Gonzales Gonzales), Maria del Mar, Sal Lopez, Louis Mandylor, John Verea, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Perlman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Price of Milk | 2000 | Harry Sinclair | ★★ | 87 | On a New Zealand dairy farm, a happy bride-to-be starts doubting her loving fiancé and everything in their lives starts to collapse. Things get even weirder when she accidentally crashes her car into an old Maori woman who survives without a scratch. For a while this daffy fairy tale plays like a cross between Buñuel and the Brothers Grimm but doesn't sustain itself. Guaranteed to test your whimsy quotient. Featuring a lush soundtrack by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. | tt0249893 | [PG-13] | Danielle Cormack, Karl Urban, Willa O'Neill, Michael Lawrence, Rangi Motu | New Zealand | Romance | NULL | |
| The Price of Sugar | 2007 | Bill Haney | ★★½ | 90 | Interesting if overlong documentary offers an admiring portrait of Father Christopher Hartley, a priest who champions Haitian workers employed on sugar plantations in the Dominican Republic. Hartley comes across as equal parts compassionate saint and smooth operator as he challenges a system that sustains a repressive form of virtual slavery. Newman’s measured narration is effectively understated. | tt1045874 | Narrated by Paul Newman | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Priceless | 2006 | Pierre Salvadori | ★★★ | 106 | Charming comedy set in the south of France, where a beautiful gold digger (Tautou) mistakes a bartender (Elmaleh) for a wealthy hotel guest and sleeps with him. When her sugar daddy finds out, he dumps her, and the guileless Elmaleh learns that he hasn’t a chance with Tautou because he’s a poor working stiff. Amusing and surprising twists follow in this entertaining yarn, which gives us a vicarious taste of how the super-rich enjoy the good life in Biarritz. | tt0482088 | [PG-13] | Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jacques Spiesser | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Priceless Beauty | 1988 | Charles Finch | ★★ | 97 | Reclusive former rock star, consumed by guilt over his brother's death, finds a magic lamp in the ocean and inside it a beautiful genie who tries to rebuild his self-esteem and capacity to love. Mediocre romance (starring then-real-life husband and wife Lambert and Lane) struggles to be whimsical. | tt0098122 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Diane Lane, Francesco Quinn, J.C. Quinn, Claudia Ohana, Monica Scattini, Joaquin D'Almeida | Italian | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Prick Up Your Ears | 1987 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 108 | Chillingly realistic and evocative look at young British playwright Joe Orton, who was murdered by his longtime lover Kenneth Halliwell in 1967. Stunning performances by Oldman (as Orton), Molina (as the tormented Halliwell), and Redgrave (as Orton's agent) make up for some lags in Alan Bennett's script. Unflinching look at homosexuality in England during the '50s and '60s (when it was a crime), but film offers no insight into Orton's great theatrical success. | tt0093776 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Wallace Shawn, Julie Walters, James Grant, Frances Barber, Lindsay Duncan, Janet Dale | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Pride | 2007 | Sunu Gonera | ★★½ | 104 | Howard plays real-life Philadelphia swim coach Jim Ellis, who in the 1970s tried to turn around the lives of some inner-city teenagers. Straightforward sports biopic has few surprises but keeps the clichés and preaching to a minimum. Howard (who coexecutive produced) and Mac make charismatic leads. Evan Ross, who plays Reggie, is the son of Diana Ross. | tt0475355 | [PG] | Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Kimberly Elise, Tom Arnold, Brandon Fobbs, Alphonso McAuley, Regine Nehy, Nate Parker, Kevin Phillips, Scott Reeves, Evan Ross, Gary Anthony Sturgis. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pride & Prejudice | 2005 | Joe Wright | ★★★ | 126 | Vibrant version of Jane Austen's novel about five sisters whose mother is desperate to see them married off, and the reaction of Elizabeth, the most independent-minded of the bunch, to a man she initially despises. Purists will wince at liberties taken, but director Wright and screenwriter Deborah Moggach have fashioned a lively romance with an earthy atmosphere not usually found in such adaptations. Cast is tops, with Knightley enchanting as Elizabeth, Macfadyen an estimable Mr. Darcy. | tt0414387 | [PG] | Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Tom Hollander, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Kelly Reilly, Simon Woods, Penelope Wilton, Rupert Friend | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Pride and Glory | 2008 | Gavin O’Connor | ★★½ | 129 | Saga of a N.Y.C. police family that’s strained to the breaking point. Norton, assigned to a special task force investigating the slaughter of four cops, discovers that his brother (Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Farrell) were complicit. No earth-shattering surprises in this brutal film, which plays out ritualistically, like an opera, but the drama is still potent and the performances first-rate. Voight is especially good as the family patriarch. | tt0482572 | [R] | Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Frank Grillo, Lake Bell, Rick Gonzalez, Wayne Duvall, Carmen Ejogo, Ramon Rodriguez | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pride and Prejudice | 1940 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★★ | 118 | Outstanding adaptation of Jane Austen's novel about five husband-hunting sisters in 19th-century England. Excellent cast, fine period flavor in classic comedy of manners; Aldous Huxley was one of the screenwriters. Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse's art direction deservedly earned an Oscar. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032943 | Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Edna May Oliver, Edmund Gwenn, Mary Boland, Maureen O'Sullivan, Karen Morley, Melville Cooper, E. E. Clive, Ann Rutherford, Marsha Hunt | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Pride and the Passion | 1957 | Stanley Kramer | ★★½ | 132 | Miscast actioner involving capture of huge cannon by British naval officer (Grant) in 19th-century Spain. Spectacle scenes— filmed on location— are impressive; but most of the film is ridiculous. From the C.S. Forester novel. | tt0050858 | Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, Theodore Bikel, John Wengraf | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Pride of St. Louis | 1952 | Harmon Jones | ★★½ | 93 | Dailey does well in this otherwise formula biography of brash, colorful Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean. Watch for Chet Huntley as a baseball broadcaster. | tt0045049 | Dan Dailey, Joanne Dru, Richard Crenna, Hugh Sanders, Richard Hylton, James Brown | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pride of the Blue Grass | 1954 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 71 | Familiar racetrack story; competent production. | tt0047363 | Lloyd Bridges, Vera Miles, Margaret Sheridan, Arthur Shields, Joan Shawlee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Pride of the Bowery | 1941 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 61 | The East Side Kids are sent to a Civilian Conservation Corps. camp where Muggs is in training for a big boxing match; some well-shot ring scenes. | tt0034064 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Donald Haines, Bobby Stone, Carleton Young, Kenneth Howell, David Gorcey, Mary Ainslee | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Pride of the Marines | 1945 | Delmer Daves | ★★★½ | 119 | Ensemble acting by Warner Bros. stock company enhances true account of Marine blinded during Japanese attack, with Garfield as injured Al Schmid, Clark as sympathetic buddy. Screenplay by Albert Maltz. | tt0038000 | John Garfield, Eleanor Parker, Dane Clark, John Ridgely, Rosemary DeCamp, Ann Doran, Ann Todd, Warren Douglas | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Pride of the West | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 55 | After stage holdup, Hopalong Cassidy rides to rescue Bar 20 pals and determines town banker is behind wrongdoing. Compact, well mounted, if a bit slow; adapted from series creator Clarence E. Mulford's 1920 novel Johnny Nelson. In tribute to Russell Harlan's picturesque photography, extraordinary credit line reads, 'Photographed near Lone Pine, California, in the shadow of majestic Mt. Whitney.' | tt0030621 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Earle Hodgins, Charlotte Field, Billy King. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Pride of the Yankees | 1942 | Sam Wood | ★★★★ | 127 | Superb biography of baseball star Lou Gehrig, with Cooper giving excellent performance; fine support from Wright as devoted wife. Truly memorable final sequence. Script by Jo Swerling and Herman J. Mankiewicz, with Oscar-winning editing by Daniel Mandell. Also see A LOVE AFFAIR: THE ELEANOR AND LOU GEHRIG STORY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035211 | Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Ludwig Stossel, Addison Richards, Hardie Albright | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Priest | 1994 | Antonia Bird | ★★★½ | 97 | Provocative drama about a man of the cloth who finds himself caught between sacred vows and his own personal beliefs, in particular his closeted homosexuality. Deft blend of melodrama and tract that manages to deal with homosexuality, abuse, incest, and the politics of the Church with incisive results— and even a dark sense of humor. Flawlessly acted. Written by Jimmy McGovern. Originally shown at 105m. and trimmed for U.S. release. | tt0110889 | [R] | Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson, Cathy Tyson, Robert Carlyle, James Ellis, Lesley Sharp, Robert Pugh, Christine Tremarco, Paul Barber, Rio Fanning | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Priest | 2011 | Scott Stewart | ★★½ | 87 | Director and star of LEGION reunite for an equally absurd but more exciting fantasy-thriller with religious overtones. In a postapocalyptic world ruled by the Catholic Church, an ages-old war between humans and humongous vampires has been settled by lethally efficient clerical warriors. But when rogue bloodsuckers kidnap his niece, Priest (Bettany) comes out of forced retirement to save her from a fate worse than death. Violent action-adventure borrows imagery and plot elements from THE SEARCHERS and other classic Westerns, and is all the more enjoyable as a guilty pleasure for not slipping into self-conscious campiness. Based on a Korean graphic novel series. | tt0822847 | [PG-13] | Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Lily Collins, Brad Dourif, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Plummer, Mädchen Amick | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Priest of Love | 1981 | Christopher Miles | ★★★ | 125 | Literate account of the last years of D. H. Lawrence (McKellen)— 'the one who writes the dirty books'— highlighted by his relationship with his wife (Suzman) and the publication of Lady Chatterley's Lover. Slow moving but rewarding; 11 years earlier, Miles directed the screen version of Lawrence's THE VIRGIN AND THE GYPSY. | tt0082940 | [R] | Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Ava Gardner, Penelope Keith, Jorge Rivero, John Gielgud, Sarah Miles | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Priest's Wife | 1971 | Dino Risi | ★½ | 106 | Barely entertaining mixture of drama and humor with Loren as disillusioned singer who thinks she can convince priest (Mastroianni) to obtain release from his vow of celibacy and marry her. Weightier handling of subject matter can be heard on radio talk shows; film seems designed merely as vehicle for two stars. | tt0067437 | [PG] | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Venantino Venantini, Jacques Stany, Pippo Starnazza, Augusto Mastrantoni | Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Primal Fear | 1996 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★★ | 129 | Hotshot Chicago attorney defends an altar boy accused of brutally murdering a much-loved archbishop— even though all evidence seems to point to the young man's guilt. Gere gives a solid performance in one of his very best roles, as a cocky lawyer who— for once— doesn't have all the answers. Newcomer Norton is also very impressive. Film loses some of its impact by going on too long and by following unrelated story tangents. Still, an intelligent, absorbing drama. | tt0117381 | [R] | Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Terry O'Quinn, Andre Braugher, Steven Bauer, Joe Spano, Tony Plana, Stanley Anderson, Maura Tierney, Jon Seda | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Primary Colors | 1998 | Mike Nichols | ★★★½ | 143 | Dynamic adaptation of political roman à clef by Anonymous (Joe Klein) about a Southern governor's Presidential race— and an idealistic staffer (Lester) who sees in him both a true believer in people power and an insatiable womanizer who'll do anything to cover his tracks. Travolta is extraordinarily good in a Bill Clinton-esque characterization, and Nichols has cast every part around him with an unerring eye. Bates is a powerhouse as Travolta's longtime political conscience and troubleshooter. Smart, funny, foul-mouthed screenplay by Elaine May. | tt0119942 | [R] | John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester, Billy Bob Thornton, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, Diane Ladd, Paul Guilfoyle, Caroline Aaron, Rob Reiner, Ben Jones, Mykelti Williamson, Bonnie Bartlett, Tony Shalhoub, Allison Janney | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Prime | 2005 | Ben Younger | ★★½ | 105 | A newly divorced 37-year-old woman embarks on a relationship with a 23-year-old man, unaware that he is the son of her longtime therapist. Cute comedy has funny and romantic moments, but never quite catches fire. Bolstered by the performances of Streep and especially Thurman, who has never been looser or more appealing onscreen. Written by the director. | tt0387514 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg, Jon Abrahams, Zak Orth, Annie Parisse, Doris Belack | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Prime Cut | 1972 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 86 | Mob hijinks at a Kansas City slaughterhouse inspire well-cast, fast-moving, tongue-in-cheek trash that fans of sleazy crime melodramas should love. Spacek's first film. | tt0069121 | [R] | Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Angel Tompkins, Gregory Walcott, Sissy Spacek, Janit Baldwin | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Prime Gig | 2001 | Gregory Mosher | ★★ | 97 | Successful telemarketer Vaughn is recruited by Harris for his boiler-room operation and becomes romantically involved with Ormond. Interesting look at scam artists, but Vaughn's ambivalent character flattens the film's dramatic tension instead of heightening it. Good performances help. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0223954 | [R] | Vince Vaughn, Julia Ormond, Ed Harris, Rory Cochrane, Wallace Shawn, Stephen Tobolowsky, George Wendt, Jeannetta Arnette | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Prime Minister | 1941 | Thorold Dickinson. | ★★½ | 109 | Episodic account of the life and works of Benjamin Disraeli. Gielgud at 37 ages from a budding novelist of 30 to an elder statesman of 70, painting the Tory leader as a man of noble principle who proves invaluable to Queen Victoria (a credible Compton) and her expanding British Empire. Gielgud is at least equal to George Arliss' 1929 portrayal, but the movie's budget doesn't begin to support the script's intentions. | tt0034065 | John Gielgud, Diana Wynyard, Will Fyffe, Owen Nares, Fay Compton, Pamela Standish, Frederick Leister, Lyn Harding. | British | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| Prime Target | 1991 | David Heavener | ★½ | 84 | Vanity production for writer-director-producer-star Heavener, who casts himself in the Eastwood/Norris mold as a tough cop accompanying mafioso Curtis to a new prison, with predictable complications along the way. For only the most undemanding fans. | tt0102710 | [R] | David Heavener, Tony Curtis, Isaac Hayes, Robert Reed, Andrew Robinson, Jenilee Harrison, Michael Gregory, Don Stroud | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | 1969 | Ronald Neame | ★★★½ | 116 | Oscar-winning showcase for Smith as eccentric teacher in Edinburgh school who wields a spellbinding influence on her 'girls.' Remarkable character study, adapted by Jay Presson Allen from stage version of Muriel Spark's novel; filmed on location. Smith and Stephens were then real-life husband and wife. Later remade as a TV miniseries. | tt0064840 | [M] | Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Gordon Jackson, Celia Johnson, Jane Carr | Drama | NULL | ||
| Primer | 2004 | Shane Carruth | ★★★ | 78 | Quirky, original sci-fi thriller about a couple of young corporate engineers (Carruth, Sullivan) whose lives are altered when they accidentally invent a time-travel contraption. Shot on a budget of 35è (actually $7,000), and loaded with ideas and imagination; occasionally bogs down in technical jargon, but still well worth watching— and pondering. Carruth also scripted, produced, edited, wrote the score, and was cocinematographer. | tt0390384 | [PG-13] | Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Primeval | 2007 | Michael Katleman | ★★ | 93 | American reporters reluctantly trek to Africa to capture a huge man-eating crocodile the locals call Gustave, and become embroiled in a local war. Peculiar blend of JAWS and a BLOOD DIAMOND-like subplot has its moments, but is mostly routine, with herky-jerky editing in the frequent action scenes. Loosely based on real events. | tt0772193 | [R] | Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones, Jürgen Prochnow, Gideon Emery, Gabriel Malema, Linda Mpondo. | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Primrose Path | 1940 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 93 | Girl from wrong side of the tracks falls in love with ambitious young McCrea; starts engagingly, drifts into dreary soap opera and melodramatics. Rambeau is excellent as Ginger's prostitute mother. | tt0032946 | Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marjorie Rambeau, Miles Mander, Henry Travers | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Primrose Path | 1925 | Harry O. Hoyt. | ★★½ | 53 | MacDonald is a reckless lout who drinks, gambles, writes bad checks, becomes involved in diamond smuggling— and more. What will it take to reform him? So-so programmer is worth a look for Bow's radiant presence as a Broadway beauty. | tt0016245 | Wallace MacDonald, Clara Bow, Arline Pretty, Stuart Holmes, Pat Moore, Tom Santschi, Lydia Knott. | NULL | ||||
| The Prince & Me | 2004 | Martha Coolidge | ★★½ | 111 | Wisconsin farm girl with big plans is attracted to a handsome exchange student who stumbles into her life . . . little dreaming that he is the Prince of Denmark. Amiable modern-day fairy tale goes on longer than it should given its formulaic nature, but the two leads are engaging and attractive. | tt0337697 | [PG] | Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, Ben Miller, Miranda Richardson, James Fox, Eliza Bennett, Alberta Watson, John Bourgeois | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Prince Jack | 1984 | Bert Lovitt | ★★ | 100 | Yet another chronicle of life among the Kennedys, here focusing mainly on the men and their personalities. Superficial at best. | tt0087943 | Robert Hogan, James F. Kelly, Kenneth Mars, Lloyd Nolan, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Guillaume, Theodore Bikel, Jim Backus, Dana Andrews | Drama | NULL | |||
| Prince Valiant | 1954 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 100 | Hal Foster's famed comic-strip character is the hero of this cardboard costumer decked out in 20th Century-Fox splendor, battling and loving in Middle Ages England. Script by Dudley Nichols. | tt0047365 | James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget, Sterling Hayden, Victor McLaglen, Donald Crisp, Brian Aherne | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prince Who Was a Thief | 1951 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 88 | Juvenile costumer with Curtis fighting to regain his rightful seat on the throne; sparked by enthusiastic performances. | tt0043935 | Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Everett Sloane, Jeff Corey, Betty Garde | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prince and the Pauper | 1937 | William Keighley | ★★★½ | 120 | Rousing filmization of Mark Twain's story of young look-alikes, one a mistreated urchin, the other a prince, exchanging places. Top-billed Flynn, cast as the boys' rescuer, doesn't appear until around the midway point. Great music score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Remade as CROSSED SWORDS. Also available in computer-colored version. | tt0029440 | Errol Flynn, Billy and Bobby Mauch, Claude Rains, Alan Hale/Sr., Montagu Love, Henry Stephenson, Barton MacLane | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Prince and the Showgirl | 1957 | Laurence Olivier | ★★½ | 117 | Jeremy Spenser, Richard Wattis. Thoughtful but slow-moving comedy of saucy American showgirl Monroe being romanced by Prince Regent of Carpathia (Olivier) during the 1911 coronation of George V. Filmed in England, with delightful performances by Monroe and Olivier. Script by Terence Rattigan from his play The Sleeping Prince. | tt0050861 | Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thorndike, Jeremy Spenser, Richard Wattis | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Prince of Darkness | 1987 | John Carpenter | 💣 | 110 | The anti-God entombs wayward son Satan in a cannister of glop in an abandoned L.A. church; it's up to priest Pleasence and the grad students of prof Wong to clean up the mess. Not for nothing is the religious sect involved called 'Brotherhood of Sleep.' | tt0093777 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Howard, Alice Cooper | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Prince of Egypt | 1998 | Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells | ★★½ | 97 | Animated retelling of the story of Moses features some of the most spectacular animation in the history of the medium, dramatic staging, and an ambitious song score by Stephen Schwartz . . . but the parts are greater than the whole, and the story drags at times. An impressive achievement, but liable to test the endurance of young children. Features Oscar-winning song 'When You Believe.' Followed on video by JOSEPH: KING OF DREAMS. | tt0120794 | [PG] | Voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short | Drama, Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Prince of Foxes | 1949 | Henry King | ★★½ | 107 | Lavish, incredibly handsome costume epic of Renaissance-era Italy (filmed on location), with adventurer Power defying all-powerful Cesare Borgia. Story elements— from Samuel Shellabarger novel— don't match impact of Leon Shamroy's sumptuous cinematography. | tt0041767 | Tyrone Power, Wanda Hendrix, Orson Welles, Marina Berti, Everett Sloane, Katina Paxinou | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prince of Pennsylvania | 1988 | Ron Nyswaner | ★★½ | 87 | Extremely quirky character comedy of free spirit Reeves (with a strange half-Mohawk hairdo) 'finding' himself while battling with his equally wacko dad (Ward, in a marvelous performance). Madigan is excellent as the older woman whom Reeves romances; in-joke has her dressing up in a Freddy Krueger mask for a fake kidnapping. Writer Nyswaner (SMITHEREENS) turns director; many striking scenes unfortunately fail to grip as a whole. | tt0095903 | Fred Ward, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Bedelia, Amy Madigan, Jeff Hayenga, Tracey Ellis | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | 2010 | Mike Newell | ★★ | 116 | Convoluted juvenile adventure yarn about an adopted prince who is unfairly accused of betrayal (and worse), and finds his fate intertwined with that of a Persian princess. Only she understands the power of a precious dagger that can turn back the sands of time. The actors are gung-ho but the story is obvious and overlong; action scenes are shot in such a way that you can’t really see the stunts, just their implications. As for visual effects, quantity doesn’t equal quality. Based on a video game by Jordan Mechner, who gets story credit here. | tt0473075 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup, Reece Ritchie | Action, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Prince of Pirates | 1953 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 80 | Enjoyable little costumer involving French-Spanish wars. | tt0046208 | John Derek, Barbara Rush, Whitfield Connor, Edgar Barrier | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Prince of Players | 1955 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 102 | Burton is 19th-century actor Edwin Booth, embroiled in more offstage drama than on. Shakespearean excerpts thrown in; well performed by earnest cast. Derek plays John Wilkes Booth. Script by Moss Hart. | tt0048510 | Richard Burton, Maggie McNamara, Raymond Massey, Charles Bickford, John Derek, Eva Le Gallienne, Mae Marsh, Sarah Padden | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Prince of Thieves | 1948 | Howard Bretherton | ★★ | 72 | Colorful swashbuckler of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, aimed at juvenile audiences. | tt0040710 | Jon Hall, Patricia Morison, Adele Jergens, Alan Mowbray, Michael Duane | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prince of Tides | 1991 | Barbra Streisand | ★★★ | 132 | Nolte is both compelling and believable as a man who keeps a lifetime of harrowing memories bottled up inside— until he's forced to spill them to a psychiatrist in order to help save his suicidal sister. How much you like (or believe) Streisand's performance as the doctor may affect your feelings about the film, but she's certainly managed to tell a good story, rich in emotion. Gould (son of Streisand and Elliott Gould) plays Barbra's teenage son. Screenplay by Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston, from Conroy's sprawling novel. Streisand also coproduced the film. | tt0102713 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Kate Nelligan, Jeroen Krabbé, Melinda Dillon, George Carlin, Jason Gould, Brad Sullivan | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Prince of the City | 1981 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 167 | Emotionally powerful story (which unfortunately is true) about a cop in a N.Y.C. special investigations unit who blows the whistle on department corruption but finds himself more a victim than a hero. Standout performances by Williams, fellow cop Orbach, weasely prosecutor Tolkan, but film's extreme length hurts overall impact; there are more details than really necessary to tell the story. Script by Lumet and Jay Presson Allen. | tt0082945 | [R] | Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Bob Balaban, James Tolkan, Lindsay Crouse, Matthew Laurance, Lee Richardson, Lane Smith, Peter Michael Goetz, Lance Henriksen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Princess Academy | 1987 | Bruce Block | 💣 | 90 | Allegedly titillating comedy about young women at a Swiss school who compare notes on losing virginity and snaring rich husbands. In any language, it stinks. | tt0093778 | [R] | Eva Gabor, Lar Park Lincoln, Lu Leonard, Richard Paul, Carole Davis, Badar Howar | U.S.-French-Yugoslavian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Princess Bride | 1987 | Rob Reiner | ★★½ | 98 | Revisionist fairy tale/adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love, who must find and rescue her after a long separation. Some wonderful scenes and character vignettes are periodically undermined by a tendency toward comic shtick (as in Crystal's cameo appearance) and occasional incoherency (as in the opening scenes with Castilian-tongued Patinkin and marble-mouthed Andre the Giant). Best of all: the swashbuckling sequences. Bonus for old-movie buffs: watching Guest, as Count Rugen, imitate Henry Daniell (from THE SEA HAWK). Screenplay by William Goldman, from his novel. | tt0093779 | [PG] | Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage, Robin Wright, Peter Falk, Peter Cook, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Mel Smith | Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Princess Caraboo | 1994 | Michael Austin | ★★★ | 96 | Pleasing fairy tale- like yarn about young 'mystery woman' Cates who is believed to be a princess from a distant land, and is taken in by a well-meaning British lady (Hughes) in the early 1800s. Based on a true story, believe it or not; handsomely made, acted with gusto by a first-rate cast. Ideal family entertainment. Photographed by the great Freddie Francis. | tt0110892 | [PG] | Phoebe Cates, Jim Broadbent, Wendy Hughes, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow, Stephen Rea, Peter Eyre, Jacqueline Pearce, Roger Lloyd Pack, John Wells, John Lynch | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Princess Comes Across | 1936 | William K. Howard | ★★★ | 76 | Lombard, posing as royalty on ocean voyage, meets romantic MacMurray; together they are involved in whodunit. And Fred sings 'My Concertina.' Delightful blend of comedy and mystery. | tt0028138 | Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Douglass Dumbrille, Alison Skipworth, William Frawley, Porter Hall, Sig Ruman, Mischa Auer | Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement | 2004 | Garry Marshall. | ★½ | 115 | Unnecessary sequel to the 2001 hit has our plucky princess set to rule the kingdom of Genovia only to find, thanks to one of the film's many gimmicks, she must be married to assume the throne. A series of sitcom scenarios played out over two hours. Brightened by the presence of Andrews and a game supporting cast. | tt0368933 | [G] | Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, John Rhys-Davies, Chris Pine, Callum Blue, Kathleen Marshall, Raven Symone, Tom Poston, Larry Miller, Caroline Goodall, Spencer Breslin, Elinor Donahue, Paul Williams. | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Princess Diaries | 2001 | Garry Marshall | ★½ | 115 | High school oddball/ugly duckling learns she's a princess from her royal grandmother and blossoms under extensive tutelage (and eyebrow plucking). Cute premise is squandered by a script that goes in a hundred directions— none of them remotely genuine— and never seems to end. Hathaway is appealing, Andrews' touch of class is more than welcome, but the film is an ordeal. Larry Miller appears unbilled. Based on a novel by Meg Cabot. Followed by a sequel. | tt0247638 | [G] | Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, Caroline Goodall, Robert Schwartzman, Erik Von Detten, Patrick Flueger, Sandra Oh, Mindy Burbano | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Princess Ka'iulani | 2010 | Marc Forby | ★★ | 97 | In the late 1800s, the young princess of Hawaii (whose father is Scottish) returns to her homeland after being educated in England, to try to keep the island kingdom from being annexed by the U.S. Fascinating true-life story is told in an earnest but uninspired manner, although Kilcher is well cast in the title role. | tt1185344 | Unrated | Q'Orianka Kilcher, Barry Pepper, Shaun Evans, Jimmy Yuill, Will Patton, Julian Glover, Tamzin Merchant, Leo Anderson Akana, Ocean Kaowili | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Princess Mononoke | 1997 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 115 | Extraordinary animated fable, full of astonishing sights; while the story is difficult to follow at times, it's worth the effort. Wounded by a dying boar god, a young man tries to get help from a forest spirit. He's aided by a girl who lives with wolf-gods, and opposed by a shrewd woman who is devoted to technology. Writer-director Miyazaki largely created his own mythology, and raises worthy questions about mankind's place in the natural world. Complex, thoughtful animated movie aimed at adults rather than children; this was the biggest box-office hit in Japanese history. | tt0119698 | [PG-13] | Voices of Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinkett Smith | Japanese | Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Princess O'Rourke | 1943 | Norman Krasna | ★★½ | 94 | Very dated comedy starts charmingly with pilot Cummings falling in love with Princess de Havilland, bogs down in no longer timely situations, unbearably coy finale involving (supposedly) F.D.R. himself. Krasna won Best Screenplay Oscar. | tt0036277 | Olivia de Havilland, Robert Cummings, Charles Coburn, Jack Carson, Jane Wyman, Harry Davenport, Gladys Cooper | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Princess Yang Kwei Fei | 1955 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★★ | 91 | Emperor Mori takes country girl Kyo as his concubine. He is forced out of power by his greedy family: she is killed, and he worships her statue. Breathtakingly beautiful, poetic love story/ fable/tragedy. | tt0048820 | Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, So Yamamura, Eitaro Shindo, Sakae Ozawa | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Princess and the Frog | 2009 | John Musker, Ron Clements | ★★★ | 95 | In a black neighborhood of 1920s New Orleans, young Tiana learns that only hard work can make her dreams a reality. Then she meets visiting Prince Naveen, who's transformed into a frog and seeks her kiss. Briskly paced gumbo of a story draws on rich Louisiana culture, and every musical number has a unique design and sound. Randy Newman's flavorful songs punctuate this fairy tale, turned inside out by hip, irreverent humor—and Naveen's hilarious dialogue. (He's the first Disney prince who's funny.) Disney's return to hand-drawn animation hews to a familiar formula but makes it work. | tt0780521 | [G] | Voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman | Animation, Family, Romance, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Princess and the Goblin | 1991 | Jozsef Gemes | ★½ | 82 | Static animated version of George MacDonald's 1872 novel-length fairy tale. Princess Irene and miner's son Curdi head off a revolt of subterranean goblins through a series of unexplained events and unresolved encounters. Plot holes aside, the animation is stiff. Released in U.S. in 1994. | tt0107875 | [G] | Voices of Claire Bloom, Joss Ackland, Sally Ann Marsh, Peter Murray, Rik Mayall, Victor Spinetti, Roy Kinnear | Hungarian-Welsh | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Princess and the Pirate | 1944 | David Butler | ★★★ | 94 | One of Bob's wackiest; he and glamorous Virginia are on the lam from pirate McLaglen, trapped by potentate Slezak. Brennan is hilarious as a pirate; great closing gag, too. | tt0037193 | Bob Hope, Virginia Mayo, Walter Slezak, Walter Brennan, Victor McLaglen, Hugo Haas, Marc Lawrence | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Princess and the Warrior | 2000 | Tom Tykwer | ★★ | 130 | Odd, off-putting fable about a nurse in a psychiatric hospital who has a fateful encounter with a deeply troubled ex-soldier and can't get him out of her mind. Long, slow, sometimes downright silly. Film's occasional arresting images linger long after the story's illogicality is forgotten. Tykwer also scripted and collaborated on the highly effective score. | tt0203632 | [R] | Franka Potente, Benno Furmann, Joachim Krol, Marita Breuer, Jurgen Tarrach, Lars Rudolph | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Princess of Montpensier | 2010 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 139 | While war wages between Catholics and Huguenots in 16th-century France, a stunningly beautiful young woman (Thierry) fancies her cousin but is forced by her father to marry a prince she’s never met. Also playing a central role is an older count (Wilson), a warrior-turned-pacifist who becomes her friend and tutor and who not so secretly loves her. Longish but richly absorbing drama of shifting emotions and duty versus desire is well acted by one and all. Tavernier makes this period piece vivid and contemporary; Bruno de Keyzer’s camerawork is exceptional, and the locations are perfectly chosen. Based on a novella by Madame de la Fayette. | tt1599975 | Mélanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Gaspard Ulliel, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Raphaël Personnaz, Michel Vuillermoz, Philippe Magnan, Florence Thomassin | French-German | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Princess of the Nile | 1954 | Harmon Jones | ★★½ | 71 | Hokey script diverts any potential this costumer may have had. | tt0047366 | Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Dona Drake, Wally Cassell, Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Princesse Tam Tam | 1935 | Edmond T. Gréville | ★★★ | 77 | Baker lives up to her legend in this disarming reworking of Pygmalion: a poor, beautiful, wild African lass is polished and educated by writer Prejean, then passed off as an Indian princess— much to the consternation of his snobbish, two-timing wife. Charming story (by Pepito Abatino, then Baker's husband), lavish Busby Berkeley-ish musical numbers. Partially filmed in Tunisia. | tt0026891 | Josephine Baker, Albert Prejean, Robert Arnoux, Germaine Aussey, Georges Peclet, Viviane Romance, Jean Galland | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Principal | 1987 | Christopher Cain | ★★ | 109 | Following some drunken vandalism on his estranged spouse's car, schoolteacher Belushi is 'promoted' to top job at the district's most crime-ridden school. Unlikely mix of comedy and drama benefits from likable performances and a reasonably tense HIGH NOON finale between Belushi and the school's leading thug. | tt0093780 | [R] | James Belushi, Louis Gossett/Jr., Rae Dawn Chong, Michael Wright, J.J. Cohen, Esai Morales, Troy Winbush | Drama | NULL | ||
| Prison | 1988 | Renny Harlin | ★★ | 102 | The spirit of a prisoner who was executed 20 years ago seeks revenge on his one-time guard— who's now the warden (Smith). OK special effects and location atmosphere are strongest assets of this clichéd horror film. | tt0095904 | [R] | Lane Smith, Viggo Mortensen, Chelsea Field, Andre De Shields, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Ivan Kane | Horror, Drama | NULL | ||
| Prison Farm | 1938 | Louis King. | ★★½ | 69 | Innocent Ross gets involved with no-good Nolan; they both end up in a brutal prison, where she falls for compassionate doctor Howard. Formula jailhouse melodrama, smoothly done, with memorable performances by Naish as a corrupt sheriff and Main in atypical serious role as a matron. | tt0030626 | Shirley Ross, Lloyd Nolan, John Howard, J. Carrol Naish, Porter Hall, Esther Dale, May Boley, Marjorie Main. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Prison Train | 1938 | Gordon Wiles | ★★½ | 84 | Stylized, atmospheric little chronicle of racketeer Keating, who's convicted of murder and is traveling cross-country to begin doing time at Alcatraz. Hampered by its ultra-low budget but still a nice surprise. Aka PEOPLE'S ENEMY. | tt0030628 | Fred Keating, Linda Winters (Dorothy Comingore), Clarence Muse, Faith Bacon, Alexander Leftwich, Nestor Paiva | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Prisoner of Honor | 1991 | Ken Russell | Above Average TV Movie | 115 | Murky, Russellized look at l'affair Dreyfus in turn-of-the-century France, with actor (and coproducer) Dreyfuss playing Georges Picquart, the doubting French colonel who comes to believe Alfred Dreyfus' innocence and is court-martialed for his support. Interesting if episodic script by Ron Hutchinson. Made for cable. | tt0102715 | Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed, Peter Firth, Jeremy Kemp, Brian Blessed, Peter Vaughan, Kenneth Colley, Lindsay Anderson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Prisoner of Paradise | 2003 | Malcolm Clarke, Stuart Sender | ★★★½ | 96 | Fascinating documentary about Kurt Gerron, a popular German performer and filmmaker of the 1920s and '30s (best remembered as the nightclub owner in THE BLUE ANGEL) who stayed in Europe too long and wound up at the 'model' concentration camp in Theresienstadt, where he was commissioned to make one final motion picture— for the Nazis. Extraordinary footage from the period is augmented by a handful of equally compelling interviews with surviving friends and colleagues. | tt0348862 | Narrated by Ian Holm | Canadian-British-German-U.S. | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Prisoner of Second Avenue | 1975 | Melvin Frank | ★★★½ | 105 | Neil Simon walks a tightrope between comedy and melancholia, and never falls, thanks to warm performances by Lemmon, as suddenly unemployed executive who has a nervous breakdown, and Bancroft, as his understanding wife. Look for Sylvester Stallone as an alleged pickpocket, F. Murray Abraham as a cabbie. | tt0072034 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Gene Saks, Elizabeth Wilson, Florence Stanley, M. Emmet Walsh | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Prisoner of Shark Island | 1936 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 95 | Excellent film based on true story of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who innocently treated John Wilkes Booth's broken leg after Lincoln assassination and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Gripping story; Baxter superb, Carradine memorable as villainous sergeant, Whitman fine as Baxter's black comrade. Scripted by Nunnally Johnson. Remade as HELLGATE and the TV movie THE ORDEAL OF DR. MUDD. | tt0028141 | Warner Baxter, Gloria Stuart, Claude Gillingwater, John Carradine, Harry Carey, Arthur Byron, Ernest Whitman, Francis McDonald | Drama | NULL | |||
| Prisoner of War | 1954 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 80 | G.I. Reagan parachutes into North Korea to observe the manner in which the Commies are brainwashing American POWs. By-the-numbers Korean War drama, primarily of interest as a reflection of its era. | tt0047369 | Ronald Reagan, Steve Forrest, Dewey Martin, Oscar Homolka, Robert Horton, Paul Stewart, Harry Morgan, Stephen Bekassy, Darryl Hickman, Jerry Paris | War | NULL | |||
| The Prisoner of Zenda | 1937 | John Cromwell | ★★★★ | 101 | Lavish costume romance/ adventure with excellent casting; Colman is forced to substitute for lookalike cousin, King of Ruritanian country, but commoner Colman falls in love with regal Carroll. Fairbanks nearly steals the show as villainous Rupert of Hentzau. Screenplay by John L. Balderston, from Anthony Hope's novel. Previously filmed in 1914 and 1922, then again in 1952 and 1979. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029442 | Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, David Niven, Montagu Love, Alexander D'Arcy | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Prisoner of Zenda | 1952 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 101 | Plush but uninspired remake of the Anthony Hope novel, chronicling the swashbuckling adventures of Granger, a dead ringer for a small European country's king. Stick with the Ronald Colman version; this one copies it scene for scene. | tt0045053 | Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Jane Greer, Louis Calhern, Lewis Stone, James Mason, Robert Douglas, Robert Coote | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Prisoner of Zenda | 1979 | Richard Quine | 💣 | 108 | Famous swashbuckler is played for laughs, but there aren't any. A return to the kind of picture that helped to destroy Sellers' career. | tt0079753 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Lynne Frederick, Lionel Jeffries, Elke Sommer, Gregory Sierra, Jeremy Kemp, Catherine Schell | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Prisoner of the Iron Mask | 1962 | Francesco De Feo. | ★★½ | 80 | Usual costume shenanigans: an evil count imprisons a man who has proof of the nobleman's treachery. Based not on the expected Dumas novel, but on his Ten Years After. D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers do not appear. | tt0137254 | Michael Lemoine, Wandisa Guida, Andrea Bosic, Jany Clair, Giovanni Materassi. | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Prisoner of the Mountains | 1996 | Sergei Bodrov | ★★★½ | 98 | Simple, devastating account of two Russian soldiers captured by Chechen rebels and held in an impoverished mountain-top village. Film is based on a Tolstoy story, but seems more pertinent in its present-day setting. Director's son portrays the younger of the two prisoners, an impressionable soldier barely out of school. Catch this one. | tt0116754 | Oleg Menshikov, Sergei Bodrov/Jr., Jemal Sikharulidze, Susanna Mekhralieva, Alexei Jharkov | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Prisoner of the Volga | 1960 | W. Tourjansky | ★★ | 102 | Well-mounted but ordinary costume drama of soldier who suffers when he seeks revenge on general who impregnated his wife. | tt0051401 | John Derek, Elsa Martinelli, Dawn Addams, Wolfgang Preiss, Gert Frobe | Yugoslavian | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Prisoner | 1955 | Peter Glenville | ★★★ | 91 | Grim account of cardinal in Iron Curtain country undergoing grueling interrogation. Guinness-Hawkins interplay is superb. | tt0048512 | Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Raymond Huntley, Wilfrid Lawson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Prisoners of the Casbah | 1953 | Richard L. Bare | ★½ | 78 | Low-budget costumer with diverting cast in stale plot of princess and her lover fleeing killers in title locale. Turhan Bey's last movie— for 40 years. | tt0046209 | Gloria Grahame, Turhan Bey, Cesar Romero, Nestor Paiva | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Prisoners of the Sun | Blood Oath | 1991 | Stephen Wallace | ★★★ | 109 | Gritty, gripping post-WW2 drama, set on an Indonesian island where the Japanese had established a POW camp for Australian flyers. The war has ended, and truth-seeking military lawyer Brown must deal with bureaucracy, politics, and clashing cultures as he sets out to prosecute different Japanese charged with mistreating and murdering POWs. Incisive, well-acted tale. Aka BLOOD OATH. | tt0100414 | [R] | Bryan Brown, George Takei, Terry O'Quinn, John Bach, Toshi Shioya, John Clarke, Deborah Unger, Russell Crowe | Australian | Drama, War | NULL |
| Private Affairs | 1988 | Francesco Massaro | 💣 | 104 | Various romantic complications among the boring people, mostly connected with the Roman fashion industry. Characters are as dull as the thin, diffuse plot; as near to unwatchable as a movie can be. | tt0095906 | Kate Capshaw, David Naughton, Giuliana de Sio, Michele Placido, Luca Barbareschi | Italian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Private Affairs of Bel Ami | 1947 | Albert Lewin | ★★★½ | 112 | Delicious, literate adaptation (by Lewin) of Guy de Maupassant's 'story of a rogue.' Sanders, who gets ahead by using his charm on prominent women, denies himself the real love of Lansbury. Fine performances; beautifully photographed by Russell Metty. | tt0039735 | George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Ann Dvorak, Frances Dee, Albert Bassermann, Warren William, John Carradine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Private Benjamin | 1980 | Howard Zieff | ★★★ | 110 | A bubbleheaded Jewish American Princess enlists in the Army, and after a disastrous initiation finds direction and self-esteem for the first time in her life. Entertaining comedy with more substance than one might expect; Goldie is terrific in this tailor-made vehicle (which she produced). Later a TV series. | tt0081375 | [R] | Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber, Sam Wanamaker, Barbara Barrie, Mary Kay Place, Harry Dean Stanton, Albert Brooks, Hal Williams, P. J. Soles, Sally Kirkland, Richard Herd, Gretchen Wyler, Craig T. Nelson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Private Buckaroo | 1942 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 68 | Mini-musical from Universal Pictures is vehicle for 1940s favorite sister trio, accompanied by Harry James et al. in Army camp show. | tt0035218 | The Andrews Sisters, Dick Foran, Joe E. Lewis, Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Jennifer Holt | Comedy, Romance, Musical, War | NULL | |||
| Private Confessions | 1997 | Liv Ullmann | ★★★ | 127 | Intimate, compassionate autobiographical drama (an extension of THE BEST INTENTIONS) scripted by Ingmar Bergman, which further examines the stormy relationship between his parents: a strict, detached Lutheran minister (Froler) and a dynamic, restless woman caught in an unhappy marriage (August). Von Sydow brilliantly plays a fatherly priest. An exploration of religion, faith, and loneliness. Edited from a Swedish TV miniseries. | tt0115164 | Pernilla August, Max von Sydow, Samuel Froler, Anita Bjork, Vibeke Falk, Thomas Hanzon | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Private Detective | 1939 | Noel Smith. | ★★½ | 55 | Homicide inspector Foran is continually upstaged by private eye Wyman when the two are forced to team up to solve the case of a murdered millionaire. Snappy, enjoyable mystery-comedy with Warners basically rehashing the formula of their defunct Torchy Blane series. | tt0031825 | Jane Wyman, Dick Foran, Gloria Dickson, Maxie Rosenbloom, John Ridgely, Morgan Conway, John Eldredge, Willie Best, Leo Gorcey. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Private Duty Nurses | 1971 | George Armitage | 💣 | 80 | Second of Roger Corman's five 'nurse' pictures is the worst. Glum and humorless, it spends more time on then-new waterbeds than in the hospital; dull cast doesn't help. Followed by NIGHT CALL NURSES. | tt0067618 | [R] | Kathy Cannon, Joyce Williams, Pegi Boucher, Joseph Kaufmann, Herbert Jefferson/Jr., Paul Hampton, Paul Gleason | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Private Eyes | 1953 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 64 | Good Bowery Boys entry, as they open a detective agency when Sach develops the ability to read minds. | tt0046210 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David (Gorcey) Condon, Bennie Bartlett, Rudy Lee, William Phillips, Joyce Holden, Bernard Gorcey, Chick Chandler, Myron Healey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Private Eyes | 1980 | Lang Elliott | ★★½ | 91 | Conway and Knotts are bumbling Scotland Yard sleuths— and Abbott and Costello incarnate— in this silly, well-mounted murder-in-an-old-dark-house mystery. One of the better Conway-Knotts comedies. | tt0081376 | [PG] | Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Trisha Noble, Bernard Fox, John Fujioka, Fred Stuthman | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover | 1977 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 112 | Sleazy bio of former FBI chief makes for great camp with its all-star lineup of real-life politicians— not to mention that cast! | tt0076567 | [PG] | Broderick Crawford, Dan Dailey, Jose Ferrer, Rip Torn, Michael Parks, Raymond St. Jacques, Ronee Blakley, Celeste Holm, Howard da Silva, June Havoc, John Marley, Andrew Duggan, Lloyd Nolan. | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Private Function | 1985 | Malcolm Mowbray | ★★½ | 93 | Droll, very British comedy by Alan Bennett set in post-WW2 England, where food rationing is still in force and a contraband pig becomes the center of attention. Often funny, but also cynical and cruel. Smith is hilarious as the social-climbing wife of milquetoasty podiatrist Palin. | tt0089838 | [R] | Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Liz Smith, Denholm Elliott, Richard Griffiths, John Normington, Bill Paterson, Pete Postlethwaite | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Private Hell 36 | 1954 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 81 | Well-balanced account of guilt overcoming two cops who retrieve stolen money but keep some for themselves. Interesting low-budgeter with first-rate cast, but gets awfully talky in the second half. Lupino also wrote and produced the film with Collier Young. | tt0047370 | Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff, Dean Jagger, Dorothy Malone | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Private Lessons | 1981 | Alan Myerson | ★½ | 87 | Male adolescent from wealthy family finds sexual delight with the maid, unaware that she has other plans for him. Surprise box-office hit is pretty mild piece of sleaze. Written by humorist Dan Greenburg (who also appears as a desk clerk). Followed by an in-name-only sequel 13 years later. | tt0082948 | [R] | Sylvia Kristel, Howard Hesseman, Eric Brown, Pamela Bryant, Ed Begley/Jr., Crispin Glover | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Private Life of Don Juan | 1934 | Alexander Korda. | ★★ | 80 | Lifeless costumer with aging Fairbanks in title role, pursuing a bevy of beauties in his final film. | tt0025681 | Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon, Binnie Barnes, Joan Gardner, Benita Hume, Athene Seyler, Melville Cooper. | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Private Life of Henry VIII | 1933 | Alexander Korda. | ★★★★ | 97 | Sweeping historical chronicle of 16th-century English monarch, magnificently captured by Oscar-winning Laughton in a multifaceted performance. Lanchester fine as Anne of Cleves, with top supporting cast. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024473 | Charles Laughton, Binnie Barnes, Robert Donat, Elsa Lanchester, Merle Oberon, Miles Mander, Wendy Barrie, John Loder. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes | 1970 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 125 | Atypical but extremely personal Wilder film takes melancholy look at famed sleuth. Acting, photography, and score are tops in neglected film whose reputation should soar in future years. Intended as a 31/2-hour film. A 12m. sequence ('The Dreadful Business of the Naked Honeymooners') restored to laserdisc. Made in England. | tt0066249 | [PG] | Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Genevieve Page, Irene Handl, Stanley Holloway, Christopher Lee, Clive Revill | Comedy, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Private Lives | 1931 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 84 | Sparkling, witty adaptation of the Noel Coward comedy about a divorced couple (Shearer and Montgomery) who marry others and find themselves honeymooning at the same hotel. | tt0022279 | Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Una Merkel, Reginald Denny, Jean Hersholt | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Private Lives of Adam and Eve | 1960 | Albert Zugsmith, Mickey Rooney | 💣 | 87 | Perfectly awful fantasy about a stranded Nevada couple, Ad (Milner) and Evie (Van Doren), who dream that they are back in the Garden of Eden. Rooney chews the scenery as the Devil. | tt0055328 | Mickey Rooney, Mamie Van Doren, Fay Spain, Mel Torme, Martin Milner, Tuesday Weld, Cecil Kellaway, Paul Anka, Ziva Rodann | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex | Elizabeth the Queen | 1939 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 106 | Colorful, elaborate costume drama with outstanding performance by Davis as queen whose love for dashing Flynn is thwarted. Not authentic history, but good drama. Norman Reilly Raine and Aeneas MacKenzie adapted Maxwell Anderson's play Elizabeth the Queen. Adult film debut of Nanette Fabray (Fabares). Aka ELIZABETH THE QUEEN. | tt0031826 | Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale/Sr., Vincent Price, Henry Stephenson, Henry Daniell, James Stephenson, Ralph Forbes, Robert Warwick, Leo G. Carroll | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Private Lives of Pippa Lee | 2009 | Rebecca Miller | ★★★ | 98 | Suburban comic drama about a once-wild free spirit who now leads a predictable and unfulfilling life as her much older husband forces her to move with him into a retirement community. Writer-director Miller's film cross-cuts between flashbacks to the earlier, more vibrant Pippa (Lively) and the frustrated housewife she's become without knowing what hit her. As the mature Pippa, Penn has never been better, torn between loyalty to her unsupportive husband and reinvigorated by Reeve's sensitive soul next door. A small gem of independent filmmaking. Miller's aunt, actress Joan Copeland, appears as a piano player. | tt1134629 | [R] | Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Maria Bello, Blake Lively, Monica Bellucci, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robin Weigert, Ryan McDonald, Tim Guinee, Zoe Kazan, Mike Binder, Shirley Knight | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Private Matter | 1992 | Joan Micklin Silver | Above Average TV Movie | 89 | Spacek sparks as the real-life Sherri Finkbine, who in the early sixties came up against right-to-lifers when trying to abort her unborn baby after discovering doctors had prescribed thalidomide for her. Intelligent script by William Nicholson. Made for cable. | tt0105176 | Sissy Spacek, Aidan Quinn, Estelle Parsons, Sheila McCarthy, Leon Russom, William H. Macy | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell | 1968 | Frank Tashlin | 💣 | 92 | Hope tries to import some beautiful nurses to improve his men's morale, gets Diller instead. Of the many terrible Hope comedies of the 1960s, this may be the worst. Unfunny and offensive. | tt0063459 | [G] | Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jeffrey Hunter, Gina Lollobrigida, Mylene Demongeot, John Myhers, Mako | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Private Number | 1936 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 80 | Young is charming as a maid who becomes romantically involved with her employers' son (Taylor), causing various complications. Rathbone is effective as the villain in this otherwise OK melodrama. Filmed previously in 1919 (with Fannie Ward) and 1931 (with Constance Bennett), as COMMON CLAY. | tt0028142 | Robert Taylor, Loretta Young, Patsy Kelly, Basil Rathbone, Marjorie Gateson, Paul Harvey, Joe (E.) Lewis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Private Parts | 1972 | Paul Bartel | ★★★ | 87 | Truly perverse black-comedic suspense film about runaway teenage girl staying at her aunt's strange hotel where occupants are extremely weird. There's a series of murders but the focus is more on sexual eccentricities including voyeurism, narcissism and transvestism. If Andy Warhol's CHELSEA GIRLS had been codirected by Alfred Hitchcock and John Waters it would come close to this directorial debut by Bartel. Clearly not for every taste. | tt0069124 | [R] | Ann Ruymen, Lucille Benson, Laurie Main, John Ventantonio | Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Private Parts | Howard Stern's Private Parts | 1997 | Betty Thomas | ★★★ | 109 | Horatio Alger-like saga of radio phenomenon Howard Stern, who only achieves success on the air when he starts giving vent to his most outrageous ideas. This pits him against one station management after another. Highly entertaining, even to non-Stern listeners, and evidence that (as Stern has said all along) he's actually an ordinary guy; the rest is a performance. Stern's real-life wife (at the time) plays an NBC switchboard operator. | tt0119951 | [R] | Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Mary McCormack, Fred Norris, Paul Giamatti, Gary Dell'Abate, Jackie Martling, Carol Alt, 'Stuttering John' Melendez, Allison Janney, Michael Murphy, Reni Santoni | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Private Property | 2007 | Joachim Lafosse | ★★★ | 95 | Huppert, bitterly divorced, lives in a large Belgian farmhouse with her slacker twin sons, and is openly sexual in their presence. Emotions flare when she decides to sell the house and open a bed-and-breakfast. Edgy study of extreme dysfunction is provocative, and features Huppert as yet another character who is psychologically unhinged. | tt0855895 | Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Renier, Yannick Renier, Kris Cuppens, Raphaëlle Lubansu, Patrick Descamps | French-Belgian-Luxembourg | Drama | NULL | ||
| Private Resort | 1985 | George Bowers | 💣 | 85 | Imbecilic sex comedy about a couple of young fellows on the make at a resort hotel. Notable only for its two up-and-coming stars. | tt0089839 | [R] | Rob Morrow, Johnny Depp, Hector Elizondo, Dody Goodman, Tony Azito, Emily Longstreth, Karyn O' Bryan, Hilary Shapiro, Michael Bowen, Andrew Dice Clay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Private School | 1983 | Noel Black | 💣 | 97 | Raunchy teenage hijinks at a girls' school, with ample nudity but no brains in sight. Even voyeurs might have a hard time sloshing through this heavy-handed, amateurish 'comedy.' | tt0086143 | [R] | Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine, Michael Zorek, Fran Ryan, Julie Payne, Ray Walston, Sylvia Kristel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Private War of Major Benson | 1955 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 105 | Hovey is the little boy at military school who charms rugged commander-turned-schoolmaster Heston into sympathetic person. Remade as MAJOR PAYNE (1995). | tt0048513 | Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, William Demarest, Tim Hovey, Sal Mineo, David Janssen, Tim Considine, Milburn Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Private Worlds | 1935 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 84 | Dated but engrossing tale of mental institution, with doctors Boyer and Colbert giving restrained performances; noteworthy support by Bennett. | tt0026893 | Claudette Colbert, Charles Boyer, Joan Bennett, Joel McCrea, Helen Vinson, Esther Dale, Jean Rouverol | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Private's Affair | 1959 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 92 | Energetic young cast involved in putting on the 'big Army show' on TV. | tt0053192 | Sal Mineo, Christine Carere, Barry Coe, Barbara Eden, Gary Crosby, Terry Moore, Jim Backus, Jessie Royce Landis | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Private's Progress | 1956 | John Boulting | ★★★ | 99 | Prize collection of funny men, splendidly played by cast, involved in Army shenanigans. Sequel: I'M ALL RIGHT JACK. | tt0049637 | Richard Attenborough, Jill Adams, Dennis Price, Terry-Thomas, Ian Carmichael, Peter Jones, Christopher Lee | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Privates on Parade | 1982 | Michael Blakemore | ★★½ | 100 | Uneven adaptation of Peter Nichols' British play about SADUSEA (Song And Dance Unit, South East Asia), based in Singapore in the late '40s. Quilley is an aging queen who directs and stars in their camp shows, Cleese his thick-witted commander. Some funny musical numbers mix awkwardly with satire— and unexpected drama. | tt0084538 | [R] | John Cleese, Denis Quilley, Nicola Pagett, Patrick Pearson, Michael Elphick | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Privilege | 1967 | Peter Watkins | ★★★ | 101 | Overambitious yet effective account of 1970s England where all-powerful welfare state manipulates masses through such media as pop singers. Jones is good as disillusioned teen-age idol. | tt0062155 | Paul Jones, Jean Shrimpton, Marc London, Max Bacon, Jeremy Child | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Prix de Beauté | Miss Europe | 1930 | Augusto Genina | ★★½ | 94 | Brooks is the whole show in this, her first sound film (and last major screen role). The story may be clichéd— a melodrama in which she's cast as a typist who becomes a beauty queen— but Brooks is as lovely and sensuous as ever. The final sequence is truly memorable. René Clair, originally scheduled to direct, had a hand in the script. Aka MISS EUROPE. | tt0021273 | Louise Brooks, Jean Bradin, Georges Charlia, Gaston Jacquet, A. Nicolle | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Prize Fighter | 1979 | Michael Preece | ★★ | 99 | If you like Knotts and Conway, you'll probably get through this lame, kiddie-oriented comedy about a dumb boxer and his smart-aleck manager, set in the 1930s. | tt0079754 | [PG] | Tim Conway, Don Knotts, David Wayne, Robin Clarke, Cisse Cameron, Mary Ellen O'Neill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio | 2005 | Jane Anderson | ★★★ | 99 | Midwestern woman raises ten kids in the 1950s, repeatedly keeping the wolf from the door by winning slogan contests. Not a slice of rosy-hued Americana but a pointed, often heartrending look at a woman with indomitable spirit who kept her family together in spite of her loose-cannon, ne'er-do-well husband and the condescending attitude of the men around her. Moore is completely believable as the can-do supermom; Harrelson is equally good as her loving but self-destructive spouse. Anderson adapted Terry Ryan's memoir. | tt0406158 | [PG-13] | Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Trevor Morgan, Ellary Porterfield, Simon Reynolds | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Prize of Arms | 1961 | Cliff Owen | ★★½ | 105 | Hindered by heavy British accents ruining much dialogue, tale unfolds methodical plan for big heist of Army funds. | tt0056377 | Stanley Baker, Tom Bell, Helmut Schmid, John Phillips | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| A Prize of Gold | 1955 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 98 | Taut caper in post-WW2 Berlin involving a planned heist of gold from the air lift circuit. | tt0048514 | Richard Widmark, Mai Zetterling, Nigel Patrick, Donald Wolfit, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Prize | 1963 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 136 | Irving Wallace novel is mere stepping stone for glossy spy yarn set in Stockholm, involving participants in Nobel Prize ceremony. Newman and Sommer make handsome leads; Robinson has dual role. Fast-moving fun; script by Ernest Lehman. | tt0057426 | Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, Edward G. Robinson, Diane Baker, Kevin McCarthy, Micheline Presle, Leo G. Carroll | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Prizefighter and the Lady | 1933 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★★ | 102 | Entertaining film breathes life into potential clichés; real-life boxing champ Baer plays a prizefighter who falls for high-class gangster's moll Loy. Exciting prize-fight finale. | tt0024475 | Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Otto Kruger, Walter Huston, Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Jess Willard, James J. Jeffries | Crime, Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Prizzi's Honor | 1985 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 129 | Delicious, very offbeat black comedy about a slow-witted hit man from a close-knit Mafia family who gets more than he bargained for when he falls in love with Turner. Nicholson is a joy to watch, matched by a superlative cast (Randolph is a treat as his father). Huston wrings every drop of irony from Richard Condon and Janet Roach's wry screenplay (based on Condon's novel). Beautifully photographed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Anjelica Huston won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her sly performance, directed by her father. | tt0089841 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston, Robert Loggia, William Hickey, John Randolph, Lee Richardson, Michael Lombard, Lawrence Tierney, Joseph Ruskin, Stanley Tucci | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Problem Child | 1990 | Dennis Dugan | ★½ | 81 | Botched comic twist on THE BAD SEED has Ritter as an unlucky father who adopts devil-child Oliver. A promising opening leads nowhere as bad performances and crude jokes prevail. Followed by a sequel, a TV movie, and an animated TV series. | tt0100419 | [PG] | John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Jack Warden, Amy Yasbeck, Gilbert Gottfried, Michael Richards | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Problem Child 2 | 1991 | Brian Levant | ★½ | 91 | The sequel no one asked for has Ritter adopting a second demon-child, this one female and hell-bent to give her stepbrother a run for his money. Any parent who lets an impressionable child watch this stuff ought to have his or her head examined! Followed by a 1995 TVM sequel. | tt0102719 | [PG-13] | John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Jack Warden, Laraine Newman, Amy Yasbeck, Ivyann Schwan, Gilbert Gottfried, Paul Willson, Charlene Tilton, James Tolkan, Martha Quinn | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Prodigal | 1955 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 114 | Juvenile biblical semi-spectacle, with Turner the evil goddess of love corrupting Purdom; glossy MGM vehicle. | tt0048517 | Lana Turner, Edmund Purdom, James Mitchell, Louis Calhern, Audrey Dalton, Neville Brand, Taina Elg, Cecil Kellaway, Henry Daniell, Walter Hampden, Joseph Wiseman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Producers | 1968 | Mel Brooks | ★★★½ | 88 | Classic piece of insanity stars incomparable Mostel as hard-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock, who cons meek accountant Wilder into helping him with outrageous scheme: selling 25,000% of a play that's certain to flop, then heading to Rio with the excess cash. One of those rare films that gets funnier with each viewing, highlighted by legendary 'Springtime for Hitler' production number. Brooks' first feature earned him an Oscar for his screenplay. Listen for his voice dubbed into 'Springtime for Hitler.' Later a Broadway musical. | tt0063462 | Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars, Dick Shawn, Lee Meredith, Christopher Hewett, Andreas Voutsinas, Estelle Winwood, Renee Taylor, Bill Hickey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Producers | 2005 | Susan Stroman | ★★ | 129 | Broadway's worst producer teams up with a naïve bookkeeper to make money by producing a surefire flop, Springtime for Hitler. Valuable as a reproduction of the 2001 Broadway musical with its stars Lane, Broderick, Beach, Bart (and in a bit part, Oscar), but suffers as the stage show did by padding Brooks' original 1968 screenplay and softening some of its perverse, politically incorrect flavor. First-time film director Stroman tries to achieve a Broadway feeling, but the result is an odd hybrid of a stage performance and a movie. If you do watch this, stay through the closing credits. | tt0395251 | [PG-13] | Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Will Ferrell, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, Eileen Essell, David Huddleston, Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean, Richard Kind, Debra Monk, Andrea Martin, Brad Oscar | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Professional Soldier | 1936 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 78 | McLaglen is hired to kidnap young king Bartholomew, but mutual friendship gets in the way. Good teaming supports average script, based on a Damon Runyon story. | tt0028143 | Victor McLaglen, Freddie Bartholomew, Gloria Stuart, Constance Collier, Michael Whalen | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Professional Sweetheart | 1933 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 68 | Good cast can't put over weak radio spoof, with Rogers as airwaves star who becomes engaged to hick Foster in publicity stunt. | tt0024476 | Ginger Rogers, ZaSu Pitts, Norman Foster, Frank McHugh, Edgar Kennedy, Betty Furness, Gregory Ratoff, Sterling Holloway, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Professional | Léon | 1994 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 109 | Hit man (Reno) allies with alienated young girl (Portman, in her film debut) and together they battle thugs and cops in N.Y.C. Well-directed U.S. debut for Frenchman Besson (LA FEMME NIKITA) suffers from overly familiar, artificial situations and a bizarre, scenery-chewing performance from Oldman. This was rereleased in France in 1996 as LEON: VERSION INTEGRALE, with 26m. of additional footage. Director's cut available on video runs 133m. | tt0110413 | [R] | Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello, Ellen Greene | U.S.-French | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| The Professionals | 1966 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 117 | Bellamy employs four soldiers-of-fortune to rescue his wife from Mexican varmint Palance. Far-fetched story, but real action, taut excitement throughout; beautifully photographed by Conrad Hall. | tt0060862 | Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Ralph Bellamy, Claudia Cardinale | Western | NULL | |||
| Professor Beware | 1938 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 87 | One of Lloyd's last vehicles has good moments, but tale of archeologist searching for rare tablet is thin. | tt0030631 | Harold Lloyd, Phyllis Welch, William Frawley, Etienne Girardot, Raymond Walburn, Lionel Stander, Thurston Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Program | 1993 | David S. Ward | ★★ | 114 | Ambitious but seriously flawed attempt to examine the problems of college football players, and expose abuses in contemporary university sports programs. Few of the characters are sympathetic, so it's difficult to care about them or their plight. Notorious for studio deletion, after the film's opening weeks, of a sequence involving jocks lying in the middle of a busy street to prove their manliness. This came after one teenager was killed, and others seriously injured, allegedly imitating the sequence. | tt0107889 | [R] | James Caan, Halle Berry, Omar Epps, Craig Sheffer, Kristy Swanson, Abraham Benrubi, Duane Davis, Andrew Bryniarski, Joey Lauren Adams | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Project A | 1983 | Jackie Chan | ★★★ | 106 | Turn-of-the-century adventure finds Chan in the Hong Kong coast guard battling pirates, teaming up with cop Yuen and thief Samo. Fantastic action comedy, with many moments reminiscent of Chan's hero, Buster Keaton. The bicycle chase is a highlight. Considered by some to be Chan's best film. Followed by a sequel. | tt0085127 | Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Samo Hung, Dick Wei, Isabella Wong | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Project A, Part II | 1987 | Jackie Chan | ★★★ | 108 | Terrific sequel has Jackie dodging vengeful pirates from the first film while fighting corrupt officials. Nice mix of farce and jaw-dropping action. Chan re-creates one of Buster Keaton's most famous stunts at the end of the film. | tt0092501 | Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, David Lam, Rosamund Kwan, Carina Lau, Bill Tung Pui | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Project Moon Base | 1953 | Richard Talmadge | ★★ | 63 | In the near future, three people make the first trip to the Moon from the American space station circling the Earth, but one of them is an enemy spy. Mediocre acting in this routine but scientifically accurate story. Famed sci-fi writer Robert A. Heinlein cowrote the movie; the low budget shows. | tt0046213 | Donna Martell, Hayden Rorke, Ross Ford, Larry Johns, Herb Jacobs | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Project Nim | 2011 | James Marsh | ★★★ | 93 | Fascinating documentary in which various participants look back at a long-term university experiment in which a chimpanzee—named Nim Chimpsky—was taken from his mother and raised by humans. The impact on the people involved (most of them well-meaning, others dispassionate) is as interesting as the effect on the innocent animal. Director Marsh (MAN ON WIRE) uses dramatic re-creations along with archival footage to tell his heartrending story, but it's the first-person interviews that really resonate. And like a good piece of fiction, the resolution is unpredictable. | tt1814836 | [PG-13] | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Project X | 1968 | William Castle | ★★½ | 97 | Offbeat but ultimately unconvincing mixture of time travel, biological warfare, and psychology in tale of future Earth civilization searching for secret germ formula. Their amnesiac secret agent has it; how to get it. | tt0063465 | Christopher George, Greta Baldwin, Henry Jones, Monte Markham, Phillip Pine, Harold Gould | Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Project X | 1987 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★½ | 108 | Young military foul-up is assigned to top secret lab where he works with chimps— and soon becomes enraged at the tests they're being subjected to. Watchable but patently predictable story, with a finale vaguely reminiscent of a 1960s Disney comedy. The chimps (especially Willie, in the role of Virgil) are great, however. | tt0093793 | [PG] | Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, Bill Sadler, Johnny Ray McGhee, Jonathan Stark, Robin Gammell, Stephen Lang, Jean Smart, Dick Miller | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Project X | 2012 | Nima Nourizadeh | ★★ | 88 | Self-appointed cool dude decides to throw his shy friend a 17th birthday party he'll never forget, especially since his parents will be away that weekend. They wind up with an unruly mob that gets way out of control. If you're a hormonally charged teenage boy this comedy, replete with naked girls, will be a wish-fulfillment fantasy; if you're a parent, you may view it as a horror film (not that it's meant to be taken seriously). Either way, you can't accuse the movie of holding back. A crude cross between RISKY BUSINESS and THE HANGOVER (whose director, Todd Phillips, produced this film). | tt1636826 | [R] | Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Brady Hender, Nick Nervies, Alexis Knapp, Miles Teller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Projected Man | 1967 | Ian Curteis | ★★ | 77 | Using a teleportation machine something like that in all the FLY movies, scientist accidentally disfigures himself and gains the touch of death. Not bad but unoriginal. | tt0062159 | Bryant Haliday, Mary Peach, Norman Wooland, Ronald Allen, Derek Farr | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Projectionist | 1971 | Harry Hurwitz (Tampa) | ★★½ | 85 | Independently made film has ups and downs, but many pearly moments in story of daydreaming projectionist McCann who envisions himself a superhero, Captain Flash. Many film clips imaginatively used: best of all is coming-attractions trailer for the end of the world. | tt0067622 | [PG] | Chuck McCann, Ina Balin, Rodney Dangerfield, Jara Kohout, Harry Hurwitz, Robert Staats | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Prom | 2011 | Joe Nussbaum | ★★★ | 103 | Sincere, upbeat Disney movie about high school seniors preparing for that rite of passage, the prom. A “Little Miss Perfect” (Teegarden) is supervising every detail, but doesn’t yet have a date herself, while a bad-boy biker (McDonell) is forced to help her with decorations as a kind of detention punishment. Many other characters and story threads are neatly woven together in a film that refreshingly takes teenagers and their emotions seriously. Parents can also watch this without cringing. | tt1604171 | [PG] | Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, De’Vaughn Nixon, Kylie Bunbury, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang, Jared Kusnitz, Nolan Sotillo, Cameron Monaghan, Joe Adler, Janelle Ortiz, Jonathan Keltz, Nicholas Braun, Raini Rodriguez, Christine Elise McCarthy, Dean Norris, Faith Ford, Amy Pietz, Jere Burns | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Prom Night | 1980 | Paul Lynch | ★★ | 91 | Killer menaces teens who were responsible for the death of a little girl six years earlier. Not the worst of its type, but that's nothing to brag about. Followed by several sequels. | tt0081383 | [R] | Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Antoinette Bower, Robert Silverman | Canadian | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Romance | NULL | |
| Prom Night | 2008 | Nelson McCormick | ★★½ | 88 | Three years after a homicidally obsessive teacher (Schaech) murdered her family, a lovely high-schooler (Snow) is stalked by an unwanted admirer on the night of her senior prom. A nominal remake of the post-HALLOWEEN slasher film, this better-than-average teen-skewing thriller relies on minimal graphic violence to sustain suspense. | tt0926129 | [PG-13] | Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Jessica Stroup, Dana Davis, Collins Pennie, Kelly Blatz, James Ransone, Brianne Davis, Idris Elba, Mary Mara, Ming (Ming-Na) Wen, Jessalyn Gilsig, Linden Ashby, Johnathon Schaech | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Prom Night III: The Last Kiss | 1989 | Ron Oliver, Peter Simpson | ★½ | 97 | More high school horror, with another prom queen back from the dead, only this time it's not revenge that motivates her murder spree, but love. The comedy works slightly better than the horror, but a leaden pace torpedoes it, and a rotten ending sinks it. | tt0098136 | [R] | Tim Conlon, Cyndy Preston, David Stratton, Courtney Taylor, Dylan Neal, Jeremy Ratchford | U.S.-Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil | 1992 | Clay Borris | ★½ | 95 | Murderous, psychotic priest, just awakened from a 33-year coma, stalks randy teenagers in an isolated vacation home. Resolutely routine slasher movie with slight novelty of religious fanaticism. Only reference to earlier films: an on-screen toast to Jamie Lee Curtis. | tt0105179 | [R] | Nikki de Boer, Alden Kane, Joy Tanner, Alle Ghadban, Ken McGregor, Brock Simpson | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Prometheus | 2012 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 123 | In 2093, two scientists (Rapace and Marshall-Green), funded by a deep-pocketed corporation, travel to a distant moon on the spaceship Prometheus. Their goal: to find the origins of mankind, as indicated in ancient cave drawings. Upon arrival, however, they discover a horrifying reality that places them and their fellow voyagers—who are just along for the ride, under chilly Theron's supervision—in dire jeopardy. Companion piece to Scott's ALIEN offers echoes of that film in both good and not-so-good ways: it's thoughtful and intelligent, with two strong female characters, and masterfully crafted, but gives way to icky, gross-out moments... right up to the end. Fassbender is a standout as a sly, watchful robot who's one step ahead of everyone else. | tt1446714 | [R] | Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickey, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Promise | 1986 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Footloose bachelor Garner honors a long-ago promise made to his recently deceased mother to care for his schizophrenic brother in this beautifully written (by Richard Friedenberg) drama of love and responsibility. Garner coproduced. Emmy winner for Woods, Laurie, writing, directing, and Outstanding Special. | tt0091795 | James Garner, James Woods, Piper Laurie, Peter Michael Goetz, Michael Alldredge, Alan Rosenberg | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Promise Her Anything | 1966 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 98 | Limp premise of blue-moviemaker (Beatty) taking care of neighbor Caron's baby. Filmed in England but supposed to be Greenwich Village; screenplay by William Peter Blatty. Look for Bessie Love as a pet shop customer, Donald Sutherland as a baby's father. | tt0060863 | Warren Beatty, Leslie Caron, Bob Cummings, Hermione Gingold, Lionel Stander, Keenan Wynn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Promise at Dawn | 1970 | Jules Dassin | ★★½ | 101 | Seventh teaming of Mercouri and husband Dassin, who produced, directed, wrote, and also does a bit role as Russian silent-film star Ivan Mousjoukine. It's mostly Mercouri's show, an uneven but well-acted chronicle of the life of writer Romain Gary and his resourceful actress mother. Dayan is good as the young adult Gary. | tt0066251 | [PG] | Melina Mercouri, Assaf Dayan, Francois Raffoul, Despo, Fernand Gravey, Perlo Vita (Jules Dassin) | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Promise | 1979 | Gilbert Cates | 💣 | 98 | Boy loves girl. Girl loses face in car accident. Boy thinks girl dead. Girl gets new face from plastic surgeon. Boy falls for old girl's new face. Viewer runs screaming from room. | tt0079756 | [PG] | Kathleen Quinlan, Stephen Collins, Beatrice Straight, Laurence Luckinbill, William Prince | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Promise | 1994 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★★ | 119 | Pointed account of star-crossed German lovers, covering a 30-year time span, beginning with their separation while trying to escape from East to West in 1961. Their relationship mirrors German history during this period and serves as a metaphor for a divided, and then reunified, nation. Another provocative, politically savvy drama from von Trotta. | tt0111613 | [R] | Corinna Harfouch, Meret Becker, August Zirner, Anian Zollner, Pierre Besson, Hans Kremer | German-French-Swiss | Romance, Drama | NULL | |
| The Promise | 2005 | Chen Kaige | ★★½ | 102 | Odd mixture of fantasy-romance and martial arts. A goddess offers a young girl (orphaned by the war) a life of wealth and happiness, but she will lose every man she falls in love with unless a spell can be reversed that would make the dead return and snow fall in the spring. Not as easy as it sounds! Once she grows up she is faced with living out this promised life or trying to change the course of fate. Impressive battle sequences are marred by cheesy computer-generated effects, but the most expensive film ever to come out of China boasts stunning cinematography by Peter Pau. Original running time 121m. | tt0417976 | [PG-13] | Dong-Kun Jang, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cecilia Cheung, Nicholas Tse, Ye Liu, Hong Chen, Cheng Qian | Chinese-U.S. | Action, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Promised Land | Young Hearts | 1988 | Michael Hoffman | ★★½ | 101 | Uneven but moody little sleeper, set in the rural Northwest, about two casual high school acquaintances whose lives intersect tragically a couple of years after graduation. Ryan is a standout as a tattooed, rod-packing high school hellcat. Aka YOUNG HEARTS. | tt0095916 | [R] | Jason Gedrick, Kiefer Sutherland, Meg Ryan, Tracy Pollan, Googy Gress, Deborah Richter, Sondra Seacat | Drama | NULL | |
| Promises | 2001 | Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg, Carlos Bolado | ★★★½ | 100 | Observant, deeply humanistic documentary records the lives of seven Israeli and Palestinian children residing in and around Jerusalem. They live only minutes apart, yet their worlds and worldviews are vastly different. The highlight: Jewish twin boys travel to a refugee camp and spend a day playing with their Palestinian counterparts. Here, the shared humanity of all the children— which transcends religious and cultural differences— shines through. | tt0282864 | Goldberg, Carlos Bolado. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Promises in the Dark | 1979 | Jerome Hellman | ★★½ | 115 | Unrelievedly depressing (though well-made) film about young girl (Beller) dying of cancer, and her compassionate doctor (Mason). Directorial debut of producer Hellman. | tt0079757 | [PG] | Marsha Mason, Ned Beatty, Susan Clark, Michael Brandon, Kathleen Beller, Paul Clemens, Donald Moffat | Drama | NULL | ||
| Promises! Promises! | 1963 | King Donovan | 💣 | 75 | Dreadful comedy about couples Mansfield-Noonan and McDonald-Hargitay, and their sexual shenanigans on a cruise. Notorious in its day for Jayne's baring her bod, a first for its time. Still, beware: it is a truly bad movie. Mansfield was in real life married to Hargitay; Noonan coproduced and coscripted. | tt0057428 | Jayne Mansfield, Marie McDonald, Tommy Noonan, Mickey Hargitay, Fritz Feld, T. C. Jones, Claude Stroud, Marjorie Bennett, Eddie Quillan, Eileen Barton, Imogene Coca | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Promoter | The Card | 1952 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 88 | Charming comedy about a likable but penniless young man who sees how to get ahead in the world— and seizes his opportunity. Script by Eric Ambler from Arnold Bennett's story The Card, also its title in England. | tt0045056 | Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson, Petula Clark, Edward Chapman | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Promotion | 2008 | Steven Conrad | ★★ | 85 | Assistant supermarket manager Scott is aiming for a big promotion when a competitor (Reilly) arrives, seemingly out of nowhere—but actually from Canada. Low-key comedy with serious undertones examines the working-class American dream gone somewhat sour. Bateman has one funny scene as an activities director at a company retreat. Directorial debut for screenwriter Conrad (THE WEATHER MAN). | tt0803057 | [R] | Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Lili Taylor, Bobby Cannavale, Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, Jason Bateman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Proof | 1992 | Jocelyn Moorhouse | ★★★½ | 91 | A blind cynic who impulsively shoots photographs of everything is perversely manipulated by the housekeeper who'd like to bed him; into their circle comes a far less complex dishwasher, who puts a fresh spin on their sicko games. Assuredly made film is effectively cold, cut to the bone and reminiscent of THE SERVANT. Moorhouse also scripted. | tt0102721 | [R] | Hugo Weaving, Genevieve Picot, Russell Crowe, Heather Mitchell, Jeffrey Walker, Frank Gallacher | Australian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Proof | 2005 | John Madden | ★★★ | 99 | A woman who cared for her father-a brilliant mathematician and professor who went crazy-during the last years of his life now questions her own sanity. Her meddlesome sister wants her to move out of the family home and distance herself from the past, while one of her father's protégés is digging through his papers to find any hidden gems (or proofs) among his work. David Auburn's challenging, provocative, and cerebral play (a Pulitzer Prize winner) is well translated to film by director Madden, with fine performances all around; adapted by Auburn and Rebecca Miller. | tt0377107 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis, Roshan Seth | Drama | NULL | ||
| Proof of Life | 2000 | Taylor Hackford | ★★½ | 136 | Entertaining if all-too-familiar soap-opera/thriller set in Latin America. Hostage-negotiator-for-hire Crowe comes to the assistance of frantic wife Ryan when her idealistic engineer husband is kidnapped by a cutthroat band of political ideologues-turned-drug lords. Caruso almost steals the film as a fellow negotiator. | tt0228750 | [R] | Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, Pamela Reed, David Caruso, Anthony Heald, Stanley Anderson, Gottfried John, Alun Armstrong, Michael Kitchen, Margo Martindale | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Prophecy | 1979 | John Frankenheimer | ★½ | 95 | Classical musician and her doctor husband fight off what appears to be a giant salami in upstate Maine after mercury poisoning turns animals into huge mutants and worse. Ridiculous horror film is good for a few laughs. | tt0079758 | [PG] | Talia Shire, Robert Foxworth, Armand Assante, Richard Dysart, Victoria Racimo | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Prophecy | 1995 | Gregory Widen | ★★ | 93 | Seminarian Koteas abandons the church during his own ordination to become . . . a homicide cop. Soon he's investigating why Stoltz has murdered an eyeless hermaphrodite with the physiological profile of an aborted fetus. There's either too much mumbo or too much jumbo in this oddball horror pic. Give it perverse points, though, for managing to work in a Korean War subplot and for casting Walken as the Angel Gabriel. Followed by too many direct-to-video sequels. | tt0114194 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, Viggo Mortensen, Amanda Plummer | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Prophet | 2009 | Jacques Audiard | ★★★½ | 150 | Quiet, 19-year-old Malik (Rahim) is sent to prison, where his mixed heritage (Corsican and Arab) draws attention from both factions. The Corsican prison kingpin (powerfully portrayed by Arestrup) forces him to commit a terrible crime, which haunts him—and binds him to the man who rules the roost. But unbeknownst to anyone, the seemingly passive Malik soaks up knowledge at every opportunity, and uses his newfound smarts to orchestrate some "business" of his own. Provocative, often grueling, graphically violent drama with a disarming performance by Rahim, who changes right before our eyes. Written by director Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, from an unproduced screenplay by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit. | tt1235166 | [R] | Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen | French-Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Proposal | 2009 | Anne Fletcher | ★★★ | 108 | Entertaining romantic comedy about N.Y.C. publishing exec Bullock, a soulless boss, who blackmails her assistant (Reynolds) into marrying her so she won’t be deported to Canada. The stakes change when he brings her home to meet his loving family in Alaska. Built on a formula, to be sure, but neatly handled by a tip-top cast. Offers some laugh-out-loud moments, which is more than most modern romantic comedies can say. | tt1041829 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Denis O’Hare, Malin Akerman, Oscar Nuñez, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Nouri | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Proposition | 1998 | Lesli Linka Glatter | ★★ | 110 | Heavy-handed soap opera set in the 1930s gives Branagh a thankless role as a priest with more ties than one could ever imagine to wealthy Boston bigwig Hurt who can't give his wife the one thing he wants most: a child. A fine cast flounders with purple paperback fodder; sputteringly silly at times. | tt0120108 | [R] | Kenneth Branagh, William Hurt, Madeleine Stowe, Blythe Danner, Robert Loggia, Neil Patrick Harris, Josef Sommer | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Proposition | 2005 | John Hillcoat | ★★ | 104 | Determined to bring law and order to a wild Australia in the 1880s, British officer Winstone makes a Devil's bargain with Pearce: he can save his life, and that of his dimwitted younger sibling, if he will capture his older brother, who raped and murdered a pregnant woman. Austere, violent, and relentlessly harsh, like the time and place it portrays. Nick Cave's screenplay challenges the viewer to find humanity amidst the sturm und drang; it ain't easy. | tt0421238 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, John Hurt, David Wenham, Noah Taylor, David Gulpilil, Leah Purcell, Richard Wilson | Australian-British | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Proprietor | 1996 | Ismail Merchant | ★★ | 113 | Wildly uneven story set in Paris and N.Y.C. finds author Moreau exploring two distinct cultures, past and present life experiences, and relationships old and new as she examines the meaning of her life and the importance of memories. It's always nice to see Moreau in a major role, but this muddled vehicle isn't worthy of her. Rare directorial effort for producer Merchant. | tt0117400 | [R] | Jeanne Moreau, Sean Young, Sam Waterston, Austin Pendleton, Josh Hamilton, Nell Carter, Christopher Cazenove, Pierre Vaneck, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Marc Tissot | Drama | NULL | ||
| Prosperity | 1932 | Sam Wood. | ★★★ | 87 | In the last of their several popular teamings, Dressler and Moran sock over lots of belly laughs as longtime friends who become feuding mothers-in-law when their kids marry. Fascinating Depression-era banking subplot enhances this genuinely funny film. | tt0023358 | Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, Anita Page, Norman Foster, Jacquie Lyn, Jerry Tucker, Henry Armetta, John Miljan. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Prospero's Books | 1991 | Peter Greenaway | ★★½ | 129 | Original, daring but unsatisfactory adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, with almost all of the dialogue spoken by 87-year-old Gielgud (in the role of Prospero); the other actors are little more than extras, and there's a mindboggling amount of nudity. Crammed with stunning, layered imagery, beautiful production design and cinematography— which tend to lessen the impact of the dialogue. Enjoyment will depend on your tolerance for Greenaway's approach to the material. | tt0102722 | [R] | John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel Blanc, Erland Josephson, Isabelle Pasco, Tom Bell | British-Dutch | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Protector | 1985 | James Glickenhaus | ★½ | 91 | Dismal attempt to bring Chan to the American market as a N.Y.C. cop(!). Leaden directing, cold tone, and lack of comedy smother Chan's gifts; his frustrations with this film led him to make the vastly superior POLICE STORY. | tt0089847 | Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, Sandy Alexander, Roy Chiao, Bill Wallace | U.S.-Hong Kong | Drama, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Protector | 2005 | Prachya Pinkaew | ★★ | 81 | Wrongheaded mix of a kung fu movie and a boy-and-his-dog story, this cheap-looking import from Thailand gets sappy when a young martial arts fighter has his beloved elephant stolen by thugs and shipped to Australia. Following the bad guys there, he hooks up with a Thai-born Australian detective and does battle with evil gangs and others in an effort to retrieve his little Dumbo. Jaa, an international star, offers dazzling footwork, but that can't make up for the sorry script. Original running time 108m. | tt0427954 | [R] | Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Nathan Jones, Johnny Nguyen, Xing Jing, Damian De Montemas | Thai | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Protocol | 1984 | Herbert Ross | ★★ | 96 | Kenneth McMillan. Or, Goldie Goes to Washington: a contrived comedy vehicle for Hawn as inadvertent heroine (and overnight celebrity) who's rewarded with do-nothing government job . . . but soon becomes a pawn for dealing with Middle Eastern potentate. Some funny moments give way to obvious satire and a hard-to-swallow finish in which Goldie makes like Capra's Mr. Smith. | tt0087951 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Richard Romanus, Andre Gregory, Gail Strickland, Cliff De Young, Keith Szarabajka, Ed Begley/Jr., James Staley, Kenneth Mars, Jean Smart, Joel Brooks, Daphne Maxwell, Amanda Bearse | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Prototype | 1983 | David Greene | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Richard Levinson and William Link's ingenious updating of the Frankenstein legend has Nobel Prize–winning scientist Plummer developing the first android, then stealing him from the Pentagon’s clutches, fearing they plan on reprogramming 'it' for a destructive mission. | tt0084546 | Christopher Plummer, David Morse, Frances Sternhagen, James Sutorius, Stephen Elliott, Arthur Hill | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Proud Ones | 1953 | Yves Allegret | ★★★½ | 94 | Well-bred Morgan and down-and-out doctor Philipe cross paths in Vera Cruz, Mexico, in this absorbing tale of love, religion, and the effects of a deadly plague on the impoverished populace. Striking and atmospheric; based on Jean-Paul Sartre novel L'Amour Redempteur (set in China!). Original title: LES ORGUEILLEUX. Aka THE PROUD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. | tt0046149 | Michele Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Victor Manuel Mendoza, Michele Cordoue | French-Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Proud Rebel | 1958 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 103 | Well-presented post-Civil War study of two-fisted Southerner Ladd seeking medical help for mute son (played by Ladd's real-life son); de Havilland is the woman who tames him. | tt0052097 | Alan Ladd, Olivia de Havilland, Dean Jagger, David Ladd, Cecil Kellaway, Henry Hull, John Carradine, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Western | NULL | |||
| Proud Valley | 1940 | Pen Tennyson | ★★½ | 77 | Mild drama of Welsh coal-mining village beset by mine shutdown; uplifted only by Robeson's commanding presence and fine voice. | tt0031828 | Paul Robeson, Edward Chapman, Simon Lack, Rachel Thomas, Edward Rigby | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Proud and Profane | 1956 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 111 | Spotty WW2 romance with grieving war widow Kerr joining the Red Cross, becoming involved with cynical officer Holden. Ritter, as usual, steals the film as a tough but compassionate Red Cross worker. | tt0049640 | William Holden, Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter, Dewey Martin, William Redfield, Ross Bagdasarian, Marion Ross | War | NULL | |||
| The Proud and the Damned | 1973 | Ferde Grofe/ Jr | ★★ | 94 | Uneven performances and script in formula story of Civil War veterans and mercenaries drifting through Latin America, caught up in local revolution. | tt0070569 | [PG] | Chuck Connors, Jose Greco, Cesar Romero, Aron Kincaid, Anita Quinn | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Providence | 1977 | Alain Resnais | ★★ | 104 | Odd fantasy marked director Resnais' English-language debut. Writer Gielgud tries to complete his last novel, juxtaposes imagined thoughts about his family with real-life encounters. Muddled drama by David Mercer; interesting Miklos Rozsa score. | tt0076574 | [R] | Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, Ellen Burstyn, David Warner, Elaine Stritch | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Prowler | 1951 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 92 | Stark, sinuous film noir about a (literal) bad cop (Heflin) who seduces a vulnerable married woman. Opens with a bang and never lets up. Unusually nasty and utterly unpredictable. Striking camerawork (by Arthur Miller) and production design. Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, who was blacklisted at the time and received no credit, though he is heard as the voice of Keyes’ husband on the radio. | tt0043938 | Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell, Katharine Warren | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Prowler | 1981 | Joseph Zito | ★½ | 88 | WW2 veteran kills ex-girlfriend and her new amour with a pitchfork, then suddenly resumes his murderous ways 35 years later. Illogically plotted, with grue-some special effects by Tom Savini. | tt0082951 | [R] | Vicki Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Cindy Weintraub, Farley Granger, John Seitz | Horror | NULL | ||
| Prozac Nation | 2005 | Erik Skjoldbjaerg | ★★ | 95 | Ricci's raw, intensely emotional performance partly redeems this off-putting adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel's best-selling memoir about a Harvard student's downward spiral into drugs and clinical depression in the mid-1980s. Well-intentioned but relentless downer of a film never really makes us care about the unsympathetic heroine's plight. Completed in 2001, released to video in the U.S. four years later! Ricci also coproduced; Lou Reed has a cameo as himself. | tt0236640 | [R] | Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs, Anne Heche, Michelle Williams, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Jessica Lange, Nicholas Campbell, Jesse Moss, Zoe Miller, Sheila Paterson | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Prudence and the Pill | 1968 | Fielder Cook, Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 98 | Labored comedy treatment of modern sexual mores. Niven thinks he can patch up his in-name-only marriage by substituting aspirin for his wife's birth control pills. Good cast and performances, but weak script. | tt0063467 | [R] | Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Robert Coote, Irina Demick, Joyce Redman, Judy Geeson, Keith Michell | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Psych-Out | 1968 | Richard Rush | ★★½ | 82 | Deaf runaway Strasberg comes to Haight-Ashbury looking for missing brother Dern, falls in with rock band led by ponytailed Nicholson. Any serious intentions have long since vanished; gloriously goofy dialogue ('C'mon! Warren's freakin' out at the gallery!') and psychedelic Laszlo Kovacs camerawork make this— depending on your age and sensibilities— either amusing nostalgia or a campy embarrassment. Produced by Dick Clark! | tt0063469 | Susan Strasberg, Jack Nicholson, Adam Roarke, Dean Stockwell, Max Julien, Bruce Dern, Henry Jaglom, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Seeds, Garry Marshall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Psyche '59 | 1964 | Alexander Singer | ★★½ | 94 | Turgid melodrama involving infidelity, with good cast doing their best. | tt0058499 | Patricia Neal, Curt Jurgens, Samantha Eggar, Ian Bannen, Elspeth March | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Psychic Killer | 1975 | Raymond Danton | 💣 | 90 | Ugly, violent shocker of mental institute patient who acquires psychic powers to revenge himself on those who wronged him. Lots of cameos: Rod Cameron, Nehemiah Persoff, Della Reese, others. | tt0073586 | [PG] | Jim Hutton, Julie Adams, Paul Burke, Aldo Ray, Neville Brand, Whit Bissell | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Psychic | 1978 | Lucio Fulci | 💣 | 89 | O'Neill has frightening premonitions of deaths in this low-grade thriller. | tt0075614 | [R] | Jennifer O'Neill, Gabriele Ferzetti, Marc Porel, Gianni Garko, Evelyn Stewart | Italian | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Psycho | 1960 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 109 | The Master's most notorious film is still terrifying after all these years, as larcenous Leigh picks the wrong place to spend a night: The Bates Motel (12 cabins, 12 vacancies . . . and 12 showers), run by a peculiar young man and his crotchety old 'mother.' Hitchcock's murder set pieces are so potent, they can galvanize (and frighten) even a viewer who's seen them before! Bernard Herrmann's legendary (and endlessly imitated) score adds much to the excitement. Script by Joseph Stefano from the Robert Bloch novel. Followed by three sequels (the last for cable TV) and a TV movie (BATES MOTEL) decades later, and remade in 1998. | tt0054215 | Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Lurene Tuttle, Simon Oakland, John Anderson, Mort Mills, Frank Albertson, Patricia Hitchcock | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Psycho | 1998 | Gus Van Sant | 💣 | 109 | Slow, stilted, completely pointless scene-for-scene remake of the Hitchcock classic (with a few awkward new touches to taint its claim as an exact replica). The result is an insult, rather than a tribute, to a landmark film. | tt0155975 | [R] | Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Robert Forster, Philip Baker Hall, Anne Haney, Chad Everett, Rance Howard, Rita Wilson, James Remar, James LeGros | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Psycho Beach Party | 2000 | Robert Lee King | ★★ | 95 | Campy spoof of beach movies mixes '50s values with '70s slasher films and is only partly successful. Teenage heroine Ambrose seems virtuous but harbors multiple personalities. Busch adapted his 1987 off-Broadway hit but film version seems forced and overlong. | tt0206226 | Lauren Ambrose, Thomas Gibson, Nicholas Brendon, Matt Keeslar, Andrew Levitas, Nick Cornish, Charles Busch, Kathleen Robertson, Beth Broderick, Kimberley Davies | U.S.-Australian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Psycho II | 1983 | Richard Franklin | ★★½ | 113 | Surprisingly good sequel, with Perkins in a wonderfully canny reprise of his role as Norman Bates— now being released from asylum, supposedly rehabilitated, returning to his mother's creaky old mansion. Director Franklin builds some terrific suspense scenes, but finally goes for graphic violence toward the end, and tacks on a silly conclusion, undermining an otherwise first-rate shocker. | tt0086154 | [R] | Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, Dennis Franz, Hugh Gillin | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Psycho III | 1986 | Anthony Perkins | ★½ | 96 | Pointless sequel plays Norman Bates strictly for laughs, but maintains a slasher-film mentality. No suspense, just some gratuitous blood and unpleasantness. Perkins' directorial debut. Good night, Norman. | tt0091799 | [R] | Anthony Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, Roberta Maxwell, Hugh Gillin, Lee Garlington | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Psycho IV: The Beginning | 1990 | Mick Garris | Average TV Movie | 100 | Perkins returns as Norman Bates, more paranoid than ever as he recalls his childhood and his loony, overbearing mother, played as a semi-slut by Hussey. Joseph Stefano, who did the screenplay for Hitchcock's original, wrote the script for this one too— but enough already. Made for cable. | tt0102724 | Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, CCH Pounder, Warren Frost, Donna Mitchell | Horror | NULL | |||
| Psycho-Circus | Circus of Fear | 1967 | John Moxey | ★★½ | 65 | Confused (due to distributor cuts) Edgar Wallace-based story of murderer stalking odd assortment of characters in big top. Is it hooded Gregor the lion-tamer? Short running time gives film old-style serial-type pacing. Original title: CIRCUS OF FEAR. | tt0060865 | Christopher Lee, Heinz Drache, Margaret Lee, Suzy Kendall, Leo Genn, Cecil Parker, Klaus Kinski | British-West German | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Psychomania | 1963 | Richard Hilliard | ★½ | 93 | War hero turned painter, suspected of murdering two beautiful young women, undertakes his own investigation. Exploitive independent production filmed in Connecticut. Originally titled VIOLENT MIDNIGHT. | tt0057434 | Lee Philips, Shepperd Strudwick, Jean Hale, Lorraine Rogers, Margot Hartman, Kaye Elhardt, James Farentino, Dick Van Patten, Sylvia Miles | Horror | NULL | |||
| Psychomania | 1973 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 95 | Pact with Devil brings British motorcycle gang back from the grave. Lots of weird violence as undead bikers blaze a kamikaze trail of destruction across prepunk England. Screenplay by Julian Halevy. Aka THE DEATH WHEELERS. | tt0067630 | George Sanders, Nicky Henson, Mary Larkin, Patrick Holt, Beryl Reid | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Psychopath | 1966 | Freddie Francis | ★★★ | 83 | A demented killer leaves dolls as his calling card at the scene of the murders; well-made thriller from Robert Bloch script. | tt0060866 | Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnston, John Standing, Judy Huxtable | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Puberty Blues | 1981 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 86 | Teenage growing pains, told (refreshingly) from the girls' point of view; simple, honest, but somewhat familiar. Based on a best-selling Australian book by two former surfing groupies. | tt0082956 | [R] | Neil Schofield, Jad Capelja, Geoff Rhoe, Tony Hughes, Sandy Paul | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Public Access | 1992 | Bryan Singer | ★★½ | 86 | Eerie tale of a stranger who starts his own cable-TV call-in show, ostensibly to investigate what's wrong with 'our town.' Debut for THE USUAL SUSPECTS director Singer is a suspenseful, disquieting film marred by a total lack of motivation for the main character. Fine music score by John Ottman, who also edited the picture. | tt0107895 | [R] | Ron Marquette, Dina Brooks, Burt Williams, Larry Maxwell, Charles Kavanaugh, Brandon Boyce | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Public Cowboy No. 1 | 1937 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 60 | The Old West meets the New as deputy sheriff Gene battles truck rustlers who use shortwave radio and airplanes to divert cattle on their way to a meatpacking plant. Good Autry vehicle with one song ('The West Ain't What It Used To Be') that even makes fun of singing cowboys! | tt0029445 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Ann Rutherford, William Farnum, Arthur Loft, Frankie Marvin, House Peters/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Public Defender | 1931 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★ | 69 | Dix is a society gentleman who works undercover as The Reckoner in a crusade against unscrupulous banking executives who framed an innocent man and defrauded customers. Disappointingly static treatment of an intriguing premise. Karloff's role is unmemorable. | tt0022285 | Richard Dix, Shirley Grey, Purnell Pratt, Ruth Weston, Edmund Breese, Frank Sheridan, Alan Roscoe, Boris Karloff, Nella Walker. | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Public Enemies | 2009 | Michael Mann | ★★½ | 140 | Ambitious examination of famed Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and Melvin Purvis (Bale), the G-man whom J. Edgar Hoover assigned to bring him down. Stylishly made, as expected from director-cowriter Mann (and shot in high definition digital video), but also emotionally distant, with stabs at social and cultural meaning—particularly Dillinger's celebrity-consciousness—that do not make up for lack of characterizations and an imbalance between Depp's magnetic presence and Bale's (presumably deliberate) one-note portrayal. Cotillard shines as Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette. | tt1152836 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Jason Clarke, Rory Cochrane, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang, John Ortiz, Giovanni Ribisi, David Wenham, Peter Gerety, Shawn Hatosy, James Russo, Channing Tatum, Carey Mulligan, Casey Siemaszko, Lili Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Emilie de Ravin | Drama, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Public Enemy's Wife | 1936 | Nick Grinde | ★★½ | 69 | Romero is good as mobster serving life whose insane jealousy over wife (Lindsay) makes her a perfect pawn for G-Man O'Brien. Not-bad Warner Bros. B. | tt0028144 | Pat O'Brien, Margaret Lindsay, Robert Armstrong, Cesar Romero, Dick Foran | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Public Enemy | 1931 | William Wellman | ★★★½ | 84 | Prohibition gangster's rise and fall put Cagney on the map, and deservedly so; he makes up for film's occasional flaws and dated notions. Still pretty powerful, this is the one where Cagney smashes a grapefruit in Clarke's face. Screened for decades at 82m., restored to full length for DVD. | tt0022286 | James Cagney, Jean Harlow, Eddie Woods, Beryl Mercer, Donald Cook, Joan Blondell, Mae Clarke | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Public Eye | 1972 | Carol Reed | ★★½ | 95 | Stuffy husband hires private-eye to watch his wife, but the sleuth falls for her. Fair expansion of Peter Shaffer's play. Farrow is good, but Topol's grin is flashed once too often. | tt0069131 | [G] | Mia Farrow, Topol, Michael Jayston, Margaret Rawlings, Annette Crosbie, Dudley Foster | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Public Eye | 1992 | Howard Franklin | ★★½ | 99 | Intriguing mood-piece with a perfect Pesci role: a 1940s photographer who roams the streets of N.Y.C. at night in search of dramatic photo opportunities. An encounter with beautiful Hershey leads only to trouble, however. Great atmosphere and style are undone by an ungainly script and an unconvincing romantic subplot. Script by director Franklin, inspired by famed real-life photographer Weegee, some of whose shots are used in the film. Robert Zemeckis was film's executive producer. | tt0105187 | [R] | Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, Stanley Tucci, Jerry Adler, Jared Harris, Dominic Chianese, Richard Foronjy, Richard Riehle, Gerry Becler, Bob Gunton, Del Close, Nick Tate | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Public Hero No. 1 | 1935 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★½ | 91 | Interesting but uneven hybrid of gangster yarn (with jailhouse theatrics dominating the first half) and romantic comedy. Arthur is always a pleasure to watch. Remade in 1942 as THE GETAWAY. | tt0026895 | Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, Chester Morris, Joseph Calleia, Paul Kelly, Lewis Stone | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Public Pigeon No. One | 1957 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 79 | Bland Skelton vehicle with Red accidentally exposing gang of crooks; typical slapstick. Based on a 1956 Climax TV episode in which Skelton starred. | tt0050864 |
|
Red Skelton, Vivian Blaine, Janet Blair, Allyn Joslyn, Jay C. Flippen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Puccini for Beginners | 2007 | Maria Maggenti | ★★★ | 82 | Clever, contemporary romantic comedy about a woman who has a tendency to drive her girlfriends away whenever the prospect of commitment enters the picture. Then quite by chance she finds herself simultaneously attracted to a guy and a girl, little dreaming that they are a couple that's just broken up. Inventive and funny, with appealing performances. Written by the director. | tt0492481 | Unrated | Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol, Jennifer Dundas, Julianne Nicholson, Tina Benko | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog | 1990 | Paul S. Parco | ★★ | 94 | Talented but insecure artist falls for an aspiring actress in this slimly plotted L.A. slice of life. Cast is appealing, punk rocker Williams has a great cameo, but the best thing about this film is its title. | tt0100431 | [R] | Jonathan Gries, Lisa Zane, Barney Martin, Sal Lopez, Christopher Maher, Wendy O. Williams, Nicholas Worth, Robert Culp, Isabel Sanford, Paul Bartel, Phyllis Diller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pufnstuf | 1970 | Hollingsworth Morse | ★★½ | 98 | OK theatrical feature based on Sid and Marty Krofft's TV series H.R. Pufnstuf, with Wild as young boy brought by a magic flute to Oz-like kingdom ruled by bumbling witches. Fine for kids; Hayes is fun as 'Witchiepoo.' | tt0066256 | [G] | Jack Wild, Billie Hayes, Martha Raye, 'Mama' Cass Elliott, Billy Barty, Angelo Rossitto, Johnny Silver | Family, Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Pulp | 1972 | Michael Hodges | ★★★ | 95 | Rooney, a retired expatriate Hollywood actor, hires paperback writer Caine to ghost his autobiography. Uneven, but good fun and well acted, especially by Rooney. | tt0069134 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Mickey Rooney, Lionel Stander, Lizabeth Scott, Nadia Cassini, Al Lettieri, Dennis Price | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pulp Fiction | 1994 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★★½ | 154 | Audacious, outrageous look at honor among lowlifes, told in a somewhat radical style overlapping a handful of separate stories. Jackson and Travolta are magnetic as a pair of hit men who have philosophical debates on a regular basis; Willis is compelling as a crooked boxer whose plan to take it on the lam hits a few detours. (In fact, there are no slackers in this cast.) This voluble, violent, pumped-up movie isn't for every taste— certainly not for the squeamish— but it's got more vitality than almost any other film of 1994. Tarantino is featured on-screen as Jimmie of Toluca Lake. Roger Avary gets costory credit with Tarantino (they won the Original Screenplay Oscar). Danny DeVito was one of the executive producers. | tt0110912 | [R] | John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Medeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis | Crime, Thriller, Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Pulse | 1988 | Paul Golding | ★★½ | 91 | What's got into the appliances in the home of Lawrence and his family? Scary, tense film, written by the director, a cut above the usual sci-fi/horror thriller but seriously damaged by a lack of any explanation for its outrageous premise (a living, evil short circuit). Excellent special effects. | tt0095924 | [PG-13] | Joey Lawrence, Cliff De Young, Roxanne Hart, Charles Tyner, Myron Healey | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pulse | 2001 | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | ★★★ | 118 | A group of college students in Japan install an Internet program that invokes murderous ghosts. Plot seemed less hackneyed when it premiered in Japan four years before hitting U.S. screens; it remains significantly more original than American Internet-related horror films. Kurosawa effectively focuses on the fear and melancholy resulting from the urban isolation that the Internet promotes. A bit overlong and redundant, but philosophical, atmospheric, genuinely scary horror films are few and far between. Aka KAIRO and THE CIRCUIT. | tt0286751 |
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Haruhiko Katô, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka, Masatoshi Matsuo | Japanese | Horror | NULL | |
| Pulse | 2006 | Jim Sonzero | ★½ | 87 | Ghostly creatures emerge from computers and other machines to drain the will to live (or something) from human victims, driving them to suicide or turning them into soot. This naturally leads to the collapse of civilization. Unexpectedly epic-minded horror movie is occasionally eerie, but more often dull and nearly incomprehensible. Cowritten by Wes Craven. Remake of Japanese KAIRO (2001). Unrated version runs 90m. | tt0454919 | [PG-13] | Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez, Jonathan Tucker, Samm Levine, Ron Rifkin | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Pump Up the Volume | 1990 | Allan Moyle | ★★½ | 100 | Slater is terrific as Hard Harry, a high school kid by day who runs a pirate radio station by night, stirring up passions among his young listeners and enraging the adult population in the process. Though uneven, this does have some pertinent things to say that you don't always find in a youth-appeal film. | tt0100436 | [R] | Christian Slater, Ellen Greene, Annie Ross, Samantha Mathis, Scott Paulin, Lala, Cheryl Pollak, Mimi Kennedy, Seth Green | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pumping Iron | 1977 | George Butler, Robert Fiore | ★★★ | 85 | Fascinating documentary about men's bodybuilding, centering on Schwarzenegger and his pursuit of yet another Mr. Olympia title. Schwarzenegger exudes charm and registers strong screen presence; his main rival is Ferrigno, pre-Incredible Hulk. Followed by a distaff sequel. | tt0076578 | [PG] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Matty Ferrigno, Victoria Ferrigno, Mike Katz | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Pumping Iron II: The Women | 1985 | George Butler | ★★★ | 107 | Pouty-lipped sexpot Rachel McLish, manlike Australian Bev Francis, and two dozen more female bodybuilders compete in a Vegas non-event where winners are offered a choice of 'cash, check, or chips.' Funny, if suspiciously stagy look at the profession buoyed by some hilariously incompetent judges and an 'in it for the money' emcee job by smiling George Plimpton. | tt0089852 | [NR] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Pumpkin | 2002 | Adam Larson Broder, Tony R. Abrams | 💣 | 121 | A dippy, pampered college girl, caught up in sorority life, finds herself attracted to a disabled boy who's been brought to campus as a 'special' athlete. Oddball film wants to have it both ways, making fun of its characters (and sentimental movies in general), then trying to tug at our heartstrings. Strange, to say the least— and interminable. Coexecutive-produced by Francis Ford Coppola; Ricci coproduced. | tt0265591 | [R] | Christina Ricci, Hank Harris, Brenda Blethyn, Dominique Swain, Marisa Coughlan, Sam Ball, Harry Lennix, Nina Foch, Caroline Aaron, Lisa Banes, Julio Oscar Mechoso | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Pumpkin Eater | 1964 | Jack Clayton | ★★★ | 110 | Intelligent if overlong drama chronicling the plight of the mother of eight children, who discovers her third husband has been unfaithful. Fine performances all around, with Bancroft a standout. Script by Harold Pinter, from the Penelope Mortimer novel. | tt0058500 | Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch, James Mason, Cedric Hardwicke, Alan Webb, Richard Johnson, Maggie Smith, Eric Porter | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Pumpkinhead | 1988 | Stan Winston | ★★½ | 86 | Makeup expert Winston made his directorial debut with this interesting horror film set in the backwoods. When his young son is accidentally killed by 'city folk,' a storekeeper unleashes a powerful, fiendish demon on the interlopers. When he changes his mind, he finds he has no more control over the monstrous killer. Slides into the routine at times, but a nice try. Followed by a sequel. | tt0095925 | [R] | Lance Henriksen, Jeff East, John DiAquino, Kimberly Ross, Joel Hoffman, Cynthia Bain, Kerry Remsen, Florence Schauffler, George 'Buck' Flower, Tom Woodruff/Jr. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Punch-Drunk Love | 2002 | Paul Thomas Anderson | ★★ | 95 | A paralyzingly asocial, dysfunctional man encounters a woman who is smitten with him and isn't sure how to respond. An ill-timed phone-sex call only complicates his life. Anderson's cockeyed, fairy-tale version of a romantic comedy is extremely strange, off-putting, and weird for the sake of being weird, though its leading actors certainly can't be faulted. (Sandler, discarding his goofball persona, is quite good.) Anderson's audaciousness is intriguing at first, but like his choice of music on the soundtrack, awfully hard to take. | tt0272338 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, Mary Lynn Rajskub | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Punchline | 1988 | David Seltzer | ★★★ | 128 | Well-written, well-cast movie about aspiring stand-up comics, focusing on brash young Hanks, who's got real talent but also a knack for pushing people away, and Field, a housewife and mom who feels driven to become a comedienne. Seltzer's serious script is compassionate and believable and manages to avoid clichés and easy answers. Field and (especially) Hanks are first-rate; actor-turned-director Rydell is perfect as the unctuous nightclub owner/ entrepreneur. Director Paul Mazursky also appears in the opening scene. | tt0095927 | [R] | Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman, Mark Rydell, Kim Greist, Pam Matteson, Taylor Negron, Barry Neikrug, Mac Robbins, Max Alexander, Paul Kozlowski, Barry Sobel, Damon Wayans | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Punisher | 1989 | Mark Goldblatt | ★★ | 92 | A cop whose family was wiped out by gangsters retaliates: he wipes out gangsters (125 in five years, and still counting). Cop Gossett and, especially, gangster Krabbé come close to rising above silly script, adapted from a Marvel Comics character created by Gerry Conway. Went straight to video in U.S. two years after being made. Shot in Australia but set in U.S. Remade in 2004. | tt0098141 | [R] | Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett/Jr., Jeroen Krabbe, Kim Miyori, Nancy Everhard, Brian Rooney, Bryan Marshall, Barry Otto, Zoshka Mizak | U.S.-Australian | Action | NULL | |
| The Punisher | 2004 | Jonathan Hensleigh | 💣 | 124 | Excruciating adaptation of the Marvel comic book about a retired FBI agent (Jane) who seeks revenge on the mobster (Travolta) and his circle who slaughtered his family. Formulaic idea is powered by repeated scenes of sadism and torture, with ham-handed performances as icing on the cake. Unbelievable, in every sense of the word. Filmed before with Dolph Lundgren. | tt0330793 | [R] | Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Will Patton, Roy Scheider, Laura Harring, Ben Foster, Samantha Mathis, James Carpinello, Eddie Jemison, John Pinette | Action, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Puppet Master II | 1990 | David Allen | ★★ | 90 | The living puppets bring Toulon, inexplicably costumed as the Invisible Man, back from the dead; then, seeking brains for his life-giving elixir, they terrorize a group of paranormal researchers investigating the old hotel. Slow-paced thriller is an inauspicious directorial debut for effects maestro Allen. | tt0100438 | [R] | Elizabeth Maclellan, Collin Bernsen, Steve Welles, Gregory Webb, Charlie Spradling, Jeff Weston, Nita Talbot | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge | 1991 | David De Coteau | ★★ | 86 | The mild best in this low-budget series (so far) is set in Nazi Germany, pitting the kindly old creator of living puppets (Rolfe) against Nazis who want to create an army of zombies. Minor but OK little thriller. | tt0102728 | [R] | Guy Rolfe, Richard Lynch, Ian Abercrombie, Kristopher Logan, Aron Eisenberg, Walter Gotell, Sarah Douglas, Matthew Faison, Michelle Bauer | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Puppet Masters | Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters | 1994 | Stuart Orme | ★★½ | 109 | U.S. security agency, headed by shrewd, sardonic Sutherland, discovers that the Midwest has been invaded by alien parasites who control the actions of human beings. Good script and performances are hampered by unimaginative direction. Movie imitations of Robert A. Heinlein's classic 1950 sci-fi novel took the edge off this official adaptation before it reached the screen. Aka ROBERT A. HEINLEIN'S THE PUPPET MASTERS. | tt0111003 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, David Keith, Will Patton, Richard Belzer, Tom Mason, Yaphet Kotto | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |
| Puppet on a Chain | 1970 | Geoffrey Reeve | ★½ | 98 | Half-baked version of Alistair MacLean's best-seller about international drug trafficking; only an exciting speedboat chase (directed by Don Sharp) keeps this film from total disaster. | tt0066258 | [PG] | Sven-Bertil Taube, Barbara Parkins, Alexander Knox, Patrick Allen, Vladek Sheybal | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Puppetmaster | 1989 | David Schmoeller | ★½ | 90 | Psychics drawn to a remote hotel find a malignant associate has committed suicide. They're then stalked by five living puppets left there in 1939 by famous, mystical puppeteer Toulon (Hickey)— plus another menace. Clumsy, talky script helped by (too scant) special effects by David Allen Productions. Followed by several sequels. | tt0098143 | [R] | Paul LeMat, Irene Miracle, Matt Roe, William Hickey, Kathryn O'Reilly, Robin Frates, Merrya Small | Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Puppetoon Movie | 1987 | ★★½ | 80 | Arnold Leibovit compiled this collage of George Pal's animated short subjects from the 1930s and '40s. Some of them (JOHN HENRY AND THE INKI POO, TUBBY THE TUBA, JASPER IN A JAM) are terrific, but they're better seen one or two at a time. Still, there's some delightful entertainment here. | tt0127745 | Animation, Family | NULL | |||||
| The Purchase Price | 1932 | William Wellman | ★★ | 68 | Pre-Code Warner Bros. film about nightclub singer Stanwyck, who's seen and done it all, taking it on the lam and becoming— of all things— a mail-order bride for a naive North Dakota farmer. Starts out snappy, winds up silly, though Stanwyck is always worth watching. | tt0023362 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Lyle Talbot, Hardie Albright, David Landau, Murray Kinnell, Leila Bennett | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Pure Country | 1992 | Christopher Cain | ★★ | 112 | Tuckered-out country star revisits his rural roots, falls for a redheaded rodeo aspirant who doesn't realize who he is. Strait showcase is mostly pure tedium, though film picks up some in hour two with the appearance of Glasser and (as her pop) cowboy vet Calhoun. | tt0105191 | [PG] | George Strait, Lesley Ann Warren, Isabel Glasser, Kyle Chandler, John Doe, Rory Calhoun, Molly McClure | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Pure Formality | 1994 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★ | 108 | Police inspector Polanski, investigating a just-committed murder, interrogates world-famous novelist Depardieu, who can't remember what he was doing that afternoon. Widescreen but mostly confined to a dark, leaky room; film is maddeningly tedious and directed to the hilt. Not quite what you expect from the maker of CINEMA PARADISO. | tt0110917 | [PG-13] | Gérard Depardieu, Roman Polanski, Sergio Rubini, Nicola DiPinto, Paolo Lombardi | Italian-French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Pure Hell of St. Trinian's | 1960 | Frank Launder. | ★★ | 94 | Absence of Alastair Sim from series lessens glow; outrageous girls' school is visited by sheik seeking harem. | tt0055342 | Cecil Parker, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Thorley Walters. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pure Luck | 1991 | Nadia Tass | ★★ | 96 | A business magnate's accident-prone daughter disappears while vacationing in Mexico, and the father sends detective Glover to find her— accompanied by a man as unlucky as the woman he's out to find. Short's perpetual pratfalls are good for a few laughs, but otherwise this is pretty weak. American remake of French farce LE CHEVRE. | tt0102729 | [PG] | Martin Short, Danny Glover, Sheila Kelley, Sam Wanamaker, Scott Wilson, Harry Shearer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Purgatory | 1999 | Uli Edel | Average TV Movie | 100 | Enjoyable made-for-TV Western with a supernatural twist: Roberts and his vicious band of outlaws lose their way after a robbery and wind up in the town of Refuge, where there are no guns and the citizens look strangely familiar— especially to the youngest outlaw, who's addicted to dime novels. Twilight Zone-ish story is fairly obvious but well played. | tt0158131 | Sam Shepard, Randy Quaid, Eric Roberts, Peter Stormare, Brad Rowe, Donnie Wahlberg, John David Souther, Amelia Heinle, Shannon Kenny, R. G. Armstrong | Western, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Purple Gang | 1960 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 85 | Capable cast, limp police-vs.-gangster yarn. | tt0054218 | Barry Sullivan, Robert Blake, Elaine Edwards, Marc Cavell, Jody Lawrance, Suzy Marquette, Joseph Turkel | Crime | NULL | |||
| Purple Haze | 1982 | David Burton Morris | ★★★ | 104 | Overlong yet involving chronicle of alienated youth Nelson, just expelled from college, and his experiences during the summer of 1968. McQuary is excellent as his comical, 'chemically dependent' friend. Effective use of period music. | tt0084553 | [R] | Peter Nelson, Chuck McQuary, Bernard Baldan, Susanne Lack, Bob Breuler, Joanne Bauman, Katy Horsch | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Purple Heart | 1944 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 99 | Absorbing tale of U.S. air force crew shot down during Tokyo raid receives strong performances by good cast. Produced and co-written by Darryl F. Zanuck. | tt0037197 | Dana Andrews, FarleyGranger, Sam Levene, Richard Conte, Tala Birell, Nestor Paiva, Benson Fong, Marshall Thompson, Richard Loo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Purple Hearts | 1984 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★ | 115 | Navy medic falls in love with feisty nurse in Vietnam. What starts out as good bread-and-butter story gets worse as it goes along toward silly conclusion. Overlong, to boot. | tt0087956 | [R] | Cheryl Ladd, Ken Wahl, Stephen Lee, David Harris, Lane Smith, Annie McEnroe, Paul McCrane, James Whitmore/Jr., Lee Ermey | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Purple Hills | 1961 | Maury Dexter | ★½ | 60 | Cheapie oater, with ex-dancer Nelson as cowpoke on the run from rampaging Indians. | tt0055343 | Gene Nelson, Joanna Barnes, Kent Taylor, Russ Bender | Western | NULL | |||
| The Purple Mask | 1955 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 82 | Wooden historical adventure with Curtis as a Scarlet Pimpernel-like swashbuckling hero who goes up against Napoleon in 1803 France. | tt0048522 | Tony Curtis, Colleen Miller, Gene Barry, Dan O'Herlihy, Angela Lansbury, George Dolenz, Allison Hayes | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Purple Noon | 1960 | René Clément | ★★★ | 118 | Marvelously photographed (in southern Italy, by Henri Decae), tautly directed suspenser about Delon, who envies playboy-friend Ronet and schemes to murder him and assume his identity. Based on Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley. That's Romy Schneider among the friends stopping by cafe in opening scene. Remade as THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY; also see THE AMERICAN FRIEND and RIPLEY'S GAME. | tt0054189 | Alain Delon, Marie Laforet, Maurice Ronet, Frank Latimore, Ave Ninchi | French-Italian | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Purple People Eater | 1988 | Linda Shayne | ★½ | 87 | Corny, unimaginative (if harmless) children's picture based on the famous novelty song hit of 1958, with the title character (looking like a kid in a Halloween costume) coming to Earth to form a rock band with neighborhood teens. The song's original writer-performer, Sheb Wooley, appears as a trapeze teacher. | tt0095930 | [PG] | Ned Beatty, Shelley Winters, Neil (Patrick) Harris, Peggy Lipton, Chubby Checker, Little Richard, James Houghton, Thora Birch, Molly Cheek | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Purple Plain | 1954 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 102 | Absorbing Eric Ambler-scripted drama of love, loss, and survival during WW2, charting the plight of disaffected pilot Peck, whose wife was killed on the night of their wedding during a London air raid. | tt0047376 | Gregory Peck, Win Min Than, Bernard Lee, Maurice Denham, Brenda De Banzie, Lyndon Brook | British | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Purple Rain | 1984 | Albert Magnoli | ★★½ | 111 | Prince's film debut is about a young Minneapolis black who struggles to gain acceptance for his own brand of futuristic (and sexy) rock music . . . but it's not autobiographical. Right. Dynamic concert sequences are undercut by soppy storyline and sexist, unappealing characters— especially Prince's. Oscar-winning song score includes title tune, 'When Doves Cry.' | tt0087957 | [R] | Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III, Jerome Benton, Billy Sparks, The Revolution, The Time | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Purple Rose of Cairo | 1985 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 82 | Bittersweet comedy-fantasy about a Depression-era movie fan whose latest idol walks right off the screen and into her life! Farrow and Daniels' wonderful performances help offset the cold cleverness of Allen's script. The finale is a heartbreaker. | tt0089853 | [PG] | Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Dianne Wiest, Van Johnson, Zoe Caldwell, John Wood, Milo O'Shea, Edward Herrmann, Karen Akers, Deborah Rush, Michael Tucker, Glenne Headly | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Purple Taxi | 1977 | Yves Boisset | ★½ | 107 | Confusing, overblown drama about expatriates in Ireland, with Astaire miscast as eccentric doctor who drives title vehicle. Based on Michel Deon's best-selling novel. Originally 120m. | tt0076851 | [R] | Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Noiret, Agostina Belli, Peter Ustinov, Fred Astaire, Edward Albert | French-Italian-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Pursued | 1947 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 101 | Grim, passionate Western noir, a family saga of love, hate, revenge, and a hint of incest. Mitchum is an orphan raised by Anderson; he falls in love with foster sister Wright, complicated by his having killed her murderous brother. Stunning photography by James Wong Howe. | tt0039737 | Teresa Wright, Robert Mitchum, Judith Anderson, Dean Jagger, Alan Hale/Sr., Harry Carey/Jr., John Rodney | Thriller, Western | NULL | |||
| The Pursuers | 1961 | Godfrey Grayson | ★★ | 63 | Trim programmer with Matthews tracking down Nazi war criminal Shaps in England; conventionally told. | tt0055344 |
|
Cyril Shaps, Francis Matthews, Susan Denny, Sheldon Lawrence | British | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Pursuit | 1935 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★ | 61 | Morris and Eilers are chased by plane, car, and on foot while helping a little boy escape his nasty custody-claiming relatives and delivering him to his mother in Mexico. Briskly paced but routine B movie with too much comic-romantic banter. | tt0026901 | Chester Morris, Sally Eilers, Scotty Beckett, Henry Travers, C. Henry Gordon, Dorothy Peterson. | Action, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper | 1981 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★ | 100 | What may have happened to the 'legendary' D. B. Cooper (Williams, in a disappointing performance), who hijacked a plane in 1972 and bailed out with $200,000, never to be heard from again. Who cares? Lackluster comedy-chase story, with Duvall wasted as one of Cooper's pursuers. Film was plagued with problems, multiple directors, hastily refilmed ending— and it shows. | tt0082958 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Treat Williams, Kathryn Harrold, Ed Flanders, Paul Gleason, R. G. Armstrong | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Pursuit of Happiness | 1971 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 98 | Director Mulligan has made lots of overrated films, but never got enough credit for this sympathetic tale of young man sent to jail more for his attitude in court than any particular offense. Good performances. Watch for William Devane, Charles Durning. | tt0067634 | [PG] | Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Robert Klein, Sada Thompson, Arthur Hill, E.G. Marshall, Barnard Hughes, Rue McClanahan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Pursuit of Happyness | 2006 | Gabriele Muccino | ★★★ | 117 | Chris Gardner's life in San Francisco is falling apart in the early 1980s: his marriage is running on fumes, his income from selling medical equipment is meager, and before long he's out on the street with his 5-year-old son. The opportunity to turn his life around with an unpaid internship at a major brokerage firm presents itself, but it means living day to day, hour to hour, under almost unbearable stress. Smith gives a powerful, empathetic performance in this remarkable true story of a man who refuses to give up, though his all-too-believable ordeal is often difficult to watch. Smith also coproduced. | tt0454921 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Brian Howe, James Karen, Dan Castellaneta, Kurt Fuller | Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| Pursuit of the Graf Spee | The Battle of the River Plate | 1956 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★½ | 119 | Taut documentary-style account of WW2 chase of German warship by British forces. Original title: THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER PLATE. | tt0048990 | John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Peter Finch, Ian Hunter, Bernard Lee, Patrick Macnee, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Pursuit to Algiers | 1945 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 65 | Lesser Sherlock Holmes entry is still diverting tale of heir to an Eastern throne on a perilous Mediterranean voyage. | tt0038008 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Riordan, Rosalind Ivan, Martin Kosleck, John Abbott | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Push | 2009 | Paul McGuigan | ★½ | 111 | Hiding out in a seamy Hong Kong, American expatriates Evans and a miniskirted Fanning join forces to battle an evil U.S. agency led by Hounsou and his goons. Now pay attention: Evans is a “mover” (with telekinetic powers), Fanning is a “watcher” (more like a “sketcher” who interprets the future on a sketch pad), while Evans’ girlfriend Belle and Hounsou are “pushers” (mind controllers). Belle has escaped a government lab with a potent serum everyone is after, which leads to plenty of action. Outrageously obtuse script; almost worth seeing for Fanning’s pint-sized Lizabeth Scott homage. | tt0465580 | [PG-13] | Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Djimon Hounsou, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Ming-Na, Neil Jackson, Maggie Siff | Drama, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Pushing Hands | 1992 | Ang Lee | ★★★ | 100 | Cultures clash and a family is strained to the breaking point when a Chinese-American brings his father, a tai chi master who speaks no English, to live with his American wife and son in a N.Y.C. suburb. Writer-director Lee's first feature is (like his later work) a keenly observed slice of life, with both humor and humanity. Lung, who plays the father, took similar roles in Lee's follow-up films, THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. | tt0105652 | Sihung Lung, Lai Wang, Bo Z. Wang, Deb Snyder, Haan Lee, Emily Liu | U.S.-Taiwanese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pushing Tin | 1999 | Mike Newell | ★★½ | 124 | Seriocomic slice of life about the high-pressure world of air-traffic controllers. Best-of-the-best Cusack gets caught in a macho competition with the new guy, Zen cowboy Thornton. MASH-like ensemble film starts off extremely well, with strong performances and snappy repartee, but crash-lands in its second half, becoming a dull domestic romantic comedy about Cusack trying to win back his estranged wife. Blanchett's quite good in an underwritten role as a Longuyland housewife. First feature script by Cheers creators Glen and Les Charles. | tt0120797 | [R] | John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Jake Weber, Vicki Lewis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pushover | 1954 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 88 | MacMurray is cop who falls in love with gangster moll Novak; good cast covers familiar ground. | tt0047377 | Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, Phil Carey, Dorothy Malone, E.G. Marshall | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Puss in Boots | 2011 | Chris Miller | ★★½ | 90 | The self-serious, self-styled Don Juan (from the SHREK movies) stars as a disgraced cat, driven from his hometown and the woman who raised him—all because he was betrayed by his longtime best pal Humpty Dumpty. Suddenly the egg reenters his life, urging him to join in a scheme to steal the magic beans that will take them up a giant beanstalk to the home of golden goose eggs. Lively and masterfully staged, this makes great use of 3-D but gets to be a bit long and plot-heavy coming down the stretch. Puss, as voiced by Banderas, is essentially a one-joke character... but it's a pretty funny joke. | tt0448694 | [PG] | Voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris, Constance Marie, Guillermo del Toro | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Putney Swope | 1969 | Robert Downey | ★★★ | 85 | Hilarious, but dated, story of blacks taking over Madison Avenue ad agency, instituting considerable changes. Best bit: series of commercial spoofs. Fargas, as The Arab, steals the film. Actor billed as 'Mel Brooks' is not the Brooks we know and love. | tt0064855 | [R] | Arnold Johnson, Pepi Hermine, Ruth Hermine, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Puttin' on the Ritz | 1930 | Edward Sloman | ★★ | 88 | Famed nightclub entertainer Rich√ man made his film debut in this primitive early talkie about vaudevillian who can't handle success and turns to drink. You may do the same after watching Richman's performance— though he does introduce the title song by Irving Berlin. Partially redeemed by a few production numbers originally filmed in Technicolor, including a charming 'Alice in Wonderland.' Sets by William Cameron Menzies. | tt0021276 | Harry Richman, Joan Bennett, James Gleason, Aileen Pringle, Lilyan Tashman | Musical | NULL | |||
| Puzzle of a Downfall Child | 1970 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★ | 104 | Puzzling is the word for this confusing story of fashion model trying to put together the pieces of her unhappy life. | tt0066262 | [R] | Faye Dunaway, Barry Primus, Viveca Lindfors, Barry Morse, Roy Scheider, Barbara Carrera | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Puzzle of the Red Orchid | The Secret of the Red Orchid | 1962 | Helmut Ashley. | ★★ | 94 | Moderate Edgar Wallace entry; Scotland Yard and F.B.I. track down international crime syndicate. Retitled: THE SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID. | tt0055391 | Christopher Lee, Marisa Mell, Klaus Kinski, Fritz Rasp, Adrian Hoven. | German |
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NULL | |
| Pygmalion | 1938 | Anthony Asquith, Leslie Howard | ★★★★ | 95 | Superlative filmization of the witty G. B. Shaw play which became MY FAIR LADY. Howard excels as the professor, with Hiller his Cockney pupil. Shaw's screenplay won an Oscar, as did its adaptation by Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, and W. P. Lipscomb. Edited by David Lean. | tt0030637 | Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfrid Lawson, Marie Lohr, David Tree | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pygmy Island | 1950 | William Berke | ★½ | 69 | Jungle Jim Weissmuller leads a search party to find missing Savage in this silly entry exemplified by having famous white midget Curtis as the leader of the pygmy tribe. | tt0042865 | Johnny Weissmuller, Ann Savage, David Bruce, Tristram Coffin, Steven Geray, William Tannen, Billy Curtis, Billy Barty, Pierce Lyden | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Pyrates | 1991 | Noah Stern | 💣 | 95 | Photography student Bacon and cellist Sedgwick meet, and the sex between them is so intense that they literally start fires. Crudely scripted, ineptly directed; see this only if you're interested in Bacon and Sedgwick's buns. (In real life they're husband and wife.) Set in Chicago, this film gives new meaning to the term 'Windy City.' | tt0102733 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Bruce Martyn Payne, Kristin Dattilo, Buckley Norris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Pyro | 1964 | Julio Coli | ★★½ | 99 | Strange chiller of man burned in fire seeking revenge on ex-girlfriend who started it. | tt0057082 | Barry Sullivan, Martha Hyer, Sherry Moreland, Soledad Miranda | Spanish | Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Pyromaniac's Love Story | 1995 | Joshua Brand | ★★ | 94 | A bakery burns to the ground, the work of an unknown arsonist, and the act evokes such unique emotions among a varied group of romantics that just about everyone claims responsibility for the deed— except the real culprit. Minor attempt at generating the same loopy romantic spirit as films like MOONSTRUCK. Feature directing debut for Brand, who co-created the TV series St. Elsewhere and Northern Exposure. | tt0114210 | [PG] | William Baldwin, John Leguizamo, Sadie Frost, Erika Eleniak, Michael Lerner, Joan Plowright, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mike Starr, Julio Oscar Mechoso | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Pyx | The Hooker Cult Murders | 1973 | Harvey Hart | ★★★½ | 111 | Excellent blend of horror, science-fiction, and detective thriller with a mystical theme. Police sergeant Plummer investigates prostitute Black's death, finds a devil cult, numerous decadent suspects, and a new twist on Catholic guilt. Aka THE HOOKER CULT MURDERS. | tt0070578 | [R] | Karen Black, Christopher Plummer, Donald Pilon, Lee Broker, Yvette Brind'Amour | Canadian | Horror, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Q | The Winged Serpent | 1982 | Larry Cohen | ★★★ | 93 | Through plot tissue that discourages elaboration, a prehistoric Aztec deity finds itself flying out of its nest atop a Manhattan skyscraper to rip the heads off rooftop sunbathers and other assorted victims; somehow, all this is integrated into a standard N.Y.C. cop story. Spirited, occasionally hilarious trash sparked by Moriarty's eccentric performance as the loser who knows where the beast resides and intends to cash in on it. Aka THE WINGED SERPENT. | tt0084556 | [R] | David Carradine, Michael Moriarty, Richard Roundtree, Candy Clark, John Capodice, James Dixon, Malachy McCourt | Horror, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Q & A | 1990 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 132 | Wet-behind-the-ears Assistant D.A. (Hutton) is assigned to investigate an incident in which veteran street cop Nolte killed a Puerto Rican druggie . . . and soon finds himself waist-deep in corruption. Gritty, graphic, well-acted story gets slower as it goes along, dragging toward an increasingly predictable conclusion. Lumet scripted from Edwin Torres' novel. Ruben Blades' 'Don't Double-Cross The Ones You Love' bids fair to become the worst movie song of the '90s. | tt0100442 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, Patrick O'Neal, Lee Richardson, Luis Guzman, Charles Dutton, Jenny Lumet, Paul Calderon, Leonard Cimino | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Q Planes | Clouds Over Europe | 1939 | Tim Whelan | ★★★ | 78 | Delightful tongue-in-cheek espionage tale, with masterminds stealing British aircraft secrets. Richardson is a joy as lighthearted inspector who cracks the case. Retitled: CLOUDS OVER EUROPE. | tt0031831 | Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Valerie Hobson, George Curzon, David Tree, George Merritt, Gus McNaughton | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx | Fun Loving | 1970 | Waris Hussein | ★★★½ | 90 | Delightfully offbeat love story. Quackser Fortune follows the horses around Dublin selling their manure for gardening. The day the horses are replaced by cars he falls in love with an American coed. Original in every way. Screenplay by Gabriel Walsh. Reissued as FUN LOVING. | tt0066266 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Margot Kidder, Eileen Colgen, Seamus Ford | Irish | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Quadrophenia | 1979 | Franc Roddam | ★★★½ | 115 | Superior mixture of early '60s 'Angry Young Man' drama and rock movie tells of teenage gang battles between Mods and Rockers on the English seaside. A real sleeper. Inspired by The Who's record album. Sting makes an impressive acting debut. | tt0079766 | [R] | Phil Daniels, Mark Wingett, Philip Davis, Leslie Ash, Garry Cooper, Sting | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Quai des Orfèvres | 1947 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★★½ | 106 | When a wealthy 'dirty old man' is murdered, there is no shortage of suspects. A police procedural layered with telling character portraits, from a poor simp (Blier) who's suspicious of his coquettish wife, a music-hall singer (Delair), to a dour police detective (Jouvet). Clouzot's staging of key scenes— an argument during a musical rehearsal, a long scene in the back of a theater while chorus girls are dancing— is masterful, as is the overall look of this b&w gem. Title refers to the location of Paris' police headquarters. Originally shown in the U.S. as JENNY LAMOUR. | tt0039739 | Louis Jouvet, Suzy Delair, Bernard Blier, Simone Renant, Charles Dullin, Henri Arius, Pierre Larquey, René Blancard | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Quality Street | 1937 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 84 | Hepburn is radiant in delicate adaptation of James Barrie's whimsical play: 'old maid' masquerades as her own niece in order to win back the love of a man who hasn't seen her in 10 years. Filmed before in 1927, with Marion Davies. | tt0029454 | Katharine Hepburn, Franchot Tone, Fay Bainter, Eric Blore, Cora Witherspoon, Estelle Winwood, Bonita Granville, Joan Fontaine, William Bakewell | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Quantez | 1957 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 80 | Above-par Western involving robbery gang heading for Mexico border, encountering stiff opposition along the way. | tt0050872 | Fred MacMurray, Dorothy Malone, Sydney Chaplin, John Gavin, John Larch, Michael Ansara | Western | NULL | |||
| Quantrill's Raiders | 1958 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 68 | Predictable Civil War account of the outlaw's planned attack on a Kansas arsenal. | tt0052103 | Steve Cochran, Diane Brewster, Leo Gordon, Gale Robbins | Western | NULL | |||
| Quantum of Solace | 2008 | Marc Forster | ★★½ | 106 | In this direct sequel to CASINO ROYALE, a brooding James Bond hunts down the man who caused the woman he loved to betray him. In so doing he uncovers a vast conspiracy led by business mogul Amalric, who’s plotting to gain control of a prized natural resource. 007 has been reshaped for a BOURNE audience, turning the formerly suave, witty spy into a one-man demolition derby. Hyperactive editing renders much of the action senseless, though admittedly the film remains watchable throughout. | tt0830515 | [PG-13] | Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright | U.S.-British | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Quarantine | 2008 | John Erick Dowdle | ★★½ | 89 | TV news crew, shadowing an L.A. fire brigade on the graveyard shift, answers a routine call that quickly escalates into horrific violence. Forcibly locked inside an apartment building, all fall victim one by one to a plague of bloody madness. New twist on the living dead is well-acted scary stuff, but this remake of the 2007 Spanish thriller | tt1082868 | [R] | Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Doug Jones, Denis O'Hare, Bernard White, Rade Sherbedgia, Marin Hinkle | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Quare Fellow | 1962 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★★½ | 85 | Irish-made adaptation of Brendan Behan play deals with new prison guard, well played by McGoohan, who changes mind about capital punishment. Finely acted; excellent script by director Dreifuss. | tt0056387 | Patrick McGoohan, Sylvia Syms, Walter Macken, Dermot Kelly, Jack Cunningham, Hilton Edwards | Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Quarrel | 1991 | Eli Cohen | ★★½ | 88 | A pair of former friends, both Jews, meet by accident and pass the day discussing the implications of the Holocaust and how it has altered their lives. Provocative subject matter, based on a story by Chaim Grade, but the result is as static as it is thoughtful. | tt0105200 | R. H. Thompson, Saul Rubinek | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quartet | 1948 | Ken Annakin, Arthur Crabtree, Harold French, Ralph Smart | ★★★★ | 120 | Superb movie with Somerset Maugham introducing four of his tales, each with different casts and moods. Its success prompted a sequel, TRIO. | tt0040335 | Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Mai Zetterling, Ian Fleming, Jack Raine, Dirk Bogarde | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quartet | 1981 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 101 | Adjani is taken in by Bohemian Bates and victimized wife Smith when her husband (Higgins) is imprisoned; Bates seduces her into becoming his lover. Expertly acted drama of decadence and change; based on a book by Jean Rhys. | tt0082964 | [R] | Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, Isabelle Adjani, Anthony Higgins, Pierre Clementi, Daniel Mesguich, Virginie Thevenet, Suzanne Flon | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Quatermass Conclusion | 1980 | Piers Haggard. | ★★½ | 107 | Mills is fine as heroic Professor Bernard Quatermass (of earlier screen and television adventures) in this entertaining though poorly produced sci-fi adventure. He comes to the rescue when a death beam from outer space evaporates the world's young. Made for British TV. Original title: QUATERMASS. | tt0078129 | John Mills, Simon MacCorkindale, Barbara Kellerman, Margaret Tyzack, Brewster Mason. | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Quatorze Juillet | 1932 | René Clair | ★★★ | 98 | Delightful comedy about life in Paris on Bastille Day, centering on the adventures of flower-girl Annabella and her taxi-driver boyfriend. Filled with fresh, funny touches; Clair at his best. Aka JULY 14TH. | tt0024480 | Annabella, Georges Rigaud, Pola Illery, Paul Olivier, Raymond Cordy | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Quebec | 1951 | George Templeton | ★★ | 85 | Historical nonsense set in 1830s Canada during revolt against England. Filmed on location. | tt0043946 | John Barrymore/Jr., Corinne Calvet, Barbara Rush, Patric Knowles | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Queen Bee | 1955 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★★ | 95 | Crawford in title role has field-day maneuvering the lives of all in her Southern mansion, with husband Sullivan providing the final ironic twist. | tt0048527 | Joan Crawford, Barry Sullivan, Betsy Palmer, John Ireland, Fay Wray, Tim Hovey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Queen Christina | 1933 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★★ | 97 | Probably Garbo's best film, with a haunting performance by the radiant star as 17th-century Swedish queen who relinquishes her throne for her lover, Gilbert. Garbo and Gilbert's love scenes together are truly memorable, as is the famous final shot. Don't miss this one. | tt0024481 | Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone, C. Aubrey Smith, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Reginald Owen | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Queen Kelly | 1928 | Erich von Stroheim | ★★★½ | 96 | A convent girl is swept off her feet by a roguish prince— then sent to live in East Africa where her aunt runs a brothel! Fascinating, extravagantly decadent von Stroheim melodrama that was never completed; this restored version wraps up story with stills and subtitles. A must for film buffs; exquisitely photographed, with scene-stealing performance by Owen as the mad queen. The European-release version, in which the girl meets with an entirely different fate, is also available. | tt0020298 | Gloria Swanson, Seena Owen, Walter Byron, Tully Marshall, Madame Sul Te Wan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Queen Margot | 1994 | Patrice Chéreau | ★★★½ | 143 | Enormous production, based on a Dumas novel, of the events surrounding notorious St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 16th-century France. Young Margot (Adjani) is forced to marry Henri de Navarre (Auteuil) by her scheming mother, Catherine de Medici (Lisi), with unexpected and terrible consequences. Excellent film (produced by Claude Berri) boasts strong performances in every role, sumptuous decor, and surprisingly erotic love scenes. Intricate, intelligent and often moving epic. Scripted by Daniele Thompson and director Chéreau. Previously filmed in 1954, with Jeanne Moreau. Original French version runs 166m. | tt0110963 | [R] | Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Vincent Perez, Virna Lisi, Jean-Claude Brialy, Dominique Blanc, Pascal Greggory, Claudio Amendola, Miguel Bosé, Asia Argento, Barbet Schroeder | French-German-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Queen of Babylon | 1954 | Carlo Bragaglia | ★½ | 98 | American stars can't elevate elephantine study of ancient Babylonia. | tt0049094 | Rhonda Fleming, Ricardo Montalban, Roldano Lupi, Carlo Ninchi | Italian | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Queen of Burlesque | 1946 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 70 | Low-budget suspenser unstrung backstage at burlesque theater. | tt0038864 | Evelyn Ankers, Carleton G. Young, Marion Martin, Rose La Rose, Alice Fleming, Craig Reynolds | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Queen of Hearts | 1989 | Jon Amiel | ★★★½ | 112 | Extraordinary and unusual film, better seen than described, about an Italian couple who lead a pleasantly quixotic life in England running a family café. Tony Grisoni's original screenplay embraces elements of romance, humor, melodrama, mysticism, and fantasy in a heady mix. Remarkable first feature for director Amiel, who did The Singing Detective for British TV. | tt0098153 | [PG] | Vittorio Duse, Joseph Long, Anita Zagaria, Eileen Way, Vittorio Amandola, Ian Hawkes, Tat Whalley | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Queen of Outer Space | 1958 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 79 | Manned rocketship from Earth is abducted to Venus, where the planet is ruled entirely by women. Silly, to say the least, but at least some of the laughs were intentional. Zsa Zsa, incidentally, does not play the title character! | tt0052104 | Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Laurie Mitchell, Patrick Waltz, Paul Birch, Lisa Davis, Dave Willock | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Queen of Spades | 1960 | Roman Tikhomirov | ★★½ | 100 | Stark version of Tchaikovsky opera Pikovaya Dama, performed by Bolshoi Theater company; deals with young man consumed by gambling urge, leading to his and girlfriend's destruction. | tt0054183 | Oleg Strizhenov, Zurab Anzhaparidze, Olga Krasina, Tamara Milashkina | Russian | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Queen of Spades | 1949 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★★½ | 95 | Exquisite production of an unusual, macabre Alexander Pushkin story about an impoverished Russian officer (Walbrook, in a rich performance) who will do anything to learn the mystical secret of winning at cards known only by an imperious old woman. Brilliant use of chiaroscuro lighting and atmosphere in this British sleeper set in 1806. | tt0041776 | Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans, Ronald Howard, Mary Jerrold, Yvonne Mitchell, Anthony Dawson | British | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Queen of the Damned | 2002 | Michael Rymer | ★★½ | 101 | Vampire Lestat awakens after a long deep sleep and goes public in the world of rock music, where he seems to blend in perfectly! But his posturing angers the man who 'made' him, intrigues a young woman who's drawn to his world, and lines him up as the perfect mate for the queen of the undead (played by pop-music star Aaliyah, who died before the film's release). Dopey but amusing. Based on one of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles novels. | tt0238546 | [R] | Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lena Olin, Christian Manon | Australian-U.S. | Horror | NULL | |
| Queen of the Jungle | 1935 | Robert F. Hill | 💣 | 87 | Hilariously awful feature adapted from cheapie serial that rivals anything ever made by Edward Wood. A little girl is accidentally cast off in a balloon; she lands in the middle of the African jungle and grows up to become the title monarch. A laugh riot. | tt0026903 | Mary Kornman, Reed Howes, Dickie Jones, Marilyn Spinner, Lafe McKee | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Queen of the Mob | 1940 | James Hogan. | ★★½ | 61 | J. Edgar Hoover's bestselling book Persons in Hiding was the basis for this thinly veiled account of the exploits of mobster Ma Barker and her boys. Yurka is outstanding as Ma Webster; Bellamy and Carson are the G-Men hot on her trail. Lively crime programmer. Look for a bit by Robert Ryan in his first film. Cowritten by Horace McCoy. | tt0032958 | Blanche Yurka, Ralph Bellamy, Jack Carson, Richard Denning, James Seay, Paul Kelly, William Henry, Jeanne Cagney, J. Carrol Naish, Hedda Hopper, Billy Gilbert. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Queen of the Nile | 1962 | Fernando Cerchio | ★★ | 85 | Dull account of court life in 2000 B.C. Egypt. Not even campy. Super. | tt0055222 | Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, Edmund Purdom, Amedeo Nazzari | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Queen of the Stardust Ballroom | 1975 | Sam O'Steen | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Beautifully realized love story between a widowed grandmother and a married mailman who meet at a local dance hall. A filmed song of joy by Jerome Kass, with sensitive performances by the two leads. Later a Broadway musical, Ballroom. | tt0073596 | Maureen Stapleton, Charles Durning, Michael Brandon, Michael Strong, Charlotte Rae | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Queen to Play | 2009 | Caroline Bottaro | ★★★ | 101 | A housecleaner at a vacation inn on a small French island becomes intrigued with the game of chess after watching two elegant guests playing it on their balcony. Her growing obsession with the game threatens to drive a wedge between her and her working-class husband—especially when she convinces another of her clients, a dour American expat (Kline), to help her improve her skills. Charming story of a woman’s inner journey toward self-confidence, adapted from Bertina Henrich’s novel by the director. Bonnaire is a joy to watch. Original French title: JOUEUSE. | tt1082009 | Unrated | Sandrine Bonnaire, Kevin Kline, Francis Renaud, Jennifer Beals, Valérie Lagrange, Alexandra Gentil, Alice Pol, Didier Ferrari | French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Queen's Guards | 1960 | Michael Powell | ★★ | 110 | Tedious, patriotic chronicle of young Massey distinguishing himself in service, saving family name; humdrum film. | tt0055348 | Daniel Massey, Robert Stephens, Raymond Massey, Ursula Jeans | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Queen | 2006 | Stephen Frears | ★★★½ | 101 | Intriguing look inside the private life of England's royal family as Queen Elizabeth II contends with the death of Princess Diana, while her new, 'modernist' Prime Minister, Tony Blair (Sheen), tries to persuade her that her stoic silence is out of step with the public's grief. Perceptive, persuasive, witty, and poignant, Peter Morgan's script humanizes the public figures it portrays, while actual TV news footage sets the stage for the events being dramatized. Mirren's flawless performance sets a standard met by all of her costars. Evocative and imaginative score by Alexandre Desplat. A follow-up to Frears's and Morgan's British TV movie THE DEAL (2003), in which Sheen first played Blair. | tt0436697 | [PG-13] | Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory, Alex Jennings, Roger Allam, Sylvia Syms, Mark Bazeley | British-French-Italian-U.S. | Biography, Drama | NULL | |
| Queens Logic | 1991 | Steve Rash | ★★½ | 112 | Title refers not to royalty, but to the N.Y.C. borough. Robust performances half-spark a BIG CHILL-type reunion pic, as old pals and their mates reunite for a wedding. Actor Spiridakis penned the so-so script. Unusually fine rock-oldie score helps. | tt0102741 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, John Malkovich, Joe Mantegna, Ken Olin, Tony Spiridakis, Tom Waits, Chloe Webb, Jamie Lee Curtis, J. J. Johnson, Kelly Bishop, Ed Marinaro | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Quentin Durward | 1955 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 101 | Taylor plays Sir Walter Scott's dashing Scots hero in this handsome but static costumer about Louis XI's reign in 15th-century France. | tt0048528 | Robert Taylor, Kay Kendall, Robert Morley, George Cole, Alec Clunes, Duncan Lamont, Marius Goring | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Querelle | 1982 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | 💣 | 120 | Or, 'A Guy in Every Port.' Davis is the French sailor whose venture into an infamous whorehouse in Brest permits him to discover his true homosexual nature. Fassbinder's final film was rejected even by his admirers; gamy but slickly produced adaptation of Jean Genet novel induces boredom and giggles in equal measure. | tt0084565 | [R] | Brad Davis, Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau, Gunther Kaufmann, Hanno Poschl | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Quest for Camelot | 1998 | Frederick Du Chau | ★★½ | 85 | Pretty good Disney-derivative cartoon, about the plucky daughter of a slain knight who wants to follow in her father's footsteps— and does just that when King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, is stolen. Too dark and violent for very young kids, but agreeable enough as it treads a familiar story path, with romance, songs, and comic relief. | tt0120800 | [G] | Voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Eric Idle, Don Rickles, Jane Seymour, Celine Dion, Bryan White, Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Jaleel White, Bronson Pinchot, John Gielgud | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Quest for Fire | 1981 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★★½ | 97 | Peaceful tribe living 80,000 years ago is attacked by apes and wolves and loses its fire, essential for survival. They don't know how to make fire, so three of their own trek off to find it again. Not the epic intended, but still funny, tense, touching— and fascinating. Special languages devised by Anthony Burgess, and body languages and gestures by Desmond Morris; the makeup earned an Academy Award. Filmed in Kenya, Scotland, Iceland, and Canada. | tt0082484 | [R] | Everett McGill, Rae Dawn Chong, Ron Perlman, Nameer El Kadi | French-Canadian | Drama, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Quest for Love | 1971 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 90 | Intriguing sci-fi story of man who accidentally passes into another dimension on Earth almost identical to ours, with some strange differences. Based on John Wyndham's short story. | tt0067645 | Tom Bell, Joan Collins, Denholm Elliott, Laurence Naismith, Lyn Ashley, Juliet Harmer, Neil McCallum, Simon Ward | British | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Quest | 1986 | Brian Trenchard-Smith | ★½ | 93 | Abortive Australian attempt to capitalize on young Thomas' success as the star of E.T.; here he plays a precocious child who, along with a couple of pals, visits an aboriginal burial ground where a Loch Ness-style monster lives. Competently made but uninteresting. | tt0091810 | [PG] | Henry Thomas, Tony Barry, Rachel Friend, Tamsin West, Dennis Miller, Katya Manning | Australian | Drama, Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Quest | 1996 | Jean-Claude Van Damme | ★★½ | 95 | Epic martial-arts story with high-kicking Van Damme as N.Y.C. pickpocket whose efforts to elude the police lead him to the Far East and into the most exclusive and prestigious fight in the 'world.' Besides Jean-Claude, film features 15 of the world's greatest martial arts champions. A passable but uninspired directing debut for the star, who also gets story credit. | tt0117420 | [PG-13] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roger Moore, James Remar, Jack McGee, Janet Gunn, Aki Aleong, Louis Mandylor | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Question of Adultery | 1959 | Don Chaffey | ★★½ | 86 | Tepid drama involving pros and cons of artificial insemination. Retitled: THE CASE OF MRS. LORING. | tt0053200 | Julie London, Anthony Steel, Basil Sydney, Donald Houston, Anton Diffring, Andrew Cruickshank | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quick Before It Melts | 1964 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 98 | Trivia involving Maharis and Morse in the Antarctic; they have bright idea of bringing in a planeload of girls, with predictable results. | tt0058506 | George Maharis, Robert Morse, Anjanette Comer, James Gregory, Yvonne Craig, Doodles Weaver, Howard St. John, Michael Constantine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Quick Change | 1990 | Howard Franklin, Bill Murray | ★★★ | 88 | Very low-key but funny outing for Murray as a malcontent who stages a clever bank robbery— disguised as a clown— but can't seem to get out of N.Y.C. with his accomplices, Davis and Quaid. It's possible that only New Yorkers will truly appreciate the anti-City sentiments (and often hilarious vignettes) that permeate the film. Jay Cronley's novel was previously filmed in 1985 as HOLD-UP, with Jean-Paul Belmondo. | tt0100449 | [R] | Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid, Jason Robards, Bob Elliott, Philip Bosco, Phil Hartman, Kurtwood Smith, Jamey Sheridan, Kathryn Grody, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Quick Gun | 1964 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 87 | Formula Murphy Western, with Audie redeeming himself by combating town outlaws. | tt0058507 | Audie Murphy, Merry Anders, James Best, Ted de Corsia, Frank Ferguson, Raymond Hatton | Western | NULL | |||
| Quick Millions | 1931 | Rowland Brown | ★★½ | 72 | OK gangster film with Tracy as ambitious truck driver who climbs to top of the rackets. Nothing special, except to see dynamic early Tracy. | tt0022290 | Spencer Tracy, Marguerite Churchill, Sally Eilers, Robert Burns, John Wray, George Raft | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Quick and the Dead | 1995 | Sam Raimi | ★★ | 105 | Female stranger comes to the town of Redemption to enter its annual quick-draw competition; her real motive is to seek revenge on the town's evil boss, Herod (Hackman), for what he did to her family years ago. Sluggish Western tries to turn Stone into The Man With No Name, but even on a parody level, it doesn't work; endless closeups of her beautiful face reveal nothing. One would expect more razzle-dazzle from director Raimi. Woody Strode appears briefly as a coffin maker in the opening scene; this was his final film. | tt0114214 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobin Bell, Roberts Blossom, Kevin Conway, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Pat Hingle, Gary Sinise, Olivia Burnette, Fay Masterson, Bruce Campbell | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| The Quick and the Dead | 1987 | Robert Day | Above Average TV Movie | 93 | Lean Louis L'Amour Western out of the SHANE school involving a homesteading couple, their young son, and a mysterious stranger who rides into their lives when they come under attack by a ruthless gang. James Lee Barrett's script recaptures the flavor of the old movie West. Made for cable. | tt0093811 | Sam Elliott, Kate Capshaw, Tom Conti, Kenny Morrison, Matt Clark | Western | NULL | |||
| Quick, Let's Get Married | Seven Different Ways | 1971 | William Dieterle | 💣 | 96 | Bordello madam Rogers and adventurer Milland perpetrate 'miracle' hoax on gullible prostitute (Eden). Gould makes inauspicious film debut as deaf mute. This embarrassment was filmed in 1964. Aka SEVEN DIFFERENT WAYS. | tt0057961 | Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Barbara Eden, Michael Ansara, Walter Abel, Elliott Gould | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quicksand | 1950 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 79 | Minor film noir about auto mechanic Rooney, who is hot for trampy Cagney, and what happens when he 'borrows' $20 from his boss's cash register. Lorre is wonderfully menacing as a sleazy penny arcade owner. | tt0042869 | Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates, Peter Lorre, Taylor Holmes, Wally Cassell, Jimmy Dodd | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Quicksand | 2002 | John Mackenzie | ★★½ | 93 | U.S. bank executive Keaton is in Nice to investigate a movie company's finances and instead becomes a fugitive accused of murder. Caine plays an egocentric movie star caught up in the plot. Modestly entertaining thriller with good locations; Caine is amusing as the aging idol. Released direct to video in the U.S. | tt0271136 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Michael Caine, Judith Godréche, Rade Serbedgia, Matthew Marsh, Xander Berkeley, Kathleen Wilhoite, Rachel Ferjani | British-French-German | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Quicksilver | 1986 | Tom Donnelly | ★½ | 106 | The lives of big-city bicycle messengers (confusingly shot in three different cities), and one white-collar dropout in particular. Low-gear all the way. | tt0091814 | [PG] | Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez, Rudy Ramos, Andrew Smith, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Laurence Fishburne, Louis Anderson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quid Pro Quo | 2008 | Carlos Brooks | ★★ | 82 | Paraplegic radio personality Stahl begins a highly charged relationship with a mystery woman (Farmiga) who’s obsessed with losing the ability to walk. Idiosyncratic exploration of memory and guilt is ambitious but slow moving, and not satisfying dramatically. | tt0414426 | [R] | Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, Jacob Pitts, Aimee Mullins, James Frain, Kate Burton, Jessica Hecht, Dylan Bruno, Pablo Schreiber | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Quiet American | 1958 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★½ | 120 | Sanitized version of the Graham Greene novel, with the book's 'un-American' feeling eliminated; naive American Murphy arrives in Saigon with his own plan to settle country's conflicts. More a murder mystery than the political thriller intended. Remade in 2002. | tt0052106 | Audie Murphy, Michael Redgrave, Claude Dauphin, Giorgia Moll, Bruce Cabot | Drama, Romance, Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| The Quiet American | 2002 | Phillip Noyce | ★★½ | 101 | Remake of Graham Greene's novel about a love triangle, set in 1952 Saigon, between a cynical British journalist, his young Vietnamese mistress, and an American who is not all that he seems to be. Handsomely mounted, with excellent performances by Caine and Fraser, but the central romance and political details— more faithful to Greene than Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1958 version— are surprisingly uninvolving. | tt0258068 | [R] | Michael Caine, Brendan Fraser, Do Thi Hai Yen, Rade Sherbedgia, Tzi Ma, Robert Stanton, Holmes Osborne, Pham Thi Mai Hoa, Quang Hai, Ferdinand Hoang | Australian-U.S. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Quiet Days in Hollywood | 1996 | Josef Rusnak | 💣 | 91 | Messy mishmash of loosely connected vignettes linking various L.A. characters (from waitress to showbiz exec, movie star to junkie), all of whom have sex on the brain. Of interest for the presence of future Oscar winner Swank, as a pop culture-obsessed hooker. Aka THE WAY WE ARE. | tt0114216 | [R] | Bill Cusack, Peter Dobson, Meta Golding, Chad Lowe, Stephen Mailer, Daryl Mitchell, Hilary Swank, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Jake Busey | German-U.S. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Quiet Duel | 1949 | Akira Kurosawa. | ★★½ | 95 | Dedicated doctor accidentally contracts syphilis from a scalpel cut during surgery. Years later, he cannot bring himself to reveal the truth of his infection to his confused fiancée. Grim, adult drama is the director's only work to be adapted from the modern Japanese stage (a popular play by Kazuo Kikuta). Lesser Kurosawa, but still has its great moments; wait for the music box scene. Aka A SILENT DUEL. | tt0041870 | Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Miki Sanjo, Kenjiro Uemura, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Quiet Earth | 1985 | Geoff Murphy | ★★½ | 100 | Intriguing (and extremely good-looking) end-of-the-world saga; not entirely successful but well worth a look. | tt0089869 | [R] | Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Peter Smith | New Zealand | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Quiet Man | 1952 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 129 | American boxer Wayne returns to his native Ireland and falls in love with a spirited lass (O'Hara) — but has to deal with local customs (including the payment of a dowry) and the young woman's bullheaded brother (McLaglen). Boisterous blarney, with beautiful Technicolor scenery, and equally beautiful music by Victor Young. This film was clearly a labor of love for Ford and his Irish-American stars. Maurice Walsh's story was scripted by Frank Nugent. Oscar winner for Best Director and Cinematography (Winton C. Hoch and Archie Stout). | tt0045061 | John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, Arthur Shields, Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Mae Marsh, Jack MacGowran, Sean McClory, Francis Ford | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Quiet Place to Kill | 1969 | Umberto Lenzi | 💣 | 88 | Dreary drama of Baker and ex-husband Sorel covering up the latter's accidental murder of his new wife. Cut to 77m., and also known as PARANOIA; not to be confused with Lenzi's not dissimilar ORGASMO (1968), starring Baker, which was also shown as PARANOIA. | tt0064787 | Carroll Baker, Jean Sorel, Marina Coffa, Anna Proclemer, Alberto Dalbes | Italian-Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quiet Please, Murder | 1942 | John Larkin | ★★½ | 70 | Offbeat, intriguing yarn of master forger Sanders stealing priceless Shakespeare volume, passing off his copies as the original. Murder and romance expertly woven into story. | tt0035233 | George Sanders, Gail Patrick, Richard Denning, Sidney Blackmer, Lynne Roberts, Kurt Katch, Minerva Urecal, Theodore von Eltz | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Quiet Room | 1996 | Rolf de Heer | ★★★½ | 91 | Revealing and compelling portrait of the disintegration of a marriage as seen completely through the eyes and mind of a seven-year-old girl. Writer-director de Heer vividly captures the truth about the experience through the self-imposed silence of a wise child who clearly sees through adult evasiveness and lies. | tt0117422 | [PG] | Celine O'Leary, Paul Blackwell, Chloe Ferguson, Phoebe Ferguson | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Quiet | 2005 | Jamie Babbit | ★½ | 96 | Dull, weird, and pointless story of a deaf girl, orphaned by the death of her father, who moves in with her godparents and their scheming daughter. She soon discovers the whole crew is harboring secrets and acting stranger than the Addams Family. Film doesn't know if it wants to be a psychological thriller, a lesbian drama, a dysfunctional family story, or a teen movie. | tt0414951 | [R] | Elisha Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan, Shawn Ashmore, Katy Mixon, David Gallagher, Shannon Marie Woodward | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Quigley Down Under | 1990 | Simon Wincer | ★★★ | 119 | Selleck is excellent as a self-assured sharpshooter who travels to Australia to work for despotic land baron Rickman— and takes an instant dislike to him, spawning a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in which only one will be left alive. Expertly filmed on exquisite locations, with its good qualities outweighing occasional dips in interest. | tt0102744 | [PG-13] | Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo, Alan Rickman, Chris Haywood, Ron Haddrick, Tony Bonner, Jerome Ehlers, Conor McDermottroe, Roger Ward, Ben Mendelsohn | Drama, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| The Quiller Memorandum | 1966 | Michael Anderson | ★★★ | 105 | Good Harold Pinter script about American secret agent who investigates neo-Nazi movement in modern-day Berlin. A relief from most spy films of the '60s. Based on novel The Berlin Memorandum by Elleston Trevor (using pseudonym Adam Hall). | tt0060880 | George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max von Sydow, Senta Berger, George Sanders, Robert Helpmann, Robert Flemyng | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Quills | 2000 | Philip Kaufman | ★★½ | 123 | The Marquis de Sade (Rush, in a delicious performance) is imprisoned in a French asylum, and a laundress (Winslet) smuggles his notorious manuscripts to an eager publisher. When this proves to be an embarrassment to Napoleon, a brutal doctor (Caine) is dispatched to keep him in line. Handsome, witty, and ribald . . . then it turns grim and nasty, leaving a bad taste behind. Doug Wright adapted his play. | tt0180073 | [R] | Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Malahide, Amelia Warner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quincannon, Frontier Scout | 1956 | Lesley Selander | ★½ | 83 | Martin is miscast in title role of programmer. | tt0049647 | Tony Martin, Peggie Castle, John Bromfield, John Smith, Ron Randell | Western | NULL | |||
| Quinceañera | 2006 | Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland | ★★★ | 90 | Disarming slice-of-life set in L.A.'s Echo Park community, where a 14-year-old girl about to have her traditional rite-of-passage party can't explain how she got pregnant . . . and her uncompromising father (a neighborhood pastor) doesn't believe she's innocent. Meanwhile her cousin, already a family outcast, takes up with an upscale gay couple that's moved into the changing neighborhood. González all but steals the film as the beatific uncle. Writing-directing partners Glatzer and Westmoreland were inspired by real-life events in their community. | tt0451176 | [R] | Emily Rios, Jesse Garcia, Chalo González, J. R. Cruz, Araceli Guzmán-Rico, Jesus Castaños-Chima, David W. Ross, Jason L. Wood | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quintet | 1979 | Robert Altman | ★★ | 110 | Pretentious, unappealing story about cutthroat game of survival in a frozen city of the future. Not as puzzling as it is ponderous. | tt0079770 | [R] | Paul Newman, Bibi Andersson, Fernando Rey, Vittorio Gassman, Nina Van Pallandt, Brigitte Fossey, David Langton | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Quiz Show | 1994 | Robert Redford | ★★★½ | 130 | Engrossing story of the TV quiz show scandal of the late 1950s, focusing on a hotheaded sore loser (Turturro, in a sensational performance) and his successor on Twenty-One: instant hero Charles Van Doren (Fiennes), scion of a socially prominent, intellectual family. Overlength is its only weakness— but it never ceases to be real (if not always exactly truthful). Scofield is a joy to watch as the elder Van Doren, and director Martin Scorsese is well cast as the cold-blooded sponsor of the show. That's film director Barry Levinson as TV host Dave Garroway; look sharp for an unbilled Ethan Hawke in a Columbia University classroom. | tt0110932 | [PG-13] | John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, Christopher McDonald, Johann Carlo, Elizabeth Wilson, Allan Rich, Mira Sorvino, George Martin, Paul Guilfoyle, Griffin Dunne, Timothy Busfield, Jack Gilpin, Bruce Altman, Carole Shelley, Illeana Douglas, Calista Flockhart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Quo Vadis | 1951 | Mervyn LeRoy. | ★★★ | 171 | Gargantuan MGM adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz' novel set during the reign of Nero; Roman soldier Taylor has to figure out how to romance Christian Kerr without both of them ending up as lunch for the lions. Meticulous production includes fine location shooting and Miklos Rozsa score based on music of the era. Remade for Italian TV in 1985. | tt0043949 | Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, Leo Genn, Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Abraham Sofaer, Buddy Baer. | NULL | ||||
| Quo Vadis? | 1951 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 171 | Gargantuan MGM adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz' novel set during the reign of Nero; Roman soldier Taylor has to figure out how to romance Christian Kerr without both of them ending up as lunch for the lions. Meticulous production includes fine location shooting and Miklos Rozsa score based on music of the era. Remade for Italian TV in 1985. | Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov, Leo Genn, Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Abraham Sofaer, Buddy Baer | Drama | NULL | ||||
| Qué Viva México! | 1931 | Sergei Eisenstein. | ★★★★ | 88 | Legendary film, presented as a series of vignettes and crammed with dazzling visuals, offering an intimate (and highly political) look at Mexico past and present, and the diversity of its people, landscape, and culture. Most are metaphorical slices of life but one, involving a peasant revolt, features a full storyline. Shot by Eisenstein with colleagues Alexandrov and Eduard Tisse in the early 1930s, but never completed. Truncated versions were cobbled together and released as THUNDER OVER MEXICO and TIME IN THE SUN. This, the most definitive version, was put together decades later by Alexandrov, based on Eisenstein's notes and drawings. Powerful stuff! | tt0022756 | Introduced by Grigori Alexandrov; narrated by Sergei Bondarchuk. | Russian-U.S.-Mexican | NULL | |||
| R.P.M. | 1970 | Stanley Kramer | ★½ | 97 | Old-fashioned liberal Quinn becomes head of university, then authorizes a police bust of radicals to save institution (Revolutions Per Minute, get it?). Inept Erich Segal script, equally bad Kramer direction give film certain camp value, but otherwise, look out. | tt0066273 | [R] | Anthony Quinn, Ann-Margret, Gary Lockwood, Paul Winfield, Graham Jarvis, Alan Hewitt | Drama | NULL | ||
| RKO 281 | 1999 | Benjamin Ross | Average TV Movie | 105 | Fascinating speculative drama about the maneuverings by Orson Welles to get CITIZEN KANE made (under the actual production number RKO 281) while William Randolph Hearst tries to blackmail the industry itself to buy up the final print and burn it. The peek at Hollywood history takes a number of liberties, and Schreiber isn't up to playing Welles, but Griffith is an ideal Marion Davies, and the subject matter makes this hard to resist. Made for cable. | tt0120801 | Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, David Suchet, Liam Cunningham, Fiona Shaw, Brenda Blethyn, Roy Scheider | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | ||
| RV | 2006 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★★½ | 96 | Beleaguered husband and dad takes his fractured family on a camping trip in an unwieldy recreational vehicle—and tries to sneak in some work for his demanding boss on the q.t. Obvious in every way but still pretty funny at times. Daniels and Chenoweth are a hoot as a dense down-home couple that Williams and family encounter on the road and can’t get rid of. | tt0449089 | [PG] | Robin Williams, Jeff Daniels, Cheryl Hines, Kristin Chenoweth, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, Josh Hutcherson, Will Arnett, Tony Hale | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| RX Murder | 1958 | Derek Twist | ★★ | 85 | Jason stars as American physician settling in British village to find strange murder. Fair mystery. | tt0052109 |
|
Rick Jason, Marius Goring, Lisa Gastoni, Mary Merrall | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Ra Expeditions | 1971 | Lennart Ehrenborg | ★★★ | 93 | Exciting documentary about modern adventurer Heyerdahl's determination to cross the Atlantic in a papyrus boat, to prove theory that such a voyage was made thousands of years ago. Fine follow-up to KON-TIKI. | tt0069151 | [G] | Narrated by Thor Heyerdahl, Roscoe Lee Browne | Norwegian | Documentary | NULL | |
| Rabbit Hole | 2010 | John Cameron Mitchell | ★★★ | 91 | Honest, moving portrait of how a couple deals with grief after the death of their young son. The husband and wife can’t seem to connect emotionally following their trauma, as each one tries to find a way to move on. Superior acting makes this well worth seeing, despite the somber subject matter. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted his Pulitzer Prize–winning Broadway play. | tt0935075 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Tammy Blanchard, Miles Teller, Sandra Oh, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney, Patricia Kalember | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rabbit Test | 1978 | Joan Rivers | ★★½ | 86 | Rivers' only film to date is like low-budget Mel Brooks: wacky comedy surrounding slim plot about first pregnant man. Some wild ideas, mostly in bad taste. Many guest-star cameos (including Rivers as a nurse). | tt0078133 | [PG] | Billy Crystal, Alex Rocco, Joan Prather, Doris Roberts, George Gobel, Imogene Coca, Paul Lynde | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Rabbit Trap | 1959 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 72 | Intelligent if slow-moving study of motivational factors behind Borgnine's compulsive work life and ignoring of his family. Script by JP Miller, from his TV play. | tt0053203 | Ernest Borgnine, David Brian, Bethel Leslie, Kevin Corcoran, JuneBlair, Jeanette Nolan, Don Rickles | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rabbit, Run | 1970 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 94 | Brilliant cast, brilliant book (by John Updike), but dull film about former high school athlete who finds that life is tougher than being on the playing field. | tt0066274 | [R] | James Caan, Carrie Snodgress, Anjanette Comer, Jack Albertson, Melodie Johnson, Henry Jones, Carmen Matthews, Nydia Westman, Josephine Hutchinson, Ken Kercheval, Arthur Hill | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rabbit-Proof Fence | 2002 | Phillip Noyce | ★★★ | 94 | Amazing true story set in 1931 Australia, as three half-caste aboriginal girls are taken from their mothers— as the law dictates— and transferred to a camp 1,500 miles away, where they will be Anglicized and trained for domestic work. When they escape and head home, the bureaucrat who's in charge of aborigines (Branagh) does everything in his power to capture them, but he doesn't reckon on their cunning and determination. Told with restraint, this emotional story is underplayed, but the final real-life footage packs a punch. Music by Peter Gabriel. | tt0252444 | [PG] | Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Laura Monaghan, David Gulpilil, Kenneth Branagh, Deborah Mailman, Jason Clarke, Ningali Lawford, Myarn Lawford | Australian-British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| Rabid | 1977 | David Cronenberg | ★★½ | 90 | Motorcyclist Chambers has plastic surgery after an accident, develops an insatiable hankering for human blood. Good of its type; well directed by cult favorite Cronenberg. Porn star Chambers removes her clothes— but nothing more. | tt0076590 | [R] | Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver, Patricia Gage, Susan Roman | Canadian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Race Street | 1948 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 79 | Ordinary crime story of San Francisco bookie-turned nightclub owner Raft, who 'likes to do things his own way.' He plays footsie with cop Bendix while going up against the protection racket responsible for his best friend's murder. | tt0040719 | George Raft, William Bendix, Marilyn Maxwell, Frank Faylen, Harry Morgan, Gale Robbins | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Race With the Devil | 1975 | Jack Starrett | ★½ | 88 | Two vacationing couples are pursued by local satanic witches after witnessing a human sacrifice. It takes quite a human sacrifice to sit through this hybrid car-chase/horror film. | tt0073600 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker, R. G. Armstrong | Action, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Race for Life | 1954 | Terence Fisher | ★½ | 68 | Formula programmer with Conte as an American racing his way around some of Europe's fastest tracks against wishes of wife Aldon. Competent stock-car footage in this pre-horror Hammer production. | tt0047385 | Richard Conte, Mari Aldon, George Coulouris, Peter Illing, Alec Mango | British | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown | 1977 | Bill Melendez | ★★½ | 75 | Third animated feature based on Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip is set in summer camp, highlighted by treacherous raft race. Mildly entertaining, but lacks punch. | tt0076591 | [G] | Voices of Duncan Watson, Greg Felton, Stuart Brotman, Gail Davis, Liam Martin | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Race the Sun | 1996 | Charles T. Kanganis | ★★ | 105 | An idealistic teacher (Berry) and gruff mechanic (Belushi) team up to mentor eight poverty-stricken kids who build a solar-powered car and take it to a racing competition across Australia. Clichés abound in this 'feel-good' film, and the leads are annoying, but the kids are charming (in particular, Cho). Exotic locales help. Written by Barry Morrow (RAIN MAN). | tt0117427 | [PG] | Halle Berry, James Belushi, Kevin Tighe, Bill Hunter, Eliza Dushku, J. Moki Cho, Casey Affleck, Steve Zahn | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Race to Witch Mountain | 2009 | Andy Fickman | ★★½ | 99 | Speedy but routine revamping of Disney's 1970s not-quite franchise (ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN, RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN, and some made-for-TV remakes in the 1990s) begins with the artist previously known as The Rock driving a cab in Vegas. Then, it quickly evolves into a yarn of flying saucers, teen space aliens, a cute astrophysicist, a government heavy who actually is overweight, underworld thugs, a country bar band, mouthy dweebs at a sci-fi convention . . . and, oh yeah, Witch Mountain. Affable (if forgettable) entertainment for kids. Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, who starred in the 1970s films, make cameo appearances. | tt1075417 | [PG] | Dwayne Johnson, Alexander Ludwig, AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Everett Scott, Cheech Marin, Garry Marshall | Family, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Race to the Yankee Zephyr | 1981 | David Hemmings | ★★ | 108 | Addle-brained drama about good guys Wahl and Pleasence and nemesis Peppard attempting to recover $50 million in gold from DC-3 wrecked during WW2. Video title: TREASURE OF THE YANKEE ZEPHYR. | tt0082968 | [PG] | Ken Wahl, Lesley Ann Warren, Donald Pleasence, George Peppard, Bruno Lawrence | Australian-New Zealand | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Racers | 1955 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 112 | Hackneyed sports-car racing yarn, not salvaged by Douglas' dynamics or European location shooting. | tt0048531 | Kirk Douglas, Bella Darvi, Gilbert Roland, Lee J. Cobb, Cesar Romero, Katy Jurado | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rachel Getting Married | 2008 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 113 | Emotionally charged drama, shot like a cinema verité documentary, about a troubled young woman (Hathaway) who’s temporarily sprung from a rehab facility in order to attend her sister’s wedding at the family’s home . . . but Hathaway is a raw nerve who sets off sparks willy-nilly, repeatedly undermining her sister (DeWitt) and her long-suffering father (Irwin). She also has unfinished business with her divorced mother (Winger). Superb performances mitigate against the sometimes annoying ambiance, but it’s all masterfully orchestrated by Demme, who finds the resonance in the debut screenplay of Jenny Lumet (Sidney’s daughter). | tt1084950 | [R] | Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anisa George, Anna Deavere Smith | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Rachel Papers | 1989 | Damian Harris | ★★½ | 95 | Young Britisher relentlessly pursues an American girl, with the help of his computer. Skye shines (in a role similar to the one she had in SAY ANYTHING . . .) but this is really a showcase for Fletcher. Sporadically charming, adapted by first-time director Harris from Martin Amis' novel. | tt0098160 | [R] | Dexter Fletcher, Ione Skye, Jonathan Pryce, James Spader, Bill Paterson, Lesley Sharp, Michael Gambon | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Rachel River | 1987 | Sandy Smolan | ★★½ | 90 | Occasionally contrived but mostly intelligent chronicle of Reed, a rural Minnesota mother and radio journalist, and the various people who inhabit her town. Thoughtful performances overcome the occasional insipidness. Screenplay by Judith Guest; a PBS American Playhouse theatrical production. | tt0093816 | [PG-13] | Zeljko Ivanek, Pamela Reed, Craig T. Nelson, James Olson, Alan North, Viveca Lindfors, Jo Henderson, Jon De Vries | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rachel and the Stranger | 1948 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 79 | Charming pioneer love story of a farmer, his indentured servant wife, and the farmer's wandering minstrel friend who visits their homestead. Three attractive stars at their prime. Originally reviewed at 93m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040720 | Loretta Young, William Holden, Robert Mitchum, Tom Tully, Sara Haden | Western | NULL | |||
| Rachel, Rachel | 1968 | Paul Newman | ★★★½ | 101 | Beautifully sensitive, mature film about spinster schoolteacher trying to come out of her shell. Woodward is superb; husband Newman's directorial debut. Screenplay by Stewart Stern, from a novel by Margaret Laurence. | tt0063483 | [R] | Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Kate Harrington, Estelle Parsons, Donald Moffat, Terry Kiser | Drama | NULL | ||
| Racing Stripes | 2005 | Frederik Du Chau. | ★½ | 84 | A zebra falls off a truck and ends up in the rural household of widowed Greenwood and his adolescent daughter (Panettiere), who longs to race him. Barnyard animals speak, BABE-style, which gives work to a condo-mixer cast of voice-over talent, including Spade as a feces-craving horsefly named 'Scuzz.' To quote Gig Young in THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?, 'Yowza!' | tt0376105 | [PG] | Bruce Greenwood, Hayden Panettiere, M. Emmet Walsh, Wendie Malick; voices of Frankie Muniz, Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Moore, Snoop Dogg, Jeff Foxworthy, Joe Pantoliano, Fred Dalton Thompson, David Spade, Michael Clarke Duncan, Steve Harvey, Joshua Jackson. | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Racing With the Moon | 1984 | Richard Benjamin | ★★★ | 108 | Teenage romance set in small California town just as the young man is about to go off to fight in WW2. Appealing stars and loving eye for 1940s detail make up for slow pace. That bowling alley is a gem! | tt0087968 | [PG] | Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage, John Karlen, Rutanya Alda, Carol Kane, Crispin Glover, Michael Madsen, Dana Carvey | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Rack | 1956 | Arnold Laven | ★★★ | 100 | Newman is pensively convincing as Korean War veteran— brainwashed as a P.O.W. — now on trial for treason, with Pidgeon as his overbearing father and Francis his friend. Slick production adapted from Rod Serling teleplay. Robert Blake, Dean Jones, and Rod Taylor have small roles. | tt0049652 | Paul Newman, Wendell Corey, Walter Pidgeon, Edmond O'Brien, Anne Francis, Lee Marvin, Cloris Leachman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Racket Busters | 1938 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 71 | Mobster Bogie's going to take over the trucking business, but Brent doesn't want to cooperate. Standard programmer moves along well; cowritten by Robert Rossen. | tt0030650 | George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Dickson, Allen Jenkins, Walter Abel, Henry O'Neill, Penny Singleton | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Racket | 1951 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 88 | Police officer Mitchum and gangster Ryan spend almost as much time fighting their corrupt superiors as they do each other. Unusual film noir with strong performances (especially Ryan's) and bizarre ending; based on play previously filmed by producer Howard Hughes in 1928. Coscripted by W. R. Burnett; some scenes were directed by Nicholas Ray. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0043955 | Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, Ray Collins, William Talman, Robert Hutton, William Conrad, Don Porter | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Racket | 1928 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 83 | A steely eyed police captain and a tough-as-nails crime boss play cat and mouse, each determined to do the other in, in Bartlett Cormack’s adaptation of his Broadway play, which foreshadows the gangster films of the early 1930s. A handful of potent scenes, well shot and staged, stand out in an otherwise routine silent film. Produced by Howard Hughes. Remade in 1951. | tt0019304 | Thomas Meighan, Louis Wolheim, Marie Prevost, Pat Collins, Henry Sedley, George (E.) Stone, Sam De Grasse, Skeets Gallagher | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Rad | 1986 | Hal Needham | 💣 | 91 | Connor is supposed to take his SATs, but wouldn't you know it, there's a big BMX race on the same Saturday? 'Rad' is short for radical— as in 'Radical, man'— which this trash definitely is not: Didn't we see this same plot in late '50s hot-rod and late '70s roller-disco movies? | tt0091817 | [PG] | Bart Connor, Lori Laughlin, Talia Shire, Jack Weston, Ray Walston | Drama | NULL | ||
| Radio | 2003 | Mike Tollin | ★★ | 109 | South Carolina high school football coach takes an interest in a mentally challenged young man who's been mistreated by some of the football players. Nicknamed Radio, he blossoms under the coach's influence, but some people in his close-knit community don't cotton to this relationship. Although 'inspired' by a true story, the film feels pat and hollow, despite good performances by Gooding and Harris. Brief footage of the real coach and his protégé at the very end of the film has more meaning— and impact— than anything in the movie itself. | tt0316465 | [PG] | Cuba Gooding/ Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger, Alfre Woodard, S. Epatha Merkerson, Brent Sexton, Chris Mulkey, Sarah Drew | Drama | NULL | ||
| Radio Days | 1987 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 85 | Richly nostalgic reminiscence (narrated by Woody) about growing up in 1940s Queens, mixing family vignettes with incidents about radio performers from that medium's golden age. The narrative never really gels, though it's always enjoyable to watch . . . especially with Allen's eye for detail and ear for dialogue. Beautifully photographed by Carlo Di Palma and designed by Santo Loquasto; filled with wonderful vintage music. Look sharp for William H. Macy. | tt0093818 | [PG] | Mia Farrow, Seth Green, Julie Kavner, Josh Mostel, Michael Tucker, Dianne Wiest, Wallace Shawn, Tito Puente, Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Tony Roberts, Diane Keaton, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Kenneth Mars, Mercedes Ruehl | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Radio Flyer | 1992 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 120 | Two young, devoted brothers must find a way to survive their mother's marriage to an abusive drunk; their salvation is escape into a secret world, where they hatch a master plan for their Radio Flyer wagon. Spielberg-like view of childhood seems to suggest fantasy as a solution to child abuse! Despite moving performances from the two boys, this concept just doesn't work. Tom Hanks appears unbilled. | tt0105211 | [PG-13] | Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin, Ben Johnson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Radio Inside | 1994 | Jeffrey Bell | ★★½ | 91 | A young man, trying to cope with the death of his father and his own aimlessness, goes to live with his brother and soon falls for the brother's girlfriend. Gentle tale with some good performances, especially by McNamara. | tt0110936 | William McNamara, Elisabeth Shue, Dylan Walsh, Ilse Earl, Pee Wee Love, Ara Madzounian, Steve Zurk | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Radio On | 1979 | Chris Petit | ★★½ | 101 | Downbeat, rambling story of disc jockey who travels across Britain because of the mysterious circumstances of his brother's recent death. Written and directed by Petit, disciple of German director Wim Wenders (film's associate producer); plot is only hinted at in this meditation on the bleakness of modern life. | tt0079773 | David Beames, Lisa Kreuzer, Sting | British |
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| Radio Stars on Parade | 1945 | Leslie Goodwins. | ★★½ | 70 | Flimsy plot about inept talent agents (the highly resistible comedy team of Brown & Carney) who get mixed up with a gangster serves as framework for a fun revue featuring radio stars Ralph Edwards and his Truth or Consequences troupe, Don Wilson, Skinnay Ennis and His Band, The Town Criers, The Cappy Barra Boys, and Tony Romano. | tt0038012 | Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Frances Langford, Sheldon Leonard, Rufe Davis, Robert Clarke. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Radioactive Dreams | 1986 | Albert Pyun | ★★ | 98 | So-so post-apocalypse drama about Stockwell and Dudikoff, who've come to maturity in a bomb shelter. They've read all of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books and have taken on the private eye's personality. Nicely filmed, but it doesn't hold up. | tt0091818 | [R] | John Stockwell, Michael Dudikoff, Lisa Blount, George Kennedy, Don Murray, Michele Little | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Radioland Murders | 1994 | Mel Smith | ★½ | 112 | Frenetic, wearisome farce about backstage murders on opening night of a Chicago radio network in 1939. Many talented performers are given nothing to do. Executive producer George Lucas apparently concocted this story years earlier. | tt0110939 | [PG] | Brian Benben, Mary Stuart Masterson, Ned Beatty, Scott Michael Campbell, Brion James, Michael Lerner, Michael McKean, Jeffrey Tambor, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christopher Lloyd, Larry Miller, Anita Morris, Corbin Bernsen, Bob Goldthwait, Robert Walden, Rosemary Clooney, Dylan Baker, Billy Barty, Tracy Byrd, Candy Clark, Anne De Salvo, Jennifer Dundas, Bo Hopkins, Robert Klein, Harvey Korman, Joey Lawrence, Peter MacNicol, Jack Sheldon | Comedy, Mystery, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins | 1975 | Dick Richards | ★★½ | 92 | Appealing but aimless film about a pair of women who force nebbish Arkin to drive them to New Orleans from L.A. Retitled RAFFERTY AND THE HIGHWAY HUSTLERS for TV. | tt0073601 | [R] | Alan Arkin, Sally Kellerman, Mackenzie Phillips, Alex Rocco, Charlie Martin Smith, Harry Dean Stanton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Raffles | 1930 | Harry D'Arrast, George Fitzmaurice | ★★★ | 72 | Colman is his usual charming self in a breezy tale of gentleman thief who constantly eludes Scotland Yard. Good fun all the way. Screenplay by Sidney Howard, based on E. W. Hornung's novel The Amateur Cracksman, filmed in 1917 with John Barrymore, in 1925 with House Peters, remade in 1940 with David Niven. | tt0021281 | Ronald Colman, Kay Francis, Bramwell Fletcher, Frances Dade, David Torrence, Alison Skipworth | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Raffles | 1940 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 72 | Niven is good but can't match Ronald Colman in this nearly scene-for-scene remake of the 1930 film about a gentleman thief (with a notably different finale). Medium-grade fluff. | tt0032963 | David Niven, Olivia de Havilland, Dudley Digges, Dame May Whitty, Douglas Walton, Lionel Pape | Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rafter Romance | 1933 | William A. Seiter. | ★★½ | 70 | Cute if predictable romantic comedy about roommates who share a Greenwich Village garret but never meet: he works nights, she works days. Benchley is fun as befuddled executive with designs on employee Rogers. Remake of a 1932 German musical. | tt0024484 | Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster, George Sidney, Robert Benchley, Laura Hope Crews, Sidney Miller, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rage | 1966 | Gilberto Gazcon | ★½ | 103 | Overstated drama of misanthropic doctor Ford who contracts rabies and races clock across Mexican desert to get help. | tt0060882 | Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens, David Reynoso, Armando Silvestre, Ariadna Welter | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rage | 1972 | George C. Scott | ★★ | 104 | When peaceful rancher Scott's young son is killed by chemical testing, he seeks revenge on those responsible for accident. Good photography, but Scott's transition from nice-guy to killer isn't convincing. Scott's directorial debut. | tt0069158 | [PG] | George C. Scott, Richard Basehart, Martin Sheen, Barnard Hughes, Nicolas Beauvy, Paul Stevens | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rage at Dawn | 1955 | Tim Whelan | ★★ | 87 | Ever-so-familiar Western about a secret agent (Scott) who goes undercover to ferret out the Reno brothers, a notorious outlaw gang, in post- Civil War Indiana. | tt0048535 | Randolph Scott, Forrest Tucker, Mala Powers, J. Carrol Naish, Edgar Buchanan, Myron Healey | Western | NULL | |||
| A Rage in Harlem | 1991 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 115 | Smooth operator from Mississippi (Givens) comes to Harlem to unload a stash of gold, and hooks up with a naive, nerdy mama's boy (Whitaker) who sees himself as her protector. Earnest attempt to recreate author Chester Himes' 1950s Harlem milieu doesn't quite come together in spite of some good performances. Can't hold a candle to COTTON COMES TO HARLEM (though the cop characters Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed reappear in this story). | tt0102749 | [R] | Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Danny Glover, Zakes Mokae, Badja Djola, John Toles-Bey, Ron Taylor, Stack Pierce, George Wallace, T. K. Carter, Willard E. Pugh, Samm-Art Williams, Tyler Collins, Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Crime | NULL | ||
| Rage in Heaven | 1941 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 83 | Disappointing adaptation of James Hilton novel about mentally disturbed steel mill owner who plots unusual murder-revenge scheme; set in England. | tt0034078 | Robert Montgomery, Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Lucile Watson, Oscar Homolka, Philip Merivale, Matthew Boulton | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Rage of Paris | 1938 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 75 | Fast-talkers team up to use lovely Darrieux to snare rich husband; fast-paced comedy is fun, Darrieux a delight. Same team that Hollywoodized neophyte Deanna Durbin concocted this winsome image for the French actress. Look quickly for Mary Martin. | tt0030652 | Danielle Darrieux, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Mischa Auer, Louis Hayward, Helen Broderick | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Rage of the Buccaneers | 1962 | Mario Costa | ★★ | 88 | Juvenile but bouncy yarn which is set more on land than at sea, with pirate Montalban vs. Price, villainous governor's secretary. | tt0054937 |
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Ricardo Montalban, Vincent Price, Giulia Rubini, Liana Orfei | Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| A Rage to Live | 1965 | Walter Grauman | ★★ | 101 | Turgid adaptation of John O'Hara novel charting the premarital and extramarital affairs of emotionally and physically needy Pleshette. | tt0059630 | Suzanne Pleshette, Bradford Dillman, Ben Gazzara, Peter Graves, Bethel Leslie, James Gregory, Carmen Mathews, Ruth White | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Rage: Carrie 2 | 1999 | Katt Shea | ★★ | 104 | Years after CARRIE, another teenaged outsider in the same town is picked on by cruel fellow students, and again unleashes her telekinetic powers in climactic revenge. Well-acted but routine movie clumsily linked to the original. Irving's character, the only one from the original, is synthetically injected into the plot. | tt0144814 | [R] | Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno, J. Smith-Cameron, Amy Irving, Zachery Ty Bryan, John Doe, Gordon Clapp, Rachel Blanchard, Mena Suvari | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Raggedy Ann and Andy | 1977 | Richard Williams | ★½ | 85 | Slow-moving, uninvolving children's cartoon with endless songs by Joe Raposo that stop action dead in its tracks. Appealing characters with nowhere to go; only highlight is Camel with Wrinkled Knees singing 'Song Blue.' | tt0076593 | [G] | Voices of Didi Conn, Mark Baker, Fred Stuthman, Joe Silver | Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | ||
| Raggedy Man | 1981 | Jack Fisk | ★★★ | 94 | A young divorced woman with two children tries to forge a life for herself and her family in a small Texas town during WW2. Absorbing slice-of-life Americana with a misconceived melodramatic finale. Directorial debut for art director Fisk, who's Spacek's husband. | tt0082969 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter, Sam Shepard, Henry Thomas, Carey Hollis/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Raging Bull | 1980 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★★ | 128 | Extraordinarily compelling look at prizefighter Jake La Motta, whose leading opponent outside the ring was always himself. That such an unappealing man could inspire so vivid a portrait is a tribute to the collaboration of Scorsese, De Niro, and writers Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. There's not a false note in characterization or period detail. De Niro and editor Thelma Schoonmaker won richly deserved Academy Awards. | tt0081398 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana, John Turturro | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Raging Tide | 1951 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 93 | Stereotyped script, typecast acting make this murderer-on-the-run yarn tame. Adapted by Ernest K. Gann from his novel. | tt0043957 | Richard Conte, Shelley Winters, Stephen McNally, Alex Nicol, Charles Bickford | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Ragman's Daughter | 1972 | Harold Becker | ★★★ | 94 | Stylishly filmed kitchen-sink drama written by Alan Sillitoe. Rouse is a young thief who falls in love with beautiful Tennant. Becker's first feature. | tt0069160 | Simon Rouse, Victoria Tennant, Patrick O'Connell, Leslie Sands | British |
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| Ragtime | 1981 | Milos Forman | ★★★ | 155 | E. L. Doctorow's semi-fictional mosaic of 1906 America is glorious until Michael Weller's script narrows its focus to just one story thread: a black man's fanatical pursuit of justice. While the initial momentum is lost, there's still much to enjoy: fine performances (including Cagney's last in a theatrical film, after a 20-year hiatus), and Randy Newman's delightful score. Jeff Daniels' film debut. | tt0082970 | [PG] | James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins/Jr., Mary Steenburgen, James Olson, Brad Dourif, Kenneth McMillan, Mandy Patinkin, Donald O'Connor, Pat O'Brien, Debbie Allen, Moses Gunn, Norman Mailer, Jeff Daniels, John Ratzenberger, Samuel L. Jackson, Fran Drescher, Michael Jeter | Drama | NULL | ||
| Raid on Entebbe | 1977 | Irvin Kershner | Above Average TV Movie | 150 | Intelligent drama about Israeli commando rescue of hijacked hostages at Entebbe, Uganda, on July 4, 1976. Finch's last film garnered him an Emmy nomination. Covers same ground as VICTORY AT ENTEBBE and OPERATION THUNDERBOLT. | tt0076594 | Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, Horst Buchholz, Martin Balsam, John Saxon, Jack Warden, Sylvia Sidney, Yaphet Kotto, Robert Loggia, James Woods, Dinah Manoff | Drama | NULL | |||
| Raid on Rommel | 1971 | Henry Hathaway | ★½ | 99 | Poor excuse to utilize old desert footage (mostly from TOBRUK) and new faces in worn-out WW2 actioner. | tt0067650 | [PG] | Richard Burton, John Colicos, Clinton Greyn, Wolfgang Preiss | Drama, War, Action | NULL | ||
| The Raid | 1954 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★★ | 83 | Well-handled (and true) story of Confederate prisoners escaping from jail in upper New England, with Bancroft and Rettig on their trail. | tt0047388 | Van Heflin, Anne Bancroft, Richard Boone, Lee Marvin, Tommy Rettig, James Best, Peter Graves, Claude Akins | War | NULL | |||
| The Raid: Redemption | 2012 | Gareth Huw Evans | ★★½ | 100 | Straight-arrow police officer (Uwais) joins an elite team as it invades an apartment complex controlled by a ruthless drug lord (Sahetapy), but these young cops don't realize they're being led into a trap. Unremarkable story (with a few twists) serves as a framework for almost nonstop action, with staggeringly violent one-to-one combat. Welsh-born director-writer-editor Evans also shares credit for the fight choreography. Action junkies will probably rate this higher. | tt1899353 | [R] | Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Doni Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Tegar Satrya, Ray Sahetapy | Indonesian-U.S. | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Raiders of Old California | 1957 | Albert C. Gannaway. | ★★ | 72 | Minor Western involving a duplicitous cavalry officer who attempts to coerce the proprietor of a hacienda into relinquishing his land. Main point of interest is music stars Young and Robbins in supporting roles. | tt0050879 | Jim Davis, Arleen Whelan, Faron Young, Marty Robbins, Lee Van Cleef, Louis Jean Heydt, Harry Lauter, Douglas Fowley. | Western | NULL | |||
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★★ | 115 | A roller-coaster ride of a movie, rekindling the spirit of Saturday matinee serials but outdoing them for genuine thrills and chills. Ford plays Indiana Jones, an archeologist-adventurer who goes globe-trotting in search of a unique religious artifact and runs into bloodcurdling danger every step of the way. Perhaps a bit too much at times, but why carp? Conceived by Spielberg and George Lucas, with Philip Kaufman; scripted by Lawrence Kasdan. Visual effects, editing, sound effects editing, and art direction-set decoration all earned Oscars. Followed by two INDIANA JONES films and TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. | tt0082971 | [PG] | Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Wolf Kahler, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Anthony Higgins, Alfred Molina | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Raiders of the Seven Seas | 1953 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 88 | Pirate leader Barbarossa (Payne) abducts countess Reed and crosses swords with her fiancé Mohr, a ruthless Spanish officer. No surprises in highly ordinary swashbuckling tale. | tt0046223 | John Payne, Donna Reed, Gerald Mohr, Lon Chaney/Jr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Raiders | 1963 | Herschel Daugherty | ★★½ | 75 | Enthusiastic cast helps this story of cattle drives and the railroad expansion westward. | tt0057446 | Robert Culp, Brian Keith, Judi Meredith, James McMullan, Alfred Ryder, Simon Oakland | Western | NULL | |||
| Railroaded! | 1947 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 72 | Another tight, well-made, low-budget film noir by Anthony Mann. Ireland is a ruthless gangster who framed Ryan's brother for murder; Beaumont is a cop searching for answers. | tt0039748 | John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont, Ed Kelly, Jane Randolph, Keefe Brasselle | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Rails & Ties | 2007 | Alison Eastwood | ★★★ | 101 | Railroad engineer (Bacon) runs his train into a woman who has driven her car onto the tracks. She wanted to commit suicide, but her 10-year-old son, left to fend for himself, seeks out the engineer, whom he blames for his mother’s demise. Instead he finds a safe haven with Bacon’s loving wife (Harden). Utterly contrived story is made tangible and moving by sensitive handling, and a sure-footed cast. Directing debut for actress Eastwood, Clint’s daughter; her brother Kyle Eastwood co-composed the score. | tt0822849 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer, Marin Hinkle, Eugene Byrd, Bonnie Root, Margo Martindale | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rails Into Laramie | 1954 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★ | 81 | Pat movie of Payne's efforts to clean up title town and keep railroad construction moving westward. | tt0047389 | John Payne, Mari Blanchard, Dan Duryea, Joyce MacKenzie, Barton MacLane, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| The Railway Children | 1970 | Lionel Jeffries | ★★★ | 102 | Charming story of three youngsters who have many adventures along the railway tracks that run behind their cottage, eventually befriending a kind man who might help them prove their father innocent of treason. Lovely Yorkshire locales add to overall effectiveness. From the novel by E. Nesbit. | tt0066279 | [G] | Dinah Sheridan, Bernard Cribbins, William Mervyn, Iain Cuthbertson, Jenny Agutter, Gary Warren | British | Family, Drama | NULL | |
| Rain | 1932 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 93 | Considered a flop in 1932, this version of Maugham's story looks better today. Crawford is good as South Seas island trollop confronted by fire-and-brimstone preacher Huston. Director Milestone does gymnastics with camera during stagier scenes; an interesting antique. Previously filmed as SADIE THOMPSON, then again as DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A. and MISS SADIE THOMPSON. Some prints run 77m. | tt0023369 | Joan Crawford, Walter Huston, William Gargan, Guy Kibbee, Walter Catlett, Beulah Bondi | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rain | 2001 | Christine Jeffs | ★★½ | 92 | Interesting mood piece about an adolescent girl trying to find her way as her parents grow apart during a seaside summer in the early 1970s. Knowing look at a young girl's sexual awakening while she noses into her mother's infidelity. Keenly observed drama will be too low key for some tastes; a sudden burst of melodrama toward the end is jarring. Jeffs adapted Kirsty Gunn's novel. | tt0287645 | Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, Sarah Peirse, Marton Csokas, Alistair Browning, Aaron Murphy | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rain Man | 1988 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 133 | Young, self-centered hotshot goes home to the Midwest for his father's funeral, and learns not only that he's been cut out of his inheritance, but that he has a grown brother who's autistic, and who's been kept in an institution for most of his life. The balance of the film details the growing relationship between the two men. Top-drawer performances from Hoffman, as the idiot savant, and Cruise, as his selfish sibling, make this a must-see, even though the story meanders and becomes predictable. Director Levinson is the psychiatrist near the end. Winner of Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Hoffman), and Screenplay (Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow). | tt0095953 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Jerry Molen, Jack Murdock, Michael D. Roberts, Bonnie Hunt | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rain People | 1969 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★ | 102 | Pregnant Long Island housewife, unable to take married life, flees husband and picks up simple-minded football player on the road. Strong acting and direction triumph over weak script in film whose subject matter was years ahead of its time. | tt0064873 | [R] | James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall, Marya Zimmet, Tom Aldredge, Laurie Crewes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rain Without Thunder | 1992 | Gary Bennett | ★★★ | 86 | Unique futuristic drama, told in documentary style and set in an America in which abortion is illegal. Young Thomas is incarcerated for aborting her pregnancy, and her mother (Buckley) is also put behind bars, convicted under New York State's new Unborn Child Kidnapping Act. Chilling (and politically loaded) tale. | tt0105215 | [PG-13] | Betty Buckley, Jeff Daniels, Frederic Forrest, Graham Greene, Linda Hunt, Carolyn McCormick, Austin Pendleton, Alyssa Rallo, Ali Thomas, Steve Zahn, Robert Earl Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rain or Shine | 1930 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 92 | Curious little circus film spotlights puckish Broadway clown Cook (and his stooges Chasen and Howard) in a storyline so thin it's hardly there. Personality and Capra's early talkie technique make this worth seeing for film buffs. | tt0021282 | Joe Cook, Louise Fazenda, Joan Peers, Dave Chasen, William Collier/Jr., Tom Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder | 1952 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 78 | Young girl wants to be a movie star, her socialite grandma forbids it, and no surprises ensue. Blah musical written by Quine and Blake Edwards. | tt0045068 | Frankie Laine, Billy Daniels, Charlotte Austin, Ida Moore, Arthur Franz, Barbara Whiting, Lloyd Corrigan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Rainbow Island | 1944 | Ralph Murphy | ★★½ | 97 | Good cast main asset in musical comedy of Merchant Marines stranded on island with beautiful natives. Lamour, in her umpteenth sarong, wisely keeps her tongue in her cheek. | tt0037208 | Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, Gil Lamb, Barry Sullivan, Anne Revere, Olga San Juan, Elena Verdugo, Yvonne De Carlo, Reed Hadley, Marc Lawrence | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rainbow Jacket | 1954 | Basil Dearden | ★★ | 99 | Colorful racetrack sequences spark this predictable study of Owen, veteran jockey gone wrong, who teaches Edmonds how to race properly. | tt0047390 | Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Fella Edmonds, Robert Morley, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Honor Blackman | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rainbow Over Texas | 1946 | Frank McDonald. | ★★½ | 65 | Dale has run away (and disguised herself as a boy) to join Roy's traveling Western troupe; complications arise when they stop in his hometown, where her father is the leading citizen, Leonard is the local gambling boss, and Gabby is the sheriff! Amiable musical comedy downplays action elements. Based on a short story by Max Brand. | tt0038869 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Sheldon Leonard, Robert Emmett Keane, Gerald Oliver Smith, Minerva Urecal, George J. Lewis, Kenne Duncan, Pierce Lyden, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Rainbow Thief | 1990 | Alejandro Jodorowsky | ★½ | 92 | Impenetrable parable about an eccentric prince (and heir to a fortune) who lives underground, aided and abetted by a colorful thief. There may be some point to all of this, but it would require too much time to figure out. There's a reason this film never made it to theaters, despite its cast and director. | tt0100456 | Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee, Jude Alderson, Jane Chaplan | Fantasy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Rainbow Trail | 1925 | Lynn Reynolds | ★★★ | 58 | Sequel to RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE, another robust Zane Grey tale about man who determines to penetrate isolated Paradise Valley, where his uncle trapped himself with a young woman. Handsome production of oft-filmed story. | tt0016259 | Tom Mix, Anne Cornwall, George Bancroft, Lucien Littlefield, Mark Hamilton, Vivien Oakland | Western | NULL | |||
| Rainbow Valley | 1935 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★½ | 52 | Wayne acts as undercover agent inside prison, then spoils plans of lawbreakers in an isolated mining hamlet who need an access road built to connect with civilization. Despite some flashes of action, poor direction spoils the suspense in this lackluster low-budget Lone Star Western. Hayes' mail-carrying comedy is only bright spot. | tt0026908 | John Wayne, Lucile Browne, George Hayes, LeRoy Mason, Lloyd Ingraham. | Action, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rainbow Warrior | 1994 | Michael Tuchner | ★½ | 93 | True story of 1985 bombing of a Greenpeace boat in New Zealand and the ensuing investigation. Complex tale of international conflict/intrigue is uninvolving. Neill gives a standout performance as a police superintendent. | tt0105216 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Sam Neill, Bruno Lawrence, Kerry Fox, John Callen, Stacey Pickren | U.S.-New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| The Rainbow | 1989 | Ken Russell | ★★½ | 104 | Director Russell's most restrained film in years (a relative term) is a prequel to his hit adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love, with Davis as a sheltered young schoolteacher who's taken under the wing (sexually and otherwise) of worldly Donohoe. Many beautiful and striking moments don't quite gel, but still worth watching. Jackson appears as the mother of the character she played in WOMEN IN LOVE. | tt0098165 | [R] | Sammi Davis, Amanda Donohoe, Paul McGann, Christopher Gable, David Hemmings, Glenda Jackson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Raining Stones | 1993 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 90 | Riveting drama focusing on a struggling out-of-work laborer (Jones) in grimy Manchester, England, a good Catholic who does whatever he can to scrape together enough money to support his wife and daughter. When faced with purchasing his child's communion dress, he unknowingly borrows its cost from a vicious, usurious loan shark. With telling irony, Loach vividly captures the frustrations and anger of honest workingfolk. | tt0107920 | Bruce Jones, Julie Brown, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey, Gemma Phoenix | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Rainmaker | 1956 | Joseph Anthony | ★★★ | 121 | Lancaster is in top form as a charismatic con man who offers hope to a Southwestern town beset by drought, and a woman whose life is at a crossroads. Hepburn is wonderful. N. Richard Nash play was later musicalized on Broadway as 110 in the Shade. | tt0049653 | Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Wendell Corey, Lloyd Bridges, Earl Holliman, Cameron Prud'homme, Wallace Ford | Romance, Thriller, Western | NULL | |||
| The Rainmaker | 1997 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★ | 135 | Solid, surefooted adaptation of John Grisham's best-seller about an idealistic lawyer, fresh from school, who goes to work for a shameless ambulance-chaser, but focuses on the case most important to him: exposing an insurance company's refusal to pay a claim for a young man who is dying of leukemia. Cast to perfection, and filmed on location in Memphis . . . the finale, though, seems curiously subdued. Coproduced by Michael Douglas. Officially titled JOHN GRISHAM'S THE RAINMAKER. | tt0119978 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, Mickey Rourke, Mary Kay Place, Danny Glover, Teresa Wright, Johnny Whitworth, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, Roy Scheider, Randy Travis, Andrew Shue | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rainmakers | 1935 | Fred Guiol. | ★★½ | 78 | The boys come to the rescue of a drought-plagued bean farmer with a fake rain machine that somehow manages to work. Middling Wheeler and Woolsey vehicle with some amusing gags and a wild train chase finale that precedes— and sometimes equals— a very similar one in the Marx Brothers movie GO WEST. | tt0026910 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Dorothy Lee, Berton Churchill, George Meeker, Edgar Dearing, Clarence H. Wilson. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Rains Came | 1939 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 104 | Louis Bromfield novel reduced to Hollywood hokum, with married socialite Loy setting out to seduce dedicated Indian surgeon Power. Outstanding earthquake and flood scenes; the special effects earned an Academy Award. Remade as THE RAINS OF RANCHIPUR. | tt0031835 | Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent, Brenda Joyce, Nigel Bruce, Maria Ouspenskaya, Joseph Schildkraut, Mary Nash, Jane Darwell, Marjorie Rambeau, Henry Travers, H. B. Warner, Laura Hope Crews | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Rains of Ranchipur | 1955 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 104 | Superficial remake of THE RAINS CAME; story of wife of Englishman having affair with Hindu doctor. | tt0048538 | Lana Turner, Richard Burton, Fred MacMurray, Joan Caulfield, Michael Rennie, Eugenie Leontovich | Drama | NULL | |||
| Raintree County | 1957 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 168 | Humongous MGM attempt to outdo GWTW, with Clift as a small-town Hoosier who makes the mistake of marrying Southern belle Taylor before the outbreak of the Civil War. Solid acting and memorable Johnny Green score help compensate for rambling, over-long script; Clift was disfigured in near-fatal car accident during production, and his performance understandably suffers for it. Reissued on video in 1999 with 15m. additional footage from 'Roadshow Version.' | tt0050882 | Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Eva Marie Saint, Lee Marvin, Nigel Patrick, Rod Taylor, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Abel | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Raise Your Voice | 2004 | Sean McNamara. | ★★ | 106 | Arizona teen with an overprotective father gets accepted at an esteemed L.A. music conservatory for the summer. Upon arrival, absolutely nothing surprising ever happens (unfriendly roommate, cool young professor, bitchy rival for the cute British classmate . . .). Did we mention the climactic recital? Duff's fans may enjoy this; others have been warned. | tt0361696 | [PG] | Hilary Duff, Rita Wilson, David Keith, Jason Ritter, Oliver James, Rebecca De Mornay, John Corbett, James Avery. | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Raise the Red Lantern | Da hong deng long gao gao gua | 1991 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★★ | 125 | Striking look at the life of a young concubine in 1920s China, as university-educated girl (Gong Li) is sent to feudal nobleman's palatial home to become his newest wife. The relationships between her and her predecessors— all of whom live on the premises— and the interaction among the women, the servants, and their master are brilliantly played out. An extraordinary view of sex, loyalty, intrigue, and female bonding. Deliberately paced, but worth watching for the changes in emotion that register on actress Gong Li's face alone. Screenplay by Ni Zhen, from a novel by Su Tong. | tt0101640 | Gong Li, Ma Jingwu, He Caifei, Cao Cuifeng, Jin Shuyuan, Kong Lin, Ding Weimin, Cui Zhihgang | Chinese-Taiwanese-Hong Kong | Drama | NULL | |
| Raise the Titanic! | 1980 | Jerry Jameson | ★½ | 112 | Long, dull adaptation of Clive Cussler's best-seller about intrigue leading to the biggest salvage job of all time. Silly plotting and laughable dialogue undermine excitement of climactic ship-raising. | tt0081400 | [PG] | Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, Anne Archer, Alec Guinness, J. D. Cannon | British | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| A Raisin in the Sun | 1961 | Daniel Petrie | ★★★★ | 128 | Lorraine Hansberry play receives perceptive handling by outstanding cast in drama of black Chicago family's attempts to find sense in their constrained existence. Remade for TV in 1989. | tt0055353 | Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, John Fiedler, Louis Gossett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Raising Arizona | 1987 | Joel Coen | ★★★½ | 92 | Formidably flaky comedy about an odd couple (chronic convenience-store robber Cage and former law-enforcement officer Hunter) who decide to kidnap one of a set of quintuplets, since they can't have a child of their own. Aggressively wacked-out sense of humor may not be for all tastes, but it's a heady mix of irony and slapstick. Look out for those chase scenes! Written by Ethan and Joel Coen; spry cinematography by Barry Sonnenfeld and music by Carter Burwell. | tt0093822 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, M. Emmet Walsh | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Raising Cain | 1992 | Brian De Palma | ★★ | 95 | Lithgow is the whole show here— literally— with more roles than you can count in this over-the-top thriller about a pair of twin brothers who'll stop at nothing to procure children for their father's scientific experiments. Tongue-in-cheek De Palma exercise (with nods to Hitchcock, Welles, and Michael Powell) is laced with satire, but the chills— and chuckles— don't add up to much. Not for the faint-hearted. | tt0105217 | [R] | John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen, Gregg Henry, Tom Bower, Mel Harris, Teri Austin, Gabrielle Carteris, Barton Heyman | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Raising Helen | 2004 | Garry Marshall | ★★½ | 119 | A busy, single executive assistant to a demanding boss inherits three children when her sister dies. Totally unprepared and inexperienced (unlike her other sister, quintessential homemaker Cusack), she tries to cope with sudden motherhood while making a living. Hudson is well cast in this sentimental slice of Hollywood hokum; it's pleasant but all too pat. Larry Miller and Hector Elizondo appear unbilled. | tt0350028 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, Spencer Breslin, Abigail Breslin, Helen Mirren, Hector Elizondo, Sakina Jaffrey, Kevin Kilner, Felicity Huffman, Amber Valletta, Joseph Mazzello, Paris Hilton, Bernie Hiller | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Raising Victor Vargas | 2003 | Peter Sollett. | ★★★ | 88 | Disarmingly intimate portrait of a self-styled teenage stud on N.Y.C.'s Lower East Side who pursues a snobby girl with such tenacity that he wears down her resistance. A richly detailed slice of life, filmed with such intimacy (often in tight close-up) that you'd swear the conversations were overheard instead of staged. Writer-director Sollett does wonders with a mostly nonprofessional cast. Expanded remake of Sollett's short subject FIVE FEET AND RISING. Remarkably photographed by Tim Orr (GEORGE WASHINGTON). | tt0316188 | [R] | Victor Rasuk, Judy Marte, Donna Maldonado, Wilfree Vasquez, Altagracia Guzman. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Raising a Riot | 1954 | Wendy Toye | ★★ | 90 | Predictable situation comedy of More, on vacation in countryside, trying to cope with his rambunctious children. | tt0048539 | Kenneth More, Ronald Squire, Mandy Miller, Shelagh Fraser, Bill Shine | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Raising the Wind | 1961 | Gerald Thomas | ★★½ | 91 | Zany shenanigans of eccentric group of students at a London school of music; well paced. | tt0055354 | James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Sidney James, Paul Massie, Kenneth Williams | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! | 1958 | Leo McCarey | ★★½ | 106 | Disappointing film of Max Shulman's book about small community in uproar over projected missile base. | tt0052117 | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Joan Collins, Jack Carson, Dwayne Hickman, Tuesday Weld, Gale Gordon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rambling Rose | 1991 | Martha Coolidge | ★★★ | 112 | Evocative tale set in 1930s Georgia, with Dern as an oversexed, lost-soul of a girl who comes to work for a genteel family headed by Duvall and Ladd. Colorful, nicely detailed, and well acted, with many pleasant surprises along the way. Ladd and Dern were the first real-life mother and daughter to be nominated for Oscars in the same year. Screenplay by Calder Willingham from his autobiographical novel. | tt0102753 | [R] | Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Diane Ladd, Lukas Haas, John Heard, Kevin Conway, Robert J. Burke, Lisa Jakub, Evan Lockwood | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rambo | 2008 | Sylvester Stallone | ★½ | 91 | Stallone is a bit long in the tooth to be reprising his Rambo character, but here he is in the series’ fourth installment (and first in two decades). This time around, everybody’s favorite whacked-out Vietnam veteran–action hero emerges from a peaceful retirement in Thailand to rescue some captured missionaries and doctors in Myanmar (Burma). Needlessly bloody, and unintentionally laughable. Stallone also coscripted. | tt0462499 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Jake La Botz, Paul Schulze, Ken Howard | U.S.-German | Action | NULL | |
| Rambo III | 1988 | Peter Macdonald | ★★½ | 101 | A definite improvement over PART II, this one remains firmly footed in the genre of Idiot Action Movies, as our brawny hero goes behind Russian-dominated battle lines in Afghanistan to rescue his friend and former superior (Crenna) from a prison fortress. Lots of explosions to keep things lively— and some (unintentionally?) hilarious dialogue too. | tt0095956 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focas, Sasson Gabai | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Rambo: First Blood Part II | 1985 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★ | 95 | Comic-book action saga of one-man army who goes to Cambodia in search of American MIAs and finds he's been duped by Uncle Sam. Never boring but incredibly dumb; if one were to take it seriously, it would also be offensive, as it exploits real-life frustrations of MIA families and Vietnam vets. Followed by RAMBO III. | tt0089880 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Julia Nickson, Steven Berkoff, Martin Kove | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ramona | 1936 | Henry King | ★★ | 90 | Oft-told tale doesn't wear well, with aristocratic Spanish girl Young and outcast Indian Ameche in love and shunned by society. Settings are picturesque. | tt0028158 | Loretta Young, Don Ameche, Kent Taylor, Pauline Frederick, Jane Darwell, Katherine DeMille | Romance | NULL | |||
| Ramona and Beezus | 2010 | Elizabeth Allen | ★★ | 103 | Based on Beverly Cleary’s beloved children’s books, this might have been called Leave It to Beezus, but it’s Ramona who resembles a female version of Beaver Cleaver. Economic problems force dad out of his job, inspiring Ramona to embark on a series of moneymaking ideas, much to the chagrin of her older sister, Beezus. CGI sequences in which she engages in her own fantasy world fall flat, but the adorable King makes this work for the young girls to whom it is targeted. | tt0493949 | [G] | Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel, Jason Spevack, Sandra Oh | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Rampage | 1992 | William Friedkin | ★★ | 97 | A prosecutor has to prove that a serial killer's unspeakably heinous crimes were the product of a legally sane mind. Very rough, not for the squeamish, and not for too many others, either. Shot in 1987. McArthur is exceptionally creepy as the killer. | tt0095958 | [R] | Michael Biehn, Alex McArthur, Nicholas Campbell, Deborah van Valkenburgh, John Harkins, Art La Fleur, Billy Green Bush, Royce D. Applegate, Grace Zabriskie, Carlos Palomino, Andy Romano | Animation, Action | NULL | ||
| Rampage | 1963 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 98 | German gamehunter (Hawkins), his mistress (Martinelli), and hunting guide (Mitchum) form love triangle, with men battling for Elsa. Elmer Bernstein's score is memorable. | tt0057447 | Robert Mitchum, Elsa Martinelli, Jack Hawkins, Sabu, Cely Carillo, Emile Genest. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rampage at Apache Wells | 1966 | Harold Philipps | ★★ | 90 | Granger stars as Old Shatterhand, who fights for rights of Indians taken in by crooked white men. Adequate acting but atrocious dubbing. | tt0059958 | Stewart Granger, Pierre Brice, Macha Meril, Harold Leipnitz | German | Western, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Rampart | 2011 | Oren Moverman | ★★ | 108 | In 1999, as scandal rocks the Rampart division of the LAPD, 24-year-veteran Harrelson sticks to his own, often indefensible code of behavior. But his past and present actions finally start to catch up with him, at home and on the job. James Ellroy and director Moverman, who cowrote the screenplay, paint a bleak picture of their "hero" that only gets bleaker as the movie goes on, and give us nothing to take away when it's all over. What's more, Moverman shoots key moments in such a distracting way that it's hard to focus on their content. Disappointing reunion for Harrelson (who's great), Foster and Moverman, who made THE MESSNGER together. | tt1640548 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Francis Capra, Bree Larson, Audra McDonald, Robert Wisdom | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Ramparts of Clay | 1971 | Jean-Louis Bertucelli | ★★★ | 85 | Intriguing film about Tunisian woman, disillusioned with her way of life, who becomes involved with strike between a wealthy company and poor villagers. Very strong for patient, critical viewers; for others, boredom. | tt0063499 | [PG] | Leila Schenna | French-Algerian | Drama | NULL | |
| Rampo | The Mystery of Rampo | 1994 | Kazuyoshi Okuyama | ★★★ | 100 | Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Rampo hears of a bizarre murder that is eerily close to the plot of one of his banned murder thrillers. When he meets the widow of the murdered man, he discovers her to be exactly like his fictional heroine. This elegant and lush film was reshot (more than 60 percent new footage) after producer Okuyama was dissatisfied with first director Rentaro Mayuzumi's efforts. Aka THE MYSTERY OF RAMPO. | tt0110943 | [R] | Naoto Takenaka, Michiko Hada, Masahiro Motoki, Mikijiro Hira | Japanese | Drama | NULL |
| Ramrod | 1947 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 94 | Fairly good Western of territorial dispute between ranch-owner Lake and her father (Ruggles). Good supporting cast. | tt0039750 | Veronica Lake, Joel McCrea, Arleen Whelan, Don DeFore, Preston Foster, Charles Ruggles, Donald Crisp, Lloyd Bridges | Western | NULL | |||
| Ran | 1985 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★½ | 161 | Beautifully filmed adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, with Nakadai as a warlord who turns over his domain to his eldest son, inducing a power struggle by his two younger sons. Slowly paced and overly expository at the start, epic picks up with two superb battle scenes. Harada is excellent in supporting role as the most evil of women, getting her just desserts in violent fashion. Oscar winner for Costume Design. | tt0089881 | [R] | Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada, Peter, Hisashi Igawa | Japanese-French | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Rancho Deluxe | 1975 | Frank Perry | ★★★½ | 93 | Off-beat present-day comedy centers on two casual cattle rustlers; cult favorite written by Thomas McGuane (92 IN THE SHADE), with music by Jimmy Buffett (who also appears in the film). TV version runs 95m. | tt0073605 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Elizabeth Ashley, Charlene Dallas, Clifton James, Slim Pickens, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Bright, Patti D'Arbanville | Western | NULL | ||
| Rancho Grande | 1940 | Frank McDonald. | ★★½ | 68 | Another taming-of-the-shrew Autry Western as sassy Eastern gal Storey takes over a ranch sought by crooked attorney Taylor. Emphasis here is on music, Gene's friendly nature, Smiley's comedy, and the sweet charms of Storey and young singer Lee. | tt0032970 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Ferris Taylor, Dick Hogan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Rancho Notorious | 1952 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 89 | Entertaining, unusual Western with Kennedy looking for murderer of his sweetheart, ending up at Marlene's bandit hideout. Colorful characters spice up routine story by Daniel Taradash. | tt0045070 | Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer, Lloyd Gough, Gloria Henry, William Frawley, Jack Elam, George Reeves | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Random Harvest | 1942 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 126 | Colman is left an amnesiac after WW1, and saved from life in a mental institution by vivacious music-hall entertainer Garson. James Hilton novel given supremely entertaining MGM treatment, with Colman and Garson at their best. Screenplay by Claudine West, George Froeschel, and Arthur Wimperis. | tt0035238 | Ronald Colman, Greer Garson, Philip Dorn, Susan Peters, Henry Travers, Reginald Owen, Bramwell Fletcher, Margaret Wycherly, Ann Richards | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Random Hearts | 1999 | Sydney Pollack | ★½ | 133 | Sub-par political movie, sub-par D.C. cop movie and sub-par romance get bludgeoned into one in this critical/commercial flop about a police sergeant and congresswoman who discover that their mates— recently killed in the same airliner crash— were having an affair. Gloomy, lugubrious, heavily altered adaptation of Warren Adler's novel suffers from one of the rare constipated Ford performances. Every once in a while it wakes up long enough to remember it's an Internal Affairs movie and that a few heads have to be bashed. | tt0156934 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles S. Dutton, Bonnie Hunt, Dennis Haysbert, Sydney Pollack, Paul Guilfoyle, Peter Coyote, Bill Cobbs, Richard Jenkins, Edie Falco | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Randy Rides Alone | 1934 | Harry Fraser. | ★½ | 54 | Wayne is jailed for robbery and murder, but heroine releases him to infiltrate and round up gang of brigands responsible. Hayes plays notorious 'Matt the Mute.' B Western is crudely made and not much fun; notable only for casting Wayne as a singing cowboy (dubbed by Western star Bob Steele's twin brother, Bill Bradbury, son of the Lone Star series' usual director). | tt0025699 | John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Range Feud | 1931 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★★ | 58 | Jones is fearless sheriff pledged to resolving range rights war among his fiery stepfather, his young stepbrother Wayne, and a rival ranch. In his first Western after THE BIG TRAIL, Wayne romances neighbor's daughter Fleming. Well written, directed, photographed, and acted, with plenty of gunplay, hard riding, and chase scenes. Whirlwind mystery marred only by dubbed hoofbeats and sped-up action. | tt0022293 | Buck Jones, John Wayne, Susan Fleming, Ed Le Saint, William Walling, Wallace MacDonald, Harry Woods. | Mystery, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| Range War | 1939 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 64 | Hopalong Cassidy intervenes to restore peace in dispute among angry cattle ranchers and an extortionist trying to sabotage a new railroad line's completion. Makes use of rail track set built for UNION PACIFIC. Victor Young score is a plus, Britt Wood a minus in comedy sidekick role, attempting to replace the departed George Hayes. Future singing cowboy Eddie Dean has small role. | tt0031838 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Willard Robertson, Matt Moore, Betty Moran, Britt Wood, Jason Robards/Sr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Ranger and the Lady | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 59 | Roy deals with a corrupt chief of the Texas Rangers who is imposing an illegal toll on freighters using the Santa Fe Trail. Good story with big action finish. | tt0032972 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), Harry Woods, Henry Brandon, Noble Johnson, Si Jenks, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Rangers of Fortune | 1940 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 80 | Smartly-whipped-together yarn of trio fleeing Mexicans, stopping off in Southwestern town to offer assistance. | tt0032973 | Fred MacMurray, Albert Dekker, Gilbert Roland, Patricia Morison, Dick Foran, Joseph Schildkraut | Western | NULL | |||
| Rango | 2011 | Gore Verbinski | ★★ | 107 | A loopy pet lizard who’s used to amusing himself with the inanimate objects with whom he shares an aquarium finds himself stranded in the Mojave Desert. Wandering into a desolate town, he adopts the persona of a Western hero and becomes the local sheriff and potential savior. Depp’s amusing, off-the-wall verbal riffs and a modern spin on Western mythology make this fun for a while, until the story runs dry (in every sense of the word). Staging is impressive, thanks to visual consultant Roger Deakins, but the character design emphasizes realistic desert creatures, bringing a new level of ugliness to mainstream animation. Digital Widescreen. | tt1192628 | [PG] | Voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton, Timothy Olyphant, Ray Winstone | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ransom | Maniac | 1977 | Richard Compton | ★★½ | 90 | Pretty good programmer about a town's efforts to catch a killer. Originally titled ASSAULT ON PARADISE, then MANIAC. | tt0076598 | Oliver Reed, Deborah Raffin, Stuart Whitman, Jim Mitchum, John Ireland, Paul Koslo | Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Ransom | 1996 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 120 | Gripping thriller about a ragged team of kidnappers who snatch the son of a self-made millionaire; soon, what should have been a standard kidnap-and-ransom transaction becomes a dangerous game of cat and mouse between the tycoon and the cocky ringleader. Plenty of twists and turns in this remake of the 1956 film of the same name. That's Nick Nolte's son as the victim. Coscenarist Richard Price appears briefly as Sinise's partner in an early scene. | tt0117438 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Brawley Nolte, Liev Schreiber, Evan Handler, Donnie Wahlberg, Dan Hedaya | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ransom! | 1956 | Alex Segal | ★★½ | 109 | Brooding narrative of business tycoon Ford's efforts to rescue his son who's been kidnapped. Remade in 1996. | tt0049656 | Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, Leslie Nielsen, Juano Hernandez, Alexander Scourby, Juanita Moore, Robert Keith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rapa Nui | 1994 | Kevin Reynolds | ★½ | 107 | Lumbering, highly romanticized saga of Easter Island ('Rapa Nui'), the remote southern Pacific outpost whose mammoth human-faced statues have long baffled historians. Set in 1680, prior to Dutch colonization, with hero Lee (of the Long Ear tribe) and villain Morales (of the Short Ears) as rivals since boyhood, now facing civil war. Climactic endurance test— a grueling race on land and sea— resembles one of those splashy MTV 'sports' events. Coproduced by Kevin Costner. | tt0110944 | [R] | Jason Scott Lee, Esai Morales, Sandrine Holt, Zac Wallace, George Henare, Eru Potaka-Dewes | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rape of Europa | 2006 | Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham, Bonni Cohen | ★★★ | 117 | Fascinating documentary compels attention and interest as an examination of Adolf Hitler’s obsession with claiming Europe’s art masterworks during WW2. Filmmakers celebrate incidents of ingenious heroism—notably the bold removal and concealment of Louvre treasures in France just prior to the German Occupation—and recount the remarkable efforts of the Monuments Men, a unit of U.S. Army specialists charged with locating and recovering art seized by the Nazis. Inspired by an authoritative book of the same title by Lynn H. Nicholas. | tt0997088 | Narrated by Joan Allen | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Rape of Love | 1977 | Yannick Bellon | ★★ | 117 | Nurse Nell is raped by four drunken jerks, but that's not the end of her ordeal. Not ineffective as a consciousness-raising tool, but still overly preachy; director Bellon has a tendency to depict all her male characters as insensitive chauvinists. | tt0074141 | Nathalie Nell, Alain Foures, Michele Simonnet, Pierre Arditi, Daniel Auteuil, Bernard Granger | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rapid Fire | 1992 | Dwight H. Little | ★★ | 95 | Showcase for Bruce Lee's handsome son is more like Enter the Lizard, though its script is freewheeling enough to include stopoffs in a nude modeling class, an abandoned bowling alley, and Beijing's Tiananmen Square. A bounty of bullets, but the only love scene backs its standard gauzy navel-'n'-nipple expedition with a strident guitar and an unfortunately named tune: 'I Can't Find My Way.' Mancuso's amusing bad guy is a standout. | tt0105219 | [R] | Brandon Lee, Powers Boothe, Nick Mancuso, Raymond J. Barry, Kate Hodge, Tzi Ma, Tony Longo, Michael Paul Chan, Dustin Nguyen, John Vickery | Action | NULL | ||
| Rappin' | 1985 | Joel Silberg | ★★ | 92 | Just what the world needs, another breakdancing-rap music musical. This one chronicles the plight of breakdancer/ex-con Van Peebles and his conflicts with street gangster Flohe and contractor Goz. | tt0089883 | [PG] | Mario Van Peebles, Tasia Valenza, Charles Flohe, Leo O'Brien, Eriq La Salle, Richie Abanes, Kadeem Hardison, Harry Goz | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rapture | 1965 | John Guillermin | ★★★ | 104 | Intensive, sensitive account of Gozzi's tragic romance with Stockwell, a man on the run. | tt0059633 | Melvyn Douglas, Dean Stockwell, Patricia Gozzi, Gunnel Lindblom, Leslie Sands | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rapture | 1991 | Michael Tolkin | ★★★ | 102 | Beautiful, hedonistic young woman with droning, dead-end job opts for super-Fundamentalist religious fanaticism. Singular drama about one woman's literal ascension to heaven features swinging group sex, one genuinely shocking maternal act, and a straight-faced cameo by at least one Horseman of the Apocalypse. Not for every taste, this much-debated film truly rushes in where virtually no others have dared to tread. Scripted by first-time director Tolkin. Rogers gives a four-barrelled performance. | tt0102757 | [R] | Mimi Rogers, Patrick Bauchau, David Duchovny, Kimberly Cullum, Will Patton, James Le Gros | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Rare Breed | 1981 | David Nelson | ★½ | 94 | Old-fashioned story of a girl and her horse, with unconvincing depiction of the real-life incident of racehorse Carnauba kidnapped in Italy for ransom. Cute, squeaky-clean Vaccaro became a Playboy Playmate two years after filming this family picture. | tt0082972 | [PG] | George Kennedy, Forrest Tucker, Tracy Vaccaro, Tom Hallick, Don DeFore | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rare Breed | 1966 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★★ | 108 | Cowhand Stewart is changed by British O'Hara's conviction that her Hereford bull, new to Texas, will produce better cattle. Keith (in red wig and beard) has a grand time as a Scottish rancher. Odd part-comedy Western on the unusual subject of improving cattle breeds. Hampered only by too much obvious studio shooting. | tt0060884 | James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Juliet Mills, Jack Elam, Ben Johnson, Don Galloway | Action, Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Rascal | 1969 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 85 | Disney adaptation of Sterling North's well-regarded autobiographical novel about his boyhood friendship with raccoon; reworked to Disney formula, with pleasant but predictable results. | tt0064875 | [G] | Steve Forrest, Bill Mumy, Pamela Toll, Bettye Ackerman, Elsa Lanchester, Henry Jones | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Rashevski's Tango | 2003 | Sam Garbarski | ★★★ | 99 | The death of a matriarch spurs this portrait of a family, living in Belgium, whose various members—three generations strong—deal with their Jewish heritage in vastly different ways, alternately serious, poignant, ironic, and absurd. As the background of this culturally dysfunctional clan is gradually revealed, we come to understand why they act the way they do. Provocative and original, with deft dramatic and comedic touches. Cowritten by the director. | tt0328509 | Unrated | Hippolyte Girardot, Ludmila Mikaël, Michel Jonasz, Daniel Mesguich, Nathan Cogan, Jonathan Zaccaï, Tania Garbarski, Rudi Rosenberg, Selma Kouchy, Moscu Alcalay | Beglian-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Rashomon | 1950 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 88 | Kurosawa's first huge international success is superlative study of truth and human nature; four people involved in a rape-murder tell varying accounts of what happened. The film's very title has become part of our language. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. Remade as THE OUTRAGE. | tt0042876 | Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Rasputin | 1985 | Elem Klimov | ★★★ | 107 | Complex, impressive drama with Petrenko appropriately (and at times brilliantly) oily as the famed mad monk. A good film which might have been great if so many hands had not tinkered with it. It allegedly was completed in 1977, screened at the Moscow Film Festival in 1981 (at 148m.), and barred from the West until 1985. Sovscope. | tt0081991 | Alexei Petrenko, Anatoly Romashin, Velta Linei, Alice Freindlikh | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rasputin | 1996 | Uli Edel | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Opulent, revisionist retelling of the tale of the Mad Monk who befriended and advised Russia's last royal family, with a wicked, wild-eyed performance by Rickman as the drunken, womanizing mystic. Equally impressive: McKellen's compassionate Tsar Nicholas. This take, by writer Peter Pruce, has Stolypin, the Tsar's prime minister (John Wood), part of the conspiracy to do in Rasputin in 1916, Stolypin's own murder in 1911 notwithstanding. Made for cable. | tt0117442 | Alan Rickman, Greta Scacchi, Ian McKellen, David Warner, John Wood, James Frain, Julian Curry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rasputin and the Empress | 1932 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★ | 123 | Good drama that should have been great, with all three Barrymores in colorful roles, unfolding story of mad monk's plotting against Russia. Contrary to expectations, it's Lionel, not John, who plays Rasputin. The three Barrymores' only film together; Ethel's talkie debut. Wynyard's first film. | tt0023374 | John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Ralph Morgan, Diana Wynyard, Tad Alexander, C. Henry Gordon, Edward Arnold, Jean Parker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rasputin- the Mad Monk | 1966 | Don Sharp | ★★ | 92 | Confused historical drama of 'monk' who actually controlled Russia before Revolution. Script uncommonly bad; Lee's performance manages to redeem film. | tt0059635 | Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, Francis Matthews | British | Biography, Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Rat Pack | 1998 | Rob Cohen | Average TV Movie | 118 | Sinatra's ring-a-ding days with his showbiz pals seem to be a never-ending bachelor party during the late '50s and early '60s, in a story of how power, celebrity and politics collided. A surprisingly watchable yarn— even for those who remember the Real Thing. Liotta's miscasting as the 'Rat Pack' leader is offset by Mantegna's on-the-mark Dean Martin and Cheadle's terrific Sammy Davis. Made for cable TV. | tt0146165 | Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Don Cheadle, Angus Macfadyen, William L. Petersen, Bobby Slayton, Zeljko Ivanek, Dan O'Herlihy, Veronica Cartwright | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rat Race | 2001 | Jerry Zucker | ★★½ | 112 | Game attempt to recapture the spirit of IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, with Las Vegas casino owner Cleese enticing a group of disparate people to participate in a race: the first to get to a New Mexico railroad depot locker will claim two million dollars. Not every comic detour pays off, but there are many laugh-out-loud gags and inspired moments (especially with Atkinson and Lovitz). | tt0250687 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding/Jr., John Cleese, Kathy Najimy, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, Lanai Chapman, Paul Rodriguez, Wayne Knight, Dave Thomas, Kathy Bates, Dean Cain | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Rat Race | 1960 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 105 | Comedy-drama of would-be musician (Curtis) and dancer (Reynolds) coming to N.Y.C., platonically sharing an apartment, and falling in love. Nice comic cameos by Oakie and Medford. Script by Garson Kanin, from his play. | tt0054230 | Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds, Jack Oakie, Kay Medford, Don Rickles, Joe Bushkin | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Rat's Tale | 1997 | Michael F. Huse | ★★ | 89 | A colony of rats living underground in N.Y.C. is threatened by a greedy developer who wants to tear down their wharf— and in the meantime is using a toxic pesticide. Furry marionettes star in this English-language version of a German film with a handful of live actors and occasional special effects. Amusing for young children, but its pacing and European sensibility may not suit some fidgety viewers. Based on the award-winning book by Tor Seidler. | tt0120220 | [G] | Lauren Hutton, Beverly D'Angelo, Jerry Stiller, Josef Ostendorf; voices of Dee Bradley Baker, Lynsey Bartilson | German | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Ratatouille | 2007 | Brad Bird | ★★★½ | 110 | Animated charmer about Remy, a highly cultivated rat with a genius for cooking, who is separated from his family in the French countryside and lands in a Parisian restaurant. There he teams up with a lowly kitchen assistant to become the toast of the town. A few longueurs in the story are compensated by stunning evocation of character and environment; director-writer Bird and Pixar's meticulous attention to detail make this a feast for the eyes. Fine voice work, with Oswalt an endearing Remy and O'Toole a treat as formidable food critic Anton Ego. | tt0382932 | [G] | Voices of Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Brian Dennehy, Peter Sohn, Peter O'Toole, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Will Arnett, James Remar, John Ratzenberger, Brad Bird | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Ratboy | 1986 | Sondra Locke | ★½ | 105 | Window dresser Locke stumbles across a half-man, half-rat— then tries to parlay him into show-biz success. Locke's directorial debut is technically competent, but film plays like an E.T./ELEPHANT MAN derivation that's no longer fresh. Barely released. | tt0091827 | [PG-13] | Sondra Locke, Robert Townsend, Christopher Hewett, Larry Hankin, Gerrit Graham, Louie Anderson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ratcatcher | 1999 | Lynne Ramsay | ★★½ | 93 | Impressive feature writing-directing debut for Ramsay, who spins an oddly whimsical tale against the bleakest of backdrops, a dirt-poor Scottish neighborhood. A 12-year-old boy is accidentally involved in another lad's death; suppressing this knowledge adds to his existing anxieties, living with a drunken dad and a worn-down mother. Distinctive but terribly downbeat. | tt0171685 | William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews, Michelle Stewart, Lynne Ramsay/Jr., Leanne Mullen | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rated X | 2000 | Emilio Estevez | Below Average TV Movie | 115 | Boring, by-the-numbers biopic about the Mitchell Brothers, coke-snorting, pot-smoking San Francisco-based porn movie/live sex club entrepreneurs. Potentially powerful material, given the brothers' complex, incendiary relationship and their role in the sex film industry during the 1970s, but the result is merely melodramatic. A rare instance in which screen siblings look like they actually might be related, as the Mitchells are played by real-life brothers Sheen and Estevez. Peter Bogdanovich appears as a film school professor. | tt0201776 | Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Geoffrey Blake, Rafer Weigel, Tracy Hutson, Megan Ward, Terry O'Quinn, Danielle Brett, Nicole de Boer | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ratings Game | 1984 | Danny DeVito | Above Average TV Movie | 102 | Rollicking send-up of the television business and its incessant quest for ratings. Danny's a third-rate producer turned fawned-over power broker when his truly awful idea becomes the biggest hit since the invention of the wheel. Written by Jim Mulholland and Michael Barrie. Made for cable. Aka THE MOGUL. | tt0087979 | Danny DeVito, Rhea Pearlman, Gerrit Graham, Kevin McCarthy, Jayne Meadows, Steve Allen, George Wendt, Ronny Graham, Huntz Hall, Barry Corbin, Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rationing | 1944 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★½ | 93 | Butcher in small town is main character in story of problems during WW2; typical Beery vehicle. | tt0037211 | Wallace Beery, Marjorie Main, Donald Meek, Gloria Dickson, Henry O'Neill, Connie Gilchrist | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Raton Pass | 1951 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 84 | Middling Warner Bros. Western, with Morgan and Neal married couple fighting each other for cattle empire. | tt0043958 | Dennis Morgan, Patricia Neal, Steve Cochran, Scott Forbes, Dorothy Hart | Western | NULL | |||
| Rattle of a Simple Man | 1964 | Muriel Box | ★★★ | 96 | Pleasant saucy sex comedy of timid soul Corbett spending the night with Cilento to win a bet; set in London. | tt0058515 | Harry H. Corbett, Diane Cilento, Thora Hird, Michael Medwin | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ravagers | 1979 | Richard Compton | 💣 | 91 | This instant tax loss finds Harris searching for civilization in 1991 after most human life has been wiped out. Instead, he finds Borgnine. | tt0079777 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Ann Turkel, Ernest Borgnine, Art Carney, Anthony James, Woody Strode, Alana Hamilton | Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Raven Dance | 1994 | Jimmy Lifton | 💣 | 91 | A young heiress and her disturbed brother, the only orphans in a convent, are targeted by her half-sister Kellerman and scheming doctor McDowall. Ghosts and a demonic mirror create complications. Awesomely amateurish but serenely smug, this is an unwatchable mess. Aka MIRROR MIRROR 2. | tt0110530 | [R] | Roddy McDowall, Sally Kellerman, Veronica Cartwright, Tracy Wells, William Sanderson, Mark Ruffalo, Carlton Beener, Sarah Douglas, Lois Nettleton | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Raven | 1935 | Lew Landers | ★★★ | 62 | Momentous teaming of horror greats with Lugosi as doctor with Poe obsession, Karloff a victim of his wicked schemes. Hinds is subjected to torture from 'The Pit and the Pendulum' in film's climax. Great fun throughout. | tt0026912 | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware, Lester Matthews, Samuel S. Hinds | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Raven | 1963 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 86 | Funny horror satire finds magicians Price and Lorre challenging power-hungry colleague Karloff. Climactic sorcerer's duel is a highlight. Screenplay by Richard Matheson, 'inspired' by the Poe poem. | tt0057449 | Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Hazel Court, Jack Nicholson, Olive Sturgess | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Raven | 2012 | James McTeigue | ★★ | 111 | During the final days of his life in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) is steeped in death as he helps a Baltimore police detective (Evans) track a clever serial killer who finds inspiration in Poe's grisly stories, and even kidnaps Poe's lovely fiancée (Eve) to keep the writer writing. Contrived mix of fact and fiction is fitfully intriguing but conspicuously lacking in suspense. Cusack's wild-eyed ranting is neatly balanced by Evans' authoritative underplaying. | tt1486192 | [R] | John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kevin McNally, Sam Hazeldine, John Warnaby, Pam Ferris, Brendan Coyle | U.S.-Hungarian-Spanish | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Ravenous | 1999 | Antonia Bird | ★★½ | 98 | In 1847, cavalry officer Pearce is sent to a remote California fort, where a stranger (Carlyle) stumbles out of the wintry darkness with a horrifying tale of cannibalism, a tale that isn't over yet . . . Unique blend of comedy, Western, horror, and satire is, obviously, not for every 'taste.' Grisly and off-putting, but ambitious and intelligent as well. | tt0129332 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, Jeffrey Jones, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, John Spencer, Stephen Spinella, Neal McDonough, Joseph Running Fox, Sheila Tousey | Comedy, Western, Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Ravishing Idiot | 1964 | Edouard Molinaro | ★★ | 110 | Perkins, disenchanted with capitalism, is recruited by a Soviet spy to pilfer a secret NATO file. Silly, mostly unfunny Cold War comedy. | tt0058703 | Anthony Perkins, Brigitte Bardot, Gregoire Aslan, André Luguet | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Raw Deal | 1948 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 78 | Beautifully made, hard-boiled story of O'Keefe escaping from jail and taking out revenge on slimy Burr, who framed him; what's more, he gets caught between love of two women. Tough and convincing, with Burr a sadistic heavy. | tt0040723 | Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr, John Ireland | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Raw Deal | 1986 | John Irvin | ★½ | 97 | Stupid action movie about brawny ex-Fed who helps an old pal clean some dirty laundry— and bust a major crime ring. Sense of humor helps . . . but not enough. | tt0091828 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold, Darren McGavin, Sam Wanamaker, Paul Shenar, Steven Hill, Joe Regalbuto, Robert Davi, Ed Lauter, Blanche Baker | Action | NULL | ||
| Raw Edge | 1956 | John Sherwood | ★★½ | 76 | Bizarre premise routinely told; rancher's workers plan to kill him, with his widow to be the prize stake. | tt0049661 | Rory Calhoun, Yvonne De Carlo, Mara Corday, Rex Reason, Neville Brand | Western | NULL | |||
| Raw Meat | Deathline | 1972 | Gary A. Sherman | ★★½ | 87 | Entertaining though overdone horror tale of descendants of people trapped in an abandoned underground tunnel preying as cannibals on modern-day London travelers. Good atmosphere; filmed at the Russell Square station. Originally titled DEATHLINE. | tt0068458 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Christopher Lee, Norman Rossington, Clive Swift | British | Horror | NULL |
| Raw Wind in Eden | 1958 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 89 | Plane carrying rich couple on way to yachting party crashes on isolated island. Entertaining adventure yarn is mixed with romance and jealousy. Filmed in Italy. | tt0052121 | Esther Williams, Jeff Chandler, Rossana Podesta, Carlos Thompson, Rik Battaglia | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rawhide | Desperate Siege | 1951 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 86 | Taut Western saga about a motley gang of no-goods holding Power and Hayward prisoner at a stagecoach way station. Straightforward and unspectacular but well done, with a crackerjack cast and striking use of Lone Pine locations. Remake of 1935 gangster saga SHOW THEM NO MERCY! | tt0043959 | Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Hugh Marlowe, Dean Jagger, Edgar Buchanan, Jack Elam, George Tobias, Jeff Corey | Western | NULL | ||
| The Rawhide Trail | 1958 | Robert Gordon. | ★½ | 67 | Humdrum tale of a pair of wagon masters, unfairly blamed for leading their party toward a surprise Comanche attack, who set out to establish their innocence. | tt0052122 | Rex Reason, Nancy Gates, Richard Erdman, Ann Doran, Rusty Lane. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Rawhide Years | 1956 | Rudolph Maté | ★★ | 85 | Youthful Curtis perks this routine fare of gambler trying to clear himself of murder charge. | tt0049663 | Tony Curtis, Colleen Miller, Arthur Kennedy, William Demarest, William Gargan | Western | NULL | |||
| Ray | 2004 | Taylor Hackford | ★★★ | 153 | The genuinely remarkable story of Ray Charles is told within the framework of a conventional Hollywood biopic, anchored by flashbacks to emotional touchstones in Charles' boyhood and spiked by his sensational record hits. Foxx is uncannily perfect (lip-synching Charles' recordings), and the women (Washington as his wife, Ellis as his first vocalist and mistress, King as her replacement— the first Raelette— and Warren as his mother) are superb. Won two Oscars, for Best Actor and Sound Mixing. | tt0350258 | [PG-13] | Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Aunjanue Ellis, Harry Lennix, Terrence Dashon Howard, Larenz Tate, Bokeem Woodbine, Sharon Warren, Curtis Armstrong, Richard Schiff, C. J. Sanders, David Krumholtz | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Raymie | 1960 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 72 | Quiet little film about youngster (Ladd) whose greatest ambition is to catch the big fish that always eludes him. Jerry Lewis sings the title song. | tt0054232 | David Ladd, Julie Adams, John Agar, Charles Winninger, Richard Arlen, Frank Ferguson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Razor's Edge | 1946 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★½ | 146 | Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore. Slick adaptation of Maugham's philosophical novel, with Marshall as the author, Power as hero seeking true meaning of life, Baxter in Oscar-winning role as a dipsomaniac, Elsa Lanchester sparkling in bit as social secretary. Screenplay by Lamar Trotti. Long but engrossing; remade in 1984. | tt0038873 | Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Razor's Edge | 1984 | John Byrum | ★★½ | 128 | Ambitious, if anachronistic, remake of 1946 film with enough plot for five movies. Young American survives WW1 and begins to question meaning of his life— while his closest friends go through personal crises of their own. It's hard to read much spiritual thought on Murray's deadpan face, but he gives it a good try (and cowrote script with director Byrum). Russell comes off best in the showy role previously played by Anne Baxter. Warts and all, it's still an interesting film. | tt0087980 | [PG-13] | Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Elliott, James Keach, Peter Vaughan, Brian Doyle-Murray, Saeed Jaffrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Razorback | 1984 | Russell Mulcahy | 💣 | 95 | Ludicrous horror film about a giant pig terrorizing the Australian countryside. Inauspicious feature debut by music video director Mulcahy. | tt0087981 | [R] | Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood | Australian | Horror | NULL | |
| Re-Animator | 1985 | Stuart Gordon | ★★★ | 86 | Knockout horror thriller and black comedy about H. P. Lovecraft's character Herbert West (Combs), an uppity young medical student who develops a serum to bring the dead back to life. Debut film director Gordon goes entertainingly over the line, especially in an off-color scene involving heroine Crampton and a lustful severed head. Major defect: Richard Band's music score, which is too reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's classic PSYCHO sound track. Lengthened (and toned down) by Gordon for homevideo. Followed by BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR. | tt0089885 | [R] | Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, Robert Sampson, David Gale | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Reach for Glory | 1963 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 89 | Sensitive, if minor tale about WW2 England, involving youths and their special code of ethics, leading to one member's death. | tt0056397 |
|
Harry Andrews, Kay Walsh, Oliver Grimm, Michael Anderson/Jr., Martin Tomlinson, Alexis Kanner | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Reach for the Sky | 1956 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 123 | Sensibly told account of British pilot Douglas Bader, who overcomes the loss of his legs in a crash to continue his flying career. British running time: 135m. | tt0049665 | Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Alexander Knox, Sydney Tafler, Nigel Green | British | War | NULL | ||
| Reaching for the Moon | 1931 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 62 | Enjoyable Depression comedy depicting effect of booze on financier Fairbanks, with Horton as his valet, Bebe the girl, and Crosby singing one Irving Berlin song. Originally 91m. | tt0021287 | Douglas Fairbanks/Sr., Bebe Daniels, Edward Everett Horton, Jack Mulhall, Helen Jerome Eddy, Bing Crosby | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Reaching for the Sun | 1941 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 90 | OK comedy of North Woods clam-digger who journeys to Detroit to earn money for outboard motor by working on auto assembly line. | tt0034086 | Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Eddie Bracken, Albert Dekker, Billy Gilbert, George Chandler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Read My Lips | 2001 | Jacques Audiard | ★★★ | 115 | A partially deaf, ignored female office worker hires a thuggish ex-con as her assistant and they become partners in crime. Fetishistic psychosexual heist thriller doesn't have a likable character in the mix but is so full of unexpected twists and turns you'll get hooked. Cassel and Devos are frighteningly good as the kinky outcasts. Audiard also cowrote. | tt0274117 | [R] | Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos, Olivier Gourmet, Olivier Perrier, Olivia Bonamy, Bernard Alane | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Reader | Der Vorleser | 2008 | Stephen Daldry | ★★★½ | 124 | In 1950s Germany, a naïve 15-year-old boy (Kross) has a chance encounter with an older woman who becomes his lover; later he learns that she was a guard at a concentration camp. The relationship still colors his life, as we see in modern-day scenes with Fiennes as the boy grown up. David Hare adapted Bernhard Schlink’s semi-autobiographical novel that tackles the moral dilemmas facing the generation of Germans who grew up in the years following WW2. Meticulously made and utterly fascinating. Winslet won Best Actress Oscar for her potent performance. Striking score by Nico Muhly. | tt0976051 | [R] | Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz, Matthias Habich, Susanne Lothar, Karoline Herfurth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Volker Bruch, Burghart Klaussner | U.S.-British-German | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Ready to Rumble | 2000 | Brian Robbins | ★½ | 106 | Lowbrow time-waster about simpleminded wrestling addicts Arquette and Caan, who believe the 'sport' is for real, and try to help salvage the career of their disgraced favorite wrestler (Platt, embarrassingly miscast). Our 'heroes' are portable-toilet maintenance workers, which allows for plenty of bathroom humor. Made in conjunction with WCW (World Championship Wrestling); a number of its stars appear in cameos. | tt0217756 | [PG-13] | David Arquette, Oliver Platt, Scott Caan, Bill Goldberg, Rose McGowan, Joe Pantoliano, Martin Landau, Diamond Dallas Page, Caroline Rhea | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ready to Wear (Prêt-à-Porter) | Prêt-à-Porter | 1994 | Robert Altman | 💣 | 133 | Mind-numbingly awful Altman collage about the fashion industry as it descends on Paris for the annual runway shows. No plot, no momentum, no point to any of this; a particularly egregious waste of Loren and Mastroianni (who reprise the striptease from YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW). Most telling comment is made within the film itself: characters keep stepping in dog poop. | tt0110907 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Anouk Aimée, Stephen Rea, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Bacall, Linda Hunt, Sally Kellerman, Tracey Ullman, Danny Aiello, Teri Garr, Rupert Everett, Richard E. Grant, Lili Taylor, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Jean Rochefort, Michel Blanc, Lyle Lovett, François Cluzet, Sam Robards, Ute Lemper, Chiara Mastroianni, Harry Belafonte, Cher | Comedy | NULL | |
| Ready, Willing and Able | 1937 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 95 | Undistinguished Warner Bros, musical about college girl who impersonates British star in order to land Broadway role. Notable only for introduction of 'Too Marvelous for Words,' with a production number featuring a giant typewriter. | tt0029467 | Ruby Keeler, Lee Dixon, Allen Jenkins, Louise Fazenda, Carol Hughes, Ross Alexander, Winifred Shaw, Teddy Hart | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Real Blonde | 1998 | Tom DiCillo | ★★½ | 105 | N.Y.C. slice-of-life about a wannabe actor and his girlfriend, a makeup artist to a top fashion model. Attempts to tackle such issues as illusion vs. reality, superficiality, sexual role-playing and the worlds of modeling and soap operas. A mixed bag with good individual scenes and performances. How well you respond may depend on your tolerance for Modine's character, who's a jerk. | tt0119987 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener, Daryl Hannah, Maxwell Caulfield, Elizabeth Berkley, Marlo Thomas, Bridgette Wilson, Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Dave Chappelle, Daniel Von Bargen, Denis Leary, Buck Henry, Steve Buscemi, Alexandra Wentworth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Real Cancun | 2003 | Rick De Oliveira | ★★½ | 96 | Reality TV in movie form: a diverse group of young people are chosen to spend spring break at a Mexican resort, and cameras observe their interaction (and massive intake of liquor). One straight-arrow, non-drinking boy becomes the film's focal point. Slickly produced and edited, the results are surprisingly entertaining, although parents may want to shoot themselves— or their kids— after seeing it. Produced by the creators of The Real World, Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. | tt0360916 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Real Genius | 1985 | Martha Coolidge | ★★½ | 104 | Idealistic whiz-kid is recruited by self-styled genius (Atherton) to join his college think tank— only to find that its members are being exploited, co-opted, and generally burned out. Potentially clever satire turns into just another youth/revenge comedy with caricatures instead of characters. | tt0089886 | [PG] | Val Kilmer, Gabe Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton, Jonathan Gries, Patti D'Arbanville | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Real Glory | 1939 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 95 | Cooper's fine as Army medic who solves all of Philippines' medical and military problems almost single-handedly after destructive Spanish-American War. Excellent action scenes. | tt0031842 | Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds, Reginald Owen, Kay Johnson, Broderick Crawford, Vladimir Sokoloff, Henry Kolker | Action, War | NULL | |||
| Real Life | 1979 | Albert Brooks | ★★½ | 99 | Writer-director-comedian Brooks' first feature doesn't sustain its comic premise as well as his hilarious short subjects, but still presents the world's greatest put-on artist in a compatible vehicle, as a shifty opportunist who sets out to make a filmed record of a typical American family. Written by Brooks, Monica Johnson, and Harry Shearer. | tt0079781 | [PG] | Albert Brooks, Charles Grodin, Frances Lee McCain, J.A. Preston, Matthew Tobin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Real McCoy | 1993 | Russell Mulcahy | ★½ | 106 | Lame, completely inept caper film with Basinger cast as a cat burglar/ex-con who wants to go straight, but is forced into pulling off one last heist when her son is kidnapped. | tt0107927 | [PG-13] | Kim Basinger, Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Gailard Sartain, Zach English, Raynor Scheine | Drama, Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Real Men | 1987 | Dennis Feldman | ★½ | 96 | Unfunny spy satire with CIA agent Belushi recruiting reluctant Ritter as a courier. Barely released to theaters, and with good reason. | tt0093828 | [PG-13] | James Belushi, John Ritter, Barbara Barrie, Bill Morey, Iva Andersen, Mark Herrier | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Real Steel | 2011 | Shawn Levy | ★★★ | 127 | In the near future, boxers have been replaced by sophisticated robots. Ne'er-do-well fighter-turned-promoter Jackman has gone broke and can't afford a new machine, but gains unexpected inspiration when he's forced to spend the summer looking after the 11-year-old son (newcomer Goyo) he's never known. Shamelessly manipulative but surprisingly effective, this pulls out all the stops as it channels ROCKY and THE CHAMP. Loosely based on a Richard Matheson story first adapted for The Twilight Zone TV show in 1963, with Lee Marvin in the lead. | tt0433035 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn, Karl Yune | Drama, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Real Women Have Curves | 2002 | Patricia Cardoso | ★★ | 86 | Quiet character study of a Mexican-American teenage girl about to graduate from high school and the life decisions she must make. Ontiveros is excellent as a domineering, neurotic mother, and Ferrera is good as the young woman in transition, but the film tries to deal with too much at once and becomes muddled and unfocused. | tt0296166 | [PG-13] | America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros, Ingrid Oliu, George Lopez, Brian Sites, Soledad St. Hilaire, Jorge Cervera/ Jr., Felipe De Alba | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Reality Bites | 1994 | Ben Stiller | ★★½ | 99 | An incisive examination of Generation X, whose young people are confused, and repelled by the world being handed to them; on the other hand, a traditional love triangle, with Ryder trying to choose between straight-arrow Stiller and laid-back superdude Hawke (who's so cool he doesn't unwrap a candy bar before biting off a piece). Generally well done, with Ryder especially appealing, and Garofalo a standout as her best friend. Debuting director Stiller features his mom, Anne Meara, as a newspaperwoman, and his sister, Amy, as Ryder's 'Psychic Phone Partner.' Written by Helen Childress (who has a bit as a waitress). Jeanne Tripplehorn has unbilled cameo. Coproduced by Danny DeVito. | tt0110950 | [PG-13] | Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn, Swoosie Kurtz, Joe Don Baker, John Mahoney, Harry O'Reilly, Susan Norfleet, David Pirner, Keith David, Kevin Pollak, Karen Duffy, David Spade, Renée Zellweger | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Reap the Wild Wind | 1942 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 124 | Brawling DeMille hokum of 19th-century salvagers in Florida, with Goddard as fiery Southern belle, Milland and Wayne fighting for her, Massey as odious villain. Exciting underwater scenes, with the special effects earning an Oscar. Milland good in off-beat characterization. | tt0035244 | Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Raymond Massey, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, Charles Bickford, Hedda Hopper, Louise Beavers, Martha O'Driscoll, Lynne Overman | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Reaping | 2007 | Stephen Hopkins | ★½ | 96 | Dopey supernatural “thriller” finds Swank as a disillusioned former missionary who tries to discredit unexplained biblical phenomena. She comes upon a town where the river has turned bloodred and is being inundated with what appear to be the “ten plagues” of the Old Testament. Well-worn premise and indifferent acting sink this enterprise before we can even ask, “What the devil is going on here?” or more importantly, “Who cares?” | tt0444682 | [R] | Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephen Rea, William Ragsdale, John McConnell. | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Rear Window | 1954 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 112 | One of Hitchcock's most stylish thrillers has photographer Stewart confined to wheelchair in his apartment, using binoculars to pass the time 'spying' on courtyard neighbors, and discovering a possible murder. Inventive Cornell Woolrich story adapted by John Michael Hayes. Stewart, society girlfriend Kelly, and no-nonsense nurse Ritter make a wonderful trio. Remade for TV in 1998 with Christopher Reeve. | tt0047396 | James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Judith Evelyn, Ross Bagdasarian | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die | Massacre at Fort Holman | 1974 | Tonino Valerii | ★★ | 92 | Union Colonel Coburn and seven condemned men attempt to recapture a Missouri fort from brutal Confederate Major Savalas. So-so Western, aka MASSACRE AT FORT HOLMAN. | tt0069159 | [PG] | James Coburn, Telly Savalas, Bud Spencer, Robert Burton | Italian-French-German-Spanish | Western | NULL |
| Rebecca | 1940 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 130 | Hitchcock's first American film is sumptuous David O. Selznick production of Daphne du Maurier novel of girl who marries British nobleman but lives in shadow of his former wife. Stunning performances by Fontaine and Anderson; haunting score by Franz Waxman. Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison. Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Cinematography (George Barnes). | tt0032976 | Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Gladys Cooper, Florence Bates, Leo G. Carroll, Melville Cooper | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | 1917 | Marshall Neilan | ★★½ | 71 | Formulaic Pickford vehicle about spunky girl who's sent to live with her two harsh aunts; mixes sentiment, melodrama, and comedy, but lacks the spontaneity and spark of other Pickford films. Look for young ZaSu Pitts, in her film debut, as a spectator at Mary's circus. Kate Douglas Wiggin's 1903 story was remade in 1932 and 1938 (in name only). | tt0008499 | Mary Pickford, Eugene O'Brien, Josephine Crowell, Mayme Kelso, Marjorie Daw, Helen Jerome Eddy | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | 1938 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 80 | Contrived but entertaining, with surefire elements from earlier Temple movies tossed into simple story of Scott trying to make Shirley a radio star. No relation to Kate Douglas Wiggin's famous story. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0030657 | Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Jack Haley, Gloria Stuart, Phyllis Brooks, Helen Westley, Slim Summerville, William Demarest | Family, Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Rebel | 1974 | Robert Allen Schnitzer | ★½ | 80 | Tiresome, justifiably obscure time-capsule featuring Stallone, pre-ROCKY stardom, as an alienated political radical (an interesting contrast to Rambo). Original title: NO PLACE TO HIDE. | tt0066156 | [PG] | Antony Page, Sylvester Stallone, Rebecca Grimes, Henry G. Sanders | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Rebel | 1985 | Michael Jenkins | ★★ | 91 | Odd mixture of drama and music in this tale of traumatized AWOL American GI Dillon, who attaches himself to Sydney cabaret performer Byrne during WW2. Plenty of flash and style, little substance; and Dillon is fatally miscast. | tt0089888 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Debbie Byrne, Bryan Brown, Bill Hunter, Ray Barrett, Julie Nihill, Kim Deacon | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Rebel Rousers | Rebel Warriors | 1970 | Martin B. Cohen | ★★½ | 78 | Architect Mitchell isn't pleased when Dern holds drag-race to see who will 'win' Mitchell's pregnant girlfriend. Nicholson, decked out in outrageous striped pants, steals the show in this amusing time-capsule. Filmed in 1967. Aka REBEL WARRIORS. | tt0066286 | [R] | Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Drama, Action | NULL | |
| The Rebel Set | 1959 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★½ | 72 | Perfectly dreadful crime drama is not without interest as an artifact of its time, with its message that 'intellectuals' are inherently corrupt and not to be trusted. Platt is hilariously cast as a bearded coffee-house owner who recruits an out-of-work actor, a failed novelist, and a rich brat to participate in a robbery. | tt0053213 | Gregg Palmer, Kathleen Crowley, Edward Platt, Ned Glass, John Lupton, Don Sullivan, Robert Shayne | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Rebel Son | 1938 | Alexis Granowsky, Adrian Brunel, Albert de Courville | ★★ | 88 | Ineffectual English-language version of 1936 French film TARASS BOULBA (which also starred the legendary Baur) makes liberal use of action footage from the original, highlighting tale of 16th-century battle between Cossacks and Poles. Remade as TARAS BULBA. (Absurdly) retitled THE BARBARIAN AND THE LADY, and cut to 70m. | tt0030658 | Harry Baur, Anthony Bushell, Roger Livesey, Patricia Roc, Joan Gardner, Frederick Culley, Joseph Cunningham | British | Action, History | NULL | ||
| Rebel Without a Cause | 1955 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★★ | 111 | This portrait of youthful alienation spoke to a whole generation and remains wrenchingly powerful, despite some dated elements. The yearning for self-esteem, the barrier to communication with parents, the comfort found in friendships, all beautifully realized by director Ray, screenwriter Stewart Stern, and a fine cast (far too many of whom met early ends). This was Dean's seminal performance and an equally impressive showcase for young Mineo. | tt0048545 | James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Corey Allen, Edward Platt, Dennis Hopper, Nick Adams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rebel in Town | 1956 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 78 | Sensitive minor Western; renegade is present when his brother accidentally kills a child. Ironic events bring him into contact with boy's father. | tt0049666 | John Payne, Ruth Roman, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Smith | Western | NULL | |||
| Rebound | 2005 | Steve Carr | ★½ | 87 | Hotshot but disgraced college basketball coach gets a chance at redemption by guiding the ragtag hoopsters at the middle school he attended years ago. Slick, minimally humorous vehicle for coexecutive producer/star Lawrence is beyond predictable. Tragically, teenaged costar Tara Correa, who plays 'Big Mac' in her film debut, was killed just three months after this film's release. | tt0376108 | [PG] | Martin Lawrence, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Breckin Meyer, Horatio Sanz, Oren Williams, Patrick Warburton, Megan Mullally, Eddy Martin, Steven Christopher Parker, Laura Kightlinger | Comedy, Family, Sport | NULL | ||
| The Rebound | 2009 | Bart Freundlich | ★★ | 95 | Wife-mom-sports-nut Zeta-Jones moves to N.Y.C. after divorcing her cheating husband. She hires much younger nice guy Bartha to babysit her kids—and guess what happens next. Uneven romantic comedy is astoundingly awful early on, particularly when attempting to milk laughs from crass caricatures; improves a bit when it addresses issues relating to May-December romances. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1205535 | [R] | Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Bartha, Art Garfunkel, Joanna Gleason, Lynn Whitfield, Kelly Gould, Andrew Cherry, Kate Jennings Grant, Rob Kerkovich, John Schneider, Sam Robards, Alice Playten, Stephanie Szostak | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Recess: School's Out | 2001 | Chuck Sheetz | ★½ | 84 | Disney's Saturday-morning TV cartoon expanded to feature length, with no additional production values. Young T.J. and the Recess gang spend their summer vacation investigating some shady characters who have taken over the school building and are constructing a strange ray gun. Psychedelic end title sequence featuring Robert Goulet singing 'Green Tambourine' is the creative highlight of the picture. | tt0265632 | [G] | Voices of James Woods, Andy Lawrence, Pam Segall, Dabney Coleman, Melissa Joan Hart, Jason Davis, April Winchell, Peter MacNicol, Ashley Johnson | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Reckless | 1935 | Victor Fleming | ★★ | 96 | Big cast, big production, musical numbers— all can't save script of chorus girl tangling up several people's lives. Tired and phony. | tt0026914 | Jean Harlow, William Powell, Franchot Tone, May Robson, Ted Healy, Nat Pendleton, Rosalind Russell, Henry Stephenson, Leon Waycoff (Ames), Allan Jones, Mickey Rooney, Farina (Allen Hoskins) | Drama, Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Reckless | 1984 | James Foley | ★★½ | 90 | Rebellious teenager from wrong side of tracks takes up with straight-arrow coed, who finds in him a sense of danger and excitement missing from her comfortable existence. Nothing here we haven't seen in 1950s films about alienated youth— except for some very contemporary sex scenes— done with sincerity and a pulsing rock soundtrack. Quinn's film debut. | tt0087983 | [R] | Aidan Quinn, Daryl Hannah, Kenneth McMillan, Cliff DeYoung, Lois Smith, Adam Baldwin, Dan Hedaya, Jennifer Grey, Pamela Springsteen | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Reckless | 1995 | Norman René | ★½ | 92 | It's Christmas Eve, and a ditsy, seemingly happy wife (Farrow) is informed by her suddenly remorseful husband that he has taken out a contract on her life. A potentially clever spoof of middle-class marital relations and phony holiday cheer quickly descends into a meandering, thoroughly ridiculous comedy-of-the-absurd. Farrow's character babbles on incessantly; it's no wonder she drives men— as well as the audience— crazy. | tt0114241 | [PG-13] | Mia Farrow, Scott Glenn, Mary-Louise Parker, Tony Goldwyn, Stephen Dorff, Eileen Brennan, Giancarlo Esposito | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Reckless Kelly | 1993 | Yahoo Serious | ★★ | 94 | Modern descendant of Australia's legendary Robin Hood-like outlaw Ned Kelly (who travels around on a sputtering, klunky motorcycle) goes to L.A. to raise money to save his family's island hideout, and gets mixed up with moviemakers. Engagingly silly at the start, with some very funny sight gags, but increasingly tiresome as it moves stateside. Serious also directed, cowrote, and (according to the credits) performed his own stunts. | tt0107930 | [PG] | Yahoo Serious, Melora Hardin, Alexei Sayle, Hugo Weaving, Kathleen Freeman, John Pinette | Australian-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Reckless Moment | 1949 | Max Ophuls | ★★★½ | 82 | Mason blackmails protective mother Bennett, whose teenage daughter has been involved in a man's death. Noir-ish melodrama is also a slyly subversive look at a 'typical' American family. Henry Garson and R. W. Soderberg adapted Elizabeth S. Holding's novel The Blank Wall. Remade as THE DEEP END. | tt0041786 | James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O'Neill, Shepperd Strudwick | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Reckoning | 1969 | Jack Gold | ★★½ | 111 | Contrived, latter day 'angry young man' film, with Williamson (excellent as usual) as brooding businessman incapable of living in harmony with society, out to avenge long-ago slight to his father. | tt0064881 | [R] | Nicol Williamson, Rachel Roberts, Paul Rogers, Ann Bell | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Reckoning | 2003 | Paul McGuigan | ★★½ | 112 | A priest in 1380 England runs for his life after committing a crime and joins a troupe of traveling actors. The newest village on their journey is reeling from a notorious murder, which inspires the troupe and fires the priest's need for redemption. Interesting story leaves its principal villain (Cassel) offscreen far too long, but benefits from Bettany's strong performance. | tt0258816 | [R] | Paul Bettany, Willem Dafoe, Simon McBurney, Gina McKee, Brian Cox, Tom Hardy, Stuart Wells, Matthew Macfadyen, Jared Harris, Vincent Cassel | British-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Recruit | 2003 | Roger Donaldson | ★★½ | 105 | College computer whiz is recruited to join the CIA by veteran Pacino, who warns him that no one is to be trusted and nothing is as it seems— especially during his intense training period at The Farm in Langley, Virginia. Good story with endless twists and moments of nail-biting excitement, pumped up by dynamic star performances . . . but the final story turn is so unexpected, and so unlikely, that it comes as a letdown. | tt0292506 | [PG-13] | Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht, Karl Pruner, Eugene Lipinski | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red | Trois couleurs: Rouge | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | ★★★ | 99 | Final film in Kieslowski's 'Three Colors' trilogy which, like BLUE and WHITE, can stand alone with its self-contained story. Fashion model Jacob meets embittered, retired judge Trintignant by accident, then develops relationship with him and enters his cloistered, secret world. Set in Geneva, this is a tale of several intertwining lives: a look at communication— and lack of same— in modern society. Acclaimed, but not for all tastes. This final chapter is subtitled 'Fraternity.' | tt0111495 | Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frederique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Benoit Regent, Zbigniew Zamachowski | Swiss-French-Polish | Drama | NULL | |
| Red | 2008 | Trygve Allister Diesen, Lucky McKee | ★★ | 93 | Three punk teens harass middle-aged Cox, and one of them shoots and kills his beloved dog. Starts off promisingly as a morality tale but deteriorates into an obvious, violent revenge saga. Cox is a quietly powerful presence. Based on a book by Jack Ketchum. | tt0972883 | [R] | Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, Robert Englund, Amanda Plummer, Noel Fisher, Kyle Gallner, Shiloh Fernandez, Richard Riehle, Kim Dickens | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red | 2010 | Robert Schwentke | ★★ | 111 | Having survived an assassination attempt, retired CIA op Willis travels the country to recruit other former agents (who are “retired, extremely dangerous”) and combat a government conspiracy. He abducts a woman (Parker) he’s gotten to like over the phone—she processes his pension checks—and takes her along on this bullet-ridden adventure. Based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, this should have been a slam dunk, but never quite takes off—and goes on far too long. Still, it’s fun to watch the veteran cast at work. | tt1245526 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox, Julian McMahon, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Rebecca Pidgeon, James Remar | Comedy, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Red Badge of Courage | 1951 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 69 | Yankee soldier Murphy flees under fire and is guilt stricken over his apparent lack of courage. Stephen Crane's Civil War novel receives both epic and personal treatment by director Huston. Sweeping battle scenes and some truly frightening Rebel cavalry charges highlight this study of the fine line between cowardice and bravery. Many memorable vignettes: scene of Yankee general promising to share supper with half a dozen different platoons after the upcoming battle is a classic. Heavily re-edited after oddly negative previews; the film's troubled production is recounted in Lillian Ross' book Picture. Remade for TV in 1974. | tt0043961 | Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano, John Dierkes, Arthur Hunnicutt, Tim Durant, Andy Devine | War | NULL | |||
| Red Ball Express | 1952 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 83 | Pretty good WW2 story about real-life truck convoy that was hurriedly created to bring supplies to Patton's Army deep inside German-held territory in France. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. | tt0045072 | Jeff Chandler, Alex Nicol, Charles Drake, Hugh O'Brian, Jack Kelly, Jacqueline Duval, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Red Beard | 1965 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★½ | 185 | Tough but kind doctor Mifune takes intern Kayama under his wing in charity clinic. Unoriginal drama is also way overlong. | tt0058888 | Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Reiko Dan, Kyoko Kagawa, Terumi Niki | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Red Canyon | 1949 | George Sherman | ★★ | 82 | Routine Zane Grey Western of wild horses being tamed. | tt0041787 | Ann Blyth, Howard Duff, George Brent, Edgar Buchanan, Chill Wills, Jane Darwell, Lloyd Bridges | Western | NULL | |||
| The Red Circle | 1960 | Jurgen Roland | ★★½ | 94 | Scotland Yard investigates series of murders with each victim having telltale circle mark on his neck; slickly paced. | tt0053228 |
|
Fritz Rasp, Karl Saebisch, Renate Ewert, Klaus-Jurgen Wussow | German | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Red Cliff | 2008 | John Woo | ★★★ | 288 | Most expensive film in the history of mainland China documents a famous battle from A.D. 208 that has been lauded in lore for centuries. As a general in northern China runs herd over the ineffectual emperor, rebel leaders in the south (one old, one young, neither top-flight) combine resources, including their respective military advisors (Leung, Kaneshiro). Woo adapts his kinetic staging of violent action to a series of incredible, epic-scale battle scenes, but never forgets the human drama propelling the story. Original five-hour, two-part film (a smash hit in Asia) was cut in half for U.S. release to 148m. and pieced together with voice-over narration and spoon-feeding titles. | tt0425637 | Unrated | Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao Chiling Lin, Jun Hu, Shidou Nakamura | 2009-Chinese | Drama, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Red Corner | 1997 | Jon Avnet | ★★½ | 122 | American lawyer, representing cable/satellite TV interests in China, is framed for murdering a sexy model with whom he slept one night. His chances for justice are slim until the female lawyer assigned to his case (Ling) is bold enough to help him fight the system and figure out who's really behind this crime. Repetition and elements of illogic and predictability weaken an otherwise interesting yarn. | tt0119994 | [R] | Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradley Whitford, Byron Mann, Peter Donat, Robert Stanton, Tsai Chin, James Hong, Tzi Ma | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Red Dance | 1928 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 103 | Opulent production makes up for silly story of romance and intrigue during the Russian revolution. | tt0019312 |
|
Charles Farrell, Dolores Del Rio, Ivan Linow, Boris Charsky, Dorothy Revier | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Red Danube | 1949 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 119 | Louis Calhern, Francis L. Sullivan. Meandering drama of ballerina Leigh pursued by Russian agents, aided by amorous Lawford; heavy-handed at times. | tt0041788 | Walter Pidgeon, Ethel Barrymore, Peter Lawford, Angela Lansbury, Janet Leigh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Red Dawn | 1984 | John Milius | ★½ | 114 | Small-town teens become guerrilla fighters when Commies invade U.S. Good premise gunned down by purple prose and posturing— not to mention violence. | tt0087985 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Powers Boothe, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Jennifer Grey | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Red Desert | 1964 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★ | 118 | Vague, boring tale of Vitti alienated from her surroundings and on the verge of madness. Antonioni's first color film does have its followers, though. | tt0058003 | Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Rita Renoir, Carlo Chionetti | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Red Doors | 2006 | Georgia Lee | ★★ | 91 | Quirky slice of life about a suburban Chinese-American family; the mother is stereotypically flighty, the father is suicidal, saddened by the passage of time, and each daughter is in the process of ending or beginning a relationship. Well-intentioned but sketchy meditation on the different paths individuals take to find happiness. What is meant to be funny and endearing often comes off as slight and silly. | tt0415234 | [R] | Jacqueline Kim, Freda Foh Shen, Kathy Shao-Lin Lee, Elaine Kao, Mia Riverton, Sebastian Stan, Jayce Bartok, Rossif Sutherland, Tzi Ma | Drama | NULL | ||
| Red Dragon | 2002 | Brett Ratner | ★★ | 124 | Needless remake of MANHUNTER, based on Thomas Harris' novel. FBI agent (Norton) captures Hannibal Lecter, then is forced to consult with the carnivorous inmate as he tries to find a crafty serial killer. Slick production, with an exceptionally good cast, can't disguise a potboiler script that's all too obvious. (Gee, do you think the bad guy will go after Norton's family?) Screenplay by Ted Tally, who also adapted THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Frank Whaley and Mary Beth Hurt appear unbilled; Ellen Burstyn's voice is uncredited. | tt0289765 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anthony Heald, Bill Duke, Ken Leung, Stanley Anderson, Azura Skye, Frankie Faison, John Rubinstein, Lalo Schifrin | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Red Dragon | 1967 | Ernst Hofbauer | ★★½ | 88 | Granger is F.B.I. agent in Hong Kong chasing smuggling gang, Schiaffino another agent. Well paced, but predictable. | tt0059216 |
|
Stewart Granger, Rosanna Schiaffino, Horst Frank, Suzanne Roquette | German | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Red Dragon | 1945 | Phil Rosen | ★½ | 64 | Assembly-line Charlie Chan mystery centering on the search for a secret bomb formula. | tt0038017 | Sidney Toler, Fortunio Bonanova, Benson Fong, Robert Emmett Keane, Willie Best, Carol Hughes | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Red Dust | 1932 | Victor Fleming | ★★★½ | 83 | Robust romance of Indochina rubber worker Gable, his floozie gal Harlow, and visiting Astor, who is married to Raymond, but falls for Gable. Harlow has fine comic touch. Tart script by John Lee Mahin. Remade as MOGAMBO. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0023382 | Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Mary Astor, Donald Crisp, Gene Raymond, Tully Marshall, Willie Fung | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Red Dust | 2004 | Tom Hooper | ★★½ | 111 | An apartheid drama with a twist: apartheid has ended, and N.Y. lawyer Swank returns to her native South Africa to represent a rising black politician (Ejiofor) who was beaten and tortured while in custody years earlier. Somber drama, based on a novel by Gillian Slovo, explores the possibility of and need for forgiveness in order to heal South Africa's wounds. Well meaning but lacks dramatic spark and fire. | tt0388364 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Jamie Bartlett, Nomhlé Nkyonyeni, Ian Roberts, Greg Latter, Mawonga Dominic Tyawa, Marius Weyers | British-South African | Drama | NULL | |
| Red Eye | 2005 | Wes Craven | ★★★ | 85 | Craven returns to form with this tight, knowingly hokey thriller that actually thrills while maintaining a sense of humor about itself. McAdams exudes star quality as a hotel manager on an early morning flight terrorized by the deliciously evil Murphy. Part of the fun is experiencing how masterfully the director manipulates the audience using familiar conventions. | tt0421239 | [PG-13] | Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays, Jack Scalia, Robert Pine | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker | 1994 | He Ping | ★★★ | 116 | Evocative, romantic tale, beautifully directed and photographed and set in the early 20th century. The heroine is a young woman (Jing) who wears men's clothes and successfully operates her family's fireworks manufacturing business. Her priorities begin to change when she is attracted to a good-looking, wandering artist (Gang). | tt0110769 | [R] | Hing Jing, Wu Gang, Zhao Xiaorui, Gao Yang | Hong Kong | Drama | NULL | |
| Red Garters | 1954 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 91 | Musical Western spoof gets A for effort— with strikingly stylized color sets, offbeat casting— but falls short of target. | tt0047400 | Rosemary Clooney, Jack Carson, Guy Mitchell, Pat Crowley, Gene Barry, Cass Daley, Frank Faylen, Reginald Owen, Buddy Ebsen | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Red Heat | 1988 | Walter Hill | ★½ | 106 | Grim-faced Soviet cop tracks a scummy Russian drug dealer to Chicago, where he's partnered with belligerent Belushi from the Chicago P.D. Cheerless, foul-mouthed action film with two of the least appealing characters imaginable as the good guys. This was the first American production allowed to shoot scenes in Moscow's Red Square (. . . but why?). | tt0095963 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Gina Gershon, Richard Bright, Oleg Vidov, Pruitt Taylor Vince | Action | NULL | ||
| Red Hill | 2010 | Patrick Hughes | ★★ | 97 | Newly transferred police constable Kwanten is looking forward to keeping the peace in a small rural outpost. His pregnant wife needs the quiet, and he’s suffering from a crisis of confidence after freezing in the middle of a violent altercation. His first day on the job turns chaotic when a ferocious felon escapes from a nearby prison. As the manhunt proceeds, Kwanten realizes all is not as it appears and it’s unclear who the bad guys really are. Plenty of atmosphere, but this revenge thriller never makes the grade. | tt1530983 | [R] | Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis, Claire van der Boom, Christopher Davis, Kevin Harrington, Richard Sutherland, Cliff Ellen, Eddie Baroo | Australian | Crime, Thriller, Western | NULL | |
| The Red House | 1947 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 100 | Ona Munson. Title refers to strange old house containing many mysteries, providing constant fear for farmer Robinson. Exciting melodrama with fine cast. | tt0039757 | Edward G. Robinson, Lon McCallister, Allene Roberts, Judith Anderson, Rory Calhoun, Julie London | Thriller, Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Red Inn | 1951 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★½ | 100 | Bizarre, ironic black comedy about what happens when stagecoach passengers seek refuge at an inn run by murderous thieves Rosay and Carette. Fernandel is the dissipated monk who intercedes on the travelers' behalf. | tt0043303 | Fernandel, Françoise Rosay, (Julien) Carette, Gregoire Aslan, Marie-Claire Olivia | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Red Kiss | 1986 | Vera Belmont | ★★★ | 112 | Sincere, thoughtful drama about the coming of age of teen Valandrey in early 1950s Paris. She's a committed Stalinist, as are her parents, but she also is fascinated by American culture— and falls in love with photographer Wilson. Original title: ROUGE BAISER. | tt0088768 | Charlotte Valandrey, Lambert Wilson, Marthe Keller, Gunter Lamprecht, Laurent Terzieff | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Red Light | 1949 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 83 | Turgid drama of innocent Raft seeking revenge when freed from prison, hunting brother's killer. | tt0041790 | George Raft, Virginia Mayo, Gene Lockhart, Barton MacLane, Harry Morgan, Raymond Burr | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Red Line 7000 | 1965 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 110 | Attempt by director Hawks to do same kind of expert adventure pic he'd done for 40 years is sabotaged by overly complex script and indifferent acting, but is a faster and less pretentious racing-car drama than GRAND PRIX. Originally ran 127m. | tt0059641 | James Caan, Laura Devon, Gail Hire, Charlene Holt, John Robert Crawford, Marianna Hill, James Ward, Norman Alden, George Takei | Action | NULL | |||
| The Red Menace | 1949 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 87 | War vet Rockwell is duped by the Commies. McCarthyesque propaganda is now an unintentionally funny antique. Narrated by 'Lloyd G. Davies, member of the City Council, Los Angeles, California.' | tt0041791 | Robert Rockwell, Hanne Axman, Betty Lou Gerson, Barbara Fuller | Drama | NULL | |||
| Red Mountain | 1951 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 84 | When Confederate raider Quantrill (Ireland) tries to establish his own empire in the West during the Civil War, it's up to Southern rebel Ladd and neutral Kennedy to stop him. | tt0043962 | Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, John Ireland, Arthur Kennedy | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Red Planet | 2000 | Antony Hoffman | ★★ | 106 | Utterly ordinary sci-fi saga about a mission to Mars in the year 2050. No-nonsense commander Moss is left alone on her ship while her contentious crew checks on a terraforming project on Mars to create food and oxygen. Looks good, but covers awfully familiar dramatic turf. | tt0199753 | [PG-13] | Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker, Terence Stamp | Sci-Fi, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red Planet Mars | 1952 | Harry Horner | ★★½ | 87 | Outrageous sci-fi of scientist deciphering messages from Mars which turn out to be from God. Hilariously ludicrous anti-Communist propaganda (Red Planet Mars, get it?). | tt0045073 | Peter Graves, Andrea King, Marvin Miller, Herbert Berghof, House Peters, Vince Barnett | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Red Pony | 1949 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 89 | John Steinbeck adapted his own stories into this warmhearted screenplay about a farm boy who learns about responsibility when he's given his own pony. Keen observations of family dynamics (with Calhern a delight as Loy's garrulous father) make this a standout, along with Tony Gaudio's Technicolor camerawork and a justly famous score by Aaron Copland. Remade for TV in 1973. | tt0041792 | Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, Peter Miles, Louis Calhern, Shepperd Strudwick, Margaret Hamilton, Beau Bridges | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Red Pony | 1973 | Robert Totten | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Beautifully realized remake of the Steinbeck novella, minus the Billy Buck character played by Mitchum in the original. Fonda is especially good as the gruff father who loves his son in his own distant way. Adapted by Robert Totten and Ron Bishop. | tt0070598 | Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, Jack Elam, Clint Howard, Richard Jaeckel, Julian Rivero, Victor Sen Yung | Drama | NULL | |||
| Red Riding Hood | 2011 | Catherine Hardwicke | ★½ | 100 | A village on the edge of a deep, dark forest lives in perpetual fear of attacks by a vicious wolf. Then an exorcist of sorts (Oldman) turns up to lend his expertise and conducts a witch hunt that’s almost as vicious as the animal’s assaults. Tedious, heavy-handed film provides purported answers to questions no one cares to know about the story of Red Riding Hood. It also tries, and fails, to bring TWILIGHT-like sizzle to a love triangle that may or may not involve a werewolf. | tt1486185 | [PG-13] | Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons, Virginia Madsen, Lukas Haas, Julie Christie | Horror, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Red Riding: The Year Of Our Lord 1974 | 2009 | Julian Jarrold | ★★½ | 106 | Tyro newspaper reporter Garfield returns to his hometown of Yorkshire and becomes convinced that there's more to the recent abduction of a 10-year-old girl than anyone—including the local police—are willing to admit. First of an ambitious but downbeat trilogy adapted by Tony Grisoni from David Peace's novels, inspired by the Yorkshire Ripper case. Intriguing, well made, but grim; it's hard to accept Garfield's dogged naivete given our ability to see what's happening when he cannot. Story grows even seamier in subsequent installments. Made for British TV. | tt1259574 | T | Andrew Garfield, Sean Bean, Warren Clarke, Rebecca Hall, Eddie Marsan, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan, Cara Seymour, John Henshaw, Anthony Flanagan, Sean Harris, Tony Mooney | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980 | 2009 | James Marsh | ★★½ | 97 | As the Yorkshire Ripper continues his heinous crimes, respected Manchester police officer Considine is assigned to take charge of the case—but he's got pressing personal problems, and the local cops are loath to cooperate with him. Digs deeper into the well of corruption that permeates the case, and the frustrating dead ends that face an honest investigator. Vividly captures the look and feel of its period, while anticipating what will occur in the final installment of the trilogy. As in the first segment, the impediments facing the protagonist seem painfully obvious. Richly detailed but dismal in the extreme. | tt1260581 | A | Paddy Considine, Jim Carter, Warren Clarke, Sean Harris, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, Tony Pitts, Lesley Sharp, David Calder, Ron Cook, Julia Ford, James Fox, Joseph Maule, Nicholas Woodeson, Andrew Garfield, Eddie Marsan, Sean Harris, Tony Mooney | British | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1983 | 2009 | Anand Tucker | ★★ | 105 | A ragtag lawyer (Addy) is persuaded to take on the case of the man who's serving time for the crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper—although even detective Morrissey begins to doubt the man's guilt when yet another girl is abducted. Ultimately the whole repellent story is revealed, giving the viewer a chance to feel as if he's been dragged face-first through a sewer. Executed at the highest level of filmmaking skill, but to what end? Made for British TV. | tt1259573 | A | Mark Addy, David Morrissey, Jim Carter, Warren Clarke, Daniel Mays, Peter Mullan, Saskia Reeves, Sean Bean, Shaun Dooley, Gerard Kearns, Cara Seymour, Robert Sheehan, Lisa Howard, Chris Walker, Sean Harris, Tony Mooney, Andrew Garfield, John Henshaw | British | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Red River | 1948 | Howard Hawks | ★★★★ | 133 | One of the greatest American adventures is really a Western MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY: Clift (in his first film) rebels against tyrannical guardian Wayne (brilliant in an unsympathetic role) during crucial cattle drive. Spellbinding photography by Russell Harlan, rousing Dimitri Tiomkin score; an absolute must. Many TV stations still show mutilated 125m. version (with Brennan's narration in place of diary pages, which Hawks preferred). Screenplay by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee, from Chase's Saturday Evening Post story. If you blink, you'll miss Shelley Winters dancing with Ireland around a campfire. Remade for TV in 1988 with James Arness. | tt0040724 | John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Noah Beery/Jr., Paul Fix, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey/Jr., Harry Carey/Sr., Chief Yowlatchie, Hank Worden | Western | NULL | |||
| Red River Range | 1938 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 56 | When governor deputizes the Three Mesquiteers, Wayne masquerades as lawbreaker to infiltrate modern-day cattle rustlers operating in environs of dude ranch. No moral complexity here, just plenty of hard riding and fighting action. Emphasizes Wayne at the expense of his two saddlemates. | tt0030663 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Polly Moran, Lorna Gray (Adrian Booth), Kirby Grant, Sammy McKim. | Western | NULL | |||
| Red Road | 2006 | Andrea Arnold | ★★★ | 113 | A woman who works as a security officer in Glasgow, intently surveying a bank of video monitors for criminal activity, recognizes a man she thought was gone from her life, then contrives a way to meet him. Why? And will the answer to that question explain why she is so emotionally remote? Intriguing drama takes its time playing out but never loses its hold on the audience. Arnold's feature directing debut is the first of three films to be made based on characters created by Anders Thomas Jensen and Lone Scherfig. Coproduced by Lars von Trier's Zentropa Entertainments5 | tt0471030 | Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, Natalie Press, Andrew Armour. | British-Scottish-Danish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red Rock West | 1993 | John Dahl | ★★★ | 98 | Rock-solid little thriller, crammed with twists, turns and suspense, about honest, unemployed Cage, who's mistaken for a contract killer hired to do in seductive, adulterous Boyle. Nothing that occurs is logical or probable, but the film is so good (and so funny) that you are willing to go along for the ride. Hopper aficionados will savor his performance as 'Lyle, from Dallas,' the smarmiest of psychos, who is the real hit man. This debuted on cable TV. | tt0105226 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle, Timothy Carhart, J.T. Walsh, Dan Shor, Dwight Yoakam | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Red Salute | Runaway Daughter | 1935 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 78 | Runaway screwball Stanwyck meets no-nonsense soldier Young in this imitation IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT with wild sociopolitical wrinkle: Barbara's boyfriend (Albright) is a student radical who makes Communist speeches. A real oddity. Aka HER ENLISTED MAN and RUNAWAY DAUGHTER. | tt0026919 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Young, Hardie Albright, Cliff Edwards, Ruth Donnelly, Gordon Jones | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Red Scorpion | 1989 | Joseph Zito | 💣 | 102 | Bottom-of-the-barrel actioner with Lundgren a Soviet officer sent to Africa to murder a rebel leader. Followed by direct-to-video sequel RED SCORPION 2. | tt0098180 | [R] | Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Al White, T.P. McKenna, Carmen Argenziano, Brion James, Regopstann | Action | NULL | ||
| The Red Shoes | 1948 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★★ | 133 | A superb, stylized fairy tale. Young ballerina is torn between two creative, possessive men, one a struggling composer, the other an autocratic dance impresario. Landmark film for its integration of dance in storytelling, and a perennial favorite of balletomanes. Brian Easdale's score and Hein Heckroth and Arthur Lawson's art direction-set decoration won Oscars, and Jack Cardiff's cinematography should have. Shearer is exquisite in movie debut. | tt0040725 | Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Albert Bassermann, Ludmilla Tcherina, Esmond Knight | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Red Skies of Montana | 1952 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 99 | Trite account of forest-fire fighters, salvaged by spectacular fire sequences. | tt0045074 | Richard Widmark, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Smith, Richard Boone, Richard Crenna, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Red Sky at Morning | 1970 | James Goldstone | ★★★ | 112 | Unspectacular but pleasing adaptation of Richard Bradford's novel about adolescence in New Mexico during WW2. Comparable to SUMMER OF '42, and in many ways better; Thomas is superb. | tt0067659 | [PG] | Richard Thomas, Catherine Burns, Desi Arnaz/Jr., Richard Crenna, Claire Bloom, John Colicos, Harry Guardino, Strother Martin, Nehemiah Persoff | Drama | NULL | ||
| Red Sonja | 1985 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 89 | Spectacularly silly sword-and-sorcery saga with female lead, based on pulp writings of Robert E. Howard (of CONAN fame). Might amuse juvenile viewers, but only point of interest for adults is deciding who gives the worse performance, Nielsen or villainess Bergman. Schwarzenegger has a brief guest spot. | tt0089893 | [PG-13] | Brigitte Nielsen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sandahl Bergman, Paul Smith, Ernie Reyes/Jr., Ronald Lacey, Pat Roach | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Red Sorghum | 1987 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★½ | 91 | Evocative, beautifully filmed combination drama/black comedy/fairy tale/epic which chronicles a most untraditional union between a pair of rural lovers during the 1920s. The years pass, a new decade arrives, and with it come Japanese invaders. A triumph for director Yimou. | tt0093206 | Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Liu Ji, Teng Rijun, Qian Ming | Chinese | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Red Stallion in the Rockies | 1949 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★ | 85 | OK outdoor drama of Franz and Ford being hired by a rancher for the harvest season and becoming immersed in local conflicts and jealousies. | tt0041794 | Arthur Franz, Wallace Ford, Ray Collins, Jean Heather, Leatrice Joy. | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Red Stallion | 1947 | Lesley Selander | ★½ | 82 | Weak little film of ranch boy and his pet horse. | tt0039758 |
|
Robert Paige, Noreen Nash, Ted Donaldson, Jane Darwell | Western | NULL | ||
| Red State | 2011 | Kevin Smith | ★★½ | 88 | In small-town America, three horny teenage boys are eager to have sex with an older woman one of them has "met" on the Internet. Instead, they find themselves in the clutches of an ultra-right-wing religious fundamentalist nutcase (an eerily effective Parks) and his brood. Unsubtle movie from writer-director Smith serves as a frontal assault on bigotry, hypocrisy, and U.S. government bureaucracy and bungling, but is marred by in-your-face dramatics and a much too pat finale. As terrifying as a horror film, but for different reasons. | tt0873886 | [R] | Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kerry Bishé, Nicholas Braun, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Kevin Pollak, Stephen Root, Matt Jones, Cooper Thornton, Kevin Alejandro, Marc Blucas | Action, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Red Sun | 1972 | Terence Young | ★★ | 112 | East meets West in this odd story of samurai warrior pursuing valuable Japanese sword stolen from train crossing American West. Intriguing elements, and refreshingly tongue-in-cheek, but a misfire. | tt0067770 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine | Italian-French-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| Red Sundown | 1956 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 81 | Virile cast adds zest to standard yarn of bad-guy-gone-good (Calhoun), squeezing out the criminal elements in town. | tt0049667 | Rory Calhoun, Martha Hyer, Dean Jagger, Robert Middleton, James Millican | Western | NULL | |||
| Red Tails | 2012 | Anthony Hemingway | ★★ | 125 | Tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, who defied racism to become high-flying heroes during WW2. Unfortunately, their inspiring story is reduced to the level of a corny 1940s B movie, replete with stereotype-Nazi adversaries and souped up with exciting aerial dogfights (although these are no more realistic than the wooden dialogue surrounding them). Young viewers may be able to take this yarn at face value and enjoy it. Executive produced by George Lucas. | tt0485985 | [PG-13] | Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Cuba Gooding /Jr., Terrence Howard, Marcus T. Paulk, Leslie Odom /Jr., Michael B. Jordan, Kevin Phillips, Andre Royo, Cliff (Method Man) Smith, Bryan Cranston, Gerald McRaney, Daniela Ruah | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Red Tent | 1971 | Mikhail Kalatozov | ★★★ | 121 | Top-notch adventure saga for kids and adults alike, based on true story of explorer General Nobile (Finch) whose 1928 Arctic expedition turns into disaster. Exciting scenes of survival against elements, dramatic rescue, marred by awkward flashback framework. | tt0067315 | [G] | Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale, Hardy Kruger, Peter Finch, Massimo Girotti, Luigi Vannucchi, Mario Adorf | Italian-Russian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Red Tomahawk | 1967 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 82 | Captain Keel saves town from Sioux in routine Western with many likable performers in the cast. | tt0062182 | Howard Keel, Joan Caulfield, Broderick Crawford, Scott Brady, Wendell Corey, Richard Arlen, Tom Drake, Ben Cooper, Don 'Red' Barry | Western | NULL | |||
| The Red Violin | Violon rouge, Le | 1998 | François Girard | ★★ | 131 | Multi-episode film follows the fate of a cursed violin from 17th-century Italy to 18th-century Vienna, 19th-century England, 20th-century China and present-day Montreal. The stories are mostly downbeat and/or frustrating, and the wrapup segment with appraiser Jackson is hard to swallow. Colorful locales and intriguing premises maintain minimal interest throughout. McKellar, who plays Jackson's cohort in the final episode, also coscripted with the director. Oscar-winning score by John Corigliano. | tt0120802 | Carlo Cecchi, Irene Grazioli, Jean-Luc Bideau, Jason Flemyng, Greta Scacchi, Sylvia Chang, Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Monique Mercure, Don McKellar, Sandra Oh | Canadian-Italian | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| Red, Hot and Blue | 1949 | John Farrow | ★★ | 84 | Strained Hutton musical-comedy about an ambitious girl trying to make it in showbiz, clashing with boyfriend Mature, a 'serious' theater director. The gangster who frames the story is played by songwriter Frank Loesser, who also contributed the score. | tt0041795 | Betty Hutton, Victor Mature, June Havoc, Jane Nigh, William Demarest, William Talman, Art Smith, Raymond Walburn | Comedy, Musical, Crime | NULL | |||
| Red-Headed Stranger | 1986 | William Wittliff | ★½ | 105 | Limp drama, screenwriter Wittliff's directorial debut, about a preacher (Nelson), his wayward wife (Fairchild, in an awful performance), a 'good woman' (Ross), and some hooligans that have overridden his town. Adapted from Willie's 1975 album . . . and proof that hit records don't necessarily make good movies. Shot in 1984. | tt0091834 | [R] | Willie Nelson, Morgan Fairchild, Katharine Ross, Royal Dano, Sonny Carl Davis | Western | NULL | ||
| Red-Headed Woman | 1932 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 79 | Harlow has never been sexier than in this precensorship story (by Anita Loos) of a gold-digging secretary who sets out to corral her married boss (Morris). | tt0023385 | Jean Harlow, Chester Morris, Una Merkel, Lewis Stone, May Robson, Leila Hyams, Charles Boyer | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Redacted | 2007 | Brain De Palma | ★½ | 90 | Misguided attempt by De Palma (who made CASUALTIES OF WAR on a much bigger scale) to tell stories of the Iraq war through the eyes of various media outlets. The focus is on a group of out-of-control U.S. soldiers who eventually rape and murder a teenage girl with cameras rolling. Unsavory aspects of the story overwhelm it, while the uniformly amateurish acting completely defeats whatever message was intended. | tt0937237 | [R] | Patrick Carroll, Rob Devaney, Daniel Stewart Sherman, Izzy Diaz, Mike Figueroa, Ty Jones, Qazi Freihat, Kel O’Neill | War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Redbelt | 2008 | David Mamet | ★★★ | 99 | Absorbing drama about a jujitsu instructor (Ejiofor) whose devotion to the purity of martial arts is put to the test when he’s swept into a world of corruption involving fight promoters, a movie star, and his sleazy producer. Striking if densely plotted storyline takes place in a typically unique Mamet environment. Ejiofor is terrific as usual. | tt1012804 | [R] | Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice Braga, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer, Rodrigo Santoro, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Max Martini, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ray Mancini, Jose Pablo Cantillo, John Machado, J. J. Johnston, Jack Wallace | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Redhead From Wyoming | 1952 | Lee Sholem | ★★½ | 80 | Saucy Western pepped up by exuberant O'Hara as girl who falls in love with sheriff while protecting local cattle rustler. | tt0045077 | Maureen O'Hara, Alexander Scourby, Alex Nicol, Jack Kelly, William Bishop, Dennis Weaver | Western | NULL | |||
| The Redhead and the Cowboy | 1950 | Leslie Fenton | ★★½ | 82 | Action-packed Civil War Western with dance-hall girl Fleming acting as Confederate courier; along the way, she gets apolitical cowboy Ford involved in her cause. | tt0042881 | Glenn Ford, Rhonda Fleming, Edmond O'Brien, Morris Ankrum | Western | NULL | |||
| Redline | 2007 | Andy Cheng | 💣 | 95 | Real estate developer Daniel Sadek financed, cowrote, produced, and provided his exotic car collection for this slow and curious FAST AND THE FURIOUS wannabe. Gorgeous woman who happens to be an ace driver gets caught up in the world of illegal drag racing competitions in which filthy-rich men with nothing better to do wager big bucks on the outcome. When she's not pushing the pedal to the metal, she fronts a band singing lyrics like, “I want to be your car so you can ride me tonight.” Steer clear of this one. | tt0780595 | [PG-13] | Nadia Bjorlin, Eddie Griffin, Angus Macfadyen, Tim Matheson, Nathan Phillips, Jesse Johnson, Denyce Lawton. | Action | NULL | ||
| Redneck | 1972 | Silvio Narizzano | 💣 | 89 | Tawdry, sadistic crime drama about two inept (and unappealing) robbers on the lam who inadvertently 'kidnap' a young boy. Unpleasant and unbelievable. | tt0069248 | [R] | Franco Nero, Telly Savalas, Mark Lester, Ely Galleani, Duilio Del Prete, Maria Michi | Italian-British | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Reds | 1981 | Warren Beatty | ★★★ | 200 | Sprawling, ambitious film about American idealist/journalist John Reed's involvement with Communism, the Russian Revolution, and a willful, free-thinking woman named Louise Bryant. Provocative political saga is diffused, and overcome at times, by surprisingly conventional, often sappy approach to the love story (climaxed by Bryant's Little Eva-like journey to Russia over the ice floes). Interesting but wildly overpraised film won Oscars for Beatty as Best Director (he also produced and coscripted), Stapleton as Best Supporting Actress, Vittorio Storaro for Best Cinematography. | tt0082979 | [PG] | Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosinski, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, Maureen Stapleton, Nicolas Coster, Gene Hackman, William Daniels, Max Wright, M. Emmet Walsh, Ian Wolfe, Bessie Love, George Plimpton, Dolph Sweet, Josef Sommer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Reefer Madness | 1936 | Louis J. Gasnier | 💣 | 67 | The granddaddy of all 'Worst' movies; one of that era's many low-budget 'Warning!' films depicts (in now-hilarious fashion) how one puff of pot can lead clean-cut teenagers down the road to insanity and death. Miles' frenzied piano solo is a highlight, but in this more enlightened age, overall effect is a little sad. Later a stage musical, which was filmed for cable TV in 2005. Originally titled THE BURNING QUESTION, then TELL YOUR CHILDREN; beware shorter prints. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028346 | Dave O'Brien, Dorothy Short, Warren McCollum, Lillian Miles, Carleton Young, Thelma White | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Reel Paradise | 2005 | Steve James | ★★½ | 111 | Famed film exhibitor John Pierson and wife-partner Janet spend a year on Fiji's remote Taveuni showing free films to the locals-from classics to JACKASS: THE MOVIE, though their precocious son thinks JACKASS is a classic. Not in the same league as James' earlier documentaries (HOOP DREAMS, STEVIE), yet its meanderings aren't without interest. The family absorbs as much of the local (anti-New York) culture as the culture absorbs from the movies. Must viewing for buffs, in any event. | tt0405271 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Reet, Petite and Gone | 1947 | William Forest Crouch. | ★★ | 69 | Plenty of vintage music (including Jordan's 'Let the Good Times Roll,' 'Ain't That Just Like a Woman,' and the title number) enlivens this so-so all-black musical romance. Jordan plays two characters, a wealthy musical performer on his deathbed and his bandleader offspring, with the father plotting to match the son with the daughter of his lost love. | tt0039759 | Louis Jordan, June Richmond, Milton Woods, Bea Griffith, David Bethea, Lorenzo Tucker, Vanita Smythe, Mabel Lee, Dots Johnson. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Ref | 1994 | Ted Demme | ★★½ | 93 | A cocky cat burglar on the lam holds a squabbling yuppie couple hostage on Christmas Eve and quickly learns he's gotten himself into a no-win situation. This caustic comedy is meatier than you might expect, with top-notch performances by Spacey and Davis, but it gets unexpectedly serious— then silly and illogical. Still worth a look. Director Demme is Jonathan's nephew. | tt0110955 | [R] | Denis Leary, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey, Robert J. Steinmiller/Jr., Glynis Johns, Raymond J. Barry, Richard Bright, Christine Baranski, Bill Raymond, Bob Ridgely, B. D. Wong | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Reflecting Skin | 1990 | Philip Ridley | ★★½ | 95 | Weird, jarring chiller, set in rural Idaho in the early '50s, about a boy (Cooper) who's convinced that the young widow who lives next door is a vampire. He's especially distraught when his older brother becomes her lover. Offbeat to say the least, and not for all tastes, but still worth a look. | tt0100469 | Viggo Mortensen, Lindsay Duncan, Jeremy Cooper, Sheila Moore, Duncan Fraser, David Longworth | British-Canadian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Reflection of Fear | 1973 | William A. Fraker | ★★½ | 89 | Muddled story of beautiful girl who becomes the crucial link in chain of violence and murder. | tt0070599 | [PG] | Robert Shaw,Mary Ure, Sally Kellerman, Sondra Locke, Signe Hasso | Horror | NULL | ||
| Reflections in a Golden Eye | 1967 | John Huston | ★★½ | 108 | Kinky version of Carson McCullers' novel about homosexual army officer in the South. Not really very good, but cast, subject matter, and Huston's pretentious handling make it fascinating on a minor level. | tt0062185 | Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Brian Keith, Julie Harris, Robert Forster, Zorro David | Drama | NULL | |||
| Reform School Girl | 1957 | Edward Bernds | 💣 | 71 | Hokey time-capsule about a pretty teen from 'the other side of the tracks' (Castillo). After a fatal car mishap, she ends up in reform school. Will she or won't she squeal on the party responsible for her dilemma? Remade for cable TV in 1994. | tt0050890 | Gloria Castillo, Ross Ford, Edward Byrnes, Ralph Reed, Luana Anders, Jack Kruschen, Sally Kellerman | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Reform School Girl | 1994 | Jonathan Kaplan | Average TV Movie | 83 | The 1950s: Unable to prove her innocence, teenaged Donna lands in juvie jail, where the unethical warden coerces her into track and field events. Some directorial flair, but pacing is off and acting is stylistically uneven, but with surprisingly tender lesbian love scenes. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old AmericanInternational pictures; partly a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. | tt0110957 | Aimee Graham, Teresa DiSpina, Carolyn Seymour, Matt LeBlanc, Nick Chinlund, Harry Northup | Drama | NULL | |||
| Reform School Girls | 1986 | Tom DeSimone | ★½ | 94 | Comic strip- styled spoof of women's prison films offers some knowing winks (director DeSimone also made 1982's THE CONCRETE JUNGLE), but the level of exaggeration is a turnoff, such as imagining veteran rock singer Williams as a teenager. Carol is the innocent young girl learning the ropes in prison, while chubby Ast, an Andy Warhol film graduate, was born to play a prison matron— yet even her campy acting becomes monotonous. | tt0091836 | [R] | Linda Carol, Wendy O. Williams, Pat Ast, Sybil Danning, Charlotte McGinnis, Sherri Stoner, Denise Gordy, Tiffany Schwartz | Action | NULL | ||
| The Reformer and the Redhead | 1950 | Norman Panama, Melvin Frank | ★★½ | 90 | Sassy shenanigans with lawyer-mayoral candidate Powell becoming involved with spunky, idealistic zookeeper's daughter Allyson during controversial political campaign. Powell and Allyson were real-life Mr. and Mrs. at this time. Spring Byington provides the voice of Allyson's mother. | tt0042883 | June Allyson, Dick Powell, David Wayne, Cecil Kellaway, Ray Collins, Robert Keith, Marvin Kaplan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Reg'lar Fellers | 1941 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★ | 66 | Extremely dated comedy, based on Gene Byrnes' popular comic strip, chronicling the escapades of some typically all-American youngsters who help soften miserable, kid-hating Padden. 'Alfalfa' fans will not be disappointed. | tt0034089 |
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Billy Lee, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Buddy Boles, Janet Dempsey, Sarah Padden, Roscoe Ates, Dick Van Patten, Joyce Van Patten | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Regarding Henry | 1991 | Mike Nichols | ★★ | 107 | High-powered lawyer suffers brain injury and has to start his life all over again— learning to walk, talk, and ultimately, return to his family and job. Potentially interesting story is given polished presentation, but is so placid, and so unrealistic— even trivializing the recovery process— it never achieves any emotional impact. | tt0102768 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Annette Bening, Bill Nunn, Mikki Allen, Donald Moffat, Nancy Marchand, Elizabeth Wilson, Robin Bartlett, John Leguizamo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Regeneration | 1915 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 72 | Still stirring and cinematically impressive early gangster film (and social tract) charting the plight and fate of Owen (Fellowes), a surly, charismatic Irish hood, and how his life is affected by Mamie Rose (Nilsson), a young woman who deserts her upper-class roots for life as 'a settlement worker in the gangster's district.' This vividly realistic melodrama, which portrays the effect of poverty on the human spirit, was filmed on location in N.Y.C.'s Bowery. | tt0005960 | Rockcliffe Fellowes, Anna Q. Nilsson, William Sheer, Carl Harbaugh, James Marcus, Maggie Weston | Drama | NULL | |||
| Regeneration | Behind the Lines | 1997 | Gillies MacKinnon | ★★½ | 96 | Famed WW1 poet and decorated British war hero Siegfried Sassoon is declared mentally unstable and sent to a military psychiatric hospital after publishing a denouncement of the war. Strong acting and superb cinematography enhance this talky, stagy adaptation of Pat Barker's prize-winning novel. Pryce is exceptional as an army doctor who tries to heal the soldiers' wounded psyches. Aka BEHIND THE LINES. | tt0120001 | [R] | Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, Jonny Lee Miller, Stuart Bunce, David Hayman, Tanya Allen, John Neville | British-Canadian | Drama, War | NULL |
| Reggae Sunsplash | 1980 | Stefan Paul | ★★½ | 107 | OK documentary, filmed at the '79 Sunsplash II Festival in Montego Bay, benefits from commanding presences of Marley and company. | tt0204587 | Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Third World, Burning Spear | German-Jamaican | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Registered Nurse | 1934 | Robert Florey. | ★★ | 63 | Life and love in a big-city hospital, Warner Bros. style. Pretty raw pre-Code yarn, more interesting for its hard-boiled characters and dialogue than its story. | tt0025709 | Bebe Daniels, Lyle Talbot, John Halliday, Irene Franklin, Sidney Toler, Gordon Westcott, Minna Gombell, Beulah Bondi, Vince Barnett, Mayo Methot, Louise Beavers. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Reign Over Me | 2007 | Mike Binder | ★★½ | 128 | Prosperous N.Y.C. dentist (Cheadle) spots his old college roommate (Sandler) on the street one day and presses him for a reunion. It turns out that Sandler has become an inscrutable, obsessive-compulsive hermit since his wife and daughter died on one of the ill-fated flights on 9/11. Writer-director Binder (who plays Sugarman) tries to cover too much ground, cluttering the central story with superfluous characters and trying to create a parallel character portrait for Cheadle . . . but Sandler's dramatic performance is genuinely impressive. | tt0490204 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler, Saffron Burrows, Donald Sutherland, Robert Klein, Melinda Dillon, Mike Binder, Jonathan Banks, Rae Allen. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Reign of Fire | 2002 | Rob Bowman | ★★ | 101 | Bleak tale takes place, for the most part, in the year 2020, when the world has been decimated by fire-breathing dragons. One enclave, holed up in a British castle, tries desperately to survive; then along comes an American military man with a mission (McConaughey) and his troops, who favor an aggressive rather than passive approach. It's hard to care about any of the characters in this dour story. | tt0253556 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco, Gerard Butler, Scott James Moutter, David Kennedy, Alexander Siddig, Ned Dennehy, Alice Krige | British-Irish-U.S. | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Reign of Terror | The Black Book | 1949 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 89 | Vivid costume drama set during French Revolution, with valuable diary eluding both sides of battle. Moss is particularly good as the elegantly, eloquently evil Foucher. Stunningly photographed by John Alton; every shot is a painting! Aka THE BLACK BOOK. | tt0041796 | Robert Cummings, Arlene Dahl, Richard Hart, Richard Basehart, Arnold Moss, Beulah Bondi | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Reincarnation of Peter Proud | 1975 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 104 | The soul of a man murdered years before roosts inside Sarrazin, in moderately gripping version of Max Ehrlich's book, adapted by the author. | tt0073615 | [R] | Michael Sarrazin, Jennifer O'Neill, Margot Kidder, Cornelia Sharpe, Paul Hecht, Tony Stephano | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Reindeer Games | 2000 | John Frankenheimer | ★½ | 104 | After five years in prison, a car thief assumes the identity of his cell-mate and takes up with his comrade's gorgeous pen-pal girlfriend. Soon he finds himself in a quicksand pit of crime. Ridiculous story isn't believable for one minute, especially with the shallow performances of its usually capable cast (who all seem to be playing 'grown-up' parts from an old movie script). Also available in 124m. director's cut. | tt0184858 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Dennis Farina, James Frain, Donal Logue, Danny Trejo, Isaac Hayes, Gordon Tootoosis, Clarence Williams III | Crime, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| The Reivers | The Yellow Winton Flyer | 1969 | Mark Rydell | ★★★½ | 107 | Picaresque film from Faulkner novel about young boy (Vogel) in 1905 Mississippi who takes off for adventurous automobile trip with devil-may-care McQueen and buddy Crosse. Completely winning Americana, full of colorful episodes, equally colorful characters. Screenplay by Irving Ravetch (who also produced) and Harriet Frank, Jr. Aka THE YELLOW WINTON FLYER. | tt0064886 | [M] | Steve McQueen, Sharon Farrell, Will Geer, Michael Constantine, Rupert Crosse, Mitch Vogel, Lonny Chapman, Juano Hernandez, Clifton James, Ruth White, Dub Taylor, Allyn Ann McLerie, Diane Ladd; narrated by Burgess Meredith | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Relative Values | 2000 | Eric Styles | ★★ | 88 | The mother of an English aristocrat schemes to break up his engagement to a sexy Hollywood movie star in this bland adaptation of Noel Coward's drawing-room comedy. The cast is game, headed by Andrews in her first big-screen role in almost a decade, but the direction is unimaginative and the farcical plot (hingeing on 1950s British class distinctions) makes much ado about very little. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0210943 | [PG] | Julie Andrews, Edward Atterton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, William Baldwin, Sophie Thompson, Colin Firth, Stephen Fry | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Relentless | 1948 | George Sherman | ★★★ | 93 | Good, solid Western story of a man who must catch a wily horse thief in order to prove his own innocence. Young produced this, uncredited, with his Father Knows Best partner Eugene Rodney. | tt0040726 | Robert Young, Marguerite Chapman, Willard Parker, Barton MacLane, Akim Tamiroff, Mike Mazurki | Western | NULL | |||
| Relentless | 1989 | William Lustig | ★½ | 93 | Nelson gives his one memorable performance to date, as a serial killer. Otherwise thoroughly routine, and that goes double for the finale. Followed by three sequels, beginning with DEAD ON: RELENTLESS II. | tt0098184 | [R] | Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia, Leo Rossi, Meg Foster, Patrick O'Bryan, Ken Lerner, Mindy Seeger, Angel Tompkins | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Relic | 1997 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 110 | As a big natural history museum hosts a glittering reception, a monster runs amok in the shadows. Yes, it's 'ALIEN in a museum,' but not bad. The monster, done both 'live' and by computer graphics, is especially impressive, but the explanation for it is laughable. | tt0120004 | [R] | Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore, Clayton Rohner, Chi Muoi Lo, Thomas Ryan, Robert Lesser, Lewis Van Bergen, Constance Towers, John Kapelos, Audra Lindley | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Religulous | 2008 | Larry Charles | ★★½ | 101 | Documentary (of sorts) follows talk show host/comedian/devout atheist Bill Maher's quest to expose the lies and contradictions inherent in organized religion. Provocative, often entertaining film provides some valid insights but never cuts deep enough, content to score laughs off of easy interview targets (as well as snippets from Hollywood movies) and becoming as didactic as the religious fundamentalism it abhors. | tt0815241 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Reluctant Astronaut | 1967 | Edward Montagne | ★★ | 101 | Featherweight comedy dealing with hicksville alumnus Knotts becoming title figure; predictable and often not even childishly humorous. For kids only. | tt0062190 | Don Knotts, Leslie Nielsen, Joan Freeman, Arthur O'Connell, Jesse White | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Reluctant Debutante | 1958 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 94 | Bright drawing-room comedy which Harrison, Kendall, and Lansbury make worthwhile: British parents must present their Americanized daughter to society. Remade as WHAT A GIRL WANTS. | tt0052126 | Rex Harrison, Kay Kendall, John Saxon, Sandra Dee, Angela Lansbury | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Reluctant Dragon | 1941 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 72 | Robert Benchley gets a tour of the Walt Disney studio in this pleasant feature that incorporates a number of first-rate cartoon sequences (Baby Weems, The Reluctant Dragon), offers some interesting glimpses of studio at work. Clarence 'Ducky' Nash and Florence Gill do cartoon voices, Ward Kimball animates Goofy, Frances Gifford shows Benchley around, and young Alan Ladd appears as one of the story men. Opens in b&w, turns to beautiful Technicolor hues. | tt0034091 | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||||
| The Reluctant Saint | 1962 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 105 | Loosely biographical account of St. Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th-century Franciscan whose modest upbringing and simple intellect would never have foretold the religious life he would lead (or the great number of miracles he would perform). Unusual fare; worth a look. | tt0056403 | Maximilian Schell, Ricardo Montalban, Lea Padovani, Akim Tamiroff, Harold Goldblatt, Mark Damon | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Reluctant Spy | 1963 | Jean-Charles Dudrumet | ★★½ | 93 | Marais properly spoofs James Bond spy thrillers as secret agent chasing around the Continent. | tt0057151 |
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Jean Marais, Genevieve Page, Maurice Teynac, Jean Gallar | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Reluctant Widow | 1951 | Bernard Knowles | ★½ | 86 | Mild drama set in late 18th century, of governess Kent marrying rogue Rolfe. | tt0043963 | Jean Kent, Guy Rolfe, Kathleen Byron, Paul Dupuis | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Remains of the Day | 1993 | James Ivory | ★★★½ | 135 | HOWARDS END leads are reunited as servants at a baronial English country home— Hopkins a self-sacrificing butler who serves with the utmost discretion, and Thompson an efficient and bright head housekeeper. The two collide over work— and especially over overtures of romance. Looming over these personal stories is the (fascinating) larger tale of the misguided lord of the manor (Fox), who is excitedly making alliances with Nazi sympathizers. Kazuo Ishiguro's novel was adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and though film can't quite dispel its literary origin, even almost-great Merchant-Ivory is better than most anything else around. Coproduced by Mike Nichols. | tt0107943 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan, Hugh Grant, Michael Lonsdale, Tim Pigott-Smith, Patrick Godfrey | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Remains to Be Seen | 1953 | Don Weis | ★★★ | 89 | Disarming comedy based on Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse play, with Allyson a singer and Johnson the apartment-house manager involved in swank East Side N.Y.C. murder; script by Sidney Sheldon. | tt0046235 | Van Johnson, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury, Louis Calhern, Dorothy Dandridge | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Remarkable Andrew | 1942 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 80 | Far-fetched but well-played fantasy in which small-town bookkeeper Holden is falsely accused of embezzlement; the ghost of Pres. Andrew Jackson (Donlevy), among other pillars of U.S. history, comes to his rescue. Script by Dalton Trumbo, based on his novel. | tt0035247 | William Holden, Ellen Drew, Brian Donlevy, Montagu Love, George Watts, Brandon Hurst, Gilbert Emery, Rod Cameron, Richard Webb, Frances Gifford | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker | 1959 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 87 | Prodded along by Webb's brittle manner, period tale unfolds of Pennsylvania businessman who leads dual life, with two families (17 kids in all). | tt0053214 | Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Charles Coburn, Ray Stricklyn, Jill St. John, Ron Ely, David Nelson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rembrandt | 1936 | Alexander Korda | ★★★½ | 84 | Handsome bio of Dutch painter, full of visual tableaux and sparked by Laughton's excellent performance. One of Gertrude Lawrence's rare film appearances. | tt0028167 | Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Gertrude Lawrence, Edward Chapman, Roger Livesey, Raymond Huntley, John Clements, Marius Goring, Abraham Sofaer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Remedy for Riches | 1940 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★ | 60 | There's more comedy than drama in this moderately entertaining Dr. Christian series entry. A swindler 'uncovers' oil in dear old River's End, and the townsfolk line up to invest their hard-earned savings. | tt0032980 |
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Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Edgar Kennedy, Jed Prouty, Walter Catlett, Maude Eburne, Robert Baldwin, Warren Hull | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Remember Last Night? | 1935 | James Whale | ★★½ | 81 | Freewheeling, perpetually tipsy couple find themselves— and their society friends— involved with multiple murders; detective Arnold tries to get them to take matters seriously enough to solve the mystery. Lightheaded comedy-whodunit is more shrill than funny, though stellar cast of character actors and Whale's trademarked stylistics make it worth watching. | tt0026921 | Edward Arnold, Constance Cummings, Robert Young, Sally Eilers, Robert Armstrong, Reginald Denny, Monroe Owsley, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Arthur Treacher | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Remember Me | 2010 | Allen Coulter | ★★★ | 113 | Emotionally wounded son (Pattinson) of an aloof Wall Street lawyer (Brosnan) gets a shot at redemptive love with a lovely classmate (de Ravin) who has endured a devastating tragedy. That's really all you should know before seeing this unusually affecting yet understated drama, which builds to a surprising, and surprisingly potent, finale. | tt1403981 | [PG-13] | Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Lena Olin, Tate Ellington, Ruby Jerins, Kate Burton, Martha Plimpton | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Remember Me, My Love | 2003 | Gabriele Muccino. | ★★½ | 125 | Italian domestic drama centered on life, loves, and longings of a family in emotional crisis. The father carries on with a former flame, the daughter wants to be a scantily clad star on a sleazy TV show, the wife wants to resume her dormant acting career, etc. Soapy and overheated at times, but human qualities come through in this sometimes touching story from the director of the superior THE LAST KISS. | tt0323807 | Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Laura Morante, Nicoletta Romanoff, Monica Bellucci, Silvio Muccino, Gabriele Lavia, Enrico Silvestrin. | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Remember My Name | 1978 | Alan Rudolph | ★★★ | 96 | Dreamlike film presents fragmented story of woman returning from prison, determined to disrupt her ex-husband's new life. Moody, provocative film definitely not for all tastes; striking blues vocals on soundtrack by Alberta Hunter. Produced by Robert Altman. Woodard's film debut. | tt0078150 | [R] | Geraldine Chaplin, Anthony Perkins, Moses Gunn, Berry Berenson, Jeff Goldblum, Timothy Thomerson, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Franz | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Remember the Day | 1941 | Henry King | ★★★ | 85 | Pleasant, tug-at-your-heartstrings Americana, told in flashback, about the effect teacher Colbert has on a student (Croft, who grows up to be presidential nominee Shepperd). Payne is the fellow teacher with whom Colbert falls in love. | tt0034092 | Claudette Colbert, John Payne, John Shepperd (Shepperd Strudwick), Ann Todd, Douglas Croft, Jane Seymour, Anne Revere | Drama | NULL | |||
| Remember the Night | 1940 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 94 | Beautifully made, sentimental story of prosecutor MacMurray falling in love with shoplifter Stanwyck during Christmas court recess; builds masterfully as it creates a very special mood. Script by Preston Sturges. | tt0032981 | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, Sterling Holloway | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Remember the Titans | 2000 | Boaz Yakin | ★★★ | 113 | Corny but crowd-pleasing tale of a black man who's named to replace a well-respected football coach at a Virginia high school in the early 1970s . . . and how that coach gets his team to break down racial barriers and work together. Pat and manipulative, but still effective thanks in large part to the power of Washington's performance. Based on a true story. | tt0210945 | [PG] | Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Donald Faison, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Ethan Suplee, Nicole Ari Parker, Hayden Panettiere, Kip Pardue, Craig Kirkwood | Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| Remember? | 1939 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★ | 83 | Blah comedy about bickering couple taking potion which gives them amnesia— whereupon they fall in love all over again. Nice try, but no cigar. | tt0031845 | Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Lew Ayres, Billie Burke, Reginald Owen, Laura Hope Crews, Henry Travers, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins . . . | 1985 | Guy Hamilton | ★★½ | 121 | Bubble-gum action-adventure yarn based on the popular Destroyer books by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy, with Ward a N.Y.C. cop recruited by secret society out to avenge society's wrongs (motto: 'Thou shalt not get away with it') . . . then he's trained for job by inscrutable Korean Sinanju master (Grey). Comes close to scoring bull's-eye but misfires too many times— and goes on too long. | tt0089901 | [PG-13] | Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley, J.A. Preston, George Coe, Charles Cioffi, Kate Mulgrew, Michael Pataki, William Hickey | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Remote Control | 1930 | ★★½ | 65 | Haines, brash as ever, plays a radio station program director who unmasks a bank robber posing as a clairvoyant, who uses the airwaves to broadcast coded messages to his gang. Radio station backdrop is fun, and so are unbilled cameos by Cliff Edwards, Roscoe Ates, and Benny Rubin, who plays a cowboy actor called Dangerous Dan the Jew! Nick Grinde, Malcolm St. Clair, and Edward Sedgwick were among the uncredited directors. | tt0021294 | William Haines, Mary Doran, John Miljan, Polly Moran, J. C. Nugent, Edward Nugent. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||||
| Renaissance | 2006 | Christian Volckman | ★★½ | 105 | The imagery is the star of this noir-ish animated action yarn set in Paris in 2054; the storyline, which is difficult to follow, involves a cop who sets out to find a kidnapped genetics researcher who apparently has pieced together the 'protocol for immortality.' The motion-capture animation is stark and occasionally stunning, making the film look like a graphic novel come to life . . . but after a while it grows tiresome, as the visuals outweigh the story and characterizations. | tt0386741 | [R] | Voices of Daniel Craig, Catherine McCormack, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm | French-British-Luxembourg | Animation, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Renaissance Man | By the Book | 1994 | Penny Marshall | ★★½ | 129 | A man whose life and career have hit a stone wall gets hired to teach some of the Army's least intelligent recruits some basics of reading. Overlong, overtly corny 'feel-good' movie, bolstered by sincere and persuasive performances. Also stands as the kindest portrait of the U.S. Army in recent history. | tt0110971 | [PG-13] | Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar, Cliff Robertson, Lillo Brancato/Jr., Stacey Dash, Kadeem Hardison, Richard T. Jones, Khalil Kain, Peter Simmons, Greg Sporleder, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Wright, Ed Begley/Jr., Isabella Hoffmann | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Renaldo and Clara | 1978 | Bob Dylan | 💣 | 292 | Self-important, poorly made fictionalized account of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue. Dylan plays Renaldo; his wife Sara is Clara. Pretentious and obnoxious. Dylan later cut it to 122m.; what's left is mostly concert footage, but it doesn't help much. Sam Shepard's first film. | tt0078151 | [R] | Bob Dylan, Sara Dylan, Sam Shepard, Ronee Blakley, Ronnie Hawkins, Joni Mitchell, Harry Dean Stanton, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez, Allen Ginsberg, Mick Ronson, Roberta Flack | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rendez-vous | 1985 | André Téchiné | ★★★ | 82 | Stylish melodrama perceptively investigates the borderline between play-acting and real life as stage actress (Binoche) becomes involved with obsessive live-sex show star Wilson and his mentor, a renowned director (Trintignant). Morbid mood and extreme sex scenes may repel some audiences; stunning wide-screen photography will suffer on TV. | tt0089902 | Juliette Binoche, Lambert Wilson, Wadeck Stanczak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Olimpia Carlisi, Dominique Lavanant | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rendez-vous de Juillet | 1949 | Jacques Becker. | ★★★ | 112 | Lively portrait of young Parisians who reject bourgeois conventions and embrace movies, theater, and le jazz hot while becoming enmeshed in love affairs and searching to establish their identities. Perhaps the first film to portray the emerging youth culture of postwar Europe. Watching it, one gets a vivid sense of time and place. Watch closely for an unbilled 18-year-old Capucine. U.S. jazz trumpeter Rex Stewart has a specialty as himself. Becker coscripted; photographed by Claude Renoir. | tt0041800 | Daniel Gélin, Brigitte Auber, Nicole Courcel, Pierre Trabaud, Maurice Ronet, Philippe Mareuil, Gaston Modot, Louis Seigner. | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rendezvous | 1935 | William K. Howard | ★★ | 91 | OK WW1 intrigue, with Powell assigned to office work instead of combat during war, running into notorious spy ring. Russell's 'comedy' character is only obtrusive here. Remade as PACIFIC RENDEZVOUS (1942). | tt0026922 | William Powell, Rosalind Russell, Binnie Barnes, Lionel Atwill, Cesar Romero | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rendezvous With Annie | 1946 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 89 | Frantic comedy concerning G.I. Albert stationed in England who goes AWOL for a few days to see wife back in the States; engaging cast and some funny moments. | tt0038876 |
|
Eddie Albert, Faye Marlowe, Gail Patrick, Phillip Reed, C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Walburn, William Frawley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rendezvous at Midnight | 1935 | Christy Cabanne. | ★★ | 64 | Fair whodunit of city commissioner being murdered just as his replacement (Bellamy) begins to investigate his corrupt administration. | tt0026923 | Ralph Bellamy, Valerie Hobson, Catherine Doucet, Irene Ware, Helen Jerome Eddy. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Rendezvous in Paris | 1996 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 100 | Three thoroughly enchanting tales of love, trust and ambivalence, set in the lush urban landscape of Paris. Whether it be a young woman deciding if her boyfriend can be trusted, an 'almost' affair between an engaged female student and another man, or a joyless painter and his potentially amorous encounters, these tales are simply told, with a complexity just below the surface that completely. | tt0114266 | Clara Bellar, Antoine Basler, Aurore Rauscher, Serge Renko, Michael Kraft, Benedicte Loyen | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rendition | 2007 | Gavin Hood | ★★ | 122 | Gyllenhaal, a C.I.A. analyst in North Africa, is troubled by the U.S. government’s clandestine interrogation (torture) methods—especially since the foreign-born alleged terrorist “rendered” here looks to be an upstanding American citizen. Witherspoon plays the (thankless) smaller role of the suspect’s anxious wife back home. Meanwhile, a Third World Romeo-and-Juliet love story takes up an inordinate amount of screen time. Topical action film tries to be both cerebral and exciting, but the central theme gets buried. U.S. filmmaking debut for Hood, South African director of the Oscar-winning TSOTSI. | tt0804522 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard, Omar Metwally, Igal Naor, Zineb Oukach, Moa Khouas, J. K. Simmons, Bob Gunton | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Renegade Trail | 1939 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 61 | Escaped convict seeks refuge with estranged wife and son; it remains for Hopalong Cassidy to rescue the lady and subdue con men, in a fine climactic chase. Hampered only by mawkish scenes involving the boy, Sonny Bupp (who would play Charles Foster Kane III two years later). Eddie Dean joins The King's Men for two satisfactory songs. First Hoppy not even nominally derived from a story by Clarence E. Mulford; last entry for Hayes as 'Windy.' | tt0031847 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, George Hayes, Charlotte Wynters, Russell Hopton, Roy Barcroft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Renegades | 1989 | Jack Sholder | ★★ | 106 | An undercover cop and a Lakota Indian put aside their differences to team up and chase down a criminal who's done them both wrong. Yet another buddy/cop movie which is just an excuse to keep stuntmen gainfully employed . . . though it does give Sutherland and Phillips a chance to use the gunslinging technique they learned in YOUNG GUNS. | tt0098188 | [R] | Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jami Gertz, Rob Knepper, Bill Smitrovich, Floyd Westerman | Action | NULL | ||
| Reno 911! Miami | 2007 | Robert Ben Garant | ★½ | 84 | If you've heard of Comedy Central's inept crew of cops and are curious to see if they might be the subject for your coming master's or Ph.D. thesis, this off-the-cuff feature (without the cable commercials that keep their bits aptly bite-sized) will serve as an intro. The Reno sheriff's department, in Miami for a convention, is called upon to protect the city when the regular cops are quarantined amid a bioterrorism attack (now, that might be one excuse to watch this movie). Slapdash film never saw a fat joke or masturbation joke it didn't like, though cameos by Paul Rudd and especially Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson are funnier than most of the rest. Coproduced by Danny DeVito, who also appears. | tt0499554 | [R] | Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rent | 2005 | Chris Columbus | ★★½ | 135 | Close friends in N.Y.C.'s East Village are evicted from their apartment, and as their lives are further complicated (by crisscrossing relationships, AIDS, drugs, and other ills) they cling to one another for support. Long-awaited film version of Jonathan Larson's 1986 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical play, a modern spin on La Boheme. Preserves the performances of many original cast members and has some vibrant musical moments, but can't make up its mind if it's a real movie. Attempts to 'open up' the play fall flat, and by the draggy second half there are fade-outs at the end of scenes. A mixed bag. | tt0294870 | [PG-13] | Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermaine Hereida, Idina Menzel, Tracie Thoms, Taye Diggs, Sarah Silverman, Anna Deveare Smith | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rent-a-Cop | 1988 | Jerry London | 💣 | 96 | Chicago dick Reynolds is suspended after his botched hotel drug bust leaves half a dozen dead; Minnelli's eyewitness hooker helps him track down the bullet-happy killer responsible. Burt seems fatigued but is at least easier to take than his costar's lounge-act prostie. | tt0095977 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, James Remar, Richard Masur, Dionne Warwick, Bernie Casey, Robby Benson, Michael Rooker | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Rent-a-Kid | 1995 | Frank Gerber | ★★½ | 89 | When the head of an orphanage takes a vacation, dad Nielsen takes over with a scheme to raise money by renting out children. While predictable, this silly premise is surprisingly and sensitively realized when three children are rented by a hip '90s couple thinking about adopting. A decent family film. | tt0114268 | [G] | Leslie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Matt McCoy, Sherry Miller, Amos Crawley, Cody Jones, Tabitha Lupien, Tony Rosato | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Family, Comedy | NULL | |
| Rentadick | 1972 | Jim Clark | ★★ | 94 | Out of the nether-land between The Goon Show and Monty Python comes this romp written by Python pals John Cleese and Graham Chapman, spoofing formula private-eye flicks. An experimental nerve gas that paralyzes from the waist down has been stolen and Rentadick, Inc. is hired to track down the culprits. | tt0069174 | James Booth, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser, Donald Sinden, Michael Bentine, Richard Briers, Spike Milligan | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Rented Lips | 1987 | Robert Downey | ★★ | 82 | Highly uneven comedy, written and produced by Mull, about a pair of down-on-their-luck educational filmmakers (with films like 'Aluminum, Your Shiny Friend' to their credit) who become involved with a porno film crew. Cast of old pros and familiar faces helps. | tt0095978 | [R] | Martin Mull, Dick Shawn, Jennifer Tilly, Robert Downey/Jr., Mel Welles, Shelley Berman, Edy Williams, June Lockhart, Kenneth Mars, Eileen Brennan, Pat McCormick, Michael Horse | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Repeat Performance | 1947 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 93 | On New Year's Eve, woman gets chance to relive the past year, leading up to the moment she murdered her husband. Fine premise smoothly executed in this B production; Basehart's first film. Remade for TV in 1989 as TURN BACK THE CLOCK. | tt0039761 | Louis Hayward, Joan Leslie, Tom Conway, Benay Venuta, Richard Basehart, Virginia Field | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Repentance | 1987 | Tengiz Abuladze | ★★ | 155 | A beloved city father dies, but why is his body mysteriously— and continuously— exhumed? This allegory about small town smallmindedness and political repression offers a critical look at the Stalin era, but the result bogs down into a talkfest, and is much too obvious and boring. Completed in 1984; the final part of a trilogy, following THE PLEA (1968) and THE WISHING TREE (1977). | tt0093754 | [PG] | Avtandil Makharadze, Zeinab Botsvadze, Ketevan Abuladze, Edisher Giorgobiani, Kakhi Kavsadze | Russian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Replacement Killers | 1998 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★½ | 86 | Chow's American debut is a disappointingly routine action yarn about a hired assassin who— after failing to kill a cop, as ordered— becomes a target himself. Not bad, but nothing special; hardly a star-making vehicle for this established Hong Kong favorite. John Woo executive-produced. | tt0120008 | [R] | Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Jürgen Prochnow, Kenneth Tsang, Til Schweiger | Action | NULL | ||
| The Replacements | 2000 | Howard Deutch | ★★ | 118 | Silly, by-the-numbers sports comedy about a bunch of has-beens, eccentrics, and losers who are recruited by coach Hackman as replacement players in the wake of a pro-football strike. Tired and obvious. If you really want to see Hackman play a coach, rent the basketball drama HOOSIERS. | tt0191397 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones, Jon Favreau, Jack Warden, Rhys Ifans, Michael Jace, Faizon Love, Brett Cullen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Repo Man | 1984 | Alex Cox | ★★½ | 92 | Instant cult-movie about a new-wave punk who takes a job repossessing cars. Mixes social satire and science-fiction with engaging results, though a little of this film goes a long way. Stanton is perfect as a career repo man who shows Estevez the ropes. Michael Nesmith was executive producer. Cox prepared a special version for TV. | tt0087995 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Vonetta McGee, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson, Tracey Walter, Susan Barnes, Fox Harris, The Circle Jerks | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Repo Men | 2010 | Miguel Sapochnik | ★★ | 111 | Set in a future where prized human organs can be purchased on credit, the plot revolves around Law as a no-nonsense organ repo man who suddenly has the tables turned and finds himself hunted when he can't pay the bills for a heart transplant. Intriguing premise with strong social implications is given uninspired execution and fails to make its point. Law and Whitaker have good chemistry but cast is wasted on a script that must have looked better on paper. Eric Garcia coscripted from his novel The Repossession Mambo. Hawk Scope. | tt1053424 | [R] | Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Alice Braga, Liev Schreiber, Carice van Houten, Chandler Canterbury, RZA, Liza Lapira | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Repo! The Genetic Opera | 2008 | Darren Lynn Bousman | 97 | In the year 2056 a population desperate for organ replacements turns to Big Brother–ish corporation GeneCo and its despotic leader Rotti Largo (Sorvino) to survive. Largo has blackmailed his onetime romantic rival (Head) into becoming a “repo man,” harvesting organs as he struggles to shield his teenage daughter (Vega) from the grim world outside her home. Imaginative rock opera with horror movie trappings and comic-book storytelling blended into the mix. Story doesn’t hold up to the very end but it’s still a wild ride. Based on a stage piece by Darren Smith and Terrence Zdunich (who also appears as the singing narrator). | tt0963194 | [R] | Anthony Stewart Head, Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvino, Sarah Brightman, Terrence Zdunich, Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre, Paris Hilton | Musical, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Report to the Commissioner | 1975 | Milton Katselas | ★★½ | 112 | Rookie cop Moriarty accidentally kills undercover cop Blakely and becomes embroiled in department-wide cover-up. Brutal melodrama ranges from realistic to overblown; taut but not always convincing. Script by Abby Mann and Ernest Tidyman. Gere's film debut. | tt0073620 | [PG] | Michael Moriarty, Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Hector Elizondo, Tony King, Michael McGuire, Dana Elcar, Robert Balaban, William Devane, Stephen Elliott, Richard Gere, Vic Tayback, Sonny Grosso | Drama | NULL | ||
| Repossessed | 1990 | Bob Logan | ★½ | 84 | AIRPLANE-style spoof of THE EXORCIST, with Blair herself as a housewife possessed anew by the same demon she was rid of as a child. Too few gags, too many targets, and a poor finale. Blair and Nielsen (as the exorcist) are good. Written by director Logan. | tt0100475 | [PG-13] | Linda Blair, Ned Beatty, Leslie Nielsen, Anthony Starke, Lana Schwab, Thom J. Sharp | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Reprisal! | 1956 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 74 | Madison has to clear himself of murder charge when a powerful rancher is killed. Decent cast in ordinary grade-B Western drama. | tt0049668 | Guy Madison, Felicia Farr, Kathryn Grant, Michael Pate, Edward Platt | Western | NULL | |||
| Reprise | 2006 | Joachim Trier | ★★½ | 107 | Visually kinetic saga of two self-absorbed boyhood friends who share a passion for an elusive Norwegian author and aspire to become successful novelists themselves. How they deal with success and failure, socially and professionally, and how fate deals with them (as intoned by an omnipresent narrator) is the crux of this bold, nonlinear feature inspired, it would seem, by JULES AND JIM. This received critical acclaim in some circles but it’s hard to care about these characters. Feature debut for director and cowriter Trier. | tt0827517 | [R] | Espen Klouman Høiner, Anders Danielsen Lie, Christian Rubeck, Odd Magnus Williamson, Pål Stokka, Viktoria Winge, Silje Hagen | Norwegian-Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Reptile | 1966 | John Gilling | ★★★ | 90 | Hammer chiller about village girl with strange power to change into snake. Excellent direction, sympathetic characterizations. | tt0060893 | Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniels, Ray Barrett, Jacqueline Pearce | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Reptilicus | 1962 | Sidney Pink | 💣 | 90 | The tail of a prehistoric monster— recently discovered— spawns the full-sized beast. Only good for laughs as script hits every conceivable monster-movie cliché, right to the final shot. Filmed in Denmark. | tt0056405 | Carl Ottosen, Ann Smyrner, Mimi Heinrich, Asbjorn Andersen, Marla Behrens | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Repulsion | 1965 | Roman Polanski | ★★★★ | 105 | Polanski's first English-language film is excellent psychological shocker depicting mental deterioration of sexually repressed girl left alone in her sister's apartment for several days. Hasn't lost a bit of its impact; will leave you feeling uneasy for days afterward. Screenplay by Polanski and Gerard Brach. | tt0059646 | Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, Yvonne Furneaux, James Villiers | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Requiem for Dominic | 1990 | Robert Dornhelm | ★★½ | 90 | True story about Romanian-born Austrian who returns to his homeland to be with his best friend, who's now accused of committing 80 murders. Set at the beginning of the anti-Communist movement in late 1989. Sometimes powerful, highly political film; director Dornhelm was a childhood friend of the accused man depicted in the story. | tt0100476 | Felix Mitterer, Viktoria Schubert, August Schmolzer, Angelica Schutz, Antonia Rados, Nikolas Vogel | Austrian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Requiem for a Dream | 2000 | Darren Aronofsky | ★★ | 102 | While a young man slides deeper into a life of drugs, his mother, living on her own in a Brooklyn apartment, drifts into a dream world after getting hooked on diet pills. Burstyn is great, and Aronofsky uses attention-getting visuals to tell his story, but his characters' descent into hell is difficult to watch (to say the least). You'd expect no less from a collaboration between Aronofsky and Hubert Selby, Jr.; it's based on the latter's novel. Perhaps the only film to ever credit a Refrigerator Puppeteer! Originally shown in unrated version. | tt0180093 | [R] | Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, Louise Lasser, Keith David, Sean Gullette | Drama | NULL | ||
| Requiem for a Gunfighter | 1965 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★½ | 91 | Veteran cast is sole virtue of low-budget Western. Cameron impersonates a judge to ensure that justice is done at murder trial. | tt0059647 | Rod Cameron, Stephen McNally, Mike Mazurki, Olive Sturgess, Tim McCoy, John Mack Brown, Bob Steele, Lane Chandler, Raymond Hatton | Western | NULL | |||
| Requiem for a Heavyweight | 1962 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 100 | Grim account of fighter, Quinn, whose ring career is over, forcing him into corruption and degradation. His sleazy manager Gleason, sympathetic trainer Rooney, and Harris as unrealistic social worker are all fine. Adapted by Rod Serling from his great teleplay; original running time 87m. | tt0056406 | Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris, Nancy Cushman, Madame Spivy, Muhammad Ali | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rescue Dawn | 2007 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 126 | Gripping reworking of Herzog’s 1997 documentary LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, about Dieter Dengler (Bale), a German-born American who came of age in the Black Forest during WW2 and experienced firsthand the destruction of his hometown by American warplanes. Dengler later emigrated to the U.S., became a fighter pilot, and was shot down in 1965 during a top-secret bombing raid over Laos. His obsession to fly results in his being tortured and abused as a prisoner of war. An edge-of-your-seat POW story, this also serves as a commentary about the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. | tt0462504 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Galen Yuen, Abhijati “Muek” Jusakul, Chaiyan “Lek” Chunsittiwat | Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rescue | 1988 | Ferdinand Fairfax | 💣 | 98 | Dumb, obnoxious actioner featuring the exploits of a group of teens as they attempt to liberate their POW dads— and really do Rambo proud in the process. A sick movie aimed at less discriminating 13-year-old boys. | tt0095981 | [PG] | Kevin Dillon, Christina Harnos, Marc Price, Ned Vaughan, Ian Giatti, Charles Haid, Edward Albert | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Rescuers Down Under | 1990 | Hendel Butoy, Mike Gabriel | ★★★ | 74 | Entertaining— if plotty— sequel to the 1977 Disney animated feature, with amorous mice Bernard and Bianca, the unlikely agents from the Rescue Aid Society, traveling to Australia to help a young boy in trouble. Animation buffs will notice considerable computer-assisted animation, especially the villain's demon tractor. | tt0100477 | [G] | Voices of Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, George C. Scott, John Candy, Tristan Rogers, Adam Ryen, Frank Welker | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Rescuers | 1977 | Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, Art Stevens | ★★★ | 76 | Engaging, well-plotted Disney animated feature about Bernard and Bianca, members of the all-mouse Rescue Aid Society, and their efforts to save a little girl who's been kidnaped. Highlighted by some great supporting characters, including Orville the Albatross (voiced by radio's Fibber McGee, Jim Jordan), Evinrude the dragonfly, and the villainess Madame Medusa. Followed by a sequel. | tt0076618 | [G] | Voices of Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page, Joe Flynn, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, Jim Jordan, John McIntire | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Reservation Road | 2007 | Terry George | ★★½ | 102 | A perpetual screwup (Ruffalo) who craves his young son’s love and respect swerves on a Connecticut road one evening and strikes a boy dead right in front of his family—then drives away before anyone can identify him. Balance of the story explores the anguish of the bereaved parents—and the driver’s overpowering but paralyzing guilt. Intelligent, well-acted adaptation of John Burnham Schwartz’s novel (which he wrote with George) . . . but emotionally demanding and tough to watch. | tt0831884 | [R] | Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino, Elle Fanning, John Slattery | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Reservoir Dogs | 1992 | Quentin Tarantino | ★★★ | 99 | Precocious 'shock' debut from writer-director-costar Tarantino echoes THE ASPHALT JUNGLE and THE KILLING: Post-mortem dissection of a fatally bungled jewel robbery boasts at least one unwatchably graphic torture scene and the 1992 movie year's No. 1 mortality rate. Flashy— maybe too flashy— but fundamentally a story well told; nearly every performance is better than expected, with Tierney in his best role since the '40s. Keitel coproduced; Monte Hellman was one of the executive producers. | tt0105236 | [R] | Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Randy Brooks, Kirk Baltz, Eddie Bunker, Quentin Tarantino, voice of Steven Wright | Crime, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Resident Evil | 2002 | Paul Anderson | ★½ | 100 | Bloody, barely coherent high-tech horror film involving commandos who infiltrate The Hive, a top-secret underground research lab. Their mission: to battle a supercomputer gone awry and a mutant virus that has transformed the lab's workers into flesh-eating zombies. This time killer recalls a host of other horror films, from ALIEN to DAWN OF THE DEAD. Based on a popular video game. Followed by a sequel. | tt0120804 | [R] | Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Colin Salmon, Martin Crewes | German-U.S.-French | Action, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Resident Evil: Afterlife | 2010 | Paul W. S. Anderson | ★★ | 97 | Fourth in the series finds superpowered heroine Alice (Jovovich) fleeing Canada and arriving in L.A., taking shelter in a high-rise with a few other survivors of the global apocalypse. They need to escape to a ship nearby, but thousands of cannibalistic zombies are struggling to reach them. It is what it is: a high-tech, well-produced entry in a series based on a video game. Devotees may enjoy it more than others, who, in the unlikely event they watch, will find it repetitious, unimaginative, and routine. 3-D | tt1220634 | [R] | Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe | British-German-French-Canadian | Action, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| Resident Evil: Apocalypse | 2004 | Alexander Witt. | 💣 | 94 | Tiresome follow-up to RESIDENT EVIL plays more like a remake as the T-virus strikes again. As a result, the undead are out and about preying on the uninfected population of Raccoon City. Jovovich agrees to find a scientist's daughter on the condition that he will lead them out of town before a nuclear bomb is dropped. Only for fanatics of the video game. | tt0318627 | [R] | Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Jared Harris, Thomas Kretschmann, Sophie Vavasseur, Mike Epps, Iain Glen. | German-French-British | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Resident Evil: Extinction | 2007 | Russell Mulcahy | ★★ | 94 | Third episode in sci-fi franchise finds the biogenetically enhanced Alice (Jovovich) aiding a dwindling group of non-zombies in a wasteland overrun with virus-infected flesh-eaters. Routine postapocalyptic action-adventure, recalling many ROAD WARRIOR knock-offs of the 1980s. | tt0432021 | [PG-13] | Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Mike Epps | Canadian-British | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |
| The Resident | 2011 | Antti J. Jokinen | 💣 | 91 | Unsure of herself after a romantic breakup, ER doctor Swank moves into a too-economical-to-be-true Brooklyn loft after the building’s young co-owner takes a liking to her. Soon, while she’s at work, he’s using her electric toothbrush, masturbating in her bathtub, and all the other standard Fred Mertz landlord stuff. Appallingly derivative stinker, barely released, goes through the usual litany of psychotic moves before screech-halt ending on a dime. It’s incredible that any double Oscar winner would ever wind up headlining a movie like this. Even Luise Rainer never had it so bad. | tt1334102 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Lee Pace, Christopher Lee, Aunjanue Ellis | British-U.S. | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Respiro | 2002 | Emanuele Crialese | ★★★ | 90 | Thoughtful, colorful account of a peasant family in a small Italian fishing village, focusing on an earthy, moody wife-mother (Golino); her family thinks she has a mental problem, but perhaps her dead-end lifestyle is to blame for her acting out. Memorable finale caps this compelling drama about individuals who are trapped and stifled by their environment. | tt0286516 | [PG-13] | Valeria Golino, Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D’Agostino, Filippo Pucillo, Muzzi Loffredo | Italian-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Rest Is Silence | 1960 | Helmut Kautner | ★★★ | 106 | Updating of Hamlet, with young man trying to prove uncle killed his father. | tt0053217 |
|
Hardy Kruger, Peter Van Eyck, Ingrid Andree, Adelheid Seeck, Rudolf Forster, Boy Gobert | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Restless | 2011 | Gus Van Sant | ★★½ | 91 | Boy meets girl at the funeral of someone neither of them knows. He does this all the time, as he's never gotten over the death of his parents, and communicates regularly with the ghost of a Japanese airman from WW2. She's dying of cancer and is facing it with gumption. This piece of forced whimsy wouldn't work at all if not for the brooding of Hopper (Dennis' son, in his film debut) and, especially, the charm of gamine-like Wasikowska. Its likeliest audience is young incurable romantics who may share the young protagonists' heightened sense of drama. | tt1498569 | [PG-13] | Henry Hopper, Mia Wasikowska, Rio Kase, Schuyler Fisk, Jane Adams, Lusia Strus | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Restless Breed | 1957 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 81 | Usual Western fare of Brady out to get his father's killer. | tt0050893 | Scott Brady, Anne Bancroft, Jim Davis, Scott Marlowe, Evelyn Rudie | Western | NULL | |||
| The Restless Years | 1958 | Helmut Kautner | ★★ | 86 | Overblown relic of its era, an Edward Anhalt-scripted PEYTON PLACE clone, in which illegitimate Dee is overprotected by neurotic mom Wright. Trouble comes when sensitive outsider Saxon— from 'the wrong side of the tracks'— takes an interest in her. | tt0052129 | John Saxon, Sandra Dee, Margaret Lindsay, Teresa Wright, James Whitmore, Luana Patten, Virginia Grey, Jody McCrea | Drama | NULL | |||
| Restoration | 1995 | Michael Hoffman | ★★★ | 117 | In 1600s England, a young doctor torn between duty and debauchery opts for the latter when he becomes a court favorite of King Charles II and a dummy bridegroom for one of the king's mistresses. Vivid period piece with contemporary parallels depends on Downey to draw us in— and he's excellent. Opulent production and an earnest cast buoy this film through its metamorphosis from costume romp to social drama, though it does sag during the second half. Oscar winner for Art Direction and Costume Design. Filmed in England and Wales. | tt0114272 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, Hugh Grant, Hugh McDiarmid | Drama | NULL | ||
| Restrepo | 2010 | Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger | ★★★½ | 93 | Riveting documentary captures the spirit and individual personalities of a U. platoon during its 14-month tour of duty battling the Taliban in Afghanistan. The soldiers share a common humanity; as their stories are told, a question arises: What is being accomplished here? Restrepo is the surname of one of the platoon members, a 20-year-old medic who was killed in action early in the deployment. | tt1559549 | [R] | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Resurrecting the Champ | 2007 | Rod Lurie | ★★★ | 111 | Engrossing drama, loosely based on fact, about a discontented Denver sportswriter who gets a career boost by profiling a onetime heavyweight contender now barely scraping by as a homeless drunk. Movie intelligently deals with issues of personal and professional integrity, with vivid character turns by Alda, Hatcher, and Coyote, but the main event is Jackson’s knockout performance as a bloodied-but-unbowed ex-boxer whose story may be too good to be true. | tt0416185 | [PG-13] | Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Alan Alda, Teri Hatcher, David Paymer, Peter Coyote, Harry J. Lennix | Drama | NULL | ||
| Resurrection | 1980 | Daniel Petrie | ★★★½ | 103 | Beautifully realized story (by Lewis John Carlino) about a woman who returns to life from the brink of death with amazing healing powers. Burstyn's moving performance is the centerpiece of a wonderful and underrated film. | tt0081414 | [PG] | Ellen Burstyn, Sam Shepard, Richard Farnsworth, Roberts Blossom, Clifford David, Pamela Payton-Wright, Eva LeGallienne | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler | 1971 | Bob Wynn | ★★★ | 100 | Offbeat mixture of sci-fi and action. U.S. Senator brought to mysterious clinic in Alamogordo, New Mexico after car crash, is accidentally recognized by TV reporter. Only unconvincing aspect: fadeout explanation by clinic director. Shot on video. | tt0067669 | [G] | Angie Dickinson, Bradford Dillman, James Daly, Leslie Nielsen, Jack Carter | Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Retreat, Hell! | 1952 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 95 | Grim drama chronicling the Marine withdrawal from Korea's Changjin Reservoir in the wake of a massive Chinese offensive. | tt0045082 | Frank Lovejoy, Richard Carlson, Russ Tamblyn, Anita Louise | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Return | 1985 | Andrew Silver | ★★ | 82 | Hokey, superficial tale of Crockett attempting to understand and unravel the mystery of her grandfather's death. Her investigation leads her to his birthplace and a series of bizarre secrets. Interesting premise, disappointing result. | tt0089905 | [R] | Karlene Crockett, John Walcutt, Lisa Richards, Frederic Forrest, Anne Francis | Fantasy, Thriller, Horror, Romance | NULL | ||
| Return From Witch Mountain | 1978 | John Hough | ★★★ | 95 | Sequel to ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN has Davis and Lee kidnapping Eisenmann, hoping to put his special powers to evil use. Good fun from Disney. | tt0078158 | [G] | Bette Davis, Christopher Lee, Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann, Denver Pyle, Jack Soo, Dick Bakalyan | Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Return From the Ashes | 1965 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 105 | Engrossing melodrama of a philandering husband taking up with his stepdaughter when his wife is supposedly killed. Trio of stars lend credibility to the far-fetched proceedings. | tt0059649 | Maximilian Schell, Samantha Eggar, Ingrid Thulin, Herbert Lom, Talitha Pol | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Return From the Past | Gallery of Horror | 1967 | David L. Hewitt | 💣 | 84 | Veteran stars wasted in utter monstrosity; five tales of supernatural told here are five too many. Original titles: GALLERY OF HORROR, DR. TERROR'S GALLERY OF HORRORS, THE BLOOD SUCKERS. | tt0062193 | Lon Chaney, John Carradine, Rochelle Hudson, Roger Gentry | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Return From the Sea | 1954 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 80 | Tepid story of Brand-Sterling romance, set in San Diego. | tt0047405 | Jan Sterling, Neville Brand, John Doucette, Paul Langton, John Pickard. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Return of Bulldog Drummond | 1934 | Walter Summers | ★★★ | 71 | Richardson gives a full-blooded performance as Drummond in this serial-like account of the ex-Army officer on a bloody vigilante campaign to end crime in England by eliminating all foreigners! Wildly entertaining, and a revelation to those only familiar with genteel British cinema. | tt0025710 | Ralph Richardson, Ann Todd, Francis L. Sullivan, Claud Allister, Joyce Kennedy | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Return of Captain Invincible | Legend in Leotards | 1983 | Philippe Mora. | ★★½ | 90 | Bizarre, campy comedy about drunken, derelict ex-superhero persuaded to come out of retirement sounds better than it works. Oddly placed musical numbers seem to aim for ROCKY HORROR ambiance. Aka LEGEND IN LEOTARDS. | tt0086189 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Christopher Lee, Kate Fitzpatrick, Michael Pate. | Australian-U.S. | Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL |
| The Return of Count Yorga | 1971 | Bob Kelljan | ★★½ | 97 | The Count goes out for more blood, wreaking havoc on nearby orphanage. | tt0067671 | [PG] | Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry, Yvonne Wilder | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Return of Doctor X | 1939 | Vincent Sherman | ★★ | 62 | Only Bogart as a creepy lab assistant makes this low-grade sci-fi yarn worth viewing. Despite the title, not a sequel to DOCTOR X. | tt0031851 | Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane, Dennis Morgan, John Litel, Huntz Hall, Wayne Morris | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Return of Don Camillo | 1965 | Julien Duvivier | ★★½ | 115 | Fernandel is again the irresponsible smalltown Italian priest involved in more projects of goodwill. | tt0045081 | Fernandel, Gino Cervi, Charles Vissieres, Edouard Delmont | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Return of Dracula | 1958 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 77 | Low-budget flick about the Count (Lederer) killing a European man, taking his papers, and coming to America to stay with small-town family. Lederer thwarted by mediocre script. TV title: THE CURSE OF DRACULA. | tt0052131 | Francis Lederer, Norma Eberhardt, Ray Stricklyn, Jimmie Baird | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Return of Frank James | 1940 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 92 | Fonda reprises role from 1939 JESSE JAMES in story of attempt to avenge his brother Jesse's death; colorful production was Tierney's film debut. | tt0032983 | Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull, John Carradine, J. Edward Bromberg, Donald Meek | Western | NULL | |||
| The Return of Jack Slade | 1955 | Harold Schuster. | ★★ | 79 | To redeem his father's wrongdoings, Ericson joins the law to fight outlaws; adequate Western. | tt0048552 | John Ericson, Mari Blanchard, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Return of Jafar | 1994 | Toby Shelton, Tad Stones, Alan Zaslove | ★★ | 66 | Made-for-video sequel to Disney's animated smash ALADDIN, with the parrot Iago trying to renounce his evil master and befriend Aladdin and Jasmine. This episodic 'feature' is actually four segments of the Aladdin TV series strung together. Not bad, with some listenable songs, but Robin Williams' comedy is sorely missed (the Genie is voiced here by Castellaneta)— and so is the indefinable 'oomph' of a theatrical production. | tt0107952 | [G] | Voices of Jason Alexander, Jonathan Freeman, Gilbert Gottfried, Liz Callaway, Brad Kane, Dan Castellaneta, Frank Welker | Animation, Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Return of Jesse James | 1950 | Arthur Hilton | ★★½ | 75 | Compact budget Western dealing with rumors that lookalike for outlaw is notorious gunslinger. | tt0042885 | John Ireland, Ann Dvorak, Henry Hull, Hugh O'Brian, Reed Hadley | Western | NULL | |||
| The Return of Josey Wales | 1986 | Michael Parks | 💣 | 90 | Incomprehensible sequel to OUTLAW... , minus Clint Eastwood! Here, Wales takes on, and repeatedly embarrasses, a determined but ineffectual lawman. | tt0331327 | [R] | Michael Parks, Rafael Campos, Bob Magruder, Paco Vela, Everett Sifuentes, Charlie McCoy |
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| The Return of Martin Guerre | 1982 | Daniel Vigne. | ★★★ | 111 | Blockbuster art house hit, based on fact, about a 16th-century peasant who returns to his wife and family a much better person than the misfit he was seven years earlier; could it be that he's really an impostor? No artistic groundbreaker, but a solid romance and history lesson, well acted by the two leads. Special video edition runs 123m. Remade in 1993 as SOMMERSBY. | tt0084589 | Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Roger Planchon, Maurice Jacquemont, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Return of Monte Cristo | 1946 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 91 | Rather ordinary swashbuckler of original count's young descendant, thwarted in attempt to claim inheritance by dastardly villain. | tt0038879 | Louis Hayward, Barbara Britton, George Macready, Una O'Connor, Henry Stephenson | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Return of Mr. Moto | 1965 | Ernest Morris | ★½ | 71 | Silva is miscast as the Oriental sleuth in a drab, lifeless update involving an international crime syndicate out to control world oil production (no, it's not OPEC). | tt0059650 | Henry Silva, Terrence Longdon, Suzanne Lloyd, Marne Maitland, Martin Wyldeck | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Return of October | 1948 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 98 | Moore is wholesome girl who thinks her horse (October) is a reincarnation of her favorite uncle, much to her relatives' consternation. Weird comedy written by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. | tt0040730 | Glenn Ford, Terry Moore, Albert Sharpe, James Gleason, Steve Dunne | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Return of Peter Grimm | 1935 | George Nicholls/ Jr | ★★½ | 82 | Patriarch of a close-knit family returns from the dead to make amends for all he did wrong in his lifetime. Hoary old David Belasco play gets full-blooded treatment from Barrymore and a cast of pros. | tt0026926 | Lionel Barrymore, Helen Mack, Edward Ellis, Donald Meek, Allen Vincent | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Return of Rin Tin Tin | 1947 | Max Nosseck | ★★½ | 65 | Easy-to-take low-budget tale of young boy who comes out of his shell whenever he's with Rin Tin Tin, but bad man takes the dog away. Filmed in ultracheap Vitacolor process. Aka THE ADVENTURES OF RIN TIN TIN. | tt0039763 | Robert Blake, Donald Woods, Rin Tin Tin (III), Claudia Drake, Gaylord Pendleton, Earl Hodgins | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Return of Sabata | 1972 | Gianfranco Parolini | ★½ | 106 | Last of the spaghetti Western series— and not a moment too soon— finds Van Cleef chasing down some baddies who bilked him out of $5,000. | tt0067672 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Reiner Schone, Annabella Incontrera, Jacqueline Alexandre, Ignazio Spalla | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| The Return of Sophie Lang | 1936 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 65 | Jewel-thief-gone-straight Michael seeks Milland's help in staying out of public eye. OK low-budgeter. | tt0028172 |
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Gertrude Michael, Sir Guy Standing, Ray Milland, Elizabeth Patterson, Colin Tapley, Paul Harvey |
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| The Return of Superfly | 1990 | Sig Shore | ★½ | 95 | Belated (and unnecessary) sequel with Purdee replacing Ron O'Neal as Priest; he's now an ex-drug dealer who goes up against his vicious, violent former cronies. Only interest is Curtis Mayfield's reworking of his original SUPERFLY score to incorporate rap music. | tt0100480 | [R] | Nathan Purdee, Margaret Avery, Leonard Thomas, Christopher Curry, David Groh, Samuel L. Jackson | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Return of Swamp Thing | 1989 | Jim Wynorski | ★½ | 88 | The vegetable man superhero learns that mad scientist Jourdan, who's been blending people with animals, has similar designs on his chirpy stepdaughter Locklear. Oafish spoof sequel to straight original can't find a style and wastes time with two unfunny little boys. The comic books are much better. | tt0098193 | [PG-13] | Dick Durock, Heather Locklear, Louis Jourdan, Sarah Douglas, Daniel Taylor | Sci-Fi, Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Return of a Man Called Horse | 1976 | Irvin Kershner | ★★★ | 129 | Excellent sequel has Harris returning from England to right wrongs done the Yellow Hand Sioux by whites. Sun Vow ceremony now performed by dozen braves. Magnificent score by Laurence Rosenthal; followed by TRIUMPHS OF A MAN CALLED HORSE. | tt0075132 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Gale Sondergaard, Geoffrey Lewis, Bill Lucking, Jorge Luke, Enrique Lucero | Western | NULL | ||
| Return of the Ape Man | 1944 | Philip Rosen | ★★ | 60 | Scientist Lugosi transplants Carradine's brain into body of recently discovered Missing Link (Moran!). Typical Monogram fare; no relation to THE APE MAN. Despite an on-screen credit, George Zucco does not appear. | tt0037217 | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, Judith Gibson, Michael Ames (Tod Andrews), Frank Moran, Mary Currier | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Return of the Bad Men | 1948 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 90 | Newly settled Oklahoman Scott gets one female outlaw (Jeffreys) to go straight, but has a tougher time dealing with Billy the Kid, The Dalton Gang, The Younger Brothers, and a particularly nasty Sundance Kid (Ryan) in this routine Western. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040732 | Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jacqueline White, Steve Brodie, Lex Barker | Western | NULL | |||
| Return of the Dragon | Way of the Dragon | 1973 | Bruce Lee | ★★½ | 91 | Country hick Lee visits relatives who run Chinese restaurant in Italy and helps fight off gangsters trying to take over. Many fine comic and action sequences, including final battle with Chuck Norris in Roman Colosseum. This was made before (but released after) ENTER THE DRAGON, which was Lee's final completed film. Aka WAY OF THE DRAGON. | tt0068935 | [R] | Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao | Hong Kong | Action, Crime | NULL |
| Return of the Fly | 1959 | Edward L. Bernds | ★★½ | 80 | Adequate sequel to THE FLY proves 'like father, like son.' Youth attempts to reconstruct his late father's teleportation machine and likewise gets scrambled with an insect. Followed six years later by CURSE OF THE FLY. | tt0053219 | Vincent Price, Brett Halsey, David Frankham, John Sutton, Dan Seymour, Danielle De Metz | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Return of the Frontiersman | 1950 | Richard L. Bare | ★★ | 74 | Easygoing yarn of sheriff's son falsely accused of murder. | tt0042886 | Gordon MacRae, Rory Calhoun, Julie London, Jack Holt, Fred Clark | Western | NULL | |||
| Return of the Jedi | Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | 1983 | Richard Marquand | ★★★½ | 131 | Third installment in the STAR WARS saga is a sheer delight, following the destiny of Luke Skywalker as his comrades reunite to combat a powerful Death Star. Some routine performances are compensated for by ingenious new characters and Oscar-winning special effects. More sentimental and episodic than its predecessors, but carried out in the best tradition of Saturday matinee serials, from which it draws its inspiration. Full title onscreen is: STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI. Special edition released in 1997 features enhanced effects and 4m. of additional footage. Followed by two Ewok adventures for TV and the prequel STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE. | tt0086190 | [PG] | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Sebastian Shaw, Ian McDiarmid, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, Kenny Baker, Denis Lawson, Warwick Davis; voices of James Earl Jones, Frank Oz | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Return of the Killer Tomatoes! | 1988 | John De Bello | ★½ | 99 | Sequel to ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!, this is a mild improvement. In a tomato-fearing world, mad scientist Astin is turning tomatoes into people and vice-versa; our hero falls for an attractive one-time tomato. Too long, too silly, but has its moments. Followed by KILLER TOMATOES STRIKE BACK. | tt0095989 | [PG] | Anthony Starke, George Clooney, Karen Mistal, Steve Lundquist, Charlie Jones, John Astin | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Return of the Living Dead III | 1993 | Brian Yuzna | ★★½ | 97 | A very different approach from the first two entries results in a serious thriller about a teenager who uses the zombie gas to resurrect his girlfriend, with horrendous results. An intelligent, gruesomely imaginative, and tragic love story, but it doesn't know when to quit. | tt0107953 | [R] | Mindy Clarke, J. Trevor Edmond, Kent McCord, Sarah Douglas, James T. Callahan, Mike Moroff, Sal Lopez | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Return of the Living Dead Part II | 1988 | Ken Wiederhorn | ★★ | 89 | Awkward title identifies this as a sequel not to the George Romero zombie classics but rather the 1985 comedy offshoot. Inquisitive kids release deadly gas from a misplaced military canister, causing corpses from a nearby cemetery to rise and wreak havoc. | tt0095990 | [R] | James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook, Suzanne Snyder | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Return of the Living Dead | 1985 | Dan O'Bannon | ★★ | 90 | What starts out as a spoof of George Romero's zombie films (with wonderful comic performance by Karen as supervisor of medical warehouse) loses its footing when the tone, and the violence, turn serious. Directing debut for sci-fi screenwriter O'Bannon. Followed by two sequels. | tt0089907 | [R] | Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews, Beverly Randolph, John Philbin | Sci-Fi, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Return of the Musketeers | 1989 | Richard Lester. | ★★½ | 101 | Twenty years after the death of Milady de Winter, d'Artagnan (York) tries to reunite the remaining musketeers to save Queen Anne from the machinations of the devious Cardinal Mazarin (deliciously played by Noiret). Lester's follow-up to his two '70s classics is only partially successful, straining for a jaunty charm that just isn't there, but actually gets better as it goes along. Released directly to cable-TV in the U.S. in 1991. Sadly, Roy Kinnear, who played Planchet in all three films, died in an equestrian accident during production. Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel Twenty Years Later. | tt0098194 | [PG] | Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, C. Thomas Howell, Kim Cattrall, Richard Chamberlain, Philippe Noiret, Roy Kinnear, Geraldine Chaplin, Christopher Lee, Eusebio Lazaro, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Billy Connolly. | British-French-Spanish | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Return of the Pink Panther | 1975 | Blake Edwards. | ★★½ | 113 | Fourth PANTHER film, and first with Sellers since A SHOT IN THE DARK. Inspector Clouseau is a superb comedy character, but director-writer Edwards thinks big, violent gags are funny. Best part of this diamond-heist farce is the opening title, animated by Richard Williams and Ken Harris. Immediate sequel— THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN— is much better. | tt0072081 | [G] | Peter Sellers, Christopher Plummer, Catherine Schell, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, Peter Arne, Gregoire Aslan, Andre Maranne, Victor Spinetti. | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel | 1938 | Hans Schwartz | ★★ | 88 | Far below stunning original, with lower production values and less-than-stellar cast in costumer set in 1790s London and Paris. Original British running time: 94m. | tt0030675 | Barry K. Barnes, Sophie Stewart, Margaretta Scott, James Mason, Francis Lister, Anthony Bushell | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Return of the Secaucus Seven | 1980 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 106 | A simple low-budget film about a weekend reunion of good friends who shared the '60s radical college life and have since gone in different directions. Credible, winning performances (including one by director-writer Sayles, as Howie) enhance a script that seems to tell the story of an entire generation. Filmed with unknown actors for a reported budget of $60,000! An interesting precursor to THE BIG CHILL. | tt0081420 | [R] | Mark Arnott, Gordon Clapp, Maggie Cousineau, Adam Lefevre, Bruce MacDonald, Jean Passanante, Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Return of the Seven | Return of the Magnificent Seven | 1966 | Burt Kennedy | ★★ | 96 | The gang has reformed for more protection in this drab sequel to THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN; it was a lot more fun when Eli Wallach was the heavy. Followed by GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. Aka RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. | tt0060897 | Yul Brynner, Robert Fuller, Warren Oates, Jordan Christopher, Claude Akins, Emilio Fernandez | Western | NULL | ||
| The Return of the Soldier | 1981 | Alan Bridges | ★★ | 101 | A shell-shocked soldier comes home from WW1 with no memory of the last 20 years, but feels a vague dissatisfaction with his life, as personified by wife Christie. Top cast in this adaptation of Rebecca West's first novel, but it's slow going, and ultimately not that interesting. | tt0084590 | Alan Bates, Julie Christie, Glenda Jackson, Ann Margret, Ian Holm, Frank Finlay | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Return of the Street Fighter | 1974 | Shigehiro Ozawa | ★★ | 76 | After refusing to carry out a hit for the mob, Chiba is targeted for execution himself. First sequel in the series is just a routine continuation of the original— a mélange of hilariously bad dubbing and brutal martial arts action— highlighted by a vicious fight in a steam bath. Followed by THE STREET FIGHTER'S LAST REVENGE. | tt0073623 | [R] | Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba, Yoko Ichiji, Masafumi Suzuki, Donald Nakajima, Milton Ishibashi | Japanese | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| The Return of the Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe | 1974 | Yves Robert | ★★½ | 84 | Sequel to the 1972 hit reunites the principals for a lesser if still entertaining sendup of the spy game. Spy chief Rochefort wants violinist Richard killed, but the tall blond avoids danger without even realizing what's happening. Nice shots of Rio and a fairly deft James Bond takeoff help offset slow buildup. | tt0072080 | Pierre Richard, Mireille Darc, Michel Duchaussoy, Jean Rochefort, Jean Carmet | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Return of the Texan | 1952 | Delmer Daves | ★★ | 88 | Flabby Western about Robertson et al. fighting to save his ranch. | tt0045083 | Dale Robertson, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Richard Boone, Robert Horton | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Return of the Vampire | 1943 | Lew Landers, Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 69 | Lugosi plays a vampire in wartorn London (with a werewolf assistant!) in limp attempt to capitalize on previous success as Dracula. Final scene is memorable, though. | tt0037219 | Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno, Miles Mander, Matt Willis | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Return of the Whistler | 1948 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★½ | 63 | The final Whistler series entry, about Duane's efforts to find his wealthy fiancée, who's been kidnapped and put in an asylum by a man who claims that she's already his wife. Intriguing Cornell Woolrich story. | tt0040733 | Michael Duane, Lenore Aubert, Richard Lane, James Cardwell, Ann Doran | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Return to Boggy Creek | 1977 | Tom Moore | ★★ | 87 | More sightings of monsters in this sequel to THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, but this time two children are involved. G-rated nonsense may intrigue young viewers. Followed by THE BARBARIC BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK PART II, which is actually the third Boggy Creek film. | tt0078159 | [G] | Dawn Wells, Dana Plato | Family, Horror, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Return to Macon County | 1975 | Richard Compton | ★½ | 90 | Unworthy follow-up to MACON COUNTY LINE, as youngsters get mixed up in drag races, sex, the law, violence and murder, in about that order. Nolte's first film. | tt0073624 | [PG] | Don Johnson, Nick Nolte, Robin Mattson, Robert Viharo, Eugene Daniels, Matt Greene | Drama | NULL | ||
| Return to Me | 2000 | Bonnie Hunt | ★★★ | 116 | Thoroughly engaging romantic comedy-drama about a man who loses his wife, then chances to meet a woman whose life has been saved by a heart transplant. Sincere performances by the leads and a joyous ensemble (including O'Connor as Driver's Irish grandfather and Loggia as her Italian uncle) make this heartwarmer a pleasure to watch. Impressive feature directing debut for Hunt, who costars and wrote the script with Don Lake (who plays the hair transplant man). | tt0122459 | [PG] | David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Grier, Joely Richardson, James Belushi, Eddie Jones, William Bronder | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Return to Never Land | 2002 | Robin Budd | ★★½ | 72 | Sequel to Disney's PETER PAN is set in wartorn London, where Wendy's sober daughter Jane is kidnapped by Captain Hook and whisked away to Never Land. Peter Pan comes to her rescue and must restore her sense of childhood imagination in order to fly her home. Minor-league Disney feature was produced by the TV animation department for video release, but it was deemed worthy of theatrical showings instead. OK but strictly for kids. | tt0280030 | [G] | Voices of Harriet Owen, Blayne Weaver, Corey Burton, Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, Dan Castellaneta, Spencer Breslin, Russi Taylor, Roger Rees, Clive Revill | Animation, Family, Musical, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Return to Oz | 1985 | Walter Murch | ★★ | 110 | Distressingly downbeat sequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ, with Dorothy fleeing a spooky sanitarium in Kansas to return to her beloved land— only to find evil rulers now in charge. Many colorful characters, but few engender any warmth or feeling. Best moments involve Will Vinton's Claymation effects, where rock faces come to life. Best sequence: final showdown with the Nome King. Inauspicious directing debut for celebrated sound technician Murch (who cowrote script). | tt0089908 | [PG] | Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Fairuza Balk, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark | Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Return to Paradise | 1953 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 100 | Lackluster South Sea tale of beach bum Cooper in love with native girl; loosely based on James Michener's story. Filmed in Samoa. | tt0046238 | Gary Cooper, Roberta Haynes, Barry Jones, Moira MacDonald | Drama | NULL | |||
| Return to Paradise | 1998 | Joseph Ruben | ★★½ | 109 | Two years after a wild, carefree trip to Malaysia, a woman tracks down two young men in N.Y.C. and tells them that if they don't return, the friend they made during their trip will be hanged for possession of hashish that really belonged to them. A rare contemporary film about responsibility, and a crisis of conscience, is weakened by the introduction of a love story. Still interesting, however, with strong performances all around. Remake of the 1990 French film FORCE MAJEURE. | tt0124595 | [R] | Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vera Farmiga | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Return to Peyton Place | 1961 | Jose Ferrer | ★★ | 122 | Muddled follow-up to PEYTON PLACE suffers from faulty direction, and, save for stalwarts Astor and Parker, miscasting. Followed by TV movie MURDER IN PEYTON PLACE. | tt0055370 | Carol Lynley, Jeff Chandler, Eleanor Parker, Mary Astor, Robert Sterling, Luciana Paluzzi, Brett Halsey, Gunnar Hellstrom, Tuesday Weld, Bob Crane | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Return to Salem's Lot | 1987 | Larry Cohen | ★★ | 96 | Anthropologist Moriarty, trying to befriend his estranged son, is lured to a small Maine town where the populace— almost all vampires— want him to write their history. Typically cheap, oddball Cohen film, which he cowrote, has little to do with Stephen King's novel or the TV movie based on it. | tt0093855 | [R] | Michael Moriarty, Ricky Addison Reed, Samuel Fuller, Andrew Duggan, Evelyn Keyes, Jill Gatsby, June Havoc, Ronee Blakley, James Dixon, David Holbrook, Tara Reid | Horror | NULL | ||
| Return to Sender | 1963 | Gordon Hales | ★★ | 63 | Programmer action tale of revenge, from Edgar Wallace yarn of industrialist's plot to ruin a D.A.'s career and life. | tt0057451 | Nigel Davenport, Yvonne Romain, Geoffrey Keen, William Russell, John Horsley | British |
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NULL | ||
| Return to Snowy River | 1988 | Geoff Burrowes | ★★½ | 97 | Follow-up to THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is not nearly as good. Young Burlinson must again prove his worth as he battles villainous Eadie, who's become engaged to his beloved (Thornton). All those shots of galloping horses, however, are still eye-popping. | tt0095993 | [PG] | Tom Burlinson, Sigrid Thornton, Brian Dennehy, Nicholas Eadie, Bryan Marshall | Australian | Adventure, Drama, Western | NULL | |
| Return to Yesterday | 1940 | Robert Stevenson. | ★★½ | 69 | Brook is improbably cast as one of Hollywood's biggest stars, who while vacationing in England becomes nostalgic for the days he spent at a seaside community theater and returns there to join the troupe in its latest production. Modest but engaging comedy with an ideal cast. Based on Robert Morley's play Goodness, How Sad. | tt0031853 | Clive Brook, Anna Lee, Dame May Whitty, Hartley Power, Milton Rosmer, David Tree. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Return to the Blue Lagoon | 1991 | William A. Graham | 💣 | 100 | The two-year-old son of LAGOON 1's deceased parents is rescued by a ship carrying a widow and her year-old daughter; circumstances (read: cholera) force the trio onto another tropical island, so the kids can eventually partake in PG-13 prurience. | tt0102782 | [PG-13] | Brian Krause, Milla Jovovich, Lisa Pelikan, Garette Patrick Ratliff, Courtney Barilla | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Return to the Edge of the World | 1978 | Michael Powell. | ★★★ | 85 | In the mid-1930s Powell directed a drama about the depopulation of an island, THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, shot on location on Foula in the North Sea. Forty years later he and the cast and crew still living— most poignantly, the actor John Laurie— returned for a reunion. This fascinating film includes footage of this trip, plus the original feature. | tt0078161 | Michael Powell, John Laurie, Hamish Sutherland | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Return to the Lost World | 1994 | Timothy Bond | ★½ | 99 | In this sequel to THE LOST WORLD (1993), shot at the same time in 1991, bad Belgians begin to exploit The Lost World, so Challenger and friends come to the rescue. Long, weary sequel has even fewer dinosaurs than the first film, if that's possible. An insult to Conan Doyle. Good performances by Rhys-Davies and Warner are lost in this world. | tt0105249 | [PG] | John Rhys-Davies, David Warner, Eric McCormack, Nathania Stanford, Darren Peter Mercer, Tamara Gorski | Canadian | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Return | The Alien's Return | 1980 | Greydon Clark | 💣 | 91 | Deadeningly dull story of a 'close encounter' and how it affects two children and an old man in a small New Mexico town. Inept from start to finish. Retitled THE ALIEN'S RETURN. | tt0081421 | Jan-Michael Vincent, Cybill Shepherd, Martin Landau, Raymond Burr, Neville Brand, Brad Rearden, Vincent Schiavelli | Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Return | Vozvrashcheniye | 2003 | Andreï Zvyagintsev | ★★★ | 105 | A father who has been away for 12 years mysteriously reappears and takes his two sons to a remote island, where the supposed vacation turns into a test of their manhood and maturity. Absorbing and strikingly well made, this is a coming-of-age story like no other. Despite its clear Russian roots, the film deals with universal themes. | tt0376968 | Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Natalia Vdovina, Konstantin Lavronenko, Galina Petrova | Russian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Return | 2006 | Asif Kapadia | ★½ | 85 | Young woman with a self-mutilation disorder, haunted by a waking dream she's had since age 11, digs into her rural roots to decipher enigmatic visions of bloody murder. Constantly thwarted by tight-lipped townspeople, she discovers that La Salle, Texas, seems to be the next town over from Silent Hill. To say more would spoil the total lack of surprise in this would-be supernatural thriller. Shepard (as the girl's father) tries to ground the film, but both he and Gellar are wasted. | tt0433442 | [PG-13] | Sarah Michelle Gellar, Peter O'Brien, Adam Scott, Kate Beahan, J. C. Mackenzie, Erinn Allison, Sam Shepard | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Returner | 2002 | Takashi Yamazaki | ★★½ | 117 | A winsome young time traveler from 2084 tries to alter her war-ravaged future, helped only by a cool, all-but-invincible Tokyo hit man. The plot— a remix of TERMINATOR, THE MATRIX, THE ABYSS, even E.T.— is buoyed by fine CGI, plenty of gunplay and kickboxing, and two engaging, energetic lead characters. Longish and familiar, but fun. | tt0339579 | [R] | Takeshi Kaneshiro, Anne Suzuki, Goro Kishitani, Kirin Kiki, Yukio Okamoto, Mitsuro Murata, Kisuke Iida, Kazua Shimizu, Chiharu Kawai, Dean Harrington, Xiaoqun Zhao, Masaya Takahashi | Japanese | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Reuben, Reuben | 1983 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★★ | 101 | Boozy Scottish poet (an amalgam of Dylan Thomas and Brendan Behan) sponges off hospitable women in New England college town— then falls in love with beautiful young student McGillis (in her film debut). Deliciously witty script by Julius J. Epstein (adapted from writings of Peter DeVries) and fine performances help offset general feeling of anachronism about the film . . . and a curious finale. | tt0084591 | [R] | Tom Conti, Kelly McGillis, Roberts Blossom, Cynthia Harris, E. Katherine Kerr, Joel Fabiani, Kara Wilson, Lois Smith | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Reunion | 1989 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★★ | 110 | Elderly Jewish man (Robards) journeys back to Stuttgart, Germany, to seek out boyhood friend he hasn't seen since leaving for the U.S. in 1933. Much of the film is told in flashback, with Anholt giving a fine performance as high-school-age Robards, and West equally good as his Aryan chum. Screenplay by Harold Pinter; veteran art director Trauner, who designed the film, has a small role as a porter. | tt0098197 | [PG-13] | Jason Robards, Christian Anholt, Samuel West, Alexander Trauner, Françoise Fabian, Maureen Kerwin, Barbara Jefford | French-German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Reunion in France | 1942 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 104 | Glossy romance, with Frenchwoman Crawford believing fiancé Dorn is a Nazi collaborator; she hides (and falls for) American flyer Wayne. Propaganda elements date badly. Watch for Ava Gardner as a salesgirl. | tt0035250 | Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Philip Dorn, Reginald Owen, Albert Bassermann, John Carradine, Henry Daniell | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Reunion in Reno | 1951 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 79 | Diverting comedy of Perreau deciding to divorce her parents so she won't be in the way. | tt0043965 | Mark Stevens, Peggy Dow, Gigi Perreau, Frances Dee, Leif Erickson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Reunion in Vienna | 1933 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 98 | Too-literal adaptation of Robert Sherwood's dated stage play depends on its stars' considerable charm to come across. Barrymore provides most of the film's life with hilarious performance as exiled nobleman who returns to Vienna and tries to rekindle romance with Wynyard under the nose of her tolerant husband (Morgan). | tt0024496 | John Barrymore, Diana Wynyard, Frank Morgan, May Robson, Eduardo Ciannelli, Una Merkel, Henry Travers | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Reveille With Beverly | 1943 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 78 | Miller plays a versatile disk jockey throwing 'big show' for servicemen. Jazz fans will shoot that rating higher, since guest stars include Frank Sinatra, Mills Brothers, Bob Crosby, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. | tt0036306 | Ann Miller, William Wright, Dick Purcell, Franklin Pangborn, Larry Parks | Musical | NULL | |||
| Revenge | 1986 | Christopher Lewis | 💣 | 100 | Boring, filmed sequel to the videotaped horror opus BLOOD CULT details the further goings-on of a Tulsa, Oklahoma, devil-worship cult led this time by (who else?) Carradine, that preys on students for human sacrifices. Strictly for fans of mindless violence; never released theatrically. Director Lewis is (gulp!) Loretta Young's son. | tt0091848 | [R] | Patrick Wayne, John Carradine, Bennie Lee McGowan | Horror | NULL | ||
| Revenge | 1990 | Tony Scott | ★½ | 124 | Navy pilot Costner (yes, Tony— we know you directed TOP GUN) visits power-broker pal Quinn at his posh Mexican estate; soon he and Stowe (Quinn's young Mrs.) are enjoying a closet quickie, in both senses of the term. Ponderous mix of the slick and the sordid died at the box office; the second half— source of the film's title— is especially tough to endure. | tt0100485 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, Sally Kirkland, Tomas Milian, Joaquin Martinez, James Gammon, Miguel Ferrer, Joe Santos, John Leguizamo | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Revenge of Frankenstein | 1958 | Terence Fisher | ★★★ | 91 | Sequel to THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN is quite effective with the good doctor still making a new body from others, ably assisted by hunchback dwarf and young medical student. Thought-provoking script has fine atmosphere, especially in color. Followed by THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0050894 | Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson, Michael Gwynn, Lionel Jeffries, John Welsh | British | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Creature | 1955 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 82 | OK sequel to CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON destroys much of that film's mystery and terror by removing Gill Man from Amazonian home and placing him in Florida oceanarium. Originally in 3-D. Clint Eastwood has his first screen role as lab technician. | tt0048554 | John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield, Nestor Paiva, Robert B. Williams | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Revenge of the Dead | Night of the Ghouls | 1958 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | 💣 | 69 | Long-lost sequel to BRIDE OF THE MONSTER (and to a lesser extent, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) doesn't reach the same heights of lunacy, but is still dreadful enough to tickle any bad-movie fan. 'Ghosts' have been sighted in East L.A., so cops Moore and Marco are once more shoved into action; the trail leads to phony mystic Dr. Acula (Duncan, who really looks like he's in a trance). The incomparable Criswell again narrates the proceedings, this time from a coffin. Sat unreleased for 25 years because Wood couldn't pay the lab bill! Retitled NIGHT OF THE GHOULS. | tt0156843 | Duke Moore, Kenne Duncan, Paul Marco, Tor Johnson, John Carpenter, Valda Hansen, Jeannie Stevens, Criswell | Horror | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Nerds | 1984 | Jeff Kanew | ★★ | 90 | Geeky college freshmen, tired of being humiliated by the campus jocks and coed cuties, form their own fraternity, leading to all-out war. As raunchy teen comedies go, not bad, helped by two leads' likable performances. Followed by several sequels. | tt0088000 | [R] | Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Julia Montgomery, Michelle Meyrink, Ted McGinley, Matt Salinger, John Goodman, Bernie Casey, James Cromwell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise | 1987 | Joe Roth | ★½ | 98 | Sequel, set at a fraternity gathering in Ft. Lauderdale, is strictly by-the-numbers; once again the geeky 'heroes' manage to triumph over their beefier (but not brainier) college counterparts . . . but this is a lot less fun than the original. Edwards, Carradine's costar in the first picture, makes a token appearance. Followed by 1992 TV sequel. | tt0093857 | [PG-13] | Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Timothy Busfield, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Andrew Cassese, Donald Gibb, Ed Lauter, Anthony Edwards, James Cromwell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Ninja | 1983 | Sam Firstenberg | ★★ | 88 | Good ninja Kosugi takes on evil ninja Roberts, a heroin smuggler/kidnapper/killer. Kung fu aficionados should enjoy it, otherwise beware. A follow-up to ENTER THE NINJA, followed by NINJA III— THE DOMINATION. | tt0086192 | [R] | Sho Kosugi, Keith Vitali, Virgil Frye, Arthur Roberts, Mario Gallo | Action | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Pink Panther | 1978 | Blake Edwards | ★★ | 99 | Sellers' final go-round as bumbling Inspector Clouseau is one of the dullest, until a bright wrap-up in Hong Kong with some good sight gags and plenty of spark from Cannon. The 'plot' has Clouseau supposedly murdered, allowing him to find 'killer' incognito. Followed by TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER. | tt0078163 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Robert Webber, Dyan Cannon, Burt Kwouk, Robert Loggia, Paul Stewart, Andre Maranne, Graham Stark, Ferdy Mayne | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Pirates | 1951 | Primo Zeglio | ★★ | 95 | Aumont and Montez (offscreen husband and wife) try to spark this trite swashbuckler of wicked governor hoarding stolen gold, with Robin Hood of the seas coming to rescue. | tt0044182 | Maria Montez, Milly Vitale, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Saro Urzi, Paul Muller, Robert Risso | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Revenge of the Zombies | 1943 | Steve Sekely | ★½ | 61 | Low-budget mad doctor saga, with Nazi Carradine experimenting on human guinea pigs on swampy Southern estate. Moreland's comic relief saves the day. | tt0036307 | John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Gale Storm, Veda Ann Borg, Mantan Moreland, Mauritz Hugo | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Revengers | 1972 | Daniel Mann | 💣 | 112 | Rancher goes after those who massacred his family. Hayward (in her final theatrical feature) is the only good thing about this terrible Western. | tt0069179 | [PG] | William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Susan Hayward, Woody Strode, Roger Hanin, Rene Koldehoff | Western | NULL | ||
| Reversal of Fortune | 1990 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★★½ | 120 | Tantalizing and complex film, embracing drama and very black comedy, sparked by Irons' devastating Oscar-winning performance as the aristocratic, enigmatic Claus von Bülow, who was accused of attempting to murder his socialite wife Sunny. Silver is perfectly cast as real-life Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who agreed to take on the challenge of reversing the jury's decision. Teasingly ambiguous, and one of the most strikingly structured narrative films ever made. Scripted by Nicholas Kazan from Dershowitz's book. Julie Hagerty has small, unbilled role. | tt0100486 | [R] | Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Uta Hagen, Fisher Stevens, Jack Gilpin, Christine Baranski, Stephen Mailer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Revolt at Fort Laramie | 1957 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 73 | Grade-B Western of internal rivalries of North-South soldiers at government fort during Civil War. Look for Harry Dean Stanton in his film debut. | tt0050895 | John Dehner, Frances Helm, Gregg Palmer, Don Gordon, Robert Keys | Action, Western, War | NULL | |||
| Revolt in the Big House | 1958 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 79 | Taut little programmer about convict life. | tt0052133 | Gene Evans, Robert Blake, Timothy Carey, John Qualen | Drama, Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Revolt of Job | 1983 | Imre Gyongyossy, Barna Kabay | ★★★½ | 97 | Beautiful tale of a Jewish couple in WW2 Hungary who adopt a non-Jewish boy; their relationship, as he begins to perceive of them as family while the Holocaust hangs over them, is quite touching. | tt0085767 | Ferenc Zenthe, Hedi Temessy, Gabor Feher, Peter Rudolf, Leticia Caro | Hungarian-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Revolt of Mamie Stover | 1956 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 92 | Gorgeous Jane, in glorious color, is Honolulu-based 'saloon singer' in 1941. Weak plot; Jane sings 'Keep Your Eyes on the Hands.' | tt0049672 | Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Jorja Curtright, Jean Willes, Michael Pate | Drama | NULL | |||
| Revolt of the Zombies | 1936 | Victor Halperin | ★½ | 65 | Boring horror film, set in WW1 Cambodia, with weak-willed Jagger discovering secret by which humans can be transformed into zombies. | tt0028174 | Dorothy Stone, Dean Jagger, Roy D'Arcy, Robert Noland, George Cleveland | Horror | NULL | |||
| Revolution | 1985 | Hugh Hudson | 💣 | 123 | Only a half-dozen or so movies have dealt more than superficially with the Revolutionary War; thanks to this megabomb, it may be 2776 until we get another one. Pacino, two centuries too contemporary to be convincing, is the trapper whose boat and son are conscripted by the Continental Army; Kinski is the headstrong rebel from a family of Tories. Ludicrous script and acting sink some splendid production values. | tt0089913 | [PG] | Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, Nastassja Kinski, Joan Plowright, Dave King, Annie Lennox, Steven Berkoff, Jesse Birdsall, Graham Greene, Robbie Coltrane | War | NULL | ||
| Revolution | 1969 | Jack O'Connell | ★★½ | 90 | Documentary of late-60s hippie life, mostly in San Francisco, has some interesting footage. Music by Country Joe & the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Band, Mother Earth. | tt0063503 | Today Malone | Drama, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Chavez: Inside the Coup | 2002 | Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain | ★★★½ | 74 | A European film crew on location in Caracas is amazed to find itself amidst a violent uprising that temporarily ousts Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Sharp editing and pointed narration strongly suggest covert U.S. involvement in the attempted coup of the charismatic Chavez, who is always center stage in this surprisingly enjoyable documentary. Sound bites contributed by Colin Powell, George Tenet, and Jesse Helms. Aka CHAVEZ: INSIDE THE COUP. | tt0363510 | Irish-Dutch-U.S.-German-Finnish-British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Revolutionary Road | 2008 | Sam Mendes | ★★½ | 119 | Intense adaptation of Richard Yates’ novel about a young couple whose love cannot overcome a feeling of discontent creeping into their supposedly ideal existence in the suburbs of N.Y.C. in the 1950s. Gloomy, to say the least. Superior acting by the entire ensemble (including the two stars, reunited for the first time since TITANIC in 1997) and meticulous craftsmanship can’t compensate for lack of character development that one might find in the book. And where do the couple’s kids disappear to all the time? | tt0959337 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, Dylan Baker, Richard Easton, Zoe Kazan, Jay O. Sanders, Max Casella | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Revolutionary | 1970 | Paul Williams | ★★★ | 100 | Tight, well-written study of a college youth who slowly gets drawn into role of political revolutionary with near-tragic results. Hans Koning adapted his novel. | tt0066296 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Jennifer Salt, Seymour Cassel, Robert Duvall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Revolver | 2005 | Guy Ritchie | ★★ | 115 | Gambler spends seven years in prison perfecting his game; when he gets out he defeats (and humiliates) a casino boss, who puts out a hit on him. Two strangers come to his aid and the ultimate con is on—but who’s conning who? So confusing it would take a book called Revolver for Dummies to figure it out. Ritchie throws in all the visual gimmicks he can. After a dismal reception in England, he recut the film for long-delayed U.S. release in 2007, to no avail. | tt0365686 | [R] | Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore, André Benjamin, Terrence Maynard, Francesca Annis, Andrew Howard, Mark Strong | British-French | Thriller, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |
| The Reward | 1965 | Serge Bourguignon | ★★½ | 92 | Promising premise and good cast led astray in static Western: group of bounty hunters turn on each other, as greed for larger share of reward money goads them into conflict. | tt0059651 | Max von Sydow, Yvette Mimieux, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Gilbert Roland, Emilio Fernandez, Henry Silva, Rodolfo Acosta | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Rhapsody | 1954 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 115 | Three-cornered romance among rich Taylor, violinist Gassman, and pianist Ericson: melodic interludes bolster soaper. Script by Fay and Michael Kanin. | tt0047408 | Elizabeth Taylor, Vittorio Gassman, John Ericson, Louis Calhern, Michael Chekhov | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rhapsody in August | 1991 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★½ | 98 | Thoughtful but (by his standards) minor Kurosawa, about the painful memories of a Japanese grandmother who recalls the bombing of Nagasaki at the end of WW2. Gere, in a glorified cameo, doesn't seem too out of place as a Japanese-American member of the old woman's extended clan. The director manages a few memorable visual touches, but talky film never quite recovers from its nearly static opening. | tt0101991 | [PG] | Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Hisashi Igawa, Narumi Kayashima | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Rhapsody in Blue | 1945 | Irving Rapper | ★★★ | 139 | Hollywood biography of George Gershwin is largely pulp fiction, but comes off better than most other composer biopics, capturing Gershwin's enthusiasm for his work, and some of his inner conflicts. Highlight is virtually complete performance of title work. | tt0038026 | Robert Alda, Joan Leslie, Alexis Smith, Oscar Levant, Charles Coburn, Julie Bishop, Albert Bassermann, Morris Carnovsky, Herbert Rudley, Rosemary DeCamp, Paul Whiteman, Hazel Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rhinestone | 1984 | Bob Clark | ★½ | 111 | Parton bets that she can turn anyone into a country singer— even N.Y.C. cabdriver Stallone. Contrived, cornball comedy with acres of unfunny dialogue. | tt0088001 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Dolly Parton, Richard Farnsworth, Ron Leibman, Tim Thomerson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rhino! | 1964 | Ivan Tors | ★★½ | 91 | Diverting African game-hunting nonsense, with an enthusiastic cast, good action scenes. | tt0058522 | Robert Culp, Harry Guardino, Shirley Eaton, Harry Mekela | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rhinoceros | 1974 | Tom O'Horgan | 💣 | 101 | Eugene Ionesco entry in 'Theater of the Absurd' makes sorry transition from stage to screen as clerk Wilder refuses to conform by turning into a pachyderm. The performers try. An American Film Theater Production. | tt0070605 | [PG] | Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Karen Black, Robert Weil, Joe Silver, Marilyn Chris | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rhodes | 1936 | Berthold Viertel | ★★ | 91 | Biography of Cecil Rhodes (Huston), who founded Rhodesia and opened up the Transvaal to British exploitation. Huston's performance is big, romantic, and hammy, but the movie is a justification for Rhodes' rape of Africa and the Boer War. Homolka's dour, crafty Kruger is more interesting than Huston's Rhodes. Aka RHODES OF AFRICA. | tt0028176 | Walter Huston, Oscar Homolka, Basil Sydney, Frank Cellier, Peggy Ashcroft, Renne De Vaux, Bernard Lee, Ndanisa Kumalo | British | Biography | NULL | ||
| Rhubarb | 1951 | Arthur Lubin | ★★★ | 95 | Eccentric Lockhart owns the Brooklyn Loons baseball team; he dies and leaves the club to his spunky pet cat. Spirited comedy, based on a famous story by H. Allen Smith. | tt0043967 | Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, Gene Lockhart, William Frawley, Elsie Holmes, Taylor Holmes, Leonard Nimoy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rhythm Thief | 1995 | Matthew Harrison | ★★½ | 88 | At once intriguing and pretentious ultra-low-budget portrait of aloof but agonized Andrews, who lives on N.Y.C.'s grimy Lower East Side and earns his keep by selling tapes of illicitly recorded rock music. Original and provocative at times, but too often revels in its artiness. Filmed in 11 days, for $11,000. | tt0110986 | Jason Andrews, Eddie Daniels, Kevin Corrigan, Kimberly Flynn, Sean Hagerty, Mark Alfred, Christopher Cooke, Bob McGrath | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rhythm of the Saddle | 1938 | George Sherman. | ★★★ | 58 | Foreman Autry helps Moran, who's in danger of losing her rodeo contract to crooked nightclub owner Mason. Strong plotline, well directed, with burning barns and a terrific stagecoach race. | tt0030678 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Pert Kelton, Peggy Moran, LeRoy Mason, Arthur Loft, Ethan Laidlaw, Eddie Acuff. | Western | NULL | |||
| Rhythm on the Range | 1936 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 85 | Spoiled N.Y.C. society girl runs away on the eve of her wedding and heads West, tangling with ranch hand Crosby along the way. Engaging, featherweight musical comedy includes Bing's beautiful rendition of 'I Can't Escape From You.' Extended performance of Johnny Mercer's 'I'm An Old Cowhand (from the Rio Grande)' features an unbilled Louis Prima and the Sons of the Pioneers (including Roy Rogers). Remade as PARDNERS. | tt0028178 | Bing Crosby, Frances Farmer, Bob Burns, Martha Raye, Lucille Gleason, Samuel S. Hinds, Louis Prima, Leonid Kinskey | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Rhythm on the River | 1940 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★★ | 92 | Breezy musical has Crosby ghostwriting music for Basil Rathbone and meeting up with Martin, never dreaming that she's been hired to ghost-write the lyrics. First-rate songs by Johnny Burke and James Monaco; director Schertzinger contributed 'I Don't Want to Cry Any More.' Billy Wilder cowrote the story. | tt0032986 | Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Basil Rathbone, Oscar Levant, Oscar Shaw, Charley Grapewin, William Frawley, Lillian Cornell, Wingy Manone | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rice Girl | 1963 | Raffaello Matarazzo | ★★½ | 90 | Atmospheric account of seamy rice workers and Martinelli's past life catching up with her. | tt0049678 |
|
Elsa Martinelli, Folco Lulli, Michel Auclair, Rik Battaglia, Susanne Levesy, Liliana Gerace | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Rich Are Always With Us | 1932 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 73 | Wealthy woman (Chatterton) cannot fall out of love with irresponsible husband (Miljan), even after bitter divorce and new romance with Brent. Silly script. | tt0023394 | Ruth Chatterton, Adrienne Dore, George Brent, Bette Davis, John Miljan, Robert Warwick, Berton Churchill | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rich Girl | 1991 | Joel Bender | ★★½ | 96 | Extremely mild time-filler about 'poor little rich girl' Schoelen leaving her life of ease in her daddy's Bel-Air mansion and trying to make it on her own, eventually hooking up with a blue-collar rock singer. | tt0100488 | [R] | Jill Schoelen, Don Michael Paul, Sean Kanan, Ron Karabatsos, Paul Gleason, Bentley Mitchum | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rich Kids | 1979 | Robert M. Young | ★★★ | 101 | Alvarado and Levy are upper class N.Y.C. kids who become best friends as her parents are dissolving their marriage. Effect of divorce is focal point for this fine acting showcase, which also makes good use of N.Y.C. locations. Produced by Robert Altman. | tt0079806 | [PG] | Trini Alvarado, Jeremy Levy, John Lithgow, Kathryn Walker, David Selby, Terry Kiser, Paul Dooley, Olympia Dukakis, Jill Eikenberry | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rich Man's Wife | 1996 | Amy Holden Jones | 💣 | 94 | Abandoned Berry somehow gets picked up by a shady character following a vacation tiff with her husband. This leads to a murder-blackmail situation conceived by a filmmaker who's seen STRANGERS ON A TRAIN one too many times. Lots of unintentional yuks, but nothing else to recommend this D.O.A. release. | tt0117473 | [R] | Halle Berry, Christopher McDonald, Clive Owen, Peter Greene, Charles Hallahan, Frankie Faison, Clea Lewis | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Rich Man, Poor Girl | 1938 | Reinhold Schunzel | ★★ | 70 | Good cast, fair film. Title tells story; only noteworthy item is radiant young Turner. | tt0030679 |
|
Robert Young, Lew Ayres, Ruth Hussey, Lana Turner, Rita Johnson, Don Castle, Guy Kibbee | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rich and Famous | 1981 | George Cukor | ★★ | 117 | Muddled, misguided remake of OLD ACQUAINTANCE, with Bisset and Bergen as women who maintain a stormy friendship for more than 20 years, despite rivalries in love and career. Idiotic dialogue and Bisset's sexual ruminations weaken what should have been a strong contemporary version of John Van Druten's story. Bisset's company produced. Among guests at Malibu party are Marsha Hunt, Christopher Isherwood, and Roger Vadim; later party offers glimpses of Ray Bradbury, Nina Foch, and Frances Bergen (Candice's mother). Cukor's last film; Meg Ryan's first. | tt0082992 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Candice Bergen, David Selby, Hart Bochner, Steven Hill, Meg Ryan, Matt Lattanzi, Michael Brandon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rich and Strange | East of Shanghai | 1932 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 83 | Kendall and Barry, married and bored are given money and travel around the world; he has affair with a 'princess,' while she becomes romantically attached to an explorer. Fragmented, offbeat drama (until the finale). | tt0023395 | Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Betty Amann, Percy Marmont, Elsie Randolph | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Rich in Love | 1993 | Bruce Beresford | ★★½ | 105 | The people behind DRIVING MISS DAISY have taken Josephine Humphreys' novel and tried hard to weave another evocative Southern tale; they don't really succeed, but there are many fine moments. Film centers on teenager (Erbe, in an award-calibre performance) trying to hold her extended family together; among the members are her idle father (another great Finney portrayal), absent mother, and nutty sister. Beautiful touches both in script and visualization are offset by unfocused, meandering story. | tt0105256 | [PG-13] | Albert Finney, Jill Clayburgh, Kathryn Erbe, Kyle MacLachlan, Piper Laurie, Ethan Hawke, Suzy Amis, Alfre Woodard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rich, Young and Pretty | 1951 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 95 | Frivolous MGM musical with Powell in Paris, sightseeing and romancing, meeting mother Darrieux. Cowritten by Sidney Sheldon. | tt0043968 | Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, Vic Damone, Fernando Lamas, Marcel Dalio, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson | Musical | NULL | |||
| Richard III | 1955 | Laurence Olivier | ★★★½ | 155 | Elaborate if stagy version of Shakespeare's chronicle of ambitious 15th-century British king and his court intrigues. Some prints run 139m. | tt0049674 | Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Claire Bloom, Alec Clunes, Cedric Hardwicke, Stanley Baker, Pamela Brown, Michael Gough | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Richard III | 1995 | Richard Loncraine | ★★★ | 104 | Ingenious resetting of Shakespeare's drama of multiple murders and political intrigue in 1930s England, during a Fascist coup. McKellen dominates the screen as the devil incarnate, with a persona for every occasion. Visually compelling, often shocking (with glamour, sex, drugs, and violence), and yet doesn't fully capture the power of McKellen's (and Richard Eyre's) stage production, on which it is based. | tt0114279 | [R] | Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey/Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood, Jim Carter, Adrian Dunbar, Edward Hardwicke, Tim McInnerny, Bill Paterson, Donald Sumpter, Dominic West | U.S.-British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Richard Pryor Here and Now | 1983 | Richard Pryor | ★½ | 83 | The comedian's fourth concert film is his least satisfying to date, though hecklers in the audience are as much to blame as any defects in Pryor's material. Some amusing bits on drunks and dopeheads, plus some biting digs at the Reagan White House. Filmed on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. | tt0086194 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Richard Pryor Is Back Live in Concert | 1979 | Jeff Margolis | ★★ | 78 | Pryor's still funny, but much of the material is ripped off from RICHARD PRYOR— LIVE IN CONCERT, released earlier that year. | tt0284692 |
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| Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip | 1982 | Joe Layton | ★★½ | 82 | Pryor on Africa, sex, lawyers, his wife, sex, Italian mobsters, more sex, and— inevitably— freebasing. Some of it's funny, some isn't, but the audience is always shown doubled over with laughter. | tt0084597 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Richard Pryor- Live in Concert | 1979 | Jeff Margolis | ★★★ | 78 | Pryor on race, sex, machismo, death, filmed in performance in Long Beach, California. The comedian, uncensored, is at his raunchy best. | tt0079807 | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Richard's Things | 1980 | Anthony Harvey | ★★ | 104 | Widow Ullmann is seduced by her late husband's girlfriend. Dreary drama, with a catatonic performance by Liv. Screenplay by Frederic Raphael, based on his novel. Made for British TV. | tt0082993 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Amanda Redman, Tim Pigott-Smith, Elizabeth Spriggs, David Markham | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Richest Girl in the World | 1934 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 76 | Entertaining romantic comedy by Norman Krasna about millionairess wanting to make sure her next boyfriend loves her for herself, not for her money. Remade as BRIDE BY. | tt0025718 | Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Reginald Denny, Henry Stephenson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Richie Rich | 1994 | Donald Petrie | ★★½ | 95 | Amusing kids' film with Culkin as the comic-book character Richie Rich, the world's wealthiest boy— which naturally makes him the target of a scheming bad guy (Larroquette). Hyde is excellent as the boy's very proper valet/companion, and Herrmann and Ebersole are endearing as Richie's parents. Avoids some of the formulaic crudity of John Hughes movies, but weakens during the protracted action finale. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0110989 | [PG] | Macaulay Culkin, John Larroquette, Edward Herrmann, Jonathan Hyde, Christine Ebersole, Stephi Lineburg, Michael McShane, Chelcie Ross, Ben Stein | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Ricochet | 1991 | Russell Mulcahy | ★★ | 97 | Street cop (Washington) becomes a citywide hero when he brings down bad-guy Lithgow— little dreaming that the psycho spends every waking moment in prison planning his revenge. Slick, well-cast, occasionally ugly urban thriller grows more tiresome and predictable as it goes along. | tt0102789 | [R] | Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T, Kevin Pollak, Lindsay Wagner, Mary Ellen Trainor, Josh Evans, Victoria Dillard, John Amos | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ricochet Romance | 1954 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 80 | Another Main frolic, with the rambunctious gal hired as ranch cook but putting her two cents' worth into everything. | tt0047410 | Marjorie Main, Chill Wills, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Rudy Vallee, Ruth Hampton | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Ricochets | 1986 | Eli Cohen | ★★★ | 90 | Gritty, uncompromising look at a group of Israeli soldiers living and dying in occupied Lebanon, focusing on the experiences of one young officer. Made as an Israeli Army training film and shot on location; nevertheless, an eloquent anti-war drama. | tt0091950 | Roni Pincovich, Shaul Mizrahi, Alon Aboutboul, Dudu Ben-Ze'ev, Boaz Ofri | Israeli | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Riddle of the Sands | 1979 | Tony Maylam | ★★ | 102 | Sailing off the coast of Germany in 1901, yachtsman MacCorkindale stumbles onto what seems to be a plan to invade England, and summons old chum York to help him out. Erskine Childers' novel is considered the prototype of the modern spy thriller, but this adaptation is just too slow and stiff to be really effective. Good to look at, though. Released in the U.S. in 1984. | tt0079808 | Simon MacCorkindale, Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Alan Badel, Jurgen Andersen, Olga Lowe, Wolf Kahler | British | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ride 'Em Cowboy | 1942 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 86 | Good combination of Western, comedy, and musical in A&C vehicle, with Ella and the Merry Macs singing tunes including 'A Tisket A Tasket,' Foran crooning 'I'll Remember April.' | tt0035252 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, Johnny Mack Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Douglass Dumbrille | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Ride Back | 1957 | Allen H. Miner | ★★★ | 79 | Well-handled account of sheriff and prisoner who find they need each other's help to survive elements and Indian attacks. | tt0050899 | Anthony Quinn, Lita Milan, William Conrad, Ellen Hope Monroe, Louis Towers | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride Beyond Vengeance | 1966 | Bernard McEveety | ★★½ | 100 | Good supporting cast makes the most of stereotyped roles in flashback account of Connors' sundry encounters with outlaws. | tt0060899 | Chuck Connors, Michael Rennie, Kathryn Hays, Joan Blondell, Gloria Grahame, Gary Merrill, Bill Bixby, James MacArthur, Claude Akins, Paul Fix, Ruth Warrick, Arthur O'Connell, Frank Gorshin, Jamie Farr | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride Clear of Diablo | 1954 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 80 | Cheerful gunslinger Duryea takes a liking to Murphy, a newly minted deputy seeking the cattle rustlers who killed his family. Unassuming, intelligent Western is a good showcase for its likable stars. | tt0047411 | Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Susan Cabot, Abbe Lane, Russell Johnson, Jack Elam, Denver Pyle | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride Him, Cowboy | 1932 | Fred Allen. | ★½ | 55 | Duke, the wild palomino 'miracle horse,' is accused of murdering a rancher, so Wayne intercedes. The first of Wayne's Warner Bros. series is awkward at best; Hall is attractive but not much of an actress. Remake of a Ken Maynard silent (which is also source of much stock footage). Director is not the same-named radio star. | tt0023396 | John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Henry B. Walthall, Otis Harlan, Harry Gribbon, Frank Hagney. | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride Lonesome | 1959 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 73 | Typically interesting Boetticher chamber-Western (with a Burt Kennedy script) about a tight-lipped bounty hunter who acquires unwanted companions while bringing in a wanted criminal. Unusually good supporting cast, including Coburn in his film debut. | tt0053220 | Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Best, Lee Van Cleef, James Coburn | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride Out for Revenge | 1957 | Bernard Girard | ★½ | 79 | Tiresome account of gold-hungry men trying to dispossess Indians from their lands. | tt0050900 | Rory Calhoun, Gloria Grahame, Lloyd Bridges, Vince Edwards | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride a Crooked Trail | 1958 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 87 | Murphy plays a thief mistaken for a lawman in this otherwise average Borden Chase-scripted Western. Worth watching for Matthau's zesty performance as a bombastic, alcoholic judge. | tt0052135 | Audie Murphy, Gia Scala, Walter Matthau, Henry Silva, Joanna Moore | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride a Violent Mile | 1957 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★½ | 80 | Trivial Western set in Civil War times about Southern blockade runners. | tt0050901 | John Agar, Penny Edwards, John Pickard, Sheb Wooley, Eva Novak | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride a Wild Pony | 1976 | Don Chaffey | ★★★ | 91 | Genial, atmospheric Disney story about an irresistible pony and the two children— son of poor farm family and crippled rich girl— who vie for its love and ownership. Sentimental tale adapted from James Aldridge's A Sporting Proposition. | tt0075141 | [G] | Michael Craig, John Meillon, Robert Bettles, Eva Griffith, Graham Rouse | Australian | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Ride in the Whirlwind | 1965 | Monte Hellman | ★★½ | 83 | Nicholson coproduced and wrote the screenplay for this offbeat Western about three cowboys who find themselves wrongly pursued as outlaws. Neither as arty nor as intriguing as THE SHOOTING, which was filmed simultaneously. | tt0059653 | Cameron Mitchell, Jack Nicholson, Tom Filer, Millie Perkins, Katherine Squire, Rupert Crosse, Harry Dean Stanton | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride the High Country | 1962 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★★ | 94 | Literate, magnificent Western about two aged gunfighter pals who reflect on the paths their lives have taken while guarding gold shipment. Considered by some to be Peckinpah's finest film; breathtaking widescreen photography (by Lucien Ballard) and scenery, and flawless performances, with Buchanan notable as a drunken judge. Written by N. B. Stone, Jr. Hartley's first film, Scott's last. | tt0056412 | Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ronald Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R. G. Armstrong, Warren Oates, John Anderson, L. Q. Jones, James Drury | Drama, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Ride the High Iron | 1956 | Don Weis | ★½ | 74 | Korean veteran Taylor works for slick P.R. man Burr who makes his living keeping people's indiscretions out of the paper. Taylor tries to latch on to rich girl whose family Burr works for. Originally made for TV but shown theatrically. | tt0049675 | Don Taylor, Sally Forrest, Raymond Burr, Lisa Golm, Nestor Paiva, Mae Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ride the Man Down | 1952 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 90 | Lumbering account of ranchland feuding in old West. | tt0045086 | Brian Donlevy, Rod Cameron, Ella Raines, Barbara Britton, Chill Wills, Jack LaRue, J. Carrol Naish, Jim Davis | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride the Pink Horse | 1947 | Robert Montgomery | ★★★½ | 101 | Strong film noir of Montgomery coming to small New Mexican town during fiesta to blackmail gangster Clark, but romantic Hendrix and FBI agent Smith keep getting in his way. Taut script by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer (from the Dorothy B. Hughes novel); super performance by Gomez as friendly carny. Remade for TV as THE HANGED MAN (1964). | tt0039768 | Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, Thomas Gomez, Andrea King, Fred Clark, Art Smith, Rita Conde, Grandon Rhodes | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Ride the Wild Surf | 1964 | Don Taylor | ★★½ | 101 | Formula beach boys tale, set in Hawaii; Jan and Dean sing the title song. It's not Shakespeare, but it is a cut above the usual BEACH PARTY shenanigans, and the surfing footage is great. | tt0058523 | Fabian, Tab Hunter, Barbara Eden, Anthony Hayes, James Mitchum, Shelley Fabares | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Ride to Hangman's Tree | 1967 | Alan Rafkin | ★★½ | 90 | Formula Universal backlot Western, of outlaws in old West. | tt0062198 | Jack Lord, James Farentino, Don Galloway, Melodie Johnson, Richard Anderson, Robert Yuro | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride with the Devil | 1999 | Ang Lee | ★★½ | 134 | A different take on the Civil War, focusing on the Bushwhackers, Southern guerrilla forces made up largely of young men who stage daring raids on Union farms and towns along the Kansas/Missouri border. Interesting subject matter is diffused by overlong, sometimes unfocused treatment, though the time and place are well drawn. Pop singer Jewel makes an impressive acting debut. | tt0134154 | [R] | Skeet Ulrich, Tobey Maguire, James Caviezel, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Simon Baker, Jeffrey Wright, Jewel, Tom Wilkinson, Jonathan Brandis | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| Ride, Ranger, Ride | 1936 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 63 | Ex-cavalryman Autry joins Lewis in the Texas Rangers and tries to prevent trouble with Indians, unaware that Army interpreter Blue is actually stirring things up. OK Autry vehicle actually set in the Old West for a change, but treatment of Indians is one-dimensional— and brutal. Gene sings the title tune and 'Yellow Rose of Texas.' | tt0028181 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Kay Hughes, Monte Blue, George J. Lewis, Robert Homans, Chief Thundercloud, Max Terhune, The Tennessee Ramblers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride | 1940 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 66 | Gene runs a meatpacking company, which pits him against rival Storey; Hull is her shifty boyfriend. Very much played for laughs out West. Good songs, including the title tune. | tt0032987 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Mary Lee, Warren Hull, Forbes Murray, Joe Frisco. | Western | NULL | |||
| Ride, Vaquero! | 1953 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 90 | Oddball casting perks brooding Western set on Mexican border, with sultry Gardner responsible for most of the action. | tt0046239 | Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Anthony Quinn, Charlita | Western | NULL | |||
| Rider on the Rain | 1970 | René Clément | ★★★½ | 115 | Chilling suspense piece about mysterious man who winds up using Jobert as accomplice when she discovers what he is up to. Best sequence: long, rainy prologue. Story and screenplay by Sebastien Japrisot. | tt0064791 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Marlene Jobert, Jill Ireland, Annie Cordy | French | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |
| Riders in the Sky | 1949 | John English. | ★★★ | 69 | Gene helps a friend (Darrell) who's being framed on a murder charge by crooked gambler Livingston. Memorable, atmospheric story inspired by the hit song offers a more mature Autry, whom some fans preferred and others did not. | tt0041807 | Gene Autry, Gloria Henry, Pat Buttram, Mary Beth Hughes, Robert Livingston, Steve Darrell, Alan Hale/Jr., Tom London. | Western | NULL | |||
| Riders of Destiny | 1933 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★½ | 58 | Wayne is an undercover investigator sent by the government to aid ranchers trying to recover water rights; builds up to suspenseful, classic fast-draw showdown. First and best of Wayne's Lone Star Westerns for Monogram casts him as Singin' Sandy, with crooning supplied by director's son Bill Bradbury, twin brother of cowboy star Bob Steele. Dialogue, songs, situations sometimes trite and unintentionally hilarious, but sincere performances by likable cast (especially Parker) trump most criticism. | tt0024500 | John Wayne, Cecilia Parker, Forrest Taylor, George Hayes, Al St. John, Heinie Conklin, Yakima Canutt. | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Riders of the Deadline | 1943 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 72 | When Texas Ranger on Mexican border is killed, Hopalong Cassidy poses as a Ranger in disrepute to become a confederate of the smugglers and exact justice. Action climax, filmed in Lone Pine, nearly makes up for deficiencies in other departments. Mitchum was one of the few actors who could hold his own in scenes with Boyd. Reworking of Don 'Red' Barry vehicle DESERT BANDIT (1941). | tt0037224 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Frances Woodward, William Halligan, Bob (Robert) Mitchum. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Riders of the Purple Sage | 1996 | Charles Haid | Above Average TV Movie | 98 | Zane Grey's perennial tale of revenge and redemption, about a frontier woman struggling to hold on to her ranch, a religious cult attempting to spread its often evil influence, and a mysterious drifter dispensing his own justice; rethought for the '90s (by screenwriter Gill Dennis), it's a distinctively photographed, mystically told Western of great appeal. The two stars also produced this film. Made for cable. | tt0117476 | Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Henry Thomas, Robin Tunney, Norbert Weisser, G. D. Spradlin | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Riders of the Storm | The American Way | 1986 | Maurice Phillips | ★½ | 92 | Unsatisfactory chronicle of Vietnam vets who run a pirate television station and jam right-wing broadcasts; they attempt to sabotage the campaign of a female presidential candidate who is not to their liking. Bright premise, thoroughly stale result. Originally titled THE AMERICAN WAY, at 105m. | tt0091853 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Michael J. Pollard, Eugene Lipinski, James Aubrey, Nigel Pegram | British | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Riders of the Timberline | 1941 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 59 | Hopalong Cassidy rides to the aid of old friend MacDonald, who's besieged by crooks while trying to run a logging camp. Fine action routines and splendid camera-work in big timber regions near Cedar Lake offset gratuitous musical interludes by Guardsmen Quartet and King, who looks good but adds zero as sidekick. Tyler, the heavy here, was concurrently part of the heroic Three Mesquiteers series. | tt0034105 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Brad King, Victor Jory, Eleanor Stewart, J. Farrell MacDonald, Tom Tyler. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Riders of the Whistling Pines | 1949 | John English. | ★★★ | 70 | Gene helps the Forestry Service once he discovers that logging company owner Dumbrille is trying to dupe the government by hiding the existence of deadly moths in his trees. One of Gene's best even has an environmental message— though it involves the use of DDT. Fun to see future Lone Ranger Moore as a bad guy; Lloyd's wife (seen in a photograph) is a young Marilyn Monroe! | tt0041809 | Gene Autry, Patricia White (Barry), Jimmy Lloyd, Douglass Dumbrille, Damian O'Flynn, Clayton Moore, Leon Weaver, Jason Robards/Sr., The Cass County Boys, The Pinafores. | Western | NULL | |||
| Riders to the Stars | 1954 | Richard Carlson | ★★½ | 81 | Three men are trained to fly rockets to the borders of space to snare meteors, in order to find what keeps them from being turned to powder by cosmic rays. Uncharacteristically inaccurate science fiction from producer Ivan Tors; OK but tame. | tt0046240 | William Lundigan, Herbert Marshall, Richard Carlson, Dawn Addams, Martha Hyer | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Ridicule | 1996 | Patrice Leconte | ★★★ | 102 | Spirited tale of an earnest young landowner who tries to obtain an audience with King Louis XVI in order to get grant money for swamp drainage. He soon discovers that the only way to be presented at court is to display a ready (and preferably savage) wit— which, to everyone's surprise, he is willing and able to do. Fine performances in this unusual and original period piece. | tt0117477 | [R] | Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fanny Ardant, Judith Godreche, Bernard Giraudeau | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Ridin' Down the Canyon | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 55 | Hayes and kid brother Henry capture and sell wild horses to the government, but they are plagued by rustlers who take their orders over the radio from dude-ranch owners Richards and Gray. There's a lot to like in this fast-paced Rogers outing. | tt0035255 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Buzzy Henry, Linda Hayes, Addison Richards, Lorna Gray (Adrian Booth), James Seay, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Ridin' on a Rainbow | 1941 | Lew Landers. | ★★★ | 75 | Pert young Lee and her washed-up hoofer pop (Foulger) get mixed up with bank robbers; it's up to Gene and Frog to recover the money, since Gene convinced all the ranchers it was safe to put their cattle earnings in the bank. Pure entertainment; much of the action (and seven songs) takes place on a showboat. Songs include Lee's 'I'm the Only One' and Autry's Oscar-nominated 'Be Honest With Me.' | tt0034106 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Mary Lee, Carol Adams, Ferris Taylor, Georgia Caine, Byron Foulger, Ralf Harolde, Anthony Warde. | Western | NULL | |||
| Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles | 2005 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★½ | 108 | Deceptively simple, profoundly moving tale of elderly Takakura, a Japanese fisherman who does not express himself easily and is long estranged from his son. Upon learning his offspring is terminally ill, he heads to China to follow through on his son's attempt to film a rural mask opera singer, which proves to be no easy task. Wise, poignant film offers a tailor-made role for Takakura, best known for playing Yakuza movie gangsters and loners. | tt0437447 | [PG] | Ken Takakura, Shinobu Terajima, Kiichi Nakai, Li Jiamin, Qiu Lin, Jiang Wen, Yang Zhenbo | Hong Kong-Chinese-Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Riding Giants | 2004 | Stacy Peralta. | ★★★½ | 101 | Superior examination of surf culture and the desire to confront the biggest waves imaginable. Effective interviews with legends like Greg Noll illuminate the quest for the ultimate ride and make it palatable to people who might think some of these guys are just nuts. Remarkable new sequences are interspersed with vintage footage for an experience that lifts this well above other surfing documentaries. The director of DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS outdoes himself with this epic look at the big waves and their conquerors. | tt0389326 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Riding High | 1943 | George Marshall | ★½ | 89 | Unmemorable songs, flat script, fair performances add up to dubious entertainment; Powell is obsessed with silver mine, while wooing Lamour. | tt0036313 | Dorothy Lamour, Dick Powell, Victor Moore, Gil Lamb, Cass Daley, Milt Britton and Band, Rod Cameron | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Riding High | 1950 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 112 | Musical remake of BROADWAY BILL follows it so closely that stock footage with some of the actors in their original parts is included from 1934 film. Crosby is racehorse owner whose nag has yet to come through. OK songs, Capra touch make this pleasing if unmemorable entertainment. Oliver Hardy is fun in rare solo appearance. Joe Frisco appears as himself. | tt0042893 | Bing Crosby, Coleen Gray, Charles Bickford, Margaret Hamilton, Frances Gifford, James Gleason, Raymond Walburn, William Demarest, Ward Bond, Clarence Muse, Percy Kilbride, Gene Lockhart, Douglass Dumbrille, Harry Davenport, Charles Lane, Frankie Darro | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Riding Shotgun | 1954 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 74 | Typical, undemanding Scott Western of man seeking to clear his reputation. | tt0047413 | Randolph Scott, Wayne Morris, Joan Weldon, Joe Sawyer, James Millican, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson), Fritz Feld | Western | NULL | |||
| Riding in Cars With Boys | 2001 | Penny Marshall | ★★ | 122 | Well-acted but uneven film inspired by Beverly Donofrio's memoir of a working-class adolescence in 1960s Connecticut, and having her dreams of college— and a writing career— sidetracked by having a baby and marrying Mr. Wrong. Barrymore (always watchable, even as an unsympathetic character) and a strong cast almost succeed in covering the many holes in the script— but ultimately cannot. | tt0200027 | [PG-13] | Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy, James Woods, Adam Garcia, Lorraine Bracco, Sara Gilbert, Desmond Harrington, Peter Facinelli, Rosie Perez, Maggie Gyllenhaal | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Riding on Air | 1937 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 71 | Average Brown vehicle has him mixed up with smugglers and a wacky invention of a radio beam to control airplanes. | tt0029488 | Joe E. Brown, Guy Kibbee, Florence Rice, Vinton Haworth, Anthony Nace, Harlan Briggs | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Riding the Bullet | Stephen King's Riding the Bullet | 2004 | Mick Garris. | ★½ | 98 | While hitchhiking across Maine on Halloween night in 1969 to visit his ill mother, a death-obsessed college student experiences sinister hallucinations and is picked up by a man who may be the Grim Reaper himself. Gory, cliché-ridden snoozefest based on Stephen King's 'e-book' story is for the author's hard-core fans only, though it plays like a parody of his work. Aka STEPHEN KING'S RIDING THE BULLET. | tt0355954 | [R] | Jonathan Jackson, Erika Christensen, David Arquette, Cliff Robertson, Barbara Hershey, Barry W. Levy, Matt Frewer, Jeff Ballard. | U.S.-Canadian-German | Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| Riding the Rails | 1997 | Michael Uys, Lexy Lovell | ★★★½ | 75 | Acclaimed documentary about the thousands of young people who left home to hop freight trains during the Great Depression— some seeking adventure, some hoping to make a living, some with nowhere else to go. Fascinating interviews with octogenarian survivors of that school of hard knocks; debunks most of the 'romance' of hobo life. | tt0120017 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Riff Raff | 1991 | Ken Loach | ★★★ | 96 | Probing, bitingly funny comedy about the ongoing struggle between the classes in England, examining the plight of a blue-collar type (Carlyle), newly arrived in London, who signs on at a construction site. Some of the regional accents and dialects are so indecipherable that subtitles have been added! Screenplay by Bill Jesse, an ex-construction worker. | tt0100491 | Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt, Ricky Tomlinson, Jimmy Coleman, George Moss, David Finch | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Riff Raff Girls | 1962 | Alex Joffé | ★★½ | 97 | Tiller is quite convincing as club owner whose aim is to be self-sufficient; set on Brussels waterfront. | tt0052136 |
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Nadja Tiller, Robert Hossein, Silvia Monfort, Roger Hanin, Pierre Blanchar | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Riffraff | 1935 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★½ | 89 | Comedy-drama doesn't always work, but worth viewing for stars playing married couple in fishing business who end up on wrong side of law. | tt0026932 | Jean Harlow, Spencer Tracy, Una Merkel, Joseph Calleia, Victor Kilian, Mickey Rooney | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Riffraff | 1947 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★★ | 80 | Fast-paced story of O'Brien foiling villains' attempts to take over oilfield in Panama. | tt0039772 | Pat O'Brien, Anne Jeffreys, Walter Slezak, Percy Kilbride, Jerome Cowan, George Givot, Jason Robards /Sr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rififi | Du rififi chez les hommes | 1954 | Jules Dassin | ★★★★ | 115 | The granddaddy of all caper/heist movies, centering on quartet of French jewel thieves who find each other more dangerous than the cops. The burglary sequence itself is famous for being in complete silence. Scripted by director Dassin, Rene Wheeler, and Auguste LeBreton, from LeBreton's novel. | tt0048021 | Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Magali Noel, Robert Manuel, Perlo Vita (Jules Dassin) | French | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |
| Rififi in Tokyo | 1963 | Jacques Deray | ★★ | 89 | Aging European gangster recruits men for bank heist. Cast is so-so; strictly standard plot line. | tt0055935 |
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Karl Boehm, Michel Vitold, Charles Vanel, Eiji Okada, Keiko Kishi, Barbara Lass, Yanagi | French | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Right Approach | 1961 | David Butler | ★★½ | 92 | Plucky minor film of Vaughan, a good-for-nothing who uses anything to get ahead. Adapted by Fay and Michael Kanin from a play by his brother Garson. | tt0055373 | Frankie Vaughan, Martha Hyer, Juliet Prowse, Gary Crosby, Jane Withers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Right At Your Door | 2007 | Chris Gorak | ★★½ | 96 | When a dirty bomb is unleashed in L.A., panic ensues and a man must quarantine his home to prevent contamination. As the crisis escalates he becomes increasingly worried about locating his wife, who is AWOL from her office. Seems almost like a stage play or a Twilight Zone episode that has been stretched to feature length. Though overlong this modest film builds tension throughout, since its premise is (sad to say) so plausible. | tt0458367 | [R] | Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Tony Perez, Scotty Noyd, Jr., Max Kasch, Jon Huertas | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Right Cross | 1950 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 90 | Fairly compact account of boxing world, with sportswriter Powell and fighter Montalban in love with Allyson. One of Marilyn Monroe's early films. | tt0042894 | June Allyson, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore, Ricardo Montalban | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Right Hand Man | 1987 | Di Drew | ★★½ | 100 | Well-made but only occasionally involving drama about the various troubles of aristocrat Everett, and what happens when he hires stagecoach driver Weaving. Has its moments, but ultimately peters out. | tt0093861 | [R] | Rupert Everett, Hugo Weaving, Catherine McClements, Arthur Dignam, Jennifer Claire | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Right Stuff | 1983 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★ | 193 | Offbeat look at the birth of America's space program and the first astronauts, adapted from Tom Wolfe's best-selling book, and tethered to the story of iconoclastic test pilot Chuck Yeager. Writer-director Kaufman draws all his characters as cartoons (including Lyndon Johnson) except for the pilots— and puts thrillingly realistic recreations of space flights against broadly caricatured scenes on Earth. A real curio of a film, with some astonishing performances, exhilarating moments, but a curious overall air of detachment. Long, but never boring. Winner of four Oscars, including Best Editing, Sound, and Original Score (Bill Conti). The real Chuck Yeager has a cameo role as a bartender. | tt0086197 | [PG] | Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Barbara Hershey, Kim Stanley, Veronica Cartwright, Kathy Baker, Pamela Reed, Donald Moffat, Levon Helm, Scott Wilson, David Clennon, William Russ, Jeff Goldblum, Harry Shearer | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Right to Live | 1935 | William Keighley. | ★★½ | 69 | After Clive is paralyzed in a plane accident, wife Hutchinson falls in love with his brother Brent and is accused of murder when Clive suddenly dies. Somber, well-acted adaptation of Somerset Maugham's play about euthanasia, The Sacred Flame, though the story is weakened by changing the original ending. | tt0026934 | Josephine Hutchinson, George Brent, Colin Clive, Peggy Wood, Henrietta Crosman, C. Aubrey Smith, Leo G. Carroll. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Righteous Kill | 2008 | Jon Avnet | ★★ | 100 | Overly busy whodunit storyline follows manhunt to identify a serial killer who only murders sleazy types “who deserve it,” and whose m.o. suggests that he may be a cop. Pairing of De Niro and Pacino as longtime partners on the NYPD gives this film its raison d’être; their commanding presence, and effortless teamwork, make this movie watchable. | tt1034331 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino, Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Trilby Glover, Melissa Leo, Oleg Taktarov, Barry Primus, Rob Dyrdek, Alan Rosenberg | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Rikki and Pete | 1988 | Nadia Tass | ★★½ | 107 | Pete is a misfit with a penchant for gimmicky inventions, Rikki is his sister who's still trying to find herself; together they flee to a remote mining village where their lives take some unexpected turns. Follow-up to the delightful MALCOLM by the same writing-directing team (Tass and writer/cinematographer David Parker) hasn't the same sweetness or consistency, but it's admirably quirky, and Parker's Rube Goldberg-ish devices are fun. | tt0095996 | [R] | Stephen Kearney, Nina Landis, Tetchie Agbayani, Bill Hunter, Bruno Lawrence, Bruce Spence, Dorothy Allison, Don Reid, Lewis Fitzgerald | Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Riley the Cop | 1928 | John Ford. | ★★½ | 66 | Irish N.Y.C. flatfoot who hasn't arrested anybody in 20 years is sent to Germany to retrieve a fugitive, but he spends most of his time romancing a fraulein in a Munich beer garden who turns out to be the sister of his nemesis! Boisterous blarney is minor Ford but offers an amusing showcase for character actor MacDonald. Silent with synchronized music and sound effects. | tt0019325 | J. Farrell MacDonald, Louise Fazenda, Nancy Drexel, David Rollins, Harry Schultz, Mildred Boyd, Ferdinand Schumann-Heink, Dell Henderson, Billy Bevan, Tom Wilson, Otto Fries. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rim of the Canyon | 1949 | John English. | ★★★ | 70 | Gene, playing his own father in early scenes, tracks down some outlaws, but not before they hide their loot. Twenty years later, Gene the son encounters the same outlaws, now out of jail, intent on recovering the stolen money in a ghost town. Different, more action-oriented Western for Autry with fewer songs. | tt0041810 | Gene Autry, Nan Leslie, Thurston Hall, Clem Bevans, Walter Sande, Jock O'Mahoney (Mahoney), Francis McDonald, Alan Hale/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Ring Two | 2005 | Hideo Nakata. | ★★½ | 111 | Fleeing Seattle for the small town of Astoria, Oregon, Watts discovers that the coldhearted ghost of a loveless child is still after her and her son, as well as anyone else hanging around. Slow and overlong, but often delivers the spooky goods, and director Nakata— who made the Japanese RINGU— uses misty Pacific Northwest locations well. Entire cast is good, especially young Dorfman, but not everything makes sense. This is not a remake of the Japanese sequel to RINGU. | tt0377109 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, David Dorfman, Elizabeth Perkins, Gary Cole, Sissy Spacek, Ryan Merriman. | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Ring of Bright Water | 1969 | Jack Couffer | ★★★ | 107 | Fine children's film should be a treat for adults, too; modest story of man's love for his pet otter is intelligently and believably told. Nice acting and photography. | tt0064893 | [G] | Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Jeffrey, Jameson Clark, Helena Gloag | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Ring of Fear | 1954 | James Edward Grant | ★★ | 93 | Offbeat murder yarn set at the Clyde Beatty circus; interesting for acting appearance by Spillane. Beatty plays himself. | tt0047416 | Clyde Beatty, Pat O'Brien, Mickey Spillane, Sean McClory, Marian Carr, John Bromfield | Adventure, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Ring of Fire | 1961 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 91 | Assistant sheriff is held hostage by trio of young hoods. Highlight of film is climactic holocaust, including footage of a real Oregon forest fire. | tt0055374 | David Janssen, Joyce Taylor, Frank Gorshin, Joel Marston, Doodles Weaver | Adventure, Crime | NULL | |||
| Ring of Treason | 1963 | Robert Tronson | ★★★ | 90 | Solid spy thriller based on true story of ex-Navy man blackmailed into helping Russian agents. Builds truly exciting atmosphere. British title: RING OF SPIES. | tt0057458 |
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Bernard Lee, William Sylvester, Margaret Tyzack, David Kossoff | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Ring | 1927 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 73 | Boxers Brisson and Hunter battle over their love for the same woman. Standard scenario is uplifted by Hitchcock's keen eye for detail and imaginative use of visuals to communicate feelings and points of view. Written by Hitchcock and Alma Reville. | tt0018328 | Carl Brisson, Lillian Hall-Davies, Ian Hunter, Harry Terry, Gordon Harker, Billy Wells, Tom Helmore | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ring | 2002 | Gore Verbinski | ★★ | 115 | Teenage friends watch a videotape that supposedly causes the viewer to die. (Wouldn't you?) The aunt of one victim, newspaper reporter Watts, determines to find out the truth about the tape and its origins. Opens with a bang, but drags us on a long, winding (and ultimately pointless) investigative path before reaching its silly conclusion. Based on the Japanese movie hit RINGU. Followed by a sequel. | tt0298130 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, Jane Alexander, Lindsay Frost, Pauley Perrette, Amber Tamblyn, Sara Rue, Daveigh Chase | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Ring-a-Ding Rhythm | It's Trad, Dad! | 1962 | Richard Lester | ★★ | 78 | S.' Bonds, Gene Vincent, Gene McDaniels, Acker Bilk, The Temperance Seven. Shapiro and Douglas— whose characters are called Helen and Craig— organize a rock 'n' roll and Dixieland jazz show. Of interest only for the appearances of Bonds, Vincent, and company— although there's not one memorable song performed. Lester's first feature. British title: IT'S TRAD, DAD. | tt0055026 | Helen Shapiro, Craig Douglas, Felix Felton, Arthur Mullard, John Leyton, Chubby Checker, Del Shannon, Gary 'U.S.' Bonds, Gene Vincent, Gene McDaniels, Acker Bilk, The Temperance Seven | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| The Ringer | 1952 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★ | 78 | Entertaining mystery from Edgar Wallace novel and play: The Ringer, an arch criminal, gets on the case of an unscrupulous lawyer involved in his sister's death. Filmed previously in 1931, and in 1938 as THE GAUNT STRANGER. | tt0045092 | Herbert Lom, Mai Zetterling, Donald Wolfit, Greta Gynt, William Hartnell, Norman Wooland | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Ringer | 2005 | Barry W. Blaustein | ★★½ | 94 | What if a guy, strapped for money, went in on a scheme to pass himself off as a drooling, mentally challenged adult so he can enter (and rig) the Special Olympics? Give the filmmakers (including the Farrelly Brothers, who produced) credit for pulling this off and delivering a film with smiles and heart. Knoxville puts his Jackass persona on hold, working alongside actual Special Olympics participants, who naturally get the last laugh. A generally entertaining, and surprising, comedy. | tt0267891 | [PG-13] | Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, Katherine Heigl, Geoffrey Arend, Edward Barbanell, Bill Chott, Leonard Flowers, Leonard Earl Howze, Jed Rees | Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Ringmaster | 1998 | Neil Abramson | ★½ | 90 | A mom and daughter share a husband/stepfather in a trailer park, but instead of duking it out in secret, they apply to vent their spleens on Springer's TV show, sharing adjacent hotel accommodations with other profiled subjects. Surprisingly well acted under the circumstances, this otherwise listless junk lacks focus and is thoroughly done in by Springer's sanctimoniousness. Tries to do for the host's career what PRIVATE PARTS did for Howard Stern's and can't even pull off that modest feat. | tt0165494 | [R] | Jerry Springer, Jaime Pressly, William McNamara, Molly Hagan, Michael Dudikoff, Ashley Holbrook, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Michael Jai White | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rings Around the World | 1966 | Gilbert Cates | ★★½ | 79 | Don Ameche introduces world-famous circus acts. OK for those who care; similar to Ameche's TV series, International Showtime. | tt0060902 |
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Documentary | NULL | |||
| Rings on Her Fingers | 1942 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 85 | Con-artist Tierney falls for Fonda instead of fleecing him; standard romance with good cast hoping to repeat success of Fonda's THE LADY EVE. | tt0035258 | Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Marjorie Gateson, Iris Adrian, Clara Blandick, Mary Treen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ringside Maisie | 1941 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 96 | Maisie causes romantic complications at a boxer's training camp in this sticky and overlong entry. 'Slapsy Maxie' Rosenbloom is fun as a punch-drunk pug. Costars Sothern and Sterling married two years later. | tt0034110 | Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Robert Sterling, Virginia O'Brien, Natalie Thompson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ringu | 1998 | Hideo Nakata. | ★★★ | 95 | After the mysterious death of her niece, a reporter investigates— and views— a 'cursed' videotape that purportedly kills all those who watch it exactly seven days later. Stark cinematic technique suits this subtle, unsettling, and genuinely spooky psychological thriller, in the best tradition of metaphysical Japanese ghost stories, which builds a relentless sense of mounting dread. Based on a novel by Kôji Suzuki ('the Stephen King of Japan'), this became a phenomenon in Asia, inspiring two sequels, a prequel, a Korean version and an American remake, THE RING. | tt0178868 | Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada, Yuko Takeuchi, Hitomi Sato, Yoichi Numata. | Japanese | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Rio | 1939 | John Brahm | ★★ | 75 | Rathbone, serving ten-year prison term, suspects his wife (Gurie) is being unfaithful. His performance is sole virtue of this slick potboiler. | tt0031863 | Basil Rathbone, Victor McLaglen, Sigrid Gurie, Robert Cummings, Leo Carrillo, Billy Gilbert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rio | 2011 | Carlos Saldanha | ★★★ | 96 | Brightly colored cartoon confection about a blue macaw taken from Brazil as an infant and raised in—of all places—Minnesota. Then a naturalist tells his loving owner that if they don’t bring him back to Brazil and mate him with the one remaining female, he’ll be the last of his species. Lighthearted, fast-paced adventure yarn is strictly formulaic but pulses with the sights and sounds of Brazil, and energetic voice work. Eisenberg is especially fun to listen to in a first-rate comedic performance. | tt1436562 | [G] | Voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, Leslie Mann, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am, George Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Jake T. Austin, Jane Lynch, Wanda Sykes, Carlos Ponce | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Rio Bravo | 1959 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 141 | Sheriff Wayne tries to prevent a killer with connections from escaping from the town jail, with only a drunken Dino, leggy Angie, gimpy Brennan, and lockjawed Ricky to help him. Quintessential Hawks Western, patronized by reviewers at the time of its release, is now regarded as an American classic; overlong, but great fun. Written by Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman. Followed by EL DORADO; sort of remade as ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. | tt0053221 | John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, John Russell, Claude Akins, Bob Steele | Action, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rio Conchos | 1964 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 107 | Post-Civil War Texas is the setting for this action-filled Western centering around a shipment of stolen rifles, and Boone taking on Franciosa. Brown is notable in his film debut, and there's a zesty performance by O'Brien. | tt0058525 | Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, Anthony Franciosa, Edmond O'Brien, Jim Brown | Western | NULL | |||
| Rio Grande | 1950 | John Ford | ★★★ | 105 | The last of director Ford's Cavalry trilogy (following FORT APACHE and SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON), and the most underrated: a vivid look at the gentlemanly spirit of the Cavalry during post- Civil War days . . . and the difficult relationship between an estranged father (commander Wayne) and his son (new recruit Jarman). Beautifully shot by Bert Glennon and Archie Stout, with lovely theme by Victor Young, songs by Sons of the Pioneers (including Ken Curtis). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042895 | John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey/Jr., Victor McLaglen, Claude Jarman/Jr., Chill Wills, J. Carrol Naish, Grant Withers, Pat Wayne | Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Rio Lobo | 1970 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 114 | Hawks' final film is a lighthearted Western in the RIO BRAVO mold, with the Duke as ex-Union colonel out to settle some old scores. Youthful costars are weak, but stays on track thanks to snappy dialogue, crisp action, and riotous performance by Elam as shotgun-toting old looney. Future Paramount studio head Lansing's last film as an actress; George Plimpton has a one-line bit that served as the basis of a TV special. | tt0066301 | [G] | John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jennifer O'Neill, Jack Elam, Christopher Mitchum, Mike Henry, Susana Dosamantes, Victor French, Sherry Lansing, Bill Williams, David Huddleston, Jim Davis, Robert Donner | Western | NULL | ||
| Rio Rita | 1929 | Luther Reed | ★★½ | 103 | Historically fascinating, but cinematically archaic, version of the Ziegfeld-produced Broadway musical smash, about the bandit called 'Kinkajou' being pursued in a Mexican border town by merry band of singing Texas Rangers. A straightforward recording of the stage show, the film creaks along, though some of the production numbers are quite lavish for their time, with the last 30m. in early two-strip Technicolor. Film debuts of Wheeler and Woolsey, who played their roles in the Broadway show. Original running time 135m. Loosely remade with Abbott and Costello in 1942. | tt0020332 | Bebe Daniels, John Boles, Don Alvarado, Dorothy Lee, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Georges Renevant | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rio Rita | 1942 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 91 | Vintage Broadway musical brought up to date, with Nazis invading Western ranch where Bud and Lou work; some good music helps this one. Previously filmed in 1929 with Wheeler and Woolsey. | tt0035259 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Tom Conway, Barry Nelson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Riot | 1969 | Buzz Kulik | ★★½ | 97 | Unsurprising film about convicts Hackman and Brown planning a prison break; violent, for its time. | tt0064895 | [PG] | Jim Brown, Gene Hackman, Ben Carruthers, Mike Kellin, Gerald O'Loughlin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Riot in Cell Block 11 | 1954 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 80 | Realistic, powerful prison drama still packs a punch. Among the contemporary themes in this 1954 film is 'media manipulation,' with prisoners trying to use press for leverage. | tt0047417 | Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Riot in Juvenile Prison | 1959 | Edward L. Cahn | 💣 | 71 | Programmer fully explained by title. | tt0053222 | Jerome Thor, Marcia Henderson, Scott Marlowe, John Hoyt, Dick Tyler, Dorothy Provine, Ann Doran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Riot on Sunset Strip | 1967 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★½ | 85 | Weak exploitation of real-life mid-'60s riots on the Strip concerns cop Ray's enraged response when his daughter gets involved with drugs and hippies. | tt0062203 | Aldo Ray, Mimsy Farmer, Michael Evans, Laurie Mock, Tim Rooney, Bill Baldwin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ripley's Game | 2003 | Liliana Cavani | ★★½ | 110 | Tom Ripley, now living as a gentleman of leisure in Italy, sets up a benign neighbor (Scott) to become an assassin because of a thuggish associate's need for a killer who can't be traced. Malkovich is fine, though his Ripley isn't as intriguing or ambiguous as he's portrayed in PURPLE NOON or THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. The story starts well but eventually becomes a much-too-conventional thriller. Filmed on colorful Italian and German locations. Patricia Highsmith's novel was made before as THE AMERICAN FRIEND. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0265651 | [R] | John Malkovich, Dougray Scott, Ray Winstone, Lena Headey, Chiara Caselli | Italian-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Ripped Off | Murder in the Ring | 1971 | Franco Prosperi | ★★½ | 83 | Boxer Blake, framed for the murder of his corrupt manager, is hounded by detective Borgnine and protected by victim's daughter (Spaak). OK of its type; aka THE BOXER, MURDER IN THE RING, and COUNTER PUNCH. | tt0067914 | [R] | Robert Blake, Ernest Borgnine, Gabriele Ferzetti, Catherine Spaak, Tomas Milian | Italian | Crime | NULL |
| Riptide | 1934 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 90 | Patrick Campbell, Skeets Gallagher, Ralph Forbes, Lilyan Tashman, Helen Jerome Eddy. Silly but entertaining story of vivacious Shearer marrying stodgy British Lord (Marshall), then becoming involved in scandal with Montgomery. Don't miss opening scene where stars are dressed as giant insects for costume party! That's Walter Brennan as a chauffeur; Bruce Bennett is an extra at the bar at Cannes. | tt0025720 | Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Herbert Marshall, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Skeets Gallagher, Ralph Forbes, Lilyan Tashman, Helen Jerome Eddy | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond | 1960 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 101 | Snappy chronicle of Depression-days gangster, well balanced between action gun battles and Danton's romancing flashy dolls (like young Dyan Cannon). Outstanding photography by Lucien Ballard. | tt0054243 | Ray Danton, Karen Steele, Elaine Stewart, Jesse White, Simon Oakland, Robert Lowery, Warren Oates | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Rise and Shine | 1941 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 93 | Oakie has field day as dumb football player abducted by crooks so team won't win big game. Often unconsciously funny. Adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz from James Thurber's My Life and Hard Times. | tt0034112 | Jack Oakie, Linda Darnell, George Murphy, Walter Brennan, Sheldon Leonard, Donald Meek, Ruth Donnelly, Milton Berle, Donald MacBride, Raymond Walburn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rise of Louis XIV | 1966 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★ | 100 | Attractive, but somewhat pedantic effort to show colorful court of not-quite straitlaced Louis XIV. Objective, almost documentary-like, but final effect is uninvolving. Made for French TV. | tt0060860 | JeanMarie Patte, Raymond Jourdan, Silvagni, Katharina Renn, Dominique Vincent, Pierre Barrat | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | 2011 | Rupert Wyatt | ★★½ | 105 | Research scientist Franco searches for a cure for Alzheimer's disease, which has stricken his father (Lithgow). When his lab program is shut down, he decides to raise Caesar, the test-lab chimpanzee, at home. His well-meaning gesture plants the seeds of destruction when Caesar grows up and is placed in a cruelly run animal shelter. Reinvention of the PLANET OF THE APES series starts out so well it seems a shame it winds up like a cheesy monster movie of the 1950s, with 21st-century visual effects. Everything we see seems absolutely real, including Caesar, played in performance-capture form by Serkis. Screenplay is rife with references to the 1968 movie and its sequels. | tt1318514 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Andy Serkis, Tyler Labine | Drama, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Rise: Blood Hunter | 2007 | Sebastian Gutierrez | 💣 | 94 | Reporter Liu, investigating a potentially hot story, stumbles onto a cult of murderous vampires. Slick but staggeringly dumb, with a near-incoherent storyline; Liu wears a constant scowl, and Forster cameos as “Lloyd from Fresno.” Unrated version runs 122m. | tt0389328 | [R] | Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, James D’Arcy, Carla Gugino, Elden Henson, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Simon Rex, Allan Rich, Fran Kranz, Mako, Marilyn Manson, Nick Lachey, Robert Forster | U.S.-New Zealand | Thriller, Action | NULL | |
| Rising Sun | 1993 | Philip Kaufman | ★★½ | 129 | L.A. cop Snipes and Japan expert Connery investigate a homicide case that implicates a powerful Japanese corporation and a U.S. senator. Stripped-down version of Michael Crichton's detailed and controversial novel (adapted by Crichton and Kaufman) is alternately compelling, confusing, obvious, and silly, with credibility strained to the breaking point. | tt0107969 | [R] | Sean Connery, Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kevin Anderson, Mako, Ray Wise, Stan Egi, Stan Shaw, Tia Carrere, Steve Buscemi, Tatjana Patitz, Clyde Kusatsu | Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Rising of the Moon | 1957 | John Ford | ★★½ | 81 | Cyril Cusack, Maureen Connell, Noel Purcell, Frank Lawton, Jimmy O'Dea. Trio of flavorful stories about Irish life: 'Majesty of the Law,' 'A Minute's Wait,' '1921,' as performed by Dublin's renowned Abbey Players. | tt0050902 | Introduced by Tyrone Power | Irish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Risk | 1960 | John Boulting, Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 81 | Tense drama of spies chasing scientist who has secret formula to combat plague. Good direction, cast. | tt0054244 | Tony Britton, Peter Cushing, Ian Bannen, Virginia Maskell, Donald Pleasence | British | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Risky Business | 1983 | Paul Brickman | ★★★ | 96 | Piquant, original comedy about a reticent teenager who goes a bit wild while his parents are out of town, and becomes involved— in more ways than one— with a prostitute. Brickman's darkly satiric script is balanced by Cruise's utterly likable (and believable) performance in the lead. | tt0086200 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Curtis Armstrong, Bronson Pinchot, Raphael Sbarge, Joe Pantoliano, Nicholas Pryor, Janet Carroll, Richard Masur, Kevin Anderson, Megan Mullally | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rita, Sue and Bob Too | 1986 | Alan Clarke | ★★★ | 95 | Rita and Sue, two plain-looking, slightly overweight working class teens, babysit for Bob and his frigid wife . . . and soon, Rita, Sue and Bob are making three-way whoopee. A shamelessly funny, profane, well-acted sleeper that's definitely not for all tastes. Some of the sex scenes— particularly those in Bob's car— are a riot. | tt0091859 | [R] | Siobhan Finneran, Michelle Holmes, George Costigan, Lesley Sharp, Willie Ross, Patti Nicholls, Kulvinder Ghir | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Rite | 1969 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 76 | Penetrating four-character drama, crammed with symbolism, about a trio of actors— a woman, her husband, and her lover— who have been accused of performing a provocative mime act in public, and come before a judge. Strange, disturbing, sexually frank, and uniquely Bergmanesque, with an anti-censorship point of view. Starkly directed and photographed (by Sven Nykvist); a showcase for all four performers. This was Bergman's first film for television. | tt0064897 | Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Anders Ek, Erik Hell | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rite | 2011 | Mikael Håfström | ★★ | 114 | Young man (O’Donoghue) becomes a novitiate priest for the education, but while studying in Rome he’s assigned to work with Hopkins, a matter-of-fact specialist in exorcism. The priest invites his guest to witness an exorcism—and later begins to show signs of demonic possession himself. Though this takes a serious approach to the subject, from a Catholic point of view, it’s not likely to convince many. Hopkins is good, but the movie seems trivial, and is short on horror content, with the demonic activity mostly in the last third. | tt1161864 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciarán Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Ritual | Tales From The Crypt Presents Ritual | 2006 | Avi Nesher | ★★ | 106 | Dr. Grey doesn't realize what she's getting herself into when she heads for Jamaica to care for a young man who's convinced he's turning into a zombie. Lame remake of I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE is tolerable only when sticking to the plot, which isn't often enough. Stephen Tobolowsky appears unbilled. Filmed in 2001, released direct to DVD five years later! Aka TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS RITUAL. | tt0250698 | [R] | Jennifer Grey, Craig Sheffer, Daniel Lapaine, Kristen Wilson, Gabriel Casseus, Tim Curry, Dorothy Cunningham, Carl Bradshaw | Horror | NULL | |
| Rituals | The Creeper | 1978 | Peter Carter | ★½ | 100 | Ripoff of DELIVERANCE with Holbrook and four fellow M.D.s terrorized during wilderness vacation. Unpleasant, to say the least. Reissued as THE CREEPER. | tt0076630 | [R] | Hal Holbrook, Lawrence Dane, Robin Gammell, Ken James, Gary Reineke | Canadian | Crime, Horror | NULL |
| The Ritz | 1976 | Richard Lester | ★★½ | 91 | Brisk filming of Terrence McNally's farce about a schnook fleeing his murderous brother-in-law by hiding in gay baths suffers from feeling that it's all a photographed stage performance. Moreno is memorable recreating her Tony-winning role as no-talent entertainer Googie Gomez. Filmed in England. | tt0075144 | [R] | Jack Weston, Rita Moreno, Jerry Stiller, Kaye Ballard, F. Murray Abraham, Treat Williams, Paul Price, George Coulouris, Bessie Love, John Ratzenberger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rivals | 1972 | Krishna Shah | ★★½ | 103 | A remarriage forces young child to try and murder the new rival for his mother's affections. Offbeat, to say the least. | tt0069185 | [R] | Robert Klein, Joan Hackett, Scott Jacoby | Drama | NULL | ||
| River Lady | 1948 | George Sherman | ★★ | 78 | Typical De Carlo vehicle about riverboat queen trying to buy her man when she can't win him with love; colorful and empty. | tt0040738 | Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Rod Cameron, Helena Carter, Lloyd Gough, Florence Bates | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The River Niger | 1976 | Krishna Shah | ★★★ | 105 | Intelligent, moving story (based on 1972 Tony Award- winning play) of black family trying to come to terms with the world and themselves. Touching and convincing. | tt0075145 | [R] | James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Glynn Turman, Lou Gossett, Roger E. Mosley, Jonelle Allen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The River Rat | 1984 | Tom Rickman | ★★½ | 93 | Occasionally perceptive drama about ex-con Jones, falsely imprisoned for murder, and his arrival home after 13 years in the slammer. Works best when focusing on his relationship with his 12-year-old daughter (Plimpton), but spins out of control when dealing with a search for hidden money. Directorial debut for screenwriter Rickman (COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER). | tt0088006 | [PG] | Tommy Lee Jones, Nancy Lea Owen, Brian Dennehy, Martha Plimpton | Adventure, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| A River Runs Through It | 1992 | Robert Redford | ★★½ | 123 | A preacher (Skerritt) teaches his sons about life, grace, and love through the art of fly-fishing in their native Montana, but as the boys grow up and follow very different paths they find that fishing is the one bond that still draws them together. Respectful adaptation of Norman Maclean's autobiographical novella. Beautifully filmed in Montana, with Oscar-winning cinematography by Philippe Rousselot . . . but the pace is deliberate, the emotions muted, and the result is a bit sleepy at times. | tt0105265 | [PG] | Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Emily Lloyd, Brenda Blethyn, Edie McClurg, Stephen Shellen, Vann Gravage, Nicole Burdette, Susan Traylor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt; narration (uncredited) by Robert Redford | Drama | NULL | ||
| The River Wild | 1994 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 108 | Exciting, well-wrought adventure yarn about a woman taking her young son and nearly estranged husband on a whitewater raft ride— and falling prey to a pair of bad guys on the lam. Streep's complete credibility, as a wife, mom, and rafting expert, keeps this afloat, along with good performances and vivid action scenes. | tt0110997 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, John C. Reilly, Elizabeth Hoffman, Victor H. Galloway, Benjamin Bratt | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| River of Death | 1989 | Steve Carver | ★½ | 111 | Complicated jungle yarn involving a lost city, mad Nazi scientist Vaughn, vengeful Nazi war criminal Pleasence, hero Dudikoff, and the usual hangers-on. Absurd adventure from Alistair MacLean's novel. | tt0098205 | [R] | Michael Dudikoff, Donald Pleasence, Herbert Lom, Cynthia Erland, Robert Vaughn, L. Q. Jones, Sarah Maur Thorp | Adventure | NULL | ||
| River of No Return | 1954 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 91 | Mitchum rescues Calhoun and Monroe from leaky raft; Calhoun returns the favor by stealing his horse and abandoning them (and Mitchum's young son) to hostile Indians. Dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, but it's worth watching Mitchum and Monroe at her most beautiful— not to mention some gorgeous locations (seen to best advantage in CinemaScope). | tt0047422 | Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun, Tommy Rettig, Murvyn Vye, Douglas Spencer | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| River's Edge | 1986 | Tim Hunter | ★★★ | 99 | Gripping story of teenagers who don't know how to react when one of their friends murders a girl from their clique and leaves her body along the riverbank. Absorbing, if not perfect, study of contemporary kids and their feelings of alienation from grown-ups, from society, and from responsibility . . . with a wild performance by Glover as their self-styled ringleader. Best of all is Hopper, perfectly cast as a leftover biker and druggie who can't relate to the kids' lack of values. Disturbing and thought-provoking— all the more so when you learn that the story was based on a real-life incident! | tt0091860 | [R] | Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye Leitch, Roxana Zal, Daniel Roebuck, Tom Bower, Constance Forslund, Leo Rossi, Jim Metzler, Dennis Hopper | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The River's Edge | 1957 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 87 | Melodrama about heel (Milland), his ex-girlfriend (Paget), and her husband (Quinn) trying to cross Mexican border with suitcase of money. Ray has never been nastier. | tt0050903 | Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn, Debra Paget, Byron Foulger | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |||
| River's End | 1930 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★½ | 74 | Bickford delivers a two-fisted performance in a dual role as a wanted man who takes the place of a look-alike Royal Canadian Mountie who captured him but then died in a blizzard. Good trick photography highlights this James Oliver Curwood story. Filmed before in 1920, remade in 1940 with Dennis Morgan. | tt0021303 | Charles Bickford, Evalyn Knapp, J. Farrell MacDonald, ZaSu Pitts, Walter McGrail, David Torrence, Junior Coghlan, Tom Santschi. | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The River | 1951 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 99 | Immensely moving, lyrical adaptation of Rumer Godden novel about English children growing up in Bengal. One of the great color films, a total triumph for cinematographer Claude and director Jean Renoir. Scripted by Godden and Renoir. | tt0043972 | Patricia Walters, Nora Swinburne, Arthur Shields, Radha, Adrienne Corri, Esmond Knight; narrated by June Hillman | Indian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The River | 1984 | Mark Rydell | ★★½ | 122 | Close-knit family struggles to make good on their farm, which is constantly threatened by river that flows alongside. Spacek's a perfect farm woman (and mother) but Gibson's character is so coldly stubborn that it's hard to empathize. Beautifully shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. | tt0088007 | [PG-13] | Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson, Shane Bailey, Becky Jo Lynch, Scott Glenn, Don Hood, Billy Green Bush, James Tolkan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Riverrun | 1970 | John Korty | ★★ | 87 | Unmarried couple expecting a baby has its happiness intruded upon by disagreeable visit from her sea-captain father. Mild drama has lovely photography (by Korty), but the leads are bland, story not that interesting. | tt0063509 | [R] | John McLiam, Louise Ober, Mark Jenkins, Josephine Nichols | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rize | 2005 | David LaChapelle | ★★½ | 86 | Documentary examines the evolution of Krumping, an energetic hip-hop-derived style of dancing that emerged from the 1992 L.A. riots. Profiles some of the leaders of this movement and spotlights some of their competitive dance-offs, also revealing the often abysmal, dysfunctional home lives that generate a yearning for self-expression and release. A crowd pleaser at several film festivals. Feature debut for well-regarded photographer and music video director LaChappelle, who expanded this from a short called KRUMPED that debuted at Sundance in 2004. | tt0436724 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Road Back | 1937 | James Whale | ★★ | 97 | The German soldiers from ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT find postwar life at home full of frustrations. Heavy-handed sequel to the Erich Maria Remarque classic; interesting to watch but unsatisfying. Summerville repeats his role from the 1930 original. | tt0029491 | Richard Cromwell, John King, Slim Summerville, Andy Devine, Barbara Read, Louise Fazenda, Noah Beery/Jr., Lionel Atwill | Drama | NULL | |||
| Road Gang | 1936 | Louis King. | ★★½ | 61 | Woods is a Chicago reporter who causes trouble for racketeers and crooked politicos and winds up in a brutal Southern chain gang for his efforts. Derivative but effective and absorbing programmer, scripted by Dalton Trumbo. | tt0028190 | Donald Woods, Kay Linaker, Carlyle Moore/Jr., Joseph Crehan, Henry O'Neill, Addison Richards, Marc Lawrence. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Road Home | 1999 | Zhang Yimou | ★★½ | 89 | A businessman returns to his rural native village upon the death of his father and recalls how his parents met: his father came to the village as the new schoolteacher, and his mother was instantly smitten. A pleasant but minor film for a great filmmaker, buoyed by an appealing performance by Zhang Ziyi (playing the mother as a girl). | tt0235060 | [G] | Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, Zheng Hao, Zhao Yuelin, Li Bin, Chang Guifa, Sung Wencheng, Liu Qi | Chinese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Road House | 1948 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 95 | Psychotic roadhouse owner Widmark deludes himself into thinking he 'owns' singer Lupino; when she falls for his childhood friend and employee (Wilde), sparks fly in this entertaining melodrama. Ida even gets to sing, introducing the standard 'Again.' | tt0040740 | Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, Celeste Holm, Richard Widmark, O. Z. Whitehead, Robert Karnes | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Road House | 1989 | Rowdy Herrington | ★½ | 114 | Bouncer Swayze— an N.Y.U. philosophy major, no less— is hired to clean house at a hellhole Midwest saloon and tangles with local kingpin Gazzara. One broken limb won't suffice when 27 will do; brain-dead yahoo fare is fun for a while. | tt0098206 | [R] | Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Marshall Teague, Kevin Tighe, Kathleen Wilhoite, The Jeff Healey Band | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Road Killers | 1995 | Deran Sarafian | ★★½ | 89 | HOT RODS TO HELL redux, updated to the dysfunctional '90s: a group of vacationers (led by stone-faced Lambert), on a road trip through the Nevada desert, are terrorized by a gang of psychos (led by Sheffer in a hilarious hippie wig). Enjoyably trashy drive-in fodder— but since there are no more drive-ins, this one went straight to video. Filmed in 1993 under the title ROADFLOWER. | tt0110999 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Craig Sheffer, David Arquette, Josh Brolin, Michelle Forbes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrienne Shelly | Action | NULL | ||
| Road Scholar | 1993 | Roger Weisberg | ★★★ | 81 | Straightforward, entertaining documentary of humorist/social commentator Andrei Codrescu's journey across America in a '68 Cadillac convertible. An interesting and often wry look at an array of different people in our land, some unique, some eccentric, and some in a world all their own. Codrescu provides perceptive running narration. | tt0107974 | [PG] |
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| Road Show | 1941 | Hal Roach, Gordon Douglas, Hal Roach/ Jr | ★★½ | 87 | Offbeat comedy of young man, wrongfully committed to an insane asylum, escaping and joining up with traveling carnival; some bright moments in inconsequential film. Cowritten by Harry Langdon. | tt0034115 | Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis, John Hubbard, Charles Butterworth, Patsy Kelly, George E. Stone | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Road Trip | 2000 | Todd Phillips | ★★★ | 91 | A college student in upstate N.Y. has to head off an incriminating videotape accidentally sent to his girlfriend in Austin, Texas . . . so he and three others set off on a frantic road trip. Likable teen comedy has the requisite number of gross-out gags and female nudity to please its intended audience . . . but by any standards, it's pretty funny. Hollywood directing debut for Phillips, who made the documentary FRAT HOUSE. Also available in unrated version. | tt0215129 | [R] | Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Amy Smart, Paulo Costanzo, DJ Qualls, Rachel Blanchard, Anthony Rapp, Fred Ward, Tom Green, Andy Dick, Horatio Sanz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Road Warrior | Mad Max 2 | 1981 | George Miller | ★★★½ | 94 | Sequel to MAD MAX finds Max, now a loner, reluctantly helping tiny oil-producing community defend itself against band of depraved crazies thirsty for precious fuel. Far less original script-wise, but trend-setting visual design and some of the most unbelievable car stunts ever filmed make this equal to, if not better than, the first one. Original title: MAD MAX 2; followed by MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME. | tt0082694 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Vernon Wells, Mike Preston, Virginia Hey, Emil Minty, Kjell Nilsson | Australian | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Road to Bali | 1952 | Hal Walker | ★★★ | 90 | Only color ROAD film has lush trappings, many guest stars and good laughs, as Bob and Bing save Dorothy from evil princess and jungle perils. Carolyn Jones has a bit. | tt0045094 | Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Bing Crosby, Murvyn Vye, Ralph Moody | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Road to Corinthe | Who's Got the Black Box? | 1967 | Claude Chabrol. | ★★★ | 97 | Sly spy spoof about the wife of a NATO agent in Greece who's framed for his murder and goes on the run to catch the real killer. Meanwhile, she's also trying to find out who's smuggling black boxes into the country that are jamming American radar installations. James Bond/Hitchcock pastiche works as both an entertaining espionage thriller and a surreal satire of the genre. Originally released in the U.S. in an 85m. version called WHO'S GOT THE BLACK BOX? | tt0063526 | Jean Seberg, Maurice Ronet, Christian Marquand, Michel Bouquet, Saro Urzi, Claude Chabrol, Romain Gary. | French-Greek-Italian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Road to Denver | 1955 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 90 | Fast pacing aids this narrative of Payne and brother Homeier on opposite sides of the law, involved in shoot-out. | tt0048557 | John Payne, Lee J. Cobb, Skip Homeier, Mona Freeman, Ray Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Andy Clyde, Glenn Strange | Western | NULL | |||
| The Road to El Dorado | 2000 | Eric ``Bibo'' Bergeron, Don Paul | ★★ | 89 | Two con-artist pals in the 16th century find themselves on an accidental journey to the legendary city of gold with a map in their hands. Beautifully designed and staged, but relentlessly mediocre, with one-note humor and forgettable Elton John-Tim Rice songs. Great animation doesn't matter if you don't care about the characters. | tt0138749 | [PG] | Voices of Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, Edward James Olmos, Jim Cummings | Animation, Adventure, Family, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Road to Eternity | The Human Condition Part II | 1959 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★½ | 183 | In this second in Kobayashi’s three-part epic (following NO GREATER LOVE and succeeded by A SOLDIER’S PRAYER), military conscript Kaji (Nakadai) is seen in training and eventually in battle. While surrounded by hostility and violence, he strains to preserve his humanity. Highlights include Kaji’s poignant one-night reunion with his wife (Aratama) and an unforgettable final, extended battle sequence. Scripted by Kobayashi and Zenzo Matsuyama, based on a six-volume novel by Junpei Gomikawa. Aka THE HUMAN CONDITION PART II. | tt0053115 | Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Kokinji Katsura, Jun Tatara, Michio Minami, Ryohei Uchida, Kenjiro Uemura, Keiji Sada, Minoru Chiaki | Japanese | NULL | ||
| The Road to Glory | 1936 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 95 | Solid production, direction, and acting make more of script (cowritten by William Faulkner) than is really there. Hardened officer Baxter finds his father (Barrymore) serving in his unit in WW1 France. Romantic subplot involves officer March and nurse Lang. Unrelated to same-titled film directed by Hawks in 1926. Remake of 1932 French film LES CROIX DE BOIS, using some of its battle footage. | tt0028191 | Fredric March, Warner Baxter, Lionel Barrymore, June Lang, Gregory Ratoff, Victor Kilian | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Road to Guantanamo | 2006 | Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross | ★★★ | 95 | Four British Pakistanis-young men who have returned to Karachi on a lark-find that the country of their childhood is no more. While touring in neighboring Afghanistan, they're mistaken for Taliban fighters and become prisoners of war, ending up at the notorious Cuban prison for weeks, then months, then years. Unusual political thriller poses as a documentary, complete with interviews with the 'survivors.' Harrowing film blames America for its unnecessary military intervention in the Middle East, and fictionally shows some tragic repercussions of Bush and Blair's steadfastness. | tt0468094 | [R] | Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Siddiqui, Arfan Usman, Shahid Iqbal, Sher Khan, Jason Salkey, James Buller | British | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |
| The Road to Hong Kong | 1962 | Norman Panama | ★★½ | 91 | Final ROAD picture was the first in a decade, and while it's fun it lacks the carefree spirit of its predecessors; Bob and Bing are con men who become involved in international intrigue— and space travel! Sellers has a hilarious cameo; Lamour appears briefly as herself. Look fast for the Bob Crosby Band. Filmed in England. | tt0056417 | Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Joan Collins, Dorothy Lamour, Robert Morley, Walter Gotell, Peter Sellers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Road to Morocco | 1942 | David Butler | ★★★ | 83 | Typically funny ROAD picture, with Bing selling Bob to slave-trader in mysterious Morocco, both going after princess Lamour. Bing sings 'Moonlight Becomes You.' | tt0035262 | Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Dona Drake, Anthony Quinn, Vladimir Sokoloff, Monte Blue, Yvonne De Carlo | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Road to Nashville | 1967 | Robert Patrick | ★½ | 110 | Inept promoter tries to line up talent for Country-Western jamboree. The music's not bad when the plot gets out of the way. | tt0268582 | Marty Robbins, Doodles Weaver, Connie Smith, Richard Arlen | Musical | NULL | |||
| Road to Perdition | 2002 | Sam Mendes | ★★★½ | 117 | A Midwestern hit man finds himself in an untenable situation with his surrogate father, a powerful underworld boss, and flees to Chicago with his wide-eyed 12-year-old son during the depths of the Great Depression. A good yarn played out on a grand scale, with dynamic performances, impressive production design by Dennis Gassner, Oscar-winning cinematography by Conrad L. Hall, and the emotional pull of a story about fathers and sons. Further enhanced by Thomas Newman's beautiful score. Screenplay by David Self, from the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner. | tt0257044 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin, Liam Aiken, Dylan Baker, Ciarán Hinds | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Road to Rio | 1947 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 100 | Bob and Bing are musicians trying to wrest Dorothy from sinister aunt Sondergaard. Very funny outing in series. Songs: 'But Beautiful,' 'You Don't Have to Know the Language,' sung with guests The Andrews Sisters. | tt0039776 | Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Frank Faylen, The Wiere Brothers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Road to Salina | 1971 | Georges Lautner | ★★½ | 96 | Enjoyably trashy tale about wanderer who returns to his mother's diner and spends much time making love with a girl who might be his sister. And if that isn't kinky enough for you, Rita does the frug with Ed Begley! | tt0067681 | [R] | Mimsy Farmer, Robert Walker, Rita Hayworth, Ed Begley, Bruce Pecheur | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Road to Singapore | 1940 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★½ | 84 | Bing and Bob swear off women, hiding out in Singapore; then they meet saronged Lamour. First ROAD film is not the best, but still fun. | tt0032993 | Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Colonna, Monte Blue, Arthur Q. Bryan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Road to Utopia | 1946 | Hal Walker. | ★★★ | 90 | Bob and Bing in the Klondike with usual quota of gags, supplemented by talking animals, Dorothy's song 'Personality,' Robert Benchley's dry commentary. | tt0038032 | Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Hillary Brooke, Douglass Dumbrille, Jack LaRue, Jim Thorpe. | Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Road to Wellville | 1994 | Alan Parker | ★★ | 117 | Disappointing adaptation of T. Coraghessan Boyle's comic novel, following the plight of a couple (Fonda, Broderick) after they converge on a turn-of-the-century spa operated in Battle Creek, Michigan, by health zealot John W. Kellogg (the real-life inventor of corn flakes). Maddeningly uneven, with plot threads constantly being picked up and dropped. Carvey is especially wasted as Kellogg's oddball son. Only Hopkins' delightful, over-the-top performance as John W. makes this worth watching. | tt0111001 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Dana Carvey, Michael Lerner, Colm Meaney, John Neville, Lara Flynn Boyle, Traci Lind, Camryn Manheim, Norbert Weisser, Carole Shelley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Road to Yesterday | 1925 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 110 | Criss-crossed couples in romantic tangle are contrasted with 17th-century ancestors, who play out similar story against colorful period setting. DeMille at his best: lavish, hokey, always entertaining. | tt0016294 | Joseph Schildkraut, Jetta Goudal, Vera Reynolds, William Boyd, Julia Faye | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Road to Zanzibar | 1941 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★½ | 92 | Weaker ROAD series entry, still amusing, with Bob and Bing circus performers traveling through jungle with Lamour and Merkel, looking for diamond mine. | tt0034116 | Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Road | 2009 | John Hillcoat | ★★★ | 111 | Wrenchingly difficult movie, adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s best-selling novel, about a father’s determination to protect his young son and prepare him to survive in a grim, postapocalyptic world. Bleak, to be sure, but compelling, with a great performance by Mortensen—and an impressive one by Smit-McPhee as the boy. | tt0898367 | [R] | Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Molly Parker, Michael Kenneth Williams, Garret Dillahunt | Drama, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Roadblock | 1951 | Harold Daniels | ★★½ | 73 | Insurance investigator's growing attachment to a money-hungry woman leads him to crime. Typical film noir formula, smoothly executed. | tt0043973 | Charles McGraw, Joan Dixon, Lowell Gilmore, Louis Jean Heydt, Milburn Stone | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Roadgames | 1981 | Richard Franklin | ★★½ | 100 | Adequate thriller about truckdriver Keach pursuing a murderer. Curtis is a hitchhiker he picks up. Not bad. Director Franklin, an avowed Hitchcock disciple, went on to make PSYCHO II. | tt0083000 | [PG] | Stacy Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marion Edward, Grant Page, Bill Stacey | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Roadhouse 66 | 1984 | John Mark Robinson | ★½ | 96 | Predictable, paper-thin nonsense about upper-class Reinhold and hitchhiker Dafoe and their troubles in a small Arizona town after their car breaks down. Pretty boring stuff. | tt0088008 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Judge Reinhold, Kaaren Lee, Kate Vernon, Stephen Elliot, Alan Autry | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Roadhouse Murder | 1932 | J. Walter Ruben. | ★★½ | 72 | Cub reporter tries to grab headlines by implicating himself in a homicide he stumbled upon so he can write exclusive stories about the case . . . then the evidence that would clear him is stolen. Implausible but absorbing little thriller foreshadows Fritz Lang's BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. | tt0023406 | Eric Linden, Dorothy Jordan, Bruce Cabot, Phyllis Clare, Roscoe Ates, Purnell Pratt, Gustav von Seyffertitz, David Landau, Roscoe Karns. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Roadhouse Nights | 1930 | Hobart Henley. | ★★½ | 71 | Reporter Ruggles poses as a tippler to track down a gangster who is using a country inn as a base for his rum-running operation. Fascinating if crudely filmed early talkie is notable for Morgan's glorious singing, and for the presence of Durante (in his film debut) performing routines with his vaudeville partners Clayton and Jackson. Story by Ben Hecht. | tt0021305 | Helen Morgan, Charles Ruggles, Fred Kohler, Jimmy Durante, Lou Clayton, Eddie Jackson, Fuller Mellish/Jr., Tammany Young, Joe King. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Roadie | 1980 | Alan Rudolph | ★½ | 105 | Fat roadie (Loaf) and skinny aspiring groupie (Hunter) spend nearly two hours of screen time trying to meet Cooper. Talented director Rudolph turns into a Hal Needham clone with loud, excruciatingly dopey comedy. | tt0081433 | [PG] | *** Meat Loaf, Kaki Hunter, Art Carney, Gailard Sartain, Alice Cooper, Blondie, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams/Jr., Ramblin' Jack Elliot | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Roadracers | 1994 | Robert Rodriguez | Above Average TV Movie | 94 | The 1950s: Small-town 'wild one' Arquette has problems with his girlfriend Hayek, mean local sheriff Sadler, and the sheriff's hoodlum son. Funny, slightly overstated, well acted, and especially well edited (by the director). Lots of fun, until a grim, violent climax. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, based on old American-International pictures; this uses only the title of the 1958 original. Hayek's U.S. feature debut. | tt0111002 | David Arquette, John Hawkes, Salma Hayek, Jason Wiles, William Sadler, O'Neal Compton, Christian Klemash, Aaron Vaughn, Tammy Brady Conrad, Mark Lowenthal, Kevin McCarthy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Roadside Prophets | 1992 | Abbe Wool | ★★★ | 96 | Construction worker Doe, whose best friend is his motorcycle, rides from L.A. to seek the 'legendary' city of El Dorado in Nevada. His purpose: to dispose of the ashes of an acquaintance, who died while playing a video game. Along the way he gains a traveling companion (Horovitz) and meets various characters who are leftovers from the 1960s counterculture. A bit too self-consciously hip but a wry, potent look at modern-day alienation and how yesterday's pop culture becomes today's nostalgia. | tt0105267 | [R] | John Doe, Adam Horovitz, David Carradine, John Cusack, Bill Cobbs, Jennifer Balgobin, David Anthony Marshall, Stephen Tobolowsky, Timothy Leary, Arlo Guthrie, Ellie Raab | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Roar | 1981 | Noel Marshall | ★★ | 102 | Accident-ridden production that took 11 years and $17 million for Hedren and husband Marshall to finish. Comedy-adventure about wife and children visiting eccentric scientist husband in jungle after being separated for years is also pro-preservation-of-African-wildlife statement. Nice try, but no cigar. Of additional interest today for early appearance of Hedren's daughter Griffith. | tt0083001 | [PG] | Tippi Hedren, Noel Marshall, John Marshall, Melanie Griffith, Jerry Marshall, Kyalo Mativo | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Roar of the Crowd | 1953 | William Beaudine. | ★½ | 71 | Hackneyed auto-racing tale chronicling the trials of driver Duff and his quest to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Top auto racers of the period appear as themselves. | tt0046245 | Howard Duff, Helene Stanley, Louise Arthur, Harry Shannon, Minor Watson, Don Haggerty. | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Roaring Twenties | 1939 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 104 | Army buddies Cagney, Bogart, and Lynn find their lives intertwining dramatically after WW1 ends. Cagney becomes big-time prohibition racketeer in largely hackneyed script punched across by fine cast, vivid direction. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031867 | James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart, Gladys George, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Joe Sawyer | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Rob Roy | 1995 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★★ | 139 | Absorbing tale of Rob Roy MacGregor, a lowborn man of high ideals in early 1700s Scotland who refuses to sacrifice his integrity to save his skin— or his family's. Beautiful scenery and rugged action (including several sword fights) complement an intelligent script. Deliberately paced, with solid performances from Neeson and Lange, and a delicious, scene-stealing turn by Roth as a smarmy badguy. Never quite rousing but always entertaining. | tt0114287 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Andrew Keir, Brian Cox, Brian McCardie, Gilbert Martin, Vicki Masson | U.S.-Scottish | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | |
| Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue | 1954 | Harold French | ★½ | 85 | Disney's dreariest British film casts Todd as leader of Scottish clan planning uprising against England's King George in 18th century. Turgid and unrewarding. Story told much better in 1995 version. | tt0046246 | Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough, Finlay Currie, Jean Taylor-Smith | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Robber's Roost | 1955 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 82 | Rugged cast gives zip to this Zane Grey Western of outlaw gangs fighting for control of ranchland. Previously filmed in 1933. | tt0048558 | George Montgomery, Richard Boone, Bruce Bennett, Warren Stevens, Peter Graves, Sylvia Findley | Western | NULL | |||
| Robbery | 1967 | Peter Yates | ★★★ | 114 | Another study of the British Royal Mail robbery; few surprises, but generally exciting, well handled. | tt0062207 | Stanley Baker, Joanna Pettet, James Booth, Frank Finlay, Barry Foster, William Marlowe | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Robbery Under Arms | 1985 | Ken Hannam, Donald Crombie | ★½ | 141 | Tedious adventure about the dashing Captain Starlight (Neill), a fabled 19th-century gentleman-rogue, and two willful young brothers who hook up with his gang. This instantly forgettable actioner originally was a television miniseries. The saga of Starlight was filmed several times before, most famously in 1957. | tt0089925 | Sam Neill, Steven Vidler, Christopher Cummins, Liz Newman, Deborah Coulls, Susie Lindeman, Tommy Lewis | Australian | Western | NULL | ||
| The Robe | 1953 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 135 | Earnest but episodic costume drama from Lloyd C. Douglas novel about Roman centurion who presides over Christ's crucifixion. Burton's Oscar-nominated performance seems stiff and superficial today, while Mature (as his slave Demetrius) comes off quite well! Famed as first movie in CinemaScope, though it was simultaneously shot 'flat.' Sequel: DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS. | tt0046247 | Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Richard Boone, Jay Robinson, Dawn Addams, Dean Jagger, Jeff Morrow, Ernest Thesiger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Robert et Robert | 1978 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★ | 105 | Winning comedy about a friendship between two lonely bachelors named Robert, one an eccentric, impatient cab driver, the other a shy, indecisive apprentice traffic cop. Villeret really scores as the latter. | tt0078171 | Charles Denner, Jacques Villeret, Jean-Claude Brialy, Macha Meril, Germaine Montero, Regine | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Roberta | 1935 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 106 | The story of this famous Jerome Kern-Otto Harbach musical creaks and groans, but 'supporting' characters Astaire and Rogers make up for it in their exuberant dance numbers. You can try counting how many times Scott says 'swell,' or try to spot young Lucille Ball in fashion-show sequence to get through the rest. Songs include 'I Won't Dance,' 'Lovely to Look At,' 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,' and 'Yesterdays.' Based on the Alice Duer Miller novel Gowns By Roberta. Remade as LOVELY TO LOOK AT. | tt0026942 | Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Victor Varconi, Candy Candido | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Robin Hood | 1973 | Wolfgang Reitherman | ★★½ | 83 | Undistinguished Disney cartoon feature is pleasant enough for kids, but lacks story strength (and heart). Animals fill traditional Robin Hood roles, with Phil Harris' Little John a virtual reprise of his Baloo the Bear from THE JUNGLE BOOK. Disney's live-action STORY OF ROBIN HOOD was much better. | tt0070608 | [G] | Voices of Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Monica Evans, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas, Andy Devine, Roger Miller, Pat Buttram, George Lindsey, Carole Shelley | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Robin Hood | 1991 | John Irvin | Average TV Movie | 150 | Lengthy but competent retelling of the Robin Hood legend. Bergin plays the title role with a brooding, roguish glint; Thurman plays Maid Marian in a nasty, pouting fashion. Handsomely photographed, although the dark, misty ambience drains virtually all color from many scenes. Originally developed as a theatrical feature (which is how it played outside the U.S.), this aired on TV just before the Kevin Costner version debuted. Trimmed to 116m. for video. | tt0102797 | [NR] | Patrick Bergin, Uma Thurman, Jeroen Krabbé, Jürgen Prochnow, Edward Fox, Owen Teale, Jeff Nuttal, David Morrisey | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Robin Hood | 2010 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 140 | Gritty, large-scale historical adventure might be called THE MAN WHO WOULD BE ROBIN HOOD, as it dramatizes events leading up to the creation of the legendary outlaw. Crowe is solid as ever as a loyal soldier of King Richard the Lionheart who discovers that his fate lies in Nottingham. There he encounters a widowed Marian (Blanchett) and her father (von Sydow, in a terrific turn), who holds the key to Robin’s past—and his fateful future. Epic in scale, masterfully crafted, this saga goes on a bit too long—and its seaside battle climax seems to belong in another movie—but it’s still entertaining. | tt0955308 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle, Douglas Hodge, Léa Seydoux | U.S.-British | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Robin Hood of El Dorado | 1936 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 86 | Pseudobiography of Mexican bandit Joaquin Murietta, who turns to crime to avenge his wife's murder. Well made, on beautiful locations, but fools around too much for its dramatic moments to be truly effective. | tt0028197 | Warner Baxter, Ann Loring, Margo, Bruce Cabot, J. Carrol Naish | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Robin Hood of Texas | 1947 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 71 | Gene and his friends track modern-day bank robbers to a dude ranch after they are suspected of the holdup themselves. Gene's last picture for Republic after thirteen years at the studio is not one of his best. | tt0039780 | Gene Autry, Lynne Roberts, Sterling Holloway, Adele Mara, James Cardwell, John Kellogg, The Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Robin Hood of the Pecos | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 59 | Roy and Gabby organize night riders in post-Civil War Texas to combat villainous Kendall and his carpetbagger militia. Good cast in an overly familiar story set during the Reconstruction Era. | tt0034120 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Marjorie Reynolds, Cy Kendall, Leigh Whipper, Sally Payne, Eddie Acuff, Jay Novello, Robert Strange, William Haade, Roscoe Ates. | Western | NULL | |||
| Robin Hood: Men in Tights | 1993 | Mel Brooks | ★★½ | 102 | Disappointingly mild Brooks parody with Elwes as the hero of Sherwood Forest, and Rees a hilarious Sheriff of Rottingham. (Brooks himself plays Rabbi Tuchman, a variation on Friar Tuck.) Laughs come in fits and starts, but the film has no momentum, and no memorable set-pieces. Cameos by Brooks regulars help a bit; DeLuise is hilarious as The Godfather. | tt0107977 | [PG-13] | Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck, David Chappelle, Mark Blankfield, Tracey Ullman, Eric Allan Kramer, Megan Cavanagh, Mel Brooks, Dom DeLuise, Dick Van Patten, Matthew Porretta, Isaac Hayes, Robert Ridgely, Chuck McCann, Clive Revill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | 1991 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★★ | 138 | A Robin Hood for the '90s, light years removed from the romantic vision of Errol Flynn . . . but this gritty, pumped-up version can stand on its own, if you're willing to stick with it through a lumpy first hour, and can accept a very American Costner in the lead. Rough, tough, and rousing at times, with Rickman's off-the-wall approach to the Sheriff of Nottingham a real surprise. Extended edition runs 150m. | tt0102798 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Brian Blessed, Michael Wincott, Nick Brimble, Jack Wild | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Robin and Marian | 1976 | Richard Lester | ★★½ | 112 | Middle-aged Robin Hood returns to Sherwood Forest after years in exile, rekindles romance with Maid Marian and faces final challenge against arch-enemy Sheriff of Nottingham. Arid, uninvolving film strips beloved characters of all their magic. 'Revisionist' script by James Goldman. | tt0075147 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris, Nicol Williamson, Denholm Elliott, Kenneth Haigh, Ian Holm, Ronnie Barker | British | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Robin and the 7 Hoods | 1964 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 123 | Rat Pack's final fling is amusing transposition of the merrie legend to 1928 Chicago, with gangleader Sinatra surprised to find he's something of a local hero. No classic, but good-looking and easy to take; Crosby is adroit as gang's elder statesman. Cahn-Van Heusen songs include 'My Kind of Town,' 'Style,' 'Mr. Booze.' | tt0058529 | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis/Jr., Bing Crosby, Peter Falk, Barbara Rush, Victor Buono, Sig Ruman, Allen Jenkins, Hans Conried, Jack LaRue, Edward G. Robinson | Comedy, Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Robinson Crusoe | 1998 | Rod Hardy, George Miller | ★½ | 91 | Flat retelling of the Defoe classic with Brosnan playing the shipwrecked survivor. Visually appealing, and the actors try, but film lacks an emotional punch. Brosnan's real-life son Sean plays a cabin boy. Shot in 1994; never released theatrically in the U.S. Full onscreen title is DANIEL DEFOE'S ROBINSON CRUSOE. | tt0117496 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, William Takaku, Polly Walker, Ian Hart, James Frain, Damian Lewis | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Robinson Crusoe on Mars | 1964 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 109 | Surprisingly agreeable reworking of the classic Defoe story, with Mantee as stranded astronaut, at first accompanied only by a monkey. 'Friday' turns out to be a similarly trapped alien. Beautifully shot in Death Valley by Winton C. Hoch; film's intimate nature helps it play better on TV than most widescreen space films. | tt0058530 | Paul Mantee, Vic Lundin, Adam West | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| RoboCop | 1987 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★ | 103 | The setting: Detroit, in the near future. A cop who dies in the line of duty is transformed into an ultrasophisticated cyborg by the corporation which now runs the police department. Only hitch: this 'perfect' cop still seeks revenge on the sadistic creeps who killed him. Sharp, slick, slam-bang action entertainment, with fantastic stop-motion animation supervised by Phil Tippett (ED 209 is a wow!) . . . but its view of life in the future is unremittingly bleak and ugly. Followed by two sequels, an animated and a live-action TV series. Unrated director's cut available on laser disc. | tt0093870 | [R] | Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Del Zamora | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| RoboCop 2 | 1990 | Irvin Kershner | ★½ | 118 | Appallingly (and unnecessarily) mean, ugly sequel in which coldblooded corporation czar O'Herlihy and drug kingpin Noonan threaten to end Robo's existence— while the laboratory whizzes cook up a bigger, 'better' cyborg cop to take his place. Offensively violent and humorless. Phil Tippett's stop-motion animation is the film's only asset. | tt0100502 | [R] | Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Belinda Bauer, Tom Noonan, Gabriel Damon, Felton Perry, Robert DoQui, Willard Pugh, Patricia Charbonneau | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| RoboCop 3 | 1993 | Fred Dekker | ★★ | 105 | When the evil corporation OCP uses a policelike group to force impoverished Detroit citizens out of their homes, Robocop (Burke) leaves the force and joins the rebellion. The script (by Frank Miller and the director) is smug but crude; though it lacks the first sequel's violence, it's also short on spectacle. Filmed in 1991. | tt0107978 | [PG-13] | Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Rip Torn, John Castle, Jill Hennessy, CCH Pounder, Mako, Robert DoQui, Remy Ryan, Bruce Locke | Sci-Fi, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Robot Carnival | 1987 | Katsuhiro Otomo, Atsuko Fukushima, Kouji Morimoto, Kiroyuki Kitazume, Mao Lamdo, Hidetoshi Ohmori, Yasuomi Umetsu, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Takashi Nakamura | ★★★ | 91 | Nine animators collaborated to create eight short stories on the subject of robots: there's comic book fantasy, romance, comedy, and spectacle. Not all the stories hit the bull's-eye, but the best are quite good: 'Presence,' about a man falling in love with his female robot, and 'Nightmare,' in which a drunk awakens to find his city overrun by mechanical creatures. | tt0093871 | Japanese | Drama, Comedy, Animation, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Robot Monster | 1953 | Phil Tucker | 💣 | 63 | Gorilla in diving helmet wipes out entire Earth population save one family and Nader, then spends most of film's running time lumbering around Bronson Canyon trying to find them. One of the genuine legends of Hollywood: embarrassingly, hilariously awful . . . and dig that bubble machine with the TV antenna! Originally in 3-D (except for the dinosaur stock footage from ONE MILLION B.C. and LOST CONTINENT). | tt0046248 | George Nader, Gregory Moffett, Claudia Barrett, Selena Royle, John Mylong | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy | 1958 | Rafael Portillo. | 💣 | 65 | A gleeful mad scientist has built a robot with a dead body inside to battle the treasure-guarding mummy of an Aztec warrior and seize said treasure. Reasonably well produced, but an incoherent mess that moves about as rapidly as its shambling mummy. Features lengthy flashbacks from LA MOMIA AZTECA and LA MALDICIÓN DE LA AZTECA (both 1957). | tt0050717 | Ramón Gay, Rosa Arenas, Crox Alvarado, Luis Aceves Castañeda, Arturo Martínez, Jorge Mondragón. | Mexican | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Robots | 2005 | Chris Wedge. | ★★½ | 90 | Naive son of a humble dishwasher sets off for Robot City to pursue his dream of being an inventor; there he learns that his hero, industrialist Bigweld, has been usurped by a greedy capitalist who intends to make older robots obsolete. Inventive CG-animated film has dazzling production design (by children's book author-illustrator William Joyce, who also coproduced); the script is less magical, with an alarming number of derrière jokes, but still entertaining, with a lively voice cast, including various celebrity cameos. | tt0358082 | [PG] | Voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest, Paul Giamatti, Jennifer Coolidge, Dan Hedaya, James Earl Jones, Natasha Lyonne. | Comedy, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Rocco and His Brothers | Savage Run | 1960 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★½ | 180 | Sweeping chronicle of familial loyalty and the tainting of innocence, chronicling the plight of idealistic, saintly Rocco (Delon) after he and his mother and brothers leave their rural southern Italian community and settle in Milan. Stunningly photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno. Restored to its original running time in 1991; beware many shorter, visually inferior prints and video versions. Aka SAVAGE RUN. | tt0054248 | Alain Delon, Renato Salvatori, Annie Girardot, Katina Paxinou, Claudia Cardinale, Roger Hanin, Suzy Delair | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Rock & Rule | 1983 | Clive A. Smith | ★★½ | 85 | Animated rock fable, with innovative, often dazzling visuals and a solid score (featuring Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Cheap Trick, Earth, Wind and Fire, Iggy Pop, and others) . . . but story leaves something to be desired. A triumph of technique for Canada's Nelvana animation studio, and certainly worth a look. | tt0086203 | [PG] | Voices of Don Francks, Paul Le Mat, Susan Roman, Sam Langevin, Catherine O'Hara | Animation, Sci-Fi, Musical | NULL | ||
| Rock 'n' Roll High School | 1979 | Allan Arkush | ★★★ | 93 | A 1950s movie gone berserk. A rock-crazy teenager marshals her fellow students to rebel against the repression of new principal Miss Togar. An irresistible, high-energy comedy set to a nonstop soundtrack of Ramones music (and a few oldies). Soles is wonderful as the group's number one fan, Riff Randell. The songs include 'Teenage Lobotomy,' 'Blitzkrieg Bop,' 'I Wanna Be Sedated,' and 'Sheena Is a Punk Rocker.' Followed by ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER. | tt0079813 | [PG] | P. J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, The Ramones, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, Alix Elias | Musical, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rock All Night | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 63 | AIP quickie about a pair of killers taking refuge in a bar and terrorizing captive customers. OK Corman potboiler with better-than-average performances, and dig this— Johnson's one of the bad guys and Miller's the hero! | tt0050906 | Dick Miller, Russell Johnson, Jonathan Haze, Abby Dalton, The Platters, Robin Morse | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Rock Around the Clock | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 77 | Premise is slim (unknown band brought to N.Y.C. where they become famous) but picture is now a time-capsule look at the emergence of rock 'n' roll. Bill Haley and the Comets perform 'See You Later Alligator,' 'Razzle Dazzle,' and the title song; the Platters chip in with 'Only You' and 'The Great Pretender.' Remade as TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK. | tt0049682 | Bill Haley and His Comets, The Platters, Tony Martinez and His Band, Freddie Bell and His Bellboys, Alan Freed, Johnny Johnston | Musical | NULL | |||
| Rock Around the World | The Tommy Steele Story | 1957 | Gerard Bryant | ★½ | 71 | Humdrum account of Tommy Steele's rise in the singing profession. Originally titled THE TOMMY STEELE STORY. | tt0050907 | Tommy Steele, Patrick Westwood, Dennis Price, Tom Littlewood | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Rock Island Trail | 1950 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 90 | Tucker plays a railroad pioneer overcoming numerous obstacles, particularly villainous steamboat operator Cabot, while trying to build a new rail line. Fairly entertaining Republic Western with a robust cast, knockdown, drag-out brawls, and better-than-usual Trucolor spicing up a familiar story. | tt0041816 | Forrest Tucker, Adele Mara, Adrian Booth, Bruce Cabot, Chill Wills, Barbara Fuller, Grant Withers, Jeff Corey, Roy Barcroft, Pierre Watkin. | Western | NULL | |||
| Rock My World | Global Heresy | 2002 | Sidney J. Furie. | ★★½ | 106 | Not-bad comedy set in England (but shot and financed in Canada) went straight to video in the U.S. but is far more engaging than its theatrical fate would indicate. An aristocratic British couple rent their country mansion to a rock band and wind up posing as the butler and cook when the motley crew finally shows up. Watching the interplay develop between these very different generations and cultures is fun and the music is surprisingly catchy. Plowright and O'Toole elevate this lightweight material, making for a couple of harmless hours in front of the telly. Aka GLOBAL HERESY. | tt0269281 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Joan Plowright, Alicia Silverstone, Jaimz Woolvett, Keram Malicki-Sánchez, Christopher Bolton, Lochlyn Munro. | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Rock Star | 2001 | Stephen Herek | ★★½ | 106 | In the early 1980s, a wide-eyed young man fronts a band that slavishly imitates his favorite heavy-metal group, and then gets an offer to take their lead singer's place. It seems too good to be true, and he comes to learn that it is, but that lesson is obvious to us early on. Simplistic storyline undermines sincere, likable performances by Wahlberg and Aniston (as his girlfriend and manager). | tt0202470 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Flemyng, Timothy Olyphant, Timothy Spall, Dominic West, Stephan Jenkins, Jason Bonham, Heidi Mark, Dagmara Dominczyk, Rachel Hunter | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rock of Ages | 2012 | Adam Shankman | ★★ | 123 | Dreary film adaptation of the hit Broadway jukebox musical celebrating the songs of the 1980s. A wholesome girl from Oklahoma (Hough) comes to L.A. seeking fame and fortune and hooks up with a clean-cut guy (Boneta) who has the same dream. This bland love story weighs down the proceedings, even as Cruise (playing a tattooed, self-absorbed heavy metal star), Baldwin (as the proprietor of a Sunset Strip club), and Brand (as his right-hand man) try to liven things up. Performed live on stage, this may have been fun, but the movie is just a collection of caricatures and clichés and plays like an endless string of music videos. | tt1336608 | [PG-13] | Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary J. Blige, Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Celina Beach, Will Forte, Debbie Gibson, Kevin Nash, T. J. Miller | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Rock, Baby, Rock It | 1957 | Murray Douglas Sporup | ★½ | 84 | Teens vs. syndicate bookies in this silly period piece that's become a minor cult item, mostly because it was shot in Dallas and highlights performances by regional rock acts. For diehard fans of the genre only. | tt0050908 | Johnny Carroll and His Hot Rocks, Rosco Gordon and The Red Tops, The Five Stars, The Belew Twins, Don Coats and The Bon-Aires, Preacher Smith and The Deacons, The Cell Block Seven, Kay Wheeler | Crime, Musical | NULL | |||
| Rock, Pretty Baby | 1956 | Richard Bartlett | ★★ | 89 | Prototype of rock 'n' roll entries of 1950s revolving around high school rock group's effort to win big-time musical contest. | tt0049683 | Sal Mineo, John Saxon, Luana Patten, Edward Platt, Fay Wray, Rod McKuen, Shelley Fabares, George Winslow | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rock, Rock, Rock! | 1956 | Will Price | ★★ | 83 | Weld, in her film debut and barely out of her training bra, must raise $30 to buy a strapless evening dress for a prom! Filmed on a budget of $6.95— and it shows. But the rock 'n' rollers, particularly Chuck Berry, are lively. Lymon and The Teenagers sing 'I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent.' Weld's singing voice was dubbed by Connie Francis. One of the teens is young Valerie Harper. | tt0049684 | Tuesday Weld, Teddy Randazzo, Alan Freed, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, The Moonglows, Chuck Berry, The Flamingos, Johnny Burnette Trio, LaVern Baker, Cirino and the Bowties | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rock | 1996 | Michael Bay | ★★ | 136 | Big, loud, often dumb action/suspense yarn about a disgruntled Marine general who takes over Alcatraz, threatening to obliterate San Francisco with high-tech poison gas. Enter FBI biochemist Cage and long-imprisoned British agent Connery— the only man who ever escaped from The Rock— to lead a rescue team onto the island. Plenty of kinetic action and destruction, as well as contrivances and story holes. David Marshall Grant appears unbilled. | tt0117500 | [R] | Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, William Forsythe, David Morse, John Spencer, John C. McGinley, Tony Todd, Bokeem Woodbine, Danny Nucci, Vanessa Marcil, Anthony Clark, Claire Forlani | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Rock-a-Bye Baby | 1958 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★ | 103 | Good-natured schnook Jerry becomes full-time baby-sitter for movie sex-siren Maxwell, who doesn't want her public to know she's had triplets. Loose remake of Preston Sturges's THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, with many funny moments. That's Lewis's son Gary playing Jerry as a boy in the musical flashback sequence. | tt0052141 | Jerry Lewis, Marilyn Maxwell, Connie Stevens, Baccaloni, Reginald Gardiner, James Gleason, Hans Conried | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Rock-a-Doodle | 1992 | Don Bluth | ★★ | 77 | A cocky cock heads for Vegas after suffering a severe blow to his ego, finds success as a nightclub superstar in the Elvis mode. Kiddie cartoon is missing the essential components to make it more than passable entertainment for six-year-olds. | tt0102802 | [G] | Voices of Glen Campbell, Christopher Plummer, Phil Harris, Sandy Duncan, Eddie Deezen, Charles Nelson Reilly, Sorrell Booke, Ellen Greene, Toby Scott Granger | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Rockabye | 1932 | George Cukor | ★½ | 67 | Other than offering a memorable shot of Bennett immersed in balloons, soaper about a morally ambiguous actress's love for her toddler is painful going. A curio for film buffs, but a minor credit for both star and director. | tt0024506 | Constance Bennett, Joel McCrea, Paul Lukas, Jobyna Howland, Walter Pidgeon, Sterling Holloway | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Rocker | 2008 | Peter Cattaneo | ★★½ | 102 | Drummer of about-to-be-famous heavy metal band is unceremoniously dumped in favor of record company exec’s nephew. After 20 years of wallowing in anonymity he hooks up with some kick-ass high school rockers. Starts off abysmally, improves as it goes along, but then there’s that formulaic, barely credible finale. Gets much of its mileage from Wilson’s amusing Jack Black imitation. | tt1031969 | [PG-13] | Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Teddy Geiger, Josh Gad, Emma Stone, Jeff Garlin, Jane Lynch, Jason Sudeikis, Will Arnett, Howard Hesseman, Fred Armisen, Bradley Cooper, Lonny Ross, Jonathan Glaser, Jane Krakowski, Pete Best | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rockers | 1978 | Theodoros Bafaloukos | ★★★ | 100 | Richard Hall, Monica Craig, Marjorie Norman, Jacob Miller. Winningly funky though predictable comedy/drama about Rastafarian drummer Wallace's efforts to earn money and crack open the music establishment. Superior reggae score featuring Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear, Third World and Gregory Isaacs. | tt0079815 | Leroy Wallace | Jamaican | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rocket Attack, U.S.A. | 1959 | Barry Mahon | 💣 | 71 | Spy attempts to uncover Russian missile plans; meanwhile, the dastardly Commies are planning to nuke N.Y.C. Perfectly awful Cold War melodrama with hilarious dialogue, atrocious performances, lots of stock footage. | tt0055380 | Monica Davis, John McKay, Daniel Kern, Edward Czerniuk, Arthur Metrano | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Rocket Gibraltar | 1988 | Daniel Petrie | ★★★ | 100 | A family gathers to celebrate patriarch Lancaster's 77th birthday; his grown-up children love him but don't really understand what he's going through, while his grandchildren make a more emotional connection to the old man . . . and vow to carry out his unusual final wish. Lancaster's presence gives the film authority, and a talented ensemble lends credibility to Amos Poe's script. Culkin is wonderful as Lancaster's canny five-year-old grandson. Filmed at beautiful locations on Long Island. | tt0096003 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Suzy Amis, Patricia Clarkson, Frances Conroy, Sinead Cusack, John Glover, George Martin, Bill Pullman, Kevin Spacey, Macaulay Culkin | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rocket Man | 1954 | Oscar Rudolph | ★★ | 79 | Campy fantasy of Winslow possessing a space gun that turns crooked people honest. Coscripted by Lenny Bruce— so it's no wonder the villain is a politician, who's portrayed as a drunken, cigar-chomping chiseler. | tt0047423 | Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar, George 'Foghorn' Winslow, Beverly Garland | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Rocket Science | 2007 | Jeffrey Blitz | ★★ | 101 | Highly idiosyncratic (and unfocused) coming-of-age saga about a stuttering high school student who’s persuaded to join the debate team by a beautiful girl who offers to mentor him. Pointed, often poignant observations about under- and overachievers dot this unpredictable film, which has its supporters. Scripted by first-time feature director Blitz, who made the hit documentary SPELLBOUND. | tt0477078 | [R] | Reece Daniel Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D’Agosto, Vincent Piazza, Margo Martindale, Aaron Yoo, Josh Kay, Steve Park, Denis O’Hare, Lisbeth Bartlett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| RocketMan | 1997 | Stuart Gillard | 💣 | 94 | Goofball computer expert Williams is the only possible choice to replace an ailing crewman on the first manned expedition to Mars. Predictable 'comic' complications ensue, including painfully overstated farting-in-a-spacesuit jokes. Apparently, someone felt Williams was both hilarious and endearing, but we beg to differ. | tt0120029 | [PG] | Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, James Pickens/Jr., Beau Bridges, Peter Onorati | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Rocketeer | 1991 | Joe Johnston | ★★½ | 108 | Campbell plays a rough-and-ready 1930s pilot who stumbles onto a sought-after secret weapon: an air-pack that turns him into a rocket-man. Film captures the look of the '30s, as well as the gee-whiz innocence of Saturday matinee serials, but it's talky— and takes too much time to get where it's going. Dalton has fun as a villain patterned after Errol Flynn. Film buffs will get a kick out of the Rondo Hatton-esque bad guy (courtesy of makeup whiz Rick Baker). | tt0102803 | [PG] | Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino, Terry O'Quinn, Ed Lauter, James Handy, Tiny Ron, Melora Hardin | Action, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Rocketship X-M | 1950 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 77 | Slightly better than average production of spaceship to moon that is thrown off-course to Mars. Nice photography, good acting. Videocassette version contains new special effects shot in 1976. | tt0042897 | Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, Hugh O'Brian, John Emery, Noah Beery/Jr. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Rockin' in the Rockies | 1945 | Vernon Keays | ★★ | 63 | Mediocre grade-B musical comedy actually splits up the Stooges, with Moe playing straight (more or less) and Larry and Curly acting as a team, in a threadbare story of show biz hopefuls on a Western ranch. Only comes to life near the end with some specialty numbers, including one by Spade Cooley and his Western swing band. | tt0038033 | The Three Stooges, Mary Beth Hughes, Jay Kirby, Tim Ryan, Gladys Blake, Vernon Dent | Comedy, Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Rockin' the Blues | 1955 | Arthur Rosenblum | ★★ | 66 | Grade-Z production values hamper this intriguing curio, an all-black rhythm-and-blues show emceed by Jackson, with Moreland along for comic relief. Dance routines are generally awful, but much of the music is priceless; The Hurricanes' Army-life number is a real showstopper. | tt0049687 | Mantan Moreland, F. E. Miller, Connie Carroll, The Wanderers, The Harptones, The Hurricanes, The Five Miller Sisters, Pearl Woods, Linda Hopkins, Hal Jackson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rocking Horse Winner | 1949 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★★½ | 91 | Truly unique, fascinating drama based on D. H. Lawrence story; small boy has knack for picking racetrack winners, but complications set in before long. Beautifully done. Screenplay by the director. | tt0042898 | Valerie Hobson, John Howard Davies, John Mills, Ronald Squire, Hugh Sinclair, Charles Goldner, Susan Richards | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| RocknRolla | 2008 | Guy Ritchie | ★★½ | 114 | Jack-of-all-trades Butler and partner Elba borrow money from crime kingpin Wilkinson to clinch a deal, which sets off a domino-like series of events involving a Russian speculator (Roden), his slick accountant (Newton), and assorted other colorful characters. Clever, intricate tapestry of criminal activity with a lethal sense of humor. Writer-director Ritchie tries to recreate a vintage Ritchie movie; less spontaneous and more deliberate than his breakthrough films, but still enjoyable. | tt1032755 | [R] | Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Karel Roden, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jimi Mistry | U.S.-British | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Rockshow | 1980 | ★★½ | 105 | Adequate concert film of Paul McCartney and Wings on tour. Effect of Dolby sound recording will be lost on the small screen. | tt0079814 | [G] | Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Jimmy McCulloch, Joe English, Denny Laine | British | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Rockula | 1990 | Luca Bercovici | ★½ | 87 | Teen vampire Cameron is unable to lose his virginity because of a centuries-old curse. Pretty stale stuff; of interest only for— but not redeemed by— the presence of Diddley. | tt0100506 | [PG-13] | Dean Cameron, Tawny Fere, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Diddley, Thomas Dolby, Toni Basil | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Rocky | 1976 | John G. Avildsen | ★★★½ | 119 | This story of a two-bit fighter who gets his 'million-to-one shot' for fame, and self-respect, in a championship bout is impossible to dislike, even though it's just an old B-movie brought up to date. Knowing that the film was a similar do-or-die project for writer-star Stallone added to its good vibes. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Director, Editing (Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad). Followed by four sequels. | tt0075148 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rocky Balboa | 2006 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★½ | 102 | Title character, now a sixty-ish widower and restaurant owner who's alienated from his corporate yuppie son (Ventimiglia), decides to reenter the ring one last time (unless, of course, Stallone concocts yet another sequel) to battle the current heavyweight champ. Not as bad as it might have been, even though it strains credibility; contrived, to be sure, but also curiously endearing. A number of ESPN-type TV personalities appear as themselves. | tt0479143 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Geraldine Hughes, James Francis Kelly III, Tony Burton, A. J. Benza, Henry G. Sanders, Antonio Tarver. | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 1975 | Jim Sharman. | ★★★ | 95 | Outrageously kinky horror movie spoof, spiced with sex, transvestism, and rock music, about a straight couple, Janet and Brad (Sarandon, Bostwick), stranded in an old dark house full of weirdos from Transylvania. Music and lyrics by O'Brien; songs include 'Time Warp,' 'Dammit Janet,' and 'Wild and Untamed Thing.' British running time: 100m. Followed by SHOCK TREATMENT. | tt0073629 | [R] | Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O'Brien, Jonathan Adams, *** Meat Loaf, Little Nell (Campbell), Charles Gray, Patricia Quinn. | British | Comedy, Musical, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Rocky II | 1979 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★★ | 119 | Officially a sequel, this slightly silly film is more of a rehash, but the climactic bout (and buildup to it) hits home. | tt0079817 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Rocky III | 1982 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★½ | 99 | Here, the Italian Stallion is trained by Apollo Creed after being dethroned by obnoxious Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Stallone's got a winning formula, but enough already. | tt0084602 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith, Carl Weathers, *** Mr. T | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Rocky IV | 1985 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★½ | 91 | Totally artificial (and unnecessary) sequel has Rocky doin' what a man's gotta do— avenging a friend's demise and fighting for the U.S.A. (and world peace) against a superhuman Russian champ. Still, Stallone knows how to press all the right buttons, especially in a great training montage. | tt0089927 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Brigitte Nielsen, Michael Pataki, James Brown | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rocky Mountain | 1950 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 83 | Solid, unpretentious Western (from an Alan LeMay story) about a Confederate troop led by Flynn that saves a stagecoach from Indian attackers but may not be able to save itself. Filmed in New Mexico. | tt0042899 | Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes, Slim Pickens, Sheb Wooley, Yakima Canutt, Dickie Jones | Western | NULL | |||
| Rocky V | 1990 | John G. Avildsen | ★★ | 104 | The one-time champ has hit rock bottom (again). He winds up in his old neighborhood, broke and ostracized (again). He trains a young boxer who turns ingrate, and in spite of his own brain damage (from the fight in ROCKY IV) is willing to risk everything on another bout. Again. You pays your money, and you gets what you expects in this Stallone screenplay, but the thrill is gone. Stallone's real-life son plays Rocky, Jr. | tt0100507 | [PG-13] | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Sage Stallone, Burgess Meredith, Tommy Morrison, Richard Gant | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Rodan | 1956 | Ishirô Honda | ★★ | 70 | Colossal pterodactyl hatches in mine, later goes on destructive rampage in Tokyo. Colorful comic book stuff, all too typical of Toho Studios' monster formula. | tt0049782 | Kenji Sawara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Akio Kobori | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Rodeo | 1952 | William Beaudine. | ★½ | 70 | Clichéd account of spunky Nigh taking over the operation of a faltering rodeo and being romanced by bronco rider Archer. | tt0045096 | Jane Nigh, John Archer, Wallace Ford, Frances Rafferty, Gary Grey, Myron Healey, Fuzzy Knight. | Western | NULL | |||
| Roger & Me | 1989 | Michael Moore | ★★★½ | 87 | Inspired, darkly ironic documentary-style film about one man's attempts to track down General Motors chairman Roger Smith, to show him what his factory closing did to the town of Flint, Michigan, where 40,000 jobs were lost. Filmmaker/narrator Moore creates an irresistible blend of documentary and humorous essay in this unique piece of Americana. Followed in 1992 by Moore's 24m. short, PETS OR MEAT: THE RETURN TO FLINT. | tt0098213 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| Roger Dodger | 2002 | Dylan Kidd | ★★½ | 104 | Arsenic-drenched portrait of a misanthrope who fancies himself a lady-killer and decides to show his impressionable teenage nephew the ropes in N.Y.C. Scott's performance is a tour de force from his first moment on-screen, and he's in fine company with his self-assured female costars, but director Kidd's relentless, self-consciously clever script leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. Scott also coexecutive-produced. | tt0299117 | [R] | Campbell Scott, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals, Ben Shenkman, Mina Badie, Chris Stack | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Roger Touhy, Gangster | 1944 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 65 | Unexceptional— if mostly factual— account of Chicago bootlegger who waged a turf war with Al Capone, and later masterminded a prison escape. | tt0036846 | Preston Foster, Victor McLaglen, Lois Andrews, Anthony Quinn, Kent Taylor, Harry Morgan, Trudy Marshall, Kane Richmond | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Rogue Cop | 1954 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 92 | Dynamic account of crooked cop Taylor caught between loyalty to his brother and his gangster cohorts. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0047424 | Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, George Raft, Steve Forrest, Anne Francis, Robert F. Simon, Robert Ellenstein, Alan Hale/Jr., Vince Edwards | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Rogue Male | 1976 | Clive Donner | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Remake of MAN HUNT with O'Toole as British aristocrat who tries to assassinate Hitler in the 1930s and then is hounded by the Gestapo. First-class BBC production with Frederic Raphael script (from the Geoffrey Household novel). | tt0075151 | Peter O'Toole, John Standing, Alastair Sim, Cyd Hayman, Harold Pinter, Hugh Manning | British | Action | NULL | ||
| Rogue River | 1950 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 81 | Talky study of family relationships; little Western action. | tt0042900 | Rory Calhoun, Peter Graves, Frank Fenton, Ralph Sanford | Crime, Western | NULL | |||
| A Rogue at Heart | 1948 | Herbert Rawlins. | ★★½ | 87 | Slight comedy about a wealthy cad (Asquith) who poses as a butler in order to get close to a young woman (Howard) with whom he's fallen in love. Pleasant enough; fine support from Sellers as a housekeeper with a fondness for the bottle. | Trevor Asquith, Celia Howard, Montgomery Jenkins, Margaret Sellers. | British | Western | NULL | |||
| Rogue's March | 1952 | Allan Davis | ★★ | 84 | Programmer-costumer set in India (via stock footage and rear projection scenes), with Lawford trying to redeem himself with regiment. | tt0045097 | Peter Lawford, Richard Greene, Janice Rule, Leo G. Carroll | War | NULL | |||
| Rogue's Regiment | 1948 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 86 | Contrived actioner about American agent Powell, who joins the French Foreign Legion in Indochina to hunt down Nazi bigwig McNally. | tt0040744 | Dick Powell, Marta Toren, Vincent Price, Stephen McNally, Edgar Barrier, Henry Rowland | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Rogues Tavern | 1936 | Robert F. Hill. | ★★ | 70 | Eloping detectives Ford and Pepper stop at an isolated tavern; all the other suspicious-looking guests have been mysteriously summoned there. Of course, a phantom killer starts knocking them off one by one, using the jaws of a dog head. Modestly entertaining poverty-row thriller hovers on the edge of being horror but never quite topples over. | tt0028200 | Wallace Ford, Barbara Pepper, Joan Woodbury, Clara Kimball Young, Jack Mulhall, John Elliott, Earl Dwire. | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Rogues of Sherwood Forest | 1950 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 80 | Despite good production and fair cast, pretty limp; Robin Hood's son (Derek) fights to get the Magna Carta signed. | tt0042901 | John Derek, Diana Lynn, George Macready, Alan Hale/Sr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rogues' Gallery | 1968 | Leonard Horn | ★★ | 88 | Private eye comes to aid of beautiful woman attempting suicide, eventually seduced into frameup scheme. Forgettable mystery drama. Never released theatrically. | tt0063515 | Roger Smith, Greta Baldwin, Dennis Morgan, Farley Granger, Edgar Bergen, Brian Donlevy, Mala Powers | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Role Models | 2008 | David Wain | ★★½ | 99 | While Scott is content to work as a mascot for an energy drink, his coworker Rudd feels as if he’s stuck in a rut. When the two get in trouble with the law, they are given the choice of doing community service by mentoring kids or going to prison. For the sake of society, they should have chosen the hoosegow. Admittedly formulaic and juvenile, relying heavily on dirty jokes; a talented cast helps mask the film’s shortcomings. Lynch is a standout. Unrated version runs 101m. | tt0430922 | [R] | Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Ken Jeong, David Wain | U.S.-German | Comedy | NULL | |
| Roll Bounce | 2005 | Malcolm D. Lee | ★★½ | 112 | A group of skate-loving teenagers on Chicago's south side have to prove themselves to the snobs on the other side of town when their local skating rink closes, all while facing the joys and pains of growing up. As fad-based coming-of-age movies go, this is a notch or two below SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER and an improvement over ROLLER BOOGIE. Despite clichés, its '70s atmosphere, energetically filmed roller-skating sequences, and surprisingly engaging characters make it an entertaining diversion. | tt0403455 | [PG-13] | Bow Wow, Chi McBride, Mike Epps, Wesley Jonathan, Kellita Smith, Meagan Good, Nick Cannon, Jurnee Smollett, Wayne Brady, Tim Kazurinsky | Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance | NULL | ||
| Roll On Texas Moon | 1946 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Roy tries to play peacemaker between cattle ranchers (like Gabby) and sheep ranchers (like Dale) and tries to rout the gang that's stirring up trouble between them. This film ushered in Roy's more serious, hard-action period under the direction of former serial director Witney, who would guide the rest of Roy's feature films. | tt0038889 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Dennis Hoey, Elisabeth Risdon, Francis McDonald, Edward Keane, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Roller Boogie | 1979 | Mark L. Lester | 💣 | 103 | Blair, Bray, and friends join forces to thwart evil Goddard from closing local roller skating rink. Made to cash in on roller-disco fad, with amateurish script and performances. | tt0079822 | [PG] | Linda Blair, Jim Bray, Beverly Garland, Roger Perry, Mark Goddard, Sean McClory | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rollerball | 1975 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 122 | Great-looking but disappointing drama of the 21st century; Caan is the champ at a violent sport in a society where violence has been outlawed. Filmed in Munich and London, adapted by William Harrison from his story Roller Ball Murders. Remade in 2002. | tt0073631 | [R] | James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn, Ralph Richardson | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Rollerball | 2002 | John McTiernan | ★½ | 98 | Reckless Klein follows his high school football teammate (LL Cool J) to a Middle Eastern country to play rollerball, a violent arena game that's more a circus than a sport. Somehow neither one of them figures out that the game's entrepreneur (Reno) will literally kill for good TV ratings. Remake of a not-so-hot movie manages to be even worse than the original. Laughably dumb. Video version is rated R. | tt0246894 | [PG-13] | Chris Klein, Jean Reno, *** LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Naveen Andrews, Oleg Taktarov, David Hemblen, Paul Heyman | U.S.-German-Japanese | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Rollercoaster | 1977 | James Goldstone | ★★ | 119 | Silly disaster-type film almost redeemed by Segal's winning performance as civic inspector who tries to nail extortionist (Bottoms) before he sabotages another amusement park. Overlong, but at least TV audiences won't have to watch it in 'Sensurround.' Hunt's film debut. | tt0076636 | [PG] | George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg, Helen Hunt, Dorothy Tristan, Craig Wasson, William Prince, Robert Quarry | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Rolling Thunder | 1977 | John Flynn | ★★ | 99 | Devane comes home after eight years as P.O.W. in Vietnam, sees his family murdered, and cold-bloodedly goes for revenge. Intriguing aspects of story (by Paul Schrader) and main characters thrown off-course by graphic violence and vigilante melodramatics. | tt0076637 | [R] | William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best, Dabney Coleman, Lisa Richards, Luke Askew | Action | NULL | ||
| Rollover | 1981 | Alan J. Pakula | ★½ | 118 | Laughably pretentious, barely comprehensible drama about petrochemical heiress (and former film star) Fonda, banker-troubleshooter Kristofferson, and their high-financial dealings. Cronyn excels as a cunning banker. One of the few examples of financial science fiction. | tt0083006 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Hume Cronyn, Josef Sommer, Bob Gunton, Martha Plimpton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Roman Holiday | 1953 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 119 | Hepburn got first break and an Oscar as princess, yearning for normal life, who runs away from palace, has romance with reporter Peck. Screenplay by John Dighton and Ian McLellan Hunter, from an Oscar-winning story (written by blacklisted Dalton Trumbo and credited for almost 40 years to Hunter, who acted as his 'front'). Utterly charming. Remade for TV in 1987 with Catherine Oxenberg and Tom Conti. | tt0046250 | Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Tullio Carminati | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Roman Scandals | 1933 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 92 | Old-fashioned, enjoyable musical vehicle for Cantor to romp through as dreamer who is transported back to ancient Rome. Full of funny gags and delightful songs. Big Busby Berkeley production numbers include young Lucille Ball. | tt0024507 | Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, David Manners, Verree Teasdale, Alan Mowbray, Edward Arnold | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | 1961 | Jose Quintero | ★★★ | 104 | Middle-aged actress retreats to Rome, buying a fling at romance from gigolo Beatty. Lenya, as Leigh's waspish friend, comes off best. Adapted from Tennessee Williams novella. Remade for cable TV in 2003. | tt0055382 | Vivien Leigh, Warren Beatty, Lotte Lenya, Jill St. John, Jeremy Spenser, Coral Browne, Cleo Laine, Bessie Love, Jean Marsh | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Roman de Gare | 2007 | Claude Lelouch | ★★★ | 104 | Lelouch returns to the style and sophistication of earlier film successes with this entertaining cinematic puzzle in which things and people are not always what they seem to be. Plotlines converge, involving the relationship between a novelist and her ghostwriter and a hairdresser and a stranger who could be a serial killer—or not. Magic, illusion, and lies are at the core of this elegant mystery, which mixes humor and intrigue in equal doses. In order to keep us guessing, Lelouch cast two unknowns in the leading roles. HD Widescreen. | tt0889652 | [R] | Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon, Audrey Dana, Myriam Boyer, Michele Bernier, Boris Ventura | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Romance | 1930 | Clarence Brown | ★★ | 76 | Garbo is miscast in this static, hokey early talkie about an Italian opera star who philosophizes about love and has a relationship with an inexperienced young priest (limply played by Gordon). | tt0021310 | Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Gavin Gordon, Elliott Nugent, Florence Lake, Clara Blandick | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Romance | 1999 | Catherine Breillat | ★½ | 97 | Notorious French film from writer-director Breillat about a woman who, rejected by her lover, goes on a sexual odyssey that leads her down some very strange paths. Novelty of a sexual film from a woman's point of view quickly wears off; it's startlingly explicit but strangely unerotic— and, more important, dull. Alternate 84m. video version is rated R. | tt0194314 | Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stévenin, François Berléand, Rocco Siffredi, Reza Habouhossen | French | Drama, Adult | NULL | ||
| Romance & Cigarettes | 2007 | John Turturro | ★★½ | 106 | Bawdy, highly personal movie from writer-producer-director Turturro is an urban musical-romance-comedy-drama, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Blue-collar couple Gandolfini and Sarandon are going through one hell of a midlife crisis, thanks to Gandolfini’s adultery. Cast belts out songs, karaoke-style (from Tom Jones to Bruce Springsteen). Wildly uneven but endearing love letter to Queens, N.Y. A must for Kate Winslet completists. | tt0368222 | [R] | James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Christopher Walken, Aida Turturro, Barbara Sukowa, Elaine Stritch, Eddie Izzard, Amy Sedaris, Cady Huffman, Tonya Pinkins, David Thornton | Romance, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Romance in Manhattan | 1934 | Stephen Roberts | ★★★ | 78 | Chorus girl Rogers helps illegal alien Lederer, and romance blossoms, in this most enjoyable Capraesque comedy. | tt0025731 | Francis Lederer, Ginger Rogers, Arthur Hohl, Jimmy Butler, J. Farrell MacDonald, Helen Ware, Donald Meek, Sidney Toler | Romance | NULL | |||
| Romance in the Dark | 1938 | H. C. Potter | ★★ | 80 | A womanizing tenor uses a naive young singer (Swarthout) in a scheme to distract his rival, but his plans backfire when he falls in love with her. Stylish treatment of trite material; more a showcase for funny Fritz Feld (as Boles' valet) than for opera star Swarthout. | tt0030691 | Gladys Swarthout, John Barrymore, John Boles, Claire Dodd, Curt Bois | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Romance of Happy Valley | 1919 | D. W. Griffith. | ★★½ | 60 | A youth with sand in his shoes leaves Kentucky to seek riches and success in N.Y.C. Meanwhile, his sweetheart back home patiently awaits his sure return. Preachy but sincerely told piece of rural Americana features key members of Griffith's repertory troupe, champions country living as always, and exemplifies his ingenuous style. | tt0009559 | Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, George Fawcett, Kate Bruce, George Nichols. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Romance of Rosy Ridge | 1947 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 105 | Heartfelt post-Civil War tale, set in a Missouri farm community whose residents are still fighting the war. Farmer Mitchell casts suspicious eye on charming stranger Johnson, who is courting his daughter (Leigh, in her film debut). Fascinating, humanist script by soon-to-be-blacklisted Lester Cole (based on a story by MacKinlay Kantor). | tt0039783 | Van Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, Janet Leigh, Marshall Thompson, Selena Royle, Charles Dingle, Dean Stockwell, Guy Kibbee, Jim Davis | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Romance of a Horsethief | 1971 | Abraham Polonsky | ★½ | 100 | Wily Jewish horsetraders scheme to outwit Cossack captain Brynner and his men, in a Polish village circa 1904. A heartfelt endeavor for director Polonsky and actor-screenwriter Opatoshu that just doesn't come off. | tt0067686 | [PG] | Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Jane Birkin, Oliver Tobias, Lainie Kazan, David Opatoshu | U.S.-Yugoslavian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Romance on the High Seas | 1948 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 99 | Sparkling, trivial romantic musical set on an ocean voyage, with Doris' star-making feature film debut, singing 'It's Magic,' 'Put 'em in a Box.' Easygoing fun. | tt0040745 | Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, Doris Day, Oscar Levant, S. Z. Sakall, Fortunio Bonanova, Eric Blore, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Romance on the Range | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 63 | New York socialite Linda Hayes falls for Roy, but he wants nothing to do with her— at first. Little does he dream that her business manager (Pawley) is behind a gang of fur thieves who murdered one of Roy's cowhand pals. Typical lightweight blend of story, music, action, and— yes, romance. Pat Brady (of the Pioneers) has a nice supporting role. | tt0035266 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Sally Payne, Linda Hayes, Edward Pawley, Harry Woods, Hal Taliaferro, Glenn Strange, Roy Barcroft, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Romancing the Stone | 1984 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★ | 105 | Very likable high-adventure hokum about mousy writer of romantic fiction who finds herself up to her neck in trouble in Colombia, with only a feisty American soldier-of-fortune as her ally. Silly story never stops moving— with some terrific action and stunts— but it's Turner's enormously appealing performance that really makes the film worthwhile. Sequel: THE JEWEL OF THE NILE. | tt0088011 | [PG] | Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman, Alfonso Arau, Manuel Ojeda | Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Romanoff and Juliet | 1961 | Peter Ustinov | ★★★ | 103 | Ustinov wrote, directed and stars in this cold war satire with offspring of U.S. and Russian ambassadors falling in love. Italian locations substitute for mythical country which Ustinov rules. | tt0055383 | Peter Ustinov, Sandra Dee, John Gavin, Akim Tamiroff, Rik Von Nutter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Romantic Age | 1949 | Edmond T. Gréville | ★★ | 86 | Art teacher Williams falls for flirtatious French schoolgirl Zetterling. Trifling; aka NAUGHTY ARLETTE. | tt0041819 |
|
Mai Zetterling, Hugh Williams, Margot Grahame, Petula Clark, Carol Marsh, Adrienne Corri | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Romantic Comedy | 1983 | Arthur Hiller | ★½ | 103 | Faithful adaptation of Bernard Slade's paper-thin play looks even worse on screen, despite a perfect cast. Moore is a playwright who tries to stifle his feelings for his female writing partner over many years' time. Title sounds suspiciously like a generic product— like Canned Peas or Toilet Tissue. Hold out for brand names. | tt0086205 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Mary Steenburgen, Frances Sternhagen, Janet Eilber, Robyn Douglass, Ron Leibman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Romantic Englishwoman | 1975 | Joseph Losey. | ★★★½ | 115 | Caine, a successful novelist married to Jackson, invites Berger into their home to generate material for a screenplay he's writing. Underrated comedy-drama by Tom Stoppard and Thomas Wiseman from Wiseman's novel; stylish and believable. | tt0073634 | [R] | Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson, Helmut Berger, Beatrice Romand, Kate Nelligan, Nathalie Delon, Michel Lonsdale. | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Romantics | 2010 | Galt Niederhoffer | ★★ | 95 | College friends reunite for a wedding, though no one quite understands why Duhamel suddenly proposed to Paquin when he was seriously involved with Holmes for such a long time . . . or why Holmes agreed to be Paquin’s maid of honor. Well-acted drama may leave you asking the same questions, and more; it’s intriguing but unsatisfying because we don’t know enough about the characters (or even why they’ve remained friends). First-time director Niederhoffer adapted her novel. | tt1403988 | [PG-13] | Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Malin Akerman, Jeremy Strong, Candice Bergen, Adam Brody, Elijah Wood, Rebecca Lawrence, Dianna Agron, Will Hutchins | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rome Adventure | 1962 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 119 | Plush soaper with Pleshette as schoolteacher on Roman fling to find romance, torn between roué (Brazzi) and architect (Donahue). As Troy's mistress, Dickinson has some rare repartee. Lush Max Steiner score. Donahue and Pleshette married two years later. | tt0056424 | Troy Donahue, Angie Dickinson, Rossano Brazzi, Suzanne Pleshette, Constance Ford, Chad Everett, Al Hirt, Hampton Fancher | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rome Express | 1932 | Walter Forde | ★★★ | 94 | Seminal mystery-thriller that spawned many imitations, including THE LADY VANISHES and NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, among others. Entertaining, if slightly talky, tale of assorted group of passengers caught up in criminal activities aboard train. Remade as SLEEPING CAR TO TRIESTE. | tt0023410 |
|
Conrad Veidt, Esther Ralston, Harold Huth, Gordon Harker, Donald Calthrop, Joan Barry, Cedric Hardwicke, Frank Vosper, Hugh Williams | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Romeo & Juliet | 1996 | Baz Luhrmann | ★★½ | 120 | Arrestingly original, post-modern MTV-style '90s version of Shakespeare's tragic love story, set in Miami. The words are all authentic, the images dizzyingly clever, but the conceit wears thin after a while. What keeps it alive is the earnestness of the two youthful leads, whose passion for one another is tangible and appealing. Postlethwaite also scores strongly as Friar Lawrence. Officially titled— with no apparent irony— WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO & JULIET. | tt0117509 | [PG-13] | Claire Danes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Christina Pickles, Vondie Curtis-Hall, M. Emmet Walsh, Miriam Margolyes, Diane Venora, Harold Perrineau, Paul Rudd | Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Romeo Is Bleeding | 1993 | Peter Medak | ★★½ | 108 | Nasty, hopped-up contemporary film noir about a crooked cop who's ordered by a crime-family kingpin to bump off a sexy hit woman. Film's standout virtue— and it's a doozy— is Olin's robust performance as a sadistic dominatrix who ends up strangling her assailant between her thighs and tying him down to electrified bedsprings. Outlandish, sometimes funny, but confuses overcooked with hard-boiled. | tt0107983 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis, Roy Scheider, David Proval, Will Patton, Larry Joshua, James Cromwell, Julia Migenes, Dennis Farina, Ron Perlman | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Romeo Must Die | 2000 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | ★★½ | 115 | If there's a Romeo, there must be a Juliet, and this Oakland-set bone-crusher deals with two warring gang families (one African-American, one Chinese) whose straight-and-narrow offspring want no part of the inevitable mayhem. Martial arts star Li's English-language starring debut has toned down the brutality to fashion a movie of slightly broader appeal. OK but overelaborate and overlong. Directorial debut for renowned cinematographer Bartkowiak. | tt0165929 | [R] | Jet Li, Aaliyah, Delroy Lindo, Henry O, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, DMX, D.B. Woodside, Anthony Anderson | Action | NULL | ||
| Romeo and Juliet | 1936 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 126 | Well-acted, lavish production of Shakespeare's play about ill-fated lovers. Howard and Shearer are so good that one can forget they are too old for the roles. Not the great film it might have been, but a very good one. | tt0028203 | Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver, Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine, Reginald Denny, Ralph Forbes | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Romeo and Juliet | 1954 | Renato Castellani | ★★★ | 140 | Sumptuously photographed in Italy, this pleasing version of Shakespeare's tragedy has the virtue of good casting. | tt0047029 | Laurence Harvey, Susan Shentall, Flora Robson, Mervyn Johns, Bill Travers, Sebastian Cabot; introduced by John Gielgud | British | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Romeo and Juliet | 1966 | Paul Czinner | ★★½ | 126 | Anyone interested in dance will want to see this filmed record of the Royal Ballet production, but actually, it doesn't adapt very well to film; zoom lens is poor substitute for immediacy of live performance. | tt0060911 | Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, David Blair, Desmond Doyle, Julia Farron, Michael Somes | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Romeo and Juliet | 1968 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★½ | 138 | One of the best cinematic versions of Shakespeare's immortal tale of two young lovers kept apart by their families. Unique for its casting leads who were only 17 and 15, respectively, this exquisitely photographed film (by Pasquale de Santis, who won an Oscar) has a hauntingly beautiful musical score by Nino Rota and Oscar-winning costumes by Danilo Donati. | tt0063518 | [PG] | Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey, Milo O'Shea, Michael York, John McEnery, Pat Heywood, Robert Stephens. Narrated by Laurence Olivier | British-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Romero | 1989 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 102 | Absorbing biography of El Salvador's Archbishop Oscar Romero, chronicling his transformation from passive cleric to eloquent defender of his church and people. Thoughtfully directed with a good script by John Sacret Young and a quietly powerful performance by Julia. The initial feature film financed by officials of the United States Roman Catholic Church. | tt0098219 | [PG-13] | Raul Julia, Richard Jordan, Ana Alicia, Eddie Velez, Alejandro Bracho, Tony Plana, Lucy Reina, Harold Gould, Al Ruscio, Robert Viharo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Romper Stomper | 1992 | Geoffrey Wright | ★★★ | 92 | Lashing out at Asians in their neighborhood, a gang of white supremacist Melbourne skinheads is gradually reduced to a handful. Well-observed story is extremely tense, with strong doses of violence and sex. Reminiscent of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, Wright's feature debut is vividly directed and well acted, but whittling the story down to a sexual triangle is a letdown. Very successful (and controversial) in its native Australia. | tt0105275 | Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Alex Scott, Leigh Russell, Daniel Wyllie, James McKenna | Australian | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Romulus, My Father | 2007 | Richard Roxburgh | ★★½ | 104 | A close-knit community of immigrants in Victoria gets too close, as a jealous Romanian husband goes mental while his German wife is AWOL with another bloke, their little boy tossed and torn among them all. 1960s melodrama is visually beautiful and convincingly acted, with assured direction by Roxburgh (in the actor’s debut behind the camera) . . . but this abusive, violent gut-wrencher is often too much to bear. Adapted from Raimond Gaita's 1998 memoir. | tt0462023 | [R] | Eric Bana, Franka Potente, Marton Csokas, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Russell Dykstra, Jacek Koman, Alethea McGrath | Australian | Drama, Biography | NULL | |
| Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | 1997 | David Mirkin | ★★½ | 91 | Best-friend airheads decide to attend their 10-year high school reunion in Tucson . . . then realize that they'd better put on airs if they're going to impress all the A-list snobs who used to make their lives a living hell. Flighty comedy has lulls to match its laughs, but benefits from airtight performances by the two gaudy, likable leads. Followed by a made-for-TV prequel. | tt0120032 | [R] | Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Julia Campbell, Mia Cottet, Kristin Bauer, Camryn Manheim | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ronin | 1998 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 121 | A group of mercenaries is brought together in France to secure a mysterious package for a high-powered client— but a double-cross leads to a guessing game of whom can be trusted. Great car chases (from the director of GRAND PRIX) are the only draw in this otherwise flat, self-serious espionage yarn. Dialogue about Japanese Ronin doesn't even apply to these characters! Cowriter Richard Weisz is in fact David Mamet. | tt0122690 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth, Michael Lonsdale, Jan Triska, Katarina Witt | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Roof | 1956 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★½ | 98 | Thoughtful neorealist account of a simple young married couple in overcrowded post-WW2 Rome, and their attempt to find a home for themselves. Original title: IL TETTO. | tt0049839 | Gabriella Pallotta, Giorgio Listuzzi, Gastone Renzelli, Maria Di Rollo | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rooftops | 1989 | Robert Wise | ★½ | 95 | Routine urban B musical about a teenage white male, his forbidden Hispanic girlfriend, drug pushers, and a form of 'combat dancing'— the last employing martial-arts footwork, but without the bone crushing. Sole distinction: that it was directed by veteran Wise, who won an Oscar for the thematically similar WEST SIDE STORY. | tt0098222 | [R] | Jason Gedrick, Troy Beyer, Eddie Velez, Tisha Campbell, Alexis Cruz, Allen Payne | Drama | NULL | ||
| Roogie's Bump | 1954 | Harold Young | ★½ | 71 | A bump on the arm of young Remington 'Roogie' Rigsby (Marriot) results in his getting to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Slight kiddie fantasy, with more than a passing resemblance to ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. However, fans of Dem Bums will enjoy seeing Roy Campanella, Billy Loes, Carl Erskine, and Russ Meyer as Roogie's teammates. | tt0047428 | Robert Marriot, Ruth Warrick, Olive Blackeney, Robert Simon, William Harrigan, David Winters | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Rookie of the Year | 1993 | Daniel Stern | ★★★ | 103 | Amiable film for kids about a boy who, after breaking his arm, turns out to have an incredible fastball pitch, which earns him a spot as the new star pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Benign (almost to a fault), sometimes broad comedy/fantasy has a paper-thin plot, but makes all the right moves to entertain the youthful audience it's aiming for. First-time feature director Stern gives himself the silliest part in the film, as a dimwitted pitching coach. John Candy appears unbilled as an excitable Cubs broadcaster. Similar in premise to a 1954 film, ROOGIE'S BUMP. | tt0107985 | [PG] | Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey, Albert Hall, Amy Morton, Dan Hedaya, Bruce Altman, Eddie Bracken, Daniel Stern, Robert Gorman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Rookie | 1990 | Clint Eastwood | ★½ | 121 | Formula filmmaking that even bored its intended audience. Cop Eastwood chews stogies for breakfast, while new partner Sheen is a rich kid who (from evidence supplied here) apparently enjoys collecting facial contusions. Still, there's one good freeway crackup, the you-asked-for-it teaming of Julia and Braga as Germans, and the sight of handcuffed Clint performing under extreme pressure during Braga's bondage rape of him. (Maybe she saw TIGHTROPE.) | tt0100514 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Charlie Sheen, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, Tom Skerritt, Lara Flynn Boyle, Pepe Serna, Mara Corday | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Rookie | 2002 | John Lee Hancock | ★★★ | 127 | High school teacher/baseball coach inspires his ragtag team to win, and they in turn egg him on to follow his longtime dream of pitching in the major leagues. Upbeat, feel-good movie about following your dreams and tying up loose ends in your life. Based on the true story of Jim Morris, who appears briefly as an umpire. | tt0265662 | [G] | Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Beth Grant, Angus T. Jones, Brian Cox, Rick Gonzalez, Royce D. Applegate | Drama | NULL | ||
| Room Service | 1938 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 78 | Broadway farce about destitute producers trying to keep their play afloat— and avoid being evicted from their hotel room— is transformed by scenarist Morrie Ryskind into a vehicle for the Marx Bros. More conventional than their earlier outings, but still has a lot of funny material (and, thankfully, no intrusive songs). Remade as a musical, STEP LIVELY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0030696 | Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Frank Albertson, Donald MacBride | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Room at the Top | 1959 | Jack Clayton | ★★★★ | 118 | Brilliant drama of ambitious Harvey determined to rise in the hierarchy of the factory that employs him; complications arise when he becomes involved with older, unhappily married Signoret. | tt0053226 | Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears, Hermione Baddeley, Donald Wolfit, Ambrosine Philpotts, Donald Houston, Wendy Craig | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Room for One More | The Easy Way | 1952 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 98 | Grant and Drake are softhearted couple who can't resist adopting needy kids. Sentimental comedy retitled THE EASY WAY; basis for later TV series. | tt0045102 | Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, Lurene Tuttle, George Winslow, John Ridgely | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Room for Romeo Brass | 2000 | Shane Meadows | ★★★ | 90 | Poignant and scary story of Romeo and Gavin, two 12-year-old boys whose friendship is put to the test when they meet a childlike man with a violent temper who becomes obsessed with Romeo's older sister. Unique mix of coming-of-age dramedy and psychological suspense is buoyed by Meadows' sensitive direction and an intense De Niro-esque performance from Considine in his debut film. Second part of Meadows' Midlands trilogy (TWENTYFOURSEVEN, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS). | tt0202559 | [R] | Paddy Considine, Andrew Shim, Frank Harper, Ladene Hall, Vicky McClure, Ben Marshall, Julia Ford, James Higgins, Bob Hoskins, Darren O. Campbell | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| A Room with a View | 1986 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 115 | Elegant and witty adaptation of E. M. Forster novel about British manners and mores, and a young woman's awakening experiences during a trip (chaperoned, of course) to Florence. Splendid performances, fine attention to detail; only fault is its deliberate pace, which allows interest level to lag from time to time. Won Oscars for screenplay adaptation (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala), art direction, and costume design. | tt0091867 | Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Rosemary Leach, Rupert Graves | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Room | 2003 | Tommy Wiseau | 💣 | 99 | Middle-aged Wiseau dotes on his young fiancée, blissfully unaware that she's a tramp who has fallen in love with (and is intent on seducing) his best friend. Mind-bogglingly awful and unintentionally laugh-out-loud funny. Wiseau, who looks and sounds like he's just stepped out of a Grade D vampire film, also produced and scripted. This film would make Ed Wood proud; understandably, it has developed a cult following. | tt0368226 | [R] | Tommy Wiseau, Greg Sestero, Juliette Danielle, Phillip Haldiman, Carolyn Minnott, Robyn Paris | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Roommate | 2011 | Christian E. Christiansen | 💣 | 91 | Young woman (Kelly) moves into her dorm at an L.A. college. At first, she likes her shy, somewhat disturbed roommate (Meester), but soon discovers the young woman has become frighteningly attached to her. Trivial, trite would-be thriller shamelessly copies SINGLE WHITE FEMALE. You’ve seen this before, and done much better. | tt1265990 | [PG-13] | Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Alyson Michalka, Danneel Harris, Frances Fisher, Tomas Arana, Billy Zane | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Roommates | 1995 | Peter Yates | ★★½ | 108 | A movie best described as 'nice,' about a crotchety, working-class Polish immigrant who raises his grandson when the boy is orphaned, and remains a dominant figure in his life even after the young man is married and a father himself. Falk is in fine form in this mildly entertaining story, based on coscreenwriter Max Apple's own experiences. | tt0114296 | [PG] | Peter Falk, D. B. Sweeney, Julianne Moore, Ellen Burstyn, Jan Rubes, Frankie Faison, Noah Fleiss, Joyce Reehling, Ernie Sabella | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rooney | 1958 | George Pollock | ★★★ | 88 | Sprightly tale of Irish sanitation worker Gregson with an eye for the girls, trying to avoid marriage; Fitzgerald is bedridden geezer whom Rooney helps. | tt0052147 | John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow, Barry Fitzgerald, June Thorburn | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rooster Cogburn | 1975 | Stuart Millar | ★★ | 107 | Reprising Wayne's character from TRUE GRIT and teaming him with Hepburn was an obvious attempt to spark an AFRICAN QUEEN-type hit, but starpower is all this film has going for it. Dull story of unlikely duo going after men who murdered Kate's father may play better on TV. | tt0073636 | [PG] | John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Zerbe, Strother Martin, Richard Jordan, John McIntire, Richard Farnsworth | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Roosters | 1993 | Robert M. Young | ★½ | 95 | Leaden-paced drama of irresponsible ex-con Olmos, who's consumed by his machismo, and what happens when he returns to his family in the rural Southwest. Uninvolving and at times downright boring, despite all of the characters' simmering emotions. An American Playhouse coproduction. | tt0107987 | [R] | Edward James Olmos, Sonia Braga, Maria Conchita Alonso, Danny Nucci, Sarah Lassez | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm | 1937 | Mack V. Wright. | ★★½ | 60 | Gene and Smiley go after cattle rustlers but find themselves mistaken for two of the wanted men. Story takes a backseat to comedy and music. Gene sings 'Mexicali Rose' for the first time on-screen. | tt0029498 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Armida, Monte Blue, Al Clauser and His Oklahoma Outlaws, Hal Taliaferro, Ann Pendleton, Charles King, Frankie Marvin. | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Roots of Heaven | 1958 | John Huston | ★★½ | 131 | Turgid melodramatics set in Africa, with conglomerate cast philosophizing over sanctity of elephants; loosely based on Romain Gary novel. | tt0052148 | Errol Flynn, Juliette Greco, Trevor Howard, Eddie Albert, Orson Welles, Herbert Lom, Paul Lukas | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rope | 1948 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 80 | Two young men kill prep-school pal, just for the thrill of it, and challenge themselves by inviting friends and family to their apartment afterward— with the body hidden on the premises. Hitchcock's first color film was shot in ten-minute takes to provide a seamless flow of movement, but it remains today what it was then: an interesting, highly theatrical experiment. Inspired by the real-life Leopold-Loeb murder case, which later was depicted in COMPULSION and SWOON. Patrick Hamilton's play was adapted by Hume Cronyn and scripted by Arthur Laurents. | tt0040746 | James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Cedric Hardwicke, Joan Chandler, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Rope of Sand | 1949 | William Dieterle | ★★★ | 104 | Sturdy cast in adventure tale of smooth thief trying to regain treasure he hid away, with various parties interfering. | tt0041822 | Burt Lancaster, Paul Henreid, Corinne Calvet, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sam Jaffe, John Bromfield, Mike Mazurki | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Rory O'Shea Was Here | Inside I'm Dancing | 2004 | Damien O'Donnell. | ★★½ | 104 | Sensitive, seriocomic Irish drama about a bad-boy quadriplegic (McAvoy) living in a home for the disabled, who befriends a young man with cerebral palsy and convinces him that they should get their own apartment. They're assisted by an unlikely and beautiful young female caretaker (Garai). The leads (especially Garai) are all terrific in this tearjerker, but they can't quite transcend the familiar CUCKOO'S NEST trappings. Original U.K. title: INSIDE I'M DANCING. | tt0417791 | [R] | James McAvoy, Steven Robertson, Romola Garai, Gerard McSorley, Tom Hickey, Brenda Fricker, Alan King, Ruth McCabe, Anna Healy. | Irish-British-French | Drama | NULL |
| Rosa Luxemburg | 1986 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★★½ | 116 | Sukowa offers a towering performance in this compelling, multileveled biography of the dedicated, idealistic democratic socialist/pacifist/humanist who played a prominent role in German politics in the early years of the century. Extremely provocative and well directed. | tt0091869 | Barbara Sukowa, Daniel Olbrychski, Otto Sander, Adelheid Arndt, Jurgen Holtz, Doris Schade | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosalie | 1937 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★ | 122 | Elephantine MGM musical about romance between West Point cadet and mythical-kingdom princess. Living proof that money alone can't make a good movie. Cole Porter score includes 'In the Still of the Night.' | tt0029499 | Eleanor Powell, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Edna May Oliver, Ray Bolger, Ilona Massey, Billy Gilbert | Musical | NULL | |||
| Rosalie Goes Shopping | 1989 | Percy Adlon | ★★★ | 94 | Bavarian-born Sägebrecht has settled with American husband Davis in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and they have more children than you can count; she's become obsessed with spending money and having possessions, and devises an ingenious plan to beat the bill collector. Delightfully loopy comedy (written by the director, Eleanor Adlon and Christopher Dorherty). | tt0098224 | [PG] | Marianne Sägebrecht, Brad Davis, Judge Reinhold, William Harlander, Erika Blumberger, Patricia Zehentmayr, Alex Winter | German | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Rosary Murders | 1987 | Fred Walton | ★★ | 101 | Mass killer of Motown priests and nuns confesses to Sutherland, who obviously can't inform the cops. Despite a script cowritten by Elmore Leonard, Sutherland's performance is the sole reward. Starts promisingly but soon fizzles. Filmed on location in Detroit. See I CONFESS instead. | tt0093881 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Charles Durning, Belinda Bauer, Josef Sommer, James Murtaugh, John Danelle, Addison Powell, Kathleen Tolan | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Rose Bowl Story | 1952 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 73 | Clichéd hogwash about football players, their work and home life. | tt0045104 | Marshall Thompson, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, Ann Doran, Jim Backus | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Rose Garden | 1989 | Fons Rademakers | ★★½ | 111 | Attorney Ullmann defends Schell on charges of attacking an elderly man whom he recognized as the commandant of a Nazi concentration camp in which his family was killed. Story is earnest and compassionate but uninspired; benefits from fine performances by Ullmann and an almost unrecognizable Schell. | tt0098225 | [PG-13] | Liv Ullmann, Maximilian Schell, Peter Fonda, Jan Niklas, Kurt Hubner | U.S.-West German | Drama | NULL | |
| Rose Marie | 1954 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 115 | More faithful to original operetta than 1936 version, but not as much fun. Mountie Keel tries to 'civilize' tomboy Blyth, but falls in love with her instead. Adventurer Lamas completes the triangle. Lahr sings 'I'm the Mountie Who Never Got His Man' in comic highlight. | tt0047429 | Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas, Bert Lahr, Marjorie Main, Joan Taylor, Ray Collins | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rose Tattoo | 1955 | Daniel Mann | ★★★½ | 117 | Magnani shines in Oscar-winning role as earthy, deluded widow in Gulf Coast city who's romanced by rambunctious truck driver Lancaster. Flavorful adaptation of Tennessee Williams play; cinematographer James Wong Howe also won an Oscar. | tt0048563 | Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster, Marisa Pavan, Ben Cooper, Virginia Grey, Jo Van Fleet | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Rose for Everyone | 1965 | Franco Rossi | ★★ | 107 | Brazilian locale with NEVER ON SUNDAY plot. Girl brings happiness to many men and takes active interest in their private lives as well as their sexual lives. Nice locales, banal story. | tt0062216 | Claudia Cardinale, Nino Manfredi, Mario Adorf, Akim Tamiroff | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rose of Washington Square | 1939 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 86 | So-so musical with Faye as a thinly disguised Fanny Brice, who falls head over heels for cocky punk Power (a clone of Nicky Arnstein). Faye gets to sing Brice's signature song, 'My Man,' but Jolson, essentially playing himself, steals the show performing 'Mammy,' 'California, Here I Come,' and other classics. | tt0031877 | Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Al Jolson, William Frawley, Joyce Compton, Hobart Cavanaugh, Louis Prima, Horace McMahon, Moroni Olsen | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rose | 1979 | Mark Rydell | ★★ | 134 | Spin-off of the Janis Joplin saga equates show biz with hell, then concentrates on giving the audience too much of the latter. Midler (in her starring debut) and Forrest deliver dynamic performances, but film leaves a lot to be desired. Impressive photography by Vilmos Zsigmond. | tt0079826 | [R] | Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, Barry Primus, David Keith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rose-Marie | Indian Love Call | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 110 | Don't expect the original operetta: story has opera star Jeanette searching for fugitive brother Stewart, as Mountie Nelson pursues the same man. The two fall in love, sing 'Indian Love Call,' among others. David Niven appears briefly as Jeanette's unsuccessful suitor. Retitled INDIAN LOVE CALL; previously filmed in 1928, then again in 1954. | tt0028207 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Reginald Owen, Allan Jones, James Stewart, Alan Mowbray, Gilda Gray | Musical, Western, Romance | NULL | ||
| Roseanna McCoy | 1949 | Irving Reis | ★★ | 100 | Witless drama of Hatfield-McCoy feud, with young lovers from opposite sides of the fence rekindling old wounds. | tt0041824 | Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Charles Bickford, Raymond Massey, Richard Basehart, Aline MacMahon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rosebud | 1975 | Otto Preminger | 💣 | 126 | Nadir for director Preminger and usually competent performers. Arab terrorists kill crew of yacht 'Rosebud' and kidnap five wealthy young ladies aboard. O'Toole and Attenborough (to say nothing of former N.Y.C. Mayor Lindsay) are embarrassingly bad. | tt0073637 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, Cliff Gorman, Claude Dauphin, John V. Lindsay, Peter Lawford, Raf Vallone, Isabelle Huppert, Kim Cattrall | Action | NULL | ||
| The Rosebud Beach Hotel | The No-Tell Hotel | 1984 | Harry Hurwitz (Tampa) | ★½ | 87 | Idiotic, fifth-rate comedy about buffoon Scolari, who with girlfriend Camp operates a resort hotel and hires happy hookers as bellgirls. Camp's bright presence raises the rating of this from BOMB. Originally titled THE BIG LOBBY; aka THE NO-TELL HOTEL. | tt0088019 | [R] | Colleen Camp, Peter Scolari, Christopher Lee, Fran Drescher, Monique Gabrielle, Eddie Deezen, Chuck McCann | Comedy | NULL | |
| Roseland | 1977 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 103 | Trilogy set in N.Y.C.'s venerable Roseland Ballroom examines bittersweet lives of people who gravitate there. First story is weakest, but other two are absorbing and beautifully performed, with Copeland and Skala as standouts. | tt0076639 | [PG] | Teresa Wright, Lou Jacobi, Geraldine Chaplin, Helen Gallagher, Joan Copeland, Christopher Walken, Lilia Skala, David Thomas | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosemary | 1958 | Rolf Thiele | ★★½ | 99 | Convincing study of famed post-WW2 Frankfurt prostitute (Tiller) who blackmailed industrialist; satirically sensational. | tt0051963 | Nadja Tiller, Peter Van Eyck, Gert Frobe, Mario Adorf, Carl Raddatz | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosemary's Baby | 1968 | Roman Polanski | ★★★★ | 136 | Classic modern-day thriller by Ira Levin, perfectly realized by writer-director Polanski: Farrow is unsuspecting young wife whose husband becomes involved with witches' coven and their diabolical plans. Listen closely for Tony Curtis' voice in a phone conversation. Gordon won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Produced by William Castle; followed by a made-for-TV sequel, LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ROSEMARY'S BABY (1976, aka ROSEMARY'S BABY II). | tt0063522 | [R] | Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Elisha Cook/Jr., Patsy Kelly, Charles Grodin | Horror, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | 1990 | Tom Stoppard | ★★ | 118 | Oldman and Roth are engaging as the puckish incidental characters from Hamlet who wander into a series of (mostly verbal) adventures in and around the royal castle. Full of delicious wordplay, and some imaginative visual ideas, but there's a basic lifelessness to this film, proving that it should have remained on stage. Playwright Stoppard's feature film directing debut, an adaptation of his own play. | tt0100519 | [PG] | Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss, Joanna Roth, Iain Glen, Donald Sumpter, Joanna Miles, Ian Richardson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosenstrasse | 2003 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★ | 136 | Schrader, a Jewish New Yorker, travels to Germany to meet the elderly woman who sheltered her mother during WW2. Worthy film brings to light a long-forgotten act of heroism against Nazi tyranny, when Aryan women mounted a protest in Berlin after the SS arrested their Jewish husbands— but the result plays like a soap opera. A major disappointment. | tt0298131 | [PG-13] | Katja Riemann, Maria Schrader, Martin Feifel, Jürgen Vogel, Jutta Lampe, Doris Schade, Fedja van Huêt, Carola Regnier | German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Rosetta | 1999 | Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne | ★★ | 95 | Unrelenting, cinema vérité-style portrait of a teenaged girl who is desperate to escape the harshness of her life. She gets a job, but has no idea how to deal with the world around her— except for the desperate survival techniques she has taught herself. With its hand-held camera and fly-on-the-wall storytelling approach, the film paints a vivid picture, but it's tough to watch, and tougher still to pierce the emotional shell of its main character. Top prize-winner at the Cannes Film Festival. | tt0200071 | [R] | Emilie Dequenne, Fabrizio Rongione, Anne Yernaux, Olivier Gourmet, Florian Delain | Belgian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Rosewood | 1997 | John Singleton | ★★½ | 142 | Fact-based story of two neighboring Florida towns, circa 1922-23, and the festering racism that threatens to explode into violence and destroy a law-abiding black community in the process. Rhames (in his biggest role to date) is an outsider who rallies the protest. Well acted and crafted, but turns overly melodramatic. Undoubtedly the most repugnant depiction of Southern 'rednecks' since DELIVERANCE. | tt0120036 | [R] | Jon Voight, Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Bruce McGill, Loren Dean, Esther Rolle, Michael Rooker, Elise Neal, Catherine Kellner | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rosie! | 1967 | David Lowell Rich | ★★★ | 98 | One of Russell's best late-career performances as madcap grandmother, whose children want her money now. Based on a play by Ruth Gordon. | tt0063523 | Rosalind Russell, Sandra Dee, Brian Aherne, Audrey Meadows, James Farentino, Vanessa Brown, Leslie Nielsen, Margaret Hamilton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Roswell | 1994 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Earnest retelling of real-life army officer Jesse Marcel's 30-year search for the truth about the government cover-up of his discovery of a UFO landing in the desert near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 and the proof taken from him. Playwright Arthur Kopit cowrote the intriguing teleplay, based on the scrupulously documented 1991 book UFO Crash at Roswell. Made for cable. | tt0111021 | Kyle MacLachlan, Martin Sheen, Dwight Yoakam, Kim Greist, Peter MacNicol, Bob Gunton, Xander Berkeley | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Rotten to the Core | 1965 | John Boulting | ★★★ | 90 | Well-handled caper of ex-con trio joining forces with crook to carry off large-scale robbery. | tt0059660 | Anton Rodgers, Eric Sykes, Charlotte Rampling, Ian Bannen, Avis Bunnage, Victor Maddern | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Rough Cut | 1980 | Donald Siegel | ★★½ | 112 | Handsome but uneven romantic caper uses its stars' charm and chemistry to offset weaknesses in script. World-class jewel thief Reynolds falls in love with beautiful woman who's been set up to snag him for Scotland Yard. Filmed in England and Holland. Troubled David Merrick production went through four directors, and scripter Larry Gelbart used a pseudonym; hastily refilmed ending is chief giveaway. | tt0081439 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Lesley-Anne Down, David Niven, Timothy West, Patrick Magee, Al Matthews, Joss Ackland, Roland Culver | Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rough Magic | 1995 | Clare Peploe | ★★ | 104 | Odd little road movie, with Fonda a magician's assistant in 1950s L.A. who hides out in Mexico with several men in pursuit. Thrust of story concerns 'miracle elixirs,' a Mayan shaman (female), and farcical situations south of the border. An uneasy mix of genres, faintly reminiscent of THE BIG STEAL. | tt0114303 | [PG-13] | Bridget Fonda, Russell Crowe, Jim Broadbent, D.W. Moffett, Kenneth Mars, Paul Rodriguez, Andy Romano, Richard Schiff, Euva Anderson, Michael Ensign | French-British | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Rough Night in Jericho | 1967 | Arnold Laven | ★★ | 97 | Gory Western casts Martin as total villain who owns the town. Attractive cast can't fight clichés. | tt0062218 | Dean Martin, George Peppard, Jean Simmons, John McIntire, Slim Pickens, Don Galloway | Western | NULL | |||
| Rough Riders | 1997 | John Milius | Above Average TV Movie | 120 | Full-bodied tale of young Teddy Roosevelt (a nearly unrecognizable Berenger) and how he became an American hero in the Spanish-American War. Keith (terrific in his final role as Pres. William McKinley) played TR in Milius' THE WIND AND THE LION. Busey is also impressive as bigger-than-life Gen. 'Fighting Joe' Wheeler. Written by Milius. Made for cable. | tt0118453 | Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott, Gary Busey, Brad Johnson, Christopher Noth, Brian Keith, George Hamilton, Illeana Douglas, R. Lee Ermey, Nick Chinlund, William Katt, Dakin Matthews, Geoffrey Lewis, Francisco Quinn | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Rough Riders' Round-Up | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 55 | After being mustered out as members of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders at the end of the Spanish-American War, Rogers and his pals head for Arizona to join the Border Patrol. There they contend with outlaw Arizona Jack (Pawley), whose secret confederate (Meeker) works for Hart's father. Good entry in Roy's series of historical Westerns. Look for George Montgomery in a bit part as a telegrapher. | tt0031880 | Roy Rogers, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Raymond Hatton, Eddie Acuff, William Pawley, Dorothy Sebastian, George Meeker, Guy Usher. | Western | NULL | |||
| Roughly Speaking | 1945 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 117 | Heartfelt biopic about spunky Louise Randall Pierson (Russell), her two very different husbands, and her plight through the ups and downs of the 20th century, all the way to WW2. Russell and Carson, as her easygoing husband number 2, are tops. Pierson scripted, based on her bestseller. | tt0038038 | Rosalind Russell, Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Jean Sullivan, Alan Hale/Sr., Donald Woods, Ray Collins, Mona Freeman, Craig Stevens | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Roughshod | 1949 | Mark Robson | ★★½ | 88 | Intriguing oater in which Sterling and kid brother Jarman head West to start a ranch; they come upon a quartet of stranded saloon-hall dames, and face a trio of murderous escaped cons seeking vengeance. | tt0041827 | Robert Sterling, Claude Jarman/Jr., Gloria Grahame, Jeff Donnell, John Ireland, Myrna Dell, Martha Hyer | Western | NULL | |||
| Round Midnight | 1986 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 131 | A boozy American jazzman working in 1950s Paris is virtually adopted by a fan, and their unusual relationship causes them both to thrive. A loving homage to jazz musicians and their world (inspired by the lives of Bud Powell and Lester Young), with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by real-life tenor-sax great Gordon. Music director— and Oscar winner— Herbie Hancock and his colleagues not only create great jazz right on-screen but also help establish a perfect ambiance. Written by Tavernier and David Rayfiel; designed by premier art director Alexandre Trauner. | tt0090557 | [R] | Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra Reaves-Phillips, Lonette McKee, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Wayne Shorter, John Berry, Martin Scorsese, Philippe Noiret | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Round-Up Time in Texas | 1937 | Joseph Kane. | ★½ | 63 | Gene's strangest— and probably worst— Western finds him bringing horses to a South African diamond mine his brother has discovered. Horrible stereotypes abound, complete with Smiley in blackface. | tt0029501 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Maxine Doyle, LeRoy Mason, Earle Hodgins, Dick Wessel, Buddy Williams, Elmer Fain, Ken Cooper. | Western | NULL | |||
| Rounders | 1998 | John Dahl | ★★½ | 121 | Young poker whiz (Damon) tries to give up the game and focus on being a law student. When his longtime pal— aptly nicknamed Worm (Norton)— is released from prison, he soon finds himself caught up again in the allure of high-stakes games, not because he likes to gamble, but because he knows how good he is. Provocative, interesting, but never entirely engaging— with enough card-playing jargon to last a lifetime. | tt0128442 | [R] | Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Gretchen Mol, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Famke Janssen, Martin Landau, Michael Rispoli, Josh Mostel, Tom Aldredge, Michael Lombard, Mal Z. Lawrence | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rounders | 1965 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 85 | Agreeable comedy-Western from Max Evans' novel about two cowboys and an ornery horse was one of the sleepers of its year; nothing much happens, but cast and scenery make it a pleasant way to kill an hour-and-a-half. | tt0059661 | Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Sue Ane Langdon, Hope Holiday, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Roustabout | 1964 | John Rich | ★★½ | 101 | Elvis is a free-wheeling singer who joins Stanwyck's carnival, learns the meaning of hard work and true love. Stanwyck and supporting cast make this a pleasing Presley songer, with 'Little Egypt' his one outstanding tune. Raquel Welch has a bit, and Teri Garr is one of the dancers. | tt0058534 | Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Leif Erickson, Joan Freeman, Sue Ane Langdon | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Rover Dangerfield | 1991 | Jim George, Bob Seeley | ★★½ | 74 | A wisecracking dog thrives on his life in Las Vegas, until fate sends him to a farm in the middle of nowheresville. The idea of Dangerfield-style one-liners being spoken by a cartoon dog is fun for a while, but the film wavers uneasily between adult and juvenile appeal. Animation fans should check out the incredible opening shot. Dangerfield wrote, produced, and even contributed lyrics to the songs. | tt0102813 | [G] | Voices of Rodney Dangerfield, Susan Boyd, Ronnie Schell, Ned Luke, Shawn Southwick, Dana Hill | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Rover | 1967 | Terence Young | ★½ | 103 | Quinn stars as 18th-century pirate whose escape from French authorities is sidetracked by relationship with innocent, feeble-minded girl. Plodding film from Joseph Conrad story; made in Italy, barely released here. | tt0061377 | Anthony Quinn, Rosanna Schiaffino, Rita Hayworth, Richard Johnson, Ivo Garrani, Mino Doro | War | NULL | |||
| Rovin' Tumbleweeds | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 62 | Shades of MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON: after a disastrous flood in Green River, rancher-turned-radio-singer Autry gets elected to Congress with a flood control bill as his platform. One of Gene's early 'environmental' Westerns, released shortly after the Capra classic. Gene also sings 'Back in the Saddle.' | tt0031881 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Mary Carlisle, Douglass Dumbrille, *** Pals of the Golden West, William Farnum, Ralph Peters, Jack Ingram. | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Rowdyman | 1971 | Peter Carter | ★★½ | 95 | Pinsent is the whole show in this occasionally intriguing but ultimately superficial drama about a hard-living womanizer and his fate after accidentally causing the death of a childhood pal. Filmed in Newfoundland; Pinsent also scripted. | tt0069195 | Gordon Pinsent, Frank Converse, Will Geer, Linda Gorenson, Ted Henley | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Roxanne | 1987 | Fred Schepisi | ★★½ | 107 | Martin fashioned this update of Cyrano de Bergerac as a vehicle for himself, with Hannah as the object of his affection and Rossovich as the empty-headed hunk for whom he 'fronts.' Extremely likable and sweet-natured romantic comedy set in a sleepy ski town. Peters out somewhere along the line, unfortunately. | tt0093886 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall, John Kapelos, Fred Willard, Max Alexander, Michael J. Pollard, Damon Wayans, Matt Lattanzi, Kevin Nealon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Roxie Hart | 1942 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 75 | Fast-moving spoof of Roaring '20s, with Ginger as publicity-seeking dancer on trial for murder, Menjou her overdramatic lawyer. Hilarious antics make up for dry spells; scripted and produced by Nunnally Johnson. Previously filmed in 1927 as CHICAGO, also the title of the later Broadway and movie musical. | tt0035272 | Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, George Montgomery, Lynne Overman, Nigel Bruce, Phil Silvers, Spring Byington, Iris Adrian, George Chandler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Royal Affairs in Versailles | Affairs in Versailles | 1954 | Sacha Guitry | ★★ | 152 | Impressive cast in static, leaden-paced chronicle of the Golden Age of the French monarchy. Guitry plays Louis XIV; also seen are D'Artagnan, Mme. de Pompadour, Moliere, Marie Antoinette, etc. Released in U.S. in 1957. Look fast for Brigitte Bardot. Retitled: AFFAIRS IN VERSAILLES. | tt0047484 | Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Edith Piaf, Gérard Philipe, Jean Marais, Sacha Guitry, Micheline Presle, Daniel Gelin, Danielle Delorme | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Royal African Rifles | 1953 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 75 | Adequate actioner set in Africa in 1910, with Hayward the British officer leading mission to recover cache of arms. | tt0046254 | Louis Hayward, Veronica Hurst, Michael Pate, Angela Greene. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Royal Family of Broadway | 1930 | George Cukor, Cyril Gardner | ★★★½ | 82 | Delightful screen version of Edna Ferber-George S. Kaufman play about Barrymore-like theatrical family torn by conflict of show business tradition vs. 'normal' private life. March is wickedly funny in his John Barrymore portrayal. | tt0021322 | Fredric March, Ina Claire, Mary Brian, Henrietta Crosman, Charles Starrett, Arnold Korff, Frank Conroy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Royal Flash | 1975 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 98 | Comic swashbuckler with McDowell forced to impersonate a Prussian nobleman and marry Ekland. Zippy Lester entry with a fine cast; script by George MacDonald Fraser, from his novel. | tt0073639 | [PG] | Malcolm McDowell, Alan Bates, Florinda Bolkan, Oliver Reed, Britt Ekland, Lionel Jeffries, Tom Bell, Alastair Sim, Michael Hordern, Joss Ackland, Christopher Cazenove, Bob Hoskins | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Royal Hunt of the Sun | 1969 | Irving Lerner | ★★★ | 118 | Colorful tale of Spanish explorer Pizzaro and his quest for gold in South America; from acclaimed stage play by Peter Shaffer, adapted by Philip Yordan. | tt0064907 | [G] | Robert Shaw, Christopher Plummer, Nigel Davenport, Michael Craig, Leonard Whiting, James Donald | British | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| A Royal Scandal | 1945 | Ernst Lubitsch, Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 94 | Comedy of manners about Catherine the Great of Russia promoting favored soldier Eythe to high rank; started by Lubitsch, 'finished' by Preminger. Remake of Lubitsch's 1924 FORBIDDEN PARADISE. | tt0038040 | Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Coburn, Anne Baxter, William Eythe, Vincent Price, Mischa Auer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Royal Tenenbaums | 2001 | Wes Anderson | ★★½ | 108 | Ne'er-do-well Hackman abandoned his wife and three genius children long ago, but now feels the need to make up for lost time— especially since he's flat broke. Rambling comedy has the same likable, eccentric qualities as the filmmakers' BOTTLE ROCKET and RUSHMORE and benefits from Hackman's savvy performance, but strains for effect and essentially has no story. Written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. | tt0265666 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Seymour Cassel; narrated by Alec Baldwin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Royal Wedding | 1951 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 93 | Pleasant MGM musical (written by Alan Jay Lerner) about brother and sister team who take their show to London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II's wedding, and find romance of their own. Highlights: Astaire's dancing on the ceiling and partnering with a hat-rack, and his dynamite duet with Powell, 'How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You (When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life)?' Burton Lane/ Alan Jay Lerner score also includes 'Too Late Now.' Donen's first solo directing credit. | tt0043983 | Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill, Keenan Wynn, Albert Sharpe | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Rubber | 2010 | Quentin Dupieux | ★★ | 82 | After a sheriff explains that the movie we’re watching has “no reason” to exist, we’re shown the tale of a discarded automobile tire that comes to life and develops the power to blow stuff up real good. Some spectators watch things from a distance, with binoculars provided by their host; they have paid to see the movie, which is real. Got that? Clever, one-of-a-kind English-language parody of monster movies set in the Southwestern U.S. is consistently watchable and wryly amusing, but the sheer weirdness of it all is its main attraction. A cult film aborning? | tt1612774 | [R] | Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida, Ethan Cohn, Charley Koontz, Daniel Quinn | French | Drama, Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Rubin and Ed | 1992 | Trent Harris | ★½ | 92 | Weird odyssey of two men on a mission to bury a frozen cat. This is one road movie Hope and Crosby never thought of— with good reason. Glover once made an infamous appearance on David Letterman's TV show playing the same character he does here. Letterman kicked him off the show; you can simply eject the video. | tt0102817 | [PG-13] | Crispin Glover, Howard Hesseman, Karen Black, Michael Green, Brittney Lewis | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ruby | 1977 | Curtis Harrington | ★★½ | 84 | Complex plot has longdead gangster's spirit possessing deaf-mute girl, sending her on a killing spree at drive-in theater (which specializes in horror movies) run by ex-gang members. A few moments, comic and horrific, stand out in generally uneven supernatural thriller. Some prints run 85m, with a hastily added epilogue. That version is credited to pseudonymous director Allen Smithee. | tt0076644 | [R] | Piper Laurie, Stuart Whitman, Roger Davis, Janit Baldwin, Crystin Sinclaire, Paul Kent | Horror | NULL | ||
| Ruby | 1992 | John Mackenzie | ★★½ | 110 | OK speculation about the life and motives of lowlife Jack Ruby, the mob errand boy, FBI informant, and nightclub owner who killed JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. Aiello is good and period recreations are adequate, but film suffers from too many lawyer-dictated characterizations (Frank Sinatra becomes singer 'Tony Montana'). | tt0105291 | [R] | Danny Aiello, Sherilyn Fenn, Arliss Howard, Tobin Bell, David Duchovny, Richard Sarafian, Joseph Cortese, Marc Lawrence | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ruby & Quentin | Tais-Toi! | 2003 | Francis Veber | ★★★ | 84 | A hard-boiled criminal (Reno) won't crack under police pressure, so they 'sic' their secret weapon on him: a congenital idiot who could drive anyone crazy. Typically funny Veber farce, with a surprisingly thin Depardieu playing the grinning idiot for all it's worth. Aka TAIS-TOI! | tt0310203 | Gérard Depardieu, Jean Reno, Jean-Pierre Malo, Richard Berry, André Dussollier, Ticky Holgado, Léonor Varela, Aurélien Recoing, Michel Aumont | French-Italian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Ruby Gentry | 1952 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 82 | Turgid, meandering account of easy-virtue Southerner Jones marrying wealthy Malden to spite Heston, the man she loves. | Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden, Josephine Hutchinson | Drama | NULL | ||||
| Ruby Gentry | 1952 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 82 | Turgid, meandering account of easy-virtue Southerner Jones marrying wealthy Malden to spite Heston, the man she loves. | tt0045109 | Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston, Karl Malden, Josephine Hutchinson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ruby Jean and Joe | 1996 | Geoffrey Sax | Average TV Movie | 100 | Easygoing road film, set in the contemporary West, involving a fading rodeo star and the young female hitchhiker he picks up. Selleck executive-produced this offbeat buddy picture. Scripted by James Lee Barrett. Made for cable. | tt0117522 | Tom Selleck, JoBeth Williams, Ben Johnson, Eileen Seeley, John Diehl, Rebekah Johnson | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Ruby in Paradise | 1993 | Victor Nunez | ★★★ | 115 | Fine independent effort about a young woman who leaves her Tennessee home for a new life in the beach community of Panama City in West Florida. Though too often self-consciously 'poetic,' this is a refreshingly low-key character study with none of the easy emotional payoffs of typical Hollywood films. The acting is fine, with Judd (sister of singer Wynonna) outstanding in the lead role. Director Nunez also wrote the screenplay. | tt0108000 | [R] | Ashley Judd, Todd Field, Bentley Mitchum, Allison Dean, Dorothy Lyman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ruckus | 1982 | Max Kleven | ★★ | 91 | Slick but ordinary drive-in fare about a shell-shocked Vietnam vet who becomes object of massive manhunt in sleepy Alabama town. Same basic story as later FIRST BLOOD, but less pretentious. | tt0084611 | [PG] | Dirk Benedict, Linda Blair, Ben Johnson, Matt Clark, Richard Farnsworth | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rude Awakening | 1989 | Aaron Russo, David Greenwalt | ★½ | 100 | 'Cheech and Roberts' lacks zing as a comedy-team concept; so does hippie-dippy political farce about a pair of long-haired '60s burnouts who return to N.Y.C. after 20 years in a Central American commune. Henry scrapes up a few chuckles in his only scene. | tt0098230 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Eric Roberts, Julie Hagerty, Robert Carradine, Buck Henry, Louise Lasser, Cindy Williams, Andrea Martin, Cliff DeYoung | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rude Boy | 1980 | Jack Hazan, David Mingay | ★★★ | 133 | Angry young rebel Gange is hired by the punk rock group The Clash as a roadie. Gritty, realistic, documentary-like character study; excellent concert footage. Punk rock fans will not be disappointed: others, beware. Most U.S. prints run 120m. | tt0081441 | [R] | The Clash, Ray Gange, John Green, Barry Baker, Terry McQuade, Caroline Coon | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Rudo y Cursi | Rudo and Cursi | 2008 | Carlos Cuarón | ★★★ | 102 | Two brothers (García Bernal and Luna) from a rural village in Mexico are recruited by an oily agent/promoter to play professional soccer in Mexico City. How these competitive, none-too-bright siblings deal with sudden fame, fortune, and a myriad of temptations is all part of the fun. Broadly entertaining comedy turns traditional rags-to-riches stories (and morality plays) inside out, and serves as a great showcase for its two dynamic stars, reunited with the cowriter of their breakout hit Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN. P.S. Rudo means tough; Cursi means corny. | tt0405393 | [R] | Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Guillermo Francella, Dolores Heredia, Adriana Paz, Jessica Mas | Mexican | Drama, Comedy | NULL |
| Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer: The Movie | 1998 | Bill Kowalchuk | ★★ | 83 | Old-fashioned, innocuous animated feature about that reindeer with the very shiny nose is aimed at very young children and adds some new plot twists and characters to the old story, including a fox (Idle), a polar bear (Newhart) and an evil ice queen (Goldberg). The animation is rudimentary, but the movie is a gentle antidote to the plethora of hyperkinetic contemporary cartoons. | tt0137201 | [G] | Voices of John Goodman, Eric Idle, Bob Newhart, Debbie Reynolds, Richard Simmons, Whoopi Goldberg | Adventure, Family, Animation, Musical | NULL | ||
| Rudy | 1993 | David Anspaugh | ★★★ | 112 | Rock-solid, immensely entertaining based-on-fact account of Rudy Ruettiger (Astin), a working-class boy intent on realizing his dream of playing football at old Notre Dame— despite his uninspiring academic record and unimposing athletic ability. Few surprises, but it's well acted (with special kudos to Dutton), and a real crowd-pleaser. Director Anspaugh and screenwriter Angelo Pizzo previously worked together on HOOSIERS. | tt0108002 | [PG] | Sean Astin, Ned Beatty, Robert Prosky, Charles S. Dutton, Lili Taylor, Jon Favreau, Jason Miller, Vince Vaughn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book | The Jungle Book | 1994 | Stephen Sommers | ★★½ | 110 | Agreeably old-fashioned 'boys adventure'-style adaptation of Kipling's stories produced under the Disney banner (but with few Disney touches). Lee is simply terrific as Mowgli, the boy raised in the Indian jungle who's brought back to 'civilization' by the daughter of a British regiment officer. Sumptuously filmed, with an exciting climax involving a lost city filled with treasure, but somehow never as compelling as it ought to be. | tt0110213 | [PG] | Jason Scott Lee, Cary Elwes, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, John Cleese, Jason Flemyng, Stefan Kalipha, Ron Donachie | Family, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |
| Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo | The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli & Baloo | 1997 | Duncan McLachlan | ★½ | 88 | Bland, unimaginative story of a jungle boy pursued by a circus animal procurer, saved again and again by his animal friends. Some stereotypical characters border on racism; a family film that could give 'wholesome' a bad name. Hard to believe Kipling would want his name on it. Filmed in Sri Lanka. | tt0120087 | [PG] | James Williams, Bill Campbell, Roddy McDowall, David Paul Francis, Gulshan Grover, Dyrk Ashton | Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Ruggles of Red Gap | 1935 | Leo McCarey | ★★★★ | 92 | Laughton is marvelous as butler won in poker game by uncouth but amiable westerner Ruggles and socially ambitious wife Boland; ZaSu is spinster he falls in love with. A completely winning movie. Harry Leon Wilson's story was filmed before in 1918 and 1923, then remade as FANCY PANTS. | tt0026955 | Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, Leila Hyams | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Rugrats Go Wild | 2003 | Norton Virgien, John Eng | ★★ | 80 | Headache-inducing hybrid of two popular animated TV series, Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, as the cast of the former washes ashore on an island where the naturalists of the latter show have set up camp. Unimaginative feature plays like a distended TV episode, and not a terribly good one at that. Chief novelty is Willis providing the voice of Spike the dog, who normally doesn't talk. | tt0337711 | [PG] | Voices of E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Lacey Chabert, Tim Curry, Bruce Willis, Chrissie Hynde, Nancy Cartwright, Cheryl Chase, Tara Strong, Melanie Chartoff, Jack Riley, Tress MacNeille, Michael Bell, Flea, *** LL Cool J | Comedy, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Rugrats Movie | 1998 | Norton Virgien, Igor Kovalyov | ★★½ | 79 | Theatrical spinoff of the popular TV cartoon puts Tommy and his infant friends into a nonstop adventure, which begins with the arrival of a new baby brother and escalates as the kids get lost in the woods. Clever and funny, with some likable songs, though even at 79m. it seems padded . . . and loud. Followed by RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE. | tt0134067 | [G] | Voices of E. G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Tara Charendoff, Melanie Chartoff, Jack Riley, Joe Alaskey, Phil Proctor, Michael Bell, Tress MacNeille, Busta Rhymes, Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, David Spade, Margaret Cho | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | 2000 | Stig Bergqvist, Paul Demeyer | ★★★ | 78 | Funny follow-up to THE RUGRATS MOVIE is sharper in every department. The babies join their folks in Paris and rescue Chuckie's widower dad from marrying an evil Euro-theme-park executive. Animation and settings are colorful, story is both funny and sentimental, and Sarandon stands out as the egocentric Coco La Bouche. Followed by RUGRATS GO WILD. | tt0213203 | [G] | Voices of E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Cheryl Chase, Kath Soucie, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Susan Sarandon, Michael Bell, John Lithgow, Debbie Reynolds, Casey Kasem, Tim Curry, Dan Castellaneta | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Ruins | 2008 | Carter Smith | ★★ | 90 | LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS meets THE DESCENT as two young couples on vacation in Mexico decide to add a little culture to their trip by exploring an off-the-map Mayan ruin with their new European friends. Little do they know that the ruins are hidden for a very good reason. Gory scenes will have you squirming in your seat, although watching the characters take themselves too seriously is more funny than scary. Adapted by Scott B. Smith from his novel. | tt0963794 | [R] | Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, Joe Anderson, Dimitri Baveas, Sergio Calderón | Horror | NULL | ||
| Rulers of the Sea | 1939 | Frank Lloyd | ★★½ | 96 | Well-made drama of problems surrounding first steamship voyage across Atlantic. | tt0031883 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Will Fyffe, Margaret Lockwood, George Bancroft, Montagu Love, Alan Ladd, Mary Gordon, Neil Fitzgerald | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Rules of Attraction | 2002 | Roger Avary | 💣 | 110 | Repellent look at amoral college kids whose sole interests are sex, drugs, and booze. The scummiest of them all is Sean Bateman (Van Der Beek), who falls in love with the one woman he can't have (Sossamon). Writer-director Avary, Quentin Tarantino's partner in crime on PULP FICTION, uses a take-no-prisoners approach to Bret Easton Ellis' book, a prequel to American Psycho. Yuccchhhh. | tt0292644 | [R] | James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Kate Bosworth, Fred Savage, Eric Stoltz, Clifton Collins/ Jr., Faye Dunaway, Swoosie Kurtz, Clare Kramer | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Rules of Engagement | 2000 | William Friedkin | ★★½ | 127 | Held responsible for a Middle East embassy massacre in which scores of civilians (and so-called civilians) were killed, Marine officer Jackson calls upon just-retired colleague Jones to defend him in a court-martial after he's left out to dry. Watchable but sometimes silly melodrama finds time for a client-defendant fistfight, and offers a truly novel movie villain: a dastardly government official. Story's punchline has no punch. | tt0160797 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Greenwood, Blair Underwood, Philip Baker Hall, Anne Archer, Dale Dye | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Rules of the Game | Règle du jeu, La | 1939 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 106 | Sublime, endlessly imitated film about romantic intrigues at a French country estate, both upstairs and downstairs. Renoir, who costars as Octave, uses the façade of light comedy to satirize (and skewer) the bourgeoisie— their follies, rituals, and class distinctions— as Europe was about to go up in flames. His light touch and extraordinarily fluid staging and camerawork are what make the film still seem so poignant, funny, and fresh. Vilified on its initial release, it was severely cut, then rediscovered decades later and justly hailed as a masterpiece. Reconstructed in the 1960s. | tt0031885 | Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Mila Parély, Jean Renoir, Gaston Modot, Roland Toutain, Paulette Dubost, Julien Carette, Odette Talazac | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Ruling Class | 1972 | Peter Medak | ★★★½ | 154 | Hilarious, irreverent black comedy by Peter Barnes about heir to British lordship (O'Toole) who thinks he's Jesus Christ. Overflowing with crazy ideas, people bursting into song, boisterously funny characterizations, and one-and-only Sim as befuddled bishop. Some prints run 130m; the 'uncut' version released in 1983 runs 141m. | tt0069198 | [PG] | Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Michael Bryant, Carolyn Seymour, Nigel Green, William Mervyn, James Villiers | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Ruling Voice | 1931 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★ | 71 | Gangster Huston rules the nation's underworld, but starts to go soft when his innocent daughter returns from school abroad. Slows down in Loretta's scenes, but when Huston is onscreen it really hums. | tt0022331 |
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Walter Huston, Loretta Young, Doris Kenyon, David Manners, John Halliday, Dudley Digges, Gilbert Emery, Willard Robertson | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rum Diary | 2011 | Bruce Robinson | ★★★ | 120 | In 1960, boozy journalist Depp shows up for work at a San Juan, Puerto Rico, newspaper. Soon he's approached by local fixer Eckhart to do p.r. for a secret hotel development, which—like so much else on the island—will pamper tourists while exploiting the natives. Depp has no compunction about coming on to Eckhart's sexy girlfriend, but his conscience begins to rumble just a bit as things progress. Picaresque tale of drunken misadventures is based on Hunter S. Thompson's autobiographical novel but easier to take than FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, which also starred Depp as the gonzo journalist's alter ego. Scripted by the director. | tt0376136 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi, Amaury Nolasco, Marshall Bell, Bill Smitrovich, Julian Holloway | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Rumba | 1935 | Marion Gering | ★★ | 77 | Weak follow-up to BOLERO, with Raft and Lombard in and out of love in silly, contrived story; most of their 'dancing' actually done by Veloz and Yolanda. | tt0026956 | George Raft, Carole Lombard, Margo, Lynne Overman, Gail Patrick, Akim Tamiroff, Iris Adrian | Drama | NULL | |||
| Rumble Fish | 1983 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★ | 94 | Ambitious mood piece from S. E. Hinton's young-adult novel about alienated teenager who lives in the shadow of his older brother. Emotionally intense but muddled and aloof; highly stylized, in looks (filmed mostly in black & white) and sounds (with impressionistic music score by Stewart Copeland). Dillon's third Hinton film, Coppola's second (following THE OUTSIDERS). | tt0086216 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper, Diana Scarwid, Vincent Spano, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn, Laurence Fishburne, Tom Waits, Sofia Coppola | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rumble in the Bronx | 1996 | Stanley Tong | ★★½ | 89 | Jackie visits his uncle in America, and agrees to help the woman who's buying the uncle's market to fend off a local gang. Chan's breakthrough film for the U.S. market is slim on story (and even slimmer on credibility). From the '60s-style dubbing to the characterizations, everything is tacky but Jackie; still, he's so engaging he makes up for all the rest, with a nonstop array of eye-popping stunts. The skyline of Vancouver makes a shabby and rather silly substitute for the Bronx. Edited for U.S. release. | tt0113326 | [R] | Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Bill Tung, Francoise Yip, Marc Akerstream, Garvin Cross, Morgan Lam, Kris Lord | U.S.-Hong Kong | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Rumble on the Docks | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★★ | 82 | Low-key waterfront corruption tale, with Darren the street-gang leader aiding racketeers. | tt0049693 | James Darren, Laurie Carroll, Michael Granger, Jerry Janger, Robert Blake, Edgar Barrier | Crime | NULL | |||
| Rumor has it . . . | 2005 | Rob Reiner | ★½ | 96 | While home for her sister's wedding, Aniston becomes convinced that her late mother, grandmother MacLaine, and future techno-magnate Costner inspired the Charles Webb novel that became THE GRADUATE. Premise is icky (Aniston goes on a fling with a guy she initially thought was her father!) without being pointed. MacLaine gives it a shot with acerbic but unfunny rejoinders. If THE GRADUATE didn't still 'live,' this would be pretty close to grave robbing. Kathy Bates appears unbilled. | tt0398375 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins, Christopher McDonald, Mena Suvari | U.S.-German | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| A Rumor of Angels | 2002 | Peter O'Fallon | ★★½ | 95 | Twelve-year-old boy spending the summer in Maine with his too-busy father and stepmother forms a bond with an odd-seeming older lady who helps him unlock traumatic events in his life, and vice-versa. Nice, sweet story that took nearly 20 years to get made plays a little too much like a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie but simply soars whenever Redgrave is on-screen, as she takes somewhat familiar material and lifts it up several notches, making this definitely worth a look. Hawk-Scope. | tt0201899 | [PG-13] | Vanessa Redgrave, Ray Liotta, Catherine McCormack, Trevor Morgan, Ron Livingston, George Coe, Michelle Grace | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rumpelstiltskin | 1987 | David Irving | ★★ | 84 | Threadbare musical adaptation of the Grimms' fairy tale, with Irving and Barty well cast in the leads. Likely to bore even the small-fry. Filmed in Israel, this was a family affair: writer-director Irving is Amy's brother, and Pointer (who plays the Queen) is her mother. For the record, this was the first of Cannon Films' fairy-tale features. | tt0093891 | [G] | Amy Irving, Billy Barty, Clive Revill, Priscilla Pointer, John Moulder-Brown, Robert Symonds | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Run | 1990 | Geoff Burrowes | ★★½ | 91 | Law student becomes the object of a citywide chase when he accidentally kills the loutish son of the town's Mr. Hood while blowing time in a gambling club. Sheer speed compensates for lack of distinction. Dempsey's 'what-me-worry?' quotient is relatively subdued. Not to be confused with Kurosawa's RAN. | tt0102818 | [R] | Patrick Dempsey, Kelly Preston, Ken Pogue, Alan C. Peterson, Marc Strange, Christopher Lawford | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Run Fatboy Run | 2007 | David Schwimmer | ★★★ | 100 | Lovable loser leaves his pregnant fiancée at the altar. Five years later he realizes the error of his ways and tries to win her back from her slick new boyfriend—or at least earn her respect—by impulsively deciding to compete in a London marathon for which he’s ill-prepared. Pegg (who wrote this with Michael Ian Black) somehow takes this familiar material, punctuated with the most obvious gags, and makes it work. Feature directing debut for Friends star Schwimmer. | tt0425413 | [PG-13] | Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria, Dylan Moran, Matthew Fenton, Harish Patel, Simon Day, India De Beaufort, Ruth Sheen | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Run Like a Thief | 1967 | Harry Spalding | ★★ | 92 | Soldier of fortune goes after diamond hijackers with a mobster chief who foils him every step of the way. | tt0062208 | Kieron Moore, Ina Balin, Keenan Wynn, Fernando Rey | Spanish | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Run Lola Run | Lola rennt | 1998 | Tom Tykwer | ★★½ | 88 | Hyperkinetic, flashy concept film about a young woman who tries to save her boyfriend, who botched a drug deal, by finding 100,000 marks in 20 minutes' time. Style definitely outranks substance in this visually arresting film, which presents three different scenarios of what might happen, but it's wearying after a while. | tt0130827 | [R] | Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król, Nina Petri | German | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL |
| Run Silent Run Deep | 1958 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 93 | Battle of wills between officers Gable and Lancaster on WW2 submarine is basis for interesting drama. Script by John Gay, from a novel by Commander Edward L. Beach. One of the great WW2 'sub' pictures. | tt0052151 | Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Nick Cravat, Mary LaRoche, Don Rickles, Eddie Foy III | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Run Wild, Run Free | 1969 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★½ | 100 | Good cast helps leisurely, but better-than-usual children's film about young mute and his love for a white colt; nice subdued photography by Wilkie Cooper. | tt0064909 | [G] | John Mills, Mark Lester, Sylvia Syms, Gordon Jackson, Bernard Miles, Fiona Fullerton | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Run for Cover | 1955 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 93 | Offbeat Western has ex-con Cagney becoming sheriff, while his embittered young companion (Derek) grows restive and antagonistic. Interesting touches cannot overcome familiar storyline. Retitled: COLORADO. | tt0048570 | James Cagney, Viveca Lindfors, John Derek, Jean Hersholt, Ernest Borgnine | Western | NULL | |||
| A Run for Your Money | 1949 | Charles Frend | ★★★ | 83 | Way-above-par comic study of two Welsh miners having a spree in London. | tt0041831 | Donald Houston, Meredith Edwards, Moira Lister, Alec Guinness, Hugh Griffith, Joyce Grenfell | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Run for the Roses | 1978 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 93 | Formula family film about Puerto Rican boy living with his stepfather in Kentucky, raising a lame colt to run in the Kentucky Derby. Uninspired stuff. Originally titled THOROUGHBRED. | tt0073643 | [PG] | Vera Miles, Stuart Whitman, Sam Groom, Panchito Gomez, Theodore Wilson, Lisa Eilbacher | Drama | NULL | ||
| Run for the Sun | 1956 | Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 99 | Third version of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME has author Widmark and magazine writer Greer stumbling onto strange Mexican plantation run by mysterious Howard and Van Eyck. Engrossing, extremely well made film. | tt0049696 | Richard Widmark, Jane Greer, Trevor Howard, Peter Van Eyck, Carlos Henning | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Run of the Arrow | 1957 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 86 | Confederate soldier (played by Steiger with a broad Irish brogue!) cannot accept surrender to the North, aligns himself instead with Sioux Indians after submitting to a grueling test of endurance. Intriguing if not entirely satisfying, with choppy continuity. Angie Dickinson reportedly dubbed Montiel's voice. Video title: HOT LEAD. | tt0050915 | Rod Steiger, Sarita Montiel, Brian Keith, Ralph Meeker, Jay C. Flippen, Charles Bronson, Olive Carey, Colonel Tim McCoy | Western | NULL | |||
| The Run of the Country | 1995 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 109 | OK, plot-heavy, Irish family drama about the testy relationship between a widowed cop and his university-aged son who eventually gets involved with a woman who threatens dad's plans. Film takes half its length to decide what it wants to be about. | tt0114307 | [R] | Albert Finney, Matt Keeslar, Victoria Smurfit, Anthony Brophy, David Kelly, Dearbhla Molloy, Carole Nimmons, Vinnie McCabe, Clark Trevor | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Runaround | 1946 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 86 | Clever little comedy-drama in which nervy private detective Cameron and bullying rival Crawford clash as they set out on the trail of runaway rich girl Raines. | tt0038894 |
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Rod Cameron, Ella Raines, Broderick Crawford, Frank McHugh, Samuel S. Hinds, George Cleveland | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Runaway | 1984 | Michael Crichton | ★★ | 100 | Futuristic comic-book nonsense that actually takes itself seriously. Selleck plays a cop who specializes in tracking down robots that have gone 'bad.' Simmons (from rock group KISS) is ultra-bad-guy who uses robots and other high-tech devices to carry out his evil deeds. Special effects are good, but characters are cold and story is for the birds. | tt0088024 | [PG] | Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, Gene Simmons, Kirstie Alley, Stan Shaw, Joey Cramer, G. W. Bailey | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Runaway Bride | 1999 | Garry Marshall | ★★★ | 116 | Slick romantic comedy about a newspaper columnist who becomes intrigued by a small-town Maryland woman who repeatedly leaves grooms at the altar. Reteaming of the stars and director of PRETTY WOMAN delivers the goods, with Gere in particular more engaging than he's ever been onscreen. | tt0163187 | [PG] | Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Joan Cusack, Hector Elizondo, Rita Wilson, Paul Dooley, Christopher Meloni, Donal Logue, Sela Ward | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Runaway Daughters | 1994 | Joe Dante | Above Average TV Movie | 83 | 1957: Teenage Mary is pregnant, so she and her two best friends try to catch her boyfriend before he can enlist in the Navy. Well-made melodrama with comic elements, at once a remake and spoof of the 1956 original. Good cast, with a great role for Miller, and lots of amusing cameos, including an unbilled Cathy Moriarty. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old American-International pictures. | tt0111033 | Julie Bowen, Holly Fields, Jenny Lewis, Paul Rudd, Chris Young, Dick Miller, Dee Wallace-Stone, Christopher Stone, Robert Picardo, Wendy Schaal, Joe Flaherty, Belinda Balaski, Roger Corman, Julie Corman, Fabian, John Astin, Samuel Z. Arkoff | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Runaway Jury | 2003 | Gary Fleder | ★★★ | 127 | Entertaining if longish adaptation of John Grisham's novel about a New Orleans lawyer (Hoffman) whose client is suing a major gun manufacturer, claiming culpability for her husband's murder. A cold-blooded jury consultant (Hackman) is working the other side, and there's a wild card, juror Cusack, who seems to have his own agenda. Finale doesn't have the emotional punch it should, but it's such a treat to watch these actors at work it almost doesn't matter. Dylan McDermott and Luis Guzman appear unbilled. | tt0313542 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce Davison, Bruce McGill, Jeremy Piven, Nick Searcy, Jennifer Beals, Bill Nunn, Nora Dunn, Stanley Anderson, Cliff Curtis, Joanna Going, Leland Orser, Orlando Jones, Celia Weston | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Runaway Train | 1985 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★★ | 111 | A rare bird, this film: an existential action movie! Hardened criminal and young accomplice escape from prison and hide out on a train that's barreling through Alaska without an engineer. Tough, violent, with hair-raising action footage and a superb characterization by Voight in his most atypical role to date. Based on a screenplay by Akira Kurosawa. | tt0089941 | [R] | Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle Heffner, John P. Ryan, T. K. Carter, Kenneth McMillan, Stacey Pickren | Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Runaway, Runaway | 1971 | Bickford Otis Webber | ★★★ | 85 | Unsung little gem has young Texter running away from home, taking up with older businessman. Unusually sympathetic role for tough guy Smith, plus a standout performance by Murray as Texter's lesbian roommate. Retitled RUNAWAY. | tt0067692 | [R] | William Smith, Gilda Texter, Rita Murray, Tom Baker, Beach Dickerson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Runaways | 2010 | Floria Sigismondi | ★★★ | 105 | In 1975, 17-year-old wannabe musician Joan Jett is teamed with 15-year-old blond Cherie Currie and several other females to form an all-girl band called The Runaways. The mastermind behind the group is a savvy but slimy Kim Fowley (Shannon), who sends them out on tour, unchaperoned, which leads the girls to indulge in every imaginable excess. Although the genre is well worn this telling seems genuine and fresh; Fanning and Shannon are exceptionally good. Based on Currie's book, and produced by Jett, this tells their version of the saga. Impressive feature debut for Sigismondi, who also scripted. | tt1017451 | [R] | Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat, Scout Taylor-Compton, Riley Keough, Stella Maeve, Tatum O'Neal, Brett Cullen, Keir O'Donnell, Johnny Lewis, Peggy Stewart | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Rundown | 2003 | Peter Berg | ★★½ | 104 | The Rock is a 'retrieval expert' for a loan shark but wants to get out of the business and open a restaurant; first he has to bring back his boss's wayward son from some hellhole in the Amazon jungle. There he gets mixed up in a treasure hunt and runs afoul of an evil mine owner (Walken, playing another one of his patented eccentric slimeballs). This cheerfully derivative adventure is mindlessly entertaining but might have been better with a less campy approach and fewer slo-mo body-slammin' fights and stunts. There's an amusing cameo in the opening scene. | tt0327850 | [PG-13] | The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken, Ewen Bremner, Jon Gries, William Lucking, Ernie Reyes/ Jr., Stuart Wilson | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Runestone | 1992 | Willard Carroll | ★★ | 105 | An ancient stone, buried in North America by Norsemen, is unearthed, and promptly turns an archaeologist into an elaborate but unconvincing monster, who slaughters a lot of people with no apparent goal in mind. Handsome production has some interesting moments, but the routine plot weighs it down. Adapted by the director from the novella by Mark E. Rogers. | tt0100528 | [R] | Peter Riegert, Joan Severance, William Hickey, Tim Ryan, Chris Young, Alexander Godunov, Mitchell Laurence, Lawrence Tierney, Dawan Scott | Horror, Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Runner Stumbles | 1979 | Stanley Kramer | ★½ | 99 | Sober adaptation of Milan Stitt's Broadway play, based on true story of small-town priest accused of murdering young nun for whom he'd shown unusual affection. Aloof and unconvincing, with Van Dyke unbearably stiff as the clergyman. | tt0079831 | [PG] | Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Stapleton, Ray Bolger, Tammy Grimes, Beau Bridges | Drama | NULL | ||
| Running | 1979 | Steven Hilliard Stern | ★½ | 103 | Douglas— 32, out of work and father of two daughters— wants to run in the Olympics. A few yocks in this absurdly melodramatic jock drama, but not enough of them. | tt0079832 | [PG] | Michael Douglas, Susan Anspach, Lawrence Dane, Eugene Levy, Charles Shamata | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Running Brave | 1983 | D. S. Everett | ★★½ | 105 | Story of real-life Olympic champion Billy Mills, who left the Sioux reservation to find his destiny as a runner— and win a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Modestly entertaining, but too corny and simplistic. | tt0086220 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Pat Hingle, Claudia Cron, Jeff McCracken, August Schellenberg, Graham Greene | Canadian |
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NULL | |
| Running Free | 2000 | Sergei Bodrov | ★★ | 82 | Anemic kiddie flick about a lonely foal who befriends a plucky orphan in the South African desert; a reminder that good horse movies are a rare breed. Exotic cinematography can't make up for awkward narration and editing, not to mention a less-than-rousing storyline. Bodrov's first English-language film is a real comedown from PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS. Produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud (THE BEAR), who also wrote the story. | tt0173910 | [G] | Chase Moore, Jan Decleir, Arie Verveen, Maria Geelbooi; narration by Lukas Haas | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Running Man | 1963 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 103 | Harvey fakes his death to collect insurance money, but pursuing insurance investigator Bates forces him and wife Remick to go on the lam in Spain. Entertaining but not suspenseful enough. | tt0057463 | Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick, Alan Bates, Felix Aylmer, Eleanor Summerfield, Allan Cuthbertson | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Running Man | 1987 | Paul Michael Glaser | ★★½ | 100 | It's 2019, and the U.S. is a totalitarian state; framed mass murderer Arnie is ordered to take part in a Most Dangerous Game-type TV show where convicted felons get their one chance for freedom. Relentlessly trashy picture gets big boost from Dawson's sleazy portrayal of the game-show host. Based on a novel by Richard Bachman (Stephen King). | tt0093894 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Richard Dawson, Jesse Ventura, Mick Fleetwood, Dweezil Zappa | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Running Mates | 2000 | Ron Lagomarsino | Average TV Movie | 100 | Engaging star turns are the main reason to watch this tale of maneuverings for the vice-presidential nomination at a political convention. Presidential candidate Selleck faces strong-arming from dealmakers while trying to retain his dignity; he also has to deal with women from his past and present. Tries to be savvy but falls short of its goal; also undermined by the fact that conventions aren't what they used to be. (For that, see THE BEST MAN.) | tt0235015 | Tom Selleck, Laura Linney, Nancy Travis, Teri Hatcher, Faye Dunaway, Robert Culp, Bruce McGill, Bob Gunton, Caroline Aaron | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Running Mates | 1992 | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | Average TV Movie | 110 | Romantic political comedy has a bachelor presidential candidate falling for a writer with an agenda and a past (who, it turns out, ignored him in high school). Keaton, in her TV-movie acting debut, looks surprisingly like Hillary Rodham Clinton— undoubtedly not by accident-in this amiable film that premiered during the closing days of the 1992 campaign. Writer Carole Eastman chose at the last minute to use the pseudonym of A. L. Appling. Made for cable. | tt0105297 | Diane Keaton, Ed Harris, Ed Begley/Jr., Ben Masters, Robert Harper, Brandon Maggart, Russ Tamblyn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Running Scared | 1986 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 106 | Two longtime Chicago street cops (who act more like Dead End Kids) decide maybe it's time to retire— but there's one more scuzzbag to track down first. Crystal lights up the screen, and there's a great car chase on the Chicago El tracks, but otherwise this is pretty blah. | tt0091875 | [R] | Gregory Hines, Billy Crystal, Steven Bauer, Darlanne Fluegel, Joe Pantoliano, Dan Hedaya, Jonathan Gries, Tracy Reed, Jimmy Smits | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Running Scared | 2006 | Wayne Kramer | ★½ | 122 | When the thuggish Russian meth dealer next door is shot by his physically abused stepson (Bright), Mob flunky Walker must retrieve the missing gun or sleep with some Jersey fishes. The 10-year-old boy is then subjected to more acts of violence and scenes of depravity-some completely gratuitous-than most movies are ever asked to handle. Not without style, but violent and sordid. | tt0404390 | [R] | Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Vera Farmiga, Karel Roden, Chazz Palminteri, Johnny Messner | U.S.-Canadian-German | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Running Time | 1997 | Josh Becker | ★★★ | 70 | Smart, classical heist-gone-wrong thriller made in the all-in-one-take method of ROPE. Shot entirely on real locations in the L.A. area, in gritty black and white. Well acted, suspenseful, both realistic and romantic. | tt0120042 | Bruce Campbell, Jeremy Roberts, Anita Barone, Stan Davis, Gordon Jennison, Art LeFleur | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Running Wild | 1973 | Robert McCahon | ★★★ | 103 | Good family-oriented drama about a news photographer (Merrill) who protests treatment of wild horses while doing a story in Colorado. Beautiful scenery complements solid script. | tt0070616 | [G] | Lloyd Bridges, Dina Merrill, Pat Hingle, Morgan Woodward, Gilbert Roland, Lonny Chapman, R. G. Armstrong | Western | NULL | ||
| Running Wild | 1927 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 68 | Fields (sporting his silent-film mustache) plays the ultimate milquetoast who undergoes a galvanizing change of personality when he chances to encounter a hypnotist. Fast, funny outing with the surefire satisfaction of seeing the worm turn. | tt0018351 | W.C. Fields, Mary Brian, Claude Buchanan, Marie Shotwell, Barney Raskle, Tom Madden, Frederick Burton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Running on Empty | 1988 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 116 | Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney. Intense, moving story of onetime student radicals who are still on the run from the FBI after 17 years— now with two kids in tow, whose lives are stifled for the sake of sheer survival. Quiet and believable throughout, with superior performances by all. Written by coexecutive producer Naomi Foner. | tt0096018 | [PG-13] | Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Martha Plimpton, Jonas Arby, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney | Drama | NULL | ||
| Running with Scissors | 2006 | Ryan Murphy | ★★ | 121 | Highly uneven adaptation of Augusten Burroughs's bestselling memoir about growing up crazy-with a flamboyant, theatrical mother and a bizarre surrogate family headed by a crackpot psychiatrist (Cox). After a sharp, funny opening it turns dark, twisted, and claustrophobic. Use of '70s/'80s pop recordings in the foreground (rather than the background) of the soundtrack is distracting, to say the least. Great performance piece for Bening, as the self-absorbed mom, and Clayburgh, as Cox's addled but good-hearted wife. Feature debut for writer-director Murphy, creator of TV's Nip/Tuck. | tt0439289 | [R] | Annette Bening, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Cross, Gabrielle Union, Kristin Chenoweth, Dagmara Doninczyk, Beth Grant, Colleen Camp, Patrick Wilson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Runteldat | Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat | 2002 | David Raynr. | ★★ | 103 | Martin Lawrence returns to his stand-up beginnings in this comedy concert, filmed in Washington, D.C. He announces he intends to deal with his life problems (drugs, etc.), but largely avoids accepting responsibility. Despite the rolling-in-the-aisles response of the audience, it's only occasionally funny; it lacks focus and a sense of purpose. ('Runteldat' seems to mean 'run tell that,' though its application is unclear.) Full title on-screen is MARTIN LAWRENCE LIVE: RUNTELDAT. | tt0327036 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Rush | 1991 | Lili Fini Zanuck | ★★ | 120 | Gritty adaptation of Kim Wozencraft's novel about a young woman recruited to be an undercover narc in 1970s Texas, joining a man who's already a bit too strung out to be completely effective. First-time director Zanuck skillfully creates an oppressively seedy atmosphere, but can't compensate for the fact that the story— if not the entire premise— of the film is unconvincing. Patric's performance is a standout, ditto Eric Clapton's striking score. | tt0102820 | [R] | Jason Patric, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sam Elliott, Max Perlich, Gregg Allman, Tony Frank, William Sadler | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Rush Hour | 1998 | Brett Ratner | ★★★ | 98 | Enjoyable action no-brainer with Hong Kong detective Chan coming to L.A. to help his friend, the Chinese consul, rescue his kidnapped daughter. The FBI doesn't want an outsider on the case, however, so they give him to cocky L.A. cop Tucker to baby-sit. Combination of buddy movie, fish-out-of-water comedy, and urban action thriller works well if you don't demand a lot of logic. Followed by a sequel. | tt0120812 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Elizabeth Peñta, Tom Wilkinson, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Rolston, Tzi Ma, Rex Linn, Christopher Penn, Ken Leung | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rush Hour 2 | 2001 | Brett Ratner | ★★½ | 90 | Sequel coasts on the formula— and goodwill— of the original, with the stars' personalities carrying a wafer-thin plot. Tucker vacations in Hong Kong and gets involved with Chan's investigation of a crimelord (Lone), which leads them to L.A. and Las Vegas. Some good stunt sequences sprinkled in among the comedy. Don Cheadle appears unbilled. | tt0266915 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Zhang Ziyi, Roselyn Sanchez, Harris Yulin, Alan King, Kenneth Tsang, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek | Action, Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Rush Hour 3 | 2007 | Brett Ratner | ★★½ | 91 | An ambassador is gunned down in L.A. while Chan is guarding him. Tucker (now directing traffic) insists on joining him on a trek to Paris to uncover the plot behind this assassination, which is linked to the deadly Chinese Triads. Chan’s agile antics and likability and Tucker’s machine-gun bursts of dialogue mesh well for a third time, though it all becomes outlandishly silly by the climax. Philip Baker Hall and Roman Polanski (!) appear unbilled. | tt0293564 | [PG-13] | Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Max von Sydow, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Yvan Attal, Noémie Lenoir, Jingchu Zhang, Tzi Ma, Dana Ivey, Henry O, Julie Depardieu | Crime, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Rushmore | 1998 | Wes Anderson | ★★★½ | 93 | The saga of a bona fide oddball who thrives on life at Rushmore prep school in Houston, but complicates his life by falling in love with a first-grade teacher (Williams) and befriending a local tycoon (Murray) who feels a kinship with this young iconoclast. A genuine original, full of keen observational humor and detail, with characters that always ring true. Remarkable debut performance by Schwartzman (son of Talia Shire), and a perfect showcase for Murray. Written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. | tt0128445 | [R] | Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, Stephen McCole, Connie Nielsen, Luke Wilson, Andrew Wilson | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Russia House | 1990 | Fred Schepisi | ★★ | 123 | John le Carré yarn (adapted by Tom Stoppard) contends that the business of spying is alive and well— in spite of glasnost. Connery plays a British publisher drawn into espionage by a Soviet woman (Pfeiffer), who acts as emissary for a volatile friend. Alternately tedious and intriguing, but it never catches fire. Fox is a standout as a British intelligence officer. | tt0100530 | [R] | Sean Connery, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roy Scheider, James Fox, Klaus Maria Brandauer, John Mahoney, Michael Kitchen, J. T. Walsh, Ken Russell, David Threlfall, Ian McNeice, Christopher Lawford | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Russian Ark | 2002 | Alexander Sokurov | ★★★ | 95 | Remarkable technical tour de force is the first feature-length film shot in one single take, a steadicam shot moving through more than 30 rooms of St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum (with some 2,000 extras), as director Sokurov tries to tie three centuries of Russian history together. The result is an almost surreal journey through the ages. A must-see for anyone interested in cinema's seemingly limitless possibilities. | tt0318034 | Sergei Dreiden, Maria Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy, David Giorgobiani, Alexander Chaban, Maxim Sergeyev | Russian-German | Drama, Musical, War, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Russian Roulette | 1975 | Lou Lombardo | ★★½ | 93 | Assassins threaten to kill Soviet premier Kosygin during his trip to Vancouver; Segal is assigned to capture elusive troublemaker thought to be the hit-man in this violent, unsatisfying thriller. Filmed in Canada. | tt0073646 | [PG] | George Segal, Cristina Raines, Bo Brundin, Denholm Elliott, Gordon Jackson, Peter Donat, Louise Fletcher, Val Avery | Drama | NULL | ||
| Russian Roulette | 1993 | Greydon Clark | ★½ | 89 | American teacher Blakely, on vacation in St. Petersburg, Russia, inadvertently becomes involved in a scheme to pilfer a priceless antiquity. One-note thriller is barely entertaining, despite its use of authentic locations. | tt0102821 | [PG] | Susan Blakely, Barry Bostwick, E.G. Marshall, Jeff Altman, Victoria Barrett | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming | 1966 | Norman Jewison | ★★½ | 126 | Popular comedy about Russian submarine that lands off New England coast was incredibly overrated in 1966; now it's merely a TV sitcom saved by pretty photography and good comic bits by Arkin and Winters. Script by William Rose from Nathaniel Benchley's novel The Off-Islanders. Alan Arkin's starring film debut. | tt0060921 | Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, Paul Ford, Theodore Bikel, Tessie O'Shea, John Phillip Law, Ben Blue, Andrea Dromm, Dick Schaal, Parker Fennelly, Doro Merande, Johnnie Whitaker, Michael J. Pollard | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Russkies | 1987 | Rick Rosenthal | ★½ | 99 | Feeble reworking of THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! about Soviet sailor Hubley, washed ashore in Florida, and the trio of youngsters who befriend him. Well meaning in its message of fellowship, but slight. | tt0093898 | [PG] | Whip Hubley, Joaquin Phoenix, Peter Billingsley, Stefan DeSalle, Susan Walters, Patrick Kilpatrick, Vic Polizos, Charles Frank, Susan Blanchard, Carole King, Summer Phoenix | Drama | NULL | ||
| Rust Never Sleeps | 1979 | Bernard Shakey (Neil Young) | ★★★ | 103 | Ragged-out but rousing record of Neil Young in concert, with 16 well-performed tunes by rockdom's most lovable downer. My My, Hey, Hey. | tt0079834 | [PG] | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |||
| Rustler's Valley | 1937 | Nate Watt. | ★★ | 61 | Cobb is crooked frontier lawyer behind bank robbery and also after pretty Evans and her valuable ranch. Pleasing Hopalong Cassidy Western has a strong cast but trite situations and slow, uninspired direction; not up to the series' usual high standard. Adapted from 1923 same-named novel by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. Remade five years later as LOST CANYON. | tt0029505 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Stephen Morris (Morris Ankrum), Muriel Evans, Lee J. Cobb | Western | NULL | |||
| Rustlers' Rhapsody | 1985 | Hugh Wilson | ★★ | 88 | Good-natured but only sporadically funny send-up of Saturday matinee Westerns. If the old cowboy movies were this dull, they never would have survived. | tt0089945 | [PG] | Tom Berenger, G. W. Bailey, Marilu Henner, Andy Griffith, Fernando Rey, Sela Ward, Patrick Wayne | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Ruthless | 1948 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★★ | 104 | Ulmer’s engrossing, fascinating take on CITIZEN KANE, with Scott stepping on one and all as he rises in the world of high finance. Greenstreet is especially good as a Southern tycoon. | tt0040751 | Zachary Scott, Louis Hayward, Diana Lynn, Sydney Greenstreet, Lucille Bremer, Martha Vickers, Edith Barrett, Dennis Hoey, Raymond Burr | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ruthless Four | 1968 | Giorgio Capitani | ★★★ | 96 | Good Western explores the complicated relationships of four dubious partners in a Nevada gold mine. Apart from the action, it's a pleasure just to watch Heflin and Roland. Aka EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF, EACH ONE FOR HIMSELF, and SAM COOPER'S GOLD. | tt0060777 | [M] | Van Heflin, Gilbert Roland, George Hilton, Klaus Kinski, Sarah Ross | Italian-German | Western | NULL | |
| Ruthless People | 1986 | Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | ★★½ | 93 | Wealthy DeVito plans to murder his obnoxious wife— unaware that at that moment she's being kidnapped, and equally unaware that his paramour plans to take him for his dough. Clever farce written by Dale Launer has lots of laughs, bright performances, but turns sour: these really are unpleasant people! | tt0091877 | [R] | Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, Anita Morris, Bill Pullman, William G. Schilling, Art Evans | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Ryan White Story | 1989 | John Herzfeld | Average TV Movie | 100 | The emotional based-on-fact story of a teenage hemophiliac and his mom who campaigns to allow him to attend public school after he is diagnosed as having AIDS. Ryan himself has small role as fellow hospital patient; he died in 1990. | tt0098237 | Judith Light, Lukas Haas, George C. Scott, Michael Bowen, George Dzundza, Valerie Landsburg, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mitchell Ryan, Peter Scolari, Grace Zabriskie | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ryan's Daughter | 1970 | David Lean | ★★½ | 194 | Simple love story blown up to gargantuan proportions in western coastal Ireland, where young girl (Miles) marries simple, plodding schoolteacher (Mitchum) and has affair with British soldier (Jones) stationed in town. Elephantine production overpowers Robert Bolt's thin story, admittedly beautiful scenes dwarfing what plot there is. Mills won Oscar in supporting role as the town idiot, as did— most deservedly— cinematographer Freddie Young. Re-edited after film's debut; original running time 206m. | tt0066319 | [PG] | Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, Sarah Miles, Christopher Jones, John Mills, Leo McKern, Barry Foster | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| S*P*Y*S | 1974 | Irvin Kershner | 💣 | 87 | Sutherland-Gould teaming fails to regenerate MASH electricity in a good director's worst film. Laughless CIA spoof about the defection of a Russian dancer is unworthy of anyone's time. | tt0072107 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Zouzou, Joss Ackland, Shane Rimmer, Vladek Sheybal | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| S.F.W. | 1995 | Jefery Levy | 💣 | 92 | Self-described 'serio-comedy about terrorism, beer, and talk shows' centers on a surly young rebel who becomes a nationwide hero after being held hostage for 36 days by convenience-store terrorists. Woefully self-deluding in terms of its own importance, strident film at least provides the catch phrase to summarize its worth: title stems from anti-hero Dorff's constant spouting of 'S.F.W.' (So [expletive] What?). | tt0111048 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Busey, Joey Lauren Adams, Pamela Gidley, David Barry Gray, Jack Noseworthy, Richard Portnow, Annie McEnroe, Natasha (Gregson) Wagner, Tobey Maguire, Gary Coleman | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| S.O.B. | 1981 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 121 | A producer hatches a scheme to turn his latest turkey into a hit: juice it up with pornography and have his wife-star (Andrews) bare her breasts. A glib satire on modern-day Movieland (and writer-director Edwards' revenge for Hollywood's treatment of him in the early '70s) throws in everything from black humor to slapstick, with wildly uneven results. Holden's last film. | tt0083015 | [R] | Julie Andrews, William Holden, Richard Mulligan, Robert Preston, Robert Vaughn, Loretta Swit, Larry Hagman, Marisa Berenson, Robert Webber, Stuart Margolin, Craig Stevens, Shelley Winters, Rosanna Arquette, Jennifer Edwards, Robert Loggia, John Pleshette, Larry Storch, Gene Nelson, Joe Penny, Corbin Bernsen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| S.O.S. Pacific | 1960 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 92 | Middling study of human nature when passengers on plane crash-land on nuclear-test island. | tt0053234 | Eddie Constantine, Pier Angeli, Richard Attenborough, John Gregson, Eva Bartok, Jean Anderson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| S.O.S. Titanic | 1979 | William Hale | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Stylish docu-drama about the oft-told sea disaster, mirroring the fictional elements of the 1953 movie TITANIC and the meticulously detailed facts of the 1958 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, faithfully recreated here through James Costigan's multicharactered teleplay. | tt0079836 | David Janssen, Cloris Leachman, Susan St. James, David Warner, Ian Holm, Helen Mirren, Harry Andrews | Drama | NULL | |||
| S.W.A.T. | 2003 | Clark Johnson | ★★½ | 116 | Slick, if not especially original, cops-and-robbers action yarn about maverick L.A.P.D. sergeant Jackson being hired to train an elite S.W.A.T. team. He deliberately recruits the force's misfits and square pegs, who meet their match in a wily French criminal (Martinez). The pulsating music is wall-to-wall, and the action, while not always brilliantly staged, is just good enough. Steve Forrest, star of the vintage TV series of the same name, has a cameo. A hip-hop song sung over the closing credits is called 'Samuel Jackson.' | tt0257076 | [PG-13] | Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez, *** LL Cool J, Josh Charles, Jeremy Renner, Brian Van Holt, Olivier Martinez | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| S1MONE | 2002 | Andrew Niccol | ★★ | 117 | One-joke idea about a desperate filmmaker who, fed up with temperamental stars, creates his new discovery on a computer— and then can't get anyone to believe she doesn't exist. Alas, no one in the film is real, which makes it hard to accept, even as satire. There are echoes of FROM NOON TILL THREE, MEET JOHN DOE, even THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE . . . but to no effect. From the writer of THE TRUMAN SHOW. Elias Koteas and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos appear unbilled. | tt0258153 | [PG-13] | Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, Evan Rachel Wood, Jay Mohr, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Elias Koteas, Jason Schwartzman, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Stanley Anderson | Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| SLC Punk! | 1999 | James Merendino | ★★½ | 97 | Seriocomic coming of ager about punk rocker Stevo and his best pal, Heroin Bob, whose pursuit of 'total chaos' is at odds with living in conservative Salt Lake City, Utah, circa 1985. Writer-director Merendino has real affection for the punk scene, but it would've worked better without overused gimmick of having the lead character talk directly to the camera. Charismatic performance from Lillard. | tt0133189 | [R] | Matthew Lillard, Michael Goorjian, Annabeth Gish, Jennifer Lien, Christopher McDonald, Devon Sawa, Adam Pascal, Til Schweiger | U.S.-Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Saadia | 1953 | Albert Lewin | ★½ | 82 | Misfire; intellectual story of modernistic Moroccan ruler and doctor vying for love of superstitious native dancing girl. | tt0046260 | Cornel Wilde, Mel Ferrer, Rita Gam, Cyril Cusack, Richard Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sabaka | 1953 | Frank Ferrin | ★★ | 81 | By-the-numbers adventure with Marcel as Gunga Ram, a youthful hero who fights a cult of devil worshippers in India. GUNGA DIN it ain't. Aka THE HINDU. | tt0048573 | Nino Marcel, Boris Karloff, Lou Krugman, Reginald Denny, Victor Jory, June Foray, Jay Novello, Lisa Howard, Peter Coe | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sabata | 1969 | Gianfranco Parolini | ★★ | 107 | First of three spaghetti Westerns is the best, though that isn't saying much. Van Cleef plays a gambler hired by a trio of nasty businessmen to steal $100,000. Needless to say, the transaction becomes trickier than they expected. Sequel: ADIOS, SABATA. | tt0064916 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, William Berger, Franco Ressel, Linda Veras, Ignazio Spalla | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | |
| Sabotage | 1936 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 76 | Elaborately detailed thriller about woman who suspects that her kindly husband (Homolka), a movie theater manager, is keeping something from her. Full of intriguing Hitchcock touches. Based on Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent, originally retitled A WOMAN ALONE for the U.S. | tt0028212 | Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka, John Loder, Desmond Tester, Joyce Barbour | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Saboteur | 1942 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 108 | Extremely offbeat wartime Hitchcock yarn about a munitions worker who's falsely accused of sabotage and forced to take it on the lam. Full of quirky touches, unusual supporting characters, and some outstanding set pieces, including famous Statue of Liberty finale . . . though actual story resolution is unfortunately abrupt. Screenplay by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker. | tt0035279 | Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Norman Lloyd, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter, Alma Kruger, Dorothy Peterson, Vaughan Glaser | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Saboteur, Code Name Morituri | Morituri | 1965 | Bernhard Wicki | ★★½ | 123 | Brando highlights great cast in study of anti-Nazi German who helps British capture cargo ship. Cast and Conrad Hall's photography are only assets; script degenerates. Originally released as MORITURI. | tt0059470 | Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin, Trevor Howard, Wally Cox, William Redfield, Carl Esmond | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Sabra | 1970 | Denys de la Patalliere | ★★ | 98 | Simplistic, contrived story of an Arab police inspector who 'befriends' a young Israeli spy, in order to gain his confidence. Reissued as DEATH OF A JEW. | tt0066321 | [PG] | Akim Tamiroff,Assaf Dayan, Jean Claudio | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sabre Jet | 1953 | Louis King | ★★½ | 96 | Routine Korean War story of lonely wives and fighting husbands. | tt0046262 | Robert Stack, Coleen Gray, Richard Arlen, Julie Bishop | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sabrina | 1954 | Billy Wilder | ★★★½ | 113 | Samuel Taylor's play Sabrina Fair is good vehicle for Hepburn as chauffeur's daughter romanced by aging tycoon Bogart to keep her from his playboy brother (Holden). Offbeat casting works in this fun film. Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, Billy Wilder, and Taylor. Remade in 1995. | tt0047437 | Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, John Williams, Francis X. Bushman, Martha Hyer, Nancy Kulp | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sabrina | 1995 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 127 | Enjoyable (if overlong) remake of the 1954 movie about a chauffeur's daughter with a lifelong crush on the handsome younger brother in the wealthy household where her father works. When he finally shows some interest in her, his older sibling tries to woo her away— for strictly business reasons. Credible cast (including TV personality Kinnear in an impressive film debut), sure-handed direction and a very funny script by Barbara Benedek and David Rayfiel. The Paris scenes are especially lovely. | tt0114319 | [PG] | Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, Greg Kinnear, Nancy Marchand, John Wood, Richard Crenna, Angie Dickinson, Lauren Holly, Dana Ivey, Miriam Colon, Elizabeth Franz, Fanny Ardant | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sabu and the Magic Ring | 1957 | George Blair | ★½ | 61 | Low-budget backlot Arabian Nights nonsense, with Sabu chasing thieves to regain stolen girl and priceless gem. Originally shot as two separate TV pilots. | tt0050921 | Sabu, Daria Massey, Vladimir Sokoloff, Robin Moore, William Marshall | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Sacco and Vanzetti | 1971 | Giuliano Montaldo | ★½ | 120 | Classic tale of American miscarriage of justice cries for cinematic treatment, but this version makes South Braintree, Massachusetts, look like a town in a Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western. Joan Baez sings title song. | tt0067698 | [PG] | Gian Maria Volonte, Riccardo Cucciolla, Milo O'Shea, Cyril Cusack, Rosanna Fratello, Geoffrey Keen | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Sacketts | 1979 | Robert Totten | Average TV Movie | 198 | Rambling sagebrush saga taken from two Louis L'Amour novels following the fortunes of the three Sackett brothers in the post-Civil War west. Followed by THE SHADOW RIDERS. | tt0079840 | Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, Jeff Osterhage, Glenn Ford, Ben Johnson, Gilbert Roland, Ruth Roman, Jack Elam, Mercedes McCambridge | Western | NULL | |||
| Sacred Ground | 1983 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★½ | 100 | Fair drama of turmoil resulting when mountain man McIntire, his Apache wife and baby settle on holy Paiute burial ground. | tt0086227 | [PG] | Tim McIntire, Jack Elam, Serene Hedin, Mindi Miller, Eloy Phil Casados, L. Q. Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sacred Hearts | 1985 | Barbara Rennie | ★★½ | 95 | Repressive, tyrannical Sister Thomas (Massey) ignores the questions, feelings, and fears of her young charges in a convent as the bombs explode around them in WW2 Britain. Sometimes quietly stimulating but also slow and predictable; occasional bits of humor help. | tt0284693 | Anna Massey, Katrin Cartlidge, Oona Kirsch, Fiona Shaw, Anne Dyson, Gerard Murphy, Murray Melvin | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sacrifice | 1986 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★½ | 145 | A cataclysmic event occurs during the birthday festivities of intellectual Josephson, who as a result becomes compelled to perform an act of faith. Slow, overly intense, but beautifully filmed (by Sven Nykvist) examination of the need for, and lack of, spirituality in modern society. Decidedly not for all tastes. Tarkovsky's final film. | tt0091670 | [PG] | Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Valerie Mairesse, Allan Edwall, Gundun Gisladottir | Swedish-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Sad Horse | 1959 | James B. Clark | ★★ | 78 | Tender, undemanding tale of a racehorse and a lonely boy (Ladd). | tt0053235 | David Ladd, Chill Wills, Rex Reason, Patrice Wymore | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sad Sack | 1957 | George Marshall | ★★ | 98 | Disjointed comedy vaguely based on George Baker comic strip of Army misfit. Lorre appears as Arab in last part of film. | tt0050922 | Jerry Lewis, Phyllis Kirk, David Wayne, Peter Lorre, Gene Evans, Mary Treen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Saddest Music in the World | 2004 | Guy Maddin. | ★★ | 99 | Deliriously bizarre film pays homage to 1930s moviemaking with a twisted sensibility: Rossellini (in a platinum wig) plays the legless boss of a popular brewery that sponsors an international competition to find the saddest music in the world. The big-money prize inspires cutthroat competition from all the competing countries. Intentionally blurs the line between melodrama and camp, with dreamlike images and ideas typical of Maddin's work. | tt0366996 | [R] | Mark McKinney, Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Madeiros, David Fox, Ross McMillan, Darcy Fehr. | Canadian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Saddle Pals | 1947 | Lesley Selander. | ★½ | 72 | Land corporation bad guys raise rents and try to drive people off their properties; Gene comes to the aid of Roberts and her sister. One of Gene's weakest films, with far too much time devoted to miscast sidekick Holloway, though there are two really good songs, 'Amapola' and 'You Stole My Heart.' Remake of the Weaver Brothers and Elviry vehicle IN OLD MISSOURI (1940). | tt0039795 | Gene Autry, Lynne Roberts, Sterling Holloway, Irving Bacon, Damian O'Flynn, Charles Arnt, Jean Van, Tom London, The Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Saddle Tramp | 1950 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 77 | Homey Western with McCrea in title role, 'adopting' four kids and fighting the good fight. | tt0042915 | Joel McCrea, Wanda Hendrix, John McIntire, John Russell, Ed Begley, Jeanette Nolan, Antonio Moreno | Western | NULL | |||
| Saddle the Wind | 1958 | Robert Parrish | ★★★ | 84 | Well-acted Western of turned-good rancher (Taylor) fated to shoot it out with brother (Cassavetes). If you've ever wondered what a Western written by Rod Serling would be like, here's your chance. | tt0050923 | Robert Taylor, Julie London, John Cassavetes, Donald Crisp, Charles McGraw, Royal Dano | Western | NULL | |||
| Sadie McKee | 1934 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 92 | Solidly entertaining film follows serpentine story of working-girl Crawford and the three men in her life: smooth-talking Raymond, tipsy millionaire Arnold, earnest employer Tone. Beautifully paced, handsomely filmed. Song: 'All I Do Is Dream of You,' plus amusing rendition of 'After You've Gone' by Austin, Candy Candido. | tt0025740 | Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Gene Raymond, Edward Arnold, Esther Ralston, Leo G. Carroll, Akim Tamiroff, Gene Austin | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sadie Thompson | 1928 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 97 | Fascinating, frequently high-powered version of W. Somerset Maugham's Rain, about a lusty, fun-loving prostitute who arrives in Pago Pago and tangles with stuffy, hypocritical reformer Barrymore while Marine Sgt. Walsh falls for her. Swanson, and especially Barrymore, are well cast. Unseen (except in archival showings) for many years, because the final reel decomposed years ago. Now the footage (about 8m.) has been recreated, using stills and the original title cards. Remade as RAIN, DIRTY GERTIE FROM HARLEM U.S.A., and MISS SADIE THOMPSON. | tt0019344 | Gloria Swanson, Lionel Barrymore, Raoul Walsh, Blanche Frederici, Charles Lane, James Marcus | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sadist | Profile of Terror | 1963 | James Landis | ★★½ | 91 | Taut little B picture about a psychotic punk who terrorizes three innocent people at a roadside gas station. Hall is distressingly believable as the psycho. Imaginatively shot by Vilmos (billed as William) Zsigmond. Retitled PROFILE OF TERROR. | tt0057465 | Arch Hall/Jr., Helen Hovey, Richard Alden, Marilyn Manning | Horror | NULL | ||
| Safari 3000 | 1982 | Harry Hurwitz (Tampa) | ★½ | 91 | Ex-Hollywood stuntman is pitted against various adversaries in an international race; third-rate action yarn with tongue-in-cheek. | tt0084625 | [PG] | David Carradine, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lee, Hamilton Camp, Ian Yule | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Safari Drums | 1953 | Ford Beebe | ★½ | 71 | Bomba the Jungle Boy enlists his animal friends to capture a murderous guide. Ultra low-budget stereotyped adventure. | tt0046265 | Johnny Sheffield, Douglas Kennedy, Barbara Bestar, Emory Parnell, Smoki Whitfield, Leonard Mudie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Safe | 1995 | Todd Haynes | ★★½ | 119 | Well-to-do L.A. housewife becomes allergic to her own environment when almost overnight everyday household chemicals and substances turn into toxins. Intriguing allegorical approach to society's ills— based on a factual case— never really gels, and second half, set at a New Mexico retreat, grows tiresome. Notable mainly for Moore's terrific performance. | tt0114323 | [R] | Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Peter Friedman, James Le Gros, Mary Carver, Jessica Harper, Brandon Cruz | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Safe | 2012 | Boaz Yakin | ★★½ | 94 | Familiar Statham action drama shouldn't work as well as it does, but this tale of a young Chinese girl who has a valuable, much desired numerical code is entertaining hokum. As she is chased by the Russians, their rivals, and even corrupt N.Y.C. cops, it's up to Statham to protect her, and a warm bond is formed between the two along the way. Totally predictable formula has its moments thanks to nice chemistry between the star and leading lady Chan, who steals the show. | tt1656190 | [R] | Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, James Hong, Anson Mount, Sándor Técsy, Reggie Lee | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Safe Conduct | Laissez-passer | 2002 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 163 | Long, ambitious, and heroic film about two men who struggle to maintain their integrity while working in the French film industry during WW2, under the supervision of the Germans. Real names and incidents are used in this panoramic and surprisingly humorous story of courage and absurdity in a time of cowardice and crisis. Written by Tavernier and Jean Cosmos, based on the recollections of Jean Aurenche and Jean Devaivre. | tt0269461 | Jacques Gamblin, Denis Podalydès, Christian Berkel, Marie Gillain, Charlotte Kady, Marie Desgranges, Maria Pitarresi, Thierry Gibault | French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Safe House | 2012 | Daniel Espinosa | ★★½ | 115 | Reynolds is a green CIA agent in Cape Town, South Africa, tasked with the dull job of manning a desolate "safe house." When the CIA's most notorious rogue agent (Washington) gives himself up to U.S. authorities, guess where he's taken? Twist-laden crime thriller plays a bit like BOURNE-lite, with a surplus of chase scenes. The two stars are charismatic and well matched but the busy, over-the-top action doesn't resonate as it should; it's more like entertainment by bludgeon. | tt1599348 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Ruben Blades, Nora Arnezeder, Robert Patrick, Liam Cunningham, Joel Kinnaman, Fares Fares, Tracie Thoms | Crime, Action, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Safe Men | 1998 | John Hamburg | ★★½ | 99 | Amusing if flyweight low-budget comedy about a couple of guys— who've never made good at anything— who are mistaken for ace safecrackers by small-time hood Lerner, who puts them to work. Colorful characterizations by Lerner, Fierstein, and Giamatti add zip to this offbeat concoction set in Providence, R.I. Feature debut for writer-director Hamburg. | tt0120813 | [R] | Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Michael Lerner, Harvey Fierstein, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Pais, Paul Giamatti, Christina Kirk, Allen Swift | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Safe Passage | 1994 | Robert Allan Ackerman | ★★ | 98 | Self-consciously predictable, TV movie-ish portrait of a dysfunctional family, with Sarandon (solid as usual) as a woman, estranged from her husband, who's placed her life on hold while raising seven sons. The family pulls together when it learns that one of the boys may have been killed. | tt0111054 | [PG-13] | Susan Sarandon, Sam Shepard, Nick Stahl, Marcia Gay Harden, Robert Sean Leonard, Sean Astin, Matt Keeslar, Jeffrey DeMunn, Philip Bosco, Jason London, Rutanya Alda | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Safe Place | 1971 | Henry Jaglom | ★★ | 94 | Spaced-out, water-logged fantasy of weird girl who lives in dream world where she can never grow up. | tt0067699 | [PG] | Tuesday Weld, Jack Nicholson, Orson Welles, Philip Proctor, Gwen Welles | Drama | NULL | ||
| Safe at Home! | 1962 | Walter Doniger | ★★½ | 83 | Kid is pressured into lying to Little League pals about friendship with M&M. The stoic poetry of Jack Webb's acting pales beside that of Maris' in this kiddie time-capsule; leads, cameos by Whitey Ford and Ralph Houk make it a must for Yankee fans . . . if no one else. | tt0056435 | Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, William Frawley, Patricia Barry, Don Collier, Bryan Russell | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Safe in Hell | 1931 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 65 | Remarkably frank and adult pre-Code drama about prostitute Mackaill, who believes she's killed one of her johns and flees to the remote island of Tortuga where she can't be extradited. Unfortunately, the island is populated by every form of slobbering lech and pervert imaginable. Extremely seamy tale pulls no punches, right up to its shocking conclusion . . . but in some ways it's more astonishing than. | tt0022335 | Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, John Wray, Ivan Simpson, Victor Varconi, Nina Mae McKinney, Charles Middleton, Clarence Muse, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Safecracker | 1958 | Ray Milland | ★★ | 96 | Contrived story of burglar who almost goes straight, later forced to use his talents for war effort. | tt0052155 | Ray Milland, Barry Jones, Jeannette Sterke, Ernest Clark, Melissa Stribling, Victor Maddern | British | Drama, Crime, War | NULL | ||
| Safety Last | 1923 | Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | ★★★ | 78 | Crackerjack silent comedy about go-getter Harold determined to make good in the big city includes his justly famous building-climbing sequence— still hair-raising after all these years. | tt0014429 | Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strothers, Noah Young | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Safety Not Guaranteed | 2012 | Colin Trevorrow | ★★★ | 84 | Classified ad seeking a companion for a trip back in time inspires a reporter from Seattle to investigate the story in laid-back Ocean View, Washington. A young female intern (Plaza) is chosen to draw out the paranoid time-machine inventor (Duplass), and naturally a relationship blossoms. Science fiction gets a lighthearted twist in this offbeat, well-observed comedy; a notable feature-film debut for both screenwriter Derek Connolly and director Trevorrow. Inspired by an actual classified ad from the 1990s. | tt1862079 | [R] | Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Safety of Objects | 2003 | Rose Troche | ★★½ | 120 | Ambitious adaptation (by Troche) of A. M. Homes' collection of short stories about suburban families whose lives are linked by one tragic incident. Close is a mother clinging to her son, who's on life support; Mulroney has run out on his job but can't tell his family; Place is a restless wife and mother who fancies a fling. Superior acting gives this uneven film a built-in level of interest, but as the pieces of its puzzle come together they don't create a satisfying whole. Shot in 2001. | tt0256359 | [R] | Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Jessica Campbell, Patricia Clarkson, Joshua Jackson, Moira Kelly, Robert Klein, Timothy Olyphant, Mary Kay Place, Kristen Stewart, Alex House | Drama | NULL | ||
| Saga of Death Valley | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 55 | Roy vows vengeance on the outlaw gang that killed his father and abducted his brother years ago, unaware that his grown-up sibling (Barry) is now a member of that very gang (run by Thomas). One of Roy's best early vehicles, with a strong story and a star-making role for Barry. Music is supplied by a group including Johnny Bond, Frankie Marvin, and Jimmy Wakely. Leading lady Day is no relation to the later singing star. | tt0031889 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Donald Barry, Doris Day, Frank M. Thomas, Jack Ingram, Hal Taliaferro. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Saga of Hemp Brown | 1958 | Richard Carlson | ★★ | 80 | Calhoun is bounced from Army, and seeks to find real crooks in just another Western. | tt0053236 | Rory Calhoun, Beverly Garland, John Larch, Russell Johnson | Western | NULL | |||
| Sagebrush Trail | 1933 | Armand Schaefer. | ★★½ | 55 | Wrongly convicted of murder, Wayne infiltrates gang of outlaws to nab the real killer in this second of his Lone Star Western series. Has some nice touches, like an underwater sequence, but also some rough edges. Many scenes shot at the famous cave in Bronson Canyon only minutes above hectic Hollywood and Vine. Canutt doubles Duke in eye-popping stunts. | tt0024516 | John Wayne, Nancy Shubert, Lane Chandler, Wally Wales (Hal Taliaferro), Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sagebrush Troubador | 1935 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 58 | Gene gets involved in a murder mystery and protects Pepper from opportunistic relatives and friends who are after her gold mine. Standard B Western, notable only for Autry's first screen kiss (with Pepper). | tt0026962 | Gene Autry, Barbara Pepper, Smiley Burnette, Fred Kelsey, Frank Glendon, Hooper Atchley, Julian Rivero. | Western | NULL | |||
| Saginaw Trail | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 57 | Offbeat Autry Western set in the Great Lakes area of 1827 as ranger captain Gene is called upon to stop Indian raiding parties who are driving away settlers. Unusual to see Gene in a period costume finishing off villain Borden in a sword fight. | tt0046266 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Connie Marshall, Eugene Borden, Ralph Reed, Myron Healey, Gregg Barton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sahara | 1943 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★½ | 97 | Excellent actioner of British-American unit stranded in Sahara desert in the path of Nazi infantry; Bogie's the sergeant, with fine support by Naish and Ingram. Based on the 1937 Russian film THE THIRTEEN (and reminiscent of THE LOST PATROL); also made as NINE MEN and LAST OF THE COMANCHES; imitated many other times. Remade for cable-TV in 1995 with James Belushi. | tt0036323 | Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges, Rex Ingram, Richard Nugent, Dan Duryea, Kurt Krueger | War | NULL | |||
| Sahara | 1984 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★½ | 104 | Tacky modern variation on THE PERILS OF PAULINE with Brooke filling in for her late father in free-for-all auto race across North African desert in the 1920s, being kidnapped by handsome desert sheik. Any resemblance to a good movie is just a mirage. | tt0086232 | [PG] | Brooke Shields, Lambert Wilson, Horst Buchholz, John Rhys-Davies, Ronald Lacey, John Mills, Steve Forrest, Perry Lang, Cliff Potts | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sahara | 2005 | Breck Eisner. | ★★½ | 127 | Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) and his lifelong ex-Navy SEAL pal Al (Zahn) set off in search of a Civil War ironclad that they believe made its way to the River Niger. Along the way they're joined by a World Health Organization doctor who's trying to contain a possible plague in the country of Mali, where all three discover they're facing formidable opposition. Old-fashioned high adventure adapted from one of Clive Cussler's popular Pitt novels has lots of action but an inconsistent tone and too much plot. | tt0318649 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy, Delroy Lindo, Lambert Wilson, Glynn Turman, Rainn Wilson. | U.S.-British-Spanish-German | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Saigon | 1948 | Leslie Fenton | ★★ | 94 | Glossy Paramount caper about airmen stationed in Vietnam involved in robbery; only fair. | tt0040753 | Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Luther Adler, Douglas Dick, Wally Cassell, Morris Carnovsky | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sail Into Danger | 1957 | Kenneth Hume. | ★½ | 72 | O'Keefe is blackmailed into assisting smuggler Ryan and her cronies in this limp action yarn. | tt0050151 | Dennis O'Keefe, Kathleen Ryan, James Hayter, Pedro de Cordoba, John Bull, Félix de Pommés. | Spanish-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sail a Crooked Ship | 1962 | Irving S. Brecher | ★★½ | 88 | Bungled crime-caper comedy has hilarious moments, but not enough to make it a winner. Based on a Nathaniel Benchley novel. | tt0055394 | Robert Wagner, Ernie Kovacs, Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Frankie Avalon, Frank Gorshin, Harvey Lembeck | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sailing Along | 1938 | Sonnie Hale. | ★★½ | 80 | Elfin Matthews sparkles in a breezy but slight musical about a barge girl and her dream of becoming a big name in the theater. The dream comes true, but what to do about that chap waiting in the wings for her? Directed and cowritten by Matthews' real-life husband. | tt0030708 | Jessie Matthews, Barry MacKay, Jack Whiting, Roland Young, Alastair Sim, Athene Seyler, Noel Madison. | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Sailor Beware | 1951 | Hal Walker | ★★★ | 108 | Hilarious adventures of Martin & Lewis in the Navy. Induction scenes, boxing sequence are highlights in one of the team's funniest outings. James Dean can be glimpsed in the boxing scene. Remake of THE FLEET'S IN. | tt0043989 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Corinne Calvet, Marion Marshall, Robert Strauss, Vince Edwards; guest star Betty Hutton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Sailor From Gibraltar | 1967 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 89 | Uneven adaptation of Marguerite Duras' novel has Moreau (who even gets to warble a song) as the mythical nymphomaniac wandering the seas in search of reunion with her dream sailor. Boasts an intriguing cast, but Richardson's handheld camera and other 1960s techniques have badly dated. | tt0062225 | Jeanne Moreau, Ian Bannen, Vanessa Redgrave, Zia Mohyeddin, Hugh Griffith, Orson Welles, Umberto Orsini, Eleanor Bron, John Hurt | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Sailor Takes a Wife | 1945 | Richard Whorf | ★★ | 91 | Mild little comedy is summed up by title. | tt0038045 | Robert Walker, June Allyson, Hume Cronyn, Audrey Totter, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Reginald Owen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea | 1976 | Lewis John Carlino | ★★★ | 104 | A troubled, impressionable boy tries to deal with his widowed mother's love affair with an amiable sailor, and falls under the influence of a morbid young friend. Passionate love scenes, and a bizarre ending, highlight this unusual film, beautifully shot by Douglas Slocombe on English seacoast locations. Adapted by the director from a novel by Yukio Mishima. | tt0075161 | [R] | Sarah Miles, Kris Kristofferson, Jonathan Kahn, Margo Cunningham, Earl Rhodes | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sailor of the King | Single Handed | 1953 | Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 83 | Solid WW2 naval action story, based on C. S. Forester novel Brown on Resolution, with Hunter rising to challenge when opportunity arises to attack German raider. British title: SINGLE HANDED. Filmed before in 1935. | tt0046267 | Jeffrey Hunter, Michael Rennie, Wendy Hiller, Bernard Lee, Peter Van Eyck | U.S.-British | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| Sailor's Lady | 1940 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 66 | Witless comedy of Kelly pretending to have baby to see if sailor-fiance Hall will still marry her. | tt0033011 |
|
Nancy Kelly, Jon Hall, Joan Davis, Dana Andrews, Mary Nash, Buster Crabbe, Katherine (Kay) Aldridge | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sailor's Luck | 1933 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 78 | Funny, offbeat film of sailors on leave; Dunn and Eilers carry boy-meets-girl plot while crazy comedy touches surround them, including Jory as oily Baron DeBartolo, who runs dance marathon. | tt0024518 |
|
James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Sammy Cohen, Victor Jory, Frank Moran, Esther Muir | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Saint Ex | 1995 | Anand Tucker | ★★★ | 86 | A self-described 'work of imagination,' poetic and surreal, freely inspired by the life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Not your standard screen biography, as the dramatic narrative is interspersed with interviews of real people who knew the famed aviator and author of The Little Prince. A telling and heartfelt tale of a fascinating man. Richardson plays the spirited and independent-minded woman who is the love of his life. | tt0120054 | [PG] | Bruno Ganz, Miranda Richardson, Janet McTeer, Ken Stott, Brid Brennan, Eleanor Bron, Katrin Cartlidge, Anna Calder-Marshall | British | Drama, Documentary, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Saint Jack | 1979 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★ | 112 | Absorbing character study of an amiable, ambitious pimp who thrives in Singapore during early 1970s. Fine performances from Gazzara and Elliott, excellent use of location milieu. From a Paul Theroux novel. | tt0079843 | [R] | Ben Gazzara, Denholm Elliott, James Villiers, Joss Ackland, Rodney Bewes, George Lazenby, Lisa Lu, Peter Bogdanovich | Drama | NULL | ||
| Saint Joan | 1957 | Otto Preminger | ★★ | 110 | Big-scale filming of Shaw's play sounded large thud when released; some good acting, but Seberg (who won her first film role after a nationwide search) not suited to film's tempo, throws production askew. Script by Graham Greene. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0050928 | Jean Seberg, Richard Widmark, Richard Todd, Anton Walbrook, John Gielgud, Felix Aylmer, Harry Andrews, Barry Jones, Finlay Currie, Bernard Miles, Margot Grahame | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saint John of Las Vegas | 2010 | Hue Rhodes | 💣 | 85 | Doggedly unfunny deadpan comedy, supposedly inspired by Dante’s Inferno, about the tedious misadventures of a compulsive gambler (Buscemi) who reluctantly returns to Las Vegas during his first assignment as an insurance fraud investigator. If Joel and Ethan Coen had no talent whatsoever, their movies might look and sound like this. | tt1276105 | [R] | Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho, Jessi Garcia, Danny Trejo | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Saint Meets the Tiger | 1943 | Paul L. Stein | ★★ | 70 | The Saint matches wits with the gangster Tiger over a bogus gold mine scheme in this minor entry. Loosely based on Leslie Charteris' first Saint story. | tt0036324 | Hugh Sinclair, Jan Gillie, Clifford Evans, Wylie Watson, Dennis Arundell | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Saint Ralph | 2004 | Michael McGowan | ★★★ | 98 | In Hamilton, Ontario, ambitious 14-year-old Catholic schooler Ralph Walker sets his sights on winning the 1954 Boston Marathon, hoping to awaken his comatose mother through the miracle of his victory. Neither snow nor sleet nor a sternly disapproving headmaster can knock him off track. Scott and Tilly are outstanding as his skeptical but supportive coaches in this comic, touching, pint-sized CHARIOTS OF FIRE. Based on a true story; written by the director. | tt0384488 | [PG-13] | Adam Butcher, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Tilly, Gordon Pinsent, Shauna MacDonald, Tamara Hope, Frank Crudele, Michael Kanev | Canadian | Comedy, Drama, Sport | NULL | |
| The Saint Strikes Back | 1939 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 67 | Sanders takes over the role of the debonair Saint, adding his jaded persona to the character as he helps the daughter of a disgraced San Francisco policeman catch the men who framed him. Superior B mystery, tightly directed. First in the series to use Roy Webb's theme music, which was later carried over to the Roger Moore TV series. | tt0031890 | George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Jerome Cowan, Neil Hamilton, Barry Fitzgerald, Edward Gargan | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint Takes Over | 1940 | Jack Hively | ★★½ | 69 | Fast-moving entry has The Saint coming to the aid of Inspector Fernack (Hale), who's being framed on bribery charges by racetrack gambling racketeers. | tt0033013 | George Sanders, Jonathan Hale, Wendy Barrie, Paul Guilfoyle, Morgan Conway, Robert Emmett Keane | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint in London | 1939 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★½ | 72 | The Saint travels to England in pursuit of a counterfeiting gang and gets unwanted help from a scatterbrained socialite. Shot on location. | tt0031891 | George Sanders, David Burns, Sally Gray, Henry Oscar, Ralph Truman | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint in New York | 1938 | Ben Holmes | ★★★ | 71 | First in the series and one of the best, with Hayward the smooth Robin Hood-like avenger hired to bump off six of the Big Apple's most rotten criminals. Extremely faithful adaptation of Leslie Charteris' novel; originally intended as American directorial debut of Alfred Hitchcock. | tt0030709 | Louis Hayward, Kay Sutton, Sig Rumann, Jonathan Hale, Frederick Burton, Jack Carson | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint in Palm Springs | 1941 | Jack Hively | ★★½ | 65 | Murder follows the Saint as he journeys West to deliver $200,000 worth of rare stamps to an heir. Sanders' last appearance in the series, which was coasting by this point. | tt0034145 | George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Jonathan Hale, Paul Guilfoyle, Linda Hayes, Ferris Taylor | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint of Fort Washington | 1993 | Tim Hunter | ★★ | 108 | Sincere but undistinguished portrayal of N.Y.C.'s homeless, with Glover showing the ropes to new friend Dillon, a mentally impaired youth who snaps photographic studies without any film in his camera. Despite impressive location footage and a downbeat conclusion, this (barely released) film seems slick and old-Hollywood. | tt0108026 | [R] | Matt Dillon, Danny Glover, Rick Aviles, Nina Siemaszko, Ving Rhames, Joe Seneca | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Saint's Double Trouble | 1940 | Jack Hively | ★★½ | 68 | The Saint is on the trail of his lookalike, a jewel thief who's smuggled diamonds in a mummy from Cairo to Philadelphia. Passable entry with Sanders in a dual role. Lugosi is wasted as a dull-witted hood. | tt0033014 | George Sanders, Helene Whitney, Jonathan Hale, Bela Lugosi, Donald MacBride, John F. Hamilton | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint's Girl Friday | 1954 | Seymour Friedman | ★★ | 68 | Hayward, who played the first Saint in 1938, returns in the last film based on the debonair sleuth, tracking down a gambling syndicate responsible for the death of an ex-girlfriend. Original British title: THE SAINT'S RETURN. | tt0047440 | Louis Hayward, Naomi Chance, Sidney Tafler, Charles Victor | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Saint's Vacation | 1941 | Leslie Fenton | ★★½ | 60 | Sinclair picks up the role of The Saint in this decent mystery (cowritten by Leslie Charteris himself) about the search for a music box in Switzerland containing secret codes coveted by Axis spies. Made in England. | tt0034146 | Hugh Sinclair, Sally Gray, Arthur Macrae, Cecil Parker, Leueen McGrath, Gordon McLeod | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Saint | 1997 | Phillip Noyce | ★★ | 116 | Spy for hire and master of disguises Simon Templar agrees to steal a fusion formula for a controversial Russian leader— but falls in love with the beautiful professor who cooked up the recipe. Fanciful, globe-trotting action adventure is fun at first but throws credibility out the window early on, and only gets dumber. And how many endings are we supposed to sit through? Bears little resemblance to Leslie Charteris' hero. Listen for the voice on the radio in the final scene, if you make it that far. | tt0120053 | [PG-13] | Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue, Rade Serbedzija, Valery Nikolaev, Henry Goodman, Alun Armstrong | Action, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sainted Sisters | 1948 | William D. Russell | ★★½ | 89 | Fitzgerald's blarney is a bit overdone in this tale of two bad girls who go straight under his guidance. | tt0040754 | Veronica Lake, Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald, William Demarest, George Reeves, Beulah Bondi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Salaam Bombay! | 1988 | Mira Nair | ★★★ | 113 | Gut-wrenching chronicle of young country boy Syed and his various experiences among the street hustlers, drug peddlers, and prostitutes of Bombay. Unravels as a novel, with a gallery of vividly drawn supporting characters. Fine feature debut for director Nair. | tt0096028 | Shafiq Syed, Sarfuddin Quarrassi, Raju Barnad, Raghubir Yadav, Aneeta Kanwar | Indian-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Salamander | 1981 | Peter Zinner | ★½ | 101 | Colonel Nero attempts to prevent a fascist coup d'etat in Italy. A cornball script sinks this potentially intriguing drama, from a Morris West novel. | tt0083024 | Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn, Martin Balsam, Sybil Danning, Christopher Lee, Cleavon Little, Paul Smith, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach | U.S.-British-Italian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Salem's Lot | Blood Thirst | 1979 | Tobe Hooper | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Well-made hair-raiser based on Stephen King's bestseller about vampirism running rampant in small New England town. Mason is great as sinister antique dealer, and Nalder's vampire is terrifying, but Soul is only so-so as successful writer returning home to strange goings-on. Later cut to 150m.; the 112m. version available on video and shown on cable-TV as SALEM'S LOT: THE MOVIE and BLOOD THIRST is the overseas theatrical version and contains more explicit violence. Followed by A RETURN TO SALEM'S LOT. | tt0079844 | [PG] | David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Reggie Nalder, Ed Flanders, Elisha Cook, Marie Windsor, Clarissa Kaye, Fred Willard, James Gallery, Kenneth McMillan | Horror | NULL | |
| Sallah | 1965 | Ephraim Kishon | ★★★ | 105 | Topol is amusing as an Oriental Jew who emigrates to Israel with his wife and seven children and who is forever scheming to improve his lot. A modest, lighthearted, thoroughly enjoyable satire. | tt0058541 | Haym Topol, Geula Noni, Gila Almagor, Arik Einstein, Shraga Friedman, Esther Greenberg | Israeli | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sally and Saint Anne | 1952 | Rudolph Maté | ★★ | 90 | Predictable, overly sentimental comedy about a blarney-filled Irish clan, their feud with an ornery alderman, and daughter Blyth's unwavering faith in the title saint. | tt0045115 | Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn, John McIntire, Palmer Lee (Gregg Palmer), Hugh O'Brian, Jack Kelly, Frances Bavier, King Donovan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sally of the Sawdust | 1925 | D. W. Griffith | ★★½ | 91 | Pleasant yarn of sideshow con-man Fields who tries to restore his ward (Dempster) to her rightful place in society, knowing identity of her wealthy grandparents. Interesting to see W. C. in a silent film, particularly since one can compare this to its remake, POPPY. | tt0016308 | W. C. Fields, Carol Dempster, Alfred Lunt, Erville Alderson, Effie Shannon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sally, Irene and Mary | 1938 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 72 | Predictable story of stage-struck girls trying to break into show business, with good comedy spots by Davis, pleasant songs from Faye and Martin: 'I Could Use a Dream,' 'This Is Where I Came In. | tt0030712 | Alice Faye, Tony Martin, Fred Allen, Joan Davis, Marjorie Weaver, Gregory Ratoff, Jimmy Durante, Gypsy Rose Lee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | 2012 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 107 | Pleasantly whimsical comedy about a buttoned-down fisheries expert (McGregor) who's pressed into service by a British prime minister's image-conscious press secretary (Thomas) to help a visionary Yemeni sheik (Waked) fulfill his dream of developing a fishing resort in the Middle Eastern desert. McGregor is most appealing in his tentative romantic scenes with Blunt, the sheik's lovely factotum, but Thomas is the real scene-stealer, bringing an amusingly acidic bite to her portrayal of a haughty bureaucrat. Based on a novel by Paul Torday. | tt1441952 | [PG-13] | Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas, Amr Waked, Tom Mison, Conleth Hill, Rachel Sterling, Catherine Steadman | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom | 1975 | Pier Paolo Pasolini. | 💣 | 117 | Controversial, disturbing adaptation of de Sade's novel, set during WW2 in Italy, where Fascist rulers brutalize and degrade adolescents. Sadism, scatology, and debauchery galore; Pasolini, whose last film this is, wallows in his own sensationalism. | tt0073650 | Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Umberto P. Quinavalle, Aldo Valletti, Caterina Boratto. | Italian | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Salome | 1953 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 103 | Great cast struggles with unintentionally funny script in biblical drama of illustrious dancer who offers herself to spare John the Baptist. Filmed before with Nazimova in 1923. | tt0046269 | Rita Hayworth, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Judith Anderson, Cedric Hardwicke, Maurice Schwartz | Drama | NULL | |||
| Salome's Last Dance | 1988 | Ken Russell | ★★½ | 90 | As Oscar Wilde lounges in a brothel (the same one where his subsequent arrest would lead to his downfall), the proprietor stages a production of the playwright's title work, with Salome, Herod, John the Baptist and Co. all strutting their stuff. Typical Russell litmus test for one's tolerance of the outrageous, but wittier and less oppressive than some of the director's other historical pageants. Grace's weak Wilde aside, the actors do remarkably well under the circumstances. | tt0096029 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Stratford Johns, Nickolas Grace, Imogen Millais-Scott, Douglas Hodge | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Salome, Where She Danced | 1945 | Charles Lamont | 💣 | 90 | Ludicrous film provides some laughs while trying to spin tale of exotic dancer becoming Mata Hari-type spy. Nevertheless, this boosted De Carlo to stardom. | tt0038046 | Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, David Bruce, Walter Slezak, Albert Dekker, Marjorie Rambeau, J. Edward Bromberg | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Salon | 2007 | Mark Brown | ★★ | 99 | Preachy variation on BARBERSHOP about the employees of an inner-city Baltimore women's hair salon. While servicing their customers they gossip, complain, and argue; then they learn the government wants to demolish the shop and replace it with a municipal parking lot. Not so much a movie as a soapbox for its characters, too many of them stereotypes; the street wino is particularly annoying. Fox coproduced; Brown, who also scripted, was the cowriter of BARBERSHOP. Based on Shelly Garrett's play Beauty Shop. | tt0436742 | [PG-13] | Vivica A. Fox, Darrin Henson, Kym Whitley, Dondre Whitfield, De'Angelo Wilson, Monica Calhoun, Taral Hicks, Garrett Morris, Brooke Burns, Terrence Howard. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Salsa | 1988 | Boaz Davidson | ★★ | 97 | All flash and no substance in this DIRTY DANCING-inspired feature-length music video with a Latin beat. Rosa (of the pop group Menudo) stars as a young auto repairman who'd much rather be shaking his body to salsa. Main problem: Where's the script? | tt0096030 | [PG] | Robby Rosa, Rodney Harvey, Magali Alvarado, Miranda Garrison, Moon Orona, Angela Alvarado, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente | Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Salt | 2010 | Phillip Noyce | ★★ | 100 | Tough, experienced CIA operative, now holding down a desk job in Washington, D.C., is accused of being a Russian “sleeper agent”—brainwashed from girlhood to act against the U.S. at a given time—and takes it on the lam. Is she innocent or guilty? We’re not quite sure as she leads her fellow agents on a breathless chase. Jolie’s sincerity and physicality make her a perfect fit for this part, and the film moves like a bullet—which is good, because if you think about it too much, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Great stunt work and action scenes make this mindless fun. | tt0944835 | [PG-13] | Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, Andre Braugher, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block | Crime, Action, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Salt and Pepper | 1968 | Richard Donner | ★★½ | 101 | Soho nightclub owners find trouble when two baddies turn up at their club. Contrived, broad comedy. Sequel: ONE MORE TIME. | tt0063534 | [G] | Sammy Davis/Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers, John LeMesurier | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Salt of the Earth | 1953 | Herbert J. Biberman | ★★★½ | 94 | Earnest film about Latino mine workers in New Mexico who go on strike— in spite of the tremendous hardships it causes. This film is particularly impressive considering its history— made under difficult conditions (and on a shoestring), with many nonprofessional actors, by blacklisted filmmakers. Produced by Paul Jarrico and written by Michael Wilson, two of Hollywood's more prominent blacklistees. | tt0047443 | Juan Chacon, Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer, Mervin Williams, Frank Talavera, Clinton Jencks, Virginia Jencks | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Salton Sea | 2002 | D.J. Caruso | ★½ | 103 | Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Doug Hutchison, Anthony LaPaglia, Glenn Plummer, Peter Sarsgaard, Deborah Kara Unger, Chandra West, B.D. Wong, R. Lee Ermey, Shirley Knight, Meat Loaf, Danny Trejo. Dreadful film noir-ish thriller with Kilmer as a druggie who's actually a rat for the LAPD . . . or is he? Cluttered story about chance and revenge has more scummy characters than any audience should have to encounter in one movie. | tt0235737 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Goldberg, Luis Guzman, Doug Hutchison, Anthony LaPaglia, Glenn Plummer, Peter Sarsgaard, Deborah Kara Unger, Chandra West, B.D. Wong, R. Lee Ermey, Shirley Knight, *** Meat Loaf, Danny Trejo | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Salty | 1973 | Ricou Browning | ★★ | 92 | Two orphaned brothers adopt a mischievous sea lion in this predictable kiddie film made in Florida. | tt0271767 | [G] | Mark Slade, Clint Howard, Nina Foch, Julius W. Harris, Linda Scruggs | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Salty O'Rourke | 1945 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 99 | Lively tale of smooth con man Ladd aiming to clean up with jockey Clements, who turns out to be a large headache. Schoolteacher Russell steps in to foil Ladd's plans. | tt0038047 | Alan Ladd, Gail Russell, William Demarest, Stanley Clements, Bruce Cabot, Spring Byington | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saludos Amigos | 1943 | Norman Ferguson, Bill Roberts, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson. | ★★★ | 43 | Vividly colored propaganda for the Pan American Union. The four segments (Donald Duck in 'Lake Titicaca,' the baby mail plane 'Pedro,' luscious 'Aquarela do Brasil,' and self-explanatory 'El Gaucho Goofy') range from truly funny to strikingly artistic, melding live action with animation. Songs include 'Brazil' and 'Tico Tico.' Trim but tasty salute to South America was followed two years later by THE THREE CABALLEROS. | tt0036326 | Voices of Clarence Nash, Pinto Colvig, José Oliviera, Frank Graham. | Short, Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| Salut l'Artiste | 1974 | Yves Robert | ★★★ | 102 | Light comedy about second-rate actors Mastroianni and Rochefort; the former scampers about while going nowhere; the latter opts out for an ad executive job. Amusing, with first-rate cast and performances. | tt0070625 | Marcello Mastroianni, Jean Rochefort, Françoise Fabian, Carla Gravina | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Salute | 1929 | John Ford. | ★½ | 84 | Lumbering early talkie with Janney a new midshipman at Annapolis; his older brother (O'Brien) is a West Point cadet, and the two predictably quarrel. Fun to watch for film buffs, but fairly clunky, though location filming at Annapolis is a major asset. Young Wayne is prominently featured as a midshipman and even has some dialogue. | tt0020359 | George O'Brien, Helen Chandler, William Janney, Stepin Fetchit, Frank Albertson, Joyce Compton, David Butler, Lumsden Hare, Ward Bond, Lee Tracy, John Wayne. | Drama, Sport | NULL | |||
| Salute to the Marines | 1943 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 101 | OK WW2 propaganda with Beery in his element as a crusty Marine who reluctantly retires, then finds himself caught in a surprise attack on the Philippines. Some of Beery's adjectives for the Japanese must be heard to be believed. | tt0036328 | Wallace Beery, Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Keye Luke, Ray Collins, Marilyn Maxwell, William Lundigan, Donald Curtis, Noah Beery/Sr., Rose Hobart, Robert Blake | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Salvador | 1986 | Oliver Stone | ★★½ | 123 | Uneven but compelling drama based on real experiences of journalist Richard Boyle in strife-ridden El Salvador in 1980-81. Effective propaganda, often potent drama; it takes time to grab hold because lead characters Woods and Belushi are such incredible sleazeballs. Woods's dynamic performance makes up for a lot; his first visit to confession in 32 years is a memorably funny scene. Screenplay by Boyle himself and director Stone. | tt0091886 | [R] | James Woods, James Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage, Elpedia Carrillo, Tony Plana, Colby Chester, Cindy (Cynthia) Gibb, John Doe | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Salvation Boulevard | 2011 | George Ratliff | ★½ | 96 | Multiple Oscar nominees and winners are trapped in this barely released satire of megachurches. After a not unpromising setup that lasts no more than ten minutes, this adaptation of a Larry Beinhart novel goes haywire with an accidental shooting of one professional rival by another. Kinnear is the Deadhead (as in Grateful) caught in the middle of the conflict, and also between dizzy wife Connelly and her domineering tough-guy father (Hinds). This leaves its eye-opening cast flailing by failing to establish a tone of any kind. | tt1251743 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei, Ciarán Hinds, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jim Gaffigan, Yul Vasquez | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Salvation! | 1987 | Beth B | ★½ | 80 | Unfortunately, underground filmmaker Beth B directs in the manner of an incoherent music video, swamping McHattie's convincing central performance (resembling a young John Carradine). | tt0093912 | [R] | Stephen McHattie, Dominique Davalos, Exene Cervenka, Viggo Mortensen, Rockets Redglare, Billy Bastani | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Salvatore Giuliano | 1962 | Francesco Rosi | ★★★½ | 125 | Vivid, documentary-like drama, told in flashback, depicts the career of an infamous post-WW2 Sicilian criminal who rose through the ranks of organized crime, becoming a Mafia chieftain. This fact-based tale intricately weaves a story of political and governmental bureaucracy; it resulted in a real-life investigation of Mafia activities in Italy. Remade as THE SICILIAN. | tt0055399 | Frank Wolff, Salvo Randone, Federico Zardi, Pietro Cammarata, Fernando Cicero | Italian | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Salzburg Connection | 1972 | Lee H. Katzin | ★½ | 92 | Terrible film version of Helen MacInnes' best-seller about American lawyer on vacation in Salzburg who gets mixed up with spies; irritating use of slow-motion and freeze-frame gimmicks. Brandauer's debut and only film appearance until MEPHISTO. | tt0069212 | [PG] | Barry Newman, Anna Karina, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Karen Jensen, Joe Maross, Wolfgang Preiss | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sam Whiskey | 1969 | Arnold Laven | ★★ | 96 | Modestly mounted, uninteresting Western wasting talents of good cast. Schemer Whiskey coerced into organizing heist of golden bullion. For Western aficionados and Reynolds addicts only. | tt0064923 | [M] | Burt Reynolds, Clint Walker, Ossie Davis, Angie Dickinson, Rick Davis, William Schallert, Woodrow Parfrey | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Sam's Son | 1984 | Michael Landon | ★★ | 104 | Landon wrote, directed, and appears briefly in this autobiographical saga about an underdog kid, who's a champion javelin thrower, and his loving but frustrated father, who never got to pursue his dreams. Wallach's performance as the father is major asset of this sometimes syrupy film. | tt0088034 | [PG] | Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Timothy Patrick Murphy, Hallie Todd, Alan Hayes, Jonna Lee, Michael Landon |
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NULL | ||
| Sam's Song | The Swap | 1969 | Jordan Leondopoulos (John Shade) | ★½ | 92 | Dreary film about film editor's weekend with friends on Long Island, interesting only for early De Niro performance. Extensive reshooting includes new characters played by Lisa Blount and Sybil Danning; film was reissued in 1979 as THE SWAP. Video title: LINE OF FIRE. | tt0064924 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Jennifer Warren, Jered Mickey, Martin Kelley, Viva | Drama | NULL | |
| Samar | 1962 | George Montgomery | ★★ | 89 | Ordinary actioner has Roland as head of prison compound on a Philippine island who rejects inhumane treatment of prisoners and leads them on escape route. | tt0056440 | George Montgomery, Gilbert Roland, Ziva Rodann, Joan O'Brien, Nico Minardos, Mario Barri | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Samaritan | 2012 | David Weaver | ★★ | 90 | Set free after 25 years imprisonment for murdering his partner and best friend, professional con man Jackson is determined to go straight. He begins a relationship with a much younger woman, but is pressured by the son of his friend to pull "the Samaritan" con on a British gangster. Grim, serious crime film features good acting, but it's nothing new. | tt1867093 | Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Kirby, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Negga, A. C. Peterson, Gil Bellows, Deborah Kara Unger | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Same Old Song | 1997 | Alain Resnais | ★★★ | 120 | Resnais adds a distinctly personal sensibility to this intricately plotted, tongue-in-cheek confection about a group of overindulgent middle-class Parisians who constantly break into lip-synched song as a way of expressing themselves. Bacri and Jaoui scripted this affectionate homage to Dennis Potter (THE SINGING DETECTIVE, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN). Winner of seven César awards. | tt0119828 | Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azema, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Andre Dussollier, Agnes Jaoui, Lambert Wilson, Jane Birkin | French-Swiss-British | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Same Time, Next Year | 1978 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 117 | Bernard Slade's two-character Broadway play makes pleasing film, with Alda and Burstyn as adulterous couple who share one weekend a year for 26 years; warm, human comedy-drama reflects changes in American life and attitudes since early '50s in likable fashion. | tt0078199 | [PG] | Ellen Burstyn, Alan Alda | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sammy Stops the World | 1979 | Mel Shapiro | 💣 | 104 | Pathetic update of Stop the World, I Want to Get Off combines nail-your-camera-to-the-ground direction with a stage production that couldn't get by at Three Mile Island Dinner Theatre. | tt0079848 | [G] | Sammy Davis/Jr., Marian Mercer, Dennis Daniels, Donna Lowe | Musical | NULL | ||
| Sammy and Rosie Get Laid | 1987 | Stephen Frears | ★★ | 100 | The curious lives of a couple with an open sexual relationship are thrown into disarray by the arrival of his father, a powerful reactionary political figure from India who cannot understand their lifestyle— or what has happened to the traditional British way of life he used to enjoy. Disturbing but monotonous look at social and sexual anarchy in England, written by Hanif Kureishi, who previously collaborated with director Frears on MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE. | tt0093913 | Shashi Kapoor, Claire Bloom, Ayub Khan Din, Frances Barber, Roland Gift, Wendy Gazelle, Suzette Llewellyn | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sammy the Way Out Seal | 1962 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 90 | Pretty funny sitcom for the kids about a seal who becomes Mumy's pet and wreaks havoc upon Culp and family. Shown as a feature in Europe, originally made as a two-part Disney TV show. | tt0056441 | Robert Culp, Jack Carson, Bill Mumy, Patricia Barry | Family, Action, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Samson and Delilah | 1949 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 128 | With expected DeMille touches, this remains a tremendously entertaining film. Mature is surprisingly good as Samson, though his famous fight with lion is hopelessly phony; also difficult to swallow idea of Lansbury being Lamarr's older sister. Sanders supplies biggest surprise by underplaying his role as the Saran. This won Oscars for its Art Direction-Set Decoration and Costumes. Remade for TV in 1984 (with Mature as Samson's father) and 1996. | tt0041838 | Victor Mature, Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury, Henry Wilcoxon, Olive Deering, Fay Holden, Russ Tamblyn, George Reeves, Tom Tyler, Fritz Leiber, Mike Mazurki | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Samurai Cowboy | 1993 | Michael Keusch | ★★½ | 101 | A Japanese businessman, enthralled with classic American Western movies, buys a ranch in Montana and attempts to live his dream of becoming a cowboy. Although hampered by a predictable plot and many formula characters, Japanese pop star Go's ingratiating performance enhances this likable tale. | tt0108035 | Hiromigo Go, Catherine Mary Stewart, Matt McCoy, Conchata Ferrell, Robert Conrad | Canadian | Western | NULL | ||
| Samurai Rebellion | 1967 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★ | 121 | A feudal lord banishes a dishonored concubine from his castle, commanding her to marry a retired swordsman's son. They wed, fall in love, and have a child. Two years later, when the master wants her back, the family stubbornly challenges his order. What had been a romance kindled by courtly intrigue now mutates into a righteously angry defiance that can end only one way. This was the director's first work outside the studio system and his only collaboration with Mifune. | tt0061847 | Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa, Go Kato, Shigeru Koyama, Masao Mishima, Michiko Otsuka, Tatsuya Nakadai | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| San Antone | 1953 | Joseph Kane | ★★½ | 90 | Offbeat Western tends to ramble, but story of Cameron and friends being victimized by despicable Tucker and bitchy Southern belle Whelan is intriguing. | tt0046271 | Rod Cameron, Arleen Whelan, Forrest Tucker, Katy Jurado, Rodolfo Acosta, Bob Steele, Harry Carey/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| San Antonio | 1945 | David Butler | ★★★ | 111 | Elaborate Western has predictable plot but good production values as good guy Flynn tangles with cunning villains Francen and Kelly while romancing singer Smith. Screenplay by The Searchers novelist Alan LeMay and W. R. Burnett. | tt0038048 | Errol Flynn, Alexis Smith, S.Z. Sakall, Victor Francen, Florence Bates, John Litel, Paul Kelly | Western | NULL | |||
| San Antonio Rose | 1941 | Charles Lamont. | ★★½ | 63 | Zippy Universal B musical about a group of entertainers who take over an abandoned roadhouse, unaware that a gangster competitor wants the property himself. Paige, Frazee, and the Macs handle the music (including 'The Hut-Sut Song' and the title tune); Arden, Chaney, and Howard supply the laughs— the latter two as a faux Abbott and Costello. Packs more fun into an hour than most movies do in two. | tt0034148 | Robert Paige, Jane Frazee, Eve Arden, Lon Chaney/Jr., Shemp Howard, The Merry Macs, Richard Lane, Luis Alberni, Louis DaPron, Vernon Dent. | Musical | NULL | |||
| San Diego, I Love You | 1944 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★★ | 83 | Whimsical comedy of unconventional family trying to promote father Horton's inventions. Allbritton is perky, Keaton memorable in delightful sequence as bored bus driver. | tt0037244 | Jon Hall, Louise Allbritton, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, Buster Keaton, Irene Ryan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| San Fernando Valley | 1944 | John English. | ★★½ | 74 | Prideful ranch owner Evans brings in women to replace the ranch hands she fired, which leads to various complications. Some fans prefer more plot and action to production numbers with chorus girls, but this is still an enjoyable outing. Roy and Dale sing Gordon Jenkins' title tune. | tt0037245 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Jean Porter, Andrew Tombes, Charles Smith, Edward Gargan, LeRoy Mason, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| San Francisco | 1936 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★½ | 115 | Top-grade entertainment with extremely lavish production. Jeanette overdoes it a bit as the belle of San Francisco, but the music, Tracy's performance, and earthquake climax are still fine. Originally had footage of Golden Gate Bridge under construction; other rhythmically edited shots of S.F. were changed for later reissue. Script by Anita Loos. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028216 | Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy, Jack Holt, Jessie Ralph, Ted Healy, Shirley Ross, Al Shean | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The San Francisco Story | 1952 | Robert Parrish | ★★ | 80 | Tame Western actioner set in gold-rush days, with cleanup of city's criminal elements. | tt0045119 | Joel McCrea, Yvonne De Carlo, Sidney Blackmer, Richard Erdman, Florence Bates, Onslow Stevens | Western | NULL | |||
| San Quentin | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 70 | Warner Bros. formula prison film; convict Bogart's sister (Sheridan) loves O'Brien, who's captain of the guards. MacLane is memorable as tough prison guard. | tt0029511 | Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Veda Ann Borg, Barton MacLane | Drama | NULL | |||
| San Quentin | 1946 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 66 | Ex-con Tierney, organizer of a prison program which straightens out hardened criminals, goes into action when bad-boy MacLane abuses the system. Solid, if somewhat preachy, prison reform-oriented B film, introduced by Warden Lewis F. Lawes (20,000 YEARS IN SING SING). | tt0038905 | Lawrence Tierney, Barton MacLane, Marian Carr, Harry Shannon, Carol Forman, Richard Powers (Tom Keene) | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sanctuary | 1961 | Tony Richardson | ★★ | 100 | Flat melodrama about a Southern governor's daughter (Remick) and her plight after she's raped by bootlegger Montand. Awkward adaptation (by James Poe) of William Faulkner's novels Sanctuary (previously filmed as THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE) and Requiem for a Nun and Ruth Ford's stage adaptation of the latter. | tt0055402 | Lee Remick, Yves Montand, Bradford Dillman, Harry Townes, Odetta, Howard St. John, Jean Carson, Reta Shaw, Strother Martin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sanctum | 2011 | Alister Grierson | ★★ | 103 | Crass billionaire backer (Gruffudd) of a daring cave expedition in New Guinea brings his girlfriend along and joins the feisty, fearless explorer (Roxburgh) who’s leading the odyssey—little dreaming they’ll all be trapped underground with only a slim chance of survival. The characters are painted in the broadest strokes (in keeping with producer James Cameron’s m.o.), but the underwater action is consistently exciting—and convincing. Makes excellent use of 3-D. 3-D. | tt0881320 | [R] | Richard Roxburgh, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhys Wakefield, Alice Parkinson, Dan Wyllie, Christopher Baker, Allison Cratchley | U.S.-Australian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Sand | 1949 | Louis King | ★★ | 78 | Visually picturesque but dull account of show horse who turns wild. Retitled: WILL JAMES' SAND. | tt0041840 | Mark Stevens, Rory Calhoun, Coleen Gray, Charley Grapewin | Western | NULL | |||
| The Sand Castle | 1960 | Jerome Hill | ★★½ | 67 | Imaginative little film of small boy building mud castles on the beach, dreaming of people living in his creation. | tt0055403 |
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Barry Cardwell, Laurie Cardwell, George Dunham, Alec Wilder | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Sand Pebbles | 1966 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 179 | McQueen gives one of his finest performances as cynical sailor on U.S. gunboat cruising China's Yangtze River in 1926. Long but generally compelling drama mixes traditional action and romance with some pointed notions about American imperialism (and a few parallels to Vietnam). Splendidly photographed by Joseph MacDonald. | tt0060934 | Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, Mako, Marayat Andriane, Simon Oakland, Larry Gates, Gavin MacLeod | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Sanders | Death Drums Along the River | 1963 | Lawrence Huntington | ★★ | 83 | Loose adaptation of Edgar Wallace novel Sanders of the River follows police inspector's investigation of murder in an African hospital and discovery of hidden silver mine. British title DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER. Todd repeated role of Harry Sanders in 1964 COAST OF SKELETONS. | tt0057468 | Richard Todd, Marianne Koch, Albert Lieven, Vivi Bach, Jeremy Lloyd | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Sanders of the River | 1935 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★ | 98 | Dated adventure story (by Edgar Wallace) about river patrol officer maintains interest today, particularly for Robeson's strong presence and African location shooting. A fascinating relic of the sun-never-sets school of British imperialism. Sanders character revived in 1960s' SANDERS (DEATH DRUMS ALONG THE RIVER) and COAST OF SKELETONS. | tt0026966 | Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks, Nina Mae McKinney, Robert Cochran, Martin Walker | British | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sandlot | 1993 | David Mickey Evans | ★★½ | 101 | Innocuous film for kids about a '60s sandlot baseball team, their acceptance of the new kid on the block, and their ongoing battle with a ferocious neighboring dog. No real insight or resonance here (and incredibly condescending, heavy-handed narration)— but a pleasant enough time-filler for younger viewers. Arliss Howard and Brooke Adams appear unbilled. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0108037 | [PG] | Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Brandon Adams, Denis Leary, Karen Allen, James Earl Jones, Maury Wills, Art La Fleur | Adventure, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sandokan Against The Leopard of Sarawak | 1964 | Luigi Capuano | ★★ | 94 | Danton vs. Madison in this papier mâdché, run-of-the-mill epic. | tt0058546 |
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Ray Danton, Guy Madison, Franca Bettoja, Mario Petri | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Sandokan Fights Back | 1964 | Luigi Capuano | ★★ | 96 | Unconvincing, juvenile narrative of princely ruler fighting to regain his throne. | tt0058545 |
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Ray Danton, Guy Madison, Franca Bettoja, Mino Doro | Italian |
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NULL | |
| Sandokan the Great | 1965 | Umberto Lenzi | ★★ | 105 | Reeves actioner in which he rebels against the invading forces of Queen Victoria. At least the time period is different. | tt0057469 |
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Steve Reeves, Genevieve Grad, Rik Battaglia, Maurice Poli | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Sandpiper | 1965 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 116 | Ordinary triangle love affair. Beatnik Taylor in love with Burton, who is married to Saint. Nothing new, but beautiful California Big Sur settings help; so does Oscar-winning theme, 'The Shadow of Your Smile.' Written by Dalton Trumbo and Michael Wilson. | tt0059674 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, Charles Bronson, Robert Webber, Torin Thatcher, Morgan Mason, Tom Drake | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sandra | 1965 | Luchino Visconti. | ★★½ | 100 | A small-town Italian beauty returns home with her American husband to attend a ceremony in memory of her Jewish father, who died in a concentration camp, setting off a series of emotional entanglements with her unfaithful mother and incestuous brother. Well acted but awfully soapy and melodramatic for Visconti. | tt0059856 | Claudia Cardinale, Jean Sorel, Michael Craig, Marie Bell, Renzo Ricci, Amalia Troiani. | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sands of Beersheba | 1966 | Alexander Ramati | ★★ | 90 | Sluggish account of the Arab-Israeli conflict, involving a non-Jewish American whose fiancé died in the 1948 Palestinian war, an Israeli gunrunner, a Jew-hating Arab terrorist, and the latter's father who's tired of all the bloodshed. The issues remain compelling, but the film is mostly a bore. | tt0060935 | Diane Baker, David Opatoshu, Tom Bell, Paul Stassino | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sands of Iwo Jima | 1949 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 110 | Enormously popular WW2 saga, with Wayne in one of his best roles as a tough Marine top-sergeant. Story and characters are pretty two-dimensional, and a bit worn from having been copied so many times since, but it's still good entertainment; use of authentic combat footage is striking. Wayne's first Oscar-nominated performance. The three surviving Marine vets who raised the American flag on Mt. Suribachi have small parts. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041841 | John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara, Forrest Tucker, Arthur Franz, Julie Bishop, Richard Jaeckel, Wally Cassell, Richard Webb | Action, Drama, War, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sands of the Desert | 1960 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★ | 92 | Heavy-handed comedy set in Arabia, with Drake trying to uncover sabotage attempts at holiday camp. | tt0054266 |
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Charlie Drake, Peter Arne, Sarah Branch, Rebecca Dignam | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sands of the Kalahari | 1965 | Cy Endfield | ★★★ | 119 | Well-done story of plane crash survivors struggling through desert and battling simian inhabitants (and each other). | tt0059675 | Stuart Whitman, Stanley Baker, Susannah York, Harry Andrews, Theodore Bikel, Nigel Davenport | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sandy Gets Her Man | 1940 | Otis Garrett, Paul Smith | ★½ | 74 | Precocious Baby Sandy is final arbiter of mama's courters; naive little film kept alive by character actors in cast. | tt0033018 |
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Stuart Erwin, Una Merkel, Baby Sandy, Edgar Kennedy, William Frawley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sandy Is a Lady | 1940 | Charles Lamont | ★½ | 65 | Simplicity-saturated comedy as precocious child helps her family get ahead. | tt0033019 |
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Nan Grey, Baby Sandy, Eugene Pallette, Tom Brown, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert, Edgar Kennedy, Anne Gwynne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sangaree | 1953 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 94 | Lovers of 1950s kitsch will savor this corny, overheated period soaper in which honorable doctor Lamas, the son of a servant, comes to manage a colonel's estate amid much controversy. Lamas utters the word 'fabulous,' but not 'marvelous.' Based on a Frank G. Slaughter novel. Filmed in 3-D. | tt0046272 | Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Charles Korvin, Tom Drake, Willard Parker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sanjuro | Tsubaki Sanjurô | 1962 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★ | 96 | Sequel to YOJIMBO has shabby, wandering samurai Mifune aiding nine bumbling younger warriors in exposing corruption among the elders of their clan. Satirical comic-book actioner features a typically deadpan Mifune performance. | tt0056443 | Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Yuzo Kayama, Reiko Dan | Japanese | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Sansho the Bailiff | The Bailiff | 1954 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★★ | 125 | Epic, poetic drama of 11th-century Japan, focusing on the tribulations of a family. Kindly father, a provincial governor, is exiled; children (Hanayagi, Kagawa) become slaves; mother (Tanaka) is sold as a prostitute. Haunting, with stunning direction and cinematography (by Kazuo Miyagawa). Original running-time: 130m. Aka THE BAILIFF. | tt0047445 | Kinuyo Tanaka, Kisho Hanayagi, Kyoko Kagawa, Eitaro Shindo, Ichiro Sugai | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Santa Claus | 1985 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★★½ | 112 | Story of how Santa came to be starts out so wonderfully— with eye-filling looks at his North Pole toy factory, reindeer, and sleigh— that it's too bad the rest of the film (with contemporary tale of humbug kid and greedy toy magnate) can't measure up. Still entertaining, just a bit less magical than it should have been. Referred to as SANTA CLAUS: THE MOVIE everywhere but on-screen! | tt0089961 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, John Lithgow, David Huddleston, Burgess Meredith, Judy Cornwell, Jeffrey Kramer, Christian Fitzpatrick, Carrie Kei Heim | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Santa Claus Conquers the Martians | 1964 | Nicholas Webster | 💣 | 80 | Absurd low-budget fantasy (with a Milton Delugg score!) about Santa and two Earth children being abducted to Mars to help solve some of their domestic problems— like kids watching too much TV. One of the Martian tykes is Pia Zadora! Aka SANTA CLAUS DEFEATS THE ALIENS. | tt0058548 | John Call, Leonard Hicks, Vincent Beck, Donna Conforti | Family, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Santa Clause 2 | 2002 | Michael Lembeck | ★★★ | 104 | Sequel finds the human-turned-Santa learning that unless he finds a wife, he'll cease to exist. Revisiting his former home, he falls in love with the unlikeliest candidate— and in the process helps straighten out his troubled teenage son. Sweet, noncynical Disney film is played with conviction and charm; good family entertainment. | tt0304669 | [G] | Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Spencer Breslin, Liliana Mumy, Art LaFleur, Aisha Tyler, Kevin Pollak, Jay Thomas, Michael Dorn, Molly Shannon | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause | 2006 | Michael Lembeck | ★★ | 98 | Third time's not the charm for this Disney series, as Santa (Allen) is forced to bring his earthly in-laws (Arkin and Ann-Margret) to the North Pole for a visit without revealing his identity, while jealous Jack Frost (Short) tries to hijack Christmas for his own greedy purposes. All this negativity doesn't make for much fun. Allen coproduced. | tt0452681 | [G] | Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Alan Arkin, Spencer Breslin, Liliana Mumy, Ann-Margret, Abigail Breslin, Art LaFleur, Aisha Tyler, Kevin Pollak, Jay Thomas, Peter Boyle, Zach Mills | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Santa Clause | 1994 | John Pasquin | ★★★ | 97 | Neglectful divorced dad inadvertently frightens Santa off his roof and, when he puts on the deceased St. Nick's suit, begins to turn into Santa Claus himself— first on the outside, and then, more significantly, on the inside. Clever script by Steve Rudnick and Leo Benevenuti takes a potential one-joke idea and develops it in interesting and unexpected ways, effectively infusing heart and sentiment into its 1990s sensibility. Impressive screen debut for Allen. Followed by a sequel. | tt0111070 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz, Peter Boyle, Larry Brandenburg, Mary Gross, Paige Tamada | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Santa Fe | 1951 | Irving Pichel | ★★ | 89 | Routine account of brothers in post-Civil War days, on opposite sides of the law. | tt0043992 | Randolph Scott, Janis Carter, Jerome Courtland, Peter Thompson, John Archer, Warner Anderson, Roy Roberts, Jock Mahoney | Western | NULL | |||
| Santa Fe Marshal | 1940 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 66 | Standard Hoppy Western emphasizes comedy and romance at expense of action and provides another excuse for Boyd to discard his trademark black garb for dude duds. Hodgins is a standout as fast-talking snake-oil con artist; there's also a wonderful jibe at singing cowboys: 'This is one cowboy who never played a guitar, and never will.' | tt0033020 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Marjorie Rambeau, Bernadene Hayes, Earle Hodgins, Britt Wood. | Western | NULL | |||
| Santa Fe Passage | 1955 | William Witney | ★★ | 90 | Routine wagon train westward; Indian attacks, love among the pioneers, etc. | tt0048584 | John Payne, Faith Domergue, Rod Cameron, Slim Pickens | Western | NULL | |||
| Santa Fe Stampede | 1938 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 57 | Prospector pal of fearless Three Mesquiteers strikes gold, but when he's killed by claim jumpers, Wayne is blamed. Swift story and direction adhere to proven formula, highlighted by Mason as ruthless and despicable villain. Title is completely meaningless. | tt0030714 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, June Martel, William Farnum, LeRoy Mason. | Western | NULL | |||
| Santa Fe Trail | 1940 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 110 | Lopsided picture can't make up its mind about anything: what side it's taking, what it wants to focus on, etc. Worthless as history, but amid the rubble are some good action scenes as Jeb Stuart (Flynn) and cohorts go after John Brown (Massey). Reagan plays Flynn's West Point classmate and romantic rival, George Armstrong Custer(!). Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033021 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Raymond Massey, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale/Sr., Guinn Williams, William Lundigan, Ward Bond, Van Heflin, Gene Reynolds, John Litel, Charles Middleton | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Santa Sangre | 1989 | Alejandro Jodorowsky | ★★ | 121 | Grotesque story about an entertainer whose act consists of performing as the arms for his armless mother; he's also an unwilling murderer. Made in luxurious color with dreamy art direction, this lacks the intellectual charge of Jodorowsky's earlier films. Filmed in English. | tt0098253 | Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Sabrina Dennison, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou, Adan Jodorowsky, Faviola Elenka Tapia | Italian-Mexican | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Santee | 1973 | Gary Nelson | ★★ | 93 | Bounty hunter Ford, whose boy has been murdered, adopts son of outlaw he has just killed. OK Western. | tt0070630 | [PG] | Glenn Ford, Michael Burns, Dana Wynter, Jay Silverheels, Harry Townes, John Larch, Robert Wilke, Robert Donner | Western | NULL | ||
| Santiago | 1956 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 93 | Ladd and Nolan are involved in gun-running to Cuba during fight with Spain. Ladd becomes humane when he encounters partisan Podesta. | tt0049714 | Alan Ladd, Rossana Podesta, Lloyd Nolan, Chill Wills, Paul Fix, L.Q. Jones, Frank DeKova | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Saphead | 1921 | Herbert Blaché | ★★½ | 78 | Buster (in his feature-film debut) is shoehorned into a pleasant but conventional plot about a wealthy boob whose impending marriage is imperiled when he's framed for a stock swindle. Keaton is fine but not allowed to express his unique comic personality. Based on a Broadway play that was filmed once before as THE LAMB (1915) with Douglas Fairbanks. Villain Cummings later became a top director at 20th Century-Fox. | tt0011652 | Buster Keaton, William H. Crane, Carol Holloway, Edward Connelly, Irving Cummings, Beulah Booker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sapphire | 1959 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 92 | When music student is murdered, it is discovered she was passing as white. Considered daring in its day, still absorbing today— both as entertainment and social comment. Fine performances. Story and screenplay by Janet Green (with additional dialogue by Lukas Heller). | tt0053242 | Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig, Paul Massie, Bernard Miles, Earl Cameron, Rupert Davies, Yvonne Buckingham | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Saps At Sea | 1940 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 57 | L&H comedy is short and sweet: Ollie has breakdown working in horn factory, tries to relax on a small boat with Stan . . . and that's impossible. Cramer is a memorable heavy. Harry Langdon was one of the writers. | tt0033022 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson, Ben Turpin, Richard Cramer, Harry Bernard | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Saraband | 1948 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 95 | Lavish, tearful romance with Greenwood torn between royal responsibility and love for young rogue. British title: SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS. | tt0040758 | Stewart Granger, Joan Greenwood, Flora Robson, Françoise Rosay, Frederick Valk, Peter Bull, Anthony Quayle, Michael Gough, Megs Jenkins, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Saraband | 2003 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 107 | Ullmann and Josephson return as Marianne and Johan, the dysfunctional couple they created so unforgettably in SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, reunited thirty years after their divorce and involved in family turmoil. A prominent subplot involving Johan's son and granddaughter is less effective, but it's a joy to see the two stars together; their scenes have the rich, deep emotional complexity that characterizes Bergman's best films. Another quibble: the antiseptic digital cinematography leaves one yearning for the raw quality that 16mm afforded its predecessor. Originally made for Swedish television. | tt0299478 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Börje Ahlstedt, Julia Dufvenius | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Saracen Blade | 1954 | William Castle | ★½ | 76 | Pretty bad 13th-century stuff, with young man avenging death of father. Unbelievable script traps cast. | tt0047448 | Ricardo Montalban, Betta St. John, Rick Jason, Carolyn Jones, Whitfield Connor | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sarafina! | 1992 | Darrell James Roodt | ★★½ | 115 | Wobbly film version of the anti-apartheid musical stage hit about a young South African black girl inspired by teacher Goldberg, who's courting trouble by deviating from the curriculum mandated by the white power structure. Arguably the most violent musical ever (taking what was abstract on stage and literalizing it), a key indication of the film's uncertain style. | tt0105316 | [PG-13] | Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba, John Kani, Mbongeni Ngema | U.S.-British-French | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic | 2005 | Liam Lynch | ★★½ | 72 | If all of the world's invisible social tensions coalesced into a cheerfully offensive, politically incorrect comedian with a surprisingly cute voice, you'd have Sarah Silverman. It's hard to know what to make of such a creature, but one thing seems certain: by joking about taboo issues that many choose to ignore (9/11, the Holocaust, Jesus, Jewishness, AIDS, race, and sex),, she forces the audience to think about them. Often-hilarious concert film is needlessly interrupted by several poorly produced musical numbers. | tt0422528 | Unrated | Sarah Silverman, Brian Posehn, Bob Odenkirk, Laura Silverman, Steve Agee | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Sarah and Son | 1930 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★ | 76 | Chatterton, obsessed with finding the son taken from her years ago, enlists aid of lawyer March. | tt0021335 | Ruth Chatterton, Fredric March, Doris Lloyd, Philippe de Lacy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sarah, Plain and Tall | 1991 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Sentimental telling of Patricia MacLachlan's gentle children's book (which she and Carol Sobieski adapted) about a Maine schoolteacher who travels to Kansas in 1910 to take charge of a widowed farmer's family. Close shines as an American Mary Poppins. Followed by SKYLARK and WINTER'S END. | tt0102842 | Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Lexi Randall, Margaret Sophie Stein, Jon De Vries, Christopher Bell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saratoga | 1937 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 94 | Harlow's last film— she died during production— has stand-in Mary Dees doing many scenes, but comes off pretty well, with Jean as granddaughter of horse-breeder Barrymore, Gable an influential bookie. | tt0029516 | Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Frank Morgan, Walter Pidgeon, Una Merkel, Cliff Edwards, George Zucco, Hattie MacDaniel, Margaret Hamilton | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Saratoga Trunk | 1945 | Sam Wood | ★½ | 135 | Elaborate but miscast, overlong version of Edna Ferber's novel of New Orleans vixen Bergman and cowboy Cooper. Unbearable at times. Made in 1943. | tt0038053 | Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Flora Robson, Jerry Austin, John Warburton, Florence Bates | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saskatchewan | 1954 | Raoul Walsh | ★★½ | 87 | Cotton-candy Western about Ladd and fellow Canadian Mounties trying to prevent Indian uprisings. | tt0047449 | Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters, J. Carrol Naish, Hugh O'Brian, Robert Douglas, Richard Long, Jay Silverheels | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sasquatch | 1978 | Ed Ragozzini | ★½ | 102 | Semidocumentary about expedition that goes in search of Bigfoot, including 'authentic' if blurry footage of the monster. | tt0078203 | [G] | George Lauris, Steve Boergadine, Jim Bradford, Ken Kenzie | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Satan Bug | 1965 | John Sturges | ★★★½ | 114 | Overlooked little suspense gem, loosely based on Alistair MacLean novel, detailing nerve-racking chase after lunatic who's stolen flasks containing horribly lethal virus from government lab. Taut script (by Edward Anhalt and James Clavell) and direction, stunning photography by Robert Surtees. | tt0059678 | George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, Edward Asner, Frank Sutton, John Larkin, Henry Beckman | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Satan Met a Lady | 1936 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 75 | Dashiell Hammett's Maltese Falcon incognito; far below 1941 remake. William is private eye, Davis the mysterious client, Skipworth the strange woman searching for priceless artifact (here, a ram's horn). Filmed in 1931 and 1941 as THE MALTESE FALCON. | tt0028219 | Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth, Arthur Treacher, Winifred Shaw, Marie Wilson, Porter Hall | Drama, Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Satan Never Sleeps | 1962 | Leo McCarey | ★★ | 126 | Dreary goings-on of two priests holding fast when Communist China invades their territory. McCarey's last film. | tt0056447 | William Holden, Clifton Webb, France Nuyen, Athene Seyler, Martin Benson, Edith Sharpe | Drama | NULL | |||
| Satan's Cheerleaders | 1977 | Greydon Clark | ★★ | 92 | Amusing drive-in fodder about a busload of high school cheerleaders who fall into clutches of a demonic cult. Humor and a cast full of old pros help, but this film is too tame to be really effective. | tt0076665 | [R] | Kerry Sherman, John Ireland, Yvonne DeCarlo, Jacqueline Cole, Jack Kruschen, John Carradine, Sydney Chaplin | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Satan's Harvest | 1970 | George Montgomery | ★★ | 104 | American detective Montgomery inherits South African ranch and discovers it to be headquarters for a drug smuggling operation. Colorful scenery, tepid story. | tt0059680 | George Montgomery, Tippi Hedren, Matt Monro, Davy Kaye, Brian O'Shaughnessy | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Satan's Sadists | 1970 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 88 | Renegade cyclists on the loose down the highway. Change the channel. | tt0064939 | [R] | Russ Tamblyn, Scott Brady, Kent Taylor, John Cardos, Greydon Clark, Regina Carrol, William Bonner | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Satellite in the Sky | 1956 | Paul Dickson | ★★½ | 85 | Spunky female reporter stows away aboard first British satellite rocket. Complications arise when bomb to be tested sticks to the side of the satellite and ticks away the moments to doom. Elaborate but unexciting. | tt0049715 | Kieron Moore, Lois Maxwell, Donald Wolfit, Bryan Forbes, Jimmy Hanley | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Satisfaction | Girls of Summer | 1988 | Joan Freeman | 💣 | 92 | Bubble-gum theatrical release about a four-girl/one-guy garage band that gets its first break rocking in a wealthy summer resort town. With the entire band shacked up in a single room, figure out where sole male member Coffey sleeps— or how he sleeps. Duds like this were more fun in the 1950s. Retitled GIRLS OF SUMMER. | tt0096037 | [PG-13] | Justine Bateman, Liam Neeson, Trini Alvarado, Britta Phillips, Julia Roberts, Scott Coffey | Comedy, Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| Saturday Night Fever | 1977 | John Badham | ★★★ | 119 | Travolta's first starring film is thoughtful study of Brooklyn youth who finds only meaning in his life when dancing at local disco. Film pulses to dynamic Bee Gees music score ('Night Fever,' 'How Deep Is Your Love,' 'Staying Alive,' etc). Plethora of street language may offend some, but not in 'alternate' 108m. PG-rated version, where dialogue and certain scenes have been changed or dropped entirely. Later a Broadway musical. Sequel: STAYING ALIVE. | tt0076666 | [R] | John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller, Joseph Cali, Paul Pape, Donna Pescow, Julie Bovasso, Denny Dillon, Robert Costanzo, Fran Drescher | Drama, Musical, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Saturday Night Kid | 1929 | A. Edward Sutherland. | ★★½ | 62 | Early-talkie remake of LOVE 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM (1926, which starred Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks), with Bow giving a fairly restrained performance as a department store salesgirl in love with floorwalker Hall. In a strange bit of miscasting, Arthur plays her vampy sister, who's also sweet on Hall. Evocative of its era. Look for Jean Harlow in a bit part. | tt0020364 | Clara Bow, James Hall, Jean Arthur, Charles Sellon, Ethel Wales, Frank Ross, Edna May Oliver. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Saturday Night and Sunday Morning | 1960 | Karel Reisz | ★★★½ | 90 | Grim yet refreshing look at angry young man, who in a burst of nonconformity alters the lives of girlfriends Field and Roberts. Superbly enacted. Script by Alan Sillitoe, from his novel. One of the first and best of Britain's 'angry young men' dramas of the '60s. | tt0054269 | Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field, Rachel Roberts, Norman Rossington | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Saturday the 14th | 1981 | Howard R. Cohen | ★½ | 75 | Limp horror film parody, with Benjamin and Prentiss moving into a weird house and dealing with an assortment of menacing types. A follow-up came along seven years later. | tt0083033 | [PG] | Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Severn Darden, Jeffrey Tambor, Kari Michaelson, Kevin Brando, Rosemary DeCamp | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saturday the 14th Strikes Back | 1988 | Howard R. Cohen | 💣 | 78 | Follow-up to 1981 turkey is even worse, if that seems imaginable: a schlocky, amateurish spoof of horror films with a bevy of monsters attacking Presson on his birthday. | tt0096039 | [PG] | Jason Presson, Ray Walston, Avery Schreiber, Patty McCormack, Julianne McNamara, Rhonda Aldrich, Leo V. Gordon | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saturday's Children | 1940 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 101 | N.Y.C.-based story of poor, hardworking Shirley, her dreamer-boyfriend Garfield, and what happens when they marry. Rains steals film as Shirley's sacrificing father. Based on Maxwell Anderson play previously filmed in 1929 and (as MAYBE IT'S LOVE) in 1935. | tt0033024 | John Garfield, Anne Shirley, Claude Rains, Lee Patrick, George Tobias, Roscoe Karns, Dennis Moore, Elisabeth Risdon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saturday's Hero | 1951 | David Miller | ★★½ | 111 | Football player Derek wins a college scholarship, then discovers he isn't expected to spend much time in class. Pretty good attack on collegiate sports remains fairly timely; Reed is fine as love interest. Look quickly for Aldo Ray (in film debut). | tt0043994 | John Derek, Donna Reed, Sidney Blackmer, Alexander Knox | Drama | NULL | |||
| Saturday's Heroes | 1937 | Edward Killy | ★★½ | 60 | Zippy little programmer about outspoken college football star's crusade against the hypocrites and bureaucrats who exploit amateur athletes. Biting indictment of the business of college football remains relevant today. | tt0029517 |
|
Van Heflin, Marian Marsh, Richard Lane, Alan Bruce, Minor Watson, Frank Jenks, Al St. John | Drama, Sport | NULL | ||
| Saturn 3 | 1980 | Stanley Donen | ★★ | 88 | Flashy but empty-headed outer-space opus, with Douglas and Fawcett menaced by Keitel and his sex-starved robot Hector; good-looking package with nothing inside. | tt0079285 | [R] | Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, Douglas Lambert | British | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Savage | 1973 | Steven Spielberg | Average TV Movie | 74 | Investigative reporters find a skeleton in the closet of a Supreme Court nominee. Pilot for a prospective Landau-Bain series, and, notably, Spielberg's last TV-movie. | tt0070638 | Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Will Geer, Paul Richards, Michele Carey, Barry Sullivan, Susan Howard, Dabney Coleman, Pat Harrington | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Savage Drums | 1951 | William Berke | ★★ | 73 | U. S.-educated Sabu returns to the islands to put down local warfare; fair low-budgeter. | tt0043996 | Sabu, Lita Baron, H. B. Warner, Sid Melton, Steve Geray | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Savage Eye | 1960 | Ben Maddow, Sidney Meyers, Joseph Strick | ★★★ | 68 | Documentary-style drama of divorcee Baxley trying to start life anew in L.A.; contrived but intriguing. | tt0054270 | Barbara Baxley, Herschel Bernardi, Gary Merrill, Jean Hidey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Savage Grace | 2008 | Tom Kalin | ★½ | 97 | Creepy chronicle of socially ambitious Barbara Daly’s marriage to arrogant Brooks Baekeland, the Bakelite plastics heir, and their troubled relationship with their son Tony. Six vignettes, set in various locations around the globe, span the years 1946 to 1972—though no one seems to age except the boy. Off-putting portrait of a decadent life offers no illumination or reward for watching. Based on the book by Natalie Robins and Steven M. L. Aronson. | tt0379976 | Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Elena Anaya, Unax Ugalde, Belén Rueda, Hugh Dancy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Savage Harvest | 1981 | Robert Collins | ★½ | 87 | Lions prey on Skerritt, Phillips, and children in Kenya. Scary but pointless; enough to turn you into a vegetarian. | tt0083034 | [PG] | Tom Skerritt, Michelle Phillips, Shawn Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Derek Partridge | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Savage Innocents | 1960 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 110 | Striking but uneven film about conflict of civilization vs. simple ways of Eskimo people. Quinn gives remarkable performance as native Eskimo; beautiful documentary-type location photography combined with studio work. O'Toole's voice is dubbed. | tt0053244 | Anthony Quinn, Yoko Tani, Peter O'Toole, Marie Yang, Anna May Wong | Italian-French-British | Drama, Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Savage Is Loose | 1974 | George C. Scott | 💣 | 114 | Scott produced, directed, starred in and even distributed this farrago about the eventual incest between mother and son after they, along with dad, have been stranded on an island for years. Not very stimulating. | tt0072114 | [R] | George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, John David Carson, Lee H. Montgomery | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Savage Messiah | 1972 | Ken Russell | ★★★ | 100 | Thoughtful, if intense chronicle of the platonic affair between sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (Antony), who died in WW1 at age 24, and Sophie Brzeska (Tutin). A convincing, impressive 'portrait of an artist as a young man.' | tt0069225 | [R] | Dorothy Tutin, Scott Antony, Helen Mirren, Lindsay Kemp, Peter Vaughan | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Savage Mutiny | 1953 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★½ | 73 | Campy Cold War caper about Jungle Jim Weissmuller battling enemy agents while trying to relocate natives from their island to make way for A-bomb testing. | tt0046276 | Johnny Weissmuller, Angela Stevens, Lester Matthews, Nelson Leigh, Paul Marion | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Savage Nights | 1992 | Cyril Collard | ★★★ | 126 | Rude, socially irresponsible, in-your-face AIDS movie with raw, subjective power. Collard, who in real life succumbed to the disease just three days before his film swept France's César Awards, plays a bisexual moviemaker/ musician who reacts to his biological death warrant by sleeping around unprotected with sassy teenager Bohringer and rugby player Lopez, who are both messed up on their own. Occasionally ugly, but can't be dismissed. Imagine these characters taking over the Dean, Wood, and Mineo roles in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. | tt0105032 | Cyril Collard, Romane Bohringer, Carlos Lopez, Corine Blue, Claude Winter, Maria Schneider | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Savage Pampas | 1966 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★ | 100 | Remake of 1946 Argentinian film PAMPA BARBARA. Taylor is rugged army captain combating outlaw Randell whose gang is made up of army deserters. Adequate actioner. | tt0060942 | Robert Taylor, Ron Randell, Ty Hardin, Rosenda Monteros | Spanish | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Savage Sam | 1963 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 103 | Sequel to Disney's OLD YELLER has Keith and country neighbors trying to rescue children who've been kidnapped by Indians. Savage Sam, canine son of Old Yeller, helps track down the tribe. Colorful but uneven. | tt0057473 | Brian Keith, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran, Dewey Martin, Jeff York, Royal Dano, Marta Kristen | Drama, Family, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Savage Seven | 1968 | Richard Rush | ★½ | 96 | Below-par motorcycle melodrama that lives up to its title but nothing else. | tt0063553 | Robert Walker/Jr., Larry Bishop, Adam Roarke, Max Julien, Duane Eddy, Joanna Frank, Penny Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Savage | 1952 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 95 | Heston is sincere and energetic as white man raised by the Indians and forced to choose sides when skirmishes break out. | tt0045123 | Charlton Heston, Susan Morrow, Peter Hanson, Joan Taylor, Ted de Corsia | Western | NULL | |||
| The Savages | 2007 | Tamara Jenkins | ★★★½ | 113 | A brother and sister who aren’t especially close must come together when their long-estranged father is left alone, in need of constant care. In dealing with this sudden challenge they also have to contend with unfinished business in their own relationship. He’s a serious-minded theater professor with a hard outer shell; she’s a neurotic would-be playwright who’s still trying to find her way in life. Three great actors—Linney, Hoffman, and Bosco—sink their teeth into Jenkins’ beautifully nuanced, heart-rending screenplay. | tt0775529 | [R] | Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Peter Friedman, David Zayas, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Cara Seymour, Margo Martindale, Debra Monk | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Savannah Smiles | 1982 | Pierre De Moro | ★★½ | 107 | A rich little girl (Andersen) runs away from home and reforms criminals. Fair morality tale for kids, written by leading actor Miller. | tt0084633 | [PG] | Mark Miller, Donovan Scott, Bridgette Andersen, Peter Graves, Chris Robinson, Michael Parks | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Save the Children | 1973 | Stan Lathan | ★★★½ | 123 | All-star music documentary filmed at 1972 exposition in Chicago held by Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH. Fabulous in-concert performances, including Gaye's 'What's Going On,' The Temptations' 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone,' and Withers's 'Lean On Me.' | tt0128454 | [G] | Isaac Hayes, Jackson Five, Sammy Davis/Jr., Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, Wilson Pickett, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and The Pips, Bill Withers | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Save the Last Dance | 2001 | Thomas Carter | ★★½ | 105 | By-the-numbers tale of whitebread teen Stiles, a wannabe professional ballerina, who moves to Chicago to live with her estranged jazz musician father after her mother's death. She becomes involved with Thomas, and discovers the liberating force of hip-hop. Attractive performances elevate this clichéd teen culture/romantic drama. | tt0206275 | [PG-13] | Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Fredro Starr, Terry Kinney, Bianca Lawson, Vince Green, Garland Whitt | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Save the Tiger | 1973 | John G. Avildsen | ★★ | 101 | Pretentious Steve Shagan script about dress manufacturer trying to reconcile hero-worship of his childhood with degradations he submits himself to in business world. Film purports to be totally honest, but phoniness comes through; David has best scenes as professional arsonist. Lemmon won Best Actor Oscar. | tt0070640 | [R] | Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman, Norman Burton, Patricia Smith, Thayer David, Lara Parker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Saved! | 2004 | Brian Dannelly | ★★½ | 92 | Malone plays a senior at a Christian high school who has never questioned her faith, until her boyfriend tells her he thinks he's gay. When her prayer-inspired solution to the problem makes her an outcast, she sees her friends (especially class leader Moore) and even her mother in a brand-new light. Satire of religious hypocrisy by first-time feature director Dannelly and cowriter Michael Urban loses its footing after a promising start but benefits from a talented ensemble. | tt0332375 | [PG-13] | Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise Parker, Chad Faust, Valerie Bertinelli | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Saving Face | 2005 | Alice Wu | ★★★ | 97 | Entertaining, well-observed comedy about Chinese-American doctor Krusiec (who can't admit that she's a lesbian) and her tradition-bound mother Chen (who won't explain how she's gotten pregnant at the age of 48). Romantic and cultural complications abound in this heartfelt and genuinely funny film, an impressive debut feature for writer-director Wu. | tt0384504 | [R] | Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang, Guang Lan Koh, Jessica Hecht, Ato Essandoh, David Shih, Brian Yang | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Saving Grace | 1986 | Robert M. Young | ★½ | 112 | Youthful Pope Conti, overwhelmed by meaningless duties and a general feeling of uselessness, sneaks incognito out of the Vatican and into a small Italian village that has lost its spirit. If you're going to spin a whopper like this, don't pace it so slowly that the audience has too much time to ponder the improbabilities. | tt0091895 | [PG] | Tom Conti, Fernando Rey, Erland Josephson, Giancarlo Giannini, Donald Hewlett, Edward James Olmos, Patricia Mauceri | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Saving Grace | 2000 | Nigel Cole | ★★½ | 93 | A newly impoverished widow with a green thumb is prevailed upon by her gardener to use her skills to grow marijuana, with surprising results. Impish comedy is great fun until the climax, when it becomes silly and loses all connection to reality. Ferguson (who plays the gardener) cowrote and coproduced. | tt0195234 | [R] | Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes, Tchéky Karyo, Jamie Foreman, Bill Bailey, Valerie Edmond, Leslie Phillips, Phyllida Law | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★½ | 169 | Trenchant WW2 drama about an Army captain (Hanks) assigned to take his squad of seven men into France, locate a private whose three brothers have been killed in combat . . . and give him a ticket home. Conventional elements in the script are balanced by a genuinely complex examination of heroism in the field, and overpowered by the most realistic, relentlessly harrowing battle footage ever committed to a fiction film. Spielberg (aided immeasurably by cameraman Janusz Kaminski and a superb creative team) has created the ultimate vision of war as hell on earth. Oscars include Best Director, Cinematography, Editing (Michael Kahn). | tt0120815 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Jeremy Davies, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Damon, Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Harve Presnell, Dale Dye, Bryan Cranston, David Wohl, Paul Giamatti, Ryan Hurst, Harrison Young | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Saving Shiloh | 2006 | Sandy Tung | ★★ | 90 | Third in the SHILOH series finds McRaney replacing Michael Moriarty, along with a new young lead (Dolley) and a new dog. This time the cute beagle and his human friend learn more about their curmudgeon of a neighbor Judd (Wilson) while collecting clues to solve a murder. Same pleasant-natured entertainment as the first two films, but not as good as its intentions. | tt0472175 | [PG] | Scott Wilson, Gerald McRaney, Jason Dolley, Ann Dowd, Kyle Chavarria, Jordan Garrett, Taylor Momsen, Bonnie Bartlett, Kari. | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Saving Silverman | 2001 | Dennis Dugan | ★½ | 91 | Dreadful exercise in Farrelly-esque gross-out fare about two dudes (Black, Zahn) who kidnap their best pal's bitchy girlfriend to prevent him from getting married. Funny premise is botched by violent slapstick and an unrelenting mean streak. A giddy wrap-up featuring Neil Diamond, in his first screen appearance since THE JAZZ SINGER (1980), barely redeems this from complete BOMB-dom. R-rated version also available. | tt0239948 | [PG-13] | Jason Biggs, Amanda Peet, Steve Zahn, Jack Black, Amanda Detmer, R. Lee Ermey, Neil Diamond | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Savior | 1998 | Peter Antonijevic | ★★★ | 103 | Earnest drama about a man who, after a personal tragedy, joins the Foreign Legion and winds up as a cold-blooded fighting machine. But when he comes upon a young woman about to give birth in Bosnia, he takes care of her and soon becomes emotionally attached to both the mother and infant. Quaid is excellent. Coproduced by Oliver Stone. | tt0120070 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Nastassja Kinski, Stellan Skarsgård, Sergej Trifunovic, Natasa Ninkovic | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Saw | 2004 | James Wan. | ★★★ | 103 | Two strangers (Elwes, Whannell) awaken to find themselves held prisoner by an unknown maniac in an abandoned warehouse bathroom. The psychopath enjoys devising gruesome torture games for unsuspecting victims, while cops Glover and Leung seek to end his sadistic crime spree. Unpleasant but intense, effective thriller in the SE7EN vein. Scripted by Whannell from a story he devised with the director. Timid or squeamish viewers may not want to watch this alone . . . or ever. | tt0387564 | [R] | Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Leigh Whannell, Michael Emerson, Tobin Bell, Ken Leung, Makenzie Vega, Shawnee Smith, Dina Meyer. | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saw 3D | 2010 | Kevin Greutert | ★★½ | 90 | It’s being touted as the final chapter (though it would have been more helpful to just bill it as SAW 7), and while predictably far from great, this is an OK entry in the low-budget torture series. Monster cop Mandylor and Jigsaw’s widow (Russell) continue to thrust and parry, but the plot pivots on newcomer Flanery as a firebrand profiting from his notoriety as a former victim. As usual, only hardcore fans will care. The three-dimensional thrills aren’t. 3D. | tt1477076 | [R] | Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes, Sean Patrick Flanery, Chad Donella, Gina Holden, Laurence Anthony, Dean Armstrong, James Van Patten | Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saw II | 2005 | Darren Lynn Bousman | ★★½ | 93 | Sadistic sequel finds fiendish mastermind 'Jigsaw' holding a group of strangers captive in a spooky, booby-trapped house. Plenty of gore for fans, as the victims race the clock while a lethal gas fills their lungs. Wahlberg is the lead cop on the case, but can he match wits with this twisted madman? | tt0432348 | [R] | Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Dina Meyer, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Beverley Mitchell, Erik Knudsen, Tim Burd | Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Saw III | 2006 | Darren Lynn Bousman | ★★ | 108 | The blade has begun to dull on this franchise as a feeble Jigsaw (Bell) uses his protégée (Smith) to carry out his master plan of torturing the privileged. At the same time, they have kidnapped a brain surgeon and are forcing her to try to save his sorry carcass. Weak story and acting help sink this: Soomekh's performance as the medic is horrid (and not in the good sense). Unrated version runs 113m. | tt0489270 | [R] | Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus MacFadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Mpho Koaho, Dina Meyer, Barry Flatman, Lyriq Bent, J. LaRose, Costas Mandylor, Alan Van Sprang, Donnie Wahlberg | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Saw IV | 2007 | Darren Lynn Bousman | ★★½ | 92 | Jigsaw is dead, but his ingenious torture devices mysteriously continue, with law enforcement agents Mandylor and Patterson on the trail. We also learn how and why a successful architectural engineer morphed into this Satan. Decent rebound from its lackluster predecessor, this entry is less claustrophobic than usual, though many performances are typically subpar—which is almost part of the perverse appeal. | tt0890870 | [R] | Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Lyriq Bent, Athena Karkanis, Justin Louis, Simon Reynolds, Donnie Wahlberg, Angus Macfadyen, Shawnee Smith, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saw V | 2008 | David Hackl | ★½ | 92 | Rival law enforcement investigators Mandylor (about as expressive as a mummy) and Patterson (still grimly ultra-determined) try to thwart the never-ending killings of Jigsaw, who, for a corpse, has plenty of screen time in this deadly dull fifth installment. The now-standard “strangers imprisoned in a dank warehouse maze of torture games” subplot is weaker than ever (even the gross-out factor is, relatively speaking, quite tame). This entry is almost a total buzz-killer. Unrated version runs 96m. | tt1132626 | [R] | Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Julie Benz, Carlo Rota, Mike Butters, Meagan Good, Greg Bryk | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Saw VI | 2009 | Kevin Greutert | ★★ | 91 | Series entry boasts the topicality of watching mortgage scammers and coldhearted health-care bureaucrats suffer and die. That’s about the only fresh blood here, although this is an improvement over its dreadful predecessor. Bad-cop Mandylor tries to stay one step ahead of the FBI’s investigation—but the unending series of Jigsaw’s (Bell) instructional videotapes from the grave is preposterous, and the filmmakers appear to have run out of ideas for sadistic torture devices. Series veterans Scott Patterson and Angus Macfadyen can be glimpsed fleetingly, both unbilled. | tt1233227 | [R] | Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, Shawnee Smith, Athena Karkanis, Samantha Lemole, Caroline Cave, George Newbern, Darius McCrary, James Van Patten | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sawdust and Tinsel | The Naked Night | 1953 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 92 | Sparks fly in this beautiful, allegorical film set in a small-time circus and focusing on the relationship between circus owner Gronberg and his oversexed mistress (Andersson). A key credit in Bergman's developing maturity as a filmmaker. Aka THE NAKED NIGHT. | tt0045848 | Harriet Andersson, Ake Gronberg, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost, Hasse Ekman, Annika Tretow | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Saxon Charm | 1948 | Claude Binyon | ★★★ | 88 | Well-acted but unconvincing study of ruthless producer, with Montgomery miscast in lead role. Still interesting, with fine work from playwright Payne, wife Hayward, and chanteuse Totter. | tt0040759 | Robert Montgomery, Susan Hayward, John Payne, Audrey Totter, Harry Morgan, Cara Williams, Harry Von Zell, Heather Angel | Drama | NULL | |||
| Say Amen, Somebody | 1982 | George T. Nierenberg | ★★★★ | 100 | Wonderful documentary about gospel music and two of its shining stars, 'Mother' Willie Mae Ford Smith and 'Professor' Thomas Dorsey, that brings us into their lives as well as their careers and demonstrates the power of music sung from the heart. A genuine treat. | tt0086245 | [G] | Willie Mae Ford Smith, Thomas A. Dorsey, Sallie Martin, The Barrett Sisters, The O'Neal Brothers. | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Say Anything . . . | 1989 | Cameron Crowe | ★★★ | 100 | Satisfying teenage comedy-drama about a self-assured loner who goes after the Class Brain, and finds her surprisingly human. Amusing, endearing, and refreshingly original; written by first-time director Crowe. Cusack's real-life sister Joan plays his sister here, and Lois Chiles has a cameo as Skye's mother; both appear unbilled. | tt0098258 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor, Amy Brooks, Pamela Segall, Jason Gould, Loren Dean, Bebe Neuwirth, Eric Stoltz, Chynna Phillips, Joanna Frank | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Say Hello to Yesterday | 1971 | Alvin Rakoff | ★½ | 91 | Ridiculous plot concerning 40-year-old Simmons' affair with 22-year-old Whiting. Symbolic touches by director Rakoff further shroud purpose of film. | tt0067711 | [PG] | Jean Simmons, Leonard Whiting, Evelyn Laye, John Lee, Jack Woolgar, Constance Chapman | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Say It Isn't So | 2001 | James B. Rogers | ★½ | 96 | Agreeably unambitious Klein falls for the new hairdresser in town (Graham)— only to learn, after mutually satisfying sexual activity, that she's his sister. Even the Farrelly Brothers' names in the credits— as producers— couldn't keep this gross-out comedy from flopping. Film is only for those who want to experience Field as they've never seen or even imagined before; the crude humor extends even to her. | tt0239949 | [R] | Heather Graham, Chris Klein, Orlando Jones, Sally Field, Richard Jenkins, John Rothman, Brent Briscoe | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Say It With Songs | 1929 | Lloyd Bacon | ★½ | 85 | Poor script hampers this tearjerker about a radio singer (Jolson) who winds up in prison, leaving behind loving wife Nixon and his son, 'Little Pal' (Lee). Jolson sings 'Used to You,' 'I'm in Seventh Heaven,' and, of course, 'Little Pal.' | tt0020366 | Al Jolson, Davey Lee, Marian Nixon, Holmes Herbert, Kenneth Thompson, Fred Kohler, Frank Campeau, John Bowers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Say It in French | 1938 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 70 | Milland goes to great extremes with wife Bradna and ex-fiancée Hervey to pull father out of the red. | tt0030718 |
|
Ray Milland, Olympe Bradna, Irene Hervey, Janet Beecher, Mary Carlisle, Holmes Herbert, Walter Kingsford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Say One for Me | 1959 | Frank Tashlin | ★½ | 119 | Bing plays a Broadway priest who gets mixed up with a chorus girl (Debbie) and a TV charity show. Terribly contrived; no memorable music. | tt0053245 | Debbie Reynolds, Bing Crosby, Robert Wagner, Ray Walston, Les Tremayne, Connie Gilchrist, Stella Stevens, Frank McHugh, Joe Besser, Sebastian Cabot | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sayonara | 1957 | Joshua Logan | ★★★½ | 147 | Romantic James Michener tale of Korean War pilot Brando falling in love with Japanese entertainer Taka; extremely well acted, with Oscar-winning support from Buttons and Umeki, and statuettes also going to the art direction-set decoration. Theme song by Irving Berlin. Paul Osborn wrote the screenplay. | tt0050933 | Marlon Brando, Ricardo Montalban, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki, Red Buttons, Martha Scott, James Garner | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Scalawag | 1973 | Kirk Douglas | ★½ | 93 | TREASURE ISLAND goes West in this weak adaptation, with a hammy Kirk as one-legged cutthroat; songs turn up when you least expect them. Filmed in Yugoslavia. | tt0070642 | [G] | Kirk Douglas, Mark Lester, Don Stroud, Neville Brand, Lesley-Anne Down, Phil Brown, Danny DeVito, voice of Mel Blanc | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Scalpel | False Face | 1976 | John Grissmer | ★½ | 96 | Plastic surgeon transforms young woman into image of his long-missing daughter, in order to dupe family out of large inheritance. Lurid, violent drama. Originally released as FALSE FACE. | tt0074510 | [PG] | Robert Lansing, Judith Chapman, Arlen Dean Snyder, David Scarroll, Sandy Martin | Action | NULL | |
| The Scalphunters | 1968 | Sydney Pollack | ★★½ | 102 | Western comedy about a fur trapper and his highly educated slave has its moments, but isn't funny enough, nor exciting enough, nor pointed enough to qualify as all-out success. Cast helps. | tt0063557 | Burt Lancaster, Shelley Winters, Ossie Davis, Telly Savalas, Armando Silvestre, Nick Cravat, Dabney Coleman | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Scam | 1993 | John Flynn | ★★ | 101 | Con artist Bracco and greedy ex-fed Walken form a stormy alliance to scam a bundle in underworld cash. This would-be erotic thriller was made for theatrical release but premiered on cable. | tt0108048 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Lorraine Bracco, Miguel Ferrer, Martin Donovan, Daniel Von Bargen | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Scandal | 1989 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★★ | 106 | Absorbing look at the people behind Britain's incredible government-sex scandal of the early '60s, with Whalley-Kilmer just right as impressionable showgirl Christine Keeler, and Hurt outstanding as Stephen Ward, the social gadfly and sexual provocateur who introduces Keeler to Cabinet Minister John Profumo (whose wife, incidentally, was a former film star, Valerie Hobson). Fascinating and credible; a good job by first-time director Michael Caton-Jones. Screenplay by Michael Thomas. Original 114m. British version was trimmed to avoid an X-rating in the U.S. Both versions are available on video. | tt0098260 | [R] | John Hurt, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen, Leslie Phillips, Britt Ekland, Daniel Massey, Roland Gift, Jeroen Krabbé | Drama | NULL | ||
| Scandal Sheet | 1952 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 82 | Engrossing melodrama about an ambitious editor who accidentally kills his ex-wife, then finds his ace reporters investigating the story. Based on a Samuel Fuller novel. | tt0045124 | Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed, John Derek, Rosemary DeCamp, Henry O'Neill, Harry Morgan | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Scandal Sheet | 1931 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 77 | Usual triangle with good twist. Editor Bancroft has goods on Brook, the man his wife Francis plans to run off with. | tt0022343 |
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George Bancroft, Kay Francis, Clive Brook, Lucien Littlefield, Jackie Searl | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Scandal at Scourie | 1953 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 90 | Tepid Garson-Pidgeon entry set in Canada, involving Protestant couple who shock community when they plan to adopt a Catholic child. | tt0046279 | Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Corcoran, Agnes Moorehead, Arthur Shields | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Scandal in Paris | Thieves' Holiday | 1946 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 106 | Stylish (though studio-bound) 18th-century story based on the memoirs of the notorious Frenchman Eugene Vidocq, whose life of crime reaches a crossroads when he encounters a young woman who idolizes him. Witty script was tailor-made for Sanders. Aka THIEVES' HOLIDAY. | tt0038908 | George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff, Gene Lockhart | Comedy, Crime, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Scandal in Sorrento | 1957 | Dino Risi | ★½ | 92 | Listless sex romp of Loren romancing De Sica to make lover jealous. | tt0050817 | Vittorio De Sica, SophiaLoren, Antonio Cifariello, Tina Pica | Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Scandal, Inc. | 1956 | Edward Mann. | ★½ | 79 | Inept yarn involving a victimized movie star (Hutton) who's accused of killing a smarmy scandal-sheet writer. | tt0190738 | Robert Hutton, Patricia Wright, Paul Richards, Robert Knapp, Claire Kelly, Nestor Paiva. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Scandalous | 1984 | Rob Cohen | ★★ | 94 | Featherbrained farce about investigative TV reporter who runs afoul of team of con artists as he tries to extricate himself from murder charge. Alternately stupid and obnoxious, with Gielgud presumably having fun as a disguise-happy sharpster. | tt0088046 | [PG] | Robert Hays, John Gielgud, Pamela Stephenson, Jim Dale, M. Emmet Walsh, Bow Wow Wow | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scandalous John | 1971 | Robert Butler | ★★★ | 113 | Spirited Disney comedy-Western chronicling what happens when elderly, lovably ornery rancher Keith refuses to sell his land to a developer. Keith's crafty performance as a modern-day Don Quixote gives this one a lift. | tt0067712 | [G] | Brian Keith, Michele Carey, Rick Lenz, Harry Morgan, Simon Oakland, Alfonso Arau, Bill Williams, Bruce Glover, John Ritter, Iris Adrian | Family, Western | NULL | ||
| Scanner Cop | 1994 | Pierre David | ★★½ | 94 | Rookie Quinn, a powerful telepath (scanner) since childhood, uses his powers, which might destroy him, to track a renegade scientist who's causing ordinary people to kill cops. Despite logic and acting lapses, an entertaining entry— and welcome change of direction— in the SCANNERS series. | tt0111082 | [R] | Daniel Quinn, Darlanne Fluegel, Richard Grove, Mark Rolston, Richard Lynch, Hilary Shepard, James Horan, Gary Hudson, Luca Bercovici, Brion James | Canadian-U.S. | Horror | NULL | |
| A Scanner Darkly | 2006 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 100 | Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane, Melody Chase, Sean Allen, Natasha Valdez, Chamblee Ferguson. In a run-down future, three aging slackers share an Orange County tract house: surfer dude Harrelson, armed and paranoid Downey, and tire jockey Reeves, who's got a secret . . . he's a narc. Every day he dons a scramble suit to hide his ID and ferret out bad guys who peddle brain-rotting Substance D. Bleak cautionary tale about loss of self, rendered in eye-popping rotoscoped animation that dimensionalizes deluded abusers who are way more than dazed and confused. Adapted by Linklater from Philip K. Dick's novel. | tt0405296 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey, Jr. | Drama, Animation, Crime, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scanners | 1981 | David Cronenberg | ★★½ | 102 | Title refers to superbrains who can read minds and cause others' heads to explode; here, a 'good' scanner helps doctors track down a bad one. Rather plodding treatment of interesting idea, aided somewhat by great (if yucky) special effects. Followed by several sequels. | tt0081455 | [R] | Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Patrick McGoohan, Lawrence Dane, Charles Shamata | Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Scanners II: The New Order | 1991 | Christian Duguay. | ★★ | 105 | Would-be despotic police officer conspires with scientist to trap 'scanners' (people with strong ESP abilities), but complications arise when they confront a scanner with principles. OK for what it is. David Cronenberg had no connection with this sequel to his 1981 film. | tt0102848 | [R] | David Hewlett, Deborah Raffin, Yvan Ponton, Isabelle Mejias, Tom Butler, Raoul Trujillo. | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Scanners III: The Takeover | 1992 | Christian Duguay. | 💣 | 101 | A new drug turns good 'scanners' bad, and makes Komorowska into yet another telekinetic megalomaniac. Poorly acted, badly written, plodding trifle reduces evil to mere cruelty, and Cronenberg's original ideas to absurdity. Awful. | tt0105322 | [R] | Liliana Komorowska, Valerie Valois, Daniel Pilon, Colin Fox, Claire Cellucci, Michael Copeman, Steve Parrish. | Canadian | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Scanners: The Showdown | Scanner Cop II: Volkin's Revenge | 1994 | Steve Barnett | ★★½ | 95 | Evil scanner Kilpatrick returns to L.A. with a new power— he can suck the life out of other scanners— and a lust for revenge on scanner cop Quinn, who sent him to prison. Effective, entertaining sequel to SCANNER COP delivers its goods with solid B-movie skill. Aka SCANNER COP II: VOLKIN'S REVENGE. | tt0114344 | [R] | Daniel Quinn, Patrick Kilpatrick, Khrystyne Haje, Stephen Mendel, Robert Forster, Brenda Swanson, Jerry Potter, Jewel Shepard | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Scapegoat | 1959 | Robert Hamer | ★★½ | 92 | Decent acting rescues a fuzzy script. French gentleman murders his wife, tries to involve his British lookalike in scheme. Davis has small but impressive role as the guilty Guinness' dope-ridden mother. Adapted by Hamer and Gore Vidal from a Daphne du Maurier novel. | tt0053247 | Alec Guinness, Bette Davis, Nicole Maurey, Irene Worth, Peter Bull, Pamela Brown, Geoffrey Keen | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Scar of Shame | 1927 | Frank Perugini. | ★★★ | 76 | Much heralded all-black melodrama about a refined, class-conscious young concert pianist and the damsel in distress he rescues from her weak-willed stepfather and a lust-filled con man. Standard story is elevated by its exploration of bigotry and class differences within the black community in America. One of several films produced by Philadelphia's Colored Players Film Corporation. | tt0018362 | Harry Henderson, Norman Johnstone, Lucia Lynn Moses, William E. Pettus, Lawrence Chenault, Ann Kennedy, Pearl McCormack. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Scaramouche | 1952 | George Sidney | ★★★½ | 118 | Excellent cast in rousing adaptation of Sabatini novel of illustrious ne'er-do-well who sets out to avenge friend's death, set in 18th-century France. Impeccably done. Highlight is climactic sword duel— the longest in swashbuckling history. Screenplay by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel. Filmed before in 1923. | tt0045125 | Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer, Henry Wilcoxon, Lewis Stone, Nina Foch, Richard Anderson, Robert Coote | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Scarecrow | 1973 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★★ | 115 | Drifter Hackman, who wants to start car-wash business, meets drifter Pacino, who has abandoned his wife. Moody, not altogether successful tale benefits from top performances and photography (by Vilmos Zsigmond), plus good use of locations. | tt0070643 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Eileen Brennan, Ann Wedgeworth, Richard Lynch | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Scarecrow | 1982 | Sam Pillsbury | ★★½ | 87 | Adequate thriller about a small-town New Zealand teen who must deal with both a rival bully and a crazed killer. Adapted from Ronald Hugh Morrieson's novel. | tt0084636 | [PG] | Jonathan Smith, Daniel McLaren, John Carradine, Tracy Mann, Anne Flannery, Des Kelly | New Zealand | Family, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Scared Stiff | 1953 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 108 | Usual Martin and Lewis hijinks with duo on spooky Caribbean island inherited by Scott; Jerry and Carmen make a wild team. Remake of Bob Hope's THE GHOST BREAKERS. | tt0046280 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott, Carmen Miranda, Dorothy Malone | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Scared to Death | 1947 | Christy Cabanne | ★½ | 65 | Lugosi's only color film is a dreadful, cheaply made chiller. Told from the point of view of a beautiful murder victim, chronicling how she came to meet her demise. Lugosi plays Leonide, a hypnotist. | tt0039800 | Bela Lugosi, Douglas Fowley, Joyce Compton, George Zucco, Nat Pendleton, Angelo Rossitto, Molly Lamont | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Scarf | 1951 | E. A. Dupont | ★★½ | 93 | Capably handled drama of Ireland trying to prove his innocence of murder charge. | tt0043998 | John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, Emlyn Williams, James Barton | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Scarface | 1932 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 90 | Powerful gangster film is the most potent of the 1930s, with Muni delivering emotionally charged performance as Caponelike mobster with more than just a soft spot for his sister (Dvorak). Raw, harsh, and brimming with unsubtle symbolism; five writers include Ben Hecht and W.R. Burnett. Filmed in 1931, release delayed by censors. The full title is SCARFACE, THE SHAME OF THE NATION. Remade in 1983. | tt0023427 | Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, George Raft, Boris Karloff, Karen Morley, Vince Barnett, Osgood Perkins, C. Henry Gordon | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Scarface | 1983 | Brian De Palma | ★½ | 170 | 1932 gangster movie updated by making lead character a Cuban refugee in Miami, and changing profession from bootlegging to drug-dealing . . . but this film wallows in excess and unpleasantness for nearly three hours, and offers no new insights except that crime doesn't pay. At least the 1932 movie moved. Screenplay by Oliver Stone. | tt0086250 | [R] | Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Scarface Mob | 1962 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 102 | Feature version of a two-part Desilu Playhouse from 1959 that led to the hugely popular Untouchables TV series with Stack as racket-buster Eliot Ness, who sets out to break Chicago's underworld kingpin Al Capone. Still pretty potent (especially by TV standards) and blessed with the inimitable staccato narration of Walter Winchell. | tt0056449 | Robert Stack, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Nichols, Pat Crowley, Neville Brand, Bruce Gordon | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Scarlet Angel | 1952 | Sidney Salkow | ★★½ | 80 | Neat little drama set in 1860 New Orleans, with De Carlo the dance-hall girl who assumes a dead woman's identity and goes West to stay with wealthy in-laws. | tt0045126 | Yvonne De Carlo, Rock Hudson, Richard Denning, Amanda Blake | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Claw | 1944 | Roy William Neill | ★★★½ | 74 | The ominous marshes of a French-Canadian village provide the setting for gruesome mutilation murders in this excellent Sherlock Holmes mystery, moodily photographed by George Robinson. Clearly the best of the series. | tt0037248 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gerald Hamer, Arthur Hohl, Miles Mander, Ian Wolfe, Paul Cavanagh, Kay Harding | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Clue | 1945 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 65 | One of the more bearable Monogram Charlie Chan entries, with Toler after spies who have stolen radar plans. | tt0038056 | Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Mantan Moreland, Helen Deveraux, Robert Homans, Virginia Brissac, Jack Norton, Stanford Jolley | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Coat | 1955 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 101 | Plucky costumer livened by cast and bright photography; set in Colonial America, dealing with Major John Andre and Benedict Arnold spy capers. Partly shot in Sleepy Hollow, New York. | tt0048588 | Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, George Sanders, Anne Francis, Bobby Driscoll | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Scarlet Dawn | 1932 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 76 | Fairbanks, a dashing officer in the Czar's army, is forced to flee after the Russian revolution in the company of his former servant (Carroll), whom he tries to seduce— and winds up marrying. Fairly interesting oddity, boosted by its attractive stars and an unusually handsome. | tt0022308 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Nancy Carroll, Earle Fox, Lilyan Tashman, Sheila Terry, Betty Gillette, Frank Reicher, Arnold Korff, Guy Kibbee, Mae Busch | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Scarlet Diva | 2001 | Asia Argento | ★½ | 91 | Lurid, pretentious navel-gazing from the actress daughter of Italian horror-meister Dario Argento. All about a 26-year-old drug-fueled pregnant starlet who travels from N.Y.C. to L.A. to Amsterdam in search of her American lover, only to be pursued by men and women who will stop at nothing to rape her. Cult film's biggest revelation is how willing the smoldering Argento is to get naked at every turn of the plot. | tt0218581 | Asia Argento, Jean Shepard, Vera Gemma, Fabio Camilli | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Scarlet Empress | 1934 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 110 | Von Sternberg tells the story of Catherine the Great and her rise to power in uniquely ornate fashion, with stunning lighting and camerawork and fiery Russian music. It's a visual orgy; dramatically uneven, but cinematically fascinating. | tt0025746 | Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Louise Dresser, Sam Jaffe, C. Aubrey Smith, Edward Van Sloan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Hour | 1956 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 95 | Sluggish study of marital discord leading to murder. | tt0049718 | Carol Ohmart, Tom Tryon, Jody Lawrance, James Gregory, Elaine Stritch, E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Letter | 1926 | Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) | ★★★ | 80 | Excellent, though liberal, adaptation of Hawthorne classic about Hester Prynne (Gish) who bears scar of adultery in Salem, having had clandestine affair with minister Hanson. Filmed several times in the silent era, and in 1934, 1973, 1979 (for TV), and 1995. | tt0017350 | Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, William H. Tooker, Marcelle Corday | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Letter | 1934 | Robert G. Vignola | ★★ | 70 | Slow, poorly directed, though not uninteresting version of the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel. Moore is miscast as Hester Prynne; Walthall repeats his role from the 1926 version as Roger Prynne. A real curio. | tt0025747 | Colleen Moore, Hardie Albright, Henry B. Walthall, Cora Sue Collins, Alan Hale/Sr., Virginia Howell, William Farnum, Betty Blythe | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Scarlet Letter | 1973 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 90 | Absorbing version of the oft-filmed Hawthorne classic, with Berger as Hester Prynne, Blech as Roger Prynne, and Castel as Rev. Dimmesdale. While it lacks the spontaneity of Wenders' other early films, there is much to ponder and relish here: in particular, Wenders' portrayal of the immigrant New England settlers. Remade in 1995. Filmed in Spain. | tt0069228 | Senta Berger, Lou Castel, Hans Christian Blech, Yella Rottlander, Yelina Samarina, William Layton | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Scarlet Letter | 1995 | Roland Joffé | 💣 | 135 | Hokey adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel throws in everything from witch hunts to Indian attacks to a controversial happy ending— all to no avail. Moore is woefully miscast as Hester Prynne (though she sure fills a Puritan frock), Oldman gives a histrionic performance, while Duvall is simply incomprehensible. 'Erotic' love scenes are especially embarrassing, in soft focus with phallic candles and a chirpy Disney bird (credited as Rudy the Robin) who sings for sexual freedom! | tt0114345 | [R] | Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, Robert Duvall, Joan Plowright, Robert Prosky, Edward Hardwicke, Roy Dotrice, Dana Ivey, George Aguilar, Amy Wright, Diane Salinger, Eric Schweig; voice of Jodhi May | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1935 | Harold Young | ★★★½ | 95 | Excellent costumer with Howard leading double life, aiding innocent victims of French revolution while posing as foppish member of British society. Baroness Orczy's novel was scripted by Robert E. Sherwood, Sam Berman, Arthur Wimperis, and Lajos Biro; produced by Alexander Korda. Remade for TV in 1982. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025748 | Leslie Howard, Merle Oberon, Raymond Massey, Nigel Bruce, Bramwell Fletcher, Anthony Bushell, Joan Gardner, Melville Cooper | British | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Scarlet River | 1933 | Otto Brower. | ★★★ | 54 | Fun B movie about a troupe making a Western far from Hollywood, helping to save the female ranch owner from her greedy foreman. Canutt performs the horse-leaping stunt he famously repeated in STAGECOACH. Myrna Loy, Joel McCrea, Bruce Cabot, Rochelle Hudson, and Julie Haydon appear as themselves at the RKO commissary. A must for fans of movies about movies. | tt0024524 | Tom Keene, Dorothy Wilson, Roscoe Ates, Edgar Kennedy, Betty Furness, Lon Chaney/Jr., Billy Butts, Yakima Canutt. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Scarlet Street | 1945 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 103 | Meek, henpecked Robinson is pulled into world of crime and deception by seductive Bennett and her manipulative boyfriend Duryea. Stars and director of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW keep it interesting, but don't match earlier film. Dudley Nichols adapted this remake of Jean Renoir's LA CHIENNE. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038057 | Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Margaret Lindsay, Rosalind Ivan | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Scars of Dracula | 1970 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★★ | 94 | Good fang work as young couple tangles with Dracula in search of the young man's missing brother. Last of Hammer's period Draculas; followed by DRACULA A.D. 1972. | tt0067713 | [R] | Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Christopher Matthews, Wendy Hamilton | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Scary Movie | 2000 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | ★★½ | 88 | L-o-o-o-o-o-w-brow spoof of the SCREAM trilogy and TV hits of the late '90s. Ribald, raunchy, and raucous, with gags that would embarrass a frat boy; the fact that the MPAA gave this an R surprised even Hollywood. Costars Shawn and Marlon were among the six writers; director Keenen has a small part. Followed by two sequels. | tt0175142 | [R] | Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Paris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Rick Ducommun, David L. Lander | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scary Movie 2 | 2001 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | ★½ | 82 | Filmmakers must have felt that one crummy remake of THE HAUNTING just wasn't enough. | tt0257106 | [R] | Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, Chris Elliott, James Woods, Tim Curry, Tori Spelling, David Cross, Natasha Lyonne, Andy Richter, Veronica Cartwright; voice of Vitamin C | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Scary Movie 3 | 2003 | David Zucker | ★★ | 84 | An improvement over the second installment— what wouldn't be?— as SIGNS, THE RING, and 8 MILE are all spoofed. Faris, now a TV reporter, and Hall are the only returning cast members (though they play new characters, if anyone's keeping track). Scattershot laughs, as you'd expect from the director and cowriter of AIRPLANE! and NAKED GUN (Nielsen appears here as the president of the U.S.) but hardly inspired. Many pop culture figures appear in cameos. | tt0306047 | [PG-13] | Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Simon Rex, Leslie Nielsen, Regina Hall, Camryn Manheim, Anthony Anderson, Queen Latifah, Jeremy Piven, Eddie Griffin, Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, George Carlin, Darrell Hammond, Denise Richards, D.L. Hughley, Drew Mikuska, Jianna Ballard | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Scary Movie 4 | 2006 | David Zucker | ★★ | 83 | This time the parodists pair Faris (sending up THE GRUDGE) and Bierko (spoofing Tom Cruise in WAR OF THE WORLDS) with THE VILLAGE, SAW, and a dollop of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Hall is back as Faris’ (extraneous) sidekick and Nielsen returns briefly as the U.S. President. Mining adolescent “comedy” from recent movie hits is wearing awfully thin. | tt0362120 | [PG-13] | Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Leslie Nielsen, Charlie Sheen, Bill Pullman, Carmen Electra, Anthony Anderson, Cloris Leachman, Chris Elliott, Molly Shannon, Michael Madsen, Simon Rex, Kevin Hart, Shaquille O’Neal, Dr. Phil McGraw, James Earl Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scavenger Hunt | 1979 | Michael Schultz | 💣 | 117 | Vincent Price dies, and his relatives and servants are practically forced to kill each other for his inheritance by collecting commodes, wild animals, etc. in an allotted time. Hard to believe a comedy with so much talent could misfire so greatly, but it does; only Mulligan manages to get some laughs. | tt0079858 | [PG] | Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony Randall, Dirk Benedict, Willie Aames, Stephanie Faracy, *** Meat Loaf, Carol Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scene of the Crime | 1949 | Roy Rowland | ★★ | 94 | Bland, talky film noir in which hard-boiled L.A. cop Johnson sets out to solve the murder of his ex-partner, who might have been on the take. | tt0041847 | Van Johnson, Arlene Dahl, Gloria DeHaven, Tom Drake, Leon Ames, John McIntire, Donald Woods, Norman Lloyd, Jerome Cowan | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Scene of the Crime | 1986 | André Téchiné | ★★★ | 90 | Stylish, Chabrol-like drama about an unhappy young boy (Giraudi), his equally unhappy mother (Deneuve), and what results when escaped convict Stanczak invades their lives. Entertaining, perceptive, if occasionally uneven examination of repression and desperation. | tt0091410 | Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Wadeck Stanczak, Nicholas Giraudi, Victor Lanoux, Jean Bousquet, Claire Nebout | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Scenes From a Mall | 1991 | Paul Mazursky | ★★ | 87 | Affluent L.A. couple, celebrating their anniversary, spend the day together at a mall, where various revelations cause their marriage to unravel. Bette and Woody make a terrific couple, but after a promising start the seriocomic script takes some strange turns and leaves reality behind. Fans of the stars should take a look, but this one ranks as a major disappointment. | tt0102849 | [R] | Bette Midler, Woody Allen, Bill Irwin, Daren Firestone, Rebecca Nickels, Paul Mazursky | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scenes From a Marriage | 1973 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 168 | Passionate, probing and honest look at a marriage, its disintegration, and the relationship that follows. Ullmann and Josephson are remarkable throughout this intimate and often painful portrait, originally made as six TV episodes and edited into feature-length by writer-director Bergman. Original version runs 299m. | tt0070644 | [PG] | Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Bibi Andersson, Jan Malmsjo, Anita Wall | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills | 1989 | Paul Bartel | ★½ | 102 | Bizarre, scattershot sex romp with various characters of various classes playing musical beds in Beverly Hills. Tries to be outrageous and irreverent while satirizing L.A. types and lifestyles, but mostly inane, veering uncomfortably between drama and farce. The best thing about this is its title. | tt0098261 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley/Jr., Wallace Shawn, Arnetia Walker, Paul Bartel, Paul Mazursky, Rebecca Schaeffer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scenes of a Sexual Nature | 2006 | Ed Blum | ★★½ | 92 | Uneven ensemble piece in which various individuals have encounters, from the awkward to the sensual, during one day in London's Hampstead Heath. Some vignettes are touching, others contrived; the result is a highly mixed bag. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0475380 | [R] | Holly Aird, Eileen Atkins, Hugh Bonneville, Tom Hardy, Douglas Hodge, Adrian Lester, Andrew Lincoln, Ewan McGregor, Gina McKee, Sophie Okonedo, Eglantine Rembauville, Mark Strong, Catherine Tate, Polly Walker, Benjamin Whitrow | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Scent of Green Papaya | 1993 | Hung Tran Anh | ★★★ | 104 | Thoughtful, carefully observed drama about a ten-year-old servant girl who comes to work in a Saigon household in 1951; the scenario details her relationships with the various household members and concludes a decade later with her growing into a beautiful young woman. Unhurried in its execution and filled with lingering shots, the film is as captivating as its title. | tt0107617 | Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Lu Man San, Truong Thi Loc, Nguyen Anh Hoa, Vuong Hoa Hoi | French-Vietnamese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Scent of a Woman | 1974 | Dino Risi | ★★★ | 104 | Blind, arrogant army captain Gassman galavants through Italy, sensing the presence of attractive women along the way; hapless private Momo is his guide on this fateful trip. Gassman shines in this sharply observed black comedy-drama, based on a novel by Giovanni Arpino. Remade in the U.S. in 1992. Original Italian title: PROFUMO DI DONNA. | tt0072037 | [R] | Vittorio Gassman, Alessandro Momo, Agostina Belli | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Scent of a Woman | 1992 | Martin Brest | ★★½ | 157 | Timid prep school student earns much-needed money on a long weekend taking a job as companion to crusty, blind, hard-drinking ex-Army colonel— little dreaming the colonel has his own agenda. Enjoyable (if barely believable) story galvanized by Pacino's bravura, Oscar-winning performance. Bo Goldman's script is seriously weakened by a story appendage that plays like leftover material from DEAD POETS SOCIETY. Based on the 1974 Italian film PROFUMO DI DONNA. | tt0105323 | [R] | Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Venture, Bradley Whitford, Rochelle Oliver, Frances Conroy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Schindler's List | 1993 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★★ | 195 | Staggering adaptation of Thomas Keneally's best-seller about the real-life Catholic war profiteer who initially flourished by sucking up to the Nazis, but eventually went broke saving the lives of more than 1,000 Polish Jews by employing them in his factory, manufacturing crockery for the German army. Filmed almost entirely on location in Poland, in gritty b&w, but with a pace to match the most frenzied Spielberg works, this looks and feels like nothing Hollywood has ever made before. The three central characters rate— and receive— unforgettable performances: Neeson, who's towering as Oskar Schindler; Kingsley, superb as his Jewish accountant (and conscience); and Fiennes, who's frightening as the odious Nazi commandant. Outstanding screenplay by Steven Zaillian and cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Spielberg's most intense and personal film to date. Seven Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, and Original Score (John Williams). | tt0108052 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, Embeth Davidtz, Malgoscha Gebel, Shmulik Levy, Mark Ivanir, Beatrice Macola | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Schizoid | 1980 | David Paulsen | 💣 | 91 | Kinski's group therapy patients are mysteriously being knocked off. Lurid shocker. | tt0081459 | [R] | Klaus Kinski, Marianna Hill, Craig Wasson, Donna Wilkes, Richard Herd, Christopher Lloyd | Action, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Schizopolis | 1997 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 99 | Giddy mélange of surrealism, satire, silliness, and old-fashioned underground filmmaking written, directed by, and starring Soderbergh. A broad-ranging jab at modern society and its ills, its tone is arch, its technique one of non sequiturs, and its audience likely to be small. But if you latch onto it early enough, you may find (as we did) that it's fun— and funny— to watch. | tt0117561 | Steven Soderbergh, Betsy Brantley, David Jensen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Schlock | The Banana Monster | 1971 | John Landis | ★★½ | 80 | Landis' first film is enjoyable spoof of B horror flicks; director (in gorilla suit by Rick Baker) plays missing link on the loose in small town. Many in-jokes for film buffs. Aka THE BANANA MONSTER. | tt0067716 | [PG] | Saul Kahan, Joseph Piantadosi, Eliza Garrett, John Landis | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| School Daze | 1988 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 114 | Comedy-cum-fantasy about life on a black college campus in the South, where one self-serious student activist fights a lonely battle not only against the administration, but the pervasive mindlessness of his fellow students, most of whom are wrapped up in fraternity and sorority nonsense. Writer-director-costar Lee offers much entertainment and some provocative ideas, though he doesn't follow up on his initial premise until the anticlimactic final scene. | tt0096054 | [R] | Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Tisha Campbell, Kyme, Joe Seneca, Art Evans, Ellen Holly, Ossie Davis, Bill Nunn, Branford Marsalis, Kadeem Hardison, Spike Lee, Darryl M. Bell, Joie Lee, Tyra Ferrell, Jasmine Guy, Gregg Burge, Kasi Lemmons, Samuel L. Jackson, Phyllis Hyman | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| School Ties | 1992 | Robert Mandel | ★★½ | 107 | In the 1950s, a Jewish student (well played by Fraser) with working-class roots wins a football scholarship to a snooty prep school, where he's victimized by anti-Semitism. Youth-oriented film tackles an important subject, but it's strained and obvious. | tt0105327 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Randall Batinkoff, Andrew Lowery, Cole Hauser, Amy Locane, Zeljko Ivanek, Kevin Tighe, Ed Lauter, Peter Donat, Michael Higgins, Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp | Drama | NULL | ||
| School for Love | 1955 | Marc Allégret | ★★ | 72 | Occasionally sensual flick with Bardot and Pia competing for Marais' affection. Original title: FUTERES VEDETTES. Retitled: JOY OF LOVING. | tt0048103 | Jean Marais, Brigitte Bardot, Isabelle Pia, Mischa Auer | French | NULL | |||
| School for Scoundrels | 1960 | Robert Hamer | ★★★ | 94 | Wimpy Carmichael, about to lose the girl of his dreams to pushy Thomas, attends the title institute, where he learns 'one-upmanship' and 'gamesmanship.' Clever, funny, veddy British satire. | tt0054279 | Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Janette Scott, Alastair Sim, Dennis Price, Peter Jones, Edward Chapman | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| School for Scoundrels | 2006 | Todd Phillips | ★★ | 101 | Nerdy guy who lets people step all over him is recruited by a mysterious entrepreneur who runs a class for worms in need of turning. But our would-be hero isn't prepared for his 'teacher' to start playing dirty tricks on him. Most comedies are too crude for our taste, but this one is terminally bland and never takes off as it repeatedly promises to do. Remake of the 1960 British comedy. | tt0462519 | [PG-13] | Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Luis Guzmán, David Cross, Horatio Sanz, Sarah Silverman, Matt Walsh, Todd Louiso, Dan Fogler, Bob Stephenson, Ben Stiller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| School for Unclaimed Girls | The Smashing Bird I Used to Know | 1969 | Robert Hartford-Davis | ★★ | 95 | Hinde is sent to reform school after killing her mom's boyfriend. Unusual British entry in the cycle of women's prison films features a moving performance by Lipman as a fellow prisoner. U.S. release in 1973. Originally titled THE SMASHING BIRD I USED TO KNOW; aka HOUSE OF UNCLAIMED WOMEN. | tt0064943 | [R] | Madeline Hinde, Renee Asherson, Dennis Waterman, Maureen Lipman, Lesley-Anne Down | British | Crime, Drama | NULL |
| The School of Flesh | 1998 | Benoit Jacquot | ★★½ | 107 | The always-watchable Huppert plays a well-to-do 40-ish woman who, against her better judgment, falls into an obsessive relationship with a young stud (Martinez) whom she meets at a bar in Paris. Candid examination of relationships is unmemorable, but benefits from star charisma. Based on the novel by Yukio Mishima. | tt0157208 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Martinez, Vincent Lindon, Marthe Keller, François Berléand, Danièle Dubroux, Bernard LeCoq | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The School of Rock | 2003 | Richard Linklater | ★★★½ | 108 | Perpetual screwup Black, who fancies himself a hard-core rocker, pretends to be roommate White and takes a substitute-teaching job at a tony private school. There he finds the raw material for his dream band: a roomful of musically talented kids. Writer-costar White tailored this script for Black, who's simply perfect. Cusack is hilarious as his uptight principal. Delightful comedy hits all the right notes— for audiences of all ages. Frank Whaley appears unbilled. | tt0332379 | [PG-13] | Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Joey Gaydos/ Jr., Maryam Hassan, Kevin Clark, Rebecca Brown, Robert Tsai, Caitlin Hale, Aleisha Allen, Miranda Cosgrove, Amy Sedaris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Science of Sleep | 2006 | Michel Gondry | ★★½ | 105 | Bernal's charismatic performance (in English) anchors this fanciful film about a childlike man who lives in a constant state of confusion about what's real and what's happening in his dreams. When he falls in love with his attractive next-door neighbor, his anxiety about their uncertain relationship blurs the line even more. Gondry's script meanders, but his constantly imaginative visual touches help to compensate. | tt0354899 | [R] | Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou- Miou, Pierre Vaneck, Emma de Caunes, Aurélia Petit | French-Italian | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |
| Scissors | 1991 | Frank De Felitta | ★★ | 105 | Sexually traumatized Stone is driven mad— à la GASLIGHT— by objects that seemingly come to life in her apartment. Unfortunately, Stone is forced to carry off these histrionics in a generally lifeless, slow-moving production. Interesting idea could have been better executed (no pun intended). | tt0102860 | [R] | Sharon Stone, Steve Railsback, Ronny Cox, Michelle Phillips | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scooby-Doo | 2002 | Raja Gosnell | ★★ | 87 | Hanna-Barbera's TV cartoon canine gets the big-screen treatment as Scooby and pals try to solve a mystery on Spooky Island. Flat comic whodunit with a computer-generated title character; a mild diversion for kids and older fans of the vintage series. Followed by a sequel. | tt0267913 | [PG] | Freddie Prinze/ Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Rowan Atkinson, Miguel A. Nunez/ Jr., Isla Fisher, Sugar Ray | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | 2004 | Raja Gosnell | ★★ | 91 | It is what it is. | tt0331632 | [PG] | Freddie Prinze/ Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Seth Green, Alicia Silverstone, Peter Boyle, Tim Blake Nelson | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Scoop | 2006 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 96 | Larkish comedy-fantasy-mystery plays like an afterpiece to MATCH POINT, also set in London. A famous reporter returns from the dead to tip off college journalist Johansson that wealthy, well-connected Jackman is a serial killer. She enlists the help of stage magician Allen to get close to Jackman and break the case. Endearingly silly and off the cuff, but you may have to be a Woodyphile to truly enjoy it. Allen is in good comic form as a walking show-business cliché. | tt0457513 | [PG-13] | Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane, Romola Garai, Fenella Woolgar, Charles Dance, John Standing, Richard Johnson, Anthony Heald, Julian Glover, Margaret Tyzack | British-U.S. | Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery | NULL | |
| Scorchy | 1976 | Hikmet Avedis | ★½ | 99 | Tawdry actioner with Stevens as Seattle undercover cop who sets out to bust high-level drug ring. Plenty of action and gore. | tt0075174 | [R] | Connie Stevens, Cesare Danova, William Smith, Marlene Schmidt, Normann Burton, Joyce Jameson, Greg Evigan | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Score | 2001 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 120 | A master thief who lives a double life as a Montreal jazz club owner decides to pull one more job, then settle down, but an eager young cohort spells trouble from the start. Deliberate, almost laconic in its pacing, this caper never loses its grip. Worth watching for the cast alone; Brando, in his final screen role, is great fun in a colorful performance as De Niro's client/fence. Jazz singers Cassandra Wilson and Mose Allison appear briefly. | tt0227445 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett, Gary Farmer, Paul Soles, Jamie Harrold | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scorned and Swindled | 1984 | Paul Wendkos | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Weld finds herself in title situation and has the gumption to go after the man who makes his living by marrying women and taking them for all they have. Weld is wonderfully gritty; Coyote's perfectly unctuous as the swindler. Script by Jerome Kass and Karol Ann Hoeffner. | tt0088065 | Tuesday Weld, Keith Carradine, Peter Coyote, Fionnula Flanagan, Sheree North, Susan Ruttan, Pat Corley |
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| Scorpio | 1973 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 114 | Tough espionage film of CIA agent in trouble, and hired killer who wants to go straight but finds himself caught in the system. Good action, dialogue amid familiar trappings. | tt0070653 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Gayle Hunnicutt, Paul Scofield, John Colicos, J. D. Cannon, Joanne Linville | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Scorpion King | 2002 | Chuck Russell | ★★½ | 88 | Follow-up to the two MUMMY movies features wrestler The Rock as a warrior who accepts the task of assassinating a desert despot (Brand). An entertaining old-fashioned B movie writ large, with nonstop action, special effects, muscular heroes, and beautiful women. The Rock is quite good as an action star, but even at this running time the story seems padded out. | tt0277296 | [PG-13] | The Rock, Kelly Hu, Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Ralf Moeller, Bernard Hill, Roger Rees | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scotland Yard Inspector | 1952 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 73 | Run-of-the-mill actioner with Romero assisting Maxwell in capturing her brother's killer. | tt0045128 | Cesar Romero, Lois Maxwell, Bernadette O'Farrell, Geoffrey Keen, Alistair Hunter, Peter Swanwick | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scotland Yard Investigator | 1945 | George Blair | ★★ | 68 | Low-budget mystery wastes two leading players in routine art-theft tale. | tt0038058 | C. Aubrey Smith, Erich von Stroheim, Stephanie Bachelor, Forrester Harvey, Doris Lloyd, Eva Moore | Crime | NULL | |||
| Scotland, Pa. | 2002 | Billy Morrissette | ★★½ | 103 | Joe McBeth (LeGros) is stuck in a go-nowhere fast-food job in 1970s Pennsylvania, until his wife hatches a scheme to murder the boss and climb the ladder of success. Modern-day Macbeth has many clever ideas, enthusiastic performances and ingenious production design, but runs out of steam as the story grows dark and nasty. Walken is a welcome comedic presence as Inspector McDuff. Written by debuting director Morrissette; Tierney is his wife. | tt0265713 | [R] | James LeGros, Maura Tierney, Christopher Walken, Kevin Corrigan, James Rebhorn, Tom Guiry, Amy Smart, Andy Dick, Timothy Speed Levitch, Geoff Dunsworth | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Scott Joplin | 1977 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★★½ | 96 | Well-made, colorful but down-beat life story of famed ragtime composer. Made for TV, then given fitful theatrical release. Best sequence: the barrel-house piano 'duel.' | tt0076674 | [PG] | Billy Dee Williams, Clifton Davis, Godfrey Cambridge, Art Carney, Seymour Cassel, Eubie Blake, Margaret Avery, Sam Fuller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | 2010 | Edgar Wright | ★★ | 112 | Utterly ordinary Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is dating a high school girl when he encounters the woman of his dreams (Winstead). Suddenly, nothing else matters—despite her warnings that she comes with baggage: namely, seven deadly “exes.” Lively, clever, funky adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels makes use of video-game graphics and iconography, which is great fun—for a while. Result is like an Archie comic book on steroids. Likable actors keep it real enough to balance the hyperactive stylistic flourishes, but the novelty wears off before the movie is over. | tt0446029 | [PG-13] | Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Mae Whitman, Ellen Wong | U.S.-British | Comedy, Action, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Scott of the Antarctic | 1948 | Charles Frend | ★★½ | 110 | Unrelenting docudrama of determined British explorer Robert Falcon Scott (Mills), highlighting the details of his last expedition to the South Pole. This saga of bravery and endurance features an especially moving finale. Music by Vaughan Williams, who later used part of this score in his seventh symphony. | tt0040761 | John Mills, Derek Bond, Harold Warrender, James Robertson Justice, Reginald Beckwith, Kenneth More, John Gregson, Christopher Lee | British | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Scoundrel | 1935 | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur | ★★★ | 78 | Fascinating Hecht-MacArthur original about a cynical, self-centered N.Y.C. publisher who toys with other people's lives— until his own existence is put on the line. Bizarre, sophisticated, indulgent— and unique. Coward, in his first starring film, puts over a challenging and unusual role. Famed critic/ curmudgeon Woollcott plays one of the hangers-on, while Hecht and MacArthur have a funny flop-house cameo. Academy Award winner for Best Original Story. | tt0026970 | Noel Coward, Julie Haydon, Stanley Ridges, Martha Sleeper, Ernest Cossart, Eduardo Ciannelli, Alexander Woollcott, Lionel Stander | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Scout | 1994 | Michael Ritchie | ★★ | 107 | Woefully disappointing baseball yarn, with Brooks as a hard-luck N.Y. Yankees scout who finds a powerhouse pitcher and batter . . . with some serious psychological problems. Funny at first, with Brooks in good form; then takes a sharp left turn toward drama and never recovers. Brooks cowrote the final screenplay (based on an article by Roger Angell) with partner Monica Johnson. Many ball-players and sportscasters appear as themselves. | tt0111094 | [PG-13] | Albert Brooks, Brendan Fraser, Dianne Wiest, Anne Twomey, Lane Smith, Michael Rapaport, Tony Bennett, George Steinbrenner, Marcia Rodd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Scream | 1983 | Byron Quisenberry | 💣 | 81 | Boring tale of a group of people hiking through a Western ghost town, each of whom is killed off. Poor in all departments. Wayne is the son of John. Filmed in 1981. Aka THE OUTING. | tt0086262 | [R] | Pepper Martin, Hank Worden, Alvy Moore, (John) Ethan Wayne, Julie Marine, Gregg Palmer, Woody Strode, Bobby Diamond | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scream | 1996 | Wes Craven | ★★★ | 110 | Murderer, obsessed with horror movies, begins slaughtering teens in a small city just a year after Campbell's mother was murdered— and the killer seems to be targeting people she knows. Well-drawn characters, suspenseful situations, several plot twists and entertaining movie references highlight this snappy horror thriller, one of Craven's best. Henry Winkler appears unbilled. Followed by two sequels. | tt0117571 | [R] | Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Jamie Kennedy, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Liev Schreiber, Linda Blair | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scream 2 | 1997 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 120 | Valiant survivor Campbell is in college when STAB, a movie based on the murder spree depicted in SCREAM, is released— and more murders begin. As good a sequel as the filmmakers could have done; it's only the climactic showdown that disappoints. As in the first film, there are plenty of slashes and scares, as well as humor. | tt0120082 | [R] | David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Elise Neal, Jerry O'Connell, Timothy Olyphant, Jada Pinkett, Liev Schreiber, Lewis Arquette, Duane Martin, Rebecca Gayheart, Portia de Rossi, Omar Epps, David Warner, Heather Graham, Kevin Williamson | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scream 3 | 2000 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 116 | 'Finale' of the SCREAM trilogy, set in Hollywood on the soundstages of STAB 3: RETURN TO WOODSBORO. Several actors (Posey, Keeslar, etc.) play 'stars' who are portraying your SCREAM favorites. Wonder who's trying to slice them up, one by one? Fun for fans, with some choice cameos. | tt0134084 | [R] | David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey, Deon Richmond, Patrick Warburton, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Kennedy, Kelly Rutherford, Josh Pais, Heather Matarazzo, Roger Corman. | Horror, Comedy, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Scream 4 | 2011 | Wes Craven | ★★ | 111 | Set ten years after the earlier trilogy, we’re back in Woodsboro, where we meet Sidney’s teenaged cousin (Roberts) and her pretty partying pals just as Sidney has returned to town as a published author. Is anyone surprised that Ghostface has come back home as well to terrorize the MP3 generation? There’s little here to get bloody excited about—and the self-aware genre ironies are wearing thin. It’s pretty much all downhill following this iteration of those renowned slasher prologue sequences. | tt1262416 | [R] | Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Mary McDonnell, Lucy Hale, Erik Knudsen, Marielle Jaffe, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Alison Brie, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Marley Shelton, Shenae Grimes, Brittany Robertson | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Scream and Scream Again | 1970 | Gordon Hessler | ★★½ | 95 | Distinguished cast does their darnedest to enliven (no pun intended) tired, confusing plot concerning mad scientist's organ/limbs experiments and race of emotionless beings he creates. | tt0064949 | [M] | Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Judy Huxtable, Alfred Marks, Peter Sallis | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Scream of Fear | Taste of Fear | 1961 | Seth Holt | ★★★ | 81 | Only wheelchair-bound Strasberg sees her father's corpse— while stepmom Todd insists he's on a trip. Good Hammer thriller written by Jimmy Sangster. Original British title: TASTE OF FEAR. | tt0055505 | Susan Strasberg, Christopher Lee, Ann Todd, Ronald Lewis | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Scream, Blacula, Scream! | 1973 | Bob Kelljan | ★★ | 95 | Poor sequel to BLACULA finds black vampire recalled from eternal rest and forced to go out and nibble again in contemporary black U.S. | tt0070656 | [PG] | William Marshall, Don Mitchell, Pam Grier, Michael Conrad, Richard Lawson | Horror | NULL | ||
| Screamers | 1995 | Christian Duguay | ★★½ | 107 | 2078: War has devastated a distant planet; the few human survivors are pitted against 'Screamers,' self-evolving robots programed to kill. Now the Screamers are able to look exactly like human beings. Intelligent sci-fi action thriller is undermined by a bad ending. Cowritten by Dan O'Bannon; based on the short story 'Second Variety' by Philip K. Dick. | tt0114367 | [R] | Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin, Andy Lauer, Charles Powell, Ron White, Michael Caloz, Liliana Komorowska | Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Screaming Eagles | 1956 | Charles F. Haas. | ★★ | 79 | Routine WW2 film spotlighting a diverse group of soldiers entrusted to capture a bridge on D-day. Of interest for cast of up-and-coming actors. | tt0049728 | Tom Tryon, Jan Merlin, Pat Conway, Martin Milner, Ralph Votrian, Paul Smith, Alvy Moore, Paul Burke, Jacqueline Beer, Robert Blake, Robert Dix, Edward G. Robinson/Jr., Mark Damon. | War | NULL | |||
| Screaming Mimi | 1958 | Gerd Oswald | ★★ | 79 | Lurid low-budget melodrama about a woman who cracks up after being assaulted, takes a job as exotic dancer in Lee's nightclub but remains under the influence of a possessive psychiatrist. Strange, kinky film that sounds more interesting than it really is. | tt0052168 | Anita Ekberg, Phil Carey, Harry Townes, Gypsy Rose Lee, Romney Brent, Red Norvo | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Screaming Skull | 1958 | Alex Nicol. | ★½ | 68 | Hudson brings new wife Webber to his late first wife's remote home; soon she begins experiencing weird events centered on a phantom skull. Dreary but reasonably eerie toward the end, with a twist that's actually a surprise. Directorial debut for Nicol, who also plays a retarded gardener. | tt0052169 | John Hudson, Peggy Webber, Russ Conway, Tony Johnson, Alex Nicol. | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Screw Loose | 1999 | Ezio Greggio | ★★ | 85 | Heavy-handed farce about an inept businessman who promises his dying father that he'll find the American who saved his life during WW2. Brooks hams it up, but the results are only sporadically funny. Shot in both English- and Italian-language versions. | tt0174255 | [R] | Ezio Greggio, Mel Brooks, Julie Condra, Gianfranco Barra, Randi Ingerman | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Screwed | 2000 | Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski | 💣 | 82 | Title describes your inevitable state if you waste just two minutes watching this woeful attempt to revive screwball slapstick. Chauffeur Macdonald works for a stingy baking tycoon (Stritch) who won't even buy him a uniform— so he decides to kidnap her attack-mode pet dog and hold it for ransom. Movie tries everything— even making DeVito a mortician who's also vice-president of Jack Lord's fan club— but fizzles for the duration. Directing debut for the writers of ED WOOD and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT. | tt0156323 | [PG-13] | Norm Macdonald, Dave Chappelle, Elaine Stritch, Danny DeVito, Daniel Benzali, Sherman Hemsley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Scrooge | 1935 | Henry Edwards | ★★½ | 78 | Faithful adaptation of A Christmas Carol, with an impressive Sir Seymour (who also cowrote the script) as Scrooge. Dickens' era brought colorfully to life. | tt0026972 | Sir Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop, Robert Cochran, Mary Glynne, Oscar Asche, Maurice Evans | British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Scrooge | 1970 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 118 | Handsome musicalization of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Finney genially hamming it up in the title role and Guinness a surprisingly fey Marley's Ghost. Leslie Bricusse's score is pretty forgettable, save effervescent 'Thank You Very Much'; lovely sets by Terry Marsh and evocative title design by Ronald Searle. | tt0066344 | [G] | Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More, Laurence Naismith, Michael Medwin, David Collings, Gordon Jackson, Roy Kinnear, Kay Walsh | British | Drama, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Scrooged | 1988 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 101 | Ostensibly a hip, funny rereading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Murray as a venal TV executive. The laughs are mild and widely scattered, and toward the end the film seems to want us to take its brotherhood message seriously. Or does it? Features a variety of 'guest stars.' | tt0096061 | [PG-13] | Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bob Goldthwait, David Johansen (Buster Poindexter), Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Nicholas Phillips, Michael J. Pollard, Alfre Woodard, Mabel King, John Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Scrubbers | 1982 | Mai Zetterling | ★★ | 90 | Life in a teenage girls' borstal (reform school), complete with heartbreak, cruelty, lesbianism, suicide. Harrowing but repetitious, and the hows and whys of the girls' anger is never explored. | tt0086265 | [R] | Chrissie Cotterill, Amanda York, Elizabeth Edmonds, Kate Ingram, Kathy Burke | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! | 1948 | F. Hugh Herbert | ★★ | 95 | Any film with a title like that can't be all good, and it isn't; McCallister's life is devoted to two mules. Marilyn Monroe can be glimpsed in a canoe— it's her first film appearance. | tt0040762 | June Haver, Lon McCallister, Walter Brennan, Anne Revere, Natalie Wood | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Scum | 1980 | Alan Clarke | ★★½ | 98 | The horrors of a borstal (British reform school). Harrowing but familiar; the accents are almost unintelligible. An earlier TV version was commissioned, then banned by the BBC. | tt0079871 | [R] | Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, John Judd, Phil Daniels, John Blundell, Ray Burdis, Julian Firth | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Se7en | 1995 | David Fincher | ★★★ | 127 | Dedicated detective (Freeman) breaks in his replacement (Pitt) during his last week before retiring— then stumbles onto the trail of a serial killer who's out to punish perpetrators of the seven deadly sins. Exceptionally well-crafted, intelligently written, and well-acted thriller . . . but also extremely unsettling, almost oppressive at times. Not much violence per se, but the film seems to wallow in the depths of human depravity it so passionately decries. | tt0114369 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Richard Roundtree, R. Lee Ermey, John C. McGinley, Julie Araskog, Mark Boone Junior, John Cassini, Reginald E. Cathey, Peter Crombie, Hawthorne James, Michael Massee, Leland Orser, Richard Portnow | Crime, Thriller, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Sea Around Us | 1953 | Irwin Allen | ★★★ | 61 | Produced by Irwin Allen. Academy Award-winning documentary based on Rachel Carson's study of the history of the ocean, its fauna and life. | tt0044009 | Narrated by Theodor von Eltz, Don Forbes | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Sea Bat | 1930 | Wesley Ruggles. | ★★ | 69 | Primitive potboiler about an escaped convict (Bickford) posing as a priest, falling for island vamp Torres, and getting involved with pagan voodoo charms and rival sponge divers who are trying to capture a deadly stingray. Ripe hokum sparked by vividly shot action scenes. | tt0021345 | Charles Bickford, Raquel Torres, Nils Asther, George F. Marion, John Miljan, Boris Karloff, Gibson Gowland, Edmund Breese. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Sea Chase | 1955 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 117 | Strange WW2 film, with Wayne as German (!) captain of fugitive ship with unusual cargo, assorted crew, plus passenger/girlfriend Turner. | tt0048593 | John Wayne, Lana Turner, Tab Hunter, David Farrar, Lyle Bettger, James Arness, Claude Akins | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Sea Devils | 1937 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★ | 88 | One of those brawling-can-be-fun formula films, with McLaglen and daughter (Lupino) a focal point of further conflict. Filmed and acted with zest, but script's stupidities all but sink it. | tt0029527 | Victor McLaglen, Preston Foster, Ida Lupino, Donald Woods, Helen Flint, Gordon Jones | Action | NULL | |||
| Sea Devils | 1953 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 91 | Smuggler Hudson becomes involved in the activities of British spy De Carlo in this unmemorable programmer set in the Napoleonic era. Filmed on and around the Channel Islands. | tt0046286 | Yvonne De Carlo, Rock Hudson, Maxwell Reed, Denis O'Dea, Michael Goodliffe, Bryan Forbes | British | Action | NULL | ||
| Sea Fury | 1958 | C. Raker Endfield | ★★ | 72 | Tug captain McLaglen is set to wed Paluzzi, but she's attracted to first mate Baker. Routine romantic adventure. Original running time: 97m. | tt0052170 | Stanley Baker, Victor McLaglen, Luciana Paluzzi, Gregoire Aslan, Francis de Wolff, Percy Herbert, Rupert Davies, Robert Shaw | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Sea Gull | 1968 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 141 | Tasteful but reverentially slow-moving transcription of Chekhov play. Signoret's accent becomes rather disconcerting among British players, all trying to be 19th-century Russians. | tt0063569 | [G] | James Mason, Vanessa Redgrave, Simone Signoret, David Warner, Harry Andrews, Eileen Herlie, Denholm Elliott | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Sea Gypsies | 1978 | Stewart Raffill | ★★★ | 101 | Nice family adventure has Logan sailing round the world with daughters, journalist Jamison-Olsen, and little stowaway Patterson, learning to survive when shipwrecked in Alaska. Fine location filming. | tt0078215 | [G] | Robert Logan, Heather Rattray, Mikki Jamison-Olsen, Shannon Saylor, Cjon Damitri Patterson | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| The Sea Hawk | 1940 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★★ | 127 | Top-notch combination of classy Warner Bros. costumer and Flynn at his dashing best in adventure on the high seas; lively balance of piracy, romance, and swordplay, handsomely photographed and staged, with rousing Erich Wolfgang Korngold score. Has nothing to do with the Sabatini novel, which was filmed faithfully in 1924. Restored for home video, with additional final scene intended for British audiences, in which Queen Elizabeth I offers morale-building wartime message. Beware of shorter prints. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033028 | Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson, Alan Hale/Sr., Henry Daniell, Una O'Connor, Gilbert Roland | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Sea Hawk | 1924 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 123 | Grandly entertaining, faithful adaptation of Rafael Sabatini's 1915 novel about an English nobleman who's sold into slavery on a sea galley; in time, he reinvents himself as Sakh-el-Bahr, The Hawk of the Sea. Ship and sea battle footage is vivid and convincing. Sills' stardom peaked with this film. Remade in 1940. | tt0015310 |
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Milton Sills, Enid Bennett, Lloyd Hughes, Wallace MacDonald, Marc MacDermott, Wallace Beery, William Collier/Jr. | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Sea Hornet | 1951 | Joseph Kane. | ★½ | 84 | Run-of-the-mill stuff about deep-water divers and their women, with fireworks resulting when diver Cameron's partner is mysteriously killed. | tt0044010 | Rod Cameron, Adele Mara, Adrian Booth, Chill Wills, Jim Davis, Richard Jaeckel, Ellen Corby, James Brown, Monte Blue. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Sea Inside | Mar adentro | 2004 | Alejandro Almenábar | ★★★½ | 125 | A man who has lived as a quadriplegic for 28 years battles for the right to die, but his family— and even a lawyer who agrees to represent him— goes through a variety of emotions about his struggle and its possible outcome. Imaginatively told, with an extraordinary performance by Bardem. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. Scripted by the director and Mateo Gil, based on the life of Ramón Sampedro. | tt0369702 | [PG-13] | Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo, Clara Segura | Spanish-French-Italian | Drama | NULL |
| The Sea Serpent | 1986 | Gregory Greens | ★½ | 92 | In order to clear his name, discredited captain Bottoms searches for sea monster that has been roused from the deep by A-bomb tests. Childish sci-fi with a monster depicted by puppets! Shot in 1984. Milland's last film. | tt0088089 | Timothy Bottoms, Taryn Power, Jared Martin, Ray Milland, Gerard Tichy, Carole James | Spanish | Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Sea Shall Not Have Them | 1954 | Lewis Gilbert. | ★★ | 91 | British bomber plane is forced down in the ocean during WW2; a rescue attempt is made. | tt0047463 | Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Steel, Nigel Patrick, Nigel Green, Rachel Kempson. | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Sea Wife | 1957 | Bob McNaught | ★★★ | 82 | Disarming yarn of Burton and Collins surviving a torpedoed ship. He falls in love with her, not knowing she's a nun. Set during WW2. | tt0050944 | Richard Burton, Joan Collins, Basil Sydney, Ronald Squire, Cy Grant | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sea Wolf | 1941 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★½ | 90 | Bristling Jack London tale of brutal but intellectual sea captain Robinson battling wits with accidental passenger Knox, as brash seaman Garfield and fugitive Lupino try to escape. Script by Robert Rossen. Originally released at 100m. Remade many times (BARRICADE, WOLF LARSEN, etc.), as well as several silent versions. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034162 | Edward G. Robinson, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Alexander Knox, Gene Lockhart, Barry Fitzgerald, Stanley Ridges | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Sea Wolf | 1993 | Michael Anderson | Average TV Movie | 100 | Tepid remake of Jack London's oft-filmed sea tale with Bronson's defanged Wolf and Reeve's wimpish Humph making one appreciate the Edward G. Robinson version even more. (Some seagoing shots were actually lifted from the 1941 film and colorized.) Made for cable. | tt0108061 | [NR] | Charles Bronson, Christopher Reeve, Catherine Mary Stewart, Marc Singer, Clive Revill, Len Cariou |
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| The Sea Wolves | 1980 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★★ | 120 | You may have to be over 30 to like this true story of a retired British cavalry unit undertaking an espionage operation in WW2, but it's both action filled and funny. The target: a German radio transmitter on a ship in an Indian port. Moore can't shake his Bond image, and Peck struggles with his British accent, so nothing is to be taken very seriously. Script by Reginald Rose. | tt0081470 | [PG] | Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, David Niven, Trevor Howard, Barbara Kellerman, Patrick Macnee | British-U.S. | Action, War | NULL | |
| The Sea of Grass | 1947 | Elia Kazan | ★★½ | 131 | Plodding drama from Conrad Richter story of farmer-rancher feud over New Mexico grasslands. Walker stands out in hardworking but unsuccessful cast. | tt0039806 | Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Melvyn Douglas, Phyllis Thaxter, Robert Walker, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Carey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sea of Lost Ships | 1953 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 85 | Standard fare of two Coast Guard men fighting over Hendrix. | tt0046287 | John Derek, Wanda Hendrix, Walter Brennan, Richard Jaeckel | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sea of Love | 1989 | Harold Becker | ★★★½ | 112 | Streetwise cop, going through mid-life crisis, falls in love with a suspect while investigating a serial murder case. Tough, smart, sexy urban thriller with a dynamite script by Richard Price, a perfect role for Pacino, and a steamy showcase for Barkin. Footage added for network TV showing (with Lorraine Bracco as Pacino's ex-wife). | tt0098273 | [R] | Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey, Richard Jenkins, Christine Estabrook, Barbara Baxley, Patricia Barry, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline Brookes, John Spencer | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Seabiscuit | 2003 | Gary Ross | ★★★ | 140 | Astonishing true story of three men whom fate drew together in the depths of the Great Depression: a go-getting entrepreneur with a hole in his life (Bridges), an overweight jockey who's led a hardscrabble existence (Maguire), and a loner with a gift for training horses (Cooper), even a down-and-out nag like Seabiscuit. Writer-director Ross' distillation of Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book makes all the right moves, then keeps selling the story as if it needed to be driven across. Still a beautifully crafted film. | tt0329575 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Banks, Gary Stevens, William H. Macy, Kingston DuCoeur, Eddie Jones, Ed Lauter, Michael O'Neill, Royce D. Applegate, Annie Corley, Sam Bottoms; narrated by David McCullough | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sealed Cargo | 1951 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★½ | 90 | Fishing boat captain Andrews tangles with Nazis attempting to supply war materials to U-boats lurking off the Newfoundland coast. Taut WW2 melodrama. | tt0044012 | Dana Andrews, Carla Balenda, Claude Rains, Philip Dorn, Onslow Stevens, Skip Homeier, Arthur Shields | War | NULL | |||
| Sealed Lips | 1942 | George Waggner. | ★★ | 62 | Pedestrian account of notorious gangster Litel forcing an innocent lookalike to serve his prison stretch; detective Gargan gets into plenty of scrapes when he discovers the deception. Litel works hard in dual role but Waggner's script is talky and his direction drab. | tt0034163 | William Gargan, June Clyde, John Litel, Anne Nagel, Mary Gordon, Ralf Harolde, Joe Crehan. | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sealed Verdict | 1948 | Lewis Allen | ★★ | 83 | Far-fetched drama of Army lawyer who falls in love with traitorous woman he is supposed to prosecute in court; pretty dismal. | tt0040764 | Ray Milland, Florence Marly, Broderick Crawford, John Hoyt, John Ridgely | Drama | NULL | |||
| Search and Destroy | 1981 | William Fruet | ★★ | 93 | Undistinguished actioner about former South Vietnamese official Soo seeking revenge against American G.I.s King and Stroud. Filmed in 1978. | tt0083040 | [PG] | Perry King, Tisa Farrow, Don Stroud, Park Jong Soo, George Kennedy | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Search and Destroy | 1995 | David Salle | ★½ | 90 | A badly-in-hock worm on the outer limits of show biz schemes to obtain financing for his dream movie project, an adaptation of the pop-psychologist rantings of a men's-movement guru. Despite a black-comedy dream cast and participation by executive producer Scorsese (who directed the thematically comparable THE KING OF COMEDY), this diffuse film grows progressively out of control before collapsing entirely. Directorial debut for N.Y. artist Salle. | tt0114371 | [R] | Griffin Dunne, Illeana Douglas, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, John Turturro, Rosanna Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Martin Scorsese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Search for Bridey Murphy | 1956 | Noel Langley | ★★½ | 84 | Strange account of woman under hypnosis with recollection of prior life; low-key telling to obtain realism makes it slow going. Based on a supposedly true (and then-topical) story. | tt0049729 | Teresa Wright, Louis Hayward, Nancy Gates, Kenneth Tobey, Richard Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Search for Danger | 1949 | Jack Bernhard | ★½ | 62 | Low-budget Falcon mystery (last in the series), revolves around murderous gamblers who abscond with a fortune. | tt0041854 | John Calvert, Albert Dekker, Myrna Dell, Douglas Fowley, Ben Welden | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Search for One-Eyed Jimmy | 1996 | Sam Henry Kass | ★½ | 82 | Oddball story of a documentary filmmaker, fresh out of college, who returns to his old Brooklyn neighborhood and finds cinematic inspiration as his camera follows the trail of a missing local lowlife. Funny premise, fine cast, but never lives up to its promise. A must for Turturro fans, however, as most of the family turns up here. Filmed in 1993. | tt0117577 | [R] | John Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Buscemi, Michael Badalucco, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini, Anne Meara, Jennifer Beals, Nicholas Turturro, Aida Turturro, Holt McCallany | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Search for Signs of Inteligent Life in the Universe | 1991 | John Bailey | ★★★ | 120 | Clever re-creation of Lily Tomlin's 1985 one-woman Broadway show. Her characterizations run the gamut from bag lady (narrating the proceedings) to teen punk to New Age Woman, with much of the material in a feminist vein. Written by longtime Tomlin collaborator Jane Wagner. (The title is misspelled on purpose.) See also LILY TOMLIN, a 1986 documentary chronicling Tomlin and Wagner's preparation for the show. | tt0102864 | [PG-13] |
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| The Search | 1948 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 105 | Poignant drama of American soldier Clift caring for concentration camp survivor Jandl in postwar Berlin, while the boy's mother desperately searches all Displaced Person's Camps for him. Beautifully acted and directed; won a Best Story Academy Award for Richard Schweizer and David Wechsler and a special prize for Jandl for outstanding juvenile performance. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040765 | Montgomery Clift, Ivan Jandl, Aline MacMahon, Jarmila Novotna, Wendell Corey | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Searchers | 1956 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 119 | Superb Western saga of Wayne's relentless search for niece (Wood) kidnapped by Indians, spanning many years. Color, scenery, photography all splendid, with moving, insightful Frank Nugent script to match (based on Alan LeMay's novel). And who could ever forget that final shot? Remade and imitated many times since (CARAVANS, WINTERHAWK, GRAYEAGLE, etc.). | tt0049730 | John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, John Qualen, Harry Carey/Jr., Olive Carey, Antonio Moreno, Henry Brandon, Hank Worden, Ken Curtis, Lana Wood, Dorothy Jordan, Pat Wayne | Western | NULL | |||
| The Searching Wind | 1946 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 108 | Talky but historically fascinating drama, scripted by Lillian Hellman and based on her play, about a deluded U.S. ambassador (Young) in Europe in the years before WW2. Socialite Richards is his wife, journalist Sidney the woman he really loves. Hellman's scenario mirrors, and condemns, the international politics that allowed Hitler to come to power. | tt0038915 | Robert Young, Sylvia Sidney, Ann Richards, Dudley Digges, Douglas Dick, Albert Bassermann | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Searching for Bobby Fischer | 1993 | Steven Zaillian | ★★★½ | 110 | Compelling, surefooted drama, based on a true story: A father discovers that his 7-year-old son has a genius for chess, and enters him in competition, losing sight of what this does to the boy's psyche— and his pure enjoyment of the game. Poignant, heart-rending at times (especially for any parent) and exceptionally well done. Screenplay by first-time director Zaillian, from the book by Fred Waitzkin, who's the real-life chess whiz's father. | tt0108065 | [PG] | Joe Mantegna, Max Pomeranc, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Nirenberg, Robert Stephens, David Paymer, William H. Macy, Dan Hedaya, Anthony Heald, Josh Mostel, Tony Shalhoub, Austin Pendleton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seas Beneath | 1931 | John Ford. | ★★½ | 98 | Early talkie is an interesting WW1 yarn about an American Q-boat 'Mystery Ship' on a search-and-destroy mission against a German U-boat. Similar to, though not as grim as, Ford's MEN WITHOUT WOMEN, with taut action undercut by too much comedy relief and Lessing's poor performance as a German spy who bewitches Navy ace O'Brien. | tt0022353 | George O'Brien, Marion Lessing, Mona Maris, Walter C. Kelly, Warren Hymer, Gaylord (Steve) Pendleton, Walter McGrail, Larry Kent, Henry Victor, John Loder, William Collier/Sr. | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Seaside Swingers | 1965 | James Hill | ★½ | 94 | Group of teenagers working at seaside resort prepare for major talent contest which is to be the highlight of the summer season. Should have given them all the hook. | tt0059691 | John Leyton, Mike Sarne, Freddie and The Dreamers, Ron Moody, Liz Fraser | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Season of Passion | 1959 | Leslie Norman | ★★½ | 93 |
Tasteful study of human relationships; Mills and Borgnine are country workers who each year come to the city for their fling with Baxter and Lansbury. Based on Ray Lawlor's play, Summer of the 17th Doll.|
tt0053321
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Anne Baxter, John Mills, Angela Lansbury, Ernest Borgnine, Janette Craig
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Australian
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Drama, Comedy
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NULL
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| Season of the Witch | 2011 | Dominic Sena | ★ | 95 | After 12 years of warfare in the Crusades, two dispirited knights head home across Europe, but first stop in a village where witches were executed. They are persuaded to transport a suspected witch to a distant monastery where a sacred document is stored that can deal with her. Troubles, both natural and supernatural, follow, of course. Slow, sullen, and grim-looking, with bursts of action and effects, but it all adds up to very little. | tt0479997 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy, Stephen Graham, Ulrich Thomsen, Christopher Lee | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Sebastian | Mr. Sebastian | 1968 | David Greene | ★★½ | 100 | Flashy but cluttered espionage film of counterintelligence agent Bogarde, who deciphers codes for England, becoming enmeshed in international battle of wits. Intriguing, colorful, but a bit trying; look for Donald Sutherland in a small role. | tt0063570 | Dirk Bogarde, Susannah York, Lilli Palmer, John Gielgud, Margaret Johnston, Nigel Davenport | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Second Best | 1994 | Chris Menges | ★★★ | 105 | Pensive drama with Hurt excellent in an unusual role: an unmarried, terminally shy, 42-year-old postmaster in a small Welsh town who attempts to adopt a deeply troubled 10-year-old boy (Miles). | tt0111102 | [PG-13] | William Hurt, John Hurt, Chris Cleary Miles, Keith Allen, Jane Horrocks, Prunella Scales, Alan Cumming, Jodhi May | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Second Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World | Licensed to Kill | 1965 | Lindsay Shonteff | ★★½ | 96 | Snappy James Bondish entry, with virtue of satirical performance by Adams; he prevents the Russians from stealing scientist Stepanek's anti-gravity invention. Original British title: LICENSED TO KILL. Sequel: WHERE THE BULLETS FLY. | tt0059387 | Tom Adams, Veronica Hurst, Peter Bull, Karel Stepanek, John Arnatt | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Second Chance | 1953 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 81 | Two runaways— gambler's girlfriend Darnell and tainted prizefighter Mitchum— fall in love in Mexico. Complications arise when Palance arrives with orders to kill Darnell. OK melodrama, made in 3-D. | tt0046288 | Robert Mitchum, Linda Darnell, Jack Palance, Reginald Sheffield, Roy Roberts, Dan Seymour, Fortunio Bonanova, Milburn Stone | Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Second Chorus | 1940 | H. C. Potter | ★★ | 83 | Routine musical comedy with Astaire and Meredith as musicians who want to join Shaw's band; they both have designs on Goddard. Not enough music and hardly any dancing, but what's there is fun. Fred and Paulette dance to '(I Ain't Hep to That Step but I'll) Dig It.' | tt0033029 | Fred Astaire, Paulette Goddard, Artie Shaw and Orchestra, Charles Butterworth, Burgess Meredith | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Second Civil War | 1997 | Joe Dante | Average TV Movie | 100 | Black comedy dealing with politics, media manipulation, racism, philandering, and outright war, all started when Idaho governor Bridges decides to close his state borders to a planeload of Pakistani orphans fleeing a nuclear disaster. Comic performances by Hedaya as a network news director, Coburn as a presidential advisor, and Peñta as a bombshell TV news reporter add to the satire, which takes a somber wrong turn at the finale. Made for cable. | tt0120086 | Beau Bridges, Joanna Cassidy, James Coburn, Kevin Dunn, Phil Hartman, Dan Hedaya, James Earl Jones, Denis Leary, Elizabeth Peñta, Ron Perlman, Brian Keith, Kevin McCarthy, William Schallert, Dick Miller, Roger Corman | Drama, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | |||
| The Second Coming of Suzanne | Suzanne | 1974 | Michael Barry | ★½ | 90 | Pretentious time capsule about an egocentric counterculture filmmaker (Martin) who recruits the title character (Locke) to star in his latest epic, a re-creation of the story of Christ! At its very best, this is very bad Fellini; writer-director Barry is the son of Gene (who executive-produced). Strictly for Dreyfuss completists. Aka SUZANNE. | tt0072130 | Sondra Locke, Paul Sand, Jared Martin, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Barry, Penelope Spheeris | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Second Face | 1950 | Jack Bernhard | ★★½ | 77 | Concise study of the effects of plastic surgery on Raines, whose face has been scarred. | tt0042934 | Ella Raines, Bruce Bennett, Rita Johnson, Jane Darwell, John Sutton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Second Fiddle | 1938 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 86 | Contrived Henie musical of Power promoting Hollywood romance for Henie, falling in love himself. Irving Berlin's most uninspired score does include the genuinely strange song— and production number— 'Dancing Back to Back.' | tt0031907 | Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Rudy Vallee, Edna May Oliver, Lyle Talbot, Brian Sisters, Mary Healy, Alan Dinehart, voice of Charles Lane | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Second Greatest Sex | 1955 | George Marshall | ★½ | 87 | Secondrate musical up-dating of Lysistrata, about women out West protesting men's violence by going on sex strike. | tt0048594 | Jeanne Crain, George Nader, Bert Lahr, Mamie Van Doren, Kitty Kallen, Keith Andes, Tommy Rall, Paul Gilbert, Jimmy Boyd | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Second Honeymoon | 1937 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 79 | Power tries to win back ex-wife Young in pat marital farce with attractive cast. | tt0029529 | Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Stuart Erwin, Claire Trevor, Lyle Talbot | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Second Sight | 1989 | Joel Zwick | 💣 | 84 | Superpsychic Pinchot and an otherworldly entity assist ex-cop Larroquette's Second Sight Detective Agency; if that's not enough, there's a cute-'n'-perky nun as love interest! No psychic was needed to gauge how long this one would last in theaters. | tt0098276 | [PG] | John Larroquette, Bronson Pinchot, Bess Armstrong, Stuart Pankin, John Schuck, James Tolkan, William Prince, Christine Estabrook, Cornelia Guest | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Second Thoughts | 1983 | Lawrence Turman | 💣 | 98 | Dreary, laughably unrealistic account of lawyer Arnaz divorcing banker Howard and, to her regret, taking up with idealistic Wasson, who is still living in the 1960s. | tt0086269 | [PG] | Lucie Arnaz, Craig Wasson, Ken Howard, Anne Schedeen, Arthur Rosenberg, Peggy McCay | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Second Time Around | 1961 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 99 | Mild comic Western with widow Debbie moving to Arizona, becoming sheriff, tangling with suitors Griffith and Forrest. | tt0055421 | Debbie Reynolds, Andy Griffith, Steve Forrest, Juliet Prowse, Thelma Ritter, Isobel Elsom | Western | NULL | |||
| The Second Woman | 1951 | James V. Kern | ★★½ | 90 | Atmospheric psychological drama with architect Young becoming increasingly unstable as a result of his fiancée's death on the eve of their wedding. Is he a danger to himself and his new girlfriend Drake? | tt0044013 | Robert Young, Betsy Drake, John Sutton, Florence Bates, Morris Carnovsky, Henry O'Neill, Jean Rogers | Drama, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Second-Hand Hearts | The Hamster of Happiness | 1981 | Hal Ashby | 💣 | 102 | Blake, beer-bellied and jowly, is Loyal Muke (rhymes with Puke), middle-aged drifter, who married Dinette Dusty (Harris) while in a drunken stupor. Pointless, confusing, overblown, a comedy that is embarrassingly unfunny. Even the usually reliable Harris can't salvage this mess. Filmed in 1979 as THE HAMSTER OF HAPPINESS. | tt0083041 | [PG] | Robert Blake, Barbara Harris, Collin Boone, Amber Rose Gold, Bert Remsen, Shirley Stoler | Comedy | NULL | |
| Secondhand Lions | 2003 | Tim McCanlies | ★★★ | 107 | A negligent mother deposits her son with his eccentric great-uncles, who live as recluses on a quiet Texas property. The boy soon discovers that there's more to his new guardians than meets the eye, especially when Caine starts spinning tales about their globe-trotting adventures as young men. Likable, old-fashioned fairy-tale yarn is elevated by the sheer presence of its two veteran stars, and young Osment, who holds his own alongside them. If you buy into this, you'll forgive its flaws. Written by the director. | tt0327137 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick, Nicky Katt, Michael O'Neill, Deirdre O'Connell, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Josh Lucas, Adrian Pasdar | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Seconds | 1966 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★½ | 106 | Frustrated middle-aged businessman is transformed into new identity (Hudson) but finds himself at odds with old and new life conflicts. Fascinating from start to finish, with good performances, striking camerawork by James Wong Howe; script by Lewis John Carlino. On video only in the original European version which features just over 1m. of additional footage. | tt0060955 | Rock Hudson, Salome Jens, John Randolph, Will Geer, Jeff Corey, Murray Hamilton, Wesley Addy | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Secret Admirer | 1985 | David Greenwalt | ★★½ | 98 | Comedy of errors about an unsigned love letter that causes chain of confusion among some teenagers and their parents. Cute farce with some appealing performers, but surrenders to the obvious too often. Nice score by Jan Hammer. | tt0089981 | [R] | C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, Dee Wallace-Stone, Cliff De Young, Leigh Taylor-Young, Fred Ward, Casey Siemaszko, Corey Haim. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Secret Agent Fireball | 1966 | Martin Donan (Mario Donen) | ★★ | 89 | Harrison is American superspy substituted for U.S. scientist in gambit to protect coalition between U.S., Germany, and Russia on new petroleum mechanism project; standard treatment. | tt0061012 | Richard Harrison, Dominique Boschero, Wandisa Guida | Italian | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Secret Agent of Japan | 1942 | Irving Pichel | ★★ | 72 | Dated espionage film of soldier-of-fortune Foster working in the Pacific for England before Pearl Harbor. | tt0035298 | Preston Foster, Lynn Bari, Noel Madison, Janis Carter, Sen Yung, Addison Richards, Frank Puglia, Ian Wolfe | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Secret Agent | 1936 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 86 | Strange blend of comedy and thriller elements which don't quite mesh; Carroll and Gielgud are secret agents who pose as man and wife while on assignment in Switzerland to kill enemy spy. One of Hitchcock's oddest films. | tt0028231 | John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, Robert Young, Peter Lorre, Percy Marmont, Lilli Palmer | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Secret Agent | 1996 | Christopher Hampton | 💣 | 95 | Stultifying adaptation of the Joseph Conrad novel about Verloc (Hoskins), an anarchist who actually is a secret agent for the Russian government in late 19th-century London; his wife (Arquette) has no idea of his activities. Guaranteed to drive you to slumber land despite its cast (including an unbilled Robin Williams). Aka JOSEPH CONRAD'S THE SECRET AGENT. | tt0117582 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gérard Depardieu, George Spelvin, Jim Broadbent, Christian Bale, Eddie Izzard, Elizabeth Spriggs, Julian Wadham, Peter Vaughan | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Secret Beyond the Door | 1948 | Fritz Lang | ★★ | 98 | Tedious Lang misfire along lines of Hitchcock's SUSPICION, with Bennett believing her husband is a demented murderer. | tt0040766 | Joan Bennett, Michael Redgrave, Anne Revere, Barbara O'Neil, Natalie Schafer | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Secret Bride | 1935 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 64 | State Attorney General William secretly weds governor's daughter Stanwyck, and summarily learns that her father may be taking bribes from a convicted embezzler. Tidy, well-acted drama. | tt0026973 | Barbara Stanwyck, Warren William, Glenda Farrell, Grant Mitchell, Arthur Byron | Drama | NULL | |||
| Secret Ceremony | 1968 | Joseph Losey | ★★★½ | 109 | Farrow resembles Taylor's dead daughter, Taylor resembles Farrow's dead mother, and their meeting has strange results. Originally an excellent psychological drama, but then Universal cut footage and shot extra scenes to make film more 'acceptable' for TV, at 101m. This rating applies only to original version. | tt0063571 | [R] | Elizabeth Taylor, Mia Farrow, Robert Mitchum, Pamela Brown, Peggy Ashcroft | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Secret Command | 1944 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★★ | 82 | No-nonsense O'Brien tries to find source of sabotage in California shipyard during WW2. Good, fast moving espionage story. O'Brien also produced this film. | tt0037253 | Pat O'Brien, Carole Landis, Chester Morris, Ruth Warrick, Wallace Ford | Action | NULL | |||
| The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud | 1984 | Danford B. Greene | ★½ | 90 | Dreary comedy about the early life of Freud (Cort), with Baker his mother, Kinski a doctor she becomes involved with, and Kane a nurse with a lisp. Pretty boring, even annoying at times. | tt0088073 | [PG] | Bud Cort, Carol Kane, Klaus Kinski, Marisa Berenson, Carroll Baker, Dick Shawn, Ferdinand Mayne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Secret Friends | 1992 | Dennis Potter | 💣 | 97 | Amnesiac Bates is a deeply disturbed, guilt-ridden, and jealous man whose young, sexy wife (Bellman) is a constant pain to him. Film, set in part on long train journey, gives new meaning to the term 'jumping back and forth in time'; result is appalling, incomprehensible mishmash. Only film to be directed by esteemed writer Dennis Potter, suggested by his novel Ticket to Ride. Buffs may enjoy McNeice and Harries as throwbacks to Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne. | tt0102867 | Alan Bates, Gina Bellman, Frances Barber, Tony Doyle, Joanna David, Colin Jeavons, Ian McNeice, Davyd Harries | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Secret Fury | 1950 | Mel Ferrer | ★★★ | 86 | Unknown person tries to drive Claudette crazy to prevent her marriage to Ryan. Exciting whodunit with twist ending. | tt0042935 | Claudette Colbert, Robert Ryan, Jane Cowl, Paul Kelly, Vivian Vance, Philip Ober | Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Secret Garden | 1949 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★★ | 92 | Young girl who comes to live at run-down Victorian estate finds abandoned garden, devotes herself to it and eventually changes the lives of everyone living there. Vividly atmospheric film with some color sequences. Based on the classic children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Remade as a TV movie in 1987 and as a feature in 1993, as well as a Broadway musical. | tt0041855 | Margaret O'Brien, Herbert Marshall, Dean Stockwell, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Secret Garden | 1993 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★ | 101 | Handsome remake of the children's classic, with Maberly as the 10-year-old orphan who restores an abandoned garden in her uncle's eerie Victorian manor. Well crafted, but doesn't sustain the drama of its story as well as the 1949 version. Francis Ford Coppola was executive producer. | tt0108071 | [G] | Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Maggie Smith, Laura Crossley, John Lynch, Walter Sparrow, Irène Jacob | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| The Secret Heart | 1946 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 97 | This is Allyson's film, as young girl obsessed with dead father, unable to accept stepmother Colbert. Film creates eerie mood, and acting is good, but it's offbeat and not for all tastes. | tt0038916 | Claudette Colbert, Walter Pidgeon, June Allyson, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Sterling, Patricia Medina, Marshall Thompson. Narrated by Hume Cronyn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Secret Honor | Lords of Treason | 1984 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 90 | Richard Nixon, with a Chivas Regal assist, paces around his study in a near-psychotic rail against Hiss, Castro, Ike, Kissinger, and anyone named Kennedy. Hall's one-man stage show is fluidly filmed and outrageously conceived— a titillating one-of-a-kind for anyone who rooted for Khrushchev in the Kitchen Debates. Aka LORDS OF TREASON. | tt0088074 | Philip Baker Hall | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Secret Invasion | 1964 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 95 | Good action, location photography, and direction in story of British Intelligence using criminals to work behind enemy lines in WW2 Yugoslavia. | tt0058561 | Stewart Granger, Mickey Rooney, Raf Vallone, Henry Silva, Edd Byrnes, Mia Massini | War | NULL | |||
| The Secret Land | 1948 | Orville O. Dull. | ★★★ | 71 | Produced by Orville O. Dull. Glossy but penetrating documentary study of Admiral Richard Byrd's exploratory missions to Antarctic. | tt0040767 | Narrated by Van Heflin, Robert Montgomery, Robert Taylor. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Secret Life of Bees | 2008 | Gina Prince-Bythewood | ★★★ | 110 | Emotional journey set in the deep South of 1964. An unloved girl flees from her abusive father, with her black housekeeper in tow, and finds refuge in the home of a warmhearted woman (Latifah) who lives with her two sisters and operates a thriving business manufacturing honey. Here the two lost souls discover an oasis that almost makes them forget the brutality they’ve left behind—until ugliness rears its head once more. Sue Monk Kidd’s novel is vividly brought to life by writer-director Prince-Bythewood and an ideal cast. | tt0416212 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, Paul Bettany, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds, Hilarie Burton | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | 1947 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 110 | Formula comedy casts Danny as milquetoast who dreams of manly glory. Not much Thurber here, but daydream sequences are lots of fun, and so is Kaye's famous 'Anatole of Paris' patter number. Young Robert Altman, smiling and smoking a cigarette, appears as an extra in a nightclub scene with Kaye. | tt0039808 | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford, Florence Bates, Thurston Hall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Secret Life of Words | 2005 | Isabel Coixet | ★★★ | 115 | An emotionally remote young woman who works robotically at a factory job is ordered to take a vacation by her boss. Instead, she volunteers to serve as nurse to a severe-burn victim (Robbins) on an oil rig. The insular, isolated life on the rig-which has only a skeleton crew in the wake of a terrible accident-suits her fine, but her patient persists in trying to get her to open up. Intriguing character study with a great performance by Polley and agreeable sketches of the motley characters who work on the rig. Written by the director. | tt0430576 |
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Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Javier Cámara, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Eddie Marsan, Julie Christie, Daniel Mays, Leonor Watling | Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Secret Life of an American Wife | 1968 | George Axelrod | ★★ | 92 | Talky, generally unfunny farce about neglected wife who decides to pose as a call girl with one of her husband's clients— a screen lover (Matthau). Disappointing next to the writer-director's hilarious LORD LOVE A DUCK. | tt0063572 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Anne Jackson, Patrick O'Neal, Edy Williams, Richard Bull, Paul Napier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Secret Lives of Dentists | 2002 | Alan Rudolph | ★★★ | 105 | Intelligent, absorbing scenes from a marriage about a suburban dentist couple with three daughters. Scott suspects his wife is having an affair, and his decision not to confront her results in his summoning up visions of his most difficult patient (Leary). Benefits from two terrific lead performances and wry direction from Rudolph. Only sign of halitosis: a little Leary, as Scott's ranting, chain-smoking id, goes a long way. Based on the Jane Smiley novella The Age of Grief, adapted by playwright Craig Lucas. Scott also coproduced. | tt0314630 | [R] | Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Jon Patrick Walker, Kevin Carroll, Kate Clinton, Lydia Jordan, Cassidy Hinkle | Drama | NULL | ||
| Secret Mission | 1942 | Harold French | ★★½ | 94 | Stiff-upper-lip WW2 drama in which three British spies and a free Frenchman (played by Mason!) sneak into occupied France to gather intelligence for an upcoming invasion. Well paced dramatically, but comical touches seem awkwardly out of place. | tt0035301 | Hugh Williams, James Mason, Michael Wilding, Carla Lehmann, Nancy Price, Roland Culver, Karel Stepanek, Herbert Lom, Stewart Granger | British | War | NULL | ||
| The Secret Partner | 1961 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 91 | Fast-paced, atmospheric mystery about man trying to pull off ingenious scheme whereby he is accused of robbery. | tt0055422 | Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet, Bernard Lee, Conrad Phillips | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Secret People | 1952 | Thorold Dickinson | ★★ | 87 | Heavy-handed drama in which Cortesa and Reggiani attempt to assassinate the dictator responsible for her father's death. Hepburn registers as Cortesa's innocent kid sister. | tt0044014 | Valentina Cortesa, Serge Reggiani, Charles Goldner, Audrey Hepburn, Megs Jenkins, Irene Worth | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Secret Places | 1985 | Zelda Barron | ★★½ | 96 | Two schoolgirls from very different backgrounds form a friendship that leads to heartbreak on the eve of WW2; set in small English village. Warm, often moving film that somehow falls short. Lead roles are well played by Relin (daughter of Maria Schell) and MacGowran (daughter of Jack MacGowran). | tt0088075 | [PG] | Marie-Theres Relin, Tara MacGowran, Claudine Auger, Jenny Agutter, Cassie Stuart, Ann-Marie Gwatkin | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Secret Policeman's Other Ball | 1982 | Julien Temple, Roger Graef | ★★★ | 91 | Poorly photographed but entertaining distillation of two concerts (in 1979 and 1981) organized as fund-raisers for Amnesty International. Almost as much music as comedy, but several funny bits by Cook and the Python boys stand out, including hilarious 'Cheese Shop' routine. | tt0084648 | [R] | John Cleese, Peter Cook, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Pete Townshend, Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Eleanor Bron, Pamela Stephenson, Alexei Sayle | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Secret Rapture | 1993 | Howard Davies | ★★ | 96 | Disappointing psychological thriller about vulnerable Stevenson, who was extremely close to her just-deceased father, and who must contend with her shrill, tyrannical sister (Wilton). Good cast flounders in David Hare's one-note script (based on his play); much of its bite regarding greed and business-as-usual amorality in Thatcherite England has been toned down. | tt0108072 | [R] | Juliet Stevenson, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Penelope Wilton, Neil Pearson, Alan Howard, Robert Stephens | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Secret Service of the Air | 1939 | Noel Smith | ★★ | 61 | Reagan stars as Lt. Brass Bancroft, a pilot who joins the Secret Service and exposes a smuggling ring. Fast-paced Warner Bros. B entry, the first of a series of four. | tt0031908 | Ronald Reagan, John Litel, Ila Rhodes, James Stephenson, Eddie Foy/Jr., Rosella Towne | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |||
| The Secret Six | 1931 | George W. Hill | ★★½ | 83 |
Hard-boiled gangster saga with powerhouse cast; sluggish at times, but worth seeing for milk-drinking racketeer Beery, aristocratic crime lord Stone, moll-with-a-heart-of-gold Harlow, et al.|
tt0022357
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Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Johnny Mack Brown, Ralph Bellamy, Marjorie Rambeau, John Miljan
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Crime, Drama
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NULL
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| |
| Secret Things | 2002 | Jean-Claude Brisseau | ★½ | 112 | A jaded exotic dancer befriends a shy young woman and both use their seductive powers to rise in the business world, with unforeseen consequences. Laughably pretentious treatise on love, voyeurism, and sexual politics grows more ludicrous as it goes on and, despite copious nudity, is never as shocking or as probing as it thinks it is. | tt0287963 | Coralle Revel, Sabrina Seyvecou, Roger Mirmont, Fabrice Deville, Blandine Bury, Olivier Soler, Viviane Théophildès | French | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Secret War of Harry Frigg | 1968 | Jack Smight | ★★ | 110 | Noncom soldier selected to free five generals held captive during WW2 in this slick but inane comedy, one of Newman's few real losers. | tt0063573 | Paul Newman, Sylva Koscina, Andrew Duggan, Tom Bosley, John Williams, Vito Scotti, James Gregory | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The Secret Ways | 1961 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 112 | Much on-location shooting helps strengthen caper with Widmark as grim American sent into Communist Hungary to plan escape of pro-West refugee; from an Alistair MacLean novel. | tt0055423 | Richard Widmark, Sonja Ziemann, Senta Berger, Charles Regnier | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Secret Window | 2004 | David Koepp | ★★ | 95 | A creepy stranger knocks on the door of a writer's rural lakeside house and accuses him of plagiarizing one of his stories. As the man's threats grow more ominous, the writer begins to wonder if he's going crazy— which also concerns his ex-wife and the local sheriff. Writer-director Koepp's adaptation of a Stephen King novella repeatedly teases the audience but offers very little suspense. The ending isn't much of a revelation, and even the significance of the title is trifling. Depp's presence is the film's major asset. | tt0363988 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton, Len Cariou, Joan Haney | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Secret World | 1969 | Robert Freeman | ★★ | 94 | Bisset's presence gives slight boost to pretentiously directed film about young boy's infatuation with his uncle's mistress. | tt0065263 | [M] | Jacqueline Bisset, Giselle Pascal, Pierre Zimmer, Marc Porel, Jean-Francois Maurin | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Secret World of Arrietty | 2010 | Hiromasa Yonebayashi | ★★½ | 94 | A sickly boy named Sean is sent to the country to rest up; there he encounters little people who live under the floorboards of the house, and gradually engages one of them—a girl named Arrietty—in conversation. She and her parents are borrowers, possibly the last of their breed; they invade the house only to take what they need to survive. But not everyone is as sympathetic to their plight as Sean. Benign adaptation of Mary Norton's book The Borrowers has sweetness and a quiet charm, though it may be too laid-back for some American kids. Lacks the richness of other Studio Ghibli productions, though it was cowritten, produced, and "planned" by Hayao Miyazaki. Credits refer to U.S. release version. | tt1568921 | [G] | Voices of Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Carol Burnett, David Henrie | Japanese | Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Secret in Their Eyes | 2009 | Juan José Campanella | ★★★ | 130 | Retired criminal- court employee visits his longtime colleague, now a judge, for whom he's always had deep feelings, to tell her that he plans to write about a case they worked on 25 years ago. The rape and murder of a beautiful young woman had troubling consequences for them both—but they've never discussed it. Multifaceted drama alternates between the past and present, combining murder mystery, love story, character study, and pointed criticism of Argentina's corrupt judicial system in the 1970s. Smart, witty, sinuous storytelling, adapted from Eduardo Sacheri's novel by the author and director Campanella. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt1305806 | [R] | Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Guillermo Francella, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, José Luis Gioia | Argentinean-Spanish | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Secret of Blood Island | P.O.W.: Prisoners of War | 1965 | Quentin Lawrence | ★★ | 84 | Woman agent Shelley parachutes into Malaya during WW2, ends up incognito in a prisoner-of-war camp. Mindless timekiller. Video title: P.O.W.: PRISONERS OF WAR. | tt0059693 | Barbara Shelley, Jack Hedley, Charles Tingwell, Patrick Wymark | British | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Secret of Convict Lake | 1951 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 83 | Set in 1870s California, escaped prisoners hide out at settlement comprised largely of women; fine cast makes the most of script. | tt0044015 | Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, Zachary Scott, Ann Dvorak, Jeanette Nolan, Ruth Donnelly | Western | NULL | |||
| The Secret of Dr. Kildare | 1939 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 84 | The good doctor tries to cure a young woman of psychosomatic blindness while working equally hard to get stubborn Dr. Gillespie to take a vacation in this tidy episode. | tt0031909 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Lionel Atwill, Laraine Day, Helen Gilbert, Nat Pendleton, Sara Haden, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Grant Mitchell, Walter Kingsford, Alma Kruger, Nell Craig, Marie Blake, Martha O'Driscoll, Don 'Red' Barry | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Secret of Kells | 2009 | Tomm Moore | ★★★ | 75 | Set in a 9th-century Irish monastery, this stylish and compelling animated feature about the creation of the legendary illuminated Book of Kells is told through the eyes of young Brendan, the abbot's nephew. While the abbot oversees construction of a wall to keep Viking invaders at bay, Brendan assists the Book's master illustrator by venturing into the woods for berries to make ink. There he encounters life-or-death situations—and a magical fairy intent on protecting her forest. Visual tour-de-force produced in traditional hand-drawn form, aimed at older children and adults. Surprised Hollywood by coming "out of nowhere" to earn a much-deserved Oscar nomination. | tt0485601 | Unrated | Voices of Brendan Gleeson, Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Liam Hourican, Mick Lally, Michael McGrath | Irish-French-Belgian | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Secret of Madame Blanche | 1933 | Charles Brabin | ★★½ | 83 | Another MGM tearjerker in the MADAME X vein; Dunne is quite effective as a music-hall singer who loses her son to callous father-in-law Atwill when husband Holmes kills himself. Twenty years later, mother and son meet by accident and are involved in a murder. Contrived but well-made soaper. | tt0024537 | Irene Dunne, Lionel Atwill, Phillips Holmes, Douglas Walton, Una Merkel, C. Henry Gordon, Jean Parker | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Secret of My Success | 1965 | Andrew L. Stone | ★½ | 99 | Film certainly doesn't succeed. Naive boy is taken in by several crafty females on his road to maturity. Picturesque settings, variety of characterizations by Jeffries. | tt0059694 | James Booth, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Honor Blackman, Amy Dalby, Lionel Jeffries | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Secret of My Success | 1987 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 110 | Naive but bright, ambitious young man from the sticks hustles his way into the corporate world of N.Y.C., deftly juggling the various complications he encounters. Likable comedy goes on too long, gets most of its juice from Fox's energetic and appealing performance. | tt0093936 | [PG-13] | Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Richard Jordan, Margaret Whitton, John Pankow, Fred Gwynne, Elizabeth Franz, Christopher Durang, Mercedes Ruehl | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Secret of NIMH | 1982 | Don Bluth | ★★½ | 82 | When her family homestead is threatened, a young widowed mouse seeks help, and comes upon a secret society of superintelligent rats. Well-animated adaptation of Robert C. O'Brien's prize-winning children's book, but not as involving, or as well paced, as it ought to be. First feature from Don Bluth Productions, the studio founded by a group of former Disney artists. Shannen Doherty is the voice of one of the mice children. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0084649 | [G] | Voices of Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, John Carradine, Peter Strauss | Animation, Family, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Secret of Roan Inish | 1994 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 102 | Gentle, charming tale of a girl who is sent to live with her grandparents on the west coast of Ireland and discovers the myths and magic that have affected her family. A 'small' story to be sure, but it gradually works its spell on you, with an admirably unsentimental tone (perfectly embodied in solemn young Courtney), moody cinematography from Haskell Wexler, and remarkable 'performances' from the seals and gulls that populate the film. Adapted from Rosalie Frye's novella The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry by director Sayles, who also edited. | tt0111112 | [PG] | Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan, Mick Lally, Richard Sheridan, John Lynch | Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Secret of Santa Vittoria | 1969 | Stanley Kramer | ★★½ | 140 | Entertaining comedy from Robert Crichton's novel of Italian town which hides a million bottles of wine from occupying Germans in WW2. Story wanders, however, with needless subplots that make it overlong. Kruger excellent as civilized German officer. | tt0064952 | [M] | Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Virna Lisi, Hardy Kruger, Sergio Franchi, Renato Rascel, Eduardo Ciannelli, Giancarlo Giannini, Valentina Cortese | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Secret of Treasure Mountain | 1956 | Seymour Friedman. | ★½ | 68 | Trivial tale of a hunt for buried gold in Apache territory; the catch is that the Indians have placed a curse on the treasure. Remake (with stock footage) of LUST FOR GOLD. | tt0049732 | Valerie French, Raymond Burr, William Prince, Lance Fuller, Susan Cummings. | Western | NULL | |||
| Secret of the Blue Room | 1933 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 66 | Atmospheric whodunit set in eerie European castle where Stuart's three suitors accept challenge to sleep in room from which several former occupants mysteriously vanished. Cast makes this one worthwhile; remade as THE MISSING GUEST and MURDER IN THE BLUE ROOM. | tt0024538 | Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart, Paul Lukas, Edward Arnold, Onslow Stevens, William Janney | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Secret of the Grain | 2007 | Abdellatif Kechiche | ★★★ | 154 | Robust, often startlingly realistic slice of life about a Tunisian immigrant who’s laid off from his longtime job at a French shipyard. We meet his large, boisterous family, including his ex-wife (who’s a wonderful cook), his longtime mistress, and her loving, self-possessed daughter. Through their conversations, arguments, and everyday encounters we assemble a richly detailed portrait of one man’s legacy to his real and extended family—and where they stand in modern French society—as everyone pitches in to help him turn an abandoned freighter into a restaurant. Overlong but rewarding. Written by the director. | tt0487419 | Unrated | Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Faridah Benkhetache, Abdelhamid Aktouche, Bouraouïa Marzouk, Hatika Karaoui, Alice Houri | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Secret of the Incas | 1954 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 101 | Good adventure of explorer searching for location of fabled treasure. | tt0047464 | Charlton Heston, Robert Young, Nicole Maurey, Thomas Mitchell, Glenda Farrell, Yma Sumac | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Secret of the Purple Reef | 1960 | William Witney | ★★ | 80 | Programmer whose capable cast bounces the story along; brothers seek clues to their father's killing in the Caribbean. | tt0054283 | Jeff Richards, Margia Dean, Peter Falk, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Earle, Terence DeMarney | Crime | NULL | |||
| Secret of the Telegian | 1960 | Jun Fukuda. | ★★ | 85 | Police are baffled by a series of murders in which the killer literally vanishes, but a reporter learns the villain has stolen a teleportation device and is seeking revenge on those who wronged him. Some interesting effects, but it's really just another of the crime/science fiction thrillers Toho alternated with giant monster adventures. Shown 'flat' and in b&w in the U.S. | tt0053758 | Koji Tsuruta, Akihiko Hirata, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Tadao Nakamaru, Yumi Shirakawa, Seizaburó Kawazu. | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Secret of the Wastelands | 1941 | Derwin Abrahams. | ★★½ | 66 | Offbeat Hopalong Cassidy adventure has Western trio traveling with an archeological expedition in search of ancient Indian desert ruins. Instead, they find a mysterious 'lost city' (think Shangri-La) populated by Chinese Americans. Based on a novel by Bliss Lomax (Harry Sinclair Drago). Two atypically strong women's roles in this final series entry for Paramount. | tt0034166 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Brad King, Barbara Britton, Soo Young, Douglas Fowley. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Secret of the Whistler | 1946 | George Sherman | ★★★ | 65 | Dix is an insane artist whose second wife suspects him of having killed her predecessor and fears she's his next victim. Nifty Whistler entry, with the customary ironic twist. | tt0038917 | Richard Dix, Leslie Brooks, Mary Currier, Michael Duane, Mona Barrie, Ray Walker | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Secretariat | 2010 | Randall Wallace | ★★★ | 123 | Entertaining story of the legendary racehorse and the woman who steered his success, Penny Chenery, a housewife and mother who strode into the man’s world of horse breeding and training in Virginia in 1969 and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Lane is ideal and is surrounded by well-drawn, well-cast characters in Mike Rich’s finely tuned screenplay. Designed to be a crowd-pleaser, with exciting and impressive race scenes shot by Dean Semler. | tt1028576 | [PG] | Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Dylan Walsh, Dylan Baker, Margo Martindale, Fred Dalton Thompson, Nelsan Ellis, Kevin Connolly, Eric Lange, Nestor Serrano, AJ Michalka | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Secretary | 2002 | Steven Shainberg | ★★★ | 112 | Intriguing black comedy about the relationship between a young woman, recently released from a mental institution, and her new boss, a lawyer who thrives on sadomasochism. Often fascinating exploration of obsessive (some might say sick) behavior and two people's struggle to find common ground. Goes astray toward the end, but still a bold and provocative film, with superb performances by Gyllenhaal and Spader. | tt0274812 | [R] | James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Patrick Bauchau, Stephen McHattie, Oz Perkins, Jessica Tuck, Amy Locane, Lesley Ann Warren | Drama | NULL | ||
| Secrets | 1971 | Philip Saville | ★½ | 86 | A husband, wife, and daughter all have sexual experiences during the course of a day, which must remain secrets. Dull, somewhat pretentious film notable only for nude Bisset in passionate lovemaking scene. Released in 1978. | tt0067725 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Per Oscarsson, Shirley Knight Hopkins, Robert Powell, Tarka Kings, Martin C. Thurley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Secrets & Lies | 1996 | Mike Leigh | ★★★½ | 142 | Another of filmmaker Leigh's compelling portraits of ordinary people and the sometimes extraordinary circumstances of their lives; here, a young black woman goes in search of her birth parents and discovers that her mother is a working-class white woman. Emotionally wrenching at times, but also endearingly funny. Superlative performances spark this long, deliberately paced, but rewarding slice of life. | tt0117589 | [R] | Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook, Elizabeth Berrington, Michele Austin, Alison Steadman | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Secrets of Life | 1956 | James Algar | ★★★ | 75 | Disney True-Life Adventure features closeup looks at plant life, insect life, sea creatures, and natural wonders like volcanoes. Wonderful footage includes time-lapse photography of plants set to a rousing bolero on the soundtrack. | tt0049733 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| Secrets of Women | 1952 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 114 | Episodic early Bergman drama about several women in a summer house who confide about their relationships with their men. Final sequence, with Dahlbeck and Bjornstrand trapped in an elevator, is most fascinating. | tt0044811 | Anita Bjork, Karl-Arne Holmsten, Jarl Kulle, Maj-Britt Nilsson, Birger Malmsten, Eva Dahlbeck, Gunnar Bjornstrand | Swedish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Secrets of a Secretary | 1931 | George Abbott | ★★ | 71 | Stiff drawing-room stuff, with Colbert finding ex-hubby Marshall blackmailing her new boss. | tt0022359 |
|
Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, George Metaxa, Mary Boland, Berton Churchill | Drama | NULL | ||
| Secrets of an Actress | 1938 | William Keighley | ★★ | 71 | Run-of-the-mill romantic melodrama with actress Francis attracting distraught Brent, an unhappily married architect. | tt0030727 | Kay Francis, George Brent, Ian Hunter, Gloria Dickson, Isabel Jeans, Penny Singleton, Dennie Moore | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Secrets of the Lone Wolf | 1941 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 67 | Sturdy entry with the Lone Wolf's punctilious valet (Blore) thought to be his employer by some crooks who use him as part of a scheme to lift the Napoleon jewels. | tt0034165 | Warren William, Ruth Ford, Roger Clark, Victor Jory, Eric Blore, Thurston Hall, Fred Kelsey | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Secuestro Express | 2005 | Jonathan Jakubowicz | ★★ | 86 | Tarantinoesque film focuses on a young upper-middle-class couple kidnapped in broad daylight by three thugs who demand a ransom from the girl's wealthy father. As they are taken on a wild ride through the bowels of modern-day Caracas they attempt to turn the tables on their abductors. If motion sickness is a problem, it might be wise to skip this frenetic, fast-paced picture. Jakubowicz shoots this like a video game, squandering an opportunity to say something serious about an ongoing crisis in many countries. | tt0371939 | [R] | Mia Maestro, Rubén Blades, Carlos Julio Molina, Pedro Perez, Carlos Madera, Jean Paul Leroux | Venezuelan | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Security Risk | 1954 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 69 | Routine FBI-vs-Communist-agent; even Malone isn't diverting in this B thriller. | tt0047465 | John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Keith Larsen, John Craven, Joe Bassett |
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NULL | |||
| Seduced and Abandoned | 1964 | Pietro Germi | ★★★½ | 118 | Fast-paced, richly flavorful bedroom romp involving the fate of a Don Juan who manages to impregnate his fiancée's kid sister. A follow-up in spirit to Germi's DIVORCE— ITALIAN STYLE, this very funny film cleverly lampoons sexual tradition. | tt0058564 | Stefania Sandrelli, Saro Urzi, Lando Buzzanca, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Seducing Dr. Lewis | 2003 | Jean-François Pouliot. | ★★½ | 108 | Start with LOCAL HERO, throw in a little THE FULL MONTY, mix with WAKING NED DEVINE and you have the recipe for this harmless comic tale of a small fishing village promised a much-desired new factory if they can lure a full-time M.D. to their town. Filled with the usual assortment of oddballs one finds in this type of film; the setting, Québec's Harrington Harbour Island, is gorgeous. Original French title: LA GRANDE SÉDUCTION. | tt0366532 | Raymond Bouchard, Dominic Michon-Dagenais, Guy-Daniel Tremblay, Nadia Droun, Rita Lafontaine, Roc LaFortune, Réal Bossé, Guy Vaillancourt. | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Seduction of Joe Tynan | 1979 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★½ | 107 | Earnest but shallow drama (written by Alda) about young senator who faces moral dilemmas while climbing political ladder in Washington. Ludicrous resolution really hurts film as a whole. | tt0079875 | [R] | Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Charles Kimbrough, Melvyn Douglas | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Seduction of Mimi | 1972 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★ | 89 | Mimi is actually a man (Giannini) whose stubbornness and stupidity get him into trouble politically and sexually. Climactic scene where he tries to make love to an impossibly obese woman is unforgettable. Entertaining film was later Americanized as WHICH WAY IS UP? Released in the U.S. in 1974. | tt0068950 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Agostina Belli, Elena Fiore | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Seduction | 1982 | David Schmoeller | 💣 | 104 | A flashy L.A. TV newswoman is terrorized by a persistent fan. Preposterous, derivative film is neither suspenseful nor titillating, despite its title and sexy star (in her first movie vehicle). | tt0084652 | [R] | Morgan Fairchild, Michael Sarrazin, Vince Edwards, Andrew Stevens, Colleen Camp, Wendy Smith Howard | Thriller | NULL | ||
| See Here, Private Hargrove | 1944 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★ | 100 | Marion Hargrove's anecdotes of Army life make an amusing, episodic film; Benchley hilarious as Reed's garrulous dad. Sequel: WHAT NEXT, CORPORAL HARGROVE. | tt0037256 | Robert Walker, Donna Reed, Keenan Wynn, Robert Benchley, Bob Crosby, Grant Mitchell | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| See My Lawyer | 1945 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 67 | Last and least of Olsen and Johnson's movie vehicles, with the daffy duo at war with nightclub owner Pangborn— and aiding a trio of struggling lawyers. Tissue-thin plot serves only as framework for a variety of specialty acts, including Carmen Amaya and the (Nat) King Cole Trio. | tt0038065 | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Alan Curtis, Grace McDonald, Noah Beery/Jr., Franklin Pangborn, Edward S. Brophy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| See No Evil | 1971 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 89 | Terrifying chiller by Brian Clemens; blind girl slowly discovers that her uncle's entire family has been murdered and that the killer is silently stalking her. Watch out for the boots. British title: BLIND TERROR. | tt0067727 | [PG] | Mia Farrow, Dorothy Alison, Robin Bailey, Diane Grayson, Lila Kaye | British | Thriller, Crime, Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| See No Evil | 2006 | Gregory Dark | ★½ | 83 | Formulaic slasher pic aimed at genre fans with an insatiable appetite for eye gouging and flesh ripping. World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Kane (real name: Glen Jacobs) is suitably humongous as a hulking psycho who annihilates overage juvenile delinquents in a gone-to-seed hotel. | tt0437179 | [R] | Kane, Christina Vidal, Michael J. Pagan, Samantha Noble, Steven Vidler | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| See No Evil, Hear No Evil | 1989 | Arthur Hiller | ★★ | 103 | Wilder and Pryor are reteamed in this stupid comedy about a deaf man and a blind man who inadvertently become murder suspects and take it on the lam, hoping to catch the real killers. Five writers (including Wilder) are credited for this labored, foul-mouthed comedy; two such talented stars deserve better. | tt0098282 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey, Kirsten Childs, Alan North, Anthony Zerbe | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| See Spot Run | 2001 | John Whitesell | ★½ | 94 | A bumbling mailman and his would-be girlfriend's son adopt a runaway dog that turns out to be an FBI agent targeted for assassination by mobster Sorvino. Clumsy slapstick comedy for kids has only a few funny moments and a main character who's an imbecile. This represents the combined efforts of five writers! | tt0250720 | [PG] | David Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Paul Sorvino, Joe Viterelli, Angus T. Jones, Steven R. Schirripa, Anthony Anderson | Comedy, Crime, Family | NULL | ||
| See You in the Morning | 1989 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★ | 119 | Bridges and Krige follow a bumpy road to a second marriage (for both of them), trying to erase bad memories and lingering problems . . . and having to win over each other's children. Overall intelligence, warmth, and gentility cannot overcome a certain patness (and forced cuteness) in director Pakula's script— or the greater problem of not knowing when to wrap things up. | tt0098283 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett, Linda Lavin, Drew Barrymore, Lukas Haas, David Dukes, Frances Sternhagen, Theodore Bikel, George Hearn, Macaulay Culkin, Robin Bartlett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seed of Chucky | 2004 | Don Mancini. | ★★ | 87 | Fifth in the CHILD'S PLAY puppet-horror franchise is the silliest yet, as Hollywood decides to make a movie based on the (now-deceased) Chucky and Tiffany legend. Son Glen (voiced by LORD OF THE RINGS star Boyd) gets wind of it and comes to L.A. to bring his parents back to life, and they wreak havoc on the production. Tilly plays herself, taking no prisoners in an over-the-top self-portrait that garners the movie's only real laughs. Series creator-writer Mancini directs for the first time and might want to hand himself a better script next time. | tt0387575 | [R] | Jennifer Tilly, Hannah Spearritt, John Waters, Redman, Keith-Lee Castle, Steve Lawton, Jason Flemyng, Tony Gardner; voices of Billy Boyd, Brad Dourif. | Comedy, Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Seeing Other People | 2004 | Wally Wolodarsky | ★★★ | 90 | Small-scale but smart, funny comedy, set in L.A., about a happy couple on the verge of getting married when she decides they ought to have sexual experiences with other people before they tie the knot. Well cast and well written by the director and Maya Forbes, sitcom veterans who are married in real life. | tt0362129 | [R] | Jay Mohr, Julianne Nicholson, Lauren Graham, Bryan Cranston, Josh Charles, Jonathan Davis, Matt Davis, Andy Richter, Helen Slater, Liz Phair, Alex Borstein, Mimi Rogers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Seeker: The Dark is Rising | 2007 | David L. Cunningham | ★★ | 99 | Youngsters may appreciate this formulaic fantasy-adventure, based on Susan Cooper’s series of novels, about a plucky adolescent (Ludwig) who learns on his 14th birthday that he’s destined to save the human race from the forces of darkness. Adults are more likely to dismiss the action-packed yet oddly uninvolving trifle as a knockoff of the HARRY POTTER films. | tt0484562 | [PG] | Alexander Ludwig, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Christopher Eccleston, Gregory Smith, Amelia Warner, James Cosmo, Wendy Crewson | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Seekers | 1954 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 90 | Adequate adventure drama, set in the early 1800s, as British sailor Hawkins, along with his new wife and best friend, settles in New Zealand. The colorful location filming (especially among the Maoris) is a plus. Original U.S. title: LAND OF FURY. | tt0047467 | Jack Hawkins, Glynis Johns, Noel Purcell, Inia Te Wiata, Laya Raki | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Seeking Justice | 2011 | Roger Donaldson | ★★ | 105 | After his wife (Jones) is brutally mugged and raped, a mild-mannered New Orleans high school English teacher (Cage) is approached by a stranger (Pearce) who claims he's with an organization that can "take care of" the perpetrator in return for a small favor. Naturally, the favor turns out to be anything but small. Slickly made thriller vainly tries to goose the standard-issue vigilante/revenge plot with some ludicrous twists and generic conspiracy theory elements. | tt1214962 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, January Jones, Guy Pearce, Harold Perrineau, Jennifer Carpenter, Xander Berkeley | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | 2012 | Lorene Scafaria | ★★½ | 100 | With an asteroid hurtling toward Earth, mankind prepares for annihilation in three weeks' time. Carell's wife runs out on him, which is typical of his luck; then he and his perky neighbor (Knightley) decide to keep each other company while fulfilling some final tasks. Neither serious sci-fi nor credible drama, this offbeat romantic comedy focuses on two square pegs who find they have something in common. How much you buy into it will depend on your fondness for the likable stars. Carell's wife is played by his real-life wife, Nancy. Written by Scafaria, making her directing debut. | tt1307068 | [R] | Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody, Derek Luke, Rob Corddry, Connie Britton, Melanie Lynskey, T. J. Miller, Mark Moses, Patton Oswalt, William Petersen, Gillian Jacobs, Amy Schumer, Rob Huebel, Bob Stephenson, Mark Moses, Martin Sheen | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Seems Like Old Times | 1980 | Jay Sandrich | ★★★ | 102 | Neil Simon's homage to 1930s screwball farces is quite enjoyable, with Goldie as a good-hearted lawyer whose ex-husband (Chase) disrupts her life and threatens the career of her new spouse (Grodin). Funny lines and situations all the way up to pointless finale. Feature debut of TV comedy director Sandrich. | tt0081480 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Charles Grodin, Robert Guillaume, Harold Gould, George Grizzard, Yvonne Wilder, T. K. Carter | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Seize the Day | 1986 | Fielder Cook | ★★★½ | 93 | Williams is outstanding as Tommy Wilhelm, pushing 40 and a failure by society's standards, who's broke, much abused, and desperate for love. Wiseman and Stiller offer fine support as his coldhearted father and a con man he naively trusts. A small masterpiece, like the Saul Bellow novel on which it's based, with a faithful screenplay by Ronald Ribman. Plenty of familiar faces in small roles: Tony Roberts, Richard Shull, John Fiedler, Jo Van Fleet, William Hickey, Eileen Heckart, many others. | tt0091920 | Robin Williams, Joseph Wiseman, Jerry Stiller, Glenne Headly | Drama | NULL | |||
| Seizure | 1974 | Oliver Stone | ★★ | 93 | Stone's directorial debut is stylish but incoherent shocker in which novelist Frid, his family and friends are forced to play games of death by trio of evil weirdos who may or may not be his nightmares come to life. | tt0072136 | [PG] | Jonathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Christina Pickles, Joe Sirola, Herve Villechaize, Mary Woronov, Troy Donahue | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Selena | 1997 | Gregory Nava | ★★½ | 130 | Glossy, congenially corny biography of the spirited young Tejano singer whose dreams of showbiz fame were cut short by her murder (just as she was about to win success as a cross-over performer). Lopez offers a dynamic, star-making turn as Selena and Olmos also scores as her loving but possessive father. Ironically, the film does more to solidify Selena's celebrity than she was able to accomplish in her short lifetime. | tt0120094 | [PG] | Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Constance Marie, Jacob Vargas, Lupe Ontiveros, Jackie Guerra, Rebecca Lee Meza | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Sellout | 1952 | Gerald Mayer | ★★½ | 83 | Small-town newspaper editor Pidgeon finds himself in over his head when he tries to get the goods on corrupt sheriff Gomez. OK exposé drama. | tt0045135 | Walter Pidgeon, John Hodiak, Audrey Totter, Paula Raymond, Cameron Mitchell, Karl Malden, Everett Sloane, Thomas Gomez | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Semi-Pro | 2008 | Kent Alterman | ★★ | 91 | Retro-’70s comedy about a one-hit wonder disco crooner (Ferrell) who buys a struggling Detroit basketball team. Installing himself as player, owner, and chief promoter, he attempts to make the team NBA-worthy with a little help from a fading vet hoopster (Harrelson) and a raw-talented up-and-comer (Benjamin). Profanely funny movie tries to do for basketball what SLAP SHOT did for hockey . . . but Ferrell’s shtick is wearing thin by now. | tt0839980 | [R] | Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Andrew Daly, Will Arnett, Andy Richter, Rob Corddry, Jackie Earle Haley, David Koechner, Kristen Wiig, Ed Helms, Patti LaBelle, Tim Meadows | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Semi-Tough | 1977 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 108 | Easygoing comedy about two football stars and their mutual girlfriend wanders too much to hit any major targets but has some funny moments. Reynolds' charm makes up for film's other deficiencies. Adapted from Dan Jenkins' novel by Ring Lardner, Jr. (who took his name off the credits) and Walter Bernstein. Later a brief TV series. | tt0078227 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Bert Convy, Lotte Lenya, Roger E. Mosley, Richard Masur, Carl Weathers, Brian Dennehy, Ron Silver | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Seminole | 1953 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 87 | Capable cast in unusual drama about earnest cavalry lieutenant Hudson trying to help Indian tribe's efforts to remain free of white man law. | tt0046294 | Rock Hudson, Barbara Hale, Anthony Quinn, Richard Carlson, Hugh O'Brian, Russell Johnson, Lee Marvin, James Best | Western | NULL | |||
| Seminole Uprising | 1955 | Earl Bellamy | ★½ | 74 | Trite handling of Indians vs. cavalry; too little action. | tt0048600 | George Montgomery, Karin Booth, John Pickard, Ed Hinton | Western | NULL | |||
| The Senator Was Indiscreet | 1947 | George S. Kaufman | ★★★ | 74 | Wit-playwright Kaufman's only directorial fling turns out quite well, with Powell as Senator whose diary causes embarrassment. Entertaining satire. | tt0039811 | William Powell, Ella Raines, Peter Lind Hayes, Arleen Whelan, Ray Collins, Hans Conried | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Send Me No Flowers | 1964 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 100 | Hypochondriac Rock, convinced he has a short time to live, has Randall find new husband for wife Doris. Funny script by Julius J. Epstein; Lynde is a riot as aggressive cemetery plot salesman. | tt0058571 | Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Clint Walker, Paul Lynde, Hal March, Edward Andrews, Patricia Barry | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sender | 1982 | Roger Christian | ★★★ | 91 | Solid thriller about telepathic, suicidal Ivanek, unable to control his powers, who transfers his nightmares to psychiatrist Harrold and causes havoc in a hospital. Very good of its type. | tt0084658 | [R] | Kathryn Harrold, Zeljko Ivanek, Shirley Knight, Paul Freeman, Sean Hewitt, Harry Ditson | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Senechal the Magnificent | 1957 | Jacques Boyer | ★★½ | 78 | Fernandel is well cast as buffoon actor who, through mistaken identities and an ability to mimic, becomes a Parisian hit. | tt0052264 | Fernandel, Nadia Gray, Georges Chamarat, Jeanne Aubert, Armontel, Robert Pizani | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Senior Prom | 1959 | David Lowell Rich | ★½ | 82 | The title tells all in this flimsy, mostly boring musical. The 'guest stars' include Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Mitch Miller, Ed Sullivan, Connee Boswell, Bob Crosby, Les Elgart, and Freddy Martin. | tt0052181 | Jill Corey, Paul Hampton, Barbara Bostock, Jimmy Komack, Tom Laughlin | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Seniors | 1978 | Rodney Amateau | ★★ | 87 | Four collegians open a bogus sex clinic, which mushrooms into a multimillion-dollar business. Alternately silly and satirical, with some innocuous nudity thrown in. Veteran character actors help a great deal. Written by Stanley (PILLOW TALK) Shapiro. Video title: THE SENIOR. | tt0078228 | [R] | Jeffrey Byron, Gary Imhof, Dennis Quaid, Lou Richards, Priscilla Barnes, Alan Reed, Edward Andrews, Robert Emhardt, Alan Hewitt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Senna | 2011 | Asif Kapadia | ★★★½ | 107 | Compelling documentary about Ayrton Senna, whose love of racing began with go-karts in his native Brazil and led to him becoming a Formula One champion in the 1980s. A star on the world stage, a national hero at home, he became embroiled in controversy on and off the track before being cut down in his prime. The dramatic story is told entirely through archival footage, augmented by contemporary audio interviews. Manish Pandey's script and Senna's many TV interviews (and footage from his point of view while racing) make this exceptional film relatable even to viewers who don't follow the sport. | tt1424432 | [PG-13] | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Sensations of 1945 | Sensations | 1944 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 86 | Publicity-wise Powell shows press agent O'Keefe how to attract attention in this campy musical; one incredible number has her tap-dancing inside giant pinball machine! Fields' skit (his last appearance on film) is only fair. Retitled SENSATIONS. | tt0037258 | Eleanor Powell, Dennis O'Keefe, C. Aubrey Smith, Eugene Pallette, W. C. Fields, Cab Calloway, Sophie Tucker. | Musical | NULL | ||
| Sense and Sensibility | 1995 | Ang Lee | ★★★½ | 135 | Vivid, contemporary reading of Jane Austen's novel about two newly impoverished sisters— one impulsive and flirtatious, the other repeatedly thwarted and forced to suppress her feelings of love. Perfectly cast and performed, a spirited and moving look at social mores and how disparate personalities dealt with them in early 19th-century England. Thompson won an Oscar for Best Screenplay Adaptation. | tt0114388 | [PG] | Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, James Fleet, Harriet Walter, Gemma Jones, Elizabeth Spriggs, Robert Hardy, Greg Wise, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Stubbs, Hugh Laurie, Emilie François, Tom Wilkinson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Sense of Loss | 1972 | Marcel Ophüls | ★★★ | 135 | Thoughtful documentary about the continuing, never-ending political conflict— and violence— in Northern Ireland. Not up to Ophuls' previous film, THE SORROW AND THE PITY, but still heartbreaking in its most powerful moments. | tt0069247 | U.S.-Swiss | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Senseless | 1998 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★ | 93 | Embroiled in cutthroat competition for a job, college business major gets a dose of one-upmanship when he agrees to take an injection of sense-enhancing 'green stuff' as part of a campus lab experiment. Beware those side effects, and beware a comedy in which guinea pig Wayans outmugs even another Marlon (Brando— when he played mad Dr. Moreau). Torn is amusing as the kind of corporate smoothie he can now play in his sleep. | tt0120820 | [R] | Marlon Wayans, David Spade, Matthew Lillard, Rip Torn, Brad Dourif, Tamara Taylor, Richard McGonagle | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Senso | The Wanton Countess | 1954 | Luchino Visconti | ★★½ | 115 | Carefully paced study of human emotions, chronicling the relationship between earthy, materialistic Austrian officer Granger and his aristocratic Italian mistress (Valli). An intriguing union of the neorealism of Visconti's earlier work and the lush romanticism often found in his later films. Retitled WANTON CONTESSA. English-language version, titled THE WANTON COUNTESS, features dialogue by Tennessee Williams and Paul Bowles! | tt0047469 | Alida Valli, Farley Granger, Massimo Girotti, Heinz Moog | Italian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Sensuous Nurse | 1976 | Nello Rossati | ★½ | 78 | Voluptuous Ursula hires on to help hasten the demise of a wealthy vintner with a heart condition by keeping his pulse racing in this smarmy sex comedy. Ursula does look great in the nude, however. | tt0074682 | [R] | Ursula Andress, Jack Palance, Duilio Del Prete, Luciana Paluzzi, Lino Toffolo, Mario Pisu | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sentimental Journey | 1946 | Walter Lang | ★★ | 94 | Maudlin yarn of dying actress O'Hara adopting little girl to give husband Payne a companion when she is gone; no holds barred here. Remade as THE GIFT OF LOVE and as a 1984 TV movie. | tt0038922 | John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, William Bendix, Cedric Hardwicke, Glenn Langan, Mischa Auer, Connie Marshall | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sentinel | 1977 | Michael Winner | ★★ | 93 | Slick but empty-headed shocker about N.Y.C. fashion model who rents Brooklyn Heights brownstone, finds it's full of demons and she's to be the next sentinel guarding the gateway to Hell. Good cast makes it somewhat endurable, but climax is awfully yucky. Freely based on Jeffrey Konvitz' best-seller. | tt0076683 | [R] | Cristina Raines, Ava Gardner, Chris Sarandon, Burgess Meredith, Sylvia Miles, Jose Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, John Carradine, Christopher Walken, Eli Wallach, Jerry Orbach, Jeff Goldblum, Beverly D'Angelo, Martin Balsam, William Hickey, Tom Berenger | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Sentinel | 2006 | Clark Johnson | ★★½ | 107 | Decorated Secret Service Agent-who's having an affair with the First Lady-is blackmailed, which leads another agent (and onetime friend) to believe he's the 'inside man' suspected of conspiring to kill the President. Slick action-thriller is lively and entertaining until a crucial moment three-quarters of the way through, when it goes flat and credibility becomes a serious issue. Director Johnson has a small but significant role as one of Douglas' fellow agents. | tt0443632 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria, Kim Basinger, Martin Donovan, Ritchie Coster, Blair Brown, David Rasche, Paul Calderon, Gloria Reuben | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Separate Lies | 2005 | Julian Fellowes | ★★★ | 87 | The lives of a well-heeled barrister (Wilkinson) and his wife (Watson) are disrupted upon the arrival in their community of good-looking, patronizing Everett. Adding to the mix is a hit-and-run accident in which their housekeeper's husband is killed. Razor-sharp drama explores the reasons why people lie to themselves and to those closest to them, and puts forth the notion that there is turmoil in even the most seemingly placid lives. The three leads-particularly Wilkinson-are in fine form. First-time director Fellowes scripted, from Nigel Balchin's 1951 novel A Way Through the Wood. | tt0369053 | [R] | Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson, Rupert Everett, Hermione Norris, John Warnaby, Richenda Carey, Linda Bassett, John Neville | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Separate Lives | 1995 | David Madden | ★½ | 102 | Limp psychosexual thriller has detective (Belushi) on the trail of a murderer who's killing the patients of his sexy group therapist (Hamilton)— while she's convinced she's committing them herself. Predictable and bland. | tt0111125 | [R] | Linda Hamilton, James Belushi, Vera Miles, Elisabeth Moss, Drew Snyder | Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Separate Peace | 1972 | Larry Peerce | 💣 | 104 | Supposedly sensitive story of two roommates in a 1940s prep school, taken from John Knowles' overrated novel, is enough to make anyone gag. Story is morbid, acting amateurish, and direction has no feeling at all for the period. A total bummer. | tt0069249 | [PG] | John Heyl, Parker Stevenson, William Roerick, Peter Brush, Victor Bevine, Scott Bradbury | Drama | NULL | ||
| Separate Tables | 1958 | Delbert Mann | ★★★★ | 99 | Terence Rattigan's pair of romantic playlets set at English seaside resort are reworked here into superb drama in the GRAND HOTEL vein; Lancaster and Hayworth are divorced couple trying to make another go of it, Hiller is his timid mistress, Niven a supposed war hero, Kerr a lonely spinster dominated by mother Cooper. Bouquets all around, especially to Oscar winners Niven and Hiller. Screenplay by Rattigan and John Gay. | tt0052182 | Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Wendy Hiller, Gladys Cooper, Cathleen Nesbitt, Rod Taylor, Felix Aylmer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Separate Ways | 1981 | Howard (Hikmet) Avedis | ★★ | 92 | Low-budget U.S. answer to A MAN AND A WOMAN has former race-car driver LoBianco suffering marital problems with wife Black, exacerbated by her one-night stand with younger man Naughton. Good cast is wasted. | tt0083052 | [R] | Karen Black, Tony LoBianco, Arlene Golonka, David Naughton, Jack Carter, Sharon Farrell, William Windom, Robert Fuller, Noah Hathaway, Sybil Danning | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Separation | 2011 | Asghar Farhadi | ★★★★ | 123 | Intensely powerful drama about a family in crisis, involving a son (Moadi) who insists on caring for his elderly, Alzheimer's-inflicted father. His modern-thinking wife (Hatami) feels his priorities are askew and decides to leave him. Then an unexpected event adds fuel to a situation that already is fiery hot. Sobering, and riveting, film deals with issues that are common to countless families around the world, but also reveals the particulars of Iran's male-dominated society. Not a political film, per se, but a humanistic view of how anger, resentment, and misunderstanding can spiral out of control. Written by the director. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. | tt1832382 | [PG-13] | Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, Merila Zarei | Iranian | Drama | NULL | |
| September | 1987 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 82 | Six people vent their angst during a weekend in the country. Intelligent and well acted, but after a while it dawns on you that there's no earthly reason to be interested in these people and their whining. Stritch is a standout as Mia's flamboyant mom, and it's hard to completely dislike a film that plugs jazz pianist Art Tatum so vigorously. Set in Vermont but filmed completely on a soundstage. Writer-director Allen fared better with his earlier drama, INTERIORS. | tt0093940 | [PG] | Denholm Elliott, Mia Farrow, Elaine Stritch, Sam Waterston, Jack Warden, Dianne Wiest | Drama | NULL | ||
| September 30, 1955 | 24 Hours of the Rebel | 1978 | James Bridges | ★★½ | 101 | Thomas Hulce, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Christopher. Arkansas undergrad, well played by Thomas, goes off his nut when James Dean dies, with tragic results for a girl friend. Original, if excessively uneven drama, is worth consideration for being one of the few films to deal at all seriously with the movie star mystique. Original title: 9/30/55; shown on TV as 24 HOURS OF THE REBEL. | tt0078231 | [PG] | Richard Thomas, Susan Tyrrell, Deborah Benson, Lisa Blount, Tom Hulce, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Christopher | Drama | NULL | |
| September Affair | 1950 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 104 | Trim romance of married man Cotten and pianist Fontaine who find that they're listed as dead in plane crash and now have chance to continue their affair. Makes effective use of classical music and Walter Huston's recording of 'September Song' (which once again became a hit). | tt0042947 | Joseph Cotten, Joan Fontaine, Françoise Rosay, Jessica Tandy, Robert Arthur, Fortunio Bonanova, Jimmy Lydon | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| September Dawn | 2007 | Christopher Cain | ★★½ | 111 | Fictionalized Romeo and Juliet-style love story about a Mormon boy and a Christian girl in 1857 Utah set against the backdrop of a controversial, real-life (if little-known) incident in which 120 men, women, and children from her wagon train are ruthlessly murdered. Film places blame for the massacre on Mormon leaders, including Brigham Young (Stamp), although this is vehemently denied by the church. Low-budget (but handsome-looking) drama blends facts with Hollywood speculation to create a fairly compelling tale. Director Cain coscripted; his son Dean has a cameo as Joseph Smith. | tt0473700 | [R] | Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Gries, Huntley Ritter, Krisinda Cain, Shaun Johnston, Lolita Davidovich, Terence Stamp. | Drama, Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| September Storm | 1960 | Byron Haskin | 💣 | 99 | Scheming fashion model joins a group of adventurers searching for buried treasure off the coast of Majorca. Film's only novelty is that it was shot in 3-D CinemaScope. | tt0054290 | Joanne Dru, Mark Stevens, Robert Strauss, Asher Dann, M. Jean-Pierre Kerien, Vera Valmont | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sequoia | 1934 | Chester Franklin | ★★½ | 73 | Girl living near national forest raises orphaned deer and mountain lion to be friends. Fascinating animal footage burdened by simplistic, often heavy-handed story. Reissued as MALIBU, also the name of book on which it's based. | tt0025763 | Jean Parker, Russell Hardie, Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Hurst |
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| Seraphim Falls | 2007 | David Von Ancken | ★★★ | 115 | Beautifully photographed (by John Toll) widescreen Western set a few years after the Civil War about a colonel who embarks on a search for a man with whom he must settle a score. Entertaining to see Neeson as a man on a mission and Brosnan using his ingenuity to avoid capture in the wide-open wilderness. Testosterone-heavy scenario is entirely watchable and offers solid roles to its two stars. | tt0479537 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Michael Wincott, John Robinson, Ed Lauter, Robert Baker, Jimmi Simpson, Nate Mooney, Anjelica Huston, Kevin J. O'Connor, Shannon Zeller, Xander Berkeley, Angie Harmon, Wes Studi, Tom Noonan. | Drama, Western, War | NULL | ||
| Serena | 1962 | Peter Maxwell | ★★½ | 62 | Neat mystery programmer with Holt the detective inspector ferreting out the killer of artist Jones' wife. | tt0056469 | Patrick Holt, Emrys Jones, Honor Blackman, Bruce Beeby | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Serenade | 1956 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 121 | James M. Cain novel becomes surface soaper of Lanza, the protégé of swank Fontaine, manipulated by manager Price and loved by earthy Montiel; spotty musical interludes. | tt0049737 | Mario Lanza, Joan Fontaine, Sarita Montiel, Vincent Price, Joseph Calleia, Vince Edwards | Drama | NULL | |||
| Serendipity | 2001 | Peter Chelsom | ★★★ | 91 | A chance meeting in N.Y.C. leads to a romantic evening for Cusack and Beckinsale, but she chooses to leave it to fate to decide if they should ever see each other again. Several years later, on the eve of his wedding, Cusack decides he simply must find her. Endearing romantic comedy with appealing stars and wonderful support from Piven and Levy. Buck Henry appears unbilled. | tt0240890 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon, Eugene Levy, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Lucy Gordon | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Serenity | 2005 | Joss Whedon | ★★½ | 119 | Five hundred years in the future, a mercenary and his crew on the ragtag airship Serenity battle the powerful Alliance and try to deprogram a teenage girl whose telepathic powers have been turned to the dark side. Whedon gives fans of his canceled 2002 TV series Firefly a chance to round out its unfinished story, while providing a self-contained continuity for newcomers. A sort of low-rent STAR WARS with Fillion as the Han Solo-ish antihero, this feature has spunk and spirit but goes on too long. | tt0379786 | [PG-13] | Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Krumholtz, Sarah Paulson, Michael Hitchcock | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sergeant DeadHead | 1965 | Norman Taurog | ★½ | 89 | Bungling Army sergeant goes into space with a chimpanzee and undergoes personality change. Oh, that poor monkey. Also known as SERGEANT DEADHEAD, THE ASTRONUT. | tt0059704 | Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, Eve Arden, Cesar Romero, Fred Clark, Buster Keaton, Gale Gordon, Harvey Lembeck | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sergeant Madden | 1939 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★ | 82 | Director von Sternberg out of his element with standard Beery vehicle of policeman whose son alienates him, marries orphan girl he raised. | tt0031917 | Wallace Beery, Tom Brown, Alan Curtis, Laraine Day, Fay Holden, David Gorcey, Etta McDaniel, Horace McMahon | Drama, Crime, Family | NULL | |||
| Sergeant Murphy | 1938 | B. Reeves Eason | ★★ | 57 | Reagan stars in this forgettable programmer as a soldier who loves a talented horse. The sergeant of the title is the animal; Ronnie is a lowly private. | tt0030731 | Ronald Reagan, Mary Maguire, Donald Crisp, Ben Hendricks, William Davidson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sergeant Rutledge | 1960 | John Ford | ★★★ | 111 | Arresting story of a black U.S. Cavalry officer on trial for rape and murder; his story is pieced together in flashback during his court-martial. Unusual subject matter for its time, solidly presented by Ford (with some occasionally awkward comic relief). Strode is commanding in the central role. | tt0054292 | Jeffrey Hunter, Woody Strode, Constance Towers, Billie Burke, Carleton Young, Juano Hernandez, Willis Bouchey, Mae Marsh, Hank Worden, Jack Pennick | Crime, Western | NULL | |||
| Sergeant Ryker | Torn Between Two Values | 1968 | Buzz Kulik | ★★½ | 85 | Adapted from TV film The Case Against Sergeant Ryker, story concerns court-martial of Marvin in title role, an Army sergeant during Korean War suspected of being a traitor; Miles is his wife and Dillman the dynamic defense attorney. Aka TORN BETWEEN TWO VALUES. | tt0063584 | Lee Marvin, Bradford Dillman, Vera Miles, Peter Graves, Lloyd Nolan, Murray Hamilton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sergeant York | 1941 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 134 | Excellent story of pacifist York (Cooper) drafted during WW1, realizing purpose of fighting and becoming hero. Oscar-winning performance by Cooper in fine, intelligent film, balancing segments of rural America with battle scenes. John Huston was one of the writers. Also available in computer-colored version. | tt0034167 | Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Joan Leslie, George Tobias, Stanley Ridges, Margaret Wycherly, Ward Bond, Noah Beery/Jr., June Lockhart | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Sergeant | 1968 | John Flynn | ★★ | 107 | Predictable drama, set in France, about homosexual Army sergeant Steiger and his desire for handsome private Law. Director Flynn has nice eye for detail, but overall, film doesn't make much of an impression. | tt0063585 | [R] | Rod Steiger, John Phillip Law, Ludmila Mikael, Frank Latimore, Elliott Sullivan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sergeants 3 | 1962 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 112 | Second reworking of GUNGA DIN is amusing, but not up to 1939 original. This time it's out West with the Rat Pack as cavalry sergeants. Davis can't eclipse Sam Jaffe as Gunga Din, though. | tt0056470 | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis/Jr., Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, Ruta Lee, Henry Silva | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Serial | 1980 | Bill Persky | ★★★ | 86 | Trenchant satire on Marin County, Cal., and its residents' obsession with various freakish fads, sexual trends, and psychological mumbo-jumbo, with a Frank Capra-esque finale. Mull (in his first starring role) plays the only sane one in the bunch. Adapted from Cyra McFadden's column and book. | tt0081485 | [R] | Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld, Sally Kellerman, Bill Macy, Tom Smothers, Christopher Lee, Peter Bonerz, Jennifer McAlister, Nita Talbot, Stacey Nelkin, Barbara Rhoades, Pamela Bellwood | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Serial Mom | 1994 | John Waters | ★★½ | 93 | Beaming, cheerful Turner is the perfect mom to her suburban family; she's also a serial killer, bumping off anyone who offends her sense of family values. The main target of this movie's satirical barbs are those who would turn murderers into media heroes, but it takes plenty of other potshots along the way. Blander than most of Waters' films, this works only intermittently, despite a knockout performance from Turner. | tt0111127 | [R] | Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, Matthew Lillard, Scott Wesley Morgan, Walt MacPherson, Justin Whalin, Patricia Dunnock, Mink Stole, Mary Jo Catlett, Traci Lords, Patricia Hearst, Suzanne Somers | Comedy, Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Series 7: The Contenders | 2001 | Daniel Minahan | ★★½ | 88 | Imagine a Survivor-type show where the contestants literally have to kill each other! That's the premise of this jet-black satire of reality TV. It's all a bit too ironic and postmodern for its own good, but it's still fun, in a sick vein, especially when we follow Dawn (Smith, who's terrific), the reigning champion with ten kills who happens to be pregnant and about to burst! | tt0251031 | [R] | Brooke Smith, Glenn Fitzgerald, Marylouise Burke, Michael Kaycheck, Richard Venture, Merritt Wever, Donna Hanover, Angelina Phillips | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Serious Man | 2009 | Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | ★★ | 105 | Quixotic, existential, highly detailed black comedy about a Jewish man in a Midwestern suburban town in 1967 whose life falls apart, piece by piece—beginning with his wife telling him she’s leaving. (This is preceded by a portentous prologue, in Yiddish.) The Coens draw on their own Midwestern Jewish upbringing for this grimly amusing fable, so anyone who grew up in a similar environment will easily relate. But one is forced to ask the same question as the film’s protagonist: What does it all mean? (Other than "life’s a bitch, then you die.") | tt1019452 | [R] | Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Adam Arkin, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, Amy Landecker, George Wyner, Katherine Borowitz, Yelena Shmulenson, Fyvush Finkel, Simon Helberg, Michael Lerner | U.S.-French-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Serious Moonlight | 2009 | Cheryl Hines | ★★ | 84 | Spurned wife takes action against her philandering husband by duct-taping him to a toilet seat in their bathroom, convinced that in time she can win back his love. Things don’t go as planned. Oddball black comedy starts on a promising note but doesn’t end that way, though the cast is game. Final screenplay by actress-filmmaker Adrienne Shelly; Hines’ feature directing debut. | tt1133993 | [R] | Meg Ryan, Tim Hutton, Kristen Bell, Justin Long | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Serpent and the Rainbow | 1988 | Wes Craven | ★★ | 98 | Ambitious (by Craven standards) but gratuitous chiller about a real-life anthropologist's experiences with black magic and voodoo in Haiti. Well done, but wallows in its atmosphere and special effects; however, Craven fans will boost the rating by a star. Based on the book by Wade Davis. | tt0096071 | [R] | Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield, Brent Jennings, Theresa Merritt, Michael Gough | Horror | NULL | ||
| Serpent of the Nile | 1953 | William Castle | ★½ | 81 | Antony and Cleopatra, B-movie style; good for a few laughs, anyway. Producer Sam Katzman used leftover sets from Rita Hayworth's SALOME. | tt0046298 | Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Raymond Burr, Michael Ansara, Julie Newmar | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Serpent's Egg | 1978 | Ingmar Bergman | ★½ | 120 | Smorgasbord of depravities makes story of Jewish trapeze artist in pre-WW2 Germany an overwhelmingly unpleasant movie experience. Sven Nykvist's camerawork is brilliant as usual, but Carradine is fatally miscast. | tt0076686 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, David Carradine, Gert Frobe, Heinz Bennent, Glynn Turman, James Whitmore | German-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Serpico | 1973 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★½ | 129 | Tough, exciting filmization of Peter Maas book based on true-life accounts of N.Y.C. undercover cop whose nonconformism— and exposure of department corruption— isolate him from the force. Screenplay by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler. Look for Judd Hirsch as a cop. Followed by a TV movie and short-lived series. | tt0070666 | [R] | Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Tony Roberts, James Tolkan, Lewis J. Stadlen, M. Emmet Walsh, F. Murray Abraham, Kenneth McMillan | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Servant | 1963 | Joseph Losey | ★★★½ | 115 | Insidious story of moral degradation as corrupt manservant Bogarde becomes master of employer Fox; superb study of brooding decadence. Scripted by Harold Pinter. | tt0057490 | Dirk Bogarde, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Wendy Craig, Catherine Lacey, Patrick Magee | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Service De Luxe | 1938 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★ | 85 | Easy-to-take but empty-headed froth about a woman who runs a service company that does just about anything its customers require. Price makes his film debut as man who finally breaks through Bennett's 'strictly business' facade. | tt0030732 | Constance Bennett, Vincent Price, Charles Ruggles, Mischa Auer, Joy Hodges, Helen Broderick | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Serving Sara | 2002 | Reginald Hudlin | ★★ | 99 | Lackluster comedy about a N.Y.C. process server who makes a deal with his 'mark' to find her philandering husband and serve him with her divorce papers— in return for half of her take. This takes them on a bumpy road to Texas. It's a long way from IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Mike Judge appears unbilled as a motel clerk. | tt0261289 | [PG-13] | Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley, Bruce Campbell, Cedric the Entertainer, Vincent Pastore, Amy Adams, Joe Viterelli, Terry Crews, Jerry Stiller | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird | Follow That Bird | 1985 | Ken Kwapis | ★★½ | 88 | Sweet, simple film about Sesame Street's beloved Big Bird, who's placed in foster home but tries to hitchhike back to Sesame Street. Aimed solely at young children, who should enjoy it— though for adults nothing can top Oscar the Grouch's opening anthem. Cute songs throughout. | tt0089994 | [G] | Caroll Spinney, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Paul Bartel, Sandra Bernhard, John Candy, Chevy Chase, Joe Flaherty, Waylon Jennings, Dave Thomas | Comedy, Family | NULL | |
| Session 9 | 2001 | Brad Anderson | ★★ | 100 | A ragtag asbestos-removal team's new job site is an immense, abandoned insane asylum. Since the crew doesn't get along well from the get-go, just imagine the teasing, taunting, and tensions unleashed in the dark corridors day after day. Genuinely spooky film unfortunately suffers from underdeveloped characters. Written by the director and costar Gevedon. Claustrophobics beware. | tt0261983 | [R] | David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Brendan Sexton III, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Session With the Committee | 1969 | Del Jack | ★★½ | 90 | Filmed collection of live skits by L.A. comic troupe isn't exactly 'pure' cinema, but has the same appeal as a good comedy record album. Plenty of laughs. | tt0064962 | [PG] | Peter Bonerz, Barbara Bosson, Garry Goodrow, Carl Gottlieb, Jessica Myerson, Christopher Ross, Melvin Stewart, Don Sturdy (Howard Hesseman) | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Set It Off | 1996 | F. Gary Gray | ★★ | 121 | Four black women from the L.A. projects decide to beat the system by robbing banks, and end up testing their friendship to deadly ends. Frustrating, overdirected film wants to be a hard-edged urban drama but relies on pyrotechnics and car chases for impact. Even worse is an unnecessary romantic subplot between Pinkett and suave banker Underwood. Latifah's powerhouse performance as a gun-toting lesbian gives the film a much needed jolt of realism. | tt0117603 | [R] | Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood, John C. McGinley, Anna Maria Horsford, Ella Joyce, Charlie Robinson, Chaz Lamar Shepard, Dr. Dre | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Set-Up | 1949 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 72 | Gutsy account of washed-up fighter refusing to give up or go crooked; Ryan has never been better. Art Cohn's pungent screenplay was inspired by a narrative poem(!) by Joseph Moncure March. Photographed by Milton Krasner. Played out in real time— as you'll see by the clock shown in opening and closing shots. | tt0041859 | Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter, James Edwards, Wallace Ford | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Seven | 1979 | Andy Sidaris | ★★ | 100 | Brawny Smith is hired by U.S. intelligence to destroy Hawaiian crime syndicate, which he does with enthusiastic team of 'specialists.' Violent, sexy, tongue-in-cheek action yarn includes the 'shooting the swordsman' gag later immortalized in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. | tt0079882 | [R] | William Smith, Barbara Leigh, Guich Koock, Art Metrano, Martin Kove, Richard Le Pore, Susan Kiger | Action | NULL | ||
| Seven Alone | 1975 | Earl Bellamy | ★★½ | 96 | OK family-wilderness picture on true story of seven children who make perilous 2,000 mile trek West during the 1800s after their parents die en route. | tt0073686 | [G] | Dewey Martin, Aldo Ray, Anne Collings, Dean Smith, Stewart Petersen | Comedy, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Seven Angry Men | 1955 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★★ | 90 | Good historical drama of John Brown (Massey) and family fighting to free slaves during 1800s. Massey is fine in lead role, which he previously played in SANTA FE TRAIL. | tt0048602 | Raymond Massey, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, James Best, Dennis Weaver, Dabbs Greer, Ann Tyrrell | Western | NULL | |||
| Seven Beauties | 1976 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★★ | 115 | Director-writer Wertmuller's masterpiece follows a small-time Casanova through the horrors of WW2 battle and imprisonment in a concentration camp, where he learns to survive— at any cost. Giannini is superb in this harrowing, unforgettable film. | tt0075040 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler, Elena Fiore, Enzo Vitale | Italian | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |
| Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | 1954 | Stanley Donen | ★★★★ | 103 | Rollicking musical perfectly integrates song, dance, and story: Keel's decision to get himself a wife (Powell) inspires his rowdy brothers to follow suit. Tuneful Johnny Mercer-Gene DePaul score (with Oscar-winning musical direction by Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin), but it's Michael Kidd's energetic dance numbers that really stand out, with rare screen work by dancers Jacques D'Amboise and Marc Platt. The barn-raising sequence is an absolute knockout. Screenplay by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorothy Kingsley, from a Stephen Vincent Benet story. Later a TV series and a Broadway musical. | tt0047472 | Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn, Tommy Rall, Virginia Gibson, Julie Newmar, Ruta Kilmonis (Lee), Matt Mattox | Comedy, Family, Musical, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula | Seven Golden Vampires- The Last Warning! | 1974 | Roy Ward Baker. | ★★ | 72 | Vampire hunter Van Helsing (Cushing) is in China in the late 19th century to vanquish Dracula with the help of some karate-chopping assistants. Odd blend of Kung Fu action, supernatural, and Dracula themes reportedly worked better in original 89m. version called LEGEND OF THE 7 GOLDEN VAMPIRES. Aka SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES— THE LAST WARNING! | tt0070297 | [R] | Peter Cushing, David Chiang, Julie Ege, Robin Stewart, Shih Szu, John Forbes-Robertson. | British-Hong Kong | Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL |
| Seven Chances | 1925 | Buster Keaton | ★★★½ | 56 | Buster will inherit a fortune if he's married by 7:00 that evening; a miscommunication with his girlfriend leads to his pursuit by thousands of would-be brides. The highlight: a furious chase down a hill in which Buster dodges dozens of oversized boulders! One of Keaton's silent gems. That's young Jean Arthur as a switchboard operator who turns down Buster's marriage proposal. Remade as THE BACHELOR (1999). | tt0016332 | Buster Keaton, T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, Ruth Dwyer, Frankie Raymond, Jules Cowles | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Seven Cities of Gold | 1955 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 103 | Average spectacle adventure has good cast and fair direction. 'Roughneck' learns ways of God in search for fabled Indian treasure in Western U.S. | tt0048603 | Richard Egan, Anthony Quinn, Jeffrey Hunter, Rita Moreno, Michael Rennie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Seven Days in May | 1964 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 118 | Absorbing, believable story of military scheme to overthrow the government. Fine cast includes Lancaster as the general planning the coup and Douglas as the colonel who discovers the plot, March as U.S. President; intelligent suspense in Rod Serling screenplay from Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey novel. John Houseman made his screen acting debut in small but crucial role. Remade for cable as THE ENEMY WITHIN. | tt0058576 | Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Martin Balsam, George Macready, Whit Bissell, Hugh Marlowe | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Seven Days in Utopia | 2011 | Matthew Dean Russell | ★★ | 99 | After experiencing a meltdown on the links, a young golfer (Black) who has been pressured to compete by his father experiences a rebirth, both athletically and spiritually, after stumbling into the small town of Utopia, Texas, and being mentored by wizened old pro Duvall (quietly effective as ever). Well meaning but rambling, banal message movie about the importance of friendship, family, and faith, based on Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, by sports psychologist David L. Cook. | tt1699147 | [G] | Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Melissa Leo, Deborah Ann Woll, Brian Geraghty, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Jerry Ferrara, K. J. Choi, Kathy Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seven Days to Noon | 1950 | John Boulting | ★★★★ | 93 | Superbly paced thriller (from Paul Dehn and James Bernard's Oscar-winning story) about scientist threatening to explode bomb in London if his demands are not met. Screenplay by Roy Boulting and Frank Harvey. | tt0042949 | Barry Jones, Olive Sloane, Andre Morell, Sheila Manahan, Hugh Cross, Joan Hickson | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Seven Days' Leave | 1942 | Tim Whelan | ★★½ | 87 | Mature is an Army private who will inherit $100,000 if he can marry heiress Ball. Sprightly musical comedy, featuring Freddy Martin and Les Brown's bands. | tt0035307 | Lucille Ball, Victor Mature, Harold Peary, Ginny Simms, Peter Lind Hayes, Arnold Stang, Ralph Edwards | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Seven Deadly Sins | 1952 | Eduardo De Filippo, Jean Dreville, Yves Allegret, Roberto Rossellini, Carlo Rim, Claude Autant-Lara, Georges Lacombe | ★★½ | 124 | Episodic potpourri illustrating the seven major vices, with an eighth, 'unknown' one thrown in for good measure. The best of the lot are 'Gluttony,' in which a piece of cheese comes between a man and the willing arms of a woman, and 'Envy,' in which a woman becomes jealous over her husband's pet cat. Also available in English-dubbed 83m. version. | tt0044025 | Gérard Philipe, Michele Morgan, Françoise Rosay, Isa Miranda, Paolo Stoppa, Eduardo De Filippo, Noel-Noel, Viviane Romance, Henri Vidal | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seven Footprints to Satan | 1929 | Benjamin Christensen. | ★★★ | 60 | Wild horror spoof about a man and his fiancée, who are abducted and taken to a spooky old house apparently run by Satan himself, with a torture chamber, a marauding gorilla, a dwarf hiding behind a sliding wall, and decadent socialites running around with guns. A surreal game-show-type challenge serves up a twist ending. Deliciously off-the-wall silent treat made in Hollywood by the distinguished Danish director of WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES. | tt0020004 | Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, Sheldon Lewis, William V. Mong, Sojin, Laska Winters, Ivan Christy, DeWitt Jennings, Nora Cecil, Angelo Rossitto. | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Seven Golden Men | 1965 | Marco Vicario | ★★½ | 87 | Standard but diverting heist film, with Leroy as mastermind who plans to steal seven tons of gold from Swiss bank. Clumsy dubbing, brassy music track. Released here in 1969. Followed by a sequel. | tt0059707 | Philippe Leroy, Rossana Podesta, Gastone Moschin, Gabriele Tinti, Jose Suarez | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Seven Golden Men Strike Again | 1966 | Marco Vicario. | ★★ | 102 | Espionage expert Leroy is hired under pressure from American agents to spy on Latin American general, but he and Podesta have their eye on gold instead. Complicated cat-and-mouse plot. | tt0061726 | Philippe Leroy, Rossana Podesta, Gastone Moschin, Giampiero Albertini, Gabriele Tinti, Maurice Poli. | Italian | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Seven Guns for the MacGregors | 1968 | Frank Garfield (Franco Giraldi) | ★½ | 97 | Standard spaghetti Western about seven brothers unjustly put in jail who escape and go after the crooked sheriff. Sequel: UP THE MACGREGORS. | tt0059706 | Robert Wood, Manny Zarzo, Nick Anderson, Paul Carter. | Italian-Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| Seven Hills of Rome | 1958 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 104 | Formula vehicle for Lanza, as a television star who retreats to Rome and falls in love; mellower than usual, with nice scenery and supporting cast. | tt0050140 | Mario Lanza, Peggie Castle, Marisa Allasio, Renato Rascel, Rosella Como | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Seven Hours to Judgment | 1988 | Beau Bridges | ★★ | 89 | Bridges directs himself in an earnest but farfetched revenge saga as the hapless judge whom nut case Leibman feels had been too lenient with the minority punks who killed Leibman's wife; Ron retaliates by kidnapping Beau's beautiful spouse (Phillips) and setting Bridges on a survival quest in a tough part of town. | tt0096072 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Julianne Phillips, Reggie Johnson, Al Freeman/Jr. | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Seven Keys to Baldpate | 1947 | Lew Landers | ★★½ | 66 | Mystery writer finds plenty of real-life mystery at the Baldpate Inn, in this sixth go-round for the hardy George M. Cohan stage comedy (based on Earl Derr Biggers' book). Filmed before in 1915, 1917, 1925, 1929, and 1935. Remade as HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS. | tt0039815 | Phillip Terry, Jacqueline White, Eduardo Ciannelli, Margaret Lindsay, Arthur Shields | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Seven Little Foys | 1955 | Melville Shavelson | ★★★ | 95 | Pleasant biography of vaudevillian Eddie Foy and his performing family. Hope lively in lead role, Cagney guests as George M. Cohan; their table-top dance duet is the movie's high point. | tt0048604 | Bob Hope, Milly Vitale, George Tobias, Billy Gray, James Cagney | Drama, Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| Seven Men From Now | 1956 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 78 | Scott tracks down seven bandits who held up Wells Fargo station and killed his wife. Solid Western, first of seven from the Scott-Boetticher team, with a script by Burt Kennedy. Marvin is terrific. | tt0049743 | Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed, John Larch, Don 'Red' Barry | Western | NULL | |||
| Seven Miles From Alcatraz | 1942 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 62 | Craig and Jenks break out of the 'Rock' and hide out at a nearby lighthouse which is being used by Nazi spies. Which, then, is more important: America's freedom or their own? Medium-grade Hollywood propaganda in this OK B picture. | tt0035308 | James Craig, Bonita Granville, Frank Jenks, Cliff Edwards, George Cleveland, Tala Birell, John Banner | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Seven Minutes | 1971 | Russ Meyer | ★★½ | 116 | Host of fine character actors fail to save laughable adaptation of Irving Wallace's best-seller about pornography trial; interesting mainly as Meyer's only 'straight' film. TV prints run 102m. Look for Tom Selleck as a publisher. | tt0067736 | [PG] | Wayne Maunder, Marianne McAndrew, Philip Carey, Yvonne De Carlo, Jay C. Flippen, Edy Williams, John Carradine, Harold J. Stone | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seven Pounds | 2008 | Gabriele Muccino | ★½ | 109 | IRS agent calls on various people to determine if they’re worthy of the good deeds he intends to perform on their behalf. But why? Enervating film withholds the answers so long that it’s difficult to engage with Smith’s tortured protagonist. As the answers become clear the film is more off-putting than ever. Strange vehicle for the popular star. | tt0814314 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, Woody Harrelson, Elpidia Carrillo, Robinne Lee, Bill Smitrovich, Joe Nunez, Tim Kelleher, Gina Hecht | Drama | NULL | ||
| Seven Samurai | Shichinin no samurai | 1954 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 141 | Classic film about 16th-century Japanese village which hires professional warriors to fend off bandits. Kurosawa's 'far-east Western' has served as model for many films since, including American remake THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (a title once given this film for U.S. release). The complete 208m. version is even more impressive for its humanity as well as its powerful action sequences. | tt0047478 | Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Ko Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki | Japanese | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Seven Seas to Calais | 1962 | Rudolph Maté, Primo Zeglio | ★★½ | 102 | Minor but entertaining swashbuckler with Taylor as Sir Francis Drake. | tt0056396 | Rod Taylor, Keith Michell, Irene Worth, Anthony Dawson, Basil Dignam | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Seven Sinners | 1940 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 87 | Alluring Dietrich makes Wayne forget about the Navy for a while in this engaging action-love story with excellent supporting cast. Remade as SOUTH SEA SINNER. | tt0033038 | Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Anna Lee, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Seven Sweethearts | 1942 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 98 | Schmaltz about Sakall's brood of daughters, none of whom can marry until the eldest does. | tt0035309 | Kathryn Grayson, Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, S. Z. Sakall, Cecilia Parker, Peggy Moran, Diana Lewis, Isobel Elsom, Donald Meek, Louise Beavers | Musical | NULL | |||
| Seven Thieves | 1960 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★½ | 102 | Taut caper of well-planned Monte Carlo heist, with excellent cast giving credibility to far-fetched premise. | tt0054295 | Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger, Joan Collins, Eli Wallach, Alexander Scourby, Michael Dante, Berry Kroeger, Sebastian Cabot | Crime | NULL | |||
| Seven Ways From Sundown | 1960 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 87 | Murphy is Texas ranger assigned to bring in seasoned killer Sullivan, with usual results. | tt0054296 | Audie Murphy, Barry Sullivan, Venetia Stevenson, John McIntire, Kenneth Tobey | Western | NULL | |||
| Seven Women From Hell | 1961 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 88 | Able cast wasted on trite account of female prisoners in Japanese prison, set in WW2 New Guinea. | tt0055436 | Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel, Cesar Romero, John Kerr, Yvonne Craig | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Seven Year Itch | 1955 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 105 | While Ewell's wife is vacationing in the country, wide-eyed Tom fantasizes about the sexpot who moves in upstairs. This film entered the ranks of pop culture when Marilyn stepped on a subway grating wearing a billowy white skirt . . . but writer-director Wilder had to skirt censorship issues in adapting George Axelrod's Broadway play, and the results are much tamer than the original (though still entertaining). Marilyn is delightful. Clever titles by Saul Bass. | tt0048605 | Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keyes, Sonny Tufts, Victor Moore, Oscar Homolka, Carolyn Jones, Doro Merande, Robert Strauss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Seven Years in Tibet | 1997 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★★ | 136 | Long but absorbing tale of Austrian mountaineer/adventurer Heinrich Harrer, whose attempt to scale a formidable Himalayan mountain peak in 1939 is interrupted by WW2— and whose subsequent adventures bring him to Tibet and the holy city of Llasa, normally closed to outsiders. There he meets and is befriended by the 14-year-old Dalai Lama. Pitt is excellent as Harrer, a difficult character because he is selfish and arrogant— until he learns humility in Tibet. Magnificently filmed. | tt0120102 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, B. D. Wong, Mako, Danny Denzongpa, Victor Wong, Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | 1976 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 113 | Sherlock Holmes meets Sigmund Freud in this handsome, entertaining film adapted by Nicholas Meyer from his novel. Shifts gears from serious drama to tongue-in-cheek adventure, but stays on target all the way. Nice score by John Addison. | tt0075194 | [PG] | Nicol Williamson, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Duvall, Laurence Olivier, Joel Grey, Samantha Eggar, Jeremy Kemp, Charles Gray, Regine | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Seven-Ups | 1973 | Philip D'Antoni | ★★½ | 103 | THE FRENCH CONNECTION producer directed this unofficial sequel, with Scheider scoring as a tough cop. Action outweighs plot, and car chase is one of the best yet filmed. Shot in N.Y.C. | tt0070672 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, Tony LoBianco, Bill Hickman, Richard Lynch, Victor Arnold | Crime | NULL | ||
| Seventeen | 1940 | Louis King | ★★½ | 78 | Cooper is delightful as teenager facing adolescent problems, in adaptation of Booth Tarkington story. | tt0033039 | Jackie Cooper, Betty Field, Otto Kruger, Richard Denning, Peter Lind Hayes, Betty Moran, Ann Shoemaker, Norma Nelson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Seventeen and Anxious | O Happy Day | 1970 | Zbynek Brynych | ★★½ | 86 | Thoughtful coming-of-age film with excellent Continental supporting cast. Originally titled O HAPPY DAY, making extensive use of the original hit gospel recording of that name. | tt0066169 | [R] | Anne Koster, Nadja Tiller, Karl Michael Vogler, Peter Kern, Siegfried Rauch | German | Drama | NULL |
| The Seventh Coin | 1992 | Dror Soref | ★½ | 95 | Teen-oriented action-adventure film lacking action and adventure. O'Toole, believing he's King Herod reincarnated, pursues two youths who have a precious coin which belonged to Herod. O'Toole looks and acts waxen. Remember: reading is fun. | tt0105361 | [PG-13] | Alexandra Powers, Navin Chowdhry, Peter O'Toole, John Rhys-Davies, Ally Walker, Julius Washington, Nicholas Kallsen | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Seventh Continent | 1989 | Michael Haneke | ★★★½ | 104 | Haneke's theatrical feature debut as writer-director is a disturbing account of middle-class malaise, following the lives of an ordinary (albeit emotionally disconnected) family: a husband, wife, and their young daughter. Starkly directed with Haneke initially, and revealingly, filming his actors' hands, feet, and torsos-but not their faces. Each sequence is short and abrupt, and ends in a blackout. Final extended sequence is positively devastating . . . and it's all based on a true story! First in a trilogy, followed by BENNY'S VIDEO and 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE. | tt0098327 |
|
Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer, Udo Samel, Silvia Fenz, Robert Dietl, Elisabeth Rath, Georges Kern, Georg Friedrich | Austrian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Seventh Cross | 1944 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★ | 110 | Seven men escape from Nazi concentration camp and are pursued by the Gestapo. Exciting film makes strong statement about a cynic who regains hope when others risk their lives to save him. Tandy and Cronyn's first film together. An early winner for. | tt0037263 | Spencer Tracy, Signe Hasso, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Herbert Rudley, Felix Bressart, Ray Collins, Alexander Granach, Agnes Moorehead, George Macready, Steven Geray, Kaaren Verne, George Zucco | Drama | NULL | |||
| Seventh Heaven | 1937 | Henry King | ★★ | 102 | Stewart is miscast as a cocky Parisian street cleaner but still gives a good performance in this remake of the 1927 silent classic, with Simon appropriately waiflike as his true love, Diane. Starts well but soon becomes claustrophobic, and lacks the lyrical quality of the silent. | tt0029539 | Simone Simon, James Stewart, Jean Hersholt, Gregory Ratoff, Gale Sondergaard, J. Edward Bromberg, John Qualen | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Seventh Seal | Sjunde inseglet, Det | 1957 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 96 | Sydow, a disillusioned knight on his way back from the Crusades, tries to solve the mysteries of life while playing chess game with Death, who has offered him a short reprieve. Spellbinding, one-of-a-kind masterpiece helped gain Bergman international acclaim. | tt0050976 | Max von Sydow, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson, Bengt Ekerot | Swedish | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Seventh Sign | 1988 | Carl Schultz | ★½ | 98 | Pregnant Moore is convinced it's apocalypse now and that boarder Prochnow wants her baby for his end-of-the-world machinations. Could be; look out for dead ocean life, icy deserts and rivers running with blood. Supernatural grab bag is directed with all the zeal one brings to a documentary on stock portfolios; result has an extraordinarily high 'oh, come on' quotient. | tt0096073 | [R] | Demi Moore, Michael Biehn, Jürgen Prochnow, Peter Friedman, Manny Jacobs, John Taylor, Lee Garlington, Akosua Busia, John Heard, Ian Buchanan | Drama, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Seventh Sin | 1957 | Ronald Neame | ★★½ | 94 | Remake of W. Somerset Maugham's THE PAINTED VEIL has virtue of Parker's earnest performance as adulterous wife of a doctor who redeems herself during an epidemic; set in Hong Kong and inner China. | tt0050954 | Eleanor Parker, Bill Travers, Françoise Rosay, George Sanders, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Ellen Corby | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Seventh Veil | 1945 | Compton Bennett | ★★★½ | 95 | Superb psychological drama of pianist Todd, left as ward to her neurotic cousin Mason. Psychiatrist Lom uses hypnosis to enable Todd to regain her professional and personal sanity. All three stars are first-rate in one of the key British films of the forties. Muriel and Sydney Box's screenplay won an Oscar. | tt0038924 | James Mason, Ann Todd, Herbert Lom, Hugh McDermott, Albert Lieven | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Seventh Victim | 1943 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 71 | Offbeat Val Lewton chiller of innocent Hunter stumbling onto N.Y.C. group of devil-worshipers. Genuinely eerie. | tt0036341 | Tom Conway, Kim Hunter, Jean Brooks, Evelyn Brent, Elizabeth Russell, Hugh Beaumont, Erford Gage, Isabel Jewell, Barbara Hale | Drama, Horror | NULL | |||
| Severance | 2006 | Christopher Smith | ★★★ | 96 | A group of British sales employees of a multinational weapons firm are traveling by chartered bus to a remote Eastern European location for a company retreat. Very quickly, however, all plans are off as the bickering bunch is stranded in one very scary forest. With its sly wit and violent mayhem this corporate-slasher film scores by updating an age-old movie staple with diverting flair. | tt0464196 | [R] | Toby Stephens, Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Claudie Blakley, Andy Nyman, Babou Ceesay, David Gilliam, Matthew Baker | British-German | Thriller, Comedy | NULL | |
| A Severed Head | 1971 | Dick Clement | ★★★ | 96 | Sophisticated sex comedy-drama seemed out of step with the youthful '70s, looks better today; vintner Holm is expected to keep a stiff upper lip while wife Remick has an open affair with her shrink (Attenborough). Sharp performances, thoughtful adaptation of the Iris Murdoch novel by Frederic Raphael. | tt0067738 | [R] | Ian Holm, Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough, Claire Bloom, Clive Revill, Jennie Linden | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sex Drive | 2008 | Sean Anders | ★½ | 109 | High school senior Zuckerman finally has the chance to lose his virginity, to a girl he met on the Internet. He and his best friends (Duke, Crew) embark on a road trip to meet up with the girl and make all of his dreams come true—or so he thinks. Crude, predictable gags and situations abound, though the cast does its best. Unrated version runs 129m. | tt1135985 | [R] | Josh Zuckerman, Clark Duke, Amanda Crew, James Marsden, Seth Green, David Koechner, Brian Posehn, Alice Greczyn, Katrina Bowden | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sex Is Comedy | 2002 | Catherine Breillat. | ★★ | 92 | Turgid semi-autobiographical account of a filmmaker (Parillaud) and the problems she encounters while shooting a difficult sex scene with two performers who loathe each other. Mesquida, who plays the actress, appeared in a similar sequence in Breillat's FAT GIRL; this film is an offshoot. Off-putting, barefaced Breillat ego trip, but still of interest as a peek into the filmmaking process, showing how a tyrannical, insecure director attempts to control her actors. | tt0304678 | [R] | Anne Parillaud, Grégoire Colin, Roxane Mesquida, Ashley Wanninger, Dominique Colladant, Bart Binnema. | French-Portuguese | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Sex Kittens Go to College | The Beauty and the Robot | 1960 | Albert Zugsmith | 💣 | 94 | Priceless title and cast fail to deliver in shockingly unfunny comedy; new head of college science department (Mamie, working very hard to convince us she's a genius) turns out to be an ex-stripper. Finding a movie with worse direction would be almost as impossible as finding another movie with a night club jazz combo fronted by Conway Twitty! Don't say you weren't warned. Aka THE BEAUTY AND THE ROBOT. | tt0054298 | Mamie Van Doren, Tuesday Weld, Mijanou Bardot (Brigitte's sister), Louis Nye, Martin Milner, Mickey Shaughnessy, Pamela Mason, (Norman) 'Woo Woo' Grabowski, Jackie Coogan, John Carradine | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sex With a Smile | 1976 | Sergio Martino | ★½ | 100 | Five episodes that promise a lot in terms of sex and laughter, then (outside of Feldman segment) fail to deliver. Heavy on slapstick, and heavy reliance on knowledge of Italian affairs. | tt0074086 | [R] | Marty Feldman, Edwige Fenech, Sydne Rome, Barbara Bouchet, Dayle Haddon, Enrico Monterrano, Giovanni Ralli | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Sex and Death 101 | 2007 | Daniel Waters | ★★½ | 117 | All heck breaks loose when a glitch in the earth’s computer hard drive informs a young man (Baker), via e-mail, of his past and future sexual exploits. Problem is, he’s engaged to be wed and his fiancée’s name is nowhere near the end of the list. What’s a fellow to do? Thrown into this fantastical comic stew is a femme fatale serial killer (Ryder) bent on revenge against any male crossing her path. Rely on suspending disbelief for this one; mindless but pleasant enough. | tt0497972 | [R] | Simon Baker, Winona Ryder, Leslie Bibb, Mindy Cohn, Julie Bowen, Neil Flynn, Patton Oswalt | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sex and Lucía | 2001 | Julio Medem | ★★½ | 128 | Sizzling Spanish import about a young waitress seeking solace on a Mediterranean island after the loss of her boyfriend, a writer. During her stay she rediscovers herself and uncovers a past relationship. Worth seeing just for Vega's dazzling presence. At times too metaphysical but mostly just . . . well, physical. This film played unrated in theaters to avoid an inevitable NC-17. | tt0254455 | Paz Vega, Tristán Ulloa, Najwa Nimri, Daniel Freire, Elena Anaya, Javier Cámra | Spanish | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sex and the City | 2008 | Michael Patrick King | ★★★ | 145 | Exuberant follow-up to Darren Starr’s hit TV series about four inseparable gal-pals. Their leader—and our narrator—Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) is about to do the unthinkable and marry her longtime lover, Mr. Big (Noth), but the best laid plans . . . Funny, insightful, and sexually candid, this entertaining movie puts a 21st-century spin on female friendship in middle age. Hudson is a welcome addition as a new assistant who has the same dreams and aspirations Parker did when she first came to N.Y.C. Written by the director, a series veteran; based on the book by Candace Bushnell. Alternate version runs 157m. | tt1000774 | [R] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, Candice Bergen, Jennifer Hudson, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Mario Cantone, Joanna Gleason, Malcolm Gets | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sex and the City 2 | 2010 | Michael Patrick King | ★★½ | 146 | In this sequel to the 2008 hit, all four female friends are married and two have kids, so writer-director King has to manufacture crises for each of them. Then Cattrall scores an all-expenses-paid trip to Abu Dhabi, where the women have a grand adventure, far from family and obligations. Filled with eye candy, this episodic, broadly played, ridiculously long outing with the gal pals should please their loyal fans, even if it’s wildly uneven. Several celebrities make cameo appearances—and homage is paid to b&w movie classics. | tt1261945 | [R] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth, John Corbett, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Willie Garson, Mario Cantone, Liza Minnelli | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sex and the Other Man | 1996 | Karl Slovin | ★½ | 89 | Impotent Eldard discovers his sex-starved girlfriend (Wuhrer) about to hop into bed with her yuppie wimp boss (Tucci), and promptly goes bonkers. Good cast flounders in this poorly scripted and sloppily directed three-character psychodrama. | tt0112628 | [R] | Stanley Tucci, Kari Wuhrer, Ron Eldard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sex and the Single Girl | 1964 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 114 | Helen Gurley Brown's book shoved aside, title used to exploit fairly amusing tale of smut-magazine editor Curtis wooing notorious female psychologist Wood. Bacall and Fonda wrap it up as a battling married couple. Coscripted by Joseph Heller. | tt0058580 | Natalie Wood, Tony Curtis, Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Fran Jeffries, Edward Everett Horton, Larry Storch, Stubby Kaye, Count Basie and Orchestra | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll | 1991 | John McNaughton | ★★½ | 96 | Industrial-strength performance film of Bogosian's one-man stage show, locking us in a room with ten insufferables it would be a pleasure to avoid. Keenly observed, though, with Bogosian a brilliant mimic; film should benefit from at-home showings, enabling viewers to absorb as much or little as they want in a single sitting. | tt0102888 | [R] | Eric Bogosian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sextette | 1978 | Ken Hughes | 💣 | 91 | Astonishing is the only word for this comedy about a Hollywood glamor queen whose many ex-husbands keep popping up during her latest honeymoon. Naturally there's curiosity value in seeing octogenarian Mae still strutting her stuff, but it wears out pretty fast. Her last movie, based on her play Sex. | tt0078238 | [PG] | Mae West, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Dom DeLuise, Timothy Dalton, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper, Keith Moon, Rona Barrett, Walter Pidgeon, George Raft | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror | 1938 | George King. | ★★ | 70 | Blake was a popular Sherlock Holmes knockoff character aimed at a younger audience. Here, he's pitted against the Snake (evil, chuckling Slaughter), head of a crime organization called the Black Quorum. Slaughter plays it basically straight in this passable low-budget outing. | tt0030734 | George Curzon, Tod Slaughter, Greta Gynt, Tony Sympson, Charles Oliver, Marie Wright, David Farrar, Norman Pierce. | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Sexy Beast | 2001 | Jonathan Glazer | ★★½ | 88 | A retired British gangster, living the good life in Spain, is visited by a vicious hood who wants him to work one more job. Stylish, brutal, modern-day gangster yarn has good performances— including a bravura turn by Kingsley as the ferocious visitor— but leaves a bad aftertaste. | tt0203119 | [R] | Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White, Álvaro Monje, James Fox | British-Spanish | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Sgt. Bilko | 1996 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★★ | 94 | Master Sergeant Ernie Bilko has a moneymaking scheme for every occasion at Fort Baxter, Kansas. His superior, Col. Hall (Aykroyd), looks the other way until the sergeant's long-ago nemesis Major Thorn (Hartman) turns up and seeks revenge. Amiable recycling of the classic 1950s Nat Hiken TV comedy series, which starred Phil Silvers; that's his daughter Catherine as the owlish, uptight Pentagon auditor. Martin remains a first-rate farceur and is surrounded by a highly capable comedy cast. | tt0117608 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman, Glenne Headly, Daryl Mitchell, Max Casella, Eric Edwards, Dan Ferro, John Marshall Jones, Brian Ortiz, Pamela Segall, Catherine Silvers, Chris Rock, Richard Herd, Travis Tritt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 1978 | Michael Schultz | ★½ | 111 | Attempt to link songs from The Beatles' classic album into some sort of storyline just doesn't work; sequences range from tolerable to embarrassing. As to The Bee Gees' acting talent, if you can't say something nice . . . | tt0078239 | [PG] | Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees, George Burns, Frankie Howerd, Donald Pleasence, Sandy Farina, Dianne Steinberg, Billy Preston, Steve Martin, Earth Wind & Fire | Musical | NULL | ||
| Shack Out on 101 | 1955 | Edward Dein | ★★★ | 80 | Lee Marvin is Slob in this trash classic about the efforts of hash slinger Moore to combat Communism while juggling the lecherous advances of nearly all her co-stars. Absolutely one of a kind, with most of the action taking place on a single shabby set (Wynn's beanery). | tt0048607 | Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Lee Marvin, Keenan Wynn, Whit Bissell | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Shades of Fear | Great Moments in Aviation | 1993 | Beeban Kidron | ★★ | 92 | Flat, disappointing drama about a young woman (Ayola) who aspires to become a pilot and the various characters who cross her path as she sails for England. Scripted by Jeanette Winterson, who wrote the far superior ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT, the British telefilm which helped establish Kidron's reputation. Original title: GREAT MOMENTS IN AVIATION. | tt0107042 | [R] | Rakie Ayola, John Hurt, Jonathan Pryce, Vanessa Redgrave, Dorothy Tutin | British | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Shadey | 1985 | Philip Saville | ★★½ | 106 | Occasionally funny but mostly uninvolving comedy-fantasy-thriller about the title character (Sher), who is able to transmit to film visions from his mind. He wants to use his ability only for peaceful purposes— yet he also needs money for a sex-change operation. Helmond's role is best, that of a hilariously unpredictable, looney Lady. | tt0090003 | Antony Sher, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Macnee, Lesley Ash, Larry Lamb, Bernard Hepton, Katherine Helmond | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Shadow Box | 1980 | Paul Newman | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Playwright Michael Cristofer adapted his Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play about three terminally ill patients and their families during one day at an experimental rustic retreat in California. A powerful and insightful story, well served by this stellar cast. | tt0081492 | Joanne Woodward, Christopher Plummer, Valerie Harper, James Broderick, Sylvia Sidney, Melinda Dillon, Ben Masters, Curtiss Marlowe, John Considine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shadow Conspiracy | 1997 | George Pan Cosmatos | 💣 | 103 | White House whiz kid Sheen learns of a sinister conspiracy in the highest levels of the government, but soon becomes a target of the sinister killer himself. Painfully obvious, wearily derivative, and driven by ludicrous coincidences. | tt0120107 | [R] | Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, Stephen Lang, Ben Gazzara, Nicholas Turturro, Sam Waterston, Charles Cioffi, Theodore Bikel, Gore Vidal, Terry O'Quinn, Paul Gleason, Penny Fuller | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shadow Magic | 2000 | Ann Hu | ★★★ | 115 | In what could be called CHINESE PARADISO, the earliest days of China's film industry are portrayed in this story of a traveling Englishman. His show, called 'shadow magic,' causes wonder and conflict all around as it turns the camera's eye on people who see themselves and their country in a way they never have before. Delightful look at early-20th-century China and the culture-bridging effect only movies seem to achieve. Feature debut for N.Y.-based director Hu. | tt0238588 | [PG] | Jared Harris, Xia Yu, Xing Yufei, Liu Peiqi, Lu Liping | Chinese-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The Shadow Man | 1953 | Richard Vernon | ★★ | 75 | Standard action-programmer with Romero a casino owner in love with Kendall, involved with homicide. | tt0046301 | Cesar Romero, Kay Kendall, Victor Maddern | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Shadow Play | 1986 | Susan Shadburne | ★½ | 95 | Tepid chiller about playwright Stone, and the psychological problems she's been facing since her lover's demise. Very minor fare. | tt0091931 | [R] | Dee Wallace-Stone, Cloris Leachman, Ron Kuhlman, Barry Laws, Al Strobel. | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Shadow Returns | 1946 | Phil Rosen. | ★½ | 61 | Crimefighter Lamont Cranston dons the mask of 'The Shadow' once again to investigate a case of stolen jewels and a secret formula for making plastics. Drab and static mystery is the first and worst of three Shadow B movies produced by Monogram in 1946, based on Walter B. Gibson's pulp character. Followed by BEHIND THE MASK. | tt0038926 | Kane Richmond, Barbara Reed, Tom Dugan, Joseph Crehan, Pierre Watkin, Robert Emmett Keane, Frank Reicher, Rebel Randall. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Shadow Riders | 1982 | Andrew V. McLaglen | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Engrossing Louis L'Amour Western about two brothers' post-Civil War search for their family, kidnapped by Rebel guerrillas during the war. Most of the same players had previously appeared in L'Amour's THE SACKETTS. Scripted by Jim Byrnes. Aka LOUIS L'AMOUR'S THE SHADOW RIDERS. | tt0084666 | Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Ben Johnson, Katharine Ross, Geoffrey Lewis, Jeffrey Osterhage, Gene Evans, Harry Carey/Jr., Jane Greer, Dominique Dunne | Western | NULL | |||
| The Shadow Strikes | 1937 | Lynn Shores. | ★½ | 61 | Lamont Cranston, secretly the cloaked Shadow, investigates a murder at a manor while disguised as a lawyer. Murky, dull, and talky. First of two Shadow movies with La Rocque; here the character out of cloak seems more like Philo Vance than he did on the radio or in the pulps. Followed by INTERNATIONAL CRIME. | tt0029542 | Rod La Rocque, Lynn Anders, James Blakely, Walter McGrail, Bill Kellogg, Cy Kendall, Kenneth Harlan. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shadow in the Sky | 1951 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★½ | 78 | Meeker is quite believable as shellshocked ex-G.I. trying to regain his sanity. | tt0044027 | Ralph Meeker, Nancy Davis (Reagan), James Whitmore, Jean Hagen, Gladys Hurlbut | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shadow of Fear | 1955 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 76 | Flabby suspenser of Freeman realizing that her stepmother is planning to murder her as she did hubby; set in England. Original title: BEFORE I WAKE. | tt0046761 | Mona Freeman, Jean Kent, Maxwell Reed, Hugh Miller, Gretchen Franklin | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Shadow of Zorro | Zorro the Avenger | 1962 | Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent | ★½ | 84 | Clumsy film with lackluster performance by Latimore in title role of Don Jose, who combats outlaws masked as Zorro. | tt0056893 | Frank Latimore, Maria Luz Galicia, Mario Felciani, Marco Tulli | Italian | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |
| Shadow of a Doubt | 1943 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 108 | Perceptive Americana intertwined with story of young girl who slowly comes to realize her beloved Uncle Charley is really the Merry Widow murderer; Cronyn steals film as nosy pulp-story fan, in his film debut. Scripted by Thornton Wilder, Alma Reville, and Sally Benson from Gordon McDonell's story. Remade in 1958 (as STEP DOWN TO TERROR) and for TV in 1991. | tt0036342 | Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, Wallace Ford, Hume Cronyn | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Shadow of the Cat | 1961 | John Gilling | ★★ | 79 | Engaging horror yarn about feline who avenges her mistress's murder. | tt0055438 | Barbara Shelley, Andre Morell, William Lucas, Richard Warner, Freda Jackson | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Shadow of the Hawk | 1976 | George McCowan | ★½ | 92 | Formula action meller has Vincent battling supernatural Indian spirits. | tt0075199 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Marilyn Hassett, Chief Dan George, Pia Shandel, Marianne Jones | Canadian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Shadow of the Thin Man | 1941 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 97 | Nick and Nora probe murder at a race track and run into the usual assortment of shady characters in this agreeable fourth entry in the series, notable for famed future acting teacher Stella Adler in a rare film role (as a gambler's moll). | tt0034172 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Alan Baxter | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shadow of the Vampire | 2000 | E. Elias Merhige | ★★★½ | 93 | Colorful and amusing fiction about the making of F.W. Murnau's classically creepy German silent film NOSFERATU. Malkovich is good as always as the fastidious filmmaker; Dafoe is exceptional as Max Schreck, an actor (or is he an actor?) cast as the vampire. The film has a unique look and feel. Coproduced by Nicolas Cage. Screenplay by Steven Katz. | tt0189998 | [R] | John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Cary Elwes, John Aden Gillet, Eddie Izzard, Udo Kier, Catherine McCormack | U.S.-British | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Shadow of the Wolf | 1993 | Jacques Dorfman | ★★ | 112 | Overwrought adventure epic set in the Arctic, in which a murder sets the stage for an Eskimo couple's battle against the overwhelming odds of nature and fate. Based on the best-selling Canadian novel Agaguk, this film looks expensive— and is— but despite the talent in front of the camera and behind it (including Oscar-winning cinematographer Billy Williams), the scenery easily upstages the drama. | tt0105377 | [PG-13] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Toshiro Mifune, Jennifer Tilly, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Donald Sutherland | Canadian-French | Adventure | NULL | |
| Shadow on the Wall | 1950 | Patrick Jackson | ★★★ | 84 | Clever noir-ish melodrama with young Perreau traumatized when she thinks she sees her beloved father (Scott) murder her adulterous stepmother. Davis has one of her best roles as a psychiatrist. | tt0042952 | Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott, Gigi Perreau, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Kristine Miller, John McIntire, Barbara Billingsley | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Shadow on the Window | 1957 | William Asher | ★★ | 73 | Fair programmer; Garrett is held hostage by robber-killers. | tt0049748 | Phil Carey, Betty Garrett, John Barrymore/Jr., Corey Allen, Jerry Mathers | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Shadow | 1994 | Russell Mulcahy | ★★½ | 108 | Lamont Cranston, having lived a life of moral degradation, is 'reborn' as a singleminded crimefighter with the ability to cloud men's minds. This adaptation of the venerable pulp novels and beloved radio show (brought to the screen before in the late 1930s, and in a 1940 serial) comes frustratingly close to working, but fails. Cranston is both inscrutable and uninteresting. Great production design and wonderful effects get lost in a movie that keeps the viewer at arm's length throughout. And what a waste of a great supporting cast! | tt0111143 | [PG-13] | Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen, Tim Curry, Jonathan Winters, Sab Shimono, Andre Gregory, James Hong, Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad, Joseph Maher, John Kapelos, Max Wright, Ethan Phillips, Larry Joshua | Action, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Shadowboxer | 2006 | Lee Daniels | ★★★ | 93 | Hit-woman Mirren and her partner Gooding have an unusual personal and professional relationship, but he's unprepared for her to make the decision she does when confronted with an assignment that calls for her to shoot a pregnant young woman. The two stars are at their very best in this highly offbeat, brutally violent sleeper, best taken as stylized storytelling and not as a slice of real life. | tt0396857 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding, Jr. Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Macy Gray. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shadowlands | 1985 | Norman Stone | ★★★ | 90 | Poignant, wise, quietly rewarding drama about British writer C. S. Lewis (Ackland), a confirmed bachelor, and how he is changed when he falls in love with American divorcée Bloom. Lovely performances by the stars; exceptional award-caliber script by William Nicholson, who later turned this into a stage play. Aka C. S. LEWIS: THROUGH THE SHADOWLANDS. Remade in 1993. | tt0090005 | Joss Ackland, Claire Bloom, David Waller, Rupert Baderman, Rhys Hopkins | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Shadowlands | 1993 | Richard Attenborough | ★★★½ | 130 | Absorbing tale of British writer C. S. Lewis (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) whose comfortable if rigid life as an Oxford don in the 1950s is shaken by his meeting with a forthright American poet, Joy Gresham. Intelligent and moving, with Hopkins in peak form and Winger his match; the supporting actors are equally good. Filmed on location at Oxford. Adapted by William Nicholson from his 1985 television script and subsequent play. | tt0108101 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger, Edward Hardwicke, Michael Denison, Joseph Mazzello, John Wood, Robert Flemyng, Peter Howell, Peter Firth | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Shadows | 1960 | John Cassavetes | ★★★ | 87 | Cassavetes' first film as director, an improvisational, groundbreaking, independently made effort about a light-skinned black girl (Goldoni) who becomes involved with a Caucasian (Ray). Formless, crude, but strikingly realistic, with great use of N.Y.C. locations. Look fast for Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Seymour Cassel, and Bobby Darin. | tt0053270 | Hugh Hurd, Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers, Anthony Ray, Rupert Crosse | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shadows Over Chinatown | 1946 | Terry Morse | ★½ | 61 | More routine sleuthing as Charlie Chan probes an insurance scam in San Francisco. One of the later (and lesser) Chan entries. | tt0038929 | Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Victor Sen Yung, Tanis Chandler, Bruce Kellogg, John Gallaudet | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shadows Run Black | 1986 | Howard Heard | ★½ | 89 | Routine slasher film about cop Kulzer tracking down supposed vigilante killer who is preying on a high school ring dealing in drugs and prostitution. An early role for future star Kevin Costner. Filmed in 1981. | tt0091932 | William J. Kulzer, Elizabeth Trosper, Shea Porter, George J. Engelson, Dianne Hinkler | Crime | NULL | |||
| Shadows and Fog | 1992 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 86 | A Kafkaesque nightmare, shrouded in fog, is Woody-ized with only mildly comic results. A strangler who strikes at night terrorizes a city— and a nebbish who's caught between conspiratorial factions in the town. A galaxy of stars pop up in cameo roles, which is more a distraction than an asset. | tt0105378 | [PG-13] | Woody Allen, Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Mia Farrow, Jodie Foster, Fred Gwynne, Julie Kavner, Madonna, John Malkovich, Kenneth Mars, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasence, Lily Tomlin, Philip Bosco, Robert Joy, Wallace Shawn, Kurtwood Smith, Josef Sommer, David Ogden Stiers | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Shadows in the Night | 1944 | Eugene Forde | ★★½ | 67 | Is Foch really having deadly nightmares or is one of her greedy relatives trying to bump her off? Dr. Ordway is called in to investigate in one of the better Crime Doctor entries. | tt0037266 | Warner Baxter, Nina Foch, George Zucco, Minor Watson, Lester Matthews, Ben Welden, Edward Norris | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shadowzone | 1990 | J.S. Cardone | ★★ | 89 | Experiments in human sleep have unlocked a path to another dimension, and a monster invades an isolated underground government lab in Nevada. Basically just another ALIEN imitation, but it's reasonably suspenseful, well produced on a low budget. Written by the director. | tt0100586 | David Beecroft, Louise Fletcher, Shawn Weatherly, James Hong, Miguel Nunez, Lu Leonard, Frederick Flynn | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Shadrach | 1998 | Susanna Styron | ★★★ | 86 | Nicely realized film set in Virginia in 1935. A 99-year-old former slave walks hundreds of miles to the ramshackle property now owned by Keitel and MacDowell so he can die on the land where he was born. Though he's a stranger— and a strange presence indeed— the family feels compelled to help him. Kudos to first-time director Styron; the film is adapted from a short story by her father William. | tt0144604 | [PG-13] | Andie MacDowell, Harvey Keitel, John Franklin Sawyer, Monica Bugajski, Scott Terra, Darrell Larson, Deborah Hedwall, Daniel Treat; narrated by Martin Sheen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shaft | 1971 | Gordon Parks | ★★★ | 100 | Slick, upbeat entertainment has Ernest Tidyman's black private-eye John Shaft hired to find kidnapped daughter of Harlem ganglord. Heavy doses of sex and violence professionally packaged by director Parks. Isaac Hayes' theme won Oscar. Followed by two sequels and a TV series. Remade (very loosely) in 2000. | tt0067741 | [R] | Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John, Drew Bundini Brown, Gwenn Mitchell, Lawrence Pressman, Antonio Fargas | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Shaft | 2000 | John Singleton | ★★★ | 98 | Fiercely independent N.Y.C. detective (nephew of same-named John Shaft, played by Roundtree) allows personal feelings to affect his behavior in dealing with a smug, racist criminal (Bale) and a Dominican drug lord (Wright). Jackson cuts a dashing figure in Armani, Isaac Hayes's theme song still resonates, but there's no sex in this slick update of the 1971 crime thriller. Gordon Parks, who made the original SHAFT, has a cameo. | tt0162650 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Busta Rhymes, Dan Hedaya, Toni Collette, Richard Roundtree, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Josef Sommer, Lynne Thigpen, Philip Bosco, Pat Hingle, Mekhi Phifer | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Shaft in Africa | 1973 | John Guillermin | ★★★ | 112 | Strong action vehicle for Roundtree finds detective Shaft forced into helping African nation stop latter-day slave trading. Extremely tough and violent. Script by Stirling Silliphant. | tt0070679 | [R] | Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, Vonetta McGee, Neda Arneric, Cy Grant, Jacques Marin | Drama, Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Shaft's Big Score! | 1972 | Gordon Parks | ★★★ | 104 | Dynamic sequel to SHAFT (reteaming director Parks and writer Ernest Tidyman) has private eye Roundtree running afoul of the underworld as he investigates a friend's murder. Sexy, violent, with hair-raising chase finale; Parks also did the music. | tt0069257 | [R] | Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Drew Bundini Brown, Joseph Mascolo, Kathy Imrie, Wally Taylor, Joe Santos | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shag | 1988 | Zelda Barron | ★★½ | 98 | Southern belle high-school grad Cates is about to get married, so her three girlfriends decide to take her on a 'last fling' weekend to Myrtle Beach. Pleasant outing set in 1963 with an unusually appealing and talented young cast. | tt0098300 | [PG] | Phoebe Cates, Scott Coffey, Bridget Fonda, Annabeth Gish, Page Hannah, Robert Rusler, Tyrone Power/Jr., Jeff Yagher, Carrie Hamilton, Shirley Anne Field | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Shaggy D.A. | 1976 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 91 | Sequel to Disney's SHAGGY DOG is winning slapstick romp, with Jones as helpless victim of transformations. Cast is peppered with a score of movie veterans in supporting and bit parts. Followed by THE RETURN OF THE SHAGGY DOG. | tt0075200 | [G] | Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Tim Conway, Keenan Wynn, Jo Anne Worley, Dick Van Patten | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Shaggy Dog | 1959 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 104 | Disney's first slapstick comedy has fine fantasy premise (a boy who turns into a sheepdog through ancient spell) but sluggish script. Some good gags, but not up to later Disney standard. Jack Albertson has bit part as reporter. Sequels: THE SHAGGY D.A. and a 1987 TV movie, THE RETURN OF THE SHAGGY DOG. Remade for TV in 1994. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0053271 | Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Tim Considine, Kevin Corcoran, Cecil Kellaway, Alexander Scourby | Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Shaggy Dog | 2006 | Brian Robbins | ★★ | 90 | Assistant D.A. Allen is so wrapped up in his work he's lost touch with his wife and kids; then a bite from a mystical Tibetan sheepdog turns him into a canine! Five writers created this needlessly complicated remake of the 1959 Disney comedy and its 1976 sequel, THE SHAGGY D.A. Takes a long time to get to the Funny Stuff, and never pays off as well as it should. Adults will bemoan the waste of talent; kids may be less judgmental. | tt0393735 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Robert Downey/Jr., Kristin Davis, Danny Glover, Spencer Breslin, Zena Grey, Jane Curtin, Philip Baker Hall, Craig Kilborn, Laura Keightlinger | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Shake Hands With the Devil | 1959 | Michael Anderson | ★★★½ | 110 | Gripping drama of war-torn Ireland in 1920s, with American student trying to stay aloof, but, drawn by circumstances, he joins rebel army led by iron-willed Cagney. Strikingly filmed on location. | tt0053272 | James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter, Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave, Cyril Cusack, Sybil Thorndike, Richard Harris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shake, Rattle and Rock | 1956 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 72 | Sub-par 1950s rock film with standard plot about adults trying to put the lid on kids' music, benefitting from presences of Domino, Turner, and veteran character actors. Partially remade in 1994 for cable TV. | tt0049749 | Touch (Mike) Connors, Lisa Gaye, Sterling Holloway, Fats Domino, Joe Turner, Tommy Charles, Margaret Dumont, Raymond Hatton | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Shake, Rattle and Rock! | 1994 | Allan Arkush | Average TV Movie | 84 | The 1950s: Another tale of uptight adults vs. the music their kids like— and the kids themselves. Lots of authentic-sounding rock 'n' roll, good performances (especially Zellweger and Mandel), and a bouncy pace keep this fun throughout, though it turns too serious at the end. One of Showtime's 'Rebel Highway' entries, all based on old American-International pictures; partial remake of the 1956 version. | tt0111147 | Renée Zellweger, Howie Mandel, Patricia Childress, Max Perlich, Latanyia Baldwin, Gerrit Graham, John Doe, Nora Dunn, Mary Woronov, P. J. Soles, Jenifer Lewis, Ruth Brown, Stephen Furst, Dick Miller, William Schallert, Paul Anka | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Shakedown | 1950 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 80 | Fast-paced but familiar chronicle of ambitious photographer Duff, who uses any and all means— starting with blackmail— to get ahead. Look for Rock Hudson as a doorman. | tt0042953 | Howard Duff, Peggy Dow, Brian Donlevy, Bruce Bennett, Peggie Castle, Anne Vernon, Lawrence Tierney | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Shakedown | 1988 | James Glickenhaus | ★★★ | 90 | Entertaining actioner with public defender Weller and undercover cop Elliott combining forces to rid N.Y.C. of drugs and corruption. Good of its kind, with oodles of sensational stuntwork to compensate for the dearth of originality. | tt0096087 | [R] | Peter Weller, Sam Elliott, Patricia Charbonneau, Blanche Baker, Antonio Fargas, Richard Brooks, Tom Waits, Kathryn Rossetter, Paul Bartel, John C. McGinley | Action | NULL | ||
| The Shakedown | 1959 | John Lemont | ★★ | 92 | Cheesy crime yarn about a cocky small-time racketeer who sets up a photography studio and modeling school as a front for a blackmail scheme. Enjoyably bad, with one of the worst (read funniest) title songs ever warbled on screen. | tt0053273 | Terence Morgan, Hazel Court, Donald Pleasence, Bill Owen, Harry H. Corbett | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Shaker Run | 1985 | Bruce Morrison | ★★ | 90 | Robertson adds character to this otherwise predictable (and implausible) car chase drama. He's a crusty American stunt driver, touring in New Zealand, who unknowingly becomes involved in a plot to transport a stolen virus. | tt0090006 | Cliff Robertson, Leif Garrett, Lisa Harrow, Shane Briant, Ian Mune, Peter Rowell, Peter Hayden, Bruce Phillips | New Zealand | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Shakes the Clown | 1991 | Bobcat Goldthwait | 💣 | 83 | Excruciating would-be-comic mishmash about an alcoholic clown (Goldthwait) whose slowly disintegrating 'career' virtually collapses when he's framed on a murder rap. Aimless, crude, and headache-inducing, not even salvaged by Williams' brief, unbilled appearance as a mime teacher. Not the cultish black comedy one would like it to be. Goldthwait also scripted. | tt0102898 | [R] | Bob Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Blake Clark, Adam Sandler, Tom Kenny, Sydney Lassick, Paul Dooley, Florence Henderson, Tim Kazurinsky, LaWanda Page, Robin Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Shakespeare Wallah | 1965 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 115 | Playboy Kapoor, who has an actress-mistress, romances Felicity Kendal, a member of a two-bit English theatrical company touring Shakespeare in India. Simple, poignant drama. | tt0059709 | Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendal, Geoffrey Kendal, Laura Liddell, Madhur Jaffrey, Utpal Dutt | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shakespeare in Love | 1998 | John Madden | ★★★½ | 122 | Spirited, entertaining speculation about a love affair that inspired Will Shakespeare (Fiennes) to write Romeo and Juliet. Witty, sensual, and peopled with colorful characters. Climactic performance in the 16th-century theater is as vivid a re-creation of theatergoing in Shakespeare's time as anyone could hope for. Screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. Rupert Everett appears unbilled as Christopher Marlowe. Winner of seven Oscars including Best Picture, Screenplay, Actress (Paltrow), Supporting Actress (Dench), Costumes (Sandy Powell), Score (Stephen Warbeck). | tt0138097 | [R] | Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench, Simon Callow, Colin Firth, Imelda Staunton, Ben Affleck, Tom Wilkinson, Martin Clunes, Antony Sher | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Shakiest Gun in the West | 1968 | Alan Rafkin | ★★½ | 101 | Remake of Bob Hope's THE PALEFACE provides Knotts with one of his better vehicles, as Philadelphia dentist who finds himself out West, tangled up with gunslingers and beautiful Rhoades. | tt0063591 | Don Knotts, Barbara Rhoades, Jackie Coogan, Don 'Red' Barry, Ruth McDevitt, Frank McGrath | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Shaking the Tree | 1992 | Duane Clark | ★★ | 97 | A group of Chicago buddies of similar ages but different backgrounds work at becoming real adults; after overly familiar troubles, they all make it. Earnest and mostly well acted, but very routine. | tt0100588 | [PG-13] | Arye Gross, Gale Hansen, Doug Savant, Steven Wilde, Courteney Cox, Christina Haag, Michael Arabian, Nathan Davis | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Shalako | 1968 | Edward Dmytryk | ★½ | 113 | European aristocrats on hunting tour of New Mexico during 1880s are menaced by Apaches. Supposed potent casting of Connery and Bardot can't revive slow-moving Western, based on a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0063592 | [M] | Sean Connery, Brigitte Bardot, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Peter Van Eyck, Honor Blackman, Woody Strode, Alexander Knox, Valerie French | British | Western | NULL | |
| Shalimar | Deadly Thief | 1978 | Krishna Shah | ★½ | 85 | Wily Harrison invites the world's greatest thieves to try and steal the world's most valuable ruby from his custody— at the risk of their lives. This was filmed in both English and Hindi-language versions, but the results were so dull that the English print never made it to theaters. Video title: DEADLY THIEF. | tt0078241 | Rex Harrison, Sylvia Miles, John Saxon, Dharmendra, Zenat Aman, Shammi Kapoor | Indian | Adventure, Crime | NULL | |
| Shall We Dance | 1937 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★½ | 116 | Lesser Astaire-Rogers is still top musical, with Gershwin's 'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off,' 'They All Laughed,' and 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' holding together flimsy plot about dance team pretending to be wed. | tt0029546 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Eric Blore, Edward Everett Horton, Ann Shoemaker, Jerome Cowan, Harriet Hoctor | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Shall We Dance | 2004 | Peter Chelsom. | ★★½ | 106 | Adequate remake of the Japanese hit with Gere as a Chicago lawyer who's devoted to his family but immersed in the banality of everyday life; on an impulse, he begins taking ballroom dancing lessons with sultry Lopez. Likable enough, but far too predictable; lacks the heart and soul of the original. | tt0358135 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Bobby Cannavale, Lisa Ann Walter, Omar Benson Miller, Anita Gillette, Richard Jenkins, Nick Cannon. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Shall We Dance? | 1996 | Masayuki Suo | ★★★½ | 118 | Beautifully realized film of middle-aged businessman (Yakusho), who secretly yearns to break out of the rigid conformity of his daily life, encountering the world of ballroom dance. Deliberately paced and laced with humor, with a game cast. Ballerina-turned-actress Kusakari matches Yakusho's fine performance. Written by the director. Remade in 2004. | tt0117615 | [PG] | Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe, Akira Emoto, Yu Tokui, Hiromasa Taguchi, Reiko Kusamura | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | |
| Shallow Grave | 1994 | Danny Boyle | ★★★ | 94 | Three Edinburgh roommates— a sardonic trio with an iconoclastic worldview— take in a boarder. When they find him dead, and a suitcase full of money in his possession, their worst instincts rise to the surface and involve them in a snowballing scheme to keep the cash. Razor-sharp thriller from screenwriter John Hodge and first-time feature director Boyle is as cold as ice (and too mean-spirited for some tastes) but fascinating at the same time. A Scottish variation on BLOOD SIMPLE with stylistic ties to that flamboyant film. | tt0111149 | [R] | Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor, Ken Stott, Keith Allen, Colin McCredie | Scottish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Shallow Hal | 2001 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★★ | 114 | Would-be stud Black pursues women strictly for their looks, until self-help guru Robbins hypnotizes him to see only their inner beauty. Thus, an obese Paltrow looks slim and beautiful in his eyes, and he falls madly in love with her. Lumbering attempt at a message movie from the creators of DUMB & DUMBER, with too few laughs— and too much hypocrisy— to score as either comedy or morality tale. | tt0256380 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, Jason Alexander, Joe Viterelli, Rene Kirby, Bruce McGill, Tony Robbins, Susan Ward, Zen Gesner, Brooke Burns, Rob Moran | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Shame | 1968 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 103 | Powerful, brilliantly acted drama (written by the director) examines how married concert violinists are morally challenged by a civil war that rages across their island. One of Bergman's best. | tt0063611 | [R] | Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Sigge Furst, Birgitta Valberg, Hans Alfredson | Swedish | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Shame | 1988 | Steve Jodrell | ★★ | 90 | Unusual, watchable, but not terribly successful feminist revenge piece, as femme motorcyclist/ lawyer takes on a village of goons who look the other way when a gang of teen boys rapes a 16-year-old girl. Strange mix of genres— biker movie, neo-Western, and more— but no MAD MAX. Remade for U.S. TV. | tt0093952 | [R] | Deborra-Lee Furness, Tony Barry, Simone Buchanan, Gillian Jones, Peter Aanensen, Margaret Ford | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Shame | 2011 | Steve McQueen | ★★ | 101 | Manhattan executive (Fassbender, in a fearless performance) lives a secret life as a sex addict—but he's only turned on by pornography and casual, unexpected, or brutal encounters. His sister turns up at his apartment one day and while she, too, is emotionally damaged we never learn the cause of their shared anguish. Hailed in some quarters as brilliant, the film (written by McQueen and Abi Morgan) offers no context or insights, only endless snapshots of two miserable lives. | tt1723811 | [NC-17] | Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Shame of the Jungle | 1975 | Picha, Boris Szulzinger | ★½ | 73 | Raunchy cartoon spoof of Tarzan films, created by Belgian cartoonist Picha, then Americanized for U.S. release in 1979 by Saturday Night Live writers Anne Beatts and Michael O'Donoghue, with stars of that show providing voices. Crass, unfunny, and unattractive, despite a promising start. Original French-language version ran 85m. | tt0073691 | [R] | Voices of Johnny Weissmuller/Jr., John Belushi, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Christopher Guest, Andrew Duncan | French-Belgian | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Shameless Old Lady | 1965 | Rene Allio | ★★★ | 94 | Bertolt Brecht story charmingly brought to the screen. Sylvie is terrific as old woman who lives alone and follows a drab and uneventful routine until there is a strange turnabout in her relationships with others. | tt0059875 | Sylvie, Malka Ribovska, Victor Lanoux, Etienne Bierry | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shampoo | 1975 | Hal Ashby | ★★½ | 109 | Muddy satire of morals and mores in Southern California, centered around restless hairdresser and his demanding female customers. Some bright moments lost in dreary comedy-drama by Beatty and Robert Towne. Fisher's film debut; Grant won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. | tt0073692 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Jack Warden, Tony Bill, Carrie Fisher, Howard Hesseman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Shamrock Handicap | 1926 | John Ford. | ★★½ | 66 | Ford lays on the blarney in this likable but predictable melodrama-romance that spotlights the affection between an Irish lass (Gaynor), the lone daughter of a kindly nobleman, and a young son of Erin (Fenton) who heads off to America to work as a jockey. Of note for the way Ford contrasts life in Ireland and the U.S. Based on a story by Peter B. Kyne. | tt0017374 | Janet Gaynor, Leslie Fenton, Willard Louis, J. Farrell MacDonald, Claire McDowell, Louis Payne, Brandon Hurst. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Shamrock Hill | 1949 | Arthur Dreifuss. | ★★ | 62 | A lass of Irish descent favors a special spot to tell fairy tales to local children, but a disdainful builder is about to wipe out her little corner of paradise with a new TV station. What else can she do but seek help from the leprechauns who live on the hill? The movie industry's terror over the advent of television is overt in this obscure musical whimsy. Ryan and McDonald got married four years later. | tt0041863 | Peggy Ryan, Ray McDonald, Trudy Marshall, Rick Vallin, John Litel, Mary Gordon. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Shamus | 1973 | Buzz Kulik | ★★★ | 106 | Exciting but mindless story of offbeat private-eye trying to crack bizarre case while recovering from numerous beatings, jumpings, and other heroic exploits. | tt0070680 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Dyan Cannon, Giorgio Tozzi, John Ryan, Joe Santos | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Shane | 1953 | George Stevens | ★★★★ | 118 | Former gunfighter Ladd comes to defense of homesteaders and is idolized by their son. Palance is unforgettable in role of creepy hired gunslinger. Classic Western is splendid in every way. Breathtaking cinematography by Loyal Griggs won an Oscar. Screenplay by A. B. Guthrie, Jr., from the Jack Schaefer novel. Arthur's final film. Shot in 1951. Later a brief TV series. | tt0046303 | Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, Brandon de Wilde, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Shanghai | 1935 | James Flood | ★½ | 75 | Dreary drama of American girl falling in love with mysterious Boyer, who turns out to be (gasp!) Eurasian. Two good stars can't save this turgid outing. | tt0026982 | Loretta Young, Charles Boyer, Warner Oland, Fred Keating, Charles Grapewin, Alison Skipworth | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Shanghai Chest | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 56 | An executed criminal appears to have returned from the dead when his fingerprints are found at the scene of several murders. Weak Charlie Chan mystery. | tt0040778 | Roland Winters, Mantan Moreland, Jim Ryan, Victor Sen Yung, Deannie Best, Tristram Coffin, John Alvin, Russell Hicks, Pierre Watkin | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Shanghai Cobra | 1945 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 64 | Charlie Chan is hired by the government to probe a series of murders in which the victims are allegedly killed by a snake bite. Middling entry, although par for the Monogram series. | tt0038080 | Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Mantan Moreland, Walter Fenner, James Cardwell, Joan Barclay, James Flavin, Addison Richards | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shanghai Express | 1932 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★★ | 80 | Dated but prime Dietrich vehicle, grandly photographed by Lee Garmes (who won an Oscar). Marlene is Shanghai Lily, Brook her old flame, Oland a cruel war lord, Wong a spunky partisan, in Jules Furthman-scripted yarn of train ride through China during civil warfare. Remade as PEKING EXPRESS. | tt0023458 | Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Clive Brook, Eugene Pallette, Louise Closser Hale | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Shanghai Gesture | 1941 | Josef von Sternberg | ★★ | 98 | Slow, overblown drama of Huston discovering daughter Tierney in Oriental gambling setup. Intriguing direction somehow never makes it. The mural is by artist (and actor) Keye Luke! | tt0034175 | Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson, Maria Ouspenskaya, Phyllis Brooks, Albert Bassermann, Eric Blore, Mike Mazurki | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Shanghai Knights | 2003 | David Dobkin | ★★ | 114 | Inane follow-up to SHANGHAI NOON sends Chan and Wilson to 1887 London to recover a precious royal seal that Chan's father was guarding in the Forbidden City of China. The star teaming is no longer fresh, the story is as phony as the bogus Victorian settings, and the comedy is strained throughout this manufactured sequel. Chan's action scenes are the only bright spots. | tt0300471 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Aaron Johnson, Thomas Fisher, Aidan Gillen, Fann Wong, Donnie Yen, Gemma Jones | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Shanghai Noon | 2000 | Tom Dey | ★★½ | 110 | In 1881, a faithful servant to Chinese princess follows her from the Forbidden City to Nevada, where she's been taken by kidnappers; along the way he forms a thorny partnership with a slick outlaw who's got the gift of gab. Enjoyable if uneven Western comedy gets better as it goes along and Chan goes into action; still no match for Jackie's Asian starring vehicles. Followed by SHANGHAI KNIGHTS. | tt0184894 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Brandon Merrill, Roger Yuan, Rafael Baez, Walton Goggins, Xander Berkeley, Jason Connery | Action, Western, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Shanghai Story | 1954 | Frank Lloyd | ★★ | 99 | Tawdry yet intriguing little film about Americans trapped by Red Chinese. | tt0047475 | Ruth Roman, Edmond O'Brien, Richard Jaeckel, Barry Kelley, Whit Bissell | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Shanghai Surprise | 1986 | Jim Goddard | 💣 | 97 | Missionary Madonna hires adventurer Penn (her then real-life husband) to capture a cache of stolen opium (for medicinal purposes only) in 1937 China. It's all stupefyingly dull. As one critic noted, it's tough for Penn to succeed in the grand adventure movie tradition when the screen legend he most reminds you of here is Ratso Rizzo. Coexecutive producer George Harrison, who appears briefly as a nightclub singer, wrote the songs. | tt0091934 | [PG-13] | Sean Penn, Madonna, Paul Freeman, Richard Griffiths, Philip Sayer, Clyde Kusatsu, Kay Tong Lim | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Shanghai Triad | 1995 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★ | 109 | Absorbing tale of Chinese underworld in the 1930s, focusing on a boy who's hired to be the silent servant of a pampered nightclub queen— the mistress of one of Shanghai's gangland bosses. An intriguing companion piece to American gangster movies, and another dazzling showcase for leading lady Gong Li. | tt0115012 | [R] | Gong Li, Li Baotian, Li Suejian, Shun Chun, Wang Xiao Xiao | Chinese-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Shanks | 1974 | William Castle | ★★★ | 93 | One of the strangest movies ever made: mute puppeteer Marceau is given device by dying inventor (also Marceau) which can animate dead bodies. Relatively little dialogue in this bizarre horror-fantasy; alternately amusing and disturbing, with unique performances by three top mimes. A real curio from Castle; his final film as director. | tt0072149 | [PG] | Marcel Marceau, Tsilla Chelton, Philippe Clay, Cindy Eilbacher, Helena Kallianiotes, Larry Bishop | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Shaolin Soccer | 2001 | Stephen Chow | ★★ | 111 | Injured soccer player discovers a down-and-out kung fu master (Chow) with a strong kick and decides to build a team around him. His goal: to beat the team coached by the man who caused his lameness so many years ago. Marriage of underdog story with martial arts and special effects was a huge comedy hit in Hong Kong for writer-director-star Chow, but loses something in translation, playing like a souped-up SON OF FLUBBER. Opened in Hong Kong at 97m., then expanded by Chow. | tt0286112 | [PG-13] | Stephen Chow, Vicki Zhao, Ng Mang tat, Patrick Tse Yin, Cecilia Cheung, Karen Mok, Vincent Kok, Li Hui | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| The Shape of Things to Come | 1979 | George McCowan. | ★½ | 95 | Lackluster, low-budget remake of H. G. Wells story has nothing in common with 1936 THINGS TO COME, as few survivors of Earth's destruction are now living in peril on the moon. Diehard sci-fi fans may want to take a look, but it's hardly worth the trouble. | tt0079894 | [PG] | Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, John Ireland, Barry Morse, Nicholas Campbell, Eddie Benton. | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Shape of Things | 2003 | Neil LaBute | ★★½ | 97 | Nerdy college student falls in love with a feisty art major who persuades him to improve his appearance. Their relationship also has an impact on his best friends, who have just gotten engaged. LaBute adapted his stage play (with its original N.Y. cast), which starts with a surprisingly light tone and then, inevitably, turns sour. The story's 'lesson' is flawed at best, exposing only LaBute's certainty about the foulness of human nature. | tt0308878 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, Frederick Weller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shark Night | 2011 | David R. Ellis | ★★ | 90 | College pals (of both sexes, naturally) head off for a weekend of fun at a Louisiana bayou lake house. One of them loses an arm while waterskiing. Could it be an accident? Of course not: It's the first in a series of deadly shark attacks. Ho-hum horror chiller also includes elements of DELIVERANCE; this may be the zillionth film to feature skimpily-clad young people in peril. Advertised as SHARK NIGHT 3D. | tt1867055 | [PG-13] | Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Donal Logue, Joshua Leonard, Sinqua Walls, Chris Zylka, Alyssa Diaz, Joel David Moore | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Shark Tale | 2004 | Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, Rob Letterman. | ★★★ | 90 | Amusing underwater CG animated feature about a cocky street character (bearing Smith's voice and persona) who has big dreams and spins equally big lies. After saving the life of a fishy godfather's wimpy son, the two improbable allies find themselves in hot water— in more ways than one. Formulaic, but still fun, with enough clever ideas to amuse parents as well as kids. Film buffs will enjoy Sykes, a puffer fish who has Scorsese's eyebrows as well as his voice. | tt0307453 | [PG] | Voices of Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, Peter Falk, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Doug E. Doug, Ziggy Marley. | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Shark! | 1969 | Samuel Fuller | ★★ | 92 | Tired drama of adventurers diving for shark-guarded treasure earned some infamy when a stunt diver was killed by one of the beasts. Fuller disowned this production, which was taken out of his hands and re-edited. Reissued as MAN-EATER. | tt0066365 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Barry Sullivan, Arthur Kennedy, Silvia Pinal, Enrique Lucero, Charles Berriochoa | U.S.-Mexican | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Sharkfighters | 1956 | Jerry Hopper | ★½ | 73 | Bland account of Mature et al. seeking some way to repel the man-killing fish. | tt0049751 | Victor Mature, Karen Steele, James Olson, Philip Coolidge, Claude Akins | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sharks' Treasure | 1975 | Cornel Wilde | ★★ | 95 | Old-fashioned adventure yarn about diving for sunken treasure in the Caribbean is peppered with physical-fitness messages from director-writer-starWilde. | tt0073695 | [PG] | Cornel Wilde, Yaphet Kotto, John Nellson, Cliff Osmond, David Canary, David Gilliam | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sharky's Machine | 1981 | Burt Reynolds | ★★ | 119 | Jarring, loud, and extremely bloody actioner; vice cop Reynolds' vendetta against underworld honcho Gassman intensifies after he falls for one of his $1000-a-night hookers (Ward). Action scenes are competently staged, but you'll eventually become numbed by all the sleaze; film's weirdest aspect is its mainstream jazz score. Based on the William Diehl novel, but won't fool anyone who's ever seen LAURA. | tt0083064 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Rachel Ward, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Earl Holliman, Richard Libertini, John Fiedler, Darryl Hickman, Hari Rhodes | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shattered | 1991 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★½ | 98 | Man survives catastrophic car accident, but as an amnesiac; trying to piece his life back together, he uncovers growing evidence that things were not quite right even before the crash. Extremely well-made Hitchcock-like thriller comes closer to hitting the mark than most such pretenders, but still falls short. Implausibilities undo a capable cast. | tt0102900 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Corbin Bernsen, Theodore Bikel | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shattered | 2007 | Mike Barker | 💣 | 95 | The perfect couple (Butler and Bello) have their lives turned upside down when their young daughter is kidnapped by sadistic Brosnan. They are then put through a series of twisted tests of love, trust, and betrayal to keep their child alive. Dull and pointless; easy to see why this debuted in the U.S. on cable TV. | tt0933106 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, Maria Bello, Claudette Mink, Callum Keith Rennie, Peter Keleghan | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Shattered Glass | 2003 | Billy Ray | ★★½ | 94 | Reporter Stephen Glass endears himself to his colleagues at The New Republic magazine as he writes a series of colorful, amusing feature stories . . . until a rival discovers serious discrepancies in one of his pieces, and editor Chuck Lane (Sarsgaard) is forced to confront Glass' credibility. Based on a now-famous journalistic scandal from 1998, this well-made, entertaining film should have been a knockout, but the missing ingredient is a three-dimensional main character: Glass remains a cipher. Directing debut for screenwriter Ray. | tt0323944 | [PG-13] | Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Zahn, Hank Azaria, Mark Blum, Ted Kotcheff | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shaun of the Dead | 2004 | Edgar Wright | ★★★ | 97 | Engaging comedy about a young working stiff (Pegg) who slowly— very slowly— begins to realize that London has been overrun by the walking dead. His only ally is his no-account roommate, his only thought, to rescue his girlfriend (who just broke up with him) and his mum. Clever and funny, whether you're a fan of the zombie genre or not. From the team responsible for the British TV series Spaced. Written by the director and leading actor Pegg. | tt0365748 | [R] | Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Jessica Stevenson, Rafe Spall | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| The Shawshank Redemption | 1994 | Frank Darabont | ★★½ | 142 | Straight-arrow banker Robbins is railroaded for a double murder and sent to prison for life in the late 1940s. Fellow lifer Freeman and his buddies eventually come to admire Robbins' moral code— and his ability to get things done, in spite of a heinous warden and brutal prison guard. Widely praised film is well crafted but terribly overlong, and (like much of Stephen King's non-horror writing) hollow and predictable. First-time feature director Darabont adapted King's novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. | tt0111161 | [R] | Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, James Whitmore, Mark Rolston, Jeffrey DeMunn, Paul McCrane | Drama | NULL | ||
| She | 1935 | Irving Pichel, Lansing C. Holden | ★★★ | 95 | Escapist adventure on a grand scale, from H. Rider Haggard's story of expedition seeking Flame of Eternal Life, which has been given to one all-powerful woman. Gahagan's cold personality is major drawback, but film is still fun, with outstanding Max Steiner score. Some prints run 89m. Previously filmed in 1917 and 1926, remade several times. | tt0026983 | Helen Gahagan, Randolph Scott, Helen Mack, Nigel Bruce, Gustav von Seyffertitz | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| She | 1965 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 106 | Effective refilming of H. Rider Haggard's fantasy of love-starved eternal queen, seeking the reincarnation of her long-dead lover. The two leads certainly are attractive. Followed by THE VENGEANCE OF SHE. | tt0059710 | Ursula Andress, John Richardson, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell | British | Thriller, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| She | 1985 | Avi Nesher | 💣 | 106 | Bottom-of-the-barrel remake, loosely based on the H. Rider Haggard novel, chronicling the various adventures of the title character (Bergman). Shot in 1982. | tt0090009 | Sandahl Bergman, David Goss, Quin Kessler, Harrison Muller, Elena Wiedermann, Gordon Mitchell | Italian | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| She Couldn't Say No | 1954 | Lloyd Bacon | ★½ | 89 | Silly fluff about wealthy, misguided young Simmons, who shows up in Progress, Arkansas, with a scheme to shower its citizens with free money; Mitchum is out of his element as the town doctor. A real dud. | tt0047476 | Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Arthur Hunnicutt, Edgar Buchanan, Wallace Ford, Raymond Walburn, Pinky Tomlin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| She Couldn't Take It | 1935 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 75 | Fast-paced social comedy of bootlegger Raft impressing his henpecked cell mate Connolly (in stir on an income-tax-evasion rap). Upon release, Connolly appoints Raft his family guardian, causing rivalry with his madcap daughter Bennett. | tt0026984 | George Raft, Joan Bennett, Billie Burke, Walter Connolly, Lloyd Nolan, Franklin Pangborn, Alan Mowbray, Donald Meek, Wallace Ford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| She Dances Alone | 1981 | Robert Dornhelm | ★★★ | 87 | Engrossing blend of reality and fiction, with Cort a director attempting to make a documentary about the late, legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, starring Nijinsky's plump, aging, single-minded daughter Kyra. Her overwhelming presence dominates this strikingly unusual film. Von Sydow appears as himself, and that's his voice reading Nijinsky's diary. | tt0083065 | Kyra Nijinsky, Bud Cort, Patrick Dupond, Sauncey Le Sueur, Max von Sydow | U.S.-Austrian | Drama | NULL | ||
| She Demons | 1958 | Richard E. Cunha | 💣 | 80 | Three men and sexy, spoiled McCalla are stranded on an island inhabited by Nazi criminals, a mad scientist, and the title creatures. Too boring to be funny; even McCalla's request to 'give me some privacy while I undress' doesn't help. | tt0052187 | Irish McCalla, Tod Griffin,Victor Sen Yung, Rudolph Anders, Gene Roth | Horror | NULL | |||
| She Devil | 1957 | Kurt Neumann | 💣 | 77 | Blanchard is injected with fruit fly serum in effort to cure her of TB; already rotten, she can now physically adapt to any look and survive fatal injuries. Based on a story by Stanley G. Weinbaum. | tt0050958 | Mari Blanchard, Jack Kelly, Albert Dekker, John Archer | Horror | NULL | |||
| She Done Him Wrong | 1933 | Lowell Sherman | ★★★★ | 66 | West repeats her stage role of Diamond Lil in Gay 90s spoof. Grant is invited by Mae to come up and see her sometime— he does, fireworks result. Mae sings 'Frankie and Johnny' and 'Easy Rider' in her best film, which she coscripted from her Broadway hit. | tt0024548 | Mae West, Cary Grant, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery/Sr., Rochelle Hudson, Rafaela Ottiano, Louise Beavers | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| She Gets Her Man | 1945 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★★ | 74 | Hilarious slapstick whodunit with daughter of legendary female police chief hired to stop crime wave in city. Davis and Errol make marvelous duo in this fast-moving farce. | tt0038082 | Joan Davis, Leon Errol, William Gargan, Vivian Austin, Russell Hicks, Donald MacBride | Comedy | NULL | |||
| She Gods of Shark Reef | 1958 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 63 | Location filming in Hawaii does nothing for this confusing tale of brothers Cord and Durant shipwrecked on isolated isle inhabited only by women. | tt0052188 | Bill Cord, Don Durant, Lisa Montell, Carol Lindsay, Jeanne Gerson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| She Had to Say Yes | 1933 | Busby Berkeley, George Amy. | ★★½ | 66 | Strange, raw, racy story about a clothing company with 'customer girls,' whose job is to entertain out-of-town buyers. Toomey suggests drawing on the steno pool to give the buyers a change but doesn't want his fiancée (Young) involved. Loretta is very good as a good girl who learns the ropes overnight. Berkeley's first (co-) directing credit; the steno pool is full of his chorines, including Toby Wing. | tt0024549 | Loretta Young, Winnie Lightner, Lyle Talbot, Regis Toomey, Hugh Herbert, Ferdinand Gottschalk. | Drama | NULL | |||
| She Hate Me | 2004 | Spike Lee | ★★½ | 138 | Bright exec at a pharmaceuticals firm blows the whistle on his crooked bosses, only to find himself the scapegoat for their shenanigans. Strapped for money, he accepts his ex-fiancée's cold-cash offer to impregnate her and her lesbian lover. Only Spike Lee could have concocted this mishmash of sexual comedy, social commentary, and polemics. Some good scenes and funny moments are offset by heavy-handedness and speechifying. Cowriter Michael Genet appears as Mackie's brother. | tt0384533 | [R] | Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Ellen Barkin, Monica Bellucci, Jim Brown, Ossie Davis, Jamel Debbouze, Brian Dennehy, Woody Harrelson, Bai Ling, Lonette McKee, Paula Jai Parker, Q-Tip, John Turturro, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarita Choudhury, Joie Lee | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| She Learned About Sailors | 1934 | George Marshall | ★½ | 76 | Silly romantic comedy with complications delaying inevitable final clinch between sailor Ayres and cabaret singer Faye. Much footage devoted to the violent comedy of Mitchell and Durant. | tt0025773 |
|
Lew Ayres, Alice Faye, Harry Green, Frank Mitchell, Jack Durant | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| She Loved a Fireman | 1937 | John Farrow. | ★★½ | 57 | Wiseguy fireman Foran gets into hot water with captain Armstrong when he starts dating his sister (Sheridan) but proves himself worthy in the clinch. Standard Warner Bros. action fare, handled with gusto. | tt0030739 | Dick Foran, Ann Sheridan, Robert Armstrong, Eddie Acuff, Veda Ann Borg. | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| She Loves Me Not | 1934 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 83 | Hopkins is ebullient (and hilarious) as a nightclub performer running from murder scene who hides out with college man Crosby in his Princeton dorm. Gets funnier as it goes along, and introduces 'Love in Bloom' to boot. Based on Howard Lindsay's play. Remade as TRUE TO THE ARMY and HOW TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR. | tt0025774 | Bing Crosby, Miriam Hopkins, Kitty Carlisle, Lynne Overman, Henry Stephenson, George Barbier, Warren Hymer | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| She Married Her Boss | 1935 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 90 | That's what she did, and nothing much happens until tipsy butler Walburn staggers in. Good stars with fair script by usually reliable Sidney Buchman. | tt0026986 | Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Edith Fellows, Michael Bartlett, Raymond Walburn, Jean Dixon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| She Played With Fire | 1957 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★ | 95 | OK drama of Hawkins, insurance investigator, becoming involved with Dahl, an arsonist. | tt0050405 | Jack Hawkins, Arlene Dahl, Dennis Price, Violet Farebrother, Ian Hunter, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| She Went to the Races | 1945 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★ | 86 | Mild romantic comedy in which scientist Gifford's colleagues develop a system for beating the horses; along the way, she falls for horse owner Craig. Buster Keaton briefly appears as a bellboy. | tt0038083 | James Craig, Frances Gifford, Ava Gardner, Edmund Gwenn, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| She Wore a Yellow Ribbon | 1949 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 103 | Director Ford's stock company in fine form. Wayne excellent as cavalry officer about to retire, unwilling to walk out on impending war with Indians. Beautifully filmed in color by Oscar-winning Winton C. Hoch, but a bit top-heavy with climaxes. Second of Ford's cavalry trilogy; followed by RIO GRANDE. | tt0041866 | John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey/Jr., Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, George O'Brien, Arthur Shields, Francis Ford, Noble Johnson, Tom Tyler | Western | NULL | |||
| She Wouldn't Say Yes | 1945 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 87 | Psychiatrist Russell tests theories on Bowman but finds herself involved with him romantically; predictable but amusing comedy. | tt0038084 | Rosalind Russell, Lee Bowman, Adele Jergens, Charles Winninger, Harry Davenport, Percy Kilbride | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| She Wrote the Book | 1946 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 72 | OK comedy about prim professor Davis posing as author of torrid best-seller. Fun for Davis fans, but not one of her best vehicles. | tt0038933 |
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Joan Davis, Jack Oakie, Mischa Auer, Kirby Grant, John Litel, Jacqueline de Wit, Gloria Stuart | Comedy | NULL | ||
| She'll Have to Go | 1962 | Robert Asher | ★★½ | 90 | Broad farce about two brothers who compete to win the family inheritance left to attractive Corsican cousin (Karina). | tt0056478 | Bob Monkhouse, Alfred Marks, Hattie Jacques, Anna Karina, Dennis Lotis | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| She's All That | 1999 | Robert Iscove | ★★½ | 96 | High school hunk who's just been dumped by his bitchy but popular girlfriend accepts a bet that he can turn a geeky girl into prom queen. Naturally, he falls in love for real . . . and of course, the geeky girl (Cook) is already quite pretty. Fairly innocuous, predictable teen fare with a likable cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar appears unbilled. | tt0160862 | [PG-13] | Freddie Prinze/Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Matthew Lillard, Paul Walker, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Kevin Pollak, Anna Paquin, Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Usher Raymond, Kimberly 'Lil Kim' Jones, Tim Matheson, Debbi Morgan, Alexis Arquette, Clea DuVall, Chris Owen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| She's Back on Broadway | 1953 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 95 | Fading Hollywood star returns to Broadway, finds dealing with director Cochran her biggest challenge. Good cast in slick but predictable musical drama. | tt0046306 | Virginia Mayo, Steve Cochran, Gene Nelson, Frank Lovejoy, Patrice Wymore | Musical | NULL | |||
| She's Gotta Have It | 1986 | Spike Lee | ★★★ | 84 | Breezy, funky film about a sexy, independent black woman and the three 'macho' men who compete for her undivided attention. The acting is far from smooth; film's streetwise charm compensates. Breakthrough film for writer-director Lee, who also appears as the iconoclastic Mars; his father Bill Lee wrote the music score. One charming sequence is filmed in color. | tt0091939 | [R] | Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell, Bill Lee | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| She's Having a Baby | 1988 | John Hughes | ★★½ | 106 | Trials and tribulations of a young couple as they embark on marriage, domestic life, and impending parenthood, as told by the young husband, who feels trapped from the start and questions the meaning of it all. Likable enough comedy-drama grows monotonous after a while; the stars are very appealing, however. Many famous faces appear at the finale. | tt0096094 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern, Alec Baldwin, Isabel Lorca, William Windom, Cathryn Damon, Holland Taylor, James Ray, Dennis Dugan, John Ashton, Edie McClurg, Paul Gleason, Lili Taylor | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| She's Out of Control | 1989 | Stan Dragoti | ★½ | 95 | Superficial expanded sitcom with Danza offering a one-note performance as a widower suffering anxiety pangs over the budding sexuality of daughter Dolenz (whose real-life dad is ex-Monkee Micky). This one seems as if it was spit out of a computer. | tt0098308 | [PG] | Tony Danza, Catherine Hicks, Wallace Shawn, Dick O'Neill, Ami Dolenz, Laura Mooney, Derek McGrath, Dana Ashbrook, Matthew Perry | Comedy | NULL | ||
| She's Out of My League | 2010 | Jim Field Smith | ★★½ | 104 | Teen comedy about a nerdy kid with low self-esteem who meets the girl of his dreams but screws it up due to lack of confidence—and bad advice from his wacky family and friends. Slightly better than average for the genre, the film benefits from smart casting (including the likable Baruchel in the lead) and a limit on the kind of gross-out humor in which these things usually wallow. | tt0815236 | [R] | Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T. J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Krysten Ritter, Geoff Stultz, Lindsay Sloane, Kyle Bornheimer, Jessica St. Clair, Debra Jo Rupp, Adam LeFevre | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| She's So Lovely | 1997 | Nick Cassavetes | ★★★ | 97 | An errant husband's latest rage sends him to a mental hospital. Meanwhile, his slightly mad wife remarries, gets her life in order, and raises three children. When husband number one is released ten years later, he sees no reason why he and his ex shouldn't pick up just where they left off. This edgy, extremely well acted comedy-drama could only have been written by John Cassavetes, and it was; his son directed, and his widow (Rowlands) appears in a small role. Executive-produced by Sean Penn, Travolta, and Gérard Depardieu. | tt0120112 | [R] | Sean Penn, Robin Wright Penn, John Travolta, Harry Dean Stanton, Debi Mazar, James Gandolfini, Gena Rowlands, Burt Young, Chloe Webb | French-U.S. | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| She's Working Her Way Through College | 1952 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 101 | Reworking of THE MALE ANIMAL diminishes the role of the professor (played by Reagan), showcasing Mayo instead, as a burlesque star who tries to bury her past and pursue a college education. Pleasant but minor musical. | tt0045144 | Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, Gene Nelson, Don DeFore, Phyllis Thaxter, Patrice Wymore, Roland Winters | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| She's a Soldier Too | 1944 | William Castle. | ★★ | 67 | OK B film with cabdriver Bondi helping out soldier Bridges. | tt0037268 | Beulah Bondi, Lloyd Bridges, Nina Foch, Percy Kilbride, Shelley Winters, Ida Moore. | Drama | NULL | |||
| She's the Man | 2006 | Andy Fickman | ★★ | 105 | Shallow time-killer for the appealing Bynes. Farcical to a fault, this umpteenth cross-dressing story finds the new girl on campus disguising herself as her AWOL brother in order to get closer to the 'cool' jock who lusts after the best-looking girl in school. Cast looks like they just jumped off the cover of Tiger Beat. Screenplay credit reads 'inspired by Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare,' but unfortunately this film is to Shakespeare what Paris Hilton is to Meryl Streep. Or, no great Shakes. | tt0454945 | [PG-13] | Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Robert Hoffman, Alex Breckinridge, Jonathan Sadowsky, Julie Hagerty, Vinnie Jones, David Cross | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| She's the One | 1996 | Edward Burns | ★★½ | 96 | Amusing comedy about a guy, still smarting from catching his fiancée cheating on him three years ago, who marries on impulse, while his cocky married brother turns out to be a philanderer. Winning performances, funny lines and situations abound, though it starts to go flat toward the finale. Writer-director Burns' second film, following THE BROTHERS McMULLEN. Executive-produced by Robert Redford. Original songs written and performed by Tom Petty. | tt0117628 | [R] | Edward Burns, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, John Mahoney, Maxine Bahns, Mike McGlone, Leslie Mann, Anita Gillette, Frank Vincent | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The She-Beast | 1966 | Michael Reeves | ★½ | 74 | A witch killed by Transylvanian villagers in 18th century comes back to life as modern, attractive English girl on her honeymoon. Really tacky, though it has some laughs. | tt0061005 | Barbara Steele, John Karlsen, Ian Ogilvy, Mel Welles, Jay Riley, Richard Watson | Italian-Yugoslavian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The She-Creature | 1956 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 77 | Bizarre blend of CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and THE SEARCH FOR BRIDEY MURPHY. Evil hypnotist uses mesmerized assistant to call back the murderous ghost of the sea creature of which she is a reincarnation. Slow and preposterous but effectively moody, with one of Paul Blaisdell's more memorable monsters, which he also plays. Really odd cast. Remade as CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION and again for cable in 2001. | tt0050957 | Marla English, Tom Conway, Chester Morris, Ron Randell, Frieda Inescort, Cathy Downs, El Brendel, Jack Mulhall, Frank Jenks | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| She-Devil | 1989 | Susan Seidelman | ★★ | 99 | When her slimeball husband walks out on her, unliberated housewife Barr sets out to methodically destroy his life— while creating one for herself. Extremely disappointing comedy offers no surprises and no irony; what it has is a magnificent comedic performance by Streep as the glamorous, self-absorbed romance novelist who lures Roseanne's husband away. Based on Fay Weldon's novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, which spawned a British miniseries. | tt0098309 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Roseanne Barr, Ed Begley/Jr., Linda Hunt, Sylvia Miles, Elizabeth Peters, Bryan Larkin, A Martinez | Comedy | NULL | ||
| She-Wolf of London | 1946 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 61 | Amidst a series of London murders, mousy Lockhart becomes convinced she is the werewolf responsible. Silly and predictable. No connection to later TV series. | tt0038934 | Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Jan Wiley, Lloyd Corrigan | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sheba, Baby | 1975 | William Girdler | ★★ | 89 | Middling black action-melodrama with Grier as female private eye trying to help father and friend save their loan business. Less sex and violence than usual, but weak script and amateurish acting. | tt0073697 | [PG] | Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger, Dick Merrifield | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sheena | 1984 | John Guillermin | 💣 | 117 | Tanya looks great as the queen of jungle jiggle, but Mother Nature forgot to endow her with a script. Supposed to be campy, but it's just plain awful. | tt0088103 | [PG] | Tanya Roberts, Ted Wass, Donovan Scott, Elizabeth of Toro | Action | NULL | ||
| The Sheep Has Five Legs | 1954 | Henri Verneuil | ★★★ | 95 | Fernandel's tour de force, playing an old wine-grower and each of his five sons who have gathered together for a family reunion. | tt0047250 | Fernandel, Delmont, Françoise Arnoul, Paulette Dubost | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Sheepman | 1958 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 85 | Modest, entertaining comedy-Western with Ford battling Nielsen for sheep herds and MacLaine, though not always in that order. Shaughnessy is typically amusing. Written by genre vets William Bowers and James Edward Grant. | tt0052190 | Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Shaughnessy, Edgar Buchanan | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Sheik | 1921 | George Melford | ★★★ | 80 | Ayres, a 'civilized' woman, falls completely under the spell of desert chieftain Valentino. The silent film that helped create the Valentino legend is hokey and campy, but still entertaining. It's easy to see why women went crazy for the Latin star. Racist/imperialist angle of the story is equally fascinating. Followed by SON OF THE SHEIK. | tt0012675 | Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres, Adolphe Menjou, Walter Long, Lucien Littlefield, George Waggner | Romance | NULL | |||
| Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York | 1975 | Sidney J. Furie | 💣 | 113 | Dead is right. Gail Parent's sardonically funny novel about a Jewish American Princess trying to make good in N.Y.C. becomes an unbelievably bad movie, that just goes on and on. | tt0073698 | [PG] | Jeannie Berlin, Roy Scheider, Rebecca Dianna Smith, Janet Brandt, Sid Melton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Sheltering Sky | 1990 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★ | 137 | Infuriatingly long, dense story of a married American couple who travel to North Africa in the late 1940s, with a friend in tow, hoping for some sort of adventure to spark their odd, repressed relationship. Paul Bowles' novels are often referred to as unfilmable, and this is certainly proof of that. Vividly atmospheric, well acted, and sexually explicit, but this is a journey you may not want to take. Bowles narrates and appears on-screen as mysterious man in bar. | tt0100594 | [R] | Debra Winger, John Malkovich, Campbell Scott, Jill Bennett, Timothy Spall, Eric Vu-An, Sotigui Koyate, Paul Bowles | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shenandoah | 1965 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★★ | 105 | Rousing, well-acted saga of Virginia widower indifferent to War between the States until his family is involved. Sentimental drama captures heartbreak of America's Civil War. Basis for later Broadway musical. Ross's film debut. | tt0059711 | James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, Rosemary Forsyth, Katharine Ross, Tim McIntire, Paul Fix, Denver Pyle, George Kennedy, James Best, Harry Carey/Jr., Dabbs Greer, Strother Martin | Drama, War, Western | NULL | |||
| Shepherd of the Hills | 1941 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 98 | Beautifully mounted production of Harold Bell Wright story about Ozark mountain folk, and a man who lives his life in the shadow of a curse: the promise to kill the man who abandoned his mother. Wayne is excellent, and surrounded by fine character actors, with unusual roles for Lawrence and Main. Fuzzy Knight sings a sentimental song ('Happy Hunting Ground') as he did in the not dissimilar THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE. Exquisitely shot by Charles Lang, Jr., and W. Howard Greene; filmed before in 1919 and 1928, then remade in 1963. | tt0034182 | John Wayne, Betty Field, Harry Carey, Beulah Bondi, James Barton, Samuel S. Hinds, Marjorie Main, Ward Bond, Marc Lawrence, John Qualen | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw | 1959 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★½ | 103 | Innocuous Western spoof with Englishman More handed job of sheriff in war-torn town, which he handles surprisingly well. | tt0052191 | Kenneth More, Jayne Mansfield, Henry Hull, William Campbell, Bruce Cabot, Robert Morley. | British | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Sheriff of Tombstone | 1941 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 54 | Disreputable Tombstone mayor Richards wants a mine owned by Knox's grandmother and hires an outlaw to do his dirty work . . . but mistakes former Dodge City sheriff Rogers for that very outlaw! Engaging story with neat twists. Novello has a scene-stealing dual role as a Wells Fargo manager and a Mexican bandit. | tt0034183 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Elyse Knox, Addison Richards, Sally Payne, Harry Woods, Zeffie Tilbury, Jay Novello, Hal Taliaferro. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sherlock Holmes | 1932 | William K. Howard | ★★½ | 68 | Genteel, stylish approach to Holmes, set in modern-day London; pleasing but subdued. Torrence is a most enjoyable Moriarty. | tt0023460 | Clive Brook, Ernest Torrence, Miriam Jordan, Alan Mowbray, Herbert Mundin, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sherlock Holmes | 2009 | Guy Ritchie | ★★ | 128 | Murky, noisy, overproduced claptrap about the world-famous detective (and martial arts specialist, we learn here), whose partner Dr. Watson is about to leave Baker St. to get married. Then Holmes is pulled into a baffling case involving the evil Lord Blackwood (Strong) and his longtime love, the duplicitous Irene Adler (McAdams). Annoying in the extreme—and unintelligible at times—the film gets better in the second half as an actual story emerges, but the overuse of Ritchie-branded editing and CGI effects is deadening. | tt0988045 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly, James Fox | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sherlock Holmes Faces Death | 1943 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 68 | The deductive master and his blundering companion check into a mansion for convalescing war officers where a series of murders occurs. Very amusing entry replete with a strange clock tower, a subterranean crypt, and a human chessboard. Look for Peter Lawford in a bit as a sailor. | tt0036348 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Milburn Stone, Arthur Margetson, Halliwell Hobbes, Dennis Hoey | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady | 1990 | Peter Sasdy | Average TV Movie | 200 | Holmes comes to the aid of actress friend Irene Adler (Fairchild) once again. Even Sigmund Freud (Bennett) becomes involved. Followed by INCIDENT AT VICTORIA FALLS. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0100597 | Christopher Lee, Patrick Macnee, Morgan Fairchild, Engelbert Humperdinck, Robert Rietty, John Bennett, Ronald Hines, Jenny Quayle | British-Italian-French-Belgian-Luxembourg | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death | 1984 | Roy Ward Baker | Above Average TV Movie | 75 | This adventure of Holmes (Cushing) and Watson (Mills) in 1913 involves mysterious deaths in London and the kidnapping of a German prince. Cushing is one of the all-time greatest Sherlocks, though the film is a little flat. Longer version runs 90m. Original title: THE MASKS OF DEATH. | tt0088108 | Peter Cushing, John Mills, Gordon Jackson, Anton Diffring, Ray Milland, Anne Baxter, Susan Penhaligon, Jenny Laird | British | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon | Secret Weapon | 1942 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 68 | Holmes is hired to protect the inventor of a new bombsight from the deadly clutches of Moriarty (Atwill). Exciting entry with Hoey scoring as the comically maladroit Inspector Lestrade. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035317 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill, Kaaren Verne, William Post/Jr., Dennis Hoey, Mary Gordon, Holmes Herbert | Crime, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror | Voice of Terror | 1942 | John Rawlins | ★★½ | 65 | First entry in the Universal Rathbone-Bruce series is probably the least impressive, but still enjoyable once you accept the premise of Victorian Holmes (with a particularly risible haircut) battling Nazi saboteurs in WW2 England. Excellent supporting performances by Gomez (in his film debut) and Ankers. | tt0035318 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, Reginald Denny, Thomas Gomez, Henry Daniell, Montagu Love | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sherlock Holmes in New York | 1976 | Boris Sagal | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Stylish Holmes original by Alvin Sapinsley that has the sleuth rushing to America after Moriarty has imperiled the world's gold supply and is threatening Holmes' long-time love, Irene Adler. Period valentine for Holmes aficionados. | tt0075208 | Roger Moore, John Huston, Patrick Macnee, Gig Young, Charlotte Rampling, David Huddleston, Signe Hasso, Leon Ames, Jackie Coogan | Action | NULL | |||
| Sherlock Holmes in Washington | 1943 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 71 | Holmes and Watson are off to D.C. in search of some hidden microfilm in this cheeky entry notable for its strong WW2 propaganda content and Watson's fascination with American bubble-gum. | tt0036349 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell, George Zucco, John Archer, Gavin Muir | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | 2011 | Guy Ritchie | ★★½ | 129 | As Dr. Watson is about to be married and leave his detective friend to his own devices, Holmes encounters his brilliant nemesis Professor James Moriarty (Harris), who is carrying out an evil scheme to make himself wealthy and powerful. Long, episodic, but less fragmented and more engaging than the first Downey HOLMES, with ideas taken straight from Arthur Conan Doyle. What a novel idea! Harris makes a fine Moriarty. | tt1515091 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey /Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine James, Eddie Marsan | Crime, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sherlock, Jr. | 1924 | Buster Keaton | ★★★★ | 45 | Keaton reached his pinnacle with this brilliant and hilarious story of a hapless projectionist who walks right into the screen and takes part in the imaginary detective drama unfolding. Sublime study of film and fantasy, which has undoubtedly influenced countless filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Jacques Rivette, even Buñuel. | tt0015324 | Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Ward Crane, Joseph Keaton, Erwin Connolly | Comedy, Short | NULL | |||
| Sherman's March | 1986 | Ross McElwee | ★★★★ | 157 | Totally unique documentary odyssey, as romantic sadsack McElwee retraces the title Civil War trek while simultaneously examining the mystique of Southern womanhood. Overlong by a half hour, but the flesh-and-blood subjects end up getting to you the way people in real life do; CRIMES OF THE HEART suffers terribly by comparison. Hilarious subplot involving Burt Reynolds. Followed by sequel, TIME INDEFINITE. | tt0091943 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| SherryBaby | 2006 | Laurie Collyer | ★★★ | 96 | Compelling film about a recent parolee trying to connect with her young daughter, who's now in the custody of her brother and sister-in-law. Character study of a tough, drug-addicted woman who's trying to make her way back into a society just waiting for her to relapse and return to prison. Scenes with her parole officer (Esposito) are particularly powerful as Gyllenhaal proves she is one of her generation's finest actresses. Worth watching for her superb, gut-wrenching performance. Written by the director. | tt0423169 | [R] | Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brad William Henke, Sam Bottoms, Kate Burton, Giancarlo Esposito, Ryan Simpkins, Danny Trejo, Rio Hackford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shield for Murder | 1954 | Edmond O'Brien, Howard W. Koch | ★★½ | 80 | Tidy, tough yarn of crooked detective involved in theft-murder, trying to keep his loot and avoid capture. | tt0047479 | Edmond O'Brien, John Agar, Marla English, Carolyn Jones, Claude Akins | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Shillingbury Blowers | 1980 | Val Guest | ★½ | 82 | Dated trifle about cantankerous Howard and cronies resisting attempts by young Nedwell to improve the band in an Olde English village. | tt0081504 | Trevor Howard, Robin Nedwell, Diane Keen, Jack Douglas, Sam Kydd, John LeMesurier | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shiloh | 1997 | Dale Rosenbloom | ★★ | 93 | A beagle, training to be a hunting dog, runs away from its cruel owner and meets up with a lonely preteen. Not your usual boy-and-his-dog tale (no one falls down a mine shaft), it chronicles Heron's attempts to buy the dog from its master. Good cast, solid family values, but lumbering story never picks up. Followed by a sequel. | tt0120118 | [PG] | Blake Heron, Michael Moriarty, Scott Wilson, Ann Dowd, J. Madison Wright, Rod Steiger, Bonnie Bartlett, Frannie |
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| Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season | 1999 | Sandy Tung | ★★ | 96 | The boy and his dog return in this sequel which deals with why people are bad and whether they can change. More life lessons explored by a game cast, but the story plods. | tt0175159 | [PG] | Michael Moriarty, Zachary Browne, Scott Wilson, Rod Steiger, Bonnie Bartlett, Ann Dowd, Frannie | Fantasy, Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Shine | 1996 | Scott Hicks | ★★★½ | 105 | Young piano prodigy is pushed to the breaking point by his smothering father. As a dysfunctional adult, he eventually finds peace in the very thing that drove him to the edge: his music. He also finds love for the first time in his life. Arresting film based on the true story of David Helfgott, with a great cast, led by an astonishing Rush in his Oscar-winning performance. | tt0117631 | [PG-13] | Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Noah Taylor, Alex Rafalowicz, Sonia Todd, Lynn Redgrave, John Gielgud, Nicholas Bell, Googie Withers | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Shine A Light | 2008 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★½ | 122 | Having documented legends like The Band and Bob Dylan, Scorsese takes on the “greatest rock band ever.” Capturing a 2006 Rolling Stones concert in the rather intimate setting of New York’s Beacon Theatre, the director places his cameras seemingly everywhere (manned by Robert Richardson and an array of A-list cinematographers) and brilliantly captures the raw energy of this legendary band. A unique view of the masters of one medium from the master of another; if it doesn’t thrill baby boomers then they can’t get no satisfaction from any filmed rock concert. | tt0893382 | [PG-13] | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood | Documentary, Music | NULL | ||
| Shine On Harvest Moon | 1944 | David Butler | ★★½ | 112 | Lives of great entertainers Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth make for fairly entertaining musical. Finale in color. | tt0037273 | Ann Sheridan, Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Irene Manning, S. Z. Sakall, Marie Wilson, Step Brothers | Biography, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Shine of Rainbows | 2010 | Vic Sarin | ★★ | 101 | Carving out a living with husband Quinn on beautiful Corrie Island (off the Irish coast), Nielsen adopts redheaded Bell out of her own childhood orphanage on the mainland. A major wrinkle in what follows, which includes a subplot about seals, is tough-guy Quinn's mild antipathy toward the sensitive lad, who would not have been his first choice as someone to take into the household. Clearly aimed at the family market, film has great seaside scenery, capable performers, and characters who'd make nice neighbors—all in service of a narrative that fails to excite very much in spite of its underlying human decency. | tt1014774 | [PG] | Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn, John Bell, Jack Gleeson, Tara Alice Scully | Canadian-Irish | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Shiner | 2001 | John Irvin | ★★ | 99 | Rather obvious yarn, with echoes of King Lear, about a seedy London promoter who manages to stage a major boxing bout for his son— only to see his dream of glory, and almost everything else he holds dear, crumble to bits. Caine is always interesting to watch, but this is just a potboiler. Released direct to video in the U.S. | tt0232632 | [R] | Michael Caine, Martin Landau, Frances Barber, Claire Rushbrook, Frank Harper, Andy Serkis, Matthew Marsden, Gary Lewis | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Shining Hour | 1938 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 80 | N.Y.C. nightclub performer Crawford marries into Wisconsin farm family, leading to emotional fireworks. Crawford and Sullavan (as her sister-in-law) provide interesting contrast in this overwrought soap opera. | tt0030743 | Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan, Robert Young, Melvyn Douglas, Fay Bainter, Allyn Joslyn, Hattie McDaniel, Frank Albertson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shining Star | That's The Way of the World | 1975 | Sig Shore | ★½ | 100 | Low key yarn about mob-dominated recording company. Poor sound and photography. Saved— barely— by intriguing look behind the scenes of music business. Music by Earth, Wind and Fire. Originally titled THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD. | tt0073703 | Harvey Keitel, Ed Nelson, Cynthia Bostick, Bert Parks, Jimmy Boyd, Michael Dante | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shining Through | 1992 | David Seltzer | ★★½ | 127 | Overlong, overbaked spy drama/romance set in WW2, with a very appealing Griffith as an outspoken young woman who falls in love with her boss (Douglas), and convinces him to let her take a dangerous assignment in Berlin— though she has no espionage experience except what she's seen in movies. Lavish production and empathic performance by Griffith make this palatable— but the story gets more implausible as it reaches its climax. Based on the novel by Susan Isaacs. | tt0105391 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson, John Gielgud, Francis Guinan, Patrick Winczewski, Sylvia Syms | Thriller, Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Shining Victory | 1941 | Irving Rapper | ★★½ | 80 | Handsome production of A. J. Cronin play about ultra-dedicated research psychologist who can't even see that his new assistant is in love with him. Very watchable but not terribly inspiring. Publicity from the time insists that Bette Davis makes a walk-on appearance as a nurse; just try to find her. | tt0034184 | James Stephenson, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Donald Crisp, Barbara O'Neil, Montagu Love, Sig Ruman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Shining | 1980 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★ | 142 | Intriguing but ineffectual adaptation of Stephen King's thriller about a man who becomes off-season caretaker at isolated resort hotel— and almost immediately begins to lose his mind. Nicholson goes off the wall so quickly there's no time to get involved in his plight. Some eerie scenes, to be sure, but the film goes on forever. Cut by Kubrick after premiering at 146m. Remade for TV in 1997. | tt0081505 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Joe Turkel, Anne Jackson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ship Ahoy | 1942 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 95 | Nonsensical plot of Skelton thinking U.S. agent is working for Axis; shipboard yarn has some salty dancing and singing, good Dorsey numbers featuring drummer Buddy Rich. | tt0035320 | Eleanor Powell, Red Skelton, Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, John Emery, Tommy Dorsey and Orchestra | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Ship That Died of Shame | PT Raiders | 1955 | Basil Dearden. | ★★★ | 91 | Crew of British gunboat reteams after WW2 and uses the same vessel for smuggling purposes, until 'it' begins to rebel at their increasingly grimy exploits. Fine cast in offbeat drama. Retitled PT RAIDERS and cut to 78m. | tt0048611 | Richard Attenborough, George Baker, Bill Owen, Virginia McKenna, Roland Culver, Bernard Lee, Ralph Truman. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Ship Was Loaded | Carry On Admiral | 1957 | Val Guest | ★★ | 81 | Inconsequential zaniness involving impersonations and shenanigans in Her Majesty's Navy. Retitled: CARRY ON ADMIRAL. | tt0050960 | David Tomlinson, Peggy Cummins, Alfie Bass, Ronald Shiner | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Ship of Fools | 1965 | Stanley Kramer | ★★★★ | 149 | GRAND HOTEL at sea in pre-WW2 days. Superb cast including Leigh, in her last film, as disillusioned divorcée, Werner and Signoret as illicit lovers, Marvin as punchy baseball player. Penetrating drama, when not a soaper. Script by Abby Mann from Katherine Anne Porter's novel; won Oscars for Cinematography (Ernest Laszlo) and Art Direction. | tt0059712 | Vivien Leigh, Oskar Werner, Simone Signoret, Jose Ferrer, Lee Marvin, Jose Greco, George Segal, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Dunn, Charles Korvin, Lilia Skala | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ship of Lost Men | 1929 | Maurice Tourneur. | ★★½ | 121 | A transatlantic aviatrix's plane crashes at sea. Saved by a passing boat, she's horrified to find she's the lone woman aboard a vessel jammed with 'lost men': miscreants with terrible pasts and no futures. Luminously photographed; Dietrich's last silent, and Tourneur's, too. | tt0020371 | Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Kortner, Robin Irvine, Vladimir Sokoloff, Gaston Modot, Boris de Fast, Feodor Chaliapin/Jr. | German-French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shipmates Forever | 1935 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 124 | Cocky Powell takes navy lightly until pressed into action. Usual plot, with songs and dances with Keeler. Reissued at 108m. | tt0026988 | Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, Lewis Stone, Ross Alexander, Eddie Acuff, Dick Foran, John Arledge | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Shipping News | 2001 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 111 | A man beaten down by life is brought— by circumstance— to his ancestral home of Newfoundland, where he begins to gain confidence in himself as the skeletons in his family closet emerge. An unbeatable cast brings this sympathetic adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to life; the setting contributes as much as the actors. | tt0120824 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Pete Postlethwaite, Scott Glenn, Rhys Ifans, Gordon Pinsent, Jason Behr, Larry Pine, Jeannetta Arnette, Marc Lawrence | Drama | NULL | ||
| Ships With Wings | 1942 | Sergei Nolbandov | ★★★ | 89 | Sterling, patriotic WW2 drama spotlighting the importance of aircraft carriers in battling the Nazis; romantic subplot has pilot Clements falling for an admiral's daughter. | tt0035322 | John Clements, Leslie Banks, Jane Baxter, Ann Todd, Basil Sydney, Edward Chapman, Hugh Williams, Michael Wilding, Michael Rennie, Cecil Parker | British | War | NULL | ||
| Shipwrecked | 1990 | Nils Gaup | ★★★ | 91 | Young Smestad signs on a South Seas voyage as cabin boy; just before pirate/passenger Byrne is about to take over the ship, a hurricane strands the lad on the very island where Byrne's treasure booty is hidden. Enjoyable pirate yarn with an exciting HOME ALONE-like finish when Smestad booby-traps the island against the invading pirates. A Disney release. | tt0099816 | [PG] | Stian Smestad, Gabriel Byrne, Louisa Haigh, Trond Munch, Bjorn Sundquist, Eva Von Hanno, Kjell Stormoen | Norwegian | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Shiralee | 1957 | Leslie Norman | ★★½ | 99 | Rough-hewn Australian swagman takes daughter away from unfaithful wife to accompany him on his wanderings. Moving portrayal of their relationship compensates for diffuse, episodic nature of film. On-location scenery helps, too. Remade as a TV miniseries. | tt0050961 | Peter Finch, Elizabeth Sellars, Dana Wilson, Rosemary Harris, Tessie O'Shea, Sidney James, George Rose | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shiri | 1999 | Je-gyu Kang | ★★★ | 125 | G-men partners, one of them a groom-to-be, race to stop a chameleon assassin from blowing up Seoul in the name of reunification. This imitation John Woo actioner offers the usual excessively bloody violence, sentimental melodrama, noisy gunplay, and laser-bright visuals, but its credibility is elevated by fiercely charged political motivations. A major Asian box-office hit. | tt0192657 | [R] | Suk-kyu Han, Min-sik Choi, Kang-ho Song, Yun-jin Kim | Korean | Action, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Shirley Valentine | 1989 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 108 | Collins repeats her London and Broadway stage triumphs in the role of a saucy, middle-aged, married woman who feels that life has passed her by— until she gets the opportunity to travel to Greece, sans husband. Collins' endearing performance (much of it talking directly to the audience) makes this a must, smoothing over lulls in Willy Russell's adaptation of his own stage play. The same team made EDUCATING RITA. | tt0098319 | [R] | Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Alison Steadman, Julia McKenzie, Joanna Lumley, Bernard Hill, Sylvia Syms | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Shoah | 1985 | Claude Lanzmann | ★★★★ | 503 | Remarkable documentary, shown in two parts, each lasting about four and a half hours, chronicling the memories of those who lived through the Holocaust— both victims and oppressors. Lanzmann's persistent interview approach hammers away at details in order to intensify our cumulative response . . . and we begin to see exactly how the unthinkable became a reality. A unique and eloquent film. | tt0090015 | French | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Shock | 1946 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 70 | A woman becomes traumatized after witnessing a murder— and the psychiatrist who takes her case just happens to be the killer. Intriguing premise, so-so result. | tt0038937 | Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Frank Latimore, Anabel Shaw, Michael Dunne, Reed Hadley | Horror, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Shock Corridor | 1963 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★ | 101 | Journalist Breck gets admitted to mental institution to unmask murderer, but soon goes crazy himself. Powerful melodrama with raw, emotional impact. Fuller also produced and wrote the script; imaginative photography by Stanley Cortez. Three sequences are in color. | tt0057495 | Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best, Hari Rhodes | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shock Treatment | 1964 | Denis Sanders | ★★ | 94 | Out-of-work actor (Whitman) goes undercover at state mental asylum to discover whereabouts of murderer McDowall's supposed million-dollar stash. Odd, unsatisfying melodrama. | tt0058585 | Stuart Whitman, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Lauren Bacall, Olive Deering, Ossie Davis, Donald Buka, Bert Freed, Douglass Dumbrille | Drama | NULL | |||
| Shock Treatment | 1981 | Jim Sharman | ★½ | 94 | Dreary, disappointing spin-off from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, with same director and many cast members. Brad and Janet (played here by De Young and Harper) find themselves contestants (or more appropriately, prisoners) on a TV game show— spoofed far more successfully in MELVIN AND HOWARD. | tt0083067 | [PG] | Jessica Harper, Cliff De Young, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray, Ruby Wax, Nell Campbell | Comedy, Musical, Horror | NULL | ||
| Shock Waves | Death Corps | 1975 | Ken Wiederhorn | ★★ | 86 | On an island near Florida, pleasure boaters encounter a recluse (Cushing), who turns out to be the creator and guardian of underwater Nazi zombies, left over from WW2. Oddball, partly effective low-budgeter. Adams' film debut. Aka DEATH CORPS. | tt0076704 | [PG] | Peter Cushing, Brooke Adams, John Carradine, Fred Buch, Jack Davidson, Luke Halpin | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| A Shock to the System | 1990 | Jan Egleson | ★★½ | 91 | Caine adds luster to this so-so black comedy as a harried ad executive who discovers how easy it is to kill anyone in his way after he's passed over for a promotion. Has its moments as a topical look at greed, corporate-style, but could have been far more pointed and involving. | tt0100602 | [R] | Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Swoosie Kurtz, Will Patton, Jenny Wright, John McMartin, Barbara Baxley | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shocker | 1989 | Wes Craven | 💣 | 110 | Teenager Berg, son of policeman Murphy, is psychically linked to mass murderer, but when the killer is executed, his spirit is free to inhabit a series of victims. Writer-director Craven attempted to create a new Freddy Krueger with this misbegotten farago, a waste of excellent special effects and some good ideas. | tt0098320 | [R] | Michael Murphy, Peter Berg, Cami Cooper, Mitch Pileggi, Sam Scarber, Heather Langenkamp, Theodore Raimi, Richard Brooks, Dr. Timothy Leary | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Shocking Miss Pilgrim | 1947 | George Seaton | ★★ | 85 | Labored story of 1870s Boston woman in business world. Fair Gershwin score includes 'For You, For Me, For Evermore. | tt0039819 | Betty Grable, Dick Haymes, Anne Revere, Allyn Joslyn, Gene Lockhart, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Shockproof | 1949 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 79 | Parole officer Wilde is lured into love affair with parolee Knight which threatens to destroy him. Stylish film noir, co-written by Samuel Fuller, which unfortunately cops out at the end. | tt0041871 | Cornel Wilde, Patricia Knight, John Baragrey, Esther Minciotti, Howard St. John | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Shoes of the Fisherman | 1968 | Michael Anderson | ★★ | 157 | Pope Quinn, a Russian who spent 20 years as a political prisoner in Siberia, tries to fend off atomic war plus starvation in Red China for half a film while correspondent Janssen tries to patch up his petty marital problems the rest of the time. Fine cast is wasted in slapdash film version of Morris L. West's best-seller, dully directed by Anderson. | tt0063599 | [G] | Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, Oskar Werner, David Janssen, Vittorio De Sica, Leo McKern, John Gielgud, Barbara Jefford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shoeshine | 1946 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★★ | 93 | A brilliant, haunting neorealist drama about two youngsters struggling to survive in war-scarred Italy; they become involved with black marketeering and are sent to reform school. This deservedly won a special Oscar— before Best Foreign Film prizes were awarded. | tt0038913 | Rinaldo Smerdoni, Franco Interlenghi, Annielo Mele, Bruno Ortensi, Pacifico Astrologo | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shogun | 1980 | Jerry London | Above Average TV Movie | 125 | Orson Welles (narrator). Colorful, Emmy-winning saga from James Clavell's best-seller about shipwrecked British sailor in feudal Japan, taken under wing of powerful warlord to become the first Western samurai warrior. The flavor of the 10-hour miniseries from which this was chopped down (at least five subplots bit the dust and subtitles were added) remains intact, although it often plays like a movie trailer. (This version, with graphic violence and nudity added, initially was edited specifically for homevideo.) | tt0083069 | Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Shimada, Frankie Sakai, Yuri Meguro, John Rhys-Davies, Michael Hordern | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Shogun Assassin | 1981 | Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston | ★★★½ | 86 | Coherent film brilliantly edited out of two different features in Japanese Sword of Vengeance series about samurai warrior who travels across countryside pushing his young son in a baby cart, stopping only to get involved in inordinate amounts of combat. Americanized version, narrated by child, is absolutely stunning visual ballet of violence and bloodletting. Sort of a sequel to LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH. | tt0081506 | [R] | Tomisaburo Wakayama, Masahiro Tomikawa; voices of Lamont Johnson, Marshall Efron | Japanese-U.S. | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Shoot | 1976 | Harvey Hart | 💣 | 98 | There's a faint echo of DELIVERANCE in this ludicrous tale of gun-happy pals who allow the shooting of one hunter to escalate into warfare. Supposedly anti-gun, the film is also apparently anti-entertainment. | tt0075212 | [R] | Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine, Henry Silva, James Blendick, Larry Reynolds, Les Carlson, Kate Reid, Helen Shaver | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Shoot First | Rough Shoot | 1952 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 88 | Routine espionage tale with McCrea as an American colonel in England, who believes he accidentally killed a man, and becomes involved with spies. Screenplay by Eric Ambler. Originally titled: ROUGH SHOOT. | tt0046307 | Joel McCrea, Evelyn Keyes, Herbert Lom, Marius Goring, Roland Culver, Laurence Naismith, Joan Hickson | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Shoot Loud, Louder . . . I Don't Understand | 1966 | Eduardo De Filippo | ★★ | 100 | Surrealistic but flat film in which Mastroianni plays antique dealer whose life suddenly becomes very complex. Panoramica. | tt0061008 | Marcello Mastroianni, Raquel Welch, Guido Alberti, Leopoldo Trieste | Italian | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Shoot Out | 1971 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 95 | Same producer, director and screenwriter of TRUE GRIT in another Western about cowboy and little girl. Formula doesn't work; in spite of title, film has too much talk and not enough action. | tt0067750 | [PG] | Gregory Peck, Pat Quinn, Robert F. Lyons, Susan Tyrrell, Jeff Corey, James Gregory, Rita Gam, Dawn Lyn | Western | NULL | ||
| Shoot Out at Medicine Bend | 1957 | Richard L. Bare | ★★ | 87 | Fair studio Western features Scott as leader of group avenging death of brother at hands of Sioux Indians and men who supplied faulty guns and ammunition. | tt0050963 | Randolph Scott, James Craig, Angie Dickinson, Dani Crayne, James Garner, Gordon Jones | Western | NULL | |||
| Shoot the Moon | 1982 | Alan Parker | ★★★ | 123 | Highly charged, emotional drama about the breakup of a marriage. The insights and emotional touchstones of Bo Goldman's script— and superlative acting— help make up for strange gaps of logic and credibility. We learn precious little about what makes the central characters tick; director Parker gives us picture-postcard views of Marin County, California, instead. | tt0084675 | [R] | Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, Dana Hill, Viveka Davis, Tracey Gold, Tina Yothers, Leora Dana | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shoot the Piano Player | 1960 | François Truffaut | ★★★★ | 92 | Atmospheric early Truffaut gem. Aznavour is marvelous as a former concert pianist who traded in his fame and now plays in rundown Parisian cafe. His ambitious girlfriend wants him to resume his career, but he gets involved with gangsters and murder instead. This film, more than any other, reflects the influence of Hollywood low-budget melodramas on Truffaut and his cinematic style. | tt0054389 | Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger, Michele Mercier, Albert Remy | French | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shoot the Works | 1934 | Wesley Ruggles. | ★★½ | 82 | Plot-heavy but entertaining musical about ne'er-do-well sideshow owner Oakie who aspires to be a songwriter. Best song: 'With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming.' Based on Gene Fowler and Ben Hecht's play The Great Magoo. Look for young Ann Sheridan as Cody's secretary. | tt0025784 | Jack Oakie, Ben Bernie, Dorothy Dell, Alison Skipworth, Roscoe Karns, Arline Judge, William Frawley, Lew Cody, Paul Cavanagh. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Shoot to Kill | 1988 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★½ | 110 | Big-city cop (Poitier) is forced to team up with stubborn mountain guide (Berenger) to go into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest in search of a hunting party being led by the guide's girlfriend (Alley)— and infiltrated by a ruthless killer whom Poitier is determined to capture. Slick but highly improbable tale strains credibility, but keeps its grip thanks mostly to a riveting Poitier (his first starring role in ten years). | tt0096098 | [R] | Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Kirstie Alley, Clancy Brown, Richard Masur, Andrew Robinson, Kevin Scannell, Frederick Coffin | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Shoot ’Em Up | 2007 | Michael Davis | ★½ | 86 | Mystery man (Owen) who has an uncanny knack for killing people with sharp carrots (!) delivers a woman’s baby during a shootout, then protects the infant from a crazed hit man (Giamatti) with the help of a lactating hooker (Bellucci). All of this somehow is tied into a bone marrow–harvesting scheme involving a corrupt presidential candidate. Insane plot is matched by cartoonish, over-the-top action, tongue-in-cheek gore, and ridiculous stylistics that try to make John Woo look like Ozu. Despite the game efforts of the slumming cast, this sleazy film leaves a bad aftertaste. | tt0465602 | [R] | Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk, Daniel Pilon, Ramona Pringle, Julian Richings, Tony Munch | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shooter | 2007 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★½ | 124 | Highly trained military marksman (Wahlberg) lives in seclusion since a terrible incident that occurred on duty three years ago. Now he's approached by a CIA official (Glover) to help the agency prevent a presidential assassination plot by figuring out all the angles. But things don't go as planned, and Wahlberg is forced to become a one-man army. Good action-thriller overplays its hand and becomes ludicrous in the final act. The “bad guys” act so broadly you'd think they were playing in a Roy Rogers Western. Based on Stephen Hunter's novel Point of Impact. | tt0822854 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Ned Beatty, Jonathan Walker, Justin Louis, Tate Donovan, Rade Sherbedgia, Levon Helm, Lane Garrison. | Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Shooting Fish | 1997 | Stefan Schwartz | ★★½ | 93 | Smooth-talking American con artist and British techno-geek team up in London to scam the rich; the catch is they may or may not be 'giving to the poor' as they claim. Beckinsale is the innocent but brainy temp who assists them. Amiably frantic farce in the spirit of 1960s Swinging London caper comedies is lightweight fun. Original British running time 112m. | tt0120122 | [PG] | Dan Futterman, Stuart Townsend, Kate Beckinsale, Claire Cox, Dominic Mafham, Nickolas Grace, Peter Capaldi, Annette Crosbie, Jane Lapotaire, Phyllis Logan | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Shooting High | 1940 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 65 | Gene is persuaded to appear in a movie that's being shot in his hometown; meanwhile, he also must settle a family feud and capture some bank robbers. Autry shares center stage with energetic child star Withers in this weak musical Western, Gene's only film away from home base, Republic Pictures. | tt0033044 | Jane Withers, Gene Autry, Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery, Jack Carson | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Shooting Party | 1984 | Alan Bridges | ★★★½ | 108 | Rewarding film about varied personalities, intrigues, and conflicts that crisscross during weekend shooting party in 1913. Mason, the weekend's host, presides over all with grace, wit, and understanding. A telling look at class structure and class consciousness; screenplay by Julian Bond from Isabel Colegate's novel. | tt0088111 | James Mason, Dorothy Tutin, Edward Fox, Cheryl Campbell, John Gielgud, Gordon Jackson, Aharon Ipale, Rupert Frazer, Robert Hardy, Judi Bowker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Shooting | 1967 | Monte Hellman | ★★★ | 82 | Cryptic, unconventional Western with deceptively familiar revenge 'story.' Ultimately powerful film, with offbeat performance by Nicholson as a hired gun . . . and an incredible, unexpected finale. Filmed simultaneously with RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND. | tt0062262 | Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, Will Hutchins, Warren Oates | Western | NULL | |||
| The Shootist | 1976 | Don Siegel | ★★★½ | 99 | Intelligent story about a legendary gunfighter who learns he has cancer and tries to die in peace, but cannot escape his reputation. A fitting (and poignant) valedictory to Wayne's career. Miles Hood Swarthout and Scott Hale adapted Glendon Swarthout's novel. | tt0075213 | [PG] | John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, Harry Morgan, Rick Lenz, John Carradine, Sheree North, Scatman Crothers | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The Shop Around the Corner | 1940 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★½ | 97 | The ultimate in sheer charm, a graceful period comedy about coworkers in a Budapest notions shop who don't realize that they are lonelyhearts penpals. Superbly scripted by Samson Raphaelson, from Nikolaus Laszlo's play Parfumerie. Later musicalized as IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME, brought to Broadway as She Loves Me, remade as YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033045 | Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Felix Bressart, William Tracy, Charles Smith | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Shop on Main Street | 1965 | Jan Kadar, Elmar Klos | ★★★★ | 128 | Potent, poignant drama set in WW2 Czechoslovakia, where an old Jewish woman loses her small button shop, and depends on man who takes it over to shield her from further persecution. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Film. Originally titled THE SHOP ON HIGH STREET. | tt0059527 | Josef Kroner, Ida Kaminska, Han Slivkova, Frantisek Holly, Martin Gregor | Czech | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shopgirl | 2005 | Anand Tucker | ★★★ | 116 | Stylish romantic comedy about a young Midwestern woman, recently transplanted to L.A., who finds herself wooed in very different ways by a wealthy older businessman and a slobby young guy. Unique meditation on loneliness and the yearning for physical and emotional contac-adapted by Martin from his own novella-is witty, philosophical, and melancholy, though more than a bit self-conscious. Danes is marvelous in the title role. Martin also coproduced. | tt0338427 | [R] | Steve Martin, Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Sam Bottoms, Frances Conroy, Rebecca Pidgeon | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Shopping | 1994 | Paul (W. S.) Anderson | ★½ | 106 | Looking fresh-faced early in his career, Law bolts out of the pokey in a semi-futuristic Brit milieu to get back into his former trade: hijacking, looting, and crashing cars through storefront windows. Grubby anomaly in Anderson’s more fantasy-prone later career was somewhat controversial at the time, with its portrayal of nihilistic violence by low-I.Q. punks who have less redeeming social value than napalm. Now, it’s just one more ho-hummer that looks like a thousand other screechy-wheel melodramas of the day. Frost plays the comparably straighter accomplice who tries getting Law to give it up. Later in real life, the stars married and had three children, which will give you something to think about during the dramatic vacuum. | tt0111173 | [R] | Sadie Frost, Jude Law, Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Pertwee, Marianne Faithfull, Eamonn Walker, Jason Isaacs, Fraser James | British | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Shopworn | 1932 | Nick Grinde | ★★ | 72 | Standard Depression soaper with Toomey's rich family rejecting working girl Stanwyck, who shows 'em and becomes famous star. | tt0023464 | Barbara Stanwyck, Regis Toomey, ZaSu Pitts, Lucien Littlefield, Clara Blandick | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Shopworn Angel | 1938 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 85 | Stewart and Sullavan are always a fine pair, even in this fairly routine soaper. Naive soldier falls in love with loose-moraled actress, who gradually softens under his influence. Beautifully done, including Slavko Vorkapich's masterful opening WW1 montage. Remake of 1929 film with Gary Cooper and Nancy Carroll; filmed again as THAT KIND OF WOMAN. | tt0030744 | Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, Hattie McDaniel, Sam Levene, Nat Pendleton | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Shore Leave | 1925 | John S. Robertson. | ★★½ | 74 | Appealing if sometimes slow-moving romantic comedy with Barthelmess at his best as reluctant seaman Bilge Smith; Mackaill is a dressmaker, approaching old-maidhood, who's out to make him captain of her schooner. Later musicalized as HIT THE DECK and FOLLOW THE FLEET. | tt0016346 | Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Mackaill, Ted McNamara, Nick Long, Marie Shotwell, Arthur Metcalf. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Short Circuit | 1986 | John Badham | ★★½ | 98 | State-of-the-art robot develops a mind of its own and decides that it doesn't want to go 'home' to weapons company from which it escaped. Sheedy is cute as the animal-lover who becomes protective of 'No. 5,' the equally cute robot. E. T. clone is good fodder for kids but too formula-bound for our taste. Followed by a sequel. | tt0091949 | [PG] | Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, G. W. Bailey, Austin Pendleton, Brian McNamara, voice of Tim Blaney | Comedy, Family, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Short Circuit 2 | 1988 | Kenneth Johnson | ★★ | 110 | Innocuous (but overlong) sequel has malaprop-prone Stevens and No. 5 (now called Johnny Five) out on their own, falling in with would-be toymaker McKean and bad-guy Weston. Okay for kids, with some chuckles for adults here and there. | tt0096101 | [PG] | Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb, Jack Weston, Dee McCaffrey, David Hemblen, voice of Tim Blaney | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Short Cut to Hell | 1957 | James Cagney | ★★½ | 87 | Generally taut, if uninspired remake of Graham Greene's THIS GUN FOR HIRE, about killer reevaluating his situation. Only fling at directing by Cagney, who also makes an on-camera introduction. | tt0050964 | Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, William Bishop, Murvyn Vye, Yvette Vickers, Roscoe Ates | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Short Cuts | 1993 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 189 | Mordant mosaic of unpleasant, unhappy lives in Southern California, adapted from the short stories of Raymond Carver. Altman paints on another oversized canvas, with a series of marginally interconnected vignettes about various couples, parents, lovers, and friends (from a phone-sex purveyor who feeds her baby while plying her trade to a children's party clown seized by melancholia) . . . played by a virtual who's who of contemporary talent. As a feat— a directorial achievement— it's something to behold and admire, but as entertainment it's less rewarding. | tt0108122 | [R] | Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison, Jack Lemmon, Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Anne Archer, Fred Ward, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Penn, Lili Taylor, Robert Downey/Jr., Madeleine Stowe, Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Frances McDormand, Peter Gallagher, Annie Ross, Lori Singer, Lyle Lovett, Buck Henry, Huey Lewis, Robert DoQui, Darnell Williams, Michael Beach, Charles Rocket, Dirk Blocker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Short Eyes | Slammer | 1977 | Robert M. Young | ★★★½ | 104 | Raw, uncompromisingly powerful story of men in prison, from Miguel Pinero's highly acclaimed play. Utterly realistic film was shot at N.Y.C.'s now-shuttered Men's House of Detention, known as The Tombs. Title is prison slang for child molester (played by Davison). Scripted by Pinero, who also appears as GoGo. Retitled: SLAMMER. | tt0076706 | [R] | Bruce Davison, Jose Perez, Nathan George, Don Blakely, Shawn Elliott, Curtis Mayfield, Freddy Fender | Drama | NULL | |
| Short Time | 1990 | Gregg Champion | ★★½ | 97 | Street-cop Coleman thinks he has a short time to live, and decides to get himself killed on the job so his wife and son will be taken care of financially. Incredible action stunts commingle uneasily with touches of sentiment in this middling comedy; Coleman is so good he almost pulls it off singlehandedly. | tt0100604 | [PG-13] | Dabney Coleman, Matt Frewer, Teri Garr, Barry Corbin, Joe Pantoliano, Xander Berkeley, Rob Roy, Jak-Erik Eriksen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Shortbus | 2006 | John Cameron Mitchell | ★★½ | 102 | Married couples, gay couples, lonely singles, transsexuals, and others just off the street hang at an N.Y.C. club, Shortbus, in order to overcome their unique (to say the least) sexual problems. Amidst all the orgies and couplings (and that's real sex going on, according to the director) there's a surprising emotional undertone. The actors are all appealing, but be warned: with its full-frontal, almost nonstop sexual content, this is not for everyone. Released without a rating in order to avoid an NC-17 tag. Written by the director. | tt0367027 | Unrated | Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Lindsay Beamish, PJ DeBoy, Raphael Barker, Peter Stickles, Jay Brannan, Justin Bond, Alan Mandell, Jesse Hardman, Ray Rivas | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Shortcut to Happiness | 2007 | Harry Kirkpatrick (Alec Baldwin) | 💣 | 106 | In modern-day N.Y.C., failed writer Jabez Stone (Baldwin) sells his soul to the Devil (Hewitt) for fame and fortune. But when the Devil later demands her own, Stone turns to publisher Daniel Webster (Hopkins) to defend him in the Devil’s courtroom. Misbegotten, overproduced revision of Stephen Vincent Benet’s classic fable “The Devil and Daniel Webster” was filmed in 2001, disowned by debuting writer-director Baldwin, and barely released years later. Painfully dull, hard to sit through even on television. A genuine disaster. Filmed before in 1941 as THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER. | tt0263265 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Dan Aykroyd, Kim Cattrall, Barry Miller, Amy Poehler, Mike Doyle, Gregg Bello, John Savage, Jason Patric, Bobby Cannavale, Darrell Hammond | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Shorts | 2009 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★ | 89 | Tween comedy about schoolboy pals, the dastardly multinational corporation that employs their parents (with hulking headquarters amusingly situated in the midst of their suburban housing tract), and a magical rainbow stone. Rodriguez’ concoction, replete with monsters, will appeal to young audiences but is typically weak in its cardboard depictions of most adults . . . and even some of the kids. Chapters unfold in a non-chronological order, for no discernable reason. | tt1100119 | [PG] | Jimmy Bennett, Jake Short, Kat Dennings, James Spader, Jon Cryer, Leslie Mann, William H. Macy, Trevor Gagnon, Jolie Vanier, Devon Gearhart, Rebel Rodriguez, Leo Howard | U.S.-United Arab Emirates | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| A Shot at Glory | 2002 | Michael Corrente | ★★½ | 115 | In Scotland, the coach of a second-string soccer team (Duvall, with authentic burr) hopes his returning son-in-law, a superstar player, will take his team to the top, but the two are estranged and the team's American owner wants to take it to Ireland. Handsomely shot on Scottish locations, and well acted, but predictability— and too many off-the-field entanglements— make it hard to care what happens to the characters. Released in the UK in 2001. | tt0193854 | [R] | Robert Duvall, Michael Keaton, Ally McCoist, Brian Cox, Kirsty Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Morag Hood, Libby Langdon | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Shot in the Dark | 1964 | Blake Edwards | ★★★★ | 101 | Second Inspector Clouseau comedy is far and away the funniest, with the great detective convinced gorgeous Sommer is innocent of murder despite all evidence to the contrary. Gaspingly hilarious farce never slows down for a second, with memorable scene in a nudist colony. Script by Edwards and William Peter Blatty; fine Henry Mancini score. Series debuts of Lom, Kwouk, Stark, and Maranne; last Clouseau film (excluding 1968's INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU, made by other hands) until THE RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER in 1975. | tt0058586 | Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer, George Sanders, Herbert Lom, Tracy Reed, Burt Kwouk, Graham Stark, Andre Maranne, Turk Thrust (Bryan Forbes) | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Shotgun | 1955 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 81 | Unremarkable Western with sheriff Hayden vs. culprit Scott; De Carlo is the half-breed girl they love. | tt0048612 | Sterling Hayden, Zachary Scott, Yvonne De Carlo, Guy Prescott, Angela Greene | Western | NULL | |||
| Shout | 1991 | Jeffrey Hornaday | 💣 | 89 | Preposterous '50s twaddle about the birth of rock 'n' roll, with Travolta as a fugitive hired as music teacher and bandmaster at an ill-defined Texas school for wayward youths. Prisoner Walters and warden's daughter Graham are the kissy-facers who form a forbidden alliance. WHEEZE would have been a better title for this turkey. Film debut of Gwyneth Paltrow. | tt0102913 | [PG-13] | John Travolta, James Walters, Heather Graham, Richard Jordan, Linda Fiorentino, Scott Coffey, Glenn Quinn, Frank von Zerneck, Michael Bacall | Animation, Drama | NULL | ||
| Shout at the Devil | 1976 | Peter R. Hunt | ★★½ | 119 | Plot-heavy action nonsense, set in Mozambique, about a poacher, his daughter and an expatriate Englishman who eventually set out to blow up a German battle cruiser at the outset of WW1. Occasionally fun but overlong. Original British running-time: 144m. | tt0075214 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Roger Moore, Barbara Parkins, Ian Holm, Rene Kolldehoff | British | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Shout | 1978 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★½ | 87 | Well-filmed but obscure yarn about an off-his-nut wanderer who dominates the household of a young married couple. Title refers to his aboriginal ability to kill by shouting. Worth a look on a slow evening. | tt0078259 | [R] | Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt, Robert Stephens, Tim Curry | British | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | |
| Show Boat | 1936 | James Whale | ★★★ | 113 | Entertaining treatment of Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II musical (filmed before in 1929) mixes music, sentiment, and melodrama, with enough great moments to make up for the rest: Robeson doing 'Old Man River,' Morgan singing her unforgettable 'Bill,' etc. Originally an Edna Ferber novel; Hammerstein also wrote the screenplay. Filmed again in 1951. | tt0028249 | Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Charles Winninger, Hattie McDaniel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Show Boat | 1951 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 107 | MGM's Technicolor valentine to this old-fashioned musical about life on a Mississippi show boat; acted with sincerity, stylishly shot and staged. Gardner makes a beautiful and poignant Julie. Timeless Jerome Kern-Oscar Hammerstein II songs include 'Bill' (lyrics by P. G. Wodehouse), 'Can't Help Lovin' That Man,' 'Make Believe,' 'Old Man River.' | tt0044030 | Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown, Marge and Gower Champion, Robert Sterling, Agnes Moorehead, Leif Erickson, William Warfield | Musical | NULL | |||
| Show Business | 1944 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 92 | If you like Cantor or Davis you'll enjoy this vaudeville musical entirely supported by them. Followed by IF YOU KNEW SUSIE. | tt0037274 | Eddie Cantor, Joan Davis, George Murphy, Nancy Kelly, Constance Moore |
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| Show Girl in Hollywood | 1930 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★ | 77 | Routine tale of aspiring Broadway singer (Kewpie-doll White, in her brief fling at movie stardom) who goes West to make it big in pictures. Enlivened by some interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Warner Bros. studio during the very early days of talkies. Al Jolson, Loretta Young, and others have uncredited cameos. Some sequences originally in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0021371 | Alice White, Jack Mulhall, Blanche Sweet, Ford Sterling, John Miljan, Virginia Sale, Herman Bing | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Show Off | 1926 | Malcolm St. Clair | ★★★ | 82 | Engaging comedy-melodrama about Aubrey Piper (Sterling), an unabashed braggart; his narcissism is played in sharp contrast to the very real difficulties faced by his fiancée (Wilson) and her family. Brooks puts forth a raw charm in a girl-next-door supporting role. Nice location filming in Philadelphia; based on the play by George Kelly. Remade in 1930 as MEN ARE LIKE THAT (with Hal Skelly), 1934, and 1946. | tt0017382 | Ford Sterling, Claire McDowell, C. W. Goodrich, Lois Wilson, Louise Brooks, Gregory Kelly | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Show People | 1928 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 82 | Delightful silent comedy about a girl from the sticks who tries to crash Hollywood— and succeeds, but not as she expected to. Davies' best movie vehicle confirms her comic talent, and offers a lively glimpse behind the scenes of moviemaking. Some amusing guest-star cameos include director Vidor, who plays himself in the closing scene. | tt0019379 | Marion Davies, William Haines, Del Henderson, Paul Ralli, Harry Gribbon, Polly Moran | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Show Them No Mercy! | 1935 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 76 | Young couple accidentally stumbles into hideaway of kidnappers who aren't counting on the resourcefulness of the FBI. Solid gangster saga from the G-men era, well cast, with an unforgettable burst of violence at the finale. Remade in a Western setting as RAWHIDE. | tt0026992 | Rochelle Hudson, Cesar Romero, Bruce Cabot, Edward Norris, Edward Brophy, Warren Hymer | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| A Show of Force | 1990 | Bruno Barreto | ★★ | 93 | Oddly stagnant political thriller about Puerto Rico's 1978 version of Watergate. Irving plays a local TV reporter convinced that the F.B.I. set up and killed two political radicals to earn voting support for the current governor. Garcia's role is a glorified cameo; Phillips is surprisingly effective as a flamboyant villain. | tt0100606 | [R] | Amy Irving, Robert Duvall, Andy Garcia, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kevin Spacey, Joseph Campanella, Erik Estrada, Priscilla Pointer, Hattie Winston | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Show of Shows | 1929 | John G. Adolfi. | ★★ | 128 | Warners' contribution to the studios' early talkie all-star revues is no better or worse than the others. Overlong and unimaginatively shot, but retains considerable historical value. Fay is a wry master of ceremonies for a variety of musical, dramatic, and comedy sketches, highlighted by Barrymore doing a scene from Richard III, Rin Tin Tin 'introducing' a lavish Chinese fantasy with Loy, Lightner performing 'Singing in the Bathtub' with a male chorus dressed as bathing girls, and a prophetically titled number called 'Motion Picture Pirates.' Most of it was originally filmed in two-strip Technicolor. | tt0020403 | John Barrymore, Beatrice Lillie, Loretta Young, Richard Barthelmess, Frank Fay, Myrna Loy, Alice White, Chester Morris, Dolores Costello, Winnie Lightner, Ted Lewis and Orchestra, Nick Lucas, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Rin Tin Tin, many others. | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Show | 1995 | Brian Robbins | ★★½ | 90 | Spotty concert and backstage documentary still has enough to satisfy fans of rap and hip-hop, contrasting the younger breed— a couple of whom have had serious scrapes with the law— with the wizened old-breed performers like LL Cool J and members of Run-DMC. Film's non-linear structure sometimes comes off as more haphazard than creative. | tt0114435 | [R] | Craig Mack, Dr. Dre, Naughty by Nature, Run-DMC, Slick Rick, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound | Documentary | NULL | ||
| ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | 2007 | Dori Berinstein | ★★½ | 102 | Fairly comprehensive documentary chronicling the 2004 Broadway season focuses on the three musicals that would become Tony nominees: Wicked, Avenue Q, and Caroline or Change . . . and one that didn’t, Taboo. Charting development of the productions from idea to casting to opening night to the Tonys, this glossy, well-researched look into the machinations of the New York theatre scene reveals much about what it takes to make it on the Great White Way but fails to dig beneath the surface. For Broadway musical fans it’s still a must. | tt0456004 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Showdown | 1963 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 79 | Tough Western yarn with drifters Murphy and Drake abducted by outlaw gang who force them to help convert stolen securities into cash. | tt0057497 | Audie Murphy, Kathleen Crowley, Charles Drake, Harold Stone, Skip Homeier, Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones | Western | NULL | |||
| Showdown | 1973 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 99 | Two friends in love with the same woman go their separate ways, until Hudson (now a sheriff) is forced to hunt down Martin (now a robber). Agreeable but unexceptional Western yarn was Seaton's final film. | tt0070687 | [PG] | Rock Hudson, Dean Martin, Susan Clark, Donald Moffat, John McLiam, Ed Begley/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| Showdown at Abilene | 1956 | Charles Haas | ★★ | 80 | Standard Western fare. Mahoney as sheriff returns from Civil War sick of bloodshed. | tt0049755 | Jock Mahoney, Martha Hyer, Lyle Bettger, David Janssen, Grant Williams | Western | NULL | |||
| Showdown at Boot Hill | 1958 | Gene Fowler/ Jr | ★★ | 72 | Unpretentious Western of bounty killer Bronson trying to collect reward money. | tt0052194 | Charles Bronson, Fintan Meyler, Robert Hutton, John Carradine, Carole Mathews | Western | NULL | |||
| Showdown at Williams Creek | 1991 | Allan Kroeker. | ★★★ | 97 | Compelling allegory of racism, exploitation, greed, and survival in the Northwest Territory during the 19th century. The scenario, which unravels in flashback, details the journey of Irishman Burlinson from British army officer to scruffy 'squaw man' on trial for murder. Based on actual events. | tt0102914 | [R] | Tom Burlinson, Donnelly Rhodes, Michelle Thrush, John Pyper Ferguson, Alex Bruhanski, Raymond Burr. | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Showdown in Little Tokyo | 1991 | Mark L. Lester | 💣 | 76 | Knuckleheaded martial-arts actioner, with Lundgren and Lee (the son of Bruce Lee) going up against Japanese mobsters. Poorly directed, acted, and (especially) scripted. | tt0102915 | [R] | Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, Carey-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Tia Carrere, Toshiro Obata | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Showdown | 1940 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★½ | 64 | Phony baron (with phony accent) attempts to cheat friend of Hopalong Cassidy on a deal for choice trotting-horses. Title derives from clever poker sequence; there are also some socko action scenes. For once, Hayden as young sidekick gets the girl; he also married Clayton in real life. | tt0033047 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Britt Wood, Morris Ankrum, Jane (Jan) Clayton, Roy Barcroft, Eddie Dean, Kermit Maynard. | Western | NULL | |||
| Shower | 1999 | Zhang Yang | ★★★½ | 92 | Bittersweet, thoroughly winning tale of a businessman (Pu) who pays a visit to his father, the operator of a public bathhouse that's about to be torn down and replaced by a high-rise; the old man also looks after his sweet but slow-witted younger son. Zhang effectively contrasts the fast pace of modern life with the value of tradition, as symbolized by the taking of a fast, impersonal shower vs. luxuriating in a bath. | tt0215369 | [PG-13] | Pu Cun Xin, Zhu Xu, Jiang Wu, He Zheng | Chinese | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Showgirls | 1995 | Paul Verhoeven | 💣 | 131 | Stupefyingly awful movie— whose creators swear to have made it with serious intentions— about a young, hotheaded drifter who hitches her way to Vegas, becomes a 'lap dancer,' and then a full-fledged showgirl, discovering that sex and career moves are hopelessly intertwined. Part soft-core porn, part hokey backstage drama, full of howlingly hilarious dialogue. Berkley sets the tone for her performance in an early scene in which she expresses fury by vigorously spewing ketchup over her french fries. Written by Joe Eszterhas. Released on video in alternate R-rated format with 61 seconds cut, and 20 seconds of footage altered by using different camera angles. | tt0114436 | [NC-17] | Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, Gina Ravera, Lin Tucci, Greg Travis, Patrick Bristow | Drama | NULL | ||
| Showtime | 2002 | Tom Dey | ★★ | 95 | Veteran L.A. cop De Niro is punished for his reckless ways by being assigned to work on a new reality TV show with Murphy, an eager but inexperienced partner (who's also a wannabe actor). What starts out as a satire of TV cop shows and movies eventually becomes the very thing it's spoofing. The stars have almost nothing to work with here. The star's daughter, Drena De Niro, plays Russo's assistant. | tt0284490 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, Rene Russo, Pedro Damián, Mos Def, Frankie R. Faison, William Shatner, Nestor Serrano, Kadeem Hardison | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Shrek | 2001 | Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson | ★★★ | 88 | An antisocial troll is joined by a talkative donkey as he goes on a quest to save a beautiful princess. Funny spoof of fairy-tale sagas with some good laughs, not all of them aimed at children. Computer-animated fable mixes heightened reality with fanciful designs; from Pacific Data Images, the folks who made ANTZ. Based on a children's book by William Steig. 'Special Edition' video runs 91m. Winner of the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Followed by a 3-D short, then a sequel. | tt0126029 | [PG] | Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, Jim Cummings, Kathleen Freeman | Adventure, Romance, Animation, Fantasy, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Shrek 2 | 2004 | Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon | ★★½ | 88 | Sequel to the 2001 megahit tries to devise enough story to justify another feature, with middling results. Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona visit her parents, who don't know their daughter has married an ogre. Then a crafty Fairy Godmother does everything in her power to split up the couple so her son, Prince Charming, can claim Fiona as his bride. Skillfully made, but pointless and short on laughs; Banderas comes off best as a Zorro-like Puss in Boots. | tt0298148 | [PG] | Voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders, Conrad Vernon, Larry King, Joan Rivers | Adventure, Animation, Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Shrek Forever After | 2010 | Mike Mitchell | ★★ | 93 | Shrek finds himself bored with family life and longs for his earlier days as a fearsome ogre. Enter evil Rumpelstiltskin, who makes Shrek an offer he cannot refuse, sending him into an alternate universe where events of the first three films never happened. There, Stiltskin is a tyrannical king, Donkey is a slave, Puss is an overweight slob, and Fiona is a warrior princess leading the resistance. A notch better than the third film, and kids may enjoy the slapstick and the familiar characters, but the freshness and cleverness are now far, far away. Advertised as The Final Chapter; one can only hope it is. Numerous celebrities voice small parts. | tt0892791 | [PG] | Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Walt Dohrn, Jane Lynch, Craig Robinson, Julie Andrews, John Cleese | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Shrek the Third | 2007 | Chris Miller | ★★ | 93 | When the king of Far Far Away dies, it’s up to the big green ogre to take his place, but he doesn’t want the job. So he, Donkey, and Puss in Boots go off in search of the only other heir to the throne. Third trip to the well finds the water stale and filled with silt . . . but kids may still be entertained. | tt0413267 | [PG] | Voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle, Justin Timberlake, Seth Rogen, Larry King, John Krasinski, Ian McShane, Cheri Oteri, Regis Philbin, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Shriek in the Night | 1933 | Albert Ray | ★★½ | 66 | Ultra-cheap but interesting B-picture whodunit, reuniting Ginger and Lyle from THE THIRTEENTH GUEST as rival reporters on a murderer's trail; starts with a bang and then simmers down. | tt0024554 | Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Hoyt, Purnell Pratt, Harvey Clark | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Shrike | 1955 | Jose Ferrer | ★★½ | 88 | Allyson almost succeeds in change of pace title role, playing ultranag who has driven her theater direc√ tor husband (Ferrer) into a nervous breakdown. Based on Joseph Kramm's play. | tt0048614 | June Allyson, Jose Ferrer, Joy Page, Ed Platt, Mary Bell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Shrimp on the Barbie | 1990 | Alan Smithee (Michael Gottlieb) | ★½ | 86 | Marin goes Down Under, gets a job as waiter in a Mexican restaurant, winds up posing as the fiancé of a wealthy heiress to thwart her powerful father. Cheech shows some charm, but you know something's up when the director takes his name off the project. Shot in New Zealand. Video version runs 87m., and is rated R. | tt0100608 | [PG-13] | Cheech Marin, Emma Samms, Vernon Wells, Terence Cooper, Jeanette Cronin, Carole Davis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Shrink | 2009 | Jonas Pate | ★ | 105 | Paper-thin slice of life about a celebrity L.A. psychiatrist (Spacey) whose life is coming apart. Means to be a thoughtful exploration of the shallowness of contemporary Hollywood, but the result is meandering and the ending is not at all credible. Robin Williams and Griffin Dunne appear unbilled. | tt1247692 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Mark Webber, Keke Palmer, Saffron Burrows, Jack Huston, Pell James, Dallas Roberts, Laura Ramsey, Jesse Plemons, Robert Loggia, Gore Vidal | Drama | NULL | ||
| Shrunken Heads | 1994 | Richard Elfman | ★★½ | 86 | Clever special effects enliven this run-of-the-mill Full Moon horror-comedy in which Haitian voodoo master Harris revives three murdered kids, who seek revenge against the trash responsible for their deaths. Title music composed by the director's brother, Danny Elfman. | tt0111175 | [R] | Aeryk Egan, Becky Herbst, A. J. Damato, Bo Sharon, Darris Love, Bodhi Elfman, Meg Foster, Julius Harris | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Shut My Big Mouth | 1942 | Charles Barton | ★★ | 71 | Meek Joe goes West and innocently gets mixed up with gang of outlaws. | tt0035324 | Joe E. Brown, Adele Mara, Victor Jory, Fritz Feld, Lloyd Bridges, Forrest Tucker, Pedro de Cordoba | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Shut Up & Sing | 2006 | Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck | ★★★ | 93 | Fascinating documentary on the flare-up that occurred near the beginning of the Iraq war when superstar country group The Dixie Chicks told a foreign concert audience they were ashamed to be from the same state as President George W. Bush. With cameras seemingly following the trio 24 hours a day, we see the repercussions the statement had on their lives and careers. Remarkable not only for its political content but as a primer on how a show-business career is made and marketed. Like very few movies of its ilk, this one shows us the 'Chicks' machine at work with an image transformation played out in extreme close-up. Backstage drama is melded with several fine concert sequences. | tt0811136 | [R] | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| Shutter | 2008 | Masayuki Ochiai | ★★ | 85 | Young married couple is shocked when they find ghostly images on a roll of film they develop. Soon they are haunted by the spirit of a Japanese girl the husband may have known before. Original 2004 film was a huge hit in its native Thailand; this remake is set in Japan with American stars, and a Japanese cast and director. Attempt to duplicate the success of movies like THE GRUDGE and THE RING is defeated by mundane plotting and dopey dialogue. | tt0482599 | [PG-13] | Joshua Jackson, Rachael Taylor, Megumi Okina, David Denman, John Hensley, Maya Hazen, James Kyson Lee | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Shutter Island | 2010 | Martin Scorsese | ★★ | 138 | In 1954, federal marshal DiCaprio and his new partner (Ruffalo) take a ferry to a remote island, off the coast of Boston, to investigate the disappearance of a violent patient from an asylum for the criminally insane. The place is creepy and its staff is secretive and strange, which only makes things worse for DiCaprio, who has a personal agenda. Nothing is what it seems in this portentous production, and the "big reveal" may well make the whole thing pointless. With Scorsese behind the lens (and a gold-plated roster of collaborators on both sides of the camera), it's hard to dismiss—but it doesn't rate much as entertainment. Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane. | tt1130884 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Max von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Shuttered Room | Blood Island | 1967 | David Greene | ★★½ | 99 | Young couple inherit old house in New England, threatened by local toughs and unseen presence. Good cast deserves better material; even revelation is tame. Based on an H. P. Lovecraft story. Video title: BLOOD ISLAND. | tt0062266 | Gig Young, Carol Lynley, Oliver Reed, Flora Robson | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Shy People | 1987 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★½ | 118 | N.Y.C. photo-journalist Clayburgh ventures into the Louisiana bayous (dragging along rebellious daughter Plimpton and a totally inappropriate wardrobe) to research a Cosmopolitan article on a very distant branch of her family. Hodgepodge film is implausible, melodramatic, ridiculous— and fascinating. Recommended chiefly for Hershey's riveting performance (as the head of the backwoods clan), and for cinematographer Chris Menges' remarkable opening shot of Manhattan. | tt0093964 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, Martha Plimpton, Mare Winningham, Merritt Butrick, John Philbin, Don Swayze, Pruitt Taylor Vince | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sibling Rivalry | 1990 | Carl Reiner | ★★ | 88 | Black comedy about a repressed woman, stuck in a tedious marriage; at the urging of her sister, she has a fling with a chance acquaintance— who dies after an afternoon of mad, passionate sex. And that's just the beginning of the story. Some clever ideas get bogged down in this heavy-handed film. | tt0100611 | [PG-13] | Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher, Jami Gertz, Scott Bakula, Sam Elliott, Ed O'Neill, Frances Sternhagen, John Randolph, Paul Benedict, Bill Macy, Matthew Laurance | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Sicilian Clan | 1969 | Henri Verneuil | ★★★ | 121 | Gangland family's plans for jewel heist grow increasingly complex; crime caper on grandiose scale, totally implausible but great fun. Gabin is smooth head of clan, Delon a young ambitious thief hired for the occasion. | tt0064169 | [PG] | Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Lino Ventura, Irina Demick, Amedeo Nazzari, Sydney Chaplin | French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Sicilian | 1987 | Michael Cimino | 💣 | 115 | Militantly lugubrious bio of Salvatore Giuliano, who took on Church, State, and Mafia in an attempt to promote Sicily's secession from Italy in the late 1940s. Gore Vidal contributed to the screenplay, credited to Steve Shagan. The 146-minute director's cut (**) is available on cassette and actually seems shorter, thanks to more coherency and Sukowa's strengthened role. Neither version, though, can overcome two chief liabilities: Cimino's missing sense of humor and Lambert's laughably stone-faced performance. Title figure was previously the subject of Francesco Rosi's 1962 SALVATORE GIULIANO. | tt0093966 | [R] | Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp, Barbara Sukowa, Giulia Boschi, Joss Ackland, John Turturro, Richard Bauer, Ray McAnally, Barry Miller, Joe Regalbuto, Aldo Ray | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sicko | 2007 | Michael Moore | ★★★½ | 113 | Provocative exposé of American health care is alternately entertaining and infuriating, focusing less on the uninsured than on people who have supposed coverage. Moore lets various victims of the system speak for themselves, then enters the picture to show us how other countries deal with the issue. In a heart-rending climax he takes some of his interviewees to Cuba, of all places, where they receive not only care but compassion. Moore makes no pretense of fairness, objectivity, or thoroughness—but still strikes home in what may be his best film to date. | tt0386032 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Sid and Nancy | 1986 | Alex Cox | ★★★ | 111 | Harrowing look at the bizarre, self-destructive, and curiously compelling relationship between British punk rock singer Sid Vicious (of The Sex Pistols) and American groupie Nancy Spungen in the 1970s. Director Cox achieves a masterful level of docu-realism, then laces it with allegorical dream images, with striking results. At the core of the film are two remarkable performances, by Oldman and Webb, who don't seem to be performing at all: they are Sid and Nancy. A downer, to be sure, but fascinating. | tt0091954 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, Drew Schofield, David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Tony London, Perry Benson, Gloria LeRoy, Courtney Love | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Siddhartha | 1973 | Conrad Rooks | ★★½ | 95 | Uneven version of Hermann Hesse novel follows Indian as he leaves family to find more exciting life. Too arty, but on-location photography by Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer) is often dazzling. | tt0070689 | [R] | Shashi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Romesh Shama, Pinchoo Kapoor, Zul Vellani, Amrik Singh | Drama | NULL | ||
| Side Out | 1990 | Peter Israelson | ★½ | 100 | College kid comes to Southern California for a summer job evicting tenants for his sleazy uncle but instead winds up joining with one of his intended victims for the ultimate beach volleyball match. Sand, surf, and sun are the sole highlights of this no-brainer which purports to be the first major studio film about volleyball. What's next? Badminton? | tt0100613 | [PG-13] | C. Thomas Howell, Peter Horton, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Harley Jane Kozak, Christopher Rydell, Terry Kiser, Randy Stoklos, Sinjin Smith, Kathy Ireland | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Side Show | 1931 | Roy Del Ruth. | ★★½ | 64 | Lightner stars as a circus performer and jack-of-all-trades in love with carnival barker Cook, who runs off with her cute younger sister Knapp. Piquant portrait of life under the big top is an amusing showcase for Lightner's delightful singing, dancing, and clowning. | tt0022381 | Winnie Lightner, Charles Butterworth, Evalyn Knapp, Donald Cook, Guy Kibbee, Matthew Betz. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Side Street | 1949 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 83 | Story of part-time postman Granger impulsively stealing a wad of money, and finding himself involved with gangsters and murder, is bolstered by striking N.Y.C. locations and stark cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. The chase finale is a highlight. | tt0042960 | Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, James Craig, Paul Kelly, Edmon Ryan, Paul Harvey, Jean Hagen, Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, Harry Bellaver, Whit Bissell | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sidecar Racers | 1975 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 100 | Murphy becomes a champion sidecar racer; the usual. | tt0073709 | [PG] | Ben Murphy, Wendy Hughes, John Clayton, Peter Graves, John Meillon, John Derum | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sidewalk Stories | 1989 | Charles Lane | ★★★ | 97 | Charming, Chaplinesque fantasy that, in its own modest way, boldly comments on the plight of the homeless in America. Lane stars as a homeless man struggling for survival on the streets of Greenwich Village who finds himself caring for a cute toddler whose father has been stabbed by muggers. There's almost no dialogue; Marc Marder's evocative score adds immeasurably to the film's mood. Don't miss this sweet, gentle sleeper. | tt0098325 | [R] | Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Sandye Wilson, Darnell Williams, Trula Hoosier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sidewalks of London | St. Martin's Lane | 1938 | Tim Whelan | ★★★ | 84 | Laughton is superb as a busker (street entertainer), with Leigh almost matching him as his protegée, who uses and abuses all in her quest for success as a stage star (a character not unlike Scarlett O'Hara!). Top entertainment . . . until that ill-conceived final sequence. Original British title: ST. MARTIN'S LANE. | tt0030746 | Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh, Rex Harrison, Tyrone Guthrie, Larry Adler | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sidewalks of New York | 1931 | Jules White, Zion Myers | ★★ | 74 | Nowhere near Keaton's silent-film classics, but this talkie vehicle has some funny moments as witless young millionaire tries to reform tough street gang. | tt0022382 | Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Cliff Edwards, Frank Rowan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sidewalks of New York | 2001 | Edward Burns | ★★½ | 107 | Generally funny comedy about the romantic entanglements of a group of New Yorkers, some likable and others self-absorbed. Has an unmistakable Woody Allen-ish feel, but Burns' script is no match for Allen. Graham blatantly imitates Diane Keaton's Annie Hall; her character is even named Annie. Tucci is on target as a smarmy, philandering dentist. | tt0239986 | [R] | Edward Burns, Rosario Dawson, Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci, David Krumholtz, Dennis Farina, Brittany Murphy, Callie Thorne, Aida Turturro | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sideways | 2004 | Alexander Payne | ★★★½ | 126 | Giamatti gives another great— and thoroughly natural, totally believable— performance as a would-be author, passionate oenophile, and social misfit who takes a college pal off for a week in California wine country before he gets married. Along the way, this odd couple meets two attractive women who seem to return their interest. Told with wit, truth, compassion, and the eye for detail that marks all of Payne's work. Oscar-winning screenplay by Payne and Jim Taylor, adapted from Rex Pickett's previously unpublished novel. | tt0375063 | [R] | Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke, Jessica Hecht | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sidewinder 1 | 1977 | Earl Bellamy | ★½ | 97 | Low-grade actioner about motocross (motorcyle) racing; some exciting scenes, lots of nonacting. | tt0076710 | [PG] | Marjoe Gortner, Michael Parks, Susan Howard, Alex Cord, Charlotte Rae, Bill Vint | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Siege at Red River | 1954 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 81 | Predictable Western set during Civil War days with an Indian attack finale. | tt0047488 | Van Johnson, Joanne Dru, Richard Boone, Milburn Stone, Jeff Morrow | Western | NULL | |||
| The Siege of Sidney Street | 1960 | Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman | ★★ | 94 | Based on real incident, this film traces account of anarchists in 1910 London, with climactic confrontation between hundreds of cops and battling criminals. | tt0054306 | Donald Sinden, Nicole Berger, Kieron Moore, Peter Wyngarde | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Siege of Syracuse | 1962 | Pietro Francisci | ★½ | 97 | No less than Archimedes defends Syracuse from invading armada by use of giant mirrors that make ships burst into flames. Despite that, it's routine. | tt0055762 | Rossano Brazzi, Tina Louise, Enrico Maria Salerno, Gino Cervi | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Siege of the Saxons | 1963 | Nathan Juran | ★★½ | 85 | Colorful escapism about King Arthur's daughter trying to protect her kingdom, and her right to marry the knight she chooses, from takeover by nefarious Edmund of Cornwall. | tt0057500 | Janette Scott, Ronald Lewis, Ronald Howard, John Laurie, Mark Dignam | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Siege | 1998 | Edward Zwick | ★★★ | 116 | Terrorists set off bombs all over N.Y.C., crippling the city and leading to the imposition of martial law— including concentration camps for all Arabs, foreigners and citizens alike. Soon the general in charge (a cardboard Willis) is behaving like a tyrant, clashing with FBI man Washington and CIA agent Bening (both excellent). Well made and suspenseful. | tt0133952 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, Tony Shalhoub, Sami Bouajila, Ahmed Ben Larby, Liana Pai, Mark Valley, Jack Gwaltney, David Proval, Lance Reddick | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sierra | 1950 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 83 | Capable cast elevates story of son and father on the lam from the law, trying to prove dad's innocence of crime. Remake of 1938 film FORBIDDEN VALLEY. | tt0042963 | Audie Murphy, Wanda Hendrix, Dean Jagger, Burl Ives, Sara Allgood, James Arness, Anthony (Tony) Curtis | Western | NULL | |||
| Sierra Baron | 1958 | James B. Clark | ★★ | 80 | Western set in 19th-century California and Mexico has virtue of pleasing scenery, marred by usual land-grabbing shoot-out plot. | tt0052196 | Brian Keith, Rick Jason, Rita Gam, Mala Powers, Steve Brodie | Western | NULL | |||
| Sierra Passage | 1951 | Frank McDonald | ★½ | 81 | Quickie oater with Morris on manhunt for father's murderer. | tt0042964 | Wayne Morris, Lola Albright, Alan Hale/Jr., Roland Winters | Western | NULL | |||
| Sierra Stranger | 1957 | Lee Sholem | ★½ | 74 | Tame dust-raiser of Duff intervening in a lynching, romancing McGhee. | tt0050970 | Howard Duff, Dick Foran, Barton MacLane, Gloria McGhee | Western | NULL | |||
| Sierra Sue | 1941 | William Morgan. | ★★½ | 64 | Gene believes that spraying chemicals is the best way to control a 'devil weed' that's killing off cattle, but he's got to convince rancher Homans— and his pretty daughter McKenzie, to whom Gene and Smiley both take a shine. Gene sings one of his biggest hits, 'Be Honest With Me' (which earned him an Oscar nomination as cowriter), in this pleasant outing. | tt0034187 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Fay McKenzie, Frank M. Thomas, Robert Homans, Earle Hodgins, Dorothy Christy, Kermit Maynard, Rex Lease. | Western | NULL | |||
| Siesta | 1987 | Mary Lambert | ★½ | 97 | Sky diver Barkin ends up dissheveled and semi-nude in Spain (by way of Death Valley); her subsequent odyssey has something to do with murder (which may actually be a fantasy) and a taxi driver with rusty teeth who keeps trying to rape her. So-called experimental film is a throwback to some of the more incomprehensible efforts of the 1960s. Music score by Miles Davis. Barkin and Byrne later married in real life. | tt0093969 | [R] | Ellen Barkin, Gabriel Byrne, Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Grace Jones, Julian Sands, Isabella Rossellini | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sign o' the Times | 1987 | Prince | ★★★ | 85 | Mostly punchy Prince concert film, shot in Rotterdam and Minnesota, features 13 numbers, some overhead photography and lots of bump and grind from both sexes. Stolen to some degree by star drummer Sheila E.; otherwise 'live' film features Sheena Easton's rock video 'U Got the Look.' | tt0093970 | [PG-13] | Prince, Sheila E., Sheena Easton, Dr. Fink, Miko Weaver, Levi Seacer/Jr., Wally Safford, Gregory Allen Brooks, Boni Boyer | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Sign of Four | 1983 | Desmond Davis | Above Average TV Movie | 103 | Fine Sherlock Holmes adventure based closely on Conan Doyle's most colorful novel, pitting the great detective against a vengeful one-legged man and a homicidal dwarf. Richardson is an excellent Holmes, delighting in his own brilliance; it's too bad that he made only this and the equally good HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1983). | tt0086310 | Ian Richardson, David Healy, Cherie Lunghi, Terence Rigby, Thorley Walters, John Pedrick, Joe Melia, Clive Merrison | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Sign of Zorro | 1960 | Norman Foster, Lewis R. Foster | ★½ | 91 | Several episodes of Disney's Zorro TV show pasted together; clumsy continuity undermines what charm the series had to offer. | tt0054307 | Guy Williams, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, Britt Lomond, George J. Lewis, Lisa Gaye | Drama, Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Sign of the Cross | 1932 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★½ | 124 | Well-meaning but heavy-handed account of Christians seeking religious freedom in Rome under Emperor Nero. Very slow going, despite fine work by March as Marcus Superbus, Laughton as Nero, and especially Colbert as alluring Poppaea. Reissued in 1944 at 118m. with many cuts of sexy and sadistic scenes, and a nine-minute WW2 prologue added. | tt0023470 | Fredric March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Ian Keith, Vivian Tobin, Nat Pendleton, Joe Bonomo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sign of the Gladiator | 1959 | Vittorio Musy Glori | ★½ | 84 | Gladiator allows himself to be captured by queen of Syria so he can win her confidence. Not so hot. | tt0051985 | Anita Ekberg, Georges Marchal, Folco Lulli, Chelo Alonso, Jacques Sernas | Italian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sign of the Pagan | 1954 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 92 | Uneven script hampers story of Attila the Hun threatening Rome; Sirk's stylish direction helps somewhat. | tt0047490 | Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tcherina, Rita Gam, Jeff Morrow, Alexander Scourby | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sign of the Ram | 1948 | John Sturges | ★★½ | 84 | Well-wrought drama of crippled wife using ailment to hamstring husband and children. Comeback film for wheelchair-bound Peters, who was severely injured in a 1944 hunting accident; sadly this was also her final feature. | tt0040785 | Susan Peters, Alexander Knox, Peggy Ann Garner, Dame May Whitty, Phyllis Thaxter, Ron Randell, Allene Roberts | Drama | NULL | |||
| Signal 7 | 1983 | Rob Nilsson | ★★½ | 92 | Touching and revealing but rambling stream-of-consciousness tale of middle-aged cabdrivers— their camaraderie, illusions, desperation. Ambitious but uneven; dedicated, appropriately, to John Cassavetes. Shot on video then transferred to 16mm. for theatrical release. | tt0091955 | Bill Ackridge, Dan Leegant, Bob Elross, Hagit Farber, John Tidwell, Herb Mills | Drama | NULL | |||
| Signpost to Murder | 1965 | George Englund | ★★½ | 74 | Escapee from prison for criminally insane seeks shelter in home of woman whose husband is away. Contrived plot mars thriller but strong performances help. | tt0059718 | Stuart Whitman, Joanne Woodward, Edward Mulhare, Alan Napier, Joyce Worsley, Murray Matheson | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Signs | 2002 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★★½ | 106 | A minister who's lost his way after the death of his wife discovers strange crop signs outside his home and soon finds his family threatened. Creepy movie about ultra-close encounters with invading aliens is thwarted by its own ambitions to tackle even bigger subjects like faith, fate, and the order of the universe. When it dwells on those matters it's downright silly at times, but when it sticks to the scary stuff it makes you jump. Written by the director, who also plays Ray. | tt0286106 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Cherry Jones, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Kalember | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Signs & Wonders | 2000 | Jonathan Nossiter | ★★★ | 108 | Unusual drama about a crumbling American marriage in Athens, Greece. After having an extramarital affair, a husband becomes blindly determined to win back his wife, even though she's now romantically involved with a Greek political activist. Plays like an art-house sociopolitical FATAL ATTRACTION with multiple stalkers, but it's worth sticking with thanks to an intelligent script and intense performances from Rampling and Skarsgård as a couple on the brink. | tt0230783 | [R] | Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Deborah Kara Unger, Dimitris Katalifos, Ashley Remy | French-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Signs of Life | 1989 | John David Coles | ★★½ | 91 | A generations-old boat-building business in Maine closes its doors, and the people, young and old, who've spent their lives working there try to figure out what to do next. An ideal showcase for Kennedy (in his first film in ten years) and a talented cast, but superlative acting cannot completely make up for an air of familiarity in Mark Malone's script. A PBS American Playhouse production. | tt0098330 | [PG-13] | Arthur Kennedy, Kevin J. O'Connor, Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio, Michael Lewis, Beau Bridges, Kate Reid, Kathy Bates, Mary-Louise Parker, Georgia Engel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Silas Marner | 1985 | Giles Foster | ★★★½ | 92 | Solid, marvelously detailed version of the George Eliot novel with Kingsley quite moving as the title character, a weaver who becomes a recluse after he's falsely accused of thievery and sent into exile. Reworked in 1994 as A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE. | tt0090019 | Ben Kingsley, Jenny Agutter, Patrick Ryecart, Jonathan Coy, Freddie Jones, Frederick Treves, Angela Pleasence | British |
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| Silence | Crazy Jack and the Boy | 1974 | John Korty | ★★½ | 88 | Outdoor drama of autistic boy Flanders lost in the wilderness is a Geer family affair, interestingly done. Aka CRAZY JACK AND THE BOY. | tt0072161 | [G] | Will Geer, Ellen Geer, Richard Kelton, Ian Geer Flanders, Craig Kelly | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| The Silence of the Hams | 1994 | Ezio Greggio | 💣 | 81 | Zane is a rookie FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer; DeLuise is the psychotic criminal he turns to for help. Lame comedy in the AIRPLANE! tradition spoofs THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and PSYCHO. Film buffs might want to note cameos by such directors as Joe Dante and John Carpenter. Others might want to avoid the movie altogether. | tt0111190 | [R] | Dom DeLuise, Billy Zane, Joanna Pacula, Charlene Tilton, Martin Balsam, Stuart Pankin, John Astin, Phyllis Diller, Bubba Smith, Larry Storch, Rip Taylor, Shelley Winters | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Silence of the Lambs | 1991 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★½ | 118 | FBI trainee Foster is recruited to attempt to get through to a brilliant psychotic criminal, 'Hannibal the Cannibal' Lecter (Hopkins), in the hope that he may help catch a serial killer. Almost unbearably intense, brilliantly acted (by Foster and Hopkins), and cannily put together— though the subject material is at times repellent. Based on the Thomas Harris best-seller; the Hannibal character appeared in a previous Harris adaptation, MANHUNTER. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Actor (Hopkins), Actress (Foster), Director, and Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally). Followed 10 years later by HANNIBAL. | tt0102926 | [R] | Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons, Charles Napier, Tracey Walter, Roger Corman, Chris Isaak | Thriller, Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Silence of the North | 1981 | Allan (Winton) King | ★★ | 94 | OK drama of independent-minded Burstyn surviving in the Canadian wilderness. Beautiful scenery; based on a true story. | tt0083079 | [PG] | Ellen Burstyn, Tom Skerritt, Gordon Pinsent, Jennifer McKinney, Donna Dobrijevic, Colin Fox | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Silence | 1963 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 95 | Stark, forceful symbolic narrative of two sisters who stop at a hotel in a North European city. One sister (Thulin) is a frustrated lesbian with no future, the other (Lindblom) a free-loving mother of a 10-year-old boy. The last in Bergman's trilogy on faith, following THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY and WINTER LIGHT. | tt0057611 | Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Hakan Jahnberb, Birger Malmsten | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Silencers | 1966 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 102 | Donald Hamilton's secret agent Matt Helm is pulled out of 'retirement' to combat Buono's efforts to destroy a U.S. atomic testing site. First of four theatrical Helms is far and away the best, with Stevens just wonderful as well-meaning klutz. Sequel: MURDERERS' ROW. | tt0060980 | Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Dahlia Lavi, Victor Buono, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Arthur O'Connell, Cyd Charisse, Roger C. Carmel, Nancy Kovack | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Silent Assassins | 1988 | Lee Doo-yong, Scott Thomas | ★★½ | 92 | Well-made actioner has commando Jones whip into action when a scientist is kidnapped by baddies for his secret biological-warfare formula. His helpers, Chong and Rhee, doubled as film's producers and fight choreographers. | tt0096109 | Sam J. Jones, Linda Blair, Jun Chong, Phillip Rhee, Bill Erwin, Gustav Vintas, Mako, Rebecca Ferratti, Stuart Damon | Action | NULL | |||
| Silent Conflict | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 61 | Brooks is drugged and hypnotized by bogus doctor Hodgins to turn over proceeds (in gold) of Bar 20 cattle sale. Premise is contrived and weak; story drags, action flags. Lone Pine landscape exteriors are the lone plus. Reissued as TRIGGER TALK. | tt0040787 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Virginia Belmont, Earle Hodgins, James Harrison. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Silent Enemy | 1958 | William Fairchild | ★★½ | 92 | British Naval frogmen, headed by Harvey, are assigned to combat enemy counterpart during WW2; underwater sequences well handled, with some pre-THUNDERBALL gimmicks. | tt0052197 | Laurence Harvey, Dawn Addams, John Clements, Michael Craig | British | War | NULL | ||
| Silent Fall | 1994 | Bruce Beresford | ★½ | 100 | When an autistic youngster (Faulkner) is the only witness to his parents' bloody double murder, controversial shrink Dreyfuss tries to unlock the boy's mind in an attempt to crack the case. Murky all the way, and predictable nearly all the way, except for an ill-advised 'light' wrap-up that'll make you take a loud fall out of your seat. Barely released. | tt0111187 | [R] | Richard Dreyfuss, Linda Hamilton, John Lithgow, J.T. Walsh, Ben Faulkner, Liv Tyler | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Silent Hill | 2006 | Christophe Gans | ★½ | 127 | Don’t check this movie for parenting tips. When her little girl starts drawing strange images and uttering the words “silent hill” as she sleepwalks through recurring nightmares, the mother actually finds the obscure place on a map and drives her daughter straight into the fog-laden, deserted ghost town it has become. Another video game becomes a hokey excuse for a two-hour-plus horror movie. Dialogue is so laughable it might be advisable to watch SILENT HILL with the sound turned off. | tt0384537 | [R] | Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Alice Krige, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Jodelle Ferland, Colleen Williams | U.S.-French | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Silent House | 2011 | Chris Kentis, Laura Lau | ★★ | 85 | Sarah (Olsen) is helping her father and uncle restore their lake house when the uncle leaves and the father disappears. Weirdness grows, and Sarah lives in fear for her life. Tight, efficient horror movie is told in the all-in-one-take style attempted by Hitchcock in ROPE and later in RUNNING TIME. Unfortunately, the explanation is distasteful and unsatisfying. Remake of LA CASA MUDA (2010) | tt1767382 | [R] | Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Taylor Ross | U.S.-French | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Silent Movie | 1976 | Mel Brooks | ★★½ | 86 | Disappointing attempt to revive silent comedy, with Brooks as movie producer hoping for comeback. Blackout gags range from very funny to misfire. Results are only mild instead of the knockout they should have been. | tt0075222 | [PG] | Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Bernadette Peters, Sid Caesar, Harold Gould, Ron Carey, guest stars Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Anne Bancroft, Marcel Marceau, Harry Ritz | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Bloody Night | 1973 | Theodore Gershuny | ★★ | 87 | Uneven low-budgeter about escaped killer from insane asylum terrorizing small New England town, and inhabitants of mysterious old mansion that's up for sale. | tt0070694 | [R] | Patrick O'Neal, James Patterson, Mary Woronov, Astrid Heeren, John Carradine, Walter Abel | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Deadly Night | 1984 | Charles E. Sellier/ Jr | 💣 | 79 | Controversial— and worthless— splatter movie about a psychotic (Wilson), dressed in a Santa suit, who commits brutal ax-murders. Theaters that played this film were picketed; what next— the Easter Bunny as a child molester? Followed by four sequels! | tt0088117 | [R] | Lilyan Chauvan, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Robert Brian Wilson, Britt Leach | Horror | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 | 1990 | Brian Yuzna | ★½ | 90 | Investigating a strange death, a young woman would-be reporter becomes involved with witches, large bugs, worms, and Clint Howard. Though intelligent, it's gratuitously gruesome, dull, poorly acted, and bizarrely anti-feminist. Christmas elements are completely superfluous. Actual title onscreen is INITIATION: SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 4. | tt0100618 | [R] | Maud Adams, Tommy Hinkley, Allyce Beasley, Clint Howard, Neith Hunter, Jeanne Bates, Laurel Lockhart | Horror | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toymaker | 1991 | Martin Kitrosser | ★★ | 90 | Toys are out to kill a little boy at Christmastime, but who's responsible? Drunken toymaker Petto (Rooney) or his odd son Pino? (The names are clumsy clues.) Overplotted but OK horror thriller with a lot of sex. No plot connection to earlier films in series. | tt0105410 | [R] | Jane Higginson, William Thone, Tracy Fraim, Mickey Rooney, Brian Bremer, Neith Hunter, Clint Howard | Horror | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Deadly Night III- Better Watch Out! | 1989 | Monte Hellman | ★★ | 91 | Shrewdly made sequel pits now grown killer from Part II against young blind woman linked to him by ESP. Well made, with touches of black comedy, but still only a slasher movie, less gruesome than most. Santa Claus is not the heavy this time— he's a victim. | tt0098331 | [R] | Samantha Scully, Bill Moseley, Richard Beymer, Robert Culp, Eric Da Re, Laura Herring | Horror | NULL | ||
| Silent Night, Deadly Night Part II | 1987 | Lee Harry | 💣 | 88 | Embarrassing (and unnecessary) follow-up to the Santa Claus-killer film has hero's younger brother continuing the psychotic carnage. About half the footage here is lifted from the original film (including a memorable scene featuring Linnea Quigley); new scenes are perfunctory. | tt0093974 | [R] | Eric Freeman, James L. Newman, Elizabeth Kaitan | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Silent Partner | 1978 | Daryl Duke | ★★★ | 103 | Offbeat film about crafty bank teller Gould playing cat-and-mouse with psychotic robber Plummer. Well directed, with fine eye for detail, but bursts of graphic violence are jarring. Nice score by Oscar Peterson. Screenplay by Curtis Hanson. | tt0078269 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York, Celine Lomez, Michael Kirby, Ken Pogue, John Candy | Canadian | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Silent Rage | 1982 | Michael Miller | ★½ | 105 | Small-town Texas sheriff Norris versus sickie killer Libby, a Frankenstein-like creation of science. Ho-hum. | tt0084684 | [R] | Chuck Norris, Ron Silver, Steven Keats, Toni Kalem, William Finley, Brian Libby, Stephen Furst | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Silent Running | 1971 | Douglas Trumbull | ★★★ | 89 | Space-age ecology tale of botanist's fight on space station to keep Earth's final vegetation samples from being destroyed. Interesting film marked directorial debut of special effects whiz Trumbull (2001, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS). Script by Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, and Steven Bochco; unusual score by Peter Schickele. | tt0067756 | [G] | Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Silent Scream | 1980 | Denny Harris | ★½ | 87 | Another illogical, obvious kids-caught-in-eerie-old-house melodrama. Some scares, but who cares? | tt0081515 | [R] | Rebecca Balding, Cameron Mitchell, Avery Schreiber, Barbara Steele, Yvonne De Carlo | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Silent Tongue | 1994 | Sam Shepard | 💣 | 98 | While his son goes delirious in the New Mexico prairie, dragging around the corpse of his halfbreed bride, Harris tries to negotiate a deal for her sister from medicine show proprietor Bates (who sired both girls). If you wonder how a movie with this cast could remain on the shelf for two years, proceed at your own peril. Phoenix's penultimate film (released after his death), though it gives him nothing to do. Shepard also wrote the script. | tt0108135 | [PG-13] | Richard Harris, Alan Bates, River Phoenix, Dermot Mulroney, Sheila Tousey, Jeri Arredondo, Tantoo Cardinal, Bill Irwin, David Shiner, The Red Clay Ramblers | Western | NULL | ||
| Silent Witness | 1932 | Marcel Varnel, R. L. Hough. | ★★ | 73 | Stagy but pretty interesting courtroom drama with Atwill trying to protect his son from murder charge by taking blame himself. | tt0023471 | Lionel Atwill, Greta Nissen, Weldon Heyburn, Helen Mack, Bramwell Fletcher. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Silent World | 1956 | Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Louis Malle | ★★★ | 86 | Academy Award-winning documentary account of an expedition above and— most memorably— below the sea's surface by Captain Cousteau and his divers and crew. Beautifully photographed; Malle's first film. | tt0049518 | Frederic Duman, Albert Falco, Jacques-Yves Cousteau | French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Silk | 2007 | Francois Girard | ★★ | 109 | Beautiful but bland period piece, based on popular novel by Alessandro Baricco, about a 19th-century French merchant (Pitt) who falls for a mysterious local beauty (Ashina) while bargaining for silkworms in Japan. Unfortunately, he has a loving wife (Knightley) at home, so nothing good comes of this. Molina adds a bit of life to ponderous proceedings as the merchant’s roguish boss, but that’s not quite enough. | tt0494834 | [R] | Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Koji Yakusho, Alfred Molina, Sei Ashina, Kenneth Welsh | Canadian-Italian-Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Silk Road | 1992 | Junya Sato | ★★½ | 126 | Extravagant but hokey, overly melodramatic epic set in 11th-century China, about a young man (Koichi Sato) who becomes involved in various adventures and falls in love with a princess. The much-hyped battle scenes are nicely done, but fall short next to those in other films (for example, Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA and RAN). | tt0095071 | [PG-13] | Koichi Sato, Toshiyuki Nishida, Tsunehiko Watase, Daijiro Harada, Takahiro Tamura | Chinese-Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Silk Stockings | 1957 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★★ | 117 | Words, music, dance blend perfectly in stylish remake of Garbo's NINOTCHKA. This time Charisse is cold Russian on Paris mission, Astaire the movie producer man-about-town who warms her up. Score by Cole Porter includes 'All of You' and 'Stereophonic Sound'; Mamoulian's final film. | tt0050972 | Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Janis Paige, Peter Lorre, George Tobias, Jules Munshin, Joseph Buloff, Barrie Chase | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Silken Affair | 1957 | Roy Kellino | ★★½ | 96 | Droll little comedy of meek accountant Niven sparked by saucy Page into some fast bookkeeping manipulations. | tt0050973 | David Niven, Genevieve Page, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Beatrice Straight | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Silkwood | 1983 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 128 | Superb performances, and vivid dramatization of workaday life in an Oklahoma nuclear-parts factory, give strength to a flawed film. Streep is outstanding as real-life Karen Silkwood, but anyone who followed news story knows how this film will end, and that places a special burden on such a long, slowly paced film. Script by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen. | tt0086312 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Diana Scarwid, Fred Ward, Ron Silver, Charles Hallahan, Josef Sommer, Sudie Bond, Henderson Forsythe, E. Katherine Kerr, Bruce McGill, David Strathairn, M. Emmet Walsh, Ray Baker, Tess Harper, Anthony Heald | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Silver Bears | 1978 | Ivan Passer | ★★★ | 113 | Entertaining comedy better suited to TV than theater screens; fine cast in story of high-level chicanery in world silver market. Adapted from Paul Erdman's novel by Peter Stone; filmed in Switzerland and Morocco. | tt0076715 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan, Martin Balsam, Stephane Audran, Tommy Smothers, David Warner, Charles Gray, Jay Leno | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Silver Blaze | 1937 | Thomas Bentley | ★★½ | 71 | It's Sherlock Holmes to the rescue upon the disappearance of a racehorse and murder of its trainer. Moderately entertaining mystery; this was Wontner's final appearance as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary sleuth. Aka MURDER AT THE BASKERVILLES. | tt0029565 | Arthur Wontner, Lyn Harding, Ian Fleming, Judy Gunn, Eve Gray, Lawrence Grossmith | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Silver Bullet | 1985 | Daniel Attias | ★★ | 95 | What can it be that's terrorizing a small town by the light of the full moon? The answer is a werewolf, but it takes the folks in this movie a long time to figure that out. Well-acted but often stupid and unbelievable horror tale from Stephen King's novelette, Cycle of the Werewolf. | tt0090021 | [R] | Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Megan Follows, Everett McGill, Terry O'Quinn, Robin Groves, Leon Russom, Bill Smitrovich, Lawrence Tierney, voice of Tovah Feldshuh | Horror | NULL | ||
| Silver Canyon | 1951 | John English. | ★★★ | 71 | Gene and Pat play Union scouts during Civil War days who are assigned to track down Confederate Jim Davis and his guerrilla raiders. Good later Autry vehicle. | tt0044035 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Jim Davis, Bob Steele, Terry Frost, Edgar Dearing. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Silver Chalice | 1954 | Victor Saville | ★★ | 144 | Newman's screen debut is undistinguished in story of Greek who designs framework for cup used at Last Supper. This is the film Newman once apologized for in a famous Hollywood trade ad. From the Thomas Costain novel; Greene's first film, too. | tt0047494 | Virginia Mayo, Pier Angeli, Jack Palance, Paul Newman, Walter Hampden, Joseph Wiseman, Alexander Scourby, Lorne Greene, E.G. Marshall, Natalie Wood | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Silver City | 1951 | Byron Haskin | ★★ | 90 | Capable cast is above this mishmash set in the mining area of the West, with usual rivalry over gals and ore. | tt0044036 | Edmond O'Brien, Yvonne De Carlo, Richard Arlen, Gladys George, Barry Fitzgerald | Western | NULL | |||
| Silver City | 1984 | Sophie Turkiewicz | ★★½ | 110 | Fair soaper about love affair between Polish immigrants Dobrowolska and Kants in 1940s Australia. The catch: He is married to her close friend. | tt0088119 | [PG] | Gosia Dobrowolska, Ivar Kants, Anna Jemison, Steve Bisley, Debra Lawrence | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Silver City | 2004 | John Sayles | ★★½ | 124 | Ensemble piece about a reporter-turned-investigator who's hired to see who might be trying to sabotage the gubernatorial campaign of Colorado's favored son. A film noir-ish mystery is the framework for Sayles' attack on political corruption, corporate greed, and the apathy and resignation of a generation that once tried to change the world. Cooper does a slyly funny impression of Pres. George W. Bush, with a perfectly cast Murphy as his kingmaker dad. Plottier than it needs to be, and fairly obvious, but still entertaining and relevant. | tt0376890 | [R] | Chris Cooper, Danny Huston, Richard Dreyfuss, Maria Bello, James Gammon, Daryl Hannah, Kris Kristofferson, Mary Kay Place, Tim Roth, Thora Birch, David Clennon, Miguel Ferrer, Michael Murphy, Billy Zane, Alma Delfina, Sal López, Luis Saguar, Ralph Waite | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Silver Cord | 1933 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 74 | Very much a photographed stage play (by Sidney Howard), but interesting for its look at a self-absorbed woman (Crews) who attempts to dominate her sons' lives completely— not counting on the strength of her new daughter-in-law (Dunne), a career woman with a mind of her own. Both Dunne and Dee are first-rate. | tt0024560 | Irene Dunne, Joel McCrea, Laura Hope Crews, Frances Dee, Eric Linden | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Silver Dollar | 1932 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 84 | True story (though names are changed) of self-made silver tycoon H. A. W. Tabor, who helped build Denver from mining camp to a thriving city. One of America's great sagas, hampered by unimaginative presentation. | tt0023472 | Edward G. Robinson, Bebe Daniels, Aline MacMahon, Robert Warwick, Jobyna Howland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Silver Dream Racer | 1980 | David Wickes | ★½ | 111 | Hackneyed drama chronicling the trials of garage-mechanic-turned-motorcyclist Essex as he strives to win the Big Race. Essex wrote and performed music score as well. | tt0081517 | [PG] | David Essex, Beau Bridges, Cristina Raines, Clarke Peters, Harry H. Corbett, Diane Keen, Lee Montague, Sheila White | British |
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| The Silver Horde | 1930 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 75 | Rugged version of Rex Beach's brawling novel about the struggle for control of Alaska's burgeoning salmon fishing industry. McCrea is young fisherman torn between shady lady Brent and debutante Arthur, resulting in a memorable catfight between the two. Dated action yarn bolstered by good cast and fine documentary-style location work. | tt0021374 | Evelyn Brent, Joel McCrea, Louis Wolheim, Raymond Hatton, Jean Arthur, Gavin Gordon, Blanche Sweet. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Silver Lode | 1954 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 80 | A Western town's respected citizen (Payne) is accused of thievery and murder on his wedding day by a slimy U.S. 'marshal' (Duryea). So-so melodrama is a fascinating relic of its era as both a HIGH NOON variation and an obvious allegory of HUAC/McCarthyist hypocrisy. The action unfolds on July 4, and the villain is named 'McCarty'! | tt0047495 | John Payne, Lizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, Dolores Moran, Emile Meyer, Harry Carey/Jr., Morris Ankrum, Stuart Whitman, Alan Hale/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Silver Queen | 1942 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 80 | Post-Civil War tinsel of devoted girl raising money for father; hubby throws it away on 'worthless' silver mine. | tt0035335 | George Brent, Priscilla Lane, Bruce Cabot, Lynne Overman, Eugene Pallette, Guinn Williams | Western | NULL | |||
| Silver River | 1948 | Raoul Walsh | ★½ | 110 | Mediocre Flynn vehicle: Ann and Errol marry out West, he becomes corrupt. | tt0040789 | Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Thomas Mitchell, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Barton MacLane, Monte Blue | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Silver Spurs | 1943 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 68 | Irresponsible ranch owner Cowan falls into the clutches of Carradine, who is trying to dupe him out of his oil-rich land while Cowan flirts with easterner Brooks. Ranch foreman Rogers saves the day. Unusually strong cast for a Rogers movie; moves at a crackling pace. | tt0036357 | Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, John Carradine, Phyllis Brooks, Jerome Cowan, Joyce Compton, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Silver Streak | 1976 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 113 | Nutty blend of comedy, romance, action and suspense as mild-mannered editor Wilder becomes involved in murder plot on cross-country train ride. Switch from comedy to violence is sometimes jarring, but on the whole a highly entertaining picture. One of the best Wilder/Pryor pairings. Imitation Hitchcock written by Colin Higgins. | tt0075223 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Pryor, Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty, Ray Walston, Scatman Crothers, Clifton James, Richard Kiel, Fred Willard | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Silver Streak | 1934 | Thomas Atkins | ★½ | 72 | High-speed train journey is undertaken to deliver iron lungs to epidemic-stricken Nevada town. Derailed by wooden performances and leaden pace although climactic race against time is very exciting; no relation to 1976 film. | tt0027000 | Sally Blane, Charles Starrett, Hardie Albright, William Farnum, Irving Pichel, Arthur Lake | Action | NULL | |||
| The Silver Whip | 1953 | Harmon Jones | ★★½ | 73 | Occasionally actionful Western of outlaws vs. stage line. | tt0046317 | Dale Robertson, Rory Calhoun, Robert Wagner, Kathleen Crowley, Lola Albright | Western | NULL | |||
| Silver on the Sage | 1939 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 68 | When Bar 20 cowpunchers get fleeced by shrewd operators, Hopalong Cassidy goes undercover as a gambler to recover stolen herd, apprehend wrongdoers, and clear framed, impetuous sidekick Hayden. Ridges plays lawbreaking twins who always have an alibi for each other. Somewhat suspenseful story adapted from 1935 book On the Trail of the Tumbling T by Clarence E. Mulford. | tt0031925 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Ruth Rogers, Stanley Ridges, Frederick Burton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Silverado | 1985 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★★ | 132 | Sprawling, well-made Western about four unlikely comrades who join forces against some very bad guys. First major Hollywood Western in a long time is no classic but offers ample entertainment by throwing in everything but the kitchen sink— and never stops moving. Just don't think about it too hard. Script by Mark and Lawrence Kasdan, fine score by Bruce Broughton. | tt0090022 | [PG-13] | Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, Ray Baker, Joe Seneca, Lynn Whitfield, Jeff Fahey | Action, Western | NULL | ||
| Simba | 1955 | Brian Desmond Hurst | ★★★½ | 99 | Fine cast in story of young man arriving in Kenya only to find brother killed by Mau Maus. Some grisly scenes. | tt0048620 | Dirk Bogarde, Virginia McKenna, Basil Sydney, Donald Sinden | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Simian Line | 2001 | Linda Yellen | ★★½ | 106 | Small-scale film intertwines four couples' lives at crossroads: Redgrave is insecure about her relationship with her much-younger lover (Connick, Jr.), especially when a young couple moves in next door. What's more, her house is haunted by ghosts of long ago (Mathis, Hurt). Highly uneven, with the mystical elements the weakest, but marked by fine performances from Redgrave, Connick, and a surprisingly good Crawford. | tt0186549 | [R] | Lynn Redgrave, Jamey Sheridan, Harry Connick/Jr., Cindy Crawford, Samantha Mathis, William Hurt, Tyne Daly, Eric Stoltz, Dylan Bruno, Monica Keena, Jeremy Zelig | Drama | NULL | ||
| Simon | 1980 | Marshall Brickman | ★★½ | 97 | Uneven comedy about psychology professor (Arkin) who's brainwashed by group of think-tank weirdos to believe he's come from another planet. There's a cruel edge to the humor, and signs of a serious film trying to break out, in screenwriter Brickman's directorial debut. | tt0081518 | [PG] | Alan Arkin, Madeline Kahn, Austin Pendleton, Judy Graubart, William Finley, Fred Gwynne, Adolph Green | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Simon Birch | 1998 | Mark Steven Johnson | ★★★ | 113 | Fable set in the early 1960s about a young boy with arrested growth (real-life 11-year-old Smith) who believes he's part of God's plan, and is destined to be a hero. That destiny is hard to discern in his sad, often frustrated life; the bright spot is his friendship with Mazzello, who's also an outsider as a bastard child in a small town. Well-made tearjerker loosely adapted from John Irving's novel A Prayer for Owen Meany; manipulative, borderline mushy at times, but very well done. | tt0124879 | [PG] | Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, David Strathairn, Dana Ivey, Beatrice Winde, Jan Hooks, Jim Carrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Simon Magus | 2000 | Ben Hopkins | ★★ | 105 | Shunned by his Jewish community because of his claims that he has the ability to put a 'curse' on crops and often talks to the Devil, Simon (Taylor) becomes the unlikely key player in the local tug-of-war to bring a railway station to a backwater village in the 1800s. Minor, offbeat directing debut for Hopkins; memorable only for a quirky lead performance by the talented Taylor and some fine supporting players. | tt0161977 | Noah Taylor, Embeth Davidtz, Rutger Hauer, Ian Holm, Stuart Townsend, Sean McGinley, Terence Rigby, Amanda Ryan | German-British | Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Simon Sez | 1999 | Kevin Elders | 💣 | 85 | Absolutely dreadful actioner with Rodman— the NBA's most famous cross-dressing power forward— playing a James Bond-like Interpol agent who sets out to rescue a kidnapped heiress. Bottom of the barrel in all departments. | tt0168172 | [PG-13] | Dennis Rodman, Xin-Xin Xiong, Dane Cook, Natalia Cigliuti, Filip Nicolic, Emma Sjoberg | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Simon and Laura | 1956 | Muriel Box | ★★½ | 91 | Spunky farce involving Finch and Kendall, a married acting couple whose TV image contradicts their violent off-screen battles. | tt0048621 | Peter Finch, Kay Kendall, Muriel Pavlow, Ian Carmichael, Maurice Denham | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Simon of the Desert | 1965 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★★ | 45 | Hilarious parable about a bearded ascetic who plops himself atop a pillar to communicate with God better. Could only have been made by one filmmaker; even by Buñuel's standards, the ending of this one is pretty wild. | tt0059719 | Claudio Brook, Silvia Pinal, Hortensia Santovena, Enrique Alvarez Felix | Mexican | Drama, Short | NULL | ||
| Simpatico | 1999 | Matthew Warchus | ★★ | 106 | Bridges is a Kentucky millionaire horseman whose life comes apart when he hears from a boyhood pal (Nolte) who threatens to expose their dark, longtime secret. Film's overheated tone seems unwarranted by the material itself, but it's great fun watching old-pro Finney. Based on a play by Sam Shepard. | tt0174204 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, Albert Finney, Shawn Hatosy, Kimberly Williams, Liam Waite | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Simple Men | 1992 | Hal Hartley | ★★★ | 105 | Original, ingratiating tale of brothers Burke and Sage, who set out in search of their fugitive father, a former Brooklyn Dodgers all-star shortstop who, in the 1960s, became a bomb-throwing anarchist. Infused with a wry sense of humor and consistent offbeat tilt, but the emotions underneath are genuine, and that's what makes the film so endearing. A PBS American Playhouse coproduction. | tt0105411 | [R] | Robert Burke, William Sage, Karen Sillas, Elina Löwensohn, Martin Donovan, Mark Chandler Bailey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Simple Plan | 1998 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 121 | Wintry tale of three men— a family man, his slow-witted brother, and the latter's redneck pal— who stumble onto a cache of money in a downed airplane. Their decision to keep the cash quickly snowballs into a whirlpool of tension that leads to other crimes. Thornton's exceptional performance makes the film worth seeing, but the story— and its mild-mannered characters' sudden transformation— simply doesn't ring true. Adapted by Scott B. Smith from his novel. | tt0120324 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe, Gary Cole, Chelcie Ross, Jack Walsh, Becky Ann Baker | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Simple Story | 1978 | Claude Sautet | ★★★ | 110 | Fortyish laborer examines her life after aborting a child and dropping her lover. Schneider gives one of her best performances in this graceful drama. | tt0075975 | Romy Schneider, Bruno Cremer, Claude Brasseur, Arlette Bonnard | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Simple Twist of Fate | 1994 | Gillies MacKinnon | ★★½ | 106 | Circumstances drive a man to become a recluse and a miser, until an orphaned toddler wanders into his life. Martin produced, wrote, and starred in this adaptation of George Eliot's novel Silas Marner, an odd choice of material that yields an interesting if never quite arresting story. Some of the most entertaining moments are also the most incongruous, when the sober-faced lead character suddenly— and unexpectedly— becomes funny, à la Steve Martin. | tt0111194 | [PG-13] | Steve Martin, Gabriel Byrne, Catherine O'Hara, Stephen Baldwin, Laura Linney, Byron Jennings, Michael des Barres, Ed Grady, Kristoffer Tabori, Anne Heche | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Simple Wish | 1997 | Michael Ritchie | ★★½ | 89 | Amusing family film about a bungling male fairy godmother who tries to help a little girl whose wish is to see her father get a part in a new musical play. Short and Wilson are fun, Turner is over the top as a wicked witch, and the special effects are good . . . though the film never quite takes off. Highlight for grownups is the bogus Andrew Lloyd Webber-ish musical play Two Cities which figures in the plot. (Director Ritchie wrote the songs with Lucy Simon.) | tt0120133 | [PG] | Martin Short, Mara Wilson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Pastorelli, Amanda Plummer, Francis Capra, Ruby Dee, Teri Garr | Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Simply Irresistible | 1999 | Mark Tarlov | ★★ | 96 | Old-fashioned, overcooked romantic comedy-fantasy about a talentless chef (Gellar) struggling to keep her late mother's restaurant afloat, who is transformed by a magical crab (!) into a master cook whose concoctions seem to have special powers. Along the way, she becomes romantically involved with an executive (Flanery) who is setting up a gourmet restaurant. Occasionally likable, but far too predictable. | tt0145893 | [PG-13] | Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patricia Clarkson, Dylan Baker, Christopher Durang, Larry Gilliard/Jr., Betty Buckley, Amanda Peet | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Simpsons Movie | 2007 | David Silverman | ★★★ | 87 | Springfield is quarantined under a huge dome by the EPA (and President Schwarzenegger), and eventually marked for destruction, after Homer causes an environmental disaster by dumping a massive amount of poop from his pet pig into the local lake. Can he save the town and win back the affection of his fed-up family? Long-running TV cartoon’s debut on the big—and ultrawide—screen is entertaining, albeit not as sharply satirical as the best episodes of the series. Digital Widescreen. | tt0462538 | [PG-13] | Voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, A.(Albert) Brooks, Joe Mantegna, Tom Hanks | Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sin City | 2005 | Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez. | ★½ | 124 | Vignettes, both short and long, from Frank Miller's graphic novels about a violent, corrupt city full of hard-boiled characters (and naked women) are brought to life in a computer-enhanced film noir world. Stylish, audacious, but completely artificial; the initial excitement of watching these images soon dies off but the film refuses to do the same. Miller fans and adolescent boys will probably rate this much higher. Quentin Tarantino is billed as Special Guest Director. On-screen title is FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY. | tt0401792 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Mickey Rourke, Carla Gugino, Elijah Wood, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Powers Boothe, Michael Clarke Duncan, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, Nick Stahl, Nicky Katt, Marley Shelton. | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sin Nombre | Without Name | 2009 | Cary Joji Fukunaga | ★★★ | 96 | Vivid, painfully believable drama about a Honduran girl who reluctantly joins her father and uncle in boarding a train for Mexico as the first step toward emigrating to the U.S. Meanwhile, a Mexican gang member whose leader has betrayed his trust joins the trek, though he knows he’s a marked man. Borders on melodrama, with almost Shakespearean overtones in the character dynamics, yet palpably real every step of the way. Impressive feature debut for writer-director Fukunaga. | tt1127715 | [R] | Paulina Gaitan, Edgar Flores, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Diana García, Luis Fernando Peña, Héctor Jiménez | U.S.-Mexican | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Adventure | NULL |
| Sin Takes a Holiday | 1930 | Paul L. Stein. | ★★½ | 80 | Upscale divorce lawyer MacKenna gets out of an embarrassing case through a quick marriage of convenience to plain-Jane secretary Bennett. Then she, alone on her 'honeymoon' cruise, meets handsome stranger Rathbone and blossoms. Pleasantly blonde romantic comedy. | tt0021377 | Constance Bennett, Kenneth MacKenna, Basil Rathbone, Rita La Roy, Louis John Bartels, ZaSu Pitts. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sin Town | 1942 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 75 | Fast-moving actioner of town in uproar after newspaper editor is killed; good cast in above-average film. Richard Brooks was one of the writers. | tt0035337 | Constance Bennett, Broderick Crawford, Anne Gwynne, Ward Bond, Andy Devine, Leo Carrillo, Patric Knowles, Hobart Bosworth | Western | NULL | |||
| The Sin of Harold Diddlebock | 1947 | Preston Sturges | ★★½ | 90 | Fascinating idea of updating Lloyd's 1920s character to show what's happened to that go-getter doesn't fulfill its promise. Aimless comedy can't top opening sequence from THE FRESHMAN (1925), despite enthusiasm of fine cast. Reedited to 79m. and reissued in 1950 as MAD WEDNESDAY. | tt0039825 | Harold Lloyd, Frances Ramsden, Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Edgar Kennedy, Arline Judge, Lionel Stander, Rudy Vallee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sin of Madelon Claudet | 1931 | Edgar Selwyn | ★★★ | 73 | First-rate, fast-moving soaper in the MADAME X vein, about a woman who sacrifices everything so her illegitimate son will have a good life. Hayes won an Oscar portraying woman who goes from bumpkin to Parisian sophisticate to suffering mother to haggard streetwalker— and she's terrific. | tt0022386 | Helen Hayes, Lewis Stone, Neil Hamilton, Robert Young, Cliff Edwards, Jean Hersholt, Marie Prevost, Karen Morley, Charles Winninger, Alan Hale/Sr., Frankie Darro | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sin of Nora Moran | 1933 | Phil Goldstone. | ★★½ | 65 | Surprisingly interesting Poverty Row cheapie with supernatural overtones, told in flashback, about a hard-luck woman (Johann, who's excellent) who falls in love with the wrong man and makes the ultimate sacrifice for him. More notable for its ambitions than its achievements, with great use of stock footage and a wall-to-wall music score, unusual for 1933. Best known today for its iconic one-sheet poster image. | tt0024561 | Zita Johann, Alan Dinehart, Paul Cavanagh, Claire Du Brey, John Miljan, Henry B. Walthall, Cora Sue Collins. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger | 1977 | Sam Wanamaker. | ★½ | 113 | Dreary followup to GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD has unusually hackneyed script (even for this kind of film), disappointing Ray Harryhausen effects, and goes on forever. For patient kids only. Taryn is Tyrone Power's daughter. | tt0076716 | [G] | Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour, Taryn Power, Margaret Whiting, Patrick Troughton. | British | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Sinbad the Sailor | 1947 | Richard Wallace | ★★★ | 117 | Tongue-in-cheek swashbuckler, with lavish color production. Great fun. | tt0039826 | Douglas Fairbanks/ Jr., Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Walter Slezak, George Tobias, Jane Greer, Mike Mazurki, Sheldon Leonard | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | 2003 | Tim Johnson, Patrick Gilmore | ★★★ | 86 | Entertaining animated blend of adventure, fantasy, comedy, and romance as bad-boy Sinbad takes on a noble mission to save his boyhood pal, the prince— whose fiancée tags along for the ride. Pitt and Zeta-Jones play bantering, bickering romantic leads with great verve, even if it's hard to forget whose voices we're listening to. Pfeiffer is also fun as Eris, the goddess of chaos. Slick production needlessly injects computer-generated monsters into the already good-looking 2-D world it's created. | tt0165982 | [PG] | Voices of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer, Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Timothy West, Adriano Giannini | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Since You Went Away | 1944 | John Cromwell | ★★★½ | 172 | Tear-jerker supreme with Colbert at her valiant best. Story of family suffering through WW2 with many tragedies and complications dates a bit, but still is very smooth film. Producer David O. Selznick wrote the screenplay, from Margaret Buell Wilder's book. Beautifully photographed by Lee Garmes and Stanley Cortez. Max Steiner's score won an Oscar. Film debuts of Guy Madison (then an actual sailor, in the role of sailor Harold Smith) and John Derek (an extra). | tt0037280 | Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moorehead, Craig Stevens, Keenan Wynn, Nazimova, Robert Walker, Lionel Barrymore | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Sincerely Yours | 1955 | Gordon Douglas | 💣 | 115 | Remake of George Arliss' THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD becomes a ludicrous vehicle for Liberace. Camp classic written by Irving Wallace, with the star's brother George serving as musical adviser. | tt0048623 | Liberace, Joanne Dru, Dorothy Malone, William Demarest, Richard Eyer, Lurene Tuttle | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sinful Davey | 1969 | John Huston | ★★½ | 95 | Tale of 19th-century Scottish highwayman and his love for a 'nice' girl is rather ordinary, but does have pleasant performance by Franklin. Based on a true story. Anjelica Huston has a bit part. | tt0064988 | [M] | John Hurt, Pamela Franklin, Nigel Davenport, Ronald Fraser, Robert Morley, Fidelma Murphy, Maxine Audley, Brenda Fricker | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| A Sinful Life | 1989 | William Schreiner | ★★ | 90 | Very offbeat comedy (filmed on a low, low budget) about a former Sonny and Cher dancer named Claire Vin Blanc who fights to keep her rather unusual child, Baby, from being removed to a more 'respectable' environment. Not for everyone, but it does give Morris a great vehicle for her comedic talent. Based on the play Just Like the Pom Pom Girls, originally presented by L.A.'s Groundlings comedy troupe. | tt0098334 | [R] | Anita Morris, Rick Overton, Dennis Christopher, Mark Rolston, Cynthia Szigeti, Blair Tefkin, Cynthia Songe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sing | 1989 | Richard Baskin | 💣 | 97 | Title refers to a true-life, decades-old tradition— a song-dance competition (or 'Sing') between seniors and underclassmen in Brooklyn high schools. Script (by Dean Pitchford) is decades old, too: B-movie clichés about a rebel, a 'nice' girl, an understanding teacher, and jelly-spined administrators all locking horns during pageant rehearsals. Threatens to go over the brink throughout . . . and eventually does. | tt0098335 | [PG-13] | Lorraine Bracco, Peter Dobson, Jessica Steen, Louise Lasser, George DiCenzo, Patti LaBelle, Cuba Gooding/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sing Boy Sing | 1958 | Henry Ephron | ★★ | 90 | A teen idol and Elvis Presley clone (Sands) is manipulated by his cold-hearted manager (O'Brien) and kept apart from his roots. Muddled relic of its era, which purports to expose the evils of rock 'n' roll and showbiz (in between Sands' endless musical numbers). | tt0052198 | Tommy Sands, Lili Gentle, Edmond O'Brien, John McIntire, Nick Adams, Diane Jergens, Josephine Hutchinson, Jerry Paris, Regis Toomey | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sing Me a Love Song | 1936 | Ray Enright. | ★½ | 75 | Musical chestnut about a rich boy who takes a job in his own department store to learn how the other half lives. Among that other half is attractive Ellis. As for Metropolitan Opera tenor Melton, if acting may be said to be wooden, then he is a veritable lumberyard. Undistinguished score by Harry Warren and Al Dubin. | tt0028254 | James Melton, Patricia Ellis, Hugh Herbert, ZaSu Pitts, Allen Jenkins, Nat Pendleton, Walter Catlett, Dennis Moore. | Musical, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sing Your Way Home | 1945 | Anthony Mann | ★½ | 72 | RKO Pictures minimusical set on the high seas with youthful entertainers providing modicum of singing talent. | tt0038091 | Jack Haley, Anne Jeffreys, Marcy McGuire, Glenn Vernon | Musical | NULL | |||
| Sing Your Worries Away | 1942 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★ | 71 | Mild musical comedy as the theatrical world and racketeers clash. | tt0035338 | June Havoc, Bert Lahr, Buddy Ebsen, Patsy Kelly, Sam Levene, Margaret Dumont, King Sisters, Alvino Rey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sing and Like It | 1934 | William A. Seiter. | ★★½ | 72 | Mobster Pendleton goes soft when he hears Pitts singing a song about her mother in rehearsal for an amateur play and determines to get her into a Broadway show by forcing himself into partnership with 'the mad genius of the theater,' Horton. Never as funny as it ought to be, though with cast of great comic actors it has its moments. | tt0025797 | ZaSu Pitts, Pert Kelton, Edward Everett Horton, Nat Pendleton, Ned Sparks, John Qualen, Stanley Fields. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sing and Swing | 1963 | Lance Comfort | ★★ | 75 | Virtue of modest musical is Hemmings in lead role of messenger boy who joins pals in combo; they record a song, and find their musical career in full sway. Originally titled LIVE IT UP. | tt0057504 | David Hemmings, Veronica Hurst, Jennifer Moss, John Pike | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sing, Baby, Sing | 1936 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 87 | Pleasant musicomedy stolen by Menjou as John Barrymore prototype involved with publicity-seeking Faye. Songs: 'When Did You Leave Heaven?,' 'You Turned the Tables on Me,' title tune. The Ritz Brothers are quite good in their feature-film debut. | tt0028255 | Alice Faye, Adolphe Menjou, Gregory Ratoff, Ted Healy, Patsy Kelly, Tony Martin | Musical | NULL | |||
| Sing, You Sinners | 1938 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★ | 88 | Gambling gay-blade Crosby can't face responsibility, despite prodding of brother MacMurray. Fine film with 'I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams' and memorable 'Small Fry' number featuring young O'Connor. | tt0030752 | Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Donald O'Connor, Elizabeth Patterson, Ellen Drew, John Gallaudet | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Singapore | 1947 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 79 | Alluring drama of trader/pearl smuggler MacMurray returning to Singapore after a five-year absence, recalling his previous romantic relationship with Gardner. He thinks she was killed during a Japanese bombing attack, but she really was a victim of amnesia. The characters in this seem to be very loosely modeled after those in CASABLANCA. Remade as ISTANBUL. | tt0039829 | Fred MacMurray, Ava Gardner, Roland Culver, Richard Haydn, Spring Byington, Thomas Gomez, Porter Hall | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Singapore Woman | 1941 | Jean Negulesco | ★★ | 64 | Sluggish account of young rubber planter set upon helping to remove oriental curse from Marshall. Remake of DANGEROUS. | tt0034191 |
|
Brenda Marshall, David Bruce, Virginia Field, Jerome Cowan, Rose Hobart, Heather Angel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Singapore, Singapore | Five Ashore in Singapore | 1968 | Bernard Toublanc Michel | ★★ | 103 | So-so espionage tale interesting primarily for Flynn (Errol's son) playing a CIA agent looking into the disappearance of a number of Marines in Singapore. Based on Jean Bruce's novel. Aka FIVE ASHORE IN SINGAPORE. | tt0062976 | Sean Flynn, Marika Green, Terry Downes, Marc Michel, Peter Gayford, Denis Berry | French | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Singer Not the Song | 1961 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 129 | Offbeat, sluggish yarn set in Mexico involving conflict of Catholic priest and local bandit to control the town, with Demongeot in love with the clergyman. | tt0055451 | Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, Mylene Demongeot, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Singin' in The Rain | 1952 | Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen | ★★★★ | 102 | Perhaps the greatest movie musical of all time, fashioned by Betty Comden and Adolph Green from a catalogue of Arthur Freed-Nacio Herb Brown songs. The setting is Hollywood during the transition to talkies, with Hagen giving the performance of a lifetime as Kelly's silent screen costar, whose voice could shatter glass. Kelly's title number, O'Connor's 'Make 'Em Laugh,' are just two highlights in a film packed with gems. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0045152 | Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse, Millard Mitchell, Douglas Fowley, Madge Blake, Rita Moreno | Musical, Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Singing Blacksmith | 1938 | Edgar G. Ulmer. | ★★★ | 95 | Colorful Yiddish-language musical comedy-drama, set in czarist Russia, with Oysher in excellent voice as the title character, a lover of dance, drink, and song. Bushy-haired, 15-year-old Bernardi plays 'Young Yankl.' Scripted by David Pinski and based on his play Yankl der Schmid. | tt0029569 | Moishe Oysher, Miriam Riselle, Florence Weiss, Anna Appel, Ben-Zvi Baratoff, Michael Goldstein, Herschel Bernardi. | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Singing Cowboy | 1936 | Mack V. Wright. | ★★½ | 56 | Cowhand Autry becomes (what else?) a singing cowboy on a TV hookup to raise money for paralyzed Gillis' operation. Screwy but fun, with surprising emphasis on television in this mid-1930s film. | tt0028256 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Lois Wilde, Lon Chaney/Jr., Ann Gillis, Earle Hodgins, Harvey Clark, John Van Pelt. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Singing Detective | 2003 | Keith Gordon | ★★½ | 109 | A writer who's hospitalized with a horrific skin condition fantasizes about his gumshoe alter ego and hallucinates a series of musical numbers that relate to his problems, both real and imagined. The late Dennis Potter reconceived his brilliant 1986 British miniseries as an American-based feature film, and changed the time period from the 1940s to the 1950s, but in compressing (and even lightening the tone of) the material he lost some of its impact. The results are uneven, though still often striking. Gibson also coproduced. | tt0314676 | [R] | Robert Downey/ Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Mel Gibson, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Carla Gugino, Adrien Brody, Jon Polito, Saul Rubinek, Alfre Woodard, Amy Aquino | Drama, Comedy, Musical, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Singing Fool | 1928 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 101 | Part-talkie follow-up to THE JAZZ SINGER is potent melodrama, with Jolson as a songwriter/performer whose domestic life is in turmoil. Jolson's high-energy acting style will either delight or revolt. Songs include 'It All Depends on You,' 'I'm Sitting on Top of the World,' 'There's a Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder,' and 'Sonny Boy' (which Jolson sings to Davey Lee). | tt0019388 | Al Jolson, Betty Bronson, Josephine Dunn, Arthur Housman, Davey Lee, Edward Martindel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Singing Guns | 1950 | R. G. Springsteen | ★½ | 91 | Minor happenings in the old West with singer Monroe in straight role. | tt0042970 | Vaughn Monroe, Ella Raines, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, Billy Gray | Western | NULL | |||
| The Singing Hill | 1941 | Lew Landers. | ★★ | 75 | Gene saves yet another ranch for still another wacky, madcap big-city girl (Dale) from one more conniving cattle broker (Meeker). Overlong Western screwball comedy has nine tunes (including 'The Singing Hills') but not enough action. | tt0034192 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Virginia Dale, Mary Lee, Spencer Charters, George Meeker. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Singing Kid | 1936 | William Keighley | ★★ | 85 | Jolson plays a Broadway star who loses his voice and recuperates in the country, where he takes in a young girl— and finds romance. A star vehicle if there ever was one, and recommended only for Jolson fans. Musical appearances by Cab Calloway, Wini Shaw, and The Yacht Club Boys. Highlight of the Harold Arlen-E.Y. Harburg score: 'I Love to Singa.' | tt0028257 | Al Jolson, Sybil Jason, Edward Everett Horton, Lyle Talbot, Allen Jenkins, Beverly Roberts, Claire Dodd | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Singing Marine | 1937 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 106 | Title tells all in this slight but pleasant musical about painfully shy Marine Powell becoming a singing sensation, with resulting rivalries and. | tt0029571 | Dick Powell, Doris Weston, Lee Dixon, Hugh Herbert, Jane Darwell, Allen Jenkins, Larry Adler, Veda Ann Borg, Jane Wyman | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Singing Nun | 1966 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 98 | Syrupy comic-book stuff based on real-life Belgian nun whose devotion is split between religious work and making hit records. | tt0060983 | Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban, Greer Garson, Agnes Moorehead, Chad Everett, Katharine Ross, Ed Sullivan, Juanita Moore, Tom Drake | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Singing Vagabond | 1935 | Carl Pierson. | ★★½ | 54 | Cavalry plainsmen Gene and Smiley rout out a band of white renegades supplying horses and guns to the Indians, save their tarnished reputations, and find time to rescue a troupe of Eastern entertainers. Solid entertainment, with stock footage from Tim McCoy's 1926 WAR PAINT. | tt0028258 | Gene Autry, Ann Rutherford, Smiley Burnette, Barbara Pepper, Niles Welch, Grace Goodall, Henry Roquemore, Allan Sears, Warner Richmond, Frank LaRue, Charlie King. | Western | NULL | |||
| A Single Girl | 1995 | Benoit Jacquot | ★★★½ | 90 | Bright, scintillating slice-of-life, told in real time, about a young woman (Ledoyen) whose personal life is complicated to say the least, and who must contend with additional pressures in her new job as a room-service waitress in a fancy hotel. Exudes the freshness and spontaneity of the early French New Wave; 19-year-old Ledoyen (who seems like Anna Karina reborn) offers a star-making performance. | tt0113057 | Virginie Ledoyen, Benoît Magimel, Dominique Valadie, Vera Briole, Michel Bompoil, Jean-Cretien Sibertin-Blanc | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Single Girls | 1973 | Ferd Sebastian, Beverly Sebastian | ★★ | 85 | Attractive B-movie cast in not bad drive-in thriller about killer on the loose at a Caribbean resort. More sex and comedy than violence, fortunately. | tt0070697 | [R] | Claudia Jennings, Jean Marie Ingels, Joan Prather, Cheri Howell, Greg Mullavey, Albert Popwell, Robyn Hilton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Single Man | 2009 | Tom Ford | ★★★ | 99 | We follow closeted homosexual college professor Firth through one seemingly ordinary day in 1962—but behind his preternaturally calm demeanor there is great turbulence. After 8 years of grieving over the loss of his life partner, he can't find a reason to go on; the well-meaning ramblings of his one, alcoholic, friend (Moore) aren't enough. Flawlessly detailed visualization of Christopher Isherwood's landmark novel benefits from a superb performance by Firth, but its resolute restraint also keeps it a bit aloof at times. Impressive directorial debut for fashion designer Ford, who also coscripted. Jon Hamm does an uncredited voiceover. | tt1315981 | [R] | Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode, Jon Kortajarena, Paulette Lamori, Ryan Simpkins, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lee Pace | Drama | NULL | ||
| Single Room Furnished | 1968 | Matt (Matteo) Cimber | ★½ | 93 | Pathetic woman, twice impregnated and thrice deserted, decides to become prostitute. Mansfield's last film, released after her death, opens with Walter Winchell tribute and degenerates as she attempts to display serious acting talent. | tt0063607 | Jayne Mansfield, Dorothy Keller, Fabian Dean, Billy M. Greene, Terri Messina, Martin Horsey, Walter Gregg | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Single Standard | 1929 | John S. Robertson | ★★ | 73 | Greta is a San Francisco debutante, a free soul who breaks convention and has an affair with artist Asther. Pretty silly stuff, but Garbo is as beautiful as ever. From an Adela Rogers St. Johns novel. | tt0020410 | Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, John Mack Brown, Dorothy Sebastian, Lane Chandler | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Single White Female | 1992 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★½ | 107 | Self-employed N.Y. career woman (Fonda), her engagement kaput, ends up sharing her dream apartment with the Roommate from Hell. PERSONA meets Roman Polanski's entire oeuvre in well-acted thriller that's terrific for about an hour— until standard slasher-pic silliness sets in. Screendom's first psychological probing to wrap up with a Chrissie Hynde vocal. Based on John Lutz novel SWF Seeks Same. | tt0105414 | [R] | Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber, Peter Friedman, Stephen Tobolowsky, Frances Bay, Renée Estevez, Ken Tobey | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Singles | 1992 | Cameron Crowe | ★★½ | 99 | Life in the Seattle singles scene; it ain't easy. Lively seriocomedy with some appealing performances (especially by Scott and Sedgwick), but never as solid— or as insightful— as you hope it will be. Film has music, setting, and style galore, but also a rather uneven script. Eric Stoltz (who has appeared in all of the director's films), Tom Skerritt, and Peter Horton have amusing cameos. | tt0105415 | [PG-13] | Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Sheila Kelley, Jim True, Bill Pullman, James Le Gros, Devon Raymond, Camilo Gallardo, Ally Walker, Tim Burton | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sinister Invasion | Invasion Siniestra | 1971 | Juan Ibanez, Jack Hill | 💣 | 90 | 19th-century scientist Karloff's experiments accidentally summon aliens who dominate a local Ripper-like killer. Cheap, flaccid, ugly film, one of four Karloff worked on simultaneously in 1968; unfortunately this was his last film work. Aka INCREDIBLE INVASION, INVASION SINIESTRA, and ALIEN TERROR. | tt0063132 | Boris Karloff, Enrique Guzman, Christa Linder, Maura Monti, Yerye Beirute, Sergio Kleiner | Mexican-U.S. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Sinister Journey | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 59 | Hopalong Cassidy and Bar 20 saddle pals take jobs on a railroad to subvert murderous outlaws and clear a wrongly accused ex-convict gone straight. Not enough action in the series' misguided bow to film noir style. Reissue title: TWO GUN TERRITORY. | tt0040793 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Elaine Riley, John Kellogg, Stanley Andrews. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Sinister Urge | The Young and the Immoral | 1960 | Edward D. Wood/ Jr | 💣 | 75 | Dedicated cops Duncan and Moore set out to smash the 'smut picture racket,' which is run by a brassy blonde who writes with a four-foot quill pen. One of Wood's least-known works demonstrates with complete conviction how photos of plump women in their underwear are the principal cause of juvenile deliquency. Aka THE YOUNG AND THE IMMORAL. | tt0055452 | Kenne Duncan, Duke Moore, Carl Anthony, Jean Fontaine, Dino Fantini, Jeanne Willardson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sink the Bismarck! | 1960 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★ | 97 | Good WW2 film based on fact. Exciting sea battles as British navy starts deadly hunt for famed German war vessel. Script by Edmund H. North. | tt0054310 | Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Carl Mohner, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Keen, Karel Stepanek, Michael Hordern | British | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Sinners in Paradise | 1938 | James Whale | ★★ | 65 | Plane crash survivors are stranded on tropic island where mysterious Boles lives as a recluse. Starts great, but peters out. | tt0030754 | John Boles, Madge Evans, Bruce Cabot, Marion Martin, Gene Lockhart, Nana Bryant, Milburn Stone, Don 'Red' Barry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sinners in the Sun | 1932 | Alexander Hall | ★★ | 70 | Lovely Lombard learns that money isn't all in this slick, typical triangle; Grant has a bit role. | tt0023479 | Carole Lombard, Chester Morris, Adrienne Ames, Cary Grant, Walter Byron, Alison Skipworth, Rita La Roy, Ida Lewis |
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NULL | |||
| Sins of Jezebel | 1953 | Reginald Le Borg | ★½ | 74 | Embarrassing low-budget costumer with Goddard miscast in title role. | tt0046320 | Paulette Goddard, George Nader, John Hoyt, Eduard Franz | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sins of Rachel Cade | 1961 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 124 | Turgid melodrama set in Belgian Congo with Dickinson a missionary nurse involved in romance and native conflicts. | tt0055453 | Angie Dickinson, Peter Finch, Roger Moore, Woody Strode, Rafer Johnson, Juano Hernandez, Mary Wickes, Scatman Crothers | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sins of Rome | 1954 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★ | 75 | Rebel slave Spartacus incites fellow prisoners to fight Roman republic. Early Italian spectacle doesn't have cheaper look of later grinds. | tt0045183 | Ludmilla Tcherina, Massimo Girotti, Gianna Maria Canale, Yves Vincent | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sins of the Children | 1930 | Sam Wood. | ★★ | 85 | Maudlin family saga centering on a German-immigrant barber (Mann) who constantly sacrifices for his children, even though they disappoint him in various ways. First-class production values and Mann's fine performance make this bit of treacle tolerable. Based on a story by Elliott Nugent (who plays one of the children) and his father, J. C. Nugent. | tt0021382 | Louis Mann, Robert Montgomery, Elliott Nugent, Leila Hyams, Clara Blandick, Mary Doran. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sioux City | 1994 | Lou Diamond Phillips | ★★½ | 102 | Overworked doctor Phillips, Lakota Indian by birth but adopted as a child by an affluent Jewish couple, goes on vacation and returns to the reservation where he was born; there, he learns of the death of his real mother, faces anti-Indian sentiment, and ultimately confronts the mysteries of his past. Sensitively handled drama is engrossing and suspenseful until the ridiculous finale. | tt0111199 | [PG-13] | Lou Diamond Phillips, Salli Richardson, Melinda Dillon, Lise Cutter, Apesanahkwat, Gary Farmer, Ralph Waite, Tantoo Cardinal, Adam Roarke | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sioux City Sue | 1946 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 69 | Singing cowboy Autry is sought after by Hollywood— but only as the voice of a cartoon donkey. Gene looks terrific in his first film after four years away from Hollywood during WW2. He sings well and has a great leading lady in Roberts, but Holloway doesn't fit the sidekick role vacated by Smiley Burnette. Eight great songs, including the title tune. Remake of a 1939 Republic B movie, SHE MARRIED A COP. | tt0038946 | Gene Autry, Lynne Roberts, Sterling Holloway, Richard Lane, Ralph Sanford, Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sir Henry at Rawlinson End | 1980 | Steve Roberts | ★★½ | 72 | Howard is fine as an eccentric, alcoholic aristocrat who attempts to exorcise a family spirit from his domain. Strange but entertaining, and veddy British. | tt0081520 | Trevor Howard, Patrick Magee, Denise Coffey, J. G. Devlin, Sheila Reid, Harry Fowler | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Siren of Atlantis | 1948 | Gregg Tallas | 💣 | 75 | Ridiculous hokum of soldiers Aumont and O'Keefe stumbling upon famed Lost Continent; Montez is the sultry queen. Despite the title, film takes place in the desert! Based on L'Atlantide, previously filmed in 1921 and 1932. Remade as JOURNEY BENEATH THE DESERT. | tt0040794 | Maria Montez, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Dennis O'Keefe, Henry Daniell, Morris Carnovsky | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Siren of Bagdad | 1953 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 77 | Comedy-adventure of magician and friend trying to save dancing girls in slave market. Conried provides film's best moments. | tt0046322 | Paul Henreid, Patricia Medina, Hans Conried, Charlie Lung | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sirens | 1994 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 94 | Piquant social comedy about a young, liberal British minister and his wife who drop in on scandalous Australian artist Norman Lindsay (Neill), and find themselves seduced (somewhat) by his libertarian ways— and his three gorgeous, free-thinking models, who have no qualms about posing nude. Some may be attracted by the prospect of seeing supermodel Macpherson naked, but she also delivers a good performance. Droll and imaginative work by writer-director Duigan (who also appears onscreen as the earnest minister). Artist Lindsay was portrayed by James Mason in the 1969 film AGE OF CONSENT. | tt0111201 | [R] | Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Sam Neill, Elle Macpherson, Portia de Rossi, Kate Fischer, Pamela Rabe, Ben Mendelsohn, John Polson | Australian-British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Sirocco | 1951 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 98 | Bogart's company produced this slick if superficial paraphrase of CASABLANCA with Bogie as a gunrunner who's the unofficial boss of Damascus in 1925, vying with French military officer Cobb for the affections of Toren. A strong supporting cast adds flavor. | tt0044040 | Humphrey Bogart, Marta Toren, Lee J. Cobb, Everett Sloane, Gerald Mohr, Zero Mostel, Nick Dennis, Onslow Stevens, Ludwig Donath, Harry Guardino, Jeff Corey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sis Hopkins | 1941 | Joseph Santley | ★★½ | 98 | Fairly amusing comedy of country girl who comes to live with social uncle and attends girls' school. Even Canova is restrained. | tt0034193 | Judy Canova, Bob Crosby, Charles Butterworth, Jerry Colonna, Susan Hayward, Katharine Alexander | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sister Act | 1992 | Emile Ardolino | ★★★ | 100 | A Reno lounge singer, targeted for murder by her mobster boyfriend, hides out in a convent— where she shakes things up as the new choir director. Crowd-pleasing comedy, cannily written (by Joseph Howard, aka Paul Rudnick) and directed, with a plum part for Whoopi— though veteran character actress Wickes has many of the funniest lines. Followed by a sequel. | tt0105417 | [PG] | Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, Robert Miranda, Richard Portnow, Joseph Maher | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | 1993 | Bill Duke | ★★½ | 106 | Affable piffle unconvincingly finds Goldberg back with the nuns, coaching students in a choral competition as heavy Coburn plots to close their school. Though someone involved apparently saw THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S a few too many times, needless sequel does send you out with a smile, thanks to a smashing musical finale and an end-credit sequence that's the best thing in the picture. Very slow going at first. | tt0108147 | [PG] | Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Barnard Hughes, Mary Wickes, James Coburn, Michael Jeter, Wendy Makkena, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robert Pastorelli, Thomas Gottschalk, Jennifer Love Hewitt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sister Kenny | 1946 | Dudley Nichols | ★★★½ | 116 | Russell shines in title role, as Australian nurse who initiated treatment for polio. Engrossing drama is among the better Hollywood biopics. Scripted by Nichols, Knox, and Mary McCarthy, from Mary Kenny's autobiography And They Shall Walk. | tt0038948 | Rosalind Russell, Alexander Knox, Dean Jagger, Philip Merivale, Beulah Bondi, Dorothy Peterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sister My Sister | 1994 | Nancy Meckler | ★★★ | 102 | Compelling psychological drama about a dour madame (Walters), obsessed with her respectability, who controls her ungainly daughter (Thursfield) and two maids (Richardson, May); the latter are sisters who share a complicated emotional— and sexual— bond. Strains among the characters build, leading to emotional fireworks. A based-on-fact story that served as the basis of Jean Genet's The Maids. | tt0111205 | [R] | Julie Walters, Joely Richardson, Jodhi May, Sophie Thursfield | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sister Streetfighter | 1975 | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi | ★½ | 81 | Shiomi kicks some major butt when her spy brother is captured by drug runners in Hong Kong. The most outlandishly campy and cartoonish of the STREET FIGHTER series, this is a crudely made concoction of sex and sadism, with Chiba only appearing in a few scenes. | tt0196100 | [R] | Etsuko 'Sue' Shiomi, Mie 'May' Hayakawa, Hiroshi 'Harry' Kondo, Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba, Sanae Obori, Tatsuya Nanjo | Japanese | Action | NULL | |
| Sister, Sister | 1987 | Bill Condon | ★½ | 91 | Leigh and Ivey are title siblings, two women with myriad problems and repressions. They've converted their parents' mansion into a dreary guest house . . . one which you will not want to visit. Thoroughly unappealing. | tt0093980 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judith Ivey, Dennis Lipscomb, Anne Pitoniak, Benjamin Moulton | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sister, Sister | 1982 | John Berry | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Rewarding drama, written by Maya Angelou, about the uneasy reunion of three sisters that opens up old family wounds. Filmed several years before its initial network showing. | tt0084688 |
|
Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash, Irene Cara, Paul Winfield, Dick Anthony Williams, Robert Hooks, Christopher St. John, Diana Douglas, Albert Powell | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| The Sister-in-Law | 1974 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 85 | Interesting curio has Savage becoming involved with destructive title character as his brother's dupe in drug-smuggling. Hurt by needlessly negative finale. Savage also composed the score and sings several folk ballads pleasantly. | tt0072172 | [R] | John Savage, W.G. McMillan, Anne Saxon, Meredith Baer, Jon Oppenheim, Tom Mahoney | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | 2008 | Sanaa Hamri | ★★★ | 111 | The four pals are now in college and their friendship has been strained, so when summer arrives they go their separate ways, no longer dependent on each other—and the fabled pair of jeans—to see them through, or so they think. Simple, straightforward sequel nearly matches the spirit and charm of the original, and even returns to picture-postcard Greece; the four appealing actresses are in fine form. Kyle MacLachlan appears unbilled. | tt1018785 | [PG-13] | Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Rachel Nichols, Tom Wisdom, Rachel Ticotin, Leonardo Nam, Michael Rady, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Blythe Danner | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | 2005 | Ken Kwapis | ★★★ | 119 | Story follows four best friends spending their first summer apart from one another and sharing a magical pair of jeans. Despite being of various shapes and sizes, each of them fits perfectly into the pants, and as every girl has her turn with them, life-changing events occur. Sweet but not sappy; the four leads give excellent performances in a charming coming-of-age tale. Based on the popular young-adult book by Ann Brashares. | tt0403508 | [PG] | Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Jenna Boyd, Bradley Whitford, Nancy Travis, Rachel Ticotin, Mike Vogel, Leonardo Nam | Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sisters | 1973 | Brian De Palma | ★★★ | 93 | De Palma's first venture into Hitchcock territory, about separated Siamese twins (Kidder), one of whom is a homicidal maniac, and the reporter (Salt) who— shades of REAR WINDOW— thinks she witnessed one of the slayings. Eerie, gory, tremendously suspenseful, with one of Bernard Herrmann's most chilling scores. | tt0070698 | [R] | Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, Barnard Hughes, William Finley, Mary Davenport, Olympia Dukakis | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sisters of Nishijin | 1952 | Kozaburo Yoshimura | ★★★½ | 110 | Family of Kyoto silkweavers cannot adapt to industrialization; the father-patriarch kills himself, and his widow, daughters, and assistants try to carry on. Excellent tale of greed and courage. | tt0044968 | Yumiko Miyagino, Mitsuko Miura, Yuko Tsumura, Chieko Higashiyama | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sisters of the Gion | 1936 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★ | 66 | Incisive tale of a traditional geisha who takes on her younger, more independent sister as her apprentice, with tragic results. A compassionate look at human cruelty and exploitation, as well as a fascinating portrait of pre-WW2 Japan in general and Kyoto's Red Light District in particular. Mizoguchi remade the film in 1953 as A GEISHA. | tt0027672 | Isuzu Yamada, Yôko Umemura, Benkei Shiganoya, Eitarô Shindô, Taizô Fukami, Fumio Okura. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sisters | 1938 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 98 | Davis, Louise, and Bryan are sisters whose marital problems are traced in this lavish film; Bette's got the most trouble, of course, with unreliable husband Flynn in San Francisco, 1905. | tt0030755 | Errol Flynn, Bette Davis, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp, Beulah Bondi, Jane Bryan, Lee Patrick, Mayo Methot, Laura Hope Crews, Dick Foran, Henry Travers, Patric Knowles, Alan Hale/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sisters | 2005 | Arthur Allan Seidelman | ★½ | 113 | Chekhov's play Three Sisters “inspired” an American version (by Richard Alfieri), which has now inspired this deadly film about four siblings who just can't seem to get along. Talk about your dysfunctional families! The Russian setting of the original has been replaced by a faculty lounge in a New York university, where endless chunks of verbose dialogue are hurled at one another by a starry, if uneven, cast. Most of the drivel uttered by this assemblage of academics wouldn't get a passing grade. | tt0407205 | [R] | Maria Bello, Elizabeth Banks, Erika Christensen, Stephen Culp, Tony Goldwyn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Eric McCormack, Alessandro Nivola, Chris O'Donnell, Rip Torn, Greg Foote. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness | 1979 | Margarethe von Trotta | ★★½ | 95 | Slow but not unrewarding psychological study of the complex relationship between two sisters; one, a successful executive secretary, is supporting the other, a graduate student in biology. | tt0079866 | Jutta Lampe, Gudrun Gabriel, Jessica Fruh, Rainer Delventhal, Konstantin Wecker | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sita Sings the Blues | 2009 | Nina Paley | ★★★ | 81 | Animator Paley tells an autobiographical tale of how she was dumped by her husband and contrasts it with the epic Indian saga called the Ramayana. Three Indian shadow-puppet figures comment on the proceedings (not unlike Mystery Science Theater 3000), all of which is punctuated by the story’s Hindu heroine breaking into song—in the appealing voice of 1920s pop singer Annette Hanshaw. Unusual mélange of elements, including highly appealing visual design, makes this a disarming experience, and a unique animated feature. | tt1172203 | Unrated | Voices of Reena Shah, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally, Manish Acharya, Nina Paley | Animation, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Sitter | 2011 | David Gordon Green | ★★ | 81 | Listless young man (Hill) takes a job babysitting three terrible kids and ends up dragging them through N.Y.C. in an effort to impress a girl he's in love with. Predictable story has funny moments but gets too raunchy, especially given the fact that it pays homage to ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING. If only it shared that movie's playful tone. Unrated version runs 87m. | tt1366344 | [R] | Jonah Hill, Max Records, Ari Graynor, J. B. Smoove, Sam Rockwell, Landry Becker, Kevin Hernandez, Kylie Bunbury, Erin Daniels, D. W. Moffett, Jessica Hecht, Bruce Altman, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Nicky Katt | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sitting Bull | 1954 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 105 | Sluggish Western about cavalry major Robertson, who is compassionate toward the Sioux and clashes with his superiors over their disregard for Indian rights. | tt0047501 | Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J. Carrol Naish, Iron Eyes Cody, John Litel, Bill (William) Hopper | Western | NULL | |||
| Sitting Ducks | 1980 | Henry Jaglom | ★★★ | 90 | Energetic, funny sleeper about timid Syndicate accountant Emil and womanizing pal Norman, who take a day's collections and rip off the Mob. Emil and Norman have comedy team potential as the bickering buddies, Townsend (then Mrs. Jaglom) is luscious as a woman they pick up. Lots of belly laughs. | tt0081522 | [R] | Michael Emil, Zack Norman, Patrice Townsend, Irene Forrest, Richard Romanus, Henry Jaglom | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sitting Pretty | 1948 | Walter Lang | ★★★½ | 84 | Webb is perfect as self-centered genius who accepts job as full-time babysitter in gossip-laden suburban town. Highly entertaining, followed by the MR. BELVEDERE comedies. | tt0040795 | Robert Young, Maureen O'Hara, Clifton Webb, Richard Haydn, Louise Allbritton, Ed Begley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sitting Target | 1972 | Douglas Hickox | ★½ | 93 | Reed breaks out of prison to settle two scores— one of them with his cheating wife (St. John). Violent, generally unpleasant film. | tt0069273 | [R] | Oliver Reed, Jill St. John, Ian McShane, Edward Woodward, Frank Finlay, Freddie Jones | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Situation Hopeless- But Not Serious | 1965 | Gottfried Reinhardt | ★★ | 97 | Odd little comedy, from a Robert Shaw novel, about German clerk Guinness holding two American (Redford, Connors) prisoners for years after WW2 has ended. Interesting characterization by Guinness, but a flat film. | tt0059724 | Alec Guinness, Michael Connors, Robert Redford, Anita Hoefer, Mady Rahl, Paul Dahlke | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The Situation | 2007 | Philip Haas | ★★ | 106 | American journalist (Nielsen) covers the war in Iraq and juggles romantic involvements with a U.S. intelligence officer (Lewis) and an Iraqi photographer (Hamada). Lackluster attempt to involve us in a love triangle while portraying various points of view about the “situation” in Iraq. First screenplay by journalist Wendell Steavenson isn't nearly as interesting as the many documentaries covering the subject. | tt0468548 | Connie Nielsen, Damian Lewis, Mido Hamada, Saïd Amadis, Nasser Memarzia, Mahmoud El Lozy, John Slattery, Tom McCarthy, Driss Roukh. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Six Black Horses | 1962 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 80 | O'Brien pays two men to take her across Indian lands, intending to murder gunman of duo who killed her husband. Mediocre Western with a Burt Kennedy script apparently left over from the Randolph Scott-Budd Boetticher series. | tt0056496 | Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Joan O'Brien, George Wallace | Western | NULL | |||
| Six Bridges to Cross | 1955 | Joseph Pevney | ★★★ | 96 | Entertaining film about a cop's longtime relationship with a juvenile delinquent who grows up to be a high-class crook. Based on the infamous Brink's truck robbery; filmed on location in Boston. Mineo's film debut. Title song sung by Sammy Davis, Jr. | tt0048628 | Tony Curtis, Julia Adams, George Nader, Sal Mineo, Jay C. Flippen, Jan Merlin | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Six Day Bike Rider | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 69 | Intriguing gimmick has Brown trying to impress girlfriend by entering marathon race; good little comedy. | tt0024809 | Joe E. Brown, Maxine Doyle, Frank McHugh, Lottie Williams | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Six Days Seven Nights | 1998 | Ivan Reitman | ★★★ | 101 | Entertaining romantic comedy about a N.Y.C. career woman who's forced to interrupt an idyllic tropical vacation with her boyfriend for a business side trip. Then her charter plane crash-lands, and she's stranded on a deserted island with her pilot— who's not exactly her type (and vice versa). An obvious setup is played out with great verve by the stars. Ford is especially loose and funny. | tt0120828 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Anne Heche, David Schwimmer, Jacqueline Obradors, Temuera Morrison, Allison Janney, Douglas Weston, Danny Trejo, Taj Mahal | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Six Degrees of Separation | 1993 | Fred Schepisi | ★★★ | 111 | Stylish, opened-up adaptation by John Guare of his stage success about a handsome con man who convinces well-off, gullible New Yorkers that he is Sidney Poitier's son. Impressively acted film flows smoothly in its first two acts, before the satire gives way to chest-thumping tragedy. Dominant virtue is the wide-screen snap Schepisi gives to the N.Y. settings, both indoors and out. Based on a true incident. Many N.Y.C. society types pop up in cameos. | tt0108149 | [R] | Stockard Channing, Will Smith, Donald Sutherland, Ian McKellen, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, Richard Masur, Anthony Michael Hall, Heather Graham, Eric Thal, Anthony Rapp, Osgood Perkins, Catherine Kellner, Jeffrey Abrams, Kitty Carlisle Hart | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Six Hours to Live | 1932 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 78 | Unusual story of diplomat Baxter whose stubbornness at international trade conference leads to his murder; scientist brings him back to life for sixhours. Stodgy production spoils interesting idea. | tt0023480 |
|
Warner Baxter, Miriam Jordan, John Boles, George Marion, Beryl Mercer, Irene Ware | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga | 1941 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 62 | Good cast of professional laugh-getters in typical, silly outing; Leon goes Latin, and Lupe goes gold-digging after him in shipboard comedy. Title derived from popular song of the day. | tt0034196 | Lupe Velez, Leon Errol, Helen Parrish, Charles Lang, William Frawley, Eddie Quillan, Shemp Howard | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Six Pack | 1982 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 110 | Stock car driver more or less inherits six orphans whose idea of good clean fun is stripping down someone else's auto. Not as bad as it sounds, but it won't make your day, either; Rogers' theatrical debut. | tt0084690 | [PG] | Kenny Rogers, Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Barry Corbin, Terry Kiser, Bob Hannah, Anthony Michael Hall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Six Weeks | 1982 | Tony Bill | ★★ | 107 | Curiously unmoving tearjerker about a politician who meets a precocious young girl who's dying of leukemia, and becomes involved with her mother. Genteel, well acted (Dudley is absolutely charming) but hollow; the characters just don't ring true. Healy, in real life, is an award-winning ballerina. Dudley also composed the score. | tt0084691 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Mary Tyler Moore, Katherine Healy, Shannon Wilcox, Bill Calvert, Joe Regalbuto | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Six Wives of Henry Lefay | 2010 | Howard Michael Gould | ★ | 95 | At a beach resort, oft-married Allen complains about his life, cites his regrets, and then dies in a parasailing accident. His daughter, mother, and wives (present and past) gather for his funeral, where there are plenty of surprises in store. Lame time waster veers from stale, offensive humor to eye-rolling pathos, and too many of the characters are downright annoying. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1074214 | [PG-13] | Tim Allen, Barbara Barrie, Elisha Cuthbert, Jenna Dewan, Jenna Elfman, Edward Herrmann, Chris Klein, Andie MacDowell, S. Epatha Merkerson, Larry Miller, Eric Christian Olsen, Lindsay Sloane, Paz Vega | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Six of a Kind | 1934 | Leo McCarey | ★★★ | 62 | George and Gracie drive Mary and Charlie crazy traveling westward on vacation; Fields as pool-playing sheriff adds to confusion. Zany, wonderful nonsense. | tt0025799 | W. C. Fields, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Alison Skipworth | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Six-Pack Annie | 1975 | Graydon F. David | ★★★ | 88 | Minor drive-in classic has busty Bloom as a young girl who goes to Miami to become a hooker to raise money to save her mom's failing diner. Includes a very funny bit by Kennedy as a drunk Texan. | tt0073716 | [R] | Lindsay Bloom, Jana Bellan, Ray Danton, Joe Higgins, Stubby Kaye, Louisa Moritz, Richard Kennedy, Doodles Weaver, Bruce Boxleitner, Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Sid Melton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sixteen | Like a Crow on a June Bug | 1972 | Lawrence Dobkin | ★★ | 84 | Sympathetic study of backwoods girl coming of age in the Deep South. Originally titled LIKE A CROW ON A JUNE BUG. | tt0069276 | [R] | Mercedes McCambridge, Simone Griffeth, Ford Rainey, Beverly Powers, Parley Baer, Maidie Norman | Drama | NULL | |
| Sixteen Candles | 1984 | John Hughes | ★★ | 93 | A girl turns 16 and dreams of finding Mr. Right— little dreaming that he's already got his eye on her. Observant, potentially winning comedy cluttered up with cheap jokes and offensive material. Redeemed somewhat by Ringwald's charming performance and Hall's engaging portrayal of a would-be hustler. | tt0088128 | [PG] | Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling, Paul Dooley, Justin Henry, Gedde Watanabe, Blanche Baker, Carlin Glynn, Edward Andrews, Billie Bird, Carole Cook, Max Showalter, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Jami Gertz, Beth Ringwald, Haviland Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sixteen Fathoms Deep | 1934 | Armand Schaefer | ★★½ | 82 | Some nicely done underwater cinematography helps this otherwise undistinguished account of sponge fisherman Chaney and loyal girlfriend O'Neil going up against greedy moneylender Regas. Remade in 1948, also with Chaney. | tt0025800 |
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Lon Chaney/Jr., Sally O'Neil, George Regas, Maurice Black, Russell Simpson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Sixth Man | 1997 | Randall Miller | ★½ | 107 | Disney couldn't stop at remaking ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD and THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR: they had to combine them, in this cloying fantasy about a dead college basketball star who spurs his brother (Wayans) and their team to gravity-defying court feats. Your brain will need a liberal application of Ben-Gay after being pummeled by the idiocy of this foul-mouthed comedy. Wayans mugs outrageously, but he had to do something. | tt0120142 | [PG-13] | Marlon Wayans, Kadeem Hardison, Kevin Dunn, Michael Michele, David Paymer, Gary Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Sixth Sense | 1999 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★★★½ | 107 | Exceptional thriller about a dedicated child psychologist who faces his greatest challenge in reaching— and understanding— a young boy who spends his life paralyzed by fear, because he lives in a world of ghosts. Young Osment is extraordinarily good; the film is sinuous and creepy without being manipulative. Writer-director Shyamalan also has a cameo as a doctor. | tt0167404 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Donnie Wahlberg, Glenn Fitzgerald | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sixty Glorious Years | Queen of Destiny | 1938 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 95 | Neagle's follow-up to VICTORIA THE GREAT is a repeat of her fine performance as England's legendary queen; good production values. U.S. title: QUEEN OF DESTINY. | tt0206302 | Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook, C. Aubrey Smith, Walter Rilla, Charles Carson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sixty Six | 2006 | Paul Weiland | ★★★ | 95 | A misfit lad with an eccentric family relates the misadventures leading up to his bar mitzvah in 1966—the same year England played Germany in the World Cup. Billed, rather disarmingly, as “a true-ish story” based on director Weiland’s experiences. Slight but endearingly funny, well-cast comedy of recognition. | tt0493450 | [PG-13] | Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Marsan, Gregg Sulkin, Peter Serafinowicz, Catherine Tate, Stephen Rea, Ben Newton, Richard Katz, Geraldine Somerville | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. | 1986 | Richard Brander | 💣 | 93 | Ultra-low-budget beach-bimbo junk, of interest solely as the first film appearance of Costner. Made in 1974. | tt0072173 | [R] | Terry Congie, Leslie Brander, Roselyn Royce, Kevin Costner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Skateboard | 1977 | George Gage | ★★ | 97 | In trouble with his bookie, Garfield organizes local skateboarders into moneymaking team. Good premise given lackluster treatment. | tt0076721 | [PG] | Allen Garfield, Kathleen Lloyd, Leif Garrett, Richard Van Der Wyk, Tony Alva, Antony Carbone | Family | NULL | ||
| Skatetown, U.S.A. | 1979 | William A. Levey | ★½ | 98 | Comedy-fantasy for the light of heart and slow of brain, with occasionally amusing comedy bits spicing plotless look at the ultimate roller-disco palace. Film's only real distinction is that it's better than ROLLER BOOGIE. Film debut of Patrick Swayze. | tt0079912 | [PG] | Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Ron Palillo, Ruth Buzzi, Dave Mason, Greg Bradford, Kelly Lang, Billy Barty, Dorothy Stratten | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Skeeter | 1994 | Clark Brandon | ★★½ | 91 | Mysterious deaths around a dwindling desert community are traced to toxic waste and the crow-sized mosquitoes it has spawned. Good acting and imaginative, inventive direction result in a funny little thriller that almost overcomes its routine story. | tt0108154 | Tracy Griffith, Jim Youngs, Charles Napier, Jay Robinson, William Sanderson, Eloy Casados, John Putch, Saxon Trainor, Stacy Edwards, Michael J. Pollard, George 'Buck' Flower | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Skeleton Key | 2005 | Iain Softley | ★★ | 104 | New Orleans nursing student Hudson gets a job at a decrepit house in the bayous where she cares for mute, paralyzed Hurt and takes orders from his domineering sister (Rowlands). Using a key that opens every door, she finds hoodoo (not voodoo) paraphernalia in the attic, and mysterious events follow. Well produced and occasionally suspenseful, but populated with unpleasant characters and a story that develops too slowly. Another in a long line of horror thrillers aimed at a female audience. | tt0397101 | [PG-13] | Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Maxine Barnett | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sketch Artist | 1992 | Phedon Papamichael | Average TV Movie | 100 | A police sketch artist's nightmare: a witness describes the artist's own wife as a murder suspect. Good premise, but the lead character (Fahey) is unappealing, and story unfolds slowly and without conviction. Followed by a sequel. | tt0105420 | Jeff Fahey, Sean Young, Drew Barrymore, Frank McRae, Tcheky Karyo, James Tolkan, Charlotte Lewis, Ric Young, Stacey Haiduk | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Sketches of Frank Gehry | 2006 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 83 | Highly personal portrait of the innovative architect, seen through the eyes of his longtime friend, filmmaker Pollack. We get to see the artist at work, collaborating with his team, at home in the space he designed, and hear his life story in his own words-and those of various friends, colleagues, and patrons, ranging from Philip Johnson to Dennis Hopper. Because Gehry is candid and at ease with Pollack, the film is both entertaining and illuminating. | tt0446784 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Ski Bum | Point Zero | 1971 | Bruce D. Clark | 💣 | 136 | Deservedly obscure film version of Romain Gary's novel about a ski bum who goes establishment, winds up a pawn in a shady business deal. Aka POINT ZERO. | tt0067761 | [R] | Zalman King, Charlotte Rampling, Joseph Mell, Dimitra Arliss, Anna Karen | Drama | NULL | |
| Ski Fever | 1969 | Curt Siodmak | ★½ | 98 | American ski instructor giving lessons in Austria to finance his education is unpleasantly surprised to learn his duties include entertaining guests after hours. Why complain when most of them are good-looking girls? Claudia is Dean Martin's daughter. | tt0062273 | [M] | Martin Milner, Claudia Martin, Vivi Bach, Dietmar Schoenherr, Toni Sailor, Dorit Dom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ski Party | 1965 | Alan Rafkin | ★★ | 90 | BEACH PARTY gang puts on some clothes in this one, but the shenanigans are the same. Guest star Lesley Gore sings 'Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.' | tt0059726 | Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley, Yvonne Craig, Robert Q. Lewis, Bobbi Shaw, Aron Kincaid | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Ski Troop Attack | 1960 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 63 | Wintry WW2 adventure with five U.S. soldiers on skis behind enemy lines in Germany. OK Corman low-budgeter. | tt0054315 | Michael Forest, Frank Wolff, Wally Campo, Richard Sinatra, James Hoffman, Sheila Carol, Roger Corman | Action, War | NULL | |||
| Skidoo | 1968 | Otto Preminger | ★★½ | 98 | Avalon plays an up-and-coming gangster, Groucho a mob kingpin named 'God,' and every single credit to the film is sung. Consequently, about one in a thousand will have the temperament to like this; everyone else will sit there dumbstruck. Music score by Harry Nilsson. Groucho's final film. | tt0063612 | [M] | Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Fred Clark, Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, John Phillip Law, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, Groucho Marx, Austin Pendleton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Skin | 2009 | Anthony Fabian | ★★★ | 102 | Heart-rending true story of Sandra Laing (Okonedo), a black child of white parents, and how that anomaly affects her life in apartheid South Africa during the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Her father, shopkeeper Neill, insists that the government declare her legally white, failing to recognize that she will still be ostracized—and may even feel more at home with black people. Astonishing saga spans thirty years and features great performances by Okonedo, Neill, and Krige (as Sandra’s mother). Written by Helen Crawley, Jessie Keyt, and Helena Kriel, from a story by Fabian; based on Judith Stone’s book When She Was White. | tt0964586 | [PG-13] | Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, Alice Krige, Tony Kgoroge, Ella Ramangwane, Faniswa Yisa, Hannes Brummer | South African-British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Skin Deep | 1978 | Geoff Steven | ★★★½ | 103 | Small-town civic leaders import a professional masseuse from the big city— all in the name of progress. Subtle, perceptive, well-made examination of hypocrisy and exploitation. | tt0078276 | Deryn Cooper, Ken Blackburn, Grant Tilly, Alan Jervis, Glenis Leverstam | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Skin Deep | 1989 | Blake Edwards | ★★½ | 101 | Successful L.A. writer can't keep his hedonistic life on track— not with diversions around like wine (he's an alcoholic), women (he's insatiable), and song (Cole Porter's a favorite). Spotty, often obvious comedy from writer-director Edwards does have some real laughs— and some unforgettable condoms. | tt0098343 | [R] | John Ritter, Vincent Gardenia, Alyson Reed, Joel Brooks, Julianne Phillips, Chelsea Field, Nina Foch, Denise Crosby, Michael Kidd, Sheryl Lee Ralph | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Skin Game | 1971 | Paul Bogart | ★★★½ | 102 | Exceptional comedy about Garner and Gossett running con-game posing as master and slave in pre-Civil War era. Serious undertones enhance this offbeat, entertaining film; Clark delightful as female con-artist who joins duo. Scripter 'Pierre Marton' is Peter Stone. Remade for TV by Burt Kennedy as SIDEKICKS in 1974. | tt0067763 | [PG] | James Garner, Louis Gossett, Susan Clark, Brenda Sykes, Edward Asner, Andrew Duggan | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Skin Game | 1931 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★ | 86 | Gwenn adds the only spark of life to this dull adaptation of the Galsworthy play about rivalry between neighboring landowners. Hitchcock claims he didn't make it by choice, and one can believe it considering the many long, static dialogue scenes; very atypical of the Master. | tt0022395 | Edmund Gwenn, Jill Esmond, John Longden, C. V. France, Helen Haye, Phyllis Konstam | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Skin I Live In | 2011 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★½ | 117 | Unusually bizarre Almodóvar offering about wealthy plastic surgeon Banderas, who keeps mysterious and beautiful Anaya in his mansion. How did she come to live there and what is their connection? A provocative mix of horror and melodrama with clear echoes of Frankenstein, slickly filmed and designed. Full of the filmmaker's usual explorations of identity and gender—which, ironically, stays too frustratingly close to its stylish surface and never delivers the full emotional impact it should. Banderas is appropriately intense as the obsessive doctor, reuniting him with Almodóvar after two decades. Screenplay by the director and his brother Agustín, from the novel Mygale by Thierry Jonquet. | tt1189073 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Roberto Álamo, Eduard Fernández, Blanca Suarez, José Luis Gómez | Spanish | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Skins | 2002 | Chris Eyre | ★★★½ | 87 | Deeply emotional film about two Oglala Sioux brothers, raised in the dirt-poor region of Wounded Knee; one becomes a policeman, the other a hopeless, embarrassing drunk, but the bond between them remains strong. A moving story of love, guilt, and accountability. The film's polemics are woven into an absorbing, personal story, and distinguished by two exceptional lead performances. Adapted from Adrian C. Louis' novel by Jennifer D. Lyne. | tt0284494 | [R] | Graham Greene, Eric Schweig, Gary Farmer, Noah Watts, Lois Red Hawk, Michelle Thrush, Nathaniel Arcand, Chaske Spencer | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Skinwalkers | 2007 | James Isaac | ★½ | 110 | Twelve-year-old Knight and his mother are unaware that the other members of their family are “good” werewolves who protect them. They battle a band of “bad” werewolves who are determined to kill the boy, and the result is yet another hackneyed horror movie. | tt0461703 | [PG-13] | Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Kim Coates, Natassia Malthe, Matthew Knight, Sarah Carter, Tom Jackson, Rogue Johnston, Barbara Gordon, Shawn Roberts, Wendy Crewson | U.S.-Canadian-German | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Skipalong Rosenbloom | 1951 | Sam Newfield. | ★★ | 72 | Rootin' tootin', mush-mouthed and paunchy, itinerant lawman Rosenbloom takes on sheriff-killin' outlaw Butcher Baer. Amiably goofy spoof of B Westerns and TV commercials is best appreciated by dedicated genre fans. Others be warned: it's shamelessly corny, slow, and repetitious. Reissued as SQUARE SHOOTER (his gun barrels are square). | tt0044043 | 'Slapsie' Maxie Rosenbloom, Max Baer, Jackie Coogan, Fuzzy Knight, Hillary Brooke, Jacqueline Fontaine, Raymond Hatton. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Skipped Parts | 2000 | Tamra Davis | ★★ | 93 | In 1963, a despotic Southern millionaire sends his slutty daughter and her son packing for Wyoming, where they try to fit in— and he learns the facts of life from a girl who befriends him. All-too-familiar territory gets uneven treatment; adapted by Tim Sandlin from his novel. Barrymore appears in several scenes as Hall's dream girl. Leigh also coproduced. Released direct to video. | tt0209322 | [R] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mischa Barton, Bug Hall, R. Lee Ermey, Angela Featherstone, Peggy Lipton, Brad Renfro, Michael Greyeyes, Drew Barrymore | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Skipper Surprised His Wife | 1950 | Elliott Nugent | ★½ | 85 | Unsurprising comedy; weak material about sailor Walker running home like ship. Good cast wasted. | tt0042974 | Robert Walker, Joan Leslie, Edward Arnold, Spring Byington, Jan Sterling | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Skippy | 1931 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 85 | Classic children's film from Percy Crosby's popular comic strip, following misadventures of Cooper, the local health inspector's son, and Coogan, the poor ragamuffin from Shantytown, as they try to scrape up three dollars for a dog license. Simple and dated, but with timeless innocent charm. Taurog (Cooper's uncle) won Best Director Oscar. Followed by a sequel, SOOKY. | tt0022397 | Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Mitzi Green, Jackie Searl, Willard Robertson, Enid Bennett, Donald Haines | Family, Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Skirts Ahoy! | 1952 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 109 | Chipper cast can't buoy this musical of three WAVE recruits and their romantic entanglements. Blaine virtually recreates her GUYS AND DOLLS character; Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van sparkle in a specialty song-and-dance routine. | tt0045155 | Esther Williams, Joan Evans, Vivian Blaine, Barry Sullivan, Keefe Brasselle, Billy Eckstine, Dean Miller, Margalo Gillmore, Jeff Donnell, Keenan Wynn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Skull | 1965 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 83 | Good cast lends needed support to questionable script (based on a Robert Bloch story) of skull of Marquis de Sade that has mysterious powers. | tt0059727 | Peter Cushing, Patrick Wymark, Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Jill Bennett, Michael Gough, George Coulouris, Patrick Magee | British | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Skullduggery | 1970 | Gordon Douglas | ★½ | 105 | In New Guinea, Reynolds and Clark find gentle ape people called the Tropi; their humanity has to be proved in court to keep them from being slaughtered by developers. Unusual but unsuccessful story whose author had his name removed from the credits. | tt0066384 | [M] | Burt Reynolds, Susan Clark, Roger C. Carmel, Chips Rafferty, Edward Fox, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Pat Suzuki, Rhys Williams | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Skulls | 2000 | Rob Cohen | 💣 | 106 | Quickly termed THE NUMBSKULLS, this Ivy League groaner deals with an unnamed university (it might be Yale because it's not Slippery Rock) and the power-mad chicanery of its secret organization. Insipid acting, dialogue and situations abound, with the film asking us to believe that a treacherous act could be covered up when it's been videotaped and a couple dozen well-connected high-rollers know about it. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0192614 | [PG-13] | Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb, Christopher McDonald, William L. Petersen, Craig T. Nelson, Steve Harris | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sky Above The Mud Below | 1961 | Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau. | ★★★ | 90 | Academy Award-winning documentary showing variety of primitive life found within confines of Dutch New Guinea. | tt0053714 | Narrated by William Peacock. | French | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Sky Bandits | 1986 | Zoran Perisic | 💣 | 92 | McGinnis and Osterhage are a poor man's BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID in this dreary adventure of two Western buddies' aerial exploits during WWI. Touted as the most expensive ($18 million) independent British production ever, film is poorly cast and has nothing to offer but high-flying special effects, designed by director Perisic (who made Chris Reeve 'fly' in SUPERMAN). | tt0091963 | [PG] | Scott McGinnis, Jeff Osterhage, Ronald Lacey | British | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Sky Blue | 2003 | Moon-Saeng Kim. | ★★½ | 86 | Decades after a catastrophic worldwide environmental disaster, wealthy city-dwelling survivors go to war with the working-class outsiders over the mining of an energy source, which is also a deadly pollutant. Korean-made sci-fi anime feature is a dazzling visual tour-de-force, filled with violent action and impressive animation, but is less successful as an ecological cautionary tale. | tt0353014 | Voices of David Naughton, Kirk Thornton, Catherine Cavadini. | Korean | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | 2004 | Kerry Conran. | ★★ | 107 | Elaborate homage to Saturday matinee serials and their vision of the future, set in 1939. Law is a hero for hire, Paltrow a plucky reporter and ex-girlfriend, Ribisi his sidekick, and Jolie an exotic captain of an amphibious squadron. All the settings were rendered on a computer (designed by writer-director Conran) and look great, but they only underscore the film's artificiality. Those old serials were energetic; this film is inert. Ribisi and Jolie seem to be having the most fun. The late Laurence Olivier appears on a giant screen, reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz. Law coproduced. | tt0346156 | [PG] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Bai Ling, Omid Djalili. | U.S.-British-Italian | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Sky Commando | 1953 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 69 | Limping account of the responsibilities of being an Air Force officer, with usual rash of hackneyed situations. | tt0046326 | Dan Duryea, Frances Gifford, Michael Connors, Michael Fox | War | NULL | |||
| Sky Devils | 1932 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★ | 89 | Two dumbbells try to avoid WW1 service in this disjointed, low-grade comedy; Dvorak is beautiful; leftover flying scenes from producer Howard Hughes' HELL'S ANGELS are impressive. | tt0023485 | Spencer Tracy, William 'Stage' Boyd, Ann Dvorak, George Cooper, Billy Bevan, Yola D'Avril | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sky Dragon | 1949 | Lesley Selander | 💣 | 64 | The nadir and, appropriately, the end of the Charlie Chan series, an unbearable whodunit set on a plane bound for San Francisco. | tt0041882 | Roland Winters, Keye Luke, Mantan Moreland, Noel Neill, Tim Ryan, Iris Adrian, Elena Verdugo, Milburn Stone, Lyle Talbot, John Eldredge | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sky Full of Moon | 1952 | Norman Foster | ★★ | 73 | Unassuming comedy of naive cowpoke falling in love with a not-so-innocent in Las Vegas. | tt0045156 | Carleton Carpenter, Jan Sterling, Keenan Wynn, Elaine Stewart | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Sky High | 2005 | Mike Mitchell | ★★½ | 100 | Teenaged son of two superheroes, The Commander and Jetstream, feels he can never measure up-especially when on his first day at Sky High he's forced to admit that unlike his classmates, he hasn't yet acquired any super powers. Benign film for kids is well acted but doesn't have much pizzazz, despite the clever concept and visual effects. Carter is amusingly cast as high school principal Powers. | tt0405325 | [PG] | Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Danielle Panabaker, Kevin Heffernan, Lynda Carter, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Steven Strait, Dee-Jay Daniels, Nicholas Braun, Kelly Vitz, Will Harris, Cloris Leachman | Action, Family, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sky High | 1922 | Lynn Reynolds | ★★★ | 51 | Tom Mix eschews cowboy garb to play immigration officer out to crack alien-smuggling ring on Mexican border; action packed entertainment. | tt0013607 |
|
Tom Mix, J. Farrell MacDonald, Eva Novak, Sid Jordan, William Buckley | Western | NULL | ||
| Sky Murder | 1940 | George B. Seitz | ★★ | 72 | Pidgeon as detective Nick Carter decides to help refugee Verne in above-average private-eye yarn. | tt0033059 | Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Kaaren Verne, Edward Ashley, Joyce Compton, Tom Conway | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Sky Pilot | 1921 | King Vidor. | ★★½ | 69 | Down-to-earth Northwestern about a do-gooder who single-handedly struggles to sway a sinful Canadian town to salvation. Naive D. W. Griffith-esque scenario, based on an 1899 novel, sics the righteous onto the unwilling with a fury, but Vidor (just starting out as a director) makes it work better than it should. Moore is miscast. Second lead Butler, as the ranch foreman, began a 40-year directing career in 1927. | tt0012699 | Colleen Moore, John Bowers, David Butler, Harry Todd, James Corrigan, Donald MacDonald. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sky Pirates | 1986 | Colin Eggleston | ★½ | 86 | Yet another RAIDERS-INDIANA JONES variation, about an aircraft that crashes through a time warp, a search for a special stone, and other assorted nonsense. Boring and confusing, but Hargreaves earns an A for effort. | tt0091964 | [PG-13] | John Hargreaves, Meredith Phillips, Max Phipps, Bill Hunter, Simon Chilvers, Alex Scott | Australian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Sky Riders | 1976 | Douglas Hickox | ★★★ | 93 | Lively thriller about a political kidnapping, highlighted by spectacular sequences of hang-gliding. The aerial derring-do and the magnificent Greek scenery make this one worth sitting through. | tt0075229 | [PG] | James Coburn, Susannah York, Robert Culp, Charles Aznavour, Harry Andrews, John Beck | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Sky's the Limit | 1943 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★★ | 89 | Fred's a flier on leave who meets photographer Leslie; Benchley's dinner speech, Astaire's 'One For My Baby' and 'My Shining Hour' make this worthwhile. | tt0036363 | Fred Astaire, Joan Leslie, Robert Benchley, Robert Ryan, Elizabeth Patterson, Marjorie Gateson | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Skyjacked | Sky Terror | 1972 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 100 | Commercial flight hijacked to Russia. Entertaining for first half, even exciting; second half deteriorates. Good cast will distract some from tedium elsewhere. Retitled: SKY TERROR. | tt0069278 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Yvette Mimieux, James Brolin, Claude Akins, Jeanne Crain, Susan Dey, Roosevelt Grier, Mariette Hartley, Walter Pidgeon, Ken Swofford, Leslie Uggams, Mike Henry, John Hillerman | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Skylark | 1941 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★½ | 94 | Sophisticated romance with Aherne trying to take Claudette away from business-minded husband Milland. Stars are at their peak in this smooth adaptation of Samson Raphaelson play. | tt0034198 | Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Brian Aherne, Binnie Barnes, Walter Abel, Ernest Cossart, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Skylark | 1993 | Joseph Sargent | Average TV Movie | 100 | Life on the prairie, pre-WW1, is relived by the same sturdy cast of its very popular Emmy-winning predecessor, SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL, although this sequel isn't quite in the same league. Followed by WINTER'S END. | tt0108159 | Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Lexi Randall, Christopher Bell, Margaret Sophie Stein, Jon DeVries, Tresa Hughes, Elizabeth Wilson, Lois Smith, Lee Richardson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Skyline | 2010 | The Brothers Strause | 💣 | 94 | After a long night of hearty partying, acquaintances awaken to find spacecraft of extraterrestrial invaders hovering in the sky outside their luxury penthouse. Nothing good comes of this. Lame sci-fi thriller pilfers from INDEPENDENCE DAY, TRANSFORMERS, and several other superior films, but the end result resembles nothing so much as a direct-to-video potboiler. Even the special effects aren’t all that special. | tt1564585 | [PG-13] | Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed, Neil Hopkins, David Zayas, Donald Faison | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Skyscraper | 1928 | Howard Higgin. | ★★ | 71 | Riveters toil heroically high above city streets, but after work they fall prey to the eternal triangle below. Boyd (not yet Hopalong Cassidy), Carol (not yet Mrs. Alan Ladd), and Hale (not yet called Sr.) form the three sides. Late silent is helped by location shooting on steel girders over Manhattan, but the drama is less than riveting. | tt0019398 | William Boyd, Alan Hale, Sue Carol, Alberta Vaughn, Wesley Barry. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Skyscraper Souls | 1932 | Edgar Selwyn | ★★★ | 99 | Entertaining comedy-drama in the GRAND HOTEL mode (released four months earlier, also by MGM) about a ruthless empire-builder (well played by William) who manipulates stock prices and double-crosses lovers in his quest to control a 100-story office building. Potent pre-Code entertainment, much of it still pretty risqué. | tt0023486 | Warren William, Maureen O'Sullivan, Gregory Ratoff, Anita Page, Verree Teasdale, Norman Foster, Jean Hersholt, Wallace Ford, Hedda Hopper, Helen Coburn, Ed Brophy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Slacker | 1991 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 97 | Weird, unique social satire about various contemporary drop-outs in Austin, Texas, who— like the beatniks of the '50s and hippies of the '60s— have formed their own subculture. They're loaded with thoughts and ideas, none of which they seem capable of acting upon. Shot in a free-form style, and featuring a large cast of nonprofessional actors. That's writer-director Linklater as the young man in the taxi. | tt0102943 | [R] | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Slackers | 2002 | Dewey Nicks | 💣 | 87 | Three college buddies have cheated their way to senior year, but when nerdy Schwartzman discovers their secret, he blackmails them into setting him up with campus beauty King. Repellent excuse for a comedy, even by 21st-century teen-movie standards. A couple of surprise movie-star cameos add nothing to the mix, though Van Doren's scene is memorable— for all the wrong reasons. | tt0240900 | [R] | Jason Schwartzman, Devon Sawa, Jason Segel, Michael Maronna, James King, Laura Prepon, Joe Flaherty, Mamie Van Doren | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Slam | 1998 | Marc Levin | ★★★½ | 103 | Extraordinary fly-on-the-wall filmmaking technique makes this story of a D.C. ghetto victim seem absolutely real from start to finish. Sent to prison, he has an awakening there and realizes that he cannot endure, or condone, the endless cycle of violence in his community, and uses his gift for poetry as an outlet. Cowritten by its leading actors (Williams, Sohn, Malone) with Levin and Richard Stratton. | tt0139615 | [R] | Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone, Beau Sia, Lawrence Wilson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Slam Dunk Ernest | 1995 | John Cherry | ★½ | 92 | Likable dolt Ernest P. Worrell wants to play basketball with his coworkers; they let him play benchwarmer instead, until a pair of magic shoes transforms him into a hoop star. Secondary characters are more interesting than Varney in this direct-to-video release. For Ernest fans only. Followed by ERNEST IN THE ARMY. | tt0114469 | [PG] | Jim Varney, Cylk Cozart, Miguel A. Nunez/Jr., Lester Barrie, Colin Lawrence, Richard Leacock, Jay Brazeau, Lossen Chambers, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Slamdance | 1987 | Wayne Wang | 💣 | 100 | Underground cartoonist/painter Hulce, devoted to his ex-wife and young child, is framed— apparently by the entire population of L.A.— for the murder of party girl Madsen. Weird, without compensating originality. Lifeless melodrama deals only peripherally with the 'club' scene; there is as much slamdancing in PYGMALION. | tt0093986 | [R] | Tom Hulce, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Virginia Madsen, Harry Dean Stanton, Millie Perkins, Don Opper, Adam Ant, John Doe | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Slams | 1973 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★ | 97 | Mindless actioner has Brown in L.A. prison after stashing away a heroin cache and $1.5 million. Halfway through, comedy takes over for a fast pickup. | tt0070704 | [R] | Jim Brown, Judy Pace, Roland 'Bob' Harris, Frank de Kova, Ted Cassidy | Action | NULL | ||
| Slander | 1956 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 81 | Slick, superficial 'inside study' of the smut magazines, focusing on their exclusive on a TV personality. | tt0049767 | Van Johnson, Ann Blyth, Steve Cochran, Marjorie Rambeau, Richard Eyer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Slap Her, She's French | 2002 | Melanie Mayron | ★★ | 93 | Ambitious Texas teen (McGregor) whose dream is to host Good Morning America decides it would be a good move to take in a foreign-exchange student— but the French girl (Perabo) who comes to live with her family is not the meek young thing she pretends to be. Heavy-handed comedy with little to recommend it except McGregor's energetic performance as the picture-perfect heroine. | tt0187512 | [PG-13] | Piper Perabo, Jane McGregor, Trent Ford, Michael McKean, Julie White, Brandon Smith, Jesse James | German-U.S. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Slap Shot | 1977 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 122 | Newman is star of bush-league hockey team that's going nowhere until they decide to play dirty. Uneven but raucously funny at times, with very satisfying wrapup. Andrew Duncan is hilarious as local sports broadcaster; barbed (and very profane) script by Nancy Dowd. Followed by a video sequel in 2002. | tt0076723 | [R] | Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Lindsay Crouse, Jennifer Warren, Melinda Dillon, Strother Martin, Jerry Houser, Swoosie Kurtz, (M.) Emmet Walsh, Kathryn Walker, Paul Dooley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Slappy and the Stinkers | 1998 | Barnet Kellman | 💣 | 78 | Inane story of a group of completely, irresponsibly unsupervised nerdy seven-year-olds rescuing a sea lion against his will. Along the way they torture the head of their boarding school with their antics. A totally unfunny comedy, and a waste of talent on both sides of the camera. | tt0120213 | [PG] | B. D. Wong, Bronson Pinchot, Jennifer Coolidge, Joseph Ashton, Gary LeRoi Gray, David Dukes, Sam McMurray | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Slapstick (Of Another Kind) | 1984 | Steven Paul | ★½ | 82 | Lewis and Kahn give birth to enormous, deformed twins (also Lewis and Kahn) who are in reality alien messengers capable of solving the world's problems— as long as they're not separated. Given that cast and a Kurt Vonnegut novel as source material, you'd think there'd be no way to screw it up, but writer/producer/ director/costar Paul manages; some funny things do survive (Fuller and the elder Lewis come off best), but overall, pretty appalling. Filmed in 1982. | tt0088134 | [PG] | Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Jim Backus, John Abbott, Pat Morita, Samuel Fuller, Merv Griffin, Steven Paul, voice of Orson Welles | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Slate, Wyn & Me | 1987 | Don McLennan | ★★ | 90 | Meandering drama of brothers Burke and Sacks, who rob a bank, kill a cop . . . and kidnap Thornton, who witnesses their crime. Potentially intriguing tale falls flat after twenty minutes. | tt0093988 | [R] | Sigrid Thornton, Simon Burke, Martin Sacks, Tommy Lewis, Lesley Baker | Australian | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Slattery's Hurricane | 1949 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 83 | Weather-pilot Widmark, in midst of storm, thinks back on his life; Darnell and Lake are his two loves. Interesting idea; coscripted by Herman Wouk, who later expanded it into a novel. | tt0041883 | Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Veronica Lake, John Russell, Gary Merrill | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Slaughter | 1972 | Jack Starrett | ★★ | 92 | Stevens and Torn are far too good for this violent tripe about ex-Green Beret Brown who goes after syndicate after it kills his parents. Sequel: SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF. | tt0069279 | [R] | Jim Brown, Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Don Gordon, Cameron Mitchell, Marlene Clark, Robert Phillips | Crime | NULL | ||
| Slaughter Trail | 1951 | Irving Allen | ★½ | 78 | Cavalry officer Donlevy goes up against bandits who've been terrorizing the title trail. Blah Western, done in by Gilkyson's repetitive, indescribably awful musical narration. | tt0044045 | Brian Donlevy, Gig Young, Virginia Grey, Andy Devine, Robert Hutton, Terry Gilkyson | Western | NULL | |||
| Slaughter in San Francisco | Karate Cop | 1981 | William Lowe | 💣 | 87 | Former cop Wong seeks vengeance on murderer of his partner; Norris, in a supporting role, is the bad guy. Shoddy production will disappoint chop-socky genre buffs. Filmed in 1973; released to take advantage of Norris' subsequent popularity. Aka KARATE COP and CHUCK NORRIS VS. THE KARATE COP. | tt0070705 | [R] | Don Wong, Chuck Norris, Sylvia Channing, Robert Jones, Dan Ivan | Hong Kong | Action | NULL |
| Slaughter on Tenth Avenue | 1957 | Arnold Laven | ★★★ | 103 | Well-handled waterfront racketeer exposé, set in N.Y.C. with good supporting cast. | tt0050982 | Richard Egan, Jan Sterling, Dan Duryea, Julie Adams, Walter Matthau, Sam Levene, Charles McGraw, Mickey Shaughnessy | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Slaughter's Big Rip-Off | 1973 | Gordon Douglas | ★½ | 93 | Slaughter's still playing cat and mouse with the Mob in this dreary actioner; McMahon gives his role as the Syndicate head better than it deserves. | tt0070706 | [R] | Jim Brown, Ed McMahon, Brock Peters, Don Stroud, Gloria Hendry, Dick Anthony Williams, Art Metrano | Crime | NULL | ||
| Slaughterhouse-Five | 1972 | George Roy Hill | ★★★ | 104 | Sometimes draggy, sometimes on-target, sprawling view of life through eyes of one Billy Pilgrim, professional nobody who becomes 'unstuck' in time. Big-budget adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's bizarre fantasy novel is hard going for those unfamiliar with author's point of view, gains through repeat viewings. | tt0069280 | [R] | Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans, Valerie Perrine, John Dehner, Holly Near, Perry King | Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| Slave Girl | 1947 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 80 | Tale of adventure with evil potentate holding Americans prisoner; not to be taken seriously (there's even a talking camel), enjoyable on that scale. | tt0039836 | Yvonne De Carlo, George Brent, Broderick Crawford, Albert Dekker, Lois Collier, Andy Devine, Arthur Treacher | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Slave Ship | 1937 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 92 | Rousing drama of slave ship rebellion with fine atmosphere, good Beery-Rooney teaming, plenty of action. | tt0029577 | Warner Baxter, Wallace Beery, Elizabeth Allan, Mickey Rooney, George Sanders, Jane Darwell, Joseph Schildkraut | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Slave of the Cannibal God | Mountain of the Cannibal God | 1978 | Sergio Martino | ★½ | 93 | Too-glamorous Andress captured by natives and painted in preparation for sacrifice in a scene virtually identical to that directed by ex-husband John Derek for current wife Bo years later in TARZAN, THE APE MAN. Aka MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD. | tt0077945 | [R] | Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli, Antonio Marsina, Franco Fantasia | Italian | Thriller, Adventure, Horror | NULL |
| The Slave | Son of Spartacus | 1963 | Sergio Corbucci | ★½ | 102 | Interminable Italian spectacle. Son of Spartacus learns story of father, vows vengeance. Good photography only asset. Aka SON OF SPARTACUS. | tt0057060 | Steve Reeves, Jacques Sernas, Gianna Maria Canale, Claudio Gora | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Slavers | 1978 | Jurgen Goslar | ★★ | 102 | Pulp-fiction stuff about slave trading in Africa during the 19th century. Good cast saddled with second-rate script. | tt0075230 | [R] | Trevor Howard, Ron Ely, Britt Ekland, Jurgen Goslar, Ray Milland, Ken Gampu, Cameron Mitchell | German | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| Slaves | 1969 | Herbert J. Biberman | ★½ | 110 | Strange cast in revisionist drama about Kentucky slave Davis standing up for his rights; might have meant something in the '60s, but now it's just laughable, with Boyd properly embarrassed as Simon Legree-type 'Massa.' Notable only as Sondergaard's first film after 20-year blacklist, courtesy director-cowriter (and husband) Biberman. | tt0064997 | Stephen Boyd, Dionne Warwick, Ossie Davis, Marilyn Clark, Gale Sondergaard, Shepperd Strudwick, Nancy Coleman, Julius Harris, David Huddleston | Drama | NULL | |||
| Slaves of Babylon | 1953 | William Castle | ★★ | 82 | Jumbled biblical adventure mixed with romance. Nebuchadnezzar faces army of Israelites led by shepherd. | tt0046328 | Richard Conte, Linda Christian, Maurice Schwartz, Michael Ansara, Julie Newmar | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Slaves of New York | 1989 | James Ivory | ★½ | 125 | Misguided filming of Tama Janowitz's bestselling collection of stories, set among the too-hip-for-words denizens of N.Y.C.'s downtown art world. As the central character, the talented Peters seems all wrong: too intelligent to spend most of the film being humiliated by her boyfriend (Howard). Overlong and unfocused. Janowitz (who plays Abby) scripted. | tt0098347 | [R] | Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Nick Corri, Madeleine Potter, Mercedes Ruehl, Betty Comden, Steve Buscemi, Michael Schoeffling, Tammy Grimes, Charles McCaughan, Anthony LaPaglia | Drama | NULL | ||
| Slayground | 1984 | Terry Bedford | ★½ | 89 | Dreary actioner about robber Coyote on the lam from a hired killer. Whitelaw in particular is wasted as an amusement park owner. Based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark. | tt0088135 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Billie Whitelaw, Philip Sayer, Bill Luhr, Mel Smith | British | Crime | NULL | |
| The Sleazy Uncle | 1991 | Franco Brusati | ★★½ | 105 | Playfully lecherous uncle (Gassman) is forced to seek temporary asylum with his rich, repressed nephew (Giannini). Predictably, uncle Gassman's outrageous antics— which range from seducing Giannini's mistress and passing out his blood-test certificates to all the ladies ('for your security') — result in setting Giannini's placid life on its ear. A little too laid back to achieve the farcical comedy attempted here. | tt0098714 | Vittorio Gassman, Giancarlo Giannini, Andrea Ferreol, Stefania Sandrelli, Beatrice Palme | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sleep With Me | 1994 | Rory Kelly | ★★ | 86 | Forgettable three-sided romance; as Stoltz and Tilly are about to be married, their best friend (Sheffer) declares his love for her. A self-indulgent study of self-absorption. Scripted by six writers, each of whom contributed a different section of the film. The one standout scene has actor/filmmaker Tarantino explaining his unique theory about the subtext of TOP GUN. | tt0111218 | [R] | Craig Sheffer, Eric Stoltz, Meg Tilly, Todd Field, Thomas Gibson, Parker Posey, Adrienne Shelly, Susan Traylor, Tegan West, June Lockhart, Quentin Tarantino, Joey Lauren Adams | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sleep, My Love | 1948 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 97 | Entertaining melodrama with adulterous Ameche trying to drive wealthy wife Colbert crazy; her new acquaintance (Cummings) becomes interested in her plight. Leo Rosten coscripted, based on his novel. “Presented” by Mary Pickford. | tt0040798 | Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, Hazel Brooks, Rita Johnson, George Coulouris, Keye Luke, Raymond Burr, Ralph Morgan | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Sleeper | 1973 | Woody Allen | ★★★½ | 88 | Woody turns to slapstick in this engagingly silly tale of a man who's frozen in 1973 and awakened 200 years later. Typical Allen combination of great jokes and duds, with more sight-gags than usual and energetic score by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Screenplay by Allen and Marshall Brickman. | tt0070707 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Mary Gregory, Don Keefer, John McLiam | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Sleepers | 1996 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 147 | Absorbing tale of young friends in N.Y.C.'s Hell's Kitchen who wind up in reform school, where they endure a living hell at the hands of sadistic guards. Later in life, one of them (now working for the D.A.) sows the seeds for revenge. Based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's purportedly nonfiction book, the movie grabs and holds you but never quite convinces; the resolution is too pat. Strong performances. | tt0117665 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, Brad Renfro, Bruno Kirby, Vittorio Gassman, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Terry Kinney | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sleepers West | 1941 | Eugene Forde | ★★ | 74 | Private eye Michael Shayne (Nolan) tries to protect a murder witness on a train to San Francisco in this tolerable suspenser. Remake of SLEEPERS EAST (1934), written by Torchy Blane creator Frederick Nebel. | tt0034199 | Lloyd Nolan, Lynn Bari, Mary Beth Hughes, Louis Jean Heydt, Edward Brophy, Don Costello, Ben Carter | Crime | NULL | |||
| Sleeping Beauty | 1959 | Clyde Geronimi | ★★★ | 75 | Walt Disney's most expensive and elaborate animated feature (at the time) is actually a simple, straightforward telling of the classic fairy tale, with music adapted from Tchaikovsky, and such memorable characters as Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather (the three good fairies) and the evil witch Maleficent. Highlight: the final, fiery confrontation between Maleficent and Prince Phillip. Bound to lose something on TV, since it was filmed in (and designed for) Super Technirama 70—a wide-screen process. | tt0053285 | Voices of Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Luddy | Animation, Fantasy, Family, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sleeping Beauty | 2011 | Julia Leigh | ★½ | 102 | Not to be confused with Disney's animated classic, or anything else worth watching, for that matter, this kinky dirge is depressing and pointless beyond endurance. Plot, such as it is, centers on a girl who offers her services to a variety of older gentlemen who belong to a club where they can have their way with young women who are knocked out with drugs before hitting the sack. That this exploitative and demeaning material was actually written and directed by a woman is a real head-scratcher. | tt1588398 | Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll, Chris Haywood, Hugh Keays-Byrne | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sleeping Car Murder | 1965 | Costa-Gavras | ★★★ | 90 | Quick-paced, atmospheric police-chasing-mad-killer movie. Nice photography by Jean Tournier; original action good but dubbing hurts. Based on a Sebastien Japrisot novel. Costa-Gavras' directorial debut. | tt0059050 | Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Pierre Mondy, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin, Michel Piccoli, Catherine Allegret, Charles Denner | French | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sleeping Car to Trieste | 1948 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★★ | 95 | The Orient Express is the setting for fine cat-and-mouse story of espionage agents competing for possession of 'hot' political diary. Remake of ROME EXPRESS. | tt0040799 | Jean Kent, Albert Lieven, Derrick de Marney, Paul Dupuis, Rona Anderson, David Tomlinson | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sleeping Car | 1990 | Douglas Curtis | ★★ | 87 | Good-looking but heavily overstated horror film pitting Naughton and friends against a vicious ghost haunting an old railway sleeping car, now used as an apartment. | tt0100637 | [R] | David Naughton, Judie Aronson, Kevin McCarthy, Jeff Conaway, Ernestine Mercer, John Carl Buechler, Dani Minnick | Horror, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Sleeping City | 1950 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 85 | Earnest depiction of corruption within a medical institution's walls was controversial upon its release. Its hero is a cop (Conte) who goes undercover to ferret out a killer and other evil doings at a N.Y.C. hospital. | tt0042976 | Richard Conte, Coleen Gray, Peggy Dow, John Alexander, Alex Nicol, Richard Taber | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sleeping Dogs | 1977 | Roger Donaldson | ★★ | 107 | Muddled thriller about apolitical loner Neill unable to remain aloof from repressive government and revolutionaries during workers' strike. Fascinating concept defeated by confusing direction, illogical plot development, insufficiently defined characters. Michael Seresin's top-notch cinematography helps. The first New Zealand film ever to open in the U.S. | tt0076725 | Sam Neill, Ian Mune, Warren Oates, Nevan Rowe, Donna Akersten, Ian Watkin, Bill Julliff, Clyde Scott | New Zealand | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sleeping Tiger | 1954 | Joseph Losey (Victor Hanbury) | ★★★ | 89 | Well-done drama with Knox a psychiatrist who takes low-life criminal Bogarde into his home, much to the consternation of his wife (Smith, in one of her best roles); the result is sexual and emotional fireworks. Losey's first film made outside the U.S., where he was blacklisted; this accounts for the pseudonym. | tt0047505 | Alexis Smith, Dirk Bogarde, Alexander Knox, Hugh Griffith, Patricia McCarron, Billie Whitelaw | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sleeping With the Enemy | 1991 | Joseph Ruben | ★★ | 98 | Practically suspense-less thriller about a young woman who flees from her brutal husband and tries to start life anew in Iowa. Unabashed star vehicle for Roberts (complete with 'cute' montage set to the oldie 'Brown-Eyed Girl') is relentlessly predictable. | tt0102945 | [R] | Julia Roberts, Patrick Bergin, Kevin Anderson, Elizabeth Lawrence, Kyle Secor, Claudette Nevins | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sleepless in Seattle | 1993 | Nora Ephron | ★★★ | 104 | Woman who's just gotten engaged hears a widower on a call-in radio show talking about his departed wife and becomes obsessed with meeting him, convinced that he may be her destiny. Sweet romantic comedy, with perfectly cast stars, though its repeated allusions to the old tearjerker AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER make you wonder if the only way to generate old-fashioned romance in a '90s movie is to invoke a product of Hollywood's Golden Age. Coscripted by Ephron. | tt0108160 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, Rita Wilson, Barbara Garrick, Carey Lowell, Calvin Trillin, Dana Ivey, David Hyde Pierce | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sleepover | 2004 | Joe Nussbaum. | ★★ | 89 | OK, where have we seen this before? Young girls about to become high school freshmen embark on an all-night scavenger hunt to beat their more popular rivals, but of course the real victory is what they learn about themselves in the process. Mind-numbing fluff for anyone but its target audience. | tt0368975 | [PG] | Alexa Vega, Mika Boorem, Jane Lynch, Sam Huntington, Sara Paxton, Brie Larson, Scout Taylor-Compton, Douglas Smith, Jeff Garlin, Steve Carell. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sleepwalkers | 1992 | Mick Garris | ★★½ | 91 | A mother-and-son pair of 'sleepwalkers' move to a Norman Rockwell-ish Midwestern town, looking for prey. The shape-changing Sleepwalkers live on the life force of teenage virgins, but the target this time (Amick) is one tough cookie. Stephen King's script is thinly plotted and confusing, but the movie is directed with flair and a nicely twisted sense of humor. Excellent effects. Cameos by Joe Dante, John Landis, Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper and King himself, as well as an unbilled one by Mark Hamill. Aka STEPHEN KING'S 'SLEEPWALKERS.' | tt0105428 | [R] | Brian Krause, Mädchen Amick, Alice Krige, Jim Haynie, Cindy Pickett, Lyman Ward, Ron Perlman, Dan Martin, Glenn Shadix. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Sleepwalking | 2008 | William Maher | ★★ | 101 | Theron is a struggling single mother (and poor role model) to a preteen daughter in a rural town. After they move in with her younger brother (Stahl) things get even worse. Balance of story features the bonding of uncle and niece, eking out a life in town and on the road until, eventually, the source of much of the family’s pain is revealed. Unsurprising melodrama lays it on thick. Coproducer Theron’s screen time is limited; Stahl is quite moving as an invisible member of working-class society. | tt0888693 | [R] | Nick Stahl, AnnaSophia Robb, Charlize Theron, Dennis Hopper, Woody Harrelson, Deborra-Lee Furness, Mathew St. Patrick | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sleepy Hollow | 1999 | Tim Burton | ★★ | 105 | Convoluted and unsatisfying script defeats a good-looking revision of the Washington Irving classic. Depp is fun as a bumbling constable who tries to use scientific methods to figure out a series of killings in New York's Hudson Valley. Burton must have had fun figuring out how many different ways he could show beheadings . . . yet the film is anything but scary. Oscar-winning Art Direction by Rick Heinrichs and Peter Young. Martin Landau appears unbilled. | tt0162661 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Christopher Walken, Marc Pickering, Lisa Marie, Christopher Lee, Alun Armstrong | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Slender Thread | 1965 | Sydney Pollack | ★★½ | 98 | Interchange between stars is the whole film in an interesting idea that doesn't fulfill potential. Bancroft takes overdose of sleeping pills and calls crisis clinic for help; college student volunteer Poitier tries to keep her on phone while rescue is organized. Filmed on location in Seattle; written by Stirling Silliphant, music by Quincy Jones. Pollack's directorial debut. | tt0059729 | Sidney Poitier, Anne Bancroft, Telly Savalas, Steven Hill, Edward Asner, Dabney Coleman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sleuth | 1972 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★★ | 138 | Lighthearted mystery tour de force for two stars, adapted by Anthony Shaffer from his hit play about games-playing mystery writer Olivier leading his wife's lover (Caine) into diabolical trap. But who gets the last laugh on whom? Delicious from start to finish; remarkable production design by Ken Adam. Mankiewicz's last film. | tt0069281 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine | Mystery, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sleuth | 2007 | Kenneth Branagh | 💣 | 88 | Fabulously successful mystery novelist invites a young man who’s been carrying on with his wife to his home, where he hopes to entrap him—both physically and psychologically. Reinvention of Anthony Shaffer’s play (filmed in 1972 with Caine—as the younger character—and Laurence Olivier) by Harold Pinter has had every ounce of entertainment drained from it. Unbelievably bad, especially given the talent involved. Pinter appears as a talk-show guest on Caine’s television set. | tt0857265 | [R] | Michael Caine, Jude Law | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sliding Doors | 1998 | Peter Howitt | ★★½ | 108 | Likable romantic comedy explores— in parallel scenes— what happens when Paltrow catches her boyfriend sleeping with another woman, and what would have happened if she'd missed her train and not walked in at that moment. The doltish boyfriend (Lynch) and his extremely bitchy paramour (Tripplehorn) are overstated, unsympathetic characters who bring down the otherwise bright proceedings. Paltrow, sporting a British accent, is delightful; so is Scotsman Hannah. Writing and directing debut for Howitt. | tt0120148 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Zara Turner, Douglas McFerran, Paul Brightwell, Virginia McKenna | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Slight Case of Larceny | 1953 | Don Weis | ★★ | 71 | Low hijinks from Rooney and Bracken as two buddies who open a gas station, siphoning supplies from oil company's pipelines. | tt0046329 | Mickey Rooney, Eddie Bracken, Elaine Stewart, Marilyn Erskine | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| A Slight Case of Murder | 1938 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★½ | 85 | Robinson's in peak comedy form as gangster who goes straight when Prohibition ends. This hilarious adaptation of a play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay has brewer Robinson going bankrupt in a rented summer house filled with characters and corpses. Remake: STOP, YOU'RE KILLING ME. | tt0030764 | Edward G. Robinson, Jane Bryan, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly, Willard Parker, John Litel, Edward Brophy, Harold Huber | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| A Slight Case of Murder | 1999 | Steven Schachter | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Humorous take on murder in the movie business written by Macy and his partner, director Schachter. A befuddled film critic (Macy) accidentally kills a one-night stand and then concocts a 'perfect-crime' cover-up that convinces not only his girlfriend (Huffman, his real-life wife) but also fawning police detective Arkin, who's trying to get his own screenplay produced. Adapted from Donald E. Westlake's novella A Travesty. Made for cable. | tt0206305 | William H. Macy, Adam Arkin, Felicity Huffman, James Cromwell, Julia Campbell, Paul Mazursky | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Slightly Dangerous | 1943 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★ | 94 | Slightly ridiculous comedy of waitress Turner who claims to be daughter of wealthy industrialist. Good cast in trivial piece of fluff. | tt0036365 | Lana Turner, Robert Young, Walter Brennan, Dame May Whitty, Eugene Pallette, Florence Bates, Alan Mowbray, Robert Blake | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Slightly French | 1949 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 81 | Sassy musical of con-artist director Ameche passing off Lamour as French star. | tt0041885 | Dorothy Lamour, Don Ameche, Janis Carter, Willard Parker, Adele Jergens | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Slightly Honorable | 1940 | Tay Garnett | ★★½ | 83 | Adequate mystery with lawyers O'Brien and Crawford involved in strange murders with corrupt politician Arnold. | tt0033062 | Pat O'Brien, Edward Arnold, Broderick Crawford, Ruth Terry, Alan Dinehart, Eve Arden, Claire Dodd, Evelyn Keyes, Phyllis Brooks, Janet Beecher | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Slightly Scarlet | 1956 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 99 | Effective study (from a James M. Cain novel) of big-city corruption; Payne involved with dynamic sister duo (Fleming, Dahl). Arlene steals the show as tipsy ex-con sister. | tt0049769 | John Payne, Arlene Dahl, Rhonda Fleming, Kent Taylor, Ted deCorsia, Lance Fuller | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Slim | 1937 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 80 | Interesting story of men who string high-voltage wire, with Lindsay the girl who comes between tough veteran O'Brien and novice Fonda. Good performances all around. A semi-remake of TIGER SHARK; remade as MANPOWER. | tt0029579 | Pat O'Brien, Henry Fonda, Stuart Erwin, Margaret Lindsay, Dick Purcell, John Litel, Jane Wyman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Slim Carter | 1957 | Richard Bartlett | ★★ | 82 | Mild goings-on of Mahoney becoming popular Western star, aided by Adams, who loves him, and Hovey, an orphan who enters their lives. | tt0050983 | Jock Mahoney, Julie Adams, Tim Hovey, William Hopper, Ben Johnson, Bill Williams, Barbara Hale | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Slime People | 1962 | Robert Hutton | 💣 | 76 | Lumpy, lizardy people from beneath the Earth wall off Los Angeles with curtain of fog. Movie talks itself to death. | tt0056499 | Robert Hutton, Les Tremayne, Susan Hart, Robert Burton | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Sling Blade | 1996 | Billy Bob Thornton | ★★★½ | 134 | Fascinating portrait of a mentally deficient man sprung from prison 20 years after killing his mother and her boyfriend; now he attempts to blend into 'real life,' helped by a boy who befriends him. Incredibly controlled performance by Thornton (who also wrote and directed) anchors this long but rewarding tale, which leads to a somewhat inevitable finale. Young Black is exceptional as Thornton's new friend, country singer Yoakam is first-rate as a short-fused bully, and Ritter is terrific in a most unusual part. Oscar winner for Best Screenplay Adaptation; based on the short film SOME CALL IT A SLING BLADE. | tt0117666 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, Robert Duvall, Rick Dial, Jim Jarmusch | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Slingshot | 1993 | Ake Sandgren | ★★½ | 102 | Odd childhood remembrance, from 78-year-old Roland Schutt's autobiographical novel, about a 10-year-old outcast in 1920s Sweden: Mom's a Russian Jew, Dad's a socialist, and young Roland (Selen) fashions slingshots from the condoms sold by mother on the black market. Perhaps tries to pack too much material into one film, but this was a great success in Sweden. | tt0107349 | [R] | Jesper Salen, Stellan Skarsgård, Basia Frydman, Niclas O[aulund, Ernst-Hugo Järegård | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Slipper and the Rose | 1976 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 146 | Bright musical version of Cinderella in which everyone (including veteran British actors) sings and dances; Craven is delightful as Cindy. Songs by the Sherman Brothers. Good fun. | tt0075232 | [G] | Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven, Annette Crosbie, Michael Hordern, Margaret Lockwood, Christopher Gable, Kenneth More, Edith Evans | British | Adventure, Romance, Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |
| A Slipping-Down Life | 2004 | Toni Kalem | ★★ | 111 | Introverted young woman becomes obsessed with an iconoclastic singer-songwriter, and even carves his name on her forehead. Somehow this sparks an actual relationship between the two social misfits. Taylor's radiant performance is the main attraction here; otherwise, Kalem's adaptation of Anne Tyler's Southern Gothic novel is slow going. Pearce does his own singing, which is pretty good. Filmed in 1998. | tt0162662 | [R] | Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, John Hawkes, Sara Rue, Irma P. Hall, Tom Bower, Shawnee Smith, Veronica Cartwright, Marshall Bell, Bruno Kirby, Clea DuVall | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Slipstream | 1989 | Steven Lisberger | ★★ | 92 | In the future, nature has rebelled, sending people scurrying to live in valleys away from the high-speed slipstream (high winds) that dominates the planet. Unfortunately this unusual setting has little to do with standard story of adventurer Paxton, who swipes a captive from tough bounty hunter Hamill (delivering a top-notch performance). Just as story should be building to a peak, it lurches into clumsy satire. This big-scale production never made it to theaters in the U.S. | tt0098350 | [PG-13] | Bill Paxton, Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Kitty Aldridge, Eleanor David, F. Murray Abraham, Ben Kingsley, Robbie Coltrane | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Slipstream | 2007 | Anthony Hopkins | 💣 | 96 | Self-consciously “experimental” miasma from writer-director-actor-composer Hopkins and his real-life spouse Arroyave—who costars as Gina—is only for the terminally curious. Hopkins plays a screenwriter who seems to be losing his grip on reality and is summoned to the Mojave Desert, where a movie shoot is going very awry. Moments of coherence are undermined by whiplash-inducing editing of Hopkins’ fever-dream screenplay. | tt0499570 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Stella Arroyave, John Turturro, Christian Slater, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Clarke Duncan, Fionnula Flanagan, Camryn Manheim, S. Epatha Merkerson, Christopher Lawford, Kevin McCarthy | Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Slither | 1973 | Howard Zieff | ★★★ | 97 | Engaging film is essentially a massive shaggy dog joke; colorful gallery of characters engaged in hunt for elusive cache of money. Perhaps a bit too airy, but perfect TV fare. | tt0069282 | [PG] | James Caan, Peter Boyle, Sally Kellerman, Louise Lasser, Allen Garfield, Richard B. Shull | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Slither | 2006 | James Gunn | ★★★ | 95 | Zombie movie connoisseurs will relish this gory, gross-and expertly devised-horror-comedy involving a meteorite that lands near a small town and discharges a slimy, flesh-eating extraterrestrial. Crammed with equal doses of scares and chuckles; writer-director Gunn, who penned the remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, references a slew of earlier films, from the original INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and THE BLOB to vintage David Cronenberg and John Carpenter. | tt0439815 | [R] | Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Tania Saulnier, Brenda James, Don Thompson, Jenna Fischer, Rob Zombie, Lloyd Kaufman | U.S.-Canadian | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Sliver | 1993 | Phillip Noyce | ★★ | 109 | Lonely Stone moves into a tall, slender, and luxurious Manhattan apartment building with a history of unusual deaths. Writer Berenger pursues her, though she's more interested in Baldwin; however, she soon comes to suspect one of the two is a killer. Robert Evans' handsomely produced sex-and-murder mystery (emphasis on sex) was severely damaged by reshooting (which changed identity of the killer), but Joe Eszterhas' script was already pretentious and exploitive. From Ira Levin's novel. | tt0108162 | [R] | Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Tom Berenger, Polly Walker, Colleen Camp, Amanda Forman, Martin Landau, CCH Pounder, Nina Foch, Keene Curtis, Nicholas Pryor | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Slow Burn | 2007 | Wayne Beach | ★★ | 93 | Confusing drama centers around a district attorney who gets caught up in a gang-related investigation, an interrogation with a shady street-smart leader, and a confrontation with a manipulative but attractive assistant D.A., among others. As Liotta tries to piece together the puzzle the movie collapses under the weight of its disjointed story. Despite a good cast, this weak attempt at film noir doesn't make much sense. Completed in 2005. | tt0376196 | [R] | Ray Liotta, LL Cool J (James Todd Smith), Mekhi Phifer, Jolene Blalock, Chewetel Ejiofor, Taye Diggs, Guy Torry, Bruce McGill, Frank Schorpion, Fisher Stevens, Danny Falsetti, Barbara Alexander. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Slow Dancing in the Big City | 1978 | John G. Avildsen | ★½ | 101 | Straight-faced romantic absurdity about Jimmy Breslin-like columnist who falls for ailing ballerina who has been told she should no longer dance; he also befriends a little Hispanic orphan/junkie. Shameless climax will fry your brain cells with its bathos. | tt0078278 | [PG] | Paul Sorvino, Anne Ditchburn, Nicolas Coster, Anita Dangler, Hector Jaime Mercado | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Slugger's Wife | 1985 | Hal Ashby | ★½ | 105 | Remarkably unappealing Neil Simon original about a boorish baseball star who falls in love with a singer. Dull and disjointed, full of mediocre music— in short, a mess! The team's manager is played by film director (and former actor) Martin Ritt. | tt0090036 | [PG-13] | Michael O'Keefe, Rebecca De Mornay, Martin Ritt, Randy Quaid, Cleavant Derricks, Lisa Langlois, Loudon Wainwright III | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Slumber Party '57 | 1977 | William A. Levey | 💣 | 89 | Smutty, sloppily made schlock about a group of girls who swap tales about their sexual initiations, which are recreated in flashback. Of interest only for the appearance of Winger, in her film debut. | tt0076726 | [R] | Noelle North, Bridget Hollman, Debra Winger, Mary Ann Appleseth, Rainbeaux Smith, Rafael Campos, Will Hutchins, Joyce Jillson, Joe E. Ross | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Slumber Party Massacre | 1982 | Amy Holden Jones | ★½ | 78 | Girls have overnight party, boys clown around, crazed killer does them all in. The screenplay, incredibly, is by feminist author Rita Mae Brown. If it's supposed to be a parody, it's about as clever as Hogan's Heroes. Followed by two sequels. | tt0084695 | [R] | Michele Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villela, Andre Honore, Debra Deliso, Gina Mari | Horror | NULL | ||
| Slumber Party Massacre II | 1987 | Deborah Brock | 💣 | 75 | Gory, bottom-of-the-barrel sequel, with yet another driller killer doing in the cast one by one. Yecch. | tt0093996 | [R] | Crystal Bernard, Kimberly McArthur, Juliette Cummins, Patrick Lowe | Comedy, Horror, Musical | NULL | ||
| Slumdog Millionaire | 2008 | Danny Boyle | ★★★★ | 120 | Young man about to win a fortune on India’s version of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is accused of cheating. Then in flashbacks we learn how his tumultuous, often tortured experiences as an orphan on the streets of Bombay have enabled him to relate to and answer all of the questions on the show. Through a cascade of images and sounds director Boyle immerses us in his character’s world and takes us along on this remarkable, often painful, life journey, moving from darkness to light for a truly joyful finale. Simon Beaufoy wrote the screenplay, inspired by the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup. Winner of eight Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Editing (Chris Dickens), Sound, Score (A.R. Rahman) and Song (“Jai-Ho”). | tt1010048 | [R] | Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Tanay Hemant Chheda, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Rubina Ali, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail | British-U.S. | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| Slums of Beverly Hills | 1998 | Tamara Jenkins | ★★★ | 91 | Keenly observed, semi-autobiographical slice-of-life from novice director-writer Jenkins, set in the 1970s, about the Abramowitz clan, 'Jewish Joads' who move from one low-rent living space to another as the poorest inhabitants of the title municipality. The focus is on Lyonne, the only sane person in a sweetly insane environment, as she attempts to deal with her sexual awakening. Razor-sharp and right on the money. | tt0120831 | [R] | Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Corrigan, Jessica Walter, Carl Reiner, Rita Moreno, Eli Marienthal, David Krumholtz, Mena Suvari | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Small Back Room | Hour of Glory | 1949 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★½ | 106 | Mature, powerful story of crippled munitions expert Farrar, who's frustrated by his infirmity and mindless government bureaucracy during WW2. Beware of edited versions. Original U.S. title: HOUR OF GLORY. | tt0041886 | David Farrar, Jack Hawkins, Kathleen Byron, Anthony Bushell, Michael Gough, Leslie Banks, Robert Morley, Cyril Cusack, Renee Asherson | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Small Change | 1976 | François Truffaut | ★★★★ | 104 | Thoroughly charming, intelligent film examines the lives of young children— their joys, sorrows, frustrations, adventures— in a small French village. Wise, perceptive, and witty. | tt0074152 | [PG] | Geory Desmouceaux, Philippe Goldman, Claudio Deluca, Frank Deluca, Richard Golfier, Laurent Devlaeminck | French | Action | NULL | |
| A Small Circle of Friends | 1980 | Rob Cohen | 💣 | 112 | Cloyingly cute by-the-numbers treatment of '60s campus turmoil as an apparently moronic ménage à trois tries to make it through Harvard. Almost makes one long for R.P.M. | tt0081528 | [R] | Brad Davis, Karen Allen, Jameson Parker, Shelley Long, John Friedrich, Gary Springer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Small Faces | 1995 | Gillies MacKinnon | ★★★½ | 108 | Grim look at a working-class family of three boys in 1968 Glasgow, focusing on the youngest (Robertson), barely a teenager, and his indoctrination into gang warfare. Straightforward and powerful. Written by the director and his brother, Billy MacKinnon. | tt0114474 | [R] | Iain Robertson, Joseph McFadden, J. S. Duffy, Laura Fraser, Garry Sweeney, Clare Higgins, Kevin McKidd, Mark McConnochie | Scottish-English | Drama | NULL | |
| Small Soldiers | 1998 | Joe Dante | ★★½ | 99 | Overeager toy marketer puts military microchips into new combat figures; all hell breaks loose as they declare war on their 'enemy' toys. Good premise is weakened by a predictable script. Computer animation is terrific, and director Dante throws in bonuses for film buffs— using cast members from THE DIRTY DOZEN and THIS IS SPINAL TAP as voices, adopting the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN music at a key moment. Hartman's final film. | tt0122718 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jay Mohr, Phil Hartman, Kevin Dunn, Denis Leary, David Cross, Ann Magnuson, Wendy Schaal, Dick Miller, Robert Picardo; voices of Tommy Lee Jones, Frank Langella, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Bruce Dern, George Kennedy, Clint Walker, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christina Ricci | Action, Animation, Family, Sci-Fi, War, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Small Time Crooks | 2000 | Woody Allen | ★★½ | 94 | Unusually lightweight comedy from Allen about an ex-con dishwasher who convinces his wife (Ullman) to invest their life's savings in a scheme to rob a bank. Instead, their 'front' for the robbery, a cookie store, becomes a success, and wealth goes to her head. Slight, often unfocused, but entertaining, with enjoyable performances and a rare screen appearance by May. | tt0196216 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman, Hugh Grant, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport, Jon Lovitz, Tony Darrow, Elaine Stritch, George Grizzard | Comedy, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| Small Town Girl | 1936 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 108 | Breezy romance about Gaynor trapping Taylor into marriage while he's drunk, then working to win him over when he's sober. Retitled ONE HORSE TOWN. | tt0028269 | Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, Binnie Barnes, Lewis Stone, Andy Devine, James Stewart, Fay Wray | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Small Town Girl | 1953 | Leslie Kardos | ★★½ | 93 | Bland MGM musical pairing playboy Granger and apple-pie Powell, who meet when he's thrown in jail by her father for speeding through town. Van's human pogo-stick number and Miller's 'I've Gotta Hear That Beat,' with Busby Berkeley's disembodied orchestra, are highlights. | tt0046330 | Jane Powell, Farley Granger, Ann Miller, S. Z. Sakall, Billie Burke, Bobby Van, Robert Keith, Nat 'King' Cole | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Small Town in Texas | 1976 | Jack Starrett | ★★ | 95 | Bottoms seeks revenge against heinous sheriff Hopkins, who framed him on a drug charge and has stolen his wife (George). Not bad, but you know what to expect. | tt0075235 | [PG] | Timothy Bottoms, Susan George, Bo Hopkins, Art Hindle, Morgan Woodward, John Karlen | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Small Voices | 2003 | Gil M. Portes | ★★½ | 109 | A new teacher in a remote elementary school, not much older than her charges, attempts to organize a student chorus despite opposition from impoverished parents and a disinterested faculty. Nothing startlingly new here, but fact-based film succeeds as a heart-rending and heartwarming tale, with storytelling that's earnest to a fault. | tt0332701 | Alessandra de Rossi, Dexter Doria, Gina Alajar, Amy Austria, Bryan Homecillo, Pierro Rodriguez | Filipino | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Smallest Show on Earth | 1957 | Basil Dearden. | ★★★ | 80 | Charming, often hilarious comedy about a couple who inherit a run-down movie house and its three equally run-down attendants (Sellers, Rutherford, Miles). Lovely scene in which the three veterans express their love for silent films. | tt0050985 | Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Margaret Rutherford, Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, Leslie Phillips. | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smart Alec | The Movie Maker | 1986 | Jim Wilson | ★★ | 88 | Dull, silly (but not inaccurate) account of pint-sized eccentric Glass, an aspiring filmmaker, and his repeated frustrations as he attempts to finance his movie. Kautsky is most attractive as the model he covets as his leading lady. Aka THE MOVIE MAKER. | tt0091973 | Ben Glass, Natasha Kautsky, Antony Alda, Lucinda Crosby, Kerry Remsen, Orson Bean, David Hedison, Bill Henderson, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smart Alecks | 1942 | Wallace Fox | ★½ | 60 | The East Side Kids indulge in a little larceny to purchase some baseball uniforms in this undernourished entry. Slapsy Maxie gets laughs as dim-witted hood. | tt0035345 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Stanley Clements, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, David Gorcey, Bobby Stone, Maxie Rosenbloom, Gale Storm, Roger Pryor, Walter Woolf King | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Smart Blonde | 1936 | Frank McDonald | ★★½ | 59 | First of nine Torchy Blane films sets the pace and tone for the rest, with Farrell and MacLane amusing as the acerbic reporter and her irascible cop boyfriend working together on a murder case. Only series entry adapted directly from story by pulp author Frederick Nebel. | tt0029581 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Winifred Shaw, Craig Reynolds, Addison Richards, Charlotte Winters, Jane Wyman | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Smart Girls Don't Talk | 1948 | Richard L. Bare | ★★ | 81 | Dull drama of socialite Mayo forced to join up with racketeer. | tt0040802 | Virginia Mayo, Bruce Bennett, Helen Westcott, Robert Hutton, Tom D'Andrea | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Smart Money | 1931 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 90 | Known as Cagney and Robinson's only costarring film, but Robinson really stars, as lucky barber who becomes big-time gambler. Cagney is fine as Robinson's crony; watch for Boris Karloff in a bit as a shady gambler. | tt0022403 | Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Margaret Livingstone, Evalyn Knapp, Noel Francis | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Smart People | 2008 | Noam Murro | ★★½ | 95 | Curmudgeonly English lit professor Quaid, a widower, presides over a dysfunctional household including his supersmart teenage daughter, an alienated son, and (lately) an adopted brother who acts like an overage adolescent. Then he strikes up a hesitant relationship with a former student who’s now a physician. Bittersweet comedy-drama isn’t uninteresting but the script feels undernourished. | tt0858479 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, Ellen Page, Ashton Holmes, Christine Lahti | Romance, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Smartest Girl in Town | 1936 | Joseph Santley | ★★½ | 58 | Ann mistakes wealthy Gene for a lowly male model and avoids him as she sets her sights on a rich husband. No surprises, but short and pleasant. | tt0028270 | Gene Raymond, Ann Sothern, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Smarty | 1934 | Robert Florey. | ★★ | 64 | Blondell teases husband William so relentlessly he finally hits her, prompting her to seek a divorce, but her marriage to their friend (and divorce lawyer) Horton is just as doomed. Wearisome pre-Code comedy (co-) adapted by F. Hugh Herbert from his play. Blondell never looked better, photographed here by her husband, George Barnes. | tt0025803 | Joan Blondell, Warren William, Edward Everett Horton, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Smash Palace | 1981 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 100 | Lawrence is more interested in his cars than wife Jemison, who craves attention and affection. Sometimes confusing and overly melodramatic, but still worthwhile— particularly when focusing on their 7-year-old daughter (Robson). | tt0083096 | Bruno Lawrence, Anna Jemison, Greer Robson, Keith Aberdein, Desmond Kelly | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Smash-up Alley | 1972 | Edward J. Lakso | ★★ | 83 | Stock-car racer Petty plays himself, McGavin is his father, Lee, in this forgettable chronicle of their careers. Aficionados of the sport may enjoy it, however. Aka 43: THE PETTY STORY. | tt0071085 | [G] | Darren McGavin, Richard Petty, Kathie Browne, Noah Beery/Jr., Pierre Jalbert, L. Q. Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| Smash-up: The Story of a Woman | 1947 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 103 | Hayward is excellent as an insecure nightclub singer who gives up her career when she weds soon-to-be radio star Bowman . . . and finds herself helplessly mired in alcoholism. This was Hayward's breakthrough role after a decade in Hollywood, and it deservedly earned her her first Oscar nomination. Taut script by John Howard Lawson, from an original story by Dorothy Parker and Frank Cavett. | tt0039840 | Susan Hayward, Lee Bowman, Marsha Hunt, Eddie Albert, Carl Esmond, Carleton Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| Smashing Time | 1967 | Desmond Davis | ★★½ | 96 | Two girls come to London to crash big-time. Spoof of trendy fashion/show biz world tries to turn Redgrave and Tushingham into Laurel and Hardy, with middling results. Slapstick scenes only mildly funny. | tt0062281 | Rita Tushingham, Lynn Redgrave, Michael York, Anna Quayle, Ian Carmichael | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smashing the Money Ring | 1939 | Terry Morse | ★★ | 57 | Reagan, as Lt. Brass Bancroft, again cracks a gang of counterfeiters, as he did in CODE OF THE SECRET SERVICE. Passable programmer. | tt0031937 | Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy/Jr., Joe Downing, Charles D. Brown | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Smile | 1975 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★½ | 113 | Hilarious, perceptive satire centering around the behind-the-scenes activity at a California 'Young American Miss' beauty pageant, presented as a symbol for the emptiness of American middle-class existence. One of the unsung films of the 1970s, written by Jerry Belson; Kidd is terrific as the contest's career-slumped choreographer. | tt0073722 | [PG] | Bruce Dern, Barbara Feldon, Michael Kidd, Geoffrey Lewis, Nicholas Pryor, Colleen Camp, Joan Prather, Annette O'Toole, Melanie Griffith, Maria O'Brien | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smile | 2005 | Jeffrey Kramer. | ★★ | 107 | Wildly uneven but well-meaning film (inspired by director Kramer's daughter) about a girl who leaves the comforts of Malibu High to travel to China as part of the Doctor's Gift program (which receives some proceeds from the film's profits). There she meets a facially deformed girl from a small village and helps to make her 'smile' again. Poorly structured screenplay spends nearly an hour setting up the main action and dwells endlessly on an unnecessary subplot about the young high schooler's virginity. Reminiscent of a preachy after-school special. | tt0397103 | [PG-13] | Sean Astin, Mika Boorem, Beau Bridges, Yi Ding, Linda Hamilton, Cheri Oteri, Essie Shure, Jonathon Trent, Erik von Detten. | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Smile Like Yours | 1997 | Keith Samples | 💣 | 98 | He's an engineer, she designs perfumes, and together they cannot conceive a child. The maladroit comic result is so strange that it turns into its year's definitive 'what were they thinking of?' movie. That's '60s star Nuyen wielding fertility instruments straight from the Chamber of Horrors. | tt0120151 | [R] | Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly, Joan Cusack, Jay Thomas, France Nuyen, Christopher McDonald, Donald Moffat, Shirley MacLaine, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smile Orange | 1976 | Trevor Rhone | ★★★ | 89 | Crudely made but funny comedy about hustling Montego Bay resort-hotel waiter Bradshaw, playing the same role he created in THE HARDER THEY COME. Originally a stage play. | tt0075237 | [PG] | Carl Bradshaw, Glen Morrison, Vaughn Croskill, Stanley Irons | Jamaican | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Smiles of a Summer Night | 1955 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 108 | One of the finest romantic comedies ever made, a witty treatise on manners, mores, and sex during a weekend at a country estate in the late 19th century. Inspired the Broadway musical and subsequent film A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (as well as Woody Allen's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY). | tt0048641 | Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Margit Carlquist, Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Jarl Kulle | Swedish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Smiley | 1956 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★½ | 97 | Soft-treading narrative of young boy who wants a bicycle, becoming entangled with drug smugglers. Sequel: SMILEY GETS A GUN. | tt0049771 | Ralph Richardson, Colin Petersen, John McCallum, Chips Rafferty, Reg Lye | Australian |
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| Smiley Face | 2007 | Gregg Araki | ★½ | 84 | Loser goes from A to Z when she devours her roomie's maryjane-spiked cupcakes, propelling this slacker into an episodic series of pot-fueled misadventures. But this colorful, technically adept comedy simply isn’t funny; a big disappointment from onetime indie wunderkind Araki. Roscoe Lee Browne narrates, as himself. Scott Carrot Top Thompson has a three-second cameo. | tt0780608 | [R] | Anna Faris, Danny Masterson, Adam Brody, Rick Hoffman, Jane Lynch, John Krasinski, Marion Ross, Michael Hitchcock, John Cho, Danny Trejo | U.S.-German | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Smiley Gets a Gun | 1959 | Anthony Kimmins | ★★ | 89 | Easy-going account of young boy trying to win the right to have a gun. | tt0053286 | Sybil Thorndike, Keith Calvert, Bruce Archer, Chips Rafferty, Margaret Christensen | Australian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Smilin' Through | 1932 | Sidney Franklin | ★★★ | 97 | Sentimental romantic tale (with fantasy elements) about an embittered old man who lost his love on their wedding day but finds new reason to live when he must raise his orphaned niece (who looks exactly like his long-ago fiancée). Polished MGM production gets a bit pokey midway through but leads to satisfying finale. Director Franklin originally filmed this with Norma Talmadge in 1922; it was remade in 1941. | tt0023488 | Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard, O. P. Heggie, Ralph Forbes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Smilin' Through | 1941 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 100 | Glossy remake of sentimental story about romance and rivalry spreading over two generations; lacks conviction of 1932 version, though MacDonald and Raymond are a good match (they married in real life). | tt0034203 | Jeanette MacDonald, Gene Raymond, Brian Aherne, Ian Hunter, Francis Robinson, Patrick O'Moore | Musical, War | NULL | |||
| Smiling Fish and Goat On Fire | 2000 | Kevin Jordan | ★½ | 90 | Two L.A. brothers finally grow up when they meet their true loves. Made on a shoestring budget of $40,000, this practically plotless film may have been a labor of love but it's awfully low octane. Subplot about an 80-year-old black man who worked on Paul Robeson movies feels totally extraneous, though Henderson is good in the role. Title relates to the brothers' nicknames given to them by their half-Native American grandmother. | tt0162348 | [R] | Derick Martini, Steven Martini, Christa Miller, Bill Henderson, Rosemarie Addeo | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Smiling Ghost | 1941 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★½ | 70 | Unemployed Morris hires himself out as a suitor to 'kiss of death' heiress Smith, unaware that her past three beaus all suffered horrible fates. Marshall is a newshound determined to get to the bottom of the story. Genial cast keep the laughs and chills bubbling along in this comic spooky-old-house mystery. | tt0034204 | Wayne Morris, Brenda Marshall, Alexis Smith, Alan Hale, Lee Patrick, David Bruce, Helen Westley, Willie Best. | Mystery, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Smiling Lieutenant | 1931 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 88 | Utterly charming Lubitsch confection about a Viennese lieutenant who's forced to marry the naive, mousy Princess of Flausenthurm (Hopkins) when in fact he's in love with violinist Colbert. Pretty racy for its time. Highlight: the leading ladies singing 'Jazz Up Your Lingerie.' Based on the operetta The Waltz Dream, which was filmed under that title in Germany in 1928. | tt0022074 | Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert, Miriam Hopkins, Charlie Ruggles, George Barbier, Hugh O'Connell, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Smilla's Sense of Snow | 1997 | Bille August | ★★ | 121 | Disappointing adaptation of Peter Hoeg's novel, with Ormond as an alienated woman who is devastated by death of neighboring Inuit boy— and obsessed with uncovering details of his possible murder. Part soul-searching saga, action story, romance, and medical thriller . . . and none of it gels. Admittedly a great woman's role, but it gets muddled in the execution. | tt0120152 | [R] | Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris, Robert Loggia, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Tom Wilkinson | German-Swedish-Danish | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Smith! | 1969 | Michael O'Herlihy | ★★★ | 112 | Offbeat Disney drama of stubborn, pro-Indian farmer Ford who steps forward to help Indian accused of murder. Well done, with good characterizations, but low-key qualities soften impact. | tt0065003 | [G] | Glenn Ford, Nancy Olson, Dean Jagger, Keenan Wynn, Warren Oates, Chief Dan George | Family, Western | NULL | ||
| Smithereens | 1982 | Susan Seidelman | ★★★½ | 90 | Gritty little character study of selfish, self-assured, rootless hustler Berman, and her vague dreams of success as a punk-rock band manager. Solid characterizations and simple, fluid direction; the sequence with the hooker and her chicken salad sandwich is memorable. | tt0084698 | [R] | Susan Berman, Brad Rinn (Rijn), Richard Hell, Roger Jett, Nada Despotovitch, Kitty Summerall, Christopher Noth | Drama | NULL | ||
| Smoke | 1995 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 112 | A tapestry of lives that intertwine around a Brooklyn smoke shop; key figures include the philosophical manager (Keitel), a burnt-out novelist (Hurt), a worldly wise teenager (Perrineau) whom Hurt more or less adopts, and the boy's actual father (Whitaker), whom he hasn't seen since infancy. Another of Wang's low-key, barely-there narratives that won't enchant every viewer, but does offer considerable pleasure. The actors are compelling and credible; several cast members appear in a second film, BLUE IN THE FACE. Written by Paul Auster. | tt0114478 | [R] | William Hurt, Harvey Keitel, Stockard Channing, Harold Perrineau/Jr., Forest Whitaker, Victor Argo, Erica Gimpel, Clarice Taylor, Giancarlo Esposito, Ashley Judd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Smoke Signal | 1955 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 88 | At-times zesty Western involving Indian massacre and survivors' trek downstream to escape. | tt0048634 | Dana Andrews, Piper Laurie, Rex Reason, Milburn Stone, William Talman | Western | NULL | |||
| Smoke Signals | 1998 | Chris Eyre | ★★½ | 88 | Two Coeur d'Alene Indians— tough, brooding Beach and likable, nerdy Adams— travel from their Idaho reservation to Phoenix to retrieve the remains of the former's dead father, and discover some truths about themselves along the way. Amusing, quirky road movie offers a refreshing Native American point of view, but is too schematic in setting up relationships and themes. However, it does have the memorable chant 'John Wayne's Teeth.' | tt0120321 | [PG-13] | Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightning, Simon Baker, Michelle St. John, Tom Skerritt, Cynthia Geary | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Smokey Bites the Dust | 1981 | Charles B. Griffith | 💣 | 85 | Young McNichol kidnaps homecoming queen, much to the consternation of her sheriff father. Poor excuse for a movie, with all its car-chase action bodily lifted from such earlier films as EAT MY DUST, GRAND THEFT AUTO, THUNDER AND LIGHTNING, and MOVING VIOLATION. | tt0083097 | [PG] | Jimmy McNichol, Janet Julian, Walter Barnes, Patrick Campbell, Kari Lizer, John Blyth Barrymore | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Smokey and the Bandit | 1977 | Hal Needham | ★★★ | 96 | Box-office smash is one long comedy chase, as bootlegger Reynolds outraces Sheriff Gleason for nearly the entire film. Directorial debut of ace stuntman Needham is (expectedly) brimming with stunts. About as subtle as The Three Stooges, but a classic compared to the sequels and countless rip-offs which followed. | tt0076729 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Mike Henry, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Smokey and the Bandit II | 1980 | Hal Needham | ★½ | 104 | Strange sequel to 1977 hit has Bandit and friends agreeing to truck a pregnant elephant to Texas. Unfortunately, film has hardly any action, and its main character is portrayed as an embittered egomaniac. Some laughs, but not enough to overcome these obstacles. | tt0081529 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, John Anderson | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 | 1983 | Dick Lowry | 💣 | 88 | Desperate attempt to ring more laughs from this formula, with Gleason as a flustered red-neck sheriff and Reed as his latest nemesis. Originally filmed as SMOKEY IS THE BANDIT, with Gleason playing both roles; when preview audiences were confused, the film was reshot with Reed replacing the 'second' Gleason. | tt0086325 | [PG] | Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Colleen Camp, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, Mike Henry, Burt Reynolds | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Smokin' Aces | 2007 | Joe Carnahan | ★½ | 109 | Good cast can't save this unwieldy patchwork of farce, action, and drama. Piven is a Vegas entertainer about to inform on the mob who is tracked by a horde of assassins, bounty hunters, and unsavory characters. Keys is solid in her acting debut as one of the bounty hunters, but the story is a mess and director Carnahan seems to be in love with ludicrous, over-the-top violence. Matthew Fox is unrecognizable in a cameo as a security person. | tt0475394 | [R] | Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys, Peter Berg, Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Common, Martin Henderson, Taraji P. Henson, Chris Pine, Nestor Carbonnel, Curtis Armstrong, Alex Rocco, David Proval, Wayne Newton | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Smoky | 1946 | Louis King | ★★★ | 87 | First-rate family film from Will James story of man's devotion to his horse. Previously filmed in 1933, then again in 1966. | tt0038955 | Fred MacMurray, Anne Baxter, Burl Ives, Bruce Cabot, Esther Dale, Roy Roberts | Drama | NULL | |||
| Smoky | 1966 | George Sherman | ★★ | 103 | Third version of the horse opera about especially independent horse named Smoky who knows what he wants. | tt0060994 | Fess Parker, Diana Hyland, Katy Jurado, Hoyt Axton, Chuck Roberson | Western | NULL | |||
| Smooth Talk | 1985 | Joyce Chopra | ★★½ | 92 | Disarmingly realistic depiction of teenage girl's growing pains and family relations takes sharp left turn when Williams enters as mysterious (and alluring) stranger . . . and all but deadens rest of the film. Worth seeing if only for Dern's fine performance. Impressive feature debut for documentary director Chopra; script by Tom Cole from a Joyce Carol Oates short story. Originally made for PBS' American Playhouse. | tt0090037 | [PG-13] | Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Levon Helm, Elizabeth Berridge | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Smother | 2008 | Vince Di Meglio | ★½ | 92 | Cringe-inducing sitcom-style movie about a ’60-ish eccentric who leaves her husband and moves in with her carpet-salesman son and his schoolmarm spouse. Ensuing meddling and misunderstandings over the course of a painfully miserable week are almost totally funny-free with way too many third-act Serious Scenes. Keaton makes a valiant but futile effort. | tt0867591 | [PG-13] | Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler, Ken Howard, Jerry Lambert, Selma Stern, Mike White | Drama | NULL | ||
| Smuggler's Gold | 1951 | William Berke. | ★★ | 64 | Adequate drama about deep-sea diver Mitchell coping with girlfriend's (Blake's) father who's in the smuggling game. | tt0044050 | Cameron Mitchell, Amanda Blake, Carl Benton Reid, Peter Thompson. | Crime, Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Smuggler's Island | 1951 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 75 | Undemanding adventure story of diver Chandler involved with Keyes and search for sunken gold. | tt0044051 | Jeff Chandler, Evelyn Keyes, Philip Friend, Marvin Miller | Adventure, Crime | NULL | |||
| Smugglers' Cove | 1948 | William Beaudine | ★★½ | 66 | With Kosleck in the cast, you know there's bound to be some evil Germans, and in this one they're smugglers at a posh Long Island estate, foiled by the Bowery Boys. | tt0040805 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Bennie Bartlett, Martin Kosleck, Paul Harvey, Amelita Ward | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Smurfs | 2011 | Raja Gosnell | ★★½ | 113 | Belgium's greatest export get big-screen live action/CGI animation treatment. The mythical tiny blue creatures accidentally land in Manhattan, where they are befriended by a harried marketing exec (Harris), while their pursuer, an evil wizard (Azaria), partners with Harris' ruthless boss (Vergara). Smurfy pun-filled dialogue becomes tiring, the slapstick mischief quickly wears out its welcome, and, yes, the Smurfs perform a rap song. Many celebrity cameos, but only Winters (as Papa Smurf) and Lopez (as Grouchy) stand out in the vocal cast. On the plus side: great use of N.Y.C. locations, including a romp through FAO Schwarz. | tt0472181 | [PG] | Neil Patrick Harris, Hank Azaria, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara, Tim Gunn; voices of Jonathan Winters, Alan Cumming, Katy Perry, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Paul Reubens, Jeff Foxworthy, Kenan Thompson, Frank Welker | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Snafu | 1945 | Jack Moss | ★★ | 82 | Young Conrad Janis is sent home by army because of his age, but he can't get used to civilian life again; mild comedy with Benchley fine as perplexed father. | tt0038957 | Robert Benchley, Barbara Jo Allen, Conrad Janis, Nanette Parks, Janis Wilson, Marcia Mae Jones, Kathleen Howard, Jimmy Lloyd, Enid Markey, Eva Puig | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Snake Eyes | 1998 | Brian De Palma | ★★ | 99 | Slick, corrupt Atlantic City cop finds himself in the midst of a multi-level conspiracy after a shooting at a heavyweight prizefight. Slick, kinetic filmmaking technique (by De Palma and cinematographer Stephen H. Burum) can only carry this unappealing story so far. By the finale, it's hard to care much about anyone— or anything— in the picture. | tt0120832 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, Carla Gugino, Stan Shaw, Kevin Dunn, Mike Starr | Action, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Snake People | Isle of the Snake People | 1970 | Juan Ibanez, Jack Hill | 💣 | 90 | Police captain tries to investigate an island where voodoo, LSD, and snake-worshipers run rampant. Ludicrous horror film wastes Karloff's talent. One of the last four films Karloff made; he shot his scenes in 1968. Original title: ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE. Aka CULT OF THE DEAD. | tt0063142 | Boris Karloff, Julissa, Charles (Carlos) East, Ralph Bertrand, Tongolele | Mexican-U.S. | Horror | NULL | |
| The Snake Pit | 1948 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★½ | 108 | One of the first films to deal intelligently with mental breakdowns and the painstakingly slow recovery process. Gripping film set in mental institution lacks original shock value but still packs a good punch, with de Havilland superb. Screenplay by Frank Partos and Millen Brand, from the Mary Jane Ward novel. | tt0040806 | Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Glenn Langan, Helen Craig, Leif Erickson, Beulah Bondi, Lee Patrick, Natalie Schafer, Ruth Donnelly, Frank Conroy, Minna Gombell, Ann Doran, Betsy Blair, Isabel Jewell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Snakes on a Plane | 2006 | David R. Ellis | ★★½ | 105 | It isn't like the old days when you called the box office to see what was playing and the response was, 'PHFFFT' or 'ZOTZ!' Here you know what you're getting, and for the lovers having taboo sex in the overly cramped jet lavatory, it's a lot more than chafed behinds. Why? Because an indicted thug tries to silence a witness by crashing an entire passenger plane through hissing means. You can bet FBI agent Jackson has conflicting ideas about this. The premise is fun, but a premise is just about all there is. | tt0417148 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Lin Shaye, David Koechner, Bobby Cannavale, Todd Louiso | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Snapper | 1993 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 95 | Wonderful adaptation of Roddy Doyle's novel about a working-class Irish family, and the teenage daughter who finds herself pregnant— with the circumstances too embarrassing to discuss. Vivid, funny, and believable, sparked by good performances— especially Meaney as the bewildered (but basically good-hearted) father; he also appeared earlier in THE COMMITMENTS, the first of Doyle's Barrytown trilogy. Followed by THE VAN. | tt0108170 | [R] | Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, Ruth McCabe, Colm O'Byrne, Eanna Macliam, Ciara Duffy, Joanne Gerrard, Peter Rowen, Fionnula Murphy, Karen Woodley, Pat Laffan, Brendan Gleeson | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Snatch. | 2000 | Guy Ritchie | ★★★ | 102 | Writer-director Ritchie's follow-up to LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is a similarly energized, violent farce about sleazy underworld types (involved in everything from a diamond heist to a bare-knuckle boxing match) whose agendas— and bodies— collide. Populated by characters with names like Franky Four Fingers. Pitt is amusing as a garble-mouthed Irish gypsy fighter. Fresh, funny, original, and full of punch. | tt0208092 | [R] | Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Sherbedgia, Jason Statham, Alan Ford, Mike Reid, Robbie Gee, Lennie James, Stephen Graham, Jason Flemyng | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sneakers | 1992 | Phil Alden Robinson | ★★½ | 126 | High-tech caper yarn about an offbeat security team that takes on a dangerous assignment to steal a 'black box' containing volatile security secrets. Redford is in fine form in a lighthearted leading-man role, and his 'team' is fun, but why does this story take so long to unravel— and why does it jettison every shred of believability toward the end? | tt0105435 | [PG-13] | Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Timothy Busfield, George Hearn, Stephen Tobolowsky, James Earl Jones | Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sniper | 1993 | Luis Llosa | ★★ | 98 | A tough Marine sergeant and a green Olympics marksman team up in the Panamanian jungle to eliminate a rebel honcho and his drug lord bankroller. Plodding film is as life affirming as a broken septic tank, and about as useful; the slow-motion bullet trajectories are a little livelier than the actors. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0108171 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, J.T. Walsh, Aden Young, Ken Radley, Dale Dye, Richard Lineback | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sniper | 1952 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 87 | Excellent, realistically filmed drama of mentally deranged sniper (Franz) who can't help himself from killing unsuspecting women. Fine performances by all. | tt0045161 | Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, Marie Windsor, Richard Kiley, Mabel Paige | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Snoopy Come Home | 1972 | Bill Melendez | ★★★ | 70 | Charming Peanuts feature (the second) centering around Snoopy, the world's most independent pooch. | tt0069289 | [G] | Voices of Chad Webber, David Carey, Stephen Shea, Bill Melendez | Drama, Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Snorkel | 1958 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 74 | Van Eyck ingeniously murders wife and plots to do away with stepdaughter, when she discovers his gimmick. | tt0052207 | Peter Van Eyck, Betta St. John, Mandy Miller, Gregoire Aslan | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Snow Angels | 2008 | David Gordon Green | ★★ | 106 | Life in a small American town is examined in this adaptation of Stewart O’Nan’s best seller about the intersecting fates of a young man, his ex-babysitter, her soon-to-be ex-husband, and their daughter. Played out against a snowy, frigid backdrop that serves to underscore the depressing story being told. Acting is first-rate but film only sporadically makes you care about these people. | tt0453548 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Deborah Allen, Jeannetta Arnette, Griffin Dunne, Peter Blais, Brian Downey, Nicky Katt, Amy Sedaris, Olivia Thirlby, Tom Noonan | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Snow Cake | 2006 | Marc Evans | ★★½ | 113 | Solitary middle-aged man with a troubled past picks up a young female hitchhiker while driving across Canada; the out-of-left-field event that happens next profoundly affects the rest of the story and the lives of all its characters. Quirky, thoughtful drama is refreshing for its profound humanity. Weaver is tremendous as the hitchhiker's autistic mother. | tt0448124 | Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire, James Allodi, Callum Keith Rennie, David Fox, Jayne Eastwood | British-Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Snow Creature | 1954 | W. Lee Wilder | ★½ | 70 | Yeti brought back from Himalayas languishes in customs while officials wrangle over whether it is cargo or a passenger. Dull film at least has virtue of being made for adults, though only kids may like it now. | tt0047507 | Paul Langton, Leslie Denison, Teru Shimada, Rollin Moriyama | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Snow Day | 2000 | Chris Koch | ★★ | 89 | A late-season snowstorm closes upstate N.Y. schools, allowing for plot threads spotlighting local weatherman Chase and two of his children: an adolescent boy who is smitten with his dream girl, and his kid sister, who takes on comically sadistic snowplow driver Elliott. Predictable family film, a Nickelodeon production. Fisk (who plays Webber's tomboyish pal) is the daughter of Sissy Spacek. | tt0184907 | [PG] | Chris Elliott, Mark Webber, Jean Smart, Schuyler Fisk, Iggy Pop, Pam Grier, Chevy Chase, John Schneider, Zena Grey, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Connor Matheus, J. Adam Brown | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Snow Dogs | 2002 | Brian Levant | ★★ | 99 | Miami dentist goes to Alaska for the reading of his mother's will and is persuaded to follow his destiny by learning to race her team of sled dogs. Clumsy Disney film is aimed at kids who only respond to the broadest kind of comedy. Gooding may set a new record for the most times a leading man falls down in one movie! | tt0281373 | [PG] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., James Coburn, Sisqó, Nichelle Nichols, M. Emmet Walsh, Graham Greene, Brian Doyle-Murray, Joanna Bacalso, Jean-Michel Paré | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Snow Falling on Cedars | 1999 | Scott Hicks | ★★ | 126 | Ambitious but unsuccessful adaptation of David Guterson's best-selling novel. Flashback-laden story skips from the 1930s to the 1950s on an island in the Pacific Northwest where a boy falls in love with a Japanese-American girl. Equal parts murder mystery, forbidden romance, history lesson (about racial prejudice), and courtroom drama. Hawke is dull, but von Sydow livens things up as an aged but clever attorney. Self-consciously arty photography by Robert Richardson. | tt0120834 | [PG-13] | Ethan Hawke, James Cromwell, Richard Jenkins, James Rebhorn, Sam Shepard, Eric Thal, Max von Sydow, Youki Kudoh, Rick Yune, Jan Rubes, Celia Weston, Max Wright, Zeljko Ivanek, Daniel von Bargen | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | 2011 | Wayne Wang | ★★ | 104 | Thoughtful but deeply flawed drama examining the complex bond between two young women in contemporary Shanghai, with a parallel story (taken from a novel one of them has written) spotlighting similar characters in the first half of the 19th century. At its best when emphasizing the life-sustaining connection between women in a patriarchal society and how real-world issues may fracture these ties. However, the characters are too sketchily rendered—you don't really know them beyond their basic connections—and the film confusingly jumps back and forth in time. The same two actresses play the women during the different eras. Partially based on the best-selling novel by Lisa See. | tt1541995 | [PG-13] | Gianna Jun, Li Bing Bing, Vivian Wu, Jiang Wu, Russell Wong, Coco Chiang, Jingyun Hu, Archie Kao, Hugh Jackman | U.S.-Chinese | Drama | NULL | |
| Snow Job | 1972 | George Englund | ★½ | 90 | Heist film involving the taking of $250,000 in loot. Although professional skier Killy is appropriate star for film set against the Alps, he can't act; neither can the beautiful Gaubert. | tt0069290 | [PG] | Jean-Claude Killy, Danielle Gaubert, Cliff Potts, Vittorio De Sica | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Snow Queen | 1959 | Phil Patton | ★★ | 70 | American live-action footage frames a lavish, stately Soviet animated feature from 1955 (directed by Lev Atamanov) based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about an icy snow queen whose heart is melted by the presence of true love. | tt0050987 | Art Linkletter, Tammy Marihugh, Jennie Lynn | Drama, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Snow White | 1916 | J. Searle Dawley. | ★★★ | 63 | Appealing fairy tale about Snow White (Clark), a lovely young princess who is ill treated by her evil stepmother. Still charming, with amusing depiction of the seven dwarfs. Apparently this made a lasting impression on Walt Disney, who chose the same story for his first feature-length film. | tt0007361 | Marguerite Clark, Dorothy Cumming, Creighton Hale, Lionel Braham, Alice Washburn, Richard Barthelmess. | Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Snow White and the Huntsman | 2012 | Rupert Sanders | ★½ | 127 | Poisonous retelling of the famous fairy tale with Theron as a bloodthirsty queen who feeds on youth to maintain her beauty and Stewart as the pure-hearted princess she's kept imprisoned for years. Grim in every sense of the word. Theron's performance has no nuance or shading (only shouting) and Stewart has little presence. Novelty of familiar, full-sized British actors as the seven dwarfs offers too little too late in this long, violent, ponderous production. | tt1735898 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, Vincent Regan, Noah Huntley, Lily Cole, Rachael Stirling | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | 1937 | David Hand | ★★★★ | 83 | Walt Disney's groundbreaking animated feature film— the first of its kind— is still in a class by itself, a warm and joyful rendition of the classic fairy tale, enhanced by the vivid personalities of the seven dwarfs. Only a real-life Grumpy could fail to love it. Songs include 'Whistle While You Work,' 'Heigh Ho,' and 'Some Day My Prince Will Come.' | tt0029583 | Voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille LaVerne, Scotty Mattraw, Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Moroni Olsen | Animation, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Snow White and the Three Stooges | 1961 | Walter Lang | 💣 | 107 | Big mistake with skating star Heiss as Snow White, Three Stooges as . . . the Three Stooges. Comics aren't given much to do, despite title; rest of film is rather stodgy. Even kids won't be thrilled with it. | tt0055458 | The Three Stooges, Patricia Medina, Carol Heiss, Buddy Baer, Guy Rolfe, Edgar Barrier | Comedy, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Snow White: A Tale of Terror | 1997 | Michael Cohn | Above Average TV Movie | 101 | We're not in Disneyland here, kiddies. Extremely dark, rather bloody, live-action version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale and an exercise in Gothic horror, with over-the-top Weaver as the evil stepmother. Filmed on location in various castles in the Czech Republic and in Prague Government Park, doubling for the Black Forest. Great (if sadistic) fun. Written by Tom Szollosi and Deborah Serra. Made for theaters; debuted on cable in U.S. Aka THE GRIMM BROTHERS' SNOW WHITE. | tt0119227 | Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, Gil Bellows, Taryn Davis, Brian Glover, David Conrad, Monica Keena | U.S.-British | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Snowball | 1960 | Pat Jackson | ★★ | 69 | At times intriguing B film involving small boy's lie which led to the death of a villager. | tt0054318 |
|
Gordon Jackson, Zena Walker, Kenneth Griffith, Daphne Anderson | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Snowball Express | 1972 | Norman Tokar | ★★ | 99 | Jones plays N.Y. accountant who inherits battered hotel in Rockies and tries to convert it into ski lodge. Slapstick ski chase is highlight of formula Disney comedy. | tt0069291 | [G] | Dean Jones, Nancy Olson, Harry Morgan, Keenan Wynn, Johnny Whitaker, Michael McGreevey | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Snows of Kilimanjaro | 1952 | Henry King | ★★★ | 117 | Peck finds his forte as renowned writer critically injured while on safari in Africa, trying to decide if he found any meaning to his past; based on Hemingway story. | tt0045162 | Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, Ava Gardner, Hildegarde Neff, Leo G. Carroll | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| So Big | 1953 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 101 | Superficial but engrossing Edna Ferber soaper/saga about teacher who brings up son to be self-sufficient. Filmed before in 1925 and 1932. | tt0046333 | Jane Wyman, Sterling Hayden, Nancy Olson, Steve Forrest, Martha Hyer, Tommy Rettig | Drama | NULL | |||
| So Close | 2002 | Cory Yuen | ★★½ | 111 | Two sisters, ostensibly ultra-tech computer surveillance operators, are secretly— gasp!!— assassins decimating a murderously corrupt corporation suit by suit. Fighting tooth and nail with gun and sword, they're countered by a clever policewoman similarly well versed in martial arts. Super-flashy action set pieces far outplay the draggy interpersonals in this chop-socky CHARLIE'S ANGELS wannabe. | tt0300620 | [R] | Shu Qi, Zhao Wei, Karen Mok, Song Seung Hun, Michael Wai, Yasuaki Kurata, Derek Wan | Hong Kong | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| So Dark the Night | 1946 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 71 | Famous Parisian detective is put to work during his holiday in the French countryside. Impressively made B movie, something of a sleeper in its time, suffers only for lack of charisma on the part of its (mostly unknown) cast. | tt0038958 | Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee, Egon Brecher, Helen Freeman | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| So Dear to My Heart | 1949 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★★½ | 84 | Warm, nostalgic Disney film about young boy's determination to raise a black sheep and bring him to State Fair competition. Brimming with period charm and atmosphere; several animated sequences, too. Songs include 'Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly).' Screenplay by John Tucker Battle, from Sterling North's book Midnight and Jeremiah. | tt0041890 | Burl Ives, Beulah Bondi, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Harry Carey | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| So Ends Our Night | 1941 | John Cromwell | ★★★½ | 117 | Superior filmization of Erich Maria Remarque story of German (March) rejecting Nazi reign, fleeing his country with hot pursuit by Axis agents. Written by Talbot Jennings from Remarque's novel Flotsam. | tt0034208 | Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Frances Dee, Glenn Ford, Anna Sten, Erich von Stroheim, Allan Brett | War | NULL | |||
| So Evil My Love | 1948 | Lewis Allen | ★★★ | 109 | Excellent study of corruption; scoundrel Milland drags innocent Todd into larceny at expense of Fitzgerald. | tt0040809 | Ray Milland, Ann Todd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Leo G. Carroll, Raymond Huntley, Martita Hunt, Hugh Griffith | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| So Evil, My Sister | The Sibling | 1972 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 76 | Gothic B-movie thriller with veteran cast has Strasberg and Domergue as sisters playing cat-and-mouse with the police who are investigating the mysterious death of Strasberg's husband. Several clever twists in the final reel are worth waiting for. Retitled PSYCHO SISTERS. Video title: THE SIBLING. | tt0069292 | [R] | Susan Strasberg, Faith Domergue, Sydney Chaplin, Charles Knox Robinson, Steve Mitchell, Kathleen Freeman, John Howard | Horror | NULL | |
| So Fine | 1981 | Andrew Bergman | ★★★ | 91 | Wacky comedy about professor-son of a N.Y.C. garment manufacturer who is dragooned into the business and inadvertently succeeds with an idea for see-through jeans. Film goes off in unexpected directions— some of them surprisingly silly— but remains funny most of the time. Writer Bergman's directorial debut. | tt0083099 | [R] | Ryan O'Neal, Jack Warden, Mariangela Melato, Richard Kiel, Fred Gwynne, Mike Kellin, David Rounds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| So Goes My Love | 1946 | Frank Ryan | ★★½ | 88 | Amusing period comedy of fortune-hunting Loy marrying oddball inventor Ameche. | tt0038959 | Myrna Loy, Don Ameche, Rhys Williams, Bobby Driscoll, Richard Gaines, Molly Lamont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| So I Married an Axe Murderer | 1993 | Thomas Schlamme | ★★½ | 93 | A guy who's always avoided commitment by finding absurd reasons to break up with his girlfriends finally meets Miss Right— and then comes to believe that she's a notorious axe murderess! Myers is ingratiating and funny (especially in a second role as his own contrary Scottish father) but the film never shifts into high gear. Cameos by such familiar comic personalities as Charles Grodin, Steven Wright, Phil Hartman, and Michael Richards seem mostly gratuitous. Alan Arkin appears unbilled. | tt0108174 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia, Amanda Plummer, Brenda Fricker, Debi Mazar, Matt Doherty | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| So Long Letty | 1929 | Lloyd Bacon. | ★★★ | 64 | Eccentric Greenwood swaps places with her neighbor's wife when her hubby's grouchy millionaire uncle (a hilarious Gillingwater) comes for a visit. Surprisingly sprightly early-talkie musical comedy, with Greenwood, who starred in the Broadway version for years, giving an inspired, tour-de-force performance. | tt0021394 | Charlotte Greenwood, Claude Gillingwater, Grant Withers, Patsy Ruth Miller, Bert Roach, Marion Byron. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| So Long at the Fair | 1950 | Terence Fisher, Anthony Darnborough | ★★★ | 90 | Atmospheric drama set during 1889 Paris Exposition with English woman searching for brother who's mysteriously vanished. Worth a look for fans of the offbeat. | tt0042980 | Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, David Tomlinson, Honor Blackman, Cathleen Nesbitt, Felix Aylmer, Andre Morell, Betty Warren | British | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| So Proudly We Hail! | 1943 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 126 | Flag-waving soaper of nurses in WW2 Pacific, headed by Colbert. Versatile cast, action scenes and teary romancing combine well in this woman's service story. Dated but still entertaining. | tt0036367 | Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake, George Reeves, Sonny Tufts, Barbara Britton, Walter Abel | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| So Red the Rose | 1935 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 82 | Story of Sullavan patiently waiting for Scott to return from Civil War battlefield lacks punch but is well acted and generally enjoyable; Maxwell Anderson was one of the writers. | tt0027018 | Margaret Sullavan, Walter Connolly, Randolph Scott, Elizabeth Patterson, Janet Beecher, Robert Cummings, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| So This Is Africa | 1933 | Edward F. Cline | ★★½ | 65 | Wheeler & Woolsey play vaudevillians who go on a safari to film a jungle movie with the great Mrs. Martini Johnson (Muir). Typical W&W nonsense, though this film was notorious for its censorship problems: Norman Krasna's script is filled to overflowing with sexual double entendres, even in this version, which was severely cut to satisfy Production Code standards. Some prints run 54m. | tt0024581 | Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Raquel Torres, Esther Muir, Berton Churchill, Clarence Moorehouse, Henry Armetta | Comedy | NULL | |||
| So This Is Love | 1953 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 101 | Glossy, empty biography of opera star Grace Moore, antiseptically played by Grayson. | tt0046334 | Kathryn Grayson, Merv Griffin, Walter Abel, Rosemary DeCamp, Jeff Donnell | Musical | NULL | |||
| So This Is New York | 1948 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 79 | Cheaply filmed but hilarious adaptation of Ring Lardner's The Big Town. Morgan's wife inherits money and they decide to go to N.Y.C., encountering its strange ways. Ingenious, offbeat script by Carl Foreman and Herbert Baker; radio/TV star Morgan fares well in screen debut, helped by top supporting cast. | tt0040810 | Henry Morgan, Rudy Vallee, Bill Goodwin, Hugh Herbert, Leo Gorcey, Virginia Grey, Dona Drake | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| So This Is Paris | 1926 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 68 | Frothy Lubitsch silent; sophisticated romantic comedy of dancers Tashman and Berenger flirting with Dr. Blue and wife Miller. Entertaining, fast-moving, and funny. | tt0017409 | Monte Blue, Patsy Ruth Miller, Lilyan Tashman, Andre Beranger, Myrna Loy, Sidney D'Albrook | Comedy | NULL | |||
| So This Is Washington | 1943 | Ray McCarey. | ★★ | 64 | Radio's Lum Edwards (Lauck) 'n' Abner Peabody (Goff) are convinced the government needs their help to win the war, using Abner's synthetic rubber invention (it was supposed to come out as licorice). Fourth screen comedy featuring the corn-fed radio duo from Pine Ridge, Arkansas, is topical, but their pickle-barrel flavor has diminished over the years. | tt0036368 | Chester Lauck, Norris Goff, Alan Mowbray, Mildred Coles, Roger Clark, Sarah Padden, Matt McHugh, Jimmie Dodd, Barbara Pepper. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| So Well Remembered | 1947 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 114 | Author James Hilton narrates saga (adapted by John Paxton) of earnest newspaper editor (Mills) determined to improve living conditions in factory town, sidetracked by marriage to blindly ambitious woman (Scott). Very young Juliet Mills has bit part. | tt0039842 | John Mills, Martha Scott, Trevor Howard, Patricia Roc, Richard Carlson, Ivor Barnard | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| So You Won't Talk | 1940 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 69 | Good, typical mistaken identity comedy with bookworm Brown, a dead ringer for notorious mobster. | tt0033069 | Joe E. Brown, Frances Robinson, Vivienne Osborne, Bernard Nedell, Tom Dugan | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| So Young, So Bad | 1950 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 91 | Humane psychiatrist Henreid takes on superintendent Clovelly and sadistic head matron Coppin at a correctional home for girls. Effective study of female juvenile delinquency. | tt0042982 | Paul Henreid, Catherine McLeod, Grace Coppin, Cecil Clovelly, Anne Francis, Rita Moreno, Anne Jackson, Enid Pulver | Drama | NULL | |||
| So big! | 1932 | William Wellman | ★★ | 80 | Disappointing adaptation of Edna Ferber's saga of an orphaned girl who becomes a schoolteacher in the midst of a farming community and raises her son to aspire to big things. Abrupt continuity and sudden aging of its lead character keep this from amounting to very much. Stanwyck and Davis are both in the final scene— but never appear on screen together! Filmed before in 1925, remade in 1953. | tt0023491 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Dickie Moore, Guy Kibbee, Bette Davis, Mac Madison, Hardie Albright, Alan Hale/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Soak the Rich | 1936 | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur | 💣 | 87 | Tycoon's daughter goes to college, falls for the militant anticapitalist who kidnaps her. Hard to believe that a Hecht-MacArthur collaboration about campus radicals could be thoroughly unwatchable, but it's true. Miller, writer of The White Cliffs of Dover and member of the Algonquin Round Table, appears here as Miss Beasely. | tt0028273 | Walter Connolly, Mary Taylor, John Howard, Alice Duer Miller, Ilka Chase, Lionel Stander | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Soapdish | 1991 | Michael Hoffman | ★★ | 95 | Farcical comedy about a soap opera queen who's losing her grip— on the show, and her life. Field and Kline are a treat to watch playing larger-than-life characters, but Whoopi is wasted, Downey is miscast, and the script (by Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman) thinks 'frantic' equals 'funny.' Any one scene in TOOTSIE tops this hands down. Leeza Gibbons' best film work to date; John Tesh also appears. | tt0102951 | [PG-13] | Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey/Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Shue, Carrie Fisher, Garry Marshall, Teri Hatcher, Paul Johansson, Costas Mandylor, Stephen Nichols, Kathy Najimy, Ben Stein | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Social Network | 2010 | David Fincher | ★★★★ | 120 | The saga of how a socially awkward, mentally agile Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) created the phenomenally popular Facebook—after being dumped by his girlfriend—is traced in this fascinating film. Told from several points of view, derived from lawsuits filed against Zuckerberg by his onetime friend and partner (Garfield) and two students who claimed he appropriated their idea (both played by Hammer). Vivid, immediate, and whip smart, thanks to Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-winning screenplay, based on Ben Mezrich’s nonfiction book, and Fincher’s blazing treatment of it. How close it is to the truth we’ll never know—but it certainly makes a great story, and a cautionary tale for our times about the push-pull of business and friendship. Also won Oscars for Editing (Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall) and Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). | tt1285016 | [PG-13] | Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Josh Pence, Brenda Song, Rashida Jones, John Getz, David Selby, Denise Grayson, Douglas Urbanski, Rooney Mara, Joseph Mazzello, Dakota Johnson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sodom and Gomorrah | 1963 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 154 | Lavish retelling of life in biblical twin cities of sin. Strong cast, vivid scenes of vice, gore, and God's wrath, make this overly long tale of ancient Hebrews fairly entertaining. | tt0056504 | Stewart Granger, Pier Angeli, Stanley Baker, Anouk Aimée, Rossana Podesta | Italian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sofia | 1948 | John Reinhardt | ★★ | 82 | Acceptable programmer with Raymond helping nuclear scientists escape grip of Russians in Turkey. | tt0040815 | Gene Raymond, Sigrid Gurie, Patricia Morison, Mischa Auer | Action | NULL | |||
| Sofie | 1992 | Liv Ullmann | ★★½ | 146 | Ullman's directorial debut (which she also coscripted) is a thoughtful but uneven, Bergmanesque tale of a young Jew in late 19th-century Copenhagen who is unable to break free of family tradition, ruining her one chance at true love. Beautifully detailed but episodic (especially in its second half) and overlong. Mynster offers an effectively subtle performance as Sofie. | tt0105436 | Karen-Lise Mynster, Erland Josephson, Ghita Norby, Jesper Christensen, Torben Zeller, Stig Hoffmeyer | Danish-Norwegian-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Soft Boiled | 1923 | J. G. Blystone. | ★★½ | 78 | Tom Mix tries comedy, as young man with challenge to spend 30 days without losing his temper; enjoyable fluff, with typical Mix action finale. | tt0014491 | Tom Mix, Joseph Girard, Billie Dove, L. D. Shumway, Tom Wilson, Frank Beal. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Soft Fruit | 2000 | Christina Andreef | ★★ | 101 | Four grown children— three sisters and a brother who's just gotten out of jail— return home to be with their mother, who's dying of liver cancer. Amiable enough mix of comedy and drama about an oddball family doesn't add up to much. Scripted by the director; executive-produced by Jane Campion. | tt0180181 | [R] | Jeanie Drynan, Linal Haft, Russell Dykstra, Genevieve Lemon, Sacha Horler, Alicia Talbot | Australian-U.S. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Soft Skin | 1964 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 120 | Moody tale of married businessman drawn into tragic affair with beautiful airline stewardess; smooth direction uplifts basic plot. | tt0058458 | Françoise Dorléac, Jean Desailly, Nelly Benedetti | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sol Madrid | 1968 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★½ | 90 | Old-fashioned but solid thriller about police, Mafia, and running heroin from Mexico. | tt0063621 | David McCallum, Stella Stevens, Telly Savalas, Ricardo Montalban, Rip Torn, Pat Hingle, Paul Lukas, Michael Ansara | Crime | NULL | |||
| Solar Crisis | 1990 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★½ | 112 | Futuristic sci-fi thriller with Matheson leading a save-the-planet mission to the sun to prevent a solar flare from destroying the earth. Fine special effects, quality acting, and suspenseful story in space, marred by earth antics of bad boy Boyle who (preposterously) wants to sabotage the mission. | tt0100649 | [PG-13] | Tim Matheson, Charlton Heston, Peter Boyle, Annabel Schofield, Corin Nemec, Jack Palance, Tetsuya Bessho, Dorian Harewood, Brenda Bakke | U.S.-Japanese | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Solarbabies | 1986 | Alan Johnson | 💣 | 94 | Futuristic teen junk has Gertz and her mostly male cohorts imprisoned by Nazi-like Jordan inside a fortress; the group plots an escape with the help of 'Bohdi' — an ancient mystical force. Appallingly bad stinker from (Mel) Brooksfilm that barely got released. | tt0091981 | [PG-13] | Richard Jordan, Jami Gertz, Jason Patric, Lukas Haas, Charles Durning, Peter DeLuise, Adrian Pasdar, Sarah Douglas, Frank Converse, Terrence Mann, Kelly Bishop | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Solaris | Solyaris | 1972 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★½ | 165 | Mind-bending, metaphysical sci-fi about a psychologist who's sent to a space station to investigate mysterious deaths and discovers supernatural phenomena. Slow moving and occasionally pretentious, but hypnotic once one adjusts, and an undoubted tour de force by Tarkovsky, who also cowrote the screenplay. Remade in 2002. Sovscope. | tt0069293 | Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Yuri Yarvet, Anatoly Solonitsin | Russian | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Solaris | 2002 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★ | 99 | In the near future, psychologist Clooney is summoned to a space station where the crew has been acting strange, to say the least. There he meets an eerie replica of his dead wife! Ice-cold adaptation (by Soderbergh) of Stanislaw Lem's science-fiction novel, distinguished by Philip Messina's striking production design and a strong performance by Clooney. All that's missing is the ability to care about his character. Filmed before in 1972. | tt0307479 | [PG-13] | George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Solas | 2000 | Benito Zambrano | ★★★ | 98 | A trio of lonely people— an embittered, alcoholic woman, her provincial mother, and a kind-hearted neighbor widower— get a second chance at life in this poignant film. All three lead performances are terrific, and despite a somewhat rushed wrap-up, the film earns our affections honestly. As much a tribute to unconventional families as Almodóvar's ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER. | tt0190798 | Ana Fernández, María Galiana, Carlos Alvarez-Novoa | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Soldier | 1998 | Paul Anderson | ★★ | 98 | In the near future, Russell, raised to be a soldier, is declared obsolete, thought dead, and dumped on a planet used as a garbage heap. He's befriended by people who crash-landed there some time before; then his old fighting partners show up to 'cleanse' the planet. Russell is good, but the movie is derivative, the 'science' ludicrous, and the outcome highly predictable. Please come back, Shane. | tt0120157 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee, Michael Chiklis, Gary Busey, Jason Isaacs, Jared Thorne, Taylor Thorne | Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Soldier Blue | 1970 | Ralph Nelson | ★½ | 112 | Well-meant attempt to dramatize U.S. mistreatment of the Indians (and perhaps equate it with Vietnam) wasn't very good then and hasn't improved; bulk of the film is still cutesy romance between two survivors of Indian attack, climaxed by cavalry's slaughter of entire village in sequence that remains almost unwatchable. | tt0066390 | [PG] | Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson, Jorge Rivero, Dana Elcar, James Hampton | Western | NULL | ||
| Soldier Girls | 1981 | Nicholas Broomfield, Joan Churchill | ★★★½ | 87 | Hilarious, sometimes maddening and sobering documentary about young women Army recruits in basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Definitely no recruiting poster: accurately advertised as the reality behind PRIVATE BENJAMIN. | tt0083105 |
|
Documentary | NULL | |||
| The Soldier and the Lady | 1937 | George Nicholls/ Jr | ★★½ | 85 | Hollywoodized version of Jules Verne's oft-filmed tale of a Czarist courier sent to deliver critical plans to the army in Siberia. Visually impressive, with sweeping battle scenes, though most exteriors were lifted from previous European version of the film, which also starred Walbrook. Aka MICHAEL STROGOFF. | tt0029584 | Anton Walbrook, Elizabeth Allan, Margot Grahame, Akim Tamiroff, Fay Bainter, Eric Blore | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Soldier in the Rain | 1963 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 88 | Strange film wavers from sentimental drama to high comedy. Gleason is swinging sergeant, McQueen his fervent admirer. Script by Blake Edwards and Maurice Richlin from William Goldman's novel. | tt0057517 | Jackie Gleason, Steve McQueen, Tuesday Weld, Tony Bill, Tom Poston, Ed Nelson, John Hubbard, Adam West | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Soldier of Fortune | 1955 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 96 | Gable is hired to find Susan's husband (Barry) held captive in Hong Kong. Rennie is good as police chief. Scripted by Ernest K. Gann, from his novel. | tt0048640 | Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry, Tom Tully, Alex D'Arcy, Anna Sten | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Soldier of Orange | 1979 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★½ | 165 | The lives of six wealthy, carefree Dutch university students are irrevocably altered when the Germans occupy their homeland in 1940. Superior drama, with Hauer coming into his own as a handsome aristocrat who becomes involved in the Resistance. Based on autobiographical novel by Erik Hazelhoff. | tt0076734 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Peter Faber, Derek De Lint, Eddy Habbema, Susan Penhaligon, Edward Fox | Dutch | War, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries | 1998 | James Ivory | ★★½ | 127 | Picaresque story of an expatriate American family living in Paris during the '60s and '70s, and what happens when they move back home. Kristofferson is excellent as a macho novelist, and Sobieski and Bradford are equally good as his kids, who are going through various teenage crises, but the film loses its grip when it shifts to America and becomes much more mundane. Based on an autobiographical novel by Kaylie Jones, whose father was author James Jones. | tt0120835 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey, Leelee Sobieski, Jesse Bradford, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Dominique Blanc, Jane Birkin | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Soldier's Story | 1984 | Norman Jewison | ★★★½ | 101 | Electrifying drama by Charles Fuller from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play (featuring most of original Negro Ensemble Company cast) about murder of a black officer at Southern military post in the 1940s. A solid whodunit plus a probing look at racism within black ranks. It was inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Can't completely escape its stage origins but still a riveting film. | tt0088146 | [PG] | Howard E. Rollins/Jr., Adolph Caesar, Dennis Lipscomb, Art Evans, Denzel Washington, Larry Riley, David Alan Grier, Robert Townsend, Patti LaBelle, Wings Hauser, Trey Wilson | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Soldier's Tale | 1988 | Larry Parr | ★★½ | 94 | Poignant, thought-provoking WW2 story of a beautiful woman accused of being a German collaborator by the French resistance. Byrne plays a British soldier who tries to protect her. Reinhold, who has top billing on the videocassette package, is on screen for all of three minutes. | tt0096131 | [R] | Gabriel Byrne, Marianne Basler, Judge Reinhold, Paul Wyett | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Soldier | 1982 | James Glickenhaus | ★½ | 96 | CIA superagent Wahl takes on Russian terrorists who have planted a plutonium bomb in a Saudi Arabian oil field. Clichéd, violent drama. | tt0084704 | [R] | Ken Wahl, Klaus Kinski, William Prince, Alberta Watson, Jeremiah Sullivan | Action | NULL | ||
| Soldiers Three | 1951 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 87 | Boisterous action-adventure with light touch; GUNGA DIN-esque story has three soldiering comrades in and out of spats with each other as they battle in 19th-century India. Loosely based on stories by Rudyard Kipling. | tt0044059 | Stewart Granger, Walter Pidgeon, David Niven, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, Greta Gynt, Robert Coote, Dan O'Herlihy | Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Soldier’s Prayer | The Human Condition Part III | 1961 | Masaki Kobayashi | ★★★½ | 196 | Final installment of Kobayashi’s three-part rumination on the horrors of WW2 (after NO GREATER LOVE and THE ROAD TO ETERNITY) is set in the waning days of the conflict. Here, Kaji (Nakadai) and other soldiers and civilians struggle to stay alive in the desolate Manchurian countryside. Meanwhile, Kaji wonders if his beloved wife is still living, and if he will ever find her. The finale is haunting . . . and fitting. Scripted by Kobayashi, Zenzo Matsuyama, and Koichi Inagaki, based on a six-volume novel by Junpei Gomikawa. Aka THE HUMAN CONDITION PART III. | tt0055233 | Tatsuya Nakadai, Yusuke Kawazu, Tamao Nakamura, Chishu Ryu, Taketoshi Naitô, Reiko Hitomi, Kyôko Kishida, Fujio Suga | Japanese | NULL | ||
| Sole Survivor | 1969 | Paul Stanley | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Title refers to central character, only person to walk away from suddenly discovered B-25 crash in Libyan desert. Odd drama by Guerdon Trueblood, with Edwards' performance hands-down winner. | tt0065007 | Vince Edwards, Richard Basehart, William Shatner, Lou Antonio, Larry Casey, Patrick Wayne, Brad Davis, Dennis Cooney, Alan Caillou, Timur Bashtu | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Solid Gold Cadillac | 1956 | Richard Quine | ★★★ | 99 | Dazzling Judy in entertaining comedy of small stockholder in large company becoming corporate heroine by trying to oust crooked board of directors. George S. Kaufman-Howard Teichman play adapted by Abe Burrows. Jean Louis earned an Oscar for the costumes. Last scene in color. | tt0049777 | Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, John Williams, Arthur O'Connell, Hiram Sherman, Neva Patterson, Ray Collins; narrated by George Burns | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Solitaire Man | 1933 | Jack Conway. | ★★ | 67 | On the verge of retiring and getting married, jewel thief Marshall has to return a valuable necklace without being detected. Claustrophobic, talky adaptation of a Sam and Bella Spewack play shot in long takes, with a hilariously improbable airplane sequence. Boland is very funny as a loudmouthed, nouveau riche American. | tt0024590 | Herbert Marshall, Mary Boland, Lionel Atwill, May Robson, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Forbes, Lucile Gleason. | Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| Solitary Man | 2010 | Brian Koppelman, David Levien | ★★★ | 90 | Douglas married his college sweetheart and built an empire of car dealerships . . . but something went wrong along the way and he lost his moral compass. Now he’s at the end of his rope, with his gift of gab his only remaining resource. When he accompanies his current lady friend’s daughter to scout out a college, he tries to impart his worldly wisdom to a nerdy student (Eisenberg). Provocative character study of a louse, played with charismatic bravado by Douglas, who’s surrounded by good actors in similarly three-dimensional roles. Olivia Thirlby appears unbilled. Written by codirector Koppelman. | tt1294213 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Richard Schiff, Ben Shenkman, David Costabile, Anastasia Grffith | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Solo | 1996 | Norberto Barba | ★★ | 94 | Solo is an android who has a crisis of conscience when he directly disobeys an order that would result in the murder of innocent people. This sets him on a collision course with his creators, particularly a sadistic colonel. Standard action for nondiscerning fans of the genre. Van Peebles is actually quite appealing in the lead. | tt0117688 | [PG-13] | Mario Van Peebles, William Sadler, Adrien Brody, Seidy Lopez, Abraham J. Verduzco, Barry Corbin | U.S.-Mexican | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Soloist | 2009 | Joe Wright | ★★½ | 117 | Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Downey) writes a piece about street musician Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx), whose mental illness has defeated his natural talent. He feels compelled to help Ayers but doesn’t comprehend the magnitude of the man’s problems, or how tough it is to be responsible for another human being. True story offers moments of soaring emotions (most of them inspired by Beethoven music), contrasted against the squalor of homelessness in downtown L.A. To its credit this isn’t a glib, feel-good movie—but on the other hand it’s painfully difficult to watch. | tt0821642 | [PG-13] | Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey, Jr., Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Nelsan Ellis, Rachael Harris, Stephen Root, Lorraine Toussaint | U.S.-British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Solomon Northrup's Odyssey | Half Slave, Half Free | 1984 | Gordon Parks | Above Average TV Movie | 113 | Compelling drama about a Northern-born black man (Brooks), a talented fiddler and carpenter, who's kidnapped into slavery during the 1840s. Made with care and conviction and based on a true story. A PBS American Playhouse presentation. Retitled HALF-SLAVE, HALF-FREE. | tt0088148 | Avery Brooks, Petronia Paley, Rhetta Greene, John Saxon, Mason Adams, Janet League, Lee Bryant, Joe Seneca, Michael Tolan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Solomon and Gaenor | 1999 | Paul Morrison | ★★½ | 100 | Heartfelt, albeit predictable, Romeo and Juliet-style love story, set in poverty-stricken 1911 Wales, about a forbidden romance between Roberts, the offspring of rigid churchgoers, and Gruffudd, a Jewish fabric peddler who hides his religion from his lover and her clan. | tt0181830 | [R] | Ioan Gruffudd, Nia Roberts, Sue Jones-Davies, William Thomas, Mark Lewis Jones, Maureen Lipman, David Horovitch | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Solomon and Sheba | 1959 | King Vidor | ★★★ | 120 | Splashy spectacle with alluring Gina and stoic Brynner frolicking in biblical days. Tyrone Power died during filming in Spain, was replaced by Brynner who refilmed Power's early scenes. Some long shots still show Power, not Brynner. Vidor's final film as director. Restored to 139m. on laserdisc. | tt0053290 | Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders, Marisa Pavan, John Crawford, Alejandro Rey, Harry Andrews | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sombrero | 1953 | Norman Foster | ★½ | 103 | Strange, overwrought MGM melodrama with music intertwining three love stories in small Mexican village. One good dance number with Charisse. | tt0046344 | Ricardo Montalban, Pier Angeli, Vittorio Gassman, Yvonne De Carlo, Nina Foch, Cyd Charisse, Jose Greco, Walter Hampden, Kurt Kasznar, Rick Jason | Musical | NULL | |||
| Some Call It Loving | 1973 | James B. Harris | 💣 | 103 | Slow, pretentious fantasy transplanting the story of Sleeping Beauty (played by Farrow, Mia's younger sister) to modern California. As her Prince Charming, King gives a sleepwalking nonperformance. Pryor's vulgar turn as a pathetic graffiti artist/wino clashes with the rest of the picture. | tt0070714 | [R] | Zalman King, Carol White, Tisa Farrow, Richard Pryor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Some Came Running | 1958 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 136 | Slick adaptation of James Jones' novel about disillusionment in a small midwestern town in the late 1940s; more character study than narrative. MacLaine is especially good as luckless floozie who's stuck on Sinatra; Elmer Bernstein's music score also a standout. | tt0052218 | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine, Martha Hyer, Arthur Kennedy, Nancy Gates | Drama | NULL | |||
| Some Girls | 1988 | Michael Hoffman | ★★ | 94 | Odd little comedy about American college student Dempsey and the various complications when he spends Christmas in Quebec City with girlfriend Connelly's family. Gregory rises above the material as Connelly's eccentric father. | tt0098356 | [R] | Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Connelly, Sheila Kelley, Andre Gregory, Florinda Bolkan, Lila Kedrova | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Some Girls Do | 1969 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 93 | Brisk thriller involving Bulldog Drummond (played with a lack of dash by Johnson) vs. long-time archenemy Carl Peterson (Villiers), who is trying to sabotage Britain's supersonic plane plans. Morley is a delight as an eccentric teacher of high cuisine. Sequel to DEADLIER THAN THE MALE (1967). | tt0065009 | [G] | Richard Johnson, Daliah Lavi, Beba Loncar, Robert Morley, Sydne Rome, James Villiers | British | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| Some Kind of Hero | 1982 | Michael Pressman | ★★ | 97 | Pryor rises above uneven, poorly directed comedy-drama about Vietnam veteran who's in for a few surprises when he returns home after six years as a POW. Based on a James Kirkwood novel. | tt0083107 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Ronny Cox, Lynne Moody, Olivia Cole, Paul Benjamin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Some Kind of Wonderful | 1987 | Howard Deutch | ★★½ | 93 | Adorable tomboy Masterson loves Stoltz, but it takes him the entire film to realize she is better for him than the flashier Thompson. Deutch and producer John Hughes have, in effect, done a sex-switch remake of their own PRETTY IN PINK; the OK result has strong performances by both female leads, and surprises by not making Thompson a snooty bitch. | tt0094006 | [PG-13] | Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, Mary Stuart Masterson, Craig Sheffer, John Ashton, Elias Koteas, Molly Hagan, Candace Cameron, Chynna Phillips, Scott Coffey | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Some Kind of a Nut | 1969 | Garson Kanin | 💣 | 89 | Banker Van Dyke loses his job when he grows a beard. Pathetic 'contemporary' comedy dates more than Kanin's films of the '30s and '40s. | tt0065010 | [M] | Dick Van Dyke, Angie Dickinson, Rosemary Forsyth, Zohra Lampert, Elliott Reid, Pippa Scott | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Some Like It Hot | Rhythm Romance | 1939 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 64 | Sideshow owner Hope repeatedly takes advantage of Ross to keep his show afloat. Pleasant enough comedy-drama based on a Gene Fowler–Ben Hecht play (filmed in 1934 as SHOOT THE WORKS), though we never understand why Ross puts up with Hope's wayward ways. Krupa’s numbers are mediocre but the film introduces The Lady’s in Love With You. Retitled RHYTHM ROMANCE. | tt0031950 | Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Una Merkel, Gene Krupa, Rufe Davis, Bernard Nedell, Richard Denning, Frank Sully, Jack Smart | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Some Like It Hot | 1959 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 119 | Legendary comedy by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond about two musicians who witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to elude their pursuers by joining an all-girl band heading for Miami. Sensational from start to finish, with dazzling performances by Lemmon and Curtis, a memorably comic turn by Monroe as Sugar Kane, and Oscar-winning costumes by Orry-Kelly. Brown has film's now-classic closing line. Basis for hit Broadway musical Sugar. | tt0053291 | Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, Joe E. Brown, George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Nehemiah Persoff, Joan Shawlee, Mike Mazurki | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Some May Live | 1967 | Vernon Sewell | ★★ | 105 | Unexciting suspenser set in contemporary Saigon with Cotten a U.S. Intelligence officer setting a trap for the espionage agent within his department. Retitled: IN SAIGON, SOME MAY LIVE. | tt0062287 | Joseph Cotten, Martha Hyer, Peter Cushing, John Ronane | War | NULL | |||
| Some Mother's Son | 1996 | Terry George | ★★½ | 112 | Respectable but muted true-life story about a hunger strike staged by a jailed IRA member in the early 1980s, with Mirren a prisoner's mom who becomes involved in the struggle upon realizing that she doesn't really have a choice. No match for IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, which treated comparable subject matter far more passionately. Coproduced by Jim Sheridan; associate-produced by Mirren. | tt0117690 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Fionnula Flanagan, Aidan Gillen, David O'Hara, John Lynch, Tim Woodward | U.S.-British-Irish | Drama | NULL | |
| Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture | 1990 | Frank Pierson | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Scheider is a photographer hired by a small-time Florida drug dealer, convicted of killing a cop, to document his execution. Strong, no-nonsense drama adapted by photojournalist-writer Doug Magee from his book Slow Coming Dark. Made for cable. | tt0100659 | Roy Scheider, Bonnie Bedelia, Robert Carradine, Andre Braugher, Arliss Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Somebody Killed Her Husband | 1978 | Lamont Johnson | ★½ | 97 | First starring feature for the ex-Charlie's Angel was redubbed 'Somebody Killed Her Career' by industry wags, but in any case, this tepid comedy-mystery-romance written by Reginald Rose has little to recommend it. Filmed in Manhattan. | tt0078294 | [PG] | Farrah Fawcett, Jeff Bridges, John Wood, Tammy Grimes, John Glover, Patricia Elliott | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Somebody Loves Me | 1952 | Irving S. Brecher | ★★ | 97 | Schmaltzy vaudeville biography of troupers Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields with no originality and not much entertainment, either. | tt0045171 | Betty Hutton, Ralph Meeker, Adele Jergens, Robert Keith | Musical | NULL | |||
| Somebody Up There Likes Me | 1956 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 113 | Top biography of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from N.Y.C. sidewalks to arena success with fine performance by Newman. Script by Ernest Lehman; cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg won an Oscar. Film debuts of McQueen and Loggia. Title song sung by Perry Como. | tt0049778 | Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Sal Mineo, Joseph Buloff, Robert Loggia, Steve McQueen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Somebody to Love | 1995 | Alexandre Rockwell | ★★½ | 103 | Occasionally inspired but mostly meandering slice-of-life with Perez giving her all as a spirited taxi dancer who has moved from Brooklyn to L.A. in the hope of making it big in showbiz. Keitel is her middle-aged has-been actor/lover, DeLorenzo the young man who falls for her and tries to impress her by becoming involved with mobster Quinn. Buscemi is outstanding as a transvestite taxi dancer. Watch for Quentin Tarantino as a bartender, Lelia Goldoni as a waitress. | tt0111237 | [R] | Rosie Perez, Harvey Keitel, Anthony Quinn, Michael DeLorenzo, Steve Buscemi, Samuel Fuller, Stanley Tucci, Steven Randazzo | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Someone Behind the Door | 1971 | Nicolas Gessner | ★★ | 97 | Neuropsychiatrist (Perkins) turns an amnesiac murderer (Bronson) into his tool for revenge on his philandering wife; farfetched melodrama. | tt0067773 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Anthony Perkins, Jill Ireland, Henri Garcin, Adriano Magestretti | French | Crime | NULL | |
| Someone Else's America | 1996 | Goran Paskaljevic | ★★½ | 96 | Spanish immigrant moves his blind mother to Brooklyn in hopes of pursuing the American dream. His efforts to make it in the Land of the Free are often amusing, and well observed by Belgrade-born Paskaljevic. Slight but charming character study that speaks a universal language. Casares is well remembered for such earlier films as ORPHEUS and THE TESTAMENT OF ORPHEUS. | tt0114494 | [R] | Tom Conti, Maria Casares, Miki Manojlovic, Sergei Trifunovic, Zorka Manojlovic | British-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Someone Like You | 2001 | Tony Goldwyn | ★★ | 97 | Dumped by her coworker boyfriend (Kinnear), a TV talent booker (Judd) becomes obsessed with her own 'new cow theory,' that men leave women like bulls go through herds of cows. She's so consumed she doesn't realize she's falling for her hunky roommate (Jackman). Starts brightly with appealing performances but quickly turns formulaic, leading to a lame finale. Based on the novel Animal Husbandry by Laura Zigman. Blink and you'll miss a cameo by Ashley's mom, Naomi Judd, as a makeup artist. | tt0244970 | [PG-13] | Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei, Ellen Barkin, Catherine Dent, Peter Friedman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Someone to Love | 1987 | Henry Jaglom | ★★½ | 111 | Jaglom is Danny, a filmmaker who's seeking 'someone to love.' He throws a Valentine's Day party where he questions various friends on the subject . . . and films their responses. Welles, in his last screen appearance, is on hand to offer various insights and profundities, and they're the best thing in this alternately boring and interesting experiment. | tt0094007 | [R] | Henry Jaglom, Andrea Marcovicci, Sally Kellerman, Orson Welles, Michael Emil, Oja Kodar, David Frishberg, Stephen Bishop, Ronee Blakley, Kathryn Harrold, Monte Hellman, Jeremy Kagan, Miles Kreuger | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Someone to Watch Over Me | 1987 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 106 | Happily married N.Y.C. cop becomes infatuated with the wealthy and beautiful woman he's assigned to protect from a death threat. Solid romantic thriller, compassionately and believably told; director Scott's warmest film to date (and just as stylish as ever). | tt0094008 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers, Lorraine Bracco, Jerry Orbach, John Rubinstein, Andreas Katsulas, Tony DiBenedetto, James Moriarty | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Somers Town | 2008 | Shane Meadows | ★½ | 71 | Two teenage boys forge a strange and unlikely friendship in Somers Town, near London. Tomo (Turgoose, who starred in Meadows' THIS IS ENGLAND) is a troublesome runaway from Nottingham; Marek (Jagiello) is a Polish immigrant living with his father, who works on the railways. The boys are both infatuated with the same girl (Lasowski) and spend their time arguing over who loves her more and showering her with childish gifts and devotion. Meadows' films usually focus on life in (or people from) the Midlands, and are mostly appreciated by locals and those who know the area. If you're not an Anglophile you may find this slow and/or depressing. | tt1172206 | Unrated | Piotr Jagiello, Thomas Turgoose, Ireneusz Czop, Elisa Lasowski, Perry Benson, Kate Dickie, Huggy Leaver | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Somersault | 2004 | Cate Shortland | ★★★ | 106 | Raw, razor-sharp drama depicting the plight of an alluring adolescent runaway (Cornish), a child in a woman's body who is lusted after by men, though too young and inexperienced to be aware of her sexual power. Impressive debut feature for writer-director Shortland, with Cornish offering a vivid, award-caliber performance. | tt0381429 | Unrated | Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Nathaniel Dean, Erik Thomson, Leah Purcell, Hollie Andrew, Olivia Pigeot | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Something Borrowed | 2011 | Luke Greenfield | ★★½ | 112 | Agreeable screen adaptation of Emily Giffin novel is romantic fluff, served by a likeable young cast. Hudson plays against type as a party girl who becomes engaged to a handsome lawyer who also happens to be the secret law school crush of lifelong best friend Goodwin. Complications arise when the latter shacks up with him one night, then tries to keep it secret. There’s nothing new here, but director Greenfield keeps things fairly fresh and engaging. Krasinski is a comic standout as Goodwin’s pal. | tt0491152 | [PG-13] | Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, John Krasinski, Steve Howey, Ashley Williams, Jill Eikenberry, Geoff Pierson | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Something Evil | 1972 | Steven Spielberg | Above Average TV Movie | 73 | Worden family buys old house in Pennsylvania, unaware of lurking evil presence. Horror aspect handled matter-of-factly, excellent performances. | tt0069298 | Sandy Dennis, Darren McGavin, Ralph Bellamy, Jeff Corey, Johnnie Whitaker, John Rubinstein | Horror | NULL | |||
| Something New | 2006 | Sanaa Hamri | ★★★ | 99 | Hardworking black career woman finds herself attracted to a white landscape architect-in spite of her better judgment and the disapproval of friends and family. Veteran TV writer-producer Kriss Turner offers a fresh take on romantic comedy and prejudice, presenting an honest picture of successful blacks who still have battles to fight on a daily basis. Pokes fun of stereotyping on both sides of the racial fence. Lathan and Baker couldn't be more appealing. | tt0437777 | [PG-13] | Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Mike Epps, Donald Faison, Blair Underwood, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Alfre Woodard, Golden Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Earl Billings, John Ratzenberger | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Something Short of Paradise | 1979 | David Helpern/ Jr | ★★ | 91 | Aptly titled romantic comedy pairs movie theater manager Steinberg and magazine writer Sarandon, but offers little; Steinberg's character is particularly obnoxious in this blatant ANNIE HALL rip-off. Film buffs will enjoy main-title sequence comprised of old movie ads. | tt0079931 | [PG] | Susan Sarandon, David Steinberg, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Marilyn Sokol, Joe Grifasi, Robert Hitt | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Something Special | Willy Milly | 1986 | Paul Schneider | ★★★ | 93 | Cute, original, generally pleasing little comedy-drama-fantasy about a 14-year-old girl (Segall, in a spunky performance) who wants to become a male— and has her wish granted. Bogs down when the adults are around, but it's still perfect fare for older kids. A shorter version, with tamer language, runs 86m. Original title: WILLY MILLY. Aka I WAS A TEENAGE BOY. | tt0092216 | [PG-13] | Pamela Segall, Patty Duke, Eric Gurry, John Glover, Mary Tanner, Seth Green, Jeb Ellis-Brown, JD Cullum, Corey Parker | Comedy | NULL | |
| Something Wicked This Way Comes | 1983 | Jack Clayton | ★★½ | 94 | A mysterious carnival pitches its tent outside an idyllic American town in the early part of the century and fulfills the dreams of its citizens— for a heavy price. Told from a young boy's point of view, film has affecting moments, but never really hits its stride, with the ultimate 'revelation' about Mr. Dark and his carnival no surprise at all. Disappointing Disney production of Ray Bradbury's classic story, scripted by the author. | tt0086336 | [PG] | Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, Pam Grier, Royal Dano, Shawn Carson, Vidal Peterson, Mary Grace Canfield, James Stacy; narrated by Arthur Hill | Horror, Family | NULL | ||
| Something Wild | 1961 | Jack Garfein | ★★½ | 112 | Bizarre study of rape victim Baker falling in love with would-be attacker Meeker, coming to rational understanding with mother Dunnock. N.Y.C. location scenes perk melodramatic soaper. | tt0055464 | Carroll Baker, Ralph Meeker, Mildred Dunnock, Martin Kosleck, Jean Stapleton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Something Wild | 1986 | Jonathan Demme | ★★ | 113 | Straight-arrow businessman Daniels goes for a joyride with a flaky, sexy girl he chances to meet, and in the course of a couple of days she turns his life inside out. Many surprising twists and turns as this film veers from kooky comedy to violent melodrama, but end result isn't satisfying, especially with tacked-on happy ending. Filmmakers John Waters and John Sayles have amusing cameos as a used-car salesman and a motorcycle cop, respectively. | tt0091983 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta, Margaret Colin, Tracey Walter, Dana Preu, Jack Gilpin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Something for Everyone | 1970 | Harold Prince | ★★½ | 112 | Very black comedy about amoral, bisexual young man (York) who manipulates staff and family of impoverished Countess (Lansbury) to his advantage. Intriguing but needlessly protracted story; Broadway director Prince's first film, made in Bavaria. | tt0066392 | [R] | Angela Lansbury, Michael York, Anthony Corlan, Heidelinde Weis, Eva-Maria Meineke, Jane Carr | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Something for the Birds | 1952 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 81 | Mild romantic froth, with Mature and Neal on opposite sides of issue in lobbying for bird sanctuary protection. | tt0045173 | Patricia Neal, Victor Mature, Edmund Gwenn, Larry Keating | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Something for the Boys | 1944 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 85 | Pleasant musical with diverting Cole Porter score, set in heiress Blaine's Southern plantation, which has been recruited as a home for soldiers' wives. Look for Judy Holliday as a defense-plant welder. | tt0037295 | Carmen Miranda, Michael O'Shea, Vivian Blaine, Phil Silvers, Sheila Ryan, Perry Como, Glenn Langan, Cara Williams, Thurston Hall | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Something in the Wind | 1947 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 89 | Mild comedy of errors with Durbin as female disk jockey who sings, too. Easy to take, amusing. | tt0039847 | Deanna Durbin, Donald O'Connor, Charles Winninger, Helena Carter | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Something of Value | 1957 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 113 | Robert Ruark's novel transformed to screen, sharply detailing brutal Mau Mau warfare in Kenya. Hudson and Poitier are fine as British colonial farmer and his childhood friend; Hiller memorable as widow struggling to retain dignity and spirit. | tt0050993 | Rock Hudson, Dana Wynter, Sidney Poitier, Wendy Hiller, Frederick O'Neal | Drama | NULL | |||
| Something to Hide | 1972 | Alastair Reid | ★½ | 100 | All-out marital fighting match between memorably overwrought Winters and Finch deteriorates into unconvincing melodrama concerning pregnant trollop Hayden and Finch's eventual mental breakdown. Unpleasant. Retitled: SHATTERED. | tt0069299 | Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakely, Linda Hayden, John Stride | British | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Something to Live For | 1952 | George Stevens | ★★½ | 89 | Turgid melodrama trying to be another THE LOST WEEKEND. Fontaine is alcoholic in love with Milland, but he's married. | tt0045174 | Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, Teresa Wright, Douglas Dick, Rudy Lee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Something to Shout About | 1943 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 93 | Hackneyed backstage Broadway musical with good Cole Porter score (including 'You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To'), specialty numbers by Hazel Scott, Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra. Look for Cyd Charisse (billed as Lily Norwood) in her feature debut. | tt0036375 | Don Ameche, Janet Blair, Jack Oakie, Cobina Wright/Jr., William Gaxton, Veda Ann Borg | Musical | NULL | |||
| Something to Sing About | Battling Hoofer | 1937 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★ | 93 | Low-budget musical doesn't live up to its title, with Cagney the only real asset in this lightweight story of a N.Y. bandleader who goes to Hollywood. Forgettable songs. Reissued at 82m. as BATTLING HOOFER. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029588 | James Cagney, Evelyn Daw, William Frawley, Mona Barrie, Gene Lockhart | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Something to Talk About | 1995 | Lasse Hallström | ★★½ | 106 | A somewhat scattered Southern woman discovers her husband is playing around and tries to cut him off, but strong ties— and his involvement in the family business (a prosperous horse farm)— make it hard to do. The cast is amiable, the film is good looking, but Callie Khouri's screenplay is unfocused and never gives us a handle on Roberts' character. Sedgwick gets a license to steal (scenes, that is), with all the funniest lines in the picture. David Huddleston appears unbilled. | tt0114496 | [R] | Julia Roberts, Dennis Quaid, Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands, Kyra Sedgwick, Brett Cullen, Haley Aull, Muse Watson, Anne Shropshire | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Something's Gotta Give | 2003 | Nancy Meyers | ★★★ | 128 | A self-styled Lothario with a penchant for younger women heads to his current girlfriend's weekend home, only to find her mother there; to his own amazement, he finds himself attracted to her, even as she is pursued by a much younger man. Entertaining comedy for (and about) grown-ups with delightful performances by the two leads. Written by the director. Stay through the credits to hear Jack sing 'La Vie en Rose.' | tt0337741 | [PG-13] | Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau, Paul Michael Glaser, Rachel Ticotin | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sometimes a Great Notion | Never Give a Inch | 1971 | Paul Newman | ★★ | 114 | Disappointing film version of Ken Kesey's mammoth novel about modern-day loggers in Oregon. Jaeckel's performance is outstanding and movie has one great scene involving a drowning, but otherwise film is a letdown. Retitled NEVER GIVE A INCH (the family's motto) for TV. | tt0067774 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Michael Sarrazin, Richard Jaeckel, Linda Lawson | Drama | NULL | |
| Somewhere | 2010 | Sofia Coppola | ★ | 97 | Stultifying slice of someone else’s life—in this case, an indolent, pampered movie actor (Dorff) who lives a life of luxury and ease at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in L.A., doing whatever he’s told to and little more. Then his ex-wife charges him with taking care of their 11-year-old daughter, to whom he’s been an absentee parent so far. Writer-director Coppola authentically captures the actor’s world and the atmosphere of the fabled Hollywood haunt where he lives, but it all adds up to . . . nothing. (Spoiler alert: The actor comes to realize that his life is empty!) Michelle Monaghan and Benicio Del Toro add verisimilitude in cameo roles. | tt1421051 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Ellie Kemper | U.S.-Italian-French-Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Somewhere I'll Find You | 1942 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 108 | Turner and Gable are improbable as WW2 war correspondents, but their love scenes between battles are most convincing. Film debut of Keenan Wynn. | tt0035356 | Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Robert Sterling, Patricia Dane, Reginald Owen, Lee Patrick, Charles Dingle, Sara Haden, Rags Ragland, Van Johnson, Leonid Kinskey, Grady Sutton, Keye Luke | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Somewhere Tomorrow | 1983 | Robert Wiemer | ★★★ | 87 | Offbeat drama about fatherless teen who, after seeing TOPPER on TV and bumping her head, meets the ghost of a boy who's been killed in a plane crash. Not without flaws, but still charming and moving. | tt0086337 | [PG] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Nancy Addison, Tom Shea, Rick Weber, Paul Bates, James Congdon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Somewhere in Sonora | 1933 | Mack V. Wright. | ★½ | 57 | A friend asks Wayne to locate missing son (Fix), who was possibly abducted by bandits, taken to Sonora, and forced to ride with notorious 'Brotherhood of Death.' Dull remake of same-named 1927 Ken Maynard silent. Fix was a fixture in Wayne movies throughout their careers. | tt0024592 | John Wayne, Henry B. Walthall, Shirley Palmer, Ann Faye, J. P. McGowan, Paul Fix. | Western | NULL | |||
| Somewhere in Time | 1980 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★½ | 103 | Superficial tearjerker about unhappy playwright Reeve who falls in love with a 70-year-old photograph of an actress (Seymour), then wills himself back in time to meet her. Stilted dialogue, corny situations, pretty scenery (on Mackinac Island). Script by Richard Matheson from his novel Bid Time Return. | tt0081534 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright, Bill Erwin, George Voskovec, Tim Kazurinsky | Drama, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Somewhere in the Night | 1946 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★½ | 108 | Satisfactory drama of amnesiac Hodiak trying to discover his true identity and getting mixed up with mobsters and murder; not up to later Mankiewicz efforts. | tt0038965 | John Hodiak, Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte, Josephine Hutchinson, Fritz Kortner, Sheldon Leonard, Whit Bissell, Jeff Corey, Harry Morgan | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sommersby | 1993 | Jon Amiel | ★★½ | 113 | Gere returns to his home in the postwar South, after six years' imprisonment during the Civil War, but his wife can't quite believe he's the same man she married. Sumptuously designed and photographed (in Virginia), this is the kind of film that takes you to another time and place, but despite strong performances, the characters remain aloof— and so does their plight. Executive produced by Gere. Remake of the French hit THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE. | tt0108185 | [PG-13] | Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones, William Windom, Brett Kelley, Richard Hamilton, Maury Chaykin, Lanny Flaherty, Frankie Faison, Wendell Wellman, Clarice Taylor, Ronald Lee Ermey | U.S.-French | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |
| Son In Law | 1993 | Steve Rash | ★★ | 95 | Liberated college freshman brings her dorm's biggest goof home to the family farm over Thanksgiving break, passing him off as her fiancé to discourage a hometown lout from proposing. Exactly what you would expect, even more so when Shore teaches square-dancers the funky chicken. Even on his best days Pauly Shore is an acquired taste, but at least the film isn't mean-spirited. Gugino has an infectious cackle. Brendan Fraser appears unbilled. | tt0108186 | [PG-13] | Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino, Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett, Mason Adams, Patrick Renna, Dennis Burkley, Dan Gauthier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Son of Ali Baba | 1952 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 75 | Caliph uses princess Laurie to obtain treasure of Ali Baba. After father is captured, son appears and wins hand of princess. Good sets, fair acting. | tt0045175 | Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Susan Cabot, Victor Jory, Hugh O'Brian | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Son of Captain Blood | 1962 | Tulio Demicheli | ★½ | 88 | Interesting only in that Errol Flynn's 23-year-old son plays the son of the character Errol portrayed in CAPTAIN BLOOD. Ann Todd sparkles as the lad's mother (Olivia de Havilland's character in the original). Otherwise, routine. Filmed in Spain, from a screenplay by Casey Robinson (who also penned the 1935 CAPTAIN BLOOD). | tt0054875 | Sean Flynn, Ann Todd, Alessandra Panaro, Jose Nieto, John Kitzmiller | U.S.-Italian-Spanish | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Son of Darkness: To Die For II | 1991 | David F. Price | ★★ | 95 | Busy plot: Vlad Tepesh is now Dr. Max Schreck, at a hospital in the mountains, in pursuit of heroine who has unknowingly adopted his half-vampire baby. Beautifully shot, and tries to be romantic— but it's routine. | tt0102961 | [R] | Rosalind Allen, Michael Praed, Scott Jacoby, Steve Bond, Amanda Wyss, Remy O'Neill, Devin Corrie Sims | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Son of Dr. Jekyll | 1951 | Seymour Friedman | ★½ | 77 | Jekyll's son tries to discover and improve upon his father's formula; complications ensue. Poorly scripted, produced; cast manages to save film from complete ruin. | tt0044061 | Louis Hayward, Jody Lawrance, Alexander Knox, Lester Matthews | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Son of Dracula | 1943 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 78 | Mysterious gentleman named Alucard turns up in the Deep South to sample the local cuisine. One of Universal's most atmospheric chillers, with crisp acting, fine effects . . . and an unexpected finale. | tt0036376 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Evelyn Ankers, Frank Craven, J. Edward Bromberg, Samuel S. Hinds | Horror | NULL | |||
| Son of Dracula | Young Dracula | 1974 | Freddie Francis | ★½ | 90 | Offbeat but uninspired rock horror pic with seven tunes by Nilsson, who plays the title character. Ringo produced. Retitled: YOUNG DRACULA. | tt0072189 | [PG] | Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Rosanna Lee, Freddie Jones, Dennis Price, Skip Martin | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL |
| Son of Flubber | 1963 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 100 | Silly, disjointed sequel to THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR has new inventions— flubbergas, dry rain— and appropriate slapstick highlights, to compensate for uneven script. Helped, too, by cast full of old pros, especially Lynde as smug sportscaster. | tt0057518 | Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn, Tommy Kirk, Elliott Reid, Joanna Moore, Leon Ames, Ed Wynn, Charlie Ruggles, Paul Lynde, Jack Albertson | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Son of Frankenstein | 1939 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★ | 99 | Third in the series (after BRIDE) finds late doctor's son attempting to clear family name by making the Monster 'good.' He should live so long. Lavishly made shocker is gripping and eerie, if a bit talky, with wonderfully bizarre sets by Jack Otterson and Lugosi's finest performance as evil, broken-necked blacksmith Ygor. Karloff's last appearance as the Monster. Look fast for Ward Bond(!) as a constable guarding Castle Frankenstein from angry villagers late in film. Sequel: THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0031951 | Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson, Edgar Norton, Donnie Dunagan | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Son of Fury | 1942 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 98 | Good costumer about aristocratic Sanders abusing nephew Power, who flees to desert isle to plan revenge; Tierney's on the island, too. Remade as TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CONDOR. | tt0035360 | Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, George Sanders, Frances Farmer, Roddy McDowall, Kay Johnson, John Carradine, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Davenport, Dudley Digges, Ethel Griffies | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Son of Godzilla | 1967 | Jun Fukuda | ★½ | 86 | Godzilla and son are threatened by giant mantises and a huge spider in this good-natured monster rally, but where's Mrs. Godzilla when you really need her? Some of the same footage later seen in GODZILLA'S REVENGE. | tt0061856 | Tadao Takashima, Akira Kubo, Bibari Maeda, Akihiko Hirata, Kenji Sahara | Japanese | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Son of Kong | 1933 | Ernest B. Schoedsack | ★★½ | 70 | Disappointing sequel to KING KONG, hurriedly put together— and it shows. Armstrong is back as Carl Denham, who retraces his steps from the first film and discovers Kong's cute li'l offspring. Mostly comedic film has some good moments, and Willis O'Brien's effects are still superb. | tt0024593 | Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Victor Wong, John Marston, Frank Reicher, Lee Kohlmar | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |||
| Son of Lassie | 1945 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 102 | War-themed sequel to popular LASSIE COME HOME with Lawford and Lockhart playing adult roles of McDowall and Taylor. Crisp and Bruce are now training dogs for the war effort and Lassie's son (both roles played here by talented collie Pal) accompanies pilot Lawford to Nazi-occupied Norway. | tt0038097 | Peter Lawford, Donald Crisp, June Lockhart, Nigel Bruce, William Severn, Leon Ames, Fay Helm, Donald Curtis, Nils Asther, Helen Koford (Terry Moore) | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Son of Monte Cristo | 1940 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★ | 102 | Nothing new in big-scale swashbuckler, but very well done with Hayward battling Sanders and vying for Bennett's hand. Look fast for Clayton Moore in a balcony scene. | tt0033076 | Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, George Sanders, Florence Bates, Lionel Royce, Montagu Love | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Son of Paleface | 1952 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★½ | 95 | One of Hope's best; same basic set-up as THE PALEFACE, but the presence of Rogers gives this one a satirical punch the original doesn't have. Full of director-cowriter Tashlin's cartoonlike gags; the scene where Hope and Trigger share the same bed is an unheralded comedy classic. | tt0045177 | Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers, Douglass Dumbrille, Bill Williams, Harry Von Zell, Iron Eyes Cody | Comedy, Action, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Son of Rambow | 2008 | Garth Jennings | ★★★ | 95 | The setting is England in the early 1980s. A lonely, fatherless boy (Milner) whose family is part of a strict religious sect finds an exhilarating outlet for his vivid imagination: making home movies with an unlikely new friend, a cheeky miscreant (Poulter) who happens to have a video camera. Together they emulate the adventures of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo character from FIRST BLOOD. Endearingly eccentric view of the pain and wonder of boyhood from the Hammer & Tongs production team, with a larky music score by Joby Talbot. | tt0845046 | [PG-13] | Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jules Sitruk, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon, Ed Westwick | British-French | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Son of Robin Hood | 1959 | George Sherman | ★★ | 81 | Bland forest tale continuing the legend of merrie men led by Robin's descendant. | tt0053293 | Al (David) Hedison, June Laverick, David Farrar, Marius Goring, George Coulouris | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Son of Sinbad | 1955 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★½ | 88 | Limp Arabian Nights adventure has Sinbad, captured by caliph, forced to perform wonders to win freedom and save Baghdad from evil Tamerlane. Look fast for Kim Novak as one of the ladies garbed in full-length hooded capes. | tt0048642 | Dale Robertson, Sally Forrest, Lili St. Cyr, Vincent Price | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Son of a Gunfighter | 1966 | Paul Landres | ★½ | 92 | Title tells all in oater peppered with Anglo-Saxon actors and bits of the Old West. | tt0059737 | Russ Tamblyn, Kieron Moore, James Philbrook, Fernando Rey | Spanish | Western | NULL | ||
| Son of a Sailor | 1933 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 73 | Typical Brown vehicle, with Joe E. cast as a skirt-chasing seabee-showoff who becomes involved with spies. Always-vivacious Todd lends fine support. | tt0024594 | Joe E. Brown, Jean Muir, Frank McHugh, Thelma Todd, Johnny Mack Brown, Sheila Terry | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Son of the Bride | 2001 | Juan José Campanella | ★★★ | 124 | Health crisis forces fortyish man to deal with the past and face his future in a new, mature way he once never dreamed possible. Sophisticated, warm, funny and altogether engaging film puts a human focus on troubled Argentina in a manner audiences anywhere in the world can respond to. Touching film reunites THE OFFICIAL STORY's Aleandro and Alterio in a wedding that's hard to forget. Darín is splendid. Well worth seeing. | tt0292542 | [R] | Ricardo Darín, Héctor Alterio, Norma Aleandro, Eduardo Blanco, Natalia Verbeke, Gimena Nóbile | Argentinian-Spanish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Son of the Gods | 1930 | Frank Lloyd | ★★ | 82 | Harmless drama. Barthelmess journeys to Europe for college education but finds itno better than home. Fair cast trapped in hokey material. | tt0021400 |
|
Richard Barthelmess, Constance Bennett, Dorothy Matthews, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | ||
| Son of the Mask | 2005 | Lawrence Guterman. | 💣 | 95 | Kennedy isn't ready to be a father but conceives a baby anyway, wearing a supernatural mask. It, in turn, is coveted by a Norse god's son (Cumming, in another of his leftover Paul Reubens roles). The god himself is played by Hoskins, in layers of makeup, and by this time the creaks are louder than anything in THE SON OF THE SHEIK. So-called sequel to THE MASK (1994) is raucous without mercy, and burdened by a charmless cast; it has to plunder Chuck Jones' cartoon ONE FROGGY EVENING to glean even a few good moments. | tt0362165 | [PG] | Jamie Kennedy, Alan Cumming, Bob Hoskins, Ben Stein, Traylor Howard, Steven Wright, Kal Penn. | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Son of the Pink Panther | 1993 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 93 | Feeble attempt to revive the series, with Benigni as the son of inept Inspector Clouseau, on the trail of a kidnapped princess (Farentino) with plenty of misfired sight gags along the way. Lom, Cardinale, Kwouk and Stark reprise their roles from past entries, and Benigni's enthusiasm helps, but Peter Sellers is sorely missed. Opening animation/live-action credits with Bobby McFerrin's version of the Panther theme is best part of film. | tt0108187 | [PG] | Roberto Benigni, Herbert Lom, Claudia Cardinale, Burt Kwouk, Debrah Farentino, Robert Davi, Graham Stark, Jennifer Edwards, Anton Rodgers | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Son of the Shark | 1993 | Agnès Merlet | ★★★½ | 88 | Harrowing, sobering fact-based slice-of-life about two out-of-control pre-teen brothers (Vandendaele and Da Silva, in dazzling performances), who've been abandoned by their mother and abused by their father. One minute they are childlike, the next they are hoodlums who terrorize their hometown. They are neither romanticized nor depicted as villains or victims; the point is that there is no adult around to nurture their good instincts. A grimly realistic film, gutwrenching and heartbreaking. | tt0106904 | Ludovic Vandendaele, Erick Da Silva, Sandrine Blancke, Maxime Leroux | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Son of the Sheik | 1926 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★★ | 72 | Sequel to THE SHEIK contains flavorful account of desert leader who falls in love with dancing-girl Banky. Handsomely mounted silent film is first-rate adventure/romance, with tongue slightly in cheek. Valentino plays a dual role in this, his last film. | tt0017416 | Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Banky, Agnes Ayres, Karl Dane, Bull Montana | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Son's Room | 2001 | Nanni Moretti | ★★★ | 87 | Quietly moving examination of a family torn apart by sudden tragedy. Moretti plays a mild-mannered analyst whose well-ordered life threatens to crumble under the pressure. Subtle, perceptive, and moving. Moretti also coscripted. | tt0208990 | Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, Giuseppe Sanfelice, Silvio Orlando, Claudia Della Seta, Stefano Accorsi, Sofia Vigliar | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Son | 2002 | Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | ★★★½ | 100 | Quiet, methodical man teaches carpentry to boys who have just been released from prison or reform school, but he takes special interest in one teenager. The reason is revealed to us gradually, like everything else in this exceptional film. A powerful study of repressed emotions and the reality behind pent-up thoughts of revenge and closure. The Dardennes make brilliant use of handheld camera and natural locations to give the film a tangible sense of reality; naturalistic performances complete the picture. | tt0291172 | Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Isabella Soupart, Rémy Renaud, Nassim Hassani | Belgian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Son-Daughter | 1932 | Clarence Brown | ★½ | 79 | Designed as a tender love story with tragic overtones set in San Francisco's Chinatown, this film plays more like farce, with dialogue that sounds like Chinese Damon Runyon. One of Hayes' most embarrassing performances. | tt0023495 | Helen Hayes, Ramon Novarro, Lewis Stone, Ralph Morgan, Warner Oland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sonatine | 1994 | Takeshi Kitano | ★★★ | 94 | Well-observed portrait of a middle-aged gangster who's looking to his future when he's asked to settle a dispute between two warring factions of yakuza on Okinawa. Writer-director-star Kitano (who acts under the name of Beat Takeshi) isn't timid about depicting violence, but he does it with style. | tt0108188 | [R] | Beat Takeshi, Tetsu Watanabe, Aya Kokumai, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Terashima | Japanese | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| A Song Is Born | 1948 | Howard Hawks | ★★½ | 113 | A group of dowdy intellectuals need to learn about jazz to write an intelligent entry for their upcoming encyclopedia. Watered-down remake of BALL OF FIRE (also directed by Hawks) does give Danny some good material, and enables a formidable array of jazz greats to do their stuff (including Benny Goodman, made up as one of the bookish profs). | tt0040820 | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Hugh Herbert, Steve Cochran, Felix Bressart; guest stars Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Dorsey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Song Remains the Same | 1976 | Peter Clifton, Joe Massot | ★★ | 136 | Amateurish mixture of fantasy sequences and documentary footage from Led Zeppelin's 1973 tour is for fans only. Even without the stereo sound, film will still clean out all eight sinus cavities. | tt0075244 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Song Without End | 1960 | Charles Vidor, George Cukor | ★★½ | 141 | Beautiful music (scoring won an Oscar) submerged by dramatics of composer Franz Liszt's life. Bogarde tries; settings are lavish. Vidor died during filming, Cukor completed picture. | tt0054324 | Dirk Bogarde, Capucine, Genevieve Page, Patricia Morison, Ivan Desny, Martita Hunt, Lou Jacobi | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Song for Martin | 2001 | Bille August | ★★½ | 118 | A woman begins a new life when she marries a famous composer, then struggles as he succumbs to Alzheimer's disease. Sensitive drama with fine performances, but also a long, diligent haul to a foregone conclusion with the inescapable effect of a TV movie. | tt0257215 | Sven Wollter, Viveka Seldahl, Reine Brynolfsson, Linda Källgren, Lisa Werlinder, Peter Engman, Klas Dahlstedt, Lo Wahl, Kristina Törnqvist | Danish-German-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Song o' My Heart | 1930 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 85 | Slowly paced early-talkie vehicle for fabled Irish tenor McCormack allows him to sing a varied repertoire of songs amidst a simple, sentimental story. O'Sullivan is winsome but stilted in her film debut, while McCormack, who's given little to do dramatically, is a natural on camera. Songs include 'I Hear You Calling' and 'The Rose of Tralee.' | tt0021401 | John McCormack, Alice Joyce, Maureen O'Sullivan, Tom Clifford, J. M. Kerrigan, John Garrick, J. Farrell MacDonald, Andres De Segurola | Drama | NULL | |||
| Song of Arizona | 1946 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 68 | Gabby runs the Half-a-Chance Boys' Ranch to help troubled youth, one of whom (Cook) has been hiding his outlaw father's stash for years. Roy is a successful graduate of the ranch, and returns there to help Cook choose the right path— but crooks are determined to get their hands on that money. Music swamps the story here. | tt0038968 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Lyle Talbot, Tommy Cook, Johnny Calkins, Sarah Edwards, Tommy Ivo, Michael Chapin, Dick Curtis, Edmund Cobb, The Robert Mitchell Boys Choir, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Song of Bernadette | 1943 | Henry King | ★★★★ | 156 | Overlong but excellent story of religious French girl in 1800s who sees great vision, incurs local wrath because of it. George Seaton adapted Franz Werfel's best-selling novel. Four Oscars include Best Actress, Cinematography (Arthur Miller), Score (Alfred Newman). That's Linda Darnell, unbilled, as the Virgin Mary. | tt0036377 | Jennifer Jones, William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price, Lee J. Cobb, Anne Revere, Gladys Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Song of Freedom | 1936 | J. Elder Wills | ★★½ | 80 | Robeson plays stevedore-turned-concert-singer who journeys to Africa in search of his roots. Promising idea doesn't quite work, but Robeson is always worth watching. | tt0028282 | Paul Robeson, Elizabeth Welch, George Mozart, Esme Percy, Arthur Williams, Robert Adams | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Song of India | 1949 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 77 | Well-meaning Sabu releases jungle animals callously trapped by royal family; typical jungle escapist adventure. | tt0041898 | Sabu, Gail Russell, Turhan Bey, Anthony Caruso, Aminta Dyne | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Song of Love | 1947 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 119 | Classy production but slow-moving story of Clara Schuman (Hepburn), her composer husband (Henreid) and good friend Brahms (Walker). | tt0039850 | Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid, Robert Walker, Henry Daniell, Leo G. Carroll, Gigi Perreau, Tala Birell, Henry Stephenson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Song of Nevada | 1944 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 75 | Dale is smitten by slick New Yorker Eldredge, but Roy suspects he's got something more than marriage on his mind— for instance, the ranch she just inherited from her father. Plot takes a backseat to music in this entry, typical of Rogers' mid-'40s vehicles. | tt0037296 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Mary Lee, Lloyd Corrigan, Thurston Hall, John Eldredge, Forrest Taylor, George Meeker, LeRoy Mason, Helen Talbot, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Song of Norway | 1970 | Andrew L. Stone | 💣 | 142 | A poor biography of composer Edvard Grieg, with weak and abridged versions of his best music. Beautiful to look at, but a dud. | tt0066393 | [G] | Florence Henderson, Toralv Maurstad, Christina Schollin, Frank Porretta, Edward G. Robinson, Harry Secombe, Robert Morley, Oscar Homolka | Musical | NULL | ||
| Song of Russia | 1943 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 107 | MGM's attempt to do for Russia what MRS. MINIVER did for England; hokey but effective story of American conductor Taylor falling in love with Russian musician Peters. Then-topical attitude toward U.S.S.R. makes this an interesting piece. | tt0036378 | Robert Taylor, Susan Peters, John Hodiak, Robert Benchley, Felix Bressart, Joan Lorring, Darryl Hickman | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Song of Scheherazade | 1947 | Walter Reisch | ★★ | 106 | Colorful tripe about Rimsky-Korsakov's true inspiration, a dancing girl (De Carlo). | tt0039852 | Yvonne De Carlo, Brian Donlevy, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Eve Arden, Philip Reed | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Song of Songs | 1933 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 90 | Naïve country girl Dietrich falls in love with sculptor Aherne, for whom she poses in the nude . . . but Atwill, a wealthy reprobate, manages to marry her. Humdrum story made worthwhile by good performances. Dietrich is luminous in her first Hollywood film not directed by Josef von Sternberg. | tt0024598 | Marlene Dietrich, Brian Aherne, Lionel Atwill, Alison Skipworth, Hardie Albright, Helen Freeman | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Song of Surrender | 1949 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 93 | Mild turn-of-the-century tale of young woman (Hendrix) and older husband Rains. | tt0041899 | Wanda Hendrix, Claude Rains, Macdonald Carey, Andrea King, Henry O'Neill, Elizabeth Patterson, Eva Gabor | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Song of Texas | 1943 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 69 | Roy allows old-timer Shannon to fib to his daughter (Ryan) that he is half owner of Roy's ranch— but things get complicated when Ryan sells her dad's 'half' to villain MacLane. Action-filled tale with wagon races, fires, and horse stampedes and such songs as 'Mexicali Rose.' | tt0036379 | Roy Rogers, Sheila Ryan, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon, Pat Brady, Arline Judge, William Haade, Hal Taliaferro, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Song of the Islands | 1942 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 75 | Mature (with sidekick Oakie) visits idyllic Pacific island and falls in love with Grable, but romance is hindered by feuding between their fathers. Buoyant Technicolor fluff, full of engagingly silly songs by Mack Gordon and Harry Owens. | tt0035361 | Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Jack Oakie, Thomas Mitchell, Hilo Hattie, George Barbier, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Song of the Open Road | 1944 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 93 | Insipid tale of juvenile film star (Powell, in her screen debut) who rebels, runs away and joins the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), picking tomatoes and mingling with 'regular' kids. Hard to take, except for specialty numbers and guest appearance by Fields and his longtime wooden nemesis, McCarthy. | tt0037297 | Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen, Jane Powell, W. C. Fields, Bonita Granville, Peggy O'Neill, Jackie Moran, Reginald Denny, Regis Toomey, Sammy Kaye and Orchestra | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Song of the South | 1946 | Wilfred Jackson, Harve Foster | ★★★½ | 94 | Lonely, misunderstood little boy, living on a plantation in the Old South, finds his only happiness in the tales spun by Uncle Remus. Sentimental but moving story serves as framework for three terrific Disney cartoon sequences featuring Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear (based on writings of Joel Chandler Harris). Superb blend of live-action and animation, sincere performances (Baskett earned a special Academy Award for his), and tuneful songs including Oscar-winning 'Zip a Dee Doo Dah' make this a treat. Available only on Japanese import laserdisc. | tt0038969 | Ruth Warrick, James Baskett, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Lucile Watson, Hattie McDaniel, Glenn Leedy | Animation, Family, Adventure, Musical | NULL | |||
| Song of the Thin Man | 1947 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 86 | Nick and Nora search for clues to a murder in the dark and mysterious atmosphere of N.Y. jazz clubs. 11-year-old Stockwell portrays Nick, Jr., in this sixth and final series entry, still amiable and entertaining thanks to the stars' chemistry. | tt0039853 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell, Philip Reed, Patricia Morison, Gloria Grahame, Jayne Meadows, Don Taylor, Leon Ames | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Song to Remember | 1945 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 113 | Colorful but superficial biography of Chopin (Wilde) with exaggerated Muni as his mentor, lovely Oberon as George Sand; good music, frail plot. | tt0038104 | Cornel Wilde, Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, Stephen Bekassy, Nina Foch, George Coulouris, Sig Arno | Musical, Drama | NULL | |||
| Songcatcher | 2001 | Maggie Greenwald | ★★★★ | 105 | Beautifully rendered tale of an independent-minded musicologist (McTeer) who collects folk songs in Appalachia in the early 20th century. Carroll is wonderful as the earth mother. Written by the director. | tt0210299 | [PG-13] | Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn, Pat Carroll, Jane Adams, Gregory Cook, Iris DeMent, E. Katherine Kerr, Emmy Rossum, David Patrick Kelly, Taj Mahal | Drama | NULL | ||
| Songwriter | 1984 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 94 | Loose, friendly, rambling film about a couple of country singers— one of whom (Nelson) has become an entrepreneur but calls on his old partner Kris to help him outwit a greedy backer (played by film director Sarafian). Doesn't add up to much but certainly pleasant to watch, with top supporting cast and lots of music. | tt0088153 | [R] | Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Melinda Dillon, Rip Torn, Lesley Ann Warren, Mickey Raphael, Rhonda Dotson, Richard C. Sarafian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sonny | 2002 | Nicolas Cage | ★★½ | 110 | Just out of the army and looking for work, Franco's Sonny is reluctant to return to mom Blethyn's family business: working out of a New Orleans brothel. But though he fancies recent live-in Suvari, his natural talent as a male stud is too impressive to ignore . . . especially when so many other doors are slammed in his face. Overheated but compelling Southern Gothic tale gives Stanton his best role in years as a mysterious, melancholy hang-around friend, and Vaccaro a variation on her role in MIDNIGHT COWBOY. Look for a semi-disguised Cage in one late barroom scene. This marks the actor's feature directing debut. | tt0305973 | [R] | James Franco, Brenda Blethyn, Mena Suvari, Harry Dean Stanton, Scott Caan, Seymour Cassel, Brenda Vaccaro | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sonny Boy | 1990 | Robert Martin Carroll | 💣 | 98 | Repulsive, socially unredeemable waste of celluloid detailing gruesome upbringing of abused 'sonny boy' who's kidnapped by wacko couple Smith and his 'wife' Carradine (who plays the role in full drag). Filmed for no apparent reason except to offend and appall. | tt0100661 | [R] | David Carradine, Paul L. Smith, Brad Dourif, Conrad Janis, Sydney Lassick, Alexandra Powers, Michael Griffin | Horror | NULL | ||
| Sonny and Jed | 1973 | Sergio Corbucci | ★★ | 98 | Lighthearted spaghetti Western that teams escaped convict, pillaging his way across Mexico, with free-spirited gal who wants to be an outlaw. Shiny-domed Telly is determined lawman dogging their every move. | tt0068702 | [R] | Tomas Milian, Telly Savalas, Susan George, Rosanna Janni, Laura Betti | Italian | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| Sons and Lovers | 1960 | Jack Cardiff | ★★★½ | 103 | Grim D. H. Lawrence story of sensitive youth Stockwell egged on by mother to make something of his life, away from coalmining town and drunken father Howard. Script by Gavin Lambert and T.E.B. Clarke. Freddie Francis' rich cinematography won an Oscar. | tt0054326 | Trevor Howard, Dean Stockwell, Wendy Hiller, Mary Ure, Heather Sears, William Lucas, Donald Pleasence, Ernest Thesiger | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sons o' Guns | 1936 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 82 | So-so comedy with music, with Brown a stage actor humbled into joining the Army during WW1; he romances fiery French girl and is accused of being a German spy. | tt0028286 | Joe E. Brown, Joan Blondell, Eric Blore, Winifred Shaw, Robert Barrat, Beverly Roberts, Craig Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sons of Katie Elder | 1965 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 122 | Typical Western with Duke, Holliman, Anderson, and Martin the rowdy sons of frontier woman Katie Elder, who set out to learn why she died broke. Film marked return to big screen for Wayne after first highly publicized cancer operation. Lively fun. Music score by Elmer Bernstein. | tt0059740 | John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson/Jr., Earl Holliman, Jeremy Slate, James Gregory, George Kennedy, Paul Fix, Dennis Hopper, John Litel, Strother Martin | Western | NULL | |||
| Sons of New Mexico | 1949 | John English. | ★★★ | 71 | Spoiled brat Jones learns about cooperation and fair play from Gene, while crooked gambler Armstrong seeks vengeance since Jones' dad turned him in years earlier. One of Gene's standout Columbia Westerns, with gritty atmosphere and characters, terrific supporting cast, and superior production values. | tt0041901 | Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Robert Armstrong, Dickie Jones, Frankie Darro, Irving Bacon, Russell Arms, Marie Blake, Clayton Moore. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sons of the Desert | 1933 | William A. Seiter | ★★★½ | 69 | L&H's best feature film; duo sneaks off to fraternal convention without telling the wives; then the fun begins, with Chase as hilariously obnoxious conventioneer. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0024601 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase, Mae Busch, Dorothy Christy, Lucien Littlefield | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sons of the Pioneers | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 55 | When Sheriff Gabby has rustler trouble, he sends back East for Rogers, the descendant of two tough sheriffs . . . but Roy turns out to be a peace-loving entomologist! One of Roy's very best from this period with an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek attitude. | tt0035362 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Maris Wrixon, Forrest Taylor, Bradley Page, Minerva Urecal, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sooky | 1931 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 85 | Middling sequel to SKIPPY with Cooper as Percy Crosby's comic-strip kid and scene-stealing Coogan as his best friend. Lightly comic, with some extra-sentimental scenes. | tt0022414 | Jackie Cooper, Robert Coogan, Jackie Searl, Enid Bennett, Helen Jerome Eddy, Willard Robertson | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sophie Scholl: The Final Days | 2005 | Marc Rothemund | ★★★½ | 117 | Gripping true story set in 1943 Munich, based in part on newly discovered documents and testimonials. Siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, members of the White Rose student resistance movement, are arrested after distributing anti-Nazi leaflets. Film follows Sophie's verbal sparring with a Gestapo interrogator intent on breaking her spirit . . . but Sophie is an intellectual of unusual poise. Impressive filmmaking, focusing on words and ideas, made more vivid by the spare, drab settings. Sophie's story has been told in other films, including THE WHITE ROSE. Written by Fred Breinersverfer. | tt0426578 |
|
Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs, Gerald Alexander Held, Johanna Gastdorf, André Hennicke, Florian Stetter | German | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Sophie's Choice | 1982 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★½ | 157 | Streep's Oscar-winning performance is the centerpiece (and raison d'être) for this slavishly faithful, but deadeningly slow-moving, adaptation of William Styron's book about a Polish woman's attempt to justify her existence in America after surviving a living hell during WW2. Nestor Almendros' camera is in love with Streep, but her stunning characterization can't carry the film alone. | tt0084707 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol, Rita Karin, Stephen D. Newman, Josh Mostel; narrated by Josef Sommer | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sorcerer | 1977 | William Friedkin | ★★½ | 122 | Four fugitives in seedy Latin American town try to buy freedom by driving trucks of nitroglycerine over bumpy roads to help put out oil fire. Expensive remake of THE WAGES OF FEAR never really catches hold in spite of a few astounding scenes. Strange electronic score by Tangerine Dream. | tt0076740 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou, Ramon Bieri, Peter Capell | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sorcerers | 1967 | Michael Reeves | ★★½ | 87 | Interesting but flawed low-budgeter. Husband-and-wife scientist team attempt to perfect domination-of-will techniques, persuade young man (Ogilvy) to join experiments. Downhill from there. | tt0062292 | Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey, Ian Ogilvy, Elizabeth Ercy, Susan George | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Sorcerer’s Apprentice | 2010 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★ | 109 | Nerdy college science student Baruchel learns that a weird encounter he experienced at the age of 10 wasn’t a one-time occurrence. Master sorcerer Cage has discovered that this college student is the “chosen one” to fend off the destruction of mankind by a sorceress who’s been locked up for eons. Formulaic but enjoyable-enough mix of large-scale action and humor from the folks who brought you NATIONAL TREASURE, ostensibly inspired by the famous sequence in Disney’s FANTASIA. Wittiest part of the film is the inventive use of Manhattan locations, from Wall Street to a ledge on the Chrysler Building. | tt0963966 | [PG] | Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci, Toby Kebbell, Omar Benson Miller, Alice Krige | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sordid Lives | 2001 | Del Shores | 💣 | 111 | More hick hijinks from writer-director Shores (author of DADDY'S DYIN' . . . WHO'S GOT THE WILL?) about an eccentric Texas family dealing with a variety of repressed emotions when their matriarch dies. Horribly filmed, endless parade of ear-piercing trailer-trash clichés and 'meaningful' moments that are embarrassing. The performances, alas, match the subtlety of the writing. Shores adapted his own play. Now has a cult following. | tt0204640 | Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Bonnie Bedelia, Beth Grant, Ann Walker, Kirk Geiger, Leslie Jordan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama | 1988 | David DeCoteau | ★★ | 78 | Wacky fantasy shlocker has sorority girls teaming up with nerds at a shopping mall to do battle with a demonic imp released from a bowling trophy. Good-looking young women in various states of undress are the film's drawing card. | tt0096142 | [R] | Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, Andras Jones, Robin Rochelle, Brinke Stevens, Kathi Obrecht, George 'Buck' Flower | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Sorority Boys | 2002 | Wallace Wolodarsky | ★½ | 94 | Crude comedy about three sexist frat boys forced into passing themselves off as women and taking refuge in a sorority house. A more appropriate title would be SOME LIKE IT STUPID. Aging baby boomers will note the presence in the cast of several aging graduates of ANIMAL HOUSE. | tt0279781 | [R] | Barry Watson, Harland Williams, Michael Rosenbaum, Melissa Sagemiller, Heather Matarazzo, Kathryn Stockwood, James Daughton, Stephen Furst, Mark Metcalf, Peter Scolari, Wendie Jo Sperber, John Vernon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sorority Girl | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 60 | Lumbering tale of angst and alienation, 1950s-style. The heroine (Cabot) is a wealthy but warped college coed; she can't fit in with the members of her sorority, so she lashes out at everyone around her. A female version of Calder Willingham's End as a Man, filmed that same year as THE STRANGE ONE. Remade in 1994 as CONFESSIONS OF A SORORITY GIRL and in 2000 as CONFESSIONS OF SORORITY GIRLS. | tt0050998 | Susan Cabot, Dick Miller, Barbara Crane, Fay Baker, June Kenney, Barboura O'Neill | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sorority Row | 2009 | Stewart Hendler | ★½ | 91 | A group of sorority girls have no idea what they're getting into when they decide to play a prank on one of their sister's cheating boyfriends. Complete with beautiful half-naked girls, sex, and blood, this typical "scary movie" doesn't make any attempt to be original. Remake of 1983's THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW. | tt1232783 | [R] | Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Margo Harshman, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Matt O'Leary, Julian Morris, Debra Gordon, Carrie Fisher, Audrina Patridge | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Sorrow and the Pity | 1970 | Marcel Ophüls | ★★★★ | 260 | Incredibly ambitious documentary about France's performance during WW2 is a total success. Film never becomes dull, in spite of four-and-a-half-hour length, even though bulk of footage is devoted to interviews with those who lived through the Nazi threat. A truly great film. 1999 reissue runs 249m. | tt0066904 | [PG] | Swiss | Documentary, War | NULL | ||
| Sorrowful Jones | 1949 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 88 | Average racetrack comedy, actually a remake of LITTLE MISS MARKER and hardly as good. | tt0041902 | Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, William Demarest, Mary Jane Saunders, Bruce Cabot, Thomas Gomez | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sorry, Haters | 2006 | Jeff Stanzler | ★★ | 86 | Hot-button film about a Muslim cabdriver in Manhattan who becomes involved with a passenger, an emotionally distraught businesswoman. Topical thriller attempts to deal with tensions and prejudices in post-9/11 New York City. Good performances help, but Stanzler's script goes wildly askew. | tt0425600 | Robin Wright Penn, Abdellatif Kechiche, Sandra Oh, Aasif Mandvi, Élodie Bouchez, Fred Durst, Josh Hamilton | NULL | ||||
| Sorry, Wrong Number | 1948 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 89 | Overly complicated adaptation of famous radio thriller, but still a tense study of woman overhearing murder plan on telephone, discovering she's to be the victim. Stanwyck won an Oscar nomination for her bravura performance; adapted— or rather, expanded— by Lucille Fletcher, from her radio drama (which starred Agnes Moorehead). Remade for cable TV in 1989 with Loni Anderson. | tt0040823 | Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson, William Conrad | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Sotto, Sotto | 1984 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★½ | 105 | Obvious, but not unentertaining, tale of Lario, who finds herself attracted to longtime best friend de Santis; her husband (Montesano), a sexist animal with a fragile ego, then goes comically berserk. Incidentally, actor Wertmuller is the director's nephew. | tt0088155 | [R] | Enrico Montesano, Veronica Lario, Luisa de Santis, Massimo Wertmuller | Italian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Soul Food | 1997 | George Tillman/ Jr | ★★★ | 114 | When Chicago-based black matriarch Hall, the glue that holds her family together, falls ill, grandson Hammond does his best to step in. A rare '90s movie about family values that really works. Excellent ensemble cast in a poignant story that is honest and heartwarming. | tt0120169 | [R] | Vanessa L. Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Brandon Hammond, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer, Irma P. Hall | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Soul Kitchen | 2009 | Fatih Akin | ★★ | 100 | In Hamburg, well-meaning but hopelessly disorganized Zinos (Bousdoukos) runs a funky neighborhood restaurant called Soul Kitchen. When he decides to follow his girlfriend to Shanghai he signs over ownership to his irresponsible brother (Bleibtreu), unaware that an old schoolmate is determined to buy the restaurant and tear it down. Enjoyable fluff strays toward farce at times but remains likable because we develop rooting interest for the harried hero. Bousdoukos cowrote the screenplay with director Akin. | tt1244668 | Unrated | Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birol Ünel, Dorka Gryllus, Pheline Roggan, Anna Bederke, Wötan Wilke Möhring | German-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Soul Man | 1986 | Steve Miner | ★★ | 101 | Young man desperate to go to Harvard Law School masquerades as a black in order to get minority scholarship. Slick but distressingly superficial; if this is the 1980s version of social satire, we're all in trouble. | tt0091991 | [PG-13] | C. Thomas Howell, Arye Gross, Rae Dawn Chong, James Earl Jones, Melora Hardin, Leslie Nielsen, James B. Sikking, Max Wright, Jeff Altman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ronald Reagan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Soul Men | 2008 | Malcolm D. Lee | ★★½ | 103 | Death of a Motown-type singing star inspires onetime backup singer Mac to locate his estranged partner (Jackson) and persuade him to travel cross-country to perform at a memorial concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Road trip/reunion/buddy comedy is pretty thin but it’s still fun to watch Jackson and Mac together, especially when they sing and put on their performance moves. Ends with footage that pays tribute to Isaac Hayes and especially Mac, both of whom died before the film’s release. | tt1111948 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sharon Leal, Sean Hayes, Adam Herschman, Affion Crockett, Jennifer Coolidge, John Legend, Isaac Hayes | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Soul Plane | 2004 | Jessy Terrero | ★½ | 86 | Young man who's always loved planes wins one hundred million dollars in a lawsuit and starts his own all-black airline. Arnold and his all-white family wind up on the first flight. Slight plot supports a nonstop string of (largely L.A.-centric) jokes, some of them funny, most of them vulgar, many of them bouncing off, if not reinforcing, stereotypes of black culture. How much you laugh is strictly a matter of personal taste. At least it's short. Unrated version runs 92m. | tt0367085 | [R] | Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, *** Method Man, K. D. Aubert, Godfrey, Brian Hooks, D. L. Hughley, Arielle Kebbel, Mo'Nique, Ryan Pinkston, Missi Pyle, Sommore, Sofia Vergara, Gary Anthony Williams, John Witherspoon, Snoop Dogg | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Soul Surfer | 2011 | Sean McNamara | ★★★ | 106 | Inspiring true story of Bethany Hamilton, teenaged Hawaiian surfing whiz whose right arm was bitten off by a shark. Film chronicles the horrific accident’s aftermath and Hamilton’s determination to get back into competition. Gorgeous Kauai locations and cinematography make this a must for surf enthusiasts, but it’s the remarkable pluck, drive, and faith of its main character that makes it worthwhile overall. Robb captures Hamilton’s spirit and believably hangs ten on those big waves. Pop star Underwood makes an OK acting debut as a church group leader. Nicholson, who plays best friend Alana, is the daughter of Jack Nicholson. | tt1596346 | [PG] | AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Lorraine Nicholson, Carrie Underwood, Craig T. Nelson, Ross Thomas, Kevin Sorbo, Sonya Balmores (Chung), David Chokachi | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Soul Survivors | 2001 | Steve Carpenter | 💣 | 85 | A young woman and her three friends have one last night of celebration before going their separate ways for college. Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong. Supernatural, horror, teensploitation, reality/fantasy grab bag set to pulsing music, this movie shamelessly steals ideas from good movies— and bad ones too. So-called 'Killer Cut' is rated R. | tt0218619 | [PG-13] | Melissa Sagemiller, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Eliza Dushku, Angela Featherstone, Luke Wilson | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Soul of Nigger Charley | 1973 | Larry Spangler | ★½ | 104 | Weak sequel to LEGEND OF NIGGER CHARLEY finds Charley trying to free slaves held captive by former Confederate Army officer in Mexico. | tt0070721 | [R] | Fred Williamson, D'Urville Martin, Denise Nicholas, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Richard Farnsworth | Western | NULL | ||
| The Soul of a Monster | 1944 | Will Jason | 💣 | 61 | Otherworldly Hobart has strange control over doctor Macready after reviving him when he was at death's door. A guaranteed sleep-inducer. | tt0037301 | Rose Hobart, George Macready, Jim Bannon, Jeanne Bates | Horror | NULL | |||
| Soul of the Game | 1996 | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Above Average TV Movie | 95 | Evocative study of baseball greats Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and young Jackie Robinson on the eve of integration in the major leagues. The question: Who will be the first to get the call? Lindo is especially riveting as the barnstorming Paige (portrayed in depth only one other time, by Louis Gossett, Jr., in the 1981 TV movie DON'T LOOK BACK). Written with attitude by David Himmelstein from a story by Gary Hoffman. Made for cable. | tt0115631 | Delroy Lindo, Mykelti Williamson, Blair Underwood, Edward Herrmann, R. Lee Ermey, Gina Ravera, Salli Richardson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Soul to Soul | 1971 | Denis Sanders | ★★★ | 95 | Good documentary of American soul, jazz and gospel performers in a concert commemorating the 14th anniversary of Ghanaian independence. Pickett is in top form singing 'Funky Broadway' and 'Land of 1,000 Dances.' | tt0244807 | [G] | Wilson Pickett, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, Santana, Roberta Flack, Les McCann, Willie Bobo, Eddie Harris, The Staple Singers | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Souls at Sea | 1937 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 92 | Fine actioner with Cooper and Raft struggling to save lives during ship tragedy; Cooper wrongly accused of irresponsibility. The stars make a good team here. | tt0029593 | Gary Cooper, George Raft, Frances Dee, Olympe Bradna, Henry Wilcoxon, Harry Carey, Robert Cummings, Joseph Schildkraut, George Zucco, Virginia Weidler | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sound Off | 1952 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 83 | Too-often unimaginative Army comedy with Rooney a performer who's drafted and can't stop showing off. Written by Quine and Blake Edwards. | tt0045181 | Mickey Rooney, Anne James, John Archer, Sammy White | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Sound and the Fury | 1959 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 115 | Strange adaptation of William Faulkner novel becomes plodding tale of girl seeking independence from strict family rule in the South. | tt0053298 | Yul Brynner, Joanne Woodward, Margaret Leighton, Stuart Whitman, Ethel Waters, Jack Warden, Albert Dekker | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sound of Music | 1965 | Robert Wise | ★★★½ | 174 | The children: Charmian Carr, Nicolas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath. Call it corn if you like, but blockbuster Rodgers & Hammerstein musical based on Austria's real-life Von Trapp family, who fled their homeland in 1938 to escape from Nazi rule, pleased more people than practically any other film in history. Fine music, beautiful scenery help offset coy aspects of script. Five Oscars include Best Picture, Director, Score Adaptation (Irwin Kostal), Editing (William Reynolds). Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, based on the Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse Broadway show. Songs include 'Do Re Mi,' 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' and title tune. Usually cut for TV to 145m. | tt0059742 | Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Peggy Wood, Richard Haydn, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Norma Varden, Marni Nixon. Charmian Carr, Nicolas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath | Musical, Family | NULL | |||
| Sound of My Voice | 2012 | Zal Batmanglij | ★★½ | 84 | Engaging mix of science fiction and art-house drama has investigative documentarians infiltrating a cultlike group on a mission to expose the charismatic leader (Marling)—who claims to be a time traveler—as a fraud. The path to the truth is littered with tricks and tests causing the would-be filmmakers to question their motives—and one another. First leg of a purported trilogy, scripted by Marling and Batmanglij, though fascinating from the outset, unfortunately leaves us aching to know far more than we get to at the climactic aha! moment. No doubt all will be revealed in the future come Part II. | tt1748207 | [R] | Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling, Davenia McFadden, Kandice Stroh, Richard Wharton, Alvin Lam, Constance Wu | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Sound of Thunder | 2005 | Peter Hyams | ★½ | 103 | In Chicago, 2055, a company takes expeditions back in time to hunt dinosaurs. Precautions are taken, but (of course) something goes wrong, and a tiny change in the past sends alterations down through time that our heroes try to set right. Misguided expansion of Ray Bradbury short story with mediocre effects and a confusing script. It's easy to see why this remained on the shelf so long. Filmed in 2002. | tt0318081 | [PG-13] | Edward Burns, Catherine McCormack, Ben Kingsley, Jemima Rooper, David Oyelowo, Wilfried Hochholdinger, August Zirner, Corey Johnson | U.S.-German-Czech | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | |
| Sounder | 1972 | Martin Ritt | ★★★★ | 105 | Beautiful film, romanticizing in a positive sense experiences of black sharecropper family in 1930s — and the maturation of young Hooks. Full of fine performances that make characters utterly real. Mahal also composed the score. Screenplay by Lonnie Elder III from William Armstrong's novel. Remade for TV in 2003. Sequel: PART 2, SOUNDER. | tt0069303 | [G] | Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Carmen Mathews, Taj Mahal, James Best, Janet MacLachlan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Soup for One | 1982 | Jonathan Kaufer | ★★½ | 87 | Sometimes winning but uneven account of single New Yorker Rubinek searching for his dream girl. The cast is game; solid work by 26-year-old director Kaufer. | tt0084708 | [R] | Saul Rubinek, Marcia Strassman, Gerrit Graham, Teddy Pendergrass, Richard Libertini, Andrea Martin, Lewis J. Stadlen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Soup to Nuts | 1930 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★½ | 71 | Oddball early talkie about a shopkeeper in trouble and some neighborhood firemen; written by cartoonist Rube Goldberg. Chief point of interest today is film debut of Healy's sidekicks The Three Stooges, then actually four in number (Moe, Larry, Shemp, and Fred Sanborn). They provide the movie's highlight, doing their vaudeville routine. | tt0021408 | Ted Healy, Charles Winninger, Frances McCoy, Lucile Browne, Stanley Smith, Hallam Cooley, Roscoe Ates, Billy Barty | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Soupçon | 1979 | Jean-Charles Tacchella | ★★½ | 93 | Middle-aged couple (Carmet, Dubois) decide to separate after a quarter-century of marriage. Spirited and attractively played, but still forgettable; a disappointment from the director of COUSIN, COUSINE. | tt0079326 | Jean Carmet, Marie Dubois, Alain Doutey, Rachel Jenevein, Jose Laccioni | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sour Grapes | 1998 | Larry David | ★★½ | 92 | Bierko hits a $400,000 slot machine jackpot at a casino; Weber, his doctor cousin, thinks he's due half the loot because he loaned him the necessary quarters. Occasionally very funny, the movie is undermined by overemphatic 'comedy' acting, unsympathetic characters, and a sitcom approach. Writer-director David cocreated Seinfeld, which explains both the good and the bad stuff here. | tt0120838 | [R] | Steven Weber, Craig Bierko, Matt Keeslar, Karen Sillas, Robyn Peterman, Viola Harris, Jennifer Leigh Warren | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Source Code | 2011 | Duncan Jones | ★★ | 94 | Gyllenhaal awakens on a Chicago commuter train in a stranger’s body, sitting opposite his supposed girlfriend. After the train is hit by a firebomb, he learns that he is a soldier who has been transported into someone else’s body in order to investigate the bombing and discover its perpetrator. But every time he returns for a replay of the same action, he becomes more emotionally engaged. Pretty good movie based on an intriguing concept, though it adds more layers of complexity than truly necessary, especially toward the end. | tt0945513 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Brent Skagford, Cas Anvar, Michael Arden, Craig Thomas, Russell Peters, James A. Woods | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Source | 1999 | Chuck Workman | ★★★ | 88 | Pop-style documentary on the Beat movement, drawing on archival footage of Jack Kerouac plus fresh material on William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Audience-friendly rather than scholarly, this lively film serves as an excellent primer on this seminal movement in American culture. Key poems by Kerouac, Burroughs, and Ginsberg are performed on-camera by a well-chosen Johnny Depp, Dennis Hopper, and John Turturro, respectively. | tt0181833 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| South Central | 1992 | Steve Anderson | ★★½ | 99 | Sobering, well-meaning drama of life and desperation in inner-city L.A. is similar in theme to (but not nearly as effective as) BOYZ N THE HOOD. Plummer is aces as an embattled street-gang veteran who undergoes an odyssey of transformation, and determines to spare his young son (Coleman) from the ravages of gang life. Anderson scripted, based on the novel Crips by L.A. schoolteacher Donald Bakeer. The executive producer was Oliver Stone. | tt0105450 | [R] | Glenn Plummer, Byron Keith Minns, LaRita Shelby, Carl Lumbly, Lexie D. Bingham, Christian Coleman | Drama | NULL | ||
| South Pacific | 1958 | Joshua Logan | ★★½ | 151 | Disappointing filmization of great Rodgers & Hammerstein show; adaptation of James Michener's moving vignettes about WW2 life on Pacific island needs dynamic personalities to make it catch fire, and they aren't here. Even location filming is lackluster. Adequate but hardly memorable. Songs include 'Some Enchanted Evening,' 'There Is Nothing Like a Dame.' Among the sailors and servicemen you'll spot John Gabriel, Ron Ely, Doug McClure, and James Stacy. Originally shown at 171m. Remade in 2001 for TV. | tt0052225 | Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Tom Laughlin, voice of Giorgio Tozzi | Musical, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | 1999 | Trey Parker | ★★★ | 81 | The pint-sized, animated kids of South Park, Colorado, are so fond of the new R-rated Terrance and Phillip movie that they start imitating its rude dialogue. This inspires the parents of South Park to mount a campaign against the movie's stars— and homeland, Canada. Sharp, funny (and yes, foul-mouthed) satire, based on the irreverent TV series; sparked by great songs by Parker and Marc Shaiman. | tt0158983 | [R] | Voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, George Clooney, Brent Spiner, Minnie Driver, Dave Foley, Eric Idle, Mike Judge, Nick Rhodes, Stewart Copeland | Animation, Musical, Comedy | NULL | ||
| South Riding | 1938 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 84 | Enjoyable drama from Winifred Holtby's novel about political and personal problems among a group of characters living in Yorkshire. Smoothly made and superbly acted by a flawless cast. Film debut of 15-year-old Johns, cast as Richardson's daughter. Original British running time: 90m. | tt0030774 | Ralph Richardson, Edna Best, Edmund Gwenn, Ann Todd, John Clements, Marie Lohr, Milton Rosmer, Glynis Johns | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| South Sea Sinner | 1950 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 88 | Muddled melodrama involving fugitive from justice being intimidated by those on island who knew his past; Winters is blowsy cafe singer. Remake of 1940 SEVEN SINNERS. | tt0041904 | Macdonald Carey, Shelley Winters, Luther Adler, Frank Lovejoy, Liberace | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| South Sea Woman | 1953 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 99 | Murky tropical isle story of love and deceit with soldier Lancaster sparking with Mayo. | tt0046348 | Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Chuck Connors, Arthur Shields, Paul Burke | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| South of Caliente | 1951 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Dale must sell her favorite race horse to save her ranch from crooked trainer Fowley and hires Roy to transport the horse and eventually save the day. Trigger is prominently featured in this horse-heavy story, but Lee's antics detract. | tt0044063 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pinky Lee, Douglas Fowley, Ric Roman, Leonard Penn, Willie Best, Pat Brady, George J. Lewis, Roy Rogers Riders. | Western | NULL | |||
| South of Heaven, West of Hell | 2000 | Dwight Yoakam | ★★ | 127 | Standard Western plot of redemption pits marshal Yoakam against his former 'foster family' of outlaws, led by Bible-toting patriarch Askew. Cowriter/director/composer/star Yoakam overreached in this overlong story, and seems to have given his large cast free rein. Executive produced by Buck Owens. Runs 100m. on VHS. | tt0179473 | [R] | Dwight Yoakam, Vince Vaughn, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Peter Fonda, Paul Reubens, Bud Cort, Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Noble Willingham, Scott Wilson, Luke Askew, Michael Jeter, Joe Ely, Warren Zevon | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| South of Pago Pago | 1940 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 98 | Juvenile actioner of pirates stealing natives' supply of pearls, encountering local hostility. | tt0033082 | Victor McLaglen, Jon Hall, Frances Farmer, Olympe Bradna, Gene Lockhart | Adventure | NULL | |||
| South of Reno | 1987 | Mark Rezyka | ★★½ | 94 | Desert hermit Osterhage discovers that wife Blount has been unfaithful. Well made and visually arresting but convoluted plot-wise; still, an impressive first feature from Rezyka, who also coscripted. | tt0096147 | [R] | Jeffrey Osterhage, Lisa Blount, Joe Phelan, Lewis Van Bergen, Julia Montgomery, Billy Bob Thornton | Drama | NULL | ||
| South of Santa Fe | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 60 | Eastern gangster Fix joins Roy and Gabby on the annual Ride of the Vaqueros in order to kidnap and ransom rich businessmen. Good story, with most of the action toward the end. Brady, later Roy's TV sidekick in the '50s, emerges here as a comic foil to Gabby. | tt0035364 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Linda Hayes, Paul Fix, Judy Clark, Bobby Beers, Arthur Loft, Charles Miller, Sam Flint, Jack Kirk, Pat Brady, The Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| South of St. Louis | 1949 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 88 | Three ranching partners (McCrea, Scott, Kennedy) fall into dispute over land, money, Civil War gun-running, and women. Unmemorable Western has good cast, fast pacing, and Technicolor on its side. | tt0041907 | Joel McCrea, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, Douglas Kennedy, Alan Hale/Sr., Victor Jory | Western | NULL | |||
| South of Suez | 1940 | Lewis Seiler. | ★★½ | 86 | Greedy Tobias kills mine owner Mander to gain possession of the Star of Africa diamond and frames foreman Brent, who flees to England, changes his name, and has a torrid romance with the murdered man's unwitting daughter. Engrossing little Warner Bros. B film with scene-stealing work by Tobias (in a rare villainous role) and Patrick as his wife. | tt0033083 | George Brent, Brenda Marshall, George Tobias, James Stephenson, Lee Patrick, Eric Blore, Miles Mander, Cecil Kellaway. | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| South of the Border | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★★ | 71 | Top Autry adventure has him and Smiley trying to discover the identity of foreign agents attempting to overthrow the government of Latin country Palermo. Along the way Gene also falls for Tovar. Expert blend of action and heartfelt romance, with ten songs, including the classic title tune and 'Goodbye Little Darlin'.' One of Gene's best. | tt0031957 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, June Storey, Lupita Tovar, Mary Lee, Duncan Renaldo, Frank Reicher, Alan Edwards, Claire Du Brey, William Farnum. | Western | NULL | |||
| South: Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition | 1919 | Frank Hurley | ★★★½ | 88 | Extraordinary document of the fabled 1915 Ernest Shackleton expedition to Antarctica and the stranded crew's efforts to save themselves. The story has been recounted and dramatized since then, but nothing can compare to this original, straightforward account— with startlingly clear footage that looks as if it was shot this morning. | tt0198559 | British | Documentary, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Southern Comfort | 1981 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 106 | Macho National Guardsmen patronize Cajuns in the Louisiana swamp, much to their regret. Survival-of-the-fittest yarn is an intellectually muddled, Grade B DELIVERANCE, despite its crisp direction. | tt0083111 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales, T. K. Carter, Lewis Smith, Les Lannom, Peter Coyote, Brion James | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| The Southern Star | 1969 | Sidney Hayers | ★★½ | 102 | Uneven combination comedy-adventure detailing multiparty chase for possession of unusually large diamond boasts beautiful locations in Senegal, Africa, but not much else. Based on a Jules Verne novel. | tt0065025 | [M] | George Segal, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Michel Constantin | British-French-U.S. | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |
| A Southern Yankee | 1948 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★★ | 90 | Hilarious Skelton comedy set during Civil War with Red a bumbling Yankee spy down South. Reminiscent of silent comedies, since Buster Keaton devised many of the film's gags. | tt0040825 | Red Skelton, Brian Donlevy, Arlene Dahl, George Coulouris, Lloyd Gough, John Ireland, Charles Dingle, Joyce Compton | Comedy, Western, War | NULL | |||
| The Southerner | 1945 | Jean Renoir | ★★★★ | 91 | Superb drama of family struggling to make farmland self-supporting against serious odds. Renoir adapted George Sessions Perry's novel Hold Autumn in Your Hand. | tt0038107 | Zachary Scott, Betty Field, Beulah Bondi, J. Carrol Naish, Norman Lloyd, Bunny Sunshine, Jay Gilpin, Estelle Taylor, Percy Kilbride, Blanche Yurka | Drama | NULL | |||
| Southland Tales | 2007 | Richard Kelly | ★½ | 144 | Impressive cast is wasted in an overlong, overwrought wallow set in 2008 Southern California 3 years after a disastrous nuclear attack on Texas has turned America into a police state. Focuses on several people trying to survive in this postapocalyptic environment, including a B-action film actor, a porn star turned TV commentator, and an L.A. police officer on a journey of self-discovery when his personality is split in two. Even more convoluted and disjointed than it sounds. | tt0405336 | [R] | Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Nora Dunn, John Larroquette, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Miranda Richardson, Wallace Shawn, Holmes Osborne, Kevin Smith, Christopher Lambert, Janeane Garofolo, Beth Grant, Zelda Rubinstein, Curtis Armstrong, Will Sasso | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Southside 1-1000 | 1950 | Boris Ingster. | ★★½ | 73 | Solid documentary-style crime thriller centering on treasury agent DeFore's efforts to infiltrate counterfeiting ring and making surprising discovery about the identity of the gang leader. Minor-league T-MEN is pretty well done, aided by standout Russell Harlan location photography of L.A. and San Quentin prison. | tt0042989 | Don DeFore, Andrea King, George Tobias, Barry Kelley, Morris Ankrum, Robert Osterloh. | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Southward, Ho! | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 58 | Following the Civil War, ex-Confederate soldiers Rogers and Hayes repair to Gabby's Texas ranch, co-owned by former Yankee colonel Boteler . . . but a militia made up of crooked Union soldiers runs roughshod over the territory. Meanwhile, Roy and the colonel's daughter (Hart) set off sparks. Enjoyable musical Western marks Roy and Gabby's first film together. | tt0031958 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Mary Hart (Lynne Roberts), Wade Boteler, Arthur Loft, Lane Chandler, Tom London. | Western | NULL | |||
| Southwest Passage | 1954 | Ray Nazarro | ★★ | 82 | Familiar tale of bank robber and gal joining up with settlers heading West, staving off Indian attack. | tt0047517 | Joanne Dru, Rod Cameron, John Ireland, John Dehner, Guinn Williams, Mark Hanna | Western | NULL | |||
| Soylent Green | 1973 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 100 | Well-intentioned but cardboard adaptation of Harry Harrison's science-fiction classic Make Room! Make Room! In the year 2022, Manhattan has become an overcrowded hellhole; cop Heston, investigating murder of bigwig, stumbles onto explosive government secret (which you'll figure out long before he does). Robinson is splendid in his final film; title refers to a precious foodstuff made of soybeans and lentils. | tt0070723 | [PG] | Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Whit Bissell, Mike Henry, Dick Van Patten | Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Space Children | 1958 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 69 | Strange force brainwashes children into performing sabotage at Pacific nuclear test site. Anti-war film isn't up to Arnold's other 50s science-fiction classics, but is sufficiently offbeat to warrant a peek. | tt0052227 | Michel Ray, Peggy Webber, Adam Williams, Jackie Coogan, Johnny Washbrook | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Space Chimps | 2008 | Kirk DeMicco | ★½ | 81 | Lame, unfunny animated tale has freewheeling Ham III, grandson of the first chimp astronaut, sent into space along with two other dimwitted simians on a mission to eliminate the evil leader of another planet. Paint-by-numbers CGI animation is flat and a lifeless script is full of hoary gags. | tt0482603 | [G] | Voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Jane Lynch, Stanley Tucci, Patrick Warburton, Zack Shada, Omid Abtahi | Comedy, Animation, Family, Romance, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Space Cowboys | 2000 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 129 | Amiable yarn about onetime hotshot Air Force pilots who are recruited by NASA— in desperation— to rescue a Russian satellite built with now-obsolete technology only they can comprehend. Barely believable but good-natured fun, especially for fans of the stars. | tt0186566 | [PG-13] | Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, James Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, James Cromwell, Blair Brown, William Devane, Loren Dean, Courtney B. Vance, Rade Sherbedgia, Barbara Babcock | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Space Jam | 1996 | Joe Pytka | ★★★ | 87 | A 'high-concept' movie that actually works: basketball superstar Jordan is sucked into Looney Tune Land to help Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Co. square off against a group of space invaders in a do-or-die basketball game. Jordan is very engaging, the vintage characters perform admirably (although whoever 'airbrushed' them had a heavy hand), and the computer-generated special effects are a collective knockout. Bill Murray appears unbilled, and many sports figures appear as themselves. | tt0117705 | [PG] | Bugs Bunny, Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues, Larry Johnson; voices of Danny DeVito, Billy West, Dee Bradley Baker, Bob Bergen, Bill Farmer, June Foray | Adventure, Family, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Space Master X-7 | 1958 | Edward Bernds | ★★ | 71 | A returning satellite brings with it a fast-growing fungus, dubbed 'Blood Rust.' Williams and Ellis track down the woman who is unknowingly spreading the deadly stuff. Routine but competent. Moe plays a cab driver. | tt0052228 | Bill Williams, Robert Ellis, Lyn Thomas, Paul Frees, Joan Barry, Thomas Browne Henry, Moe Howard | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Space Rage | 1985 | Conrad Palmisano | 💣 | 77 | Meek space Western is set on a prison planet. Farnsworth is ex-cop who straps on his laser beam six-shooter to teach Paré and the other outlaws a lesson; he should've turned the laser on this bomb instead! | tt0090054 | [R] | Richard Farnsworth, Michael Paré, John Laughlin, Lee Purcell, Lewis Van Bergen, William Windom | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Space Raiders | 1983 | Howard R. Cohen | ★★ | 82 | This toothless adventure is another Roger Corman-produced space opera using special effects footage and music from BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Acceptable genre fare for the undemanding viewer. | tt0086345 | [PG] | Vince Edwards, David Mendenhall, Patsy Pease, Thom Christopher, Luca Bercovici, Dick Miller | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| SpaceCamp | 1986 | Harry Winer | ★★ | 107 | Or, BRATS IN SPACE, the story of some kids who wouldn't rate at McDonald's College of Hamburger Knowledge, but somehow get chosen to train at NASA summer camp— and accidentally get launched into space. There's a cute robot, but other special effects are way below par. | tt0091993 | [PG] | Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Larry B. Scott, Joaquin Phoenix, Tate Donovan, Tom Skerritt, Barry Primus, Terry O'Quinn | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spaceballs | 1987 | Mel Brooks | ★★½ | 96 | Likably silly parody of STAR WARS (years after the fact) is basically a collection of jokes, both verbal and visual. Enough of them are funny to make for pleasant, if not hilarious, fare. Surprisingly innocuous for Brooks and Co., with Mel tackling two roles, including the diminutive Yogurt. | tt0094012 | [PG] | Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Michael Winslow, Lorene Yarnell, John Hurt, Ronny Graham, Rhonda Shear; voices of Joan Rivers, Dom DeLuise | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spaced Invaders | 1990 | Patrick Read Johnson | ★½ | 102 | Martians, out to 'kick some Earthling butt,' fly into a Mayberry-type burg after mistaking a Halloween rebroadcast of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds for legitimate invasion orders. Have you ever noticed that Welles couldn't get financing for decades, but movies like this keep getting made? Criminally overlong. | tt0100666 | [PG] | Douglas Barr, Royal Dano, Ariana Richards, J. J. Anderson, Gregg Berger, Kevin Thompson, Jimmy Briscoe | Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spaceflight IC-1 | 1965 | Bernard Knowles | ★½ | 65 | Dreary, talky film with no space thrills and little action, set aboard a spaceship between planets. | tt0059744 | Bill Williams, Norma West, John Cairney, Linda Marlowe, Jeremy Longhurst | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone | 1983 | Lamont Johnson | ★½ | 90 | Title character roams a planet's barren wasteland in order to rescue three damsels in distress, who are being held captive by a vicious mutant called Overdog. Boring and obnoxious, even in 3-D. | tt0086346 | [PG] | Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Spaceways | 1953 | Terence Fisher | ★½ | 76 | To prove Duff hasn't murdered Bartok's husband and stuffed him into a just-launched satellite, they go up to look on the next rocket, but that happens only at the very end of this slow movie. From a novel and radio play by Charles Eric Maine. | tt0046351 | Howard Duff, Eva Bartok, Andrew Osborn, Alan Wheatley | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spanglish | 2004 | James L. Brooks. | ★★ | 131 | Strong-minded Mexican woman goes to work for a well-to-do L.A. family, causing reverberations within that dysfunctional clan— and changing the life of her impressionable young daughter. Sandler gives a mushy performance as the father/husband (a star chef, though we never get a sense of his mastery in the kitchen), while Leoni is stunningly strident as his wife. There are nuggets— a good scene here, a moment of sharp observation there— in writer-director Brooks' script, but mostly it's a mess. | tt0371246 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman, Shelbie Bruce, Sarah Steele, Ian Hyland, Thomas Haden Church. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Spanish Affair | 1958 | Don Siegel | ★★ | 95 | Virtually a travelogue pegged on slight plot of Kiley, American architect, traveling in Iberia, falling in love with local girl; nice scenery, but hardly typical Siegel fare. | tt0052230 | Richard Kiley, Carmen Sevilla, Jose Guardiola, Jesus Tordesillas | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Spanish Cape Mystery | 1935 | Lewis D. Collins | ★★½ | 65 | First Ellery Queen movie finds master sleuth (Cook) investigating murder at seaside resort and falling in love with primary suspect (Twelvetrees). Hokey denouement mars otherwise enjoyable whodunit. | tt0027028 | Helen Twelvetrees, Donald Cook, Berton Churchill, Frank Sheridan, Guy Usher | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Spanish Gardener | 1956 | Philip Leacock | ★★★ | 95 | When gardener befriends employer's young son, diplomat father becomes jealous. Intelligent and beautifully filmed adaptation of A. J. Cronin novel. | tt0049787 | Dirk Bogarde, Maureen Swanson, Jon Whiteley, Cyril Cusack, Bernard Lee, Michael Hordern | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Spanish Main | 1945 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 100 | Colorful escapism with swashbuckling pirate Henreid foiling villain Slezak, winning O'Hara. | tt0038108 | Paul Henreid, Maureen O'Hara, Walter Slezak, Binnie Barnes, John Emery, Barton MacLane | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Spanish Prisoner | 1998 | David Mamet | ★★½ | 112 | Naive young man, who's developed a secret and highly valuable program for a high-tech company, is concerned that he won't be properly compensated and thus is easy prey for those who would steal the secret. Too easy, if you ask us, and that's the problem with this ice-cold but intriguing Mamet screenplay: we didn't buy it at crucial points in its serpentine story. Scott and Martin are excellent; leading lady Pidgeon is Mrs. Mamet. | tt0120176 | [PG] | Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara, Ricky Jay, Felicity Huffman, Ed O'Neill, J. J. Johnston | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Spanking the Monkey | 1994 | David O. Russell | ★★½ | 106 | Just your average black comedy about masturbation and incest: Bright teenager is told by his traveling-salesman father that he must sacrifice a prestigious summer internship to stay home and tend to his bedridden mother. The intimacy of having to take care of her every need soon leads to unexpected behavior. Debuting writer-director Russell shows assuredness and maintains credibility throughout (thanks, too, to bull's-eye performances), but the tone of the film wavers uncomfortably from comedy to drama. A film festival sleeper and audience favorite. | tt0111252 | Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Benjamin Hendrickson, Carla Gallo, Matthew Puckett, Judette Jones | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Spare the Rod | 1961 | Leslie Norman | ★★½ | 93 | Bygraves is idealistic teacher in tough London school trying to communicate with pupils and cope with the system; OK drama. | tt0055469 |
|
Max Bygraves, Donald Pleasence, Jean Anderson, Betty McDowall, Peter Reynolds, Geoffrey Keen | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sparkle | 1976 | Sam O'Steen | ★★½ | 100 | Rise of singing group not unlike The Supremes suffers from cliché overdose, but benefits from slick filmmaking, good musical numbers (by Curtis Mayfield), vivid performance by McKee. Worth comparing to later (and similar) Broadway musical Dreamgirls. | tt0075249 | [PG] | Philip M. (Michael) Thomas, Irene Cara, Lonette McKee, Dwan Smith, Mary Alice, Dorian Harewood, Tony King | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Sparrows | 1926 | William Beaudine | ★★★ | 84 | One of Mary's best silent pictures is a fullblooded melodrama about intrepid girl who struggles to protect band of younger orphans from their wicked captor. | tt0017423 | Mary Pickford, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Roy Stewart, Mary Louise Miller, Charlotte Mineau, Spec O'Donnell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spartacus | 1960 | Stanley Kubrick | ★★★½ | 184 | Epic-scale saga with Douglas as a rebellious slave who leads a crusade for freedom against the forces of the Roman Empire. Overlength (particularly in fully restored version released in 1991) and some dramatic weaknesses are offset by Alex North's magnificent score, staggering battle scenes, and the delicious performances of Olivier, Laughton, and especially Ustinov, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his scene-stealing work. Oscars also went to Art Direction, Costume Design, and Russell Metty's Cinematography. Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo from the Howard Fast novel. Cut for 1967 reissue. In restored print, Anthony Hopkins dubbed Olivier's voice for notorious bathing scene with Curtis. Remade for cable TV in 2004. | tt0054331 | Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Nina Foch, Herbert Lom, John Ireland, Charles McGraw, Woody Strode, Joanna Barnes | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Spartan | 2004 | David Mamet | ★★ | 107 | A military operations specialist accustomed to following orders finds himself in unfamiliar territory when he has to think for himself— and use his initiative— to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the President of the U.S. Writer-director Mamet gives us a leading character who's so off-putting, in a plot so convoluted, that when there's finally some tension and excitement toward the end it's too little, too late. David Paymer appears unbilled. | tt0360009 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill, Kristen Bell, Said Taghmaoui, Linda Kimbrough, Tia Texada, Clark Gregg, J.J. Johnston, Natalia Nogulich, Matt Malloy | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Spasms | Death Bite | 1983 | William Fruet | 💣 | 87 | Reed has a telepathic— or, should we say, telepathetic— connection with a deadly serpent. Grade Z junk; filmed in 1981. Aka DEATH BITE. | tt0086349 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Oliver Reed, Kerrie Keane, Al Waxman, Marilyn Lightstone, George Bloomfield | Canadian | Horror | NULL |
| Spawn | 1997 | Mark A. Z. Dippé | ★★ | 97 | Government assassin White is killed by evil boss Sheen and goes to Hell, where a demon endows him with great powers and returns him to Earth. Despite the efforts of infernal clown Leguizamo, he becomes a hero. Baroque visual style is film's major virtue, but that can't overcome the many faults, including a boring, familiar, and illogical plot. Love that cape, though. From Todd McFarlane's comic book. Director's cut, rated R, has over a minute of additional footage. | tt0120177 | [PG-13] | John Leguizamo, Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen, Theresa Randle, D. B. Sweeney, Nicol Williamson, Melinda Clarke, Miko Hughes | Action, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Spawn of the North | 1938 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 110 | Action-packed film of Alaskan fisheries with good cast; Lamour surprisingly good. Barrymore amusing as talky newspaperman. The special photographic and sound effects earned a special Academy Award. Remade as ALASKA SEAS. | tt0030775 | George Raft, Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, Louise Platt, John Barrymore, Akim Tamiroff, Lynne Overman | Action, Romance | NULL | |||
| Speak Easily | 1932 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★★ | 82 | Dimwitted professor Keaton gets involved with show troupe en route to Broadway. One of Keaton's best talkies, with Durante in good form, Todd a wonderful vamp, Toler an amusing stage manager. | tt0023498 | Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, Sidney Toler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Speaking Parts | 1989 | Atom Egoyan | ★★★ | 92 | Fascinating account of laundry worker Khanjian and her fixation on aspiring actor McManus, who finds himself in an unusual relationship with screenwriter Rose. Sinuous story about three lost souls whose lives intersect, in person and on video. Very much of a piece with writer-director Egoyan's other work. | tt0098368 | Michael McManus, Arsinée Khanjian, Gabrielle Rose, Tony Nardi, David Hemblen, Patricia Collins, Gerard Parkes | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Speaking of Murder | 1959 | Gilles Grangier | ★★½ | 80 | Sensibly handled drama of brothers involved with life of crime. | tt0050913 |
|
Jean Gabin, Annie Girardot, Paul Frankeur, Lino Ventura | French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Special | 2008 | Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore | ★★½ | 81 | Shy social misfit signs up for a clinical drug-testing program and becomes convinced that the pill he’s taking has given him super powers, just like his comic-book heroes. Small-scale film is well done, with surprisingly good visual effects and stunt work, but its real strength is Rapaport’s convincing performance in the lead. Written by the directors, making their feature-film debuts. Released in the U.K. in 2006. | tt0479162 | [R] | Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker, Jack Kehler, Alexandra Holden, Ian Bohen, Christopher Darga | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Special Agent | 1935 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 78 | Programmer about Brent using Davis to get low-down on racketeer Cortez. | tt0027029 | Bette Davis, George Brent, Ricardo Cortez, Jack LaRue, Henry O'Neill | Crime | NULL | |||
| A Special Day | 1977 | Ettore Scola | ★★½ | 106 | Two lonely people chance to meet on an eventful day in 1938; Loren is frumpy housewife, Mastroianni a troubled homosexual. Fine performances bolster this pleasant but trifling film. | tt0076085 | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon, Françoise Berd, Nicole Magny | Italian-Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Special Delivery | 1976 | Paul Wendkos | ★★★ | 99 | Diverting comedy-action caper has Vietnam vets led by Svenson robbing a bank. When only Svenson escapes, he has to contend with nutty artist Shepherd (who's quite good) and killers after he stuffs the loot into a mailbox. Aka DANGEROUS BREAK. | tt0075250 | [PG] | Bo Svenson, Cybill Shepherd, Michael Gwynne, Tom Atkins, Sorrell Booke, Jeff Goldblum, Vic Tayback, Deidre Hall, Gerrit Graham | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Special Effects | 1984 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 93 | Intriguing but uneven tale of a down-on-his-luck director who films the murder of a young actress, and commences making a movie about his deed. He even finds someone to star in his epic who resembles his victim; both are played by Tamerlis. | tt0088157 | [R] | Zoe Tamerlis, Eric Bogosian, Brad Rijn, Kevin O'Connor, Bill Oland | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Special Section | 1975 | Costa-Gavras | ★★ | 110 | Overlong, excessively wordy drama of true happening in occupied Paris in 1941. Four expendables are tried and ceremonially condemned for the murder of a young German naval cadet. Some interest. | tt0073679 | [PG] | Louis Seigner, Michael Lonsdale, Jacques Perrin, Bruno Cremer, Pierre Dux, Henri Serre | French | Thriller | NULL | |
| Special Treatment | 1980 | Goran Paskaljevic | ★★★ | 94 | Fanatical doctor Tadic brings a group of alcoholics he's been treating to a brewery to show off his skills as a healer; of course, his charges don't remain sober for long. Strange, deadpan comedy is occasionally slow but mostly funny. | tt0081546 | Ljuba Tadic, Dusica Zegarac, Danilo Stojkovic, Milena Dravic, Petar Kralj | Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Specialist | 1975 | Hikmet Avedis | ★★ | 93 | Campy exploitation film has Capri well cast as a zaftig female version of usual macho killer-for-hire. Writer-producer Schmidt (director Avedis' wife) plays West's wife. | tt0073736 | [R] | Ahna Capri, John Anderson, Adam West, Alvy Moore, Christiane Schmidtmer, Marlene Schmidt | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Specialist | 1994 | Luis Llosa | ★★ | 109 | Explosives expert and freelance hit man Stallone, sullenly suffering angst over his CIA activities, is approached by Stone, who wants him to kill Roberts, the man who murdered her parents years earlier. But Stallone has been targeted by kinetic bad guy Woods and Cuban gangster Steiger, Roberts' father (who sounds like Ricky Ricardo and looks like Fred Mertz). Woods, in a funny, dynamic performance, breezily walks off with the movie. And he's welcome to it. Some good stunts and good work by Stone help keep it watchable. | tt0111255 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Rod Steiger, Eric Roberts, Mario Ernesto Sanchez | Action | NULL | ||
| The Specials | 2000 | Craig Mazin | ★★ | 82 | A squad of L.A. superheroes loses morale when their lucrative action-figure deal goes awry. Wacko comic cheapie isn't just a MYSTERY MEN retread, but never quite comes together despite game cast and flashes of wit. Funniest character is Minute Man; nobody gets his name right even though his superpower is that he can shrink. | tt0181836 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy, Thomas Haden Church, Paget Brewster, Judy Greer, Jordan Ladd, Sean Gunn, John Doe, Kelly Coffield, James Gunn, Barry Del Sherman, Melissa Joan Hart | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Species | 1995 | Roger Donaldson | ★★½ | 111 | DNA-tampering scientists at a Utah facility ultimately get theirs after creating a murderous creature, complete with tentacles, who's packaged like a blond centerfold. Fast and not without entertainment value, but don't look at yourself in the mirror too closely if you end up defending it. Direction is somewhat sturdier than the script, which has its share of (we think) unintentional howlers. Followed by two sequels; the latest is direct-to-video. | tt0114508 | [R] | Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Natasha Henstridge, Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger, Whip Hubley, Michelle Williams, Jordan Lund | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Species II | 1998 | Peter Medak | 💣 | 95 | The first man on Mars gets infested with alien DNA, and begins raping women who immediately, and fatally, give birth. Elsewhere, scientists have re-created the half-alien woman from the first film, hoping she'll be nice this time. Compared to this clunker, the first looks like a collaboration between Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Peter Boyle appears unbilled. | tt0120841 | [R] | Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Mykelti Williamson, Justin Lazard, James Cromwell, George Dzundza, Richard Belzer | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Speckled Band | 1931 | Jack Raymond | ★½ | 90 | Slow-as-molasses version of the Conan Doyle story, with Sherlock Holmes coming to the aid of a frightened girl (Baddeley), whose sister has been murdered. Interesting to see Massey cast as the sleuth, but this film is really boring. | tt0022418 | Lyn Harding, Raymond Massey, Angela Baddeley, Nancy Price, Athole Stewart | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Specter of the Rose | 1946 | Ben Hecht | ★★★ | 90 | Uniquely individual melodrama by Hecht set in the world of ballet, with an unusual cast, including dancers, non-actors, and scene-stealing Chekhov. Fascinating (some might even say strange), though definitely not for all tastes. | tt0038973 | Judith Anderson, Michael Chekhov, Ivan Kirov, Viola Essen, Lionel Stander | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Speechless | 1994 | Ron Underwood | ★★½ | 98 | Keaton and Davis fall in love, unaware that they work as speechwriters for opposing political candidates in a tough Arizona senate race. Cheerful contemporary comedy, with amusing digs at politics and the news media. How well you tolerate the ups and downs of the script and its protracted climax will depend on your fondness for the two stars. | tt0111256 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Christopher Reeve, Bonnie Bedelia, Ernie Hudson, Charles Martin Smith, Gailard Sartain, Ray Baker, Mitchell Ryan, Harry Shearer, Steven Wright | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Speed | 1936 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 70 | Stewart enhances this star-building quickie (one of eight features he made in 1936) as a test-car driver who's developed a high-speed carburetor. Most of the racing action consists of blatant rear-projection and stock footage. | tt0028291 | James Stewart, Wendy Barrie, Una Merkel, Ted Healy, Weldon Heyburn, Ralph Morgan, Patricia Wilder | Action | NULL | |||
| Speed | 1994 | Jan De Bont | ★★★½ | 116 | Incredibly kinetic, supercharged action yarn about an elite SWAT-team cop (Reeves) who's targeted by a psycho/mastermind (Hopper), and led onto an L.A. city bus that's triggered to explode. If you're going to make a nonstop action movie, this is the way to do it— with expert pacing, eye-popping stunts and special effects, and characters who make sense. A bull's-eye! Oscar winner for Best Sound and Sound Effects Editing. Followed by a sequel. | tt0111257 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels, Joe Morton, Alan Ruck, Glenn Plummer, Richard Lineback | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Speed 2: Cruise Control | 1997 | Jan De Bont | 💣 | 121 | Mind-numbingly stupid action yarn opens with a chase scene that makes no sense, and never improves. Bullock (whose character here is especially annoying) agrees to go on a Caribbean cruise with boyfriend Patric, an L.A.P.D. officer. When madman Dafoe takes control of the ship, Patric feels it's his duty to try and stop him. Did anyone read the script before signing on for this one? | tt0120179 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Brian McCardie, Christine Firkins, Colleen Camp, Lois Chiles, Jeremy Hotz, Bo Svenson, Glenn Plummer, Tim Conway | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Speed Crazy | 1959 | William Hole/ Jr | 💣 | 75 | Trashy, campy bottom-of-the-barrel programmer about a psychotic drifter who's 'an accident looking for a place to happen.' He's obsessed with fast cars, and keeps complaining that 'everybody keeps crowding me.' | tt0053300 | Brett Halsey, Yvonne Lime, Charles Willcox, Slick Slavin, Jacqueline Ravell, Baynes Barron, Jackie Joseph | Crime | NULL | |||
| Speed Racer | 2008 | The Wachowski Brothers | ★★ | 129 | Driving fast cars is all Speed Racer (Hirsch) cares about—even after a crash takes his older brother’s life. A ruthless corporate giant wants to sponsor him, but his heart is still with his Pop’s independent racing team. High-octane, CGI-crazy update of Tatsuo Yoshida’s 1960s TV series has a thimbleful of story but takes more than two hours to tell! Racing scenes are video games writ large, so unreal there’s no emotion attached to them. | tt0811080 | [PG] | Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Paulie Litt, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, Richard Roundtree, Kirk Gurry | Comedy, Action, Family | NULL | ||
| Speed Zone! | 1989 | Jim Drake | ★½ | 95 | Yet another variation on the CANNONBALL RUN cross-country road race, with Boyle as a sheriff who's determined to stop the race before it begins. Pointless, derivative, and unfunny, a particular waste of such talents as Candy, Levy, and Flaherty. You know you're in trouble when Brooke Shields gives the funniest performance in the film! | tt0098369 | [PG] | Peter Boyle, Donna Dixon, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Tim Matheson, The Smothers Brothers, Matt Frewer, Joe Flaherty, Shari Belafonte, Art Hindle, John Schneider, Jamie Farr, Lee Van Cleef, Michael Spinks, Brooke Shields, Alyssa Milano, Carl Lewis | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Speed to Spare | 1948 | William Berke. | ★★ | 57 | Arlen is OK as a stunt-car driver who decides to take it easy and become a driver for his friend's trucking company, only to find himself in more trouble. Acceptable programmer from the Paramount B factory of Pine-Thomas. | tt0040827 | Richard Arlen, Jean Rogers, Richard Travis, Roscoe Karns, Nanette Parks. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Speedtrap | 1977 | Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 98 | Private eye Baker is called in by the cops to trap an elusive car thief, and teamed with policewoman Daly. Good cast and predictable screeching tires can't save muddled script. | tt0076746 | [PG] | Joe Don Baker, Tyne Daly, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Loggia, Morgan Woodward, Timothy Carey | Action | NULL | ||
| Speedway | 1968 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 94 | Routine Presley tuner with Elvis starring as a bighearted stockcar racer and Sinatra along for the ride as a tax inspector. Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and other real-life auto racers are featured. | tt0063634 | Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Bill Bixby, Gale Gordon | Action | NULL | |||
| Speedy | 1928 | Ted Wilde | ★★★ | 86 | Contrived but enjoyable comedy has Harold trying to save N.Y.C.'s last horse-drawn trolley, run by his girlfriend's grandfather, from extinction. Vivid N.Y.C. location work includes hair-raising chase scene, and appealing cameo by Babe Ruth as himself. | tt0019412 | Harold Lloyd, Ann Christy, Bert Woodruff, Brooks Benedict | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Spellbinder | 1988 | Janet Greek | ★★ | 99 | L.A. lawyer falls for a mysterious beauty, slowly learns she's a witch, a member of a coven that wants her back as a sacrifice. A why-bother? occult thriller: slick, empty, and extremely predictable. | tt0096152 | [R] | Timothy Daly, Kelly Preston, Rick Rossovich, Diana Bellamy, Audra Lindley, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Anthony Crivello, Roderick Cook, Stefan Gierasch | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Spellbinder | 1939 | Jack Hively. | ★★ | 69 | Tracy plays yet another silver-tongued sharpie, here a crafty lawyer who revels in acquitting guilty crooks, until his daughter falls for one. The once-sprightly Tracy looks weary in this routine meller. | tt0031961 | Lee Tracy, Barbara Read, Patric Knowles, Allan Lane, Linda Hayes, Morgan Conway, Robert Emmett Keane. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spellbound | 1945 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 111 | Absorbing tale of psychiatrist Bergman trying to uncover Peck's hangups; Dali dream sequences, innovative (and Oscar-winning) Miklos Rozsa score help Hitchcock create another unique film. Based on novel The House of Dr. Edwardes by Francis Beeding; screenplay by Ben Hecht. In original theatrical prints, a key gunshot was shown in color. | tt0038109 | Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Leo G. Carroll, John Emery, Michael Chekhov, Wallace Ford, Rhonda Fleming, Bill Goodwin, Regis Toomey | Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Spellbound | 2003 | Jeffrey Blitz | ★★★½ | 97 | Terrific documentary that follows eight very different young contestants who participate in the 1999 National Spelling Bee. An enormously entertaining and often pointed examination of ideas about success and the American dream, with the final spelling duel as riveting as anything to be found in a fiction film. | tt0334405 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Spencer's Mountain | 1963 | Delmer Daves | ★★ | 119 | Mawkish sudser about Wyoming landowner Fonda who keeps promising to build another family house. Good cast stuck with inferior script. Based on the Earl Hamner, Jr. novel; later developed into The Waltons. | tt0057523 | Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara, James MacArthur, Donald Crisp, Wally Cox, Veronica Cartwright, Victor French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Spent | 2000 | Gil Cates/ Jr | ★★ | 91 | Ambitious but unconvincing portrait of addiction, deception, and denial, centering on a hopeless young movie industry wannabe whose chronic gambling is getting out of hand. He's surrounded by troubled souls, including a roommate (Parks) who refuses to acknowledge his sexual preference and a girlfriend (Spradling) who's an alcoholic. Aka $PENT. | tt0155198 | Jason London, Charlie Spradling, Phill Lewis, Erin Beaux, James Parks, Richmond Arquette, Barbara Barrie, Gilbert Cates, Rain Phoenix, Margaret Cho | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spetters | 1980 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★ | 115 | Adolescent shenanigans and dreams in Holland; teenagers sleep around and race their motorcycles while idolizing race champ Hauer. Graphically sexual, with crisp direction by Verhoeven; luscious Soutendijk scores as an ambitious hash-slinger. | tt0081547 | [R] | Hans van Tongeren, Toon Agterberg, Renee Soutendijk, Maarten Spanjer, Marianne Boyer, Rutger Hauer | Dutch | Drama | NULL | |
| Sphere | 1998 | Barry Levinson | ★½ | 133 | Failed sci-fi saga (from Michael Crichton novel) about a group of scientists from different disciplines who are brought to a super-secret underwater site where the U.S. Navy has discovered a mysterious wreckage. What does it signify? Where did it come from and when? Intriguing set-up leads nowhere, with increasingly stupid behavior from the principals and ridiculous chapter headings that lend supposed import to each new sequence. A bust. | tt0120184 | [PG-13] | Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote, Liev Schreiber, Queen Latifah | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sphinx | 1981 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★½ | 117 | Harried Egyptologist Down continuously eludes death as she searches for a mystery tomb. Awful script, mummy-like performances, impressive Egyptian scenery. Adapted by John Byrum from Robin Cook novel. | tt0083113 | [PG] | Lesley-Anne Down, Frank Langella, Maurice Ronet, John Gielgud, Martin Benson, John Rhys-Davies | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sphinx | 1933 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 63 | Atwill plays a police suspect whose only alibi is his deaf-mute twin brother. Passable low-budgeter. Remade in 1942 as PHANTOM KILLER. | tt0024605 | Lionel Atwill, Sheila Terry, Theodore Newton, Paul Hurst, Luis Alberni, Robert Ellis | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Spice World | 1997 | Bob Spiers | ★★½ | 92 | A fantasy look at several days in the lives of the pop phenomenon The Spice Girls and their existence with road manager Grant, leading up to a concert at Albert Hall in London. Amusing, vapid, sometimes silly but lively vignettes featuring the five flashy females who took the pop world by storm in the late '90s. Cameos by Elton John, Bob Hoskins, Bob Geldof, Elvis Costello, The Dream Boys, Jonathan Ross, and Jennifer Saunders. | tt0120185 | [PG] | The Spice Girls, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, George Wendt, Claire Rushbrook, Mark McKinney, Richard O'Brien, Barry Humphries, Jason Flemyng, Naoki Mori, *** Meat Loaf, Bill Paterson, Jools Holland, Stephen Fry, Richard Briers | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Spider | 2002 | David Cronenberg | ★★ | 90 | Intriguing but relentlessly downbeat film about a seriously disturbed man paralyzed by memories of his childhood with an abusive father and a hardworking, well-meaning mother. We discover the source of his misery through flashbacks, but as the pieces come together they're not terribly surprising. Richardson's artful handling of multiple roles is the film's major asset, and Fiennes is good as usual. Scripted by Patrick McGrath, from his novel. | tt0278731 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne, Bradley Hall, Lynn Redgrave, John Neville, Gary Reineke | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Spider Baby | 1964 | Jack Hill | ★★½ | 81 | Not bad little chiller about the antics of a very unusual— and very sick— family. At its best it's both scary and funny. Chaney is the clan's chauffeur and sings the title song! The full title is SPIDER BABY OR, THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD. Aka THE LIVER EATERS. | tt0058606 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Sid Haig, Jill Banner, Mantan Moreland, Beverly Washburn, Carol Ohmart | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Spider Woman Strikes Back | 1946 | Arthur Lubin | ★½ | 59 | Pitiful waste of fine actress Sondergaard in campy thriller with zero relation to earlier Sherlock Holmes feature. | tt0038974 | Brenda Joyce, Gale Sondergaard, Kirby Grant, Rondo Hatton, Milburn Stone, Hobart Cavanaugh | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Spider Woman | Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman | 1944 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 62 | A mysterious villainess is responsible for a series of deaths in which the victims are driven to suicide after being bit by poisonous spiders. Rip-roaring entry with thrills to spare; one of the best in the Sherlock Holmes series. | tt0037303 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Gale Sondergaard, Dennis Hoey, Mary Gordon, Arthur Hohl, Alec Craig | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Spider and the Fly | 1949 | Robert Hamer | ★★½ | 87 | Effective drama of Gallic law enforcer and British crook teaming up to retrieve government document; good interplay between cast members. | tt0041911 | Guy Rolfe, Nadia Gray, Eric Portman, Maurice Denham, James Hayter, Arthur Lowe | British | Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Spider's Stratagem | 1970 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 100 | Young man visits the provincial town where his anti-Fascist father was assassinated 30 years earlier, is rejected by the populace at every turn. Exceedingly atmospheric puzzler, from a Jorge Luis Borges short story, boasts some of the most beautiful color cinematography (by Vittorio Storaro) in memory. | tt0066413 | Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Tino Scotti, Pippo Campanini, Franco Giovanelli | Italian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Spider-Man | 2002 | Sam Raimi | ★★½ | 121 | Big-budget Hollywood version of a Saturday matinee serial: High school nerd who's never had the nerve to speak to the beautiful girl next door is bitten by a spider and mutates into Spider-Man, crime fighter. Slick entertainment, with Maguire a likable Peter Parker, but the cartoony effects distance (rather than involve) us in his springy moments of action, and the story runs out of gas long before two hours are up. Lucy Lawless, Randy Savage, Bruce Campbell, and Stan Lee make brief appearances. Based on characters created for Marvel Comics by Lee and Steve Ditko. Followed by a sequel. | tt0145487 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Gerry Becker, Bill Nunn | Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Spider-Man 2 | 2004 | Sam Raimi | ★★★½ | 127 | A brilliant scientist (the always masterful Molina) loses control of his latest experiment, turns into the maniacal Dr. Octopus (or Doc Ock)— and blames Spider-Man for his tragic failure. Possibly the best comic-book movie ever made, rich in emotion as well as big, exciting action sequences. What's more, its visual effects are far superior to those in the first SPIDER-MAN movie. Screenplay by Alvin Sargent, based on screen story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. Oscar winner for Visual Effects. | tt0316654 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies, Dylan Baker, Bill Nunn, Willem Dafoe, Cliff Robertson, Bruce Campbell | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Spider-Man 3 | 2007 | Sam Raimi | ★★ | 139 | All the worst qualities of a manufactured sequel converge here: dorky Peter Parker's relationship with Mary Jane goes on the rocks (so it can be fixed), villainous Harry Osborn turns good while Spider-Man, infected by an alien fungus, turns bad, an escaped convict is molecularly transformed into Sandman (to provide another menace), and Peter acquires a ruthless rival at the Daily Bugle (for even more villainy). Slickly made but often boring and ineffectual, leading up to a climax where-surprise!-Spidey cries real tears. Special effects can't save an inferior script. | tt0413300 | [PG-13] | Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, J. K. Simmons, James Cromwell, Theresa Russell, Dylan Baker, Bill Nunn, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Banks, Ted Raimi, Willem Dafoe, Cliff Robertson. | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Spiders | 1919 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 137 | Intrepid explorer/adventurer de Vogt— an early cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond— vies with evil Spider cult for mystic Incan diamond. First two chapters ('The Golden Lake' and 'The Diamond Ship') of never completed four-part serial abound with lost civilizations, human sacrifice, pirate treasure, and too many perils to count. Lang's obsession with a diabolical underworld foreshadows his DR. MABUSE films. An exciting curio; the earliest of Lang's films to survive. German title: DIE SPINNEN. | tt0010726 | Carl de Vogt, Ressel Orla, Lil Dagover, Georg John, Bruno Lettinger | German | Short, Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Spiderwick Chronicles | 2008 | Mark Waters | ★★★ | 97 | Newly divorced woman and her three kids move to a spooky old family mansion where ghostly spirits prevail. Then Jared, the most sensitive of the kids (Highmore), unearths a long-hidden book, a “field guide” compiled by their great-great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick, which contains the secrets of the fairies and goblins that surround them—and places the entire family in great peril. Highly imaginative, emotionally satisfying fantasy-adventure adapted from Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black’s books. The special effects are impressive but always in the service of the story. | tt0416236 | [PG] | Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Sarah Bolger, Andrew McCarthy, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn; voices of Seth Rogen, Martin Short | Family, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Spies | 1928 | Fritz Lang. | ★★★½ | 143 | Silent spy-thriller still packs a wallop as government agent Fritsch determines to thwart seemingly-respectable Klein-Rogge, a wheelchair-bound master-fiend with an uncanny resemblance to Lenin! One of Lang's early masterpieces, aka SPIONE. Restored in 2004, eclipsing 90m. prints that circulated for years. | tt0019415 | Rudolph Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Lupu Pick, Fritz Rasp. | German | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Spies Like Us | 1985 | John Landis | ★★★ | 109 | Chase and Aykroyd become government spies— never dreaming that they've been set up as decoys. Engagingly silly comedy patterned after the Hope-Crosby ROAD pictures, with at least one pertinent cameo appearance and minor roles filled by a number of film directors (Michael Apted, Constantin Costa-Gavras, Joel Coen, Sam Raimi, Martin Brest, Bob Swaim, Terry Gilliam, Ray Harryhausen). Written by Aykroyd, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, from a story by Aykroyd and Dave Thomas. | tt0090056 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison, William Prince, Bernie Casey, Tom Hatten, Matt Frewer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Spike of Bensonhurst | 1988 | Paul Morrissey | ★★ | 91 | Blah Mafia comedy with Mitchell as an ambitious Brooklyn street kid who dreams of becoming a boxing champ— and finds himself in trouble when he courts the daughter of the local mob boss (Borgnine). Ethnic stereotypes abound. | tt0096156 | [R] | Sasha Mitchell, Ernest Borgnine, Anne DeSalvo, Sylvia Miles, Geraldine Smith, Maria Patillo, Talisa Soto | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Spikes Gang | 1974 | Richard Fleischer | ★½ | 96 | Veteran gunfighter turns a trio of runaway boys into bank robbers; old-hat storyline has humor, but not much else. | tt0072198 | [PG] | Lee Marvin, Ron Howard, Charlie Martin Smith, Arthur Hunnicutt, Noah Beery/Jr., Gary Grimes | Western | NULL | ||
| Spinning Into Butter | 2009 | Mark Brokaw | ★★ | 86 | African-American student (James), newly enrolled at a small New England university famous for its liberalism, is harassed by a shadowy racist, and a dean (Parker) finds herself in the eye of the ensuing storm. Well-intentioned film means to examine race relations, politics, and bureaucracy within the walls of academia, but the result is flat and deeply flawed. | tt0469976 | [R] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Mykelti Williamson, Beau Bridges, Miranda Richardson, James Rebhorn, Victor Rasuk, Paul James, Peter Friedman, Becky Ann Baker, Richard Riehle, Enver Gjokaj | Drama | NULL | ||
| Spinout | 1966 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 90 | Typical Presley vehicle finds the singer racing autos and wooing the girls. Elvis' songs ('Beach Shack,' 'Adam and Evil,' 'Smorgasbord') are far from his best. | tt0061015 | Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Diane McBain, Deborah Walley, Cecil Kellaway, Una Merkel, Warren Berlinger, Carl Betz | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Spiral Road | 1962 | Robert Mulligan | ★½ | 145 | Jan de Hartog's novel about love, leprosy, and lunacy in Java makes for an interminable moviegoing experience. Hudson at his most wooden, Mulligan's direction at its most impersonal. | tt0056516 | Rock Hudson, Burl Ives, Gena Rowlands, Geoffrey Keen, Will Kuluva, Neva Patterson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Spiral Staircase | 1946 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★½ | 83 | Superb Hitchcock-like thriller with unforgettable performance by McGuire as mute servant in eerie household which may be harboring a killer. Well scripted by Mel Dinelli, adapting Ethel Lina White's novel Some Must Watch. Remade in 1975. | tt0038975 | Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Rhys Williams, Sara Allgood | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Spiral Staircase | 1975 | Peter Collinson | ★★ | 89 | Stellar cast gives Ethel Lina White's mystery novel Some Must Watch another go in a somewhat mechanical fashion that can't touch the 1946 version. | tt0073739 | Jacqueline Bisset, Christopher Plummer, Sam Wanamaker, Mildred Dunnock, Gayle Hunnicutt, John Phillip Law, Elaine Stritch | British | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Spirit Is Willing | 1967 | William Castle | ★½ | 100 | Some good comedy performers are thrown away in stupid comedy about Caesar and family's summer house that happens to be haunted; based on Nathaniel Benchley's The Visitors. | tt0062298 | Sid Caesar, Vera Miles, Barry Gordon, John McGiver, Cass Daley, Mary Wickes, Jesse White, Harvey Lembeck, Jay C. Flippen, Jill Townsend, John Astin, Doodles Weaver | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Spirit of 76 | 1991 | Lucas Reiner | ★½ | 82 | Three time-travelers from 2176 trying to find the true basis of America think they've arrived in 1776, but it's really 1976. Limp spoof of the 1970s simply catalogues the fads, styles, and fashions. Director and cowriter Reiner is Carl's son, Rob's brother. Sofia Coppola did the costumes. | tt0100670 | [PG-13] | David Cassidy, Olivia d'Abo, Geoff Hoyle, Leif Garrett, Jeff McDonald, Steve McDonald, Barbara Bain, Julie Brown, Tommy Chong, Iron Eyes Cody, Devo, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Moon Zappa | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spirit of Culver | 1939 | Joseph Santley | ★★ | 89 | All the usual prep-academy clichés adapted for military school setting with Cooper and Bartholomew predictable. Remake of 1932 film TOM BROWN OF CULVER. | tt0031962 | Jackie Cooper, Freddie Bartholomew, Tim Holt, Andy Devine, Gene Reynolds, Jackie Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Spirit of St. Louis | 1957 | Billy Wilder | ★★★ | 138 | Long but inventive presentation of Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic is mainly a tour de force by Stewart, backed by good Franz Waxman music score. | tt0051003 | James Stewart, Patricia Smith, Murray Hamilton, Marc Connelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Spirit of West Point | 1947 | Ralph Murphy | ★★ | 77 | Comic-book chronicle of 'the touchdown twins,' all-American football heroes Blanchard and Davis, and their years at West Point. Will they or won't they resign their West Point commissions to play pro ball? The boys (especially Blanchard) are far more believable on the gridiron than reciting lines. | tt0039858 | Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Tom Harmon, Robert Shayne, Anne Nagel, Alan Hale/Jr., Bill Stern, Harry Wismer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spirit of the Beehive | 1973 | Victor Erice | ★★★½ | 95 | Torrent is unforgettable as a lonely little village girl who sees Boris Karloff's FRANKENSTEIN in the town hall and becomes entranced by the monster. Her sister convinces her the monster is still alive, and she treks off into the countryside to find him. | tt0070040 | Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Telleria | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Spirit | 2008 | Frank Miller | ★½ | 108 | Graphic novelist Miller’s first solo foray into directing (after collaborating on SIN CITY) is an awkward, annoyingly illogical live-action adaptation of Will Eisner’s celebrated comic strip about a deceased cop who returns to life as a masked vigilante. The storyline is a mishmash, the direction is clunky, and you may well cringe at the sight of Jackson (as The Octopus, the Spirit’s arch-nemesis) decked out in Nazi regalia. Miller and Eisner fans will be sorely disappointed. Miller also scripted. | tt0831887 | [PG-13] | Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Eric Balfour, Jaime King, Louis Lombardi | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron | 2002 | Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook | ★★★ | 83 | Autobiography of a wild horse who loves running free through the vast expanse of the West, until he's captured and brought to a U.S. cavalry fort. There he meets his one human friend, a Lakota Indian. Beautifully designed, with superior animation (the horse characters all express themselves in pantomime) and many exciting moments; fine, vigorous family fare. Songs by Bryan Adams. | tt0166813 | [G] | Voices of Matt Damon, James Cromwell, Daniel Studi | Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Spirited Away | Miyazaki's Spirited Away | 2001 | Hayao Miyazaki | ★★★½ | 125 | While moving to a new home in the suburbs, a sullen, easily frightened 10-year-old and her parents discover a hillside tunnel that leads into an enchanted world. Japanese animation maestro Miyazaki's abiding interest in the supernatural and the inner lives of children (especially little girls) is in full flower here. A wondrous work of art with an astonishing array of gorgeous images and fantastically imagined creatures, this won an Oscar for Best Animated Film. The English dubbing, produced by TOY STORY director John Lasseter, is outstanding. | tt0245429 | [PG] | Voices of Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette, Michael Chiklis, Lauren Holly, John Ratzenberger, Tara Strong | Japanese | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| Spirits of the Dead | 1968 | Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, Federico Fellini | ★★★½ | 117 | Three separate Poe tales, impossible to describe, delightful to watch, done with skill and flair by three top directors. | tt0063715 | [R] | Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Jane Fonda, Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, James Robertson Justice. Narrated by Vincent Price. | French-Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Spite Marriage | 1929 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★★ | 75 | Keaton's last silent is also one of his most underrated, a very funny film about a pants-presser who becomes infatuated with a stage actress. Plottier than usual for Buster, but full of great set pieces. Remade as I DOOD IT. | tt0020442 | Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Earle, Leila Hyams, William Bechtel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Spitfire | 1934 | John Cromwell | ★★ | 88 | Bizarre, boring melodrama with Hepburn sorely miscast in one of her oddest roles: Trigger, a spirited, single-minded but superstition-laden Ozark tomboy who attracts married engineer Young. This one's only for the curious. | tt0025822 | Katharine Hepburn, Robert Young, Ralph Bellamy, Martha Sleeper, Sara Haden, Sidney Toler, High Ghere (Bob Burns) | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spitfire | 1942 | Leslie Howard | ★★★ | 117 | Howard plays R.J. Mitchell, who developed the ace fighting-plane Spitfire which later became one of the Allies' most valuable WW2 assets. Good biographical drama. Howard's last screen appearance. Original title: THE FIRST OF THE FEW. U.S. version cut to 90m. | tt0034734 | Leslie Howard, David Niven, Rosamund John, Roland Culver, Anne Firth, David Horne, J. H. Roberts, Derrick de Marney, Bernard Miles, Patricia Medina | British | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| The Spitfire Grill | 1996 | Lee David Zlotoff | ★★½ | 116 | Ex-convict Elliott arrives in the small, gossip-driven town of Gilead, Maine, and goes to work for Burstyn at the title-named restaurant, hoping to rebuild her life. Sincere, well-acted story goes awry toward the end with contrivance and melodrama; still, Elliott and Burstyn give memorable performances. Written by the director. | tt0117718 | [PG-13] | Alison Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Will Patton, Kieran Mulroney, Gailard Sartain | Drama | NULL | ||
| Splash | 1984 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 111 | Entertaining comedy about a man who falls in love with a mermaid, who's played to perfection by Hannah. Buoyant cast, winning gags make this a lot of fun, despite a tendency toward overlength. Script by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, and Bruce Jay Friedman. Followed by a TV movie sequel in 1988. | tt0088161 | [PG] | Daryl Hannah, Tom Hanks, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Dody Goodman, Richard B. Shull, Shecky Greene, Howard Morris | Fantasy, Family, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Splendor | 1999 | Gregg Araki | ★★½ | 93 | Amusing modern-day romantic comedy with a twist: a willing heroine can't decide between two handsome guys she meets the same evening, so she winds up living with both of them. After such a spiky start, it's too bad it winds up being so conventional . . . but the spirits are high and the cast is engaging. Almost benign for filmmaker Araki. | tt0127296 | [R] | Kathleen Robertson, Johnathon Schaech, Matt Keeslar, Kelly Macdonald, Eric Mabius | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Splendor in the Grass | 1961 | Elia Kazan | ★★★ | 124 | Sentimental sudser by William Inge (who won an Oscar) about emotionally broken girl (Wood) rebuilding her life; set in late 1920s Midwest. Film debuts of Beatty, Dennis, and Diller; look for Inge as the minister. Remade for TV in 1981. | tt0055471 | Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Sean Garrison, Sandy Dennis, Phyllis Diller, Barbara Loden, Zohra Lampert, Gary Lockwood | Drama | NULL | |||
| Splice | 2010 | Vincenzo Natali | ★★ | 104 | Two dynamic young scientists who create small, drug-producing artificial life forms for a pharmaceutical company are rejected in their bid to create one using human genes. They work secretly and create a semi-human, rapidly developing infant they name “Dren.” Continuing their research in a private location, they are entranced and repelled by what Dren is becoming—and she is entranced by them. Intelligently written and well acted, this begins well but becomes too much a standard horror film in the last couple of reels. Excellent effects. | tt1017460 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac, Brandon McGibbon, Simona Maicanescu, David Hewlett, Abigail Chu | U.S.-Canadian-French | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Split Decisions | 1988 | David Drury | ★★ | 95 | Violent family drama set amidst the world of boxing and three generations of prizefighters. Basically just another ROCKY ripoff, but Hackman, in a supporting role, stands out as usual. | tt0096161 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Craig Sheffer, Jeff Fahey, Jennifer Beals, John McLiam, Eddie Velez, Carmine Caridi, James Tolkan | Action | NULL | ||
| Split Image | 1982 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★ | 111 | Solid drama of nice middle-class boy (superbly played by O'Keefe) who falls for Allen and is brainwashed into joining a cult headed by Fonda. Top performances by Dennehy as O'Keefe's father, Woods as a deprogrammer. | tt0084714 | [R] | Michael O'Keefe, Karen Allen, Peter Fonda, James Woods, Elizabeth Ashley, Brian Dennehy, Ronnie Scribner, Pamela Ludwig, Michael Sacks, Peter Horton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Split Second | 1992 | Tony Maylam | ★½ | 90 | In London's near future, tough cop Hauer is after the serial killer who murdered his partner and is saddled with new partner Duncan. The murderer is an ALIEN-like monster, the plot mushes together fantasy and sci-fi elements, and the movie is a derivative, tedious mess. Won't someone rescue Hauer from this kind of junk? | tt0105459 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Kim Cattrall, Neil Duncan, Alun Armstrong, Pete Postlethwaite, Ian Drury, Robert Eaton, Michael J. Pollard | U.S.-British | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Split | 1968 | Gordon Flemyng | ★½ | 91 | Cast is good, but it's no match for routine, clichéd story of plot to rob L.A. Coliseum during a Rams game. Only for those who love caper movies. | tt0063636 | [R] | Jim Brown, Diahann Carroll, Julie Harris, Ernest Borgnine, Gene Hackman, Jack Klugman, Warren Oates, James Whitmore, Donald Sutherland | Crime | NULL | ||
| Splitting Heirs | 1993 | Robert Young | ★★ | 86 | A loser (Idle) learns he's really a duke and tries to reclaim his title from the bogus heir (Moranis). Strained comedy in the Monty Python tradition, filled with puns, sight gags, and silliness— only some of which is funny. Idle executive produced and coscripted. | tt0108207 | [PG-13] | Rick Moranis, Eric Idle, Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cleese, Sadie Frost, Stratford Johns | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Spoiled Children | 1977 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 113 | Enticing, penetrating tale which examines, among other issues, the particular problems faced by artists— in this case, a famous but blocked writer-director (Piccoli) who becomes involved with a younger woman (Pascal) and in a tenants' battle with his apartment building's abusive landlord. Fine performances. The semi-autobiographical script was penned by Tavernier with Pascal and Charlotte Dubreuil. | tt0075933 | Michel Piccoli, Christine Pascal, Michel Aumont, Gerard Jugnot, Arlette Bonnard, Georges Riquier, Gerard Zimmerman | French |
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| Spoilers of the Forest | 1957 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 68 | Another timberland Western, with Cameron a tree-cutting foreman, romancing Ralston. Filmed in Naturama. | tt0051004 | Rod Cameron, Vera Ralston, Ray Collins, Hillary Brooke, Edgar Buchanan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spoilers of the Plains | 1951 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 68 | Here's something new: a Cold War Western. Using an oil-well operation as a blind, some bad guys representing an unnamed foreign power try to steal missiles intended for use in weather forecasting . . . until Roy gets involved. Plenty of action. | tt0044064 | Roy Rogers, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Grant Withers, Don Haggerty, House Peters/Jr., Fred Kohler/Jr., George Meeker, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Spoilers | 1942 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 87 | Retelling of famous Yukon tale has good cast but thuds out as average Western, with Dietrich as stereotyped saloon gal. Previously filmed in 1914, 1923, and 1930, then again in 1955. | tt0035369 | Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, John Wayne, Margaret Lindsay, Harry Carey, Richard Barthelmess | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| The Spoilers | 1955 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 84 | Fifth filming of Rex Beach's Klondike actioner; elaborate fight scene, better than ever. | tt0048652 | Anne Baxter, Jeff Chandler, Rory Calhoun, Barbara Britton, Raymond Walburn | Western | NULL | |||
| Spoken Word | 2010 | Victor Nuñez | ★★ | 116 | A star (Becker) of the West Coast spoken word/slam poetry scene returns to his hometown in New Mexico to be with his dying father (Blades), but falls back into his old self-destructive life of drugs and crime. Earnest, well-acted family drama from veteran indie filmmaker Nuñez suffers from a predictable script and a plodding pace. | tt1212443 | Unrated | Kuno Becker, Rubén Blades, Miguel Sandoval, Persia White, Antonio Elias, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Maurice Compte | Drama | NULL | ||
| The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | 2004 | Stephen Hillenburg. | ★★★ | 87 | Popular (and absorbent) TV cartoon character hits the big screen as he and starfish pal Patrick search for King Neptune's crown, which has been stolen by the nefarious Plankton as part of his diabolical Plan Z. The animation may just be serviceable, but the story and overall mood are unapologetically, contagiously goofy, and filled with moments of inspired silliness. Stay through the end credits. David Hasselhoff appears (naturally) as himself. | tt0345950 | [PG] | Voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Mr. Lawrence, Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Spontaneous Combustion | 1990 | Tobe Hooper | ★½ | 97 | Paranoia fuels this misfired horror thriller dealing with spontaneous human combustion, allegedly a reality. Here, however, the blazing deaths are due to the FIRESTARTER-like mental powers of Dourif, the result of yet another evil government experiment. Badly paced and ludicrous. Cowritten by the director. | tt0098375 | [R] | Brad Dourif, Cynthia Bain, Jon Cypher, William Prince, Dey Young, Melinda Dillon, Dale Dye, Dick Butkus, John Landis | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Spook Busters | 1946 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 68 | The Bowery Boys set up shop as exterminators and tangle with baddies in a spooky old country house. | tt0038976 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Tanis Chandler, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Charles Middleton, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Spook Chasers | 1957 | George Blair | ★½ | 62 | Yet another Bowery Boys crooks-posing-as-ghosts entry, with a surfeit of wheezy gags. | tt0051005 | Huntz Hall, Stanley Clements, David Gorcey, Jimmy Murphy, Percy Helton, Darlene Fields, Eddie LeRoy, Bill Henry | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Spook Who Sat By the Door | 1973 | Ivan Dixon | ★½ | 102 | Cook, token black in the CIA, uses his knowledge to organize bands of teenaged guerrillas to bring whitey to his knees. Offbeat but offensive, and way too talky for cheap action fare. | tt0070726 | [PG] | Lawrence Cook, Paula Kelly, Janet League, J.A. Preston, Paul Butler | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Spooks Run Wild | 1941 | Phil Rosen | ★★ | 69 | Tongue-in-cheek East Side Kids horror-comedy, with the boys encountering Lugosi in a spooky country mansion. Ad libs fly fast and furious, to Lugosi's obvious consternation. | tt0034224 | Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Donald Haines, David Gorcey, Dave O'Brien, Dennis Moore, Dorothy Short, Angelo Rossitto | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Spooner | 2009 | Drake Doremus | ★★½ | 83 | Socially inept used car salesman Lillard is about to turn 30 and still lives with mommy and daddy, who insist that he move out—and grow up. Will he spend the rest of his life as a loser or will he make a play for a pretty young woman who crosses his path (even though she is about to fly off to the Philippines)? Genuinely sweet film features clever directorial touches and some poignant moments, but is hampered by glaring plot contrivances. Lillard nails his character, down to his every gesture. Released direct to DVD. | tt1200273 | [R] | Matthew Lillard, Nora Zehetner, Shea Whigham, Joe Nunez, Pat Healy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Mark Boone Junior, Kate Burton, Christopher McDonald | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sport Parade | 1932 | Dudley Murphy | ★★½ | 65 | College teammates and buddies McCrea and Gardan eventually clash over the same woman. Story is lame, but director Murphy is full of ingenious visual ideas, and Benchley (in his feature-film debut) is great fun as a befuddled sportscaster who opens and closes the film | tt0022918 | Joel McCrea, Marian Marsh, William Gargan, Walter Catlett, Robert Benchley, Skeets Gallagher. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Sport Parade | 1932 | Dudley Murphy. | ★★½ | 65 | College teammates and buddies McCrea and Gargan eventually clash over the same woman. Story is lame, but director Murphy is full of ingenious visual ideas, and Benchley (in his feature-film debut) is great fun as a befuddled sportscaster who opens and closes the film. | tt0023503 | Joel McCrea, Marian Marsh, William Gargan, Walter Catlett, Robert Benchley, Skeets Gallagher. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sporting Blood | 1931 | Charles Brabin | ★★½ | 82 | Minor but likable film about a thoroughbred horse and its various owners; Gable is a tough-guy gambler ('C'mere, woman,' he says to Evans, grabbing her for a clinch). Beautifully photographed by Harold Rosson. | tt0022425 | Clark Gable, Ernest Torrence, Madge Evans, Lew Cody, Marie Prevost, J. Farrell MacDonald | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sporting Club | 1971 | Larry Peerce | 💣 | 105 | Badly directed dud about violence and promiscuity among some beautiful people in Northern Michigan has enough gore and ineptitude to offend everyone. | tt0067783 | [R] | Robert Fields, Nicolas Coster, Maggie Blye, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, William Roerick, Logan Ramsey, James Noble, Linda Blair | Drama | NULL | ||
| Spotlight Scandals | 1943 | William Beaudine. | ★★ | 71 | Only at Monogram could Gilbert and Fay be billed over the title, playing— who else?— 'Gilbert and Fay,' a small-town barber and an out-of-work actor who team up to become vaudeville headliners in N.Y.C. Several acts, notably Baker singing her hit 'Oh Johnny,' enliven things between skits. | tt0036382 | Billy Gilbert, Frank Fay, Harry Langdon, Betty Blythe, Iris Adrian, Henry King and His Orchestra, Herb Miller and His Orchestra, ('Wee') Bonnie Baker, Butch and Buddy, The Radio Rogues, Claudia Dell. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Spread | 2009 | David MacKenzie | ★★ | 97 | SHAMPOO wannabe with Kutcher as a street-smart gigolo who moves in on his willing new prey (Heche), a successful older woman who knows the score and keeps him anyway. While Kutcher carries on behind her back, he finds the life of a kept man may not be all it’s cracked up to be. Entertaining, if sleazy, comedy-drama with a Hollywood setting benefits from good performances by Kutcher and especially Heche. | tt1186370 | [R] | Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan, Rachel Blanchard, Eric Balfour, Hart Bochner, Sonia Rockwell, Maria Conchita Alonso | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Spring Break | 1983 | Sean S. Cunningham | 💣 | 101 | Life among the party-animals who trek to Fort Lauderdale during Easter vacation. Where are Frankie and Annette when you really need them? | tt0086352 | [R] | David Knell, Steve Bassett, Perry Lang, Paul Land, Richard B. Shull, Corinne Alphen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Spring Fever | 1983 | Joseph L. Scanlan | 💣 | 100 | Young Bassett struggles to be a tennis champ in this bland, feeble tale that is most definitely not the adolescent sex comedy the title implies. | tt0084718 | [PG] | Susan Anton, Frank Converse, Jessica Walter, Stephen Young, Carling Bassett | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Spring Forward | 2000 | Tom Gilroy | ★★★½ | 110 | Quietly powerful chamber piece about a Connecticut parks maintenance man and his new helper, a young hothead just out of prison. Perceptive drama in which each vignette reveals another layer of the characters' personalities as their friendship deepens from one season to the next. Beatty and Schreiber are simply great. Feature-film writing and directing debut for actor/playwright/theater director Gilroy. | tt0156096 | [R] | Ned Beatty, Liev Schreiber, Campbell Scott, Ian Hart, Peri Gilpin, Bill Raymond, Catherine Kellner, Hallee Hirsh | Drama | NULL | ||
| Spring Madness | 1938 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 80 | Collegiate romance between O'Sullivan and brainy Ayres, elevated by strong cast. Enjoyable fluff. | tt0030783 | Maureen O'Sullivan, Lew Ayres, Ruth Hussey, Burgess Meredith, Ann Morriss, Joyce Compton, Julie Bishop, Frank Albertson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Spring Parade | 1940 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 89 | Delightful Austrian fluff with Durbin romancing Cummings, working for baker S. Z. Sakall, dancing with wacky Auer, and singing, of course. | tt0033095 | Deanna Durbin, Robert Cummings, Mischa Auer, Henry Stephenson, Butch and Buddy, Anne Gwynne | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Spring Reunion | 1957 | Robert Pirosh | ★★ | 79 | Potentially good soaper marred by low-budget production: Andrews and Hutton revive old memories at high school reunion and try to plan new future together; Hagen has some fine comic moments. Silent star LaPlante plays Hutton's mother. | tt0051007 | Betty Hutton, Dana Andrews, Jean Hagen, James Gleason, Laura LaPlante, George Chandler, Irene Ryan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spring Tonic | 1935 | Clyde Bruckman. | ★½ | 58 | Runaway bride takes off for the hinterlands and runs afoul of local crazies— and a traveling circus. Dreadful screwball comedy; everything about this film is heavy-handed, even director Bruckman's reuse of gags he devised for Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton in the silent era. Based on the play The Man-Eating Tiger by Ben Hecht and Rose Caylor. | tt0027034 | Lew Ayres, Claire Trevor, Walter (Woolf) King, ZaSu Pitts, Jack Haley, Tala Birell, Sigfried Rumann, Frank Mitchell, Jack Durant, Herbert Mundin. | NULL | ||||
| Spring and Port Wine | 1970 | Peter Hammond | ★★★ | 101 | Unpretentious little gem about the generation gap in a lower-middle-class English family. Mason has one of his better later roles as the strict patriarch. | tt0066401 | James Mason, Susan George, Diana Coupland, Marjorie Rhodes, Arthur Lowe | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Spring in Park Lane | 1948 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 100 | Stylish romance story of Wilding courting Neagle, his employer's niece. This was one of Britain's most popular films of all time. | tt0040830 |
|
Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Tom Wallis, Marjorie Fielding, Nicholas Phipps, Josephine Fitzgerald | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . and Spring | 2003 | Kim Ki-duk | ★★★ | 103 | Exquisite, deceptively simple account of the evolving connection between an aging monk and his protégé (who is played by five actors, one of whom is writer-director Kim). Set in a small, floating monastery on a rural mountain lake, the scenario is presented in five sections that correspond to the seasons and portray the younger monk’s coming-of-age. Poetic allegory of human behavior and the meaning of spirituality features luminous cinematography by Baek Dong-hyeon. | tt0374546 | [R] | Oh Yeong-su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Young-min, Seo Jae-kyeong, Ha Yeo-jin, Kim Jong-ho | Korean-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Springfield Rifle | 1952 | André De Toth | ★★½ | 93 | Unmemorable Cooper fare, with Gary joining up with outlaws to determine who's stealing government arms. | tt0045184 | Gary Cooper, Phyllis Thaxter, David Brian, Lon Chaney/Jr., Paul Kelly, Phil Carey, Guinn Williams | Western, War | NULL | |||
| Springtime for Henry | 1934 | Frank Tuttle. | ★½ | 74 | An inveterate ladies' man meets his Waterloo in the person of a sweet and persuasive new secretary (Angel). Kruger seems to be terribly amused throughout this leaden comedy, which is more than can be said for us in the audience. Based on Benn W. Levy's play, which was a summer-stock perennial for aging actors. | tt0025825 | Otto Kruger, Nancy Carroll, Nigel Bruce, Heather Angel, Herbert Mundin, Arthur Hoyt, Geneva Mitchell. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Springtime in the Rockies | 1942 | Irving Cummings | ★★★ | 91 | Near-definitive 1940s Fox musical: Grable at her prettiest, Miranda at her silliest (doing a Brazilian 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'), Technicolor at its lushest, and Harry James and His Band at their best, with Helen Forrest introducing 'I Had the Craziest Dream.' The 'plot'— about a bickering Broadway duo— is neither too tiresome nor too intrusive. Good fun all the way. | tt0035370 | Betty Grable, John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, Edward Everett Horton, Jackie Gleason | Musical | NULL | |||
| Springtime in the Sierras | 1947 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 75 | Roy works to break up a gang that's violating the law by slaughtering game out of season. One of Roy's best, with the novelty of a woman (Bachelor) as the main villain. | tt0039861 | Roy Rogers, Jane Frazee, Andy Devine, Stephanie Bachelor, Hal Landon, Harry V. Cheshire, Roy Barcroft, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sprung | 1997 | Rusty Cundieff | ★½ | 105 | Forgettable and hopelessly predictable plot about a young couple who try planning the perfect wedding for their friends. Unbelievable situations, incredibly hokey sentiment overcome this amateurish attempt at creating a '90s screwball comedy. Preston Sturges is probably spinning in his grave. | tt0120190 | [R] | Tisha Campbell, Rusty Cundieff, Paula Jai Parker, Joe Torry, John Witherspoon, Jennifer Lee, Clarence Williams III, Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Spun | 2003 | Jonas Äkerlund | 💣 | 96 | Schwartzman enters a whole new world when he meets junkie Murphy at the home of dealer Leguizamo. Music-video-style treatment of the drug culture is nonjudgmental, but so scummy that it's hard to find anything redeeming about the characters or the film itself. But if you really want to see Suvari sitting on the toilet, this is the movie for you! Score by Billy Corgan, who also appears in a cameo along with Ron Jeremy, Tony Kaye, China Chow, and Rob Halford. | tt0283003 | [R] | Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo, Brittany Murphy, Mena Suvari, Patrick Fugit, Peter Stormare, Alexis Arquette, Deborah Harry, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sputnik | 1958 | Jean Dreville | ★★ | 85 | Mild Cold War spoof involving Russian missile experiment which has backfired and naive Frenchman caught in the Red trap. Retitled: A DOG, A MOUSE AND A SPUTNIK. | tt0052232 | Noel-Noel, Denise Gray, Noel Roquevert, Mischa Auer | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Spy Chasers | 1955 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 66 | The Bowery Boys help an exiled king and his daughter battle usurpers in this practiced farce. | tt0048653 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, David (Gorcey) Condon, Bennie Bartlett, Leon Askin, Sig Ruman, Veola Vonn, Richard Benedict | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Spy Game | 2001 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 127 | As he's about to retire from the CIA, Redford learns that his onetime protégé is being held by a hostile government and determines to save him— which, due to political complications, is not the Agency's priority. The men's relationship is then traced in an ultimately wearying parade of flashbacks. Redford and Pitt are in fine form and work well together, but the movie rambles, and Scott's hyperactive visual style (replete with meaningless helicopter shots) cannot compensate. | tt0266987 | [R] | Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Catherine McCormack, Stephen Dillane, Larry Bryggman, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, David Hemmings, Charlotte Rampling | U.S.-German | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Spy Hard | 1996 | Rick Friedberg | ★★ | 81 | Mild James Bond spoof with Nielsen as Agent WD-40, locking horns with master criminal General Rancor (Griffith). Steady stream of gags (ribbing everything from HOME ALONE to TRUE LIES), mostly silly, sometimes funny, too often sloppy or misfired. Nielsen is much better than the material. Many familiar faces in surprise cameos. Best of all: Weird Al Yankovic's title sequence and song. Nielsen also coexecutive produced. | tt0117723 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning, Marcia Gay Harden, Barry Bostwick, Andy Griffith, John Ales, Elya Baskin, Mason Gamble, Carlos Lauchu, Stephanie Romanov, Clyde Kusatsu, Julie Brown, Eddie Deezen, Julie Payne, Thom Sharp | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Spy Hunt | 1950 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 75 | Diverting yarn of espionage agent planting microfilm secrets in panthers' collars; when they escape captivity, various sides of the law seek the animals. Based on a Victor Canning novel. | tt0042991 | Howard Duff, Marta Toren, Robert Douglas, Philip Dorn, Walter Slezak | Drama | NULL | |||
| Spy Kids | 2001 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★★ | 86 | A brother and sister discover that their parents are secret agents when Mom and Dad are kidnapped and they must come to the rescue. High-flying, high-tech fantasy adventure has enough humor and imagination to entertain both parents and kids, with delightful performances by Banderas and Cumming. Two neat songs by Danny Elfman add to the fun. A rare family film that's cool without being crude. Rodriguez also scripted and edited. Followed by two sequels. | tt0227538 | [PG] | Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Alan Cumming, Tony Shalhoub, Teri Hatcher, Cheech Marin, Robert Patrick, George Clooney | Action, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams | 2002 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★★ | 99 | Entertaining sequel focuses more on the kids, and their new, pint-sized competitors in the junior spy game, as they try to unlock the secret of a mysterious island. Banderas has some very funny moments as the prideful dad who also has to suffer from the meddling of his know-it-all in-laws (perfectly played by Taylor and Montalban). Rodriguez again provides a panoply of outlandish special-effects creatures— with a nice nod to Ray Harryhausen. | tt0287717 | [PG] | Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Emily Osment, Matt O’Leary, Mike Judge, Ricardo Montalban, Holland Taylor, Christopher McDonald, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Alan Cumming, Bill Paxton, Tony Shalhoub | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over | 2003 | Robert Rodriguez | ★★½ | 89 | Juni (Sabara) is recruited by the President of the U.S. to rescue his sister from the virtual-reality world created by the sinister Toymaker (Stallone). Helter-skelter story is a thin, if amiable, excuse for the kids to go through their paces in a video-game environment. Stallone has fun with multiple identities, and there are cameos by former series costars (George Clooney, Tony Shalhoub, Alan Cumming, Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo, Bill Paxton) as well as Salma Hayek and Elijah Wood. The parents barely appear in this one, but grandfather Montalban is genuinely heroic. Rodriguez wrote, edited, photographed, coproduced, did the music and production design, and was co-visual effects supervisor. | tt0338459 | [PG] | Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Ricardo Montalban, Holland Taylor, Sylvester Stallone, Mike Judge, Matt O'Leary, Emily Osment, Cheech Marin, Courtney Jines, Bobby Edner, Ryan James Pinkston | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Spy Kids: All the Time in the World | 2011 | Robert Rodriguez | ★½ | 89 | Lame, unnecessary reboot of the SPY KIDS franchise has Alba dragging her two stepkids along when she is called out of retirement and back into action to thwart the dastardly plans of the evil Timekeeper. Rodriguez runs this tired concept into the ground. He even resurrected the old Smellovision gimmick to try to lure unsuspecting audiences into theaters to see this stinker. The new spy kids are annoying and the whole sorry enterprise is just so 2003. This was originally advertised as SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D. | tt1517489 | [PG] | Jessica Alba, Joel McHale, Jeremy Piven, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo; voice of Ricky Gervais | Comedy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Spy Next Door | 2010 | Brian Levant | ★½ | 94 | Moronic kiddie comedy has Chan as Bob Ho (!), a former CIA spy who ends up taking care of his new girlfriend's three kids, who aren't exactly fond of him. When complications arise, Ho's old Russian foes descend upon the house, putting him, the kids, and his new romantic life in jeopardy. Silly slapstick and Chan-anigans are so broad that the movie never comes up for air. Although this kind of formula comedy has worked for other action stars, it seems a waste of Chan's considerable talent. | tt1273678 | [PG] | Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, Madeline Carroll, Will Shadley, Alina Foley, George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus, Katharine Boecher | Comedy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| The Spy Ring | 1938 | Joseph H. Lewis. | ★★½ | 61 | Spry spy games set at a military base, where Hall thwarts espionage agents who are after a top-secret anti-aircraft gun and still finds time to woo adorable Army brat Wyman and play in a big polo match. Cult director Lewis lavishes customary visual flair on minor but fun early assignment. | tt0030784 | William Hall, Jane Wyman, Jane Carleton (Esther Ralston), Robert Warwick, Leon Ames, Ben Alexander, Don Barclay. | Adventure, Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Spy Who Came In from the Cold | 1965 | Martin Ritt | ★★★½ | 112 | John le Carré's potent account of a Cold War spy's existence— minus glamorous trappings of movie cliché. Burton is excellent as embittered agent at the end of his career. Scripted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. | tt0059749 | Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, PeterVan Eyck, George Voskovec, Sam Wanamaker, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern, Bernard Lee | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★★½ | 125 | Rousing, lavishly produced James Bond adventure with wily 007 joining forces with a seductive Russian agent to quash arch-villain Stromberg's (Jurgens) plans for world destruction. At his best doing battle with a persistent steel-toothed goon, menacingly played by seven-foot-two-inch Kiel. Grand fun for one and all; Carly Simon sings Marvin Hamlisch's theme, 'Nobody Does It Better.' | tt0076752 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn | Action | NULL | ||
| The Spy With My Face | 1966 | John Newland | ★★½ | 88 | Another expanded Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series entry, with Vaughn matching wits with his double (working for foreign powers); Berger is the enemy femme fatale. | tt0058610 | Robert Vaughn, Senta Berger, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll | Comedy, Crime, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Spy in Black | 1939 | Michael Powell | ★★★ | 82 | Intriguing espionage melodrama set in WW1 Scotland with Veidt as German naval officer/spy and Hobson a charming double agent. Nice surprise twists in story, with bittersweet romance worked in. That's Bernard Miles as the desk clerk in the opening scene. Scripted by Emeric Pressburger and Roland Pertwee; first collaboration of Powell and Pressburger. Original U.S. title: U-BOAT 29. | tt0031968 | Conrad Veidt, Sebastian Shaw, Valerie Hobson, Marius Goring, June Duprez, Helen Haye, Cyril Raymond, Hay Petrie | British | Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Spy in Your Eye | 1966 | Vittorio Sala | ★★ | 88 | Hokum has Andrews as scientist with tele-camera implanted in eye, Halsey as U.S. agent trying to rescue Andrews' daughter (Angeli) captured by the Russians. | tt0061019 | Brett Halsey, Dana Andrews, Pier Angeli, Gastone Moschin | Italian | Drama, Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Spy with a Cold Nose | 1966 | Daniel Petrie | ★★ | 93 | Spoof on secret agent movies. British agents plant bug in bulldog Disraeli, gift to Russian ambassador. Cast tries to keep story afloat. | tt0061022 | Laurence Harvey, Daliah Lavi, Lionel Jeffries, Eric Portman, Denholm Elliott, Colin Blakely, Paul Ford | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Squanto: A Warrior's Tale | 1994 | Xavier Koller | ★★★ | 101 | Thoughtful, painstakingly observed Disney yarn which follows the plight of a 17th-century American Indian (Beach) who is abducted by British traders and taken back to England. At the scenario's core are Squanto's conflicts with (and spiritual similarities to) some reclusive monks. A film to be savored by children and adults alike. | tt0111271 | [PG] | Adam Beach, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Gambon, Nathaniel Parker, Eric Schweig, Donal Donnelly, Stuart Pankin, Alex Norton, Irene Bedard | Family | NULL | ||
| Square Dance | Home Is Where the Heart Is | 1987 | Daniel Petrie | ★★½ | 112 | Top-notch performances bolster this much too leisurely look at a Texas teenage girl's coming of age, as she leaves her dour grandfather's farm to be with her feisty mom in Fort Worth. Alexander (who coproduced with fellow actor Charles Haid) is a standout as the mother; Lowe effects a real change of pace playing a retarded man befriended by Ryder. Shown on TV as HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS. | tt0094020 | [PG-13] | Jason Robards, Jane Alexander, Winona Ryder, Rob Lowe, Deborah Richter, Guich Koock | Drama | NULL | |
| The Square Jungle | 1955 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 86 | Overly-familiar boxing yarn with Curtis the fighter on the way up. | tt0048654 | Tony Curtis, Pat Crowley, Ernest Borgnine, Paul Kelly, Jim Backus | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Square Ring | 1953 | Michael Relph, Basil Dearden | ★★ | 73 | Uninspired intertwining of events in lives of people involved in the fight game. | tt0046358 | Jack Warner, Kay Kendall, Joan Collins, Robert Beatty, Bill Owen, Maxwell Reed | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Square | 2008 | Nash Edgerton | ★★½ | 105 | An adulterous couple (Roberts, van deer Boon) plans to steal her husband's secret stash of money, then run away together . . . but one thing after another goes wrong, pulling Roberts into an escalating series of soul-sucking crimes. Modern-day film noir is well plotted and executed, but the actors lack charisma and the movie has no heart. Cowritten by Joel Edgerton, who plays Billy, and directed by his brother. | tt1085507 | [R] | David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Lucy Bell, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Brendan Donoghue, Lisa Bailey, Bill Hunter | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Squaw Man | 1931 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 105 | DeMille's talkie version of the story he filmed before in 1914 and 1918 is slow to start, but picks up steam after English aristocrat Baxter flees to America and marries Indian Velez. Surprisingly restrained and unsentimental, with a moving finale. | tt0022428 | Warner Baxter, Lupe Velez, Eleanor Boardman, Charles Bickford, Roland Young, Paul Cavanagh, Raymond Hatton, Dickie Moore | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| The Squeaker | 1965 | Alfred Vohrer | ★★½ | 95 | Overly complex actioner with a variety of plots spinning from action of underworld selling off proceeds of diamond robbery. From an Edgar Wallace novel previously filmed in 1930 and 1937. | tt0057718 | Heinz Drache, Eddi Arent, Klaus Kinski, Barbara Rutting | German | Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Squeeze | 1997 | Robert Patton-Spruill | ★★ | 89 | Three Boston ghetto youths are caught between the violent gang and drug life on the streets and a promise of hope and a better life found in their local youth center. The conflict the teens go through is well played out with terrific performances, especially Burton's, but the dialogue is sometimes stilted and the ending too pat. Great visual style; shot on location in Boston in 1995. | tt0117724 | [R] | Tyrone Burton, Eddie Cutanda, Phuong Van Duong, Geoffrey Rhue, Russell G. Jones, Leigh Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Squeeze | 1980 | Antonio Margheriti | ★½ | 100 | Good cast wasted in humdrum caper film about a retired thief (Van Cleef) breaking open one last safe. Filmed in N.Y.C. | tt0078313 | [R] | Lee Van Cleef, Karen Black, Edward Albert, Lionel Stander, Robert Alda, Angelo Infanti | Italian | Crime | NULL | |
| The Squeeze | 1987 | Roger Young | 💣 | 101 | Dreadful comedy, almost completely devoid of laughs, with Keaton as a con man who gets involved in murder and mayhem. Davidson plays a slick but corrupt TV lottery host. | tt0094021 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Rae Dawn Chong, Liane Langland, Leslie Bevis, John Davidson, *** Meat Loaf, Ronald Guttman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Squid and the Whale | 2005 | Noah Baumbach | ★★★½ | 88 | Intimate look at a family coming apart at the seams in 1980s Brooklyn. The two boys, aged 12 and 16, don't know what to make of the rift in their parents' relationship: he's a self-absorbed novelist, given to opinionated pronouncements and fierce competition; she's a loving mother who's coming into her own as a writer. Youthful angst and the dissolution of a relationship have seldom been better portrayed. Searing, semiautobiographical drama written by Baumbach. Everyone is good, but Daniels scores a knockout. Young Kline is the son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates. | tt0367089 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, Anna Paquin, William Baldwin | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Squirm | 1976 | Jeff Lieberman | ★★★ | 92 | Above-average horror outing builds to good shock sequences: when power line falls to the ground on rainy Georgia night, it drives large, slimy sandworms from the ground, which terrorize small town. | tt0075261 | [PG] | Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy, R. A. Dow, Jean Sullivan, Peter MacLean | Horror | NULL | ||
| Squizzy Taylor | 1982 | Kevin James Dobson | ★★★ | 89 | Atkins shines as the title character, a famous gangster in 1920s Melbourne. Enjoyable, with the era colorfully re-created. | tt0084720 | David Atkins, Jacki Weaver, Alan Cassell, Michael Long, Kim Lewis, Steve Bisley | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sssssss | 1973 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★★★ | 99 | Well-done horror tale of doctor who finds a way of transforming man into King Cobra. Exceptional job by makeup master John Chambers. | tt0070622 | [PG] | Strother Martin, Dirk Benedict, Heather Menzies, Richard B. Shull, Tim O'Connor, Jack Ging | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| St. Benny the Dip | 1951 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 80 | Silly, rambling account of a trio of con artists and their plight after disguising themselves as priests in order to evade the law. Child star Bartholomew's final film. | tt0044067 | Dick Haymes, Nina Foch, Roland Young, Lionel Stander, Freddie Bartholomew, Richard Gordon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| St. Elmo's Fire | 1985 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 108 | Slick vehicle for some charismatic young actors, as recent college grads having a hard time coping with Real Life. Invites comparison to THE BREAKFAST CLUB and THE BIG CHILL, but these 'young adults' are pretty immature, and so is the film, written by director Schumacher. | tt0090060 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Mare Winningham, Martin Balsam, Jon Cutler, Joyce Van Patten, Andie MacDowell, Blake Clark, Matthew Laurance, Anna Maria Horsford | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| St. Helens | 1981 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★½ | 90 | Mount St. Helens is about to erupt, and old codger Carney (named Harry Truman!) refuses to leave his home. Not too bad, with a fine Carney performance; based on a true story. | tt0083117 | [PG] | Art Carney, David Huffman, Cassie Yates, Ron O'Neal, Bill McKinney, Albert Salmi | Adventure, Drama, Documentary | NULL | ||
| St. Ives | 1976 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 93 | Muddled yarn about would-be writer Bronson who becomes a pawn for wealthy conniver Houseman and his beautiful associate (Bisset) and finds himself involved in murder. Glossy but stupid. Look for Jeff Goldblum and Robert Englund as hoods. | tt0075263 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, John Houseman, Jacqueline Bisset, Harry Guardino, Maximilian Schell, Harris Yulin, Dana Elcar, Elisha Cook, Michael Lerner, Daniel J. Travanti | Adventure | NULL | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 1958 | Allen Reisner | ★★ | 93 | Treacly dramatics interspersed with outstanding musical performances in this so-called biography of W. C. Handy (Cole, in his lone starring role), who composed the title tune. Billy Preston plays Handy as a boy. | tt0052234 | Nat 'King' Cole, Eartha Kitt, Ruby Dee, Pearl Bailey, Juano Hernandez, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson | Drama | NULL | |||
| St. Louis Kid | 1934 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 67 | Breezy Cagney vehicle casts him and Jenkins as truckdriving buddies who have a knack for getting into trouble— and wind up in the middle of a war between a dairy trust and angry farmers. | tt0025826 | James Cagney, Patricia Ellis, Allen Jenkins, Robert Barrat, Addison Richards | Drama | NULL | |||
| St. Trinian's | 2007 | Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson | ★½ | 101 | Painfully unfunny updating of the venerable series, with near bankrupt (financially and otherwise) St. Trinian's school, ineptly managed by an oddball headmistress; Everett (in drag) plays Miss Fritton, as well as her shady brother. The students are either sluttish or sadistic; no outsider is spared their pranks, not even England's new Education Minister (Firth). Paging Alastair Sim. Followed by a sequel. | tt0964587 | [PG-13] | Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Lena Headey, Jodie Whittaker, Russell Brand, Anna Chancellor, Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie, Toby Jones, Caterina Murino, Fenella Woolgar, Talulah Riley, Mischa Barton, Gemma Arterton, Juno Temple, Lucy Punch, Nathaniel Parker | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | 1967 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 100 | This had the makings of a good film, but they blew it, with Robards (as Al Capone) and Segal (doing a Jimmy Cagney imitation) overacting as they've never done before. So much shooting throughout film that final massacre seems tame by comparison. Many familiar faces appear throughout: Harold Stone, Kurt Krueger, Milton Frome, Mickey Deems, John Agar, Reed Hadley, Alex D'Arcy, etc. Pay close attention and you'll see Jack Nicholson, too! | tt0062301 | Jason Robards/Jr., George Segal, Ralph Meeker, Jean Hale, Clint Ritchie, Frank Silvera, Joseph Campanella, Bruce Dern | Crime | NULL | |||
| Stablemates | 1938 | Sam Wood | ★★ | 89 | Sticky story of jockey Rooney and racetrack mentor Beery. All the stops out during the syrupy scenes. | tt0030786 | Wallace Beery, Mickey Rooney, Arthur Hohl, Margaret Hamilton, Minor Watson, Marjorie Gateson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stacey | 1973 | Andy Sidaris | ★½ | 79 | Voluptuous former Playmate Randall stars as near-superwoman private eye on absurdly complex case involving murder, blackmail, and a Moonie-like cult. Very sexy and violent, but not very good, with grating, obnoxious score by jazz veteran Don Randi. Aka STACEY AND HER GANGBUSTERS. | tt0070727 | [R] | Anne Randall, Alan Landers, James Westmoreland, Cristina Raines, Anitra Ford, Marjorie Bennett | Crime | NULL | ||
| Stacking | Season of Dreams | 1987 | Martin Rosen | ★★ | 109 | Some fine performers (and performances) are wasted in this boring, ever so obvious account of the various experiences and troubles of a young teen (Follows), growing up in the rural West in the early 1950s. More or less a clone of the far superior DESERT BLOOM. Originally titled SEASON OF DREAMS. | tt0094023 | [PG] | Christine Lahti, Frederic Forrest, Megan Follows, Jason Gedrick, Ray Baker, Peter Coyote, James Gammon, Kaiulani Lee, Jacqueline Brookes, Irene Daily | Drama | NULL | |
| Stacy's Knights | 1983 | Jim Wilson | ★★½ | 95 | Millian is Plain Jane struck with blackjack gambling fever who recruits a squad of sharpies to break a casino after her young mentor (Costner) is killed by the casino's goons. Unexciting B-movie offers insight into the world of professional gambling and features a flavorful performance by Costner in his first leading role. (Wilson and screenwriter Michael Blake later reteamed with Costner to make DANCES WITH WOLVES.) | tt0084723 | [PG] | Andra Millian, Kevin Costner, Eve Lilith, Mike Reynolds, Garth Howard, Ed Semenza | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stage Beauty | 2004 | Richard Eyre | ★★½ | 105 | In 17th-century England, the most beautiful and celebrated actress on the stage is a man, Ned Kynaston (Crudup). When the whimsical King Charles II repeals the ban forbidding women from acting, Kynaston is not just unemployable: he is crushed. Colorful, well-cast period piece doesn't completely convince us that its central character (and his sexual confusion) is all that interesting. Screenplay by Jeffrey Hatcher, from his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty. | tt0368658 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Bonneville, Richard Griffiths, Edward Fox, Zoë Tapper | U.S.-British-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Stage Door | 1937 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★★ | 92 | Theatrical boarding house is setting for wonderful film, from Edna Ferber-George S. Kaufman play. Dynamite cast includes Hepburn as rich girl trying to succeed on her own, Menjou as propositioning producer, Leeds as hypersensitive actress, and several stars-to-be: Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, and Eve Arden. Scripted by Morrie Ryskind and Anthony Veiller. | tt0029604 | Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Andrea Leeds, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller, Ralph Forbes, Franklin Pangborn, Jack Carson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stage Door Canteen | 1943 | Frank Borzage | ★★½ | 132 | Wartime story of romance between soldier and hostess at N.Y.C.'s fabled canteen is filled with cameos, walk-ons, speeches, and musical numbers by an incredible battery of stars, including Katharine Hepburn, Harpo Marx, Paul Muni, Helen Hayes, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Edgar Bergen. Many prints run 93m. | tt0036384 | Cheryl Walker, William Terry, Marjorie Riordan, Lon McCallister, Margaret Early, Michael Harrison (Sunset Carson) | Musical | NULL | |||
| Stage Fright | 1950 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 110 | Drama student Wyman turns undercover sleuth when actress' husband is murdered; some exciting moments, but the Master misses on this one. Filmed in London with delightful British supporting cast; Marlene sings 'The Laziest Gal in Town.' | tt0042994 | Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Kay Walsh, Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, Sybil Thorndike, Patricia Hitchcock | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Stage Mother | 1933 | Charles Brabin | ★★½ | 87 | Widowed vaudevillian stakes everything on making her daughter a star. Brady is wonderful, and so is seedy backstage atmosphere. Songs include 'Beautiful Girl,' later immortalized in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. | tt0024609 | Alice Brady, Maureen O'Sullivan, Ted Healy, Franchot Tone, Phillips Holmes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stage Struck | 1958 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 95 | Faded remake of MORNING GLORY retelling the ascent of Broadway-bound actress. Supporting cast ham√ pered by unconvincing Strasberg in lead role and by unreal theater world atmosphere. | tt0052235 | Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Joan Greenwood, Christopher Plummer, Herbert Marshall | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Stage to Thunder Rock | 1964 | William F. Claxton | ★★ | 82 | One of producer A. C. Lyles' humdrum Westerns with veteran stars; this one has Sullivan as a sheriff who's put in the position of having to arrest the outlaw family that raised him. | tt0058612 | Barry Sullivan, Marilyn Maxwell, Lon Chaney/Jr., Scott Brady, John Agar, Keenan Wynn, Allan Jones | Western | NULL | |||
| Stagecoach | 1939 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 96 | One of the great American films, and a landmark in the maturing of the Western, balancing character study (as disparate passengers travel together on the same stagecoach) and peerless action (in a lengthy Indian attack, featuring Yakima Canutt's famous stuntwork). Also the film that propelled John Wayne to genuine stardom. Mitchell won an Oscar as the drunken doctor, as did the music score. Script by Dudley Nichols, from Ernest Haycox's story 'Stage to Lordsburg' (whose plot is reminiscent of Guy de Maupassant's Boule de Suif). Filmed in Ford's beloved Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border. Remade in 1966 and as a TVM in 1986. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031971 | Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, George Bancroft, Donald Meek, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin Martin, Francis Ford, Jack Pennick | Action, Western, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Stagecoach | 1966 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 115 | Colorful, star-studded Western is OK, but can't hold a candle to the 1939 masterpiece. Overlong, with only occasional action scenes to liven it up. Wayne Newton sings the title song! | tt0061024 | Ann-Margret, Alex Cord, Red Buttons, Michael Connors, Bing Crosby, Bob Cummings, Van Heflin, Slim Pickens, Stefanie Powers, Keenan Wynn | Western | NULL | |||
| Stagecoach | 1986 | Ted Post | Average TV Movie | 100 | Country music's self-styled 'outlaws' team up with wives and pals for a third go at the Ernest Haycox story about a bumpy stagecoach trip through Indian country to Lordsburg, New Mexico. The stars made no secret of their disdain for the simple-minded script. | tt0092003 | Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, John Schneider, Elizabeth Ashley, Anthony Franciosa, Anthony Newley, Mary Crosby, June Carter Cash, Jessi Colter, David Allen Coe, Lash La Rue | Western | NULL | |||
| Stagecoach War | 1940 | Lesley Selander. | ★★ | 60 | Rival factions compete for stage line mail-carrying contract; Bar 20 mustangs are matched against purebred Morgans in decisive stage race. Hopalong Cassidy yarn has a preponderance of tight close-ups of Boyd, to no meaningful end. With one exception, gratuitous songs by The King's Men (cast as heavies!) are unwelcome. | tt0033099 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Julie Carter, Harvey Stephens, J. Farrell MacDonald, Britt Wood. | Western | NULL | |||
| Staircase | 1969 | Stanley Donen | ★★ | 100 | Shock value of Burton and Harrison as a gay couple was all this film had going for it in 1969, and nothing has changed since then, except heightened sophistication of audiences. A curio, to be sure. Dudley Moore composed the score. | tt0065031 | [R] | Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Cathleen Nesbitt, Beatrix Lehmann | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Stairway to Heaven | A Matter of Life and Death | 1946 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★★★ | 104 | Powell and Pressburger manage to straddle reality and fantasy in a most disarming manner in this unusual story of a pilot during WW2 who claims he was accidentally chosen to die, and must now plead for his life in a Heavenly court. Like most films by this writer-director team, an absolute original— and a gem, too. Original British title: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. | tt0038733 | David Niven, Kim Hunter, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Marius Goring, Richard Attenborough | British | Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Stakeout | 1987 | John Badham | ★★★ | 115 | While working with his partner on a stakeout, cop Dreyfuss falls in love with the woman he's supposed to be watching. Wildly improbable, and ultimately downright silly, but entertaining throughout, thanks to sharp dialogue and performances, and some big laughs. Dreyfuss and Estevez make a great team. Written by Jim Kouf. Followed by a sequel, ANOTHER STAKEOUT. | tt0094025 | [R] | Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Aidan Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, Dan Lauria, Forest Whitaker, Ian Tracey, Earl Billings | Comedy, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stakeout on Dope Street | 1958 | Irvin Kershner | ★½ | 83 | Trio of youths discover cache of heroin, believing their futures will now be uncomplicated; good premise poorly executed. | tt0052242 | Yale Wexler, Jonathan Haze, Morris Miller, Abby Dalton, Herschel Bernardi | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Stalag 17 | 1953 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 120 | Granddaddy of all WW2 POW films. Holden (in Oscar-winning performance) is super-cynical sergeant suspected of being Nazi spy. Wilder brilliantly blends drama with comedy to show monotonous, anxiety-ridden life of POWs. Wonderful comic relief by Strauss and Lembeck (repeating their Broadway roles), plus superb turn by Preminger as Nazi camp commander. Scripted by Wilder and Edwin Blum, from Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski's play. | tt0046359 | William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Sig Rumann, Ross Bagdasarian, Gil Stratton/Jr. | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Stalker | 1979 | Andrei Tarkovsky | ★★★ | 160 | Stark, eerie, cerebral story of title character, who guides intellectuals Grinko and Solonitsin through the 'Zone,' a mysterious, forbidden wasteland. Very slow but well acted and rewarding. | tt0079944 | Alexander Kaidanovsky, Nikolai Grinko, Anatoli Solonitsin, Alice Friendlich | Russian | Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Stalking Moon | 1969 | Robert Mulligan | ★★ | 109 | Army scout helps white woman who has lived with the Apaches to escape with her young halfbreed son, while boy's father comes after them. Potentially interesting Western is both slick and dull; nice photography by Charles Lang. | tt0065032 | [G] | Gregory Peck, Eva Marie Saint, Robert Forster, Noland Clay, Russell Thorson, Frank Silvera | Western | NULL | ||
| Stallion Road | 1947 | James V. Kern | ★★ | 91 | Dedicated veterinarian Reagan and novelist friend Scott vie for the affection of horse rancher Smith; low-key drama written by Stephen Longstreet. | tt0039865 | Ronald Reagan, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Peggy Knudsen, Patti Brady, Harry Davenport | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stamboul Quest | 1934 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 88 | Exotic combination of romance and intrigue with German spy Loy falling in love with American student Brent in WW1 Turkey. Herman Mankiewicz's script based on true story also filmed as FRAULEIN DOKTOR. | tt0025828 | Myrna Loy, George Brent, Lionel Atwill, C. Henry Gordon, Mischa Auer | Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Stampede | 1949 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 78 | Good Western of range war between cattle ranchers. | tt0041917 | Rod Cameron, Gale Storm, Johnny Mack Brown, Don Castle, JohnMiljan | Western | NULL | |||
| Stand Alone | 1985 | Alan Beattie | ★★ | 90 | Vigilante opus has miscast Durning as a war vet who goes after Latino thugs who are preying on his neighborhood. Grier is wasted in a goody-two-shoes role. Spectacle of overweight Durning running around in action scenes is unintentionally funny. | tt0090062 | [R] | Charles Durning, Pam Grier, James Keach, Bert Remsen, Barbara Sammeth, Lu Leonard, Luis Contreras | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Stand Up and Be Counted | 1972 | Jackie Cooper | ★½ | 99 | Touted as first film about Women's Lib; writer Bisset returns to home town, first becomes aware of abuses women must endure. Cardboard all the way; only standout is Stevens' comic performance. Script by Bernard Slade. | tt0069307 | [PG] | Jacqueline Bisset, Stella Stevens, Steve Lawrence, Gary Lockwood, Lee Purcell, Loretta Swit, Hector Elizondo | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Stand Up and Cheer | 1934 | Hamilton MacFadden | ★★ | 69 | Dismal musical fantasy about big-time show producer Baxter being named Secretary of Amusement by the President, to chase the country's Depression blues. Tough sledding until Shirley Temple shows up with Dunn to perform 'Baby Take a Bow' (which helped make her a star). Originally released at 80m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025829 | Warner Baxter, Madge Evans, James Dunn, Sylvia Froos, John Boles, Shirley Temple, Ralph Morgan, Aunt Jemima, Mitchell and Durant, Dick Foran, Nigel Bruce, Stepin Fetchit | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Stand Up and Fight | 1939 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★ | 97 | OK Western with railroading pioneer Taylor meeting crisis after crisis, battling stubborn stage-rider Beery. James M. Cain was one of the writers. | tt0031972 | Wallace Beery, Robert Taylor, Florence Rice, Charles Bickford, Charley Grapewin, Selmer Jackson | Western | NULL | |||
| Stand and Deliver | 1987 | Ramón Menéndez | ★★★½ | 105 | Olmos gives a tour-de-force performance in this outstanding drama as a tough, demanding teacher who inspires his East L.A. barrio students to pass an Advanced Placement Calculus Test . . . and that's only the beginning of the story. Based on fact, with a screenplay by director Menendez and Tom Musca. This American Playhouse feature is a triumph for all concerned. | tt0094027 | [PG] | Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rosana de Soto, Andy Garcia, Will Gotay, Ingrid Oliu, Virginia Paris, Mark Eliot | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stand at Apache River | 1953 | Lee Sholem | ★★ | 77 | Title tells all. | tt0046361 | Stephen McNally, Julie Adams, Hugh Marlowe, Jack Kelly, Hugh O'Brian | Western | NULL | |||
| Stand by Me | 1986 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 87 | Affectionate Americana looking back at boyhood friendship and adventures in the 1950s (and narrated by Dreyfuss, representing author Stephen King, whose novella 'The Body' is the basis for this film). Irresistible and wholly believable performances from all four youthful leads. Only complaint: the high volume of four-letter words, decidedly not characteristic of the 1950s. | tt0092005 | [R] | Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, John Cusack, Richard Dreyfuss | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Stand by for Action | 1942 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 109 | We're still waiting. Good cast in standard drama-with-comic-touches in which up-by-his-bootstraps Navy officer Donlevy and silver-spoon-fed subordinate Taylor clash in the early days of WW2. | tt0036386 | Robert Taylor, Brian Donlevy, Charles Laughton, Walter Brennan, Marilyn Maxwell, Henry O'Neill, Chill Wills | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Stand-In | 1937 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 91 | Enjoyable spoof of Hollywood, with stuffy banker Howard sent to assess dwindling fortunes of Colossal Pictures, becoming involved with perky stand-in Blondell and mercurial producer Bogart to save company from ruin. Sags in second half. | tt0029605 | Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Blondell, Alan Mowbray, Marla Shelton, C. Henry Gordon, Jack Carson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Standard Operating Procedure | 2008 | Errol Morris | ★★★½ | 116 | Unrelentingly grim, soul-stirring documentary account of the events at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and the manner in which detainees were abused and tortured. Includes photos and videos, reenactments, and interviews with U.S. soldiers who offer sobering first-person accounts (as well as testimony relating to how the acts were condoned by higher-ups). Tough going but “must” viewing and proof that, indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. Effective score by Danny Elfman. | tt0896866 | [R] | NULL | ||||
| Stander | 2003 | Bronwen Hughes. | ★★★ | 116 | True account of South African police captain Andre Stander who, frustrated with his unwilling involvement in apartheid, becomes a notorious criminal, leading the Stander Gang on a string of daily robberies in the early '80s. Gripping story well told, with a strong performance by Jane in the title role. This might seem like hokum if it weren't based on a true story. | tt0326208 | [R] | Thomas Jane, Ashley Taylor, David O'Hara, Dexter Fletcher, Deborah Kara Unger, Marius Weyers. | Canadian-German-South African | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Standing Room Only | 1944 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 83 | Topical wartime comedy is now dated. MacMurray and Goddard can't find rooms, so they work as servants. | tt0037310 | Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, Edward Arnold, Hillary Brooke, Roland Young, Anne Revere | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Standing in the Shadows of Motown | 2002 | Paul Justman | ★★★ | 108 | Entertaining documentary about the unsung musicians (known as The Funk Brothers) who helped to create the Motown sound in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, and played on countless hit records. Newly staged concert sequences with contemporary singers like Joan Osborne, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Montell Jordan, and Chaka Khan are intercut with interviews of the still-vibrant players. Dramatic re-creations of remembered moments are weak, but the music is irresistible. Based on Allan Slutsky's book. | tt0314725 | [PG] | Narrated by Andre Braugher | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Stanley | 1972 | William Grefe | ★★ | 106 | Classic depiction of the Vietnam veteran as a one-dimensional psycho: Robinson cannot relate to any other human being; his only friends are poisonous snakes, which he uses to gain revenge on anyone who mistreats him. WILLARD with snakes instead of rats. | tt0069308 | [PG] | Chris Robinson, Alex Rocco, Susan Carroll, Steve Alaimo, Mark Harris, Paul Avery | Horror | NULL | ||
| Stanley & Iris | 1990 | Martin Ritt | ★★½ | 104 | Beleagured working-class Fonda, still grieving over the loss of her husband eight months before, chances to meet De Niro, a loner who harbors a terrible secret— he can't read. She winds up tutoring him, and they circle each other warily before deciding if they're in love. Story is flat and underdeveloped, but the screen presence and charm of two great stars make it worth watching. | tt0100680 | [PG-13] | Jane Fonda, Robert De Niro, Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton, Harley Cross, Jamey Sheridan, Feodor Chaliapin, Zohra Lampert, Loretta Devine, Julie Garfield | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Stanley and Livingstone | 1939 | Henry King | ★★★ | 101 | Elaborate production with Tracy as determined reporter who searches turn-of-the-20th-century Africa for missing missionary (Hardwicke). Entertaining drama with beautifully understated performance by Tracy. | tt0031973 | Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan, Charles Coburn, Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Hull, Henry Travers, Miles Mander | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Star 80 | 1983 | Bob Fosse | ★½ | 102 | Straightforward telling of a lurid tale: innocent Dorothy Stratten's mental seduction by small-time hustler Paul Snider, who promoted her career as a Playboy centerfold and movie starlet, then murdered her in a rage of jealousy. Extremely well-crafted, well-acted movie that leaves viewer with nothing but a feeling of voyeurism— and no redeeming insights. Fosse's final film; before his death, he reedited this for network TV. See also TV movie version DEATH OF A CENTERFOLD. | tt0086355 | [R] | Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts, Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker, Roger Rees, David Clennon, Josh Mostel, Sidney Miller, Jordan Christopher, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Stuart Damon, Ernest Thompson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Star Chamber | 1983 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 109 | Young judge, frustrated by having to turn rapists and murderers free because of legal technicalities, is drawn into a secret judicial society. Well done, but too predictable, and ultimately too unbelievable, to really score. | tt0086356 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless, James B. Sikking, Joe Regalbuto, Don Calfa, DeWayne Jessie, Jack Kehoe | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Star Dust | 1940 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 85 | Hokey, entertaining yarn about talent scout Young (from Amalgamated Studios) discovering star-struck Darnell and football player Payne. | tt0033100 | Linda Darnell, John Payne, Roland Young, Charlotte Greenwood, William Gargan, Mary Beth Hughes, Mary Healy, Donald Meek | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Star Is Born | 1937 | William Wellman | ★★★½ | 111 | Two remakes haven't dimmed the glow of this drama about a self-destructive actor and the young movie hopeful he marries. March and Gaynor are at their best and 1930s flavor (captured in early Technicolor) is a plus; screenplay by Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, and Robert Carson was inspired in part by 1932 film WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? Oscar-winner for original story (by Carson and director Wellman) and W. Howard Greene's cinematography. | tt0029606 | Fredric March, Janet Gaynor, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, Franklin Pangborn | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Star Is Born | 1954 | George Cukor | ★★★★ | 170 | Powerful semi-musical remake of the 1937 classic, with Garland and Mason at their peaks as doomed Hollywood star couple, she on the way up, he down. Incisive script by Moss Hart; great Harold Arlen-Ira Gershwin songs include spellbinding 'The Man That Got Away' and the showstopping 'Born in a Trunk' sequence by Leonard Gershe. Badly cut to 154m. after premiere engagements of 181m.; restored in 1983 to present length using still photos to cover missing bits of footage. | tt0047522 | Judy Garland, James Mason, Charles Bickford, Jack Carson, Tom Noonan | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| A Star Is Born | 1976 | Frank Pierson | ★★½ | 140 | By-now familiar story is given an unconvincing treatment, with change of setting to the world of rock music. Only comes to life during Streisand's vibrant numbers, which transcend script and surrounding drama; she and Paul Williams won an Oscar for song 'Evergreen.' Screenplay by Pierson, Joan Didion, and John Gregory Dunne. | tt0075265 | Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson, Gary Busey, Oliver Clark, Paul Mazursky, Marta Heflin, M.G. Kelly, Sally Kirkland, Robert Englund | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Star Kid | 1998 | Manny Coto | ★★ | 101 | A lonely boy finds a 'cyborsuit'— superpowered alien armor— in a junkyard, and has fun trying it out. Comic book-like but occasionally entertaining. | tt0120478 | [PG] | Joseph Mazzello, Joey Simmrin, Danny Masterson, Richard Gilliland, Corinne Bohrer, Ashlee Levitch | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Knight | The Knight of the Dragon | 1986 | Fernando Colomo | ★½ | 90 | Infantile fantasy about a spaceship that lands in a Spanish lake in medieval times and is thought to be a dragon. Keitel (Bronx accent intact) is the only cast member who isn't dubbed. OK special effects. Originally titled: THE KNIGHT OF THE DRAGON. | tt0088870 | Klaus Kinski, Harvey Keitel, Fernando Rey, Maria Lamor, Miguel Bosè | Spanish | Romance, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Star Maker | 1939 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 80 | Crosby plays Gus Edwards, vaudeville impresario who turned talented youngsters into stars. Pleasant musical doesn't always stick to facts. Originally 94m. | tt0031974 | Bing Crosby, Louise Campbell, Laura Hope Crews, Ned Sparks, Ethel Griffies, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Star Maker | 1995 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★ | 117 | CINEMA PARADISO's Tornatore offers up the flip side of that beloved film in this period piece about a self-described talent scout who tours Sicily selling screen tests and the pipe dream of a movie career to naive locals who fall prey to his sales pitch. Maybe PARADISO is just too tough an act to follow, but this one doesn't even come close. Tornatore coscripted, from his story. | tt0114808 | [R] | Sergio Castellitto, Tiziana Bodato, Franco Scaldati, Leopoldo Trieste, Clelia Rondinella, Tano Cimarosa, Jane Alexander | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Star Maps | 1997 | Miguel Arteta | ★★½ | 95 | Occasionally potent but uneven allegorical drama about an 18-year-old with movie-star aspirations who returns from Mexico to L.A. and goes to work for his father as a male prostitute in a ring which is fronted by the selling of 'star maps' of celebrity homes. Done in by its preachy tone and lack of depth. | tt0120197 | [R] | Douglas Spain, Efrain Figueroa, Kandeyce Jorden, Martha Velez, Lysa Flores | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Star Packer | 1934 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★ | 53 | U.S. marshal Wayne enters town incognito to quell lawbreakers led by mysterious figure in this average Lone Star quickie Western. Hayes plays a character known as The Shadow. Besides his role as Wayne's Indian companion, Canutt performed stunts for almost everyone on camera. | tt0025830 | John Wayne, Verna Hillie, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Billy Franey, Ed Parker. | Action, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Star Spangled Girl | 1971 | Jerry Paris | ★½ | 92 | Very unfunny Neil Simon comedy about the saccharine-sweet girl-next-door who falls in with two ultraradical campus newspaper editors. | tt0067787 | [G] | Sandy Duncan, Tony Roberts, Todd Susman, Elizabeth Allen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Star Spangled Rhythm | 1942 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 99 | Paramount's silly but agreeable star-packed WW2 extravaganza, filled with songs and sketches. There's a slight plot, about a studio switchboard operator (Betty Hutton) and gate guard (Victor Moore); the latter has told his son (Eddie Bracken), a sailor, that he's the studio's boss. Better numbers include '(That Old) Black Magic,' 'Time to Hit the Road to Dreamland.' | tt0035379 | Bing Crosby, Ray Milland, Bob Hope, Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, Susan Hayward, Dick Powell, Mary Martin, Alan Ladd, Paulette Goddard, Cecil B. DeMille, Arthur Treacher, Preston Sturges, Eddie Anderson, Robert Preston, William Bendix | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Star Trek | 2009 | J. J. Abrams | ★★★½ | 126 | Energetic, inventive prequel to Gene Roddenberry’s landmark TV series imagines how the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise came together—and how a fiery, rule-breaking James T. Kirk (Pine) and a half-Vulcan, half-human Spock (Quinto) became lifelong friends. Opens with a big action sequence, then Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s screenplay carefully develops its characters and their relationships, never allowing visual effects to overpower the content. Nimoy makes a welcome return as the older Spock. Soaring score by Michael Giacchino. | tt0796366 | [PG-13] | Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Ben Cross, Winona Ryder, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Morrison, Faran Tahir, Clifton Collins, Jr., Tyler Perry | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Trek Generations | 1994 | David Carson | ★★★ | 118 | The old guard gives way to the new, as Capt. Kirk (Shatner) passes the baton to a new Starfleet commander, Capt. Picard (Stewart). Episodic adventure yarn plays like an elongated segment of the Next Generation TV series; not inspired, perhaps, but entertaining just the same, with some impressive special effects. Oddly enough, the weakest segment is the climactic teaming of Picard and Kirk, which seems like a leftover from an old Saturday matinee serial. Whoopi Goldberg appears unbilled as Guinan. | tt0111280 | [PG] | Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Barbara March, Gwyneth Walsh, Alan Ruck | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | 1982 | Nicholas Meyer | ★★★ | 113 | Kirk and the Enterprise crew must do battle with the nefarious villain of 1967's 'Space Seed' episode. A bit hokey and pretentious at times, but a likable adventure overall, with nice touches of warmth and humor. Footage added for network showings. Director's edition runs 116m. Originally released without the 'II' in its title. | tt0084726 | [PG] | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Ricardo Montalban, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Kirstie Alley, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | 1984 | Leonard Nimoy | ★★★ | 105 | Picking up where #2 left off, Kirk reassembles his crew and shanghais the Enterprise to try and rescue Spock while both he and the rapidly destructing Genesis Planet are endangered by a Klingon warship (led by Lloyd, in an ineffectual performance). Subdued sci-fi outing very much in keeping with tone of the original TV series. | tt0088170 | [PG] | William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Christopher Lloyd, Robin Curtis, Merritt Butrick, Mark Lenard, Dame Judith Anderson, James B. Sikking, John Larroquette, Robert Hooks, Miguel Ferrer, Leonard Nimoy | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | 1986 | Leonard Nimoy | ★★★½ | 119 | The Enterprise crew takes a sharp left turn toward comedy in this uncharacteristic— and very entertaining— movie. Story has the familiar characters time-traveling back to the 20th century in order to save the Earth of the future, with the help of some humpback whales. Sheer novelty of the comic tone excuses some forays into the obvious; it's all in fun. | tt0092007 | [PG] | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks, Mark Lenard, Robin Curtis, Robert Ellenstein, John Schuck, Brock Peters | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | 1989 | William Shatner | ★★ | 106 | The Enterprise crew takes off on an emergency mission when an apparent madman takes over a distant planet and holds its interstellar ambassadors hostage; his motives, however, turn out to be anything but terroristic. Dramatically shaky trek starts off with a case of the cutes, and gets worse before it (finally) gets better. A weak entry in the series. Shatner's feature-film directing debut; he also shares story credit. | tt0098382 | [PG] | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, David Warner, Laurence Luckinbill, Charles Cooper | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | 1991 | Nicholas Meyer | ★★★ | 109 | The Enterprise crew is assigned to negotiate truce with Klingon leader, only to fall prey to a trap set by one of his renegade cohorts (Plummer, in a deliciously flamboyant performance). Entertaining saga cowritten by director Meyer. Nimoy helped concoct the story and also executive produced. Video version has 2 minutes of additional footage. | tt0102975 | [PG] | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee Whitney, Brock Peters, Kurtwood Smith, Rosana DeSoto, David Warner, Iman, John Schuck, Michael Dorn, Christian Slater | Action, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Star Trek- The Motion Picture | 1979 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 132 | The crew of the Enterprise is reunited to combat a lethal force field headed toward Earth. Slow, talky, and derivative, somewhat redeemed by terrific special effects and majestic Jerry Goldsmith score; still, mainly for purists. Network and video version— generally considered an improvement— runs 143m. Director's edition released in 2002 is 136m. and rated PG. Followed by many sequels— and several new TV series! | tt0079945 | [G] | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Stephen Collins, Persis Khambatta, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney, Mark Lenard | Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Star Trek: First Contact | 1996 | Jonathan Frakes | ★★★ | 110 | Capt. Picard lives his worst nightmare as the villainous Borg (who almost overtook him in a two-part TV episode) land on earth with domination their goal. The solution: the crew travels back in time to 2063 to make sure a cockeyed scientist (Cromwell) fulfills his role in history with a precedent-setting rocket flight. Story goes on a bit, following two concurrent threads, but series fans will have no complaints. Krige is a standout as the seductive Borg Queen. Feature directing debut for Frakes, better known as Riker. | tt0117731 | [PG-13] | Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Alice Krige, Robert Picardo | Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Star Trek: Insurrection | 1998 | Jonathan Frakes | ★★★ | 103 | Good entry in the long-running series has the crew befriending the eternally youthful residents of a Shangri-La-like planet whose existence is threatened by the vengeful Ru'afo (Abraham). Picard (Stewart) even has a dalliance with one of the women there (Murphy). Reliably entertaining for Star Trek fans. | tt0120844 | [PG] | Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, F. Murray Abraham, Donna Murphy, Anthony Zerbe, Gregg Henry, Daniel Hugh Kelly | Action, Sci-Fi, Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Star Trek: Nemesis | 2002 | Stuart Baird | ★★★ | 117 | Satisfying if formulaic series entry has Riker and Troi celebrating their marriage when the Enterprise crew is confronted with a dual challenge: facing a villain who is an evil clone of Captain Picard and examining an adversarial prototype of the android Data. Entertaining, though the conclusion is never in doubt; Stewart's commanding performance anchors the film. Spiner gets costory credit— and sings a few bars of 'Blue Skies.' Whoopi Goldberg appears unbilled. | tt0253754 | [PG-13] | Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Tom Hardy, Ron Perlman, Shannon Cochran, Dina Meyer, Jude Ciccolella, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Star Wars | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | 1977 | George Lucas | ★★★½ | 121 | Elaborate, imaginative update of Flash Gordon incredibly became one of the most popular films of all time. It's a hip homage to B-movie ethics and heroism in the space age, as a callow youth (Hamill) becomes an interplanetary hero with the help of some human and robot friends. R2-D2 and C-3P0 steal the show. Won seven Oscars for various technical achievements and John Williams' rousing score. Full title onscreen (on re-release prints) is STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. Followed by THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and RETURN OF THE JEDI. Special Edition released in 1997 features souped-up special effects and about 4m. of new footage. | tt0076759 | [PG] | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, voice of James Earl Jones | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | 1999 | George Lucas | ★★★ | 133 | Qui-Gon Jinn (Neeson) and his protégé Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor) try to negotiate peace but find themselves in the midst of war instead; while attempting to protect the Queen of Naboo (Portman), they stop over on the planet Tatooine, where they encounter young Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd), who clearly has a special gift. The beginning of Lucas' epic saga resembles his first STAR WARS film in both story and tone, with quantum leaps forward in special effects— including computer-generated characters (like comic-relief character Jar Jar Binks) who seem astonishingly real. Not a lot of heart, but certainly a lot of fun in Saturday matinee serial fashion. Followed by a sequel. | tt0120915 | [PG] | Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Pernilla August, Terence Stamp, Ian McDiarmid, Hugh Quarshie, Ray Park, Ahmed Best, Brian Blessed, Sofia Coppola | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones | 2002 | George Lucas | ★★ | 143 | Ten years after Episode I, Anakin Skywalker is beginning to resent his father figure, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and finds himself falling in love with Padmé, the former queen. Lavish production showcases an overlong story that serves mainly as a transition between Episodes I and III in this ongoing saga. Wooden characterizations and dialogue don't help . . . but the computer-generated Yoda is terrific, and the coliseum action sequence (an homage to Ray Harryhausen) is a knockout. | tt0121765 | [PG] | Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits, Jack Thompson, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | George Lucas. | ★★★ | 140 | The Star Wars saga comes full circle as Anakin Skywalker (Christensen), in a desperate attempt to protect his wife, Padmé Amidala (Portman), succumbs to a persuasive Chancellor Palpatine and embraces the dark side of the Force. Long, uneven, but meticulously crafted entry in the six-part story has some of the same faults as its immediate predecessors, but delivers an emotional wallop as it brings the 'prequel trilogy' to a conclusion. Yoda dominates every scene he's in— and gives the best performance in the film! | tt0121766 | [PG-13] | Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Jimmy Smits, Frank Oz, Peter Mayhew, Temuera Morrison, Ahmed Best, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Keisha Castle-Hughes; voice of James Earl Jones. | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Star Witness | 1931 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 68 | Gritty, no-nonsense account of a family who witnesses a gangland battle and is terrorized to prevent them from testifying in court. Huston is the idealistic district attorney; Sale steals the film as the crotchety but resourceful grandfather. | tt0022430 | Walter Huston, Sally Blane, Chic Sale, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, Edward Nugent, Ralph Ince, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Star in the Dust | 1956 | Charles Haas | ★★ | 80 | Intriguing cast is wasted in this trite tale of sheriff Agar forced to fight his townfolk to retain law and order. Look for Clint Eastwood as a ranch hand. | tt0049793 | John Agar, Mamie Van Doren, Richard Boone, Leif Erickson, Coleen Gray, James Gleason | Western | NULL | |||
| Star of India | 1954 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 84 | So-so costumer, overly earnest. Wilde is Gallic nobleman trying to reestablish his rightful inheritance. | tt0046362 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Herbert Lom | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Star of Midnight | 1935 | Stephen Roberts | ★★ | 90 | Flip, but not terribly funny, comedy-mystery in the THIN MAN vein, with a convoluted story that doesn't offer much involvement. Powell plays a lawyer who enjoys solving cases more than trying them in court. | tt0027040 | William Powell, Ginger Rogers, Paul Kelly, Gene Lockhart, Ralph Morgan, Leslie Fenton, J. Farrell MacDonald | Comedy, Romance, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Star! | 1968 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 176 | Razzle-dazzle biography of stage star Gertrude Lawrence never rings true, but does have mammoth production numbers worth seeing (especially in color). Julie tries, but never comes across; Massey is amusing if affected as Noel Coward (his real-life godfather). After box office flop, film was trimmed to 120m. and retitled THOSE WERE THE HAPPY TIMES. | tt0063642 | [G] | Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, Michael Craig, Daniel Massey, Robert Reed, Bruce Forsyth, Beryl Reid, Jenny Agutter, Tony LoBianco, Conrad Bain, Roy Scheider, Bernard Fox | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Star | 1952 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★½ | 89 | An Oscar-winning actress tries to deal with the fact that her career is over, her money is gone, and she must find some way to put her life together. Modest film, shot on locations all around L.A., has many moments of truth (and a typically compelling performance by Davis) to make up for its excesses. | tt0045186 | Bette Davis, Sterling Hayden, Natalie Wood, Warner Anderson, Minor Watson, June Travis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Starcrash | Female Space Invaders | 1979 | Lewis Coates (Luigi Cozzi) | ★½ | 92 | Grinning Gortner and sexy Munro are recruited to save the universe from destruction by bad-guy Spinell. Moronic sci-fi movie with variable special effects; unless you're a Munro fan, it's only good for a few laughs, nothing more. Aka FEMALE SPACE INVADERS. | tt0079946 | [PG] | Marjoe Gortner, Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff, Robert Tessier, Joe Spinell, voice of Hamilton Camp | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Stardom | 1999 | Denys Arcand | ★★★ | 100 | Trenchant look at our media culture as an attractive young Canadian hockey player (Paré) is transformed into a model and then a celebrity. Dead-on satire seen through the 'eyes' of superficial TV shows that cover the celebrity beat. Arcand scripted with J. Jacob Potashnik. | tt0192949 | [R] | Jessica Paré, Dan Aykroyd, Charles Berling, Thomas Gibson, Frank Langella, Robert Lepage, Patrick Huard | Canadian-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Stardust | 1975 | Michael Apted | ★★★½ | 107 | Powerful sequel to THAT'LL BE THE DAY follows amazing rise and fall of Beatles-like rock group and its lead singer (Essex). Candid, provocative, and utterly believable. | tt0072201 | [R] | David Essex, Adam Faith, Larry Hagman, Keith Moon, Dave Edmunds, Ines Des Longchamps, Edd Byrnes | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Stardust | 2007 | Matthew Vaughn | ★★★ | 125 | To prove his love for the fairest maiden in the land (Miller), our wide-eyed young hero (Cox) ventures into the forbidden kingdom of Stormhold to bring back a fallen star. The star has taken human form, however, and is being sought by others in the kingdom whose motives are not so pure—including a malevolent witch (played with gusto by Pfeiffer). Wondrously imaginative fantasy yarn, adapted from Neil Gaiman’s novel, creates a world all its own and is dotted with colorful characters, but goes on far too long. | tt0486655 | [PG-13] | Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole, Mark Strong, David Kelly; narrated by Ian McKellen | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Stardust Memories | 1980 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 91 | Woody plays a character not unlike himself who's persuaded to attend a film-seminar weekend, at which he's hounded by fans, favor-seekers, groupies, studio executives, relatives, and lovers. Pointed, seriocomic look at fame and success— though many viewers found it simply narcissistic. Look sharp for Sharon Stone on passing train; Louise Lasser and Laraine Newman appear unbilled. | tt0081554 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper, Marie-Christine Barrault, Tony Roberts, Daniel Stern, Amy Wright | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stardust on the Sage | 1942 | William Morgan. | ★★ | 65 | Radio station owner Currie tries to get Gene to support her brother's mine, but he's hesitant to recommend the investment to his fellow cattlemen. Complications arise when the brother (Henry) admits that he's embezzled money to keep it going. Even some good songs can't rescue this one from mediocrity. | tt0035380 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Bill Henry, Edith Fellows, Louise Currie, Emmett Vogan, Roy Barcroft. | Western | NULL | |||
| Stargate | 1994 | Roland Emmerich | ★★½ | 119 | A scholar of ancient languages and hieroglyphics (Spader) is recruited to help the military penetrate the mystery of a stone gateway which, in fact, leads to another universe. Interesting odyssey, impressively mounted and jammed with visual effects, but loses its way dramatically. Davidson (of CRYING GAME fame) is featured as a sort of fey Ming the Merciless. Special edition tape runs 128m. Followed by a made-for-TV movie and TV series. | tt0111282 | [PG-13] | Kurt Russell, James Spader, Viveca Lindfors, Jaye Davidson, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, Leon Rippy, John Diehl, Carlos Lauchu, Djimon (Hounsou), French Stewart, Rae Allen, Richard Kind | French-U.S. | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Starhops | 1978 | Barbara Peeters | ★★ | 92 | Ultra-low-budget formula film about three car hops who try to salvage a failing drive-in. Not bad of its type; screenplay by Stephanie Rothman. | tt0078318 | [R] | Dorothy Buhrman, Sterling Frazier, Jillian Kesner, Peter Paul Liapis, Paul Ryan, Anthony Mannino, Dick Miller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Starlift | 1951 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 103 | Flimsy account of GI romancing an actress, allowing for scenes of movie stars entertaining troops. Cameos by Warner Bros. people like Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Ruth Roman, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, etc. | tt0044070 | Janice Rule, Dick Wesson, Ron Hagerthy, Richard Webb | Musical | NULL | |||
| Starlight Hotel | 1987 | Sam Pillsbury | ★★★ | 93 | Nice little film about the exploits of troubled teen Robson and psychologically scarred WW1 vet Phelps. A friendly film about a most unlikely friendship. Warrick Attewell's cinematography is a standout. | tt0094031 | [PG] | Peter Phelps, Greer Robson, Marshall Napier, The Wizard, Alice Fraser, Patrick Smyth | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Starman | 1984 | John Carpenter | ★★½ | 115 | Extremely pleasant, genteel sci-fi about alien who lands on earth, abducts young widow to help him travel cross-country so he can rendezvous with spaceship. Her toughest problem: he's made himself look just like her late husband, and she finds herself attracted to him. Familiar, derivative storyline is given solid boost by two lead performances. Later a TV series. | tt0088172 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel | Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Stars Are Singing | 1953 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 99 | Frothy musical with ridiculous plot-line of immigration authorities tracking down Alberghetti as contestant on TV talent show. | tt0046364 | Rosemary Clooney, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Lauritz Melchoir, Fred Clark | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Stars Fell on Henrietta | 1995 | James Keach | ★★½ | 110 | Old-fashioned (and a tad contrived) folktale set in the Depression-era Texas dust bowl stars Duvall as a wily old oil prospector who charms a cotton farmer and his wife into believing their land is a valuable rig. Suffers mainly from overlength. A real labor of love from the people at Malpaso, Clint Eastwood's production company. Expert casting and superb contributions from cinematographer Bruce Surtees and production designer Henry Bumstead (plus a lush score by David Benoit) keep things enjoyable. That's director Keach's wife Jane Seymour in the opening saloon shot, and Fisher and Eastwood's daughter as Mary. | tt0114534 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Aidan Quinn, Frances Fisher, Brian Dennehy, Lexi Randall, Kaytlyn Knowles, Billy Bob Thornton, Victor Wong, Paul Lazar, Spencer Garrett, Park Overall, Dylan Baker | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Stars Look Down | 1939 | Carol Reed | ★★★★ | 110 | Classic adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel (coscripted by the author) about Welsh coal miners struggling against dangerous working conditions, and Redgrave as a collier's son who intends to run for office. Gripping all the way. | tt0031976 | Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Edward Rigby, Emlyn Williams, Nancy Price, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stars Over Broadway | 1935 | William Keighley. | ★★ | 84 | Washed-up promoter plays his last ace, transforming a singing bellboy into a broadcast sensation. Metropolitan Opera tenor Melton is moderately tolerable in his screen debut. First of but two film appearances by radio songbird Froman, who also can't act. Warren and Dubin score introduces 'September in the Rain,' but only as an instrumental. Underbudgeted production numbers are valiantly staged by Busby Berkeley and Bobby Connolly. Jack Dempsey has a one-second cameo as himself. | tt0027041 | Pat O'Brien, Jane Froman, Jean Muir, James Melton, Frank McHugh, Phil Regan, Marie Wilson, Frank Fay. | Musical | NULL | |||
| Stars and Bars | 1988 | Pat O'Connor | 💣 | 94 | A complete misfire, with Day-Lewis thoroughly wasted as a British art expert who treks to America to purchase a Renoir, and instead tangles with hick Stanton and other assorted eccentrics. Overbaked, unfunny, and embarrassing. | tt0096166 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton, Martha Plimpton, Matthew Cowles, Joan Cusack, Maury Chaykin, Dierdre O'Connell, Will Patton, Steven Wright, Keith David, Laurie Metcalf, Glenne Headly, Spalding Gray, Rockets Redglare | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stars and Stripes Forever | 1952 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 89 | Diverting, fictionalized biography of bandmaster John Philip Sousa, well played by Webb, with standard march tunes worked into plot nicely. | tt0045187 | Clifton Webb, Robert Wagner, Ruth Hussey, Debra Paget, Finlay Currie | Musical | NULL | |||
| Stars in My Crown | 1950 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★★½ | 89 | Gentle, moving story of a quiet but persuasive minister in rural 19th-century America; episodic film creates warm feeling for characters and setting. Prime Americana from Joe David Brown's popular novel. Also interesting for pre-Gunsmoke casting of Arness and Blake. | tt0042998 | Joel McCrea, Ellen Drew, Dean Stockwell, Alan Hale/Sr., Lewis Stone, Ed Begley, Amanda Blake, James Arness | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Starship Invasions | 1977 | Ed Hunt | ★½ | 87 | Abducted by good aliens to help battle bad aliens who are trying to take over earth, UFO expert Vaughn helps save the day with his pocket calculator. Good cast wasted in film boasting the worst special effects since PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. | tt0076760 | [PG] | Robert Vaughn, Christopher Lee, Daniel Pilon, Helen Shaver, Henry Ramer | Canadian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Starship Troopers | 1997 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★ | 129 | A gung-ho WW2 movie transplanted to the future, when high school kids are encouraged to become 'citizens' by enlisting in the army and serving the state. Little do they dream that they'll be engaged in a full-scale war against marauding insects. With Verhoeven at the helm, you know this won't be subtle, but it's so sharp, energetic, and (at times) funny that it transcends being a 'giant bug' movie. Not for the squeamish, with its graphic dismemberment of humans and insects, but robust entertainment just the same. Based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein. The incredible creature animation was supervised by Phil Tippett. Tippett directed the 2004 sequel, which debuted on cable TV. | tt0120201 | [R] | Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown, Seth Gilliam, Patrick Muldoon, Michael Ironside, Rue McClanahan, Marshall Bell | Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Starsky & Hutch | 2004 | Todd Phillips | ★★½ | 100 | Comedic take on the 1970s TV cop show pairs straight-arrow cop with a new partner who's more of a slacker. Their goal: nailing slick drug dealer Vaughn. Stiller and Wilson do what Stiller and Wilson usually do; Snoop Dogg is the freshest member of the cast as Huggy Bear, the local mover and shaker. Plenty of '70s music and fashions on hand; the only thing missing is laughs. Even some star cameos are bungled. Will Ferrell appears unbilled. | tt0335438 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Juliette Lewis, Snoop Dogg, Fred Williamson, Amy Smart, Carmen Electra, Jason Bateman, Brande Roderick, Molly Sims | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Starstruck | 1982 | Gillian Armstrong | ★★★ | 95 | Bright little musical comedy about a teenage boy who's determined to promote his cousin to singing stardom as a new-wave rocker . . . no matter what it takes. Amiable tongue-in-cheek outing pokes fun at Hollywood musicals and media hype. Original Australian running time 102m. | tt0084728 | [PG] | Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan, Pat Evison, Margo Lee, Max Cullen, John O'May, Geoffrey Rush | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Start Cheering | 1938 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★★ | 78 | Snappy collegiate musical about rugged movie star Starrett going back to school, with cohorts Connolly and Durante tagging along. Modest, enjoyable film with plenty of specialty numbers, guest stars, songs. | tt0030793 | Jimmy Durante, Walter Connolly, Joan Perry, Charles Starrett, Gertrude Niesen, Hal LeRoy, The Three Stooges, Broderick Crawford, Louis Prima | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Start the Revolution Without Me | 1970 | Bud Yorkin | ★★★ | 91 | Madcap comedy involving two sets of mismatched twins who meet just before French Revolution. Somewhat ignored in 1970, now has a deserved cult following; the cast, especially Wilder, is hilarious. | tt0066402 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, Hugh Griffith, Jack MacGowran, Billie Whitelaw, Victor Spinetti, Ewa Aulin, Orson Welles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Starter for Ten | 2006 | Tom Vaughan | ★★½ | 95 | Working-class boy with a thirst for knowledge manages to get into college in the mid-1980s, where he finds he still has a lot to learn about dealing with real-life issues like friendship, loyalty, and the opposite sex. Pleasant if bland and derivative, until the final act. David Nicholls adapted his novel. Coproduced by Tom Hanks. | tt0477095 | [PG-13] | James McAvoy, Alice Eve, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Tate, Dominic Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charles Dance, Lindsay Duncan | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Starting Over | 1979 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★ | 106 | Likable comedy about divorced man who falls in love but can't erase feelings for his ex-wife; top performances but unfortunately, story goes awry toward conclusion for a lackluster turn of events and denouement. Scripted by James L. Brooks, from the Dan Wakefield novel. Look quickly for Kevin Bacon as a young husband. | tt0079948 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning, Frances Sternhagen, Austin Pendleton, Mary Kay Place, Wallace Shawn, Daniel Stern, Anne De Salvo, Charles Kimbrough | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Starting out in the Evening | 2007 | Andrew Wagner | ★★★½ | 110 | Aging, widowed literary lion is approached by a grad student who’s writing a thesis about him. He attempts to rebuff her but she ingratiates herself, becomes important to him—and in the process, opens up old emotional wounds. Meanwhile, his 40-ish daughter (Taylor) tries to get her life on track. Mature, nuanced drama is anchored by Langella’s masterful performance, complemented by director Wagner’s keen, almost tactile, observations of a fast-fading Manhattan milieu. Wagner and Fred Parnes adapted Brian Morton’s novel. Impressively photographed by Harlan Bosmajian. | tt0758784 | [PG-13] | Frank Langella, Lauren Ambrose, Lili Taylor, Adrian Lester, Jessica Hecht, Michael Cumpsty, Joel West | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Startup.com | 2001 | Chris Hegedus, Jehane Noujaim | ★★★½ | 103 | Riveting cinéma vérité-style documentary about two boyhood friends— one a computer whiz, the other a business brain— who join forces to start an online service. The enterprise is fraught with all the pitfalls that plague contemporary business— from fund-raising to ethical issues. The filmmakers followed their subjects for more than a year to create this incredibly dramatic and resonant film, a cautionary tale for our time. Produced by D.A. Pennebaker. | tt0256408 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| State Fair | 1933 | Henry King | ★★★ | 96 | Not just a Rogers vehicle, but slice of life '30s-style as farm family gets ready for annual outing to state fair: Mom's entering bake-off contest, Dad the pig contest, son and daughter looking for first love. Great atmosphere, good performances. Phil Stong's novel has been remade twice (so far!). | tt0024610 | Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Louise Dresser, Victor Jory, Frank Craven | Comedy | NULL | |||
| State Fair | 1945 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 100 | Remake of the 1933 film is bright, engaging musical of family's adventures at Iowa State Fair; colorful, with fine Rodgers and Hammerstein songs (their only film score), including 'That's for Me,' 'Grand Night for Singing,' Oscar-winning 'It Might As Well Be Spring.' Retitled IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER for TV. | tt0038116 | Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter, Donald Meek, Frank McHugh, Percy Kilbride | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| State Fair | 1962 | Jose Ferrer | 💣 | 118 | Remake of sprightly 1945 musical is pretty bad. Faye came out of retirement to play Tiffin's mother— a bad mistake. Ewell even sings to a pig! Third-rate Americana. | tt0056526 | Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Pamela Tiffin, Ann-Margret, Alice Faye, Tom Ewell, Wally Cox | Musical | NULL | |||
| State Penitentiary | 1950 | Lew Landers. | ★★ | 66 | Mediocre programmer with Baxter sentenced to the Big House for embezzlement, despite his claim of innocence. | tt0042999 | Warner Baxter, Karin Booth, Robert Shayne, Richard Benedict, Onslow Stevens. | Drama | NULL | |||
| State Property | 2002 | Abdul Malik Abbott | 💣 | 88 | Violent junk about the rise (and inevitable fall) of a cocky, brutal gangsta, a Philadelphia drug lord named Beans (Sigel). The characters endlessly utter the 'f' and 'n' words, and are as demeaning and stereotypical as those played decades earlier by Stepin Fetchit. | tt0301893 | [R] | Beanie Sigel, Jay-Z, Damon Dash, Memphis Bleek, Omillio Sparks, Brother Newz, Oschino, Sundy Carter, Dee Lee, Tyran 'Ty-Ty' Smith | Drama, Musical, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| State Secret | The Great Manhunt | 1950 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 104 | American doctor tries to flee Middle European country after he discovers its real leader has been assassinated and replaced with a double. Intelligent and witty suspense yarn; screenplay by Gilliat, from a Roy Huggins novel. Originally released in U.S. as THE GREAT MANHUNT. | tt0042522 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Glynis Johns, Herbert Lom, Jack Hawkins, Walter Rilla | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| State and Main | 2000 | David Mamet | ★★★ | 105 | Writer-director Mamet has fun depicting the adventures of a desperate film crew that moves into— and takes over— a small New England town. The observations are perceptive, and the performances delicious (especially Macy as the director who can talk anybody into anything), though it may strike some that Mamet has chosen too easy a target. | tt0120202 | [R] | Alec Baldwin, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rebecca Pidgeon, Charles Durning, Patti LuPone, David Paymer, Julia Stiles, Ricky Jay, Michael Higgins, Clark Gregg, J. J. Johnston | Comedy | NULL | ||
| State of Grace | 1990 | Phil Joanou | ★★½ | 134 | Three strong actors play Irish-American mobsters (inspired by real-life gang, the Westies) contending with the police, the Mafia, and Yuppie gentrification in N.Y.C.'s Hell's Kitchen (a neighborhood now known as Clinton!). Combination of moody stylishness and extreme violence nearly succeeds, but script is more meandering than incisive. This is basically Cagney terrain with a Scorsese-De Niro spin; Oldman and especially Harris sear the screen. | tt0100685 | [R] | Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, John Turturro, Burgess Meredith, John C. Reilly | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| State of Play | 2009 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★½ | 127 | Colorful, old-school D.C. newspaper reporter Crowe tries to link two seemingly unrelated murders, then a third (involving a female aide to hotshot Congressman Affleck—who happens to be Crowe’s old roommate) seems to indicate that there’s a larger conspiracy afoot. Meanwhile Crowe is paired up with blogger McAdams, who’s never done on-the-ground reporting before. Engrossing, well-cast thriller is also a paean to the dying newspaper business—but drops the ball at the finale, which simply isn’t satisfying. Adapted from the acclaimed 2003 BBC miniseries. | tt0473705 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Michael Berresse, Harry Lennix, Josh Mostel, Michael Weston, Barry Shabaka Henley, Viola Davis | U.S.-British-French | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| State of Siege | 1973 | Costa-Gavras | ★★★ | 120 | Highly controversial film, based on fact, about political assassination in Uruguay; interesting, but way too one-sided to be truly effective. | tt0070959 | Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O. E. Hasse, Jacques Weber, Jean-Luc Bideau, Evangeline Peterson | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The State of Things | 1982 | Wim Wenders | ★★★ | 120 | Fascinating if uneven mystery from Wenders, centering on what happens as a film crew attempts to complete a remake of Corman's THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED on location in Portugal. Interesting as a peek behind the scenes at the filmmaking process, and as an homage to Corman. | tt0084725 | Allen Garfield, Samuel Fuller, Paul Getty III, Roger Corman, Patrick Bauchau | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| State of the Union | 1948 | Frank Capra | ★★★½ | 124 | Contemporary as ever, this literate comedy-drama (adapted from the Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse play) casts Tracy as an industrialist who struggles to keep his integrity as he's swallowed into the political machinery of running for President. Hepburn is his wife and conscience, Lansbury a power-hungry millionairess backing the campaign, Van Johnson the sardonic campaign manager. Great entertainment. | tt0040834 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Angela Lansbury, Van Johnson, Adolphe Menjou, Lewis Stone, Raymond Walburn, Margaret Hamilton, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer, Charles Lane, Tor Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| State's Attorney | 1932 | George Archainbaud | ★★★ | 79 | Barrymore's the whole show as a flamboyant attorney with a flair for women and liquor; not much of a story, but there's some slick dialogue by Rowland Brown and Barrymore crony Gene Fowler. | tt0023507 | John Barrymore, Helen Twelvetrees, William 'Stage' Boyd, Ralph Ince, Jill Esmond, Albert Conti, Mary Duncan, C. Henry Gordon, Oscar Apfel, Leon Waycoff (Ames) | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Statement | 2003 | Norman Jewison | ★½ | 120 | Woefully artificial rendering of Brian Moore's novel about a French Nazi collaborator who kills seven Jews in 1944 and spends the next five decades in hiding— with the help of the Catholic church. In 1992, a judge (Swinton) is handed the political hot potato of finding and prosecuting him, but he proves to be as elusive as ever. While based on historical truths, there isn't a convincing moment, despite a good cast and location filming in France. Written by Ronald Harwood. | tt0340376 | [R] | Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Noam Jenkins, Charlotte Rampling, Matt Craven, Alan Bates, John Neville, Ciarán Hinds, David De Keyser, William Hutt | Canadian-French-British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Stateside | 2004 | Reverge Anselmo. | ★★ | 97 | Ill-fated love story between a young Marine and a schizophrenic musician who's confined to a mental hospital. Though family and friends try to keep these two messed-up kids apart, it doesn't always work out that way. Strange, disjointed romance has lots of loose ends with nothing tying them together. Impressive cast members appear mostly in misbegotten cameos. Kilmer is a hoot as the D.I.; look for an unbilled Penny Marshall as a lieutenant. | tt0339727 | [R] | Rachael Leigh Cook, Jonathan Tucker, Agnes Bruckner, Val Kilmer, Joe Mantegna, Daniel Franzese, Carrie Fisher, Diane Venora, Ed Begley/Jr., Paul Le Mat, Joanne Pankow, George DiCenzo. | U.S.-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Static | 1985 | Mark Romanek | ★★½ | 93 | Annoyingly uneven comedy-drama about a strange young man (Gordon) and his rather unusual invention, a TV which can supposedly tune in to heaven. Sometimes genuinely touching and funny, but long stretches are deadening and dull. Gunton steals the film with his expert performance as a hilariously paranoid street evangelist. Written by leading actor Gordon and director Romanek. | tt0090069 | [R] | Keith Gordon, Amanda Plummer, Bob Gunton, Barton Heyman, Lily Knight, Jane Hoffman | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Station Agent | 2003 | Tom McCarthy | ★★★ | 88 | Refreshingly original indie about three lonely people who become friends in a quiet lakefront N.J. town: a dwarf who inherits (and moves into) a decrepit railroad depot, a young hotshot who operates the food wagon outside, and a divorced woman who's trying to get over some emotional hurdles. A small, observant, eminently satisfying film. Writer and first-time director McCarthy tailored the leading roles for these three actors. | tt0340377 | [R] | Peter Dinklage, Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale, Raven Goodwin, Paul Benjamin, Michelle Williams, Richard Kind, Josh Pais | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Station Six-Sahara | 1964 | Seth Holt | ★½ | 99 | Dreary yarn of five love-starved men who find something new to fight over when sexpot Baker and her estranged husband crash land at their desert oasis. Written by Bryan Forbes and Brian Clemens. | tt0057527 | Carroll Baker, Peter Van Eyck, Ian Bannen, Denholm Elliott, Biff McGuire | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Station West | 1948 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 80 | Entertaining adaptation of Luke Short story about undercover military intelligence officer Powell stirring up trouble in Western town to find who's behind series of gold robberies. Script (by Frank Fenton and Winston Miller) has sharp dialogue throughout. Originally released at 92m. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040835 | Dick Powell, Jane Greer, Tom Powers, Steve Brodie, Gordon Oliver, Raymond Burr, Agnes Moorehead, Burl Ives, Guinn Williams, Regis Toomey | Western | NULL | |||
| The Station | 1990 | Sergio Rubini | ★★★ | 92 | Engrossing comedy-drama, with director Rubini starring as an unpretentious rural railroad clerk. His peaceful life is disrupted by the arrival of a beautiful woman on the lam from her brutal boyfriend. The manner in which the three characters interrelate forms the crux of this engaging, allegorical sleeper. | tt0100686 | Sergio Rubini, Margherita Buy, Ennio Fantastichini | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stationmaster's Wife | 1977 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★½ | 111 | Studied, stylized look at a beautiful woman's affairs and manipulation of her husband in pre-Hitler Germany. Some telling moments, and fine performances, but awfully slow going. Made for German television at 200m. Released theatrically in U.S. in 1983. | tt0075776 | Kurt Raab, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Gustal Bayrhammer, Bernhard Helfrich, Udo Kier, Volker Spengler | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Statue | 1970 | Rodney Amateau | 💣 | 84 | Poor comedy concerning 20-foot statue (replica of Niven) with enormous male organ. | tt0067791 | [R] | David Niven, Virna Lisi, Robert Vaughn, Ann Bell, John Cleese, David Mills | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Stavisky . . . | 1974 | Alain Resnais | ★★★½ | 118 | Stylish bio of French swindler of the early 1930s; pleasant cast, lavish photography (by Sacha Vierny), fine Stephen Sondheim score. Screenplay by Jorge Semprun. | tt0072204 | [PG] | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, François Périer, Anny Duperey, Michael Lonsdale, Roberto Bisacco, Claude Rich, Gérard Depardieu | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Stay | 2005 | Mark Forster | ★★ | 99 | Shrink McGregor becomes psychologically unhinged as he takes on a new patient, a deeply disturbed, suicidal college student. Ambitious film plays with concepts of time, reality, and the meaning of sanity and insanity, as dead people come alive and the past, present, and future blend . . . but it's all a jumble, despite some arresting visuals. A disappointment from Forster (whose previous films were FINDING NEVERLAND and MONSTER'S BALL). You might add the Brooklyn Bridge to the cast list. | tt0371257 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, Janeane Garofalo, B. D. Wong, Bob Hoskins, Kate Burton, Michael Gaston, Mark Margolis, Elizabeth Reaser, Amy Sedaris, Isaach De Bankolé | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stay Alive | 2006 | William Brent Bell | ★★ | 85 | Hard-core video gamers test an underground horror survival title, only to die gruesomely, one by one, exactly like their digital avatars. The culprit: 17th-century Hungarian 'Blood Countess' Elizabeth Báthory, who haunts the game and hunts its players. Startling juxtaposition of real life and realm life is the New Orleans-set thriller's sole thrill, but it's a good one. As for the dramaturgy, Bathory-even if undead-should sue for defamation. | tt0441796 | [PG-13] | Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz, Sophia Bush, Adam Goldberg, Jimmi Simpson, Milo Ventimiglia | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stay As You Are | 1978 | Alberto Lattuada | ★½ | 95 | Yawner with a twist: Kinski, the teenaged romance of middle-aged Mastroianni, may be his illegitimate daughter. For those who want to see Kinski during her nymphet stage; others beware. | tt0077373 | Marcello Mastroianni, Nastassja Kinski, Francisco Rabal, Monica Randal, Giuliana Calandra | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stay Away, Joe | 1968 | Peter Tewksbury | ★½ | 102 | Bad film, even for Presley, about contemporary Indians. Reinforces stereotypes, fails to entertain. | tt0063643 | [M] | Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell, Katy Jurado, Thomas Gomez, Henry Jones, L. Q. Jones | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Stay Hungry | 1976 | Bob Rafelson | ★★★ | 103 | Charles Gaines novel about body-building in the 'New South' is eccentric mixture of comedy and drama, but many fine scenes; happy performances from Field and Schwarzenegger make it worthwhile. | tt0075268 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, Arnold Schwarzenegger, R. G. Armstrong, Robert Englund, Helena Kallianiotes, Roger Mosley, Scatman Crothers, Fannie Flagg, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Gilliland, Ed Begley/Jr., John David Carson, Joe Spinell | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stay Tuned | 1992 | Peter Hyams | ★½ | 87 | Terminal couch potato Ritter unwittingly makes a pact with Devilish Jones, and finds himself and his wife sucked into a TV world in which they're part of the shows, from wrestling to private-eye mysteries. Promising premise goes nowhere in this dismal comedy; the only chuckles come from quick spoofs of TV titles, and the only segment that works is an animated cartoon supervised by the great Chuck Jones. | tt0105466 | [PG] | John Ritter, Pam Dawber, Jeffrey Jones, Eugene Levy, David Tom, Heather McComb, Bob Dishy, Joyce Gordon, Erik King, Salt 'n Pepa | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Staying Alive | 1983 | Sylvester Stallone | ★★ | 96 | Sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is fashioned by director/cowriter Stallone into a ROCKY-type vehicle for Travolta, who juggles two women in his life while trying to score as a dancer on Broadway. Broadway show finale, Satan's Alley (billed, with amazing accuracy, as a musical trip through Hell) is a camp classic, but neither the script nor the music (mostly by Sly's brother Frank) are in a class with the original 1977 film. Look closely for Patrick Swayze as a fellow terpsichorean. | tt0086361 | [PG] | John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, Frank Stallone | Comedy, Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Staying Together | 1989 | Lee Grant | ★★½ | 91 | Close-knit small-town family, with three boys on the verge of manhood, gets pulled in all directions. Pat comedy-drama has one too many subplots, though entire cast is good. | tt0098383 | [R] | Sean Astin, Stockard Channing, Melinda Dillon, Jim Haynie, Levon Helm, Dinah Manoff, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Quill, Keith Szarabajka, Daphne Zuniga | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Steagle | 1971 | Paul Sylbert | ★★ | 90 | Missile crisis causes professor to go berserk and try living in lifestyles that previously were mental fantasies. Farfetched. | tt0067792 | [R] | Richard Benjamin, Chill Wills, Cloris Leachman, Jean Allison, Susan Tyrrell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Steal Big, Steal Little | 1995 | Andrew Davis | ★★ | 135 | Amiable mess of a movie with plot strands going in all directions; a real shame, too, because there's a nice feel to this modern fable about twin brothers, separated in childhood, who take different paths in life. One greedily pursues money and power, the other grows up with a free-spirited share-the-wealth ideal. Garcia has never been more engaging. Set and shot in Santa Barbara, California. | tt0114536 | [PG-13] | Andy Garcia, Alan Arkin, Rachel Ticotin, Joe Pantoliano, Holland Taylor, Ally Walker, David Ogden Stiers, Charles Rocket, Richard Bradford, Kevin McCarthy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Steal This Movie | 2000 | Robert Greenwald | ★★ | 111 | One-dimensional portrait of celebrated 1960s/70s political activist Abbie Hoffman, founder of the Yippie movement, who spent years hiding out from the Feds. D'Onofrio (who coexecutive produced) is good, but the film is disappointingly superficial. Garofalo and Tripplehorn are well cast as the women in Hoffman's life. Garity plays his real-life father, Tom Hayden. | tt0161216 | [R] | Vincent D'Onofrio, Janeane Garofalo, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Kevin Pollak, Donal Logue, Kevin Corrigan, Troy Garity, Joyce Gordon, Bernard Kay | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stealing Beauty | 1996 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★★ | 119 | 19-year-old American girl spends the summer at a villa in Tuscany filled with wildly divergent characters and discovers her own independence as she affects the lives of all those around her. Bertolucci returns to his Italian roots for this charming contemporary story. Tyler is a star in the making here, and Irons is touching as a dying man who finds renewed life from this young visitor. Bertolucci coscripted, from his story. | tt0117737 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Liv Tyler, Joseph Fiennes, Sinead Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Stefania Sandrelli, Jean Marais, D.W. Moffett, Donal McCann, Jason Flemyng | French-Italian-British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Stealing Harvard | 2002 | Bruce McCulloch | ★½ | 83 | Engaged Lee's $30,000 nest egg goes poof when he's rudely reminded of a years-ago offer to put trailer-dwelling niece Blanchard through school. Now, she's become Harvard material, and it's up to Lee's pal Green to help him come up with the cash. 'Tom Green' and 'Harvard' should never appear on the same marquee, though not every movie can get Farina (as Lee's future in-law) into a dress. He makes it look almost as off-the-rack as this script. | tt0265808 | [PG-13] | Tom Green, Jason Lee, Leslie Mann, Megan Mullally, Dennis Farina, Tammy Blanchard, Richard Jenkins, Chris Penn, John C. McGinley, Seymour Cassel, Linda Cardellini | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Stealing Heaven | 1988 | Clive Donner | ★★★ | 115 | Beautifully photographed (if somewhat anachronistic) period piece about the real-life 12th-century lovers Abelard and Héloise. Intelligent treatment even incorporates discussions of theology in the context of this passionate romance. Threatened with an X rating, film was trimmed to 108m. for U.S. release; both versions available on video. | tt0096170 | [R] | Kim Thomson, Derek de Lint, Denholm Elliott, Mark Jax, Bernard Hepton, Kenneth Cranham, Angela Pleasence, Rachel Kempson | British-Yugoslavian | Romance | NULL | |
| Stealing Home | 1988 | Steven Kampmann, Will Aldis | ★★½ | 98 | Has-been baseball player is summoned home to take care of the ashes of an old friend, who killed herself. Story flashes back to his relationship with her at several ages. Earnest but pat, semi-autobiographical script (by the directors) is helped immeasurably by Foster's wise, outstanding performance as the late friend, a troubled free spirit. | tt0096171 | [PG-13] | Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster, William McNamara, Blair Brown, Harold Ramis, Jonathan Silverman, Richard Jenkins, John Shea, Ted Ross, Helen Hunt, Thatcher Goodwin, Yvette Croskey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stealing Time | Rennie's Landing | 2003 | Marc Fusco | ★½ | 99 | Well-meaning but muddled account of four recent college graduates, all anxious to start their real-world lives, who deal with their frustrations as they attempt to realize their dreams. Then one of them learns he is terminally ill. Tries desperately to be philosophical and poignant but then, confusingly and annoyingly, morphs into a caper film . . . a bad one at that! Aka RENNIE'S LANDING. | tt0251370 | [R] | Charlotte Ayanna, Ethan Embry, Peter Facinelli, Scott Foley, Jennifer Garner, Paul Dooley | Drama | NULL | |
| Stealth | 2005 | Rob Cohen | ★★ | 121 | It's TOP GUN with HAL-9000 as a pilot. Hotshot Navy pilots Lucas, Biel, and Foxx are presented with the fourth member of their team: a plane that flies itself, so smart it has a personality. When the aircraft ventures beyond its programming, highly predictable crises ensue. Expensive action thriller with lots of effects but hollow characters. | tt0382992 | [PG-13] | Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Sam Shepard, Richard Roxburgh, Joe Morton, Ian Bliss, Ebon Moss-Bachrach; voice of Wentworth Miller | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Steamboat 'Round the Bend | 1935 | John Ford | ★★★ | 81 | Enjoyable Ford/Rogers period-piece of steamboat captain (Rogers) who pilots a ramshackle floating waxworks museum, from which he also dispenses highly alcoholic cure-all medicine. Shirley is particularly good as swamp-girl taken in by Rogers. Churchill shines in comic role of river prophet 'The New Moses.' Climactic steamboat race is a gem. Released posthumously after Rogers' tragic death. | tt0027042 | Will Rogers, Anne Shirley, Irvin S. Cobb, Eugene Pallette, Berton Churchill, John McGuire, Stepin Fetchit, Francis Ford, Pardner Jones, Charles Middleton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Steamboat Bill, Jr. | 1928 | Charles F. Reisner | ★★★ | 71 | Buster plays a milquetoast who must prove his manhood to steamboat captain father (Torrence). Not one of Keaton's best silents, but there are great moments, and classic, eye-popping cyclone finale. | tt0019421 | Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron, Tom Lewis, Tom McGuire | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | |||
| Steamboy | 2004 | Katsuhiro Ôtomo. | ★★½ | 126 | Set in Victorian England, this elaborate, overlong anime feature by the director of AKIRA runs out of steam (no pun intended) midway through. Youngster Ray Steam is entrusted with a 'steam ball,' an incredible source of energy at the heart of a feud between his power-mad father and eccentric reclusive grandfather. It all comes to a head during action-packed climax, when father's gargantuan Steam Tower runs amok through London. Too much talk, not enough action, though there are compelling visuals, elaborate production design, and first-rate animation. Original version (available in subtitled form) runs 140m. | tt0348121 | [PG-13] | Voices of Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, Patrick Stewart, Kari Wahlgren. | Japanese | Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Steaming | 1985 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 95 | Disappointing adaptation of the Nell Dunn play, about the interactions of a group of women in a run-down London steam bath. Not all that bad, really, with collectively above-average performances, but sorely lacks the humor that made it work so well on stage. Director Losey's last film, and Dors' as well. | tt0090070 | [R] | Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Diana Dors, Patti Love, Brenda Bruce, Felicity Dean, Sally Sagoe | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Steel | Men of Steel | 1980 | Steve Carver | ★★½ | 99 | Fast-moving, entertaining time-killer about construction workers struggling to complete a skyscraper on schedule. Filmed in Lexington, Ky. Aka LOOK DOWN AND DIE and MEN OF STEEL. | tt0081558 | [PG] | Lee Majors, Jennifer O'Neill, Art Carney, George Kennedy, Harris Yulin, Terry Kiser, Richard Lynch, Roger Mosley, Albert Salmi, R. G. Armstrong | Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Steel | 1997 | Kenneth Johnson | ★½ | 97 | Film version of DC Comics' 'Steel' with basketball great Shaq in the title role, as a tall superhero with a heart of gold, wearing a funny metal suit and doing battle with stereotypical enemies of modern civilization. As endearing as Shaq can be, he should definitely not give up his day job. | tt0120207 | [PG-13] | Shaquille O'Neal, Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson, Richard Roundtree, Irma P. Hall, Ray J., Charles Napier | Action, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Steel Bayonet | 1957 | Michael Carreras | ★★ | 84 | Military unit is ordered to defend deserted farmhouse/lookout base at all costs. Tame WW2 film set in Africa; watch for Michael Caine as a German soldier. | tt0051009 | Leo Genn, Kieron Moore, Michael Medwin, Robert Brown | British | War | NULL | ||
| The Steel Cage | 1954 | Walter Doniger | ★★ | 80 | Pedestrian telling of life at San Quentin, despite good cast. Sequel to DUFFY OF SAN QUENTIN. | tt0047524 | Paul Kelly, Maureen O'Sullivan, Walter Slezak, John Ireland, Lawrence Tierney, Alan Mowbray, George E. Stone, Lyle Talbot | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Steel Claw | 1961 | George Montgomery | ★★½ | 96 | Montgomery turns partisan leader when he loses hand in WW2, forcing his marine discharge; on-location filming in Philippines and sufficient combat action spark story along. | tt0055479 |
|
George Montgomery, Charito Luna, Mario Barri, Paul Sorensen | War, Drama | NULL | ||
| Steel Dawn | 1987 | Lance Hool | ★★ | 100 | Futuristic rehash of SHANE has Swayze as the mysterious warrior who ends up protecting pretty farmer Niemi (his real-life wife) and her cute son against evil Zerbe and his henchmen. Filmed on attractive desert locations in southern Africa, this failed to extend Swayze's meteoric success in DIRTY DANCING. | tt0094033 | [R] | Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Christopher Neame, Brion James, Anthony Zerbe, John Fujioka, Brett Hool | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Steel Fist | 1952 | Wesley Barry. | ★½ | 73 | Quickie flick with McDowall involved in escape from Iron Curtain country; low production values. | tt0045188 | Roddy McDowall, Kristine Miller, Harry Lauter, Rand Brooks. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Steel Helmet | 1951 | Samuel Fuller | ★★★½ | 84 | Evans is a gutsy American sergeant caught in dizzying turn of events in early days of Korean war; solid melodrama written by Fuller, with surprisingly contemporary view of war itself. | tt0044072 | Gene Evans, Robert Hutton, Steve Brodie, James Edwards, Richard Loo, Sid Melton | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Steel Jungle | 1956 | Walter Doniger | ★½ | 86 | Lukewarm account of prison life. | tt0047525 | Perry Lopez, Beverly Garland, Allison Hayes, Walter Abel, Ted de Corsia, Kenneth Tobey | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Steel Key | 1953 | Robert S. Baker | ★★½ | 74 | Espionage and homicide abound in this fast-clipping caper about stolen formulas for processing hardened steel. | tt0046367 |
|
Terence Morgan, Joan Rice, Raymond Lovell, Dianne Foster, Esmond Knight | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Steel Lady | 1953 | E. A. Dupont | ★★½ | 84 | Fair adventure of four trapped men in desert who find old German tank. | tt0046368 |
|
Rod Cameron, Tab Hunter, John Dehner, Richard Erdman, Anthony Caruso | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Steel Magnolias | 1989 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 118 | Slick comedy-drama about several years in the lives of the women who congregate at Parton's beauty parlor in a small Louisiana town. No TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, but does provide solid entertainment. Written by Robert Harling, who expanded his own one-set play for the screen (and plays the minister here). | tt0098384 | [PG] | Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Tom Skerritt, Sam Shepard, Dylan McDermott, Kevin J. O'Connor, Bill McCutcheon, Ann Wedgeworth, Janine Turner | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Steel Town | 1952 | George Sherman | ★★ | 85 | Uninspired story of steelmaking and the personal problems of nephew of steel plant owner; Sheridan tries, but can't perk up this programmer. | tt0045189 | Ann Sheridan, John Lund, Howard Duff, James Best, Nancy Kulp | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Steel Trap | 1952 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 85 | Trim caper of employee Cotton, who steals money from his bank and then, after a change of heart, spends a suspense-filled weekend trying to replace it. Shot in New Orleans. | tt0045190 | Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Jonathan Hale, Walter Sande | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Steele Justice | 1987 | Robert Boris | ★★ | 95 | Howlingly absurd action-revenge yarn with beefy Vietnam vet Kove investigating the murder of a Vietnamese friend and his family in L.A., and going after former Viet general who's now a druglord in America. Nagging doubts persist— do the filmmakers intend this to be so funny? — but Kove's impromptu wound-cauterizing scene makes it all worthwhile. | tt0094034 | [R] | Martin Kove, Sela Ward, Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, Joseph Campanella, Soon-Tek Oh, Jan Gan Boyd, Robert Kim, Peter Kwong, Shannon Tweed, Sarah Douglas | Action | NULL | ||
| Steelyard Blues | The Final Crash | 1973 | Alan Myerson | ★★★ | 93 | Entertaining comic concoction by David S. Ward about band of misfits who become involved in nutty project of rejuvenating abandoned airplane. Amiably antiestablishment film highlights Boyle as an ingenious fantasist named Eagle. Retitled THE FINAL CRASH for network TV. | tt0070731 | [PG] | Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Peter Boyle, Garry Goodrow, Howard Hesseman, John Savage | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Stella | 1990 | John Erman | ★★ | 109 | Update of the perennial soaper STELLA DALLAS goes with the times on only one plot element: in this version, Stella doesn't marry the father of her child. Tolerable for a while, but hopelessly anachronistic. | tt0100691 | [PG-13] | Bette Midler, John Goodman, Trini Alvarado, Stephen Collins, Marsha Mason, Eileen Brennan, Linda Hart, Ben Stiller, William McNamara | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stella Dallas | 1937 | King Vidor | ★★★ | 106 | Definitive soap opera (from Olive Higgins Prouty's novel) of woman who sacrifices everything for her daughter; Stanwyck gives one of her finest performances. Tearjerking score by Alfred Newman. Filmed before in 1925; remade in 1990 as STELLA. | tt0029608 | Barbara Stanwyck, John Boles, Anne Shirley, Barbara O'Neil, Alan Hale/Sr., Tim Holt, Marjorie Main | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stella Maris | 1918 | Marshall Neilan. | ★★★½ | 84 | Pickford is at her very best in dual roles, as a disabled heiress who lives in a fantasy world created by those who love her and an ugly-duckling orphan who is enslaved by a disturbed woman. Both characters fall for the same man. While it deals in stereotypes involving the privileged and downtrodden and the nature of good and evil, it offers a vivid portrait of the world as it was in 1918 and poignantly explores the need to love and be loved. Screenplay by Frances Marion. Remade in 1925 with Mary Philbin. | tt0009652 | Mary Pickford, Conway Tearle, Marcia Manon, Ida Waterman, Herbert Standing, Josephine Crowell, Gustav von Seyffertitz. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Step Brothers | 2008 | Adam McKay | ★★ | 98 | Ferrell and Reilly are 40-year-olds still living at home with their single parents; they suddenly become stepbrothers when their respective mom and dad meet each other, marry, and move in together—all before the opening credits! Crux of the film has them trying to adjust to each other while being threatened with eviction. Dumb comedy milks its premise for some occasional laughs. Unrated version runs 105m. | tt0838283 | [R] | Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, Seth Rogen, Horatio Sanz, Andrea Savage, Lurie Poston, Elizabeth Yozamp | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Step Down to Terror | 1958 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 75 | Washed-out remake of Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT, retells account of psycho-murderer returning to home town after long absence. Story remade again (for TV) under original title. | tt0052245 | Colleen Miller, Charles Drake, Rod Taylor, Josephine Hutchinson, Jocelyn Brando | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Step Into Liquid | 2003 | Dana Brown | ★★★ | 88 | Entertaining, eye-catching surfer documentary in which a bevy of beautiful bodies— a who's who of contemporary surfers— hit the waves at locations around the globe. Director is the son of Bruce Brown, who explored the subject in THE ENDLESS SUMMER and THE ENDLESS SUMMER II. | tt0308508 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Step Lively | 1944 | Tim Whelan | ★★★ | 88 | Brisk musical remake of ROOM SERVICE with producer Murphy wheeling and dealing to get his show produced. Engagingly frantic, with sharp dialogue, funny contribution by Slezak as the hotel manager. If you blink you'll miss (brunette) Dorothy Malone as switchboard operator in lobby. | tt0037313 | Frank Sinatra, George Murphy, Adolphe Menjou, Gloria DeHaven, Eugene Pallette, Anne Jeffreys, Walter Slezak | Musical | NULL | |||
| Step Lively, Jeeves! | 1937 | Eugene Forde | ★★½ | 69 | Treacher is in top form as P. G. Wodehouse's droll English valet, who comes to America and gets mixed up with gangsters when two con men convince him he's Sir Francis Drake's missing heir. Amusing, if overplotted, follow-up to THANK YOU, JEEVES!, though not based on any Wodehouse story. | tt0029609 | Arthur Treacher, Patricia Ellis, Robert Kent, Alan Dinehart, George Givot, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Step Up | 2006 | Anne Fletcher | ★★ | 103 | Monosyllabic urban punk with some major dance moves-but little else-is busted vandalizing a school of the arts, earning 200 hours of community service as a janitor at the scene of the crime. There he falls for a student ballerina and initiates an adagio both in and out of the rehearsal hall. Teen musical culminates with the Big Show, combining hip-hop with ballet, like Eminem en pointe. Director-choreographer Fletcher also plays the dance teacher, whose style suggests Martha Graham trying to breakdance. | tt0462590 | [PG-13] | Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Rachel Griffiths, Mario, Drew Sidora, Damaine Radcliff, De'Shawn Washington, Heavy D, Isaiah Washington | Drama, Music, Romance | NULL | ||
| Step Up 2 the Streets | 2008 | Jon Chu | ★★ | 98 | Troublesome tomboy Evigan (daughter of TV star Greg) enrolls at a performing arts school, where she assembles a dance crew made up of fellow outcasts, hoping to compete in an underground dance battle called the Streets. Story takes a distant backseat to the incredible dancing, culminating in an exciting finale. Tatum’s brief cameo is the only connection to STEP UP. | tt1023481 | [PG-13] | Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Cassie Ventura, Danielle Polanco, Will Kemp, Channing Tatum | Romance, Music, Drama | NULL | ||
| Step Up 3D | 2010 | Jon M. Chu | ★★ | 97 | Two friends (Malambri and Vinson) embark on college life at N.Y.U., but he is soon distracted by the street dance scene and starts spending all his time and energy at a warehouse that serves as haven, home, and creative workshop all in one. Corny storyline is energized by its dance numbers, including high-energy competitive dance-offs, a nifty tango, and an exuberant three-minute Fred & Ginger–inspired set piece on a Manhattan brownstone block. Aimed at Disneyfied teenage girls and designed to show off 3-D, which it does with great zest. 3-D. | tt1193631 | [PG-13] | Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Keith Stallworth, Kendra Andrews, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Joe Slaughter | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Step by Step | 1946 | Phil Rosen. | ★★ | 62 | Patriotic programmer with Tierney a WW2 veteran uncovering Fascist agents in America. | tt0038982 | Lawrence Tierney, Anne Jeffreys, Lowell Gilmore, George Cleveland. | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Stepfather II | 1989 | Jeff Burr | ★½ | 86 | Mad family killer O'Quinn escapes from the booby hatch, sets himself up in suburbia as a marriage counselor, and starts courting a potential new wife (Foster). Inferior sequel is completely devoid of suspense and looks cheap, but O'Quinn still manages to deliver a good performance. | tt0098385 | [R] | Terry O'Quinn, Meg Foster, Jonathan Brandis, Caroline Williams, Mitchell Laurance, Henry Brown, Leon Martell, Renata Scott | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Stepfather | 1987 | Joseph Ruben | ★★★ | 98 | Engrossing thriller has well-cast O'Quinn as a meek-looking guy desperately seeking to have the perfect little family. He turns out to be a psycho who marries widows and eventually erupts into violence. Thoughtful screenplay by Donald E. Westlake and taut direction by Ruben highlight this sleeper. Story by Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt, and Brian Garfield. Followed by two sequels. | tt0094035 | [R] | Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Stephen Shellen, Charles Lanyer | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Stepfather | 2009 | Nelson McCormick | ★★ | 102 | Competent remake of the 1987 thriller about a psychopath who marries unsuspecting women, then murders them and their children begs the question, "Why remake this?" It ain't Hitchcock, so rehashing this sordid tale seems pointless. For undiscriminating fans of suburban horror it has the requisite scares and a fairly effective lead in Walsh. | tt0814335 | [PG-13] | Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Penn Badgley, Amber Heard, Sherry Stringfield, Paige Turco, Jon Tenney, Nancy Linehan Charles | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Stepford Wives | 1975 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★ | 115 | Effective chiller finds suburban housewives Ross and Prentiss trying to understand perpetually blissful state of the women of Stepford, Connecticut. Script by William Goldman from Ira Levin's best-seller. Seven-year-old Mary Stuart Masterson makes her film debut (playing the daughter of real-life dad Peter Masterson). Followed by three inferior TV sequels (REVENGE OF THE STEPFORD WIVES, THE STEPFORD CHILDREN, and THE STEPFORD HUSBANDS) and a 2004 remake. | tt0073747 | [PG] | Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, Peter Masterson, Nanette Newman, Patrick O'Neal, Tina Louise, Dee Wallace, William Prince | Sci-Fi, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Stepford Wives | 2004 | Frank Oz. | ★★ | 93 | Recently fired workaholic TV exec Kidman moves with husband Broderick and their kids to a Connecticut community where everything seems perfect— a little too perfect— especially the docile housewives. Misguided remake of the 1975 movie substitutes broad comedy for the eeriness that made the original (based on Ira Levin's novel) so effective. What's more, the concept was fresh back then; now the term 'Stepford wife' has entered the vernacular and there's no suspense at all. Written by Paul Rudnick. | tt0327162 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Roger Bart, David Marshall Grant, Jon Lovitz, Faith Hill. | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Stephanie Daley | 2007 | Hilary Brougher | ★★★ | 92 | When a 16-year-old girl is accused of killing her newborn baby during a ski trip, forensic psychologist Swinton-who's about to have her first child-is hired to determine whether the teenager was fully aware of what she did. As Tamblyn recounts her experiences, Swinton attempts to come to terms with her fears about her own pregnancy. Provocative and satisfying drama, written by director Brougher, explores two women at different stages of their lives who are both facing emotional crises. The acting is superior. | tt0483812 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, Amber Tamblyn, Timothy Hutton, Denis O'Hare, Jim Gaffigan, Deirdre O'Connell, Hailey Feiffer, Kel O'Neill, Melissa Leo, Caitlin Van Zandt, Novella Nelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stepmom | 1998 | Chris Columbus | ★★ | 125 | Slick, big-studio, all-star treatment of life after divorce. Sarandon plays a woman who objects to the presence of her ex's girlfriend in her children's lives. Glossy melodrama with occasional touches of humor; the leads outshine the mawkish material. | tt0120686 | [PG-13] | Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Liam Aiken, Lynn Whitfield | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stepmother | Impulsion | 1971 | Hikmet Avedis | ★½ | 94 | Rey is okay as anti-hero of this cheapie murder-suspenser in the Hitchcock mold. John Garfield's son is unimpressive in support. Aka IMPULSION. | tt0067793 | [R] | Alejandro Rey, John Anderson, Katherine Justice, John D. Garfield, Marlene Schmidt, Claudia Jennings, Duncan McLeod |
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NULL | |
| Steppenwolf | 1974 | Fred Haines | ★★½ | 105 | Literal adaptation of Herman Hesse's unfilmable novel about a misanthropic writer and an enigmatic young woman. Visually jazzy, rarely boring, but a dead end. | tt0072206 | [R] | Max von Sydow, Dominique Sanda, Pierre Clementi, Carla Romanelli, Alfred Bailloux | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stepping Out | 1991 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★ | 106 | Harmless blue-haired musical soaper about a smorgasbord group of Buffalo tap-dancing aspirants who bicker under Minnelli's tutelage. Richard Harris (not the actor) adapted his play, glitzed up by director Gilbert. There's a gratuitous show-stopping piece at the end for Liza-watchers, while Winters has some genuinely affecting moments as the piano accompanist. | tt0102979 | [PG] | Liza Minnelli, Shelley Winters, Bill Irwin, Ellen Greene, Julie Walters, Robyn Stevan, Jane Krakowski, Sheila McCarthy, Andrea Martin, Carol Woods, Nora Dunn | Musical | NULL | ||
| The Sterile Cuckoo | 1969 | Alan J. Pakula | ★★★ | 107 | Lonely Pookie Adams (Minnelli) forces herself on shy freshman Burton, who's impelled to pay attention. Winning look at young love and sensitive feelings gives Liza a stand-out role, with Burton equally fine as naive boy who eventually outgrows her. Dory Previn's song 'Come Saturday Morning' is featured. Producer Pakula's directorial debut. Based on a novel by John Nichols. | tt0065037 | [PG] | Liza Minnelli, Wendell Burton, Tim McIntire | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Stevie | 1978 | Robert Enders | ★★★ | 102 | Film version of Hugh Whitemore's London stage play about British poetess Stevie Smith (Jackson), who lives with her maiden aunt (Washbourne). Finely wrought character study; excellent performances. | tt0078321 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Mona Washbourne, Alec McCowen, Trevor Howard | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Stevie | 2003 | Steve James | ★★★½ | 140 | Documentary from HOOP DREAMS director is just as powerful in its own way. Filmed over an extended period, it's a poignant portrait of a rural Illinois trouble magnet to whom James, in earlier times, was an official Big Brother. Now the youth is awaiting sentencing for an alleged offense far more serious than his usual scrapes: sexually abusing his 8-year-old cousin. Best scene reunites Stevie with the first, and most loving, of his many foster-home parents (some of whom abused him). This is really a movie that leaves you wondering, 'What if . . . ? | tt0334416 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Stewardess School | 1987 | Ken Blancato | 💣 | 93 | A major studio financed this lowbrow comedy, then kept it on the shelf for a year. It should've stayed. | tt0094037 | [R] | Brett Cullen, Mary Cadorette, Donald Most, Sandahl Bergman, Sherman Hemsley, Vicki Frederick, Judy Landers, Wendie Jo Sperber, Vito Scotti | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stick | 1985 | Burt Reynolds | ★½ | 109 | Incredibly boring underworld melodrama about an ex-con who sets out to avenge the death of an old buddy and finds himself knee-deep in ugly drug dealers. Originally set for release in 1984, then pulled back for some reshooting, which apparently didn't help. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel. | tt0090073 | [R] | Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, George Segal, Charles Durning, Jose Perez, Richard Lawson, Alex Rocco, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Dar Robinson | Drama, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Stick It | 2006 | Jessica Bendinger | ★★ | 105 | The writer of BRING IT ON makes her directing debut with this story of competition, dirty tricks, and behind-the-scenes juice in the world of teenage gymnastics. Peregrym is a washout with personal problems who walked away from a championship and now has nowhere to go but back to training with Bridges. Diffuse screenplay (by Bendinger) strays in too many directions and stumbles to a ho-hum finish. | tt0430634 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym, Vanessa Lengies, Nikki SooHoo, Maddy Curley, Kellan Lutz, John Patrick Amedori, Jon Gries, Gia Carides, Polly Holliday, Julie Warner, Annie Corley | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stick to Your Guns | 1941 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 62 | Pretty good Hopalong Cassidy entry has Bar 20 boys riding to rescue rancher rampaged by rustlers. Jack Holt's daughter (and sister of Tim Holt) and Ken Maynard's brother sadly have little to do, but the Jimmy Wakely Trio with Johnny Bond provide some good songs. Uncredited source was series creator Clarence E. Mulford's 1926 novel Bar-20 Rides Again. | tt0034233 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Brad King, Jacqueline (Jennifer) Holt, Dick Curtis, Weldon Heyburn, Kermit Maynard, Charles Middleton. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Sticky Fingers | 1988 | Catlin Adams | ★★ | 97 | Dippy roommates find themselves the custodians of a suitcase full of drug money, which they proceed to 'borrow' and spend. Earnest attempt at wacky, female-slanted comedy goes completely askew. Likable stars and a high energy level can't keep it afloat. Scripted by director Adams and costar Mayron. | tt0096176 | [PG-13] | Helen Slater, Melanie Mayron, Danitra Vance, Eileen Brennan, Carol Kane, Loretta Devine, Stephen McHattie, Christopher Guest, Gwen Welles, Shirley Stoler | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stiff Upper Lips | 1998 | Gary Sinyor | ★★ | 94 | A high-born young woman falls in love with a handsome peasant. Anemic spoof of Merchant-Ivory films and the type of fodder that turns up on Masterpiece Theatre. Some easy laughs here and there, but as parodies go this one is second-rate. | tt0120210 | Peter Ustinov, Prunella Scales, Georgina Cates, Samuel West, Sean Pertwee, Robert Portal, Brian Glover, Frank Finlay | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stigmata | 1999 | Rupert Wainwright | ★½ | 103 | A lotta Sturm, a lotta Drang, but not much else in this EXORCIST derivation about a young woman who quite suddenly suffers from bloody attacks (à la stigmata) and hallucinations . . . and the Vatican scientist/priest who comes to investigate. Loud, flamboyant (with meaningless closeups of coffee pouring, an egg frying, etc.), but hopeless. | tt0145531 | [R] | Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce, Nia Long, Thomas Kopache, Rade Sherbedgia (Serbedzija), Enrico Colantoni, Dick Latessa, Portia de Rossi | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stiletto | 1969 | Bernard L. Kowalski | ★½ | 98 | Weak Mafia melodrama about handsome killer who lives like a playboy, kills for money. Repercussions abound when he decides to quit his job. From the Harold Robbins novel. Look fast for Raul Julia in a party scene. | tt0065038 | [R] | Alex Cord, Britt Ekland, Patrick O'Neal, Joseph Wiseman, Barbara McNair, Roy Scheider, Charles Durning, M. Emmett Walsh | Crime | NULL | ||
| Still Breathing | 1998 | James F. Robinson | ★★½ | 108 | One of those supposedly 'magical' romances, in which two complete opposites (San Antonio puppeteer/dreamer Fraser and L.A. con artist/cynic Going) eventually find each other. Two fine lead performances help lift this above the routine and keep it from being overly syrupy. | tt0120211 | [PG-13] | Brendan Fraser, Joanna Going, Celeste Holm, Ann Magnuson, Lou Rawls, Angus MacFadyen, Toby Huss, Paolo Seganti, Michael McKean, Junior Brown, The Jim Cullum Jazz Band | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Still Crazy | 1998 | Brian Gibson | ★★★ | 97 | Amiable film about the reunion of a 1970s rock band called Strange Fruit and its star-crossed musicians, whose resentments and peccadilloes are still fresh after 20 years. Built on a surefire foundation, the story has just enough twists to keep you guessing where it's going and a gallery of enjoyable performances. Bonus: the music is actually good. | tt0149151 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Billy Connolly, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy, Juliet Aubrey, Helena Bergstrom, Bruce Robinson, Rachael Stirling | U.S.-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Still Smokin' | 1983 | Tommy Chong | 💣 | 91 | Rock bottom. Not even the most forgiving C & C fans can justify this nonmovie that climaxes a scant plot involving an Amsterdam film festival with twenty minutes of laughless concert footage. An unreleaseable film that somehow made it to theaters— for five-day runs. | tt0086366 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Hansman In't Veld, Carol Van Herwijnen, Shirleen Stroker, Susan Hahn | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Still of the Night | 1982 | Robert Benton | ★★ | 91 | Yet another disappointing homage to Hitchcock in this tale of a psychiatrist attracted to a woman who may or may not have murdered one of his patients. A cold film with more plot holes than one would care to count. | tt0084732 | [PG] | Roy Scheider, Meryl Streep, Jessica Tandy, Joe Grifasi, Sara Botsford, Josef Sommer, Irving Metzman, Larry Joshua | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sting II | 1983 | Jeremy Paul Kagan | ★½ | 102 | Even as recent sequels go, this tardy follow-up to the Oscar winner is pretty limp. Gleason and Davis (in Newman's and Redford's roles!) rig a boxing match designed to shaft Malden, with Reed (in Shaw's role) as an unknowing cog in the scheme. Despite the male milieu, only Garr delivers a lively performance. Oddly, David S. Ward wrote this one, too. | tt0086370 | [PG] | Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, Teri Garr, Karl Malden, Oliver Reed, Bert Remsen | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Sting | 1973 | George Roy Hill | ★★★½ | 129 | Two small-time Chicago con men try to put 'the sting' on a high-roller from N.Y.C. (Shaw) after he has one of their pals killed. This long but entertaining film won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay (David S. Ward), and sparked national revival of Scott Joplin's ragtime music (arranged here by Oscar winner Marvin Hamlisch). Sequel: THE STING II. | tt0070735 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe, Dimitra Arliss, Charles Dierkop, Sally Kirkland | Drama, Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stingaree | 1934 | William Wellman. | ★★½ | 76 | In 1874 Australia, dashing music-loving bandit Dix falls in love with servant girl Dunne and helps her become a great opera star. Oddly entertaining hokum melds musical romance and Robin Hood in the outback, based on the stories of E. W. Hornung (Raffles). Dunne never sang better or looked lovelier; Boland is a hoot as a vain old crow who fancies herself a chanteuse. | tt0025833 | Irene Dunne, Richard Dix, Mary Boland, Conway Tearle, Andy Devine, Henry Stephenson, George Barraud, Una O'Connor, Snub Pollard, Reginald Owen, Billy Bevan. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Stingray | 1978 | Richard Taylor | ★½ | 100 | Low-grade mix of action, blood, and comedy as Mitchum and Lannom buy a Stingray, unaware that it's filled with stolen loot and dope, prompting pursuit by murderous Jackson. Filmed in and around St. Louis. Aka ABIGAIL: WANTED. | tt0078323 | [PG] | Sherry Jackson, Christopher Mitchum, Bill Watson, Les Lannom, Sondra Theodore, Bert Hinchman | Crime, Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stir | 1980 | Stephen Wallace | ★★★½ | 100 | Harrowing tale of life in prison, focusing on the jailors' brutality and culminating in riots and destruction. Excellent performances by all, particularly Brown; a memorable first feature for Wallace. Screenplay by Ben Jewson, based on first-hand experience. | tt0081561 | Bryan Brown, Max Phipps, Dennis Miller, Michael Gow, Phil Motherwell, Gary Waddell | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stir Crazy | 1980 | Sidney Poitier | ★★★ | 111 | Broadly funny film about two yoyos who bungle their way into prison. No great shakes in terms of script or direction; just a lot of good laughs. Screenplay by Bruce Jay Friedman; lively score by Tom Scott. Later a brief TV series. | tt0081562 | [R] | Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams, Miguelangel Suarez, Craig T. Nelson, Barry Corbin, Erland van Lidth de Jeude, Lee Purcell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stir of Echoes | 1999 | David Koepp | ★★½ | 99 | Working-class Chicagoan undergoes hypnosis for a lark and suddenly finds himself haunted by visions and premonitions— just like his five-year-old son, who sees ghosts. Intriguing film plays with our emotions and becomes increasingly unpleasant as it goes along. Koepp adapted Richard Matheson's novel. | tt0164181 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Kevin Dunn, Illeana Douglas, Liza Weil, Conor O'Farrell, Jenny Morrison, Zachary David Cope | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Stitches | 1985 | Alan Smithee (Rod Holcomb) | 💣 | 89 | Derivative comedy about medical students' hijinks is not titillating or funny enough to be diverting. Director Holcomb had his name removed from the credits after film was doctored during postproduction. | tt0090079 | [R] | Parker Stevenson, Geoffrey Lewis, Brian Tochi, Robin Dearden, Eddie Albert | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stolen | 2010 | Anders Anderson | ★★ | 91 | Parallel sagas of two young boys disappearing while under their respective fathers' care (Hamm, Lucas), weaving back and forth between 1958 and the present day. Somber tone, well-executed art direction, and even huge chunks of plot call to mind THE LOVELY BONES, minus the fantasia-like other world. But this tragedy, while giving it a good go, comes across like an advanced actors' exercise rather than a satisfying story. | tt1139282 | [R] | Josh Lucas, Jon Hamm, Rhona Mitra, James Van Der Beek, Jessica Chastain, Joanna Cassidy, Jimmy Bennett, Morena Baccarin, Rick Gomez, Michael Cudlitz, Beth Grant | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Stolen Children | Il Ladro di Bambini | 1992 | Gianni Amelio | ★★★½ | 112 | A sister and brother are dragged across half of Italy after their no-good mother is arrested; they've been neglected, and the girl knows more about the business of prostitution than any 11-year-old should. Young military man Lo Verso, charged with transporting these unwanted wards of the state, grows to care about them. Stunning, simple film (a multi-award winner in Europe) harks back to the Italian Neo-realist school, with three unbeatable performances. Scripted by Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, and the director. Original title: IL LADRO DI BAMBINI. | tt0104663 | Enrico Lo Verso, Valentina Scalici, Giuseppe Ieracitano, Florence Darel, Marina Golovine | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Stolen Face | 1952 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 72 | Interesting but far-fetched drama of plastic surgeon Henreid trying to transform female convict into replica of the woman he loves but cannot have. | tt0045191 | Lizabeth Scott, Paul Henreid, Andre Morell, Susan Stephen, Mary Mackenzie, John Wood | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stolen Heaven | 1938 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 88 | Offbeat story of jewel thieves posing as musicians on the lam but having change of heart when they meet kindly maestro Stone. | tt0030796 |
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Gene Raymond, Olympe Bradna, Glenda Farrell, Lewis Stone, Porter Hall, Douglass Dumbrille, Joe Sawyer | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Stolen Holiday | 1937 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★★ | 76 | Stylish, briskly paced tale of charming Russian swindler Rains marrying naïve French model Francis and luring her into his fraudulent financial schemes. Interesting fictionalized version of a real-life scandal, later retold using real names in STAVISKY (1974). | tt0028310 | Claude Rains, Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Alison Skipworth, Alexander D'Arcy, Betty Lawford, Walter Kingsford. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Stolen Hours | 1963 | Daniel Petrie | ★★½ | 100 | Hayward takes Bette Davis' DARK VICTORY, transplants it to contemporary England, in tale of woman with fatal illness trying to get as much out of life as she can. Original is far superior in all departments. | tt0057531 | Susan Hayward, Michael Craig, Diane Baker, Edward Judd, Paul Rogers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stolen Kisses | 1968 | François Truffaut | ★★★★ | 87 | This alternately touching and hilarious film about an inept but likable jerk-of-all-trades is possibly Truffaut's best movie and one of the best treatments of young love ever put on the screen. Third in his Antoine Doinel series, followed by BED AND BOARD. | tt0062695 | [R] | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale, Claude Jade, Harry Max, Daniel Ceccaldi | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| A Stolen Life | 1946 | Curtis Bernhardt | ★★½ | 107 | A twin takes her sister's place as wife of the man they both love in this slick but far-fetched soaper with Bette in dual role; remake of 1939 film with Elisabeth Bergner. | tt0038984 | Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Walter Brennan, Charlie Ruggles, Bruce Bennett, Peggy Knudsen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stolen Summer | 2002 | Pete Jones | ★★½ | 90 | Catholic boy in Chicago whose teacher keeps warning him that he's headed for Hell decides to do something to earn himself a place in Heaven: converting a Jew to Christianity. Child's-eye story of faith and tolerance set in the 1970s is simple and sincere; it wears its heart on its sleeve but dares to swim against the tide of cynicism. Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as part of their 'Project Greenlight' endeavor to give struggling filmmakers a chance. | tt0286162 | [PG] | Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Mike Weinberg, Adi Stein, Brian Dennehy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stomp the Yard | 2007 | Sylvain White | ★★½ | 114 | DIRTY DANCING meets BOYZ N THE HOOD in this energetic musical drama in which a South L.A. youth discovers talent for an old tradition when he starts “stepping” after transferring to an Atlanta college. In doing so he becomes the focus of a major competition between dueling fraternities. Story has a nice message but it's Short's high “stepping” style that carries the day-and the film. | tt0775539 | [PG-13] | Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, Darrin Henson, Brian White, Laz Alonso, Valarie Pettiford, Harry Lennix, Chris Brown. | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| Stone | 2010 | John Curran | ★★ | 105 | Long-term convict Norton tries playing mind games with prison parole officer De Niro, who’s got problems of his own. Then Norton sics his sexy wife (Jovovich) on De Niro and the situation grows even more complicated. Somber drama offers no characters one can care about—except perhaps Conroy, as De Niro’s long-suffering wife, who has turned to religion and alcohol! | tt1423995 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich, Frances Conroy, Enver Gjokaj, Pepper Binkley | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Stone Angel | 2008 | Kari Skogland | ★★ | 115 | Multigenerational tale based on a beloved 1964 Canadian novel casts Burstyn as a proud, stubborn 90-year-old who evades her son’s plan to put her in a nursing home, instead heading up north to relive memories (in flashback) of her youth and marriage to a gruff husband (played at different ages by father and son Cole and Wings Hauser). Sheer scope of the story, spanning several decades, eludes writer-director Skogland, who employs a rushed TV cutting style that truncates whatever pleasures were found in Margaret Laurence’s book. Burstyn is in fine form. | tt0847897 | [R] | Ellen Burstyn, Christine Horne, Cole Hauser, Wings Hauser, Ellen Page, Kevin Zegers, Dylan Baker, Luke Kirby | Canadian-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Stone Boy | 1984 | Christopher Cain. | ★★★½ | 93 | Tragedy sends a simple farming family into shock, and leaves the youngest boy to sort out his problems on his own. Perceptive and poignant look at the way people react to serious situations in real life, with a gallery of outstanding performances. May be too slow and introspective for some viewers' taste. Film debut of Cain (the director's stepson). | tt0088176 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Jason Presson, Glenn Close, Frederic Forrest, Wilford Brimley, Gail Youngs, Cindy Fisher, Linda Hamilton, Dean Cain | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stone Cold | 1991 | Craig R. Baxley | ★½ | 90 | Football's 'Boz' infiltrates a gang of Mississippi bikers whose extortion antics have caught the attention of both the Feds and the Mob. Only some amazing stunts save this silliness from the BOMB scrap heap. Written and executive produced by Walter Doniger, who once directed Mantle and Maris in SAFE AT HOME! | tt0102984 | [R] | Brian Bosworth, Lance Henriksen, William Forsythe, Arabella Holzbog, Sam McMurray | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Stone Cold Dead | 1980 | George Mendeluk | ★★½ | 97 | Cop Crenna versus mobster Williams. Compact little drama. | tt0081563 | [R] | Richard Crenna, Paul Williams, Linda Sorenson, Belinda J. Montgomery, Charles Shamata, George Chuvalo | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Stone Killer | 1973 | Michael Winner | ★★½ | 95 | Good action in thriller about hard-headed cop trying to unravel chain of mystery that leads to elaborate plan using Vietnam vets to stage underworld massacre. Well made but pretty violent. | tt0070736 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, David Sheiner, Norman Fell, Ralph Waite | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stone Reader | 2003 | Mark Moskowitz | ★★★ | 128 | Filmmaker Moskowitz, an avid reader, revisits a 1972 novel called The Stones of Summer and determines to find out what ever happened to its author, Dow Mossman, who never published again despite strong reviews for his debut book. In his search he talks to literary critics, teachers, writers, and fellow readers, not just about the elusive Mossman but about the nature of books and how they affect their readers. An offbeat but fascinating odyssey, especially for book lovers. | tt0324080 | [PG-13] | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |||
| Stone of Destiny | 2008 | Charles Martin Smith | ★★½ | 96 | In 1950, four Glaswegian students take it upon themselves to steal back the Stone of Scone, also referred to as the Stone of Destiny, from Westminster Abbey in London on Christmas in an attempt to reignite Scottish pride. While the story is true—and incredible—its treatment is uninspired, and this plays like a TV movie. Based on the book The Taking of the Stone of Destiny by Ian Hamilton, Q.C. | tt1037156 | [PG] | Charlie Cox, Kate Mara, Stephen McCole, Ciaron Kelly, Billy Boyd, Robert Carlyle, Peter Mullan, Brenda Fricker | Canadian-British | Comedy, Crime, Adventure | NULL | |
| Stoned | 2006 | Stephen Woolley | ★½ | 102 | Movie alleges that debauched and deposed Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones didn't just drown in his swimming pool but was drowned by his builder-turned-gofer. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Anita Pallenberg are among the supporting characters. This can't miss, you say? It does. For a dramatic biopic about early Brit rock see BACKBEAT, and for one about star resentment, see AUTO FOCUS. Focus is the problem here, or lack of it. And a movie about the Stones that's missing Stones music is a fuzzy-brained concept to begin with. | tt0426627 | Unrated | Leo Gregory, Paddy Considine, David Morrissey, Ben Whishaw, Monet Mazur, Tuva Novotny, Amelia Warner, Luke de Woolfson | British | Biography, Drama, Music | NULL | |
| Stonewall | 1995 | Nigel Finch | ★★½ | 99 | Historic look-back at the 1969 Greenwich Village bar riot that sparked the gay rights movement, told as a fictitious personal story about a young Puerto Rican drag queen (the terrific Diaz) who becomes politically conscious when he falls in love with an idealistic midwestern hippie. Important subject matter deserved better, bigger-budgeted film, but this is still an effective portrait of discrimination. Director Finch died of AIDS shortly after the film was completed. Isaiah Washington has a bit part as a cop. | tt0114550 | [R] | Guillermo Diaz, Fred Weller, Brendan Corbalis, Bruce MacVittie, Luis Guzman, Duane Boutte, Matthew Faber | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Stoning of Soraya M. | 2009 | Cyrus Nowrasteh | ★★★ | 114 | Chilling drama based on French-Iranian Freidoune Sahebjam’s book about a real-life incident from 1986. Caviezel plays the journalist whose car breaks down in a small Iranian village, where a desperate woman (Aghdashloo) tells him the story of what just happened to her niece. We then learn how two evil men—and others without backbone—allowed an entire community to turn on an innocent woman and punish her by the ancient ritual of stoning. Plays like melodrama at times, but it’s all true. Aghdashloo’s solid presence anchors the film. | tt1277737 | [R] | Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jim Caviezel, Mozhan Marnò, Navid Negahban, David Diaan, Ali Pourtash, Vida Ghahremani | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Stony Island | My Main Man From Stony Island | 1978 | Andrew Davis | ★★★ | 97 | Independent feature, filmed in Chicago, about an integrated group of youthful rhythm and blues performers and the death of an older black musician, nicely played by Barge. Fine music sequences and use of urban locations make up for lack of character and story development. Aka MY MAIN MAN FROM STONY ISLAND. | tt0078324 | [PG] | Richard Davis, Edward Stony Robinson, Ronnie Barron, George Englund, Gene Barge, Susanna Hoffs, Rae Dawn Chong | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| The Stooge | 1953 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 100 | Egocentric singer (Martin) learns the hard way just how important his stooge (Lewis) is to his success. Martin & Lewis go dramatic with middling results. Completed in 1951, not released for two years. | tt0045192 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Polly Bergen, Eddie Mayehoff, Marion Marshall | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Stoogemania | 1985 | Chuck Workman | ★½ | 83 | Well-meaning but completely unfunny tale of one Howard F. Howard, whose passion for The Three Stooges has overtaken his life. Incorporates real footage of the Stooges, and while most of it is far from their best, it's still vastly superior to the new material in this feature. For those who care, some of the Stooge footage is computer-colored. | tt0090081 | [PG] | Josh Mostel, Melanie Chartoff, Sid Caesar, Josh Miner, Thom Sharp | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stoolie | 1974 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 90 | Flawed but interesting little film, with Mason as a paid police informer who absconds to Miami with $7,500 in an attempt to 'retire.' | tt0072210 | Jackie Mason, Dan Frazer, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Anne Marie | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Stop Making Sense | 1984 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★★ | 88 | Brilliantly conceived, shot, edited, and performed Talking Heads concert film benefits from the presence of a major filmmaker behind the camera, as well as the imagination of lead singer/mastermind David Byrne. One of the greatest rock movies ever made; videocassette version runs 99m. and contains three extra tunes. | tt0088178 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Stop Me Before I Kill! | The Full Treatment | 1961 | Val Guest | ★★ | 109 | Turgid dramatics: mentally unhinged man's new marriage is threatened by his illness and his psychiatrist's yen for his wife. Originally titled THE FULL TREATMENT. | tt0054901 | Claude Dauphin, Diane Cilento, Roland Lewis, Françoise Rosay | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Stop the World- I Want to Get Off | 1966 | Philip Saville | ★★½ | 98 | One of producer Bill Sargent's photographed stage presentations, this one preserves Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's allegorical musical about an everyman named Littlechap and his bouts with life and success. A bit heavy-handed, though the score includes 'What Kind Of Fool Am I?' Opens in b&w, then changes to color. Remade as SAMMY STOPS THE WORLD. | tt0061034 | Tony Tanner, Millicent Martin, Leila Croft, Valerie Croft | British | Musical | NULL | ||
| Stop! Look! and Laugh! | 1960 | Jules White | ★★½ | 78 | Original Stooges' funniest sequences strung together by ventriloquist Paul Winchell and dummies is aimed at children. Much of it is familiar, but still amusing. | tt0173256 | The Three Stooges, Paul Winchell, Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff, The Marquis Chimps, Officer Joe Bolton |
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NULL | |||
| Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot | 1992 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★½ | 87 | Cop Stallone is joined by his loud-mouthed, gun-toting mamma (Getty), and they erase crime from the streets of L.A. One-joke action-comedy which quickly wears thin; Getty's character, meant to be funny, comes off as thoroughly obnoxious. | tt0105477 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Estelle Getty, JoBeth Williams, Roger Rees, Martin Ferrero, Gailard Sartain, Dennis Burkley, Ving Rhames | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stop, You're Killing Me | 1952 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 86 | Mild froth based on Damon Runyon story of racketeer Crawford going legitimate. Remake of A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER. | tt0045193 | Broderick Crawford, Claire Trevor, Virginia Gibson, Sheldon Leonard, Margaret Dumont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Stop-Loss, | 2008 | Kimberly Peirce | ★★★ | 112 | After losing some of his men in a bloody ambush in Iraq, Army staff sergeant Phillippe and other members of his squadron return home to Texas and find readjusting to “normal” life to be difficult—if not impossible. Then Phillippe is told that instead of being mustered out he’s been “stop-lossed,” set for another tour of duty overseas. Moving story of young men torn apart (literally and figuratively) by a brutal war and a hypocritical military agenda. Veers toward melodrama at times, but it still has the ring of truth. | tt0489281 | [R] | Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ciarán Hinds, Timothy Olyphant, Victor Rasuk, Rob Brown, Mamie Gummer, Josef Sommer, Linda Emond, Alex Frost, Laurie Metcalf | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Stopover Tokyo | 1957 | Richard L. Breen | ★★½ | 100 | Lumbering spy tale, loosely based on John P. Marquand novel. On-location filming in Japan makes a pretty background, but flat characters remain. | tt0051011 | Robert Wagner, Joan Collins, Edmond O'Brien, Ken Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Stork Club | 1945 | Hal Walker | ★★½ | 98 | Hat-check girl Hutton mysteriously becomes wealthy in fanciful musicomedy, mainly for Betty's fans. She sings 'Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief.' | tt0038119 | Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don Defore, Andy Russell, Iris Adrian, Robert Benchley | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Storm | 1987 | David Winning | 💣 | 99 | Incoherent, interminable psychological drama about two students, one a jerk and the other a prankster, and their fate while on a camping trip. If you make it beyond the first two minutes of this turkey, you deserve a medal. | tt0090084 | [PG-13] | David Palfy, Stan Kane, Harry Freedman, Lawrence Elion, Tom Schioler | Canadian | Action, Comedy | NULL | |
| Storm Center | 1956 | Daniel Taradash | ★½ | 85 | Librarian becomes center of controversy over censorship and Communism. Not even Davis can uplift clichés. An inauspicious directorial debut by veteran screenwriter Taradash. | tt0049800 | Bette Davis, Brian Keith, Kim Hunter, Paul Kelly | Drama | NULL | |||
| Storm Fear | 1955 | Cornel Wilde | ★★ | 88 | Wounded bank robber Wilde and two partners take refuge in farm home of his honest but sickly brother Duryea. Snowstorm increases group tensions and suspense. Well-developed characters in Horton Foote's script are enhanced by good acting. Based on the novel by Clinton Seeley. | tt0049801 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Dan Duryea, Lee Grant, Dennis Weaver, David Stollery, Steven Hill | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Storm Over Asia | The Heir to Genghis Khan | 1928 | V. I. Pudovkin | ★★★½ | 93 | Sweeping, visually stunning drama, set in 1920, about a Mongolian trapper, thrust out of his village after a dispute with an American fur trader, who becomes a Soviet partisan. Eventually, he's discovered to be a descendant of Genghis Khan, and is set up as a puppet Mongolian ruler by the British army of occupation. Filmed in Central Asia; especially memorable are the sequence in which the trapper is almost shot and the finale. Aka THE HEIR TO GENGHIS KHAN. | tt0019286 | Valeri Inkizhinov, A. Dedinstev, V. Tzoppi, Paulina Belinskaya | Russian | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| Storm Over Lisbon | 1944 | George Sherman | ★★ | 86 | WW2 intrigue in Lisbon with nightclub performer Ralston siding with von Stroheim to get goods on American Arlen; only for those who wonder what CASABLANCA would've been like if it'd been made by Republic. | tt0037315 | Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim, Otto Kruger, Eduardo Ciannelli, Mona Barrie | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Storm Over Tibet | 1952 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 87 | Reason is an ex-WW2 pilot who journeys to Tibet and gets in plenty of hot water when he purloins a holy mask from a temple. German documentary footage of the Himalayas is used extensively in this Ivan Tors production. | tt0045196 | Rex Reason, Diana Douglas, Myron Healey, Robert Karnes, Strother Martin, Harold Fong | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Storm Over the Nile | 1955 | Zoltan Korda, Terence Young | ★★½ | 113 | Remake of THE FOUR FEATHERS (by the same director, with stock footage from the original) lacks class and flair, but story is still good; script by R.C. Sherriff. | tt0048662 | Anthony Steel, Laurence Harvey, James Robertson Justice, Mary Ure, Christopher Lee | British | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Storm Rider | 1957 | Edward Bernds. | ★★ | 70 | Brady, a gunman with a secret, becomes immersed in a conflict between small-time ranchers and their greedy nemesis. Not bad; Bernds also cowrote the script. | tt0051012 | Scott Brady, Mala Powers, Bill Williams, John Goddard, James Dobson, Olin Howlin, William Fawcett. | Western | NULL | |||
| Storm Warning | 1951 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 93 | Feverish but engrossing story of a woman who discovers that her sister (Day) has married a loutish Ku Klux Klansman. Good cast, with Reagan in one of his better roles as a crusading D.A.; cowritten by Richard Brooks. | tt0044075 | Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Steve Cochran, Hugh Sanders, Lloyd Gough, Ned Glass | Drama | NULL | |||
| Storm at Daybreak | 1933 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★½ | 80 | Lavishly mounted soaper set in Serbia. Francis is wife of mayor Huston, and contemplating having affair with convalescing soldier Asther. | tt0024616 |
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Kay Francis, Nils Asther, Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Eugene Pallette, Jean Parker | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| A Storm in Summer | 2000 | Robert Wise | Average TV Movie | 95 | Falk does Ebenezer Scrooge with a Jewish accent, playing a deli owner in upstate N.Y. who finds himself saddled with a black inner-city youngster on a two-week trip to the country. Naturally, each winds up teaching the other a thing or two about life. Veteran director Wise's TV movie debut uses the original Rod Serling script (which was first produced in 1970 with Peter Ustinov). Made for cable. | tt0217066 | Peter Falk, Andrew McCarthy, Nastassja Kinski, Ruby Dee, Aaron Meeks | Drama | NULL | |||
| Storm in a Teacup | 1937 | Victor Saville, Ian Dalrymple | ★★★ | 87 | Witty social comedy, set in a provincial Scottish village, with Harrison a journalist who reports on a pompous politician's cruel treatment of a widow who is unable to afford a dog-license fee. At the same time, he finds himself falling in love with the bureaucrat's daughter (Leigh). | tt0029611 | Vivien Leigh, Rex Harrison, Sara Allgood, Cecil Parker, Arthur Wontner, Ivor Barnard | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Stormy Monday | 1988 | Mike Figgis | ★★★ | 93 | Extremely stylish film noir about the convergence of four characters in the economically depressed city of Newcastle, where Sting runs a jazz club, and a ruthless American businessman (Jones) hopes to make a killing in redevelopment. More atmosphere than story here, and told at a very deliberate pace, but strong performances by all four leads and striking visual ideas by writer-director Figgis (and cinematographer Roger Deakins) definitely compensate. Figgis is also credited with the music score. | tt0096180 | [R] | Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting, Sean Bean, James Cosmo, Mark Long, Brian Lewis | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Stormy Weather | 1943 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★½ | 77 | This musical offers a legendary lineup of black performers, with Lena singing title song, Fats performing 'Ain't Misbehavin',' others doing what they do best. Only problem: a silly storyline that improbably pairs Bojangles and Horne romantically. | tt0036391 | Lena Horne, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Cab Calloway and His Band, Katherine Dunham, Fats Waller, Dooley Wilson, The Nicholas Brothers | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Story of Adele H | 1975 | François Truffaut | ★★½ | 97 | Understated drama of young woman (the daughter of author Victor Hugo) obsessed with a soldier who does not return her love. Adjani's performance is excellent, but film is curiously unmoving. Shot in simultaneous English and French-language versions. | tt0073114 | [PG] | Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson, Sylvia Marriott, Reubin Dorey, Joseph Blatchley, M. White | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Story of Alexander Graham Bell | 1939 | Irving Cummings | ★★★ | 97 | Ameche overacts at times in his famous title role, but entertaining version of inventor is given plush 20th Century-Fox presentation. | tt0031981 | Don Ameche, Loretta Young, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Gene Lockhart, Polly Ann Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Story of Boys and Girls | 1991 | Pupi Avati | ★★★ | 92 | A country beauty invites her fiancé's elegant Bolognese family to a 20-course banquet in Italy's Emilia Romagna farmland in 1936. Easygoing, keenly observed comedy of culture clashing, whose subliminal effect isn't completely apparent until the film's conclusion. Have a snack handy. | tt0098390 | Lucretia della Rovere, Davide Bechini, Valeria Bruni Tadeschi, Lina Bernardi, Anna Bonaiuto, Alessandro Haber, Enrico Maria Modungo | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Story of Dr. Wassell | 1944 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★½ | 140 | Story of real-life dedicated Navy doctor who saved fighting men in Java during WW2; slow-moving adaptation of the James Hilton book. Far from top-grade DeMille or Cooper. | tt0037316 | Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, Signe Hasso, Dennis O'Keefe, Paul Kelly, Philip Ahn, Barbara Britton | Drama, Action, Romance, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| The Story of Esther Costello | 1957 | David Miller. | ★★½ | 103 | Socialite rehabilitates impoverished blind and deaf girl and promotes charity fund in her name. Interesting look at charity huckstering but melodrama is overwrought and often unintentionally funny. | tt0051015 | Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi, Heather Sears, Lee Patterson, Fay Compton, Bessie Love, Ron Randell. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Story of G.I. Joe | 1945 | William Wellman | ★★★½ | 109 | Meredith is superb as war correspondent Ernie Pyle living with Yank soldiers on front lines to report their stories; Mitchum's first outstanding film role as soldier. Full title: ERNIE PYLE'S STORY OF G.I. JOE. | tt0038120 | Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele, Wally Cassell, Jimmy Lloyd | War | NULL | |||
| The Story of Louis Pasteur | 1936 | William Dieterle | ★★★½ | 85 | The achievements of the famous French scientist are chronicled in this engrossing film. Muni gives Oscar-winning performance; writers Sheridan Gibney and Pierre Collings also won. | tt0028313 | Paul Muni, Josephine Hutchinson, Anita Louise, Donald Woods, Fritz Leiber, Porter Hall, Akim Tamiroff | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Story of Mankind | 1957 | Irwin Allen | ★★ | 100 | Ambitious in concept, laughable in juvenile results. Henrik Van Loon book of highlights of man's history becomes string of clichéd costume episodes, badly cast, and packed with stock footage; the Marxes don't even appear together! Colman's last film. | tt0051016 | Ronald Colman, Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price; guest stars Hedy Lamarr, Groucho, Harpo, Chico Marx, Virginia Mayo, Agnes Moorehead, Francis X. Bushman, Charles Coburn, Marie Windsor, John Carradine, Dennis Hopper | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Story of Molly X | 1949 | Crane Wilbur | ★★½ | 82 | Havoc is earnest as gangster's widow who goes out to find her husband's killer. | tt0041922 | June Havoc, John Russell, Dorothy Hart, Charles McGraw | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Story of Piera | 1983 | Marco Ferreri | ★★ | 105 | Odd chronicle of the lifelong relationship between nutty, sensuous Schygulla and her daughter (Gruhn as a pre-teen, then Huppert). Ferreri presents a liberated alternative for relating as a wife, mother, daughter, woman; however, the result is mostly rambling, boring. | tt0086372 | Isabelle Huppert, Hanna Schygulla, Marcello Mastroianni, Bettina Gruhn, Tanya Lopert | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Story of Qiu Ju | 1992 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★½ | 100 | Exceptional drama about a naive but determined Chinese farm woman (Li), who demands to receive an explanation and simple apology after her husband is beaten up by the obstinate chief of her village. This deft, ironic story of a woman's search for justice examines government bureaucracy and how regulations and rules often have little to do with the real needs of people. | tt0105197 | [PG] | Gong Li, Lei Laosheng, Liu Pei Qi, Ge Zhijun, Ye Jun, Yang Liu Xia | Chinese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | 1952 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 83 | Zesty, colorful retelling of the familiar story, filmed in England by Walt Disney with excellent cast. Not as personality oriented as other versions, but just as good in its own way. | tt0045197 | Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch, James Hayter, James Robertson Justice, Martita Hunt, Hubert Gregg, Michael Hordern | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Story of Ruth | 1960 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 132 | Static biblical non-epic retelling story of woman renouncing her 'gods' when she discovers true faith. | tt0054343 | Elana Eden, Stuart Whitman, Tom Tryon, Peggy Wood, Viveca Lindfors, Jeff Morrow | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Story of Seabiscuit | 1949 | David Butler | ★★ | 93 | Technicolor hokum with Fitzgerald as the toora-loora trainer who convinces Charles S. Howard (Watkin) that the title horse has real possibilities. Temple is Fitzgerald's niece, whose brother was killed in a racing accident. Never a great film, this is now rendered meaningless (if not downright ludicrous) by Laura Hillenbrand's book and the 2003 adaptation, SEABISCUIT. | tt0041923 | Shirley Temple, Barry Fitzgerald, Lon McCallister, Rosemary DeCamp, Donald MacBride, Pierre Watkin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Story of Temple Drake | 1933 | Stephen Roberts. | ★★★½ | 72 | Flirtatious Southern belle Hopkins gets more than she bargained for one stormy night after a car wreck. This sizzling pre-Code adaptation of William Faulkner's Sanctuary is memorable for La Rue's stone-cold performance as Trigger, a sadistic thug. Highly controversial in its day. Watch for John Carradine as a courtroom spectator. Remade as SANCTUARY in 1961. | tt0024617 | Miriam Hopkins, William Gargan, Jack La Rue, Sir Guy Standing, Florence Eldridge, Irving Pichel, Jobyna Howland, William Collier/Jr., Elizabeth Patterson, Louise Beavers. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Story of Three Loves | 1953 | Vincente Minnelli, Gottfried Reinhardt | ★★★ | 122 | Bittersweet trio of love stories, told as flashbacks involving passengers on ocean liner. | tt0046374 | Pier Angeli, Moira Shearer, Ethel Barrymore, Kirk Douglas, Farley Granger, Leslie Caron, James Mason, Agnes Moorehead, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Story of Us | 1999 | Rob Reiner | ★★ | 95 | A couple on the verge of splitting reflect on their 15-year marriage— and try to understand where it went wrong. Sympathetic portrayal of married life has likable performances on its side, but its moments of keen observation are too often undercut by annoying, sitcom-style dialogue that bears no relation to real life. Paul Reiser appears unbilled. | tt0160916 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tim Matheson, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Julie Hagerty, Jayne Meadows, Tom Poston, Betty White, Red Buttons | Comedy, Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle | 1939 | H. C. Potter | ★★★ | 93 | Fred and Ginger take an unusual turn, downplaying their usual breezy comedy to portray America's hugely popular early-20th-century husband-and-wife dance team. Many fine period dance numbers and songs. This was the last Astaire-Rogers film until THE BARKLEYS OF BROADWAY ten years later. Incidentally, that's young Marge Champion (then known as Marjorie Belcher) as Irene's girlfriend. | tt0031983 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver, Walter Brennan, Lew Fields | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Story of Will Rogers | 1952 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 109 | One of few show biz biographies that rings true, with Rogers Jr. faithfully portraying his father, rodeo star turned humorist; Wyman is his loving wife, Cantor appears as himself. | tt0045198 | Will Rogers/Jr., Jane Wyman, Carl Benton Reid, James Gleason, Mary Wickes, Eddie Cantor | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Story of Women | 1988 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 110 | Huppert gives one of her best performances as a woman who builds a thriving career as an abortionist in Vichy France— and becomes the last of her sex to be guillotined in her country. Ironic, fact-based story provides Chabrol with one of his best subjects; the director is in top form here. | tt0096336 | Isabelle Huppert, Francois Cluzet, Marie Trintignant, Nils Tavernier, Louis Ducreux | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Story of a Love Story | Impossible Object | 1973 | John Frankenheimer | ★★½ | 110 | Writer Bates has an extramarital affair with Sanda— or is it his imagination? Interesting premise, middling result. Originally titled IMPOSSIBLE OBJECT; never released theatrically. | tt0070739 | Alan Bates, Dominique Sanda, Evans Evans, Lea Massari, Michel Auclair, Laurence De Monaghan | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Story of a Three Day Pass | La Permission | 1967 | Melvin Van Peebles. | ★★★ | 87 | Flawed but impressive film about affair between black American soldier and white French girl. Also on tape as LA PERMISSION. | tt0063646 | Harry Baird, Nicole Berger, Christian Marin, Pierre Doris. | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Story of a Woman | 1970 | Leonardo Bercovici | ★½ | 90 | Turgid tale of pianist who tries to remain faithful to her husband, even though she's still hung up on old flame; Bibi is wasted. | tt0066410 | [R] | Bibi Andersson, Robert Stack, James Farentino, Annie Girardot, Didi Perego, Mario Nascimbene | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum | 1939 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★½ | 115 | Brilliantly directed film about a young failed Kabuki actor who marries his family maid and leaves home to become successful, which happens after years of struggle through the sacrifices of his wife. Shot in extended, poetic takes, film is long but extremely accomplished. Aka THE STORY OF THE LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. | tt0032156 | Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kakuko Mori, Gonjurô Kawarazaki, Kôkichi Takada, Ryôtarô Kawanami. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Story of the Weeping Camel | 2004 | Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni. | ★★★½ | 87 | Fascinating docudrama about a family of shepherds in a remote part of Mongolia's Gobi Desert who assist their camel herd in giving birth. When one of the animals has a difficult delivery she rejects the colt, forcing the family to resort to a traditional ritual and find a musician who can get the camel to nurse her baby. Masterfully filmed, using real people in real situations, even though it's a 'story' being enacted by its participants. | tt0373861 | [PG] | German-Mongolian | Drama, Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Story on Page One | 1959 | Clifford Odets | ★★★ | 123 | Lovers Hayworth and Young are accused of killing Rita's husband, hire Franciosa to represent them in court. Odets' stark film has high tension and sincere performances, although Dunnock's Mama portrayal is a bit much. | tt0053308 | Rita Hayworth, Anthony Franciosa, Gig Young, Mildred Dunnock, Hugh Griffith, Sanford Meisner, Robert Burton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Storytelling | 2002 | Todd Solondz | ★★ | 88 | Two-part film offers some wry observations about everyday cruelty in typical Solondz fashion, but little resonance. In 'Fiction,' writing student Blair breaks off with her disabled boyfriend/college classmate and sleeps with her angry black teacher. In 'Non-Fiction,' a blowhard would-be documentary filmmaker chronicles a typical affluent suburban N.J. family, little suspecting the drama that's unfolding right under his nose. Film's conclusion leaves us wanting. | tt0250081 | [R] | Selma Blair, Leo Fitzpatrick, Aleksa Palladino, Robert Wisdom, Noah Fleiss, Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Julie Hagerty, Lupe Ontiveros, Jonathan Osser, Franka Potente, Steve Railsback, Xander Berkeley, Crista Moore | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Storyville | 1992 | Mark Frost | ★½ | 112 | Young, obscenely wealthy Louisiana congressional candidate Spader discovers skeletons deeply hidden in his family's closet. Good performances can't save this muddled and obtuse contemporary drama; the murder, mayhem, and mistresses are more than anyone will care about. | tt0105480 | [R] | James Spader, Joanne WhalleyKilmer, Jason Robards, Piper Laurie, Charlotte Lewis, Michael Warren, Michael Parks, Chuck McCann, Charles Haid, Chino Fats Williams, Woody Strode, Jeff Perry | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stowaway | 1936 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 86 | Predictable yet engaging shipboard story with Faye and Young romancing, Temple the incurably curious child. Shirley even speaks Chinese! Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0028315 | Robert Young, Alice Faye, Shirley Temple, Eugene Palette, Helen Westley, Arthur Treacher | Musical | NULL | |||
| Stowaway Girl | 1957 | Guy Hamilton | ★★½ | 87 | Trim, sensible romancer of middle-aged captain Howard's infatuation with Martinelli, who hid aboard his ship. Originally titled MANUELA. | tt0051017 | Trevor Howard, Elsa Martinelli, Pedro Armendáriz, Donald Pleasence, Warren Mitchell | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Straight Out of Brooklyn | 1991 | Matty Rich | ★★½ | 91 | Sobering look at a working-class black family's dead-end existence in the housing projects of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a young man's foolish scheme to turn their lives around. Ambitious and interesting first feature for teenaged writer-director Rich (who also appears on-screen as the talkative Larry). Extremely rough-edged, but redeemed by some fine performances— and searing emotions. | tt0102989 | [R] | George T. Odom, Ann D. Sanders, Lawrence Gilliard/Jr., Barbara Sanon, Reana E. Drummond, Mark Malone | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Straight Story | 1999 | David Lynch | ★★★½ | 111 | Wonderful, deceptively simple slice of Americana (based on a true story) about a 73-year-old Iowa man who drives a lawnmower some 300 miles to see his ailing brother, with whom he hasn't spoken in a decade. Its measured pace and episodic quality may not appeal to everyone, but its charm and belief in the basic decency of people make it very special indeed. Farnsworth shines in the leading role. Director Lynch's most benign film. Written by Mary Sweeney and John Roach. | tt0166896 | [G] | Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton, Jane Galloway Heit, Everett McGill, Jennifer Edwards-Hughes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Straight Talk | 1992 | Barnet Kellman | ★½ | 91 | New-in-town Dolly is mistaken for the just-hired psychologist at a Chicago radio station, but is a hit on the air with her down-home advice. About as credible as Parton's romance with costar Woods, who despite his billing was completely missing from the film's coming attraction. | tt0105481 | [PG] | Dolly Parton, James Woods, Griffin Dunne, Michael Madsen, Deirdre O'Connell, John Sayles, Teri Hatcher, Spalding Gray, Jerry Orbach, Philip Bosco, Charles Fleischer, Jay Thomas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Straight Through the Heart | 1983 | Doris Dörrie | ★★★ | 91 | Highly original, sharply observed tale of a rather peculiar young girl (nicely played by Jensen) and her relationship with divorced, lonely, middle-aged dentist Bierbichler. An impressive initial feature from Dörrie (the director of MEN . . .). | tt0085950 | Beate Jensen, Sepp Bierbichler, Gabrielle Litty, Nuran Filiz | German | NULL | |||
| Straight Time | 1978 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★★ | 114 | Hoffman knocks heads with slimy parole officer Walsh following his release from prison and begins a downward slide. Engrossing if not particularly distinguished melodrama gets a real shot in the arm from terrific supporting performances. Hoffman started directing the film himself, then turned it over to Grosbard. Based on the novel No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker, who also appears in film as Mickey. | tt0078326 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, M. Emmet Walsh, Sandy Baron, Kathy Bates, Rita Taggart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Straight on Till Morning | Till Dawn Do Us Part | 1972 | Peter Collinson | ★★ | 96 | Offbeat thriller, but not terribly effective. Naive Tushingham journeys from Liverpool to London to find a willing male to impregnate her, meets ladykiller Briant. The title, if you don't know, is derived from Peter Pan. Video titles: TILL DAWN DO US PART and DRESSED FOR DEATH. | tt0069318 | [R] | Rita Tushingham, Shane Briant, Tom Bell, Annie Ross, Claire Kelly | British | Drama | NULL |
| Straight to Hell | 1987 | Alex Cox | 💣 | 86 | 'Self-indulgent' is an understated way of describing this spaghetti Western spoof, written by cult director Cox and costar Rude. Has the insistent air of a hip in-joke, except that it isn't funny. In fact, it's awful. | tt0094048 | [R] | Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, Dick Rude, Courtney Love, Dennis Hopper, Elvis Costello, Grace Jones, Jim Jarmusch, The Pogues | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Strait-Jacket | 1964 | William Castle | ★★½ | 89 | Crawford served 20 years for axe murders; now, living peacefully with daughter Baker, murders start again and she's suspected. Crawford's strong portrayal makes this one of best in the BABY JANE genre of older-star shockers; script by Robert Bloch. | tt0058620 | Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Anthony Hayes, Howard St. John, Rochelle Hudson, George Kennedy | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| Stranded | 1987 | Tex Fuller | ★★ | 80 | A couple of effective moments cannot uplift this unrewarding sci-fi entry about aliens who come to earth, taking teen Skye and grandmother O'Sullivan hostage. | tt0094050 | [PG-13] | Ione Skye, Joe Morton, Maureen O'Sullivan, Susan Barnes, Cameron Dye, Michael Greene, Brendan Hughes | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| A Strange Adventure | 1956 | William Witney | ★½ | 70 | Armored-car thieves hold hostages in High Sierras hideout. Familiar but functional melodramatics. | tt0049804 | Joan Evans, Ben Cooper, Marla English, Jan Merlin, Nick Adams | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry | Uncle Harry | 1945 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★ | 80 | Engrossing melodrama about mild-mannered Sanders falling in love, but unable to break from grip of domineering sister (Fitzgerald). Vivid, if not always believable, with unfortunate ending demanded by 1940s censorship. Produced by longtime Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison. Originally titled UNCLE HARRY. | tt0038123 | George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ella Raines, Sara Allgood, Moyna MacGill, Samuel S. Hinds | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| The Strange Affair | 1968 | David Greene | ★★½ | 106 | Pretty good police melodrama about young recruit York's dallying with sexy hippie and superior Kemp's failure to get needed conviction; George steals the show in one of her first film appearances. | tt0063647 | [R] | MichaelYork, Jeremy Kemp, Susan George, Jack Watson, Nigel Davenport, George A. Cooper, Barry Fantoni | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Strange Affection | 1957 | Wolf Rilla | ★★ | 84 | A teacher decides to take in a boy who's been accused of murdering his drunkard father. Decent British drama. Original British title: THE SCAMP. | tt0050934 | Richard Attenborough, Colin Petersen, Jill Adams, Terence Morgan | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strange Awakening | 1958 | Montgomery Tully | ★½ | 75 | Barker is tourist in France involved in snowballing case of fraud; muddled drama. | tt0052252 |
|
Lex Barker, Carole Mathews, Nora Swinburne, Richard Molinos, Peter Dyneley | British | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Strange Bargain | 1949 | Will Price | ★★½ | 68 | Adequate mystery yarn about a bookkeeper (Lynn), who's framed for murder; Scott is his devoted wife, Morgan the police lieutenant on the case. This star trio reprised their roles 38 years later for a sequel, Strangest of Bargains, which aired as an episode of the Murder, She Wrote TV series. | tt0041926 | Martha Scott, Jeffrey Lynn, Harry Morgan, Katherine Emery, Richard Gaines, Henry O'Neill, Walter Sande | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Strange Bedfellows | 1965 | Melvin Frank | ★★½ | 98 | Hudson ambles through another marital mix-up comedy, this one with fiery Gina and lots of slapstick. Mild entertainment; filmed in London. | tt0058621 | Rock Hudson, Gina Lollobrigida, Gig Young, Terry-Thomas, Nancy Kulp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Strange Behavior | Dead Kids | 1981 | Michael Laughlin | ★★ | 98 | This shocker about grisly murders in a small Midwestern town (shot in New Zealand!) got inexplicably good reviews in many quarters. You may rightly wonder what all the shouting was about. Originally titled DEAD KIDS. | tt0082243 | [R] | Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, Dan Shor, Fiona Lewis, Arthur Dignam, Scott Brady, Charles Lane | New Zealand | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| Strange Brew | 1983 | Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis | ★★½ | 90 | Uneven but likably goofy film about Bob and Doug, the beer-guzzling McKenzie Brothers introduced on the SCTV show. Lags at times, but keeps coming up with funny scenes, especially when playing with the conventions of moviemaking. The stars also directed and cowrote the film, the first in Hoserama. Loosely based on, believe it or not, Hamlet. Moranis and Thomas later did variations on these characters— as moose— in BROTHER BEAR. | tt0086373 | [PG] | Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Max von Sydow, Paul Dooley, Lynne Griffin, voice of Mel Blanc | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Strange Cargo | 1940 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 113 | Intriguing allegorical film of prisoners escaping from Devil's Island with Christ-like presence of Hunter. Not for all tastes, but there are fine, realistic performances and flavorful Franz Waxman score. | tt0033105 | Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Ian Hunter, Peter Lorre, Albert Dekker, Paul Lukas, Eduardo Ciannelli | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Strange Case of Doctor Rx | 1942 | William Nigh | ★★ | 66 | Fast-paced whodunit about hunt for mysterious title character, who murders criminals gotten off by unscrupulous attorney. Not particularly puzzling, but good cast helps. | tt0035386 | Lionel Atwill, Patric Knowles, Anne Gwynne, Mona Barrie, Shemp Howard, Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Cavanagh, Mantan Moreland | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Strange Conquest | 1946 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 65 | Inauspicious programmer set in the deep jungles where dedicated men try to conquer native diseases. Remake of THE CRIME OF DR. HALLET. | tt0038985 |
|
Jane Wyatt, Lowell Gilmore, Julie Bishop, Samuel S. Hinds, Abner Biberman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strange Days | 1995 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★½ | 122 | Dazzling but uneasy mixture of futuristic action and social relevance. Fiennes is a hustler selling mental recordings of real-life experiences, to which some become addicted; then he stumbles into a murky murder conspiracy involving his clients. Bombastic and overambitious, but manages to capture, in fits, the addictive thrill of virtual reality. (An interracial romance between Fiennes and Bassett doesn't ring true in the end.) Cowritten by Jay Cocks and James Cameron. | tt0114558 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, Michael Wincott, Vincent D'Onofrio, Glenn Plummer, Brigitte Bako, Richard Edson, William Fichtner, Josef Sommer, Chris Douridas, Todd Graff | Sci-Fi, Mystery, Action | NULL | ||
| The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler | 1943 | James Hogan | ★★ | 72 | Hitler's double helps set trap for his demise. Dated, forgettable melodrama. | tt0036393 | Ludwig Donath, Fritz Kortner, Gale Sondergaard, George Dolenz, Fred Giermann, William Trenk, Merrill Rodin | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Strange Door | 1951 | Joseph Pevney | ★½ | 81 | Laughton camps it up in this heavy-handed, obvious adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson story about a sadistic squire and his nefarious schemes. Karloff has a thankless role as a servant named Voltan. | tt0044078 | Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Sally Forrest, Richard Stapley, Michael Pate, Alan Napier, Paul Cavanagh | Horror | NULL | |||
| Strange Fascination | 1952 | Hugo Haas | ★★ | 80 | A concert pianist's career— and luck— fall apart because of his obsessive love for a young blonde. Starts interestingly but descends into hollow melodrama. Produced, directed, and written by Haas. | tt0045199 | Hugo Haas, Cleo Moore, Mona Barrie, Rick Vallin, Karen Sharpe | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Strange Gamble | 1948 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 61 | The Bar 20 threesome cracks a counterfeiting ring for the government. Presence of lovely Riley and Lone Pine exteriors help 66th and final Hopalong Cassidy feature film, but not nearly enough. Disappointing end of the trail for fine B-Western series. Reissued as STAMPEDE FURY. | tt0040837 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Elaine Riley, James Craven, Robert B. Williams. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Strange Holiday | 1942 | Arch Oboler | ★★ | 62 | Adaptation of Oboler's radio play about businessman who returns from vacation to find U.S. democracy overthrown. Unreleased until 1946. This was originally sponsored by General Motors and intended to be shown only to its employees. | tt0038125 | Claude Rains, Bobbie Stebbins, Barbara Bates, Paul Hilton, Tommy Cook, Martin Kosleck | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Illusion | 1945 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 80 | Intriguing but unconvincing melodrama, a B-movie update of Hamlet, with teenaged Lydon having doubts about smooth-talker (William) who's wooing his widowed mother (Eilers). Typically bizarre Ulmer touches in this low-budget quickie. | tt0038126 | James Lydon, Sally Eilers, Warren William, Regis Toomey | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Strange Impersonation | 1946 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 68 | Marshall gives a first-rate performance in this grade-B film noir about a research scientist whose face is horribly disfigured in a so-called accident. Plastic surgery enables her to unravel the mystery behind that incident and seek revenge. Perhaps the definitive Hillary Brooke movie. | tt0038986 | Brenda Marshall, William Gargan, Hillary Brooke, George Chandler, Ruth Ford, H. B. Warner, Lyle Talbot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Interlude | 1932 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 110 | Talky Eugene O'Neill play becomes marathon of inner thoughts revealed only to audience in chronicle of Gable, Shearer, et al. growing old without resolving their problems. Engrossing film, with Shearer at her radiant best. | tt0023523 | Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, May Robson, Maureen O'Sullivan, Robert Young, Ralph Morgan, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Intruder | 1956 | Irving Rapper | ★★ | 82 | Purdom promises dying Korean War buddy that he'll visit the man's family; he does, with strange results. | tt0049805 | Edmund Purdom, Ida Lupino, Ann Harding, Jacques Bergerac | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Invaders | 1983 | Michael Laughlin | ★★½ | 94 | Affectionate spoof of '50s sci-fi films (with a touch of '80s New Wave), about a midwestern town overtaken by aliens. Has a wonderful feel to it but suffers from weak writing and lethargic pacing. Evocative score by John Addison. | tt0086374 | [PG] | Paul LeMat, Nancy Allen, Diana Scarwid, Michael Lerner, Louise Fletcher, Wallace Shawn, Fiona Lewis, Kenneth Tobey, June Lockhart | Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Strange Justice | 1999 | Ernest Dickerson | Average TV Movie | 95 | Strong dramatization of the sometimes circus-like events surrounding Congressional hearings for the 1991 appointment of Clarence Thomas (Lindo) to the Supreme Court. Includes the political and p.r. maneuverings of Kenneth Duberstein (Patinkin) of the Bush administration, and the sexual harassment testimony against Thomas by a reluctant ex-colleague, Anita Hill (Taylor). Adapted and embellished by executive producer Jacob Epstein from the book by Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson. Made for cable. | tt0192634 | Delroy Lindo, Mandy Patinkin, Regina Taylor, Louis Gossett/Jr., Paul Winfield | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Lady in Town | 1955 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 112 | Unsuccessful grand-scale soaper-Western. Set in 1880s, Garson is the doctor coming to Santa Fe, involved with Andrews, perplexed by outlaw brother Mitchell. | tt0048665 | Greer Garson, Dana Andrews, Cameron Mitchell, Lois Smith, Walter Hampden, Nick Adams | Western | NULL | |||
| The Strange Love of Martha Ivers | 1946 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★ | 116 | Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott, Van Heflin, Judith Anderson, Darryl Hickman. Gripping melodrama, with Stanwyck bound to her husband by crime she committed long ago. Douglas' film debut. | tt0038988 | Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott, Van Heflin, Judith Anderson, Darryl Hickman | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Strange Love of Molly Louvain | 1932 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 72 | Seamy, overplotted pre-Code melodrama about unwed mother Dvorak and the various bad eggs she has a habit of falling for. Typically fast-paced Warner Bros. yarn, though more unpleasant than most. | tt0023525 | Ann Dvorak, Lee Tracy, Richard Cromwell, Guy Kibbee, Leslie Fenton, Frank McHugh, Evalyn Knapp, Charles Middleton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Strange Mr. Gregory | 1946 | Phil Rosen. | ★★ | 63 | Low-budget drama of magician who goes to any length to win love of married woman. | tt0037751 | Edmund Lowe, Jean Rogers, Don Douglas, Marjorie Hoshelle, Robert Emmett Keane. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Strange One | 1957 | Jack Garfein | ★★★ | 100 | Bizarre military school account of far-out Gazzara's peculiar hold over various underclassmen. Remarkably frank version of Calder Willingham's End as a Man, scripted by the author; also filmed as SORORITY GIRL. Film debuts of Gazzara and Peppard. | tt0051019 | Ben Gazzara, George Peppard, Pat Hingle, Peter Mark Richman, Geoffrey Horne, James Olson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strange Planet | 1999 | Emma-Kate Croghan | ★★ | 92 | Scattershot account of a year in the lives of three twentysomething female friends and three equivalent males. Attempts to offer a profound take on the transitory nature of relationships among contemporary young people, but the result is superficial. Notable for Watts’ eye-opening performance as the most sensitive of the women. | tt0209368 | Claudia Karvan, Naomi Watts, Alice Garner, Tom Long, Aaron Jeffery, Felix Williamson, Hugo Weaving, Rebecca Frith | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Strange Shadows in An Empty Room | 1977 | Alberto De Martino | ★½ | 99 | Far-fetched, violent film has police detective Whitman searching for his sister's murderer. Tawdry stuff; filmed in Montreal as BLAZING MAGNUMS (a far more appropriate title). | tt0074083 | [R] | Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau, Tisa Farrow, Gayle Hunnicutt, Carole Laure | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie | 1972 | Jack Starrett | ★★ | 107 | Offbeat story of Indian girl who holds man captive in rambling house. Far-fetched tale goes way off-base. | tt0069320 | [PG] | Bonnie Bedelia, Ken Howard, Anthony Zerbe | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strange Wilderness | 2008 | Fred Wolf | 💣 | 85 | Painfully unfunny farce about producers of a ratings-challenged wildlife TV series who desperately seek Bigfoot in the wilds of Ecuador. You can’t help feeling embarrassed for Zahn, as the clueless host, when a wild turkey chomps on his private parts and won’t let go. Shelved for nearly two years before a fleeting theatrical run. | tt0489282 | [R] | Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Jonah Hill, Kevin Heffernan, Peter Dante, Ashley Scott, Harry Hamlin, Robert Patrick, Joe Don Baker, Justin Long, Jeff Garlin, Ernest Borgnine, Blake Clark, Oliver Hudson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Strange Woman | 1946 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★½ | 100 | Lamarr offers one of her best performances as a shrewish young woman in 19th-century Maine who affects the lives of three very different men. Nicely directed by Ulmer; a rare instance in which he was allowed a Grade-A cast. | tt0038990 | Hedy Lamarr, George Sanders, Louis Hayward, Gene Lockhart, Hillary Brooke | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Stranger Among Us | 1992 | Sidney Lumet | ★★½ | 109 | N.Y.C. cop Griffith goes to live among Brooklyn's Hasidic community of religious Jews in order to find the 'insider' who murdered one of them. Intriguing at first, but the story gets stalled along the way and never gets back on track, especially in the far-fetched finale. Griffith is surprisingly credible as a policewoman. | tt0105483 | [PG-13] | Melanie Griffith, Eric Thal, John Pankow, Tracy Pollan, Lee Richardson, Mia Sara, Jamey Sheridan, Jake Weber, Burtt Harris | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Stranger Is Watching | 1982 | Sean S. Cunningham | ★★ | 92 | Psychopath Torn kidnaps TV newscaster Mulgrew and young Von Schreiber, holding them hostage in catacombs beneath Grand Central Station. Convoluted thriller from the director of FRIDAY THE 13TH. | tt0084735 | [R] | Kate Mulgrew, Rip Torn, James Naughton, Shawn Von Schreiber, Barbara Baxley, Stephen Joyce | Crime, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Stranger Returns | 1968 | Vance Lewis (Luigi Vanza) | 💣 | 90 | Sequel to A STRANGER IN TOWN has Anthony chasing solid gold stagecoach full of thieves. Western is worthless; local TV stations may cut the gore. | tt0063747 | [R] | Tony Anthony, Dan Vadis, Daniele Vargas, Marco Gugielmi, Jill Banner | U.S.-Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Stranger Than Fiction | 2006 | Marc Forster | ★★★ | 113 | Buttoned-down IRS auditor (Ferrell) suddenly becomes aware that his life is being narrated-but only he can hear the woman's voice. Then the author (Thompson), who's been suffering from writer's block, discovers that the character she's created is real, and she holds his life in her hands. Clever concept by writer Zach Helm is fully realized by a fine cast and creative visual interpretation by Forster. Ferrell is good in a seriocomic role. | tt0420223 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Tony Hale, Tom Hulce, Linda Hunt, Kristin Chenoweth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stranger Than Paradise | 1984 | Jim Jarmusch | ★★★ | 90 | Simple story of a nondescript young man, his doltish best friend, and his 16-year-old female cousin who comes to America from Hungary. Critically acclaimed comedy-road movie is, at its worst, a bit slow; at its best, original, ingratiating, and extremely funny. Independently filmed and developed from a 30m. short. Screenplay by Jarmusch, music by Lurie. | tt0088184 | [R] | John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecilla Stark | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stranger Wore a Gun | 1953 | André De Toth | ★★ | 83 | Scott works as a spy for Quantrill's Raiders but severs his ties after they murder and plunder their way through Lawrence, Kansas; he soon discovers that it won't be easy to escape his past. Poorly developed story relies on a sturdy cast to get by. Bedoya is spectacularly unfunny as a comic-relief villain. One of the first 3-D films, full of action aimed directly at the camera. | tt0046375 | Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, Joan Weldon, George Macready, Alfonso Bedoya, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Pierre Watkin, Roscoe Ates | Western | NULL | |||
| The Stranger and the Gunfighter | 1976 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★½ | 107 | Lively, low-grade tongue-in-cheek actioner has hard-drinking cowboy joining forces with kung fu expert to recover missing fortune, with portions of the map tattooed on the posteriors of assorted lovelies. Amusing mix of spaghetti Western and karate thriller. | tt0071784 | [PG] | Lee Van Cleef, Lo Lieh, Patty Shepard, Julian Ugarte, Karen Yeh. | Italian-Hong Kong | Action, Western, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Stranger at My Door | 1956 | William Witney | ★★½ | 85 | Offbeat Western about clergyman jeopardizing his family's safety when he tries to reform an outlaw. Solid performances in this original script by Barry Shipman. Highlighted by some truly remarkable scenes with an untamed horse. | tt0049806 | Macdonald Carey, Patricia Medina, Skip Homeier, Louis Jean Heydt, Stephen Wootton, Slim Pickens | Western | NULL | |||
| Stranger in Between | Hunted | 1952 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 84 | Modest but very entertaining film about orphan boy who grows to understand murderer as both flee police in England. Warm, compassionate performances. Original British title: HUNTED. | tt0045201 | Dirk Bogarde, Elizabeth Sellars, Kay Walsh, Jon Whiteley, Geoffrey Keen | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| A Stranger in My Arms | 1959 | Helmut Kautner | ★★½ | 88 | Undemanding old-fashioned weeper, based on Robert Wilder novel. Chandler falls in love with Allyson, wife of Air Force buddy killed in Korean War. Astor is the domineering mother-in-law. Typical Ross Hunter sudser. | tt0051358 | June Allyson, Jeff Chandler, Sandra Dee, Charles Coburn, Mary Astor, Peter Graves, Conrad Nagel | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Stranger in Town | 1943 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 67 | Enjoyable Capra-esque tale about a Supreme Court justice (Morgan) who gets mixed up in a small town's corrupt politics while on a fishing vacation. Highly amusing second feature that skillfully satirizes serious issues and features a gang of crooked politicos worthy of a Preston Sturges film. | tt0036395 | Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Jean Rogers, Robert Barrat, Porter Hall, Chill Wills, Donald MacBride, John Hodiak | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Stranger in Town | 1966 | Vance Lewis (Luigi Vanza) | ★½ | 86 | Poor imitation of Sergio Leone Western finds Anthony blood-bathing a murderous bandit into submission. Sequel: THE STRANGER RETURNS. | tt0060325 | [R] | Tony Anthony, Frank Wolff, Yolanda Modio, Gia Sandri | Italian-U.S. | Western | NULL | |
| Stranger on Horseback | 1955 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★ | 66 | McCrea is tight-lipped judge who's forced to kill in order to set justice straight and bring a murderer to trial. | tt0048666 | Joel McCrea, Kevin McCarthy, Jaclynne Greene, Miroslava, Nancy Gates, John Carradine | Western | NULL | |||
| Stranger on the Prowl | 1953 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 82 | Murky drama of Muni a fugitive on the run who tries to set a young would-be crook straight. | tt0043671 | Paul Muni, Vittorio Manunta, Joan Lorring, Aldo Silvani | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Stranger on the Third Floor | 1940 | Boris Ingster | ★★★ | 64 | Reporter's testimony has convicted Cook in brutal murder case, but the newspaperman has second thoughts. Excellent sleeper, with one nightmare montage that's a knockout. | tt0033107 | Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet, Charles Waldron, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Stranger's Hand | 1954 | Mario Soldati | ★★★ | 86 | British espionage officer, going to Venice to meet schoolboy son, disappears. Intriguing suspense yarn, based on Graham Greene story, with topnotch performances. Filmed in Italy. | tt0045202 | Trevor Howard, Alida Valli, Richard Basehart, Eduardo Ciannelli, Richard O'Sullivan, Stephen Murray | British | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Stranger's Return | 1933 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 89 | A young woman, recently separated from her husband, leaves the city to stay at her grandfather's farm. Here she finds her roots, as well as a kindred spirit in neighboring farmer Tone, a college graduate. Why this rich, mature, beautifully made film isn't better known is a mystery. Phil Stong helped adapt his own novel for director Vidor. | tt0024620 | Lionel Barrymore, Miriam Hopkins, Franchot Tone, Stuart Erwin, Irene Hervey, Beulah Bondi | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Stranger | 1946 | Orson Welles | ★★★ | 95 | Fine study of escaped Nazi war criminal Welles sedately living in small Connecticut town, about to marry unsuspecting Young. Robinson nicely understates role as federal agent out to get him. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038991 | Orson Welles, Loretta Young, Edward G. Robinson, Richard Long, Martha Wentworth | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Stranger | 1967 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★½ | 105 | Excellent adaptation of Albert Camus' existential novel about a man who feels completely isolated from society. Mastroianni is perfectly cast in lead. | tt0062310 | Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Karina, Bernard Blier, Georges Wilson, Bruno Cremer | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Stranger | 1987 | Adolfo Aristarain | ★★½ | 88 | Clever if occasionally shallow thriller about Bedelia, who observes killings . . . and gets amnesia while the culprits are out to get her. Fairly entertaining most of the way, but could have been much better. Filmed in Buenos Aires. | tt0137291 | [R] | Bonnie Bedelia, Peter Riegert, Barry Primus, David Spielberg, Marcos Woinski | U.S.-Argentinian | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Strangers | 1953 | Roberto Rossellini | ★★★ | 97 | Beautiful, meditative tale of married couple Bergman and Sanders trying to reconcile their faltering relationship while driving through Italy. Received dreadful reviews when first released, but was rediscovered (and labelled a masterpiece) by French filmmakers and critics. Video titles: VOYAGE IN ITALY and VOYAGE TO ITALY, running 83m. | tt0046511 | Ingrid Bergman, George Sanders, Paul Muller, Maria Mauban, Natalia Ray | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strangers Kiss | 1984 | Matthew Chapman | ★★½ | 94 | Interesting, offbeat little film about the making of a low-budget movie, circa 1955, and the off-camera relationship between lead actors Novak and Tennant. Novak also cowrote screenplay with director Chapman, inspired by Stanley Kubrick's KILLER'S KISS. | tt0088185 | [R] | Peter Coyote, Victoria Tennant, Blaine Novak, Dan Shor, Richard Romanus, Linda Kerridge | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strangers May Kiss | 1931 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★ | 85 | Polished but ridiculous pre-Code soaper of Shearer in love with— and fooling herself into trusting— unreliable hypocrite Neil Hamilton. Film's conclusion is not to be believed. Montgomery is fine as Shearer's pal; young Ray Milland has a couple of lines as one of her admirers. | tt0022435 | Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Neil Hamilton, Marjorie Rambeau, Jed Prouty, Hale Hamilton, Henry Armetta, Irene Rich | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Strangers When We Meet | 1960 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 117 | Expensive soaper with attractive stars; both are married, but fall in love with each other. Script by Evan Hunter, from his novel. | tt0054345 | Kirk Douglas, Kim Novak, Ernie Kovacs, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau, Virginia Bruce, Kent Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strangers With Candy | 2006 | Paul Dinello | ★★½ | 86 | Jerri Blank (Sedaris), a 47-year-old juvenile delinquent, gets out of prison and returns to high school. Prequel to the cult TV comedy show feels like a half-hour episode stretched to feature length, and the formula wears thin. Still, writer-performers Sedaris, Colbert, and Dinello create a satisfying amount of genuinely tasteless hilarity as they inject the proceedings with their bizarre sensibilities and off-kilter comic timing. A number of famous faces appear in cameo roles. | tt0369994 | [R] | Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Dan Hedaya, Deborah Rush, Ian Holm, Elizabeth Harnois, Joseph Cross, Kristen Johnston, Justin Theroux | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Strangers at Sunrise | 1969 | Percival Rubens | ★★½ | 99 | Turn-of-the-century South African Western with American mining engineer, attracted by the gold rush, trying to clear his name when the British accuse him of spying for the Boers. | tt0181030 | George Montgomery, Deana Martin, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Tromp Terreblanche | Action, Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Strangers in Good Company | 1991 | Cynthia Scott. | ★★★ | 100 | Slow-paced but rewarding study of a group of women temporarily stuck in the Canadian wilderness when their bus breaks down. All the actresses play themselves in this unusual film from the National Film Board of Canada. It's mainly talk, as we learn about the hopes and sorrows of women who share their feelings during an interlude in their lives. | tt0102993 | [PG] | Alice Diablo, Constance Garneau, Winifred Holden, Cissy Meddings, Mary Meigs, Catherine Roche, Michelle Sweeney, Beth Webber. | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Strangers in Love | 1932 | Lothar Mendes. | ★★ | 76 | Mild comedy; Francis is secretary who loves March, weakling playboy forced to impersonate twin brother to expose family fraud. | tt0023527 | Kay Francis, Fredric March, Stuart Erwin, Juliette Compton, Sidney Toler, George Barbier. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Strangers in the Night | 1944 | Anthony Mann. | ★★½ | 56 | An eccentric old woman harbors a dark secret in her hilltop home on the California coast, and lures a wounded soldier (just back from combat) there on the promise of meeting her beautiful daughter. Intriguing story idea gets silly by the end, but it's still a pretty good B, full of the shadowy staging favored by young director Mann. | tt0037318 | William Terry, Virginia Grey, Helene Thimig, Edith Barrett, Anne O'Neal. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Strangers on a Train | 1951 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 101 | Walker gives his finest performance as psychopath involved with tennis star Granger in 'exchange murders.' Lorne is unforgettable as doting mother; so is merry-go-round climax. First-class Hitchcock, based on a Patricia Highsmith novel and coscripted by Raymond Chandler. Remade as ONCE YOU KISS A STRANGER and the inspiration for THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN. British version of film, now available, runs almost two minutes longer, has a different ending and franker dialogue in the first scene where Granger and Walker meet. | tt0044079 | Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Marion Lorne | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Strangers | 2008 | Bryan Bertino | ★★ | 90 | Couple about to embark on a road trip spend the night at his father’s cabin deep in the woods. A knock on the door in the middle of the night is the first step into a nightmarish experience in which they are emotionally and physically tormented by three masked figures who offer no explanation for their attacks. Not terribly scary, in spite of insistent bursts of music and loud effects on the soundtrack . . . but even worse, it’s pointless. | tt0482606 | [R] | Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Strangler of the Swamp | 1946 | Frank Wisbar. | ★★½ | 59 | The ghost of wrongly lynched Middleton haunts a swamp near a hand-powered ferry, strangling his killers and their descendants. La Planche takes over the ferry when her grandfather is killed and falls for local boy Edwards, but the strangler threatens their lives. Moody, atmospheric, full of fog, it's far more cinematic than other horror films from bargain-basement PRC studio but still suffers from a low budget as well as a lethargic pace. Remake of Wisbar's more elaborate German film FÄHRMAN MARIA (1936). | tt0038129 | Rosemary La Planche, Robert Barrat, Blake Edwards, Charles Middleton, Effie Parnell, Nolan Leary. | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Strangler | 1964 | Burt Topper | ★★★ | 89 | Buono gives fine performance as mother-dominated mad killer who strangles women and pitches a city into frenzy. Inspired by the real-life Boston Strangler killings. | tt0058622 | Victor Buono, David McLean, Ellen Corby, Jeanne Bates, Wally Campo, James (B.) Sikking | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Stranglers of Bombay | 1960 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 81 | Grisly story of fanatical Indian cult attempting to drive British from trading station. Good cast helped by tense direction. | tt0054346 | Andrew Cruickshank, Marne Maitland, Guy Rolfe, Paul Stassino, Jan Holden | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Strapless | 1989 | David Hare | ★★½ | 103 | American doctor Brown, living and working in London, hits 40 and finds herself at a crossroads, just as her 25-year-old sister arrives for an extended vacation. Brown is fine, and Fonda completely winning in this studied, sometimes ponderous story of the need to face emotions head-on, no matter where they may lead. | tt0098394 | [R] | Blair Brown, Bruno Ganz, Bridget Fonda, Hugh Laurie, Alan Howard, Billy Roch, Camille Coduri, Alexandra Pigg, Michael Gough, Gary O'Brien | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Strategic Air Command | 1955 | Anthony Mann | ★★½ | 114 | Film only gets off the ground when Stewart does, as baseball player recalled to air force duty; Allyson is his sugary wife. | tt0048667 | James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Lovejoy, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Bennett, Rosemary DeCamp | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| The Stratton Story | 1949 | Sam Wood | ★★★½ | 106 | Stewart is fine as Monty Stratton, the baseball player whose loss of one leg did not halt his career; well played by good cast, including ballplayers Dykes and Dickey. Oscar winner for story (Douglas Morrow); screenplay by Morrow and Guy Trosper. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041928 | James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Williams, Jimmy Dykes, Bill Dickey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Straw Dogs | 1971 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★½ | 113 | One of the most controversial violence-themed films of its day. Hoffman portrays American mathematician whose pacifism is put to supreme test when he and British wife George move to isolated village and are menaced by local hooligans. Screenplay by Peckinpah and David Zelag Goodman from Gordon Williams' novel The Siege of Trenchers Farm. Filmed in England. Original running time: 118m. | tt0067800 | [R] | Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T. P. McKenna, Peter Arne, David Warner | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Straw Dogs | 2011 | Rod Lurie | ★★ | 110 | Remake of the controversial 1971 film follows the plot of the original faithfully, resetting it in the American South. That change, the reduction of violence, and efforts to make the characters more "relatable" and contemporary (especially Bosworth) grind off the sharp—and significant—corners. Result is bland and forgettable, despite Woods' excellent performance. | tt0999913 | [R] | James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård, James Woods, Dominic Purcell, Rhys Coiro, Billy Lush, Laz Alonso, Willa Holland, Walton Goggins, Anson Mount | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Strawberry Blonde | 1941 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 97 | Cagney's dynamic in entertaining turn-of-the-century story of dentist infatuated with gold-digger Hayworth, and his subsequent marriage to de Havilland. Remade in 1948 as ONE SUNDAY AFTERNOON, the title of the 1933 Gary Cooper film of which this is a remake. | tt0034236 | James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland, Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale/Sr., Jack Carson, George Tobias, Una O'Connor, George Reeves | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Strawberry Roan | 1948 | John English. | ★★★ | 76 | Gene's first Cinecolor Western is the gentle story of Champion, a wild horse Gene captures on the range, and his attempts to escape the wrath of rancher Holt, whose son (Jones) was crippled attempting to break the animal. Future sidekick Buttram makes his first appearance in an Autry film. Gene sings the title song. | tt0040840 | Gene Autry, Gloria Henry, Jack Holt, Dick Jones, Pat Buttram, Rufe Davis, Eddy Waller. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Strawberry Statement | 1970 | Stuart Hagmann | ★★ | 103 | Cluttered adaptation of James Kunen's book about Columbia University's riots tries to be too many things at once— comedy, social commentary, musical. Good performances. Script by Israel Horovitz (who also plays Dr. Benton). | tt0066415 | [R] | Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, Bob Balaban, James Kunen, Jeannie Berlin, Bud Cort, David Dukes, James Coco, Bert Remsen | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Strawberry and Chocolate | 1994 | Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabio | ★★½ | 110 | Entertaining and sympathetic account of the unlikely friendship between David, a heterosexual and devoted Communist who knows nothing of the arts (and is depressed over being dumped by his girlfriend), and homosexual, cultured Diego, who's full of life and doesn't care much for politics. Controversial in its home country, but notable too as the first Cuban film ever nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar. | tt0106966 | [R] | Jorge Perugorria, Vladimir Cruz, Mirta Ibarra, Francisco Gattorono, Marilyn Solaya | Cuban | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Stray Dog | 1949 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 122 | Classic Japanese film noir, most effective as a look at life in post-WW2 Tokyo. Mifune does well as a detective whose gun is stolen; he sets out on an odyssey to reclaim his weapon, and to seek out a killer. Although not as well known as RASHOMON, this film is just as important to career of Kurosawa and the growth of Japanese cinema. | tt0041699 | Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji | Japanese | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Strayed | 2003 | André Téchiné | ★★★ | 95 | In 1940, as the Nazis advance into Paris, a bourgeois widow (Béart) and her two children flee to the countryside, where they meet a resourceful, illiterate 17-year-old (Ulliel), who teaches them how to survive and further affects their lives. Intense drama offers an intimate account of the chaos of war and how it affects both individuals and families. | tt0329111 | Emmanuelle Béart, Gaspard Ulliel, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Clémence Meyer, Jean Fornerod, Samuel Labarthe | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Streamers | 1983 | Robert Altman | ★★★ | 118 | A couple of days in an army barracks at the dawn of America's involvement in Vietnam becomes a parable about manhood, death and relationships between the races. Overlong and depressing but still worthwhile, with fine performances in meaty roles. Screenplay by David Rabe, from his play. | tt0086377 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Michael Wright, Mitchell Lichtenstein, David Alan Grier, Guy Boyd, George Dzundza | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Street Angel | 1928 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 102 | Italian girl fleeing from police joins traveling circus, meets and falls in love with young painter who finds her an inspiration. Follow-up to 7TH HEAVEN is actually much better; a delicate, beautifully photographed silent film. Gaynor won a Best Actress Oscar (shared for her performances in 7TH HEAVEN and. | tt0019429 | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Guido Trento, Natalie Kingston, Henry Armetta | Drama | NULL | |||
| Street Fighter | 1994 | Steven E. de Souza | 💣 | 97 | 'Allied Nations' commando Van Damme and his action team battle high-tech warlord Julia (looking depressingly gaunt in his final theatrical film) who's holding hostages ransom for $20 billion, and conducting mutation experiments in his mad-scientist lab. Callow, a costar of FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, plays a prissy A.N. undersecretary in the worst movie to date inspired by a video game. Plays more like FOUR HUNDRED FUNERALS AND NO SEX. Followed by STREET FIGHTER II: THE ANIMATED MOVIE. | tt0111301 | [PG-13] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia, Ming-Na Wen, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Simon Callow, Roshan Seth, Wes Studi, Andrew Bryniarski, Adrian Cronauer | Action | NULL | ||
| The Street Fighter's Last Revenge | 1974 | Shigehiro Ozawa | ★★ | 79 | Chiba swears vengeance on the mob after doing a job for them and getting double-crossed when it's payoff time. Third entry in the ultraviolent series offers more of the same, although Chiba is fashioned as a Bondian secret agent type this time around. Highlight: a character gets knocked into a coffin and sent through a crematory! Followed by SISTER STREETFIGHTER. | tt0073755 | [R] | Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba, Etsuko 'Sue' Shiomi, Masafumi Suzuki, Frankie Black, Reiko Ike, Willy Dosey | Japanese | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Street Fighter | 1974 | Shigehiro Ozawa | ★★½ | 91 | Japan's answer to Bruce Lee, Shinichi 'Sonny' Chiba, who takes on both the Mafia and the Yakuza in this cult film notable for the level of its bone-crunching, blood-spurting violence. Staged and directed with more skill than most kung fu epics, the plentiful fight scenes required four separate action directors. Title sequence for U.S. version designed by Jack Sholder, who later directed THE HIDDEN. Originally rated X, then re-rated R after being cut to 75m. Unrated version released on tape and laserdisc. Followed by RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER. | tt0073756 | Sonny Chiba, Gerald Yamada, Doris Nakajima, Tony Cetera, Teijo Shikeharo | Japanese | Action | NULL | ||
| Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li | 2009 | Andrzej Bartkowiak | 💣 | 96 | Pointless new film version of the popular video game series finds pretty martial arts–trained Asian-American Chun-Li (Kreuk) spurred into action in Bangkok after her father is kidnapped. She uses all her wiles to snuff out the main bad guy, local crime lord McDonough, and his henchmen, led by the imposing Duncan. The 1987 game inspired a 1994 film version, which is CITIZEN KANE compared to this inept action vehicle, where even the centerpiece fight sequences are lamely choreographed and hopelessly contrived. When Interpol agent Klein yells, “Bomb! Get out now!” it would be wise to heed his advice. | tt0891592 | [PG-13] | Kristin Kreuk, Chris Klein, Neal McDonough, Michael Clarke Duncan, Robin Shou, Moon Bloodgood, Edmund Chen, Josie Ho | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Street Justice | 1989 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★½ | 94 | Standard Western plot transposed to modern city setting: loner hero cleans up corrupt town dominated by ruthless, wealthy family. Slow, unconvincing, and instantly forgettable. | tt0098395 | [R] | Michael Ontkean, Joanna Kerns, Catherine Bach, J.D. Cannon, Jeanette Nolan, Richard Cox, William Windom, Sondra Currie | Action | NULL | ||
| Street Kings | 2008 | David Ayer | ★★ | 108 | Violent L.A. police (i.e., racial) drama makes old Joseph Wambaugh fodder seem positively quaint: Reeves is a very tough, alcoholic psycho-cop who is at the center of numerous gang/revenge/corruption/internal affairs maneuvers/conspiracies. Action-packed and somewhat entertaining (James Ellroy concocted the story and coscripted), but awfully far-fetched. Reeves seems to put more sweat into portraying emotional depth than into chasing bad guys. | tt0421073 | [R] | Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Martha Higareda, Cedric “The Entertainer” Kyles, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, Terry Crews, Naomie Harris, Common, Cle Sloan, The Game, Amaury Nolasco, Daryl Gates | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Street Music | 1981 | Jenny Bowen | ★★½ | 92 | Trifling yet occasionally touching tale of ambitious singer, her irresponsible boyfriend, and elderly residents of a dilapidated San Francisco hotel who fight to save their home. Bouncy lead performances. | tt0083129 | [R] | Elizabeth Daily, Larry Breeding, Ned Glass, Marjorie Eaton, W. F. Walker, Miriam Phillips, D'Alan Moss | Drama | NULL | ||
| Street People | 1976 | Maurizio Lucidi | ★½ | 92 | Insipid though energetic gangster film punctuated by several car chases. San Francisco mafioso dispatches nephew Moore (believe him as a Sicilian?) and his Grand Prix driving buddy Keach to find out which rival Don hid a million-dollar cache of pure heroin in the cross he imported from Italy as a gift for his church. | tt0074494 | [R] | Roger Moore, Stacy Keach, Ivo Garrani, Fausto Tozzi, Ettore Manni | Italian | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Street Scene | 1931 | King Vidor | ★★★½ | 80 | Heartbreakingly realistic account of life in N.Y. tenements, and younger generation's desperation to get out. Elmer Rice's Pulitzer Prize-winning play (adapted by him) enhanced by fine performances, George Barnes' striking camerawork, Alfred Newman's classic music score. | tt0022436 | Sylvia Sidney, William Collier/Jr., David Landau, Estelle Taylor, Walter Miller, Beulah Bondi | Drama | NULL | |||
| Street Smart | 1987 | Jerry Schatzberg | ★★½ | 97 | Out-of-favor writer for a slick Manhattan magazine pitches a high-profile study of N.Y.C pimpdom; unable to find a cooperative subject, he fakes the story, which boomerangs when the D.A. concludes the story is about a real-life murder suspect. Intriguing idea, based on screenwriter David Freeman's own experience at New York magazine, but just misses; powerhouse performances by pimp Freeman and hooker Baker make up for Reeve's blandness in the lead. | tt0094056 | [R] | Christopher Reeve, Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers, Morgan Freeman, Jay Patterson, Andre Gregory, Anna Maria Horsford | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Street With No Name | 1948 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 91 | Fine movie based on actual F.B.I. case of agent uncovering head of city mob. Suspense well handled. Remade as HOUSE OF BAMBOO. | tt0040843 | Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Lawrence, Ed Begley, Donald Buka | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Street of Shame | 1956 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★½ | 96 | The stories of various prostitutes in Dreamland, a Tokyo brothel, are sensitively handled in Mizoguchi's last completed film. Kyo is particularly memorable as a tough, cynical lady of the night; her scene with her father is a highlight. | tt0048933 | Machiko Kyo, Ayako Wakao, Aiko Mimasu, Michiyo Kogure | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1951 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 122 | Stunning production of Tennessee Williams' play, with Brando as the animalistic Stanley Kowalski and Leigh as his wistful, neurotic sister-in-law, Blanche Dubois, pressed together in a grim New Orleans tenement. Oscars went to Leigh, Hunter, and Malden for their flawless performances, as well as for the art direction-set decoration— but it's Brando who left an indelible mark on audiences. Highly influential jazz score by Alex North. Rereleased in 1993 with 4m. of footage that was censored in 1951, playing up the sexual tension between Blanche and Stanley, and Stella's carnal attraction to her husband. Remade twice for TV. | tt0044081 | Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1995 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 156 | Lange and Baldwin repeat their passionate Blanche and Stanley roles from the lusty 1992 Broadway revival. Much closer to the Williams play than the earlier TV version or even Kazan's Hays-office-emasculated screen version of the '50s. Lange sees Blanche with a feminist bent, and is somewhat less fragile and flighty than Vivien Leigh and Ann-Margret before her. | tt0114565 | Jessica Lange, Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, John Goodman | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1984 | John Erman | Above Average TV Movie | 124 | Terrific performance by Ann-Margret as Blanche makes this version stand proudly beside its classic predecessor. | tt0088193 | Ann-Margret, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Rafael Campos, Erica Yohn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Streets | 1990 | Katt Shea Ruben | ★★½ | 86 | Serious, well-made story of runaways living in Venice, California, is compromised by concurrent story of psychotic cop who's a serial killer of prostitutes. Applegate is excellent as illiterate heroine. Understated but shockingly violent at times. | tt0100707 | [R] | Christina Applegate, David Mendenhall, Eb Lottimer, Patrick Richword, Alan Stock, Alexander Folk, Mel Castelo, Kay Lenz | Action | NULL | ||
| Streets of Fire | 1984 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 93 | Female rock star is kidnapped by sadistic bikers, and her embittered ex-boyfriend agrees to bring her back— for a price. This 'rock 'n' roll fable' is actually a 1950s B movie brought up to date with pulsating rock score (principally by Ry Cooder), state-of-the-art visuals, and a refusal to take itself too seriously. Unfortunately, near the climax the glitter gives out and we're left with the story— which can't carry film to a really satisfying conclusion. Stunningly photographed (mostly on a soundstage, believe it or not) by Andrew Laszlo. | tt0088194 | [PG] | Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Lawson, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Lee Ving, Robert Townsend, Elizabeth Daily, Marine Jahan, Ed Begley/Jr., Olivia Brown, Matthew Laurance, The Blasters | Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Streets of Gold | 1986 | Joe Roth | ★★½ | 95 | Former Russian boxing champ, now a dishwasher in Brooklyn, trains two street kids for U.S. boxing team— hoping to beat his former Russian coach. Well-meaning 'feel-good' movie along ROCKY lines; utterly ordinary but for Brandauer's performance. | tt0092022 | [R] | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Adrian Pasdar, Wesley Snipes, Angela Molina, Elya Baskin, Rainbow Harvest, John Mahoney | Action | NULL | ||
| Streets of Laredo | 1949 | Leslie Fenton | ★★ | 92 | Muddled Western of outlaws Carey, Holden, and Bendix, and how the latter two come to be Texas Rangers; in fact, this is a remake of THE TEXAS RANGERS. Fans of THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE will appreciate Bedoya's characterization. | tt0041929 | William Holden, Macdonald Carey, Mona Freeman, William Bendix, Stanley Ridges, Alfonso Bedoya | Western | NULL | |||
| Streets of New York | The Abe Lincoln of Ninth Avenue | 1939 | William Nigh | ★★½ | 73 | Good programmer of an upright young man (Cooper) who admires Abraham Lincoln and must overcome much adversity on the streets of N.Y.C.'s Hell's Kitchen. Aka THE ABE LINCOLN OF NINTH AVENUE. | tt0031987 |
|
Jackie Cooper, Martin Spellman, Marjorie Reynolds, Dick Purcell, George Cleveland, George Irving | Crime | NULL | |
| Streetwalkin' | 1984 | Joan Freeman | 💣 | 85 | Ultra-slick, sleazy, hopelessly predictable trash about hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold and her sadistic, unbelievably stupid pimp. | tt0088195 | [R] | Melissa Leo, Dale Midkiff, Antonio Fargas, Julie Newmar, Leon Robinson, Annie Golden | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Streetwise | 1984 | Martin Bell | ★★★½ | 92 | Sad, gut-wrenching documentary about teen vagrants living— and, in one case, dying— on the mean streets of Seattle. This powerful record of young, lost souls would make a telling double bill with any one of a dozen idiotic adolescent comedies of the 1980s. | tt0088196 | [NR] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Strictly Ballroom | 1992 | Baz Luhrmann | ★★★ | 94 | Spirited, allegorical musical about a young, competitive ballroom dancer (Mercurio) who outrages his mother, and the 'establishment,' by insisting on dancing his own provocative steps; he takes on a new ugly-duckling partner (Morice) who blooms under his tutelage. This crowd-pleaser sacrifices credibility for caricature but despite its rough edges emerges a winner. | tt0105488 | [PG] | Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Barry Otto, Pat Thompson, Gia Carides, Peter Whitford, John Hannan | Australian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Strictly Business | 1991 | Kevin Hooks | ★★ | 83 | Corporate man-on-the-move with a 'yuppie-plus' girlfriend falls for a pretty show-biz hopeful, then enlists the aid of an indolent mailroom employee to loosen up his act, and increase his funk quotient. Silly, simplistic comedy. Director Hooks appears in a small role. | tt0102996 | [PG-13] | Tommy Davidson, Joseph C. Phillips, Anne Marie Johnson, David Marshall Grant, Halle Berry, Jon Cypher, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim Coles, James McDaniel, Paul Provenza, Annie Golden | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Strike | 1924 | Sergei Eisenstein | ★★★½ | 73 | Eisenstein's debut feature is a still-powerful, vivid account of a 1912 factory workers strike in Czarist Russia and its violent suppression. An appropriate prelude to POTEMKIN; some prints run 82m. | tt0015361 | Grigori Alexandrov, Maxim Strauch, Mikhail Gomarov, Alexander Antonov, Judith Glizer | Russian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strike | 2007 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 104 | Fact-based account of Agnieszka Kowalska (Thalbach), a relentless, tough-minded Gdansk dockworker whose struggle for workers' rights resulted in the birth of Poland’s Solidarity movement. The character is a stand-in for Anna Walentynowicz, a colleague of Lech Walesa (played in the film by Chyra) during the formation of Solidarity. Dramatically uneven, but still effective in showing how individual acts of conscience occasionally lead to enormous social or cultural change. | tt0440978 | Katharina Thalbach, Andrzej Chyra, Dominique Horwitz, Andrzej Grabowski, Dariusz Kowalski, Krzysztof Kiersznowski, Ewa Telega | German-Polish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Strike It Rich | 1990 | James Scott | ★½ | 87 | Second film version of Graham Greene novella Loser Takes All, about an obscure conglomerate accountant talked into honeymooning beyond his means in Monte Carlo following a chance encounter with the firm's Grand Old Man. The leads in DRIVING MISS DAISY have more sexual chemistry than postnuptial Lindsay and Ringwald; sole compensations are Gielgud and '50s production design. | tt0100708 | [PG] | Robert Lindsay, Molly Ringwald, John Gielgud, Max Wall, Simon de la Brosse, Margi Clarke | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Strike Me Pink | 1936 | Norman Taurog | ★½ | 100 | One of Cantor's worst films, built around his run-in with racketeers at amusement park which he manages. Good slapstick chase finale, forgettable music numbers. | tt0028321 | Eddie Cantor, Ethel Merman, Sally Eilers, Parkyakarkus, William Frawley, Brian Donlevy | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Strike Up the Band | 1940 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 120 | Rooney is leader of high school band hoping to compete in Paul Whiteman's nationwide radio contest. Typical Mickey-Judy fare, with good songs: 'Our Love Affair' and an extended finale featuring the Gershwins' title tune. George Pal contributes a unique segment featuring a symphony performed by animated pieces of fruit (an idea apparently hatched by Vincente Minnelli). | tt0033110 | Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Paul Whiteman, June Preisser, William Tracy, Larry Nunn, Margaret Early, Ann Shoemaker | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Strikebound | 1983 | Richard Lowenstein | ★★★ | 100 | Documentarylike chronicle, based on actual incidents, of a miners' strike in the Australian coal fields during the 1930s, culminating with the workers— many of them Communist Party members— barricading themselves in their mine. Seems a bit romanticized but still taut, perceptive, and extremely well made. | tt0088198 | Chris Haywood, Carol Burns, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rob Steele, Nik Forster | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Striking Distance | 1993 | Rowdy Herrington | ★★ | 101 | Slick but empty, overly familiar thriller about maverick Pittsburgh river cop Willis, who bucks the status quo within his department, and becomes a pawn in a case involving a serial killer. | tt0108238 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore, Brion James, Robert Pastorelli, Timothy Busfield, John Mahoney, Andre Braugher, Jodi Long | Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Strip | 1951 | Leslie Kardos | ★★ | 85 | Rooney gives sincere, energetic performance as former drummer involved with gangsters, trying to help Forrest get a movie break. Routine film enlivened by great music of Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, Jack Teagarden and all-star group. | tt0044083 | Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest, James Craig | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Stripes | 1981 | Ivan Reitman | ★★½ | 105 | Loser Murray joins the Army in this predictable service comedy, which somehow pulled in millions at the box office. Sometimes funny, but eminently forgettable. Ramis, who plays Murray's buddy, also coscripted. Brief appearances by Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas. Extended edition runs 122m. | tt0083131 | [R] | Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, P. J. Soles, Sean Young, John Candy, John Larroquette, Judge Reinhold, Timothy Busfield, Bill Paxton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stripped to Kill | 1987 | Katt Shea Ruben | ★★½ | 88 | Who's killing the classy strippers of L.A.? It's up to policewoman Lenz to find out, by posing as a stripper herself. Stylish, inventive Roger Corman B production hampered by too many strip numbers. Followed by a 1989 sequel. | tt0094061 | [R] | Kay Lenz, Greg Evigan, Norman Fell, Pia Kamakahi, Tracey Crowder, Debby Nassar | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Stripper | 1963 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★½ | 95 | Aging stripper falls in love with teen-age boy in this OK filmization of William Inge's play A Loss of Roses. Director Schaffner's first movie. | tt0057537 | Joanne Woodward, Richard Beymer, Claire Trevor, Carol Lynley, Robert Webber, Gypsy Rose Lee, Louis Nye, Michael J. Pollard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Striptease | 1996 | Andrew Bergman | 💣 | 115 | Unspeakably dreary— not to mention dreadful— movie (based on Carl Hiaasen's novel) about a woman who's lost custody of her young daughter to her sleazeball ex-husband and becomes a stripper in order to raise money fast for a court appeal. Then she becomes entangled with a horny congressman. Not funny enough, or dramatic enough, or sexy enough, or bad enough, to qualify as entertainment in any category. That's Moore's real-life daughter playing her little girl. Unrated video version includes 2m. of additional footage. | tt0117765 | [R] | Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Burt Reynolds, Ving Rhames, Robert Patrick, Paul Guilfoyle, Rumer Willis, Frances Fisher | Comedy, Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stroke of Midnight | 1991 | Tom Clegg | ★½ | 91 | Direct-to-video dud about completely self-absorbed fashion mogul Lowe's search for a 'new face' to represent his line of clothes; of course, he's barely aware of aspiring shoe designer Grey, who works for him. Poorly executed Cinderella yarn— replete with magic shoes. Unfortunately, there's no magic in this movie. | tt0099826 | [PG] | Rob Lowe, Jennifer Grey, Andrea Ferreol, Elizabeth Vitali, Rebecca Potok, Sacha Brignet | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stroker Ace | 1983 | Hal Needham | 💣 | 96 | One of Burt's worst has him as champion race-car driver and pea-brain who delights in tormenting his sponsor (Beatty) and leering at buxom Anderson. Lame 'good old boy' hijinks, punctuated with TV stock footage of race-car crackups! Note: Jim Nabors sings, too. | tt0086379 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jim Nabors, Loni Anderson, Parker Stevenson, Bubba Smith, John Byner, Frank O. Hill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stromboli | 1949 | Roberto Rossellini | ★½ | 81 | Rambling dreariness with refugee Bergman marrying fisherman Vitale; even an erupting volcano doesn't jar this plodding film, which was boycotted in the U.S. because Bergman had left her husband for Rossellini. Original 107m. version is now available, but is little improvement over U.S. release (which was edited by Alfred Werker and has a different ending). | tt0041931 | Ingrid Bergman, Mario Vitale, Renzo Cesana, Mario Sponza | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Strong Man | 1926 | Frank Capra | ★★★ | 78 | Baby-faced Langdon's best movie (and Capra's feature-film debut) casts him as a WW1 veteran who comes to America in search of the girl he corresponded with during the war. Many fine set-pieces make this a memorable comedy; the star never fared as well again. | tt0017437 | Harry Langdon, Priscilla Bonner, Gertrude Astor, Brooks Benedict, Arthur Thalasso, Robert McKim, William V. Mong | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Strong Medicine | 1979 | Richard Foreman | ★★½ | 84 | Alternately fascinating, boring, surreal chronicle of the various activities and adventures of a mad, manic, eccentric woman. Foreman is an innovative theater director; ultimately, this film is an acquired taste. | tt0079959 | Kate Mannheim, Scotty Snyder, Bill Raymond, Harry Roskolenko, Ron Vawter, Carol Kane, Raul Julia, Buck Henry, Wallace Shawn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stronger Than the Sun | 1980 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 101 | Annis is excellent as a nuclear power plant worker who attempts to expose a radioactive leak. Timely drama bears a striking resemblance to the Karen Silkwood story. | tt0076775 | Francesca Annis, Tom Bell | British |
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NULL | ||
| The Strongest Man in the World | 1975 | Vincent McEveety | ★★ | 92 | Third of Disney's cookie-cutter student comedies with Russell and pals again discovering a magic formula— this one for super-strength— and battling crooks who want to get their hands on it. Good opening and closing, but even kids may find it draggy midway through. | tt0073760 | [G] | Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Eve Arden, Cesar Romero, Phil Silvers, Dick Van Patten, Harold Gould, James Gregory | Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Stronghold | 1951 | Steve Sekely | ★½ | 82 | Pedestrian costumer set in 1860s, with Lake fleeing U.S. and becoming embroiled in Mexican revolution. | tt0045203 | Veronica Lake, Zachary Scott, Arturo de Cordova, Rita Macedo | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Stroszek | 1977 | Werner Herzog | ★★★ | 108 | Berlin street singer and former mental patient Bruno S. joins with whore (Mattes) and aging eccentric (Scheitz) to travel to the gold-paved streets of America the promised-land— which turns out to be dreary, rural Wisconsin. Most effective as tragicomic, ultimately bitter ridicule of American society. | tt0075276 | Bruno S., Eva Mattes, Clemens Scheitz | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Struggle | 1931 | D. W. Griffith | ★★½ | 77 | Griffith's final film as director is a somber drama chronicling the plight and fate of Skelly, an average Joe who is victimized by alcoholism and desperation. A notorious failure in its day, this was the nail in the coffin of Griffith's then-sagging career. Today it's a fascinating curio— and a reminder that THE LOST WEEKEND was not the first film to explore the ravages of alcoholism. Baldwin (who plays Skelly's sister) went on to become Griffith's second wife. | tt0022440 | Hal Skelly, Zita Johann, Evelyn Baldwin, Edna Hagan, Charlotte Wynters, Jackson Halliday | Drama | NULL | |||
| Stuart Little | 1999 | Rob Minkoff | ★★★ | 92 | Cute family film loosely based on E. B. White's much-loved book about a mouse, adopted by a human family, who falls prey to the plotting of a jealous housecat. Sincere human performances and remarkable computer animation of Stuart make this entertaining for young and old alike. Followed by a sequel. | tt0164912 | [PG] | Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, Jeffrey Jones, Julia Sweeney, Allyce Beasley, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dabney Coleman, Estelle Getty; voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, David Alan Grier, Steve Zahn | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Stuart Little 2 | 2002 | Rob Minkoff | ★★½ | 72 | Stuart is feeling a bit lonely until he rescues a bird named Margalo from an attacking falcon and takes her into the Little home. Not much of a story here— more a series of vignettes— but the characters are appealing, the animation is skillful, and Lane's dialogue as Snowbell the cat is hilarious, all of which makes up for the film's shortcomings. Good entertainment for kids. | tt0243585 | [PG] | Voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Melanie Griffith, James Woods, Steve Zahn; Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Stuart Saves His Family | 1995 | Harold Ramis | ★★ | 95 | Feature-film vehicle for Stuart Smalley, writer-performer Franken's endearingly dippy self-affirmation advocate from Saturday Night Live TV skits ('I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me'). Unfortunately, this purported comedy about Stuart's attempts to wrest himself from his dysfunctional family (and the blight caused by his alcoholic father) becomes deadly serious! | tt0114571 | [PG-13] | Al Franken, Laura San Giacomo, Vincent D'Onofrio, Shirley Knight, Harris Yulin, Lesley Boone, John Link Graney, Julia Sweeney | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Stuck | 2008 | Stuart Gordon | ★★★ | 85 | Often shockingly hilarious black comedy, loosely based on a notorious real-life incident, about a downsized white-collar drone (Rea) who has a close encounter with an oncoming car, then remains painfully stuck in the windshield while left to die in a garage by the monstrously self-absorbed driver (Suvari). As Rea struggles to survive the mishap (and Suvari’s attempts to finish him off), this ingeniously nasty small-budget indie slyly suggests that the last best hope for a hard-luck loser is to be placed in a situation where there’s nothing left to lose. | tt0758786 | [R] | Stephen Rea, Mena Suvari, Russell Hornsby, Rukiya Bernard, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon | U.S.-Canada | NULL | ||
| Stuck on You | 2003 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★½ | 118 | Inscrutable Farrelly Brothers comedy about conjoined twins, one of whom yearns to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. This rara avis is a one-joke movie where even the one joke isn't very good. As usual, the filmmakers make fun of people with disabilities and warmly embrace them at the same time. Various celebrities appear in cameos, most notably Meryl Streep. | tt0338466 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Cher, Wen Yann Shih, Pat Crawford Brown, Ray 'Rocket' Valliere, Seymour Cassel, Michael Callan, Griffin Dunne, Rhona Mitra, Jessica Cauffiel | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Stud | 1978 | Quentin Masters | 💣 | 95 | A waiter works his way up in the world (so to speak) by sleeping with the boss' wife. Idiotic softcore porn written by Jackie Collins (Joan's sister). Followed by THE BITCH. | tt0078333 | [R] | Joan Collins, Oliver Tobias, Sue Lloyd, Mark Burns, Walter Gotell, Emma Jacobs | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Student Bodies | 1981 | Mickey Rose | ★½ | 86 | Spoof of HALLOWEEN-type pictures has a promising start, then simply falls apart; ending is particularly bad. Plagued by production problems, as indicated by producing credit for the ubiquitous and nonexistent Allen Smithee (Michael Ritchie here). | tt0083133 | [R] | Kristen Riter, Matthew Goldsby, Richard Brando, Joe Flood, Joe Talarowski | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Student Confidential | 1987 | Richard Horian | ★½ | 95 | Boring dud about the problems of various students... one of whom is a former Playboy bunny. Eric Douglas is the brother of Michael and son of Kirk. Marlon Jackson is the brother of Michael. | tt0094062 | [R] | Eric Douglas, Marlon Jackson, Susan Scott, Richard Horian, Elizabeth Singer, Ronee Blakley | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Student Nurses | 1970 | Stephanie Rothman | ★★½ | 89 | First of five 'nurse' movies produced by Roger Corman is easily the best, with good cast, comparatively thoughtful script (cowritten by Rothman), along with expected sex and action; most interesting subplot concerns guilt by young activist nurse after she accidentally shoots a cop. Followed by PRIVATE DUTY NURSES. | tt0066418 | [R] | Elaine Giftos, Karen Carlson, Brioni Farrell, Barbara Leigh, Reni Santoni, Richard Rust. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg | Old Heidelberg | 1927 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★★ | 105 | Silent version of Sigmund Romberg's famed operetta has youthful prince Novarro breaking out of his cloistered life— for the first time— and attending Heidelberg University, where he falls in love with a commoner, pretty barmaid Shearer. This is Lubitsch at his best, an absolute delight from start to finish, and truly the kind of charmer 'they just don't make anymore.' Also known as OLD HEIDELBERG. Previously filmed in 1919; remade (with music) in 1954. | tt0018451 | Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Philippe de Lacy, Edgar Norton, George K. Arthur, Edythe Chapman | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Student Prince | 1954 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 107 | Romberg music, dubbed voice of Mario Lanza chief assets in venerable operetta about heir to throne sent to Heidelberg for one last fling, where he falls in love with barmaid Blyth. Filmed before (sans music) in 1919 and 1927. | tt0047537 | Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, John Ericson, Louis Calhern, Edmund Gwenn | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Student Teachers | 1973 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★½ | 79 | Antics at Valley High School, with both feminist and 'alternate learning center' concepts mixed into the usual sexploitation package. Freewheeling direction by Kaplan; followed by SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS. | tt0070743 | [R] | Susan Damante, Brooke Mills, Bob Harris, John Cramer, Dick Miller, Don Steele, Robert Phillips, Charles Dierkop | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Student Tour | 1934 | Charles F. Reisner | ★½ | 87 | Deservedly obscure MGM musical about college students on world tour with an incredibly clunky leading lady. Pretty bad, though it's fun to see young Grable, and the sight of coeds swimming in front of the Taj Mahal is nothing to sneeze at. Guest star Nelson Eddy sings silly Bolero-type number 'The Carlo. | tt0025843 | Jimmy Durante, Charles Butterworth, Maxine Doyle, Phil Regan, Florine McKinney, Betty Grable, Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett) | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Student of Prague | 1926 | Henrik Galeen. | ★★★½ | 95 | Mephistophelean specter Krauss proffers a metaphysical platter of temptation to Faustian collegiate fencer Veidt. The prize is a buffet of wealth and women; the price, merely the mirror reflection of oneself. Then the gate to Hell slowly swings open. . . . Atmospheric chiaroscuro marks this eerie highlight of German expressionistic fantasy. Pretty cool, creepy movie. Filmed before in 1916, and again in 1935. | tt0017438 | Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss, Agnes Esterhazy, Elizza La Porta, Ferdinand von Alten, Fritz Alberti, Sylvia Torf. | German | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Studs Lonigan | 1960 | Irving Lerner | ★★½ | 95 | Interesting if not altogether successful adaptation of James T. Farrell's 'notorious' novel about a restless, sexually active young man in 1920s Chicago. Good period atmosphere, but script makes unfortunate compromises with 1960 taste and censorship. Nicholson is one of Studs' cronies; Foran is impressive as Studs' father. Scripted and produced by Philip Yordan. Basis for a 1979 TV miniseries. | tt0054348 | Christopher Knight, Frank Gorshin, Venetia Stevenson, Carolyn Craig, Jack Nicholson, Dick Foran | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Study in Scarlet | 1933 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 70 | Not-bad low-budget Sherlock Holmes outing (for which Owen wrote much of the dialogue), though it has virtually nothing to do with Conan Doyle story of the same name! Owen played Dr. Watson one year earlier in SHERLOCK HOLMES, while Mowbray, who's Inspector Lestrade here, turned up in the 1946 TERROR BY NIGHT. | tt0024625 | Reginald Owen, Anna May Wong, June Clyde, Alan Dinehart, John Warburton, Alan Mowbray, Warburton Gamble | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Study in Terror | 1965 | James Hill | ★★★ | 94 | Compact little thriller pits Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper; violent, well paced, and well cast. For another version of Holmes vs. the Ripper, see MURDER BY DECREE. | tt0059764 | John Neville, Donald Houston, Georgia Brown, John Fraser, Anthony Quayle, Barbara Windsor, Robert Morley, Cecil Parker, Frank Finlay, Kay Walsh, Judi Dench | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Stuff | 1985 | Larry Cohen | ★★½ | 93 | The new dessert sensation that's sweeping the country turns out to be deadly stuff indeed. Typically slapdash Larry Cohen production has some engaging performances, and the spirit of silly '50s science-fiction films, but doesn't always come off— as horror or comedy. It does have its moments, however— and a bunch of familiar 'Commercial Spokes-persons.' | tt0090094 | [R] | Michael Moriarty, Andrea Marcovicci, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino, Scott Bloom, Danny Aiello, James Dixon, Alexander Scourby, Russell Nype, Brian Bloom, Rutanya Alda | Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Stunt Man | 1980 | Richard Rush | ★★★★ | 129 | An outrageous black comedy in which reality and make-believe blur. Fugitive Railsback stumbles onto a movie set, where he accidentally causes the death of their ace stunt man; director O'Toole offers to hide him from the police— if he'll replace the stunt man. Crammed with first-rate action and sly wit, plus a mesmerizing performance by O'Toole as the Christ-like Eli Cross. Attention must be paid, but the rewards are more than ample. Dazzlingly scripted (by Lawrence B. Marcus from Paul Brodeur's novel) and directed; amusing score by Dominic Frontiere. Filmed in 1978. | tt0081568 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Chuck Bail, Allen Garfield, Adam Roarke, Alex Rocco, Sharon Farrell, Philip Bruns | Action, Romance, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Stunt Pilot | 1939 | George Waggner. | ★★ | 62 | Not-bad 'Tailspin Tommy' tale has him joining a movie studio as a flyer, encountering danger and murder. | tt0031989 | John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards/Sr., Pat O'Malley. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Stunts | Who Is Killing the Stuntmen? | 1977 | Mark L. Lester | ★★½ | 89 | When a stunt man dies while making a film, his brother (Forster) takes his place in order to probe the 'accident.' Engaging B movie with terrific action scenes and a wild helicopter-and-car finale. Retitled WHO IS KILLING THE STUNTMEN? | tt0076776 | [PG] | Robert Forster, Fiona Lewis, Joanna Cassidy, Darrell Fetty, Bruce Glover, James Luisi | Drama | NULL | |
| The Stupids | 1996 | John Landis | ★★½ | 94 | Likably goofy film for kids about a lunkhead family that somehow gets involved in espionage and an illegal weapons scheme. The cast is ideal, straight-facedly portraying these well-meaning morons (from the children's books by James Marshall and Harry Allard); the tone of the film is admirably consistent and often quite funny. As usual Landis features cameos by other directors, including Robert Wise, Gillo Pontecorvo, Costa-Gavras, Atom Egoyan, Norman Jewison, and David Cronenberg. And yes, that's Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan) as the museum curator. Remember, trust in the Lloyd. | tt0117768 | [PG] | Tom Arnold, Jessica Lundy, Bug Hall, Alex McKenna, Mark Metcalf, Matt Keeslar, Frankie Faison, Christopher Lee, Jenny McCarthy | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Subject Was Roses | 1968 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★★ | 107 | Frank D. Gilroy's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about young veteran's strained relationship with his parents makes a generally good film. This was Neal's first film after her near fatal stroke. Sheen and Oscar-winner Albertson recreated their Broadway roles. Gilroy adapted his own play for the screen. | tt0063654 | [G] | Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen, Don Saxon, Elaine Williams, Grant Gordon | Drama | NULL | ||
| Submarine | 1928 | Frank Capra. | ★★★ | 92 | First and best of the Capra-Holt-Graves action trilogy (FLIGHT and DIRIGIBLE followed). Graves and Holt are Navy buddies who fall for the same girl; when the former is trapped in a sub, the latter has to decide whether to rescue him. Familiar story, tautly presented, with excellent Joseph Walker photography. Silent with sound effects and music. Remade in 1937 as THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND. | tt0019434 | Jack Holt, Dorothy Revier, Ralph Graves, Clarence Burton, Arthur Rankin. | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Submarine | 2011 | Richard Ayoade | ★★★ | 97 | In Wales, a self-conscious 15-year-old boy tells us about his life as he tries to salvage his uptight parents’ strained relationship and pursues a freethinking female schoolmate who might become his first real girlfriend. Low-key but witty coming-of-age story adapted from Joe Dunthorne’s novel by first-time feature director Ayoade. Hawkins and Taylor are amusing as the clueless parents. Ben Stiller (who coexecutive produced) appears unbilled. | tt1440292 | [R] | Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Submarine Alert | 1943 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 67 | The old yarn about the fed who's made to look like he is banished by the force so that he can join the gang as a spy. If this is a little better than most of Arlen's quickies, it's because the cast is more interesting than usual, and the plot borrows heavily from THE 39 STEPS. | tt0036397 |
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Richard Arlen, Wendy Barrie, Nils Asther, Roger Pryor, Abner Biberman, Marc Lawrence, Dwight Frye | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Submarine Command | 1951 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 87 | Predictable but acceptable post-WW2 account of naval military life; Olson is wholesome love interest. | tt0044085 | William Holden, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, Don Taylor | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Submarine D-1 | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 98 | Medium-grade Warner Bros. action hokum about loving and fighting among the crew of a new submarine. Well-made documentary-like scenes mix with the contrived plot. Ronald Reagan was originally in the film's cast but wound up on the cutting room floor. | tt0029617 |
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Pat O'Brien, George Brent, Wayne Morris, Frank McHugh, Doris Weston, Henry O'Neill, Regis Toomey, Broderick Crawford | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Submarine Patrol | 1938 | John Ford | ★★½ | 95 | Routine actioner with tough captain Foster revitalizing beat-up Splinter Fleet ship and demoralized crew for duty in WW1. | tt0030808 | Richard Greene, Nancy Kelly, Preston Foster, George Bancroft, Slim Summerville, John Carradine, J. Farrell MacDonald, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jack Pennick, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Submarine Raider | 1942 | Lew Landers. | ★★ | 65 | Lively but far-fetched B picture about a U.S. sub shadowing a Japanese aircraft carrier on its way to a place called Pearl Harbor. Yes, they do manage to get a girl on the sub— the sole survivor of the killer carrier's unprovoked attack on a civilian yacht. Badly executed miniatures dampen the suspense. | tt0035391 | John Howard, Marguerite Chapman, Bruce Bennett, Warren Ashe, Eileen O'Hearn, Larry Parks, Forrest Tucker, Philip Ahn. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Submarine X-1 | 1968 | William A. Graham | ★★½ | 89 | After losing submarine in battle with German ship, naval officer Caan gets second chance in daring raid with midget subs. Standard WW2 fare. | tt0063655 | [G] | James Caan, Rupert Davies, David Summer, William Dysart, Norman Bowler | British | War | NULL | |
| Subspecies | 1991 | Ted Nicolaou | ★★ | 90 | Nasty vampire is after some American girls but has to contend with his good-vampire brother. Actually shot in Transylvania on picturesque locations, but the director has no idea how to set up shock scenes. Followed by four sequels. | tt0103002 | [R] | Michael Watson, Laura Tate, Anders Hove, Michelle McBride, Irina Movila, Ivan J. Rado, Angus Scrimm | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Substance of Fire | 1996 | Daniel Sullivan | ★★★ | 101 | Literate, intelligent adaptation of Jon Robin Baitz' Off-Broadway play about a brilliant but inordinately arrogant— and deeply troubled— Holocaust survivor (Rifkin). Now a book publisher, he's obsessed with publishing an extensive history of Nazi medical experiments, rather than a potentially lucrative novel that may save his company from financial ruin. Not surprisingly, he has alienated his three grown children. Extremely well acted, especially by Rifkin (who created his role onstage). Baitz scripted and coproduced. | tt0117773 | [R] | Ron Rifkin, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Hutton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lee Grant, Eric Bogosian, Elizabeth Franz, Gil Bellows, Roger Rees, Ronny Graham, Adolph Green, George Morfogen, Debra Monk | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Substitute | 1996 | Robert Mandel | ★★ | 114 | The CIA goes to high school in this preposterous but entertaining action story of agent Berenger who substitutes for teacher/girlfriend Venora when her leg is broken by a gang member. When he's not disciplining students, this substitute is busy exposing and fighting drug smugglers. Mindless diversion. Followed by three sequels. | tt0117774 | [R] | Tom Berenger, Diane Venora, Ernie Hudson, Glenn Plummer, William Forsythe, Richard Brooks, Cliff De Young | Action | NULL | ||
| Subterfuge | 1968 | Peter Graham Scott | ★★ | 92 | American agent Barry is forced into helping British Intelligence in this routine espionage drama. | tt0065045 | Gene Barry, Joan Collins, Richard Todd, Suzanna Leigh, Michael Rennie | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Subterraneans | 1960 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★½ | 89 | Glossy, superficial study of life and love among the beatniks, with pure cornball stereotype performances; MGM was not the studio for this one. Script by Robert Thom, from the Jack Kerouac novel. Music by Andre Previn, who also appears on screen along with such jazz artists as Gerry Mulligan, Carmen McRae, Art Pepper, Art Farmer, Shelly Manne. | tt0054351 | Leslie Caron, George Peppard, Janice Rule, Roddy McDowall, Anne Seymour, Jim Hutton, Scott Marlowe | Drama | NULL | |||
| Suburban Commando | 1991 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 90 | Engaging film for kids about outer-space warrior who comes to earth for some r&r, and gets involved in the lives of a somewhat stressed-out suburban family. Hogan is surprisingly likable as a vigilante/crusader in this comic vehicle which he coexecutive produced. | tt0103003 | [PG] | Hulk Hogan, Christopher Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, Larry Miller, William Ball, JoAnn Dearing, Jack Elam, Roy Dotrice, Michael Faustino | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Suburbans | 1999 | Donal Lardner Ward | ★½ | 90 | Pointless trifle about a one-hit-wonder band from the 1980s attempting to revitalize their career. Not even the Stillers can make it work. | tt0157075 | [R] | Donal Lardner Ward, Amy Brenneman, Craig Bierko, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tony Guma, Bridgette Wilson, Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Robert Loggia | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Subway | 1985 | Luc Besson | ★★ | 104 | Dripping in new wave style and attitude, this (literally) underground fable, set in the Paris métro, where various lives intertwine, is utterly aimless and pointless. Intrigues and amuses at first, and then just runs out of steam. | tt0090095 | [R] | Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Richard Bohringer, Michel Galabru, Jean-Hugues Anglade | French | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Subway in the Sky | 1959 | Muriel Box | ★½ | 85 | Flabby caper of soldier Johnson in post-WW2 Berlin, involved in the black market; terrible waste of Neff's talents. | tt0053316 | Van Johnson, Hildegarde Neff, Katherine Kath, Cec Linder, Albert Lieven, Edward Judd | German | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Subway to the Stars | 1987 | Carlos Diegues | ★★½ | 103 | Gritty, grim account of young sax player Fontes and his experiences as he roams the back streets of Rio in search of his missing girlfriend. Has its moments of insight, but overall too meandering. | tt0094183 | [R] | Guilherme Fontes, Milton Goncalves, Taumaturgo Ferreira, Ze Trindade, Ana Beatriz Wiltgen | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | |
| Success Is the Best Revenge | 1984 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★½ | 90 | Intriguing if uneven yarn about a Polish director (York) in exile in London and his rebellious teen son (Lyndon), who is anxious to explore his heritage. Skolimowski— himself an exile— explores the meaning of living in a country other than one's own, but he fared better with previous film, MOONLIGHTING. | tt0088200 | Michael York, Joanna Szerbic, Michael Lyndon, George Skolimowski, Michel Piccoli, Anouk Aimée, John Hurt | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Success at Any Price | 1934 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★★ | 75 | Interesting moral tract tracing the rise and fall of ruthless businessman Fairbanks as he crushes everyone who gets in his way— and loses sight of the one woman who loves him. Surprisingly contemporary, and still potent, though it reveals its stage origins. | tt0025844 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Genevieve Tobin, Frank Morgan, Colleen Moore, Edward Everett Horton, Allen Vincent | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Success | 1963 | Dino Risi | ★★★ | 103 | Intelligent delineation by Gassman as businessman overwhelmed by success urge makes this drama worthy. | tt0057540 | Vittorio Gassman, Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Successful Calamity | 1932 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 72 | Wealthy world figure returns home after almost a year of traveling, anxious to spend time with his family— only to find them all too concerned with themselves to give him more than a passing nod. Ever-so-slight Arliss comedy hews strictly to formula, but it's a formula that works, and Arliss is charming as always. | tt0023537 | George Arliss, Mary Astor, Evalyn Knapp, Grant Mitchell, David Torrence, William Janney, Hardie Albright, Randolph Scott, Leon Waycoff (Ames) | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Such Good Friends | 1971 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 100 | Tart black comedy about man going to hospital, prompting wife (Cannon) to reexamine their relationship and learn about his romantic sideline activities. Fine ensemble acting buoys acidly funny script (by Elaine May, who used a pseudonym); from the Lois Gould novel. | tt0067801 | [R] | Dyan Cannon, James Coco, Jennifer O'Neill, Ken Howard, Nina Foch, Laurence Luckinbill, Louise Lasser, Burgess Meredith, Sam Levene | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me | 1972 | François Truffaut. | ★★★½ | 98 | Delightful black comedy of female murderer who relates her sordid past to criminology student, gradually entices him just as she did her former 'victims.' Lafont ideal in leading role. | tt0069442 | [R] | Bernadette Lafont, Claude Brasseur, Charles Denner, Guy Marchand, Philippe Leotard. | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Sucker Punch | 2011 | Zack Snyder | ★★ | 110 | Abused girl (Browning) is wrongly committed to a corrupt insane asylum, where she bonds with four other captive young women and finds freedom in her fantasies, in which she and the others are kick-ass superheroines. Genuinely weird, broadly played, comic-bookish film is all style, with little substance that isn’t laughable. Will it inspire or empower downtrodden adolescent girls . . . or will it just make them want to play video games? | tt0978764 | [PG-13] | Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Sudan | 1945 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 76 | Queen Montez escapes evil prime minister Zucco with help of Hall and Bey in colorful but empty adventure-romance. Montez and Hall's last pairing. | tt0038134 | Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Turhan Bey, Andy Devine, George Zucco, Robert Warwick | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sudden Danger | 1955 | Hubert Cornfield | ★½ | 85 | Homicide detective Elliott investigates the supposed suicide of a clothing manufacturer. Former Western star Elliott played the same character in four other films. | tt0048672 | Bill Elliott, Tom Drake, Beverly Garland, Lucien Littlefield, Minerva Urecal, Lyle Talbot, Frank Jenks | Drama, Crime, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sudden Death | 1995 | Peter Hyams | ★½ | 110 | Sardonic mastermind Boothe holds the Vice President hostage in a private box during Stanley Cup hockey playoffs in Pittsburgh, demanding a few billion, or he'll blow up the whole arena. But fire inspector Van Damme is on the job, and Boothe has unwisely captured our hero's daughter . . . DIE HARD clone bludgeons credulity to death early on, and the movie never recovers, despite plenty of action and effects. | tt0114576 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J. Barry, Whittni Wright, Ross Malinger, Dorian Harewood, Paul Mochnick, Kate McNeil, Michael Gaston, Audra Lindley | Action | NULL | ||
| Sudden Fear | 1952 | David Miller | ★★★ | 110 | Wealthy playwright Crawford discovers new husband Palance (an actor whom she once fired) is planning to kill her; she uses her writing skills to concoct a scheme to make him trip himself up. Solid suspense thriller with many neat twists. | tt0045205 | Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett, Touch (Mike) Connors, Virginia Huston | Thriller, Horror, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sudden Impact | 1983 | Clint Eastwood | ★★½ | 117 | Fourth DIRTY HARRY vehicle relies on durable formula, as maverick cop gives us vicarious pleasure of doing in society's scum, but this entry is longer, and sillier, than need be. Locke plays a woman taking out murderous revenge on men (and one lesbian!) who raped her and her sister years ago. Michael V. Gazzo appears unbilled. Followed by THE DEAD POOL. | tt0086383 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman, Paul Drake, Jack Thibeau, Albert Popwell | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Sudden Terror | Eyewitness | 1970 | John Hough | ★★ | 95 | Adequate variation on boy-who-cried-wolf theme: prankish youngster witnesses murder of visiting dignitary, but can't convince others. Almost ruined by self-conscious direction. Originally titled EYEWITNESS. | tt0066420 | [PG] | Mark Lester, Lionel Jeffries, Susan George, Tony Bonner, Jeremy Kemp | British | Thriller | NULL |
| Suddenly | 1954 | Lewis Allen | ★★★½ | 77 | Sinatra leads trio of paid assassins who take over house in small town where the President will pass on his way to a fishing trip. White-knuckle thriller, written by Richard Sale, with Sinatra excellent in thoroughly detestable role; rest of cast equally fine. 'Suddenly,' incidentally, is the name of the town. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0047542 | Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates, Willis Bouchey, Kim Charney, Paul Frees, Christopher Dark, Charles Smith | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Suddenly, It's Spring | 1947 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 87 | Strained comedy about married couple Goddard and MacMurray refusing to divorce each other. | tt0039873 | Paulette Goddard, Fred MacMurray, Macdonald Carey, Arleen Whelan, Lillian Fontaine | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Suddenly, Last Summer | 1959 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★½ | 114 | Fascinating if talky (though cleaned-up) Tennessee Williams yarn about wealthy Southern matriarch (Hepburn), her supposedly mad niece (Taylor) and a neurosurgeon (Clift); grandly acted. Adaptation by Gore Vidal. Remade for TV in 1992 with Maggie Smith. | tt0053318 | Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, Mercedes McCambridge, Albert Dekker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Suds | 1920 | John Francis Dillon | ★★½ | 67 | Mostly enjoyable change-of-pace silent-film vehicle for Pickford as a homely cockney laundrywoman who pines for the gentleman who left off a shirt to be cleaned months ago and never returned. Combination of wistfulness, slapstick, and drama doesn't always work. | tt0011741 | Mary Pickford, Albert Austin, Harold Goodwin, Rose Dione, Nadyne Montgomery, Darwin Karr | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Suez | 1938 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 104 | Power is 19th-century French architect (and dreamer) Ferdinand de Lesseps, who pursues a single-minded goal of building the Suez Canal; his real problem is choosing between aristocratic Loretta and down-to-earth Annabella. Entertaining and elaborate hokum which apparently bears no resemblance to history. | tt0030811 | Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Annabella, Henry Stephenson, Maurice Moscovich, Joseph Schildkraut, Sidney Blackmer, J. Edward Bromberg, Sig Ruman, Nigel Bruce, Miles Mander, George Zucco, Leon Ames | Romance | NULL | |||
| Sugar | 2009 | Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | ★★★ | 118 | Illuminating portrait of a 19-year-old baseball player from the Dominican Republic nicknamed Sugar (Perez Soto), who leaves his family and friends to come to America, where he is assigned to a team in Iowa as his first step toward the major leagues. A poignant look at cultural disorientation, this leisurely, very low-key character study isn’t really a sports movie—although it does offer a revealing look at the business end of American baseball. Real-life Dominican-born baseball star Rijo plays Alvarez. Second feature for the writing-directing team that made HALF NELSON. | tt0990413 | [R] | Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland, Michael Gaston, Jaime Tirelli, José Rijo, Ann Whitney, Richard Bull, Ellary Porterfield | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sugar Cane Alley | 1984 | Euzhan Palcy | ★★★½ | 107 | Beautifully made, heartfelt drama about an 11-year-old boy and his all-sacrificing grandmother, surviving in a Martinique shantytown during the 1930s. Rich, memorable characterizations; a humanist drama of the highest order. | tt0086213 | [PG] | Darling Legitimus, Garry Cadenat, Routa Seck, Joby Bernabe, Francisco Charles | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Sugar Hill | 1974 | Paul Maslansky | ★★ | 91 | Bey stars as 'Sugar' Hill, who avenges the mob's rubout of her fiancé, conjuring up black zombies from the grave. Outlandish blend of blaxploitation, revenge, and voodoo/ horror elements. Cut to 83m. for TV and retitled THE ZOMBIES OF SUGAR HILL. | tt0072225 | [PG] | Marki Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Colley, Richard Lawson, Betty Anne Rees, Zara Cully | Horror | NULL | ||
| Sugar Hill | 1994 | Leon Ichaso | ★★ | 123 | So-what crime melodrama featuring Snipes and Wright as Roemello and Raynathan Skuggs, drug-dealing siblings in Harlem. Unlike the more zealous Raynathan, the solitary, soulful Roemello yearns for a career change. Shades of SUPERFLY! Dense and preposterous; you'll be as bored with the film as Roemello is with his life. | tt0107079 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Michael Wright, Theresa Randle, Clarence Williams III, Abe Vigoda, Larry Joshua, Ernie Hudson, Leslie Uggams, Khandi Alexander, Raymond Serra, Joe Dallesandro, Vondie Curtis-Hall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sugar Town | 1999 | Allison Anders, Kurt Voss | ★★★ | 92 | Amusing mosaic of L.A. life featuring a handful of characters whose lives dovetail: a music-world wannabe who'll do anything to get ahead, an uptight single woman who attracts the wrong guys like a magnet, and a band made up of washed-up '80s rock stars, to name a few. Slight, made on a shoestring, but sharp and well observed; good cast includes a number of real-life musicians. Written by the directors. | tt0173390 | [R] | Ally Sheedy, Rosanna Arquette, John Taylor, Jade Gordon, Michael Des Barres, Larry Klein, Beverly D'Angelo, Vincent Berry, Richmond Arquette, Lucinda Jenney, Martin Kemp | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sugar and Spice | 2001 | Francine McDougall | ★★ | 81 | Five high school cheerleader pals rally around their squad captain when she becomes pregnant (by the school's new hotshot quarterback) . . . and stage a robbery in order to help her out. Only mildly amusing, though the cast is enthusiastic, and Marsden is fun as an egocentric doofus. Alternate video version runs 84m. | tt0186589 | [PG-13] | Marley Shelton, James Marsden, Mena Suvari, Marla Sokoloff, Rachel Blanchard, Melissa George, Alexandra Holden, Sara Marsh, Sean Young | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sugarbaby | 1985 | Percy Adlon | ★★½ | 87 | It's love at first sight for chubby mortuary attendant Sägebrecht and subway-train driver Gulp in this droll romantic satire. Players and story are offbeat, but the avant-garde lighting effects and camera movements by cinematographer Johanna Heer become annoying. Remade as BABYCAKES for American TV. | tt0090377 | Marianne Sägebrecht, Eisi Gulp | German | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sugarfoot | Swirl of Glory | 1951 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 80 | Above-par Scott Western. Randy is ex-Rebel officer who encounters his old adversary in Arizona. Retitled: SWIRL OF GLORY. | tt0044087 | Randolph Scott, Adele Jergens, Raymond Massey, S. Z. Sakall, Arthur Hunnicutt | Western | NULL | ||
| The Sugarland Express | 1974 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★½ | 109 | Perfect entertainment, based on fact, about a young fugitive couple fleeing to Sugarland, Texas, to reclaim their son (whom they refuse to give up for adoption), and the cops who pursue them throughout Texas. Spielberg's first theatrical feature, written by Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins. | tt0072226 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, William Atherton, Steve Kanaly, Louise Latham | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Suicide Battalion | 1958 | Edward L. Cahn | 💣 | 79 | Static WW2 non-actioner. Army duo goes on mission to destroy government records hidden in building basement at Pearl Harbor. | tt0052257 | Michael Connors, John Ashley, Jewell Lain, Russ Bender | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Suicide Fleet | 1931 | Albert Rogell. | ★★½ | 87 | Shooting-gallery barker Boyd, photographer Armstrong, and tour guide Gleason compete for the attention of Rogers (at her cutest), who runs the candy-booth concession at Coney Island. When WW1 breaks out, all three men enlist, and the sprightly film goes downhill; partially rescued by an exciting finale. | tt0022447 | William Boyd, Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, Ginger Rogers, Harry Bannister, Frank Reicher, Ben Alexander. | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Suicide Kings | 1998 | Peter O'Fallon | ★★½ | 106 | Intriguing premise: a group of spoiled rich kids abduct a smooth underworld character and hold him hostage to gain leverage in the kidnaping of Thomas' sister. But during one long night, the mobster (Walken, in fine form) sizes up his captors and plays on their weaknesses. Well-thought-out chamber piece, with some good story twists and first-rate performances; too bad the wrapup isn't as strong as the rest of the film. | tt0120241 | [R] | Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Henry Thomas, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, Johnny Galecki, Laura San Giacomo, Laura Harris, Cliff De Young, Brad Garrett | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Sullivan's Empire | 1967 | Harvey Hart, Thomas Carr | ★★½ | 91 | Unconvincing adventure yarn of rich landowner's trio of sons searching for father, whose plane crashed in South American jungle. | tt0062318 |
|
Martin Milner, Clu Gulager, Karen Jensen, Linden Chiles, Don Quine, Arch Johnson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sullivan's Travels | 1942 | Preston Sturges | ★★★★ | 90 | Tired of making fluff, movie director McCrea decides to do a 'serious' film; to research it, he sets out with 10è in his pocket to experience life in 'the real world.' Slapstick and sorrow blend seamlessly in this landmark Hollywood satire, which grows more pertinent with each passing year. A unique achievement for writer-director Sturges. | tt0034240 | Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake, Robert Warwick, William Demarest, Margaret Hayes, Porter Hall, Eric Blore, Robert Greig, Jimmy Conlin, Al Bridge, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Sullivans | The Fighting Sullivans | 1944 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 111 | Homey, patriotic but fictionalized story of the real-life Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, Iowa, who fought together in WW2. Knowing the outcome of this story makes it very sad to watch. The Sullivans are played by Edward Ryan, John Campbell, James Cardwell, John Alvin, and George Offerman, Jr. Aka THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS. | tt0037323 | Anne Baxter, Thomas Mitchell, Selena Royle, Ward Bond, Bobby Driscoll, Addison Richards | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sum of All Fears | 2002 | Phil Alden Robinson | ★★½ | 124 | Follow-up to CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER with Affleck taking over from Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. Convoluted tale has a fascist using the new president of Russia to draw the U.S. into war, in an attempt to destroy both countries and establish a united Europe as the new world power. Tries to have it both ways, with a story rooted in reality— but hinging on coincidences and improbabilities. Affleck acquits himself adequately as Tom Clancy's CIA agent hero, surrounded here by a top-notch cast. | tt0164184 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber, Alan Bates, Bridget Moynahan, Philip Baker Hall, Ron Rifkin, Bruce McGill, Ciarán Hinds, Marie Matiko, Colm Feore, Josef Sommer, Michael Byrne | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Sum of Us | 1994 | Kevin Dowling, Geoff Burton | ★★½ | 99 | Sincere tale about the relationship between a young, gay man (Crowe) and his devoted, widowed father (Thompson), who is refreshingly tolerant of his son's lifestyle. Two solid performances help put this one over, but it's almost undone by the annoying device of having the characters speak to the camera. Scripted by David Stevens, based on his play. | tt0111309 | Jack Thompson, Russell Crowe, John Polson, Deborah Kennedy, Mitch Mathews, Joss Moroney, Julie Herbert | Australian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Summer | 1986 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★½ | 96 | Sensitive but whiny Riviere, abandoned by friends on the eve of a group vacation, goes it alone with initially lonely results. Seemingly more improvised than the other Rohmers, this demands viewer patience and some tolerance of Riviere's 'difficult' personality, but patience is rewarded. Finale is quite moving, in what emerges as one of the director's better efforts, from his series 'Comedies and Proverbs.' | tt0091830 | [R] | Marie Riviere, Lisa Heredia, Vincent Gauthier, Beatrice Romand, Carita | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Summer Camp Nightmare | 1987 | Bert L. Dragin | ★½ | 87 | Synthetic update of LORD OF THE FLIES has young Fascist Stratton staging a small-scale revolution by having kids take over two adjoining summer camps, imprisoning the adults. Stratton good in difficult role, but plot gimmicks fail to convince, especially the kids' quickie descent into barbarism. Based on William Butler's novel The Butterfly Revolution. | tt0094070 | [PG-13] | Chuck Connors, Charles Stratton, Adam Carl, Harold Pruett, Melissa Brennan, Tom Fridley, Nancy Calabrese | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Summer Catch | 2001 | Mike Tollin | ★★ | 104 | Substandard comedy/romance/coming-of-age story set in Cape Cod, with underprivileged baseball player Prinze falling for local rich girl, then having to deal with her snobby father, while tending his budding career. Takes itself too seriously, though Lillard adds welcome comedy relief. Beverly D'Angelo and John C. McGinley appear unbilled. | tt0234829 | [PG-13] | Freddie Prinze/Jr., Jessica Biel, Matthew Lillard, Brian Dennehy, Fred Ward, Jason Gedrick, Brittany Murphy, Bruce Davison, Marc Blucas, Wilmer Valderrama | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Summer City | Coast of Terror | 1976 | Christopher Fraser | ★★ | 83 | Slight, low-budget rock 'n roll road movie detailing the escapades of four buddies who head out of Sydney for a surfing weekend. The shy, quiet one is played by Mel Gibson— it's his screen debut. Aka COAST OF TERROR. | tt0141190 | John Jarratt, Mel Gibson, Phil Avalon, Steve Bisley, James Elliot, Debbie Forman | Australian | Action | NULL | |
| Summer Heat | 1987 | Michie Gleason | ★★ | 90 | How soon will sultry farm wife Singer, neglected by husband Edwards, succumb to the charms of hired hand Abbott? Not long enough for you to want to sit through this bore. Summer Heat, indeed . . . | tt0094071 | [R] | Lori Singer, Anthony Edwards, Bruce Abbott, Kathy Bates, Clu Gulager | Drama | NULL | ||
| Summer Holiday | 1948 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★½ | 92 | Lavish musical remake of AH, WILDERNESS! with Rooney (who played the younger brother in 1935) as the young man coming of age. Extremely good-looking film, with exquisite use of Technicolor, but dramatically unexceptional— and not nearly as good as the earlier film. This version was made in 1946. | tt0040848 | Mickey Rooney, Walter Huston, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Butch Jenkins, Selena Royle, Marilyn Maxwell, Gloria De Haven, Anne Francis | Musical | NULL | |||
| Summer Holiday | 1963 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 107 | Richard, Hayes, Green, and Bulloch travel through Europe on a bus in this silly but cheerful musical; inauspicious directorial debut by Yates. | tt0057541 | Cliff Richard, Lauri Peters, David Kossoff, Ron Moody, The Shadows, Melvyn Hayes, Una Stubbs, Teddy Green, Jeremy Bulloch | British | Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Summer Hours | 2008 | Olivier Assayas | ★★★ | 102 | Perceptive look at a French family and what happens when the matriarch passes away, leaving her three grown children to decide what to do with her country home and its many valuable possessions. A meditation on the changing face of family life in the 21st century and the value of things—in intrinsic, sentimental, and financial terms. Intimate, utterly believable, and quite moving. Written by the director. | tt0836700 | Unrated | Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jérémie Renier, Edith Scob, Dominique Reymond, Valérie Bonneton, Isabelle Sadoyan, Kyle Eastwood | French | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| The Summer House | 1993 | Waris Hussein | ★★★ | 82 | An actors' field day, as flamboyant Moreau comes to stay with her girlhood friend Walters (now a frumpy housewife in 1950s Croydon) when her strangely reticent daughter is about to be married— to the twit next door. Plowright is wonderful as the idiot-groom's aged mother; her scenes with Moreau are a real treat. Based on the novel The Clothes in the Wardrobe by Alice Thomas Ellis. Made for British television. | tt0108249 | Jeanne Moreau, Joan Plowright, Julie Walters, Lena Headey, David Threlfall, Maggie Steed, John Wood, Catherine Schell | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Summer Love | 1958 | Charles Haas | ★★ | 85 | Sequel to ROCK, PRETTY BABY has Saxon et al. hired to perform at summer resort camp; perky performances. | tt0052258 | John Saxon, Molly Bee, Rod McKuen, Judi Meredith, Jill St. John, George Winslow, Fay Wray, Edward Platt, Shelley Fabares, Troy Donahue | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Summer Lovers | 1982 | Randal Kleiser | ★★ | 98 | This one's a matter of tolerance: Any movie that makes you think seriously about having a ménage à trois on a Greek island can't be all bad, but here's a film that's on an even lower intellectual level than you'd expect from the director of THE BLUE LAGOON. Bouncy rock soundtrack. | tt0084737 | [R] | Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah, Valerie Quennessen, Barbara Rush, Carole Cook | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Summer Magic | 1963 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 110 | Disney's rehash of MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS has McGuire as widow who raises family on a shoestring in rambling Maine house. Burl sings 'The Ugly Bug Ball.' Pleasant but forgettable. | tt0057542 | Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, Dorothy McGuire, Deborah Walley, Eddie Hodges, Una Merkel | Comedy, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil | 1987 | Lina Wertmuller. | ★½ | 94 | Melato's presence, in a sexual cat-and-mouse tale, might lead one to expect another SWEPT AWAY, but this is light years removed: a relentlessly heavy-handed comedy about a rich, sexy Italian capitalist who abducts a notorious terrorist and tries to give him a taste of his own medicine . . . until she finds herself attracted to him. This 'night' seems like it will never end! | tt0093650 | Mariangela Melato, Michele Placido, Roberto Herlipzka, Massimo Wertmuller. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Summer Place | 1959 | Delmer Daves | ★★★ | 130 | Lushly photographed (by Harry Stradling) soaper of adultery and teenage love at resort house on Maine coast. Excellent Max Steiner score (the theme was a big hit); based on the Sloan Wilson novel. | tt0053320 | Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, Arthur Kennedy, Troy Donahue, Constance Ford, Beulah Bondi | Drama | NULL | |||
| Summer Rental | 1985 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 88 | Breezy, low-key comedy about a working stiff's refusal to let some arrogant fat cats spoil his family's vacation in Florida. Candy proves he can be endearing in a realistic characterization— and still be funny. | tt0090098 | [PG] | John Candy, Karen Austin, Richard Crenna, Rip Torn, John Larroquette, Richard Herd, Lois Hamilton, Carmine Caridi | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Summer School | 1987 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 98 | Harmon is delinquent high school teacher forced to spend his vacation trying to educate group of delinquent students. Not bad as these films go: decent acting, OK pacing, some good laughs . . . with extra chuckles for fans of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and those movie-critic TV shows. Director Reiner has a cameo as Harmon's predecessor. | tt0094072 | [PG-13] | Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Dean Cameron, Gary Riley, Shawnee Smith, Courtney Thorne-Smith | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Summer School Teachers | 1975 | Barbara Peeters | ★★ | 87 | Well-paced, episodic film of three girls' romantic adventures while teaching high school. A followup to THE STUDENT TEACHERS. | tt0073764 | [R] | Candice Rialson, Pat Anderson, Rhonda Leigh-Hopkins, Dick Miller | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Summer Stock | 1950 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 109 | Kelly's theater troupe takes over Judy's farm, she gets show biz bug. Thin plot, breezy Judy, frantic Silvers, chipper De Haven. Judy sings 'Get Happy,' Kelly dances on newspapers. | tt0043012 | Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, Marjorie Main, Gloria De Haven, Phil Silvers, Hans Conried | Musical | NULL | |||
| Summer Storm | 1944 | Douglas Sirk | ★★ | 106 | Darnell gives one of her best performances as a peasant who victimizes every man she meets. Dreary adaptation of Chekhov's The Shooting Party enlivened by Horton as an amoral Russian count. | tt0037325 | George Sanders, Linda Darnell, Edward Everett Horton, Anna Lee, Hugo Haas, Sig Ruman | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Summer Story | 1988 | Piers Haggard | ★★★ | 95 | Beautifully made romantic drama, circa 1902, set and filmed entirely in rural southwestern England. Young London lawyer Wilby and farm girl Stubbs fall deeply in love; he soon must make decisions of the mind and heart that could change their lives forever. The two leads are superb. Penelope Mortimer adapted John Galsworthy's story 'The Apple Tree.' | tt0096189 | [PG-13] | Imogen Stubbs, James Wilby, Ken Colley, Sophie Ward, Susannah York, Jerome Flynn | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams | 1973 | Gilbert Cates | ★★★ | 93 | Sensitive character study of frigid woman (Woodward) obsessed by her childhood, upset by her own aloofness towards others; Balsam equally good as understanding husband. | tt0070748 | [PG] | Joanne Woodward, Martin Balsam, Sylvia Sidney, Dori Brenner, Ron Rickards | Drama | NULL | ||
| Summer With Monika | Monika | 1953 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 96 | A brief affair between two working-class youngsters, aggressive Andersson and boyish Ekborg, results in the birth of their baby and marriage. Simple storyline has been filmed before and since, but rarely with such sensitivity. Video title: MONIKA. | tt0046345 | Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, John Harryson, Georg Skarstedt, Dagmar Ebbesen, Ake Gronberg | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Summer and Smoke | 1961 | Peter Glenville | ★★★½ | 118 | Spinster Page is in love with young doctor Harvey, but he's understandably not interested; vivid adaptation of Tennessee Williams play, set in 1916 in small Mississippi town, with torrid performances making up for frequent staginess. Atmospheric score by Elmer Bernstein. | tt0055489 | Geraldine Page, Laurence Harvey, Una Merkel, John McIntire, Pamela Tiffin, Rita Moreno, Thomas Gomez, Earl Holliman, Casey Adams, Lee Patrick | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Summer in Genoa | Genova | 2008 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 93 | Chicago widower moves abroad with his daughters for a year's sabbatical to soothe their shared grief. Once there, the older girl (Holland) wallows in peer-pressure pleasures, while the little one (Haney-Jardine) drowns in guilt over causing the car crash that killed her mother (Davis) . . . even as the mom's ghost tries to console her. Meanwhile, an expatriate Harvard alumna (Keener) and an alluring graduate student (Romeo) wait in the wings. A subdued Firth captains this melancholy voyage of discovery about going on but never forgetting. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. Aka GENOVA. | tt0791303 | [R] | Colin Firth, Catherine Keener, Willa Holland, Perla Haney-Jardine, Hope Davis, Margherita Romeo, Alessandro Giuggili | British-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL |
| Summer of '42 | 1971 | Robert Mulligan, Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Katherine Allentuck, Christopher Norris, Lou Frizell | ★★★ | 102 | Enticing if unprofound nostalgia by Herman Raucher about teenager Grimes with crush on young war bride O'Neill. Captures 1940s flavor, adolescent boyhood, quite nicely. Michel Legrand won an Oscar for the score. Followed by CLASS OF '44. | tt0067803 | [PG] | Drama | NULL | |||
| Summer of Sam | 1999 | Spike Lee | ★★ | 142 | Mosaic of Italian-American characters living in the Bronx during the steamy summer of 1977, when the serial killer known as Son of Sam terrorized N.Y.C., firing both passions and paranoia. Interesting, mostly unpleasant slice of life/period piece goes on much too long . . . and gets pretty sleazy. Cowriters Michael Imperioli and Victor Colicchio appear as Midnight and Chickie, respectively. | tt0162677 | [R] | John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Gazzara, Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Mike Starr, Michael Rispoli, John Savage, Michael Badalucco, Jimmy Breslin, Spike Lee | Drama, Horror, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Summertime | 1955 | David Lean | ★★★½ | 99 | Lilting film of spinster vacationing in Venice, falling in love with married man. Hepburn's sensitive portrayal is one of her best. Screenplay by Lean and H.E. Bates, from Arthur Laurents' play The Time of the Cuckoo. Beautifully filmed on location by Jack Hildyard. | tt0048673 | Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Isa Miranda, Darren McGavin, Mari Aldon, Andre Morell | Romance | NULL | |||
| Summertime Killer | 1973 | Antonio Isasi | ★★ | 109 | Varied cast in OK revenge meller about a man pursuing his father's murderers. Lots of action, if not much continuity. | tt0069457 | [PG] | Karl Malden, Christopher Mitchum, Raf Vallone, Claudine Auger, Olivia Hussey | French-Italian-Spanish | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Summertree | 1971 | Anthony Newley | ★★ | 88 | Highly acclaimed (if overrated) off-Broadway play by Ron Cowen fails as a film; Douglas plays a young music student who clashes with parents over Vietnam War. | tt0067804 | [PG] | Michael Douglas, Jack Warden, Brenda Vaccaro, Barbara Bel Geddes, Kirk Callaway, Bill Vint, Rob Reiner | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sun Also Rises | 1957 | Henry King | ★★★ | 129 | Hemingway story of expatriates in Parisian 1920s has slow stretches; worthwhile for outstanding cast, especially Flynn as a souse. Mexico City locations add flavor to tale of search for self-identity. Remade (poorly) for TV in 1984. | tt0051028 | Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn, Eddie Albert, Gregory Ratoff, Juliette Greco, Marcel Dalio, Henry Daniell, Robert Evans | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sun Comes Up | 1949 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 93 | Colorful but overly sentimental story of young orphan and embittered widow who blames her son's dog, Lassie, for his death. MacDonald's last film. | tt0040849 | Jeanette MacDonald, Lloyd Nolan, Claude Jarman/Jr., Lewis Stone, Dwayne Hickman | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| The Sun Never Sets | 1939 | Rowland V Lee | ★★½ | 98 | Enjoyable patriotic drama of British brothers trying to prevent outbreak of war in Africa. Well done, with top-notch cast. | tt0022448 | Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Basil Rathbone, Barbara O’Neil, Lionel Atwill, Virginia Field, C, Aubrey Smith | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sun Shines Bright | 1953 | John Ford | ★★★ | 90 | This was director Ford's favorite film, a picaresque remake of JUDGE PRIEST with Winninger involved in political contest in small Southern town. Fine array of Ford regulars in character roles. Video and TV version is 100m. print prepared by Ford but never released. | tt0046384 | Charles Winninger, Arleen Whelan, John Russell, Stepin Fetchit, Milburn Stone, Russell Simpson, Francis Ford, Grant Withers, Slim Pickens, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Clarence Muse, Jack Pennick, Patrick Wayne | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sun Valley Serenade | 1941 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★★ | 86 | Light musicomedy with Henie a war refugee, Payne her foster parent, traveling with the Miller band and manager Berle to Sun Valley. Songs: 'It Happened In Sun Valley,' 'In the Mood,' 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo,' 'I Know Why (And So Do You).' | tt0034241 | Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and Orchestra, Milton Berle, Lynn Bari, Joan Davis, Dorothy Dandridge, The Nicholas Brothers | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sunbonnet Sue | 1945 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★ | 89 | Programmer musical of the Gay '90s enhanced by bouncy Storm in title role, as songstress in father's lower N.Y.C. saloon. | tt0038135 | Gale Storm, Phil Regan, George Cleveland, Minna Gombell, Edna Holland, Raymond Hatton. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sunburn | 1979 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★½ | 94 | Insurance investigator Grodin has Farrah pose as his wife in order to crack a murder/suicide case in Acapulco. Sloppily made film benefits from appealing performances. Eleanor Parker, Keenan Wynn, and John Hillerman get co-starring billing but barely appear at all. | tt0079966 | [PG] | Farrah Fawcett, Charles Grodin, Art Carney, Joan Collins, Alejandro Rey, William Daniels | Comedy, Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Sunchaser | 1996 | Michael Cimino | ★½ | 122 | Brilliant but insensitive doctor Harrelson is taken captive by sensitive but dying gang banger Seda, and is forced to drive into the Southwest in search of a lake of spiritual renewal. Misbegotten mess tries to touch all trendy bases, scrambling American Indian mysticism, 'New Age' theories and buddy-movie clichés into the format of a road movie. Harrelson and Seda are good, Bancroft is wasted. | tt0117781 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Jon Seda, Anne Bancroft, Alexandra Tydings, Matt Mulhern, Talisa Soto, Richard Bauer, Lawrence Pressman, Harry Carey/Jr., Brett Harrelson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sunday | 1997 | Jonathan Nossiter | ★★★ | 93 | Moving drama of a former corporate executive— now homeless— crossing paths in Queens, N.Y., with an out-of-work actress. What unfolds is essentially a two-character story of middle-aged romance, with harsh reminders of 'real life' all around. Suchet and Harrow make flawless leads, though film is admittedly not for all tastes. | tt0120244 | David Suchet, Lisa Harrow, Jared Harris, Larry Pine, Joe Grifasi, Arnold Barkus | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sunday Dinner for a Soldier | 1944 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 86 | Winning film of family that invites soldier to dinner; they are repaid for their kindness; enjoyable comedy-drama. | tt0037326 | Anne Baxter, John Hodiak, Charles Winninger, Anne Revere, Chill Wills, Bobby Driscoll, Jane Darwell | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Sunday Lovers | 1980 | Bryan Forbes, Edouard Molinaro, Dino Risi, Gene Wilder | ★½ | 127 | Love and sex in four countries. British segment, with Moore, is old-hat farce. French vignette, with Ventura, is intriguing but doesn't go anywhere. Italian skit is broadly funny at times. American contribution, written by, directed by, and starring Wilder, is a pretentious fable of a sanitarium patient, and embarrassingly bad. | tt0081591 | [R] | Roger Moore, Lynn Redgrave, Priscilla Barnes, Lino Ventura, Robert Webber, Ugo Tognazzi, Sylva Koscina, Gene Wilder, Kathleen Quinlan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sunday Punch | 1942 | David Miller. | ★★½ | 76 | Brooklyn boardinghouse for boxers gets all shook up when the owner's pretty daughter moves in and sets hearts fluttering. Adept cast socks over stereotypes with aplomb in enjoyable comedy-drama. Dane Clark makes his film debut under his real name, Bernard Zanville. Ava Gardner also has a bit. | tt0035393 | William Lundigan, Jean Rogers, Dan Dailey/Jr., Guy Kibbee, J. Carrol Naish, Connie Gilchrist, Sam Levene, Leo Gorcey, Rags Ragland. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sunday Too Far Away | 1975 | Ken Hannam | ★★★ | 95 | The rivalries and problems of macho sheep shearers, focusing on gutsy Thompson, a champion of his trade. Simple and solid. | tt0073765 | Jack Thompson, John Ewart, Reg Lye | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sunday Woman | 1976 | Luigi Comencini | ★★★ | 110 | Detective Mastroianni investigates murder among idle rich in Torino, falls in love with wealthy Bisset. Good whodunit makes interesting observation about social structure. | tt0074423 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Aldo Reggiani, Pino Caruso | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Sunday in New York | 1963 | Peter Tewksbury | ★★★ | 105 | Entire cast bubbles in this Norman Krasna sex romp of virginal Fonda discovering N.Y.C. and love. Peter Nero's score is perky. | tt0057543 | Cliff Robertson, Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor, Robert Culp, Jim Backus | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Sunday in the Country | 1984 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★½ | 94 | An elderly widowed French impressionist who never quite made the grade indulges in title gathering with offspring who never quite fulfilled his expectations. Painterly, lovingly acted drama owes not a little to Jean Renoir's A DAY IN THE COUNTRY and is no less affecting for that. Among the best imports of the mid-1980s. | tt0088318 | [G] | Louis Ducreux, Sabine Azema, Michel Aumont, Genevieve Mnich, Monique Chaumette, Claude Winter | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Sunday's Children | 1992 | Daniel Bergman | ★★★ | 118 | Bergman (son of Ingmar) expertly directs his father's evocative, autobiographical script about a young boy called Pu (Linnros) and his connection to his minister father and other family members; also depicted is the adult Pu's disquieting relationship with his elderly dad. A deeply personal film; Bergman's family history also is explored in FANNY AND ALEXANDER, THE BEST INTENTIONS, and PRIVATE CONFESSIONS. | tt0105511 | Henrik Linnros, Thommy Berggren, Lena Endre, Jakob Leygraf, Malin Ek, Birgitta Valberg, Borje Ahlstedt | Swedish | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sunday, Bloody Sunday | 1971 | John Schlesinger | ★★★ | 110 | Glenda loves Murray, but Peter loves Murray, too. Murray loves both, in very good, adult script by Penelope Gilliatt. Schlesinger's direction less forceful than usual, also less effective. Head's bland portrayal offsets brilliant work by Jackson and Finch. A mixed bag. Look for Daniel Day-Lewis as a young vandal. | tt0067805 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Peter Finch, Murray Head, Peggy Ashcroft, Tony Britton, Maurice Denham, Vivian Pickles, Frank Windsor, Bessie Love, Jon Finch | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sundays and Cybele | 1962 | Serge Bourguignon | ★★★½ | 110 | Intelligently told account of shell-shocked Kruger finding source of communication with the world via orphaned waif Gozzi, with tragic results. Splendidly realized, Oscar winner as Best Foreign Language Film. Filmed in Franscope. | tt0055910 | Hardy Kruger, Nicole Courcel, Patricia Gozzi, Daniel Ivernel | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sundown | 1941 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 90 | Tierney is surprisingly cast as native girl who assists British troops in Africa during WW2; fairly interesting, lushly photographed by Charles Lang, but it never scores. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034242 | Gene Tierney, Bruce Cabot, George Sanders, Harry Carey, Joseph Calleia, Dorothy Dandridge, Reginald Gardiner | War | NULL | |||
| Sundown, the Vampire in Retreat | 1991 | Anthony Hickox | ★★ | 104 | Overplotted vampire comedy-drama set in present-day American West, as a family happens upon a town populated by bloodsuckers trying— but failing— to 'go straight.' Unpleasantly smug, with nothing to be smug about. | tt0098412 | David Carradine, Morgan Brittany, Bruce Campbell, Jim Metzler, Maxwell Caulfield, Deborah Foreman, M. Emmet Walsh, John Ireland, John Hancock, Dabbs Greer, Bert Remsen | Comedy, Western, Horror | NULL | |||
| The Sundowners | 1950 | George Templeton | ★★½ | 83 | Preston shines in this Western about brothers on opposite sides of the law. Filmed in Texas; written by Alan LeMay (The Searchers). | tt0043013 | Robert Preston, Cathy Downs, Robert Sterling, John Barrymore/Jr., Jack Elam, Chill Wills | Western | NULL | |||
| The Sundowners | 1960 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★★★ | 133 | First-rate film of Australian family whose lives are devoted to sheepherding. Entire cast excellent, Kerr especially fine. Isobel Lennart adapted Jon Cleary's novel. Wonderfully filmed on location by Jack Hildyard. | tt0054353 | Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, Peter Ustinov, Glynis Johns, Dina Merrill, Chips Rafferty, Michael Anderson/Jr., Lola Brooks, Wylie Watson, Mervyn Johns | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sunflower | 1969 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★ | 101 | Weak love story of woman who searches for her lost lover. Sophia is wasted in this soppy tale. | tt0065782 | [G] | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Ludmilla Savelyeva, Anna Carena | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sunny Side Up | 1929 | David Butler | ★★★ | 122 | Charming antique, quite impressive for early-talkie musical. Fluffy story of tenement girl Gaynor falling in love with wealthy Farrell sufficient excuse for DeSylva-Brown-Henderson songs: 'I'm a Dreamer,' 'If I Had a Talking Picture of You,' title tune, and bizarre production number to 'Turn on the Heat.' | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, El Brendel, Marjorie White, Joe Brown, Frank Richardson, Jackie Cooper | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||||
| Sunny Side of the Street | 1951 | Richard Quine | ★½ | 71 | Moore has fickle notions over aspiring Laine in this low-grade musical, with such guest stars as Billy Daniels, Toni Arden. | tt0044090 | Frankie Lane, Terry Moore, Jerome Courtland, Audrey Long | Romance, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Sunnyside | 1979 | Timothy Galfas | ★½ | 100 | John Travolta's brother made bid for stardom in this cliché-ridden picture about a street kid who wants to end local gang warfare and leave that life behind. Sorry, Joey. | tt0079968 | [R] | Joey Travolta, John Lansing, Stacey Pickren, Andrew Rubin, Michael Tucci, Talia Balsam, Joan Darling | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sunnyside Up | 1929 | David Butler | ★★★ | 122 | Charming antique, quite impressive for early-talkie musical. Fluffy story of tenement girl Gaynor falling in love with wealthy Farrell sufficient excuse for DeSylva-Brown-Henderson songs: 'I'm a Dreamer,' 'If I Had a Talking Picture of You,' title tune, and bizarre production number to 'Turn on the Heat.' | tt0020466 | Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, El Brendel, Marjorie White, Joe Brown, Frank Richardson, Jackie Cooper | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sunrise | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans | 1927 | F. W. Murnau | ★★★★ | 110 | Exquisite silent film is just as powerful today as when it was made, telling simple story of farmer who plans to murder his wife, led on by another woman. Triumph of direction, camerawork, art direction, and performances, all hauntingly beautiful. Screenplay by Carl Mayer, from Hermann Suderman's story. Cinematographers Karl Struss and Charles Rosher won Oscars, as did the film for 'artistic quality of production.' Gaynor also won Best Actress Oscar (shared for her performances in 7TH HEAVEN and STREET ANGEL). Remade in Germany as THE JOURNEY TO TILSIT. Full title on-screen is SUNRISE— A SONG OF TWO HUMANS. | tt0018455 | George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Bodil Rosing, Margaret Livingston, J. Farrell MacDonald | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sunrise at Campobello | 1960 | Vincent J. Donehue | ★★★ | 143 | Sincere story of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, his battles in politics and valiant struggle against polio. Well acted; Bellamy (recreating his Tony-winning stage role) and Garson are the Roosevelts. Script by Dore Schary, from his hit play. | tt0054354 | Ralph Bellamy, Greer Garson, Hume Cronyn, Jean Hagen, Ann Shoemaker, Alan Bunce, Tim Considine, Zina Bethune, Frank Ferguson, Lyle Talbot | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sunset | 1988 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 107 | Cowboy star Tom Mix (Willis) joins forces with legendary marshal Wyatt Earp (Garner) to solve a serpentine whodunit involving the seamier side of Tinseltown. Appallingly abysmal murder-mystery set in late 1920s Hollywood; unpleasant and unbelievable from the word go. Willis registers zero playing one of movie's most magnetic stars, while Garner saves this piece of junk from being a total BOMB with his effortless charisma. | tt0096193 | [R] | Bruce Willis, James Garner, Malcolm McDowell, Mariel Hemingway, Jennifer Edwards, Kathleen Quinlan, Patricia Hodge, Richard Bradford, M. Emmet Walsh, Joe Dallesandro | Action, Comedy, Thriller, Western | NULL | ||
| Sunset Blvd. | 1950 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 110 | Legendary Hollywood black comedy about faded silent-film star Norma Desmond (Swanson), living in the past with butler (von Stroheim), who shelters hack screenwriter (Holden) as boyfriend. Bitter, funny, fascinating; Gloria's tour de force. Three Oscars include Best Screenplay (Wilder, Charles Brackett, D. M. Marshman, Jr.) and Score (Franz Waxman). Later a Broadway musical. | tt0043014 | Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Cecil B. DeMille, Anna Q. Nilsson | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sunset Cove | 1978 | Al Adamson | ★½ | 87 | Condominium developers want to build on a strip of beach now inhabited by the usual teen crowd— who decide to fight for their rights in court. Bubbleheaded fare for bikini watchers. | tt0078342 | [R] | Jay B. Larson, Karen Fredrik, John Carradine, John Durren, Burr Schmidt | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sunset Park | 1996 | Steve Gomer | ★★½ | 99 | Feisty N.Y.C. teacher Perlman, hoping to make enough money to retire to St. Croix, becomes the coach of an all-black high school basketball team. The premise is contrived, and the Great Teacher story is a cliché by now, but the acting is good and the characters well drawn. Perlman's husband Danny DeVito was one of the producers. | tt0117784 | [R] | Rhea Perlman, Fredro Starr, Carol Kane, Terrence DaShon Howard, Camille Saviola, De'Aundre Bonds, James Harris, Anthony Hall | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sunset Serenade | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 58 | Roy, Gabby, and the Sons discover that Woodbury and Stevens have been plotting to swindle a ranch from its rightful heir, a baby who's cared for by guardian Parrish. Fast-paced Western with music, drama, and a good story. | tt0035396 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Helen Parrish, Onslow Stevens, Joan Woodbury, Frank M. Thomas, Roy Barcroft, Jack Ingram, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunset Trail | 1938 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 69 | Commissioned by stage line, Hopalong Cassidy poses as timid Eastern milquetoast to catch murderer and secure dude ranch for widow and daughter. Nice mix of comedy, drama, and Western action, adapted from Clarence E. Mulford's 1928 novel Mesquite Jenkins. (Cass, as pompous pulp fiction writer, mocks Mulford, who was then publicly criticizing Boyd's sanitized interpretation of Hoppy.) Boyd clearly relishes role as tenderfoot. Clayton was then Mrs. Hayden. | tt0030812 | William Boyd, George Hayes, Russell Hayden, Charlotte Wynters, Jane (Jan) Clayton, Robert Fiske, Maurice Cass. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunset in El Dorado | 1945 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 65 | Big city tour company worker Evans heads to the title town, where her grandmother was queen of the Golden Nugget gambling house. There, she dreams of her grandmother's adventures involving bad men who steal Gabby's claim and the cowboy (Rogers, naturally) who comes to her rescue. Very entertaining blend of music and Western action, and a real showcase for Dale. | tt0038136 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Hardie Albright, Margaret Dumont, Roy Barcroft, Tom London, Stanley Price, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunset in Wyoming | 1941 | William Morgan. | ★★★ | 65 | Gene's efforts to protect the environment and restore ecological balance when unscrupulous lumbermen strip a large forest (and expose a ranch community to severe flooding) make this an extremely timely film. Expert meld of songs, action, and romance make this a perfect example of an Autry film of the period. | tt0034245 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Maris Wrixon, George Cleveland, Robert Kent, Sarah Edwards, Monte Blue. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunset in the West | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Roy must help an aging sheriff by tracking down gun collector Watkin and the gun runners using a train to hide their spoils. Good action, uninspired songs. | tt0043015 | Roy Rogers, Estelita Rodriguez, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Will Wright, Pierre Watkin, William J. Tannen, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunset on the Desert | 1942 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 63 | Roy does double duty as good guy who returns home to help a family friend and as the henchman of crooked attorney Fowley, who is forcing ranchers off their property. Entertaining Western with Roy making the most of his dual role. | tt0035397 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Lynne Carver, Frank M. Thomas, Beryl Wallace, Glenn Strange, Douglas Fowley, Fred Burns, Roy Barcroft, Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Sunshine | 1999 | Istvan Szabo | ★★ | 182 | Ambitious but trite, rambling soap opera chronicling a Hungarian-Jewish family over three generations, beginning in mid-19th century. Fiennes plays three roles; the middle one, a world-champion fencer and self-hating Jew, is the most intriguing. Themes are worthy, but results are obvious and overwrought. Scripted by Szabo and Israel Horovitz. | tt0145503 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz, Jennifer Ehle, Molly Parker, Deborah (Kara) Unger, James Frain, John Neville, Miriam Margolyes, David De Keyser, William Hurt, Bill Paterson | Hungarian-British-German-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sunshine | 2007 | Danny Boyle | ★★½ | 107 | Intriguing sci-fi story set in 2057, almost entirely on sophisticated spaceship Icarus II as it travels toward our imperiled sun. Brilliant, multicultural crew faces unforeseen dilemmas, crises, and some heated (and entertaining) personality clashes. Frequent collaborators Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland have concocted a cinematic voyage that initially impresses but falters toward a far-fetched denouement. Hawk-Scope. | tt0448134 | [R] | Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Benedict Wong, Mark Strong; voice of Chipo Chung | U.S.-British | Adventure, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Sunshine Boys | 1975 | Herbert Ross | ★★★ | 111 | Two cranky ex-vaudevillians are persuaded to reteam for a TV special in this popular Neil Simon comedy, from his Broadway play. Some of the 'humor' is abrasive, but Matthau and Oscar-winning Burns are masters at work. This was George's first starring film role since HONOLULU in 1939. Remade for TV in 1997. | tt0073766 | [PG] | Walter Matthau, George Burns, Richard Benjamin, Lee Meredith, Carol Arthur, Howard Hesseman, Ron Rifkin, Fritz Feld, Jack Bernardi, F. Murray Abraham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sunshine Christmas | 1977 | Glenn Jordan | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Well-made sequel to 1973's TV movie SUNSHINE and the subsequent short-lived TV series. Charming, sincerely acted tale of how long-widowed De Young takes his adopted daughter (Cheshire) to meet his parents for Christmas and then falls in love with his childhood sweetheart. | tt0076783 | Cliff De Young, Barbara Hershey, Pat Hingle, Eileen Heckart, Elizabeth Cheshire, Meg Foster | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sunshine Cleaning | 2009 | Christine Jeffs | ★★★ | 96 | In Albuquerque, N.M., struggling single mom Adams starts a business mopping up crime scenes—though she has no experience in this highly specialized field—and recruits her slacker sister to help out. Likable comedy-drama about siblings whose lives have been shaped and shadowed by the early death of their mother. The two stars are perfectly cast and aided by a handpicked ensemble. Impressive debut script by Megan Holley. | tt0862846 | [R] | Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Jason Spevack, Steve Zahn, Mary Lynn Rasjkub, Clifton Collins, Jr., Eric Christian Olsen, Paul Dooley, Kevin Chapman, Judith Jones | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sunshine State | 2002 | John Sayles | ★★★ | 141 | Rich, Saylesian slice of life set on a Florida island where longtime residents, from both the black and white communities, are forced to deal with 'progress' as developers see nothing but dollar signs. A mosaic of character studies, brought to life by wonderful actors. | tt0286179 | [PG-13] | Edie Falco, Jane Alexander, Ralph Waite, Angela Bassett, James McDaniel, Mary Alice, Bill Cobbs, Gordon Clapp, Mary Steenburgen, Timothy Hutton, Tom Wright, Marc Blucas, Perry Lang, Miguel Ferrer, Charlayne Woodard, Clifton James, Alan King | Drama | NULL | ||
| Super | 2011 | James Gunn | ★½ | 96 | Unable to cope with his wife (Tyler) relapsing into drugs and leaving him for a dealer (Bacon), a self-proclaimed loser (Wilson) decides that the only way to save her—and the rest of society—from sinking into despair is to become a superhero. What starts out as something relatable becomes extremely dark, upsetting, and needlessly violent. We never really root for our hero or care if he succeeds. His sidekick (Page) is pretty much the film’s saving grace, as she brings comedy and heart to this otherwise soulless mess. | tt1512235 | Unrated | Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Linda Cardellini, William Katt | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Super 8 | 2011 | J. J. Abrams | ★★★½ | 112 | Small-town boy (newcomer Courtney), still reeling from his mother’s death, joins his pals to make a horror movie. One night the amateur filmmakers chance to witness a catastrophic train wreck. When strange occurrences follow, along with an invasion of secretive military forces, the kids figure out what’s going on long before the grown-ups have a clue. Writer-director Abrams’ homage to Steven Spielberg movies like CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, actually produced by Spielberg and appropriately set in 1979, has the kind of heart and passion missing from many contemporary blockbusters, along with storytelling savvy and state-of-the-art visual effects. Thoroughly entertaining. | tt1650062 | [PG-13] | Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Noah Emmerich, Ron Eldard, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Dan Castellaneta, Glynn Turman, Michael Hitchcock, A. J. Michalka, Jessica Tuck; voice of Bruce Greenwood | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Super Cops | 1974 | Gordon Parks | ★★★½ | 94 | Fast, funny, tough telling of the exploits of the Batman and Robin team of David Greenberg (Leibman) and Robert Hantz (Selby) who used unorthodox methods to stop the drug market in Brooklyn's black Bedford-Stuyvesant area. Filmed on location, with Greenberg and Hantz in bits. | tt0072228 | [PG] | Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle, Dan Frazer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Super Fuzz | Supersnooper | 1981 | Sergio Corbucci | ★½ | 94 | Rookie Miami cop Hill is exposed to radiation, gains superpowers and takes on mobster Lawrence. Pretty poor, including the special effects. Also known as SUPERSNOOPER. Originally 106m. | tt0082924 | [PG] | Terence Hill, Ernest Borgnine, Joanne Dru, Marc Lawrence, Julie Gordon, Lee Sandman | U.S.-Italian | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL |
| Super Mario Bros. | 1993 | Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel | ★½ | 104 | Super, indeed! This overblown, effects-laden turkey chronicles the convoluted story of the title boys from Brooklyn (Hoskins, Leguizamo), plumber-siblings who go up against the villainous King Koopa (Hopper), a semi-human dinosaur who instigates the kidnapping of Daisy (Mathis), a princess who possesses a magical meteorite fragment. This listless film has far less appeal than the video game that inspired it. | tt0108255 | [PG] | Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Samantha Mathis, Fisher Stevens, Richard Edson, Fiona Shaw, Lance Henriksen | Fantasy, Family, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Super Size Me | 2004 | Morgan Spurlock | ★★★ | 100 | Arresting 'personal documentary' in the Michael Moore vein: Spurlock decides to monitor the results of eating three meals a day for a month at McDonald's. Even his doctors are surprised by the effect on his system. In fact, the film is about much more than a wacky experiment; it's a wide-ranging indictment of Americans' poor eating habits, corporate (and even civic) complicity in our fast-food culture, and the alarming epidemic of obesity that has resulted. Surprisingly entertaining and informative. Alternate PG version also available. | tt0390521 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Super Troopers | 2002 | Jay Chandrasekhar | ★★½ | 103 | A bumbling group of Vermont state troopers get a second chance to save their jobs from being taken over by the local police when they stumble onto a drug ring. Gleefully raunchy comedy is just a string of gags but a lot of them surprisingly hit. First Hollywood feature from comedy troupe Broken Lizard plays like an anarchic cross between the Farrellys and Monty Python. | tt0247745 | [R] | Jay Chandrasekhar, Brian Cox, Daniel von Bargen, Marisa Coughlan, Jim Gaffigan, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Super | 1991 | Rod Daniel | ★½ | 86 | N.Y.C. slumlord Pesci is forced to move in with his tenants. A worthy idea, and Pesci is watchable as always, but the execution is all wrong: the scenario disastrously veers to comedy when it shouldn't, and the sentimental elements are utterly unbelievable. In dire need of anger and bite. | tt0103007 | [R] | Joe Pesci, Vincent Gardenia, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Rubén Blades, Stacey Travis, Carole Shelley, Paul Benjamin, Kenny Blank | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Super-Sleuth | 1937 | Ben Stoloff. | ★★★ | 70 | Inconsequential but very funny outing with Oakie as egocentric detective-movie star who tries to solve real-life mystery. Kennedy has plum supporting role as police detective. Remade as GENIUS AT WORK. | tt0029622 | Jack Oakie, Ann Sothern, Edgar Kennedy, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joan Woodbury, Bradley Page. | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 | 2004 | Bob Clark. | 💣 | 88 | Sequel to BABY GENIUSES casts Voight as a media mogul out to brainwash children via a tot-aimed TV network. He wants to use them to take over the world, but a band of tykes catches on and sets out to stop him. Gimmick has kids speaking to each other, thanks to creepy computer-generated lip movement. Crude humor makes this not just bad but insulting. | tt0270846 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Justin Chatwin, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel, Skyler Shaye, Gerry Fitzgerald, Leo Fitzgerald, Myles Fitzgerald, Whoopi Goldberg. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Superbad | 2007 | Greg Mottola | ★★★ | 112 | Nerdy friends Hill and Cera are desperate to have girlfriends—and maybe sex itself—before going to college. They get the chance when they’re invited to a party by a hot girl from their high school, but naturally, complications arise. Raunchy comedy features an almost endless torrent of vulgar (and very funny) language . . . but it’s also an apt, occasionally even sensitive study of young, confused desires and the inevitable embarrassments that go along with them. Screenplay by Rogen and Evan Goldberg; coproduced by Judd Apatow. 119m. unrated version also available. | tt0829482 | [R] | Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone, Aviva, Joe Lo Truglio, Kevin Corrigan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Superchick | 1973 | Ed Forsyth | ★★ | 94 | Silly but harmless drive-in fodder has Jillson (better known as an astrologer) as blonde, free-loving stewardess (juggling boyfriends in several cities) who's so desirable she adopts a mousey brunette disguise to get her work done. | tt0070752 | [R] | Joyce Jillson, Louis Quinn, Thomas Reardon, Tony Young, John Carradine, Uschi Digard, Mary Gavin (Candy Samples) | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Supercross | 2005 | Steve Boyum | ★½ | 80 | Also known as SUPERCROSS THE MOVIE (for those who need things spelled out), this film presents a thin plot about two disparate brothers who are suddenly thrust into the world of hyper-competitive uber-bike championships after the mysterious death of their father. One of the boys is sponsored, which allows plenty of opportunity to hawk everything from motor oil to tires. Product placement never had it so good. A lame-brained ESPN program passing for a movie. | tt0403016 | [PG-13] | Steve Howey, Mike Vogel, Cameron Richardson, Sophia Bush, Aaron Carter, Channing Tatum, Robert Patrick, Robert Carradine | Action, Drama, Romance, Sport | NULL | ||
| Superdad | 1974 | Vincent McEveety | 💣 | 96 | (Bruno Kirby), Ed Begley, Jr. Disney generation gap comedy is superbad. Crane competes with daughter's fiancé in effort to prove future son-in-law worthy. | tt0072229 | [G] | Bob Crane, Kurt Russell, Barbara Rush, Joe Flynn, Kathleen Cody, Dick Van Patten, Joby Baker, B. Kirby/Jr. (Bruno Kirby), Ed Begley/Jr. | Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Superfly | 1972 | Gordon Parks/ Jr | ★★★ | 96 | Morally dubious but undeniably exciting tale of Harlem drug dealer out for the last killing before he quits the business. Film was accused of glorifying drug pushers. Benefits from excellent Curtis Mayfield score. Sequels: SUPERFLY T.N.T. and THE RETURN OF SUPERFLY. | tt0069332 | [R] | Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius W. Harris, Charles McGregor | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Superfly T.N.T. | 1973 | Ron O'Neal | 💣 | 87 | Confused, sloppily constructed and executed B film about black ex-drug pusher, dissatisfied with idyllic existence in Europe, deciding to aid official from African country (Browne). Followed years later by THE RETURN OF SUPERFLY. | tt0070753 | [R] | Ron O'Neal, Roscoe Lee Browne, Sheila Frazier, Robert Guillaume, Jacques Sernas, William Berger, Roy Bosier | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Supergirl | 1984 | Jeannot Szwarc | ★½ | 114 | This comic-book movie is a superdrag: long, dull, heavy-handed. Slater is cute but bland in title role; Dunaway is a predictably campy villainess. Also available in 138m. director's cut and 124m. European version. | tt0088206 | [PG] | Faye Dunaway, Helen Slater, Peter O'Toole, Peter Cook, Brenda Vaccaro, Mia Farrow, Simon Ward, Marc McClure, Hart Bochner, Maureen Teefy, Matt Frewer | British | Adventure, Fantasy, Action | NULL | |
| The Supergrass | 1985 | Peter Richardson | ★★ | 105 | To impress a girl, Edmondson innocently brags that he's a big-time drug dealer— much to his regret. Inoffensive comedy. | tt0090102 | [R] | Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Richardson, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Nigel Planer, Robbie Coltrane | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Superhero Movie | 2008 | Craig Mazin | ★★ | 86 | After being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, high school outcast Bell develops super powers. Like Spider-Man, he makes himself a suit and attempts to save the world, only to be confronted by a villain named The Hourglass (McDonald). Parodying films from BATMAN BEGINS to FANTASTIC FOUR, this spoof’s low-grade humor may make you cringe at times but it does provide some laughs—amidst a barrage of flatulence jokes and pop-culture references. | tt0426592 | [PG-13] | Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, Leslie Nielsen, Kevin Hart, Marion Ross, Brent Spiner, Robert Joy, Jeffrey Tambor, Nicole Sullivan, Tracy Morgan, Simon Rex, Dan Castellaneta, Pamela Anderson, Keith David, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, John Getz, Charlene Tilton, Robert Hays, Li’l Kim | Thriller, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Superman | 1978 | Richard Donner | ★★★½ | 143 | Dynamic, grandly entertaining saga of the Man of Steel, tracing his life from Krypton to Smallville to Metropolis, mixing equal parts sincerity, special effects (which earned a special Oscar), and send-up. Great fun. The network TV version added 49m. of outtakes— including cameos by Noel Neill and Kirk Alyn as Lois Lane's parents. 2001 video release runs 151m. Followed by three sequels. | tt0078346 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Glenn Ford, Valerie Perrine, Phyllis Thaxter, Jeff East, Trevor Howard, Susannah York, Maria Schell, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Harry Andrews, Lise Hilboldt, Larry Hagman, John Ratzenberger | Action, Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Superman II | 1981 | Richard Lester | ★★★ | 127 | Screw the Superman legend, forget logic, and full speed ahead: that's the attitude of this flashy sequel, wherein three villains from Krypton, with powers just like Superman's, threaten the Earth— while Lois Lane and the Man of Steel fall in love. Full of great effects and entertainingly played, but lacking the sense of awe and wonder of the original film, adding cruelty and violence instead. Released in Europe in 1980. | tt0081573 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Valerie Perrine, Susannah York, Clifton James, E.G. Marshall, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Jack O'Halloran | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Superman III | 1983 | Richard Lester | ★½ | 123 | Appalling sequel trashes everything that Superman is all about for the sake of cheap laughs and a costarring role for Pryor, as computer operator who unwittingly gives villainous Vaughn a chance to conquer the Man of Steel. Director Lester's opening slapstick ballet is a funny set-piece, but doesn't belong in this movie. Network TV added 19m. of footage for its first showing. | tt0086393 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Annette O'Toole, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn, Margot Kidder | Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | 1987 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★ | 90 | Superman does his bit for world peace by ridding the globe of nuclear weapons— which inspires Lex Luthor to become a black-market arms profiteer. He also challenges Superman by creating Nuclear Man. Disappointing fantasy adventure is pretty ordinary, with second-rate special effects. Sincere performances help a lot. Reeve receives costory credit on this one (along with 2nd unit directing). | tt0094074 | [PG] | Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer, Sam Wanamaker, Mark Pillow, Mariel Hemingway, Margot Kidder, Jim Broadbent | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | ||
| Superman Returns | 2006 | Bryan Singer | ★★★ | 154 | Superman has disappeared for five years. Now he returns to Earth, only to find that Lois Lane has given birth to a child-and Lex Luthor is a free man. Traditionalist's view of the Man of Steel emphasizes romance and keeps campiness to a minimum. Newcomer Routh is an appealing Superman and Clark Kent. Fun to watch until the third act, which drags. Through movie magic Marlon Brando reappears as Superman's father, Jor-El, in footage from 1978's SUPERMAN. | tt0348150 | [PG-13] | Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint, Parker Posey, Kal Penn, Sam Huntington, James Karen, Peta Wilson, Jack Larson, Noel Neill | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Superman and the Mole-Men | 1951 | Lee Sholem | ★★ | 58 | Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane go to small town to see the world's deepest oil well; instead, they discover that 'mole-men' have climbed out of the well, from their home at the center of Earth. This very low-budget feature served as a pilot for the long-running TV series Adventures of Superman, but it's more serious (and less fun) than the subsequent show— and we don't even get to see Superman fly! But it's still great to watch Reeves as the Man of Steel. Edited down and retitled 'The Unknown People' to run as a TV Superman two-parter. | tt0044091 | George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, Jeff Corey, Walter Reed, J. Farrell MacDonald, Stanley Andrews | Drama, Family, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Supernatural | 1933 | Victor Halperin | ★★½ | 64 | Interesting little thriller— most unusual for its time— about a woman on Death Row who upon her execution transfers her personality to an innocent victim. | tt0024631 | Carole Lombard, Randolph Scott, Vivienne Osborne, H. B. Warner, Alan Dinehart, Beryl Mercer, William Farnum | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Supernaturals | 1986 | Armand Mastroianni | 💣 | 85 | Ludicrous fantasy has butch drill sergeant Nichols (better known as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek) leading young troops on maneuvers, accidentally stumbling on Rebel ghosts from the Civil War who are seeking revenge. Boring tale has the production values of a home movie; never released theatrically. | tt0092030 | [R] | Maxwell Caulfield, Talia Balsam, Bradford Bancroft, LeVar Burton, Bobby DiCicco, Scott Jacoby, Nichelle Nichols | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Supernova | 2000 | Thomas Lee | ★½ | 90 | Alan Smithee gets competition that neither he nor the industry needs; Lee is a pseudonym for director Walter Hill, who took his name off this costly but listlessly derivative space adventure. Story deals with a hospital ship rescuing a battered freighter that has sent out a distress call in 'black hole' territory. Spader and Phillips are so pumped up that you wonder where they're getting the celestial weight-room time. Video version is rated R. | tt0134983 | [PG-13] | James Spader, Angela Bassett, Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Forster, Robin Tunney, Peter Facinelli | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Superstar | Andy Warhol Superstar | 1999 | Bruce McCulloch | ★½ | 81 | One-note comedy in which Shannon recreates her Saturday Night Live character of Mary Katherine Gallagher, a dorky, self-deluded Irish Catholic schoolgirl who wears the unsexiest white underwear, dreams of fame, and pursues the most popular boy in class (Ferrell). Little improvement over such SNL-derived feature films as IT'S PAT and A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY. | tt0167427 | [PG-13] | Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, Elaine Hendrix, Tom Green, Harland Williams, Mark McKinney, Glynis Johns, Emmy Laybourne | Comedy | NULL | |
| Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol | 1991 | Chuck Workman | ★★★ | 87 | Tom Wolfe, Sylvia Miles, David Hockney, Taylor Mead, Dennis Hopper, and a Campbell's Soup spokesman are just some of the many who offer comment on N.Y.C.'s life of the party— and if Workman can't find much old footage of his subject conjugating nouns and verbs, it may not exist. Inevitably entertaining, though Warhol seems no less enigmatic at the conclusion. | tt0103008 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Support Your Local Gunfighter | 1971 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★ | 92 | Engaging comedy-Western, not a sequel to SHERIFF despite director and cast. Con artist Garner tries to profit from mining dispute by passing off bumbling Elam as notorious gunslinger. Seemingly endless list of character actors adds sparkle, with Elam giving his most side-splitting performance as 'Swifty' Morgan; his final line is a gem. | tt0067809 | [G] | James Garner, Suzanne Pleshette, Jack Elam, Harry Morgan, John Dehner, Joan Blondell, Dub Taylor, Ellen Corby, Henry Jones, Marie Windsor, Dick Curtis, Chuck Connors, Grady Sutton | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Support Your Local Sheriff! | 1969 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★½ | 93 | Delightful Western parody in which no-fisted Garner tames lawless town by using his wits, breaking all the rules— and kicking virtually every Western cliché in the pants. Brennan is wonderful spoofing his Old Man Clanton character from MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, but Hackett's wealthy klutz, Elam's inept deputy, and Dern's bratty killer are also fine. Written and produced by William Bowers. | tt0065051 | [G] | James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Bruce Dern, Henry Jones, Gene Evans | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came? | War Games | 1970 | Hy Averback | ★★½ | 113 | Awful title obscures surprisingly strong satire about strained relations between redneck town and nearby Army base eventually reaching the breaking point. No real 'good guys' in this unusual film; not without flaws, but certainly worth a look. Later ripped off by TANK. Retitled WAR GAMES for network TV. | tt0066422 | [M] | Tony Curtis, Brian Keith, Ernest Borgnine, Suzanne Pleshette, Ivan Dixon, Bradford Dillman, Tom Ewell, Don Ameche, Arthur O'Connell, John Fiedler | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Sure Fire | 1993 | Jon Jost | ★★★ | 86 | Provocative tale of smug, hot-shot entrepreneur (Blair), who concocts a scheme to build summer houses in Utah for city-dwelling Californians. Another impressive, visually arresting feature from acclaimed independent filmmaker Jost. | tt0108257 | Tom Blair, Kristi Hager, Robert Ernst, Kate Dezina, Philip R. Brown |
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| The Sure Thing | 1985 | Rob Reiner | ★★½ | 94 | Amusing film updates IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT as two college students who don't get along find themselves traveling cross-country together. Utterly predictable, but cute. | tt0090103 | [PG-13] | John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Anthony Edwards, Boyd Gaines, Tim Robbins, Lisa Jane Persky, Viveca Lindfors, Nicollette Sheridan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surf II | 1984 | Randall Badat | ★½ | 91 | Creditable cast washes ashore in '80s spoof of '70s gore films and '60s surfer films (with appropriate oldies on the soundtrack). Deezen's always good for a few laughs, but the film's best joke is its title: there never was a SURF I. | tt0088207 | [R] | Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Cleavon Little, Peter Isaacksen, Lyle Waggoner, Eric Stoltz, Morgan Paull, Ruth Buzzi, Carol Wayne, Terry Kiser | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surf Ninjas | 1993 | Neal Israel | 💣 | 86 | Fast-talking Southern California surf dudes travel to a distant Asian kingdom to regain their throne as lost crown princes. Are you following this so far? If you care what happens next, this may be your kind of movie. | tt0108258 | [PG] | Ernie Reyes/Jr., Rob Schneider, Nicolas Cowan, Leslie Nielsen, Tone Loc, Ernie Reyes/Sr., Keone Young, Kelly Hu, John Karlen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surf Party | 1964 | Maury Dexter | 💣 | 68 | Teenagers meet and mate in Malibu. Waterlogged. | tt0058626 | Bobby Vinton, Jackie De Shannon, Patricia Morrow, Kenny Miller | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Surfer, Dude | 2008 | S. R. Bindler | ★★½ | 86 | Celebrity "surfer dude" (a perfectly cast McConaughey), who's an old-style purist, returns to Malibu, where a sleazy promoter is determined to sign him for a reality TV show. Meant to be a caustic denunciation of commercialism and the lack of privacy in a nothing-is-sacred culture, but the result is formulaic and only intermittently successful. | tt0976247 | [R] | Matthew McConaughey, Alexie Gilmore, Scott Glenn, Jeffrey Nordling, Ramon Rodriguez, Zachary Knighton, Nathan Phillips, Todd Stashwick, Sarah Wright, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, K. D. Aubert | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surf’s Up | 2007 | Ash Brannon, Chris Buck | ★★★ | 85 | A surfing penguin from Shiverpool, Antarctica, heads to a sunny tropical island to compete in a championship contest. Cleverly made in the style of a behind-the-scenes documentary, this charming animated comedy boasts striking visuals (the big-wave surfing sequences are knockouts) and a funky, laid-back quality. Bridges’ performance as Geek is perfectly in tune with all of this. | tt0423294 | [PG] | Voices of Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, James Woods, Jon Heder, Diedrich Bader, Mario Cantone | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Surgeon's Knife | 1957 | Gordon Parry | ★★ | 75 | Tepid drama of doctor Houston implicated in criminal negligence, becoming involved in murder. | tt0051031 | Donald Houston, Adrienne Corri, Lyndon Brook | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Surprise Package | 1960 | Stanley Donen | ★★½ | 100 | Versatile Brynner tries screwball comedy, not doing too badly as devil-may-care gambler planning big-time robbery; Gaynor is sprightly leading lady. Script by Harry Kurnitz, from the Art Buchwald novel. | tt0054355 | Yul Brynner, Mitzi Gaynor, Barry Foster, Eric Pohlmann, Noel Coward, George Coulouris | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surrender | 1987 | Jerry Belson | ★★ | 95 | Attractive cast injects little energy into this tired, familiar comedy about confused Field, oft-married Caine, and their complicated courtship. Even Caine's charm cannot save it. Scripted by the director. | tt0094078 | [PG] | Sally Field, Michael Caine, Steve Guttenberg, Peter Boyle, Jackie Cooper, Julie Kavner, Louise Lasser, Iman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surrender- Hell! | 1959 | John Barnwell | ★★ | 85 | Predictable account of Andes rallying partisan forces to combat Japanese control of Philippines. Shot on location. | tt0051032 | Keith Andes, Susan Cabot, Paraluman, Nestor de Villa | War | NULL | |||
| The Surrogate | 1984 | Don Carmody | ★★½ | 95 | Clever whodunit has handsome couple (Tweed and Hindle) reluctantly turning to sex surrogate Laure to help with their marital problems. Solid Canadian cast punches home contrived script in which nearly every character (including top female impersonator Bailey, as Tweed's best friend) appears to be a psychotic suspect. | tt0088210 | [R] | Art Hindle, Carole Laure, Shannon Tweed, Michael Ironside, Jim Bailey, Marilyn Lightstone, Jackie Burroughs | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Surrogates | 2009 | Jonathan Mostow | ★★★ | 89 | Smart science-fiction tale set in the near future when people allow attractive, realistic robots to experience life for them. Crime is practically nonexistent—until a wave of killings wipes out not just the surrogates but their controllers as well. FBI agents Willis and Mitchell investigate, while Willis tries to persuade his wife to abandon her surrogate and repair their damaged relationship. Slick entertainment has some provocative ideas behind it. Based on a graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. | tt0986263 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Francis Ginty, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, Jack Noseworthy | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Surveillance | 2008 | Jennifer Lynch | 💣 | 97 | Federal agents Ormond and Pullman, investigating a grisly crime in a rural stretch of America, meet resistance from the lunk-headed local cops and an odd array of witnesses. Odious, one-note RASHOMON-like hodgepodge is poorly directed and scripted. Lynch’s first since 1993’s BOXING HELENA; her father, David Lynch, executive produced. | tt0409345 | [R] | Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman, Pell James, Ryan Simpkins, Cheri Oteri, Michael Ironside, French Stewart, Kent Harper, Caroline Aaron, Gill Gayle, Hugh Dillon | U.S.-German-Canadian | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Survival | 1976 | Michael Campus | ★★ | 85 | Intriguing psychodrama that talks itself to death. Elaborate dinner party evolves into parlor games where each guest must justify his existence, and all but two will be permanently eliminated by the vote of the others. | tt0075289 | Barry Sullivan, Anne Francis, Sheree North, Chuck McCann, Otis Young | Drama | NULL | |||
| Survival Run | 1980 | Larry Spiegel | ★½ | 90 | Graves, Milland, and company stalk teenagers stranded in the desert. The object is murder; the film is dreadful. | tt0081576 | [R] | Peter Graves, Ray Milland, Vincent Van Patten, Pedro Armendáriz/ Jr., Alan Conrad | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Survival of the Dead | 2010 | George A. Romero | ★★ | 90 | Another Romero visit to an America overrun with cannibalistic walking corpses. This time a small paramilitary group hopes to evade the chaos by going to an island off the Delaware Coast, but conflict between the two very Irish patriarchs that control the place over how to treat the numerous reanimated corpses means only more chaos. Less nihilistic than others in the series, with stronger characterizations and good cinematography, but it's really just more of the same. Won't someone give Romero the money to do another kind of movie? Aka GEORGE A. ROMERO'S SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD. | tt1134854 | [R] | Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Devon Bostick, Richard Fitzpatrick, Athena Karkanis, Stefano Di Matteo | U.S.-Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Survive! | 1976 | Rene Cardona/Sr | ★½ | 86 | Survivors of a South American plane crash are forced to cannibalize each other in order to stay alive. Based on a true incident, but do you really care? Same story retold in U.S. film ALIVE. | tt0075290 | [R] | Pablo Ferrel, Hugo Stiglitz, Luz Maria Aguilar, Fernando Larranga, Norma Lazareno | Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| Surviving Christmas | 2004 | Mike Mitchell. | 💣 | 92 | Self-involved businessman (Affleck) without domestic ties suddenly yearns for an ideal family Christmas . . . so he purchases kin for the holidays. Scrooge is proven right with this awful, lowbrow mess of a comedy. | tt0252028 | [PG-13] | Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Josh Zuckerman, Bill Macy, Jennifer Morrison, Udo Kier, Stephanie Faracy, Stephen Root, David Selby. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Surviving Picasso | 1996 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 125 | Pablo Picasso uses women, then tosses them away, but a young artist ventures into a relationship with him just the same, certain that this time it will be different. McElhone makes an impressive film debut as the willing 'victim,' but it's Hopkins' charismatic performance as the ego-driven artist that makes this worth seeing. One must be willing to accept a lack of European accents— and the absence of genuine Picasso art. | tt0117791 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone, Julianne Moore, Joss Ackland, Joan Plowright, Peter Eyre, Jane Lapotaire, Joseph Maher, Diane Venora, Bob Peck, Peter Gerety, Dominic West, Susannah Harker, Dennis Boutsikaris | Drama | NULL | ||
| Surviving the Game | 1994 | Ernest Dickerson | ★½ | 96 | Only the absence of Maria Conchita Alonso keeps this umpteenth variation of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME from having the definitive schlock action cast, as destitute Ice-T is unwittingly hired to perform vague duties at a secluded woodsy resort, only to learn he's the prey of high-roller hunters. Sub-routine chase pic is Confusion City all the way; it's difficult to believe that the same plot could be recycled less than a year after John Woo's far more stylish HARD TARGET. | tt0111323 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Ice-T, Gary Busey, F. Murray Abraham, Charles S. Dutton, John C. McGinley, Jeff Corey | Action | NULL | ||
| The Survivors | 1983 | Michael Ritchie | ★★ | 102 | Two disparate men lose their jobs and find their lives intertwined when they identify a robber and are told that they'll be 'fixed.' One (Williams) decides to arm himself to the teeth in this combination black comedy and social satire. Likable stars do their best with scattershot script credited to Michael Leeson. | tt0086397 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Robin Williams, Jerry Reed, James Wainwright, Kristen Vigard, Anne Pitoniak, John Goodman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise | 1931 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 76 | A young woman flees from her loutish father— who wants to marry her off— and finds refuge with Gable, but circumstances keep them apart until the final clinch. Contrived melodrama made compelling by the ever-mesmerizing Garbo. | tt0022453 | Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Jean Hersholt, John Miljan, Alan Hale/Sr. | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Susan Slade | 1961 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 116 | Slick soaper, beautifully photographed by Lucien Ballard. McGuire pretends to be mother of daughter's (Stevens) illegitimate child. Donahue is Connie's true love. | tt0055490 | Troy Donahue, Dorothy McGuire, Connie Stevens, Lloyd Nolan, Brian Aherne, Bert Convy, Kent Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Susan Slept Here | 1954 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 98 | Screenwriter Powell agrees to look after high-spirited delinquent Reynolds in this 'cute' sex comedy, which has the distinction of being the only film in history ever narrated by an Oscar statuette! | tt0047550 | Dick Powell, Debbie Reynolds, Anne Francis, Glenda Farrell, Alvy Moore | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Susan and God | 1940 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 115 | Crawford is satisfying as woman whose religious devotion loses her the love of her family. Gertrude Lawrence fared better on stage. Screenplay by Anita Loos, based on Rachel Crothers' play. | tt0033117 | Joan Crawford, Fredric March, Ruth Hussey, John Carroll, Rita Hayworth, Nigel Bruce, Bruce Cabot, Rose Hobart, Rita Quigley, Marjorie Main, Gloria De Haven | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Susana | 1951 | Luis Buñuel | ★★½ | 82 | A voluptuous orphan of the storm, engagingly played by Quintana, undermines the loving fabric of the family that rescues her. Well handled and staged by Buñuel, until the cop-out finale. | tt0043018 | Rosita Quintana, Fernando Soler, Victor Manuel Mendoza, Matilde Palou | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Susanna Pass | 1949 | William Witney. | ★★½ | 67 | Crooked newspaperman Keane murders his brother to seize oil-rich deposits underneath a lake that's used as a fish hatchery. He doesn't count on Dale (a Ph.D. in marine biology) inheriting the lake, or on game warden Roy being concerned with fish conservation. Interesting environmentalist story leads up to exciting chase and showdown. | tt0041935 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Estelita Rodriguez, Martin Garralaga, Robert Emmett Keane, Lucien Littlefield, Douglas Fowley, David Sharpe, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Susannah of the Mounties | 1939 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 78 | Mountie Scott raises orphan Shirley in this predictable but entertaining Temple vehicle. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031995 | Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Margaret Lockwood, J. Farrell MacDonald, Moroni Olsen, Victor Jory | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Suspect | 1987 | Peter Yates | ★★★ | 121 | Dedicated public defender (Cher) battles a nearly hopeless case, representing a deaf derelict accused of murder, with the unexpected help of one of her jurors (Quaid). Entertaining film manages to override its many implausibilities, with Cher turning in a fine and utterly believable performance. | tt0094082 | [R] | Cher, Dennis Quaid, Liam Neeson, John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco, E. Katherine Kerr | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Suspect Zero | 2004 | E. Elias Merhige | ★★ | 99 | Troubled FBI agent (Eckhart), just transferred to the New Mexico office, suspects that the man they're trying to track down for a string of disappearances and murders is not exactly what he seems. Complex premise, reminiscent at times of RED DRAGON, with striking visual style, is hindered by the oppressive nature of the material and the fact that there's no one to care about. | tt0324127 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry Lennix, William Mapother | Thriller, Crime, Horror, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Suspect | 1944 | Robert Siodmak | ★★★½ | 85 | Superb, Hitchcock-like thriller of henpecked London tobacconist Laughton planning to get his wife out of the way so he can pursue lovely Raines. | tt0037330 | Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Dean Harens, Molly Lamont, Henry Daniell, Rosalind Ivan | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Suspended Alibi | 1956 | Alfred Shaughnessy | ★½ | 64 | Holt is involved in homicide via circumstantial evidence in this coincidence-laden drama. Retitled: SUSPECTED ALIBI. | tt0049813 | Patrick Holt, Honor Blackman, Andrew Keir, Valentine Dyall | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Suspended Animation | 2003 | John D. Hancock | ★½ | 114 | Hollywood animation filmmaker on a winter vacation is held captive, MISERY-style, by a pair of crazed sisters. He escapes and returns to Malibu, obsessed with the (now supposedly dead) women who caused his ordeal. Well produced, but the story is unpleasant and suffers from a rotten ending. Most of the characters lack appeal, though Esterman is quite good as one of the sisters. | tt0271809 | [R] | Alex McArthur, Laura Esterman, Sage Allen, Rebecca Harrell, Fred Meyers, Maria Cina, Jeff Puckett | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Suspense | 1946 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 101 | Completely unsuspenseful story of ambitious heel who makes time with married ice-skating star Belita. Some nice visual touches, but leaden pacing, film noir clichés, and such musical highlights as 'Ice Cuba' make this heavy going. Opening shot is the best thing in the movie! Script by Philip Yordan. | tt0039000 | Barry Sullivan, Belita, Albert Dekker, Bonita Granville, Eugene Pallette | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Suspicion | 1941 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★½ | 99 | Fontaine won Oscar for portraying wife who believes husband Grant is trying to kill her. Suspenser is helped by Bruce as Cary's pal, but finale (imposed by the Production Code) leaves viewer flat. Scripted by Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison, and Alma Reville (Hitchcock's wife), from Before the Fact by Francis Iles (Anthony Berkeley). Remade as a TVM in 1987. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034248 | Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, Leo G. Carroll | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Suspiria | 1977 | Dario Argento | ★★★ | 92 | Terrifying tale of American student (Harper) attending European ballet school that turns out to be a witches' coven. Often dumb plot is enriched and overcome by brilliant camerawork, atmosphere, music score and performance (by Argento and rock group Goblin). May lose some of its chilling effectiveness on TV. Also available in more explicit uncut version which runs 107m. | tt0076786 | [R] | Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Joan Bennett, Alida Valli, Flavio Bucci, Udo Kier | Italian | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| Sutter's Gold | 1936 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 94 | Biography of John Sutter— initiator of California's gold rush— starts off well, bogs down midway through story. Arnold is always good, but he's fighting a mediocre script here. Look for Billy Gilbert as a Spanish general taken hostage. | tt0028329 | Edward Arnold, Lee Tracy, Binnie Barnes, Katharine Alexander, Addison Richards, Montagu Love, Harry Carey | Western | NULL | |||
| Suture | 1993 | Scott McGehee, David Siegel | ★★★ | 93 | Unique, off-the-wall tale of Vincent (Michael Harris), who is suspected of murdering his father; he hatches a scheme to fake his own death, substituting the body of his estranged half-brother, Clay (Haysbert), as his corpse. Although these men remark on their uncanny physical resemblance, Vincent is white and Clay is black: a joke which only the audience is in on. A novel and perceptive film about identity. An impressive debut for writer-director-producer duo McGehee and Siegel. | tt0108260 | Dennis Haysbert, Mel Harris, Dina Merrill, Sab Shimono, Michael Harris, David Graf, Fran Ryan, John Ingle | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Suzy | 1936 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★ | 99 | Fine cast sinks in this soapy romantic spy drama set in WW1, with Grant as French flier who falls in love with Harlow. Brightest moment has Cary crooning 'Did I Remember?' | tt0028330 | Jean Harlow, Franchot Tone, Cary Grant, Lewis Stone, Benita Hume | Drama | NULL | |||
| Svengali | 1931 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 82 | Absorbing tale of artist's obsession with young girl, Trilby, who becomes singing artist under his hypnotic spell. Prime Barrymore in interesting production with bizarre Paris sets by Anton Grot, memorable visual effects. Followed by THE MAD GENIUS. | tt0022454 | John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Crisp, Carmel Myers, Bramwell Fletcher, Luis Alberni | Drama | NULL | |||
| Svengali | 1955 | Noel Langley | ★★½ | 82 | Lacks flair of earlier version of du Maurier's novel about mesmerizing teacher and his actress-pupil Trilby. Robert Newton, originally cast as Svengali, quit in mid-production but can still be seen in some long shots. | tt0048680 | Hildegarde Neff, Donald Wolfit, Terence Morgan, Noel Purcell, Alfie Bass | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Svengali | 1983 | Anthony Harvey | Average TV Movie | 100 | O'Toole's outré performance as a faded musical star who takes young rock singer Foster under his wing makes this new version of the hoary tale watchable. Updated from George du Maurier's nearly one-hundred-year-old Trilby. | tt0086399 | Peter O'Toole, Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Ashley, Larry Joshua, Pamela Blair, Barbara Byrne, Holly Hunter | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Swamp Fire | 1946 | William H. Pine | ★★ | 69 | Blah melodrama in which psychologically scarred Weissmuller returns from Coast Guard service in WW2, and attempts to settle into his old life as a Louisiana river pilot. | tt0039001 | Johnny Weissmuller, Virginia Grey, Buster Crabbe, Carol Thurston, Pedro De Cordoba, David Janssen | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Swamp Thing | 1982 | Wes Craven | ★★½ | 91 | Research scientist continues to love Barbeau from afar even after a chemical turns him into walking vegetation. This was better as a DC comic, though Jourdan's villainous camping in this sweet-natured monster pic is almost on a level with Vincent Price's standard routine. Followed by THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING and a cable TV series. | tt0084745 | [PG] | Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, Ray Wise, David Hess, Nicholas Worth | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Swamp Water | 1941 | Jean Renoir | ★★½ | 90 | Renoir's first American film is moody but erratic thriller set in the Okefenokee. Trapper Andrews finds fugitive Brennan hiding in the swamp, tries to clear him of murder rap without letting on that he knows the man's whereabouts. Powerhouse cast, handsome production, weakened by cornball dialogue and miscasting of Brennan. Remade as LURE OF THE WILDERNESS. | tt0034251 | Dana Andrews, Walter Brennan, Anne Baxter, Walter Huston, Virginia Gilmore, John Carradine, Ward Bond, Guinn Williams, Eugene Pallette, Joe Sawyer, Mary Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Swamp Women | Swamp Diamonds | 1955 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 73 | Heavy-handed nonsense with New Orleans policewoman Mathews going undercover, hooking up with notorious trio of female crooks who escape from jail and head out after stolen diamonds. Fans of Windsor and Garland will not want to miss it. Retitled: SWAMP DIAMONDS, CRUEL SWAMP. | tt0048682 | Carole Mathews, Marie Windsor, Beverly Garland, Touch (Michael) Connors, Jil Jarmyn, Susan Cummings | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Swan Princess | 1994 | Richard Rich | ★★ | 90 | Charmless, by-the-numbers animated fantasy about Prince Derek and Princess Odette, who seem fated to wed; barriers arise when they quarrel, and a sorcerer transforms the princess into a swan. Partially based on the fable that inspired Swan Lake. Too imitative of Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for its own good. In fact, the film was made by former Disney animators. Followed by two sequels. | tt0111333 | [G] | Voices of Jack Palance, Howard McGillin, Michelle Nicastro, Liz Callaway, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Swan Princess: Escape From Castle Mountain | 1997 | Richard Rich | 💣 | 71 | Insipid sequel. Princess Odette and Prince Derek continue incoherently to do battle with an evil sorcerer. No better than a Saturday morning TV cartoon, a waste of time. Followed by direct-to-video sequel. | tt0120254 | [G] | Voices of Michelle Nicastro, Douglas Sills, Jake Williamson, Donald Sage MacKay, Doug Stone | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| The Swan | 1956 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 112 | Mild Molnar comedy of manners has attractive cast but not much sparkle. Jourdan good as Kelly's suitor, but she's promised to prince Guinness. Filmed before in 1925 and (as ONE ROMANTIC NIGHT) in 1930. | tt0049815 | Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, Louis Jourdan, Agnes Moorehead, Jessie Royce Landis, Brian Aherne, Leo G. Carroll, Estelle Winwood | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Swanee River | 1939 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 84 | Bio of Stephen Foster where every song he writes is cued by a line of dialogue; clichés fill the movie, but it's fun on that level. Jolson is terrific as E. P. Christy; minstrel numbers are exceptionally well done. Other Foster bios are HARMONY LANE and I DREAM OF JEANIE. | tt0031996 | Don Ameche, Al Jolson, Andrea Leeds, Felix Bressart, Russell Hicks | Drama | NULL | |||
| Swann in Love | 1984 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★½ | 110 | Lavish but lifeless telescoping of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past with Irons surprisingly stiff as French aristocrat obsessed with scandalous, lower-class Muti in 1885 Paris. Redeemed somewhat by the latter and Delon (as a homosexual baron), a sexy under-the-covers love scene, and Sven Nykvist photography. | tt0088315 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Ornella Muti, Alain Delon, Fanny Ardant, Marie-Christine Barrault, Nathalie Juvet | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Swarm | 1978 | Irwin Allen | 💣 | 116 | This formula disaster film from Irwin Allen portrays killer bee invasion with no sting at all; succeeds only in wasting a lot of talented actors. For masochists only: an expanded laserdisc print runs 156m. | tt0078350 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia de Havilland, Fred MacMurray, Ben Johnson, Lee Grant, Jose Ferrer, Patty Duke Astin, Slim Pickens, Bradford Dillman | Action, Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Swashbuckler | 1976 | James Goldstone | 💣 | 101 | Poorly constructed, bubble-headed picture— laced with kinky PG sex scenes— would make Errol Flynn turn over in his grave. Incredible waste of talent. | tt0075294 | [PG] | Robert Shaw, James Earl Jones, Peter Boyle, Geneviève Bujold, Beau Bridges, Geoffrey Holder, Avery Schreiber, Anjelica Huston | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sweater Girl | 1942 | William Clemens. | ★★½ | 77 | While rehearsing the annual college revue, Bracken and Preisser investigate the mysterious deaths of a couple of their fellow students. Moderately entertaining mix of mystery, comedy, and music. Previously made as COLLEGE SCANDAL (1935). | tt0035400 | Eddie Bracken, June Preisser, Phillip Terry, Nils Asther, Frieda Inescort, Betty Jane Rhodes, Johnnie Johnston. | Comedy, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Swedenhielms | 1935 | Gustaf Molander | ★★½ | 88 | Slow-moving but not uninteresting tale of poor but honorable scientist Rolf Swedenhielm (well acted by Ekman), who's up for the Nobel Prize, and his careless, childish offspring. Bergman, in her third feature, plays the wealthy fiancée of Swedenhielm's youngest son— and her star appeal is obvious. | tt0027062 | Gosta Ekman, Bjorn Berglund, Hakan Westergren, Tutta Rolf, Ingrid Bergman | Swedish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | 1936 | George King | ★★ | 68 | Not many chills in this adaptation of the George Dibdin-Pitt play (later one of the sources for the Broadway musical Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim), but it does contain a quintessential eye-rolling performance by Britain's master of grand guignol, Tod Slaughter, playing the sadistic barber who dumps his customers into the cellar and turns them into meat pies. Photographed by Ronald Neame. Not released in the U.S. until 1939. | tt0028331 | Tod Slaughter, Bruce Seton, Stella Rho, Eve Lister, Ben Soutten, D.J. Williams | British | Crime, Horror | NULL | |
| Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | 2007 | Tim Burton | ★★★ | 117 | Stylized adaptation of the legendary Stephen Sondheim–Hugh Wheeler musical about a barber seeking revenge against 19th-century London society because of the judge who unjustly imprisoned him—and stole his wife and young daughter. Director Burton's naturally morbid sensibilities mesh well with Sondheim's dark, brooding score. The result—whose textual changes will certainly pain Broadway purists—may not be as powerful as the original, but it actually works as a film. Depp and Carter (who, like the entire cast, do their own singing) bring gravity and wit to their roles, and the physical production (designed by Dante Ferretti) is grimly spectacular. Not for the squeamish. | tt0408236 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jayne Wisener, Jamie Campbell Bower, Edward Sanders, Laura Michelle Kelly | Thriller, Musical | NULL | ||
| Sweepings | 1933 | John Cromwell | ★★★½ | 80 | Compelling Edna Ferberish saga of self-made man who devotes his life to building giant department store, hoping that his four children will carry on his work. Fine acting, inventive direction and camerawork— plus montages by Slavko Vorkapich— make this something special. Remade as THREE SONS in 1939. | tt0024633 | Lionel Barrymore, William Gargan, Gloria Stuart, George Meeker, Eric Linden, Gregory Ratoff, Franklin Pangborn | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sweet 16 | 1981 | Jim Sotos | ★★ | 90 | Standard terror film (with good cast) set in Texas about a rash of murders occurring as Shirley's 16th birthday approaches. Identity of the vengeful murderer is quite predictable; integration of a racial prejudice (persecuting Indians) subplot doesn't work. Hopkins plays his slightly slow-witted Southern sheriff role for the umpteenth time. | tt0083146 | [R] | Bo Hopkins, Susan Strasberg, Don Stroud, Dana Kimmell, Aleisa Shirley, Don Shanks, Steve Antin, Logan Clarke, Patrick Macnee, Michael Pataki, Larry Storch, Henry Wilcoxon, Sharon Farrell | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Sweet Adeline | 1935 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 87 | Combination of spy chase and operetta isn't always smooth, but Kern-Hammerstein songs like 'Why Was I Born' and Dunne's know-how make this enjoyable. | tt0025850 | Irene Dunne, Donald Woods, Hugh Herbert, Ned Sparks, Joseph Cawthorn, Louis Calhern, Winifred Shaw | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sweet Bird of Youth | 1962 | Richard Brooks | ★★★½ | 120 | Tennessee Williams' play, cleaned up for the movies, still is powerful drama. Newman returns to Southern town with dissipated movie queen Page, causing corrupt town 'boss' Begley (who won an Oscar) to have him fixed proper. Glossy production with cast on top of material. Scripted by Brooks. Newman, Page, Sherwood, and Torn reprised their Broadway performances. Remade for TV in 1989 with Elizabeth Taylor. | tt0056541 | Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock, Madeleine Sherwood, Philip Abbott, Corey Allen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sweet Bird of Youth | 1989 | Nicolas Roeg | Average TV Movie | 100 | So-so version of Tennessee Williams' play about a faded movie star and her ambitious young lover, rewritten by Gavin Lambert (and reportedly based on Williams' own rethinking of the material). Earnest and watchable but lacks fire. Torn, who played the lead on Broadway and Tom Finlay, Jr. in the 1962 film, plays the latter's father, Boss Finlay. Wilding, Taylor's son, has one long phone conversation with her but no face-to-face scenes. | tt0098418 | Elizabeth Taylor, Mark Harmon, Rip Torn, Valerie Perrine, Ruta Lee, Kevin Geer, Michael Wilding/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sweet Body of Deborah | 1969 | Romolo Guerrieri | 💣 | 105 | Convoluted soaper about murder, suicide, blackmail, and other sordid goings-on. This 'body' really sags. | tt0064243 | [R] | Carroll Baker, Jean Sorel, Evelyn Stewart, Luigi Pistilli, Michel Bardinet | Italian-French | Horror | NULL | |
| Sweet Charity | 1969 | Bob Fosse | ★★★ | 133 | Fine, overlooked adaptation of the Broadway musical written by Neil Simon, and based on Fellini's NIGHTS OF CABIRIA, about prostitute-with-heart-of-gold who falls in love with naive young man who doesn't know about her 'work.' Cy Coleman- Dorothy Fields score includes 'Big Spender,' 'If They Could See Me Now,' rousing 'Rhythm of Life.' Script by Peter Stone. Fosse's debut as film director. Look for Bud Cort and Kristoffer Tabori as flower children. Home video version runs 20m. longer, and laserdisc edition has an alternate, unused ending for the film. | tt0065054 | [G] | Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis/ Jr., Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly, Stubby Kaye, Ben Vereen, Lee Roy Reams | Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sweet Country | 1986 | Michael Cacoyannis | 💣 | 150 | Grueling, heavy-handed drama of a family's reactions to the 1973 Chilean revolution. Notable for idiotic miscasting (Laure and Pettet as Papas' daughters; Quaid as a lip-smacking, lecherous soldier named Raoul). Quite a comedown for ZORBA THE GREEK director Cacoyannis, who includes tasteless sexploitation footage for good measure. Filmed in Greece. | tt0092034 | [R] | Jane Alexander, Franco Nero, Carole Laure, Joanna Pettet, Irene Papas, Randy Quaid, Jean-Pierre Aumont | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Dreams | 1985 | Karel Reisz | ★★½ | 115 | Flavorful look at 1950s country singing star Patsy Cline can't escape déjà vu from so many other show-biz biopics. Focuses mainly on Cline's marriage to ne'er-do-well Harris, which also has a too-familiar ring. Made worthwhile by truly fine performances (including Wedgeworth as Patsy's mother) and a lot of wonderful music (Lange lip-syncs to Cline's original recordings). | tt0090110 | [PG-13] | Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Ann Wedgeworth, David Clennon, James Staley, Gary Basaraba, John Goodman, P.J. Soles | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Ecstasy | 1962 | Max Pécas | ★½ | 75 | Silly soaper about life among the wealthy, beautiful, decadent, selfish young on the Riviera. Sommer is a cynical sexpot with an endless supply of false eyelashes. | tt0055926 | Elke Sommer, Pierre Brice, Christian Pezy, Claire Maurier | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Hearts Dance | 1988 | Robert Greenwald | ★★½ | 101 | Comedy-drama, set in a small Vermont town, about the breakup of a marriage between two high-school sweethearts— just as their longtime friend is embarking on a serious relationship. Engaging cast, led by Johnson in a very appealing performance, but after a while you wish the two lead characters would just get on with it. Written by Ernest Thompson. | tt0096200 | [R] | Don Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Perkins, Kate Reid, Justin Henry, Holly Marie Combs, Heather Coleman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sweet Hereafter | 1997 | Atom Egoyan | ★★★ | 110 | Tenacious lawyer comes to a Canadian town that's been shattered by a schoolbus accident in which many of its children were killed. He tries to convince the parents to hire him to sue whoever may be responsible— if, indeed, anyone is. Meanwhile, he tries to deal with his fragmented relationship with his own drug-addicted daughter. Egoyan brings his quiet, elliptical approach to Russell Banks' novel and creates a haunting film that's hard to forget . . . though not for every taste. Holm is simply superb. | tt0120255 | [R] | Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Arsinée Khanjian, Alberta Watson, Gabrielle Rose, Maury Chaykin, David Hemblen | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| Sweet Home Alabama | 2002 | Andy Tennant | ★★ | 109 | Rising N.Y.C. fashion designer is engaged to the mayor's son— but returns home to Alabama to get her estranged husband to sign their divorce papers, which he's put off for seven years. Once there she feels pangs of homesickness and an unexplainable attraction to her slothful ex. Lazy romantic comedy doesn't bother to flesh out any of its characters or explain their motivations; even as fluff, it falls short. Only Witherspoon's sunny presence keeps this one afloat. | tt0256415 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place, Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Ethan Embry, Melanie Lynskey, Courtney Gains, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Dakota Fanning | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sweet Land | 2005 | Ali Selim | ★★★½ | 110 | Beautifully realized depiction of rural post-WW1 Minnesota and the German mail-order bride who causes a stir in the close-knit Norwegian community. Reaser is exceptional, but whole cast shines (including Smith, fifty years after her film debut in EAST OF EDEN) in this moving drama of immigration, love, and hardship. Scripted by the director; based on Will Weaver's short story, 'A Gravestone Made of Wheat.' | tt0428038 | [PG] | Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee, Alan Cumming, John Heard, Alex Kingston, Ned Beatty, Lois Smith, Patrick Heusinger, Stephen Pelinski, Paul Sand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Liberty | 1986 | Alan Alda | ★★ | 107 | Amiable but aimless comedy of college professor who becomes involved with a movie troupe as his historical novel is filmed. Ingratiating cast maintains some level of interest, with funny turns by Caine as a cocky leading man and Hoskins as an eager-to-please screenwriter. But deep down inside, it's really shallow. | tt0092035 | [PG] | Alan Alda, Michael Caine, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bob Hoskins, Lise Hilboldt, Lillian Gish, Saul Rubinek, Lois Chiles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sweet Lies | 1986 | Nathalie Delon | ★½ | 96 | Boring romantic comedy with Williams sorely miscast as an insurance-company detective involved in sexual shenanigans with a trio of women while on assignment in Paris. | tt0096201 | [R] | Treat Williams, Joanna Pacula, Julianne Phillips, Laura Manszky, Norbert Weisser, Bernard Fresson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sweet Lorraine | 1987 | Steve Gomer | ★★★ | 91 | The Lorraine is a cozy little Catskill hotel that's way past its prime; Stapleton is its proprietress, Alvarado her granddaughter who spends a summer working in its kitchen. There's a wealth of atmosphere and some sturdy characterizations in this warm, friendly, very personal slice-of-life sleeper. | tt0094086 | [PG-13] | Maureen Stapleton, Trini Alvarado, Lee Richardson, John Bedford Lloyd, Giancarlo Esposito, Edith Falco, Todd Graff, Evan Handler, Freddie Roman | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Love, Bitter | 1967 | Herbert Danska | ★★½ | 92 | Intriguing film about the unlikely friendship between a great jazz musician (Gregory) who's seen better days and a college professor who's hit the skids (Murray). Loosely based on the life of jazz legend Charlie 'Bird' Parker; dated in some ways, but also a fascinating artifact of its time. Its comments on race relations are still as potent as ever. | tt0062325 | Dick Gregory, Don Murray, Diane Varsi, Robert Hooks, John Randolph | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sweet Music | 1935 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 100 | Genuinely mediocre musical with bandleader Vallee and dancer Dvorak constantly at odds. A few good songs, but the real highlight is the slapstick shenanigans of the Frank & Milt Britton Band, here playing Rudy's musical aggregation. | tt0027064 | Rudy Vallee, Ann Dvorak, Helen Morgan, Ned Sparks, Alice White, Allen Jenkins | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sweet Nothing | 1996 | Gary Winick | ★★ | 90 | Tragic story of a family affected by the horrors of drugs. Father looking to make a better life for his wife and kids gets in way over his head in the seedy world of crack, becoming both a user and a seller. Grim film offers unappealing characters and storyline, showing the harrowing effects of drug addiction on innocent lives. Made in 1993, before Sorvino's Oscar-winning turn in MIGHTY APHRODITE, but released (just barely) after. | tt0114592 | [R] | Michael Imperioli, Mira Sorvino, Paul Calderon, Lisa Langford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet November | 2001 | Pat O'Connor | ★★½ | 119 | Kooky San Francisco woman persuades uptight, career-driven man to spend one month with her so she can transform him into more of a human being . . . as she has for many guys before him. Harmless fluff is neither spontaneous nor convincing enough, though Reeves and Theron give it their best shot. Remake of the 1968 movie. | tt0230838 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg Germann, Liam Aiken, Lauren Graham, Frank Langella, Ray Baker, Robert Joy | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sweet November | 1968 | Robert Ellis Miller | ★★½ | 114 | Kooky Dennis takes a new lover every month, helping insecure men find confidence, then sending them away; her plans go awry when one of them (Newley) insists on marrying her. Some touching moments in this likable (if implausible) comedy-drama by Herman Raucher. Remade in 2001. | tt0063661 | Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley, Theodore Bikel, Burr DeBenning, Sandy Baron, Marj Dusay, Martin West. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sweet Revenge | 1977 | Jerry Schatzberg | 💣 | 90 | Public defender Waterston falls in love with a car thief (Channing) in this turkey, originally called DANDY, THE ALL-AMERICAN GIRL. | tt0076789 | [PG] | Stockard Channing, Sam Waterston, Franklyn Ajaye, Richard Doughty | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Sweet Revenge | 1987 | Mark Sobel | ★½ | 78 | Limp programmer with TV journalist Allen kidnapped by a white slavery ring. Plays like a bad TV show. | tt0094087 | [R] | Nancy Allen, Ted Shackelford, Martin Landau, Sal Landi, Michele Little | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sweet Revenge | The Revengers' Comedies | 1999 | Malcolm Mowbray | ★★ | 90 | Two suicidal souls vow to avenge the people who wronged them in this twist on STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. Quirky comedy has moments, but too few, though the lead actors seem to delight in this (uneven) blend of slapstick and mayhem. Based on the plays by Alan Ayckbourn. U.S. debut on cable TV. Original British title: THE REVENGERS' COMEDIES. | tt0120013 | [PG-13] | Sam Neill, Helena Bonham Carter, Kristin Scott Thomas, Liz Smith, Rupert Graves, Martin Clunes, Steve Coogan, Charlotte Coleman, John Wood | British-French-U.S. | Comedy | NULL |
| The Sweet Ride | 1968 | Harvey Hart | ★½ | 110 | Absurd claptrap about a tennis bum, a surfer, and a beautiful girl; some of the Malibu scenery is nice. | tt0063662 | [R] | Anthony Franciosa, Michael Sarrazin, Jacqueline Bisset, Bob Denver, Michael Wilding, Michele Carey, Warren Stevens | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Rosie O'Grady | 1943 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 74 | Pleasant musical of ex-burlesque star and exposé reporter. Menjou steals film as editor of Police Gazette. Previously filmed as LOVE IS NEWS; remade again as THAT WONDERFUL URGE. | tt0036406 | Betty Grable, Robert Young, Adolphe Menjou, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Grey, Phil Regan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Sweet Sixteen | 2002 | Ken Loach | ★★★ | 106 | Another gritty, grimly realistic slice of life from Loach, this one about 15-year-old Liam (Compston), a career-criminal-in-training, and his dysfunctional Glasgow family; he loves (and is protective of) his mother, who is completing a stretch in the pen. Occasionally rambles, but still a sobering look at the forces that contribute to a young man's dead-end existence. The dialogue is laced with profanity, and the Scottish accents are so thick that the film is English-subtitled. | tt0313670 | Martin Compston, Annmarie Fulton, William Ruane, Michelle Abercromby, Michelle Coulter, Gary McCormack, Tommy McKee | British-German-Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Smell of Success | 1957 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★½ | 96 | Searing Clifford Odets-Ernest Lehman script about ruthless, all-powerful columnist J. J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) and a smarmy press agent (Curtis) who'll do anything to curry his favor. Vivid performances, fine jazz score by Elmer Bernstein, outstanding camerawork by James Wong Howe that perfectly captures N.Y.C. nightlife. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0051036 | Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Marty Milner, Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols, Susan Harrison, Joe Frisco, Chico Hamilton Quintet | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song | 1971 | Melvin Van Peebles | ★★★ | 97 | Van Peebles produced, directed, financed, wrote, scored, and stars in this angry, violent, reverse-racist blaxploitation drama as a superstud who runs, runs, runs from the police. Visually exciting, surprisingly effective. Controversial (and X-rated) when first released. Van Peebles' son Mario chronicled the making of this film in BAADASSSSS! | tt0067810 | [R] | Melvin Van Peebles, Rhetta Hughes, Simon Chuckster, John Amos | Drama | NULL | ||
| Sweet Talker | 1990 | Michael Jenkins | ★★½ | 88 | Amiable if thoroughly familiar tale of a con man who comes to a remote Australian coastal town to sell his bill of goods, falls in love, and has second thoughts about going through with the con. Pleasant, picturesque, and predictable. Brown cowrote the story. | tt0103015 | [PG] | Bryan Brown, Karen Allen, Chris Haywood, Bill Kerr, Bruce Spence, Bruce Myles, Paul Chubb, Peter Hehir, Justin Rosniak | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Sweet William | 1980 | Claude Whatham | ★★½ | 92 | Waterston is charming as an erratic ALFIE-like bigamist who seduces Agutter in this OK entertainment. | tt0081585 | [R] | Sam Waterston, Jenny Agutter, Anna Massey, Geraldine James, Daphne Oxenford, Rachel Bell, Arthur Lowe, Tim Pigott-Smith | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sweet and Low-Down | 1944 | Archie Mayo | ★★½ | 75 | Thin story of trombonist Cardwell, a young man with 'rough talent' who makes it big in Goodman's orchestra— and with pert deb Darnell. However, the King of Swing and his boys really cook, from the opening credits on; the jam session sequence is especially hot. | tt0037333 | Benny Goodman and His Band, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie, Lynn Bari, James Cardwell, Allyn Joslyn, Dickie Moore | Musical | NULL | |||
| Sweet and Lowdown | 1999 | Woody Allen | ★★½ | 95 | A Woody Allen diversion about a fictional jazz guitarist of the 1930s, Emmet Ray (brilliantly played by Penn), who's a musical genius but a rotten human being. Morton is a standout as a naive (and mute) woman with whom he has an unlikely relationship. Music is great, period flavor impeccable, but the story wanders. Howard Alden doubles Penn's guitar playing. Allen appears on-screen as one of the experts recalling Emmet Ray's career. | tt0158371 | [PG-13] | Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman, Brian Markinson, Anthony LaPaglia, James Urbaniak, Gretchen Mol, John Waters, Brad Garrett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Sweetest Thing | 2002 | Roger Kumble | ★★½ | 84 | Loopy comedy— scripted by South Park writer and standup comic Nancy M. Pimental— tracks the misadventures of three oversexed girlfriends who make Betty and Veronica seem like eggheads. Attempt to put good-looking women into the kind of raunchy comedy usually associated with guys is wildly uneven, but hard to dislike. Johnathon Schaech (Applegate's real-life husband) appears unbilled. | tt0253867 | [R] | Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, Thomas Jane, Jason Bateman, Parker Posey, Georgia Engel | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sweetheart of Sigma Chi | 1933 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★ | 73 | Forgettable Monogram musical enrolls all-American Crabbe as a campus athlete who'd rather row his team to victory than give his fraternity pin to blonde co-ed Carlisle. Though still a nameless band soloist, Grable is easily recognizable doing 'It's Spring Again.' No relation to 1946 movie of the same name. | tt0024635 | Mary Carlisle, Buster Crabbe, Charles Starrett, Florence Lake, Eddie Tamblyn, Sally Starr, Ted Fio Rito and His Orchestra (with Leif Erickson, Betty Grable). | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Sweetheart of the Campus | 1941 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 67 | Dancer Keeler and bandleader Ozzie start a nightclub on a college campus. Modest musical comedy, nothing to write home about, but consistently peppy and surprisingly enjoyable. | tt0034253 | Ruby Keeler, Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard, Gordon Oliver, Don Beddoe, The Four Spirits of Rhythm | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Sweethearts | 1938 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 114 | Enjoyable but overlong; Nelson and Jeanette are stage stars of Victor Herbert operetta who are manipulated by their producer (Morgan) into having a marital spat. Handsome color production filled with Herbert melodies. Cinematographer Oliver Marsh won an Oscar. | tt0030817 | Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan, Florence Rice, Ray Bolger, Mischa Auer | Musical | NULL | |||
| Sweetie | 1989 | Jane Campion | ★★½ | 97 | New Zealander Campion's offbeat account of an unbalanced, demanding young woman (Lemon), and her relationship with her weak, obsessive sister (Colston) and her parents. Some brilliant directorial touches, but too many sequences simply don't work. Unsettling, occasionally depressing, and not for all tastes. | tt0098725 | [R] | Genevieve Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling, Dorothy Barry | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Swept Away | 2002 | Guy Ritchie | ★★ | 89 | Tame remake of Lina Wertmuller's fiery SWEPT AWAY . . . with Giannini doing a creditable job in the part created by his father, and Madonna (directed by her real-life husband) giving one of her better performances as the spoiled rich bitch who's cast away with him on a deserted island. Ill-advised music-video-style sequences only remind us that it is Madonna, which doesn't help us believe in her character. Not a disgrace, as media coverage indicated, but utterly unmemorable. | tt0291502 | [R] | Madonna, Adriano Giannini, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Bruce Greenwood, Elizabeth Banks, David Thornton, Michael Beattie, Yorgo Voyagis | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Swept Away . . . by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August | 1974 | Lina Wertmuller | ★★★★ | 116 | A slovenly sailor is cast adrift on an island with his employer, a rich, selfish woman. Cut off from society, he reverses their roles, stripping her of pride and vanity, and controlling her completely. This fascinating and provocative adult film put writer-director Wertmuller on the map in this country. Remade in 2002. | tt0073817 | [R] | Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato | Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Swept From the Sea | 1998 | Beeban Kidron | ★★ | 114 | Nineteenth-century melodrama of a silent servant girl who falls in love with the sole survivor of a shipwreck, a Ukrainian emigrant. This tragic romance is the talk of the entire disapproving town. Gorgeous scenery and storms galore can't save this sluggish, shallow film 'inspired by' the haunting Joseph Conrad novel Amy Foster. | tt0120257 | [PG-13] | Rachel Weisz, Vincent Perez, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates, Joss Ackland, Tony Haygarth, Zoë Wanamaker, Tom Bell | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Swim Team | 1979 | James Polakof | ★½ | 92 | Can the Whalers reverse their seven-year losing streak as a swim team? Can you sit through this terrible movie to find out? | tt0079977 | [PG] | James Daughton, Stephen Furst, Richard Young, Jenny Neumann, guest star Buster Crabbe | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Swimfan | 2002 | John Polson | ★★ | 86 | Waterlogged teenage version of FATAL ATTRACTION with Christensen as a new girl in town who sets her sights on high school swimming champion Bradford— who already has a girlfriend— and doesn't take rejection well. Even as a formula film this falls short, becoming outlandish, with laughable plot turns and dialogue. | tt0283026 | [PG-13] | Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, Shiri Appleby, Kate Burton, Clayne Crawford, Jason Ritter, Kia Joy Goodwin, Dan Hedaya, Michael Higgins | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Swimmer | 1968 | Frank Perry | ★★★½ | 94 | Middle-aged man swims from pool to pool on journey home during hot afternoon; each pool evokes past moments and events. Fascinating, vastly underrated film adapted from John Cheever short story; Lancaster is superb, and location filming in Connecticut perfectly captures mood. Script by Eleanor Perry. | tt0063663 | [M] | Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley, Marge Champion, Bill Fiore, Kim Hunter, Joan Rivers | Drama | NULL | ||
| Swimming Pool | 2003 | François Ozon | ★★½ | 102 | A creatively and emotionally blocked mystery writer (Rampling) vacations in her editor's French villa, then the editor's sexy, uninhibited daughter (Sagnier) shows up, leading to unexpected consequences for both of them. Intriguing psychological character study develops a sinuous, tantalizing mood, then turns to literal melodrama and never quite recovers. Rampling and Sagnier are very good— and very sexy. Unrated version also available. | tt0324133 | [R] | Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, Marc Fayolle, Jean-Marie Lamour, Mireille Mosse | French-British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Swimming Upstream | 2003 | Russell Mulcahy. | ★★ | 97 | Fact-based story of two Australian teenage swimmers and their working-class family. In the 1950s, a piano-playing mama's boy (Spencer) is coaxed by his boorish father into striving for glory in the pool. Then Dad unfathomably pushes his other son (Draxl) to rival his sibling in increasingly competitive races. Rush and Davis predictably shine as the parents in an abusive marriage, but film is overly melodramatic. Scripted and coexecutive produced by Anthony Fingleton, from the memoir he coauthored with his sister, Diane. Original Australian running time 114m. | tt0326664 | [PG-13] | Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Tim Draxl, Deborah Kennedy, David Hoflin, Craig Horner, Brittany Byrnes, Mitchell Dellevergin. | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Swimming With Sharks | 1994 | George Huang | ★★ | 93 | Young man signs on as the new assistant to venal Hollywood exec Buddy Ackerman and learns new facets of the word 'abusive' . . . until the day he exacts revenge on his tormentor. Dark, 'inside' comedy is a one-joke idea (written by first-time director Huang, who— not surprisingly— toiled as an underling in the film biz), but Spacey's performance as the modern-day monster is galvanizing. He alone makes the film worth seeing. Incidentally, Spacey also coproduced the picture. | tt0114594 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, Michelle Forbes, Benicio Del Toro, Jerry Levine, T. E. Russell, Roy Dotrice | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Swimming to Cambodia | 1987 | Jonathan Demme | ★★★ | 87 | Spalding Gray talks for nearly an hour and a half— about life in general, and about his experiences in Cambodia, where he spent some time while appearing in a minor role in THE KILLING FIELDS. There is no reason why a lengthy monologue should become such a fascinating film— but it does, thanks to Gray's storytelling skills, and Demme's artful (and subtle) direction. An unusual and rewarding experience. Followed by MONSTER IN A BOX. | tt0094089 | Drama | NULL | ||||
| The Swindle | Il Bidone | 1955 | Federico Fellini | ★★½ | 92 | Absorbing Fellini tale, which he coscripted, about a trio of small-time crooks who go about fleecing peasants in Italy, each planning for a better life. The spotlight is on the eldest, a world-weary loser nicely played by Crawford. Not among the director's best; still an intriguing portrait of hope and desperation. Aka THE SWINDLERS. Original title: IL BIDONE. | tt0047876 | Broderick Crawford, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Franco Fabrizi | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Swindle | 1997 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★ | 101 | Absorbing comedy/caper film with Huppert and Serrault perfectly cast as a pair of con artists who may or may not be scheming to cheat each other. The crux of the story is set at a Swiss dentists' convention, where Huppert hooks up with enigmatic Cluzet. Slick, engaging entertainment. | tt0120018 | Isabelle Huppert, Michel Serrault, François Cluzet, Jean-François Balmer, Jackie Berroyer | French | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Swing Fever | 1944 | Tim Whelan | ★½ | 80 | Musical misfire with Kyser a hick with hypnotic powers, who's conned into aiding greedy fight-manager Gargan. Look for Ava Gardner as a receptionist. | tt0037335 | Kay Kyser, Marilyn Maxwell, William Gargan, Lena Horne, Nat Pendleton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Swing High, Swing Low | 1937 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★ | 95 | Musical drama with cornball plot of musician MacMurray's rise and fall. Redeemed somewhat by good cast, glossy production. From the stage play Burlesque, made before as THE DANCE OF LIFE and remade as WHEN MY BABY SMILES AT ME. | tt0029626 | Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, Charles Butterworth, Jean Dixon, Dorothy Lamour, Harvey Stephens, Anthony Quinn | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Swing Kids | 1993 | Thomas Carter | ★★ | 112 | This year's NEWSIES, and poor Bale is in both. Transparent Yank actors struggle through a THREE COMRADES kind of yarn about the Nazi persecution of German teens who openly embrace American swing music— taboo, because it employs so many black musicians. Singularly weird enough to carry a mild fascination, but it's the kind of film that needs daring flamboyance to have a prayer of coming off. Eye-massaging production design by Allan Cameron. Kenneth Branagh appears unbilled in a key role as a Nazi. | tt0108265 | [PG-13] | Robert Sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Barbara Hershey, Tushka Bergen, David Tom, Julia Stemberger, Jayce Bartok, Noah Wyle | Drama | NULL | ||
| Swing Parade of 1946 | 1946 | Phil Karlson | ★½ | 74 | Dreary Grade-B musical with enough plot for a 10-minute short. The Stooges add some life, as does Louis Jordan performing 'Caledonia,' but it's not enough. Auteurists take note: Nicholas Ray is credited with 'additional dialogue.' | tt0039003 | Gale Storm, Phil Regan, The Three Stooges, Ed Brophy, Will Osborne and Orchestra, Connee Boswell | Musical | NULL | |||
| Swing Shift | 1984 | Jonathan Demme | ★★ | 100 | Misfired attempt to fashion fictional story around real-life situation of housewives who became factory workers during WW2. All the women are interesting (especially Lahti, in a wonderful performance), but the men are shallow and poorly defined— and consequently, so is the film. Pseudonymous screenplay credit for 'Rob Morton' masks several top writers, with half-an-hour reportedly shot by another director at producer Hawn's insistence. | tt0088213 | [PG] | Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Ed Harris, Fred Ward, Sudie Bond, Holly Hunter, Patty Maloney, Roger Corman, Belinda Carlisle | Drama | NULL | ||
| Swing Shift Maisie | 1943 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★½ | 87 | Patriotic Maisie quits her dog act to help out the war effort at an aircraft factory, only to be accused of sabotage by a jealous 'friend' who's trying to steal her beau. Keep an eye out for John Hodiak, Don Taylor, Kirk Alyn, and Jim Davis. | tt0036407 | Ann Sothern, James Craig, Jean Rogers, Connie Gilchrist, John Qualen, Marta Linden, Donald Curtis, Kay Medford | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Swing Time | 1936 | George Stevens | ★★★★ | 103 | One of the best Astaire-Rogers films, with stars as dance team whose romance is hampered by Fred's engagement to girl back home (Furness). Fine support by Moore and Broderick, unforgettable Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields songs 'A Fine Romance,' 'Pick Yourself Up.' Oscar-winning 'The Way You Look Tonight.' Astaire's Bojangles production number is a screen classic. | tt0028333 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Victor Moore, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Betty Furness | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Swing Vote | 2008 | Joshua Michael Stern | ★★★ | 119 | Sharp, funny, relevant comedy about a quirk of fate that leaves the determination of a U.S. presidential campaign in the hands of one not-so-solid citizen—an irresponsible, beer-swilling single dad (Costner). His young daughter takes the situation much more seriously than he does, especially as a media circus mushrooms around them . . . and he gradually undergoes an awakening. Genuinely Capraesque movie has a terrific cast that makes the most of the screenplay by director Stern and Jason Richman. Many newscasters and celebrities appear in cameos. | tt1027862 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Paula Patton, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, Madeline Carroll, George Lopez, Mare Winningham, Judge Reinhold | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Swing Your Lady | 1938 | Ray Enright | ★½ | 79 | Bogart promotes wrestler Pendleton; embarrassing comedy is easily his worst starring effort. Reagan appears briefly as a sportswriter. | tt0030820 | Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Louise Fazenda, Nat Pendleton, Penny Singleton, Allen Jenkins, Ronald Reagan, Weaver Bros | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Swinger | 1966 | George Sidney | ★★ | 81 | Brassy, artificial yarn of good-girl Ann-Margret posing as swinger to impress girlie magazine editor Franciosa. | tt0061052 | Ann-Margret, Anthony Franciosa, Robert Coote, Horace McMahon, Nydia Westman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Swingers | 1996 | Doug Liman | ★★½ | 96 | Slight but entertaining look at single life in L.A. from a guy's point of view. Main character is a comedian who broke up with his girlfriend six months earlier and hasn't yet gotten over her. Some pointed jabs at L.A. life distinguish this contemporary urban tale, a kind of hip update of AMERICAN GRAFFITI. Leading actor Favreau wrote the script; director Liman also photographed it. | tt0117802 | [R] | Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, Patrick Van Horn, Alex Desert, Deena Martin, Katherine Kendall, Brooke Langton, Heather Graham | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| A Swingin' Affair | 1963 | Jay O. Lawrence | 💣 | 85 | Young Wellman boxes to subsidize his university vacation. Awful drama with surf music. Also known as A SWINGING AFFAIR. | tt0057545 | William Wellman/Jr., Arline Judge, Sandra Gale Bettin, Dick Dale and The Deltones | Drama | NULL | |||
| Swingin' Along | Double Trouble | 1962 | Charles Barton | 💣 | 74 | The witless shenanigans of aspiring composer Noonan and manager Marshall— with musical 'guest stars' to relieve the tedium. Aka DOUBLE TROUBLE. ‹xw. | tt0056543 | Tommy Noonan, Peter Marshall, Barbara Eden, Ray Charles, Roger Williams, Bobby Vee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Swingin' Summer | 1965 | Robert Sparr | ★½ | 80 | The Righteous Brothers, The Rip Chords, Gary Lewis and The Playboys, Jody Miller. Typically thin storyline (about three guys who open a dance hall) as an excuse for music numbers by various guest stars. | tt0059771 | James Stacy, William Wellman/Jr., Quinn O'Hara, Martin West, Allan Jones, Raquel Welch | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Swinging Barmaids | Eager Beavers | 1975 | Gus Trikonis | ★★½ | 84 | Stylish, engaging psycho-thriller, written by Charles Griffith, has cop Smith tracking down nut who preys on on B-girls. Reissued as EAGER BEAVERS. | tt0073773 | [R] | Bruce Watson, Laura Hippe, Katie Saylor, William Smith, Dyanne Thorne, John Alderman | Crime | NULL | |
| Swingtime Johnny | 1944 | Edward Cline. | ★½ | 61 | Show biz performers desert the theater for work in munitions factory; puny B musical. | tt0036409 | The Andrews Sisters, Harriet Hilliard, Peter Cookson, Tim Ryan. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Swiss Conspiracy | 1975 | Jack Arnold | ★★ | 88 | Confusing cat-and-mouse intrigue set in Switzerland, where Janssen is hired to protect valued bank customers with large secret accounts. | tt0073774 | [PG] | David Janssen, Senta Berger, John Ireland, John Saxon, Elke Sommer, Ray Milland, Anton Diffring | U.S.-German | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Swiss Family Robinson | 1940 | Edward Ludwig | ★★★ | 93 | Mitchell decides to move family to Australia for a purer life, but shipwreck strands them on a remote island where his three spoiled sons learn honest values. Excellent adaptation of Johann Wyss book boasts impressive special effects, strong performances, and much darker elements than the later Disney version. Uncredited opening narration by Orson Welles. | tt0033124 | Thomas Mitchell, Edna Best, Freddie Bartholomew, Tim Holt, Terry Kilburn | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Swiss Family Robinson | 1960 | Ken Annakin | ★★★½ | 128 | Rollicking entertainment Disney-style, with shipwrecked family building island paradise, neatly dispatching Hayakawa and his pirate band. Pure escapism, larger than life. | tt0054357 | John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Janet Munro, Sessue Hayakawa, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran | Adventure, Family | NULL | |||
| Swiss Miss | 1938 | John G. Blystone | ★★ | 72 | Contrived romantic story with music tries hard to submerge L&H, but Stan and Ollie's scenes save film, especially when Ollie serenades his true love with Stan playing tuba. | tt0030824 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Della Lind, Walter Woolf King, Eric Blore, Adia Kuznetzoff, Charles Judels | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Switch | 1991 | Blake Edwards | ★½ | 104 | Inferior ripoff of GOODBYE, CHARLIE about a philandering male who's shot by a vindictive conquest and returns to earth as a woman. Old-hat premise with precious few opportunities to exploit Edwards' flair for cartoonish physical humor. Barkin is sole saving grace, far better than anything else in the film. | tt0103016 | [R] | Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams, Lorraine Bracco, Tony Roberts, Perry King, Bruce Martyn Payne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Switch | 2010 | Josh Gordon, Will Speck | ★★ | 101 | N.Y.C. career woman Aniston decides it’s time to have a baby and seeks out a sperm donor, to the chagrin of her neurotic best friend, Bateman, who can’t get himself to admit that he’s in love with her. He drunkenly substitutes his own sperm for the donor’s—and doesn’t remember doing it, at first. Flat, connect-the-dots romantic comedy squanders a talented cast . . . although the kid who plays Aniston’s son (Thomas Robinson) is cute. Based on Jeffrey Eugenides’ short story “Baster.” | tt0889573 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, Jason Jones, Todd Louiso | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Switchback | 1997 | Jeb Stuart | ★★½ | 121 | DIE HARD/ FUGITIVE screenwriter Stuart debuts as director of this thriller about the kidnapping of an FBI agent's son, and the pursuit of the serial killer who has him. Preposterous plot devices are overshadowed by excellent cast. You really care what happens to these people. | tt0119210 | [R] | Dennis Quaid, Danny Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Jared Leto, Ted Levine | Action, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Switchblade Sisters | Playgirl Gang | 1975 | Jack Hill | ★★ | 91 | Pretty good cheapie about a female gang, although feminism clearly takes a back seat to action. Predates the cycle of gang films by four years; Bruce is Lenny's daughter. Originally released as THE JEZEBELS (the gang's name); reissued as PLAYGIRL GANG. | tt0073778 | [R] | Robbie Lee, Joanne Nail, Monica Gayle, Kitty Bruce, Marlene Clark, Michael Miller | Drama, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Switching Channels | 1988 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★ | 105 | TV reporter Turner tries to quit her job to marry wealthy Reeve, but her boss (and ex-husband) Reynolds isn't going to give her up so easily. Surprisingly good remake of THE FRONT PAGE/HIS GIRL FRIDAY updated to the satellite-television era, but less effective in its use of satire and occasional melodrama than its classic predecessors. All three stars are terrific. | tt0096203 | [PG] | Kathleen Turner, Burt Reynolds, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty, Henry Gibson, George Newbern, Al Waxman, Ken James, Joe Silver, Charles Kimbrough, Tony Rosato | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Swoon | 1992 | Tom Kalin | ★★★ | 92 | Impressive low-budget stunt of a movie about Chicago's legendary Leopold-Loeb 'thrill' killing, with added subtext about the climate of homophobia that figured in the jury's reaction to one of the century's most heinous crimes. Daring and original (though with severe dramatic limitations) and a fascinating companion piece to Hollywood's ROPE and COMPULSION; moody use of black-and-white. | tt0105508 | Daniel Schlachet, Craig Chester, Ron Vawter, Michael Kirby, Michael Stumm, Valda Z. Drabla, Natalie Stanford | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sword and the Rose | 1953 | Ken Annakin | ★★★½ | 93 | Colorful filming of When Knighthood Was in Flower, with Johns as Mary Tudor, who uses wiles and power to kindle romance with Todd— but runs afoul of villainous Duke (Gough). Rich period flavor, fine performance by Justice as King Henry VIII. Filmed in England by Walt Disney. | tt0046387 | Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough, Jane Barrett | Adventure, Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Sword and the Sorcerer | 1982 | Albert Pyun | ★★ | 100 | Aided by resurrected warlock Maharis, nasty Lynch enslaves the kingdom, and it's up to sword-swinging Horsley to save the day. Strictly second-rate in scripting, acting, and production, with just enough bloodletting to please undemanding fans of this kind of stuff. | tt0084749 | [R] | Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Simon MacCorkindale, George Maharis, Richard Lynch, Richard Moll, Robert Tessier, Nina Van Pallandt, Anna Bjorn, Jeff Corey | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Sword in the Desert | 1949 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 100 | Interesting account of underground trail of European refugees during WW2; fairly good suspenser. | tt0041940 | Dana Andrews, Marta Toren, Stephen McNally, Jeff Chandler, Philip Friend | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| The Sword in the Stone | 1963 | Wolfgang Reitherman | ★★½ | 75 | One of Disney's weakest animated features follows a young boy named Wart, who is destined to become King Arthur— with the considerable help of Merlin the Magician. Mildly entertaining and fast moving, but dialogue heavy, and full of 'modern' references that remove much of the magic and wonder from T. H. White's story. Highlight: wizard's duel between Merlin and Madame Mim. | tt0057546 | Voices of Ricky Sorenson, Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews | Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Sword of Ali Baba | 1965 | Virgil Vogel | ★★ | 81 | Outrageous remake of ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES, using a great deal of footage from the 1944 film. Puglia repeats his role as Prince Cassim from '44 version to link old and new footage. | tt0059772 | Peter Mann, Jocelyn Lane, Peter Whitney, Gavin MacLeod, Frank Puglia | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sword of Lancelot | 1963 | Cornel Wilde | ★★½ | 116 | Camelot comes alive, minus music, with profuse action and splendid scenery. Some may find Wilde's approach too juvenile, overly sincere, and Aherne a bit too cavalier. Originally titled LANCELOT AND GUINEVERE. | tt0057547 | Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Aherne, George Baker | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Sword of Monte Cristo | 1951 | Maurice Geraghty | ★★ | 80 | Uninspired adventure of woman who finds legendary sword of Count with key to treasure inscribed on it. Army officer joins her in fight against evil prime minister. | tt0044094 | George Montgomery, Paula Corday, Berry Kroeger, William Conrad, Steve Brodie | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sword of Sherwood Forest | 1960 | Terence Fisher | ★★½ | 80 | Fair continuation of Robin Hood saga as Earl of Newark plots murder of Archbishop of Canterbury. | tt0054358 | Richard Greene, Peter Cushing, Niall MacGinnis, Richard Pasco, Jack Gwillim, Sarah Branch, Nigel Green, Oliver Reed | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Sword of The Valiant | 1985 | Stephen Weeks | ★★ | 101 | Connery (as the Green Knight) may only be on-screen for a few scenes, but he adds zest to this lumbering account of a chivalrous young squire (a wooden O'Keeffe) who must solve a riddle in one year or die. Remake of GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT by the same filmmakers . . . and not much of an improvement! Filmed in 1982. | tt0084750 | [PG] | Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Claire, Leigh Lawson, Sean Connery, Trevor Howard, Peter Cushing, Ronald Lacey, Lila Kedrova, John Rhys-Davies | British | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | |
| Sword of the Conqueror | 1961 | Carlo Campogalliani | ★½ | 85 | Flabby epic not livened by cast or sets; set in 6th-century Byzantine empire days. | tt0056427 | Jack Palance, Eleonora Rossi-Drago, Guy Madison, Carlo D'Angelo | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Swordfish | 2001 | Dominic Sena | ★★½ | 99 | Notorious computer hacker Jackman is shanghaied by master criminal Travolta to do his bidding in this action-crime caper, framed in flashback. Some terrific post-MATRIX action moments and stunt set pieces are the only saving grace, as it becomes silly and unreasonably far-fetched. Derivation of the title is never fully explained, but we'd like to think it's from the Marx Brothers' HORSE FEATHERS. | tt0244244 | [R] | John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones, Sam Shepard, Drea de Matteo, Rudolf Martin, Zach Grenier | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Swordsman of Siena | 1961 | Etienne Perier | ★★ | 97 | Predictable swashbuckler about 16th-century adventurer with mixed loyalties who becomes involved in Spanish underground movement. Good cast saddled with tired script. | tt0055865 | Stewart Granger, Sylva Koscina, Christine Kaufmann, Tullio Carminati, Gabriele Ferzetti | Italian | Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Swordsman | 1948 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 81 | Parks and Drew have Romeo-Juliet relationship in 18th-century Scotland; OK costumer. | tt0040855 | Larry Parks, Ellen Drew, George Macready, Edgar Buchanan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Sybil | 1976 | Daniel Petrie | Above Average TV Movie | 198 | Emmy-winning psychological study of a young woman who, disturbed by childhood experiences, has developed seventeen separate personalities. Field is remarkable in title role and Woodward, making a nice turnaround from THE THREE FACES OF EVE, brings special glow to the role of psychiatrist. Fascinating but deeply disturbing drama. | tt0075296 | Joanne Woodward, Sally Field, Brad Davis, Martine Bartlett, Jane Hoffman, William Prince | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sydney White | 2007 | Joe Nussbaum | ★★ | 108 | Contemporary take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Freshman Bynes is rejected from her deceased mother's sorority by its president (Paxton), who's also the most popular girl on campus. The outcast is then taken in by an unofficial fraternity consisting of seven “dorks.” Soon she finds herself challenging her own university's elitist Greek system, increasing her popularity and finding her very own Prince Charming. Harmless, somewhat amusing, but best suited to loyal fans of Bynes. | tt0815244 | [PG-13] | Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton, Matt Long, John Schneider, Jack Carpenter, Jeremy Howard, Crystal Hunt | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Sylvester | 1985 | Tim Hunter | ★★ | 102 | Seemingly surefire story of a girl and her horse can't clear the hurdles because lead character isn't terribly likable. Some nice riding sequences but uneven narrative (by Carol Sobieski) weighs it down. | tt0090112 | [PG] | Richard Farnsworth, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Schoeffling, Constance Towers, Pete Kowanko, Arliss Howard, James Gammon | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Sylvia | 1965 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 115 | Baker's prelude to HARLOW is much better, despite overuse of flashbacks and rambling episodes; she plays a bad girl turned good with melodrama unfolding as detective Maharis investigates her life. | tt0059773 | Carroll Baker, George Maharis, Joanne Dru, Peter Lawford, Viveca Lindfors, Edmond O'Brien, Aldo Ray, Ann Sothern | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sylvia | 1985 | Michael Firth | ★★★ | 98 | David gives a strong performance as famed educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner, who struggled in the early 1940s to buck New Zealand's educational establishment with innovative reading methods for Maori children. Adapted from her works Teacher and I Passed This Way. Shirley MacLaine's otherwise unbearable TWO LOVES, based on an Ashton-Warner semiautobiographical story, makes an interesting cross reference. | tt0090113 | [PG] | Eleanor David, Nigel Terry, Tom Wilkinson, Mary Regan, Joseph George, Eileen Glover | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Sylvia | 2003 | Christine Jeffs | ★★★ | 105 | Incisive portrait of Sylvia Plath, the celebrated American poet of the 1950s and '60s, whose life was intermittently lifted out of a suicidal fog by her love for British poet Edward 'Ted' Hughes. Not destined to be a feel-good film, this relies largely on Paltrow to give the character color and shading, and she does. Danner, Paltrow's real-life mother, plays her mother here. | tt0325055 | [R] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Jared Harris, Blythe Danner, Michael Gambon, Amira Casar | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Sylvia Scarlett | 1935 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 94 | Offbeat, charming comedy-drama; Hepburn and ne'er-do-well father Gwenn take to the road when he gets in trouble. She disguises as a boy as they travel with cockney Grant in touring show. Most unusual film made interesting by performances of Hepburn and Grant in their first film together. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027067 | Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Brian Aherne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Paley, Dennie Moore | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Symbol of the Unconquered | 1920 | Oscar Micheaux. | ★★½ | 59 | A light-skinned black woman (Hall) settles the homestead she's inherited from her grandfather and initiates a friendship with a young prospector who thinks she's white. Awkwardly paced and overly melodramatic, but a fascinating slice of cultural history. The primary villains are an equal-opportunity lot— a white swindler, an Indian fakir, and a self-hating mulatto who conceals his racial identity— and the scenes featuring the Ku Klux Klan (here called the Knights of the Black Cross) starkly contrast Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Restored from a print found in Belgium's Cinémathêque Royale, with title cards describing the missing footage. Compare with Micheaux's WITHIN OUR GATES (1920). Full title is THE SYMBOL OF THE UNCONQUERED: A STORY OF THE KU KLUX KLAN. | tt0139632 | Iris Hall, Walter Thompson, Lawrence Chenault, Mattie Wilkes, Louis Déan, Leigh Whipper. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Sympathy for Delicious | 2011 | Mark Ruffalo | ★★ | 96 | Thornton, a real-life paraplegic, wrote this oddball drama about a man in a wheelchair, living near L.A.’s Skid Row, who accidentally discovers that he can heal people with his hands. The only one he can’t help is himself. A priest (Ruffalo) encourages him to use his powers to help the unfortunate, and then starts to exploit him, so Thornton—who works as a D.J. under the name Delicious D—hooks up with a rock band and goes on the road. Interesting for a while but terribly unfocused; worst of all, it’s hard to care or root for Thornton’s misanthropic character. Ruffalo’s directorial debut. | tt1270277 | Unrated | Mark Ruffalo, Christopher Thornton, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, James Karen, John Carroll Lynch, Dov Tiefenbach | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance | 2002 | Park Chan-wook | ★★½ | 121 | A deaf-mute’s harebrained kidnapping plot to pay for a kidney transplant for his dying sister spins out of control into a bloody cycle of retribution. First of the director’s “revenge trilogy” is a stylish blend of surreal imagery, pitch-black humor,narrative confusion, and stomach-turning violence. Superbly made, but morally dubious and not for the squeamish. Followed by OLDBOY and LADY VENGEANCE. Original running time 129m. | tt0310775 | [R] | Song Kang-ho, Shin Ha-gyun, Bae Du-na, Im Ji-eun, Han Bo-bae, Kim Se-dong, LeeDae-yeon | Korean | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Sympathy for the Devil | One Plus One | 1970 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★ | 92 | Muddled documentary which utilizes the Rolling Stones as a catchall for interspersed study of revolution. Godard's cut, titled ONE PLUS ONE and running somewhat longer, is still extant. | tt0063665 | French | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Symphony of Six Million | 1932 | Gregory La Cava | ★★½ | 94 | Predictable but well-made Fannie Hurst soap opera has young doctor Cortez abandoning his Jewish-ghetto neighborhood, family, friends— and crippled sweetheart Dunne— to join Park Avenue set and make big money. | tt0023545 | Irene Dunne, Ricardo Cortez, Anna Appel, Gregory Ratoff, Lita Chevret | Drama | NULL | |||
| Synanon | 1965 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 107 | Potentially powerful study of dope-addiction treatment via the Synanon House methods bogs down in pat romantic tale with stereotyped performances. | tt0059774 | Chuck Connors, Stella Stevens, Alex Cord, Richard Conte, Eartha Kitt, Edmond O'Brien, Chanin Hale, Alejandro Rey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Syncopation | 1942 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 88 | Promising but pedestrian story of early jazz travels from New Orleans to Chicago, focusing on trumpeter Cooper (who's dubbed by Bunny Berigan). Good music throughout; at the very end, there's a jam session featuring Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Gene Krupa, Harry James, Jack Jenny, Joe Venuti, and Alvino Rey. | tt0035405 | Adolphe Menjou, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, George Bancroft, Ted North, Todd Duncan, Frank Jenks, Rex Stewart, Connee Boswell, Hall Johnson Choir | Musical | NULL | |||
| Synecdoche, New York | 2008 | Charlie Kaufman | ★★ | 124 | A tormented stage director whose private life is disintegrating channels his frustrations into a massive theatrical project. Screenwriter Kaufman incorporates many of his darkly comic, non-sequitur trademarks at first, then grows melancholy and downbeat as his hero confronts the futility of his quest to understand what his life is all about. Clever and original but wearying, not unlike its main character. The cast is uniformly fine. Directorial debut for screenwriter Kaufman (ADAPTATION, et al.). | tt0383028 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Syrian Bride | 2004 | Eran Riklis | ★★★½ | 97 | Contemplative, multilayered exploration of the state of the Middle East, centering on events preceding an arranged marriage between a Syrian television actor and a Druze from the Golan Heights; the nuptials will result in the bride's permanent separation from her family. This compassionate film is loaded with recognizable, fully fleshed-out characters, and deals insightfully with feelings and issues both personal and political. Written by the director and Shua Arraf. | tt0423310 | Unrated | Hiyam Abbass, Makram J. Khoury, Clara Khoury, Ashraf Barhoum, Eyad Sheety, Evelyne Kaplun, Julie-Anne Roth | Israeli-French-German | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Syriana | 2005 | Stephen Gaghan | ★★★½ | 128 | Complex, intriguing drama follows multiple storylines involving characters who affect and are affected by the politics of the Middle East, U.S. oil interests, and government corruption on all sides. Labyrinthine doesn't begin to describe this, a rare political thriller with smarts and a conscience; extremely well made, with a terrific cast. Gaghan's script was “suggested” by Robert Baer's book See No Evil. Clooney, who won a Supporting Actor Oscar, coexecutive produced with Steven Soderbergh. | tt0365737 | [R] | George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Mazhar Munir, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig, David Clennon, Robert Foxworth, Max Minghella, Jamey Sheridan, Nicky Henson, Jayne Atkinson | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Séance on a Wet Afternoon | 1964 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★★ | 115 | Gripping drama of crazed medium Stanley involving husband Attenborough in shady project. Brilliant acting, direction in this must-see film. Forbes adapted Mark McShane's novel and coproduced the film with Attenborough. Remade in Japan in 2000 as SÉANCE. | tt0058557 | Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Patrick Magee, Nanette Newman, Judith Donner, Gerald Sim, Maria Kazan, Margaret Lacey | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Séraphine | 2008 | Martin Provost | ★★★½ | 126 | On the eve of WW1, a prominent German art collector on sabbatical in rural France is stunned to discover his dowdy, hardscrabble cleaning lady can paint like an angel. Reverent, restrained dual biopic of modern primitive master Séraphine de Senlis and her patron Wilhelm Uhde is an ardently devout portrait of the bliss and the madness that fuel the creative soul. Astute sense of time, place, and character sustains the film over decades. Written by Provost and Marc Abdelnour. | tt1048171 | Unrated | Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent, Geneviève Mnich, Adélaïde Leroux, Nico Rogner | French-Belgian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Sólo Con Tu Pareja | 1991 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★★ | 94 | A womanizing Mexico City copywriter gets his comeuppance when he is falsely diagnosed as being H.I.V. positive, thanks to a spurned nurse who was one of his many conquests. Cowritten with his brother Carlos, Cuarón's feature debut (not released in the U.S. until 2006) is a breezily dark sex comedy in the early-Almodóvar style, strikingly shot by the director's regular cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki. Aka LOVE IN THE TIME OF HYSTERIA. | tt0102958 | Daniel Giménez Cacho, Claudia Ramírez, Luis de Icaza, Astrid Hadad, Dobrina Liubomirova, Isabel Benet. | Mexican | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| T-Men | 1947 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 92 | Semidocumentary-style story of undercover treasury agents trying to get to the bottom of counterfeit ring. Vividly exciting; director Mann and cameraman John Alton went out of their way to use unusual, effective lighting and compositions in this A-1 film. | tt0039881 | Dennis O'Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Charles McGraw, Wallace Ford, Mary Meade, June Lockhart | Drama, Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| T. R. Baskin | 1971 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 90 | Beautiful young small-town girl tries to make it in Chicago, finds problems in the big city. Wildly uneven comedy-drama has a few nice scenes, good acting by Caan in small role. Written and produced by Peter Hyams. | tt0067817 | [PG] | Candice Bergen, Peter Boyle, James Caan, Marcia Rodd, Erin O'Reilly, Howard Platt | Drama | NULL | ||
| The T.A.M.I. Show | 1964 | Steve Binder | ★★★ | 100 | Historic rock and r&b concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was covered by television cameras and kinescoped onto film by whiz-kid Binder. Invaluable document of music history, with great early Mick Jagger and electrifying footwork by Brown. (Two of those go-go dancers are Teri Garr and Toni Basil!) Originally 113m., with Beach Boys sequence that was later cut (although they're still visible in the finale). Title stands for Teenage Awards Music International. Followed by THE BIG T.N.T. SHOW; see also THAT WAS ROCK. | tt0058631 | The Rolling Stones, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Jan and Dean, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Lesley Gore, Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas | Documentary | NULL | |||
| T.N.T. Jackson | 1974 | Cirio H. Santiago | ★★ | 73 | OK Filipino-shot black actioner with statuesque former Playmate Bell as karate expert searching for her missing brother and kicking the hell out of anyone who gets in her way. A blaxploitation favorite, no doubt for the curious way Bell's shirts get torn off at the start of every fight scene. | tt0072245 | [R] | Jeanne Bell, Stan Shaw, Pat Anderson, Ken Metcalf | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| THX 1138 | 1971 | George Lucas | ★★½ | 88 | Futuristic tale in the 1984 vein about robotlike society where sex is forbidden and everyone looks the same. Dull script (by Lucas and Walter Murch), but visually impressive; Lucas' first feature is expanded version of prize-winning featurette he made at USC. Revised by the director (with no change in running time) for 2004 reissue; that version is rated R. | tt0066434 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Maggie McOmie, Don Pedro Colley, Ian Wolfe | Sci-Fi, Drama | NULL | ||
| TMNT | 2007 | Kevin Munroe | ★½ | 87 | Those TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (who starred in three movies of the 1990s) return, computerized this time around. The superheroes, having temporarily retired after defeating arch-nemesis Shredder, must reunite to battle a wealthy industrialist who has collected an army of ancient monsters in an effort to take over the world. CGI has been utilized effectively to create moody, comic-book-urban scenery, and the cool-looking monsters will probably appeal to kids. But bland characters and choppy, uninvolving fight scenes are likely to bore adults, including those who loved the turtles in their heyday. | tt0453556 | [PG] | Voices of Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart. | Comedy, Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The TV Set | 2007 | Jake Kasdan | ★★½ | 88 | Duchovny plays a TV writer-producer who has created a personal, and well-regarded, script for a potential series. But casting and shooting that pilot while appeasing the “network suits” are no easy tasks if you want to hang on to your soul. Amusing if low-key satire has the feel of being made by people who know this path all too well. Written by the director. HD | tt0473709 | [R] | David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Justine Bateman, Lucy Davis, M. C. Gainey, Philip Baker Hall, Andrea Martin, Willie Garson, Kathryn Joosten. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Table for Five | 1983 | Robert Lieberman | ★★★ | 122 | Solid (and unabashed) tearjerker with Voight as a divorced man who tries to make up for being an absentee father by taking his three children on a cruise to Europe— little dreaming how tough an experience it will turn out to be. Curl up and have a good cry. | tt0086405 | [PG] | Jon Voight, Richard Crenna, Marie-Christine Barrault, Millie Perkins, Roxana Zal, Robby Kiger, Son Hoang Bui, Kevin Costner | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tabloid | 2011 | Errol Morris | ★★½ | 88 | Offbeat documentary about a wacky onetime beauty queen, Joyce McKinney, who became the focus of British tabloid headlines in the 1970s when she allegedly kidnapped her true love and held him prisoner. Additional layers of the story are gradually revealed, by McKinney herself (who loves to talk to the camera) and some savvy tabloid journalists who covered and investigated her case. Slickly packaged, to be sure, but at some point you may wonder, as we did, if McKinney's story is really worth a feature-length documentary. | tt1704619 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Taboo | Gohatto | 1999 | Nagisa Oshima | ★★★ | 100 | The austere atmosphere of a mid-19th-century samurai warrior academy is rattled to its core upon the arrival of a new student (Matsuda), a multitalented young fighter who also is effeminate and flirtatious. Provocative drama explores the essence of machismo and the nature of sexuality in a repressed society. Originally titled GOHATTO. | tt0213682 | Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano), Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda, Tadanobu Asano, Koji Matoba, Masato Ibu | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Tabu- A Story of the South Seas | 1931 | F. W. Murnau | ★★★½ | 82 | Fascinating melding of ethnographic documentary and narrative, about pearl fisherman Matahi and his ill-fated love for young Chevalier, who's been deemed by the gods as taboo to all men. Shot in Tahiti in 1929, produced and scripted by Murnau and Robert Flaherty; the latter left the project in mid-production because of differences in opinion with Murnau— who died in a car accident just prior to the film's premiere. Floyd Crosby's cinematography won an Academy Award. | tt0022458 | Anna Chevalier, Matahi, Hitu, Jean, Jules, Kong Ah | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tadpole | 2002 | Gary Winick | ★★★ | 78 | A fresh comic look at a younger-man-older-woman relationship. Stanford hits just the right note as a self-possessed, preppie high school student who rejects the youth and naiveté of girls his age— because he's got a crush on his worldly stepmother (Weaver). Clever comedy set in N.Y.C., with touches of French farce, is short and sweet. Shot on digital video. | tt0271219 | [PG-13] | Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter, Bebe Neuwirth, Aaron Stanford, Robert Iler, Adam LeFevre, Ron Rifkin, Kate Mara | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Taffin | 1988 | Francis Megahy | ★★ | 96 | Dull thriller about a bill collector (an uncharismatic Brosnan) and his exploits as he takes on some shady businessmen attempting to build a chemical plant in an Irish village. | tt0096211 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Ray McAnally, Alison Doody, Jeremy Child, Patrick Bergin | British | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Taffy and the Jungle Hunter | 1965 | Terry Morse | ★★ | 87 | Unassuming tale of son of big game hunter who takes off for jungle adventures with pet elephant and chimp. | tt0059779 | Jacques Bergerac, Manuel Padilla, Shary Marshall, Hari Rhodes | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tag: The Assassination Game | Everybody Gets It in the End | 1982 | Nick Castle | ★★ | 92 | A role-playing game, played by college students with toy guns, turns deadly when one player (Abbott) becomes unhinged and substitutes real bullets. Short on sense and suspense, with some unintended laughs along the way. Aka EVERYBODY GETS IT IN THE END. | tt0084756 | [PG] | Robert Carradine, Linda Hamilton, Kristine De Bell, Bruce Abbott, Michael Winslow, Frazer Smith | Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Taggart | 1964 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 85 | Neat little action Western based on a Louis L'Amour novel with Young on a revenge hunt, pursued by gunslingers in Indian territory. | tt0058633 | Tony Young, Dan Duryea, Peter Duryea, David Carradine, Jean Hale, Harry Carey/Jr., Bob Steele | Western | NULL | |||
| Tai-Pan | 1986 | Daryl Duke | ★½ | 127 | Spectacularly silly adventure yarn based on James Clavell's sprawling novel about 19th-century trade baron who establishes his headquarters in Hong Kong. So much story is telescoped, and so many accents are poor and plot points handled with sledgehammer subtlety that there's nothing left to do but treat the whole thing as a goof— or skip it altogether. Actually filmed in China, if that matters. | tt0092042 | [R] | Bryan Brown, Joan Chen, John Stanton, Tim Guinee, Bill Leadbitter, Russell Wong, Kyra Sedgwick, Bert Remsen, Janine Turner | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tail Spin | 1939 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 84 | Hackneyed saga of female flyers, with Faye (in a change-of-pace role) having to scrounge for pennies and face competition from socialite/aviatrix Bennett. Written by Frank 'Spig' Wead. | tt0032004 | Alice Faye, Constance Bennett, Nancy Kelly, Joan Davis, Charles Farrell, Jane Wyman, Kane Richmond, Wally Vernon | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tailor of Panama | 2001 | John Boorman | ★★½ | 109 | A rotter from the British secret service is relocated to Panama City, where he aligns himself with a well-connected (but double-dealing) tailor to get the lay of the land. Genuinely nasty espionage tale/character study is novel at first but eventually becomes off-putting. Rush is extremely good. John le Carré adapted his book with director Boorman and Andrew Davies. | tt0236784 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush, Jamie Lee Curtis, Catherine McCormack, Brendan Gleeson, Leonor Varela, Harold Pinter, Mark Margolis, Daniel Radcliffe | U.S.-Irish | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Tailor's Maid | 1957 | Mario Monicelli | ★★½ | 92 | Saucy, inconsequential comedy about an amorous tailor. | tt0050813 | Vittorio De Sica, Marcello Mastroianni, Marisa Merlini, Fiorella Mari, Memmo Carotenuto, Raffaele Pisu | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Taira Clan Saga | 1955 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★ | 110 | A Kyoto samurai, publicly hailed for bravery at sea, learns he is but a pawn in a game between a corrupt emperor and the military. Historically accurate 12th-century epic about the rise of the shoguns is an elegy for honor long gone. Second of only two color films by the great director. | tt0048610 | Raizo Ichikawa, Ichijiro Oya, Yoshiko Kuga, Michiyo Kogure, Eijiro Yanagi, Tatsuya Ishiguro, Narutoshi Hayashi, Tamao Nakamura, Koreya Senda. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Take Care of My Little Girl | 1951 | Jean Negulesco | ★★ | 93 | Overdramatic story of sorority life at college. | tt0044100 | Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Mitzi Gaynor, Jean Peters, Jeffrey Hunter, George Nader, Helen Westcott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Take Down | 1978 | Kieth Merrill | ★★★ | 107 | Serio-comic look at high school wrestling, focusing on rebellious student Lamas and reluctant coach Herrmann. Well done. | tt0078358 | Edward Herrmann, Kathleen Lloyd, Lorenzo Lamas, Maureen McCormick, Nick Beauvy, Kevin Hooks, Stephen Furst. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Take Her, She's Mine | 1963 | Henry Koster | ★★ | 98 | Obvious family comedy with Stewart the harried father of wild teen-age daughter Dee. Predictable gags don't help. Script by Nunnally Johnson, from the Broadway hit by Phoebe and Henry Ephron; later ripped off by THE IMPOSSIBLE YEARS. Look for James Brolin in airport scene. | tt0057556 | James Stewart, Sandra Dee, Audrey Meadows, Robert Morley, Philippe Forquet, John McGiver, Bob Denver, Irene Tsu | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Take It Big | 1944 | Frank McDonald. | ★½ | 75 | Haley, the wrong end of a two-man horse act, mistakenly thinks he's inherited a Nevada dude ranch. Though he's the nominal star of this silly B musical, one's attention is drawn more to the parents of David and Ricky Nelson. The all-female rodeo team is a keen idea. | tt0037340 | Jack Haley, Harriet Hilliard, Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra, Mary Beth Hughes, Richard Lane, Arline Judge, Lucile Gleason, Fuzzy Knight, Fritz Feld. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Take It or Leave It | 1944 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★½ | 70 | Claptrap hinged on lives of contestants on popular quiz show; film uses clips from older pictures to liven proceedings. | tt0037341 |
|
Phil Baker, Phil Silvers, Edward Ryan, Marjorie Massow, Stanley Prager, Roy Gordon | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Take Me Home Tonight | 2011 | Michael Dowse | ★★ | 97 | Grace has just graduated from MIT but can’t get his act together; when he runs into his high school crush (Palmer) he pretends to be a success in the world of high finance. He maintains the charade at a wild party that night that also brings his twin sister, best friend, and school rivals together. Purported homage to ’80s comedies (cowritten by Grace) hasn’t much “period” feel, and while it’s innocuous enough it’s also highly derivative. | tt0810922 | [R] | Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt, Michael Biehn, Michelle Trachtenberg, Angie Everhart, Bob Odenkirk, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Punch, Michael Ian Black, Demetri Martin | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Take Me Out to the Ball Game | 1949 | Busby Berkeley | ★★★ | 93 | Contrived but colorful turn-of-the-century musical, with Williams taking over Sinatra and Kelly's baseball team. 'O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg' and Kelly's 'The Hat My Father Wore on St. Patrick's Day' are musical highlights. | tt0041944 | Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly, Betty Garrett, Edward Arnold, Jules Munshin, Richard Lane, Tom Dugan | Musical | NULL | |||
| Take Me to Town | 1953 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 81 | Unpretentious Americana of saloon singer Sheridan on the lam, finding love with widowed preacher Hayden and his three children. | tt0046397 | Ann Sheridan, Sterling Hayden, Philip Reed, Lee Patrick, Lane Chandler, Lee Aaker | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Take One False Step | 1949 | Chester Erskine | ★★½ | 94 | Ex-flame Winters attempts to seduce now-married educator Powell, leading to his becoming a wanted man. OK mystery-drama, adapted by Erskine and Irwin Shaw from the novel by Shaw and his brother David. | tt0041945 | William Powell, Shelley Winters, Marsha Hunt, James Gleason, Sheldon Leonard, Dorothy Hart | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Take Shelter | 2011 | Jeff Nichols | ★★½ | 121 | Ohio construction worker and family man Shannon begins having hallucinations—or are they premonitions?—of impending doom, mostly associated with a (literal) gathering storm. He's too shaken up to tell his wife (Chastain) what's going on in his head, but his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Is he paranoid or prescient? Writer-director Nichols' original story is nuanced and never less than interesting, but the combination of slow pacing and a palpable feeling of dread make it a tough sit. Shannon, who often plays creepy characters, is terrific here as an ordinary guy going through an extraordinary experience. | tt1675192 | [R] | Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Ray McKinnon, LisaGay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Kathy Baker | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Take This Job and Shove It | 1981 | Gus Trikonis | ★★½ | 100 | Hays returns to his hometown with orders from his conglomerate to modernize an old-fashioned brewery . . . but being with his old cronies, and one-time girlfriend, effects a change of attitude. Unpretentious film named after '70s hit record by Johnny Paycheck has Capraesque flavor at times, but eventually settles for obvious formula schtick. | tt0083163 | [PG] | Robert Hays, Art Carney, Barbara Hershey, David Keith, Tim Thomerson, Martin Mull, Eddie Albert, Penelope Milford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Take a Chance | 1933 | Laurence Schwab, Monte Brice | ★½ | 84 | Awful adaptation of Broadway musical of the same name about carnival hucksters aiming for the big time. Redeemed ever so slightly by its score ('It's Only a Paper Moon,' 'Eadie Was a Lady,' 'New Deal Rhythm') and a campy, risqué number with 'Ukulele Ike' Edwards. | tt0024640 | James Dunn, Cliff Edwards, June Knight, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Lillian Roth, Dorothy Lee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Take a Giant Step | 1959 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 100 | Earnest but only partly successful account of black teen Nash's problems in a white world. Stagy adaptation of Louis S. Peterson's play benefits from good performances. | tt0053331 | Johnny Nash, Estelle Hemsley, Ruby Dee, Frederick O'Neal, Ellen Holly, Beah Richards | Drama | NULL | |||
| Take a Girl Like You | 1970 | Jonathan Miller | ★★½ | 101 | Hayley's a young schoolteacher intent on staying virginal until her wedding day. Reed and Harrison are intent on proving otherwise. Pleasant fare with good cast. Based on a Kingsley Amis novel. | tt0066436 | [R] | Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed, Noel Harrison, Sheila Hancock, John Bird, Aimi MacDonald, Ronald Lacey, Penelope Keith | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Take a Hard Ride | 1975 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★ | 109 | Oddball Western filmed in Canary Islands. Brown must carry large bankroll across Mexican border, attracts a colorful band of 'comrades' for his journey, runs afoul of bandit Van Cleef. Good personalities wasted in blah script. | tt0073784 | [PG] | Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Fred Williamson, Catherine Spaak, Jim Kelly, Dana Andrews, Barry Sullivan, Harry Carey/Jr. | Western | NULL | ||
| Take a Letter, Darling | 1942 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 93 | Witty repartee as advertising exec Roz hires MacMurray as secretary, but relationship doesn't end there. Benchley is wry as Russell's game-playing business partner. | tt0035413 | Rosalind Russell, Fred MacMurray, Constance Moore, Robert Benchley, Macdonald Carey, Dooley Wilson, Cecil Kellaway | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Take the High Ground! | 1953 | Richard Brooks | ★★★ | 101 | Taut account of infantry basic training with on-location filming at Fort Bliss, Texas, helping. | tt0046398 | Richard Widmark, Karl Malden, Elaine Stewart, Steve Forrest, Carleton Carpenter, Russ Tamblyn, Jerome Courtland | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Take the Lead | 2006 | Liz Friedlander | ★½ | 117 | Hackneyed cross between Dancing With the Stars and TO SIR WITH LOVE, not to mention other big-hearted teacher-in-the-ghetto films . . . yet it’s based on a true story. Kinda. Dance instructor Pierre Dulaine comes to an inner-city high school to teach its most hardened kids ballroom dancing. Before you can say Lambada, he’s got gangbangers cha-cha-cha-ing like hip-hop reincarnations of Fred and Ginger. Some of the dancing is good, but the storytelling is stale. Dulaine inspired the far more engaging documentary MAD HOT BALLROOM. | tt0446046 | [PG-13] | Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Yaya DaCosta, John Ortiz, Laura Benanti, Jonathan Malen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Take the Money and Run | 1969 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 85 | Woody's first film as director/writer/star is full of funny ideas, telling documentary-style, life story of compulsive thief. Nonstop parade of jokes; some work, some don't, but the ones that do are a riot! Louise Lasser seen briefly. | tt0065063 | [M] | Woody Allen, Janet Margolin, Marcel Hillaire, Jacquelyn Hyde, Jackson Beck | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Take | 1974 | Robert Hartford-Davis | ★★ | 93 | Tepid action pic concerns police lieutenant Williams' efforts to stop syndicate chief Morrow while accepting bribe money on the side. Surprisingly neat cameo by Avalon as a cheap crook. | tt0072249 | [PG] | Billy Dee Williams, Eddie Albert, Vic Morrow, Frankie Avalon, Albert Salmi | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Taken | 2008 | Pierre Morel | ★★ | 93 | Former CIA op Neeson has given up his career to make up for being an absentee father to his now-teenaged daughter. When she’s abducted while visiting Paris with a friend he springs into action, using all his “special skills” to find her, even if it requires leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. Slick, visceral, and never dull, this action yarn starts well but becomes utterly preposterous. Cowritten and produced by Luc Besson. | tt0936501 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance | French | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Takers | 2010 | John Luessenhop | ★★ | 107 | Familiar but flashy thriller charts parallel progressions of high-living, risk-taking criminals plotting an armored-car robbery, and a hard-bitten cop (Dillon) doggedly following their trail from an earlier heist. Exciting set pieces, including a fast and furious foot chase through downtown L.A., and some intriguing character touches help maintain interest. Mildly disappointing ending plays like a last-minute rewrite aimed at leaving door open for a sequel. | tt1135084 | [PG-13] | Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip “T”.Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Steve Harris, Glynn Turman, Nick Turturro, Zoe Saldana | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Taking Care of Business | 1990 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 107 | At the outset of a weekend business trip, Grodin loses his pocket organizer, which holds the keys to his very existence; escaped convict Belushi finds the combination wallet and appointment book, and assumes Grodin's identity for an eventful weekend. Cute comedy, with Belushi's most appealing role to date . . . but goes on a bit too long. | tt0103035 | [R] | James Belushi, Charles Grodin, Anne DeSalvo, Loryn Locklin, Stephen Elliott, Hector Elizondo, Veronica Hamel, Mako, Gates McFadden, John de Lancie, Terrence McNally | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Taking Lives | 2004 | D.J. Caruso | ★★★ | 103 | Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Paul Dano, Marie-Josée Croze. Tough thriller gives Jolie a perfect part as a cool, collected FBI profiler who's called to Montreal to help solve the latest in a series of brutal murders. Her utter professionalism may be compromised by her attraction to eyewitness Hawke. Not for the squeamish, this film offers surprises, genuine shocks, and of course some red herrings to keep you off-balance. Jon Bokenkamp adapted Michael Pye's novel. Director's cut runs 109m. | tt0364045 | [R] | Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tcheky Karyo, Jean-Hughes Anglade, Paul Dano, Marie-Josée Croze | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Taking Off | 1971 | Milos Forman | ★★★½ | 93 | Forman's first American film is beguilingly funny look at American life-styles from two generations' point of view, centering on runaway girl (Heacock) who drives parents (Carlin, Henry) into new experiences of their own. Carly Simon seen as one of auditioning singers. Screenplay by Forman, John Guare, Jean-Claude Carrière, and John Klein. | tt0067820 | [R] | Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Linnea Heacock, Audra Lindley, Paul Benedict, Georgia Engel | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Taking Sides | 2002 | István Szabó | ★★ | 108 | Disappointing film based on the life of Wilhelm Furtwängler, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic during the Nazi era who was investigated in postwar Germany. Ronald Harwood adapted his play, exploring the dilemma of artists in a time of political upheaval and turmoil, but it's too stagy to really work as a film. Uninspired direction by Szabó, who dealt with similar themes in the superior MEPHISTO. | tt0260414 | Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgård, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birgit Minichmayr, Ulrich Tukur, Oleg Tabakov, R. Lee Ermey. | French-German-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Taking Woodstock | 2009 | Ang Lee | ★★ | 120 | Vivid re-creation of events leading up to the once-in-a-lifetime Woodstock music festival in the summer of 1969. Martin plays Elliot Tiber, whose parents own a run-down motel that becomes the nerve center of the operation . . . but as the film drags on and focuses more on him than the event, it loses its impetus and strays off course. Worth seeing for some wonderful scenes and performances but something of a disappointment. | tt1127896 | [R] | Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton, Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Jonathan Groff, Eugene Levy, Mamie Gummer, Richard Thomas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kelli Garner, Paul Dano, Edward Hibbert | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Taking of Beverly Hills | 1991 | Sidney J. Furie | ★★ | 118 | The owner of L.A.'s pro football team masterminds a false toxic spill, which allows his flunkies to loot the estates of Beverly Hills' rich-and-famous while the owners are temporarily whisked away to shelter. Quarterback Wahl ends up literally lobbing a few bombs in this speedy stupidity, which languished unreleased for well over a year. Look for Pamela Anderson as a cheerleader. | tt0105526 | [R] | Ken Wahl, Matt Frewer, Harley Jane Kozak, Robert Davi, Lee Ving James, Branscombe Richmond, Lyman Ward, Michael Bowen, William Prince, Ken Swofford, George Wyner | Action | NULL | ||
| The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 | 2009 | Tony Scott | ★★ | 106 | Wily madman (Travolta) hijacks a N.Y.C. subway train and communicates his demands to a transit authority rep (Washington) who just happens to field his call—and becomes deeply entwined in the citywide crisis. Interesting for a while, then becomes needlessly complicated and cluttered (unlike the sharply written 1974 original), with logic discarded completely by the time it winds down. Travolta is quite good, however. | tt1111422 | [R] | Denzel Washington, John Travolta, James Gandolfini, John Turturro, Luis Guzmán, Michael Rispoli, Frank Wood, Ramon Rodriguez, John Benjamin Hickey, Aunjanue Ellis, Gary Basaraba | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | 1974 | Joseph Sargent | ★★★½ | 104 | Ruthless Shaw and three cohorts hijack N.Y.C. subway train, hold passengers for one million in cash— to be delivered in one hour! Outstanding thriller, laced with cynical comedy, bursts with heart-stopping excitement, terrific performances, and first-rate editing. Crackerjack Peter Stone screenplay greatly improves John Godey's best-seller; pulsating score by David Shire. Remade for TV in 1998. | tt0072251 | [R] | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo, Earl Hindman, Dick O'Neill, Jerry Stiller, Tony Roberts, Lee Wallace, Doris Roberts, Kenneth McMillan, Julius Harris, James Broderick, Sal Viscuso | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Tale of Despereaux | 2008 | Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen | ★★ | 94 | An unusually brave little mouse embarks on an adventure that changes the lives of an unhappy rat, a homely servant girl, and an unhappy princess. Visually attractive, but ultimately a confusing and slowly paced animated film with little of interest for grown-ups. Even the all-star voice cast sounds bored. Based on a popular children’s book by Kate DiCamillo. | tt0420238 | [G] | Voices of Matthew Broderick, Sigourney Weaver, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman, Robbie Coltrane, Christopher Lloyd, Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, William H. Macy, Stanley Tucci | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| A Tale of Five Women | 1951 | Romollo Marcellini, Geza von Cziffra, Wolfgang Staudte, E. E. Reinert, Montgomery Tully | ★½ | 86 | Magazine editor Kelly accompanies amnesiac RAF officer to visit lovers in five cities, hoping to jar his memory. Disappointingly dull multi-episode film. Originally titled A TALE OF FIVE CITIES, running 99m. | tt0041921 | Bonar Colleano, Barbara Kelly, Anne Vernon, Lana Morris, Karen Humbold, Lily Kahn, Eva Bartok, Gina Lollobrigida | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Tale of Springtime | 1989 | Eric Rohmer | ★★★ | 112 | Typically refreshing, perceptive Rohmer concoction, about high school philosophy teacher Teyssedre; she meets and befriends young Darel, who tries to match her up with her father. Not his best work, but a little Rohmer goes a long way. The first of the filmmaker's 'Tales of the Four Seasons,' followed by A TALE OF WINTER. | tt0097106 | Anne Teyssedre, Hugues Quester, Florence Darel, Eloise Bennett, Sophie Robin | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1935 | Jack Conway | ★★★★ | 128 | Dickens' panorama of the 1780s French Revolution becomes an MGM blockbuster, with Colman as carefree lawyer awakened to responsibility, aiding victims of the Reign of Terror. Stage star Blanche Yurka creates a memorable Mme. Defarge in her film debut. Tremendous cast in a truly lavish production. Written for the screen by W.P. Lipscomb and S.N. Behrman. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0027075 | Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, Isabel Jewell, Walter Catlett, Henry B. Walthall, H.B. Warner, Donald Woods | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Tale of Two Cities | 1958 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 117 | Faithful retelling of Dickens story in this well-made British production, with Bogarde a good Sydney Carton. Remade again for TV in 1980. | tt0052270 | Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Ian Bannen | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Tale of Winter | 1992 | Eric Rohmer | ★★½ | 114 | Hairdresser Véry has an affair with an itinerent cook at a beachside resort. They lose touch, and she has his child. She's romanced by two very different suitors, but can't decide upon the one with whom to settle. Bittersweet allegory about not accepting second-best in love; however, it's difficult to sympathize with Véry's flaky character. The second of Rohmer's 'Tales of the Four Seasons.' | tt0104008 | Charlotte Véry, Frédéric Van Den Driessche, Michel Voletti, Hervé Furic, Ava Loraschi, Christiane Desbois | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tale of a Vampire | 1992 | Shimako Sato | ★½ | 93 | London: Lonely vampire Sands becomes attracted to librarian Hamilton, who resembles his lost love . . . but mysterious Cranham is keeping an eye on both of them. Horror thriller emphasizes romance; it's good looking and well acted, but ponderous and pretentious. | tt0105527 | [R] | Julian Sands, Suzanna Hamilton, Kenneth Cranham, Marian Diamond, Michael Kenton | British-Japanese | Horror, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| Talent Scout | 1937 | William Clemens. | ★½ | 62 | Tacky B musical about a Hollywood talent scout and the girl he promotes to stardom. The only fun is anticipating the clichéd dialogue scene by scene. | tt0029636 | Donald Woods, Jeanne Madden, Fred Lawrence, Rosalind Marquis, Charles Halton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Talent for Loving | Gun Crazy | 1969 | Richard Quine | ★★ | 110 | Rambunctious Western concerning a professional gambler trapped into marrying within rich Mexican family cursed by the Aztecs with a talent for loving. From Richard Condon's novel. Video title: GUN CRAZY. | tt0065065 | [PG] | Richard Widmark, Topol, Cesar Romero, Genevieve Page, Judd Hamilton, Caroline Munro | Western | NULL | |
| Talent for the Game | 1991 | Robert M. Young | ★½ | 91 | Cliché-ridden story of California Angels baseball scout Olmos, who discovers a superior pitching talent on an Idaho farm. Kinney is slimy as a billionaire who buys the team. This struck out in its scant theatrical release and went right to the showers— er, the video shelves. | tt0103036 | [PG] | Edward James Olmos, Lorraine Bracco, Jamey Sheridan, Terry Kinney, Jeffrey Corbett | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Talented Mr. Ripley | 1999 | Anthony Minghella | ★★½ | 139 | An unscrupulous (and penniless) young man accepts a job from an American millionaire to find his wastrel son in Italy and convince him to come home. Instead, Tom Ripley (Damon) befriends the young man and aspires to live his carefree life . . . at any price. Two-thirds of a really good movie; Minghella's free adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel goes adrift toward the end. Attractive cast and gorgeous views of Italy compensate. Worth comparing to earlier version of same story, PURPLE NOON. Dennis Hopper plays Tom Ripley in THE AMERICAN FRIEND. John Malkovich assumes the role in RIPLEY'S GAME. | tt0134119 | [R] | Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, Celia Weston, Lisa Eichhorn | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tales From the Crypt | 1972 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 92 | Five stories of terror involving deceit, mayhem, and a few well-timed laughs. Nothing extraordinary, however; based on the old E. C. comics. Followed by VAULT OF HORROR. | tt0069341 | [PG] | Ralph Richardson, Peter Cushing, Joan Collins, Richard Greene, Patrick Magee, Ian Hendry, Nigel Patrick | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight | 1995 | Ernest Dickerson | ★★ | 92 | Tepid terror tale of a dashing demon and avenging angel vying for the souls of a band of outsiders (town drunkard, lonely prostitute, etc.). Tries for tongue-in-cheek humor but only supplies some gross-out gore and a fair share of t&a. Based on the HBO TV series. | tt0114608 | [R] | Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Thomas Hayden Church, Charles Fleischer, Dick Miller | Horror | NULL | ||
| Tales From the Darkside: The Movie | 1990 | John Harrison | ★★ | 93 | Boy imprisoned by suburban cannibal Harry tells her three horror stories— about a walking mummy, a supernatural cat, and a vow made to a gargoyle— to stave off being served as a main course. Good production values, but the stories are tepid; only the third one, by Michael McDowell, has a kick (the first two are by Arthur Conan Doyle and Stephen King). Connection to TV series of the same name is tenuous at best. | tt0100740 | [R] | Deborah Harry, Matthew Lawrence, Christian Slater, Robert Sedgwick, Julianne Moore, David Johansen (Buster Poindexter), William Hickey, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong, Robert Klein, Steve Buscemi | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Tales From the Hood | 1995 | Rusty Cundieff | ★★★ | 98 | Four horror stories with African-American themes are told to three black hoodlums by a bizarre mortician (Williams). The first (a walking corpse) and the third (vengeful dolls) are standard plots with a racial twist, but the second (boy terrorized by monster at his door) and the fourth (gang member subjected to behavior modification) are something different. Good direction, colorful acting, and nifty effects put this above average for horror anthologies of any color. Spike Lee was the executive producer. | tt0114609 | [R] | Corbin Bernsen, Lamont Bentley, De'Aundre Bonds, Rosalind Cash, Rusty Cundieff, Anthony Griffith, David Alan Grier, Brandon Hammond, Wings Hauser, Sam Monroe, Paula Jai Parker, Joe Torry, Clarence Williams III, Tom Wright | Crime, Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Tales That Witness Madness | 1973 | Freddie Francis. | ★½ | 90 | Absurd collection of four lame Twilight Zone-like stories. A waste of time and talent. | tt0070770 | [R] | Kim Novak, Georgia Brown, Joan Collins, Jack Hawkins, Donald Houston, Peter McEnery, Suzy Kendall, Donald Pleasence. | British | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Tales of Hoffmann | 1951 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★½ | 127 | Jacques Offenbach's fantasy opera of student who engages in bizarre dreams, revealing three states of his life. Striking and offbeat film, not for all tastes. Beware of 118m. prints. Famous score conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. | tt0044103 | Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville, Leonide Massine, Robert Helpmann, Pamela Brown | British | Adventure, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tales of Manhattan | 1942 | Julien Duvivier | ★★★ | 118 | Charming film about the effect a dress tailcoat has on its various owners; five episodes, alternately amusing, poignant, ironic. Our favorite: down-and-out Robinson attending 25th class reunion. Pictorially stylish throughout; photographed by Joseph Walker. Video version has 9m. W. C. Fields episode deleted from original theatrical release. | tt0035415 | Charles Boyer, Rita Hayworth, Henry Fonda, Ginger Rogers, Charles Laughton, Edward G. Robinson, Ethel Waters, Paul Robeson, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Thomas Mitchell, Cesar Romero, George Sanders | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tales of Ordinary Madness | 1983 | Marco Ferreri | ★½ | 107 | Pretentious swill about poet Gazzara who boozes endlessly and meets the oddest assortment of women. Gazzara, and especially Tyrrell, have never been worse. Based on stories by Charles Bukowski. | tt0086410 | Ben Gazzara, Ornella Muti, Susan Tyrrell, Tanya Lopert, Roy Brocksmith | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tales of Robin Hood | 1951 | James Tinling. | ★½ | 60 | Ultra-cheap, by-the-numbers account of Robin (Clarke) and his merry band of outlaws battling the Sheriff of Nottingham. Originally an unsold TV pilot that was released to theaters. | tt0044104 | Robert Clarke, Mary Hatcher, Paul Cavanagh, Wade Crosby, Whit Bissell, Ben Welden. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tales of Terror | 1962 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 90 | Four Edgar Allan Poe stories distilled by Richard Matheson into three-part film, with Lorre's comic performance as vengeful husband walling up adulterous wife the standout. Price appears in all three segments. Odd widescreen and color effects will suffer on small screen. | tt0056552 | Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Debra Paget, Maggie Pierce, Leona Gage, Joyce Jameson | Horror | NULL | |||
| Talk About a Stranger | 1952 | David Bradley | ★★★ | 65 | A lonely boy tries to prove reclusive neighbor Kasznar killed his dog. Good use of California orchard locations, well-judged direction and John Alton's moody photography result in a fine little B that deserves to be better known. | tt0045216 | George Murphy, Nancy Davis (Reagan), Billy Gray, Kurt Kasznar, Lewis Stone | Drama, Mystery, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Talk Radio | 1988 | Oliver Stone | ★★½ | 110 | Eric Bogosian's one-set play (written with Ted Savinar) is fleshed out for this feature film about an abrasive talk-show host who puts down his many callers but can't get his own life together. Well acted, extremely well shot and directed, but one's enjoyment may depend on one's tolerance for this kind of talk-radio host. Stone and Bogosian collaborated on the screenplay, which also incorporated elements of Steven Singular's book Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg. | tt0096219 | [R] | Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley, John Pankow, Michael Wincott | Drama | NULL | ||
| Talk of Angels | 1998 | Nick Hamm | ★★½ | 96 | An Irish governess for a wealthy Spanish family falls in love with their married anarchist son. Strong supporting cast and sumptuous period detail can't quite make up for lackluster script and lethargic lead performances from Walker and Perez. McDormand is good in a small role as a repressed lesbian. | tt0120271 | [PG-13] | Polly Walker, Frances McDormand, Vincent Perez, Franco Nero, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Rossy de Palma | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Talk of the Town | 1942 | George Stevens | ★★★★ | 118 | Intelligent comedy with brilliant cast; fugitive Grant hides out with unsuspecting professor Colman and landlady Arthur, and tries to convince legal-minded Colman there's a human side to all laws. Splendid film written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman. | tt0035417 | Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Cary Grant, Glenda Farrell, Edgar Buchanan, Charles Dingle, Rex Ingram, Emma Dunn, Tom Tyler, Lloyd Bridges | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Talk to Her | Hable con ella | 2002 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★★ | 112 | One-of-a-kind film about two comatose women and the men who love them, in very different ways. Superb, haunting meditation on love, desire, and loneliness could only have been made by Almodóvar. A silent-film segment is outrageous and unforgettable. Sad, funny, shocking, beautifully filmed and acted. A masterpiece. Almodóvar won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. | tt0287467 | [R] | Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Rosario Flores, Geraldine Chaplin, Mariola Fuentes | Spanish | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL |
| Talk to Me | 2007 | Kasi Lemmons | ★★½ | 118 | Cocky convict “Petey” Greene tries to parlay his stint as a prison d.j. into a bona fide radio career in Washington, D.C., during the turbulent 1960s. Buttoned-down radio exec Ejiofor resists him at first and then realizes he can hitch his wagon to this budding star. “Inspired by” real-life characters, screenplay follows current events and changing times, but loses its focus—and momentum—along the way, though Cheadle’s electrifying performance makes this worth seeing. | tt0796368 | [R] | Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall, Martin Sheen | Drama, Biography, History | NULL | ||
| Talkin' Dirty After Dark | 1991 | Topper Carew | ★½ | 86 | A night in the life of a black L.A. comedy club, on-stage and off; broad (to say the least), energetically vulgar, and poorly made. Pretty much a waste of film— and time. | tt0103039 | [R] | Martin Lawrence, John Witherspoon, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Jedda Jones, 'Tiny' Lister/Jr., Darryl Sivad | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Talking Picture | 2003 | Manoel de Oliveira. | ★★★ | 95 | Unique, compelling exercise in cinematic philosophizing by 95-year-old master de Oliveira. A history teacher sails to Bombay with her precocious young daughter, showing her some of the world's great sights and explaining the wars that have been fought over them. Along the way, the solicitous ship's captain (Malkovich) leads a high-minded conversation with three striking women from different countries who discuss their views of modern civilization. Unexpected turn of events makes de Oliveira's ultimate point about the state of the world post 9/11. | tt0364093 | Leonor Silveira, Filipa de Almeida, John Malkovich, Irene Papas, Catherine Deneuve, Stefania Sandrelli, Luís Miguel Cintra. | Portuguese-French-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe | 1972 | Yves Robert | ★★★ | 90 | Engaging French farce with rival secret agents making life a shambles for the Tall Blond Man (Richard) who's been innocently pegged a spy. Followed by RETURN OF . . . in 1974 and an American remake (THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE) in 1985. | tt0068655 | [PG] | Pierre Richard, Bernard Blier, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc, Jean Carmet | French | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Tall Guy | 1989 | Mel Smith | ★★½ | 90 | Quirky comedy of downtrodden American actor living in London, playing second banana to a vile star comedian (Atkinson) in a West End revue. Love, allergies, naked strangers, and the lead in a wickedly inspired musical version of The Elephant Man ensue. Goldblum is great in this spotty satire. Atkinson, director Smith, and writer Richard Curtis are British TV comedy veterans. | tt0098436 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Emil Wolk, Geraldine James, Kim Thomson, Anna Massey | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Tall Man Riding | 1955 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 83 | Sturdy Western with Scott involved in outmaneuvering greedy ranchers during territorial land granting in Montana. | tt0048690 | Randolph Scott, Dorothy Malone, Peggie Castle, John Dehner, Lane Chandler | Western | NULL | |||
| The Tall Men | 1955 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 122 | Large-scale Western with Gable and Mitchell as ex-Rebels who sign on for Ryan's cattle drive, and in short order all three are fighting Indians, blizzards, and each other (over Russell, of course). Pretty dull. | tt0048691 | Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan, Cameron Mitchell, Juan Garcia, Harry Shannon, Emile Meyer, Mae Marsh | Western | NULL | |||
| Tall Story | 1960 | Joshua Logan | ★★½ | 91 | Fast-moving froth about man-hungry coed Fonda (in film debut) falling in love with college basketball star Perkins. Based on Howard Lindsay-Russel Crouse play. | tt0054367 | Anthony Perkins, Jane Fonda, Ray Walston, Marc Connelly, Anne Jackson, Murray Hamilton, Elizabeth Patterson, Bob Wright, Bart Burns, Gary Lockwood | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Tall Stranger | 1957 | Thomas Carr | ★★ | 81 | Standard fare of McCrea helping wagon convoy cross Colorado territory. Based on a Louis L'Amour novel. | tt0051046 | Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Michael Ansara, Michael Pate | Western | NULL | |||
| The Tall T | 1957 | Budd Boetticher | ★★★ | 78 | Scott becomes involved with kidnapped O'Sullivan, and tries to undermine unity of outlaw gang holding them prisoner. Solid Western all the way, scripted by Burt Kennedy from an Elmore Leonard story. | tt0051047 | Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Henry Silva, Skip Homeier, John Hubbard, Arthur Hunnicutt | Western | NULL | |||
| Tall Tale | 1995 | Jeremiah S. Chechik | ★★ | 96 | Misfired revisionist take on tall-tale heroes Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Calamity Jane, who (in an extended dream sequence) enter the life of an unhappy young boy whose farmer father is being threatened by an evil land developer. Follows a Wizard of Oz story structure, but its dark, neurotic tone obliterates the occasional moments of wonder. O'Hara has little more than a cameo as Calamity Jane; Burgess Meredith and William H. Macy appear unbilled. | tt0111359 | [PG] | Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, Roger Aaron Brown, Nick Stahl, Scott Glenn, Stephen Lang, Jared Harris, Catherine O'Hara, Moira Harris, Joseph Grifasi, John P. Ryan, Scott Wilson | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Tall Target | 1951 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 78 | Gripping suspense as detective Powell follows tip that Abraham Lincoln is going to be assassinated during 1861 train ride. Interestingly, Powell's character is named John Kennedy. | tt0044105 | Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Adolphe Menjou, Marshall Thompson, Ruby Dee, Will Geer | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Tall Texan | 1953 | Elmo Williams | ★★ | 82 | Good cast cannot uplift this standard Western about a group seeking out a gold deposit in Indian territory. A tale of greed and gold that just doesn't pan out. | tt0046399 | Lloyd Bridges, Lee J. Cobb, Marie Windsor, Luther Adler, Syd Saylor | Western | NULL | |||
| The Tall Women | 1966 | Sidney Pink | ★★ | 101 | Western about seven women making their way through Indian country. Foreign-made movie suffers from bad dubbing and mediocre acting. | tt0060430 | Anne Baxter, Maria Perschy, Rosella Como, John Clarke | Spanish | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Tall in the Saddle | 1944 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★★ | 87 | Fast-paced, entertaining Western with Wayne a cowhand who becomes involved in affairs of rancher Raines. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037343 | John Wayne, Ella Raines, Ward Bond, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Elisabeth Risdon, Raymond Hatton, Paul Fix, Audrey Long | Mystery, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tall, Dark and Handsome | 1941 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 78 | Amusing Runyonesque gangster comedy about an underworld bigwig (Romero) who's really a softie, and who falls for naive Gilmore. Leonard is the heavy, a role Romero played in the remake, LOVE THAT BRUTE. | tt0034262 | Cesar Romero, Virginia Gilmore, Charlotte Greenwood, Milton Berle, Sheldon Leonard, Stanley Clements, Marc Lawrence, Frank Jenks | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby | 2006 | Adam McKay | ★★ | 108 | Silly saga of a boy who's always wanted to 'go fast' and finally gets his chance, but as a NASCAR champion his ego expands to the size of the Goodyear blimp. Broad comedy has a big following, but Ferrell (who coscripted with McKay) keeps hitting the same notes-and yes, he runs around in his underwear. Various celebrities and race-car personalities appear as themselves. Alternate unrated version runs 121m. | tt0415306 | [PG-13] | Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, Amy Adams, Andy Richter, Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, David Koechner, Pat Hingle, Rob Riggle | Action, Comedy, Sport | NULL | ||
| Tamahine | 1963 | Philip Leacock | ★★ | 85 | Curious British comedy trifle, about a sheltered but uninhibited Polynesian girl upsetting the order of an upper-crust men's university, might have been retitled Tamahine, Tell Me True, since it plays just like a Tammy movie. Cute but forgettable, notable only for its fine British cast. | tt0058636 | Nancy Kwan, John Fraser, Dennis Price, Coral Browne, Dick Dentley, Derek Nimmo, Justin Lord, Michael Gough, James Fox, Allan Cuthbertson | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tamango | 1957 | John Berry | ★★★ | 98 | Stirring historical drama in which newly enslaved black African Cressan stirs revolt while being transported to Cuba aboard a slave ship. Dandridge is excellent in the complex role of a slave who is ship captain Jurgens' mistress. Way ahead of its time, and ripe for rediscovery. Based on a novelette by Prosper Merimée. | tt0051049 | Dorothy Dandridge, Curt Jurgens, Jean Servais, Roger Hanin, Guy Mairesse, Alex Cressan | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tamara Drewe | 2010 | Stephen Frears | ★★★ | 111 | Young woman returns to her hometown in Dorset, having had a notable nose job, and intending to sell her family home; instead, she inspires a chain reaction of sexual adventures. Her youthful boyfriend is now a handyman with lingering feelings for her. A couple uses their B&B as a writers’ retreat, and the lord of the manor (a self-absorbed, bestselling author) has eyes for her as well. Then there are two mischievous teenage girls who feel left out. . . . Constantly surprising lark of a film is based on Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel, which in turn was inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. Well cast, and filmed on a beautiful location. | tt1486190 | [R] | Gemma Arterton, Roger Allam, Bill Camp, Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans, Tamsin Greig, Jessica Barden, Charlotte Christie | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Tamarind Seed | 1974 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 123 | Well-mounted espionage/romance story set in London, Paris and Barbados; shows what a capable director can do with sappy material. | tt0072253 | [PG] | Julie Andrews, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Daniel O'Herlihy, Sylvia Sims, Oscar Homolka | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Taming Sutton's Gal | 1957 | Lesley Selander. | ★½ | 71 | Bank clerk Lupton goes on a hunting trip and winds up tangling with villainous Kelly. Tedious hokum. | tt0051050 | John Lupton, Gloria Talbott, Jack Kelly, May Wynn, Verna Felton. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1929 | Sam Taylor | ★★ | 66 | Static version of the Shakespeare classic, with wild, shrewish Kate (Pickford) ardently pursued and 'tamed' by swaggering, self-confident Petruchio (Fairbanks). Defeated by its lack of pacing and downright embarrassing performances, though it's undeniably fascinating to see Doug and Mary together in their only co-starring appearance. This is the film with the infamous credit, 'By William Shakespeare, with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor.' Original running time 73m. Newly scored— and shortened— in 1966. Remade in 1967. | tt0020479 | Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Edwin Maxwell, Joseph Cawthorn, Clyde Cook, Geoffrey Wardell, Dorothy Jordan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1967 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★½ | 126 | Colorful version of Shakespeare's romp is well served by Richard and Elizabeth, good supporting cast, lovely photography, and fine musical score by Nino Rota. Shakespeare purists may object, but Zeffirelli has succeeded in making a film instead of a photographed stage play. Scripted by Suso Cecchi d'Amico, Paul Dehn, and Zeffirelli. | tt0061407 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Vernon Dobtcheff, Michael Hordern, Natasha Pyne, Michael York, Cyril Cusack, Alan Webb, Victor Spinetti | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tammy Tell Me True | 1961 | Harry Keller | ★★ | 97 | Tired romance of girl coming to college for first time, makes name for herself by helping dean of women. Script and acting very uneven. | tt0055503 | Sandra Dee, John Gavin, Virginia Grey, Beulah Bondi, Cecil Kellaway, Edgar Buchanan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tammy and the Bachelor | 1957 | Joseph Pevney | ★★★ | 89 | Unpretentious if cutesy romantic corn of country girl Reynolds falling in love with pilot Nielsen whom she's nursed back to health after plane crash. Followed by two sequels and a TV series. | tt0051051 | Debbie Reynolds, Walter Brennan, Leslie Nielsen, Mala Powers, Fay Wray, Sidney Blackmer, Mildred Natwick, Louise Beavers | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Tammy and the Doctor | 1963 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 88 | Sugary fluff involving homespun Tammy (Dee) courted by a doctor (Fonda, in his film debut); supporting cast adds touching cameos. | tt0057558 | Sandra Dee, Peter Fonda, Macdonald Carey, Beulah Bondi, Margaret Lindsay, Reginald Owen, Adam West. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tammy and the Millionaire | 1967 | Sidney Miller, Ezra Stone, Leslie Goodwins | ★★ | 87 | Four episodes of the TV series spliced into low-grade feature, diluting the fuzzy folksy charm of backwoods girl trying to better the world. | tt0062334 | Debbie Watson, Frank McGrath, Denver Pyle, George Furth, Donald Woods, Dorothy Green | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tampico | 1944 | Lothar Mendes | ★★ | 75 | Robinson uplifts this otherwise obvious WW2 spy yarn, about a supply-ship captain contending with espionage; Bari is the femme fatale who may or may not be the guilty party. | tt0037346 | Edward G. Robinson, Lynn Bari, Victor McLaglen, Marc Lawrence, Mona Maris | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tampopo | 1986 | Juzo Itami | ★★★½ | 114 | Funny, original comedy-satire about one of everybody's favorite subjects: food. The scenario, which unravels as a series of vignettes, concerns a truck driver who helps a widow make her noodle shop a viable business. A clever, irreverent delight. | tt0092048 | Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tanganyika | 1954 | André De Toth | ★★ | 81 | OK adventure of explorer attempting land claim in East Africa with numerous perils along the way. | tt0047556 | Van Heflin, Ruth Roman, Howard Duff, Jeff Morrow | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tangier | 1946 | George Waggner | ★★½ | 76 | Limp intrigue in Tangier with vengeful dancer Montez; it isn't even in color. | tt0039009 | Maria Montez, Preston Foster, Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Kent Taylor, Sabu, J. Edward Bromberg, Reginald Denny | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tangier Incident | 1953 | Lew Landers. | ★½ | 77 | Tame actioner with Brent a federal agent hunting an espionage ring. | tt0046401 | George Brent, Mari Aldon, Dorothy Patrick, Bert Freed. | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Tangled | 2010 | Byron Howard, Nathan Greno | ★★★ | 100 | Bewitching Disney animated musical reinvention of the Rapunzel fairy tale with a feisty heroine, a selfish captor who poses as her mother, and a cocky hero named Flynn Rider who unwittingly comes to her rescue. Manages to layer hip, contemporary humor and well-staged action scenes onto the classic story without sacrificing sincerity or rooting interest, recalling the best Disney animated features of yore. Sparked by two great supporting characters who never utter a word: an expressive horse named Maximus and Rapunzel’s chameleon friend Pascal. Screenplay by Dan Fogelman; songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. 3-D. | tt0398286 | [PG] | Voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, M. C. Gainey, Paul F. Tompkins, Richard Kiel | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Tango | 1998 | Carlos Saura | ★★★ | 114 | Mesmerizing film, not unlike Saura's earlier CARMEN, in which the planning of a performance blurs the line between drama and real life. A middle-aged choreographer plans an ambitious tango piece, which (to the dismay of his backers) will also trace the recent history of Argentina. He also becomes involved with his leading dancer, until now the girlfriend of his principal backer. Long, but full of incredible moments and superlative dance numbers; sinuously photographed by Vittorio Storaro. | tt0120274 | [PG-13] | Miguel Ángel Solá, Cecilia Narova, Mia Maestro, Juan Carlos Copes, Julio Bocca, Juan Luis Galiardo | Argentinian-Spanish | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Tango & Cash | 1989 | Andrei Konchalovsky | ★★ | 98 | Rumored $55 million budget must have gone for male hairstyling in congenitally derivative narc caper about two competitive cops who take on Mr. Big. Surprisingly tolerable, though, with a nifty prison break sequence and a pleasingly relaxed Stallone. | tt0098439 | [R] | Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Teri Hatcher, Jack Palance, Brion James, James Hong, Marc Alaimo | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tango Bar | 1988 | Marcos Zurinaga | ★★★ | 90 | Perceptive, entertaining 'political musical' about a tango dancer who left Argentina when the military coup occurred and is now reunited with her longtime partner Julia after ten years in exile. Serves as both an anthology of the tango and a tale of Argentina's recent political history. Crammed with clips of film and TV personalities, from Fred Astaire to Fred Flintstone, doing the tango. | tt0096221 | Raul Julia, Valeria Lynch, Ruben Juarez | Puerto Rican-Argentinian | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Tango Lesson | 1997 | Sally Potter | ★★★ | 101 | A middle-aged British filmmaker named Sally (played by Potter) promises to cast in a movie a distinguished Argentinean tango dancer named Pablo (Veron, who is the same) if he only will give her dance lessons. Film charts their evolving relationship. Striking, provocative (not to mention highly risky and deeply personal) film which blends fiction and reality. Nicely photographed (mostly in black-and-white) by Robby Müller. | tt0120275 | [PG] | Sally Potter, Pablo Veron, Carlos Copello, Olga Besio, Caroline Iotti, Gustavo Naveira | U.S.-French-Argentinian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Tank | 1984 | Marvin J. Chomsky | ★★ | 113 | One-dimensional rehash of SUPPOSE THEY GAVE A WAR AND NOBODY CAME? turns that film's shades of gray into simplistic good-guy/bad-guy story. Teenage son of career military man is wrongfully jailed by vindictive redneck sheriff; Dad goes to rescue him with the help of his own Sherman tank. Odd to find Garner in such a cornball movie. | tt0088224 | [PG] | James Garner, G.D. Spradlin, C. Thomas Howell, Shirley Jones, Jenilee Harrison, James Cromwell, Dorian Harewood | Action | NULL | ||
| Tank Force | 1958 | Terence Young | ★½ | 81 | Clichéd dud of WW2 with assorted British prisoners escaping across Libyan desert. Originally titled NO TIME TO DIE. | tt0052271 | Victor Mature, Leo Genn, Anthony Newley, Luciana Paluzzi | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Tank Girl | 1995 | Rachel Talalay | ★★ | 104 | In the waterless future of 2033, tough, smart-mouthed survivor Petty joins forces with mutated kangaroos to combat evil McDowell, who schemes to corner the world's water. Aggressively trendy, self-consciously hip, with animated interludes and attitude to spare, this might have worked had it been well directed— but it's not. Petty is a lot of fun, though. Based on the British comic book. | tt0114614 | [R] | Lori Petty, Ice-T, Naomi Watts, Don Harvey, Jeff Kober, Reg E. Cathey, Scott Coffey, Malcolm McDowell, Ann Cusack, Brian Wimmer, Iggy Pop, James Hong | Action, Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tanks Are Coming | 1951 | Lewis Seiler, D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 90 | Moderate WW2 actioner set during Allied capture of Berlin. | tt0044106 | Steve Cochran, Philip Carey, Mari Aldon, Paul Picerni, Harry Bellaver, James Dobson | Action, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Tao of Steve | 2000 | Jenniphr Goodman | ★★★ | 90 | Likable comedy about layabout Dex (Logue), a self-styled ladies' man who follows the Tao of Steve, a code for being cool. Having the knack of bedding women at will, Dex is flustered when he actually falls in love with one. Smart and original, anchored by Logue's engaging performance. Leading lady Goodman cowrote the screenplay with director Goodman, who's also her sister, and Duncan North, the model for Dex. | tt0234853 | [R] | Donal Logue, Greer Goodman, Kimo Wills, Ayelet Kaznelson, David Aaron Baker, Nina Jaroslaw | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tap | 1989 | Nick Castle | ★★★ | 110 | Slight, old-fashioned but engaging story of a man who shuns his tap-dancing heritage for the good life and easy money he can make pulling jewel robberies . . . until the call of the tap is just too strong. A loving tribute to tap, with some clever contemporary touches by writer-director Castle (whose same-named father was a top choreographer). Hines has never been better; Davis is a standout as Little Mo (in his final feature film), and the challenge dance with old-time hoofers is a special treat. | tt0098442 | [PG-13] | Gregory Hines, Suzzanne Douglas, Sammy Davis/Jr., Savion Glover, Joe Morton, Dick Anthony Williams, Terrence McNally, Sandman Sims, Bunny Briggs, Steve Condos, Jimmy Slyde, Pat Rico, Arthur Duncan, Harold Nicholas, Etta James | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tap Roots | 1948 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 109 | Oddball venture into GWTW territory, with Van and Susan as lovers in progressive Mississippi county that says it will secede from the state if the state secedes from the Union! No big deal, but watchable, with Karloff as an Indian medicine man. | tt0040861 | Van Heflin, Susan Hayward, Boris Karloff, Julie London, Whitfield Connor, Ward Bond, Richard Long, Arthur Shields | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Tape | 2001 | Richard Linklater | ★★★ | 86 | Highly effective three-character, one-set piece takes place in a dingy hotel room, and focuses on the interaction of a hyper, ill-mannered slacker-drug dealer (Hawke), his old school friend (Leonard), who has become a filmmaker, and a woman they once knew but have not seen in years (Thurman). Scripted by Stephen Belber, based on his play, and shot on digital video. | tt0275719 | [R] | Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Robert Sean Leonard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tapeheads | 1988 | Bill Fishman | ★★ | 97 | Energetic but pretentious and silly account of Cusack and Robbins' escapades and adventures as they try to make it in the L.A. music world. Too clever for its own good. Robbins coscripted and wrote the song 'Repave America,' which later turned up in his film BOB ROBERTS. | tt0096223 | [R] | John Cusack, Tim Robbins, Doug McClure, Connie Stevens, Clu Gulager, Mary Crosby, Katy Boyer, Lyle Alzado, Jessica Walter, Susan Tyrrell, Junior Walker, Sam Moore | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Taps | 1981 | Harold Becker | ★★½ | 126 | Hutton leads fellow students in armed takeover of their military academy, hoping their 'clout' will keep it from being torn down. Earnest performances help carry this film, which plays all its cards too soon, leaving a lot of dead space before its predictable outcome. Penn's film debut. | tt0083169 | [PG] | Timothy Hutton, George C. Scott, Ronny Cox, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise, Brendan Ward | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tarantula | 1955 | Jack Arnold | ★★★ | 80 | Scientist Carroll's new growth formula works a little too well, and pretty soon there's a humongous spider chewing up the countryside. One of the best giant-insect films, with fast pacing, convincing special effects, and interesting subplot detailing formula's effect on humans. That's Clint Eastwood as the jet squadron leader in final sequence. | tt0048696 | John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott, Eddie Parker | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Taras Bulba | 1962 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 122 | Cardboard costumer of 16th-century Ukraine, centering on Cossack life and fighting. Nice photography (on location in Argentina) by Joe MacDonald and fine musical score by Franz Waxman. The Gogol novel was previously filmed in 1936 in France (TARASS BOULBA) and in 1939 in England (THE REBEL SON). | tt0056556 | Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, Christine Kaufmann, Sam Wanamaker, George Macready | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarawa Beachhead | 1958 | Paul Wendkos | ★★½ | 77 | Standard account of WW2 military assault with usual focus on problems of troops. | tt0052272 | Kerwin Mathews, Julie Adams, Ray Danton, Karen Sharpe | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Target | 1985 | Arthur Penn | ★★ | 117 | Ordinary guy and his teenage son are suddenly plunged into world of international intrigue when wife/mom is kidnapped while vacationing in Paris. Some good action scenes help, but story is so farfetched, key scenes so badly written, and film so overlong that it has to count as a misfire. Reteaming of Hackman and director Penn certainly promised better. | tt0090130 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Matt Dillon, Gayle Hunnicutt, Victoria Fyodorova, Josef Sommer, Guy Boyd, Herbert Berghof | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Target | 1995 | Sandip Ray | ★★★ | 122 | Intimate story of working-class life in India, directed by the son of Satyajit Ray from his late father's screenplay. A gangato, a hunter of the lowest caste (Puri), is hired by a rich and nasty landowner (Agashe) to lead his next safari. The hunter has to live with the landowner's oppressed peasants, and before long he rebels. Stunning countryside locations shot by Barun Raha, who worked on the elder Ray's last three films. | tt0114618 | Om Puri, Mohan Agashe, Anian Srivastava, Baroon Champa Chakravarty | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Target Eagle | 1984 | Jose Antonio de la Loma | ★★½ | 99 | Fine cast perks up routine programmer with Rivero as an eagle-tattooed mercenary hired by Spanish police chief von Sydow(!) to infiltrate a drug-smuggling ring. Peppard is excellent in unusual casting as a suave but ruthless villain. | tt0084181 | George (Jorge) Rivero, Maud Adams, George Peppard, Max von Sydow, Chuck Connors | Spanish-Mexican | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Target Earth | 1954 | Sherman A. Rose | ★★½ | 75 | People in deserted city trapped by invading robot force. Competently acted movie starts off beautifully but bogs down too soon. | tt0047559 | Richard Denning, Virginia Grey, Kathleen Crowley, Richard Reeves, Whit Bissell, Robert Ruark, Steve Pendleton | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Target Unknown | 1951 | George Sherman | ★★ | 90 | Standard drama of American flyers shot down and becoming POWs in German-occupied France during WW2; Nazis use devious means to interrogate them. Young has interesting role as German-American Nazi officer. | tt0044108 | Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol, Robert Douglas, Don Taylor, Gig Young, Joyce Holden, James Best | War | NULL | |||
| Target Zero | 1955 | Harmon Jones | ★★ | 92 | Unrewarding Korean War film, focusing on plight of Lt. Conte as he leads his platoon behind enemy lines. | tt0048698 | Richard Conte, Charles Bronson, Chuck Connors, L.Q. Jones, Peggie Castle, Strother Martin | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Target for Killing | 1966 | Manfred Kohler | ★½ | 93 | Run-of-the-mill thriller involving a secret agent trying to thwart the Mob's intended killing of a young heiress. | tt0060449 | Stewart Granger, Curt Jurgens, Adolfo Celi, Klaus Kinski, Rupert Davies, Scilla Gabel, Mollie Peters, Erika Remberg | Austrian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Target of an Assassin | The Long Shot | 1976 | Peter Collinson | ★★ | 102 | Fairish thriller story about two men who conspire against black African leader— one, a paid assassin, the other a desperate down-and-outer who kidnaps him for ransom. Original title: TIGERS DON'T CRY; aka THE LONG SHOT, AFRICAN RAGE, and FATAL ASSASSIN. | tt0075307 | [PG] | Anthony Quinn, John Phillip Law, Simon Sabela, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo | South African | Thriller | NULL |
| Target: Harry | How to Make It | 1969 | Henry Neill (Roger Corman) | ★½ | 81 | Humdrum redoing of THE MALTESE FALCON, with the three stars mirroring Bogart, Astor, and Greenstreet. Originally shot for TV. Aka HOW TO MAKE IT. | tt0065069 | [R] | Vic Morrow, Suzanne Pleshette, Victor Buono, Cesar Romero, Stanley Holloway, Charlotte Rampling, Michael Ansara, Ahna Capri | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| Targets | 1968 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★½ | 90 | Karloff (as more or less himself) intends to retire, claiming his films can't compete with the horrors of everyday life; meanwhile, O'Kelly proves it by going out and shooting everybody in sight. Bogdanovich's first feature is incredibly suspenseful, with sweat-inducing climax at drive-in theatre; excellent photography by Laszlo Kovacs. Some prints still have brief gun-control prologue, which was added after Robert Kennedy's assassination. That's Mike Farrell as victim in phone booth. | tt0063671 | [R] | Boris Karloff, Tim O'Kelly, Nancy Hsueh, James Brown, Sandy Baron, Arthur Peterson, Peter Bogdanovich, Randy Quaid | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tarnation | 2004 | Jonathan Caouette. | ★★½ | 88 | Alternately fascinating, frustrating, and uncomfortable to watch, this nakedly personal cinematic diary of a young gay filmmaker's challenge living with a mentally ill mother documents his entire life from photos, Super 8 films, answering-machine messages, clippings, and scraps to piece together the extraordinary puzzle of a difficult youth. Caouette's eventual redemption makes the journey worthwhile, though it's still more a therapy session than a documentary. Primitively edited using Apple computer's iMovie program. Caouette claims the film was made for $218, but you could have fooled us; it looks as if it could have cost twice that! (In truth, many thousands of dollars in music and clip clearances were required to release the movie.) | tt0390538 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Tarnished Angels | 1958 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★½ | 91 | Compelling adaptation of William Faulkner's fatalistic drama Pylon, set in 1930s, with Hudson as newspaperman drawn to barnstorming pilot Stack— his curious life-style and ethics, his put-upon wife, and his frustrated mechanic. | tt0051055 | Rock Hudson, Dorothy Malone, Robert Stack, Jack Carson, Robert Middleton, Troy Donahue, William Schallert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tarnished Lady | 1931 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 83 | Bankhead marries Brook for his money but falls in love with him almost too late. Ornate triangle has good performances. | tt0022463 | Tallulah Bankhead, Clive Brook, Phoebe Foster, Osgood Perkins, Elizabeth Patterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tars and Spars | 1946 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 88 | Humdrum musical with Coast Guard backdrop, based very loosely on real-life camp show created by servicemen, one of whom, Sid Caesar, makes his movie debut doing a hilarious war-movie spoof. A rare film appearance for Broadway star Drake. | tt0039010 | Alfred Drake, Janet Blair, Sid Caesar, Marc Platt, Jeff Donnell, Ray Walker | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Tartars | 1961 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 83 | Welles' performance as Burundai, head of Tartar invasion of Volga River, plus appearance of Mature, are only distinguishing features of otherwise routine spectacle. | tt0056558 | Orson Welles, Victor Mature, Folco Lulli, Liana Orfei | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tartuffe | 1926 | F. W. Murnau. | ★★½ | 63 | Solemn adaptation of the Molière classic, in which a wife (Dagover) attempts to persuade her mate (Krauss) that boastfully honest Jannings is actually a fraud. A parallel story involves a greedy housekeeper who's scheming to murder her aged employer. Not Murnau's (or Jannings') best, but still well worth a look. Gérard Depardieu remade this as LE TARTUFFE (1984). | tt0017448 | Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss, Lil Dagover, Lucie Höflich, Rosa Valetti, Hermann Picha, André Mattoni. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tarzan | 1999 | Kevin Lima, Chris Buck | ★★★ | 88 | Vibrant animated Disney take on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic character, with brilliant staging, terrific songs (by Phil Collins), and likable characters (especially Jane, colorfully and amusingly voiced by Driver). Storyline, involving a greedy, hot-headed hunter, almost seems too conventional— and predictable— for all the visual innovations and superior efforts that surround it. Oscar winner for Best Song, 'You'll Be in My Heart.' Followed by a direct-to-video sequel and a TV series. | tt0120855 | [G] | Voices of Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Rosie O'Donnell, Brian Blessed, Nigel Hawthorne, Lance Henriksen, Wayne Knight | Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan Escapes | 1936 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 89 | Graphically violent (for its time), and energetically directed, this entertaining entry has Tarzan captured by a hunter who wants to put him on exhibition in England. This film was completely reshot and reworked when the original version proved too potent and blood-curdling for preview audiences; as a result there are some plot holes in what might have been the best Tarzan movie of all. | tt0028345 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, John Buckler, Benita Hume, William Henry, Herbert Mundin | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan Finds a Son! | 1939 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 90 | The jungle lovers find a child whose parents were killed in a plane crash and fight his greedy relatives to adopt him in this diverting entry. This was to be O'Sullivan's final appearance as Jane, but the end was reshot so she could return (in TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE). | tt0032007 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Ian Hunter, Frieda Inescort, Laraine Day, Henry Wilcoxon | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan Goes to India | 1962 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 86 | At the request of a dying maharajah, Tarzan tries to save a herd of elephants imperiled by the construction of a dam. Location shooting helps. | tt0056560 | Jock Mahoney, Mark Dana, Simi, Leo Gordon, Jai | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan Triumphs | 1943 | William Thiele | ★★★ | 78 | First of the series made by RKO features stunning Gifford (who earlier starred as Edgar Rice Burroughs' JUNGLE GIRL in a Republic serial) as the princess of a lost city invaded by Nazi paratroopers. WW2 propaganda all the way, with Tarzan an incongruous participant, but still an entertaining and energetic programmer. Cheetah's curtain-closing bit with the Nazis' short-wave radio is not to be missed. | tt0036414 | Johnny Weissmuller, Frances Gifford, Johnny Sheffield, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and His Mate | 1934 | Cedric Gibbons, Jack Conway | ★★★½ | 93 | Jane's jilted fiance (Hamilton) returns to the jungle with a rapacious ivory poacher and tries to get Tarzan to lead them to the elephant graveyard, but the native couple is having too much fun swinging. Opulent, action-packed entry codirected by MGM's famed art director Gibbons, and notable for pre-Code sexual candor and a distinct lack of clothes. Restored version runs 105m. | tt0025862 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, Paul Cavanagh, Forrester Harvey | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Amazons | 1945 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 76 | Archeologists seeking to plunder Amazon treasures have to deal with Tarzan first in this amusing nonsense highlighted by the diminutive Ouspenskaya as the Amazon Queen. | tt0038151 | Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, Johnny Sheffield, Henry Stephenson, Maria Ouspenskaya, Barton MacLane | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Great River | 1967 | Robert Day | ★½ | 99 | Childish entry about an Amazonian despot, although borscht-belt comedian Murray is good for a few (unintentional) laughs. Location filming in South America adds little. | tt0062341 | Mike Henry, Jan Murray, Manuel Padilla/Jr., Diana Millay, Rafer Johnson | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Green Goddess | 1938 | Edward Kull | ★½ | 72 | More juvenile jungle escapades, with an educated Ape Man. Derived from 1935's THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN serial, produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs' own company and filmed on location in Guatemala. Contains footage not used in serial. | tt0030832 | Herman Brix (Bruce Bennett), Ula Holt, Frank Baker, Don Castello, Lewis Sargent | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Huntress | 1947 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 72 | Familiar bungle in the jungle about Tarzan fighting a zoologist (Morison) who's trying to make off with a menagerie. Weissmuller was tired by this time, and so were the plots. | tt0039887 | Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, Johnny Sheffield, Patricia Morison, Barton MacLane | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Jungle Boy | 1968 | Robert Day | ★½ | 99 | A tedious search for the son of a drowned geologist, though Henry isn't bad as the Ape Man. | tt0063673 | Mike Henry, Alizia Gur, Ronald Gans, Rafer Johnson, Ed Johnson, Steven Bond | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Leopard Woman | 1946 | Kurt Neumann | ★★ | 72 | Tarzan and Boy take on a murder cult, and almost pay with their lives. The series was becoming increasingly silly, though it's still fun by Saturday matinee standards. | tt0039011 | Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, Johnny Sheffield, Acquanetta, Edgar Barrier, Tommy Cook | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Lost City | 1998 | Carl Schenkel | ★½ | 105 | Tarzan returns to Africa on eve of his wedding to Jane; she follows, and together they fight off mercenaries trying to plunder the 'mythic city' of Opar. Lousy film— even by jungle adventure standards. Van Dien equates jaw-clenching with acting, and he must be the shortest Lord of the Apes on record. Oddly, the producer of this also made the classy GREYSTOKE. | tt0120856 | [PG] | Casper Van Dien, Jane March, Steven Waddington, Winston Ntshona, Rapulana Seiphemo, Ian Roberts | Australian-U.S.-German | Family, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Tarzan and the Lost Safari | 1957 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 84 | Color and widescreen spruce up this entry about the passengers of a plane that crashes in the jungle, who are pursued by savage Oparians. But Tarzan still speaks in monosyllables, and the story is pretty slow going. | tt0051057 | Gordon Scott, Yolande Donlan, Robert Beatty, Betta St. John, Wilfrid Hyde-White, George Coulouris | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan and the Mermaids | 1948 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 68 | Tarzan comes to the aid of a native (stunning Christian) who's being forced to wed a phony island 'God' by evil high-priest Zucco. Outlandish, often campy outing filmed in Mexico. Weissmuller hung up his loincloth after this. | tt0040862 | Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, Linda Christian, John Lanenz, George Zucco, Fernando Wagner | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the She-Devil | 1953 | Kurt Neumann | ★½ | 76 | Boring hokum about ivory poachers led by seductive Van Vooren. Barker's last appearance as Tarzan. Burr is an exceptionally good heavy. | tt0046404 | Lex Barker, Joyce MacKenzie, Raymond Burr, Monique Van Vooren, Tom Conway | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Slave Girl | 1950 | Lee Sholem | ★★ | 74 | When a tribe of lion worshippers kidnaps Jane (Brown) and alluring half-breed Darcel, it's Tarzan, Cheetah, and friends to the rescue. | tt0043025 | Lex Barker, Vanessa Brown, Robert Alda, Hurd Hatfield, Arthur Shields, Anthony Caruso, Denise Darcel | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Trappers | 1958 | Charles Haas, Sandy Howard | ★½ | 74 | Cheaply made hokum about evil white hunters on an expedition to find a lost city filled with treasure. Edited together from three episodes of a Tarzan TV series that never got off the ground. | tt0052273 | Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Leslie Bradley | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan and the Valley of Gold | 1966 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 90 | Ex-football star Henry takes over the loincloth (after doffing his suit and tie!) in a hunt for kidnapers and jewel thieves. This Tarzan-for-the-60's is pretty good, if you can accept the Ape Man as a jungle James Bond. Excellent location filming in Mexico. | tt0061067 | Mike Henry, David Opatoshu, Manuel Padilla/Jr., Nancy Kovack, Don Megowan | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan in Manhattan | 1989 | Michael Schultz | Average TV Movie | 100 | Tarzan hits the Big Apple when he finds that some no-good guys have been monkeying around with Cheetah, chimpnapping the little guy in Africa on behalf of nasty vivisectionists. Lighthearted pilot to a prospective new series featuring male model Lara as moviedom's 18th Tarzan and Crosby as a Brooklynese cabbie named Jane. | tt0098444 | Joe Lara, Kim Crosby, Tony Curtis, Jan-Michael Vincent, Jimmy Medina Taggert | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan of the Apes | 1918 | Scott Sidney | ★★½ | 55 | The very first Tarzan film is a surprisingly watchable and straightforward telling of the Greystoke tale, though Lincoln looks like he's about 50 years old, with a beer belly to boot. | tt0009682 | Elmo Lincoln, Enid Markey, True Boardman, Kathleen Kirkham, Gordon Griffith | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan the Ape Man | 1932 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★★ | 99 | British gentry meets jungle savagery when the daughter of an English hunter is captured by Tarzan and decides she prefers his primal charms to those of her upper-crust fiancé. The original Weissmuller-MGM Tarzan entry is a little starchy, but still holds up thanks to a plush production and vivid atmosphere (with jungle footage provided by TRADER HORN). Also shown in a computer-colored version. | tt0023551 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Neil Hamilton, Doris Lloyd | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan the Fearless | 1933 | Robert F. Hill | ★½ | 85 | Feature version of a crude serial about a scientific expedition to find the lost city of Zar. Crabbe's Tarzan is even more tightlipped than Weissmuller's. | tt0024645 | Buster Crabbe, Julie Bishop, E. Alyn Warren, Edward Woods, Philo McCullough, Mathew Betz, Frank Lackteen, Mischa Auer | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan the Magnificent | 1960 | Robert Day | ★★★ | 88 | Tarzan captures a murderer and faces numerous perils trying to escort him to the police through the jungle. Similarly mature follow-up to TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE, with a strong supporting cast. Ironically, villain Mahoney would take over the lead role from Scott in the next entry. | tt0054368 | Gordon Scott, Jock Mahoney, Betta St. John, John Carradine, Alexandra Stewart, Lionel Jeffries, Earl Cameron | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan's Deadly Silence | 1970 | Robert L. Friend, Lawrence Dobkin | ★½ | 99 | A maniacal soldier plans to capture an African village with his private army; a two-part TV episode released as a feature. | tt0066438 | [G] | Ron Ely, Manuel Padilla/Jr., Jock Mahoney, Woody Strode, Gregorio Acosta | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan's Desert Mystery | 1943 | William Thiele | ★★½ | 70 | Tarzan vs. Nazis, take two, with some evil Arabs and prehistoric creatures (including a giant spider) thrown in for good measure. | tt0035795 | Johnny Weissmuller, Nancy Kelly, Johnny Sheffield, Otto Kruger, Joe Sawyer, Lloyd Corrigan, Robert Lowery | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Fight for Life | 1958 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 86 | The jungle do-gooder helps a medic fight superstitious natives and a conniving witch doctor. Cheesy series entry with the cast stomping around a studio jungle set. | tt0052275 | Gordon Scott, Eve Brent, Rickie Sorensen, Jil Jarmyn, James Edwards, Woody Strode | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Greatest Adventure | 1959 | John Guillermin. | ★★★ | 88 | Honorable attempt to upgrade the series' quality, with Tarzan on the trail of diamond-hunting scoundrels (including a young Connery). A superior action yarn shot on location in Africa, more adult than most of its predecessors. Tarzan has a much expanded vocabulary in this one. | tt0053334 | Gordon Scott, Anthony Quayle, Sara Shane, Niall MacGinnis, Scilla Gabel, Sean Connery. | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan's Hidden Jungle | 1955 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 73 | Scott's debut as Tarzan is a competent, if unexciting, outing focusing on his battle with evil hunter Elam who tries to butcher half the animal kingdom. | tt0048699 | Gordon Scott, Vera Miles, Peter Van Eyck, Jack Elam, Rex Ingram | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion | 1970 | William Witney | ★½ | 92 | Compilation of a two-part episode from the NBC TV series is substandard in all departments. | tt0059783 | [G] | Ron Ely, Manuel Padilla/Jr., Ulla Stromstedt, Sam Jaffe, William Marshall, Lloyd Haynes | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tarzan's Magic Fountain | 1949 | Lee Sholem | ★★½ | 73 | Barker's first series entry, and one of his most endurable, as Tarzan finds a secret valley where nobody ages— unless they leave. (Sound a bit like LOST HORIZON?) Too bad the rest of the Barker films weren't as good. Elmo Lincoln, the screen's first Tarzan, has a bit part. | tt0041947 | Lex Barker, Brenda Joyce, Evelyn Ankers, Albert Dekker, Alan Napier, Charles Drake, Henry Brandon | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's New York Adventure | 1942 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 72 | When Boy is snatched from the jungle by nasty circus owners, Tarzan swings into action across the seas and over the Brooklyn Bridge to retrieve him. Seems pretty original until you realize that KING KONG was made a decade earlier! Still, an amusing entry; Tarzan's first encounter with indoor plumbing is truly memorable. O'Sullivan's final appearance in the series. | tt0035419 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Virginia Grey, Charles Bickford, Paul Kelly, Russell Hicks, Chill Wills | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Peril | 1951 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 79 | White gunrunners out to get Tarzan try to stir up trouble between warring tribes in this fairly respectable entry with an interesting supporting cast. Dandridge is excellent, if wasted in a small role. | tt0043695 | Lex Barker, Virginia Huston, George Macready, Douglas Fowley, Dorothy Dandridge, Alan Napier | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Revenge | 1938 | D. Ross Lederman | ★★ | 70 | Olympic decathlon champ Morris cavorts capably enough in this adventure about an evil African ruler who covets perky Holm (a champion swimmer herself). No other Tarzan film had the Ape Man off screen for such long stretches, however. | tt0030833 | Glenn Morris, Eleanor Holm, George Barbier, C. Henry Gordon, Hedda Hopper, George Meeker | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Savage Fury | 1952 | Cy Endfield | ★★ | 80 | Slackly handled entry about diamond thieves who trick Tarzan into being their guide. | tt0045220 | Lex Barker, Dorothy Hart, Patric Knowles, Charles Korvin, Tommy Carlton | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Secret Treasure | 1941 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 81 | Melodramatic entry about greedy gold seekers who try to dupe Tarzan into helping them. Tarzan and Jane's treehouse has become pretty elaborate by now. | tt0034266 | Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Johnny Sheffield, Reginald Owen, Barry Fitzgerald, Tom Conway | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan's Three Challenges | 1963 | Robert Day | ★★½ | 92 | Tarzan protects a young heir to the throne in Thailand from his malevolent uncle in this picturesque entry that includes a wicked machete fight. The athletic Mahoney became deathly ill while filming in India— which is all too obvious from his dramatic weight loss during the course of the picture. | tt0057560 | Jock Mahoney, Woody Strode, Ricky Der, Tsuruko Kobayashi, Earl Cameron | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan, the Ape Man | 1959 | Joseph M. Newman | 💣 | 82 | Take one blond UCLA basketball star (Miller), the production values of a pep rally, steal Johnny Weissmuller's famous yell and (tinted) footage of him swinging through the trees, add a pseudo African jazz score by Shorty Rogers, and what you have is a cheesy and inept effort by MGM to utilize safari footage from KING SOLOMON'S MINES for the umpteenth time. | tt0053335 | Dennis Miller, Joanna Barnes, Cesare Danova, Robert Douglas, Thomas Yangha | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tarzan, the Ape Man | 1981 | John Derek | 💣 | 112 | Deranged 'remake' of original Tarzan film lacks action, humor, and charm— and nearly forced editors of this book to devise a rating lower than BOMB. Forget about Weissmuller comparisons: O'Keeffe makes Elmo Lincoln look like Edwin Booth. If you really want to see Derek unclothed, buy a pinup calendar. | tt0083170 | [R] | Bo Derek, Richard Harris, Miles O'Keeffe, John Phillip Law, Wilfrid Hyde-White | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Task Force | 1949 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 116 | Well-made but unremarkable story of a Naval officer's career, tracing aircraft carrier development. Originally shown with some scenes in color. | tt0041948 | Gary Cooper, Jane Wyatt, Wayne Morris, Walter Brennan, Julie London, Bruce Bennett, Stanley Ridges, Jack Holt | War | NULL | |||
| A Taste of Cherry | 1997 | Abbas Kiarostami | ★★★½ | 98 | Fascinating film about a brooding man who rides around Tehran in a Range Rover trying to find someone who will accept a generous fee to kill him. The man's encounters with several diverse candidates flesh out his haunting and original story, which disappoints only at the very end. A contemplation of humanity quite unlike any other captured on film. Written by the director. | tt0120265 | [PG] | Homayon Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi | Iranian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Taste of Honey | 1961 | Tony Richardson | ★★★½ | 100 | Homely young girl who has affair with black sailor and becomes pregnant is cared for by homosexual friend. Shelagh Delaney's London and Broadway stage hit is poignant and uncompromising film with fine, sensitive performances. Screenplay by Delaney and Richardson. | tt0055506 | Rita Tushingham, Robert Stephens, Dora Bryan, Murray Melvin, Paul Danquah | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Taste of Others | 2000 | Agnes Jaoui | ★★★ | 112 | Sharply observed romantic comedy that offers food for thought on the passions and yearnings of contemporary middle-aged men and women, spotlighting a wealthy, ill-mannered— and married— businessman (Bacri) who is drawn to a vain, attractive actress (Alvaro); a secondary relationship involves the businessman's bodyguard (Lanvin) and a barmaid (Jaoui). Bacri and Jaoui scripted; they're married in real life. | tt0216787 | Jean-Pierre Bacri, Anne Alvaro, Agnes Jaoui, Gerard Lanvin, Christiane Millet, Brigitte Catillon, Alain Chabat | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Taste the Blood of Dracula | 1970 | Peter Sasdy | ★★½ | 95 | Fourth in Hammer series (after DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE) with Lee as famed vampire out to avenge death of Black Magic wizard by affluent thrill seekers in Victorian England. Direction, acting, production not bad, but what was point of having Dracula in film? Beginning and end best parts. Sequel: SCARS OF DRACULA. | tt0065073 | [PG] | Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Gwen Watford, Linda Hayden, Roy Kinnear, Ralph Bates | British | Horror, Romance | NULL | |
| Tatie Danielle | 1991 | Etienne Chatiliez | ★★★ | 110 | Chelton plays an elderly, extremely unpleasant and manipulative widow who wreaks havoc on the people caring for her as she mourns the loss of her husband. Another delight from the director of LIFE IS A LONG QUIET RIVER, but this time the comedy is a good deal blacker. Renowned stage actress Chelton is wonderful as a woman so mean the movie's ads proclaimed her 'the real Terminator.' | tt0100747 | Tsilla Chelton, Catherine Jacob, Isabelle Nanty, Neige Dolsky, Eric Prat, Laurence Fevrier | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tattered Dress | 1957 | Jack Arnold | ★★½ | 93 | Slowly paced but watchable account of lawyer Chandler defending society couple accused of murder; Crain is his sympathetic wife. | tt0051058 | Jeff Chandler, Jeanne Crain, Jack Carson, Gail Russell, George Tobias | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Tattoo | 1981 | Bob Brooks | ★½ | 103 | Mentally ill tattoo-artist Dern kidnaps fashion model Adams so he can use her body as a canvas. Improbable, sleazy melodrama; screenplay by Joyce Buñuel (Luis's daughter-in-law) from a story by director Brooks. | tt0083178 | [R] | Bruce Dern, Maud Adams, Leonard Frey, Rikke Borge, John Getz, Peter Iachangelo | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tawny Pipit | 1944 | Bernard Miles, Charles Saunders | ★★½ | 85 | Slight but appealing story of some English villagers' fight to save the title rare breed of birds, who have nested in a nearby field. Miles and Saunders also scripted. | tt0037352 | Bernard Miles, Rosamund John, Niall MacGinnis, Jean Gillie, George Carney, Christopher Steele, Lucie Mannheim, Wylie Watson, Ian Fleming | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Taxi | 2004 | Tim Story. | ★½ | 97 | Hotshot cabbie teams up with an incompetent hot-dog cop in this weak action-comedy. Latifah and Fallon are strangers-turned-buddies out to catch a team of bank robbers (who happen to look like supermodels). Not a good showcase for the Queen or for former Saturday Night Live member Fallon. Produced by Luc Besson, based on the 1998 French film of the same name, which he wrote and coproduced. Extended version runs 112m. | tt0316732 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon, Henry Simmons, Jennifer Esposito, Gisele Bündchen, Ann-Margret, Ana Cristina De Oliveira, Christian Kane. | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Taxi Blues | 1990 | Pavel Lounguine | ★★★½ | 110 | Controversial, laced-in-acid tragicomedy chronicling the relationship between a brutish, narrow-minded Moscow cabdriver and an alcoholic Jewish musician: characters who become symbols of the Old and New Russia. Lounguine deservedly earned the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival for this important and provocative film. | tt0100757 | Piotr Mamonov, Piotr Zaitchenko, Vladimir Kachpour, Natalia Koliakanova, Hal Singer | Russian-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Taxi Driver | 1976 | Martin Scorsese | ★★ | 113 | To some, Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader's perception of hell— as a crazed taxi driver's vision of N.Y.C.— was brilliant. To us, this gory, cold-blooded story of sick man's lurid descent into violence is ugly and unredeeming. Judge for yourself. Searing performances and Bernard Herrmann's final music score are among film's few virtues. | tt0075314 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Joe Spinell, Martin Scorsese | Drama, Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Taxi for Tobruk | 1965 | Denys de La Patelliere | ★★½ | 90 | Engaging study of Frenchsoldiers and their German prisoner crossing the desert during WW2. | tt0054425 |
|
Lino Ventura, Hardy Kruger, Charles Aznavour, German Cobos | French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Taxi to the Dark Side | 2007 | Alex Gibney | ★★★½ | 106 | Historically important, imperatively queasy documentary begins with the 2002 detention, torture, and death of an Afghanistan taxi driver in American custody at Bagram prison—despite scant evidence of his linkage to al-Qaeda or the Taliban (he was never, in fact, charged). From here, it's noted, there was a predictably scant leap to further prisoner abuses at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib that rocked the world. A wide array of interviewees include guards, fellow prisoners, reporters, Bush administration personnel, and more. Masterful achievement took the Oscar for Best Documentary. | tt0854678 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Taxi! | 1932 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 70 | Hokey but colorful Depression melodrama of warring N.Y.C. cab drivers, with Cagney fine as a hotheaded hack. Yes, that's George Raft as his dance-contest rival. Nothing can top Jimmy's opening bit in Yiddish. | tt0023556 | James Cagney, Loretta Young, George E. Stone, Dorothy Burgess, Guy Kibbee, Leila Bennett, Cotton Club Orchestra | Crime, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Taxing Woman's Return | 1988 | Juzo Itami | ★★★ | 127 | Miyamoto 'returns' as the dedicated tax investigator; here, she takes on a gaggle of industrialists, politicians, mobsters, and other assorted hypocrites who've conspired to grossly inflate Tokyo's real estate values. On-the-mark satire is as pointed and knowing as it is funny. | tt0095597 | Nobuko Miyamoto, Rentaro Mikuni, Masahiko Tsugawa, Tetsuro Tamba, Toru Masuoka, Takeya Nakamura, Hosei Komatsu, Mihoko Shibata | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Taxing Woman | 1987 | Juzo Itami | ★★★½ | 126 | Disarming contemporary comedy about a tireless, single-minded investigator for the Japanese Revenue Service, and her confrontation with a hotshot businessman who thinks he knows all the angles when it comes to cheating the government. Somewhat overlong, but delightful, with a winning performance by Miyamoto (writer-director Itami's wife) in the lead. Followed by a sequel. | tt0093502 | Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki | Japanese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Taxman | 1999 | Avi Nesher | ★★ | 100 | Investigator for the N.Y. state tax office becomes obsessed with a trail he's certain leads to big-time criminal activities involving Russian immigrants in Brighton Beach. Rare leading role for Pantoliano, who's in fine form, but story lags and characters are not fully drawn. Based on a true story written by a former tax investigator. | tt0138862 | [R] | Joe Pantoliano, Robert Townsend, Wade Dominguez, Michael Chiklis, Elizabeth Berkley, Fisher Stevens, Casey Siemaszko, Mike Starr | Comedy, Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Taza, Son of Cochise | 1954 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 79 | Actually two sons: one wants to live peacefully with the white man, the other thinks Geronimo has a better idea. Sirk's only Western is uneven followup to BROKEN ARROW— with Jeff Chandler popping in just long enough to die— but sweeping action scenes and sympathetic treatment of Indians help. Originally in 3-D. | tt0047562 | Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Gregg Palmer, Bart Roberts, Morris Ankrum, Joe Sawyer | Western | NULL | |||
| Tea and Sympathy | 1956 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 122 | Glossy but well-acted version of Robert Anderson play about prep school boy's affair with a teacher's wife, skirting homosexual issues. Both Kerrs give sensitive portrayals; they and Erickson recreate their Broadway roles. Scripted by the playwright. | tt0049829 | Deborah Kerr, John Kerr, Leif Erickson, Edward Andrews, Darryl Hickman, Dean Jones, Norma Crane | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tea for Two | 1950 | David Butler | ★★½ | 98 | Pleasant but unexceptional musical very loosely based on the stage play No, No, Nanette (which was filmed before in 1930 and 1940). Day bets uncle Sakall she can answer no to every question for the length of a weekend— in order to win her chance to star in a Broadway show. | tt0043030 | Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Patrice Wymore, Eve Arden, Billy De Wolfe, S. Z. Sakall, Bill Goodwin, Virginia Gibson | Musical | NULL | |||
| Tea with Mussolini | 1999 | Franco Zeffirelli | ★★★ | 117 | A boy whose mother has died and whose father has all but abandoned him is raised by a group of eccentric British women in 1930s Florence. The coming of war has great impact on the women— known as the Scorpioni— and their flamboyant American counterparts in the artsy expatriate community, but cannot sever ties between the young man and his 'surrogate mothers.' Entertaining if not always focused comedy-drama based on director Zeffirelli's own experiences as a youth; coscripted by John Mortimer. | tt0120857 | [PG] | Cher, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lily Tomlin, Baird Wallace, Charlie Lucas, Massimo Ghini, Paolo Seganti, Paul Checquer | Italian-British | Drama, Comedy, War | NULL | |
| Teacher's Pet | 1958 | George Seaton | ★★★ | 120 | Self-educated city editor Gable clashes with journalism teacher Day in this airy, amusing comedy. Young is memorable as Doris' intellectual boyfriend. Written by Fay and Michael Kanin. | tt0052278 | Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young, Mamie Van Doren, Nick Adams, Charles Lane | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Teacher's Pet | 2004 | Timothy Björklund | ★★★ | 73 | Lightning-paced, irreverently funny film based on the Disney animated TV series about a dog who disguises himself as a boy in order to attend school with his master. They're separated during summer vacation, until Pet sees a mad doctor on TV who says he can transform an animal into a human being— permanently. Lane, Grammer, and company sing some clever new songs written by the show's creators. Designed by Gary Baseman in a style somewhere between underground comics and pop art. Officially titled DISNEY'S TEACHER'S PET. | tt0350194 | [PG] | Voices of Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Shaun Fleming, Debra Jo Rupp, David Ogden Stiers, Jerry Stiller, Paul Reubens, Megan Mullally, Rob Paulsen, Wallace Shawn, Estelle Harris, Jay Thomas | Comedy, Animation, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Teacher | 1974 | Hikmet Avedis | ★★ | 98 | Trashy but enjoyable film has 'older' woman Tompkins introducing North (TV's Dennis the Menace all grown up) to sex, while a psychopathic killer (James) threatens both their lives. John Cassavetes' and Gena Rowlands' mommies have cute cameos as disapproving bystanders in a restaurant scene. | tt0072260 | [R] | Angel Tompkins, Jay North, Anthony James, Marlene Schmidt, Sivi Aberg, Barry Atwater, Med Flory | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Teachers | 1984 | Arthur Hiller | ★★ | 106 | 'Outrageous' blend of comedy-drama set in urban high school (and filmed in Columbus, Ohio). Seemingly patterned after Paddy Chayefsky's THE HOSPITAL and NETWORK but nowhere near as good. Slick, well cast, but dramatically disjointed and obvious at every turn. | tt0088242 | [R] | Nick Nolte, JoBeth Williams, Judd Hirsch, Ralph Macchio, Lee Grant, Richard Mulligan, Allen Garfield, Royal Dano,Laura Dern, Morgan Freeman, William Schallert, Crispin Glover, Zohra Lampert, Art Metrano | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Teaching Mrs. Tingle | 1999 | Kevin Williamson | ★½ | 95 | When they confront a coldhearted teacher who can destroy their college dreams, three high school students accidentally knock her out, then tie her to her bed in order to talk her into changing her ways. Preposterous premise is devoid of story, interest or suspense, with only Mirren's icy, sarcastic performance to recommend it. Williamson (making his directing debut) scripted, but this is a far cry from SCREAM. Lesley Ann Warren appears unbilled. | tt0133046 | [PG-13] | Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Barry Watson, Marisa Coughlan, Liz Stauber, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael McKean, Molly Ringwald, Vivica A. Fox | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Teahouse of the August Moon | 1956 | Daniel Mann | ★★★½ | 123 | Outstanding comedy scripted by John Patrick from his hit play of Army officers involved with Americanization of post-WW2 Okinawa. A warm and memorable film. Paul Ford recreates his Broadway role and nearly steals the show. Based on book by Vern J. Sneider. | tt0049830 | Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyo, Eddie Albert, Paul Ford, Harry Morgan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Team America World Police | 2004 | Trey Parker | ★½ | 96 | Blundering (if well-meaning) squad of Americans fight terrorism around the world but meet their match in North Korean leader Kim Jung Il. The South Park boys run aground in a pointless film enacted by marionettes (a spoof of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds series of old). Unlike their sharp, on-target TV scripts and previous films, this one repeatedly swings and misses at such easy targets as politically outspoken actors. Even the songs are uninspired. Heavy-handed, sour, and, worst of all, not funny. One scene of wild puppet sex will probably rate an asterisk in film histories. Unrated version runs 98m. | tt0372588 | [R] | Voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tears of the Black Tiger | 2000 | Wisit Sasanatieng | ★★½ | 109 | Boy from the wrong side of the tracks falls in love with an upper-class girl; he grows up to be a notorious bandit called the Black Tiger, while her father plans to marry her off to the policeman in charge of capturing Tiger and his gang. Campy, candy-colored, and very bloody, this Thai cowboy soap opera with songs pays homage to classic Westerns (mostly Spaghetti) and the highly stylized films of Seijun Suzuki. Fun for a while, but its extreme artificiality becomes self-conscious and exhausting. Also shown in a shorter version that runs 101m. | tt0269217 | Chartchai Ngamsan, Stella Malucchi, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Arawat Ruangvuth, Sombatl, Pairoj Jaisingha. | Thailand | Comedy, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tears of the Sun | 2003 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★★ | 118 | Stoic Navy SEAL commander Willis and his squadron are sent to evacuate a female doctor from a Nigerian village, but she opens his eyes to the terrorism the people around her have been subjected to. Eventually Willis must decide whether to help. Well-made action film bears a message that doing the right thing isn't a political decision but a humanist one. Undermined more than once by awkward dialogue and miscasting of the very sexy Bellucci. Director's 'extended' cut runs 146m. | tt0314353 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Cole Hauser, Eamonn Walker, Nick Chinlund, Fionnula Flanagan, Malick Bowens, Tom Skerritt, Chad Smith | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Teckman Mystery | 1954 | Wendy Toye | ★★ | 89 | Justin is writer commissioned to do a biography of Medwin, presumably dead war hero, with surprising results. Capably acted. | tt0047563 | Margaret Leighton, John Justin, Meier Tzelniker, Roland Culver, George Coulouris, Michael Medwin | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Ted & Venus | 1991 | Bud Cort | ★½ | 100 | Cort's directing debut is a hard-to-take tale of an obnoxious Southern California misfit who relentlessly pursues his 'dream woman.' Cameos by familiar faces add little to this modest production. | tt0103057 | [R] | Bud Cort, James Brolin, Kim Adams, Carol Kane, Rhea Perlman, Woody Harrelson, Martin Mull, Timothy Leary, Cassandra Peterson, Gena Rowlands | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Teddy Bears' Picnic | 2002 | Harry Shearer | 💣 | 80 | Wretched botch by actor/writer/director/producer Shearer ostensibly satirizing northern California rustic retreat of the rich and powerful (here called Zambesi Glen). Real disappointment considering the comic talent involved. Alan Thicke and Peter Marshall play themselves. | tt0250282 | John Michael Higgins, Ming-Na, Henry Gibson, David Rasche, Robert Mandan, Morgan Fairchild, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Justin Kirk, George Wendt, Kenneth Mars, Bob Einstein, John O'Hurley, Howard Hesseman, Fred Willard, Annabelle Gurwitch, Joyce Hyser, Kurtwood Smith, Larry Miller | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Teen Witch | 1989 | Dorian Walker | ★★ | 105 | Teen comedy with a moral, about a girl who, one week before her sixteenth birthday, learns that she's a descendant of some bona fide Salem witches . . . and uses her newfound magical powers to snare a football hero as boyfriend. Some nice ideas, but mostly falls flat. Berman is funny as a stuffy English teacher who becomes a victim of the teenage witch's black magic. | tt0098453 | [PG-13] | Robyn Lively, Dan Gauthier, Joshua Miller, Dick Sargent, Zelda Rubinstein, Lisa Fuller, Shelley Berman | Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Teen Wolf | 1985 | Rod Daniel | ★★ | 91 | Teenager with usual growing pains discovers that he's also a were wolf— and that this finally makes him popular at school. Pleasant at best, but anemic comedy has nowhere to go. Best moments come from TV comedy writer-producer (and former comic) Jay Tarses as Fox's athletic coach. Followed by an animated TV series and TEEN WOLF TOO. | tt0090142 | [PG] | Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Scott Paulin, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine, Jim MacKrell | Comedy, Horror, Family | NULL | ||
| Teen Wolf Too | 1987 | Christopher Leitch | 💣 | 95 | Limp comedy, chronicling the adventures of the Teen Wolf's cousin (Bateman), makes the original seem like Preston Sturges in his prime. Excruciating. | tt0094118 | [PG] | Jason Bateman, Kim Darby, John Astin, Paul Sand, James Hampton, Mark Holton | Comedy, Family, Horror | NULL | ||
| Teen-age Crime Wave | 1955 | Fred F. Sears | 💣 | 77 | Adolescent hoodlums terrorize farm family after a robbery and shooting. Bad. | tt0048701 | Tommy Cook, Sue English, Molly McCart, Frank Griffin, James Bell, Ray Riehl | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Teen-age Millionaire | 1961 | Lawrence Doheny | 💣 | 84 | Deadening musical about teenager Clanton, with a huge inheritance, who becomes a pop star. The rock acts are unusually and annoyingly tame here. | tt0056563 | Jimmy Clanton, ZaSu Pitts, Rocky Graziano, Diane Jergens, Chubby Checker, Jackie Wilson, Dion, Marv Johnson, Bill Black, Jack Larson, Vicki Spencer, Sid Gould, Maurice Gosfield | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Teen-age Rebel | 1956 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 94 | Pat yet provocative film of divorcée Rogers, now remarried, trying to reestablish understanding with her daughter. | tt0049831 | Ginger Rogers, Michael Rennie, Betty Lou Keim, Mildred Natwick, Rusty Swope, Warren Berlinger, Lilli Gentle, Louise Beavers, Irene Hervey | Drama | NULL | |||
| Teenage Cave Man | Prehistoric World | 1958 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 66 | Vaughn, light years away from THE YOUNG PHILADELPHIANS or S.O.B., is the title character, a prehistoric adolescent hankering for greener pastures, in this AIP quickie with predictable 'surprise' ending. Remade for cable TV in 2001. | tt0052279 | Robert Vaughn, Darrah Marshall, Leslie Bradley, Frank De Kova | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Teenage Devil Dolls | 1952 | B. Lawrence Price/ Jr | 💣 | 58 | Yet another entry in the REEFER MADNESS school of filmmaking, about an insecure, discontented teen girl's descent into drug addiction and crime. Presented as a case history and without dialogue; there's only narration and sound effects. Originally titled ONE-WAY TICKET TO HELL. | tt0045223 | Barbara Marks, Robert A. Sherry, Robert Norman, Elaine Lindenbaum, Joel Climenhaga | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Teenage Doll | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 68 | Title dish doesn't want to spend school nights at home in her room, gets involved with punk peers. This above-average sleazy B won't obscure memory of Dreyer and Ozu, but is true to its era. | tt0051062 | June Kenney, Fay Spain, Richard Devon, Dorothy Neumann | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Teenage Monster | 1958 | Jacques Marquette. | 💣 | 65 | In the Old West, radiation from a meteor causes a boy to grow into a hairy, muscular brute (Perkins), who is controlled by his mother (Gwynne)— for a while. Trivial combo of Western and sci-fi is too slight and dull to work on either level. Perkins was 50 when this was made! Aka METEOR MONSTER. | tt0051063 | Anne Gwynne, Gloria Castillo, Stuart Wade, Gil Perkins, Charles (Chuck) Courtney, Stephen Parker. | Horror, Sci-Fi, Western | NULL | |||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1990 | Steve Barron | ★★ | 93 | Four mutated turtles who live in the sewers of N.Y.C. with their ninja master (an oversized rat from Japan) befriend a plucky TV reporter and help crack an insidious crime wave. The wacked-out comic book creation of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (which led to a hit animated TV series) should have inspired a much better movie. Badly written, flatly directed, and murky-looking, it jump-starts every now and then— but not often enough. Strongest asset is the design and articulation of the Turtles by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Followed by two sequels. | tt0100758 | [PG] | Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas; voices of Robbie Rist, Kevin Clash, Brian Tochi, David McCharen, Corey Feldman | Fantasy, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze | 1991 | Michael Pressman | ★½ | 88 | The evil Shredder finds one remaining container of the ooze that caused the turtles to mutate in the first place. Brainless sequel aims lower than first film, and strips the half-shell heroes of any personality (even having them call each other by nicknames— Raf instead of Raphael, Donny instead of Donatello). Appearance by Vanilla Ice, performing a ninja turtle rap song, is the nadir. | tt0103060 | [PG] | Paige Turco, David Warner, Ernie Reyes/Jr., Michelan Sisti, Leif Tilden, Kenn Troum, Mark Caso, Kevin Clash, Raymond Serra, Vanilla Ice | Action, Family | NULL | ||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III | 1993 | Stuart Gillard | ★★ | 96 | The guys bolt the sewer for feudal Japan to help rebel villagers conquer an evil lord. SEVEN SAMURAI it ain't (nor Russ Meyer's THE SEVEN MINUTES, either), but those who still care will find a more mellowed-out Turtles saga, complete with a lecture by Raphael on the dangers of violence. Like totally Woodstock, dude! | tt0108308 | [PG] | Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson, Sab Shimono, Vivian Wu, Mark Caso, Matt Hill, Jim Raposa, David Fraser, James Murray | Action, Family | NULL | ||
| Teenage Zombies | 1957 | Jerry Warren | 💣 | 73 | Victor captures teenagers snooping around her island, imprisons them for experiments. Typically awful Warren horror film with long stretches in which nothing happens . . . and incidentally, no teenage zombies! Remade as FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND. | tt0051064 | Don Sullivan, Steve Conte, Katherine Victor, Paul Pepper, Bri Murphy, Mitzi Albertson | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Teenagers From Outer Space | 1959 | Tom Graeff | 💣 | 86 | Ridiculous sci-fi about alien youths who bring monster to Earth, shown as the shadow of a lobster! Very, very cheap; but still a camp classic. Besides directing and playing a small part, Graeff wrote, produced, photographed, and edited! | tt0053337 | David Love, Dawn Anderson, Harvey B. Dunn, Bryant Grant, Tom Graeff | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Teeth | 2008 | Mitchell Lichtenstein | ★★½ | 88 | Dawn (Weixler) is an active church member and helps guide young people around her to remain abstinent until marriage. However, as she is faced with her own budding sexuality, she discovers that she isn’t like the other girls; she has something known as vagina dentata. Kitschy and not for the faint of heart. The ultimate in female empowerment, though it may leave some men scarred for life. The director is the son of artist Roy Lichtenstein. | tt0780622 | [R] | Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Josh Pais, Hale Appleman, Ashley Springer, Vivienne Benesch, Lenny von Dohlen, Nicole Swahn, Julia Garro, Adam Wagner | Horror | NULL | ||
| Telefon | 1977 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 102 | Slick espionage thriller from Walter Wager's ingenious novel; Bronson is Russian agent sent to stop crazy defector from triggering hypnotized spies to commit sabotage throughout U.S. Daly is terrific as wisecracking computer expert. Script by Stirling Silliphant and original director Peter Hyams. | tt0076804 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence, Tyne Daly, Patrick Magee, Alan Badel, Sheree North | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Telegraph Trail | 1933 | Tenny Wright. | ★★ | 54 | Government scout Wayne escorts supply train threatened by Indians to camp where crew is constructing the first cross-country telegraph line through the western plains. Lesser-grade Warner Bros. B Western. Wayne's horse is named Duke— and gets second billing! | tt0024647 | John Wayne, Frank McHugh, Marceline Day, Otis Harlan, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Telephone | 1988 | Rip Torn | 💣 | 82 | Goldberg may have hit rock bottom with this clinker in which she's cast as an out-of-work actress with major psychological problems. The star sued to prevent this version from being released. Terrible script by Harry Nilsson and Terry Southern. Hang up on this wrong number. Actor Torn's directing debut. | tt0096241 | [R] | Whoopi Goldberg, Severn Darden, Amy Wright, Elliott Gould, John Heard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Television Spy | 1939 | Edward Dmytryk. | ★★½ | 58 | Foreign agents attempt to steal an American scientist's revolutionary device called the Iconoscope. Plotted and paced like an elongated serial chapter; just as nonsensical and just as much fun. | tt0032009 | William Henry, Judith Barrett, William Collier/Sr., Richard Denning, John Eldredge, Dorothy Tree, Anthony Quinn, Minor Watson, Morgan Conway. | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Tell It to the Judge | 1949 | Norman Foster | ★★½ | 87 | Flyweight marital farce with Russell and Cummings in and out of love every ten minutes; enjoyable if you like the stars. | tt0041949 | Rosalind Russell, Robert Cummings, Gig Young, Marie McDonald, Harry Davenport, Douglass Dumbrille | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tell It to the Marines | 1926 | George W. Hill. | ★★★ | 103 | Chaney, playing against type, is superb as a tough but compassionate leatherneck who mentors an immature recruit (Haines). The story is predictable, and little more than a U.S. Marine Corps recruiting poster, but it's a treat to see Chaney acting without makeup. | tt0018471 | Lon Chaney, William Haines, Eleanor Boardman, Eddie Gribbon, Carmel Myers, Warner Oland, Mitchell Lewis. | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Tell Me Lies | 1968 | Peter Brook | ★★ | 118 | Strange, unsuccessful combination of songs, skits, and newsreel footage attacking U.S. involvement in Vietnam wasn't even liked by doves. Interesting now merely as historical document. | tt0063675 | Glenda Jackson, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Kingsley Amis, Stokely Carmichael, Paul Scofield | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon | 1970 | Otto Preminger | ★★★½ | 112 | Moving story of three misfits who decide to live together: facially scarred Minnelli, epileptic Howard, wheelchair-bound homosexual Moore. Moments of comedy, melodrama, compassion expertly blended by Preminger in one of his best films; adapted from her novel by Marjorie Kellogg. | tt0066445 | [PG] | Liza Minnelli, Ken Howard, Robert Moore, James Coco, Kay Thompson, Fred Williamson, Nancy Marchand, Anne Revere | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tell Me a Riddle | 1980 | Lee Grant | ★★½ | 90 | Thoughtful but static filmization of Tillie Olsen's novella chronicling the relationship between a dying woman and her husband of 40 years. Well acted by Douglas and Kedrova; Grant's first feature as director. That's Peter Coyote as the young Douglas. | tt0081611 | [PG] | Melvyn Douglas, Lila Kedrova, Brooke Adams, Dolores Dorn, Bob Elross, Joan Harris, Zalman King | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tell No One | Ne le dis à personne | 2006 | Guillaume Canet | ★★★ | 126 | The police have never stopped being suspicious of pediatrician Cluzet since the mysterious death of his wife eight years ago—even though he was cleared—so when a new body is dug up near the crime scene he becomes their leading suspect. At the same time, he is given reason to believe his wife may be alive after all. Complex but exciting thriller is packed with plot twists and action, expertly handled by actor-turned-director Canet, who coscripted this adaptation of Harlan Coben’s American novel (and appears briefly in flashbacks as the sleazy Philippe Neuville). | tt0362225 | François Cluzet, André Dussollier, Marie-Josee Croze, Kristin Scott Thomas, Nathalie Baye, François Berléand, Jean Rochefort, Gilles Lellouche, Marina Hands, Philippe Lefebvre, Olivier Marchal | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Tell No Tales | 1939 | Leslie Fenton | ★★½ | 69 | Editor tries to save his dying newspaper by capturing notorious kidnappers himself. Good B picture with some telling vignettes (particularly a black boxer's wake), though it doesn't hold up to the finish. | tt0032010 | Melvyn Douglas, Louise Platt, Gene Lockhart, Douglass Dumbrille, Sara Haden, Florence George, Zeffie Tilbury | Crime, Mystery, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here | 1969 | Abraham Polonsky | ★★★ | 96 | Massive manhunt for Indian who killed in self-defense pretends to be more important than it is, but is so well crafted the preaching can be overlooked. Moodily photographed by Conrad Hall. The blacklisted Polonsky's first film since FORCE OF EVIL 21 years before. | tt0065079 | [PG] | Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Robert Blake, Susan Clark, Barry Sullivan, Charles McGraw, John Vernon | Western | NULL | ||
| The Tell-Tale Heart | 1963 | Ernest Morris | ★★½ | 81 | Atmospheric Edgar Allan Poe yarn about a meek librarian who becomes obsessed, sexually and otherwise, with his pretty new neighbor— but she shows more of an interest in his charming and good-looking best friend. | tt0056565 | Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri, Dermot Walsh, Selma Vaz Dias | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Telling Lies in America | 1997 | Guy Ferland | ★★★ | 101 | Evocative and well-done Joe Eszterhas-scripted memoir, set in Cleveland during the early 1960s, about a Hungarian-born teen (Renfro), an outsider trying to find his place in pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll America. Bacon is the standout here, offering an award-calibre performance as the boy's mentor, a slick, payola-taking disc jockey. | tt0120303 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Brad Renfro, Maximilian Schell, Calista Flockhart, Paul Dooley, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Luke Wilson | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Temp | 1993 | Tom Holland | ★★ | 96 | Another '(Fill in the blank) From Hell' movie— this one suggesting what Eve Harrington might have been like with a psychotic streak and a penchant for office work instead of backstage-Broadway groupiedom. Surprisingly bearable until office casualties sparked by schemer Boyle's temporary employment become way too silly. | tt0108311 | [R] | Timothy Hutton, Lara Flynn Boyle, Faye Dunaway, Dwight Schultz, Oliver Platt, Steven Weber, Colleen Flynn, Scott Coffey, Dakin Matthews | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tempest | 1928 | Sam Taylor | ★★★ | 102 | Lushly filmed tale of Russian Revolution, with peasant Barrymore rising to rank of sergeant, controlling fate of princess (Horn) who had previously scorned him. | tt0019451 | John Barrymore, Camilla Horn, Louis Wolheim, George Fawcett, Ullrich Haupt, Michael Visaroff | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tempest | 1959 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★½ | 125 | Turgid, disjointed costumer set in 18th-century Russia, loosely based on Pushkin novel about peasant uprising to dethrone Catherine the Great (Lindfors). | tt0052280 | Silvana Mangano, Van Heflin, Viveca Lindfors, Geoffrey Horne, Oscar Homolka, Robert Keith, Agnes Moorehead, Finlay Currie, Vittorio Gassman, Helmut Dantine | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Tempest | 1982 | Paul Mazursky | ★★ | 140 | Aimless comedy, loosely based on Shakespeare's play, has Cassavetes as a N.Y.C. architect who tries to solve his midlife crisis by moving to a Greek island with his teenage daughter. Appealing cast, beautiful scenery, some engaging scenes . . . but they don't quite add up. | tt0084776 | [PG] | John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Vittorio Gassman, Raul Julia, Molly Ringwald, Sam Robards, Paul Stewart, Anthony Holland | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Tempest | 2010 | Julie Taymor | ★ | 110 | Taymor’s ambitious take on the Shakespeare classic pulls a gender switch, turning Prospero into Prospera, the deposed wizard who is banished to an island, where she engages in a power struggle for survival. In the hands of Mirren the character is still able to conjure up some intriguing magic. Unfortunately, this misguided adaptation is wildly uneven, needlessly convoluted, and filled with CGI effects, which reduce it to a lot of thunder and lightning. Fine actors are game at navigating the language, but Mirren is the only one who makes a strong impression. | tt1274300 | [PG-13] | Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Felicity Jones, Reeve Carney, David Strathairn, Tom Conti, Alan Cumming, Chris Cooper, Ben Whishaw, Djimon Hounsou, Alfred Molina | Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Temptation | 1946 | Irving Pichel | ★★½ | 98 | Woman-with-a-past Oberon marries archeologist Brent, then falls in love with unscrupulous Korvin. Nothing new, but smoothly done. | tt0039015 | Merle Oberon, George Brent, Paul Lukas, Charles Korvin, Lenore Ulric, Ludwig Stossel | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Tempter | 1974 | Alberto de Martino | 💣 | 96 | Frenzied but pointless rip-off of THE EXORCIST with Gravina as Ferrer's demonized daughter. Blecch. | tt0071150 | [R] | Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, George Coulouris, Alida Valli, Umberto Orsini | Italian | Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| Temptress Moon | 1996 | Chen Kaige | ★★ | 127 | Elaborate epic, set in and around Shanghai in the 1920s, about the long and involved relationship between a boy and girl raised together in an ancestral palace— and their renewed relationship in adult life after the former becomes an underworld character. There's opium, blackmail, implied incest, you name it— but so little cohesion that the U.S. distributor had to affix the equivalent of a baseball scoreboard at the movie's beginning so that audiences would know what was happening. | tt0116295 | [R] | Gong Li, Leslie Cheung, Zhou Yemang, Kevin Lin, He Saifei, Zhang Shi | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Temptress | 1926 | Fred Niblo | ★★½ | 117 | Garbo's second American film is dated curio about wicked woman who drives men to death and destruction, only to have her own life ruined by falling in love with Moreno. Adapted from Blasco-Ibanez; some prints run 95m. | tt0017449 | Greta Garbo, Antonio Moreno, Roy D'Arcy, Marc MacDermott, Lionel Barrymore, Virginia Brown Faire | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ten 'til Noon | 2007 | Scott Storm | ★★½ | 88 | Low-rent, Tarantinoesque crime thriller with a gimmick. A man is awakened by a gun-wielding assassin who tells him he's going to die in ten minutes. We then live the same tense ten minutes with a series of interlocking characters. The conclusion isn't as satisfying as the buildup, but Paul Osborne's script has some clever ideas. | tt0438486 | [R] | Alfonso Freeman, Rick D. Wasserman, Rayne Guest, Jenya Lano, Thomas Kopache, Daniel Hagen, Dylan Kussman, Jennifer Hill, George Williams, Daniel Nathan Spector, Jason Hamer, Paul J. Alessi. | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ten Canoes | 2006 | Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr | ★★★ | 92 | Absorbing, beautifully filmed two-part story. The first, shot in b&w, involves an Aborigine tribesman who covets one of the wives of his older brother; the second, in color, illustrates a story he is told that mirrors his yearning. First feature made in an Aboriginal language, executed with the assistance of the Ramingining people, many of whom appear onscreen. | tt0466399 | Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu, Richard Birrinbirrin, Peter Minygululu, Frances Djulibing; narrated by David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu | Australian-Italian | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ten Cents a Dance | 1931 | Lionel Barrymore | ★½ | 80 | Dreary, slow-moving drama about a taxi dancer's unfortunate marriage to a worthless wimp, who turns out to be a crook and a cheat, as well. | tt0022469 | Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, Monroe Owsley, Sally Blane, Blanche Frederici | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ten Commandments | 1923 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 146 | Biblical story, told in compact form (but on a gargantuan scale— with several scenes in two-color Technicolor) is only first portion of this silent film. The rest is a modern-day parable involving two brothers, one a saint, the other a sinner— and it's anything but subtle. Still, it's good entertainment in the best DeMille style. Remade in 1956. | tt0014532 | Theodore Roberts, Charles de Roche, Estelle Taylor, Richard Dix, Rod La Rocque, Leatrice Joy, Nita Naldi, Agnes Ayres | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ten Commandments | 1956 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★★ | 220 | Vivid storytelling at its best. Biblical epic follows Moses' life from birth and abandonment through manhood, slavery, and trials in leading the Jews out of Egypt. Few subtleties in DeMille's second handling of this tale (first filmed in 1923) but few lulls, either. Parting of the Red Sea, writing of the holy tablets are unforgettable highlights. Oscar-winning special effects. | tt0049833 | Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Cedric Hardwicke, H.B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, John Carradine, Woodrow (Woody) Strode | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ten Days Wonder | 1972 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 101 | Ellery Queen meets Claude Chabrol in erratic but moody mystery concerning Perkins' love affair with stepmother Jobert. Film doesn't work, but is often fascinating to watch. | tt0068521 | [PG] | Orson Welles, Anthony Perkins, Marlene Jobert, Michel Piccoli, Guido Alberti | French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Ten Days to Tulara | 1958 | George Sherman | 💣 | 77 | Dud adventure account of Hayden et al. pursued across Mexico by police for the gold they carry. | tt0052282 | Sterling Hayden, Grace Raynor, Rodolfo Hoyos, Carlos Muzquiz | Adventure, Western, Action | NULL | |||
| Ten From Your Show of Shows | 1973 | Max Liebman | ★★★★ | 92 | Incomparable collection from early '50s TV show displaying comic genius of four stars, working with classic material by Mel Brooks, among others. Ten skits include FROM HERE TO ETERNITY spoof, silent-movie sendup, Swiss clock, and final, unbearably funny takeoff on This Is Your Life. A must. | tt0069663 | [G] | Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Louis Nye | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ten Gentlemen From West Point | 1942 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 102 | Early years of West Point, with focus on vicious commander Cregar and other assorted military film clichés; somehow, it's still entertaining. | tt0035421 | George Montgomery, Maureen O'Hara, John Sutton, Laird Cregar, Victor Francen, Harry Davenport, Ward Bond, Tom Neal, Ralph Byrd, Douglass Dumbrille | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ten Little Indians | 1966 | George Pollock | ★★½ | 92 | Fair remake of Agatha Christie's whodunit AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, with suspects trapped in remote Alpine village. Originally released with gimmick of murder-minute for audience to guess killer. Remade again in 1975 and 1989. | tt0061075 | Hugh O'Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian, Leo Genn, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Daliah Lavi, Dennis Price | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Ten Little Indians | 1975 | Peter Collinson | ★½ | 98 | Third rendering of Agatha Christie whodunit, set this time in Iran. Great plot cannot survive such tired retelling. | tt0072263 | [PG] | Oliver Reed, Elke Sommer, Herbert Lom, Richard Attenborough, Charles Aznavour, Stephane Audran, Gert Frobe, Adolfo Celi, voice of Orson Welles | British | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |
| Ten Little Indians | 1989 | Alan Birkinshaw | 💣 | 98 | Producer Harry Alan Towers' third redo of the Christie classic is his worst yet. This time he isolates an uninteresting cast in an African safari camp in the 1930s, and boringly plods through this once-intriguing, now-weary plot. Stop Towers before he remakes again! | tt0098454 | [PG] | Donald Pleasence, Frank Stallone, Sarah Maur Thorp, Brenda Vaccaro, Herbert Lom, Warren Berlinger, Paul L. Smith, Moira Lister | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Ten North Frederick | 1958 | Philip Dunne | ★★★ | 102 | Grasping wife (Fitzgerald) prods her husband (Cooper) into big-time politics, with disastrous results. He finds personal solace in love affair with much younger woman (Parker). Good performances in somewhat soapy adaptation of John O'Hara novel. | tt0052283 | Gary Cooper, Diane Varsi, Suzy Parker, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Tom Tully, Ray Stricklyn, Stuart Whitman, Barbara Nichols | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Ten Seconds to Hell | 1959 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 93 | Chandler and Palance are almost believable as Germans involved in defusing bombs in Berlin, while competing for Carol's affection. | tt0053341 | Jeff Chandler, Jack Palance, Martine Carol, Robert Cornthwaite, Dave Willock, Wesley Addy | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Ten Tall Men | 1951 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★½ | 97 | Tongue-in-cheek Foreign Legion tale, with dynamic Lancaster pushing the action along. | tt0044110 | Burt Lancaster, Jody Lawrance, Gilbert Roland, Kieron Moore | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Ten Thousand Bedrooms | 1957 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 114 | Dean's first film without Jerry Lewis seemed to spell doom for his career; it's a lightweight but overlong musical romance with Dino as a playboy hotel-manager in Rome. | tt0051066 | Dean Martin, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Eva Bartok, Dewey Martin, Walter Slezak, Paul Henreid, Jules Munshin, Marcel Dalio, Dean Jones | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Ten Wanted Men | 1955 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★ | 80 | Conventional Western programmer with cattleman Scott's dream of law and order smashed by ambitions of ruthless rival Boone. | tt0048703 | Randolph Scott, Jocelyn Brando, Richard Boone, Skip Homeier, Leo Gordon, Donna Martell | Western | NULL | |||
| Ten Who Dared | 1960 | William Beaudine | 💣 | 92 | Dreadful Disney film based on true story of Major John Wesley Powell's exploration of Colorado River in 1869; cast is drowned in clichés, while action is sparse. Forget it. | tt0054372 | Brian Keith, John Beal, James Drury, R. G. Armstrong, Ben Johnson, L. Q. Jones | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| Ten to Midnight | 1983 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 100 | Handsome psycho-killer does his woman-killing in the nude, but runs afoul of police detective Bronson, whose daughter he terrorizes. Kicked off the force for falsifying evidence against the killer, Bronson goes on his usual Death Wish rampage. Ultraviolent, kinkier-than-average Bronson vehicle. | tt0085121 | [R] | Charles Bronson, Andrew Stevens, Gene Davis, Lisa Eilbacher, Wilford Brimley, Geoffrey Lewis | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Ten | 2007 | David Wain | 💣 | 99 | Smugly unfunny collection of go-nowhere skits relating to the Ten Commandments, hosted by Rudd (the film’s coproducer), who plays an unhappily married man. Many talented performers are stuck on the same sinking ship, steered by Wain and Ken Marino of The State. This breaks the Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Make a Crummy Movie. | tt0811106 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Famke Janssen, Winona Ryder, Jessica Alba, Adam Brody, Gretchen Mol, Justin Theroux, A. D. Miles, Oliver Platt, Ken Marino, Rob Corddry, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Liev Schreiber, Ron Silver, Bobby Cannavale, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Jason Sudeikis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny | 2006 | Liam Lynch | ★★ | 92 | Wacky fantasy-comedy about the formation of Black and Gass's singing team Tenacious D and their search for a magical guitar pick. Broad, silly, with an animated segment and occasional gag cameos. Lightly likable throughout, but probably best left to fans of the act. Gentile is almost eerie in his replication of Black as a boy. | tt0365830 | [R] | Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed, Ronnie James Dio, Paul F. Tompkins, Troy Gentile, Dave Grohl | Comedy, Music | NULL | ||
| The Tenant | Locataire, Le | 1976 | Roman Polanski | ★★★½ | 125 | Unique, bizarrely cast horror film about a timid clerk who rents an apartment whose previous inhabitant attempted suicide. Critically drubbed upon release but a latter-day cult item. Fine photography by Sven Nykvist. | tt0074811 | [R] | Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Shelley Winters, Bernard Fresson, Lila Kedrova, Claude Dauphin | French-U.S. | Action | NULL |
| The Tenants | 2006 | Danny Green | ★★ | 97 | Grim drama, set in Brooklyn during the early 1970s, about a liberal-and very naïve-Jewish writer who is the lone resident of a graffiti-strewn tenement. As he obsessively pounds away on his typewriter, attempting to complete a novel, he befriends a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like black man, a wannabe novelist who is at once friendly and uncompromisingly hostile. Intriguing story is based on a novel by Bernard Malamud, but what might have been a potent exploration of race relations is ponderous and melodramatic. | tt0429173 | [R] | Dylan McDermott, Snoop Dogg, Rose Byrne, Seymour Cassel, Niki J. Crawford, Aldis Hodge | Mystery, Drama | NULL | ||
| Tender Comrade | 1943 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 102 | Rogers and friends live communally while their men are out fighting the war, a situation that caused this Dmytryk-Dalton Trumbo collaboration to be labeled as Communist propaganda by HUAC in later years. Some unbearable— and ironically, pro-American— speechifying, but occasionally fascinating as social history. | tt0036418 | Ginger Rogers, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hussey, Patricia Collinge, Mady Christians, Kim Hunter, Jane Darwell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tender Is the Night | 1962 | Henry King | ★★½ | 146 | Sluggish, unflavorful version of F. Scott Fitzgerald novel with Jones unsatisfactory as mentally unstable wife of psychiatrist Robards; Fontaine is her chic sister; set in 1920s Europe. | tt0056566 | Jennifer Jones, Jason Robards/Jr., Joan Fontaine, Tom Ewell, Jill St. John, Paul Lukas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tender Mercies | 1983 | Bruce Beresford | ★★★ | 92 | Winning but extremely low-key film about a country singer who finds the inspiration to put his life back together when he meets an attractive young widow and her little boy. Duvall's Oscar-winning performance is the real attraction here, though the whole cast is excellent; Horton Foote's screenplay (also an Oscar winner) is not so much a story as a series of vignettes. Incidentally, Duvall wrote two of his own songs for the film. | tt0086423 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Allan Hubbard, Betty Buckley, Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley, Lenny Von Dohlen, Paul Gleason | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tender Scoundrel | 1966 | Jean Becker | ★½ | 94 | Dumb story of delightful rogue and ladies' man who is constantly on the hustle. | tt0061076 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nadja Tiller, Robert Morley, Genevieve Page | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tender Trap | 1955 | Charles Walters | ★★½ | 111 | Silly romp of swinging, set-in-his-ways N.Y.C. bachelor Sinatra, who meets his match in determined, marriage-minded Reynolds. A real time capsule of 1950s attitudes toward men, women, and sex. Impeccable support from Holm and Wayne; memorable Cahn-Van Heusen title tune. Julius J. Epstein adapted the Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith play. | tt0048705 | Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Celeste Holm, David Wayne, Carolyn Jones, Lola Albright, Tom Helmore, James Drury | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Tender Years | 1948 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★ | 81 | Warm drama of minister trying to protect dog his son is attached to; notable mainly for rare dramatic performance by Brown. | tt0039890 | Joe E. Brown, Richard Lyon, Noreen Nash, Charles Drake, Josephine Hutchinson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tenderfoot | 1932 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 70 | Brown's a naive cowboy who wants to back a Broadway show in the worst way— and does. | tt0023560 | Joe E. Brown, Ginger Rogers, Lew Cody, George Chandler, Allan Lane, Vivien Oakland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tenderness | 2009 | John Polson | ★½ | 101 | Annoyingly uneven psychological drama, based on a Robert Cormier novel, in which flirtatious, alienated teen Traub attempts to connect with Foster, who's murdered his parents and has just been released from juvenile detention. Although top-billed, Crowe plays a secondary role as a semiretired cop who's convinced that Foster is a serial killer. There are plot holes galore here, and the revelations at the finale just don't add up. | tt0494864 | [R] | Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, Arija Bareikis, Alexis Dziena, Michael Kelly, Vivienne Benesch, Tanya Clarke, Laura Dern | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tennessee Champ | 1954 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★½ | 73 | Good performances highlight average story of boxer who reforms crooked employer. The climactic fight features Charles (Bronson) Buchinsky. | tt0047566 | Shelley Winters, Keenan Wynn, Dewey Martin, Earl Holliman, Dave O'Brien | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tennessee Johnson | 1942 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 103 | Sincere historical drama of President Andrew Johnson's rise and subsequent conflicts with Congress, given a glossy MGM production. | tt0036419 | Van Heflin, Lionel Barrymore, Ruth Hussey, Marjorie Main, Charles Dingle, Regis Toomey, Grant Withers, Lynne Carver, Noah Beery/Sr., Morris Ankrum | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tennessee's Partner | 1955 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 87 | Offbeat little Western with Payne excellent in an unusual 'heel' characterization, Reagan accidentally becoming his pal. Based on a Bret Harte story. Filmed in SuperScope. | tt0048707 | John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Ronald Reagan, Coleen Gray, Morris Ankrum | Western | NULL | |||
| Tension | 1949 | John Berry | ★★½ | 95 | Timid Basehart methodically plans to murder his wife's lover, only to have someone beat him to it in this intriguing melodrama. | tt0041954 | Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan, Tom D'Andrea | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Tension at Table Rock | 1956 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★ | 93 | Soapy Western with Egan on the lam for a murder committed in self-defense. | tt0049834 | Richard Egan, Dorothy Malone, Cameron Mitchell, Billy Chapin, Angie Dickinson | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Tentacles | 1977 | Oliver Hellman (Ovidio Assonitis) | ★½ | 90 | Giant octopus threatens a seaside community in this rip-off of JAWS. Some unexpected casting and the spectacle of having killer whales emerge the heroes save the picture from total decay. | tt0076809 | [PG] | John Huston, Shelley Winters, Henry Fonda, Bo Hopkins, Delia Boccardo, Cesare Danova | Italian | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Tenth Avenue Angel | 1948 | Roy Rowland | 💣 | 74 | Capable cast is lost in terrible, syrupy script about eight-year-old tenement girl O'Brien, her attachment to ex-con Murphy, and how she learns various, obvious lessons about faith. Filmed in 1946. | tt0040865 | Margaret O'Brien, Angela Lansbury, George Murphy, Phyllis Thaxter, Warner Anderson, Rhys Williams, Barry Nelson, Connie Gilchrist | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tenth Victim | 1965 | Elio Petri | ★★★ | 92 | Cult sci-fi of futuristic society where violence is channeled into legalized murder hunts. Here, Ursula hunts Marcello. Intriguing idea, well done. Based on Robert Sheckley's story 'The Sixth Victim.' | tt0059095 | Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli, Salvo Randone, Massimo Serato | Italian | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Tenure | 2009 | Mike Million | ★★ | 89 | College professor Wilson is desperate to earn tenure but can't seem to please his stuffy superiors. Meant to be a spot-on parody of pressure, politics, and pomposity in academia, but the result is inane and predictable, despite the likable presence of Wilson and Mol (playing a rival tenure-track instructor). Released direct to DVD. | tt1198408 | [R] | Luke Wilson, David Koechner, Gretchen Mol, Sasha Alexander, William Bogert, Rosemarie DeWitt, Michael Cudlitz, Hilary Pingle, Andrew Daly, Bob Gunton | U.S.-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Teorema | 1968 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | ★★ | 98 | Pointed but obvious, occasionally hokey political/ sexual fable, with Stamp cast as a young stranger who may be Christ— or Satan. He leaves an irrevocable impression on a bourgeois family by sleeping with its every member. Reworked as DALLAS DOLL, with Sandra Bernhard in the Stamp role! | tt0063678 | Terence Stamp, Silvana Mangano, Massimo Girotti, Anna Wiazemsky, Laura Betti, Andres Jose Cruz | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tequila Sunrise | 1988 | Robert Towne | ★★½ | 116 | Lifelong friends, one a supposedly retired drug dealer, the other a fast-rising L.A. cop, are forced to confront each other, both in business and in vying for the affections of a sleek restaurant owner. All three leads exude considerable charisma, but after a snappy start the script leads them nowhere. Veteran director Budd Boetticher plays a judge. Disappointing result for writer-director Towne. | tt0096244 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Raul Julia, J.T. Walsh, Arliss Howard, Ann Magnuson, Arye Gross | Drama, Action, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Teresa | 1951 | Fred Zinnemann | ★★ | 102 | Ambitious but slow-moving psychological drama of a sensitive young man (Ericson), saddled with a mother from hell, who meets and marries a sweet young Italian (Angeli) while fighting in Italy during WW2. Steiger plays a psychiatrist in his screen debut. See if you can spot Lee Marvin as a GI on board the ship returning to the U.S. | tt0044112 | Pier Angeli, John Ericson, Patricia Collinge, Richard Bishop, Peggy Ann Garner, Ralph Meeker, Bill Mauldin, Edward Binns, Rod Steiger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Teresa's Tattoo | 1993 | Julie Cypher | 💣 | 95 | Moronic kidnappers' equally moronic hostage accidentally drowns, and guess who's her double? A brainy doctoral candidate in applied mathematics. The laughs are nil in this alleged comedy, with a name cast going slumming. Melissa Etheridge (who did the original songs) appears as a hooker. Kiefer Sutherland appears unbilled as a cop. | tt0111397 | [R] | C. Thomas Howell, Nancy McKeon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Casey Siemaszko, Jonathan Silverman, Adrienne Shelly, Diedrich Bader, Anthony Clark, Tippi Hedren, k.d lang, Joe Pantoliano, Mary Kay Place, Mare Winningham, Nanette Fabray, Majel Barrett. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Term of Trial | 1962 | Peter Glenville | ★★½ | 113 | Talky story of schoolmaster charged with assault by young Miles, and subsequent trial's effect on Olivier's wife, Signoret. Despite fine cast, a wearisome film. Miles' film debut. | tt0056568 | Laurence Olivier, Simone Signoret, Sarah Miles, Terence Stamp, Roland Culver, Hugh Griffith | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Terminal Bliss | 1992 | Jordan Alan | ★★½ | 91 | Modern teen-angst drama of disaffected rich kids as they betray each other, seduce one another's girlfriends, act self-indulgent, and seem bored by life. Major attraction here is Beverly Hills 90210 heartthrob Perry— though he poses no major threat to James Dean. Made in 1987. | tt0105562 | [R] | Timothy Owen, Luke Perry, Estee Chandler | Drama | NULL | ||
| Terminal Choice | Deathbed | 1985 | Sheldon Larry | ★½ | 97 | Deadly doings at a hospital; good cast wasted in this unsavory thriller. Also known as DEATHBED. | tt0090148 | [R] | Joe Spano, Diane Venora, David McCallum, Robert Joy, Don Francks, Nicholas Campbell, Ellen Barkin | Canadian | Thriller | NULL |
| Terminal Island | 1973 | Stephanie Rothman | ★½ | 88 | Cynical exploitation film about futuristic offshore California penal colony where murderers are sent in lieu of abolished death penalty. Reissued a decade later to capitalize on the presence of several future stars, including Magnum P.I.'s Selleck and Mosley. | tt0070782 | [R] | Phyllis Elizabeth Davis, Don Marshall, Barbara Leigh, Sean Kenney, Roger Mosley, Tom Selleck, Jo Morrow | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Terminal Man | 1974 | Mike Hodges | ★★★ | 107 | Cold but engrossing thriller has computer scientist Segal coming under influence of computers in his brain which cause violence. Well acted; based on the Michael Crichton novel. | tt0072267 | [PG] | George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard A. Dysart, Jill Clayburgh, Donald Moffat, Matt Clark, James (B.) Sikking, Ian Wolfe, Steve Kanaly, Lee DeBroux | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Terminal Velocity | 1994 | Deran Sarafian | ★★★ | 103 | Hotshot skydiving instructor Sheen is horrified when, on her first jump, his student Kinski plummets to her death— or does she? While trying to prove what really happened, he's plunged into intrigue, danger, and romance. Fast paced and witty, this is a bright variation on Hitchcock themes that, blessedly, never pretends to take itself very seriously. Sheen is miscast, but Kinski is terrific; so are the action scenes. | tt0111400 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski, James Gandolfini, Christopher McDonald, Gary Bullock, Melvin Van Peebles, Hans R. Howes | Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Terminal | 2004 | Steven Spielberg | ★★★ | 128 | Good-hearted man from Eastern Europe lands at Kennedy Airport just as turmoil in his country causes his passport to be suspended. As a result, he's forced to live inside the airport, where he makes friends and becomes the bête noir of uptight security official Tucci. Spielberg takes a page from Frank Capra's LADY FOR A DAY and asks us to accept a sweet, optimistic fable— not easy for some people to do in this day and age. | tt0362227 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Pallana, Zoe Saldana, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella, Michael Nouri, Benny Golson | Drama, Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 1991 | James Cameron | ★★½ | 136 | A 'kinder, gentler' cyborg from the future returns, this time to protect the soon-to-be savior of humanity from destruction by a rival terminator. Box-office smash has special effects to knock your socks off (especially the 'liquid metal'), and action to spare, but like so many sequels, lacks the freshness of the first film and gives us no one to root for. Oscar winner for Best Makeup, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects. Some versions feature additional footage. | tt0103064 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Castulo Guerra, Danny Cooksey, Jenette Goldstein, Xander Berkeley | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | 2003 | Jonathan Mostow | ★★★ | 110 | A sleek, sexy new terminator (Loken) returns to kill a now-grown-up John Connor (Stahl), but a T-101 (Schwarzenegger) is on her trail. Not as innovative as the original, or as overblown as the sequel, this one simply entertains, with lots of large-scale action and special effects. Its weakest moments: trying to play off Arnold's 'I'll be back' catchlines. Stan Winston's robotic creations are as impressive as ever. | tt0181852 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, David Andrews, Kristanna Loken, Mark Famiglietti, Christopher Lawford | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Terminator Salvation | 2009 | McG | ★★★ | 114 | In the year 2018 a handful of surviving humans wage war with the machines that rule the planet, run by a network known as Skynet. John Connor (Bale) is part of the armed resistance trying to destroy this army of terminators—but he doesn’t know what to make of a superstrong stranger (Worthington) who shows up with no memory of where he came from. Viscerally exciting (if sometimes ear-splitting) blend of action and science fiction has visual effects to spare but boils down to an epic battle between the good guys and the bad. | tt0438488 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Jane Alexander, Helena Bonham Carter, Jadagrace Berry, Michael Ironside, Ivan Gvera, Terry Crews; voice of Linda Hamilton | Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Terminator | 1984 | James Cameron | ★★★½ | 108 | A cyborg is sent here from the future to kill a seemingly innocent woman. Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as violence-prone robot who cannot be stopped. Terrific action picture never lets up for a minute— a model for others to follow. Director Cameron cowrote with producer Gale Anne Hurd (inspired by the works of Harlan Ellison). Followed by two sequels. | tt0088247 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Rick Rossovich, Earl Boen, Dick Miller, Bill Paxton | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action | NULL | ||
| Termini Station | 1989 | Allan (Winton) King | ★★ | 105 | Dreary, unenlightening portrait of an angst-ridden family: the father was killed in what may have been a suicide, the mother has become an alcoholic, the son a self-absorbed heel, the daughter a grim-faced prostitute. Tennis, anyone? | tt0098457 | Colleen Dewhurst, Megan Follows, Gordon Clapp, Debra McGrath, Leon Pownall, Elliott Smith, Norma Dell'Agnese, Hanna Lee | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Terms of Endearment | 1983 | James L. Brooks | ★★★★ | 132 | Wonderful mix of humor and heartache follows the relationship of a mother and daughter over the years. Consistently offbeat and unpredictable, with exceptional performances by all three stars; first-time director Brooks also wrote the screenplay from Larry McMurtry's novel. Won Oscars for MacLaine, Nicholson, Screenplay, Director, and Best Picture. Sequel: THE EVENING STAR. | tt0086425 | [PG] | Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, John Lithgow, Jeff Daniels, Lisa Hart Carroll, Danny DeVito | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Terri | 2011 | Azazel Jacobs | ★★★ | 105 | An overweight outcast with a strange home life, Terri (Wysocki) is content to go along as he always has until the school principal (Reilly) shows a genuine interest in him and schedules a weekly chat. Molasses-slow at times but worthwhile for its pinpoint portraits of characters who eventually earn our empathy. Reilly is excellent, as usual, in an especially well-written role. | tt1687281 | [R] | John C. Reilly, Jacob Wysocki, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadna | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Terrible People | 1960 | Harald Reinl | ★★ | 95 | Fair action story of condemned bank crook vowing to return from dead to punish those who prosecuted him. Retitled: HAND OF THE GALLOWS. | tt0053630 | Eddi Arent, Karin Dor, Elizabeth Flickenschildt, Fritz Rasp, Joachim Fuchsberger | German | Drama, Crime, Horror | NULL | ||
| Terribly Happy | 2008 | Henrik Ruben Genz | ★★★ | 100 | Emotionally depleted detective, temporarily reassigned to a southern Danish township, encounters an unhappy wife who quickly opens up to him, which is the opposite reaction of the rest of the community. In fact, the entire town is caught in the vise-like hold of one local man’s violent disposition . . . or so it seems. Nicely plotted, well-executed thriller grips at one’s guts with a disquieting intensity that rarely lets up. Adapted from an Erling Jepsen novel by director Genz and Dunja Gry Jensen. | tt1087890 | Unrated | Jakob Cedergren, Lene Maria Christensen, Kim Bodnia, Lars Brygmann, Anders Hove, Jens Jørn Spottag | Danish | Drama | NULL | |
| Terror Beneath the Sea | 1970 | Hajimo Sato | ★½ | 85 | Mad scientist creates monsters from human prisoners in an underwater city. The usual. | tt0060580 | Peggy Neal, Andrew Hughes, Shinichi (Sonny) Chiba, Mike Daneen, Eric Nielson | Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Terror By Night | 1946 | Roy William Neill | ★★½ | 60 | Sherlock Holmes dodges death at every turn while guarding a priceless diamond on a bullet-train en route from London to Edinburgh. Lesser, later entry does give Mowbray a fine supporting role. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039017 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey, Mary Forbes | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Terror From the Year 5000 | 1958 | Robert J. Gurney/Jr. | ★★ | 74 | At an isolated lab in Florida, scientists succeed in 'trading' objects with a future society via time travel; when this brings a radiation-scarred woman from the future, trouble ensues. OK American International effort, more imaginative than most. | tt0052286 | Ward Costello, Joyce Holden, Frederic Downs, John Stratton, Salome Jens, Fred Herrick. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Terror House | Terror on the Menu | 1972 | Bud Townsend | ★½ | 98 | A young woman gets more than she bargained for when she wins a 'vacation' trip to an old mansion. Predates other cannibalism efforts, and doesn't take itself that seriously— but still not very good. Aka THE FOLKS AT RED WOLF INN and TERROR AT RED WOLF INN. Some prints run 83m. Video title: TERROR ON THE MENU. | tt0069362 | [PG] | Linda Gillin, Arthur Space, John Neilson, Mary Jackson, Michael Macready | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Terror Is a Man | Blood Creature | 1959 | Gerry de Leon | ★★ | 89 | On Blood Island, doctor experiments with panther to turn him into a human. Filmed in the Philippines, this sci-fi horror story comes to life in last third of picture. Clearly inspired by H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. Aka BLOOD CREATURE. | tt0053344 | Francis Lederer, Greta Thyssen, Richard Derr, Oscar Keesee | Horror | NULL | ||
| Terror Train | 1980 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★ | 97 | Fraternity hires a train for a night-long graduation costume party only to have an ex-member, emotionally scarred by an initiation prank, come aboard, disguised and uninvited, to seek revenge. Stylish photography— by John (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) Alcott, of all people— and novelty of killer donning the costume of each successive victim lift this above most of the others in this disreputable genre. | tt0081617 | [R] | Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Hart Bochner, David Copperfield, Derek Mackinnon, D. D. Winters (Vanity), Bill Maher | Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| The Terror Within II | 1992 | Andrew Stevens | ★½ | 89 | More monsters vs. more scientists in underground bunker after catastrophic plague. Debuting director (and star) Stevens, looking like Rambo, fogs the cheap sets and shows a few good ideas, but his own absurd story sinks it all. That's his mom in a costarring part. | tt0100765 | [R] | Andrew Stevens, Stella Stevens, Chick Vennera, R. Lee Ermey, Burton 'Bubba' Gilliam, Clare Hoak | Sci-Fi, Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Terror Within | 1988 | Thierry Notz | ★★ | 88 | Grim horror/sci-fi concoction set after plague has wiped out 99 percent of humanity. An underground medical center is attacked by hybrid monsters born of human women and bent on creating more of the same. Low-budget Roger Corman production is a cross between ALIEN and THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED, with a routine, predictable plot. Followed by a sequel. | tt0096246 | [R] | Andrew Stevens, Starr Andreeff, Terri Treas, George Kennedy, John LaFayette, Tommy Hinkley | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Terror at Midnight | 1956 | Franklin Adreon. | ★★ | 70 | Undynamic telling of Vohs being blackmailed and her law-enforcer boyfriend (Brady) helping out. | tt0049836 | Scott Brady, Joan Vohs, Frank Faylen, John Dehner. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Terror at the Opera | 1987 | Dario Argento | ★★½ | 107 | Horror opus about a young diva who's being stalked by a madman. As customary with Argento, this is stylish but nonsensical, with some over-the-top gore, backed up by a screeching rock score and insane camera calisthenics. Available in both R and unrated versions. | tt0093677 | [R] | Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini, Daria Nicolodi, Corallina G. Tassoni | Italian | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Terror in a Texas Town | 1958 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★½ | 80 | Offbeat Western drama about Scandinavian whaler (Hayden) who comes to his father's farm in Texas, finds town terrorized by Cabot, who's forcing everyone to sell their oil-rich land. Incredible final showdown. | tt0052287 | Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot, Carol Kelly, Eugene Martin, Ned Young, Victor Millan | Western | NULL | |||
| Terror in the Aisles | 1984 | Andrew J. Kuehn | ★½ | 85 | Endless collage of film clips from almost 75 terror movies, from ALIEN to WAIT UNTIL DARK, with the kitchen sink in between. There's silly commentary from Allen and Pleasence, sitting in a simulated movie house, and just too much footage for it all to make any sense. For diehard genre addicts only. | tt0088249 | [R] | Nancy Allen, Donald Pleasence | Documentary, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Terror in the Wax Museum | 1973 | Georg Fenady | ★½ | 93 | Low-grade murder mystery takes little advantage of wax museum horror potential; a good cast wasted. If you look closely you can see the 'wax figures' moving. | tt0070783 | [PG] | Ray Milland, Broderick Crawford, Elsa Lanchester, Maurice Evans, Shani Wallis, John Carradine, Louis Hayward, Patric Knowles, Mark Edwards | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Terror of Frankenstein | Victor Frankenstein | 1975 | Calvin Floyd | ★★★ | 91 | Literate, well-made adaptation of the classic story, definitely worth a look for horror buffs. This is the most faithful of all film versions of Mary Shelley's novel. Original title: VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN. | tt0076881 | Leon Vitali, Per Oscarsson, Nicholas Clay, Stacey Dorning, Jan Ohlsson | Swedish-Irish | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Terror of Mechagodzilla | 1975 | Ishirô Honda | ★½ | 83 | Mechagodzilla is restored by villains and sent to destroy Godzilla again, aided by the remote-controlled Titanosaurus. Colorful and full of brawling monsters. | tt0073373 | K. Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata, Kenji Sahara | Japanese | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Terror of Tiny Town | 1938 | Sam Newfield | ★½ | 63 | If you're looking for a midget musical Western, look no further. A typical sagebrush plot is enacted (pretty badly) by a cast of little people, and the indelible impression is that of characters sauntering into the saloon under those swinging doors! | tt0030845 | Billy Curtis, Yvonne Moray, Little Billy, John Bambury | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Terror of the Red Mask | 1960 | Luigi Capuano | ★★ | 90 | Costumer strains to have air of a chiller as hero Barker swordfights his way through castle of horror. | tt0053345 |
|
Lex Barker, Chelo Alonso, Livio Lorenzon | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Terror of the Tongs | 1961 | Anthony Bushell | ★★½ | 79 | Atmospheric British thriller of captain searching for killers of daughter; eventually breaks entire Tong society in Hong Kong. Good acting but may be a little gruesome for some viewers. Released theatrically in b&w. | tt0055516 | Geoffrey Toone, Burt Kwouk, Brian Worth, Christopher Lee, Richard Leech | British | Thriller, Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Terror on a Train | 1953 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 72 | Tense little film of Ford defusing time bomb placed aboard train full of high explosives. | tt0046432 | Glenn Ford, Anne Vernon, Maurice Denham, Victor Maddern | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Terror | 1963 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 81 | Engaging chiller nonsense with Karloff the mysterious owner of a castle where eerie deeds occur; set on Baltic coast in 1800s. This is the legendary Corman quickie for which all of Karloff's scenes were shot in less than three days as the sets (from THE RAVEN) were being torn down around them! | tt0057569 | Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight, Dick Miller | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| TerrorVision | 1986 | Ted Nicolaou | 💣 | 85 | Inept direction and overacting sink this cartoonish tale of a family and friends' reactions when a monster from outer space emerges from their TV set. Watch the old Outer Limits episode instead. | tt0092074 | [R] | Diane Franklin, Mary Woronov, Gerrit Graham, Chad Allen, Bert Remsen, Alejandro Rey, Randi Brooks, Sonny Carl Davis | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Terrorist | 1999 | Santosh Sivan | ★★★ | 95 | Contemplative, multilayered portrait of the title character (Dharkar), a 19-year-old fighter in a guerilla war against an unnamed enemy who is recruited as a suicide bomber. Her mission is to assassinate a politician, and it is guaranteed to end in her death. The film's strength is that she is depicted insightfully, as a human being, rather than as a one-dimensional villain or heroine. Well worth seeing. | tt0169302 | Ayesha Dharkar, Parmeshwaran, Vishnu Vardhan, Bhanu Prakash, K. Krishna, Sonu Sisupal, Vishwas | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Terrorists | Ransom | 1975 | Caspar Wrede | ★½ | 97 | Muddled thriller about political terrorism and airline hijacking is indifferently acted by Connery and McShane, amateurishly directed, and tediously unspooled. Pity, because premise is sound and photography (by Sven Nykvist) is smashing. Original British title: RANSOM. Filmed in Norway. | tt0073796 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Ian McShane, Jeffrey Wickham, Isabel Dean, John Quentin | British | Crime, Thriller | NULL |
| The Terrornauts | 1967 | Montgomery Tully | ★½ | 75 | Alien forces kidnap an entire building on Earth, people and all. Based on Murray Leinster's novel The Wailing Asteroid, this sci-fi film is hampered by low budget. | tt0062355 | Simon Oates, Zena Marshall, Charles Hawtrey, Patricia Hayes, Stanley Meadows, Max Adrian | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Terror’s Advocate | 2007 | Barbet Schroeder | ★★★ | 137 | Forceful, unsettling documentary chronicling the life of Jacques Vergès, a lawyer who fought for the Free French during WW2 and later became notorious for defending such war criminals and terrorists as Klaus Barbie, Slobodan Milosevic, and Carlos the Jackal. He also wed one of his clients: Djamila Bouhired, an Algerian who planted bombs during the French-Algerian war. Schroeder poses some provocative questions about his subject’s convictions and motivations. Does he have a political agenda, or is he merely an egomaniac? | tt1032854 | French | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Tess | 1979 | Roman Polanski | ★★★½ | 170 | Handsome, evocative adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, with Kinski in her star-making performance as the strong-willed girl from a poor family whose fortunes rise and fall when she is foisted onto polite society. Long but engrossing. Oscar winner for Cinematography, Costume Design, and Art Direction. | tt0080009 | [PG] | Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, John Bett, Tom Chadbon, Rosemary Martin, Leigh Lawson, Sylvia Coleridge | French-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Tess of the Storm Country | 1960 | Paul Guilfoyle | ★★½ | 84 | Leisurely paced reworking of Grace Miller White novel set in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Here, Tess (Baker) becomes immersed in a dispute between farmers, Mennonites, and chemical plant operators who are polluting the environment. Previously filmed in 1914, 1922, and 1932. | tt0054376 |
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Diane Baker, Jack Ging, Lee Philips, Wallace Ford, Robert F. Simon, Bert Remsen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Test Pilot | 1938 | Victor Fleming | ★★★ | 118 | Blend of romantic comedy and drama doesn't always work, but with those stars it's well worth watching. Tracy steals film as Gable's mechanic/pal in story of daredevils who try out new aircraft. Based on a Frank 'Spig' Wead story. | tt0030848 | Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Samuel S. Hinds, Marjorie Main, Gloria Holden, Louis Jean Heydt | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Test of Love | Annie's Coming Out | 1984 | Gil Brealey | ★★★ | 93 | Moving, inspirational, if a bit too predictable story of a young teacher (Punch McGregor), and her attempts to reach a disabled girl (Arhondis, whose performance is truly wonderful). Based on a true story; originally titled ANNIE'S COMING OUT. | tt0088250 | [PG] | Angela Punch McGregor, Drew Forsythe, Wallas Eaton, Simon Chilvers, Liddy Clark, Tina Arhondis | Australian | Drama | NULL |
| Testament | 1983 | Lynne Littman | ★★★½ | 89 | Admirably understated drama about a small town contending with nuclear holocaust, focusing on one tight-knit family. Restrained and effective, with a heartrending performance by Alexander. Screenplay by John Sacret Young, from a story by Carol Amen. Originally made for PBS' American Playhouse. | tt0086429 | [PG] | Jane Alexander, William Devane, Roxana Zal, Ross Harris, Lukas Haas, Philip Anglim, Lilia Skala, Leon Ames, Rebecca De Mornay, Mako, Lurene Tuttle, Kevin Costner | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Testament of Dr. Mabuse | The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse | 1932 | Fritz Lang. | ★★★½ | 121 | Criminal mastermind controls his underworld empire even while confined to an insane asylum! Fabled character from Lang's silent-film epic returns in less stylized but no less entertaining crime story— which even incorporates supernatural elements. Film was a subject of controversy during Nazi era. Lang returned to this character once more for THE 1,000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE in 1960, but other hands remade this script in 1962. Aka THE LAST WILL OF DR. MABUSE. Many TV prints run 75m. Retitled THE CRIMES OF DR. MABUSE. | tt0023563 | Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Otto Wernicke, Gustav Diesl, Karl Meixner. | German | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Testament of Orpheus | 1959 | Jean Cocteau. | ★★★½ | 80 | Cocteau's deeply personalized farewell is a catalogue of his philosophies and phantasies. Occasionally too artsy, his reverie has no storyline per se, just a succession of astonishingly dreamy images with a seemingly impossible cast. A few moments are in startling color. Third in his Orphic Trilogy after THE BLOOD OF A POET and ORPHEUS. Full title on screen is THE TESTAMENT OF ORPHEUS OR DO NOT ASK ME WHY. | tt0054377 | Jean Cocteau, Edouard Dermit, Henri Cremieux, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Alice Saprich, Françoise Christophe, Yul Brynner, Daniel Gélin, Maria Casares, François Perier, Charles Aznavour, Pablo Picasso, Luis Miguel Dominguin, Lucia Bosé, Jean Marais, Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim, Claudine Auger. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Testimony | 1987 | Tony Palmer | ★★ | 157 | Ambitious, overlong biopic of composer Dmitri Shostakovich focuses on his political problems in the Soviet Union. Kingsley brings depth to the leading role, and Nic Knowland provides fabulous widescreen camerawork in b&w (with flashes of color), but these attributes cannot overcome a turgid narrative. | tt0096250 | Ben Kingsley, Terence Rigby, Ronald Pickup, John Shrapnel, Sherry Baines, Robert Stephens, Murray Melvin, Robert Urquhart | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tetro | 2009 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★½ | 127 | Newcomer Ehrenreich gives an impressive performance as a naïve 17-year-old who grows up fast when he goes to Buenos Aires to reunite with his estranged older stepbrother (Gallo), a once-promising writer who fled from the family and their domineering orchestra-conductor father (Brandauer) ten years earlier. Visually striking (shot mainly in lustrous black-and-white) but overlong, and occasionally overwrought, coming-of-age tale, written by Coppola and loosely inspired by his own family. | tt0964185 | [R] | Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdú, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Carmen Maura, Rodrigo De La Serna, Leticia Brédice | U.S.-Argentinean-Spanish-Italian | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Tevye | 1939 | Maurice Schwartz | ★★★½ | 96 | Yiddish stage star Schwartz brightens the screen in his most famous role as Sholem Aleichem's famed Ukrainian dairyman; a crisis comes when one of his daughters wishes to wed a non-Jew. This touching, profound drama was later musicalized as FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Filmed in Jericho, Long Island. Aka TEVYA. | tt0032012 | Maurice Schwartz, Rebecca Weintraub, Miriam Riselle, Leon Liebgold | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tex | 1982 | Tim Hunter | ★★★ | 103 | First of S. E. Hinton's young-adult best sellers to reach the screen (via the Disney company) is an understated but likable tale of a boy whose mother has died, whose father is away, whose brother is trying to raise him with no money and little patience . . . and whose self-esteem is nil. Straightforward little drama. Hinton has a cameo as a teacher. | tt0084783 | [PG] | Matt Dillon, Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, Bill McKinney, Frances Lee McCain, Ben Johnson, Emilio Estevez, Jack Thibeau | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| The Texan Meets Calamity Jane | 1950 | Ande Lamb. | 💣 | 71 | Ankers is too subdued as famed cowgirl of yesteryear, involved in fight to prove claim to prosperous saloon. | tt0043035 | Evelyn Ankers, James Ellison, Jack Ingram, Lee 'Lasses' White. | Western | NULL | |||
| Texans Never Cry | 1951 | Frank McDonald. | ★★★ | 66 | When Texas lawman Autry tries to stop a plot by Powers that involves Mexican lottery tickets, a deadly gunman is hired to get Gene out of the way . . . and the gunman falls for Gene's girl! One of Gene's best later efforts, with a terrific brawl between Autry and Duncan, the title tune, and a reprised 'Ride, Ranger, Ride.' | tt0044116 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Mary Castle, Russell Hayden, Gail Davis, Richard Powers (Tom Keene), Don Harvey, Roy Gordon, Kenne Duncan. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Texans | 1938 | James Hogan | ★★½ | 92 | Post-Civil War Texas is setting for average Western with good cast. | tt0030850 | Randolph Scott, Joan Bennett, May Robson, Walter Brennan, Robert Cummings, Robert Barrat | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas | 1941 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 93 | High-level Western of two friends, one a rustler, the other a cattleman, competing for Trevor's affection. | tt0034269 | William Holden, Glenn Ford, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas Across the River | 1966 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 101 | Diverting takeoff on cowboy-and-Indian films, with Bishop hilarious as a deadpan Indian and Marquand cute as a young squaw. | tt0061080 | Dean Martin, Alain Delon, Joey Bishop, Rosemary Forsyth, Peter Graves, Tina Marquand (Aumont), Andrew Prine, Michael Ansara, Richard Farnsworth | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Texas Carnival | 1951 | Charles Walters | ★★ | 77 | Emptier than usual, this flabby MGM musical about penniless carny mistaken for millionaire leaves fine cast high and dry with no fresh material. | tt0044117 | Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Red Skelton, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn, Tom Tully, Red Norvo | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | 1974 | Tobe Hooper | ★★★ | 83 | Travelers in rural Texas encounter crazed family of bizarros who have a committed though unusual sense of what cuts of meat you need for good barbecue. Sweat-inducing, claustrophobic, unrelenting suspense-comic-horror film. Classic and influential— and nowhere nearly as violent as it's reputed to be. Narrated by an unbilled John Larroquette. Remade in 2003. Followed by three sequels. | tt0072271 | [R] | Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Edwin Neal, Allen Danzinger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail | Crime, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 | 1986 | Tobe Hooper | 💣 | 95 | Hooper returns with a mind-numbing, pretentious sequel. Hopper plays a nutty ex-Texas Ranger obsessed with revenge against the crazed family of Texas cannibals, while deejay Williams is simply looking to save her own skin when the cannibals go after her following a broadcast that angers them. Frenetic overacting and unfunny attempts at black humor sink this mess. Followed by LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III. | tt0092076 | [R] | Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | 2003 | Marcus Nispel | ★½ | 98 | Teenagers in Texas are attacked by an inbred family of cannibals. This remake is intense but completely lacks the leavening sense of humor that enhanced the original. Once it kicks into gear, it's brutally unrelenting toward its unappealing characters— and the audience. | tt0324216 | [R] | Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, David Dorfman | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning | 2006 | Jonathan Liebesman | ★½ | 91 | When the ideas for endless sequels wear out, bring on the prequels! This one creates a backstory for the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface, set in the 1970s. Two teen brothers and their girlfriends go on a final fling before shipping off to Vietnam, get caught up in the infamous house of horrors and face-lifts after a car accident brings them to the attention of the evil local sheriff. There is nothing to suggest the '70s period; it's all about graphic violence. This is one 'beginning' whose ending can't come quickly enough. Unrated version runs 96m. | tt0420294 | [R] | Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird, Matthew Bomer, Lee Tergesen, R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Bryniarski; narrated by John Larroquette | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation | Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre | 1997 | Kim Henkel | ★½ | 84 | More Texas teenagers are menaced by a backwoods family of murderous maniacs. Though a semi-remake of the first film, it's nowhere near as interesting or scary— no chainsaws, no cannibalism. Writer-director Henkel tries for profundity at the end and blows it, but it's clear why Zellweger and the scenery-devouring McConaughey went on to bigger things. Aka RETURN OF THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE; that version runs 94m. | tt0110978 | [R] | Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Jacks, Tonie Perenski, Lisa Newmyer, Tyler Cone, John Harrison | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Texas Cyclone | 1932 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★ | 60 | Daredevil McCoy rides into lawless town and is mistaken for heroic rancher thought killed five years earlier. Interesting William Colt MacDonald story has twist ending and young Wayne as cigarette-smoking ranch hand. Script includes the immortal words 'This town ain't big enough to hold the both of us . . . come a-shootin' !' Remade five years later as ONE MAN JUSTICE with Charles Starrett. | tt0023567 | Tim McCoy, Shirley Grey, John Wayne, Wheeler Oakman, Wallace MacDonald, Vernon Dent, Walter Brennan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas Detour | 1978 | Hikmet Avedis | ★★ | 92 | Typical low-grade action picture about a macho stunt driver. | tt0078379 | [R] | Patrick Wayne, Mitch Vogel, Lindsay Bloom, R. G. Armstrong, Priscilla Barnes, Cameron Mitchell | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Texas Killing Fields | 2011 | Ami Canaan Mann | ★★½ | 104 | In Texas City, Texas, two increasingly frustrated cops (Worthington, Morgan) are tracking a serial killer who's murdering females and dumping their corpses in the title locale. Will young Moretz be the next victim? Slick psychological thriller, "inspired by true events," has atmosphere to spare but is hampered by one too many plot inconsistencies and often unintelligible dialogue. Director Mann is the daughter of Michael Mann, one of the film's producers. | tt1389127 | [R] | Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Chloë Grace Moretz, Jason Clarke, Annabeth Gish, Sheryl Lee, Stephen Graham | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Texas Lady | 1955 | Tim Whelan | ★★ | 86 | Genteel oater with Colbert lovely as crusading newspaper editor in old West. Mediocre script. | tt0048711 | Claudette Colbert, Barry Sullivan, Greg Walcott, Horace McMahon, John Litel | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas Masquerade | 1944 | George Archainbaud. | ★★★ | 59 | Hopalong Cassidy impersonates eastern milquetoast to upend gang of 'night riders' terrorizing ranchers who have oil on their property they don't know about. Boyd enjoyed ditching his customary dark duds to play dandies, which works especially well here. Swell entertainment. Shoot-out among the Joshua trees makes for arresting finale. | tt0037360 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Don Costello, Mady Correll, Russell Simpson. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Texas Rangers Ride Again | 1940 | James Hogan | ★★ | 68 | Sequel is standard Western fare of lawmen involved with cattle rustlers in the modern-day West. | tt0033140 | John Howard, Jack Oakie, Akim Tamiroff, Ellen Drew, May Robson, Robert Ryan, Anthony Quinn | Western | NULL | |||
| The Texas Rangers | 1936 | King Vidor | ★★★ | 95 | Fine, elaborate Western of three comrades who split up; MacMurray and Oakie become rangers, Nolan an outlaw. Remade as STREETS OF LAREDO; sequel: THE TEXAS RANGERS RIDE AGAIN. | tt0028352 | Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Ellis | Western | NULL | |||
| The Texas Rangers | 2001 | Steve Miner | ★★½ | 90 | Young man joins the recently formed Texas Rangers to avenge the death of his family and becomes an aide to the unit's enigmatic leader (McDermott). Beautifully mounted widescreen Western isn't bad, but its story is superficial and derivative. Of the young stars, Van Der Beek fares best, while Molina has fun as a sneering villain. This sat on the shelf for almost two years. | tt0193560 | [PG-13] | James Van Der Beek, Dylan McDermott, Usher Raymond, Ashton Kutcher, Robert Patrick, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alfred Molina, Tom Skerritt, Leonor Varela, Randy Travis, Matt Keeslar, Jon Abrahams, Vincent Spano, Oded Fehr, Joe Spano | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| The Texas Rangers | 1951 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 74 | Aimless Western involving Texas law enforcers against gang of outlaws. | tt0044118 | George Montgomery, Gale Storm, Jerome Courtland, Noah Beery/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas Terror | 1935 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★ | 51 | In the belief he's accidentally killed his best friend, anguished Texas lawman Wayne turns in his sheriff's badge for the solitary life of a prospector, until he meets the dead pal's sister. Formula low-budget Lone Star Western has Indians siding with protagonists against cattle-rustling and bank-robbing lawbreakers. | tt0027087 | John Wayne, Lucille Brown, LeRoy Mason, Fern Emmett, George Hayes, Jack Duffy. | Action, Western, Romance | NULL | |||
| Texas Trail | 1937 | David Selman. | ★★★ | 59 | At outbreak of Spanish-American War in 1898, Hopalong Cassidy is called upon by U.S. Army to find and supply cavalry horses but encounters rustlers. In the finest series of B Westerns ever made, this picture is near the top of the list, with expert use of Paramount music library, visually stunning locations, including Red Rock Canyon and Sedona, and an unusually appealing heroine (with little to do). Nominally derived from 1922 Clarence E. Mulford novel Tex. | tt0029646 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, George Hayes, Judith Allen, Billy King, Alexander Cross. | Western | NULL | |||
| Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven | 1948 | William Castle | ★★ | 76 | Stale 'comedy' of cowboy who falls in love with city girl who loves horses. Good cast helps a little. | tt0040868 | Guy Madison, Diana Lynn, James Dunn, Lionel Stander, Florence Bates, Roscoe Karns | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Texasville | 1990 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★½ | 123 | Mildly diverting sequel to THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, from Larry McMurtry's novel, revealing that time has turned a number of the leading characters into Texas caricatures. No real plot to speak of, just a series of vignettes, some better than others. Potts stands out as Bridges' brassy wife, with Shepherd trying to assert the seriousness of her underwritten role by wearing no makeup and looking as bad (realistic?) as possible in every single shot. | tt0103069 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Annie Potts, Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Randy Quaid, Eileen Brennan, William McNamara, Angie Bolling | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Texican | 1966 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 91 | Routine Spanish-made Western pits ex-lawman Murphy against ruthless frontier town boss Crawford. | tt0061081 | Audie Murphy, Broderick Crawford, Diana Lorys, Luz Marquez, Antonio Casas, Antonio Perel | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Thank God, It's Friday | 1978 | Robert Klane | 💣 | 90 | Perhaps the worst film ever to have won some kind of Oscar (for Summer's hit song, 'Last Dance'), this one-night-in-the-life-of-a-disco comedy is about as monotonous and uninventive as disco music itself. | tt0078382 | [PG] | Donna Summer, Valerie Landsburg, Terri Nunn, Chick Vennera, Ray Vitte, Jeff Goldblum, Paul Jabara, Debra Winger, Andrea Howard, The Commodores (with Lionel Richie) | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Thank You All Very Much | 1969 | Waris Hussein | ★★★ | 105 | Absorbing study of unwed mother who decides to have her baby. Realistic and touching. | tt0065085 | [M] | Sandy Dennis, Ian McKellen, Eleanor Bron, John Standing | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Thank You and Goodnight! | 1991 | Jan Oxenberg | ★★★ | 82 | Quirky, funny (and tremendously moving) stylized/ fictionalized documentary about a subject that's neither quirky nor funny: the physical decline and death of the filmmaker's Jewish grandmother. Beyond its humor, irony and originality, this American Playhouse theatrical film is a tenderhearted look at a grandmother-granddaughter relationship. | tt0103070 |
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Documentary | NULL | |||
| Thank You for Smoking | 2006 | Jason Reitman | ★★★ | 92 | Spot-on satire of American culture and the phenomenon of spinmeisters, focusing on Nick Naylor (Eckhart, in a dynamic performance), who’s the unapologetic spokesman for the tobacco industry in Washington, D.C. A trip to California gives the divorced dad a chance to spend time with (and explain himself to) his inquisitive and impressionable son. Impressive feature debut for director Reitman (son of Ivan), who also adapted Christopher Buckley’s book. | tt0427944 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Adam Brody, Katie Holmes, Cameron Bright, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, Rob Lowe, David Koechner, Sam Elliott, J. K. Simmons, Kim Dickens | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Thank You, Aunt | Grazie Zia | 1967 | Salvatore Samperi | ★★ | 93 | Utterly perverse tale of psychopathic young man (Castel) who comes to live with attractive young aunt (Gastoni) whom he torments with sex games and rituals. Ugh. Released here as GRAZIE, ZIA in 1969. | tt0063033 |
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Lisa Gastoni, Lou Castel, Gabriele Ferzetti | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Thank You, Jeeves! | 1936 | Arthur Collins | ★★½ | 57 | Treacher is at peak form playing P.G. Wodehouse's impeccable butler; he and his master (Niven) become immersed in intrigue after crossing paths with mystery woman Field. Retitled: THANK YOU, MR. JEEVES; followed by STEP LIVELY, JEEVES. | tt0028353 | Arthur Treacher, Virginia Field, David Niven, Lester Matthews, Willie Best | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Thank You, Mr. Moto | 1938 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 67 | Second series entry (possibly the best) involves the Oriental sleuth in a complicated case centering on seven scrolls which hold the key to hidden treasure of Genghis Khan. | tt0029648 | Peter Lorre, Pauline Frederick, Sidney Blackmer, Sig Rumann, John Carradine, Nedda Harrigan | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Thank Your Lucky Stars | 1943 | David Butler | ★★★ | 127 | Very lame plot (Cantor plays both himself and lookalike cabbie) frames all-star Warner Bros. show, with Davis singing 'They're Either Too Young Or Too Old,' Flynn delightfully performing 'That's What You Jolly Well Get,' other staid stars breaking loose. | tt0036422 | Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie; guest stars Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Ann Sheridan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Thanks a Million | 1935 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 87 | Very entertaining musical of crooner Powell running for governor, with help of wisecracking manager Allen, sweetheart Dvorak, and blustery politician Raymond Walburn. Good fun, with several breezy tunes and specialties by Whiteman and Yacht Club Boys. Script by Nunnally Johnson. Remade as IF I'M LUCKY. | tt0027088 | Dick Powell, Ann Dvorak, Fred Allen, Patsy Kelly, Alan Dinehart, Margaret Irving, Paul Whiteman and Orchestra, Yacht Club Boys | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Thanks for the Memory | 1938 | George Archainbaud | ★★½ | 77 | Paper-thin romantic comedy (from a play by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich) reteams Hope and Ross, who sang the title tune in THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938. Here, they're newlyweds who face a crisis: he's got to stop partying and finish his novel. Song highlight: 'Two Sleepy People.' | tt0030853 | Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Charles Butterworth, Otto Kruger, Roscoe Karns, Hedda Hopper, Patricia Wilder, Laura Hope Crews, Eddie Anderson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Certain Age | 1938 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 101 | Deanna develops crush on her parents' houseguest, sophisticated Douglas, leaving boyfriend Cooper out in the cold— and saddled with responsibility for putting on amateur show. Silly script made bearable by stars. | tt0030854 | Deanna Durbin, Melvyn Douglas, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Nancy Carroll, John Halliday, Jack Searl | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| That Certain Feeling | 1956 | Norman Panama, Melvin Frank | 💣 | 103 | Incredibly bad Hope comedy with Bob as neurotic cartoonist; Sanders gives only life to stale film. Pearl sings title song. | tt0049841 | Bob Hope, Eva Marie Saint, George Sanders, Pearl Bailey, Al Capp, Jerry Mathers | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Certain Woman | 1937 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 93 | Remake of Goulding's early talkie THE TRESPASSER (with Gloria Swanson) features Bette as a gangster's widow who's trying to start life afresh and finds herself in a romantic triangle with weak-willed playboy Fonda and lawyer Hunter. Well-acted soaper. | tt0029650 | Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Minor Watson, Sidney Toler, Anita Louise | Drama | NULL | |||
| That Championship Season | 1982 | Jason Miller | ★★ | 110 | Disappointing adaptation of Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play (which took 10 years to reach the screen), about the 24th annual reunion of a high school basketball squad and their paternalistic coach. Whatever made it work on stage is missing here; the movie never catches fire, and its characters come off more as caricatures. Remade for TV in 1999. | tt0084784 | [R] | Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino, Arthur Franz | Drama | NULL | ||
| That Cold Day in the Park | 1969 | Robert Altman | ★½ | 113 | Strange, plodding film with frustrated spinster taking in young man she sees in the park. What follows is bizarre and unmoving; a far cry from Altman's later work. Filmed in Canada. TV print runs 92m. | tt0065086 | [R] | Sandy Dennis, Michael Burns, Susanne Benton, John Garfield/Jr., Luana Anders, Michael Murphy | Drama | NULL | ||
| That Darn Cat | 1997 | Bob Spiers | ★½ | 89 | Remake of the 1965 film follows basically the same plot, but without the same results; every change is for the worse. Even the cat is boring. Director Spiers hammers every joke flat, so his talented cast is helpless, though Ricci and McKean have some good moments. Doug is funny, but seems to come from a different, broader movie. | tt0120317 | [PG] | Christina Ricci, Doug E. Doug, Dean Jones, George Dzundza, Peter Boyle, Michael McKean, Bess Armstrong, Dyan Cannon, John Ratzenberger, Megan Cavanagh, Estelle Parsons, Rebecca Schull | Comedy, Family, Mystery, Action | NULL | ||
| That Darn Cat! | 1965 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 116 | Long but entertaining suspense comedy from Disney, about a cat that leads FBI man Jones on trail of kidnapped woman. Slapstick scenes and character vignettes highlight this colorful film. Remade in 1997. | tt0059793 | Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Neville Brand, Elsa Lanchester, William Demarest, Frank Gorshin, Ed Wynn | Family, Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Evening Sun | 2009 | Scott Teems | ★★★ | 109 | Stubborn 80-year-old man walks out of the nursing home where he’s been sent to live and returns to his Tennessee farm, only to find it occupied by a white trash family. He refuses to see the land he built up in the hands of a man he considers a no-account. Modest but nicely detailed Southern character piece is elevated by Holbrook’s commanding presence. Adapted from a William Gay short story by the director. | tt1114680 | [PG-13] | Hal Holbrook, Raymond McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston, Barry Corbin, Dixie Carter | Drama | NULL | ||
| That Forsyte Woman | 1949 | Compton Bennett | ★★½ | 114 | Rather superficial adaptation of John Galsworthy novel of a faithless woman (Garson) who finds herself attracted to her niece's fiancé; good-looking, but no match for the later BBC-TV series The Forsyte Saga. | tt0041955 | Errol Flynn, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young, Janet Leigh, Harry Davenport | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| That Funny Feeling | 1965 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 93 | Funny only if you adore Darin and Dee, and even then story of footloose playboy and maid who pretends she lives with him wears thin. | tt0059794 | Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, Donald O'Connor, Nita Talbot, Larry Storch, Leo G. Carroll, Robert Strauss | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Gang of Mine | 1940 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★ | 62 | Muggs (Gorcey) trains to be a thoroughbred jockey in this East Side Kids entry marked by director Lewis' expertise with galloping racing action. | tt0033144 | Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, Clarence Muse, Dave O'Brien, Joyce Bryant, Donald Haines, David Gorcey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Girl From Paris | 1936 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 105 | Breezy Pons vehicle. She flees Continental wedding and runs to America. Tuneful songs, fine supporting cast. A remake of STREET GIRL; remade as FOUR JACKS AND A JILL. | tt0028354 | Lily Pons, Jack Oakie, Gene Raymond, Herman Bing, Mischa Auer, Frank Jenks, Lucille Ball | Musical | NULL | |||
| That Hagen Girl | 1947 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 83 | Obvious but fascinating time capsule about small-town small-mindedness, with teen Temple ostracized because gossips think she's illegitimate. Of interest for the casting of Temple and Reagan (playing a lawyer who supposedly is Shirley's father), and as a portrait of a time in which illegitimate children were victimized because of the circumstances of their births. | tt0039892 | Ronald Reagan, Shirley Temple, Rory Calhoun, Lois Maxwell, Dorothy Peterson, Charles Kemper, Conrad Janis, Penny Edwards, Jean Porter, Harry Davenport | Drama | NULL | |||
| That Hamilton Woman | 1941 | Alexander Korda | ★★★ | 128 | Olivier and Leigh— both breathtakingly beautiful— enact ill-fated historical romance of Lord Admiral Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton in American-made film intended to spur pro-British feelings. P.S.: It was Winston Churchill's favorite movie. Aka LADY HAMILTON. | tt0034272 | Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Alan Mowbray, Sara Allgood, Gladys Cooper, Henry Wilcoxon, Heather Angel, Halliwell Hobbes, Gilbert Emery | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| That Kind of Woman | 1959 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 92 | Soldier Hunter and dishy Loren are attracted to each other on a train, but she's the mistress of elegant fatcat Sanders. Surprisingly adult comedy-drama for its era; excellent performances from all but Hunter, and even he's better than usual. Well shot by Boris Kaufman. Remake of THE SHOPWORN ANGEL, scripted by Walter Bernstein. | tt0053349 | Sophia Loren, Tab Hunter, George Sanders, Jack Warden, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Nichols | Drama, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| That Lady | 1955 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 100 | Unemotional costumer set in 16th-century Spain, with de Havilland a widowed noblewoman involved in court intrigue. Scofield's film debut. | tt0048712 | Olivia de Havilland, Gilbert Roland, Paul Scofield, Dennis Price, Christopher Lee | Adventure, Romance | NULL | |||
| That Lady in Ermine | 1948 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★½ | 89 | Entertaining if overblown musical of mythical European kingdom where Grable is a just-married princess; her ancestors magically come to life as Fairbanks' conquering army descends on her castle. Lubitsch died during production, which was completed by Otto Preminger. Script by Samson Raphaelson. | tt0040869 | Betty Grable, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Cesar Romero, Walter Abel, Reginald Gardiner, Harry Davenport | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| That Lucky Touch | 1975 | Christopher Miles | ★½ | 93 | Tepid romantic farce with Moore cast as an arms dealer; York is the feisty journalist who conflicts with him. Moore sleepwalks through this. Of note only as Cobb's last movie (and he's the best thing in it). | tt0073797 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Susannah York, Shelley Winters, Lee J. Cobb, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Raf Vallone, Sydne Rome, Donald Sinden | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| That Man Bolt | 1973 | Henry Levin, David Lowell Rich | ★★ | 105 | Scenic actioner, filmed in Hong Kong, Las Vegas and L.A., mixes kung fu, some comedy and two songs by Graves. Plot has Williamson as international courier of syndicate money. | tt0070787 | [R] | Fred Williamson, Byron Webster, Teresa Graves, Jack Ging, Miko Mayama | Drama | NULL | ||
| That Man From Rio | 1964 | Philippe De Broca | ★★★ | 114 | Françoise Dorleac, Jean Servais, Adolfo Celi, Simone Renant. Engaging spoof of Bond-type movies features Belmondo as hero, chasing double-crosser and thief in search for Brazilian treasure. Nice cinematography by Edmond Séchan complements fast-moving script. Enjoyed great international success and spawned many imitations. | tt0058203 | Jean-Paul Belmondo | French | Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| That Man George | 1966 | Jacques Deray | ★★ | 90 | Routine tale of robbery of armored van transporting bullion from gold mine. | tt0060514 | George Hamilton, Claudine Auger, Alberto De Mendoza, Daniel Ivernel | French-Spanish-Italian | Crime, Adventure | NULL | ||
| That Man in Istanbul | 1966 | Antonio Isasi | ★★½ | 117 | Fairly engaging spy romp featuring Koscina as FBI agent with Buchholz as playboy in search for missing scientist. | tt0059546 |
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Horst Buchholz, Sylva Koscina, Mario Adorf, Klaus Kinski | Adventure | NULL | ||
| That Midnight Kiss | 1949 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 96 | Flimsy musical romance between Lanza and Grayson salvaged by pleasant musical interludes and glossy production. | tt0041956 | Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, Jose Iturbi, Ethel Barrymore, Keenan Wynn, J. Carrol Naish, Jules Munshin | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| That Night | 1992 | Craig Bolotin | ★★ | 90 | Young suburban girl (Dushku) worships fiery teen Lewis, who embarks on an ill-fated romance with sensitive bad-boy Howell. Disappointing view of adolescent angst and a child's initial experience with grown-up emotions; about as subtle as a blaring boom-box. | tt0105572 | [PG-13] | Juliette Lewis, C. Thomas Howell, Eliza Dushku, Helen Shaver, J. Smith-Cameron, John Dossett | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| That Night With You | 1945 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 84 | OK vehicle for soprano Foster who connives her way to show biz break via producer Tone. | tt0038156 | Franchot Tone, Susanna Foster, David Bruce, Louise Allbritton, Jacqueline de Wit, Buster Keaton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Night in Rio | 1941 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 90 | Standard 20th Century-Fox musical of mistaken identities, uses Miranda to best advantage; Maria Montez has a tiny role. Filmed before as FOLIES BERGÈRE, and again as ON THE RIVIERA. | tt0034273 | Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Carmen Miranda, S. Z. Sakall, J. Carrol Naish, Curt Bois, Leonid Kinsky, Frank Puglia | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| That Night! | 1957 | John Newland | ★★½ | 88 | Straightforward account of writer suffering a heart attack, and the effect it has on his family. | tt0051070 | John Beal, Augusta Dabney, Malcolm Brodrick, Shepperd Strudwick, Rosemary Murphy | Drama | NULL | |||
| That Obscure Object of Desire | 1977 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★ | 103 | Buñuel's last film is as audacious as any of his classics; wealthy sadomasochist Rey falls hard for a young maid, and she's only too happy to make him 'suffer.' Buñuel's bizarrest stroke is having Bouquet and Molina alternate playing the girl! Shot in French, with Rey dubbed by Michel Piccoli. Based on a Pierre Louys novel; filmed several times, most notably as THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1935). | tt0075824 | [R] | Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet, Angela Molina, Julien Bertheau, Andre Weber | Spanish-French | Drama | NULL | |
| That Old Feeling | 1997 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 105 | Silly but likable comedy about long-feuding ex-spouses who meet after 12 years at their daughter's wedding— and to their own shock and amazement, start having an affair. This seems to have a ricochet effect on everyone around them, in French farce fashion. Not the most believable movie ever made, but it's fun; Midler and Farina make a great couple. | tt0120318 | [PG-13] | Bette Midler, Dennis Farina, Paula Marshall, Gail O'Grady, David Rasche, Jamie Denton, Danny Nucci | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| That Sinking Feeling | 1979 | Bill Forsyth | ★★★ | 92 | Forsyth's initial feature is a witty little comedy about a gang of bored teens unable to find work in dreary Glasgow. Their leader comes up with a scheme to boost their morale: pilfering sinks from a warehouse. Released in U.S. after the success of Forsyth's subsequent films (GREGORY'S GIRL, LOCAL HERO). | tt0080012 | [PG] | Robert Buchanan, John Hughes, Billy Greenlees, Gordon John Sinclair, Janette Rankin | Scottish | Comedy | NULL | |
| That Touch of Mink | 1962 | Delbert Mann | ★★½ | 99 | Attractive cast in silly piece of fluff with wealthy playboy Grant pursuing Day. Amusing at times, but wears thin; Astin is memorable as a creep with designs on poor Doris, and there's a clever sequence featuring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and umpire Art Passarella. | tt0056575 | Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, Audrey Meadows, John Astin, Dick Sargent | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| That Uncertain Feeling | 1941 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★ | 84 | Chic little Lubitsch comedy about married couple with problems, and their absurd pianist friend. Stolen hands down by Meredith as the musical malcontent. Filmed before (in 1925) by Lubitsch as KISS ME AGAIN. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034274 | Merle Oberon, Melvyn Douglas, Burgess Meredith, Alan Mowbray, Olive Blakeney, Harry Davenport, Sig Rumann, Eve Arden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That Was Rock | Born to Rock: The T.A.M.I. Show | 1984 | ★★★½ | 92 | The best rock and R&B numbers from THE T.A.M.I. SHOW (1964) and THE BIG T.N.T. SHOW (1966) with remixed soundtrack and new connecting footage (in color) of Chuck Berry. Of inestimable value as history, and not too shabby as entertainment, either, but who put Ray Charles directly after James Brown? | tt0248540 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| That Was Then, This Is Now | 1985 | Christopher Cain | ★★½ | 100 | Delinquent kid, alienated from society, clings to his relationship with adoptive brother— and freaks out when the older boy takes on a girlfriend, whom he sees as a threat. Estevez wrote the script, from S. E. Hinton's young-adult novel, but its intense emotions probably read better than they play out on screen. A variable film with some strong moments. | tt0090151 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Craig Sheffer, Kim Delaney, Barbara Babcock, Jill Schoelen, Frank Howard, Larry B. Scott, Ramon Sheen, Morgan Freeman | Drama | NULL | ||
| That Way With Women | 1947 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 84 | Tired reworking of George Arliss' THE MILLIONAIRE, with Greenstreet as wealthy man who plays Cupid for Clark and Vickers. | tt0039893 | Dane Clark, Martha Vickers, Sydney Greenstreet, Alan Hale/Sr., Craig Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| That Wonderful Urge | 1948 | Robert B. Sinclair | ★★½ | 82 | Fairly entertaining remake of LOVE IS NEWS about heiress getting back at nasty reporter. Power repeats his role from the 1937 film. | tt0040870 | Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Arleen Whelan, Reginald Gardiner, Lucile Watson, Gene Lockhart, Gertrude Michael, Porter Hall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| That'll Be the Day | 1974 | Claude Whatham | ★★★ | 90 | Compelling story traces British working-class youth (Essex) from adolescence to early adulthood in the 1950's, as his growing frustrations find their eventual outlet in rock music. First half of dynamic story, continued in STARDUST, where character's resemblance to John Lennon crystallizes. | tt0070788 | [PG] | David Essex, Ringo Starr, Rosemary Leach, James Booth, Billy Fury, Keith Moon | British | Drama | NULL | |
| That's Dancing! | 1985 | Jack Haley/Jr | ★★½ | 105 | Too many mediocre selections, flat introductions by five guest hosts . . . but there's still much to enjoy in this dance compilation, from Fred and Ginger's 'Pick Yourself Up' to WEST SIDE STORY. Added curio: a Bolger number cut from THE WIZARD OF OZ. 1980s selections that end the film seem lumbering and ludicrous compared to the marvels of movement that precede them. | tt0090152 | [G] | Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis/Jr., Mikhail Baryshnikov, Liza Minnelli, Ray Bolger | Documentary | NULL | ||
| That's Entertainment! | 1974 | Jack Haley/ Jr | ★★★★ | 132 | Stars host nostalgia bash with scenes from nearly 100 MGM musicals. There are many cherished moments with the above-named stars plus unexpectedly delightful numbers with Esther Williams, Clark Gable (singing and dancing!), Jimmy Durante, and Eleanor Powell, whose challenge dance with Astaire is unforgettable. Only complaint: why shorten the final AMERICAN IN PARIS ballet? Followed by two sequels. | tt0072272 | [G] | Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly, Peter Lawford, Liza Minnelli, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| That's Entertainment! III | 1994 | Bud Friedgen, Michael J. Sheridan | ★★★½ | 108 | Yet another collection of marvelous musical moments from the MGM library, spiked by some never-before-seen footage eliminated from the finished films, including a discarded Fred Astaire dance routine (shown in split-screen with its retake), Judy Garland singing Irving Berlin's 'Mr. Monotony,' Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford singing and dancing to the same prerecorded number, Lena Horne singing 'Ain't It the Truth' from CABIN IN THE SKY, and much, much more. Video release has expanded versions of some numbers cut for the theatrical print. | tt0111408 | [G] | June Allyson, Cyd Charisse, Lena Horne, Howard Keel, Gene Kelly, Ann Miller, Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams | Documentary, Musical, Family | NULL | ||
| That's Entertainment, Part 2 | 1976 | Gene Kelly | ★★★½ | 133 | Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly host this inevitable sequel and do some engaging song-and-dance work. Film hasn't cohesion or momentum of its predecessor, but the material is irresistible. This time, comedy and drama are included along with musical numbers— Tracy and Hepburn, Marx Brothers, etc. Most imaginative segment of all is wonderful title sequence by Saul Bass. Cut to 126m. after initial showings. | tt0075323 | [G] | Documentary, Family, Musical | NULL | |||
| That's Life! | 1986 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 102 | Deeply felt observation of an affluent family and its members' personal crises— including Lemmon's anxiety over turning 60 and his loving wife's fear that she may have cancer. Far from perfect, but mostly believable and quite moving. Filmed at Edwards' and wife Andrews' actual Malibu home, with most of their (and Lemmon's) real-life family on-screen . . . including at least one pet! | tt0092079 | [PG-13] | Jack Lemmon, Julie Andrews, Sally Kellerman, Robert Loggia, Jennifer Edwards, Rob Knepper, Matt Lattanzi, Chris Lemmon, Cynthia Sikes, Emma Walton, Felicia Farr | Drama | NULL | ||
| That's My Boy | 1951 | Hal Walker | ★★ | 98 | Ex-football star Mayehoff wants klutzy son Lewis to follow in his footsteps, induces Martin to coach him. Supposed comic idea is played straight, with very few laughs, maudlin situations . . . yet it was considered quite funny in 1951 when M&L were in their heyday. Later a TV series. | tt0044119 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Marion Marshall, Eddie Mayehoff, Ruth Hussey, Polly Bergen, John McIntire | Comedy | NULL | |||
| That's My Boy | 2012 | Sean Anders | ★★ | 116 | A middle school student and his teacher have an intimate relationship resulting in pregnancy, incarceration, and (years later) a unique father-son relationship. Formulaic Sandler vehicle is filled to the brim with sight gags, inside jokes, absurd, raunchy, and racist humor. This is either a guilty pleasure, if you find it funny, or a miserable experience otherwise. | tt1232200 | [R] | Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester, Vanilla Ice, Susan Sarandon, James Caan, Milo Ventimiglia, Blake Clark, Meagen Fay, Tony Orlando, Will Forte, Rachel Dratch, Nick Swardson, Peggy Stewart, Luenell, Ciara, Ana Gasteyer, Eva Amurri Martino, Todd Bridges, Colin Quinn, Alan Thicke, Ian Ziering, Abdoulaye N'Gom | Comedy | NULL | ||
| That's My Man | 1947 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 99 | Nice-guy accountant Ameche buys a race horse that becomes a champ, but he turns into a heel and neglects his family in the process. Minor love story is lighthearted and offbeat, then turns into a maudlin and clichéd triangle tale about a man, a woman, and a horse. | tt0039022 | Don Ameche, Catherine McLeod, Roscoe Karns, Joe Frisco, John Ridgely, Kitty Irish, Frankie Darro |
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NULL | |||
| That's Right- You're Wrong | 1939 | David Butler | ★★½ | 93 | Amiable film debut for popular radio band leader Kyser as he and his wacky crew are offered a Hollywood contract and get into all sorts of trouble in Tinseltown. Much of the humor (and music) is dated, but there's plenty to enjoy in the supporting cast, including gossip queens Sheilah Graham and Hedda Hopper as themselves. | tt0032015 | Kay Kyser, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Lucille Ball, Dennis O'Keefe, Edward Everett Horton, Roscoe Karns, Moroni Olsen | Music, Comedy | NULL | |||
| That's What I Am | 2011 | Mike Pavone | ★★½ | 101 | THE WONDER YEARS meets THE CHILDREN'S HOUR in this sincere coming-of-age tale set in a small California town in 1965. Wryly and knowingly narrated as an adult (by an uncredited Greg Kinnear), the story follows an 8th-grader (Ellison) who learns valuable lessons about bullying and tolerance after he is paired with the school's biggest geek (Walters) on a class project by his English teacher (Harris, in a very good, understated performance), who is dealing with vindictive rumors about his sexuality. Well-intentioned TV-style production is perfectly watchable but highly innocuous. Produced by World Wrestling Entertainment Studios! | tt1606180 | [PG] | Ed Harris, Chase Ellison, Molly Parker, Daniel Roebuck, Randy Orton, Daniel Yelsky, Alexander Walters, Mia Rose Frampton, Amy Madigan | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| That's the Spirit | 1945 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 93 | Whimsy is too studied in this syrupy fantasy of Oakie returning from heaven to make explanations to wife on Earth. Songs include 'How Come You Do Me Like You Do? | tt0038157 | Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, June Vincent, Gene Lockhart, Johnny Coy, Andy Devine, Arthur Treacher, Irene Ryan, Buster Keaton | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Theater of Blood | 1973 | Douglas Hickox | ★★★ | 104 | A one-joke film, albeit a great joke: hammy Shakespearean actor Price vows revenge on critics who've blasted him, murders them one by one by recreating famous death scenes from the plays. Somewhat spoiled by incredibly gory killings; great cast has fun with it, though. | tt0070791 | [R] | Vincent Price, Diana Rigg, Robert Morley, Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne, Robert Coote, Michael Hordern, Jack Hawkins, Diana Dors, Dennis Price, Milo O'Shea | British | Comedy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Theatre of Death | Blood Fiend | 1967 | Samuel Gallu | ★★½ | 90 | Vampire-like murders revolving around Paris' Grand Guignol stage sensation and its beautiful young starlet under sinister hypnotic trance. Solid, low-budget mystery-thriller benefits from believable performances. Aka BLOOD FIEND. | tt0062358 | Christopher Lee, Julian Glover, Lelia Goldoni, Jenny Till, Evelyn Laye, Ivor Dean | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Thelma & Louise | 1991 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 128 | Female friends leave responsibilities (as well as husband and boyfriend) behind to take a short trip, but an unexpected incident turns them into fugitives from the law. Dynamic star duo— and Callie Khouri's Oscar-winning feminist script— give this a lot of juice, though it still covers all-too-familiar road-movie territory. | tt0103074 | [R] | Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Pitt, Timothy Carhart, Lucinda Jenney | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser | 1988 | Charlotte Zwerin | ★★★ | 90 | Comprehensive documentary portrait of the legendary, innovative jazz pianist-composer, crammed with footage of Monk in performance. Much of the material was shot during the late 1960s by Christian Blackwood. Executive producer is Clint Eastwood; released the same year as the latter's Charlie Parker biography, BIRD. | tt0098465 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Them | 2005 | David Moreau, Xavier Palud | ★★½ | 76 | Clementine and Lucas, a schoolteacher and a writer, revel in their peaceful rural weekend far from Bucharest . . . until they're awakened by shadowy, mysterious home invaders way worse than giant ants. Simple, tense, terse two-character thriller has a cold, cold heart, and rates kudos for scant grue. But the disappointing Big Reveal is just a variation on the same-old same-old, brandishing a dull and rusty cutting edge. Written by the directors. | tt0465203 | [R] | Olivia Bonamy, Michael Cohen, Adriana Moca, Maria Roman, Camelia Maxim | French-Romanian | Thriller,Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Them! | 1954 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★½ | 94 | First-rate '50s sci-fi about giant ant mutations running wild in the Southwest. Intelligent script (by Ted Sherdeman, from George Worthing Yates' story) extremely well directed, with memorable climax in L.A. sewers. Fess Parker has small but memorable role. Look fast for Leonard Nimoy at a teletype machine. | tt0047573 | James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Then She Found Me | 2008 | Helen Hunt | ★★★ | 100 | Hunt’s adoptive mother dies and her feckless husband opts out of their marriage. At her most vulnerable, and desperate to have a baby, two new people enter her life: a garrulous TV talk show host who claims to be her birth mother (Midler, who’s perfect) and a wounded single father (Firth) who’s attracted to her. There’s nary a false move in this smart, funny, timely comedy-drama, a notable feature directorial debut for Hunt, who also helped to adapt Elinor Lipman’s novel. Hunt’s ob-gyn is played by author Salman Rushdie. | tt0455805 | [R] | Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Ben Shenkman, John Benjamin Hickey, Lynn Cohen | Romance, Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Then There Were Three | 1961 | Alex Nicol | ★★ | 82 | Routine WW2 actioner concerning Nazi officer going behind Allied lines to hunt down Italian partisans. | tt0055520 |
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Frank Latimore, Alex Nicol, Barry Cahill, Sid Clute | Italian | War, Drama | NULL | |
| Theodora Goes Wild | 1936 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★½ | 94 | Dunne's first starring comedy is a delightful story about small-town woman who writes scandalous best-seller and falls in love with sophisticated New Yorker who illustrated the book. Lots of funny twists in this engaging farce, scripted by Sidney Buchman from a Mary McCarthy story. | tt0028355 | Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell, Thurston Hall, Rosalind Keith, Spring Byington | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Theodora, Slave Empress | 1954 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★★ | 88 | Better-than-average production values are only asset in standard plot of hero thwarting plan of Roman generals to overthrow empress. | tt0047567 | Gianna Maria Canale, Georges Marchal, Renato Baldini, Henri Guisol, Irene Papas | Italian | Drama, Adventure, Romance | NULL | ||
| Theodore Rex | 1996 | Jonathan Betuel | ★½ | 91 | Set in the future, when DNA technology has led to the reanimation of dinosaurs, police officer Goldberg teams up with a talking Tyrannosaurus Rex to solve a murder. Cheesy production and low-key performances hinder this aimless tale. Children may like the cookie-loving dino. Plans for wide theatrical release were (understandably) scrubbed; it went to video instead. | tt0114658 | [PG] | Whoopi Goldberg, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Juliet Landau, Bud Cort, Stephen McHattie, Richard Roundtree, Jack Riley; voices of George Newbern, Carol Kane | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Theory of Flight | 1998 | Paul Greengrass | ★★ | 100 | A perpetual screwup who feels he has something to express but no clue how to do it is punished for his last stunt by having to perform community service. His assignment: to spend time with a brilliant but hostile young woman in a wheelchair suffering from motor neuron disease, whose one dream is to have sex. Frightfully contrived from the word go, this forced piece of whimsy never takes off, despite two gifted stars. | tt0120861 | [R] | Helena Bonham Carter, Kenneth Branagh, Gemma Jones, Holly Aird, Ray Stevenson | British | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| There Be Dragons | 2011 | Roland Joffé | ★★½ | 122 | Joffé returns to the historical style of THE MISSION in this challenging story of the conflict between two very different men during the Spanish Civil War. Contemporary journalist Scott travels to Spain to investigate the story behind a candidate for sainthood, only to find his now aging father harbors deep secrets about his own relationship to the man. Tale is told mostly in flashbacks as the complex connections unfold between Cox as a founder of the controversial Catholic sect Opus Dei and Bentley as the poor revolutionary who once attended the same seminary school. Convoluted, to be sure, but Joffé brings a passion to the material that makes it more compelling than it might be in other hands. | tt1316616 | [PG-13] | Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott, Rodrigo Santoro, Jordi Mollá, Derek Jacobi, Golshifteh Farahani, Geraldine Chaplin, Olga Kurylenko, Unax Ugalde, Ana Torrent, Charles Dance, Lily Cole | U.S.-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| There Goes My Baby | 1994 | Floyd Mutrux | ★★★ | 99 | It's 1965 and a group of high school seniors pause on the brink of Real Life. If it sounds a lot like AMERICAN GRAFFITI, you're right . . . but this film takes place in 1965, not 1962. In the interim, JFK has been assassinated, the Civil Rights movement is boiling, and Vietnam has become a divisive issue. Writer-director Mutrux effectively blends nostalgia and political awareness in this entertaining film. Made in 1990. | tt0108320 | [R] | Dermot Mulroney, Rick Schroder, Kelli Williams, Noah Wyle, Jill Schoelen, Kristin Minter, Lucy Deakins, Seymour Cassel, Paul Gleason, Andrew Robinson; narrated by Anne Archer | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| There Goes My Heart | 1938 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 84 | Typical '30s fluff about runaway heiress Bruce spotted by reporter March; good cast makes one forget trite storyline. | tt0030856 | Fredric March, Virginia Bruce, Patsy Kelly, Alan Mowbray, Nancy Carroll, Eugene Pallette, Claude Gillingwater, Harry Langdon, Arthur Lake | Comedy | NULL | |||
| There Goes the Bride | 1979 | Terence Marcel | 💣 | 88 | Addle-brained father-of-the-bride Smothers throws the wedding party into a tizzy when he has a fling with 1920's-flapper model, Twiggy, whom he has conjured up and only he can see. Unfunny slapstick that comes alive for about 45 seconds when Smothers and Twiggy do an on-target, extravagantly staged Astaire-Rogers routine. Based on Ray Cooney's and John Chapman's 1974 West End farce. | tt0080014 | [PG] | Tom Smothers, Twiggy, Martin Balsam, Sylvia Syms, Michael Witney, Hermione Baddeley, Broderick Crawford, Phil Silvers, Jim Backus | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| There Goes the Groom | 1937 | Joseph Santley | ★★ | 65 | Strained screwball comedy about newly rich Meredith suddenly courted by Sothern and her wacky family; a smile or two but little else. | tt0029655 | Burgess Meredith, Ann Sothern, Louise Henry, Mary Boland, Onslow Stevens, William Brisbane | Comedy | NULL | |||
| There Goes the Neighborhood | 1992 | Bill Phillips | ★½ | 88 | Feeble comedy in which various greedy characters attempt to dig up a fortune buried in the basement of a suburban house. Strong cast deserves better material than this. | tt0105573 | [PG-13] | Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, Hector Elizondo, Rhea Perlman, Judith Ivey, Harris Yulin, Jonathan Banks, Dabney Coleman, Chazz Palminteri, Mary Gross | Comedy | NULL | ||
| There Was a Crooked Man . . . | 1970 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | ★★★½ | 118 | Bawdy, entertaining Western-comedy-prison-film with Douglas as cocky inmate at territorial prison circa 1883 who matches wits with progressive warden Fonda towards one goal: escape. Powerhouse cast, handsome production. Written by David Newman and Robert Benton. | tt0066448 | [R] | Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith, John Randolph, Michael Blodgett, Arthur O'Connell, Martin Gabel, Alan Hale/Jr., Victor French, Barbara Rhoades, Lee Grant | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| There Will Be Blood | 2007 | Paul Thomas Anderson | ★★★½ | 158 | Day-Lewis dominates this riveting film as a turn-of-the-20th-century oilman who talks his way into a California community, determined to control its rich oil interests. At first we think he’s just a slickster, but as layer after layer of truth is revealed we see his utter amorality. He meets his match in a local preacher (Dano) who’s just as greedy and ambitious as he is. Fascinating piece, loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s book Oil!, captures the particulars of a time and place, but it’s Day-Lewis’ character (with a voice borrowed from John Huston) that stands out. Chilling score by Jonny Greenwood creates a feeling of dread right from the start. Written by the director. | tt0469494 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O’Connor, Ciarán Hinds, Dillon Freasier, Sydney McCallister, David Willis, David Warshofsky, Colton Woodward | Drama | NULL | ||
| There's Always Tomorrow | 1956 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 84 | MacMurray is in a rut, at work and at home, making him particularly susceptible to old-flame Stanwyck, who comes back into his life. Sudsy but well-acted soap opera, filmed before in 1934. | tt0049843 | Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, William Reynolds, Pat Crowley, Gigi Perreau, Jane Darwell | Drama | NULL | |||
| There's Always a Price Tag | 1957 | Denys de La Patelliere | ★★½ | 102 | Morgan is excellent in DOUBLE INDEMNITY-type plot about wife who conspires to murder her husband, but film drags and loses credibility after promising start. | tt0052130 | Michele Morgan, Daniel Gelin, Peter Van Eyck, Bernard Blier | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| There's Always a Woman | 1938 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 82 | Fine blend of mystery and comedy as D.A. Douglas and detective-wife Blondell try to solve same crime. | tt0030857 |
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Joan Blondell, Melvyn Douglas, Mary Astor, Frances Drake, Jerome Cowan, Robert Paige, Thurston Hall | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| There's Magic in Music | 1941 | Andrew L. Stone | ★★ | 79 | Adequate showcase for Foster, an ex-burlesque singer who becomes an opera diva at a summer music camp. | tt0034275 | Allan Jones, Susanna Foster, Diana Lynn, Margaret Lindsay, Lynne Overman, Grace Bradley | Musical | NULL | |||
| There's No Business Like Show Business | 1954 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 117 | Gaudy (and seemingly interminable) hokum about a show-biz family, built around catalog of Irving Berlin songs. Entertaining if not inspired, with several expensive numbers designed to fill the wide screen. Merman and Dailey are fine, Marilyn's at her sexiest, and O'Connor is in top form throughout. Then there's Johnnie Ray deciding to become a priest. . . . | tt0047574 | Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Johnnie Ray, Mitzi Gaynor, Hugh O'Brian, Frank McHugh | Musical | NULL | |||
| There's One Born Every Minute | 1942 | Harold Young | ★★ | 59 | Contrived comedy of nutty family whose erstwhile head (Herbert) runs a pudding company. Notable as screen debut of 10-year-old Liz as junior member of the clan. | tt0035427 | Hugh Herbert, Tom Brown, Peggy Moran, Guy Kibbee, Gus Schilling, Edgar Kennedy, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Elizabeth Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| There's Something About Mary | 1998 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★★ | 119 | Hugely popular comedy about a guy who's never stopped loving the girl he almost got to take to the high school prom— until a painful accident interfered. The ultimate in sophomoric comedy, reveling in politically incorrect gags, but it drags on for two hours. Only the very appealing Mary (Diaz) keeps it afloat. Extended version runs 130m. | tt0129387 | [R] | Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Lee Evans, Chris Elliott, Lin Shaye, Jeffrey Tambor, Markie Post, Keith David, Jonathan Richman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| There's a Girl in My Soup | 1970 | Roy Boulting | ★½ | 95 | Middle-aged Sellers groping for youth, woos kookie Hawn. Silly story, just a few real laughs. | tt0066449 | [R] | Peter Sellers, Goldie Hawn, Tony Britton, Nicky Henson, Diana Dors, Nicola Pagett, Christopher Cazenove | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey | 1993 | Steven M. Martin | ★★★ | 104 | A fascinating chronicle of the life and times of Leon Theremin, the Russian-born genius who invented the first electronic musical instrument (which was adopted by Hollywood for use in movie soundtracks during the 1940s and '50s). Music history meets political and pop-culture history in this endlessly surprising documentary, more interesting for the material it offers than for the brilliance of its presentation. Comic highlight: a passionate if incoherent interview with Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who used the theremin on his hit record 'Good Vibrations.' | tt0108323 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Therese | 1986 | Alain Cavalier | ★★★ | 91 | Stark, stylistically directed, fact-based story of a dreamy, intense 15-year-old girl (Mouchet) and her desire to become a Carmelite nun, to be wedded to Christ. Winner of six César Awards, including Best Picture. Remake of the 1938 film THERESE MARTIN. | tt0092090 | Catherine Mouchet, Aurore Prieto, Sylvie Habault, Ghislane Mona, Helene Alexandridis | French |
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NULL | ||
| Therese Desqueyroux | 1962 | Georges Franju | ★★½ | 107 | Bored Riva tries to poison rich husband Noiret; she's acquitted in court, but still does not escape punishment. Riva stands out in this otherwise gloomy drama adapted from a Francois Mauriac novel. | tt0056581 | Emmanuele Riva, Philippe Noiret, Edith Scob, Sami Frey | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| These Are the Damned | The Damned | 1962 | Joseph Losey | ★★½ | 96 | Odd film chronicling American Carey's confrontation with a Teddy Boy motorcycle gang in Weymouth— after which the scenario becomes a Twilight Zone- like sci-fi drama! Original British title: THE DAMNED. | tt0056576 | Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, James Villiers | British | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| These Glamour Girls | 1939 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 80 | Turner is effective as nonsocialite who turns the tables on sneering girls at swank college weekend; naive but polished gloss. | tt0032018 | Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Richard Carlson, Anita Louise, Marsha Hunt, Ann Rutherford, Mary Beth Hughes, Jane Bryan, Tom Brown | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| These Old Broads | 2001 | Matthew Diamond | Below Average TV Movie | 100 | Painfully unentertaining piffle of Hollywood vets (in exaggerated, over-the-top parodies of themselves) coming together for a TV variety special at the behest of MacLaine's son (Silverman). Taylor has just a few scenes as powerful talent agent brokering their deal. The inside jokes and pratfalls come off as sub-par Love Boat skits; a real shame. Cowritten by Reynolds' daughter, the usually reliable Carrie Fisher. | tt0207156 | Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins, Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, Jonathan Silverman, Pat Harrington, Peter Graves, Nestor Carbonell, Gene Barry, June Allyson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| These Thousand Hills | 1959 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 96 | Adult Western with Murray a rancher who learns to accept responsibility and maintain loyalty to dependent friends; sturdy cast. Based on a novel by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. | tt0053350 | Don Murray, Richard Egan, Lee Remick, Patricia Owens, Stuart Whitman, Albert Dekker, Harold J. Stone | Western | NULL | |||
| These Three | 1936 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 93 | Penetrating drama of two young women (Oberon, Hopkins) running school, ruined by lies of malicious student Granville; loosely based on Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour. Superb acting by all, with Granville chillingly impressive; scripted by the playwright. Remade in 1961 by same director as THE CHILDREN'S HOUR. | tt0028356 | Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, Catherine Doucet, Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Marcia Mae Jones, Margaret Hamilton, Walter Brennan | Drama | NULL | |||
| These Wilder Years | 1956 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 91 | Unusual to see Cagney in this kind of soap opera, about a man who wants to find his illegitimate son, and becomes involved with teenage unwed mother (Keim) through intervention of foundling home director Stanwyck. Look for young Michael Landon in pool room. | tt0049844 | James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Pidgeon, Betty Lou Keim, Don Dubbins, Edward Andrews, Dean Jones, Tom Laughlin | Drama | NULL | |||
| They | Wes Craven Presents: They | 2002 | Robert Harmon | ★★ | 89 | Bland, predictable horror entry in which psychology student Regan is terrorized by mysterious, spiderlike creatures that thrive in the dark. Uplifted a bit by its striking finale. 'Presented' by Wes Craven. | tt0283632 | [PG-13] | Laura Regan, Marc Blucas, Ethan Embry, Jon Abrahams, Dagmar Dominczyk, Jay Brazeau | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| They All Come Out | 1939 | Jacques Tourneur. | ★★ | 70 | Can a hardened gang of crooks be rehabilitated in prison? Expanded from an MGM Crime Does Not Pay short, this film is fine when concentrating on the gang's bank robbery and escape but sags when the story moves to prison and the tone becomes insufferably sanctimonious. | tt0032019 | Rita Johnson, Tom Neal, Bernard Nedell, Edward Gargan, John Gallaudet, Addison Richards, Frank M. Thomas, George Tobias, Charles Lane. | Drama | NULL | |||
| They All Kissed the Bride | 1942 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 85 | Good stars in fairly amusing film of man being arrested for kissing bride at wedding. | tt0035428 | Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Allen Jenkins | Comedy | NULL | |||
| They All Laughed | 1981 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★½ | 115 | Quirky romantic comedy, long on style, short on substance, follows the adventures and amours of four private detectives. Spotlights some sharp-looking ladies, makes excellent use of N.Y.C. locations, but personal taste will have to judge its degree of success. Ferrer is the son of Hepburn and Mel Ferrer. Stratten was killed prior to film's release. | tt0083189 | [PG] | Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Dorothy Stratten, Blaine Novak, Patti Hansen, George Morfogen, Sean Ferrer, Glenn Scarpelli, Elizabeth Pena | Comedy | NULL | ||
| They Call It Sin | 1932 | Thornton Freeland | ★★ | 75 | Restless small-town girl is wooed by visiting New Yorker, and follows him to the big city, where she discovers he's engaged to another woman. Interesting at first, then increasingly silly and predictable, but the stars certainly are attractive. Merkel is fun as Loretta's perky pal. | tt0023581 | Loretta Young, David Manners, George Brent, Louis Calhern, Una Merkel, Elizabeth Patterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| They Call Me Bruce? | A Fistful of Chopsticks | 1982 | Elliot Hong | ★½ | 88 | Unfunny, frequently obnoxious kung fu parody with Korean comedian Yune a doltish cook who is constantly mistaken for Bruce Lee. About two-thirds of the gags are based on TV commercials. Aka A FISTFUL OF CHOPSTICKS and followed by THEY STILL CALL ME BRUCE. | tt0084786 | [PG] | Johnny Yune, Ralph Mauro, Pam Huntington, Margaux Hemingway | Comedy | NULL | |
| They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! | 1970 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 108 | Weak follow-up to IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT finds black detective Virgil Tibbs (now married and living in San Francisco) investigating murder of girl, with priest-friend Landau implicated. Followed by THE ORGANIZATION. | tt0066450 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, Martin Landau, David Sheiner, Anthony Zerbe, Jeff Corey, Edward Asner | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| They Call Me Trinity | 1971 | E. B. Clucher (Enzo Barboni) | ★★½ | 109 | Wild spoof of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN made international superstars of Hill and Spencer; they play half-brothers who try to help Mormon settlement protect itself from the inevitable band of Mexican marauders. Virtually nonstop slapstick spiced with gentle ribbing of the spaghetti Western genre; good fun. Sequel: TRINITY IS STILL MY NAME. | tt0067355 | [G] | Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Farley Granger, Gisela Hahn, Stephen Zacharias, Dan Sturkie | Italian | Comedy, Western | NULL | |
| They Came From Beyond Space | 1967 | Freddie Francis. | 💣 | 85 | Hutton is free to combat spacemen be√ cause the silver plate he carries inside his skull makes him immune to their powers. Based on Joseph Millard's The Gods Hate Kansas. | tt0062360 | Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne, Zia Mohyeddin, Bernard Kay, Michael Gough. | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| They Came From Within | Shivers | 1975 | David Cronenberg | ★½ | 87 | Bizarre, sexually oriented parasites run rampant through dwellers in high-rise apartment building with plenty of gory violence quick to ensue. First 'major' film by cult favorite Cronenberg sets the disgusting pattern for most of his subsequent pictures. Originally titled SHIVERS, then THE PARASITE MURDERS. Cut to 77m. for TV. | tt0073705 | [R] | Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Allen Magicovsky, Barbara Steele, Susan Petrie | Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| They Came to Blow Up America | 1943 | Edward Ludwig | ★★ | 73 | Overzealous espionage yarn designed for WW2 audiences, dated now. Good cast is only virtue. | tt0036426 | George Sanders, Anna Sten, Ward Bond, Dennis Hoey, Sig Ruman, Ludwig Stossel, Robert Barrat | Drama | NULL | |||
| They Came to Cordura | 1959 | Robert Rossen | ★★½ | 123 | Soapy oater set in 1916 Mexico. Cooper is Army officer accused of cowardice, sent to find five men worthy of Medal of Honor. Hayworth is shady lady he meets on the way. | tt0053351 | Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, Dick York | Western, War | NULL | |||
| They Came to Rob Las Vegas | 1968 | Antonio Isasi. | ★★ | 128 | Big heist is small potatoes as armed robbers plot to intercept Vegas gambling money. | tt0063684 | [R] | Gary Lockwood, Elke Sommer, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Palance. | Spanish-French-Italian | Crime | NULL | |
| They Dare Not Love | 1941 | James Whale | ★½ | 76 | Good story idea submerged by silly script and Brent's miscasting as dashing Austrian prince, who tries to bargain with Gestapo officer Lukas on behalf of his country. Lloyd Bridges has small role as Nazi seaman. | tt0034276 | George Brent, Martha Scott, Paul Lukas, Egon Brecher, Roman Bohnen, Edgar Barrier | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| They Died With Their Boots On | 1941 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 138 | Sweeping Hollywood version of Little Bighorn battle, with Flynn flamboyant as Custer. Fine vignettes amidst episodic buildup to exciting Last Stand climax. This being Errol and Olivia's final film together lends poignance to their farewell scene. Superb score by Max Steiner. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034277 | Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin, Gene Lockhart, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Ridges, Sydney Greenstreet, Regis Toomey, Hattie McDaniel, Walter Hampden | Drama, Western, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| They Drive by Night | 1940 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 93 | Marvelous melodrama of truck-driving brothers, Bogie and Raft, battling the dangers of the open road as well as a murder frame-up by Lupino. Unforgettable dialogue by Jerry Wald and Richard Macaulay. Partial reworking of BORDERTOWN. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033149 | George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Alan Hale/Sr., Roscoe Karns | Drama | NULL | |||
| They Gave Him a Gun | 1937 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★½ | 94 | Gun-shy hayseed Tone, who was taught 'thou shalt not kill,' changes dramatically when he fights in WW1. Tracy is his devoted pal, who later tries to save him from a life of crime. Dramatically obvious, and falls apart with the entrance of nurse George; still, the opening montage is striking, and the war-related scenes exceptional. | tt0029656 | Spencer Tracy, Gladys George, Franchot Tone, Edgar Dearing, Charles Trowbridge, Cliff Edwards, Mary Lou Treen | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| They Got Me Covered | 1943 | David Butler | ★★ | 95 | Spy yarn (by Harry Kurnitz) set in Washington was topical at the time, awkward now; not up to Hope standards. | tt0036427 | Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lenore Aubert, Otto Preminger, Eduardo Ciannelli, Marion Martin, Donald MacBride, Walter Catlett, Donald Meek | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| They Knew What They Wanted | 1940 | Garson Kanin | ★★★ | 96 | Laughton and Lombard are excellent in this flawed adaptation by Robert Ardrey of Sidney Howard's play (filmed twice before). He's an Italian grape-grower in California who conducts correspondence with waitress and asks her to marry him. Fay is too sanctimonious for words as local priest. Watch for Karl Malden and Tom Ewell as rowdy guests at the pre-wedding party. | tt0033150 | Carole Lombard, Charles Laughton, William Gargan, Harry Carey, Frank Fay | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| They Learned About Women | 1930 | Jack Conway, Sam Wood | ★★★ | 81 | Enjoyable early-talkie musical is a precursor/variation of TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME. Real-life vaudeville stars Van and Schenck play a pair of baseball-playing vaudevillians; Schenck is set to marry nice-girl Love, but a vamp (Doran) gets in the way. | tt0021464 |
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Joseph T. Schenck, Gus Van, Bessie Love, Mary Doran, J. C. Nugent, Benny Rubin, Tom Dugan, Eddie Gribbon, Francis X. Bushman/Jr. | Musical, Drama | NULL | ||
| They Live | 1988 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 97 | Lonely drifter arrives in L.A., discovers that consumerist society is being dominated by aliens, whose human disguises and subliminal advertising messages are visible only through special glasses. Satiric sci-fi adventure begins well, degenerates into standard urban action piece, not helped by awful alien makeup. Screenwriter 'Frank Armitage' (working from a short story by Ray Faraday Nelson) is actually director Carpenter. | tt0096256 | [R] | Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower, Peter Jason, Raymond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III, Larry Franco | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| They Live by Night | 1949 | Nicholas Ray | ★★★½ | 95 | Director Ray's first film is sensitive, well-made story of young lovers who are fugitives from the law. Set in 1930s, it avoids clichés and builds considerable impact instead. Based on Edward Anderson's Thieves Like Us, remade in 1974 under that name. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040872 | Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, Howard da Silva, Jay C. Flippen, Helen Craig | Crime, Romance, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| They Made Me a Criminal | 1939 | Busby Berkeley | ★★½ | 92 | Garfield takes it on the lam when he thinks he's killed a reporter, stays out West with Robson and Dead End Kids. Enjoyable, with Rains miscast as a Dick Tracy type. Remake of THE LIFE OF JIMMY DOLAN. | tt0032022 | John Garfield, Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, May Robson, Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Barbara Pepper, Ward Bond, Ann Sheridan | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| They Made Me a Fugitive | I Became a Criminal | 1947 | Alberto Cavalcanti | ★★★ | 103 | Dilettante crook is double-crossed by his boss and seeks revenge while on the lam from police. Potent (yet little-known) British film noir packs a real punch, with no holds barred in terms of brutality (and refusal to provide a pat, happy ending). Strikingly photographed by Otto Heller. Look sharp and you'll spot young Peter Bull and Sebastian Cabot. Originally cut when released in U.S. as I BECAME A CRIMINAL; also trimmed for British reissue. Finally restored on video in 1999. | tt0039895 | Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Griffith Jones, Rene Ray, Mary Merrall, Charles Farrell | British | Crime | NULL | |
| They Meet Again | 1941 | Erle C. Kenton | ★½ | 67 | Boring entry in Hersholt's Dr. Christian series, with the good doctor attempting to prove the innocence of bank teller Yarborough, accused of pilfering $3,000. A real drag, except for little Leon Tyler's jive musical number during a birthday party, a real pip. | tt0034279 | Jean Hersholt, Dorothy Lovett, Robert Baldwin, Neil Hamilton, Maude Eburne, Anne Bennett, Barton Yarborough, Arthur Hoyt | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| They Met in Argentina | 1941 | Leslie Goodwins, Jack Hively | ★½ | 77 | Hollywood embraces Pan America in this dismal musical; oil company representative Ellison goes South of the Border, where he mixes business with beautiful O'Hara. | tt0034280 | Maureen O'Hara, James Ellison, Alberto Vila, Buddy Ebsen, Joseph Buloff | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| They Met in Bombay | 1941 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 93 | Two jewel thieves team up in ordinary romantic comedy-actioner, spiced by Lorre as money-hungry cargo-ship captain. Look for Alan Ladd in a small role. | tt0034281 | Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell, Peter Lorre, Jessie Ralph, Reginald Owen, Eduardo Ciannelli | Drama, Crime, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| They Might Be Giants | 1971 | Anthony Harvey | ★★★ | 98 | Fun yarn of slightly daffy gentleman (Scott) who believes he is Sherlock Holmes, and his psychiatrist tagalong (Woodward) whose real name is Dr. Watson. Expanded for TV; theatrical version ran only 88m. See also THE RETURN OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE. | tt0067848 | [G] | Joanne Woodward, George C. Scott, Jack Gilford, Lester Rawlins, Al Lewis, Rue McClanahan, Theresa Merritt, Eugene Roche, James Tolkan, Kitty Winn, Sudie Bond, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Benedict, M. Emmet Walsh | Mystery, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| They Only Kill Their Masters | 1972 | James Goldstone | ★★½ | 97 | Great cast in complicated modern-day whodunit set in coastal California town; tries for Dashiell Hammett feeling, doesn't quite make it. Policeman Garner tries to solve murder of pregnant woman, with formidable Doberman pinscher figuring prominently. Not bad, but a letdown. | tt0069371 | [PG] | James Garner, Katharine Ross, Hal Holbrook, Harry Guardino, June Allyson, Christopher Connelly, Tom Ewell, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell, Ann Rutherford | Mystery | NULL | ||
| They Ran for Their Lives | 1968 | Oliver Drake (John Payne) | ★★ | 92 | Fair drama featuring Payne as nobody coming to aid of young woman who's being pursued by thugs after classified documents which once belonged to her father. | tt0063685 | John Payne, Jim Davis, Luana Patten, John Carradine | Adventure, Crime | NULL | |||
| They Rode West | 1954 | Phil Karlson | ★★½ | 84 | Camp commander prevents Army surgeon from attempting to treat Indian epidemic. Good cast in better than average Western. | tt0047575 | Robert Francis, Donna Reed, May Wynn, Phil Carey, Onslow Stevens | Western | NULL | |||
| They Saved Hitler's Brain | 1963 | David Bradley | 💣 | 74 | Daughter of kidnapped scientist traces him to isle of Mandoras, where Nazis still flourish under the leadership of Hitler's still-living head. Unbelievably muddled plot results from intercutting 1950s studio potboiler, beautifully photographed by Stanley Cortez (MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS) with super-cheap 1960s footage involving completely different cast. Originally titled MADMEN OF MANDORAS. | tt0265870 | Walter Stocker, Audrey Caire, Carlos Rivas, John Holland, Dani Lynn, Marshall Reed, Nestor Paiva | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| They Shall Have Music | 1939 | Archie Mayo | ★★★ | 101 | Cornerstone of Samuel Goldwyn's efforts to bring classical music to the masses. Slum brat Reynolds' interest in the violin is sparked after hearing Heifetz in concert; the boy soon becomes a student at a settlement music school. Heifetz has five violin solos. | tt0032023 | Jascha Heifetz, Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, Walter Brennan, Gene Reynolds, Marjorie Main, Porter Hall, Diana Lynn, Terry Kilburn | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | 1969 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★½ | 120 | 1930s marathon dance becomes microcosm of life, with myriad of subplots, characters' lives intertwining. Fonda is self-destructive girl who attracts aimless Sarrazin with tragic results; Young won Oscar as oily promoter of grueling 'contest.' Fascinating. Based on Horace McCoy's novel; script by James Poe and Robert E. Thompson. | tt0065088 | [M] | Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern, Allyn Ann McLerie, Michael Conrad, Al Lewis, Severn Darden, Art Metrano, Paul Mantee | Drama | NULL | ||
| They Still Call Me Bruce | 1987 | Johnny Yune, James Orr | ★½ | 91 | In-name-only sequel to THEY CALL ME BRUCE has at least one thing in common with its predecessor: it's awful. This time Yune plays a Korean searching for the American GI who saved him years ago, winding up instead as a big-brother figure for orphan Mendenhall. | tt0094131 | [PG] | Johnny Yune, David Mendenhall, Pat Paulsen, Joey Travolta, Robert Guillaume, Bethany Wright, Carl Bensen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| They Went That-A-Way and That-A-Way | 1978 | Edward Montagne, Stuart E. McGowan | ★½ | 95 | Lame prison escape comedy (with script by Conway) puts Conway and McCann through lackluster routines as a road-company Laurel and Hardy. | tt0078384 | [PG] | Tim Conway, Chuck McCann, Richard Kiel, Dub Taylor, Reni Santoni | Comedy | NULL | ||
| They Were Expendable | 1945 | John Ford | ★★★★ | 135 | One of the finest (and most underrated) of all WW2 films, based on the true story of America's PT boat squadron in the Philippines during the early days of the war. Moving, exquisitely detailed production (photographed by Joseph August) under Ford's distinctive hand, with real-life Naval officer Montgomery a convincing lead. Screenplay by Frank 'Spig' Wead. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0038160 | Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, Donna Reed, Jack Holt, Ward Bond, Louis Jean Heydt, Marshall Thompson, Leon Ames, Cameron Mitchell, Russell Simpson, Jack Pennick, Robert Barrat, Tom Tyler | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| They Were Sisters | 1945 | Arthur Crabtree | ★★½ | 110 | Fresh approach to stock drama of trio of sisters with contrasting marriages and lives. | tt0038161 | Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Hugh Sinclair, Dulcie Gray, Pamela Kellino (Mason) | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| They Were So Young | 1954 | Kurt Neumann | ★★★ | 80 | Nicely produced, grim melodrama of girls sent to South America to be used by crooks. Even without 'names' in cast, film would be good. Aka VIOLATED and PARTY GIRLS FOR SALE. | tt0047213 | Scott Brady, Raymond Burr, Johanna Matz, Ingrid Stenn | German | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| They Who Dare | 1953 | Lewis Milestone | ★★½ | 101 | Effective WW2 actioner with good character delineation, tracing commando raid on German-controlled Aegean air fields. | tt0046421 | Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott, Akim Tamiroff, Eric Pohlmann, David Peel | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| They Won't Believe Me | 1947 | Irving Pichel | ★★★½ | 95 | Fine James Cain-type melodrama about a philanderer who gets involved with three women, leading to tragedy (and a terrific twist ending). Young excels in his unsympathetic role; Johnson does wonders with her scenes as his wife. | tt0039896 | Susan Hayward, Robert Young, Jane Greer, Rita Johnson, Tom Powers, Don Beddoe, Frank Ferguson | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| They Won't Forget | 1937 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★★ | 95 | Electrifying drama begins when pretty high school student is murdered in Southern town. A man is arrested, and a big-time Northern lawyer takes the case, but everyone seems more interested in exploiting personal interests than in seeing justice triumph. No punches are pulled in this still-powerful film. Lana Turner plays the unfortunate girl, in her first important role. Script by Robert Rossen and Aben Kandel, from the book Death in the Deep South by Ward Greene; based on notorious 1913 incident later dramatized for TV as THE MURDER OF MARY PHAGAN. | tt0029658 | Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Otto Kruger, Allyn Joslyn, Elisha Cook/Jr., Edward Norris | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| They're Playing With Fire | 1984 | Howard (Hikmet) Avedis | 💣 | 96 | What starts off as rehash of Brown's PRIVATE LESSONS quickly turns into sick, ugly slasher film. Danning (as a college English professor!) lures Brown into helping her with a let's-kill-Mom-and-make-off-with-my-inheritance plot— except that someone else is killing everybody in sight. Not even Danning's formidable nude scenes are reason enough to sit through this slop. | tt0088255 | [R] | Eric Brown, Sybil Danning, Andrew Prine, Paul Clemens, K. T. Stevens | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Thief | 1981 | Michael Mann | ★★★ | 122 | Arresting drama about a professional thief, inventively realized by writer-director Mann (in his feature debut). Caan is excellent as the man with one drive: survival. Stylishly photographed (by Donald Thorin) and scored (by Tangerine Dream). | tt0083190 | [R] | James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, James Belushi, Robert Prosky, Tom Signorelli, Dennis Farina, William L. Petersen | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Thief Who Came to Dinner | 1973 | Bud Yorkin | ★★ | 105 | Disappointing caper comedy (considering cast and director) about a computer expert who becomes a jewel thief in Houston's top social circles. Clayburgh (pre-stardom) has small but telling role as O'Neal's ex-wife; script by Walter Hill. | tt0070794 | [PG] | Ryan O'Neal, Jacqueline Bisset, Warren Oates, Jill Clayburgh, Charles Cioffi, Ned Beatty, Austin Pendleton, Gregory Sierra, Michael Murphy, John Hillerman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Thief of Bagdad | 1924 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 155 | Fairbanks is unusually balletic (and ingratiating as ever) in this elaborate Arabian Nights pantomime, designed to instill a true sense of wonder. Quite long, but never dull; one of the most imaginative of all silent films, with awesome sets by William Cameron Menzies. Remade three times (so far). | tt0015400 | Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Anna May Wong, Sojin, Snitz Edwards, Charles Belcher, Brandon Hurst | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Thief of Bagdad | 1940 | Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Michael Powell | ★★★★ | 106 | Remarkable fantasy of native boy Sabu outdoing evil magician Veidt in Arabian Nights fable with incredible Oscar-winning Technicolor photography by Georges Perinal and Osmond Borradaile, special effects, and art direction. Ingram gives splendid performance as a genie; vivid score by Miklos Rozsa. | tt0033152 | Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez, Conrad Veidt, Rex Ingram, Miles Malleson, Mary Morris | British | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thief of Baghdad | 1961 | Arthur Lubin | ★★ | 90 | Reeves searches for enchanted blue rose so he can marry Sultan's daughter. Nothing like Sabu version, but occasionally atmospheric. | tt0054013 | Steve Reeves, Giorgia Moll, Arturo Dominici, Edy Vessel | Italian | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Thief of Baghdad | 1978 | Clive Donner | Average TV Movie | 100 | More flying carpet and genie-in-the-magic-lamp fantasy in this fourth filming of the Arabian Nights adventure that's handsomeenough but nowhere near the definitive 1940 version. | tt0078385 | Roddy McDowall, Peter Ustinov, Kabir Bedi, Frank Finlay, Marina Vlady, Terrence Stamp, Pavla Ustinov, lan Holm | British-French | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thief of Damascus | 1952 | Will Jason | ★★ | 78 | Jumbled costume spectacle featuring Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba out to rescue princess; typical Sam Katzman quickie reuses footage from JOAN OF ARC. | tt0045229 | Paul Henreid, John Sutton, Jeff Donnell, Lon Chaney/Jr., Elena Verdugo | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Thief of Hearts | 1984 | Douglas Day Stewart | ★★ | 100 | While ransacking a house Bauer steals woman's diaries, reads them through, and then determines to woo her— using the 'secret' knowledge he's learned. Slick but curiously unappealing film written by first-time director Stewart. Reworked slightly for homevideo, with potentially X-rated shots added. | tt0088256 | [R] | Steven Bauer, Barbara Williams, John Getz, David Caruso, Christine Ebersole, George Wendt | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Thief of Paris | 1967 | Louis Malle | ★★★ | 119 | Solid comedy-drama with personal setbacks turning Belmondo to thievery for revenge on society; soon he finds that robbery has become his whole life. | tt0062457 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold, Marie Dubois, Françoise Fabian, Julien Guiomar | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Thief | 1952 | Russell Rouse | ★★½ | 85 | Spy yarn set in N.Y.C. with a difference: no dialogue. Gimmick grows wearisome, script is tame. | tt0045230 | Ray Milland, Rita Gam, Martin Gabel, Harry Bronson | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Thief | 1997 | Pavel Chukhrai | ★★★ | 94 | Intimate character study set in post WW2 Russia: an abandoned single mother and her adorable 6-year-old son fall for a swarthy military officer, not knowing he's really a petty thief. A powerful tragedy, simply and beautifully told, with superlative performances from its three leads, particularly Mashkov, who exudes the sexy malevolence of a young Robert Mitchum. | tt0124207 | [R] | Vladimir Mashkov, Ekaterina Rednikova, Misha Philipchuk | Russian | Drama | NULL | |
| Thieves | 1977 | John Berry | 💣 | 92 | Pretentious, boring adaptation of Herb Gardner's play about crazy couple trying to recapture their innocence in a corrupt N.Y.C. Corey (as Thomas' cabbie father) adds only life to so-called comedy. Bob Fosse has a brief role. | tt0076815 | [PG] | Marlo Thomas, Charles Grodin, Irwin Corey, Hector Elizondo, Mercedes McCambridge, John McMartin, Gary Merrill, Ann Wedgeworth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Thieves Fall Out | 1941 | Ray Enright | ★★ | 72 | Innocuous drama of rival mattress factory families and their problems. | tt0034282 |
|
Eddie Albert, Joan Leslie, Alan Hale/Sr., William T. Orr, John Litel, Anthony Quinn, Edward Brophy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Thieves Like Us | 1974 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 123 | Three misfits escape from prison camp in 1930s Midwest, go on a crime spree; the youngest (Carradine) falls in love with a simple, uneducated girl (Duvall). Despite familiar trappings, Altman digs deep into period atmosphere and strong characterizations; this film gets better every time you look at it. Remake of THEY LIVE BY NIGHT. Scripted by Calder Willingham, Joan Tewkesbury, and Altman. | tt0072274 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, John Schuck, Bert Remsen, Louise Fletcher, Ann Latham, Tom Skerritt | Crime | NULL | ||
| Thieves' Highway | 1949 | Jules Dassin | ★★★ | 94 | Tough postwar drama of a returning vet seeking to avenge his trucker/father's treatment at the hands of a crooked fruit dealer in San Francisco. Masterfully directed; script by A. I. Bezzerides, from his novel. Only the ending seems pat. | tt0041958 | Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie, Millard Mitchell, Joseph Pevney | Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Thin Air | The Body Stealers | 1969 | Gerry Levy | ★½ | 91 | Parachutists keep disappearing, due to unseen forces; routine sci-fi with little to recommend it. Original British title: THE BODY STEALERS (INVASION OF THE BODY STEALERS). | tt0065089 | [G] | George Sanders, Maurice Evans, Patrick Allen, Neil Connery, Hilary Dwyer, Robert Flemyng | British | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| The Thin Blue Line | 1988 | Errol Morris | ★★★★ | 96 | Remarkable, perhaps even landmark, documentary, as Morris sets out to prove that a convicted hitchhiker did not kill a Dallas policeman in 1976— and that the lowlife who fingered him (and who wound up on Death Row for a subsequent murder) did. Very subjective but totally convincing, so much so that the case was reopened after film's premiere, and the defendant was exonerated. Philip Glass' score adds to hypnotic effect. | tt0096257 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Thin Ice | 1937 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★½ | 78 | Satisfactory Henie vehicle, with sly, dashing prince Power romancing commoner Sonja. A highlight: Davis singing 'I'm Olga From the Volga.' | tt0029659 | Sonja Henie, Tyrone Power, Arthur Treacher, Joan Davis, Alan Hale/Sr., Raymond Walburn, Sig Rumann | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Thin Ice | The Convincer | 2012 | Jill Sprecher | ★★★ | 93 | Wickedly entertaining black comedy about a shady insurance salesman who gets in over his head and involved in a murder when he tries to obtain a valuable violin from an eccentric old man. As con-artist pictures go, this one has a lot to offer if you don't mind all the twists and turns the story takes. Deliciously acted by Kinnear, Crudup, Balaban, and especially Arkin; if not quite up to the level of FARGO, it's at least a lively imitation. Written by the director and her sister, Karen Sprecher. First shown at Sundance as THE CONVINCER. | tt1512240 | [R] | Greg Kinnear, Billy Crudup, Alan Arkin, David Harbour, Lea Thompson, Bob Balaban, Michelle Arthur, Michelle Hutchison, James Detmar | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | 1996 | Martin Lawrence | ★★ | 108 | There is a thin line between a movie and a vanity production as director/cowriter/executive producer/star/music supervisor Lawrence plays a young man seemingly irresistible to women. He boasts to a friend that he can bed a beautiful but hard-to-get woman they encounter, leading to a comedic FATAL ATTRACTION: she's harder to get rid of than she ever was to get! Lawrence's first foray behind the scenes is amusing only in spots. | tt0117891 | [R] | Martin Lawrence, Lynn Whitfield, Regina King, Bobby Brown, Della Reese, Malinda Williams, Daryl Mitchell, Roger E. Mosley, Faizon Love | Comedy, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Thin Man Goes Home | 1944 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 100 | Nick takes the family on a vacation to Sycamore Springs to visit his parents, but naturally winds up embroiled in a murder case. Leisurely entry, with even more comedy than usual. | tt0037365 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Gloria De Haven, Ann Revere, Helen Vinson, Harry Davenport, Leon Ames, Donald Meek, Edward Brophy | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Thin Man | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke | ★★★★ | 93 | Nick and Nora investigate the disappearance of an inventor in this classic blend of laughs and suspense which marked the first pairing of what was to become one of the movies' great romantic teams. Shot in just two weeks by director Woody 'One-Shot' Van Dyke and cinematographer James Wong Howe, this has gone on to become the sophisticated comedy-mystery par excellence, inspiring five sequels as well as countless imitations. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett adapted Dashiell Hammett's novel. | tt0025878 | William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, Minna Gombell, Cesar Romero, Natalie Moorhead, Edward Ellis, Porter Hall | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Thin Red Line | 1964 | Andrew Marton | ★★★ | 99 | Gritty adaptation of James Jones' novel about personal conflict during the bloody attack on Guadalcanal during WW2. Dullea is the sensitive, iconoclastic soldier and Warden is the brutal sergeant who won't leave him alone. Remade in 1998. | tt0058648 | Keir Dullea, Jack Warden, James Philbrook, Kieron Moore | War | NULL | |||
| The Thin Red Line | 1998 | Terrence Malick | ★★★ | 170 | Ethereal, moodily philosophical interpretation of James Jones' novel (previously filmed in 1964) about the taking of Guadalcanal during WW2, sparked by intense character studies: a pacifistic soldier (Caviezel), his antagonistic sergeant (Penn), a captain who refuses to sacrifice his men without cause (Koteas), a lieutenant colonel who only wants to see results (Nolte). These powerful portraits are the glue that holds the film together when it begins to wander. Those wanderings turned many viewers off, but the film's strengths outweigh its imperfections. Malick also scripted. | tt0120863 | [R] | Sean Penn, Adrien Brody, James Caviezel, Ben Chaplin, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Jared Leto, Dash Mihok, Tim Blake Nelson, John C. Reilly, John Savage, George Clooney, John Travolta, Nick Stahl, Shawn Hatosy. | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Thing About My Folks | 2005 | Raymond De Felitta | ★★½ | 97 | Confronted with the sudden news that his father intends to divorce his mother, after decades of marriage, Reiser takes his dad (Falk) on a road trip to take his mind off his troubles. Along the way, father and son bond for the first time, and the younger man learns a lot about what makes his old man tick. Labor-of-love project was written by Reiser with Falk in mind, and it shows: it's an irresistible performance in a somewhat predictable but likable comedy-drama. | tt0429177 | [PG-13] | Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Perkins, Mackenzie Connolly, Lydia Jordan, Ann Dowd, Claire Beckman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Thing Called Love | 1993 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★½ | 116 | Ordinary drama about country singer-songwriter Mathis, who yearns to make it in Nashville, and her experiences as she strives for success. At its best when depicting the friendship and rivalry among struggling artists. Of interest mostly as one of Phoenix's last films; he's good as a sulky but talented singer who covers up his emotions. | tt0108327 | [PG-13] | River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Sandra Bullock, K. T. Oslin, Anthony Clark, Trisha Yearwood | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Thing From Another World | 1951 | Christian Nyby | ★★★½ | 87 | Classic blend of science-fiction and horror, loosely based on John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Who Goes There? Scientists at lonely Arctic outpost dig up alien (Arness) from the permafrost and must fight for their lives when it's accidentally thawed. Tense direction (often credited to producer Howard Hawks), excellent performances, eerie score by Dimitri Tiomkin. Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Watch out for 81m. reissue prints. Remade in 1982. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044121 | Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, James Arness, Dewey Martin, William Self, George Fenneman | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Thing That Couldn't Die | 1958 | Will Cowan | ★★ | 69 | You never know what a dowsing rod will find. In this thriller, one finds the still living, decapitated head of a 15th-century devil worshipper who's looking for his body. Cheap, and looks it, but Hughes is good in title role. | tt0052289 | Andra Martin, William Reynolds, Robin Hughes, Carolyn Kearney, Jeffrey Stone | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Thing With Two Heads | 1972 | Lee Frost | ★★ | 93 | Fantastic tale of bigot who finds his head transplanted onto black man's body. Played partially for laughs, which helps a little. | tt0069372 | [PG] | Ray Milland, Rosey Grier, Don Marshall, Roger Perry, Chelsea Brown | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Thing | 1982 | John Carpenter | ★½ | 108 | Remake of 1951 film about Antarctic outpost terrorized by an alien organism. More faithful to the original story, but nonstop parade of slimy, repulsive special effects turns this into a freak show and drowns most of the suspense. | tt0084787 | [R] | Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, T.K. Carter, David Clennon | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Thing | 2011 | Matthijs van Heijningen /Jr. | ★★ | 103 | In 1982, a Norwegian Antarctic expedition deep in the permanent ice discovers a spaceship millions of years old. The frozen body of its pilot thaws out and immediately begins ingesting victims—then duplicating them, yielding as many new bodies as necessary. The dwindling scientific team struggles to overcome this otherworldly menace. Conceived as a prequel to the 1982 version, this isn't completely unsuccessful, but the plentiful CGI visual effects can't compare to the graphic horrors of the earlier movie. | tt0905372 | [R] | Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paul Braunstein | U.S.-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |
| Things Are Tough All Over | 1982 | Tom Avildsen | ★★ | 92 | Besides their standard characterizations, the boys play two Arab brothers whose paths cross C & C's as the latter drive a ritzy car to California, one that happens to have $5 million hidden inside. Superb makeup and mimicry give evidence to the team's genuine talent, but the laughs just aren't there most of the time. | tt0084788 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Thomas Chong, Shelby Fiddis, Rikki Marin, Evelyn Guerrero | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Things Change | 1988 | David Mamet | ★★½ | 100 | Simple Italian shoemaker (Ameche) agrees to take the rap for a Chicago mob murder for a fee, but the man assigned to baby-sit him for a weekend (Mantegna) decides to take the old man on a final fling before he goes to jail. Slight, sometimes flat comic fable by Mamet and Shel Silverstein is buoyed by some wonderful vignettes and endearing performances by the stars. Ameche is a joy to watch. | tt0096259 | [PG] | Don Ameche, Joe Mantegna, Robert Prosky, J. J. Johnson, Ricky Jay, Mike Nussbaum, Jack Wallace, Dan Conway, J. T. Walsh | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Things Happen at Night | 1947 | Francis Searle. | ★★½ | 79 | Insurance investigator Harker arrives at the estate of pompous Drayton and finds himself and everyone in the house the victims of a prankish poltergeist. Brisk, funny little comedy that introduced to movies the concept of poltergeists. Harker and Drayton are fun as contrasting very-British types. Based on Frank Harvey's play The Poltergeist. | tt0039897 | Gordon Harker, Alfred Drayton, Garry Marsh, Gwynneth Vaughan, Robertson Hare, Wylie Watson, Joan Young, Beatrice Campbell. | British | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead | 1995 | Gary Fleder | ★★ | 124 | Another entry in the post-Tarantino, faux-hip crime genre, with Garcia as a reformed crook who agrees to stage an assault to placate his evil, now-wheelchaired mentor Walken. Naturally the plans go horribly wrong. Stylized, violent, and absolutely empty, though Williams' psycho is his best part in years, and Buscemi's hit man has a great name: Mr. Shhh. | tt0114660 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Gabrielle Anwar, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Treat Williams, Bill Nunn, Steve Buscemi, Jack Warden, Fairuza Balk, Bill Cobbs, Marshall Bell, Glenn Plummer, Sarah Trigger, Jenny McCarthy, Don Cheadle | Crime, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Things We Lost in the Fire | 2007 | Susanne Bier | ★★★ | 119 | When her husband dies unexpectedly, Berry reaches out to his lifelong best friend—a druggie she never wanted anything to do with. He moves into her guest room, but when he begins to take her husband’s place in the eyes of her kids she feels great resentment toward him. Interesting adult drama about grief, forgiveness, and healing, if a bit tidy in its plotting. Especially good showcase for Del Toro, who’s never played such a warm, sympathetic character before. U.S. filmmaking debut for Danish director Bier. | tt0469623 | [R] | Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alison Lohman, John Carroll Lynch, Paula Newsome, Omar Benson Miller, Alexis Llewellyn, Micah Berry | Drama | NULL | ||
| Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her | 2001 | Rodrigo Garcia | ★★★ | 109 | Anthology of five intersecting stories about a diverse group of women and the physical and emotional toll everyday life takes on them. Introspective, absorbing and beautifully acted, this is a 'woman's picture' in the best sense. U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0210358 | [PG-13] | Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Valeria Golino, Holly Hunter, Matt Craven, Gregory Hines, Miguel Sandoval, Noah Fleiss, Danny Woodburn, Penelope Allen, Roma Maffia, Elpidia Carrillo | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Things to Come | 1936 | William Cameron Menzies | ★★★ | 92 | Stunning visualization of H. G. Wells' depiction of the future. Massey portrays leader of new world, Richardson despotic wartime ruler. Aloof but always interesting, enhanced by Menzies' sets. Vibrant music by Arthur Bliss; Wells himself wrote the screenplay. Originally released at 108m. 1979 movie THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, though taking the actual title of Wells' book, has nothing in common with this film. | tt0028358 | Raymond Massey, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Richardson, Maurice Braddell, Edward Chapman, Ann Todd | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Think Dirty | Every Home Should Have One | 1970 | Jim Clark | ★½ | 94 | Leering, obnoxious comedy-fantasy with adman Feldman having to use sex to promote a cereal on TV; meanwhile, his prudish wife is mounting a campaign to purify the airwaves. Original British title: EVERY HOME SHOULD HAVE ONE. | tt0065709 | Marty Feldman, Shelley Berman, Judy Cornwell, Julie Ege, Patrick Cargill, Jack Watson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Think Fast, Mr. Moto | 1937 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 66 | Lorre's first appearance as Moto, the wily Japanese detective, sends him from San Francisco to Shanghai on a worldwide chase after diamond smugglers. Swift, entertaining mystery with Lorre most amusing as the bespectacled master of disguise. | tt0029660 | Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Sig Rumann, Murray Kinnell, Lotus Long, J. Carrol Naish | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Think Like a Man | 2012 | Tim Story | ★★½ | 122 | Based on comedian Steve Harvey's best-selling self-help book for women (which is generously plugged here), screen version centers on four male friends who decide to get even when they discover their ladies have been reading the book and using it as a weapon in their relationships. Unlikely source material has been turned into a sporadically funny battle of the sexes, with choice roles for a talented ensemble. Picture is nearly stolen by fast-talking comic Hart. Harvey appears occasionally to offer advice straight to the camera. | tt1621045 | [PG-13] | Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence J, Jenifer Lewis, Romany Malco, Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Wendy Williams, Sherri Shepherd, Kelly Rowland, Steve Harvey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Thinner | Stephen King's Thinner | 1996 | Tom Holland | ★★ | 92 | Overweight Maine lawyer Burke accidentally kills an old gypsy woman, so her even older father (Constantine) puts a curse on him; he starts losing weight, and can't stop. Though well made, with good performances and astonishingly convincing makeup by Greg Cannom, the leading characters are unsympathetic and the situation unrelentingly grim. From the novel by Stephen King (writing as 'Richard Bachman'), who has his usual cameo. Aka STEPHEN KING'S THINNER (which he is). | tt0117894 | [R] | Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney, Joy Lenz, Michael Constantine, Sam Freed, Kari Wuhrer, John Horton, Daniel Von Bargen | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Thir13en Ghosts | 2001 | Steve Beck | ★½ | 91 | In-name-only remake of William Castle's gimmick thriller puts a widowed father, his two kids, and their housekeeper in a diabolically designed house that's one giant maze. What's more, it houses 12 troubled, violent spirits. Neither scary nor clever . . . a poor excuse for Halloween fodder. | tt0245674 | [R] | Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Alec Roberts, JR Bourne, Rah Digga, F. Murray Abraham | Comedy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Third Day | 1965 | Jack Smight | ★★½ | 119 | Capable cast helps standard amnesia tale about Peppard's inability to remember events that have caused him to be accused of murder. | tt0059795 | George Peppard, Elizabeth Ashley, Roddy McDowall, Arthur O'Connell, Mona Washbourne, Herbert Marshall, Robert Webber, Charles Drake, Sally Kellerman, Vincent Gardenia, Arte Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Third Finger, Left Hand | 1940 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 96 | Mediocre comedy with attractive stars. Loy dissuades romance by pretending to be married, so Douglas claims to be her husband. | tt0033153 | Myrna Loy, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Walburn, Lee Bowman, Bonita Granville | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Third Generation | 1979 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★½ | 111 | Pitch-black comedy about upper-middle-class German terrorists, their cops-and-robbers antics, and how they provide excuse for government oppression. Superb ensemble cast in one of Fassbinder's best films. | tt0079083 | Eddie Constantine, Hanna Schygulla, Volker Spengler, Margit Carstensen, Bulle Ogier, Udo Kier, Hark Bohm | German | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Third Key | 1956 | Charles Frend | ★★★ | 96 | Exciting story of Scotland Yard, as Inspector Hawkins and rookie sergeant (Stratton) diligently pursue safecracking incident to its surprising conclusion. Original British title: THE LONG ARM. | tt0049845 | Jack Hawkins, John Stratton, Dorothy Alison, Geoffrey Keen, Ursula Howells | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Third Man on the Mountain | 1959 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 105 | Fine Disney adventure about Swiss boy (MacArthur) determined to climb the Matterhorn (here called the Citadel) who learns more than just mountain-climbing in his dogged pursuit. Look quickly to spot MacArthur's mother, Helen Hayes, in a cameo as tourist. | tt0053352 | James MacArthur, Michael Rennie, Janet Munro, James Donald, Herbert Lom, Laurence Naismith | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Third Man | 1949 | Carol Reed | ★★★★ | 104 | Graham Greene's account of mysterious Harry Lime (Welles) in post-WW2 Vienna is a bona fide classic, with pulp-writer Cotten on a manhunt for Harry. Anton Karas' zither rendition of 'The Third Man Theme' adds just the right touch; cinematographer Robert Krasker won an Oscar. Note: there are two versions of this film. The British version features introductory narration by director Reed; the American print is narrated by Cotten, and runs 93m. Little of substance was actually cut, but the film was tightened somewhat by coproducer David O. Selznick. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0041959 | Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White. | British | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Third Miracle | 1999 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★ | 119 | A priest who's struggling with his faith is assigned to investigate a statue of the Virgin Mary that's weeping blood; it's a direct link to a beloved woman in a working-class community whom many believe is worthy of nomination for sainthood. Consistently involving and surprising, with fine performances. Based on a novel by Richard Vetere. | tt0174268 | [R] | Ed Harris, Anne Heche, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Michael Rispoli, Charles Haid, James Gallanders, Caterina Scorsone, Barbara Sukowa | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Third Secret | 1964 | Charles Crichton | ★★½ | 103 | Police rule that a celebrated psychoanalyst has committed suicide. His 14-year-old daughter (Franklin) thinks otherwise, and convinces news commentator Boyd (who also was one of the doctor’s patients) to investigate. Talky, episodic whodunit; Dench’s screen debut. | tt0058649 | Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Richard Attenborough, Diane Cilento, Pamela Franklin, Paul Rogers, Alan Webb | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Third Solution | Russicum | 1989 | Pasquale Squitieri | ★½ | 113 | Good cast is wasted in this overbaked spy melodrama, with American Williams uncovering a plot to foil the Pope's scheduled visit to the Soviet Union. Original title: RUSSICUM. | tt0098236 | F. Murray Abraham, Treat Williams, Danny Aiello, Rita Rusic, Robert Balchus, Rossano Brazzi, Nigel Court | Italian |
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| The Third Voice | 1960 | Hubert Cornfield | ★★★ | 79 | Neat suspense film involving murder, impersonation, and double-crossing. | tt0054380 | Edmond O'Brien, Laraine Day, Julie London, Ralph Brooks, Roque Ybarra, Henry Delgado | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Thirst | 1979 | Rod Hardy | ★★★ | 98 | Strange, stylish, chilling tale of secret society trying to brainwash Contouri and transform her into a baroness-vampire. Minimum of plot and characterization but maximum suspense in this well-directed shocker. | tt0080016 | [R] | Chantal Contouri, David Hemmings, Henry Silva, Max Phipps, Shirley Cameron | Australian | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Thirst | 2009 | Park Chan-wook | ★★ | 134 | Minister with a martyr complex survives a medical procedure that should have killed him—but he now harbors a dark secret. Elevated to sainthood status by the common folk, he faces a daily struggle between the forces of good and evil. Ick factor diminishes otherwise absorbing tale. | tt0762073 | [R] | Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-vin, Kim Hae-Sook, Shin Ha-Kyun | U.S.-Korean | Drama, Romance, Horror | NULL | |
| The Thirsty Dead | Blood Hunt | 1975 | Terry Becker | 💣 | 90 | Guide abducts actress and friends to jungle Shangri-La, where strange tribe drinks human blood to regain youth. Boring Philippine-made junk. Aka BLOOD HUNT. | tt0073801 | [PG] | John Considine, Jennifer Billingsley, Judith McConnell, Tani Guthrie | Action, Adventure, Horror | NULL | |
| Thirteen | 2003 | Catherine Hardwicke | ★★★½ | 95 | Searing look at life through the eyes of an impressionable teenage girl in L.A., as she's led in the wrong direction by a 'popular' classmate who all but overtakes her existence. Hunter is terrific as the girl's single mom who's simply struggling to keep her head above water. Troubling but incredibly potent, and all too believable. Written by first-time director Hardwicke (a noted production designer) and Reed, who plays the 'bad' girl. Hunter coexecutive produced. | tt0328538 | [R] | Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Jeremy Sisto, Brady Corbet, Deborah Kara Unger, Kip Pardue, Sarah Clarke, D.W. Moffett | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Thirteen Chairs | 12 + 1 | 1970 | Nicholas Gessner | ★★ | 95 | Slight comedy about a search for 13 antique chairs, inside one of which is hidden a fortune. Of interest mainly for its cast, including Tate, who was murdered shortly after this was completed in 1969. Mel Brooks' version of this same, oft-filmed story was called THE TWELVE CHAIRS. Original title: 12 + 1. | tt0065361 | Vittorio Gassman, Sharon Tate, Orson Welles, Vittorio De Sica, Terry-Thomas, Mylene Demongeot, Tim Brooke Taylor | French-Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Thirteen Conversations About One Thing | 2001 | Jill Sprecher | ★★½ | 103 | Intriguing, moody film weaves a handful of seemingly disconnected stories together, all involving people whose lives are unfulfilled: college professor Turturro, insurance man Arkin, attorney McConaughey, house cleaner DuVall. Intelligent and interesting, but not as profound as it seems to think it is. Written by the director and her sister Karen Sprecher. | tt0268690 | [R] | Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Alan Arkin, Clea DuVall, Amy Irving, Barbara Sukowa, David Connolly, Tia Texada, Frankie Faison, William Wise, Shawn Elliott | Drama | NULL | ||
| Thirteen Days | 2000 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 145 | Absorbing dramatization of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and how President John F. Kennedy dealt with the difficult decisions at hand, with hostile opposition from his military chiefs. Seen through the eyes of JFK's political advisor Kenny O'Donnell (Costner), who seems too good to be true. | tt0146309 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker, Michael Fairman, Henry Strozier, Frank Wood, Kevin Conway, Len Cariou, Christopher Lawford, Lucinda Jenney, James Karen, Ed Lauter | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Thirteen Hours by Air | 1936 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 80 | Dated but diverting tale of transcontinental flight, with romance, murder, and intrigue surrounding mysterious passengers. | tt0028359 | Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, ZaSu Pitts, John Howard, Bennie Bartlett, Grace Bradley, Alan Baxter, Ruth Donnelly, Dean Jagger | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Thirteen Women | 1932 | George Archainbaud | ★★ | 73 | Silly tripe with Loy as a half-caste with hypnotic powers who has sworn revenge on sorority sisters who rejected her years ago in school. | tt0023582 | Irene Dunne, Ricardo Cortez, Myrna Loy, Jill Esmond, Florence Eldridge, Kay Johnson | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Thirteenth Floor | 1999 | Josef Rusnak | ★★½ | 100 | Scientists create a virtual-reality 1937 L.A. so realistic that even the 'inhabitants' have their own minds, and don't realize they and everything around them exists only in a computer . . . then murder links the worlds of the created and the creators. Well-produced sci-fi in film noir style is interesting throughout, but too talky, and the basic idea is familiar. Based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye. Previously filmed for German TV by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | tt0139809 | [R] | Craig Bierko, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, Steven Schub | U.S.-German | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Thirteenth Guest | 1932 | Albert Ray | ★★½ | 69 | Guests are reassembled from dinner party that took place 13 years earlier— at which the host fell dead— in order to solve mystery of unnamed 13th guest to whom the deceased bequeathed his estate. Enjoyable antique chiller complete with hooded murderer. Remade as THE MYSTERY OF THE THIRTEENTH GUEST. | tt0023583 | Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, J. Farrell MacDonald, Paul Hurst, James C. Eagles | Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Thirteenth Hour | 1947 | William Clemens | ★★½ | 65 | A trucking company owner is suspected of murder when the cop he had a feud with turns up dead. Efficient entry in The Whistler series, and Dix's last movie. | tt0039127 | Richard Dix, Karen Morley, Mark Dennis, John Kellogg, Bernadene Hayes, Jim Bannon, Regis Toomey | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Thirty Day Princess | 1934 | Marion Gering | ★★½ | 75 | Lightly entertaining if formulaic fluff, with Sidney cast in two roles: a princess making a goodwill tour of the U.S. and an unemployed actress hired to impersonate her. Coscripted by Preston Sturges. | tt0025880 | Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, Vince Barnett, Lucien Littlefield | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | 1944 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 138 | Exciting WW2 actioner of first American attack on Japan with sturdy cast, guest appearance by Tracy as General Doolittle. Script by Dalton Trumbo. Oscar-winning special effects. | tt0037366 | Van Johnson, Robert Walker, Spencer Tracy, Phyllis Thaxter, Scott McKay, Robert Mitchum, Don DeFore, Stephen McNally, Louis Jean Heydt, Leon Ames, Paul Langton, Bill Williams | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould | 1993 | François Girard | ★★½ | 93 | As the title says . . . and the result is an occasionally illuminating but much too fragmented bio of the famed reclusive concert pianist. People who know Gould talk about him, key scenes from his life are enacted and his works are performed, but it doesn't quite add up, either as documentary or biography. Girard scripted, with Don McKellar. | tt0108328 | Colm Feore | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Thirty-Nine Steps | 1978 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 102 | Based more on John Buchan's book than Hitchcock adaptation, remake isn't bad but lacks panache; Powell plays innocent man pursued by villains who believe he's obtained details of their plot to hatch WW1. | tt0078389 | [PG] | Robert Powell, David Warner, Eric Porter, Karen Dotrice, John Mills, George Baker | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| This Above All | 1942 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 110 | Timely WW2 film shows its age, but is still good, with strong cast in Eric Knight tale of embittered soldier Power finding courage and love with patriotic Britisher Fontaine; adapted by R. C. Sherriff. | tt0035431 | Tyrone Power, Joan Fontaine, Thomas Mitchell, Nigel Bruce, Gladys Cooper, Sara Allgood, Phillip Merivale, Alexander Knox | War | NULL | |||
| This Angry Age | The Sea Wall | 1958 | René Clément | ★★ | 111 | Ludicrous mishmash set in IndoChina with Van Fleet a stereotyped, dominating mother who's convinced that her children (Perkins and Mangano) can make their rice fields a going proposition. Originally titled THE SEA WALL. | tt0051400 | Silvana Mangano, Anthony Perkins, Alida Valli, Richard Conte, Jo Van Fleet, Nehemiah Persoff | Italian-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| This Boy's Life | 1993 | Michael Caton-Jones | ★★★½ | 115 | Harrowing but utterly absorbing story, set in the 1950s, of a young boy and his footloose mother who wind up living in a remote part of Washington state with a lout who both browbeats the youngster and beats him physically. Searing character study is a showcase for masterful performances (including an eye-opener for young DiCaprio), but what ultimately makes it work is learning that the story is true. Screenplay by Robert Getchell, from Tobias Wolff's memoir. | tt0108330 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Blechman, Eliza Dushku, Chris Cooper, Carla Gugino, Zack Ansley, Tracey Ellis, Kathy Kinney, Gerrit Graham, Tobey Maguire | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Christmas | 2007 | Preston A. Whitmore II | ★★½ | 117 | Pleasant holiday-themed comedy-drama, with a fine ensemble breathing fresh life into generic clichés and stock characters. When members of an extended family gather for their first Christmas reunion in four years, secrets are revealed, grievances are aired, and, of course, crises are resolved. Aptly cast as a would-be singer, Brown (a real-life R&B artist) delivers a knockout rendition of “Try a Little Tenderness” in a key scene. Written by the director. | tt0937375 | [PG-13] | Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Keith Robinson, Mekhi Phifer, Regina King, Lupe Ontiveros | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| This Could Be the Night | 1957 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 103 | Forced, frantic comedy of prim teacher Simmons working as secretary to gangster Douglas, who runs a nightclub; Franciosa is the young associate who romances her. | tt0051074 | Jean Simmons, Paul Douglas, Anthony Franciosa, Joan Blondell, Neile Adams, ZaSu Pitts, J. Carrol Naish | Comedy | NULL | |||
| This Day and Age | 1933 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 85 | Fascinating story of high-schoolers taking law into their own hands to pin mobster Bickford for murder of tailor Green. Hardly subtle, yet powerfully effective. | tt0024656 | Charles Bickford, Judith Allen, Richard Cromwell, Harry Green, Eddie Nugent, Ben Alexander, Bradley Page | Crime | NULL | |||
| This Earth Is Mine | 1959 | Henry King | ★★½ | 125 | Disjointed soaper set in 1930s California vineyards about intertwining family romances, focusing on Hudson-Simmons love story. | tt0053355 | Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons, Dorothy McGuire, Claude Rains, Kent Smith, Anna Lee, Ken Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| This Film Is Not Yet Rated | 2006 | Kirby Dick | ★★★ | 97 | Smart, often hilarious documentary focusing on the Motion Picture Association of America's movie rating system. Intertwining interviews with former panelists, directors (including Kevin Smith, John Waters, and Atom Egoyan), and studio execs, director Dick explores the flaws in the system and accusations of censorship tactics imposed by the mysterious board. Also an engrossing detective story, as the filmmaker hires a couple of determined female private eyes who use methods Bogart would have loved in order to unmask the tight-lipped board members. Originally slapped with an NC-17, this feature was released unrated instead. | tt0493459 | Unrated | Documentary | NULL | |||
| This Gun for Hire | 1942 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 80 | Ladd came into his own as paid gunman seeking revenge on man who double-crossed him, with Lake as a fetching vis-à-vis. Script by W.R. Burnett and Albert Maltz, from Graham Greene's novel A Gun For Sale. Remade in 1957 (as SHORT CUT TO HELL) and for cable TV in 1991 (with Robert Wagner). | tt0035432 | Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Tully Marshall, Marc Lawrence, Pamela Blake | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| This Happy Breed | 1944 | David Lean | ★★★½ | 114 | Splendidly acted saga follows British family from 1919 to 1939 in this adaptation of Noel Coward play. Scripted by director Lean, cinematographer Ronald Neame, and coproducer Anthony Havelock-Allan. | tt0037367 | Robert Newton, Celia Johnson, John Mills, Kay Walsh, Stanley Holloway, Amy Veness, Alison Leggatt | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Happy Feeling | 1958 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 92 | Most engaging cast gives zip to simple yarn of Reynolds enthralled by actor Jurgens, but sparked by suitor Saxon; Winwood fine as eccentric housekeeper. | tt0052291 | Debbie Reynolds, Curt Jurgens, John Saxon, Alexis Smith, Estelle Winwood, Mary Astor, Troy Donahue, Joe Flynn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| This Is Elvis | 1981 | Malcolm Leo, Andrew Solt | ★★½ | 101 | Unusual examination of Elvis' life combines documentary footage with sequences of actors playing Presley at various stages of his life. The film is both fascinating and phony, an insightful portrayal of a tragic legend and yet another excuse to rake in profits by trading on his memory. Videocassette version runs 144m. | tt0083193 | [PG] | David Scott, Paul Boensh III, Johnny Harra, Lawrence Koller, Rhonda Lyn, Debbie Edge, Larry Raspberry, Furry Lewis | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Is It | Michael Jackson's This is it | 2009 | Kenny Ortega | ★★★ | 111 | Ortega, who was directing the show, compiled this feature from a number of sources, including home-video footage. Not only provides a view of what Jackson had in store for his fans but gives us a glimpse of his work ethic and how he dealt with his colleagues. A remake of THRILLER can't top the original music video, but other elaborate, high-tech production numbers are dazzling, and a new video segment in which Jackson interacts with Humphrey Bogart, Rita Hayworth, and other vintage stars is fun. Clouded, naturally, by the realization that this talented performer died shortly after all of this was filmed. Advertised as MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT. | tt1477715 | [PG] | Episodic but often fascinating look at rehearsals for a planned Michael Jackson concert tour | Documentary | NULL | |
| This Is My Affair | 1937 | William A. Seiter | ★★★ | 101 | Exciting film of undercover man Taylor joining gang of robbers on order from President McKinley; Stanwyck is saloon singer who loves Taylor (they married in real life two years later). | tt0029662 | Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Sidney Blackmer, John Carradine, Sig Ruman | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| This Is My Life | 1992 | Nora Ephron | ★★½ | 105 | Single mom with two daughters pursues her dream of becoming a standup comic and, virtually overnight, her career takes off— leaving her girls in second place. Kavner is perfect, the girls are adorable, and the story is certainly credible— but somehow the film doesn't quite deliver. Directing debut for writer Ephron (who penned this script with sister Delia), based on Meg Wolitzer's novel This Is Your Life. | tt0105577 | [PG-13] | Julie Kavner, Samantha Mathis, Gaby Hoffmann, Carrie Fisher, Dan Aykroyd, Bob Nelson, Caroline Aaron, Danny Zorn, Joy Behar, Kathy Najimy | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Is My Love | 1954 | Stuart Heisler | ★★ | 91 | Darnell and her sister Domergue (who's married to invalid Duryea) compete for affections of Jason in this murky soap-drama. | tt0047576 | Linda Darnell, Rick Jason, Dan Duryea, Faith Domergue, Hal Baylor, Jerry Mathers | Drama | NULL | |||
| This Is Not a Film | 2011 | Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb | ★★★ | 75 | Acclaimed Iranian director Panahi, banned by his country's government from writing or directing films for 20 years and sentenced to a 6-year prison term, was under house arrest when he secretly made this self-described "effort," which was later, incredibly, smuggled out via flash drive hidden in a cake. Shot within his Tehran apartment—partially on an iPhone and mostly on digital camcorder by his friend, documentary filmmaker Mirtahmasb—it begins as a day-in-the-life account of creative restlessness, then gradually takes on much wider implications. Whatever one calls this, it is a fascinating nexus between personal diary and political/social commentary, driven by the necessity of artistic expression. | tt1667905 | Iranian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| This Is Spinal Tap | Spinal Tap | 1984 | Rob Reiner | ★★★ | 82 | Admirably precise parody of a rock documentary, with Reiner as director Marty Di Bergi, who chronicles latest American tour of aging British rock group that's a working definition of the term 'loser.' Collaborative effort improvised by Reiner and his cast of colleagues; cunning satire through and through, though not always terribly funny. Our favorite bit: the amplifier that goes to '11.' Many familiar faces appear in cameos. P.S.: In the '90s the 'fictitious' group reunited for a series of concerts and a TV special. Laser and video re-release in 1995 features many new scenes. | tt0088258 | [R] | Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Tony Hendra, June Chadwick, R.J. Parnell, David Kaff, Fran Drescher | Comedy | NULL | |
| This Is the Army | 1943 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 121 | Ronald Reagan, Sgt. Joe Louis, Kate Smith, George Tobias, Alan Hale, Charles Butterworth, Dolores Costello, Una Merkel, Stanley Ridges, Rosemary DeCamp, Frances Langford, Irving Berlin, many others. Soldiers who staged Irving Berlin's WW1 musical Yip Yip Yaphank reunite to help mount similar WW2 effort; corny but enjoyable framework (with Warner Bros. cast) for filmed record of legendary 1940s show, a topical melange of songs and skits. P.S.: This is the film where George Murphy plays Ronald Reagan's father! | tt0036430 | George Murphy, Joan Leslie, Ronald Reagan, Sgt. Joe Louis, Kate Smith, George Tobias, Alan Hale/Sr., Charles Butterworth, Dolores Costello, Una Merkel, Stanley Ridges, Rosemary DeCamp, Frances Langford, Irving Berlin | Musical | NULL | |||
| This Is the Life | 1944 | Felix E. Feist | ★★ | 87 | Spunky cast of versatile performers with Foster torn between swank Knowles and performer O'Connor. Based on a play by Sinclair Lewis and Fay Wray. | tt0037368 | Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Susanna Foster, Patric Knowles | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| This Is the Night | 1932 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 78 | Enjoyable if somewhat strained romantic comedy in the Lubitsch mold, set in Paris and Venice, with Young hiring Damita to pose as his wife to help cover up his amorous pursuit of Todd. Grant has a wonderful entrance (as Todd's athletic husband) in his feature debut. | tt0023584 | Lily Damita, Charlie Ruggles, Roland Young, Thelma Todd, Cary Grant, Irving Bacon | Comedy | NULL | |||
| This Island Earth | 1955 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★★ | 86 | Suspenseful, intelligent science fiction about scientists lured to mysterious project, only to find they've been recruited— or more appropriately, shanghaied— by aliens to help them defend their invasion-torn planet. Thoughtful and exciting, with excellent visuals; based on Raymond F. Jones' novel. Film is spoofed in MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE. | tt0047577 | Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Faith Domergue, Russell Johnson, Lance Fuller, Douglas Spencer | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| This Land Is Mine | 1943 | Jean Renoir | ★★ | 103 | Meek French teacher Laughton, aroused by Nazi occupation, becomes hero. Patriotic wartime film is dated and disappointing today; written by Dudley Nichols. | tt0036431 | Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, George Sanders, Walter Slezak, Kent Smith, Una O'Connor, Philip Merivale, George Coulouris, Nancy Gates | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| This Love of Ours | 1945 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 90 | Sudsy soaper of Korvin leaving wife Oberon, meeting 12 years later, falling in love again. Rains steals show in supporting role. Remade in 1956 as NEVER SAY GOODBYE. | tt0038162 | Merle Oberon, Charles Korvin, Claude Rains, Carl Esmond, Sue England, Jess Barker, Harry Davenport, Ralph Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| This Man Is Mine | 1934 | John Cromwell | ★★ | 76 | Lightweight script does in this lesser Dunne vehicle, with Irene vying with Cummings for the love of Bellamy. | tt0025882 | Irene Dunne, Ralph Bellamy, Constance Cummings, Kay Johnson, Sidney Blackmer, Charles Starrett, Vivian Tobin | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| This Man Is News | 1938 | David MacDonald | ★★★ | 77 | Framed newspaperman goes after jewel thieves in this crisp, stylish little comedy-thriller. Sequel: THIS MAN IN PARIS. | tt0032025 | Barry K. Barnes, Valerie Hobson, Alastair Sim, John Warwick, Garry Marsh | British | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| This Man Must Die | 1970 | Claude Chabrol | ★★★½ | 115 | Outstanding film about man who sets out to find the person who killed his young son in hit-and-run accident and the complications which ensue. This may be the best of many fine Chabrol dramas; Yanne and Cellier are unforgettable, the photography beautiful. | tt0064861 | [PG] | Michel Duchaussoy, Jean Yanne, Caroline Cellier, Lorraine Rainer, Marc DiNapoli, Guy Marly | French | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| This Man's Navy | 1945 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 100 | Usual Beery service story nicely rehashed; Beery treats Drake as a son, gets vicarious pleasure out of his Navy career. | tt0038163 | Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, James Gleason, Jan Clayton, Selena Royle, Noah Beery/Sr., Steve Brodie | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| This Means War | 2012 | McG | ★★ | 97 | Two CIA operatives who are best buddies chance to meet the same woman, the same day, and go to war over her—without her knowledge—using their staffs and high-tech facilities to play one-upmanship. Far-fetched premise is sold by a likable cast, for a while, until it becomes too preposterous. For undemanding viewers in desperate search of a romantic comedy. And by the way, THE LADY VANISHES is not second-tier Hitchcock! | tt1596350 | [R] | Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger, Angela Bassett, Rosemary Harris, Chelsea Handler, Abigail Leigh Spencer, Warren Christie, Laura Vandervoort | Comedy, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| This Modern Age | 1931 | Nicholas Grinde | ★★ | 76 | Crawford falls for Hamilton, but his conservative parents don't take to the free-living lifestyle she and her expatriate mother (Frederick) espouse. Standard, predictable plot. | tt0022478 | Joan Crawford, Pauline Frederick, Neil Hamilton, Monroe Owsley, Hobart Bosworth, Emma Dunn | Drama | NULL | |||
| This Property Is Condemned | 1966 | Sydney Pollack | ★★ | 110 | Often absurd film version of Tennessee Williams' one-act play has doe-eyed Wood falling for Redford, the out-of-towner staying in her mama's boardinghouse. Except for James Wong Howe's photography, this is trash without the style that often makes trash enjoyable. Francis Ford Coppola was one of the screenwriters. | tt0061089 | Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Kate Reid, Mary Badham, Robert Blake, Alan Baxter, Dabney Coleman, Jon Provost | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| This Rebel Breed | Three Shades of Love | 1960 | Richard L. Bare | ★★½ | 90 | Above average drama about racial tensions in a multi-ethnic high school, with Moreno well cast as a Latina teen involved with an Anglo boy (which displeases her trouble-prone brother). Cannon is amusingly cast as a gang deb! Retitled THREE SHADES OF LOVE and THE BLACK REBELS, the latter with incongruous R-rated footage added. | tt0054381 | Rita Moreno, Mark Damon, Gerald Mohr, Jay Novello, Eugene Martin, Tom Gilson, Diane (Dyan) Cannon, Al Freeman/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Savage Land | 1968 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 98 | Widower and family sell Ohio spread, head West for new start, ride into town embroiled in vigilante dispute. Excellent performances (especially Scott) in surprisingly believable script. Comprised of episodes of The Road West TV series, but given theatrical release. | tt0065092 | [G] | Barry Sullivan, Glenn Corbett, Kathryn Hays, Andrew Prine, George C. Scott, John Drew Barrymore | Western | NULL | ||
| This Side of the Law | 1950 | Richard L. Bare | ★★ | 74 | Hokey script has Smith hired by crooked lawyer to impersonate missing wealthy man. | tt0043040 | Viveca Lindfors, Kent Smith, Janis Paige, Monte Blue | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| This Sporting Life | 1963 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★★½ | 129 | Yorkshire coal miner 'betters' himself by becoming professional rugby player. Powerful film (written by David Storey) about love, success, and disillusionment; also serves to illustrate what a grueling game rugby is. Film debut of Glenda Jackson. Originally 134m. | tt0057578 | Richard Harris, Rachel Roberts, Alan Badel, William Hartnell, Colin Blakely, Arthur Lowe | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| This Thing Called Love | 1941 | Alexander Hall | ★★★ | 98 | Adult comedy of newlyweds who set up three-month trial run for their marriage. Stars' expertise puts it over. | tt0033154 | Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas, Binnie Barnes, Allyn Joslyn, Gloria Dickson, Lee J. Cobb | Comedy | NULL | |||
| This Time for Keeps | 1947 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 105 | Slight MGM musical with Johnston falling for aquacade star Williams, neglecting to inform her that he's engaged. | tt0039898 | Esther Williams, Lauritz Melchior, Jimmy Durante, Johnnie Johnston, Xavier Cugat | Musical | NULL | |||
| This Way Please | 1937 | Robert Florey | ★★½ | 75 | Second-string musical about movie theater usherette with a crush on bandleader Rogers; amusing specialty material by Davis, engaging moments with radio's Fibber McGee and Molly (Jim and Marion Jordan). | tt0029663 | Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Betty Grable, Mary Livingstone, Ned Sparks, Jim Jordan, Marion Jordan, Porter Hall, Lee Bowman, Rufe Davis | Musical | NULL | |||
| This Woman Is Dangerous | 1952 | Felix E. Feist | ★★½ | 100 | In typical tough-girl role, Crawford finds true love after countless mishaps, including an eye operation. | tt0045232 | Joan Crawford, Dennis Morgan, David Brian, Richard Webb, Sherry Jackson | Drama | NULL | |||
| This Woman Is Mine | 1941 | Frank Lloyd | ★★ | 91 | Standard love triangle on merchant boat in northern waters plying the fur trade. | tt0034285 |
|
Franchot Tone, John Carroll, Walter Brennan, Carol Bruce, Nigel Bruce, Leo G. Carroll | Drama | NULL | ||
| This World, Then the Fireworks | 1997 | Michael Oblowitz | ★★ | 100 | Period noir drama set in the '50s about two devoted siblings, partners in cons and murder, who seemingly find a way out of their miserable lives when a repressed policewoman enters their world. Intriguing title, nice period recreation, good performances, but we've been down this road too many times before— in better movies. Zane also coexecutive-produced. | tt0117898 | [R] | Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Sheryl Lee, Rue McClanahan, Seymour Cassel, Will Patton, Richard Edson | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| This is England | 2007 | Shane Meadows | ★★★½ | 98 | It’s 1983 in Thatcher-era, bleak northern England. Fatherless schoolboy Shaun (Turgoose) is a hapless 12-year-old who unexpectedly falls in with the local skinhead gang. Writer-director Meadows (TWENTYFOURSEVEN) has created a canvas of disenfranchised, nihilistic young people that rings all too true in story, performance, and tone. Result is an example of a genre that the cinema has often excelled in: the loss of childhood innocence. | tt0480025 | Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Joseph Gilgun, Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure, Rosamund Hanson, Andrew Ellis, Perry Benson, George Newton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| This is my Father | 1999 | Paul Quinn | ★★ | 120 | Burned-out Chicago schoolteacher (Caan) travels to his ancestral home in Ireland, with his teenage nephew in tow, to unlock the mystery of his father's identity. Played both in present day and flashback, the film aims high but doesn't succeed, despite good performances and period flavor. A labor of love for first-time writer-director Quinn; brother Aidan stars, brother Declan photographed it, and sister Marian appears briefly. All three brothers executive-produced. | tt0120865 | [R] | Aidan Quinn, James Caan, Stephen Rea, John Cusack, Moya Farrelly, Jacob Tierney, Colm Meaney, Donal Donnelly, Brendan Gleeson | Canadian-Irish | Romance | NULL | |
| The Thomas Crown Affair | 1968 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 102 | Glittery production complements story of supercool millionaire McQueen who plots perfect bank robbery, as insurance investigator Dunaway coldly determines to nab the gentleman-thief. Perfect nonthink entertainment; use of multi-image screens (designed by Pablo Ferro) may suffer on TV. Oscar-winning song, 'The Windmills of Your Mind,' by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Remade in 1999. | tt0063688 | [R] | Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke, Jack Weston, Biff McGuire, Yaphet Kotto | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Thomas Crown Affair | 1999 | John McTiernan | ★★½ | 112 | A handsome, wealthy, jet-setting industrialist moonlights as an art thief, and delights in playing cat-and-mouse with a beautiful insurance investigator. A distant cousin to the 1968 version (despite the presence of Dunaway, as Brosnan's shrink), this is slick and entertaining, but everyone seems to be working a bit too hard to make it look effortless. Brosnan also produced. | tt0155267 | [R] | Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Denis Leary, Ben Gazzara, Frankie Faison, Fritz Weaver, Charles Keating, Mark Margolis, Faye Dunaway | Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad | 2000 | Britt Allcroft | ★½ | 86 | The world's most famous choo-choo makes a movie boo-boo: a dull, dippy screen spin-off for Thomas the Tank Engine, star of the children's TV show. A foolish-looking Baldwin inherits the conductor role originated by Ringo Starr in a story about a threatening (loco) motive named Diesel 10. Fonda is a dour grandpa. Grownups should pair this with EASY RIDER on a slow night. | tt0205461 | [G] | Alec Baldwin, Mara Wilson, Peter Fonda, Didi Conn, Michael E. Rodgers, Russell Means; voices of Eddie Glen, Colm Feore | U.S.-British | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Thomasine & Bushrod | 1974 | Gordon Parks/ Jr | ★★½ | 95 | OK mixture of black exploitation and Western action with comedy, as a black 'Bonnie and Clyde' team operate in 1911 Texas. Julien scripted and co-produced, along with the classy-looking McGee. Shot in New Mexico. | tt0072278 | [PG] | Max Julien, Vonetta McGee, George Murdock, Glynn Turman, Juanita Moore | Crime, Western | NULL | ||
| Thor | 2011 | Kenneth Branagh | ★★½ | 115 | Norse mythology by way of Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: mighty hammer-wielding Thor (Hemsworth) is banished from the kingdom of Asgard by his ailing father (Hopkins)—with a little help from a jealous brother (Hiddleston)—and sent to Earth. There he’s discovered by scientist Portman, who’s been investigating strange phenomena in the New Mexico night sky—and finds herself attracted to the otherworldly hunk. Heavy going in the artificial-looking Norse world, while the tone on Earth is one of cheeky comedy. This lighthearted material is novel and fun, but it undercuts the story’s deadly serious intentions. In short, a mixed bag. | tt0800369 | [PG-13] | Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Tadanobu Asano, Joshua Dallas, Adriana Barraza | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thoroughbreds Don't Cry | 1937 | Alfred E. Green | ★★½ | 80 | Fairly good racetrack story with jockey Rooney involved in crooked deals, young Garland adding some songs. Mickey and Judy's first film together. | tt0029664 | Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Ronald Sinclair, Sophie Tucker, C. Aubrey Smith, Frankie Darro, Henry Kolker, Helen Troy | Drama, Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Thoroughly Modern Millie | 1967 | George Roy Hill | ★★½ | 138 | Up to a point this Ross Hunter attempt to recapture some of Andrews' Boy Friend magic is successful, but after nearly two and a half hours, one begins to yawn. 1920s farce has a fatal case of the cutes. Elmer Bernstein's score won an Oscar. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0062362 | Julie Andrews, James Fox, Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Channing, Beatrice Lillie, John Gavin, Jack Soo, Pat Morita, Philip Ahn | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Those Calloways | 1965 | Norman Tokar | ★★★ | 131 | Long, episodic but rewarding Disney film about an eccentric New England man (Keith) and his family, focusing on his determined efforts to use nearby lake for bird sanctuary before it's bought up by business interests. Film debut of Linda Evans. Music score by Max Steiner. | tt0059796 | Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn, Linda Evans, Philip Abbott | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Those Daring Young Men in their Jaunty Jalopies | 1969 | Ken Annakin | ★★½ | 122 | Slapstick adventures of participants in 1,500-mile car race to Monte Carlo during the 1920s. Some funny scenes, but backfires a bit too often. Cut for U.S. release to 93m. Original British title: MONTE CARLO OR BUST. | tt0064688 | [G] | Tony Curtis, Susan Hampshire, Terry-Thomas, Eric Sykes, Gert Frobe, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jack Hawkins | British-Italian-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Those Endearing Young Charms | 1945 | Lewis Allen | ★★½ | 81 | Surprisingly effective wartime romance finds salesgirl Day being wooed by boyish nice guy Williams and becoming interested in smooth-talking heel Young. Nothing special, but nicely played and sparked by some amusing Jerome Chodorov dialogue. | tt0038164 | Robert Young, Laraine Day, Ann Harding, Bill Williams, Marc Cramer, Anne Jeffreys, Lawrence Tierney | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Those Fantastic Flying Fools | Blast-Off | 1967 | Don Sharp | ★★½ | 95 | Lightweight tale of Victorian England moon race, loosely adapted from Jules Verne story (previously filmed as FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON). Original title: BLAST-OFF. | tt0062363 | Burl Ives, Troy Donahue, Gert Frobe, Terry-Thomas, Hermione Gingold, Daliah Lavi, Lionel Jeffries | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Those Lips, Those Eyes | 1980 | Michael Pressman | ★★★ | 107 | Stagestruck adolescent learns about love the hard way while interning in Cleveland summer stock during the early '50s. Hulce is too nerdish in the key role, but Langella as down-on-his-luck actor, O'Connor as company's resident dish, are both quite good. A sleeper, written by David Shaber. | tt0081625 | [R] | Frank Langella, Glynnis O'Connor, Tom Hulce, Kevin McCarthy, Jerry Stiller, Herbert Berghof | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines | 1965 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 132 | Long but enjoyable film of great 1910 London-to-Paris airplane race involving international conflicts, cheating, and romance. Skelton has funny cameo in amusing prologue, tracing history of aviation. Clever title caricatures and designs by Ronald Searle. | tt0059797 | Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Alberto Sordi, Robert Morley, Gert Frobe, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Terry-Thomas, Irina Demick, Benny Hill, Flora Robson, Sam Wanamaker, Gordon Jackson, Millicent Martin, Red Skelton, Tony Hancock; narrated by James Robertson Justice | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Those Redheads From Seattle | 1953 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 90 | Modestly produced musical nonsense set in gold-rush era with Moorehead the mother of four girls who takes her brood to Alaska. | tt0046422 | Rhonda Fleming, Gene Barry, Agnes Moorehead, Teresa Brewer, Guy Mitchell | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Those Three French Girls | 1930 | Harry Beaumont. | ★★ | 73 | Britisher Denny hooks up with Yanks Edwards and Brophy in jail and embarks on a series of zany romantic escapades with those three sexy damsels of the title. Frivolous confection cowritten by P. G. Wodehouse, of some interest for song and dance interludes by Edwards, but mostly for pre-Code views of the young ladies revealing their frilly lingerie as often as possible. | tt0021470 | Fifi D'Orsay, Reginald Denny, Cliff Edwards, Yola d'Avril, Sandra Ravel, George Grossmith, Edward Brophy. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Those Were the Days | 1940 | Theodore Reed | ★★ | 76 | Light-hearted (and headed) comedy from George Fitch's Siwash stories, with Holden as a college hellraiser (circa 1904) who woos judge's daughter Granville to avoid a jail sentence. We give it a C-minus. Alan Ladd has a small role as a student. | tt0033155 | William Holden, Bonita Granville, Ezra Stone, Judith Barrett, Vaughan Glaser, Lucien Littlefield, Richard Denning | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Thou Shalt Not Kill | 1961 | Claude Autant-Lara | ★★½ | 129 | Too-often sterile narrative dealing with trial of French conscientious objector, with side-plot of German priest facing penalty for having killed Frenchman during WW2. Based on a true story, and quite controversial when released. | tt0055244 | Laurent Terzieff, Horst Frank, Suzanne Flon, Mica Orlovic | Italian-French-Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Thousand Acres | 1997 | Jocelyn Moorhouse | ★★ | 105 | When a stubborn, single-minded widowed father decides to relinquish ownership of his farm to his three daughters, a family is abruptly torn apart, and long-held secrets come out of the closet. The only thing missing from this melodrama is character motivation, which presumably did exist in Jane Smiley's Pulitzer prizewinning novel, a variation on King Lear. A hollow film notable only for the strong performances of the two leading women (whose companies jointly produced the film). | tt0120323 | [R] | Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jason Robards, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Colin Firth, Keith Carradine, Kevin Anderson, Pat Hingle, John Carroll Lynch, Michelle Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Thousand Clowns | 1965 | Fred Coe | ★★★½ | 118 | Faithful adaptation by Herb Gardner of his Broadway comedy about society dropout who's being pressured to drop in again for the sake of young nephew who lives with him. Perfectly cast, filmed in N.Y.C., with Balsam's Oscar-winning performance as Robards' brother. | tt0059798 | Jason Robards, Barbara Harris, Martin Balsam, Barry Gordon, Gene Saks, William Daniels | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Thousand Words | 2012 | Brian Robbins | ★★ | 91 | After pulling a fast one on a spiritual guru, a smooth-talking, super-slick book agent finds a Bodhi Tree in his backyard and discovers that with each word he says a leaf falls until they are all gone and he will die. Promising concept gives Murphy a chance to do a lot of shtick without mincing words, but gets tiresome real fast. A variation on the same kind of thing Jim Carrey did much better in LIAR LIAR, chalk this one up as just another miscue for the talented Murphy. Filmed in 2008. | tt0763831 | [PG-13] | Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, Allison Janney, Ruby Dee | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Thousand Years of Good Prayers | 2007 | Wayne Wang | ★★★ | 82 | Elderly Chinese man comes to visit his daughter in Spokane, Washington, but she regards his visit as something of a nuisance. While she is off at work, he strikes up a relationship with an Iranian woman he meets at the park; in spite of their language barrier, the two senior citizens are able to communicate with a candor that’s absent from his relationship with his daughter. Quiet but revealing film adapted by Yiyun Li from her short story. The two lead performers are perfect. | tt0838233 | Faye Yu, Henry O, Vida Ghahremani | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Thousand and One Nights | 1945 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 93 | Wilde is a genial, singing Aladdin in this slice of Technicolor escapism, with Silvers as his very contemporary sidekick. Keyes is fun as the impish genie who emerges from a magic lamp. Ingram (who played the genie in THE THIEF OF BAGDAD) has a throwaway role here as a giant. Look fast for Shelley Winters. | tt0038165 | Cornel Wilde, Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens, Dusty Anderson, Dennis Hoey, Rex Ingram | Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Thousand and One Nights | 1968 | Joe Lacy (Jose Maria Elorrieta). | ★★ | 86 | Tongue-in-cheek Arabian Nights fantasy with the familiar tapestry: a flying carpet, a handsome swordsman, a beautiful part-time genie, a sinister vizier. Not to be confused with the similarly titled Cornel Wilde movie of the '40s. | tt0062940 | Jeff Cooper, Raf Vallone, Luciana Paluzzi, Perla Christal, Reuben Rojo. | Spanish | Comedy, Action, Romance, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thousands Cheer | 1943 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 126 | Grayson lives with officer-father John Boles at army base, falls for hotheaded private Kelly and decides to prepare an all-star show for the soldiers. Dubious plot is an excuse for specialty acts by top MGM stars. | tt0036432 | Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Red Skelton, Eleanor Powell, Ann Sothern, Lucille Ball, Virginia O'Brien, Frank Morgan, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne | Musical | NULL | |||
| Thrashin' | 1986 | David Winters | ★★ | 90 | Skateboard-riding youth gangs are pitted against each other in this WEST SIDE STORY on wheels . . . minus the spirit and originality, not to mention music. | tt0092085 | [PG-13] | Josh Brolin, Robert Rusler, Pamela Gilday, Brooke McCarter, Brett Marx, Sherilyn Fenn | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Threads | 1984 | Mick Jackson | ★★★ | 110 | Britain's answer to THE DAY AFTER is a powerful, if a bit overlong, drama about effect of nuclear holocaust on working-class town of Sheffield, with the focus on a pair of families whose son and daughter are about to wed. Unrelentingly graphic and grim, sobering, and shattering— as it should be. Originally produced for British television. | tt0090163 | Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, Rita May, Nicholas Lane, Victoria O'Keefe | British | Documentary, Drama, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| The Threat | 1949 | Felix E. Feist | ★★★ | 65 | Thug McGraw escapes prison, kidnaps cop and D.A. who put him away, plus singer he suspects of having squealed. Fast, rugged little 'B' keeps action hopping until tough conclusion. | tt0041963 | Charles McGraw, Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey, Julie Bishop, Robert Shayne, Anthony Caruso | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Three | 3 | 2010 | Tom Tykwer | ★★½ | 119 | Solemn relationship drama for adults sees tension cracks develop between a couple after years of failed attempts to conceive. Medical issues and other stresses widen the fissures, and they seek solace outside their comfort zones after a charismatically cavalier third party—separately—enters their lives. Reflective look at the domino-like aftereffects of their alternative solutions is respectably handled, and steers clear of salaciousness, though the subject matter isn't for everyone and will likely offend more conventional folk. Written by the director. | tt1517177 | Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow, Winnie Böwe, Annedore Kleist, Alexander Hörbe, Jane Bertish, Patty Hannock | German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Three . . . Extremes | 2004 | Fruit Chan, Chan Wook-Park, Takashi Miike | ★★½ | 125 | Three horror stories by Asian directors. In 'Dumplings,' a wealthy TV star comes to an apartment in a bad part of Hong Kong to dine on very special dumplings. In 'Cut,' a Korean horror-movie director is taken captive in his home by a clever stranger bent on murderous revenge. 'Box' concerns a successful writer who has strange dreams of being buried in a box. First two segments are graphically gory; the third is elliptical and puzzling, but is also the best. All three stories are intelligent, intended for adults. Not for every taste, but the adventurous will find this worth checking out. The episodes were reordered for U.S. release. | tt0420251 | [R] | Miriam Yeung, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung, Byung-Hun Lee, Lim Won-Hee, Kang Hye-Jeong, Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe | Hong Kong-Korean-Japanese | Horror | NULL | |
| Three Ages | 1923 | Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline | ★★★ | 63 | Buster's comic observations on the pursuit of a mate in the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and modern times. Entertaining silent comedy, with Keaton making a memorable entrance atop a dinosaur. | tt0014538 | Buster Keaton, Margaret Leahy, Wallace Beery, Joe Roberts, Horace Morgan, Lillian Lawrence | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Amigos! | 1986 | John Landis | ★★ | 105 | Silent film Western heroes are summoned to Mexico for what they think will be a public appearance, find out they're really supposed to rid a village of its bandit chieftain. Smarmy one-joke comedy has its moments but not too many; buffs may be amused to note that villain Arau was one of the key bad guys in THE WILD BUNCH. Coscripter Randy Newman wrote the songs. | tt0092086 | [PG] | Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Patrice Martinez, Alfonso Arau, Tony Plana, Joe Mantegna, Jon Lovitz, Phil Hartman | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Three Bad Sisters | 1956 | Gilbert L. Kay | ★½ | 76 | Aimless account of title figures competing among themselves over their father's estate. | tt0049846 | Marla English, Kathleen Hughes, Sara Shane, John Bromfield, Jess Barker, Madge Kennedy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Bites of the Apple | 1967 | Alvin Ganzer | ★½ | 105 | Good scenery is only plus of flimsy comedy about McCallum's attempts to avoid heavy taxation of money he's won in a casino on the Riviera. | tt0062364 | David McCallum, Sylva Koscina, Tammy Grimes, Harvey Korman, Domenico Modugno, Aldo Fabrizi | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Blind Mice | 1938 | William A. Seiter | ★★½ | 75 | Familiar idea of three fortune-hunting girls going after well-heeled male prospects; slickly done. Remade, reworked many times. | tt0030864 | Loretta Young, Joel McCrea, David Niven, Stuart Erwin, Marjorie Weaver, Pauline Moore, Jane Darwell, Binnie Barnes | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Blondes in His Life | 1960 | Leon Chooluck. | ★★ | 81 | Occasionally tangy mystery with Mahoney a private eye determined to probe the death of his insurance investigator pal. | tt0181055 | Jock Mahoney, Greta Thyssen, Anthony Dexter, Jesse White, Valerie Porter. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Three Brave Men | 1957 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 88 | Navy clerk Borgnine is fired as a security risk because of alleged Communist leanings; lawyer Milland tries to get him reinstated. Adapted by Dunne from Pulitzer Prize-winning articles by Anthony Lewis, courtroom drama is interesting but unexceptional. | tt0051076 | Ray Milland, Frank Lovejoy, Ernest Borgnine, Nina Foch, Dean Jagger, Virginia Christine, Edward Andrews, Andrew Duggan, Joseph Wiseman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Brothers | 1980 | Francesco Rosi | ★★★ | 113 | Wise, touching, but slow-moving account of three very different brothers who return to the country village of their youth for their mother's funeral. The recollections of their elderly peasant father (Vanel) and scenes with his young granddaughter (Zoffoli) are particularly moving. Adapted from Platonov's The Third Son. | tt0083226 | [PG] | Philippe Noiret, Charles Vanel, Michele Placido, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Andrea Ferreol, Maddalena Crippa, Sara Tafuri, Marta Zoffoli | Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada | 2005 | Tommy Lee Jones | ★★★½ | 116 | When his Mexican comrade is shot and killed and the local cops don't care, Texas cowboy Jones makes good on a promise by taking the man's dead body home, dragging along his killer for good measure. Compelling modern-day Western parable about friendship, morality, reckoning, and forgiveness. Impressive work by Jones on both sides of the camera; this marks his theatrical feature directing debut. Written by Guillermo Arriaga. Jones' daughter Victoria appears as Leticia. | tt0419294 | [R] | Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio César Cedillo, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Leo, January Jones, Levon Helm | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Three Caballeros | 1945 | Norman Ferguson | ★★★ | 70 | Colorful Disney pastiche that followed 1940s Good Neighbor Policy by saluting Latin America, through the eyes of Donald Duck. Filled with infectious music (including 'Baia,' 'You Belong to My Heart'), eye-popping visuals, amusing cartoon sequences, and clever combinations of live-action and animation. Donald, Jose Carioca, and Panchito perform title song in a dazzling display of cartoon wizardry. | tt0038166 | Aurora Miranda, Carmen Molina, Dora Luz; voices of Sterling Holloway, Clarence Nash, Jose Oliveira, Joaquin Garay | Animation, Family | NULL | |||
| Three Came Home | 1950 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★½ | 106 | Stunning performances by Colbert and Hayakawa make this a must. British and American families living on Borneo during WW2 are sent to prison camps by Japanese, but cultured officer Hayakawa takes an interest in authoress Colbert. Producer Nunnally Johnson adapted Agnes Newton Keith's autobiographical book. | tt0043041 | Claudette Colbert, Patric Knowles, Florence Desmond, Sessue Hayakawa, Sylvia Andrew, Phyllis Morris | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Three Cases of Murder | 1955 | Wendy Toye, David Eady, George More O'Ferrall | ★★½ | 99 | Three offbeat murder stories; opener 'In the Picture' is genuinely eerie, closer 'Lord Mountdrago' (from Somerset Maugham story) has Welles in absorbing tale of a pompous British government official haunted by a rival. | tt0047579 | Alan Badel, Hugh Pryse, John Gregson, Elizabeth Sellars, Emrys Jones, Orson Welles, Maxwell Reed, Richard Wattis; introduced by Eammon Andrews | British | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Three Cheers for the Irish | 1940 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 100 | Mitchell is the whole show (and chews the scenery) as a stereotypically ornery N.Y.C. Irish beat cop who's forced into retirement. Daughter Lane falls for his replacement (Morgan), who— heaven help him— is a Scotsman. | tt0033157 | Thomas Mitchell, Dennis Morgan, Priscilla Lane, Alan Hale/Sr., Virginia Grey, Irene Hervey, Frank Jenks, William Lundigan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Coins in the Fountain | 1954 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 102 | Splashy romance yarn made ultra-pleasing by Rome locations. Three women make wishes for romance at Fountain of Trevi, spurring several amorous adventures. Won Oscars for Milton Krasner's photography and the Jule Styne-Sammy Cahn title tune (sung by Frank Sinatra). Remade by same director as THE PLEASURE SEEKERS; reworked for TV in 1990 as COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN. | tt0047580 | Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, Louis Jourdan, Maggie McNamara, Rossano Brazzi, Cathleen Nesbitt | Romance | NULL | |||
| Three Comrades | 1938 | Frank Borzage | ★★★½ | 98 | Beautifully poignant film of Erich Maria Remarque's tale of post-WW1 Germany, and three life-long friends who share a love for dying Sullavan. Excellent performances all around; coscripted by F. Scott Fitzgerald. | tt0030865 | Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone, Robert Young, Guy Kibbee, Lionel Atwill | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Daring Daughters | 1948 | Fred M. Wilcox | ★★½ | 115 | Woman magazine editor tells her daughters that she's remarrying. Despite predictable results, well-acted MGM comedy succeeds. | tt0040875 | Jeanette MacDonald, Jose Iturbi, Elinor Donahue, Ann B. Todd, Jane Powell, Edward Arnold, Harry Davenport | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Three Days of the Condor | 1975 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 117 | Redford, a reader for U.S. intelligence office, learns more than he should, and suddenly finds himself a hunted man. Dunaway is excellent as innocent woman who shelters him. Good suspense yarn. | tt0073802 | [R] | Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow, John Houseman, Carlin Glynn | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Three Desperate Men | 1951 | Sam Newfield. | ★½ | 71 | Flabby little oater about three brothers who become outlaws. | tt0044124 | Preston Foster, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Ross Latimer, William Haade, Monte Blue, Sid Melton. | Crime, Western | NULL | |||
| Three Faces West | 1940 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 79 | Offbeat WW2-era drama about Austrian refugees heading for Oregon under Wayne's sponsorship. Gurie is hardly typical leading lady for the Duke, but film's odd mix of frontier and Nazi elements makes it worth a look. | tt0033159 | John Wayne, Sigrid Gurie, Charles Coburn, Spencer Charters, Roland Varno, Russell Simpson | Drama, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Three Faces of Eve | 1957 | Nunnally Johnson | ★★★½ | 91 | Academy Award tour de force by Woodward as young woman with multiple personalities and three separate lives. Cobb is psychiatrist who tries to cure her. Johnson also produced and wrote the screenplay. | tt0051077 | Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb, Nancy Kulp, Vince Edwards. Narrated by Alistair Cooke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Fugitives | 1989 | Francis Veber | ★★½ | 93 | Bumbling bank robber— who's only pulling the heist to support his little daughter— takes a hostage with him, little dreaming that the guy is a notorious holdup man who's just finished a long stretch in prison. Fast-paced farce doesn't quite hang together, despite energetic performances; Veber's first American film is a remake of his own French comedy LES FUGITIFS. | tt0098471 | [PG-13] | Nick Nolte, Martin Short, Sarah Rowland Doroff, James Earl Jones, Alan Ruck, Kenneth McMillan, Bruce McGill | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Three Girls About Town | 1941 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 73 | Wacky but amusing comedy of three sisters encountering a corpse in N.Y.C. hotel and the frantic consequences. | tt0034286 | Joan Blondell, Binnie Barnes, Janet Blair, John Howard, Robert Benchley, Eric Blore, Hugh O'Connell, Una O'Connor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Godfathers | 1936 | Richard Boleslawski | ★★★ | 82 | Little-seen and underrated version of Peter B. Kyne's story (filmed twice before) about three bad guys who adopt a foundling in the desert. Beautifully shot and warmly acted. | tt0028367 | Chester Morris, Lewis Stone, Walter Brennan, Irene Hervey, Willard Robertson, Sidney Toler | Western | NULL | |||
| Three Guns for Texas | 1968 | David Lowell Rich, Paul Stanley, Earl Bellamy | ★★ | 99 | Boring exploits of three Texas Rangers, strung together from three episodes of Laredo TV series. Forgettable action, fair repartee between leads. This actually received theatrical release! | tt0063691 | [PG] | Neville Brand, Peter Brown, Martin Milner, William Smith, Philip Carey | Western | NULL | ||
| Three Guys Named Mike | 1951 | Charles Walters | ★★ | 90 | Enthusiastic (to the point of nausea) stewardess Wyman has her choice of the title trio of nice, handsome, eligible bachelors. Only in the movies. Scripted by Sidney Sheldon. | tt0044125 | Jane Wyman, Van Johnson, Barry Sullivan, Howard Keel, Phyllis Kirk, Jeff Donnell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Three Hearts for Julia | 1943 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 83 | Only debonair Douglas could seem right as husband romancing his wife (Sothern) who is divorcing him, but he can't support whole film. | tt0036433 | Ann Sothern, Melvyn Douglas, Lee Bowman, Richard Ainley, Felix Bressart, Marta Linden, Reginald Owen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Three Hours to Kill | 1954 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★★ | 77 | Andrews plays stagecoach driver unjustly accused of killing fiancée's brother; he returns to find real killer. Tight, well done. | tt0047581 | Dana Andrews, Donna Reed, Dianne Foster, Stephen Elliott, Richard Webb, Carolyn Jones, Whit Bissell | Western | NULL | |||
| Three Husbands | 1950 | Irving Reis | ★★½ | 78 | Pleasing comedy of three husbands trying to find out whether or not deceased playboy spent time with their wives. Undoubtedly inspired by the 1949 hit A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, and cowritten by Vera Caspary, who adapted the earlier film. | tt0043043 | Eve Arden, Ruth Warrick, Howard da Silva, Vanessa Brown, Shepperd Strudwick, Billie Burke, Emlyn Williams, Jane Darwell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Into Two Won't Go | 1969 | Peter Hall | ★★ | 93 | Marriage of Steiger and Bloom breaks up when he becomes infatuated with sexy hitchhiker Geeson. Originally an OK drama, but Universal shot extra footage and reedited original film to 100m. for television. | tt0065097 | [R] | Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Judy Geeson, Peggy Ashcroft, Paul Rogers | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Three Is a Family | 1944 | Edward Ludwig. | ★★½ | 81 | Above-par fluff of hectic homelife in apartment filled with family, friends, and new babies. | tt0037371 | Fay Bainter, Marjorie Reynolds, Charlie Ruggles, Helen Broderick, Arthur Lake, Hattie McDaniel, Jeff Donnell, Walter Catlett, Cheryl Walker. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Kings | 1999 | David O. Russell | ★★★ | 115 | At the end of the Persian Gulf War, four renegade U.S. soldiers try to pull off a heist of Kuwaiti gold, but find themselves getting involved with innocent civilians who are being targeted by Saddam Hussein— and being left to fend for themselves by a retreating United States military. A gritty, violent action film with a brain and a point of view. Scripted by the director. | tt0120188 | [R] | George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, *** Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, Mykelti Williamson, Cliff Curtis, Said Taghmaoui | Drama, War, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Three Little Girls in Blue | 1946 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★★ | 90 | Colorful tale of three sisters out to trap wealthy husbands; familiar plot with good tunes like 'You Make Me Feel So Young.' A remake of THREE BLIND MICE and MOON OVER MIAMI, set in turn of the century Atlantic City. Holm's film debut. | tt0039026 | June Haver, George Montgomery, Vivian Blaine, Celeste Holm, Vera-Ellen, Frank Latimore, Charles Smith | Musical | NULL | |||
| Three Little Words | 1950 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 102 | Standard MGM musical about famous songwriters Kalmar and Ruby and their climb to fame; bouncy cast, fine tunes, including 'Who's Sorry Now?,' 'Thinking of You,' title song. Debbie plays Helen Kane, but the real Helen dubbed 'I Wanna Be Loved by You.' | tt0043044 | Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Keenan Wynn, Gloria De Haven, Debbie Reynolds, Carleton Carpenter | Musical | NULL | |||
| Three Lives and Only One Death | 1996 | Raoul Ruiz | ★★★ | 123 | One of Mastroianni's last films casts him in a quartet of roles: a traveling salesman, an anthropology professor, a butler, and a wealthy industrialist. Clever, stimulating film is better seen than described, with plenty of surprises in store. Chiara Mastroianni (daughter of Marcello and Catherine Deneuve) and Poupaud play the young couple who inherit the mansion where Marcello works as a butler. | tt0117968 | Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Galiena, Marisa Paredes, Melvil Poupaud, Chiara Mastroianni, Arielle Dombasle, Feodor Atkine, Lou Castel | French-Portuguese | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Three Lives of Thomasina | 1964 | Don Chaffey | ★★★ | 97 | Charming Disney film made in England from Paul Gallico's story about a heartless veterinarian, his daughter's devotion to her pet cat, and a mystical young woman with life-giving 'powers.' A winner. | tt0057579 | Patrick McGoohan, Susan Hampshire, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, Vincent Winter, Denis Gilmore, Laurence Naismith, Finlay Currie | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Three Loves Has Nancy | 1938 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 69 | Silly screwball comedy with scatterbrained small-town Southerner Gaynor coming to N.Y.C. to search for her wayward fiancé, causing endless problems for writer Montgomery. | tt0030867 | Janet Gaynor, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Guy Kibbee, Claire Dodd, Reginald Owen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Men From Texas | 1940 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 75 | A favorite among Hopalong Cassidy fans, this marks the series debut of comedy star Clyde; he steals the show as California Jack Carlson, who joins the Bar 20 boys traveling west as Texas Rangers to resolve a squabble over land grants. Production polish, flying fists, gunplay, rousing Victor Young score, and beautiful scenery surround a solid story. Cowboy costume purists object to lighter-than-usual shirt worn by Boyd. | tt0033160 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Morris Ankrum, Morgan Wallace, Esther Estrella. | Western | NULL | |||
| Three Men and a Cradle | 1985 | Coline Serreau | ★★★ | 106 | Very entertaining comedy about three swinging bachelors who find themselves stuck with a baby, which one of them fathered. Compassionate and funny; a real charmer. A box-office sensation in France and winner of three César awards. Remade in U.S. as 3 MEN AND A BABY. | tt0090206 | [PG-13] | Roland Giraud, Michel Boujenah, Andre Dussolier, Philippine Leroy Beaulieu, Dominique Lavanat, Marthe Villalonga | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Three Men in White | 1944 | Willis Goldbeck | ★★ | 85 | MGM continued to spot its young starlets in this extension of the Dr. Kildare series, revolving around efforts (once again) to decide who should be Dr. Gillespie's assistant. | tt0037373 | Lionel Barrymore, Van Johnson, Marilyn Maxwell, Keye Luke, Ava Gardner, Alma Kruger, Rags Ragland, Nell Craig, Walter Kingsford | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Men in a Boat | 1956 | Ken Annakin | ★½ | 84 | Third filming of the Jerome K. Jerome book is a frantic, frequently annoying comedy about womanizer Harvey and bumbling pals Edwards and Tomlinson on a boat trip up the Thames. | tt0049847 | Laurence Harvey, Jimmy Edwards, David Tomlinson, Shirley Eaton, Jill Ireland, Martita Hunt, Adrienne Corri, Lisa Gastoni | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Three Men on a Horse | 1936 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 88 | First-rate comedy of timid McHugh who always picks winning race-horses; stagy but funny. Blondell's fun as Levene's Brooklynese girlfriend. Adapted from Broadway play by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm. | tt0028371 | Frank McHugh, Sam Levene, Joan Blondell, Teddy Hart, Guy Kibbee, Carol Hughes, Allen Jenkins, Edgar Kennedy, Eddie Anderson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Three Musketeers | 1921 | Fred Niblo | ★★★ | 118 | Robust period adventure with Fairbanks a hearty D'Artagnan, Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling hero who joins the King's Musketeers, becomes pals with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and battles evil in the court of Louis XIII. De Brulier almost steals the film as Cardinal Richelieu. Great fun! Followed by THE IRON MASK. | tt0012752 | Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De La Motte, Adolphe Menjou, Barbara La Marr, Leon Barry, George Siegmann, Eugene Pallette, Nigel de Brulier, Boyd Irwin, Mary MacLaren, Sidney Franklin, Charles Stevens | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Three Musketeers | 1935 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★ | 90 | Dullest version of Dumas story, with Abel miscast as D'Artagnan. | tt0027099 | Walter Abel, Paul Lukas, Ian Keith, Onslow Stevens, Ralph Forbes, Margot Grahame, Heather Angel | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Three Musketeers | 1939 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 73 | Spirited musical, generally faithful to Dumas story; Ameche flavorful as D'Artagnan, Barnes lovely as Lady DeWinter, Ritz Brothers funny substitutes for unsuspecting musketeers. | tt0032028 | Don Ameche, Ritz Brothers, Lionel Atwill, Binnie Barnes, Miles Mander, Gloria Stuart, Pauline Moore, John Carradine, Joseph Schildkraut | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Three Musketeers | 1948 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 125 | Oddball, lavish production of Dumas tale with Kelly as D'Artagnan. Occasional bright moments, but continual change of tone and Heflin's drowsy characterization as Athos bog down the action. Lana makes a stunning Lady DeWinter. | tt0040876 | Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Angela Lansbury, Robert Coote, Frank Morgan, Vincent Price, Keenan Wynn, Gig Young | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Three Musketeers | 1974 | Richard Lester | ★★★½ | 105 | Delightful tongue-in-cheek version of Dumas classic, mixing swashbuckling adventure and romance with broad slapstick. One of Raquel Welch's finest hours. Followed by THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, which was actually filmed simultaneously, and THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS (1989). | tt0072281 | [PG] | Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Three Musketeers | 1993 | Stephen Herek | ★★★ | 105 | Once again, D'Artagnan (O'Donnell) and the Three Musketeers (Sutherland, Sheen, and Platt) meet for the first time, and cross swords with the lackeys of scheming Cardinal Richelieu. Really just 'Young Swords,' but it's fast paced and entertaining; lots of action, handsome Austrian locations and attractive costumes. Curry's Richelieu is broad, anachronistic— and absolutely delightful, the highlight of the film. | tt0108333 | [PG] | Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry, Rebecca De Mornay, Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Wincott, Paul McGann, Julie Delpy, Hugh O'Conor | Action, Family, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Three Musketeers | 2011 | Paul W. S. Anderson | ★½ | 110 | The bones of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of male camaraderie and swashbuckling action are there but little else is recognizable in this updating that features CGI gimmickry, 3-D effects, and a noise level that should have been toned down at least a couple of decibels. With D'Artagnan (Lerman) and the boys swinging into action to foil a beautiful woman and her evil superior in their plans to seize France, this still has the ingredients of a great story, but with a charisma-challenged cast and ridiculously flashy direction, this adaptation is one of the all-time worst. | tt1509767 | [PG-13] | Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Jane Perry, Dexter Fletcher, Juno Temple, James Corden | U.S.-German-French-British | Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |
| Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt | 1964 | Tom Noonan | ★½ | 80 | Neurotic stripper Mamie and her two pals hire Noonan to act out their personalities for shrink Rodann, so they can receive psychoanalysis at a discount. Because of a couple of scenes in which Mamie plies her trade, this was considered to be quite risqué back in '64; today it's merely idiotic and would be hard-pressed to earn a PG-13 rating. Some stripper and nudie sequences in color although rest of film is b&w. Noonan also coproduced and coscripted. | tt0057808 | Mamie Van Doren, Tommy Noonan, Ziva Rodann, Paul Gilbert, John Cronin, Peter Howard, T. C. Jones, Alvy Moore, Marjorie Bennett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three O'Clock High | 1987 | Phil Joanou | ★½ | 101 | High school journalist is assigned to do a welcome-wagon profile on the new psycho in class, finds himself challenged by this behemoth to duke it out in the parking lot after school. Steven Spielberg protégé Joanou is to the camera what James Brown is to shoes, but it's a lot of energy expended over nothing. Siemaszko is underwhelming in the lead. | tt0094138 | [PG-13] | Casey Siemaszko, Anne Ryan, Richard Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor, Philip Baker Hall, John P. Ryan, Stacey Glick, Jonathan Wise | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Three Sailors and a Girl | 1953 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 95 | Bland musical of three gobs who invest ship's surplus funds in a musical show starring Powell. Based on George S. Kaufman's The Butter and Egg Man. | tt0046424 |
|
Jane Powell, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Sam Levene, Jack E. Leonard | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Three Seasons | 1999 | Tony Bui | ★★★ | 113 | Absorbing multi-character story about modern-day Saigon, where a poor boy struggles to survive on the streets, a bicycle-taxi driver falls in love with a prostitute, a young woman who harvests flowers tries to connect with her mysterious employer, and an American soldier (Keitel) returns to make amends for his past. In any other setting these stories might not have the resonance they do. Impressive debut for Vietnamese-American writer-director Bui. | tt0138874 | [PG-13] | Don Duong, Nguyen Ngoc Hiep, Tran Manh Cuong, Harvey Keitel, Zöe Bui, Nguyen Huu Duoc | Drama | NULL | ||
| Three Secrets | 1950 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 98 | Sturdy melodrama; three women wait anxiously for word of which one's child survived plane crash. Remade for TV in 1999. | tt0043045 | Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Ruth Roman, Frank Lovejoy, Leif Erickson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Sisters | 1970 | Laurence Olivier, John Sichel | ★★★★ | 165 | Brilliant rendering of Chekhov play about three daughters of deceased Russian colonel living in provinces, circa 1900. Olivier's vibrant production is definitive screen version of this classic. Released here in 1974 by American Film Theater. | tt0066454 | [PG] | Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Alan Bates, Jeanne Watts, Louise Purnell, Derek Jacobi | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Three Sisters | 1966 | Paul Bogart | ★★½ | 168 | Taped recreation of Actors Studio Broadway production of Chekhov's play about 19th-century Russia and relationships amidst a most unhappy family. | tt0061092 |
|
Kim Stanley, Geraldine Page, Shelley Winters, Kevin McCarthy, Sandy Dennis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Three Smart Girls | 1936 | Henry Koster | ★★★½ | 84 | Delightful musicomedy with Deanna's feature-film debut as matchmaking girl who brings parents back together. Songs: 'Someone to Care for Me,' 'My Heart Is Singing.' Sequel: THREE SMART GIRLS GROW UP. | tt0028373 | Deanna Durbin, Binnie Barnes, Alice Brady, Ray Milland, Barbara Read, Mischa Auer, Nan Grey, Charles Winninger | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Three Smart Girls Grow Up | 1939 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 90 | Little Deanna still matchmaking for sisters, warming up stern father, singing 'Because,' winning over everyone in sight. | tt0032030 | Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, Helen Parrish, Robert Cummings, William Lundigan | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Three Steps North | 1951 | W. Lee Wilder. | ★★ | 81 | Before being tossed into the brig for black-market activities, an American G.I. (Bridges) in WW2 Italy stashes away several million lira. After the war, he returns to recover the buried loot, becomes involved with an old flame, and gets embroiled in murder. Location filming helps this predictable mystery, with a solid performance by Bridges. | tt0043066 | Lloyd Bridges, Lea Padovani, Aldo Fabrizi, William C. Tubbs, Dino Galvani, Adriano Ambrogi, Gianni Rizzo. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze | 1963 | Norman Maurer | ★★½ | 94 | Even those who dislike the Stooges may enjoy this funny updating of Jules Verne's tale, replete with sight gags and world travel. | tt0057580 | The Three Stooges, Jay Sheffield, Joan Freeman, Walter Burke, Peter Forster | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Three Stooges Meet Hercules | 1962 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 89 | Time machine takes the Stooges back to era of Roman legions; they are trapped on galley ship, battle Cyclops, and wind up with chariot chase. Good slapstick for kids and fans. | tt0056579 | The Three Stooges, Vicki Trickett, Quinn Redeker, George N. Neise | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Three Stooges in Orbit | 1962 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 87 | Nutty scientist Sitka invents a tanklike contraption that flies and floats. The Stooges accidentally launch it and run headlong into a few Martian invaders, with usual slapstick results for younger audiences. | tt0056580 | The Three Stooges, Carol Christensen, Edson Stroll, Emil Sitka | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Three Stooges | 2012 | Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly | ★★½ | 92 | Moe, Larry, and Curly are abandoned at an orphanage; we meet them first as infants, then as kids (with their look and personalities fully formed), and finally as infantile adults who try to raise the money to save their longtime home, which is slated for demolition. The Farrellys' reincarnation of the Stooges is fitfully funny and faithful to their brand of slapstick nonsense, with amazing performances by its star trio... but can't completely override the problem of being a very good imitation, as opposed to the real thing. | tt0383010 | [PG] | Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Lynch, Sofia Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, Craig Bierko, Stephen Collins, Larry David, Kirby Heybourne, Kate Upton, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Three Strange Loves | Thirst | 1949 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 84 | Interesting early Bergman drama which foreshadows much of his future work. This one explores the dynamics of a three-cornered love relationship, from a distinctly female perspective, and examines the possibility of two women having the same personality. Bergman can be seen on camera as a train passenger. Aka THIRST. | tt0041998 | Eva Henning, Birger Malmsten, Birgit Tengroth, Mimi Nelson, Hasse Ekman | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Three Strangers | 1946 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★½ | 92 | Greenstreet and Lorre team up with Fitzgerald as partners holding winning sweepstakes ticket under unusual circumstances. Bizarre John Huston-Howard Koch script makes fascinating viewing. | tt0039029 | Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, Robert Shayne, Marjorie Riordan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three Stripes in the Sun | 1955 | Richard Murphy | ★★½ | 93 | Good film of Japan-hating American soldier Ray, who softens when he becomes involved with Japanese orphans and romances a pretty translator (Kimura). This based-on-fact account effectively mirrors postwar U.S.-Japanese relations. Murphy also scripted. | tt0049257 | Aldo Ray, Phil Carey, Dick York, Chuck Connors, Mitsuko Kimura | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Three Texas Steers | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★½ | 57 | Mesquite County's Three Mesquiteers rescue Landis when crooks sabotage her impoverished circus to force sale of the ranch she inherited to double-dealing business manager Graves. Played for laughs; fast, lively, with several twists, but still a bit disappointing in view of the top cast. Corrigan doubles as the circus gorilla! | tt0032032 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Carole Landis, Ralph Graves, Billy Curtis, Roscoe Ates, Dave Sharpe. | Western | NULL | |||
| Three Times | 2005 | Hou Hsiao-Hsien | ★★★ | 135 | The universality and timelessness of love and communication is explored via three separate stories set in 1966, 1911, and 2005, and featuring the same male and female leads (playing different characters). Although the last part is its weakest, this languid and lyrical film, which is shot in varying styles reflecting each of its time periods, is an accomplished and moving mood piece. | tt0459666 | Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Mei Fang, Liao Su-jen, Di Mei, Chen Shih-shan, Lee Pei-hsuan. | Taiwanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Three Tough Guys | 1974 | Duccio Tessari | ★★½ | 92 | Oddball but fast-moving actioner, with tough priest Ventura and ex-cop Hayes solving million-dollar bank robbery. Hayes, who also did the music, is nicely subdued as an actor. | tt0072348 | [PG] | Lino Ventura, Fred Williamson, Isaac Hayes, Paula Kelly | Italian-U.S. | Action | NULL | |
| Three Violent People | 1956 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 100 | Adequately paced Western set in post-Civil War Texas; Heston, returning home with bride Baxter, is forced to fight carpetbaggers and deal with wife's shady past. | tt0049849 | Charlton Heston, Anne Baxter, Gilbert Roland, Tom Tryon, Forrest Tucker, Elaine Stritch, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane | Western | NULL | |||
| Three Wise Fools | 1946 | Edward Buzzell | ★★ | 90 | Intended as fanciful, this turns out mawkish with adorable O'Brien winning over three crusty old men. | tt0039031 | Margaret O'Brien, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Edward Arnold, Thomas Mitchell, Jane Darwell, Cyd Charisse | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three Wise Girls | 1931 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 66 | Harlow plays a small-town girl who moves to N.Y.C. and quickly learns that all men are after just one thing. Strictly so-so, but interesting as Harlow's first starring vehicle, with Clarke giving a typically natural and believable performance as her big city mentor. | tt0023589 | Jean Harlow, Mae Clarke, Walter Byron, Jameson Thomas, Marie Prevost, Andy Devine, Lucy Beaumont | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Three Wishes | 1995 | Martha Coolidge | ★★ | 107 | A mysterious man and his dog enter the life of a Korean War widow who's doing her best to raise two sons on her own. Is there more to this stranger than meets the eye? Flashback-framed '50s tale hints at fantasy but doesn't let it flow until the end— by which time it seems like an afterthought. Another purported family film that moves like molasses and dwells on the melancholy. D. B. Sweeney appears unbilled. | tt0114663 | [PG] | Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazzello, Seth Mumy, David Marshall Grant, Jay O. Sanders, Michael O'Keefe, John Diehl, Diane Venora, Colleen Camp, Bill Mumy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Three Young Texans | 1954 | Henry Levin | ★★ | 78 | Standard Western has Hunter pulling railroad robbery to prevent crooks from forcing his father to do same job, expected complications. | tt0047583 | Mitzi Gaynor, Keefe Brasselle, Jeffrey Hunter, Harvey Stephens, Dan Riss | Western | NULL | |||
| Three for Bedroom C | 1952 | Milton Bren | ★★ | 74 | Sadly uneven comedy of romance between movie star and scientist aboard transcontinental train heading to L.A. A derailment for Swanson after her SUNSET BLVD. triumph. | tt0045235 | Gloria Swanson, Fred Clark, James Warren, Steve Brodie, Hans Conried, Margaret Dumont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three for Jamie Dawn | 1956 | Thomas Carr | ★★ | 81 | Diverting story poorly executed, about jury members being pressured to swing a not-guilty verdict for the defendant. | tt0049850 | Laraine Day, Ricardo Montalban, Richard Carlson, June Havoc | Crime | NULL | |||
| Three for the Road | 1987 | B.W.L. Norton | ★½ | 88 | Anachronistic youth movie about the spoiled-brat daughter of a senator who travels to boarding school with Sheen and Ruck— and hits more than a few detours. Dull in the extreme. | tt0094140 | [PG] | Charlie Sheen, Kerri Green, Alan Ruck, Sally Kellerman, Blair Tefkin, Raymond J. Barry, Alexa Hamilton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Three for the Show | 1955 | H. C. Potter | ★★ | 93 | Grable’s dead husband (Lemmon) turns out to be very much alive in this weak musical remake of TOO MANY HUSBANDS. Dance numbers cleverly staged for widescreen by Jack Cole. CinemaScope. | tt0048719 | Betty Grable, Marge and Gower Champion, Jack Lemmon, Myron McCormick | Musical | NULL | |||
| Three in the Attic | 1968 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 92 | Silly tale of youth with so much style that he works three girls at once until they get wise and decide to lock him in and drain him of his potency. | tt0063693 | [R] | Christopher Jones, Judy Pace, Yvette Mimieux, Maggie Thrett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Three of Hearts | 1993 | Yurek Bogayevicz | ★★½ | 102 | Original little film that begins with the end of a relationship between gay couple Lynch and Fenn and goes on to have the former hire a male escort (Baldwin) to try to get her lover back. Effective first half, with a strident Lynch getting to know the cocky gigolo; unfortunately second half of film becomes a more ordinary romantic tale, with the stud falling for his prey. A conventional gangster subplot doesn't help. Still, good use of N.Y.C. locations and excellent performances by Baldwin (who's never been better) and Lynch. | tt0108334 | [R] | William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Sherilyn Fenn, Joe Pantoliano, Gail Strickland, Cec Verrell, Claire Callaway, Marek Johnson, Monique Mannen, Tony Amendola, Tawny Kitaen | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Three on a Couch | 1966 | Jerry Lewis | ★½ | 109 | For psychiatrist Leigh to marry him, Lewis has to play five roles; one of them is 'straight' but unintentionally funny, the other four zany, but unintentionally unfunny. The women are attractive. | tt0061093 | Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh, Mary Ann Mobley, Gila Golan, Leslie Parrish, James Best, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Three on a Match | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 64 | Fine, fast-moving (and surprisingly potent) pre-Code melodrama of three girls who renew childhood friendship, only to find suspense and tragedy. Dvorak is simply marvelous. Remade as BROADWAY MUSKETEERS. | tt0023590 | Warren William, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, Ann Dvorak, Humphrey Bogart, Lyle Talbot, Glenda Farrell, Dawn O'Day (Anne Shirley), Edward Arnold | Drama | NULL | |||
| Three on a Spree | 1961 | Sidney J. Furie | ★½ | 83 | Disconcerting, poorly directed comedy of man forced to spend a million pounds in sixty days to inherit eight million, à la BREWSTER'S MILLIONS. | tt0055523 |
|
Jack Watling, Carole Lesley, Renee Houston, John Slater | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Three on a Ticket | 1947 | Sam Newfield | ★★ | 64 | Efficient low-budget Michael Shayne detective entry, revolving around a scramble to piece together a railway locker ticket which holds the key to a fortune in bank loot. | tt0039899 | Hugh Beaumont, Cheryl Walker, Paul Bryar, Ralph Dunn, Louise Currie, Gavin Gordon | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Three on the Trail | 1936 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★★ | 66 | Ellison is framed for murder while courting schoolmarm Evans. Fifth Hopalong Cassidy series entry deals with cattle rustling and stagecoach robbing while showcasing Hayes as Windy Halliday and making the most of the chemistry between Boyd and Ellison. Also capitalizes on spectacular Lone Pine location landscape. Loosely based on 1921 novel Bar-20 Three by series creator Clarence E. Mulford. | tt0028377 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, Onslow Stevens, Muriel Evans, George Hayes, William Duncan. | Western | NULL | |||
| Three the Hard Way | 1974 | Gordon Parks/ Jr | ★★½ | 93 | Top black action cast in nonstop, nearly bloodless thriller of white supremist Robinson's insane plot to eliminate blacks with a serum in the water supply. Produced by Harry Bernsen (Corbin's father). | tt0072284 | [R] | Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly, Sheila Frazier, Jay Robinson, Alex Rocco, Corbin Bernsen | Crime | NULL | ||
| Three to Tango | 1999 | Damon Santostefano | ★½ | 103 | Architect Perry is given the job of spying on the mistress of his insanely jealous— and rich— client, who mistakenly thinks he is gay, until they (predictably) fall in love. Glossy comedy of mistaken sexual identity with TV-star cast manages a couple of laughs but tries so hard to get them that it hardly seems worth the effort. | tt0144640 | [PG-13] | Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Dylan McDermott, Oliver Platt, Bob Balaban, Cylk Cozart, John C. McGinley, Deborah Rush | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Three-Cornered Moon | 1933 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 77 | Predates golden age of screwball comedies, but tops many of them; Boland is head of wacky family combating Depression. | tt0024664 | Claudette Colbert, Richard Arlen, Mary Boland, Wallace Ford, Hardie Albright, Lyda Roberti | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Threesome | 1994 | Andrew Fleming | ★★★ | 95 | Through computer error, college student Flynn Boyle is assigned to room with two guys— shy, intellectual Charles, who may be gay, and in-your-face, sex-obsessed Baldwin— resulting in various couplings and emotional complications. Coming-of-age comedy-drama is at once intelligent and impertinent; unlike many other Hollywood films, it does not cop out in its examination of the issue of homosexuality. Fleming also scripted. | tt0111418 | [R] | Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles, Alexis Arquette, Martha Gehman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Threshold | 1981 | Richard Pearce | ★★★ | 97 | Excellent, surprisingly low-key drama about the first artificial heart transplant, with more humanism and offbeat touches than you'd find in typical TV treatment of this sort of thing. Goldblum and Winningham score as, respectively, the biologist who invents the artificial heart and its first recipient. Unreleased in the U.S. until 1983, when Barney Clark's real-life operation made headlines. | tt0083197 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, John Marley, Sharon Ackerman, Mare Winningham, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Lerner, Allan Nicholls, Paul Hecht, Robert Joy | Canadian | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Thrill of Brazil | 1946 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 91 | Pleasant South-of-the-border romance with music and spirited cast giving life to ordinary script. | tt0039032 | Evelyn Keyes, Keenan Wynn, Ann Miller, Allyn Joslyn, Tito Guizar | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Thrill of It All | 1963 | Norman Jewison | ★★★ | 108 | Enjoyable spoof of TV and commercials by Carl Reiner; good vehicle for Day as housewife-turned-TV-spokeswoman and Garner as her neglected husband. Reiner has a particularly funny series of cameos. | tt0057581 | Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, Edward Andrews, Reginald Owen, ZaSu Pitts, Elliott Reid | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Thrill of a Romance | 1945 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 105 | Slight musical-romance with sweet Williams, abandoned by her businessman husband on their honeymoon, falling for war hero Johnson. | tt0038170 | Van Johnson, Esther Williams, Frances Gifford, Henry Travers, Spring Byington, Carlton G. Young, Lauritz Melchior, Tommy Dorsey | Musical | NULL | |||
| Throne of Blood | Kumonosu jô | 1957 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 108 | Graphic, powerful adaptation of Macbeth in a samurai setting. Gripping finale, with Taketoki Washizu (the Macbeth character, masterfully played by Mifune) attacked by arrows. | tt0050613 | Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki | Japanese | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Through a Glass, Darkly | 1961 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 91 | Four-character drama about just-released mental patient, her husband, her father and her younger brother who spend summer together on secluded island. Moody, evocative story of insanity— well-deserved Oscar winner, one of Bergman's best. The first in the filmmaker's 'faith' trilogy, followed by WINTER LIGHT and THE SILENCE. | tt0055499 | Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Max von Sydow, Lars Passgard | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Through the Back Door | 1921 | Alfred E. Green, Jack Pickford. | ★★ | 90 | Minor Pickford vehicle with Mary a neglected daughter of wealth who is abandoned by her widowed mother when she remarries. Pickford is always watchable, but she's defeated by a hackneyed storyline. Her brother Jack codirected. | tt0012755 | Mary Pickford, Gertrude Astor, Elinor Fair, Helen Raymond, Wilfred Lucas, John Harron, Adolphe Menjou. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Throw Momma From the Train | 1987 | Danny DeVito | ★★½ | 88 | Black comedy spin-off of Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, with DeVito (in an excellent performance) as a childish man who tries to persuade his writing professor (Crystal) to 'exchange murders' with him so he can bump off his harridan of a mother (Ramsey, who's incredible). Uneven and not as all-out funny as you might expect from the starring duo. Director DeVito has many offbeat ideas, and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld (who did those wild gags in RAISING ARIZONA) leaves a distinctive stamp on this film— particularly the runaway car sequence. Written by Stu Silver. | tt0094142 | [PG-13] | Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Anne Ramsey, Kim Greist, Kate Mulgrew, Branford Marsalis, Rob Reiner, Bruce Kirby | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Thumb Tripping | 1972 | Quentin Masters | ★★½ | 94 | Amusing as a period piece on the hippie era, with Burns and Foster as hitchhikers who decide to travel together and share experiences. | tt0069377 | [R] | Michael Burns, Meg Foster, Mariana Hill, Bruce Dern, Michael Conrad, Joyce Van Patten | Drama | NULL | ||
| Thumbelina | 1994 | Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | ★★½ | 86 | Animated retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale has the digit-sized heroine evading the clutches of various toads, moles, and beetles before she can proceed with her courtship with her dream lover, Prince Cornelius. Pleasant enough diversion for the small fry, with a handful of sweetly romantic songs from Barry Manilow. | tt0111419 | [G] | Voices of Jodi Benson, Gary Imhoff, Gino Conforti, Barbara Cook, Will Ryan, Charo, June Foray, Kenneth Mars, Gilbert Gottfried, John Hurt, Carol Channing | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Thumbsucker | 2005 | Mike Mills | ★★★½ | 95 | A 17-year-old boy who still sucks his thumb struggles to find his way while grappling with the curious dynamics of his family. Perceptive, multilayered look at alienation and the challenges that face both kids and their parents. Disarmingly real, with a top-notch cast and a dynamite performance by Pucci. Impressive, stylish feature debut (in CinemaScope) for graphic designer, music video and commercial director Mills, who also adapted Walter Kirn's novel. Swinton coexecutive produced. | tt0318761 | [R] | Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Keanu Reeves, Benjamin Bratt, Vince Vaughn, Chase Offerle | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Thunder Afloat | 1939 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 94 | Above-average Beery vehicle of old salt pitted against rival (Morris) when he joins the Navy. | tt0032034 | Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Virginia Grey, Clem Bevans, John Qualen, Regis Toomey | Drama, Action, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Thunder Alley | 1967 | Richard Rush | ★½ | 90 | Fabian's inept stockcar driving gets him suspended from racing, but unfortunately, the acting profession doesn't have the same rules. | tt0062365 | Annette Funicello, Fabian, Diane McBain, Warren Berlinger, Jan Murray, Maureen Arthur | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunder Bay | 1953 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 102 | Action-packed account of oil-drillers vs. Louisiana shrimp fishermen, with peppery cast. | tt0046425 | James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Thunder Below | 1932 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 67 | Tallulah loves Lukas, but when husband Bickford goes blind, she can't bear to leave him. Melodramatic triangle story, well acted by all. | tt0023593 | Tallulah Bankhead, Charles Bickford, Paul Lukas, Eugene Pallette, James Finlayson, Edward Van Sloan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunder Birds | 1942 | William Wellman | ★★ | 78 | Ultra-patriotic time-capsule is an ode to the WW2 flyer/flying instructor. Freewheeling veteran aviator Foster and intern-turned-trainee Sutton (who's afraid of heights) compete for the affection of flirtatious Tierney. | tt0035438 | Gene Tierney, Preston Foster, John Sutton, Dame May Whitty, Reginald Denny, Jack Holt, George Barbier | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunder Island | 1963 | Jack Leewood | ★★ | 65 | A hit man is hired to kill the former dictator of a Latin country who's now living in exile on a nearby island. Unexceptional programmer cowritten by Jack Nicholson. | tt0057582 | Gene Nelson, Fay Spain, Brian Kelly, Miriam Colon, Art Bedard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunder Over Arizona | 1956 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 75 | Undemanding minor Western showing the corruption and greed of people incited by a rich silver ore discovery. Filmed in widescreen Naturama. | tt0049851 | Skip Homeier, Kristine Miller, George Macready, Wallace Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Thunder Over Tangier | 1957 | Lance Comfort. | ★½ | 66 | Passable account of movie stuntman Hutton accidentally becoming involved in a scheme involving forged passports. Original British title: MAN FROM TANGIER. | tt0050677 | Robert Hutton, Martin Benson, Derek Sydney, Lisa Gastoni. | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Thunder Over the Plains | 1953 | André De Toth | ★★ | 82 | Routine Western set in post-Civil War Texas, with Scott as Army officer sent to prevent carpetbaggers from harassing all. | tt0046426 | Randolph Scott, Lex Barker, Phyllis Kirk, Henry Hull, Elisha Cook/Jr., Richard Benjamin, Charles McGraw, Fess Parker | Western | NULL | |||
| Thunder Pass | 1954 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 76 | Usual story of resolute Army officer (Clark) pushing settlers onward in face of Indian attack. | tt0047584 | Dane Clark, Andy Devine, Dorothy Patrick, John Carradine, Raymond Burr | Western | NULL | |||
| Thunder Road | 1958 | Arthur Ripley | ★★★ | 92 | Rural bootlegger takes on Feds and the Mob in cult favorite that even today continues to play in drive-ins; for many this remains the definitive moonshine picture. Jim Mitchum makes screen debut playing Bob's brother; the elder Mitchum got a hit record out of the title tune, which he also wrote! | tt0052293 | Robert Mitchum, Gene Barry, Jacques Aubuchon, Keely Smith, James Mitchum | Crime | NULL | |||
| Thunder Rock | 1942 | Roy Boulting | ★★★ | 112 | Allegorical fable of discouraged newspaperman given renewed faith by visions of various drowned people. Excellent cast makes this most enjoyable; based on Robert Ardrey's play. | tt0035440 | Michael Redgrave, Barbara Mullen, Lilli Palmer, James Mason, Frederick Valk | British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thunder Soul | 2011 | Mark Landsman | ★★★ | 83 | Documentary chronicles the story of the Kashmere High School Stage Band, a ragtag Houston jazz ensemble that turned into a powerhouse group of musicians in the '70s, winning major nationwide competitions and even spawning their own hit, "Texas Thunder Soul." Heart of the film is a reunion concert at the high school some four decades later in honor of their leader, Conrad O. Johnson Sr., who's now in his 90s and still soulful. The film doesn't dig deep, but who could possibly complain? Completely uplifting entertainment. | tt1611180 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Thunder and Lightning | 1977 | Corey Allen | ★★½ | 95 | Amiable moonshine picture with attractive pairing of Carradine and Jackson and lots of expected car smash-ups. | tt0076820 | [PG] | David Carradine, Kate Jackson, Roger C. Carmel, Sterling Holloway, Ed Barth, Ron Feinberg | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Thunder in Carolina | Hard Drivin' | 1960 | Paul Helmick | ★★ | 92 | Dull programmer of stock car racing in the South, with Calhoun as a skirt-chasing driver. Video title: HARD DRIVIN'. | tt0054385 | Rory Calhoun, Alan Hale/Jr., Connie Hines, John Gentry, Ed McGrath, Troyanne Ross | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Thunder in the City | 1937 | Marion Gering | ★★★ | 86 | Amusing film about a go-getting American promoter who visits England and gambles on a long shot: hitherto unknown mineral known as Magnelite, which he proceeds to 'ballyhoo.' Tailor-made for an ebullient Robinson. | tt0029670 | Edward G. Robinson, Luli Deste, Nigel Bruce, Constance Collier, Ralph Richardson, Arthur Wontner | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Thunder in the East | 1953 | Charles Vidor | ★★½ | 98 | Adequate, politically loaded adventure with gunrunner Ladd caught amid tension and rebellion in rural India. Kerr and Boyer uplift the proceedings as a refined blind woman who falls for Ladd and a stubbornly pacifistic government official. | tt0046427 | Alan Ladd, Deborah Kerr, Charles Boyer, Corinne Calvet, Cecil Kellaway, John Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunder in the Sun | 1959 | Russell Rouse | ★★½ | 81 | Hayward is romanced by wagon train scout Chandler and Bergerac, head of French Basque immigrants on way to California. | tt0053359 | Susan Hayward, Jeff Chandler, Jacques Bergerac, Blanche Yurka, Carl Esmond, Fortunio Bonanova | Western | NULL | |||
| Thunder in the Valley | 1947 | Louis King | ★★½ | 103 | Usual tale of boy in love with his dog, cruel father who doesn't share his feelings; colorful but standard. | tt0039902 | Lon McCallister, Peggy Ann Garner, Edmund Gwenn, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Thunder of Drums | 1961 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★½ | 97 | Better than average cast saves average story of new lieutenant having rough time in cavalry. | tt0055524 | George Hamilton, Luana Patten, Richard Boone, Charles Bronson, Richard Chamberlain, Slim Pickens | Western | NULL | |||
| Thunder on the Hill | 1951 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 84 | Nun Colbert can't believe visitor Blyth, about to be hanged, is murderess, sets out to prove her innocent; Cooper fine as Mother Superior. Sincere, interesting drama. | tt0044128 | Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth, Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Gladys Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunderball | 1965 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 129 | Fourth James Bond film isn't as lively as the others. Plenty of gimmicks, and Oscar-winning special effects, as world is threatened with destruction, but film tends to bog down— especially underwater. Celi makes a formidable Bond villain. Remade eighteen years later— with Connery— as NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. | tt0059800 | Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Martine Beswick, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Roland Culver | British | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Thunderbirds | 1952 | John H. Auer | ★★½ | 98 | Fact-based tale of Native Americans who fought in the 45th Infantry Division during WW2. | tt0045237 | John Derek, John Barrymore/Jr., Mona Freeman, Gene Evans | War | NULL | |||
| Thunderbirds | 2004 | Jonathan Frakes. | ★½ | 95 | Rehash of Gerry Anderson's well-remembered British TV series of the '60s (which featured marionettes) is turned for some reason into a bloated live-action 'family adventure' that's as wooden as those puppets from the original show. Plot has the heroic International Rescue family stranded in outer space as they try to save the world from The Hood (Kingsley). This one was in and out of theaters faster than you could say DVD. | tt0167456 | [PG] | Bill Paxton, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Edwards, Genie Francis, Brady Corbet, Dominic Colenso, Ben Torgersen, Sophia Myles. | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Thunderbolt | 1929 | Josef von Sternberg. | ★★★ | 91 | While on death row, gangster Bancroft plots to get revenge on Arlen, who stole his moll (Wray), by setting up a frame job to get him sent to the same jail. Von Sternberg's first talkie contains some of the expected visual flourishes and makes imaginative use of sound, but isn't in the same league as UNDERWORLD or THE BLUE ANGEL (1930). | tt0020499 | George Bancroft, Fay Wray, Richard Arlen, Tully Marshall, Eugenie Besserer, James Spottswood, Fred Kohler. | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | 1974 | Michael Cimino | ★★★ | 114 | Thief Eastwood and drifter Bridges team up with Clint's ex-partners (Kennedy and Lewis) to retrieve loot from previous robbery. Colorful, tough melodrama-comedy with good characterizations; Lewis is particularly fine, but Bridges steals the picture. Cimino's directorial debut. | tt0072288 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Jack Dodson, Vic Tayback, Dub Taylor, Bill McKinney | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Thunderhead- Son of Flicka | 1945 | Louis King | ★★½ | 78 | Good, colorful attempt to repeat MY FRIEND FLICKA's success; doesn't match original, but it's enjoyable. Followed by GREEN GRASS OF WYOMING. | tt0038172 | Roddy McDowall, Preston Foster, Rita Johnson, James Bell, Diana Hale, Carleton Young |
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NULL | |||
| Thunderheart | 1992 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 118 | Part-Sioux FBI agent Kilmer is awakened to his heritage when he's assigned to investigate a murder on an Oglala Sioux reservation. Engrossing thriller is notable for its keen attention to detail regarding Sioux customs and spirituality, and its enlightened point of view. Based on events which occurred in the 1970s at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where the film was shot. Coproduced by Robert De Niro; before directing this, Apted made a documentary, INCIDENT AT OGLALA, about Indian activist Leonard Peltier. | tt0105585 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, Graham Greene, Fred Ward, Fred Dalton Thompson, Sheila Tousey, Chief Ted Thin Elk, John Trudell, Dennis Banks, David Crosby | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Thunderhoof | 1948 | Phil Karlson. | ★★★ | 77 | Offbeat, symbolic three-character Western centering on the search for a beautiful wild stallion in the Mexican desert and the conflict that erupts between an older rancher (Foster) and his adopted son (Bishop) over the father's sultry young wife (Stuart). Strikingly directed and unusually ambitious for a B Western from Columbia. Originally released in sepiatone. | tt0040880 | Preston Foster, Mary Stuart, William Bishop. | Western | NULL | |||
| Thundering Jets | 1958 | Helmut Dantine. | ★★ | 73 | Familiar chronicle of life at a U.S. Air Force pilot training school, with Reason the center of the story as a frustrated instructor. | tt0052294 | Rex Reason, Dick Foran, Audrey Dalton, Barry Coe, Buck Class, Robert Dix, Lee Farr, Sid Melton, Gregg Palmer, Robert Conrad. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Thunderstorm | 1956 | John Guillermin | ★½ | 81 | Warmed-over trivia concerning Christian's provocative arrival in a small fishing village on the Spanish coast. | tt0049852 | Carlos Thompson, Linda Christian, Charles Korvin, Gary Thorne | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Thursday's Child | 1943 | Rodney Ackland | ★★½ | 81 | Melodramatic soap opera of 12-year-old girl from middle-class family who becomes child film star, to the detriment of all around her. Howes, making her film debut, is excellent as the level-headed youngster. Recommended mainly for buffs and fans of dashing Granger (in an early supporting role). | tt0035441 | Sally Ann Howes, Wilfrid Lawson, Kathleen O'Regan, Eileen Bennett, Stewart Granger, Marianne Davis, Gerhardt Kempinski, Felix Aylmer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Thérèse Raquin | 1953 | Marcel Carné | ★★½ | 103 | Complications ensue when weary Signoret, saddled with a small-minded husband and a mother-in-law from hell, begins an affair with earthy truck driver Vallone. Melodrama of passion and obsession has the right pedigree-Carné and Charles Spaak adapted Émile Zola's novel-but lacks the necessary fire to make it memorable. | tt0046429 |
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Simone Signoret, Raf Vallone, Jacques Duby, Sylvie, Roland Lesaffre, Maria Pia Casilio, Marcel André, Paul Frankeur | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Tiara Tahiti | 1962 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★ | 100 | Mild comedy-drama involving Mason and Mills as former Army officers who have an old grudge to settle; establishment of a Tahiti resort hotel sets wheels in motion. | tt0056583 | James Mason, John Mills, Claude Dauphin, Herbert Lom | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tic Code | 2000 | Gary Winick | ★★★ | 91 | Sincere, well-made drama about a boy with Tourette Syndrome who finds release in playing jazz piano and a soul mate in musician Hines. Written by Draper, who plays the boy's mother, inspired by her experience with husband Michael Wolff, the film's composer and producer. Shot in 1997. | tt0165986 | [R] | Gregory Hines, Polly Draper, Christopher George Marquette, Desmond Robertson, Carlos McKinney, Dick Berk, Tony Shalhoub, Bill Nunn, Fisher Stevens, Carol Kane, Camryn Manheim | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ticket of Leave Man | 1937 | George King. | ★★ | 71 | Fiendish strangler and all-round criminal mastermind The Tiger (Slaughter) frames innocent Warwick for forgery, hoping to pursue singer Taylor, the convicted man's sweetie. OK barnstorming melodrama of the very old school with Slaughter in particularly ripe, leering form. Based on an 1866 play; a 'ticket of leave man' is a prison parolee. Marred by dated Jewish character played by Cochran. | tt0029671 | Tod Slaughter, John Warwick, Marjorie Taylor, Frank Cochran, Robert Adair, Peter Gawthorne. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ticket to Heaven | 1981 | Ralph L. Thomas | ★★★ | 107 | Mancuso, strung out from bad relationship, is seduced into becoming a 'heavenly child' in a Moonie-like cult. Pointed drama is frightening in its relevancy. Mancuso is excellent, Rubinek and Thomson lend fine support as his best friend and a deprogrammer. | tt0083201 | [PG] | Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, R. H. Thomson, Jennifer Dale, Guy Boyd | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Ticket to Tomahawk | 1950 | Richard Sale | ★★★ | 90 | Engaging comedy-Western about stagecoach company that hires gunslinger Calhoun to keep dreaded railroad from running on time. Good fun; one of the chorus girls with Dailey in a musical number is Marilyn Monroe. | tt0043046 | Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter, Rory Calhoun, Walter Brennan, Charles Kemper, Connie Gilchrist, Arthur Hunnicutt, Mauritz Hugo, Chief Yowlachie, Victor Sen Yung | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Tickets | 2005 | Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach | ★★★ | 109 | Trilogy of stories by three world- renowned directors, set on a passenger train en route to Rome and connected only by some recurring characters: An elderly biochemist reflects on his life and his meeting earlier that day with an attractive young woman; a young man performing civil service to avoid military duty has to escort a general's overbearing widow; and three unruly Scottish soccer fans have a life-changing encounter with a family of Albanian refugees. Though all three segments are different in mood and style, this meditative, humorous, and poignant trip is well worth taking. | tt0418239 | Carlo Delle Piane, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Silvana De Santis, Filippo Trojano, Martin Compston, Gary Maitland, William Ruane. | Italian-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tickle Me | 1965 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 90 | That's the only way to get any laughs out of this one: Elvis works at all-girl dude ranch singing his usual quota of songs. Written by Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds, both of whom worked with The Three Stooges in better days. | tt0056585 | Elvis Presley, Jocelyn Lane, Julie Adams, Jack Mullaney, Merry Anders, Connie Gilchrist | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Ticklish Affair | 1963 | George Sidney | ★★ | 89 | Amiable film of Navy commander Young falling in love with widow Jones; all it lacks is wit, sparkle and a fresh script. | tt0057583 | Shirley Jones, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Carolyn Jones, Edgar Buchanan | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tidal Wave | 1975 | Shiro Moriana, Andrew Meyer | ★½ | 82 | Laughable Americanization of big-budget (and much superior) Japanese film, SUBMERSION OF JAPAN; epic special effects dwarfed by idiotic new footage with Greene, and horrible dubbing. For diehard disaster buffs only. | tt0070447 | [PG] | Lorne Greene, Kiliu Kobayashi, Rhonda Leigh Hopkins, Hiroshi Fujioka | Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Tide of Empire | 1929 | Allan Dwan. | ★★★ | 72 | Colorful, action-packed tale based on Peter B. Kyne's novel about gold seekers and bandits disrupting the lives of peaceful Spanish ranchers in old California. Lusty silent Western with synchronized music, sound effects, and some background vocals; interesting early use of zoom lenses. | tt0020502 | Renée Adorée, George Duryea (Tom Keene), George Fawcett, William Collier/Jr., Fred Kohler, Harry Gribbon, Paul Hurst. | Western | NULL | |||
| Tideland | 2006 | Terry Gilliam | 💣 | 121 | In a golden field of Johnsongrass, inside a rotting farmhouse, a very poor little girl's junkie dad ODs, like her recently croaked schizo mom. She escapes into the rabbit hole of her imagination, guided by an all too bluntly referenced volume of Alice in Wonderland. Wrongheaded and squirmy on every count-the child prepares her father's lethal syringe and later engages in premature sexual experimentation with a brain-damaged neighbor boy-this depressing fairy tale promises maximum fantasy but instead delivers gruesome tedium. Retchingly adapted from the 2000 novel by Mitch Cullin, and shot in Saskatchewan, this literal train wreck of a movie is monumentally awful. | tt0410764 | [R] | Jodelle Ferland, Brendan Fletcher, Janet McTeer, Jennifer Tilly, Jeff Bridges, Dylan Taylor, Wendy Anderson, Sally Crooks | Canadian-British | Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! | 1990 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★½ | 101 | Mental patient kidnaps a former porn star/junkie, slaps her around some, then ties her to a bed; actually, he just wants to get married and have kids. Potential NOW nightmare comes off as surprisingly tame for Almodóvar, though it still has his unpredictable black humor. Thoughtprovoking and energetically performed. Two scenes (one a loud but fairly explicit sex scene) earned this an X rating, so the distributor decided to release it unrated instead. Later rerated for video. | tt0101026 | [NC-17] | Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Francisco Rabal, Loles Leon, Julieta Serrano, Maria Barranco | Spanish | Drama, Crime, Romance | NULL | |
| The Tie That Binds | 1995 | Wesley Strick | 💣 | 98 | Two psychotic fugitives terrorize the family that's legally adopted their daughter after the youngster was taken into police custody following a foiled robbery attempt. This is what audiences get for having made THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE a hit; film (from the same studio) is sleazy, insultingly derivative, and full of dangling plot issues. Directorial debut for screenwriter Strick. | tt0114666 | [R] | Daryl Hannah, Keith Carradine, Moira Kelly, Vincent Spano, Julia Devin, Ray Reinhardt, Barbara Tarbuck | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tie-Died: Rock 'n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans | 1995 | Andrew Behar | ★★ | 80 | Documentary chronicling the legions of Deadheads, that unique form of fan who make following the rock group The Grateful Dead a way of life. Sporadically interesting look at these groupies, but in the end, we don't know much more than we did when we came in. Released, coincidentally, just after the death of Deadhead guru Jerry Garcia. | tt0114667 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Tiefland | 1954 | Leni Riefenstahl | ★★½ | 98 | Blonde, dreamy shepherd Eichberger and arrogant marquis Minetti vie for Spanish dancer Riefenstahl. Atmospheric, visually poetic drama, even though the characters lack depth. Filmed between 1942 and 1945; editing wasn't completed until 1954. | tt0046431 | Leni Riefenstahl, Franz Eichberger, Bernard Minetti, Maria Koppenhofer, Luis Rainer | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tiger Bay | 1959 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 105 | Lonely Cardiff child witnesses a murder and is abducted by the Polish sailor-killer. A poignant, sensitive, and very different police chase story. Hayley steals the film in first major acting role. | tt0053361 | John Mills, Horst Buchholz, Hayley Mills, Yvonne Mitchell, Megs Jenkins, Anthony Dawson | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Tiger Makes Out | 1967 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 94 | One-man crusader against society (Wallach) symbolically kidnaps suburban housewife (Jackson). Originally a one-act, two-character play by Murray Schisgal, his expanded screenplay loses focus, relies on vivid N.Y. locations and funny cameos by character actors. Dustin Hoffman's film debut. | tt0062369 | Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Bob Dishy, John Harkins, David Burns, Ruth White, Rae Allen, Charles Nelson Reilly | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tiger Shark | 1932 | Howard Hawks | ★★★ | 80 | Robinson gives rich, colorful performance as Portuguese tuna fisherman who marries wayward girl out of pity, then sees her fall in love with his best friend— a plot gambit Warner Bros. reused several times (SLIM, MANPOWER, etc.). Authentically filmed amid fisheries on Monterey coast. | tt0023594 | Edward G. Robinson, Richard Arlen, Zita Johann, J. Carrol Naish, Vince Barnett | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Tiger Walks | 1964 | Norman Tokar | ★★½ | 91 | Oddball Disney film about young girl (Franklin) whose compassion for tiger which has broken away from circus stirs controversy and political wheeling-and-dealing. Surprisingly bitter portrait of small-town America. Sabu's last film. | tt0058657 | Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Pamela Franklin, Sabu, Kevin Corcoran, Peter Brown, Una Merkel, Frank McHugh, Edward Andrews, Jack Albertson | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tiger Warsaw | 1988 | Amin Q. Chaudhri | ★½ | 93 | Muddled melodrama about troubled ex-junkie Swayze and what happens when he comes home and attempts to sort out his life. Hokey and highly improbable. | tt0096267 | [R] | Patrick Swayze, Piper Laurie, Lee Richardson, Mary McDonnell, Barbara Williams, Bobby DiCicco, Jenny Chrisinger, Kaye Ballard | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Tiger and the Pussycat | 1967 | Dino Risi | ★★½ | 105 | Innocuous sex-comedy of middle-aged businessman Gassman unintentionally getting involved with promiscuous young Ann-Margret. Italian and American players work well together. | tt0062370 | Ann-Margret, Vittorio Gassman, Eleanor Parker, Antonella Stani, Fiorenzo Fiorentini | Italian-U.S. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tiger and the Snow | 2006 | Roberto Benigni | ★½ | 114 | Life-loving Italian poetry teacher (Benigni, who else?) longs for the woman of his dream-literally. When she is injured during a trip to Baghdad, he goes there and repeatedly risks his life to save hers. Attempt by cowriter-director Benigni to create a comedy-tragedy in the LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL mold falls flat: the Iraq war is a superficial backdrop to romantic woes and his character's constant rambling becomes insufferable. Final surprise twist is laughable . . . but not in a good way. | tt0419198 | Robert Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Jean Reno, Emilia Fox, Amid Farid, Giuseppe Battiston, Andrea Renzi, Gianfranco Varetto, Tom Waits. | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Tiger by the Tail | 1968 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★ | 99 | Vietnam war hero is accused of murdering his brother and recruits his socialite girlfriend in hunt for the real killer. Overly talkative thriller. | tt0063696 | [M] | Christopher George, Tippi Hedren, Dean Jagger, Charo, Glenda Farrell, Lloyd Bochner, Alan Hale/Jr., Skip Homeier, R. G. Armstrong | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Tiger of Eschnapur | 1958 | Fritz Lang | ★★ | 101 | Exotic dancer Paget is desired by dastardly maharajah Reyer, but she loves architect Hubschmid; meanwhile, Reyer's subjects are plotting revolution. Slow-moving, disappointing adventure-romance of interest mostly for Lang's participation. The first of the director's Indian diptych, followed by THE INDIAN TOMB; both were originally edited down to 95m., dubbed and released as JOURNEY TO THE LOST CITY. | tt0052295 | Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walther Reyer, René Deltgen, Luciana Paluzzi | German | Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| A Tiger's Tale | 1987 | Peter Douglas | ★½ | 97 | Unbelievable romantic comedy about a high school senior who gets involved with his girlfriend's mother, a nurse named Rose Butts. Need we say more? Debuting writer-director Douglas (Kirk's son) has bitten off more than he can chew— or we can swallow. Ann-Margret is watchable, as always, but miscast. | tt0094148 | [R] | Ann-Margret, C. Thomas Howell, Charles Durning, Kelly Preston, William Zabka, Ann Wedgeworth, James Noble, Tim Thomerson, Steven Kampmann, Angel Tompkins | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tigerland | 2000 | Joel Schumacher | ★★★ | 109 | Gritty, original take on the military, the specter of the Vietnam war, and its effect on raw recruits who train for combat duty. From Fort Polk, Louisiana, these disparate young men move on to a simulated Vietnam battlefield known as Tigerland. Farrell is excellent as an iconoclast who rocks the boat— hard— but cares about his comrades. | tt0170691 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Matthew Davis, Clifton Collins/Jr., Thomas Guiry, Shea Whigham, Russell Richardson, Cole Hauser | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Tigers in Lipstick | Wild Beds | 1979 | Luigi Zampa | ★★ | 83 | Veteran comedy director Zampa pilots a fun but overly tame throwback to '60s sex comedies that spotlights four beautiful actresses (individually) in seven separate segments, emphasizing aggressive women who take advantage of men. Best segment: 'The Pickup,' in which Antonelli is a frantic businesswoman who disrupts the life of an orchestra conductor. Originally titled: WILD BEDS. | tt0079463 | [R] | Ursula Andress, Laura Antonelli, Sylvia Kristel, Monica Vitti, Michele Placido, Roberto Benigni, Orazio Orlando | Italian | Comedy | NULL |
| The Tiger’s Tail | 2007 | John Boorman | ★★★ | 107 | Ruthless, self-made Irish tycoon lets nothing stand in his way as he develops new properties—although with each success, it seems, there are more poor people on the streets and less time to spend with his wife and son. Then he thinks he sees his double lurking about and becomes haunted by the doppelganger. Writer-director Boorman criticizes the state of things in Ireland in this unsubtle but provocative parable. That’s Gleeson’s real-life boy playing his son. | tt0490499 | [R] | Brendan Gleeson, Kim Cattrall, Ciarán Hinds, Sinéad Cusack, Seán McGinley, Briain Gleeson, Angeline Ball | Irish-British | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Tigger Movie | 2000 | Jun Falkenstein | ★★½ | 77 | Tigger, who's always boasted that 'he's the only one,' comes to feel the need for family, and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood try to help him. Cute movie aimed squarely at young children; not in the same class as major Disney animated features, but serves its purpose well. Best of all are the songs by Disney veterans Richard B. and Robert M. Sherman and their imaginative staging. | tt0220099 | [G] | Voices of Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Nikita Hopkins, Ken Sansom, Peter Cullen, Kath Soucie; narrated by John Hurt | Animation, Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Tight Little Island | Whisky Galore! | 1949 | Alexander Mackendrick | ★★★★ | 82 | Hilarious, fast-paced comedy about WW2 ship sinking while loaded with whiskey and the antics of local Scottish islanders thirsting for its cargo. A solid hit. Scripted by Compton Mackenzie, the author of the novel, who has a small role as Captain Buncher. British title: WHISKY GALORE! Followed by MAD LITTLE ISLAND. | tt0042040 | Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, James Robertson Justice, Jean Cadell, Gordon Jackson, Wylie Watson, John Gregson | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Tight Shoes | 1941 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 68 | Cast pushes hard to make this Damon Runyon yarn amusing at times: Crawford is big-shot crook who has big feet. | tt0034293 | Broderick Crawford, Binnie Barnes, John Howard, Anne Gwynne | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tight Spot | 1955 | Phil Karlson | ★★★½ | 97 | Rogers, key witness at a N.Y.C. crime lord's upcoming trial, does a lot of high-volume BORN YESTERDAY-like verbal sparring with Keith, her police lieutenant bodyguard, in this slack crime melodrama based on a flop Broadway play. A double dose of disappointment for Eddie G. fans: His screen time is short, and he plays the uninteresting role of the prosecutor! | tt0048724 | Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, Lorne Greene, Katherine Anderson | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Tightrope | 1984 | Richard Tuggle | ★★½ | 114 | New Orleans cop finds he has much in common with the sex murderer he's pursuing. Intriguing Eastwood vehicle undone by sleaziness— and darkness. | tt0088272 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Alison Eastwood, Jennifer Beck, Dan Hedaya | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made | 1994 | Mika Kaurismaki | ★★★ | 75 | Absorbing documentary charting director Samuel Fuller's ill-fated attempt to shoot a film in Brazil among the remote Karaja tribe in 1954. Fuller is on hand, returning to the Karaja village where he describes the events to filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and screens footage he shot four decades earlier for villagers. A must for movie-history aficionados, and cultists of Jarmusch, the Kaurismaki brothers, and (especially) Fuller. | tt0111430 | Finnish-German-Brazilian | Documentary, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tijuana Story | 1957 | Leslie Kardos | 💣 | 72 | Juvenile melodrama of Darren a victim of narcotic addiction, set in Mexico. | tt0051081 | James Darren, Jean Willes, Robert McQueeney, Rodolfo Acosta, Robert Blake | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Til There Was You | 1997 | Scott Winant | ★★ | 114 | A man and a woman's lives mirror each other for over 20 years, and they even have several brief chance encounters. Of course, when they finally do meet, it's love at first sight. Cloying and excruciatingly overlong. It doesn't help that the actors don't really seem to believe in the material. Best moments belong to Parker as a spoiled former TV sitcom teen. | tt0118523 | [PG-13] | Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dylan McDermott, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston, Craig Bierko, Nina Foch, Christine Ebersole, Michael Tucker, Steve Antin, Ken Olin, Susan Walters, Karen Allen | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Til We Meet Again | 1940 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 99 | Overblown remake of ONE WAY PASSAGE recounts romance between suave crook Brent and fatally ill Oberon; McHugh repeats comedy-relief role from 1932 original. | tt0032176 | Merle Oberon, George Brent, Pat O'Brien, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Binnie Barnes, Frank McHugh, Eric Blore, George Reeves | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Till Death | 1978 | Walter Stocker | ★★★ | 89 | Neat little shocker, virtually a two-character thriller. Atkinson refuses to believe that Balaski was killed on their wedding night, finds her alive in her crypt. Made in 1972. | tt0078399 |
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Keith Atkinson, Belinda Balaski, Marshall Reed, Bert Freed, Jonathan Hole | Horror | NULL | ||
| Till Human Voices Wake Us | 2002 | Michael Petroni | ★★ | 97 | A boy's idyllic summer is jolted by the accidental death of his best friend, a disabled girl. The boy grows up to be a psychiatrist and lives a solitary life until he chances to meet a vulnerable young woman. Intriguing at first, but once this lugubrious movie's central idea becomes obvious— and it does— it's a sleepy ride to the conclusion. The title comes from a T. S. Eliot poem. | tt0240980 | [R] | Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter, Frank Gallacher, Lindley Joyner, Brooke Harman, Peter Curtin, Margot Knight | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Till Marriage Do Us Part | 1974 | Luigi Comencini | ★★½ | 97 | A naive young woman unable to consummate her marriage seeks and finds sexual fulfillment elsewhere. Light, forgettable farce featuring Antonelli at her sexiest. | tt0071844 | [R] | Laura Antonelli, Alberto Lionello, Michele Placido, Jean Rochefort, Karin Schubert | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Till There Was You | 1990 | John Seale | 💣 | 94 | Saxophone player Harmon is summoned to the South Pacific island of Vanuatu by his brother, whose subsequent murder he predictably solves, after bungee jumping with the natives! Pretty scenery can't save this one. | tt0100786 | [R] | Mark Harmon, Deborah Unger, Jeroen Krabbe, Shane Briant | U.S.-Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Till We Meet Again | 1944 | Frank Borzage | ★★ | 88 | Fair wartime drama of nun Britton helping pilot Milland return to Allied lines; elements don't always click in this one. | tt0037379 | Ray Milland, Barbara Britton, Walter Slezak, Lucile Watson, Mona Freeman | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Till the Clouds Roll By | 1946 | Richard Whorf | ★★½ | 137 | Soggy biography of songwriter Jerome Kern uplifted by song numbers featuring some high-powered MGM talent. Highlights include Lansbury's 'How D'Ya Like to Spoon With Me,' Lena's 'Why Was I Born?,' Judy's 'Look for the Silver Lining,' and mini-production of Show Boat. | tt0039035 | Robert Walker, Van Heflin, Lucille Bremer, Dorothy Patrick, guest stars Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Tony Martin, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, June Allyson, Angela Lansbury, Cyd Charisse, Virginia O'Brien | Musical | NULL | |||
| Till the End of Time | 1946 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 105 | Solid, sympathetic drama of three returning WW2 veterans was released months before THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES; the focus is on Madison falling for troubled war widow McGuire. Screenplay by Allen Rivkin, based on Niven Busch's novel They Dream of Home. Title song (based on Chopin's Polonaise in A-flat Major) was a big hit. | tt0039036 | Dorothy McGuire, Guy Madison, Robert Mitchum, Bill Williams, Tom Tully, William Gargan, Jean Porter, Ruth Nelson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tillie and Gus | 1933 | Francis Martin | ★★★½ | 58 | Fields and Skipworth are perfectly matched as card hustlers in this very entertaining comedy, which also pits W.C. against Baby LeRoy for the first time. Nominal plot has them helping niece Wells win a crucial riverboat race. | tt0024672 | W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, Baby LeRoy, Edgar Kennedy, Julie Bishop, Clifford Jones, Barton MacLane, Clarence Wilson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tillie's Punctured Romance | 1914 | Mack Sennett | ★★½ | 73 | A comic curio, the first full-length comedy feature film, with Dressler repeating stage role as farm girl fleeced by city-slicker Chaplin (appearing out of his usual character). Not terribly funny, or coherent, but there are good moments; mainly interesting for historical purposes. Dressler starred in a pair of sequels, TILLIE'S TOMATO SURPRISE and TILLIE WAKES UP. | tt0004707 | Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain, Charles Bennett, Chester Conklin, Keystone Kops | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Tillman Story | 2010 | Amir Bar-Lev | ★★★ | 95 | Wrenching, and ultimately infuriating, story of college and professional football star Pat Tillman, who walked away from a lucrative career to enlist in the Army. His subsequent death in Afghanistan saddened his family, friends, and fans. Filmmaker Bar-Lev traces his parents’ determination to learn the truth about how he died—and how the military, and the U.S. government, covered up the incident for the sake of “patriotic” propaganda. As frustrating as the story becomes, it does give the viewer more reason than ever to admire Pat Tillman, a modest young man of exceptional integrity. | tt1568334 | [R] | Narrated by Josh Brolin | Documentary, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Tilt | 1978 | Rudy Durand | ★★ | 111 | Meandering tale of pinball wizard Shields and musician Marshall traveling cross-country, eventually challenging champion Durning. Only value of film (aside from Durning) is dazzling point-of-view photography inside pinball machine. Recut by director Durand to 100m. | tt0078400 | [PG] | Brooke Shields, Ken Marshall, Charles Durning, John Crawford, Gregory Walcott, Geoffrey Lewis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tim | 1979 | Michael Pate | ★★½ | 108 | Lush, well-meaning if a bit schmaltzy chronicle of the relationship between older woman (Laurie) and younger, retarded man (nicely played by Gibson). Pate wrote the screenplay from Colleen McCullough's first novel. Remade for TV in 1996 as MARY & TIM. | tt0080024 | Piper Laurie, Mel Gibson, Alwyn Kurts, Pat Evison, Peter Gwynne, Deborah Kennedy | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Timber Queen | 1943 | Frank McDonald | ★½ | 66 | Static programmer with pilot Arlen helping Hughes solve her business problems and romancing her. | tt0036440 |
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Richard Arlen, Mary Beth Hughes, June Havoc, Sheldon Leonard | Drama | NULL | ||
| Timberjack | 1955 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 94 | Young man fights crooks taking over lumber mill who also killed his father. Harmless potboiler. | tt0048726 | Vera Ralston, Sterling Hayden, David Brian, Adolphe Menjou, Hoagy Carmichael | Western | NULL | |||
| Timbuktu | 1959 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★ | 91 | Mature plays adventurer involved in African story of plot to overthrow government. Script is below average; cast is uneven. | tt0053362 | Victor Mature, Yvonne De Carlo, George Dolenz, John Dehner, Marcia Henderson, James Foxx | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Time After Time | 1979 | Nicholas Meyer | ★★½ | 112 | Fanciful tale of H. G. Wells following Jack the Ripper from Victorian England to 1979 America in his time machine. Engaging premise eroded by story loopholes and halfhearted attempts at social comment. Best is Steenburgen in an appealing, star-making performance as Wells' modern American girlfriend. Vivid score by Miklos Rozsa. | tt0080025 | [PG] | Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Kent Williams, Patti D'Arbanville, Joseph Maher, Corey Feldman, Shelley Hack | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Time After Time | 1985 | Bill Hays | ★★★ | 103 | Very funny comedy about Gielgud, living on an estate with his three elderly sisters (named April, May, and Baby June)— their eccentricities, memories, and what happens when they are visited by their manipulative, long-lost cousin (Withers). Great script by Andrew Davies, from Molly Keane's novel; hampered only by awkward direction. | tt0090176 | John Gielgud, Googie Withers, Helen Cherry, Ursula Howells, Brenda Bruce, Freddie Jones, Fiona Walker, Trevor Howard | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Time Bandits | 1981 | Terry Gilliam | ★★½ | 110 | Six dwarfs, pursued by the Supreme Being (Richardson), escort a young English schoolboy through time. They meet Robin Hood (Cleese), Napoleon (Holm), King Agamemnon (Connery). Imaginative, but not as funny or as thrilling as it should be. Look for young Jim Broadbent as a TV host. Written by Gilliam and Palin, of Monty Python fame. British running time 116m. | tt0081633 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner, Kenny Baker, David Rappaport | British | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Time Bomb | 1961 | Yves Ciampi | ★★ | 92 | So-so story of captain plotting to collect insurance by planting bomb on ship. | tt0053409 |
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Curt Jurgens, Mylene Demongeot, Alain Saury, Robert Porte, Jean Durand | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Time Guardian | 1987 | Brian Hannant | ★★ | 105 | Burlinson and Fisher are sent to the 1988 Australian desert, where he teams up with geologist Coghill to battle an army of killer cyborgs from the 41st century. Confusing sci-fi adventure. | tt0094152 | [PG] | Tom Burlinson, Nikki Coghill, Dean Stockwell, Carrie Fisher, Tim Robertson, Peter Merrill, Wan Thye Liew, Damon Sanders | Australian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Time Indefinite | 1993 | Ross McElwee | ★★★½ | 117 | Revealing, highly personal visual diary in which McElwee offers a glimpse into the dynamics of his family: the relationships between its members, the linking of the generations, and, most poignantly, the way it's affected by marriage and death. McElwee's unique cinematic sensibility adds immeasurably to this impressive follow-up to SHERMAN'S MARCH. | tt0108341 |
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NULL | ||||
| Time Limit | 1957 | Karl Malden | ★★★ | 96 | Imaginative direction and acting spark this courtroomer concerning the trial of American military officer suspected of collaborating with enemy while POW in North Korea. Malden's sole foray behind the camera; Widmark coproduced. | tt0051083 | Richard Widmark, Richard Basehart, Dolores Michaels, June Lockhart, Rip Torn, Martin Balsam, Carl BentonReid, James Douglas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Time Limit | 1957 | Karl Malden | ★★★ | 96 | Imaginative direction and acting spark this courtroomer concerning the trial of an American military officer suspected of collaborating with the enemy while a POW in North Korea. Malden's sole foray behind the camera. | tt0051083 | Richard Widmark, Richard Basehart, Dolores Michaels, June Lockhart, Rip Torn, Martin Balsam, Carl Benton Reid, James Douglas | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Time Lost and Time Remembered | I Was Happy Here | 1966 | Desmond Davis. | ★★★ | 91 | Thoughtful study of Miles' unhappy marriage to older man, emphasized by visit home where she discovers new set of values. Original British title: I WAS HAPPY HERE. | tt0060532 | Sarah Miles, Cyril Cusack, Julian Glover, Sean Caffrey. | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Time Machine | 1960 | George Pal | ★★★ | 103 | H. G. Wells' fantasy reduced to comic book level, but still entertaining, with Taylor as single-minded turn-of-the-20th-century London scientist who invents time-travel device and has vivid experiences in the future. Oscar-winning special effects. Remade in 1978 (for TV) and 2002. | tt0054387 | Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Sebastian Cabot, Tom Helmore, Whit Bissell, Doris Lloyd | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Time Machine | 2002 | Simon Wells | ★★½ | 96 | Rethinking of the H. G. Wells classic has absentminded professor Pearce traveling back in time to undo a tragedy involving his fiancée, then hurtling forward into the future, where the evil Morlocks rule over the Eloi. The effects are impressive, but the story doesn't have the impact it should . . . and Pearce may not be the ideal choice for an old-fashioned hero. Directed by H. G. Wells' great-grandson! Young, who costarred in 1960, has a tiny role here. | tt0268695 | [PG-13] | Guy Pearce, Samantha Mumba, Orlando Jones, Mark Addy, Jeremy Irons, Phyllida Law, Sienna Guillory, Alan Young, Omero Mumba | Sci-Fi, Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| Time Out | 2001 | Laurent Cantet | ★★★½ | 130 | Wrenching slice of social realism about a suddenly unemployed husband and father who pretends he has a new prestigious job and convinces his friends to make large investments that he pockets in order to keep up the lie. Another vivid story about the workplace and the economic food chain from Cantet (HUMAN RESOURCES). His own kids appear in the film. | tt0279065 | [PG-13] | Aurélien Recoing, Karin Viard, Serge Livrozet, Jean-Pierre Mangeot, Monique Mangeot, Nicolas Kalsch, Marie Cantet, Felix Cantet | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Time Out for Love | 1961 | Jean Valère | ★★½ | 91 | Sometimes-effective drama chronicling the coming-of-age of young Seberg, an American living in Paris, who falls in love with capricious Ronet. | tt0054941 | Jean Seberg, Maurice Ronet, Micheline Presle, Françoise Prevost | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Time Out for Rhythm | 1941 | Sidney Salkow | ★★ | 75 | Mediocre show-biz musical turns out to be a wonderful showcase for the Stooges, who do some of their best material (including the 'Maja? Aha!' routine). One good production number, 'Boogie Woogie Man,' features Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra. | tt0034296 | Rudy Vallee, Ann Miller, Rosemary Lane, Allen Jenkins, The Three Stooges | Musical | NULL | |||
| Time Out of Mind | 1947 | Robert Siodmak | ★★ | 88 | Plodding period piece of girl in love above her station seeing her lover live unhappy life. From a Rachel Field novel. | tt0039903 | Phyllis Calvert, Robert Hutton, Ella Raines, Eddie Albert, Leo G. Carroll | Drama | NULL | |||
| Time Regained | 1999 | Raoul Ruiz | ★★★½ | 161 | Complex, elegant adaptation of the final volume of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, with the author reflecting on his life and art while on his deathbed. Difficult to follow at times, but Ruiz creates a unique, free-floating visual and structural variation on Proust's prose that uses the film frame to examine memory, fantasy, and mortality. Sumptuous production; well acted by all. Screenplay by Ruiz and Gilles Taurand. | tt0189142 | Marcello Mazzarella, Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Perez, John Malkovich, Pascal Greggory, Marie-France Pisier, Christian Vadim, Arielle Dombasle, Chiara Mastroianni, Elsa Zylberstein | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Time Runner | 1993 | Michael Mazo | 💣 | 90 | Fleeing an exploding space station in 2022 when Earth is under attack by aliens, Hamill ends up in 1992, trying to prevent the future war. Silly, poorly plotted, badly presented. | tt0108342 | [R] | Mark Hamill, Rae Dawn Chong, Brion James, Marc Baur, Gordon Tipple, Allen Forget, Barry W. Levy | Canadian-U.S. | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Time Stands Still | 1981 | Peter Gothar | ★★½ | 99 | Budapest's alienated adolescents of the early 1960s, in the aftershock of revolution, focusing on sullen Znamenak and comrades. Downbeat, enigmatic, but intriguing— with American 'oldies' on the soundtrack. | tt0082729 | Istvan Znamenak, Henrik Pauer, Sandor Soth, Peter Galfy, Aniko Ivan, Agi Kakassy, Lojos Oze, Maria Ronyecz | Hungarian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Time Table | 1956 | Mark Stevens | ★★ | 79 | Small-scale account of insurance detective involved in investigation of robbery he engineered. Klugman's film debut. | tt0049857 | Mark Stevens, King Calder, Felicia Farr, Marianne Stewart, Jack Klugman, Wesley Addy | Crime | NULL | |||
| Time Trackers | 1989 | Howard R. Cohen | ★½ | 87 | Tepid sci-fi tale about group from the future chasing down evil genius determined to use time travel to alter history in his favor. Beatty is a 20th-century cop accidentally picked up along the way. Some laughs at the beginning, but spends far too long (most of the film in fact) in medieval England. | tt0098480 | [PG] | Ned Beatty, Wil Shriner, Kathleen Beller, Bridget Hoffman, Alex Hyde-White, Lee Bergere, Robert Cornthwaite | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Time Travelers | 1964 | Ib Melchior | ★★½ | 82 | Spirited flashes of imagination heighten this sci-fi story about scientists who journey into the future and find their actions there will affect the past. Not bad, with downbeat ending; one of the first American films photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond. | tt0058659 | Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders, John Hoyt, Steve Franken | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Time Traveler’s Wife | 2009 | Robert Schwentke | ★★ | 107 | A man who travels back and forward in time—uncontrollably—meets the future love of his life when she’s just a little girl. In time she grows up and falls in love with him, but their relationship is sorely challenged by his continual (and unplanned) disappearance. Melancholy romantic drama based on Audrey Neffengger’s best-selling novel (adapted by Bruce Joel Rubin, of GHOST fame) maintains an ethereal tone throughout, and the two attractive stars do a fine job . . . but the concept is difficult to fully embrace. | tt0452694 | [PG-13] | Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston, Arliss Howard, Jane McLean, Stephen Tobolowsky | Drama, Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Time Walker | 1982 | Tom Kennedy | 💣 | 83 | Alien, buried in King Tut's tomb, is unwrapped and wreaks havoc. Low-budget junk. | tt0084796 | [PG] | Ben Murphy, Nina Axelrod, Kevin Brophy, James Karen, Shari Belafonte-Harper, Antoinette Bower | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Time Without Pity | 1957 | Joseph Losey. | ★★★ | 88 | Tense thriller with an anti-capital punishment point-of-view, as alcoholic Redgrave has 24 hours to prove son McCowen's innocence on a murder rap. Scripted by Ben Barzman, from an Emlyn Williams play. | tt0049856 | Michael Redgrave, Alec McCowen, Ann Todd, Peter Cushing, Leo McKern, Renee Houston, Lois Maxwell, Joan Plowright. | British | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Time and Tide | 2001 | Tsui Hark | ★★ | 113 | Virtually indescribable plot about an aimless young man who finds himself pitted against a friend in gangland showdown is just an excuse for action. Movie's American advertising declared, 'You won't be able to tell who's shooting at who,' and that's the problem: the adrenaline-pumped action scenes by past master Hark don't carry the weight they should because the story is so confusing! Fans of pure action may feel otherwise. | tt0251433 | [R] | Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai, Candy Lo, Cathy Chui, Anthony Wong, Joventino Couto Remotigue/Jr. | Hong Kong | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| A Time for Drunken Horses | 1999 | Bahman Ghobadi | ★★★½ | 80 | Heartbreaking story about a family of Kurdish orphans eking out an existence and trying to raise money for an operation to save their dying brother. The everyday struggle that these children go through just to survive is starkly, movingly conveyed. Written by the director and shot in his native village, with a cast of extraordinary non-professionals. | tt0259072 | Nezhad Ekhtiar-Dini, Amaneh Ekhtiar-Dini, Madi Ekhtiar-Dini, Ayoub Ahmadi, Jouvin Younessi | Iranian | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Time for Killing | 1967 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 88 | Civil War drama pits Union captain Ford against Confederate major Hamilton, when the latter kidnaps his bride-to-be. Director Karlson has done some good minor films in the past; this isn't one of them. Look for young Harrison Ford. Also known as THE LONG RIDE HOME. | tt0062373 | Glenn Ford, Inger Stevens, George Hamilton, Paul Petersen, Max Baer, Timothy Carey, Kenneth Tobey, Dick Miller, (Harry) Dean Stanton | Western | NULL | |||
| A Time for Loving | Paris Was Made for Lovers | 1971 | Christopher Miles | ★★½ | 104 | Sophisticated Jean Anouilh liaison trilogy in the LA RONDE style. Sometimes called PARIS WAS MADE FOR LOVERS. | tt0067855 | Mel Ferrer, Joanna Shimkus, Britt Ekland, Philippe Noiret, Susan Hampshire, Mark Burns, Lila Kedrova, Robert Dhery, Michel Legrand | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| A Time of Destiny | 1988 | Gregory Nava | ★★ | 118 | Major disappointment from the makers of EL NORTE. Plodding soaper, set in the WW2 era, with tragedy and revenge coming between close friends and fellow GIs Hurt and Hutton (whose performances are far from their best). Written and produced by Anna Thomas. | tt0096271 | [PG-13] | William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Melissa Leo, Stockard Channing, Megan Follows, Francisco Rabal | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Time of Favor | 2000 | Joseph Cedar | ★★★ | 98 | Religion and politics clash in this provocative melodrama-thriller, most of which unfolds in a contemporary West Bank settlement. Menachem (Avni), a soldier who commands a military unit comprised of yeshiva students, becomes involved with the rebellious daughter of a charismatic orthodox rabbi who commands that she instead wed a scholar— who happens to be Menachem's best friend. The love triangle is routine, but the film offers a powerful and timely examination of the fine line between religious devotion and fanaticism. | tt0268696 | Aki Avni, Tinkerbell, Assi Dayan, Idan Alterman, Micha Selektar, Amnon Volf, Shimon Mimran | Israeli | Drama | NULL | ||
| Time of Indifference | 1964 | Francesco Maselli | ★★ | 84 | Turgid melodrama of moral and social decay in Italy during late 1920s, focusing on one nouveau-poor family; from novel by Alberto Moravia. | tt0058231 | Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Claudia Cardinale, Paulette Goddard, Tomas Milian | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Time of Their Lives | 1946 | Charles Barton | ★★★ | 82 | Most unusual film for A&C, and one of their best. Costello and Reynolds are killed during Revolutionary times, and their ghosts haunt a country estate where (in the 20th century) Abbott and friends come to live. Imaginative, funny, and well done. | tt0039037 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marjorie Reynolds, Binnie Barnes, John Shelton, Gale Sondergaard, Jess Barker | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Time of Your Life | 1948 | H. C. Potter. | ★★ | 106 | Uninspired version of William Saroyan's prizewinning morality play about the various characters who populate Nick's Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace, which is actually a waterfront dive. Interesting cast, but it just doesn't come together. | tt0040884 | James Cagney, William Bendix, Wayne Morris, Jeanne Cagney, Broderick Crawford, Ward Bond, James Barton, Paul Draper, James Lydon, Gale Page, Richard Erdman. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Time of the Gypsies | 1989 | Emir Kusturica | ★★½ | 142 | Fair chronicle of the coming of age of a naive young gypsy (Dujmovic) and his initiation into the ways of petty crime. Sometimes effective, but way overlong and in no way as magical or memorable as Kusturica's WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS. However, he did earn the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Shot in a Gypsy language called Romany, this may be the first film ever to require subtitles in every country in which it plays! | tt0097223 | [R] | Davor Dujmovic, Bora Todorovic, Ljubica Adzovic, Sinolicka Trpkova, Husnija Hasimovic | Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | |
| Time of the Wolf | 2003 | Michael Haneke. | ★★½ | 114 | In the midst of cataclysmic social collapse, a family arrives at its country vacation home and plunges into a fight for survival when sudden personal tragedy strikes. About as bleak as movies get, this despairing look at a world gone mad is not for every taste, but it's never boring. Huppert is superb, as usual, wrenching in her portrayal of a mother trying to keep her family together against all odds. Written by the director. | tt0324197 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Béatrice Dalle, Patrice Chéreau, Rona Hartner, Olivier Gourmet, Maurice Bénichou, Brigitte Rouan. | French-Austrian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| A Time to Die | Seven Graves for Rogan | 1983 | Matt (Matteo) Cimber | ★½ | 91 | Deadening time-waster with WW2 veteran Albert seeking out the six killers of his wife. Based on a story by Mario Puzo, and filmed in 1979. Originally titled SEVEN GRAVES FOR ROGAN. | tt0086442 | [R] | Rex Harrison, Rod Taylor, Edward Albert/Jr., Raf Vallone, Linn Stokke | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| A Time to Die | 1991 | Charles T. Kanganis | ★★ | 93 | By-the-numbers programmer with ex-porn queen Lords cast as a freelance photographer attempting to make a home for her young son. Trouble comes her way when she finds herself and her camera in the right place at the wrong time. | tt0103090 | [R] | Traci Lords, Richard Roundtree, Jeff Conaway, Robert Miano, Jesse Thomas, Nitchie Barrett | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Time to Kill | 1942 | Herbert I. Leeds | ★★ | 61 | Michael Shayne (Nolan) versus counterfeiters of rare coins. Adequate entry in the series, sparked by Nolan's tough-guy performance. Though a Mike Shayne movie, it's based on a Raymond Chandler story; remade as THE BRASHER DOUBLOON. | tt0035443 | Lloyd Nolan, Ralph Byrd, Heather Angel, Doris Merrick, Richard Lane | Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Time to Kill | 1996 | Joel Schumacher | ★★★ | 149 | First-rate adaptation of John Grisham's best-seller about a Mississippi town rocked by a black man's murder of two white-trashers who raped his 10-year-old daughter. Young attorney McConaughey (in a star-making performance) takes the man's case and finds himself in the midst of a firestorm that threatens his life and that of everyone around him. This TIME flies by, thanks to crackerjack storytelling and a well-chosen cast. M. Emmet Walsh appears unbilled. | tt0117913 | [R] | Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey, Brenda Fricker, Oliver Platt, Ashley Judd, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Patrick McGoohan, Kurtwood Smith, Chris Cooper, Joe Seneca, Anthony Heald, Charles S. Dutton, Rae'ven Larrymore Kelly, John Diehl | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Time to Leave | 2005 | François Ozon | ★★★ | 85 | Handsome, gay, 31-year-old fashion photographer (Poupaud), living in a world of glamour and vanity, gets a harsh does of reality when he learns he is terminally ill. How will he spend his remaining days? How will he deal with his lover, and the members of his family? Simple, deeply felt film cuts to the heart of how individuals choose to live their lives in the face of mortality. Moreau is luminous in her few scenes as the photographer's beloved grandmother. Written by the director. | tt0417189 | Unrated | Melvil Poupaud, Jeanne Moreau, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Daniel Duval, Marie Rivière, Christian Sengewald, Louise-Anne Hippeau | French | Drama | NULL | |
| A Time to Love and a Time to Die | 1958 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 132 | Intensely dramatic love story set against background of WW2. German soldier on furlough from battle falls in love, inevitably must return to the trenches. Well-directed version of Erich Maria Remarque novel (with the author in a small role). Hutton's film debut. | tt0052296 | John Gavin, Lilo Pulver, Jock Mahoney, Don DeFore, Keenan Wynn, Thayer David, Dana (Jim) Hutton, Klaus Kinski | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| A Time to Sing | 1968 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★½ | 92 | Down-home tale of Williams suppressing love for singing to please uncle-guardian (Begley). Script aimed at 10-year-old mentality, matched by Williams' wooden performance. | tt0063698 | [PG] | Hank Williams/Jr., Ed Begley, Shelley Fabares, Charles Robinson, D'Urville Martin, Donald Woods, Clara Ward | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Time, the Place and the Girl | 1946 | David Butler | ★★½ | 105 | Best thing about this flimsily plotted put-on-a-show musical is the Arthur Schwartz-Leo Robin score, including 'A Gal in Calico' and 'Rainy Night in Rio.' No relation to 1929 musical of same name. | tt0039038 | Dennis Morgan, Martha Vickers, Jack Carson, Janis Paige, S. Z. Sakall, Alan Hale/Sr., Florence Bates, Carmen Cavallero | Musical | NULL | |||
| Timebomb | 1991 | Avi Nesher | ★★½ | 96 | When mysterious people try to kill watchmaker Biehn, he finds to his surprise he has the skills to defeat them. He then kidnaps psychologist Kensit to try to find out who he really is. Intriguing premise effectively blends sci-fi and spy elements, with good performances a real plus, but soon the improbable overtakes the unlikely. | tt0105597 | [R] | Michael Biehn, Patsy Kensit, Tracy Scoggins, Robert Culp, Raymond St. Jacques, Richard Jordan, Billy Blanks, Jim Maniaci, Steven J. Oliver, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Timecode | 2000 | Mike Figgis | ★★½ | 97 | Unique film shot digitally in four concurrent 90-minute takes follows 20-odd L.A. characters as their unhappy lives crisscross, both personally and professionally. Sound levels direct our attention to the most significant quadrant at any given time. As an experiment it's fresh and exciting; as entertainment it's wildly uneven, although the largely improvised dialogue is at least an improvement over THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. | tt0220100 | [R] | Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Salma Hayek, Julian Sands, Holly Hunter, Steven Weber, Danny Huston, Leslie Mann, Alessandro Nivola, Kyle MacLachlan, Glenne Headly | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Timecop | 1994 | Peter Hyams | ★★½ | 99 | In the year 2004, a new law enforcement agency polices time-tripping criminals; top agent Van Damme is determined to nail the ringleader of these thugs, an evil and ambitious senator (Silver). Thoroughly watchable adaptation of the comic book series, but lacks the energy and imagination to be really satisfying. Followed in 2003 by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0111438 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver, Bruce McGill, Gloria Reuben, Scott Bellis, Jason Schombing | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Timecrimes | Los Cronocrímenes | 2008 | Nacho Vigalondo | ★★½ | 89 | An otherwise ordinary man stumbles onto a time machine that allows him to travel an hour into the past. This propels him into a surreal, frightening journey. Occasionally clever sci-fi thriller is akin to a puzzle that’s fun to put together—but too many pieces just don’t fit. | tt0480669 | [R] | Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández, Nacho Vigalondo, Bárbara Goenaga, Ion Inciarte | Spanish | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Timeline | 2003 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 116 | Archeologists travel back in time to rescue Walker's father, who's gotten stuck in the 14th century in the midst of the Hundred Years' War . . . but the time machine's owner, a high-tech honcho, hasn't told them all they should know about the risks involved in their adventure. Lively, noisy, convoluted story becomes so confusing it's difficult to know who's who, let alone what's what. Based on a Michael Crichton novel. | tt0300556 | [PG-13] | Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Neal McDonough, Matt Craven, Ethan Embry, Michael Sheen, Lambert Wilson, Marton Csokas, Rossif Sutherland | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Timerider | 1983 | William Dear | ★★ | 93 | Motocross bike racer is accidentally sent back in time to the Old West, circa 1875 . . . and that's where the writers fell asleep. Good premise and cast are left hanging as film crawls downhill. Produced and cowritten by Michael Nesmith. | tt0086443 | [PG] | Fred Ward, Belinda Bauer, Peter Coyote, Ed Lauter, Richard Masur, Tracey Walter, L. Q. Jones | Action, Western, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Times Square | 1980 | Allan Moyle | 💣 | 111 | A pair of teenage runaways, one (Alvarado) upper class, the other (Johnson) 'of the streets,' romp around a curiously unmenacing Times Square. Illogical, unrealistic scenario, frantic direction, music score for the hard of hearing. Script by film critic Jacob Brackman. | tt0081635 | [R] | Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Peter Coffield, Herbert Berghof, Miguel Pinero, Elizabeth Pena | Drama | NULL | ||
| Times Square Lady | 1935 | George B. Seitz. | ★★ | 69 | When naïve Bruce inherits her father's Broadway businesses, crooked lawyer Kolker assigns Taylor to get control of them, but Taylor falls for her and double-crosses his boss. Programmer starts out promisingly but bogs down in clichés. Taylor's first lead role in a feature; Ward Bond has a bit as a murderous hockey player. | tt0027110 | Robert Taylor, Virginia Bruce, Helen Twelvetrees, Isabel Jewell, Nat Pendleton, Pinky Tomlin, Henry Kolker, Raymond Hatton, Jack La Rue. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Times of Harvey Milk | 1984 | Rob Epstein | ★★★½ | 87 | Extremely moving documentary about Harvey Milk, the first gay supervisor elected in San Francisco; mayor George Moscone; and clean-cut, respectable supervisor Dan White, who assassinated them both. Eerie, fascinating, sad, funny; as dramatic and involving as the most carefully plotted fiction. This deservedly earned a Best Documentary Academy Award. | tt0088275 | Narrated by Harvey Fierstein | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Tin Cup | 1996 | Ron Shelton | ★★ | 133 | Portrait of a run-down golf pro, now operating a shabby Texas driving range, who's inspired to compete in the U.S. Open in order to impress a woman— the girlfriend of his longtime rival. Problem: he always wants to 'go for it' instead of playing it safe. Costner and Russo are appealing, but this long, redundant comedy has alarmingly little to say, and takes its sweet time playing all 18 holes. Cowritten by director Shelton. | tt0117918 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson, Cheech Marin, Linda Hart, Dennis Burkley, Rex Linn | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Tin Drum | 1979 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★★★ | 142 | Mesmerizing adaptation of the Gunter Grass novel. Three-year-old Oskar (David Bennent) ceases to grow physically as the Nazis take power in Germany and beats out his anger on his drum. A 'realistic fantasy' with superb acting, particularly by 12-year-old Bennent. Memorable sequence after memorable sequence; deservedly won a Best Foreign Film Academy Award. | tt0078875 | [R] | David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Daniel Olbrychski, Katharina Thalbach, Heinz Bennent, Andrea Ferreol, Charles Aznavour | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Tin Men | 1987 | Barry Levinson | ★★½ | 112 | Writer-director Levinson returns to DINER territory (literally— it's set in 1963 Baltimore) for a melancholy comedy-drama about a hustler (Dreyfuss) and a loser (DeVito), both in the aluminum-siding business, whose lives converge after their cars meet in an accident. Some fine comedy and pointed observations on human nature are undermined by unresolved ideas and inconsistencies in the way the characters behave. Stand-up comic Gayle is hilarious as DeVito's partner, who has Bonanza on the brain. | tt0094155 | [R] | Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey, John Mahoney, Jackie Gayle, Stanley Brock, Seymour Cassel, Bruno Kirby, J.T. Walsh, Michael Tucker | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Tin Pan Alley | 1940 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 94 | Predictable plot of struggling pre-WW1 songwriters enlivened by Alfred Newman's Oscar-winning score and colorful numbers including 'Sheik of Araby' with Billy Gilbert as sultan. Oakie is in top form. Remade as I'LL GET BY. | tt0033167 | Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Jack Oakie, John Payne, Esther Ralston, Allen Jenkins, Nicholas Brothers, John Loder, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Tin Star | 1957 | Anthony Mann | ★★★ | 93 | Fledgling sheriff Perkins turns to bounty hunter Fonda to help combat outlaws preying on his town; solid, well-acted Western. Scripted by Dudley Nichols. | tt0051087 | Henry Fonda, Anthony Perkins, Betsy Palmer, Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef, John McIntire, Michel Ray | Western | NULL | |||
| The Tingler | 1959 | William Castle | ★★½ | 82 | Preposterous but original shocker: coroner Price discovers that fear causes a creepy-crawly creature to materialize on people's spines; it can be subdued only by screaming. This is the infamous picture that got moviegoers into the spirit with vibrating gizmos under selected theater seats!— a gimmick director/producer Castle billed as 'Percepto.' Also noteworthy as likely the earliest film depicting an LSD trip. One critical sequence is in color. | tt0053363 | Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman, Philip Coolidge, Patricia Cutts | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | 2011 | Tomas Alfredson | ★★½ | 128 | In 1973, the head of England's MI6 intelligence service (Hurt) is forced to resign, along with his top spy, George Smiley (Oldman). Then the government recruits Smiley to uncover a mole who has apparently worked his way to the top level of the agency. Meticulous rendering of the John le Carré novel, memorably filmed as a British miniseries in 1979 with Alec Guinness. Espionage aficionados will especially admire this dense, adult yarn, with a top-notch cast. Although it captures the look and texture of its time, it could seriously use a shot of adrenaline somewhere along the way. | tt1340800 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik, Kathy Burke, Stephen Graham, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Simon McBurney | British-French-German | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Tintorera | 1977 | Rene Cardona/ Jr | 💣 | 91 | Can two Mexican shark hunters find satisfaction with an assortment of vacationing beauties from England and the U.S.? That's the main issue of this listless JAWS rip-off, loaded with gore and nude scenes. | tt0076825 | [R] | Susan George, Hugo Stiglitz, Andres Garcia, Fiona Lewis, Jennifer Ashley, Priscilla Barnes, Laura Lyons | British-Mexican | Horror, Drama | NULL | |
| Tiny Furniture | 2010 | Lena Dunham | ★★★ | 98 | Just out of college, Aura (Dunham) moves back into her mom’s combination apartment and artist’s studio in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood while she contemplates the next step in her life. Wry, pointed social comedy about a child-woman going through an awkward period seems utterly genuine and spontaneous; kudos to writer, director, and star Dunham and her cast mates. Dunham’s real-life mother and sister play themselves. | tt1570989 | Unrated | Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Alex Karpovsky, David Call, Merritt Wever | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tip on a Dead Jockey | 1957 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 99 | Neat account of Taylor tied in with smuggling syndicate in Madrid, romancing Malone. Good Charles Lederer adaptation of Irwin Shaw story. | tt0051088 | Dorothy Malone, Robert Taylor, Gia Scala, Martin Gabel, Jack Lord | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Tip-Off Girls | 1938 | Louis King. | ★★½ | 61 | Racketeers employ alluring damsels in distress to flag down truckers on highways and then hijack their shipments. Crisp crime programmer. | tt0030875 | Mary Carlisle, Lloyd Nolan, Roscoe Karns, Larry (Buster) Crabbe, J. Carrol Naish, Evelyn Brent, Anthony Quinn, Benny Baker, Harvey Stephens. | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Tip-Off | 1931 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★★ | 73 | Consistently clever, amusing little film with naïve Quillan earning boxer Armstrong's eternal gratitude by (inadvertently) saving him from a going-over by gangster Harolde. That comes in handy when Quillan falls in love with the mobster's moll. Armstrong is very funny as the prizefighter who's always groping for big words, which are supplied by his perky girlfriend Rogers. | tt0022484 | Eddie Quillan, Robert Armstrong, Ginger Rogers, Joan Peers, Ralf Harolde, Charles Sellon, Mike Donlin | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Titan A.E. | 2000 | Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | ★★ | 95 | Boring animated sci-fi adventure set in the future. Young man with a chip on his shoulder learns that he's the only hope to save what's left of the human race. Basic good vs. evil outer-space saga has great visual effects but stock characters and situations— and the dullest voice performances in animation history. | tt0120913 | [PG] | Voices of Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Janeane Garofalo, Nathan Lane, John Leguizamo, Ron Perlman, Tone-Loc | Animation, Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Titan- Story of Michelangelo | 1950 | Richard Lyford | ★★★ | 68 | Evocative documentary portrait of the great artist, capturing the man through his work. Originally a Swiss film made in 1940, it was reedited for U.S. release by Robert Snyder, and won an Oscar as Best Documentary. | tt0043050 | Narrated by Fredric March | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Titanic | 1943 | Herbert Selpin, Werner Klingler | ★★½ | 85 | Little-seen German drama about the doomed ocean liner was made during WW2, so a German officer is depicted as the only brave, outspoken man on board, while the English owner pursues an 'endless quest for profit.' Creditable disaster film, although the script is no more inspired than later versions of the saga. Some shots were reused in A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Banned in Germany in 1943 because the scenes of panic were considered too potent in the midst of wartime air raids. | tt0036443 | Sybille Schmitz, Hans Nielsen, Karl Schönböck, Charlotte Thiele, Otto Wernicke | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Titanic | 1953 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 98 | Hollywoodized version of sea tragedy centers on shipboard story. Not bad, but events better told in A NIGHT TO REMEMBER . . . and more spectacularly in the 1997 film. Oscar-winning script by producer Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard Breen. | tt0046435 | Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Richard Basehart, Audrey Dalton, Thelma Ritter, Brian Aherne | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Titanic | 1997 | James Cameron | ★★★½ | 194 | Sweeping romance set against the backdrop of the R.M.S. Titanic's maiden voyage in 1912— and framed by a modern-day story of a salvager who stumbles onto a heretofore unknown survivor of the sinking (beautifully played by 1930s leading lady Stuart). Spectacular in every way, an eye-filling re-creation of the sights and sounds of the grandest ship of its time, but what keeps it afloat are the magnetic performances of the young leads. Storytelling savvy and momentum make up for some banal dialogue. Some footage of the actual Titanic wreckage is sprinkled into the opening sequence. Written by the director. Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Visual Effects, Music (James Horner), Song ('My Heart Will Go On'), Cinematography (Russell Carpenter), Sound, and Costumes (Deborah L. Scott). Cameron revisited the ship's watery grave with his 2003 IMAX documentary GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS. | tt0120338 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Frances Fisher, Kathy Bates, David Warner, Danny Nucci, Victor Garber, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Bernard Fox, Jonathan Hyde, Bill Paxton, Suzy Amis | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Titanic Town | 1999 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 102 | Working-class Irish Catholic housewife becomes a reluctant political activist (and ostracizes herself from her own family) when her backyard becomes a battleground between the British Army and the IRA. Distinguished by its literate script, precise emotional tone, and supercharged performances from Walters and newcomer O'Neill as a sparring mother and daughter. Based on Mary Costello's autobiographical novel. | tt0127319 | Julie Walters, Ciaran Hinds, Nuala O'Neill, Elizabeth Donagy, Ciaran McMenamin, Jaz Pollock, Doreen Hepburn | British-Irish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Titanic: Disaster in the Atlantic | 1929 | E. A. Dupont. | ★★ | 99 | Doomed ocean liner's first to final moments are dutifully chronicled, but in the peculiar guise of a roman à clef. Dupont's first talkie was shot once as a German silent, then in German and British sound versions, each with different casts and scripts. Adapted from Ernest Raymond's play The Berg, and more an experiment in early sound than a sound drama. Aka ATLANTIK and ATLANTIC. | tt0019658 | Fritz Kortner, Elsa Wagner, Heinrich Schroth, Julia Serda, Elfriede Borodin, Lucie Mannheim, Franz (Francis) Lederer, Willi Forst, Franklin Dyall, Madeleine Carroll, Monty Banks, John Stuart, John Longden. | British-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Titfield Thunderbolt | 1953 | Charles Crichton | ★★★ | 84 | Boisterous Ealing comedy about villagers who are attached to their antiquated railway line and run it themselves in competition with the local bus line. Lovely photography by Douglas Slocombe. Script by T.E.B. Clarke. | tt0046436 | Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle, Edie Martin, Hugh Griffith, Sid James, Jack MacGowran | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tito and Me | 1992 | Goran Markovic | ★★★ | 104 | Sweet, funny comedy-reminiscence about Zoran (Vojnov), a pudgy 10-year-old growing up in Belgrade in 1954. He is obsessed with 'Comrade Tito,' his nation's leader, just as a lovesick teen pines over a movie or rock star; the heart of the film focuses on how Zoran comes to realize the folly of worshipping false idols. This reportedly is the last film to come out of war-torn Yugoslavia. | tt0105602 | Dimitrie Vojnov, Lazar Ristovski, Anica Dobra, Pedrag Manojlovic | Yugoslavian-French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Titus | 1999 | Julie Taymor | ★★★ | 162 | Potent, time-bending adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, with Hopkins as a victorious Roman general whose rigid code of honor and duty proves to be his downfall. Lange is his prisoner, Tamora, queen of the Goths, who plots revenge. Impressive work by innovative theater director Taymor, who also wrote the screenplay as an examination of violence— its cause and effect— as it relates to modern society. Lennix is a standout as Aaron, the Moor. | tt0120866 | [R] | Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Angus Macfadyen, Matthew Rhys, Harry Lennix, James Frain, Colm Feore, Laura Fraser, Geraldine McEwan, Osheen Jones | Drama | NULL | ||
| To All My Friends On Shore | 1971 | Gilbert Cates | Above Average TV Movie | 74 | Problems confronted in father-son relationship when they get word that child has incurable disease. Uneven performances, but film's conception and point of view exceptionally strong, refreshing. | tt0067858 | Bill Cosby, Gloria Foster, Dennis Hines, Ray Mason, Dennis Pate | Drama | NULL | |||
| To Be or Not to Be | 1942 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★½ | 99 | Benny has the role of a lifetime as 'that great, great actor' Joseph Tura, whose Polish theater troupe is put out of business by invading Nazis— until they become involved in espionage and find their thespian skills being put to the ultimate test. Superb black comedy scripted by Edwin Justus Mayer; the opening gag with Dugan is a gem. Lombard's final film, released after her death. Remade in 1983. | tt0035446 | Jack Benny, Carole Lombard, Robert Stack, Lionel Atwill, Felix Bressart, Sig Ruman, Tom Dugan, Helmut Dantine, Stanley Ridges | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| To Be or Not to Be | 1983 | Alan Johnson | ★★½ | 108 | Remake of 1942 classic follows the original almost scene for scene, with Brooks and Bancroft— in fine comic form— as stars of Polish theater who become involved with invading Nazis. Offers more laughs than the original film, but less substance; incessant schtick undermines occasional attempts at poignancy. | tt0086450 | [PG] | Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Tim Matheson, Jose Ferrer, James Haake, Christopher Lloyd, George Gaynes, George Wyner, Jack Riley, Lewis J. Stadlen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| To Bed . . . or Not to Bed | 1963 | Gian Luigi Polidoro | ★★½ | 103 | Saucy sex romp. Sordi expects to find free love on business trip to Stockholm, discovers home sweet home is best. Retitled: THE DEVIL. | tt0056995 | Alberto Sordi, Bernhard Tarschys, Inger Sjostrand, Ulf Palme | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| To Begin Again | 1982 | Jose Luis Garci | ★★★ | 93 | Distinguished— and dying— professor Ferrandis revisits Spain, where he journeys through his past and romances old flame Paso. Sweetly sentimental; Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. | tt0084874 | [PG] | Antonio Ferrandis, Encarna Paso, Jose Bodalo, Agustin Gonzalez, Pablo Hoyo | Spanish |
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| To Catch a Spy | Catch Me a Spy | 1971 | Dick Clement | ★½ | 94 | Feeble comedy-mystery of events resulting when Jobert's new husband is arrested by the Russians as a spy; Douglas is a mystery man, Courtenay a bumbling British agent. Also known as CATCH ME A SPY. | tt0067297 | Kirk Douglas, Marlene Jobert, Trevor Howard, Tom Courtenay, Patrick Mower, Bernadette Lafont, Bernard Blier | British-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| To Catch a Thief | 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 106 | The French Riviera serves as picturesque backdrop for this entertaining (if fluffy) Hitchcock caper with Grant as reformed cat burglar suspected in new wave of jewel robberies. Chic and elegant in every way— and Kelly never looked more ravishing. Script (including much-imitated fireworks scene) by John Michael Hayes; Oscar-winning photography by Robert Burks. | tt0048728 | Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams, Charles Vanel, Brigitte Auber | Mystery, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |||
| To Commit a Murder | 1967 | Edouard Molinaro | ★½ | 91 | Playboy/ writer Jourdan gets involved with a plot to abduct French nuclear scientist; interesting idea poorly handled. | tt0062106 | Louis Jourdan, Senta Berger, Edmond O'Brien, Bernard Blier, Fabrizzio Capucci | French | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| To Die For | 1989 | Deran Sarafian | ★½ | 90 | Dracula legend is updated to modern-day, morally decadent L.A., but the results are strictly second-rate. Vampire 'Vlad Tepish' sets his sights on sexy real-estate agent Walsh— apparently unaware that realtors in L.A. are a bloodless lot. Followed by SON OF DARKNESS: TO DIE FOR II. | tt0098482 | [R] | Brendan Hughes, Sydney Walsh, Amanda Wyss, Scott Jacoby, Micah Grant, Steve Bond | Horror | NULL | ||
| To Die For | 1995 | Gus Van Sant | ★★½ | 103 | Kidman is perfect as a tightly focused sicko who'll stop at nothing, including murder, to reach her goal: a TV career. Based on the real-life case that inspired Joyce Maynard's book, this black comedy seems to make all the right moves, but plays out its story with a surprising lack of irony; by the climax it has nothing more to offer. Douglas is a particular standout as Kidman's sister-in-law, who sees through her artifice from the git-go. George Segal appears unbilled, and the film's screenwriter, Buck Henry, plays a humorless schoolteacher. | tt0114681 | [R] | Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Illeana Douglas, Casey Affleck, Alison Folland, Dan Hedaya, Wayne Knight, Kurtwood Smith, Holland Taylor, Susan Traylor, Maria Tucci, David Cronenberg | Comedy, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| To Die in Madrid | 1963 | Frederic Rossif | ★★★★ | 87 | Masterpiece in documentary filmmaking dealing with bloody civil war in Spain in which more than a million people died. | tt0057327 |
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Narrated by John Gielgud, Irene Worth | French | Documentary | NULL | |
| To Die of Love | 1972 | André Cayatte | ★★½ | 110 | Girardot's superb performance carries true story about French schoolteacher who was driven to suicide after she was forced to abandon 16-year-old student she loved. More interesting for subject matter than for actual execution. | tt0066101 | [PG] | Annie Girardot, Bruno Pradal, François Simon, Monique Melinand, Nathalie Nell, Nicolas Dumayet | French | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| To Each His Own | 1946 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★★ | 122 | Well-turned soaper of unwed mother giving up baby, lavishing love on him as his 'aunt' without revealing truth. Fine support by Culver as aging Olivia's beau. De Havilland won Best Actress Oscar. Lund's film debut. | tt0039040 | Olivia de Havilland, John Lund, Mary Anderson, Roland Culver, Phillip Terry, Griff Barnett | Drama | NULL | |||
| To Find a Man | 1972 | Buzz Kulik | ★★★ | 90 | Solid comedy-drama about two high-schoolers' attempts to find an abortionist. Study of friendships is good, and exceedingly fine acting of youthful leads is a definite plus. | tt0069385 | [PG] | Pamela (Sue) Martin, Darren O'Connor, Lloyd Bridges, Phyllis Newman, Tom Ewell, Tom Bosley | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| To Forget Venice | 1979 | Franco Brusati | ★★ | 110 | Two pairs of homosexuals (male and female) come to grips with each other at the country estate of a dying opera star. So-so drama managed an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. | tt0079054 | Erland Josephson, Mariangela Melato, Elenora Giorgi, David Pontremoli | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday | 1996 | Michael Pressman | ★★★ | 92 | Straightforward tearjerker— with ample comedy leavening— about a man unable and unwilling to let go of his wife's memory two years after her sudden death; his sister-in-law fears that his inertia and melancholy threaten his teenage daughter at a crucial time in her life. Well acted all around. Based on a play by Michael Brady, adapted and coproduced by David E. Kelley (Pfeiffer's husband). | tt0117924 | [PG-13] | Peter Gallagher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Bruce Altman, Kathy Baker, Wendy Crewson, Freddie Prinze/Jr., Laurie Fortier | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| To Have and Have Not | 1944 | Howard Hawks | ★★★½ | 100 | Hemingway's 'worst novel' forms the basis for Hawks' version of CASABLANCA: tough skipper-for-hire Bogart reluctantly becomes involved with French Resistance, less reluctantly woos even tougher Bacall (in her film debut). Their legendary love scenes make the movie, but there are also solid performances, taut action, and a couple of songs. (Andy Williams was hired to dub Bacall's singing, but that's her voice, after all.) Super dialogue by William Faulkner and Jules Furthman; remade as THE BREAKING POINT and THE GUN RUNNERS. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0037382 | Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, Lauren Bacall, Hoagy Carmichael, Dan Seymour, Marcel Dalio, Dolores Moran, Sheldon Leonard | Romance, Thriller, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| To Hell and Back | 1955 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★★ | 106 | Murphy (the most decorated soldier of WW2) stars in very good war film based on his autobiography, with excellent battle sequences depicting Murphy's often breathtaking heroic exploits. Clichés in script are overcome by Murphy and cast's easygoing delivery. | tt0048729 | Audie Murphy, Marshall Thompson, Charles Drake, Jack Kelly, Paul Picerni, Gregg Palmer, Brett Halsey, David Janssen, Art Aragon, Rand Brooks, Denver Pyle, Susan Kohner | Action, War | NULL | |||
| To Joy | 1950 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★½ | 95 | Early Bergman drama offers a thematic prelude of what was to come from the filmmaker. Otherwise, it's a modest, occasionally insightful chronicle of Olin and Nilsson's failing marriage. | tt0043048 | Stig Olin, Maj-Britt Nilsson, John Ekman, Margit Carlquist, Victor Seastrom (Sjöström), Birger Malmsten | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Kill a Clown | 1972 | George Bloomfield | ★★ | 104 | Couple whose marriage is on the rocks get trapped on island off New England coast by crippled, deranged Vietnam veteran. Weird mixture of traditional chiller film elements and topical considerations. | tt0069386 | [R] | Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Heath Lamberts, Eric Clavering | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Kill a Mockingbird | 1962 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★★ | 129 | In a small Georgia town in the 1930s, lawyer Atticus Finch (Peck) defends a black man (Peters) accused of raping a white woman. Their father's innate decency affects his two motherless children as they learn about life, especially about that spooky house next door. Peck won a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar; screenwriter Horton Foote received one as well. This outstanding film only gains in stature as time passes. One of the best of the 1960s. From the semiautobiographical novel by Harper Lee. Duvall makes his screen debut as Boo Radley. Produced by Alan J. Pakula, with a memorable score by Elmer Bernstein. | tt0056592 | Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, John Megna, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Paul Fix, Collin Wilcox, Alice Ghostley, William Windom; narrated by Kim Stanley | Drama | NULL | |||
| To Kill a Priest | 1988 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★ | 117 | Well-intentioned but inept drama about ill-fated Polish priest Lambert (a character based on Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who supported the country's trade unionists and paid for his activism with his life); here he tangles with bullying secret policeman Harris. Director Holland may be a Polish exile, but the film only superficially explores the plight of her country. | tt0096280 | [R] | Ed Harris, Christopher Lambert, David Suchet, Joss Ackland, Tim Roth, Joanne Whalley, Pete Postlethwaite, Timothy Spall, Cherie Lunghi | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| To Live | 1994 | Zhang Yimou | ★★★½ | 132 | Another stirring production from director/actress team of Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, although this time the female role is less powerful, and less pivotal, than the male lead. Film follows married couple as their fortunes rise and fall, through several decades of Chinese life, from 1940s onward. Viewer gets history lesson as time passes, children grow, and freedoms are suppressed. Ge You is outstanding as simple yet unstereotypical patriarch; only flaw is that episodic story eventually develops Edna Ferber-ish soap opera quality. Based on the novel Lifetimes by Yu Hua. | tt0110081 | Ge You, Gong Li, Niu Ben, Guo Tao, Jiang Wu, Ni Dahong, Liu Tianchi, Zhang Lu, Xiao Cong, Dong Fei | Chinese | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Live and Die in L.A. | 1985 | William Friedkin | ★½ | 116 | Gritty movie equivalent of TV's Miami Vice makes it hard to root for anyone, since the good guys are as sleazy as the bad guys! Petersen plays hotshot Secret Service agent going after slimy counterfeiter— but for a crack federal agent he acts pretty dumb! One spectacular car chase is not enough to counteract bad taste the film leaves behind. | tt0090180 | [R] | William L. Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro, Darlanne Fluegel, Dean Stockwell, Robert Downey/Sr., Dwier Brown | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| To Mary- With Love | 1936 | John Cromwell | ★★½ | 86 | Dated drama of Baxter and Loy having stormy period of marriage but ending up loving each other more than ever. | tt0028388 |
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Warner Baxter, Myrna Loy, Ian Hunter, Claire Trevor, Jean Dixon, Pat Somerset | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Paris With Love | 1955 | Robert Hamer | ★★½ | 78 | Middle-aged widower Guinness and son (Gray) try to marry each other off while on holiday in Paris. So-so comedy should amuse Guinness fans and Francophiles. | tt0048730 | Alec Guinness, Odile Versois, Vernon Gray, Elina Labourdette, Claude Romain, Jacques Francois, Austin Trevor | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| To Please a Lady | 1950 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 91 | Adolphe Menjou, Roland Winters, Will Geer, Emory Parnell, Frank Jenks. Unremarkable love story of reporter Stanwyck and race-car driver-heel Gable. | tt0043052 | Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| To Rome With Love | 2012 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 112 | Multi-character mosaic of stories set in Rome, where Allen and Davis come to visit their daughter (Pill) and her new boyfriend (Parenti). Other story threads include architect Baldwin casting himself as an advisor on matters of amore to young Eisenberg to office clerk Benigni suddenly finding himself a TV celebrity, for no apparent reason. All the attempts at whimsy and fantasy that took flight in MIDNIGHT IN PARIS fall flat here; it's tough to watch the talented actors struggle with their awkward dialogue. Only bright spot is Woody himself, tossing off one-liners as deftly as ever. | tt1859650 | [R] | Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page, Alison Pill, Flavio Parenti, Fabio Armiliato, Alessandro Tiberi, Alessandra Mastronardi, Antonio Albanese, Ornella Muti, Carol Alt | U.S.-Italian | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| To Sir, With Love | 1967 | James Clavell | ★★★½ | 105 | Excellent film of novice teacher Poitier assigned to roughhouse London school, gradually earning respect from his students. Well acted, with nice work by British newcomers; Lulu also sings hit title song. Written and produced by Clavell, from E. R. Braithwaite's novel. Followed by a made-for-TV sequel in 1996. | tt0062376 | Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts, Suzy Kendall, Faith Brook, Geoffrey Bayldon, Patricia Routledge, Adrienne Posta, Lulu, Michael Des Barres | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Sleep With Anger | 1990 | Charles Burnett | ★★★ | 102 | Evocative domestic drama about the effect storyteller/trickster Glover has on the various members of a black family. More than just a portrait of contemporary black society, it's a story of cultural differences between parents and children, of how individuals learn (or don't learn) from experience, and of how there should be no place for those who cause violence and strife. Scripted by Burnett; coexecutive produced by Glover. Screen couple Lumbly and McGee are also married in real life. | tt0100791 | [PG] | Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Carl Lumbly, Vonetta McGee, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ethel Ayler, Julius Harris, Sy Richardson, Jimmy Witherspoon | Drama | NULL | ||
| To Trap a Spy | 1966 | Don Medford | ★★½ | 90 | Expanded from initial segment of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series, this reflects small budget and cast's newness at formula action-espionage type plot. | tt0061098 | Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll, Luciana Paluzzi, Pat Crowley | Comedy, Adventure, Drama, Action, Crime | NULL | |||
| To Walk With Lions | 1999 | Carl Schultz | ★★½ | 108 | Fact-based account of Tony Fitzjohn, an aimless young man who becomes the protégé of George Adamson (a perfectly cast Harris), the fiercely dedicated “lion man” who teaches lions born in captivity how to survive in the wild. Some of the supporting characters are underwritten, and the scenes in which the humans and lions interact are pasted together, but the film is engaging when exploring Adamson’s spiritual connection to the animals. This BORN FREE follow-up did not earn a U.S. theatrical release. | tt0132563 | [PG-13] | Richard Harris, John Michie, Kerry Fox, Ian Bannen, Hugh Quarshie, Honor Blackman, Geraldine Chaplin | Canadian-British-Kenyan | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar | 1995 | Beeban Kidron | ★½ | 108 | Incredibly tiresome tale of three self-proclaimed drag queens heading for Hollywood whose car breaks down in a small rural town. There they befriend— and enliven— the local female population. Robin Williams appears in one scene, unbilled, and provides easily the film's funniest moments. | tt0114682 | [PG-13] | Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Arliss Howard, Christopher Penn, Melinda Dillon, Blythe Danner, Beth Grant, RuPaul, Naomi Campbell, Quentin Crisp, Julie Newmar | Comedy | NULL | ||
| To the Devil- A Daughter | 1976 | Peter Sykes | ★★½ | 95 | Occult novelist Widmark is enlisted to help young girl (Kinski) who's being pursued by defrocked priest Lee for satanic ritual. Hammer Films adaptation of Dennis Wheatley book is well made but lacks punch. Aka CHILD OF SATAN. | tt0075334 | [R] | Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Denholm Elliott, Nastassja Kinski, Michael Goodliffe | British-German | Action | NULL | |
| To the Ends of the Earth | 1948 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★½ | 109 | Fast-moving thriller of government agent tracking down narcotics smuggling ring has good acting and ironic ending. | tt0040887 | Dick Powell, Signe Hasso, Ludwig Donath, Vladimir Sokoloff, Edgar Barrier | Adventure | NULL | |||
| To the Shores of Tripoli | 1942 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★½ | 86 | Spoiled rich boy Payne joins Marines with off-handed attitude, doesn't wake up until film's end. Routine. | tt0035447 | John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Randolph Scott, Nancy Kelly, William Tracy, Maxie Rosenbloom, Iris Adrian | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| To the Victor | 1948 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 100 | Thought-provoking post-WW2 drama about an apolitical black marketer (Morgan) who becomes involved with a mystery woman (Lindfors) whose life is in danger. Richard Brooks' script attempts to deal with issues relating to war, peace, morality, and responsibility, but too many dull stretches do this in. Strikingly photographed on location in Paris and especially at Normandy's Omaha Beach. | tt0040888 | Dennis Morgan, Viveca Lindfors, Victor Francen, Eduardo Ciannelli, Anthony Caruso, Tom D'Andrea, William Conrad, Dorothy Malone, Joseph Buloff, Bruce Bennett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Toast | 2010 | SJ Clarkson | ★★★ | 96 | An English boy grows up in the late 1960s with a chronically cranky father and a loving mother who cannot cook a decent meal. When she dies, a housekeeper arrives on the scene who pleases Dad but drives our young hero crazy—not least because she's a whiz in the kitchen. Flavorful film is a great showcase for Bonham Carter and Stott. Based on the best-selling memoir of celebrated British food writer and personality Nigel Slater. Made for British TV. | tt1658851 | Helena Bonham Carter, Freddie Highmore, Ken Stott, Victoria Hamilton, Oscar Kennedy, Matthew McNulty | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Toast of New Orleans | 1950 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 97 | Lanza plays fisherman transformed into operatic star. Rest of cast good, and Lanza sings 'Be My Love.' | tt0043053 | Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, David Niven, Rita Moreno, J. Carrol Naish | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Toast of New York | 1937 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★ | 109 | Arnold is in fine form as rags-to-riches businessman Jim Fisk in late 19th century. Grant is his partner in hokey but entertaining biographical fiction; good showcase for spirited Farmer. | tt0029675 | Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, Jack Oakie, Donald Meek, Clarence Kolb, Billy Gilbert, Stanley Fields | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tobacco Road | 1941 | John Ford | ★★½ | 84 | Lightly entertaining but genuinely odd seriocomedy about 'quaint' Georgia backwoods community; worthwhile mainly to see Grapewin repeating his stage role as cheerful ne'er-do-well Jeeter Lester. Adapted (and sanitized) by Nunnally Johnson from the long-running Broadway play by Jack Kirkland, based on Erskine Caldwell's novel. | tt0034297 | Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney, William Tracy, Elizabeth Patterson, Dana Andrews, Slim Summerville, Ward Bond, Grant Mitchell | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tobor the Great | 1954 | Lee Sholem | ★½ | 77 | Scientist allows his genius grandson to become pals with the robot of the title, leading to complications when spies try to glom onto the plans; terrible acting and dialogue. A botched attempt at a heartwarming sci-fi comedy-thriller. | tt0047590 | Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin, Taylor Holmes, Steven Geray | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Tobruk | 1967 | Arthur Hiller | ★★½ | 110 | WW2 actioner of Allies trying to destroy Rommel's fuel supply in the Sahara, bogs down in pretentiousness, much social comment, etc. Gordon also wrote the screenplay. | tt0062377 | Rock Hudson, George Peppard, Nigel Green, Guy Stockwell, Jack Watson, Leo Gordon, Norman Rossington, Percy Herbert, Liam Redmond | War | NULL | |||
| Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus | 1960 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 96 | Likable Disney fare about a young boy who runs away to join the circus at the turn of the century. | tt0054390 | Kevin Corcoran, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, Bob Sweeney, Richard Eastham, James Drury | Family, Drama | NULL | |||
| Today We Live | 1933 | Howard Hawks | ★★ | 113 | Stilted William Faulkner story of WW1 romance and heroism; despite star-studded cast, not much. Faulkner cowrote the screenplay. Torpedo attack scenes were directed by Richard Rosson. | tt0024675 | Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Robert Young, Franchot Tone, Roscoe Karns | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| The Todd Killings | A Dangerous Friend | 1971 | Barry Shear | ★★ | 93 | Good cast in sleazy story of hip girl-getter Lyons actually involved in series of murders. Retitled A DANGEROUS FRIEND. | tt0066463 | [R] | Robert F. Lyons, Richard Thomas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Sherry Miles, Gloria Grahame, Edward Asner, Belinda J. Montgomery, Meg Foster | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Together | 2000 | Lukas Moodysson | ★★½ | 106 | Amusing flashback to 1975 as a group of supposedly like-minded people live as a collective under one roof. Long-suffering Goran (Hammarsten) discovers that theories of free love, harmony, and anticommercialism don't always apply in the day-to-day life at Tillsammans (Swedish for 'together,' the name of the commune). Likable, often perceptive social comedy; written by the director. | tt0203166 | [R] | Lisa Lindgren, Michael Nyqvist, Gustaf Hammarsten, Jessica Liedberg, Ola Norell | Swedish-Swiss-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Together | 2002 | Chen Kaige | ★★★½ | 118 | Crowd-pleasing story of a 13-year-old violin prodigy who is taken to Beijing by his father, who will sacrifice anything to make sure his son gets the best teacher and the greatest opportunities. In time, the boy must make his own choice between what he's being told and what he really feels. Expertly made, the story builds to an emotional crescendo— aided in no small way by its musical score. The leading actor is in fact a musical virtuoso. Director Chen (who cowrote the film with Xue Xiaolu) also costars as the well-to-do piano teacher. | tt0332639 | [PG] | Tang Yun, Liu Peiqi, Chen Hong, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Kaige, Cheng Qian, Zhang Qian | Chinese-South Korean | Drama | NULL | |
| Together Again | 1944 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 100 | Little bit of nothing carried off beautifully by Dunne, widow mayor of small town, and Boyer, suave New Yorker whom she hires to sculpt a statue of her late husband; charming comedy. | tt0037384 | Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Charles Coburn, Mona Freeman, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Together Brothers | 1974 | William A. Graham | ★★½ | 94 | Suspense thriller with five young blacks scouring ghetto for the killer of their policeman friend. Violent treatment balanced by sensitive character studies. | tt0072300 | [PG] | Anthony Wilson, Ahmad Nurradin, Glynn Turman, Richard Yniguez, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Owen Pace | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Together? | I Love You, I Love You Not | 1979 | Armenia Balducci | ★½ | 100 | Bisset and neurotic lover Schell argue, eat, argue, talk about sex, argue, have sex, argue some more. And the viewer gets a migraine. Originally titled I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU NOT. | tt0080030 | [R] | Jacqueline Bisset, Maximilian Schell, Terence Stamp, Monica Guerritore | Italian | Drama | NULL |
| Togetherness | 1970 | Arthur Marks | ★★ | 103 | American playboy Hamilton woos Communist athlete Berova in this dated comedy filmed in Greece. | tt0066465 | [PG] | George Hamilton, Peter Lawford, John Banner, Olinka Berova, Jesse White | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Toi et Moi | 2006 | Julie Lopes Curval | ★★½ | 94 | Pragmatic, talented orchestra cellist (Cotillard) and her head-in-the-clouds, romance-writer sister (Depardieu) stumble about in search of everlasting love. Familiar tale charms with its quiet humor, imperfect but likable characters, and topsy-turvy, bittersweet ending. | tt0460342 | Unrated | Marion Cotillard, Julie Depardieu, Jonathan Zaccaï, Eric Berger, Tomer Sisley, Sergio Perris Mancheta, Chantal Lauby | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Tokyo After Dark | 1959 | Norman Herman | ★★ | 80 | Uninspired account of military cop Long on the lam in Tokyo from unintentional homicide. | tt0053364 |
|
Michi Kobi, Richard Long, Lawrence Dobkin, Paul Dubov, Butch Yamaoto | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tokyo Decadence | 1992 | Ryu Murakami | ★★½ | 112 | So-so account of the various experiences of a young, wide-eyed Tokyo hooker (Nikaido), whose specialty is sadomasochism and whose clients are upperclass businessmen. Initially works as a look at how kinky sexual desires result from take-no-prisoners attitudes in the workplace; it eventually becomes repetitive and muddled. Scripted by Murakami, based on his novel. | tt0105622 | Miho Nikaido, Tenmei Kano, Yayoi Kusama, Sayoko Amano | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tokyo Drifter | 1966 | Seijun Suzuki. | ★★★½ | 83 | Spectacularly stylized, tongue-in-cheek thriller about a hit man who is betrayed by his boss and takes on rival gangsters and an army of assassins. Audacious and deliriously imaginative use of color, widescreen, and sound make this Suzuki's pulp masterpiece, replete with songs, choreographed gunfights, and a parody of a Western saloon brawl. | tt0061101 | Tetsuya Watari, Ryuji Kita, Hideaki Esumi, Michio Hino, Tamio Kawachi, Hideaki Nitani, Chieko Matsubara. | Japanese | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Tokyo Joe | 1949 | Stuart Heisler | ★★½ | 88 | Lesser Bogart film about American in postwar Tokyo pulled into smuggling and blackmail for the sake of his ex-wife and child. | tt0041967 | Humphrey Bogart, Florence Marly, Sessue Hayakawa, Alexander Knox, Jerome Courtland | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tokyo Olympiad | 1965 | Kon Ichikawa | ★★★★ | 170 | Once compromised by edited versions that diminished its power, epic documentary about the 1964 Olympics is artistically mentionable in the same breath as Leni Riefenstahl's OLYMPIA—and without the Hitler baggage. Though Ichikawa had over a hundred Tohoscope cameras at his disposal, result is less a reportorial chronicle than a sensory agony/ecstasy portrayal set against panoramic crowd shots. Broad jumpers compete on a messy, muddy track and a lonely runner from Chad (a country then making its Olympics debut) finds himself . . . somewhere . . . in downtown Tokyo. | tt0059817 | Japanese | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Tokyo Pop | 1988 | Fran Rubel Kuzui | ★★½ | 99 | Trifling if occasionally amusing tale of what happens when punk rocker Hamilton treks off to Japan in search of celebrity. The West-meets-East theme has possibilities, but the result is curiously slight (despite Hamilton's winning performance). By the way, she's the daughter of Carol Burnett. | tt0096281 | [R] | Carrie Hamilton, Yutaka Tadokoro, Taiji Tonoyama, Tetsuro Tamba, Masumi Harukawa | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tokyo Rose | 1945 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 69 | Timid drama of slinky female propagandist for Axis during WW2. | tt0038177 |
|
Byron Barr, Osa Massen, Donald Douglas, Richard Loo, Keye Luke, Grace Lem, Leslie Fong, Blake Edwards, Lotus Long | War | NULL | ||
| Tokyo Sonata | 2009 | Kiyoshi Kurosawa | ★★★ | 121 | Subtly devastating rumination on the emptiness of contemporary middle-class life, centering on a proud corporate administrator (Kagawa) who’s downsized from his job but is unable to tell his loved ones. Meanwhile, his wife and sons are dealing with their own issues. Kurosawa (best known for his horror films and thrillers) effectively delineates the distances between his characters and the fragile bonds that keep them connected. | tt0938341 | [PG-13] | Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki, Haruka Igawa, Kanji Tsuda, Kôji Yakusho | Japanese-Dutch-Hong Kong | Drama | NULL | |
| Tokyo Story | Tokyo monogatari | 1953 | Yasujiro Ozu | ★★★★ | 134 | An elderly couple (Ryu, Higashiyama) visit their children in Tokyo, who are too busy living their lives and treat them tactlessly. Quietly powerful story of old age, the disappointments parents experience with their children, and the fears the young have of time passing. A masterpiece. Not shown in the U.S. until 1972. | tt0046438 | Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, So Yamamura, Haruko Sugimura, Setsuko Hara | Japanese | Drama | NULL | |
| Tol'able David | 1921 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 94 | A mild-mannered boy is forced to take his brother's place delivering the mail— and dealing with a trio of heinous criminals who've moved into their rural community. Beautifully crafted Americana, shot on location in Virginia. The finale is a rip-roaring piece of movie storytelling. Remade in 1930. | tt0012763 | Richard Barthelmess, Gladys Hulette, Ernest Torrence, Warner Richmond, Walter P. Lewis | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Toll Gate | 1920 | Lambert Hillyer | ★★★ | 59 | One of Hart's best films, casting him as fleeing outlaw who stops to save young boy's life, becomes involved with the child's widowed mother. | tt0011779 | William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson, Jack Richardson, Joseph Singleton, Richard Headrick | Western | NULL | |||
| The Toll of the Sea | 1922 | Chester M. Franklin. | ★★★ | 54 | Lotus Flower (Wong), a gentle young Chinese woman, discovers an unconscious Caucasian American by the edge of the sea; the two soon marry, but there are complications. Poignant story of love, longing, and self-sacrifice offers a sharp-edged view of the racial attitudes of the era. Pioneering two-color Technicolor feature is exquisite to watch. The final sequence, which did not survive, was reshot at the Pacific Ocean in 1985 using a genuine two-color Technicolor camera. | tt0013688 | Anna May Wong, Kenneth Harlan, Beatrice Bentley, Baby Moran, Etta Lee, Ming Young. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tollbooth | 1994 | Salome Breziner | ★★★ | 108 | Clever, humorously macabre sleeper about a young woman (Balk) who for years has been awaiting the return of her missing father. She refuses to sleep with the man she loves (Von Dohlen) until her father shows up; the plot is set into motion when Boyfriend sets out to track down Dad. Cassel appears in two roles and offers a riveting performance as the father. | tt0111453 | Fairuza Balk, Lenny Von Dohlen, Will Patton, Seymour Cassel, James Wilder, William Katt, Louise Fletcher | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Tom & Viv | 1994 | Brian Gilbert | ★★½ | 125 | Intriguing (but only partially successful) chronicle of the relationship between poet T. S. Eliot (Dafoe) and his wife, loony socialite Vivienne Haigh-Wood (Richardson), whose psychological affliction was improperly diagnosed. Well acted by the two leads, but the drama comes in fits and starts. Lacks the necessary passion to make you care about the characters and their union. Based on a play by Michael Hastings, who coscripted. | tt0111454 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson, Rosemary Harris, Tim Dutton, Nickolas Grace, Philip Locke | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Tom Brown of Culver | 1932 | William Wyler | ★★½ | 82 | Well-made but corny military-school picture has Tom Brown in namesake role of wayward boy who gets a scholarship to famed Indiana military academy during the Depression. Much of the film was shot on location. Tyrone Power (billed as Jr.) makes his screen debut here, and reportedly, Alan Ladd can be spotted in a bit. Remade as SPIRIT OF CULVER. | tt0023601 | Tom Brown, H. B. Warner, Richard Cromwell, Slim Summerville, Ben Alexander, Sidney Toler, Russell Hopton, Andy Devine | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tom Brown's School Days | 1940 | Robert Stevenson | ★★½ | 86 | Occasionally overbaked but still entertaining, fast-paced account of life at a Victorian boys' school. Although most of cast is American, British flavor seeps through. Retitled: ADVENTURES AT RUGBY. | tt0033169 | Cedric Hardwicke, Freddie Bartholomew, Gale Storm, Jimmy Lydon, Josephine Hutchinson, Billy Halop, Polly Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tom Brown's Schooldays | 1951 | Gordon Parry | ★★★½ | 93 | Well-acted film of Victorian England school life with exceptional British cast and good direction. Noel Langley scripted, from Thomas Hughes' novel. | tt0044134 | John Howard Davies, Robert Newton, Diana Wynyard, Hermione Baddeley, Kathleen Byron, James Hayter, John Charlesworth, John Forrest, Michael Hordern, Max Bygraves | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tom Horn | 1980 | William Wiard | ★½ | 98 | McQueen's next-to-last film is beautifully shot, otherwise deadly Western about the final days of real-life Wyoming bounty hunter. See also MR. HORN, a TVM with David Carradine in the title role. | tt0080031 | [R] | Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush, Slim Pickens, Elisha Cook | Western | NULL | ||
| Tom Jones | 1963 | Tony Richardson | ★★★★ | 129 | High-spirited adaptation of the Henry Fielding novel about a young man's misadventures and bawdy experiences in 18th-century England; rowdy, randy, and completely disarming. Academy Award winner as Best Picture, it also won Oscars for Richardson, who directed with great flair and imagination, screenwriter John Osborne, who caught the gritty flavor of the period to perfection, and composer John Addison, whose infectious score suits the picture to a tee. Film debuts of Lynn Redgrave and David Warner. Richardson cut the film by seven minutes for its 1989 reissue. | tt0057590 | Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joyce Redman, Diane Cilento, Joan Greenwood, David Tomlinson, Peter Bull, David Warner. Narrated by Michael MacLiammoir | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tom Sawyer | 1973 | Don Taylor | ★★★ | 104 | Well-crafted musical remake of Tom Sawyer, the boy wonder of Hannibal, Mo., and his friends Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher. Songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. | tt0070814 | [PG] | Johnnie Whitaker, Celeste Holm, Warren Oates, Jeff East, Jodie Foster | Family, Adventure, Musical | NULL | ||
| Tom Sawyer, Detective | 1938 | Louis King | ★★½ | 68 | Pleasant little family film based on Mark Twain's novella that turns Tom (Cook) and Huck (O'Connor) into backwoods detectives. | tt0030878 | Billy Cook, Donald O'Connor, Porter Hall, Phillip Warren, Janet Waldo, Elizabeth Risdon, William Haade | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Tom and Huck | 1995 | Peter Hewitt | ★★½ | 92 | Umpteenth, by-the-numbers retelling of the Mark Twain classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with Taylor Thomas and Renfro both doing well as the title duo. Might amuse kids who are completely unfamiliar with the story. | tt0112302 | [PG] | Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Eric Schweig, Charles Rocket, Amy Wright, Michael McShane, Marian Seldes, Rachael Leigh Cook, Lanny Flaherty | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Tom and Jerry: The Movie | 1992 | Phil Roman | ★★ | 84 | Tom and Jerry, suddenly homeless, hook up with a little girl who's trying to escape from the clutches of a cruel guardian. Flat attempt to put the lively cat & mouse duo into a feature-length story, with more lulls than highlights, and a score that's not only unmemorable but irrelevant. Released in the U.S. in 1993. | tt0105616 | [G] | Voices of Richard Kind, Dana Hill, Anndi McAfee, Charlotte Rae, Tony Jay, Henry Gibson, Rip Taylor, Michael Bell, Sydney Lassick, David L. Lander | Animation, Family, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tom, Dick and Harry | 1941 | Garson Kanin | ★★★½ | 86 | Spirited comic dilemma as wide-eyed Ginger chooses among three anxious suitors: sincere Murphy, wealthy Marshal, nonconformist Meredith. Silvers has hilarious role as obnoxious ice-cream man. Written by Paul Jarrico. Remade as THE GIRL MOST LIKELY. | tt0034299 | Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, Alan Marshal, Burgess Meredith, Joe Cunningham, Jane Seymour, Phil Silvers | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tomahawk | 1951 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 82 | Colorful Western spiked with sufficient action to overcome bland account of friction between Indians and the Army. | tt0044135 | Yvonne De Carlo, Van Heflin, Preston Foster, Jack Oakie, Alex Nicol, Tom Tully, Rock Hudson | Western | NULL | |||
| The Tomb of Ligeia | 1964 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 81 | Price's late wife seems to be manifesting herself all over the place, both as a cat and in new bride Shepherd. Super-stylish chiller with superb location work. The last of Corman's eight Poe adaptations; screenplay by Robert Towne. Filmed in Widescreen Colorscope. | tt0059821 | Vincent Price, Elizabeth Shepherd, John Westbrook, Richard Johnson, Derek Francis | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Tomboy | 1985 | Herb Freed | 💣 | 92 | Bottom-of-the-barrel formula teenage sex tease film. Role reversal is stressed as Russell is an automotive wiz determined to outrace and win the romantic favor of handsome Dinome. | tt0090184 | [R] | Betsy Russell, Jerry Dinome (Gerard Christopher), Kristi Somers, Richard Erdman, Cynthia Ann Thompson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tomboy and the Champ | 1961 | Francis D. Lyon | ★★ | 92 | Mild B film about a young girl and her prize cow; strictly for children, who will probably enjoy it, despite standard plot devices. | tt0055533 | Candy Moore, Ben Johnson, Jesse White, Jess Kirkpatrick, Rex Allen | Drama, Family | NULL | |||
| Tombstone | 1993 | George Pan Cosmatos | ★★½ | 128 | Wyatt Earp (Russell) attempts to leave his violent days behind him, moving to Tombstone with his two brothers . . . but the murderous gang called The Cowboys (whose members include the Clantons) dictates otherwise. Not-bad Western saga, with a forceful performance by Russell, and a likably eccentric one by Kilmer as the tubercular Doc Holliday. Delany, however, is positively goofy as Wyatt's love interest, and the story goes on way past the O.K. Corral shootout, with a series of redundant gun battles and showdowns. The real Earp's fifth cousin, Wyatt Earp, plays Billy Claiborne. | tt0108358 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Robert Burke, Dana Delany, Sam Elliott, Stephen Lang, Terry O'Quinn, Joanna Pacula, Bill Paxton, Jason Priestley, Michael Rooker, Jon Tenney, Dana Wheeler Nicholson, Billy Zane, Buck Taylor, Harry Carey/Jr., Thomas Haden Church, Pedro Armendáriz/Jr., Frank Stallone, Billy Bob Thornton, Charlton Heston; narrated by Robert Mitchum. | Action, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Tomcats | 2001 | Gregory Poirier | 💣 | 92 | After their pal's wedding, a band of male chauvinist morons creates a 'kitty' to be won by the last of their lot to avoid wedding bells. Busey, one of the two remaining bachelors, once deflowered and dumped Elizabeth; his competitor (O'Connell) schemes to get them hitched. Trashy, poorly made comic dud is strictly for the litter box. Comic nadir: the plight of the cancerous testicle. | tt0246989 | [R] | Jerry O'Connell, Shannon Elizabeth, Jake Busey, Horatio Sanz, Jaime Pressly, Travis Fine, Joseph D. Reitman, Bill Maher, David Ogden Stiers, Bernie Casey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tommy | 1975 | Ken Russell | ★★★ | 111 | Energetic rendering of The Who's best-selling rock opera, with standout musical performances by Clapton, John (who sings 'Pinball Wizard'), and Turner. | tt0073812 | [PG] | Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Robert Powell, Tina Turner, Jack Nicholson | British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| Tommy Boy | 1995 | Peter Segal | ★½ | 96 | Just out of college, perpetual foul-up Farley returns home to work in his father's factory and witness his dad's marriage to Derek. Dad's sudden death forces Farley to try and save the business— with the help of coworker Spade. Utterly predictable comedy with scattershot laughs; Farley and Spade don't quite have the finesse of Wheeler and Woolsey. Rob Lowe appears unbilled as Derek's 'son.' | tt0114694 | [PG-13] | Chris Farley, David Spade, Brian Dennehy, Bo Derek, Dan Aykroyd, Julie Warner, Sean McCann, Zack Grenier | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Tommyknockers | 1993 | John Power | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Stephen King thriller about a mysterious force scaring the bejeebers out of a small Maine town works well in this lengthy, small-screen adaptation by Lawrence D. Cohen. Originally shown in two parts. | tt0106156 | Jimmy Smits, Marg Helgenberger, John Ashton, Allyce Beasley, Robert Carradine, Joanna Cassidy, Traci Lords, Cliff DeYoung, E.G. Marshall | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Tomorrow | 1972 | Joseph Anthony | ★★★½ | 103 | Overlooked Faulkner story about a handyman who cares for and eventually falls in love with an abandoned pregnant woman. Bellin is excellent, Duvall astonishingly good in best-ever screen presentation of the author's work. Screenplay by Horton Foote. | tt0069393 | [PG] | Robert Duvall, Olga Bellin, Sudie Bond, Richard McConnell, Peter Masterson, William Hawley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tomorrow Is Another Day | 1951 | Felix E. Feist | ★★½ | 90 | Frank little film of ex-con Cochran marrying dime-a-dance girl Roman, heading for California, thinking he's killed her old boyfriend. | tt0044136 | Ruth Roman, Steve Cochran, Lurene Tuttle, Ray Teal, Morris Ankrum | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Tomorrow Is Forever | 1946 | Irving Pichel | ★★★ | 105 | Weepy rehash of Enoch Arden, with Welles as man listed dead in WW1 returning decades later with new face to find wife Colbert remarried to Brent. Bravura work by Welles with good support by Wood as his adopted daughter. | tt0039041 | Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent, Lucile Watson, Richard Long, Natalie Wood | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Tomorrow Never Comes | 1977 | Peter Collinson | ★★ | 109 | Young man goes bananas when he learns his girlfriend has been unfaithful, leading to violent standoff with police in busy resort town. Uninvolving melodrama. | tt0076832 | [PG] | Oliver Reed, Susan George, Raymond Burr, John Ireland, Stephen McHattie, Donald Pleasence | Canadian-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★½ | 119 | James Bond goes after a megalomaniacal media magnate (Pryce) whose tentacles reach around the globe, and whose wife was a former flame of 007. Along the way, he teams up with Asian action-film star Yeoh, who proves a compatible screen companion. The action never flags, though it becomes somewhat mechanical after a while. | tt0120347 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Teri Hatcher, Joe Don Baker, Ricky Jay, Götz Otto, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, Vincent Schiavelli, Geoffrey Palmer, Samantha Bond | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tomorrow We Live | 1942 | Edgar G. Ulmer. | ★★ | 64 | In modern-day Arizona, gangster Cortez, known as The Ghost, develops an unwelcome interest in desert cafe waitress Parker, the daughter of old geezer Lynn, who's secretly in The Ghost's employ. Odd wartime melodrama is less a story than a series of incidents; weakened by a bad (and incessant) score. | tt0035453 | Ricardo Cortez, Jean Parker, Emmett Lynn, William Marshall, Roseanne Stevens, Ray Miller. | Action, Drama, Horror, Crime | NULL | |||
| Tomorrow at Ten | 1963 | Lance Comfort | ★★½ | 80 | Taut drama involving kidnapper who dies, leaving boy in house (whereabouts unknown) with time bomb set to explode. | tt0058669 | John Gregson, Robert Shaw, Alec Clunes, Alan Wheatley | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tomorrow, the World! | 1944 | Leslie Fenton | ★★★ | 95 | Homeier recreates his knockout Broadway performance as a German-raised child adopted by his American uncle, who soon discovers that the boy is a rabid Nazi with a sinister mindset. Still-potent and thoughtful drama about tolerance. Scripted by Ring Lardner, Jr., and Leopold Atlas from the play by James Gow and Armand D'Usseau. | tt0037386 | Fredric March, Betty Field, Agnes Moorehead, Skippy Homeier, Joan Carroll | Drama | NULL | |||
| Toni | 1935 | Jean Renoir | ★★★½ | 90 | Italian quarry worker Blavette lives with Montalvan, but falls in love with farm girl Helia— who in turn is wooed away by swaggering foreman Dalban. Renoir coscripted this simple, touching drama, which he filmed in a style that influenced the Italian Neorealist movement of the 1940s. | tt0025898 | Charles Blavette, Celia Montalvan, Jenny Helia, Max Dalban | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tonight Is Ours | 1933 | Stuart Walker. | ★★½ | 75 | Princess Colbert falls in love with commoner March, though she is already spoken for in a planned marriage. Colbert is luminously beautiful (photographed by Karl Struss) in this sexy, pre-Code romance that opens light and airy, then turns serious. Mitchell Leisen is credited as Associate Director. Based on Noel Coward's play The Queen Was in the Parlour, filmed under that name in 1927. | tt0024680 | Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Alison Skipworth, Arthur Byron, Paul Cavanagh, Ethel Griffies. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Tonight We Raid Calais | 1943 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 70 | Fast-paced if undistinguished WW2 tale of sabotage mission in France with good performances; written by Waldo Salt. | tt0036449 | Annabella, John Sutton, Lee J. Cobb, Beulah Bondi, Blanche Yurka, Howard da Silva, Marcel Dalio | War | NULL | |||
| Tonight We Sing | 1953 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 109 | Hodgepodge supposedly based on impresario Sol Hurok's life, allowing for disjointed string of operatic/musical interludes. Produced by George Jessel. | tt0046441 | David Wayne, Ezio Pinza, Roberta Peters, Anne Bancroft, Tamara Toumanova, Isaac Stern, Jan Peerce | Musical | NULL | |||
| Tonight and Every Night | 1945 | Victor Saville | ★★★ | 92 | Entertaining wartime musical of British theater that never misses a performance, despite bombings and personal hardships. Try spotting Shelley Winters as one of the chorines. | tt0038178 | Rita Hayworth, Janet Blair, Lee Bowman, Marc Platt, Leslie Brooks, Professor Lamberti, Florence Bates | Musical | NULL | |||
| Tonight at 8:30 | Meet Me Tonight | 1952 | Anthony Pelissier | ★★★ | 81 | Three Noel Coward one-act plays ideally transferred to film. Original British title: MEET ME TONIGHT. | tt0045243 | Valerie Hobson, Nigel Patrick, Jack Warner, Kay Walsh, Ted Ray, Martita Hunt, Stanley Holloway, Betty Ann Davies | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Tonight or Never | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★ | 81 | Stylishly mounted but stagebound romantic comedy about a flighty opera singer (Swanson) who's criticized because her performances lack passion. Swanson is beautifully costumed by Coco Chanel. Douglas's screen debut, recreating his Broadway role. | tt0022489 | Gloria Swanson, Melvyn Douglas, Alison Skipworth, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Robert Greig, Boris Karloff | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tonight's the Night | 1954 | Mario Zampi | ★★★ | 88 | Good British cast bolsters appealing comedy about house in Ireland which natives claim is haunted. Original British title: HAPPY EVER AFTER. | tt0047595 | David Niven, Yvonne De Carlo, Barry Fitzgerald, George Cole, Robert Urquhart | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tonka | A Horse Named Comanche | 1958 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★½ | 97 | Mineo stands out in this modest Disney film about an Indian brave's attachment to a wild horse, lone 'survivor' of Little Bighorn battle, which he captures and tames. Weak resolution and cut-rate version of Custer's Last Stand detract from promising story. Retitled A HORSE NAMED COMANCHE. | tt0052300 | Sal Mineo, Philip Carey, Jerome Courtland, Rafael Campos, H. M. Wynant, Joy Page | Adventure, Western, Family | NULL | ||
| Tony Draws a Horse | 1950 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★½ | 91 | Dr. Parker and psychologist Crawford cannot agree on the proper method of rearing their 8-year-old son; his mischief ends up affecting their marriage and entire family. Occasionally funny but overly talky (not to mention outdated) satire. | tt0043055 | Cecil Parker, Anne Crawford, Derek Bond, Mervyn Johns, Barbara Murray, Edward Rigby, Anthony Lang, Sebastian Cabot | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tony Rome | 1967 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 110 | Good cast in moderately diverting detective caper. Private eye Rome (Sinatra) hired by millionaire (Oakland) to find out why his daughter would wind up drunk and unconscious in low-class Miami hotel. Sequel: LADY IN CEMENT. | tt0062380 | Frank Sinatra, Jill St. John, Richard Conte, Sue Lyon, Gena Rowlands, Simon Oakland, Jeffrey Lynn, Lloyd Bochner | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Too Bad She's Bad | 1955 | Alessandro Blasetti | ★★ | 95 | Unremarkable little comedy about life and love among happy-go-lucky crooks, set in Rome. | tt0048475 | Sophia Loren, Vittorio De Sica, Marcello Mastroianni, Lina Furia | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Too Beautiful for You | 1989 | Bertrand Blier | ★★ | 91 | Car dealer Depardieu cheats on beautiful, cultured wife Bouquet; the object of his affection is his plain, pudgy temporary receptionist (Balasko). Starts off brightly, but then goes absolutely nowhere. | tt0098520 | [R] | Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet, Roland Blanche, Francois Cluzet | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Too Hot to Handle | 1938 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 105 | Gable and Pidgeon are rival newsreel photographers vying for aviatrix Loy in this fast-paced action-comedy; Gable's scene faking enemy attack on China is a gem. | tt0030879 | Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Walter Pidgeon, Leo Carrillo, Johnny Hines, Virginia Weidler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Too Hot to Handle | Playgirl After Dark | 1960 | Terence Young | ★★ | 92 | Seamy study of chanteuse Mansfield involved with one man too many in the nightclub circuit. Aka PLAYGIRL AFTER DARK. | tt0053365 | Jayne Mansfield, Leo Genn, Carl Boehm, Christopher Lee, Barbara Windsor | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Too Late Blues | 1962 | John Cassavetes | ★★ | 100 | Somewhat pretentious drama about jazz musician Darin becoming involved with selfish Stevens. Score by David Raksin, with on-camera performances 'doubled' by such jazz greats as Benny Carter, Shelly Manne, and Jimmy Rowles. | tt0055534 | Bobby Darin, Stella Stevens, John Cassavetes, Rupert Crosse, Vincent Edwards, Cliff Carnell, Seymour Cassel | Drama | NULL | |||
| Too Late for Tears | 1949 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 99 | Atmospheric but muddled drama detailing what happens when a bag filled with cash is dropped into the car of greedy bad-girl Scott and nice-guy husband Kennedy. Duryea is at his best as a heavy. Aka KILLER BAIT. | tt0041968 | Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Too Late the Hero | Suicide Run | 1970 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 133 | Two reluctant soldiers (Robertson, Caine) sent on suicide mission on Pacific island during WW2; turns into battle of wits between them and Japanese officer. Action-packed film builds to pulsating finale. Shown on network TV as SUICIDE RUN. | tt0066471 | [R] | Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Henry Fonda, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Denholm Elliott, Ronald Fraser | Action, War | NULL | |
| Too Many Crooks | 1958 | Mario Zampi | ★★½ | 85 | OK satire on racketeer films buoyed by Terry-Thomas' presence. | tt0052301 | Terry-Thomas, George Cole, Brenda De Banzie, Sydney Tafler | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Too Many Girls | 1940 | George Abbott | ★★★ | 85 | Engaging Rodgers-Hart musical comedy with winning cast, sharp dialogue. Four boys are hired to keep an eye on footloose Lucy at Pottawatomie College in Stopgap, New Mexico. Stagy presentation of musical numbers seems to work fine here; Van Johnson is very noticeable as one of the chorus boys (it was his film debut, as well as Arnaz and Bracken's). Incidentally, this is where Lucy and Desi met. | tt0033173 | Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Eddie Bracken, Ann Miller, Hal LeRoy, Desi Arnaz, Frances Langford | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Too Many Husbands | 1940 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★★ | 84 | Jean is married to Douglas when husband #1 (MacMurray), thought dead, turns up. Excellent comedy from W. Somerset Maugham's play Home and Beauty. Remade as THREE FOR THE SHOW. | tt0033174 | Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray, Melvyn Douglas, Harry Davenport, Dorothy Peterson, Edgar Buchanan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Too Many Thieves | 1966 | Abner Biberman | ★★ | 100 | Falk is lawyer hired to retrieve national treasure stolen from Macedonian shrine. Theatrical feature comprised of two episodes from Falk's Trials of O'Brien TV series. | tt0061105 |
|
Peter Falk, Britt Ekland, Joanna Barnes, Nehemiah Persoff, David Carradine, George Coulouris, Elaine Stritch, Ludwig Donath | Crime | NULL | ||
| Too Many Winners | 1947 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 61 | Sleuth Michael Shayne tries to take a vacation, but naturally gets entangled in crime solving instead. Final entry in cut-rate series. | tt0039906 | Hugh Beaumont, Trudy Marshall, Ralph Dunn, Claire Carleton, Charles Mitchell, John Hamilton | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Too Much Harmony | 1933 | A. Edward Sutherland | ★★½ | 76 | Pleasant, if plotty, backstage musical with some good song numbers, including 'Thanks,' 'The Day You Came Along. | tt0024683 | Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Grace Bradley, Judith Allen, Lilyan Tashman, Ned Sparks | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Too Much Sun | 1991 | Robert Downey | ★½ | 110 | Farce about competition of brother and sister to have a child first, so as to inherit a fortune from their father; trouble is they're both gay. Few laughs in this dopey comedy that didn't stay long in theaters. | tt0103100 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Laura Ernst, Jim Haynie, Eric Idle, Ralph Macchio, Andrea Martin, Leo Rossi, Howard Duff, Jennifer Rubin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Too Much, Too Soon | 1958 | Art Napoleon | ★★ | 121 | But not enough, in sensationalistic tale of Diana Barrymore's decline. Flynn steals the show as John Barrymore. | tt0052302 | Dorothy Malone, Errol Flynn, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Ray Danton, Neva Patterson, Martin Milner, Murray Hamilton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Too Outrageous! | 1987 | Richard Benner | ★★½ | 100 | Russell shines in this disappointing sequel to OUTRAGEOUS! as female impersonator Robin Turner, who's become a smash in N.Y.C.— but will he go mainstream? Unfortunately, the scenario is too hackneyed to make you care. Best moments are his impersonations of Streisand, Mae West, etc. | tt0094165 | [R] | Craig Russell, Hollis McLaren, David McIlwraith, Ron White, Lynne Cormack, Michael J. Reynolds | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Too Scared to Scream | 1985 | Tony Lo Bianco | ★½ | 104 | Good cast stuck in dreary film about attempts to catch a psycho killer. Filmed in 1982. | tt0090186 | [R] | Mike Connors, Anne Archer, Leon Isaac Kennedy, Ian McShane, Ruth Ford, John Heard, Carrie Nye, Maureen O'Sullivan, Murray Hamilton | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Too Soon to Love | 1960 | Richard Rush | ★★ | 85 | Mildly interesting period piece about illicit teenage love, pregnancy, and abortion. An early credit for Nicholson and writer-director Rush. | tt0054392 | Jennifer West, Richard Evans, Warren Parker, Ralph Manza, Jack Nicholson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Too Young to Kiss | 1951 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★½ | 91 | Allyson is fetching as pianist posing as child prodigy to get her big break falling in love with Johnson. | tt0044138 | June Allyson, Van Johnson, Gig Young, Paula Corday, Hans Conried | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Too Young to Know | 1945 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★ | 86 | Slick, empty drama of career girl Leslie torn between husband and job. | tt0038179 | Joan Leslie, Robert Hutton, Rosemary DeCamp, Dolores Moran | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Toolbox Murders | 2005 | Tobe Hooper. | ★½ | 94 | A black-garbed maniac is murdering one and all in a creepy old L.A. apartment building. Will Bettis, who's just moved into this house of horrors, track him down . . . or become a victim? Decent production values do little to elevate this predictable 1970s-style gorefest, which is in fact a remake of a 1978 movie. Released theatrically overseas in 2004, but direct-to-video in the U.S. | tt0367153 | [R] | Angela Bettis, Brent Roam, Juliet Landau, Greg Travis, Marco Rodriguez, Sara Downing, Adam Gierasch, Sheri Moon, Adam Weisman, Rance Howard. | Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Toolbox Murders | 1978 | Dennis Donnelly | ★½ | 93 | A film that delivers exactly what its title promises: graphic slayings of young women by means of various pieces of hardware. Yecch. Remade in 2005. | tt0078405 | [R] | Cameron Mitchell, Pamelyn Ferdin, Wesley Eure, Nicholas Beauvy, Aneta Corsaut, Tim Donnelly, Evelyn Guerrero | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Tooth Fairy | 2010 | Michael Lembeck | ★★ | 101 | When an unpopular hockey player nicknamed "tooth fairy" for his habit of knocking out opponents' teeth does a bad deed to a kid, his penance is to actually become a tooth fairy for a week. Under the tutelage of head fairy Andrews and "gadget guy" Crystal (in a brief cameo spewing groaner Borscht Belt–style jokes), macho Johnson dons a tutu, sprouts wings, and gets his comeuppance. Uninspired screenplay and routine performances fail to make this worth even the dollar Johnson leaves under the pillow . . . though it's always nice to see Andrews. | tt0808510 | [PG] | Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant, Ryan Sheckler, Seth MacFarlane, Julie Andrews, Brandon T. Jackson, Chase Ellison, Billy Crystal | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Toots | 2007 | Kristi Jacobson | ★★★ | 84 | Delightful documentary about legendary N.Y.C restaurateur Toots Shor made by his granddaughter, with the help of an oral history he recorded late in life. His unique approach to running a watering hole for celebrities and sports figures is lovingly recalled by such famous patrons as Walter Cronkite, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Frank Gifford, and a host of other sports stars and journalists. A wonderfully evocative portrait of a colorful period in New York nightlife. | tt0436836 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Tootsie | 1982 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★★ | 116 | Smashing comedy about an obnoxious N.Y. actor who finally lands a job— disguised as a woman— and soon finds himself a better person female than he ever was male! Farcical premise becomes totally credible thanks to razor-sharp script (credited to Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal, from Gelbart and Don McGuire's story), fine direction, and superlative performances all around— including director Pollack's as Hoffman's harried agent. Lange won Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Bill Murray appears unbilled. Film debut of Geena Davis. | tt0084805 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, Estelle Getty, Christine Ebersole | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Top Banana | 1954 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 100 | Fascinating curio is literally a filmed version of Silvers' Broadway hit about a Milton Berle-like TV comic. Full of burlesque chestnuts, and filmed (believe it or not) in 3-D. Current prints run 84m., with some musical numbers deleted. | tt0046443 | Phil Silvers, Rose Marie, Danny Scholl, Judy Lynn, Jack Albertson, Joey Faye, Herbie Faye | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Top Dog | 1995 | Aaron Norris | ★½ | 87 | When terrorists threaten to blow up San Diego, heroic cop Norris is forced to collaborate with a canine partner who seems to outsmart him every step of the way. Not much plot here, and needless to say, the dog steals the show. | tt0114697 | [PG-13] | Chuck Norris, Erik Von Detten, Michele Lamar Richards, Carmine Caridi, Herta Ware, Clyde Kusatsu, Francesco Quinn, Timothy Bottoms, Reno the Dog | Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Top Gun | 1986 | Tony Scott | ★★½ | 110 | Young studs vie for glory, on the ground and in the air, at elite naval aviation training school. Contrived beyond belief, with dogfights that play like video games, and total lack of sexual chemistry between the two leads . . . but slickly calculated to please '80s audiences (and fans of ever-smiling Cruise). Edwards, as Cruise's sidekick, steals the show. Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock won an Oscar for the song 'Take My Breath Away,' performed by Berlin. | tt0092099 | [PG] | Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, John Stockwell, Barry Tubb, Rick Rossovich, Tim Robbins, James Tolkan, Meg Ryan, Adrian Pasdar | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Top Hat | 1935 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★★ | 99 | What can we say? Merely a knock-out of a musical with Astaire and Rogers at their brightest doing 'Cheek to Cheek,' 'Isn't This a Lovely Day to Be Caught in the Rain,' 'Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails,' and the epic 'Piccolino,' and other Irving Berlin songs, as the duo goes through typical mistaken-identity plot. Wonderful support from rest of cast; that's Lucille Ball as the flower shop clerk. Scripted by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott, from a play by Alexander Farago and Aladar Laszlo. Originally 101m.; some prints are 93m. | tt0027125 | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore, Erik Rhodes | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Top Man | 1943 | Charles Lamont | ★★½ | 74 | When his father is recalled into active service, teenaged O'Connor becomes the head of the family. Oddly comical Oedipal situation, with a sidebar pitch for high schoolers to volunteer at defense plants, is frequently interrupted by swell musical numbers. Surprising to see Gish in an absolutely ordinary wartime mom role. | tt0036450 | Donald O'Connor, Susanna Foster, Peggy Ryan, Richard Dix, Anne Gwynne, Lillian Gish, Noah Beery/Jr. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Top Secret Affair | 1957 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 100 | John P. Marquand's Melville Goodwin, U.S.A. becomes fair comedy, with most credit going to Hayward as fiery publisher who knows all about the past of Senate appointee (Douglas). | tt0051097 | Susan Hayward, Kirk Douglas, Paul Stewart, Jim Backus, John Cromwell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Top Secret! | 1984 | Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | ★★½ | 90 | Likably silly comedy from the writing-directing team that brought you AIRPLANE!, about an Elvis-like rock star who becomes embroiled in espionage work while touring East Germany— with Nazis as bad guys and French resistance fighters as allies! Lots of laughs but no real momentum— and where's the ending? | tt0088286 | [PG] | Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Christopher Villiers, Jeremy Kemp, Michael Gough, Omar Sharif, Peter Cushing | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Top Speed | 1930 | Mervyn LeRoy. | ★★★ | 71 | Big-mouth bond clerk Brown and pal Whiting pose as millionaires at a fancy hotel to impress a couple of rich cuties. One of Brown's best vehicles, a funny musical comedy (from the show by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, and Guy Bolton), with zippy production numbers, some racy gags, and a wild speedboat race finale. | tt0021486 | Joe E. Brown, Bernice Claire, Jack Whiting, Frank McHugh, Laura Lee, Rita Flynn, Edwin Maxwell. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Top o' the Morning | 1949 | David Miller | ★★½ | 100 | Crosby-Fitzgerald malarkey is wearing thin in this fanciful musical of Bing searching for thief hiding the Blarney Stone. | tt0041969 | Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Ann Blyth, Hume Cronyn, John McIntire, Eileen Crowe | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Top of the World | 1955 | Lewis R. Foster | ★★ | 90 | Set in Alaska, movie revolves around jet pilot Robertson, his ex-wife Keyes, and her new boyfriend Lovejoy. | tt0048735 | Dale Robertson, Evelyn Keyes, Frank Lovejoy, Nancy Gates | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Topaz | 1969 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 127 | French Intelligence agent Stafford works with American official Forsythe to dig out info on Russia's involvement in Cuba. Whirlwind plot circles globe, maintains intrigue level; good, not great Hitchcock, scripted by Samuel Taylor from Leon Uris' best-seller. Video release includes not one but two alternate endings Hitchcock shot and then decided not to use! | tt0065112 | [M] | John Forsythe, Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret, Claude Jade, Roscoe Lee Browne | Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| Topaze | 1933 | Harry D'Arrast | ★★★ | 78 | Delightful film adapted from Marcel Pagnol's play about an impeccably honest but naive schoolteacher in France who unwittingly becomes a dupe for wealthy baron's business scheme. Barrymore is perfect. Remade as I LIKE MONEY. | tt0024684 | John Barrymore, Myrna Loy, Albert Conti, Luis Alberni, Reginald Mason, Jobyna Howland | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Topkapi | 1964 | Jules Dassin | ★★★★ | 120 | First-rate entertainment of would-be thieves who plan perfect crime in Constantinople museum; lighthearted caper has inspired many imitations. Filmed in Istanbul, with Ustinov's delightful performance copping an Academy Award. Written by Monja Danischewsky, from Eric Ambler's novel The Light of Day; memorable score by Manos Hadjidakis. | tt0058672 | Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Akim Tamiroff, Despo Diamantidou | Adventure, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Topper | 1937 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★½ | 97 | Delightful gimmick comedy with ghosts Grant and Bennett dominating life of meek Young; sparkling cast in adaptation of Thorne Smith novel, scripted by Jack Jevne, Eddie Moran, and Eric Hatch. Followed by two sequels, a TV series, and a 1979 TV remake starring Kate Jackson and Andrew Stevens. Also shown in computer-colored version (the first b&w film to be 'colorized,' in 1985). | tt0029682 | Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Eugene Pallette, Arthur Lake, Hedda Hopper | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Topper Returns | 1941 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 88 | Topper helps ghostly Blondell solve her own murder in the last of this series, with hilarious results. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034303 | Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole Landis, Billie Burke, Dennis O'Keefe, Patsy Kelly, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Topper Takes a Trip | 1939 | Norman Z. McLeod | ★★★ | 85 | Cary Grant is missing (except in a flashback), but rest of cast returns for repeat success as Young is frustrated on Riviera vacation by ghostess Bennett. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0032043 | Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Verree Teasdale, Franklin Pangborn | Comedy, Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Topsy-Turvy | 2000 | Mike Leigh | ★★★½ | 160 | Fascinating, intimate portrait of Gilbert and Sullivan, and the time in which they lived, focusing on their peccadilloes and personalities, and the process of turning their latest ideas into the operetta masterpiece The Mikado. Broadbent and Corduner are superb in the leads, and Spall makes a wonderful Mikado. Overflowing with personal and period detail (including Oscar-winning Costume Design and Make√ up), this long but rewarding film gets better and better as it goes along. Released in the U.S. in 1999. Their story also told in THE GREAT GILBERT AND SULLIVAN. | tt0151568 | [R] | Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Lesley Manville, Eleanor David, Ron Cook, Timothy Spall, Kevin McKidd, Martin Savage, Shirley Henderson, Wendy Nottingham, Charles Simon, Alison Steadman | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Tora! Tora! Tora! | 1970 | Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku | ★★★ | 143 | Events leading up to (well-staged) Pearl Harbor attack, from both American and Japanese points of view. Well-documented screenplay shows major and minor blundering on both sides, then recreates attack with frightening realism. Well-made film creates incredible tension. Oscar-winning special effects. | tt0066473 | [PG] | Martin Balsam, Soh Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore, Wesley Addy, Leon Ames, George Macready | U.S.-Japanese | Action, War, Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Torch Singer | 1933 | Alexander Hall, George Somnes. | ★★★ | 71 | A poor unwed mother tries to make it on her own but finally has to give up her child. She then becomes a notorious nightclub chanteuse and secretly moonlights as the host of a radio show for kiddies, which she uses to try to find her child. Colbert was never better— by turns sweet, vulnerable, sexy, and sophisticated. Funny, sentimental pre-Code examination of women's roles in a man's world. Featured song: 'Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love. | tt0024685 | Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez, David Manners, Lyda Roberti, Baby LeRoy, Florence Roberts, Charley Grapewin, Cora Sue Collins. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Torch Song | 1953 | Charles Walters | ★★½ | 90 | Crawford is hard as nails as a Broadway musical star who chews up people for lunch— until she meets blind pianist Wilding, who isn't cowed by her. Glossy, often hilariously clichéd drama reminds us that It's Lonely At the Top. There's one absurd musical number in which Crawford appears in blackface! Her 'clumsy' dance partner in the opening number is director Walters, a former dancer and choreographer. | tt0046446 | Joan Crawford, Michael Wilding, Marjorie Rambeau, Gig Young, Harry Morgan, Dorothy Patrick, Benny Rubin, Nancy Gates | Romance | NULL | |||
| Torch Song Trilogy | 1988 | Paul Bogart | ★★½ | 117 | Fierstein rewrote (and considerably compressed) his landmark Broadway play about a drag queen, and lost something in the process. Changing sensibilities in the AIDS era also affect the original material, though there are still fine moments. Fierstein reprises his stage performance as Arnold Beckoff, and Bancroft scores strongly as his mother. | tt0096289 | [R] | Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Harvey Fierstein, Brian Kerwin, Karen Young, Charles Pierce | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Torch | 1950 | Emilio Fernández | ★★ | 90 | Mexican revolutionary captures town and falls for daughter of nobility. Rare English-language effort by Mexico's top director; a shame it isn't better. Beautifully photographed by Gabriel Figueroa. | tt0041971 | Paulette Goddard, Pedro Armendáriz, Gilbert Roland, Walter Reed | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Torchlight | 1984 | Thomas J. Wright | ★★ | 90 | Married couple Martin and Railsback's world is wrecked when he becomes a cocaine addict. Below-average morality tale: its message may be important, but its dramatics are muddled. | tt0088287 | [R] | Pamela Sue Martin, Steve Railsback, Ian McShane, Al Corley, Rita Taggart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Torchy Blane . . . Playing With Dynamite | 1939 | Noel Smith | ★★ | 59 | Wyman, who had a small part in the first Torchy Blane entry, plays the lead in this farcical final episode, in which she goes to jail undercover to get the goods on a crook. Jenkins, replacing Barton MacLane, is very funny. | tt0032044 | Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkins, Tom Kennedy, Sheila Bromley, Joe Cunningham, Eddie Marr | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Torchy Blane in Chinatown | 1938 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 59 | Torchy and fiancé Steve get mixed up with jade smuggling and murder in this tiresome and confusing series episode. Remake of a 1930 film, MURDER WILL OUT. | tt0030882 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, Patric Knowles, Henry O'Neill, James Stephenson | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Torchy Blane in Panama | 1938 | William Clemens | ★½ | 58 | Lane and Kelly temporarily replaced Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane in this indifferent entry about New York bank robbers who flee to Panama on an ocean liner. | tt0030883 | Lola Lane, Paul Kelly, Tom Kennedy, Anthony Averill, Larry Williams, Betty Compson | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Torchy Gets Her Man | 1938 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 62 | Farrell and MacLane returned for this mostly comical addition to the series, with Torchy in hot pursuit of a counterfeiting gang. | tt0030884 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, Willard Robertson, George Guhl, John Ridgely, Tommy Jackson | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Torchy Runs for Mayor | 1939 | Ray McCarey | ★★½ | 58 | Torchy digs up some dirt on corrupt politicians and you can guess the rest from the title. Pretty good series entry with some very snappy dialogue. | tt0032045 | Glenda Farrell, Barton MacLane, Tom Kennedy, John Miljan, Frank Shannon, Joe Cunningham, Irving Bacon | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Torment | 1944 | Alf Sjöberg | ★★★½ | 100 | Schoolboy Kjellin and girl he falls in love with (Zetterling) are hounded by sadistic teacher Jarrel. Moody and evocative, with a script by Ingmar Bergman. Also known as FRENZY. | tt0036914 | Mai Zetterling, Stig Jarrel, Alf Kjellin, Olof Winnerstrand | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tormented | 1960 | Bert I. Gordon | 💣 | 75 | Low-budget hogwash of guilt-ridden pianist dubious over his forthcoming marriage to society woman. Weak ghost story. | tt0054393 | Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders, Joe Turkel, Lillian Adams | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Torn Apart | 1989 | Jack Fisher | ★★½ | 96 | Boy and girl grow up together and fall in love— but he's Jewish, she's Arab, and the setting is Israel. A new slant on Romeo and Juliet with a topical backdrop, this humanist drama has convincing performances and a timely message. Peck is the daughter of Gregory Peck. | tt0100800 | [R] | Adrian Pasdar, Cecilia Peck, Barry Primus, Machram Huri, Arnon Zadok, Margit Polak | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Torn Curtain | 1966 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★½ | 128 | Oddly unmoving Hitchcock Cold War thriller about American scientist (Newman) pretending to be defector. Slick but empty film. Some TV prints are cut to 121m., excising violent scenes. | tt0061107 | Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova, David Opatoshu, Ludwig Donath | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Torpedo Alley | 1953 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 84 | Typical Korean War actioner involving U.S. submarine offensives. Look fast for Charles Bronson as sub crew member. | tt0046450 | Dorothy Malone, Mark Stevens, Charles Winninger, Bill Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Torpedo Bay | 1963 | Charles Frend | ★★½ | 91 | British and Italian naval crews meet on neutral territory during WW2; modest but fairly interesting drama. | tt0055790 | James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Gabriele Ferzetti, Alberto Lupo, Geoffrey Keen | Italian-French | War | NULL | ||
| Torpedo Run | 1958 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 98 | Sluggish WW2 revenge narrative of sub-commander Ford whose family was aboard Jap prison ship he had to blow up. | tt0052303 | Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Diane Brewster, Dean Jones | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Torque | 2004 | Joseph Kahn | ★½ | 81 | Ultra-cool biker returns to his home turf, where he leads two rival gangs and the FBI on a frantic chase. Music-video-style biker movie is fast and loud, but ultra-dumb, often laughable. Even Ice Cube is reduced to cliché here. Thanks to aggressive product placement a climactic catfight turns out to be a battle between Pepsi and Mountain Dew! | tt0329691 | [PG-13] | Martin Henderson, Ice Cube, Monet Mazur, Adam Scott, Matt Schulze, Jaime Pressly, Jay Hernandez, Will Yun Lee, Fredo Starr, Justina Machado, Faizon Love | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Torrent | 1926 | Monta Bell | ★★★ | 87 | Garbo stars in her first American film as a Spanish peasant girl who becomes a famous prima donna after being deserted by nobleman Cortez, whose life is ruled by his mother. A still entertaining tale of lost love, based on a Blasco-Ibanez novel. | tt0017480 | Ricardo Cortez, Greta Garbo, Gertrude Olmstead, Edward Connelly, Lucien Littlefield, Tully Marshall, Mack Swain | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Torrents of Spring | 1990 | Jerzy Skolimowski | ★★½ | 101 | No disgrace, but an almost inevitably stilted film version of an Ivan Turgenev story. Russian Hutton (!), engaged to German Golino, gets roving glands for married Kinski, who's negotiating to purchase his estate. Nicely shot (with a good duel scene), but Hutton's regal bearing falls apart whenever he's asked to open his mouth. | tt0096755 | [PG-13] | Timothy Hutton, Nastassja Kinski, Valeria Golino, William Forsythe, Urbano Barberini, Francesca De Sapio, Jacques Herlin | Italian-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Torrid Zone | 1940 | William Keighley | ★★★½ | 88 | South-of-the-border comedy, action and romance with nightclub star Sheridan helping plantation owner O'Brien keep Cagney from leaving. Zesty dialogue (scripted by Richard Macauley and Jerry Wald) in this variation on THE FRONT PAGE. | tt0033175 | James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, Andy Devine, Helen Vinson, Jerome Cowan, George Tobias, George Reeves | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Torso | 1974 | Sergio Martino | ★½ | 90 | A killer is carving up beautiful co-eds in this bloody potboiler. | tt0069920 | [R] | Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, John Richardson, Luc Merenda | Italian | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| Tortilla Flat | 1942 | Victor Fleming | ★★★ | 105 | Steinbeck's salty novel of California fishing community vividly portrayed by three top stars, stolen by Morgan as devoted dog lover. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035460 | Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield, Frank Morgan, Akim Tamiroff, Sheldon Leonard, Donald Meek, John Qualen, Allen Jenkins | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tortilla Heaven | 2007 | Judy Hecht Dumontet | ★½ | 94 | Isidor (Zúñiga) makes the best tortillas in Falfúrrias, New Mexico, population 73. Then one day the image of Jesus miraculously appears on one of his tortillas. Anemic farce goes nowhere . . . and takes a long time getting there. | tt0227671 | [PG-13] | José Zúñiga, Miguel Sandoval, Olivia Hussey, Elpidia Carrillo, Alexis Cruz, Judy Herrera, Marcelo Tubert, Irene Bedard, Lupe Ontiveros, Del Zamora, George Lopez. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tortilla Soup | 2001 | María Ripoll | ★★★ | 110 | Engaging remake of EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN reset in L.A., with Elizondo as a stern but loving patriarch with three quite different daughters— and a penchant for communicating through cooking. Good cast makes the most of the material; Peña is especially good as a schoolteacher who blossoms as she falls in love. | tt0255653 | [PG-13] | Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Tamara Mello, Nikolai Kinski, Joel Joan, Paul Rodriguez, Elizabeth Peñta, Raquel Welch, Constance Marie | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism | Castle of the Walking Dead | 1967 | Harald Reinl | ★★½ | 90 | A resurrected Lee seeks revenge on Barker and Dor; after luring them to his castle they are mentally and physically tortured. Based on Poe's Pit and the Pendulum. Atmospheric, but not for the squeamish. Aka THE BLOOD DEMON and CASTLE OF THE WALKING DEAD (running 75m.). | tt0062235 | Christopher Lee, Lex Barker, Karin Dor, Carl Lange, Vladimir Medar | German | Horror | NULL | |
| Torture Garden | 1967 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 93 | Anthology horror film revolving around sideshow weirdo Dr. Diabolo (Meredith) with power to let curious visitors see and experience their near-future. Good cast and production, but stories uneven; first and last tales best. Written by Robert Bloch. | tt0062384 | Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Beverly Adams, Peter Cushing, Barbara Ewing, Michael Bryant, Maurice Denham | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Total Eclipse | 1995 | Agnieszka Holland | 💣 | 110 | Really bad film about 19th-century French poets Arthur Rimbaud (DiCaprio) and Paul Verlaine (Thewlis) plays like a homosexual version of AMADEUS. Well intentioned and based on fact, but just awful. Hampton adapted the script from his own play. Pick up a couple of poetry books instead. | tt0114702 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, David Thewlis, Romane Bohringer, Dominique Blanc, Felicie Pasotti Cabarbaye, Nita Klein, James Thieree, Christopher Hampton | U.S.-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Total Recall | 1990 | Paul Verhoeven | ★★★ | 109 | Schwarzenegger learns he's a victim of mind-tampering in this 21st-century tale— and once he discovers his true identity, journeys to Mars to help fight a power-hungry madman there. Riveting yarn (based on Philip K. Dick's short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale') offers endless twists and intriguing ideas . . . and the kind of over-the-top violence for which director Verhoeven is known. Dazzling, Oscar-winning special effects throughout. Later 'inspired' a cable TV series. | tt0100802 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson/Jr. | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Totally F***ed Up | 1993 | Gregg Araki | ★★½ | 85 | Jarring, Godardian portrait of a group of bored, alienated L.A. teens. They hang out and talk about sex, relationships, and their parents; their language is littered with such words as 'grossomatic' and 'gagorama.' And . . . they're gay, so there is no shortage of venom vented against homophobia. Not bad, but still a come-down from Araki's breakthrough film, THE LIVING END. Araki also scripted, edited, photographed and coproduced. | tt0108366 | James Duval, Roko Belic, Susan Behshid, Jenee Gill, Gilbert Luna, Lance May, Alan Boyce, Craig Gilmore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Toto the Hero | 1991 | Jaco van Dormael | ★★★ | 90 | Original, immensely clever journey through the life of a character named Thomas, who is shown (through constant cross-cutting) as a child, adult, and elderly man. The young boy imagines that he'll grow up to be Toto the Hero, a secret agent; instead, he'll have to cope with his ultimate ordinariness, his memories, and his dreams. A unique blend of comedy, tragedy, and mystery, especially notable for its discerning— and unflinching— look at childhood. Writer-director van Dormael, a former circus clown, makes his feature directing debut. | tt0103105 | [PG-13] | Michel Bouquet, Mireille Perrier, Jo De Backer, Gisela Uhlen, Peter Bohlke, Thomas Godet, Sandrine Blancke | Belgian-French-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Touch | 1997 | Paul Schrader | ★★½ | 96 | Satirical fable about a young ex-monk who has the ability to effect miracle healings— while suffering stigmata: bleeding as Christ did on the cross. This causes no small furor among exploiters like Walken and fanatics like Arnold. Interesting and well cast (with Arnold a standout as the religious zealot), but awfully subdued; it's a film that leaves you wanting. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, scripted by Schrader. | tt0120357 | [R] | Bridget Fonda, Christopher Walken, Skeet Ulrich, Tom Arnold, Gina Gershon, Lolita Davidovich, Paul Mazursky, Janeane Garofalo, John Doe, Conchata Ferrell, Mason Adams, Anthony Zerbe, *** LL Cool J, Tamlyn Tomita, Don Novello | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Touch Me Not | The Hunted | 1976 | Douglas Fifthian | ★★ | 84 | Unexciting thriller with industrial spy Hinz using neurotic secretary Remick to gather information on boss Desny. Also known as THE HUNTED. | tt0072304 | [PG] | Lee Remick, Michael Hinz, Ivan Desny, Ingrid Garbo | British | Action | NULL |
| Touch and Die | 1991 | Piernico Solinas | 💣 | 108 | The Rome bureau chief of an American newspaper finds lots of bodies with their hands chopped off as he follows the trail of plutonium thieves. Sheen tries to keep real-life daughter Estevez locked in her hotel room, to keep her out of trouble (and off-screen), which may be a wise choice. Extremely confusing globe-trotting thriller. | tt0103108 | [R] | Renée Estevez, Martin Sheen, David Birney, Franco Nero | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Touch and Go | 1980 | Peter Maxwell | ★★ | 92 | Sexy female Robin Hoods steal for worthy causes. A well-meaning comedy-caper film that is slight and forgettable. | tt0081645 | Wendy Hughes, Chantal Contouri, Carmen Duncan, Jeanie Drynan, Liddy Clark | Australian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Touch and Go | 1986 | Robert Mandel | ★★½ | 101 | Self-centered hockey star becomes involved with delinquent kid and his mother. Aptly titled film has persuasive performances but unconvincing story line. | tt0092104 | [R] | Michael Keaton, Maria Conchita Alonso, Ajay Naidu, Maria Tucci, Max Wright, Jere Burns, Lara Jill Miller | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Touch of Class | 1973 | Melvin Frank | ★★ | 105 | Undeniable chemistry of Segal and Jackson can only occasionally breathe life into this stale comedy about married man who intends nothing more than having a carefree affair, only to fall genuinely in love. Jackson won Best Actress Oscar. | tt0070819 | [PG] | George Segal, Glenda Jackson, Paul Sorvino, Hildegard Neil, Cec Linder, K Callan, Mary Barclay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Touch of Evil | 1958 | Orson Welles | ★★★★ | 108 | Narc Heston and corrupt cop Welles tangle over murder investigation in sleazy Mexican border town, with Heston's bride Leigh the pawn of their struggle. Fantastic, justifiably famous opening shot merely commences stylistic masterpiece, dazzlingly photographed by Russell Metty. Great Latin rock score by Henry Mancini; neat unbilled cameos by Joseph Cotten, Ray Collins, and especially Mercedes McCambridge. Reconstructed according to Welles' notes in 1998, at 111m. Beware 95m. version. | tt0052311 | Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Milian, Joanna Moore, Zsa Zsa Gabor | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| A Touch of Larceny | 1959 | Guy Hamilton | ★★★ | 93 | Ingenious comedy of officer who uses availability of military secrets to his advantage in off-beat plan. | tt0053371 | James Mason, George Sanders, Vera Miles, Oliver Johnston, William Kendall, Duncan Lamont | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Touch of Pink | 2004 | Ian Iqbal Rashid. | ★★ | 91 | Strained attempt to recreate the fluffy style of an early-'60s bedroom comedy that might have starred Cary Grant and Doris Day (like, say, THAT TOUCH OF MINK). The twist is that the leading man is gay, a fact he is trying to hide from his visiting mother, a devout Muslim who tries to set him up with a girl in time to attend a big family wedding. What's more, the ghost of Cary Grant appears to offer advice on life and love to our hapless hero. MacLachlan tries his best, but his impression of the peerless Grant just doesn't cut it, and neither does this well-meaning film. | tt0374277 | [R] | Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, Kristen Holden-Reid, Suleka Mathew, Brian George, Veena Sood, Raoul Bhaneja. | Canadian-British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Touch of a Stranger | 1991 | Brad Gilbert | ★½ | 87 | Looney recluse (Winters) finds a young stranger on her doorstep (Nocerino) who is carrying a gun and bleeding from a bullet wound. Starved for companionship, she takes him in. Amateurish, and deadly dull. Winters overacts with aimless abandon. | tt0103109 | [R] | Shelley Winters, Anthony Nocerino, Danny Capri, Haley Taylor-Block | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Touch | 1971 | Ingmar Bergman | ★½ | 112 | Bergman's first English-language film should be called THE TETCHED, in view of the fact that Andersson leaves doctor-husband von Sydow for boorish Gould. The two Bergman regulars are fine, but Gould is miscast and dialogue embarrassingly awkward. | tt0066826 | [R] | Elliott Gould, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow, Sheila Reid | U.S.-Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| The Touchables | 1968 | Robert Freeman | 💣 | 97 | Dreary tale of four girls and a guy who try to kidnap pop singing idol. Terrible. TV print runs 88m. | tt0063709 | [PG] | Judy Huxtable, Esther Anderson, Marilyn Richard, Kathy Simmonds | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Touchback | 2012 | Don Handfield | ★★ | 120 | Lightweight, overlong feel-good drama plays like a mix of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. Financially strapped farmer (Presley) stewing in suicidal despair is magically transported back to his brighter days as a high school football player. Determined to avoid the injury that shattered his dreams of college and NFL stardom, he finds that changing his fate may keep him from winning his future wife (Lynskey). Russell shines in small role as football coach who tirelessly extols virtues of small-town life. | tt1628055 | [PG-13] | Brian Presley, Melanie Lynskey, Marc Blucas, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Touched | 1983 | John Flynn | ★★ | 93 | Uninspired, poorly scripted latter-day DAVID AND LISA with Hays and Beller escaping from mental institution and trying to build a 'normal' life for themselves. Good performances, anyway. | tt0086460 | [R] | Robert Hays, Kathleen Beller, Ned Beatty, Gilbert Lewis, Lyle Kessler | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Touched by Love | To Elvis, With Love | 1980 | Gus Trikonis | ★★½ | 95 | Sentimental drama, based on nursing trainee Lena Canada's memoir, of cerebral palsy victim's pen-pal relationship with Elvis Presley. Fine performances by Lane and Raffin. Originally titled TO ELVIS, WITH LOVE. | tt0081646 | [PG] | Deborah Raffin, Diane Lane, Michael Learned, Cristina Raines, Mary Wickes, Clu Gulager, John Amos, Clive Shalom | Drama | NULL | |
| Touchez Pas au Grisbi | Grisbi | 1954 | Jacques Becker | ★★★½ | 94 | An elegant French gangster who's pulled off a daring heist forsakes his plan to keep the loot under wraps in order to save the life of his impetuous best friend. As much an observation about a certain way of life as it is a crime thriller; unpretentious and skillfully made, with a typically commanding performance by the incomparable Gabin. Aka GRISBI and DON'T TOUCH THE LOOT. | tt0046451 | Jean Gabin, René Dary, Jeanne Moreau, Dora Doll, Gaby Basset, Denise Clair, Michel Jourdan, Daniel Cauchy, Lino Ventura | French | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Touching the Void | 2003 | Kevin Macdonald | ★★★ | 106 | Amazing docudrama of two climbers and their perilous journey up the Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. After reaching the top they are separated upon descent; one is left for dead by his partner but miraculously survives to tell the tale. Using actors and bridging techniques of fictional action pictures, film cuts between interviews with survivors Simpson and Yates and highly accomplished re-creations to present a real-life story that has every bit of suspense, adventure, and drama any Hollywood production could aspire to. Based on the book by Simpson. | tt0379557 | Nicholas Aaron, Richard Hawking, Brendan Mackey, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates | British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Tough Enough | 1983 | Richard Fleischer | ★★ | 106 | Numerous problems plagued production of this predictable tale of would-be Country-Western singer Quaid entering Tough Man amateur boxing competitions for exposure. Insipid ROCKY rip-off wastes good cast. Shot in 1981. | tt0086461 | [PG] | Dennis Quaid, Carlene Watkins, Stan Shaw, Pam Grier, Warren Oates, Bruce McGill, Wilford Brimley, Fran Ryan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tough Guy | 1936 | Chester Franklin. | ★★½ | 76 | Cooper is a rich kid who runs away with Rinty because his father doesn't like the pooch. Calleia is a crook he meets along the way, and the two develop an unusual bond. Nothing new, but an efficient, fast-moving blend of gunplay and tears. | tt0028398 | Jackie Cooper, Joseph Calleia, Rin Tin Tin/Jr., Harvey Stephens, Jean Hersholt, Edward Pawley, Mischa Auer. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tough Guys | 1986 | Jeff Kanew | ★★½ | 104 | A couple of former crooks— who staged America's last train robbery 30 years ago— are finally sprung from prison and gamely try to adjust to 1980s life. Watching Burt and Kirk (in this tailor-made comedy) is a joy, but the film gets more childish and predictable as it goes along. Still watchable but what a shame! | tt0092105 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Charles Durning, Alexis Smith, Dana Carvey, Darlanne Fluegel, Eli Wallach, Monty Ash, Billy Barty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tough Guys Don't Dance | 1987 | Norman Mailer | ★★½ | 110 | Genuinely odd film noir cum black-comedy adapted by Mailer from his own novel, with O'Neal as a loser who may have committed murder— but can't remember. Peopled exclusively by weird characters who speak in purple prose . . . but it does have its moments, and a lively performance by Tierney as O'Neal's no-nonsense father who wants to 'deep-six the heads.' Filmed in Provincetown, Massachusetts. | tt0094169 | [R] | Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Debra Sandlund, Wings Hauser, Lawrence Tierney, Penn Jillette, Frances Fisher, John Bedford Lloyd, Clarence Williams III | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tough as They Come | 1942 | William Nigh | ★★ | 61 | Contrived Little Tough Guys tale about law student Halop trying to straighten out a crooked credit union. | tt0035461 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsly, Gabriel Dell, Helen Parrish, Paul Kelly, Ann Gillis | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Tougher They Come | 1950 | Ray Nazarro. | ★½ | 69 | Pedestrian B picture about rival loggers Morris and Foster, who join forces to thwart greedy lumber magnate Crehan. | tt0043060 | Wayne Morris, Preston Foster, William Bishop, Kay Buckley, Frank McHugh, Gloria Henry, Mary Castle, Joseph Crehan, Jock O'Mahoney (Mahoney). | Drama | NULL | |||
| Toughest Gun in Tombstone | 1958 | Earl Bellamy | ★½ | 72 | Weak shoot-out tale with Montgomery in the title role. | tt0052312 | George Montgomery, Beverly Tyler, Don Beddoe, Jim Davis | Western | NULL | |||
| The Toughest Man Alive | 1955 | Sidney Salkow. | ★★ | 72 | Mild caper with Clark a U.S. agent who goes undercover as a gun runner to sniff out the culprits who are smuggling arms to Central America. | tt0048741 | Dane Clark, Lita Milan, Ross Elliott, Myrna Dell, Syd Saylor, Anthony Caruso. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Toughest Man in Arizona | 1952 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 90 | While waging war on crime, marshal Monroe falls for girl with expected results. Weak Western vehicle for crooner Monroe. | tt0045249 | Vaughn Monroe, Joan Leslie, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory | Western | NULL | |||
| Tourist Trap | 1979 | David Schmoeller | ★½ | 85 | Here's an original idea for a horror movie: those life-size dummies in Connors' 'museum' are strangely lifelike, aren't they? Not so much that the idiots he lures there ever catch on. A couple of genuine scares, but mostly boring thriller. | tt0080040 | [PG] | Chuck Connors, Jon Van Ness, Jocelyn Jones, Robin Sherwood, Tanya Roberts, Keith McDermott | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Tourist | 2010 | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | ★★ | 103 | Update of 2005 French thriller ANTHONY ZIMMER is the kind of thing Hitchcock or Donen could have pulled off in their sleep, but this frenetic mishmash only puts us to sleep. American tourist Depp is mending a broken heart in Venice and caught up in international intrigue, while mysterious Jolie sets him up as a decoy to avoid Russian mobsters who are after her. Complicated blend of romance and action needs a lighter touch. Chemistry is virtually nonexistent between the uncharacteristically schlumpy Depp character and the ultra-elegant Jolie, who looks every bit as stunning as the shimmering Italian scenery. As a travelogue it’s bella; as a movie, not so hot. | tt1243957 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Steven Berkoff, Rufus Sewell, Christian De Sica, Raoul Bova | Drama, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tous les Matins du Monde | All the Mornings of the World | 1991 | Alain Corneau | ★★★½ | 114 | Exquisitely detailed historical biography examining the relationship between Sainte Colombe (Marielle), the obsessive, almost mystical 17th-century baroque composer and cellist, and his protegé, Marin Marais (Gérard Depardieu), a man of far less elevated artistic aspirations, who was a celebrated court composer at Versailles. Both stars are excellent, with Depardieu's son Guillaume effectively playing the young Marin Marais. Exemplary use of music on the soundtrack. Screenplay by the director and Pascal Quignard, based on the latter's novel. A smash hit in France, where it won seven César awards. Video title: ALL THE MORNINGS OF THE WORLD. | tt0103110 | Jean-Pierre Marielle, Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu, Caroline Sihol, Carole Richert, Myriam Boyer, Michel Bouquet | French | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |
| Tout Va Bien | Everything's All Right | 1972 | Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin | ★★★ | 96 | Reporter Fonda covers a crisis at a meatpacking plant whose workers are striking against their elitist bosses. She is accompanied by her husband (Montand), an ex–French New Wave screenwriter who now makes television commercials. Godard and Gorin expand the boundaries of narrative cinema while exploring the aftermath of the late-1960s "revolution" . . . and specifically, the struggle of the individual to remain political and relevant while supporting a comfortable lifestyle. Very much a snapshot of its time. | tt0069398 | Yves Montand, Jane Fonda, Vittorio Caprioli, Élisabeth Chauvin, Castel Casti, Éric Chartier, Anne Wiazemsky | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Tovarich | 1937 | Anatole Litvak | ★★★ | 98 | Boyer and Colbert, royal Russians, flee the Revolution with court treasury but nothing for themselves; they're finally reduced to working as servants. Enjoyable but dated romantic comedy set in Paris. Based on a French play Americanized by Robert E. Sherwood. | tt0029685 | Claudette Colbert, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone, Anita Louise, Melville Cooper, Isabel Jeans, Morris Carnovsky | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Toward the Unknown | 1956 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 115 | Intelligent narrative about test pilots, focusing on a tarnished air officer (Holden) eager to regain the respect of his men. Garner's film debut. | tt0049870 | William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, Virginia Leith, Charles McGraw, James Garner, Murray Hamilton, L.Q. Jones, Paul Fix, Karen Steele | Drama | NULL | |||
| Towelhead | Nothing Is Private | 2008 | Alan Ball | ★★★ | 124 | A 13-year-old girl leaves her mercurial mother to live with her uptight, culturally conflicted Lebanese father in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Exploring her newfound sexuality, the girl flirts with danger at every turn, inciting and inviting the attentions of next-door neighbor Eckhart. Provocative, darkly funny adult fare, intended to shock and amuse in equal measure, explores sexual abuse, cultural stereotypes, and adolescent angst, yet somehow avoids being exploitive. Bishil is perfect in a remarkable film debut. Alicia Erian’s novel was adapted by first-time director Ball (who wrote AMERICAN BEAUTY). | tt0787523 | [R] | Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Peter Macdissi, Summer Bishil, Eugene Jones, Matt Letscher, Chase Ellison | Drama | NULL | |
| Tower Heist | 2011 | Brett Ratner | ★★½ | 104 | Super-efficient manager of a luxury Manhattan high-rise (Stiller) discovers that he and his fellow employees have been bankrupted by the investment advice of the building's most prominent tenant (Alda), a supposed financial whiz. Their only recourse: revenge. Lighthearted heist movie, with a topical story angle, is easy enough to digest and has some colorful supporting characters, but squanders its potential with implausible stunts and a low rating on the laugh meter. Murphy seems to be phoning this one in. | tt0471042 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe, Nina Arianda, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Željko Ivanek, Robert Downey /Sr., Dwight "Heavy D" Myers, Kate Upton | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| Tower of Evil | 1972 | Jim O’Connolly | 💣 | 85 | One of the horrors here is a series of brutal murders masterminded by a lunatic; another one is the film itself. Reissued as HORROR ON SNAPE ISLAND. | tt0068716 | [R] | Bryant Haliday, Jill Haworth, Anna Palk, Jack Watson, Mark Edwards, Derek Fowlds | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Tower of London | 1939 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★½ | 92 | Muddled historical melodrama (not a horror film, as many believe), with Rathbone as unscrupulous, power-hungry Richard III and Karloff as his dutiful executioner Mord. Court intrigue leads to uninspired battle scenes. Remade in 1962. | tt0032049 | Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil, Ian Hunter, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, Leo G. Carroll, John Sutton, Miles Mander | Horror, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tower of London | 1962 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 79 | Price gives his all as Richard III, who dispatches all his rivals for the crown of England, but this is a far cry from Shakespeare, and not even up to par for director Corman. Has little in common with the 1939 film of the same name, in which Price played the Duke of Clarence. | tt0056606 | Vincent Price, Michael Pate, Joan Freeman, Robert Brown | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Towering Inferno | 1974 | John Guillermin, Irwin Allen | ★★½ | 165 | All-star idiocy about a burning skyscraper. Purports to pay tribute to firemen but spends most of its time devising grisly ways for people to die. The pyrotechnics are gripping, but the movie is just another cold-blooded Hollywood 'product.' Oscar-winner for Cinematography, Editing and Song ('We May Never Love Like This Again'). | tt0072308 | [PG] | Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Gregory Sierra, Dabney Coleman | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Town & Country | 2001 | Peter Chelsom | ★½ | 104 | Two couples celebrate their long-term marriages— just as both relationships start to come apart. A train wreck of a movie that starts out as romantic comedy, lurches into French farce, then lumbers along to a point beyond comprehension. The cast tries its best. Cowritten by Buck Henry, who appears as a divorce lawyer. Filmed mostly in 1998. | tt0141907 | [R] | Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Andie MacDowell, Nastassja Kinski, Jenna Elfman, Josh Hartnett, Charlton Heston, Marian Seldes, Katherine Towne | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Town Called Hell | 1971 | Robert Parrish | 💣 | 95 | A manhunt for Mexican revolutionary Shaw. The pits. Originally titled A TOWN CALLED BASTARD. | tt0067870 | [R] | Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Stella Stevens, Martin Landau, Fernando Rey | British-Spanish | Drama, Western | NULL | |
| The Town Is Quiet | 2001 | Robert Guédiguian | ★★½ | 133 | Slow-paced, dark, but interesting tale of life in Marseilles, a working-class French city that has seen better days— as have many of the inhabitants depicted here. Beautifully atmospheric and certainly realistic, film demands more than many viewers may want to give; those who like gritty human drama will probably find this a satisfying way to spend a couple of hours. | tt0234988 | Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Jacques Boudet, Christine Brücher, Jacques Pieiller | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Town Like Alice | Rape of Malaya | 1956 | Jack Lee | ★★½ | 107 | Taut WW2 tale, well acted, about Japanese oppression of female British POWs in Malaysia. Based on Nevil Shute's novel, later remade as TV miniseries. Retitled: RAPE OF MALAYA. | tt0049871 | Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, Maureen Swanson, Vincent Ball | British | Crime, Drama, War | NULL | |
| Town Tamer | 1965 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 89 | As title indicates, Andrews cleans up community, and among the rubble are some veteran actors. Routine Western has minor nostalgia value, in light of the cast. | tt0059824 | Dana Andrews, Terry Moore, Pat O'Brien, Lon Chaney/Jr., Bruce Cabot, Lyle Bettger, Coleen Gray, Barton MacLane, Richard Arlen, Richard Jaeckel, Sonny Tufts | Western | NULL | |||
| The Town That Dreaded Sundown | 1977 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★½ | 90 | OK thriller made from true story of a hooded killer who terrorized town of Texarkana in the mid-'40s. Ben Johnson's presence gives it some stature. | tt0075342 | [R] | Ben Johnson, Andrew Prine, Dawn Wells, Christine Ellsworth, Charles B. Pierce | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Town Went Wild | 1944 | Ralph Murphy. | ★★ | 78 | Fitfully amusing poverty-row comedy concerning two feuding families and the interesting possibility that their children were switched at birth. | tt0037388 | Freddie Bartholomew, Jimmy Lydon, Edward Everett Horton, Tom Tully, Jill Browning, Minna Gombell. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Town Without Pity | 1961 | Gottfried Reinhardt | ★★½ | 105 | Courtroom drama of G.I.s accused of raping German girl. Decent cast, but could have been better handled. Title song, sung by Gene Pitney, was a big hit. Filmed in Germany. | tt0055539 | Kirk Douglas, E.G. Marshall, Christine Kaufmann, Robert Blake, Richard Jaeckel, Frank Sutton, Barbara Rutting | Drama | NULL | |||
| Town on Trial | 1956 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 96 | A murder investigation in a small British town, where there's no shortage of suspects. Low-key drama makes good use of natural locations. | tt0049872 | John Mills, Charles Coburn, Derek Farr, Barbara Bates, Alec McCowen | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Town | 2010 | Ben Affleck | ★★★ | 125 | In Charlestown, Massachusetts, it’s second nature to lead a criminal life like Affleck and Renner. They and their cohorts execute a string of daring robberies, but in their latest bank hit someone may have recognized them, so Affleck boldly approaches bank teller Hall to feel her out—and winds up becoming involved with her. A knockout of a movie with great dialogue, characterizations, and heart-pounding action, photographed by Robert Elswit. Affleck does fine work on both sides of the camera; he also coscripted with Peter Craig and Aaron Stockard, from Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves. | tt0840361 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper, Slaine, Owen Burke, Titus Welliver | NULL | |||
| The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie | 1989 | Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman | ★½ | 86 | More crossed eyes, comically gruesome deaths, and cheerful vulgarity as Toxie, now an out-of-work superhero, is tempted by evil Apocalypse Inc. into becoming an ambitious yuppie, unaware that the boss (Collins) is the Devil himself. Heavily self-referential and goes on far too long; moronic rather than silly. | tt0098502 | [R] | Ron Fazio, Phoebe Legere, Rick Collins, Lisa Gaye, Jessica Dublin, John Altamura | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Toxic Avenger, Part II | 1989 | Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman | ★★½ | 96 | Sequel offers more of the same silliness, with Melvin Junko (aka The Toxic Avenger) going after the Japanese conglomerate responsible for destroying a home for the blind in Tromaville in order to build a toxic chemical depot. Exploitation movie spoof has some very funny moments. Shot simultaneously with Part III. | tt0098503 | [R] | Ron Fazio, John Altamura, Phoebe Legere, Rick Collins, Rikiya Yasuoka, Tsutomu Sekine, Lisa Gaye | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Toxic Avenger | 1985 | Michael Herz, Samuel Weil | ★★½ | 100 | Funny spoof about 90-pound weakling Torgi, who is transformed into a monster who only does good deeds. Not without violence and gore but still entertaining; recommended mostly for fans of the genre. Followed by three sequels. | tt0090190 | [R] | Andree Maranda, Mitchell Cohen, Jennifer Baptist, Cindy Manion, Robert Prichard, Mark Torgi, Marisa Tomei | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Toy Soldiers | 1984 | David Fisher | ★★ | 91 | Fast-paced but forgettable adventure has a plot resembling HIGH RISK (which also starred Little): Miller and Little help kids rescue their young friends from captivity in rebellion-torn Latin American nation. | tt0088292 | [R] | Jason Miller, Cleavon Little, Rodolfo De Anda, Terri Garber, Tracy Scoggins, Willard Pugh, Mary Beth Evans, Tim Robbins | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Toy Soldiers | 1991 | Daniel Petrie/Jr | ★★½ | 112 | Prep school populated by wealthy misfit kids is taken over by Colombian terrorists— who haven't counted on the youngsters' ingenuity or determination. Mindless movie takes a seemingly idiotic premise and makes it entertaining, with likable kids and Gibraltar-like Gossett as their father-figure dean. Jerry Orbach appears unbilled. | tt0103112 | [R] | Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan, Andrew Divoff, Louis Gossett/Jr., Denholm Elliott, T. E. Russell, George Perez, Mason Adams, R. Lee Ermey, Tracy Brooks Swope | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Toy Story | 1995 | John Lasseter | ★★★ | 80 | A boy's favorite toy, a cowboy doll named Woody, feels threatened (and rightly so) by the arrival of a new birthday present, a high-tech spaceman model advertised on TV. Clever, incredible-looking animated film, produced entirely on computer. A grownup story masquerading as a kid's film, this story of friendship, fickleness, and the need for acceptance features a colorful cast of characters led by Woody and his rival, Buzz Lightyear. The 'acting' of the two leads— their facial expressions and body language— is as good as anything ever seen in a conventional animated cartoon. Presented by Disney, but produced by the innovative Pixar studio. Director Lasseter received a special Oscar for this animation milestone. Followed by a sequel. | tt0114709 | [G] | Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, John Morris, Erik Von Detten, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey | Animation, Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Toy Story 2 | 1999 | John Lasseter | ★★★½ | 92 | One of the few sequels to live up to— and top— the original: a clever and engaging tale of cowboy doll Woody falling into the hands of a sleazy toy dealer. Shows the relationship of toys and their owners in a canny but heartwarming way, with great gags, a heart-rending song, 'When She Loved Me' by Randy Newman (sung by Sarah MacLachlan), and spectacular staging by the computer-animation folks at Pixar. Followed by a Buzz Lightyear TV series and video feature. | tt0120363 | [G] | Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Wayne Knight, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, Estelle Harris, R. Lee Ermey, Jodi Benson | Animation, Family, Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Toy Story 3 | 2010 | Lee Unkrich | ★★★½ | 103 | Third time is still the charm for Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and company, who all find a new home at a day-care center when their owner, Andy, prepares to go off to college. Things are going great for the toys, but things are not as ideal as they seem at first. Irresistible blend of Pixar’s technical virtuosity, lovable characters, great gags, and a story that deals emotionally (and convincingly) with loss and growing up. Screenplay by Michael Arndt from a story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and director Unkrich. Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Randy Newman’s song “We Belong Together.” 3-D. | tt0435761 | [G] | Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson, Emily Hahn, Laurie Metcalf, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt, Whoopi Goldberg, R. Lee Ermey, Richard Kind, John Morris | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Toy Tiger | 1956 | Jerry Hopper | ★★½ | 88 | Pleasant remake of MAD ABOUT MUSIC with Hovey 'adopting' Chandler as his father to back up tales to school chums about a real dad. | tt0049873 | Jeff Chandler, Laraine Day, Tim Hovey, Cecil Kellaway, Richard Haydn, David Janssen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Toy Wife | 1938 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 95 | Southern belle Rainer is pursued by Young and Douglas, can't decide which one to marry; inconsequential confection. | tt0030887 | Luise Rainer, Melvyn Douglas, Robert Young, Barbara O'Neil, H. B. Warner, Alma Kruger, Libby Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Toy | 1982 | Richard Donner | ★½ | 99 | Stultifying remake of the Pierre Richard comedy LE JOUET with Pryor as penniless writer hired by zillionaire Gleason as plaything for spoiled son Schwartz. A few good gags are lost in a sea of you-can't-buy-friends-you-gotta-earn-them lectures, not to mention dubious taste. | tt0084809 | [PG] | Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Scott Schwartz, Teresa Ganzel, Ned Beatty, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Annazette Chase | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Toys | 1992 | Barry Levinson | ★½ | 121 | Appallingly bad movie about one man's lifelong dream— a whimsical toy factory— turned into a nightmare by his brother, a military martinet with outsized ambitions. This was director-cowriter Levinson's longtime pet project! Aside from Ferdinando Scarfiotti's ingenious production design (worth seeing at least for a few minutes) and some sweet moments at the outset, this is a heavy-handed mess. | tt0105629 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright, *** LL Cool J, Donald O'Connor, Arthur Malet, Jack Warden, Debi Mazar, Jamie Foxx, Blake Clark, Art Metrano, Yeardley Smith. | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Toys in the Attic | 1963 | George Roy Hill | ★★½ | 90 | Timid adaptation (by James Poe) of Lillian Hellman play about man returning home to New Orleans with childlike bride; Page and Hiller are Martin's overprotective sisters. | tt0057598 | Dean Martin, Geraldine Page, Yvette Mimieux, Wendy Hiller, Gene Tierney, Larry Gates, Nan Martin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Traces of Red | 1992 | Andy Wolk | ★½ | 105 | Tawdry/silly West Palm Beach melodrama with so many suspects that its red herring line has been expanded to include blush, burgundy, and mauve. Belushi and Goldwyn are cops all but tripping over the female corpses, with Bracco a rich widow in an array of unflattering fashions. Narrated by Belushi's corpse à la SUNSET BLVD., but sorely missing anything resembling Billy Wilder's touch. | tt0105631 | [R] | James Belushi, Lorraine Bracco, Tony Goldwyn, William Russ, Michelle Joyner, Joe Lisi | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Track 29 | 1988 | Nicolas Roeg | ★½ | 90 | Bizarre black comedy about a love-starved woman, her nerdy husband who's obsessed with model trains, and a stranger who claims to be her long lost son! Even allowing for the usual eccentricities of director Roeg and writer Dennis Potter, this is pretty weird and not terribly entertaining. Filmed in North Carolina. | tt0096294 | [R] | Theresa Russell, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, Colleen Camp, Sandra Bernhard, Seymour Cassel, Leon Rippy, Vance Colvig | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Track of Thunder | 1968 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 83 | Average melodrama of feuding small-time stock car racers. | tt0063710 | Tom Kirk, Ray Stricklyn, H. M. Wynant | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Track of the Cat | 1954 | William Wellman | ★★ | 102 | Tennessee Williams meets American Gothic in this unusually harsh drama about a household filled with bitterness, regret, and envy, and how the hunt for a killer cougar changes the dynamics of the family. A. I. Bezzerides adapted the story by Walter Van Tilburg Clark; William Clothier's 'colorless' palette and daring camera angles are the film's strongest assets. | tt0047603 | Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Tab Hunter, Diana Lynn, Beulah Bondi, William Hopper, Carl (Alfalfa) Switzer | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Track the Man Down | 1955 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★ | 75 | Dog-tracking background makes this standard Scotland Yard murder hunt above par. | tt0047604 | Kent Taylor, Petula Clark, Renee Houston, George Rose | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Trackdown | 1976 | Richard T. Heffron | ★★½ | 98 | Montana rancher Mitchum comes to L.A. in search of his runaway sister, who's fallen into seamy street life. Not much depth but lots of action. | tt0075344 | [R] | Jim Mitchum, Karen Lamm, Anne Archer, Erik Estrada, Cathy Lee Crosby, Vince Cannon | Action | NULL | ||
| Tracks | 1976 | Henry Jaglom | ★½ | 90 | Hopper escorts dead Vietnam buddy across the country by train, eventually goes bonkers. We've seen it before and almost always in less muddled fashion. Emil's and Norman's characters later got their own feature, SITTING DUCKS. | tt0075345 | Dennis Hopper, Taryn Power, Dean Stockwell, Topo Swope, Michael Emil, Zack Norman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Trade | 2007 | Marco Kreuzpaintner | ★★ | 120 | A 13-year-old girl is abducted by members of a sex-trafficking ring. As her older brother follows her trail, he hooks up with a Texas cop (Kline) who has his own reasons for investigating this outfit. Downbeat drama exposes a shocking, shameful situation, but it’s maddeningly uneven, one minute bold and powerful (especially with Polish actress Bachleda-Curus) and the next incredibly banal. Based on a New York Times article. | tt0399095 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Alicja Bachleda, Paulina Gaitan, Kathleen Gati, Pavel Lynchnikoff, Anthony Crivello, Linda Emond, Zack Ward, Cesar Ramos, Tim Reid | Thriller, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Trade Winds | 1938 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 90 | Debonair detective March goes after murder-suspect Bennett; by the end of the around-the-world chase, they fall in love and solve mystery. Director Garnett filmed background footage on round-the-world cruise, but the stars never left the studio! This is the film where Bennett went from blonde to brunette— and never went back. | tt0030888 | Fredric March, Joan Bennett, Ralph Bellamy, Ann Sothern, Sidney Blackmer, Thomas Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Trader Horn | 1931 | W. S. Van Dyke II | ★★★ | 120 | Early talkie classic filmed largely in African jungles still retains plenty of excitement in tale of veteran native dealer Carey encountering tribal hostility. Remade in 1973. | tt0022495 | Harry Carey, Edwina Booth, Duncan Renaldo, Olive Golden (Carey), Mutia Omoolu, C. Aubrey Smith | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Trader Horn | 1973 | Reza Badiyi | ★½ | 105 | Laughable remake of 1931 version has Taylor famed explorer and trader of African interior, accompanied by young widow. Obvious use of stock footage and the fact that cast never leaves backlot ruin all notion of believability. | tt0070823 | [PG] | Rod Taylor, Anne Heywood, Jean Sorel, Don Knight, Ed Bernard, Stack Pierce | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Trading Hearts | 1988 | Neil Leifer | ★½ | 88 | Poor baseball romance in which precocious 11-year-old Lewis tries to manipulate her mother (D'Angelo), a show-biz failure, into marriage with broken-down ballplayer Julia. Look for former N.Y.C. mayor Ed Koch in a bit as a Florida tourist; scripted by Frank DeFord, who can be seen as a bartender. | tt0094172 | [PG] | Raul Julia, Beverly D'Angelo, Jenny Lewis, Parris Buckner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trading Mom | 1994 | Tia Brelis | ★½ | 82 | Three siblings who can't stand their mother (Spacek) cast a spell which makes her— and all memory of her— disappear, then go to the Mommy Market to find a replacement mom. A flat and lifeless tale with poor production values. Spacek has a field day as three wildly different moms, but a couple of humiliation scenes made us wince. Brelis adapted the screenplay, based on her mother's story 'The Mummy Market.' Filmed in 1992. | tt0111470 | [PG] | Sissy Spacek, Anna Chlumsky, Aaron Michael Metchik, Asher Metchik, Maureen Stapleton, Merritt Yohnka, Andre the Giant | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Trading Places | 1983 | John Landis | ★★½ | 116 | Fine cast breathes life into time-worn comedy premise (remember those Three Stooges shorts?) testing heredity vs. environment by switching a 'have' (preppie Aykroyd) and a 'have-not' (street hustler Murphy). Murphy, in his second film, is a comic powerhouse, and makes up for director Landis' indulgences— like a subplot involving a horny gorilla. | tt0086465 | [R] | Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, Jamie Lee Curtis, Paul Gleason, Kristin Holby, James Belushi, Alfred Drake, Al Franken, Tom Davis, Bill Cobbs | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Traffic | 1972 | Jacques Tati | ★★ | 89 | Initially enjoyable outing with M. Hulot (Tati) trying to transport car from France to Dutch auto show bogs down in aimless side trips. Bright spots overwhelmed by general lethargy. | tt0069400 | [PG] | Jacques Tati, Maria Kimberly, Marcel Fraval, H. Bostel, Tony Kneppers | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Traffic | 2000 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 147 | Absorbing look at U.S./Mexico drug scene from several points of view: battle-hardened cops on both sides of the border, the unsuspecting wife of a wealthy druglord, disaffected teenagers who seek escape, and the man who's just been named America's drug czar, who refuses to acknowledge the problem within his own family. Soderbergh also photographed, under a pseudonym. Salma Hayek appears unbilled. Loosely based on a British TV miniseries. Oscar winner for Best Director, Supporting Actor (Del Toro), Adapted Screenplay (Stephen Gaghan), and Film Editing (Stephen Mirrione). | tt0181865 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Dennis Quaid, Steven Bauer, Tomas Milian, Erika Christensen, Miguel Ferrer, Albert Finney, Topher Grace, Benjamin Bratt, Amy Irving, James Brolin, Clifton Collins/Jr., D.W. Moffett, Peter Riegert, Jacob Vargas, Rena Sofer | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Traffic in Souls | 1913 | George Loane Tucker. | ★★½ | 74 | Lurid drama about a pair of sisters and how they unwittingly become involved with a band of white slavers. The first and most famous of the 'white slave' exploitation features that were popular during the 1910s; once highly controversial, but now a trashy, corny guilty pleasure. | tt0003471 | Jane Gail, Ethel Grandin, William Turner, Matt Moore, William Welsh, William Cavanaugh. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man | 1981 | Bernardo Bertolucci | ★★ | 116 | Disappointing drama about cheese manufacturer Tognazzi coping with son's alleged kidnapping by political terrorists. Bertolucci seems to be commenting on modern social and familial stresses and upheavals, but his message is incredibly muddled. | tt0084813 | [PG] | Ugo Tognazzi, Anouk Aimée, Laura Morante, Victor Cavallo, Ricardo Tognazzi | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Trail Beyond | 1934 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★½ | 55 | Wayne goes into northwest wilderness searching for mentor's missing niece and a gold mine. One of Wayne's better Lone Star efforts, based on James Oliver Curwood's novel The Wolf Hunters. Beautifully shot in what is now King's Canyon National Park by Archie Stout. Daredevil water leaps and stunts by Yakima Canutt, including one that misfired for all to see! | tt0025903 | John Wayne, Verna Hillie, Noah Beery, Noah Beery/Jr., Robert Frazer, Iris Lancaster, Earl Dwire. | Western | NULL | |||
| Trail Dust | 1936 | Nate Watt. | ★★★ | 77 | Hopalong Cassidy and cowhands compete against unscrupulous profiteers driving herds to drought-ridden area, desperate to acquire stock for food. Timely Dust Bowl story, faithfully adapted from same-named 1934 novel by Clarence E. Mulford. One of the series' finest efforts. | tt0028400 | William Boyd, Jimmy Ellison, George Hayes, Stephen Morris (Morris Ankrum), Gwynne Shipman, Britt Wood. | Western | NULL | |||
| Trail Street | 1947 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 84 | Fast-paced Western in which Bat Masterson (Scott) takes on murderers, robbers, cattle rustlers, and other ornery critters in the town of Liberal, Kansas. | tt0039908 | Randolph Scott, Anne Jeffreys, Robert Ryan, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Madge Meredith, Steve Brodie | Western | NULL | |||
| The Trail of '98 | 1928 | Clarence Brown. | ★★★ | 87 | Celebrated silent epic charting the effects of gold fever on various characters who leave home and embark on a grueling trek to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush of 1898. You can practically feel the bitter wind and freezing snow in this entertaining 'Northern Western,' with a vivid you-are-there quality and several spectacular scenes. | tt0019489 | Dolores Del Rio, Ralph Forbes, Karl Dane, Harry Carey, Tully Marshall, George Cooper, Russell Simpson, Emily Fitzroy. | Drama, Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Trail of Robin Hood | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 67 | Roy's final Trucolor Western has him rounding up a host of Western guest stars— Rex Allen, Allan 'Rocky' Lane, Monte Hale, Tom Tyler, William Farnum, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, Kermit Maynard, Tom Keene— to help thwart Christmas tree rustlers. Delightful; the perfect Christmas Western. | tt0043061 | Roy Rogers, Penny Edwards, Gordon Jones, Jack Holt, Emory Parnell, Clifton Young, Carol Nugent, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | 1936 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 99 | Classic story of feuding families and changes that come about when railroad is built on their land. Still strong today, with fine performances, and Fuzzy Knight's rendition of 'Melody from the Sky.' First outdoor film in full Technicolor. Previously filmed in 1915. | tt0028401 | Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Fred MacMurray, Fred Stone, Fuzzy Knight, Beulah Bondi, Spanky McFarland, Nigel Bruce | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Trail of the Pink Panther | 1982 | Blake Edwards | ★★ | 97 | Attempt to fashion a new Pink Panther film, despite the death of series star Sellers, using previously unseen footage and new linking material. It almost works— until the seams begin to show, as reporter Lumley seeks out people who knew Clouseau for a TV story. Lom does have a sidesplitting scene in which he tries to eulogize his long-time nemesis— and can't stop laughing. Filmed at the same time as subsequent CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER. | tt0084814 | [PG] | Peter Sellers, David Niven, Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Robert Loggia, Harvey Korman, Burt Kwouk, Graham Stark, Peter Arne | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Trail of the Vigilantes | 1940 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 78 | Tone is Eastern law enforcer out West to hunt down outlaw gang; lively comedy-Western. | tt0033180 | Franchot Tone, Warren William, Broderick Crawford, Peggy Moran, Andy Devine, Mischa Auer, Porter Hall | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Trail to San Antone | 1947 | John English. | ★★ | 67 | Gene tries to help a young jockey (Duncan) ride again in this odd Western entry. No real outlaws or excitement in one of Autry's later Republic Pictures vehicles. | tt0039909 | Gene Autry, Peggy Stewart, Sterling Holloway, William Henry, Johnny Duncan, Tristram Coffin, Dorothy Vaughan, Ralph Peters, Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Train Robbers | 1973 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 92 | Interesting little chamber-Western, reminiscent of Kennedy's early Randolph Scott scripts. Outlaw's widow hires Wayne and his pals to locate buried gold so she can return it and clear family name. Low-key film emphasizes character instead of action; relaxed performances, twist ending. | tt0070825 | [PG] | John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, Christopher George, Ricardo Montalban, Bobby Vinton, Jerry Gatlin | Western | NULL | ||
| Train of Life | 1998 | Radu Mihaileanu | ★★★ | 103 | Energetic fable set in 1941, in which the inhabitants of a small Central European Jewish village, all too aware of their imminent demise, plot to foil the Nazis by staging their own deportation to Russia. Comedic and dramatic elements occasionally clash, and some of the subplots are inconsequential, but it still works. Released in the U.S. after LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and JAKOB THE LIAR, but this was actually the first to go into production. | tt0170705 | [R] | Lionel Abelanski, Rufus, Clement Harari, Marie-Jose Nat, Agathe de la Fontaine | French-Belgian-Dutch | Drama, Comedy, Romance, War | NULL | |
| The Train | 1964 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★★ | 133 | Gripping WW2 actioner of French Resistance trying to waylay train carting French art treasures to Germany. High-powered excitement all the way. | tt0059825 | Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, Michel Simon, Suzanne Flon, Wolfgang Preiss, Albert Remy | Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| Training Day | 2001 | Antoine Fuqua | ★★ | 120 | Rookie cop (Hawke) is partnered with a corrupt veteran narcotics detective (Washington) and learns more than he ever wanted to know about the mean streets of L.A. Starts off strongly, then gets dumber and dumber, abandoning credibility for melodrama, coincidences, and a cartoonlike climax. Redeemed partially by Washington's magnetic, Oscar-winning performance. | tt0139654 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Harris Yulin, Raymond J. Barry, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Macy Gray, Eva Mendes, Nick Chinlund | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trainspotting | 1996 | Danny Boyle | ★★★ | 94 | Fascinating look at the drug underground in Edinburgh, Scotland, as seen through the eyes of McGregor, who's part of that world but still somehow able to distance himself from his friends' bizarre behavior. Alternately hilarious and harrowing, with some startling surrealistic moments, this was an enormous hit in the U.K. but suffered some backlash in the U.S. for its supposed condoning of drugs— which is simply not true. Adapted by John Hodge from Irvine Welsh's novel. | tt0117951 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Traitor | 2008 | Jeffrey Nachmanoff | ★★½ | 114 | Is he or is he not a traitor to his country? Witnessing a life-altering terrorist act in his youth makes Cheadle prime turncoat material and the FBI continuously dogs his tail in an effort to find out. Straightforward espionage drama attempts to seriously explore religious fervor as it applies to acts of terrorism and suicide bombers. Documentary style makes it intelligent and realistic but not terrifically entertaining. Nachmanoff’s screenplay is based on a story he cowrote with Steve Martin. | tt0988047 | [PG-13] | Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Neal McDonough, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jeff Daniels, Alyy Khan, Archie Panjabi, Lorena Gale | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Traitor's Gate | 1964 | Freddie Francis | ★★½ | 80 | Two brothers are involved at sea in plot to steal crown jewels. Based on Edgar Wallace novel, film has fair acting, good direction. | tt0058718 |
|
Gary Raymond, Albert Lieven, Margot Trooger, Klaus Kinski, Catherine Schell. | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Tramp, Tramp, Tramp | 1926 | Harry Edwards | ★★½ | 62 | Langdon made his feature debut in this tale of a hobo who enters a cross-country walking race to raise money for his father and impress the pretty daughter (Crawford) of a shoe manufacturer. Frank Capra was one of the writers of this cute comedy featuring some impressive stunt sequences. | tt0017483 | Harry Langdon, Joan Crawford, Edwards Davis, Carlton Griffin, Alec B. Francis, Brooks Benedict, Tom Murray | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tramp, Tramp, Tramp | 1942 | Charles Barton | ★½ | 70 | Meager comedy as Gleason and Durant, 4-F rejects, protect the homefront, becoming involved in murder caper. | tt0035467 | Jackie Gleason, Florence Rice, Jack Durant, Bruce Bennett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Tramplers | Showdown | 1966 | Albert Band | ★★ | 105 | Foreign-made Western set in post-Civil War South, with Cotten the domineering father; all just an excuse for gunplay. Aka SHOWDOWN. | tt0061144 | Joseph Cotten, Gordon Scott, James Mitchum, Ilaria Occhini, Franco Nero | Italian | Western | NULL | |
| Trancers | Future Cop | 1985 | Charles Band | ★★★ | 76 | Comedian Thomerson is cleverly cast as a low-budget version of Harrison Ford from BLADE RUNNER, sent back in time 300 years to 1985 L. A. to inhabit the body of one of his ancestors and change history to prevent a totalitarian state from coming into power. Sci-fi satire is most amusing and visually arresting. Also known as FUTURE COP (1985). Followed by a slew of sequels. | tt0090192 | [PG-13] | Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Art La Fleur, Biff Manard, Anne Seymour, Richard Herd, Richard Erdman | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Trancers II | 1991 | Charles Band | ★★ | 86 | A cop from the future whose mind wound up in our time in the first film finds that his job isn't through as more zombie-like Trancers are on the loose. What's more, he has to contend with two wives, one from the present, one from the future. Badly structured, but scrupulously faithful to a superior original. Too cheap for its ambitions. | tt0103116 | [R] | Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, Megan Ward, Biff Manard, Richard Lynch, Martine Beswicke, Jeffrey Combs, Alyson Croft, Telma Hopkins, Art La Fleur, Barbara Crampton | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Trancers III | 1992 | C. Courtney Joyner | ★★ | 83 | Time travel gets a workout here: taken from 1992 to 2352, Jack Deth (Thomerson) is then sent to 2005 to destroy those pesky (and obscurely defined) Trancers at their source. The series continues to be watchable, and Robinson provides a swell villain, but the end is a mess. | tt0105632 | [R] | Tim Thomerson, Melanie Smith, Andrew Robinson, Tony Pierce, Dawn Ann Billings, Helen Hunt, Megan Ward, Stephen Macht, Telma Hopkins, R. A. Mahailoff | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Transamerica | 2005 | Duncan Tucker | ★★★ | 103 | A transsexual on the verge of having final surgery to become a woman learns he has a teenage son-in jail. Without revealing his identity he bails out the young hustler, and the ultimate odd couple ('she' is a fussbudget, he is a disaffected kid who hides his emotions) embarks on a cross-country trip to the boy's grandparents in Arizona. Comedy-drama of consciousness-raising and forgiveness becomes a somewhat conventional road movie but is elevated by Huffman's astonishing, nuanced performance as Bree. Debut feature for writer-director Tucker. | tt0407265 | [R] | Felicity Huffman, Keven Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan, Elizabeth Pena, Graham Greene, Burt Young, Carrie Preston | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round | 1934 | Benjamin Stoloff | ★★ | 92 | Whodunit set against musical story of oceangoing radio troupe led by Benny. Just fair, with some odd production numbers, and a plot resolution that's for the birds. But the Boswell Sisters are great. | tt0025905 | Jack Benny, Nancy Carroll, Gene Raymond, Sidney Blackmer, Patsy Kelly, Mitzi Green, Boswell Sisters | Comedy, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Transatlantic Tunnel | 1935 | Maurice Elvey | ★★½ | 70 | Disappointing story about building of transatlantic tunnel bogs down in two-dimensional character conflicts. Futuristic sets are main distinction. Originally 94m. and titled THE TUNNEL. | tt0027131 | Richard Dix, Leslie Banks, Madge Evans, Helen Vinson, C. Aubrey Smith, George Arliss, Walter Huston | British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Transformers | 2007 | Michael Bay | ★★½ | 143 | After buying a beat-up used car that turns into an Autobot, a nerdy teen (LaBeouf) finds himself at the center of an epic battle to save Earth from transforming alien robots—and manages to win the hottest babe in school to boot. Slam-bang actioner based on the popular series of toys is surprisingly well done for a summer blockbuster—by Michael Bay, no less—with dazzling special effects, though by the time the big climactic battle comes along we just don’t care anymore. Supposed 11th-grader Fox looks more like a candidate for the Pussycat Dolls. | tt0418279 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Michael O’Neill, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Bernie Mac; voices of Mark Ryan, Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Robert Foxworth | Thriller, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Transformers | 1986 | Nelson Shin | 💣 | 86 | Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own . . . provided by Orson Welles). Deafening rock score doesn't help. Kid-oriented, toy-centric film served as a link between seasons of the animated TV series. The characters were later reinvented for the 2007 live-action movie. | tt0092106 | [PG] | Voices of Orson Welles, Robert Stack, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Lionel Stander | Animation, Family, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | 2011 | Michael Bay | ★½ | 154 | The war between Decepticons and Autobots heats up again—in a chain of events dating back to U.S. astronauts' moon landing in 1969—and luckless college grad LaBeouf finds himself back in the thick of things. For a thin storyline this goes on an awfully long time, with deadening results; military men bark orders and go into battle mode, in best (i.e., worst) Michael Bay fashion, laying waste to Chicago. Where's the fun in all of this? Bogus doubles for Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, and Obama appear, along with real-life astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Strictly for fans of the series. | tt1399103 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Ken Jeong, Alan Tudyk; voices of Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Leonard Nimoy | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 2009 | Michael Bay | ★★ | 149 | LaBeouf heads off to college—apparently, he’s enrolled at Hottie University—only to discover that the Transformers aren’t out of his life. Power-mad Decepticons are multiplying at an alarming rate and out to destroy the planet. It’s up to LaBeouf to save the Transformers . . . and Mother Earth. Bigger, louder, and longer than the first film, this swaps size and volume for a sense of fun. Packed with action, visual effects, and leering shots of foxy Fox. | tt1055369 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Ramon Rodriguez, Kevin Dunn, Rainn Wilson, Julie White, Isabel Lucas, John Benjamin Hickey, Deep Roy; voices of Hugo Weaving, John Turturro, Peter Cullen, Robert Foxworth, Michael York | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Transporter 2 | 2005 | Louis Leterrier | ★★ | 87 | Shiny sequel about a 'chauffeur' who McQueens [downshifts], MacGyvers [improvises], and Lees [kickboxes] his way through Miami to rescue a little kid whose kidnapping sparks a more sinister plot. Bullet-headed thriller often soars with its Audis and Uzis into the half-past ludicrous, breaking speed limits and bones in spiffy action scenes by Hong Kong vet Corey Yuen (who directed the first entry). But as the bad guy dutifully reminds us, 'Wit is not a requirement of the job.' Produced and cowritten by Luc Besson. | tt0388482 | [PG-13] | Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta, Matthew Modine, Jason Flemyng, Keith David, Hunter Clary, Francois Berléand | French | Action, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Transporter 3 | 2008 | Olivier Megaton | ★★ | 103 | Gassed up on adrenaline, and with a bracelet bomb for cruise control, dapper driver Frank Martin delivers another package . . . this time, the abducted daughter of a beleaguered pro-environment Ukrainian statesman. Slickly lubed slot car race across Europe offers breath-holding stunt work beyond the impossible, once again staged by Cory Yuen, but this underplotted slugfest is running on fumes. Cowritten by producer Luc Besson. | tt1129442 | [PG-13] | Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, François Berléand, Robert Knepper, Jeroen Krabbé, Alex Kobold, David Atrakchi, Yann Sundberg | French | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Transporter | 2002 | Cory Yuen | ★★½ | 92 | Serviceable action yarn with calm, cool Statham (in his starring debut) as a driver-for-hire who'll take anything anywhere, so long as it's on his terms. When he discovers that the 'package' in his trunk is a young Asian woman, he breaks his own code and frees her, involving himself in a fierce underworld brouhaha. Some terrific chase scenes staged by Hong Kong veteran Yuen (including a finale involving trucks) highlight this no-brainer. Coproduced and cowritten by Luc Besson. | tt0293662 | [PG-13] | Jason Statham, Shu Qi, François Berléand, Matt Schulze, Ric Young | French | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Transsiberian | 2008 | Brad Anderson | ★★½ | 106 | Mortimer (typically solid) and husband Harrelson have completed a humanitarian mission in China when they board the Trans-Siberian Express for the long train journey to Moscow. Among the backpackers and shady characters they befriend a bohemian couple (Noriega, Mara) who lead them astray in more ways than one. Stark landscapes and brutal surprises await. Uneven action-melodrama has its moments and gets a boost from Kingsley’s colorful performance as a Russian cop. | tt0800241 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Kate Mara, Eduardo Noriega, Thomas Kretschmann | Spanish-British-German-Lithuanian | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Transylvania 6-5000 | 1985 | Rudy DeLuca | 💣 | 94 | Tediously unfunny horror-movie spoof that wastes a lot of talent. Shot in Yugoslavia, and should have stayed there. | tt0090196 | [PG] | Jeff Goldblum, Joseph Bologna, Ed Begley/Jr., Carol Kane, Jeffrey Jones, John Byner, Geena Davis, Michael Richards, Norman Fell, Teresa Ganzel | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Trap | 1959 | Norman Panama | ★★½ | 84 | Turgid drama set in Southwest desert town, with gangsters on the lam intimidating the few townspeople. | tt0053374 | Richard Widmark, Lee J. Cobb, Tina Louise, Earl Holliman, Carl Benton Reid, Lorne Greene | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Trap | 1966 | Sidney Hayers | ★★★ | 106 | Fur trapper Reed, having missed annual wife auction after three winters in the snow, settles for orphaned mute Rita. Vivid 1890s tale, well photographed by Robert Krasker. | tt0061115 | Rita Tushingham, Oliver Reed, Rex Sevenoaks, Barbara Chilcott, Linda Goranson | British | Adventure, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Trapeze | 1956 | Carol Reed | ★★★ | 105 | Moody love triangle with a European circus background; aerialist Lancaster and Curtis vie in the air and on the ground for Gina's attention. Nice aerial stunt-work by various big top professionals. | tt0049875 | Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida, Katy Jurado, Thomas Gomez, Johnny Puleo | Drama | NULL | |||
| Trapped | 2002 | Luis Mandoki | ★★ | 105 | A perfect couple and their asthmatic daughter are terrorized by sleazy kidnappers: Theron is held by Bacon at home while Townsend is locked in his convention hotel room by Love. Unconvincing thriller confuses manipulation with drama. | tt0280380 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Kevin Bacon, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Dakota Fanning, Colleen Camp | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trapped Ashes | 2006 | Sean S. Cunningham, Joe Dante, John Gaeta, Monte Hellman, Ken Russell | ★★ | 104 | A haunted house set on a studio tour mysteriously ensnares a motley group of visitors, who tell tales of personal terror to pass the time until they're released. Old-school horror anthology of four bookended vignettes is an affectionate (if highly grisly) homage to EC Comics and Amicus Studios, but its time has passed. Creepiest sight is helmer Russell in ghastly drag. | tt0478303 | [R] | Jayce Bartok, Amelia Cooke, Lara Harris, Scott Lowell, Luke MacFarlane, Michèle-Barbara Pelletier, Tahmoh Penikett, Rachel Veltri, John Saxon, Henry Gibson, Dick Miller | U.S.-Japanese-Canadian | Horror | NULL | |
| Trapped by Boston Blackie | 1948 | Seymour Friedman | ★★½ | 67 | Blackie springs into action to clear himself when an expensive pearl necklace disappears from a party for which he was a security guard. | tt0040896 | Chester Morris, June Vincent, Richard Lane, Patricia White (Barry), Edward Norris, George E. Stone, Frank Sully | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Trapped in Paradise | 1994 | George Gallo | ★★ | 112 | Two larcenous siblings just sprung from jail trick their ambivalent brother into joining them on a trip to the small town of Paradise, Pennsylvania, where there's a bank just waiting to be robbed. Trouble is, the townspeople are so darned nice it seems wrong to take advantage of them . . . especially at Christmastime. Promising idea is flattened out by vaguely drawn characters and a lack of energy. | tt0111477 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey, John Ashton, Mädchen Amick, Donald Moffat, Richard Jenkins, Florence Stanley, Angela Paton, Vic Manni, Frank Pesce, Sean McCann, Richard B. Shull. | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Trauma | 1962 | Robert M. Young | ★★ | 92 | Heavy-handed chiller about Richards' attempt to recover lost memory of past horrors in spooky mansion. | tt0056611 | John Conte, Lynn Bari, Lorrie Richards, David Garner, Warren Kemmerling | Horror | NULL | |||
| Trauma | 1993 | Dario Argento | ★★½ | 86 | Corny theatrics and campy bloodletting effectively blend in this shocker about a traumatized teen (Asia Argento, the director's daughter) and a hooded killer who is sawing off the heads of his victims. Not a typical Argento gorefest, but the filmmaker's fans shouldn't be disappointed. Unrated video version runs 106m. | tt0104053 | [R] | Christopher Rydell, Asia Argento, Laura Johnson, James Russo, Brad Dourif, Frederic Forrest, Piper Laurie | U.S.-Italian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Traveling Executioner | 1970 | Jack Smight | ★½ | 95 | Story of a man's love for an electric chair (spiritual) and love for a woman prisoner (sexual) may or may not be intended for laughs; either way, film is dull and the usually fine Keach gives hammy performance. | tt0066485 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Marianna Hill, Bud Cort, Graham Jarvis, James J. Sloyan | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Traveling Saleslady | 1935 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 63 | Snappy Warner Bros. programmer, with Blondell helping to put over inventor Herbert's booze-flavored toothpaste— in order to teach her stubborn father (a rival toothpaste manufacturer) a lesson. | tt0027133 |
|
Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, William Gargan, Hugh Herbert, Grant Mitchell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Traveling Saleswoman | 1950 | Charles F. Reisner | ★★ | 75 | Davis and Devine mug it up as soap sales woman and fiancé in stale Western comedy. | tt0043065 | Joan Davis, Andy Devine, Adele Jergens, Chief Thundercloud | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Traveller | 1997 | Jack N. Green | ★★½ | 101 | Laid-back look at a band of Irish-American gypsy con artists known as 'travellers.' Paxton takes on the son of an ousted 'family' member as his protégé, teaching him various petty scams, and finds himself falling for one of his marks, bartender Margulies. Amiable and well acted, though it doesn't really add up to much. Paxton also coproduced. Directing debut for Clint Eastwood's longtime cinematographer Green. | tt0120366 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, Julianna Margulies, James Gammon, Luke Askew, Nikki Deloach, Danielle Wiener, Michael Shaner, Jo Ann Pflug | Drama | NULL | ||
| Travelling North | 1987 | Carl Schultz | ★★½ | 98 | Irascible retiree falls in love with a divorcee, and they move to an idyllic retirement home in North Queensland, Australia . . . but their life together is clouded almost immediately when he learns he has a seri ous heart condition. Fine performances highlight this simple, straightforward adaptation of David Williamson's play— which, ultimately, may be a bit too simple and straightforward. | tt0094176 | [PG-13] | Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Henri Szeps, Graham Kennedy, Michele Fawdon, Diane Craig | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Travels With My Aunt | 1972 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 109 | Stylish adaptation of Graham Greene book about straitlaced McCowen being swept into crazy world of his aunt (Smith) who takes him all over Europe on what turns out to be shady scheme. Deliberately paced film never really gets going, leaves viewer in midair like final tossed coin. Anthony Powell earned an Oscar for his costumes. | tt0069404 | [PG] | Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, Lou Gossett, Robert Stephens, Cindy Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Treasure Island | 1934 | Victor Fleming | ★★★½ | 105 | Stirring adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson pirate yarn of 18th-century England and journey to isle of hidden bounty; Beery is a boisterous Long John Silver in fine film with top production values. Only flaw is a stiff Cooper as Jim Hawkins. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0025907 | Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Lewis Stone, Lionel Barrymore, Otto Kruger, Nigel Bruce, Douglass Dumbrille | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Treasure Island | 1950 | Byron Haskin | ★★★½ | 96 | Vivid Disney version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, filmed in England, with Driscoll a fine Jim Hawkins and Newton the definitive Long John Silver. Changes the novel's original ending, but who's quibbling? 'Objectionable' violence was deleted from 1975 reissue version but restored in 1992 tape/laser reissue. | tt0043067 | Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, Basil Sydney, Walter Fitzgerald, Denis O'Dea, Ralph Truman, Finlay Currie | Adventure, Family | NULL | |||
| Treasure Island | 1972 | John Hough | ★★ | 94 | Weak retelling of classic tale finds very hammy Welles (who also coscripted) in the role of Long John Silver. | tt0069229 | [G] | Orson Welles, Kim Burfield, Walter Slezak, Lionel Stander | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Treasure Island | 1990 | Fraser C. Heston | Above Average TV Movie | 131 | Exciting, realistic, and beautifully photographed version of classic pirate adventure remains faithful in spirit to Robert Louis Stevenson's masterwork. Heston is effectively cast against type as Long John Silver, with Bale as sturdy young Jim Hawkins. Reed and Lee have brief but vivid turns as the doomed Capt. Billy Bones and the hideous Blind Pew. Filmed aboard the H.M.S. Bounty(from the 1962 MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY), with a seaworthy score by Paddy Maloney and The Chieftains. Directorial debut for Heston's son, who also produced and scripted. Made for cable. | tt0100813 | Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, Julian Glover, Richard Johnson, Oliver Reed, Christopher Lee, Clive Wood, Pete Postlethwaite | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Treasure Planet | 2002 | John Musker, Ron Clements | ★★½ | 95 | Entertaining, if uninspired (and somewhat cluttered) Disney cartoon version of Treasure Island in a futuristic, sci-fi setting. Jim Hawkins finds the map that leads to a distant planet where pirates hid a king's ransom, but soon learns that many people are after that treasure, including his shipmate John Silver. It's fun listening to Pierce, as an adventure-starved astrophysicist, Thompson, as a very British ship captain, and Short, as a screw-loose robot. | tt0133240 | [PG] | Voices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson, Michael Wincott, Martin Short, Laurie Metcalf, Patrick McGoohan, Roscoe Lee Browne, Corey Burton | Animation, Family, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Treasure of Jamaica Reef | Evil in the Deep | 1974 | Virginia Stone. | ★½ | 96 | A search for gold buried deep in the Caribbean. Of interest only for the presence of Stoppelmoor/Ladd pre-Charlie's Angels. Originally titled EVIL IN THE DEEP. | tt0074504 | [PG] | Stephen Boyd, Chuck Woolery, Roosevelt Grier, David Ladd, Cheryl Ladd | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Treasure of Lost Canyon | 1952 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★ | 82 | Mild Western, uplifted by Powell as old prospector. Youth uncovers treasure which causes unhappiness to all. From a Robert Louis Stevenson story. | tt0044144 | William Powell, Julie Adams, Rosemary DeCamp, Charles Drake, Tommy Ivo | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Treasure of Matecumbe | 1976 | Vincent McEveety | ★★½ | 117 | Two boys with treasure map are aided in their quest by Foxworth, Hackett, and Ustinov . . . and pursued by bad-guy Morrow. Ustinov adds life to Disney film, but the 'quest' seems endless. Filmed in the Florida Keys. | tt0075347 | [G] | Robert Foxworth, Joan Hackett, Peter Ustinov, Vic Morrow, Jane Wyatt, Johnny Doran, Billy 'Pop' Attmore | Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Treasure of Monte Cristo | 1949 | William Berke | ★★ | 79 | Jergens marries seaman Langan, a descendant of the Count of Monte Cristo, for his inheritance, then falls in love with him. Adequate programmer. | tt0041986 | Glenn Langan, Adele Jergens, Steve Brodie, Robert Jordan, Michael Whelan, Sid Melton | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Treasure of Monte Cristo | 1960 | Robert S. Baker, Monty Berman. | ★★ | 95 | Uninspired variation on Dumas tale, with Calhoun aiding Bredin unearth buried treasure: slow-moving yarn. | tt0055544 |
|
Rory Calhoun, Patricia Bredin, Peter Arne, Gianna Maria Canale. | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| The Treasure of Pancho Villa | 1955 | George Sherman | ★½ | 96 | Good cast wasted in plodding account of Calhoun and Roland's search for gold. | tt0048744 | Rory Calhoun, Shelley Winters, Gilbert Roland, Joseph Calleia | Western | NULL | |||
| Treasure of Ruby Hills | 1955 | Frank McDonald. | ★½ | 71 | Scott gets involved with scheming ranchers in an Arizona town; uninspired Western. | tt0048745 | Zachary Scott, Carole Matthews, Barton MacLane, Dick Foran, Lola Albright, Gordon Jones, Raymond Hatton, Lee Van Cleef. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Treasure of San Gennaro | 1966 | Dino Risi. | ★★ | 102 | American Guardino and girlfriend Berger plan to rob the treasure of Naples' patron saint, San Gennaro, in typical caper film occasionally redeemed by good comic bits. Poorly dubbed. Filmed in Panoramica. | tt0062080 | Nino Manfredi, Senta Berger, Harry Guardino, Claudine Auger, Toto, Mario Adorf. | Italian-German-French | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Treasure of Silver Lake | 1965 | Harald Reinl. | ★★ | 88 | Dubbed dialogue almost ruins average Western based on Karl May novels with familiar characters Shatterhand and Winnetou. | tt0056452 |
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Lex Barker, Gotz George, Pierre Brice, Herbert Lom, Karin Dor, Marianne Hoppe. | German | Western, Adventure | NULL | |
| Treasure of Tayopa | 1974 | Bob Cawley | 💣 | 90 | Low-grade modern Western about an expedition to find a centuries-lost treasure trove in the Mexican hills. Psycho Trapani turns it into a senseless bloodbath. Only professional connected with the film, Roland, appears in the prologue and epilogue to give credence to the Tayopa legend. | tt0181077 | [PG] | Gilbert Roland, Rena Winters, Bob Corrigan, Phil Trapani, Frank Hernandez, Andrew Farnsworth |
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NULL | ||
| The Treasure of the Amazon | 1985 | Rene Cardona/Jr | ★★ | 104 | Silly adventure film has Whitman leading South American expedition to recover treasure trove of diamonds. Mucho violence. | tt0090200 | Stuart Whitman, Emilio Fernandez, Donald Pleasence, Bradford Dillman, Ann Sidney, John Ireland, Sonia Infante. | Mexican | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Treasure of the Four Crowns | 1983 | Ferdinando Baldi. | 💣 | 97 | Fortune hunters seek ancient prize. It's no accident that the title of this 3-D potboiler sounds suspiciously like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. From the same folks who brought you COMIN AT YA! | tt0084781 | [PG] | Tony Anthony, Ana Obregon, Gene Quintano, Francisco Rabal, Jerry Lazarus. | Spanish | Adventure | NULL | |
| Treasure of the Golden Condor | 1953 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 93 | Predictable costumer set in 18th-century Latin America, with noble-born Wilde out to claim his fortune. Remake of SON OF FURY. | tt0046457 | Cornel Wilde, Constance Smith, Fay Wray, Anne Bancroft, Leo G. Carroll, Robert Blake | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | 1948 | John Huston | ★★★★ | 124 | Excellent adaptation of B. Traven's tale of gold, greed, and human nature at its worst, with Bogart, Huston, and Holt as unlikely trio of prospectors. John Huston won Oscars for Best Direction and Screenplay, and his father Walter won as Best Supporting Actor. That's John as an American tourist near the beginning, and young Robert Blake selling lottery tickets. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040897 | Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | 1945 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 128 | Splendid, sensitive film from Betty Smith's novel about a bright young girl trying to rise above the hardships of her tenement life in turn of the century Brooklyn, New York. Perfect in every detail. Dunn won an Oscar as the father, an incurable pipe dreamer; Garner received a special Academy Award for her performance. Screenplay by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis. An impressive Hollywood directorial debut by Kazan. Remade for TV in 1974 with Cliff Robertson and Diane Baker. | tt0038190 | Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Lloyd Nolan, Peggy Ann Garner, Ted Donaldson, James Gleason, Ruth Nelson, John Alexander | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tree of Life | 2011 | Terrence Malick | ★★½ | 138 | A poetic meditation on the creation and continuum of life, and man’s place in it, focusing on a boy’s upbringing in rural Texas in the 1950s. We follow him from infancy onward, as he experiences the pain, pleasure, and adventuresome curiosity of youth, while having to deal with a stern, unpredictable father (Pitt). Dotted with beautiful passages about childhood and a mother’s unconditional love, but the fleeting shots of a meditative Penn, as the boy grown up, are elliptical and disconnected . . . and the shots of earth’s creation and evolution don’t seem to gel with the rest of the picture. Deeply felt by writer-director Malick, but he withholds more than he shares with us in the audience. Beautifully shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. | tt0478304 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw, Irene Bedard, Jessica Fuselier, Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Tree of Wooden Clogs | 1978 | Ermanno Olmi | ★★★★ | 185 | A year in the life of a community of peasants in Northern Italy, just before the turn of the century. Simple, quietly beautiful epic; a work of art. | tt0077138 | Luigi Ornaghi, Francesca Moriggi, Omar Brignoli, Antonio Ferrari | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Trees Lounge | 1996 | Steve Buscemi | ★★★ | 94 | Colorful, credible slice-of-life set in and around a neighborhood bar in Long Island, N.Y., where a perpetual screw-up (Buscemi) interacts with various family members and fellow barflies. Impressive writing and directing debut for character actor Buscemi, who has a good eye and ear and creates a rich gallery of characters. | tt0117958 | [R] | Steve Buscemi, Mark Boone Junior, Chloë Sevigny, Michael Buscemi, Anthony LaPaglia, Elizabeth Bracco, Daniel Baldwin, Carol Kane, Bronson Dudley, Debi Mazar, Michael Imperioli, Samuel L. Jackson, Seymour Cassel, Mimi Rogers, Steven Randazzo, Rockets Redglare | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trekkies | 1999 | Roger Nygard | ★★★ | 87 | Former Star Trek: The Next Generation star Denise Crosby conducts this slightly condescending documentary examining the Trek fan phenomenon. Many of the actors associated with Trek are interviewed, as well as many die-hard Trekkies of varying degrees of obsession. While some are clearly 'round the bend in their fixation on the show, most are shown to be very bright, and live happy, productive lives, even if pointed ears and Klingons figure prominently in them. | tt0120370 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Trembling Before G-d | 2001 | Sandi Simcha Dubowski | ★★★ | 84 | Illuminating documentary exploring the sometimes difficult lives of ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish gays and lesbians. Film focuses on a number of people who struggle with both their religious and sexual identity in this cloistered world. Interesting, somewhat controversial, and quite different look at an unfamiliar facet of the Jewish experience. | tt0278102 | Israeli-U.S. | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Tremors | 1990 | Ron Underwood | ★★★ | 96 | Sharp, funny, and fast-paced, this is an effective updating of 1950s monster-movie themes. Bacon and Ward, amiable handymen, lead a misfit group in a desert valley battling against giant wormlike predators that burrow through the sand. Cast is good, the music appropriate, and special effects outstanding. A small winner all around. Followed by several video sequels and a TV series. | tt0100814 | [PG-13] | Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Bobby Jacoby, Charlotte Stewart, Tony Genaros, Victor Wong | Comedy, Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Trenchcoat | 1983 | Michael Tuchner | ★★ | 91 | Another attempt by the Disney studio to change image finds amateur mystery writer Kidder on vacation in Malta, suddenly involved in real murder and international intrigue with undercover agent Hays. Forced mystery-comedy is reminiscent of the company's juvenile outings of the '50s and '60s, but has no Shaggy Dog to redeem it. | tt0086476 | [PG] | Margot Kidder, Robert Hays, Daniel Faraldo, Gila von Weitershausen, David Suchet, Ronald Lacey | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Trent's Last Case | 1952 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★½ | 90 | Superior cast in lukewarm tale of the investigation of businessman's death. Previously filmed (by Howard Hawks) in 1929. | tt0045259 | Michael Wilding, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles, Hugh McDermott | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Trespass | 1992 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 101 | Two white firemen get wind that ancient treasure is buried in a slummy building, little knowing that the structure they've invaded is headquarters for a band of very tough drug pushers. Fast, furious, culturally disreputable entertainment filmed in potent cat-and-mouse style by director Hill— his most entertaining movie in years. Executive produced and written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. | tt0105636 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler, *** Ice Cube, Art Evans, De'Voreaux White, Bruce A. Young, Glenn Plummer, Stoney Jackson, John Toles-Bey | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trespasses | 1987 | Loren Bivens, Adam Roarke | 💣 | 100 | A sleep-inducing waste, with cattleman Kuhn and rape victim Pillot becoming involved; her spineless husband and the pair of rapists are the heavies. Phillips coauthored this. Shot in 1983. | tt0334542 | [R] | Robert Kuhn, Van Brooks, Mary Pillot, Adam Roarke, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ben Johnson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Triage | 2009 | Danis Tanovic | ★★★ | 99 | Two freelance photojournalists and best friends are covering the war in Kurdistan in 1988. One decides to return home to Dublin; after being wounded, the other (Farrell) follows him, but his troubles are just beginning. Shattering account of death and suffering during wartime; Tanovic’s screenplay (based on a book by Scott Anderson) also explores the mind-set of individuals who choose to be in war zones, as well as the physical and psychological scars inflicted on war’s survivors. Parts of this film just may move you to tears. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt1217070 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Paz Vega, Kelly Reilly, Jamie Sives, Branko Djuric, Juliet Stevenson, Christopher Lee | Irish-French-Spanish | Drama, Mystery, War | NULL | |
| Trial | 1955 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 105 | Intelligent filming of Don Mankiewicz novel, scripted by the author. Courtroomer involves Mexican boy accused of murder, but actually tied in with pro- vs. anti-Communist politics. | tt0048748 | Glenn Ford, Dorothy McGuire, John Hodiak, Arthur Kennedy, Katy Jurado, Rafael Campos | Drama | NULL | |||
| Trial and Error | 1997 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★★ | 98 | When button-down lawyer Daniels can't appear in court (because of a bachelor party hangover), his best friend, wannabe actor Richards, tries to help by taking his place . . . but when the case is ordered to proceed, Richards has to keep up the ruse. Smart, funny farce with terrific performances by the two leads and laugh-out-loud situations; Theron is adorable as the young woman who catches Daniels' eye— even though he's about to marry the boss' daughter. | tt0120373 | [PG-13] | Michael Richards, Jeff Daniels, Charlize Theron, Rip Torn, Alexandra Wentworth, Austin Pendleton, Lawrence Pressman, Max Casella | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trial by Jury | 1994 | Heywood Gould | ★★½ | 107 | Juror Whalley is terrorized by defendant in a murder case; meanwhile, D.A. Byrne tries to size up the jurors who'll be deciding the fate of this mobster. Improbable but still watchable, with an unusual part for Hurt as a strong-arm man. David Cronenberg appears briefly as a director. Similar premise later utilized in THE JUROR. | tt0111488 | [R] | Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Armand Assante, Gabriel Byrne, William Hurt, Kathleen Quinlan, Margaret Whitton, Ed Lauter, Richard Portnow, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Jack Gwaltney, Graham Jarvis, William R. Moses, Stuart Whitman | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Trial of Billy Jack | 1974 | Frank Laughlin | 💣 | 175 | Further adventures of Mr. Peace-through-Violence prove that Laughlin is the only actor intense enough to risk a hernia from reading lines. Laughable until final, nauseating massacre scene that renders film's constant yammering about 'peace' ludicrous. | tt0072317 | [PG] | Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Victor Izay, Teresa Laughlin, William Wellman/Jr., Sacheen Littlefeather | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Trial of Vivienne Ware | 1932 | William K. Howard. | ★★★ | 56 | Incredibly fast-moving courtroom yarn in which Bennett is defended by ex-beau Cook when she's accused of killing her faithless fiancé, while the trial is broadcast live on the radio! A virtual textbook of early '30s filmmaking techniques, chock-full of whip-pans, jump-cuts, wipes, dissolves, tilted camera angles, and a flashback-laden narrative jammed with mystery and comic relief, all in less than an hour. Possibly the speediest film ever made. | tt0023620 | Joan Bennett, Donald Cook, Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher, ZaSu Pitts, Lilian Bond, Alan Dinehart, Herbert Mundin. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Trial | 1962 | Orson Welles | ★★★½ | 118 | Gripping, if a bit confusing, adaptation of Kafka novel of man in nameless country arrested for crime that is never explained to him. Not for all tastes. | tt0057427 | Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli, Orson Welles, Akim Tamiroff | French-Italian-German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Trials of Oscar Wilde | 1960 | Ken Hughes. | ★★★ | 130 | Fascinating, well-acted chronicle of Oscar Wilde's libel suit against the Marquis of Queensberry and the tragic turn his life takes because of it. Finch is superb as the once brilliant wit; stylish widescreen photography by Ted Moore. Released at the same time as OSCAR WILDE with Robert Morley. | tt0054403 | Peter Finch, Yvonne Mitchell, John Fraser, Lionel Jeffries, Nigel Patrick, James Mason. | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tribute | 1980 | Bob Clark | ★★ | 121 | Mawkish adaptation of Bernard Slade's play about a life-of-the-party type who's dying of cancer and wants to work out a relationship with his estranged son. Badly directed, with sledgehammer approach to sentiment. Worked much better on stage (where Lemmon created the role). Scripted by Slade. | tt0081656 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Robby Benson, Lee Remick, Colleen Dewhurst, John Marley, Kim Cattrall, Gale Garnett | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Tribute to a Bad Man | 1956 | Robert Wise | ★★★ | 95 | Cagney is the whole show in this Western about a resourceful, ruthless land baron using any means possible to retain his vast possessions. | tt0049881 | James Cagney, Don Dubbins, Stephen McNally, Irene Papas, Vic Morrow, Royal Dano, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| Trick | 1999 | Jim Fall | ★★½ | 89 | Shy, aspiring Broadway composer meets the go-go boy of his dreams one night but can't find any place for them to be alone together in all of Manhattan. Lightweight gay comedy-romance set in N.Y.C.'s West Village is sweet but short on plot. Campbell (brother of Neve) is an appealing, boyish lead. | tt0162710 | [R] | Christian Campbell, John Paul Pitoc, Tori Spelling, Steve Hayes, Clinton Leupp, Brad Beyer, Lorri Bagley | Romance | NULL | ||
| Trick Baby | Double Con | 1973 | Larry Yust | ★★ | 89 | Con-man who passes for white uses trickery to cash in on society. Usual black exploitation film. Retitled DOUBLE CON. | tt0070833 | [R] | Kiel Martin, Mel Stewart, Dallas Edwards Hayes, Beverly Ballard | Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Trick or Treat | 1986 | Charles Martin Smith | ★★ | 97 | Hey kids, rock 'n' roll really is the Devil's music! Fan of recently killed rocker conjures the dead star by playing his unreleased last album backward— but finds his hero is evil and bent on the world's destruction. Clever and well made, but story becomes terribly trite. Debuting director Smith has a cameo as a high school teacher. | tt0092112 | [R] | Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini, Doug Savant, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne | Horror | NULL | ||
| Trick or Treats | 1982 | Gary Graver | 💣 | 91 | Giroux is too old to be convincing as a terrorized baby-sitter in this cheap horror spoof. Orson Welles is credited as consultant; Graver is better known as the cameraman Welles relied upon in his later film projects. | tt0084825 | [R] | Jackelyn Giroux, David Carradine, Carrie Snodgress, Steve Railsback, Peter Jason, Paul Bartel | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Trigger Effect | 1996 | David Koepp | ★★½ | 98 | Maddeningly uneven apocalyptic thriller about married suburbanites and their plight in the wake of a gigantic, never-ending blackout. Intended as an examination of contemporary insensitivity and alienation, and how society might unravel in the wake of such a catastrophe, but falls apart after a solid start. The finale is especially incongruous. Feature directorial debut for screenwriter Koepp. | tt0117965 | [R] | Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, Dermot Mulroney, Richard T. Jones, Bill Smitrovich, Michael Rooker | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trigger, Jr. | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 68 | Villain Withers sets loose a killer horse in order to terrorize local ranchers into joining his protective association. A young boy (Miles), deathly afraid of horses, surmounts his fear and saves the day for Roy. Remarkable horse scenes and touching performances make it one of Roy's best . . . though Jones' oafish comedy relief is a debit. | tt0043069 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Gordon Jones, Grant Withers, George Cleveland, Peter Miles, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Trinity Is STILL My Name! | All the Way, Trinity | 1972 | E. B. Clucher (Enzo Barboni) | ★★½ | 117 | Sequel to THEY CALL ME TRINITY is even funnier, as Trinity and Bambino mosey their way through a clutch of archetypal Western situations with their usual aplomb; scene in a chic French restaurant is a hoot. Later cut to 101m.; original Italian running time 124m. Aka ALL THE WAY TRINITY. | tt0068154 | [G] | Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Harry Carey/Jr., Jessica Dublin, Yanti Somer | Italian | Comedy, Western | NULL |
| Trio | 1950 | Ken Annakin, Harold French | ★★★ | 88 | Following the success of QUARTET, three more diverting Somerset Maugham stories, 'The Verger,' 'Mr. Knowall,' and 'Sanatorium.' All beautifully acted. | tt0042752 | James Hayter, Kathleen Harrison, Anne Crawford, Nigel Patrick, Jean Simmons, Michael Rennie | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Trip to Bountiful | 1985 | Peter Masterson | ★★★ | 106 | Leisurely, richly textured filmization of Horton Foote's 1953 television play (later done on Broadway) about a widow, living unhappily with her son and daughter-in-law, determined to make her way home to Bountiful, Texas, for one last look. Page won well-deserved Oscar for her heartbreaking performance, but entire cast is excellent. Fine filmmaking debut for stage director Masterson. | tt0090203 | [PG] | Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford, Rebecca De Mornay, Kevin Cooney | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Trip | 1967 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 85 | TV commercial director Fonda takes his first LSD trip. Definitely a relic of its era, with a screenplay by Jack Nicholson. | tt0062395 | Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper, Salli Sachse, Dick Miller, Luana Anders, Michael Nader, Peter Bogdanovich | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Trip | 2011 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 111 | Comedic actor Coogan is invited to visit some of rural Northern England’s top restaurants. He’d planned to travel with his girlfriend, but when she ducks out he’s forced to ask his protégé (and friendly rival) Brydon to join him on this road trip instead. The week consists of them needling each other, comparing mimicry skills (check out their dueling Michael Caines), and taking stock of their lives, while downing a series of sumptuous meals. Largely improvised, and building on the one-upsmanship the duo first revealed in TRISTRAM SHANDY, this won’t be everyone’s cup of chamomile . . . but if you find the two leads amusing there’s much to savor. Edited down from a 2010 TV miniseries. Ben Stiller appears unbilled. | tt1740047 | Unrated | Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley, Kerry Shale | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Triple Cross | 1966 | Terence Young | ★★ | 126 | Adequate WW2 spy yarn features Plummer as real-life British safecracker Eddie Chapman, who works both sides of the fence. A bit too long. | tt0061647 | Christopher Plummer, Yul Brynner, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Gert Frobe, Claudine Auger | French-British | Action, Thriller, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Triple Deception | 1956 | Guy Green | ★★ | 85 | Adequate thriller in which sailor Craig is brought in by British and French authorities to impersonate his double, a member of a gang of counterfeiters who's just been killed in an auto accident. Original British title: HOUSE OF SECRETS. | tt0049339 | Michael Craig, Julia Arnall, Brenda De Banzie, Barbara Bates, David Kosoff, Geoffrey Keen, Gérard Oury, Anton Diffring, Eric Pohlmann | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Triple Echo | Soldier in Skirts | 1973 | Michael Apted | ★★★ | 90 | High-powered talent in sensitive story of transvestite in English countryside during WW2. Young Deacon, an army deserter, is persuaded by lonely farm woman Jackson to pose as her sister, then tough tank Sergeant Reed becomes involved. Retitled SOLDIER IN SKIRTS. | tt0070835 | [R] | Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Brian Deacon, Jenny Lee Wright | British | Drama | NULL |
| Triple Trouble | 1950 | Jean Yarbrough | ★★ | 66 | The Bowery Boys are mistaken for robbers and try to catch the real culprits from behind prison bars in this wearisome entry. | tt0043071 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, William Benedict, Pat Collins, Lyn Thomas, Bernard Gorcey, Paul Dubov, David Gorcey | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Triplets of Belleville | Triplettes de Belleville, Les | 2003 | Sylvain Chomet | ★★★ | 80 | A bicycle racer falls into the clutches of the French Mafia; it's up to his grandmother-trainer and three strange old women (once a famed singing trio in the 1930s) to rescue him. This eccentric, strikingly designed, almost dialogue-free hand-drawn animated feature is a triumph for Chomet and succeeds as an homage to Jacques Tati, Buster Keaton, and Max Fleischer (whose cartoons are evoked in the prologue, which features the song 'Belleville Rendez-vous'). Droll rather than funny, and often bizarre, with a disappointing finale . . . but any film that offers caricatures of Django Reinhardt and Josephine Baker has us rooting for it. | tt0286244 | [PG-13] | Voices of Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas, Michel Caucheteux | Canadian-Belgian-French | Animation, Comedy | NULL |
| Tripoli | 1950 | Will Price | ★★ | 95 | Good cast cannot save average script of U.S. Marines battling Barbary pirates in 1805; sole standout is da Silva. | tt0043072 | John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Howard da Silva, Philip Reed, Grant Withers, Lowell Gilmore, Connie Gilchrist, Alan Napier | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Tripper | 2007 | David Arquette | ★★½ | 93 | A group of modern-day, drug-addled hippies at a Woodstock-like music festival are stalked by a serial killer wearing a Ronald Reagan mask and his man-eating dogs (the meanest is named Nancy). Labor of love from first-time writer-director Arquette (who distributed it himself) looks and feels more like a grindhouse film than GRINDHOUSE, and makes up for its meandering, redundant plot with enough gore, nudity, bizarre acid-trip sequences, and political commentary to give fans of the genre a good time. Satirical and allegorical elements are heavy-handed but still clever and funny at times. | tt0760187 | [R] | David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Jaime King, Thomas Jane, Jason Mewes, Balthazar Getty, Paul Reubens, Lukas Haas, Marsha Thomason, Richmond Arquette. | Horror | NULL | ||
| Trippin' | 1999 | David Raynr (Hubbard) | ★★ | 92 | Goofy teen comedy about a Walter Mitty-esque high school senior who could win his dream girl if he started taking the future seriously. Likable cast can't compensate for clichéd material and gratuitous t&a quotient. Features a pointless cameo by Naomi Campbell. | tt0160298 | [R] | Deon Richmond, Maia Campbell, Donald (Adeosun) Faison, Guy Torry, Countess Vaughn, Michael Warren | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Tristan + Isolde | 2006 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★½ | 126 | Ireland and England-they just can't get along. England's Lord Marke (Sewell, rising above the material) is betrayed by adoptive son Tristan (Franco), who sneaks off for illicit trysts with his onetime Irish rescuer and Marke-betrothed Isolde (Myles); these two youngsters just can't stop themselves. The kind of movie Hollywood could do in its sleep during the Golden Age now benefits, at least moderately, from novelty value. Franco broods too much, but Myles has regal bearing. Respectable without being exceptional in any way. | tt0375154 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David Patrick O'Hara, Henry Cavill, JB Blanc, Jamie King, Richard Dillane | Action, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Tristana | 1970 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 98 | Deneuve plays a young woman who goes to live with her guardian Rey after her mother dies. He falls in love with her but faces competition from Nero. One of Buñuel's most serene, serious yet perverse studies of Catholicism, old age, death, desire, and deformity. Beautifully filmed in Toledo, Spain. Released in Europe at 105m. | tt0066491 | [PG] | Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero, Jesus Fernandez, Lola Gaos, Vincent Solder | French-Spanish | Drama | NULL | |
| Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story | 2006 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 91 | Laurence Sterne's ribald, unconventional 18th-century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is the springboard for this very funny deconstruction of a movie in production, dealing with everything from actors' egos to location liaisons. Coogan and Brydon's straight-faced rivalry bookends the film, right through the closing credits. Score makes wonderful use of classical and contemporary source music, especially Nino Rota's theme from Fellini's AMARCORD. | tt0423409 | [R] | Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Jeremy Northam, Raymond Waring, Dylan Moran, Keeley Hawes, Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson, Stephen Fry, Naomie Harris, Ian Hart, Roger Allam, Gillian Anderson, Benedict Wong, Greg Wise, Ronni Ancona | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Triumph of Hercules | 1964 | Alberto De Martino | ★★ | 90 | Average gymnastic run-through with Vadis more resourceful than most Hercules. | tt0058689 |
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Dan Vadis, Moira Orfei, Pierre Cressoy, Marilu Tolo, Piero Lupi | Italian | Action | NULL | |
| Triumph of Love | 2001 | Clare Peploe | ★★ | 107 | A princess in disguise insinuates herself into the household of a philosopher who harbors tremendous resentment toward her because her father had no right to the throne. In due course, she makes the man, his handsome son, and his flighty sister all fall in love with her! Sorvino is delightful in this rendition of the 1732 play by Pierre Marivaux, but like most stage farces it doesn't really work onscreen. Peploe coscripted with husband Bernardo Bertolucci (who also produced) and Marilyn Goldin. | tt0253840 | [PG-13] | Mira Sorvino, Ben Kingsley, Fiona Shaw, Jay Rodan, Ignazio Oliva, Rachael Stirling, Luis Molteni | Italian-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes | 1935 | Leslie Hiscott. | ★★½ | 75 | Wontner and Fleming make a very acceptable team as Holmes and Watson in this minor British series entry about murder and a secret society among coal miners. Based on Conan Doyle's 'The Valley of Fear.' Original British running time: 84m. | tt0027136 | Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming, Lyn Harding, Leslie Perrins, Jane Carr, Charles Mortimer. | British | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Triumph of the Spirit | 1989 | Robert M. Young | ★★★ | 121 | Hard-hitting, heartbreaking, based-on-fact account of Salamo Arouch (Dafoe), Greek-Jewish boxer who is deported with his family to Auschwitz during WW2. Sometimes too grim, but it's a story that needs to be told and remembered. Filmed on location. | tt0098513 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Edward James Olmos, Robert Loggia, Wendy Gazelle, Kelly Wolf, Costas Mandylor, Kario Salem | Drama | NULL | ||
| Triumph of the Ten Gladiators | 1964 | Nick Nostro. | ★★ | 94 | If not strong on plot, film allows for exuberances of swordplay and knockout brawls; set in ancient Rome. | tt0058688 |
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Dan Vadis, Helga Line, Stanley Kent, Gianni Rizzo, Halina Zalewska, John Heston. | Italian | Action, Drama | NULL | |
| Triumph of the Will | 1935 | Leni Riefenstahl | ★★★★ | 110 | Riefenstahl's infamous documentary on Hitler's 1934 Nuremberg rallies is rightly regarded as the greatest propaganda film of all time. Fascinating and (of course) frightening to see. | tt0025913 | German | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Triumphs of a Man Called Horse | 1983 | John Hough. | ★½ | 86 | Limp sequel to THE RETURN OF A MAN CALLED HORSE with Beck, as Harris' half-breed son, attempting to shelter Sioux from greedy white settlers. Fans of the two earlier HORSES will be disappointed. | tt0084826 | [PG] | Richard Harris, Michael Beck, Ana De Sade, Vaughn Armstrong, Anne Seymour, Buck Taylor. | U.S.-Mexican | Western | NULL | |
| Trixie | 2000 | Alan Rudolph | ★½ | 116 | A dimwitted young woman given to malapropisms takes a job doing undercover security at a lakeside resort, where she uncovers a shady development deal involving a local bigwig (Patton) and a bombastic senator (Nolte). Seriocomic film noir is stylized to the point where it bears no relation to any recognizable reality. In other words, a fizzle. | tt0162711 | [R] | Emily Watson, Dermot Mulroney, Nick Nolte, Nathan Lane, Brittany Murphy, Lesley Ann Warren, Will Patton, Stephen Lang | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trog | 1970 | Freddie Francis | 💣 | 91 | Missing Link discovered by anthropologist Crawford naturally gets loose and does its thing. Do yours— don't watch it. Sadly, Crawford's last film. | tt0066492 | [PG] | Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Kim Braden, David Griffin, John Hamill | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |
| Trojan Eddie | 1996 | Gillies Mackinnon | ★★½ | 105 | Rea is a spieler who can sell anything to anyone but whose life has otherwise been in shambles; he finds himself caught in the middle when the young wife of his thuggish boss (Harris) runs off with her lover (who is Eddie's assistant). Harris and Rea offer fine, understated performances in this odd, intriguing mood piece. | tt0117969 | Richard Harris, Stephen Rea, Brendan Gleeson, Sean McGinley, Angeline Ball, Brid Brennan | British-Irish |
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NULL | ||
| The Trojan Horse | 1962 | Giorgio Ferroni | ★★½ | 105 | Above-average production values and Barrymore's presence in role of Ulysses inflates rating of otherwise stale version of Homer's epic. | tt0056042 | Steve Reeves, John Drew Barrymore, Hedy Vessel, Juliette Mayniel | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Trojan Women | 1972 | Michael Cacoyannis | ★★ | 105 | Euripides' tragedy about the plight of the women of Troy after its army is defeated gets a surprisingly flat (albeit faithful) rendering here, although any film which brings together four such great actresses can't be totally dismissed. | tt0067881 | [PG] | Katharine Hepburn, Irene Papas, Geneviève Bujold, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Magee, Brian Blessed | Greek-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Troll | 1986 | John Carl Buechler | ★½ | 86 | If your idea of entertainment is seeing Sonny Bono metamorphose into an apartment of foliage, this is the movie for you. Angelic tyke is possessed by a troll, who takes over her body and starts turning the neighbors into seed pods that eventually turn into new trolls. Too close to GREMLINS; some viewers may get off on hearing June Lockhart swear. Sequel: TROLL II. | tt0092115 | [PG-13] | Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, Noah Hathaway, Jenny Beck, Sonny Bono, June Lockhart, Anne Lockhart, Brad Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| A Troll in Central Park | 1994 | Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | ★★ | 76 | Good-hearted troll falls from favor in Troll Land and is banished to . . . N.Y.C.! There his green thumb helps beautify Central Park and the lives of those around him, including two neglected kids. Amiable and good-looking cartoon feature will appeal mainly to the small fry. DeLuise is fun in the title role. | tt0108395 | [G] | Voices of Dom DeLuise, Cloris Leachman, Phillip Glasser, Tawney Sunshine Glover, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Pryce, Charles Nelson Reilly | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Tron | 1982 | Steven Lisberger | ★★ | 96 | A computer whiz is sucked inside a powerful computer, where he must fight for his life in a giant video-game competition. State-of-the-art special effects are stunning, but the story runs out of steam too soon, with only Bridges' charisma to keep it afloat. Disappointing Disney production. | tt0084827 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner, Cindy Morgan, Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor | Action, Fantasy, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Tron Legacy | 2010 | Joseph Kosinski | ★★ | 127 | Hedlund’s father, a brilliant video game designer, disappeared when he was a boy. Now a young man, Hedlund finds a way to step inside that video world, where he is reunited with his father but finds himself threatened by an evil clone. Like the original TRON, this one is full of flashy visuals, with great production and costume design, but hasn’t enough story to support it. Seeing Bridges “youthified” to the age of 35 by digital means isn’t magical—just weird. Hard-core gamers may be more enthusiastic. | tt1104001 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, Michael Sheen, James Frain, Beau Garrett | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Troop Beverly Hills | 1989 | Jeff Kanew | ★★½ | 105 | Sometimes-amusing comedy about a spoiled, wealthy Beverly Hills housewife who leads her daughter's Girl Scout troop on unique outings on which everyone learns about self-esteem— and Gucci loafers. Predictable, but undemanding fun. | tt0098519 | [PG] | Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross, Stephanie Beacham, Audra Lindley, Edd Byrnes, Ami Foster, Jenny Lewis | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trooper Hook | 1957 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★½ | 81 | Woman scorned by whites for having lived with Indians and having child by the chief, begins anew with cavalry sergeant. | tt0051111 | Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Earl Holliman, Susan Kohner, Sheb Wooley, Celia Lovsky | Western | NULL | |||
| Tropic Holiday | 1938 | Theodore Reed | ★★½ | 78 | Silly musical set in Mexico, with perky performances by all. | tt0030897 | Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland, Martha Raye, Bob Burns, Tito Guizar | Musical | NULL | |||
| Tropic Thunder | 2008 | Ben Stiller | ★★½ | 106 | Hollywood movie troupe heads to Vietnam to make a wartime action yarn but nothing goes quite right. How could it with star and director egos running rampant and a violent drug cartel operating in their midst? Scattershot comedy opens with four mock trailers that are funnier than the movie itself. Black is wasted here but Downey shines in an outrageous turn as a white Aussie actor who’s playing a black man—and never goes out of character. Cruise, in heavy makeup, plays a loathsome Jewish studio exec, which is good for a few laughs but (like so much else here) goes on too long. Cowritten by Stiller. Tobey Maguire appears unbilled. | tt0942385 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Brandon T. Jackson, Bill Hader, Brandon Soo Hoo, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise | Comedy, Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Tropic Zone | 1953 | Lewis R. Foster | ★½ | 94 | Blah actioner set in South America with Reagan fighting the good cause to save a banana plantation from outlaws. | tt0046462 | Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming, Estelita, Noah Beery/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tropic of Cancer | 1970 | Joseph Strick | ★★★½ | 87 | Director Strick is generally more successful with Henry Miller than he's been with James Joyce, thanks to Torn's earthy portrayal of the loose-living expatriate author amidst a string of amorous adventures in '20s Paris. Slapdash but invigorating; Burstyn makes a strong impression in tiny role as Henry's wife. | tt0066494 | [X] | Rip Torn, James Callahan, Ellen Burstyn, David Bauer, Laurence Ligneres, Phil Brown | Drama | NULL | ||
| Trouble Along the Way | 1953 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 110 | Unusually sentimental Wayne vehicle casts him as divorced man trying to maintain custody of his daughter (Jackson); he earns back self-respect by coaching football team for small Catholic school. | tt0046463 | John Wayne, Donna Reed, Charles Coburn, Sherry Jackson, Marie Windsor, Tom Tully, Leif Erickson, Chuck Connors | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Trouble Bound | 1993 | Jeffrey Reiner | ★½ | 89 | Ex-con Madsen and 'college' girl Arquette are on the run in this Mafia mess which features gamblers, drug dealers, hit people, strippers, and a corpse who talks. The two leads save this from being a total loss. | tt0105645 | [R] | Michael Madsen, Patricia Arquette, Florence Stanley, Seymour Cassel, Billy Bob Thornton | Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| Trouble Every Day | 2001 | Claire Denis | 💣 | 89 | So bad it's almost funny. Atrocious French concoction deals with some experiments gone terribly wrong that seem to be turning 'normal' people into cannibals, who give new meaning to the idea of eating after sex. One of those woebegone cinematic mistakes that make you wonder, 'What were they thinking?' Tindersticks' score and title song are so good they belong in another movie. | tt0204700 | Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Beatrice Dalle, Alex Descas, Florence Loiret, Nicolas Duvauchelle | French | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trouble Makers | 1948 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 69 | The Bowery Boys pose as hotel bellboys to probe a murder. This was one of veteran character actor Stander's last films before being blacklisted. | tt0040905 | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Billy Benedict, David Gorcey, Helen Parrish, Fritz Feld, Lionel Stander, Frankie Darro, John Ridgely, Bennie Bartlett, Bernard Gorcey | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Trouble Man | 1972 | Ivan Dixon | ★★ | 99 | Hooks is superslick black troubleshooter caught in gang warfare. Cliché-ridden script includes about four hundred killings, glorifying underworld life. Well-made but tasteless. | tt0069414 | [R] | Robert Hooks, Paul Winfield, Ralph Waite, William Smithers, Paula Kelly, Julius W. Harris | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Trouble With Angels | 1966 | Ida Lupino | ★★½ | 112 | Cutesy study of Pennsylvania convent school, with students Mills and Harding driving mother superior Russell to distraction. Episodic, occasionally touching comedy. Sequel: WHERE ANGELS GO . . . TROUBLE FOLLOWS. | tt0061122 | Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, June Harding, Binnie Barnes, Mary Wickes, Gypsy Rose Lee, Camilla Sparv | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Trouble With Girls (and How to Get Into It) | 1969 | Peter Tewksbury | ★★½ | 104 | One of the better Presley vehicles has Elvis as manager of a Chautauqua company (medicine show) in the 1920s; nice feeling for the period. | tt0065125 | [PG] | Elvis Presley, Marlyn Mason, Nicole Jaffe, Sheree North, Edward Andrews, John Carradine | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Trouble With Harry | 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 99 | Offbeat, often hilarious black comedy courtesy Mr. Hitchcock and scripter John Michael Hayes about bothersome corpse causing all sorts of problems for peaceful neighbors in New England community. Gwenn is fine as usual, MacLaine appealing in her first film. Beautiful autumn locations, whimsical score (his first for Hitch) by Bernard Herrmann. | tt0048750 | Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine, Mildred Natwick, Mildred Dunnock, Jerry Mathers, Royal Dano | Mystery, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Trouble With Spies | 1987 | Burt Kennedy | 💣 | 91 | Awful spy comedy about incompetent British and Soviet secret agents. Good actors wasted; this one's as bad as they come. Filmed in 1984. | tt0094188 | [PG] | Donald Sutherland, Ned Beatty, Ruth Gordon, Lucy Gutteridge, Michael Hordern, Robert Morley, Gregory Sierra | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Trouble With Women | 1947 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 80 | Professor Milland announces that women like to be treated roughly; you can guess the rest of this tame comedy. | tt0039917 | Ray Milland, Teresa Wright, Brian Donlevy, Rose Hobart, Charles Smith, Lewis Russell, Iris Adrian, Lloyd Bridges | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Trouble for Two | 1936 | J. Walter Ruben | ★★★ | 75 | Unique, offbeat black comedy of Montgomery and Russell joining London Suicide Club; based on Robert Louis Stevenson story. | tt0028416 | Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Frank Morgan, Reginald Owen, Louis Hayward | Drama | NULL | |||
| Trouble in Mind | 1985 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 111 | Highly stylized, highly individualistic melodrama set in the near future, with Kristofferson as idealistic ex-cop, fresh from a stretch in jail, who gets involved with some young innocents who've just come to the big city. Odd, unusual, with 1940s film noir feeling but so determinedly vague and unreal that it also comes off rather cold. Still, it's an eyeful, and recommended for fans of the offbeat and Rudolph in particular. Title song sung by Marianne Faithful. | tt0090209 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold, Joe Morton, Divine, George Kirby, John Considine | Crime | NULL | ||
| Trouble in Paradise | 1932 | Ernst Lubitsch | ★★★★ | 83 | Sparkling Lubitsch confection about two jewel thieves (Marshall and Hopkins) who fall in love, but find their relationship threatened when he turns on the charm to their newest (female) victim. This film is a working definition of the term 'sophisticated comedy.' Script by Samson Raphaelson and Grover Jones. | tt0023622 | Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, Herbert Marshall, Charlie Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Grieg, Leonid Kinskey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Trouble in Paradise | 1988 | Di Drew | Average TV Movie | 100 | An elegantly tailored widow finds herself marooned on a tropical island with a carousing Aussie seaman and stalked by a gang of drug smugglers. Raquel sashays around seductively (and revealingly) at the head of an all-Australian cast in this harmless comedy that borrows generously from Barrie's THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON and Wertmuller's SWEPT AWAY. | tt0096312 | Raquel Welch, Jack Thompson, Nicholas Hammond, John Gregg | U.S.-Australian | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trouble in Store | 1953 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★½ | 85 | Full of fun sight gags and good character actors, film traces ups and downs of naive department store worker. Wisdom's film debut. | tt0046464 | Margaret Rutherford, Norman Wisdom, Moira Lister, Megs Jenkins | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trouble in the Glen | 1954 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★ | 91 | Scottish-based drama of feud over closing of road that has been used for a long time. Average-to-poor script benefits from Welles. | tt0046465 | Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles, Forrest Tucker, Victor McLaglen | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trouble the Water | 2008 | Carl Deal, Tia Lessin | ★★★ | 96 | Harrowing and resonant documentary about the human toll of New Orleans’ disastrous Hurricane Katrina. With remarkable footage taken during the storm by one survivor (an aspiring rapper who was eventually relocated to the Superdome), the film tells the larger story of the hurricane through her attempts to help others. Pointing out that even a year later not much had been done to improve the lives of the storm’s poorest victims, this film makes salient points about human spirit and survival in the wake of complete governmental meltdown. | tt1149405 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The Troublemaker | 1964 | Theodore J. Flicker | ★★ | 80 | Terribly dated, independently made comedy about a country bumpkin's adventures in N.Y.C.; interesting as an artifact of its time, made by the talented improvisational comedy troupe known as The Premise. | tt0058690 | Tom Aldredge, Joan Darling, Theodore Flicker, Buck Henry, Godfrey Cambridge, Al Freeman/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Trout | La Truite | 1982 | Joseph Losey | ★★ | 105 | Elaborate but muddled account of country girl Huppert and her encounters, sexual and otherwise, in the world of high finance. Moreau is wasted as the wife of businessman Cassel; Smith and Stevens appear in cameos. Original title: LA TRUITE. Also released at 116m. | tt0084829 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Spiesser, Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Daniel Olbrychski, Alexis Smith, Craig Stevens | French | Drama | NULL |
| Troy | 2004 | Wolfgang Petersen | ★★★½ | 162 | When callow Trojan prince Paris (Bloom) steals the beautiful Helen from under the nose of her husband, Menelaus, greedy King Agamemnon (a ferocious Cox) seizes the opportunity to declare war on Troy. Achilles (Pitt) is his greatest asset, but the almost superhuman warrior follows his own agenda. Spectacular production offers battle scenes unlike any ever staged before— both epic-scale and man-to-man— but it's the well-defined characters (and a gallery of strong performances) that make this so compelling. Impressive adaptation of Homer's The Iliad by David Benioff. | tt0332452 | [R] | Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O'Toole, Rose Byrne, Saffron Burrows, Julie Christie | British-Maltese | Action, Drama, War, Adventure, Romance | NULL | |
| The Truce | 1997 | Francesco Rosi | ★★★ | 117 | Moving adaptation of Primo Levi's autobiography, which follows the author's liberation from Auschwitz and his emotional reawakening as he struggles to get home to Turin, Italy. Episodic structure dilutes some of the dramatic impact, but there are many powerful, affecting moments, and Turturro is beautifully understated. An interesting companion piece to the documentary THE LONG WAY HOME. | tt0117959 | [R] | John Turturro, Massimo Ghini, Rade Serbedzija, Stefano Dionisi, Teco Celio, Roberto Citran | Italian-French-Swiss-German-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Truck Stop Women | 1974 | Mark L. Lester | ★★½ | 88 | Sloppy but good-natured exploitation fare about women who run truck stop as front for prostitution and truck hijacking activities. Business is so good the Mob tries to move in. Jennings is a standout in this raucous sleaze romp. | tt0072324 | [R] | Lieux Dressler, Claudia Jennings, Dennis Fimple, Jennifer Burton | Action, Crime | NULL | ||
| Truck Turner | 1974 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★½ | 91 | Extremely violent black exploiter, with Hayes only distinguishing feature as a skip-tracer (a detective who hunts bail jumpers). His original score is familiar. | tt0072325 | [R] | Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto, Alan Weeks, Annazette Chase, Sam Laws, Nichelle Nichols | Action | NULL | ||
| Trucker | 2009 | James Mottern | ★★★ | 93 | Monaghan is an independent woman who likes being a truck driver because she can come and go as she pleases and doesn’t make long-term attachments. Then she’s saddled with an 11-year-old boy, the son she abandoned as an infant when she walked out on her husband (Bratt), who’s now fighting cancer. What could be formulaic and routine is richly drawn as the mother and son—who have no use for one another—gradually develop a bond. Great showcase for Monaghan. Written by the director. | tt1087527 | [R] | Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett, Joey Lauren Adams, Matthew Lawrence | Drama | NULL | ||
| True Believer | 1989 | Joseph Ruben | ★★★ | 103 | Woods gives his usual dynamic performance as a once-idealistic lawyer, a radical hero of the '60s who's lost his scruples— until his hero-worshipping clerk (Downey) goads him into taking the near-hopeless case of an Asian-American who was apparently railroaded into prison eight years before. Contrived, but entertaining all the way. Followed by a TV series, Eddie Dodd. | tt0098524 | [R] | James Woods, Robert Downey/Jr., Yuji Okumoto, Margaret Colin, Kurtwood Smith, Tom Bower, Miguel Fernandes, Charles Hallahan | Crime | NULL | ||
| True Colors | 1991 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 111 | Well-acted but thoroughly obvious story of friendship, ethics, and betrayal, following two law-school roommates who take different paths in life: one goes to work for the Justice Department, determined to right wrongs; the other goes into politics, looking for any angle that can get him ahead. No surprises, thus little impact. Stubbs' British accent (in the role of senator Widmark's daughter) also gets in the way. | tt0103125 | [R] | John Cusack, James Spader, Imogen Stubbs, Mandy Patinkin, Richard Widmark, Dina Merrill, Philip Bosco, Paul Guilfoyle | Drama | NULL | ||
| True Confession | 1937 | Wesley Ruggles | ★½ | 85 | Alarmingly unfunny 'comedy' about pathological liar Lombard and the trouble she causes for herself and good-natured lawyer husband MacMurray when she confesses to a murder she didn't commit. Remade with Betty Hutton as CROSS MY HEART (1946). | tt0029695 | Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, John Barrymore, Una Merkel, Porter Hall, Edgar Kennedy, Lynne Overman, Irving Bacon, Fritz Feld | Comedy | NULL | |||
| True Confessions | 1981 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★½ | 108 | Methodically slow, complex, and provocative film (adapted by John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion from Dunne's novel) about the uneasy bond and surprising similarities between two brothers, one a hardened police detective, the other a power-wielding monsignor in the Catholic Church. A meaty but somehow unsatisfying film (based on a true case previously filmed as a TVM, WHO IS THE BLACK DAHLIA?) with two characteristically fine performances by De Niro and Duvall. | tt0083232 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Ed Flanders, Burgess Meredith, Rose Gregorio, Cyril Cusack, Kenneth McMillan, Dan Hedaya, Jeanette Nolan | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| True Crime | 1999 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 127 | Formulaic but gripping story about a burnt-out reporter who becomes convinced that a man due to die at San Quentin that night is innocent. Bouncing back and forth between the story of the reporter— who's looking for redemption— and the stoic prisoner doesn't always work, but the suspense is undeniable. Woods is dynamite as Eastwood's sharp-tongued editor. Eastwood's wife, Dina Ruiz, ex-companion (Fisher), and young daughter all appear. | tt0139668 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, Denis Leary, Lisa Gay Hamilton, James Woods, Bernard Hill, Diane Venora, Michael McKean, Michael Jeter, Mary McCormack, Hattie Winston, Francesca Ruth Eastwood, Sidney Poitier, Frances Fisher, Christine Ebersole, Anthony Zerbe, William Windom, Lucy Alexis Liu | Crime, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| True Grit | 1969 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 128 | Film version of Charles Portis's wonderful novel about an over-the-hill marshal who helps 14-year-old track down her father's killer. Not as good as the book, but Wayne's Oscar-winning performance and rousing last half hour make it fine screen entertainment. Sequel: ROOSTER COGBURN. Followed by a TV movie in 1978 with Warren Oates and Lisa Pelikan. | tt0065126 | [G] | John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Jeremy Slate, Robert Duvall, Strother Martin, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Corey | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| True Grit | 2010 | Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | ★★★ | 110 | Remake of the 1969 hit allows Bridges to put his own stamp on the role of one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn originated by John Wayne. Newcomer Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, an outlandishly precocious (and verbose) 14-year-old girl who vows to avenge her father’s murder by capturing his killer (Brolin). She insists on accompanying the irresponsible Cogburn on his manhunt, in which they are joined by self-assured Texas Ranger Damon. The Coens’ script calls on their love of language (much of it directly from Charles Portis’ novel), while cinematographer Roger Deakins fills the screen with beautiful imagery. Entertaining, to be sure, but being as unsentimental as it is, there isn’t any emotional resonance when it’s all over. | tt1403865 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Elizabeth Marvel | Drama, Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| True Heart Susie | 1919 | D. W. Griffith. | ★★★ | 93 | Gish is wonderful as a plain farm girl who secretly sells her cow to send her sweetheart to college, but when he returns he becomes a minister and marries a scheming city girl. Will he learn the truth before it's too late? One of Griffith's most charmingly old-fashioned films, made with a warm innocence and purity of style that is truly refreshing. | tt0010806 | Lillian Gish, Robert Harron, Clarine Seymour, Kate Bruce, Raymond Cannon, Carol Dempster, George Fawcett. | Drama | NULL | |||
| True Identity | 1991 | Charles Lane | ★★½ | 93 | Aspiring black actor recognizes a supposedly dead mob boss on an airplane and disguises himself as an Italian-American hit man in order to save his skin. Familiar premise with a somewhat unfamiliar variation. Serves as a passable showcase for Brit wit Henry and his great gift of mimicry. | tt0103128 | [R] | Lenny Henry, Frank Langella, Charles Lane, Andreas Katsulas, Michael McKean, James Earl Jones, Melvin Van Peebles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| True Lies | 1994 | James Cameron | ★★★ | 141 | In-your-face entertainment from the Schwarzenegger/Cameron team, with Arnold as a spy in a super-secret, high-tech government agency whose wife thinks he's just a nerdy computer salesman. With humor and action in equal doses, this film makes all the right moves— until it gets bogged down in plot (and a general putdown of women) midway through. A slam-bang action finale brings it back on-course, as credibility is gleefully tossed aside. Cameron also scripted, based on a French film, LA TOTALE. | tt0111503 | [R] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Art Malik, Charlton Heston, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov, Jane Morris | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| True Love | 1989 | Nancy Savoca | ★★★ | 104 | Refreshing, low-budget slice-of-life sleeper about an Italian wedding in the Bronx. There's tons of atmosphere, and the script (by Savoca and her husband, Richard Guay) is never condescending. Fine performances with Sciorra and Eldard perfectly cast as no-nonsense bride and immature groom. | tt0098528 | [R] | Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack, Star Jasper, Michael J. Wolfe, Kelly Cinnante | Comedy | NULL | ||
| True Romance | 1993 | Tony Scott | ★★½ | 118 | A '90s twist on the young-lovers-on-the-lam genre, with hedonism, highly stylized (but potent) violence, and colorful supporting characters the main ingredients. Oldman, as a drug dealer in dreadlocks, is the standout in a first-rate cast. Hopper plays the most 'normal' person in the movie! Written by Quentin Tarantino. Available in R and unrated (120m.) versions. | tt0108399 | [R] | Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Bronson Pinchot, Michael Rapaport, Saul Rubinek, Christopher Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson | Action, Crime, Romance | NULL | ||
| True Stories | 1986 | David Byrne | ★★ | 111 | Smarmy, pseudo-hip tour of modern-day Texas by Talking Heads' Byrne; is there anything easier to satirize than eccentric Lone Star crazies? Photography, likable Goodman performance, and a couple of numbers make this worth a look if you're curious; mostly, though, it's depressing. Playwright Beth Henley had a part in the screenplay. | tt0092117 | [PG] | David Byrne, John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, Annie McEnroe, Spalding Gray, Alix Elias, Pops Staples | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The True Story of Jesse James | 1957 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 92 | Remake of 1939 Tyrone Power/Henry Fonda classic (JESSE JAMES) understandably lacks its star power, but there are enough offbeat Ray touches to keep things interesting (along with some stock footage from the original). Screenplay by Walter Newman. | tt0051114 | Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Hope Lange, Agnes Moorehead, Alan Hale/Jr., John Carradine, Alan Baxter, Frank Gorshin | Western | NULL | |||
| The True Story of Lynn Stuart | 1958 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 78 | Modest, straightforward account of housewife Palmer posing as gun moll to trap gang. | tt0052322 | Betsy Palmer, Jack Lord, Barry Atwater, Kim Spaulding | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| True to Life | 1943 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 94 | Engaging comedy of radio writer going to live with 'typical' American family to get material for his soap opera. Not a musical, but boasts delightful Hoagy Carmichael-Johnny Mercer song 'The Old Music Master. | tt0036461 | Mary Martin, Franchot Tone, Dick Powell, Victor Moore, Mabel Paige, William Demarest, Ernest Truex | Comedy | NULL | |||
| True to the Army | 1942 | Albert S. Rogell | ★★ | 76 | Zany nonsense erupts when military life and romance clash; loud WW2 escapism. This remake of SHE LOVES ME NOT was remade again as HOW TO BE VERY, VERY POPULAR. | tt0035474 | Allan Jones, Ann Miller, Judy Canova, Jerry Colonna | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| True to the Navy | 1930 | Frank Tuttle | ★★ | 71 | Silly early talkie about on-again, off-again romance between sailor March and soda-fountain waitress Bow. Buffs will get a kick out of it; Clara does one sexy dance number. | tt0021492 | Clara Bow, Fredric March, Sam Hardy, Eddie Featherstone, Jed Prouty, Rex Bell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Truly Madly Deeply | 1991 | Anthony Minghella | ★★½ | 107 | Young woman, unable to get over the death of her musician lover, gets the shock of her life when he turns up in her apartment— a ghost, to be sure, but seemingly alive. Minghella conceived this as a vehicle for Stevenson, and that it is (though it also serves as a showcase for Rickman, in an uncharacteristic low-key role); charmingly quirky at times, but unable to sustain its offbeat premise to the very end. | tt0103129 | Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Bill Paterson, Michael Maloney, Christopher Rozycki, Keith Bartlett, David Ryall, Stella Maris | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Truman | 1995 | Frank Pierson | Above Average TV Movie | 135 | Give 'em hell, Gary! Sinise's H.S.T. grabs the 33rd president and shakes the stuffings out of most other interpretations, strutting like the bantam cock Truman was. Adapted by Tom Rickman (COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER) from David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize biography. Incidentally, Dysart, who here plays Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, earlier portrayed Truman in both DAY ONE and the miniseries War and Remembrance. Made for cable. | tt0114738 | Gary Sinise, Diana Scarwid, Richard Dysart, Colm Feore, James Gammon, Tony Goldwyn, Pat Hingle, Harris Yulin, Zeljko Ivanek, David Lansbury, Marian Seldes, Lois Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Truman Show | 1998 | Peter Weir | ★★½ | 102 | Truman Burbank lives a seemingly ideal existence in a tranquil seaside community. What he doesn't know is that his life is a giant 24-hour-a-day TV show, orchestrated by electronic mastermind/artist Harris in a completely controlled environment. Satire of our voyeuristic, consumer-driven society scores some points and offers Carrey a change of pace, but after the premise is established it doesn't know where to go. Perhaps that's because it's a short-story idea, not a feature film; The Twilight Zone used to do this kind of thing— better— in half-hour segments. | tt0120382 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Brian Delate, Paul Giamatti, Harry Shearer | Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Trumpet Blows | 1934 | Stephen Roberts. | ★★ | 72 | Raft is oddly cast in this slight, forgettable yarn as an American-educated Mexican who returns to brother Menjou's ranch; their mutual affection for dancer Drake puts them at odds. Raft in matador gear somehow doesn't quite cut it. | tt0025915 | George Raft, Adolphe Menjou, Frances Drake, Sidney Toler, Edward Ellis, Nydia Westman, Katherine DeMille. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Trunk to Cairo | 1966 | Menahem Golan | ★½ | 80 | Murphy, in rare non-Western role, plays still another secret agent in Cairo to investigate Sanders' attempt to build a rocket bound for the moon. | tt0061123 | Audie Murphy, George Sanders, Marianne Koch, Hans Von Bosodi, Joseph Yadin | Israeli | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Trunk | 1960 | Donovan Winter | ★½ | 72 | Programmer involving trumped-up murder charge and usual dose of red herrings; ill-conceived tale. | tt0181086 |
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Phil Carey, Julia Arnall, Dermot Walsh, Vera Day | British | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Trust | 1991 | Hal Hartley | ★★★ | 105 | A pregnant high-school senior is dumped by a football star who fears for his pending college scholarship. When her dad drops dead at the news, she finds a dubious savior: a bookish fellow who can't even clean a bathroom to his own dad's satisfaction. Drollness on-screen can sometimes be had cheaply, but a perfect cast is tougher to bankroll; this original has both, enough to defuse the smugness that seems to linger in its soul. | tt0103130 | [R] | Adrienne Shelly, Martin Donovan, Merritt Nelson, John McKay, Edie Falco, Marko Hunt | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trust | 2011 | David Schwimmer | ★★ | 106 | The 14-year-old daughter of well-to-do suburban parents feels the pangs of first love as she strikes up a disastrous relationship on the ’net with a 35-year-old predator who poses as another teen. The crisis builds as her father starts to take matters into his own hands to keep his family together. Owen and Keener offer good performances, but the film is really a showcase for young Liberato, who socks home a portrayal of youthful desire and self-doubt with the assurance of a veteran. Effective family drama becomes overly melodramatic at times. | tt1529572 | [R] | Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis, Liana Liberato, Noah Emmerich, Jason Clarke, Chris Henry Coffey | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Trust Me | 1989 | Bobby Houston | ★★½ | 104 | Some scattershot laughs cannot sustain this satire of the art scene. Ant plays a gallery owner who will do all he can to see artist Packer dead— so the value of his work will increase. Bright idea, uneven result. | tt0098529 | [R] | Adam Ant, David Packer, Talia Balsam, William DeAcutis, Joyce Van Patten, Barbara Bain | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Trust the Man | 2006 | Bart Freundlich | ★★ | 103 | Being the misadventures of two Manhattan couples having relationship problems. The women (mostly) have their feet on the ground, while the men are utterly infantile. Romantic comedy with echoes of vintage Woody Allen films (and a rosy view of N.Y.C.) has occasional bright spots but mostly lurches from one episode to another. Unsatisfying, to put it mildly. Bob Balaban appears unbilled. | tt0427968 | [R] | David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eva Mendes, Ellen Barkin, Garry Shandling, James Le Gros, Dagmara Dominczyk, Jim Gaffigan | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Trusting Beatrice | 1991 | Cindy Lou Johnson | ★★ | 91 | Offbeat but paper-thin comedy about the unlikely romance between confused, perpetually glum Jacobs, who's just accidentally burned his house down, and confused, vulnerable Jacob, a Frenchwoman with immigration problems. Jacob is especially charming in her American debut. Original title: CLAUDE. | tt0103980 | [PG] | Irène Jacob, Mark Evan Jacobs, Charlotte Moore, Pat McNamara, Leonardo Cimino, Steve Buscemi, Samuel Wright |
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NULL | ||
| The Truth About Cats & Dogs | 1996 | Michael Lehmann | ★★½ | 97 | Cute comedy about a guy who falls in love with a radio talk-show host (Garofalo) before he even meets her; she, on the other hand, is self-conscious about her looks and has her knockout neighbor, a prototypical dumb blonde (Thurman), take her place. Enjoyable romantic comedy with Cyrano overtones stays afloat with three engaging performances (plus one terrific dog) but stretches credibility to the limit. | tt0117979 | [PG-13] | Uma Thurman, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Chaplin, Jamie Foxx, James McCaffrey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Truth About Charlie | 2002 | Jonathan Demme | ★★ | 104 | Pallid remake of CHARADE, set again in Paris, has Newton as the damsel in distress, Wahlberg as her gallant new friend, and Robbins as all-too-suspicious government official. Instead of playing the story with conviction, the film distances us by calling attention to itself with dizzying camerawork, cacophonous music, and indulgent references to French New Wave cinema, including appearances by three of its leading lights (Aznavour, Karina, and Varda). Four writers are credited with complicating Peter Stone's 1963 screenplay; one of them (Peter Joshua) is a pseudonym for Stone, who earned the credit for supplying the original plot. | tt0270707 | [PG-13] | Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton, Tim Robbins, Joong-Hoon Park, Ted Levine, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Christine Boisson, Stephen Dillane, Simon Abkarian, Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina, Agnès Varda | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Truth About Spring | 1965 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 102 | Skipper Mills introduces daughter Hayley to first boyfriend, MacArthur, in enjoyable film geared for young viewers. | tt0058691 | Hayley Mills, John Mills, James MacArthur, Lionel Jeffries, Harry Andrews, Niall MacGinnis, David Tomlinson | British | Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Truth About Women | 1958 | Muriel Box | ★★½ | 98 | Multi-episode tale about playboy Harvey's flirtations; well mounted and cast, but slow-going. | tt0052323 | Laurence Harvey, Julie Harris, Diane Cilento, Mai Zetterling, Eva Gabor, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Christopher Lee, Ernest Thesiger | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Truth or Consequences, N.M. | 1997 | Kiefer Sutherland | ★★ | 106 | A robbery goes awry, resulting in murder, and the four criminals take two ordinary people captive to evade Utah police. Well acted, but there's nothing at all new here, and it's pretentious to boot. Sutherland's feature debut as a director. | tt0120383 | [R] | Vincent Gallo, Mykelti Williamson, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, Kim Dickens, Grace Phillips, Max Perlich, Rod Steiger, Martin Sheen | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action, Romance | NULL | ||
| Truth or Dare | Madonna Truth or Dare | 1991 | Alek Keshishian | ★★★ | 118 | Revealing backstage/performance film, very much in the mold of DONT LOOK BACK, examines the phenomenon we know as . . . Madonna. Authorized account, iron-fist commissioned by its subject, is simultaneously candid and manipulated, but the dynamics between Madonna and members of her family (and a couple of hilarious what-me-worry cameos by her then-squeeze Warren Beatty) are compelling. An important film even if you don't care for Madonna; overlength makes the final half-hour a mild ordeal. (The video offers additional footage!) Video title: MADONNA TRUTH OR DARE. | tt0102370 | [R] | Madonna | Documentary | NULL | |
| Try and Get Me! | 1950 | Cy Endfield | ★★★ | 90 | Husband and father Lovejoy can't find a job, so he reluctantly helps slick Bridges in a series of robberies . . . but he isn't prepared for kidnapping and murder. Very impressive independent film noir indicts yellow journalism and lynch-mob violence, but doesn't let the criminals off the hook. Based on a true story that took place in California during the 1930s. Deserves to be better known. Originally shown as THE SOUND OF FURY. | tt0043075 | Frank Lovejoy, Kathleen Ryan, Richard Carlson, Lloyd Bridges, Katherine Locke, Adele Jergens, Renzo Cesara | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Trygon Factor | 1967 | Cyril Frankel | ★½ | 87 | Impossible-to-follow Scotland Yard whodunit. Centers around bizarre old English family and series of interesting murders. | tt0061124 | Stewart Granger, Susan Hampshire, Robert Morley, Cathleen Nesbitt, James Robertson Justice | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Tsotsi | 2005 | Gavin Hood | ★★★½ | 94 | A young, steely-eyed, amoral hoodlum who lives in a Johannesburg shantytown shoots a woman, steals her car, and then discovers her baby in the backseat. How a hardened criminal gets in touch with his own humanity is the crux of this crowd-pleasing drama, adapted by Hood from Athol Fugard's novel. The characters speak an argot made up of many languages, including English and Africaans, and the film is fueled by pulsating South African music. Newcomer Chweneyagae is superb in the leading role. Oscar winner as Best Foreign Language Film. | tt0468565 | Unrated | Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Zenzo Ngqobe, Zola, Rapulana Seiphemo, Nambitha Mpumlwana | South African-British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Tuck Everlasting | 1980 | Frederick King Keller | ★★★½ | 100 | Lovely, sweet, entertaining fable about family, invulnerable to pain, aging, and death, and the young girl who learns their secret. Perfect for children who prefer books to video games. Produced independently in upstate New York; based on Natalie Babbitt's award-winning novel. Remade in 2002. | tt0081664 | Margaret Chamberlain, Paul Flessa, Fred A. Keller, James McGuire, Sonia Raimi, Bruce D'Auria | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tuck Everlasting | 2002 | Jay Russell | ★★★ | 90 | Genteel adaptation of Natalie Babbitt's novel about a well-to-do teenage girl, living a cloistered life in the early 20th century, whose world is opened up by a chance meeting with a boy and his backwoods family. They have discovered the secret for eternal life, but what seems to be a blessing is in fact a kind of curse. Entertaining for young people, but lacks the dramatic punch that might have made it an even better movie. | tt0283084 | [PG] | Alexis Bledel, Sissy Spacek, William Hurt, Jonathan Jackson, Scott Bairstow, Ben Kingsley, Amy Irving, Victor Garber; narrated by Elisabeth Shue | Drama, Family, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Tucker and Dale vs. Evil | 2011 | Eli Craig | ★★★½ | 89 | A group of attractive young people head off for a weekend in the woods, but when they stop for beer they're creeped out by two hillbilly types they encounter at the store. Little do they dream that the men they fear are pals who've come to fix up their weekend cabin—and they're just as intimidated by the kids. One misunderstanding leads to another until, incredibly, people start getting killed in various unpleasant ways. Ingenious, often hilarious parody of FRIDAY THE 13th–type movies written by first-time director Craig and Morgan Jurgenson. Tudyk and Labine are wonderful in the title roles. | tt1465522 | [R] | Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Philip Granger, Brandon McLaren, Christie Laing, Chelan Simmons, Travis Nelson, Alexander Arsenault | Canadian | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |
| Tucker: The Man and His Dream | 1988 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 111 | Smart, sassy, stylish film about Preston Tucker, who tried to build 'the car of the future' in the 1940s, only to be crushed by the Big Three automakers and their political cronies. Told with great flair by Coppola (who obviously felt a kinship with the indomitable, family-minded visionary), filled with fine performances, especially Landau in a poignant characterization as Tucker's unlikely partner. Lloyd Bridges (Jeff's dad) appears unbilled as an adversarial senator. Lively score by Joe Jackson. | tt0096316 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Frederic Forrest, Mako, Dean Stockwell, Elias Koteas, Nina Siemaszko, Christian Slater, Corky Nemec, Marshall Bell, Don Novello, Peter Donat, Dean Goodman, Patti Austin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tuesdays with Morrie | 1999 | Mick Jackson | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | A student-turned-sportswriter and radio personality, Mitch Albom (Azaria), reconnects with a dying professor who was his mentor for a series of loving weekly visits. Lemmon (in his final TVM) is first-rate in this uplifting (but still four-hanky) Peabody Award-winning drama adapted by Tom Rickman from Albom's hugely successful book. | tt0207805 | Jack Lemmon, Hank Azaria, Wendy Moniz, Caroline Aaron, Bonnie Bartlett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tuff Turf | 1985 | Fritz Kiersch | ★½ | 112 | Old-fashioned, unrealistic troubled-teen melodrama with overtones of WEST SIDE STORY, set in a fantasy version of the San Fernando Valley. Pre-SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE Spader, as preppie newcomer, is mannered, but Richards is good. | tt0090213 | [R] | James Spader, Kim Richards, Paul Mones, Matt Clark, Claudette Nevins, Robert Downey/Jr., Olivia Barash, Jack Mack & the Heart Attack | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Tugboat Annie | 1933 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 87 | Marie is skipper of the tugboat Narcissus, Beery her ne'er-do-well husband in this rambling, episodic comedy drama; inimitable stars far outclass their wobbly material. Followed by TUGBOAT ANNIE SAILS AGAIN, and a 1950s TV series. | tt0024701 | Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan, Willard Robertson, Frankie Darro | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tugboat Annie Sails Again | 1940 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 77 | Airy comedy with predictable plot about Annie's job in jeopardy. Rambeau takes up where Marie Dressler left off; Reagan saves the day for her. | tt0033187 | Marjorie Rambeau, Alan Hale/Sr., Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Clarence Kolb, Charles Halton | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tulips | 1981 | Stan Ferris | ★½ | 92 | Weak romance, with Kaplan and Peters each attempting to commit suicide, then meeting and falling in love. 'Stan Ferris' is a pseudonym for Mark Warren, Rex Bromfield, and Al Waxman— and the lack of directorial cohesion shows. | tt0083236 | [PG] | Gabe Kaplan, Bernadette Peters, Henry Gibson, Al Waxman, David Boxer | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Tully | 2002 | Hilary Birmingham | ★★½ | 102 | Low-budget indie based on Tom McNeal's short story 'What Happened to Tully,' this overly talky movie manages to avoid melodrama, for the most part, with a touching story of how a woman's death affects her rancher husband and their two sons. Fine performances, especially from Mount, who has real acting chops. | tt0212604 | [R] | Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, Glenn Fitzgerald, Catherine Kellner, Bob Burrus, Natalie Canerday, John Diehl | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tulsa | 1949 | Stuart Heisler | ★★★ | 90 | Bouncy drama of cattlewoman Hayward entering the wildcat oil business to avenge the death of her father, losing her values along the way as she becomes blinded by her success. | tt0041994 | Susan Hayward, Robert Preston, Pedro Armendáriz, Lloyd Gough, Chill Wills, Ed Begley, Jimmy Conlin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tumbleweed | 1953 | Nathan Juran | ★★ | 79 | Bland oater with Murphy trying to prove he didn't desert wagon train under Indian attack. | tt0046469 | Audie Murphy, Lori Nelson, Chill Wills, Lee Van Cleef | Western | NULL | |||
| Tumbleweeds | 1925 | King Baggot | ★★★½ | 81 | One of the screen's most famous Westerns, with Hart deciding to get in on the opening of the Cherokee Strip in 1889, particularly if pretty Bedford is willing to marry him and settle there. Land rush scene is one of the great spectacles in silent films. Above running time does not include a poignant eight-minute introduction Hart made to accompany 1939 reissue of his classic. | tt0016461 | William S. Hart, Barbara Bedford, Lucien Littlefield, J. Gordon Russell, Richard R. Neill | Western | NULL | |||
| Tumbleweeds | 1999 | Gavin O'Connor | ★★★ | 102 | Exceptional performances elevate this somewhat familiar tale of a trailer-trash Southern belle with a penchant for hooking up with crummy men, dragging her young daughter along as she moves from town to town. McTeer is terrific in the lead, matched by Brown as the girl, with cowriter-director O'Connor first rate as a truck driver who comes into their lives. | tt0161023 | [PG-13] | Janet McTeer, Kimberly J. Brown, Jay O. Sanders, Lois Smith, Laurel Holloman, Michael J. Pollard, Noah Emmerich, Gavin O'Connor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tumbling Tumbleweeds | 1935 | Joe Kane. | ★★★ | 57 | Gene's first musical Western sets the stage for all that would follow— a traditional B Western with songs introduced naturally, enough riding and shooting to satisfy, and a dash of slapstick comedy from Burnette. Gene appears slightly uncomfortable in dialogue scenes but is totally at ease singing his hit song 'That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine.' | tt0027139 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, George Hayes, Lucile Browne, Edward Hearn, Charles King. | Western | NULL | |||
| Tuna Clipper | 1949 | William Beaudine | ★½ | 79 | Flabby tale of youth (McDowall) who pushes himself into rugged fishing life to prove his worth. | tt0041995 | Roddy McDowall, Elena Verdugo, Ronald Winters, Rick Vallin, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Tune In Tomorrow . . . | 1990 | Jon Amiel | ★★½ | 102 | Oddball movie set in 1951 New Orleans. Reeves plays an impressionable young man who falls in love with his sexy aunt (Hershey), while falling under the spell of Falk, a wildly eccentric writer for a radio soap opera who draws on real life in ways his young protégé cannot conceive of. Funny, funky, original; not always on target, but there are inspired moments. Falk is a howl. Familiar faces appear in amusing cameos. Music by Wynton Marsalis, who also appears on camera. Based on Mario Vargas Llosa's novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. | tt0100822 | [PG-13] | Barbara Hershey, Keanu Reeves, Peter Falk, Bill McCutcheon, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Portnow, Jerome Dempsey, Richard B. Shull | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Tune | 1992 | Bill Plympton | ★★★ | 72 | Offbeat, original cartoon feature from award-winning short-subject animator Plympton follows the trials and tribulations of a songwriter searching for that elusive hit. Maureen McElheron's clever songs provide the tone for a series of imaginative vignettes. Unconventional in every way (including its colored-pencil visuals, executed almost singlehandedly by Plympton) but a quiet treat, especially for animation buffs. | tt0105654 | Animation, Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||||
| Tunes of Glory | 1960 | Ronald Neame | ★★★★ | 106 | Engrossing clash of wills in peacetime Scottish Highland regiment as popular, easygoing Lt. Col. (Guinness) is replaced by stiff-necked martinet (Mills). Outstanding performances by both men, each in a role more naturally suited to the other! Impressive bagpipe-driven score by Malcolm Arnold. Scripted by James Kennaway, from his novel. York's film debut. | tt0054412 | Alec Guinness, John Mills, Susannah York, Kay Walsh, Dennis Price, John Fraser, Duncan Macrae, Gordon Jackson, Allan Cuthbertson | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Tunnel of Love | 1958 | Gene Kelly | ★★★ | 98 | Bright comedy of married couple Widmark and Day enduring endless red tape to adopt a child. Good cast spices adaptation of Joseph Fields- Peter de Vries play. | tt0052325 | Doris Day, Richard Widmark, Gig Young, Gia Scala | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tunnelvision | 1976 | Neal Israel, Brad Swirnoff | ★★ | 67 | Crude, uneven parody of what TV programming will be like in the future. Of interest only for appearances by now famous performers. | tt0075357 | [R] | Phil Proctor, Howard Hesseman, Ernie Anderson, Edwina Anderson, James Bacon, Gerrit Graham, Betty Thomas, Chevy Chase, Roger Bowen, Al Franken, Tom Davis, William Schallert, Laraine Newman, Ron Silver | Action | NULL | ||
| Tupac: Resurrection | 2003 | Lauren Lazin | ★★★ | 111 | You don't have to be a devotee of rap music to be intrigued by this introspective documentary about Tupac Shakur, the gangsta rapper who was murdered in 1996. Tupac himself narrates (his words are culled from interviews) and the result is a multidimensional portrait of the world of rap and how one complex, controversial personality is victimized by fame. Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother, is one of the executive producers. | tt0343121 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie | 1997 | David Winning | ★½ | 99 | The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are back in this cheesy feature, and doing battle against the evil Divatox. Kids may like the gadgets and gimmicks, but few others will. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0120389 | [PG] | Jason David Frank, Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, Johnny Yong Bosch, Nakia Burrise, Hilary Shepard Turner, Blake Foster | U.S.-Japanese | Action, Family, Adventure | NULL | |
| Turbulence | 1997 | Robert Butler | ★★½ | 103 | As a 747 roars through a rising storm, stewardess Holly faces serial killer Liotta— alone. Though undeniably silly (a slasher movie on a plane?), this often delivers the goods through sheer brassiness, and Liotta has a high old time as the nutzoid killer. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0120390 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Lauren Holly, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Cross, Rachel Ticotin, Jeffrey DeMunn, John Finn, Catherine Hicks, Hector Elizondo | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Turistas | 2006 | John Stockwell | ★★ | 94 | A group of backpacking, bikini-wearing, beer-swilling young tourists are marooned in a remote Brazilian jungle village, where they soon find organ donations are not a voluntary practice. Low-budget horror item presents its main villain as a sort of modern-day Robin Hood who takes from the rich and gives to the poor, medically speaking. Largely exploitative film does have its moments, just not too many of them. Unrated version runs 102m. | tt0454970 | [R] | Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde, Desmond Askew, Beau Garrett, Max Brown, Agles Steib, Miguel Lunardi. | Drama, Thriller, Adventure, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Turk 182! | 1985 | Bob Clark | ★★ | 98 | Contrived attempt at Capra-esque comedy. Young Brooklynite turns into super-graffiti artist to protest N.Y.C.'s lack of support for his brother, an injured fireman. Hutton's brooding persona doesn't suit this comic setting. | tt0090217 | [PG-13] | Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp, Darren McGavin, Steven Keats, James Tolkan, Peter Boyle, Paul Sorvino, Dick O'Neill | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Turn Back the Clock | 1933 | Edgar Selwyn | ★★★ | 77 | Fascinating Depression-era sleeper with an intriguing premise. Tracy is ideally cast as a middle-aged working man who gets to relive his life . . . and marry into wealth and power. Snappy script by director Selwyn and Ben Hecht. And watch for The Three Stooges. | tt0024704 | Lee Tracy, Mae Clarke, Otto Kruger, George Barbier, Peggy Shannon, C. Henry Gordon, Clara Blandick | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Turn It Up | 2000 | Robert Adetuyi | ★½ | 87 | An aspiring rapper is held back by his criminal best pal and reunited with his estranged musician father. Contrived, gratuitously violent B movie manages to rip off both Jimmy Cagney and blaxploitation. In his first leading-man role, Pras (of Fugees fame) has all the charisma of a shipping crate. Not even music cameos from DJ Scribble and Faith Evans raise the pulse of this clichéd bloodbath. Turn it off! | tt0216772 | [R] | Pras, Ja Rule, Vondie Curtis Hall, Tamala Jones, Jason Statham | Crime, Drama, Action, Musical | NULL | ||
| Turn Me On, Dammit | 2011 | Jannicke Systad Jacobsen | ★★★ | 73 | Fresh, unusually candid comedy about a sexually frustrated 15-year-old girl who feels trapped in her dull hometown. Things get worse when a boy who exposes himself to her denies the incident (which she's talked about to a friend), turning her into an outcast at school. Quirky and winning, with a smart script by the director (a documentarian making her narrative feature debut). Based on a novel by Olaug Nilssen. | tt1650407 | Helene Bergsholm, Malin Bjørhovde, Henriette Steenstrup, Beate Støfring, Matias Myren | Norwegian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Turn of the Screw | 1992 | Rusty Lemorande | ★★ | 95 | Sands hires governess Kensit to look after his deceptively sweet-looking niece and nephew, who reside in a country manor. Wooden adaptation (by director Lemorande) of the Henry James masterpiece. Filmed far more successfully as THE INNOCENTS. | tt0105659 | Patsy Kensit, Stephane Audran, Julian Sands, Clare Szekores, Joseph England, Marianne Faithfull | British-French | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Turn the Key Softly | 1953 | Jack Lee | ★★ | 83 | Film recounts incidents in lives of three women ex-convicts upon leaving prison; contrived dramatics. | tt0046471 | Yvonne Mitchell, Terence Morgan, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison, Thora Hird, Geoffrey Keen | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Turn the River | 2008 | Chris Eigeman | ★★★ | 92 | Intimate drama about a tough cookie who ekes out a living hustling pool games for money, with some help from an old friend (Torn) who runs a billiard parlor. She also has a secret relationship with the son she gave up in infancy, who lives with his father and stepmother, and schemes to find a way they can run off together. Interesting characterizations and a great part for Janssen mark this small-scale indie; writing and directing debut for actor Eigeman, who has a small role near the end of the film. | tt0811128 | [R] | Famke Janssen, Jaymie Dornan, Rip Torn, Matt Ross, Lois Smith, Marin Hinkle, Terry Kinney, John Juback, Jordan Bridges, Ari Graynor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Turnabout | 1940 | Hal Roach | ★★ | 83 | Unique, but incredibly bad comedy, risqué in its day, about husband and wife switching personalities thanks to magic Buddha; from a story by Thorne Smith, later a short-lived TV series in the 1970s. | tt0033190 | John Hubbard, Carole Landis, Adolphe Menjou, Mary Astor, William Gargan, Joyce Compton, Verree Teasdale, Donald Meek | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Turner & Hooch | 1989 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★ | 97 | Detective Hanks' only means of catching some murderers is by extracting their identity from the sole murder witness: a dog named Hooch. Hanks (who plays a neatness freak) and Hooch (a lovably ugly dog who makes a mess of everything) squeeze all the humor they can out of a paper-thin script— but even they can't make up for a bummer of an ending. | tt0098536 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, Reginald VelJohnson, Scott Paulin, J.C. Quinn, John McIntire, Beasley | Comedy, Family, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Turning Point of Jim Malloy | 1975 | Frank D. Gilroy | Above Average TV Movie | 78 | Nostalgic drama based on John O'Hara's youth in a small Pennsylvania town and his first exposure to the world of journalism under the tutelage of an alcoholic reporter. Atmospheric, lovingly filmed version of O'Hara's Gibbsville adapted from his collection The Doctor's Son by Gilroy. Also called JOHN O'HARA'S GIBBSVILLE and GIBBSVILLE: THE TURNING POINT OF JIM MALLOY, it later spun off a brief series. | tt0073826 | John Savage, Biff McGuire, Peggy McKay, Gig Young, Kathleen Quinlan, Janis Paige | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Turning Point | 1952 | William Dieterle | ★★½ | 85 | Tough script by Warren Duff sparks this gritty if familiar drama. O'Brien is a crime-buster investigating big-city corruption; Holden, his boyhood friend, is a cynical reporter. Scenario was inspired by the Kefauver Committee hearings into organized crime. | tt0045267 | William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien, Ed Begley, Tom Tully, Don Porter, Ted de Corsia, Neville Brand, Carolyn Jones | Crime, Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Turning Point | 1977 | Herbert Ross | ★★½ | 119 | Two friends who started in ballet are reunited after many years; Bancroft is now a star ballerina, MacLaine a Midwestern housewife/dance teacher whose daughter (Browne) is embarking on her own ballet career. Promising idea bogs down in clichés, with supposedly liberated treatment of women's relationships exemplified by wild catfight. Those few dance sequences presented intact give film its only value. Written by Arthur Laurents; photographed by Robert Surtees. Baryshnikov's film debut. | tt0076843 | [PG] | Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Marshall Thompson | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Turning to Stone | 1985 | Eric Till | ★★★ | 98 | Riveting psychological drama about Guadagni, a nice young girl who's busted for smuggling drugs, and her adjustment to unhappy realities of life behind bars. For once, a nonexploitation women's prison drama. Fine performances all around; expert script by Judith Thompson. | tt0090218 | Nicky Guadagni, Shirley Douglas, Anne Anglin, Jackie Richardson, Bernard Behrens | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Turning | 1992 | L. A. Puopolo | ★★ | 91 | A disturbed young man arrives in his small Virginia hometown and tries to prevent his parents' divorce, which leads instead to violence. Meant to show how loveless homes can irrevocably scar children, but leaden paced and boring. | tt0105660 | [R] | Karen Allen, Raymond J. Barry, Michael Dolan, Tess Harper, Gillian Anderson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Turtle Beach | 1992 | Stephen Wallace | 💣 | 85 | Photojournalist/mom Scacchi ankles Australia for Malaysia to cover Chen and the Vietnamese boat people, leaving herself open to charges of parental neglect. Not so much edited as patched, and even drably shot by the great Russell Boyd. This unredeemed stinker was barely released in the U.S. | tt0103141 | [R] | Greta Scacchi, Joan Chen, Jack Thompson, Art Malik, Norman Kaye, Victoria Longley, Martin Jacobs | Australian | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Turtle Diary | 1985 | John Irvin | ★★★ | 97 | Deliciously original (if low-key) fable of two repressed people who are drawn together— and ultimately freed— by an unusual common interest: they both become concerned about the fate of captive giant turtles at the zoo. Witty, decidedly offbeat script by Harold Pinter (who does a cameo as a bookstore customer). Johnson, who plays Jackson's jovial next-door neighbor, also produced the film. | tt0090219 | [PG] | Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, Richard Johnson, Michael Gambon, Harriet Walter, Rosemary Leach, Eleanor Bron, Nigel Hawthorne | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Tuskegee Airmen | 1995 | Robert Markowitz | Average TV Movie | 106 | Well-intentioned celebration of the 'Fighting 99th,' the first squadron of black combat fighters in WW2, who battled prejudice on the home front, the Axis in Europe, and bigoted officers assigned to oversee them. Pedestrian war movie elevated somewhat by a first-rate cast. The proper story of this wartime unit is yet to be told. Made for cable. | tt0114745 | Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Andre Braugher, Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Courtney B. Vance, Christopher McDonald, John Lithgow, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Rosemary Murphy, Graham Jarvis | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Tuttles of Tahiti | 1942 | Charles Vidor | ★★★ | 91 | Laughton and family lead leisurely life on South Seas island, avoiding any sort of hard labor. That's it . . . but it's good. | tt0035477 | Charles Laughton, Jon Hall, Peggy Drake, Florence Bates, Mala, Alma Ross, Victor Francen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Tuvalu | 2000 | Veit Helmer | ★★★ | 101 | Gloriously odd, wildly whimsical creation, a virtually silent film with a hand-tinted look. This fairy tale takes place at a once-grand, now-crumbling bathhouse that stands in the middle of nowhere. The owner's son (Lavant) struggles to keep the operation alive, for the sake of his blind father, even as developers threaten to destroy it. A dreamlike movie filled with charm and invention, though it may be too bizarre for some viewers. Filmed in Bulgaria. | tt0162023 | [R] | Denis Lavant, Chulpan Hamatova, Philippe Clay, Terrence Gillespie, Djoko Rossich (Rosic) | German | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Tuxedo | 2002 | Kevin Donovan | 💣 | 98 | Dreadful concoction casts Chan as a cabbie-turned-chauffeur who must take the place of his new boss, a dashing government spy; when he dons the secret agent's specially designed tuxedo, he acquires superhuman skills. Boneheaded movie replaces (or augments) Chan's dazzling martial arts skills with special effects; what's more, the script's t&a 'humor' is a poor fit for the ever-likable star. Hewitt is incredibly obnoxious as Jackie's new partner. Bob Balaban appears unbilled. | tt0290095 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jason Isaacs, Debi Mazar, Ritchie Coster, Romany Malco, Mia Cottet, Peter Stormare, Colin Mochrie, James Brown | Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Twelfth Night | 1996 | Trevor Nunn | ★★½ | 134 | Shakespeare's farce gets transported here to the 1890s, with Stubbs donning male disguise in the court of a duke after she's separated from her brother in a shipwreck. For a surprising amount of its long running time, the film plays the story straight, only to loosen up some in the later scenes— particularly those involving Malvolio. Lackluster, but easy to take. Stephens (who plays Orsino) is the son of actors Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens. | tt0117991 | [PG] | Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Toby Stephens, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Kingsley, Richard E. Grant, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Nicholas Farrell, Stephen Mackintosh | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Twelve Chairs | 1970 | Mel Brooks | ★★★ | 94 | Impoverished Russian nobleman Moody seeks one of 12 dining chairs, now scattered, with jewels sewn into seat. DeLuise hilarious as his chief rival. Unsympathetic characters hamper film's success, though mastermind Brooks still provides many laughs. Filmed in Yugoslavia; versions of this same story have been made in Hollywood, Germany, Argentina, England, and Cuba! | tt0066495 | [G] | Ron Moody, Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise, Mel Brooks, Bridget Brice, Robert Bernal | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Twelve Hours to Kill | 1960 | Edward L. Cahn. | ★½ | 83 | Substandard crime melodrama about a Greek immigrant (Minardos) who witnesses a gangland murder in N.Y.C. Of interest for the presence of MacLeod and Knight, long before they worked together on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. | tt0053557 | Nico Minardos, Barbara Eden, Grant Richards, Russ Conway, Art Baker, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Twelve Monkeys | 1995 | Terry Gilliam | ★★½ | 131 | In the bleak world of the near-future, a prisoner is sent back in time to the 1990s to discover the source of a plague that killed billions and forced society to move underground. Plays with present/past/future tense in ways both clever and confusing; the kind of movie that leaves you with plenty to talk about afterward. Inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film, LA JETÉE. | tt0114746 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Frank Gorshin, David Morse, Jon Seda | Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Twelve O'Clock High | 1949 | Henry King | ★★★★ | 132 | Taut WW2 story of U.S. flyers in England, an officer replaced for getting too involved with his men (Merrill) and his successor who has same problem (Peck). Jagger won Oscar in supporting role; Peck has never been better. Written by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr., from their novel. Later a TV series. | tt0041996 | Gregory Peck, Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Millard Mitchell, Dean Jagger, Paul Stewart | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Twelve and Holding | 2006 | Michael Cuesta | ★★★ | 94 | Searing and provocative look at the painful adolescence of three friends: a boy with a twin brother trying to deal with the fallout of a family tragedy, a girl with a distracted mother who wants to assert her sexuality, and an obese boy whose attempt to reinvent himself doesn’t sit well with his parents. Uncomfortably raw at times (like Cuesta’s earlier film, L.I.E.) but sharply observed, with exceptional performances from the three young leads. | tt0417385 | [R] | Conor Donovan, Jesse Camacho, Zoe Weizenbaum, Linus Roache, Annabella Sciorra, Jeremy Renner, Jayne Atkinson, Marcia Debonis, Tom McGowan, Mark Linn-Baker, Tony Roberts, Michael Fuchs | Drama | NULL | ||
| Twentieth Century | 1934 | Howard Hawks | ★★★★ | 91 | Super screwball comedy in which egomaniacal Broadway producer Barrymore makes shopgirl Lombard a star; when she leaves him, he does everything he can to woo her back on lengthy train trip. Barrymore has never been funnier, and Connolly and Karns are aces as his long-suffering cronies. Matchless script by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, from their play; later a hit Broadway musical, On the Twentieth Century. | tt0025919 | John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Etienne Girardot, Ralph Forbes, Charles Levison (Lane), Edgar Kennedy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Twenty Bucks | 1993 | Keva Rosenfeld | ★★ | 90 | Intriguing concept— a $20 bill passes from hand to hand, and is briefly in the possession of a diverse group of people— but the result is slight and forgettable. Based on an unsold script written by Endre Boehm in 1935; this updated version was scripted by his son Leslie. Chloe Webb appears unbilled. | tt0108410 | [R] | Linda Hunt, Brendan Fraser, Elisabeth Shue, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, Spalding Gray, David Rasche, George Morfogen, Concetta Tomei, Gladys Knight, William H. Macy, Diane Baker, David Schwimmer, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Kilner, Matt Frewer, Nina Siemaszko, Kamal Holloway | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Twenty Million Sweethearts | 1934 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 89 | Contrived musical about unscrupulous promoter O'Brien building Powell into radio star, career coming between him and happy marriage to Ginger. Plot soon wears thin, as does constant repetition of Powell's 'I'll String Along With You,' but bright cast helps out. Two good songs by the Mills Brothers. Remade as MY DREAM IS YOURS. | tt0025920 | Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, Pat O'Brien, Allen Jenkins, Grant Mitchell, The Mills Brothers | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Twenty Plus Two | 1961 | Joseph M. Newman | ★★ | 102 | Poor production values detract from potential of yarn with private eye Janssen investigating a murder, encountering a neat assortment of people. | tt0055552 | David Janssen, Jeanne Crain, Dina Merrill, Agnes Moorehead, Brad Dexter | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Twenty-four Hours to Kill | 1965 | Peter Bezencenet | ★★½ | 92 | OK suspenser with Rooney marked for execution by Slezak's smuggling ring when his plane is forced to land in Beirut for 24 hours. | tt0059836 | Mickey Rooney, Lex Barker, Walter Slezak, Michael Medwin, Helga Somerfeld, Wolfgang Lukschy | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Twenty-one | 1991 | Don Boyd | ★★ | 101 | One Brit's jog around the sexual track before reaching the age of . . . guess. Her array of beaus includes one junkie, and one married jerk who openly hustles her at his own wedding. Inferior to DARLING and THE GRASSHOPPER, of an earlier generation; Kensit's first-person monologues are unusually frank but not as captivating as intended. | tt0103143 | [R] | Patsy Kensit, Jack Shepherd, Patrick Ryecart, Maynard Eziashi, Rufus Sewell, Sophie Thompson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| TwentyFourSeven | 1997 | Shane Meadows | ★★★ | 96 | Poignant, hard-hitting little drama about an idealistic 1980s burnout (Hoskins) who tries to encourage the aimless, angry young men in his working-class town by setting up a boxing club. What might have been a standard, clichéd story is uplifted by a solid script (by Meadows and Paul Fraser), good performances, and plenty of grit. The first in Meadows' so-called Midlands trilogy. Followed by A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS. | tt0120391 | [R] | Bob Hoskins, Danny Nussbaum, James Hooton, Darren Campbell, Justin Brady, Jimmy Hynd, Karl Collins, Johann Myers, Anthony Clarke | British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Twentynine Palms | 2003 | Bruno Dumont | 💣 | 119 | Smarmy, ultra-pretentious 'road' picture with dialogue that sounds like it was recorded from a cell phone is a ZABRISKIE (WITHOUT A) POINT for a new generation. Photographer and his unemployed girlfriend, ostensibly scouting locales for a photo shoot, drive endlessly through the California desert, frequently stopping for sexual favors on picturesque rocky slopes or in nondescript motel rooms until their idyllic interludes turn graphically violent because . . . well, that's art. TV viewing could actually improve film as nothing much happens for chunks of time, making it ideal to watch while paying bills, sorting laundry, talking to friends or writing your memoirs. | tt0315110 | Katia (Yekaterina) Golubeva, David Wissak | French-German | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Twice Blessed | 1945 | Harry Beaumont. | ★★½ | 78 | Intriguing precursor to THE PARENT TRAP, involving the shenanigans of two very different twins who plot to reunite their divorced parents. Predictable but fun. | tt0038197 | Preston Foster, Gail Patrick, Lee Wilde, Lyn Wilde, Richard Gaines, Jean Porter, Marshall Thompson, Jimmy Lydon, Gloria Hope. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Twice Dead | 1988 | Bert Dragin | ★½ | 85 | Boring horror programmer with an all-too-familiar setting: a mansion, haunted by a dead movie star whose spirit assists its new inhabitants in a battle against some punks. | tt0096319 | [R] | Tom Breznahan, Jill Whitlow, Jonathan Chapin, Christopher Burgard, Sam Melville, Brooke Bundy, Todd Bridges | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Twice Round the Daffodils | 1962 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 89 | Mills is charming nurse in a male TB ward, trying to avoid romantic inclinations of her patients; expected sex jokes abound. | tt0056621 | Juliet Mills, Donald Sinden, Donald Houston, Kenneth Williams, Jill Ireland, Nanette Newman | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Twice Upon a Time | 1983 | John Korty, Charles Swenson | ★★★½ | 75 | Captivating, hilarious animated feature done in a pseudo- cut-out style called 'Lumage.' Evil bosses of the Murkworks intend to blanket the world with perpetual nightmares; only a looney (and indescribable) bunch of would-be heroes can stop them. Too complex and fast-paced for small children, but a real treat for everyone else. Never given a full theatrical release, despite having George Lucas as executive producer. | tt0086489 | [PG] | Voices of Lorenzo Music, Judith Kahan Kampmann, Marshall Efron, James Cranna, Julie Payne, Hamilton Camp, Paul Frees | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Twice Upon a Yesterday | 1998 | María Ripoll | ★★ | 96 | Scotsman Henshall torpedoes his longtime relationship with Headey through his constant philandering. Then two garbage men with magical powers enable him to go back in time and make things right. Odd, undernourished little film doesn't make the most of its premise. | tt0138590 | [R] | Douglas Henshall, Lena Headey, Penélope Cruz, Gustavo Salmeron, Eusebio Lazaro, Mark Strong, Charlotte Coleman, Elizabeth McGovern | Spanish-British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Twice in a Lifetime | 1985 | Bud Yorkin | ★★★ | 111 | Middle-aged man falls in love with younger woman and must endure the pain he causes not only his wife but also his children— especially his oldest daughter. Realistic look at the way different people react to situation keeps this film away from cliché and predictability; superior acting, especially by Hackman, Burstyn, and Madigan (as the angry daughter) make it special. Written by Colin Welland. | tt0090223 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Ann-Margret, Ellen Burstyn, Amy Madigan, Ally Sheedy, Brian Dennehy, Stephen Lang, Darrell Larson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Twice-Told Tales | 1963 | Sidney Salkow | ★★★ | 119 | Episodic adaptation of Hawthorne stories has good cast, imaginative direction, and sufficient atmosphere to keep one's interest. One of the TALES is an abbreviated HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, which also starred Price in the 1940 version. | tt0057608 | Vincent Price, Sebastian Cabot, Mari Blanchard, Brett Halsey, Richard Denning | Horror | NULL | |||
| Twilight | 1998 | Robert Benton | ★★½ | 94 | Newman does a favor for old friend Hackman and finds himself waist-deep in murder and intrigue, as skeletons tumble out of the closet. Old-fashioned private-eye yarn, set in L.A. Newman is in fine form, surrounded by a great cast, but the film lacks spark, momentum, and an original point of view. Benton cowrote this with Richard Russo, but this is no match for their earlier collaboration (with Newman), NOBODY'S FOOL. | tt0119594 | [R] | Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, M. Emmet Walsh | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Twilight | 2008 | Catherine Hardwicke | ★★★ | 121 | Adroit adaptation of the first book in Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular series of novels about Bella (Stewart), a misfit teen who’s just moved to Forks, Washington, to live with her divorced dad. There she falls under the spell of mysterious fellow student Edward Cullen (Pattinson), who turns out to be a vampire. Blending the romantic with the supernatural, and taking itself seriously at every turn, this film touches all the bases—and neatly sets up its sequel. | tt1099212 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Cam Gigandet, Ashley Greene, Anna Kendrick, Nikki Reed, Taylor Lautner, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Michael Welch, Justin Chon, Jose Zuniga, Rachelle Lefevre, Edi Gathegi | Drama, Romance, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Twilight People | Beasts | 1972 | Eddie Romero | 💣 | 84 | Incredibly inept rip-off of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS has former SS doctor performing hideous experiments resulting in beings half-human, half-creature. Will put insomniacs to sleep. Aka BEASTS. | tt0069426 | [PG] | John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Charles Macaulay, Pam Grier, Jan Merlin, Eddie Garcia | U.S.-Filipino | Horror | NULL |
| Twilight Time | 1983 | Goran Paskaljevic | ★½ | 102 | Sincere but unsuccessful film about an old man saddled with the upbringing of two grandchildren in rural Yugoslavia. Malden's performance is first-rate, but uneasy blend of American and Yugoslav elements and snail's pace all but sink it. | tt0086490 | [PG] | Karl Malden, Jodi Thelen, Damien Nash, Mia Roth, Pavle Vujisic, Dragan Maksimovic | U.S.-Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | |
| Twilight Zone- The Movie | 1983 | John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, George Miller | ★★½ | 102 | Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks provide entertaining prologue for four unusual tales (three actual remakes from Rod Serling's classic TV series), but none of them provides all-important moment of revelation that made the show so memorable . . . and more tellingly, none improves on the original. Best— final segment, remake of 'Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,' with Lithgow as terrified airline passenger, though even this episode is more explicit (and therefore less intriguing) than '60s TV version. | tt0086491 | [PG] | Vic Morrow, Scatman Crothers, Bill Quinn, Selma Diamond, Kathleen Quinlan, Jeremy Licht, Kevin McCarthy, William Schallert, John Lithgow, Abbe Lane, Bill Mumy, John Larroquette; narrated by Burgess Meredith | Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Twilight for the Gods | 1958 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 120 | Ernest K. Gann book, adapted by the author, becomes turgid soaper of people on run-down vessel heading for Mexico, their trials and tribulations to survive when ship goes down. | tt0052326 | Rock Hudson, Cyd Charisse, Arthur Kennedy, Leif Erickson, Charles McGraw, Ernest Truex, Richard Haydn, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Twilight in the Sierras | 1950 | William Witney. | ★★ | 67 | Roy is a parole officer working at a camp that rehabilitates parolees, one of whom (Vincent) is kidnapped by his former gang when they need help with a counterfeiting scheme. As if that weren't enough, Roy also tangles with a wild mountain lion in this average Trucolor Western. | tt0041997 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Pat Brady, Estelita Rodriguez, Russ Vincent, George Meeker, Fred Kohler/Jr., Edward Keane, Pierce Lyden, House Peters/Jr., Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. | Western | NULL | |||
| Twilight of Honor | 1963 | Boris Sagal | ★★½ | 115 | Routine drama of struggling lawyer who takes on murder case with assistance of older expert Rains. Look for Linda Evans in a bit part. | tt0057609 | Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams, Joan Blackman, Claude Rains, Joey Heatherton, James Gregory, Pat Buttram, Jeanette Nolan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Twilight of the Golds | 1997 | Ross Marks | ★★★ | 93 | Reality-based film focuses on the ensuing turmoil after a geneticist's pregnant wife undergoes genetic testing. Thought-provoking drama, outstanding cast; Fraser is particularly captivating as gay Uncle David. Based on an off-Broadway play. Debuted on cable TV before theatrical release. | tt0120392 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Beals, Faye Dunaway, Brendan Fraser, Garry Marshall, Sean O'Bryan, Jon Tenney, Rosie O'Donnell | Drama | NULL | ||
| Twilight on the Rio Grande | 1947 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 71 | When their partner is killed, Gene and the Cass County Boys get involved with crooks smuggling jewels across the Mexican border and a dancer (Mara) looking for her father's murderer. One of Gene's lesser post-WW2 Westerns, with everyone simply going through the motions. | tt0039924 | Gene Autry, Sterling Holloway, Adele Mara, Bob Steele, Charles Evans, Martin Garralaga, Howard J. Negley, George J. Lewis, Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Twilight on the Trail | 1941 | Howard Bretherton. | ★★ | 57 | Rangers Hopalong Cassidy and his pals disguise themselves as tenderfoot detectives to help rancher trap a crooked foreman who's rustling cattle, which seem to vanish. Routine series entry with excess of outdoor scenes shot indoors. Some nice harmonizing by the Jimmy Wakely Trio, with songwriter Johnny Bond. Screenplay cowritten by character actress Ellen Corby; title taken from the song introduced in TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE. | tt0034320 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Brad King, Wanda McKay, Jack Rockwell, Norman Willis. | Western | NULL | |||
| Twilight's Last Gleaming | 1977 | Robert Aldrich | ★★½ | 146 | Unstable Air Force officer seizes missile installation, threatens to start World War 3 unless U.S. comes clean on its former Vietnam policy. OK if overlong; based on Walter Wager's novel Viper Three. | tt0076845 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Charles Durning, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Winfield, Burt Young, Joseph Cotten, Roscoe Lee Browne, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Richard Jaeckel, Vera Miles, Leif Erickson, Charles McGraw, John Ratzenberger | U.S.-German | Thriller | NULL | |
| Twin Beds | 1942 | Tim Whelan | ★★ | 85 | Life of married couple Bennett and Brent is constantly interrupted by wacky neighbor Auer; and it's his film, too. | tt0035479 |
|
Joan Bennett, George Brent, Mischa Auer, Una Merkel, Glenda Farrell, Margaret Hamilton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Twin Dragons | 1992 | Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark | ★★★ | 89 | Separated at birth, twin Jackies unexpectedly meet in Hong Kong; one's a famous conductor, the other a race car mechanic whose best friend has just been kidnapped; the twins are mentally linked, Corsican Brothers-style. Fast-paced action comedy with great stunts is one of Jackie's best vehicles, if silly at times. Reedited and redubbed for 1999 U.S. theatrical release from the 100m. original. Directors Lam and Hark have cameos, as does John Woo. Original title: SEUNG LUNG WUI. | tt0105399 | [PG-13] | Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Teddy Robin (Kwan), Nina Li Chi, Alfred Cheung, Lai Ying Chow, Kirk Wong | Hong Kong | Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| Twin Falls, Idaho | 1999 | Michael Polish | ★★½ | 110 | Dreamy, oddball tale of Siamese twins, one of whom falls in love with a down-on-her-luck prostitute (Hicks). Surprisingly poignant film about family ties never opts for the grotesque and has a refreshing sense of deadpan humor. Ambitious debut from the Polish brothers, who wrote and costar. Only problem is overlength. | tt0162830 | [R] | Michael Polish, Mark Polish, Michele Hicks, Jon Gries, Patrick Bauchau, Lesley Ann Warren, Garrett Morris, William Katt, Holly Woodlawn | Drama | NULL | ||
| Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me | 1992 | David Lynch | ★½ | 135 | Prototypically weird, but also strangely indifferent, prequel to the cult TV series, chronicling the final week in the life of murdered teen Laura Palmer (Lee). Lee is rather affecting under the circumstances, but film was understandably hissed at the Cannes Film Festival and greeted by moviegoer ennui here at home. Two surreal set pieces (one in a bar, the other in a traffic jam) may make it worthwhile for Lynch completists. The director appears as FBI Bureau Chief Gordon Cole. | tt0105665 | [R] | Sheryl Lee, Ray Wise, Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Phoebe Augustine, David Bowie, Eric DaRe, Miguel Ferrer, Pamela Gidley, Heather Graham, Chris Isaak, Moira Kelly, Peggy Lipton, James Marshall, Jürgen Prochnow, Harry Dean Stanton, Kiefer Sutherland, Lenny Von Dohlen, Grace Zabriskie, Frank Silva, Victor Rivers, Calvin Lockhart. | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Twin Town | 1997 | Kevin Allen | ★★ | 101 | Black comedy— more nasty than funny— about brothers who seek revenge on a bigwig roofing contractor after their handyman father takes a fall. Executive-produced by the makers of TRAINSPOTTING, this features the same brand of cheeky humor, and a rare look at life on the fringe in the U.K. (Swansea, Southwest Wales), but it stalls midway from absurd plotting and never recovers; we're left with irritating characters who have unintelligible dialects. The director cameos as a local TV host. | tt0120394 | [R] | Llyr Evans, Rhys Ifans, Dorien Thomas, Dougray Scott, Biddug Williams, Ronnie Williams, Rachel Scorgle | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Twinkle in God's Eye | 1955 | George Blair | ★★ | 73 | Simple yarn of clergyman Rooney trying to convert wrongdoers in Western town to God's faith via good humor. | tt0048754 | Mickey Rooney, Coleen Gray, Hugh O'Brian, Joey Forman, Michael Connors | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Twins | 1988 | Ivan Reitman | ★★★ | 112 | Entertaining comedy about genetically designed twins (Schwarzenegger and DeVito!) who discover each other's existence at the age of 35. Effectively blends sentiment and roughhouse humor, with the two mismatched stars packing extra punch in their delightful performances. That's Heather Graham as the mom-to-be in the opening scene. | tt0096320 | [PG] | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, Marshall Bell, Trey Wilson, Hugh O'Brian, Nehemiah Persoff, David Caruso, Maury Chaykin | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Twins of Evil | 1971 | John Hough | ★★½ | 85 | One of the twins is a vampire, but nobody can tell which is which. Engaging Hammer chiller makes inspired use of Playboy's first twin playmates. Follow-up to VAMPIRE LOVERS and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE. | tt0069427 | [R] | Peter Cushing, Madeleine Collinson, Mary Collinson, Luan Peters, Dennis Price, Isobel Black, Harvey Hall | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Twist | 1992 | Ron Mann | ★★★ | 78 | Entertaining documentary about the early years of rock 'n' roll, culminating with the popularity of the Twist, the dance craze which swept the nation during the early 1960s. Interesting as a cultural document (showing how whites co-opted black music and styles), and great fun as a trip down memory lane. | tt0105667 | Canadian | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Twist All Night | The Continental Twist | 1961 | William Hole/ Jr | 💣 | 78 | Stupid comedy about Prima's attempts to keep his nightclub going; sexy Wilkinson is his girlfriend. Sometimes shown with a nine-minute color prologue, TWIST CRAZE, directed by Allan David. Aka THE CONTINENTAL TWIST. | tt0054764 | Louis Prima, June Wilkinson, Sam Butera and The Witnesses, Gertrude Michael, David Whorf | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Twist Around the Clock | 1961 | Oscar Rudolph | ★★ | 86 | Agent Cronin tries to book Twist performers; of course, by the finale, the dance is the rage of America. Dion performs 'The Wanderer' and 'Runaround Sue.' Remake of ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK. | tt0055554 | Chubby Checker, Dion, The Marcels, Vicki Spencer, Clay Cole, John Cronin, Mary Mitchell | Musical | NULL | |||
| Twist and Shout | 1984 | Bille August | ★★★ | 99 | Funny, endearing, pleasantly nostalgic tale of a pair of teen buddies in the era of The Beatles' heyday. One (Simonsen) is dominated by his stern, manipulative father, while the other (Tonsberg) experiences the joy and pain of love. Sequel to August's earlier ZAPPA. | tt0088299 | [R] | Adam Tonsberg, Lars Simonsen, Ulrikke Juul Bondo, Camilla Soeberg, Thomas Nielsen | Danish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Twist of Fate | 1954 | David Miller | ★★ | 89 | Turgid thriller in which Rogers is taken in by wealthy Baker, who lavishes her with gifts, which she accepts because she thinks marriage is in the offing. But she's unaware of the true nature of his business and his marital status. Original British title: BEAUTIFUL STRANGER. | tt0047625 | Ginger Rogers, Herbert Lom, Stanley Baker, Jacques Bergerac, Margaret Rawlings, Coral Browne, Lisa Gastoni, Ferdy Mayne | British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| A Twist of Sand | 1968 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 90 | Ex-submarine commander Johnson leads crew of smugglers on expedition for diamonds in ordinary programmer. | tt0063728 | Richard Johnson, Honor Blackman, Jeremy Kemp, Peter Vaughan, Roy Dotrice | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Twist | 1976 | Claude Chabrol | ★½ | 105 | Undistinguished chronicle of the infidelities of various boring upper-class characters. Lackluster direction, with a superior cast wasted. Originally titled FOLIES BOURGEOISES, and filmed in both English and French versions. | tt0073001 | Bruce Dern, Stephane Audran, Ann-Margret, Sydne Rome, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Curt Jurgens, Maria Schell, Charles Aznavour | French | Action | NULL | ||
| Twisted | 1992 | Adam Holender | ★½ | 82 | Sadistic teenage genius Slater, already a murderer, sets his sights on babysitter Smith, a recovering mental patient. Made in 1986. Talky, slow, unconvincing and extremely unpleasant. Aka TWISTED: A STEP BEYOND INSANITY. | tt0092122 | [R] | Lois Smith, Christian Slater, Tandy Cronyn, Brooke Tracy, Dina Merrill, Dan Ziskie, Karl Taylor, Noelle Parker, John Cunningham, J.C. Quinn | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Twisted | 2004 | Philip Kaufman | ★★ | 97 | Hotshot San Francisco cop, an orphan who was raised by her dad's ex-partner (now the city police commissioner), earns a promotion to homicide inspector, but finds herself the chief suspect in a string of brutal murders. There's no one to root for in this collection of bruised and off-putting characters, least of all Judd (in yet another Ashley-in-jeopardy vehicle), who releases her inner demons in the worst possible ways. Veronica Cartwright appears unbilled. | tt0315297 | [R] | Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, David Strathairn, Russell Wong, Camryn Manheim, Bill Duke, Mark Pellegrino, Titus Welliver, D.W. Moffett, Richard T. Jones, Leland Orser | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Twisted Brain | Horror High | 1974 | Larry N. Stouffer | 💣 | 85 | Wimpy high-school kid discovers Jekyll & Hyde formula and kills those who picked on him. Low-budget crud with unbelievably amateurish acting. Aka HORROR HIGH. | tt0072331 | [PG] | Pat Cardi, Rosie Holotik, John Niland, Austin Stoker, Joye Hash | Horror | NULL | |
| Twisted Obsession | 1989 | Fernando Trueba | ★½ | 103 | Laughable, would-be erotic thriller, with Goldblum a writer in Paris who gets mixed up with a strange British director and his seductive 16-year-old sister. Pretentious, enervated Eurotrash like this gives 'art' movies a bad name . . . but where else could you see Goldblum playing an irresistible stud? Originally titled THE MAD MONKEY. | tt0098407 | [R] | Jeff Goldblum, Miranda Richardson, Anemone, Daniel Ceccaldi, Dexter Fletcher, Liza Walker | Spanish-French | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Twister | 1988 | Michael Almereyda | ★½ | 94 | Squirrelly clan comedy assembles some unlikely siblings at the old man's mansion; try imagining Stanton as any extended group's patriarch! Film's eccentricity is more off-putting than whimsical; Amis and Glover as siblings would be a challenge to any parent's reproductive tract. Based on Mary Robison's well-regarded novel OH!. | tt0096321 | [PG-13] | Harry Dean Stanton, Suzy Amis, Crispin Glover, Dylan McDermott, Jenny Wright, Lois Chiles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Twister | 1996 | Jan De Bont | ★★★ | 114 | A wild ride of a movie, dealing with storm chasers who want to learn all they can about tornadoes— by getting inside them. The plot and characterizations are best described as lame, but the special effects are so convincing, and the storms so incredible, that they carry you along (no pun intended) from one kinetic burst to another. Great fun. Written by Michael Crichton and his wife, Anne-Marie Martin. | tt0117998 | [PG-13] | Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Lois Smith, Alan Ruck, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeremy Davies, Todd Field, Zach Grenier, Jake Busey | Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Twitch of the Death Nerve | Last House on the Left, Part II | 1971 | Mario Bava | ★★★ | 90 | The ne plus ultra of Bava's colorful horror movies, this influenced such later films as HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13TH. People in an isolated house are killed one by one in gruesome, imaginative ways. Those who love Bava don't love him for his stories, but for his extraordinary mastery of cinema technique, vividly displayed here. Aka LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, PART II (though it has no connection with Part I), BAY OF BLOOD, and CARNAGE— with good reason. Panoramica. | tt0067656 | [R] | Claudine Auger, Claudio Volonte, Luigi Pistilli, Leopoldo Trieste, Isa Miranda, Laura Betti | Italian | Thriller, Horror | NULL |
| Two Against the World | One Fatal Hour | 1936 | William McGann | ★★ | 57 | Remake of FIVE STAR FINAL set in radio station is more contrived, not as effective. Retitled: ONE FATAL HOUR. | tt0028426 | Humphrey Bogart, Beverly Roberts, Linda Perry, Carlyle Moore/Jr., Henry O'Neill, Claire Dodd | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two Arabian Knights | 1927 | Lewis Milestone. | ★★½ | 92 | Fairly engaging paraphrase of WHAT PRICE GLORY about the adventures of two roughneck soldiers who have a buddy/rivalry relationship overseas during WW1. Stylishly designed by William Cameron Menzies and directed with visual flair by Milestone, who won the only Oscar awarded for Best Directing of a Comedy Picture, given the first year of the Academy Awards. Produced by Howard Hughes. | tt0018515 | William Boyd, Louis Wolheim, Mary Astor, Ian Keith, Michael Vavitch, Michael Visaroff, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings. | Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Two Bits | 1995 | James Foley | ★★½ | 93 | Poignant memoir of growing up in South Philadelphia during the Depression, as seen through the eyes of young Gennaro (Barrone, in his movie debut), who lives with his widowed mother and his talkative grandfather (Pacino)— who insists he's going to die any day now. Beautifully acted by the leads, written with feeling by producer Joseph Stefano, but too slow and delicate to realize its full potential. Still worth seeing for a handful of crystalline moments. | tt0114753 | [PG-13] | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Al Pacino, Jerry Barrone, Patrick Borriello, Andy Romano, Donna Mitchell, Mary Lou Rosato, Joe Grifasi, Joanna Merlin; narrated by Alec Baldwin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two Brothers | 2004 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★½ | 108 | Two Asian tiger cubs are separated; fate takes them on unpredictable paths and introduces them to humans both kind and cruel. The animal footage is much more commanding than the story in this strange, off-kilter family film that contrasts the purity of the jungle with the difficulties of 'civilized' life. Moments of magisterial beauty are offset by Disney-esque animal slapstick and broadly sketched, ill-defined human characters. | tt0338512 | [PG] | Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Freddie Highmore, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Moussa Maaskri, Vincent Scarito, Maï Anh Lê, Oanh Nguyen | French-British | Adventure, Drama, Family | NULL | |
| Two Can Play That Game | 2001 | Mark Brown | ★★ | 90 | Sassy, self-possessed business exec Fox dispenses advice to her girlfriends on a regular basis, so when her boyfriend (Chestnut) strays one night, she's ready with a foolproof 10-day plan to teach him a lesson. Fun for a while, but Fox's game playing (and talking directly to the camera) soon grows tedious. Anderson adds comic energy every time he's on screen. Film ends with a novel twist: outtakes that aren't funny. | tt0269341 | [R] | Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, Anthony Anderson, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Tamala Jones, Bobby Brown, Mo'Nique Imes Jackson, Gabrielle Union, Ray Wise | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two Daughters | 1961 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★½ | 114 | A pair of episodes, adapted from the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, one good and the other superb. The former concerns the curious relationship between a postmaster and an orphan girl; the latter is the funny, gentle chronicle of what happens when a student rejects the woman his mother has chosen for his wife, deciding instead to marry the local tomboy. Ray scripted both stories. Originally released in India as part of a trilogy, running 171m. | tt0055508 | Anil Chatterjee, Chandana Bannerjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Aparna Das Gupta, Sita Mukherji | Indian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two Deaths | 1995 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★ | 102 | Bizarre drama about a doctor (Gambon) who has various guests in his home for an elegant dinner party while, outside, a revolution rages and the streets are filling with blood. Braga is the host's mysterious, silent housekeeper. Potentially intriguing drama is done in by its obvious symbolism and leaden pace. | tt0117999 | [R] | Michael Gambon, Sonia Braga, Patrick Malahide, Ion Caramitru, Nickolas Grace | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Two Dollar Bettor | 1951 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 73 | Nifty little programmer showing the snowballing of businessman Litel's problems, once he gets racetrack fever. | tt0044155 |
|
John Litel, Marie Windsor, Steve Brodie, Barbara Logan | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two English Girls | 1971 | François Truffaut | ★★★½ | 108 | Profoundly moving tale of a young writer (Léaud), and his lengthy love affair with two sisters. Fine performances and superb Nestor Almendros cinematography; directed with great feeling by Truffaut. In 1984, he added additional footage, increasing the running time to 132m.— and this version rates ****, one of Truffaut's greatest achievements. | tt0066989 | Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter, Sylvia Marriott, Marie Mansart, Philippe Leotard | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two Evil Eyes | 1990 | George A. Romero, Dario Argento | ★½ | 115 | A pair of Poe stories poorly adapted by two leading horror directors. In the first, by Romero, a greedy wife and unscrupulous doctor leave a man hovering in limbo between life and death. In the second, by Argento, a self-obsessed photographer kills his mistress' black cat, then seals the woman behind a wall with another feline. The second is slightly more successful than the first. | tt0100827 | [R] | Adrienne Barbeau, Ramy Zada, Bingo O'Malley, Jeff Howell, E.G. Marshall, Harvey Keitel, Madeleine Potter, John Amos, Sally Kirkland, Kim Hunter, Holter Ford Graham, Martin Balsam | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll | House of Fright | 1960 | Terence Fisher. | ★★ | 88 | Uneven, sometimes unintentionally funny reworking of Stevenson story stresses Mr. and Mrs. relationship, plus fact that doctor himself is a weakling (and Hyde is suave and handsome!). Unfortunately, dialogue and situations are boring. Look for Oliver Reed as a bouncer. Originally shown in U.S. as HOUSE OF FRIGHT. | tt0054416 | Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee, David Kossoff, Francis De Wolff, Norma Marla. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Two Family House | 2000 | Raymond De Felitta | ★★★ | 107 | Charming fable about an Italian-American ne'er-do-well who bucks his wife and family to pursue a dream of operating a bar in Staten Island during the 1950s. Along the way he becomes involved with a feisty young (and pregnant) Irish woman. Warmhearted tale written by the director, based on his own family lore; a welcome, non-clichéd look at this ethnic group. | tt0202641 | [R] | Michael Rispoli, Kelly Macdonald, Katherine Narducci, Kevin Conway, Matt Servitto, Michele Santopietro, Louis Guss, Rosemary DeAngelis, Victor Arnold, Dominic Chianese, Richard B. Shull | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two Fisted Law | 1932 | D. Ross Lederman. | ★★ | 64 | Crook cheats intense cowpoke McCoy out of ranch after first rustling his cattle. Action-filled but ordinary Western with Wayne as a cowhand named Duke. Story by pulp writer William Colt MacDonald presages his later Three Mesquiteers series, which would also feature Wayne. | tt0023631 | Tim McCoy, John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Tully Marshall, Alice Day, Wheeler Oakman, Wallace MacDonald. | Action, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| Two Flags West | 1950 | Robert Wise | ★★ | 92 | Very uneven Civil War Western. Battle scenes of good quality mixed with unappealing script and weak performances. | tt0043079 | Joseph Cotten, Linda Darnell, Jeff Chandler, Cornel Wilde, Dale Robertson, Jay C. Flippen, Noah Beery/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Two Gals and a Guy | 1951 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 71 | Trials and tribulations of married vocal duo, caught up in the early days of TV performing; standard production. | tt0044156 | Janis Paige, Robert Alda, James Gleason, Lionel Stander | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Two Gentlemen Sharing | 1969 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★ | 92 | Unusual story of mixed racial couples is done more with the sensational in mind than honest portrayal. | tt0065133 | [R] | Robin Phillips, Judy Geeson, Hal Frederick, Esther Anderson, Norman Rossington | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Two Girls and a Guy | 1998 | James Toback | ★★ | 92 | Two women— each of whom believes she has found the perfect lover— discover that they're both in love with the same man. Virtually a one-set (Downey's N.Y.C. loft) film, it's well played by the three leads but remains more of an actor's dream than a movie. Manages to be fairly funny and scathing in equal parts; also contains one serious though dimly lit sex scene. Wagner is the daughter of Natalie Wood. | tt0124179 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Angel David, Frederique Van Der Wal | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two Girls and a Sailor | 1944 | Richard Thorpe | ★★★ | 124 | Singing sisters Allyson and DeHaven operate a canteen for GIs, and become romantically linked with sailor-with-a-secret Johnson. Breezy entertainment, with many fine musical numbers (from Gracie Allen playing the piano to Lena Horne singing 'Paper Doll'). Watch for Ava Gardner as a dancing showgirl and in the dream sequence. | tt0037408 | Van Johnson, June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, Jose Iturbi, Jimmy Durante, Lena Horne, Donald Meek, Virginia O'Brien, Gracie Allen, Harry James and orchestra | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Girls on Broadway | 1940 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★ | 71 | Sisters love same man (Murphy) but everything works out in this routine musical, sparked by snappy Blondell. Remake of THE BROADWAY MELODY. | tt0033191 | Lana Turner, George Murphy, Joan Blondell, Kent Taylor, Wallace Ford | Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Gun Lady | 1956 | Richard Bartlett | ★★ | 75 | Simple oater of female sure-shot and law enforcer tracking down her father's murderer. | tt0049897 | Peggie Castle, Marie Windsor, William Talman | Western | NULL | |||
| Two Guns and a Badge | 1954 | Lewis D. Collins. | ★★ | 69 | Former jailbird Morris is thought to be a famed gunman who's come to the rescue of a beleaguered Western town. Familiar faces dot the cast of this routine oater. | tt0047626 | Wayne Morris, Morris Ankrum, Beverly Garland, Roy Barcroft, William Phipps, Damian O'Flynn, I. Stanford Jolley, Robert J. Wilke, Chuck Courtney. | Western | NULL | |||
| Two Guys From Milwaukee | 1946 | David Butler | ★★½ | 90 | Silly story of European prince Morgan Americanized by cabdriver Carson; cast is so engaging it doesn't matter. Look for Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in cameos. | tt0039053 | Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Joan Leslie, Janis Paige, S. Z. Sakall, Patti Brady | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Two Guys From Texas | 1948 | David Butler | ★★½ | 86 | Average musical about two vaudevillians who find themselves on a Texas ranch. Highlight is an animated sequence with Bugs Bunny and caricatures of Morgan and Carson. Remake of THE COWBOY FROM BROOKLYN. | tt0040910 | Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Dorothy Malone, Penny Edwards, Fred Clark, Forrest Tucker | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Hands | 1999 | Gregor Jordan | ★★ | 90 | Minor crime thriller/comedy-of-errors involving an ambitious but irresponsible young hotshot (Ledger) who becomes a courier for a Sydney mobster and screws up his first assignment. Tries to be outrageous but only intermittently succeeds; it also spotlights a hero who is impossible to root for. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. in 2005. | tt0145547 | [R] | Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown, Rose Byrne, Susie Porter, Steve Vidler, David Field, Tom Long, Tony Forrow, Mariel McClorey | Australian | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Two If by Sea | 1996 | Bill Bennett | ★½ | 96 | Alternately boring and grating comedy about a pair of low-class lovers on the lam after he's stolen a valuable painting. Leary cowrote this unsatisfying 'romantic' caper which changes moods with each scene. Bullock's charm emerges unscathed. | tt0118002 | [R] | Denis Leary, Sandra Bullock, Stephen Dillane, Yaphet Kotto, Wayne Robson, Jonathan Tucker, Mike Starr, Michael Badalucco | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Two Jakes | 1990 | Jack Nicholson | ★★ | 137 | Belated sequel to CHINATOWN set in 1948 L.A., with oil having replaced water as the natural resource of choice. Jake Gittes investigates complex case of adultery and shady real estate dealings by Keitel (excellent, as the other Jake) and cheating wife Tilly. Ponderous and convoluted beyond belief (though never boring), film will make no sense to anyone who's never seen CHINATOWN; the old indecipherable plot routine that worked for THE BIG SLEEP (1946) doesn't cut it here. Faye Dunaway makes a brief (and welcome) contribution; Tom Waits appears unbilled as a policeman. | tt0100828 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel, Meg Tilly, Madeleine Stowe, Eli Wallach, Rubén Blades, Frederic Forrest, David Keith, Richard Farnsworth, Tracey Walter, Joe Mantell, James Hong, Perry Lopez, Rebecca Broussard, Luana Anders | Drama, Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Two Little Bears | 1961 | Randall Hood | ★★ | 81 | Harmless fable-comedy of Albert confused to discover that his two children turn into bears at night, cavorting around the house. | tt0055555 | Eddie Albert, Jane Wyatt, Soupy Sales, Nancy Kulp, Brenda Lee | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Two Lost Worlds | 1950 | Norman Dawn | ★½ | 61 | Draggy story of shipwreck on uncharted island with prehistoric monsters; stock footage courtesy of such films as ONE MILLION B.C. and CAPTAIN FURY. Cast doesn't reach island until last twenty minutes; you may not wait that long. | tt0043080 | Laura Elliott, James Arness, Bill Kennedy, Gloria Petroff | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Two Lovers | 2009 | James Gray | ★★★½ | 109 | Fragile young man (Phoenix) lives with his parents in a claustrophobic Brighton Beach, N.Y., apartment. Just after meeting a nice, “safe” woman (Shaw) who’s interested in him—and happens to be the daughter of his father’s new business partner—he encounters a beautiful but troubled neighbor and falls recklessly in love with her, despite the fact that she doesn’t return his feelings. Intensely felt, emotionally direct drama from cowriter-director Gray invokes the spirit of vintage American and European films. Wonderfully observed, it makes great use of its locations and offers its stars a terrific showcase. | tt1103275 | [R] | Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas, Moni Moshonov, Julie Budd, Nick Gillie | U.S.-French | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Two Loves | 1961 | Charles Walters | ★★ | 100 | Plodding sudser set in New Zealand with spinster teacher MacLaine trying to decide between suitors Harvey and Hawkins. | tt0055557 | Shirley MacLaine, Laurence Harvey, Jack Hawkins, Juano Hernandez, Nobu McCarthy | Drama | NULL | |||
| Two Men in Manhattan | 1959 | Jean-Pierre Melville. | ★★★ | 85 | Imagine if Melville, who loved American films, had come to the U.S. to make one of his classic studies in film noir. That's exactly what he did with this thriller, much of it in English, about two French reporters in N.Y.C. (one of whom is played by Melville with hangdog cynicism) embroiled in a labyrinthine mystery while looking for a French U.N. diplomat who has disappeared. A stylish and entertaining ride through nocturnal, neon-lit Manhattan, set to a cool jazz beat. | tt0052733 | Pierre Grasset, Jean-Pierre Melville, Christiane Eudes, Ginger Hall, Monique Hennessy, Jean Darcante. | French | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Two Mrs. Carrolls | 1947 | Peter Godfrey | ★★½ | 99 | Shrill murder drama with Bogie as psychopathic artist who paints wives as Angels of Death, then kills them; Stanwyck registers all degrees of panic as the next marital victim. Filmed in 1945. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0039926 | Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith, Nigel Bruce, Isobel Elsom | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Two Much | 1996 | Fernando Trueba | ★½ | 118 | Miami scam artist Banderas falls for the sister of his new finacée and pretends to be his own twin brother in order to pursue her. Would-be screwball comedy is filled with embarrassing dialogue, which cast struggles to surmount by overacting. A fiasco . . . and an unfortunate English-language debut for the director of the Oscar-winning BELLE EPOQUE. Based on a novel by Donald E. Westlake. | tt0118001 | [PG-13] | Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Danny Aiello, Joan Cusack, Eli Wallach, Austin Pendleton, Gabino Diego, Alan Rich, Phil Leeds, Vincent Schiavelli | U.S.-Spanish | Comedy | NULL | |
| Two Mules for Sister Sara | 1970 | Don Siegel | ★★★ | 105 | Engaging story of drifter Eastwood helping nun MacLaine across Mexican desert, becoming wary of her un-pious nature. Beautifully shot (by Gabriel Figueroa), well-acted, good fun, marred by needlessly violent massacre climax. Albert Maltz wrote the screenplay, from a story by Budd Boetticher. | tt0065134 | [M] | Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine, Manolo Fabregas, Alberto Morin, Armando Silvestre | Comedy, Western, War | NULL | ||
| Two Nights With Cleopatra | 1953 | Mario Mattoli. | ★½ | 77 | Broad, broad farce about the randy but cautious queen of the Nile, whose lover from last night is always this morning's execution. What does it take to survive for a second evening? Well, more than we get in this 'sex comedy' that is neither. Widely promoted nude scene by 19-year-old stunner Loren, who plays both brunette Cleo and her blonde double, reveals nothing. Very disappointing. Cowritten by Ettore Scola. | tt0045712 | Sophia Loren, Alberto Sordi, Ettore Manni, Paul Muller, Nando Bruno, Alberto Talegalli, Gianni Cavalieri. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two Ninas | 2001 | Neil Turitz | ★★½ | 90 | Diverting comedy about a guy who, having reached a self-professed dead end with the opposite sex, winds up in serious relationships with two women at the same time— both of them named Nina! Made on a shoestring, but fresh and funny; written by the director. Filmed in 1998. | tt0162024 | [R] | Ron Livingston, Amanda Peet, Cara Buono, Bray Poor, Linda Larkin, John Rothman, Jill Hennessy | Romance, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two O'Clock Courage | 1945 | Anthony Mann | ★★ | 68 | Conway wakes up on a street corner with amnesia and finds himself the top suspect in a murder case, joins with cabbie Rutherford to solve mystery. Routine effort which looks and sounds like a typical SAINT or FALCON entry, but is actually a remake of a 1936 film, TWO IN THE DARK. | tt0038199 | Tom Conway, Ann Rutherford, Richard Lane, Lester Matthews, Roland Drew, Bettejane (Jane) Greer | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Two People | 1973 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 100 | Soapy, but oddly affecting drama about Army deserter returning home to face the consequences and fashion model with whom he falls in love. Beautiful photography by Gerald Hirschfeld and likable performance by Wagner in her first major role. | tt0070845 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Lindsay Wagner, Estelle Parsons, Alan Fudge, Geoffrey Horne, Frances Sternhagen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two Rode Together | 1961 | John Ford | ★★½ | 109 | Fair Western with Stewart as cynical marshal hired to rescue pioneers captured by the Comanches years ago; Widmark is cavalry officer who accompanies him. | tt0055558 | James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Linda Cristal, Shirley Jones, Andy Devine, John McIntire, Mae Marsh, Henry Brandon, Anna Lee | Western | NULL | |||
| Two Seconds | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★½ | 68 | Offbeat and engrossing, if not entirely successful, melodrama tells Robinson's life as he sees it in two seconds it takes for him to die in electric chair. Often overplayed, sometimes unusually effective; a most interesting curio. | tt0023629 | Edward G. Robinson, Vivienne Osborne, Preston Foster, J. Carrol Naish, Guy Kibbee, Berton Churchill | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Two Sisters From Boston | 1946 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 112 | Grayson and Allyson go to work in Durante's Bowery saloon in this entertaining turn-of-the-century musical; bright score helps. | tt0039054 | Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior, Jimmy Durante, Peter Lawford, Ben Blue | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Small Bodies | 1993 | Beth B | ★★½ | 85 | Eerie, effective two-character psychodrama; however, both characters are so unlikable that the film occasionally becomes difficult to watch. | tt0108420 | Fred Ward, Suzy Amis | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Two Smart People | 1946 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 93 | Conniving couple involved in art forgery; laughs don't come very often. Cowritten by Leslie Charteris. | tt0039055 | Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan, Hugo Haas, Lenore Ulric, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Two Tickets to Broadway | 1951 | James V. Kern | ★★½ | 106 | Modest musical involving Martin et al. trying to get on Crosby's TV show. Forget the hackneyed plot and enjoy the Jule Styne-Leo Robin score, along with old standards. Best bit: Crosby's musical spoof of brother Bing, 'Let's Make Comparisons' (by Bob C. and Sammy Cahn). | tt0044158 | Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria De Haven, Eddie Bracken, Ann Miller, Barbara Lawrence, Smith and Dale, Bob Crosby | Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Tickets to London | 1943 | Edwin L. Marin. | ★★ | 79 | Passable drama of Curtis helped by Morgan in hunting down espionage agents. | tt0036467 | Michele Morgan, Alan Curtis, Barry Fitzgerald, C. Aubrey Smith. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Two Tickets to Paris | 1962 | Greg Garrison | 💣 | 78 | Engaged to be married teenagers Dee and Fraser sail for France, with each having a meaningless flirtation. Trifling musical comedy; originally released at 90m. | tt0056624 | Joey Dee and The Starlighters, Gary Crosby, Kay Medford, Jeri Lynne Fraser, Lisa James, Charles Nelson Reilly | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Way Stretch | 1960 | Robert Day | ★★★ | 87 | Wry shenanigans of Sellers et al. as prisoners who devise a means of escaping to commit a robbery and then return to safety of their cells. | tt0054417 | Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Lionel Jeffries, Liz Fraser, Maurice Denham, Bernard Cribbins, David Lodge | British | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Two Weeks | 2006 | Steve Stockman | ★★ | 102 | Four squabbling siblings reunite at their dying mother's house but the quick stay they were expecting turns into an agonizing two weeks. It talks and walks like a Lifetime TV movie, uneasily blending comic moments with agonizing scenes of a cancer-ridden Field. The star is expert, as always, in a story that may feel much more comfortable on the small screen. | tt0448166 | [R] | Sally Field, Ben Chaplin, Tom Cavanaugh, Julianne Nicholson, Glenn Howerton, Clea DuVall, James Murtaugh, Michael Hyatt, Susan Misner, Jenny O'Hara. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two Weeks Notice | 2002 | Marc Lawrence | ★★½ | 101 | Community activist and lawyer (Bullock) is hired by a charming, wealthy playboy (Grant) whose development project was formerly one of her targets. She winds up running his life for him, but only when she tires of that (and serves notice) does she begin to realize how much she cares about him. A contrivance from the word go, this paper-thin romantic comedy is still enjoyable because of the two stars' charming performances. | tt0313737 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Robert Klein, Heather Burns, David Haig, Dorian Missick | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two Weeks With Love | 1950 | Roy Rowland | ★★½ | 92 | Powell fans will enjoy her role as daughter vacationing in Catskills proving to her parents that she's grown up. Reynolds sings 'Abba Dabba Honeymoon' with Carpenter. | tt0043081 | Jane Powell, Ricardo Montalban, Louis Calhern, Ann Harding, Debbie Reynolds, Carleton Carpenter | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two Weeks in Another Town | 1962 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 107 | Overly ambitious attempt to intellectualize Irwin Shaw novel, revolving around problems of people involved in movie-making in Rome. Reunites much of the talent from THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, footage from which is used as the film-within-a-film here. | tt0056625 | Kirk Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, Cyd Charisse, George Hamilton, Claire Trevor, Daliah Lavi, Rossana Schiaffino, Constance Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Two Weeks in September | 1967 | Serge Bourguignon | ★★½ | 96 | Bardot, mistress to older man, has fling with younger lover, can't decide between the two. Location shooting in London and Scotland enhances OK story. | tt0062534 | Brigitte Bardot, Laurent Terzieff, Michael Sarne, James Robertson Justice | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two Wives at One Wedding | 1960 | Montgomery Tully | ★½ | 66 | Trite minor film involving Jackson confronted by extortion gang charging him with bigamy. | tt0054418 |
|
Gordon Jackson, Christina Gregg, Lisa Daniely, Andre Maranne | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Two Women | 1960 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★★ | 99 | Loren deservedly won Oscar for heart-rending portrayal of Italian mother who, along with young daughter, is raped by Allied Moroccan soldiers during WW2. How they survive is an intensely moving story. Screenplay by Cesare Zavattini from an Alberto Moravia novel. Loren remade this in 1989 as a two-part Italian TVM. | tt0054749 | Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Eleanora Brown, Jean-Paul Belmondo | Italian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Two Yanks in Trinidad | 1942 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★ | 88 | Donlevy and O'Brien are hoods who join the army, turning their talents to fighting the enemy; flat patriotism. | tt0035481 |
|
Brian Donlevy, Pat O'Brien, Janet Blair, Donald MacBride | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two Years Before the Mast | 1946 | John Farrow | ★½ | 98 | Badly scripted story of Richard Henry Dana's (Donlevy) crusade to expose mistreatment of men at sea. Da Silva is standout as tyrannical captain. | tt0039056 | Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, Esther Fernandez, Howard da Silva, Barry Fitzgerald, Albert Dekker, Darryl Hickman | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Two and Two Make Six | 1961 | Freddie Francis | ★★ | 89 | Mild romantic yarn of A.W.O.L. soldier Chakiris falling in love with Scott. | tt0055559 | George Chakiris, Janette Scott, Alfred Lynch, Jackie Lane | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two for Tonight | 1935 | Frank Tuttle | ★★½ | 61 | Songwriter Crosby is forced to write musical play in one week. Entertaining slapstick musical with Boland as his mother, Bennett his girl. | tt0027147 | Bing Crosby, Joan Bennett, Mary Boland, Lynne Overman, Thelma Todd, James Blakeley | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Two for the Money | 2005 | D.J. Caruso | ★★ | 122 | Hotshot hustler who promotes sports gambling over phone lines recruits a former football player to join his team, and fashions him as a protégé-with many strings attached. Although 'inspired by a true story,' this needlessly convoluted yarn goes on too long and takes far too many detours to score. Pacino is compelling to watch, as always, but his character is alternately inscrutable and infuriating. | tt0417217 | [R] | Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Jeremy Piven, Armand Assante, Jaime King, Kevin Chapman, Carly Pope | Comedy, Drama, Sport, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Two for the Road | 1967 | Stanley Donen | ★★★ | 112 | Beautifully acted film of bickering couple Hepburn and Finney stopping to reminisce about their 12 years of marriage, trying to work to save their happiness. Perceptive, winning film, well directed by Donen. Lovely theme by Henry Mancini; script by Frederic Raphael. Photographed by Christopher Challis, on luscious French locations. | tt0062407 | Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron, William Daniels, Claude Dauphin, Nadia Gray, Jacqueline Bisset | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two for the Seesaw | 1962 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 119 | Well-acted but dated drama about the evolving relationship between two imperfect, vulnerable people: wandering Nebraska lawyer Mitchum and eccentric 'born victim' MacLaine. Based on the William Gibson play. | tt0056626 | Robert Mitchum, Shirley MacLaine, Edmon Ryan, Elisabeth Fraser | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Two in a Crowd | 1936 | Alfred E. Green | ★★ | 85 | Down-and-out McCrea and Bennett find a stolen $1,000 note on New Year's Eve. Starts cute, but quickly fizzles. | tt0028432 |
|
Joan Bennett, Joel McCrea, Henry Armetta, Alison Skipworth, Nat Pendleton, Reginald Denny, Andy Clyde, Donald Meek, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Two of Us | 1968 | Claude Berri | ★★★½ | 86 | Charming film about growing relationship between young Jewish boy sent away from WW2 Paris and blustery, anti-Semitic guardian who lives in the country. Warm, funny, beautifully acted. | tt0063771 | Michel Simon, Alain Cohen, Luce Fabiole, Roger Carel, Paul Preboist, Charles Denner | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Two of a Kind | 1983 | John Herzfeld | 💣 | 87 | Puerile fantasy-romance with a script that must have been scrawled on a gum wrapper. A quartet of angels try to persuade God to give the human race another chance— using two pretty unappealing subjects (an inventor-turned-bank robber and a not-so-innocent bank teller) as guinea pigs. Just awful. | tt0086494 | [PG] | John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Charles Durning, Oliver Reed, Beatrice Straight, Scatman Crothers, Castulo Guerra, Ernie Hudson, Kathy Bates, voice of Gene Hackman | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Two on a Guillotine | 1965 | William Conrad | ★★½ | 107 | To receive inheritance from late father (Romero), Connie must spend night in haunted house. Familiar plot with some scares. | tt0059837 | Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, Cesar Romero, Parley Baer, Virginia Gregg | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Two or Three Things I Know About Her | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard. | ★★★½ | 95 | Masterly dissection of marriage, materialism, and suburban anomie, depicting a day in the life of an attractive French housewife who goes into Paris once a week for a little casual prostitution in order to maintain her bourgeois lifestyle. Stylish and penetrating sociological study, with great photography by Raoul Coutard. | tt0060304 | Marina Vlady, Anny Duperey, Roger Montsoret, Jean Narboni, Juliet Berto, Claude Miller. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two-Faced Woman | 1941 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 94 | Garbo's last film, in which MGM tried unsuccessfully to Americanize her personality. Attempted chic comedy of errors is OK, but not what viewer expects from the divine Garbo. Constance Bennett is much more at home in proceedings, stealing the film with her hilarious performance. | tt0034328 | Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Robert Sterling, Ruth Gordon, Frances Carson | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Two-Headed Spy | 1958 | André De Toth | ★★★ | 93 | Exciting true story of British spy (Hawkins) who operated in Berlin during WW2 is loaded with heart-stopping tension and suspense. Fine performances all around; one of Caine's earliest roles. | tt0052327 | Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, Alexander Knox, Felix Aylmer, Donald Pleasence, Michael Caine, Laurence Naismith | British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Two-Lane Blacktop | 1971 | Monte Hellman | ★★★½ | 101 | Cult film about race across the Southwest between a '55 Chevy and a new GTO has intense direction to compensate for low-key script; Oates' performance is about as good as you'll ever see and should have had the Oscar. Quintessential movie of its time, with aimless characters who only know one thing: the need to race their cars. Watch for Harry Dean Stanton as a hitchhiker. | tt0067893 | [R] | James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson, David Drake, Richard Ruth, Alan Vint | Drama | NULL | ||
| Two-Minute Warning | 1976 | Larry Peerce. | ★½ | 115 | Pointless story of attempt to catch sniper in packed football stadium. Usual mélange of hackneyed characters in this contrived Hollywood product. Merv Griffin sings the national anthem! (Film heavily doctored for network showing, with nearly one hour added including new cast and subplot; this review applies to original theatrical version.) | tt0075359 | [R] | Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam, Beau Bridges, Marilyn Hassett, David Janssen, Jack Klugman, Gena Rowlands, Walter Pidgeon, Brock Peters, David Groh, Mitchell Ryan, Pamela Bellwood, Andy Sidaris, Vincent Baggetta, Robert Ginty. | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Two-Moon Junction | 1988 | Zalman King | ★★½ | 104 | Or, Sorority Girl Goes Nympho. Well-bred Dixie beauty gets an itch south of the navel to take off with a traveling carny hunk; rich grandma Fletcher and sheriff Ives conspire to halt the union. Camp fest is just funny and sexy enough to maintain interest; McNichol has a lively cameo as a bisexual cowgirl. The title may be a pun. Followed by a sequel. | tt0096324 | [R] | Sherilyn Fenn, Richard Tyson, Louise Fletcher, Burl Ives, Kristy McNichol, Millie Perkins, Don Galloway, Herve Villechaize, Dabbs Greer, Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Drama | NULL | ||
| Twogether | 1994 | Andrew Chiaramonte | ★½ | 122 | Overlong, uninvolving 'relationship drama' in which a couple finds love and fights a lot, in Venice Beach, California. The bodies look good, and there are a couple of hot scenes, but there's nothing much else to recommend in this independently made feature. The leading man is John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands' son. | tt0105670 | [R] | Nick Cassavetes, Brenda Bakke, Damian London, Jeremy Piven, Jim Beaver | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Twonky | 1953 | Arch Oboler | ★½ | 72 | Satirical sci-fi is misfire entertainment, when Conried's TV set actually takes charge of his life, possessed by a spirit from the future. | tt0046475 | Hans Conried, Gloria Blondell, Trilby Conried, Billy Lynn | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Tycoon | 1947 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 128 | Wayne plays determined railroad builder in this overlong, but well-acted drama with fine cast. | tt0039927 | John Wayne, Laraine Day, Cedric Hardwicke, Judith Anderson, James Gleason, Anthony Quinn, Grant Withers | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |||
| Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail | Madea Goes to Jail | 2009 | Tyler Perry | ★½ | 103 | Adapting yet another of his popular stage plays, writer-director Perry again stars as Madea, the trash-talking, quick-tempered matriarch of an extended Atlanta family, for his customary mix of broad comedy, sudsy sentimentality, violent slapstick, and spiritual uplift. Movie lurches clumsily between parallel plotlines: While Madea’s sassy, self-absorbed antics dismay loved ones and anger law-enforcement officials, a sincere assistant DA (Luke) tries to help a fallen-from-grace former classmate (Pulliam, all grown up since The Cosby Show), greatly annoying his snooty fiancée (Overman). Madea is more obnoxious than usual, but undeniably funny in a verbal showdown with TV’s Dr. Phil. Other TV personalities appear as themselves. | tt1142800 | [PG-13] | Tyler Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, David Mann, Tamela Mann, Ion Overman, Viola Davis, Sofia Vergara | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys | The Family That Preys | 2008 | Tyler Perry | ★★½ | 111 | Polished but over-the-top soaper involving the conflicts and interactions between two Southern families, one black and the other white, spotlighting the deep friendship of the matriarchs (Woodard and Bates, both well cast). Entertaining enough on a nonthink level, but don’t look for subtlety or depth here. Aka THE FAMILY THAT PREYS. | tt1142798 | [PG-13] | Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, Rockmond Dunbar, KaDee Strickland, Cole Hauser, Taraji P. Henson, Robin Givens, Tyler Perry, Kathy Bates, Sebastian Siegel | Drama | NULL | |
| Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself | 2009 | Tyler Perry | ★★ | 113 | Perry again plays Madea in another tonally dissonant dramedy based on one of his plays, but keeps the cantankerous old lady more or less in the background while focusing on a hard-drinking, self-destructive lounge singer (Henson) who gets a shot at redemption—and finally meets Mr. Right (Rodriguez)—while forced to care for her sister’s three children. Atypically restrained (by Perry standards) in its mix of broad comedy, soapy melodrama, and spiritual uplift, and sporadically puts the plot on hold for some knockout musical sequences. | tt1385912 | [PG-13] | Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White, Hope Olaidé Wilson, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, Marvin L. Winans, Freddy Siglar, Kwesi Boakye, Tyler Perry | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Typhoon | 1940 | Louis King | ★★½ | 70 | Another Lamour sarong epic, typically romantic; Overman provides good comedy support. | tt0033196 | Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston, Lynne Overman, J. Carrol Naish, Chief Thundercloud, Jack Carson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tyrannosaur | 2011 | Paddy Considine | ★★★ | 91 | Mullan plays a Yorkshire man raging with anger (which we witness in graphic detail in the opening scenes) who chances to meet a woman (Coleman) seemingly his opposite: generous of spirit and devoutly religious. Their growing concern for one another is at the core of this brutally tough but thoughtful character study, marked by superb performances. Debut feature as writer and director for actor Considine (IN AMERICA), who expanded this from his 2008 short with the same cast called DOG ALTOGETHER. | tt1204340 | Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Ned Dennehy, Sally Carman, Samuel Bottomley, Paul Popplewell, Sian Breckin | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Tyrant of the Sea | 1950 | Lew Landers | ★★ | 70 | Undistinguished melodrama set in 1803. Napoleon is ready to invade England and only retired tough sea captain (Williams) can destroy French landing barges and save the country. Meanwhile, romance blossoms between young Lt. Randell and captain's daughter Perkins. | tt0043083 | Rhys Williams, Ron Randell, Valentine Perkins, Doris Lloyd, Lester Matthews, Terry Kilburn, William Fawcett | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Tyson | 2009 | James Toback | ★★★ | 90 | Given his past fascination, in print and on-screen, with actor-athlete Jim Brown, Toback was probably the best imaginable auteur to get Tyson to open up so dramatically and disturbingly about his three-year stretch in prison, his inability to trust, his disastrous marriage to actress Robin Givens, and his horrific public outbursts both in and out of the ring. And yet Tyson reveals a tender side that’s as compelling as it is surprising. A keen companion to Barbara Kopple's 1993 documentary FALLEN CHAMP: THE UNTOLD STORY OF MIKE TYSON. | tt1032821 | [R] | Emotionally punchy, predominantly talking-head portrait of onetime heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, terrifyingly invincible in his prime but shockingly beatable once he lost the fire in his belly and personal demons wore him down | Documentary | NULL | ||
| U Turn | 1997 | Oliver Stone | ★★ | 125 | Young punk heading for Vegas is forced to stop in a one-horse Arizona town when his car breaks down; he quickly finds himself in a nightmare world where everything that can go wrong does. You know what you're in for when an animal is killed during the main titles; it only gets worse. A sturdy cast does its best with this predictable, savagely unpleasant pulp nonsense. | tt0120399 | [R] | Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Lopez, Powers Boothe, Claire Danes, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Voight, Abraham Benrubi, Julie Hagerty, Bo Hopkins, Laurie Metcalf, Liv Tyler | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| U-571 | 2000 | Jonathan Mostow | ★★½ | 116 | WW2 submarine crew has to find a way to board and overtake a German U-boat and bring back a crucial secret-code transmitter. It turns out to be more difficult than they expect. Agreeably old-fashioned WW2 submarine drama starts with a bang and holds interest throughout, but fizzles out at the end. Still pretty entertaining. | tt0141926 | [PG-13] | Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber, David Keith, T.C. Carson, Jack Noseworthy, Thomas Guiry, Erik Palladino, Dave Power, Will Estes | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| U.S. Marshals | 1998 | Stuart Baird | ★★★ | 133 | The take-charge marshal (Jones) from THE FUGITIVE and his team are back on the job when a criminal suspect flees after a plane carrying him and other prisoners crash-lands. The search is helped/hampered by the addition of a Federal agent (Downey, Jr.). Action thriller scarcely takes a breath; falters toward the finale and doesn't know when to quit, but still entertaining. | tt0120873 | [PG-13] | Tommy Lee Jones, Wesley Snipes, Robert Downey/Jr., Kate Nelligan, Joe Pantoliano, Irène Jacob, Daniel Roebuck, Tom Wood, Latanya Richardson, Michael Paul Chan | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The U.S. vs. John Lennon | 2006 | John Scheinfeld, David Leaf | ★★★ | 99 | Provocative look at how the U.S. government targeted ex-Beatle John Lennon in the early 1970s because his great popularity made his anti-Vietnam stance seem to be a threat. Historical footage is linked by interviews with Yoko Ono and leading cultural icons of the era, from Angela Davis and Bobby Seale to Walter Cronkite and Senator George McGovern. Ono's obvious devotion to Lennon comes through and provides a revealing portrait of a woman who's been demonized over the years. | tt0478049 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| U2: Rattle and Hum | 1988 | Phil Joanou | ★★½ | 99 | Title Irish rock band was the late '80s' most celebrated, but scattershot documentary never really explains why to the unknowing or unconverted. Music compensates to some degree, with some of the best numbers fortunately weighted near the end; a side trip to Elvis' Graceland seems out of place. For no apparent reason, first half is in grainy b&w, second is in color. | tt0096328 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| UFO: (Unidentified Flying Objects) | Unidentified Flying Objects | 1956 | Winston Jones | ★★ | 92 | Documentary-style account of unknown missiles, detailing various reports of unidentified flying objects being spotted. Film lacks excitement. | tt0131627 |
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Documentary | NULL | ||
| UFOria | 1980 | John Binder | ★★½ | 100 | Amiable if sometimes uneasy mix of MELVIN AND HOWARD and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND with Williams as a kooky grocery store cashier who believes she has received a message from outer space and will become a female Noah on UFO ark. Long unreleased, this finally found a distributor (and an audience) in 1986. | tt0081674 | [PG] | Cindy Williams, Harry Dean Stanton, Fred Ward, Harry Carey/Jr., Beverly Hope Atkinson | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| UHF | 1989 | Jay Levey | ★★ | 97 | Music video parodist Yankovic's starring feature debut casts him as the manager of a small-time TV station who inadvertently hits it big with his unconventional programming ideas. Story is threadbare, but some of the spoofs of commercials, movies, and TV shows are fun. Yankovic scripted with director Levey. | tt0098546 | [PG-13] | 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, David Bowe, Stanley Brock, Anthony Geary, Trinidad Silva, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, John Paragon, Fran Drescher, Sue Ane Langdon, Emo Philips | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Ugetsu | 1953 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★★½ | 96 | Eerie ghost story set in 16th-century Japan tells of two peasants who leave their families; one seeks wealth in the city and the other wishes to become a samurai warrior. This superbly photographed film was a Venice Film Festival prize winner. Full title UGETSU MONOGATARI. | tt0046478 | Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Kinuyo Tanaka, Sakae Ozawa | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ugly American | 1963 | George Englund | ★★½ | 120 | Brando is American ambassador to Asian country; his arrival stirs up pro-communist elements, leading to havoc. Political revelations of U.S. power struggle aren't meat for exciting film. Adapted by Stewart Stern from the William J. Lederer/Eugene Burdick book. | tt0056632 | Marlon Brando, Sandra Church, Pat Hingle, Eiji Okada, Arthur Hill, Kukrit Pramoj, Jocelyn Brando | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Ugly Dachshund | 1966 | Norman Tokar | ★★ | 93 | Silly, featherweight Disney comedy about husband and wife who train their respective dogs for competition at dog show. Fun for kids, but too contrived and silly for anyone else to enjoy. | tt0061135 | Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Charlie Ruggles, Kelly Thordsen, Parley Baer | Comedy, Family | NULL | |||
| The Ugly Truth | 2009 | Robert Luketic | ★★ | 96 | Battle-of-the-sexes comedy gets down and dirty with a scenario about a trash-talking male chauvinist pig who gets hired by a local TV station. He has to deal with an uptight feminist producer who resents his act, but reluctantly starts taking his advice on how to land a guy. Things really haven’t changed much in the fifty years since Rock Hudson and Doris Day did the same kind of comedy, minus the salty language. Fun, if forgettable, fluff. | tt1142988 | [R] | Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Bree Turner, Eric Winter, Nick Searcy, Cheryl Hines, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Connolly, Jesse D. Goins | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Ulee's Gold | 1997 | Victor Nuñtez | ★★★ | 111 | A small gem from writer-director Nuñez about a taciturn beekeeper in northern Florida whose ordered life is disrupted when his son sends an SOS from prison. His wife is in trouble, and while Fonda has had no use for her since she abandoned her two daughters (whom he is raising) he tries to help— and gets caught in a quagmire involving his son's former partners in crime. Slow and steady, like the leading character, but rewarding, with Fonda a tower of strength in the best part he's ever had. | tt0120402 | [R] | Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell, Christine Dunford, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, Tom Wood, Vanessa Zima | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ultimate Gift | 2006 | Michael O. Sajbel | ★½ | 117 | A spoiled trust-fund brat finds his world turned upside down when his recently deceased grandfather leaves him a series of tasks he must accomplish in order to collect his inheritance. On his journey, he has a variety of experiences-predominantly an encounter with a young single mother and her leukemia-stricken daughter-that help him learn important life lessons about hard work, love, Christianity, and the value of money. Well-meaning film becomes sanctimonious, and its rhetorical methods are so overt (and often shameless) that it fails to charm, move, or persuade. From the novel by Jim Stovall. | tt0482629 | [PG] | Drew Fuller, James Garner, Abigail Breslin, Ali Hillis, Lee Meriwether, Brian Dennehy, Bill Cobbs. | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Ultimate Thrill | The Ultimate Chase | 1974 | Robert Butler | ★★ | 110 | Executive is drawn into murder by his paranoiac fears; undistinguished programmer retitled THE ULTIMATE CHASE for network showing. | tt0072335 | [PG] | Eric Braeden, Britt Ekland, Barry Brown, Michael Blodgett, John Davis Chandler | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Ultimate Warrior | 1975 | Robert Clouse | ★★½ | 94 | Routine acting and directing spoil potentially intriguing futuristic sci-fi. In the 21st century, Brynner and von Sydow control a decreasing band of people fighting for whatever is left in N.Y.C. following ecological disasters. | tt0073835 | [R] | Yul Brynner, Max von Sydow, Joanna Miles, William Smith, Stephen McHattie, Lane Bradbury | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Ulysses | 1954 | Mario Camerini | ★★ | 104 | Hokey, lumbering costumer with Douglas as Ulysses, on his Odyssey home to Penelope after the Trojan War. Watch Kirk speak in dubbed Italian, then English. Seven writers are credited for this, including Ben Hecht and Irwin Shaw. | tt0047630 | Kirk Douglas, Silvana Mangano, Anthony Quinn, Sylvie, Rossana Podesta | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ulysses | 1967 | Joseph Strick | ★★½ | 124 | Idea of putting James Joyce's massive novel on the screen seemed daring in 1967, but now seems like a stupid stunt. Lots of good prose makes it to the screen, but end result is interesting curio, not a film. Shot on location in Ireland; Strick far more successfully filmed Joyce's A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN in 1979. | tt0062414 | Barbara Jefford, Milo O'Shea, Maurice Roeves, T. P. McKenna, Martin Dempsey, Sheila O'Sullivan | Drama | NULL | |||
| Ulysses Against Hercules | 1961 | Mario Caiano | ★½ | 99 | Childish blend of myth and muscleman antics with Hercules (Lane) sent to punish Ulysses (Marchal); special effects of bird-men not up to snuff. | tt0055564 | Georges Marchal, Michael Lane, Alessandra Panaro, Gianni Santuccio | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Ulzana's Raid | 1972 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 103 | Lancaster is a savvy, straight-talking Indian scout who leads cavalry lieutenant Davison (still wet behind the ears) and his company on a discouraging pursuit of an Apache chief. Gritty Western tale written by Alan Sharp, with jarring bursts of violence. | tt0069436 | [R] | Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Jorge Luke, Richard Jaeckel, Joaquin Martinez, Lloyd Bochner, Karl Swenson, Richard Farnsworth | Western | NULL | ||
| Umberto D | 1952 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★★ | 89 | Ex-bureaucrat on a meager fixed pension is about to be forced out into Rome streets with only his beloved mongrel to comfort him. De Sica is said to have considered this his greatest work, and he may have been right; subplot about Battisti's relationship with an unmarried, pregnant woman is as touching as predominant storyline. Shattering, all the way up to the tear-jerking conclusion. | tt0045274 | Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les | 1964 | Jacques Demy. | ★★★½ | 91 | Haunting music (score by Michel Legrand, lyrics by Demy) and gorgeous photography make this an outstanding romantic drama. All dialogue is sung. Followed by THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT. | tt0058450 | Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel, Ellen Farnen. | French | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |
| Un Carnet de Bal | Carnet de Bal | 1937 | Julien Duvivier | ★★★★ | 109 | Wealthy widow travels to various locales, intent on looking up the former beaux who filled her dance card ('carnet de bal'). What she finds surprises her, and viewer is treated to a number of poignant vignettes (some ahead of their time) acted by the cream of 1930s France. Hugely successful, this was the inspiration for all the episodic films that followed. (Duvivier even reworked it in Hollywood in 1941 as LYDIA.) Coscripted by the director, from his story. Music by Maurice Jaubert. | tt0029706 | Marie Bell, Francoise Rosay, Louis Jouvet, Harry Baur, Pierre-Richard Willm, Raimu, Pierre Blanchar, Fernandel, Robert Lynen, Roger Legris | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Un Coeur en Hiver | 1992 | Claude Sautet | ★★★½ | 105 | Fascinating study of what happens when two longtime business partners in the classical music world find their 'friendship' split apart by the appearance of a beautiful young woman. All three stars shine in this talky, offbeat tale of love and music (specifically Ravel). An original film, admittedly not for all tastes. | tt0105682 | Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart, André Dussollier | French | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Unaccompanied Minors | 2006 | Paul Feig | ★★ | 89 | Six diverse kids, all heading from one divorced parent to another, are stranded at a Midwestern airport on Christmas Eve, where they wreak havoc and make life miserable for Black, who's in charge of “passenger relations.” Low-grade time-filler for kids has neither wit nor subtlety in its shallow bag of tricks. Inspired by a story by Susan Burton first heard on the NPR show This American Life. | tt0488658 | [PG] | Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shephard, Paget Brewster, Rob Corddry, Dominique Saldana, Jessica Walter, Teri Garr, Rob Riggle, Michelle Sandler, David Koechner, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney. | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The Unbearable Lightness of Being | 1988 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★½ | 171 | Extraordinarily well-made adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Milan Kundera about a young Czech doctor of the 1960s who has a way with women (lots of women) and an aversion to politics but who finds himself caught up in his country's political turmoil— and a crisis of commitment with the women in his life. Kaufman and Jean-Claude Carrière's adaptation unfolds just like a good book, taking its time but never meandering as it paints a vivid picture of the character's life and times. Sensual, intelligent, and beautifully acted by the three leads; strikingly photographed by Sven Nykvist. | tt0096332 | [R] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint, Erland Josephson, Pavel Landovsky, Donald Moffat | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unbecoming Age | The Magic Bubble | 1992 | Deborah Ringel, Alfredo Ringel | ★★½ | 93 | Salinger turns forty; depressed and bored, she blows 'magic bubbles' which allow her to forget her age and recapture her youthful vigor. Cute romantic comedy-fantasy works most of the way before it runs out of steam. Video title: THE MAGIC BUBBLE. | tt0105685 | Diane Salinger, John Calvin, Wallace Shawn, Colleen Camp, George Clooney, Shera Danese, Nicholas Guest, Priscilla Pointer | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Unbelievable Truth | 1990 | Hal Hartley | ★★ | 90 | Tall, mysterious man returns to his hometown after a stint in prison, causing a variety of reactions from the locals. Small, independently made black comedy may not be to everyone's taste, but it has its moments. Burke went on to replace Peter Weller as Robocop. | tt0100842 | [R] | Adrienne Shelly, Robert Burke, Christopher Cooke, Julia McNeal, Mark Bailey, Gary Sauer, Katherine Mayfield | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Unborn | 1991 | Rodman Flender | ★★½ | 83 | Young wife with a history of miscarriages is convinced that mysterious doctor (Karen) has inseminated her with mutated sperm. The result: a monstrous fetus which is so tough it outlives an attempted abortion. Convincing performances place this horror tale a notch above its exploitive subject matter. 1994 sequel: THE UNBORN II. | tt0103157 | [R] | Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga, James Karen, K Callan, Jane Cameron, Kathy Cameron, Kathy Griffin, Lisa Kudrow | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Unborn | 2009 | David S. Goyer | ★½ | 86 | When she isn’t taking showers or scampering about in scanty underthings, Yustman desperately seeks an explanation for creepy visitations by a twin brother who died at birth. Steeped in Jewish mysticism, and featuring one of the very few on-screen exorcisms performed by a rabbi (Oldman), writer-director Goyer’s low-voltage shocker is often inadvertently comical enough to qualify as camp. Even so, some viewers may be seriously offended by this supernatural drama’s exploitation of the Holocaust as a plot device. | tt1139668 | [PG-13] | Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good, Jane Alexander, James Remar, Carla Gugino | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Unbreakable | 2000 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★★ | 107 | Sullen security guard Willis, on the verge of divorce, is pursued by a strange man who runs a comic-art gallery and is trying to convince him that he has extrasensory abilities. Somber, pin-drop drama from the writer-director of THE SIXTH SENSE, inspired by comic-book- style fiction, is like a shaggy-dog joke that doesn't seem worth the effort once you hear the punchline. | tt0217869 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Charlayne Woodard, Spencer Treat Clark, James Handy, Eamonn Walker, Leslie Stefanson | Thriller, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Uncanny | 1977 | Denis Héroux | ★★ | 85 | Lackluster trilogy of 'super-natural' tales built around author Cushing's assertion that cats are conspiring against mankind. | tt0076853 | Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Susan Penhaligon, Joan Greenwood, Alexandra Stewart, Chloe Franks, Donald Pleasence, Samantha Eggar, John Vernon | British-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Uncertain Glory | 1944 | Raoul Walsh | ★★ | 102 | Wavering script about French philanderer Flynn deciding to give his life for his country. | tt0037414 | Errol Flynn, Jean Sullivan, Paul Lukas, Lucile Watson, Faye Emerson, Douglass Dumbrille, Dennis Hoey, Sheldon Leonard | Drama | NULL | |||
| Uncertainty | 2009 | Scott McGehee, David Siegel | ★½ | 105 | Every decision we make has its own consequences. With the flip of a coin, you could find yourself in two very different scenarios—in this case, the filmmakers contrast a domestic drama and a thriller involving the same protagonists, lovers Gordon-Levitt and Collins. Interesting concept is shot in a raw and experimental form, but the stories don't come together and the characters are never explored fully enough for us to care about the outcome. | tt1086216 | Unrated | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lynn Collins, Assumpta Serna, Olivia Thirlby, Nelson Landrieu, Manoel Felciano, Jenn Colella | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unchained | 1955 | Hall Bartlett | ★★ | 75 | Fair drama of life at prison farm at Chino, California; highlighted by Alex North-Hy Zarek theme song: 'Unchained Melody.' Saxophonist Dexter Gordon is seen briefly as a musician (though his playing was dubbed by Georgie Auld). | tt0048762 | Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, Barbara Hale, Chester Morris, Todd Duncan, Johnny Johnston, Peggy Knudsen, Jerry Paris | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives | 2011 | Apichatpong Weeraesthakul | ★★ | 114 | Widely acclaimed film represents more of the director’s carefully cultivated style with measured pacing, peaceful and magical vistas, and quirky vision. A spiritual quest for some will be frustrating to others as Weerasethakul explores religious, mystical, and metaphysical themes wrapped in dreams and memories. In a world populated with ghosts and half-human creatures, the movie seems to be recounting the final days of Boonmee’s life as he prepares to enter the next realm. Ethereal art film is anything but accessible; it may not be easy to comprehend, but it’s still intriguing from beginning to end. Written by the director. | tt1588895 | Unrated | Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee | Thailand | Drama, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Uncle Buck | 1989 | John Hughes | ★★½ | 100 | Ne'er-do-well bachelor Candy has to look after his brother's kids for a couple of days . . . and surprise! The perpetual foul-up turns out to be a caring and responsible uncle. Comedy with serious and sentimental strains gives Candy one of his better vehicles, though writer-director Hughes' inconsistencies keep it from scoring a bull's-eye. Followed by a TV series. | tt0098554 | [PG] | John Candy, Amy Madigan, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann, Macaulay Culkin, Elaine Bromka, Garrett M. Brown, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Uncle Joe Shannon | 1978 | Joseph C. Hanwright | 💣 | 115 | Slobbering, self-indulgent film (written by Young) about down-and-out trumpet player and young boy who tries to resist his 'charm.' Several hands from ROCKY— including Young— were hoping to duplicate that film's success. Maynard Ferguson dubbed Young's trumpet licks. | tt0078442 | [PG] | Burt Young, Doug McKeon, Madge Sinclair, Jason Bernard, Bert Remsen, Allan Rich | Drama | NULL | ||
| Uncle Moses | 1932 | Aubrey Scotto, Sidney Goldin | ★★½ | 87 | Schwartz stars as the title character, a prosperous, patronizing, womanizing sweatshop proprietor who falls for the young daughter of one of his employees, as his workers threaten to go on strike. To say this Yiddish-language film is dramatically overwrought would be an understatement, but it remains intriguing as a mirror of the Jewish immigrant experience and life on N.Y.C.'s Lower East Side. Based on a novel by Sholem Asch; scripted by Schwartz. | tt0023636 | Maurice Schwartz, Rubin Goldberg, Judith Abarbanel, Zvee Scooler, Mark Schweid, Rebecca Weintraub |
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| Uncle Nino | 2003 | Robert Shallcross. | ★★ | 104 | Mascarino is the title character, a kindhearted Old World eccentric who unexpectedly visits his dysfunctional suburban American relatives and, predictably, transforms their lives. Means to be as zesty as Mama's homemade tomato sauce, but lacks originality; it plays like a well-meaning after-school TV special. This ran for a year in a Grand Rapids, Michigan, movie theater before opening nationally in 2005. Gina Mantegna is Joe's daughter. | tt0327210 | [PG] | Joe Mantegna, Anne Archer, Pierrino Mascarino, Trevor Morgan, Gina Mantegna, Duke Doyle, Daniel Adebayo, Gary Houston, Chelcie Ross. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | 1927 | Harry Pollard | ★★★ | 112 | Ingratiatingly heart-tugging (albeit occasionally overwrought) version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famed abolitionist novel, which charts the plight of various slaves and slave owners in the Deep South prior to and during the Civil War. Sets out to humanize African Americans by depicting the heartlessness of slavery, yet also reflects its era with the worst kind of 'dancin' darkie' stereotypes. | tt0018524 | James B. Lowe, Virginia Grey, Margarita Fisher, George Siegmann, Eulalie Jensen, Arthur Edmund Carew, Vivien Oakland, Lucien Littlefield, Gertrude Astor | Drama | NULL | |||
| Uncle Tom's Cabin | 1987 | Stan Lathan | Above Average TV Movie | 110 | Ambitious 'contemporary adaptation' (i.e., slightly revisionist version) of the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, adapted by John Gay. First American sound version of the classic (following a 1965 German production) doesn't have the Eliza-crossing-the-ice segment but does have a first-rate cast, including a standout Simon Legree in Edward Woodward. | tt0094213 | Avery Brooks, Kate Burton, Bruce Dern, Paula Kelly, Phylicia Rashad, Kathryn Walker, Edward Woodward, Frank Converse, George Coe, Albert Hall | Drama | NULL | |||
| Uncle Was a Vampire | 1959 | Steno (Stefano Vanzina). | ★½ | 85 | Penniless baron Rascel works as a bellboy in the hotel that used to be his family's castle. Pale, towering (and undead) uncle Lee arrives and vampirizes Rascel, who in turn puts the bite on pretty tourists. Forced comedy does not translate well, but Lee is impressive (though dubbed by another actor) and there's lots of beautiful coastal scenery. | tt0053340 | Renato Rascel, Sylva Koscina, Lia Zoppelli, Kai Fischer, Franco Scandurra, Christopher Lee. | Italian-French | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Uncommon Valor | 1983 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★½ | 105 | Formula action film about a retired Army officer who gathers motley crew of Vietnam vets to invade Laos in search of his son, still Missing in Action. Solid performances make this watchable. | tt0086508 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall 'Tex' Cobb, Patrick Swayze, Harold Sylvester, Tim Thomerson, Michael Dudikoff | Action, War | NULL | ||
| Unconditional Love | 2003 | P.J. Hogan | ★½ | 124 | Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, Meredith Eaton, Dan Aykroyd, Jonathan Pryce, Lynn Redgrave, Peter Sarsgaard, Stephanie Beacham, Richard Briers, Julie Andrews, Barry Manilow. Quirky tale about a housewife, abandoned by her husband, who's mourning the death of her favorite singer. She finds herself on a journey to England (and, of course, self-discovery), where she meets the dead crooner's secret gay lover (Everett). Nothing quite works in this disappointing mess of a movie, despite a good cast. Cowritten by the director. Made in 2001; U.S. debut on cable TV. | tt0219374 | [PG-13] | Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett, Meredith Eaton, Dan Aykroyd, Jonathan Pryce, Lynn Redgrave, Peter Sarsgaard, Stephanie Beacham, Richard Briers, Julie Andrews, Barry Manilow | Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Musical | NULL | ||
| Unconquered | 1947 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★½ | 146 | Gargantuan DeMille colonists-vs.-Indians nonsense, one of his most ludicrous films but still fun. | tt0039931 | Gary Cooper, Paulette Goddard, Howard da Silva, Boris Karloff, Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond, Katherine de Mille, C. Aubrey Smith, Porter Hall, Mike Mazurki | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Undead | 1957 | Roger Corman | ★★★ | 75 | One of Corman's best early films, coscripted by Charles Griffith. A scientist, investigating the possibility of reincarnation, manages to transport himself back into the Dark Ages. Lots of atmosphere and black humor, with a neat twist ending. | tt0051128 | Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Allison Hayes, Mel Welles, Billy Barty, Richard Devon, Bruno VeSota | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Undefeated | 1969 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★ | 119 | Aside from interesting Wayne-Hudson teaming and the presence of football stars Gabriel and Olsen, this routine Western has little to offer. Post-Civil War tale casts two stars as Union and Confederate colonels. Best line: 'The conversation sorta dried up.' | tt0065150 | [G] | John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Tony Aguilar, Roman Gabriel, Bruce Cabot, Lee Meriwether, Ben Johnson, Merlin Olsen, Michael (Jan-Michael) Vincent, Harry Carey/Jr., Royal Dano, Richard Mulligan, James McEachin, Gregg Palmer, Kiel Martin | Western | NULL | ||
| Under 18 | 1932 | Archie Mayo. | ★★ | 79 | Seeing what poverty has done to her sister's marriage, tenement teen Marsh won't marry trucker Toomey until he makes some money; then she gets involved with rich playboy William. Expected spice is missing from this bland romantic melodrama. One great scene: William has a wild party in his penthouse, replete with girls diving for jewels in a swimming pool. | tt0022517 | Marian Marsh, Regis Toomey, Warren William, Anita Page, Norman Foster, Joyce Compton, J. Farrell MacDonald. | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| Under California Stars | 1948 | William Witney. | ★★★ | 70 | Roy plays himself, returning to his ranch after shooting a movie, but all is not well: someone kidnaps Trigger and holds him for a huge ransom. Entertaining yarn puts Roy's golden palomino in the spotlight again. | tt0040915 | Roy Rogers, Jane Frazee, Andy Devine, George Lloyd, Wade Crosby, Michael Chapin, House Peters/Jr., Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Under Capricorn | 1949 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★ | 117 | Stuffy costumer set in 19th-century Australia; Bergman is frail wife of hardened husband Cotten; Wilding comes to visit, upsetting everything. Leighton excellent in supporting role. One of Hitchcock's few duds. | tt0042004 | Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding, Margaret Leighton, Cecil Parker | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Under Cover | 1987 | John Stockwell | ★½ | 94 | Neidorf is an out-of-town cop operating undercover with female narc Leigh to catch the drug pushers who killed another cop on the case. Best known as the pilot 'Cougar' in TOP GUN, Stockwell here makes an uninspired directorial debut. | tt0094215 | [R] | David Neidorf, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Corbin, Kathleen Wilhoite, David Harris | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Under Fiesta Stars | 1941 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 64 | Rodeo star Autry and spoiled city girl Hughes jointly inherit a ranch and mining property; he wants to run it as his adoptive dad always did, but she wants to sell out and hooks up with some lawyers who use rougher tactics than she ever envisioned to get rid of Gene. OK Autry Western with a great two-men-on-one-horse fight at the end. Series debut for Strauch as Frog's sidekick Tadpole. | tt0034336 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, Frank Darien, Joseph Strauch/Jr., Pauline Drake, Ivan Miller, Sam Flint, John Merton. | Western | NULL | |||
| Under Fire | 1983 | Roger Spottiswoode | ★★★½ | 128 | First-rate political thriller about journalists on the line in Managua, Nicaragua, 1979, how their lives intertwine, and how two of them risk their professionalism by becoming involved in the revolutionary conflict. One of those rare films that manages to combine real-life politics and realistic romance with a no-nonsense story. Trio of stars are superb; so is Jerry Goldsmith's music. Only problem: It goes on too long. Screenplay by Ron Shelton and Clayton Frohman. | tt0086510 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Ed Harris, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Richard Masur, Rene Enriquez, Hamilton Camp | Drama | NULL | ||
| Under Milk Wood | 1972 | Andrew Sinclair | ★★ | 90 | Rather obscure Dylan Thomas, not in terms of his work but in the film's ambitions. Beautiful images, but rather overbearing technique weighs down the acting. | tt0070854 | [PG] | Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O'Toole, Glynis Johns, Sian Phillips, Vivien Merchant | British | Animation, Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Under My Skin | 1950 | Jean Negulesco | ★★½ | 86 | Pensive study of troubled, crooked jockey Garfield, attempting to reform for the sake of son Lindgren and pretty widow Presle. Based on Ernest Hemingway's My Old Man; remade for TV in 1979 under that title. | tt0042005 | John Garfield, Micheline Presle, Luther Adler, Orley Lindgren, Noel Drayton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Under Nevada Skies | 1946 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 69 | Strangers come to town in search of a jeweled crest that contains a map to a rich deposit of pitchblende, which is used to manufacture atomic bombs! In the midst of this plotty Rogers film there's an incongruous musical production number, 'Sea Going Cowboy.' | tt0039064 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Douglass Dumbrille, Leyland Hodgson, Tristram Coffin, Rudolph Anders, LeRoy Mason, George J. Lewis, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Under Pressure | 1935 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★★ | 70 | Lowe and McLaglen team up again, this time as 'sand hogs' digging a tunnel under the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan, brawling over reporter Rice and racing to beat Bickford and his crew, who are tunneling from the other direction. Fast, snappy action-comedy with an unusual setting and a great climax. | tt0027154 | Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Florence Rice, Marjorie Rambeau, Charles Bickford, Sig Rumann. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Under Satan's Sun | Under the Sun of Satan | 1987 | Maurice Pialat | ★★★ | 97 | A very demanding and difficult film, not for all tastes but most rewarding to those who can relate to the subject: the questions, conflicts, and torments of rural priest Depardieu. Adapted from a book by Georges Bernanos, author of Diary of a Country Priest. Video title: UNDER THE SUN OF SATAN. | tt0094011 | Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, Maurice Pialat, Alain Artur, Yann Dedet | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Under Siege | 1992 | Andrew Davis | ★★½ | 102 | DIE HARD at sea, with cook Seagal playing tiger-and-mouse with thugs plotting to steal nuclear arms from aboard a 900-foot Navy battleship. Seagal's best film to date; Jones and Busey are better villains than film deserves. Worth it just to see Steve in a chef's cap. Followed by two sequels. | tt0105690 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Erika Eleniak, Patrick O'Neal, Nick Mancuso, Andy Romano, Colm Meaney | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Under Siege 2: Dark Territory | 1995 | Geoff Murphy | ★★ | 100 | Bad guys take over a cross-continental train to seize control of a satellite particle-beam weapon; then they threaten to blow up the Eastern seaboard. But they didn't reckon with Casey the Cook (Seagal). Elaborately produced and well directed, but still just another connect-the-dots action thriller. | tt0114781 | [R] | Steven Seagal, Eric Bogosian, Katherine Heigl, Morris Chestnut, Everett McGill, Brenda Bakke, Peter Greene, Andy Romano, Nick Mancuso, Royce D. Applegate, Kurtwood Smith, Afifi | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Under Suspicion | 1992 | Simon Moore | ★★ | 99 | Brighton, England, 1959: Ex-cop turned seedy private eye Neeson becomes chief suspect in a murder, and must (surprise!) set out to prove his innocence. Dour-looking and sluggishly paced film is helped by Neeson, good as always, and Cranham— playing his only ally on the police force. San Giacomo is unfortunately miscast as a femme fatale, mistress of a world-renowned artist; she seems absurd in the role and entire production suffers. | tt0105691 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, Kenneth Cranham, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Maggie O'Neill, Martin Grace, Stephen Moore | U.S.-British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Under Suspicion | 2000 | Stephen Hopkins | ★★½ | 110 | In Puerto Rico, police captain Freeman calls in political bigshot Hackman for questioning, but takes his time revealing that he's a suspect in a series of rapes and murders. Hopkins uses some imaginative techniques, and the two leads are excellent, as usual, but overall it's routine and familiar. Freeman and Hackman executive produced. Remake of the superior GARDE À VUE (1981). | tt0164212 | [R] | Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Monica Bellucci, Nydia Caro, Miguel Ángel Suárez, Isabel Algaze | U.S.-French | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Under Ten Flags | 1960 | Duilio Coletti | ★★½ | 92 | German attack-ship during WW2 uses a variety of dodges to elude British pursuers, in naval cat-and-mouse game, told from Axis point of view. Filmed in Italy. | tt0054328 | Van Heflin, Charles Laughton, Mylene Demongeot, John Ericson, Cecil Parker, Liam Redmond, Alex Nicol | U.S.-Italian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Under Two Flags | 1936 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 96 | Debonair legionnaire Colman is caught between two women (aristocratic Russell and camp follower Colbert), and the envy of jealous commandant McLaglen in this unbelievable but entertaining Foreign Legion story, from the book by Ouida (filmed before in 1916 and 1922). Originally ran 110m. | tt0028442 | Ronald Colman, Claudette Colbert, Victor McLaglen, Rosalind Russell, Gregory Ratoff, Nigel Bruce, Herbert Mundin, John Carradine, J. Edward Bromberg | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Under Western Skies | 1945 | Jean Yarbrough. | ★★ | 57 | Silly, innocuous grade-B Universal musical about a traveling revue in the Old West that runs afoul of the townspeople at their latest stop. | tt0038203 | Martha O'Driscoll, Noah Beery/Jr., Leo Carrillo, Leon Errol, Irving Bacon, Ian Keith, Jennifer Holt. | Musical, Western | NULL | |||
| Under Western Stars | 1938 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 65 | Roy's first starring vehicle finds him elected to Congress, where he attempts to draw attention to the plight of Western ranchers beset by dust-bowl conditions. (In fact, Roy sings 'Dust.') Film's huge box-office success launched the career of the King of the Cowboys. | tt0030910 | Roy Rogers, Smiley Burnette, Carol Hughes, Guy Usher, Tom Chatterton, Kenneth Harlan, Alden Chase. | Western | NULL | |||
| Under the Boardwalk | 1989 | Fritz Kiersch | ★½ | 104 | Surfers from the San Fernando Valley ('Vals') square off against Venice locals ('Lokes'), with Romeo-and-Juliet-like conflict of Val boy who loves Loke girl. Anemic teen picture is a major waste of time. Oddest element: jargon-spouting narrator is 20 years in the future. | tt0098557 | [R] | Richard Joseph Paul, Danielle Von Zerneck, Steve Monarque, Keith Coogan, Roxana Zal, Hunter Von Leer, Tracey Walter, Dick Miller, Sonny Bono, Elizabeth Kaitan | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Under the Cherry Moon | 1986 | Prince | ★½ | 98 | Supremely silly vanity film with Prince self-cast as American gigolo/entertainer in the south of France who has a devastating effect on women (yes, it's a science-fiction story). Stylish-looking fairy tale/fable, filmed in black & white, is a triumph of self-adoration, and overall embarrassment. Some music throughout, but in fragmented scenes. Kristin Scott Thomas' film debut. | tt0092133 | [PG-13] | Prince, Jerome Benton, Kristin Scott Thomas, Steven Berkoff, Francesca Annis, Emmanuelle Sallet, Alexandra Stewart, Victor Spinetti | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Under the Gun | 1989 | James Sbardellati | ★★ | 89 | Cop Jones teams up with lawyer Williams to go after plutonium thief who ordered the death of Jones' brother. Acceptable but familiar odd-couple crime melodrama; at least it keeps moving. | tt0098558 | [R] | Sam J. Jones, Vanessa Williams, John Russell, Michael Halsey, Sharon Williams, Bill McKinney, Rockne Tarkington, Don Stark, Nick Cassavetes | Action | NULL | ||
| Under the Hula Moon | 1995 | Jeff Celentano | ★★½ | 96 | An escaped convict holes up with his long-estranged brother, a dreamer/schemer who lives in the desert trying to make his fortune manufacturing a revolutionary sunscreen. Baldwin and Lloyd are an endearingly loopy couple in this off-kilter comedy. Written by the director. | tt0114784 | [R] | Stephen Baldwin, Emily Lloyd, Christopher Penn, Musetta Vander, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Edie McClurg, Carel Stuycken, R. Lee Ermey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Under the Influence | 1986 | Thomas Carter | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Griffith gives a rock-solid portrayal of a family man who refuses to acknowledge he's an alcoholic. Writer and recovered alcoholic Joyce Rebeta-Burditt's incisive script delivers a powerful statement. | tt0092134 | Andy Griffith, Season Hubley, Paul Provenza, Keanu Reeves, William Schallert, Joyce Van Patten | Drama | NULL | |||
| Under the Rainbow | 1981 | Steve Rash | 💣 | 98 | Even by today's standards this is an astoundingly unfunny and tasteless comedy about spies, undercover agents, and midgets who cross paths in a hotel during filming of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Is this film the Wicked Witch's revenge? | tt0083254 | [PG] | Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, Joseph Maher, Adam Arkin, Mako, Pat McCormick, Billy Barty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Under the Red Robe | 1937 | Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) | ★★½ | 82 | Diverting costumer with Veidt as hero, Annabella lovely heroine, and Massey the cruel villain in story of French Cardinal Richelieu's oppression of the Huguenots. Offbeat sense of humor adds to film's enjoyment. | tt0029712 | Conrad Veidt, Raymond Massey, Annabella, Romney Brent, Sophie Stewart | British | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Under the Roofs of Paris | 1930 | René Clair | ★★★½ | 92 | Mime and song, with a minimum of dialogue, tell the story in this wonderful film about two ordinary Parisians (Prejean, Greville) involved with the same woman (Illery). A groundbreaking link between silent and sound cinema; Lazare Meerson's sets are outstanding. Written by Clair. | tt0021409 | Albert Prejean, Pola Illery, Gaston Modot, Edmond Greville, Paul Olivier | French |
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| Under the Same Moon | 2008 | Patricia Riggen | ★★★ | 109 | A mother is separated from her young son when they try to cross the U.S. border. After four years she’s working in L.A., still hoping to save enough to bring him to America, while he’s being raised by his grandmother. Circumstances cause him to make the journey on his own, and he meets both kind and cruel people along the way. Amazing performance from young Alonso anchors this movie, which flirts with cliché but scores a bull’s-eye emotionally. Aka LA MISMA LUNA. | tt0796307 | [PG-13] | Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata, Carmen Salinas, America Ferrera, Jesse Garcia, Los Tigres del Norte | U.S.-Mexican | Drama | NULL | |
| Under the Sand | 2001 | François Ozon | ★★★ | 95 | Happily married, middle-aged woman (Rampling) goes into denial after her husband mysteriously disappears while they are vacationing at the beach. This introspective, quietly powerful drama presents a vivid exploration of the psychology of heartbreak and grief. Rampling has never been better. | tt0240913 | Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart, Pierre Vernier, Andrée Tainsy | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Under the Tuscan Sun | 2003 | Audrey Wells | ★★★ | 115 | While traveling through Tuscany, an American divorcée, still dazed by the collapse of her marriage, impulsively decides to buy a house and settle there, even though she doesn't know a soul. A perfect showcase for Lane, whose winning, empathic performance allows us to share her experiences. Everything looks and feels right in this entertaining fictionalization of Frances Mayes' best-selling memoir by director-screenwriter Wells. Jeffrey Tambor appears unbilled. | tt0328589 | [PG-13] | Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Raoul Bova, Lindsay Duncan, Vincent Riotta, Elden Henson | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Under the Volcano | 1984 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 109 | Somber but striking adaptation of Malcolm Lowry's novel about alcoholic diplomat in Mexico during the late 1930s; rich in atmosphere and texture, with a great performance by Finney. Screenplay by Guy Gallo; music by Alex North. | tt0088322 | [R] | Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Katy Jurado, James Villiers | Drama | NULL | ||
| Under the Yum Yum Tree | 1963 | David Swift | ★★½ | 110 | Obvious sex comedy owes most of its enjoyment to Lemmon as love-hungry landlord trying to romance tenant Lynley who's living with her fiancé (Jones). | tt0057622 | Jack Lemmon, Carol Lynley, Dean Jones, Edie Adams, Imogene Coca, Paul Lynde, Robert Lansing | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Under-Cover Man | 1932 | James Flood | ★★½ | 70 | Good but familiar tale of Raft devoting his life to finding father's killer. Well acted. | tt0023638 |
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George Raft, Nancy Carroll, Roscoe Karns, Gregory Ratoff, Lew Cody | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Under-Pup | 1939 | Richard Wallace | ★★½ | 81 | Hokey but heartwarming tale of singing tenement child who attends exclusive summer camp as charity guest of a snobbish girls' club. Film debut for Gloria Jean, Universal Pictures' 'successor' to Deanna Durbin. Originally released at 88m. | tt0032075 | Gloria Jean, Robert Cummings, Nan Grey, Beulah Bondi, Virginia Weidler, Margaret Lindsay, C. Aubrey Smith, Billy Gilbert | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Underclassman | 2005 | Marcos Siega | 💣 | 94 | Pause here for a Jack Webb 'uh-huh': Instead of being canned when he precipitates half a mile's worth of car-chase damages, barely-literate cop Cannon is assigned to pose incognito as a student at a swanky college that's been victimized by a car-theft ring. Few clichés are missed, including Cannon's inevitable yen for the campus Spanish instructor (Sanchez). Script is in serious stupor, as if it has spent a month in a locked room with some of Cheech's old stash. | tt0373416 | [PG-13] | Nick Cannon, Shawn Ashmore, Roselyn Sanchez, Kelly Hu, Ian Gomez, Hugh Bonneville, Cheech Marin | Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Undercover Blues | 1993 | Herbert Ross | ★★ | 89 | Paper-thin comedy-romance-thriller about supercool married ex-spies Jeff and Jane Blue, parents of a baby girl, who tangle with various heavies in New Orleans. Quaid and Turner are no William Powell and Myrna Loy, and this is no THIN MAN. Tucci, however, is hilarious as thug named Muerte. | tt0108442 | [PG-13] | Kathleen Turner, Dennis Quaid, Fiona Shaw, Stanley Tucci, Larry Miller, Obba Babatundé, Tom Arnold, Park Overall, Ralph Brown, Jan Triska, Saul Rubinek | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Undercover Brother | 2002 | Malcolm D. Lee | ★★ | 84 | When an African-American general and potential presidential candidate (Williams) mysteriously announces that he's opening a fried chicken franchise, one man is chosen to find out why: a bro with a fro in the know (Griffin). Loopy comedy has some real laughs, but its gags fall flat far too often. Based on an Internet series. Not solid. | tt0279493 | [PG-13] | Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Noseworthy, James Brown, Robert Townsend | Action, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Undercover Girl | 1950 | Joseph Pevney | ★★ | 83 | Smith in title role joins police to locate her father's killer; George in cameo is outstanding. | tt0043087 | Alexis Smith, Scott Brady, Richard Egan, Gladys George, Regis Toomey | Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Undercover Maisie | 1947 | Harry Beaumont | ★★ | 90 | The brassy chorine joins the police as a special agent in this routine finale to the series. | tt0039935 | Ann Sothern, Barry Nelson, Mark Daniels, Leon Ames, Clinton Sundberg | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Undercover Man | 1942 | Lesley Selander. | ★½ | 66 | When Hopalong Cassidy visits the Gonzales hacienda in Mexico, a troublemaker tries to make each friend suspect the other of misdeeds, including border raids and robberies. Partial reworking of IN OLD MEXICO has too many slow, stage-bound scenes and unsubtle dialogue expounding President Roosevelt's 'Good Neighbor' policy. Series debut of the unmemorable Kirby, as 'Breezy,' yet another would-be replacement for 'Windy' (George Hayes). | tt0035487 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Antonio Moreno, Nora Lane, Chris-Pin Martin. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| The Undercover Man | 1949 | Joseph H. Lewis | ★★★ | 85 | Realistic drama of mob leader (loosely based on Al Capone) being hunted down by Secret Service men who hope to nail him on tax-evasion charge. Whitmore's film debut. | tt0042006 | Glenn Ford, Nina Foch, James Whitmore, Barry Kelley, Howard St. John | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Undercovers Hero | Soft Beds, Hard Battles | 1974 | Roy Boulting | 💣 | 95 | Inept WW2 'comedy,' with Sellers in six roles, including Hitler; a total dud. Made in 1973, barely released here. British title: SOFT BEDS, HARD BATTLES. | tt0070855 | [R] | Peter Sellers, Lila Kedrova, Curt Jurgens, Beatrice Romand, Jenny Hanley, Rex Stallings | British | Comedy | NULL |
| Undercurrent | 1946 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 116 | Stale melodramatics of newly married Hepburn, whose husband (Taylor) is bitterly estranged from his brother; however, there's more to the story than she realizes. Saved only by the fine cast and usual high MGM production quality. | tt0039066 | Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Edmund Gwenn, Marjorie Main, Jayne Meadows, Clinton Sundberg | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Underdog | 2007 | Frederik Du Chau | ★★ | 84 | Ordinary pup is given superpowers by a mad scientist who wants to use the dog for his own evil purposes. Live-action version of the popular 1960s TV cartoon series never takes off; CGI flying effects can’t make up for stock villains and subpar plotting. Contrived and inane; uninspired voice casting of Lee as Underdog doesn’t help. Where is Wally Cox when we really need him? | tt0467110 | [PG] | Voices of Jason Lee, Amy Adams, Brad Garrett; Peter Dinklage, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Alex Neuberger, Taylor Momsen, John Slattery | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Underground | 1941 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 95 | Gripping story of German underground movement, with Dorn shielding his activities from loyal soldier-brother Lynn. Kosleck is definitive Nazi swine. | tt0034337 | Jeffrey Lynn, Philip Dorn, Kaaren Verne, Mona Maris, Frank Reicher, Martin Kosleck | Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Underground U.S.A. | 1980 | Eric Mitchell | ★★★ | 85 | Street hustler Mitchell forces his way into the life of has-been movie star Astor. Rambling but fascinating; a sort of punk rock SUNSET BLVD. | tt0081682 |
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Patti Astor, Eric Mitchell, Rene Ricard, Tom Wright, Cookie Mueller, Jackie Curtis, Taylor Mead | Drama | NULL | ||
| Underneath | 1995 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★½ | 99 | Ne'er-do-well returns home to Austin to attend his mother's wedding, and foolishly tries to pick up the pieces of his life before he left town. Soon he's pursuing his ex-girlfriend, annoying her gangsterish boyfriend, and cooking up a robbery scheme. Remake of the film noir favorite CRISS CROSS is stylish, intriguing, but awfully low-key. A must for fans of flashbacks. | tt0114788 | [R] | Peter Gallagher, Alison Elliott, William Fichtner, Adam Trese, Joe Don Baker, Paul Dooley, Elisabeth Shue, Anjanette Comer, Shelley Duvall, Joe Chrest | Crime | NULL | ||
| Undersea Girl | 1957 | John Peyser. | 💣 | 75 | Corday is a reporter (and diver) who joins the police and the Navy in trying to track down a gang that's looted a sunken ship. Sunk is right. | tt0051131 | Mara Corday, Pat Conway, Dan Seymour, Florence Marly, Myron Healey. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Undertaking Betty | 2005 | Nick Hurran | ★★½ | 94 | Intermittently funny farce involving mortician/wannabe ballroom dancer Molina, who's long had a crush on kindhearted but unhappily married Blethyn. He agrees to help stage her 'demise' so she may avoid the embarrassment of divorcing her philandering husband. Walken is a riot as an oddball rival undertaker who stages outlandish themed funerals while proclaiming, 'The root word of funeral is fun.' Filmed in 2002. Originally titled PLOTS WITH A VIEW. | tt0298504 | [R] | Brenda Blethyn, Alfred Molina, Naomi Watts, Christopher Walken, Lee Evans, Robert Pugh, Jerry Springer, Miriam Margolyes | British-German-U.S. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Undertow | 2004 | David Gordon Green | ★★½ | 107 | Two teenaged brothers live with their widowed father on a dreary pig farm in the American South; their lives are abruptly altered by the arrival of their manipulative ex-con uncle. Atmospheric but flawed drama of family secrets and jealousies; the story takes too long to develop, and when it does the result is strictly standard. Coproduced by Terrence Malick. | tt0360130 | [R] | Jamie Bell, Josh Lucas, Devon Alan, Dermot Mulroney, Shiri Appleby, Pat Healy, Bill McKinney | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Underwater City | 1962 | Frank McDonald | ★★ | 78 | Mildly diverting sci-fi about engineer who builds experimental underwater city. Released theatrically in b&w. | tt0056637 | William Lundigan, Julie Adams, Roy Roberts, Carl Benton Reid, Chet Douglas, Paul Dubov | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Underwater Warrior | 1958 | Andrew Marton | ★★½ | 91 | On-location filming in the Philippines adds zest to narrative-style account of frogmen in action during closing days of WW2. | tt0052336 | Dan Dailey, Claire Kelly, James Gregory, Ross Martin | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Underwater! | 1955 | John Sturges | ★★ | 99 | Standard skin-diving fare, with Roland and Egan seeking out treasure in the deep. Russell in a bathing suit is the main attraction. | tt0048764 | Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Richard Egan, Lori Nelson, Jayne Mansfield | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Underworld | Transmutations | 1985 | George Pavlou | ★★½ | 100 | Fair thriller about mutants who live underground and who kidnap pretty hooker Cowper in order to obtain from Dr. Elliott the drug that will keep them alive. Retired gunman Lamb is hired by gang boss Berkoff to rescue her. Video title: TRANSMUTATIONS. | tt0090233 | [R] | Denholm Elliott, Steven Berkoff, Larry Lamb, Miranda Richardson, Art Malik, Nicola Cowper, Ingrid Pitt | British | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL |
| Underworld | 2003 | Len Wiseman | ★★ | 121 | In the foreboding setting of a dark city, war is raging between vampires and lycans (known to us as werewolves) . . . but bloodsucker Beckinsale finds herself attracted to, and protective of, Speedman, who doesn't realize his own lycanthropic fate. This should have been fun, but it's inexplicably dull, even with razzle-dazzle action scenes and effects, and Beckinsale fails to deliver as a sexy, leather-clad vampire. Unrated version runs 134m. | tt0320691 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly, Erwin Leder, Bill Nighy | British-German-Hungarian-U.S. | Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Underworld Informers | The Informers | 1965 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 105 | Tight, taut crime tale as Scotland Yard inspector Patrick must clear his name by bringing in notorious gangland leaders. Vivid atmosphere, fine acting by all. Original British title: THE INFORMERS. | tt0059312 | Nigel Patrick, Catherine Woodville, Margaret Whiting, Colin Blakely, Harry Andrews, Frank Finlay | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The Underworld Story | 1950 | Cy Endfield | ★★★ | 90 | Surprisingly effective gangster yarn of reporter joining small town newspaper and uncovering corruption; cast is uniformly good. | tt0043088 | Gale Storm, Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Mary Anderson, Michael O'Shea | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Underworld U.S.A. | 1961 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 99 | Robertson sees his father murdered and develops lifetime obsession to get even with the mob responsible. One of director Fuller's most visually striking films; unfortunately, his script goes astray and doesn't fulfill initial promise. | tt0055571 | Cliff Robertson, Dolores Dorn, Beatrice Kay, Robert Emhardt, Larry Gates | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Underworld: Awakening | 2012 | Mans Mårlind, Björn Stein | ★★½ | 88 | After sitting out most of UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS (2009), Beckinsale is back in black with guns blazing for the fourth installment of the enduring popular action-horror franchise. Vampire warrior Selene (Beckinsale) awakens from suspended animation to find humans finally know about the centuries-long battle between werewolves and bloodsuckers—and are actively hunting both endangered species. Swedish codirectors billed as Mårlind & Stein keep the action sufficiently brisk and bloody to satisfy fans. | tt1496025 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Sandrine Holt, Charles Dance | Action, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Underworld: Evolution | 2006 | Len Wiseman | ★½ | 106 | Monotonous sequel is about what you'd expect, with vampire-warrior Beckinsale and half-vampire/half-werewolf pal Speedman battling vampire Curran, who is intent on liberating his beastly, imprisoned werewolf brother. Loud, gory, and boring. | tt0401855 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh, Shane Brolly, Brian Steele, Zita Görög, Michael Sheen | Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | 2009 | Patrick Tatopoulos | ★★ | 93 | Prequel to UNDERWORLD (2003) and UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION (2006) should satisfy fans—if no one else. It plays like a period swashbuckler while depicting first skirmishes in the centuries-long war between aristocratic vampires and rampaging werewolves. Series regulars Sheen (leader of the werewolves) and Nighy (lord of the vampires) are in fine form, but series devotees can debate whether Mitra (as Nighy’s rebellious daughter and Sheen’s secret lover) is an effective substitute for the nearly-absent Beckinsale, the leather-clad vampire-warrior in previous two UNDERWORLD monster rallies, who appears only fleetingly at the very end of this one. | tt0834001 | [R] | Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kate Beckinsale | Action, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Undisputed | 2002 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 94 | Simple, solid (albeit by-the-numbers) boxing melodrama in which a Mike Tyson-like champ-turned-convict (Rhames), jailed on a rape charge, butts heads with the prison's top pugilist (Snipes), a lifer doing time for murder. The two stars are excellent. | tt0281322 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Michael Rooker, Jon Seda, Wes Studi, Fisher Stevens, Dayton Callie, Amy Aquino | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Undying Monster | 1942 | John Brahm | ★★½ | 63 | OK chiller of a werewolf on the prowl around an English estate; nothing new, but atmospherically photographed by Lucien Ballard. | tt0035489 | James Ellison, John Howard, Heather Angel, Bramwell Fletcher | Horror | NULL | |||
| Une Femme Douce | 1969 | Robert Bresson. | ★★★ | 87 | Sanda gives a remarkable performance in her film debut as a gentle soul who marries a tyrannical pawnbroker with tragic results. Bresson's first color film is a depressing but hypnotic portrait of loneliness and alienation. Based on a Dostoyevsky story. | tt0065152 | Dominique Sanda, Guy Frangin, Jane (Jeanne) Lobre. | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Unearthly | 1957 | Brooke L. Peters | ★½ | 73 | Mad scientist Carradine's experiments in immortality have resulted only in a basement full of deformed morons. Don't you join them. | tt0051134 | John Carradine, Allison Hayes, Myron Healey, Sally Todd | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |||
| Unexpected Guest | 1947 | George Archainbaud. | ★½ | 61 | Bar 20 boys accompany Clyde to claim inheritance, then watch as his relatives are murdered one by one at the hands of a dark-cloaked, masked villain. Focus is on mystery, not Western action, in this modest 'old dark house' Hopalong Cassidy whodunit. Boyd spends too much time indoors and quickly changes out of his trademark dark outfit into light-colored civilian duds. Reissued as SADDLE AND SPURS. | tt0039936 | William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Una O'Connor, John Parrish, Patricia Tate. | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Unexpected Uncle | 1941 | Peter Godfrey. | ★★ | 67 | Fairly strained comedy-drama does at least prove a pleasant showcase for Shirley, as young woman with romantic entanglements aided by benevolent millionaire Coburn. Based on a novel by Eric Hatch (MY MAN GODFREY). | tt0034339 | Anne Shirley, James Craig, Charles Coburn, Ernest Truex, Astrid Allwyn, Hans Conried. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Unfaithful | 2002 | Adrian Lyne | ★★½ | 123 | Devoted wife and mom Lane becomes sexually attracted to a charming Frenchman she chances to meet. Against her better judgment, she puts her marriage on the line, leaving the next move to husband Gere. Deftly directed, with careful observation of life's ordinary details, and well acted, but steers off course and drags to a doleful conclusion. Remake of Claude Chabrol's LA FEMME INFIDÈLE. | tt0250797 | [R] | Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan, Dominic Chianese, Kate Burton, Chad Lowe, Zeljko Ivanek, Gary Basaraba, Margaret Colin | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Unfaithful | 1947 | Vincent Sherman | ★★½ | 109 | Title refers to Sheridan, who gets tangled in murder while husband is out of town; good cast in fairly interesting drama. Remake of THE LETTER. | tt0039937 | Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Steven Geray, John Hoyt | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Unfaithfully Yours | 1948 | Preston Sturges | ★★★★ | 105 | Brilliant Sturges comedy of symphony conductor Harrison, who suspects his wife of infidelity and considers three courses of action (including murder) during concert. Great moments from Vallee and Kennedy; often side-splittingly funny. Remade in 1984. | tt0040919 | Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Kurt Kreuger, Lionel Stander, Robert Greig, Edgar Kennedy, Julius Tannen, Al Bridge | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Unfaithfully Yours | 1984 | Howard Zieff | ★★½ | 96 | Remake of Preston Sturges' wonderful film about an orchestra conductor who suspects his wife of having an affair— and plans to murder her. Pretty funny, with a perfect cast, but loses steam somewhere along the way. Certainly no match for the witty original. | tt0088326 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Nastassja Kinski, Armand Assante, Albert Brooks, Cassie Yates, Richard Libertini, Richard B. Shull | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Unfaithfuls | 1960 | Stefano Steno | ★★½ | 89 | Multifaceted film of life among rich, corrupt society of Rome. | tt0045910 | Mai Britt, Gina Lollobrigida, Pierre Cressoy, Marina Vlady, Anna Maria Ferrero, Tina Lattanzi, Carlo Romano | Italian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Unfinished Business | 1941 | Gregory La Cava | ★★ | 96 | Ordinary romance about ambitious singer Dunne, loving Foster, marrying his brother Montgomery for spite— and promptly regretting it. Good cast wasted. | tt0034340 | Irene Dunne, Robert Montgomery, Preston Foster, Eugene Pallette, Dick Foran, Esther Dale, Walter Catlett | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Unfinished Business | 1984 | Don Owen | ★★★ | 99 | Appealing sequel to Owen's NOBODY WAVED GOODBYE. It's 20 years later: Kastner and Biggs, now divorced, have a rebellious offspring of their own, 17-year-old Mejias. Story focuses on her problems and anxieties as she approaches adulthood. | tt0088327 | Isabelle Mejias, Peter Spence, Leslie Toth, Peter Kastner, Julie Biggs, Chuck Shamata | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unfinished Business | 1985 | Bob Ellis | ★★★ | 78 | Touching, neatly acted comedy of middle-aged journalist Clayton, who meets up with Fawdon, the woman he once loved. She's married but childless-and proposes that he make her pregnant. | tt0090236 | John Clayton, Michele Fawdon, Norman Kaye, Bob Ellis, Andrew Lesnie | Australian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Unfinished Dance | 1947 | Henry Koster | ★★½ | 101 | Sugar-sweet story of young dancer O'Brien whose idol is ballerina Charisse. Remake of French film BALLERINA (LA MORT DU CYGNE). | tt0039938 | Margaret O'Brien, Cyd Charisse, Karin Booth, Danny Thomas, Esther Dale | Drama | NULL | |||
| An Unfinished Life | 2005 | Lasse Hallström | ★★★ | 107 | Needing to escape from her abusive boyfriend, and with no money, Lopez and her 11-year-old daughter go the only place they can: the Wyoming farm of her father-in-law (Redford), who still blames her for the death of his son. Also living on the farm is ranch hand Freeman, who was gored by a bear a year ago. Warmhearted, embracing story about family ties and the need for forgiveness. It's a treat to watch Redford and Freeman as two old codgers with an unshakable bond of friendship. Completed in 2003. | tt0350261 | [PG-13] | Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman, Josh Lucas, Camryn Manheim, Becca Gardner, Damian Lewis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unforgettable | 1996 | John Dahl | ★½ | 111 | Police department medical examiner who was accused of murdering his wife is obsessed with finding out the truth. When he meets a lab scientist (Fiorentino) who has discovered a way of transferring memory by injection, he experiments on himself, hoping to learn how and why his wife was killed. A solid premise (along the lines of a '50s sci-fi film) is dissipated by plodding treatment and a script that becomes ludicrous. A disappointment from director Dahl. Unendurable is more like it. | tt0118040 | [R] | Ray Liotta, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Coyote, Christopher McDonald, Kim Cattrall, Kim Coates, David Paymer, Duncan Fraser, Caroline Elliott | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| An Unforgettable Summer | 1994 | Lucian Pintilie | ★★½ | 82 | Atmospheric 1920s tale of Rumanian military officer's wife, whose devotion to her family and concern for others causes nothing but strife. Ironic and sadly pertinent story set predominately on remote border post where peasant Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Rumanians reside amidst constant tension and turmoil. Scott Thomas is excellent. | tt0111546 | Kristin Scott Thomas, Claudiu Bleont, Olga Tudorache, George Constantin, Ion Pavlescu, Marcel Iures, Razvan Vasilescu | French-Romanian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unforgiven | 1992 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 127 | Elegiac anti-Western about a one-time mad killer, long since reformed, who comes out of 'retirement' to make one more hit because he needs the money for his family. Powerful examination of morality and hypocrisy in the Old West— and the impact of killing (and being killed)— but marred by a midsection that plods. Exquisitely shot by Jack N. Green. Oscar winner for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Hackman), Best Film Editing (Joel Cox). | tt0105695 | [R] | Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Jaimz Woolvett, Saul Rubinek, Frances Fisher, Anna Thomson, Anthony James | Western | NULL | ||
| The Unforgiven | 1960 | John Huston | ★★★ | 125 | Western set in 1850s Texas tells of two families at odds with Indians over Hepburn, whom the latter claim as one of theirs. Gish and Bickford are outstanding in stellar-cast story, with rousing Indian attack climax. | tt0054428 | Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Charles Bickford, Lillian Gish, Doug McClure, Joseph Wiseman, Albert Salmi | Western | NULL | |||
| The Unguarded Hour | 1936 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 90 | Young is being blackmailed and cannot prove an accused murderer's innocence without damaging her own reputation— and embarrassing her prosecutor husband. Intriguing story comes to silly conclusion, but cast maintains interest (though the three leads are not terribly convincing as British subjects). | tt0028447 | Loretta Young, Franchot Tone, Lewis Stone, Roland Young, Jessie Ralph, Dudley Digges, Henry Daniell, Aileen Pringle | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Unguarded Moment | 1956 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 95 | Mild drama of schoolteacher whose emotional stability is endangered by lusting pupil. Film noteworthy only for Williams' nonaquatic role; based on a story by Rosalind Russell. | tt0049904 | Esther Williams, George Nader, John Saxon, Edward Andrews, Les Tremayne, Jack Albertson | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The Unholy Four | 1954 | Terence Fisher | ★½ | 80 | Muddled drama of amnesiac Sylvester caught up in a murder plot. Original British title: A STRANGER CAME HOME. | tt0047634 | Paulette Goddard, William Sylvester, Patrick Holt, Paul Carpenter, Jeremy Hawk | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Unholy Garden | 1931 | George Fitzmaurice | ★★½ | 74 | Forgettable but very entertaining fluff with Colman an adventurer/thief in desert setting; murder, action, romance neatly blended, carried by Colman's effortless charm. Written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. | tt0022523 | Ronald Colman, Fay Wray, Estelle Taylor, Tully Marshall, Warren Hymer, Mischa Auer, Henry Armetta | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Unholy Night | 1929 | Lionel Barrymore | ★★ | 94 | With the murder of several members of their regiment, veterans from the Indian war gather at Young's London home to ferret out the murderer. Stagy Ben Hecht melodrama with much hamming, especially by unbilled Karloff. | tt0020534 | Ernest Torrence, Dorothy Sebastian, Roland Young, Boris Karloff, Natalie Moorhead, Sidney Jarvis, Polly Moran, Sojin | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Unholy Partners | 1941 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 94 | Intriguing premise: Robinson starts sensationalistic newspaper after WW1, is forced to bargain with underworld king Arnold. Day gives fine performance as E.G.'s girl Friday; Hunt sings 'After You've Gone. | tt0034342 | Edward G. Robinson, Edward Arnold, Laraine Day, Marsha Hunt, William T. Orr, Don Beddoe, Walter Kingsford | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Unholy Rollers | 1972 | Vernon Zimmerman | ★★½ | 88 | Behind-the-scenes life on roller derby circuit, Roger Corman-style; raunchy low-budgeter offers some fun. | tt0069444 | [R] | Claudia Jennings, Louis Quinn, Betty Anne Rees, Roberta Collins | Action, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Unholy Three | 1925 | Tod Browning | ★★½ | 86 | In departure from horrific roles, Chaney plays sideshow ventriloquist who teams with strongman and midget to form underworld trio. Corny aspects of story can't mar fascination with basic idea, or Chaney's performance. Remade in 1930. | tt0016473 | Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, Harry Earles | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Unholy Three | 1930 | Jack Conway | ★★½ | 72 | Almost scene-for-scene remake of 1925 film was Chaney's only talkie; he's terrific, other players less so. Denouement rewritten for this remake to take advantage of sound. Midget Earles is largely incomprehensible. | tt0021505 | Lon Chaney, Lila Lee, Elliott Nugent, Harry Earles, John Miljan, Ivan Linow | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Unholy Wife | 1957 | John Farrow | ★½ | 94 | Muddled melodrama about farmer's wife attempting to kill husband and mistakenly shooting someone else. | tt0051136 | Rod Steiger, Diana Dors, Tom Tryon, Beulah Bondi, Marie Windsor | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Unholy | 1988 | Camilo Vila | ★★ | 100 | Ambitious horror film puts priest Cross to the test when archbishop Holbrook assigns him to cast out the devil from a New Orleans church. Veteran Philip Yordan's script (cowritten by film's designer Fernando Fonseca) is weird but unconvincing. Special effects are arresting, but highlight is Fortier as the supersexy demon. | tt0096340 | [R] | Ben Cross, Hal Holbrook, Jill Carroll, William Russ, Trevor Howard, Ned Beatty, Claudia Robinson, Nicole Fortier | Horror | NULL | ||
| Unhook the Stars | 1996 | Nick Cassavetes | ★★★ | 103 | Wonderful showcase for Rowlands as a widow with grown children who comes to the rescue of a flaky young neighbor and looks after her little boy one day; soon the two develop a strong bond based on their genuine need for each other. Lovely film cowritten by Cassavetes, son of Rowlands and John Cassavetes. Depardieu (who coproduced the film) has the only underwritten part in the picture. | tt0118044 | [R] | Gena Rowlands, Marisa Tomei, Gérard Depardieu, Moira Kelly, Jake Lloyd, David Thornton, David Sherrill, Clint Howard | French-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Unidentified Flying Oddball | 1979 | Russ Mayberry | ★★½ | 93 | Innocuous Disney update of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, with young Dugan (and a lookalike robot) catapulted back to medieval times. Retitled A SPACEMAN IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. | tt0080062 | [G] | Dennis Dugan, Jim Dale, Ron Moody, Kenneth More, John LeMesurier, Rodney Bewes, Shelia White | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Uninhibited | 1965 | Juan Antonio Bardem | ★★ | 104 | Good cast can't save muddled drama of troubled souls whose lives intertwine in picturesque seaside village on the Costa Brava. | tt0059589 | Melina Mercouri, Hardy Kruger, James Mason, Didier Haudepin, Jose Maria Monpin | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Uninvited | 1944 | Lewis Allen | ★★★½ | 98 | Eerie ghost suspenser about Russell disturbed by dead mother's specter; Milland and Hussey, new owners of haunted house, try to solve mystery. No trick ending in this ingenious film, which introduced Victor Young's melody 'Stella by Starlight.' Spooky cinematography by Charles Lang, Jr. Scripted by Dodie Smith and Frank Partos, from Dorothy Macardle's novel. | tt0037415 | Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Gail Russell, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Dorothy Stickney, Barbara Everest, Alan Napier | Horror, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Uninvited | 2009 | The Guard Brothers | ★★½ | 86 | Two teenage sisters—one a waifish ex-mental patient (Browning), the other a smart-mouthed wild child (Kebbel)—suspect the worst when, all too soon after their mother’s death, their father (Strathairn) becomes romantically involved with their late mom’s former nurse (Banks). Supernatural manifestations only serve to intensify their suspicions. Based on A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, a 2003 South Korean horror movie, this familiar but effectively atmospheric thriller gets a big boost from a genuinely surprising plot twist in the final reel. Directed by British siblings Charles and Thomas Guard, who bill themselves as The Guard Brothers. | tt0815245 | [PG-13] | Emily Browning, Elizabeth Banks, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn, Maya Massar, Kevin McNulty, Jesse Moss, Dean Paul Gibson | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Union City | 1980 | Mark Reichert | ★★½ | 87 | Harry (of the rock group Blondie) makes her dramatic debut as the wife of neurotic businessman Lipscomb, who beats a vagrant to death. Low-budget film noir is enhanced by Lipscomb performance and moody, quirky direction. | tt0081687 | [PG] | Dennis Lipscomb, Deborah Harry, Irina Maleeva, Everett McGill, Pat Benatar, Tony Azito | Drama, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Union Depot | 1932 | Alfred E. Green | ★★★ | 68 | Fast-paced, eventful yarn that brings sharpie Fairbanks and stranded chorus girl Blondell together at a bustling train station where a hundred subplots crisscross. Great fun, brimming with early-1930s flavor. | tt0023642 | Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale/Sr., David Landau, Frank McHugh | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Union Pacific | 1939 | Cecil B. DeMille | ★★★ | 135 | Brawling DeMille saga about building the first transcontinental railroad; McCrea the hero, Donlevy the villain, Stanwyck (with Irish brogue!) caught between McCrea and likable troublemaker Preston. Action scenes, including spectacular train wreck, Indian attack, and subsequent cavalry rescue via railroad flat cars are highlights. | tt0032080 | Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Robert Preston, Akim Tamiroff, Brian Donlevy, Anthony Quinn, Lynne Overman, Evelyn Keyes, Fuzzy Knight, J. M. Kerrigan, Regis Toomey | Western | NULL | |||
| Union Station | 1950 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 80 | Dated police techniques, plus general implausibility, detract from well-made film about manhunt for kidnapper (Bettger) of young blind woman (Roberts). | tt0043090 | William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Jan Sterling, Allene Roberts, Lyle Bettger | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| United 93 | 2006 | Paul Greengrass | ★★★½ | 111 | Harrowing dramatization of the flight that was hijacked on September 11, 2001, as terrorists attempted to fly the plane into the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Film follows the parallel drama of how flight controllers and military personnel first realized something was wrong and then tried to deal with it. Several key people on the ground portray themselves in this impeccably crafted, emotionally charged drama, written by the director. | tt0475276 | [R] | David Alan Basche, Richard Bekins, Susan Blommaert, Ray Charleson, Christian Clemenson, Khalid Abdalla, Lewis Alsamari, David Rasche, Chip Zien, Denny Dillon, Rebecca Schull, Gregg Henry | U.S.-French-British | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| The United States of Leland | 2004 | Matthew Ryan Hoge | ★★★ | 104 | Strikingly original mood piece/morality play about a quiet teenage boy (Gosling) consumed by the unhappiness of the world. He commits an unthinkable crime that even he can't explain, and it has repercussions on everyone around him, young and old alike, who are all trying to cope with their own problems. Told in a mosaic form, flashing back and forth in time. Written by the director. Spacey coproduced. | tt0301976 | [R] | Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Chris Klein, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Kevin Spacey, Michelle Williams, Martin Donovan, Ann Magnuson, Kerry Washington, Sherilyn Fenn, Matt Malloy, Ron Canada | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Universal Soldier | 1992 | Roland Emmerich | ★★ | 104 | Van Damme and Lundgren— well, it's not exactly Tracy and March in INHERIT THE WIND. Hunks are well cast as rival cyborgs (in a runaway government experiment, natch) whose human components hated each other during Vietnam. Has the requisite number of explosions. The director slyly keeps the grocery store Muzak going during Lundgren's one big emoting scene— right after he eats raw meat from a bin. Followed by a sequel and two cable TV movies. | tt0105698 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Ally Walker, Ed O'Ross, Jerry Orbach, Leon Rippy, Tico Wells, Ralph Moeller | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Universal Soldier: The Return | 1999 | Mic Rodgers | ★★ | 82 | The muscles from Brussels is back and must stop an out-of-control super-cyborg from world domination. Derivative but not boring rehash of the original. Features two tough heroines, Schanz and ESPN fitness guru Tom, but if you're threatened by the enlightened sexual politics, there's also a gratuitous brawl at a nudie bar. In his acting debut, WCW superstar Bill Goldberg proves he has all the dramatic range of Foghorn Leghorn. | tt0176269 | [R] | Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Heidi Schanz, Xander Berkeley, Daniel von Bargen, Kiana Tom | Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Unknown | 2006 | Simon Brand | ★★½ | 85 | A group of strangers wake up in a locked warehouse with a dead security guard, unaware of who they are and how they got there. Reasonably engaging, unpredictable mystery with a solid cast, but it comes across as little more than a puree of recent indie hits (MEMENTO, SAW). Simultaneously released in theaters and on cable. | tt0450340 |
|
Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Bridget Moynahan, Joe Pantoliano, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto, Peter Stormare, Chris Mulkey, Kevin Chapman, Mark Boone, Clayne Crawford, David Selby | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Unknown | 2011 | Jaume Collet-Serra | ★★ | 113 | American college professor Neeson arrives in Berlin with his wife (Jones) to attend a conference on biotechnology. Before he can even check into his hotel a mishap causes him to take a taxi ride, which ends in an accident and robs him of his memory. When he regains his mental equilibrium, no one recognizes him—not even his wife. Hitchcockian story, based on a novel by French author Didier van Cauwelaert, has a great setup, a good cast, fresh Berlin locations, and a couple of nifty chase scenes, but doesn’t pay off as well as it should. Passable escapism, no more. | tt1401152 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella, Sebastian Koch | U.S.-German-French | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Unknown Guest | 1943 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 64 | Murder whodunit manages to create suspense and perk interest, largely due to Jory's performance in this programmer. | tt0036480 | Victor Jory, Pamela Blake, Veda Ann Borg, Harry Hayden, Emory Parnell | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Unknown Island | 1948 | Jack Bernhard | ★½ | 76 | Boring story of adventurers searching for prehistoric monsters on strange island features men in dinosaur suits. | tt0040920 | Virginia Grey, Philip Reed, Richard Denning, Barton MacLane | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Unknown Man | 1951 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 86 | Capable cast enhances this yarn of scrupulously honest lawyer Pidgeon and his strange triumph of justice upon discovering the guilt of his client in a murder trial. | tt0044166 | Walter Pidgeon, Ann Harding, Barry Sullivan, Keefe Brasselle, Lewis Stone, Eduard Franz, Richard Anderson, Dawn Addams | Film-Noir, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Unknown Powers | 1979 | Don Como | ★½ | 96 | Inept examination of such phenomena as astrology, mysticism, spiritual healing and psychic surgery, with the 'stars' introducing each section. | tt0249220 | [PG] | Samantha Eggar, Jack Palance, Will Geer, Roscoe Lee Browne | Drama, Documentary, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Unknown Terror | 1957 | Charles Marquis Warren | ★★ | 77 | Unremarkable chiller set in South America, involving uncontrollable fungus. | tt0051137 | John Howard, Paul Richards, May Wynn, Mala Powers, Sir Lancelot | Horror | NULL | |||
| The Unknown Woman | 2006 | Giuseppe Tornatore | ★★★ | 118 | Offbeat mystery involves a Russian woman with a checkered background who insinuates herself into the ordered lives of an upwardly-mobile Italian family. Her job as a nanny to their young daughter eventually unlocks secrets about everyone. Clearly inspired by Hitchcock, Tornatore constructs a classic puzzle; the head-scratching pieces all add up to an absorbing thriller that successfully takes the CINEMA PARADISO writer-director into brand-new territory. One of Ennio Morricone’s best scores in recent years. | tt0494271 | Xenia Rappoport, Michele Placido, Claudia Gerini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Margherita Buy, Alessandro Haber, Piera Degli Esposti, Clara Dossena, Angela Molina | Italian | Thriller, Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Unknown World | 1951 | Terrell O. Morse | ★★ | 74 | Overbaked relic of its era, with geologist Kilian and colleagues boring to the earth's core in a Cyclotram (mechanical mole). Their purpose: to find a haven from the A-bomb. Nash's character, that of an (at first) icy-cold 'feminist' scientist, is alone worth the price of admission. Unabashedly moralistic screenplay by Millard Kaufman; music by Ernest Gold. | tt0044167 | Bruce Kellogg, Marilyn Nash, Victor Kilian, Jim Bannon | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Unknown | 1927 | Tod Browning | ★★★ | 50 | Wild and wooly silent Chaney chiller about a criminal on the lam who hides out in a gypsy circus and pretends he has no arms. Ultra-creepy, even by Browning's bizarre standards, with an unforgettable finale. | tt0018528 | Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Norman Kerry, Nick De Ruiz, John George | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Unlawful Entry | 1992 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★★ | 111 | A break-in at the home of Russell and Stowe leads to their befriending lonely LAPD officer Liotta. But the disturbed cop develops a fixation on the wife— and we're into another urban paranoia thriller. It has the genre's usual contrivances and plot holes, but it's tense and exciting, with a terrific performance by Liotta. | tt0105699 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta, Madeleine Stowe, Roger E. Mosley, Ken Lerner, Deborah Offner, Carmen Argenziano, Dick Miller, Djimon (Hounsou) | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Unleashed | Danny the Dog | 2005 | Louis Leterrier | ★★½ | 102 | Li is kept on a leash—literally—and is raised by Glasgow gangster Hoskins since childhood to become his personal attack dog. He escapes and tries to start a new life with the aid of a blind piano tuner (Freeman), but is forced to confront his violent past. Typically slick and brutal Euro-actioner from writer-producer Luc Besson has a ludicrous premise amped up with exhilarating fight scenes choreographed by martial arts master Yuen Wo Ping. European title: DANNY THE DOG. Also available in an unrated version. Super 35 | tt0342258 | [R] | Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon, Michael Jenn, Vincent Regan, Dylan Brown, Phyllida Law | French-British | Drama, Crime, Action, Romance, Thriller | NULL |
| Unman, Wittering and Zigo | 1971 | John Mackenzie. | ★★★ | 102 | Nifty little sleeper with Hemmings as new boys' school teacher who is promptly informed by his class that they murdered his predecessor, and that he'd better stay in line . . . or else. Creepy, chilling mystery, loaded with twists and stylishly photographed by Geoffrey Unsworth. Actual killer's identity is not revealed until after the closing credits! Title refers to the last three names on the roll . . . but Zigo is always absent. | tt0067907 | [PG] | David Hemmings, Carolyn Seymour, Douglas Wilmer, Hamilton Dyce, Anthony Haygarth, Donald Gee. | British | Mystery | NULL | |
| An Unmarried Woman | 1978 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★★ | 124 | Intelligent, compassionate look at how a woman copes when her husband walks out on her. Mazursky (who also wrote script) pulls no punches and makes no compromises— his characters are living, breathing people and his film is a gem. Clayburgh is magnificent in title role. | tt0078444 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman, Pat Quinn, Kelly Bishop, Lisa Lucas, Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| An Unreasonable Man | 2007 | Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan | ★★★½ | 122 | Fascinating, aptly titled documentary on pioneering consumer activist Ralph Nader follows a remarkable arc: from his challenge to Goliath-like General Motors as a young man out of nowhere to a presidential run in 2000 that lost him many former allies, because they think the votes he won cost Al Gore the election. Though the film ultimately comes down on its protagonist's side by a margin a little larger than the one that separated Gore and Bush, it's hard hitting both pro and con, as it should be. Lots of supportive, disillusioned, and angry voices get their due; there's even rich footage from the episode Nader hosted of Saturday Night Live. | tt0492499 | Unrated | Documentary, Biography | NULL | |||
| An Unremarkable Life | 1989 | Amin Q. Chaudhri | ★½ | 92 | A hokey script does in this dud about two aging, very different sisters who live under the same roof and share memories and disagreements, especially when Mako starts wooing Neal. Neal and Winters try their best, but this is no WHALES OF AUGUST. | tt0098565 | [PG] | Patricia Neal, Shelley Winters, Mako, Rochelle Oliver, Charles Dutton, Lily Knight, Jenny Chrisinger | Drama | NULL | ||
| Unsane | 1982 | Dario Argento | ★★ | 100 | Not as interesting as most of horror stylist Argento's thrillers, story is about novelist Franciosa becoming the subject of death threats. Extremely bloody but featuring some arresting camerawork by Luciano Tovoli, who also photographed THE PASSENGER. Originally titled: TENEBRAE. Video version runs 91m. | tt0084777 | [R] | Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, Daria Nicolodi, Giuliano Gemma, Mirella D'Angelo, John Steiner | Italian | Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Unseen | 1945 | Lewis Allen | ★★ | 81 | Man who made THE UNINVITED with Gail Russell tries similar venture but doesn't succeed. Governess Russell haunted again by strange mystery, but film haunted by very weak ending. Screenplay by Raymond Chandler and Hagar Wilde. | tt0038205 | Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall, Phyllis Brooks, Isobel Elsom, Norman Lloyd | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Unseen | 1981 | Peter Foleg | 💣 | 89 | TV reporter Bach and crew— two other women, naturally-are harassed by 'Junior' (Furst), product of incestuous affair between Lassick and Goldoni. Moronic horror film is not very horrifying. | tt0083261 | [R] | Barbara Bach, Sydney Lassick, Stephen Furst, Lelia Goldoni, Karen Lamm, Doug Barr, Lois Young | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Unsinkable Molly Brown | 1964 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 128 | Big, splashy, tuneful adaptation of Broadway musical. Debbie is energetically entertaining as backwoods girl who knows what she wants, eventually gets to be wealthiest woman in Denver in the late 1800s. Based on a true story! Meredith Willson score includes 'I Ain't Down Yet,' 'Belly Up to the Bar, Boys.' | tt0058708 | Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley, Jack Kruschen, Hermione Baddeley, Audrey Christie, Martita Hunt, Harvey Lembeck | Comedy, Western, Musical | NULL | |||
| Unstoppable | 2010 | Tony Scott | ★★★ | 98 | Sensationally exciting thriller, very loosely based on real-life events, recalls DIE HARD in its focus on working-class heroes in the wrong place at the right time. Veteran engineer facing forced retirement (Washington) and a first-day-on-the-job hothead (Pine) must transcend their differences and defy their superiors to halt an out-of-control, half-mile-long freight train carrying hazardous cargo through heavily populated areas. White-knuckle action sequences and stripped-to-essentials storytelling enhance the full-throttle impact. Written by Mark Bomback. | tt0477080 | [PG-13] | Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Corrigan, Lew Temple, Kevin Chapman | U.S.-British | Drama, Action, Thriller | NULL | |
| Unstrung Heroes | 1995 | Diane Keaton | ★★½ | 94 | A boy's adventures growing up in an off-center Jewish family of the early '60s with a nutty inventor father, a loving mother (who takes ill), and two highly eccentric uncles. The characters are colorful, and the performances are first-rate, but the film never quite gels. Young Watt is a real find. Freely adapted from the autobiographical book by Franz Lidz. | tt0114798 | [PG] | Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards, Maury Chaykin, Nathan Watt, Kendra Krull, Joey Andrews, Celia Weston, Anne DeSalvo, Candice Azzara | Drama | NULL | ||
| An Unsuitable Job for a Woman | 1981 | Christopher Petit | ★★★ | 94 | Moody, entertaining film noir thriller about a woman detective (P. Guard) and her investigation of an unusual murder case after her boss commits suicide. Based on a novel by P. D. James. | tt0083263 | Pippa Guard, Billie Whitelaw, Paul Freeman, Dominic Guard, Elizabeth Spriggs. | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Unsuspected | 1947 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 103 | Predictable melodrama with good cast; superficially charming radio star Rains has murder on his mind, with niece Caulfield the victim. | tt0039941 | Claude Rains, Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett, Hurd Hatfield | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Untamed | 1929 | Jack Conway | ★★ | 88 | Cornball early talkie with Crawford as Bingo, an oil heiress reared in the tropical wilds, who falls in love with poor boy Montgomery. | tt0020538 | Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence, Holmes Herbert, John Miljan, Gwen Lee | Drama | NULL | |||
| Untamed | 1940 | George Archainbaud | ★½ | 83 | Milland is a brave doctor trying to get serum through a blizzard in this hokey remake of Clara Bow's MANTRAP. | tt0033208 |
|
Ray Milland, Patricia Morison, Akim Tamiroff, William Frawley, Jane Darwell, Esther Dale | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Untamed Breed | 1948 | Charles Lamont | ★★ | 79 | Routine trials and tribulations of breeding cattle in old Texas, amid romance and gunplay. | tt0040921 | Sonny Tufts, Barbara Britton, William Bishop, Edgar Buchanan | Western | NULL | |||
| Untamed Frontier | 1952 | Hugo Fregonese | ★★½ | 75 | Range war between Texan cattle owners is basis for this Western improved by good cast. | tt0045281 | Joseph Cotten, Shelley Winters, Scott Brady, Suzan Ball, Antonio Moreno | Western | NULL | |||
| Untamed Heart | 1993 | Tony Bill | ★★½ | 102 | Multiple-hankie romantic tale about two troubled adults. Waitress Tomei can't seem to keep a boyfriend, while shy busboy Slater is a well-meaning orphan with a heart ailment. Solid production and good performances (especially from the two stars) go a long way to offset the basically hokey story. Romantics of all ages are sure to enjoy this. | tt0108451 | [PG-13] | Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, Rosie Perez, Kyle Secor, Willie Carson | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Untamed Heiress | 1954 | Charles Lamont. | ★½ | 70 | Slight Canova vehicle involving an aged prospector who once loved Judy's late mother and a villain intent on pilfering the prospector's fortune. | tt0047635 | Judy Canova, Donald Barry, Taylor Holmes, George Cleveland, Chick Chandler, Jack Kruschen, Ellen Corby. | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Untamed Women | 1952 | W. Merle Connell | ★½ | 70 | Campy nonsense about Air Force flyers stranded on Pacific island ruled by strange women, last descendants of the Druids. Caveat emptor. | tt0045282 | Mikel Conrad, Doris Merrick, Richard Monahan, Mark Lowell, Midge Ware, Carol Brewster | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Untamed Youth | 1957 | Howard W. Koch | 💣 | 80 | Side-splitting camp masterpiece has sisters Mamie and Lori railroaded onto yucky prison work farm owned by hissably slimy Russell. You know something's wrong when Mamie sings four songs and Cochran only one. Best line: 'Don't hit me in the mouth again! You'll break my dental plate! | tt0051139 | Mamie Van Doren, Lori Nelson, John Russell, Don Burnett, Eddie Cochran, Lurene Tuttle, Robert Foulk, Yvonne Lime, Jeanne Carmen, The Hollywood Rock and Rollers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Unthinkable | 2010 | Gregor Jordan | ★ | 89 | Sheen sends a video message to the government: He has placed three nuclear devices at different areas across the U.S. He is quickly caught, but interrogator Jackson will do anything in order to extract information that will lead to the bombs before they explode. How far is too far? Attempts to make Jackson’s character appear normal only succeed in making him seem even more psychotic. Other than Sheen’s chameleon-like performance, there’s no upside here. In fact, the whole movie is unthinkable. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. Alternate version runs 95m. | tt0914863 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen, Martin Donovan, Stephen Root, Gil Bellows, Brandon Routh, Holmes Osborne, Benito Martinez, Sasha Roiz | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Until September | 1984 | Richard Marquand | ★★ | 95 | Temporarily stranded in Paris, Allen falls in love with handsome (and married) banker Lhermitte. Utterly predictable romantic drama. | tt0088330 | [R] | Karen Allen, Thierry Lhermitte, Christopher Cazenove, Marie-Christina Conti, Nitza Saul, Hutton Cobb | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Until They Sail | 1957 | Robert Wise | ★★½ | 95 | Soaper courtroom story set in WW2 New Zealand, with sisters (Fontaine, Simmons, Laurie, and Dee) involved in love, misery, and murder. From James Michener story. | tt0051141 | Paul Newman, Joan Fontaine, Jean Simmons, Sandra Dee, Piper Laurie, Charles Drake, Patrick Macnee, Dean Jones | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Until the End of the World | 1991 | Wim Wenders | ★★ | 158 | In the near future, Dommartin joins Hurt on a mysterious global mission, which leads to the creation of a device that will enable blind people to see. Intended as the 'ultimate road movie,' but the story doesn't take off until almost halfway through, and the characters and themes remain a jumble. Even the locations (fifteen cities on four continents) can't help. There are some sparks from von Sydow, interesting high-definition TV effects, and an eclectic, all-star soundtrack, but it's still a major disappointment. | tt0101458 | [R] | William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Sam Neill, Max von Sydow, Jeanne Moreau, Rudiger Vogler, Ernie Dingo, Chick Ortega, Eddy Mitchell | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Untouchables | 1987 | Brian De Palma | ★★★★ | 119 | High-energy entertainment that packs a wallop: writer David Mamet's update of the well-remembered TV series tells how an earnest but naive federal agent named Eliot Ness learns (the hard way) to deal with both underworld crime and police corruption in Prohibition-era Chicago. Fluidly (and often flamboyantly) filmed, with powerhouse performances by Connery (in his Oscar-winning role), as a seasoned street cop, and De Niro, as a grandiose Al Capone. Climactic shoot-out, with echoes of POTEMKIN, will have you on the edge of your seat! Photographed by Stephen H. Burum, with a rich music score by Ennio Morricone. | tt0094226 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Billy Drago, Patricia Clarkson | Action, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Untraceable | 2008 | Gregory Hoblit | ★★½ | 100 | Formulaic but effective thriller about a computer-savvy psycho who devises the ultimate killer app: On his website, he offers downstreaming video of captives tormented by torture devices that grow increasingly more painful, and eventually lethal, as voyeurs worldwide click to watch. Not for the squeamish. About as satisfying as a better-than-average episode of a TV police-procedural drama. Lane is persuasive as the FBI agent on the killer’s trail. | tt0880578 | [R] | Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Mary Beth Hurt, Perla Haney-Jardine | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Unwed Mother | 1958 | Walter Doniger. | ★½ | 74 | Country girl Moore arrives in L.A. and is promptly seduced and impregnated by smarmy Vaughn. Unexciting programmer. | tt0052341 | Norma Moore, Robert Vaughn, Diana Darrin, Billie Bird, Jeanne Cooper. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Unzipped | 1995 | Douglas Keeve | ★★★ | 72 | Lively, if selective, documentary about N.Y. fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, which begins with him mired in a creative slump and ends with a 1994 show that trumpets his 'Eskimo line.' Benefits from the ceaseless effervescence of its subject, whose oft-demonstrated tastes in movies and television extend to Bette Davis (in BABY JANE mode), Loretta Young, and his beloved Mary Tyler Moore. | tt0114805 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Up | 2009 | Pete Docter | ★★★½ | 96 | Wonderfully imaginative Pixar animated film about an old man who, just as life seems to be shutting him down, embarks on a great adventure, the kind he’s dreamed about since he was a boy. He hoists his house in the air with balloons and heads for South America and the spot he and his wife always dreamed of visiting—accompanied by a well-meaning boy from an explorer troop. Sweet, touching, exciting, funny, and constantly surprising, with great character design and attention to detail. Michael Giacchino’s score perfectly supports a wide range of emotions. Written by Docter and Bob Peterson (who codirected and supplies the voice of Dug) from their story with Tom McCarthy. | tt1049413 | [PG] | Voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Delroy Lindo, John Ratzenberger, Elie Docter | Comedy, Family, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Up Close & Personal | 1996 | Jon Avnet | ★★★ | 124 | Ambitious young woman goes to work for veteran newsman at a Miami TV station, where he shapes and prods her into a good reporter. As their personal relationship blossoms, they both know it's time for her to move on— and up the television ladder. Paraphrase of A STAR IS BORN has everything but Pfeiffer saying 'This is Mrs. Norman Maine' at the end, but it still works because of the thousand-watt charisma of its leads. Screenplay by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne of all people. | tt0118055 | [PG-13] | Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna, Kate Nelligan, Glenn Plummer, James Rebhorn, Scott Bryce, Raymond Cruz, Dedee Pfeiffer, Miguel Sandoval, Noble Willingham, James Karen | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Up From the Beach | 1965 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 99 | Static film of American sergeant Robertson involved with French civilians in love and war during Normandy invasion. | tt0059853 | Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Francoise Rosay, Irina Demick, Marius Goring, Slim Pickens, James Robertson Justice, Broderick Crawford | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Up Front | 1951 | Alexander Hall | ★★½ | 92 | Sometimes amusing WW2 comedy based on Bill Mauldin's cartoon characters Willie and Joe, and their military shenanigans. Sequel: BACK AT THE FRONT. | tt0044173 | David Wayne, Tom Ewell, Marina Berti, Jeffrey Lynn, Richard Egan | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Up Goes Maisie | 1946 | Harry Beaumont | ★★ | 89 | Maisie gets a job as secretary to a helicopter inventor and battles crooks who are trying to pilfer the patent. Stock series entry. | tt0039073 | Ann Sothern, George Murphy, Hillary Brooke, Stephen McNally, Ray Collins, Jeff York, Paul Harvey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Up Periscope | 1959 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 111 | Garner is Navy lieutenant transferred to submarine during WW2, with usual interaction among crew as they reconnoiter Japanese held island. | tt0053399 | James Garner, Edmond O'Brien, Andra Martin, Alan Hale/Jr., Carleton Carpenter, Frank Gifford | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |||
| Up Tight | 1968 | Jules Dassin | ★★★ | 104 | Tough remake of THE INFORMER, ghetto-style. Black revolutionaries betrayed by one of their own. | tt0063748 | [PG] | Raymond St. Jacques, Ruby Dee, Frank Silvera, Julian Mayfield, Roscoe Lee Browne, Max Julien | Drama | NULL | ||
| Up Your Alley | 1989 | Bob Logan | ★★½ | 88 | Ambitious low-budget comedy with dramatic underpinnings. Reporter Blair pretends to be homeless to write a story about cynical street person Langston, and his innocent friend Zany. Gags too often undermine sensitive and serious moments. Cowritten by director Logan and star Langston (a.k.a. The Unknown Comic). | tt0096348 | [R] | Murray Langston, Linda Blair, Bob Zany, Kevin Benton, Ruth Buzzi, Glen Vincent, Jack Hanrahan, Melissa Shear, Johnny Dark, Yakov Smirnoff | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up and Down | 2004 | Jan Hrebejk. | ★★½ | 108 | A couple of small-time smugglers discover an abandoned baby, triggering a series of alternately funny and tragic consequences among a disparate group of people trying to sort out life in the complicated new ways of the Czech Republic. Well-made, quirky tale spins its web against the changing social, economic, and political landscape of a country that is learning to start over. | tt0401488 | [R] | Petr Forman, Emília Vásáryová, Jan Tríska, Ingrid Timková, Kristyna Liska Boková, Jirí Machácek. | Czech | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Up at the Villa | 2000 | Philip Haas | ★★ | 115 | Awkward adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham novella set in 1938 Florence. Thomas takes pity on Austrian immigrant Davies and initiates one night of sex, but the young man shoots himself when she refuses to extend the relationship. Davies' dreadful performance would be enough to sink most movies by itself, but there's also a lack of chemistry between Thomas and Penn (as a roving-eyed American adventurer). As their social circle's resident gossip, Bancroft is broad enough to fit right in with the 'Florence set' in the more entertaining TEA WITH MUSSOLINI. | tt0153464 | [PG-13] | Kristin Scott Thomas, Sean Penn, Anne Bancroft, James Fox, Jeremy Davies, Derek Jacobi, Massimo Ghini | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| Up in Arms | 1944 | Elliott Nugent | ★★½ | 106 | Danny's first feature film (about a hypochondriac in the Army) doesn't wear well, biggest asset being vivacious Dinah Shore; Virginia Mayo is one of the chorus girls. Only those great patter songs— including 'The Lobby Number' and 'Melody in 4F'— hold up. Based on The Nervous Wreck, filmed before with Eddie Cantor as WHOOPEE! | tt0037420 | Danny Kaye, Dana Andrews, Constance Dowling, Dinah Shore, Louis Calhern, Lyle Talbot, Margaret Dumont, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Up in Central Park | 1948 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 88 | Disappointing screen version of Broadway musical hit (minus many of its songs) about an Irish colleen in turn of the century N.Y.C. who helps expose the crooked Tammany Hall tactics of Boss Tweed (Price). | tt0040925 | Deanna Durbin, Dick Haymes, Vincent Price, Albert Sharpe, Tom Powers | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Up in Mabel's Room | 1944 | Allan Dwan | ★★★ | 76 | Engaging comedy of innocent O'Keefe embarrassed by presence of old flame (Patrick) in front of his wife (Reynolds). Based on a stage play filmed before in 1926; director and star reteamed in 1945 for GETTING GERTIE'S GARTER. | tt0037421 | Dennis O'Keefe, Marjorie Reynolds, Gail Patrick, Mischa Auer, Charlotte Greenwood, Lee Bowman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Up in Smoke | 1978 | Lou Adler | ★★★ | 86 | This silly pothead comedy breaks down all resistance with its cheerful vignettes about two dummies in search of 'good grass.' Nothing great, but undeniably funny; this was Cheech and Chong's first movie. | tt0078446 | [R] | Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Stacy Keach, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up in the Air | 2009 | Jason Reitman | ★★★ | 109 | Clooney, who works for a company that handles mass firings, has fashioned his life around constant (and efficient) travel, and distancing himself from relationships. Then two women come into his life: a young hotshot MBA (Kendrick) who thinks she has a better way of doing his job, and a savvy, sexy businesswoman (Farmiga) who becomes his sexual partner on the road. A pointed, timely, sometimes funny, sometimes rueful rumination on modern life and the way we connect or disconnect from the people around us. Brilliantly adapted by Sheldon Turner and Reitman from Walter Kirn’s novel. The cast couldn’t be better . . . but the people reacting to firings at various points in the film are real, not actors. | tt1193138 | [R] | George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Amy Morton, Melanie Lynskey, J. K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Danny McBride, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Lowell | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Up in the Cellar | Three in the Cellar | 1970 | Theodore J. Flicker | ★★★ | 92 | Above-average story of alluring youth who knows how to turn women on. Flicker's screenplay is exceptionally sharp. Made to cash in on success of THREE IN THE ATTIC, and was in fact retitled THREE IN THE CELLAR. | tt0066512 | [R] | Wes Stern, Joan Collins, Larry Hagman, Judy Pace | Comedy | NULL | |
| Up in the World | 1956 | John Paddy Carstairs | ★★½ | 91 | Typical Wisdom comedy, anticipating Jerry Lewis' solo vehicles. He's a bumbling window cleaner involved with aristocrats and kidnappers, and even gets to sing. | tt0049906 | Norman Wisdom, Maureen Swanson, Jerry Desmonde, Colin Gordon, Lionel Jeffries | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up the Academy | Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy | 1980 | Robert Downey | ★★ | 88 | Crude, tasteless but occasionally lively comedy about misadventures in a boys' military school. Leibman had his name taken off credits and advertising, but film isn't that bad. Aka MAD MAGAZINE PRESENTS UP THE ACADEMY, although for cable TV release all references to Mad and Alfred E. Neuman were excised. Macchio's film debut. | tt0081695 | [R] | Ron Leibman, Wendell Brown, Ralph Macchio, Tom Citera, Tom Poston, Stacey Nelkin, Barbara Bach, Leonard Frey, Robert Downey/Jr. | Comedy | NULL | |
| Up the Creek | 1958 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 83 | Broad naval spoof à la MISTER ROBERTS, which leans too much on slapstick rather than barbs; Hyde-White is best as nonplussed admiral. Previously filmed as OH, MR. PORTER. | tt0052343 | David Tomlinson, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Peter Sellers, Vera Day, Michael Goodliffe | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up the Creek | 1984 | Robert Butler | ★★ | 95 | Silly comedy— though far from the worst of its kind— about four college losers (played by graduates of PORKY'S and ANIMAL HOUSE) who battle dastardly preppies and gung-ho military cadets to win a raft race. Plenty of skimpily clad girls, plus a genuinely funny charade scene. | tt0088333 | [R] | Tim Matheson, Jennifer Runyon, Stephen Furst, Dan Monahan, Sandy Helberg, Jeff East, Blaine Novak, James B. Sikking, John Hillerman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up the Down Staircase | 1967 | Robert Mulligan | ★★★ | 124 | Film version of Bel Kaufman's bestseller about N.Y.C. public schools is too slickly handled to be taken seriously, but generally entertaining. Good acting, especially by O'Mara as pathetic student. | tt0062425 | Sandy Dennis, Patrick Bedford, Eileen Heckart, Ruth White, Jean Stapleton, Sorrell Booke, Roy Poole, Ellen O'Mara | Drama | NULL | |||
| Up the MacGregors | 1967 | Frank Garfield | ★½ | 93 | Sequel to SEVEN GUNS FOR THE MACGREGORS (but released here earlier) is distinguished from a million other Italian Westerns only by its relatively restrained use of violence. | tt0062251 | David Bailey, Agata Flori, Leo Anchoriz, Roberto Carmardiel | Italian-Spanish | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Up the River | 1930 | John Ford | ★★½ | 92 | Silly but disarmingly funny comedy about a pair of habitual convicts, played by Tracy (dynamic in his feature-film debut) and Hymer, and their efforts to help fellow inmate Bogart (in his second feature), who's fallen in love with female prisoner Luce. Notable for its confluence of great talents at the beginnings of their careers— but it's also fun to watch. | tt0021508 | Spencer Tracy, Claire Luce, Warren Hymer, Humphrey Bogart, William Collier/Sr | Comedy, Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Up the Sandbox | 1972 | Irvin Kershner | ★★½ | 97 | Uneasy mixture of naturalism and fantasy somewhat redeemed by Streisand's performance, some funny sequences, and genuine feeling for plight of neglected young mother in N.Y.C. | tt0069449 | [R] | Barbra Streisand, David Selby, Jane Hoffman, John C. Becher, Jacobo Morales, Barbara Rhoades, Stockard Channing, Isabel Sanford, Conrad Bain, Paul Dooley, Anne Ramsey | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Up to His Ears | 1965 | Philippe De Broca | ★★★ | 108 | Wealthy young man decides to end his troubles by hiring a killer to do him in, then changes his mind. Energetic comedy runs hot and cold, but has many delicious moments. Beware of 94m. version. | tt0059831 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Ursula Andress, Maria Pacome, Valerie Lagrange, Jess Hahn | French-Italian | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Uphill All the Way | 1985 | Frank Q. Dobbs | 💣 | 86 | Teaming of singing stars Tillis and Clark as inept robbers in the Old West probably sounded like fun on paper but emerges as a mirthless chase film. Cameo contributions of pals Reynolds and Campbell add little. | tt0090239 | [PG] | Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Burl Ives, Glen Campbell, Trish Van Devere, Burt Reynolds, Frank Gorshin, Sheb Wooley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Upper Hand | 1966 | Denys de La Patelliere | ★★½ | 86 | Labored international underworld yarn, with wooden performances by cast involved in gold smuggling. | tt0060349 | Jean Gabin, George Raft, Gert Frobe, Nadja Tiller | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Upperworld | 1934 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★★ | 72 | Rich businessman William, wed to Astor, becomes involved with burlesque performer Rogers— much to his regret. Entertaining Ben Hecht drama, uplifted by William's charm, Rogers' presence, marred only by an unsatisfying conclusion. | tt0025935 | Warren William, Mary Astor, Ginger Rogers, Dickie Moore, Andy Devine, J. Carrol Naish, Mickey Rooney, Sidney Toler | Drama | NULL | |||
| Uprising | 2001 | Jon Avnet | Above Average TV Movie | 210 | Vivid two-part dramatization of the infamous 42-day WW2 uprising by the Jewish resistance fighters who battled the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto, led by Mordechai Anielewicz (Azaria), a resolute teacher whose dreams of emigrating to Palestine are dashed by the Germans. Written by director Avnet and Paul Brickman. This had a brief theatrical release. | tt0250798 | Hank Azaria, Leelee Sobieski, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland, Jon Voight, Cary Elwes, Stephen Moyer, Mili Avital, Radha Mitchell, Sadie Frost | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Upside of Anger | 2005 | Mike Binder. | ★★★ | 118 | Allen gives another knockout performance in this absorbing slice of life about a woman whose husband walks out on her, leaving her to cope with four daughters and an enormous well of anger. Costner is quite good as an ex-baseball-player-turned-radio-personality who insinuates himself into her life. Writer-director Binder plays Costner's producer. Filmed in England, though it takes place in the U.S. | tt0365885 | [R] | Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, Mike Binder, Dane Christensen. | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Upstairs and Downstairs | 1961 | Ralph Thomas | ★★★ | 100 | Witty study of human nature: Craig married boss' daughter (Heywood) and they must entertain firm's clients. Traces chaos of party-giving, and odd assortment of servants who come and go. | tt0052780 | Mylene Demongeot, Michael Craig, Anne Heywood, James Robertson Justice, Daniel Massey, Claudia Cardinale | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Uptown Girls | 2003 | Boaz Yakin | ★★½ | 93 | Would-be fairy tale about the spoiled daughter of a rock star who suddenly discovers she's broke and is forced to take her first job ever— as nanny to a precocious 8-year-old girl whose mother ignores her. Murphy and Fanning are well cast and give the film its spark, but the muddled script wavers uneasily between comedy and drama, settling too often for formulaic glibness. | tt0263757 | [PG-13] | Brittany Murphy, Dakota Fanning, Marley Shelton, Donald Faison, Jesse Spencer, Austin Pendleton, Heather Locklear | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Uptown New York | 1932 | Victor Schertzinger | ★★½ | 80 | Modest, occasionally entertaining soaper about young Grey, who's loved by successful but slimy surgeon Waycoff and decent, enterprising bubble-gum salesman Oakie. | tt0023646 | Jack Oakie, Shirley Grey, Leon Waycoff (Ames), George Cooper, Raymond Hatton | Romance | NULL | |||
| Uptown Saturday Night | 1974 | Sidney Poitier | ★★½ | 104 | Undeniably entertaining, this film still looks like an Amos 'n Andy script dusted off. Broad, silly comedy about two pals (Poitier, Cosby) who try to retrieve a stolen winning lottery ticket and get involved with an underworld kingpin (Belafonte, in an uproarious Godfather parody). A pair of follow-ups: LET'S DO IT AGAIN and A PIECE OF THE ACTION. | tt0072351 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Calvin Lockhart, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Rosalind Cash, Roscoe Lee Browne, Paula Kelly | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Upturned Glass | 1947 | Lawrence Huntington | ★★★ | 89 | Mason stars as a doctor who is driven to murder to avenge the death of his lover. Somber psychological thriller that starts slowly but builds suspensefully to a powerful conclusion. Mason also coproduced. | tt0039947 | James Mason, Pamela Kellino (Mason), Rosamund John, Ann Stephens, Henry Oscar, Morland Graham | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| Uranium Boom | 1956 | William Castle. | ★½ | 67 | Dull account of two ore prospectors striking it rich, but more concerned with who will win Medina's love. | tt0049907 | Dennis Morgan, Patricia Medina, William Talman, Tina Carver. | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Uranus | 1991 | Claude Berri | ★★★ | 100 | Communists and anti-communists, collaborators and ex-resisters lobby for power in a French village formerly held by the Nazis. Less politically ambiguous than muddled, and perhaps overplotted— but a potent showcase for some powerhouse French actors. | tt0100851 | Philippe Noiret, Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Michel Blanc, Gérard Desarthe, Michel Galabru, Fabrice Luchini, Daniel Prevost | French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Urban Cowboy | 1980 | James Bridges | ★★★ | 135 | A young hardhat new to Pasadena, Texas, gravitates to the incredible honky-tonk named Gilley's, with its easy women, macho ambience, and mechanical bull, perfecting an 'image' of manhood that doesn't quite work out in real life. An evocative slice of life adapted from Aaron Latham's magazine story by Latham and director Bridges. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0081696 | [PG] | John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith-Osborne, Barry Corbin, Brooke Alderson, Mickey Gilley, Charlie Daniels Band, Bonnie Raitt | Drama | NULL | ||
| Urban Legend | 1998 | Jamie Blanks | ★★ | 99 | College friends are stalked by an unknown murderer, who kills them one by one in the style of famous urban legends. Clever premise is undercut by standard presentation and a truly rotten ending. Just another SCREAM clone, but a bit more entertaining than most. Followed by a sequel. | tt0146336 | [R] | Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Michael Rosenbaum, Loretta Devine, Joshua Jackson, John Neville, Robert Englund, Danielle Harris, Brad Dourif, Tara Reid | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Urban Legends: Final Cut | 2000 | John Ottman | 💣 | 98 | Rivalry between student filmmakers— some with mysterious pasts— seems to lead to a series of murders. Only tenuously linked to the first film, this mostly avoids the 'urban legends' premise, and also avoids being worth your time. Just another slasher movie, defanged by oversensitivity to violence and gore. Rebecca Gayheart appears unbilled. | tt0192731 | [R] | Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, Hart Bochner, Loretta Devine, Eva Mendes, Joseph Lawrence, Anson Mount, Jessica Cauffiel, Anthony Anderson, Michael Bacall, Marco Hofschneider | Horror, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Urbania | 2000 | Jon Shear | ★★★ | 103 | Unusual, surreal drama of a gay New Yorker trying to cope with daily life— and the meaning of life— after apparently losing his lover. Film has an enigmatic structure, a strong cast and a superb performance by Futterman. Shear's feature directing debut; he also produced and coscripted. | tt0182508 | Dan Futterman, Alan Cumming, Matt Keeslar, Josh Hamilton, Lothaire Bluteau, Samuel Ball, Barbara Sukowa, Paige Turco, Gabriel Olds | Thriller, Drama | NULL | |||
| Ursus in the Land of Fire | 1963 | Giorgio Simonelli | ★½ | 87 | Stupid muscleman mini-film, with Fury battling all odds to help Gilli regain her throne. | tt0057628 |
|
Ed Fury, Claudia Mori, Adriano Micantoni, Luciana Gilli | Italian | Adventure | NULL | |
| Ursus in the Valley of the Lions | 1961 | Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia. | ★★ | 82 | Routine costumer with Fury teaming with friendly lions to overcome the barbarians. | tt0055578 |
|
Ed Fury, Moira Orfei, Mary Marlon, Alberto Lupo, Gerard Herter. | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| Used Cars | 1980 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★ | 111 | Outrageous comedy about used car dealer rivalry that leads to spectacular and outlandish customer-getting schemes. Hilarious script by Bob Gale and Bob Zemeckis revels in bad taste, but does it so good-naturedly it's difficult to resist. And remember, $50 never killed anybody. | tt0081698 | [R] | Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae, Deborah Harmon, Joseph P. Flaherty, David L. Lander, Michael McKean, Andrew Duncan, Wendie Jo Sperber | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Used People | 1992 | Beeban Kidron | ★★½ | 115 | When her husband dies, a middle-aged Jewish woman (MacLaine) finds herself being courted— persistently— by an Italian man (Mastroianni) who's admired her from afar for more than 20 years! Heavily plotted family saga (adapted by actor Todd Graff from a series of his plays) offers many touching and amusing— if never quite convincing— vignettes, with an all-star lineup of actors (again, not terribly convincing, but fun to watch). | tt0105706 | [PG-13] | Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Marcello Mastroianni, Marcia Gay Harden, Sylvia Sidney, Joe Pantoliano, Mathew Branton, Bob Dishy, Charles Cioffi, Louis Guss, Doris Roberts | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Ushpizin | 2004 | Giddi Dar | ★★★ | 90 | Compassionate, folksy comedy-a box-office smash in Israel-about a childless Orthodox Jewish husband and wife (played by real-life spouses) who are struggling financially as they celebrate the Sukkoth holiday with some loutish houseguests. Made by secular filmmakers in collaboration with members of Jerusalem's Orthodox community; together, they offer an insider's view of Orthodox Jewish customs while presenting characters whose experiences are universal. Rand, who plays the husband, wrote the screenplay-with the approval of his rabbi. Film's title translates to 'holy guests.' | tt0426155 | [PG] | Shuli Rand, Michal Bat-Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi, Ilan Ganani, Avraham Abutboul, Yonathan Danino, Daniel Dayan | Israeli | Drama | NULL | |
| The Usual Suspects | 1995 | Bryan Singer | ★★½ | 105 | Five criminals of slightly different stripes are busted and put in a police lineup for a crime they didn't commit. They soon discover that fate— and perhaps more earthly forces— brought them together. Terrific cast makes the most of Christopher McQuarrie's intriguing, Oscar-winning, but convoluted script. (If you think about it, the final twist negates the entire film!) Highly praised, but to our minds, too 'clever' for its own good. Spacey won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. | tt0114814 | [R] | Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, Kevin Spacey, Suzy Amis, Benicio Del Toro, Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Hedaya, Paul Bartel | Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Utah | 1945 | John English. | ★★½ | 78 | Musical star Evans is willing to sell the ranch she's just inherited in Utah, since she needs an infusion of cash to keep her show going. Ranch foreman Rogers tries to make her see that Withers is going to cheat her on the deal. Would have been better without the intrusion of an Oklahoma-style finale. | tt0038212 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Dale Evans, Peggy Stewart, Beverly Lloyd, Grant Withers, Hal Taliaferro, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Utah Blaine | 1957 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 75 | Undistinguished Western about Calhoun helping to overcome land-grabbing outlaws. | tt0051145 | Rory Calhoun, Angela Stevens, Max Baer, Paul Langton | Western | NULL | |||
| Utamaro and His Five Women | 1946 | Kenji Mizoguchi. | ★★★★ | 95 | Stylized, beautifully made period piece about the life of 18th-century Japanese printmaker Utamaro Kitagawa and his intense relationships with the coterie of models that inspired him. Much more than a biography, this highly stylized film is one of the best ever made about artists and the creative process, as well as an evocative portrait of Japan's demimonde of the late 1700s. | tt0039074 | Minosuke Bando, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kotaro Bando, Hiroko Kawasaki, Toshiko Iizuka. | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Utilities | 1981 | Harvey Hart | ★½ | 91 | Social worker Hays declares war on the gas, electric and phone companies in this undercooked satiric comedy. | tt0083266 | [PG] | Robert Hays, Brooke Adams, John Marley, James Blendick, Ben Gordon, Jane Malett, Tony Rosato | Canadian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Utopia | Robinson Crusoeland | 1950 | Leo Joannon | ★½ | 80 | L&H's final film saddles the great comics with poor script and production, despite decent premise of the duo inheriting a uranium-rich island. Aka ATOLL K and ROBINSON CRUSOELAND. | tt0042210 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Suzy Delair, Max Elloy | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Utu | 1983 | Geoff Murphy | ★½ | 104 | Maori tribesman (and British army subordinate) in New Zealand goes on a ritualistic rampage after his family is wiped out in a senseless raid. Downbeat, dull, and full of stereotypical characters— without the compensating power of Australia's not dissimilar THE CHANT OF JIMMY BLACKSMITH. Originally released in New Zealand at 118m; this review is based on the shorter U.S. version. | tt0086497 | [R] | Anzac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Tim Elliott, Kelly Johnson, Wi Kuki Kaa | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | |
| Utz | 1992 | George Sluizer | ★★ | 94 | Good cast does its best in this overly sedate account of an elderly, dying man (Mueller-Stahl) and his lifelong obsession with collecting porcelain figurines. The point— the ultimate meaninglessness of materialism— is obvious. Scripted by Hugh Whitemore; based on Bruce Chatwin's novel. | tt0105712 | Armin Mueller-Stahl, Brenda Fricker, Peter Riegert, Paul Scofield, Gaye Brown, Miriam Karlin | British-German-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| V for Vendetta | 2006 | James McTeigue | ★★★ | 132 | In the near future, England chafes under an Orwellian government led by Hurt. Society’s savior: masked rebel V (Weaving), who, invoking the spirit of Guy Fawkes, launches the movie by blowing up Old Bailey to the strains of Tchaikovsky. Portman is quite good as the man’s captive, even sporting a symbolic Joan of Arc cut in the movie’s second half. Uncommonly provocative for a major-studio movie, though cloaked in comic-book ambiance. Based on the Vertigo/DC Comics graphic novel by Alan Moore, illustrated by David Lloyd. Written and produced by The Wachowski Brothers. | tt0434409 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Piggott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Sinéad Cusack, Eddie Marsan | British-German-U.S. | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| V.I. Warshawski | 1991 | Jeff Kanew | 💣 | 89 | Wretchedly scripted, directed, and photographed assemblage of characters taken from Sara Paretsky's series of novels. Turner is a tough Chicago private detective (and closet fashion plate) investigating the murder of a hockey player who'd once caught her fancy. On paper, the star and her character should have melded; slipshod production helps render this a hall-of-fame boo-boo. | tt0103184 | [R] | Kathleen Turner, Jay O. Sanders, Charles Durning, Angela Goethals, Nancy Paul, Frederick Coffin, Charles McCaughan, Stephen Meadows, Wayne Knight, Stephen Root | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The V.I.P.s | 1963 | Anthony Asquith | ★★½ | 119 | Glossy GRAND HOTEL plot, set in London airport. Everyone is terribly rich and beautiful; if you like watching terribly rich, beautiful people, fine. If not, it's all meaningless. Rutherford (who won an Oscar for this) is excellent, and so is Maggie Smith. Written by Terence Rattigan. | tt0057634 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Louis Jourdan, Margaret Rutherford, Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith, Orson Welles, Linda Christian, Elsa Martinelli, Dennis Price, David Frost, Michael Hordern, Robert Coote | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Va Savoir | 2001 | Jacques Rivette | ★★★ | 150 | Laid-back comedy follows the romantic entanglements of six characters, beginning with an actress (Balibar) who has returned to Paris to star in a Pirandello play in which the script mirrors the offstage goings-on. Rich, carefully observed movie for grown-ups. | tt0242994 | [PG-13] | Jeanne Balibar, Sergio Castellitto, Marianne Basler, Jacques Bonnaffé, Hélène de Fougerolles, Bruno Todeschini, Catherine Rouvel, Claude Berri | French-Italian | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Vacancy | 2007 | Nimród Antal | ★★½ | 80 | An estranged couple's car breaks down in a desolate area, forcing them to spend the night at a motel run by creepy Whaley, who looks like he'd make a good roommate for Norman Bates. They soon discover they have checked into a room with hidden cameras used to make snuff films and realize they are intended to star in the next production. Tight, economic thriller is helped by director Antal's inventive approach to basically sleazy material. Saul Bass-inspired title and end credit sequences are a highlight. | tt0452702 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry, Scott G. Anderson, Mark Casella, David Doty. | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Vacation From Love | 1938 | George Fitzmaurice. | ★★½ | 66 | Saxophone player O'Keefe objects to Rice's marriage on a whim, even though he's never seen her before in his life, and ends up wedding her himself. Complications arise when he goes to work for her father. Flimsy but pleasant romantic comedy, made with wit and speed. | tt0030922 | Dennis O'Keefe, Florence Rice, June Knight, Reginald Owen, Edward Brophy, Truman Bradley, Andrew Tombes, Herman Bing, George Zucco. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Vacation From Marriage | Perfect Strangers | 1945 | Alexander Korda | ★★★ | 92 | Donat and Kerr sparkle in story of dull couple separated by WW2, each rejuvenated by wartime romance. Johns is perky as Kerr's military friend. Clemence Dane won an Oscar for her original story. British version, titled PERFECT STRANGERS, ran 102m. | tt0037980 | Robert Donat, Deborah Kerr, Glynis Johns, Ann Todd, Roland Culver, Elliot Mason | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Vagabond | 1985 | Agnés Varda | ★★★½ | 105 | Haunting drama about young drifter who wanders about hitching a ride here, sleeping there, and how those she encounters respond to her. A simple, powerful, superbly directed film about chance meetings, missed opportunities, and the price one must pay for one's choices. | tt0089960 | Sandrine Bonnaire, Macha Meril, Stephane Freiss, Elaine Cortadellas, Marthe Jarnias, Yolande Moreau | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Vagabond King | 1956 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 86 | Bland remake of Rudolf Friml's operetta (filmed before in 1930), about poet-scoundrel François Villon. Oreste was touted as new musical star in 1956, but didn't quite make it. Story, sans music, filmed in 1927 (THE BELOVED ROGUE) and 1938 (IF I WERE KING). | tt0049909 | Kathryn Grayson, Oreste, Rita Moreno, Cedric Hardwicke, Walter Hampden, Leslie Nielsen; narrated by Vincent Price | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Vagabond Lover | 1929 | Marshall Neilan | ★★½ | 69 | Orchestra leader-crooner Vallee impersonates impresario; rich Dressler hires his band, and he falls for her niece (Blane). Pleasant musical-comedy antique is sparked by Dressler. | tt0020542 | Rudy Vallee, Sally Blane, Marie Dressler, Charles Sellon, Norman Peck | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Vagrant | 1992 | Chris Walas | ★½ | 91 | A timid, rising executive (Paxton) buys a house where an ugly, diseased hobo has been living, then finds himself terrorized by the bum. Misfired comic satire. Executive produced by Mel Brooks. | tt0105719 | [R] | Bill Paxton, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mitzi Kapture, Colleen Camp, Patrika Darbo, Mark McClure, Stuart Pankin, Teddy Wilson, Derek Mark Lochran | U.S.-French | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Valachi Papers | 1972 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 125 | Sloppy but engrossing account of Mafia life as seen through eyes of famed informer Joseph Valachi (Bronson). Lots of blood. From the book by Peter Maas. | tt0068341 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Joseph Wiseman, Walter Chiari, Amedeo Nazzari | Italian | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| Valdez Is Coming | 1971 | Edwin Sherin | ★★½ | 90 | OK intellectual Western with Lancaster a Mexican-American deputy sheriff forced to confront ruthless land baron after triggering local hostilities. Shot in Spain; first film for noted Broadway director Sherin. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard. | tt0067921 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Jon Cypher, Barton Heyman, Richard Jordan, Frank Silvera, Hector Elizondo | Western | NULL | ||
| Valentin | 2003 | Alejandro Agresti | ★★★ | 86 | With his womanizing father and absent mother separated, an 8-year-old 'cupid,' living with his grandmother, must use all his wits to solve his dysfunctional family's problems. Story set in Buenos Aires in the late 1960s is charming and slight, sort of an edgy THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER with Argentinian seasoning. Noya, in the title role, avoids the kid actor 'cutes' and scores with a winning performance. Writer-director Agresti also plays the imperfect dad who discovers that his son comes in handy when it comes to attracting women. | tt0296915 | [PG-13] | Julieta Cardinali, Carmen Maura, Jean Pierre Noher, Mex Urtizberea, Rodrigo Noya | Argentinian-Dutch | Drama | NULL | |
| Valentine | 2001 | Jamie Blanks | ★½ | 126 | Four gorgeous friends receive ominous valentines— and then someone starts murdering them. Could it be that geek they spurned back in junior high? Handsome but dismayingly routine retro-slasher shies away from both gore and sex. Loosely based on the novel by Tom Savage. | tt0242998 | [R] | Marley Shelton, David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Cauffiel, Daniel Cosgrove, Fulvio Cecere, Johnny Whitworth, Katherine Heigl, Hedy Burress | Horror, Romance, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Valentine's Day | 2010 | Garry Marshall | ★★ | 124 | Pastiche of (mostly) interlocking stories about men and women in L.A. celebrating and/or suffering through Valentine's Day, beginning with Kutcher popping the question to Alba—who breaks up with him—and extending to longtime marrieds MacLaine and Elizondo questioning their relationship. May set some record for the most attractive people ever packed into one movie, but the empty-headed proceedings don't warrant this all-star lineup. MacLaine is seen in shots from her 1958 movie HOT SPELL with Warren Stevens. Joe Mantegna and director Marshall appear unbilled. | tt0817230 | [PG-13] | Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Shirley MacLaine, Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Hector Elizondo, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Kathy Bates, Eric Dane, Topher Grace, Carter Jenkins, Emma Roberts, Bryce Robinson, Larry Miller | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Valentino | 1951 | Lewis Allen | ★½ | 102 | Undistinguished, superficial biography of famed star of American silent films. | tt0044177 | Anthony Dexter, Eleanor Parker, Richard Carlson, Patricia Medina, Joseph Calleia, Lloyd Gough, Otto Kruger | Drama | NULL | |||
| Valentino | 1977 | Ken Russell | ★½ | 127 | Typically excessive, visually flamboyant Ken Russell 'biography' offers little insight on great screen lover, and suffers further from Nureyev's awkward performance. But any film that casts Huntz Hall as movie mogul Jesse Lasky can't be all bad. | tt0076868 | [R] | Rudolf Nureyev, Leslie Caron, Michelle Phillips, Carol Kane, Felicity Kendal, Seymour Cassel, Peter Vaughan, Anton Diffring | Drama | NULL | ||
| Valentino Returns | 1987 | Peter Hoffman | ★★½ | 102 | Meandering drama of young Tubb and his no-account father, frustrated mother, and his desperation to experience sex. Great atmosphere, so-so result. Set in 1950s California. Screenplay by Leonard Gardner (who plays Lyle), based on his short story. | tt0094236 | [R] | Frederic Forrest, Veronica Cartwright, Barry Tubb, Jenny Wright, David Packer, Seth Isler, Miguel Ferrer | Drama | NULL | ||
| Valerie | 1957 | Gerd Oswald | ★½ | 84 | Unmemorable account (via flashbacks) of facts leading up to the wounding of Hayden's wife, and death of her parents. | tt0051149 | Sterling Hayden, Anita Ekberg, Anthony Steel, Malcolm Atterbury | Western | NULL | |||
| The Valet | 2006 | Francis Veber | ★★½ | 85 | Business tycoon Auteuil is photographed in a compromising moment with his mistress, a top model (Taglioni), so to throw his wife off his trail, he hires a nerdy parking valet (Elmaleh) to pretend to be the model's real boyfriend. Complications snowball for all concerned in this slick Veber farce; not one of his best but still diverting. | tt0449851 | [PG-13] | Gad Elmaleh, Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Alice Taglioni, Richard Berry, Virginie Ledoyen, Michèle Garcia, Michel Jonasz, Dany Boon, Michel Aumont. | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Valhalla Rising | 2010 | Nicolas Winding Refn | ★★½ | 93 | Bleak, bizarre tale, set during the Middle Ages, in which a mute warrior (who for obvious reasons is called "One-Eye") escapes from his captors. Accompanied by a boy, he sets off on a ship headed for the Holy Land but, instead, finds himself on a voyage to Hell. Images of hypnotic beauty seamlessly blend with stomach-churning violence in this allegorical fable that puts forth the view that God is absent in a world where brutality reigns. | tt0862467 | Mads Mikkelsen, Alexander Morton, Stewart Porter, Maarten Stevenson | Danish-British | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Valiant | 2005 | Gary Chapman | ★★½ | 80 | Cute CG-animated feature about a small but plucky bird who joins the elite Royal Homing Pigeon Service working for Britain during WW2. Before they're really ready, he and other new recruits are assigned a vital mission to deliver a message without running afoul of enemy falcons. Entertaining yarn for younger kids, with smart gags to amuse adults as well (opening b&w newsreel is called BIRDS ON THE MARCH). | tt0361089 | [G] | Voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, John Hurt, Pip Torrens, Rik Mayall, Olivia Williams | U.S.-British | Animation, Comedy, Adventure, Family, War | NULL | |
| Valiant Is the Word for Carrie | 1936 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★½ | 110 | Get out your handkerchief for this one, the epitome of 1930s soapers as selfless George devotes herself to orphan children. She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance. | tt0028455 | Gladys George, Arline Judge, John Howard, Dudley Digges, Harry Carey, Isabel Jewell, Jackie Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| Valkyrie | 2008 | Bryan Singer | ★★½ | 120 | Cruise plays German hero Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, central figure in the daring scheme to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Pulling off the actual killing is simple compared to the infighting among the politicians and military bureaucrats who launch this conspiracy. After so many vivid WW2 movies in recent years this one rings hollow at first; finally hits its stride about halfway through the proceedings. | tt0985699 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kevin McNally, Christian Berkel, David Bamber, Tom Hollander, Ian McNeice, Christian Oliver | U.S.-German | Drama, Thriller, War | NULL | |
| Valley Girl | 1983 | Martha Coolidge | ★★½ | 95 | Refreshingly nonexploitative punker-suburbanite romance is several cuts above most contemporary teen pics, but the result is still distressingly mild. Attractive leads, amusing performances by Camp and Forrest as Foreman's hippieish parents, but film never really goes anywhere. | tt0086525 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Colleen Camp, Frederic Forrest, Elizabeth Daily, Lee Purcell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Valley of Decision | 1945 | Tay Garnett | ★★★ | 119 | Polished adaptation of Marcia Davenport's novel about labor and class struggles in 1870 Pittsburgh, and a star-crossed relationship between a housemaid (Garson) and the son of a steel mill owner (Peck). | tt0038213 | Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Donald Crisp, Lionel Barrymore, Preston Foster, Marsha Hunt, Gladys Cooper, Reginald Owen, Dan Duryea, Jessica Tandy, Barbara Everest, Marshall Thompson, Dean Stockwell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Valley of Fire | 1951 | John English. | ★½ | 64 | Mayor Autry arranges for a wagon train of brides for the men in his town, but villains try to hijack the ladies and sell them to love-starved miners. Very unsatisfactory, though Gene does sing 'On Top of Old Smoky.' | tt0044179 | Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Russell Hayden, Christine Larsen, Harry Lauter, Terry Frost, Barbara Stanley, Pat Buttram. | Western | NULL | |||
| Valley of Gwangi | 1969 | James O'Connolly | ★★½ | 95 | Standard reworking of King Kong theme; adventurers in Mexico stumble upon prehistoric monster, hit on idea to display their find in a traveling circus, make money. Script and production have holes, but film is sparked by Ray Harryhausen special effects. Based on a story by Willis O'Brien. | tt0065163 | James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Dennis Kilbane | Thriller, Western, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Valley of Head Hunters | 1953 | William Berke | ★½ | 67 | Typical Jungle Jim entry with our fearless hero fighting bad guys who are trying to steal mineral deposit rights from an African tribe. | tt0046491 | Johnny Weissmuller, Christine Larson, Robert Foulk, Steven Ritch, Nelson Leigh | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Valley of Mystery | 1967 | Joseph Leytes | ★★ | 94 | Lackluster melodrama in which a plane crash-lands in the South American jungle. Expanded from a TV pilot. | tt0061148 | Richard Egan, Peter Graves, Joby Baker, Lois Nettleton, Harry Guardino, Julie Adams, Fernando Lamas, Leonard Nimoy | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Dolls | 1967 | Mark Robson | 💣 | 123 | Scattered unintentional laughs do not compensate for terribly written, acted, and directed adaptation of Jacqueline Susann novel about three young women in show biz. Author Susann has a bit role as a reporter. Look for Richard Dreyfuss in a quick backstage bit. Remade as a TV movie in 1981. | tt0062430 | Barbara Parkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayward, Paul Burke, Tony Scotti, Martin Milner, Lee Grant, Joey Bishop, George Jessel | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Dragons | 1961 | Edward Bernds | ★½ | 79 | A comet carrying a fragment of prehistoric Earth picks up two 19th-century men. Tawdry version of Jules Verne's novel Off on a Comet; laden with stock footage from ONE MILLION B.C. Remade as ON THE COMET. | tt0055583 | Cesare Danova, Sean McClory, Joan Staley, Danielle De Metz, Roger Til | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Eagles | 1951 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 85 | Above-par chase tale of Swedish scientist tracking down his wife and assistant who stole his research data and headed for the north country. | tt0044178 | Jack Warner, John McCallum, Nadia Gray, Anthony Dawson, Mary Laura Wood, Christopher Lee, Njama Wiwstrand | British | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Valley of the Giants | 1938 | William Keighley | ★★ | 79 | Stale actioner of Morris thwarting Bickford's attempt to rape Northern California of its redwoods, with saloon girl Trevor brightening the proceedings. Previously made in 1919 and 1927. Footage and storyline were later used in THE BIG TREES. | tt0030925 | Wayne Morris, Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, Alan Hale/Sr., Jack LaRue, Frank McHugh, Donald Crisp, John Litel | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Kings | 1954 | Robert Pirosh | ★★ | 86 | Meandering adventure yarn of excavations in Egypt for tombs of ancient pharaohs. | tt0047641 | Robert Taylor, Eleanor Parker, Kurt Kasznar, Carlos Thompson | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Redwoods | 1960 | William Witney | ★½ | 63 | Programmer involving payroll theft and escape of robbers to Canada. | tt0054435 |
|
John Hudson, Lynn Bernay, Ed Nelson, Michael Forest, Robert Shayne, John Brinkley | Crime | NULL | ||
| Valley of the Sun | 1942 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 84 | Intrigue of the Old West with crooked white man provoking Indian uprising as he is being hunted by colonial agent. | tt0035502 | Lucille Ball, Cedric Hardwicke, Dean Jagger, James Craig, Billy Gilbert, Antonio Moreno, Tom Tyler | Western | NULL | |||
| Valley of the Zombies | 1946 | Philip Ford | ★½ | 56 | No valley and no zombies in this Poverty-Row horror thriller, but there's blood-seeking Ormand Murks, by his own admission 'a strange man.' Back from the dead, he's a peculiar party with a passion for pickling— embalming victims from whom he's drained the blood. It's a Republic Picture, so its short running time is filled with gunfire and a car chase, but except for Keith, who's having a high old time, it's third-rate. | tt0039076 | Robert Livingston, Adrian Booth, Ian Keith, Thomas Jackson, LeRoy Mason | Horror | NULL | |||
| Valmont | 1989 | Milos Forman | ★★½ | 137 | Ah, the bedhopping of Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses! Meticulous retelling of the sexual shenanigans of 18th-century French aristocrats. Youthful cast makes this seem more mischievous than other versions . . . but that playfulness also softens some of its bite. Elderly Drake, who died shortly after film's release, steals every scene she's in. | tt0098575 | [R] | Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk, Sian Phillips, Jeffrey Jones, Henry Thomas, Fabia Drake, Ian McNeice | French-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Value for Money | 1955 | Ken Annakin | ★★★ | 89 | Funny little comedy about young man inheriting father's money and his enjoyment of same. | tt0048772 | John Gregson, Diana Dors, Derek Farr, Donald Pleasence, Cyril Smith, Ernest Thesiger | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Vamp | 1986 | Richard Wenk | ★½ | 94 | Fun-loving college guys run afoul of a female vampire in this dreary and distasteful horror outing. Starts out promisingly, with tongue-in-cheek, but soon drops the light touch in favor of the kinky. | tt0092147 | [R] | Chris Makepeace, Sandy Baron, Robert Rusler, Dedee Pfeiffer, Gedde Watanabe, Grace Jones, Billy Drago | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Vampire Bat | 1933 | Frank Strayer | ★★½ | 71 | Good cast helps average story along. Atwill stars as mad doctor forced to kill townsfolk in search of 'blood substitute.' Beware shorter prints. | tt0024727 | Lionel Atwill, Melvyn Douglas, Fay Wray, Dwight Frye, Maude Eburne, George E. Stone, Lionel Belmore | Horror | NULL | |||
| Vampire Circus | 1971 | Robert Young | ★★½ | 87 | Very weird Hammer horror with unique gimmick; 19th-century European circus travels from town to town for good reason: everyone in it is a vampire— including the animals! Last-minute cuts muddled the film considerably, but still well worth a look. | tt0067924 | [PG] | John Moulder Brown, Adrienne Corri, Laurence Payne, Thorley Walters, Lynne Frederick, David Prowse | British | Horror | NULL | |
| The Vampire Lovers | 1970 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 88 | Rather erotic Hammer chiller about lesbian vampires faithfully adapted from Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, filmed many times before and since. Followed by LUST FOR A VAMPIRE and TWINS OF EVIL. | tt0066518 | [R] | Ingrid Pitt, Pippa Steele, Madeleine Smith, Peter Cushing, George Cole, Dawn Addams, Kate O'Mara | British | Horror | NULL | |
| Vampire Men of the Lost Planet | Horror of the Blood Monsters | 1970 | Al Adamson | 💣 | 85 | Scientist traces epidemic of vampire attacks on earth to strange, distant planet, with the aid of stock footage from other movies. A real mish-mash, released theatrically as HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, CREATURES OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, HORROR CREATURES OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, and SPACE MISSION OF THE LOST PLANET. | tt0065852 | [PG] | John Carradine, Robert Dix, Vicki Volante, Joey Benson, Jennifer Bishop | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Vampire and the Ballerina | 1960 | Renato Poiselli. | ★★ | 85 | Ballet troupe rehearses in an isolated manor, disregarding rumors of vampires in the area, until they begin to fall victim themselves. Tired, routine story is beautifully photographed, with an unusual master-slave relationship between the two vampires. Ghoulish climax inspired by HORROR OF DRACULA. | tt0052555 | Hélène Rémy, Maria Luisa Rolando, Tina Bloriani, Walter Brandi, Isarco Ravaioli, John Turner (Gino Turini). | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Vampire in Brooklyn | 1995 | Wes Craven | ★★ | 102 | Sleek Caribbean vampire Murphy, to perpetuate his race, needs to persuade Brooklyn cop Bassett that she's his soul mate. Oddball film has Murphy cracking jokes, but he's thoroughly evil; on the other hand, it's not scary enough to work as a horror film . . . and it's overlong, to boot. | tt0114825 | [R] | Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem Hardison, John Witherspoon, Zakes Mokae, Joanna Cassidy, Simbi Khali | Comedy, Romance, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Vampire's Coffin | 1958 | Fernando Méndez. | ★★ | 82 | In this sequel to THE VAMPIRE (1957-Mexican), Count Lavud (Robles) returns from the grave to seek fresh victims, mostly in a spacious hospital and a wax museum. Salazar is fun as the excitable hero. Well photographed and drenched in Gothic atmosphere, movie is let down by an erratic pace and a drawn-out ending. | tt0050146 | Abel Salazar, Ariadna Welter, Germán Robles, Carlos Ancira, Yerye Beirute, Alicia Montoya. | Mexican | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Vampire's Ghost | 1945 | Lesley Selander. | ★★½ | 59 | In Africa, bar owner Abbott is secretly a 400-year-old vampire, weary of his lonely life. He wants Stewart to join him in his undead existence but finds opposition from her family and friends. Intelligent script (cowritten by Leigh Brackett) that owes little to Bram Stoker and pretty good cast are offset by a slow pace, even at less than an hour. | tt0038214 | John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart, Grant Withers, Emmett Vogan, Adele Mara, Roy Barcroft. | Horror | NULL | |||
| Vampire's Kiss | 1989 | Robert Bierman | ★★½ | 96 | N.Y. literary agent, Reagan-era trendy, is convinced that he's been bitten by a you-know-what. Cage's conversation-piece performance is so over the top that it's conceivable the actor was bitten in real life. Amusing at times, also tasteless, with a pointed office-harassment subplot. | tt0098577 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Ashley, Kasi Lemmons, Bob Lujan, Jennifer Lundy | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Vampire | 1957 | Paul Landres | ★★ | 74 | Minor chiller with scientist turned into blood-seeker. Not without some merit; Beal is excellent. Retitled: MARK OF THE VAMPIRE. | tt0051150 | John Beal, Coleen Gray, Dabbs Greer, Raymond Greenleaf | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Vampire, The | 1957 | Fernando Méndez. | ★½ | 95 | Visiting an isolated estate, Salazar and Welter learn that a vampire lurks nearby, and she's his next target. Strongly influenced by Universal chillers, it's atmospheric (there's thick fog everywhere) but draggy and more than a little silly. The vampire (Robles) dresses like Lugosi in full bloom, with an unexpected hearty laugh. Sequel: THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN. | tt0051151 | Abel Salazar, Ariadna Welter, Carmen Montejo, Germán Robles, José Luis Jiménez, Mercedes Soler, Alicia Montoya. | Mexican | Mystery, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Vampires | John Carpenter's Vampires | 1998 | John Carpenter | ★★ | 107 | Under directions from the Vatican, Woods and his team kill pesky vampires in the Southwest, while head vampire Griffith looks for the talisman that will allow his kind to exist in daylight. Like many Carpenter movies, it begins well, then crashes in a heap by the end. Based on the novel Vampire$ by John Steakley. Aka JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel: VAMPIRES: LOS MUERTOS. | tt0120877 | [R] | James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell, Tim Guinee, Mark Boone/Jr., Gregory Sierra | Horror, Action | NULL | |
| Vampires Suck | 2010 | Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer | 💣 | 82 | Spoof of vampire-themed movies in which a girl is torn between two boys and everything comes to a head at the prom. With a cast of TWILIGHT look-alikes and little else, this tired comedy is completely lacking in originality and laughs. It might have worked as a very short short. | tt1666186 | [PG-13] | Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Diedrich Bader, Chris Riggi, Ken Jeong, David DeLuise, Dave Foley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Vampyr | Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey | 1932 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | ★★★ | 73 | Dreyer's stylized use of light, shadow, and camera angles takes precedence over the plot in this chilling vampire-in-a-castle tale. Based on the novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu; filmed several times later. Originally made in French, German, and English versions. | tt0023649 | Julian West (Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg), Sybille Schmitz, Maurice Schutz, Henriette Gerard | French-German | Horror | NULL | |
| Van Gogh | 1991 | Maurice Pialat | ★★★ | 155 | Highly subjective chronicle focusing on Van Gogh's final months. Unlike other films, he's clearly depicted as not being deranged; the result is a solid, austere work which steers clear of any sort of sensationalism or melodrama. Dutronc offers a thoughtful lead performance. | tt0103190 | [R] | Jacques Dutronc, Alexandra London, Gérard Sety, Bernard Le Coq, Corinne Bourdon | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Van Helsing | 2004 | Stephen Sommers | 💣 | 132 | Working for a secret organization bent on destroying evil, Gabriel Van Helsing is sent to Transylvania for his most difficult assignment: killing Count Dracula. He also has to deal with Frankenstein's monster and The Wolf Man. After a b&w prologue that pays homage to classic Universal horror films, this noisy, interminable, video-game-like movie discards all semblance of story or characterization. Even the charismatic Jackman is rendered dull. Edward Van Sloan, R.I.P. | tt0338526 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Shuler Hensley, Elena Anaya, Will Kemp, Kevin J. O'Connor, Alun Armstrong, Josie Maran, Robbie Coltrane | Action, Adventure, Horror, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Van | 1976 | Sam Grossman | ★½ | 92 | Shy Getz uses his fancy new van to seduce pretty girls. Innocuous idiocy of the California youth genre. Aka CHEVY VAN. | tt0074154 | [R] | Stuart Getz, Deborah White, Danny DeVito, Harry Moses, Marcie Barkin, Bill Adler, Stephen Oliver | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Van | 1996 | Stephen Frears | ★★ | 105 | Slight, disappointing farce in which unemployed pals attempt to bring in the bucks by operating a hamburger business out of a van. The third (and by far least impressive) of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy, following THE COMMITMENTS and THE SNAPPER. | tt0118064 | [R] | Colm Meaney, Donal O'Kelly, Ger Ryan, Caroline Rothwell, Brendan O'Carroll, Stuart Dunn | British | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Vanessa, Her Love Story | 1935 | William K. Howard | ★★ | 74 | Soapy story of gypsy love with Hayes attracted to roguish Montgomery. Dated romance doesn't come off too well today. Hayes' last starring role until 1952's MY SON JOHN. | tt0027166 | Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery, Otto Kruger, May Robson, Lewis Stone | Drama | NULL | |||
| Vanilla Sky | 2001 | Cameron Crowe | ★★ | 136 | A man who seems to have it all is victimized by a jealous lover after he spends the night with an alluring— and intriguing— woman he's just met. From that moment on, his life becomes a nightmare. Remake of the Spanish OPEN YOUR EYES (which also starred Cruz) combines dreams within dreams, causing its main character to wonder what's real, and what might have been. The stars look great, and Diaz is terrific, but is there a point? Crowe scripted this unfortunate misfire; Cruise coproduced. Steven Spielberg appears briefly. | tt0259711 | [R] | Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Timothy Spall, Tilda Swinton, Alicia Witt, Johnny Galecki | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Vanishing American | 1925 | George B. Seitz | ★★★ | 109 | Powerful drama of a valiant early-20th-century Navajo (Dix), and how he and his fellow tribesmen and women are cruelly manipulated by corrupt government agent Beery. Hampered only by an overlong, boring prologue charting the history of the American West. Based on a novel by Zane Grey, and filmed in Monument Valley. Remade in 1955. | tt0016480 | Richard Dix, Noah Beery/Sr., Lois Wilson, Malcolm McGregor, Nocki, Shannon Day | Western | NULL | |||
| The Vanishing American | 1955 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 90 | Mild, minor film about landgrabbers trying to take Navajo territory; loosely adapted from Zane Grey's novel. | tt0048773 | Scott Brady, Audrey Totter, Forrest Tucker, Gene Lockhart, Jim Davis, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | |||
| Vanishing Point | 1971 | Richard C. Sarafian | ★★ | 99 | Told to drive a Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco, Newman— for no apparent reason— decides to do it in 15 hours. Naturally, the cops are soon in hot pursuit, but Barry gets some help from blind d.j. Super Soul (Little). Existential chase thriller was a big drive-in hit, and remains a cult favorite, but is pretty much a disappointment. Exceptional rock score. British version, also on DVD, runs 106m. | tt0067927 | [PG] | Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, Paul Koslo, Robert Donner, Severn Darden, Gilda Texter, Victoria Medlin | Action | NULL | ||
| The Vanishing Prairie | 1954 | James Algar | ★★★ | 75 | Disney's second True-Life Adventure feature provides astonishing footage of animal life in the great plains, including the birth of a buffalo calf. Fine presentation with little Disney gimmickry; Academy Award winner. | tt0047642 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| The Vanishing Virginian | 1942 | Frank Borzage | ★★★ | 97 | Sweet film full of nostalgia for the Old South (though it's set in the 20th century), based on Rebecca Yancey Williams' memoir of her father, a lifelong public servant in Lynchburg, Virginia. Works in elements of suffragette movement, women's rights, and the coming of Prohibition, but focuses mainly on the family, headed by the ever delightful Morgan. Also serves as a musical showcase for young Grayson. | tt0035504 | Frank Morgan, Kathryn Grayson, Spring Byington, Natalie Thompson, Douglas Newland, Mark Daniels, Juanita Quigley, Scotty Beckett, Dickie Jones, Louise Beavers | Drama | NULL | |||
| Vanishing Wilderness | 1974 | Arthur Dubs, Heinz Seilmann | ★★★ | 93 | Cowboy actor/singer Rex Allen narrates this stunningly photographed wildlife documentary which covers virtually all of North America— from the alligators of the Everglades to the polar bears of the Arctic. Topnotch but for excessive narration and heavenly choirs punctuating each scene. | tt0181123 | [G] | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| Vanishing on 7th Street | 2011 | Brad Anderson | ★★ | 91 | When an unexplained blackout strikes Detroit, causing most of the population to mysteriously vanish, a small group of survivors takes refuge in a bar as whispering shadows descend upon the darkened city. Arty, low-budget apocalyptic puzzler is moody but murky and talky, with a less-than-satisfying ending. | tt1452628 | [R] | Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo, Jacob Latimore, Taylor Groothuis, Jordan Trovillion, Arthur Cartwright, Neal Huff | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Vanishing | Spoorloos | 1988 | George Sluizer | ★★★ | 101 | Disturbing psychodrama of a man's obsession with discovering what happened to his girlfriend, who inexplicably vanishes at a vacation rest stop. The viewer, too, becomes involved as the abductor recounts his steps leading up to the crime. A thriller without blood that maintains an uneasy tension from the beginning through its haunting (if implausible) climax. Sluizer also directed the American remake. | tt0096163 | Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna Ter Steege | French-Dutch | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Vanishing | 1993 | George Sluizer | ★★ | 110 | Sutherland's girlfriend disappears at a gas station, and after three years of searching for her he's become a man obsessed. Meanwhile, her wily abductor (Bridges) considers revealing himself. Well-performed but unpleasant film can't hold a candle to Sluizer's 1988 original. | tt0108473 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock, Park Overall, Maggie Linderman, Lisa Eichhorn, George Hearn, Lynn Hamilton | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Vanity Fair | 2004 | Mira Nair | ★★½ | 141 | Good-looking production of Thackeray's novel about Becky Sharp, a poor girl who will stop at nothing to improve her position in society in 19th-century England. Generally well done, but overlong and heavy-handed at times. Witherspoon's star quality definitely buoys the proceedings. Filmed before in 1923, 1932, and 1935 (as BECKY SHARP). | tt0241025 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Jim Broadbent, Eileen Atkins, Geraldine McEwan, James Purefoy, Jonathan Rhys Meyers | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Vanquished | 1953 | Edward Ludwig | ★½ | 84 | Bland little Western about corruption within a town's administration. | tt0046492 | John Payne, Jan Sterling, Coleen Gray, Lyle Bettger, Ellen Corby | Western | NULL | |||
| Vantage Point | 2008 | Pete Travis | ★★½ | 90 | In true RASHOMON fashion, the assassination of a U.S. President in a foreign country is told from eight different perspectives (a news crew, a tourist, a terrorist, a secret service agent, et al.). Tedious at first, with stilted dialogue and laughable B-movie histrionics threatening to sink the ambitious enterprise, but as film progresses the mystery deepens and a couple of twists make the effort pay off. | tt0443274 | [PG-13] | Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, Bruce McGill, Edgar Ramirez, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ayelet Zurer, Zoe Saldana, William Hurt, James Le Gros, Eduardo Noriega, Richard T. Jones | Thriller, Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Vanya on 42nd Street | 1994 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 120 | Malle's final feature is a riveting, highly cinematic 'filmed theater' piece, which examines the illusion that is the theater. Actors come to a crumbling midtown Manhattan stage to rehearse David Mamet's adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya; Gregory is the director, Shawn is taking the leading role (in which he is superb), and all of them remain in street clothes as the rehearsal subtly becomes the play, which intertwines with 'real life.' As stunningly original as Malle's MY DINNER WITH ANDRE (which also featured Shawn and Gregory). | tt0111590 | [PG] | Wallace Shawn, Phoebe Brand, George Gaynes, Jerry Mayer, Andre Gregory, Julianne Moore, Larry Pine, Brooke Smith, Lynn Cohen, Mahdur Jaffrey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Varan, the Unbelievable | 1958 | Ishirô Honda, Jerry Baerwitz | ★½ | 70 | Typical Japanese rubber monster film except that creature defies clear definition. It's vaguely reptilian, but some insist it's a giant squirrel, since in Japanese prints it flies like a flying squirrel. Regardless, it stomps cities and scares the masses. Unbelievable is key word. | tt0056648 | Myron Healy, Tsuruko Kobayashi, Kozo Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda | Japanese-U.S. | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Variety | 1925 | E. A. Dupont. | ★★★½ | 79 | Jannings offers a towering performance in this searing, grimly realistic drama about an aging high-wire artist, his pretty young partner (de Putti), and the handsome acrobat (Ward) who comes between them. Karl Freund's cinematography is superlative and features memorable shots from the swinging trapeze. Many versions of this film exist with various running times. | tt0016481 | Emil Jannings, Lya de Putti, Warwick Ward, Maly Delschaft, Georg John, Kurt Gerron, Werner Krauss. | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Variety Girl | 1947 | George Marshall | ★★½ | 97 | Hatcher and San Juan head for Hollywood with hopes of stardom; flimsy excuse for countless Paramount guest stars, including Gary Cooper and Ray Milland. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby come off best in amusing golfing scene. Puppetoon segment in color. | tt0039951 | Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelley, William Demarest, Frank Faylen, Frank Ferguson | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Variety Lights | 1950 | Federico Fellini, Alberto Lattuada | ★★½ | 93 | Fellini's first film (though codirected) is a rather ordinary tale of the lovely Del Poggio struggling through small-town music halls to become a star. Some funny and touching scenes featuring the usual Fellini eccentrics. | tt0042692 | Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Poggio, Giulietta Masina, John Kitzmiller, Dante Maggio, Checco Durante | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Varsity Blues | 1999 | Brian Robbins | ★½ | 104 | Cliché-ridden, MTV-produced high school pigskin drama about a reluctant second-string quarterback (Van Der Beek) and his nefarious steroid-distributing coach (Voight, who seems to think he's doing Eugene O'Neill). Veers between leering low comedy and heavy-handed melodrama. Lester rises above his exploitative role as an overweight lineman. | tt0139699 | [R] | James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester, Scott Caan, Ali Larter, Amy Smart | Drama | NULL | ||
| Varsity Show | 1937 | William Keighley | ★★★ | 81 | Broadway producer agrees to stage a show at his alma mater; result is a parade of musical numbers, including fine specialties by Buck and Bubbles, and rousing finale staged by Busby Berkeley. Originally released at 121m. | tt0029725 | Dick Powell, Priscilla Lane, Fred Waring, Walter Catlett, Ted Healy, Rosemary Lane | Musical | NULL | |||
| Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter | 1986 | Robert Burge | 💣 | 90 | Bank executive Sorvino is the father of eight. His wife gives him an ultimatum: Get a vasectomy, or it's bye-bye sex life. Utterly inane comedy that's almost (but not quite) too stupid to be offensive. | tt0092150 | [PG-13] | Paul Sorvino, Cassandra Edwards, Abe Vigoda, Ina Balin, June Wilkinson, William Marshall, Lorne Greene, Gary Raff | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Vatel | 2000 | Roland Joffé | ★★★ | 117 | Richly textured study of François Vatel, who works as master steward for a retired French general in 1671. When King Louis XIV comes to visit, Vatel must stage a magnificent feast and spectacle so the King will relieve his master of his debts . . . but Louis has his own agenda. Tom Stoppard adapted Jeanne Labrune's screenplay; based on a true story of court intrigue, this also serves as a contemporary parable about personal integrity. Sumptuously filmed. | tt0190861 | [PG-13] | Gérard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Julian Glover, Julian Sands, Timothy Spall, Arielle Dombasle, Hywel Bennett, Richard Griffiths, Murray Lachlan Young | French-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Vatican Affair | 1969 | Emilio Miraglia | ★★ | 94 | Pidgeon masterminds Vatican robbery in routine heist film. | tt0062630 | [M] | Walter Pidgeon, Ira Furstenberg, Klaus Kinski, Tino Carraro | Italian | Thriller | NULL | |
| Vault of Horror | Tales From the Crypt, Part II | 1973 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★½ | 87 | Five horror tales interwoven by thin connecting thread, dealing with murder, torture, bloodthirsty vampires, voodoo; adapted from old E. C. Comics. Fine cast with so-so material. Follow-up to TALES FROM THE CRYPT; reissued as TALES FROM THE CRYPT, PART II. | tt0070868 | [PG] | Daniel Massey, Anna Massey, Terry-Thomas, Glynis Johns, Curt Jurgens, Dawn Addams, Tom Baker, Denholm Elliott, Michael Craig, Edward Judd | British | Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| Vegas Vacation | 1997 | Stephen Kessler | ★★½ | 95 | Just what you'd expect, as the Griswold family goes to Las Vegas, where Chase locks horns with a spiteful blackjack dealer (Shawn), D'Angelo is wooed by Wayne Newton, son Embry is mistaken for a high roller, and daughter Nichols is influenced by her cousin, an exotic dancer. Quaid steals every scene he's in. That's producer Jerry Weintraub as slick gambler Jilly from Philly. | tt0120434 | [PG-13] | Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols, Miriam Flynn, Shae D'Lyn, Siegfried & Roy, Wallace Shawn, Sid Caesar, Julia Sweeney, Christie Brinkley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Veils of Bagdad | 1953 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 82 | Standard Arabian nights costumer, with Mature zestier than most such cardboard heroes. | tt0046497 | Victor Mature, Virginia Field, James Arness, Nick Cravat, Mari Blanchard | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Velocity of Gary | 1999 | Dan Ireland | ★½ | 98 | Sloppy, stilted soap opera, set amid the N.Y.C. porno-drag queen subculture, involving a love triangle between bisexual porn actor D'Onofrio, aimless hustler Jane, and frenzied waitress Hayek. AIDS (though never named) plays a key role in the story, which labors to be hip but is only affected and muddled. | tt0120878 | [R] | Salma Hayek, Vincent D'Onofrio, Thomas Jane, Chad Lindberg, Olivia d'Abo, Shawn Michael Howard, Ethan Hawke | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Velvet Goldmine | 1998 | Todd Haynes | ★★½ | 117 | Opulent, glittery paean to early '70s glam rock (and youth-culture head movies like QUADROPHENIA and PERFORMANCE) is such a triumph of style and excess it's easy to overlook the film's clunky CITIZEN KANE narrative structure and emotionally aloof characters. Rhys Meyers is effectively snotty as a bisexual David Bowie-esque pop star, but Collette is a standout as his neglected party-girl wife. Sandy Powell's inventive, androgynous costumes are great. | tt0120879 | [R] | Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Christian Bale, Eddie Izzard, Emily Woof, Michael Feast | U.S.-British | Drama, Musical | NULL | |
| The Velvet Touch | 1948 | John Gage | ★★½ | 97 | Satisfying murder mystery about a stage actress who commits perfect crime; good Leo Rosten script with a nifty ending. | tt0040934 | Rosalind Russell, Leo Genn, Claire Trevor, Sydney Greenstreet, Leon Ames, Frank McHugh, Martha Hyer | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Velvet Vampire | Cemetery Girls | 1971 | Stephanie Rothman | ★★ | 80 | Stylish transfer of vampire legend to western U.S. with Yarnall as sexy bloodsucker. Later reissued as CEMETERY GIRLS. | tt0067929 | [R] | Michael Blodgett, Celeste Yarnall, Sherry Miles, Jerry Daniels | Horror | NULL | |
| Vendetta | 1950 | Mel Ferrer | ★★ | 84 | Florid but uneven costume melodrama about a woman who must avenge her family's honor when her father is murdered. Howard Hughes' expensive showcase for beautiful but inexperienced Domergue. Ferrer was film's fifth director, after Preston Sturges, Max Ophuls, Stuart Heisler, and Hughes. | tt0043100 | Faith Domergue, George Dolenz, Hillary Brooke, Nigel Bruce, Joseph Calleia, Hugo Haas | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Venetian Affair | 1967 | Jerry Thorpe | ★★ | 92 | Limp spy vehicle not far removed from Vaughn's Man from U.N.C.L.E. TV series. International intrigue isn't too intriguing in this one; Karloff is good in a supporting role. | tt0062432 | Robert Vaughn, Elke Sommer, Felicia Farr, Karl Boehm, Luciana Paluzzi, Boris Karloff, Edward Asner | Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Venetian Woman | La Venexiana | 1986 | Mauro Bolognini | ★★★ | 84 | Disarmingly straightforward 16th-century sex comedy-drama of Connery (son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento) arriving in Venice and juggling affairs with lovely but frustrated older women. Exquisite art direction, gorgeous Antonelli, and clever musical score by Ennio Morricone heighten this little gem. Original Italian title: LA VENEXIAN. | tt0092157 | Laura Antonelli, Jason Connery, Monica Guerritore, Claudio Amendola, Annie-Belle | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Vengeance | 1937 | Del Lord. | ★★ | 61 | Harmless little crime drama about police officer Talbot's act of cowardice during a bank robbery. He resigns from the force in shame and infiltrates the gang of sinister hoodlum Lawrence. Originally titled WHAT PRICE VENGEANCE. | tt0029728 | Lyle Talbot, Wendy Barrie, Wally Albright, Marc Lawrence, Eddie Acuff, Lucille Lund, Robert Rideout. | Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Vengeance Valley | 1951 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 83 | Sex in the West with Lancaster and Walker as battling brothers, Dru and Forrest their women. Walker plays slimy villain with gusto. | tt0044186 | Burt Lancaster, Robert Walker, Joanne Dru, Sally Forrest, John Ireland, Carleton Carpenter, Hugh O'Brian | Western | NULL | |||
| The Vengeance of Fu Manchu | 1967 | Jeremy Summers | ★★ | 91 | Third entry in low-budget series that keeps Sax Rohmer stories in period. This time evil genius is out to destroy world police organization, and discredit arch-nemesis Nayland Smith (Wilmer) with a double. Good cast working below capabilities; lousy script. Followed by BLOOD OF FU MANCHU. | tt0063764 | Christopher Lee, Douglas Wilmer, Tsai Chin, Horst Frank, Maria Rohm, Howard Marion Crawford. | British | Drama, Crime, Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Vengeance of She | 1968 | Cliff Owen | ★★ | 101 | Not a sequel, but more like a remake of Hammer's 1965 version of Haggard's SHE; here, the spirit of Ayesha takes over young Berova. Pretty boring. | tt0063765 | [G] | John Richardson, Olinka Berova, Edward Judd, Colin Blakely | British | Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Vengo | 2001 | Tony Gatlif | ★★ | 90 | A proud Andalusian gypsy tries to put an end to the blood feud between his family and a rival clan. Things get complicated when his mentally retarded nephew is targeted for death. Gatlif's film works marginally as an ode to Spanish flamenco dancing, but as a vendetta drama it's monotonous and melodramatic. | tt0211718 | Antonio Canales, Orestes Villasan Rodriguez, Antonio Perez Dechent, Bobote, Juan Luis Corrientes | French-Spanish | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Venice/Venice | 1992 | Henry Jaglom | ★★ | 108 | Jaglom pretentiously parodies himself, playing a 'maverick' American filmmaker at the Venice Film Festival; Alard is cast as a French journalist who becomes involved with him. Annoyingly self-absorbed, but occasionally effective when depicting the artificial emotion at the festival. The title refers to Venice, Italy, and Venice, California, where the director also is shown to have a coterie of admirers. | tt0105729 | Nelly Alard, Henry Jaglom, Suzanne Bertish, Melissa Leo, Daphna Kastner, David Duchovny, Diane Salinger, Zack Norman, John Landis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Venom | 1982 | Piers Haggard | ★★ | 98 | World's deadliest snake terrorizes a London town house— in the midst of a hostage crisis. Not a horror movie, as its title would indicate, and pretty short on thrills. Unusually strong cast for such an unexceptional film. | tt0084854 | [R] | Klaus Kinski, Nicol Williamson, Oliver Reed, Sarah Miles, Sterling Hayden, Cornelia Sharpe, Susan George, Michael Gough | British | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| Venom | 2005 | Jim Gillespie | ★½ | 86 | A Creole healing woman accidentally releases supernaturally poisonous reptiles whose bites kill, then reanimate, a redneck tow-truck driver. He spends the rest of the movie decimating a small town's denizens, primarily dopey high schoolers in an old dark house on the bayou. Slavish imitation of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER-by its creators-is practically a remake (crowbar instead of fishhook) with voodoo thrown in. Standard slaughterfest is merely SNAKES ON A PLANTATION. | tt0428251 | [R] | Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D. J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer, Meagan Good, Bijou Phillips, Method Man | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Venus | 2006 | Roger Michell | ★★★ | 94 | O'Toole has his best film role in decades as an aged actor who forms an unlikely relationship with a friend's rough-hewn 19-year-old niece. Hanif Kureishi's screenplay examines mortality and the gradations of passion in surprising ways, but it is O'Toole who makes it special, with a performance of subtlety and consummate skill that, inevitably, draws on our own knowledge of his cinematic legacy. | tt0489327 | [R] | Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Richard Griffiths, Vanessa Redgrave. | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Venus Beauty Institute | 1999 | Tonie Marshall | ★★ | 105 | Baye plays an attendant at a fashionable Paris salon whose customers believe that treatments and beauty products will make them desirable— though she herself has never found happiness. Interesting to a point but dry and superficial— though it won four César Awards, including Best Picture. That's the filmmaker's mother, Micheline Presle, playing her Aunt Maryse, alongside Emmanuelle Riva. | tt0174330 | [R] | Nathalie Baye, Bulle Ogier, Mathilde Seigner, Audrey Tautou, Robert Hossein, Samuel Le Bihan, Jacques Bonnaffe | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Venus in Furs | 1970 | Jess Franco | ★½ | 86 | Musician is baffled to see a woman who had previously washed ashore in a mutilated state; poor mystery. | tt0064789 | [R] | James Darren, Barbara McNair, Maria Rohm, Klaus Kinski, Dennis Price, Margaret Lee | British-Italian-German | Drama | NULL | |
| Vera Cruz | 1954 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★ | 94 | Lumbering yet exciting Western set in 1860s Mexico with Cooper and Lancaster involved in plot to seize a stagecoach filled with Emperor Maximilian's gold. | tt0047647 | Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Denise Darcel, Cesar Romero, George Macready, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Vera Drake | 2004 | Mike Leigh | ★★★ | 125 | Vivid recreation of English working-class life in 1950, centered on an upbeat middle-aged woman who works hard, takes good care of her family, and puts on the kettle for a fresh pot of tea to solve any problem . . . until a crisis erupts that even she can't handle so easily: her secret life as an abortionist is revealed to the authorities. Staunton is extraordinary in another of Leigh's kitchen-sink dramas that depicts a society that— for all its faults, some quite serious— was more civilized than ours. | tt0383694 | [R] | Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Peter Wight, Adrian Scarborough, Heather Craney, Daniel Mays, Alex Kelly, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Ruth Sheen | British-French | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Verboten! | 1959 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 93 | American soldier falls in love with embittered German girl in occupied Berlin after WW2. High-pitched drama, flamboyantly directed by Fuller. | tt0052354 | James Best, Susan Cummings, Tom Pittman, Paul Dubov, Dick Kallman, Steven Geray | Thriller, War | NULL | |||
| The Verdict | 1946 | Don Siegel | ★★½ | 86 | Greenstreet and Lorre make the most of this 'perfect crime' yarn, with Greenstreet as Scotland Yard inspector who's 'retired' after he sends innocent man to gallows. Director Siegel's first feature. Remake of THE CRIME DOCTOR (1934). | tt0039080 | Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Joan Lorring, George Coulouris, Arthur Shields, Rosalind Ivan, Holmes Herbert | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| The Verdict | 1982 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★★ | 129 | Newman gives one of his finest performances as Boston lawyer who's hit bottom, until a medical negligence case gives him a chance to restore his self-esteem— while fighting for the kind of justice he still believes in. Director Lumet uses silence as eloquently as dialogue, and turns a story with more than a few loopholes into an emotionally charged experience. Look carefully for Bruce Willis as a courtroom spectator. Screenplay by David Mamet, from Barry Reed's novel. | tt0084855 | [R] | Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea, Edward Binns, Julie Bovasso, Lindsay Crouse, Roxanne Hart, James Handy | Drama | NULL | ||
| Verne Miller | 1987 | Rod Hewitt | 💣 | 92 | Dumb drama with Glenn in a one-note performance as a real-life ex-South Dakota sheriff who became a notorious gangster during the 1920s and '30s. All attitude and posturing. | tt0094255 | [R] | Scott Glenn, Barbara Stock, Thomas G. Waites, Lucinda Jenney, Sonny Carl Davis, Diane Salinger, Andrew Robinson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Veronica Guerin | 2003 | Joel Schumacher | ★★½ | 96 | Disappointing drama about the fearless real-life newspaper reporter who continually put herself in harm's way in order to expose the drug lords who bred so many adolescent addicts. Blanchett is as watchable as ever, but it's hard to muster (or maintain) empathy for the wantonly reckless Guerin. As a final touch, this Hollywood-produced film turns sanctimonious toward the end. Joan Allen played a fictionalized Guerin in WHEN THE SKY FALLS. | tt0312549 | [R] | Cate Blanchett, Gerard McSorley, Ciarán Hinds, Brenda Fricker, Barry Barnes, Joe Hanley, David Murray, Gerry O'Brien, Colin Farrell | Irish-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Veronika Voss | 1982 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | ★★★ | 105 | Interesting saga of faded '40s movie star Zech, allegedly a friend of Goebbels, who ten years after the war's end is a morphine addict. Good, but not great, Fassbinder; the last of his trilogy about postwar Germany, following THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN and LOLA. | tt0084654 | [R] | Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, Cornelia Froboess, Annemarie Duringer, Doris Schade, Volker Spengler | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Vertical Limit | 2000 | Martin Campbell | ★★ | 123 | Over two hours of people dangling from rope over cliffs, with explosions, avalanches, and some exposition in between. O'Donnell plays a young climber who must launch a dangerous rescue mission up K2 to save his sister. Spectacular scenery (shot mostly in New Zealand) and a few good action set pieces might stop you from cutting this loose. | tt0190865 | [PG-13] | Chris O'Donnell, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn, Bill Paxton, Izabella Scorupco, Nicholas Lea, Temuera Morrison, Stuart Wilson | Action, Adventure, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Vertical Ray of the Sun | 2001 | Hung Tran Anh | ★★½ | 112 | In modern-day Hanoi, three sisters prepare a memorial banquet to honor the anniversary of both their parents' deaths. Despite the Chekhovian setup, this is another sensual tone poem with nominal plotting from the director of THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA; cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bin shoots with hothouse radiance. Film is frequently intoxicating . . . but also slow-going. | tt0224578 | [PG-13] | Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Nguy Nhu Quynh, Le Khanh, Ngo Quang Hai, Chu Hung | French-Vietnamese | Drama | NULL | |
| Vertigo | 1958 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★★ | 128 | One of Hitchcock's most discussed films. Retired police detective Stewart, who has a fear of heights, is hired by old school chum in San Francisco to keep an eye on his wife (Novak), eventually falls in love with his quarry . . . and that's just the beginning; to reveal more would be unthinkable. Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor scripted, from the novel D'entre les morts by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Haunting, dreamlike thriller, with riveting Bernard Herrmann score to match; a genuinely great motion picture that demands multiple viewings. | tt0052357 | James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones, Ellen Corby, Raymond Bailey, Lee Patrick | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Very Annie-Mary | 2001 | Sara Sugarman | ★★½ | 105 | Alternately charming and curious concoction from writer-director Sugarman. The baker in the small Welsh town of Ogw is also the resident ladies' man and star tenor . . . but he oppresses his simple-minded daughter, who yearns to break free. Full of quirky characters and incidents, but its major assets are the performances by Griffiths, as the clumsy but good-hearted Annie-Mary, and Pryce, as her quietly diabolical father. It's hard to top that opening shot! | tt0188128 | Rachel Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce, Ioan Gruffudd, Matthew Rhys, Kenneth Griffith, Ruth Madoc, Joanna Page | British-Welsh-French | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Very Bad Things | 1998 | Peter Berg | ★★ | 100 | Black— make that really black— comedy about a guy who goes to Las Vegas with four pals for a bachelor party. The scene turns ugly very fast, leaving the friends to deal with a couple of crimes and raging guilt as the wedding draws nearer. Extreme, to say the least, but true to its dark mandate, which is awfully grim. Feature writing and directing debut for actor Berg. | tt0124198 | [R] | Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jon Favreau, Jeremy Piven, Leland Orser | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Very Brady Sequel | 1996 | Arlene Sanford | ★★★ | 89 | With a better script than the first BRADY movie, this silly/funny follow-up has the '70s time-warp family thrown asunder when a man claiming to be Carol's first husband shows up. Further problems arise when Greg and Marsha find themselves unsettlingly attracted to one another! Full of the same double-entendre sexual gags as the first film, plus wonderful musical moments and a handful of gag cameos. | tt0118073 | [PG-13] | Shelley Long, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Christine Taylor, Paul Sutera, Jennifer Elise Cox, Henrietta Mantel, Jesse Lee, Olivia Hack, John Hillerman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Very Close Quarters | 1986 | Vladimir Rif | 💣 | 101 | Astonishingly inept, obnoxious comedy about a group of rather vulgar individuals sharing a communal flat in Moscow. THE MORE THE MERRIER this isn't. Interesting cast wasted. Filmed in 1983. | tt0092165 | [R] | Shelley Winters, Paul Sorvino, Theodore Bikel, Farley Granger, Lee Taylor-Allen | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Very Edge | 1962 | Cyril Frankel | ★★ | 82 | Pregnant Heywood is assaulted by sex pervert Brett, with unfortunate repercussions. Unsavory and unexciting thriller. | tt0056656 | Richard Todd, Anne Heywood, Nicole Maurey, Jack Hedley, Barbara Mullen, Jeremy Brett, Maurice Denham, Patrick Magee | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas | 2011 | Todd Strauss-Schulson | ★★ | 90 | Six years after their Guantanamo Bay adventures, the pot-smoking new age Cheech and Chong are back in this not-very-merry comedy. Kumar arrives at Harold's house for a holiday visit and inadvertently burns down the family's beloved Christmas tree. In order to find a perfect replacement the loopy pair sets off for more misadventures. Penn and Cho have this dumb act down pat, but the script offers just the usual scatological humor and low-rent jokes we've seen in the two previous films. | tt1268799 | [R] | John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Amir Blumenfeld, Paula Garces, Danneel Harris, Tom Lennon, Danny Trejo, Patton Oswalt, Elias Koteas, Eddie Kaye Thomas, David Krumholtz, Patton Oswalt, RZA, Bobby Lee | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Very Honorable Guy | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon | ★½ | 62 | Flat comedy from Damon Runyon story about gambler who sells his body to science— ahead of time— in order to pay off debt. | tt0025945 |
|
Joe E. Brown, Alice White, Alan Dinehart, Hobart Cavanaugh, Al Dubin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| A Very Long Engagement | 2004 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | ★★½ | 133 | During WW1, a young woman refuses to believe that her fiancé has died, despite circumstantial evidence to the contrary; she will not rest until she finds him. Full of dazzling visuals (many recreating famous French photographs) and moments of charm and humor, as well as grim depictions of war, but goes on much longer than it should. Based on the novel by Sébastien Japrisot. | tt0344510 | [R] | Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jérôme Kircher, Dominique Bettenfeld, Jodie Foster, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Denis Lavant, Clovis Cornillac, Chantal Neuwirth, Dominique Pinon, Marion Cotillard, André Dussollier, Ticky Holgado, Jean-Paul Rouve, Julie Depardieu, Tchéky Karyo, Michel Vuillermoz, Jean-Claude Dreyfus | French | Drama, Mystery, Romance, War | NULL | |
| A Very Private Affair | La Vie Privée | 1962 | Louis Malle | ★★ | 95 | Rather remote romantic drama in which Bardot plays a famous movie star (from Geneva) who is robbed of her privacy and retreats from the world. Mastroianni is her mom's former lover, a theater director now protecting Bardot. Flashy ending filmed against backdrop of the Spoleto Festival. Originally titled: LA VIE PRIVEE. | tt0055599 | Brigitte Bardot, Marcello Mastroianni, Gregor von Rezzori, Eleonore Hirt, Dirk Sanders | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Very Special Favor | 1965 | Michael Gordon | ★★½ | 104 | Too-often blah, forced comedy of Boyer asking Hudson to romance daughter Caron. | tt0059868 | Rock Hudson, Leslie Caron, Charles Boyer, Walter Slezak, Dick Shawn, Larry Storch, Nita Talbot, Jay Novello | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Very Thought of You | 1998 | Nick Hamm | ★★★ | 88 | Cute romantic comedy about an American woman who impulsively packs up and flies to England, where she simultaneously shakes up the lives of three men. Nicely done. Original British title: MARTHA, MEET FRANK, DANIEL AND LAURENCE. | tt0120747 | [PG-13] | Monica Potter, Joseph Fiennes, Rufus Sewell, Tom Hollander, Ray Winstone | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Vibes | 1988 | Ken Kwapis | ★★ | 99 | Unsatisfactory romantic adventure comedy about psychics Lauper (in her first starring role) and Goldblum, and their quest for a supposed city of gold in the mountains of Ecuador. Unfortunate misfire from comedy writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. | tt0096378 | [PG] | Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, Julian Sands, Googy Gress, Peter Falk, Michael Lerner, Ramon Bieri, Elizabeth Pena, Bill McCutcheon, Karen Akers, Park Overall, Steve Buscemi | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Vice Raid | 1960 | Edward L. Cahn | ★★ | 71 | Tawdry vehicle for Van Doren, as a hooker out to frame a cop. Blander than usual, but film does allow for some campy humor. | tt0053418 | Mamie Van Doren, Richard Coogan, Brad Dexter, Frank Gerstle, Barry Atwater, Carol Nugent | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Vice Squad | 1982 | Gary A. Sherman | ★★ | 97 | Hooker helps Hollywood cops catch sadistic pimp who sexually mutilates other prostitutes. Both dull and sleazy, but Hauser is undeniably a great movie villain. | tt0084861 | [R] | Season Hubley, Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Vice Squad | 1931 | John Cromwell. | ★★ | 80 | Lukas is excellent in tale of corrupt vice squad, but production needs a shot of adrenalin. Good potential dissipated by slow presentation. | tt0022536 | Paul Lukas, Kay Francis, Helen Johnson (Judith Wood), Esther Howard, William B. Davidson. | Crime | NULL | |||
| Vice Versa | 1948 | Peter Ustinov | ★★★ | 111 | Entertaining comedy about Victorian stockbroker Livesey and his schoolboy son Newley, who change places after wishing on a magic stone. Parts of it are silly, but much of it is inspired and hilarious. Justice is great as a hypocritical headmaster; Ustinov also wrote the script. Predates the father-son 'comedies' of the 1980s. | tt0040940 | Roger Livesey, Kay Walsh, David Hutcheson, Anthony Newley, James Robertson Justice, Petula Clark, Patricia Raine, Joan Young | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Vice Versa | 1988 | Brian Gilbert | ★★★ | 100 | An ill-gotten mystical Thai skull enables a department store workaholic and his 11-year-old son to become each other. Not up to BIG, but better than it ought to be; Reinhold and Savage appear to be having a whale of a time in their roles. | tt0096380 | [PG] | Judge Reinhold, Fred Savage, Corinne Bohrer, Swoosie Kurtz, David Proval, Jane Kaczmarek, William Prince, Gloria Gifford | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| Vicki | 1953 | Harry Horner | ★★½ | 85 | Loose remake of I WAKE UP SCREAMING, with Boone the resolute cop convinced agent Reid killed chanteuse girlfriend Peters. Dramatic flair isn't always evident, but wait till you find out who the killer is. | tt0046515 | Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters, Elliott Reid, Casey Adams, Richard Boone, Carl Betz, Aaron Spelling | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona | 2008 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 97 | While summering with family friends in Barcelona, two American girls are approached by a sexy artist who asks them to spend a weekend with him. One is outraged, the other intrigued, but what happens next is completely unpredictable. A light, funny concoction by Woody Allen filled with attractive people and equally attractive postcard scenery. Blithely entertaining, with a terrific showcase part for Cruz, who won Best Supporting Actress Oscar as Bardem’s fiery ex-wife. | tt0497465 | [PG-13] | Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn, Chris Messina, Zak Orth, Carrie Preston, Pablo Schreiber | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Victim | 1961 | Basil Dearden | ★★★½ | 100 | Fine thriller with lawyer Bogarde risking reputation by trying to confront gang of blackmailers who caused death of his onetime lover. Considered daring at the time for treatment of homosexuality. Screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick. | tt0055597 | Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Sims, Dennis Price, Nigel Stock, Peter McEnery, Donald Churchill, Anthony Nicholls, Hilton Edwards, Norman Bird | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Victor/Victoria | 1982 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 133 | Down-and-out singer Andrews masquerades as a man and becomes the toast of Paris cabarets in the 1930s, to the delight of her gay mentor (Preston) and the confusion of an American admirer (Garner). Sophisticated, often hilarious comedy, with Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse earning Oscars for their song score and adaptation. Edwards' screenplay is based on VIKTOR UND VIKTORIA, a 1933 German film (remade in 1936 as FIRST A GIRL with Jessie Matthews). Later a Broadway musical. | tt0238702 | [PG] | Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren, Alex Karras, John Rhys-Davies, Graham Stark, Peter Arne | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Victoria the Great | 1937 | Herbert Wilcox | ★★★ | 118 | Neagle is radiant as Queen Victoria in often-stodgy biopic emphasizing her romance with Prince Albert (Walbrook). Final reel, the jubilee celebration, is in Technicolor. Sequel: SIXTY GLORIOUS YEARS. | tt0029734 | Anna Neagle, Anton Walbrook, H. B. Warner, Walter Rilla, Mary Morris, C. V. France, Charles Carson, Felix Aylmer | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Victors | 1963 | Carl Foreman | ★★★ | 156 | Sprawling WW2 drama of Allied soldiers on the march through Europe, focusing on their loving and fighting. Good cast and direction overcome Foreman's ambling script. Originally released at 175m. | tt0057652 | George Hamilton, George Peppard, Vince Edwards, Eli Wallach, Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Jeanne Moreau, Peter Fonda, Senta Berger, Elke Sommer, Albert Finney | War, Drama | NULL | |||
| Victory | 1981 | John Huston | ★½ | 110 | POWs get a chance to escape German prison camp but stick around to finish soccer game— just as it would have happened in real life. Only Pele's celebrated kicks save this silly bore from a BOMB rating. | tt0083284 | [PG] | Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Pele, Daniel Massey, Carole Laure | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| Victory at Sea | 1954 | Henry Salomon (Produced) | ★★★ | 108 | Produced by Henry Salomon. Briskly edited version of popular TV documentary series, highlighting Allied fight during WW2. Excellent photography, rousing Richard Rodgers score. | tt0232902 | Narrated by Alexander Scourby | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Victory through Air Power | 1943 | H.C. Potter; animation directors Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, James Algar | ★★★ | 63 | Fascinating time capsule produced by Walt Disney to support Major Alexander P. de Seversky's theory that the U.S. could win WW2 if it relied more on air power. Opens with an animated history of aviation, then turns to its propagandistic theme. A unique film in Disney's career that shows how effectively his artists could use the medium of animation to do more than simply entertain. De Seversky is also quite effective as host. | tt0036497 | Narrated by Art Baker | Animation, Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| Videodrome | 1983 | David Cronenberg | ★★ | 90 | Genuinely intriguing story premise— about pirate cable-TV programmer (Woods, in a dynamic performance) who's mesmerized by bizarre, untraceable transmissions that have hallucinatory power. Unfortunately, story gets slower— and sillier— as it goes along, with icky special effects by Rick Baker. | tt0086541 | [R] | James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Les Carlson, Jack Creley, Lynne Gorman | Canadian | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The View From Pompey's Head | 1955 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 97 | Superficial gloss from Hamilton Basso novel about social and racial prejudice in small Southern town; Blackmer as aging novelist and Rambeau his wife come off best. | tt0048788 | Richard Egan, Dana Wynter, Cameron Mitchell, Marjorie Rambeau, Sidney Blackmer, Bess Flowers | Drama | NULL | |||
| A View From the Bridge | 1962 | Sidney Lumet | ★★★ | 110 | Effective adaptation of Arthur Miller drama set near Brooklyn waterfront, involving dock worker Vallone's rejection of wife Stapleton and suppressed love of niece Lawrence; Sorel is smuggled-in immigrant Lawrence loves. | tt0056668 | Raf Vallone, Maureen Stapleton, Carol Lawrence, Jean Sorel, Morris Carnovsky, Harvey Lembeck, Vincent Gardenia | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| View from the Top | 2003 | Bruno Barreto | ★★ | 87 | A poor girl pursues her dream by becoming a flight attendant, with stewardess-turned-airline-owner Bergen as her role model. Eventually she has to choose between a career and the man she loves. The cast is engaging, and the fashions are fun, but this retro fairy tale plays like a bland 1960s Hollywood movie, except for Myers, whose cross-eyed comic shtick seems to belong in an entirely different film. George Kennedy appears unbilled. | tt0264150 | [PG-13] | Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Mark Ruffalo, Candice Bergen, Kelly Preston, Rob Lowe, Mike Myers | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A View to a Kill | 1985 | John Glen | ★★ | 131 | One of the weakest James Bond films saddles 007 with a bland villain (Walken, who wants to destroy California's lucrative Silicon Valley), a monotonous villainess (Jones), and a wimpy leading lady (Roberts). And it goes on forever. Only some spectacular stunt sequences keep it alive. (Oh, yes, there's also a gorgeous Russian spy— played by Fullerton— who disappears too soon.) Moore's final appearance as 007. | tt0090264 | [PG] | Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee, Patrick Bauchau, Fiona Fullerton, Alison Doody, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Brown, Lois Maxwell, Walter Gotell, Dolph Lundgren | British | Action | NULL | |
| Vigil | 1984 | Vincent Ward | ★★½ | 90 | Ward's first feature is an apt predecessor to his NAVIGATOR. It's a grim, thinly scripted, but visually arresting account of how a young farm girl reacts to the arrival of a stranger upon the death of her father. | tt0088355 | Bill Kerr, Fiona Kay, Gordon Shields, Penelope Stewart, Frank Whitten | New Zealand | Drama | NULL | ||
| Vigil in the Night | 1940 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 96 | Compelling drama of provincial hospital life in England, with outstanding work by Lombard as dedicated nurse, Shirley as her flighty sister, Aherne as doctor. Potentially corny script made credible and exciting by good cast, fine direction pulling viewer into the story. | tt0033221 | Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne, Anne Shirley, Julien Mitchell, Robert Coote, Brenda Forbes, Rhys Williams, Peter Cushing | Drama | NULL | |||
| Vigilante | 1982 | William Lustig | 💣 | 90 | Forster is driven to join DEATH WISH-type vigilantes after his family is viciously attacked by degenerate punks. Script is full of holes, and so is some of the cast after various bloody attacks. Truly distasteful. Unrated director's cut runs 89m. Originally titled STREET GANG. | tt0084867 | [R] | Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda, Willie Colon, Joe Spinell, Carol Lynley, Woody Strode | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Vigilante Force | 1976 | George Armitage | ★★½ | 89 | Vietnam vet Kristofferson, hired to help restore order when small California town is overrun by workers from nearby oilfields, succeeds but then takes over town himself. Minor but interesting, fast-paced film. | tt0075393 | [PG] | Kris Kristofferson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Victoria Principal, Bernadette Peters, Brad Dexter, David Doyle, Andrew Stevens | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Vigilantes Return | 1947 | Ray Taylor. | ★★ | 67 | Standard Western with marshal Hall sent to bring law and order to untamed town. | tt0039958 | Margaret Lindsay, Jon Hall, Paula Drew, Andy Devine, Robert Wilcox, Jack Lambert. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Viking Queen | 1967 | Don Chaffey | ★★ | 91 | Empty-headed Hammer Films costumer of early England under Roman rule, with plenty of gore as anarchists incite a violent uprising among the people. Murray and fine British actors are lost. | tt0062443 | Don Murray, Carita, Donald Houston, Andrew Keir, Adrienne Corri, Niall MacGinnis, Wilfrid Lawson | British | Adventure, Action | NULL | ||
| Viking Women and the Sea Serpent | 1957 | Roger Corman | 💣 | 66 | The title ladies are held captive on an island. The original title of this Grade-Z hokum is THE SAGA OF THE VIKING WOMEN AND THEIR VOYAGE TO THE WATERS OF THE GREAT SEA SERPENT(!) By any name, it stinks. | tt0052156 | Abby Dalton, Susan Cabot, Brad Jackson, Richard Devon, Jonathan Haze | Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Viking | 1931 | Varick Frissell, George Melford. | ★★½ | 72 | Stunning location filming highlights this dramatically clunky tale of seal hunting in Newfoundland. Of note as Canada's first talkie and for the presence of Bartlett, a legendary Arctic explorer, playing a sealing ship captain. Director Frissell (listed in the credits as writer and producer) and 26 others were killed by an explosion on board the ship from which they were filming. The story of the making of the film is told in Victoria King's documentary WHITE THUNDER (2002). | tt0022537 | Charles Starrett, Louise Huntington, Arthur Vinton, Captain Bob Bartlett. | Canadian | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Vikings | 1958 | Richard Fleischer | ★★½ | 114 | Big-name cast and on-location photography in Norway and Brittany are only standouts in routine Viking adventure, sweepingly photographed by Jack Cardiff. | tt0052365 | Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Janet Leigh, Alexander Knox, Frank Thring; narrated by Orson Welles | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Villa Rides! | 1968 | Buzz Kulik | ★★ | 125 | Witless retelling of Villa's Mexican campaign, with broadened focus on cohort Bronson, captured pilot Mitchum. Rare chance to see Brynner with hair; screenplay by Robert Towne and Sam Peckinpah. John Ireland has an unbilled cameo near the end. | tt0063775 | [R] | Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum, Charles Bronson, Herbert Lom, Jill Ireland, Alexander Knox, Fernando Rey | War, Western | NULL | ||
| Villa!! | 1958 | James B. Clark | ★½ | 72 | Dull recreation of events in life of Mexican bandit. | tt0052366 | Brian Keith, Cesar Romero, Margia Dean, Rodolfo Hoyos | Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Village Tale | 1935 | John Cromwell | ★★★ | 79 | Little-known, well-acted adaptation of a Phil Stong novel, focusing on unhappy wife Johnson and her desire for bachelor Scott. Highly unusual (for its time) in its depiction of the underbelly of small-town life, filled with gossip, prejudice, and hypocrisy. | tt0027176 | Randolph Scott, Kay Johnson, Arthur Hohl, Robert Barrat, Janet Beecher, Edward Ellis, Dorothy Burgess | Drama | NULL | |||
| Village of the Damned | 1960 | Wolf Rilla | ★★★ | 78 | Fine adaptation of John Wyndham novel (The Midwich Cuckoos) about blackout in English village followed by birth of strange, emotionless children. Eerie, well-made chiller, followed by CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED. Remade in 1995. | tt0054443 | George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynne, Laurence Naismith, John Phillips, Richard Vernon | British | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | ||
| Village of the Damned | 1995 | John Carpenter | ★★½ | 98 | A strange mist overcomes an idyllic coastal town, causing ten women to give birth to children who turn out to be mind-controlling demons! Carpenter's remake of the 1960 film is, naturally, more explicit and more violent, with some new characters who don't make much sense (especially Alley), but the premise is still potent enough to pull you in. | tt0114852 | [R] | Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Linda Kozlowski, Michael Paré, Mark Hamill, Meredith Salenger, Constance Forslund, George 'Buck' Flower, Thomas Dekker, Lindsey Haun | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Village of the Giants | 1965 | Bert I. Gordon | 💣 | 80 | Poor special effects are just one problem with this silly film about teenagers growing to tremendous heights. Based on H. G. Wells story, refilmed by Gordon in 1976 as FOOD OF THE GODS. | tt0059878 | Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford, Beau Bridges, Ron Howard, Tisha Sterling, Tim Rooney, Joy Harmon | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Village | 2004 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★½ | 109 | Somber, straight-faced story about a sequestered community that lives a simple, ascetic life, surrounded by woods where 'those we don't speak of' pose a constant threat. One young man (Phoenix) proposes venturing through the woods to 'the towns' to get badly needed medicine, but the elders will not hear of it. Evolves into a self-parody at some point before becoming downright ridiculous. Impressive only as a showcase for newcomer Howard (daughter of Ron). | tt0368447 | [PG-13] | Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Bryce Dallas Howard, Brendan Gleeson, Cherry Jones, John Christopher Jones, Celia Weston, Judy Greer, Jayne Atkinson, Fran Kranz, Michael Pitt, Jesse Eisenberg, Frank Collison | Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Villain | 1971 | Michael Tuchner | ★½ | 98 | Nasty, stomach-churning melodrama about British underworld, taken from James Barlow's novel The Burden of Proof. Burton plays vicious homosexual thug only a mother (Nesbitt) could love. | tt0067952 | [R] | Richard Burton, Ian McShane, Nigel Davenport, Joss Ackland, Fiona Lewis, Donald Sinden, Cathleen Nesbitt | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Villain Still Pursued Her | 1940 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 66 | Laughs are few and far between in this full-length spoof of old-time melodramas in which boos and hisses are encouraged. Even pie-throwing sequence is dull. Keaton adds brightest moments. | tt0033224 | Anita Louise, Richard Cromwell, Hugh Herbert, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton, Joyce Compton, Billy Gilbert, Margaret Hamilton | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Villain | 1979 | Hal Needham | ★★ | 89 | Lynde plays an Indian chief named Nervous Elk, and so it goes. Combination Western spoof/Road Runner cartoon makes CAT BALLOU look subtle, but may make you laugh if it hits you in a silly frame of mind. | tt0080097 | [PG] | Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Ruth Buzzi, Jack Elam, Strother Martin | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights—Hollywood to The Heartland | 2008 | Ari Sandel | ★★½ | 100 | Vaughn leads a troupe of comics on a 30-day tour across America in this documentary/concert film, which sheds light on what the middle of the country finds funny and what this band of performers learns about the U.S. A nice idea and some very funny individual bits make this a passably entertaining journey. | tt0844768 | [R] | Vince Vaughn, Keir O’Donnell, Justin Long, Ahmed Ahmed, Peter Billingsley, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst, Sebastian Maniscalco | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Vincent | 1987 | Paul Cox | ★★★ | 99 | Engrossing, thoughtfully directed documentary look at the life and letters of Vincent van Gogh. A rare and revealing celluloid examination of an artist and his creativity. The voice of John Hurt is heard as van Gogh. Cox later used a similar approach in NIJINSKY: THE DIARIES OF VASLAV NIJINSKY. Originally titled VINCENT— THE LIFE AND DEATH OF VINCENT VAN GOGH. | tt0094269 | Australian | Animation, Drama | NULL | |||
| Vincent & Theo | 1990 | Robert Altman | ★★★½ | 138 | Evocative, emotionally powerful look at the symbiotic relationship between Vincent van Gogh (Roth) and his brother Theo (Rhys). A far cry from the standard Hollywood bios of tortured artists, with typically unconventional Altman direction and excellent performances by the leads. Beautiful photography by Jean Lepine and art direction by Stephen Altman (the director's son). Originally a four-hour miniseries for European TV. | tt0100873 | [PG-13] | Tim Roth, Paul Rhys, Johanna Ter Steege, Wladimir Yordanoff, Jip Wijngaarden, Anne Canovas, Hans Kesting, Jean-Pierre Cassel | Drama | NULL | ||
| Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others | 1974 | Claude Sautet | ★★★★ | 118 | Melancholy, enormously satisfying life-goes-on drama about longtime male buddies who pursue their respective vocations during the week— medicine, boxing, factory ownership, etc.— then team up for food and drink on idyllic country weekends. Montand stands out in a dream French cast as a going-broke boss in perilous romantic and physical shape. | tt0072368 | Yves Montand, Michel Piccoli, Serge Reggiani, Gérard Depardieu, Stephane Audran | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Vindicator | 1986 | Jean-Claude Lord | ★★ | 88 | Updating of FRANKENSTEIN saga concerns infighting among scientists working on cyborg experiments. Highlights: an impressive metallic monster design by Stan Winston plus tough-girl troubleshooter role for guest star Grier. Originally titled: FRANKENSTEIN '88. | tt0092172 | [R] | Terri Austin, Richard Cox, Pam Grier, Maury Chaykin, David McIlwraith | Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| The Vintage | 1957 | Jeffrey Hayden | ★★ | 92 | Strangely cast melodrama set in vineyard of France involving two brothers on the lam. | tt0051167 | Pier Angeli, Michele Morgan, John Kerr, Mel Ferrer, Theodore Bikel, Leif Erickson | Crime | NULL | |||
| Violated | 1984 | Richard Cannistraro | 💣 | 88 | Dreary exploitation film about N.Y.C. businessmen who prey on young party girls. White is a rape victim befriended by cop Quinn, who goes after the big boys. Contains a brief, standout performance by Heard as a fidgety intermediary who hires Quinn as a hit man. | tt0088356 | [R] | J.C. Quinn, John Heard, D. Balin, April Daisy White, Kaye Dowd | Crime | NULL | ||
| Violence | 1947 | Jack Bernhard. | ★½ | 72 | Potentially explosive story about an organization called United Defenders that purports to help WW2 veterans but takes advantage of them instead. Unfortunately, this juicy material is bungled by clumsy storytelling and some terrible performances. | tt0039960 | Nancy Coleman, Michael O'Shea, Sheldon Leonard, Peter Whitney, Emory Parnell, Pierre Watkin, Frank Reicher, John Hamilton. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Violent Enemy | 1968 | Don Sharp | ★★★ | 94 | Intense drama of IRA plot to blow up British power plant, and various motives involved. | tt0063781 | Tom Bell, Susan Hampshire, Ed Begley, Jon Laurimore, Michael Standing, Noel Purcell | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Violent Four | 1968 | Carlo Lizzani | ★★ | 98 | Unexceptional tale of notorious Italian robbery gang which stages massive bank holdup schemes, becoming police's number-one target. | tt0062707 | [M] | Gian Maria Volonte, Tomas Milian, Margaret Lee, Carla Gravina, Don Backy | Italian | Crime | NULL | |
| The Violent Men | 1955 | Rudolph Maté | ★★½ | 96 | Ford is a Civil War veteran who takes up the good fight against a bitter, greedy rancher (Robinson), his scheming wife (Stanwyck), and slimy brother (Keith). Some good action sequences highlight this standard horse opera. | tt0048789 | Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford, Edward G. Robinson, Dianne Foster, Brian Keith, Richard Jaeckel | Western | NULL | |||
| The Violent Ones | 1967 | Fernando Lamas | ★½ | 84 | Junk about lawman Lamas' problems in getting Mexican community to refrain from lynching his prisoners when they are suspected of raping and murdering Marx. | tt0062448 | Fernando Lamas, Aldo Ray, Tommy Sands, David Carradine, Lisa Gaye, Melinda Marx | Crime | NULL | |||
| Violent Road | 1958 | Howard W. Koch | ★★½ | 86 | Well-done programmer involving men driving explosives over bumpy road, allowing for each to reexamine his way of life. | tt0052368 | Brian Keith, Dick Foran, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Merry Anders | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Violent Saturday | 1955 | Richard Fleischer | ★★★ | 91 | Effective study of repercussion on small Arizona town when bank robbers carry out a bloody holdup. | tt0048790 | Victor Mature, Richard Egan, Stephen McNally, Virginia Leith, Tommy Noonan, Lee Marvin, Margaret Hayes, J. Carrol Naish, Sylvia Sidney, Ernest Borgnine, Brad Dexter | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Violent Stranger | 1957 | Montgomery Tully | ★★½ | 83 | Domergue, wife of condemned killer, sets out to find the real culprit. Not-bad little crime drama. Originally titled MAN IN THE SHADOW. | tt0051168 | Zachary Scott, Faith Domergue, Faith Brook, Peter Illing, Gordon Jackson, Kay Callard | British | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Violent Years | 1956 | William M. Morgan (Franz Eichorn) | 💣 | 57 | Tawdry, preachy juvenile delinquency trash about a rich teen girl, ignored by her parents, who heads up a gang. Wooden acting all around. Scripted by Edward Wood, Jr. Aka FEMALE. | tt0049922 | Jean Moorehead, Barbara Weeks, Arthur Millan, Theresa Hancock, Joanne Cangi, Gloria Farr | Drama | NULL | |||
| Violets Are Blue . . . | 1986 | Jack Fisk | ★★ | 88 | Romantic drama about onetime high school sweethearts, reunited after many years, who try to pick up where they left off— though he's married and settled in their hometown and she's single and a globetrotting photojournalist. Pleasant, attractive, but dull. | tt0092173 | [PG-13] | Sissy Spacek, Kevin Kline, Bonnie Bedelia, John Kellogg, Jim Standford, Augusta Dabney | Romance | NULL | ||
| Violette | 1978 | Claude Chabrol | ★★ | 122 | Slow-moving account, based on true incident of 14-year-old girl who led double life and poisoned her parents, killing her father. Huppert sleepwalks through the role, and Chabrol lacks his usual directorial flair. Full title VIOLETTE NOZIERE. | tt0078467 | [R] | Isabelle Huppert, Stephane Audran, Jean Carmet, Jean-François Garreaud, Bernadette Lafont | French | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| Virgin Island | 1958 | Pat Jackson | ★★½ | 84 | Leisurely study of author Cassavetes and bride Maskell moving to Caribbean isle; film lightly touches on racial issue. | tt0052370 | John Cassavetes, Virginia Maskell, Sidney Poitier, Colin Gordon | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Virgin President | 1968 | Graeme Ferguson | ★★ | 71 | Darden is Fillard Millmore, the43rd president of the United States. Occasionally funny but mostly silly spoof. | tt0063783 | Severn Darden, Richard Neuweiler, Andrew Duncan, Richard Schaal, Paul Benedict, Sudie Bond, Peter Boyle | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Virgin Queen | 1955 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 92 | Davis is in full authority in her second portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I, detailing her conflicts with Walter Raleigh. | tt0048791 | Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins, Herbert Marshall, Jay Robinson, Dan O'Herlihy, Rod Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Virgin Soldiers | 1969 | John Dexter | ★★★ | 96 | Smooth comedy-drama about British recruits in Singapore; title refers to their lack of experience in battle as well as in bed. Solid Carl Foreman production, adapted by John Hopkins from Leslie Thomas' novel. Followed by STAND UP, VIRGIN SOLDIERS in 1977. | tt0065182 | [R] | Hywel Bennett, Nigel Patrick, Lynn Redgrave, Nigel Davenport, Rachel Kempson, Tsai Chin, Jack Shepherd, David Bowie | British | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Virgin Spring | 1960 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★ | 88 | Brooding medieval fable of a deeply religious farming family whose daughter is raped and murdered by vagrants. Fascinating, beautifully made, an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Remade as— or, more appropriately, ripped off by— LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. | tt0053976 | Max von Sydow, Brigitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Brigitta Pettersson | Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Virgin Suicides | 2000 | Sofia Coppola | ★★½ | 97 | In 1970s suburbia, four lovely sisters head toward a sorry fate as a quartet of neighborhood boys become obsessed with them. First-time writer-director Coppola adapted Jeffrey Eugenides' novel, but for all its atmosphere and good performances (especially Woods and Turner as the girls' uptight, overprotective parents) it never quite comes together. | tt0159097 | [R] | James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Hannah Hall, Chelse Swain, A. J. Cook, Leslie Hayman, Josh Hartnett, Michael Paré, Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito, Hayden Christensen; narrated by Giovanni Ribisi | Drama | NULL | ||
| Virgin Territory | 2006 | David Leland | ★★ | 97 | Roguish Christensen, escaping his debtors, hides out as a deaf-mute gardener in a convent, while nasty Roth assails his beloved Barton. Randy Renaissance sex comedy, deflatingly set amidst the Black Plague, claims inspiration from Boccaccio's Decameron. But a pop score, lush Roberto Cavalli costumes, and even lusher historical babes sidle it closer to A KNIGHT'S TALE. Much bawd (even a pole dance!) but little wit. Written by the director. | tt0437954 | [R] | Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton, Anna Galiena, Matthew Rhys, Craig Parkinson, Tim Roth | Italian-British-French-Luxembourgian | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Adventure | NULL | |
| The Virgin and the Gypsy | 1970 | Christopher Miles | ★★½ | 92 | D. H. Lawrence's novella comes to screen as interesting, atmospheric, but unbelievable love story. Priest's daughter falls for vagabond gypsy and suffers consequences. Miles later directed Lawrence biopic, PRIEST OF LOVE. | tt0066528 | [R] | Joanna Shimkus, Franco Nero, Honor Blackman, Mark Burns, Maurice Denham, Fay Compton, Kay Walsh | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Virginia | 1941 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★ | 110 | Well-mounted but tedious film of Southern woman (Carroll) who must sacrifice her property and herself in order to raise money to live. | tt0034364 | Madeleine Carroll, Fred MacMurray, Sterling Hayden, Helen Broderick, Marie Wilson, Carolyn Lee | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Virginia | What's Wrong With Virginia | 2012 | Dustin Lance Black | ★★ | 111 | In a small Southern town, an unbalanced woman (Connelly) has been having an affair with the married Mormon sheriff (Harris) who is running for state senator, while her son (Gilbertson) is attracted to the sheriff's daughter (Roberts). Naturally, no good comes from this. Potentially intriguing story of damaged souls and religious hypocrisy shifts tones almost at random and pivots around a lead character who falls way short of tragic stature, despite the conviction with which Connelly portrays her. Directorial debut for Black (screenwriter of MILK), who also wrote the script. Shown at film festivals in 2010 as WHAT'S WRONG WITH VIRGINIA. | tt1440379 | [R] | Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Emma Roberts, Harrison Gilbertson, Amy Madigan, Toby Jones, Yeardley Smith, Paul Walter Hauser, Carrie Preston, Barry Shabaka Henley | Drama | NULL | |
| Virginia City | 1940 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 121 | Follow-up to DODGE CITY has big cast in lush Civil War Western, but tale of rebel spy Hopkins posing as dance hall girl doesn't live up to expectations; Bogart miscast as slimy Mexican bandido. | tt0033226 | Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh, Alan Hale/Sr., Guinn Williams, John Litel | Drama, Action, Romance, Western | NULL | |||
| The Virginian | 1929 | Victor Fleming | ★★½ | 90 | Owen Wister's pioneering 1902 novel becomes stiff but interesting Western, salvaged in good climactic shoot-out; Huston is slimy villain, and Cooper has one of his better early roles. Famous line: 'If you want to call me that, smile.' Filmed before in 1914. Remade in 1946 and 2000 (for cable TV); also a hit TV series in the 1960s. | tt0020556 | Gary Cooper, Richard Arlen, Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Chester Conklin, Eugene Pallette | Western | NULL | |||
| The Virginian | 1946 | Stuart Gilmore | ★★½ | 90 | Remake of '29 classic Western follows story closely. Good, not great, results due to story showing its age. McCrea is hero, Donlevy the villain, Tufts a good-guy-turned-bad. | tt0039082 | Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy, Sonny Tufts, Barbara Britton, Fay Bainter, Henry O'Neill, William Frawley, Vince Barnett, Paul Guilfoyle | Western | NULL | |||
| The Virginity Hit | 2010 | Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland | ★ | 90 | Four friends decide to document the year in which they will all lose their virginity and take a hit from a ceremonial bong. Shot using handheld cameras in mockumentary style, this movie has been compared to everything from PORKY’S to AMERICAN PIE. Interesting concept quickly loses steam because we never really connect with its lead characters. | tt1695994 | [R] | Matt Bennett, Zack Pearlman, Jacob Davich, Justin Kline, Krysta Rodriguez, Nicole Weaver | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Viridiana | 1961 | Luis Buñuel | ★★★½ | 90 | Powerful psychological study of novice nun Pinal, who loses her innocence when forced by Mother Superior to visit nasty uncle Rey. Near-perfect direction by a master filmmaker; solid performances by all. | tt0055601 | Francisco Rabal, Silvia Pinal, Fernando Rey, Margarita Lozano | Spanish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Virtue | 1932 | Edward Buzzell. | ★★★ | 67 | Fine comedy-drama about the romance of streetwalker Lombard and taxi driver O'Brien, who has a thing against all women. Genuinely warm chemistry between the two stars and plenty of snappy pre-Code patter spark this likable film, written by Robert Riskin. | tt0023659 | Carole Lombard, Pat O'Brien, Mayo Methot, Jack La Rue, Ward Bond, Willard Robertson, Shirley Grey. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Virtuosity | 1995 | Brett Leonard | ★½ | 105 | In the near future, control of the police has unwisely been given over to computer-driven technology, and both the programming nerds and their cold-blooded bosses are out of control. Ex-cop and current convict Washington is the only one who can track down a computer-generated bad guy who's been 'sampled' from the world's worst serial killers! Ugly, to say the least, although it's built on a foundation of some interesting ideas. | tt0114857 | [R] | Denzel Washington, Kelly Lynch, Russell Crowe, Stephen Spinella, William Forsythe, Louise Fletcher, William Fichtner, Costas Mandylor, Kevin J. O'Connor, Traci Lords | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Virtuous Sin | 1930 | George Cukor, Louis Gasnier. | 💣 | 82 | Laughably bad production with alluring Francis giving herself to Russian general Huston so he will exempt her husband from death sentence. A real turkey. | tt0021525 | Walter Huston, Kay Francis, Kenneth MacKenna, Jobyna Howland, Paul Cavanagh. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Virus | 1980 | Kinji Fukasaku | ★★½ | 155 | Mankind is destroyed by a plague and nuclear war— except for 858 men and eight women. Beautiful sequences filmed in the Antarctic, adequate special effects, but overlong and meandering. Allegedly the biggest budgeted Japanese film to date. | tt0080768 | [PG] | Sonny Chiba, Chuck Connors, Glenn Ford, Stephanie Faulkner, Masao Kusakari, Isao Natsuki, Stuart Gillard, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Henry Silva, Bo Svenson, Cecil Linder, Robert Vaughn | Japanese | Sci-Fi, War | NULL | |
| The Viscount | 1967 | Maurice Cloche | 💣 | 98 | In spite of the presence of well-known European actors, grade-D spy film is a waste of time. | tt0062441 |
|
Kerwin Mathews, Edmond O'Brien, Jane Fleming, Yvelle Lebon, Jean Yanne, Fernando Rey | French-Italian-Spanish | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| Vision Quest | 1985 | Harold Becker | ★★ | 105 | Muddled, overlong growing-pains movie with too many familiar elements. Modine is a high-school wrestler with a philosophical bent; Fiorentino is a tough-talking older woman who turns him on. Based on a novel by Terry Davis. Madonna appears briefly onscreen singing 'Crazy for You.' | tt0090270 | [R] | Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Schoeffling, Ronny Cox, Harold Sylvester, Roberts Blossom, Charles Hallahan, Daphne Zuniga, Forest Whitaker, Raphael Sbarge | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Visioneers | 2008 | Jared Drake | ★★ | 95 | Chunky Everyman Galifianakis works for a bureaucratic company where productivity is emphasized, yet no one does any real work. His home life is just as deadening but, of course, he has feelings . . . and frustrations. Ambitious film occasionally works as a deft parody of contemporary corporate culture and the hollowness of modern life, but is hampered by too many boring stretches. | tt0833557 | Zach Galifianakis, Judy Greer, Mia Maestro, D. W. Moffett, Matthew Glave, Fay Masterson, Chris Coppola, Aubrey Morris, Missi Pyle, James LeGros | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Visions of Eight | 1973 | Juri Ozerov, Mai Zetterling, Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, Kon Ichikawa, Milos Forman, Claude Lelouch, John Schlesinger | ★★ | 110 | Seemingly good idea of having eight different directors give eight different views of 1972 Olympics results in strangely disappointing film, considering all the talent involved; with possible exception of Schlesinger's final chapter on the marathon, none of the episodes is memorable. | tt0070884 | [G] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography | 1993 | Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels | ★★★½ | 90 | Contemporary lens masters (E.T.'s Allen Daviau, RAGING BULL's Michael Chapman) discuss their own work and pay tribute to pioneer cinematographers of the past (BIRTH OF A NATION's Billy Bitzer, CITIZEN KANE's Gregg Toland). More than 100 films are excerpted, from critical and commercial hits to offbeat pictures and B movies. Interestingly, many of the most absorbing and amusing anecdotes concern sixties films (IN COLD BLOOD, THE GRADUATE, ROSEMARY'S BABY), a decade full of remarkable innovation and experimentation in filmmaking. | tt0105764 | U.S.-Japanese | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Visit to a Chief's Son | 1974 | Lamont Johnson | ★★½ | 92 | OK family drama about a self-centered father and son who become humanized on an African safari. | tt0072375 | [G] | Richard Mulligan, Johnny Sekka, John Philip Hogdon, Jesse Kinaru, Chief Lomoiro, Jock Anderson | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Visit to a Small Planet | 1960 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 85 | Gore Vidal satiric play becomes talky Lewis vehicle with Jerry the alien who comes to Earth to observe man's strange ways. | tt0054446 | Jerry Lewis, Joan Blackman, Earl Holliman, Fred Clark, John Williams, Jerome Cowan, Lee Patrick, Gale Gordon, Buddy Rich | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Visit | 1964 | Bernhard Wicki | ★★½ | 100 | Intriguing but uneven film parable of greed and evil; wealthy Bergman returns to European home town, offering a fantastic sum to the people there if they will legitimately kill her first seducer (Quinn). Actors struggle with melodramatic script; results are interesting if not always successful. Bowdlerized version of Friedrich Durrenmatt's play. Remade in 1992 as HYÉNES. | tt0058724 | Ingrid Bergman, Anthony Quinn, Irina Demick, Paolo Stoppa, Hans Christian Blech, Romolo Valli, Valentina Cortese, Eduardo Ciannelli | German-French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Visit | 2000 | Jordan Walker-Pearlman | ★★½ | 107 | Prisoner dying of AIDS tries to gain redemption by connecting again with his family, which has largely ignored him during his incarceration. Based on a play (inspired in turn by a true story), film is somewhat stagy but often powerful tale of a man who comes to terms with himself and his life just as it is about to end. Fine performances by Harper and particularly Williams make this worth watching. | tt0199129 | [R] | Hill Harper, Obba Babatundé, Rae Dawn Chong, Billy Dee Williams, Marla Gibbs, Phylicia Rashad, Talia Shire, David Clennon, Glynn Turman, Efrain Figueroa, Amy Stiller | Drama | NULL | ||
| Visiting Hours | 1982 | Jean-Claude Lord | 💣 | 103 | Awful programmer, set in a hospital with demented Ironside stalking TV journalist Grant, who hopefully was well paid for this junk. | tt0083296 | [R] | Michael Ironside, Lee Grant, Linda Purl, William Shatner, Harvey Atkin, Helen Hughes | Canadian | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Visitor | 1979 | Michael J. Paradise (Giulio Paradisi) | ★★ | 90 | Filmed Stateside by the BEYOND THE DOOR folks, this passable time-killer wastes a good cast in yet another OMEN rip-off; too bad Huston or Peckinpah couldn't have directed as well. | tt0080100 | [R] | Mel Ferrer, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen, John Huston, Joanne Nail, Shelley Winters, Sam Peckinpah | Italian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Visitor | 2008 | Tom McCarthy | ★★★½ | 100 | Bracingly original film from the writer-director of THE STATION AGENT about a lonely widower (Jenkins) who plods along as a professor in Connecticut, but begins to embrace life anew after he chances to meet a charismatic Syrian musician (Sleiman) in Manhattan. Minimalist filmmaking at its best, a combination character study—with brilliant and nuanced performances—and a commentary on the perils and pleasures of life in today’s American melting pot. | tt0857191 | [PG-13] | Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbass, Marian Seldes, Michael Cumpsty, Richard Kind | Romance, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Visitors | 1972 | Elia Kazan | 💣 | 88 | Deplorable story of two Vietnam vets who, upon release from prison for sex crime, invade the house of third vet who testified at their trial. Woods' film debut. | tt0069466 | [R] | Patrick McVey, Patricia Joyce, James Woods, Chico Martinez, Steve Railsback | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Visitors | Les Visiteurs | 1993 | Jean-Marie Poiré | ★★½ | 106 | Rollicking time-travel saga of 12th-century knight (Reno) and his loyal-but-dim squire (Clavier) who find themselves in the contemporary French countryside, trying to make sense of their descendants, indoor plumbing, and the like. Broad hijinks should be a big hit with the kids. A smash in French cinemas, where it played as LES VISITEURS. Remade as JUST VISITING. Followed by THE CORRIDORS OF TIME: THE VISITORS II. | tt0108500 | [R] | Jean Reno, Christian Clavier, Valérie Lemercier, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Bujeau, Isabelle Nanty, Gérard Séty | French | Fantasy, Comedy | NULL |
| Vital Signs | 1990 | Marisa Silver | ★½ | 103 | Third-year medical students experience the usual clichés: performing rounds, undercutting rivals, questioning authority, and sneaking an occasional quickie in the hospital linen closet. Watchable, but of absolutely no distinction; stick with THE NEW INTERNS, where you can at least compare the acting styles of Dean Jones and Telly Savalas. Smits effectively projects quiet authority as the surgeon instructor. | tt0100879 | [R] | Adrian Pasdar, Diane Lane, Jimmy Smits, Norma Aleandro, Jack Gwaltney, Laura San Giacomo, Jane Adams, Tim Ransom, Bradley Whitford, Lisa Jane Persky, William Devane, James Karen, Telma Hopkins | Drama | NULL | ||
| Vitus | 2006 | Fredi M. Murer | ★★★½ | 123 | Moving and involving family drama of a boy genius being pushed into the life of a piano prodigy by his demanding parents. Instead of following their wishes he sets off on his own course with the help of his eccentric grandfather. Story should appeal to young and old alike with its focus on what is truly important in life. Stirring musical sequences add to the many pleasures of a film as beautifully crafted as a Swiss watch. | tt0478829 | [PG] | Bruno Ganz, Fabrizio Borsani, Teo Gheorghiu, Julika Jenkins, Urs Jucker, Eleni Haupt, Daniel Rohr | Swiss | Drama, Music | NULL | |
| Viva Knievel! | 1977 | Gordon Douglas | 💣 | 104 | The senses reel at this hilariously inept attempt to turn the infamous stunt driver into a movie hero. The Bad Guys plan to have Evel 'accidentally' killed in Mexico, so they can use his truck to smuggle drugs back into the U.S.! Don't miss opening scene, in which Our Hero sneaks into orphanage at midnight to distribute Evel Knievel plastic model kits— whereupon one little boy miraculously throws away his crutches! | tt0076890 | [PG] | Evel Knievel, Gene Kelly, Lauren Hutton, Marjoe Gortner, Red Buttons, Eric Olson, Leslie Nielsen, Cameron Mitchell, Frank Gifford, Albert Salmi, Dabney Coleman | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Viva Las Vegas | 1964 | George Sidney | ★★½ | 86 | Elvis and Ann-Margret are well teamed in this popular Presley vehicle, with Elvis a race car driver. Songs include 'The Lady Loves Me,' 'What'd I Say?,' 'I Need Somebody to Lean On,' 'Come On, Everybody,' and classic title tune. | tt0058725 | Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest, Jack Carter | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| Viva Maria! | 1965 | Louis Malle | ★★★½ | 119 | Rollicking tale of two beautiful entertainers/ revolutionaries in Mexico has inconsistent first half, then takes off for hilarious finish. Lots of fun. | tt0059956 | Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, George Hamilton, Gregor Von Rezzori, Paulette Dubost | French-Italian | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| Viva Max! | 1969 | Jerry Paris | ★★½ | 92 | Mildly amusing yarn of eccentric Mexican general recapturing Alamo, sending equally inept American militia to rout him out. Forced humor doesn't always work, but not bad; Astin is excellent as Ustinov's loyal sergeant. | tt0065184 | [G] | Peter Ustinov, Pamela Tiffin, Jonathan Winters, John Astin, Keenan Wynn, Harry Morgan, Alice Ghostley, Kenneth Mars, Ann Morgan Guilbert, Paul Sand | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Viva Villa! | 1934 | Jack Conway | ★★★½ | 115 | Viva Beery, in one of his best films as the rowdy rebel who led the fight for Madera's Mexican Republic. Ben Hecht's script plays with facts, but overall, film is entertaining. | tt0025948 | Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo, Fay Wray, Donald Cook, Stuart Erwin, George E. Stone, Henry B. Walthall, Joseph Schildkraut, Katherine DeMille | Western | NULL | |||
| Viva Zapata! | 1952 | Elia Kazan | ★★★★ | 113 | Vibrant film about Mexican peasant's rise to power and eventual Presidency. Brando is perfect in title role, Quinn equally fine in Oscar-winning performance as his brother. Script by John Steinbeck. | tt0045296 | Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman, Margo, Mildred Dunnock | Drama | NULL | |||
| Vivacious Lady | 1938 | George Stevens | ★★★ | 90 | Overlong but entertaining comedy of professor Stewart marrying nightclub singer Rogers, trying to break the news to his conservative family and fiancée back home. Bondi is fun in amusing variation on her usual motherly role. | tt0030944 | James Stewart, Ginger Rogers, James Ellison, Beulah Bondi, Charles Coburn, Frances Mercer, Grady Sutton, Jack Carson, Franklin Pangborn, Hattie McDaniel, Willie Best | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Vogues | 1937 | Irving Cummings | ★★ | 108 | Minor musical with wealthy Bennett jilting stuffy, high-powered fiancé Mowbray and going to work as model at Baxter's fashion house. One good song, 'That Old Feeling,' plus an outstanding musical number, 'Turn on That Red Hot Heat.' Original title: VOGUES OF 1938. | tt0029737 | Warner Baxter, Joan Bennett, Helen Vinson, Mischa Auer, Alan Mowbray, Jerome Cowan, Alma Kruger, Marjorie Gateson, Penny Singleton, Polly Rowles, Hedda Hopper, The Wiere Brothers | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Voice in the Mirror | 1958 | Harry Keller | ★★½ | 102 | Effective, unpretentious account of Egan trying to combat alcoholism, with help of wife London. | tt0052373 | Richard Egan, Julie London, Arthur O'Connell, Walter Matthau, Troy Donahue, Mae Clarke | Drama | NULL | |||
| Voice in the Wind | 1944 | Arthur Ripley | ★★★ | 85 |
Low-key drama of pianist Lederer haunted by Nazi oppression, later rekindling old love affair; unusual film, well acted.|
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Francis Lederer, Sigrid Gurie, J. Edward Bromberg, J. Carrol Naish
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| The Voice of Bugle Ann | 1936 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 70 | Bugle Ann is a very special fox-hunting hound, lovingly raised by Missouri farmer Barrymore. Trouble comes when an antisocial, dog-hating sheepherder becomes his neighbor. Lionel's the whole show in this slight but entertaining tale, based on a MacKinlay Kantor novel. | tt0028471 | Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Eric Linden, Dudley Digges, Spring Byington, Charles Grapewin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Voice of the Turtle | One for the Book | 1947 | Irving Rapper | ★★★½ | 103 | Delightful wartime comedy of what happens when dreamy young actress Parker (who's been hurt once too often in love) meets soldier-on-leave Reagan. Arden is at her peak as Parker's flighty friend. John van Druten adapted his own Broadway hit. Retitled ONE FOR THE BOOK. | tt0039969 | Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Parker, Eve Arden, Wayne Morris, Kent Smith | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Voice of the Whistler | 1945 | William Castle | ★★★ | 60 | Haunting love story about an avaricious nurse who dumps her fiancé in order to marry a dying millionaire and finds herself a virtual prisoner. Not as suspenseful as the other Whistler entries, but just as gripping. | tt0038230 | Richard Dix, Lynn Merrick, Rhys Williams, James Cardwell, Donald Woods, Gigi Perreau | Drama | NULL | |||
| Voices | 1979 | Robert Markowitz | ★★ | 107 | Aspiring rock singer falls for deaf woman (well played by Irving) who, never having heard him sing, is able to return his love. Sincerely intentioned drama is ultimately compromised by Hollywood formulas. Musical score by Jimmy Webb. | tt0080103 | [PG] | Michael Ontkean, Amy Irving, Alex Rocco, Barry Miller, Herbert Berghof, Viveca Lindfors | Drama | NULL | ||
| Voices of Sarafina! | 1989 | Nigel Noble | ★★★½ | 85 | Powerful, profound documentary of young, black South African actors performing in the Broadway musical Sarafina, which chronicles the involvement of black schoolchildren in the 1976 Soweto uprising. Also details their relationship with Ngema, the show's controversial writer-director. Finale, in which exiled South African singer Makeba appears backstage after a performance, is especially moving. The show itself was filmed with Whoopi Goldberg in 1992. | tt0098607 | Miriam Makeba, Mbongeni Ngema | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Volcano | 1997 | Mick Jackson | ★★★ | 102 | Strange rumblings underground in L.A. attract the attention of the head of the Office of Emergency Management (Jones) and a scientist from Cal Tech (Heche)— who discover a volcanic eruption that can't be stopped. Good, solid disaster movie with credible characters and first-rate special effects. A few sly inside jokes will add to the fun for L.A. viewers— as compensation for seeing their home turf treated so badly. | tt0120461 | [PG-13] | Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Gaby Hoffmann, Don Cheadle, Jacqueline Kim, Keith David, John Corbett, Michael Rispoli, John Carroll Lynch | Action, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| Volere Volare | 1991 | Maurizio Nichetti, Guido Manuli | ★★½ | 92 | Italian comedian and cowriter/codirector Nichetti again satirizes the frenzy and soullessness of modern life (as he did in THE ICICLE THIEF), this time playing a naive movie sound-effects technician. When he meets a woman with a hilariously naughty profession, romance blossoms— until this lover of cartoons starts turning into an animated character himself! A decidedly adult tale of childlike love, this comic spree never entirely takes flight, though its title translates as 'I Want to Fly.' | tt0103223 | [R] | Maurizio Nichetti, Angela Finocchiaro, Mariella Valentini, Patrizio Roversi, Remo Remotti, Renato Scarpa | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Volga Boatman | 1926 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★½ | 120 | Elaborate Hollywoodized version of the Russian Revolution, with Princess Fair loved by elitist prince/military officer Varconi until ragged peasant-turned-revolutionary-leader Boyd enters the picture. DeMille glorifies the cause of the oppressed peasants while depicting them as an animalistic horde; the pre-revolutionary aristocracy fares no better. Interesting to contrast this to the political films then coming out of the USSR. Boyd and Fair later were briefly married. Eugene Pallette is prominent among the revolutionary rabble. | tt0017519 | William Boyd, Elinor Fair, Victor Varconi, Julia Faye, Theodore Kosloff, Robert Edeson, Arthur Rankin. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Volpone | 1939 | Maurice Tourneur | ★★★ | 80 | A rich merchant (Baur) fakes his imminent demise in order to observe the reactions of those set to inherit his wealth. Fine adaptation of famed Ben Jonson comedy, with Baur perfect as Volpone and Jouvet matching him as his servant, Mosca. | tt0033229 | Harry Baur, Louis Jouvet, Fernand Ledoux, Marion Dorian | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Voltaire | 1933 | John G. Adolfi | ★★½ | 72 | Arliss offers another crafty, knowing portrayal as the writer, wit, and 'great humanitarian of the 18th century' who was the conscience of his country in pre-revolutionary France. Arliss is the whole show. | tt0024742 | George Arliss, Margaret Lindsay, Doris Kenyon, Reginald Owen, Alan Mowbray, Douglass Dumbrille | Drama | NULL | |||
| Volunteers | 1985 | Nicholas Meyer | ★½ | 106 | Dismal, grimy-looking comedy about spoiled playboy who accidentally joins Peace Corps and tries running things his way in Thailand. Candy has a few good moments but not enough. Hanks and Wilson later married. | tt0090274 | [R] | Tom Hanks, John Candy, Rita Wilson, Tim Thomerson, Gedde Watanabe, George Plimpton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Volver | 2006 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★½ | 121 | A woman who works hard to be a good wife, mother, sister, niece, and neighbor encounters more trouble than even she is accustomed to. Her aged aunt seems to be having visions, while her sister is talking to their mother, who died in a fire years ago. Lively, colorful Almodóvar mixture of comedy, drama, emotion, and mysticism clicks with its opening shot and never lets up. The writer-director also gives Cruz her best screen showcase to date. | tt0441909 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Blanco, Isabel Díaz, Nieves Sanz Escobar. | Spanish | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Von Richthofen and Brown | Richthofen and Brown | 1971 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 97 | Weak historical drama of 'Red Baron' of WW1 fame and aerial dogfights with his assorted enemies. Aerial work is excellent; it's the ground work which crashes. Aka BATTLE OF THE ACES. | tt0067658 | [PG] | John Phillip Law, Barry Primus, Peter Masterson, Karen Huston, Hurd Hatfield, Robert La Tourneaux | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| Von Ryan's Express | 1965 | Mark Robson | ★★★ | 117 | Exciting WW2 saga with Sinatra a POW colonel who leads daring escape by taking over freight train that is transporting prisoners. Strong supporting cast helps. | tt0059885 | Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carra, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni, Edward Mulhare, James Brolin, Adolfo Celi, John Leyton, Vito Scotti | Action, Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| Voodoo Island | 1957 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★ | 76 | Boring horror-thriller has Karloff asked by businessmen to investigate strange doings on potential motel-island resort. Aka SILENT DEATH. | tt0051173 | Boris Karloff, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vye, Elisha Cook | Horror | NULL | |||
| Voodoo Man | 1944 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 62 | With touching devotion to zombie-wife, Lugosi performs harrowing experiments with unsuspecting girls to cure her. Campy B film. | tt0037441 | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco, Michael Ames (Tod Andrews), Henry Hall, Wanda McKay, Louise Currie | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Voodoo Tiger | 1952 | Spencer G. Bennet | ★½ | 67 | Absurd Jungle Jim hodgepodge featuring gangsters, headhunters, Nazis and a museum curator all in pursuit of stolen art treasures. | tt0045300 | Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Byron, James Seay, Jeannie Dean, Robert Bray | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Voodoo Woman | 1957 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 77 | Cheater-chiller with few scares in jungle lowjinks about deranged scientist changing English into a monster. | tt0051174 | Marla English, Tom Conway, Michael Connors, Lance Fuller | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Vow | 2012 | Michael Sucsy | ★★ | 104 | Blissfully happy Chicago couple face a crisis when a car crash wipes away her memory of the past five years—the entire time they've been together, and married. Can he win her love all over again? Not if her parents have anything to say about it. Intriguing premise (based on a real-life incident) plays out in all-too-familiar fashion, resorting to clichés at times. Only the appeal of its two attractive stars keeps it from sinking. | tt1606389 | [PG-13] | Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Jessica Lange, Scott Speedman, Wendy Crewson, Jessica McNamee, Tatiana Maslany, Joe Cobden | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Voyage of the Damned | 1976 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★★ | 134 | Absorbing fact-based drama. In 1939 a ship full of German-Jewish refugees bound for Havana, denied permission to land anywhere, was forced to return to Germany. Picture almost dissolves into separate stories, but von Sydow as ship's captain holds it together. Originally released at 158m. | tt0075406 | [PG] | Faye Dunaway, Oskar Werner, Max von Sydow, Orson Welles, Malcolm McDowell, Lynne Frederick, James Mason, Lee Grant, Wendy Hiller, Jose Ferrer, Luther Adler, Katharine Ross, Sam Wanamaker, Denholm Elliott, Nehemiah Persoff, Julie Harris, Maria Schell, Ben Gazzara | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Voyage to the Beginning of the World | Journey to the Beginning of the World | 1997 | Manoel de Oliveira | ★★★ | 95 | Touching, reflective road movie from octogenarian director de Oliveira about an aged filmmaker named Manoel (Mastroianni, in his final screen role) who looks back on his life as he visits various locales from his past in the company of several colleagues. Loaded with insights about life and memory, women and sexual attraction, sinning and confessing sins, and the passage of time. Aka JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD. | tt0120443 | Marcello Mastroianni, Jean-Yves Gautier, Leonor Silveira, Diogo Doria, Isabel de Castro, Jose Pinto, Isabel Ruth | Portuguese-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | 1961 | Irwin Allen | ★★★ | 105 | Entertaining, colorful nonsense about conflicts aboard massive atomic submarine, with Pidgeon the domineering admiral trying to keep the Earth from being fried by a burning radiation belt. No deep thinking, just fun. Later a TV series. | tt0055608 | Walter Pidgeon, Joan Fontaine, Robert Sterling, Barbara Eden, Michael Ansara, Peter Lorre, Frankie Avalon, Henry Daniell, Regis Toomey | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Voyage to the End of the Universe | Ikarie XB1 | 1963 | Jack Pollack (Jindrich Polak) | ★★½ | 81 | Twenty-fifth-century space crew is threatened by mysterious, radioactive dark star. Surprise ending is no surprise. Originally titled IKARIE XB 1, running 90m. | tt0122111 | Dennis Stephans, Francis Smolen, Dana Meredith, Irene Kova, Rodney Lucas, Otto Lack | Czech | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women | 1968 | Derek Thomas (Peter Bogdanovich) | ★½ | 80 | Astronauts land on Venus and kill the creature worshiped by the planet's gill-women. Actually a 1962 Russian picture, PLANET OF STORMS, framed with new footage conceived (and narrated) by Bogdanovich in 1966. Still an awful movie, but of definite curio interest to film buffs. Also see next entry. | tt0063790 | Mamie Van Doren, Mary Marr, Paige Lee, Aldo Roman, Margot Hartman | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet | 1966 | Curtis Harrington | ★½ | 80 | Slow, ponderous saga of an expedition to Venus in the year 2020; made up mostly of footage from handsome Russian epic PLANET OF STORMS, involving a robot, dinosaurs, other monsters, and hidden, intelligent Venusians. Rathbone's scenes were shot on the sets for PLANET OF BLOOD, made at the same time. | tt0059887 | Basil Rathbone, Faith Domergue, Marc Shannon, Christopher Brand | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Voyage | 1973 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★ | 95 | Listless adaptation of Pirandello story about star-crossed lovers Burton and Loren, forbidden to marry and shadowed by tragedy. Attractive stars and surroundings, but a draggy film. | tt0069475 | [PG] | Sophia Loren, Richard Burton, Ian Bannen, Barbara Pilavin, Annabella Incontrera, Paolo Lena | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Voyager | 1991 | Volker Schlöndorff | ★★★ | 117 | In the 1950s, American construction engineer Shepard— an inveterate, nearly rootless traveler— meets a man with a link to his pre-WW2 student days in Europe; soon after, he encounters young German beauty Delpy and they take a romantic journey to her home in Athens. Adult tale is quite leisurely paced but well acted and directed. Long-awaited adaptation of Max Frisch's 1957 Swiss-German best-seller, Homo Faber; not without flaws, but more interesting and thought-provoking than most contemporary films. | tt0102050 | [PG-13] | Sam Shepard, Julie Delpy, Barbara Sukowa, Dieter Kirchlechner, Traci Lind, Deborra-Lee Furness, August Zirner, Thomas Heinze | German-French-Greek | Drama | NULL | |
| Vulgar | 2002 | Bryan Johnson | 💣 | 91 | Children's party clown eking out meager existence opts to try entertaining adults as a gag, but instead is brutally attacked (and worse) by weirdos. Co-executive produced by Smith. Crap. | tt0120467 | [R] | Brian Christopher O'Halloran, Jerry Lewkowitz, Matthew Maher, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Bryan Johnson | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Vulture | 1967 | Lawrence Huntington | ★½ | 91 | Disappointing, unsatisfying sci-fi horror with laughable mad scientist (Tamiroff) who becomes half-man, half-bird and avenges death of his ancestor. Released theatrically in b&w. | tt0062463 | Robert Hutton, Akim Tamiroff, Broderick Crawford, Diane Clark, Philip Friend, Patrick Holt | British-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| W | I Want Her Dead | 1974 | Richard Quine | ★½ | 95 | Twiggy struggles through story in which sadistic Benedict, her ex-husband convicted of her supposed murder, menaces her and new husband Witney. Flamboyant but unsuccessful thriller, retitled I WANT HER DEAD. | tt0072386 | [PG] | Twiggy, Michael Witney, Dirk Benedict, John Vernon, Eugene Roche, Alfred Ryder |
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| W. | 2008 | Oliver Stone | ★★½ | 131 | Surprisingly sympathetic look at the life of George W. Bush, who failed at everything until the age of 40 and never succeeded at pleasing his father, even after ascending to the Presidency of the United States. Brolin (as W.), Cromwell (as the elder Bush), and Dreyfuss (as Dick Cheney) stand out in a vast ensemble bringing recent history to life, but the film can’t effectively cover all the things it wants to and never gets inside its central character’s head. It doesn’t so much end as stop. | tt1175491 | [PG-13] | Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeffrey Wright, Thandie Newton, Toby Jones, Ellen Burstyn, Scott Glenn, Stacy Keach, Bruce McGill, Ioan Gruffudd, Dennis Boutsikaris, Noah Wyle, Jesse Bradford, Colin Hanks, Jason Ritter, Rob Corddry, Marley Shelton | Drama | NULL | ||
| W. C. Fields and Me | 1976 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 111 | Story of comedian's romance with Carlotta Monti is a cut above most Hollywood bios, thanks to Steiger's excellent performance, authentic atmosphere, good cast. Has little relation to the truth, but still entertaining. | tt0075409 | [PG] | Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, John Marley, Jack Cassidy, Paul Stewart, Bernadette Peters, Billy Barty | Drama | NULL | ||
| W.E. | 2011 | Madonna | ★½ | 119 | Muddled story of an unhappy surgeon's wife named Wally and her obsession with Wallis Simpson's romance with Edward VIII (later the Duke and Duchess of Windsor). Film jumps confusingly between the past and present lives of both women. Beautifully styled costumes and handsome sets cannot save this picture from overindulgence and a weak script (cowritten by Madonna), loosely based on facts. | tt1536048 | [R] | Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, Richard Coyle, David Harbour, James Fox, Judy Parfitt, Haluk Bilginer, Geoffrey Palmer, James Fox, Laurence Fox, Natalie Dormer | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings | 1975 | John G. Avildsen | ★★½ | 91 | Lightly likable film about a conman who hooks up with struggling country-western group and stops at nothing to promote their success; Carney has oddball role as religious lawman pursuing Burt. Script by Thomas Rickman. | tt0073878 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Art Carney, Conny Van Dyke, Jerry Reed, James Hampton, Ned Beatty | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The WAC From Walla Walla | 1952 | William Witney. | ★★ | 83 | Cornpone Canova accidentally joins the Army in this typical lowbrow comedy, with a cast of comedy pros. Look for Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer as a private. | tt0045303 | Judy Canova, Stephen Dunne, George Cleveland, Elizabeth Slifer, June Vincent, Irene Ryan, Roy Barcroft, Allen Jenkins. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| WUSA | 1970 | Stuart Rosenberg | ★★½ | 115 | Newman pet project casts him as cynical drifter who becomes a d.j. for an ultra-right-wing New Orleans radio station and struggles with his own apathy as he grows aware of WUSA's true (and sinister) intentions. Obvious sincerity undercut by simplistic, overwritten script; still, the acting is fine and there are some truly memorable scenes. | tt0066540 | [M] | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Perkins, Laurence Harvey, Pat Hingle, Cloris Leachman, Don Gordon, Leigh French, Moses Gunn, Bruce Cabot, Lou Gossett/Jr. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wabash Avenue | 1950 | Henry Koster | ★★★ | 92 | Bright, colorful period piece with scoundrel Mature trying to break up romance between saloon-owner Harris and his musical star, Grable. Enjoyable remake of Grable's 1943 vehicle CONEY ISLAND. | tt0043116 | Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Phil Harris, Reginald Gardiner, James Barton, Margaret Hamilton | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Wackiest Ship in the Army? | 1960 | Richard Murphy | ★★★ | 99 | Comedy-drama sometimes has you wondering if it's serious or not; it succeeds most of the time. Offbeat WW2 story about broken-down sailing ship used as decoy doesn't make fun of the war, for a change, and is entertaining. Later a TV series. | tt0054453 | Jack Lemmon, Ricky Nelson, John Lund, Chips Rafferty, Tom Tully, Joby Baker, Warren Berlinger | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The Wackness | 2008 | Jonathan Levine | ★★★ | 110 | The summer of 1994 is no picnic for high school senior Peck, a gangsta wannabe who sells grass in N.Y.C. His parents are always at each other’s throats and he’s never had a girlfriend. A sympathetic, hippie-esque shrink (Kingsley) who trades psychiatric advice for weed says what he really needs is sex. Then Kingsley’s stepdaughter (Thirlby) unexpectedly shows interest in Peck. Shrill at first but quick to warm up, Levine’s well-wrought screenplay dodges coming-of-age clichés even as it covers familiar ground, and it’s not afraid to be un-cynical. Kingsley is incredibly good. | tt1082886 | [R] | Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen, Jane Adams, Method Man, Aaron Yoo, Talia Balsam, David Wohl, Bob Dishy, Joanna Merlin | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wacko | 1981 | Greydon Clark | ★½ | 90 | A dedicated cop goes after the dreaded 'lawnmower killer' who last terrorized a town ten years ago. Heavy-handed spoof of HALLOWEEN-type horror films works hard for laughs but delivers very few. | tt0083310 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Stella Stevens, George Kennedy, Jeff Altman, Anthony James, Andrew Dice Clay | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Waco | 1966 | R. G. Springsteen | ★★½ | 85 | Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy, Wendell Corey, Terry Moore, John Smith, John Agar, Gene Evans, Richard Arlen, Ben Cooper, Jeff Richards. Gunfighter Keel comes to clean up town, but former girl friend Russell is now married to Reverend Corey. Nice veteran cast, but film is only for Western addicts. | tt0061169 | Howard Keel, Jane Russell, Brian Donlevy, Wendell Corey, Terry Moore, John Smith, John Agar, Gene Evans, Richard Arlen, Ben Cooper, Jeff Richards | Western | NULL | |||
| Wag the Dog | 1997 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 97 | A desperate White House team, eager to fend off impending negative publicity about the President, hires a political fixer (De Niro) who recruits a hotshot Hollywood producer (Hoffman) to stage a nonexistent war, simply to distract the public. Pungent (and unexpectedly timely) satire grows a bit self-satisfied after a while, but it's full of funny, clever scenes. Hoffman is a standout in this first-rate cast. Screenplay by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin; based on the novel American Hero by Larry Beinhart. Craig T. Nelson appears unbilled. | tt0120885 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, Suzie Plakson, Woody Harrelson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wages of Fear | Salaire de la peur, Le | 1952 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | ★★★½ | 156 | Marvelous, gritty, and extremely suspenseful epic set in South America, chronicling the personalities of and relationships among four men involved in long-distance driving of trucks filled with nitroglycerine. Beware: many other shorter versions exist. Remade as SORCERER. | tt0046268 | Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck, Vera Clouzot, Folco Lulli, William Tubbs | French-Italian | Drama, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| Wagner | 1983 | Tony Palmer | ★★ | 300 | Glossy but uninspired biography of the composer, monotonously acted by Burton. Overlong, to state the obvious. Originally a nine-hour British TV series. | tt0085107 | Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Craven, Laszlo Galffi, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier, Ronald Pickup, Joan Plowright, Arthur Lowe, Franco Nero | British-Hungarian-Austrian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wagon Master | 1950 | John Ford | ★★★ | 86 | Good Ford Western about two roaming cowhands who join a Mormon wagon train heading for Utah frontier. Fine showcase for young stars Johnson and Carey. Beautifully filmed. Inspired the later Wagon Train TV series. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0043117 | Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Harry Carey/Jr., Ward Bond, Alan Mowbray, Jane Darwell, James Arness, Jim Thorpe, Russell Simpson, Hank Worden, Francis Ford | Western | NULL | |||
| Wagon Team | 1952 | George Archainbaud. | ★★ | 62 | Gene joins a medicine show in order to find the men who stole an Army payroll. This gives him more chance to sing than usual in his later Columbia Westerns, but there isn't much else to recommend about this tired entry. One long fight scene is lifted from THE BIG SOMBRERO. | tt0045305 | Gene Autry, Pat Buttram, Gail Davis, Dick Jones, Gordon Jones, Harry Harvey, George J. Lewis, Gregg Barton, John Cason, Pierce Lyden, The Cass County Boys. | Western | NULL | |||
| Wagons East | 1994 | Peter Markle | ★½ | 106 | Candy (who died near the end of the film's production) plays an incompetent wagonmaster who leads a group of pioneers who are sick of the wild and woolly West, and have decided to head back East. Astoundingly unfunny, even sad— given knowledge of Candy's fate. | tt0111653 | [PG-13] | John Candy, Richard Lewis, John C. McGinley, Ellen Greene, Robert Picardo, Ed Lauter, Rodney A. Grant, William Sanderson, Melinda Culea, Russell Means, Charles Rocket | Comedy, Western | NULL | ||
| The Wagons Roll at Night | 1941 | Ray Enright | ★★½ | 84 | KID GALAHAD in circus trappings is OK, thanks to cast: Bogie's the circus manager, Sidney his star, Albert the hayseed turned lion tamer. | tt0034370 | Humphrey Bogart, Sylvia Sidney, Eddie Albert, Joan Leslie, Sig Ruman, Cliff Clark, Charley Foy, Frank Wilcox | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wah-Wah | 2006 | Richard E. Grant | ★★½ | 99 | Actor Grant's debut film as writer-director is an autobiographical story of growing up in Swaziland during the waning days of British colonial rule in the late 1960s. A boy's happy world is shattered when his mother walks out and his father takes to the bottle . . . and that's just for starters. Uneven, crammed with incident, but buoyed by outstanding performances and Grant's obvious passion for the material. His real-life daughter Olivia plays the boy's first girlfriend. First feature ever given permission to be filmed in Swaziland. | tt0419256 | [R] | Gabriel Byrne, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson, Julie Walters, Nicholas Hoult, Celia Imrie, Julian Wadham, Fenella Woolgar, Zachary Fox | British-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Waikiki Wedding | 1937 | Frank Tuttle | ★★★ | 89 | Lighthearted musical about a freewheeling 'idea man' who finds himself in hot water when the winner of a beauty contest he cooked up, for public relations purposes, shows up in Honolulu— and says she doesn't care for it. Raye's comedy dates badly, and the stars obviously never set foot in the islands, but it's all very pleasant. Score includes Oscar-winning 'Sweet Leilani' and 'Blue Hawaii,' sung first by Bing and then in a delightful duet with Ross. | tt0029742 | Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Shirley Ross, Bob Burns, Leif Erickson, Grady Sutton, Anthony Quinn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Waist Deep | 2006 | Vondie Curtis Hall | ★★ | 96 | During a virulent South L.A. heat wave, a supermarket security guard gets carjacked at a stoplight, with his son still in the backseat. It isn't a random act; it's revenge . . . but for what? Unlikeliness abounds in this by-the-numbers bullet-riddled and profane urban crime drama. Subtext weakly encourages a rally against street violence, but it's really only about running, driving, and shooting. | tt0456020 | [R] | Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate, H. Hunter Hall, Kimora Lee Simmons, The Game | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie | 1952 | Henry King | ★★★ | 108 | Nostalgic film of the hopes and disappointments of small town barber Wayne in the early 1900s. Produced by George Jessel. | tt0045307 | Jean Peters, David Wayne, Hugh Marlowe, Albert Dekker, Alan Hale/Jr., Warren Stevens | Short, Animation | NULL | |||
| Wait Until Dark | 1967 | Terence Young | ★★★ | 108 | Solid shocker with Hepburn as blind woman left alone in apartment, terrorized by psychotic Arkin and henchmen looking for heroin they think is planted there. Memorable nail-biter, flashy role for Arkin; based on Frederick Knott's Broadway hit. | tt0062467 | Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist/Jr., Jack Weston, Samantha Jones | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Wait Until Spring, Bandini | 1989 | Dominique Deruddere. | ★★ | 100 | A boy recalls turbulent times in 1920s Colorado with his father, an Italian-American bricklayer (who thinks the world owes him a living) and his long-suffering wife. Competent but unremarkable adaptation of John Fante's novel. | tt0098615 | [PG] | Joe Mantegna, Ornella Muti, Faye Dunaway, Michael Bacall, Daniel Wilson, Alex Vincent, Burt Young. | Belgian-Italian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| Waiting . . . | 2005 | Rob McKittrick | ★½ | 92 | A day in the life of a popular chain restaurant called ShenaniganZ, where the foul-mouthed/bored/stoned/angry/horny employees amuse themselves by dishing out lewd abuse to the customers and each other. The amiable cast serves up a few crudely funny bits, but this plotless series of gross-out gags just may put you on a hunger strike. Unrated DVD version runs 94m. | tt0348333 | [R] | Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Luis Guzman, Chi McBride, John Francis Daley, Kaitlin Doubleday, Robert Patrick Benedict, Alanna Ubach, Dane Cook | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Waiting for Forever | 2011 | James Keach | ★★ | 94 | Free-spirited street performer who never got over a boyhood crush on his best friend, who is now a TV actress, returns to the small town where they grew up and pursues her all these years later. Although the character is a bit strange and could be mistaken for a stalker, Sturridge invests such purity and innocence into this smitten character we sort of buy it all in the name of true love. Odd but good-hearted independent film is worth seeing for Danner and Jenkins, who steal the show as a long-married couple facing the reality of death. | tt1296898 | [PG-13] | Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge, Richard Jenkins, Blythe Danner, Matthew Davis, Scott Mechlowicz, Jaime King, Nikki Blonsky, Nelson Franklin, Roz Ryan, Richard Gant | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Waiting for Guffman | 1997 | Christopher Guest | ★★½ | 84 | Slight but amusing mock documentary about the mounting of a musical show celebrating the 150th anniversary of Blaine, Missouri. Guest plays the outlandish Corky St. Clair, who directs the town's amateur talent in a show he hopes will take him (and them) to Broadway. Engaging performers make this fun. Written by Guest and costar Levy. | tt0118111 | [R] | Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Lewis Arquette, Matt Keeslar, Bob Balaban, Paul Dooley, Paul Benedict, Larry Miller, Brian Doyle-Murray | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Waiting for Superman | 2010 | Davis Guggenheim | ★★★ | 111 | High-profile documentary examines U.S. public education and finds much to lament and many people to blame within the system—especially when it fails students who want to learn and families who encourage them. It also shows success stories involving education visionaries, dedicated teachers, and superintendents who are willing to clean house even if it means ruffling feathers. While the film generated flak for not presenting the whole picture in some cases, much of its content is hard to refute—and the images of students who don’t get into better schools because they didn’t win a lottery are heartbreaking. | tt1566648 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Waiting for the Light | 1990 | Christopher Monger | ★★½ | 94 | Shirley is the whole show in this slimly plotted comic fable as Zena, beloved great-aunt of Wolf and Baumgartner, and what happens when one of her magic tricks causes a 'miracle' as Americans are panicking during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. | tt0100899 | [PG] | Shirley MacLaine, Teri Garr, Clancy Brown, Vincent Schiavelli, John Bedford Lloyd, Jeff McCracken, Jack McGee, Colin Baumgartner, Hillary Wolf | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Waiting for the Moon | 1987 | Jill Godmilow | ★½ | 85 | Spiritless, sleep-inducing account of the complex relationship between an ailing Gertrude Stein (Bassett) and her companion, Alice B. Toklas (Hunt). Slow, occasionally confusing, and very disappointing. A PBS American Playhouse presentation. | tt0094286 | [PG] | Linda Hunt, Linda Bassett, Bruce McGill, Jacques Boudet, Andrew McCarthy, Bernadette Lafont |
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| Waiting to Exhale | 1995 | Forest Whitaker | ★★ | 121 | Four black women can't seem to find decent men in their lives; this may be because most men are jerks. A cinematic equivalent to easy-listening soul radio, this grows increasingly dreary as it eases along its redundant path. Based on the popular novel by Terry McMillan. Omnipresent music supervised by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds. Wesley Snipes and Kelly Preston appear unbilled. | tt0114885 | [R] | Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Gregory Hines, Dennis Haysbert, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Beach, Leon, Wendell Pierce, Donald Adeosun Faison | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Waitress | 2007 | Adrienne Shelly | ★★★½ | 104 | Delightful film about a woman who works at a small-town Southern diner and deals with her problems by inventing new and fanciful pies. She can't escape from her self-centered pig of a husband, especially now that she's pregnant; then she meets the handsome new ob-gyn in town. Writer-director-costar Shelly creates a tangible environment and suffuses her film with warmth, honesty, and humor. Russell is remarkably good, and Griffith is great in a plum supporting role. Sadly, Shelly died before the film's release. | tt0473308 | [PG-13] | Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Adrienne Shelly, Eddie Jemison, Jeremy Sisto, Andy Griffith. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Waitress! | 1982 | Samuel Weil, Michael Herz | 💣 | 93 | If watching a chef spit in soup is your idea of fun, then you might find a couple of laughs in this moronic comedy set in a restaurant. | tt0083312 | [R] | Carol Drake, June Martin, Renata Majer, Jim Harris, David Hunt, Calvert DeForest |
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| Wake Island | 1942 | John Farrow | ★★★ | 87 | Stirring war film of U.S.'s fight to hold Pacific island at outbreak of WW2. Nothing new here, but exciting and well done. | tt0035530 | Brian Donlevy, Robert Preston, Macdonald Carey, Albert Dekker, Walter Abel, Barbara Britton, William Bendix, Rod Cameron | War | NULL | |||
| Wake Me When It's Over | 1960 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 126 | Entertaining comedy of hustling Shawn making the most of being stationed in the Far East by building a fancy hotel with Army supplies. Kovacs lends good support. | tt0054455 | Dick Shawn, Ernie Kovacs, Margo Moore, Jack Warden, Don Knotts | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wake Up and Dream | 1946 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 92 | Moody film from Robert Nathan's story about girl determined to find brother missing from WW2. | tt0039092 | June Haver, John Payne, Charlotte Greenwood, Connie Marshall, John Ireland, Clem Bevans, Lee Patrick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wake Up and Live | 1937 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 91 | Fast-moving spoof of radio with battling Winchell and Bernie, mike-frightened singer Haley, and Faye singing 'There's a Lull in My Life. | tt0029744 | Alice Faye, Walter Winchell, Ben Bernie, Jack Haley, Patsy Kelly, Joan Davis, Grace Bradley, Warren Hymer, Ned Sparks, Walter Catlett | Musical | NULL | |||
| Wake of the Red Witch | 1949 | Edward Ludwig | ★★½ | 106 | Rivalry between East Indies magnate and adventuresome ship's captain over pearls and women. Film is a bit confused, but nicely photographed by Reggie Lanning. Incidentally, Wayne took the name of his production company, Batjac, from this film's shipping firm. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0040946 | John Wayne, Gail Russell, Luther Adler, Gig Young, Adele Mara, Eduard Franz, Henry Daniell, Paul Fix | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Waking Life | 2001 | Richard Linklater | ★★½ | 99 | Bold, innovative film uses a striking visual style— animation based on live-action video, but heightened and enhanced rather than literalized— to depict a young man's stream-of-consciousness experiences as he discusses philosophy with a variety of people he encounters. An unusually apt melding of style and substance, this film also dares to be boring at times. Toronto Film Festival notes praised the film's ability to create 'metaphysical nausea,' which may or may not be a worthy goal. Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, and Steven Soderbergh appear in animated form. | tt0243017 | [R] | Animation, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Waking Ned Devine | 1998 | Kirk Jones | ★★½ | 91 | Slight comedy about a tiny Irish village (pop. 52) turned asunder when one of its aged residents wins the lottery— and his neighbors try to contrive a way to share the wealth. The whimsy is laid on a bit heavily, to say the least, but it's still fun, especially with old pros like Bannen, Kelly, and Flanagan on hand. | tt0166396 | [PG] | Ian Bannen, David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan, Susan Lynch, James Nesbitt, Maura O'Malley, Robert Hickey, Paddy Ward | British-French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Waking Sleeping Beauty | 2010 | Don Hahn | ★★★ | 86 | A revealing look at creative people and their ego-driven bosses, derived from vintage video and film footage, with audio interviews on the soundtrack, narrated by Hahn, a longtime staff producer. Its primary hero: the late lyricist Howard Ashman. A must for Disney fans and buffs. | tt1159961 | [PG] | Lively, highly personal documentary about the evolution of the Walt Disney animation studio from its low point in the late 1970s to its renaissance, from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, resulting in THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and THE LION KING | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Waking Up in Reno | 2002 | Jordan Brady | ★½ | 91 | Two couples on their way to a monster-truck show in Nevada get romantically entangled in ways they will regret. Picture BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE GO TO THE OZARKS, with Jerry Springer Show-type screaming and revelations. Audiences in the mood for a redneck love quadrangle may get some laughs out of this. Cowritten by Brent Briscoe, who appears as a sheriff. | tt0219400 | [R] | Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, Natasha Richardson, Patrick Swayze, Holmes Osborne, Chelcie Ross, Penélope Cruz, Tony Orlando | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Waking the Dead | 2000 | Keith Gordon | ★★★ | 105 | Arresting film jumps back and forth in time to tell story of a straight-arrow, blue-collar young man who feels that public service is his destiny . . . but is haunted by his undying love for a free-thinking woman. Uneven but intensely emotional, and beautifully acted by Crudup and Connelly (who never had such a great part before). Robert Dillon adapted Scott Spencer's novel. | tt0127349 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly, Hal Holbrook, Molly Parker, Janet McTeer, Paul Hipp, Sandra Oh, Lawrence Dane, Ed Harris | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Walk East on Beacon | 1952 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★½ | 98 | Good documentary-style drama by Leo Rosten about FBI investigation of espionage; filmed on location in Boston. | tt0045309 | George Murphy, Finlay Currie, Virginia Gilmore, George Roy Hill | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | 2007 | Jake Kasdan | ★★½ | 96 | Reilly gives a sweet, earnest performance—and does his own singing—in this uneven, sometimes hilarious comedy chronicling the rise, fall, and redemption of a legendary singer-songwriter. Spot-on spoof of biopic clichés (particularly WALK THE LINE and RAY) and various pop music styles is too often crude and juvenile. Coproduced (and cowritten) by Judd Apatow. Many music stars appear in cameos. Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long, and Jason Schwartzman play The Beatles; Jane Lynch and Jonah Hill also appear unbilled. Unrated DVD runs 120m. | tt0841046 | [R] | John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig, Raymond J. Barry, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, Matt Besser, Harold Ramis, Margo Martindale, David Krumholtz, John Michael Higgins, Frankie Muniz, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Walk Into Hell | 1956 | Lee Robinson | ★½ | 93 | Lumbering account of civilized Australians vs. native customs, filmed on location in New Guinea. Original title: WALK INTO PARADISE. | tt0049931 | Chips Rafferty, Francoise Christophe, Reginald Lye, Pierre Cressoy | Australian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Walk Like a Dragon | 1960 | James Clavell | ★★½ | 95 | Offbeat Western drama of Lord saving McCarthy from life of prostitution, taking her back to San Francisco, overcoming expected obstacles. | tt0054457 | Jack Lord, Nobu McCarthy, James Shigeta, Mel Torme, Josephine Hutchinson, Rodolfo Acosta | Western | NULL | |||
| Walk Like a Man | 1987 | Melvin Frank | 💣 | 86 | Mandel is returned to civilization after being raised by wolves, with the expected slapstick results. Puerile comedy with a cast that deserves much better. | tt0094288 | [PG] | Howie Mandel, Christopher Lloyd, Cloris Leachman, Colleen Camp, Amy Steel, Stephen Elliott, George DiCenzo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Walk Proud | 1979 | Robert Collins | ★★ | 102 | Sincerely intentioned but not very forceful gang picture about a Chicano (Benson) who falls for a WASP beauty who goes to his high school. | tt0080114 | [PG] | Robby Benson, Sarah Holcomb, Domingo Ambriz, Pepe Serna, Trinidad Silva | Drama | NULL | ||
| Walk Softly, Stranger | 1950 | Robert Stevenson | ★★★ | 81 | Small-time crook Cotten reforms because of the love and faith of crippled girl Valli. | tt0043118 | Joseph Cotten, (Alida) Valli, Spring Byington, Paul Stewart, Jack Paar, Jeff Donnell, John McIntire | Drama, Crime, Romance, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A Walk With Love and Death | 1969 | John Huston | ★★ | 90 | Fine period flavor but little else of note in story of young love set against turmoil of 14th-century France. Anjelica Huston's film debut; father John has small role. | tt0065195 | [M] | Anjelica Huston, Assaf Dayan, Anthony Corlan, John Hallam, Robert Lang, Michael Gough | Drama | NULL | ||
| Walk a Crooked Mile | 1948 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 91 | Average melodrama about Secret Service agent who breaks up mob with help of Scotland Yard. | tt0040947 | Louis Hayward, Dennis O'Keefe, Louise Allbritton, Carl Esmond, Onslow Stevens, Raymond Burr | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| A Walk in the Clouds | 1995 | Alfonso Arau | ★★★ | 103 | A young man just back from WW2 overseas duty helps out a beautiful woman by pretending to be her husband, in order to smooth over the expected fireworks when her father learns she's pregnant. Of course, he not only falls in love with her but with her family and their idyllic Napa Valley homestead. Blatantly old-fashioned and romantic, even corny, with household scenes reminiscent of the director's LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE. If you're willing to buy into it, it actually works— until the climax. Based on a 1942 Italian film, QUATTRO POASSI FRA LE NUVOLE. | tt0114887 | [PG-13] | Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Anthony Quinn, Giancarlo Giannini, Angelica Aragon, Evangelina Elizondo, Freddy Rodriguez, Debra Messing | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| Walk in the Shadow | 1966 | Basil Dearden | ★★★ | 93 | Fine courtroom melodrama, as emotions flare after a girl's drowning. | tt0056181 | Patrick McGoohan, Janet Munro, Paul Rogers, Megs Jenkins | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Walk in the Spring Rain | 1970 | Guy Green | ★★½ | 100 | Happily married Bergman has extramarital affair in this low-key romantic drama. One expects more from such a cast. Scripted and produced by Stirling Silliphant. | tt0066542 | [M] | Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, Fritz Weaver, Katherine Crawford | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Walk in the Sun | 1945 | Lewis Milestone | ★★★½ | 117 | Human aspect of war explored as American battalion attacks Nazi hideout in Italy; good character studies of men in war. Adapted by Robert Rossen from Harry Brown's novel. | tt0038235 | Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, Sterling Holloway, George Tyne, John Ireland, Herbert Rudley, Norman Lloyd, Lloyd Bridges, Huntz Hall | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| A Walk on the Moon | 1999 | Tony Goldwyn | ★★½ | 107 | A family spends the summer of 1969 at a bungalow colony in the Catskills, where the young wife is drawn into an affair with 'the blouse man.' Meanwhile, her teenage daughter is on the verge of a first love— and aching to attend a rock concert nearby called Woodstock. Well-observed script by Pamela Gray follows a fairly predictable path, but Lane is miscast as a young Jewish hausfrau. Julie Kavner's distinctive voice is unbilled. Coproduced by Dustin Hoffman. | tt0120613 | [R] | Diane Lane, Liev Schreiber, Anna Paquin, Viggo Mortensen, Tovah Feldshuh, Bobby Boriello | Romance, Drama | NULL | ||
| Walk on the Wild Side | 1962 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 114 | Lurid hodgepodge set in 1930's New Orleans, loosely based on Nelson Algren novel, of Harvey seeking lost love Capucine, now a member of bordello run by lesbian Stanwyck. Memorable titles by Saul Bass; fine score by Elmer Bernstein. | tt0056671 | Laurence Harvey, Capucine, Jane Fonda, Anne Baxter, Barbara Stanwyck | Drama | NULL | |||
| Walk the Dark Street | 1956 | Wyott Ordung. | ★½ | 73 | THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is played out on the streets of L.A. Dismayingly amateurish with little suspense or action; neither of the opponents ever fires his high-powered rifle! Location work is interesting, and Connors occasionally creepy. Director Ordung also produced and scripted. | tt0049932 | Chuck Connors, Don Ross, Regina Gleason, Vonne Godfrey, Eddie Kafarian, Ewing Brown, Ernest Dominy. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Walk the Line | 2005 | James Mangold | ★★★ | 136 | Solid, straightforward biopic of Johnny Cash and the woman who, in spite of many and varied detours, was destined to be his wife, June Carter. Story follows Cash from his hardscrabble childhood and early encounter with tragedy through young manhood, musical success, and a long battle with addiction. A premier performance piece for Joaquin and Witherspoon, who are utterly convincing-and do their own singing as well. Witherspoon won a Best Actress Oscar for her work. Director Mangold wisely tells much of the story in close-ups. Shooter Jennings plays his father Waylon; coproducer James Keach has a cameo as a prison warden. | tt0358273 | [PG-13] | Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, Dallas Roberts, Dan John Miller, Larry Bagby, Shelby Lynne, Tyler Hilton | Biography, Drama, Music | NULL | ||
| Walk the Proud Land | 1956 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★★ | 88 | Sturdy scripting makes this oater attractive; Murphy is Indian agent trying to quell strife between redskins and settlers, with the capture of Geronimo his major feat. | tt0049933 | Audie Murphy, Anne Bancroft, Pat Crowley, Charles Drake, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | |||
| A Walk to Remember | 2002 | Adam Shankman | ★★½ | 101 | Pop star Moore does a creditable job as a high school misfit who doesn't care about being popular, and lives by the ideals espoused by her widowed father, a minister in their small Southern town. Bad-boy West is attracted to her in spite of— not because of— her sincerity and soon falls under her spell. Earnest hybrid of teen movie and tearjerker, with spiritual values rarely found in this kind of film; based on Nicholas Sparks' best-selling novel. | tt0281358 | [PG] | Mandy Moore, Shane West, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, Lauren German, Clayne Crawford, Al Thompson, Paz de la Huerta | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Walk, Don't Run | 1966 | Charles Walters | ★★★ | 114 | Enjoyable fluff about Eggar unwittingly agreeing to share her apartment with businessman Grant and athlete Hutton during the Tokyo Olympics. Stars are most agreeable in this remake of THE MORE THE MERRIER. Grant's last film as an actor. | tt0061170 | Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, Jim Hutton, John Standing, Miiko Taka, Ted Hartley | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Walkabout | 1971 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★★ | 95 | Lost in the wilderness of Australia, a child (John) and an adolescent (a ravishing Agutter) rely on young aborigine Gulpilil in order to survive. Roeg, in his first solo outing as director, also beautifully photographed this mind-massaging cult favorite; lush score by John Barry. John is Roeg's son and later worked with his father using the name Luc Roeg. Expanded by 5m. for its 1996 rerelease. | tt0067959 | [PG] | Jenny Agutter, Lucien John, David Gulpilil, John Meillon | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Walker | 1987 | Alex Cox | 💣 | 90 | Juvenile, intentionally anachronistic comic history of William Walker, American soldier of fortune (previously played by Marlon Brando in BURN!) who became president of 19th-century Nicaragua thanks to an assist from Cornelius Vanderbilt. Matlin's follow-up to her Oscar is actually an inglorious cameo; the sorry screenplay is by Rudy Wurlitzer. A self-indulgent mess. | tt0096409 | [R] | Ed Harris, Marlee Matlin, Richard Masur, Rene Auberjonois, Peter Boyle, Miguel Sandoval, Gerrit Graham | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| The Walker | 2007 | Paul Schrader | ★★ | 108 | An escort for some of Washington, D.C.’s finest society women gets caught up in a scandal-tinged murder mystery. Very dark, rarely involving drama could have been the gay flip side of Schrader’s AMERICAN GIGOLO but never settles on exactly what it wants to be. Fine cast tries valiantly but Harrelson’s monotonous delivery grates on the nerves after a while. Bacall is amusing in her limited screen time. Written by the director. | tt0783608 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ned Beatty, Lily Tomlin, Lauren Bacall, Mary Beth Hurt, Willem Dafoe, Moritz Bleibtreu | U.S.-British | Crime, Drama | NULL | |
| The Walking Dead | 1936 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 66 | Karloff is framed and executed, but professor brings him back to life. As he regains his memory, he seeks out those who framed him. Good horror tale. | tt0028478 | Boris Karloff, Edmund Gwenn, Marguerite Churchill, Ricardo Cortez, Barton MacLane, Warren Hull, Joe Sawyer | Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Walking Dead | 1995 | Preston A. Whitmore II | ★★ | 89 | Predominantly black Vietnam Marines have ended up serving for reasons beyond love of the Corps: better housing, lost jobs, legal flight from murder charges, impressing women. Filmmakers try to stylize both the combat and stateside scenes, but their ambitions outpace their abilities. Griffin stands out with his comic commentary throughout the film. | tt0114888 | [R] | Allen Payne, Eddie Griffin, Joe Morton, Vonte Sweet, Roger Floyd | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Walking Hills | 1949 | John Sturges | ★★★ | 78 | Well-acted oater of Westerners searching for abandoned gold mine. | tt0042033 | Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, William Bishop, Edgar Buchanan, Arthur Kennedy | Drama, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Walking My Baby Back Home | 1953 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 95 | Confused musical comedy about Army buddies forming a Dixieland band; redeemed by Hackett's wacky humor. | tt0046531 | Donald O'Connor, Buddy Hackett, Janet Leigh, Scatman Crothers, George Cleveland, Lori Nelson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Walking Stick | 1970 | Eric Till | ★★½ | 101 | Potentially interesting story of beautiful polio victim coerced into assisting her worthless lover in a robbery is just too low-key to be consistently absorbing. Eggar's performance helps. | tt0066543 | [PG] | Samantha Eggar, David Hemmings, Emlyn Williams, Phyllis Calvert, Ferdy Mayne, Francesca Annis | British | Crime | NULL | |
| Walking Tall | 1973 | Phil Karlson | ★★ | 125 | Sickeningly violent actioner about determined Southern sheriff's one-man war against corruption. Huge theatrical success, based on real-life exploits of baseball-bat-wielding Buford Pusser; muscular performance by Baker. Followed by a pair of sequels, a 1978 TVM with Brian Dennehy (A REAL AMERICAN HERO) and a series. Remade in 2004. | tt0070895 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartman, Gene Evans, Rosemary Murphy, Noah Beery/Jr., Felton Perry | Crime, Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Walking Tall | 2004 | Kevin Bray | ★★ | 86 | The Rock returns home after eight years in the service and learns that the town is 'owned' lock, stock, and barrel by an old schoolmate (McDonough) who's opened a casino. With the help of a four-by-four and a trusted friend (Knoxville) he determines to set things straight. Buford Pusser is nowhere in sight, but his vigilante break-everything-in-sight spirit lives on in this yahoo action yarn based on the 1973 hit. | tt0351977 | [PG-13] | The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, Neal McDonough, Kristen Wilson, Ashley Scott, Khleo Thomas, John Beasley, Barbara Tarbuck, Michael Bow | Action, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Walking and Talking | 1996 | Nicole Holofcener | ★★½ | 85 | Two longtime best friends are closing in on thirty; that's bad enough, but when Keener learns of Heche's impending marriage, she feels happy, jealous, panicked, and desolate. Amusing look at the joy and strain of friendship (not to mention dating and therapy), with fine performances all around. | tt0118113 | [R] | Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, Todd Field, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Corrigan, Randall Batinkoff, Joseph Siravo, Allison Janney | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wall Street | 1987 | Oliver Stone | ★★★ | 124 | Young hotshot who's going nowhere in a N.Y. brokerage firm manages to buttonhole the highest roller on Wall Street (Douglas, in an Oscar-winning performance) and win his confidence— but he sells his soul, so to speak, in return for admittance to that high-powered world of wheeling and dealing. Modern-day morality tale by cowriter-director Stone (whose father was a broker, and to whom the film is dedicated) is short on subtlety but completely absorbing, especially in the wake of the real-life 'insider trading' scandal of 1986. Stone, Monique Van Vooren, and Liliane Montevecchi can be glimpsed. | tt0094291 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Hal Holbrook, Martin Sheen, Terence Stamp, Sean Young, Sylvia Miles, James Spader, John McGinley, Saul Rubinek, Franklin Cover, James Karen, Richard Dysart, Josh Mostel, Millie Perkins, Cecilia Peck, Grant Shaud | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Wall Street Cowboy | 1939 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 66 | Roy enlists the aid of cattle rancher Watkin and his daughter (Baldwin) to save his cattle ranch from a crooked banker and mortgagor. Engaging Western with two sidekicks (Hayes and Hatton) touches upon Depression-era subjects of corrupt banking institutions and foreclosures; fun to watch Roy riding in a steeplechase and singing in a nightclub (wearing a coat and tie). | tt0032107 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Raymond Hatton, Ann Baldwin, Pierre Watkin, Louisiana Lou, Craig Reynolds, Ivan Miller, Reginald Barlow, Jack Ingram. | Western | NULL | |||
| Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | 2010 | Oliver Stone | ★★ | 133 | In 2008, just before the market crashes, financial guru Gordon Gekko (Douglas) is released from prison after eight years. His estranged daughter (Mulligan) is in love with an ambitious young trader (LaBeouf), who introduces himself to the former Wall Street whiz. Gekko then helps the younger man take revenge on an arrogant investment banker (Brolin) who helped put him away—and ruined LaBeouf’s mentor (Langella). The high-stakes power games are undeniably compelling in this slick production, which is filled with good performances (including 94-year-old Wallach). Too bad the ending is weak. Charlie Sheen appears unbilled. | tt1027718 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton, Sylvia Miles, John Bedford Lloyd, Vanessa Ferlito, Jason Clarke, Oliver Stone | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wall of Noise | 1963 | Richard Wilson | ★★½ | 112 | Turgid racetrack drama with adultery, not horses, the focal point. | tt0057667 | Suzanne Pleshette, Ty Hardin, Dorothy Provine, Ralph Meeker, Simon Oakland, Murray Matheson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | 2005 | Nick Park, Steve Box | ★★★ | 82 | Cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his long-suffering canine pal Gromit retain all the quirky, inventive, distinctly British humor of Park's three award-winning shorts in this delightful clay-animated feature. Our heroes play humane pest-control experts who meet their match in an oversized rabbit that terrorizes the local British gardens. Wallace also finds love in the person of Lady Campanula Tottington, who becomes his benefactor. Engagingly silly British stereotypes are played to a fare-thee-well by Carter, Fiennes, and other voice actors. | tt0312004 | [G] | Voices of Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Kay, Nicholas Smith, Liz Smith, Geraldine McEwan | British-U.S. | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Wallflower | 1948 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★★ | 77 | Amusing comedy based on Broadway success; two stepsisters (Reynolds and Paige) vie for the same love. | tt0040948 | Joyce Reynolds, Robert Hutton, Janis Paige, Edward Arnold, Jerome Cowan, Barbara Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Walls Came Tumbling Down | 1946 | Lothar Mendes | ★★★ | 82 | Detective Bowman goes to work when priest is murdered in fast-moving private eye film. | tt0039094 | Lee Bowman, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Lee Patrick, J. Edward Bromberg | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Walls of Glass | 1985 | Scott D. Goldstein | ★★½ | 86 | Intriguing if uneven character study with Bosco nicely cast as a middle-aged, sonnet-spouting N.Y.C. cab driver who hates his job and yearns for success as an actor. Occasionally slow, but still effective. | tt0090286 | [R] | Philip Bosco, Geraldine Page, Linda Thorson, Olympia Dukakis, Brian Bloom, Steven Weber, Louis Zorich, William Hickey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Walls of Gold | 1933 | Kenneth MacKenna | ★½ | 74 | Eilers does something to ruffle fiancé Foster, so to spite her he marries her sister, and she marries his uncle. Forget it. | tt0024745 | Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Ralph Morgan, Rita Moreno, Rochelle Hudson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Walls of Jericho | 1948 | John M. Stahl | ★★ | 106 | Good cast tries to perk up story of ambitious lawyer in Jericho, Kansas, whose marital problems stand in the way of success; pretty dreary going most of the way. | tt0040949 | Cornel Wilde, Linda Darnell, Anne Baxter, Kirk Douglas, Ann Dvorak, Marjorie Rambeau, Henry Hull, Colleen Townsend, Barton MacLane | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wall•E | wall-e | 2008 | Andrew Stanton | ★★½ | 97 | On a future Earth, humans are long gone and only one robotic creature, trained to gather and compact garbage, is left: WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class). Then a flying robot named Eve shows up to evaluate the planet, and a smitten WALL-E follows her onto her spacecraft, which exposes him to human beings for the first time. With an irresistible main character, a dynamite opening sequence, exceptional production design and imagination, this Pixar animated film starts out great but becomes heavy-handed in its message. Nevertheless, it won the hearts of audiences—and a Best Animated Feature Academy Award. | tt0910970 | [G] | Fred Willard; voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver | Animation, Family, Romance, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Walt & El Grupo | 2009 | Theodore Thomas | ★★★ | 105 | Escaping a bitter labor strike at home, Disney and his team were welcome ambassadors, but also derived inspiration from the colorful sights and sounds to which they were exposed. All of this is nicely evoked through home movies, letters the travelers wrote home, and their beautiful artwork—as well as contemporary interviews with people who still remember the trip. Of particular interest to Disney aficionados. | tt1223150 | [PG] | Absorbing chronicle of Walt Disney's ten-week "goodwill" sojourn to South America in 1941, accompanied by a cadre of his talented artists | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Waltz Across Texas | 1982 | Ernest Day | ★★½ | 99 | Oilman Jastrow and geologist Archer fall in love. Predictable, but far from unpleasant. The leads are husband and wife off-screen; they wrote the story, coproduced the film. | tt0084886 | [PG] | Terry Jastrow, Anne Archer, Richard Farnsworth, Noah Beery/Jr., Mary Kay Place, Josh Taylor, Ben Piazza | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Waltz King | 1963 | Steve Previn | ★★½ | 95 | Moderately entertaining Disney musical biopic stars Mathews as Johann Strauss, Jr., with lots of good music. Filmed in Germany; shown in the U.S. as two-part TV show. | tt0057668 | Kerwin Mathews, Brian Aherne, Senta Berger, Peter Kraus, Fritz Eckhardt | Family | NULL | |||
| Waltz With Bashir | Vals Im Bashir | 2008 | Ari Folman | ★★★½ | 87 | War vet with selective amnesia about being a young soldier in Israel's 1982 Beirut invasion embarks on a series of investigative interviews to recapture the truth regarding his role in a Palestinian refugee massacre. Gruesome, sometimes shocking memoir of the terrible silence of death is eerie, surreal, and one of a kind, rendered in consistently inventive animation, neither cartoon nor documentary, yet both. Title refers to Lebanon's assassinated Christian president. | tt1185616 | [R] | Voices of Ari Folman, Ori Sivan, Ronny Dayag, Shmuel Frankel, Zahava Solomon, Ron Ben-Vishai, Dror Harazi | Israeli-French-German | Drama, Animation, War | NULL |
| Waltz of the Toreadors | 1962 | John Guillermin | ★★★ | 105 | Jean Anouilh's saucy sex romp gets top notch handling with Sellers as the retired military officer who still can't keep his eye off the girls. | tt0056673 | Peter Sellers, Dany Robin, Margaret Leighton, John Fraser | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Waltzes From Vienna | 1934 | Alfred Hitchcock. | ★★ | 80 | Hitchcock made this ponderous costume drama about composers Johann Strauss and his son just before THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH set him on his path to become the master of suspense and later called it the 'low ebb of my career.' It's really not that bad, but it only comes to life during the musical sequences. Inspirations for songs are as corny as those in most Hollywood musical biopics. Original U.S. title: STRAUSS'S GREAT WALTZ. | tt0024747 | Jessie Matthews, Esmond Knight, Frank Vosper, Fay Compton, Edmund Gwenn, Robert Hale. | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wanda | 1971 | Barbara Loden | ★★★½ | 101 | Touching, original little drama about passive woman (Loden) who takes up with two-bit thief Higgins. Well acted. | tt0067961 | [PG] | Barbara Loden, Michael Higgins, Charles Dosinan, Frank Jourdano | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wanda Nevada | 1979 | Peter Fonda | ★½ | 105 | Fonda wins Shields in a poker game, and they set out to prospect for gold in the Grand Canyon. If this film were any more laid-back it would be nonexistent. Peter and Henry's only film together. | tt0080116 | [PG] | Peter Fonda, Brooke Shields, Fiona Lewis, Luke Askew, Ted Markland, Severn Darden, Paul Fix, Henry Fonda | Romance, Western | NULL | ||
| The Wanderers | 1979 | Philip Kaufman | ★★★½ | 113 | Impressionistic look at Bronx-Italian high school life in 1963 isn't always consistent in tone, but there are dozens of privileged moments. Understandably, it's become a cult favorite. | tt0080117 | [R] | Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Alan Rosenberg, Linda Manz, Erland van Lidth de Jeude, Olympia Dukakis | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wanderlust | 2012 | David Wain | ★★½ | 98 | NYC couple (Aniston and Rudd) overextend themselves and go broke, so they seek refuge with his crude but prosperous brother in Georgia. Along the way they stumble onto a hippie-like commune called Elysium, and realize that its peaceful ways may be what they're after. Then reality sets in. Amiable if uninspired comedy written by Wain and Marino, who also appear on-camera with other "regulars" among their comedy cohorts. | tt1655460 | [R] | Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Akerman, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Kathryn Hahn, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Lauren Ambrose, Michaela Watkins, Jordan Peele, Linda Lavin, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, David Wain | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wannsee Conference | 1984 | Heinz Schirk | ★★★½ | 87 | Fascinating, chilling recreation of the infamous meeting, held in a Berlin suburb in January 1942, in which Nazi bigwigs discussed implementation of the Final Solution. Participants plot the destruction of millions with a casual air, which only adds to the terror. Based on minutes taken at the conference; film's length matches the event's actual running time. Same topic covered in a TVM, CONSPIRACY. | tt0088377 | Dietrich Mattausch, Gerd Bockmann, Friedrich Beckhaus, Gunter Spoerrie, Martin Luttge, Peter Fritz | German-Austrian | Drama, Documentary | NULL | ||
| Wanted | 2008 | Timur Bekmambetov | ★★★ | 110 | Nebbishy office drone McAvoy is suddenly—and dramatically—recruited to join a secret society of assassins led by Freeman after his father (who was part of the team) is killed. Flamboyant, in-your-face action filled with innovative visual flourishes from Russian director Bekmambetov, in his Hollywood debut. Ace-high action thriller never runs out of steam. Based on the comic books by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones. | tt0493464 | [R] | James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Kristen Hager, Marc Warren, David Patrick O’Hara | Crime, Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wanted for Murder | 1946 | Lawrence Huntington | ★★½ | 95 | Engaging murder story, effectively underplayed by the cast; coscripted by Emeric Pressburger. | tt0039095 | Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, Roland Culver, Stanley Holloway | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Wanted: Dead or Alive | 1987 | Gary A. Sherman | 💣 | 104 | Hauer plays Nick Randall, grandson of fellow bounty hunter Josh, the character Steve McQueen played in the identically named TV series. Link is mentioned, then ignored, in routine cheapo about the CIA's pursuit of an Arab terrorist. Bravura grenade-in-mouth finale. | tt0094293 | [R] | Rutger Hauer, Gene Simmons, Robert Guillaume, Mel Harris, William Russ, Susan McDonald, Jerry Hardin | Action | NULL | ||
| War | 2007 | Philip G. Atwell | ★★ | 103 | While a maverick FBI agent (Statham) tries to settle an old score with an infamous hit man (Li), the killer—borrowing a page from Akira Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO (and Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest)—plays two rival Asian gangs against each other in a San Francisco turf war. Teaming of action stars Li and Statham raises high expectations that are frustratingly unfulfilled by a standard-issue crime drama laced with uninspired martial artistry. | tt0499556 | [R] | Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Devon Aoki, Luis Guzman, Saul Rubinek | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The War Against Mrs. Hadley | 1942 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★ | 86 | Mild WW2 human-interest tale by George Oppenheimer about matron Bainter who refuses to participate in war support. | tt0035531 | Edward Arnold, Fay Bainter, Richard Ney, Sara Allgood, Spring Byington, Jean Rogers, Frances Rafferty, Dorothy Morris, Rags Ragland, Isobel Elsom, Van Johnson | Drama | NULL | |||
| War Arrow | 1953 | George Sherman | ★★ | 78 | Western story of U.S. Cavalry man Chandler coming to Texas to train Seminole Indians to subdue a Kiowa uprising. O'Hara is object of his love. | tt0046532 | Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler, Suzan Ball, Charles Drake, Jay Silverheels | Western | NULL | |||
| The War Between Men and Women | 1972 | Melville Shavelson | ★★½ | 110 | Fans of James Thurber won't think much of this mixture of famed writer-cartoonist's material and Hollywood schmaltz, but film occasionally makes for pleasant comedy-romance. Harris comes off best. Material had previously inspired a TV series, My World— And Welcome To It. | tt0069483 | [PG] | Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, Jason Robards, Herb Edelman, Lisa Gerritsen, Lisa Eilbacher, Severn Darden | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| War Between the Planets | Planet on the Prowl | 1965 | Antonio Margheriti | 💣 | 80 | Alien planet is on collision course with earth, but valiant efforts by scientific forces snatch victory from the jaws of boredom. Fun only if you like spaghetti sci-fi. Made at same time as other losers such as WAR OF THE PLANETS, WILD WILD PLANET, etc. Aka PLANET ON THE PROWL. | tt0059588 | Jack Stuart (Giacomo Rossi-Stuarti), Amber Collins (Ombretta Colli), Peter Martell, Halina Zalewska | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| War Dance | 2007 | Sean Fine, Andrea Nix | ★★★ | 107 | Compassionate, uplifting documentary account of Ugandan orphans who only have known lives of war and strife. They reside in a DP camp, where they prepare to vie for a National Music Competition trophy. Despite their horror stories, the youngsters show astounding resilience, and the film is a primer on the power of music to elevate the spirit. Only flaw: it's a tad overlong. | tt0912599 | [PG-13] | Documentary, War | NULL | |||
| War Drums | 1957 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 75 | Sufficiently bloody Western set in Civil War days of Indian uprisings against onslaught of gold miners. | tt0051179 | Lex Barker, Joan Taylor, Ben Johnson, Stuart Whitman, Jeanne Carmen | Western | NULL | |||
| The War Game | 1967 | Peter Watkins | ★★★ | 47 | Fascinating, frightening simulated documentary, which vividly projects the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. Originally produced for television by the BBC and British Film Institute, but deemed to be too incendiary for home audiences. It did open theatrically, and earned a Best Documentary Academy Award. | tt0059894 | British | Drama, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | |||
| War Gods of the Deep | The City Under the Sea | 1965 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 85 | Gill-men invade remote seacoast town. Actually, two films in one: establishing menace, first half has odd, almost poetic feel to it, but second half deteriorates, with shoddy underwater city. Tourneur's final feature. British title: THE CITY UNDER THE SEA. | tt0059895 | Vincent Price, Tab Hunter, David Tomlinson, Susan Hart, John LeMesurier | U.S.-British | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| War Horse | 2011 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 146 | Ne'er-do-well English farmer (Mullan) pays more than he should for a horse at auction, but it's his son (Irvine) who names Joey and raises him as his own. Then the animal is conscripted by the cavalry for use in WW1, which leads Joey to a range of new experiences and caretakers. Sentimental adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel—later adapted for the stage—about one horse's remarkable odyssey. Tugs on the heartstrings (and may well have you shedding tears) but underscores every key moment, lest we miss the point, leaving no room for nuance. Expertly made, as one would expect from Spielberg and his collaborators. | tt1568911 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Celine Buckens, Toby Kebbell, Eddie Marsan, Liam Cunningham | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| War Hunt | 1962 | Denis Sanders | ★★½ | 81 | Well-done Korean War story focusing on kill-happy soldier Saxon who tries to help an orphan boy. Redford's film debut. | tt0056675 | John Saxon, Robert Redford, Charles Aidman, Sydney Pollack | War | NULL | |||
| War Is Hell | 1963 | Burt Topper | ★★ | 81 | Korean War actioner with no new ideas to offer. Introduced by Audie Murphy. | tt0058735 | Tony Russel, Baynes Barron, Tony Rich, Burt Topper | War | NULL | |||
| The War Lord | 1965 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★★ | 123 | Intriguing, generally well-done adaptation of Leslie Stevens' The Lovers, with Heston as feudal knight invoking little-known law allowing him to have another man's bride on their wedding night. Title and medieval setting would seem to indicate sweeping spectacle . . . which this certainly isn't. | tt0059896 | Charlton Heston, Rosemary Forsyth, Richard Boone, Maurice Evans, Guy Stockwell, Niall McGinnis, James Farentino, Henry Wilcoxon, Michael Conrad | Drama, History | NULL | |||
| The War Lover | 1962 | Philip Leacock | ★★½ | 105 | John Hersey's thoughtful novel becomes superficial account of McQueen and Wagner, two WW2 pilots in England, both in love with Field; aerial photography is above par. Crawford's first film. | tt0056676 | Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field, Gary Cockrell, Michael Crawford, Al Waxman | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| War Nurse | 1930 | Edgar Selwyn. | ★★★ | 78 | Frank, gritty account of the illicit affairs of American women serving as nurses in France during WW1, based on a risqué, anonymously published book. Sometimes melodramatic but earnest and quite powerful, with a climactic battle scene that pulls no punches. Standout photography by Charles Rosher. | tt0021531 | Robert Montgomery, June Walker, Robert Ames, Anita Page, ZaSu Pitts, Marie Prevost, Hedda Hopper, Helen Jerome Eddy, Eddie Nugent, Martha Sleeper. | Drama | NULL | |||
| War Paint | 1953 | Lesley Selander | ★★½ | 89 | Action-packed film of U. S. cavalry detachment overcoming danger and villainous attempts to prevent delivery of peace treaty to an Indian chief. | tt0046533 | Robert Stack, Joan Taylor, Charles McGraw, Peter Graves, Keith Larsen, William Pullen, Richard Cutting, Douglas Kennedy, Walter Reed | Western | NULL | |||
| War Party | 1989 | Franc Roddam | ★★ | 97 | Reenactment of a hundred-year-old battle between Blackfoot Indian tribe and U.S. Cavalry turns into the real thing once again when one white youth brings a loaded gun to the festivities. Basically an excuse for a cowboys and Indians movie, this intriguing premise becomes just another botched opportunity for Hollywood to shed light on the problems of the American Indian. | tt0098619 | [R] | Billy Wirth, Kevin Dillon, Tim Sampson, Jimmie Ray Weeks, M. Emmet Walsh, Dennis Banks, Kevyn Major Howard, Bill McKinney | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The War Room | 1993 | D. A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus | ★★★ | 95 | Compelling documentary which follows the behind-the-scenes machinations of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. No great insights or revelations, but still an inherently interesting (and very entertaining) look at political kingmaking, done in classic cinema verité style. Chief political strategist James Carville (the 'Ragin' Cajun') has more onscreen charisma than many Hollywood stars. | tt0108515 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The War Wagon | 1967 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★ | 101 | Amiable tongue-in-cheek Western, with ex-con Wayne seeking to settle a score with villainous Cabot by plundering his gold-laden stagecoach— with the help of Douglas (who's been hired to kill Wayne on Cabot's behalf) and a motley band of associates. Keel is hilarious as wise-cracking Indian. | tt0062472 | John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker, Keenan Wynn, Bruce Cabot, Joanna Barnes, Bruce Dern | Action, Western | NULL | |||
| The War Within | 2005 | Joseph Castelo | ★★½ | 93 | Introspective account of how a good-natured Pakistani student has been politicized and transformed into a suicide bomber. He comes to the U.S., where his target is N.Y.C.'s Grand Central Station. Well-meaning attempt to explore the psychology of its main character; while the story is all too believable, it runs out of dramatic steam. Coscripted by Akhtar, Castelo, and Tom Glynn. | tt0414344 | [R] | Ayad Akhtar, Firdous Bamji, Nandana Sen, Sarita Choudhury, Charles Daniel Sandoval, Varun Sriram, John Ventimiglia, Mike McGlone | Drama | NULL | ||
| The War Zone | 1999 | Tim Roth | ★★★ | 98 | Roth's directorial debut is an ultra-realistic, deeply affecting portrait of incest in a working-class British family. With devastating candor, he charts the unfolding events as 15-year-old Cunliffe suspects that his father (Winstone) is acting inappropriately with his older sister (Belmont). Sometimes difficult to watch, as Roth pulls no punches in his portrayal of this deeply troubled family. | tt0141974 | Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe | British-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| War and Peace | 1956 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 208 | Tolstoy's sprawling novel fails to come alive in this overlong, oversimplified adaptation. Star-studded cast and spectacular battle scenes (directed by Mario Soldati) cannot compensate for clumsy script (by six writers, including Vidor) and some profound miscasting. Filmed far more successfully in 1968. | tt0049934 | Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman, John Mills, Herbert Lom, Oscar Homolka, Anita Ekberg, Helmut Dantine, Barry Jones, Milly Vitale, Jeremy Brett, Wilfrid Lawson, Mai Britt | U.S.-Italian | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | ||
| War and Peace | 1968 | Sergei Bondarchuk | ★★★★ | 373 | Sergei Bondarchuk. Even in theaters, poor English dubbing hurt this definitive film version of Tolstoy's novel. Even so, it should be seen for production values alone; a dazzling film. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film. Originally shown in U.S. in two parts; released in the USSR in 1966-67 in four parts, totaling 507m. Sovscope 70. | tt0063794 | Ludmila Savelyeva, Vyacheslav Tihonov, Hira Ivanov-Golovko, Irina Gubanova, Antonia Shuranova | Russian | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The War at Home | 1996 | Emilio Estevez | ★★ | 123 | Stagey adaptation by James Duff of his own play Homefront, about recently returned Vietnam vet Estevez trying to move on with his life but haunted by his experience in combat. His family is unable to deal with the fact that the boy they sent off to war never came home. Great acting, especially by Bates, but good intentions outweigh results. | tt0118117 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Kathy Bates, Martin Sheen, Kimberly Williams, Corin Nemec, Carla Gugino, Renée Estevez | Drama | NULL | ||
| War of the Buttons | 1994 | John Roberts | ★★½ | 90 | The children of two neighboring Irish towns gradually escalate their quarrels to outright— if painless— warfare. This pleasant comedy-drama tries to say something about war, but the point is obscured as the story begins to focus on two particular boys. Based on the 1912 Louis Pergaud novel La Guerre des Boutons, previously filmed in 1938 and 1962. | tt0111666 | [PG] | Gregg Fitzgerald, John Coffey, Liam Cunningham, Johnny Murphy, Colm Meaney, Jim Bartley, Gerard Kearney, Anthony Cunningham | British-French-Japanese | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| War of the Colossal Beast | 1958 | Bert I. Gordon | ★½ | 68 | Sequel to THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN finds our oversized hero alive but not well; his face is a mess, and so is his mind, leading to the inevitable low-budget rampage. Forget it. Last shot is in color. | tt0052378 | Sally Fraser, Roger Pace, Dean Parkin, Russ Bender, Charles Stewart | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The War of the Gargantuas | 1966 | Ishirô Honda | 💣 | 93 | Japan is menaced by a mean, green 'gargantua' (humanoid giant), with a friendly brown gargantua trying to make peace. Strange, even by Japanese monster-movie standards. | tt0060440 | Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno, Kipp Hamilton, Yu Fujiki | U.S.-Japanese | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| War of the Planets | 1965 | Antonio Margheriti | 💣 | 99 | Light creatures attack earth but are repelled. Cheap sets and plodding script make this a loser. | tt0059101 | Tony Russel, Lisa Gastoni, Massimo Serato, Franco Nero, Carlo Giustini | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The War of the Roses | 1989 | Danny DeVito | ★★½ | 116 | When Douglas and Turner can't agree on a property settlement in their divorce proceedings, war breaks out in (and over) their exquisitely appointed house. As a satire on yuppie materialism, this very black comedy scores a bull's-eye— for about an hour. Then it continues for nearly an hour more as the couple grows increasingly vicious and irrational, literally destroying their home. Some people loved this film (the stars are perfect), so obviously it's a matter of taste. DeVito's odd point of view and wild camera angles are an asset throughout. | tt0098621 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sägebrecht, Sean Astin, Heather Fairfield, G. D. Spradlin, Peter Donat, Dan Castellaneta, Danitra Vance | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| War of the Satellites | 1958 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 66 | Ruthless combination of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and KRONOS has unseen aliens warning Earth to cease their space exploration, brainwashing scientist Devon to make sure it's done. The day after the U.S. Explorer satellite went up, Corman told a studio he could have a film ready in two months . . . and he did. Not so hot, but any movie with Dick Miller as a heroic scientist can't be all bad. | tt0052379 | Dick Miller, Susan Cabot, Richard Devon, Robert Shayne, Eric Sinclair | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| War of the Worlds | 2005 | Steven Spielberg | ★★½ | 116 | Divorced, beer-swilling N.J. construction worker with two adolescent kids realizes that all hell is breaking loose and hits the road, hoping to dodge the chaos of an alien invasion and reach his ex-wife's family home in Boston. Update of H.G. Wells's novel (which never names Mars as the source of the invaders) doesn't waste time getting started and throws action and special effects sequences at the viewer almost nonstop . . . but it ends with a whimper, not a bang, muting the entire experience. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, stars of the 1953 version, make a welcome cameo. | tt0407304 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Rick Gonzalez, Lisa Ann Walter; narrated by Morgan Freeman | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The War of the Worlds | 1953 | Byron Haskin | ★★★½ | 85 | Vivid, frightening adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel about a Martian invasion, transplanted from 19th-century England to contemporary USA. Dramatically sound and filled with dazzling, Oscar-winning special effects; superior sci-fi, produced by George Pal. Later a TV series. | tt0046534 | Gene Barry, Les Tremayne, Ann Robinson, Robert Cornthwaite, Henry Brandon, Jack Kruschen; narrated by Sir Cedric Hardwicke | Sci-Fi, Action | NULL | |||
| War of the Zombies | Night Star Goddess of Electra | 1965 | Giuseppe Vari | ★★ | 85 | Rome sends best legionnaire to quell disturbance in Eastern province in clutches of mad priest (Barrymore). Production values somewhat better than usual. Aka NIGHT STAR GODDESS OF ELECTRA. | tt0134061 | [R] | John Drew Barrymore, Susy Anderson, Ettore Manni, Ida Galli | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| War, Inc. | 2008 | Joshua Seftel | ★★ | 107 | Would-be satire of the war in Iraq features Cusack as an assassin-for-hire who takes an assignment from the former Vice President of the U.S. (Aykroyd) to rub out the oil minister of a Middle Eastern country. His “cover” is a trade show where the main distraction is the wedding of a bratty pop star (Duff). Self-satisfied poke at contemporary events and personalities has a good cast and attitude to spare but its targets are painfully obvious—and so is its approach. Cowritten by Cusack. | tt0884224 | [R] | John Cusack, Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, Lubomir Neikov, Ben Cross | Comedy, Action, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| War, Italian Style | 1966 | Luigi Scattini | ★★ | 84 | Sloppy, meandering spy satire set in WW2 Italy, redeemed barely by Keaton's appearance. Unfortunately, this was his final film. | tt0061599 | Buster Keaton, Franco Franchi, Ciccio Ingrassia, Martha Hyer, Fred Clark | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The War | 1994 | Jon Avnet | ★★½ | 125 | Growing up isn't easy for a brother and sister in 1970 Mississippi; their father means well, but hasn't been stable since returning from Vietnam, and his attempts to teach them tolerance and peaceful ways are hard to absorb when they're constantly bullied by a family of mean-spirited kids who live nearby. Well-intentioned message film for young people, diluted by overlength, a lack of focus, and an overabundance of dramatic climaxes. | tt0111667 | [PG-13] | Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner, Mare Winningham, Lexi Randall, Christine Baranski, Gary Basaraba, Raynor Scheine, Latoya Chisholm, Charlette Julius | Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| WarGames | 1983 | John Badham | ★★½ | 110 | FAIL SAFE for the Pac-Man generation: a pop movie about a computer whiz-kid who taps into government early-warning system and nearly starts WW3. Entertaining to a point, but gets more contrived as it goes along, leading to finale straight out of an old B movie. Incidentally, it's easy to see why this was so popular with kids: most of the adults in the film are boobs. | tt0086567 | [PG] | Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Juanin Clay, Maury Chaykin, Michael Madsen, John Spencer | Sci-Fi, Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Warlock | 1959 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★ | 121 | Philosophical vigilante 'sheriff' Fonda is hired to clean up the crime-infested Western town of Warlock. This sets off a complex storyline involving, among others, crippled Quinn, guilt-ridden Widmark, and embittered Malone. Literate, allegorical adult Western examines the lynch-mob mentality and the meaning of machismo. Forgotten, but worthy of rediscovery. Scripted by Robert Alan Aurthur. | tt0053434 | Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone, Dolores Michaels, Wallace Ford, Tom Drake, Richard Arlen, DeForest Kelley, Regis Toomey | Western | NULL | |||
| Warlock | 1991 | Steve Miner | ★★½ | 102 | A warlock escapes from 1691 Boston to 1991 L.A., with a local witch-hunter in full time-warp pursuit; object of their squabble is the Grand Grimoire, or Satan's bible. More fun might have ensued had they ended up on a dusty street with, say, Henry Fonda, but it's worth half-a-star just to see the ever-intense Grant in a rare (for him) heroic role. Followed by two sequels. | tt0098622 | [R] | Julian Sands, Lori Singer, Richard E. Grant, Mary Woronov, Richard Kuss, Allan Miller, Kevin O'Brien, Anna Levine, David Carpenter | Action, Horror | NULL | ||
| Warlock: The Armageddon | 1993 | Anthony Hickox | ★½ | 98 | Evil warlock Sands is (literally) reborn, even though there is nothing connecting this entry with the first, other than Sands himself and his role as a wicked, flying sorcerer— this time trying to unleash his father (Satan) upon the world. Weak, jokey film has only Sands' sardonic performance and some good effects to recommend it. Followed by a direct-to-video sequel. | tt0108517 | [R] | Julian Sands, Christopher Young, Paula Marshall, Steve Kahan, Charles Hallahan, R. G. Armstrong, Nicole Mercurio, Craig Hurley, Bruce Glover, Zach Galligan, Joanna Pacula | Horror | NULL | ||
| Warlords of Atlantis | 1978 | Kevin Connor | ★★½ | 96 | Monsters and mayhem abound in this palatable Saturday matinee item with McClure joining British scientists in search for underwater city. | tt0078474 | Doug McClure, Peter Gilmore, Shane Rimmer, Lea Brodie, John Ratzenberger, Cyd Charisse, Daniel Massey | British | Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Warlords of the 21st Century | Battletruck | 1982 | Harley Cokliss | ★★ | 91 | Routine action film set after WW3 in time of an oil shortage. Wainwright (as the ruthless, right-wing military villain) virtually repeated his role in the contemporary-set Robin Williams comedy THE SURVIVORS. Filmed in New Zealand; originally titled BATTLETRUCK. | tt0084887 | [PG] | Michael Beck, Annie McEnroe, James Wainwright, John Ratzenberger, Bruno Lawrence | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| The Warlords | 2007 | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | ★★★ | 113 | Big-budget historical drama centering on three men from different backgrounds who become blood brothers in 19th-century China, but find their bonds of friendship tested during a civil war. Li eschews his customary martial arts heroics here, but there are plenty of large-scale action set pieces in this somber epic. Original running time: 127m. | tt0913968 | [R] | Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Xu Jinglei, Guo Xiao Dong, Jacky Heung | Hong Kong-Chinese | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| A Warm December | 1973 | Sidney Poitier | ★★ | 100 | George Baker, Earl Cameron. Story of Poitier's love for Anderson, who is dying of sickle cell anemia, isn't as sappy as it might be, but isn't particularly good, either. Anderson is attractive. Made in England. | tt0070898 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Esther Anderson, Johnny Sekka, Yvette Curtis, George Baker, Earl Cameron | Drama | NULL | ||
| Warm Water Under a Red Bridge | 2001 | Shohei Imamura | ★★★ | 119 | Clever, sweetly funny comedy-drama about middle-aged Yakusho, trapped and victimized by the modern rat race, who becomes involved with a beautiful— and most unusual— woman in a small fishing village. Offbeat but profound film stresses the importance of enjoying life and exercising free will. | tt0289054 | Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Manasaku Fuwa, Isao Natsuyagi, Kazuo Kitamura | Japanese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Warning Shot | 1967 | Buzz Kulik | ★★★½ | 100 | Exciting action-filled melodrama about cop's attempt to clear his name after killing a supposedly innocent doctor. TV-vet Kulik made this one exciting for theaters; it's even better on TV. | tt0062473 | David Janssen, Ed Begley, Keenan Wynn, Lillian Gish, Eleanor Parker, Sam Wanamaker, Stefanie Powers, George Sanders, George Grizzard, Steve Allen, Carroll O'Connor, Joan Collins, Walter Pidgeon | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Warning Sign | 1985 | Hal Barwood | ★½ | 100 | Self-important, would-be CHINA SYNDROME about disastrous results of chemical spill at research lab that's secretly been working on germ warfare for the government. Unpleasant and ineffectual. Screenwriter Barwood's directing debut. | tt0090293 | [R] | Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan, Yaphet Kotto, Jeffrey De Munn, Richard Dysart, G. W. Bailey, Jerry Hardin, Rick Rossovich, Cynthia Carle | Drama, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Warpath | 1951 | Byron Haskin | ★★½ | 95 | Nifty action Western with O'Brien hunting down outlaws who killed his girlfriend; an Indian attack is thrown in for good measure. | tt0044196 | Edmond O'Brien, Dean Jagger, Forrest Tucker, Harry Carey/Jr., Wallace Ford, Polly Bergen | Western | NULL | |||
| Warrior | 2011 | Gavin O'Connor | ★★★ | 140 | Two estranged brothers find themselves on a path toward a showdown in the ring when they pursue a mixed martial arts championship—one (Edgerton) as a way of making money to support his family, the other (Hardy) as a means of personal redemption. For Hardy, this also means training with his father, who's become a pariah to both siblings since he hit bottom as an alcoholic. A story that in the wrong hands could have been a compendium of clichés becomes dramatically potent here, thanks to the complete conviction of the leading actors and director O'Connor, who also cowrote the screenplay. | tt1291584 | [R] | Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo, Denzel Whitaker, Kevin Dunn, Maximiliano Hernandez | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| The Warrior Empress | 1960 | Pietro Francisci | ★★ | 87 | Senseless mixture of fantasy and adventure with Phaon (Mathews) falling in love with Sappho (Louise), overcoming treacherous Salerno. | tt0054263 | Kerwin Mathews, Tina Louise, Riccardo Garrone, Antonio Batistella, Enrico Maria Salerno | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Warrior Queen | 1987 | Chuck Vincent | 💣 | 69 | Ridiculous made-in-Italy exploitation film emphasizes sex in recreating the decadence of ancient Pompeii. Pleasence is at his hammy worst as the mayor whose wife (porn star Fox) has eyes for other men. Relies extensively on footage from the '60 LAST DAYS OF POMPEII for an apocalyptic climax. Unrated 79m. video version has more sex scenes. | tt0094298 | [R] | Sybil Danning, Donald Pleasence, Richard Hill, Josephine Jacqueline Jones, Tally Chanel, Stasia Micula (Samantha Fox) | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Warrior and the Slave Girl | 1958 | Vittorio Cottafavi. | ★★ | 84 | Unsubtle costumer set in ancient Armenia, with Canale the evil princess, subdued by Roman Manni. Super. | tt0052123 | Ettore Manni, Georges Marchal, Gianna Maria Canale, Rafael Calvo. | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Warrior and the Sorceress | 1984 | John Broderick | ★½ | 76 | Copycat version of both A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and YOJIMBO transplants story of a lone fighter playing both ends against the middle to a mythical kingdom on a planet circling two suns. Lovely leading lady Socas plays the entire film topless; you also might note the very convincing makeup effects on a pretty dancer who has four breasts. | tt0088379 | [R] | David Carradine, Luke Askew, Maria Socas, Anthony DeLongis, Harry Townes, William Marin | Fantasy, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Warrior's Way | 2010 | Sngmoo Lee | ★★ | 100 | A legendary 19th-century Asian swordsman journeys from his homeland—with a baby in tow—to start a new life in the American West, but soon finds himself fighting a band of crazed outlaws and an army of assassins from his past. Hyper-stylized hybrid of martial arts action, samurai battles, and Spaghetti Western motifs is undeniably visually striking, but overdoes the surreal CGI effects and piles on too many action set pieces. | tt1032751 | [R] | Jang Dong Gun, Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Tony Cox, Ti Lung | New Zealand | Action, Western, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Warrior | 2001 | Asif Kapadia | ★★★ | 86 | Minimalist fable involving the title character (Khan), one of a band of killers who slaughters innocent villagers on the order of his boss, a brutal Indian warlord. His life changes dramatically when he decides to quit his job and seek spiritual redemption. Harsh, ironic reworking of a samurai/western morality tale, stunningly filmed in the deserts and mountains of Northwestern India. Released in the U.S. in 2005. | tt0295682 | [R] | Irfan Khan, Puru Chibber, Anupam Shyam, Noor Mani, Damayanti Marfatia, Aino Annuddin | British-French-German | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Warriors of Virtue | 1997 | Ronny Yu | ★½ | 103 | Incoherent kiddie kung fu movie about an American boy (Yedidia, who's the spitting image of Elijah Wood) who gets hold of a secret Chinese manuscript that transports him to a mystical wonderland where kangaroo warriors fight against evil. Yu's English filmmaking debut is a big disappointment after his fantastical (and very adult) Hong Kong sword and sorcery epics THE BRIDE WITH WHITE HAIR, Parts 1 and 2. Macfadyen chews scenery as the villain, acting like the errant offspring of Ming the Merciless and Little Richard. | tt0120479 | [PG] | Angus Macfadyen, Mario Yedidia, Marley Shelton, Jack Tate, Chao-Li Chi, Doug Jones, Michael John Anderson | Action, Fantasy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Warriors | 1955 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 85 | Flynn's final swashbuckler casts him as British prince protecting French conquests (and lovely Dru) from attacks by Finch and his supporters. Well made but awfully familiar. British title: THE DARK AVENGER. | tt0047975 | Errol Flynn, Joanne Dru, Peter Finch, Patrick Holt, Yvonne Furneaux, Michael Hordern, Christopher Lee | British | Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Warriors | 1979 | Walter Hill | ★★★ | 90 | Comic book plot about N.Y.C. gang crossing rival turfs to get 'home' is redeemed by lightning pace, tough action sequences, creative use of color. Notorious for the number of violent incidents it allegedly instigated in theaters, but worthy of some respect. Script by Hill and David Shaber; photographed by Andrew Laszlo. | tt0080120 | [R] | Michael Beck, James Remar, Thomas Waites, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Mercedes Ruehl | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Wasabi | 2002 | G�rard Krawczyk | ★★½ | 94 | Minor but diverting comedy-action yarn about a cop (Reno) with a penchant for punching out people who's called to Japan. It seems the love of his life— who walked out on him 19 years ago— has died, leaving him a fortune, a daughter he never knew about, and a platoon of hit men on his trail. Reno is his usual charismatic self in a hand-tailored role, and the action is sharply staged. Written and produced by Luc Besson. | tt0281364 | [R] | Jean Reno, Michel Muller, Ryoko Hirosue, Carole Bouquet, Ludovic Berthillot, Yan Epstein, Michel Scourneau | French-Japanese | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | |
| The Wash | 2001 | D. J. Pooh | ★★ | 96 | With director Pooh citing Michael Schultz's CAR WASH as a direct influence, you know what you're going to get in this agreeable but ragged yarn about rent-owing roomies working at the same cleansing facility. Look for: full-figured women in bikinis sudsing up cars, an obese cop who's made fun of, and someone having intestinal problems when there are houseguests. Any movie that gives you cameos by Shaquille O'Neal, Tommy Chong, and Pauly Shore is going the extra mile. | tt0290332 | [R] | Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, George Wallace, Angell Conwell, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister/Jr., Alex Thomas | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Washington Affair | 1977 | Victor Stoloff | ★★ | 86 | Claustrophobic suspense film (shot almost entirely in just two rooms) has Sullivan as a corrupt businessman who uses a hidden camera and women to entrap government engineer Selleck into getting him an aircraft contract. Unreleased theatrically, it surfaced after Selleck's TV series Magnum, P.I., became a hit. Remake of same director's INTIMACY. | tt0076905 | Barry Sullivan, Carol Lynley, Tom Selleck, Arlene Banas, Kathleen Gaffney | Drama | NULL | |||
| Washington Merry-Go-Round | 1932 | James Cruze | ★★½ | 79 | Dry run for MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON has idealistic young congressman Tracy out to do good for his Depression-ravaged constituents— only to find it ain't that easy, especially when he opposes an 'important' appropriations bill. Remains surprisingly relevant today, with engaging performances and strong feel for the political arena, but peters out after great first half. | tt0023673 | Lee Tracy, Constance Cummings, Walter Connolly, Alan Dinehart, Jane Darwell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Washington Square | 1997 | Agnieszka Holland | ★★★ | 115 | Spirited adaptation of the Henry James novel about the awkward, plain-Jane daughter of a wealthy, domineering doctor, who is suddenly courted by a poor but handsome fortune hunter in 19th-century N.Y.C. Like a number of celebrated period stories filmed in the 1990s, this one features a pointed contemporary feminist sensibility. The stage adaptation of James' novel was filmed before as THE HEIRESS. | tt0120481 | [PG] | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney, Ben Chaplin, Maggie Smith, Judith Ivey, Betsy Brantley, Jennifer Garner, Peter Maloney | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Washington Story | 1952 | Robert Pirosh | ★★ | 81 | Newspaperwoman Neal assigned to harass Congress selects young Congressman Johnson as her target; naturally, she falls in love with him. Romantic angle is better than political one— but neither is particularly interesting. | tt0045312 | Van Johnson, Patricia Neal, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Elizabeth Patterson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wasp Woman | 1960 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 66 | Enjoyable Corman cheapie about cosmetics magnate Cabot, fearful of aging, using royal jelly from wasps to become young and beautiful. She also periodically turns into a wasp-monster that must kill. Minor camp classic; an unauthorized semi-remake, EVIL SPAWN, was made for video in 1987. Remade for TV in 1996. | tt0054462 | Susan Cabot, Fred (Anthony) Eisley, Barboura Morris, Michael Mark, William Roerick | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Wassup Rockers | 2006 | Larry Clark | ★★½ | 111 | Lighter in tone, more accessible, and less explicit than Clark's previous forays into the world of troubled youth (KIDS, BULLY, KEN PARK), this story of seven Latino skateboarders examines their lives not only in their home base of South Central L.A. but in the suburban environs of Beverly Hills. When they meet two rich white girls they find themselves skating down the streets and backyards of the wealthy in sequences that almost seem like an homage to THE SWIMMER. While raw and undisciplined, film offers an interesting perspective on class and race and serves as a showcase for a good young cast. | tt0413466 | [R] | Jonathan Velasquez, Francisco Pedrasa, Eddie Velasquez, Yunior Usvaldo Panameno, Eddie Velazquez, Luis Rojas Salgado, Carlos Velasco, Iris Zelaya, Laura Cellner, Jessica Steinbaum | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Watch It | 1993 | Tom Flynn | ★★★ | 102 | Drifter Gallagher returns to Chicago and moves in with smarmy, womanizing cousin Tenney and his crude, immature housemates. He falls for (but cannot make a commitment to) veterinarian Amis, who's had rotten luck with men. Despite some plot implausibilities and a cop-out ending, a perceptive and ingratiating film. Flynn scripted; McGinley coproduced. | tt0108521 | [R] | Peter Gallagher, Suzy Amis, John C. McGinley, Jon Tenney, Cynthia Stevenson, Lili Taylor, Tom Sizemore, Terri Hawkes, Jordana Capra | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Watch It, Sailor! | 1961 | Wolf Rilla | ★★ | 81 | Mildly amusing stage farce adapted to screen, with Price managing to outdo Fraser's mother (Rhodes), getting to the church on time. | tt0055613 | Dennis Price, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl, Graham Stark, Marjorie Rhodes | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Watch Your Stern | 1960 | Gerald Thomas | ★★ | 88 | Amusing, obvious shenanigans on the seas, with Connor impersonating a scientist sent to perfect a torpedo. | tt0054463 | Kenneth Connor, Eric Barker, Leslie Phillips, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Watch on the Rhine | 1943 | Herman Shumlin | ★★★½ | 114 | Fine filmization of Lillian Hellman's timely WW2 play of German Lukas and wife Davis pursued and harried by Nazi agents in Washington. Lukas gives the performance of his career, which won him an Oscar; Bette somewhat overshadowed. Script by Dashiell Hammett. | tt0036515 | Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Lucile Watson, Beulah Bondi, George Coulouris, Donald Woods, Henry Daniell | Drama | NULL | |||
| Watch the Birdie | 1950 | Jack Donohue | ★★½ | 70 | Average Skelton comedy features him as photographer, silly father, and grandfather. Rest of cast is also good with routine material, reworking of Buster Keaton's THE CAMERAMAN. | tt0043120 | Red Skelton, Arlene Dahl, Ann Miller, Leon Ames, Pamela Britton, Richard Rober | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| Watch the Shadows Dance | 1987 | Mark Joffe | ★★ | 87 | Low-grade actioner involving a group of students who participate in a violent fantasy war game, with predictable results. Of interest solely for the presence of Kidman, cast as one of the players. Aka NIGHTMASTER. | tt0173443 | [R] | Tom Jennings, Nicole Kidman, Joanne Samuel, Vince Martin, Craig Pearce, Doug Parkinson | Australian-Canadian | Action | NULL | |
| Watched! | 1972 | John Parsons | ★½ | 95 | Keach plays a former government lawyer who went underground, befriending dopers. Yulin is chief of the narcotics squad, using lots of surveillance filming in his war of wills with Keach. Haphazard structure of this low-budget film relies upon Keach's nearly one-man show, expressing the personal transition out of 1960s culture. | tt0069487 | [R] | Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Brigid Polk, Denver John Collins | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Watcher in the Woods | 1980 | John Hough | ★★½ | 84 | All-American family takes over British country house, where young Johnson is tormented by the spirit of owner Davis's long-missing daughter. Not bad, with atmospheric photography by Alan Hume, but awfully familiar. First shown with an abrupt conclusion, then with special effects sequence that made things worse, then reworked again and improved (by Vincent McEveety)— for 1981 rerelease! Original running time 100m. | tt0081738 | [PG] | Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, David McCallum, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Kyle Richards, Ian Bannen, Richard Pasco | Family, Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Watcher | 2000 | Joe Charbanic | ★½ | 96 | The millionth serial killer movie in a decade offers little in the way of novelty (not that this would be anyone's wish). FBI agent Spader has gotten so worn out trying to track down woman-preying Reeves that he's relocated from L.A. to Chicago and put himself in the care of psychoanalyst Tomei. (Guess who ends up being victimized?) Empty thriller directed by— surprise!— a former maker of rock videos. | tt0204626 | [R] | James Spader, Marisa Tomei, Keanu Reeves, Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis, Robert Cicchini | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Watchers | 1988 | Jon Hess | ★½ | 92 | Young Haim is befriended by a super-intelligent dog (the product of military research), but soon both are pursued by a swift, deadly monster. Awful adaptation of Dean R. Koontz's novel, with a ludicrous monster. Followed by three sequels. | tt0096425 | [R] | Corey Haim, Michael Ironside, Barbara Williams, Lala, Duncan Fraser, Dale Wilson, Blu Mankuma | U.S.-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Watchers 2 | 1990 | Thierry Notz | ★★ | 97 | Singer and a super-intelligent dog are pursued by a monster who's the result of the same experimentation that created the canine. More a remake of than a sequel to WATCHERS, and a better movie, though still no world-beater. Followed by two sequels. | tt0100904 | [R] | Marc Singer, Tracy Scoggins, Tom Poster, Jonathan Farwell, Mary Woronov | U.S.-Canadian | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Watchmen | 2009 | Zach Snyder | ★★ | 161 | Slick, superficially faithful but heavy-handed adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ celebrated graphic novel, set in a bleak, alternate1985 where the newest generation of vigilante superheroes have been retired by an act of Congress. Only Dr. Manhattan (a very naked Crudup) is still at work, as he holds the power to stave off impending nuclear war—but he has been drained of his humanity and can’t even relate to his girlfriend any more. And so it goes. Deliberately extreme violence and sexuality seem pointless in this highly stylized but overlong comic book saga. Haley’s performance as Rorschach is the lone standout. Extended version is 20m. longer. | tt0409459 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jackie Earle Haley, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Matt Frewer, Stephen McHattie, Robert Wisden | Drama, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Water | 1985 | Dick Clement | 💣 | 95 | Inept comedy of errors concerns a Caribbean British colony where the local governor (Caine) juggles greedy U.S. oil interests, a comical rebellion, and other assorted looneys as a valuable mineral water is discovered. Rossiter is funny as a diplomat sent from England to calm the situation, and Maureen Lipman is terrific in a nasty caricature of Prime Minister Thatcher; Vaccaro is miscast in strained Carmen Miranda impression. Pointless cameos by Dick Shawn, Fred Gwynne, film's executive producer George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr. | tt0090297 | [PG-13] | Michael Caine, Brenda Vaccaro, Leonard Rossiter, Valerie Perrine, Jimmie Walker, Billy Connolly, Dennis Dugan | British | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Water | 2005 | Deepa Mehta | ★★½ | 117 | 1930s-set drama about a group of widows forced into a life of poverty at a temple while struggling for independence from British Colonial rule. Tragic story focuses on one girl in particular, forced into prostitution by her superiors, who tries to have a relationship with a young man she is forbidden to see. Well-meaning, deliberately paced film sheds light on a little-known aspect of Indian life but fails to set off much dramatic spark despite exquisite filming by Toronto-based director Mehta. | tt0240200 | [PG-13] | Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas, Sarala, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Waheeda Rehman, Raghuvir Yadav, Vinay Pathak, Rishma Malik | Canadian-Indian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| The Water Babies | Slip Slide Adventures | 1978 | Lionel Jeffries | ★★ | 92 | Combination live action and animated film for children, framing its fairy-tale undersea adventure with virtually unrelated story and characters in Dickensian London. Inoffensive for children, but downright boring at times. Aka SLIP SLIDE ADVENTURES. | tt0078477 | James Mason, Billie Whitelaw, Bernard Cribbins, Joan Greenwood, David Tomlinson, Tommy Pender, Samantha Gates | British-Polish | Animation, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | |
| The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep | 2007 | Jay Russell | ★★★ | 111 | The boy-and-his-pet formula gets a different spin as the pet is the mythical title character, who grows up to be the Loch Ness monster! Unusual family fare set in WW2 Scotland, where a lonely boy whose father has gone off to war finds his only real companionship in a creature who hatches from an egg he chances to find. Alternately fanciful and dark, with a winning young hero in Etel (who was so memorable in MILLIONS). Based on a book by Dick King-Smith, who also wrote the novel that became BABE. | tt0760329 | [PG] | Emily Watson, Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, Priyanka Xi, Marshall Napier, Brian Cox | U.S.-British | Family, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Water for Elephants | 2011 | Francis Lawrence | ★★½ | 120 | When his parents are killed just before his final exam, aspiring veterinarian Pattinson runs away and winds up on a circus train. He not only ingratiates himself with the troupe and its mercurial owner (Waltz), but falls in love with the owner’s wife, the show’s star performer (Witherspoon). Waltz’s character is puzzling at best, and the love story never catches fire, but the film does offer a beautiful evocation of Depression-era America and circus life, thanks to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, production designer Jack Fisk, and costume designer Jacqueline West, among others. Richard LaGravenese adapted Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel. | tt1067583 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Hal Holbrook, Paul Schneider, Jim Norton, Mark Povinelli, Richard Brake, James Frain | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Waterboy | 1998 | Frank Coraci | ★★★ | 88 | Dimwitted Cajun boy, sheltered by his smothering mama (Bates), lives only to serve— as a much-abused waterboy for football teams. But when a downtrodden coach (Winkler) discovers that the waterboy can, when properly motivated, run and tackle with great force, he turns him into a football star. Likable, crowd-pleasing comedy with heart. Sandler gets strong support here from Winkler and Bates. Director Coraci plays Roberto in the closing scenes; various sports figures appear as themselves. Sandler coscripted and coexecutive-produced. | tt0120484 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Henry Winkler, Jerry Reed, Larry Gilliard/Jr., Blake Clark, Clint Howard, Rob Schneider | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Waterdance | 1992 | Neal Jimenez, Michael Steinberg | ★★★ | 106 | Fine, affecting story of a young novelist (Stoltz) who becomes paraplegic after a hiking accident and learns to adjust in a multi-ethnic rehabilitation center. Things haven't changed too much since THE MEN, but potentially maudlin situations are handled with directness, grace, and great humor, and the entire cast— particularly Snipes and Forsythe— is excellent. Jimenez, himself paralyzed since an accident in 1984, also wrote the screenplay. | tt0105789 | [R] | Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe, Helen Hunt, Elizabeth Pena, Grace Zabriskie | Drama | NULL | ||
| Waterfront | 1944 | Steve Sekely | ★½ | 66 | Low-grade espionage tale of Nazi agents Carradine and Naish murdering and blackmailing in WW2 San Francisco. | tt0037446 | John Carradine, J. Carrol Naish, Maris Wrixon, Edwin Maxwell, Terry Frost | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Waterhole #3 | 1967 | William A. Graham | ★★½ | 95 | Amusing Western comedy of three confederates who rob Army of a fortune in gold and bury it in desert waterhole. Produced by Blake Edwards. | tt0062477 | James Coburn, Carroll O'Connor, Margaret Blye, Claude Akins, Bruce Dern, Joan Blondell, James Whitmore | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Waterland | 1992 | Stephen Gyllenhaal | ★★★ | 95 | Arresting film about a desperate, middle-aged high school history teacher who's led a life of emotional upheaval, and seems trapped by his past— all of which affects the way he relates to his students. Peter Prince's screenplay effectively interprets Graham Swift's seemingly unfilmable novel. Irons is ideally cast and offers a peerless performance. The director's daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal, appears in a small role. | tt0105790 | [R] | Jeremy Irons, Sinead Cusack, Ethan Hawke, John Heard, Grant Warnock, Lena Headey, David Morrissey | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Waterloo | 1971 | Sergei Bondarchuk | ★★ | 123 | Cumbersome historical film centering around Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. Tremendous action but muddled plot. The original Russian version ran nearly four hours. | tt0066549 | [G] | Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins, Virginia McKenna, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Wilding | Italian-Russian | Drama, Action, War | NULL | |
| Waterloo Bridge | 1931 | James Whale | ★★★ | 81 | Excellent early-talkie version of the tearjerker romance made famous in its 1940 remake. Clarke delivers an exceptional performance as an American chorus girl in WW1 London, and the film has a grittiness (missing from the remake) that lenient pre-Code standards allowed. One of Davis' earliest films. | tt0022550 | Mae Clarke, Kent Douglass (Douglass Montgomery), Doris Lloyd, Frederick Kerr, Enid Bennett, Bette Davis, Ethel Griffies | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Waterloo Bridge | 1940 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★½ | 103 | Sentimental love story, well-acted, of soldier and ballet dancer meeting during London air raid, falling in love instantly. Cleaned-up version of the Robert E. Sherwood play, with beautiful performance by lovely Leigh. Screenplay by S.N. Behrman, Hans Rameau, and George Froeschel. First filmed in 1931, remade as GABY. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033238 | Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson, Virginia Field, Maria Ouspenskaya, C. Aubrey Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Waterloo Road | 1944 | Sidney Gilliat | ★★★ | 76 | Enjoyable wartime drama about soldier who goes AWOL when he learns his wife has been seeing another man. Evocative of its period, with spry touches of humor. | tt0037447 | John Mills, Stewart Granger, Alastair Sim, Joy Shelton, Beatrice Varley, Alison Leggatt, Jean Kent | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Watermelon Man | 1970 | Melvin Van Peebles | ★★½ | 97 | Provocative serio-comedy about bigoted white man who suddenly turns black and sees his life go upside down. Worth seeing, although Herman Raucher's one-joke script makes its point and then has nowhere to go. TV print edited to 91m. | tt0066550 | [R] | Godfrey Cambridge, Estelle Parsons, Howard Caine, D'Urville Martin, Kay Kimberly, Mantan Moreland, Erin Moran | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Watership Down | 1978 | Martin Rosen | ★★★½ | 92 | Stylish animated-cartoon from Richard Adams' best-selling book about a family of rabbits seeking a safe place to live, encountering many perils along the way; not a kiddie film. Bird character voiced by Zero Mostel provides only comic relief in this sometimes grim cartoon. Excellent score by Angela Morley and Malcolm Williamson. One of the best non-Disney animated features ever made. | tt0078480 | [PG] | Voices of John Hurt, Richard Briers, Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Harry Andrews, Joss Ackland; narrated by Michael Hordern | British | Animation, Family, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Waterworld | 1995 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★★ | 135 | Notoriously expensive movie can't live up to its price tag but does offer great action scenes and an interesting futuristic premise. In a world engulfed by water, the drifters and scavengers are pitted against bad guys called Smokers. Costner, known as The Mariner, is a hardened (and remarkably resourceful) survivor who readies himself for the ultimate Smoker showdown with a woman and child in tow. Full of eye-popping stunts and set pieces, and anchored by Costner's forceful and physical performance. Too poky at times and not fully fleshed out at the conclusion, but still solid entertainment. | tt0114898 | [PG-13] | Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino, Michael Jeter, Sab Shimono, Robert Joy, R. D. Call, Zakes Mokae, Leonardo Cimino, Gerard Murphy, Neil Giuntoli | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wattstax | 1973 | Mel Stuart | ★★★½ | 98 | Exciting, vibrant documentary with music, centering around L.A. community of Watts, and the black experience. Pryor's monologues are exceptionally good. Reissued in 2003 at 104m., with new footage of Hayes. | tt0070902 | [R] | Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Luther Ingram, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Richard Pryor, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Bar-Kays, Kim Weston, The Emotions, Johnnie Taylor | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Watusi | 1959 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 85 | MGM fabricated a sequel to KING SOLOMON'S MINES to utilize leftover footage from its 1950 version of H. Rider Haggard yarn. | tt0053436 | George Montgomery, Taina Elg, David Farrar, Rex Ingram, Dan Seymour | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Wavelength | 1983 | Mike Gray | ★★ | 87 | Cheap science-fiction film about aliens on Earth and a government coverup steals liberally from earlier pictures for ideas. Best thing is a varied musical score by Tangerine Dream. | tt0086571 | [PG] | Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie, Keenan Wynn | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Waxwork | 1988 | Anthony Hickox | ★½ | 97 | Garbled, peculiar comedy-horror thriller set in evil magician's waxworks exhibit, with apocalyptic battle between humans and most of the famous monsters of history— Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, a werewolf, Phantom of the Opera, Audrey II, etc. Followed by WAXWORK II: LOST IN TIME. | tt0096426 | [R] | Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, David Warner, Michelle Johnson, Patrick Macnee, Dana Ashbrook, Miles O'Keeffe, John Rhys-Davies | Horror | NULL | ||
| Waxworks | 1924 | Paul Leni | ★★★ | 83 | Atmospheric German-expressionist classic in which three notorious figures in a waxworks exhibit come to life. The Baghdad story pales beside the sequences involving Jack the Ripper (Krauss) and Ivan the Terrible, with Veidt bringing that character to vivid life. | tt0014586 | Wilhelm (William) Dieterle, John Gottowt, Olga Belajeff, Emil Jannings, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss | German | Drama, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Way . . . Way Out | 1966 | Gordon Douglas | 💣 | 106 | One of Jerry's worst. Plot concerns comedian's trip to the moon with sexy astronaut Stevens; hopefully they took the film's negative along. | tt0061173 | Jerry Lewis, Connie Stevens, Robert Morley, Dennis Weaver, Howard Morris, Brian Keith, Dick Shawn, Anita Ekberg, James Brolin | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Way Ahead | The Immortal Battalion | 1944 | Carol Reed | ★★★½ | 91 | Exhilarating wartime British film showing how disparate civilians come to work together as a fighting unit; full of spirit and charm, with an outstanding cast, and fine script by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. Film debut of Trevor Howard. Originally released in the U.S. in a shortened, more serious version called THE IMMORTAL BATTALION (with an introduction by journalist Quentin Reynolds). Original British running time 116m. | tt0037449 | David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie, Leslie Dwyer, Hugh Burden, Jimmy Hanley, Billy Hartnell, Raymond Huntley, Reginald Tate, Leo Genn, Penelope Dudley Ward, Renée Asherson, Raymond Lovell, Peter Ustinov, Trevor Howard | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Way Back | 2011 | Peter Weir | ★★ | 133 | Sweeping saga of multinational prisoners who break out of a Siberian internment camp in 1941 and walk 4,000 miles, through every kind of climate and terrain, to freedom in India. Episodic story is told on a vast canvas, in a grand style reminiscent of David Lean. Unfortunately, despite some genuinely exciting passages and strong performances, the film goes on too long and leads to an unsatisfying conclusion. Perhaps its most noteworthy achievement is making us believe its actors are genuinely Russian, Polish, etc. Based on Slavomir Rawicz’s book The Long Walk, purportedly a true story (which was later disputed). | tt1023114 | [PG-13] | Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan, Dragos Bucur, Mark Strong, Alexandru Potocean, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Gustaf Skarsgård | U.S.-Abu Dhabi-Polish-Indian | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| Way Down East | 1920 | D. W. Griffith | ★★★ | 119 | The ultimate stage melodrama— with a city slicker despoiling the innocence of a virginal heroine, who then must pay the price. Executed with conviction by Griffith and a fine cast, building up to famous climax with Gish drifting away on the ice floes. Often shown in shorter versions; restored to 148m. by the Museum of Modern Art in 1985. Remade in 1935. | tt0011841 | Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Lowell Sherman, Burr McIntosh, Kate Bruce, Mary Hay, Creighton Hale | Romance | NULL | |||
| Way Down South | 1939 | Bernard Vorhaus | ★★½ | 61 | Hokey but fascinating musical curio (written by Muse and Langston Hughes!), set in the pre-Civil War South. Boy soprano Breen is the young master of a plantation, whose 'happy' slaves are scheduled for sale by crooked lawyer Maxwell. | tt0032114 | Bobby Breen, Alan Mowbray, Clarence Muse, Ralph Morgan, Edwin Maxwell, Steffi Duna, Sally Blane, Charles Middleton, Hall Johnson Choir | Musical | NULL | |||
| The Way Home . . . | 2002 | Lee Jeong-hyang | ★★★ | 88 | Sweet fable about a demanding, fast food/video game- loving seven-year-old city boy and the culture shock he experiences after being left in the care of his mute, old-world grandmother in a rural mountain village. Simple, but never simplistic, tale of generational bonding exudes warmth and compassion without ever wallowing in sentimentality. | tt0312841 | [PG] | Kim Eul-boon, Yu Seung-ho, Min Kyung-hoon, Yim Eun-kyung, Dong Hyo-hee | South Korean | Drama | NULL | |
| Way Out West | 1937 | James W. Horne | ★★★½ | 65 | Stan and Ollie are sent to deliver mine deed to daughter of late prospector, but crooked Finlayson leads them to wrong girl. One of their best features; moves well without resorting to needless romantic subplot. Another bonus: some charming musical interludes, and the boys perform a wonderful soft-shoe dance. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029747 | Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynn, James Finlayson, Rosina Lawrence, Stanley Fields, Vivien Oakland | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| The Way Out | 1955 | Montgomery Tully | 💣 | 90 | Lumbering, sloppily made melodrama in which devoted wife Freeman comes to the aid of duplicitous husband Nelson, who has committed murder while in an alcoholic haze. | tt0048800 | Gene Nelson, Mona Freeman, John Bentley, Michael Goodliffe, Sydney Tafler | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Way We Were | 1973 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 118 | First-class love story about political activist Streisand and her opposite, Waspish Joe College-type Redford, from late '30s to early '50s. Prere√ lease cutting excised meatiest sequence on blacklist era in Hollywood, alas, leaving Hamilton and Lindfors with bit parts, and some confusion in last portion of plot. Still quite good, with literate Arthur Laurents script from his own novel. Marvin Hamlisch's score and title song (lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman) won Oscars— and look sharp at Beverly Hills movie screening for a Hamlisch cameo. | tt0070903 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman, Murray Hamilton, Patrick O'Neal, Viveca Lindfors, Lois Chiles, Allyn Ann McLerie, Herb Edelman, James Woods, Constance Forslund, Sally Kirkland, George Gaynes, Susie Blakely, Dan Seymour | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Way West | 1967 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★½ | 122 | Despite cast, this version of A. B. Guthrie, Jr.'s epic novel fails completely. McLaglen's lackluster direction partially to blame, but big problem is script, which may hold all-time record for undeveloped sub-plots. Mitchum is good through it all; Sally Field's first feature. | tt0062479 | Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard Widmark, Lola Albright, Michael Witney, Stubby Kaye, Sally Field, Jack Elam | Western | NULL | |||
| Way for a Sailor | 1930 | Sam Wood | ★★ | 83 | Early talkie with silent-star Gilbert as devoted sailor who loses girl for the sea. Mostly a curio for early-talkie film buffs. | tt0021534 | John Gilbert, Wallace Beery, Leila Hyams, Jim Tully, Polly Moran | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Way of All Flesh | 1940 | Louis King | ★★ | 86 | Overly sentimental tale of poor immigrant who is 'taken' and must pay for his error; George is superlative as always. Remake of Emil Jannings 1927 silent film. | tt0033244 | Akim Tamiroff, Gladys George, William Henry, Muriel Angelus, Berton Churchill, Roger Imhof | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Way of Youth | 1959 | Michel Boisrond. | ★★ | 81 | Greedy older woman manipulates teenager into becoming involved in the local black market. Good cast tries its best. | tt0052690 | Françoise Arnoul, Lino Ventura, Bourvil, Alain Delon, Jean-Claude Brialy, Paulette Dubost, Madeleine LeBeau, Pierre Mondy, Sandra Milo. | French | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Way of a Gaucho | 1952 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★ | 91 | Soaper set in 1870s Argentina of Tierney and Calhoun trying to make a go of life on the Pampas. | tt0045316 | Gene Tierney, Rory Calhoun, Richard Boone, Hugh Marlowe, Everett Sloane | Western | NULL | |||
| The Way of the Gun | 2000 | Christopher McQuarrie | ★★ | 119 | Two young criminals decide to kidnap a surrogate mother who's supposedly carrying the child of a millionaire, and find themselves in way over their heads. Dense, often muddled, extremely violent film has some visceral action set pieces but— in spite of some pretentious narration— no discernible point. Directing debut for THE USUAL SUSPECTS screenwriter McQuarrie. | tt0202677 | [R] | Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, James Caan, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, Dylan Kussman, Scott Wilson, Kristin Lehman, Geoffrey Lewis | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Way of the Strong | 1928 | Frank R. Capra. | ★★½ | 61 | Gruff, unscrupulous bootlegger Lewis falls in love with a virginal, blind street violinist; he can't bear the idea that she should know him by his ugly face, so he has her 'feel' the features of his down-and-out café pianist (von Eltz). Predictable, formulaic, but quite watchable, with some pretty rugged scenes (and impressive use of a moving camera). | tt0019554 | Mitchell Lewis, Alice Day, Margaret Livingston, Theodore von Eltz, William Norton Bailey. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Way to Love | 1933 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 80 | Chevalier falls in love with Dvorak, who works on the wrong end of a knife throwing act, in this pleasant romantic comedy with music; songs include title tune, 'I'm a Lover of Paris. | tt0024755 | Maurice Chevalier, Ann Dvorak, Edward Everett Horton, Minna Gombell, Nydia Westman, Douglass Dumbrille, John Miljan, Grace Bradley, Sidney Toler | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Way to the Gold | 1957 | Robert D. Webb | ★★ | 94 | Meandering buried-loot-hunt story. | tt0051181 | Jeffrey Hunter, Sheree North, Barry Sullivan, Neville Brand, Walter Brennan | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Way to the Stars | Johnny in the Clouds | 1945 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★★ | 109 | Excellent drama about a British airfield and the men stationed there, focusing mainly on personal relationships in wartime. Jean Simmons appears briefly as a singer. Script by Terence Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald. Originally released in U.S. as JOHNNY IN THE CLOUDS, with a prologue set after the end of WW2. | tt0038238 | John Mills, Michael Redgrave, Douglass Montgomery, Rosamund John, Stanley Holloway, Trevor Howard, Felix Aylmer, Bonar Colleano | British | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Way | 2010 | Emilio Estevez | ★★½ | 120 | No-nonsense ophthalmologist Sheen, perpetually put off by dreamy son Estevez (in a cameo), walks the "El Camino de Santiago" from France to Spain to honor the latter, who has just died while making the same pilgrimage. A kind of road movie on foot, this heartfelt adaptation of Jack Hitt's book gets by on low-key goodwill in lieu of dramatic thrust. It does give Sheen a meaty role as a man forced to interact with fellow walkers who have their own agendas (weight loss, finding material for a book, getting away from life's rat race). Movie offers fairly sturdy evidence that Estevez inherited his father's spiritual gene. | tt1441912 | [PG-13] | Martin Sheen, Deborah Kara Unger, Yorick Van Wageningen, James Nesbitt, Tchéky Karyo, Spencer Garrett | U.S.-Spanish | Drama, Comedy, Adventure | NULL | |
| Wayne's World | 1992 | Penelope Spheeris | ★★ | 95 | Hit movie based on silly skit from TV's Saturday Night Live. Myers and Carvey are funny as the self-styled party dudes with their own cable TV show, and leading lady Carrere is certainly a 'babe,' but the story has too many slow spots and muffed jokes. Even casting Lowe as a slimeball doesn't pay off— because he's still so dull. Our advice: party elsewhere. Followed by a sequel. | tt0105793 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kurt Fuller, Colleen Camp, Donna Dixon, *** Meat Loaf, Ed O'Neill | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wayne's World 2 | 1993 | Stephen Surjik | ★★ | 94 | The Party Boys return with Wayne organizing a Waynestock music festival, and Garth being seduced by Honey Hornée (Basinger, in a tailor-made role she plays to the hilt). Tired gags from first film run throughout, but occasional bits and cameos (especially from 'the better actor') make it worthy. | tt0108525 | [PG-13] | Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Tia Carrere, Christopher Walken, Kim Basinger, Ralph Brown, Ed O'Neill, Harry Shearer, James Hong, Drew Barrymore, Chris Farley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wayward Bus | 1957 | Victor Vicas | ★★ | 89 | Low-brow version of John Steinbeck novel about interaction of passengers on bus in California. | tt0051182 | Joan Collins, Jayne Mansfield, Dan Dailey, Rick Jason | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wayward Wife | 1953 | Mario Soldati | ★★ | 91 | Unimaginative, predictable film of blackmail. Lollobrigida, girl with a past, finds her marriage threatened. | tt0046214 | Gina Lollobrigida, Gabriele Ferzetti, Franco Interlenghi, Renato Baldini | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| We All Loved Each Other So Much | 1974 | Ettore Scola | ★★★½ | 124 | Spirited, wistful comedy of three friends (Gassman, Manfredi, Satta Flores) who each love Sandrelli over the course of three decades. The latter, an actress, plays a bit role in LA DOLCE VITA; the shooting of Anita Ekberg's Trevi Fountain scene is recreated, complete with Mastroianni and Fellini! A loving homage to Fellini, De Sica, and post-war Italian cinema. | tt0075793 | Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman, Aldo Fabrizi, Stefania Sandrelli, Stefano Satta Flores, Giovanna Ralli | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| We Are All Murderers | 1952 | André Cayatte | ★★★ | 113 | Powerful, potent anti-capital punishment drama. Mouloudji plays a none-too-bright hood who was praised for killing during WW2, but now is condemned to death for murdering a cop; he and two other men await their fates on death row. Released in the U.S. in 1957. | tt0044977 | Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Louis Seigner, Antoine Balpetre, Claude Leydu, Georges Poujouly | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| We Are Marshall | 2006 | McG | ★★★ | 124 | True story of tragic November 1970 airplane crash that took the lives of the Marshall University football team, their coaches, and key boosters as they were returning from a game. Dealing with the West Virginia town's devastation and reluctance to start over again, a new coach is recruited to do just that a year later. Highly dramatic telling could have dissolved into sports movie clichés but wisely focuses on the human element and the inherent need to move on with life when it seems most challenging. McConaughey, as the new coach, Fox, as a guilt-plagued assistant coach who traded his seat on the fateful flight, and Strathairn, as the university president are outstanding in this worthwhile film. | tt0758794 | [PG] | Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie, Ian McShane, Kate Mara, January Jones, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Robert Patrick, Brian Geraghty. | Drama | NULL | ||
| We Are Not Alone | 1939 | Edmund Goulding | ★★½ | 112 | Gentle English country doctor, with a hardened, shrewish wife and an adoring son, innocently takes in a troubled young woman as governess, leading to unforeseen conflicts and crises. Muni is a pleasure to watch, as always, and Bryan is surprisingly effective as the Austrian governess with whom he falls in love, but the story is too pat. More interesting as a cautionary parable for a world on the brink of war, which is what author James Hilton intended; he also cowrote the script. | tt0032115 | Paul Muni, Jane Bryan, Flora Robson, Raymond Severn, Una O'Connor, Henry Daniell, Montagu Love, Cecil Kellaway, Alan Napier | Drama | NULL | |||
| We Are in the Navy Now | We Joined the Navy | 1962 | Wendy Toye | ★★ | 102 | Farcical service comedy without wit or slapstick to see it through. Original title: WE JOINED THE NAVY. | tt0056681 | Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, Joan O'Brien, Mischa Auer | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| We Bought a Zoo | 2011 | Cameron Crowe | ★★★ | 124 | Widower who can't get over the death of his wife, six months ago, packs up his adorable 7-year-old daughter and angry teenage son and moves to a house in the country that comes with a run-down animal preserve and a dedicated if ragtag crew. Each character faces challenges and ultimately finds fulfillment in this genial, family-friendly yarn. Very freely adapted from a true story told in a book of the same name by Benjamin Mee, played here by Damon. Coscripted by Crowe and Aline Brosh McKenna. | tt1389137 | [PG] | Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, John Michael Higgins, Angus Macfadyen, Peter Riegert, J. B. Smoove | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| We Dive at Dawn | 1943 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 98 | First-rate WW2 submarine saga, concentrating on personalities of men in the crew as much as on assignment to sink German battleship. Nicely understated drama. | tt0036516 | John Mills, Eric Portman, Niall MacGinnis, Reginald Purdell, Louis Bradfield, Ronald Millar | British | Drama, Action, War | NULL | ||
| We Don't Live Here Anymore | 2004 | John Curran | ★★½ | 101 | Two unhappy couples become sexually intertwined while keeping secrets from each other, which isn't healthy for any of them. Well-observed, well-acted but rather one-dimensional (and depressing) slice of life set in a small New England town. Adapted from two of Andre Dubus' short stories. Ruffalo coexecutive-produced. | tt0361309 | [R] | Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts | Drama | NULL | ||
| We Have a Pope | Habemus Papam | 2011 | Nanni Moretti | ★★ | 104 | Fanciful peek behind the scenes as the College of Cardinals selects a new pope, only to discover that the man they've chosen (Piccoli) is paralyzed with fear and refuses to greet his waiting public. Director-cowriter Moretti costars as a psychiatrist who is called to the Vatican to help solve the dilemma. Amiable and amusing at first, but veers off course and never regains its footing. Piccoli is always worth watching, but the film is a great disappointment. Original title: HABEMUS PAPAM. | tt1456472 | Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Franco Graziosi, Camillo Milli, Roberto Nobile, Nanni Moretti, Margherita Buy, Salvatore Miscio | Italian-French | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| We Live Again | 1934 | Rouben Mamoulian | ★★ | 82 | Cumbersome costumer with March a Russian nobleman in love with peasant girl Sten. Based on Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection, filmed several times before; Preston Sturges and Maxwell Anderson were among the writers. | tt0025964 | Fredric March, Anna Sten, Sam Jaffe, C. Aubrey Smith, Jane Baxter, Ethel Griffies | Drama | NULL | |||
| We Need to Talk About Kevin | 2011 | Lynne Ramsay | ★★ | 112 | Swinton delivers a deeply felt performance as a travel writer who never intended to lead a conventional life, let alone become a suburban wife and mother. Now she is suffering the aftermath of an unspeakable tragedy perpetrated by her son—a "bad seed" from infancy, which no one but her seemed to recognize, certainly not her oblivious husband (Reilly). Miller is chilling as the adolescent boy. Knowing where the story is headed makes watching this flashback-laden film a torturous experience, though it was highly praised by many critics and moviegoers. Director Ramsay scripted with Rory Stewart Kinnear, from Lionel Shriver's novel. | tt1242460 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rock Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette | British-U.S. | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| We Own the Night | 2007 | James Gray | ★★★ | 117 | Phoenix, the black sheep of his family, lives the high life in 1970s N.Y.C., managing a hot Brooklyn nightclub for his Russian boss, and ignoring other criminal activities taking place under his nose. But when the same Russian family threatens his brother and father, both dedicated policemen, he’s forced to take sides. Writer-director Gray offers another story of fate, writ large. Not as operatic as LITTLE ODESSA or THE YARDS but considerably more effective, with pulse-pounding action scenes. Former N.Y.C. Mayor Ed Koch plays himself! | tt0498399 | [R] | Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes, Danny Hoch, Tony Musante, Antoni Corone, Moni Moshonov, Oleg Taktarov, Alex Veadov | Thriller, Crime | NULL | ||
| We Still Kill the Old Way | 1967 | Elio Petri | ★★ | 92 | Crimes of honor in old Sicily purport to show old-world Mafia methods; actually nothing more than a small revenge film. | tt0061320 | Irene Papas, Gian Maria Volonte, Luigi Pistilli | Italian | Crime | NULL | ||
| We Think the World of You | 1988 | Colin Gregg | ★★★ | 94 | In 1950s London, middle-aged Bates becomes entwined in the lives of imprisoned boyfriend Oldman's working-class family, and Oldman's pet dog in particular. Diverting comedy-drama of unrequited love, adapted by Hugh Stoddart from Joseph R. Ackerley's semiautobiographical novel. A must for animal lovers . . . and romantics. | tt0096427 | [PG] | Alan Bates, Gary Oldman, Frances Barber, Liz Smith, Max Wall, Kerry Wise | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| We Were Dancing | 1942 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★ | 94 | Hokey adaptation from Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30, about princess running off with another man at her engagement party. Shearer et al. try, but material defeats them. Ava Gardner's first film. | tt0035537 | Norma Shearer, Melvyn Douglas, Gail Patrick, Marjorie Main, Reginald Owen, Connie Gilchrist, Sig Ruman | Comedy | NULL | |||
| We Were Soldiers | 2002 | Randall Wallace | ★★ | 137 | Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson) leads U.S. forces into their first battle in Vietnam in November 1965, and while the results are bloody, he inspires his men to fight with honor and promises he will leave none behind. Gibson is square jawed, almost corny (like the film itself— especially in home-front scenes), but an old-fashioned war film would have made its point without so much graphic violence. Based on the book We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young by Moore and Joseph Galloway. | tt0277434 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott, Chris Klein, Keri Russell, Barry Pepper, Don Duong, Ryan Hurst, Marc Blucas, Clark Gregg, Desmond Harrington, Dylan Walsh | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| We Were Strangers | 1949 | John Huston | ★★★ | 106 | Intense, intriguing political drama of Garfield and Jones joining with the Cuban underground in a plot to overthrow the government. Well directed by Huston; Garfield is fine, but Roland steals the film as one of the revolutionaries. Scripted by Huston and Peter Viertel. | tt0042035 | Jennifer Jones, John Garfield, Pedro Armendáriz, Gilbert Roland, Ramon Novarro | Adventure, Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| We Who Are Young | 1940 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★ | 79 | Turner marries Shelton though his company's policy forbids it; aimless comedy-drama. | tt0033246 | Lana Turner, John Shelton, Gene Lockhart, Grant Mitchell, Henry Armetta, Jonathan Hale, Clarence Wilson | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| We Will All Meet in Paradise | Pardon Mon Affaire, Too | 1977 | Yves Robert. | ★★½ | 110 | The trials and hangups of four boyish middle-aged Frenchmen. Cheerful but slight sex comedy; follow-up to PARDON MON AFFAIRE, and not as good. Aka PARDON MON AFFAIRE, TOO. | tt0076470 | [PG] | Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux, Daniele Delorme, Daniel Gelin. | French | Comedy | NULL |
| We of the Never Never | 1983 | Igor Auzins | ★★★ | 132 | True story based on memoirs of first white woman to travel into Australian wilderness known as the Never Never is visually stunning but never develops narrative momentum or dramatic punch. Still, it's a pleasure to look at. | tt0084893 | [G] | Angela Punch McGregor, Arthur Dignam, Tony Barry, Tommy Lewis, Lewis Fitz-Gerald | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| We the Living | 1942 | Goffredo Alessandrini | ★★★ | 174 | Still involving, and now rediscovered, romantic drama of young Russian Valli, an anti-Communist who becomes involved with party official Giachetti in order to obtain medical treatment for fugitive lover Brazzi. Based on an Ayn Rand novel and banned soon after its release because its scenario is as anti-authoritarian as it is anti-Communist. Originally shown as two separate films (titled NOI VIVI and ADDIO KIRA). | tt0035130 | Alida Valli, Rossano Brazzi, Fosco Giachetti, Giovanni Grasso, Emilio Cigoli, Mario Pisu | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| We the Party | 2012 | Mario Van Peebles | ★★ | 104 | Dedicated teacher in a multicultural L.A. high school hopes to inspire his students and keep his teenage son on the straight and narrow. The young entrepreneur stages a house party and tries to keep it under control. Ambitious effort to capture the modern urban youth scene grows tiresome and preachy (like the teacher played by writer-director Van Peebles, whose children fill the cast), although the actors are likable. Drug-related subplot, introduced late in the proceedings, plays like one long cliché. | tt1702016 | [R] | Mario Van Peebles, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Mandela Van Peebles, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jai White, Moises Arias, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, The New Boyz, The Rej3ctz, YG, Quincy Brown, Simone Battle, Patrick Cage II, Makaylo Van Peebles, Pink Dollaz, Carlos Olivero, Maya Van Peebles, Morgana Van Peebles, Melvin Van Peebles | Comedy | NULL | ||
| We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story | 1993 | Dick Zondag, Ralph Zondag, Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells | ★★½ | 72 | Amiable children's animated feature about a quartet of dinosaurs given the opportunity to visit modern-day N.Y.C., where they help two troubled kids— but fall prey to a devilish circus proprietor. Mostly fun, though slow at times, and the freakshow subplot is a bit eerie for younger kids. Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, the same year he made another well-known film about dinosaurs. | tt0108526 | [G] | Voices of John Goodman, Charles Fleischer, Felicity Kendal, Rhea Perlman, Martin Short, Walter Cronkite, Julia Child, Kenneth Mars, Jay Leno | Animation, Fantasy, Family | NULL | ||
| We're Going to Be Rich | 1938 | Monty Banks | ★★½ | 78 | Entertainer Fields finds herself in the midst of an African gold boom in this OK story with musical numbers; Donlevy and McLaglen in contrived rivalry supply much of the plot. | tt0030956 | Gracie Fields, Victor McLaglen, Brian Donlevy, Coral Browne, Ted Smith, Gus McNaughton | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| We're No Angels | 1955 | Michael Curtiz | ★★½ | 106 | Mild entertainment as three escapees from Devil's Island find refuge with French family and extricate them from various predicaments. Remade in 1989. | tt0048801 | Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennett, Basil Rathbone, Leo G. Carroll | Comedy | NULL | |||
| We're No Angels | 1989 | Neil Jordan | ★½ | 106 | Lumbering comedy about a couple of dimwitted convicts who inadvertently escape from prison and find refuge pretending to be priests visiting a nearby shrine. De Niro, who also served as executive producer, mugs as never before, playing Leo Gorcey to Penn's Huntz Hall. Handsome production design is no compensation for a lugubrious script by David Mamet, 'suggested by' the play that was filmed before in 1955. | tt0098625 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore, Hoyt Axton, Bruno Kirby, Ray McAnally, James Russo, Wallace Shawn, John C. Reilly | Drama | NULL | ||
| We're Not Dressing | 1934 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 77 | Musical Admirable Crichton with rich-girl Lombard falling in love with sailor Crosby when entourage is ship-wrecked on desert isle. Merman is man-chasing second fiddle, with Burns and Allen on tap as local expeditionists. Great fun; Bing sings 'Love Thy Neighbor.' | tt0025965 | Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, Leon Errol, Ray Milland | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| We're Not Married! | 1952 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 85 | Fine froth served up in several episodes as five married couples discover their weddings weren't legal. Segments vary in quality but the top-notch cast generally delivers the goods. Written and produced by Nunnally Johnson. Lee Marvin has a bit. | tt0045317 | Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Victor Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Douglas, David Wayne, Eve Arden, Louis Calhern, Zsa Zsa Gabor, James Gleason, Jane Darwell, Eddie Bracken, Mitzi Gaynor | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| We're Rich Again | 1934 | William A. Seiter | ★★ | 71 | Screwball farce with rich Denny about to marry into Marsh's once-wealthy family, having to put up with usual assortment of eccentric relatives, including polo-playing grandma Oliver (who steals the film). Amiable cast defeated by hopelessly silly story. | tt0025966 | Edna May Oliver, Billie Burke, Marian Nixon, Reginald Denny, Joan Marsh, Buster Crabbe, Grant Mitchell, Gloria Shea, Edgar Kennedy | Comedy | NULL | |||
| We're in the Money | 1935 | Ray Enright. | ★★½ | 65 | Blondell and Farrell make an irresistible team as scheming process servers out to trap wealthy playboy Alexander in a breach-of-promise suit, until Blondell falls in love with him. Typically screwy Warner Bros. gold-digging romp with the usual quota of wisecracks and some wild slapstick scenes. | tt0027188 | Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Hugh Herbert, Ross Alexander, Hobart Cavanaugh, Phil Regan, Anita Kerry, Henry O'Neill, Lionel Stander, Man Mountain Dean. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| We've Never Been Licked | 1943 | John Rawlins | ★★ | 103 | Jingoistic, melodramatic account of American youth brought up in Japan, and his involvement in WW2. | tt0036518 | Richard Quine, Noah Beery/Jr., Robert Mitchum, Anne Gwynne, Martha O'Driscoll | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| The Weak and the Wicked | 1953 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 81 | Frank study of women's prison life, focusing on their rehabilitation. | tt0046535 | Glynis Johns, John Gregson, Diana Dors, Jane Hylton | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Weaker Sex | 1948 | Roy Ward Baker | ★★ | 89 | Jeans is staunch English housewife showing her patriotic zest during WW2; modest domestic comedy. | tt0040952 | Ursula Jeans, Cecil Parker, Joan Hopkins, Derek Bond, Thora Hird, Bill Owen | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Weapon | 1956 | Val Guest | ★★½ | 81 | Minor but trim story of youngster who accidentally shoots his pal and runs away. | tt0051184 | Steve Cochran, Lizabeth Scott, George Cole, Herbert Marshall, Nicole Maurey, Jon Whiteley | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Weapons of Mass Distraction | 1997 | Stephen Surjik | Above Average TV Movie | 105 | Larry Gelbart's often profane black satire, loosely based on the no-holds-barred rivalry between media moguls Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch; here, the competition escalates as they vie for ownership of a football team. Kathy Baker turns up for one telling scene as the outspoken wife of Byrne's Murdoch-like character. Made for cable. | tt0120487 | Gabriel Byrne, Ben Kingsley, Mimi Rogers, Jeffrey Tambor, Illeana Douglas, Paul Mazursky, Chris Mulkey, R. Lee Ermey, Caroline Aaron, Jason Lee, Christina Pickles | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Weather Girl | 2009 | Blayne Weaver | ★★½ | 93 | After an on-the-air breakup with her unfaithful anchorman boyfriend (Harmon), a newly unemployed TV weather forecaster (O'Kelley) struggles to find another job and regain her self-respect. Lightweight comedy doesn't cover any new ground, but takes a few clever detours en route to its inevitable happy ending. | tt1085515 | [R] | Tricia O'Kelley, Patrick J. Adams, Ryan Devlin, Kaitlin Olson, Mark Harmon, Jon Cryer, Jane Lynch, Blair Underwood, Enrico Colantoni | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Weather Man | 2005 | Gore Verbinski | ★★★½ | 102 | Chicago TV weatherman is a local celebrity but finds his 'success' hollow and even alienating. He's constantly at odds with his ex-wife, loves his kids but doesn't know how to communicate with them, and feels like an utter failure alongside his father, an award-winning novelist who's emotionally distant. Nobody plays lost souls quite like Cage, and he's perfect in this melancholy, keenly observant view of the American dream that unfolds like a good novel. Written by Steven Conrad. | tt0384680 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Michael Rispoli, Nicholas Hoult, Gemmenne de la Peña, Gil Bellows, Judith McConnell | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Weavers, The: Wasn't That a Time! | Wasn't That a Time! | 1982 | Jim Brown | ★★★★ | 78 | Simply wonderful documentary about a reunion of the much-loved folk-singing quartet of the 1940s and '50s, climaxed by footage of their Carnegie Hall concert. Irresistible film built on the foundation of Lee Hays' wit and indomitable spirit. | tt0084894 | Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Fred Hellerman, Ronnie Gilbert | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Web of Evidence | 1959 | Jack Cardiff | ★★½ | 88 | Sincere drama of Johnson in England finding clues to prove his father innocent of long-standing murder sentence. Original British title: BEYOND THIS PLACE. | tt0052623 | Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Emlyn Williams, Bernard Lee, Jean Kent, Ralph Truman, Leo McKern | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Web of Fear | 1963 | François Villiers | ★★½ | 92 | Morgan is music teacher set up as patsy by Saval and Rich in this moody drama of passion and murder. | tt0056951 | Michele Morgan, Dany Saval, Claude Rich, George Rigaud | French | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Web of Passion | 1959 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 101 | Non-conformist Belmondo insinuates himself into a family's graces, delighting in breaking down their standards, with murders resulting. Talky but intriguing drama. Retitled: LEDA. | tt0053473 | Madeleine Robinson, Antonella Lualdi, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacques Dacqmine | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| Web of the Spider | 1970 | Antonio Margheriti | ★★ | 94 | Overly familiar thriller about the skeptic who accepts a wager that he cannot survive the night alone in a haunted house. Franciosa and associates try vainly to give it a fresh twist. Previously made by the same director as CASTLE OF TERROR. | tt0066132 | Anthony Franciosa, Michele Mercier, Peter Carsten, Karen Field, Silvano Tranquilli | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Web | 1947 | Michael Gordon | ★★★ | 87 | Tough bodyguard engages in murder, then finds himself a patsy for boss' schemes. Exciting melodrama, one of O'Brien's best early roles. | tt0039973 | Ella Raines, Edmond O'Brien, William Bendix, Vincent Price, Maria Palmer | Film-Noir, Thriller, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wedding Banquet | 1993 | Ang Lee | ★★★ | 108 | Gay Taiwanese-American Chao tries to fool his parents via a fake wedding, with unexpected complications. Top-notch comedy which knowingly and poignantly examines the meaning of cultural identity and child-parent relationships. Neatly scripted by Lee, Neil Peng, and James Schamus. | tt0107156 | [R] | Winston Chao, May Chin, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Sihung Lung, Ah-Leh Gua, Tien Pien | U.S.-Taiwanese | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Wedding Bell Blues | 1996 | Dana Lustig | ★★½ | 100 | A trio of roommates, each about to turn 30 and feeling pressure to marry, splits for Las Vegas to find quickie husbands. Attractive cast helps maintain interest in this somewhat familiar 'where-are-all-the-good-men?' saga. | tt0118127 | [R] | Illeana Douglas, Paulina Porizkova, Julie Warner, John Corbett, Jonathan Penner, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Edson, Joe Urla, Stephanie Beacham, Carla Gugino, Leo Rossi, John Capodice, Victoria Jackson, Debbie Reynolds | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wedding Crashers | 2005 | David Dobkin | ★★★ | 119 | D.C. law partners and pals Wilson and Vaughn systematically crash weddings of all kinds in search of free food, good parties, and vulnerable women. Then, at an exclusive celebration for the daughter of a government official (Walken), Wilson falls in love with the sister of the bride. Comic complications ensue, many of them predictable, some needlessly drawn out, but this often-raunchy comedy is played with such gusto that the overall results are hilarious. Expect some fun cameos. Also available in longer unrated version. | tt0396269 | [R] | Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Ellen Albertini Dow, Keir O'Donnell, Bradley Cooper, Ron Canada, Henry Gibson, Dwight Yoakam, Rebecca De Mornay | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Wedding Date | 2005 | Clare Kilner. | ★½ | 88 | Tense New Yorker Messing hires an A-list male escort (Mulroney) to accompany her to her half-sister's London wedding, all to make the ex-fiancé who dumped her jealous. The sibling has a dark side, their parents are sweet, the ex probably needs professional help, while Mulroney doesn't register much emotion at all. Given all this, it's no surprise that director Kilner has a tough time finding a consistent tone for this failed comedy. | tt0372532 | [PG-13] | Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, Amy Adams, Jack Davenport, Sarah Parish, Jeremy Sheffield, Peter Egan, Holland Taylor. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wedding Daze | 2008 | Michael Ian Black | ★★ | 90 | Proposing to an attractive stranger (Fisher) is possibly the most rational decision Anderson (Biggs) has made recently. After she (surprisingly) says yes, they go about meeting each other’s crazy family and friends. Thin, occasionally outrageous comedy may best be appreciated by dedicated fans of writer-director Black and followers of The State and Stella. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0484877 | [R] | Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher, Joanna Gleason, Edward Herrmann, Matt Malloy, Audra Blaser, Joe Pantoliano, Rob Corddry, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Weston, Margo Martindale, Mark Consuelos, Ebon Moss-Bachrach | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Wedding Gift | 1993 | Richard Loncraine | ★★★ | 87 | Spirited spin on 'disease-of-the-week' stories, with marvelous performances by Walters and Broadbent as a loving couple whose sense of humor helps them deal with her mysterious and debilitating ailment. Based on the true story of a woman who decided to find her husband a new mate before she died. Alternately humorous and heart-rending; well worth a look. Based on the memoir by Denis Longden. Made for British TV, where it was shown as WIDE-EYED AND LEGLESS. | tt0111709 | [PG-13] | Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Thora Hird, Sian Thomas, Andrew Lancel, Anastasia Mulroney, Joanna McCallum | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Wedding March | 1928 | Erich von Stroheim | ★★★★ | 113 | A roguish Viennese prince (played to perfection by von Stroheim) agrees to marry for money and position to help his family, then falls in love with a poor but beautiful girl. A masterpiece, blending romance and irony, with an unforgettable finale . . . though what we see is just the first half of the film von Stroheim completed (the second no longer exists). One sequence in two-color Technicolor. | tt0019558 | Erich von Stroheim, Fay Wray, ZaSu Pitts, George Fawcett, Maude George, George Nicholls, Cesare Gravina | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wedding Night | 1935 | King Vidor | ★★½ | 84 | Study of romance and idealism; unbelievable love yarn but entertaining. Producer Samuel Goldwyn's third and final attempt to make Anna Sten a new Garbo. | tt0027189 | Gary Cooper, Anna Sten, Ralph Bellamy, Walter Brennan, Helen Vinson, Sig Ruman | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Wedding Party | 1969 | Cynthia Munroe, Brian De Palma, Wilford Leach | ★½ | 92 | Talky, corny, boring comic oddity detailing events preceding marriage of Clayburgh and Pfluger; the bride and her family are boorish, and the groom grows ever more reluctant. Self-consciously directed; of interest only for De Palma's participation, and initial screen appearances of Clayburgh and De Niro (spelled 'DeNero' in the credits). Shot in 1963, and barely released. | tt0065198 | Jill Clayburgh, Charles Pfluger, Valda Satterfield, Raymond McNally, Jennifer Salt, John Braswell, Judy Thomas, Robert De Niro, William Finley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wedding Planner | 2001 | Adam Shankman | ★★ | 102 | Lopez is a wedding planner whose fast-track lifestyle doesn't allow her time for a personal life. She finds herself attracted to a doctor (McConaughey) who is otherwise engaged, but guess who's been hired to plan his nuptials? Occasional bright moments are done in by long, deadening stretches, a serious lack of chemistry between the leads, and a predictable finale. | tt0209475 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Justin Chambers, Judy Greer, Alex Rocco, Joanna Gleason, Charles Kimbrough, Kevin Pollak, Fred Willard, Kathy Najimy | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wedding Present | 1936 | Richard Wallace. | ★★★ | 81 | Underrated screwball comedy centering on antics of irresponsible— and perpetually engaged— reporters Grant and Bennett, who drive boss Bancroft crazy yet somehow always come up with the big story. But Bennett takes up with wealthy Nagel when Grant is appointed editor and becomes a tyrant. Thoroughly enjoyable farce with lots of laughs. | tt0028486 | Cary Grant, Joan Bennett, George Bancroft, Conrad Nagel, Gene Lockhart, William Demarest, Inez Courtney. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wedding Singer | 1998 | Frank Coraci | ★★★ | 96 | Sandler plays a genuinely sweet guy whose life is shattered when his fiancée stands him up at the altar— but finds consolation in the friendship of a waitress who he discovers is about to marry a real jerk. Sandler has never been more appealing, or Barrymore more adorable. Entertaining romantic comedy set in 1985 marred only by moments of crude dialogue that don't seem absolutely necessary. Steve Buscemi and Jon Lovitz appear unbilled. | tt0120888 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Angela Featherstone, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave, Christine Taylor, Kevin Nealon, Christina Pickles, Billy Idol | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wedding in Blood | 1973 | Claude Chabrol | ★★½ | 98 | Piccoli and Audran, each married to another, are having an affair. How soon will they murder their spouses? And get caught? Medium Chabrol. | tt0070453 | [PG] | Stephane Audran, Michel Piccoli, Claude Pieplu, Clothilde Joano, Eliana de Santis | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Wedding in White | 1972 | William Fruet | ★★★ | 106 | Fine performances in sad tale of girl impregnated by brother's drunken pal during WW2 and her father's efforts to save the family's honor. | tt0069489 | [R] | Donald Pleasence, Carol Kane, Doris Petrie, Doug McGrath, Leo Phillips | Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Wedding | 1978 | Robert Altman | ★★½ | 125 | Unfocused look at family intrigues surrounding a nouveau riche wedding; some amusing moments and pointed characterizations, but doesn't quite gel. | tt0078481 | [PG] | Carol Burnett, Desi Arnaz/Jr., Amy Stryker, Vittorio Gassman, Geraldine Chaplin, Mia Farrow, Paul Dooley, Lillian Gish, Lauren Hutton, John Cromwell, Pat McCormick, Howard Duff, Pam Dawber, Dennis Christopher, Peggy Ann Garner, Nina Van Pallandt, Dina Merrill, John Considine, Viveca Lindfors, Dennis Franz | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Weddings and Babies | 1958 | Morris Engel | ★★½ | 77 | Thoughtful observance of human behavior and emotions from always-interesting filmmaker Engel. Photographer who earns his living filming weddings and babies has vague dreams of making 'real' movies; his assistant and girlfriend is anxious to have a wedding and babies of her own. | tt0052382 | Viveca Lindfors, John Myhers, Chiarina Barile, Leonard Elliott, Joanna Merlin | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wee Geordie | 1956 | Frank Launder | ★★★½ | 93 | Flavorful romp with Travers a Scottish hammer thrower who goes to the Olympics. Despite predictable sight gags and romance, film makes one relish each situation. | tt0048112 | Bill Travers, Alastair Sim, Norah Gorsen, Molly Urquhart, Francis De Wolff | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wee Willie Winkie | 1937 | John Ford | ★★★ | 99 | Shirley and her widowed mother come to live at a British Army outpost in India, where the moppet works hard to win over her crusty grandfather, the Colonel (Smith), and is quickly adopted by a soft-hearted sergeant (McLaglen). One of Shirley's best vehicles, 'inspired' (it says here) by the Rudyard Kipling story. Beware 77m. prints. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0029751 | Shirley Temple, Victor McLaglen, C. Aubrey Smith, June Lang, Michael Whalen, Cesar Romero, Constance Collier, Douglas Scott | Family, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Weeds | 1987 | John Hancock | ★★½ | 115 | San Quentin lifer/aspiring playwright is near-miraculously sprung from prison when a newspaper critic lobbies for his release, and goes on to form a 'Barbed Wire Theatre' acting troupe of ex-cons. Odd, original mix of comedy and drama based on Rick Cluchey's real-life experiences with the San Quentin Drama Group. Earnest, well acted but never quite gels. | tt0094304 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Rita Taggart, Lane Smith, William Forsythe, John Toles-Bey, Joe Mantegna, Ernie Hudson, Anne Ramsey, Charlie Rich | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Week's Vacation | 1980 | Bertrand Tavernier | ★★★ | 102 | Subtle drama of schoolteacher Baye briefly escaping her problems by visiting her parents in Lyons. Sensitive depiction of inter-personal relations is director Tavernier's strong suit. Colorful wide-screen Panavision photography will suffer on TV. | tt0081686 | [R] | Nathalie Baye, Gerard Lanvin, Michel Galabru, Philippe Noiret, Philippe Leotard | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Week-end Marriage | 1932 | Thornton Freeland | ★★ | 66 | Comedy courtship leads to drama of money-hungry husband after marriage; nothing special. | tt0023677 | Loretta Young, Norman Foster, Aline MacMahon, George Brent, Vivienne Osborne, Roscoe Karns | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Week-end With Father | 1951 | Douglas Sirk | ★★½ | 83 | Pleasant frou-frou of widow and widower courting despite their children's interference. | tt0044199 | Van Heflin, Patricia Neal, Virginia Field, Gigi Perreau, Richard Denning | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Week-end at the Waldorf | 1945 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 130 | Several 'typical' days in the life of the fabled Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Ultra-glossy MGM remake of GRAND HOTEL weaves disparate characters' lives together. No resonance whatsoever, but good, slick entertainment, with Rogers and Pidgeon standing out in the attractive cast. | tt0038239 | Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon, Van Johnson, Edward Arnold, Phyllis Thaxter, Keenan Wynn, Robert Benchley, Leon Ames, Porter Hall, George Zucco, Xavier Cugat | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Week-end in Havana | 1941 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 80 | Typically entertaining, Technicolored 20th Century-Fox musical fluff with Payne showing Faye a good time in Havana for business purposes only, but falling in love with her instead. Miranda adds her usual zest. | tt0034379 | Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda, John Payne, Cesar Romero, Cobina Wright/Jr., George Barbier, Leonid Kinskey, Sheldon Leonard, Billy Gilbert | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Weekend | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★★½ | 103 | Mind-expanding anti-Western diatribe about one woman's road to guerrillahood is among Godard's more fully realized works, with a long traffic-jam sequence that is justifiably regarded as one of the great set pieces in screen history. An essential '60s time-capsule entry. | tt0062480 | Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Valerie Lagrange, Jean-Pierre Léaud | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Weekend | 2011 | Andrew Haigh | ★★★ | 97 | Two young Brit men hook up in a Nottingham gay bar, then spend much of the weekend warily sizing each other up while wondering whether their one-night stand can bloom into something more substantial—even though one is about to leave for an extended stay in the U.S. Writer-director Haigh's intimate and observant drama often looks and feels like a two-character stage play that has been "opened up" only slightly for a movie adaptation. But the lead performances—Cullen as an affable introvert, New as an outspoken extrovert—are individually impressive and effectively complimentary. | tt1714210 | Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman, Loretto Murray, Jonathan Wright | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Weekend Pass | 1984 | Lawrence Bassoff | 💣 | 92 | Intolerable drive-in comedy lifts its premise from ON THE TOWN: having completed basic training, four stereotypical naval recruits set off for 72 'wild' hours in L.A. 92 minutes of mine sweeping would be more entertaining. | tt0088385 | [R] | Patrick Hauser, D. W. Brown, Chip McAllister, Peter Ellenstein, Hilary Shapiro, Pamela G. Kay | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Weekend Warriors | 1986 | Bert Convy | ★½ | 85 | Low-level, sloppily made comedy about some goof-offs who join the National Guard, and their subsequent hijinks. Convy's debut as director. | tt0092195 | [R] | Chris Lemmon, Vic Tayback, Lloyd Bridges, Graham Jarvis, Daniel Greene, Marty Cohen, Brian Bradley | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Weekend at Bernie's | 1989 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★½ | 97 | Two young hustlers, far down on the corporate ladder, win an invitation to their boss' sumptuous beach house for the weekend . . . only to find him dead upon arrival. Slim but agreeably silly farce, written by Robert Klane. Followed by a sequel. | tt0098627 | [PG-13] | Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, Terry Kiser, Don Calfa, Louis Giambalvo | Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Weekend at Bernie's II | 1993 | Robert Klane | 💣 | 89 | Witless sequel to a movie that didn't exactly cry out for a followup. Insurance execs McCarthy and Silverman are suspected of embezzlement, and can only save their skins with the help of their 'dead body' buddy Bernie (Kiser). After this debacle, let's hope Bernie is allowed to rest in peace. | tt0108539 | [PG] | Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Terry Kiser, Barry Bostwick, Troy Beyer, Tom Wright, Steve James | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Weekend at Dunkirk | 1965 | Henri Verneuil | ★★ | 101 | Dull war film, based on well-known French novel, about four French soldiers on the Dunkirk Beach around evacuation time early in WW2. | tt0058740 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Spaak, Georges Geret, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Pierre Mondy | French-Italy | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Weekend for Three | 1941 | Irving Reis | ★★ | 61 | Hapless O'Keefe and manipulative wife Wyatt entertain her boorish old friend (Reed), who quickly proves to be the houseguest from hell. Considering cast and writers (Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell, from a Budd Schulberg story), it's astonishing this isn't better than it is. | tt0034378 | Dennis O'Keefe, Jane Wyatt, Philip Reed, ZaSu Pitts, Edward Everett Horton, Franklin Pangborn, Hans Conried | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Weight of Water | 2002 | Kathryn Bigelow | ★★ | 113 | Weighty adaptation of Anita Shreve's best-seller that parallels events 100 years apart: the mysterious, brutal murder of two young women on an island off New Hampshire, and a modern-day sailing party including a photojournalist (McCormack) who's investigating the case and her moody poet husband (Penn). The story's ultimate revelations don't bring any understanding of the contemporary characters or their problems, although the acting is certainly good. | tt0210382 | [R] | Catherine McCormack, Sarah Polley, Sean Penn, Josh Lucas, Elizabeth Hurley, Ciarán Hinds, Katrin Cartlidge, Vinessa Shaw | French-U.S. | Thriller | NULL | |
| Weird Science | 1985 | John Hughes | ★½ | 94 | Two nerdy teens use computer to conjure up woman of their dreams (sexy LeBrock), but writer-director Hughes doesn't follow through on his own premise! Appalling excuse for comedy; tasteless and endless, unredeemed by Hughes's sharp teenage dialogue and Hall's engaging performance. Later a cable TV series. | tt0090305 | [PG-13] | Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly LeBrock, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Bill Paxton, Suzanne Snyder, Judie Aronson, Robert Downey/Jr., Robert Rusler | Sci-Fi, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Weird Tales | 1919 | Richard Oswald. | ★★½ | 75 | The title tells all in this surreal fantasy featuring several stories, hazily told, that seamlessly blend together; each involves plot twists, strange disappearances, murder, ghosts, illicit romances, or odd fates. Strange, decidedly not for all tastes, but worth a look, particularly if you're an Edgar Allan Poe fan. | tt0010821 | Anita Berber, Conrad Veidt, Reinhold Schünzel, Hugo Döblin, Paul Morgan, Georg John. | German | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Weird Woman | 1944 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 64 | Chaney's ex-girlfriend objects to his tropic isle bride, connives to get even. Way-out entry in the Inner Sanctum series, based on Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife; good fun, with Ankers' nice change-of-pace villainess. Remade as BURN, WITCH, BURN and WITCHES' BREW. | tt0037453 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Morgan, Lois Collier, Elizabeth Russell, Phil Brown | Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Welcome Home | 1989 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★★ | 96 | Please, not again. Presumed dead Air Force officer Kristofferson, 17 years in Cambodia with a new wife and two children, returns home to remarried spouse number one and their teenage son. Tolerably sincere at best, embalmed at worst. Director Schaffner's final film. | tt0098631 | [R] | Kris Kristofferson, JoBeth Williams, Sam Waterston, Brian Keith, Thomas Wilson Brown, Trey Wilson | Drama | NULL | ||
| Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins | 2008 | Malcolm D. Lee | ★★ | 114 | Broad, witless comedy in which out-of-touch L.A. talk show host Lawrence returns to his Georgia home for a family get-together. A talented cast is wasted here. | tt0494652 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Cedric the Entertainer, Nicole Ari Parker, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique, Damani Roberts | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael | 1990 | Jim Abrahams | ★½ | 98 | Small Ohio town goes berserk anticipating return of sexy and mysterious hometown girl Roxy Carmichael, who's been away in Hollywood living a life of luxury. Teenage beatnik Ryder— moody, brilliant, alienated, intuitive, and adopted— starts fantasizing that Roxy is actually her mother. Flat, disjointed satiric comedy with Ryder the sole bright spot. | tt0100911 | [PG-13] | Winona Ryder, Jeff Daniels, Laila Robins, Dinah Manoff, Thomas Wilson Brown, Joan McMurtrey, Frances Fisher, Graham Beckel, Robin Thomas, Robby Kiger, Sachi Parker, Stephen Tobolowsky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Welcome Home, Soldier Boys | 1972 | Richard Compton | ★★ | 91 | Sensationalistic melodrama about four ex-Green Berets who adjust to civilian life by gang-raping a girl and burning down a town. Yet another one-dimensionally violent depiction of Vietnam veterans. | tt0069491 | [R] | Joe Don Baker, Paul Koslo, Alan Vint, Elliott Street, Jennifer Billingsley, Billy 'Green' Bush, Geoffrey Lewis, Francine York | Drama | NULL | ||
| Welcome Stranger | 1947 | Elliott Nugent | ★★★ | 107 | Entertaining musical of Crosby filling in for vacationing doctor in small community, getting involved with local girl and lovely little town. | tt0039975 | Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Joan Caulfield, Wanda Hendrix, Frank Faylen, Elizabeth Patterson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Welcome in Vienna | 1986 | Axel Corti | ★★★ | 126 | Nicolas Brieger, Claudia Messner, Hubert Mann, Liliana Nelska. Intriguing, uncompromising account of Austrian Jew Barylli and German intellectual Brieger, who've fled to America, and return to their homeland as U.S. soldiers during the final months of WW2. A thought-provoking look at the Austrian people's less than honorable response to Nazi aggression. The conclusion of Corti's 'Where To and Back' trilogy, preceded by GOD DOESN'T BELIEVE IN US ANYMORE and SANTA FE. | tt0090336 | Gabriel Barylli, Nicolas Brieger, Claudia Messner, Hubert Mann, Liliana Nelska | Austrian |
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| Welcome to 18 | 1987 | Terry Carr | ★★ | 89 | Tired teen titillation yarn about three girlfriends who spend their first summer out of high school experiencing life in the fast lane in Nevada. Attractive newcomers (including brunette Hargitay, daughter of Jayne Mansfield) muddle through preachy, plot-heavy nonsense. | tt0092199 | [PG-13] | Courtney Thorne-Smith, Mariska Hargitay, Jo Ann Willette, Cristen Kaufman, John Putch | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Welcome to Arrow Beach | Tender Flesh | 1974 | Laurence Harvey | ★★ | 99 | Harvey's final film (edited by phone from his deathbed) is strange but watchable shocker. He plays a war veteran who returns to California and kills passersby to feed his newly acquired taste for human flesh (though shortened TV prints seriously alter the story). Good cast helps, especially spellbinding Foster in an early role. Retitled: TENDER FLESH. | tt0072392 | [R] | Laurence Harvey, Joanna Pettet, Stuart Whitman, John Ireland, Meg Foster, Jesse Vint, Gloria LeRoy | Horror | NULL | |
| Welcome to Collinwood | 2002 | Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | ★★ | 86 | Remake of BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET set in a grimy, ethnic Cleveland suburb has flavor but no fizz. The single funniest moment replicates the highlight of the classic Italian film. Clooney (who produced the film with Steven Soderbergh) has a minor part as a safecracking expert. Written by the directors. | tt0271259 | [R] | Luis Guzman, Michael Jeter, Patricia Clarkson, Andrew Davoli, Isaiah Washington, William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Esposito, George Clooney | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Welcome to Hard Times | 1967 | Burt Kennedy | ★★★ | 105 | Intriguing, symbol-laden account of run-down Western town victimized by outlaw Ray, with Fonda finally forced to shoot it out to save what's left. Adapted by Kennedy from E. L. Doctorow novel. | tt0062482 | Henry Fonda, Janice Rule, Keenan Wynn, Janis Paige, John Anderson, Aldo Ray, Warren Oates, Fay Spain, Edgar Buchanan, Lon Chaney/Jr., Elisha Cook/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Welcome to L.A. | 1977 | Alan Rudolph | ★★½ | 106 | This chronicle of lost, lonely Southern Californians who can only connect for fleeting moments between the sheets is occasionally intriguing, but pales beside some of Rudolph's later, better work. A major debit: Baskin's music, which quickly becomes monotonous. Produced by Robert Altman. | tt0076910 | [R] | Keith Carradine, Sally Kellerman, Geraldine Chaplin, Harvey Keitel, Lauren Hutton, Viveca Lindfors, Sissy Spacek, Denver Pyle, John Considine, Richard Baskin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Welcome to Mooseport | 2004 | Donald Petrie | ★★★ | 110 | Easygoing hardware store owner in a Maine village where everybody knows everybody else finds himself running for mayor— and competing for the affection of his longtime girlfriend— with the cocky former President of the U.S., who's just moved to town. Amiable comedy offers Hackman a good comedy vehicle and Romano a tailor-made role. Edward Herrmann appears unbilled. | tt0361925 | [PG-13] | Gene Hackman, Ray Romano, Marcia Gay Harden, Maura Tierney, Christine Baranski, Fred Savage, Rip Torn, June Squibb, Wayne Robson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Welcome to Sarajevo | 1997 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★★ | 101 | Achingly realistic, unsentimental look at reporters covering the Bosnian war in Sarajevo. One British TV reporter becomes especially outraged by the plight of orphaned children and finds his casual promise to a young girl— that he will lead her to safety— being put to the test. Based on a true story, and told with a compelling blend of genuine and staged footage. Difficult to watch at times, but rewarding. | tt0120490 | [R] | Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Emira Nusevic, Kerry Fox, Goran Visnjic, Emily Lloyd | British-U.S. | Drama, War | NULL | |
| Welcome to Woop Woop | 1997 | Stephan Elliott | ★★½ | 96 | American con artist (Schaech) flees to the Outback, where he meets a man-hungry hitchhiker who drags him off to the very remote municipality of Woop Woop. Native Australian Taylor is outrageous as Schaech's dictatorial, unbalanced, Rodgers & Hammerstein-loving father-in-law. Raucous, raunchy farce from the director of THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. | tt0120491 | [R] | Johnathon Schaech, Rod Taylor, Susie Porter, Dee Smart, Barry Humphries, Richard Moir, Paul Mercurio, Rachel Griffiths, Maggie Kirkpatrick, Tina Louise | Australian-British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Welcome to the Ch�tis | Bienvenue chez les Ch'ti | 2008 | Dany Boon | ★★★½ | 106 | Crowd-pleasing comedy with heart about a post-office manager, perennially cowed by his wife, who’s sent to the French equivalent of Siberia: a northern province that his fellow Southerners have ridiculed and demonized. When he moves there (leaving his family behind) he learns that the rumors of poor weather and backward citizens are false, though he does have to acclimate to the openhearted people . . . and their very strange dialect. Great entertainment and a smash hit in France. Director-costar Boon also cowrote the screenplay. Aka WELCOME TO THE STICKS. | tt1064932 | Kad Merad, Dany Boon, Zoé Félix, Philippe Duquesne, Line Renaud, Michel Galabru, Stéphane Freiss, Guy Lecluyse, Anne Marivin, Patrick Bosso | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| Welcome to the Club | 1971 | Walter Shenson | ★★ | 88 | Navy morale officer tries to find quarters for USO entertainers in Japan. Forgettable comedy. | tt0067967 | [R] | The Warblers, Jack Warden, Brian Foley, Lee Meredith, Andy Jarell | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Welcome to the Dollhouse | 1996 | Todd Solondz | ★★★½ | 87 | The pain of puberty has never been portrayed so unflinchingly; smart-but-ordinary Matarazzo has to deal with her incredibly un-nurturing suburban family (which dotes on her 'adorable' younger sister), and worse, the pranks and sexual threats of virtually her entire junior high school. Amid this dire lack of support and warmth is a heroine of enormous pluck and cunning. While viewer may wince as numerous unpleasant situations play out, there is also terrific satire (and guffaws) as life in the Seventh-Grade-From-Hell is depicted with dead-on clarity. Strong performances; sharply scripted by the director. | tt0114906 | [R] | Heather Matarazzo, Brendan Sexton/Jr., Daria Kalinina, Matthew Faber, Angela Pietropinto, Eric Mabius | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Welcome to the Rileys | 2010 | Jake Scott | ★★★ | 111 | Nichols. Gandolfini and Leo’s marriage ground to a halt when their teenage daughter died in an auto accident years ago. When he leaves Indiana to attend a business convention in New Orleans and encounters a foulmouthed young stripper, he sees someone in need and decides it’s his job to straighten out her messy life. Low-key drama may be a stretch if one takes it literally, but it works as a metaphor about people who need to reconnect with life. It’s also a fine showcase for its three leading actors. | tt1183923 | [R] | James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo, Joe Chrest, Ally Sheedy, Eisa Davis, Tiffany Coty, Lance E | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | |
| The Well | 1951 | Leo Popkin, Russell Rouse | ★★★ | 85 | Incisive study of crowd psychology, focusing on effects on townfolk when black child goes missing. Fine score by Dimitri Tiomkin. | tt0044202 | Richard Rober, Harry Morgan, Barry Kelley, Christine Larson, Maidie Norman, Ernest Anderson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Well-Digger's Daughter | 1941 | Marcel Pagnol. | ★★★½ | 142 | Naive Day is seduced and abandoned— with child— and peasant father Raimu isn't very pleased. Both touching and hilarious. | tt0033603 | Raimu, Fernandel, Josette Day, Charpin, George Grey. | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Well-Groomed Bride | 1946 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★ | 75 | Fine cast suffers with ridiculous comedy of stubborn girl insisting on champagne for her wedding. | tt0039098 | Olivia de Havilland, Ray Milland, Sonny Tufts, James Gleason, Percy Kilbride | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Wells Fargo | 1937 | Frank Lloyd | ★★★ | 94 | McCrea, struggling to build famous express service, loses love of his wife (Dee) in process. Large-scale Western is long, but filled with action. Originally released at 115m. | tt0029752 | Joel McCrea, Frances Dee, Bob Burns, Lloyd Nolan, Ralph Morgan, Johnny Mack Brown, Porter Hall, Robert Cummings, Harry Davenport | Western | NULL | |||
| The Wendell Baker Story | 2005 | Andrew Wilson, Luke Wilson | ★½ | 102 | Woebegone vanity film for writer-star-codirector Wilson, playing a cocky Texan who takes his girlfriend (Mendes) for granted until he’s thrown in prison and she wises up. When he gets out he tries to go straight, working at a state home for the elderly run by a slimy crook (Owen W.). Nice supporting roles for Cassel, Stanton, and Kristofferson aren’t adequate compensation for sitting through this tedious trifle. Made in 2003. | tt0373445 | [PG-13] | Luke Wilson, Eva Mendes, Seymour Cassel, Eddie Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Harry Dean Stanton, Owen Wilson, Jacob Vargas, Angela Alvarado, Buck Taylor, Azura Skye, Will Ferrell | Romance, Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wendigo | 2002 | Larry Fessenden | ★★½ | 90 | Eerie, well-made chiller in which a N.Y.C. couple (Clarkson, Weber) and their eight-year-old son (Sullivan) head off for a weekend in the country, and a car accident involving a deer sets off a disturbing chain of events. Hampered only by a formulaic ending. The title refers to a Native American spirit that plays a key role in the story. | tt0275067 | [R] | Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan, John Speredakos, Christopher Wynkoop | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Wendy and Lucy | 2008 | Kelly Reichardt | ★★★ | 80 | Slice of life about a young woman on the road with her dog who gets stuck in a sleepy Oregon town. Like Reichardt’s OLD JOY, this is an exercise in minimalist filmmaking—but vivid, immediate, and heartbreaking. Based on a story by coscreenwriter Jon Raymond. Williams gives an honest, finely tuned performance. | tt1152850 | [R] | Michelle Williams, Will Patton, John Robinson, Larry Fessenden, Will Oldham, Walter Dalton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Went the Day Well? | 1942 | Alberto Cavalcanti | ★★★½ | 92 | Wartime melodrama laced with humor about Germans invading a rural British community. Too sly and well written to be dismissed as mere propaganda; a most intriguing time capsule. And remember: this story, told as a flashback at the end of WW2, was actually made at its peak, when the outcome was far from certain. Screenplay by John Dighton, Angus MacPhail, and Diana Morgan from a Graham Greene story. | tt0035429 | Leslie Banks, Elizabeth Allan, Frank Lawton, Mervyn Johns, Basil Sydney, David Farrar, Marie Lohr, C.V. France, Thora Hird | British | Thriller, War | NULL | ||
| Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God . . . Be Back by Five | 2000 | Richard Schenkman | ★★★ | 92 | Two friends spend a day wandering around the boardwalk at Coney Island in search of a childhood pal who dropped out of sight years ago. Moving series of vignettes about dreams gone astray; Schenkman (who cowrote the script with Cryer) makes perfect use of his Coney Island locations. | tt0157182 | [R] | Jon Cryer, Rick Stear, Rafael Baez, Ione Skye, Frank Whaley, Peter Gerety, Dominic Chianese |
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| WereWolf of London | 1935 | Stuart Walker | ★★½ | 75 | The first film about werewolves is dated but still effective. Scientist Hull stumbles onto curse of lycanthropy and terrorizes London as a mad killer. Oland is fun as mysterious man who warns Hull of impending doom. | tt0027194 | Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, Spring Byington | Horror | NULL | |||
| Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory | 1961 | Richard Benson (Paolo Heusch). | 💣 | 84 | Superintendent at school for problem girls doubles as a werewolf. Strictly bottom-of-the-barrel. | tt0055106 | Carl Schell, Barbara Lass, Curt Lowens, Maurice Marsac. | Italian-Austrian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Werewolf of Washington | 1973 | Milton Moses Ginsberg | ★½ | 90 | Juvenile attempt to mix Watergate horrors with the more traditional kind. For the curious only. | tt0070908 | [PG] | Dean Stockwell, Biff McGuire, Clifton James, Beeson Carroll, Thayer David, Jane House, Michael Dunn | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Werewolf | 1956 | Fred F. Sears | ★★½ | 83 | A stranger in a mountain town is revealed to be a werewolf, created by unscrupulous scientists seeking a cure for radiation poisoning. Surprisingly tense, with attractive use of Big Bear Lake locations, and a good performance by Ritch. | tt0049944 | Steven Ritch, Don Megowan, Joyce Holden, Eleanore Tanin, Harry Lauter | Horror | NULL | |||
| Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 | Dracula 2000 | 2000 | Patrick Lussier | ★★ | 105 | Miller heads to New Orleans to save a sweet young thing from the charms of cinema's most famous bloodsucker (Butler). Perhaps the only film in history that manages to get its producer's name, lead character and release date all in the official title, this modern-day take on the vampire classic shows why some characters are best left in their own era. Has a few good moments and better performances than you might expect. Followed by two direct-to-video sequels. | tt0219653 | [R] | Jonny Lee Miller, Christopher Plummer, Justine Waddell, Gerard Butler, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Esposito, Danny Masterson, Jeri Ryan, Lochlyn Munro, Sean Patrick Harris, Omar Epps, Shane West | Horror | NULL | |
| Wes Craven's New Nightmare | 1994 | Wes Craven | ★★★ | 112 | Actress Heather Langenkamp, having nightmares about the fictional murderer Freddy Krueger, gradually learns that the NIGHTMARE movies were protecting the world from a monstrous demon, who has taken on the persona of Freddy and is acting out the events in Wes Craven's new NIGHTMARE script as he writes them. And the script doesn't look like it will have a happy ending. . . . Langenkamp, Wes Craven, and others associated with the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series play themselves in this complex, sophisticated thriller. Scary, intelligent, and witty, but it's also too long, and the last twenty minutes are a bit of a letdown. Followed by FREDDY VS. JASON. | tt0111686 | [R] | Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, Miko Hughes, David Newsom, Sara Risher, Robert Shaye, Wes Craven, John Saxon, Jeffrey John Davis | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| West 11 | 1963 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 93 | Lumbering account of out-of-work Lynch agreeing to murder Portman's aunt, with the crime bringing about a reformation of his character. | tt0057677 | Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, Kathleen Harrison | British | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The West Point Story | 1950 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 107 | Silly but watchable musical about a Broadway director staging a revue at West Point. Wait till you hear 'The Military Polka.' Cagney hoofs in several numbers with Day and Mayo. | tt0043123 | James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Gene Nelson, Alan Hale/Jr., Jack Kelly, Roland Winters | Musical | NULL | |||
| West Point of the Air | 1935 | Richard Rosson | ★★½ | 100 | Master Sergeant Beery pushes reluctant son Young through Army air-training for his own satisfaction. Good cast enlivens standard drama. | tt0027196 | Wallace Beery, Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan, Lewis Stone, James Gleason, Rosalind Russell, Robert Taylor | Drama | NULL | |||
| West Side Story | 1961 | Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins | ★★★★ | 151 | Vivid film adaptation of the landmark Broadway musical, updating Romeo and Juliet story to youth-gang atmosphere of late 1950s N.Y.C. Wood and Beymer lack charisma, but everything surrounding them is great: Robbins' choreography, Leonard Bernstein- Stephen Sondheim score (including 'Maria,' 'America,' and 'Something's Coming'). Script by Ernest Lehman, from Arthur Laurents' play. Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Direction, Supporting Actor and Actress (Chakiris, Moreno), Cinematography, Costumes, Art Direction-Set Decoration, Editing, Scoring; Robbins earned a special award for his choreography. | tt0055614 | Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, Tucker Smith, David Winters, Tony Mordente, Simon Oakland, John Astin | Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The West Side Waltz | 1995 | Ernest Thompson | Average TV Movie | 100 | Eclectic comedy-drama about the bonds uniting three disparate women, neighbors on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Director Thompson's adaptation of his 1981 Broadway play, which starred Katharine Hepburn and Dorothy Loudon, puts MacLaine (with a cane) and Minnelli (with a fat suit) in those roles with gray wigs. Admirable ensemble work by the two stars, plus Grey as the other tenant, and Bates as a bag lady make this interesting viewing. | tt0114910 | Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Grey, Kathy Bates, Ernest Thompson, Robert Pastorelli, Richard Gilliland, Hal Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| West of Shanghai | 1937 | John Farrow | ★★ | 64 | Cheap programmer of Chinese warlord Karloff holding Cortez and others prisoner in a remote Chinese outpost. Reworking of THE BAD MOON. | tt0029754 | Boris Karloff, Gordon Oliver, Beverly Roberts, Ricardo Cortez, Sheila Bromley, Vladimir Sokoloff, Richard Loo | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |||
| West of the Divide | 1934 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★ | 54 | Cowhand Wayne returns to boyhood hometown, where his father was murdered and brother abducted; he poses as wanted man in hopes of trapping killer and locating long-lost little brother. Has all the rough edges and shoddy production shortcomings of humble Lone Star efforts . . . but also some good stunts by Canutt. | tt0025969 | John Wayne, Virginia Brown Faire, George Hayes, Lloyd Whitlock, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee. | Western | NULL | |||
| Westbound | 1959 | Budd Boetticher | ★★½ | 72 | Trim sagebrush tale of Yankee officer Scott organizing a stagecoach line to bring in gold from California. | tt0053441 | Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante, Andrew Duggan, Michael Pate | Western | NULL | |||
| Western Jamboree | 1938 | Ralph Staub. | ★½ | 57 | Gene helps Darien pretend to own a dude ranch to impress his daughter and tangles with bad guys who are after helium located on the property. Inferior Autry vehicle with forgettable songs and villains that match the hackneyed plot. | tt0030960 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Jean Rouverol, Esther Muir, Joe Frisco, Frank Darien, Margaret Armstrong, Harry Holman, Kermit Maynard, Jack Ingram. | Western | NULL | |||
| Western Union | 1941 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 94 | Big-scale Western, in gorgeous Technicolor, focuses on renegade attempts to thwart Western Union on the last leg of its westward expansion in the 1860s. Entertaining, if not terribly inspired. | tt0034384 | Robert Young, Randolph Scott, Dean Jagger, Virginia Gilmore, John Carradine, Slim Summerville, Chill Wills, Barton MacLane | Western | NULL | |||
| The Westerner | 1940 | William Wyler | ★★★½ | 100 | Excellent tale of land disputes getting out of hand in the old West, with Brennan's mercurial Judge Roy Bean winning him his third Oscar. Tucker's film debut. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033253 | Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan, Fred Stone, Doris Davenport, Forrest Tucker, Chill Wills, Dana Andrews, Tom Tyler, Lillian Bond | Western | NULL | |||
| Westfront 1918 | 1930 | G. W. Pabst. | ★★★½ | 97 | Pabst's first sound film is a bone-chilling, unrelentingly bleak— and ultimately pacifistic— account of German soldiers battling their French counterparts in the trenches during WW1. Without the benefit of modern special effects, Pabst creates a vividly realistic, horrifying view of war, and effectively contrasts the tedium and sudden bedlam universally experienced by soldiers. Makes an intriguing double-bill with his KAMERADSCHAFT (1931). As powerful an antiwar statement as ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. | tt0021542 | Fritz Kampers, H. J. Moebis, Claus Clausen, Gustav Püttjer, Jackie Monnier, Hanna Hoessrich, Vladimir Sokoloff. | German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Westward Ho | 1935 | Robert N. Bradbury. | ★★½ | 62 | When trail jumpers murder their parents, two brothers are separated and grow up on different tracks. Wayne is forced to organize vigilantes (black-shirted riders on white horses called The Singing Riders) to avenge his parents and find his abducted brother. Unknown baritone dubs Wayne in near-ludicrous serenade of Mannors against beautiful Lone Pine backdrop. | tt0027200 | John Wayne, Sheila Mannors (Bromley), Frank McGlynn/Jr., James Farley, Jack Curtis, Glenn Strange, Dickie Jones. | Drama, History, Western | NULL | |||
| Westward Ho the Wagons! | 1956 | William Beaudine | ★★ | 90 | Lackluster pioneer saga has Disney polish but no excitement as wagon train travels West. Four Mouseketeers from the Mickey Mouse Club appear— Karen Pendleton, Cubby O'Brien, Tommy Cole, and Doreen Tracy. | tt0049945 | Fess Parker, Kathleen Crowley, Jeff York, David Stollery, Sebastian Cabot, George Reeves, Juliette Compton, Iron Eyes Cody | Family, Western | NULL | |||
| Westward Passage | 1932 | Robert Milton | ★★ | 73 | Acting uplifts clichéd tale of Harding marrying charming but egocentric Olivier, a struggling writer. Film debut of child actress Bonita Granville. | tt0023684 | Ann Harding, Laurence Olivier, Irving Pichel, ZaSu Pitts, Juliette Compton, Irene Purcell, Don Alvarado, Florence Lake, Edgar Kennedy, Ethel Griffies | Drama | NULL | |||
| Westward the Women | 1951 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 118 | Intriguing Western with Taylor heading wagon train full of females bound for California to meet mail-order husbands. Based on a story by Frank Capra. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0044205 | Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, Beverly Dennis, John McIntire, Hope Emerson, Lenore Lonergan, Julie Bishop, Marilyn Erskine | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| Westworld | 1973 | Michael Crichton | ★★★ | 88 | Adult vacation resort of the future offers opportunity to live in various fantasy worlds serviced by robots. Benjamin chooses old-time Western town, but begins to fear when the robots begin malfunctioning. Engaging story by Crichton; followed by FUTUREWORLD. | tt0070909 | [PG] | Richard Benjamin, Yul Brynner, James Brolin, Norman Bartold, Alan Oppenheimer, Victoria Shaw, Steve Franken | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Western | NULL | ||
| Wet Hot American Summer | 2001 | David Wain | ★★★ | 97 | It's late August, 1981, on the final day of summer camp in Maine. Garofalo plays camp director trying (not too hard) to have some semblance of regimen as the counselors and campers— all of them either oversexed or undersexed— prepare to depart. Send-up of 1970s/'80s teen flicks is subversive fun, with a lot of heart amid the satire. Made by several members of MTV sketch-comedy group, The State. | tt0243655 | [R] | Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Marguerite Moreau, Paul Rudd, Zak Orth, Christopher Meloni, A.D. Miles, Molly Shannon, Gideon Jacobs, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wet Parade | 1932 | Victor Fleming | ★★½ | 120 | Extremely long diatribe about the Devil's Brew which manages to be both anti-liquor and anti-Prohibition. First half features Stone as an alcoholic Southern gentleman; second half moves North to focus on Prohibition agents (including Durante, of all people!). Strange but interesting; script by John Lee Mahin, from the Upton Sinclair novel. | tt0023685 | Walter Huston, Myrna Loy, Neil Hamilton, Lewis Stone, Dorothy Jordan, Robert Young, Jimmy Durante, Wallace Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wetbacks | 1956 | Hank McCune | ★½ | 89 | Draggy tale of California skipper Bridges contending with baddies who force him to smuggle peasants into U.S. 'Great Gildersleeve' Harold Peary plays a knife-wielding Mexican heavy! | tt0049946 | Lloyd Bridges, Nancy Gates, John Hoyt, Barton MacLane | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Wetherby | 1985 | David Hare | ★★½ | 97 | Uninvited guest shows up for dinner at a Yorkshire schoolteacher's, then returns the next day to blow his brains out. Writer David Hare's first film as director has some excellent performances and occasionally biting dialogue but is far too self-consciously gloomy. Richardson, radiant as the younger Redgrave in the flashbacks, is real-life daughter of Vanessa and director Tony Richardson. | tt0090310 | [R] | Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Tim McInnerny, Suzanna Hamilton, Tom Wilkinson | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Whale Rider | 2003 | Niki Caro | ★★★½ | 101 | Contemporary retelling of an ancient Maori legend in which a young girl must go against all odds— and tradition— to prove to her grandfather that she is a natural leader. Film's title indicates where the picture is headed, but that doesn't diminish its inspirational tone. Powered by a thrilling debut performance by Castle-Hughes, who never strikes a false note. Shot on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island, this is a family film in the best sense of the term, with standout cinematography and musical score. Based on the book by Witi Ihimaera. | tt0298228 | [PG-13] | Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis | New Zealand | Drama, Family | NULL | |
| The Whales of August | 1987 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★★½ | 90 | Two elderly sisters live together in a cottage in Maine, with ever-patient Gish forced to care for blind and irascible Davis . . . who may be turning senile. Sothern is their ebullient friend and neighbor, Carey their veteran handyman, and Price a courtly Russian émigré who works his charms on the ladies; they're all terrific, but Gish and Davis dominate the film, a lifetime of movie memories in each classic face. An exquisitely delicate film, adapted by David Berry from his play, and beautifully directed by Anderson (in his American debut). Tisha Sterling, Sothern's real-life daughter, plays Sothern as a young woman in opening scene. Gish's and Sothern's last film. | tt0094315 | Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, Harry Carey/Jr., Margaret Ladd, Tisha Sterling, Mary Steenburgen | Drama | NULL | |||
| What About Bob? | 1991 | Frank Oz | ★★★ | 99 | Phobic patient Murray pursues pompous psychiatrist Dreyfuss to his vacation retreat, where he ingratiates himself with the shrink's family— and drives the doctor crazy. Very funny outing, with Murray and Dreyfuss approaching the relationship of the Road Runner and the Coyote. Only at the very end does it succumb to silliness. | tt0103241 | [PG] | Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, Julie Hagerty, Charlie Korsmo, Kathryn Erbe, Tom Aldredge, Susan Willis, Roger Bowen, Fran Brill, Doris Belack | Comedy | NULL | ||
| What Alice Found | 2003 | A. Dean Bell | ★★½ | 96 | Young woman without much of a future meets a seemingly friendly couple (Ivey and Raymond) at a gas station and soon becomes part of their surprising, somewhat seedy lifestyle. Best not to know too much about this extremely low-budget film and let it take you into its well-defined world of trailer trash roaming the South. Very explicit sexual situations (not to mention rough, digital camerawork) make this drama an acquired taste, but Ivey has the role of a lifetime and she runs with it. | tt0343172 | [R] | Judith Ivey, Bill Raymond, Emily Grace, Jane Lincoln Taylor, Justin Parkinson, Tim Hayes, Lucas Papaelias, Katheryn Winnick | Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| What Became of Jack and Jill? | 1972 | Bill Bain. | ★★½ | 93 | Game attempt at detailing modern day, no-holds-barred love affair twisted by intrusion of grandmother; defeated by smug script, odd point of view. | tt0069494 | [PG] | Vanessa Howard, Paul Nicholas, Mona Washbourne, Peter Copley, Peter Jeffrey. | British | Horror | NULL | |
| What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | 1966 | Blake Edwards | ★★★ | 119 | A not too funny but quite pleasant film about group of misfit American soldiers trying to tame wacky Italian town into surrender. Written by William Peter Blatty; O'Connor's blustery performance led to his being cast in All in the Family. | tt0061176 | James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Sergio Fantoni, Aldo Ray, Harry Morgan, Carroll O'Connor, Leon Askin, Giovanna Ralli | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| What Do You Say to a Naked Lady? | 1970 | Allen Funt | ★★★ | 90 | Amusing risqué Candid Camera effort. Accent is on sex, and some of the reactions to stunts, and queries, are hilarious. Look for Richard Roundtree! | tt0066559 | [R] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| What Doesn’t Kill You | Real Men Cry | 2008 | Brian Goodman | ★★★ | 100 | Two boys grow to manhood in South Boston doing errands for a local racketeer, but when one of them tries to go straight for the sake of his family he faces the greatest challenge of his life. Strong performances by Hawke and especially Ruffalo make this tough movie well worth seeing. Cowritten by Wahlberg, Paul T. Murray, and first-time director Goodman, who also costars as Pat Kelly—and lived this story. | tt1133991 | [R] | Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet, Will Lyman, Brian Goodman, Donnie Wahlberg, Angela Featherstone | Drama, Crime | NULL | |
| What Dreams May Come | 1998 | Vincent Ward | 💣 | 113 | Off-putting gobbledygook about a man who loses his kids in a car accident, then dies himself, and tries to reach out to his loving, grieving wife on earth. Despite its pedigree (a novel by Richard Matheson, a good director and cast), this film fails to evoke any tangible emotions. It just doesn't work. Its elaborate (in fact, overelaborate) special effects won an Oscar. | tt0120889 | [PG-13] | Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding/Jr., Annabella Sciorra, Max von Sydow, Rosalind Chao, Matt Salinger, Werner Herzog, Lucinda Jenney | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? | 1969 | Lee H. Katzin | ★★★ | 101 | Eccentric Page stays wealthy by murdering her housekeepers, stealing their savings. Gordon hires on as next 'victim,' trying to solve missing-persons mystery. Played to the hilt; most enjoyable. | tt0065206 | [M] | Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | 1962 | Robert Aldrich | ★★★½ | 132 | Far-fetched, thoroughly engaging black comedy of two former movie stars; Joan's a cripple at the mercy of demented sister Baby Jane Hudson (Davis). Bette has a field day in her macabre characterization, with Buono a perfect match. Triggered a decade-long spate of older female stars in horror films. Script by Lukas Heller, from Henry Farrell's novel. Remade for TV in 1991 with Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave. | tt0056687 | Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Marjorie Bennett, Anna Lee | Drama, Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| What Every Woman Knows | 1934 | Gregory La Cava | ★★★½ | 92 | Charming, funny adaptation of James Barrie’s play about a woman who is “the brains” behind her well-meaning but none-to-bright politician husband. Beautifully acted and surprisingly contemporary. Filmed before in 1921. | tt0025973 | Helen Hayes, Brian Aherne, Madge Evans, Lucile Watson, Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What Goes Up | 2009 | Jonathan Glatzer | ★★ | 107 | Interesting but odd, sometimes off-putting film, set in 1986, about a cynical N.Y.C. newspaper reporter who goes to New Hampshire to write about a teacher who’s traveling on the NASA Space Shuttle. Instead he falls in with a group of misfit high school kids who are mourning the death of a teacher who was their champion—and hero. Well acted but it’s uncertain what the point is supposed to be. | tt0832318 | [R] | Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Molly Price, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Peck, Molly Shannon, Max Hoffman, Andrea Brooks, Ingrid Nilson, Laura Konechny | Drama | NULL | ||
| What Happened Was . . . | 1993 | Tom Noonan | ★★★ | 91 | Revealing, extremely well-acted two-character drama follows what happens to two lonely, mismatched coworkers as they experience their first date. Original film is set in real time, on one set; anyone who's ever gone on a first date will surely relate to this material. Actor Noonan also scripted and made his directorial debut with this impressive film. | tt0111689 | [R] | Tom Noonan, Karen Sillas | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What Happens in Vegas | 2008 | Tom Vaughan | ★★½ | 99 | Super-organized Diaz, dumped by her fiancé, and irresponsible Kutcher, fired by his father from the family business, both seek escape in Las Vegas—and wind up married to one another after a drunken evening. But dissolving the union becomes a challenge when a judge orders them to live together for six months. About what you’d expect, especially as the duo engage in dirty tricks, but as the film goes on it becomes more benign and entertaining—boosted by the two stars’ engaging personalities. | tt1033643 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Jason Sudeikis, Treat Williams, Deirdre O’Connell, Michelle Krusiec, Zach Galifianakis, Queen Latifah, Dennis Farina, Dennis Miller | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What Have I Done to Deserve This? | 1985 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★ | 100 | Off-the-wall black comedy about an off-the-wall housewife (delightfully played by Maura) and her various trials and escapades. A fresh, original film, featuring a feminist heroine of classic proportions. | tt0088461 | Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave, Veronica Forque, Kiti Manver | Spanish | Comedy | NULL | ||
| What Lies Beneath | 2000 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★½ | 126 | Happily married woman senses the presence of a ghost in her idyllic Vermont home— could her husband have anything to do with it? Slickly made, with plenty of scares, but after a red-herring subplot is over, the ultimate story twist doesn't make sense . . . and there are at least three endings! | tt0161081 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diana Scarwid, Miranda Otto, James Remar, Joe Morton, Amber Valletta, Wendy Crewson | Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Drama | NULL | ||
| What Love Is | 2007 | Mars Callahan | ★½ | 88 | On Valentine's Day, Gooding is dumped by his live-in lover. He commiserates with four of his pals, each of whom is a stereotype; they're eventually joined by five equally one-dimensional women. This loud, trite mess of a movie appears to have been edited with a hacksaw. It holds your interest . . . but not for the right reasons. Callahan also scripted, and casts himself as the most grounded of the men; Lillard chews the scenery as the most misogynistic. | tt0439876 | [R] | Cuba Gooding, Jr. Matthew Lillard, Sean Astin, Mars Callahan, Andrew Daly, Gina Gershon, Anne Heche, Tamala Jones, Shiri Appleby, Jud Tylor, Terrence “T.C.” Carson. | Comedy | NULL | ||
| What Makes a Family | 2001 | Maggie Greenwald | Above Average TV Movie | 98 | Empathetic drama based on a true story about a gay woman in Florida fighting for custody of the daughter born to her now-deceased partner, whose parents have taken the child with the court's blessings. Told in flashback as the woman pleads her case to an attorney (Goldberg). Shields gives an excellent performance alongside the always-terrific Jones. A heartrending tale well told. | tt0251474 | Brooke Shields, Anne Meara, Cherry Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Al Waxman, Melanie Nicholls-King, Roberta Maxwell, Dean McDermott | Drama | NULL | |||
| What Next, Corporal Hargrove? | 1945 | Richard Thorpe | ★★½ | 95 | Hargrove (Walker) is in France with con-man buddy (Wynn) in OK sequel to SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE; trivial and episodic. | tt0038243 | Robert Walker, Keenan Wynn, Jean Porter, Chill Wills, Hugo Haas, William Phillips, Fred Essler, Cameron Mitchell | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| What Planet Are You From? | 2000 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 105 | Alien is sent to earth by his planet with the mandate to find a woman who will bear his child. The last thing the interplanetary visitor expects to experience is genuine love and caring. If you're a Shandling fan, you may cut this comedy more slack than others will; it's low-key and somewhat predictable, but surprisingly good-natured. Shandling cowrote the script. Janeane Garofalo appears unbilled. | tt0181151 | [R] | Garry Shandling, Annette Bening, Greg Kinnear, Ben Kingsley, Linda Fiorentino, John Goodman, Richard Jenkins, Caroline Aaron, Judy Greer, Nora Dunn, Ann Cusack, Camryn Manheim, Cathy Ladman | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| What Price Glory | 1926 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 120 | Boisterous rivalry between Capt. Flagg (McLaglen) and Sgt. Quirt (Lowe) centers on lovely Charmaine (Del Rio) when they go to France during WW1. Zesty comedy, with plenty of fireworks for lip-readers, abruptly turns grim as focus shifts to horrors of war, only to return to Flagg-Quirt hijinks for finale. Fine entertainment, from Laurence Stallings-Maxwell Anderson play; two main characters reappeared in a handful of follow-ups, none of them as good as this. Remade in 1952. | tt0017540 | Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Dolores Del Rio, William V. Mong, Phyllis Haver, Leslie Fenton, Barry Norton | Comedy, Drama, War | NULL | |||
| What Price Glory | 1952 | John Ford | ★★½ | 111 | Classic silent film becomes shallow Cagney-Dailey vehicle of battling Army men Flagg and Quirt in WW1 France. | tt0045323 | James Cagney, Corinne Calvet, Dan Dailey, Robert Wagner, Marisa Pavan, James Gleason | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| What Price Hollywood? | 1932 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 88 | Soused movie director Sherman helps waitress Bennett fulfill her ambition to become a movie star— while he sinks into alcoholic ruin. Surprisingly sharp-eyed look at Hollywood— both comic and dramatic— that served as inspiration for later A STAR IS BORN. From a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns. | tt0023686 | Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, Neil Hamilton, Gregory Ratoff, Brooks Benedict | Drama | NULL | |||
| What Price Murder | 1958 | Henri Verneuil | ★★½ | 105 | Well-turned murder mystery of hubby and secretary planning to do away with wife. | tt0051132 | Henri Vidal, Mylene Demongeot, Isa Miranda, Alfred Adam | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| What Time is it There? | 2001 | Ming-liang Tsai | ★★ | 116 | Street vendor falls for a girl on her way to Paris and sets about changing all the clocks in his home city of Taipei to French time as he thinks only of her. Odd, extremely drawn-out premise shows off Tsai's directorial talents but at the end is a bit of a 'so-what.' Look for legendary Truffaut star Léaud playing himself. | tt0269746 | Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Yi-ching Lu, Tien Miao, Jean-Pierre Léaud | Taiwanese-French | Drama | NULL | ||
| What Waits Below | 1985 | Don Sharp | ★★ | 88 | Disappointing fantasy thriller of archaeologists stumbling upon a lost race of Lemurians living in South American caves. Effects aren't very special; a good cast is wasted. | tt0088392 | [PG] | Robert Powell, Lisa Blount, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Johnson, Anne Heywood, Liam Sullivan | Action | NULL | ||
| What Women Want | 2000 | Nancy Meyers | ★★★ | 126 | Entertaining comedy about a cocky, chauvinistic ad agency exec who magically acquires the ability to hear what women are thinking. He puts this to especially good use with his new superior (Hunt), whose job he was in line to get. Smart, likable film lacks only a solid punchline. Bette Midler appears unbilled. | tt0207201 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Mark Feuerstein, Lauren Holly, Ashley Johnson, Alan Alda, Judy Greer, Valerie Perrine, Delta Burke | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What Would Jesus Buy? | 2007 | Rob VanAlkemade | ★★½ | 90 | Fitfully fascinating documentary about Bill Talen, aka “Reverend Billy,” a flamboyant preacher/performance artist who leads members of his Manhattan-based Church of Stop Shopping on a cross-country, anti-consumerism crusade against what he calls the “Shopocalypse.” Their guerrilla-style protests in chain stores, theme parks, and mega-malls are amusingly provocative. But the film devotes too much time to other issues (rising consumer credit debt, conditions in Third World sweatshops, etc.) that are covered in greater detail in better documentaries. | tt0939681 | [PG] | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| What a Girl Wants | 2003 | Dennie Gordon | ★★½ | 100 | Teenage girl (Bynes), raised by her bohemian mother in N.Y.C., travels to England to meet her father, a British lord, for the first time. While her arrival disrupts his campaign to run for Parliament, he wants her to stay— unlike his scheming fiancée and her snooty daughter. Cute comedy for adolescents showcases the perky TV star and an expert cast of adults. Remake of THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE. | tt0286788 | [PG] | Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Eileen Atkins, Anna Chancellor, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver James, Christina Cole | Drama, Comedy, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| What a Life | 1939 | Theodore Reed | ★★½ | 75 | The bittersweet trials and tribulations of Henry Aldrich, the world's biggest patsy and the world's worst student. Mildly likable schooldays saga. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett adapted Clifford Goldsmith's Broadway play, which led to the Henry Aldrich series. | tt0032123 | Jackie Cooper, Betty Field, John Howard, Janice Logan, Vaughan Glaser, Lionel Stander, Hedda Hopper, James Corner, Dorothy Stickney, Lucien Littlefield, Sidney Miller | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| What a Way to Go! | 1964 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 111 | Lavish, episodic black comedy by Betty Comden and Adolph Green stars MacLaine as jinx who marries succession of men, each of whom promptly dies, leaving her even wealthier than before. Series of movie parodies is amusing, and performances are uniformly charming, especially Newman as obsessed painter and Kelly as egotistical film star. Based on a story by Gwen Davis. One of the dancers on boat deck is Teri Garr. | tt0058743 | Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, Bob Cummings, Dick Van Dyke, Reginald Gardiner, Margaret Dumont, Fifi D'Orsay | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What a Woman! | 1943 | Irving Cummings | ★★½ | 94 | Literary agent Russell sells film rights to spicy novel, and unwillingly becomes involved with its bookish author (Parker) in this lightweight comedy vehicle. | tt0036526 | Rosalind Russell, Brian Aherne, Willard Parker, Alan Dinehart, Ann Savage | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What the Bleep Do We Know!? | 2004 | Mark Vicente, Betsy Chasse, William Arntz. | ★★½ | 108 | Curious, ambitious narrative-documentary hybrid attempts to explore the physical, the metaphysical, and the nature of reality. As various real-life experts discuss quantum physics, a fictional photographer (Matlin) sets out to probe the essence of her being. Some surrealistic animation sequences are thrown in for good measure. Filled with imagination, good intentions, and plenty of New Age philosophizing, this little film understandably became a word-of-mouth success. The fictional sequences don't work nearly as well as the provocative nonfiction content. Aka WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW!? | tt0399877 | Marlee Matlin, Elaine Hendrix, Barry Newman, Robert Bailey/Jr., Armin Shimerman, John Ross Bowie. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| What to Expect When You're Expecting | 2012 | Kirk Jones | ★★½ | 110 | Overlong, multi-character comedy about the pressures and problems of pregnancy, adoption, and impending parenthood featuring a likable (and exceptionally attractive) cast. Rings hollow at first but gains traction as the script eschews cheap laughs and hews closer to real-life, relatable experiences. "Inspired by" the best-selling nonfiction book of the same name by Heidi Murkoff. | tt1586265 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Ben Falcone, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro, Joe Manganiello, Rob Huebel, Tom Lennon, Amir Talai, Rebel Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kim Fields, Genesis Rodriguez | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What's Cooking? | 2000 | Gurinder Chadha | ★★½ | 109 | Mosaic of four ethnic families— black, Asian, Latino, Jewish— preparing for Thanksgiving in L.A., and dealing with a variety of domestic crises. Soapy at times, but the film has heart and occasional insights; bolstered by an excellent cast. | tt0197096 | [PG-13] | Alfre Woodard, Mercedes Ruehl, Joan Chen, Kyra Sedgwick, Julianna Margulies, Dennis Haysbert, A Martinez, Lainie Kazan, Maury Chaykin, Victor Rivers, Douglas Spain, Estelle Harris, Will Yun Lee | U.S.-British | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| What's Eating Gilbert Grape | 1993 | Lasse Hallström | ★★½ | 117 | Middling slice-of-life about a young man in a dead-end town saddled with the responsibility of caring for his retarded younger brother, and depressed by his obese mother, who hasn't left the house in seven years. You keep thinking something significant is going to happen, but nothing ever does; still, there are some poignant vignettes and first-rate performances (especially by newcomer Cates, as the mom). | tt0108550 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Darlene Cates, Laura Harrington, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Kevin Tighe, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Penelope Branning | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What's Good for the Goose | 1969 | Menahem Golan | 💣 | 105 | Weak, unfunny, sex romp wherein the object is to score as often as possible. Skip it. | tt0065205 | [R] | Norman Wisdom, Sally Geeson, Sally Bazely, Sarah Atkinson, Terence Alexander | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| What's Love Got to Do With It | 1993 | Brian Gibson | ★★★ | 119 | Highly charged musical bio of singer Tina Turner, who joined r&b musician Ike Turner as a naive teenager and went on to become a dynamic performer— all the while suffering various forms of abuse at home. Vivid, immediate, and persuasive (though Tina's personality is never explored, and she's painted as something of a saint), but the real attraction here is the phenomenal performances of Bassett and Fishburne as Tina and Ike. Based on I, Tina by Turner and Kurt Loder. | tt0108551 | [R] | Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Jenifer Lewis, Rae'ven Kelly, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Chi, Khandi Alexander, Penny Johnson, Robert Guy Miranda, Pamela Tyson | Drama | NULL | ||
| What's New, Pussycat? | 1965 | Clive Donner | ★★ | 108 | Disturbed fashion editor O'Toole goes to psychiatrist Sellers for help with his romantic problems, but Sellers is even crazier than he. Woody Allen's first feature as actor and writer, and like many of his comedies, one sits through a lot of misfired gags to get to a few undeniable gems. Hit title song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. | tt0059903 | Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What's So Bad About Feeling Good? | 1968 | George Seaton | ★★½ | 94 | Amiable attempt at old-fashioned Capraesque comedy, with pixillated toucan spreading good feeling throughout N.Y.C. Doesn't hit bull's-eye, but has its moments. Written by Seaton and Robert Pirosh. Look for Cleavon Little, Moses Gunn. | tt0063799 | George Peppard, Mary Tyler Moore, Dom DeLuise, John McMartin, Don Stroud, Nathaniel Frey, Susan Saint James, Charles Lane, Thelma Ritter | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What's Up, Doc? | 1972 | Peter Bogdanovich | ★★★ | 94 | Modern-day screwball comedy with impish Streisand making life miserable for stuffy musicologist O'Neal and his fiancée (Kahn, in feature debut), becoming involved in mixup over stolen jewels. Great comic chase scenes highlight overpowering farce, Bogdanovich's bouquet to 1930s Hollywood (and BRINGING UP BABY in particular). Look for John Byner and Randy Quaid at the hotel banquet. | tt0069495 | [G] | Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Kenneth Mars, Austin Pendleton, Madeline Kahn, Sorrell Booke, Michael Murphy, Liam Dunn, John Hillerman, M. Emmet Walsh | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| What's Up, Tiger Lily? | 1966 | Woody Allen, Senkichi Taniguchi | ★★★ | 80 | Compiled by Woody Allen. Japanese version directed by Senkichi Taniguchi. Slick Japanese imitation James Bond movie (KAGI NO KAG, or KEY OF KEYS, released in 1964) is redubbed by Allen into one long, very funny joke. The object of international intrigue is a valued egg-salad recipe, and the main characters are named Phil Moscowitz, Terri Yaki, and Suki Yaki. Music by The Lovin' Spoonful (who also appear in the film). One of the new voices is Louise Lasser. | tt0061177 | Tatsuya Mihashi, Miya Hana, Eiko Wakabayashi, Tadao Nakamura, Woody Allen, China Lee | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What's Your Number? | 2011 | Mark Mylod | ★★★ | 106 | Single woman (Faris) who realizes she's slept with more men than any of her friends (or the national average) decides she can't increase her "number," so she tracks down all her exes to see if they're worth reevaluating. Helping her is her brash neighbor (Evans), who's lost count of how many women he's bedded. Smart, bawdy, briskly funny comedy, charged by Faris and Evans' comedic savvy and likability. Faris' real-life husband Pratt plays Disgusting Donald. Based on Karyn Bosnak's book 20 Times a Lady. | tt0770703 | [R] | Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Dave Annable, Joel McHale, Ed Begley /Jr., Heather Burns, Eliza Coupe, Kate Simses, Tika Sumpter, Chris Pratt, Mike Vogel, Martin Freeman, Andy Samberg, Thomas Lennon, Zachary Quinto, Anthony Mackie, Aziz Ansari | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| What's the Matter with Helen? | 1971 | Curtis Harrington | ★★★ | 101 | Campy murder tale set in 1930s. Reynolds and Winters try to erase their sordid past, start anew in Hollywood with school for talented kids. Good fun; Debbie ideal in period setting. Written by Henry Farrell. | tt0067975 | [PG] | Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Agnes Moorehead, Micheál MacLiammóir | Crime | NULL | ||
| What's the Worst That Could Happen? | 2001 | Sam Weisman | ★★½ | 95 | Uninspired comedy about a thief who has the tables turned on him by his latest 'victim,' crooked business tycoon DeVito— and swears vengeance at any cost. Good cast does what it can with a mediocre script, based on the comic crime novel by Donald E. Westlake. | tt0161083 | [PG-13] | Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Glenne Headly, Carmen Ejogo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller, Nora Dunn, Richard Schiff, William Fichtner, Ana Gasteyer, Siobhan Fallon | Comedy | NULL | ||
| What- No Beer? | 1933 | Edward Sedgwick | ★★ | 66 | Mediocre Prohibition comedy about dimwitted bootleggers Keaton and Durante; plot makes no sense, Durante is incredibly overbearing. Best scenes involve Buster and leading lady Barry. Keaton's last starring feature in America. | tt0024762 | Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Roscoe Ates, Phyllis Barry, John Miljan, Edward Brophy, Henry Armetta | Comedy | NULL | |||
| What? | Diary of Forbidden Dreams | 1973 | Roman Polanski | ★★½ | 112 | Ribald comedy about gorgeous innocent who stays at mansion of eccentric millionaire and can't understand all the commotion she causes. Change-of-pace for Polanski is agreeable, if not outstanding; good cast— especially underrated Rome— keeps things bubbling. Later cut to 94m. and reissued as DIARY OF FORBIDDEN DREAMS. | tt0070913 | [R] | Sydne Rome, Marcello Mastroianni, Hugh Griffith, Romolo Valli, Guido Alberti, Roman Polanski | Italian | Comedy | NULL |
| Whatever | 1998 | Susan Skoog | ★★★ | 112 | Sensitive, at times disturbing, portrait of a teenage girl (Weil) coming of age circa 1981, dealing with sex, drugs, and her reckless party-girl best friend (Morgan). Has the texture of a Joyce Carol Oates short story and features a terrific performance by Weil. Written by the director. Good period soundtrack featuring Iggy Pop, Blondie, The Ramones, and The Pretenders. | tt0140688 | [R] | Liza Weil, Chad Morgan, Kathryn Rossetter, Frederic Forrest, Gary Wolf, Dan Montano | Drama | NULL | ||
| Whatever It Takes | 2000 | David Raynr (Hubbard) | ★★ | 94 | Latest screen variation on Cyrano de Bergerac is just one more teen-comedy-of-the-week. When dumb jock Franco can't get to first base with Sokoloff, he asks her platonic next-door neighbor (West) to intervene and supply him romantic 'material.' As reward, he'll set up his newfound cohort with his school-dish cousin (O'Keefe)— who, in typical bad-movie fashion, is much less attractive than the next-door gal-pal. Movie is a bust down the middle, but director Raynr has some fun around the edges. | tt0202402 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Marla Sokoloff, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Shane West, Aaron Paul, Richard Schiff, Julia Sweeney | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Whatever Works | 2009 | Woody Allen | ★★ | 92 | David (of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame) is no actor, but he does his best as a N.Y.C. misanthrope who relates his unusual story directly to us: alone and happy to be (since he feels superior to everyone around him), he takes in a homeless waif from Mississippi (Wood) and, to his surprise, actually begins to like the simpleminded girl. Typical Allenesque fable is off-putting at first, and may remain so for those who aren’t attuned to Woody Allen . . . but finds warmth and optimism by the time of the fade-out. | tt1178663 | [PG-13] | Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley, Jr., Michael McKean, Conleth Hill, Henry Cavill, John Gallagher, Jr., Jessica Hecht, Carolyn McCormick, Christopher Evan Welch | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Whats Just Happened | 2008 | Barry Levinson | ★★★ | 104 | Hotshot producer De Niro attempts to maintain appearances while juggling demands of studio heads, wobbly investors, ex- (or soon to be ex-) wives and childish, tantrum-causing stars in this darkly funny tale that answers the question, “What does a producer do?” Cutting so close to the bone it could only have been scripted by one who has walked the walk, this was based on producer Art Linson’s autobiographical book. Should hold special appeal for those who appreciate Hollywood’s ability to take itself to task while providing a few, albeit uncomfortable, laughs. | tt0486674 | [R] | Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, John Turturro, Robin Wright Penn, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Stewart, Michael Wincott, Bruce Willis | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wheeler Dealers | 1963 | Arthur Hiller | ★★★ | 106 | Funny, fast-moving spoof of Texas millionaires who play with investments just for fun. Garner also catches Lee Remick along the way. | tt0057681 | Lee Remick, James Garner, Jim Backus, Phil Harris, Shelley Berman, Chill Wills, John Astin, Louis Nye | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wheels of Terror | 1990 | Chris Cain | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Surprisingly well-done thriller, a second cousin to Spielberg’s DUEL. Single mom driving a school bus chases a demonic black sedan through a mountainous Arizona town to save her daughter from the child molester within. Nonstop action supplied by director Cain, in his TV debut, and writer Alan B. McElroy. Made for cable. | tt0100917 | Joanna Cassidy, Marcie Leeds | Thriller, Horror | NULL | |||
| When Brendan Met Trudy | 2000 | Kieron J. Walsh | ★★★ | 95 | Charming bit of blarney about a pair of misfit lovers: a straitlaced boys' school teacher and a free-spirited woman who just happens to be a cat burglar. Brendan's other love is movies, which results in some clever homages to BREATHLESS, THE SEARCHERS, and SUNSET BLVD. McDonald and Montgomery are appealing screwball leads. Written by Roddy Doyle. | tt0220157 | Peter McDonald, Flora Montgomery, Marie Mullen, Pauline McLynn, Maynard Eziashi | Irish-British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| When Comedy Was King | 1960 | Robert Youngson | ★★★★ | 81 | Compiled by Robert Youngson. Second Youngson compilation of silent comedy clips has many classic scenes. Chaplin, Keaton, L & H, Keystone Kops, Charley Chase, and others shine in this outstanding film. | tt0054468 | Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Ben Turpin, Fatty Arbuckle, Wallace Beery, Gloria Swanson | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| When Did You Last See Your Father? | 2007 | Anand Tucker | 92 | Firth attends to his aged father, now a bedridden invalid, but can’t help thinking about his teenage years when everything his father did caused him embarrassment—including the old man’s womanizing. The acting is fine, and the sense of time and place vivid, but the movie overall is bland and uninvolving. Based on Blake Morrison’s bestselling memoir. | tt0829098 | [PG-13] | Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Matthew Beard, Sarah Lancashire, Elaine Cassidy | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth | 1970 | Val Guest. | ★★★ | 96 | Fast-paced, enjoyable prehistoric actioner with Vetri and Hawdon lovers ostracized by respective tribes. Beautiful locations, very good special effects by Jim Danforth, and honorable attempt to simulate period, although Vetri (Playboy's 1968 Playmate of the Year— then known as Angela Dorian) seems to have ordered her wardrobe from Frederick's of Bedrock. Story by J. G. Ballard. | tt0066561 | [G] | Victoria Vetri, Robin Hawdon, Patrick Allen, Drewe Henley, Imogen Hassall, Magda Konopka, Patrick Holt. | British | Romance, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| When Do We Eat? | 2006 | Salvador Litvak | ★★ | 93 | Oy vey! Misbegotten, over-the-top ethnic comedy about a disastrous Passover Seder meal has lots of dysfunction and shouting but little heart. The family gathering goes terribly awry when a troublemaking son slips a hallucinogenic drug into dad's drink, his wife invites a mysterious man for dinner, and the kids run amok. Mildly amusing at times, but so frenetically paced you may find yourself thinking, 'When do we leave?' | tt0392908 | [R] | Michael Lerner, Lesley Ann Warren, Jack Klugman, Meredith Scott Lynn, Shiri Appleby, Milli Avital, Ben Feldman, Cynda Williams | Comedy | NULL | ||
| When Eight Bells Toll | 1971 | Etienne Perier | ★★ | 94 | Alistair MacLean adapted his best-seller of gold piracy at sea, but the production lacks flash and finesse and Hopkins is too disagreeable a hero. | tt0067976 | [PG] | Anthony Hopkins, Robert Morley, Nathalie Delon, Jack Hawkins, Ferdy Mayne, Corin Redgrave, Derek Bond | British | Mystery, Crime | NULL | |
| When Father Was Away on Business | 1985 | Emir Kusturica | ★★★½ | 135 | Captivating story about a family's efforts to get along when the head of the household is sent to a labor camp for making an indiscreet remark. Told mostly through the eyes of a six-year-old boy (D'E Bartolli), whose concerns and flights of fancy are irresistible. Set in Sarajevo in the early 1950s. | tt0089748 | [R] | Moreno D'E Bartolli, Miki Manojlovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Mustafa Nadarevic, Mira Furian, Andrew Kopperud | Yugoslavian | Drama | NULL | |
| When Harry Met Sally . . . | 1989 | Rob Reiner | ★★★½ | 95 | Delightful Woody Allen-ish romantic comedy set in N.Y.C. about a man and woman who carve out a genuine friendship, and struggle to keep it from becoming a romantic attachment. Full of great dialogue and knowing remarks about the way men and women view each other. Screenplay by Nora Ephron (with some distinctive Billy Crystalisms throughout). Director Reiner's mother has the movie's single funniest line, at the end of the delicatessen scene. Later adapted for the stage. | tt0098635 | [R] | Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby, Steven Ford, Lisa Jane Persky, Michelle Nicastro, Harley Kozak | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| When Hell Broke Loose | 1958 | Kenneth G. Crane | ★★ | 78 | Tired WW2 melodrama with con artist Bronson joining the Army to avoid prison; he romances Rensing, whose brother (Jaeckel) is a Nazi terrorist intent on assassinating Gen. Eisenhower. | tt0052387 | Charles Bronson, Violet Rensing, Richard Jaeckel, Arvid Nelson, Eddie Foy III | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| When I Grow Up | 1951 | Michael Kanin | ★★★ | 80 | Effective low-key study of the generation gap, with Driscoll most appealing as a boy who finds that he and his grandfather have much in common. | tt0044206 | Bobby Driscoll, Robert Preston, Martha Scott, Sherry Jackson, Charley Grapewin, Harry Morgan | Drama | NULL | |||
| When My Baby Smiles at Me | 1948 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 98 | Strictly routine musical about burlesque team that breaks up when one member gets job on Broadway. Eventually they're reteamed, of course. Based on famous play Burlesque. Filmed before as DANCE OF LIFE and SWING HIGH, SWING LOW. | tt0040962 | Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Jack Oakie, June Havoc, James Gleason, Richard Arlen | Musical | NULL | |||
| When Night Is Falling | 1995 | Patricia Rozema | ★★★ | 96 | Though essentially soft-focus lesbian eye-candy, this is also a tremendously entertaining retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Camille (Bussières), a professor at a Calvinist college engaged to marry a fellow teacher of religion (Czerny), falls for Petra (Crawford), an uninhibited circus performer. The scenes of circus erotica resemble Red Shoe Diaries rather than Fellini, but the film's attitude is refreshingly tongue-in-cheek. (Also, both women are stunners and the story's sweet.) | tt0114916 | [R] | Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford, Henry Czerny, Don McKellar, Tracy Wright | Canadian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| When Pigs Fly | 1993 | Sara Driver | ★★½ | 94 | Charming, oddball film about a hipster musician who's visited by a couple of ghostly spirits who need to settle accounts in their lives. With his help, they do, and of course, it helps him get his own act together. Supernatural comedy-drama is vague about where it's set; it was actually shot in Germany. Music by Joe Strummer; coexecutive-produced by Jim Jarmusch. | tt0108554 | Alfred Molina, Marianne Faithfull, Seymour Cassel, Rachel Bella, Maggie O'Neill, Freddie Brooks | German-U.S.-Dutch | Comedy | NULL | ||
| When Strangers Marry | Betrayed | 1944 | William Castle | ★★★ | 67 | Cleverly directed film noir about sweet, innocent Hunter, whose new husband (Jagger) just may be a murderer. Mitchum, as her ex-boyfriend, exudes his trademark cool in his first important role. As good a B picture as you'll ever find. Reissued as BETRAYED. | tt0037458 | Robert Mitchum, Kim Hunter, Dean Jagger, Neil Hamilton, Lou Lubin, Milton Kibbee | Film-Noir, Mystery | NULL | ||
| When Time Ran Out . . . | Earth's Final Fury | 1980 | James Goldstone | 💣 | 121 | WHEN IDEAS RAN OUT, or, THE BLUBBERING INFERNO: Irwin Allen's shameless rehash of all his disaster-movie clichés, set on a Pacific island, is a monumental bore that even a volcanic eruption cannot save. Written by Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant— who were presumably well paid. Retitled EARTH'S FINAL FURY for TV. Video version runs 141m. | tt0081747 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, James Franciscus, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Ernest Borgnine, Burgess Meredith, Valentina Cortesa, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Barbara Carrera | Adventure | NULL | |
| When Tomorrow Comes | 1939 | John M. Stahl | ★★½ | 90 | Standard soapy story (by James M. Cain!) enhanced by leading players; Boyer loves Dunne, although he's already married. Remade twice as INTERLUDE. | tt0032124 | Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Barbara O'Neil, Nydia Westman, Onslow Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| When We Were Kings | 1996 | Leon Gast | ★★★½ | 92 | Highly entertaining, Oscar-winning documentary about the classic 1974 'Rumble in the Jungle' matchup in Zaire of heavyweight champions Ali and Foreman. Film chronicles the preparations for the fight, and its postponement, enabling us to learn more about The Greatest in his prime than a more conventional account could ever tell us. Full of fascinating observations from the participants as well as contemporary observers like Mailer, Plimpton, and Lee. Gast spent 23 years trying to bring this film to fruition; it was well worth the wait. | tt0118147 | [PG] | Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown, B. B. King, Spike Lee, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton | Documentary | NULL | ||
| When Will I Be Loved | 2004 | James Toback. | ★★ | 81 | On-the-make N.Y.C. bitch Campbell has taken up with obnoxious con man Weller and becomes involved in an INDECENT PROPOSAL-style scenario with Italian kazillionaire Chianese. Unlikable film is crammed with coldhearted characters who are obsessed with big bucks, sleazy sex, and endless hustling. Toback plays a Columbia University professor; Singer, Tyson, and various Toback buddies appear as themselves; and the film is book-ended by Campbell appearing nude in a shower. | tt0396271 | [R] | Neve Campbell, Fred Weller, Dominic Chianese, Karen Allen, Barry Primus, Mike Tyson, Lori Singer, James Toback. | Drama | NULL | ||
| When Willie Comes Marching Home | 1950 | John Ford | ★★½ | 82 | Schmaltzy WW2 adventures of West Virginia youth Dailey, including interlude with French underground leader Calvet. | tt0043129 | Dan Dailey, Corinne Calvet, Colleen Townsend, William Demarest, Mae Marsh | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| When Women Had Tails | 1970 | Pasquale Festa Campanile | ★½ | 110 | Cute, harmless but unfunny slapstick comedy with Berger a most attractive cavewoman. Lina Wertmuller co-wrote the screenplay. Sequel: WHEN WOMEN LOST THEIR TAILS. | tt0066268 | [R] | Senta Berger, Giuliano Gemma, Frank Wolff, Lando Buzzanca, Aldo Giuffre | Italian | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |
| When Worlds Collide | 1951 | Rudolph Maté | ★★★ | 81 | Scientist tries to convince a doubting world that Earth is in path of rogue planet. Convince yourself this could happen and you'll have fun. Special effects (including submersion of Manhattan) won Oscar for this George Pal production. Based on the novel by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie. | tt0044207 | Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hanson, Larry Keating, John Hoyt | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | 1979 | Milton Katselas | ★½ | 118 | Stagy, unpleasant film of Mark Medoff's play about a psycho terrorizing a disparate group of people in roadside diner. Has its moments, but not enough to justify nearly two hours of viewing. | tt0080129 | [R] | Marjoe Gortner, Hal Linden, Lee Grant, Peter Firth, Candy Clark, Pat Hingle, Stephanie Faracy, Audra Lindley, Bill McKinney | Drama | NULL | ||
| When You're in Love | 1937 | Robert Riskin | ★★½ | 104 | Overlong but enjoyable vehicle for opera star Moore who 'hires' Grant as her husband. Most 98m. TV prints are missing film's highlight, where star sings 'Minnie the Moocher.' Celebrated screenwriter Riskin's only fling at directing. | tt0029761 | Grace Moore, Cary Grant, Aline MacMahon, Thomas Mitchell, Emma Dunn, Louise Brooks | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| When a Feller Needs a Friend | 1932 | Harry Pollard | ★★ | 67 | Mediocre tearjerker about a lame boy whose overprotective parents keep him from playing with the neighborhood kids . . . and his rambunctious uncle (Sale) who gives him gumption and shows him a good time. | tt0023688 | Jackie Cooper, Charles 'Chic' Sale, Ralph Graves, Dorothy Peterson, Helen Parrish, Donald Haines | Drama | NULL | |||
| When a Man Loves a Woman | 1994 | Luis Mandoki | ★★½ | 125 | Wife and mother of two is forced to deal with the fact that she's an alcoholic . . . but her husband soon learns that he has as much to deal with as she does. Ryan gives a standout performance in this surprisingly frank exploration of the trauma this kind of disease can cause to a family. The film succeeds more as tract than entertainment, however. | tt0111693 | [R] | Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Ellen Burstyn, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Lauren Tom, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eugene Roche, Gail Strickland | Drama | NULL | ||
| When a Stranger Calls | 1979 | Fred Walton | ★½ | 97 | Psycho murders two children after terrorizing their babysitter, returns seven years later to extend his crime. Unpleasant, improbable melodrama falls apart after OK opening 11 minutes. Based on a short subject called THE SITTER. Followed, over a decade later, by a TV sequel. | tt0080130 | [R] | Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Colleen Dewhurst, Tony Beckley, Rachel Roberts, Ron O'Neal | Horror, Thriller | NULL | ||
| When a Stranger Calls Back | 1993 | Fred Walton | Average TV Movie | 100 | OK companion piece to writer/director Walton's 1979 bedeviled-babysitter chiller, but like the earlier one it falls apart after a terrific 20-odd minute opening sequence, bringing the viewer back for the wrap-up. Kane and Durning repeat their earlier roles. Made for cable. | tt0108556 | Carol Kane, Charles Durning, Jill Schoelen, Gene Lythgow, Karen Austin | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |||
| When a Woman Loves | 1959 | Heinosuke Gosho | ★★½ | 97 | Utilizing flashbacks, film recalls love affair between Saburi and older man Arima, a war correspondent; sentimental weeper with almost enough class. | tt0053431 | Ineko Arima, Shin Saburi, Yatsuko Tan-ami, Nobuko Otowa | Japanese |
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| When in Rome | 1952 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 78 | Tasteful yet unrestrained tale of con artist Douglas disguising himself as priest attending Holy Year pilgrimage in Italy; through American priest Johnson et al. he finds new faith. | tt0045324 | Van Johnson, Paul Douglas, Joseph Calleia, Mimi Aguglia, Tudor Owen | Comedy | NULL | |||
| When in Rome | 2010 | Mark Steven Johnson | ★★ | 91 | Career-driven New Yorker goes to Rome for her sister's wedding, where she's attracted to a handsome American (Duhamel). But when she thinks he's lied to her she drunkenly wades into the "Fountain of Love" outside and removes four coins—casting a love spell over the men who have tossed them in. Bell is likable, but this chaotic romantic comedy is cluttered with meaningless gags and side trips. Celebrity cameos are as random as everything else; Don Johnson appears unbilled as Bell's father. | tt1185416 | [PG-13] | Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Anjelica Huston, Danny DeVito, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Alexis Dziena, Kate Micucci, Peggy Lipton, Luca Calvani, Keir O'Donnell, Lee Pace | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| When the Boys Meet the Girls | 1965 | Alvin Ganzer | ★★ | 110 | Rehash of GIRL CRAZY, turned into a dull guest-star showcase. | tt0059904 | Connie Francis, Harve Presnell, *** Herman's Hermits, Louis Armstrong, Liberace, Sue Ane Langdon, Fred Clark, *** Sam the Sham | Musical | NULL | |||
| When the Cat's Away | 1996 | Cédric Klapisch | ★★★ | 91 | Sweet, deft look at a side of Paris rarely seen on-screen as a young woman returns from vacation to discover her cat has disappeared. She takes off on a journey through city streets not only to find her pet but, as it turns out, herself as well. A simple, welcome film about love and loneliness. | tt0115856 | [R] | Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, Renée Le Calm, Olivier Py, Romain Duris | French | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| When the Clouds Roll By | 1919 | Victor Fleming. | ★★★½ | 64 | Doug falls under the spell of an unscrupulous doctor who manipulates his psyche. Fairbanks cavorts about as the scenario veers off in surprising directions. Clever dream sequences include a scene in which Fairbanks walks on walls and the ceiling, predating Fred Astaire in ROYAL WEDDING. | tt0010879 | Douglas Fairbanks, Kathleen Clifford, Albert MacQuarrie, Ralph Lewis, Frank Campeau. | Action, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| When the Daltons Rode | 1940 | George Marshall | ★★★ | 80 | Action-packed (if highly illogical) Western with nice comedic touches, relating how the Dalton brothers were railroaded into becoming desperadoes. Good cast plays to the hilt, with Devine especially amusing as a love object! Also loaded with eye-popping stunt work. | tt0033254 | Randolph Scott, Kay Francis, Brian Donlevy, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, Stuart Erwin, Frank Albertson, George Bancroft, Edgar Buchanan, Mary Gordon | Western | NULL | |||
| When the Legends Die | 1972 | Stuart Millar | ★★★ | 105 | Offbeat story of aging rodeo cowboy who cannot accept fact that years are creeping up on him, and young Indian he befriends. | tt0069496 | [PG] | Richard Widmark, Frederic Forrest, Luana Anders, Vito Scotti, Herbert Nelson | Western | NULL | ||
| When the North Wind Blows | 1974 | Stewart Raffill | ★★½ | 113 | A hermit trapper protects snow tigers in Siberia. Beautiful scenery; OK fare for children. | tt0072399 | [G] | Henry Brandon, Herbert Nelson, Dan Haggerty | Drama | NULL | ||
| When the Party's Over | 1992 | Matthew Irmas | ★★½ | 114 | Perceptive but seriously flawed, often confusing drama about making it in L.A., focusing on three women and a gay male who share a house and are involved in each other's lives. Chong (as a manipulative yuppie careerist) and Bullock (as a cynical feminist artist) are standouts. | tt0105807 | [R] | Rae Dawn Chong, Fisher Stevens, Sandra Bullock, Elizabeth Berridge, Brian McNamara, Kris Kamm, Michael Landes, Stephen Meadows | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| When the Sky Falls | 2000 | John Mackenzie | ★½ | 106 | Allen plays a crusading Dublin journalist whose articles about drug gangs put her life in jeopardy. Dull, plot-heavy film (based on true story of reporter Veronica Guerin) has a surprising lack of emotional pull. U.S. debut on cable TV. Same story told in VERONICA GUERIN. | tt0166013 | Joan Allen, Patrick Bergin, Liam Cunningham, Pete Postlethwaite, Kevin McNally, Jimmy Smallhorne | Irish-U.S. | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| When the Whales Came | 1989 | Clive Rees | ★★ | 100 | Dull dud set in 1914 with Scofield, in a performance that's not among his best, cast as a deaf old hermit who loves birds; he lives alone on a remote island and is befriended by youngsters Rennie and Pearce (the latter a nonactor discovered on Britain's Scilly Isles, where film was made). | tt0098638 | [G] | Paul Scofield, Helen Mirren, Helen Pearce, Max Rennie, David Suchet, David Threlfall, Barbara Jefford, Jeremy Kemp | British | Drama | NULL | |
| When's Your Birthday? | 1937 | Harry Beaumont | ★★ | 77 | Slight, meandering slapstick with Brown trying his best as an astrology-obsessed prizefighter whose prowess depends on the position of the stars. | tt0029764 | Joe E. Brown, Marian Marsh, Edgar Kennedy, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Jenks, Maude Eburne, Fred Keating | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Where Angels Fear to Tread | 1991 | Charles Sturridge | ★★½ | 112 | Interesting drama of repressed and unleashed sexuality within the British upper class, based on E. M. Forster's first novel. The story follows events after British widow Mirren dallies with and weds a young Tuscan (Guidelli) while vacationing in Italy. Faithful to its source material, and the performances (particularly Bonham Carter's, as Mirren's traveling companion) are first-rate, but the presentation is less inspired than one would like. | tt0103243 | Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, Rupert Graves, Giovanni Guidelli, Barbara Jefford, Helen Mirren, Thomas Wheatley, Sophie Kullman | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Where Angels Go . . . Trouble Follows | 1968 | James Neilson | ★★½ | 95 | For Flying Nun fans only; contrived comedy follow-up to THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS with Mother Superior Russell pitted against young, progressive nun Stevens. | tt0063800 | [G] | Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens, Binnie Barnes, Mary Wickes, Dolores Sutton, Susan Saint James, Barbara Hunter; guest stars Milton Berle, Arthur Godfrey, Van Johnson, William Lundigan, Robert Taylor | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where Are Your Children? | 1943 | William Nigh | ★½ | 73 | Thoughtless study of juvenile delinquency. | tt0036530 | Jackie Cooper, Patricia Morison, Gale Storm, Gertrude Michael, John Litel, Evelynne Eaton | Drama | NULL | |||
| Where Are the Children? | 1986 | Bruce Malmuth | ★½ | 92 | Clayburgh's two children are kidnapped— just as, nine years before, her first two kids (by a previous marriage) also vanished. Creates some suspense but becomes more ludicrous as it unfolds. Despite a raging storm, the Cape Cod location is the most attractive aspect of the film. Based on Mary Higgins Clark's novel. | tt0092204 | [R] | Jill Clayburgh, Max Gail, Harley Cross, Elisabeth Harnois, Elizabeth Wilson, Barnard Hughes, Frederic Forrest | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Where Danger Lives | 1950 | John Farrow | ★★ | 84 | Dr. Mitchum finds himself deep in trouble when he falls hard for manipulative, desperate Domergue. Atmospheric, predictable, and forgettable potboiler. | tt0043131 | Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains, Maureen O'Sullivan | Drama, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Where Do We Go From Here? | 1945 | Gregory Ratoff | ★★½ | 77 | Engaging but ultimately silly musical comedy about genie enabling MacMurray to travel backwards into American history. Ira Gershwin-Kurt Weill score includes wonderful mini-opera involving Christopher Columbus. Fred and June later married in real life. | tt0038245 | Fred MacMurray, June Haver, Joan Leslie, Gene Sheldon, Anthony Quinn, Carlos Ramirez, Otto Preminger | Musical | NULL | |||
| Where Do We Go Now? | 2011 | Nadine Labaki | ★★½ | 102 | Spurred by a stolid matriarch (Moussawbaa), a feisty café owner (Labaki), and the mayor's wife (Maalouf), the women of an isolated mountain village endlessly scheme to keep their Christian and Muslim husbands from killing each other. Surrounded by land mines and hotheaded men, their mission to keep war from the door seems impossible. Odd but occasionally winning aggregate—small-town politics, religious conflict, sudden tragedy, human comedy, farce and fable, even song and dance—yo-yos madly among moods, never quite fusing. Title is the last line of dialogue. | tt1772424 | [PG-13] | Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Layla Hakim, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf, Antoinette Noufaily, Julien Farhat, Ali Haidar, Kevin Abboud | French-Lebanese-Egyptian-Italian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Where Does It Hurt? | 1972 | Rodney Amateau | 💣 | 88 | Abysmal, tasteless 'comedy' about hospital run by corrupt Sellers, staffed by money-hungry incompetents. | tt0069497 | [R] | Peter Sellers, Jo Ann Pflug, Rick Lenz, Harold Gould, Hope Summers, Eve Bruce, Kathleen Freeman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where Eagles Dare | 1968 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★★½ | 158 | Modern-day version of Republic serial, with slam-bang cliff-hanger action that never lets up. Burton and company assigned to free American officer held captive in German mountain castle during WW2. Terrific; script by Alistair MacLean, from his best-selling novel. | tt0065207 | [M] | Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Michael Hordern, Patrick Wymark, Robert Beatty, Ferdy Mayne, Anton Diffring, Donald Houston, Ingrid Pitt | Action, Adventure, War | NULL | ||
| Where God Left His Shoes | 2008 | Salvatore Stabile | ★★½ | 101 | Well-intentioned but rambling account of down-on-his-luck boxer Leguizamo, an ex-con and Desert Storm veteran. He and his family are evicted from their apartment and end up in a homeless shelter with Christmas just around the corner. Formulaic and longwinded, but director Stabile (who also scripted) does make excellent use of N.Y.C. locations. | tt0756725 | John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, David Castro, Samantha M. Rose, Jerry Ferrara | Drama | NULL | |||
| Where It's At | 1969 | Garson Kanin | ★★½ | 104 | Pleasant but undistinguished comedy about strained relationship between Las Vegas casino owner and his Princeton-graduate son. | tt0065208 | [R] | David Janssen, Robert Drivas, Rosemary Forsyth, Brenda Vaccaro, Don Rickles, Edy Williams | Drama | NULL | ||
| Where Love Has Gone | 1964 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★½ | 114 | Glossy drama of Heatherton killing mother Hayward's lover; Davis is the domineering grandmother, Greer is a sympathetic probation officer. Script by John Michael Hayes, from Harold Robbins' novel. | tt0058745 | Bette Davis, Susan Hayward, Michael Connors, Jane Greer, Joey Heatherton, George Macready | Drama | NULL | |||
| Where There's Life . . . | 1947 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 75 | Wacky comedy with fast-talking Manhattan radio DJ Hope, just about to be married, earmarked as new king of Barovia, and tangling with the country's enemies, along with its top military authority— who happens to be a woman. Bendix is fun as Hope's forever-bellowing brother-in-law-to-be. | tt0039982 | Bob Hope, Signe Hasso, William Bendix, George Coulouris, Vera Marshe, George Zucco, Dennis Hoey, Harry Von Zell | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Where Time Began | 1978 | Piquer Simon | ★★ | 86 | Mundane retelling of Jules Verne's JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, with predictable parade of sea serpents, giant turtles, and dinosaurs. | tt0075389 | [G] | Kenneth More, Pep Munne, Jack Taylor | Spanish | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? | 1968 | Hy Averback | ★½ | 94 | Below average Doris Day comedy centering around the massive N.Y.C. blackout on November 9, 1965. | tt0063801 | [M] | Doris Day, Robert Morse, Terry-Thomas, Steve Allen, Lola Albright, Jim Backus, Patrick O'Neal, Pat Paulsen, Ben Blue, Earl Wilson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? | 2008 | Morgan Spurlock | ★★ | 93 | Spurlock, who made his name targeting the fast-food industry in SUPER SIZE ME, takes on the far-less-comical war on terror when concerns for the kind of world his newborn child will face thrust him into a Rambo-like quest to find and defeat 9/11 mastermind bin Laden. Broadly staged “training” sequences and man-on-the-street encounters in several Middle Eastern countries are uncomfortably played for laughs, making Spurlock’s adventure seem more ego trip than serious journey. Call it Michael Moore lite. | tt0963208 | [PG-13] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Where the Boys Are | 1960 | Henry Levin | ★★½ | 99 | Not-bad film about teenagers during Easter vacation in Ft. Lauderdale. Connie Francis, in her first film, is pretty good, and sings the hit title tune; other young players seen to good advantage. Nichols is hilarious as usual as a flashy blonde. Ineptly remade in 1984. | tt0054469 | Dolores Hart, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, Barbara Nichols, Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, Frank Gorshin, Chill Wills | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Where the Boys Are '84 | 1984 | Hy Averback | 💣 | 93 | Tacky remake of 1960 film about four college girls (three horny, one virginal) who descend on Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in search of cheap sex. This Allan Carr production has all the appeal of an oil slick. | tt0088395 | [R] | Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Russell Todd, Howard McGillin, Louise Sorel, Alana Stewart | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where the Buffalo Roam | 1980 | Art Linson | 💣 | 96 | Intended celebration of notorious 'Gonzo' journalist Hunter S. Thompson will baffle those unfamiliar with his work and insult those who are. Even Neil Young's music can't save dreadful comedy. Reedited (and toned down) for network TV. | tt0081748 | [R] | Peter Boyle, Bill Murray, Bruno Kirby, Rene Auberjonois, R. G. Armstrong, Rafael Campos, Leonard Frey, Mark Metcalf, Craig T. Nelson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where the Bullets Fly | 1966 | John Gilling | ★★½ | 88 | Well-paced super spy satire involving Adams tracking down special fuel formula. Sequel to THE SECOND BEST SECRET AGENT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. | tt0061179 | Tom Adams, Dawn Addams, Tim Barrett, Michael Ripper | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where the Day Takes You | 1992 | Marc Rocco | ★★½ | 105 | Alternately slick and scuzzy look at homeless L.A. street kids, as related by Mulroney (very good here) to prison psychologist San Giacomo. Wavers in quality from the reasonably compelling to the overwrought; a film that shows us junkie Astin vomiting all over himself can probably do without sappy musical montages. Christian Slater appears unbilled. | tt0105810 | [R] | Dermot Mulroney, Robert Knepper, Sean Astin, Balthazar Getty, Will Smith, James Le Gros, Ricki Lake, Lara Flynn Boyle, Peter Dobson, Kyle MacLachlan, Nancy McKeon, Adam Baldwin, Rachel Ticotin, Alyssa Milano, David Arquette, Leo Rossi, Stephen Tobolowsky, Laura San Giacomo | Drama | NULL | ||
| Where the Green Ants Dream | 1984 | Werner Herzog. | ★★½ | 100 | Rambling account of a group of wise, noble Australian aborigines who must go up against a mining company set on bulldozing their sacred land in a quest for uranium. The theme— a clash of civilizations— is characteristic of Herzog, but the result just doesn't gel. | tt0088412 | [R] | Bruce Spence, Wandjuk Marika, Roy Marika, Ray Barrett, Norman Kaye, Colleen Clifford. | German | Drama | NULL | |
| Where the Heart Is | 1990 | John Boorman | ★★ | 94 | Disappointing farce about wealthy N.Y.C. demolitions expert Coleman, who decides to teach his family humility— and the value of money— by shutting them out and making them homeless. Well-intended hodgepodge that's too outlandish to be taken seriously. Scripted by Boorman and his daughter, Telsche; some saw this as an update of the director's earlier LEO THE LAST. | tt0100924 | [R] | Dabney Coleman, Uma Thurman, Joanna Cassidy, Crispin Glover, Suzy Amis, Christopher Plummer, Maury Chaykin, David Hewlett | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Where the Heart Is | 2000 | Matt Williams | ★½ | 120 | Billie Letts' novel probably made more sense than this numbingly scattershot script about an abandoned, ill-educated young woman (a miscast Portman) and the circle of friends who nurture her after she gives birth in a Wal-Mart. A near-fatal twister? The baby's kidnapping? The rocky country-western career of the baby's father? Everything here is given equal weight, and the episodic scenes pile up without any cumulative effect. Feature directing debut for the creator/producer of such hit TV sitcoms as Roseanne and Home Improvement. | tt0198021 | [PG-13] | Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Sally Field, Joan Cusack, James Frain, Dylan Bruno | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Where the Hot Wind Blows! | The Law | 1958 | Jules Dassin | ★★ | 120 | Sure-fire cast is wasted in pedestrian drama of hypocrisy in a small Italian town. Lollobrigida is poverty-stricken wench who falls for engineer Mastroianni; Mercouri is judge's wife in love with thug Montand's son. Aka THE LAW. | tt0051852 | Gina Lollobrigida, Pierre Brasseur, Marcello Mastroianni, Melina Mercouri, Yves Montand, Paolo Stoppa | French-Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Where the Lilies Bloom | 1974 | William A. Graham | ★★★ | 96 | Four Appalachian children carry on by themselves when their father dies— and keep the news of his death a secret, so they won't be taken away by the state. First-rate family drama scripted by Earl Hamner, Jr. and filmed on location in North Carolina. | tt0072401 | [G] | Julie Gholson, Jan Smithers, Matthew Burril, Helen Harmon, Harry Dean Stanton, Rance Howard, Sudie Bond | Drama, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Where the Money Is | 2000 | Marek Kanievska | ★★ | 89 | Savvy convalescent-home nurse Fiorentino senses something about her newest patient, a mute stroke victim who's just been transferred from prison. She becomes convinced that with his bank-robbing background, he can help her and her husband make some easy money. Potentially clever caper goes flat, in spite of charismatic performances by Newman and Fiorentino. A real letdown. | tt0149367 | [PG-13] | Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino, Dermot Mulroney, Susan Barnes, Anne Pitoniak, Bruce MacVittie | Drama, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| Where the Red Fern Grows | 1974 | Norman Tokar | ★★★ | 90 | Appealing family drama about a boy's devotion to two hunting dogs, and how his experiences teach him about responsibility and growing up. Set in 1930s Oklahoma. Based on Wilson Rawls' novel. Followed years later by a sequel. | tt0072402 | [G] | James Whitmore, Beverly Garland, Jack Ging, Lonny Chapman, Stewart Peterson | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| Where the River Runs Black | 1986 | Christopher Cain | ★★½ | 100 | Orphaned boy raised in the Amazon jungle is brought to civilization by a well-meaning priest (Durning) who knew his father. Slow-moving story starts well but loses its grip as it leaves behind mystical elements and focuses more on child's-eye view of good guys and bad guys. Nicely filmed on location in Brazil. | tt0092205 | [PG] | Charles Durning, Alessandro Rabelo, Marcelo Rabelo, Conchata Ferrell, Peter Horton, Dana Delany, Castulo Guerra | Adventure | NULL | ||
| Where the Rivers Flow North | 1993 | Jay Craven | ★★½ | 106 | Thoughtful tale of a man who holds out against authorities determined to buy his Vermont property in order to erect a dam in the late '20s. It turns out that the holdout (Torn) has a hidden agenda, which is one reason this story avoids becoming an idealized good guys vs. bad guys cliché. Fox appears in a supporting role as a heavy. Director Craven also coscripted. | tt0108557 | Rip Torn, Tantoo Cardinal, Bill Raymond, Michael J. Fox, John Griesemer, Mark Margolis, Treat Williams, Amy Wright | Drama | NULL | |||
| Where the Sidewalk Ends | 1950 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 95 | While investigating a homicide, brutal N.Y.C. cop (Andrews) inadvertently kills a man, then tries to conceal his own guilt while continuing his search for murderer. Moody crime melodrama is a good illustration of film noir. Fine characterizations, pungent script by Ben Hecht from William Stuart's novel Night Cry. Oleg Cassini (film's costume designer and Tierney's then-husband) has a cameo. | tt0043132 | Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Karl Malden, Bert Freed, Tom Tully, Ruth Donnelly, Craig Stevens, Neville Brand | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Where the Spies Are | 1966 | Val Guest | ★★★ | 110 | Well made mixture of dry comedy and suspense in tale of doctor forced into spying. Good cast names enhance already fine movie. | tt0059905 | David Niven, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack, Eric Pohlmann, Reginald Beckwith | British | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Where the Truth Lies | 2005 | Atom Egoyan | ★★ | 117 | In the 1970s a young female journalist is hired to help write the memoirs of a fading star who was half of a popular 1950s show business team. Her task: to uncover the truth about a woman who was found dead in their hotel room one fateful day. Would-be film noir (replete with graphic sex and nudity) is torpedoed by a lack of chemistry between the stars and a bewilderingly bad performance by Lohman. Egoyan adapted Rupert Holmes's novel, in which the characters more closely resembled Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. | tt0373450 |
|
Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman, Rachel Blanchard, David Hayman, Maury Chaykin, Kristin Adams, Sonja Bennett, Deborah Grover, Beau Starr, Don McKellar, Arsinée Khanjanian, David Hamblen | Canadian-British | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Where the Wild Things Are | 2009 | Spike Jonze | ★★½ | 101 | A needy but neglected 9-year-old boy (Records) leaves home and escapes to a remote island, where he encounters a race of large furry creatures who believe he is their king. He revels in the role—until he learns that these "wild things" are just as emotional and unpredictable as any human beings. Jonze and Dave Eggers adapted and expanded Maurice Sendak's much-loved children's book. Depiction of childhood is disarming—almost unsettling—in its honesty, and young Records gives an astonishing performance, but the film's enchanting high spots are punctuated by unfortunate lulls. Still a singular achievement, with the creatures an ingenious combination of live performers in sophisticated body suits and CGI facial movements. | tt0386117 | [PG] | Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo; voices of James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper, Paul Dano | Drama, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Where's Charley? | 1952 | David Butler | ★★★ | 97 | Bolger recreates Broadway role in musical adaptation of CHARLEY'S AUNT, as Oxford student whose face-saving impersonation of dowdy dowager leads to endless complications. Frank Loesser score includes 'Once in Love With Amy.' One of the principal dancers is Jean Marsh. Filmed in England. | tt0045325 | Ray Bolger, Allyn Ann McLerie, Robert Shackleton, Mary Germaine, Horace Cooper, Margaretta Scott | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Where's Jack? | 1969 | James Clavell | ★★½ | 119 | Despite good cast and production values, surprisingly unengrossing historical adventure tale of Britain's most celebrated highwayman and escape artist, Jack Sheppard (Steele), wanted by British government and notorious mercenary (Baker). | tt0065209 | [G] | Tommy Steele, Stanley Baker, Fiona Lewis, Alan Badel, Dudley Foster, Sue Lloyd, Noel Purcell | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Where's Marlowe? | 1999 | Daniel Pyne | ★★ | 97 | Ambitious little film about two documentary filmmakers who latch on to a low-level L.A. private detective; while trying to chronicle his day-to-day existence, they become involved in ways they never anticipated. Some clever ideas get lost, though everyone gets an A for effort. | tt0118150 | [R] | Miguel Ferrer, John Livingston, Dante Beze (Mos Def), John Slattery, Allison Dean, Clayton Rohner, Elizabeth Schofield, Miguel Sandoval, Bill McKinney, Heather McComb, Wendy Crewson, Lisa Jane Persky | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Where's Picone? | 1984 | Nanni Loy | ★★★ | 122 | Giannini is hilarious in a role tailor-made for his talent: a sleazy, two-bit, ultimately hapless conniver who must live by his wits to survive on the fringes of Neapolitan society. A biting black comedy about bureaucracy and corruption Italian-style. | tt0087716 | Giancarlo Giannini, Lina Sastri, Aldo Giuffre, Clelia Rondinelli, Carlo Croccolo | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Where's Poppa? | 1970 | Carl Reiner | ★★½ | 82 | Absurdist comedy has cult following, but grisly subject matter makes it an acquired taste; Segal plays a repressed N.Y.C. lawyer whose senile mother dominates his life. Outlandish gags involve mugging, rape, nursing homes and other ills. Original ending was too potent, and changed. Script by Robert Klane, from his novel. Look for Penny Marshall as a courtroom spectator. Reissued as GOING APE. | tt0066563 | [R] | George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Trish Van Devere, Ron Leibman, Rae Allen, Vincent Gardenia, Barnard Hughes, Rob Reiner, Garrett Morris, Paul Sorvino | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Which Way Is Up? | 1977 | Michael Schultz | ★★½ | 94 | Americanization of Lina Wertmuller's very funny THE SEDUCTION OF MIMI doesn't quite make it. Pryor gets to play three roles— a cotton-picking orange picker, a minister, and a dirty old man— and gets the most laughs as the latter. | tt0076913 | [R] | Richard Pryor, Lonette McKee, Margaret Avery, Dolph Sweet, Morgan Woodward | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Which Way to the Front? | 1970 | Jerry Lewis | 💣 | 96 | One of Jerry's worst has him a 4-F millionaire playboy who enlists other 4-Fs to fight Hitler. His last completed film until HARDLY WORKING. Co-scripted by Dick Miller. | tt0066564 | [G] | Jerry Lewis, John Wood, Jan Murray, Kaye Ballard, Robert Middleton, Paul Winchell, Sidney Miller, Gary Crosby | Comedy, War | NULL | ||
| Whiffs | 1975 | Ted Post | ★½ | 91 | Gould is guinea pig for Army Chemical Corps who has outlived his usefulness . . . but the military isn't rid of him so easily. Another sorry attempt to recapture the lunacy of MASH. | tt0073891 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Eddie Albert, Harry Guardino, Godfrey Cambridge, Jennifer O'Neill, Alan Manson | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| While She Was Out | 2008 | Susan Montford | ★★½ | 85 | Emotionally battered suburban soccer mom (Basinger) finds more at the mall than she went shopping for—namely, bad guys led by slimeball Haas. Nicely done noirish thriller; less-is-more approach creates enough tension at the start and finish to make up for the see-it-coming middle. Basinger, who executive produced with Guillermo del Toro, is solid to the end. Based on Edward Bryant’s short story. | tt0887971 | [R] | Kim Basinger, Craig Sheffer, Lukas Haas, Leonard Wu | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| While You Were Sleeping | 1995 | Jon Turteltaub | ★★½ | 103 | Lonely Chicago transit worker saves her dream man from muggers, and when he falls into a coma she passes herself off as his fiancée; things get stickier as she's welcomed into his family, and grows close to his brother. Bullock's first starring vehicle showcases her irresistible girl-next-door appeal, but this pleasant, well-cast comedy suffers from anemia. It's a cute story, but it should have been snappier (and shorter). | tt0114924 | [PG] | Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden, Glynis Johns, Micole Mercurio, Jason Bernard, Michael Rispoli, Ally Walker, Monica Keena | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| While the City Sleeps | 1956 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 100 | Veteran cast and intertwining story-lines keep interest in account of newspaper reporters and police on the track of a berserk killer. | tt0049949 | Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Vincent Price, Thomas Mitchell, Sally Forrest, Howard Duff, James Craig, John Barrymore/Jr., Mae Marsh | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Whip Hand | 1951 | William Cameron Menzies | ★½ | 82 | Communists with germ-warfare intentions have taken over an abandoned resort town, but do these slimes really think they can tangle with Elliott Reid? Howard Hughes RKO Special is campy, but not campy enough. | tt0044209 | Elliott Reid, Carla Balenda, Raymond Burr, Edgar Barrier, Lurene Tuttle | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Whip It | 2009 | Drew Barrymore | ★★★ | 111 | Texas high school girl (Page), forced to compete in beauty pageants by her dominating mother, discovers a sense of personal identity—and freedom—in a most unlikely way, by joining a roller derby team. First-time feature director Barrymore (who also appears as teammate Smashley Simpson) celebrates girl power in this engaging comedy-drama about the pains and pleasures of adolescence and mother-daughter relationships. Adapted by Shauna Cross from her novel Derby Girl. | tt1172233 | [PG-13] | Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Daniel Stern, Landon Pigg, Alia Shawkat, Andrew Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Zoë Bell, Eve, Ari Graynor | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Whip and the Body | The Way and the Body | 1963 | Mario Bava | ★★★ | 91 | Soon after domineering Lee returns to his castle home and resumes his sadomasochistic relationship with sister-in-law Lavi, he's murdered. But then he returns as a ghost— with a whip. Perhaps horror maestro Bava's best film, moody, beautiful and deceptively simple. Lee is excellent, despite being dubbed. Aka SON OF SAM, THE WAY AND THE BODY, and NIGHT IS THE PHANTOM. Beware of shorter version called WHAT. | tt0057078 | Daliah Lavi, Christopher Lee, Tony Kendall, Isli Oberon, Harriet Medin, Luciano Pigozzi, Dean Ardow | Italian | Horror | NULL | |
| Whiplash | 1948 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 91 | Clark does his best John Garfield imitation in this by-the-numbers drama about a painter-turned-prizefighter who falls hard for beautiful, troubled Smith. | tt0040963 | Dane Clark, Alexis Smith, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Jeffrey Lynn, S.Z. Sakall, Alan Hale/Sr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Whipped | 2000 | Peter M. Cohen | ★½ | 82 | Leering, obnoxious battle-of-the-sexes comedy about a trio of chauvinist pigs who all fall for the same foxy lady. Attempts to invoke the spirit of both Neil LaBute and the Farrelly Brothers but fails. All that saves this from a BOMB is the appealing Peet. | tt0174336 | [R] | Amanda Peet, Brian Van Holt, Judah Domke, Zorie Barber, Jonathan Abrahams, Callie Thorne | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Whipsaw | 1935 | Sam Wood | ★★½ | 83 | Tracy uses bad-girl Loy to lead him to band of thieves; predictable complications follow in familiar but well-done crime drama. | tt0027205 | Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, Harvey Stephens, William Harrigan, Clay Clement | Drama | NULL | |||
| Whirlpool | 1949 | Otto Preminger | ★★★ | 97 | Ruthless con artist Ferrer uses hypnosis and his powers of persuasion to get away with various crimes, implicating innocent Tierney, who’s married to bow-tied psychiatrist Conte. Mildly subversive portrait of perfect postwar couple and their well-ordered life going awry seems obvious today, especially Ferrer’s overripe performance. Written by Ben Hecht (using pseudonym) and Andrew Solt, from Guy Endore’s novel. | tt0042039 | Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose Ferrer, Charles Bickford, Barbara O'Neil, Eduard Franz, Fortunio Bonanova, Constance Collier | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Whirlwind | 1951 | John English. | ★★★ | 70 | Postal inspector Autry has to smoke out the head of a crime syndicate (Hall). On-screen reunion with Burnette (who was called in when Pat Buttram suffered a serious injury) brings out the best in Gene. | tt0044210 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, Thurston Hall, Harry Lauter, Dick Curtis, Gregg Barton. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Whisperers | 1966 | Bryan Forbes | ★★ | 106 | Dame Edith is the whole show in this mediocre melodrama about dotty old lady who is sure she is being spied upon; things get worse when her scummy son and husband drop by. Too restrained to be really absorbing, but worth catching just for her performance; moody score by John Barry. | tt0061180 | Edith Evans, Eric Portman, Nanette Newman, Avis Bunnage, Gerald Sim, Ronald Fraser | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Whispering Chorus | 1918 | Cecil B. DeMille. | ★★★ | 86 | Hatton, a lowly first assistant cashier for a contracting company, laments his lack of income . . . and temptation for larceny is all around him. Unexpected plot twists enliven this ironic drama filled with striking visual touches. Title refers to the voices inside our heads that tell us what to do and how to live. | tt0009796 | Raymond Hatton, Kathlyn Williams, Edythe Chapman, Elliott Dexter, Noah Beery, Guy Oliver, John Burton, Tully Marshall, Gustav von Seyffertitz. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Whispering Ghosts | 1942 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 75 | Berle is effective as bumbling performer trying to live up to radio role as crackerjack detective. | tt0035551 | Brenda Joyce, Milton Berle, John Shelton, John Carradine | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Whispering Smith | 1948 | Leslie Fenton | ★★½ | 88 | Ladd is in his element (in this otherwise ordinary Western) as a soft-spoken but iron-willed railroad agent whose hot-headed best friend (Preston) becomes involved in shady dealings. | tt0040965 | Alan Ladd, Brenda Marshall, Robert Preston, Donald Crisp, William Demarest, Fay Holden, Frank Faylen | Western | NULL | |||
| Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard | 1951 | Francis Searle | ★★ | 77 | Famed detective proves conclusively that suicide was actually well-staged murder. Good cast in below-average mystery. Stanley Baker has a bit as a reporter and Alan Wheatley appears as an attorney. Original British title: WHISPERING SMITH HITS LONDON. | tt0044211 | Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt, Rona Anderson, Herbert Lom, Dora Bryan | British | Mystery | NULL | ||
| Whispers | 1990 | Douglas Jackson | ★★ | 96 | Tennant is forced to kill LeClerc when he attacks her— but he later turns up alive, puzzling police detective Sarandon. Routine, predictable thriller, though LeClerc is amusingly looney. From the best-seller by Dean R. Koontz. | tt0100926 | Victoria Tennant, Chris Sarandon, Jean LeClerc, Peter MacNeill, Linda Sorensen, Eric Christmas | Canadian | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Whispers in the Dark | 1992 | Christopher Crowe | ★★½ | 102 | Psychiatrist Sciorra is troubled by her reaction to a female patient, but her failure to respond effectively leads to problems for both of them— and everyone around them. Intriguing, well-cast thriller goes on too long, with more twists and turns than necessary, not all of them plausible. Standout performances by LaPaglia, as a determined cop, and Alda, as Sciorra's psychiatry mentor. | tt0105811 | [R] | Annabella Sciorra, Jamey Sheridan, Alan Alda, Jill Clayburgh, Anthony LaPaglia, John Leguizamo, Deborah Unger, Anthony Heald, Jacqueline Brookes | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Whistle Blower | 1986 | Simon Langton | ★★★ | 100 | Deftly handled thriller about a middle-aged former intelligence officer (an effectively subtle Caine), whose linguist son has a high-security government position . . . and is a bit too bright and idealistic for his own good. A literate, multileveled story, adapted by Julian Bond from John Hale's novel. | tt0092206 | [PG] | Michael Caine, James Fox, Nigel Havers, Felicity Dean, John Gielgud, Gordon Jackson, Barry Foster | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Whistle Down the Wind | 1961 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★½ | 99 | Fugitive murderer seeking refuge in a North Country barn is discovered by three children who think him to be Christ. Mills and Bates are excellent in this poignant, believable, and well-produced story of childhood innocence. Adapted from novel by Mary Hayley Bell (Hayley's mother). Forbes' directorial debut. | tt0055618 | Hayley Mills, Alan Bates, Bernard Lee, Norman Bird, Elsie Wagstaffe | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Whistle Stop | 1946 | Leonide Moguy | ★★ | 85 | Unusually stupid Raft vehicle about his on-again, off-again, on-again relationship with Gardner, who wishes he would do something with his life. You may feel the same . . . but Ava is stunningly beautiful. | tt0039101 | George Raft, Ava Gardner, Victor McLaglen, Tom Conway, Jorja Curtright, Florence Bates, Charles Drake | Crime | NULL | |||
| The Whistle at Eaton Falls | 1951 | Robert Siodmak | ★★½ | 96 | Set in New Hampshire, this documentary-style film deals with labor relation problems in a small town when new plant manager has to lay off workers. Gish is factory owner in interesting supporting role. | tt0044212 | Lloyd Bridges, Dorothy Gish, Carleton Carpenter, Murray Hamilton, Anne Francis, Ernest Borgnine, Doro Merande, Arthur O'Connell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Whistleblower | 2011 | Larysa Kondracki | ★★ | 118 | American cop in need of money takes a job with a contractor who supplies "peacekeepers" in Bosnia following the war, in the late 1990s. She soon discovers that the supposedly U.N.-supervised personnel are highly corrupt. They turn a blind eye to the widespread abuse of underaged girls and may even be involved in these unspeakable activities. Bleak but earnest film is so wrapped up in its message that it falls short as drama: we already know that human trafficking is heinous, girls are victimized, and whistleblowers get in hot water. Based on real-life experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, played by Weisz. | tt0896872 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, David Strathairn, Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Anna Anissimova, Roxana Condurache, Benedict Cumberbatch, Liam Cunningham | Canadian-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Whistler | 1944 | William Castle | ★★★ | 59 | First entry in the series centers on Dix's desperate attempt to cancel the contract he had taken out on his own life. Tense and moody tale of fate sets the ironic tone for the rest. Naish shines as the principal hit man. | tt0037461 | Richard Dix, Gloria Stuart, Alan Dinehart, Joan Woodbury, J. Carrol Naish, Byron Foulger | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Whistling in Brooklyn | 1943 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★½ | 87 | Skelton, again as radio sleuth 'The Fox,' gets mixed up in murder and impersonates the pitcher of a bearded baseball team playing the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Manager Leo Durocher and his boys appear as themselves. | tt0036533 | Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Jean Rogers, Rags Ragland, Ray Collins, Henry O'Neill, William Frawley, Sam Levene | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Whistling in Dixie | 1942 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★★ | 74 | Red, as radio's 'Fox' marries Ann, but their Southern honeymoon is interrupted by murder and mystery. Funny Skelton vehicle. | tt0035552 | Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, George Bancroft, Guy Kibbee | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Whistling in the Dark | 1941 | S. Sylvan Simon | ★★★ | 77 | Faithful remake of 1933 film isn't as wacky as subsequent outings with Skelton as radio sleuth 'The Fox,' but still enjoyable; Red is held by fiendish Veidt and forced to spell out plans for 'perfect murder.' Followed by two sequels (see above). | tt0034389 | Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, Virginia Grey, Conrad Veidt, Rags Ragland, Eve Arden | Comedy | NULL | |||
| White | Trois couleurs: Blanc | 1993 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | ★★★½ | 92 | Second of Polish director Kieslowski's 'Three Colors' trilogy based on the 'liberty, equality, fraternity' symbolism of the blue, white, and red French flag. This story concerns a hapless Pole whose beautiful French wife (Delpy) is divorcing him for no longer being able to perform in bed. Full of irony and subtle wit; the best of the trilogy. Kieslowski wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Title onscreen is THREE COLORS: WHITE. | tt0111507 | Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The White Angel | 1936 | William Dieterle | ★★ | 92 | Lavish but unsuccessful biography of Florence Nightingale with Francis miscast in reworked history of 19th-century British nursing pioneer. | tt0028499 | Kay Francis, Ian Hunter, Donald Woods, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, Henry O'Neill | Drama | NULL | |||
| The White Balloon | 1995 | Jafar Panahi | ★★★ | 85 | It's the Iranian New Year, and a young girl convinces her mother to give her money to buy a goldfish; her trip to make the purchase becomes a mini-odyssey in which she experiences wide-ranging emotions while mixing with characters who run the gamut from greedy to kind. This sweet little film offers an engaging picture of everyday humanity. | tt0112445 | Aïda Mohammadkhani, Mohsen Kafili, Fereshteh Sadr Orfai, Anna Borkowska | Iranian | Drama, Family | NULL | ||
| White Banners | 1938 | Edmund Goulding | ★★★ | 88 | Bainter shines in this inspirational Lloyd C. Douglas tearjerker as a motherly mystery woman who arrives in a small Indiana town and eases herself into the lives of teacher-inventor Rains, his family, and schoolboy Cooper. | tt0030973 | Claude Rains, Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O’Neill, Kay Johnson, James Stephenson | Drama | NULL | |||
| The White Buffalo | Hunt to Kill | 1977 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★ | 97 | Wild Bill Hickok is haunted by the image of a buffalo that symbolizes his fear of death; strange, murky film, with atypical Bronson role, good support from Warden and Novak. Retitled HUNT TO KILL for network TV. | tt0076915 | [PG] | Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Will Sampson, Kim Novak, Clint Walker, Stuart Whitman, Slim Pickens, Cara Williams, John Carradine, Martin Kove | Western | NULL | |
| White Cargo | 1942 | Richard Thorpe | ★★ | 90 | Lamarr, in one of her best-known roles, is the seductive Tondelayo who entrances all at British plantation post in Africa, with Pidgeon the expeditionist who really falls for her. Exotic love scenes, corny plot. Previously filmed in 1929. | tt0035553 | Hedy Lamarr, Walter Pidgeon, Frank Morgan, Richard Carlson, Reginald Owen | Drama | NULL | |||
| White Chicks | 2004 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | ★★ | 108 | Two male, maverick FBI agents go deep undercover, disguised as air-headed twin sisters, to flush out a criminal. They're black but the girls are white, and that's the central joke. Logic aside (and it certainly is), this heavy-handed comedy is a fragile excuse for the Wayans brothers to do a series of broad, silly riffs, poking fun at stereotypical white people. Unrated version runs 115m. | tt0381707 | [PG-13] | Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Jaime King, Frankie Faison, Lochlyn Munro, John Heard, Busy Philipps, Terry Crews, Brittany Daniel, Eddie Velez, Jessica Cauffiel, Maitland Ward, Anne Dudek | Crime, Comedy | NULL | ||
| A White Christmas | 1954 | Michael Curtiz | ★★ | 120 | Nice Irving Berlin score is unfortunately interrupted by limp plot of Army buddies Crosby and Kaye boosting popularity of winter resort run by their ex-officer Jagger. “What Can You Do with a General” stands out as Berlin’s least memorable tune. Partial reworking of HOLIDAY INN, not half as good. Film first released in VistaVision. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0047673 | Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, Mary Wickes, Sig Ruman, Grady Sutton | Musical | NULL | |||
| The White Cliffs of Dover | 1944 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 126 | American Dunne marries Britisher Marshal in patriotic WW1 romancer that boasts wonderful cast (including young Elizabeth Taylor). Slick but shallow. | tt0037462 | Irene Dunne, Alan Marshal, Van Johnson, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Dame May Whitty, Roddy McDowall, Gladys Cooper, Peter Lawford | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| White Comanche | 1968 | Gilbert Kay (Jose Briz) | ★½ | 90 | Boring time-killer detailing the conflict between twin boys whose mother is Indian and whose father is white. | tt0061497 | Joseph Cotten, William Shatner, Perla Cristal, Rossana Yanni | Spanish | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| The White Countess | 2005 | James Ivory | ★★★ | 138 | Shanghai, 1936: former diplomat Fiennes, accustomed to his recent blindness, hopes to open a small, perfect bar. Impressed by exiled Russian Countess Sofia (Richardson), who has turned to prostitution to help her impoverished-and largely ungrateful-family, he wants her for his hostess. Trying to live a reduced but elegant life, he is blind to increasing war tensions. Good but not great Merchant-Ivory production, unfortunately their last: producer Ismail Merchant died before the film was released. Richardson works here with her mother Lynn and aunt Vanessa. | tt0384686 | [PG-13] | Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Madeleine Potter, Hiroyuki Sanada, John Wood, Madeleine Daly, Allan Corduner | U.S.-British-Chinese-German | Drama | NULL | |
| The White Dawn | 1974 | Philip Kaufman | ★★½ | 109 | Rambling adventure about three whalers in 1896 who become lost in the Arctic and their subsequent exploitation of the Eskimos who save them. Brilliant photography by Michael Chapman. | tt0072403 | [PG] | Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, Lou Gossett, Simonie Kopapik | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Dog | 1982 | Samuel Fuller | ★★½ | 89 | Young actress takes in a white dog, unaware that it's been trained to attack black people on sight; professional animal trainer Winfield takes on challenge to retrain him. Interesting but downbeat drama, undeserving of the controversy and preposterous charges of racism that kept it from being released. Script by director Fuller (who has a cameo as Kristy's agent) and Curtis Hanson, loosely based on the Romain Gary novel. | tt0084899 | [PG] | Kristy McNichol, Paul Winfield, Burl Ives, Jameson Parker, Lynn Moody, Marshall Thompson, Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, Parley Baer | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| White Fang | 1991 | Randal Kleiser | ★★★ | 107 | Winning Disney version of the Jack London perennial, with Hawke a young prospector in Alaska who hooks up with Brandauer and Cassel and befriends the title wolf-dog. Fine fare for kids. Previously filmed in 1936 and 1972. Followed by a sequel. | tt0103247 | [PG] | Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ethan Hawke, Seymour Cassel, Susan Hogan, James Remar | Adventure | NULL | ||
| White Fang | 1972 | Lucio Fulci | ★★½ | 97 | Scenic but needlessly violent tale of a boy and his dog in the wilds of Alaska, based on the Jack London adventure. | tt0069536 | [PG] | Franco Nero, Vima Lisi, Fernando Rey, Rik Battaglia, Harry Carey/Jr. | Italian-Spanish-French | Adventure | NULL | |
| White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf | 1994 | Ken Olin | ★★ | 106 | Tepid Disney follow-up to 1991 film, with young prospector Bairstow working the Alaskan gold mine of his predecessor (played in the original by Ethan Hawke) and teaming up with wolf/dog White Fang. Boy and pet then meet Haida Indian princess and become involved with her tribal village. Lumpy blend of mysticism, villainy, romance, and adventure, aimed at kids. Hawke appears unbilled. | tt0111701 | [PG] | Scott Bairstow, Charmaine Craig, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Lewis, Al Harrington, Anthony Michael Ruivivar, Victoria Racimo, Paul Coeur | Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| White Feather | 1955 | Robert D. Webb | ★★½ | 102 | Pat Western film with some good action scenes of government agent Wagner attempting to convince Indian tribe to move to reservation; Paget and Hunter are members of Cheyenne tribe who resist. | tt0048805 | Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Debra Paget, John Lund, Eduard Franz, Noah Beery/Jr., Hugh O'Brian | Western | NULL | |||
| White Heat | 1949 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★½ | 114 | Cagney returned to gangster films, older but forceful as ever, as psychopathic hood with mother obsession; Mayo is his neglected wife, O'Brien the cop out to get him. 'Top of the World' finale is now movie legend. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, from a Virginia Kellogg story. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0042041 | James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochran | Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The White Hell of Pitz Palü | 1929 | Dr. Arnold Fanck, G. W. Pabst. | ★★★ | 95 | Gustav Diessl, Leni Riefenstahl, Ernst Petersen, Ernst Udet, Mitzi Götzel, Otto Spring, Kurt Gerron. The most famous of Fanck's 'mountain films,' this stark melodrama charts the plight of a mountain climber (Diessl) who is haunted by the death of his wife during their Alpine honeymoon. He endlessly searches for her, and a newly married couple (Riefenstahl, Petersen) decide to help him. Impressively filmed under hazardous conditions in the Swiss Alps, with Fanck directing the outdoor scenes and Pabst helming the dramatic ones. Released in the U.S. with English-language narration by Graham McNamee. Surviving prints vary in length, some as short as 74m. | tt0020570 | German | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| White Hunter, Black Heart | 1990 | Clint Eastwood | ★★★ | 112 | Mature, intelligent (if somewhat one-note) adaptation of Peter Viertel's 1953 novel based on his experiences during the filming of THE AFRICAN QUEEN, and his closeup observations of its macho director, John Huston. Eastwood gives an excellent performance as the contrary, self-destructive (and fictionalized) filmmaker, who becomes obsessed with bagging an elephant while on location in Africa. May not be compelling if you're not already interested in the subject, but convincingly recreates the time and place. Scripted by Viertel, James Bridges, and Burt Kennedy. | tt0100928 | [PG] | Clint Eastwood, Jeff Fahey, George Dzundza, Alun Armstrong, Marisa Berenson, Timothy Spall, Mel Martin | Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| White Irish Drinkers | 2011 | John Gray | ★★ | 109 | Predictable but often compelling drama, set in 1975 Brooklyn, about a sensitive young man (Thurston) who considers helping his criminal brother (Wigdor) rob a neighborhood theater—on the night its manager (Riegert) has invited The Rolling Stones to perform—so they can finance lives far away from their abusive alcoholic father (Lang). Well-acted indie production benefits from writer-director Gray’s sympathetic appreciation for sometimes affectionate, sometimes belligerent give-and-take among working-class friends and family members. | tt1550524 | [R] | Stephen Lang, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor, Leslie Murphy | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Lightning | 1973 | Joseph Sargent | ★★½ | 101 | Formula melodrama with moonshiner Burt going after crooked sheriff who drowned his brother; pleasant cast helps this OK action pic. Young Laura Dern (Ladd's daughter) is visible throughout; it's her film debut. Sequel: GATOR. | tt0070915 | [PG] | Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Louise Latham, Diane Ladd | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| White Line Fever | 1975 | Jonathan Kaplan | ★★★ | 92 | A B picture that hits bull's-eye. Vincent is a young trucker who battles corruption on the road and off, with a diesel truck as his 'good buddy.' | tt0073896 | [PG] | Jan-Michael Vincent, Kay Lenz, Slim Pickens, L. Q. Jones, Leigh French, Don Porter, Martin Kove | Action, Drama, Crime | NULL | ||
| The White Lions | 1981 | Mel Stuart | ★★ | 96 | Slight tale of life in an African wildlife preserve with naturalist York and his family. Mainly for the kids. | tt0083324 | [PG] | Michael York, Glynnis O'Connor, Donald Moffat, J.A. Preston, Roger E. Mosley | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Man's Burden | 1995 | Desmond Nakano | ★★½ | 96 | Flawed but fascinating, politically loaded allegory, set in a fictitious America in which blacks are the wealthy, white-collar majority and whites comprise the unruly, ill-kempt lower class. Travolta plays a factory worker who is fired due to a misunderstanding and chooses to take desperate action against his former boss (Belafonte). Designed to push the buttons of viewers of both races, but Nakano (who also scripted) tends to generalize a bit too often. | tt0114928 | [R] | John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, Kelly Lynch, Margaret Avery, Tom Bower, Carrie Snodgress, Andrew Lawrence, Sheryl Lee Ralph | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Men Can't Jump | 1992 | Ron Shelton | ★★★ | 114 | Smart, funny, highly profane comedy about urban basketball hustlers Snipes and Harrelson. Writer-director Shelton really knows the territory, and both stars look good on the court, though the film does become slightly redundant after a point. Perez is fun as Woody's girlfriend whose goal is to appear on Jeopardy! Some versions run 117m. | tt0105812 | [R] | Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez, Tyra Ferrell, Cylk Cozart, Kadeem Hardison, Ernest Harden/Jr. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| White Mischief | 1988 | Michael Radford | ★★★ | 106 | Elegantly kinky tale based on James Fox's book about the British colony living in Kenya's Happy Valley during early days of WW2, and true story of a husband's response to the local stud stealing his beautiful wife. Sensual and quietly bizarre, with meticulous production detail and a fine cast, headed by Scacchi at her most stunning. | tt0094317 | [R] | Sarah Miles, Joss Ackland, John Hurt, Greta Scacchi, Charles Dance, Susan Fleetwood, Jacqueline Pearce, Murray Head, Geraldine Chaplin, Trevor Howard, Hugh Grant | British | Drama, Crime, Romance, Thriller | NULL | |
| White Nights | 1957 | Luchino Visconti | ★★★ | 94 | Shy Mastroianni comes upon mysterious Schell, who's been dumped by sailor boyfriend Marais (or so it seems). A captivating, elaborately plotted love story, and a key film in Visconti's transition away from neorealism. Based on a Dostoyevsky story. Original running time 107m. | tt0050782 | Maria Schell, Jean Marais, Marcello Mastroianni, Clara Calamai | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Nights | 1985 | Taylor Hackford | ★★½ | 135 | Prominent ballet star who defected from Russia to U.S. finds himself back in the U.S.S.R. after a forced plane landing . . . while American expatriate tap dancer is used as bait to wear down his resistance about fleeing the country again. Baryshnikov's powerful presence (as actor and dancer) almost makes up for contrived story. Nicest surprise is surefooted performance by director Skolimowski as KGB agent. | tt0090319 | [PG-13] | Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Isabella Rossellini, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Page, John Glover | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Noise | 2005 | Geoffrey Sax | ★½ | 98 | Despairing over the sudden death of his wife, Keaton is taken in by McNeice, who's developed the ability to see and hear messages from the dead amidst the static on his audio and video recorders. Before long, Keaton is obsessed with E.V.P. (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), to the detriment of his mental and physical well-being. Decent-enough hook for a thriller leads us up a series of blind alleys and never delivers the goods. | tt0375210 | [PG-13] | Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger, Chandra West, Ian McNeice, Sarah Strange, Nicholas Elia, Mike Dopud | Canadian-British | Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Horror | NULL | |
| White Oleander | 2002 | Peter Kosminsky | ★★★½ | 109 | Moving adaptation of Janet Fitch's best-selling novel about a teenage girl who tries to wrest herself from the influence of her imprisoned mother, a free-spirited artist with a cruel streak, as she moves from one foster home to another. Lohman is the focal point in this well-cast film, which miraculously manages to avoid sentimentality while spinning its unpredictable story. Impressive Hollywood feature debut for British TV and documentary director Kosminsky. Screenplay by Mary Agnes Donoghue. Incidentally, Zellweger shows Lohman footage of herself in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION. | tt0283139 | [PG-13] | Alison Lohman, Robin Wright Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Renée Zellweger, Billy Connolly, Svetlana Efremova, Patrick Fugit, Cole Hauser, Noah Wyle, Taryn Manning | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Palace | 1990 | Luis Mandoki | ★★★ | 103 | Superficial but entertaining story of a vulnerable yuppie who's swept away by a sexy older woman . . . and then has to deal with the reality of their enormous social and ethnic differences. Sarandon is ideal in a vivid and believable performance. Reportedly, the improbable conclusion was tacked on at the last minute. Scripted by Ted Tally and Alvin Sargent, from Glenn Savan's novel. | tt0103251 | [R] | Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Eileen Brennan, Spiros Focas, Gina Gershon, Steven Hill, Rachel Levin (Chagall), Corey Parker, Renee Taylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| The White Ribbon | 2009 | Michael Haneke | ★★★ | 142 | In a seemingly pastoral German village where a land baron rules community economics, and rigid religiosity prevails, a mysterious array of serious accidents spooks the collective psyche, causing everyone to ask, "What's going on?" Set in flashback shortly before the outbreak of WW1, this long but absorbing film suggests—without overreaching—how the young generation portrayed here might have become especially pliable in the years that followed. As with many Haneke films, it's what isn't said, and isn't shown, that matters most. A major asset: Christian Berger's b&w cinematography, of a quality that Ingmar Bergman or Carl Dreyer might have been proud to call their own. | tt1149362 | [R] | Christian Friedel, Leonie Benesch, Ulrich Tukur, Ursina Lardi, Burghart Klaussner, Susanne Lothar | German | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| The White Rose | 1983 | Michael Verhoeven | ★★★ | 108 | Pointed, fascinating account of a group of Munich students who, in 1942, launched an anti-Nazi uprising. Based on fact; Stolze also played her character in Percy Adlon's THE FIVE LAST DAYS and later starred in Verhoeven's not-dissimilar THE NASTY GIRL. | tt0084897 | Lena Stolze, Martin Benrath, Wulf Kessler, Werner Stocker | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| White Sands | 1992 | Roger Donaldson | ★★ | 101 | Smalltown lawman finds a corpse, then starts snooping around into what turns out to be some dirty undercover-narc business involving the FBI. Competently performed (even by Rourke), but with little else to distinguish it from dozens of its ilk; Mastrantonio fares best as a complex society type up to her neck in drug-dealing. Mimi Rogers, Fred Dalton Thompson and John P. Ryan appear unbilled. | tt0105813 | [R] | Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, M. Emmet Walsh, James Rebhorn, Maura Tierney | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| White Savage | 1943 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 75 | Standard escapist fare, in glorious Technicolor, with island princess Montez trying to remove obstacles that bar marriage to shark-hunter Hall. Richard Brooks' first screenplay. | tt0036534 | Jon Hall, Maria Montez, Sabu, Don Terry, Turhan Bey, Thomas Gomez, Sidney Toler | Adventure | NULL | |||
| White Shadows in the South Seas | 1928 | W. S. Van Dyke. | ★★★ | 88 | MGM's first sound film features stunning, Oscar-winning cinematography of the Marquesas Islands (now French Polynesia) welded to a story about the corrupting influence of Western civilization, with Blue as an alcoholic doctor who falls in love with native Torres and clashes with exploitative trader Anderson. Portions of the beautiful, documentary-style footage were shot under the supervision of Robert Flaherty, who fought with the studio over its emphasis on a melodramatic plot and left the production. | tt0019574 | Monte Blue, Raquel Torres, Robert Anderson. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The White Sheik | 1951 | Federico Fellini. | ★★½ | 86 | Fellini's first solo film as director is a minor chronicle of the adventures of a provincial couple honeymooning in Rome and the wife's involvement with a cartoon hero, The White Sheik (Sordi). Remade, more or less, as THE WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER. | tt0044000 | Alberto Sordi, Brunella Bova, Leopoldo Trieste, Giulietta Masina. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| White Sister | 1973 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★½ | 104 | Strange love story of hospital Mother Superior and self-professed young Communist who helps run the wards. | tt0066829 | [R] | Sophia Loren, Adriano Celentano, Fernando Rey | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| The White Sister | 1933 | Victor Fleming | ★★½ | 110 | Dated but interesting remake of 1923 silent with Lillian Gish and Ronald Colman. Hayes is woman who enters convent when she thinks her lover has been killed in the war. Fine performances offset predictable story. | tt0024770 | Helen Hayes, Clark Gable, Lewis Stone, Louise Closser Hale, May Robson, Edward Arnold | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| White Slave Ship | 1962 | Silvio Amadio | ★½ | 92 | Childish hokum, set in 18th century, of rebellion aboard vessel carrying women to the colonies. | tt0055744 | Pier Angeli, Edmund Purdom, Armand Mestral, Ivan Desny | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| White Squall | 1996 | Ridley Scott | ★★★ | 127 | In 1960, teenage boys— many of them misfits— sign on as shipmates and students with a 'floating school' skippered by hard-nosed Bridges, who wants them to learn to rely both on themselves and each other. Put down by some as a paraphrase of DEAD POETS SOCIETY, this is an involving, well-acted coming-of-age drama on its own terms. Climactic storm sequence is genuinely gripping, but the finale seems somehow tacked on. | tt0118158 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Scott Wolf, Jeremy Sisto, Ryan Phillippe, David Lascher, Eric Michael Cole, Jason Marsden, David Selby, Julio Mechoso, Balthazar Getty, Zeljko Ivanek, Ethan Embry, James Rebhorn | Drama, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The White Squaw | 1956 | Ray Nazarro. | ★½ | 75 | Tedious Western with Wynn, a white woman residing on a Sioux reservation, becoming immersed in conflict with Indians and vengeance-seeking settler Brian. | tt0049950 | David Brian, May Wynn, William Bishop, Nancy Hale, Roy Roberts, Myron Healey, Paul Birch. | Western | NULL | |||
| White Tie and Tails | 1946 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 81 | Breezy film with usual-villain Duryea in good comedy form as butler who pretends to be master of house while boss is away. | tt0039103 | Dan Duryea, William Bendix, Ella Raines, Clarence Kolb, Frank Jenks, John Miljan, Scotty Beckett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| White Tiger | 1923 | Tod Browning. | ★★½ | 82 | Not a jungle thriller but a melodrama about a brother and sister separated for 15 years who meet again without recognizing each other. Partnered unknowingly with the criminal who murdered their father, the gang of three hides out in a mountain cabin, leading to a tense finale in which pasts are at last revealed. Touted in its time as more of the macabre from the Poe of the cinema, it's really a character-driven story about sibling devotion— although there is a sequence in a chamber of horrors. | tt0014606 | Priscilla Dean, Wallace Beery, Matt Moore, Raymond Griffith. | Crime, Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| The White Tower | 1950 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 98 | Stunning location filming in the French Alps helps otherwise ordinary melodrama of various individuals of many nationalities, who attempt to scale a 'monstrous, beautiful' mountain peak. Scripted by Paul Jarrico, from James Ramsey Ullman's best-seller. | tt0043134 | Glenn Ford, Claude Rains, (Alida) Valli, Oscar Homolka, Cedric Hardwicke, Lloyd Bridges | Adventure | NULL | |||
| White Voices | The Counter Tenors | 1965 | Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa | ★★★ | 93 | Good lusty adventure à la TOM JONES concerns exploits of castrati-singers who have retained high singing voices by means of operation. | tt0059883 | Paolo Ferrari, Sandra Milo, Anouk Aimée, Graziella Granata, Barbara Steele | Italian | Comedy | NULL | |
| The White Warrior | 1961 | Riccardo Freda (Robert Hampton) | ★½ | 86 | Tiring spectacle about tribal chieftain leading rebellion against advancing troops of Czar, set in 19th century. | tt0052538 | Steve Reeves, Giorgia Moll, Renato Baldini, Gerard Herter | Italian | Action, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| White Water Summer | Rites of Summer | 1987 | Jeff Bleckner | ★½ | 90 | Feeble account of Bacon teaching city lad Astin and his pals the ways of the wilderness. Filmed in 1985 and barely released theatrically. Aka RITES OF SUMMER. | tt0094318 | [PG] | Kevin Bacon, Sean Astin, Jonathan Ward, K.C. Martel, Matt Adler, Caroline McWilliams, Charles Siebert | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |
| White Wilderness | 1958 | James Algar | ★★★ | 73 | Typically good Disney True-Life feature takes a look at the Arctic region; highlight is extended sequence on lemmings and their yearly suicide ritual. | tt0052389 | Narrated by Winston Hibler | Documentary, Family | NULL | |||
| White Witch Doctor | 1953 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 96 | Bakuba territory is scene of diverse interests of nurse Hayward who wants to bring modern medicine to natives and adventurers Mitchum and Slezak bent on finding hidden treasure. | tt0046547 | Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Walter Slezak, Timothy Carey | Adventure | NULL | |||
| White Zombie | 1932 | Victor Halperin | ★★★ | 73 | Zombie master Lugosi menaces newlyweds on Haitian sugar plantation; eerie, unique low-budget chiller. Also shown in a computer-colored version. | tt0023694 | Bela Lugosi, Madge Bellamy, Joseph Cawthorn, Robert Frazer, John Harron, Brandon Hurst, Clarence Muse | Horror | NULL | |||
| White of the Eye | 1987 | Donald Cammell | ★★★ | 110 | Bizarre thriller set in a small Arizona town about psycho Keith, who's (understandably) having marital squabbles with wife Moriarty. Dazzling technique recalling the experimental films of the 1960s marks this disturbing picture, a smashing return to films for director Cammell (PERFORMANCE, DEMON SEED) and Moriarty. | tt0094320 | [R] | David Keith, Cathy Moriarty, Art Evans, Alan Rosenberg, Alberta Watson, Michael Greene, Mark Hayashi | British | Thriller | NULL | |
| Whiteboyz | 1999 | Marc Levin | ★★ | 97 | Hoch is terrific as a young man named Flip who's convinced he's black on the inside, and does his best to talk like an inner-city rapper. This is especially tough for people to understand in the middle of Iowa, where he lives. Fresh and funny for a while, but soon the idea is exhausted; its dramatic climax is all too predictable. | tt0178988 | [R] | Danny Hoch, Dash Mihok, Mark Webber, Piper Perabo, Eugene Byrd, Bonz Malone, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Fat Joe, Dread Prez, Mic Geronimo, Doug E. Fresh | Drama | NULL | ||
| Whiteout | 2009 | Dominic Sena | ★★ | 101 | Good-looking but paper-thin thriller involving U.S. marshal Beckinsale, stationed in Antarctica, who struggles to exorcise her demons while investigating some gruesome killings. Even though her character is constantly in danger, Beckinsale is always perfectly coiffed; early on, she even peels off her clothes and takes a steamy shower. Only in the movies. . . . Based on a graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. | tt0365929 | [R] | Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short, Alex O’Loughlin, Shawn Doyle, Joel Keller, Jesse Todd | U.S.-Canadian-French | Drama, Crime, Action, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Whity | 1971 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder. | ★★★ | 95 | For Fassbinder completists who think they've seen it all comes this avant-garde horse opera filmed in Spain on the sets of Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns. B-movie stalwart Randell plays a sadistic rancher whose depraved family (painted in whiteface) includes a nympho wife, two sons— one a transvestite, the other mentally retarded— and a mulatto butler who's really his illegitimate son. One of a kind, brilliantly shot in widescreen by Michael Ballhaus, and featuring Fassbinder himself as a whip-wielding barroom gambler. | tt0067979 | Ron Randell, Gunter Kaufmann, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Harry Baer, Ulli Lommel, Tomas Blanco, Stefano Capriati, Elaine Baker, Mark Salvage, Helga Ballhaus. | German | Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Who Do You Love | 2010 | Jerry Zaks | ★★ | 92 | True-life saga of Leonard Chess, son of an immigrant Chicago junk dealer who (with his brother Philip) founded a nightclub and record label that specialized in spotting and nurturing black musicians like blues greats Willie Dixon (McBride), Muddy Waters (Oyelowo), and Etta James (renamed Ivy Mills here, and played by Echikunwoke) in the late 1940s and 1950s . . . to the detriment of his marriage. Basic story is good, and so is the music, but this treatment isn't quite as rich as the one in CADILLAC RECORDS, made around the same time but released first. | tt1186795 | Unrated | Alessandro Nivola, Chi McBride, David Oyelowo, Jon Abrahams, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Marika Dominczyk, Miko DeFoor, Keb' Mo', Robert Randolph | Drama | NULL | ||
| Who Done It? | 1942 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★★ | 75 | One of A&C's best finds the boys as would-be radio writers who pretend to be detectives when the network's president is murdered, and everyone believes them— including the killer! Great supporting cast is topped by Wickes as wise-cracking secretary and Bendix as real cop who's even dumber than Lou. | tt0035555 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patric Knowles, Louise Allbritton, William Gargan, William Bendix, Mary Wickes, Don Porter, Thomas Gomez, Jerome Cowan, Ludwig Stossel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who Done It? | 1956 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 85 | Hill's only star vehicle movie is a Red Skelton-type comedy about a novice private eye involved with foreign spies. No double-entendre jokes, but lots of slapstick, much of it labored and obvious. Best for kids. | tt0049951 | Benny Hill, Belinda Lee, David Kossoff, Garry Marsh, George Margo, Ernest Thesiger | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 1988 | Robert Zemeckis | ★★★½ | 103 | Staggering special-effects comedy places down-and-out 1940s detective Hoskins on the trail of a murderer, with cartoon star Roger Rabbit (the chief suspect) at his side. Flaws in story and characterization pale alongside the incredible blend of live-action and animation, but the ultimate feat is making us believe that Roger and his cartoon colleagues actually exist. Extra fun: spotting the many cartoon stars who make cameo appearances. Jessica Rabbit's speaking voice was done by Kathleen Turner (unbilled) and her singing voice by Amy Irving. A coproduction of the Steven Spielberg and Walt Disney companies. Animation director Richard Williams received a special Academy Award; three other Oscars included one for Special Visual Effects. | tt0096438 | [PG] | Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Stubby Kaye, Alan Tilvern; voices of Charles Fleischer, Lou Hirsch, Mel Blanc, Mae Questel, Tony Anselmo, June Foray, Wayne Allwine | Action, Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Who Has Seen the Wind | 1977 | Allan (Winton) King | ★★½ | 100 | OK chronicle of young Painchaud and Junor's life in Saskatchewan during the Depression. Ferrer is amusing as a bootlegger. | tt0076919 | Brian Painchaud, Douglas Junor, Gordon Pinsent, Chapelle Jaffe, Jose Ferrer, Helen Shaver | Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? | 1971 | Ulu Grosbard | ★★ | 108 | Muddled comedy-drama by Herb Gardner casts Dustin as successful rock composer-singer who finds money doesn't answer all of life's questions. Harris comes along late in film to save this debacle with an outstanding performance. | tt0067980 | [PG] | Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Harris, Jack Warden, David Burns, Gabriel Dell, Dom DeLuise, Betty Walker | Drama | NULL | ||
| Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? | 1978 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★★ | 112 | Slick comedy whodunit with self-explanatory title has luscious views of European scenery and food, plus a magnificently funny role for Morley as the world's premier gourmet. Script by Peter Stone, based on Nan and Ivan Lyons' novel. | tt0078488 | [PG] | George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Morley, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Madge Ryan, Joss Ackland, Nigel Havers | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Who Killed Doc Robbin? | 1948 | Bernard Carr | ★★ | 50 | Those ersatz Little Rascals are back in the second attempt by producer Hal Roach to rekindle the OUR GANG magic. This time the kids try to rescue a handyman who's accused of murdering a local 'mad scientist.' A spooky mansion and a huge gorilla give this threadbare comedy what little life it has. Retitled CURLEY AND HIS GANG IN THE HAUNTED MANSION for TV. | tt0040966 | Virginia Grey, Don Castle, George Zucco, Whitford Kane, Larry Olsen, Eilene Janssen, Gerald Perreau | Comedy, Horror | NULL | |||
| Who Killed Gail Preston? | 1938 | Leon Barsha. | ★★½ | 60 | Minor whodunit with cop Terry investigating the murder of the title character, an unlikable singer. | tt0030974 | Don Terry, Rita Hayworth, Robert Paige, Wyn Cahoon, Gene Morgan, Marc Lawrence, Arthur Loft. | Mystery | NULL | |||
| Who Killed Mary What's'ername? | 1971 | Ernest Pintoff | ★★½ | 90 | Diabetic ex-boxer sets out to find a prostitute's murderer when he becomes angered at everyone's indifference. Whodunit isn't bad, but nothing special; acting is generally good. | tt0067981 | [PG] | Red Buttons, Alice Playten, Sylvia Miles, Sam Waterston, Dick Williams, Conrad Bain | Crime, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Who Killed Teddy Bear | 1965 | Joseph Cates | ★½ | 91 | Sleazy, leering low-budget suspenser about psychopathic busboy Mineo preying on discotheque hostess Prowse. A waste of talent. | tt0059909 | Juliet Prowse, Sal Mineo, Jan Murray, Elaine Stritch, Dan Travanty (Daniel J. Travanti) | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Who Killed the Electric Car? | 2006 | Chris Paine | ★★★ | 92 | Fine documentary about the mysterious death of the once-highly-touted electric car, a product that threatened to revolutionize an industry and warm the hearts of environmentalists. Instead, as this well-researched film suggests, there may have been sinister corporate forces at work behind its virtual disappearance. In addition to exploring the unplugging of a dream, Paine's potent narrative also puts a spotlight on the world's energy crisis and the urgent need for renewable sources of fuel. Fascinating and important. | tt0489037 | [PG] | Narrated by Martin Sheen | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow? | 1971 | Edward Mann (Santos Alcocer) | ★★½ | 85 | Offbeat story of man who feels it is the children of the world who will determine its future. Freeman's film debut. | tt0067982 | [G] | Jack Klugman, Norma French, Reuben Figueroa, David Mann, Morgan Freeman, Esther Rolle | Family | NULL | ||
| Who Shot Patakango? | 1990 | Robert Brooks | ★★ | 102 | Slight, meandering account of life at a Brooklyn vocational high school in 1957, a time when blacks were moving from the South into Northern inner cities and whites had not yet fled to the suburbs. Brooks coscripted and coedited with wife Halle; he also photographed, and she produced. Aka WHO SHOT PAT? | tt0100930 | [R] | David Knight, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Otto, Aaron Ingram, Brad Randall | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Who Slew Auntie Roo? | 1971 | Curtis Harrington | ★★ | 89 | Sickie about daffy old lady who steers unwitting children into her lair. Made in England; intended to be a variation of Hansel and Gretel! Aka WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? | tt0067983 | [PG] | Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, Chloe Franks, Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries, Hugh Griffith | Horror | NULL | ||
| Who Was That Lady? | 1960 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 115 | Spicy shenanigans move along at lively pace as Curtis and Martin pretend to be secret agents to confuse Tony's jealous wife Leigh; script by Norman Krasna, from his play. | tt0054473 | Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, Janet Leigh, James Whitmore, John McIntire, Barbara Nichols, Joi Lansing | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who is Cletis Tout? | 2002 | Chris Ver Wiel | ★★ | 92 | A movie-buff hit man (Allen) encourages his captive (Slater) to tell his story as if he's pitching a script to a Hollywood producer: it's the saga of a bank heist, jailbreak, mob hit, and romance . . . but it plays like a deflated balloon. Writer-director Ver Wiel has seen a lot of movies, but can only come up with a pale imitation of a crime caper; his worst mistake is opening with a great movie scene, the finale of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. Completed in 2000. | tt0246500 | [R] | Christian Slater, Tim Allen, Richard Dreyfuss, Portia de Rossi, Billy Connolly, Peter MacNeill, Elias Zarou, RuPaul | Canadian | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |
| Who'll Stop the Rain | 1978 | Karel Reisz | ★★★ | 126 | Robert Stone's National Book Award-winning Dog Soldiers suffers from excessively genteel treatment in telling its truly mean story about the smuggling of heroin from Vietnam to California. Strong performances in virtually every role. Aka DOG SOLDIERS. | tt0078490 | [R] | Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Masur, Ray Sharkey, David Opatoshu, Gail Strickland, Charles Haid | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 1966 | Mike Nichols | ★★★½ | 129 | Two couples get together for an all-night session of bitter conversation; Burton and Taylor's finest hour (together) in searing Edward Albee drama. Taylor and Dennis won Oscars, as did Haskell Wexler's incisive b&w photography, Richard Sylbert's art direction, and Irene Sharaff's costumes. Film broke Hollywood taboos for adult material, would cause lesser furor today. Script by producer Ernest Lehman. Nichols' first film as director. | tt0061184 | Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis | Drama | NULL | |||
| Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? | 1963 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 103 | Undemanding fluff about TV star Martin being urged altar-ward by fiancée Montgomery. Burnett, in her film debut, is his psychiatrist's nurse. | tt0057682 | Dean Martin, Elizabeth Montgomery, Carol Burnett, Martin Balsam, Jill St. John, Richard Conte, Louis Nye | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who's Got the Action? | 1962 | Daniel Mann | ★★½ | 93 | Strained froth of Turner combatting hubby Martin's horse-racing fever by turning bookie. | tt0056691 | Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert, Nita Talbot, Walter Matthau, Paul Ford, Margo, John McGiver, Jack Albertson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who's Harry Crumb? | 1989 | Paul Flaherty | ★★ | 98 | Candy is ideally cast as an inept private detective attempting to unearth a kidnapper in this uneven comedy. Has some very funny moments, but too much outright silliness. | tt0098645 | [PG-13] | John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts, Tim Thomerson, Barry Corbin, Shawnee Smith, Valri Bromfield, Renee Coleman, Joe Flaherty, Lyle Alzado, James Belushi, Stephen Young | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Who's Minding the Mint? | 1967 | Howard Morris | ★★★½ | 97 | Hilarious comedy, neglected at time of release, is tremendous fun in the classic comedy tradition, with motley gang of thieves helping U.S. Mint worker Hutton replace money he accidentally destroyed. Buono is especially funny as pompous ex-skipper. | tt0062490 | Jim Hutton, Dorothy Provine, Milton Berle, Joey Bishop, Bob Denver, Walter Brennan, Victor Buono, Jack Gilford, Jamie Farr, Jackie Joseph | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who's Minding the Store? | 1963 | Frank Tashlin | ★★½ | 90 | Jerry Lewis vehicle with bumbling idiot (guess who?) set loose in department store. Great supporting cast in stereotyped comic foil roles, plus one good inventive bit. | tt0057683 | Jerry Lewis, Agnes Moorehead, Jill St. John, John McGiver, Ray Walston, Nancy Kulp, Francesca Bellini | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Who's That Girl? | 1987 | James Foley | 💣 | 94 | Atrocious attempt at screwball comedy with Dunne as the hapless hero whose life is turned inside out when he's assigned to escort Madonna (just sprung from jail) out of town. Derivative film is missing just two things: charm and humor. | tt0094321 | [PG] | Madonna, Griffin Dunne, Haviland Morris, John McMartin, Robert Swan, Drew Pillsbury, John Mills | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Who's That Knocking at My Door | J. R. | 1968 | Martin Scorsese | ★★★ | 90 | Crude but fascinating autobiographical drama from Scorsese, his first feature, focusing on relationship between streetwise Keitel, hung up by his strict Catholic upbringing, and independent young woman (Bethune). Keitel's film debut. Also released as J.R. | tt0063803 | Zina Bethune, Harvey Keitel, Anne Collette, Lennard Kuras, Michael Scala, Harry Northup, Bill Minkin | Drama | NULL | ||
| Who's the Man? | 1993 | Ted Demme | ★★ | 85 | Nonsensical airhead of a movie in which MTV rap veejays Ed Lover and Doctor Dre play characters named Ed Lover and Doctor Dre, inept Harlem haircutters who somehow become N.Y.C. cops and battle a villainous real estate speculator. Loud, crude, and crammed with cameos by a variety of rap artists (Kriss Kross, B-Real, Humpty Hump, Queen Latifah). Not without laughs, but more valuable as an artifact of the early '90s. | tt0108560 | [R] | Ed Lover, Doctor Dre, Badja Djola, Cheryl 'Salt' James, Jim Moody, Ice-T, Andre B. Blake, Rozwill Young, Colin Quinn, Denis Leary, Kurt Loder, Richard Bright | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Who? | Robo Man | 1973 | Jack Gold | ★★½ | 93 | Gould plays FBI agent investigating American scientist's car crash in Russia, and subsequent reappearance with a strangely restructured face. Intriguing if not completely satisfying spy/sci-fi mix. Based on the novel by Algis Budrys. Video title: ROBO MAN. | tt0072405 | [PG] | Elliott Gould, Trevor Howard, Joseph Bova, Ed Grover, James Noble, John Lehne | British | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL |
| The Whole Nine Yards | 2000 | Jonathan Lynn | ★★½ | 99 | Perry is broadly funny as a miserably married dentist who learns that his new neighbor is a notorious hit man. He figures to get something he wants by ratting out the gunman to his former Chicago gang . . . but quickly gets in over his head. Farcical black comedy has enough twists, turns, and laughs to overcome its basic silliness. Followed by a sequel. | tt0190138 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, Kevin Pollak | Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Whole Shootin' Match | 1978 | Eagle Pennell | ★★★ | 108 | Relaxed, low-key portrait of two Texas good ol' boys whose many dreams and schemes never quite pan out. Short on narrative but long on atmosphere, this poster child for low-budget, regional American cinema boasts amiable—and completely believable—performances by its leading actors, and a refreshingly nonjudgmental look at their existence. A cornerstone of the indie film movement, written by Pennell and Lin Sutherland. | tt0181156 | Unrated | Lou Perryman (Perry), Sonny Davis, Doris Hargrave, Eric Henshaw, David Weber, James Harrell | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Whole Ten Yards | 2004 | Howard Deutch | 💣 | 99 | The sequel for which no one was clamoring reunites the cast of THE WHOLE NINE YARDS, a pleasant-enough film, and puts them in a frantically unfunny story about Willis (who's supposedly deceased) being forced back into the crime game to help dentist Perry rescue his kidnapped wife. Or something like that. Perry falls down and bumps into everything imaginable, a valiant effort to find laughs in a script that has none to offer. That's Willis' daughter Tallulah as the foulmouthed Buttercup Scout. | tt0327247 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollak, Natasha Henstridge | Action, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| The Whole Town's Talking | 1935 | John Ford | ★★★ | 95 | Entertaining comedy with meek clerk Robinson a lookalike for notorious gangster; fine performances by E. G. and Arthur. Script by Jo Swerling and Robert Riskin, from a W. R. Burnett novel. | tt0027214 | Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, Wallace Ford, Arthur Hohl, Edward Brophy, Arthur Byron, Donald Meek | Comedy, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Whole Truth | 1958 | John Guillermin | ★★½ | 84 | Good cast lends strength to fair plot of almost perfect attempt to pin murder of movie starlet on producer Granger. | tt0052391 | Stewart Granger, Donna Reed, George Sanders, Gianna Maria Canale | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Whole Wide World | 1996 | Dan Ireland | ★★★ | 105 | Poignant, based-on-fact drama, set in Texas during the 1930s and charting the complex relationship between two independent-minded souls: pulp novelist Robert E. Howard, the obsessive, overbearing creator of Conan the Barbarian, and schoolteacher/aspiring writer Novalyne Price, upon whose memoir this is based. Their dreams and realities are vividly etched in this extremely well acted film. | tt0118163 | [PG] | Vincent D'Onofrio, Renée Zellweger, Ann Wedgeworth, Harve Presnell, Benjamin Mouton, Michael Corbett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wholly Moses | 1980 | Gary Weis | ★½ | 109 | Great cast flounders in this stale saga of 'savior' Moore, who thinks God has ordained him to lead the Jews out of Egypt. Some amusing bits, notably by DeLuise; otherwise, an appalling waste. | tt0081751 | [PG] | Dudley Moore, Laraine Newman, James Coco, Paul Sand, Jack Gilford, Dom DeLuise, John Houseman, Madeline Kahn, David L. Lander, Richard Pryor, John Ritter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Whom the Gods Destroy | 1934 | Walter Lang. | ★★★ | 75 | Famous theatrical producer turns coward during the sinking of an ocean liner but is thought to have died a hero. He cannot face his family and friends, so he watches from afar as his son grows to manhood. Good storytelling (from a story by Albert Payson Terhune), with a great shipwreck sequence, and no fewer than five montages! Screenplay by Sidney Buchman. | tt0025987 | Walter Connolly, Robert Young, Doris Kenyon, Scotty Beckett, Rollo Lloyd, Hobart Bosworth, Gilbert Emery, Akim Tamiroff, Henry Kolker, Charles Middleton, Walter Brennan. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Whoopee Boys | 1986 | John Byrum | 💣 | 88 | Awful comedy about a couple of wiseguys who try to break into Palm Beach society. Crude, to say the least. | tt0092210 | [R] | Michael O'Keefe, Paul Rodriguez, Denholm Elliott, Carole Shelley, Andy Bumatai, Eddie Deezen, Marsha Warfield, Joe Spinell, Dan O' Herlihy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Whoopee! | 1930 | Thornton Freeland | ★★★ | 93 | Antique movie musical sparked by Cantor's performance as a hyper-hypochondriac, and Busby Berkeley's wonderful production numbers. Cantor sings 'Making Whoopee' and 'My Baby Just Cares for Me'; the girl who sings the first chorus of the opening song is a very young Betty Grable. Filmed in two-color Technicolor. Remade as UP IN ARMS. | tt0021549 | Eddie Cantor, Eleanor Hunt, Paul Gregory, John Rutherford, Ethel Shutta | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Whore | 1991 | Ken Russell | ★★ | 85 | Reinventing the Wheel: The gist of this melodrama is that streetwalking is a dead-end profession with lots of sordid characters. Russell's performance is so broad— but sometimes so funny— that it's difficult to gauge how good or bad it is. Available on video in a 92m. uncut European release, in the 85m. NC-17 version released in U.S. theaters, in an 85m. 'R' version— and in the same 85m. version that's been packaged for title-shy stores as IF YOU CAN'T SAY IT, JUST SEE IT. Hardly worth the trouble. | tt0103253 | Theresa Russell, Benjamin Mouton, Antonio Fargas, Sanjay, Elizabeth Morehead, Michael Crabtree, John Diehl, Jack Nance, Tom Villard, Ginger Lynn Allen | Drama | NULL | |||
| Whose Life Is It Anyway? | 1981 | John Badham | ★★★½ | 118 | Searing black comedy in which sculptor Dreyfuss is paralyzed from the neck down in an auto accident, argues for his right to die. Remarkable performance by Dreyfuss, excellent ones by hospital chief of staff Cassavetes, doctor Lahti, judge McMillan, nurse trainee Hunter. From Brian Clark's hit play, with a script by the author and Reginald Rose. | tt0083326 | [R] | Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti, Bob Balaban, Kenneth McMillan, Kaki Hunter, Janet Eilber, Thomas Carter | Drama | NULL | ||
| Who’s Your Caddy? | 2007 | Don Michael Paul | ★½ | 92 | Gangsta rapper C-Note (Patton) and his posse seek membership in a snooty South Carolina country club, much to the chagrin of its condescending president (Jones). Predictably, crotches are pummeled, gas is passed, and stereotypes run amok while this flimsy farce alternates between crude slapstick and sappy sentiment. Failed bid for solo movie stardom for OutKast hip-hop artist Patton. | tt0785077 | [PG-13] | Antwan Andre �Big Boi� Patton, Jeffrey Jones, Tamala Jones, Sherri Shepherd, Faizon Love, Garrett Morris | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Why Bother to Knock | 1964 | Cyril Frankel | ★½ | 88 | Trashy smut about Todd traipsing around Europe giving out keys to his pals, with the girls all turning up unexpectedly. | tt0055621 | Elke Sommer, Richard Todd, Nicole Maurey, Scot Finch | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Why Did I Get Married Too? | 2010 | Tyler Perry | ★½ | 121 | Annoying sequel to 2007 marital melodrama finds the four couples arriving in the Bahamas for their annual vacation together, where they sit around analyzing the state of their not-so wedded bliss. Things get dicey when one wife's ex-hubby unexpectedly shows up to try and break up her marriage to a younger man. Despite a talented cast, Perry's penchant for over-the-top melodrama and in-your-face comedy makes for an uneasy mix. Dwayne Johnson turns up during the closing credits to set up yet another sequel. | tt1391137 | [PG-13] | Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba, Richard T. Jones, Tasha Smith, Lamman Rucker, Michael Jai White, Louis Gossett, Jr., Cicely Tyson, Valarie Pettiford | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Why Did I Get Married? | 2007 | Tyler Perry | ★★½ | 118 | Appreciably more subdued than his previous films, writer-director Perry’s sudsy comedy-drama plays for keeps even while it’s playing for laughs as four couples swap stories and air grievances during their annual semi-therapeutic get-together at a Colorado resort. Subtlety is in short supply, but the ensemble is first-rate, and a few scenes have potent emotional impact. | tt0906108 | [PG-13] | Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Sharon Leal, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott, Richard T. Jones | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Why Do Fools Fall in Love | 1998 | Gregory Nava | ★★ | 112 | Disappointing account of ill-fated 1950s rock 'n' roller Frankie Lymon (Tate), who ended up a junkie and died of an overdose in 1968 at age 26, and the three very different women he allegedly married. Superficial, to say the least, and sometimes embarrassing. Little Richard (playing himself) enlivens the proceedings whenever he is onscreen. | tt0123324 | [R] | Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, Lela Rochon, Larenz Tate, Paul Mazursky, Pamela Reed, Alexis Cruz, David Barry Gray, Miguel A. Nunez/Jr., Clifton Powell, Ben Vereen, Lane Smith | Drama | NULL | ||
| Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? | 1989 | Bae Yong-kyun | ★★★ | 135 | Meditative, mind-expanding account of an elderly, dying Zen master and his two disciples, a monk and a boy; they retire to a rural monastery, away from the 'turbulence of life,' where the master attempts to guide the others toward a state of enlightenment. An unusual film, not for all temperaments, but most rewarding if you can immerse yourself in its flow. Premiered theatrically in the U.S. in 1993. | tt0097195 | Yi Pan-yong, Sin Won-sop, Huang Hae-jin, Ko Su-myong, Kim Hae-yong | Korean | Drama | NULL | ||
| Why Must I Die? | 1960 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★ | 86 | Similar to I WANT TO LIVE! except in quality. Moore is singer falsely convicted of murder, with expected histrionics. | tt0054474 | Terry Moore, Debra Paget, Bert Freed, Julie Reding | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Why Not! | Pourquoi Pas! | 1979 | Coline Serreau | ★★★ | 93 | Frey, Murillo, and Gonzalez, trying to leave their pasts behind, are roommates— and share the same bed. Then Frey becomes involved with Jamet. Sometimes funny and touching, but not as involving as it should be. Original title: POURQUOI PAS. | tt0079742 | Sami Frey, Christine Murillo, Mario Gonzalez, Michel Aumont, Nicole Jamet, Mathe Souverbie | French | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Why Shoot the Teacher? | 1977 | Silvio Narizzano | ★★★ | 101 | Simple, warm, enjoyable story of Cort's experiences when he takes a teaching job in a small, isolated farming town during the Depression. | tt0076920 | Bud Cort, Samantha Eggar, Chris Wiggins, Gary Reineke, John Friesen, Michael J. Reynolds | Canadian | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Why We Fight | 2006 | Eugene Jarecki | ★★★ | 98 | Low-key polemic (possibly too much so) takes off from Frank Capra's pugnacious WW2 documentaries and President Eisenhower's final address that famously and presciently warned of the 'military-industrial' complex. Film's thesis is that the brass and big munitions companies play a game of 'risky synergy' and that America has to drum up wars on which the dragon it has created can gorge. A few neoconservatives also get their say. Not a lot of revelations here, but the material and interviewees are interesting. Ever-reliable wag Gore Vidal alludes to 'the United States of Amnesia.' | tt0436971 | [PG-13] | U.S.-British-Danish | Documentary, History | NULL | ||
| Why Worry? | 1923 | Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor | ★★★½ | 77 | Hilarious story of millionaire playboy Lloyd who stumbles into revolution-ridden country and inadvertently becomes involved. Packed with belly-laugh sight gags. | tt0014611 | Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, John Aasen, Leo White, James Mason | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Why Would Anyone Want to Kill a Nice Girl Like You? | 1969 | Don Sharp | ★★ | 99 | A young tourist on the French Riviera thinks someone is trying to kill her, but none of the local officials will believe her. Familiar storyline handled in routine fashion. | tt0065072 | Eva Renzi, David Buck, Peter Vaughan, Paul Hubschmid, Sophie Hardy, Kay Walsh | British | Crime | NULL | ||
| Why Would I Lie? | 1980 | Larry Peerce | ★½ | 105 | Irrational dud about compulsive liar Williams, who tries to unite Swann with ex-con mother Eichhorn. Film is also odiously reactionary; the villainess (Heldfond) is a one-dimensionally manipulative, man-hating feminist. | tt0081753 | [PG] | Treat Williams, Lisa Eichhorn, Gabriel Swann, Susan Heldfond, Anne Byrne, Valerie Curtin, Jocelyn Brando, Nicolas Coster, Severn Darden | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Wichita | 1955 | Jacques Tourneur | ★★½ | 81 | Action-filled Western; good cast helps Wyatt Earp (McCrea) restore order to Western town overrun with outlaws. | tt0048806 | Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Wallace Ford, Peter Graves, Edgar Buchanan, John Smith, Keith Andes, Jack Elam, Robert Wilke | Western | NULL | |||
| The Wicked City | 1949 | François Villiers | ★½ | 76 | Even exotic Montez can't spice lazy telling of unscrupulous woman and the gob she involves in her sordid life. | tt0042540 | Maria Montez, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Lilli Palmer, Marcel Dalio | French | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz | 1968 | George Marshall | 💣 | 113 |
Laughless dud about beautiful East German Olympic hopeful who polevaults over Berlin Wall to freedom; unengaging cast was mostly recruited from Hogan's Heroes.|
tt0063805
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Elke Sommer, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, Joey Forman, John Banner, Maureen Arthur
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Comedy
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| The Wicked Lady | 1983 | Michael Winner | ★½ | 98 | Remake of 1945 film about a scheming vixen who becomes a 'highwayman' by night; hasn't the panache to turn its campy material into the romp it's intended to be. Heavy-handed stuff— including the periodic nudity. | tt0086582 | [R] | Faye Dunaway, Alan Bates, John Gielgud, Denholm Elliott, Prunella Scales, Oliver Tobias, Glynis Barber, Joan Hickson, Marina Sirtis | British | Adventure, Drama | NULL | |
| Wicked Stepmother | 1989 | Larry Cohen | 💣 | 92 | Complete mess, pieced together from a troubled (to say the least) production which Davis left after filming for just one week. Resulting patchwork story has Bette as a witch who marries Stander and then, for some reason, turns into Carrera. Notable only as a footnote in Davis' career; this was her final film. | tt0098649 | [PG-13] | Bette Davis, Barbara Carrera, Colleen Camp, David Rasche, Lionel Stander, Tom Bosley, Richard Moll, Evelyn Keyes | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Wicked Woman | 1954 | Russell Rouse | ★½ | 77 | Lumbering drama about no-good waitress leading assorted men astray. | tt0047676 | Richard Egan, Beverly Michaels, Percy Helton, Evelyn Scott | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wicked as They Come | 1956 | Ken Hughes | ★★ | 94 | Dahl cavorts nicely in this minor story of a girl from the poor part of town involved with the wrong people. | tt0049629 | Arlene Dahl, Phil Carey, Herbert Marshall, David Kossoff | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wicked, Wicked | 1973 | Richard L. Bare | 💣 | 95 | Disastrous mystery-thriller centering around series of hotel murders. Film was released in Duo-vision split-screen process with two things happening at once. Pity there was not enough material for even one. | tt0070916 | [PG] | Tiffany Bolling, Scott Brady, David Bailey, Edd Byrnes | Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Wicker Man | 1973 | Robin Hardy | ★★★½ | 103 | Harrowing, absorbing thriller by Anthony Shaffer; not really a horror film as many believe. Scot police sergeant Woodward comes to small island investigating disappearance of a child, discovers a society of modern pagans. Eerie and erotic, with seemingly authentic local color and folk music; a must-see. Shown only in truncated versions for many years; beware the 87m. and 95m. prints, which may still be in circulation. | tt0070917 | [R] | Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Lindsay Kemp | British | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |
| The Wicker Man | 2006 | Neil LaBute | ★½ | 102 | Cop travels to an isolated island after receiving word from his ex that her child has disappeared and finds the place populated by a quietly tyrannical cult of women. Interesting (if misogynistic) reimagining of the 1973 film's concept is poorly executed: a mysterious, building dread has been replaced with the obvious presence of an evil that the hero is too dumb to figure out. Cage is sometimes hilariously hammy; only Burstyn, chillingly warm and civilized as the cult's leader, emerges unscathed. Some familiar faces appear in cameo roles. LaBute adapted Anthony Shaffer's original screenplay. Unrated 106m. version has more gore and a shortened, improved ending. | tt0450345 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Beahan, Frances Conroy, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Diane Delano | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wicker Park | 2004 | Paul McGuigan. | ★½ | 115 | Adman Hartnett puts his life on hold as he becomes obsessed with a woman he spies in a restaurant; he thinks she's his ex-love, who unexpectedly departed a couple of years earlier. Muddled thriller is loaded with flashbacks and plot twists, too many of which make no sense whatsoever. Remake of the French film L'APPARTEMENT (1996). | tt0324554 | [PG-13] | Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Matthew Lillard, Diane Kruger, Christopher Cousins, Jessica Paré, Vlasta Vrana, Amy Sobol. | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wide Awake | 1998 | M. Night Shyamalan | ★★★ | 90 | A 10-year-old Catholic school student has loving, affluent parents, but since the recent death of his beloved grandfather, he's been trying to figure out the meaning of life. Warm, quirky, and sensitive comedy/drama/parable. Young lead Cross and costar Loggia (as the deceased grandparent, in flashbacks) stand out in fine cast. Written by the director; shot in 1995. | tt0120510 | [PG] | Joseph Cross, Timothy Reifsnyder, Dana Delany, Denis Leary, Robert Loggia, Rosie O'Donnell, Camryn Manheim, Dan Lauria, Julia Stiles | Family, Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wide Blue Road | 1957 | Gillo Pontecorvo | ★★★½ | 99 | Moving, robust slice of life about an insular Italian fishing village and one proud, stubborn man who continues to engage in dynamite fishing (even though it's illegal), which pits him against a coast guard lieutenant— and the community. Montand was never more charismatic. Pontecorvo's debut film (which he cowrote with Franco Solinas) pays homage to neorealism but charts its own course— in breathtaking color. | tt0050454 | Yves Montand, Alida Valli, Francisco Rabal, Umberto Spadaro, Peter Carsten, Federica Ranchi, Terence Hill | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wide Open Faces | 1938 | Kurt Neumann | ★★½ | 67 | Enjoyable Brown vehicle with top-notch supporting cast; innocent soda jerk mixed up with gangster. | tt0030977 | Joe E. Brown, Jane Wyman, Alison Skipworth, Lyda Roberti, Alan Baxter, Lucien Littlefield, Sidney Toler | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wide Open Town | 1941 | Lesley Selander. | ★★★ | 77 | Icy proprietress of Paradise Saloon is also a crime queen with bad men who do her bidding— until Hopalong Cassidy arrives on the scene. Remake of HOPALONG CASSIDY RETURNS, with Brent repeating her role and Ankrum changing sides. Better director, production values, and action, plus beautiful Lone Pine exteriors (which receive unprecedented screen credit) help this surpass the original, a good movie on its own. Hayden's last ride for Bar 20; debut of 15-year-old redhead Kay. | tt0034391 | William Boyd, Russell Hayden, Andy Clyde, Evelyn Brent, Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, Bernice Kay (Cara Williams). | Action, Adventure, Western | NULL | |||
| Wide Sargasso Sea | 1993 | John Duigan | ★★ | 100 | In 1840s Jamaica, free-spirited Creole Antoinette (Lombard), heiress to a declining estate, marries proper Englishman Rochester (Parker); at first entranced by her powerful sensuality, he fears losing control, and coldly turns away from her, which leads to tragedy. Though attractive, a failed attempt to build real drama out of humid tropical passions. Based on Jean Rhys' novel, this is a 'prequel' to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Available on video in R and unrated versions. | tt0108565 | [NC-17] | Karina Lombard, Nathaniel Parker, Rachel Ward, Michael York, Martine Beswicke, Claudia Robinson, Rowena King | U.S.-Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| The Widow From Chicago | 1930 | Edward F. Cline | ★★ | 64 | Robinson plays a beer baron targeted for revenge by White, whose brother he rubbed out, in this antiquated gangster film, interesting only for Robinson's pre-LITTLE CAESAR performance. | tt0021551 | Alice White, Neil Hamilton, Edward G. Robinson, Frank McHugh, Lee Shumway | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| The Widow of Saint-Pierre | 2000 | Patrice Leconte | ★★½ | 108 | Unusual story set in a remote French island off the coast of Canada in 1850, where a condemned murderer cannot be put to death because there is no guillotine. While waiting for one to arrive, the military commandant's wife makes the prisoner's rehabilitation her pet project. Interesting but unsatisfying morality tale, with Yugoslav director Kusturica a strong presence as the prisoner. | tt0191636 | [R] | Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Emir Kusturica, Philippe Magnan, Michel Duchaussoy | French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Widow | 1955 | Lewis Milestone | ★★ | 89 | Uneven soaper of Roc involved with lover Serrato, a sports car racer, who falls for Ferrero; film meanders. | tt0047645 | Patricia Roc, Anna Maria Ferrero, Massimo Serrato, Akim Tamiroff | Italian | Romance | NULL | ||
| Widows' Peak | 1994 | John Irvin | ★★½ | 101 | Fitfully amusing feminine slant on John Ford's brand of Blarney, with sadsack Farrow butting heads with flashy WW1 widow Richardson, who's moved to an Irish resort village in the mid 1920s. Inconsistent in tone, but three strong leads make it watchable. | tt0111712 | [PG] | Joan Plowright, Mia Farrow, Natasha Richardson, Adrian Dunbar, Jim Broadbent, Britta Smith, Gerard McSorley | Thriller, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wife Takes a Flyer | 1942 | Richard Wallace | ★★ | 86 | Weak WW2 espionage comedy of Tone pretending to be Bennett's husband to escape from Holland. | tt0035560 | Joan Bennett, Franchot Tone, Allyn Joslyn, Cecil Cunningham, Chester Clute | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Wife Wanted | 1946 | Phil Karlson. | ★★ | 73 | In her last film, Francis is film star innocently hooked up with lonely-heart crooks; low production values. | tt0039105 | Kay Francis, Paul Cavanagh, Robert Shayne, Veda Ann Borg. | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wife of Monte Cristo | 1946 | Edgar G. Ulmer | ★★ | 80 | Corruption in the medical profession proves a formidable match for the Count; standard low-budget swashbuckler. | tt0039106 | John Loder, Lenore Aubert, Charles Dingle, Eduardo Ciannelli, Eva Gabor, Martin Kosleck | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Wife vs. Secretary | 1936 | Clarence Brown | ★★½ | 88 | Perfect example of Hollywood gloss, with three topnotch stars towering over inferior material. Harlow is particularly good in tale of secretary who becomes invaluable to her boss (Gable), causing complications in both of their lives. | tt0028505 | Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, May Robson, George Barbier, James Stewart, Hobart Cavanaugh | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Wife, Doctor and Nurse | 1937 | Walter Lang | ★★½ | 85 | Baxter is caught between two women, but seems uninterested in both. Bright comedy with expert cast. | tt0029775 | Loretta Young, Warner Baxter, Virginia Bruce, Jane Darwell, Sidney Blackmer, Minna Gombell, Elisha Cook/Jr., Lon Chaney/Jr. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Wife, Husband and Friend | 1939 | Gregory Ratoff. | ★★★ | 80 | Entertaining comedy about aspiring singer Young whose husband Baxter tries to show her up; fun, but better as EVERYBODY DOES IT. Produced and scripted by Nunnally Johnson, from a story by James M. Cain(!). | tt0032128 | Loretta Young, Warner Baxter, Binnie Barnes, George Barbier, Cesar Romero, J. Edward Bromberg, Eugene Pallette, Renie Riano | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wife, Husband and Friend | 1939 | Marco Vicario | ★★★½ | 110 | Antonelli, repressed by philandering husband Mastroianni, sets out to explore his secret lives after he is forced into hiding and experiences her own sexual awakening. Sometimes erotic but mostly murky comedy-drama. | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Laura Antonelli, Leonard Mann, Annie-Belle, Gastone Moschin, William Berger | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wife | 1994 | Tom Noonan | ★★½ | 105 | Married New Age therapists Noonan and Hagerty are visited one evening by one of their patients (Shawn) and his seemingly emotionally disturbed wife (Young). Alternately pretentious and intriguing talkfest gets better as it goes along, but it's nowhere near as impressive as Noonan's previous film, WHAT HAPPENED WAS . . . . | tt0114936 | [R] | Julie Hagerty, Tom Noonan, Wallace Shawn, Karen Young | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wifemistress | 1977 | Marco Vicario. | ★★½ | 110 | Antonelli, repressed by philandering husband Mastroianni, sets out to explore his secret lives after he is forced into hiding and experiences her own sexual awakening. Sometimes erotic but mostly murky comedy-drama. | tt0076400 | [R] | Marcello Mastroianni, Laura Antonelli, Leonard Mann, Annie-Belle, Gastone Moschin, William Berger. | Italian | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Wigstock: The Movie | 1995 | Barry Shils | ★★★ | 85 | Campy documentary record of Wigstock, the drag ball held in N.Y.C. each Labor Day weekend. While famous drag queens like RuPaul appear, the focus is just as much on lesser-known characters such as The Lady Bunny (Wigstock's M.C.), Mistress Formica, and, best of all, the Dueling (Tallulah) Bankheads. | tt0114937 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | 2002 | Lone Scherfig | ★★★ | 109 | Winning comedy-drama about a handful of life's lost souls, set in Glasgow. Wilbur (Sives) is forever trying to do himself in, placing a terrible burden on his brother Harbour (Rawlins) to keep a constant eye on him. Then a young woman (Henderson) with a young daughter in tow comes into their lives, causing surprising changes for all of them. A quirky sense of humor diverts us at first from the film's serious goals and its good-hearted concern for every character on-screen. The director coscripted. | tt0329767 | [R] | Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins, Shirley Henderson, Lisa McKinlay, Mads Mikkelsen, Julia Davis, Susan Vidler | British-Danish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| The Wilby Conspiracy | 1975 | Ralph Nelson | ★★★ | 101 | Slick chase movie about black African political activist and the reluctant white companion he drags with him on cross-country flight from the law. Memories of Poitier's earlier THE DEFIANT ONES keep focusing throughout, but the two stars maintain a light touch. Sinister Williamson steals it from them both. | tt0073901 | [PG] | Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Nicol Williamson, Prunella Gee, Persis Khambatta, Saeed Jaffrey, Rutger Hauer | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wild America | 1997 | William Dear | ★★ | 106 | Ho-hum based-on-fact account of the three adventurous Stouffer brothers, who trek across America in 1967 to film wild animals in their natural habitats. The clichéd subplots do this one in, but it's harmless enough fare for kids. The eldest brother, Marty Stouffer (Bairstow), grew up to become a noted wildlife documentary filmmaker. Danny Glover appears unbilled. | tt0120512 | [PG] | Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa, Scott Bairstow, Frances Fisher, Jamey Sheridan, Tracey Walter, Don Stroud | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Wild Angels | 1966 | Roger Corman | ★½ | 93 | Predecessor of EASY RIDER without that film's class; Charles Griffith's story of destructive motorcycle gang is OK after about 24 beers. Peter Bogdanovich worked extensively on this film: writing, editing, second unit, etc.; he also can be glimpsed in one of the rumbles. | tt0061189 | Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Buck Taylor, Norman Alden, Michael J. Pollard, Joan Shawlee, Gayle Hunnicutt, Dick Miller | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Wild Bill | 1995 | Walter Hill | ★★ | 97 | Odd revisionist take on Wild Bill Hickok, told in episodic form that creates distance from— rather than understanding of— the legendary hell-raiser of the Old West. The title of the film really should be THE ASSASSINATION OF WILD BILL, because that's what it's all about. There are those opium dreams to break the monotony . . . Barkin is fun as Calamity Jane, but other characters are superficially drawn at best. | tt0114938 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, Ellen Barkin, John Hurt, Diane Lane, Keith Carradine, Christina Applegate, Bruce Dern, James Gammon, David Arquette, Marjoe Gortner, James Remar | Western | NULL | ||
| The Wild Blue Yonder | 1951 | Allan Dwan | ★★½ | 98 | Standard WW2 aviation yarn, saluting the B-29 bomber, detailing friendship of Corey and Tucker, rivalry for nurse Ralston, etc. And just for change of pace, Harris sings 'The Thing. | tt0044216 | Wendell Corey, Vera Ralston, Forrest Tucker, Phil Harris, Walter Brennan, Harry Carey/Jr. | War | NULL | |||
| Wild Boys of the Road | 1933 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 68 | Darro, Philips, and Coonan are unable to find work during the Depression, so they ride the rails, panhandle, steal. Dated but still provocative Warner Bros. 'social conscience' drama. | tt0024772 | Frankie Darro, Rochelle Hudson, Dorothy Coonan, Edwin Philips, Ann Hovey, Arthur Hohl, Sterling Holloway | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Wild Bunch | 1969 | Sam Peckinpah | ★★★★ | 134 | Peckinpah's best film won instant notoriety for its 'beautiful' bloodletting, but seems almost restrained alongside today's films. Aging outlaws with their own code of ethics find themselves passe in 1913 and decide to retire after one final haul. Acting, dialogue, direction, score, photography, and especially editing are world class; an authentic American classic. Reissued in 1981 at 142m., with two deleted sequences restored. European theatrical version running 144m. now available on homevideo. | tt0065214 | [R] | William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson, Jaime Sanchez, Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones, Albert Dekker, Bo Hopkins, Emilio Fernandez, Dub Taylor | Action, Drama, Western | NULL | ||
| Wild Cats on the Beach | 1959 | Vittorio Sala. | ★★½ | 96 | Quartet of love tales set at resort area of Côte D'Azur; varying in quality. | tt0052704 | Elsa Martinelli, Alberto Sordi, Georges Marchal, Antonio Cifariello. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wild Child | 2008 | Nick Moore | ★★ | 99 | Distaff rehash of A YANK AT OXFORD transplants spoiled Roberts from Malibu to Abbey Mount School (est. 1797) for proper British girls. There, a bad blonde teen learns how to be a better brunette woman from her patient classmates, while chasing a dreamboat who's somehow the only boy on campus. Broad and often slapsticky, this is a flashy, polished production, but void, and so not St. Trinian's. Richardson, however, is aces as the dedicated headmistress, in her final film. | tt1024255 | [PG-13] | Emma Roberts, Natasha Richardson, Shirley Henderson, Alex Pettyfer, Nick Frost, Aidan Quinn, Juno Temple | U.S.-British-French | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| The Wild Child | 1970 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 85 | Initially absorbing true story of wild boy raised alone in French woods and the doctor who tries to civilize him. Simply told, deliberately old-fashioned in technique; film loses steam half-way through. Truffaut is ideal as the doctor. Set in 1700s. | tt0064285 | [G] | François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Cargol, Jean Daste, Paul Ville | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Wild Company | 1930 | Leo McCarey. | ★½ | 73 | Badly dated melodrama of flaming youth and generation gap; devil-may-care Albertson ignores parents' warnings about company he keeps, gets into trouble over underworld murder. Lugosi plays nightclub owner. | tt0021554 | H. B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Sharon Lynn, Joyce Compton, Claire McDowell, Bela Lugosi. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wild Country | 1971 | Robert Totten | ★★½ | 100 | Standard Disney fare, adapted from Ralph Moody's Little Britches, about joys and hardships faced by family which moves from Pittsburgh to Wyoming in 1880s. Magnificent scenery. | tt0067985 | [G] | Steve Forrest, Vera Miles, Ron Howard, Jack Elam, Frank deKova, Morgan Woodward, Clint Howard | Adventure, Western, Family | NULL | ||
| The Wild Duck | 1983 | Henri Safran | ★½ | 96 | Dreary, disappointing adaptation of the Ibsen play, centering on two days in the lives of the Ackland (anglicized from 'Ekdal') family members and updating the story by twenty-odd years. The question is: Why? Performances are OK, but it's oh so slow and pretentious. | tt0086586 | [PG] | Liv Ullmann, Jeremy Irons, Lucinda Jones, John Meillon, Arthur Dignam, Michael Pate | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| Wild Geese Calling | 1941 | John Brahm | ★★ | 77 | Action and romance in 1890s Oregon and Alaska, but not enough of either. | tt0034393 | Henry Fonda, Joan Bennett, Warren William, Ona Munson, Barton MacLane, Russell Simpson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wild Geese II | 1985 | Peter R. Hunt | ★★ | 125 | Cluttered action-adventure about a much-wanted mercenary hired to spring arch-Nazi Rudolf Hess from Berlin's Spandau prison and the incidents this triggers. Uncomfortable mix of straight action and tongue-in-cheek. | tt0090323 | [R] | Scott Glenn, Barbara Carrera, Edward Fox, Laurence Olivier, Robert Webber, Robert Freitag, Kenneth Haigh | British | Action | NULL | |
| The Wild Geese | 1978 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★½ | 134 | Silly but entertaining action yarn by Reginald Rose with Burton miscast as leader of mercenaries who rescue kidnapped African leader. Better (and shorter) script would have helped. Sequel followed in 1985. | tt0078492 | [R] | Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger, Stewart Granger, Jack Watson, Frank Finlay, Jeff Corey, Winston Ntshona | British | Action, War | NULL | |
| Wild Girl | 1932 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★★ | 74 | Eccentric but enjoyable backwoods story, with Bennett an appealing tomboy ('I like trees better than men,' she says. 'They're straight'), Wallace a hiss-able villain. Presented as a photo album with characters identifying themselves and pages flipped to change scenes. Told mostly (but not always) in broad, tongue-in-cheek fashion. Based on Bret Harte's Salomy Jane stories. Filmed in California's Giant Forest Sequoia National Park. | tt0023700 | Charles Farrell, Joan Bennett, Ralph Bellamy, Eugene Pallette, Irving Pichel, Minna Gombell, Morgan Wallace, Willard Robertson. | Drama, History | NULL | |||
| Wild Gold | 1934 | George Marshall. | ★★ | 75 | Strange blend of comedy, melodrama, romance, and music in hodgepodge story of miner Boles infatuated with singer Trevor, facing irate husband, unexpected disaster in remote forest cabin. Uses stock footage from silent film THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD. | tt0025992 | John Boles, Claire Trevor, Harry Green, Roger Imhof, Monroe Owsley, Ruth Gillette. | Romance | NULL | |||
| Wild Grass | 2010 | Alain Resnais | ★★ | 104 | After purchasing a pair of shoes, a woman (Azéma) has her wallet stolen. A married man (Dussollier) finds it and becomes irrationally obsessed with her. Odd, teasing, dreamlike farce from 88-year-old Resnais is an exploration of chance and fate, and the strange, complex relationship that develops between these two characters . . . but it’s curiously unsatisfying. | tt1156143 | [PG] | Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Anne Consigny, Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric, Michel Vuillermoz, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Sara Forestier, Annie Cordy, Roger-Pierre | French-Italian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Wild Guitar | 1962 | Ray Dennis Steckler | 💣 | 87 | Guitar-playing, motorcycle-riding Hall is exploited by a deceitful record executive. Perfectly awful melodrama. | tt0056693 | Arch Hall/Jr., Nancy Czar, Arch Hall/Sr., Cash Flagg (Ray Dennis Steckler) | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Wild Harvest | 1947 | Tay Garnett | ★½ | 92 | Pretty dismal film of traveling grain-harvesters with Preston and Ladd rivaling for Lamour's love. | tt0039994 | Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, Robert Preston, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Erdman, Allen Jenkins | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wild Heart | Gone To Earth | 1950 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | ★★ | 82 | Muddled tale of strange Welsh girl in late 19th century whose life is dominated by superstitions; she marries minister but is stirred by lusty squire. Beautiful location photography by Christopher Challis. Reedited from 110m. British release called GONE TO EARTH, which plays much better. | tt0045328 | Jennifer Jones, David Farrar, Cyril Cusack, Sybil Thorndike, Edward Chapman, George Cole, Hugh Griffith, Esmond Knight | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken | 1991 | Steve Miner | ★★★ | 88 | Absorbing Disney picture about real-life Sonora Webster, a strong-willed girl who joins a traveling show in the early 1930s and trains to become a 'diving girl'— sitting astride a horse as it dives forty feet into a tank of water. Simply told, and well acted, with Robertson first-rate as a road-company Buffalo Bill. Captures Depression-era flavor (and look) much better than many more ambitious and expensive films. Incidentally, no horses were subjected to high-dives in the making of the film. | tt0103262 | [G] | Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Schoeffling, Cliff Robertson, Dylan Kussman, Kathleen York, Frank Renzulli | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wild Heritage | 1958 | Charles Haas | ★★½ | 78 | Soaper involving events in the intertwining lives of two westward-bound pioneer families. | tt0052393 | Will Rogers/Jr., Maureen O'Sullivan, Rod McKuen, Casey Tibbs, George Winslow, Gigi Perreau, Troy Donahue, John Beradino, Jeanette Nolan | Western | NULL | |||
| Wild Hogs | 2007 | Walt Becker | ★★ | 99 | Four middle-aged pals whose lives have stagnated decide to take a road trip together on their Harleys and immediately get into all sorts of trouble-from camping mishaps to antagonizing a hostile biker gang. Silly, sometimes downright stupid slapstick comedy puts likable actors into the kind of sappy vehicle that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster didn't make until their 70s (see-or rather, don't see-TOUGH GUYS). John C. McGinley appears unbilled, and there's a surprise cameo near the end. | tt0486946 | [PG-13] | Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Durand, M. C. Gainey, Jill Hennessy, Tichina Arnold, Stephen Tobolowsky | Action, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wild Horse Hank | 1979 | Eric Till | ★★½ | 94 | Inoffensive adventure of college student Blair trying to save horses from being butchered for dog food. A bit overlong, and Blair walks through her role; still, older children may enjoy it. | tt0080131 | Linda Blair, Michael Wincott, Al Waxman, Pace Bradford, Richard Crenna | Canadian | Drama, Adventure, Family | NULL | ||
| Wild Iris | 2001 | Daniel Petrie | Average TV Movie | 95 | Toxic drama finds embittered relationship between a dysfunctional mother and her widowed daughter further eroded when the two end up living and working together in a small Kansas town in their self-owned bridal boutique. The whole thing comes down— heartbreak and all— to the graceful performances by the two leading actresses in this original by Kent Broadhurst. Made for cable. | tt0169621 | Gena Rowlands, Laura Linney, Lee Tergesen, Fred Ward, Miguel Sandoval, Emile Hirsch |
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| Wild Is the Wind | 1957 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 114 | Turgid soaper set in the West, with Quinn marrying the sister of his dead wife, not able to separate the two. Good acting helps script along. | tt0051193 | Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa, Dolores Hart, Joseph Calleia | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wild Life | 1984 | Art Linson | ★½ | 96 | Unfunny youth comedy about straight-arrow high school grad Stoltz deciding to leave home and move into 'swinging singles' apartment. Meager attempt to clone FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH with same writer and producer (doubling here as director), and Christopher Penn trying to ape brother Sean's flaky character— unsuccessfully. Penn's real-life dad, Leo Penn, plays his father here. | tt0088402 | [R] | Christopher Penn, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Eric Stoltz, Jenny Wright, Lea Thompson, Rick Moranis, Hart Bochner, Michael Bowen, Randy Quaid, Sherilyn Fenn, Lee Ving, Nancy Wilson, Laura Dern, Jack Kehoe, Robert Ridgely, Dean Devlin, Ben Stein | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Wild Man Blues | 1998 | Barbara Kopple | ★★★ | 105 | Oscar-winning documentarian Kopple follows Woody Allen and his companion (later wife), Soon-Yi Previn, on a 1996 European concert tour given by Allen and his New Orleans-style jazz band. A must for Woodyphiles, surprisingly revealing even in its most mundane moments; others may find it less compelling. It also helps to like the traditional, even primitive, style of music being played. | tt0141986 | [PG] | Documentary, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Wild Man of Borneo | 1941 | Robert B. Sinclair | ★★ | 78 | Good cast in weak sideshow comedy; Morgan masquerades as title character in one of his less memorable roles. | tt0034394 | Frank Morgan, Mary Howard, Billie Burke, Donald Meek, Marjorie Main, Connie Gilchrist, Bonita Granville, Walter Catlett, Phil Silvers, Dan Dailey | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wild McCullochs | 1975 | Max Baer | ★★ | 93 | Forgettable QUIET MAN rip-off has Tucker as self-made Texas millionaire who tries to raise his sons in his two-fisted image, with Baer eventually forced to prove he is 'a man.' Yawn. | tt0073902 | [PG] | Forrest Tucker, Max Baer, Julie Adams, Janice Heiden, Dennis Redfield, Don Grady, William Demarest | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wild North | 1952 | Andrew Marton | ★★ | 97 | Undazzling account of accused murderer hunted by Mountie, with the expected proving of innocence before finale; Charisse is love interest. | tt0045329 | Stewart Granger, Cyd Charisse, Wendell Corey, J. M. Kerrigan, Ray Teal | Western | NULL | |||
| The Wild One | 1954 | Laslo Benedek | ★★★½ | 79 | The original motorcycle film with Brando's renowned performance as packleader terrorizing small town; dated, but well worth viewing. Script by John Paxton, based on a story by Frank Rooney; produced by Stanley Kramer. | tt0047677 | Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin, Jay C. Flippen, Jerry Paris, Alvy Moore, Gil Stratton/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wild Orchid | 1990 | Zalman King | 💣 | 111 | Prim lawyer Otis, employed by banker Bisset, gets assaulted by Rio de Janeiro carny-time temptation: semi-public fornicators, limousine raunch, and the sight of earringed Rourke in deep bronze makeup. Notorious simulated sex scene caused a stir, but it's all for naught; this picture is enough to make any two bananas roll over in Carmen Miranda's grave. Followed by a sequel. European version (unrated here), running 116m., is also available on video. | tt0100934 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Jacqueline Bisset, Carré Otis, Assumpta Serna, Bruce Greenwood, Oleg Vidov, Milton Goncalves | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wild Orchid 2: Two Shades of Blue | 1992 | Zalman King | 💣 | 107 | For viewers who haven't seen ORCHID 1, the title begs a 'what is it?' question. For those who have, it's a 'why is it?' question. By day, blond Siemaszko puppy-loves a high school jock— but by night, she dons a black wig in the local brothel to entertain the same unwitting dufus. Standard heavy breathing from director King, but with even more lung congestion than usual. | tt0105819 | [R] | Nina Siemaszko, Wendy Hughes, Tom Skerritt, Robert Davi, Brent Fraser, Christopher McDonald, Liane Curtis, Joe Dallesandro, Lydie Denier | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wild Orchids | 1929 | Sidney Franklin | ★★½ | 102 | Standard love triangle with married Garbo falling for wealthy, charming Asther on a trip to Java. Garbo's charisma elevates typical soaper. Silent film with music score. | tt0020589 | Greta Garbo, Lewis Stone, Nils Asther | Romance, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wild Pack | The Sandpit Generals | 1971 | Hall Bartlett | ★★½ | 102 | Fairly interesting drama, set in Brazil, about day-to-day life of a group of black and white orphans who steal food; film won grand prize at Moscow Film Festival. Originally titled THE SANDPIT GENERALS. Video title: THE DEFIANT. | tt0067705 | Kent Lane, Tisha Sterling, John Rubinstein, Butch Patrick, Mark de Vries, Peter Nielsen | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wild Pair | Hollow Point | 1987 | Beau Bridges | ★½ | 88 | Trite police thriller, with cop Smith and FBI agent Beau Bridges teaming up to bring some drug dealing racists to justice. Utterly ordinary in all departments. Bridges' first theatrical film as director. | tt0094323 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Bubba Smith, Lloyd Bridges, Gary Lockwood, Raymond St. Jacques, Danny De La Paz, Lela Rochon, Ellen Geer | Crime | NULL | |
| The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill | 2005 | Judy Irving. | ★★★ | 83 | Philosophical, unemployed Mark Bittner befriends the birds, naming them and feeding them. Documentary focuses more on ingratiating Bittner than on the parrots, and at the end unexpectedly reveals itself as a true-life love story. Charming, likeable film about charming, likeable birds and people; a quiet little gem, full of low-key surprises. | tt0424565 | [G] | In San Francisco, a flock of colorful parrots, descendants of escaped pets, make Telegraph Hill their base. | Documentary | NULL | ||
| The Wild Party | 1929 | Dorothy Arzner | ★★½ | 76 | Fascinating antique about dishy new prof at all-girls' school and his on-again, off-again relationship with a sexy student who thinks college is just a lark. Absolutely awful by any objective standards, but great fun to watch. | tt0020590 | Clara Bow, Fredric March, Shirley O'Hara, Marceline Day, Joyce Compton, Jack Oakie | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wild Party | 1975 | James Ivory | ★★ | 95 | Uneven evocation of 1920s Hollywood with Coco as a Fatty Arbuckle-type comedian who throws a lavish party to try and save his failing career. Film has definite assets (notably its performances) but just doesn't come off. Based on the narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March; cut by its distributor, later restored by Ivory to 107m. | tt0073903 | [R] | James Coco, Raquel Welch, Perry King, Tiffany Bolling, David Dukes, Royal Dano, Dena Dietrich | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wild Racers | 1968 | Daniel Haller | ★½ | 79 | Dumb racer Fabian loves his work and one-night stands; Farmer is his latest challenge. | tt0063807 | Fabian, Mimsy Farmer, Judy Cornwall, David Landers | Action, Drama | NULL | |||
| Wild Reeds | 1994 | André Téchiné | ★★★½ | 110 | Richly evocative film, set in 1962, about four young people in rural France (where the kids listen to American Top 40 songs!) coming of age and exploring their sexuality. The ideological and emotional turbulence caused by the Algerian war is felt in a quiet boarding school with the arrival of a new French-Algerian student, whose radical politics throw things into disarray. A multilayered story, masterfully directed. Winner of four César Awards including Best Picture. | tt0111019 | Elodie Bouchez, Gael Morel, Staphane Rideau, Frederick Gorny, Michele Moretti | French | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wild Ride | Velocity | 1960 | Harvey Berman | ★½ | 63 | Amateurish low-budgeter about a hedonistic hot-rodder who's as casual about killing people as he is about stealing his buddy's girlfriend. Worth seeing only if you're curious about this early Nicholson performance. Revised for 2000 release as VELOCITY. | tt0054475 | Jack Nicholson, Georgianna Carter, Robert Bean | Crime | NULL | ||
| Wild River | 1960 | Elia Kazan | ★★★½ | 110 | Clift plays Tennessee Valley Authority official trying to convince elderly Van Fleet to sell her property for new projects. Kazan's exquisite evocation of 1930s Tennessee— and moving romance between Clift and Remick— give this film its strength. Bruce Dern makes his film debut in supporting role. | tt0054476 | Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet, Albert Salmi, Jay C. Flippen, James Westerfield | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wild Rovers | 1971 | Blake Edwards | ★★★½ | 109 | Underrated Western about two cowpokes who become fugitives after they rob a bank on whim. Choppy script seems unimportant in light of Holden's performance, incredibly lyrical scenes. Edwards' original 136m. version has finally been restored and released, which may boost the film's maligned reputation. | tt0067989 | [PG] | William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden, Lynn Carlin, Tom Skerritt, Joe Don Baker, Rachel Roberts, Moses Gunn | Western | NULL | ||
| The Wild Seed | 1965 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★★ | 99 | Arty yet gripping story of runaway Kaye traveling to California, guided by road bum Parks. | tt0059912 | Michael Parks, Celia Kaye, Ross Elliott, Woodrow Chambliss, Eva Novak | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Wild Side | Suburbia | 1983 | Penelope Spheeris | 💣 | 96 | Perfectly awful drama about alienated suburban teenagers, angry kids who cut their hair instead of growing it long and live in abandoned, rat-infested crash pad. Tries to 'make a statement' while wallowing in gratuitous violence. Aka SUBURBIA. | tt0086589 | [R] | Chris Pederson, Bill Coyne, Jennifer Clay, Timothy Eric O'Brien, Andrew Pece, Don Allen | Thriller | NULL | |
| Wild Stallion | 1952 | Lewis D. Collins. | ★★ | 72 | Johnson is determined to capture the horse that once was his pet but escaped during an Indian raid in which his parents were killed. OK Western yarn, told mostly in flashback. | tt0045330 | Martha Hyer, Edgar Buchanan, Hugh Beaumont, Ben Johnson. | Western | NULL | |||
| Wild Strawberries | Smultronstället | 1957 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★★ | 90 | Elderly Stockholm professor reviews the disappointments of his life, while traveling by car to receive an honorary degree. Superb use of flashbacks and brilliant performance by Sjostrom make this Bergman classic an emotional powerhouse. Still a staple of any serious filmgoer's education. | tt0050986 | Victor Sjostrom, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Folke Sundquist, Bjorn Bjelvenstam | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Wild Target | 2010 | Jonathan Lynn | ★ | 98 | Mother-dominated hit man Nighy has reached middle age without letting romance or much else interfere with his orderly world. But oh, so gradually, he begins to fall for his latest target, an art world con woman (Blunt) he decides to let live so that the script can plunk them into the rural countryside, for no particular reason, with redhead Grint from the HARRY POTTER movies. Knocking a movie about professional killing for lacking charm may not be completely fair, but this film tries to meld affection for its characters with frequent brutality. Both normally pleasing leads are utterly defeated by the material. Remake of France’s CIBLE EMOUVANTE (1993). | tt1235189 | [PG-13] | Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett, Eileen Atkins, Martin Freeman, Gregor Fisher | British | Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL | |
| Wild Thing | 1987 | Max Reid | ★½ | 92 | Misguided mishmash about a boy whose parents are murdered and who grows up into a 'wild thing' who protects street people from the likes of arch-villain Davi. One would like to think that screenwriter John Sayles had more in mind for this fable than what turned out on screen. | tt0094325 | [PG-13] | Rob Knepper, Kathleen Quinlan, Robert Davi, Maury Chaykin, Betty Buckley | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wild Things | 1998 | John McNaughton | ★★★ | 113 | In South Florida, high school counselor Dillon is accused of rape by rich teenage sexpot Richards and her tattooed trailer-trash classmate Campbell. Cop Bacon suspects there's a plot behind it, and he's right: this raunchy, entertaining neo-noir has more twists than a pretzel factory. Gorgeously photographed (by Jeffrey L. Kimball) and well played, it never takes itself too seriously. Murray is a hoot as an ambulance-chasing shyster. Followed by two in-name-only direct-to-video sequels. | tt0120890 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, Theresa Russell, Denise Richards, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Robert Wagner, Bill Murray, Carrie Snodgress | Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Wild Thornberrys Movie | 2002 | Jeff McGrath, Cathy Malkasian | ★★★ | 85 | Eliza Thornberry thrives on life in the African wild with her documentary-filmmaker parents, especially after she discovers she can talk to animals— but her grandmother insists she be sent to boarding school in England. Handsome, well-written, wide-screen feature based on the hip, funny (and environmentally conscious) TV series, with good songs by Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. Followed by RUGRATS GO WILD. | tt0282120 | [PG] | Voices of Lacey Chabert, Tom Kane, Tim Curry, Lynn Redgrave, Jodi Carlisle, Danielle Harris, Flea, Rupert Everett, Marisa Tomei, Alfre Woodard, Brock Peters, Brenda Blethyn, Obba Babatundé, Kevin Michael Richardson | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Wild West | 1992 | David Attwood | ★★½ | 85 | A Pakistani living in a London suburb encounters typical (and not-so-typical) problems when he tries to put together a country-western band. Funny and colorful film plays on its offbeat characters and backdrop to dodge the fact that the story is actually the same old breaking-into-showbiz warhorse. | tt0105820 | Naveen Andrews, Sarita Choudhury, Ronny Jhutti, Ravi Kapoor, Ameet Chana | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wild Westerners | 1962 | Oscar Rudolph | ★½ | 70 | Humdrum account of marshal and new wife overcoming obstacles to bring gold east for Yankee cause. | tt0056695 | James Philbrook, Nancy Kovack, Duane Eddy, Guy Mitchell | Western | NULL | |||
| Wild Wild West | 1999 | Barry Sonnenfeld | ★½ | 107 | Rehash of 1960s TV series finds special agents James West (Smith) and inventor Artemus Gordon (Kline) on a special mission for President Grant to capture nefarious bad guy Arliss Loveless (Branagh). Overstuffed with visual gimmickry, but leaden in every way. You can hear the banter landing with a thud every few minutes. | tt0120891 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, Ted Levine, M. Emmett Walsh, Bai Ling, Frederique van der Wal, Musetta Vander, Sofia Eng | Action, Western, Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Wild and Wonderful | 1964 | Michael Anderson | ★★½ | 88 | Empty slapstick froth involving French poodle movie star with Curtis and Kaufmann romancing. | tt0058750 | Tony Curtis, Christine Kaufmann, Larry Storch, Marty Ingels, Jacques Aubuchon, Jules Munshin | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wild and the Innocent | 1959 | Jack Sher | ★★½ | 84 | Murphy and Dee make an engaging duo as trapper and untamed country girl involved in gunplay in town during July 4th holiday. | tt0053445 | Audie Murphy, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Jim Backus, Sandra Dee, George Mitchell, Peter Breck | Western | NULL | |||
| The Wild and the Willing | 1962 | Ralph Thomas | ★★ | 112 | Life and love at a provincial university, with over-earnest attempt to be realistic and daring in story of student who seduces professor's wife. | tt0056696 | Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Samantha Eggar, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Richard Warner | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wild at Heart | 1990 | David Lynch | ★★ | 127 | He's Elvis, she's Marilyn, they're madly in love and on the lam: they hop in her convertible and make an odyssey through Hell— or is it Oz? Diehard fans of writer-director Lynch may love this violent Southern Gothic melodrama (and there are great moments) but his utter absorption with ugliness makes it tough to take. Formidable performances all around, including real-life mother and daughter Ladd and Dern. Lynch based his screenplay on a novel by Barry Gifford. Rossellini's character went on to get a movie all her own, PERDITA DURANGO (1997). There, the role is played by Rosie Perez. | tt0100935 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Willem Dafoe, Isabella Rossellini, Harry Dean Stanton, Crispin Glover, Grace Zabriskie, J.E. Freeman, Calvin Lockhart, Marvin Kaplan, W. Morgan Sheppard, David Patrick Kelly, Freddie Jones, John Lurie, Jack Nance, Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee, Pruitt Taylor Vince | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wild for Kicks | Beat Girl | 1960 | Edmond T. Gréville | ★★ | 92 | Sultry teen Hills, with a bad attitude, resents her father's pretty new French-born wife and summarily gets into all sorts of mischief. Not very good; of interest mainly as a period piece. Original British title: BEAT GIRL. | tt0055779 | David Farrar, Noelle Adam, Christopher Lee, Gillian Hills, Adam Faith, Shirley Anne Field, Peter McEnery, Oliver Reed | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Wild in the Country | 1961 | Philip Dunne | ★★½ | 114 | Can you resist Elvis in a Clifford Odets script about a back-country hothead with literary aspirations? Clichéd if earnest, but an undeniable curiosity with some good performances, Elvis' among them. That's young Christina Crawford as Lockwood's girlfriend. | tt0055623 | Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wild in the Sky | Black Jack | 1972 | William T. Naud | ★★½ | 87 | Zany idea doesn't quite come off in story of three prisoners who hijack a B-52 bomber. Written by Naud and Gautier. Original title: BLACK JACK. | tt0064372 | Georg Stanford Brown, Brandon de Wilde, Keenan Wynn, Tim O'Connor, James Daly, Dick Gautier, Robert Lansing | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wild in the Streets | 1968 | Barry Shear | ★★½ | 97 | Dark satire about millionaire singing idol/drug pusher who is elected President after voting age is lowered to 14. Wildly overrated by some critics, film is nonetheless enjoyable on a nonthink level. | tt0063808 | [PG] | Christopher Jones, Shelley Winters, Diane Varsi, Hal Holbrook, Millie Perkins, Ed Begley, Richard Pryor, Bert Freed | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wild on the Beach | 1965 | Maury Dexter | ★½ | 77 | Randall and Jackson fight over the rights to a beachhouse— and fall in love. Dreary comedy notable only for the appearance of Mr. and Mrs. Bono, and as Cher's screen debut. | tt0059913 | Frankie Randall, Sherry Jackson, Jackie & Gayle, Sonny Bono, Cher, Sandy Nelson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wild | 2006 | Steve “Spaz” Williams | ★★ | 94 | When his son is accidentally shipped off to the jungle, a lion and a quartet of misfit animals leave the safety of the Central Park Zoo to rescue the cub. Disney-released CG-animated feature can’t decide if it’s a zany comedy or a drama with heart; it winds up being neither. Shamelessly derivative of MADAGASCAR and FINDING NEMO. Highlight is stylized opening in which the father tells his son of past battles in the jungle, including a sincere homage to earlier Disney classics. This is not destined to be one of them. | tt0405469 | [G] | Voices of Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo, William Shatner, Richard Kind, Patrick Warburton, Laraine Newman | Comedy, Animation, Family, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Wild, Wild Planet | 1965 | Antonio Margheriti | ★½ | 93 | Female alien uses robots to gain control of earth scientists by shrinking them. Fairly good ending does not redeem lackluster film. Made at same time as WAR OF THE PLANETS and other losers. | tt0059914 | Tony Russel, Lisa Gastoni, Massimo Serato, Franco Nero, Carlo Giustini | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Wild, Wild Winter | 1966 | Lennie Weinrib | ★★ | 80 | Light-headed ski-slope musical froth, with guest stars Jay and The Americans, The Beau Brummels, Dick and Dee Dee. | tt0061194 | Gary Clarke, Chris Noel, Steve Franken, Don Edmonds | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wildcat | 1942 | Frank McDonald. | ★★ | 70 | Arlen and Crabbe are rival oilmen in this Pine-Thomas production that's crammed with the usual quota of thrills and romance. | tt0035562 | Richard Arlen, Arline Judge, Buster Crabbe, William Frawley, Arthur Hunnicutt, Elisha Cook/Jr. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wildcats | 1986 | Michael Ritchie | ★★★ | 107 | Football-crazy phys-ed teacher Hawn finally gets her wish— to coach a varsity team— at a rough inner-city high school. Never strays from formula but manages to deliver the laughs. Entertaining. | tt0092214 | [R] | Goldie Hawn, Swoosie Kurtz, Robyn Lively, Brandy Gold, James Keach, Jan Hooks, Bruce McGill, Nipsey Russell, Mykel T. Williamson, Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, M. Emmet Walsh, George Wyner, Ann Doran, Gloria Stuart, L.L. Cool J | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wilde | 1998 | Brian Gilbert | ★★½ | 115 | Profile of playwright/author Oscar Wilde is much gamier (to its arguable detriment) than the two 1960 biopics. Begins choppily, drags at the end, but generally compels in a long midsection that deals with events leading up to Wilde's 1895 sodomy trial and conviction. Fry bears a striking resemblance to Wilde, while Wilkinson gives another in a string of rich performances as Wilde's chief adversary, the Marquis of Queensbury. | tt0120514 | [R] | Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle, Gemma Jones, Judy Parfitt, Zoë Wanamaker | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Wilder Napalm | 1993 | Glenn Gordon Caron | ★½ | 109 | Bizarre, almost incomprehensible account of brothers Quaid and Howard, who share a rare talent: when concentrating deeply enough, they can make objects burst into flames. Winger is cast as Howard's spirited wife. It's no wonder that this barely watchable film remained unreleased for quite some time. | tt0108569 | [PG-13] | Debra Winger, Dennis Quaid, Arliss Howard, M. Emmet Walsh, Jim Varney | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wildflower | 1991 | Diane Keaton | Above Average TV Movie | 100 | Delightful tale of a pair of rural '30s teenagers who befriend a 'devil-tetched' epileptic (Arquette), living in a cage in the barn behind her abusive father's house. Lovingly adapted by Sara Flanigan from her book, Alice. Made for cable. | tt0103266 | Beau Bridges, Susan Blakely, William McNamara, Patricia Arquette, Reese Witherspoon, Collin Wilcox Paxton | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Wildflowers | 1999 | Melissa Painter | ★★½ | 97 | Introspective drama about a teen (DuVall) who grew up on a hippie commune and is looking to find herself, and her obsession with a free-spirited older woman (Hannah) who may be her mother. Slow moving at times, but extremely involving when it stays on track. Hannah coexecutive produced. | tt0144688 | [R] | Daryl Hannah, Clea DuVall, Eric Roberts, Tomas Arana, Richard Hillman, Irene Bedard, John Doe, Alan Gelfant | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wildrose | 1984 | John Hanson | ★★★½ | 95 | Eichhorn excels in this vivid tale of a female iron pit worker, both strong and insecure, who must deal with the resentment of her male co-workers— as well as a romance. Filmed in Minnesota, with the landscape and its inhabitants carefully, almost lovingly, etched. | tt0088404 | Lisa Eichhorn, Tom Bower, Jim Cada, Cinda Jackson, Dan Nemanick, Bill Schoppert | Drama | NULL | |||
| Will Penny | 1968 | Tom Gries | ★★★½ | 108 | One of the best films on the cowboy/loner ever to come out of Hollywood. Heston's character is one of great strength; supporting actors are exceptional. Written by director Gries. Memorable score by David Raksin. | tt0063811 | Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, Lee Majors, Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Anthony Zerbe, Clifton James | Western | NULL | |||
| Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | 1957 | Frank Tashlin | ★★★½ | 94 | Guest star, Groucho Marx. Clever satire uses George Axelrod play about ad man who tries to persuade glamorous star to endorse Stay-Put Lipstick as springboard for scattershot satire on 1950s morals, television, sex, business, etc. Director-writer Tashlin in peak form. | tt0051196 | Tony Randall, Jayne Mansfield, Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Mickey Hargitay | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Willard | 1971 | Daniel Mann | ★★ | 95 | Touching story of a boy and his rats captured public's fancy at the box office, but film's lack of style prevents it from being anything more than a second-rate thriller. Remade in 2003. Sequel: BEN. | tt0067991 | [PG] | Bruce Davison, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Borgnine, Sondra Locke, Michael Dante, J. Pat O'Malley, Jody Gilbert, Joan Shawlee | Horror | NULL | ||
| Willard | 2003 | Glen Morgan | ★★ | 100 | As if eating Ernest Borgnine in the '71 version weren't enough of a feast, those pesky rodents are back. Glover is the put-upon misfit who finds rats to be his only friends. Given how much the second floor of Glover's home resembles Norman Bates' digs, writer/director Morgan has obviously studied his Hitchcock. Not without style but stretched beyond all limits, film isn't quite bad enough to make you use 'rats!' as an expletive. 'Pleh!' is more like it. Bruce Davison, who starred in the original film, has an unbilled cameo. | tt0310357 | [PG-13] | Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Laura Elena Harring, Jackie Burroughs | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Willie Dynamite | 1974 | Gilbert Moses | ★★★ | 102 | Good black actioner set in N.Y.C., with Orman as a pimp out to topple big-shot Robinson, an outrageous homosexual. Sands is fine in her last film. | tt0072409 | [R] | Roscoe Orman, Diana Sands, Thalmus Rasulala, Roger Robinson, George Murdock | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| Willie and Phil | 1980 | Paul Mazursky | ★★★ | 115 | Affectionate, perceptive, underrated retelling of JULES AND JIM. Ontkean and Sharkey meet after a screening of the Truffaut classic, become fast pals, then friends and lovers of free-spirited Kidder. A wistful tale of how chance encounters alter lives, how camaraderie between friends is everlasting, how men always do the asking but women do the deciding. | tt0081758 | [R] | Michael Ontkean, Margot Kidder, Ray Sharkey, Jan Miner, Tom Brennan, Julie Bovasso, Louis Guss, Kathleen Maguire, Kaki Hunter, Laurence Fishburne, Natalie Wood | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Willow | 1988 | Ron Howard | ★★★ | 125 | Rollicking fantasy-adventure, from a story by George Lucas (not hard to guess, since it follows a definite STAR WARS formula) about a little person (Davis) who takes on the challenge of shepherding an abandoned baby to its place of destiny— where it will destroy the evil powers of Queen Bavmorda (Marsh). Plenty of action, humor, and eye-filling special effects, though a bit intense at times for the youngsters at whom it's targeted. | tt0096446 | [PG] | Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes, Billy Barty, Pat Roach, Kevin Pollak | Action, Fantasy, Family, Adventure, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Willy McBean and His Magic Machine | 1965 | Arthur Rankin/ Jr | ★★½ | 94 | Puppet novelty item about mad professor and his time machine; OK for kids. | tt0192803 | Voices of Larry Mann, Billie Richards, Alfie Scopp, Paul Ligman | Japanese | Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | 1971 | Mel Stuart | ★★½ | 98 | Adaptation of Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has all the ingredients of classic fantasy. Enigmatic Wilder gives kids a tour of his mystery-shrouded candy factory, but cruel edge taints film's enjoyment. Anthony Newley-Leslie Bricusse score includes 'Candy Man.' Scripted by Dahl, with eye-popping sets by Harper Goff. | tt0067992 | [G] | Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Aubrey Woods, Michael Bollner, Ursula Reit | Comedy, Family, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Wilson | 1944 | Henry King | ★★★½ | 154 | Superb biography of WW1-era President whose League of Nations idea became an obsession; one of Hollywood's solid films . . . but beware of cutting. Amazingly a notorious box-office flop, even after winning five Oscars (including Lamar Trotti's script and Leon Shamroy's photography). | tt0037465 | Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell, Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Mary Anderson, Sidney Blackmer, Stanley Ridges, Eddie Foy/Jr., Francis X. Bushman | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wimbledon | 2004 | Richard Loncraine. | ★★½ | 97 | Old-fashioned romantic movie about two tennis champions, one past his prime (Bettany), the other a rising star (Dunst), who fall for each other while competing at the Wimbledon tournament. Bettany is endearing and his chemistry with Dunst bolsters a pleasant but predictable script. Several famous tennis stars make cameos. | tt0360201 | [PG-13] | Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Bernard Hill, Eleanor Bron, Austin Nichols, Robert Lindsay, Celia Imrie. | British | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! | 2004 | Robert Luketic | ★★½ | 96 | Cute comedy about a starstruck girl from West Virginia who wins a date with her favorite Hollywood heartthrob, much to the dismay of her best friend (Grace), who's never had the nerve to tell her he loves her. Slight at best, but put over by a winning cast that plays it for real, with no cynicism in sight. | tt0335559 | [PG-13] | Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes, Gary Cole, Kathryn Hahn | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Win Win | 2011 | Tom McCarthy | ★★★½ | 106 | Small-town N.J. lawyer, family man, and high school wrestling coach Giamatti is having trouble making ends meet. Feeling desperate, he subverts his own ethics by becoming official guardian for an elderly man in order to collect a handsome monthly fee. When the man’s previously unknown grandson turns up, estranged from his druggie mother, Giamatti takes him in and the emotional stakes get higher, especially when it turns out that he’s a talented wrestler. Wonderfully humane, socially relevant slice of life about flawed people just trying to get by; scripted by McCarthy (based on a story by the director and Joe Tiboni) and cast to perfection. | tt1606392 | [PG-13] | Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, Melanie Lynskey, Alex Shaffer, Margo Martindale, David Thompson | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Win, Place or Steal | The Big Payoff | 1975 | Richard Bailey | ★★ | 81 | OK racetrack caper comedy, with Tamblyn and Karras doing a Laurel and Hardy. Aka THE BIG PAYOFF. | tt0071149 | [PG] | Dean Stockwell, Russ Tamblyn, Alex Karras, McLean Stevenson, Alan Oppenheimer, Kristina Holland | Comedy | NULL | |
| Winchester '73 | 1950 | Anthony Mann | ★★★½ | 92 | Exceptional Western story of Stewart tracking down a man— and his stolen rifle— through series of interrelated episodes, leading to memorable shootout among rock-strewn hills. First-rate in every way, this landmark film was largely responsible for renewed popularity of Westerns in the 1950s. Script by Robert L. Richards and Borden Chase, from a story by Stuart N. Lake. Beautifully photographed by William Daniels; remade for TV in 1967. | tt0043137 | James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally, Charles Drake, Millard Mitchell, John McIntire, Will Geer, Jay C. Flippen, Rock Hudson, Anthony (Tony) Curtis | Western | NULL | |||
| Wind | 1992 | Carroll Ballard | ★★½ | 125 | Enjoyable if overly formulaic tale of competitive yacht racing, about young people determined to build their own craft and reclaim the America's Cup from Australia. Story takes a back seat to the sailing sequences, breathtakingly photographed by John Toll. | tt0105824 | [PG-13] | Matthew Modine, Jennifer Grey, Cliff Robertson, Jack Thompson, Stellan Skarsgard, Rebecca Miller, Ned Vaughn | Action | NULL | ||
| Wind Across the Everglades | 1958 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 93 | Oddball cast in even odder story of boozy turn-of-the-century Florida game warden (Plummer) who takes it upon himself to rid the area of poachers. Matchup of director Ray and writer-producer Budd Schulberg makes this a genuine curio. Peter Falk makes his film debut in a small role. | tt0052395 | Burl Ives, Christopher Plummer, Gypsy Rose Lee, George Voskovec, Tony Galento, Emmett Kelly, Chana Eden, MacKinlay Kantor | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wind Cannot Read | 1958 | Ralph Thomas | ★★½ | 110 | Tidy tale of Bogarde escaping from Japanese prison camp during WW2 to find his ailing wife Tani. | tt0052396 | Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis, John Fraser, Anthony Bushell, Michael Medwin | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wind Chill | 2007 | Gregory Jacobs | ★★½ | 91 | Old-fashioned supernatural chiller in which two college students sharing a ride home for Christmas take a shortcut, break down on the side of the road, and have a series of ghostly encounters. Director Jacobs eschews CGI ghost effects for character development, good performances, and slow-building, eerily evocative scares (turning the song “Jingle Bell Rock” into an effective harbinger of dread, for instance). Falls apart in its last third, but it's easy to forgive a movie that in its first hour actually makes your spine tingle. | tt0486051 | [R] | Emily Blunt, Ashton Holmes, Martin Donovan, Ned Bellamy, Chelan Simmons. | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Wind That Shakes the Barley | 2006 | Kenneth Loach | ★★★ | 127 | Simple, powerful slice of Irish history, set in the early 1920s, dramatizes the transformation of a young doctor (Murphy) from passive citizen to Irish Republican Army guerrilla warrior. Scenario, penned by frequent Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, reflects the belief that those who are subjugated must acknowledge their plight, organize themselves, and fight their oppressors . . . no matter the personal toll. | tt0460989 |
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Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, Mary O'Riordan, Mary Murphy, Laurence Barry | Irish-British-German-Italian-Spanish-French | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Wind Will Carry Us | 1999 | Abbas Kiarosta | ★★★ | 118 | An engineer from Tehran travels to a remote mountain village in Iranian Kurdistan, claiming to be an archaeologist looking for buried treasure. In reality, he is part of a film crew that is secretly planning to record a local funeral ceremony ritual surrounding a 100-year-old woman who is dying. Slow, haunting, and poetic meditation on mortality features some surprisingly humorous moments; breathtakingly filmed in the tiny village of Siah Dareh, whose residents make up most of the cast. Written by the director. | tt0209463 |
|
Behzad Dourani | Iranian-French | Drama | NULL | |
| The Wind and the Lion | 1975 | John Milius | ★★½ | 119 | Milius brings modern sensibilities to an old-fashioned adventure-romance, with uneven results. Connery is Moroccan sheik who kidnaps American woman and her children, sparking international incident in which Teddy Roosevelt (Keith) becomes involved. Loosely based on a true incident. | tt0073906 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis, Steve Kanaly, Vladek Sheybal | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Wind in the Willows | Mr. Toad's Wild Ride | 1997 | Terry Jones | ★★★ | 83 | Charming, veddy British adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's story in which Rat, Badger, and Mole team up to save their wealthy, reckless friend Toad from losing his estate. Benefits from creative reteaming of many Monty Python members; Jones not only wrote and directed but plays Toad with wild comic abandon. Williamson lends excellent support as the blustery Badger. James Acheson's costumes and production design are wittily on target. Kids and adults alike should enjoy this. Aka MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE. | tt0118172 | [G] | Steve Coogan, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Antony Sher, Nicol Williamson, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Bernard Hill, Julia Sawalha | British | Family, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL |
| The Wind | 1928 | Victor Seastrom (Sjöström) | ★★★★ | 88 | Virgin Virginian Gish battles the elements in a barren dustbowl town— marrying on the rebound a man who disgusts her, shooting the lout who rapes her. Probably Gish's greatest vehicle— and one of the last great silents— with a splendidly staged climactic desert storm sequence. Written by Frances Marion, from Dorothy Scarborough's novel. | tt0019585 | Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming, Edward Earle, William Orlamond | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wind | 1987 | Nico Mastorakis | 💣 | 92 | Good cast is wasted in old-fashioned thriller about mystery writer Foster terrorized by Hauser in her spooky house in Greece. Unconvincing structure has hero Railsback injected artificially into the story in later reels. Released direct to video. | tt0094327 | Meg Foster, Wings Hauser, David McCallum, Robert Morley, Steve Railsback | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Windom's Way | 1957 | Ronald Neame | ★★★ | 108 | Dedicated doctor (Finch) working in Malayan village tries to encourage resistance to Communist takeover. Strong performances in this intelligent film. | tt0052398 | Peter Finch, Mary Ure, Natasha Parry, Robert Flemyng, Michael Hordern, Gregoire Aslan | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Window | 1949 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★★ | 73 | Sleeper film less impressive now than in 1949; still good, with young Driscoll earning a special Academy Award for his performance as a little boy who witnesses a murder and is unable to convince his parents he's not lying. Parents' dialogue weakens credibility, but suspense still mounts; extremely well photographed (by William Steiner) and staged. Based on a story by Cornell Woolrich. Remade as THE BOY CRIED MURDER and CLOAK AND DAGGER (1984). | tt0042046 | Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman | Film-Noir, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Windows | 1980 | Gordon Willis | 💣 | 96 | Homicidal lesbian Ashley is in love with mousy neighbor Shire, who is in turn in love with bland detective Cortese. Reactionary, offensive thriller whose only element of mystery is why it was ever filmed. Directing debut for gifted cinematographer Willis. | tt0081759 | [R] | Elizabeth Ashley, Talia Shire, Joseph Cortese, Kay Medford | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Windrider | 1986 | Vincent Monton | ★★½ | 92 | Windsurfer Burlinson and rock star Kidman become romantically involved. Occasionally appealing, but slight and forgettable. | tt0092220 | [R] | Tom Burlinson, Nicole Kidman, Charles Tingwell, Jill Perryman, Simon Chilvers | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Winds of The Wasteland | 1936 | Mack V. Wright. | ★★½ | 55 | Two obsolete Pony Express riders buy a worthless stage line to run-down town but win a race that pays with a lucrative government mail contract. Climactic stagecoach race is exciting, but process-screen work betrays a limited budget. Look for Charles Locher (later Jon Hall) in a small part. | tt0028510 | John Wayne, Phyllis Fraser, Douglas Cosgrove, Lane Chandler, Sam Flint, Robert Kortman. | Western | NULL | |||
| Windtalkers | 2002 | John Woo | ★★ | 134 | During WW2, two Marines are given the job of protecting a pair of Navajo code talkers (Beach, Willie) at all costs during the bloody battle of Saipan. Opportunity to learn about the Navajo-inspired code operation is squandered, as Cage's shell-shocked character takes center stage instead. Clichéd dialogue with homesick soldiers is the only respite from endless shots of gruesome combat violence. Director's cut runs 153m. | tt0245562 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Christian Slater, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian Van Holt, Roger Willie, Frances O'Connor, Martin Henderson | Action, Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Windwalker | 1980 | Kieth Merrill | ★★½ | 108 | Indian patriarch Howard returns to life to save his family from the vengeance of his son, a twin who was stolen at birth and raised by an enemy tribe. Curious casting of Howard; however, the Utah scenery is glorious in this unusual Western. Filmed in the Cheyenne and Crow languages, and subtitled. | tt0081760 | [PG] | Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus, James Remar, Serene Hedin, Dusty Iron Wing McCrea | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Windy City | 1984 | Armyan Bernstein | ★★ | 102 | Promising but uneven film flashes back to last hurrah for some youthful pals whose lives haven't turned out quite as they'd hoped or planned. Writer Bernstein (making directorial debut) invades BIG CHILL/SECAUCUS 7 territory with extremely mixed results. | tt0088405 | [R] | John Shea, Kate Capshaw, Josh Mostel, Jim Borrelli, Jeffrey DeMunn, Lewis J. Stadlen | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wing Commander | 1999 | Chris Roberts | ★½ | 99 | In a 27th-century space war between humans and aliens, the outcome turns out to depend on a single fighter pilot. Well-produced, with lots of CGI effects, but instantly forgettable trifle based on a computer game. | tt0131646 | [PG-13] | Freddie Prinze/Jr., Saffron Burrows, Matthew Lillard, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet, David Warner | Action, Sci-Fi, War | NULL | ||
| Wing and a Prayer | 1944 | Henry Hathaway | ★★★ | 97 | Fine WW2 actioner of life aboard a Navy aircraft carrier in the South Pacific, just after Pearl Harbor, leading to the Battle of Midway, chronicling the development of U.S. military strategy. Ameche is especially good as the ship's tough flight commander. Excellent use is made of real combat footage. | tt0037466 | Don Ameche, Dana Andrews, William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Cedric Hardwicke, Kevin O'Shea, Richard Jaeckel, Harry Morgan, Richard Crane, Glenn Langan, Reed Hadley | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Winged Migration | 2001 | Jacques Perrin | ★★★ | 91 | The producer of MICROCOSMOS turns director to explore birds in flight, using revolutionary filming techniques to make us feel as if we're right alongside them (not to mention above, below, behind, and in front). The film homes in on various species as they migrate on a seasonal basis in order to survive, often spanning oceans and entire continents. Impressive and eye-opening, though without a narrative thrust one's interest can lag at times. | tt0301727 | [G] | French-German-Spanish-Italian-Swiss | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Winged Victory | 1944 | George Cukor | ★★½ | 130 | WW2 saga is less stirring today than in 1944, but graphic depiction of young men's training for pilot duty is still interesting. So is opportunity of seeing future stars early in their careers. Script by Moss Hart, from his play. | tt0037467 | Lon McCallister, Jeanne Crain, Edmond O'Brien, Don Taylor, Judy Holliday, Lee J. Cobb, Peter Lind Hayes, Red Buttons, Barry Nelson, Karl Malden, Gary Merrill, Martin Ritt | War | NULL | |||
| Wings | 1927 | William Wellman | ★★½ | 139 | One of the most famous silent films is, alas, not one of the best, despite rose-colored memories. Story of two all-American boys (in love with the same girl) who enlist in the Army Air Corps during WW1 is much too thin to sustain such a long movie. What's important here are the combat flying sequences, among the best in Hollywood history. First Oscar winner as Best Picture. | tt0018578 | Clara Bow, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, Richard Arlen, Jobyna Ralston, Gary Cooper, El Brendel | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Wings for the Eagle | 1942 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 85 | Sincere tribute to aircraft workers during WW2 has little meaning today, but Sheridan, et al. give good performances. | tt0035564 |
|
Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, George Tobias, Don DeFore | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wings in the Dark | 1935 | James Flood | ★★½ | 77 | Sky-writing stunt flier Loy falls for flier Grant, who's blinded in a gas explosion. Attractive performers left dangling without a script in this implausible soap opera; fine aerial photography. | tt0027221 | Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Dean Jagger, Roscoe Karns, Hobart Cavanaugh, Bert Hanlon | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Wings of Courage | 1995 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | ★★ | 40 | Beautiful scenery aside, this is a lumbering, boring true-life adventure in which pioneer aviator Henri Guillaumet (Sheffer) must fight for survival in the Andes after his plane is forced down while on a mail run circa 1930. Dramatically speaking, it's about as lively as a 1930s Monogram programmer. Of note as the first fiction film made in IMAX 3-D. Annaud coscripted. | tt0114952 | [G] | Craig Sheffer, Elizabeth McGovern, Tom Hulce, Val Kilmer, Ken Pogue, Ron Sauve, Molly Parker | Short, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Wings of Desire | Himmel über Berlin, Der | 1988 | Wim Wenders | ★★★½ | 130 | Haunting, lyrical, fascinating meditation/fairy tale about a pair of angels who wander through the streets of West Berlin. They observe life around them and ponder what it would be like to be human. Scripted by Wenders and Peter Handke and inspired in part by some Rainer Maria Rilke poems. A must-see. Sequel: FARAWAY, SO CLOSE! Remade as CITY OF ANGELS. | tt0093191 | [PG-13] | Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk | West German-French | Drama, Romance, Fantasy | NULL |
| The Wings of Eagles | 1957 | John Ford | ★★½ | 110 | Biography of Frank 'Spig' Wead, pioneer WW1 aviator who later turned to screenwriting (including AIR MAIL and THEY WERE EXPENDABLE for Ford) after an accident; first half is slapstick comedy, with no sense of period detail, then abruptly changes to drama for balance of film. Very mixed bag; film buffs will have fun watching Bond play 'John Dodge,' spoofing director Ford. | tt0051198 | John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Dan Dailey, Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Edmund Lowe, Kenneth Tobey, Sig Ruman | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wings of the Dove | 1997 | Iain Softley | ★★½ | 101 | Exquisite but emotionally uneven film (from the Henry James novel) about a young woman torn between her love for a working man (Roache) and her desire for wealth and position . . . complicated by her growing friendship with a rich, guileless American woman (Elliott). Sophisticated and intelligent, but the characters' vacillations and ambiguous feelings make it difficult to empathize with anyone. Venice has never been portrayed so beautifully, or romantically. Gambon and McGovern have thankless roles. | tt0120520 | [R] | Helena Bonham Carter, Linus Roache, Alison Elliott, Charlotte Rampling, Elizabeth McGovern, Michael Gambon, Alex Jennings | British-U.S. | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Wings of the Hawk | 1953 | Budd Boetticher | ★★ | 80 | Heflin is hero of thwarted attempt of renegades to overthrow Mexican government; Adams and Lane help him. Originally in 3-D. | tt0046552 | Van Heflin, Julie Adams, George Dolenz, Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales, Abbe Lane, Antonio Moreno, Noah Beery/Jr. | Western | NULL | |||
| Wings of the Morning | 1937 | Harold D. Schuster | ★★½ | 89 | Trifling story of gypsies, crucial horserace, blossoming love between Fonda and Annabella, initially disguised as a boy. Much ado about nothing. England's first Technicolor film still boasts beautiful pastel hues (by Ray Rennahan and Jack Cardiff) as major attraction, along with famed tenor McCormack doing several songs. | tt0029785 | Annabella, Henry Fonda, Leslie Banks, Irene Vanbrugh, Steward Rome, Helen Haye, Edward Underdown, John McCormack | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wings of the Navy | 1939 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★ | 89 | Standard semidocumentary of pilots being trained for fighting while de Havilland is vied for by brothers Brent and Payne. Typical Warners prewar propaganda, but watchable. | tt0032130 | George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, John Payne, Frank McHugh, John Litel, Victor Jory, Henry O'Neill, John Ridgely | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| Winner Take All | 1932 | Roy Del Ruth | ★★½ | 68 | Minor but engaging Cagney vehicle with Jimmy as a thick-witted, cocky prizefighter torn between good-girl Nixon and fickle society-girl Bruce. Look fast for George Raft as night club bandleader. | tt0023701 | James Cagney, Virginia Bruce, Marian Nixon, Guy Kibbee, Alan Mowbray, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Winner | 1997 | Alex Cox | ★★½ | 95 | When word gets out that a loner (D'Onofrio) wins consistently, every Sunday night at a low-rent Las Vegas casino, the leeches begin to gather around him, including a sexy nightclub singer, an opportunistic thief from out of town, and his own homicidal brother. Interesting fable with a first-rate cast. De Mornay also coexecutive-produced. Debuted on cable TV before theatrical run. | tt0118174 | Rebecca De Mornay, Vincent D'Onofrio, Michael Madsen, Billy Bob Thornton, Delroy Lindo, Frank Whaley, Richard Edson | Comedy, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| Winnie the Pooh | 2011 | Stephen J. Anderson, Don Hall | ★★★ | 63 | Charming, low-key animated Disney feature revisits the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood, as Pooh goes in search of honey and mistakenly comes to believe that Christopher Robin has been kidnapped. Episodic hour-long feature reprises the clever visual presentation of Walt Disney's first animated renderings of the A. A. Milne characters (and E. H. Shepard illustrations) from the 1960s, with songs both old and new. A gentle, old-school cartoon feature for children and the young at heart. | tt1449283 | [G] | Voices of Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, Bud Luckey, Jack Boulter, Travis Oates, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Wyatt Dean Hall, Tom Kenny, Huell Howser; narrated by John Cleese | Comedy, Animation, Family | NULL | ||
| Winning | 1969 | James Goldstone | ★★★ | 123 | Above average racing story of man who will let nothing stand in the way of track victory. | tt0065215 | [PG] | Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Richard Thomas, Robert Wagner, David Sheiner, Clu Gulager | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Winning Season | 2010 | James C. Strouse | ★★★ | 103 | Boozy Rockwell is recruited by an old friend to coach the girls’ basketball team at his Indiana high school. How he motivates the girls and molds them into a team while pulling his life back together (and reaching out to his own estranged daughter) is the crux of this lightweight, likable, well-cast film. Indiana-born novelist-filmmaker Strouse has fun playing with the obvious story formula, and even includes a reference to HOOSIERS. | tt1293842 | [PG-13] | Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry, Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios, Rooney Mara, Meaghan Witri, Melanie Hinkle, Margo Martindale, Jessica Hecht | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Winning Team | 1952 | Lewis Seiler | ★★½ | 98 | Biography of baseball pitching great Grover Cleveland Alexander focuses on his relationship with supportive wife whose 'teamwork' helps Alexander through problems with alcoholism and lack of confidence. Reagan is fine as the Hall of Fame hurler and film boasts good reenactments of Alexander's legendary 1926 World Series heroics. Cameo appearances by real-life big leaguers Bob Lemon, Peanuts Lowrey, Hank Sauer, Gene Mauch, and others. | tt0045332 | Doris Day, Ronald Reagan, Frank Lovejoy, Eve Miller, James Millican, Russ Tamblyn | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Winning Ticket | 1935 | Charles F. Riesner. | ★★ | 69 | Thoroughly innocuous (and thoroughly mediocre) grade-B comedy about a lottery ticket and the squabbling that occurs over it. This cast deserves better. | tt0027222 | Leo Carrillo, Louise Fazenda, Ted Healy, Irene Hervey, James Ellison, Luis Alberni, Akim Tamiroff. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Winning of the West | 1953 | George Archainbaud. | ★★½ | 58 | Ranger Autry must bring outlaws who offer protection for a price to justice, but his kid brother (Crane) is mixed up with them. Sturdy tale, with Gene and Smiley harmonizing brightly on Burnette-written 'Fetch Me Down My Trusty .45.' | tt0046553 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Gail Davis, Richard Crane, Robert Livingston, House Peters/Jr., Gregg Barton, William Forrest, George Chesebro. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Winslow Boy | 1948 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★½ | 117 | Superior courtroom melodrama from Terence Rattigan's play, headed by Donat as barrister defending innocent Naval cadet (Neil North) accused of school theft. Script by Rattigan and Anatole de Grunwald. Remade in 1999. | tt0040970 | Robert Donat, Margaret Leighton, Cedric Hardwicke, Francis L. Sullivan, Frank Lawton, Basil Radford, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ernest Thesiger | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Winslow Boy | 1999 | David Mamet | ★★★ | 110 | Absorbing remake of the Terence Rattigan play about a boy in 1910 England who's expelled from school for a petty theft. His father determines to clear his good name— nearly sacrificing his family in the process. As much about social mores and conventions as the case itself, this even-handed film benefits from a superlative performance by Hawthorne as the head of the Winslow household. Neil North, who plays the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the boy in the 1948 movie. | tt0155388 | [G] | Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jeremy Northam, Gemma Jones, Guy Edwards, Matthew Pidgeon, Colin Stinton, Aden Gillett | Drama | NULL | ||
| Winter Carnival | 1939 | Charles F. Reisner | ★★½ | 105 | Contrived romance flick (cowritten by Budd Schulberg) set at Dartmouth College during festive weekend; Sheridan is divorcée in love with professor Carlson. | tt0032132 | Richard Carlson, Ann Sheridan, Helen Parrish, James Corner, Virginia Gilmore, Robert Walker, Joan Leslie, Peggy Moran | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Winter Guest | 1997 | Alan Rickman | ★★★ | 110 | A Scottish seaside town is frozen over— as is the ocean itself— on a wintry day during which four relationships are explored: a young widow and her mother, who's trying to break through her daughter's defensive shield; the widow's teenage son, who experiences his first sexual encounter; two older women whose hobby is attending funerals; and a couple of boys playing hooky. An incredibly quiet, concentrated film— which, perhaps, goes on too long. Based on a play, coadapted by Rickman (making his feature directing debut). Law and Thompson are real-life mother and daughter. | tt0120521 | [R] | Phyllida Law, Emma Thompson, Gary Hollywood, Arlene Cockburn, Sheila Reid, Sandra Voe, Douglas Murphy, Sean Biggerstaff | British-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Winter Kills | 1979 | William Richert | ★★½ | 97 | Younger brother of an assassinated U.S. President tries to solve the case, opens up several cans of political worms. A failure in 1979, it was reedited in 1983 (with original ending restored) and newly appreciated as a black comedy, which not everybody recognized the first time around. Still wildly uneven, but worth a look, if only for Huston's wonderful performance as Bridges' kingpin father. | tt0080139 | [R] | Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, Eli Wallach, Belinda Bauer, Richard Boone, Ralph Meeker, Dorothy Malone, Toshiro Mifune, Tomas Milian, Elizabeth Taylor | Drama | NULL | ||
| Winter Light | Nattvardsgästerna | 1963 | Ingmar Bergman | ★★★½ | 80 | A difficult film for non-Bergman buffs, this look at a disillusioned priest in a small village is the second of Bergman's trilogy on faith (the first, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY; the third, THE SILENCE). Powerful, penetrating drama. | tt0057358 | Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Max von Sydow, Gunnel Lindblom, Allan Edwall | Swedish | Drama | NULL | |
| Winter Meeting | 1948 | Bretaigne Windust | ★★½ | 104 | Sluggish script of disillusioned poetess who loves embittered war hero, prevents well-acted film from achieving greater heights. Notable as only romantic lead for Jim Davis, better known for his Westerns and TV series Dallas. | tt0040971 | Bette Davis, Janis Paige, James (Jim) Davis, John Hoyt, Florence Bates | Drama | NULL | |||
| Winter People | 1989 | Ted Kotcheff | ★★ | 110 | Turgid tale of backwoods clans and a blood feud that flares up when McGillis bears a child with the wrong father. Set in the 1930s, but extremely odd by any period's standards; how it came to be made in 1989 is anyone's guess. Overwrought, to say the least. | tt0098659 | [PG-13] | Kurt Russell, Kelly McGillis, Lloyd Bridges, Mitchell Ryan, Amelia Burnette, Eileen Ryan, Jeffrey Meek | Drama | NULL | ||
| Winter Solstice | 2005 | Josh Sternfeld. | ★★★ | 93 | Subdued but well-observed slice of life about a widower and his two sons, one of whom is itching to set off on his own. Looks, glances, and body language tell as much as dialogue in this simple film about a family still reeling from loss yet inextricably tied to one another. LaPaglia is terrific as always; he also coexecutive produced. Debut feature for writer-director Sternfeld. | tt0365938 | [R] | Anthony LaPaglia, Aaron Stanford, Mark Webber, Michelle Monaghan, Allison Janney, Brendan Sexton III, Ron Livingston. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Winter in Lisbon | 1990 | Jose Antonio Zorilla | ★½ | 100 | Disjointed, turgid account of jazz pianist Vadim and his torrid affair with deceitful de Saint-Pere. Of interest solely for Gillespie's bright presence as an aging, expatriate American jazzman. | tt0099855 | Christian Vadim, Dizzy Gillespie, Helene de Saint-Pere, Eusebio Poncela, Fernando Guillen | Spanish-French-Portuguese | NULL | |||
| Winter in Wartime | 2008 | Martin Koolhoven | ★★★ | 103 | A mischievous, resentful teenage boy (Lakemeier) is coming of age in a small Dutch town at the tail end of WW2. For the sake of his survival, he is encouraged to remain detached from the world around him; all that changes when he discovers and comes to the aid of a downed RAF pilot. Engrossing drama effectively portrays the horror of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and the choices one makes in wartime; the boy’s relationship with his father, the town’s mayor, is especially poignant. Based on Jan Terlouw’s semiautobiographical novel. | tt0795441 | [R] | Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick van Wageningen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Raymond Thiry, Melody Klaver, Anneke Blok | Dutch-Belgian | Drama, War | NULL | |
| The Winter of Our Dreams | 1981 | John Duigan. | ★★½ | 90 | Davis is fine as a lonely prostitute who becomes involved with dissatisfied bookshop-owner Brown, married to Downes. Intriguing drama is a bit disjointed, particularly near the finale. | tt0083331 | Judy Davis, Bryan Brown, Cathy Downes, Baz Luhrmann, Peter Mochrie, Mervyn Drake. | Australian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Winter à Go-Go | 1965 | Richard Benedict | ★★ | 88 | Lowbrow shenanigans at a ski resort run by Stacy for the young, affluent set. | tt0059916 | James Stacy, William Wellman/Jr., Beverly Adams, Jill Donohue, Julie Parrish | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Winter's Tale | 1968 | Frank Dunlop | ★★ | 151 | Filmed record of 1966 Edinburgh Festival presentation of Shakespeare's play is as static as a photographed stage play can be; may play better on TV. | tt0063820 | Laurence Harvey, Jane Asher, Diana Churchill, Moira Redmond, Jim Dale | British |
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| Winterhawk | 1976 | Charles B. Pierce | ★★ | 98 | Well-meaning but overly melodramatic story of Blackfoot Indian brave (Dante) who comes to white man for smallpox serum, is attacked instead, and gets revenge by kidnapping two white youngsters. Quite violent at times. | tt0075432 | [PG] | Michael Dante, Leif Erickson, Woody Strode, Denver Pyle, Elisha Cook/ Jr., L. Q. Jones, Arthur Hunnicutt, Dawn Wells | Western | NULL | ||
| Winterset | 1936 | Alfred Santell | ★★½ | 78 | Meredith, in his screen debut, plays an idealistic young man determined to find the man responsible for a crime that was pinned on his father years ago. The three stars of Maxwell Anderson's impassioned, allegorical Broadway play re-create their roles in this stagebound but fascinating curio of a film. | tt0028511 | Burgess Meredith, Margo, Eduardo Ciannelli, Paul Guilfoyle, John Carradine, Edward Ellis, Stanley Ridges, Myron McCormick, Mischa Auer | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wintertime | 1943 | John Brahm | ★★ | 82 | Henie gives her all to save uncle's hotel from bankruptcy. Innocuous, below par for her vehicles. | tt0036540 | Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Cornel Wilde, S.Z. Sakall, Woody Herman | Musical | NULL | |||
| Winter’s Bone | 2010 | Debra Granik | ★★★ | 100 | In the Ozark backwoods of Missouri, a 17-year-old girl is forced to care for her two young siblings because her mother is incompetent and her father—who cooks drugs—has run off. If he doesn’t show up for a court date, the family will lose its home, so she goes in search of him, stonewalled at every turn by family and so-called friends. Unremittingly harsh story focuses on its heroine (Lawrence, in a remarkable performance), who is forced to find both inner and outer strength in order to ensure her family’s survival. A fascinating glimpse into a world most of us will never know firsthand. Granik and Anne Rosellini adapted Daniel Woodrell’s novel. | tt1399683 | [R] | Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee | Drama, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Wired | 1989 | Larry Peerce | 💣 | 108 | The film fiasco of its year, a numbingly wrongheaded adaptation of Bob Woodward's best-selling cautionary bio of John Belushi— complete with a cab-driving guardian angel (Sharkey). Chiklis looks a little like Belushi but conveys none of his comic genius in some clumsy Saturday Night Live recreations. Walsh, as Woodward, is an unintentional howl with the decade's most constipated performance. Sole cast survivor: D'Arbanville as Cathy Smith, the woman who administered the star's fatal drug overdose. | tt0098660 | [R] | Michael Chiklis, Ray Sharkey, J. T. Walsh, Patti D'Arbanville, Lucinda Jenney, Alex Rocco, Gary Groomes, Jere Burns, Billy Preston | Comedy, Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Wisdom | 1986 | Emilio Estevez | 💣 | 109 | Recent grad Estevez can't find work because of a long-ago felony on his record; frustration launches him and girlfriend Moore on a cross-country series of bank heists to aid the American farmer's plight. Robert Wise assisted Estevez on the direction, which is certainly more competent than his wretched script; film has one of the most self-defeating wrapups you'll ever see. | tt0092225 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, William Allen Young, Richard Minchenberg, Ernie Brown | Crime | NULL | ||
| Wise Blood | 1979 | John Huston | ★★★½ | 108 | Brilliant translation of Flannery O'Connor's peculiar hell-and-salvation tale. Flawless cast, led by Dourif as obsessed preacher of The Church Without Christ, inhabits Southern Gothic world as though born in it. Huston (who bills himself here as Jhon Huston) appears as a preacher. Screenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald. | tt0080140 | [PG] | Brad Dourif, Daniel Shor, Amy Wright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty, Mary Nell Santacroce | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wise Girl | 1937 | Leigh Jason | ★★½ | 70 | Pleasant screwball comedy about rich girl pretending to be poor in order to track down her late sister's kids, who are living with starving Greenwich Village artist. | tt0029786 | Miriam Hopkins, Ray Milland, Walter Abel, Henry Stephenson, Alec Craig, Guinn Williams, Margaret Dumont | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wise Guys | 1986 | Brian De Palma | ★½ | 91 | Whimsical black comedy (that's what we said) about two losers who work for small-time hood in Newark, N.J. When their efforts to double-cross him fail, he sets them up to kill each other. Unsuccessful change of pace for director De Palma is an almost total misfire; buoyed only by DeVito's comic energy. | tt0092226 | [R] | Danny DeVito, Joe Piscopo, Harvey Keitel, Ray Sharkey, Dan Hedaya, Captain Lou Albano, Julie Bovasso, Patti LuPone | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wish You Were Here | 1987 | David Leland | ★★★ | 92 | A troubled teenage girl expresses herself by being sexually outrageous— without understanding what the consequences might be. Bittersweet film set in early 1950s England with a knockout performance by 16-year-old Lloyd. Strong directing debut for screenwriter Leland, who based his central character on Cynthia Payne, the young madam depicted in PERSONAL SERVICES, which he wrote. | tt0094331 | [R] | Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Clare Clifford, Barbara Durkin, Geoffrey Hutchings, Charlotte Barker, Chloe Leland, Jesse Birdsall, Geoffrey Durham, Pat Heywood | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Wishful Thinking | 1999 | Adam Park | ★★ | 90 | A N.Y.C.-based movie about relationships, told in overlapping 'chapters,' as paranoiacally jealous Le Gros keeps finding ways to drive his lover (Beals) away . . . with a little help from his lovesick friend Barrymore. Makes clever use of footage from an old Steve Cochran movie. Never released theatrically. | tt0120523 | [R] | Jennifer Beals, James Le Gros, Drew Barrymore, Jon Stewart, Eric Thal, Mel Gorham | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wishing Ring | 1914 | Maurice Tourneur. | ★★★ | 55 | Pickfordesque ingenue Martin is a preacher's daughter bent on reconciling an expelled college student with his estranged father, a British earl. A gypsy ring that might be magical helps tie the twain. Slender romantic fable, set in a bucolic England, is emotionally aggrandized by writer-director Tourneur's mastery of atmosphere. Quite appealing, and never saccharine. | tt0004825 | Vivian Martin, Alec B. Francis, Chester Barnett, Gyp Williams, Simeon Wiltsie, Johnny Hines. | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Wishmaster | 1997 | Robert Kurtzman | ★½ | 90 | An evil djinn (genie to you) is freed from captivity in a gem and sets out to grant (backfiring) wishes while seeking Lauren, because granting her wishes will enable him to destroy the world . . . or something. The mythology is too complex, the story too thin, and the plentiful gore mostly gratuitous. Followed by three direct-to-video sequels. | tt0120524 | [R] | Tammy Lauren, Andrew Divoff, Chris Lemmon, Wendy Benson, Tony Crane, Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Robert Englund, Ted Raimi | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap | 1947 | Charles Barton | ★★½ | 78 | Unusual Western spoof for A&C, inspired by real-life law: Lou is accused of killing a man, and is required to take care of his wife (Main) and children (seven). He then becomes sheriff, convinced that no one will dare kill him. Some slow spots, but overall, fun. | tt0039998 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marjorie Main, George Cleveland, Gordon Jones, William Ching, Peter Thompson, Glenn Strange, Audrey Young | Comedy, Western | NULL | |||
| Wit | 2001 | Mike Nichols | Above Average TV Movie | 97 | Diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, a brilliant but emotionally distant literature professor reexamines her life and prepares for her death. Intelligent adaptation by Thompson and Nichols of Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. As expected, Thompson gives a fearless performance, and there's also beautifully subtle work from Broadway chanteuse McDonald in a nonmusical performance. | tt0243664 | Emma Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Atkins, Audra McDonald, Jonathan M. Woodward, Harold Pinter | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Witch Without a Broom | 1968 | José María Elorrieta (Joe Lacy ) | ★½ | 78 | Jeff finds himself bewitched by a 15th-century apprentice sorceress who takes him on an odyssey from the Stone Age to a futuristic Martian jaunt. Pointless fantasy. | tt0061426 | Jeffrey Hunter, Maria Perschy, Perla Cristal, Gustavo Rojo | Spanish | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Witchboard | 1985 | Kevin S. Tenney | ★★ | 98 | Standard low-budget horror film with a few twists. An evil spirit, contacted by means of a Ouija board (a 'witchboard'), impersonates the ghost of a small boy to kill its victims. Well plotted but routinely directed and acted. Followed by a whole bunch of sequels connected only by the Ouija board. | tt0090327 | [R] | Todd Allen, Tawny Kitaen, Stephen Nicholas, Kathleen Wilhoite, Burke Byrnes, Rose Marie, Susan Nickerson | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Witchcraft | 1964 | Don Sharp | ★★ | 79 | Standard plot of witch cult happenings in English village after grave of 300-year-old witch is unearthed. | tt0058753 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Jack Hedley, Jill Dixon, Viola Keats | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Witchcraft Through the Ages | 1922 | Benjamin Christensen. | ★★★ | 104 | Visually stunning history of the occult, recreating actual incidents based on records of witch trials, demonic possessions, and torture by the Inquisition. Writer-director Christensen plays Satan himself in this genuinely scary, no-holds-barred silent film. A shortened version was released in 1968 featuring commentary by William S. Burroughs. Original title: HÄXAN. | tt0013257 | Oscar Stribolt, Clara Pontoppidan, Karen Winther, Maren Pedersen. | Swedish | Documentary, Horror | NULL | ||
| Witchery | 1989 | Martin Newlin (Fabrizio Laurenti) | 💣 | 96 | Competently made but ponderous, underplotted horror tale of people isolated at old hotel on island, killed one by one by vengeful witch Knef. Horror scenes emphasize torture. Uncomfortable, predictable, and boring. Filmed in Massachusetts. | tt0096453 | Linda Blair, David Hasselhoff, Catherine Hickland, Annie Ross, Hildegard Knef, Leslie Cumming, Rick Farnsworth | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Witches of Eastwick | 1987 | George Miller | ★★★ | 118 | Lively, colorful fantasy about three man-hungry women in picture-postcard New England town who, unaware of their witchly powers, conjure up the ultimate man: the devil. Magnetic performances and handsome production keep it entertaining throughout, though it careens wildly from sensual fantasy to black-comic farce to full-throttle horror, and ends up not making a lot of sense. Buoyed by an infectious John Williams score. Loosely based on John Updike's novel. | tt0094332 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Jenkins, Keith Jochim, Carel Struycken | Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Witches' Brew | 1980 | Richard Shorr, Herbert L. Strock | ★★½ | 99 | College prof Benjamin's wife Garr resorts to witchcraft in order to further his career. Turner (in her final film) is good as the veteran witch who has selfish reasons for helping Benjamin's cause. After a dull first half, this comic remake of BURN, WITCH, BURN finally hits its stride. Originally done as WEIRD WOMAN. Based on the book Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber. | tt0081763 | [PG] | Lana Turner, Richard Benjamin, Teri Garr, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Jordan Charney | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Witches | 1990 | Nicolas Roeg | ★★★ | 91 | A young boy's seaside vacation turns into a nightmare when he discovers that the hotel is also hosting a convention of witches! Roald Dahl stories can be cruel, and this is no exception, but as a far-flung child's-eye fantasy it's pretty good. Zetterling is wonderful as the boy's loving grandmother; Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the incredible-looking witches— and mice. This was Henson's final feature-film project. | tt0100944 | [PG] | Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Jane Horrocks, Jenny Runacre, Brenda Blethyn | British | Fantasy, Family | NULL | |
| The Witching Hour | 1934 | Henry Hathaway. | ★★½ | 66 | Gambler who wins by using clairvoyant powers and mind control accidentally hypnotizes his daughter's boyfriend into committing a murder, and tries to convince a lawyer to take the unusual case. Minor but well-made chiller with eerie atmosphere. Based on a play by Augustus Thomas that was previously filmed in 1916 and 1921. | tt0025998 | Sir Guy Standing, John Halliday, Judith Allen, Tom Brown, Olive Tell, William Frawley, Richard Carle. | Drama | NULL | |||
| With Byrd at the South Pole | 1930 | (none credited). | ★★★ | 82 | The title tells all in this fascinating document of U.S. Navy Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd, his crew, and their journey by sea from N.Y.C. to the Antarctic, culminating with his Polar flight. Film plays as part historical record, part promotional film hyping Byrd (complete with rah-rah narration in the final sequence). Despite this, it's still a remarkable film. William Van der Veer and Joseph T. Rucker's stunning cinematography earned an Academy Award. | tt0020594 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| With Fire and Sword | Daggers of Blood | 1961 | Fernando Cerchio | ★½ | 96 | Costume spaghetti about Cossacks vs. Poles; embarrassing minor epic. Retitled: DAGGERS OF BLOOD. Filmed in widescreen Euroscope. | tt0055855 | Jeanne Crain, John Drew Barrymore, Pierre Brice, Akim Tamiroff | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | |
| With Friends Like These . . . | 1999 | Philip F. Messina | ★★★ | 105 | Close friends who are character actors find themselves in a fiercely competitive situation when word gets out that Martin Scorsese is casting a new film on Al Capone. How much does friendship count at a time like this? Affectionate, seriocomic look at working actors, with a fine ensemble. Written by the director. Made for theaters, debuted on cable TV. | tt0119692 | [R] | Robert Costanzo, Adam Arkin, Amy Madigan, David Strathairn, Laura San Giacomo, Jon Tenney, Elle Macpherson, Lauren Tom, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael McKean, Jason Alexander, Bill Murray, Martin Scorsese, Garry Marshall | Comedy | NULL | ||
| With Honors | 1994 | Alek Keshishian | ★★ | 103 | Homeless Pesci trades pages for food after callow Ivy Leaguer Fraser meets him in Irene Dunne screwball style when his thesis falls through a grate into the Harvard boiler room where Pesci resides. Comedy-drama might be insulting if it had just a little more sting, but it's a fizzle almost from the beginning. | tt0111732 | [PG-13] | Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Hamilton, Gore Vidal, Deborah Fortson, Marshall Hambro | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| With Six You Get Eggroll | 1968 | Howard Morris | ★★ | 95 | Oft-told tale of a widow and widower who try to move their children under the same roof. Amiable but slow on laughs. Day's last film to date. | tt0063821 | [G] | Doris Day, Brian Keith, Pat Carroll, Barbara Hershey, George Carlin, Alice Ghostley, Vic Tayback, Jamie Farr, William Christopher | Comedy | NULL | ||
| With a Friend Like Harry . . . | 2000 | Dominik Moll | ★★★ | 117 | Hitchcockian thriller (in the best sense of that term) in which a chance encounter with a barely remembered high school classmate causes great consternation for a family on vacation as he insinuates himself into their lives. Wickedly funny and scary at the same time; a psychological exercise in suspense. Winner of four César Awards, including Best Actor for Lopez. | tt0216800 | [R] | Laurent Lucas, Sergi Lopez, Mathilde Seigner, Sophie Guillemin | French | Drama, Comedy, Thriller | NULL | |
| With a Song in My Heart | 1952 | Walter Lang | ★★★ | 117 | Well-intentioned schmaltz based loosely on events in life of singer Jane Froman with Hayward earnest as songstress struggling to make comeback after crippling plane crash. Alfred Newman won an Oscar for Scoring. | tt0045333 | Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, Thelma Ritter, Robert Wagner, Una Merkel | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Within Our Gates | 1920 | Oscar Micheaux. | ★★★ | 79 | Controversial, no-holds-barred racial drama, which, along with Micheaux's THE SYMBOL OF THE UNCONQUERED, counterpoints Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Story focuses on light-skinned Preer's various entanglements and efforts to raise money for an all-black school. Despite the melodramatic and sometimes confusing narrative, Micheaux pointedly lambastes not only white racism but blacks who forsake their roots. The lynching scenes are undeniably powerful. Restored from a print found in Spain, with one sequence missing. | tt0011870 | Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin, Jack Chenault, William Smith, Charles D. Lucas. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Within These Walls | 1945 | H. Bruce Humberstone. | ★★ | 71 | Fairly good but predictable prison drama with warden Mitchell faced with his own son as a prisoner. | tt0038255 | Thomas Mitchell, Mary Anderson, Edward Ryan, Mark Stevens, B. S. Pully, Edward Kelly, Harry Shannon. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Withnail & I | 1987 | Bruce Robinson | ★★½ | 105 | 'I' is a young longhair, living in London in the last months of 1969; Withnail is his eccentric, self-absorbed roommate. Both are unemployed actors, children of their times, who endure a disastrous vacation in the country. Director Robinson wrote this autobiographical film, which has its amusing moments but eventually becomes monotonous. Best laugh: consultant credit for 'Richard Starkey, M.B.E.' Fellow Beatle George Harrison coexecutive-produced the film. | tt0094336 | [R] | Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Without Apparent Motive | 1972 | Philippe Labro | ★★ | 102 | Powerhouse European cast can't do much for Ed McBain tale about detective Trintignant's attempts to solve series of unpredictable killings; Erich Segal plays an astrologer. | tt0069219 | [PG] | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Sanda, Sacha Distel, Carla Gravina, Paul Crauchet, Laura Antonelli, Jean-Pierre Marielle | French | Thriller, Mystery | NULL | |
| Without Honor | 1949 | Irving Pichel | ★★ | 69 | Good cast talks endlessly in melodrama of woman who thinks she's killed a man. | tt0042049 | Laraine Day, Dane Clark, Franchot Tone, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Without Limits | 1998 | Robert Towne | ★★★ | 117 | Second screen bio of the late University of Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine is more polished than 1997's PREFONTAINE, especially in its recreation of competition scenes. Produced by Tom Cruise, this barely released sleeper benefits from Sutherland's excellent performance as coach Bill Bowerman. Another plus: outstanding— and non-clichéd— use of period music. | tt0119934 | [PG-13] | Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter, Jeremy Sisto, Matthew Lillard, Billy Burke, Dean Norris, Judith Ivey | Drama | NULL | ||
| Without Love | 1945 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★★ | 111 | Tracy and Hepburn have never been livelier, but script (by Donald Ogden Stewart, from Philip Barry's play) lets them down in story of inventor and widow who marry for convenience, later fall in love. Wynn and Ball are excellent second leads. | tt0038256 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Keenan Wynn, Carl Esmond, Patricia Morison, Felix Bressart, Gloria Grahame | Drama | NULL | |||
| Without Pity | Senza Pieta | 1948 | Alberto Lattuada | ★★★ | 94 | Moving neorealist classic about a black G.I. (Kitzmiller) and his love affair with a prostitute (Del Poggio) in liberated WW2 Italy. Superb supporting performance by Masina; film was cowritten by her husband, Federico Fellini. Originally titled: SENZA PIETA. | tt0040773 | Carla Del Poggio, John Kitzmiller, Giulietta Masina, Folco Lulli, Pierre Luigi | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Without Reservations | 1946 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 107 | Authoress Colbert meets perfect man to play hero in movie version of her new book: soldier Wayne. Engaging comedy-romance, with some amusing swipes at Hollywood, several surprise guest stars. Look fast for Raymond Burr during dance scene. | tt0039110 | Claudette Colbert, John Wayne, Don Defore, Anne Triola, Frank Puglia, Phil Brown, Thurston Hall, Louella Parsons, Dona Drake | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| Without Warning | It Came Without Warning | 1980 | Greydon Clark | ★½ | 89 | Very silly horror film. Alien launches carnivorous disks at various citizens. A few scattered laughs and shudders, some intense acting, and a flagrantly bad job by Landau as a militant ex-sergeant named Fred Dobbs. Aka IT CAME WITHOUT WARNING. | tt0081764 | [R] | Jack Palance, Cameron Mitchell, Martin Landau, Ralph Meeker, Tarah Nutter, Sue Ane Langdon, Neville Brand, Larry Storch | Sci-Fi, Horror | NULL | |
| Without Warning! | 1952 | Arnold Laven | ★★★ | 77 | Creepy character actor Williams shines in a rare starring role as a shy, lonely gardener with a penchant for plunging his shears into bottle-blonde bombshells who remind him of his former wife. Low-budget noir is a taut and trim little crime thriller, stylishly shot by Joseph F. Biroc, which presents an evocative look at a seedy ’50s L.A. and such vanished parts of the city as Chavez Ravine before it was cleared to make way for Dodger Stadium. | tt0045334 | [R] | Adam Williams, Meg Randall, Edward Binns, Harlan Warde, John Maxwell, Angela Stevens, Byron Kane, Charles Tannen, Robert Shayne | Crime, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | ||
| Without You I'm Nothing | 1990 | John Boskovich | ★★½ | 94 | Adaptation of Bernhard's one-woman off-Broadway show, in which she takes on a number of roles in order to examine American pop culture, and the challenge of surviving in modern society. She's definitely an acquired taste, but the material does hit its targets more often than not— especially when Sandra does her take on Diana Ross. Video version runs 89m. | tt0100946 | [R] | Sandra Bernhard, John Doe, Steve Antin, Lu Leonard, Ken Foree, Cynthia Bailey | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Without a Clue | 1988 | Thom Eberhardt | ★★½ | 106 | Mild farce built on the premise that Sherlock Holmes was a fictional creation of wily Dr. John Watson, who is forced to hire a second-rate actor (Caine) to impersonate the now famous and sought-after detective. Scattered laughs, engaging performances by star duo. | tt0096454 | [PG] | Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley, Jeffrey Jones, Lysette Anthony, Paul Freeman, Nigel Davenport, Pat Keen, Peter Cook | British | Comedy, Mystery | NULL | |
| Without a Paddle | 2004 | Steven Brill | ★★ | 99 | Anemic summertime comedy about three boyhood pals who reunite to take the river journey they always promised themselves they'd take, to search for the lost treasure of D. B. Cooper. Derivative mishmash of slapstick and sentiment gets what mileage it can from its three likable stars. Reynolds' presence is surely intended to evoke memories of DELIVERANCE . . . but doesn't. | tt0364751 | [PG-13] | Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, Ethan Suplee, Abraham Benrubi, Rachel Blanchard, Burt Reynolds, Christina Moore, Bonnie Somerville, Ray Baker | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Without a Trace | 1983 | Stanley R. Jaffe | ★★½ | 120 | Story of one woman's ordeal when her six-year-old son disappears while walking to school one morning. Genteel, well-made film keeps an arm's-length emotionally, especially in Nelligan's cold portrayal of the mother. The resolution is not to be believed. Based on a real-life N.Y.C. incident that had a much different outcome. Directorial debut of producer Jaffe. | tt0086593 | [PG] | Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, David Dukes, Stockard Channing, Jacqueline Brookes, Kathleen Widdoes | Drama | NULL | ||
| Witless Protection | 2008 | Charles Robert Carner | 💣 | 97 | Another rattletrap vehicle for comic Whitney’s redneck character. This time, Larry is a small-town deputy sheriff who kidnaps a beautiful government witness (Milicevic) from the crooked FBI agents assigned to “protect” her. Not just unfunny but offensive whenever good-ol’-boy Larry makes snide remarks about Arabs, Asians, or African-Americans. Stormare and Mantegna mug furiously, to little effect. | tt1001562 | [PG-13] | Larry the Cable Guy (Dan Whitney), Ivana Milicevic, Jenny McCarthy, Yaphet Kotto, Eric Roberts, Peter Stormare, Joe Mantegna | Crime | NULL | ||
| Witness | 1985 | Peter Weir | ★★★ | 112 | A big-city cop on the lam hides out on an Amish farm, where he and a young widow are attracted to each other. Entertaining film is marred by jarring shifts in tone, especially toward the end. Oscar winner for writers Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley, Pamela Wallace. | tt0090329 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover, Patti LuPone, Viggo Mortensen | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Witness Chair | 1936 | George Nicholls. | ★½ | 64 | Faithful secretary Harding tries to take the rap for her boss, with whom she's secretly in love. Unbelievable courtroom drama/whodunit, polished but dull. | tt0028513 | Ann Harding, Walter Abel, Douglass Dumbrille, Frances Sage, Moroni Olsen, Margaret Hamilton. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Witness for the Prosecution | 1957 | Billy Wilder | ★★★★ | 114 | Fantastically effective London courtroom suspenser from Agatha Christie play. Dietrich is peerless as wife of alleged killer (Power). Laughton at his best as defense attorney, and Lanchester delightful as his long-suffering nurse. Power's last completed film. Scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz. Remade as a TVM. | tt0051201 | Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Una O'Connor, Ian Wolfe | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Witness in the Dark | 1959 | Wolf Rilla. | ★½ | 62 | Uncommonly obvious suspenser with murderer seeking to kill blind girl who was present when crime was committed. | tt0053448 | Patricia Dainton, Conrad Phillips, Madge Ryan, Nigel Green, Enid Lorimer. | British | Thriller | NULL | ||
| Witness to Murder | 1954 | Roy Rowland | ★★★ | 83 | Stanwyck sees ex-Nazi neighbor Sanders strangle a woman, but can't convince detective Merrill. However, Sanders believes her. . . . Unconvincing and rather shrill, but suspenseful and well acted, with striking photography (by John Alton). | tt0047679 | Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Jesse White, Claude Akins | Film-Noir, Crime | NULL | |||
| Wives Never Know | 1936 | Elliott Nugent. | ★★½ | 75 | Flimsy tale of couple trying to awaken each other's love; Ruggles and Boland are always worth watching, and Menjou adds dash. | tt0028514 | Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, Adolphe Menjou, Vivienne Osborne, Claude Gillingwater, Louise Beavers. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wives Under Suspicion | 1938 | James Whale | ★★½ | 69 | Minor but interesting drama of callous D.A. William waking up when he thinks his wife (Patrick) is seeing another man. Remake of Whale's THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR. | tt0030981 | Warren William, Gail Patrick, Constance Moore, William Lundigan, Ralph Morgan | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Wives and Lovers | 1963 | John Rich | ★★½ | 103 | Surface, slick entertainment; newly famous writer Johnson, wife Leigh and child move to suburbia. Literary agent Hyer on the make almost causes divorce; Winters is wise-cracking neighbor. Script by Edward Anhalt, from Jay Presson Allen's play. | tt0057688 | Janet Leigh, Van Johnson, Shelley Winters, Martha Hyer, Ray Walston, Jeremy Slate | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wiz | 1978 | Sidney Lumet | ★★ | 133 | Diana Ross weeps and whines her way through modern black variation on THE WIZARD OF OZ, from the Broadway show by William F. Brown and Charlie Smalls. Some good musical numbers, fine supporting cast, but dreary finale— and drearier performance by Ross— really weigh it down. Music arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. | tt0078504 | [G] | Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Theresa Merritt, Thelma Carpenter, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor | Family, Adventure, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Wizard of Baghdad | 1960 | George Sherman | ★★ | 92 | Blah satire on costumers, with Shawn a lazy genie. | tt0054481 | Dick Shawn, Diane Baker, Barry Coe, John Van Dreelen, Robert F. Simon, Vaughn Taylor | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Wizard of Loneliness | 1988 | Jenny Bowen | ★★ | 111 | Top-notch acting (especially by precocious young star Haas) fails to save a haphazardly constructed adaptation of John Nichols' novel about a youngster growing up with his grandparents in New England during WW2. His aunt (Thompson in an unusual character role) carries a dark secret that leads to a melodramatic climax. A coproduction of PBS' American Playhouse. | tt0096455 | [PG-13] | Lukas Haas, Lea Thompson, John Randolph, Anne Pitoniak, Dylan Baker, Lance Guest, Jeremiah Warner | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wizard of Oz | 1939 | Victor Fleming | ★★★★ | 101 | A genuine American classic, based on L. Frank Baum's story of a Kansas girl who goes 'Over the Rainbow' to a land of colorful characters and spirited adventure. A perfect cast in the perfect fantasy, with Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg's unforgettable score. Just as good the fifteenth time as it is the first time. Won Oscars for 'Over the Rainbow' and Herbert Stothart's scoring, plus a special miniature award for Judy. Previously filmed in 1925; remade as THE WIZ (set in N.Y.C.) and OZ (Australia). A pair of sequels: JOURNEY BACK TO OZ and RETURN TO OZ. | tt0032138 |
|
Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, Clara Blandick, The Singer Midgets | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Wizard of Speed and Time | 1988 | Mike Jittlov | ★★½ | 95 | A young special-effects whiz and his pals buck the Hollywood system and try to make a movie. This completely self-referential low-budget comedy scores big points for gumption and enthusiasm, which helps make up for some amateurish qualities. Best of all are Jittlov's eye-popping, one-of-a-kind visual effects. Expanded from a popular short subject of the same name. | tt0081766 | [PG] | Mike Jittlov, Paige Moore, Richard Kaye, David Conrad, John Massari, Steve Brodie, Frank LaLoggia, Philip Michael Thomas | Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Wizard | 1989 | Todd Holland | ★★ | 99 | A road movie for kids, with Savage, his traumatized brother Edwards, and Lewis pursued across the Southwest by various relatives and other grown-ups. Limp, overplotted comedy suffers from heavy product plugs. ROCKY-like finish, dealing with Edwards' video-game wizardry, may thrill preteens but few others. Look for Tobey Maguire in a bit part. | tt0098663 | [PG] | Fred Savage, Luke Edwards, Jenny Lewis, Beau Bridges, Christian Slater, Will Seltzer, Jackey Vinson, Wendy Phillips, Sam McMurray | Comedy, Family, Adventure, Drama | NULL | ||
| Wizards | 1977 | Ralph Bakshi | ★½ | 80 | Animated sci-fi tale of future world after devastation, with warring factions that conjure up Hitler's armies. Turgid, unappealing film for adults or children. | tt0076929 | [PG] | Voices of Bob Holt, Jesse Wells, Richard Romanus, David Proval, Mark Hamill | Animation, Sci-Fi, War, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Wolf | 1994 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 122 | Thoughtful, imaginative werewolf tale in a modern urban setting, with Nicholson as a genteel book editor who's bitten by a wolf— just as he's going through a personal and professional crisis. Literate, intriguing, though perhaps too slowly paced (and genteel) for rabid horror fans. Written by Jim Harrison and Wesley Strick, with makeup effects by Rick Baker. | tt0111742 | [R] | Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan, Christopher Plummer, Richard Jenkins, Eileen Atkins, David Hyde Pierce, Om Puri, Ron Rifkin, Prunella Scales, David Schwimmer | Drama, Horror | NULL | ||
| Wolf Creek | 2005 | Greg McLean | ★½ | 99 | Yet another would-be BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, this even played in competition at Sundance and Cannes but isn’t nearly as special as its Fest cred would indicate. Three backpacking friends are stranded in the dark, deserted, remote area of the Outback known as Wolf Creek. A seemingly friendly local truck driver offers assistance, but unfortunately he isn’t that nice and tows them to . . . terror! Just another graphic showcase for gore and degradation. | tt0416315 | John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, Nathan Phillips, Gordon Poole, Guy O’Donnell | Australian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Wolf Dog | 1958 | Sam Newfield. | ★½ | 61 | Low-jinks about farm life in the north country involving land-hungry ranchers. | tt0052401 | Jim Davis, Allison Hayes, John Hart, Tony Brown, Austin Willis. | Canadian | Western | NULL | ||
| Wolf Lake | 1978 | Burt Kennedy | ★½ | 87 | Dull revenge film. Steiger (intense as ever) and four old army buddies stay at hunting lodge run by Huffman, a Vietnam deserter who fled to Canada. Steiger lost his son in the Vietnam war and tries to take out his grief (violently) on Huffman, with tragic results. Also known as THE HONOR GUARD. | tt0078508 | [R] | Rod Steiger, David Huffman, Robin Mattson, Jerry Hardin, Richard Herd, Paul Mantee | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wolf Larsen | 1975 | Giuseppe Vari | ★★ | 92 | Tired new version of Jack London's SEA WOLF with Connors chewing up scenery as the sadistic sea captain. Video titles: LEGEND OF SEA WOLF and LARSEN, WOLF OF THE SEVEN SEAS. | tt0073323 | Chuck Connors, Barbara Bach, Giuseppi Pambieri | Italian | Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Wolf Man | 1941 | George Waggner | ★★★½ | 70 | One of the finest horror films ever made: Larry Talbot (Chaney) is bitten by werewolf Lugosi, survives to carry the curse himself. Outstanding cast includes Rains as Chaney's oblivious father, Ankers as perplexed girl friend, Ouspenskaya as wizened gypsy woman who foretells his fate and attempts to care for him. Literate and very engrossing, with superb makeup by Jack Pierce, atmospheric music (re-used in many other Universal chillers) by Charles Previn and Hans J. Salter. Written by Curt Siodmak. Sequel: FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. | tt0034398 | Lon Chaney/Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Claude Rains, Maria Ouspenskaya, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Warren William, Bela Lugosi, Fay Helm | Horror | NULL | |||
| Wolf at the Door | 1987 | Henning Carlsen | ★★★ | 90 | Sutherland is more subdued as Gauguin than Anthony Quinn was in LUST FOR LIFE; generally interesting bio covers the middle period of the artist's life, when he returned to Paris from Tahiti— then struggled to raise the money to go back. Arouses your interest in the subject. | tt0091712 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Max von Sydow, Valerie Morea, Sofie Grabol, Fanny Bastin, Merete Voldstedlund | French-Danish | Drama | NULL | |
| Wolfen | 1981 | Michael Wadleigh | ★★★ | 115 | Detective Finney tracks mysterious beasts (werewolves?) that are terrorizing N.Y.C. Surreal, allegorical mystery is satisfying— and could have been great. Hines stands out as coroner; Gerry Fisher's ingenious cinematography is also noteworthy. Based on the novel by Whitley Streiber. | tt0083336 | [R] | Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines, Tom Noonan, Dick O'Neill | Horror | NULL | ||
| The Wolfman | 2010 | Joe Johnston | ★★½ | 102 | Lawrence Talbot returns to his ancestral home in England—and his estranged father—after his brother is brutally murdered by an unnamed creature. In his search for the killer he, too, is attacked and inflicted with the lycanthropic curse. Sober remake of the 1941 classic isn't bad but insists on expanding the story, to no good end. Del Toro's character is underwritten, while Hopkins (as his father) gets to chew the scenery. Still, Rick Heinrichs' production design is handsome, Rick Baker's makeup is effective, and the scare scenes are well staged, so it's not a total loss. | tt0780653 | [R] | Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, Art Malik, Geraldine Chaplin, Antony Sher | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| The Woman Chaser | 2000 | Robinson Devor | ★★½ | 90 | Film noir- ish takeoff set in early '60s L.A. A frustrated used-car salesman puts all his efforts into making a movie; when it blows up in his face he seeks revenge on those unlucky enough to get in his way. Debuting filmmaker Devor manages to make this look as if it could have been released on the bottom half of a 1960 double bill, right down to its nostalgic black-and-white look. Wry fun for film fans with a pitch-perfect lead performance by Warburton. | tt0217894 | [R] | Patrick Warburton, Emily Newman, Eugene Roche, Lynette Bennett, Joe Durrenberger, Pat Crowder | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Woman Chases Man | 1937 | John G. Blystone | ★★½ | 71 | Sometime hilarious, often strained screwball comedy with Hopkins trying to fleece wealthy McCrea, falling in love in the process. | tt0029789 | Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Charles Winninger, Ella Logan, Erik Rhodes, Broderick Crawford | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Woman From Monte Carlo | 1932 | Michael Curtiz. | ★★ | 70 | Exotic German star Dagover made her Hollywood debut in this creaky romantic melodrama and promptly hightailed it back to Europe. She's alluring as a Viennese beauty with a scarlet past whose marriage to French naval commander Huston is jeopardized by an accusation of adultery with young lieutenant William. Curtiz' stylish pictorial sense and a court-martial conclusion keep one watching. Based on a play that was filmed as THE NIGHT WATCH in 1928. | tt0023706 | Lil Dagover, Walter Huston, Warren William, John Wray, George E. Stone, Robert Warwick. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Woman Hater | 1949 | Terence Young | ★★ | 70 | Contrived battle of wits between confirmed bachelor and single girl leads to predictable romance. | tt0042051 | Stewart Granger, Edwige Feuillère, Ronald Squire, Mary Jerrold | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Woman Hunt | 1972 | Eddie Romero | 💣 | 81 | Wretched knock-off of THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, using kidnapped women as prey. Todd's dull performance as a black-leather-clad lesbian sadist wouldn't even amuse her Hee Haw fans. | tt0069509 | [R] | John Ashley, Sid Haig, Laurie Rose, Lisa Todd, Eddie Garcia, Pat Woodell | U.S.-Philippine | Action | NULL | |
| The Woman I Stole | 1933 | Irving Cummings. | ★★★ | 70 | Holt is his usual he-man self as an oil baron in North Africa who makes a play for Wray, who's married to his buddy Cook, then decides he doesn't want her after all. Very amusing comic adventure with a surprisingly modern sense of camp. Tangy script by Jo Swerling. | tt0024783 | Jack Holt, Fay Wray, Noah Beery, Raquel Torres, Donald Cook, Edwin Maxwell. | Action | NULL | |||
| A Woman Is a Woman | 1961 | Jean-Luc Godard | ★★½ | 83 | Pert stripper Karina wants a baby; boyfriend Brialy is not interested in fatherhood, so she approaches his best friend (Belmondo). Occasionally spirited, but mostly a self-indulgent trifle. | tt0055572 | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Claude Brialy, Anna Karina, Noel Pacquin | French | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Woman Next Door | 1981 | François Truffaut | ★★★ | 106 | Depardieu's new neighbor is ex-lover Ardant. Though now married, they revive their relationship. Somber, compassionate study of human nature and emotions, nicely acted by the two leads. | tt0082370 | [R] | Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, Henri Garcin, Michele Baumgartner, Veronique Silver | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Woman Obsessed | 1959 | Henry Hathaway | ★★½ | 102 | Energetic stars try hard in Canadian ranch-life soaper of widow Hayward who marries Boyd, with predictable clashing and making up. | tt0053450 | Susan Hayward, Stephen Boyd, Barbara Nichols, Dennis Holmes, Theodore Bikel, Ken Scott | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| A Woman Rebels | 1936 | Mark Sandrich | ★★★ | 88 | Hepburn is marvelous as young girl whose experiences in Victorian England lead to her crusading for Women's Rights. Well-mounted soap opera remains surprisingly timely. | tt0028517 | Katharine Hepburn, Herbert Marshall, Elizabeth Allan, Donald Crisp, Doris Dudley, David Manners, Lucile Watson, Van Heflin | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Woman They Almost Lynched | 1953 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 90 | Civil War period film about refined young woman Leslie who comes to Western town and learns to tote gun; title tells the rest. | tt0046556 | John Lund, Joan Leslie, Audrey Totter, Brian Donlevy, Ellen Corby, Minerva Urecal, Jim Davis | Western | NULL | |||
| Woman Thou Art Loosed | 2004 | Michael Schultz. | ★★½ | 98 | Evangelical preacher Bishop T. D. Jakes portrays himself in this earnest adaptation of his self-help novel and play about the downward spiral and redemption of a young black woman who ends up on death row. Straightforward morality tale dealing with sexual abuse, drug addiction, and poverty sometimes comes off like a heavy-handed sermon, but is distinguished by Elise's poignant and impassioned performance. | tt0399901 | [R] | Kimberly Elise, Loretta Divine, Debbi Morgan, Michael Boatman, Clifton Powell, Idalis De Leon, Bishop T. D. Jakes, Sean Blakemore, Jordan Moseley. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman Times Seven | 1967 | Vittorio De Sica | ★★★ | 99 | A seven-episode film with MacLaine showing seven types of women; some funny moments, some perceptive comments, but with that cast and director, it should have been much better. | tt0062502 | Shirley MacLaine, Peter Sellers, Rossano Brazzi, Vittorio Gassman, Lex Barker, Elsa Martinelli, Robert Morley, Patrick Wymark, Adrienne Corri, Alan Arkin, Michael Caine, Anita Ekberg, Philippe Noiret | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Woman Under the Influence | 1974 | John Cassavetes | ★★ | 155 | Typically overlong, overindulgent Cassavetes film, vaguely delineating relationship of woman who's cracking up and her hardhat husband, who can't handle it. Strong performances by Rowlands and Falk are chief virtue of this one. | tt0072417 | [R] | Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes, Lady Rowlands, Fred Draper | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman Wanted | 1935 | George B. Seitz | ★★ | 68 | Unremarkable programmer has O'Sullivan hunted by police and mobsters, McCrea out to prove her innocence. | tt0027227 | Maureen O'Sullivan, Joel McCrea, Lewis Stone, Louis Calhern, Edgar Kennedy, Adrienne Ames, Robert Greig | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Woman Who Came Back | 1945 | Walter Colmes | ★★ | 68 | Fair yarn of woman (Kelly) who is convinced she has received witches' curse from ancient forebear. | tt0038258 | John Loder, Nancy Kelly, Otto Kruger, Ruth Ford, Harry Tyler | Horror | NULL | |||
| A Woman Without Love | 1951 | Luis Buñuel. | ★★ | 85 | An unhappily married woman has an affair with a young engineer. Years later, he wills his estate to her second son; could the boy possibly be his own? Buñuel said this commercial chore was his worst film and it's hard not to agree with him. A few expected surreal touches can't wash away the suds. From a Guy de Maupassant story. | tt0043824 | Julio Villareal, Rosario Granados, Tito Junco, Xavier Loya, Joaquín Cordero, Elda Peralta. | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman and the Hunter | 1957 | George Breakston | ★½ | 79 | Tedious love triangle set in the jungles of Kenya; Sheridan tries hard but material defeats all. | tt0051203 | Ann Sheridan, David Farrar, John Loder | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Woman in Berlin | 2008 | Max Färberböck | ★★★ | 131 | As WW2 comes to a close, the Russians are moving into Berlin and arbitrarily raping German women. One of them (Hoss) realizes that the only way she can control her fate is to find a protector—Russian major Sidikhin. Vivid, multilayered record of the horror of a time and place is based on a controversial, anonymously written diary published in 1959. | tt1035730 | Nina Hoss, Yevgeni Sidikhin, Irm Hermann, Rüdiger Vogler, Ulrike Krumbiegel, Rolf Kanies, Jördis Triebel, Roman Gribkov, Juliane Köhler, August Diehl | German | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Woman in Black | 2012 | James Watkins | ★★½ | 95 | In Victorian times, a young widowed solicitor is dispatched to a remote village to investigate the papers of a long-dead woman whose house is on the shore nearby. He's warned away by villagers, who claim that the vengeful ghost of the woman kills local children; perhaps his own young son, back in London, is in danger. Could be, for the house really is haunted. Fairly satisfying thriller refreshes familiar ideas but takes an awfully long time to get up to speed. Radcliffe is satisfactory as the increasingly unnerved lead. Based on Susan Hill's novel, which was also adapted as a TV movie, a radio series, and a stage play. A Hammer Film. | tt1596365 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Misha Handley, Roger Allam, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Shaun Dooley, Liz White | British-Canadian-Swedish | Drama, Thriller, Horror | NULL | |
| The Woman in Green | 1945 | Roy William Neill | ★★★ | 68 | Blackmail, hypnotism, and murdered women with their right forefingers missing are the disparate elements in this solid Sherlock Holmes outing, with sleek Brooke and suave Daniell a formidable pair of foes for Holmes and Watson. Also shown in computer-colorized version. | tt0038259 | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Hillary Brooke, Henry Daniell, Paul Cavanagh, Matthew Boulton, Eve Amber | Drama, Crime, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Woman in Hiding | 1949 | Michael Gordon | ★★ | 92 | Overdone dramatics do in this soaper about a factory owner (Lupino) whose greedy new husband (McNally) attempts to kill her. She sets out to nail him, and is helped by war-veteran drifter Duff. | tt0042052 | Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, Stephen McNally, Peggy Dow, John Litel, Joe Besser | Drama, Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The Woman in Question | Five Angles on Murder | 1950 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 89 | As a cop investigates the slaying of a fortune teller, the various suspects' conflicting perceptions of the deceased emerge. Nifty whodunit, much of which is told in flashback; Kent is excellent as many different versions of the murder victim. Retitled: FIVE ANGLES ON MURDER. | tt0043140 | Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde, John McCallum, Susan Shaw, Hermione Baddeley, Charles Victor, Duncan Macrae | British | Mystery | NULL | |
| Woman in Red | 1935 | Robert Florey | ★★ | 68 | Routine courtroom drama of Stanwyck and Raymond marriage interrupted by charge that she's been seeing Eldredge. | tt0027228 | Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Raymond, Genevieve Tobin, John Eldredge, Philip Reed, Dorothy Tree | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Woman in Red | 1984 | Gene Wilder | ★★★ | 87 | Broad remake of French farce PARDON MON AFFAIRE with happily married Wilder going ga-ga over beautiful LeBrock. Stevie Wonder score includes Oscar-winning 'I Just Called to Say I Love You.' | tt0088414 | [PG-13] | Gene Wilder, Kelly LeBrock, Gilda Radner, Joseph Bologna, Charles Grodin, Judith Ivey | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Woman in White | 1948 | Peter Godfrey | ★★★ | 109 | Florid gothic thriller from Wilkie Collins book about strange household and tormented Parker. | tt0040974 | Eleanor Parker, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, Gig Young, Agnes Moorehead, John Emery, John Abbott | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| Woman in a Dressing Gown | 1957 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★★ | 93 | Excellent British drama about middle-aged man lured away from his unkempt wife by an attractive young woman at his office. Mature, intelligent, and moving. | tt0051204 | Yvonne Mitchell, Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms, Andrew Ray, Carole Lesley | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman in the Dunes | 1964 | Hiroshi Teshigahara | ★★★½ | 123 | Entomologist Okada becomes trapped in a sandpit and the prisoner of Kishida. Moving, memorable allegory, with striking direction and cinematography (by Hiroshi Segawa). | tt0058625 | Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Koji Mitsui, Hiroko Ito, Sen Yano | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman in the Moon | 1929 | Fritz Lang | ★★ | 156 | This lesser Lang effort, his last silent film, is about a spaceship and its trip to the moon. It's slow and way overlong, and it pales beside his brilliant METROPOLIS. | tt0019901 | Klaus Pohl, Willy Fritsch, Gustav von Wangenheim, Gerda Maurus, Fritz Rasp | German | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The Woman in the Window | 1944 | Fritz Lang | ★★★½ | 99 | High-grade melodrama about Robinson meeting subject of alluring painting (Bennett), becoming involved in murder and witnessing his own investigation. Surprise ending tops exciting film. Nunnally Johnson scripted and produced. Look for Our Gang alumni Bobby Blake (as Robinson's son) and Spanky McFarland (as a scout in the newsreel). | tt0037469 | Joan Bennett, Edward G. Robinson, Dan Duryea, Raymond Massey, Robert Blake, Dorothy Peterson | Thriller, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A Woman of Affairs | 1928 | Clarence Brown | ★★★ | 96 | Smooth, entertaining late-silent with Garbo as reckless socialite who undertakes serious burden of making good her late husband's thefts. Fine cast; story is diluted from Michael Arlen's The Green Hat. | tt0019591 | Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Hobart Bosworth, Dorothy Sebastian | Drama | NULL | |||
| Woman of Desire | 1993 | Robert Ginty | ★★ | 97 | Wannabe erotic thriller with down-and-out Fahey being set up for the murder of playgirl Derek's wealthy boyfriend Bauer during a yacht trip— although sly lawyer Mitchum has his doubts in court. This went straight to video with an unrated 99m. version (more Bo nudity). | tt0108588 | [R] | Jeff Fahey, Bo Derek, Steven Bauer, Robert Mitchum | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Woman of Distinction | 1950 | Edward Buzzell | ★★★ | 85 | Minor but very enjoyable slapstick, as visiting professor Milland causes scandal involving college dean Russell. Energetic cast puts this over; brief guest appearance by Lucille Ball. | tt0043141 | Rosalind Russell, Ray Milland, Edmund Gwenn, Janis Carter, Francis Lederer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Woman of Paris | 1923 | Charles Chaplin | ★★★ | 91 | French girl Purviance is set to marry her sweetheart (Miller), but a misunderstanding causes her to move to Paris, where she becomes the mistress of wealthy Menjou. Chaplin's one attempt to make a serious film (without himself as star) was quite sophisticated for its time, and remains interesting, even moving, today. It was a box-office flop in 1923; Chaplin reedited it, but waited until 1977 to reissue it, with his newly composed music score. Chaplin does a cameo as a railway porter, but he's virtually unrecognizable. | tt0014624 | Edna Purviance, Adolphe Menjou, Carl Miller, Lydia Knott, Charles French | Drama | NULL | |||
| Woman of Rome | 1954 | Luigi Zampa | ★★ | 93 | Overbaked melodrama of beautiful young Lollobrigida, her complex relationship with her mother, and the varied men with whom she becomes involved in pre-WW2 Rome. Alberto Moravia coscripted this severely watered-down adaptation of his novel. | tt0047427 | Gina Lollobrigida, Daniel Gélin, Franco Fabrizi, Raymond Pellegrin, Pina Piovani | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woman of Straw | 1964 | Basil Dearden | ★★½ | 117 | Muddled suspenser of Connery and Lollobrigida plotting the 'perfect murder' of old Richardson with ironic results. | tt0058754 | Sean Connery, Gina Lollobrigida, Ralph Richardson, Johnny Sekka, Alexander Knox | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Woman of the North Country | 1952 | Joseph Kane | ★★ | 90 | Predictable love and fight tale set in the mining lands; Storm's last film to date. | tt0045337 | Gale Storm, Ruth Hussey, Rod Cameron, Jim Davis, John Agar, J. Carrol Naish | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Woman of the River | 1955 | Mario Soldati | ★★ | 92 | Seamy, gloomy account of Loren involved with passion and criminals. Still, this was the film that really got her career going. | tt0048005 | Sophia Loren, Gérard Oury, Lise Bourdin, Rik Battaglia | Italian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Woman of the Rumor | 1954 | Kenji Mizoguchi | ★★½ | 95 | Melodramatic account of Geisha house operator Tanaka, whose lover really prefers her daughter. Minor Mizoguchi. | tt0047638 | Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiko Kuga, Tomoemon Otani, Eitaro Shindo | Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Woman of the Town | 1943 | George Archainbaud | ★★★ | 90 | First-class Western with Dekker as Bat Masterson, who must choose between love for dance-hall girl Trevor and law and order. | tt0037470 | Claire Trevor, Albert Dekker, Barry Sullivan, Henry Hull, Marion Martin | Western | NULL | |||
| Woman of the Year | 1942 | George Stevens | ★★★½ | 112 | First teaming of Tracy and Hepburn is a joy; Kate's a world-famed political commentator brought down to earth by sports reporter Tracy, whom she later weds. Unforgettable scene of Hepburn trying to understand her first baseball game. Oscar-winning screenplay by Ring Lardner, Jr., and Michael Kanin; later a hit Broadway musical. Remade for TV in 1976. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0035567 | Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Fay Bainter, Dan Tobin, Reginald Owen, Roscoe Karns, William Bendix | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Woman on Top | 2000 | Fina Torres | ★★ | 85 | Brazilian woman who's a magnificent cook decides to come out from her restaurateur-husband's shadow. She moves to San Francisco and quickly becomes a sensation with a cooking show on TV. Strained fairy-tale romantic comedy exists solely as a vehicle for the charming Cruz. | tt0206420 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benicio, Harold Perrineau/Jr., Mark Feuerstein, John de Lancie, Anne Ramsay, Ana Gasteyer | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Woman on the Beach | 1947 | Jean Renoir | ★½ | 71 | Overheated melodrama wastes clever gimmick: Coast Guard officer isn't completely convinced his lover's husband is really blind. Loaded with laughable dialogue and sledgehammer music cues; easy to see why this was Renoir's American swan song. | tt0040000 | Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett, Charles Bickford, Nan Leslie, Walter Sande, Irene Ryan | Drama, Romance, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Woman on the Run | 1950 | Norman Foster | ★★★ | 77 | Sheridan is most convincing as wife trying to find husband, witness to gangland murder, before underworld does. | tt0043142 | Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Keith, Ross Elliott, Frank Jenks | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| A Woman's Devotion | 1956 | Paul Henreid | ★★ | 88 | Choppy mystery of artist Meeker and wife Rule, involved in a murder while in Mexico. Aka BATTLE SHOCK. | tt0049961 | Ralph Meeker, Janice Rule, Paul Henreid, Rosenda Monteros | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |||
| A Woman's Face | 1941 | George Cukor | ★★★ | 105 | Crawford has one of her most substantial roles in this exciting yarn of a scarred woman whose life changes when she undergoes plastic surgery. Taut climax spotlights villain Veidt. Originally filmed in 1938 in Sweden, as EN KVINNAS ANSIKTE, with Ingrid Bergman; script by Donald Ogden Stewart and Elliot Paul. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0034399 | Joan Crawford, Melvyn Douglas, Conrad Veidt, Osa Massen, Reginald Owen, Albert Bassermann, Marjorie Main, Donald Meek, Connie Gilchrist, Henry Daniell, Richard Nichols | Thriller, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Woman's Secret | 1949 | Nicholas Ray | ★★½ | 85 | Intriguing flashback drama of woman coming to hate singer she built up to success; good performances by two female stars. Just a bit too sloppy. Produced and scripted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, from a Vicki Baum novel. | tt0042053 | Maureen O'Hara, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Grahame, Bill Williams, Victor Jory | Film-Noir, Drama | NULL | |||
| A Woman's Tale | 1991 | Paul Cox | ★★★½ | 93 | 78-year-old woman dying of cancer is determined to live her final days with the same dignity she displayed her entire life. Simple tale— beautifully directed— is heartbreakingly real. Distinguished by the extraordinary and courageous performance of Sheila Florance, whose own illness while making the film paralleled that of her character. (She died two days after receiving Australia's Academy Award as Best Actress.) The kind of movie that, while painful to watch at times, can also illuminate our lives. | tt0103282 | [PG-13] | Sheila Florance, Gosia Dobrowolska, Norman Kaye, Chris Haywood, Ernest Gray, Myrtle Woods, Bruce Myles | Australian | Drama | NULL | |
| A Woman's Vengeance | 1947 | Zoltan Korda | ★★★½ | 96 | Outstanding drama of philandering Boyer put on trial when his wife is found dead; brilliant cast gives vivid realistic performances. Script by Aldous Huxley, from his story. | tt0040002 | Charles Boyer, Ann Blyth, Jessica Tandy, Cedric Hardwicke, Mildred Natwick | Drama | NULL | |||
| Woman's World | 1954 | Jean Negulesco | ★★★ | 94 | Sophisticated look at big business, the men and women involved, with arch Webb the corporation boss choosing a new successor. | tt0047680 | Clifton Webb, June Allyson, Van Heflin, Arlene Dahl, Lauren Bacall, Fred MacMurray, Cornel Wilde, Elliott Reid | Drama | NULL | |||
| A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop | 2009 | Zhang Yimou | ★★ | 90 | Jealous and abusive noodle shop owner hires a crooked lawman to kill his adulterous wife and her lover—but things do not go as planned. If the basic plot sounds familiar, it’s because this is actually a period remake of BLOOD SIMPLE., transposing the setting from 1980s Texas to ancient China, and treating the material as broad farce rather than steamy noir. Curious, to say the least, but always dazzling to look at. | tt1428556 | [R] | Sun Honglei, Xiao Shenyang, Yan Ni, Ni Dahong, Cheng Ye, Mao Mao, Zhao Benshan, Julien Gaudfroy | Chinese | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| Womaneater | 1959 | Charles Saunders | ★½ | 70 | Mad scientist feeds women to a stolen Amazonian tree that he keeps in the dungeon of his British manor, hoping to derive a substance that will revive the dead. And they say that scientific research lacks imagination! | tt0051205 | George Coulouris, Vera Day, Robert MacKenzie, Norman Claridge, Marpessa Dawn, Jimmy Vaughan | British | Horror | NULL | ||
| Wombling Free | 1978 | Lionel Jeffries | ★½ | 96 | Silly kiddie pic has the Wombles (actors in creature suits) cleaning up after man's litter and leading a protest against pollution. They're invisible to mankind except for a little girl (Langford) who believes. Objectionable use of stereotypes; best segment has big production-number tributes to Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. Based on a BBC-TV series and later adapted as a U.S. series with Frank Gorshin. | tt0076931 | David Tomlinson, Frances De La Tour, Bonnie Langford, Bernard Spear, Yasuko Nagazumi, John Junkin | British | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Women Are Like That | 1938 | Stanley Logan | ★★½ | 78 | Smooth fluff: Francis is daughter of ad executive in love with copywriter O'Brien. | tt0030985 | Kay Francis, Pat O'Brien, Ralph Forbes, Melville Cooper | Drama | NULL | |||
| Women Without Names | 1940 | Robert Florey. | ★★½ | 63 | Newlyweds are framed for a cop killing committed by her wanted ex-husband. After a politically ambitious assistant D.A. suppresses evidence that proves their innocence, she determines to bust out of prison. Stylishly directed caged-heat yarn with a rip-roaring, hair-pulling catfight and a tense ending. | tt0033272 | Ellen Drew, Robert Paige, Judith Barrett, John Miljan, Fay Helm, John McGuire, Louise Beavers, Marjorie Main. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Women in Bondage | 1943 | Steve Sekely. | ★★ | 70 | Exploitation patriotism hammering away at Nazi maltreatment of conquered people. Dates badly. | tt0036545 | Gail Patrick, Nancy Kelly, Gertrude Michael, Anne Nagel, Tala Birell, Alan Baxter, H. B. Warner. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| Women in Cages | Women's Penitentiary III | 1972 | Gerry de Leon | 💣 | 78 | Lurid prison melodrama, with the emphasis on sadism, has the switcheroo of Grier cast as lesbian guard who tortures prisoners in her gothic chamber, known as 'The Playpen.' Video title: WOMEN'S PENITENTIARY III. | tt0067995 | [R] | Judy Brown, Pam Grier, Roberta Collins | U.S.-Philippine | Action | NULL |
| The Women in His Life | 1933 | George B. Seitz. | ★★½ | 74 | Kruger hams it up in fine style as a brilliant, unethical criminal lawyer who drinks and womanizes because his wife ran out on him. When he takes on a murder case and learns the victim is his ex-wife, he cleans up his act and seeks justice. Fairly engrossing MGM programmer with a smashing, nick-of-time finale. | tt0026006 | Otto Kruger, Una Merkel, Ben Lyon, Isabel Jewell, Roscoe Karns, Irene Hervey, C. Henry Gordon, Samuel S. Hinds. | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| Women in Love | 1969 | Ken Russell | ★★★½ | 129 | Fine adaptation of D. H. Lawrence novel about two interesting love affairs. Tends to bog down toward the end, but acting and direction are really impressive, as is memorable nude wrestling scene. Jackson won her first Oscar for this performance. Followed in 1989 by Russell's THE RAINBOW, a 'prequel' in which Jackson plays the mother of her character in this film. | tt0066579 | [R] | Alan Bates, Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson, Eleanor Bron, Jennie Linden, Alan Webb | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Women in Trouble | 2009 | Sebastian Gutierrez | ★★★ | 95 | Wild mix of high camp and grand passions, soap opera and soft-core sex, detailing the misadventures of colorful female characters during a long day in, around, and above L.A. Gugino is first among equals in a mostly terrific ensemble as a porn-movie superstar who discovers she is pregnant. Also figuring into the crazy-quilt plot: a therapist (Clarke) who rightly suspects her husband of adultery, a novice porno actress (Palicki), and a starstruck flight attendant (Shelton). Bawdy comedy in the style of Pedro Almodóvar, who has collaborated on other projects with writer-director Gutierrez. | tt1247704 | [R] | Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Adrianne Palicki, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Sarah Clarke, Simon Baker, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cameron Richardson, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Elizabeth Berkley, Dolly Parton | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Women in the Wind | 1939 | John Farrow. | ★★ | 63 | Francis woos ace pilot Gargan to use his plane in a women's air derby in order to win money for her brother's operation; Gargan's jealous estranged wife tries to send Francis into a tailspin by entering the race herself. Trite programmer. | tt0032142 | Kay Francis, William Gargan, Victor Jory, Maxie Rosenbloom, Eddie Foy/Jr., Sheila Bromley, Eve Arden. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Women of All Nations | 1931 | Raoul Walsh. | ★★ | 72 | Third pairing of McLaglen and Lowe as Sergeants Flagg and Quirt (following WHAT PRICE GLORY and THE COCKEYED WORLD) is just an excuse for the stars to brawl, double-cross each other, and go after the local sexpots from Sweden to Constantinople. Loud, raucous one-note film. Lugosi, as a jealous Middle Eastern prince, has the best line: 'Bar the gates and sharpen the knives. | tt0022576 | Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Greta Nissen, El Brendel, Fifi D'Orsay, Marjorie White, Bela Lugosi. | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Women of Brewster Place | 1989 | Donna Deitch | Above Average TV Movie | 200 | Ambitious filming of Gloria Naylor's novel spanning several decades in the lives of seven black women who live in a tenement on a walled-off street and struggle to overcome racism, violence, and poverty. Well acted, with everyone getting at least one star turn, thanks to Karen Hall's multi-dimensional script. Winfrey also executive-produced. Originally shown in two parts. Later a series, Brewster Place. | tt0098674 | Oprah Winfrey, Mary Alice, Olivia Cole, Robin Givens, Moses Gunn, Jackée, Paula Kelly, Lonette McKee, Paul Winfield, Cicely Tyson | Drama | NULL | |||
| Women of Devil's Island | 1961 | Domenico Paolella | ★½ | 95 | Humdrum mini-epic with Madison helping aristocratic woman held prisoner on swampy island. | tt0055323 | Guy Madison, Michele Mercier, Frederica Ranchi | Italian | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Women of Pitcairn Island | 1956 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 72 | Low-budget garbage about families developing from people who remained on island after MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. | tt0049963 | James Craig, Lynn Bari, John Smith, Arleen Whelan, Sue England, Carol Thurston | Drama, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Women of the Prehistoric Planet | 1966 | Arthur C. Pierce | ★½ | 87 | One of many studio-bound sci-fi pix from the '60s, a strange lot indeed. Spaceship crashes on mysterious planet full of prehistoric inhabitants. There's a twist ending, if you stick around for it. | tt0061203 | Wendell Corey, Keith Larsen, John Agar, Irene Tsu, Merry Anders, Adam Roarke, Stuart Margolin | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The Women on the 6th Floor | 2010 | Philippe Le Guay | ★★★ | 104 | Stockbroker Luchini has spent his whole life in the same Paris apartment house, occupying the same job, both of which he inherited from his father. But when his wife hires a new, young Spanish maid he becomes interested in her—and the community of Spanish working women who occupy the floor above him. This exposes him to a whole new world and brings out his humanity. Utterly disarming comedy-drama set in 1962, when there was a large influx of Spanish women into the Parisian work force. | tt1805297 | Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Berta Ojea, Nuria Solé, Concha Galán | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | 1988 | Pedro Almodóvar | ★★★½ | 88 | Witty, outrageous, and highly stylized comedy about charmingly off-kilter actress Maura and how she responds when suddenly abandoned by her longtime lover. A real audience-pleaser, with plenty of laughs; crammed with a colorful array of supporting characters (most memorably a taxi driver with a bleached-blond pompadour whose car is a combination drugstore/bar). | tt0095675 | [R] | Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Maria Barranco, Rossy De Palma | Spanish | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |
| Women's Prison | 1955 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 80 | Campy 1950s programmer, with Lupino as a vicious prison superintendent riding herd over a cast that no B-movie lover could resist. | tt0048811 | Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Howard Duff, Mae Clarke, Gertrude Michael, Juanita Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Women | 1939 | George Cukor | ★★★½ | 132 | All-star (and all-female) cast shines in this hilarious adaptation of Clare Boothe play about divorce, cattiness, and competition in circle of 'friends.' Crawford has one of her best roles as bitchy homewrecker. Fashion show sequence is in color; script by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin. Remade as THE OPPOSITE SEX. | tt0032143 | Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, Lucile Watson, Marjorie Main, Virginia Weidler, Phyllis Povah, Ruth Hussey, Mary Beth Hughes, Virginia Grey, Hedda Hopper, Butterfly McQueen | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| The Women | 2008 | Diane English | ★★½ | 114 | Ryan has a seemingly perfect marriage, and a tight circle of female friends, but her world unravels when she learns that her husband is playing around with a perfume salesgirl from Saks. Update of Clare Boothe Luce’s play and the 1939 movie manages to retain the bones of the original, but has a tougher time creating a stylized modern reality for its backdrop. Uneven but entertaining, with plenty of sharp dialogue. Writer-director English does a creditable job given the nearly impossible task of remaking a classic. | tt0430770 | [PG-13] | Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Carrie Fisher, Cloris Leachman, Debi Mazar, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, India Ennenga, Jill Flint, Ana Gasteyer, Joanna Gleason, Lynn Whitfield | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | 1976 | Michael Winner | ★★ | 92 | Fine cast struggles through inept spoof of 1920s Hollywood. Dog comes off better than dozens of veteran stars who make pointless cameo appearances (from Rhonda Fleming to the Ritz Brothers). | tt0075436 | [PG] | Bruce Dern, Madeline Kahn, Art Carney, Phil Silvers, Teri Garr, Ron Leibman | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wonder Bar | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 84 | Very strange, often tasteless musical drama set in Paris nightclub with murder, romance, and Busby Berkeley's incredible 'Goin' to Heaven on a Mule' production number. Full of outrageous racial stereotypes. | tt0026007 | Al Jolson, Kay Francis, Dolores Del Rio, Dick Powell, Ricardo Cortez, Louise Fazenda, Hugh Herbert, Hal LeRoy, Guy Kibbee | Drama, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| Wonder Boys | 2000 | Curtis Hanson | ★★★ | 112 | Intelligent, low-key comedy about the bond that develops between a college professor (Douglas), whose personal and professional life is floundering, and a strange but gifted student (Maguire), who adds to his chaos. A midlife coming-of-age story that benefits from its freshly observed academic milieu and a strong cast; Douglas is excellent in a change-of-pace role. Steve Kloves adapted Michael Chabon's novel. Bob Dylan's soundtrack song won an Oscar. | tt0185014 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey/Jr., Katie Holmes, Richard Thomas, Rip Torn, Philip Bosco, Jane Adams | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wonder Man | 1945 | H. Bruce Humberstone | ★★★ | 98 | Kaye's fun as twins, the serious one forced to take the place of his brash entertainer brother when the latter is killed. Big, colorful production with Oscar-winning special effects. | tt0038260 | Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Donald Woods, S. Z. Sakall, Allen Jenkins, Ed Brophy, Steve Cochran, Otto Kruger, Natalie Schafer | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| The Wonderful Country | 1959 | Robert Parrish | ★★½ | 96 | Brooding Western involving Mitchum running guns along Mexico-Texas line, romancing London; script by Robert Ardrey. | tt0053453 | Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Gary Merrill, Pedro Armendáriz, Jack Oakie, Albert Dekker | Western | NULL | |||
| The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit | 1999 | Stuart Gordon | ★★½ | 77 | Well-meaning, upbeat adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story and play about five L.A. Latinos who share the price of a beautiful white suit which, they believe, will help them realize their dreams. The flavor never seems genuine, and the treatment is heavy-handed, but there is still a magic to the story. Released direct to video. | tt0129634 | [PG] | Joe Mantegna, Esai Morales, Edward James Olmos, Clifton Gonzales Gonzales, Gregory Sierra, Liz Torres, Sid Caesar, Howard Morris, Lisa Vidal, Pedro Gonzales Gonzales | Comedy, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Wonderful World | 2010 | Josh Goldin | ★★ | 99 | Cynical deadbeat dad, a failed children's folk singer, has his dark view of life slowly transformed when his ill roommate's sister comes to live in his apartment. Broderick is well cast as the loser and Lathan is a delightful presence, but this black comedy never really comes to life, though there is the germ of an interesting idea here. | tt0857275 | [R] | Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Michael Kenneth Williams, Philip Baker Hall, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ally Walker, Jodelle Ferland | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm | 1962 | Henry Levin, George Pal | ★★★ | 129 | Fanciful adaptations of Grimm tales offset by OK look at famed brothers' lives. Best of all are Puppetoons sequences in toy shop, Hackett battling fire-breathing dragon. Colorful George Pal entertainment, with Oscar-winning costumes by Mary Wills, was originally shown in Cinerama. | tt0056700 | Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Karl Boehm, Oscar Homolka, Martita Hunt, Jim Backus, Yvette Mimieux, Barbara Eden, Walter Slezak, Russ Tamblyn, Buddy Hackett, Beulah Bondi, Terry-Thomas | Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl | 1993 | Ray Muller | ★★★ | 182 | Thorough, compelling portrait of Riefenstahl, infamous director of Nazi propaganda films TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and OLYMPIA, that serves as an investigation of her life (traced via film clips, and interviews made with the filmmaker in her early nineties). Was she a woman of evil— an opportunist and a collaborator in her dealings with Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party? Or was she a feminist pioneer, an apolitical artist who became an innocent victim of circumstance? Ultimately, the film is most effective as a portrait of denial, and an analysis of any filmmaker's responsibility regarding the power of the moving image. | tt0107472 | German-Belgian-British | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Wonderland | 1999 | Michael Winterbottom | ★★ | 108 | Dreary slice-of-life drama set in London over a long weekend, examining three unhappy generations of a single family. The mise-en-scène is impeccable, the situations completely believable, but the results are less than compelling. | tt0171865 | Shirley Henderson, Gina McKee, Molly Parker, Ian Hart, John Simm, Stuart Townsend, Kika Markham, Jack Shepherd | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wonderland | 2003 | James Cox | 💣 | 104 | Tedious look at events leading up to the grisly 1981 murders on L.A.'s Wonderland Avenue involving former porn film star John C. Holmes (Kilmer) and assorted other lowlifes. Sordid, violent, and filled with characters it's impossible to care about. | tt0335563 | [R] | Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Blake Nelson, Dylan McDermott, Josh Lucas, Eric Bogosian, Christina Applegate, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Janeane Garofalo, Franky G., Carrie Fisher, Faizon Love, Ted Levine | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Wonders of Aladdin | 1961 | Henry Levin, Mario Bava | ★★ | 93 | Few wonders to behold in this mild children's fantasy. | tt0055178 | Donald O'Connor, Noelle Adam, Vittorio De Sica, Aldo Fabrizi | U.S.-Italian | Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Woo | 1998 | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | 💣 | 83 | Misbegotten attempt at screwball comedy in which neurotic Manhattanite Pinkett Smith leads dorky law student Davidson on an all-night blind date from hell. Substitutes stupid slapstick and misogynist, homophobic potshots for wit and charm. Wants to be a '90s BRINGING UP BABY but ends up a sub-par HOUSE PARTY. | tt0120531 | [R] | Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Duane Martin, Dave Chappelle, Michael Ralph, *** LL Cool J, Foxy Brown, Aida Turturro, Billy Dee Williams | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Wood | 1999 | Rick Famuyiwa | ★★½ | 106 | So-so comedy about a reluctant, AWOL bridegroom (Diggs) whose two best pals (Epps, Jones) come to his rescue; in flashbacks we learn how they became friends in their formative years. The predictability of their story is partially offset by the film's charm and humor. | tt0161100 | [R] | Omar Epps, Sean Nelson, Taye Diggs, Trent Cameron, Richard T. Jones, Duane Finley, Malinda Williams, Lisarae | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wooden Horse | 1950 | Jack Lee | ★★★ | 101 | Sturdy, exciting POW drama of men determined to tunnel their way out of Nazi prison camp using an exercise vaulting horse for cover. Based on Eric Williams' novel The Tunnel Escape. | tt0043147 | Leo Genn, David Tomlinson, Anthony Steel, Peter Burton, David Greene, Anthony Dawson, Bryan Forbes, Peter Finch | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| The Woods | 2006 | Lucky McKee | 💣 | 91 | Alienated teen Bruckner, burdened with an unfeeling mother, is dispatched to a woodsy all-girls academy that has a mysterious history and a staff and student body who are all creepy or cruel. One-note horror film is thoroughly unpleasant, when it's not dull or idiotic. A real ordeal to sit through. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0380066 | [R] | Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel Nichols, Lauren Birkell, Emma Campbell, Marcia Bennett, Gordon Currie, Jude Beny, Bruce Campbell. | U.S.-British | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| The Woodsman | 2004 | Nicole Kassell. | ★★★ | 87 | Just released from prison, child molester Bacon tries to acclimate to 'normal' life (getting a job, having a relationship with a woman, trying to make peace with his family), but his biggest problem is battling his own demons. Provocative adult drama doesn't make its lead character sympathetic but does try to paint a three-dimensional portrait. Bacon and real-life spouse Sedgwick are exceptionally good; the climactic scene in a park is spine-tingling. Cowritten by first-time feature director Kassell and Steven Fechter from the latter's play. Bacon also coexecutive produced. | tt0361127 | [R] | Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve, Mos Def, David Alan Grier, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Shannon, Hannah Pilkes, Carlos Leon. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Woodstock | 1970 | Michael Wadleigh | ★★★★ | 184 | 1970 Oscar-winner as Best Documentary brilliantly captures unique communal experience of outdoor rock festival, along with great performances which highlighted unusual weekend bash. Among highlights: Cocker, Sly Stone, Ten Years After, The Who. Unfortunately, effect of multiscreen images and stereophonic sound may be lost on TV. Martin Scorsese was one of the editors. Forty minutes of previously unseen footage were added in 1994, featuring Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat and Jefferson Airplane, among others. That video title is WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS OF PEACE & MUSIC (THE DIRECTOR'S CUT). | tt0066580 | [R] | Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Crosby/ Stills & Nash, *** Jefferson Airplane, Joe Cocker, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, Santana, Country Joe and the Fish, John Sebastian, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Arlo Guthrie | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' | 1984 | Jim Brown | ★★★★ | 74 | Fascinating, beautifully made documentary about the wiry little drifter who is now recognized as one of the greatest American songwriters. Hosted by his son, Arlo, the film traces Woody's life from birth to his tragically lingering death. Interviewees include friends, like Pete Seeger, Herta Ware and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and those who were influenced by Woody, such as Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Hoyt Axton. It leaves you singing, and wanting more. | tt0373464 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Word Wars | 2004 | Eric Chaikin, Julian Petrillo | ★★★ | 76 | Very enjoyable cinema verité-style documentary about professional Scrabble players. The film follows four competitors-each one uniquely eccentric-as they work their way toward the one big-money tournament of the year. No screenwriter could invent better characters or a more unusual saga. Told with visual pizzazz and a clever music score by Thor Madsen. | tt0390632 |
|
Documentary, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Wordplay | 2006 | Patrick Creadon | ★★★ | 94 | Entertaining documentary about the New York Times crossword puzzle and Will Shortz, its longtime editor. Amusing and affectionate look at the gold standard of puzzles, its creators, and loyal fans (with on-screen graphics that cleverly simulate the process of puzzle solving), culminating in 2005's American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Famous crossword devotees interviewed include Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, and Bob Dole. | tt0492506 | [PG] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Words and Music | 1948 | Norman Taurog | ★★½ | 119 | Sappy, Hollywoodized biography of songwriters Rodgers (Drake) and Hart (Rooney) is salvaged somewhat by their wonderful music, including Kelly and Vera-Ellen's dance to 'Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.' | tt0040976 | Mickey Rooney, Tom Drake, June Allyson, Ann Sothern, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Vera-Ellen, Cyd Charisse, Allyn Ann McLerie, Mel Torme, Betty Garrett, Perry Como, Janet Leigh | Musical | NULL | |||
| Work Is a 4-Letter Word | 1967 | Peter Hall | ★★½ | 93 | Zany, but hit-and-miss comedy based on the play Eh? about young man who raises giant mushrooms that produce euphoria when eaten. Warner is well cast. | tt0062503 | [M] | David Warner, Cilla Black, Elizabeth Spriggs, Zia Mohyeddin, Joe Gladwyn | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| The Working Class Goes to Heaven | Lulu the Tool | 1972 | Elio Petri. | ★★★ | 126 | A hardworking lathe operator is laid off after losing a finger on the assembly line, then becomes the leader of a strike that takes some very unexpected twists and turns. Superbly directed, thought-provoking critique of capitalism, with some surprisingly funny and sensuous touches. Music by Ennio Morricone. Originally released in the U.S. as LULU THE TOOL. | tt0066919 | Gian Maria Volonté, Mariangela Melato, Salvo Randone, Gino Pernice, Luigi Diberti. | Italian | Drama | NULL | |
| Working Girl | 1988 | Mike Nichols | ★★★ | 113 | Cute comedy about a naive but ambitious secretary who tries to outfox her wily boss by closing a big deal— with the help of a man she just happens to fall in love with. Star-making showcase for Griffith also gives Ford an ideal opportunity to play light comedy and Weaver a sly supporting role as the villainess. Carly Simon's music was scored by Rob Mounsey; her song 'Let the River Run' won an Oscar. Later a TV series. | tt0096463 | [R] | Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith, Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack, Philip Bosco, Nora Dunn, Oliver Platt, James Lally, Kevin Spacey, Robert Easton, Olympia Dukakis, Ricki Lake, David Duchovny | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Working Girls | 1986 | Lizzie Borden | ★★★½ | 90 | Beautifully realized, on-target account of a day in a N.Y.C. brothel; the sex is more humorous and businesslike than erotic, and the profession is depicted as an economic alternative to other traditional 'women's' work. First-rate all the way. | tt0092238 | Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, Amanda Goodwin, Marusia Zach, Janne Peters, Helen Nicholas | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Working Girls | 1973 | Stephanie Rothman | ★★½ | 81 | One of the better drive-in comedies, with three attractive girls struggling to make a success of themselves in a male-oriented world; Kennedy and Sturges (Preston's son) make an endearing couple. A staple of cable-TV because of nifty strip-tease performed by Peterson (better known as TV's Elvira). | tt0070927 | [R] | Sarah Kennedy, Laurie Rose, Lynne Guthrie, Solomon Sturges, Mary Beth Hughes, Cassandra Peterson | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Working Man | 1933 | John G. Adolfi | ★★★ | 74 | Theodore Newton, Gordon Westcott, J. Farrell MacDonald. Charming comedy about a businessman who chances to meet the children of his late arch-rival— and determines to change their wastrel ways, even if it means competing with his own company. A much-improved remake of Arliss' silent film $20 A WEEK (1924); remade with Irvin S. Cobb as EVERYBODY'S OLD MAN (1936). | tt0024785 | George Arliss, Bette Davis, Hardie Albright, Theodore Newton, Gordon Westcott, J. Farrell MacDonald | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The World According to Garp | 1982 | George Roy Hill | ★★★★ | 136 | Dazzling (if somewhat loose) adaptation of John Irving's novel, about an unusual young man's journey through life— an adventure shaped in large part by his unorthodox (and unmarried) mother. Absorbing, sure-footed odyssey through vignettes of social observation, absurdist humor, satire, and melodrama; beautifully acted by all, especially Close (in her feature debut) as Garp's mother and Lithgow as a transsexual. Script by Steve Tesich. Director Hill has cameo as pilot who crashes into Garp's house; novelist Irving plays wrestling match referee. | tt0084917 | [R] | Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Swoosie Kurtz, Amanda Plummer, Warren Berlinger, Brandon Maggart | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A World Apart | 1988 | Chris Menges | ★★½ | 112 | Personal story of South African apartheid as seen through the eyes of a teenage girl whose mother, a Communist activist, is jailed under the notorious 90-day detention act in 1963. Both a story of government abuse and a look at one mother's neglect of her family because of her involvement with a larger cause . . . but too diffuse to succeed completely on either count. Young May is remarkable as the girl, however. Autobiographical script by Shawn Slovo. Directorial debut for cinematographer Menges. | tt0096464 | [PG] | Barbara Hershey, David Suchet, Jeroen Krabbé, Jodhi May, Rosalie Crutchley, Tim Roth, Adrian Dunbar, Paul Freeman | Drama | NULL | ||
| The World Changes | 1933 | Mervyn LeRoy | ★★★ | 90 | Extremely watchable Edna Ferber-like saga of farm boy Muni, who pursues his ambitions to Chicago in the late 1800s and becomes a meat-packing baron and multimillionaire— only to see his family life crumble before his very eyes. Astor is excellent as his selfish wife, MacMahon her usual tower of strength as his mother. Cast is brimming with familiar faces, including young Mickey Rooney and pre-Charlie Chan Sidney Toler. | tt0024786 | Paul Muni, Mary Astor, Aline MacMahon, Donald Cook, Alan Dinehart, Guy Kibbee, Margaret Lindsay, Henry O'Neill, Jean Muir | Drama | NULL | |||
| The World Gone Mad | 1933 | Christy Cabanne | ★★ | 74 | District attorney about to uncover stock swindle is framed and murdered; his intrepid reporter pal (who else but O'Brien) and the new D.A. (Hamilton) investigate. Then-topical programmer has its moments, but is too talky and meandering. Aka PUBLIC BE DAMNED. | tt0024787 | Pat O'Brien, Evelyn Brent, Neil Hamilton, Mary Brian, Louis Calhern, J. Carrol Naish, Buster Phelps, Richard Tucker | Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | NULL | |||
| World Gone Wild | 1988 | Lee H. Katzin | ★★ | 95 | Post-apocalyptic science-fiction saga set in the 21st century, in the desolate village of Lost Wells, which is threatened by evil plunderers (led by Adam Ant). Who will come to the villagers' rescue? THE SEVEN SAMURAI meets MAD MAX in this marginally successful, futuristic action yarn. | tt0096465 | [R] | Bruce Dern, Michael Paré, Catherine Mary Stewart, Adam Ant, Rick Podell, Anthony James | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The World Is Full of Married Men | 1979 | Robert Young | ★★ | 107 | The sexual escapades— and downfall— of advertising executive Franciosa. Slick and sleazy exploitation melodrama that ultimately gives feminism a bad name, from a novel and screenplay by Jackie Collins. | tt0080147 | [R] | Anthony Franciosa, Carroll Baker, Sherrie Cronn, Gareth Hunt, Georgina Hale, Anthony Steel | British | Drama | NULL | |
| The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | Michael Apted | ★★½ | 125 | OK if typically overlong James Bond outing has 007 avenging the murder of an industrialist who was a close friend of M's. Brosnan is fine, as are the action set-pieces, but film allows M (Dench) to look foolish, and absurdly casts Richards as a nuclear physicist (in shorts!) with lots of laughable dialogue. Carlyle is a good villain with an underwritten part; Marceau is delicious as Elektra. Llewelyn's final film as Q. | tt0143145 | [PG-13] | Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Samantha Bond, Goldie, Serena Scott Thomas | Action, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The World Moves On | 1934 | John Ford | ★★½ | 104 | Long but interesting family saga covering 100 years as Louisiana family is split, three sons heading business operations in England, France, Germany, experiencing tremendous changes from peaceful 19th century through WW1. | tt0026008 | Madeleine Carroll, Franchot Tone, Reginald Denny, Stepin Fetchit, Lumsden Hare, Raul Roulien, Louise Dresser, Sig Ruman | Drama, Romance, War | NULL | |||
| World Premiere | 1941 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★½ | 70 | Poor excuse for comedy involves idiotic producer Barrymore, jealous movie stars, outlandish publicity stunts, and Nazi saboteurs. A real waste. | tt0034402 | John Barrymore, Frances Farmer, Eugene Pallette, Virginia Dale, Ricardo Cortez, Sig Ruman, Fritz Feld | Comedy | NULL | |||
| World Trade Center | 2006 | Oliver Stone | ★★★½ | 129 | The tragedy of September 11, 2001, is vividly dramatized by following the actions of the Port Authority police squad that responded to the first tower attack. Bulk of the film is devoted to the plight of two such rescuers trapped in the rubble of the collapsed towers, while their families agonize over their fate. Superior storytelling from start to finish. Screenplay by Andrea Berloff, based on the stories of John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno. | tt0469641 | [PG-13] | Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Stephen Dorff, Jay Hernandez, Michael Shannon, Frank Whaley, Donna Murphy, Patty D'Arbanville, Dorothy Lyman, Nicky Katt, Nicholas Turturro, Danny Nucci, William Mapother, Jude Ciccolella, Viola Davis | Drama, History | NULL | ||
| World Traveler | 2002 | Bart Freundlich | ★★ | 104 | A man walks out on his wife and son, takes to the road, and has a variety of encounters as he tries to sort out his life— and why he has become so completely alienated from it. Interesting in fits and starts, but unsatisfying; the ultimate revelation about its main character is both obvious and unconvincing. | tt0262911 | [R] | Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Cleavant Derricks, David Keith, James Le Gros, Karen Allen, Mary McCormack | U.S.-Canadian | Drama | NULL | |
| The World Was His Jury | 1958 | Fred F. Sears | ★½ | 82 | Routine account of ship's captain proven innocent of negligence in sea disaster. | tt0052407 | Edmond O'Brien, Mona Freeman, Karin Booth, Robert McQueeney | Drama | NULL | |||
| World Without End | 1956 | Edward Bernds | ★★½ | 80 | Space flight headed for Mars breaks the time barrier and ends up on post-apocalyptic Earth in the 26th century. Pretty good sci-fi owes more than a little to H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. | tt0049964 | Hugh Marlowe, Nancy Gates, Nelson Leigh, Rod Taylor | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| World Without Sun | 1964 | Jacques-Yves Cousteau | ★★★★ | 93 | Excellent, Oscar-winning documentary of Cousteau and his oceanauts, creating an underwater adventure that challenges any fiction. | tt0058364 |
|
Documentary | NULL | |||
| World and the Flesh | 1932 | John Cromwell | ★★ | 75 | Labored drama of soldier-of-fortune Bancroft asking price of Hopkins to save her wealthy friends from Russian Revolution; moves very slowly. | tt0023709 | George Bancroft, Miriam Hopkins, Alan Mowbray, George E. Stone | Drama | NULL | |||
| World for Ransom | 1954 | Robert Aldrich | ★★ | 80 | Deliriously cheesy B movie (made to cash in on Duryea's then-popular China Smith TV series) about intrigue and espionage in Singapore. Pretty poor, but some stylish shots and veteran cast are definite assets. | tt0047681 | Dan Duryea, Gene Lockhart, Patric Knowles, Reginald Denny, Nigel Bruce, Marian Carr | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| The World in His Arms | 1952 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 104 | Unlikely but entertaining tale of skipper Peck romancing Russian Blyth, set in 1850s San Francisco. | tt0045339 | Gregory Peck, Ann Blyth, John McIntire, Anthony Quinn, Andrea King, Eugenie Leontovich, Sig Ruman | Action, Adventure | NULL | |||
| World in My Corner | 1956 | Jesse Hibbs | ★★½ | 82 | Murphy is poor boy who rises to fame via boxing, almost ruined by rich life with Rush standing by. | tt0049965 | Audie Murphy, Barbara Rush, Jeff Morrow, John McIntire, Tommy Rall, Howard St. John. | Drama | NULL | |||
| The World of Abbott and Costello | 1965 | Jack E. Leonard (Narrated) | ★★ | 75 | Inept compilation of A&C footage, with curious selection of scenes, senseless narration. Still, there's 'Who's on First?' and other fine routines. | tt0059921 | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marjorie Main, Bela Lugosi, Tom Ewell, Narrated by Jack E. Leonard | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | |||
| The World of Apu | 1959 | Satyajit Ray | ★★★½ | 103 | Sadly poetic tale of the shy Apu (Chatterjee) marrying and fathering a child. Magnificently acted; last of the director's 'Apu' trilogy. | tt0052572 | Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherji | Indian | Drama | NULL | ||
| The World of Henry Orient | 1964 | George Roy Hill | ★★★½ | 106 | Marvelous comedy of two teenage girls who idolize eccentric pianist (Sellers) and follow him around N.Y.C. Bosley and Lansbury are superb as Walker's parents, with Thaxter appealing as Spaeth's understanding mother. Screenplay by Nunnally and Nora Johnson, from her novel. | tt0058756 | Peter Sellers, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Phyllis Thaxter, Tom Bosley | Comedy | NULL | |||
| The World of Suzie Wong | 1960 | Richard Quine | ★★½ | 129 | Holden's sluggish performance as American artist in love with prostitute Kwan doesn't help this soaper, lavishly filmed in Hong Kong. Script by John Patrick from Paul Osborn's Broadway play. | tt0054483 | William Holden, Nancy Kwan, Sylvia Syms, Michael Wilding, Laurence Naismith | Drama, Romance | NULL | |||
| The World of Tomorrow | 1984 | Lance Bird, Tom Johnson | ★★★ | 83 | Lovely documentary about 1939 New York World's Fair, a compilation of newsreels, home movies, promotional films, and various other period graphics . . . much of it in color! Occasionally teeters on the edge of pretentiousness, especially in narration spoken by Jason Robards. Cut to one hour for some showings. | tt0184038 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| The World's Fastest Indian | 2005 | Roger Donaldson | ★★★ | 126 | Hopkins is marvelous as a spirited old man who's obsessed with his 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle and determined to take it from his little town in New Zealand to run on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It's the 1960s, and along the way he meets an assortment of characters, some of them almost as colorful as he. An openhearted film, not for cynics. Written by the director, who filmed a TV documentary about the real Burt Munro in 1972. | tt0412080 | [PG-13] | Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Paul Rodriguez, Aaron Murphy, Annie Whittle, Chris Williams, Christopher Lawford, Jessica Cauffiel, Chris Bruno, Bruce Greenwood, William Lucking | U.S.-New Zealand | Adventure, Biography, Drama, Sport | NULL | |
| The World's Greatest Athlete | 1973 | Robert Scheerer | ★★★ | 93 | Hard-luck coach Amos returns to his roots in Africa and discovers superathlete Vincent; enjoyable Disney comedy with excellent special effects. Conway particularly funny in sequence in which he shrinks to Tom Thumb size. Cosell's classic line: 'I've never seen anything like this in my entire illustrious career!' | tt0070928 | [G] | John Amos, Jan-Michael Vincent, Tim Conway, Roscoe Lee Browne, Dayle Haddon, Howard Cosell | Comedy, Family | NULL | ||
| The World's Greatest Lover | 1977 | Gene Wilder | ★★½ | 89 | Sporadically funny comedy set in 1920s Hollywood, with Wilder screen-testing as new movie sheik and wife Kane deserting him for real-life Valentino. Wild slapstick combines unevenly with occasional vulgarities and moments of poignancy. Inspired by Fellini's THE WHITE SHEIK. | tt0076933 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Carol Kane, Dom DeLuise, Fritz Feld, Carl Ballantine, Michael Huddleston, Matt Collins, Ronny Graham, Danny DeVito | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The World, the Flesh, and the Devil | 1959 | Ranald MacDougall | ★★½ | 95 | Belafonte and Stevens are only survivors of worldwide nuclear accident; their uneasy relationship is jarred by arrival of Ferrer. Intriguing film starts well, bogs down halfway through, and presents ridiculous conclusion. Best scenes are at beginning, when Belafonte is alone in an impressively deserted Manhattan. | tt0053454 | Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| The World’s Greatest Sinner | 1962 | Timothy Carey | ★★½ | 76 | The great, eccentric character actor Carey gives his creepiest, most over-the-top performance in this crazed vanity project, which he wrote, produced, and directed. A disillusioned insurance salesman declares himself to be God, becomes an Elvis-like rock ’n’ roll evangelist, and is enticed to run for president by a shady power broker. Technically crude but weirdly fascinating as a prescient, primal scream of rage against cults, religious and political opportunism, and celebrity worship. A very young Frank Zappa (billed simply as ‘Zappa’) composed the score and a hilarious title song. | tt0056703 | Timothy Carey, Gil Baretto, Betty Rowland, James Farley, Gail Griffen, Tyde Rule, Grace De Carolis; narrated by Paul Frees | Drama | NULL | |||
| World’s Greatest Dad | 2009 | Bobcat Goldthwait | ★★★ | 99 | Sharply etched black comedy/ social satire about a hapless high school teacher (Williams) whose adolescent son is a foulmouthed misanthrope. Yet the boy’s actions ultimately inspire his dad to build a bond with the people around him, in a most unexpected manner. Bold but never gratuitously outrageous. | tt1262981 | Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, Alexie Gilmore, Geoff Pierson, Henry Simmons, Mitzi McCall, Tom Kenny, Toby Huss | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| The Worst Woman in Paris? | 1933 | Monta Bell. | ★★½ | 78 | Glossy Lubitsch-like comedy of chic Hume walking out on wealthy husband Menjou, returning to America, falling in love with naive young Stephens. | tt0024789 | Benita Hume, Adolphe Menjou, Harvey Stephens, Helen Chandler, Margaret Seddon. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Worth Winning | 1989 | Will Mackenzie | ★½ | 102 | Smug Harmon bets that he can hustle a trio of women into agreeing to marry him. Occasionally obnoxious (and predictable) comedy. | tt0098678 | [PG-13] | Mark Harmon, Madeleine Stowe, Lesley Ann Warren, Maria Holvöe, Mark Blum, Andrea Martin, David Brenner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Woyzeck | 1978 | Werner Herzog | ★★½ | 82 | Minor Herzog features the usual wide-eyed performance by Kinski as an ostensibly normal man who goes insane and becomes a murderer. Based on Georg Büchner's drama. Remade in 1994. | tt0080149 | Klaus Kinski, Eva Mattes, Wolfgang Reichmann, Willy Semmelrogge, Josef Bierbichler | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wraith | 1986 | Mike Marvin | ★★ | 92 | A Dodge Turbo Interceptor— it's a car— strangely appears one day and takes on some auto thieves. For those who favor fast cars and lots of noise. | tt0092240 | [PG-13] | Charlie Sheen, Nick Cassavetes, Randy Quaid, Sherilyn Fenn, Griffin O'Neal, David Sherrill, Jamie Bozian, Clint Howard | Action, Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Wrath of God | 1972 | Ralph Nelson | ★★ | 111 | If you take this film— about a defrocked priest in a revolution-ridden country south of the border— seriously, it's an OK action yarn. Accept it as tongue-in-cheek, it may yield greater enjoyment. Hayworth's final film. | tt0069515 | [PG] | Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, Frank Langella, John Colicos, Victor Buono, Ken Hutchison, Paula Pritchett, Gregory Sierra | Western | NULL | ||
| Wrath of the Titans | 2012 | Jonathan Liebesman | ★★ | 99 | In this sequel to 2010's CLASH OF THE TITANS, Perseus (Worthington) is trying to lead a quiet life as a fisherman and protect his son, but his father Zeus (Neeson) needs help: the Gods of Olympus are losing their powers and the Dark Forces are poised to take over the world. This means war on a mammoth scale. Ho-hum, grim-faced action film relies heavily on CGI effects but isn't supported by a decent script, so it's hard to get involved. The result: a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. | tt1646987 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Édgar Ramírez, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston, John Bell, Lily James, Alejandro Naranjo, Sinéad Cusack | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| The Wreck of the Hesperus | 1948 | John Hoffman | ★★ | 70 | Loosely based on Longfellow poem, this low-budget flick suffers from lack of production values to enhance special effects of storms at sea. | tt0040977 | Willard Parker, Edgar Buchanan, Patricia White (Barry) | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wreck of the Mary Deare | 1959 | Michael Anderson | ★★½ | 105 | Salvage boat skipper Heston boards an apparently abandoned freighter, finds hostile Captain Cooper aboard. What really happened to the Mary Deare? Stars outshine their material in Eric Ambler’s adaptation of the novel by Hammond Innes. | tt0053455 | Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Williams, Cecil Parker, Alexander Knox, Virginia McKenna, Richard Harris | U.S.-British | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Wrecked | 2011 | Michael Greenspan | ★★ | 90 | Bruised and battered man awakens in a forest ravine with no memory of how he’s come to be injured and trapped inside a run-down car, mangled from—apparently—a forceful car crash. With little hope of being found, his survival instincts quickly kick in even as clues begin to surface indicating he may be a wanted man. That means if he’s rescued, his life will still be in shambles. A mishmash of a psychodrama, almost made bearable by Brody. Tries to be engrossing—but isn’t. | tt1316622 | [R] | Adrien Brody, Caroline Dhavernas, Ryan Robbins | U.S.-Canadian | Thriller | NULL | |
| The Wrecking Crew | 1969 | Phil Karlson | ★½ | 105 | Fourth and final theatrical Matt Helm epic, while hardly a good film, is at least a step up from the last two, thanks to a return by the original director and the re-creation (in Tate) of an engaging klutz a la Stella Stevens in THE SILENCERS. Story has Helm after crime ring that's hijacked a train carrying a billion in gold. Chuck Norris has one line with Dino in a bar and Bruce Lee is credited as film's 'karate advisor.' A TVM and subsequent series (Matt Helm) followed in 1975. | tt0065225 | [M] | Dean Martin, Sharon Tate, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan, Tina Louise, Nigel Green | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wrestler | 2008 | Darren Aronofsky | ★★★½ | 109 | In the 1980s, a professional wrestler who’s past his prime is forced to take stock of his isolated existence and his estrangement from a teenage daughter. Robert Siegel’s no-holds-barred script is dramatized in documentary-like fashion on a variety of N.J. locations and populated with actual denizens of the low-end wrestling world, including fighters and fans. Rourke’s performance as the pumped-up pro who knows no other way of life is a tour de force; Tomei is every bit as good as a stripper who tries to separate her working “identity” from the rest of her life. | tt1125849 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Wass Stevens, Judah Friedlander, Ernest Miller, Ajay Naidu | French-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Wrestling Ernest Hemingway | 1993 | Randa Haines | ★★½ | 122 | A great actor's showcase, if not a great movie, about two older men now living in Florida: a boozy Irish ex-sea captain (Harris) and a retired Cuban barber (Duvall). They have practically nothing in common, but their need for companionship and interaction draws them together in this meandering but easy-to-take character study which was (incredibly) written by a 21-year-old, Steve Conrad. | tt0108596 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock, Piper Laurie, Nicole Mercurio, Marty Belafsky | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner | 2006 | Freida Lee Mock | ★★★ | 102 | Engrossing documentary about playwright and social activist Kushner (Angels in America) follows him over three years' time, covering a broad canvas, from preparations for the opening of the Broadway musical Caroline, or Change to his marriage to life partner Mark Harris. Unabashedly positive portrait includes readings of Kushner's work (by the likes of Meryl Streep and Marcia Gay Harden) and a great deal of candid footage with family, friends, and coworkers | tt0493081 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Wristcutters: A Love Story | 2007 | Goran Dukic | ★★½ | 91 | After committing suicide, Fugit finds himself living in a peculiar purgatory that looks just like real life—only more desolate. When he learns that his ex-girlfriend is also “living” in this world, he sets out in search of her. Endearingly odd black comedy has a great premise but doesn’t really go anywhere. | tt0477139 | [R] | Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Leslie Bibb, John Hawkes, Mikal P. Lazarev, Mark Boone Junior, Abraham Benrubi, Mary Pat Gleason, Azura Skye, Sarah Roemer, Jake Busey, Tom Waits, Will Arnett | Romance, Fantasy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Written on the Wind | 1956 | Douglas Sirk | ★★★ | 99 | Florid melodrama of playboy-millionaire Stack, his nymphomaniac sister Malone, and how they destroy themselves and others around them. Irresistible kitsch. Malone won Oscar for her performance. | tt0049966 | Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, Robert Keith, Grant Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Wrong Arm of the Law | 1963 | Cliff Owen | ★★★ | 94 | Wacky comedy spoof has Australian trio being chased by police as well as crooks because they've been dressing as cops and confiscating loot from apprehended robbers. Some very funny moments. | tt0056704 | Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, John Le Mesurier, Dennis Price, Michael Caine | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wrong Box | 1966 | Bryan Forbes | ★★★½ | 105 | Scramble for inheritance is basis for wacky black comedy set in Victorian England; aging Mills attempts to do in brother Richardson (with help from family cohorts) in order to be sole survivor. Sellers has hilarious cameo as oddball doctor. Based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story, scripted by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove. | tt0061204 | John Mills, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Nanette Newman, Wilfred Lawson, Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Wrong Guys | 1988 | Danny Bilson | ★½ | 86 | Clumsy and unfunny comedy about a Cub Scout reunion campout that goes awry; cast of stand-up comics do battle with a stupid script. | tt0096466 | [PG] | Louie Anderson, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, Franklyn Ajaye, Tim Thomerson, Brion James, Biff Maynard, John Goodman, Ernie Hudson, Timothy Van Patten, Rita Rudner | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Wrong Is Right | 1982 | Richard Brooks | ★★½ | 117 | Broad, bizarre, free-swinging satire of our TV-dominated culture, keyed to superstar reporter Connery's involvement with a terrorist group, and the U.S. government's possible ties to it. Scattershot script manages to hit a few targets, and benefits from Brooks' breathless pace. | tt0084920 | [R] | Sean Connery, George Grizzard, Robert Conrad, Katharine Ross, G. D. Spradlin, John Saxon, Henry Silva, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Webber, Rosalind Cash, Hardy Kruger, Dean Stockwell, Ron Moody, Jennifer Jason Leigh | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Wrong Man | 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 105 | Unusual Hitchcock film done as semi-documentary, using true story of N.Y.C. musician (Fonda) falsely accused of robbery. Miles is excellent as wife who cracks under strain; offbeat and compelling. Written by Maxwell Anderson and Angus MacPhail. | tt0051207 | Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, Nehemiah Persoff, Peggy Webber | Drama, Crime, Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| Wrong Move | 1975 | Wim Wenders | ★★½ | 103 | Overly metaphorical (but occasionally worthwhile) tale of disgruntled Vogler attempting to understand himself— and his country's past— as he rambles through Germany with various companions. Scripted by Peter Handke, loosely based on Goethe's Wilhelm Meister. Kinski's film debut. The second (and least successful) in Wenders' 'road movie' trilogy, after ALICE IN THE CITIES and followed by KINGS OF THE ROAD. Original English title: WRONG MOVEMENT. | tt0071483 | Rudiger Vogler, Hanna Schygulla, Ivan Desny, Marianne Hoppe, Peter Kern, Hans Christian Blech, Nastassja Kinski | German | Drama | NULL | ||
| Wrong Turn | 2003 | Rob Schmidt | ★½ | 84 | Wrong is right, as a stereotyped group of young motorists become stranded in the backwoods of West Virginia and naturally find themselves stalked by cannibalistic, inbred hillbillies. Derivative, unimaginatively staged gorefest is strictly for those who've never seen DELIVERANCE or THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. | tt0295700 | [R] | Eliza Dushku, Desmond Harrington, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Kevin Zegers | Thriller, Horror | NULL | ||
| Wrongfully Accused | 1998 | Pat Proft | ★★ | 85 | Silly spoof of THE FUGITIVE is yet another vehicle for Nielsen's deadpan comic shtick. This time, he's on the run for a crime he didn't commit. Amidst the relentless barrage of gags are some that— while entirely obvious— are also pretty funny, if you like this sort of thing. | tt0120901 | [PG-13] | Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crenna, Kelly LeBrock, Sandra Bernhard, Michael York, Melinda McGraw | U.S.-German | Action, Comedy | NULL | |
| Wuthering Heights | 1939 | William Wyler | ★★★★ | 103 | Stirring adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel stops at chapter 17, but viewers shouldn't despair: sensitive direction and sweeping performances propel this magnificent story of doomed love in pre-Victorian England. Haunting, a must-see film. Gregg Toland's moody photography won an Oscar; script by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Remade in 1953, 1970, 1992, and in 2003 for cable TV. | tt0032145 | Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Crisp, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Leo G. Carroll, Cecil Kellaway, Miles Mander, Hugh Williams | Drama | NULL | |||
| Wuthering Heights | 1953 | Luis Buñuel | ★★½ | 90 | Strikingly directed but talky, overbaked, ultimately unsuccessful version of the Brontë classic: bitter, cold-hearted former servant Mistral, now rich, returns to disrupt the life of true love Dilian, now married to another. | tt0046675 | Irasema Dilian, Jorge Mistral, Lilia Prado, Ernesto Alonso, Luis Aceves Castaneda | Mexican | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Wuthering Heights | 1970 | Robert Fuest | ★★★ | 105 | Good, realistic treatment of Brontë's novel with authentic locations and atmosphere, Dalton and Calder-Marshall believable looking as Heathcliff and Cathy, but film's point of view indistinct and pace too fast. | tt0066585 | [G] | Anna Calder-Marshall, Timothy Dalton, Harry Andrews, Pamela Browne, Judy Cornwell, Ian Ogilvy, Hugh Griffith, Julian Glover | British | Drama | NULL | |
| Wuthering Heights | 1992 | Peter Kosminsky | ★½ | 106 | Excruciating remake of the classic Brontë novel of doomed love. Binoche plays both Cathy and her daughter exactly the same way, with a different hair color. Fiennes' torment is so intense, it's actually a relief when he dies. This was the first film produced by Paramount studio's European production wing but it made its U.S. debut several years after completion, on cable TV. Sinéad O'Connor appears unbilled as Emily Brontë. Title onscreen is EMILY BRONTË'S WUTHERING HEIGHTS. | tt0104181 | [PG] | Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Janet McTeer, Sophie Ward, Simon Shepherd, Jeremy Northam | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Wyatt Earp | 1994 | Lawrence Kasdan | ★★½ | 195 | Epic-length biography shows how fate and circumstance turned the fabled Earp into a hardened and heartless man who killed in the name of law and order. Good storytelling grows ponderous toward the end, as Earp is driven by revenge against his blood enemies from the O.K. Corral. Quaid makes a colorful Doc Holliday, though his equally flashy ladyfriend Big Nosed Kate (Rossellini) disappears just as we get to meet her! Special video edition runs 20m. longer! | tt0111756 | [R] | Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Jeff Fahey, Mark Harmon, Michael Madsen, Catherine O'Hara, Bill Pullman, Isabella Rossellini, Tom Sizemore, JoBeth Williams, Mare Winningham, James Gammon, Annabeth Gish, Betty Buckley, Mackenzie Astin, Karen Grassle, Téa Leoni, Brett Cullen, John Doe, Martin Kove | Western | NULL | ||
| Wyoming Mail | 1950 | Reginald Le Borg | ★★½ | 87 | Postal robbery in old West, with capable cast shining up script's dull spots. | tt0043149 | Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Ed Begley, Richard Egan, James Arness, Frankie Darro, Richard Jaeckel | Western | NULL | |||
| Wyoming Outlaw | 1939 | George Sherman. | ★★★ | 57 | Based on a true incident, then in the news, about a modern Robin Hood (Barry) who steals but also combats graft and corruption. One of the best of the Three Mesquiteers series, with Hatton filling Max Terhune's place in the trio. Sympathetic lawbreaker Barry is outstanding in breakthrough title role. Top action, crisp direction. | tt0032146 | John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Raymond Hatton, Donald Barry, Adele Pearce, LeRoy Mason, Charles Middleton, Elmo Lincoln, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Wyoming Renegades | 1955 | Fred F. Sears. | ★½ | 73 | Confused Western portraying the story of ex-bandit Carey who wants to go straight; Hyer helps him. | tt0048814 | Phil Carey, Gene Evans, Martha Hyer, William Bishop, Aaron Spelling. | Western | NULL | |||
| The X Files: I Want to Believe | 2008 | Chris Carter | ★★ | 104 | When she’s approached by the FBI to help investigate several abductions of women, Dana Scully (Anderson) turns for help to retired Fox Mulder (Duchovny). He believes a former priest (Connolly), jailed for pederasty, has real psychic powers; she doesn’t. What follows is similar to an X Files TV episode—but longer and less involving, centering on bizarre surgery. Devotees will likely enjoy this more than newcomers. Alternate version runs 108m. | tt0443701 | [PG-13] | David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Alvin ‘Xzibit’ Joiner, Mitch Pileggi, Callum Keith Rennie, Fagin Woodcock | U.S.-Canadian | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | |
| X The Unknown | 1956 | Leslie Norman | ★★½ | 80 | Well-thought-out sci-fi production set in Scotland. Radioactive mud from Earth's center grows and kills anything in its path. Effective chiller written by Jimmy Sangster. | tt0049967 | Dean Jagger, Leo McKern, William Lucas, Edward Chapman, Anthony Newley | British | Horror, Sci-Fi, Mystery | NULL | ||
| X, Y and Zee | 1972 | Brian G. Hutton | ★★ | 110 | Contrived, often perverse tale of a woman, her husband, another woman and the way the three are interchangeable in relationships. Original British title: ZEE AND COMPANY. | tt0069516 | [PG] | Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York, Margaret Leighton, John Standing | British | Drama | NULL | |
| X- the Man with X-Ray Eyes | 1963 | Roger Corman | ★★½ | 80 | Not-bad little film about scientist Milland developing serum that enables him to see through things. He lives to regret it. | tt0057693 | Ray Milland, Diana Van Der Vlis, Harold J. Stone, John Hoyt, Don Rickles | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |||
| X-15 | 1961 | Richard Donner | ★★ | 106 | Mild narrative of pilots testing the experimental space plane of the title, and their romantic and family lives. Unusual role for Bronson, even then. | tt0055627 | David McLean, Charles Bronson, Ralph Taeger, Brad Dexter, Mary Tyler Moore, Patricia Owens | Drama | NULL | |||
| The X-Files | 1998 | Rob Bowman | ★★½ | 120 | Feature version of popular TV series serves well enough as a conspiracy yarn for newcomers to the exploits of FBI agents Mulder and Scully. After surviving the bombing of a building in Texas, they defy orders and go in search of a new lead about aliens on Earth and the question of who's running what. Overlong by at least one climax, this large-scale thriller will have additional resonance for X-Files fans. Video version runs 122m. | tt0120902 | [PG-13] | David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner, William B. Davis, John Neville, Mitch Pileggi, Jeffrey DeMunn, Terry O'Quinn, Glenne Headly, Lucas Black | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| X-Men | 2000 | Bryan Singer | ★★★ | 104 | Marvel Comics-inspired saga has two disparate misfits, Wolverine (Jackman) and Rogue (Paquin), linking up and finding a safe haven with Professor X (Stewart), who hopes to find ways to assimilate all mutants into human society. His brainy counterpart, Magneto (McKellen), however, sees humans as the enemy to be conquered. Long on razzle-dazzle, fun to watch, though some of the energy is sapped away by the climax. Based on characters created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Followed by X2. | tt0120903 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Bruce Davison | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine | 2009 | Gavin Hood | ★★½ | 107 | Proposed backstory of the indestructible Wolverine character from Marvel’s X-Men comics sets up the lifelong sibling relationship (and rivalry) with his bloodthirsty brother Sabretooth (Schreiber), and, less interestingly, shows how they and other mutants were exploited by a rogue U.S. military officer (Huston) bent on creating the ultimate humanoid weapon. Slick but heavy-handed and formulaic, this film lacks the sense of wonder and discovery that marks the X-MEN movies, and focuses instead on Wolverine and his adversaries beating the living daylights out of each other. Jackman gives it his best. | tt1334106 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney | Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| X-Men: First Class | 2011 | Matthew Vaughn | ★★½ | 132 | Origin story introduces the future Magneto (Fassbender) as a victim of Nazi torture during WW2, then jumps ahead to the early 1960s, when he and Oxford professor Charles Xavier (McAvoy) agree to help the CIA track down former Nazi—now would-be world conqueror—Bacon. They also recruit a new generation of mutants to train alongside them. Good story tries to cover too much ground and introduces an abundance of characters . . . but the appeal of Marvel’s X-Men remains intact, especially in the solid performances of McAvoy and Fassbender. Newcomers Lawrence and Hoult score while Bacon seems miscast. A couple of amusing surprise cameos will please series fans. | tt1270798 | [PG-13] | James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Caleb Landry Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Craven, Rade Sherbedgia, Ray Wise, Michael Ironside | Drama, Action, Adventure | NULL | ||
| X-Men: The Last Stand | 2006 | Brett Ratner | ★★ | 104 | Development of a 'cure' for genetic mutations-like the X-Men-spurs the ultimate showdown between Magneto and Dr. Xavier. Third and weakest in the comic book series shortchanges character development in favor of explosions and special effects . . . so there's little emotion in spite of all the overheated goings-on. Was Foster's part (as Murphy's winged son) really meant to be so brief? | tt0376994 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, Ben Foster, Michael Murphy, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Josef Sommer, Bill Duke, Cameron Bright, R. Lee Ermey | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | ||
| X2 | X-Men 2: X-Men United | 2003 | Bryan Singer | ★★★ | 134 | Action-packed sequel to X-MEN turns Stewart and McKellen into temporary allies in order to combat power-crazy Cox. That's just one plot thread in this breathless film, which doesn't have enough time to spend with all of its colorful characters, including Pyro, Colossus, and the colorful Nightcrawler (well played by Cumming). There's energy to spare in this entertaining yarn based on the Marvel comic book created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. | tt0290334 | [PG-13] | Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, Anna Paquin | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| XXX | 2002 | Rob Cohen | ★★½ | 124 | A hooligan/extreme-sports showoff/online entrepreneur is recruited by the NSA to go underground in Prague and get the goods on a renegade Russian. Check your brains at the door and you'll have a good time with this silly, high-energy action film, with some over-the-top stunt sequences and plenty of room for Diesel to strut his stuff. If only it didn't go on so long, and try to turn this antihero into a bona fide hero. One nice touch: a musical reference to THE THIRD MAN. Diesel coexecutive-produced. Unrated version runs 132m. Followed by a sequel. | tt0295701 | [PG-13] | Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Danny Trejo, Michael Roof, Tom Everett, Richy Müller, Thomas Ian Griffith, Eve | Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Xanadu | 1980 | Robert Greenwald | ★½ | 88 | Flashy but empty-headed remake of DOWN TO EARTH, with Olivia as muse who pops in to inspire young roller-boogie artist. Designed as a showcase for the singer, whose screen charisma is nil. Kelly (using his character name from COVER GIRL) tries to perk things up; even a brief animated sequence by Don Bluth doesn't help. Newton-John's future husband, Matt Lattanzi, plays Kelly as a young man. Cable version runs 96m. | tt0081777 | [PG] | Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan, Dimitra Arliss, Katie Hanley, Sandahl Bergman, Marilyn Tokuda, John 'Fee' Waybill; voices of Wilfrid Hyde-White, Coral Browne | Fantasy, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Xica | 1978 | Carlos Diegues | ★★½ | 107 | Saucy, if a bit overspiced, tale of strong-willed black slave Motta who seduces the new Royal Diamond Contractor (Chagas) in corrupt, repressive colonial Brazil. Nicely directed and acted— particularly by Motta— but curiously unmemorable. Filmed in 1976; released in the U.S. in 1982. | tt0078512 | Zeze Motta, Walmor Chagas, Jose Wilker, Marcus Vinicius, Altair Lima | Brazilian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Xiu Xiu the Sent-down Girl | 1999 | Joan Chen | ★★½ | 99 | In 1980s China, a bright city girl (16-year-old Lu Lu) is sent to a remote rural area as part of a government cultural program, where she comes under the care of a kind Tibetan herder and horse trainer. Actress Chen's directorial debut is a well-made, richly detailed film with an intriguing story, but the resolution is unsatisfying. Banned in China for its critical stance. Chen also coscripted with Yan Geling, based on the latter's novella. | tt0115005 | [R] | Lu Lu, Lopsang, Gao Jie, Li Qianqian, Lu Yue | Chinese-Hong Kong-U.S. | Drama | NULL | |
| Xtro | 1983 | Harry Bromley Davenport | ★½ | 82 | Father abducted by aliens returns to Earth three years later to claim his young son, but he's not the man he used to be. Crudely directed sci-fi/horror opus is guided by gruesomeness, not logic. Overwrought but dull, with lots of sexual elements. XTRO II and XTRO: WATCH THE SKIES are sequels in title only. | tt0086610 | [R] | Philip Sayer, Bernice Stegers, Danny Brainin, Maryam d'Abo, Simon Nash | British | Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| Y Tu Mamá También | 2001 | Alfonso Cuarón | ★★★ | 105 | Two oversexed Mexican teenage boys go on a joyride with an older woman— who is married to one of their cousins— and get a lot more than they bargained for. A road movie with a difference, alternately raucous and melancholy, with subtle (and not-so-subtle) ruminations on desire, fate, and politics, sexual and otherwise. | tt0245574 | Maribel Verdú, Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Diana Bracho, Emilio Echevarria, Ana López Mercado, María Aura | Mexican | Comedy, Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Yakuza | Brotherhood of the Yakuza | 1975 | Sydney Pollack | ★★★ | 112 | Mitchum tries to rescue pal Keith's kidnapped daughter by returning to Japan after several years; he gets more than he bargains for from title organization, a kind of Oriental Mafia. Mitchum and Ken are fine in suspenseful action pic, written by Paul Schrader and Robert Towne. Retitled: BROTHERHOOD OF THE YAKUZA. Originally shown at 123m. | tt0073918 | [R] | Robert Mitchum, Takakura Ken, Brian Keith, Herb Edelman, RichardJordan, Kishi Keiko | Drama | NULL | |
| A Yank at Eton | 1942 | Norman Taurog | ★★ | 88 | Rooney goes to school in England and it's a wonder he's not ejected immediately. | tt0035572 | Mickey Rooney, Freddie Bartholomew, Tina Thayer, Ian Hunter, Edmund Gwenn, Alan Mowbray, Peter Lawford, Terry Kilburn | Comedy | NULL | |||
| A Yank at Oxford | 1938 | Jack Conway | ★★★ | 100 | Attractive cast, including young Leigh, in familiar story of cocky American trying to adjust to Oxford, and vice versa. Remade in 1984 as OXFORD BLUES. | tt0030989 | Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Maureen O'Sullivan, Vivien Leigh, Edmund Gwenn | U.S.-British | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Yank in Indo-China | 1952 | Wallace Grissell. | ★½ | 67 | Just adequate yarn of American pilots involved in guerilla warfare. | tt0045342 | John Archer, Douglas Dick, Jean Willes, Don Harvey. | Adventure | NULL | |||
| A Yank in Korea | 1951 | Lew Landers. | ★½ | 73 | Young recruit (McCallister) and veteran sergeant (Phillips) are the typical members of a combat platoon in this corny war story. | tt0044220 | Lon McCallister, William Phillips, Brett King, Larry Stewart. | Drama, War | NULL | |||
| A Yank in Viet-Nam | Year of the Tiger | 1964 | Marshall Thompson | ★★ | 80 | Low-budget topical actioner set in Saigon, with marine Thompson attempting to help the South Vietnamese. Retitled: YEAR OF THE TIGER. | tt0058761 | Marshall Thompson, Enrique Magalona, Mario Barri, Urban Drew | War | NULL | ||
| A Yank in the RAF | 1941 | Henry King | ★★★ | 98 | Power's only there so he can see London-based chorine Grable; they make a nice team. Songs: 'Another Little Dream Won't Do Us Any Harm,' 'Hi-Ya Love.' | tt0034405 | Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, John Sutton, Reginald Gardiner, Donald Stuart, Richard Fraser | Romance, War | NULL | |||
| Yankee Buccaneer | 1952 | Frederick de Cordova | ★★½ | 86 | Standard pirate tale, buoyed by healthy cast. | tt0045343 | Jeff Chandler, Scott Brady, Suzan Ball, David Janssen | Adventure | NULL | |||
| The Yankee Clipper | 1927 | Rupert Julian. | ★★★ | 81 | Splendid 19th-century seagoing adventure, as clipper ships race full-sail from China to Boston to earn a coveted tea trade contract. En route: typhoon! No fresh water! Mutiny! And a woman on board! Realistic yet heightened drama has it all. Boyd, a favorite actor of the film's producer, Cecil B. DeMille, was married to Fair at the time. | tt0018601 | William Boyd, Elinor Fair, Frank Coghlan/Jr., John Miljan, Walter Long, Louis Payne, Burr McIntosh, Julia Faye. | Drama | NULL | |||
| Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1942 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★★ | 126 | Cagney wraps up film in neat little package all his own with dynamic recreation of George M. Cohan's life and times; he deservedly won Oscar for rare song-and-dance performance, as did music directors Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld. Two computer-colored versions exist— one of which is edited down for TV! | tt0035575 | James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Irene Manning, Rosemary DeCamp, Richard Whorf, Jeanne Cagney, S. Z. Sakall, Walter Catlett, Frances Langford, Eddie Foy/Jr., George Tobias | Musical | NULL | |||
| Yankee Pasha | 1954 | Joseph Pevney | ★★½ | 84 | Nicely paced costumer set in 1800s with Chandler crossing the ocean to France and beyond to find his true love, captured by pirates. | tt0047684 | Jeff Chandler, Rhonda Fleming, Mamie Van Doren, Bart Roberts (Rex Reason), Lee J. Cobb, Hal March | Romance, Adventure | NULL | |||
| Yanks | 1979 | John Schlesinger | ★★½ | 139 | Lavish production about WW2 romances between U.S. soldiers and British women doesn't deliver the goods, due to choppy structure and flabby direction. Gere's so-called star power seems to be a casualty of energy crisis cutbacks. | tt0080157 | [R] | Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Chick Vennera, Wendy Morgan, Rachel Roberts, Joan Hickson, John Ratzenberger, Antony Sher | War | NULL | ||
| Yaqui Drums | 1956 | Jean Yarbrough | ★½ | 71 | Soggy account of rancher vs. criminal saloon owner in old West. | tt0049970 | Rod Cameron, J. Carrol Naish, Mary Castle, Robert Hutton | Western | NULL | |||
| The Yards | 2000 | James Gray | ★★ | 115 | Somber N.Y.C. mood piece about an aimless young man (Wahlberg), just out of prison, who tries to go straight but winds up working with his friend (Phoenix) bending and breaking the law on behalf of his uncle, a city contractor (Caan). All the characters are doomed in this dark, operatic (but not always credible) tale of corruption . . . and fate. | tt0138946 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Caan, Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway, Andrew Davoli, Steve Lawrence, Tony Musante, Victor Argo, Tomas Milian | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| The Year My Voice Broke | 1987 | John Duigan | ★★★ | 103 | Affecting story of a teenage boy's friendship and infatuation with a troubled girl; set in a small town in the early 1960s. A cut above the usual coming-of-age film, thanks to director Duigan's touching script and amazingly natural performances by his young actors. Followed by a sequel, FLIRTING. | tt0094347 | [PG-13] | Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, Ben Mendelsohn, Graeme Blundell, Lynette Curran, Malcolm Robertson, Judi Farr | Australian | Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Year One | 2009 | Harold Ramis | 💣 | 97 | Zed, the fat one, and Oh, the skinny one, are banished from their caveman tribe and somehow wind up in biblical times, encountering Cain and Abel and visiting Sodom, where they are determined to rescue their girlfriends. Nonsensical and moronic comedy relies on a series of jokes involving flatulence and bad eating habits. Where are Abbott and Costello when you need them most??? Paul Rudd appears unbilled. Unrated version runs 99m. | tt1045778 | [PG-13] | Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria, Juno Temple, Olivia Wilde, Xander Berkeley, Gia Carides, Horatio Sanz, Bill Hader | Comedy, Adventure | NULL | ||
| The Year of Getting to Know Us | 2010 | Patrick Sisam | ★★ | 97 | Emotionally damaged N.Y.C. writer (Fallon) is forced to deal with his issues when he returns to his childhood home in Florida after his estranged father (Arnold) suffers a stroke. Funnyman Fallon is fatally out of his depth in this standard indie mix of dysfunctional drama and quirky comedy. Released straight to DVD in 2010 following festival screenings in 2008. | tt0924134 | [R] | Jimmy Fallon, Sharon Stone, Tom Arnold, Chase Ellison, Tony Hale, Jordana Spiro, Bree Turner, Illeana Douglas, Lucy Liu | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Year of Living Dangerously | 1983 | Peter Weir. | ★★★ | 115 | Fascinating political drama set in strife-ridden Indonesia just before Sukarno's fall in 1965 . . . much more successful as a mood-piece than as romance, however, with Weaver's flimsy character (and flimsier accent) a detriment. Diminutive Hunt— a woman playing a man— is mesmerizing and most deservedly won an Academy Award. | tt0086617 | [PG] | Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Michael Murphy, Bill Kerr, Noel Ferrier. | Australian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Year of the Comet | 1992 | Peter Yates | ★★ | 89 | Listless, if not especially painful, variation on ROMANCING THE STONE: Wallflower Miller begins to bloom when her discovery of a priceless wine bottle lands her in the middle of some international intrigue. Agreeably performed, but a pretty slight non-event given William Goldman's first original script since BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. | tt0105871 | [PG-13] | Penelope Ann Miller, Timothy Daly, Louis Jourdan, Art Malik, Ian Richardson, Ian McNeice, Julia McCarthy | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Year of the Dog | 2007 | Mike White | ★★★ | 98 | A square peg (Shannon) who holds down a mundane office job is badly shaken when her beloved dog dies. This sets off a chain reaction of funny, sad, and shocking events. White's fondness for society's oddballs (see CHUCK & BUCK, THE GOOD GIRL) flowers in his directorial debut, a seriocomedy with Shannon capturing all the nuances of her character, a good-hearted woman who's never quite fit in. | tt0756729 | [PG-13] | Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Tom McCarthy, Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly, Josh Pais. | Drama | NULL | ||
| Year of the Dragon | 1985 | Michael Cimino | ★★½ | 136 | Highly charged, arresting melodrama scripted by Oliver Stone (from Robert Daley's book) about a Vietnam vet who's still fighting his own private war, as a N.Y.C. cop whose current target is corruption in Chinatown, and crime czar Lone in particular. Companion piece to Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER has same intensity but nearly drowns in a sea of excess and self-importance. Still worth watching. Incidentally, virtually all New York settings (including Mott Street) were recreated on location in North Carolina! | tt0090350 | [R] | Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo, Ray Barry, Caroline Kava, Eddie Jones | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Year of the Gun | 1991 | John Frankenheimer | ★★ | 111 | Confused thriller about a young American novelist in Rome who stumbles onto the Red Brigade's plot to kidnap then-Premier Aldo Moro. Frankenheimer (who made such great political thrillers as SEVEN DAYS IN MAY and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) struggles to keep a wandering story in focus. McCarthy is somewhat blank in the lead role, but Stone is good as an aggressive photojournalist. | tt0103303 | [R] | Andrew McCarthy, Valeria Golino, Sharon Stone, John Pankow, Mattia Sbragia, George Murcell | Thriller | NULL | ||
| A Year of the Quiet Sun | 1984 | Krzysztof Zanussi | ★★★ | 106 | Stark, haunting drama, set just after WW2, detailing the evolving relationship between two lost souls who don't even speak the same language: hard-luck Polish widow Komorowska and emotionally hungry American GI Wilson. A heartfelt film, loaded with raw emotion and deep feeling. | tt0088009 | [PG] | Scott Wilson, Maja Komorowska, Hanna Skarzanka, Ewa Dalkowska, Vadim Glowna, Daniel Webb | Polish-German | Romance | NULL | |
| The Yearling | 1946 | Clarence Brown | ★★★½ | 128 | Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's sensitive tale of a boy attached to a young deer was exquisitely filmed in Technicolor on location in Florida, with memorable performances. Oscar winner for Cinematography and Art Direction, and a special Oscar for newcomer Jarman. Beware 94m. reissue print. Remade as a TV movie in 1994. | tt0039111 | Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, Claude Jarman/Jr., Chill Wills, Margaret Wycherly, Henry Travers, Jeff York, Forrest Tucker, June Lockhart | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Years Between | 1946 | Compton Bennett | ★★½ | 100 | Sensitively handled drama about war widow Hobson, once a wife, now a career woman and member of Parliament who is about to remarry. Her world is turned upside down when word comes that her husband (Redgrave) is still alive. Based on a play by Daphne du Maurier. | tt0039112 | Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson, Flora Robson, Felix Aylmer, Dulcie Gray, Edward Rigby, James McKechnie | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Yella | 2008 | Christian Petzold | ★★★ | 86 | Cryptic account of the title character (Hoss), who has just ended her marriage. A desperate, violent act on the part of her ex leaves her drowned in a river—or does it? Remake of CARNIVAL OF SOULS is effective as a psychological study and an acute reflection of contemporary business practices. | tt0806686 | Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schönemann, Burghart Klaußner, Barbara Auer, Christian Redl | German | Drama, Romance, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Yellow Balloon | 1952 | J. Lee Thompson | ★★½ | 80 | Sensible suspenser of small boy who thinks he accidentally killed a chum and is exploited by cheap crook. | tt0046561 | Andrew Ray, Kenneth More, Veronica Hurst, William Sylvester, Bernard Lee | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Yellow Cab Man | 1950 | Jack Donohue | ★★★ | 85 | Fine Skelton romp with Red as would-be inventor of unbreakable glass, involved with gangsters and crooked businessman; Slezak is perfect as bad-guy. | tt0043150 | Red Skelton, Gloria De Haven, Walter Slezak, Edward Arnold, James Gleason, Jay C. Flippen, Polly Moran | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Yellow Canary | 1963 | Buzz Kulik | 💣 | 93 | If you've lain awake nights hoping to see Pat Boone as an obnoxious pop singer in a movie written by Rod Serling, your wish has come true. But don't fret; Pat turns into a nice guy when his infant son is kidnapped and he has to go rescue him. And you thought The Twilight Zone was just a TV show! | tt0057700 | Pat Boone, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Jack Klugman, Jesse White, Milton Selzer, John Banner, Jeff Corey, Harold Gould | Crime | NULL | |||
| Yellow Earth | 1984 | Chen Kaige | ★★★ | 87 | One of the earliest films of the Chinese New Wave is an engrossing, poetic account of a wandering communist soldier who arrives in a rural farming village in 1939 to learn folk songs that he will teach to his regiment; he inspires a 14-year-old girl who is bound by tradition to a life of bitterness and hardship. Photographed by Zhang Yimou; it's interesting to contrast this film's 'communism equals freedom' propaganda to the political content of Yimou and Kaige's later work. | tt0087433 | Xue Bai, Wang Xueqi, Tan Tuo, Liu Qiang | Chinese | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Yellow Handkerchief | 2010 | Udayan Prasad | ★★★ | 102 | Three strangers—a man just released from prison, a girl running away from home, and a lovesick young drifter—take a road trip together through the backwaters of the Louisiana Bayou and find their lives are changed by the experience. Moody but worthwhile drama is a fine acting showcase, particularly for Hurt and Stewart, who manage to make this a journey worth taking. Cinematography by Chris Menges is stunning. Adapted from a story by Pete Hamill. | tt0954990 | [PG-13] | William Hurt, Maria Bello, Kristen Stewart, Eddie Redmayne, Emanuel K. Cohn, Nurith Cohn, Veronica Russell | U.S.-Japanese | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Yellow Jack | 1938 | George B. Seitz | ★★ | 83 | Story of Dr. Walter Reed's determination to find cure for yellow fever is artificial, dramatically stale. Based on Sidney Howard play. | tt0030990 | Robert Montgomery, Virginia Bruce, Lewis Stone, Stanley Ridges, Henry Hull, Charles Coburn, Buddy Ebsen, Andy Devine, Henry O'Neill, Sam Levene, Alan Curtis, William Henry | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Yellow Mountain | 1954 | Jesse Hibbs | ★½ | 78 | Unremarkable tale of Barker rivaling Duff for gold and love of Powers. | tt0047685 | Lex Barker, Mala Powers, Howard Duff, William Demarest | Western | NULL | |||
| The Yellow Rolls-Royce | 1964 | Anthony Asquith | ★★★ | 122 | Slick Terence Rattigan drama involving trio of owners of title car, focusing on how romance plays a part in each of their lives; contrived but ever-so-smoothly handled. | tt0059927 | Rex Harrison, Shirley MacLaine, Ingrid Bergman, Jeanne Moreau, Edmund Purdom, George C. Scott, Omar Sharif, Art Carney, Alain Delon, Roland Culver, Wally Cox | British | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Yellow Rose of Texas | 1944 | Joseph Kane. | ★★ | 69 | Undercover insurance investigator Rogers joins Dale's showboat troupe to prove her father innocent of an express payroll robbery. Music-heavy Western, with production numbers interrupting the lightweight plot every few minutes. | tt0037472 | Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Grant Withers, Harry Shannon, George Cleveland, William Haade, Weldon Heyburn, Hal Taliaferro, Tom London, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. | Western | NULL | |||
| Yellow Sky | 1948 | William Wellman | ★★★ | 98 | Exciting Western with Peck heading a gang of thieves who come to a ghost town, where they confront tough, mysterious Baxter and her grandfather. Similar in atmosphere to Wellman's classic THE OX-BOW INCIDENT. Script by Lamar Trotti from a W. R. Burnett story. Remade as THE JACKALS. | tt0040978 | Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark, Robert Arthur, John Russell, Harry Morgan, James Barton | Western | NULL | |||
| Yellow Submarine | 1968 | George Dunning | ★★★★ | 85 | Pure delight, a phantasmagorical animated feature with as much to hear as there is to see: Beatles' songs, puns, non sequitur jokes combined with surreal pop-art visions in story of Beatles trying to save Pepperland from the Blue Meanies. Unique, refreshing. Songs include 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,' 'When I'm Sixty-four,' 'All You Need Is Love.' Alternate version runs 90m. and features 'Hey Bulldog.' | tt0063823 | [G] | British | Animation, Fantasy, Musical | NULL | ||
| The Yellow Ticket | 1931 | Raoul Walsh | ★★★ | 81 | Colorful melodrama set in czarist Russia, with peasant girl Landi coming under lecherous eye of officer Barrymore. Handsome production, lusty storytelling add up nicely; Karloff has good bit as drunken orderly. | tt0022582 | Elissa Landi, Laurence Olivier, Lionel Barrymore, Walter Byron, Sarah Padden, Mischa Auer, Boris Karloff | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Yellow Tomahawk | 1954 | Lesley Selander | ★★ | 82 | Calhoun is Indian guide who goes to any length to prevent Indian attack on settlers. | tt0047686 | Rory Calhoun, Peggie Castle, Noah Beery/Jr., Warner Anderson, Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Rita Moreno | Western | NULL | |||
| Yellowbeard | 1983 | Mel Damski | 💣 | 101 | Appalling waste of talent in a startlingly inept and unfunny pirate comedy. Written by costars Chapman and Cook with Bernard McKenna. They should have walked the plank for this one. This was Feldman's final film. | tt0086618 | [PG] | Graham Chapman, Peter Boyle, Richard (Cheech) Marin, Tommy Chong, Peter Cook, Marty Feldman, Martin Hewitt, Michael Hordern, Eric Idle, Madeline Kahn, James Mason, John Cleese, Susannah York, Stacey Nelkin | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Yellowstone | 1936 | Arthur Lubin | ★★½ | 65 | Nifty programmer of murder, greed, and stolen money buried in the title park. Ambitious direction and a solid supporting cast elevate this one. | tt0028523 | Henry Hunter, Judith Barrett, Andy Devine, Alan Hale/Sr., Ralph Morgan, Monroe Owsley, Raymond Hatton, Paul Harvey, Paul Fix | Crime | NULL | |||
| Yellowstone Kelly | 1959 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 91 | Rugged Western involving Indian uprising, with Walker the burly hero trying to keep peace; written by Burt Kennedy. | tt0053457 | Clint Walker, Edward Byrnes, John Russell, Ray Danton, Claude Akins, Rhodes Reason, Warren Oates | Western | NULL | |||
| Yentl | 1983 | Barbra Streisand | ★★½ | 134 | A young woman in Eastern Europe at the turn of the century disguises as a boy in order to fulfill her dream and get an education. Isaac Bashevis Singer's simple short story is handled with love and care by first-time director/producer/cowriter Streisand, but goes on far longer than necessary, with 12 (count 'em) soliloquy songs by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Michel Legrand (who also earned Oscars for their score) and a finale uncomfortably reminiscent of FUNNY GIRL. A star vehicle if there ever was one; no wonder Streisand fans love it. | tt0086619 | [PG] | Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving, Nehemiah Persoff, Steven Hill | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Yes | 2005 | Sally Potter | ★★★½ | 100 | Challenging, artfully crafted tale (written in rhyming verse) about a woman whose marriage is strained, leaving her ripe for seduction. Enter a suave Lebanese man (Abkarian). Potter's scenario veers in many directions, with astute philosophical observations about the differences between East and West, relations between the classes, and the importance of seizing the moment. Talky but never boring, with Potter offering beautifully composed shots and stunning use of color. | tt0381717 | [R] | Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, Sam Neill, Shirley Henderson, Sheila Hancock, Samantha Bond, Stephanie Leonidas | U.S.-British | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Yes Man | 2008 | Peyton Reed | ★★½ | 104 | A working drone who’s been miserable since his wife dumped him falls under the influence of a self-help guru who exhorts him to say nothing but yes for the next year—quite literally—and he finds that it does in fact open up all sorts of opportunities. Perfect role for Carrey, who makes the most of it, though the script loses its initial momentum . . . and the final gag falls flat. Based on a best-selling memoir by Danny Wallace. Luis Guzmán appears unbilled. | tt1068680 | [PG-13] | Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Danny Masterson, Fionnula Flanagan, Terence Stamp, Sasha Alexander, Molly Sims, Brent Briscoe | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| The Yes Men | 2004 | Chris Smith, Sarah Price, Dan Ollman. | ★★★ | 83 | Subversively hilarious documentary-satire in which a pair of merry pranksters pass themselves off as World Trade Organization hotshots. Their purpose: to infiltrate the culture of corporate executives and expose and lampoon their dubious intentions. Watching how far they carry their hoax proves again that Barnum was right. Michael Moore, sympathetic to The Yes Men's mission, appears briefly. Released in Canada in 2003. | tt0379593 | [R] | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Yes, Giorgio | 1982 | Franklin J. Schaffner | ★½ | 110 | Opera superstar Pavarotti plays . . . an opera superstar, who pursues an independent-minded lady doctor during American tour. So-called romantic comedy gives the phrase 'old fashioned' a bad name; missing ingredient is a parade of character actors like Mischa Auer and Herman Bing to make it palatable. Only saving grace: Pavarotti sings. | tt0084931 | [PG] | Luciano Pavarotti, Kathryn Harrold, Eddie Albert, Paola Borboni, James Hong, Beulah Quo | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Yes, My Darling Daughter | 1939 | William Keighley | ★★½ | 86 | Everybody is enthused about young lovers running off together except young man in question (Lynn). Mildly amusing comedy. | tt0032149 | Priscilla Lane, Fay Bainter, Roland Young, May Robson, Jeffrey Lynn, Genevieve Tobin, Ian Hunter | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| Yes, Sir, That's My Baby | 1949 | George Sherman | ★★½ | 82 | Flimsy musical of football-crazy O'Connor on college campus, rescued by spirit and verve of cast. | tt0042057 | Donald O'Connor, Charles Coburn, Gloria De Haven, Joshua Shelley, Barbara Brown | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Yesterday's Enemy | 1959 | Val Guest | ★½ | 95 | Mild WW2 actioner set in Burma. | tt0053458 | Stanley Baker, Guy Rolfe, Leo McKern, Gordon Jackson, David Oxley, Philip Ahn, Bryan Forbes | British | Drama, War | NULL | ||
| Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow | 1963 | Vittorio De Sica. | ★★★★ | 119 | Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Film is impeccable trio of comic tales, with Loren never more beautiful than as Italian women who use sex in various ways to get what they want. Strip-tease for Marcello is among the most famous scenes in her career (and remains pretty steamy). | tt0057171 | Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Tina Pica, Giovanni Ridolfi. | Italian | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Yi Yi (A One and a Two) | 2000 | Edward Yang | ★★★½ | 173 | Smart, spare slice-of-life about a middle-class Taiwanese family and their everyday problems: a husband-father must contend with business difficulties and the presence of an old girlfriend; his wife is deeply depressed by her mother's debilitating stroke; their adolescent daughter is attempting to define herself; their eight-year-old son has troubles at school. A knowing, beautifully textured portrait of birth and death, and the cycles of life in between. Written by the director. | tt0244316 | Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issey Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang, Hsi-Sheng Chen | Taiwanese-Japanese | Drama | NULL | ||
| Yidl Mitn Fidl | 1936 | Joseph Green, Jan-Nowina Przybylski | ★★★½ | 92 | Splendid, unique Yiddish-language musical comedy, with a storyline not unlike that of YENTL, with Picon (who's charming) posing as a boy, so she can travel the countryside playing her fiddle. English translation: YIDL WITH HIS FIDDLE. Avoid the English-dubbed version, titled CASTLES IN THE SKY. | tt0027231 | Molly Picon, Max Bozyk, Leon Liebgold, Simcha Fostel, Dora Fakiel | Polish | Comedy, Musical | NULL | ||
| Yodelin' Kid From Pine Ridge | 1937 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 60 | Autry, estranged from his father for years, returns home as part of a Wild West show, determined to prove himself by routing out long-suspected cattle rustlers. Good B-Western fare, with fine support from Middleton and Simpson. Gene performs 'Sing Me a Song of the Saddle.' | tt0029801 | Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Betty Bronson, LeRoy Mason, Charles Middleton, Russell Simpson, The Tennessee Ramblers, Jack Dougherty, Guy Wilkerson, Frankie Marvin, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones. | Western | NULL | |||
| Yogi Bear | 2010 | Eric Brevig | ★★ | 80 | Live action/animation hybrid, based on the vintage Hanna-Barbera TV cartoon show, is formulaic family filmmaking at its worst. A greasy politician plans to sell off Jellystone Park unless Ranger Smith can prove its worth to the community. Aided by a pretty nature documentary filmmaker and two talking bears, Yogi (Aykroyd, trying to channel Daws Butler) and Boo-Boo (Timberlake doing Don Messick), they fumble their way through a variety of schemes to save the campgrounds. The CGI bruins are a grotesque hybrid of a real bear and the original cartoon characters. Younger viewers may enjoy the expected. 3-D. | tt1302067 | [PG] | Anna Faris, Tom Cavanagh, T. J. Miller, Nathan Corddry, Andrew Daly; voices of Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake | Comedy, Animation, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Yojimbo | 1961 | Akira Kurosawa | ★★★★ | 110 | Superb tongue-in-cheek samurai picture, the plot of which resembles a Western; Mifune is perfection as samurai up for hire in town with two warring factions, both of whom he teaches a well-deserved lesson. Beautiful on all counts; the inspiration for FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and many other films. Later remade as LAST MAN STANDING. Sequel: SANJURO. | tt0055630 | Toshiro Mifune, Eijiro Tono, Seizaburo Kawazu, Isuzu Yamada, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Kyu Sazanka, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura | Japanese | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| Yokel Boy | 1942 | Joseph Santley | ★½ | 69 | Silly slapstick satire on gangster movies. | tt0035581 | Albert Dekker, Joan Davis, Eddie Foy/Jr., Alan Mowbray | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Yol | 1982 | Serif Goren | ★★★ | 111 | Incisive chronicle of the experiences of convicts who return home while on 'leave' from jail. Screenplay by Yilmaz Guney, written while he was himself in prison. | tt0084934 | [PG] | Tarik Akan, Serif Sezer, Halil Ergun, Meral Orhonsoy, Necmettin Cobanoglu | Turkish-Swiss | Drama | NULL | |
| Yolanda and the Thief | 1945 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★½ | 108 | Opulent musical fantasy about a con man (Astaire) who tries to convince rich convent-bred girl (Bremer) that he's her guardian angel. Unusual film that you'll either love or hate. Best musical number: 'Coffee Time.' | tt0038262 | Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Leon Ames, Mildred Natwick, Mary Nash | Musical | NULL | |||
| Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg | 2009 | Aviva Kempner | ★★★ | 92 | Long-overdue appreciation of Gertrude Berg, pioneering, protofeminist radio and TV writer-producer-performer who created The Goldbergs, about a Jewish family from the Bronx, and became fixed in the public mind as its matriarch, Molly. The real-life Berg, we learn, couldn't have been more different from her alter ego, and had to fight many battles during her long career—notably against the blacklist of the 1950s. Kempner includes generous samples from the early TV series. Among the interviewees who recall the impression Molly made on them are comedy maestro Norman Lear and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg! | tt1334479 | Unrated | Documentary | NULL | |||
| Yor, the Hunter from the Future | 1983 | Antonio Margheriti | 💣 | 88 | Shamelessly idiotic muscleman movie with a nuclear-age twist. Humorously tacky at first, then just plain boring. | tt0084935 | [PG] | Reb Brown, Corinne Clery, John Steiner, Carole Andre, Alan Collins | Italian | Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| You Again | 2010 | Andy Fickman | ★★ | 105 | Once upon a time, Bell was a high school nerd. A decade has passed, and she is none too happy to learn that her adored brother is about to wed the cheerleader who used to bully her. Barely funny, often silly comedy is formulaic to a fault. A number of familiar names and faces appear in cameos. | tt1414382 | [PG] | Kristin Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, Betty White, Victor Garber, Jimmy Wolk, Kristen Chenoweth, Kyle Bornheimer | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| You Are What You Eat | 1968 | Barry Feinstein | ★★ | 75 | Documentary of the mid-60s does, by the mere appearance of some of the era's luminaries, carry one back; however, film is ill conceived, haphazardly put together. | tt0142005 | Tiny Tim, Peter Yarrow, Paul Butterfield, Barry McGuire, Father Malcom Boyd, The Electric Flag, Harper's Bizarre, Super Spade | Documentary | NULL | |||
| You Belong to Me | 1941 | Wesley Ruggles | ★★ | 94 | Weak comedy of doctor Stanwyck and hubby Fonda who's wary of her male patients. Looks as though it was made in three days. Coscripted by Dalton Trumbo. Remade as EMERGENCY WEDDING. | tt0034407 | Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Edgar Buchanan, Roger Clark, Ruth Donnelly, Melville Cooper, Maude Eburne | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| You Better Watch Out | Terror in Toyland | 1980 | Lewis Jackson | ★★★ | 100 | Gripping, well-made little thriller about a killer disguised as Santa Claus, with Maggart excellent as the psychopathic Kris Kringle. A sleeper, with cult status possibilities. Video titles: CHRISTMAS EVIL and TERROR IN TOYLAND. | tt0081793 | [R] | Brandon Maggart, Dianne Hull, Scott McKay, Joe Jamrog, Peter Friedman, Ray Barry, Bobby Lesser, Sam Gray | Horror, Thriller | NULL | |
| You Came Along | 1945 | John Farrow | ★★½ | 103 |
Clowning, womanizing fliers Cummings, DeFore, and Drake set out across the U.S. on a bond-selling tour. Their guide is pretty Scott (in her film debut); she falls in love with Cummings, who's harboring a terrible secret. Effective drama captures the essence of its era; Cummings' character shares the same name (Bob Collins) and much the same personality as his character in the later TV sitcom The Bob Cummings Show.|
tt0038263
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Robert Cummings, Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Charles Drake, Kim Hunter, Julie Bishop, Helen Forrest, Franklin Pangborn, Ruth Roman, Hugh Beaumont
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Drama, Romance
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NULL
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| You Can Count on Me | 2000 | Kenneth Lonergan | ★★★½ | 111 | A woman raising an 8-year-old son on her own— in the house she grew up in— must simultaneously deal with a priggish new boss and the arrival of her much-loved but aimless brother who comes to stay for a while. Wonderful comedy-drama about the peccadilloes of sibling relationships, the workplace, and life in general, sparked by great performances and an unusually perceptive script. Directing debut for playwright/screenwriter Lonergan, who also appears as Linney's priest. | tt0203230 | [R] | Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Rory Culkin, Jon Tenney, Gaby Hoffmann | Drama | NULL | ||
| You Can't Beat Love | 1937 | Christy Cabanne | ★★ | 62 | Slow, trivial story of eccentric playboy Foster dabbling in politics and tangling with mayor's daughter Fontaine. Of interest only for the presence of young Fontaine. | tt0029804 | Preston Foster, Joan Fontaine, Herbert Mundin, William Brisbane, Alan Bruce, Paul Hurst | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| You Can't Cheat an Honest Man | 1939 | George Marshall | ★★★½ | 78 | Fields (as Larson E. Whipsnade) runs circus with interference from Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in frantic comedy classic with loads of snappy one-liners and memorable ping-pong game. Most of Fields' scenes were directed by Eddie Cline. | tt0032152 | W. C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Constance Moore, James Bush, Mary Forbes, Thurston Hall, Edward Brophy, Grady Sutton, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You Can't Fool Your Wife | 1940 | Ray McCarey | ★★ | 68 | Ball and Ellison are dull married couple until hubby takes a fling and wife makes herself glamorous to win him back. Comedy filler, made palatable by Lucy's charms in dual role. | tt0033279 | Lucille Ball, James Ellison, Robert Coote, Emma Dunn, Virginia Vale, Elaine Shepard | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You Can't Get Away With Murder | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 78 | Cocky punk Bogart takes angry, impressionable Halop under his wing, leading to plenty of complications. Overbaked melodramatics do this one in. | tt0032153 | Humphrey Bogart, Billy Halop, Gale Page, John Litel, Henry Travers, Harvey Stephens, Joe Sawyer, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | Drama, Crime | NULL | |||
| You Can't Have Everything | 1937 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 99 | Good show-biz musical as Faye writes drama which only succeeds as musical. The Ritz Brothers have good material, Louis Prima adds music. | tt0029806 | Alice Faye, Ritz Bros., Don Ameche, Charles Winninger, Tony Martin, Gypsy Rose Lee, Arthur Treacher, Tip, Tap and Toe | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| You Can't Hurry Love | 1988 | Richard Martini | ★½ | 92 | Paper-thin, predictable fare about the adventures of young Packer, who's lost in the L.A. singles scene. | tt0096483 | [R] | David Packer, Scott McGinnis, Bridget Fonda, David Leisure, Anthony Geary, Frank Bonner, Lu Leonard, Merete Van Kamp, Sally Kellerman, Charles Grodin, Kristy McNichol | Comedy | NULL | ||
| You Can't Run Away From It | 1956 | Dick Powell | ★★ | 95 | Slight musical remake of IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT with Lemmon the reporter, Allyson the madcap heiress. | tt0049973 | June Allyson, Jack Lemmon, Charles Bickford, Paul Gilbert, Jim Backus, Stubby Kaye, Henny Youngman | Comedy, Romance, Musical | NULL | |||
| You Can't Take It With You | 1938 | Frank Capra | ★★★½ | 127 | George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart play about eccentric but blissfully happy household becomes prime Capracorn, not quite as compelling today as MR. DEEDS or MR. SMITH (due to Robert Riskin's extensive rewriting), but still highly entertaining. Oscar winner for Best Picture and Director. Followed a half-century later by a TV series. | tt0030993 | Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Ann Miller, Spring Byington, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Donald Meek, Halliwell Hobbes, Dub Taylor, Samuel S. Hinds, Harry Davenport, Charles Lane | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| You Can't Win 'Em All | Soldiers of Fortune | 1970 | Peter Collinson | ★½ | 95 | Bronson and Curtis are friendly rivals caught in war-torn Turkey during the early 1920s. Bantering stars make the most of tired script by Leo Gordon (who also has supporting role). Filmed on location. Original title: THE DUBIOUS PATRIOTS. Video title: SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. | tt0066593 | [PG] | Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Michele Mercier, Patrick Magee, Gregoire Aslan | Adventure | NULL | |
| You Don't Mess With the Zohan | 2008 | Dennis Dugan | ★★½ | 113 | Even by Sandler standards this plot defies description: super-Jew counterterrorist Zohan has a potential world of Palestinian behinds to kick, in and around home base in Israel, but what he really wants is to come to America and professionally ape the hair-care standards of Paul Mitchell (the more dated, the better). So, uh, he does. Predictably uneven and crude but ticklishly demented much of the time; above-average Sandler comedy supplies a romance (with Chriqui, as a New York–based Palestinian salon owner) and plenty of spirited cameos, including John McEnroe, who's become a Sandler regular. Unrated version runs 117m. | tt0960144 | [PG-13] | Adam Sandler, John Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Nick Swardson, Kevin Nealon, Lainie Kazan, Rob Schneider, Mariah Carey, Robert Smigel, Shelley Berman, Charlotte Rae, Chris Rock | Drama, Comedy, Action | NULL | ||
| You Got Served | 2004 | Christopher B. Stokes | ★★ | 94 | Impressive street dancing and a likable cast can't save this predictable tale of local boys trying to make good, eventually becoming rivals. Simplistic plotting and often unintelligible street jargon make it laughable at times, although the leads (known for their work in such groups as B2K and IMX) do a decent job. | tt0365957 | [PG-13] | Marques Houston, Omari Grandberry, Jarell Houston, DeMario Thornton, Dreux Frederic, Jennifer Freeman, Lil' Kim, Steve Harvey, Michael Taliferro, Meagan Good | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| You Gotta Stay Happy | 1948 | H. C. Potter | ★★½ | 100 | OK comedy about millionairess who runs off on wedding night to find new marriage. Could have been much better. | tt0040982 | Joan Fontaine, James Stewart, Eddie Albert, Roland Young, Willard Parker, Percy Kilbride, Porter Hall | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |||
| You Kill Me | 2007 | John Dahl | ★★★½ | 92 | Kingsley is superb as an alcoholic hit man who’s banished by his Polish mob family in Buffalo, N.Y. and sent to San Francisco to dry out. He’s set up with a job in a mortuary and in time he actually starts a new life, joins AA, and meets a smart woman who cares about him . . . but there’s still some unfinished business to take care of back home. Smart, original, genuinely funny black comedy, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. | tt0796375 | [R] | Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, Luke Wilson, Philip Baker Hall, Dennis Farina, Bill Pullman, Marcus Thomas | Romance, Thriller, Comedy, Crime | NULL | ||
| You Know My Name | 1999 | John Kent Harrison | Above Average TV Movie | 94 | Highly satisfying Western set in 1920s Oklahoma, where retired lawman Bill Tilghman, who captured many legendary outlaws, now appears in his own silent movies. When the citizens of a rowdy town beg for his help, he takes on the job— and a showdown with a corrupt federal agent. Elliott is terrific in the lead. Written by the director. | tt0163913 | Sam Elliott, Arliss Howard, Carolyn McCormick, James Gammon, R. Lee Ermey, James Parks, Walter Olkewicz, Sheila McCarthy | Drama, Western | NULL | |||
| You Know What Sailors Are | 1954 | Ken Annakin | ★★ | 89 | Attempted Cold War spoof of British Navy officer, jokingly telling cohorts that salvaged scrap is a new secret weapon. | tt0047687 | Akim Tamiroff, Donald Sinden, Sarah Lawson, Naunton Wayne | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| You Light Up My Life | 1977 | Joseph Brooks | ★★½ | 90 | Oscar-winning title song may be best remembered thing about this film, but Conn and Silver are worth watching in loosely structured story of show-business-oriented girl trying to break loose and establish herself while putting her life in order. Produced, directed, written, and musically supervised by Brooks. | tt0076941 | [PG] | Didi Conn, Joe Silver, Michael Zaslow, Stephen Nathan, Melanie Mayron | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| You May Be Next! | 1936 | Albert S. Rogell. | ★★½ | 66 | Radio engineer Nolan accidentally cuts off his station— and the police signal— during a show, which inspires bad-guy Dumbrille to deliberately jam radio signals to help him carry out his criminal activities. Likable, fast-moving B movie, though the title has no discernable meaning. Sothern sings a couple of mediocre songs. | tt0028525 | Ann Sothern, Lloyd Nolan, Douglass Dumbrille, John Arledge, Berton Churchill, Nana Bryant, Robert Middlemass. | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |||
| You Must Be Joking! | 1965 | Michael Winner | ★★★ | 100 | Engaging poke at British army as zany psychologist (Jeffries) rounds up five weirdos to establish, via special testing, the 'complete, quick thinking' exemplary British soldier. | tt0059929 | Michael Callan, Lionel Jeffries, Terry-Thomas, Denholm Elliott, Wilfrid Hyde-White, James Robertson Justice, Bernard Cribbins, Gabriella Licudi | British | Comedy | NULL | ||
| You Never Can Tell | 1951 | Lou Breslow | ★★★ | 78 | Amusing fantasy of a murdered dog returning to Earth as a human (Powell) to find his killer. Holden is a delight as his sidekick— who used to be a horse. Storyline reversed in OH, HEAVENLY DOG. | tt0044223 | Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Joyce Holden, Frank Nelson, Albert Sharpe | Comedy, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| You Only Live Once | 1937 | Fritz Lang | ★★★ | 86 | Beautifully crafted drama about ex-convict Fonda trying to go straight, finding that fate is against him. Loosely based on the Bonnie and Clyde legend, but impressive on its own. | tt0029808 | Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, Jean Dixon, Jerome Cowan, Margaret Hamilton, Ward Bond, Guinn Williams | Film-Noir | NULL | |||
| You Only Live Twice | 1967 | Lewis Gilbert | ★★½ | 116 | Big James Bond production with first look at arch-nemesis Blofeld (Pleasence), Japanese locales, but plot (SPECTRE out to cause major powers to declare war on each other) and lack of convincing, clever crisis situations are liabilities film can't shake off. Script by Roald Dahl (!), spectacular sets by Ken Adam. | tt0062512 | [PG] | Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Tetsuro Tamba, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Donald Pleasence | British | Action, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| You Said a Mouthful | 1932 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★½ | 75 | One of Brown's better vehicles, about an inventor of unsinkable bathing suits who's mistaken for a celebrated marathon swimmer. Rogers is Joe E.'s pert leading lady. | tt0023716 | Joe E. Brown, Ginger Rogers, Preston Foster, Allen 'Farina' Hoskins, Sheila Terry, Guinn Williams | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You So Crazy | Martin Lawrence: You So Crazy | 1994 | Thomas Schlamme | ★½ | 85 | Embarrassingly crude performance film full of off-color jokes, minus any of the wit or observational insights that made the Richard Pryor films classics of the standup genre. Hard to recall another instance in which a performer labored and sweated so hard for such a minimal payoff. | tt0111804 | [NC-17] | Martin Lawrence | Comedy | NULL | |
| You Were Meant for Me | 1948 | Lloyd Bacon | ★★★ | 92 | Nice combination of musical score and script of girl who marries band leader; their experiences in Depression are basis of film. | tt0040983 | Jeanne Crain, Dan Dailey, Oscar Levant, Barbara Lawrence, Selena Royle | Musical | NULL | |||
| You Were Never Lovelier | 1942 | William A. Seiter | ★★★½ | 97 | Astaire pursuing Hayworth via matchmaking father Menjou becomes lilting musical with such lovely Jerome Kern-Johnny Mercer songs as title tune, 'Dearly Beloved,' 'I'm Old-Fashioned.' | tt0035583 | Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou, Leslie Brooks, Adele Mara, Xavier Cugat, Gus Schilling, Larry Parks | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | 2010 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 98 | Abandoned by her husband after forty years, a flighty London woman (Jones) consults a medium (Collins) in whom she places great trust. Her daughter (Watts), who works for a high-end art dealer, and son-in-law (Brolin), a novelist whose career has stalled, put no stock in what she’s doing, nor does her husband (Hopkins), but they each wander up blind alleys seeking happiness and satisfaction—which proves to be elusive. Allen’s ironic fable may not add up to much but offers its stellar actors juicy roles and great scenes to play; if you’re a Woodyphile that should be enough. | tt1182350 | [R] | Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Neil Jackson, Anna Friel, Ewen Bremner, Lucy Punch, Gemma Jones, Pauline Collins, Celia Imrie, Jim Piddock, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Fenella Woolgar, Christian McKay, Alex MacQueen; narrated by Zak Orth | U.S.-Spanish | Comedy, Romance | NULL | |
| You and Me | 1938 | Fritz Lang | ★★½ | 90 | Genuinely odd but likable film about an ex-con (Raft) who falls in love with Sidney and marries her, unaware that she's a former jailbird herself. Unusual mix of gangsterism, sentiment, Damon Runyonesque comedy, and music (by Kurt Weill)— with even some rhythmic dialogue! Story by Norman Krasna, screenplay by Virginia Van Upp. | tt0030996 | Sylvia Sidney, George Raft, Barton MacLane, Harry Carey, Roscoe Karns, George E. Stone, Warren Hymer, Robert Cummings | Drama | NULL | |||
| You for Me | 1952 | Don Weis | ★★½ | 71 | Unpretentious fluff has Greer a no-nonsense nurse who becomes involved with doctor Young and playboy Lawford at the same time. | tt0045345 | Peter Lawford, Jane Greer, Gig Young, Paula Corday, Howard Wendell, Tommy Farrell, Elaine Stewart | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You'll Find Out | 1940 | David Butler | ★★ | 97 | Kay and his band spend the night in a debutante's haunted house with three suspicious characters on hand. Obvious and overlong, a real disappointment to anyone anxious to savor the Karloff/Lugosi/Lorre team; more suited for fans of Ish Kabibble. | tt0033283 | Kay Kyser, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, Dennis O'Keefe, Ginny Simms, Helen Parrish, Alma Kruger, Harry Babbitt, Ish Kabibble | Comedy, Horror, Musical, Mystery | NULL | |||
| You'll Like My Mother | 1972 | Lamont Johnson | ★★½ | 92 | Offbeat thriller with psychological undertones. Duke plays pregnant widow journeying to visit mother-in-law she's never met. Some good moments, but doesn't add up. | tt0068005 | [PG] | Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy, Sian Barbara Allen, Richard Thomas, Dennis Rucker | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| You'll Never Get Rich | 1941 | Sidney Lanfield | ★★★ | 88 | Broadway star Astaire is drafted, so producer Benchley brings the show to training camp, where Fred does his best to win over chorus girl Hayworth. Witty banter, a Cole Porter score (including 'So Near and Yet So Far'), and terrific dancing by the two stars make this breezy fun. | tt0034409 | Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, John Hubbard, Robert Benchley, Osa Massen, Frieda Inescort, Guinn Williams | Comedy, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| You're My Everything | 1949 | Walter Lang | ★★ | 94 | Lumpy musical-romance of socialite Baxter and hoofer-husband Dailey, who become movie stars in the 1920s and '30s. Based on a story by George Jessel. Watch for Buster Keaton in Baxter's second 'silent film. | tt0042060 | Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter, Anne Revere, Stanley Ridges, Alan Mowbray, Selena Royle | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| You're Never Too Young | 1955 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 102 | Fast, funny remake of THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (which also featured Lynn) with Jerry disguised as 12-year-old at a girls' school, involved in jewel robbery. Script by Sidney Sheldon. | tt0048822 | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Diana Lynn, Raymond Burr, Nina Foch, Veda Ann Borg | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You're Not So Tough | 1940 | Joe May | ★★½ | 71 | Halop and his pals are drifters who end up working on a California farm beset by the usual villains. One of the better Little Tough Guys entries. | tt0033284 | Billy Halop, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, Gabriel Dell, Bernard Punsly, Nan Grey, Henry Armetta | Drama | NULL | |||
| You're Only Young Once | 1938 | George B. Seitz | ★★½ | 78 | Second Andy Hardy film, with Andy (Rooney) and his sister finding romance on a family vacation in Catalina. Energetic Eleanor Lynn makes a peppy partner for Rooney. | tt0030997 | Lewis Stone, Cecilia Parker, Mickey Rooney, Fay Holden, Frank Craven, Ann Rutherford | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| You're Telling Me | 1942 | Charles Lamont. | ★½ | 60 | Tired comedy vehicle for Hugh as bumbler given job with radio advertising agency, involved with matchmaking on the side. | tt0035584 | Hugh Herbert, Jane Frazee, Robert Paige, Richard Davies, Anne Gwynne, Mischa Auer, Ernest Truex. | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You're Telling Me! | 1934 | Erle C. Kenton | ★★★½ | 67 | Hilarious remake of Fields' silent film SO'S YOUR OLD MAN, with thin storyline (about a friendly foreign princess giving lowly, browbeaten Fields respectability in his home town) a perfect excuse for some of his funniest routines— including classic golf game. | tt0026017 | W. C. Fields, Joan Marsh, Buster Crabbe, Louise Carter, Kathleen Howard, Adrienne Ames | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You're a Big Boy Now | 1966 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★★½ | 96 | Beguiling, wayout film of young man with overprotective parents learning about life from callous young actress Hartman. Will not appeal to everyone, but acting is marvelous, with Dolph Sweet hilarious as tough cop. Location filming in N.Y.C. adds to film, too. Written by Coppola, from the David Benedictus novel. Title song by The Lovin' Spoonful. | tt0061209 | Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page, Julie Harris, Rip Torn, Michael Dunn, Tony Bill, Karen Black | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| You're a Sweetheart | 1937 | David Butler | ★★ | 96 | Routine musical with go-getter Murphy dreaming up publicity stunt for show which stars Faye. Title song became a standard. | tt0029809 | Alice Faye, George Murphy, Ken Murray, Andy Devine, William Gargan, Charles Winninger, Donald Meek, Bobby Watson | Musical | NULL | |||
| You're in the Army Now | 1941 | Lewis Seiler | ★★ | 79 | Rather obvious service comedy, with Durante and Silvers trying hard to rise above their material. Some funny scenes, with finale copied from Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH. Trivia note: features the longest kiss (between Toomey and Wyman) in screen history, clocked at 3 min., 5 sec. | tt0034411 | Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Donald MacBride, Jane Wyman, Regis Toomey, Joe Sawyer | Comedy | NULL | |||
| You've Got Mail | 1998 | Nora Ephron | ★★★ | 119 | Long but entertaining remake of THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, with Ryan as the proud proprietor of a neighborhood bookshop, Hanks as the head of a superstore chain poised to put her out of business. They should be mortal enemies, but they're already e-mail pen-pals, without knowing each other's identity. Pleasant enough fluff with two irresistible stars. The use of old songs (which worked so well in Ephron's SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE) is overbearing and unnecessary here. | tt0128853 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, Dave Chappelle, Dabney Coleman, John Randolph | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat | 1971 | Peter Locke | ★★½ | 85 | Uneven, often crude satire focusing on the sorry escapades of a young loser, a product of the '60s. Filmed in 1968. | tt0068006 | Zalman King, Richard Pryor, Robert Downey/Sr., Liz Torres, Roz Kelly, Allen Garfield | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| You, Me and Dupree | 2006 | Anthony Russo, Joe Russo | ★★½ | 110 | Newlyweds Hudson and Dillon embark on married life with an unexpected glitch: his best friend (Wilson) is crashing on their living-room sofa. What's more, Dillon works for her father (Douglas), who enjoys throwing his weight around. Wilson elevates this fairly obvious comedy, as the character of Dupree turns out to be more human-and likable-than you might expect. Harry Dean Stanton appears unbilled. Wilson also coproduced. | tt0463034 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas, Seth Rogen, Amanda Detmer. | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Young Adam | 2003 | David Mackenzie | ★★ | 98 | Murder and sex affect the dynamics on a barge where a young drifter (McGregor) has come to work for a simple man (Mullan) and his unhappy wife (Swinton). Dreary drama, set in the 1950s, benefits from McGregor's strong screen presence but sinks under its own weight. Even explicit sex scenes can't liven up this dour tale. Scripted by Mackenzie from the novel by Scottish Beat Generation writer Alexander Trocchi. | tt0289635 | [NC-17] | Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan, Emily Mortimer | British-French | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | |
| Young Adult | 2011 | Jason Reitman | ★★ | 93 | Bitter, self-absorbed (and self-loathing) Theron, who writes teen novels, impulsively decides to return to her hometown and win back her high school boyfriend of twenty years ago... despite the fact that he's happily married. Bold attempt at a contemporary warts-and-all character study, which, unfortunately, is not nearly as insightful, funny, or genre-bending as it thinks it is and reeks of contempt for its lead character and practically everyone (and everything) else on-screen. Made somewhat palatable by good acting from Theron and, especially, Oswalt as her former schoolmate and newfound confidant. From writer Diablo Cody who, along with director Reitman, brought us the far superior JUNO. | tt1625346 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Jill Eikenberry, Mary Beth Hurt, Collette Wolfe, Richard Bekins | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Young Americans | 1967 | Alex Grasshoff | ★★ | 104 | Although this slick documentary about the 'Young Americans' singing group won an Academy Award (which it was forced to relinquish when it was discovered that it had played theatrically before the year of its contention), these kids sell America like those guys on TV sell machines that slice carrots 144 different ways. | tt0062515 |
|
Documentary | NULL | |||
| Young Bess | 1953 | George Sidney | ★★★ | 112 | Splashy costumer with Simmons as Elizabeth I, Laughton repeating role of Henry VIII. Fine cast does quite well in historical setting. | tt0046564 | Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Charles Laughton, Deborah Kerr, Cecil Kellaway, Leo G. Carroll, Kay Walsh | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Bill Hickok | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★★ | 59 | Roy, as the title character, tries to stop European agent Miljan from forcing California to secede in order to control its wealth. Civil War meets Republic Pictures fiction in this action-packed entertainment, with classic Canutt stunts, and Payne a standout as Calamity Jane. | tt0033286 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Jacqueline Wells (Julie Bishop), John Miljan, Sally Payne, Monte Blue, Hal Taliaferro, Jack Ingram, Yakima Canutt. | Western | NULL | |||
| Young Billy Young | 1969 | Burt Kennedy | ★★½ | 89 | Sheriff Mitchum, seeking the killer of his son, takes young Walker under his wing as a surrogate. Peculiar Western, adapted by Kennedy from Will Henry's Who Rides With Wyatt, is based on the alleged friendship between Wyatt Earp and Billy Clanton; interesting, but nothing special. | tt0065230 | [G] | Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, Robert Walker, David Carradine, Jack Kelly, John Anderson, Paul Fix | Western | NULL | ||
| Young Buffalo Bill | 1940 | Joseph Kane. | ★★½ | 59 | Army surveyors Roy and Gabby come up against baddies who are trying to wrest control of a secret gold mine in New Mexico territory. Average Rogers 'historical' entry, with Roy supposedly playing real-life title character; some good action amidst the Vasquez and Red Rock locations. | tt0033287 | Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Pauline Moore, Hugh Sothern, Chief Thundercloud, Julian Rivero, Trevor Bardette, Gaylord (Steve) Pendleton, Wade Boteler. | Western | NULL | |||
| The Young Captives | 1959 | Irvin Kershner | ★★ | 61 | Lurid melodrama of newly-weds involved with psychopathic killer. | tt0053460 | Steven Marlo, Tom Selden, Luana Patten, Ed Nelson, Joan Granville, Dan Blocker | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Cassidy | 1965 | Jack Cardiff, John Ford | ★★★ | 110 | Taylor's best role ever as the earthy intellectual Sean O'Casey, set in 1910 Dublin; filled with rich atmosphere and fine supporting players. | tt0059930 | Rod Taylor, Julie Christie, Maggie Smith, Flora Robson, Michael Redgrave, Edith Evans, Jack MacGowran | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Young Daniel Boone | 1950 | Reginald LeBorg. | ★½ | 71 | Boone (Bruce) helps to rescue two young women who were captured by Indians, but that's not the end of their troubles . . . or the viewer's. | tt0043151 | David Bruce, Kristine Miller, Mary Treen, Don Beddoe, Damian O'Flynn. | Western | NULL | |||
| Young Dillinger | 1965 | Terry Morse | ★★½ | 102 | Adams gives force to chronicle of gangster John Dillinger, his rise and seemingly inevitable fall; sufficient gunplay. | tt0059931 | Nick Adams, Mary Ann Mobley, Robert Conrad, John Ashley, Victor Buono, John Hoyt, Reed Hadley | Crime | NULL | |||
| Young Doctors in Love | 1982 | Garry Marshall | ★★ | 95 | Hospital comedy has plenty of scattershot gags, but not enough laughs— and certainly not enough substance— to maintain a feature film. Many daytime soap opera stars appear in cameos (including Demi Moore and Janine Turner, both then on General Hospital). Feature directing debut of TV comedy writer-producer Marshall. | tt0084938 | [R] | Michael McKean, Sean Young, Harry Dean Stanton, Patrick Macnee, Hector Elizondo, Dabney Coleman, Pamela Reed, Michael Richards, Taylor Negron, Saul Rubinek, Titos Vandis, Ted McGinley, Crystal Bernard | Comedy | NULL | ||
| The Young Doctors | 1961 | Phil Karlson | ★★★ | 100 | Sturdy cast uplifts soaper set in large city hospital. Based on an Arthur Hailey novel. Segal's first film. | tt0055632 | Fredric March, Ben Gazzara, Dick Clark, Eddie Albert, Ina Balin, Aline MacMahon, Edward Andrews, Arthur Hill, George Segal, Rosemary Murphy, Barnard Hughes, Dick Button, Dolph Sweet; narrated by Ronald Reagan | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Don't Cry | 1957 | Alfred L. Werker | ★★ | 89 | OK drama of loner youth Mineo who takes pity on an escaped murderer. | tt0051213 | Sal Mineo, James Whitmore, J. Carrol Naish, Paul Carr | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Dr. Kildare | 1938 | Harold S. Bucquet | ★★½ | 81 | MGM's first episode in the adventures of Kildare, as he graduates from medical school and must decide between country practice with his father or an offer from the big city's Blair General Hospital. | tt0031000 | Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Lynne Carver, Nat Pendleton, Jo Ann Sayers, Samuel S. Hinds, Emma Dunn, Walter Kingsford, Monty Woolley, Phillip Terry, Don 'Red' Barry | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Einstein | 1988 | Yahoo Serious | ★★½ | 90 | Nutty comedy from Down Under based on the premise that Albert Einstein not only developed the theory of relativity, but also invented rock 'n' roll! The silliness continues from there . . . though any movie with 'cat pies' can't be all bad. Aptly named Yahoo (born Greg Pead) wrote, produced, directed, and stars in this slapstick epic. | tt0096486 | [PG] | Yahoo Serious, Odile Le Clezio, John Howard, Pee Wee Wilson, Su Cruickshank | Australian | Comedy | NULL | |
| Young Frankenstein | 1974 | Mel Brooks | ★★★½ | 105 | One of the funniest (and most quotable) movies of all time, a finely tuned parody of old FRANKENSTEIN pictures, scripted by Wilder and Brooks, with appropriate music (by John Morris), sets, laboratory equipment (some of it from the 1930s), and b&w camerawork (by Gerald Hirschfeld). Plus vivid characterizations by mad doctor Wilder, monster Boyle, hunchback assistant Feldman, et al. Spoof of blind-man sequence from BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN with Gene Hackman is uproarious. | tt0072431 | [PG] | Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn | Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| Young Fury | 1965 | Christian Nyby | ★★½ | 80 | Tired gunslinger returns home to discover son leading gang of young hellions. Standard formula plot highlighted by a cast chockfull of old stars. William Bendix's last film. | tt0059932 | Rory Calhoun, Virginia Mayo, Lon Chaney/Jr., John Agar, Richard Arlen, Linda Foster | Western | NULL | |||
| The Young Girls of Rochefort | 1967 | Jacques Demy. | ★★ | 124 | Director Demy's follow-up to THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG is a homage to the Hollywood musical, but what it has in style it lacks in substance; contrived story and repetitive Michel Legrand music score surely wear thin, and even Gene Kelly can't save it. | tt0062873 | [G] | Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Gene Kelly, George Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux, Grover Dale, Michel Piccoli. | French | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |
| Young Goethe in Love | Goethe! | 2010 | Philipp Stölzl | ★★★ | 104 | Fanciful look at innovative Teuton author Johann Goethe, from his days as a rabblerousing student in Frankfurt to his time spent in the rural town of Weiner, where he's consigned by his barrister father after failing his exams. At first buckling down to learn law, romantic adventures soon usurp his attention and reignite his true passions: painting and poetry. Lively biopic, while not groundbreaking and certainly no SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, is a pleasant historical romp about the tone of the times that influenced the Sturm und Drang and later Romantic eras in literature. Original German title: GOETHE! | tt1440180 | Alexander Fehling, Miriam Stein, Moritz Bleibtreu, Volker Bruch, Burghart Klaußner, Henry Hübchen | German | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Young Guns | 1988 | Christopher Cain | ★★½ | 107 | Six young punks, taken under the wing of a civilized British gentleman (Stamp), find it hard to retain their equilibrium when they're left on their own, and whipped into a frenzy of violence by their newest recruit— William Bonney, soon to be known as Billy the Kid (Estevez). Contemporary-minded Western adopts 1980s-style language and sensibilities, and has a plot with as many holes as some of Billy's victims. Still watchable, with several strong performances. Try to spot Tom Cruise, in disguise as a bad guy who gets shot. Followed by a sequel. | tt0096487 | [R] | Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Terry O'Quinn, Sharon Thomas, Brian Keith, Patrick Wayne | Action, Western, Drama | NULL | ||
| Young Guns II | 1990 | Geoff Murphy | ★★½ | 103 | Not-bad sequel finds Billy Bonney and his gang heading toward the safety of Old Mexico with a band of government men in hot pursuit. Slater is a standout on the trail. Great photography and a sweeping Alan Silvestri score almost make you forget the script ain't so hot. | tt0100994 | [PG-13] | Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, William L. Petersen, Alan Ruck, R.D. Call, James Coburn, Balthazar Getty, Jack Kehoe | Action, Western | NULL | ||
| Young Guns of Texas | 1962 | Maury Dexter | ★★½ | 78 | Second generation of movie stars perform satisfactorily in account of gold and girl hunt in old West, tied in with Indian raid. | tt0056710 | James Mitchum, Alana Ladd, Jody McCrea, Chill Wills | Western | NULL | |||
| The Young Guns | 1956 | Albert Band | ★★ | 84 | Routine account of Tamblyn trying to erase everyone's memory of gunslinger father so he can live peaceful life. | tt0049974 | Russ Tamblyn, Gloria Talbott, Perry Lopez, Scott Marlowe | Western | NULL | |||
| Young Ideas | 1943 | Jules Dassin | ★½ | 77 | Dismal comedy in which college students Peters and Reid try to break up the new marriage of mom Astor and serious-minded professor Marshall. Watch for Ava Gardner in a bit. | tt0036552 | Susan Peters, Herbert Marshall, Mary Astor, Elliott Reid, Richard Carlson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Young Jesse James | 1960 | William F. Claxton | ★½ | 73 | Title tells all in this routine oater. | tt0054489 | Ray Stricklyn, Willard Parker, Merry Anders, Robert Dix, Emile Meyer, Jacklyn O'Donnell | Western | NULL | |||
| The Young Land | 1959 | Ted Tetzlaff | ★★½ | 89 | Sincere Western of pre-Mexican war Texas. | tt0053461 | Pat Wayne, Yvonne Craig, Dennis Hopper, Dan O'Herlihy, Cliff Ketchum | Western | NULL | |||
| The Young Lions | 1958 | Edward Dmytryk | ★★★½ | 167 | One of the all-time best WW2 studies, adapted by Edward Anhalt from the Irwin Shaw novel. Martin and Clift play U.S. soldiers, Brando a confused Nazi officer; effectively photographed by Joe MacDonald, with Hugo Friedhofer's fine score. | tt0052415 | Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin, Hope Lange, Barbara Rush, Maximilian Schell, Mai Britt, Lee Van Cleef | War | NULL | |||
| The Young Lovers | 1964 | Samuel Goldwyn/ Jr | ★★ | 109 | Amateurish, meandering drama of college youths involved in romance. | tt0058763 | Peter Fonda, Sharon Hugueny, Nick Adams, Deborah Walley, Beatrice Straight, Joseph Campanella, Kent Smith | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Man With Ideas | 1952 | Mitchell Leisen | ★★½ | 84 | Modest comedy-drama about a young Montana lawyer who moves to California with his wife and kids for a fresh start and encounters various problems while studying for the state bar exam. | tt0045347 | Glenn Ford, Ruth Roman, Denise Darcel, Nina Foch, Donna Corcoran, Ray Collins, Sheldon Leonard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |||
| Young Man With a Horn | 1950 | Michael Curtiz | ★★★ | 112 | Effective drama of trumpet-player Douglas compulsively drawn to music, with Bacall the bad girl, Day the wholesome one. Carl Foreman-Edmund H. North script adapted from Dorothy Baker's book, and inspired by Bix Beiderbecke's life; Harry James dubbed Douglas' licks. | tt0043153 | Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Juano Hernandez, Hoagy Carmichael, Mary Beth Hughes | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Mr. Lincoln | 1939 | John Ford | ★★★½ | 100 | Series of vignettes present a portrait of Abraham Lincoln before he even thought of running for president, from his first courtship to an important courtroom showdown. Not so much a historical document as a slice of Americana, filtered through the sensibilities of director Ford and screenwriter Lamar Trotti. The early, episodic portion of the film, covering Abe Lincoln's formative years, include some of Ford's most lyrical moments, luminously photographed by Bert Glennon. | tt0032155 | Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver, Donald Meek, Richard Cromwell, Eddie Quillan, Milburn Stone, Ward Bond, Francis Ford | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Mr. Pitt | 1942 | Carol Reed | ★★½ | 118 | Long, only occasionally moving historical drama of young British prime minister during Napoleonic era; thinly veiled WW2 morale-booster. Written by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliatt. | tt0035586 | Robert Donat, Robert Morley, Phyllis Calvert, John Mills, Max Adrian | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Young Nurses | 1973 | Clinton Kimbrough | ★★ | 77 | Fourth of Roger Corman's 'nurse' movies is OK, focusing on drug ring working out of the hospital. Neat appearance by director Samuel Fuller as a villain, and a rather sad one by aged Mantan Moreland (in his final film). Followed by CANDY STRIPE NURSES. | tt0070944 | [R] | Jean Manson, Ashley Porter, Angela Gibbs, Zack Taylor, Jack LaRue/Jr., Dick Miller, Sally Kirkland, Allan Arbus | Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Young One | 1961 | Luis Buñuel | ★½ | 96 | Racist Scott, who has violated Lolita-like Meersman on an isolated island, must contend with the presence of on-the-run black jazz musician Hamilton. Turgid, much-too-obvious melodrama is a disappointment from Buñuel. | tt0053967 | Zachary Scott, Bernie Hamilton, Key Meersman, Graham Denton, Claudio Brook | Mexican | Drama | NULL | ||
| Young People | 1940 | Allan Dwan | ★★ | 78 | Show-biz team Oakie and Greenwood raise orphaned Shirley and try to settle down in this weak musical, a later and lesser Temple vehicle. Good dance routine at the finish. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0033288 | Shirley Temple, Jack Oakie, Charlotte Greenwood, Arleen Whelan, George Montgomery, Kathleen Howard | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Philadelphians | 1959 | Vincent Sherman | ★★★ | 136 | Newman and Rush have memorable roles as poor lawyer who schemes to the top and society girl he hopes to win; Vaughn is hard-drinking buddy Newman defends on murder charge, Smith quite good as frustrated wife of attorney Kruger. | tt0053462 | Paul Newman, Barbara Rush, Alexis Smith, Brian Keith, Diane Brewster, Billie Burke, John Williams, Robert Vaughn, Otto Kruger, Adam West | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Poisoner's Handbook | 1995 | Ben Ross | ★★★ | 99 | Gleefully gruesome British black comedy about a psychopathic teen (O'Conor) who decides to become 'the greatest poisoner the world has ever seen,' using his clueless family as guinea pigs. Deliciously mean-spirited film (based on a true story!) is not for the squeamish. Flavored by a soundtrack of '60s pop oddities. | tt0115033 | Hugh O'Conor, Antony Sher, Ruth Sheen, Roger Lloyd Pack, Charlotte Coleman | British-French-German | Crime | NULL | ||
| The Young Racers | 1963 | Roger Corman | ★★ | 87 | Juvenile nonsense about sports car racing involving ex-racer turned exposé writer, trying to do a book on the sport. | tt0057706 | Mark Damon, William Campbell, Patrick Magee, Luana Anders, Robert Campbell | Drama, Action | NULL | |||
| Young Rebel | Cervantes | 1967 | Vincent Sherman | ★★ | 111 | Despite cast, historical claptrap about Buchholz being sent to Spain by Pope Pius V to obtain help in fighting the Moors. Also known as CERVANTES. | tt0060227 | [M] | Horst Buchholz, Gina Lollobrigida, Jose Ferrer, Louis Jourdan, Francisco Rabal | French-Italian-Spanish | Drama, Adventure | NULL |
| The Young Runaways | 1968 | Arthur Dreifuss | ★★ | 91 | Silly B-picture about restless teenagers and how they are swept up into sordid lifestyles. Interesting mainly for early look at Richard Dreyfuss as cocky car thief. | tt0063827 | [R] | Brooke Bundy, Kevin Coughlin, Lloyd Bochner, Patty McCormack, Lynn Bari, Norman Fell | Drama | NULL | ||
| The Young Savages | 1961 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 103 | Lancaster is idealistic D.A. battling all odds to see justice done in street-gang slaying; at times brutal, too often pat. Adapted by Edward Anhalt and JP Miller from Evan Hunter's novel A Matter of Conviction. Savalas' film debut. | tt0055633 | Burt Lancaster, Dina Merrill, John Davis Chandler, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, Edward Andrews, Chris Robinson, Pilar Seurat, Milton Selzer | Crime, Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Sherlock Holmes | 1985 | Barry Levinson | ★★ | 109 | Promising film speculates about Conan Doyle's detective when he was a boy, introduces him to Watson, and involves him in his first great case. Knowing references to Holmes's later life, perfect Victorian atmosphere all give way to jarring 1980s special effects, inappropriate INDIANA JONES-type subplot, and action climax that doesn't make much sense. If you do watch it through, be sure to stay through the very end. Written by Chris Columbus; Steven Spielberg was an executive producer. | tt0090357 | [PG-13] | Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood, Freddie Jones, Nigel Stock, Michael Hordern | Adventure, Mystery | NULL | ||
| The Young Stranger | 1957 | John Frankenheimer | ★★★ | 84 | Excellent drama about a teenage boy's brush with delinquency and strained relationship with his wealthy, neglectful father. Surprisingly undated, sincere little film; MacArthur's impressive screen debut (and director Frankenheimer's, too). | tt0051214 | James MacArthur, James Daly, Kim Hunter, James Gregory, Marian Seldes, Whit Bissell | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Swingers | 1963 | Maury Dexter | 💣 | 71 | Singer Lauren tries to keep nightclub operating, despite interference of greedy real-estate agent Helton. Grade Z all the way. | tt0057707 | Molly Bee, Rod Lauren, Gene McDaniels, Jack Larson, Jo Helton | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Tom Edison | 1940 | Norman Taurog | ★★★ | 82 | Inventor's early life depicted with flair by effective Rooney, who could tone down when he had to; followed by Spencer Tracy's EDISON, THE MAN. | tt0033289 | Mickey Rooney, Fay Bainter, George Bancroft, Virginia Weidler, Eugene Palette, Victor Kilian | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Young Victoria | 2009 | Jean-Marc Vallée | ★★★ | 104 | Absorbing look at the intrigues surrounding the ascension of a teenaged Queen Victoria to the throne of England, and the complexities and strategies involved in her wooing by the future Prince Albert of Belgium. A rare costume picture in which the personalities and story twists aren’t dwarfed by period detail—even though the film is impeccably handsome. Intelligent, witty screenplay by Julian Fellowes. | tt0962736 | [PG] | Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Thomas Kretschmann, Mark Strong, Jesper Christensen, Harriet Walter, Julian Glover | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| Young Warriors | 1983 | Lawrence D. Foldes | ★½ | 103 | Self-righteous, violent exploitation film has students turning vigilantes to put local criminals out of business. Features several second-generation actors (Van Patten, Lockhart, Norris). Semi-sequel to MALIBU HIGH. | tt0086625 | [R] | Ernest Borgnine, Richard Roundtree, Lynda Day George, James Van Patten, Anne Lockhart, Mike Norris, Dick Shawn, Linnea Quigley | Crime, Action | NULL | ||
| The Young Warriors | 1967 | John Peyser | ★★ | 93 | Clichéd WW2 yarn loosely derived from Richard Matheson novel. | tt0062516 | [R] | James Drury, Steve Carlson, Jonathan Daly, Robert Pine, Michael Stanwood | War | NULL | ||
| Young Widow | 1946 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★ | 100 | Soap opera was not Russell's forte and she can't support teary WW2 tale of woman who can't forget her late husband. | tt0039114 | Jane Russell, Marie Wilson, Louis Hayward, Faith Domergue, Kent Taylor, Penny Singleton, Cora Witherspoon | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young Winston | 1972 | Richard Attenborough | ★★★ | 145 | Entertaining account of Churchill's early life, from school days, through journalistic experience in Africa, up to first election to Parliament. Handsome production, good performances, and rousing battle scenes. Scripted and produced by Carl Foreman. | tt0069528 | [PG] | Simon Ward, Anne Bancroft, Robert Shaw, John Mills, Jack Hawkins, Patrick Magee, Ian Holm, Robert Flemyng, Jane Seymour, Edward Woodward, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Naismith | British | Drama, Adventure, War | NULL | |
| Young Wives' Tale | 1951 | Henry Cass | ★★½ | 78 | Slight farce about the housing shortage in post-WW2 England, in which two couples are forced to live under the same roof. Hepburn plays a lodger who also resides in the house. | tt0044225 | Joan Greenwood, Nigel Patrick, Derek Farr, Helen Cherry, Guy Middleton, Athene Seyler, Audrey Hepburn | British | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Young and Dangerous | 1957 | William F. Claxton | ★★ | 78 | Damon, a footloose youth, turns respectable for love of a nice girl. The usual. | tt0051215 | Mark Damon, Edward Binns, Lili Gentle, Ann Doran, Connie Stevens | Drama | NULL | |||
| Young and Innocent | 1937 | Alfred Hitchcock | ★★★ | 80 | A Hitchcock thriller with charm and humor; young girl helps runaway man innocently accused of murder to find the real culprit. Pleasant echoes of THE 39 STEPS; nightclub revelation scene is especially memorable. Based on a novel by Josephine Tey; first shown in U.S. as THE GIRL WAS YOUNG. | tt0029811 | Derrick de Marney, Nova Pilbeam, Percy Marmont, Edward Rigby, Mary Clare, Basil Radford | British | Drama, Crime, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Young and Wild | 1958 | William Witney | ★½ | 69 | Trashy account of thrill-seeking teenagers on the loose with a stolen car. | tt0052416 | Gene Evans, Scott Marlowe, Carolyn Kearney, Robert Arthur | Crime | NULL | |||
| Young and Willing | Out of the Frying Pan | 1943 | Edward H. Griffith | ★★½ | 82 | Perennial summer-stock comedy Out of the Frying Pan becomes naive but zany comedy of show biz hopefuls trying to make good. | tt0036553 | William Holden, Eddie Bracken, Barbara Britton, James Brown, Martha O'Driscoll, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Young at Heart | 1954 | Gordon Douglas | ★★★ | 117 | Musical remake of Fannie Hurst's FOUR DAUGHTERS with Sinatra romancing Day amid much tear-shedding. Slickly done. | tt0047688 | Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Dorothy Malone, Alan Hale/Jr. | Drama, Musical, Romance | NULL | |||
| The Young in Heart | 1938 | Richard Wallace | ★★★½ | 90 | Refreshing comedy about wacky family of con artists going straight under influence of unsuspecting Dupree. Written by Paul Osborn and Charles Bennett from an I.A.R. Wylie novel. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0031002 | Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks/Jr., Paulette Goddard, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Minnie Dupree, Richard Carlson | Comedy, Drama | NULL | |||
| Young@Heart | 2008 | Stephen Walker | ★★★ | 110 | Stirring documentary chronicling the musical journey of a group of senior citizens in Northampton, Massachusetts, as they prepare the latest edition of Young At Heart, a concert group originally formed in 1982 that features a revolving group of singers in their 70s, 80s and 90s performing the songs of Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, Sonic Youth, and James Brown, among others. Proving that age is all about attitude and a desire for “Stayin’ Alive” (one of the highlighted tunes), this moving film captures moments of glory and sorrow as these lively subjects rehearse their remarkable show. | tt1047007 | [PG] | U.S.-British | Documentary | NULL | ||
| Youngblood | 1986 | Peter Markle | ★½ | 109 | Boring, utterly predictable story of Lowe joining small-time Canadian hockey team, falling in love with the daughter of his no-nonsense coach. This movie has no energy, on the ice or off! Keanu Reeves' screen debut; that's him behind the mask, as the team's goalie. | tt0092272 | [R] | Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Swayze, Ed Lauter, Eric Nesterenko, George Finn, Fionnula Flanagan | Action, Drama | NULL | ||
| Youngblood Hawke | 1964 | Delmer Daves | ★★½ | 137 | Clichéd but somehow compelling trash from Herman Wouk's novel about a naive Southerner who writes a novel and becomes the toast of N.Y.C. literary society— with several women vying for his attention. | tt0058764 | James Franciscus, Genevieve Page, Suzanne Pleshette, Eva Gabor, Mary Astor, Lee Bowman, Edward Andrews, Don Porter | Drama | NULL | |||
| Younger & Younger | 1993 | Percy Adlon | ★★½ | 99 | Likably offbeat modern-day fantasy about a self-styled gay blade and bon vivant who owns a self-storage facility in Glendale, California, and lives in a rarefied world of his own, until reality comes crashing down. This may be your only chance to hear Sutherland sing! Never released theatrically in the U.S. | tt0108636 | [R] | Donald Sutherland, Lolita Davidovich, Brendan Fraser, Sally Kellerman, Julie Delpy, Linda Hunt, Nicholas Gunn, Matt Damon | German-French-Canadian | Drama, Comedy | NULL | |
| The Younger Brothers | 1949 | Edwin L. Marin | ★★½ | 77 | OK Western of notorious Younger brothers and the incident that drives them to renewed violence and terror. | tt0042061 | Wayne Morris, Janis Paige, Bruce Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Robert Hutton, Alan Hale/Sr., Fred Clark, Tom Tyler | Western | NULL | |||
| The Younger Generation | 1929 | Frank Capra | ★★½ | 88 | Ethnic heart-tugger by Fannie Hurst about a Jewish family that suffers because of one son's determination to abandon his roots and break into N.Y.C. society. (Cortez played a similar role in SYMPHONY OF SIX MILLION.) Director Capra pulls out all the stops in this silent film with talkie sequences. | tt0020613 | Jean Hersholt, Lina Basquette, Ricardo Cortez, Rosa Rosanova, Rex Lease | Drama | NULL | |||
| The Youngest Profession | 1943 | Edward Buzzell | ★★½ | 82 | Weidler and Porter are incurable (and obnoxious) autograph hounds in innocent little film with many MGM guest stars (including Lana Turner, William Powell, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, and Walter Pidgeon). | tt0036554 | Virginia Weidler, Jean Porter, Edward Arnold, John Carroll, Agnes Moorehead, Scotty Beckett | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Your Cheatin' Heart | 1964 | Gene Nelson | ★★★ | 99 | One of Hamilton's best roles, as legendary country-western singer Hank Williams, who couldn't cope with fame on the ole opry circuit; songs dubbed by Hank Williams, Jr. Oliver most effective as Hank's wife. Also shown in computer-colored version. | tt0058765 | George Hamilton, Susan Oliver, Red Buttons, Arthur O'Connell, Rex Ingram | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Your Friends & Neighbors | 1998 | Neil LaBute | ★★ | 99 | Another somewhat smug 'let's rip the lid off the hypocrisy of society' tract from writer-director LaBute about two socially and sexually dysfunctional couples and their friends. Some pungent, provocative dialogue, but as in LaBute's IN THE COMPANY OF MEN, it's not clear what the point of it all is. Patric (who also produced) has an especially potent role as a self-styled stud. | tt0119517 | [R] | Amy Brenneman, Jason Patric, Ben Stiller, Aaron Eckhart, Catherine Keener, Nastassja Kinski | Drama | NULL | ||
| Your Highness | 2011 | David Gordon Green | 💣 | 102 | Goofball prince whose older brother (Franco) will someday inherit the throne is goaded into making his first noble quest, to save Franco’s virginal fiancée (Deschanel) from the clutches of an evil wizard (Theroux). Would-be parody of knightly adventure yarns is woefully unfunny from the get-go, resorting to puerile potty-mouth utterances and penis jokes. Franco and Portman play it straight (and give it their best shot) while McBride fumbles the “funny” role, which he cowrote. Ten times worse than you could possibly imagine. | tt1240982 | [R] | Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Theroux, Toby Jones, Damian Lewis, Rasmus Hardiker, Charles Dance | Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Your Past Is Showing | The Naked Truth | 1957 | Mario Zampi | ★★★ | 92 | Scandal-sheet publisher Price is literally blackmailing celebrities to death by threatening to expose their past and present indiscretions. Several eventually band together and plot to rid themselves of their problem. Sellers (cast as a television star) is a special treat in this amusing satire. Original British title: THE NAKED TRUTH. | tt0050749 | Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Peggy Mount, Dennis Price, Shirley Eaton | British | Comedy | NULL | |
| Your Sister's Sister | 2012 | Lynn Shelton | ★★½ | 90 | Largely improvised three-character piece about a guy who's still trying to get over his brother's death a year ago. His best friend (Blunt) offers the use of her family house on an island off the Seattle coast for some quiet time, but when he gets there he discovers Blunt's sister (DeWitt), who's also seeking refuge from a bad breakup. As the characters' lives intertwine, they also grow more complicated. Likable indie drama draws on the strengths of the three talented actors, though its plot contrivances threaten to throw it off course more than once. | tt1742336 | [R] | Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Your Three Minutes Are Up | 1973 | Douglas N. Schwartz | ★★★½ | 92 | Overlooked comedy with serious undertones vividly captures two American lifestyles in story of ultra-straight Bridges hanging out with swinging buddy Leibman, who's out to beat the system. Unpretentious film says more about our society than many more 'important' movies; solid performances. Written by James Dixon. | tt0070945 | [R] | Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Janet Margolin, Kathleen Freeman, David Ketchum, Stu Nisbet | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid | 1979 | George Kaczender. | 💣 | 91 | Trashy adaptation of a Romain Gary novel is an embarrassment for its cast: Harris is struggling to raise cash for his failed, inherited family business while suffering from impotency and recurring fantasies of a gypsy stud making love to his girlfriend Dale; Peppard is a foulmouthed banker who is also impotent; and Moreau is a Parisian madam who procures the gypsy boy for Harris's and Dale's eventual amusement. Lurid junk. | tt0080164 | Richard Harris, George Peppard, Jeanne Moreau, Jennifer Dale, Alexandra Stewart, Winston Rekert. | Canadian | Drama | NULL | ||
| Your Turn, Darling | 1963 | Bernard Borderie | ★★ | 93 | Lumbering spy tale with Constantine as Lemmy Caution, American secret agent who goes into action when a female spy is murdered and a scientist is kidnapped. | tt0057724 | Eddie Constantine, Elga Andersen, Christine Minazzoli, Gaia Germani, Philippe Lemaire | French |
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| Yours, Mine & Ours | 2005 | Raja Gosnell | ★½ | 88 | Bland, charmless update of the 1968 family comedy with Quaid and Russo replacing Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball. Here, a widowed, by-the-book Coast Guard admiral with eight offspring weds his old high school flame, a widowed, free-spirited handbag designer with ten kids. Heavy on slapstick and short on originality. | tt0443295 | [PG] | Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo, Rip Torn, Linda Hunt, Jerry O'Connell, David Koechner, Katija Pevec, Danielle Panabaker, Sean Faris | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Yours, Mine and Ours | 1968 | Melville Shavelson | ★★★ | 111 | For once, a wholesome 'family' picture with some intelligent scripting. Based on real situation of widowed mother of eight marrying widower with ten more children. Lucy's drunk scene is a delight in warm, well-made comedy. Among Fonda's brood: Suzanne Cupito (who grew up to be Morgan Brittany) and a very young Tracy Nelson. | tt0063829 | Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Van Johnson, Tom Bosley, Tim Matheson | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Youth Runs Wild | 1944 | Mark Robson | ★★ | 67 | With parents and older siblings at war or in defense plants, teenagers do just what the title implies. Rare non-horror entry from producer Val Lewton is interesting as time capsule, routine as drama. | tt0037476 | Bonita Granville, Kent Smith, Tessa Brind (Vanessa Brown), Lawrence Tierney, Jean Brooks, Dickie Moore | Drama | NULL | |||
| Youth Without Youth | 2007 | Francis Ford Coppola | ★★ | 124 | A disastrous event thrusts a mild, elderly professor back into youth on a search for the mysteries of life, love, and aging. Self-described venture into experimental filmmaking finds Coppola adapting Romanian philosopher Mircea Eliade’s novella set in the days preceding WW2. Talky, didactic script never lets the audience in emotionally; all that’s left is a human puzzle few will want to bother solving. HD Widescreen. | tt0481797 | [R] | Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz, Andre Hennicke, Marcel Iures, Adrian Pintea | U.S.-German-Italian-French-Romanian | Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Youth in Revolt | 2010 | Miguel Arteta | ★★ | 90 | Precocious, iconoclastic teenager Nick Twisp (Cera) despairs that he may never meet a girl; then he encounters Sheeni Saunders (Doubleday), who’s smart and pretty, and likes him, too. He is hopelessly smitten but there are stumbling blocks in their path, which he determines to remove. Likable coming-of-age comedy/social satire is a perfect fit for Cera, but seems awfully lightweight given its source material, a well-regarded trilogy of books by C. D. Payne. | tt0403702 | [R] | Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Ari Graynor, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Rooney Mara, Mary Kay Place, M. Emmet Walsh, Fred Willard, Christa B. Allen | Drama, Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| You’re in the Navy Now | 1951 | Henry Hathaway | ★★ | 93 | Flat naval comedy, set during WW2, with Cooper commanding an unlikely crew on a ship outfitted with an experimental steam engine. Film debuts of Marvin and Bronson. Originally screened with the title U.S.S. TEAKETTLE. | tt0044224 | Gary Cooper, Jane Greer, Millard Mitchell, Eddie Albert, John McIntire, Ray Collins, Harry Von Zell, Jack Webb, Richard Erdman, Harvey Lembeck, Lee Marvin, Charles Buchinski (Bronson), Ed Begley, Jack Warden | Comedy, War | NULL | |||
| The Yum-Yum Girls | 1976 | Barry Rosen | ★★ | 93 | Entertainingly trashy film, made before Landers' and Roberts' TV success, about young girls coming to N.Y.C. to become fashion models. OK cook's tour of the business, marred by unfunny script. | tt0075451 | [R] | Judy Landers, Tanya Roberts, Michelle Dawn, Carey Poe, Stan Bernstein | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| Z | 1969 | Costa-Gavras | ★★★ | 127 | Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film and Editing, based on true-life incident, concerns political assassination of Montand and chilling aftermath. Talky film praised more for its topicality than cinematics is nonetheless gripping; good acting. | tt0065234 | [M] | Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Charles Denner, Georges Geret, Jacques Perrin, François Périer, Marcel Bozzufi | French | Drama, Mystery | NULL | |
| Z.P.G. | 1972 | Michael Campus | ★★ | 95 | Sci-fi tale with style but no class. Reproduction becomes crime punishable by death in the future, but some people try to defy the law. Title, of course, stands for Zero Population Growth. | tt0069530 | [PG] | Oliver Reed, Geraldine Chaplin, Don Gordon, Diane Cilento | British | Sci-Fi, Thriller | NULL | |
| Zabriskie Point | 1970 | Michelangelo Antonioni | ★★½ | 112 | Rambling study by a foreigner of the aggressive, materialistic, unflinching American lifestyle. Worth watching but difficult to stay with, though there's a real eye-opening finale. Sam Shepard was one of the scriptwriters. | tt0066601 | [R] | Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Rod Taylor, Paul Fix, Harrison Ford | Drama | NULL | ||
| Zachariah | 1971 | George Englund | ★★½ | 93 | Audacious rock Western with elements of a morality play and moments of sharp satire; coscripted by members of Firesign Theater. Certainly offbeat, but how much you like it is strictly personal taste. | tt0068011 | [PG] | John Rubinstein, Pat Quinn, Don Johnson, Country Joe and The Fish, Elvin Jones, New York Rock Ensemble, The James Gang, Dick Van Patten | Western | NULL | ||
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno | 2008 | Kevin Smith | ★★★ | 101 | Rogen and Banks, platonic pals and roommates, can’t pay the rent so they decide to make a quick buck by shooting, marketing (and appearing in) a porn film. Despite its premise and the expected raunchiness, this is a sweet-natured and lightly likable farce. But isn’t Smith getting a wee bit old for this sort of juvenilia? | tt1007028 | [R] | Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, Katie Morgan, Ricky Mabe, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Brandon Routh, Tom Savini | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| Zamba | 1949 | William Berke | ★½ | 75 | Juvenile adventure story of boy raised by gorillas; rough going. | tt0042064 | Jon Hall, June Vincent, George Cooper, Jane Nigh, George O'Hanlon, Beau Bridges | Adventure | NULL | |||
| Zandalee | 1991 | Sam Pillsbury | ★½ | 100 | In steamy New Orleans, thrill-seeking Zandalee (Anderson) falls for her now-staid husband's free-spirited friend; their affair leads to tragedy. Routine plot (with liberal doses of sex) gets sillier as it goes along; hampered, too, by unappealing characters. Released direct to video. | tt0101004 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Judge Reinhold, Erika Anderson, Joe Pantoliano, Viveca Lindfors, Aaron Neville, Ian Abercrombie, Marisa Tomei, Zach Galligan | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Zandy's Bride | For Better, For Worse | 1974 | Jan Troell | ★½ | 116 | Two frequently wasted stars in tepid romance of a mail-order bride and her pioneer husband; no one needs these scenes from a marriage. Aka FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE. | tt0072435 | [PG] | Gene Hackman, Liv Ullmann, Eileen Heckart, Harry Dean Stanton, Susan Tyrrell, Sam Bottoms, Joe Santos | Western | NULL | |
| Zapped! | 1982 | Robert J. Rosenthal | ★½ | 96 | Attractive cast is wasted in this stupid spoof of CARRIE, in which Baio acquires telekinetic powers . . . which he's most anxious to use in undressing Thomas (or rather, her stand-in). Followed by a sequel. | tt0084945 | Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Felice Schachter, Heather Thomas, Robert Mandan, Greg Bradford, Scatman Crothers, Sue Ane Langdon | Comedy, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Zarak | 1957 | Terence Young | ★★½ | 99 | Hokum set in India with Mature the head of native outlaws, Wilding the British officer sent to get him. | tt0051219 | Victor Mature, Michael Wilding, Anita Ekberg, Bernard Miles, Finlay Currie | British | Action, Romance, Adventure | NULL | ||
| Zardoz | 1974 | John Boorman | ★★½ | 105 | Weird sci-fi entry, set in 2293, about technology gone wild in society run by group of eternally young intellectuals. Visually striking cult film will probably leave most viewers dissatisfied. | tt0070948 | [R] | Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, Sally Anne Newton, John Alderton, Niall Buggy | British | Sci-Fi, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | 2005 | Jon Favreau | ★★★ | 101 | Imaginative adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's book (a cousin to JUMANJI) about two sparring brothers who, by playing a vintage mechanical board game, are magically transported into outer space, where every move on the game board brings new, often frightening, results. Smart, funny family film with a particularly believable relationship between the two brothers, and some cool special effects. Great opening title sequence by Kyle Cooper sets the tone for the film. | tt0406375 | [PG] | Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins; voice of Frank Oz | Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| Zatôichi, the Blind Swordsman | The Blind Swordsman | 2003 | Takeshi Kitano. | ★★★ | 116 | Nineteenth-century blind nomad known as a gambler and masseur is also a lightning-fast master swordsman who stumbles into a town run by gangs and a powerful samurai. When he meets two geishas who are out to avenge their parents' murder, the fireworks begin. Based on the incredibly popular Japanese film series (and later TV program), which started in 1962 and ended in 1989 with the passing of its star, Shintaro Katsu. Actor-director Kitano ably fills his legendary shoes in this lively, nonstop martial arts fest. Great action set pieces make this a lot of fun. Aka THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATÔICHI. | tt0363226 | [R] | Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano), Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ogusu, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike. | Japanese | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Action | NULL |
| Zaza | 1939 | George Cukor | ★★ | 83 | Colbert, doing her own singing, is the French music hall performer who falls for married Marshall, playing the role in his sleep. Remake of Gloria Swanson silent vehicle has well-mounted novelty value, but the drama simply never gets into gear. | tt0032157 | Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, Bert Lahr, Helen Westley, Constance Collier, Genevieve Tobin, Walter Catlett | Drama | NULL | |||
| Zazie dans le Metro | 1960 | Louis Malle | ★★½ | 88 | Superficial comedy, coscripted by Malle, about a bright but impish 12-year-old (Demongeot), who visits her female-impersonator uncle (Noiret) in Paris, and is intent on riding in the city's subway. | tt0054494 | Catherine Demongeot, Philippe Noiret, Vittorio Caprioli, Hubert Deschamps, Carla Marlier | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zebra Force | 1977 | Joe Tornatore | ★★ | 100 | A band of Vietnam vets uses military tactics against the Mob to fatten their own pockets and 'rid society of scum.' Straightforward low-budgeter suffers from Grade Z performances. | tt0075456 | [PG] | Mike Lane, Richard X. Slattery, Rockne Tarkington, Glenn Wilder, Anthony Caruso | Crime, Family, Action | NULL | ||
| Zebra in the Kitchen | 1965 | Ivan Tors | ★★½ | 93 | Wholesome family fare of young North involved with wild pets and the city zoo's attempt to keep its inmates locked up. | tt0059944 | Jay North, Martin Milner, Andy Devine, Joyce Meadows, Jim Davis, Dorothy Green | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Zebrahead | 1992 | Anthony Drazan | ★★★ | 100 | Refreshing, straightforward drama about a white teen (Rapaport) who attends an integrated Detroit high school. His best friend (Castle) is black, and problems arise when he becomes romantically involved with his pal's cousin (Wright). Benefits from realistic dialogue, and a candid take on the characters' lives and feelings. Drazan also scripted; Oliver Stone was one of the executive producers. | tt0105885 | [R] | Michael Rapaport, DeShonn Castle, N'Bushe Wright, Ron Johnson, Ray Sharkey, Paul Butler, Candy Ann Brown, Helen Shaver, Luke Reilly, Martin Priest | Drama | NULL | ||
| A Zed & Two Noughts | 1985 | Peter Greenaway | ★★★ | 115 | Extremely provocative examination of birth, life, and death, focusing on Ferreol, who has lost a leg in a car crash, and two zoologist brothers (the Deacons) whose wives have been killed in the same accident and who become obsessed with decay. Difficult to watch but well worthwhile for those willing to be challenged. Not so much a film as a visual essay, exquisitely directed and photographed (by Sacha Vierny). | tt0090366 | Andrea Ferreol, Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon, Frances Barber, Joss Ackland | British-Dutch | Drama | NULL | ||
| Zelary | 2003 | Ondrej Trojan. | ★★★ | 148 | A young Prague medical student, on the lam from the Gestapo during WW2, hides out in a provincial village and reluctantly agrees to marry her protector, a kindly older man. As they spend time together, much is revealed about the nature of good and evil. Has its slow spots but becomes more engrossing as their relationship deepens; at its best when contrasting the idyllic rural beauty against the constant threat of violence and capture. | tt0288330 | [R] | Ana Geislerová, György Cserhalmi, Ivan Trojan, Jan Hrusínsk˛, Miroslav Donutil, Jaroslav Dusek, Iva Bittová, Jaroslava Adamová, Jan Tríska. | Czech-Slovakian-Austrian | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| Zelig | 1983 | Woody Allen | ★★★ | 79 | Pseudo-documentary using remarkable recreations of old newsreels and recordings, about a chameleonlike man named Leonard Zelig (Allen), who became a celebrity in the fad-crazy '20s. A supremely well-executed joke, more clever than funny; it might have worked even better in a shorter format. Gordon Willis' cinematography and Dick Hyman's music are standouts. | tt0086637 | [PG] | Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Garrett Brown, Stephanie Farrow, Will Holt, Sol Lomita, Mary Louise Wilson, Michael Jeter | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zelly and Me | 1988 | Tina Rathborne | ★★½ | 87 | Uneven account of the trials and stresses in the life of wealthy, overprotected orphan Johnes. Occasionally insightful but far too introspective— with too much left unexplained. | tt0096501 | [PG] | Isabella Rossellini, Glynis Johns, Alexandra Johnes, Kaiulani Lee, David Lynch, Joe Morton | Drama | NULL | ||
| Zenobia | 1939 | Gordon Douglas | ★★½ | 71 | Smalltown doctor agrees to treat an ailing elephant— and the grateful pachyderm refuses to leave his side! Amiable comedy set in the Old South, with some dated (and mildly tol'able) subplots. This was Hardy's only starring venture without Stan Laurel, and he's quite good, in a fairly straight nonslapsticky performance. | tt0032158 | Oliver Hardy, Harry Langdon, Billie Burke, Alice Brady, James Ellison, Jean Parker, June Lang, Chester Conklin, Stepin Fetchit, Hattie McDaniel | Comedy | NULL | |||
| Zentropa | 1992 | Lars von Trier | ★★★½ | 114 | Sukowa plays a railroad magnate's daughter who may be in synch with postwar Nazi sympathizers called 'werewolves.' Audacious black-comic fantasy utilizes high-tech mixed media, creative use of rear projection, and dramatic shifts in pigment. Though it feels like a stunt, this is a rare contemporary movie that makes one feel privy to the reinvention of cinema. | tt0101829 | Barbara Sukowa, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, Ernst Hugo, Eddie Constantine | Danish-Swedish-French-German | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Zeppelin | 1971 | Etienne Perier | ★★★ | 101 | Colorful cast and atmosphere (including interesting special effects) click in entertaining story of German-born British aviator emotionally torn by duty and homeland during WW1. | tt0068014 | [G] | Michael York, Elke Sommer, Peter Carsten, Marius Goring, Anton Diffring, Andrew Keir | British | Adventure | NULL | |
| Zero Effect | 1998 | Jake Kasdan | ★★½ | 115 | Pullman is Daryl Zero, the world's greatest (and most eccentric) private detective, who never meets his clients, but sends emissary Stiller instead. O'Neal hires him to track down a blackmailer, but Pullman finds himself becoming emotionally involved with one of his suspects. Clever, original screenplay by first-time feature director Kasdan (son of Lawrence), but he shoots himself in the foot by deadening the pace and stretching things out too long. Rate this a near miss. | tt0120906 | [R] | Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal, Kim Dickens, Angela Featherstone | Comedy, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Zero Hour! | 1957 | Hall Bartlett | ★★½ | 81 | Effective suspense story (based on Arthur Hailey teleplay) of potential airplane disaster when pilots are felled by ptomaine poisoning. Remade for TV in 1971 as TERROR IN THE SKY, and then spoofed in 1980 as AIRPLANE. | tt0051221 | Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden, Elroy 'Crazy legs' Hirsch, Geoffrey Toone, Jerry Paris, Peggy King, John Ashley | Thriller | NULL | |||
| Zero Kelvin | 1995 | Hans Petter Moland | ★★★ | 113 | Potent allegorical drama set in 1925 about an idealistic poet (Eidsvold) who leaves his beloved to work as a fur trapper in Greenland in the company of two very different coworkers; he promptly clashes with one of them (Skarsgård), a crude, embittered cynic. Quietly powerful tale mirrors the reality that to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world people must stick together. Breathtaking scenery contrasts with the graphic violence that comes with the killing of animals for survival. | tt0113557 | Stellan Skarsgård, Gard B. Eidsvold, Bj¿rn Sundquist, Camilla Martens | Norwegian-Swedish | Drama | NULL | ||
| Zero for Conduct | 1933 | Jean Vigo | ★★★★ | 44 | Life in a French boarding school, where the authorities attempt to regiment the students— unsuccessfully. The kids are all wonderfully spontaneous; one of the best films ever about children among children. The inspiration for IF. . . . Written by the director. | tt0024803 | Jean Daste, Robert le Flon, Louis Lefebvre, Constantin Kelber, Gerard de Bedarieux | French | Short, Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zero to Sixty | 1978 | Don Weis | ★½ | 100 | McGavin is improbably cast as a schnook who hooks up with a strident, street-smart 16-year-old girl who makes her living repossessing cars. Loud, stupid comedy with more car-chase thrills than humor. | tt0078522 | [PG] | Darren McGavin, Sylvia Miles, Joan Collins, Denise Nickerson, The Hudson Brothers, Lorraine Gary | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zeus and Roxanne | 1997 | George Miller | ★★ | 98 | Kids' picture paralleling the up and down relationship between two single adults, as well as his dog and her dolphin (you read that right!). Lovely Bahamas locations and exceptional animal work lift this film only slightly above an uninspired script. | tt0120550 | [PG] | Steve Guttenberg, Kathleen Quinlan, Arnold Vosloo, Dawn McMillan, Miko Hughes, Jessica Howell | Family | NULL | ||
| Ziegfeld Follies | 1946 | Vincente Minnelli | ★★★ | 110 | Variable all-star film introduced by Powell as Ziegfeld in heaven. Highlights are Brice-Hume Cronyn sketch, Astaire-Kelly dance, Moore-Arnold comedy routine, Skelton's 'Guzzler's Gin,' Horne's solo, Garland's 'The Interview.' Various segments directed by George Sidney, Roy Del Ruth, Norman Taurog, Lemuel Ayers, Robert Lewis, Merrill Pye. Filmed mostly in 1944. | tt0039116 | William Powell, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Fred Astaire, Fanny Brice, Lena Horne, Red Skelton, Victor Moore, Virginia O'Brien, Cyd Charisse, Gene Kelly, Edward Arnold, Esther Williams | Comedy, Musical | NULL | |||
| Ziegfeld Girl | 1941 | Robert Z. Leonard | ★★★ | 131 | Large-scale musical drama opens brightly, bogs down into melodrama and preposterous subplots, as the lives of three girls (Turner, Garland, Lamarr) are changed by being recruited as Ziegfeld Follies girls. Busby Berkeley's 'You Stepped Out of a Dream' is most famous number, but somewhat overshadowed by Judy's 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows,' 'Minnie from Trinidad.' The MGM glitter has never been brighter. | tt0034415 | James Stewart, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper, Ian Hunter, Edward Everett Horton, Al Shean, Eve Arden, Dan Dailey, Philip Dorn, Charles Winninger | Drama, Musical | NULL | |||
| Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars | 1983 | D. A. Pennebaker | ★½ | 91 | Bowie in concert as Ziggy Stardust, his androgynous alter ego. Practically unwatchable, and unlistenable: cinema verité at its worst. Shot in 1973; of interest to Bowie fans only. | tt0086643 | [PG] | David Bowie | Documentary, Musical | NULL | ||
| Zigzag | 1970 | Richard A. Colla | ★★½ | 105 | Dying insurance investigator (Kennedy) plans a complicated scheme to pin a murder on himself and be executed, so his family will collect a big insurance settlement, but his plans go awry. Good performances in moderately interesting drama. | tt0066605 | [PG] | George Kennedy, Anne Jackson, Eli Wallach, Steve Ihnat, William Marshall, Joe Maross | Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| Zina | 1985 | Ken McMullen | ★★½ | 90 | Extremely (and deliberately) slow exploration of the problems and obsessions of Leon Trotsky's daughter (Giordano) while in psychoanalysis in prewar Berlin. Bryan Loftus' cinematography is exceptional. Not for all tastes. | tt0090372 | Domiziana Giordano, Ian McKellen, Philip Madoc, Ron Anderson, Micha Bergese | British | Drama | NULL | ||
| Zita | 1968 | Robert Enrico | ★★★ | 91 | Delicate story of young girl who learns about life as her beloved aunt is dying; love blossoms, as she breaks away from mother-figure to become an adult herself. Charming. | tt0063843 | [M] | Joanna Shimkus, Katina Paxinou, Suzanne Flon, José-Maria Flotats, Paul Crauchet | French | Drama | NULL | |
| Zodiac | 2007 | David Fincher | ★★★½ | 156 | Riveting drama based on the case of the so-called Zodiac killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay area in the late 1960s (and partly inspired the Clint Eastwood movie DIRTY HARRY). Focuses more on the manhunt than the crimes, and shows how this frustrating case consumed the lives of reporters and detectives alike, especially San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal), who spends decades trying to crack the case. Superbly made on every level, with meticulous recreations of the 1970s, when most of the story takes place. Screenplay by James Vanderbilt, based on two best-selling books written by Graysmith. Ione Skye appears unbilled. | tt0443706 | [R] | Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey/Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Chloë Sevigny, Charles Fleischer, Zach Grenier, Philip Baker Hall, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Dermot Mulroney, John Getz, Adam Goldberg, Candy Clark, James Le Gros | Crime, Drama, Thriller | NULL | ||
| The Zodiac | 2006 | Alexander Bulkley | ★½ | 97 | Earnest but flat examination of the infamous Northern California serial killer “The Zodiac” and the effect the murders have on a small-town detective and his family. Well-defined feel of the late 1960s is undermined by a bland performance from Chambers as a cop struggling with a puzzling case, made more intense by a panicked community and the ensuing media pressure. Film is as unsatisfying as the real-life status of these crimes. Made in 2003. | tt0371739 | [R] | Justin Chambers, Robin Tunney, Rory Culkin, William Mapother, Rex Linn, Philip Baker Hall; voice of Brian Bloom | Drama, Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL | ||
| Zombie | 1979 | Lucio Fulci | 💣 | 91 | A zombie epidemic on a small Caribbean island. A poor imitation of George Romero's horror films, and pretty repellent. | tt0080057 | Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver, Annetta Gay | Italian | Horror | NULL | ||
| Zombie High | The School That Ate My Brain | 1987 | Ron Link | ★★ | 93 | This slight, silly horror film is a junior version of THE STEPFORD WIVES. Madsen is newly enrolled at a private school whose preppie students are all suspiciously docile. Aka THE SCHOOL THAT ATE MY BRAIN. | tt0094383 | [R] | Virginia Madsen, Richard Cox, James Wilder, Paul Feig, Kay Kuter, Sherilyn Fenn, Paul Williams | Horror | NULL | |
| Zombie Island Massacre | 1984 | John N. Carter | 💣 | 95 | Ex-Abscam Congressional spouse (and Playboy subject) Jenrette has three gratuitous nude scenes in the opening 20 minutes— and then they have to ruin everything by going to the stupid island. The corpses keep a-comin' in this cheapo outing. Rita warbles title tune, 'Di Reggae Picnic.' | tt0088454 | [R] | David Broadnax, Rita Jenrette, Tom Cantrell, Diane Clayre Holub | Horror | NULL | ||
| Zombieland | 2009 | Ruben Fleischer | ★★½ | 88 | The U.S. has been decimated by flesh-eating zombies, but a few "normal" humans remain, like young Eisenberg, who hooks up with a gun-toting zombie-eradicator named Tallahassee (Harrelson). Their road trip gets detoured when they encounter two savvy sisters (Stone, Breslin) heading for an amusement park in California. Murray is amusing in an off-kilter cameo as himself, but it's Harrelson's gung-ho performance that propels this likable if silly film. Mike White appears unbilled. | tt1156398 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard, Bill Murray, Derek Graf | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Horror | NULL | ||
| Zombies of Mora Tau | 1957 | Edward L. Cahn | ★½ | 70 | Juvenile hodgepodge about zombies guarding diamonds hidden in a sunken ship off the African coast. | tt0051226 | Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes, Autumn Russell, Joel Ashley | Horror | NULL | |||
| Zombies on Broadway | 1945 | Gordon Douglas | ★★ | 68 | Press agents Brown and Carney (cut-rate version of Abbott and Costello) search for zombie to use in nightclub stunt. Lugosi adds only spice as zombie expert. | tt0038270 | Wally Brown, Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, Anne Jeffreys, Sheldon Leonard, Frank Jenks | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Zontar, the Thing from Venus | 1968 | Larry Buchanan | 💣 | 80 | Title alien, resembling a bat, arrives to take over with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS-like methods; it's Agar to the rescue. Crude, Texas-filmed remake of IT CONQUERED THE WORLD. | tt0061217 | John Agar, Anthony Houston, Susan Bjurman, Patricia De Laney, Warren Hammack | Sci-Fi | NULL | |||
| Zoo in Budapest | 1933 | Rowland V. Lee | ★★★½ | 85 | Wonderfully whimsical love story set in famous Budapest zoo where Raymond, who has spent his life there, falls in love with runaway Young, who's hiding inside zoo grounds. Offbeat film bathed in romantic aura; beautifully photographed by Lee Garmes. | tt0024800 | Loretta Young, Gene Raymond, O. P. Heggie, Paul Fix, Wally Albright | Romance | NULL | |||
| Zookeeper | 2011 | Frank Coraci | ★★½ | 102 | Nice-guy zookeeper is still nursing a broken heart five years after being dumped by his girlfriend (Bibb), and oblivious to the kinship he feels for coworker Dawson. So his animal friends at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Boston (who have kept their ability to speak a secret until now) decide to help him out. James' likable underdog propels this formulaic but innocuous, family-friendly comedy. James coscripted. | tt1222817 | [PG] | Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong, Donnie Wahlberg, Joe Rogan; voices of Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Judd Apatow, Nick Turturro, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Maya Rudolph, Don Rickles | Comedy, Family, Romance | NULL | ||
| Zoolander | 2001 | Ben Stiller | ★★½ | 89 | Clever comedy about an empty-headed male model who searches for meaning in his life— while a nefarious designer (Ferrell) tries to brainwash him into carrying out the evil plans of an international fashion cartel. Funny gags, satiric ideas, eye-popping production design, and celebrity cameos (Cuba Gooding, Jr., Winona Ryder, David Bowie, to name just a few) make this fun for a while, but it can't sustain an entire film. Stiller cowrote, based on a skit he performed on a VH-1 award show; his father, Jerry, mother, Anne Meara, sister, Amy, and wife, Taylor, are featured in the cast. | tt0196229 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor, Will Ferrell, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, David Duchovny, Jon Voight, Judah Friedlander | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zoom | 2006 | Peter Hewitt | ★½ | 88 | Derivative (to put it kindly) sci-fi adventure about a former superhero who's called out of retirement to train a group of kids for a secret government project. Only problem: he's lost all his powers. Cheesy and awfully similar to SKY HIGH, although based on Jason Lethcoe's graphic novel. Allen seems to be phoning this one in; a sorry excuse for 'family entertainment.' | tt0383060 | [PG] | Tim Allen, Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, Spencer Breslin, Kevin Zegers, Kate Mara, Michael Cassidy, Ryan Newman, Rip Torn | Action, Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| Zoot Suit | 1981 | Luis Valdez | ★★★ | 103 | Fascinating, powerful, if too theatrical 'stylized musical' based on railroading of Chicano gang members to San Quentin for murder in 1942 and efforts to obtain their release; adding commentary is the gang's leader (Valdez) and his zoot-suited alter ego (Olmos). Filmed on stage, with shots of an audience that is presumably watching the performance— a major distraction. Written by Luis Valdez, with music by Daniel Valdez. | tt0083365 | [R] | Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles Aidman, Tyne Daly, John Anderson, Tony Plana | Drama, Musical | NULL | ||
| Zorba the Greek | 1964 | Michael Cacoyannis | ★★★½ | 146 | Brooding, flavorful rendering of Kazantzakis novel. Quinn is zesty in title role of earthy peasant, Bates his intellectual British cohort. Kedrova won an Oscar as a dying prostitute, as did cinematographer Walter Lassally and the art direction-set decoration. Memorable Mikis Theodorakis score. Scripted by the director, from Nikos Kazantzakis' novel. Later a Broadway musical. | tt0057831 | Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas, Lila Kedrova, George Foundas | Drama | NULL | |||
| Zorro | 1961 | Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent | ★★½ | 90 | Foreign-made Western with salty flavor of old California; Latimore is appropriately zealous as Zorro. | tt0055639 | Frank Latimore, Mary Anderson, Ralph Marsch, Howard Vernon | Spanish | Adventure, Western | NULL | ||
| Zorro | 1975 | Duccio Tessari | ★★★ | 100 | Zesty retelling of saga of legendary masked rider and hero of the oppressed, not as distinctive as earlier versions (and set in South America rather than old California) but fun. | tt0072448 | [G] | Alain Delon, Stanley Baker, Ottavia Piccolo, Moustache, Enzo Cerusico, Adriana Asti | Italian-French | Action, Short, Adventure, Animation, Romance | NULL | |
| Zorro, the Gay Blade | 1981 | Peter Medak | ★★ | 93 | Hamilton is Don Diego Vega, foppish son of the legendary Zorro, and look-alike gay brother Bunny Wigglesworth. So-so, with Leibman overacting outrageously as the villain. Dedicated to Rouben Mamoulian! | tt0083366 | [PG] | George Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Brenda Vaccaro, Ron Leibman, Donovan Scott, James Booth | Comedy | NULL | ||
| Zotz! | 1962 | William Castle | ★★ | 87 | Goofy attempt at humorous chiller with Poston a teacher who finds strange coin that gives him mystical power over others. | tt0056725 | Tom Poston, Julia Meade, Jim Backus, Fred Clark, Cecil Kellaway, Margaret Dumont | Comedy, Horror, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| Zouzou | 1934 | Marc Allégret | ★★½ | 92 | 42ND STREET meets FOOTLIGHT PARADE French-style, with Baker cast as a Creole laundress. In the best backstage musical tradition, she replaces a temperamental performer in a stage revue and captivates the crowd in a star-making turn. Overly familiar story line is helped by fast pace, and engaging musical numbers: how can you top Baker, covered in feathers and perched on a swing? | tt0026023 | Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Pierre Larquey, Yvette Leblon, Illa Meery, Madeleine Guitty | French | Crime, Musical, Romance | NULL | ||
| Zu Warriors | 2001 | Tsui Hark | ★★ | 104 | Digital effects are the star of this visually sumptuous but dramatically muddled account of a band of flying superheroes in an ancient kingdom who unite to do battle against a ferocious demon. Beautiful to behold, but the plot is hopelessly confusing and the characters seem like automatons. Hark originally filmed this story in 1983 (as SUK SAN: SUN SUK SAN GEEN HAP). Aka THE LEGEND OF ZU. Released direct to DVD in the U.S. | tt0286098 | [PG-13] | Erik Cheng, Cecilia Cheung, Louis Koo, Patrick Tam, Kelly Lin, Wu Jing, Sammo Hung, Zhang Ziyi | Hong Kong-Chinese | Action, Fantasy | NULL | |
| Zulu | 1964 | Cy Endfield | ★★★ | 138 | True story about undermanned British forces trying to defend their African mission from attack by hordes of Zulu warriors. Dramatic elements tend toward cliché, but virtually half the film is taken up by massive battle, which is truly spectacular and exciting. Followed 15 years later by prequel, ZULU DAWN. | tt0058777 | Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Caine, Nigel Green, James Booth | British | War | NULL | ||
| Zulu Dawn | 1979 | Douglas Hickox | ★★★ | 121 | A prequel to 1964's ZULU (cowritten by that film's writer-director, Cy Endfield), showing the British command's bull-headed and ineffectual handling of the Zulu nation— first in diplomacy, then in battle. Solid war drama of the period, outstanding locations (dwarfed on TV), though there's nothing new here. Released theatrically in U.S. at 98m. | tt0080180 | [PG] | Burt Lancaster, Peter O'Toole, Simon Ward, John Mills, Nigel Davenport, Michael Jayston, Denholm Elliott, Ronald Lacey, Freddie Jones, Christopher Cazenove, Anna Calder-Marshall, Bob Hoskins, Nicholas Clay | U.S.-Dutch | Adventure, Drama, War | NULL | |
| [•REC] | REC | 2007 | Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | ★★★ | 78 | An all-night news team's camcorder focuses on a fire station call to a Barcelona apartment building that is suddenly sealed tight by officials, exposing everyone inside to a virulent contagion. Icky mayhem rains in a mucho scary thriller that slaps a gutsy you-are-there spin on zombie flicks. Diluted U.S. remake QUARANTINE lacks this original's tap root, a startling religious rationale. A portion of the cast returns in 2. | tt1038988 | [R] | Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso, David Vert, Vicente Gil | Spanish | Thriller, Horror, Mystery | NULL |
| aloha, bobby and rose | 1975 | Floyd Mutrux | ★★ | 88 | OK melodrama follows predictable pattern as auto mechanic LeMat and girlfriend Hull are inadvertently drawn into crime, causing them to take it on the lam with the law in pursuit. | tt0073941 | [PG] | Paul LeMat, Dianne Hull, Tim McIntire, Leigh French, Martine Bartlett, Robert Carradine, Edward James Olmos | Drama | NULL | ||
| batteries not included | 1987 | Matthew Robbins | ★★ | 106 | Steven Spielberg's Amblin Productions has gone to the same well once too often. Cloying sci-fi fantasy has a 'family' of small alien spacecrafts arrive to assist New Yorkers whose tenement is about to be demolished. Cronyn and Tandy do far more for the film than it does for them. | tt0092494 | [PG] | Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Frank McRae, Elizabeth Pena, Michael Carmine, Dennis Boutsikaris | Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| The birdcage | 1996 | Mike Nichols | ★★½ | 119 | Polished if obvious remake of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES will please anyone who hasn't seen or doesn't remember the original: Williams is fairly subdued as a South Beach, Miami, nightclub owner who's forced to ask his high-strung, drag-queen performer/partner (Lane) to hide away while his son brings his prospective in-laws— an ultra-conservative couple— to dinner. Screenplay by Elaine May, who added fresh lines to the foolproof blueprint of the original. | tt0115685 | [R] | Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Tom McGowan, Grant Heslov, Kirby Mitchell | Comedy, Romance | NULL | ||
| A bug's life | 1998 | John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton | ★★★½ | 94 | Terrific computer-animated feature from Pixar studio (of TOY STORY fame), about a well-meaning ant named Flik who tries to help his beleaguered colony from the plundering of Hopper and his grasshopper cronies. Meaning to hire tough insects to fight them off, he unwittingly recruits a circus troupe instead! Consistently clever and funny; in fact, overflowing with gags and visual ideas. A treat for young and old alike. Screenplay by Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw, from a story by Lasseter, Stanton, and Joe Ranft. Music by Randy Newman. | tt0120623 | [G] | Voices of Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey, Phyllis Diller, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, Richard Kind, John Ratzenberger, Roddy McDowall, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Edie McClurg, Alex Rocco | Family, Animation, Comedy | NULL | ||
| The burbs | 1989 | Joe Dante | ★★ | 103 | Strange new neighbors set a neighborhood abuzz, and lead several slightly cracked compadres to extreme measures so they can learn just what's going on behind closed doors. Comically warped view of suburban life takes far too much time to play out its paper-thin premise, and leads to (mostly) predictable results. | tt0096734 | [PG] | Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, Brother Theodore, Courtney Gains, Gale Gordon, Dick Miller | Family, Comedy, Horror | NULL | ||
| dot the i | 2003 | Matthew Parkhill. | ★★½ | 92 | Fiery Spanish woman is torn between her dull but devoted fiancé and a more attractive, passionate man she chances to meet one evening. Their relationship grows more fervent— and more dangerous— with each passing day, but all is not what it seems to be. Debut film for writer-director Parkhill is undeniably clever, but terribly self-conscious, and eventually runs out of steam. Bernal is charismatic and completely at ease in his first English-language film. Released in the U.S. in 2005. | tt0326835 | [R] | Gael García Bernal, Natalia Verbeke, James D'Arcy, Tom Hardy, Charlie Cox, Yves Aubert. | British-Spanish | Drama, Romance | NULL | |
| eXistenZ | 1999 | David Cronenberg | ★★ | 97 | Preposterous film set in the near future about a virtual-reality game designer who gets trapped in one of her own games with a man who's supposed to be protecting her. At one point they wonder how to get out of the game; it's much easier to get out of the movie. Cronenberg also scripted this silly concoction. | tt0120907 | Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, Don McKellar, Callum Keith Rennie, Sarah Polley, Christopher Eccleston | Canadian-British | Sci-Fi | NULL | ||
| ffolkes | North Sea Hijack | 1980 | Andrew V. McLaglen | ★★★ | 99 | Moore has fun playing an eccentric counterterrorist hired by the British government when a team of terrorists threaten to blow up two North Sea oil rigs. Surprisingly little action per se, but an entertaining yarn. Retitled ASSAULT FORCE for TV. Aka NORTH SEA HIJACK. | tt0081809 | [PG] | Roger Moore, James Mason, Anthony Perkins, Michael Parks, David Hedison, Jack Watson, Lea Brodie | Thriller, Adventure | NULL | |
| girlfight | 2000 | Karyn Kusama | ★★★ | 113 | A hotheaded Latina teenager who lives in Brooklyn finds a way to channel her anger— in the boxing ring. Making her way in a male-dominated sport is no easy matter, especially when she falls in love with a fellow boxer. Rodriguez is utterly believable in this entertaining debut feature for writer-director Kusama. John Sayles, who coexecutive-produced, has a small part as a science teacher. | tt0210075 | [R] | Michelle Rodriguez, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderon, Santiago Douglas, Ray Santiago, Elisa Bocanegra | Drama | NULL | ||
| happythankyoumoreplease | 2011 | Josh Radnor | ★★½ | 100 | Would-be novelist takes in a boy who’s been separated from his foster family on the subway, but he isn’t as willing to commit to a woman he meets and likes. Two other couples grapple with different issues: whether or not to get married, and whether a woman with low self-esteem (who has alopecia, making her hairless) will allow herself to be wooed by an office colleague who’s crazy about her. Likable, if uneven, first feature for writer-director-star Radnor, with standout roles for Akerman and Hale as the latter duo. Richard Jenkins appears unbilled. | tt1481572 | [R] | Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Tony Hale, Michael Algieri | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| hurlyburly | 1998 | Anthony Drazan | ★★ | 122 | A seamy slice of life about a circle of L.A. friends— self-absorbed, smart-assy, driven, drug-infused people desperately looking for happiness in all the wrong places. David Rabe adapted his much-admired 1984 play, but it loses something in the transition to film, becoming more realistic and less funny despite a powerhouse cast. | tt0119336 | [R] | Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright Penn, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling, Anna Paquin, Meg Ryan | Drama | NULL | ||
| i am sam | 2001 | Jessie Nelson | ★★★½ | 132 | A sweet, mentally retarded man becomes a father, but his devotion to his loving daughter runs aground when she reaches the age of seven and a social services agency insists he isn't capable of raising her anymore. Then he finds an unlikely ally: a high-powered, self-absorbed attorney whose own life is a mess. Fine entertainment, with a great performance by Penn and equally good work by Pfeiffer and adorable young Fanning. Penn's fixation on the Beatles is reflected in a terrific soundtrack, with cover versions of their classic songs. | tt0277027 | [PG-13] | Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest, Dakota Fanning, Richard Schiff, Loretta Devine, Doug Hutchison, Laura Dern, Stanley DeSantis, Rosalind Chao, Mary Steenburgen, Brent Spiner | Drama | NULL | ||
| i heart huckabees | 2004 | David O. Russell | ★★½ | 105 | Young man seeking the source of coincidences in his life hires a husband-and-wife team of existential detectives who try to show him that everything in life is interconnected. Amusing, impudent comedy about the search for life's imponderables resonates with the fun of watching so many good actors bringing their oddball characters to life. Doesn't necessarily lead anywhere, but the journey is enjoyable enough. Jon Brion offers an appropriately odd music score. Talia Shire, Schwartzman's real-life mom, plays his mother. Richard Jenkins appears unbilled. | tt0356721 | [R] | Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, Isabelle Huppert, Jean Smart, Tippi Hedren, Bob Gunton, Shania Twain | Drama, Mystery | NULL | ||
| if. . . . | 1968 | Lindsay Anderson | ★★★★ | 111 | Magnificent, surrealistic study of students at boarding school who plot revolution— or do they? Originally X-rated, later trimmed for wider acceptance. Written by David Sherwin. | tt0063850 | [R] | Malcolm McDowell, David Wood, Richard Warwick, Robert Swann, Christine Noonan, Arthur Lowe, Mona Washbourne, Graham Crowden, Simon Ward | British | Drama | NULL | |
| illtown | 1998 | Nick Gomez | ★½ | 97 | Good cast flounders in this downer of a drama about drug dealers Rapaport, Taylor, and Corrigan— they're the good guys— and a vengeance-seeking ex-partner (Trese) who's just been released from jail. Pretentious, boring, and crammed with fuzzy moralizing. Of note for Danza's offbeat casting as a gay crimelord. Filmed in 1995. | tt0118229 | [R] | Michael Rapaport, Lili Taylor, Adam Trese, Kevin Corrigan, Paul Schulze, Angela Featherstone, Saul Stein, Tony Danza, Isaac Hayes | Crime, Drama | NULL | ||
| ivansxtc. | 2002 | Bernard Rose | ★★★ | 94 | Raw, emotionally intense look at the last few weeks of a Hollywood talent agent. Inspired by real-life agent Jay Moloney and based on Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the film is shot as if it were a cinema-verité documentary and never hits a false note. Huston is astonishingly good as the slick, hedonistic Hollywood agent who finally encounters something he can't finesse or 'handle'— his mortality. | tt0238321 | [R] | Danny Huston, Peter Weller, James Merendino, Adam Krentzman, Lisa Enos, Joanne Duckman, Caroleen Feeney, Valeria Golino, Robert Graham, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Victoria Silvstedt | Drama | NULL | ||
| jackass number two | 2006 | Jeff Tremaine | ★★½ | 91 | The tagline, 'When was the last time a movie made you beg for mercy?' pretty much sums up this sequel, a spinoff from the enormously successful MTV series. With stunts that cross the line and a cast willing to do anything-and we mean anything-for a laugh, this tasteless but sometimes hilarious collection of body-bashing gags is not for everyone-and you all know who you are. Don't try this at home! Unrated version runs 93m. | tt0493430 | [R] | Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Ryan Dunn, Ehren McGhehey, Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña, Jay Chandrasekhar, Tony Hawk, Spike Jonze, Mike Judge, John Waters, Luke Wilson, Rip Taylor | Documentary, Comedy | NULL | ||
| jackass: the movie | 2002 | Jeff Tremaine | ★★ | 85 | R-rated expansion of the mysteriously popular MTV show in which guys gleefully injure themselves doing all manner of stupid, raunchy, goofball stunts. Artless frat-house-level humor that some people find hilarious . . . especially the participants. Coproduced by Tremaine, Knoxville, and Spike Jonze. | tt0322802 | [R] | Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Steve-O, Dave England, Ryan Dunn, Jason Acuña, Preston Lacy, Ehren McGhehey. | Comedy, Documentary | NULL | ||
| johns | 1996 | Scott Silver | ★★ | 94 | Depressing tale of friendship between two hustlers on the L.A. scene, set on the day before Christmas. Gritty and bleak with solid performances by Haas and Arquette, but the subject and tone will remind viewers of the far superior MIDNIGHT COWBOY. | tt0116714 | [R] | Lukas Haas, David Arquette, Arliss Howard, Keith David, Christopher Gartin, Elliott Gould, Richard Kind, John C. McGinley | Drama | NULL | ||
| love jones | 1997 | Theodore Witcher | ★★½ | 110 | Age-old boy-meets-girl love story given '90s treatment, set in the upwardly mobile black culture of Chicago. Slightly overlong but refreshing date movie is energized by the chemistry of leads Tate and Long, and fine supporting performances. | tt0119572 | [R] | Larenz Tate, Nia Long, Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy, Bernadette Clark, Lisa Nicole Carson, Khalil Kain | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| one eight seven | 1997 | Kevin Reynolds | ★★½ | 119 | N.Y.C. high school teacher Jackson is stabbed by a student, and relocates to L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. But conditions at the school there are equally rough, and soon some of his students turn up dead. Pretentious treatment of a genuine problem: violence in American schools. A corny, obvious script doesn't help, but the fine acting from all concerned does. Title refers to California state penal code for murder. | tt0118531 | [R] | Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez, Karina Arroyave, Jonah Rooney | Drama | NULL | ||
| p.s. | 2004 | Dylan Kidd | ★★ | 97 | Thirtysomething Columbia University admissions officer Linney is stuck in a rut, until she comes into contact with a brash prospective student (Grace) who eerily resembles an old, long-deceased boyfriend. Linney and Harden are always watchable, but the characters are caricatures and much of the dialogue is artificial, even unintentionally funny. Coscripted by Kidd and Helen Schulman, based on her novel. | tt0380609 | [R] | Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Paul Rudd, Lois Smith | Drama, Comedy, Romance, Fantasy | NULL | ||
| sex, lies, and videotape | 1989 | Steven Soderbergh | ★★★ | 100 | A selfish, successful lawyer— whose wife has turned frigid and whose sister-in-law has become his lover— welcomes an old college friend for a visit, little dreaming the effect he'll have on all of them. This intriguing, exceptionally well-acted first feature for writer-director Soderbergh took top prize at the Cannes Film Festival; its deliberate pace and talky nature are reminiscent of an Eric Rohmer film— and like one of his, it's not to everyone's taste. | tt0098724 | [R] | James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo | Drama | NULL | ||
| shinbone alley | archy and mehitabel | 1971 | John D. Wilson, David Detiege | ★★½ | 86 | Genuinely odd animated feature based on a Broadway musical (by Joe Darion and Mel Brooks) about Don Marquis' famous characters of archy, the lovesick, philosophical cockroach, and mehitabel, the object of his affection, a hedonistic cat. Episodic, to say the least, with some witty and tuneful moments, and great vocal performances by Bracken and Channing. Not really for kids. Aka ARCHY AND MEHITABEL. | tt0067749 | [G] | Voices of Eddie Bracken, Carol Channing, John Carradine, Alan Reed/Sr | Animation | NULL | |
| something big | 1971 | Andrew V. McLaglen | 💣 | 108 | Repellent 'comedy'-Western detailing long-running feud between outlaw Martin and cavalry colonel Keith; 'happy ending' consists of Dino robbing a stagecoach and mowing down hundreds of Mexicans with a gatling gun— all to a peppy Marvin Hamlisch score. Blecch. | tt0068022 | [PG] | Dean Martin, Brian Keith, Honor Blackman, Carol White, Ben Johnson, Albert Salmi, Paul Fix, Denver Pyle | Western | NULL | ||
| subUrbia | 1996 | Richard Linklater | ★★½ | 118 | Knowing, laced-in-acid son-of-SLACKER, depicting a group of aimless, alienated 20-year-olds who hang out in a generic suburban parking lot, where various frictions and jealousies emerge— especially upon the appearance of one of their old pals, who has become a rock star. Collectively well acted and pungently scripted by Eric Bogosian (based on his play), though its stage origins weigh it down a bit. | tt0120238 | [R] | Giovanni Ribisi, Steve Zahn, Amie Carey, Samia Shoaib, Ajay Naidu, Nicky Katt, Jayce Bartok, Parker Posey, Dina Spybey | Comedy, Drama | NULL | ||
| that thing you do! | 1996 | Tom Hanks | ★★★ | 110 | Likable yarn, set in 1964, about some young people in Erie, Pa., who form a band that, improbably, soars to success with a hit record. Sunny attitude and appealing cast make this hard to resist, even if it turns out to be a 'lite' version of THE COMMITMENTS. Hanks also wrote the script and some of the songs. Hanks' wife, Rita Wilson, has an amusing cameo as a cocktail waitress, and his long-ago Bosom Buddies TV costar Peter Scolari plays a television host. | tt0117887 | [PG] | Tom Everett Scott, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, Liv Tyler, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Bill Cobbs, Obba Babatundé, Giovanni Ribisi, Alex Rocco, Chris Isaak, Kevin Pollak, Clint Howard | Drama, Comedy | NULL | ||
| tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . | 1970 | Ralph Nelson | ★★ | 100 | Poor man's IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT with black man (Brown) replacing white sheriff (Kennedy) in Southern town, flaring local hostilities. March adds film's only spice as aging, cantankerous mayor. | tt0065360 | [PG] | Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Fredric March, Lynn Carlin, Don Stroud, Clifton James, Janet MacLachlan | Drama, Action | NULL | ||
| tom thumb | 1958 | George Pal | ★★★½ | 98 | Excellent children's picture with Tamblyn as tiny tom thumb, taken in by kindly couple but exploited by villainous Terry-Thomas and henchman Sellers. Charming Puppetoons sequences, Oscar-winning special effects, perfect Peggy Lee-Sonny Burke score. Filmed in England. | tt0052427 | Russ Tamblyn, June Thorburn, Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Alan Young, Jessie Matthews, Bernard Miles | Animation, Musical, Fantasy | NULL | |||
| virus | 1999 | John Bruno | 💣 | 99 | In the eye of a hurricane, the crew of a tugboat boards an abandoned Russian ship possessed by what seems to be living alien electricity. This 'creature' apparently considers people just another virus to be wiped out. Drearily routine, with borrowed ideas and stereotyped characters, though Curtis and Pacula try. From the comic book created by Chuck Pfarrer. | tt0120458 | [R] | Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Joanna Pacula, Marshall Bell, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Sherman Augustus, Cliff Curtis | U.S.-Japanese-German | Action, Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi | NULL | |
| xXx: State of the Union | 2005 | Lee Tamahori. | ★★ | 100 | In a pastoral Virginia horse-country setting where you half expect to run into Sam Shepard, a group of National Security Agency employees is slaughtered. To solve the crime, NSA honcho Jackson springs Cube from a maximum-security cooler (to replace Vin Diesel, from the original XXX film). Outlandish premise and execution are worth a few laughs, but when the Secretary of Defense is also a 4-star general played by Dafoe, you won't pull many muscles trying to determine who's behind a SEVEN DAYS IN MAY-type coup against the President. | tt0329774 | [PG-13] | Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Peter Strauss, Xzibit, Michael Roof, Nona Gaye. | Crime, Action, Thriller, Adventure | NULL | ||
| xx/xy | 2003 | Austin Chick | ★★★ | 91 | Laid-back N.Y.C. artist hooks up with two college girls and indulges in a free-love, partying haze of sex and drugs. Story then fast-forwards as the three reconnect, years later, as 'responsible' adults. Instead of just another romantic-triangle picture, this hearkens back to films of the 1960s and '70s in its examination of relationships. Good showcase for the talented Ruffalo, with strong performances from all the leads. Written by the director. | tt0245573 | [R] | Mark Ruffalo, Kathleen Robertson, Maya Stange, Petra Wright, David Thornton, Kel O’Neill | Drama, Romance | NULL | ||
| À Nos Amours | 1984 | Maurice Pialat | ★★★ | 102 | A 15-year-old's casual promiscuity runs her family through the ringer, but they've got problems of their own— Pop's moving out, Mom's a screaming neurotic, and Brother's embraces are too hearty to be healthy. Dramatically uneven and somewhat of a downer, but Bonnaire creates a full-blooded, memorable character. Winner of France's César. | tt0086650 | [R] | Sandrine Bonnaire, Dominique Besnehard, Maurice Pialat, Evelyne Ker, Anne-Sophie Maille, Christophe Odent | French | Drama | NULL | |
| À Nous la Liberté | 1931 | René Clair | ★★★★ | 97 | Classic satire on machinery and industrialization centering on the adventures of escaped prisoner Cordy, who becomes owner of a phonograph factory, and his former jail friend (Marchand), now a vagrant. Predates and equals MODERN TIMES in poignancy, with groundbreaking use of music. Arguably, Clair's masterpiece. | tt0022599 | Raymond Cordy, Henri Marchand, Rolla France, Paul Olivier, Jacques Shelly, Andre Michaud | French | Comedy | NULL | ||
| À la Mode | 1994 | Remy Duchemin | ★★ | 82 | Lighthearted French comedy of a teenage orphan who becomes apprentice to a small village's tailor, only to break into the fashion world of the '60s. If the rest of the film were as witty as the clothing there might be more to recommend. Harmless fluff. Original French title: FAUSTO. | tt0106878 | [R] | Ken Higelin, Jean Yanne, Francois Hautesserre, Florence Darel | French | Comedy | NULL | |
| �Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris | 2007 | Raymond De Felitta | ★★★ | 100 | Homegrown documentary about the filmmaker’s fascination with jazz singer Paris—and his quest to learn what kept him from achieving real success when he was so admired by fellow musicians. Somewhat ragged cinematically, but when De Felitta captures unguarded moments with his interviewees their raw emotions sear the screen. Fascinating exploration of the many factors that make up an artist’s life, for better or worse. Many notable jazz figures appear on-screen. | tt0491877 | Documentary | NULL | ||||
| Cloud Atlas | 2012 | Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski | 172 |
Enthralling and frustrating far-reaching and obtuse grandiose and gimmicky. Cloud Atlas is all of these and more, and while I was less taken with the film at its conclusion than I was midway through, it offered me a unique moviegoing experience for which I am grateful. I applaud Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer not just for their ambition in adapting and directing David Mitchell's sprawling novel, but for their realization, imperfect though it may be. A viewer must go through several stages in order to absorb this long, dense movie. Phase 1 involves getting the lay of the landbecoming familiar with the characters in six different settings and time periods, from the 19th to the 24th century, played by many of the same actors (Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, Susan Sarandon). This takes some doing, but it's a challenge worth meeting. Once you've sorted most of this out, it is easier to become engaged in the stories, which have a relationship to one another—direct in some cases and tangential or metaphoric in others. The stories from the past involve a young man who is sent to carry out his father's business in the South Seas, a frustrated composer who finds work as an apprentice to an older man, and an investigative journalist who uncovers dark secrets that put her life in danger. The two segments set in the future don't paint a pretty picture: in one, young Korean women work as slaves in a kind of pleasure palace, and in the other, humans have regressed to the level of cavemen in a brutal tribal culture. Along the way you may wonder if there is relevance in having Jim Broadbent play an aging Scottish composer who's past his prime (in 1936) as well as a hedonistic publisher who's run out of options just as he's enjoying a bit of success (in the present day)... or casting Hanks as a garrulous, greedy doctor on an ocean voyage in 1849 and a primitive everyman of the future. I don't have a ready answer to this. Are the filmmakers commenting on the continuum of life by having familiar faces recur in each time period, or is this merely a gimmick meant to command our attention? There's no question that it's Hanks under all that prosthetic makeup in the seagoing story, for instance, but I accept it as one of the movie's more entertaining conceits. Phase 2 is the most exciting part of the film. As the viewer is on sure footing with the multiple stories, the pace of intercutting among them is accelerated, to great effect. There are passages here that are positively thrilling, perfect examples of how cinematic storytelling is different from that of a novel or play. Alas, Phase 3 brings disappointment. The stories begin to feel protracted before they are finally resolved. What is worse, instead of offering insight into the human condition these diverse plotlines conclude in surprisingly ordinary ways. (One of them is foretold in a flippant reference to a 1970s science-fiction movie—but the denouement that follows is deadly serious. Not original or enlightening, but serious.) Whether you walk away from this vast canvas with an optimistic or pessimistic view of mankind is your choice. On the one hand, the movie attempts to tell us that love conquers all. At the same time, we see that avarice and exploitation are a constant over the centuries, even though they take different forms. Thus, the panorama of Cloud Atlas is—as I said—both exhilarating and disappointing. But I am unwilling to disparage the film as a whole because there is so much passion and invention in it. |
tt1371111 | [R] | Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Xun Zhou, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant | USA | Drama, Sci-Fi | Enthralling and frustrating far-reaching and obtuse grandiose and gimmicky. Cloud Atlas is all of these and more, and while I was less taken with the film at its conclusion than I was midway through, it offered me a unique moviegoing experience for which I am grateful. I applaud Andy a | ||
| The Sessions | The Surrogate | 2012 | Ben Lewin | 95 |
John Hawkes has emerged as one of the finest chameleon-like character actors of our time, in films like Winter's Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Higher Ground. With his performance in The Sessions he reaches a new plateau, transforming himself into the wry, self-deprecating journalist Mark O'Brien, a polio victim who spends most of his time in an iron lung, tended to by a succession of caregivers. (To see the real O'Brien, check out Jessica Wu's documentary Breathing Lessons.) At the age of 38 O'Brien, a practicing Catholic, decides that he wants to experience sex for the first time, and receives the (reluctant) approval of his hip parish priest, played by William H. Macy. To that end he hires a sex surrogate, played with disarming forthrightness by Helen Hunt. Like the priest and O'Brien's other helpers, she can't maintain her strictly-business attitude during the time she spends with her client, for one simple reason: he is a remarkable man. To label this offbeat screen fodder is an understatement. But Aussie writer-director Ben Lewin paints a portrait of O'Brien that is bracing and poignant at the same time. This is not a sweeping statement about disability: it's a look at one particular man who refused to be defined, let alone limited, by his condition. There are no missteps along the way and it's hard to take your eyes off the screen, even during the most awkward and intimate moments. That's because it all seems genuine. At the heart of this uniquely compelling film is a performance that impels us to think about Mark O'Brien, not John Hawkes... but when it's over we realize what an extraordinary feat we've witnessed. Some actors seem to be courting award attention when they play a disabled character, and many have been rewarded for their efforts. I get the impression that Hawkes is simply a dedicated actor whose only goal is to make us believe he is the character he's impersonating. He succeeds with flying colors. |
tt1866249 | [R] | John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy | USA | Drama | John Hawkes has emerged as one of the finest chameleon-like character actors of our time, in films like Winter's Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Higher Ground. With his performance in The Sessions he reaches a new plateau, transforming himself into the wry, | |
| Little Red Wagon | 2012 | David Anspaugh | 103 |
This heartfelt movie is based on the true story of an 8-year-old boy who set out to help homeless children and wound up spearheading a full-blown crusade. Director David Anspaugh (Rudy, Hoosiers) and screenwriter Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland's Opus, Courage Under Fire) are nothing if not sincere, and tell their story in an appealing, straightforward manner. But I fear that their film may be dismissed by some critics as do-gooder fare or a dose of sugar-coated medicine. How you see it may be determined by your worldview and your level of cynicism. Chandler Canterbury is winning, and completely convincing, as Zach Bonner, an 8-year-old Florida boy who, with the innocence of youth, decides to gather leftover emergency supplies from his neighbors (in his little red wagon) after Hurricane Charley bypasses their part of the state. When he later visits a shelter and sees displaced children first-hand, he determines to do even more. He earns the whole-hearted support of his mother (nicely played by Anna Gunn) and the tentative encouragement of his teenage sister (Daveigh Chase), who is at loggerheads with her mom. Meanwhile, not far from the Bonners, a single mom (Frances O'Connor, who can break your heart with just one look) loses her job and finds, to her dismay, that she and her young son are slipping through the so-called safety net of our society. This aspect of the story is all too real, as millions can attest. The filmmakers never sentimentalize their story and the performances are first-rate. What could be cloying is played out honestly; that's why I admire this film, and not just its good intentions. Little Red Wagon is a small movie with a big heart. It celebrates the work of Zach Bonner and reminds us how much one person (even a guileless 8-year-old) can effect change in the world around him. The movie may not be edgy or spectacular, but it couldn't be more relevant. |
tt1614430 | [PG] | Anna Gunn, Daveigh Chase, Frances O'Connor, Chandler Canterbury | USA | Drama | This heartfelt movie is based on the true story of an 8-year-old boy who set out to help homeless children and wound up spearheading a full-blown crusade. Director David Anspaugh (Rudy, Hoosiers) and screenwriter Patrick Sheane Duncan (Mr. Holland's Opus, Courage Under Fire) are | ||
| Argo | 2012 | Ben Affleck | 120 |
Argo is one terrific movie, the best I've seen all year. The fact that it's an original (and difficult to encapsulate) may make it a tough sell, but I hope good reviews and word of mouth will bring it the success it deserves. The screenplay by Chris Terrio dramatizes events of late 1979, when six Americans hid out in the Canadian ambassador's residence in Tehran, and counterbalances it with absurdly funny—and unexpectedly relevant—goings-on in Hollywood. No one would have dared to invent such an odd combination of ingredients. Director and star Ben Affleck brings credence to each environment he depicts: the tumultuous world of revolution-torn Iran, the political give-and-take of Washington bureaucracy, and the casually crass atmosphere of Hollywood. Affleck also plays the CIA agent who takes on the task of spiriting the Americans out of Tehran, using a bogus Hollywood movie production as his cover story. John Goodman plays real-life makeup artist John Chambers who, it turns out, was an undercover operative for the CIA; he is perfectly matched by Alan Arkin as a cynical, past-his-prime producer who helps create the subterfuge of a movie being made. Argo plays beautifully because it never seems phony. The tension in Tehran is palpably real from the moment the film begins, with violence an ever-present threat. The six Americans aren't noble or one-dimensional: they are all too human, and we share their well-founded fear. In sharp contrast, the scenes involving Goodman and Arkin are ribald and laugh-out-loud funny. You couldn't ask for two more expert actors to play these jaded movie veterans. Circumstances lead to a nail-biting climax in which every minute counts. This is movie storytelling at its best, and if it didn't play out quite this way in real life, it should have. The finale of Argo is exhilarating and enormously satisfying. It's followed, under the closing credits, by revealing archival footage and information that you don't want to miss. Argo is proof that Hollywood can still make a crowd-pleasing movie that's smart, funny, and relevant all at once. To which I can only add, Bravo! |
tt1024648 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks, Taylor Schilling | USA | Drama, Thriller | Argo is one terrific movie, the best I've seen all year. The fact that it's an original (and difficult to encapsulate) may make it a tough sell, but I hope good reviews and word of mouth will bring it the success it deserves. The screenplay by Chris Terrio dramatizes events of late 1979, when six | ||
| Photographic Memory | 2011 | Ross McElwee | 87 |
Ross McElwee made his reputation with a highly original film called Sherman's March and has continued to draw on his family history in such low-key, first-person features as Bright Leaves. His latest effort, Photographic Memory, is another cinematic diary which follows two separate but related streams. McElwee has photographed his son Adrian in home movies since he was a boy, but lately they don't seem to be on the same wavelength. Now grown up, Adrian is a somewhat aimless young man, and an enigma to his father. This gets McElwee to thinking about what he was like when he was 20-something, so he decides to return to the small French village where he spent some time during his formative years. Perhaps by retracing his steps he can reconnect with his younger self and better relate to Adrian. If you're unfamiliar with McElwee's m.o., you should know that nothing terribly dramatic occurs. There are no earth-shaking discoveries or epiphanies. But McElwee is a homespun philosopher who finds exceptional moments in everyday life and records it all through his camera lens. Maybe it's because I'm a parent that I related so easily to Photographic Memory, or perhaps it's irresistible to revisit our past and wonder "what if..." In either case, I enjoyed this film and found it quite poignant. |
tt2055711 | Unrated | Adrian McElwee, Ross McElwee | USA | Documentary | Ross McElwee made his reputation with a highly original film called Sherman's March and has continued to draw on his family history in such low-key, first-person features as Bright Leaves. His latest effort, Photographic Memory, is another cinematic diary which follows two separate but related st | ||
| Seven Psychopaths | 2012 | Martin McDonagh | 110 |
Because I'm fond of writer-director Martin McDonagh's debut feature In Bruges, I was eager to see his follow-up, especially when I saw the dream cast of oddballs and originals he assembled, led by Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson—not to mention such iconoclasts as Harry Dean Stanton and Tom Waits. All of this makes it especially disappointing to report how much I disliked Seven Psychopaths. Farrell plays a screenwriter who's got the title for his new screenplay (Seven Psychopaths) but nothing else to go on. I took this self-reflexive gesture as a bad omen, and I was right. The movie is about a guy trying to write a movie about psychopaths, only to find himself in the midst of sick, strange people... although he claims, repeatedly, that what he really wants is to write about peace and love. Uh-huh. McDonagh claims the same thing. That's a tough sell when you've made a film packed with extreme violence and offensive language. Just one example: Gabourey Sidibe makes a cameo appearance in one scene where she's threatened with a gun and verbally abused by her psycho boss, played by Harrelson. He repeatedly refers to her "fat ass," which is supposed to be acceptable because the words come from a disreputable character. But when they're repeated, needlessly, several times there's no way to mask their unpleasantness. (Late in the film, someone who reads Farrell's screenplay criticizes his poorly-conceived female characters—another on-camera excuse for Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurlyenko's underwritten roles.) McDonagh wants to have his cake and smash it, too. A filmmaker doesn't get a free pass to be disgusting just because he's self-aware. Christopher Walken manages to transcend the mean-spiritedness of the proceedings with a bright, typically idiosyncratic but wholly endearing performance. His character has a sweetness that separates him from his cohorts, although his backstory is just as seamy. The other remarkable performance comes from Sam Rockwell as a bona fide psychopath. He is so kinetically alive in every scene that you can almost forgive his frightening craziness, which he justifies in a torrent of motor-mouthed dialogue. Seven Psychopaths turns out to be something of a shaggy-dog joke, a story-within-a-story about a screenwriter who wants to forsake gunplay and other forms of violence for something more uplifting—yet offers us just that, in spades. I laughed, at first, at the absurdity of McDonagh's set-ups, but after a while I stopped laughing and started squirming instead. This is a strange, sick, unsatisfying movie. |
tt1931533 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko, Zeljko Ivanek | USA | Comedy, Crime | Because I'm fond of writer-director Martin McDonagh's debut feature In Bruges, I was eager to see his follow-up, especially when I saw the dream cast of oddballs and originals he assembled, led by Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, and Woody Harrelson—not to mention such icono | ||
| The Paperboy | 2012 | Lee Daniels | 107 |
I suppose we all like a taste of Southern-gothic storytelling now and then, so I was ready to enjoy The Paperboy based on what little I'd heard ahead of time. And yes, Nicole Kidman's unflinchingly flashy performancein a parade of brightly colored miniskirts—is an attention-getter. But it's a shame to have to wade through the rest of this murky mess in order to watch her strut her stuff. Director Lee Daniels, who made Precious and Shadowboxer, worked with author Pete Dexter to adapt the latter's novel about two brothers (Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron) whose lives take different paths, then converge again over a hot-button murder investigation in 1969. The setting is backwoods Florida after the birth of the Civil Rights movement but before the birth of the New South. A woozy housekeeper (Macy Gray) recounts much of the story in voiceover. That's how we meet the boy she's raised (Efron) and still cares deeply about, although she is generally abused by his parents (Scott Glenn as his father and Nealla Gordon as his stepmother). Efron was once a swimming champion but now he's just a layabout with no ambition, until his journalist brother shows up, insistent on getting to the bottom of a sheriff's murder for which a loutish alligator hunter (John Cusack) is serving time. Kidman has a fetish for incarcerated men, and Cusack is the latest object of her affection. McConaughey brings with him a prideful black colleague (David Oyelowo) who wins no friends in this still-backward community. Once he establishes the central mystery—or McGuffin, if you will—Daniels drops the ball, because he's much more interested in depicting depravity and sweaty sexuality amongst his seamy cast of characters than he is in connecting the dots of a potentially intriguing puzzle. It's not coincidental that the climactic portion of this film takes place in a swamp. That also seems to be where the meandering screenplay was fashioned. I'm not immune to sexual come-ons, but I grew tired of being teased at one moment, then led astray the next. What minimal pleasure The Paperboy provides is dissipated by its clammy grasp of storytelling. You can see Kidman's garish get-ups and Efron's well-toned body in the trailer; you needn't slog through this unsatisfying movie. I was sorry I invested an hour and forty-seven minutes of my life watching it. |
tt1496422 | [R] | Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman | USA | Drama | I suppose we all like a taste of Southern-gothic storytelling now and then, so I was ready to enjoy The Paperboy based on what little I'd heard ahead of time. And yes, Nicole Kidman's unflinchingly flashy performancein a parade of brightly colored miniskirts—is an attention-getter | ||
| Searching for Sugar Man | 2012 | Malik Bendjelloul | 86 |
I know I'm late to the party, but I only recently caught up with Searching for Sugar Man, which debuted to great acclaim at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has built a steady following ever since. Its protagonist is even being profiled on 60 Minutes this Sunday. But if you're curious about him, or the movie, I'd encourage you to skip the broadcast (or record it to watch at a later time) and let the movie unfold its constantly surprising story as the filmmaker intended. This is the saga of an elusive Detroit-based singer-songwriter of the early 1970s named Rodriguez. Always something of a mystery to the people around him, he nevertheless had a profound effect on everyone who met him or saw him perform. Producers and record executives who worked with him compared him to Bob Dylan. But the public never embraced his albums and he faded into obscurity except in South Africa, of all places, where he became a pop culture icon and his records were prized possessions. That's all I want to reveal of this remarkable, stranger-than-fiction true-life story. But it isn't merely the content that makes Searching for Sugar Man so affecting: it's the way that Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul sets up the story and peels away the mystery of Rodriguez, one layer at time. He also understands that Detroit is a significant character in Rodriguez's life and creates a series of evocative mood pieces that give us a sense of the place that inspired the balladeer's heartfelt songs. This is the work of a true filmmaker, not just a curiosity-seeker who happened to pick up a camera. Sony Pictures Classics plans to open the film in a number of additional cities next Friday, October 12. I urge you to see it, and then learn more about its protagonist. |
tt2125608 | [PG-13] | Sweden, UK | Documentary | I know I'm late to the party, but I only recently caught up with Searching for Sugar Man, which debuted to great acclaim at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has built a steady following ever since. Its protagonist is even being profiled on 60 Minutes this Sunday. But if yo | |||
| Beauty is Embarrassing | 2012 | Neil Berkeley | 91 |
Here is another documentary I've only recently managed to see, somewhat late in the game. Fortunately, Beauty is Embarrassing is still playing in theaters and touring the film festival circuit, so adding my kudos to the praise it's already received isn't simply academic. Wayne White may not be a household name, but anyone in a certain age group will respond to the fact that he won three Emmy Awards for designing Pee Wee's Playhouse in the 1980s. As we learn in this intimate profile, that revolutionary TV show marked a turning point in White's life and career, and a unique opportunity to let his imagination run free for the benefit of an unusually wide audience. Since then, White has reinvented himself, bringing a disarming sense of humor and silliness to the fine-art world. A successful designer himself, first-time documentary filmmaker Neil Berkeley provides a lively, intimate portrait of White and his world, tracing his "hillbilly" roots, introducing us to his family and early environment, and showing us how an unquenchable creative spirit has dominated every aspect of his life, including his marriage to fellow artist Mimi Pond. Beauty is Embarrassing is a funny, enormously entertaining film, built around an autobiographical show White performs for a theater audience. This provides a perfect through-line which Berkeley uses as a springboard to explore the many facets of his subject's life and work, drawing on interviews with colleagues and admirers, vintage home movies, behind-the-scenes footage of Pee Wee's Playhouse, and more. It's one of the most pleasurable moviegoing experiences I've had this year. |
tt2040281 | Unrated | Wayne White, Matt Groening, Paul Reubens, Gary Panter, Mark Mothersbaugh, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Ric Heitzman, Mimi Pond | USA | Documentary | Here is another documentary I've only recently managed to see, somewhat late in the game. Fortunately, Beauty is Embarrassing is still playing in theaters and touring the film festival circuit, so adding my kudos to the praise it's already received isn't simply academic. Wayne White may | ||
| Frankenweenie | 2012 | Tim Burton | 87 |
Tim Burton has returned to familiar turf in Frankenweenie. That will come as good news to some fans and bad news to others, who may feel that he's gone to the same well once too often. I enjoyed this feature-length remake of his 1984 short, even though the seams show. Whether or not you should take your kids is a decision only a parent can make, based on how well your child is attuned to macabre humor and if he or she can handle the death of a beloved pet onscreen. Make no mistake: the central story is not played for laughs. An odd little boy whose only friend is his dog Sparky is disconsolate when a car runs over the animal so he uses his scientific savvy to figure out a way to resuscitate the creature. Little does he dream that this will open a Pandora's Box of trouble. The young hero of Frankenweenie is actually named Victor Frankenstein, which is not the last time Burton and his frequent screenwriting partner John August make reference to classic horror movies. One of the reasons I'm partial to this black & white film, beautifully designed by another longtime Burton colleague, Rick Heinrichs, is that it's an homage to those gothic horror classics. (If nothing else, this movie provides a perfect cue for you to share Bride of Frankenstein with your family.) And how can any film buff dismiss a brand-new animated feature where the science teacher looks like Vincent Price? Burton has loved stop-motion animation since his earliest attempts at filmmaking as an adolescent. This latest endeavor is a big improvement over Corpse Bride in a number of ways. I found the animation in that 2005 release to be too "perfect"—so smooth that it might as well have been CGI. I don't know if he and his team approached this film any differently, but the results have a pleasing, hand-made quality. The voice work is top-notch, and Charlie Tahan as Victor is supported by a colorful cast, including Martin Landau as the eerie, Eastern European science teacher and Winona Ryder as a Goth girl-next-door. Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short do triple duty, filling several vocal roles each. If you remember the original Frankenweenie, it will be fairly obvious where Burton and August had to pad the original screenplay with new characters and subplots, but I am forgiving of this because the tone of the movie is consistent and, where the protagonist is concerned, surprisingly sweet. (Could parenthood be affecting both the writer and director?) Frankenweenie may be dark and creepy but it isn't cynical; I think that's what appealed to me most of all. |
tt1142977 | [PG] | Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert Capron, Conchata Ferrell | USA | Comedy, Animation, Horror | Tim Burton has returned to familiar turf in Frankenweenie. That will come as good news to some fans and bad news to others, who may feel that he's gone to the same well once too often. I enjoyed this feature-length remake of his 1984 short, even though the seams show. Whether or not you | ||
| Looper | 2012 | Rian Johnson | 118 |
Looper is a rare example of ingenious science-fiction storytelling where the fundamental concepts are so intriguing that their stylish execution feels like gravy. Knowing the central premise isn't a spoiler: the film wants to explore every possible facet of that idea. What's more, by taking place just thirty-odd years from now, writer-director Rian Johnson gets to share his thoughts about the bleak direction in which we're all headed. His core idea: a hired killer from the future travels thirty years back in time in order to confront his younger self and change the course of history. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the younger Joe, whose conscience isn't rattled by his job as a paid killer, because he never actually sees the hooded men he murders. What's more, he gets to live what passes for the good life in 2044. (One of my favorite contemporary actors, Gordon-Levitt has had his face altered with prosthetic makeup so he will more closely resemble his future self, played by Bruce Willis. I'm not sure this was necessary: instead of emphasizing their facial similarities, it caused me to stare quizzically at Gordon-Levitt throughout the picture.) Willis is risking a great deal by traveling back in time and trying to steer his younger self in the right direction. Worse yet, he finds the young man he once was to be incredibly stubborn and unwilling to take his advice. Their deadly game of cat-and-mouse, in which they're both being tracked by the bad guys who run their operation, winds up in a bucolic country setting, where Emily Blunt and her young son become victimsand participants—in the unfolding of the tale. I wanted to love Looper, based on my initial response to its clever ideas, but it's long, cold-blooded, and difficult to cozy up to. Just as you realize where it's headed, the pace slows down (deliberately, I presume) and the filmmaker asks his audience to be patient as he leads us to his inexorable and none-too-happy conclusion. I still admire what Rian Johnson has pulled off, the same way I fell under the spell of his debut feature, Brick, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's a real talent with an unlimited future. And it's impossible for me to carp too much about a futuristic movie that manages to pay homage, however briefly, to Casablanca. (Note the nightclub headquarters of the underworld boss played by Jeff Daniels.) |
tt1276104 | [R] | Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels | USA | Sci-Fi, Thriller | Looper is a rare example of ingenious science-fiction storytelling where the fundamental concepts are so intriguing that their stylish execution feels like gravy. Knowing the central premise isn't a spoiler: the film wants to explore every possible facet of that idea. What's more, by taking place | ||
| Pitch Perfect | 2012 | Jason Moore | 112 |
It may not break any new ground, but Pitch Perfect provides lively entertainment in the hitherto unexplored world of collegiate a cappella choirs. Built on a template that's familiar to anyone who's seen such movies as Bring It On, this comedy uses an engaging cast and a parade of popular songs (energetically recreated by several choral groups) to create a buoyant crowd-pleaser. Anna Kendrick is a model 2012 screen heroine: smart, unsentimental, defined as an outsider but not so off-putting as to lose our rooting interest. A college freshman, she dreams of being a deejay but is persuaded to try out for her school's only female a cappella group, the Barden Bellas—who are still recovering from a huge embarrassment at last year's finals at Lincoln Center in New York. (Borrowing a page from Best in Show, the film is punctuated by running remarks from a pair of television commentators, played by John Michael Higgins and one of this movie's producers, Elizabeth Banks.) The Bellas are run with an iron hand by Anna Camp, who refuses to deviate from their standard playbook; her closest ally, Brittany Snow, isn't one to rock the boat, even as they are forced to recruit a brand new roster of singers (including the very funny Rebel Wilson). But Kendrick is the real rebel who tries to bring a fresh sensibility to the group's stale repertoire. Directed by Jason Moore, who staged Avenue Q on Broadway, and written by Kay Cannon (whose TV credits include 30 Rock and New Girl), Pitch Perfect is sharp, amusing, well-cast, and fun to watch, even as it covers formulaic territory. |
tt1981677 | [PG-13] | Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Alexis Knapp, Adam DeVine, Freddie Stroma | USA | Comedy, Music | It may not break any new ground, but Pitch Perfect provides lively entertainment in the hitherto unexplored world of collegiate a cappella choirs. Built on a template that's familiar to anyone who's seen such movies as Bring It On, this comedy uses an engaging cast and a parade | ||
| The Perks of Being a Wallflower | 2012 | Stephen Chbosky | 103 |
It's rare that a novelist gets the chance to adapt his own best-selling book and direct it as well. Stephen Chbosky waited more than a decade to get that opportunity, but it's paid off for him in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Aside from offering a prime showcase to Harry Potter's Emma Watson (who's completely credible as an American high school girl) and her male costars, the movie manages to capture the book's deeply-felt emotions about growing up as a social misfit. |
tt1659337 | [PG-13] | Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Nina Dobrev, Paul Rudd | USA | Drama, Romance | It's rare that a novelist gets the chance to adapt his own best-selling book and direct it as well. Stephen Chbosky waited more than a decade to get that opportunity, but it's paid off for him in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Aside from offering a prime showcase to Harry Potter's Emma Watson ( | ||
| Trouble with the Curve | 2012 | Robert Lorenz | 111 |
There's no reason Trouble with the Curve should play as well as it does; it's formulaic and utterly predictable. But it flows so well, and the cast is so likable, that it's hard to resist. When I interviewed Clint Eastwood at the time of Gran Torino four years ago he stopped short of saying he was retiring from acting, but he did wonder aloud how many good parts were being written for a man his age. I'm happy to report that he's found one that fits him like a glove—a baseball glove, that is. Eastwood never breaks a sweat as a veteran baseball scout who uses old-school techniques—his eyes, ears, and instinct—to find promising young talent. But the "suits" in the front office, particularly one arrogant young fellow (played by Matthew Lillard) who banks on computer statistics, thinks he's over the hill. That's why a longtime friend and colleague (John Goodman) urges Eastwood's daughter, an uptight corporate lawyer (Amy Adams), to check up on him as he embarks on a new spring-training season. Eastwood and Adams have a rocky relationship, at best, but it turns out she picked up more than a passing knowledge about baseball while she was growing up. Justin Timberlake is well cast as a former Eastwood discovery who's just joined the scouting pool and takes more than a passing interest in Adams. Randy Brown's screenplay (his first) connects all the dots in a pleasing way and avoids the pitfall of becoming cute or overly sentimental. In the same vein, the stars don't overplay their parts, as they could have under less watchful eyes. With Eastwood's long-running production team in place, first-time director Robert Lorenz (who produced the star's most recent films) never makes a false move. Only after the film was over did I realize that there hadn't been any gratuitous cursing, let alone sex or nudity, in Trouble with the Curve. It's a film you could enjoy with your adolescent children... or your parents. It's not what anyone would term cutting-edge moviemaking, but it's a solid piece of entertainmentand you don't have to be in Eastwood's age bracket to appreciate that. |
tt2083383 | [PG-13] | Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Matthew Lillard, Scott Eastwood, Joe Massingill | USA | Drama | There's no reason Trouble with the Curve should play as well as it does; it's formulaic and utterly predictable. But it flows so well, and the cast is so likable, that it's hard to resist. When I interviewed Clint Eastwood at the time of Gran Torino four years ago he stopped short of say | ||
| End of Watch | 2012 | David Ayer | 109 |
David Ayer grew up in the volatile neighborhood of South Central L.A. and has mined his experiences in such films as Training Day and Harsh Times. He has a particular fascination with the L.A.P.D., but End of Watch, which he wrote and directed, isn't simply more of the same. By casting two talented actors (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña) who have an exceptional rapport with one another, he manages to humanize and literalize the day-to-day lives of cops who never know what they're going to face when they set out on their rounds. Ayer and his cinematographer, Roman Vasyanov, mount their camera in the hood of the police car, so we vicariously experience what it's like for two partners to spend all day, every day, cooped up together. The only way to even out the extremes of their job, which can be routine one day and violent or disgusting the next, is to indulge in a non-stop conversation laced with teasing humor. This brand of black comedy may take some getting used to, but it feels honest. We take in the absurdities, insults, threats, and backroom politics these career officers deal with on a regular basis, and see how they try to offset personal lives with their work, a precarious balancing act at best. Gyllenhaal and Peña work together like a well-oiled machine, as if they really had spent months or years in each other's company. Their dialogue feels raw and spontaneous. They are well supported by a strong cast including Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, and America Ferrera. End of Watch doesn't offer any particular message or moral; this isn't a metaphoric kind of movie. David Ayer has given us a straightforward, often visceral portrait of men at work in what may be the most difficult job on earth. |
tt1855199 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera, David Harbour | USA | Crime, Drama | David Ayer grew up in the volatile neighborhood of South Central L.A. and has mined his experiences in such films as Training Day and Harsh Times. He has a particular fascination with the L.A.P.D., but End of Watch, which he wrote and directed, isn't simply more of the | ||
| The Master | 2012 | Paul Thomas Anderson | 137 |
The Master flirts with greatness and has much to admire, including exceptional performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Their work is reason enough to recommend the film, yet at the screening I attended the audience was strangely silent at the end. That's because this audacious, original piece of work is less than fully satisfying. |
tt1560747 | [R] | Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons, David Warshofsky, Laura Dern, Lena Endre | USA | Drama | The Master flirts with greatness and has much to admire, including exceptional performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Their work is reason enough to recommend the film, yet at the screening I attended the audience was strangely silent at the end. That's because this audacio | ||
| Arbitrage | 2012 | Nicholas Jarecki | 100 |
Richard Gere is perfectly cast in Arbitrage as a financial wheeler-dealer whose world caves in on him because of some bad decisions he's made. But let me ask you something: does anyone find it shocking that a heartless high-roller would do absolutely anything to save his skin—even at the cost of his family's love and professional reputation? I found myself curiously disengaged from this story and didn't care what happened to Gere's character. Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta, Nate Parker, and Stuart Margolin head a first-class supporting cast. The real standout is Tim Roth as a streetwise New York City detective who's seen it all and can spot a liar a mile away. His accent and attitude are perfect, and he brings much-needed spice to the film. |
tt1764183 | [R] | Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, Brit Marling, Laetitia Casta, Nate Parker | USA | Drama, Thriller | Richard Gere is perfectly cast in Arbitrage as a financial wheeler-dealer whose world caves in on him because of some bad decisions he's made. But let me ask you something: does anyone find it shocking that a heartless high-roller would do absolutely anything to save his skin—even at the co | ||
| 10 Years | Ten Year | 2012 | Jamie Linden | 100 |
Screenwriter Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall, Dear John) says he was inspired to write and direct 10 Years by attending his own high school reunion. Fair enough. Reunions can be the spur for great storytelling, as witness such memorable movies as The Big Chill and John Sayles' Return of the Secaucus 7. Linden also managed to round up an attractive, appealing cast and worked with them to develop their roles. The resulting film is certainly authentic, tracking friendships continued and rekindled, as well as awkward encounters and revelations. The ensemble is led by this year's busiest new star, Channing Tatum (who also served as one of the producers), and his real-life wife, Jenna Dewan-Tatum. They're joined by Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Anthony Mackie, Justin Long, Kate Mara, Rosario Dawson, Lynn Collins, Oscar Isaac, Aubrey Plaza, Mike Minghella, Scott Porter, Brian Geraghty, and Ron Livingston. The movie ebbs and flows: it's interesting for a while, followed by a dull stretch—lively for a bit, then stagnant. Thinking about it, I realized it wasn't very different from a real-life reunion. |
tt1715873 | [PG-13] | Lynn Collins, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Brian Geraghty, Ari Graynor, Oscar Isaac, Ron Livingston, Justin Long, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, Max Minghella, Aubrey Plaza, Scott Porter, Chris Pratt, Channing Tatum | USA | Comedy, Drama | Screenwriter Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall, Dear John) says he was inspired to write and direct 10 Years by attending his own high school reunion. Fair enough. Reunions can be the spur for great storytelling, as witness such memorable movies as The Big Chill and John Sayles' Return of the Sec | |
| The Words | 2012 | Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal | 97 |
There's a compelling idea at the core of The Words, especially as acted out by Bradley Cooper and the incomparable Jeremy Irons, but it's nearly extinguished by the material that surrounds it, sorry to say. The premise is solid: a struggling writer chances upon a long-lost manuscript and publishes it as his own. Unfortunately, writer-directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal try to take this straightforward concept to "the next level" by wrapping it in a parallel story of a successful author (Dennis Quaid) who is challenged when he recounts this tale. The wraparound structure is not only unnecessary but downright confusing, leading the movie to an unsatisfying conclusion. |
tt1840417 | Unrated | Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes | USA | Drama, Romance | There's a compelling idea at the core of The Words, especially as acted out by Bradley Cooper and the incomparable Jeremy Irons, but it's nearly extinguished by the material that surrounds it, sorry to say. The premise is solid: a struggling writer chances upon a long-lost manuscript and publishe | ||
| For A Good Time, Call... | 2012 | Jamie Travis | 86 |
If you've seen the previews for this film, you already know what it's about. I had the advantage of not knowing anything when I saw it a few weeks ago, which made it all the more enjoyable. What seems to be a raunchy movie (at least from its language) turns out to be a smart, saucy girl-powered story about friendship, written by one of its stars, Lauren Anne Miller, and Katie Anne Naylon. It also provides Miller and her costar, the underrated Ari Graynor, with a great vehicle. The premise is simple: two New Yorkers who have a bad memory of a college encounter ten years ago are forced to share an apartment, for strictly economic reasons. Miller has her sights set on a publishing career and can't believe that Graynor makes spending money by talking on a phone-sex line. But when her job prospects tank, she uses her smarts to help Graynor expand her business and eventually becomes her partner. The sheer likability of the leading characters carries this movie along, and the script takes some clever and unexpected turns under the assured direction of Jamie Travis, who is making his dramatic feature debut. For a movie that, on the surface, would seem to be about sex, For a Good Time, Call... is surprisingly sweet, painting an all-too-rare portrait of two young women in the process of building a solid friendship. Justin Long and Mark Webber contribute lively performances as the men (gay and straight, respectively), in the women's lives. But it's the female stars who really shine in this likable comedy—a sheep in R-rated wolf's clothing. |
tt1996264 | [R] | Ari Graynor, Lauren Anne Miller, Mark Webber, Justin Long | USA | Comedy | If you've seen the previews for this film, you already know what it's about. I had the advantage of not knowing anything when I saw it a few weeks ago, which made it all the more enjoyable. What seems to be a raunchy movie (at least from its language) turns out to be a smart, saucy girl-powered s | ||
| Lawless | 2012 | John Hillcoat | 115 |
When a movie has as much going for it as this one, it's discouraging when it doesn't deliver on its promise. Yet Lawless pulls the magician's trick of distraction, offering enough superficial entertainment value—with atmospheric use of locations, charismatic actors, and spurts of shocking violence—to divert attention from its faults. For some people, that may be enough. Others may leave the theater wondering why one of the three principal characters, played by Jason Clarke, is never fully drawn, or why Gary Oldman shows up in two scenes and then disappears. The history of Depression-era moonshiners would seem to provide perfect movie fodder, but this film is content to merely skim the surface. Lawless is based on the real-life Bondurant brothers, whose story was fictionalized in Matt Bondurant's best-selling novel The Wettest County in the World, inspired by family lore about his grandfather Jack and his two grand-uncles. Not having read the book, I don't know if Bondurant asks his readers to swallow the idea of a worldly young woman from Chicago seeking refuge from the big, bad city—in backwoods Virginia. Fortunately, Jessica Chastain gives this improbable character some degree of credibility. Mia Wasikowska is more readily believable as a churchgoing girl who's lured away from her strict father by a love-struck Shia LaBeouf. LaBeouf takes over the second half of the film, in fact, stepping out as the most daring and reckless of the Bondurant brothers. But it's Tom Hardy, as the eldest, who dominates the first, more solid, portion of the narrative. He's a taciturn sort who, we learn early on, survived a World War I attack in which the rest of his squadron perished. Indeed, he and his brothers are hard to kill, which serves them well when they come up against a slimy, sneering "special deputy" played with brio by Guy Pearce. (By the climax, his cartoonish character destroys any relationship the film may have sought between storytelling and reality.) Aussie director John Hillcoat has called upon his Proposition collaborator Nick Cave to write the screenplay and provide songs (with Warren Ellis) and a mournful background score. The music is a good fit for the vivid look of the picture, shot by Benoit Delhomme on location in Georgia. But the writing is wildly uneven, fleshing out some characters and leaving others as cyphers. With so many strong ingredients, including a powerhouse cast, Lawless should have hit the bull's-eye; instead, it's a near-miss. |
tt1212450 | [R] | Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan | USA | Crime, Drama | When a movie has as much going for it as this one, it's discouraging when it doesn't deliver on its promise. Yet Lawless pulls the magician's trick of distraction, offering enough superficial entertainment value—with atmospheric use of locations, charismatic actors, and spurts of s | ||
| Sleepwalk With Me | 2012 | Mike Birbiglia | 90 |
Sleepwalk With Me is a remarkably assured directorial debut for comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia, based on a stage monologue about his journey of self-discovery as a performer and the challenge of dealing with a rare sleep disorder. Birbiglia performed this piece to great acclaim off-Broadway, and while he's done a good job of translating his material into a new medium—with the help of his brother Joe, Seth Barrish, and This American Life's Ira Glass—I still wish I'd seen the show. There is something special about having a good storyteller paint word pictures that a literal dramatization can't match. As if to acknowledge that fact, the comedian opens his movie by talking directly to us in the audience. This simple ploy wins us over right away and establishes Birbiglia's self-effacing persona. As the story proper begins, we meet his parents (Carol Kane and James Rebhorn) and girlfriend (Lauren Ambrose), and we cover somewhat familiar ground. But when he begins to deal with his nascent career, the film finds its real strength. Birbiglia illustrates, in vivid detail, how an inexperienced stand-up comic learns important lessons playing a variety of dumps and dives "on the road." He's terrible, at first, but still manages to get gigs—the first truism of show business at the bottom rung of the ladder. The more he dispenses with jokes and draws on his life experiences, the more audiences respond to him. The only problem is that this success takes a toll on his relationship with Ambrose, while his sleepwalking crises physically drain him. Something is bound to give. Sleepwalk With Me is modest but consistently likable. I look forward to seeing what Mike Birbiglia will try next, especially if he conceives his next film from scratch. |
tt2077851 | Unrated | Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn, Carol Kane , Cristin Milioti, Alex Karpovsky, David Wain, Marc Maron , John Lutz , Henry Phillips, Wyatt Cenac, Kristen Schaal | USA | Comedy | Sleepwalk With Me is a remarkably assured directorial debut for comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia, based on a stage monologue about his journey of self-discovery as a performer and the challenge of dealing with a rare sleep disorder. Birbiglia performed this piece to great acclaim | ||
| Robot & Frank | 2012 | Jake Schreier | 90 |
Frank Langella's presence would be enough to pique my interest in any film. Robot & Frank offers him a modest starring vehicle with a science-fiction spin, and the result is one of the most enjoyable indie films of the year. A bigger budget might have allowed fledgling director Jake Schreier to depict the future setting in greater detail, but given a choice between this inventive feature and, say, Total Recall, I'll take Robot & Frank just as it is. It would be best not to reveal too much of the story, but here's the essence: Langella stubbornly lives alone in upstate New York, despite his recurring memory lapses. This concerns his son (James Marsden), who delivers a diminutive robot which will function as cook, servant, and caretaker. The older man takes an instant dislike to the superficially friendly automaton, but gradually begins to rely on him in ways he never imagined. A first-rate supporting cast includes Marsden, Susan Sarandon, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Strong, and Jeremy Sisto, who make the most of screenwriter Christopher D. Ford's clever material. It's no shock that Langella's character turns out to be cannier than anyone anticipates or that the actor seems to be having a good time playing him. While the film is mostly lighthearted, it also deals with some of the less appealing aspects of future life, as well as the responsibility of caring for an aging parent. Those qualities make Robot& Frank more than just a clever riff about a grumpy old man. As summer winds down, it's a pleasure to encounter not one but three new films (this, along with Premium Rush and Hit & Run) that offer fresh ideas and satisfying entertainment. I wish I could say the same every weekend of the year. |
tt1990314 | [PG-13] | Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Peter Sarsgaard, Jeremy Sisto, Jeremy Strong, Susan Sarandon | USA | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | Frank Langella's presence would be enough to pique my interest in any film. Robot & Frank offers him a modest starring vehicle with a science-fiction spin, and the result is one of the most enjoyable indie films of the year. A bigger budget might have allowed fledgling director Jake Schreier to d | ||
| Premium Rush | 2012 | David Koepp | 91 |
I don't know how a film this entertaining and expertly-made can show up the last week of summer, but I'm not complaining. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose fine work in indie films like The Lookout went ignored by most moviegoers, has finally achieved stardom, and this flashy tale of a bicycle messenger who follows his own playbook is an excellent vehicle for his talents—no pun intended. He trained hard to look believable on that bike, and it shows. Screenwriter and sometimes-director David Koepp has fashioned a sleek, satisfying movie that never wastes a moment and doesn't wear out its welcome. (It's just an hour and a half long.) Like its hero, who rides a no-frills, steel frame bike without brakes, Koepp uses visual razzle-dazzleand superb second-unit work on the streets of Manhattanto make his picture cool and contemporary, but he and his writing partner John Kamps are men of experience who know how to tell a good story. That's what sets this adrenaline-charged movie apart from so many brain-dead action films. Despite some ingenious visual effects, the director swears that all the hair-raising bicycle stunts we see were performed on camera and not tweaked by CGI. They certainly look real, if not downright impossible at times, which is a big part of the fun. The movie flips back and forth in time, using shorthand to introduce exposition and backstory in an unconventional way. It's fresh and clever, but never pretentious, as this is all in the spirit of fun. Gordon-Levitt is effortlessly credible, on and off the bike, as is the always-riveting Michael Shannon as a cop who's determined to catch the wily messenger and retrieve the envelope he's carrying. Dania Ramirez is a good match for Gordon-Levitt as his girlfriend who also speeds around the city. I don't think you'll find any subtext or layers of meaning in Premium Rush, but I do think you'll have a great time watching the picture, as I did. |
tt1547234 | [PG-13] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Jamie Chung | USA | Action, Thriller | I don't know how a film this entertaining and expertly-made can show up the last week of summer, but I'm not complaining. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose fine work in indie films like The Lookout went ignored by most moviegoers, has finally achieved stardom, and this flashy tale of a bicycle messenge | ||
| Hit and Run | 2012 | Dax Shepard, David Palmer | 100 |
Dax Shepard has modeled his new film Hit & Run—which he wrote, co-directed, and stars in—after his youthful favorite, Smokey and the Bandit. Like Burt Reynolds, he persuaded a bunch of his friends to join him in making a lighthearted car-chase movie with elements of comedy and romance. Far too often, such labors of love turn out to be more fun for the participants than they are for the audience. This is a happy exception. From the opening scene, featuring Shepard and real-life fiancée Kristen Bell making pillow talk, you can tell that Hit & Run isn't a cookie-cutter comedy. It doesn't pander to or, worse, wink at its audience. This film's characters are unusually articulate, and all that smart dialogue provides a disarming contrast to the action/road-movie scenes. Shepard's troupe includes Bradley Cooper (sporting dreadlocks, no less) as an ex-friend turned bitter enemy, Tom Arnold as a bumbling federal marshal, Kristin Chenoweth as Bell's sharp-tongued boss, plus Joy Bryant, David Koechner, Jess Rowland, Michael Rosenbaum, and Beau Bridges. Each character gets a chance to shine in a series of funny, unpredictable episodes, as Shepard drives his girlfriend from Central California to Los Angeles for a job interview—little dreaming that he'll be tailed by his former confederate in a bank-robbery gang. Hit & Run is clearly a low-budget, DIY-type movie, but it's original and thoroughly engaging. I went in with no expectations and had a good time. |
tt2097307 | [R] | Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold, Kristin Chenoweth, David Koechner, Michael Rosenbaum | USA | Action, Comedy | Dax Shepard has modeled his new film Hit & Run—which he wrote, co-directed, and stars in—after his youthful favorite, Smokey and the Bandit. Like Burt Reynolds, he persuaded a bunch of his friends to join him in making a lighthearted car-chase movie with elements of comedy and romance | ||
| Side By Side | 2012 | Chris Kenneally | 99 |
I never expected Keanu Reeves to be my guide to the history of digital filmmaking, but that's the role he plays as producer and host of the vital documentary Side by Side, written and directed by Chris Kenneally. It opens theatrically today in Los Angeles, with New York and other cities to follow. It will also be available On Demand next week. Reeves shares the screen with such formidable filmmakers as George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, and Danny Boyle, to name just a few marquee names, along with product developers and executives, film archivists, and many of the world's leading cinematographers. I anticipated a heated debate about the merits of 35mm vs. digital capture and projection, and that's certainly one component of the film (with Christopher Nolan and his d.p. Wally Pfister as 35mm purists), but Side by Side has more lasting importance as a document of recent history in the movie industry. It chronicles the first attempts to create high-performance video and then each stage on the road to developing digital cameras that leading filmmakers would embrace. Side by Side is not a dry polemic, nor is it an advocacy statement; that's what I admire most about it. Kenneally and Reeves allow creative people and techies to make their points in an even-handed way, and even present archivists like Ed Stratman of the George Eastman House, who discusses the challenges and dangers of archival storage as opposed to saving 35mm prints and negatives. |
tt2014338 | Unrated | George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, Walter Murch, David Fincher | USA | Documentary | I never expected Keanu Reeves to be my guide to the history of digital filmmaking, but that's the role he plays as producer and host of the vital documentary Side by Side, written and directed by Chris Kenneally. It opens theatrically today in Los Angeles, with New York and other cities | ||
| The Odd Life of Timothy Green | 2012 | Peter Hedges | 105 |
When I was a kid I was always drawn to stories with fantasy elements, like Harvey, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, On Borrowed Time and Death Takes a Holiday. Introducing unexplainable or mystical elements into a real-world setting is hard to resist, when it's done right. If I had a 10-to-12-year-old child, I would take them to see The Odd Life of Timothy Green, because it traffics in that kind of everyday fantasy and plays it with sincerity. If it whets a young person's appetite to see more of this kind of storytelling, that's great. I'm only sorry it isn't a better movie. Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton play a loving couple who want a baby more than anything but haven't had any luck. One night they write down all the qualities they would want their child to possess, put the slips of paper in a wooden box, and bury it in their back yard. That night, a mysterious rainstorm drenches their lawn and a boy grows out of the soil. He introduces himself as Timothy, their son. I won't reveal more of the story, or its various subplots. Suffice it to say that Timothy isn't like other kids, and the parents have a hard time explaining his sudden arrival. But he does bring them great happiness, and even finds a soul mate: a girl who, like him, has secrets. Peter Hedges, who wrote and directed What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, About a Boy, and Dan in Real Life, adapted this screenplay from a story by producer Ahmet Zappa. The stars are quite good, and young CJ Adams is perfect as young Timothy. The supporting cast includes such capable costars as David Morse, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, Dianne Wiest, M. Emmet Walsh, and Lois Smith, but their roles are mostly one-dimensional caricatures, and each sideline story weakens and diminishes the film as a whole. It seems as if Zappa had a good premise, but neither he nor Hedges could expand upon it without resorting to cliché. A 10-to-12-year-old might not feel the same way, until they see a better fantasy. Until then, I suppose The Odd Life of Timothy Green will just have to do. |
tt1462769 | [PG] | Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Dianne Wiest, CJ Adams, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, M. Emmet Walsh, Odeya Rush, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lois Smith, Common, David Morse | USA | Comedy, Drama | When I was a kid I was always drawn to stories with fantasy elements, like Harvey, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, On Borrowed Time and Death Takes a Holiday. Introducing unexplainable or mystical elements into a real-world setting is hard to resist, when it's done righ | ||
| Hope Springs | 2012 | David Frankel | 100 |
First, the good news: here is a Hollywood movie for adults that deals fairly honestly with a relatable, real-life situation: a marriage that has become so routine there is no evidence of love anymore. Vanessa Taylor's screenplay gives Meryl Streep the opportunity to build an empathetic and believable character, a woman who is so frustrated that she has reached a breaking point. It takes that for her to sign up for couples counseling in Maine with a high profile therapist, played by Steve Carell. She's so determined to do something to fix her marriage she's even willing to go without her spouse, if necessary. The bad news, as far as I'm concerned, is the husband played by Tommy Lee Jones. He is so cheap, quarrelsome, and unfeeling that we have to take it on faith that Streep found something irresistible about him thirty-one years ago. All too typically, the trailers and ads for Hope Springs would have you believe that it's a comedy when it's not. This is a dramatic film with splashes of humor. In its best moments, during the therapy sessions, Streep and Jones movingly discuss how even a well-intentioned couple can allow themselves to drift apart. I wish the movie, and director David Frankel, had found some way to resolve its central issue in a more gradual and graceful manner. The reward, as always, is getting to watch the finest film actress of our time create another indelible character. |
tt1535438 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell | USA | Comedy, Drama | First, the good news: here is a Hollywood movie for adults that deals fairly honestly with a relatable, real-life situation: a marriage that has become so routine there is no evidence of love anymore. Vanessa Taylor's screenplay gives Meryl Streep the opportunity to build an empathetic and believ | ||
| The Bourne Legacy | 2012 | Tony Gilroy | 135 |
It takes chutzpah to make a film called The Bourne Legacy without Matt Damon or, for that matter, a character named Bourne. That the movie turned out as well as it has is a tribute to co-writer and director Tony Gilroy (who worked on all three previous films in the series) and Jeremy Renner, who is perfectly cast in the lead. The results may not be perfect, but they're good enough to provide the kind of action and storytelling that Bourne fans expect. Jeremy Renner has earned his way to this high-profile part, doing exceptional work since his vault to widespread recognition in The Hurt Locker. He has the required intensity and physicality to make his character—a highly-trained, genetically enhanced undercover agent—completely believable. What's more, he's well matched with leading lady Rachel Weisz. She's equally credible as a research doctor who, like Renner, becomes a pawn and potential victim when the powers-that-be turn on the worker bees in their worldwide network. Gilroy (who co-wrote the film with his brother Dan) doesn't skimp on high-octane action, from Renner's introductory scenes of survival in a snowy wilderness, to his violent first meeting with Weisz, through a slam-bang chase climax. I dare not describe any of these in detail lest I spoil your fun. Where The Bourne Legacy trips up is in the scenes involving Edward Norton as the cold-blooded ringmaster of that covert U.S. agency. They are so densely written and overloaded with indecipherable jargon that they border on self-parody. What's more, they eat up an awful lot of time in this already lengthy film. (In a downright silly gesture, there are ridiculously brief appearances by David Strathairn and Joan Allen, which are supposed to strengthen the link between this film and the earlier Bourne stories. The ruse is transparent and unnecessary. But I do need someone to explain why the great Albert Finney turns up for approximately thirty seconds midway through the picture.) On balance, the movie works. I wish it weren't so long, and I could do without some of those scenes with Norton. I also wish so much of the movie weren't shot in macro-close-up. (I don't need to count the pores on the actors' faces, thank you.) But I was entertained, especially during those action scenes, and at this point in the summer I'm more than grateful for that. |
tt1194173 | [PG-13] | Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, Joan Allen, Scott Glenn, Stacy Keach, Oscar Isaac | USA | Action, Adventure | It takes chutzpah to make a film called The Bourne Legacy without Matt Damon or, for that matter, a character named Bourne. That the movie turned out as well as it has is a tribute to co-writer and director Tony Gilroy (who worked on all three previous films in the series) and Jeremy Renner, who | ||
| The Campaign | 2012 | Jay Roach | 85 |
The Campaign has a lot of genuine laughs. Too bad it doesn't have enough to carry it over the finish line, a mere 85 minutes after it begins. The biggest mystery to me is how experienced comedy hands, on both sides of the camera, can allow their movie to end with a punchline joke that doesn't get a laugh. (At least, it didn't at the screening I attended nor did it deserve to.) This is all the more disappointing because The Campaign seems to have the right ingredients for a breezy, irreverent, R-rated comedy, well-timed for a Presidential election year. Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are ideal as a smug but stupid Congressman from North Carolina and his dark-horse competitor, who is utterly unequipped for the job, let alone the down-and-dirty campaign it requires. Director Jay Roach knows how to make the most of the material. You may have seen some of the film's funnier moments in the trailer and TV spots. The screenplay, by Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell, becomes repetitious after a while, bouncing back and forth from one candidate to the other as they perpetrate a series of tit-for-tat dirty tricks. The villains of the piece, fat-cat brothers who intend to plunder the district by putting a dummy in office to do their bidding, are obvious, uninventive characters that John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd could play in their sleep, and nearly do. The truth is that Ferrell, Galifianakis and their writers are better served by short-form ideas like the ones they hatch so successfully on Funny or Die. Not every idea is fruitful enough to deserve a feature-length film, and this is one of them. Audiences who are eager for laughs may rate this "good enough," which is exactly the problem with movie comedies right now. We deserve better. |
tt1790886 | [R] | Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Katherine LaNasa, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox | USA | Comedy | The Campaign has a lot of genuine laughs. Too bad it doesn't have enough to carry it over the finish line, a mere 85 minutes after it begins. The biggest mystery to me is how experienced comedy hands, on both sides of the camera, can allow their movie to end with a punchline joke that doesn't get | ||
| Celeste and Jesse Forever | 2012 | Lee Toland Krieger | 91 |
Since Hollywood studios seem incapable of crafting a crediblelet alone charmingromantic comedy, it remains for someone in the indie world to portray a believable couple an audience can care about. Celeste and Jesse Forever comes tantalizingly close to pulling it off... close enough to recommend it, despite its flaws. Rashida Jones and Will McCormick based the screenplay on their own relationship as best friends. That helps explain Jones' likable, empathetic performance as an overachiever who has decided to end her six-year marriage to best-friend Andy Samberg because he refuses to grow up, get a job, and assume adult responsibility. Yet they are so completely connected, so simpatico, that their breakup doesn't really make sense. With that shaky a starting-point, it's no wonder that the writers have difficulty charting the rest of the story. She loves him but can't let go. He loves her and doesn't want to let go. Things happen, feelings get hurt, and they both have second thoughts. That the movie works at all is a tribute to the winning performances of its stars, the solid support they get from such engaging costars as Ari Graynor, Chris Messina, and Eric Christian Olsen, and the intimate style adopted by director Lee Toland Krieger. But my upbeat reaction began to wane as the film went on and on; it feels long, which it isn't (at least by the clock). That's because the story becomes repetitious and unbelievable. The reward for sitting through Celeste and Jesse Forever comes in watching Samberg and especially Jones, who are so likable they almost make up for those shortcomings. |
tt1405365 | [R] | Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Chris Messina, Ari Graynor, Will McCormack, Emma Roberts, Elijah Wood | USA | Comedy, Drama | Since Hollywood studios seem incapable of crafting a crediblelet alone charmingromantic comedy, it remains for someone in the indie world to portray a believable couple an audience can care about. Celeste and Jesse Forever comes tantalizingly close to pulling it off... close enough to recommend | ||
| Total Recall | 2012 | Len Wiseman | 118 |
Does the world need a remake of Total Recall? The 1990 original didn't look or sound like anything we'd seen before, with its mix of intriguing ideas, cutting-edge special effects, and overblown violence, courtesy of the never-subtle director Paul Verhoeven. The new version starts off well enough but winds up being just another loud, busy, effects-driven movie where the human element is superficial at best. When it was over, I didn't feel energized; I was worn down. Colin Farrell does a good job in the lead, so long as you don't compare him with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who ownedand helped definethe earlier film. Whether or not you admire that movie, it made an impression. With a new generation of visual effects at his command, director Len Wiseman has the ability to paint on a broader canvas, but since we see this caliber of movie magic on a regular basis it's no longer an Event. The one exception is a gripping chase scene involving futuristic hovercraft vehicles: this is unquestionably the highlight of the picture. The central premise, about a man who has had his memory wiped clean and replaced, along with a new identity, derives from Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." Both movies use it as a springboard for the screenwriters' inventions, turning the film into more of an action vehicle with science-fiction overtones. Comparisons are odious but inevitable: like Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone (not yet a major star) made a tremendous impact in the earlier movie, as she transformed herself from Arnold's beautiful wife into a ruthless fighting machine. In the equivalent role, Kate Beckinsale uses her physicality quite well, but it no longer comes as a shock. What drags the movie down in its second half is the wearying sense that none of the principal characters are truly human at all: they're indestructible, repeatedly surviving high falls and beatings that by any measure of reason should turn them into pulp. The new screenplay, by Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback, doesn't try to copy the Verhoeven film verbatim, which is to its credit. But what we get instead is unexceptional, and that's too bad. |
tt1386703 | [PG-13] | Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy | USA | Sci-Fi | Does the world need a remake of Total Recall? The 1990 original didn't look or sound like anything we'd seen before, with its mix of intriguing ideas, cutting-edge special effects, and overblown violence, courtesy of the never-subtle director Paul Verhoeven. The new version starts off well enough | ||
| Dark Horse | 2011 | Todd Solondz | 86 |
Todd Solondz is the master of suburban angst, but for me his films run hot and cold. When hes hot, as in the recent Life During Wartime, he has an uncanny ability to find both absurdist comedy and poignant drama in the vicissitudes of everyday characters. When hes cold, as in Palindromes, he can be positively off-putting. Dark Horse falls somewhere in between, which is frustrating because the movie shows so much promise. New York-based actor Jordan Gelber, who appeared in the original Broadway cast of Avenue Q, seems to be channeling Jackie Gleason (or perhaps Kevin James) as a blustery, overweight 30-something loser who still lives with his parents and blames them—and his successful brother—for all of his self-inflicted problems. He foists himself on a mousy and unsuspecting Selma Blair, who (surprisingly) responds to his advances, in a tentative way. But this one, lone victory cant counteract the steadily mounting losses he chalks up, day after day, screwing up on the job (in his fathers real estate office) and being unable to complete even a simple transaction like returning a scratched action figure to Toys R Us. Gelbers character traits as an overgrown adolescent are recognizable, but that doesnt make him any easier to root for. The one person who cares about him, a drab secretary in his fathers office (Donna Murphy), becomes a fantasy figure in an increasingly odd and elaborate series of dreams and/or hallucinations. I dont insist that a filmmaker spell everything out; in fact, I usually like some degree of ambiguity and shades of gray. But Dark Horse left me flustered because I invested in the truthful portrayal of these people—so well played by Gelber, Blair, Murphy, and as Gelbers parents, Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow—and I feel as if he pulled the rug out. If you like Todd Solondzs work, Dark Horse is still worth seeing... but you may not be able to make complete sense of what youve seen. |
tt1690455 | Unrated | Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Mia Farrow, Jordan Gelber, Christopher Walken | USA | Drama | Todd Solondz is the master of suburban angst, but for me his films run hot and cold. When hes hot, as in the recent Life During Wartime, he has an uncanny ability to find both absurdist comedy and poignant drama in the vicissitudes of everyday characters. When hes cold, as in Palindrom | ||
| The Watch | 2012 | Akiva Schaffer | 101 |
The Watch is the cinematic equivalent of a bag of pork rinds: wholly unappealing to some people and catnip to others. I fall into the former category. This testosterone-fueled comedy aims low and hits its target repeatedly. In the interest of full disclosure, I should report that a number of people were laughing at the screening I attended, but I lost patience pretty early on. I shouldnt be surprised. Seth Rogen and his longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg cooked this up, along with Jared Stern, and coherency is not their strong suit. (See The Green Hornet.) The fact that they set up a premise and then dont take it seriously, or establish traits in Ben Stillers character that he contradicts a few scenes later is par for the course. Stiller plays an uptight Costco manager who is shocked to learn that one of his employees has been murdered in a highly mysterious manner. The local cops are idiots and dont see any cause for alarm, but Stiller decides to form a neighborhood watch. Unfortunately, the three guys who show up for the initial meeting (Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayouade) seem more interested in carousing than crime-fighting. Then these bunglers discover that theyre not hunting an ordinary criminal at all: theyve stumbled onto an alien invasion right in their back yard. Supposed hilarity ensues. The movies strongest asset is its quartet of comedic stars, who work well together and keep things lively. You certainly cant accuse this movie of being dull. You also cant accuse it of having good taste. It isnt just crass; it wallows in its crassness. In the ever-escalating war against decorum onscreen, The Watch uses the slang word for semen over and over again. Too bad there isnt an Olympic competition for crudity. But as we all know, comedy is a personal matter. If you enjoy this brand of humor, youll probably have a better time than I did. Just hide the bag of pork rinds under your jacket. |
tt1298649 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt | USA | Comedy, Sci-Fi | The Watch is the cinematic equivalent of a bag of pork rinds: wholly unappealing to some people and catnip to others. I fall into the former category. This testosterone-fueled comedy aims low and hits its target repeatedly. In the interest of full disclosure, I should report that a number of peop | ||
| Step Up: Revolution | 2012 | Scott Speer | 99 |
Skeptics beware: I'm about to recommend a musical not only for its energy and imagination but its use of 3-D. Like its little-seen predecessor (Step Up 3-D), Step Up Revolution won't win any screenwriting awards, but it's a perfect summertime refresher. What's more, it's the first movie I've seen this year that justified the use of those clunky 3-D glasses and actually made the experience enjoyable. (I can't tell you what 3-D added to The Amazing Spider-man or Brave, but this movie's production numbers are specifically designed to have fun with the medium. What a concept!) The story is a collection of clichés but the actors are likable, good-looking, and know how to dance. Ryan Guzman plays a waiter who's part of a group called The Mob that stages elaborate flash-mob dances in public places throughout Miami, hoping to win a big cash prize in a contest sponsored by YouTube. He chances to meet Kathryn McCormick, who's trying to win a spot with a prestigious dance troupe and whose father (Peter Gallagher) is promoting a huge development that will tear down Guzman's working-class neighborhood. Will she betray her father and help his cause? Should he tell his pals that she's the daughter of their enemy? And can they continue to stage spontaneous dance events without getting into trouble with the authorities? These are the dramatic crises that unfold between musical moments. As I watched the movie I realized that it actually has a lot in common with those wonderful Busby Berkeley musicals of the 1930s. They, too, were designed as escapist fare and featured attractive people in corny scripts. The stories were just an excuse to showcase Berkeley's wildly imaginative dance extravaganzas. Pump up the volume, flash forward eighty-some years, and you get Step Up Revolution. As a celebration of dance, movement, and visual ingenuity, this movie is hard to beat. Director Scott Speer, who has worked on The LXD: Legion of Extraordinary Dancers series (and is a protégé of Step Up 3-D's talented director, Jon M. Chu), knows where to put the camera to make the most of every shot in every number, and isn't addicted to staccato editing. Choreographers Jamal Sims, Christopher Scott, Travis Wall and Chuck Maldonado have cast talented performers and put them in a variety of colorful settings right from the start. (The movie opens with a terrific flash-mob number staged on the streets of Miami's Ocean Drive.) I'll admit that this isn't a movie I would have sought out on my own, but having seen it I'm happy to spread the good word. It's a lot of fun. |
tt1800741 | [PG-13] | Ryan Guzman, Kathryn McCormick, Misha Gabriel, Peter Gallagher | USA | Drama, Musical | Skeptics beware: I'm about to recommend a musical not only for its energy and imagination but its use of 3-D. Like its little-seen predecessor (Step Up 3-D), Step Up Revolution won't win any screenwriting awards, but it's a perfect summertime refresher. What's more, it's the first movie I've seen | ||
| The Dark Knight Rises | 2012 | Christopher Nolan | 164 |
It's almost too much to hope for: a summer blockbuster that's compelling, original, well-crafted and perfectly cast. Yet that is precisely what director and co-writer Christopher Nolan has given us in The Dark Knight Rises. As someone from the minority camp who didn't care for The Dark Knight (but did like Nolan's reinvention of the caped crusader's origin story in Batman Begins) I now emit a huge sigh of relief. That's not to say that The Dark Knight Rises is without flaws or beyond criticism. I still find Nolan's work ponderous at times and too self-serious—not to mention long. David S. Goyer cowrote the story that Nolan then developed into a screenplay with his brother Jonathan. They enjoy exploring the darkest avenues of human nature, and audiences have responded with great enthusiasm. But the film also has grace notes and dashes of humor I found missing from The Dark Knight. Among its prime assets are the new role of a straight-arrow cop created for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who worked with Nolan in Inception, and a much-expanded part for the peerless Michael Caine, who brings warmth and polish to his performance as the devoted butler Alfred. Anne Hathaway has fun with the flippant character who eventually becomes Catwoman. They are joined by a superior ensemble including Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, and an unrecognizable Tom Hardy as the villainous behemoth known as Bane. (I also didn't recognize another old favorite, British actor and onetime Oscar nominee Tom Conti, as a shaggy, bearded prisoner in the latter part of the story.) As for Christian Bale, he brings a great reserve of repressed emotion and physical command to his dual role as Bruce Wayne and Batman. The story begins eight years after the last film's conclusion; Wayne has become a recluse, his body and spirit beaten down. That means there's nowhere to go but up. Watching him harness his inner strength and build up his battered body gives us great rooting interest. Here is a misunderstood hero who is worthy of redemption. I wish the movie didn't take so many storytelling detours, but I'm willing to forgive a great deal because Nolan gives us such a terrific conclusion. I'm not talking about the extended race-to-the-rescue climax so much as the resolution of the story that brings every character full-circle in the most satisfying way imaginable. For that alone, Nolan should earn the gratitude of Batman fans around the world. |
tt1345836 | [PG-13] | Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman | USA | Action, Adventure | It's almost too much to hope for: a summer blockbuster that's compelling, original, well-crafted and perfectly cast. Yet that is precisely what director and co-writer Christopher Nolan has given us in The Dark Knight Rises. As someone from the minority camp who didn't care for The Da | ||
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | 2012 | Steve Martino, Michael Thurmeier | 94 |
I was charmed, and pleasantly surprised, when I saw Ice Age a decade ago. Its enormous success has prompted multiple sequels, which have made a ton of money around the world (with Fox cannily hiring well-known actors and comedians to provide the voices for their individual countries). This money machine, with its sure-fire kid appeal, makes the fourth entry in the series, Ice Age: Continental Drift, virtually critic-proof. But it doesn't stop me from saying that everything I liked about the original movie has been worn down. Even Scrat and his continuing quest for the perfect acorn seems overly familiar (in part, because some of his material was already used in a short subject last year that was packaged with Rio). The artists and writers at Blue Sky studio recognize this problem. That's why the new Ice Age focuses largely on new characters like Peaches, Manny the woolly mammoth's teenage daughter (voiced by Keke Palmer) and her desire to fit in with the cool kids (voiced by hip hop artists Drake and Nicki Minaj). Other newcomers include a nasty orangutan pirate (Peter Dinklage), his slinky saber-tooth tiger second mate (Jennifer Lopez), and Sid the Sloth's feisty granny (Wanda Sykes). Their misadventures take place against the backdrop of the Earth's prehistoric growing pains, causing seismic shifts and eruptions that separate our heroes from their families. The result is a script that's jam-packed with jokes, relatable story ingredients, and large-scale action, which is well-staged in 3-D. I don't think kids will have a chance to get bored. But the fact that there is a fourth Ice Age, instead of something novel and different from a creative team like the one at Blue Sky, is another sign of the times for Hollywood. As long as families around the world pay to see sequels like this, I'm sure there is no end in sight. |
tt1667889 | [PG] | Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Drake, Josh Gad, Alan Tudyk, Nick Frost, Joy Behar | USA | Animation, Adventure | I was charmed, and pleasantly surprised, when I saw Ice Age a decade ago. Its enormous success has prompted multiple sequels, which have made a ton of money around the world (with Fox cannily hiring well-known actors and comedians to provide the voices for their individual countries). This money | ||
| Margaret | 2011 | Kenneth Lonergan | 150 |
I'm a latecomer to Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, having missed its brief appearance in theaters last year (after a five-to-six year delay) but it's not too late for me to sing its praises. It has its flaws, but I defy you to find a more intelligent or impassioned American film this year. You may have read about the movie's tortured history, and playwright Lonergan's inability to finish the picture during its editing phase, following his impressive filmmaking debut with You Can Count On Me. Margaret's release on DVD, Blu-ray, and On Demand today is the first opportunity most people will have to see the film, which stars Anna Paquin and a powerhouse cast, including Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, Jeannie Berlin, Jean Reno, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Broderick, and Allison Janney. One sure sign that Margaret is not a cookie-cutter type of movie is that it's difficult to describe or encapsulate. Anna Paquin is astonishingly good as a precocious teenage girl who speaks and acts impulsively, which is her undoing. After a tragic accident she tries to find resolution...and can't. Her divorced mother (Smith-Cameron), a stage actress who's about to open in a play, doesn't recognize just how troubled her daughter is. Paquin seeks consolation, and attention, from a variety of people of all ages, including Berlin (absent too long from the screen), who gives a searing performance as a prickly woman dealing with a loss who, like Paquin, has no filter censoring her conversation or behavior. I'm trying not to reveal very much of the story, which shifts its focus from one character to another while following the through line of Paquin's desperate attempt to close this chapter of her young life. Every cast member gets an opportunity to shine, even in relatively small roles; that's because nothing in Margaret is incidental or accidental. (Lonergan himself plays Paquin's divorced father, a distracted figure on the telephone a continent away in Malibu, California. The girl's cheerful but empty conversations with him are yet another example of this movie's perceptive writing and superior acting.) Not everything in Margaret is spelled out, including the significance of its title, which is referred to only briefly in a classroom scene. But that's what makes it so intriguing and challenging to watch. The writer-director has apparently made his peace with the 149 minute theatrical version of the film, but now offers an "extended cut" that runs over three hours on the Blu-ray/DVD release. I haven't had time to screen it yet, and I'm not sure I want to re-live the film so soon after digesting its deeply emotional content. I'd almost rather wait and revisit it after time has gone by. Margaret is the kind of movie that stays with you. |
tt0466893 | [R] | Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno | USA | Drama | I'm a latecomer to Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, having missed its brief appearance in theaters last year (after a five-to-six year delay) but it's not too late for me to sing its praises. It has its flaws, but I defy you to find a more intelligent or impassioned American film this year. You may h | ||
| The Do-Deca-Pentathlon | 2012 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | 76 |
The Duplass Brothers, Jay and Mark, made their reputation with a series of barely-there indie movies that first attracted attention at the South by Southwest festival. Since then they've made films like Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives at Home with well-known actors, using the same improv techniques that built their reputation. Fortunately, their micro-budget movie The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, which they shot a few years ago, is finally opening in theaters. Steve Zissis and Mark Kelly play siblings who haven't gotten along, or even spoken, for years because of a long-standing rivalry that began when they were teenagers and created their own 25-event mini-Olympics competition they dubbed the do-deca-pentathlon. It ended in a tie, which tore their relationship apart. When bachelor Kelly shows up unexpectedly at his brother's birthday party they try to get along for their family's sake, but they both know they won't be happy unless they revive the competitive games and settle the score once and for all. This may seem like DIY moviemaking with unknown actors—and it is—but it's also honest, observant, and funny in a way most big Hollywood comedies aren't. I like everything about The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, including the fact that it's small in scale. If you're looking for special effects or explosions, you'll have to look elsewhere: this is a comedy about real people. The film is just 76 minutes long, but I left the theater feeling nourished and satisfied. I know Mark Duplass is pursuing an acting career (with three movies in theaters right now: People Like Us, Your Sister's Sister, and Safety Not Guaranteed), but I hope he and his brother never stop making their own inventive, highly personal films. |
tt0811137 | [R] | Mark Kelly, Steve Zissis, Jennifer Lafleur, Julie Vorus, Reid Williams | USA | Comedy | The Duplass Brothers, Jay and Mark, made their reputation with a series of barely-there indie movies that first attracted attention at the South by Southwest festival. Since then they've made films like Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives at Home with well-known actors, using the same improv techniques tha | ||
| Savages | 2012 | Oliver Stone | 130 |
It isn't a requirement that you like a movie's central characters, but it usually helps develop rooting interest. That's one reason Savages comes up short: it's difficult to care about anyone. If director and co-writer Oliver Stone had told the story more compactly, or not encouraged some of his actors to play their roles so broadly, the results might be different. Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson play high-end drug dealers who have built a powerful business from their beautiful home base in Laguna Beach, California. Kitsch is a hard-nosed Iraqi war veteran, while Johnson is more interested in using their profits to fund good works around the world. Blake Lively loves them both, which makes her a target for a Mexican drug cartel run by cold-blooded Salma Hayek when she needs to persuade them to work with her. By kidnaping Lively she knows she'll capture their attention. Keeping the reins on her smarmy lieutenant (Benicio Del Toro) is more of a problem, just as the surfer-dude drug czars have their hands full dealing with crooked DEA official John Travolta. Most of these characters are low-lifes, and spending more than two hours in their company is not my idea of a good time. If Savages rewarded me with clever story turns, or insights into the drug culture, I might feel different. As it stands, I got bored about halfway through, and as the story became more brutal and the acting more broad, I grew actively annoyed. I suppose there is some wish-fulfillment quotient in depicting two bright guys who manage to make it big without resorting to violence or double-dealing—and share a hot blonde between them—but the movie dispels that feeling after the first ten minutes or so. Stone gets co-screenplay credit with Shane Salerno and Don Winslow, whose novel was the basis for Savages. Perhaps the story reads better than it plays. Or perhaps something was lost in the translation. |
tt1615065 | [R] | Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch, Demian Bichir | USA | Crime, Drama | It isn't a requirement that you like a movie's central characters, but it usually helps develop rooting interest. That's one reason Savages comes up short: it's difficult to care about anyone. If director and co-writer Oliver Stone had told the story more compactly, or not encouraged some of his | ||
| The Magic of Belle Isle | 2012 | Rob Reiner | 109 |
Morgan Freeman's presence generally makes any film worth seeing, and this is no exception. The fact that The Magic of Belle Isle also offers a benign, family-friendly alternative to harsher summer fare is icing on the cake. That may not be everyone's view of the film, which wears its heart on its sleeve and could be accused of sentimentality, but if you admire Freeman, and don't mind surrendering to some cute little girls (who also win his heart in the course of the story), you'll come away with a smile on your face. Freeman plays a misanthropic author, confined to a wheelchair, who doesn't write any more and is content to spend his days drinking. Then his nephew arranges for him to house-sit in a seasonal island community where the girls next door—especially a precocious 9-year-old—intrude upon his privacy, along with their mother (Virginia Madsen). Cantankerous as he may be, he is also a gentleman, and can't resist the overtures of a child whose interest in stories stirs his long-dormant imagination. He also enjoys the company of a beautiful woman who plays Beethoven on the piano at night. If this sounds cloying, let me assure you that it doesn't play that way. Freeman seems to relish the role of a man who revels in his own erudition, and director Rob Reiner practices restraint at every turn. Marc Shaiman, who's worked on most of Reiner's films, shows similar tastefulness in his lovely score, which features the composer on piano. The popularity of dark, edgy movies makes it difficult to promote a film that's sweet, but that's the best word to describe The Magic of Belle Isle, which has been available for the past month on Video on Demand. However you manage to see it, if you're a Morgan Freeman fan you'll be glad you did. |
tt1839654 | [PG] | Morgan Freeman, Virginia Madsen, Madeline Carroll | USA | Drama | Morgan Freeman's presence generally makes any film worth seeing, and this is no exception. The fact that The Magic of Belle Isle also offers a benign, family-friendly alternative to harsher summer fare is icing on the cake.That may not be everyone's view of the film, which wears its hear | ||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | 2012 | Marc Webb | 136 |
There's nothing inherently wrong with The Amazing Spider-Man, but in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it's déjà vu all over again. By retelling the origin story of Peter Parker so soon after Sam Raimi's 2002 smash hit, starring Tobey Maguire, the new filmmaking team, led by director Marc Webb, not only invites direct comparison with the earlier picture and its sequels but makes it impossible to avoid. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are perfectly adequate, but the film doesn't give them the same opportunities that Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst had to forge a heartfelt relationship as star-crossed sweethearts. Stone's role is particularly colorless, and thankless. The ingredients for a richer dynamic seem to be there: she's the daughter of police captain Denis Leary, who has no use for Spider-Man, and happens to work for mad scientist Rhys Ifans. The possibilities this unique setup presents are barely explored. Martin Sheen gets the "most valuable player" award for bringing heart, and depth, to his performance as Uncle Ben, but Sally Field as Aunt May has little to do but wring her hands, and she's made to look haggard and unkempt (unlike Rosemary Harris in the last three films). What a waste of talent. Even that wonderful actor Rhys Ifans—whose character of Dr. Curt Connors echoes the story arc of Alfred Molina's Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2—doesn't get to let loose until he morphs into a giant lizard. Spidey's battle with that rampaging beast is the action highlight of the pictureand may be enough to satisfy some fans. But Spider-man's first attempts to leap through the canyons of New York City had more pizzazz in the first Raimi film, and better visualization in the second. Peter Parker's transformation is told in shorthand this time around. The new screenplay has an impressive pedigree: it's credited to James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), Oscar-winning writer Alvin Sargent, who worked wonders in Spider-Man 2, and Steve Kloves, who wrote all but one of the Harry Potter adaptations. (Story credit goes solely to Vanderbilt). One would think that this combination of high-powered talent would have yielded a film with far more emotional depth and resonance. If, in spite of all this, the movie makes a fortune, it will be a tribute to corporate greed and lack of respect for the audience. That will be another nail in the coffin of originality in modern-day mainstream Hollywood. |
tt0948470 | [PG-13] | Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, Martin Sheen, Sally Field | USA | Action, Adventure | There's nothing inherently wrong with The Amazing Spider-Man, but in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it's déjà vu all over again. By retelling the origin story of Peter Parker so soon after Sam Raimi's 2002 smash hit, starring Tobey Maguire, the new filmmaking team, led by director Marc Webb, n | ||
| To Rome With Love | 2012 | Woody Allen | 102 |
The best thing about being a Woody Allen fan is the certainty that if you don't like his latest film, he's already got another one in the oven. Following the unprecedented audience reaction to Midnight in Paris, Allen has conceived a multi-character mosaic of stories set in the Eternal City... but, sorry to say, To Rome With Love falls flat. On the plus side, there are postcard views of Rome that make you want to book seats on the next plane. Better yet, Woody appears in this one, reviving his neurotic screen persona and tossing off very funny one-liners. But the other characters and their stories are woefully contrived, and the movie soon wears out its welcome. Alison Pill opens the film as an American tourist who falls in love with a handsome young man, prompting her parents (Allen and Judy Davis) to visit. Alec Baldwin is a successful architect who goes in search of the street where he lived years ago and is recognized by a young architect (Jesse Eisenberg) who invites him into his home. Greta Gerwig plays Eisenberg's girlfriend who, welcomes a neurotic pal (Ellen Page) to stay with them, despite the fact that men are always attracted to her. Roberto Benigni is an ordinary office clerk who suddenly finds himself a TV celebrity, for no apparent reason. And Penélope Cruz is a hooker who pops into the hotel room of the wrong man and winds up having to pose as his wife. The actors do their best to make awkward scenes and dialogue ring true, but it's a hopeless effort. Moments of farce alternate with touches of whimsy and even fantasy that never take flight. Rather than dwell on this misfire, I prefer to think about Woody's last film, which was so entertaining, and look forward to the next. |
tt1859650 | [R] | Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page | USA | Comedy | The best thing about being a Woody Allen fan is the certainty that if you don't like his latest film, he's already got another one in the oven. Following the unprecedented audience reaction to Midnight in Paris, Allen has conceived a multi-character mosaic of stories set in the Eternal C | ||
| Magic Mike | 2012 | Steven Soderbergh | 110 |
All the women I know are hot to see this movie. So were the women who packed the screening I attended, and they made their feelings known during the opening strip-club number—just like the adoring women onscreen. Then the story kicked in and everything changed. So here's a friendly word of warning: if all you're interested in is eye candy, watching handsome hunks like Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and Alex Pettyfer gyrating and taking their clothes off, fine, but you're going to have to slog through the rest of the picture, too. At the showing I attended you could feel the excitement evaporate; by the time the movie was over, the audience was silent. The fault lies not with Tatum, who also produced the movie, but with a script (by Reid Carolin) that can't justify taking up nearly two hours of screen time. Director Steven Soderbergh uses every trick in the book to keep the movie visually interesting; the editing is particularly dynamic. But it's difficult to care about these characters. Another problem is a leading lady (Cody Horn) who is dishwater-dull... different, I grant you, but still dull. She plays Pettyfer's sensible sister who's concerned when he falls under Tatum's influence and begins stripping. Tatum is immediately attracted to her, but the feeling isn't mutual. Magic Mike has a seemingly workable premise, about a would-be entrepreneur who's trying to create building blocks for a better life, but it just doesn't pan out. And a movie this long needs more than eye candy to hold an audience's attention. |
tt1915581 | [R] | Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Riley Keough, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn | USA | Drama | All the women I know are hot to see this movie. So were the women who packed the screening I attended, and they made their feelings known during the opening strip-club number—just like the adoring women onscreen. Then the story kicked in and everything changed.So here's a friendly w | ||
| People Like Us | 2012 | Alex Kurtzman | 115 |
Alex Kurtzman has an imposing list of writing and producing credits, mostly with his partner Roberto Orci, including such commercial hits as the Transformers movies, the reboot of Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible III... but for his directing debut (written with Orci and Jody Lambert) he has chosen an intimate story about a uniquely dysfunctional family, inspired by incidents in his own life. It's the kind of anti-blockbuster I would love to champion, if it were only better. Chris Pine plays a guy who lives on the edge in his business dealings, and has a loyal girlfriend in Olivia Wilde. Then he learns that his father has died, and grudgingly boards a plane for Los Angeles to attend the funeral. He hasn't seen his father in years, and maintains an arm's-length distance from his mother (Michelle Pfeiffer). Then one of his dad's oldest friends hands him a wad of money, left for him by his father with a terse note instructing him to pass it along to a woman and her son. It turns out his father had a second family. She's a hard-working single mom, played by Elizabeth Banks, and she's Pine's half-sister. That's the setup for this drama, which the preview trailer would have you believe is a comedy. (If studios are so certain audiences won't go to see a dramatic film—even a good one—why do they make them in the first place?) Pine's dilemma is that he doesn't know how to explain who he is to Banks. In the course of this struggle, he builds a relationship with her and her rebellious young son. In time, he also begins to deal with his mother and tries to break down some walls between them. But as the movie becomes protracted, stretching almost to the two-hour mark, it loses not only its momentum but its credibility. I'm not sure the co-writer of the interminable Transformers movies would be the first person to recognize that a film is running too long, or that compressing some story elements might strengthen them. I can't imagine that this film wouldn't have been considerably better if it moved at a brisker pace. There's one more problem that's a bit awkward to confront. We all enjoy watching attractive performers on screen, but beautiful people are not necessarily the best choice when you're trying to tell a story about "people like us" and their day-to-day problems. I don't mean to deride the talents of Pine, Banks, Pfeiffer, or Wilde (who makes a conscious effort to look unglamorous), but you have to admit they make an exceptionally good-looking ensemble... too good-looking, perhaps, to give resonance to this material. |
tt1716777 | [PG-13] | Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall DAddario, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Duplass, Michelle Pfeiffer | USA | Drama | Alex Kurtzman has an imposing list of writing and producing credits, mostly with his partner Roberto Orci, including such commercial hits as the Transformers movies, the reboot of Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible III... but for his directing debut (written with Orci and Jody L | ||
| Brave | 2012 | Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman | 100 |
If you have kids, you'll want to take them to Brave, and they'll almost certainly have a good time. If you're an animation buff, you may have quibbles with the film, which looks great but isn't up to Pixar's high standards in terms of story. That's the problem with creating so many innovative and memorable movies: when you do something that's "merely" pretty good, it feels like a letdown. Storytelling has always been the studio's strong suit, quite apart from its groundbreaking digital animation and production design, which get the lion's share of attention. But Brave, which was writer-director Brenda Chapman's attempt to make a modern-thinking princess tale, feels a bit formulaic. (The project was taken away from her at some point; Mark Andrews assumed the role of director and helped revise the screenplay.) The heroine is Merida, a bold young Scottish princess with free-flowing, flaming red hair (and voiced by Kelly Macdonald). She rejects feminine stereotyping and the ministrations of her mother (Emma Thompson), who tries to prepare her for a conventional life as queen. She'd rather spend her time hunting in the forest with a bow and arrow. When her frustrations with her mother reach a boiling point, she does something impulsive that she comes to regret. That's a story point I'd rather not spoil, but it's at this juncture that Brave skids off the beaten path and becomes downright strange. I'll give it points for originality, but that story twist is so bizarre that it knocked me for a loop. The movie tries to make up for this detour with a heart-tugging, emotional finale, but the buildup to that moment has been undermined, so it doesn't have the impact it should. That's the grownup in me talking; kids may not, and should not, care about "story development." But even if they leave the theater smiling, I wonder if they'll take Brave to their hearts as they have other Pixar (and Disney) movies. Needless to say, Brave looks terrific. The Pixar production team has created medieval Scotland, layer by layer, and designed a colorful cast of characters to populate the foreground as well. At one time they wouldn't have been able to animate a character with hair like Merida's; now, it's one more challenge they have met and conquered. I root for Pixar every time out and want to love their movies. My disappointment with Brave doesn't mean it won't please its intended audience. I wish it success so that Pixar can continue experimenting and exploring. |
tt1217209 | [PG] | Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane | USA | Animation, Adventure | If you have kids, you'll want to take them to Brave, and they'll almost certainly have a good time. If you're an animation buff, you may have quibbles with the film, which looks great but isn't up to Pixar's high standards in terms of story. That's the problem with creating so many innovative and | ||
| Rock of Ages | 2012 | Adam Shankman | 123 |
It's easy to see how Rock of Ages became a crowd-pleaser on Broadway, where audiences got caught up in the energy of 80s hit songs performed live. The film adaptation (credited, astonishingly, to three screenwriters, including the show's creator Chris D'Arenzio) is a dreary collection of clichés and caricatures that doesn't have one ounce of honest emotion in its elongated 123 minutes. You know we're in trouble when the movie opens on Julianne Hough as a wide-eyed girl from Oklahoma who comes to Hollywood seeking fame and fortune. Within moments of her arrival she meets a similarly clean-cut guy (Diego Boneta) who shares her dream, and they fall in love. Are we really supposed to care about such cardboard characters? With a bland, predictable romantic storyline at its core, and two charisma-free stars performing one song after another, Rock of Ages shoots itself in the foot. Fortunately, Hough and Boneta are surrounded by more colorful and experienced people, but they've all been directed (by Adam Shankman) to play their roles as broadly as possible. It's mildly amusing to watch Alec Baldwin (in a fright wig) as a beleaguered club owner and Russell Brand as his right-hand man, they're never quite as funny as they ought to be. Ditto Catherine Zeta-Jones in a one-note performance as the mayor's strident wife who wants to clean up the Sunset Strip. Mary J. Blige's entrance, as a soulful strip club owner, is so corny I actually laughed out loud. As for Tom Cruise, there's definite novelty value in watching the still-charismatic star play a hedonistic, mostly shirtless rock star, though I found his raunchy love scenes with Malin Akerman somewhat embarrassing. If you love the songs of the 80s, I'd think you'd want to hear them performed in better surroundings—by better singers—than you can here. Those songs may endure, but Rock of Ages is not a film for the ages. |
tt1336608 | [PG-13] | Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Ackerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston, Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise | USA | Comedy, Drama, Musical | It's easy to see how Rock of Ages became a crowd-pleaser on Broadway, where audiences got caught up in the energy of 80s hit songs performed live. The film adaptation (credited, astonishingly, to three screenwriters, including the show's creator Chris D'Arenzio) is a dreary collection of clichés | ||
| Your Sisters Sister | 2012 | Lynn Shelton | 90 |
If you appreciate small-scale films that favor character development over plot, you're the target demographic for this likable—and, speaking honestly, forgettable—three-character piece from filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Humpday) and three talented actors, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and the man of the moment in the indie world, Mark Duplass. Duplass plays a man who is still reeling from his brother's death one year ago. At a memorial get-together in Seattle, the brother's girlfriend (Blunt) encourages him to spend some "alone time" at her family's house on a nearby island, where perhaps he can come out of the doldrums and get on with his life. Upon his arrival there he discovers that the house is occupied—by Blunt's sister (DeWitt), who's getting over a bad breakup. I will reveal no more. If you don't respond to these actors, or empathize with their situation, you'll have little patience with the film. If, on the other hand, you develop a rooting interest for them to straighten out their tangled relationships, you'll enjoy this modest chamber piece, a deft blending of comedy and drama. It may not be the most credible film of the year, but I found it diverting and enjoyable. Unlike most filmmakers who encourage their actors to improvise, Shelton has given her cast (including Mike Birbiglia, who appears briefly but significantly in the opening scene) special credit as "creative contributors". That's a generous gesture that others might be inspired to follow. |
tt1742336 | [R] | Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia | USA | Comedy, Drama | If you appreciate small-scale films that favor character development over plot, you're the target demographic for this likable—and, speaking honestly, forgettable—three-character piece from filmmaker Lynn Shelton (Humpday) and three talented actors, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, and | ||
| Prometheus | 2012 | Ridley Scott | 124 |
First, the good news: Prometheus is a captivating experience, meant to be savored on the big screen. Ridley Scott's reputation as a master craftsman is well deserved and he offers up a big, impressive, eye-opening production. It's also well cast, with two forceful female characters played for all they're worth by Noomi Rapace (Sweden's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Charlize Theron. Even better, the versatile Michael Fassbender plays a sly, sophisticated robot, built in human form to make the real humans more comfortable dealing with him. He's a living, breathing version of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and like HAL, he needs watching: he's always one step ahead of everyone else on the spaceship Prometheus. The year is 2093. Rapace and her partner (Logan Marshall-Green) play scientists who, thanks to a deep-pocketed corporation, get the opportunity to travel on Prometheus to a distant moon in search of clues to the origins of mankind. A series of cave drawings have led them on this ambitious journey. Most of their fellow voyagers are just along for the ride, including captain Idris Elba and chilly executive officer Theron. It's the quest for answers to the Big Questions that gives Prometheus its underpinning of thoughtfulness. (Rapace wears a cross given to her by her late father, not to contradict her scientific discoveries but because, she says, "It's what I choose to believe," echoing the words of her dad.) When Ridley Scott directed his science-fiction saga Alien back in 1979, he dared to take his time, carefully building up to the first scary incidents. That won't do in 2012, so there is a moment in the opening scene involving a humanoid creature that serves as a tease of things to come. This presages the bad news: Prometheus may be more intelligent than run-of-the-mill sci-fi sagas, but it doesn't skimp on icky, gross-out moments or scenes in which characters make poor decisions that lead to their mutilation and demise—as in any tacky B movie. Watching Prometheus requires a strong stomach. The screenplay, by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, apparently began as a prequel to Alien and then evolved into something else, but echoes of Alien remain, which is why official acknowledgment is made to the writers of that film, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. While I was completely engrossed in Prometheus, I felt a tug-of-war going on between the cerebral and visceral elements, right up to the finale. In fact, there are two endings, and without giving anything away, I'll say that I wish the movie had faded out after the first. Fans may disagree, but I think the inconsistency in Prometheus' DNAand the obvious contradiction this represents—is what keeps it from being a great film, or a ground-breaker, as Alien was. I don't mean to damn this film with faint praise: falling short of greatness doesn't mean the movie isn't gripping and entertaining. It is. And it certainly gives audiences their money's worth. |
tt1446714 | [R] | Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron | USA | Sci-Fi | First, the good news: Prometheus is a captivating experience, meant to be savored on the big screen. Ridley Scott's reputation as a master craftsman is well deserved and he offers up a big, impressive, eye-opening production. It's also well cast, with two forceful female characters played for all | ||
| Peace, Love & Misunderstanding | 2012 | Bruce Beresford | 96 |
Not every movie is, or has to be, an Event. Sometimes all I ask of a film is that it offer a pleasant diversion for an hour and a half. That's exactly what I got from Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding. I fear it may get a critical drubbing during the heated atmosphere of the current movie season, but I stand by my opinion. It's an amiable film with an appealing cast in a highly attractive setting. Catherine Keener plays an uptight New York City lawyer who, upon being told by her husband (Kyle MacLachlan) that he wants a divorce, packs up her teenage kids (Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff) and heads to Woodstock, New York, where she drops in—unannounced—at the home of her mother (Jane Fonda), whom she hasn't seen in twenty years! Mom is an unreconstructed hippie, and the communal, laid-back atmosphere of Woodstock has a profound effect on every member of the visiting family. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chace Crawford offer potential love interest for Keener and Olsen, respectively. The characters, as written by Christina Mengert and Joseph Muszynski, fall into recognizable pigeonholes, as does the trajectory of the story, but in the hands of these skilled, highly watchable actors, it's still quite enjoyable. Australian director Bruce Beresford knows how to get the best out of his cast, and how to showcase the beauty and tranquility of upstate New York. Other movies will attract more attention this summer, but Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding has Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, and Elizabeth Olsen—and that's more talent than you'll find in a many bigger, bolder summer releases. It definitely kept me entertained. |
tt1649780 | [R] | Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Elizabeth Olsen, Chace Crawford, Nat Wolff, Patricia Arquette, Kyle Maclachlan | USA | Comedy | Not every movie is, or has to be, an Event. Sometimes all I ask of a film is that it offer a pleasant diversion for an hour and a half. That's exactly what I got from Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding. I fear it may get a critical drubbing during the heated atmosphere of the current movie seaso | ||
| Safety Not Guaranteed | 2012 | Colin Trevorrow | 94 |
How do you take a wacky premise and make it believable enough to sustain a feature-length film? What's more, how do you incorporate a science-fiction element in a low-budget indie production? For answers, see the engaging new comedy Safety Not Guaranteed, which won newcomer Derek Connolly the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. If you like low-key, offbeat comedies, consider it a must-see. The film covers interesting ground, literally speaking, in Washington state, which gives it a fresh look and feel. It's also extremely well cast. Jake Johnson plays a reporter for Seattle magazine who's a bit of a wiseguy; he takes on the task of finding the person who placed an oddball classified ad seeking a companion for time travel. The assignment takes him back to his hometown of Ocean View, where he might have a chance to reconnect with an old flame. He's also saddled with two interns, a dour college graduate who hasn't yet found a real job (Aubrey Plaza) and a dense, self-serious student (Karan Soni). Identifying the guy who placed the time-travel ad (Mark Duplass) isn't very hard, but Plaza has to win his confidence and try to determine if he's for real. Safety Not Guaranteed was inspired by a genuine classified ad that first appeared in a survivalist magazine in the 1990s and then, years later, went viral on the Internet. Connolly took inspiration from the ad and expanded it into a clever, likable screenplay that fleshes out its characters and doesn't turn them into cardboard stereotypes. Having independent-film guru Mark Duplass on board, as a costar and coproducer, doesn't hurt. As audiences are bound to discover during the course of this busy year, he's a first-rate actor. |
tt1862079 | [R] | Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni | USA | Comedy | How do you take a wacky premise and make it believable enough to sustain a feature-length film? What's more, how do you incorporate a science-fiction element in a low-budget indie production? For answers, see the engaging new comedy Safety Not Guaranteed, which won newcomer Derek Connoll | ||
| Snow White and the Huntsman | 2012 | Rupert Sanders | 127 |
Sometimes, while I'm watching a bad movie, one burning question arises: "What were they thinking?" That's what I asked myself while suffering through Snow White and the Huntsman, a putrid, and seemingly endless, retelling of the famous fairy tale. Grim and gruesome, it's a soul-sucking two-hour-plus endurance test that parents should avoid taking their kids to see except as an extreme form of punishment. I can't imagine who the filmmakers envisioned as their target audience. Is it a date movie? I don't think so. It's really not for children, either, unless they happen to be members of the Addams Family. Why? Early in the story (spoiler alert!) we actually see the evil Queen plunge an enormous dagger into Snow White's father's chest. That's mild compared to the dark doings that follow, from closeups of icky insects and dead birds to a village of women and children cruelly set ablaze. Charlize Theron plays the ravenous, narcissistic queen without an iota of shading or nuance. It is certainly her loudest performance, but the constant shouting grows tiresome. Kristen Stewart does her best as the pure, innocent Snow White, and Chris Hemsworth is beefy and likable as the huntsman who becomes her protector. If you don't walk out of the movie (as I was sorely tempted to do) you'll eventually get to meet the seven dwarfs, who are played, in a bit of movie magic, by such familiar full-sized British actors as Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones, and Eddie Marsan. This touch of whimsy is welcome but comes too late to rescue the dark-hearted movie. The screenplay is credited to three separate writers, which is usually the sign of a long or troubled production. Given the ponderous nature of this film, and its refusal to come to a conclusion, it may simply be that the producers used all of their material. The director, Rupert Sanders, is known for his TV commercials, which should have taught him something about brevity. Incidentally, if you're wondering why we're being punished with a parade of revisionist fairy tales, the apparent reason is that Hollywood sensed a hit in the making when Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland went into production, and wound up making a huge pile of money two years ago. That got various producers thinking that the world was eager to see new renderings of Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and a string of other public-domain fairy tales and fables... but it's cockeyed logic. I suspect most people went to see Alice because it looked appealing and featured Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The only positive thought I can muster is that this movie will never eclipse Walt Disney's animated classic, which has brought joy to millions of viewers for the past 75 years. Disney was brilliant in his juxtaposition of light and dark story elements, but he never let the dark side overtake his films. That's why we feel a surge of happiness when goodness triumphs at the end. Snow White and the Huntsman simply stops, and I felt nothing except relief. |
tt1735898 | [PG-13] | Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin | USA | Action, Adventure | Sometimes, while I'm watching a bad movie, one burning question arises: "What were they thinking?" That's what I asked myself while suffering through Snow White and the Huntsman, a putrid, and seemingly endless, retelling of the famous fairy tale. Grim and gruesome, it's a soul-sucking t | ||
| Men In Black 3 | 2012 | Barry Sonnenfeld | 103 |
The first follow-up to Men in Black, ten years ago, seemed to be running on empty. It was the embodiment of everything that's wrong with sequels, whereas this one won me over completely. Why? For one thing, after a decade's absence, I enjoyed revisiting the characters of Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) and their alternate-reality version of New York City, where the population is dotted with bizarre-looking aliens, designed by makeup whiz Rick Baker. While it's impossible to recreate the feeling of originality that made the 1997 movie so enjoyable, screenwriter Etan Cohen and director Barry Sonnenfeld have done the next best thing: they've created a story that probes the relationship between Smith and Jones and plays on our fondness for the actors in these roles. (How it will play to moviegoers who are unfamiliar with the earlier film, I can't imagine... but I think they'd eventually catch on.) The screenplay is wickedly clever, forcing Smith to journey back in time to the year 1969 in order to undo an incident that has affected Jones ever since. In that year of the NASA moon launch Agent J meets a younger version of Agent K, played by Josh Brolin (doing an expert, and straight-faced imitation of taciturn Texan Jones) and persuades him that they have to work together to capture a feral criminal named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement). Their guide through the labyrinthine problems of dueling past-and-present realities is a nerdy time-travel savant, nicely played by Michael Stuhlbarg. The first Men in Black pushed the envelope of visual effects, but the toolkit available to fx supervisors Ken Ralston and Jay Redd, production designer Bo Welch, and cinematographer Bill Pope has expanded exponentially since then. They, along with Sonnenfeld (himself a former cinematographer), take full advantage of this, producing eye-popping, photorealistic shots that wouldn't have been possible even a decade ago. You want to re-create the look and feel of Cape Canaveral at the time of the space launch in 1969? No problem. You want Will Smith perched atop the Chrysler Building? Nothing to it. It's how Sonnenfeld makes use of these settings that gives Men in Black 3 its tremendous vitality. I even enjoyed the use of 3-D, which was executed in post-production, and looks great, with some bravura shots that are meant to be enjoyed. It's that spirit of fun that permeates Men in Black 3 and makes it so much fun. |
tt1409024 | [PG-13] | Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin | USA | Comedy, Sci-Fi | The first follow-up to Men in Black, ten years ago, seemed to be running on empty. It was the embodiment of everything that's wrong with sequels, whereas this one won me over completely. Why? For one thing, after a decade's absence, I enjoyed revisiting the characters of Agents J (Will Smith) and | ||
| Moonrise Kingdom | 2012 | Wes Anderson | 94 |
I really wanted to like this film. I respect Wes Anderson and his distinctive voice as a writer-director (Rushmore is one of my favorite films of the 1990s), but this latest endeavor is so precious and self-aware that it nearly smothers itself. He's been heading in this direction for a while, as evidenced by The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Express, both of which had inspired ideas scattered within them. Moonrise Kingdom is more frustrating than either of those pictures because it deals with two youthful misfits and ought to win our hearts. But in his crucial casting of the young leads, and in his overall tone, Anderson builds a wall around these kids, and that kept me at an emotional distance. Newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward play lonely young eccentrics who meet by chance in 1965 and plan to run away together on the New England coastal island where she lives. This causes consternation on the part of Gilman's scout leader, played by Edward Norton, Hayward's oddball parents, Frances McDormand and Bill Murray, and the local police chief, Bruce Willis. Their lives are interconnected in this small community, even more so as the search for the two runaways continues. As it happens, the frustrated and largely incompetent adults seem less mature than the boy and girl who, for all their peccadilloes, are genuine soul mates. I wish I liked the two young actors better; it certainly isn't their fault, but warmth is not Anderson's strongest suit and he doesn't allow them to win us over as, ironically, a more conventional Hollywood director might. The grownups, playing their often-buffoonish roles in deadpan style, are amusing and bring much-needed appeal to the proceedings. The central idea by Anderson and his writing partner Roman Coppola has promise, but Moonrise Kingdom is self-consciously clever to a fault. The sheer amount of detail—in the costuming, production design, choice of music (a lot of Benjamin Britten) and camera moves—is overwhelming. Colleagues of the director frequently praise him for "knowing what he wants," which is meant as a compliment, but obsessive single-mindedness is not always a good thing. Apparently the scouts' pup tents were made expressly for the film by a firm that replicated a style and fabric that would have been used in 1965. Does that authenticity add an ounce of emotional resonance to the movie? I think not. I can't ignore, or disparage, the sheer originality of Moonrise Kingdom, from its peculiar characters to their peculiar homes. But I wish I felt something more. |
tt1748122 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward | USA | Comedy, Drama | I really wanted to like this film. I respect Wes Anderson and his distinctive voice as a writer-director (Rushmore is one of my favorite films of the 1990s), but this latest endeavor is so precious and self-aware that it nearly smothers itself. He's been heading in this direction for a while, as | ||
| Polisse | 2011 | Maïwenn | 127 |
Polisse is a sprawling but vivid portrait of the Paris police department's Child Protection Unit, a tight-knit group of colleagues whose emotionally draining work (like protecting children from sexual predators within their own family) affects their private lives as well as their relationships on the job. The grisly, sometimes heartbreaking cases they encounter on a daily basis would touch, or distress, anyone not made of stone. Filmmaker and actress Maïwenn has fashioned this provocative film with co-writer Emmanuelle Bercot from stories they learned, and witnessed, while spending time with the real-life unit; no wonder so many of the hair-raising vignettes have the ring of truth. Bercot also appears as one of the protection team members. Maïwenn (whom some viewers will remember from Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, years ago) plays a dowdy photographer who is assigned to cover their work and falls in love with the resident hothead: a passionate man, played by real-life rapper Joeystarr, who can't distance himself from his work. Maïwenn's storytelling approach is oblique and untidy, but that seems to suit the subject and its multiplicity of characters. We come to know many of the police professionals who devote themselves to their jobs and have to find some way to let off steam—sometimes after hours, where no harm is done, and sometimes in the office, where the results can be volatile. One has to wonder how anybody survives the rigors of this assignment. There are no weak links in the cast, an impressive array of French cinema stalwarts who make their flawed characters seem absolutely real. Polisse is an extreme alternative to the Hollywood summer movie—the polar opposite of escapism. But it is a striking and unusual piece of work that's well worth seeing. |
tt1661420 | [R] | Kevin Viard, Joey Starr, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Maïwenn, Karole Rocher, Emmanuelle Bercot | France | Crime, Drama | Polisse is a sprawling but vivid portrait of the Paris police department's Child Protection Unit, a tight-knit group of colleagues whose emotionally draining work (like protecting children from sexual predators within their own family) affects their private lives as well as their relationships on | ||
| The Dictator | 2012 | Larry Charles | 83 |
As someone who was completely disarmed by Borat, then disappointed by Bruno, I hoped Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy would hit that sweet spot again, especially since he is working with his longtime collaborators, director Larry Charles and writers Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer. I certainly couldn't have foreseen a film as sloppy and mediocre as this. You have to give Baron Cohen credit, not only for audaciousness (as he has proved with his worldwide promotional stunts for The Dictator) but for his complete commitment to every character he portrays. The problem with his latest, Admiral General Aladeen of Wadiya, is that he's poorly conceived. If he were strictly a satirical figure, making fun of Kim Jong-Il and his ilk, that would be one thing, but he attempts to humanize the would-be monster, in fits and starts. The Admiral General, as he's known, is duped by his chief advisor (Ben Kingsley) into coming to New York, ostensibly to sign a peace treaty at the United Nations. Instead, he is replaced by a lookalike and left to fend for himself in the Big Apple. This leads to a lumpy love story with a politically active (and correct) woman played by Anna Faris, a subplot that is both arbitrary and unconvincing. The most curious thing about this film is the expression of Baron Cohen's sense of humor, which was evident in his earliest incarnation as Ali G on television: he embraces both stinging satire and the lowest form of Borscht Belt comedy, and has no problem leapfrogging from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye. There are scenes in The Dictator where jokes (some good, some awful, many of them crass) come pouring out of his mouth at a rapid-fire pace that suggests nothing so much as desperation. Woody Allen was guilty of this in his earliest films but he learned, and grew as a comedy filmmaker, with each passing year. I could forgive almost anything of a movie that makes me laugh, but this one is so scattershot—and the good jokes are so overwhelmed by the duds—that the end result can only be called a misfire. Too bad. |
tt1645170 | [R] | Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley | USA | Comedy | As someone who was completely disarmed by Borat, then disappointed by Bruno, I hoped Sacha Baron Cohen's latest comedy would hit that sweet spot again, especially since he is working with his longtime collaborators, director Larry Charles and writers Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Sch | ||
| Battleship | 2012 | Peter Berg | 131 |
Finally, Hollywood has produced a movie for people who found the Transformers series too intellectually challenging. This shouldn't come as a complete surprise, since Battleship is not based on a novel, or a magazine article, but a board game. Yet even within the confines of a big, dumb summer action movie, Battleship strains the limits of credibility. Director Peter Berg has layered a veneer of patriotism and gung-ho Navy pride onto Erich and Jon Hoeber's cardboard screenplay, in a cheesy attempt to bring gravitas to the project (and guilt to anyone who dares to knock it). Still, there's no escaping the fact that the characters—though played by beautiful people—are strictly one-dimensional. Even a tough military veteran who's lost his legs, and his will to live (played by real-life amputee Gregory D. Gadson), becomes a living cliché. Taylor Kitsch, who first worked with Berg on Friday Night Lights, stars as a perpetual screw-up whose brother, straight-arrow Naval officer Alexander Skarsgård, grows tired of getting him out of jams and forces him to join the Navy. And poof! In the blink of an eye, he becomes an officer, too—although he can't shed his hot-headed temper, which gets him in Dutch with his grim-faced Admiral (Liam Neeson), who also happens to be the father of his new girlfriend (Brooklyn Decker). Kitsch gets to prove his mettle in the midst of a hostile alien invasion which forms the centerpiece of the picture and allows for elaborate visual effects and plenty of fiery explosions. That may be enough to please undiscriminating action fans, but for me it didn't compensate for all the dumb dialogue and juvenile plotting. Battleship isn't boring, but that's a small compliment. Or as my friend Bill Warren put it, "Saying something wasn't as bad as I feared isn't the same thing as saying it was good, is it?" |
tt1440129 | [PG-13] | Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, Asano Tadanobu, Liam Neeson | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | Finally, Hollywood has produced a movie for people who found the Transformers series too intellectually challenging. This shouldn't come as a complete surprise, since Battleship is not based on a novel, or a magazine article, but a board game.Yet even within the confines | ||
| What To Expect When Youre Expecting | 2012 | Kirk Jones | 110 |
I'm as susceptible as anyone to watching highly attractive people onscreen, which this movie has in abundance, but it took time for What to Expect When You're Expecting to win me over. I found some of its multiple storylines annoying and hopelessly contrived, at first; it's only toward the end, when the film draws from real life, that it finds its heart and becomes relatable for anyone who has been through pregnancy or parenthood. (The movie was "inspired by" Heidi Murkoff's best-selling non-fiction book of the same name.) Cameron Diaz plays a TV fitness guru who's "over 35" and determined not to let pregnancy slow her down, in spite of the pleas of her boyfriend, the likable Matthew Morrison. Jennifer Lopez is a freelance photographer who can't have children and convinces her husband (Rodrigo Santoro) to adopt a child, but impending fatherhood sends him into a state of panic. Maternity-shop owner and author Elizabeth Banks prepares to experience what she's only written about second-hand until now, while her husband (Ben Falcone) feels undermined when his wealthy, highly competitive father (Dennis Quaid) announces that he and his trophy wife (Brooklyn Decker) are also expecting. And rival food-truck chefs Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford discover that even one night of lovemaking can result in unexpected pregnancy. As counterpoint to all of this, Santoro is sent off to gain wisdom and experience from a daddy support group led by Chris Rock (and populated by such comedic figures as Tom Lennon and Rob Huebel). Screenwriters Shauna Cross and Heather Hach have just enough good ideas, and persuasive enough actors, to put across their better material (Lopez and Kendrick being standouts here), leaving actors like Falcone and Quaid to mug through their patently artificial scenes. What to Expect When You're Expecting is a mixed bag, but if you like the cast, you may be forgiving of its weaknesses and allow its truer moments—the ones that matter most—to shape your overall opinion and leave you smiling. It's hard not to be affected by scenes of women giving birth and experiencing the first moments of parenthood, no matter what has preceded them. |
tt1586265 | [PG-13] | Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick, Matthew Morrison, Dennis Quaid | USA | Comedy, Drama | I'm as susceptible as anyone to watching highly attractive people onscreen, which this movie has in abundance, but it took time for What to Expect When You're Expecting to win me over. I found some of its multiple storylines annoying and hopelessly contrived, at first; it's only toward t | ||
| Hysteria | 2012 | Tanya Wexler | 100 |
Understandably, this R-rated comedy is being promoted as the story of how the vibrator came to be invented. That's not untrue, but what makes Hysteria so entertaining is the larger picture it paints of repressed Victorian society. That it does so in the form of a farcical comedy makes it all the more enjoyable. Hugh Dancy plays an idealistic young doctor with progressive ideas that the medical establishment doesn't want to hear. He eventually finds a job with eminent London physician Jonathan Pryce, who is renowned for treating the catch-all woman's ailment he identifies as hysteria. His treatments involve manipulating his finger in a way that pleases his patients no end—yet neither he nor they will acknowledge that pleasure has anything to do with it. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Pryce's rebellious daughter, a social reformer who runs a settlement house; she is the opposite of her sister, Felicity Jones, a prim, proper young lady who follows Victorian convention and would make Dancy an ideal wife. Yet in spite of himself, he finds himself attracted to the crusading Gyllenhaal. The screenplay, by Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer, based on Howard Gensler's story, makes Dancy's best friend, wealthy Rupert Everett, a tinkerer who loves to play with the latest in electrical equipment. That, in a roundabout way, is how the vibrator comes into being. Hysteria isn't terribly deep, and doesn't pretend to be. It's a flippant movie that has fun playing with, and against, the mores of its era. The expert actors never wink at us, and approach their parts with utmost seriousness—except for the irrepressible Everett, who seems to revel in his role. Director Tanya Wexler strikes the perfect note for her ensemble, and this potentially delicate subject matter. Because the movie doesn't take itself too seriously, and remains visually discreet, we're invited to relax and have fun with it. And why not? |
tt1435513 | [R] | Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Rupert Everett, Felicity Jones | USA | Comedy | Understandably, this R-rated comedy is being promoted as the story of how the vibrator came to be invented. That's not untrue, but what makes Hysteria so entertaining is the larger picture it paints of repressed Victorian society. That it does so in the form of a farcical comedy makes it | ||
| The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | 2012 | John Madden | 124 |
When a film has a dream cast led by Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, and Bill Nighy, you can't go far wrong, and that is exactly the case with Ol Parker's adaptation of the novel by prolific British television and screenwriter Deborah Moggach, whose credits include the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. Who better to direct this piece that John Madden, the man responsible for such films as Mrs. Brown, Shakespeare in Love, and Proof? Please forgive me, then, for not having fallen in love with the movie, as many others have; I find it a bit too calculated and pat. It does not condescend to older people, thank goodness, or play them as cute, although it does take steps in that direction. It also ties things up in a neat little package with a red bow on top, but one would expect no less from a feel-good movie that's intended to please a "mature" demographic. The story doesn't start out on a lighthearted note—quite the opposite, as we meet the central characters, all British senior citizens whose lives have stalled by circumstance or been undercut by financial woes. The disparate group includes a widow who's flustered by the computer age (Dench), a professor who feels he's in a rut (Wilkinson), a cranky, bigoted woman who can't afford the hip operation she desperately needs (Smith), a cougar in search of a sugar daddy (Celia Imre), and a couple who have lost their nest egg (Nighy and Penelope Wilton). They are all susceptible to the advertising of a hotel in Jaipur that promises luxurious accommodations at reasonable rates. This turns out to be wishful thinking on the part of the establishment's youthful manager, played by Dev Patel, whom you will remember from Slumdog Millionaire. How the various British ex-pats deal with the harsh reality that greets them at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the crux of the film: some adapt readily, some resist, and others create new lives for themselves amidst the colorful chaos of modern-day India. It's all very genteel, with a sprinkling of sexual comedy involving a guest (Ronald Pickup) who refuses to submit to advancing years. Stereotypically, this is the kind of movie you'd encourage your parents or grandparents to see. It acknowledges the slings and arrows of senior citizenry but offers hope, in a series of idealized solutions to some of the problems older people face. In the hands of actors we don't already love and respect, it could be deadly; with this array of old pros, it's hard to resist, and yet I did, somewhat. I don't mind being manipulated, but I mind being aware of it. |
tt1412386 | [PG-13] | Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel | USA | Comedy, Drama | When a film has a dream cast led by Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, and Bill Nighy, you can't go far wrong, and that is exactly the case with Ol Parker's adaptation of the novel by prolific British television and screenwriter Deborah Moggach, whose credits include the 2005 version of Pri | ||
| The Avengers | 2012 | Joss Whedon | 143 |
If every summer blockbuster or comic-book movie were as good as Marvel's The Avengers I'd greet the upcoming release slate with a lot more enthusiasm but there aren't many writer-directors as talented as Joss Whedon. Indeed, it's the writing that sets this film apart from the crowd, in harmony with perfect casting, first-rate visual effects, and other key ingredients. During the past few years, as we've been teased about this gathering of superheroes in the epilogues to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America, I've wondered how Whedon—or anyone—would deal with so many strong yet distinctive personalities in a single picture. The answer lies not only in the imaginative, superbly orchestrated script but in the baggage we bring to the theater. We've already met Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Chris Evans as Captain America, seen Scarlett Johansson strut her stuff as Black Widow, and enjoyed Robert Downey, Jr. as snarky Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Even Clark Gregg is by now a familiar presence as Agent Colson, not to mention the formidable Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. honcho Nick Fury. Yet The Avengers is better than any of the films that led up to it, and I for one had no problem embracing newcomers Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (The Hulk) or Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. The story, which Whedon conceived with Zak Penn, establishes territorial tension among these larger-than-life figures, presents them with a way to work out their problems, and unites them against a common enemy. As for the performances, it would seem that Downey set the bar high and inspired his colleagues to play at the same level. There's no weak link here. That leads me to the next not-so-secret ingredient: a great villain. Tom Hiddleston chewed the scenery in the Shakespearean arena of Thor, as the hero's maligned step-sibling, but here he's allowed to be sly, sarcastic, and casually cruel. It's a delicious performance. Finally, Whedon has injected a welcome dose of humor to the proceedings. With a sure-footed sense of pacing, he has punctuated his screenplay with wonderfully funny dialogue. It's the first superhero movie I can think of that has made me (and the audience around me) laugh out loud, repeatedly. We can only invest in an action movie if we relate to the characters and believe that something is at stake. Whedon gives us all of that and more, in a film that clocks in at well over two hours but never seems long. I can't say that 3-D made a big difference to my enjoyment of the film; there are moments where foreground pieces really stand out and show off the dimensionality of a shot, but I suspect the film and its spectacular special effects play just as well in 2-D. Content is king in this film, and it's a marvel to behold. |
tt0848228 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey/Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård , Samuel L. Jackson | USA | Action, Adventure | If every summer blockbuster or comic-book movie were as good as Marvel's The Avengers I'd greet the upcoming release slate with a lot more enthusiasm but there aren't many writer-directors as talented as Joss Whedon. Indeed, it's the writing that sets this film apart from the crowd, in | ||
| Dark Shadows | 2012 | Tim Burton | 113 |
It makes sense that for Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton to get in on the current vampire craze, they'd have to approach it with a sense of humor. I doubt if many young viewers know that they've based their new film on a forty-year-old daytime TV drama, and it scarcely matters. Dark Shadows is an amusing piece of high camp, stoked by Depp's deadpan star performance and the kind of elaborate trappings one would expect from Burton. (His longtime production designer, Rick Heinrichs, has done another beautiful job with both real and virtual sets.) The story begins in the 1700s, when the Collins family leaves Liverpool for the New World and settles in Maine, where Joshua Collins builds a thriving business, establishes a seaport town, and constructs a majestic family mansion. But one of the household servants (Green) turns out to be a witch, and when Barnabas (Depp) shuns her in favor of another woman, she unleashes a curse on the Collins clan and turns the young playboy into a vampire who is then buried alive. The story picks up two hundred years later—in 1972, as Barnabas rises from his grave and tries to restore his family's tarnished glory. If you're hoping for big, Addams Family-style laughs, however, you may come away disappointed. There isn't much substance here, and once you absorb the tone of the film and acquaint yourself with its colorful characters, the movie has no big surprises in store. I was satisfied to watch Depp and sexy Eva Green bare their fangs, so to speak, and I enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter's scenes as a slightly unhinged psychiatrist-in-residence, even if other cast members like Chloë Grace Moretz and Jackie Earle Haley have little to do. Michelle Pfeiffer is reduced to playing straight-man, as the family matriarch, but she does it well. And, of course, it's nice to see 89-year-old Christopher Lee in his one scene as an old sea salt. Longtime fans of Dan Curtis' memorable daytime drama may be dismayed at this sendup, but at least they'll catch a glimpse of the show's original stars (Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Selby, Lara Parker, and the late Jonathan Frid) as guests at a fancy-dress ball where Alice Cooper entertains. So, as usual, how much pleasure you derive from Dark Shadows will have a lot to do with your expectations. It's not great, by any measure, but I found it diverting, and I'll confess that I didn't mind watching the notably beautiful women in its cast. |
tt1077368 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Eva Green, Chloe Moretz, Bella Heathcote, Thomas McDonell, Gulliver McGrath | USA | Thriller | It makes sense that for Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton to get in on the current vampire craze, they'd have to approach it with a sense of humor. I doubt if many young viewers know that they've based their new film on a forty-year-old daytime TV drama, and it scarcely matters. Dark Shadow | ||
| The Five-Year Engagement | 2012 | Nicholas Stoller | 124 |
Moviegoers who expect another Bridesmaids from this Judd Apatow-produced comedy are in for a surprise. Some of them may be disappointed with the lack of raucousness, but I was not: The Five-Year Engagement is a strikingly original comedy with serious undertones. It dares to take its time, as it covers an unusually long time period in a constantly-changing relationship. The one constant is that its protagonists, played by Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, genuinely love each other. Not everyone will welcome the leisurely pace and meandering nature of the film, but it won me over completely. And to allay any concerns, the movie fully earns its R rating with the expected complement of raw dialogue and penis jokes. Segel has become a modern-day everyman, and women apparently like him for just that reason: he's the kind of guy you might actually encounter in real life. He scripted The Five-Year Engagement with his longtime writing partner Nicholas Stoller, who also directed the film. Their aim was to chronicle the ups and down of a couple who repeatedly allow clutter and circumstance to get in the way of their intended marriage. That accounts for the episodic nature of their picture, in which Segel, an up-and-coming chef in San Francisco, willingly moves to frosty Ann Arbor, Michigan so his fiancée can pursue an opportunity for graduate studies at the university. While he refuses to complain about his new lot in life, he suffers from the move and begins to lose his identity. The film is sparked by a number of lively supporting performances by a talented cast including Chris Pratt, as Segel's goofy culinary colleague, Alison Brie (sporting a British accent) as a good friend of Blunt's, Rhys Ifans, Mindy Kaling, Randall Park, Mimi Kennedy, David Paymer, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, and a number of other familiar performers whose comedic expertise adds greatly to the texture of the picture. What in other hands might be seen as peripheral becomes part of the organic whole herewhich, I must admit, is something of a rarity in Apatow-produced movies, which depend so much on improvisation that the results resemble a crazy-quilt. |
tt1195478 | [R] | Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans | USA | Comedy, Romance | Moviegoers who expect another Bridesmaids from this Judd Apatow-produced comedy are in for a surprise. Some of them may be disappointed with the lack of raucousness, but I was not: The Five-Year Engagement is a strikingly original comedy with serious undertones. It dares to take its time | ||
| Headhunters | Hodejegerne | 2012 | Morten Tyldum | 100 |
I can't remember the last time a movie surprised me as much as Headhunters: not just its story twists and turns, which are considerable, but its continual stripping of character veneer and overall audaciousness left me breathless. I haven't read any of the growingly-popular novels by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø (whose reputation has grown in the past few years, possibly in the wake of Sweden's Stieg Larsson), but if this is indicative of his storytelling skills, I'm impressed. The film captures our attention right away by introducing us to its highly unlikely "hero", a smug, high-level corporate headhunter who plays to win. He's even won himself a beautiful wife, although he admits that the expensive, ultramodern house in which they live is more her taste than his. Then he explains, in voice-over narration, that he has a second source of income to support his expensive lifestyle: he is a successful art thief. When his wife opens a stylish new gallery and befriends a newcomer who happens to own a valuable Rubens painting, he simply can't resist going after it, with the help of a partner who works for a home-security firm. To reveal much more would rob the film of its many layers and revelations; let's just say that it matches its plot complications with scenes of action and suspense that rival any Hollywood has to offer. Actor Aksel Hennie, who plays the job recruiter/thief is a popular star in Norway, but this demanding and wide-ranging performance should put him on the world stage. Fans of Game of Thrones will recognize the movie's second male lead, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, a robustly handsome man who throws several monkey wrenches into Hennie's plans. (He's also appeared in two films for director Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down and Kingdom of Heaven.) Director Morten Tyldum realizes all the potential in the ingenious script by Lars Gudmstead and Ulf Ryberg (whose credits include the screenplay of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and one episode of Wallander). My wife, who read Headhunters, actually likes the film better than the novel, and tells me that the screenwriters made one substantial change involving the female characters. Whatever they did, it works. Headhunters is a sleeper that ought to generate strong word-of-mouth. A Hollywood studio is already preparing a remake, but I doubt if an American filmmaker will pull off the story with the same gutsiness that marks this striking Norwegian import. |
tt1614989 | [R] | Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | Norway | Thriller | I can't remember the last time a movie surprised me as much as Headhunters: not just its story twists and turns, which are considerable, but its continual stripping of character veneer and overall audaciousness left me breathless. I haven't read any of the growingly-popular novels by Norwegian au | |
| Pirates! Band of Misfits, The | 2012 | Peter Lord | 88 |
I'm a sucker for Aardman Animations' films, and have been ever since I first set eyes on Nick Park's unforgettable short Creature Comforts more than twenty years ago. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, directed by the studio's co-founder Peter Lord, has the same qualities that always make their work so appealing: a distinctly British sense of humor, and amusing character designs—in clay. While even the folks at Aardman have embraced computer technology as a filmmaking tool, there is something uniquely appealing about sculpted clay figures like the Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) and his self-described "luxuriant beard." Audiences naturally respond to the characters, situations, and gags in any animated cartoon, but the look of the film is one of its strongest assets, and wins us over right away. Story development in Gideon Defoe's screenplay is not this movie's strongest suit; silliness is. As we meet the proud Pirate Captain and his eccentric crew, we realize that the so-called hero of the film is something of a nitwit, albeit a likable one. His odd-looking mates are loyal to a fault and support him as he enters the Pirate of the Year contest, even though he always loses. It turns out that the real "winner" in their midst is the Captain's "parrot" Polly, whom none other than Charles Darwin identifies as a dodo bird. That makes her very desirable, not only to the fabled scientist but to none other than Queen Victoria herself. The Pirates! Band of Misfits elicited hearty laughs from many audience members—especially grownups—the night I saw it. I found myself smiling and chuckling more than laughing out loud, but I have no complaint about a film that offers wit, imagination, and sheer nonsense in equal measure. Many of the gags will sail over children's heads, but I think the non-stop action and overall good cheer will please them. Adults will enjoy the voice work by Grant and a fine supporting cast led by Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton (as Queen Victoria), David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Lenny Henry, Brian Blessed, Anton Yelchin, and Brendan Gleeson. Anglophiles will appreciate them all the more. Pixar may be stronger on story development, and DreamWorks funnier in terms of verbal gags, but Aardman's films have their own personality, and I hope they never abandon it. |
tt1430626 | [PG] | Hugh Grant, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Martin Freeman, Jeremy Piven | UK, USA | Animation, Adventure | I'm a sucker for Aardman Animations' films, and have been ever since I first set eyes on Nick Park's unforgettable short Creature Comforts more than twenty years ago. The Pirates! Band of Misfits, directed by the studio's co-founder Peter Lord, has the same qualities that always make the | ||
| Bernie | 2012 | Richard Linklater | 104 |
Some films—even good ones—fall neatly into one category or another, but I often find myself drawn to movies that defy pigeonholing, like Richard Linklater's Bernie. Is it a comedy? Yes, in part. Is it a character study? Certainly. Is it a true-crime story? Absolutely. Does it have two outstanding performances in the leading roles? Definitely. If you like Jack Black and/or Shirley MacLaine, the movie is a must-see. Black plays the title character, who prepares bodies for their final viewing at a funeral parlor in Carthage, Texas and prides himself on his work. An outgoing fellow, he is well-liked throughout the community, where the subject of homosexuality never enters the conversation. MacLaine portrays a wealthy woman who is, by all accounts, the meanest person in town. No one has a good word to say about her, and no one can—or even wants to—get close to her... until Bernie enters her life. That said, the less you know about Bernie before you see it the more you will enjoy the process of discovery that Linklater and co-writer Skip Hollandsworth had in mind. It was Hollandsworth's 1998 article in Texas Monthly about the almost unbelievable real-life doings in the town of Carthage that inspired the Austin-based filmmaker to pursue this as a film project, which turned into a labor of love. It is also a portrait of East Texas. Our guide to this distinct area of a diverse state is Sonny Carl Davis, whom some film buffs may remember as the costar of Eagle Pennell's landmark indie feature The Whole Shootin' Match. His presence denotes a continuity in Texas storytelling on film; besides, he lights up the screen. Linklater also cleverly integrates footage of real-life citizens who remember the real-life characters played by Black and MacLaine, further blurring the line between documentary and dramatization. (The woman who smokes up a storm while casting aspersions on MacLaine's character is played by costar Matthew McConaughey's mother.) Bernie is both entertaining and continually surprising; that's a welcome combination in my book. |
tt1704573 | [PG-13] | Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey | USA | Drama | Some films—even good ones—fall neatly into one category or another, but I often find myself drawn to movies that defy pigeonholing, like Richard Linklater's Bernie. Is it a comedy? Yes, in part. Is it a character study? Certainly. Is it a true-crime story? Absolutely. Does it have two | ||
| The Raven | 2012 | James McTeigue | 111 |
Poor Edgar Allan Poe can't get a break from Hollywoodat least, not since Roger Corman made his famous adaptations in the 1960s with Vincent Price. Even the 1963 Corman movie called The Raven with Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and young Jack Nicholson had nothing to do with Poe's immortal poem; neither did the 1935 picture starring Karloff and Bela Lugosi. They do have one thing in common, however: they're a lot more entertaining than the new release that bears this title. John Cusack plays Poe at the end of his life, a pariah who can't rustle up a drink in his hometown of Baltimore. He's utterly obnoxious, and even abuses the newspaper editor who has published his work. This is not a good way to start a film; while we eventually learn some of the reasons this celebrated author has wound up impoverished and alone, they still don't make him an ideal hero. Circumstance is the only reason we root for him as a police inspector (Luke Evans) discovers that a series of grisly murders is being enacted according to the exact details of Poe's macabre writings. When the woman Poe has fallen in love with (Alice Eve) is abducted, the stakes get even higher: now Poe and the policeman must race against the clock to rescue the innocent woman. Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare's original screenplay is reasonably clever, and director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) keeps the action moving at a brisk pace. But the dark-hued film is so grisly and unpleasant that when the mystery is finally solved, the only satisfaction derives from knowing that it's over. The gulf between this film and the actual stories of Edgar Allan Poe is as wide as Mark Twain's famous comparison of the words "lightning" and "lightning bug." All it represents is a waste of time and talent. |
tt1486192 | [R] | John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen | USA | Thriller | Poor Edgar Allan Poe can't get a break from Hollywoodat least, not since Roger Corman made his famous adaptations in the 1960s with Vincent Price. Even the 1963 Corman movie called The Raven with Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and young Jack Nicholson had nothing to do with Poe's im | ||
| Damsels in Distress | 2012 | Whit Stillman | 99 |
It's difficult to know what to make of Whit Stillman's Damsels in Distress. When I screened it for my class at USC my students' reaction was all over the map. One young woman said it was possibly the worst movie she'd ever seen, while a young man raised his hand to say that he loved it; many others echoed their sentiments. I fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Indie favorite Greta Gerwig plays an Ivy League college student whose clique adopts a newcomer to campus (Analeigh Tipton). These self-possessed young ladies feel it is incumbent upon them to raise the spirits, and standards, of the campus—whether the recipients of their largesse are grateful or not. One could call their mode of language and overall manner affected or obnoxious, depending on your point of view. I was not buying into the film until people around me started laughing, and I found myself surrendering to it somewhat. I think it's the sheer absurdity of the movie that disarmed some of my students, although it is still best described as an oddity. (There is even an old-fashioned musical number near the end of the picture.) Writer-director Stillman is a former preppie who has explored upper-class values in his previous films, but I don't remember finding Metropolitan so arch and off-putting as Damsels in Distress. I suspect that audiences and critics will echo my class' widely varied response to the film, but this much is sure: it may earn a niche as the year's most original and unusual comedy. |
tt1667307 | [PG-13] | Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Hugo Becker, Ryan Metcalf | USA | It's difficult to know what to make of Whit Stillman's Damsels in Distress. When I screened it for my class at USC my students' reaction was all over the map. One young woman said it was possibly the worst movie she'd ever seen, while a young man raised his hand to say that he loved it; many othe | |||
| Wrath of the Titans | 2012 | Jonathan Liebesman | 99 |
I remember feeling a certain amount of wrath over the ham-handed 3-D effects in 2010's Clash of the Titans, but the film itself wasn't bad: uneven, to be sure, but strengthened by adhering to the story template of the 1981 movie of the same name, written by Beverley Cross. If I were 12 years old I would have loved it. I tried to summon my inner 12-year-old for this sequel, but even kids might object to the subversion of Greek mythology presented here... starting with the premise that the Gods of Olympus are losing their powers. That's why Zeus (played again by Liam Neeson) asks his half-human son Perseus (Sam Worthington) for his help to keep the dark forces from taking over. Those forces are represented by Hades (a returning Ralph Fiennes) and his nasty son Ares (Édgar Ramírez), not to mention Kronos, the father of Zeus and Hades. Perseus is trying to live a quiet life as a fisherman and raise his son Helius in peace, but he eventually realizes that he has no choice in the matter. His allies include the warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) and what passes for a comic-relief character, Agenor (Toby Kebbell). But the script, by Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson (from a story they conceived with Greg Berlanti) draws these characters so sketchily they don't make any impression on us. Goodness knows, Wrath of the Titans could use some relief from its grim-faced gravitas now and then. After all, this is a movie about heroes battling monsters. The problem with a film that uses CGI as a substitute for good writing is that virtually every picture that comes along nowadays has impressive visual effects; this has leveled the playing field, to say the least. (The same is true for this movie's unremarkable use of 3-D.) Director Jonathan Liebesman can only do so much with the script he was given, and the same is true of the talented actors. Without full-blooded characters to drive the story, Wrath of the Titans is just a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. |
tt1646987 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson, Danny Huston, Edgar Ramirez, Bill Nighy, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike | USA | Action, Adventure | I remember feeling a certain amount of wrath over the ham-handed 3-D effects in 2010's Clash of the Titans, but the film itself wasn't bad: uneven, to be sure, but strengthened by adhering to the story template of the 1981 movie of the same name, written by Beverley Cross. If I were 12 years old | ||
| The Hunger Games | 2012 | Gary Ross | 142 |
As in any screen adaptation, this one skimps on details that are undoubtedly fleshed out in print, but we learn just enough about the ground rules of this society, made up of hedonistic "haves" and hardscrabble "have-nots," to set the stage. The annual Hunger Games are a no-holds-barred fight to the finish among 24 adolescents, representing twelve districts, for the amusement of a television audience. Only one person walks away victorious; 23 young people die in this strange ritual. Lawrence proved her ability to carry a character's heavy burden in Winter's Bone. As Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl who is both physically and morally strong, she has gravitas, rarely breaking into a smile, but reveals no sign of self-seriousness. Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark isn't as well defined: he's had a secret crush on Katniss for years, and wound up in the Hunger Games by sheer misfortune. We can see in an instant that he lacks a killer instinct; he's pure of heart. Hunky Liam Hemsworth has little to do in this installment of the saga, but I'm sure we'll see more of him in parts two and three. Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz, as sympathetic "mentors" to our reluctant warrior-heroes, are the standouts in a capable supporting cast that includes Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland. Director Gary Ross (working from a screenplay he co-wrote with author Collins and Billy Ray) is admirably discreet in depicting violence, as befits the film's target audience and PG-13 rating. I'm less enthusiastic about his choice of frantic, blurred activity to put across his action scenes, and I'll never understand why, like so many other films, this one relies so much on extreme ultra-closeups. Whatever happened to medium shots? It isn't difficult to figure out where the story is headed most of the time; suspense is not this movie's strongest suit. Given that, The Hunger Games feels long, and can't fully justify filling more than two hours' time. What's more, the finale is weak, even within the constraints of a tale that is meant to be continued. Unless I miss my guess, pre-sold fans should approve of this cinematic translation; readers will also have the benefit of having absorbed material that the screenplay was forced to leave out. I can't feign any great enthusiasm for The Hunger Games, but it's not bad, and gains a great deal from the presence of its sterling heroine, as played by Jennifer Lawrence. She alone makes it worth anticipating the next chapter in the story. |
tt1392170 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jacqueline Emerson, Paula Malcomson, Dayo Okeniyi, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin, Willow Shields, Lenny Kravitz | USA | Action, Drama | As someone who hasn't read Suzanne Collins' trilogy of novels, going to see The Hunger Games "cold", I felt comforted by the presence of two young actors I admire, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Given the downbeat nature of the story, set in a bleak future world, having warm-blooded acto | ||
| Project X | 2012 | Nima Nourizadeh | 88 |
So, is this merely an extreme teenage version of The Hangover, or is it another sign of the end of civilization as we know it? How you feel about Project X will have a lot to do with your age and gender. If I were a hormonally charged 16-year-old boy, I might think it was the greatest movie ever made, a wish-fulfillment comedy featuring lots of good-looking naked girls. As a parent, I have quite another view: it's a horror movie! Using the template of The Hangover (made by Todd Phillips, who produced this film), a self-appointed cool dude decides to throw his shy pal a 17th birthday party he'll never forget, while his parents are away for the weekend. To say that it goes out of control is a mild understatement. I know Project X is not meant to be taken literally, or even seriously. It's a 2012 revision of Risky Business crossed with Animal House, only much more crude, as befits the current trend in comedy. What sets the film apart is its willingness to gleefully cross every line on the road to total anarchy. (The only copout is the old-fashioned ending involving the hero and his girlfriend.) If I were an adolescent girl this movie would make me want to move to another continent rather than suffer the foul-mouthed, condescending outlook of the "typical" high-school boys depicted here. But my biggest complaint about Project X is that it isn't true to its own premise. The picture is supposedly a video diary taken by a hanger-on who follows the three central characters around during the planning and execution of this party-to-end-all-parties except when director Nima Nourizadeh decides that the concept is inconvenient and cuts to shots from other points of view. (An opening title card explains that some of the footage comes from law enforcement and other sources. Nice try.) In any case, this movie wasn't intended for me. Come to think of it, I should be grateful for that. |
tt1636826 | [R] | Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown | USA | Comedy | So, is this merely an extreme teenage version of The Hangover, or is it another sign of the end of civilization as we know it? How you feel about Project X will have a lot to do with your age and gender. If I were a hormonally charged 16-year-old boy, I might think it was the greate | ||
| John Carter | 2012 | Andrew Stanton | 132 |
John Carter is far from the disaster it's been made out to be in some circles... nor is it an unqualified success. It has enough visual effects and production values for three movies, and almost as much story material, which is one of its problems. But it does provide vigorous, eye-filling entertainment, and paves the way for Taylor Kitsch (best known so far from his work on the TV series Friday Night Lights) to become a major movie star. I never read Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels about Carter and the planet Mars (known to the locals as Barsoom), but a friend who is a lifelong devotee was quite pleased with this adaptation, by director Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon, declaring it true to the spirit of the books even though it adds many ideas of its own. As one of Pixar's star players, Stanton is an experienced cinematic storyteller, which is why it's disappointing that his first live-action project is so unwieldy at times. My challenge was keeping track of the many curious and unusual-looking characters that populate the picture. (All I can say with certainty is that Tharks don't fly.) John Carter (a virile, and likable, Kitsch) is a Confederate soldier who, in the wake of a family tragedy, has become uncontrollable, a wild animal who is ready to lash out at anyone and everyone. Fate and circumstance transport him to the planet Mars, where the lighter gravity gives him the ability to jump and soar about. This impresses even the fiercest warriors he meets, including a feisty princess (Lynn Collins) whose father is urging her to marry one of their enemies in order to create a peaceful alliance. The question is whether or not Carter is willing to take sides in a battle that is not his own. This epic-scale production is the latest to offer a visual-effects landscape so palpably real that it's impossible to tell where actors and sets leave off and movie magic takes over. At one time this achievement alone would have made John Carter a major event; today, it is just the latest in a string of films to show off such technical wizardry. While we can still marvel at the amazing sights laid out before us—like an apparent monster who turns out to be an overgrown puppy-dog-like pet—it is imperative that we never lose sight of who's who, and what's at stake. That turns out to be a tall order. I can only call the finished film a mixed bag, with exciting scenes followed by dull stretches. But no movie so rich in imagination and so skillfully staged could or should be dismissed out of hand. If you have even the slightest curiosity about John Carter, I'd encourage you to see it. As to why the folks at Disney decided to leave "...of Mars" off the title, I have no idea what they hoped to accomplish. Readers have devoured Burroughs' novels under that name for decades; turning it into a generic name seems downright silly. |
tt0401729 | [PG-13] | Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, Willem Dafoe | USA | Action, Adventure | John Carter is far from the disaster it's been made out to be in some circles... nor is it an unqualified success. It has enough visual effects and production values for three movies, and almost as much story material, which is one of its problems. But it does provide vigorous, eye-filling | ||
| Friends With Kids | 2011 | Jennifer Westfeldt | 107 |
I became an instant fan of Jennifer Westfeldt after seeing the film she co-wrote and starred in, Kissing Jessica Stein, just over a decade ago. For her debut feature as director, writer, and star, she has assembled a powerhouse cast, and devised a comedy (with dramatic undertones) that manages to be on the cutting edge without sacrificing the qualities people look for in romantic movies. Westfeldt and Adam Scott (of TV's Parks and Recreation) play best friends who live in the same Manhattan apartment building and share their most intimate thoughts with each other. They also share an upscale lifestyle with two other couples, played by Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm and Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd, making this something of a Bridesmaids cast reunion. When one of the couples announces that they're about to have a baby, Westfeldt and Scott are appalled, at first, to lose their friends to such a conventional way of life, then resign themselves to the inevitable. With her biological clock ticking loudly, the two pals decide to make a baby together and share the responsibility for its parenting, even though they aren't sexually attracted to one another. This being a romantic comedy—albeit an indie version and not a Hollywood studio concoction—you know full well that their plan is bound to go awry. The film makes sharp observations about married life, the responsibility of raising children, the pressure of dating, and more. The candid sexual conversations define this as a film made by, and for, adults... but who says grownups don't want romantic fulfillment in movies? That's where writer-director Westfeldt becomes surprisingly traditional. Every member of the cast gets a chance to shine, including Westfeldt's real-life partner Hamm, as well as Edward Burns and even Megan Fox. But it's Westfeldt and the very likable Scott who anchor the film and make it worthwhile. The romantic comedy genre isn't dead; it just needs people with fresh ideas like this to keep it healthy. |
tt1720616 | [R] | Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris ODowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns | USA | Comedy, Drama | I became an instant fan of Jennifer Westfeldt after seeing the film she co-wrote and starred in, Kissing Jessica Stein, just over a decade ago. For her debut feature as director, writer, and star, she has assembled a powerhouse cast, and devised a comedy (with dramatic undertones) that man | ||
| Jeff, Who Lives At Home | 2012 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | 83 |
When micro-indie filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass spun their success with movies like The Puffy Chair into an opportunity to work with full-scale crews and name actors, there were doubts that they could maintain their spontaneous approach and indie credibility. Cyrus dispelled those feelings, and Jeff, Who Lives at Home confirms their ability to make pictures that don't look or sound like anyone else's. If you're at all intrigued by their latest effort, I would urge you not to watch the trailer or read anything about it. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is so delicate—like a well-constructed house of cards—that even a breeze could blow it over. In other words, I think you should discover it for yourself and allow it to win you over, as it did me. I will reveal this much: Jason Segel plays the title character, a 30-year-old who still lives at home in a kind of permanent stupor, waiting—no, longing—for his destiny to reveal itself. His brother (Ed Helms) is only marginally more successful at navigating real life, as his marriage (to Judy Greer) is holding on by a thread. Meanwhile, their despairing, widowed mother (Susan Sarandon) has resigned herself to living out a humdrum existence while working in a nondescript office in their hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Fate, if that's what you choose to call it, has something in store for each of these characters, and the threads come together in the most unexpected—and satisfying—way. If the same story points were carried out with a heavier hand, this film would be booed off the screen as an absurdity; in the hands of the Duplasses, its quiet, quirky charms transform it into a disarming modern-day fable. Anyone who wanders into a theater this weekend expecting another Hangover or Forgetting Sarah Marshall is in for a possibly unhappy surprise. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a low-key, often bittersweet film that only marginally qualifies as a comedy...yet its good-hearted conclusion left me with a smile on my face. Incidentally, the Duplasses have a new film at South by Southwest that will be in theaters in just a few months. I can hardly wait to see it. |
tt1588334 | [R] | Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer, Susan Sarandon | USA | Comedy | When micro-indie filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass spun their success with movies like The Puffy Chair into an opportunity to work with full-scale crews and name actors, there were doubts that they could maintain their spontaneous approach and indie credibility. Cyrus dispelled those | ||
| 21 Jump Street | 2012 | Phil Lord, Christopher Miller | 109 |
Following in the hallowed footsteps of The Brady Bunch Movie, 21 Jump Street revives a vintage TV series and subverts it at the same time. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have written and directed TV and theatrical animation such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, resist the temptation to turn this into a live-action cartoon, which is all to the good. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are well cast as former high school rivals who meet up again as police academy students and become friends. Because of their incompetence, they are assigned to a special unit (headed by an amusing Ice Cube) and sent undercover to bust a drug ring in a local high school. The twist that makes this somewhat ragged comedy work as well as it does is that the two cops revert to the level of high-school immaturity as they blend in with the genuine teens around them. Former nerd Hill is especially susceptible, as he is determined not to relive his uncomfortable past. 21 Jump Street goes for easy laughs wherever possible, raunchy or otherwise, in Michael Bacall's screenplay (with a story co-credited to Hill) but the likability of its stars carries it a long way. Tatum turns out to have a sense of humor about himself, which comes as a pleasant surprise, and holds his own alongside his cohort. The film isn't long, but it runs dry at a certain point, and tries to rescue itself by morphing into an action movie, with only middling results. Still, I suspect that its target audience will feel they've gotten their money's worth in this amiable and irreverent comedy, which makes fleeting nods to the 1980s TV show that spawned it. |
tt1232829 | [R] | Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, Ice Cube | USA | Comedy, Action | Following in the hallowed footsteps of The Brady Bunch Movie, 21 Jump Street revives a vintage TV series and subverts it at the same time. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who have written and directed TV and theatrical animation such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatbal | ||
| Undefeated | 2011 | Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin | 113 |
This year's Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature seems almost too good to be true... but that's what makes it so effective. Directed, photographed and edited by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, it profiles a most unusual fellow: a volunteer football coach for a Memphis high school that most people have given up on. The fact that he is white and his players are black is barely mentioned, which has bothered some observers. I think what matters is what we can see with our own eyes: this man loves and supports his players unconditionally, and they in turn respect him and his dedication to their team. I'm not a sports fan, but Undefeated is less about football than it is about leadership and motivation. It dramatically illustrates how one person—even someone who isn't a teacher, and has no professional training as a counselor or an athlete—can make a difference in the lives of young people. The filmmakers also reveal just how much Courtney sacrifices by not spending an equivalent amount of time with his own family. We never know what documentarians choose not to show us, but clearly Lindsay and Martin earned the trust of coach Bill Courtney and his team, because we are allowed to witness intimate scenes and encounters on and off the field. There are moments that move Courtney and some of his boys to tears, and it's hard not to respond in kind. Undefeated is an inspiring portrait that deserves to find a wide audience. It might even stimulate some viewers to focus on young people as this coach has done, with rather remarkable results. |
tt1860355 | [PG-13] | USA | Documentary | This year's Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature seems almost too good to be true... but that's what makes it so effective. Directed, photographed and edited by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin, it profiles a most unusual fellow: a volunteer football coach for a Memphis high school that mos | |||
| Dr. Seuss' The Lorax | The Lorax | 2012 | Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda | 86 |
Have you noticed that (as often as not) when Hollywood moviemakers stray from their source material they insist on putting the author's name above the title? To me, this only compounds the offense. No author has suffered more at the hands of Hollywood in recent years than Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. The man who brightened my childhood, and my daughter's, with his clever verse, fanciful drawings, and vivid imagination has been pummeled by such overblown productions as How the Grinch Stole Christmas and (even worse) The Cat in the Hat. Now comes The Lorax, a bright, shiny 3-D animated film from the team that made its reputation with the unpretentious feature Despicable Me. The Lorax was Dr. Seuss' most serious work, as it conveyed an ecological message to youngsters and their parents. The message remains intact in this adaptation, by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, but it's almost smothered by extraneous story material and characters. Directors Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda have filled every scene with funny-looking (or sounding) characters, sight gags, and one-liners to provide constant distraction. This might work as a diversion for younger kids, but there is no sign of the wit or wisdom of Dr. Seuss. The story, about a boy who lives in a plastic city and goes in search of a genuine tree, meanders far and wide. That's because, like other Seussian adaptations, this one takes a slender book and arbitrarily expands it to feature length. When the DePatie-Freleng animation studio adapted The Lorax for television forty years ago, it ran just under a half-hour, which didn't require all that padding. The songs, by screenwriter Paul and composer John Powell, are odd and unmemorable, except for the summing-up number "Let it Grow," which ends the picture. Theodore Geisel counted on the bond of trust he had built with his readers to offer a thoughtful and timely message. The people behind this forgettable film are merely trading on the author's deep reserve of goodwill. |
tt1482459 | [PG] | Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, Ed Helms, Danny DeVito, Rob Riggle | USA | Animation | Have you noticed that (as often as not) when Hollywood moviemakers stray from their source material they insist on putting the author's name above the title? To me, this only compounds the offense. No author has suffered more at the hands of Hollywood in recent years than Theodore Geisel, bett | |
| Wanderlust | 2012 | David Wain | 98 |
If you're a fan of the comedy generated by The State and Stella's David Wain, Ken Marino, and their performer pals, you'll either be the perfect audience for Wanderlust or you may find the humor overly familiar. I am not a diehard fan, and I found the film mildly amusing. Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd play a married couple who overextend themselves by purchasing a tiny Manhattan apartment. When they inevitably crash and burn, they're forced to flee to Atlanta, where his successful, blowhard brother (Marino) is willing to take them in. Along the way they stumble onto a hippie-ish commune called Elysium, and come to the conclusion that this may be just what they need: a dose of tranquility and an escape from the rat race. What they don't realize at first is just how odd and eccentric the group at Elysium really is. Justin Theroux is persuasive and funny as Elysium's informal leader. He's surrounded by such expert comedy performers as Alan Alda, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Joe Lo Truglio, and Kathryn Hahn. (It doesn't hurt having beautiful Malin Akerman as a proponent of free love.) Aniston and Rudd are ideal "everyman" and "everywoman" characters caught in the grip of these genial nut-cases. Wanderlust never soars to great comic heights, but it offers a number of laughs and chuckles. Such a modest offering may find its most appreciative audience on video, television, and on demand. |
tt1655460 | [R] | Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Alan Alda, Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney, Ken Marino, Kathryn Hahn, Lauren Ambrose, Todd Barry | USA | Comedy |
If you're a fan of the comedy generated by The State and Stella's David Wain, Ken Marino, and their performer pals, you'll either be the perfect audience for Wanderlust or you may find the humor overly familiar. I am not a diehard fan, and I found the film mildly amusing.
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| Bullhead | Rundskop | 2011 | Michaël R. Roskam | 124 |
If I were to sum up my feelings about this film in two words, they would be "grimly fascinating." Bullhead is the dark horse in this year's Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film, a sleeper from Belgium that has won acclaim around the world. Part of the response comes from the excitement of discovery: an unknown writer-director making his feature debut, and creating a gritty crime story (with strong emotional currents) set against an unlikely backdrop. Michaël R. Roskam's film wastes no time introducing us to modern Belgian dairy farmers, whose matter-of-fact usage of growth hormones for their cows is matched only by their acquiescence to the gangsters who control this drug trade. A turf war inadvertently causes two men to meet for the first time in twenty years; this in turn prompts a flashback to explain how an incident in their boyhood changed their lives forever. I am deliberately leaving out details so that you can experience the full impact of the story yourself. The leading character, a bull-like figure played by Matthias Schoenaerts, is caught between reminders of his painful past and a bleak outlook on the future. He knows that the stage is being set for a showdown and it isn't going to be pretty. Roskam's screenplay ties everything together metaphorically, comparing the use of drugs on farm animals with the frightening effect that similar pharmaceuticals have on his protagonist. Tension mounts as we watch this hapless fellow try to find some glimmer of normalcy in his life, knowing that he is bound to explode. It's just a question of when. Because the story's climax is as inevitable as a Greek tragedy, Bullhead loses some of its dramatic momentum in the last act. But there is no question of its potency or originality; this is no ordinary crime yarn. The only remaining question is whether or not you're prepared to spend two hours with such an uninviting (but not uninteresting) cast of characters. Hope is nowhere in sight, only misery. |
tt1821593 | [R] | Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lammers, Sam Louwyck, Robin Valvekens, Baudouin Wolwertz, Erico Salamone, Philippe Grand'Henry, Kris Cuppens, Sofie Sente | Belgium | Drama | If I were to sum up my feelings about this film in two words, they would be "grimly fascinating." Bullhead is the dark horse in this year's Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film, a sleeper from Belgium that has won acclaim around the world. Part of the response comes from the excite | |
| The Secret World Of Arrietty | Kari-gurashi No Arietti | 2010 | Hiromasa Yonebayashi | 94 |
We've come to expect so much from Japan's Studio Ghibliespecially the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, that a film that's merely pleasant, like The Secret World of Arrietty—comes as something of a disappointment. That may not be fair, but it's understandable. Miyazaki collaborated on the screenplay for this adaptation of Mary Norton's much-loved book The Borrowers, and is also credited with "planning," but director credit goes to Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The story is slight but charming, presented in a laid-back fashion that immediately distinguishes it from American animated features. Sean is a sickly 12-year-old boy who is sent to the country for complete rest. There he spies a mysterious little person who turns out to be Arrietty, the daughter of two "borrowers" who live in the floorboards under an adjacent house. Arrietty has been taught by her parents to fear (and avoid) human beings, but the independent-minded girl is intrigued with Sean, who doesn't seem like a monster. Disney is releasing an American adaptation of the original film (another version, with an entirely different voice cast, was released in the UK), but the visual style and pace remain distinctly Japanese, and the only member of the voice cast who is readily recognizable is Carol Burnett, as a quirky housekeeper. Others on the soundtrack include Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. The Secret World of Arrietty is a sweet film that retains the inherent fascination of two species of different sizes trying to understand each other's worlds. I liked it better than the 1997 live-action movie The Borrowers, which relied too much on heavy-handed slapstick. I think this benign adaptation will appeal most to young children, so long as they aren't hyperactive or steeped in high-energy video games. I hope there is still room for an approach to storytelling that doesn't try to throttle its audience and allows its tale to unfold in an easygoing manner. |
tt1568921 | [G] | Bridgit Mendler, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, David Henrie, Moises Arias | Japan | Animation, Adventure | We've come to expect so much from Japan's Studio Ghibliespecially the films directed by Hayao Miyazaki like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, that a film that's merely pleasant, like The Secret World of Arrietty—comes as something of a disappointment. That ma | |
| The Cabin In The Woods | 2012 | Drew Goddard | 95 |
Everybody likes to be in on an inside joke, but so many horror films have hopped onto the bandwagon of self-awareness that the joke itself may be getting tired. If anyone could reinvigorate the concept, it's Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, and that's what these savvy collaborators try to do in The Cabin in the Woods. The setup is achingly familiar: five college pals head to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway. There's a hot blonde, a jock, an egghead, a pothead, etc. The roles are well-cast, and the creepy atmosphere is just as it should be, with one addition, another layer that reveals that these essentially nice young people have been set up. They're being manipulated. The question is how much fun you'll derive along the way. If you're a fan who's grown up on self-referential horror films, from Scream on down the line, you're a prime candidate. And if you're a Joss Whedon enthusiast, you're already on board. But if you like your horror films to be genuinely scary, as opposed to ironic and self-reflexive, you may stop short of unbridled enthusiasm. I fall into the latter category. (In fact, in spite of the bloody gore on display, and my self-confessed wimpiness, I wasn't scared while watching the film. That's not a good reaction to a horror movie.) In the press notes for The Cabin in the Woods, producer-writer Whedon and Goddard, who co-authored the screenplay and directed the picture, talk about the reasons they wanted to explore this brand of horror film. Says Whedon, "There's some part of us, some deep, dark, primitive part of us that wants to sacrifice these people onscreen. I wanted to make a movie that explained why. And so it's been a strange experience because on the one hand, we do straight up horror. We definitely love the genre and the tropes of the genre but at the same time we have a lot of questions about why and where it's going." Goddard adds, "The horror movie is merely the jumping-off point for the inherent questions about humanity that the genre suggests. Why, as a people, do we feel the need to marginalize, objectify, and destroy youth? And this is not specific to the genre, or movies in general, or our present-day culture. We've been doing this to youth since we first began as a people and this question—the question of why—is very much at the heart of Cabin." This is meaty stuff, meatier than most horror films would even attempt to confront, yet I don't think Cabin in the Woods achieves its stated goal. The ritualistic aspect of the film is fun but overly familiar, the filmmakers' attitude is a little too snarky, and the climax is so off-the-wall that it seemingly contradicts the thoughtful questions raised by its creators. Only the last few moments hint at the true darkness of their concept. Is The Cabin in the Woods the greatest thing to happen to the horror genre, as some enthusiasts have claimed? I don't think so. It's a clever attempt to emulate, parody, and subvert the genre all at oncebut it's only partially successful. |
tt1259521 | [R] | Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford | USA | Horror, Comedy | Everybody likes to be in on an inside joke, but so many horror films have hopped onto the bandwagon of self-awareness that the joke itself may be getting tired. If anyone could reinvigorate the concept, it's Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, and that's what these savvy collaborators try to do in | ||
| This Means War | 2011 | McG | 98 |
Judging by the evidence, it isnt easy making a good romantic comedy, even if it has a high-concept premise like this one: two best friends (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) who put their lives on the line as CIA operatives fall in love, quite by chance, with the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). This unforeseen rivalry escalates to the point that they summon all the technology (and manpower) at their command to engage in a massive game of one-upmanship, while the woman in question remains blissfully unaware of whats going on. Such a movie depends on the charisma of its stars and a certain lightness of touch. Witherspoon has her part down. Shes bright and fun, and turns to her (inevitable) best friend for advice, in this case Chelsea Handler, whose raunchy dialogue was apparently toned down to get the movie a PG-13 rating. Pine and Hardy fill their roles serviceably well; its easy to see why Witherspoon is attracted to them both, and theyre credible as rough-and-ready agents who would take a bullet for each other. How well you like the end result, credited to screenwriters Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg, from a story by Dowling and Marcus Gautesen, will depend on how much you like the stars—and how hungry you are for escapist entertainment. Director McG certainly keeps things moving. I was ready to go along for the ride, there not being a great deal at stake, but I lost heart, and interest, as the proceedings grew sillier with each new scene. (I would like to find the video store where Pine meets Witherspoon and monitors are showing films like Ernst Lubitschs Heaven Can Wait but I wouldnt take the actress assessment of Hitchcock films too seriously.) Still, moviegoers crave light entertainment, especially with a romantic angle, and This Means War may be just good enough to please its target audience at least until something better comes along. |
tt1596350 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger, Angela Bassett, Chelsea Handler, Laura Vandervoort, Rosemary Harris, Warren Christie, Natassia Malthe, Abigail Spencer, George Touliatos, Leela Savasta, Clint Carleton, John Paul Ruttan | USA | Action, Comedy | Judging by the evidence, it isnt easy making a good romantic comedy, even if it has a high-concept premise like this one: two best friends (Chris Pine and Tom Hardy) who put their lives on the line as CIA operatives fall in love, quite by chance, with the same woman (Reese Witherspoon). This | ||
| The Three Stooges | 2012 | Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly | 92 |
First, the good news: this is a heartfelt homage to The Three Stooges of yore, and its leading actors do a remarkable job of channeling Moe, Larry and Curly. Kids who have never seen the Stooges, and adults who haven't revisited them lately, may have a good time, as the audience did when I saw the film the other night, but ultimately, the movie is the comedy equivalent of a cubic zirconia: an imitation. That may well satisfy moviegoers starved for slapstick and sight gags, which we don't see very much anymore. Bobby and Peter Farrelly, who directed this feature (and wrote it with Mike Cerrone), serve up a heavy dose of straight-up silliness. But in the Age of Irony, the only way they can get away with that is through a re-creation, using the familiar characters of the Stooges and the brand of comedy they purveyed so successfully. As befits a movie featuring these three, the storyline is simplicity itself: the orphanage where our heroes have been raised is going to be shut down, unless someone can raise $830,000 in a hurry. Moe, Larry and Curly have been sheltered from the outside world, and don't have any skills except for causing mayhem, but they set out to find the necessary funds (on a bicycle built for three). The gags, and Stoogeian wordplay, come off well most of the time; there's no point in nitpicking the ones that don't, or complaining about matters of taste, since the real Stooges comedies were often crass and crude. So why wasn't I laughing? Perhaps I've spent too many years absorbing the bona fide Stooges—and other slapstick comedies of the period—to accept a replica, however well-intended. I'm happy to see somebody reviving this neglected brand of comedy, but I wish it didn't involve outright imitation of such indelible performers as Howard, Fine, and Howard. Or, to put it another way, a really good cover band is still a cover band. I'm reminded of the original ads for the show Beatlemania: "Not the Beatles, but an amazing simulation!" In this case, we aren't dealing with live performance; the real Stooges are alive and well, on film. Why not reissue some of their best comedies and put them back on the big screen instead of settling for a Xerox copy? |
tt0383010 | [PG] | Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson, Sofia Vergara, Craig Bierko, Stephen Collins, Larry David | USA | Comedy | First, the good news: this is a heartfelt homage to The Three Stooges of yore, and its leading actors do a remarkable job of channeling Moe, Larry and Curly. Kids who have never seen the Stooges, and adults who haven't revisited them lately, may have a good time, as the audience did when I saw th | ||
| In Darkness | W Ciemnosci | 2011 | Agnieszka Holland | 145 |
The latest in a long line of incredible-but-true stories from World War II turns out to be one of the best. In Darkness dramatizes the saga of a group of Jewish men, women and children who paid a sewer worker in the city of Lvov to hide them underground, little dreaming that they would spend more than a year in that dark, damp, environment. A key reason the movie is so effective is that it is also the story of that sewer worker (well played by Robert Wieckiewicz), who has no use for Jews and enters into this arrangement as a business transaction, nothing more. His transformation into the Jews' protector and champion is both gradual and believable; what he comes to realize, over the course of many months, is that these unfortunates are just people, like any others. Working from a script by David F. Shamoon (based on a book about the real-life incident by Robert Marshall), director Agnieszka Holland builds a tremendous amount of suspense in the dim, confined space of the sewer tunnels, with periodic side trips to the world above-ground. We come to know the Jews as individuals, and share their hair-raising near-misses when Nazi storm troopers and other sewer workers come close to finding them. One scene involving an underground flood is as gripping as any moment in a high-tech Hollywood thriller. Like any survival story, this one depicts the incredible will to live that characterizes the human species, along with our failings and frailties. But what moved me the most is the reminder that one person—the unlikeliest hero, in this instance—can make a real difference in the world around him. It is also an effective treatise on the power of the human conscience, and one man's will to do the right thing. The cathartic effect of watching In Darkness is difficult to articulate; I can only tell you that by the end, I was in tears. I am glad that In Darkness has earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Foreign Language Film, representing Poland; I hope it also finds a large and appreciative audience. |
tt1417075 | [R] | Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Furmann, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Schrader, Herbert Knaup, Kinga Preis, Krzysztof Skonieczny | Poland | Drama | The latest in a long line of incredible-but-true stories from World War II turns out to be one of the best. In Darkness dramatizes the saga of a group of Jewish men, women and children who paid a sewer worker in the city of Lvov to hide them underground, little dreaming that they would | |
| The Lucky One | 2012 | Scott Hicks | 101 |
People crave romantic movies, be they dramatic or funny—the box-office numbers prove it—and novelist Nicholas Sparks has provided the raw material for a number of such films including Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, and most successfully, The Notebook. I think it's fair to say that moviegoers know what to expect when they see one of these adaptations: attractive people in stories that bring them together, draw them apart, and offer some form of happy ending after necessary tears are shed. That's all true of The Lucky One, directed by Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars) from a screenplay by Will Fetters. Zac Efron plays a Marine who, while serving in Iraq, stops to pick up a snapshot of a pretty woman that's been left on the ground; that moment's pause saves his life, so he determines that when he returns home he is going to track the woman down and thank her. When he ultimately does find her (beautiful newcomer Taylor Schilling), and learns that she has lost her brother in combat, he doesn't have the nerve to explain his presence. So he takes a job in her family's dog kennel, and wins over both her grandmother (Blythe Danner) and her young son. Schilling is warier and tougher to win over. I won't elaborate on the plot points. I'll just say that I could have done without the melodramatic elements that punctuate the film and underscore its climax. But that's part of the formula: there has to be a crisis to keep the lovers apart until things can be resolved. Like its two personable stars, The Lucky One is easy to watch, and just as easy to forget. But if you're a sucker for romantic yarns it's an agreeable-enough piece of escapism. |
tt1327194 | [PG-13] | Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling, Jay R. Ferguson, Blythe Danner | USA | Drama | People crave romantic movies, be they dramatic or funny—the box-office numbers prove it—and novelist Nicholas Sparks has provided the raw material for a number of such films including Dear John, Nights in Rodanthe, and most successfully, The Notebook. I think it's fa | ||
| Rampart | 2011 | Oren Moverman | 108 |
When a movie about Los Angeles cops is co-written by noir specialist James Ellroy, you know it's not going to paint a pretty picture. In Rampart, we learn all we need to know about the protagonist, Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) in the first five minutes, and things go downhill from there. This original screenplay is not based on the notorious Rampart Division scandal that rocked the L.A.P.D., but it does take place in 1999 when that investigation was still current. Even within such a foul atmosphere, Vietnam vet Brown is a one-man cauldron of trouble, a cop who lives by his own, often inscrutable code of behavior. By the time we join his saga (after twenty-four years on the force) he's running out of friends and protectors. Harrelson adds another solid performance to his ever-growing rogues' gallery, but there isn't much nuance to this character. He loves his two daughters and wants to protect them; that remains his main virtue. And he genuinely believes he is doing "the right thing" out on the streets, even when he bashes heads or uses his firearm. A superior supporting cast includes Robin Wright, Ned Beatty, Sigourney Weaver, Cynthia Nixon, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, and in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo as the mayor of Los Angeles, Steve Buscemi. Ben Foster also appears as a homeless man in a wheelchair; that's notable only because he co-produced this picture, marking a reunion with Harrelson and Oren Moverman who directed and wrote the fine 2009 drama in which they starred, The Messenger. It's because I like that film so much that I found this one so disappointing. I was appalled, in particular, at the awkwardness of Moverman's direction, repeatedly choosing flamboyant camera moves that distract us from the content of intimate dramatic scenes. It shows no respect for the material. I hope Harrelson, Foster, and Moverman turn their attention to projects that are worthy of their time and talent. Rampart left me with nothing except regret that I'd invested the time to watch it. |
tt1640548 | [R] | Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Francis Capra, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Audra McDonald, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver, Robert Wisdom, Robin Wright, Steve Buscemi, Jon Bernthal, Jon Foster, Stella Schnabel | USA | Drama | When a movie about Los Angeles cops is co-written by noir specialist James Ellroy, you know it's not going to paint a pretty picture. In Rampart, we learn all we need to know about the protagonist, Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) in the first five minutes, and things go downhill from there | ||
| Chimpanzee | 2012 | Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield | 78 |
The fourth annual entry in the Disney Nature series that began with Earth, Chimpanzee once again takes a low-key, family-friendly approach to its subject and applies what can only be described as "the Disney touch" to already-compelling real-life footage. Using a technique Walt Disney and his colleagues pioneered in their True-Life Adventures and television shows decades ago, longtime studio producer Don Hahn knows how to appeal to kids in the audience. The animals are personified; by giving them names, they become identifiable characters. The effect is amplified by Tim Allen's light, colloquial narration. So it is that we meet Oscar, a baby chimp who depends on his mother, Isha, for all of his needs. The tribe leader, Freddy, is protective of his clan but pays little attention to the children, who must learn to fend for themselves at some point. Survival in the African jungle means access to food, and this pits the tribe against a rival group that is much larger and more ferocious. Just because Chimpanzee is rated G doesn't mean that it is completely benign; parents may have to explain some of what's going on to their younger kids, especially some of the harsher laws of the jungle. But older kids and grownups will be especially impressed with behind-the-scenes footage that is shown at the end of the picture, where we see some of the techniques that directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield employ to capture their amazing footage. The reaction of the filmmakers and their team to Oscar's eventual fate is also quite revealing. |
tt1222815 | [G] | USA | Documentary | The fourth annual entry in the Disney Nature series that began with Earth, Chimpanzee once again takes a low-key, family-friendly approach to its subject and applies what can only be described as "the Disney touch" to already-compelling real-life footage.Using a technique Walt Disney and | |||
| Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | 2012 | Brad Peyton | 94 |
Four years after a family-friendly 3-D version of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, the same studio (but different filmmakers—and an entirely different cast, except for Josh Hutcherson) have come up with another PG-rated adventure yarn aimed at the same demographic. The good news is, it isn't bad. Even the use of 3-D is pretty good. Hutcherson plays a self-described "Verne-ian" who has an admirable knowledge of, and regard for, classic literature, although that aspect of the story is dismissed after the opening sequence. He hates having moved away from his home town, and has no use for his new stepdad, played by Dwayne Johnson. Johnson scores bonding points by helping him to decode a radioed message from his long-lost grandfather. Then, in the quickest bit of exposition I've ever seen, the two of them fly off to the South Pacific in search of the adventurer and his mysterious island. They reach it with the help of helicopter pilot Luis Guzmán and his nubile daughter, Vanessa Hudgens. Soon they come upon the old adventurer himself, played by a jaunty Michael Caine, and learn that they are surrounded by prehistoric creatures and flying predators. Younger children may find some of the action a bit scary, but the filmmakers have tried to keep this element under control—brief and just intense enough to get a rise out of their audience but never gory. The visual effects are as artificial as the genially preposterous story, but the movie is all in fun, and painless for grownups. (I always enjoy watching Caine at work, though I suspect most kids will simply write him off as an old guy with a beard.) Journey 2 doesn't having the substance or staying power of a great Verne adaptation, but if it piques even a few kids' curiosity about the author, I figure we're ahead of the game. |
tt1397514 | [PG] | Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, Kristin Davis | USA | Action, Adventure | Four years after a family-friendly 3-D version of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, the same studio (but different filmmakers—and an entirely different cast, except for Josh Hutcherson) have come up with another PG-rated adventure yarn aimed at the same demographic | ||
| Darling Companion | 2012 | Lawrence Kasdan | 103 |
In our youth-driven movie culture it's refreshing to find an American film made by, and for, mature audiences. Being of a certain age myself, I was charmed by this lovely, leisurely-paced story that deals with issues young viewers might not relate to: taking a longtime spouse for granted, losing sight of the love that goes unspoken, and making snap judgments about people who don't fit your idea of the norm. On the surface, the film deals with a successful, self-absorbed surgeon (Kevin Kline) whose wife (Diane Keaton) rescues a dog from the side of the road. A year later, the wedding of their daughter at their vacation home in the mountains of Colorado brings other family members together: his sister (Dianne Wiest), her nephew, who's also Kline's medical colleague (Mark Duplass), and her awkwardly garrulous fiancé (Richard Jenkins). Add to the mix a sexy but somewhat mysterious caretaker (Ayelet Zurer) who brings her psychic powers to the fore when the rescue dog runs away and can't be found. The cast also includes Elisabeth Moss, as Kline and Keaton's daughter, and Sam Shepard, as the local sheriff. The simple story turns out to be a framework for the themes that director Lawrence Kasdan and his wife Meg (who collaborated on the script) want to explore, including love, the nature of relationships both old and new, the importance of acceptance, and the role that serendipity plays in our lives. It may not be edgy, or hugely profound, but I found the movie disarming and quite likable. The cast couldn't be better, and the settings (Utah, substituting for Colorado, although there are some readily identifiable shots taken in Telluride) are beautiful. The Kasdans not only wrote Darling Companion but persuaded Kevin Kline, whose history with the director dates back to The Big Chill in 1983, and the rest of their sterling cast to work for scale (the minimum allowed) so their modestly-budgeted movie could get made. My fondest wish is that this film finds its intended audience and justifies the faith so many people put into it. |
tt1730687 | [PG] | Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer, Sam Shepard | USA | Drama | In our youth-driven movie culture it's refreshing to find an American film made by, and for, mature audiences. Being of a certain age myself, I was charmed by this lovely, leisurely-paced story that deals with issues young viewers might not relate to: taking a longtime spouse for granted, losing | ||
| Declaration Of War | La Guerre Est Déclarée | 2011 | Valerie Donzelli | 100 |
It's been decades since television created a genre that pundits labeled "disease-of-the-week" movies. Cable networks such as Lifetime have kept the form alive, because such stories are natural fodder for relatable drama, while medical TV shows have never gone out of style. Declaration of War, which played at the Cannes and Sundance festivals last year, and was France's entry for the Academy Awards last year, breaks with that television tradition by fashioning a story that is as much about a relationship as it is the disease that strikes a couple's young son. What makes the film even more unusual is that the stars (Valérie Donzelli and Jérémie Elkaïm) and co-writers are the real-life couple who lived through this experience; Donzinelli also directed the picture. We see the couple when they first meet and fall in love. We witness the man's less-than-ecstatic reaction to the fact that she is pregnant. And we share their anxiety, and anguish, when they realize that something is not right with their son Adam. There is no hint of melodrama here, nor are there easy solutions to the couple's problems. When it turns out that Adam will require full-time hospitalization and care, they abandon everything in their life in order to focus on him full-time. There is no guarantee of success, and the strain on their relationship is tremendous. Donzelli's matter-of-fact, anti-Hollywood approach to her denouement may strike some audiences as underwhelming, yet it reflects a reality we seldom see onscreen. Throughout the film she veers from formulaic presentation, using narration, music and other devices to leap across time, impart information, and move her story along. In its freshness and originality, Declaration of War is bold and unusual. Life doesn't always lead us to a Big Finale, she seems to be saying; sometimes it simply flows, like a river. |
tt1931470 | Unrated | Valerie Donzelli, Jeremie Elkaim, Cesar Desseix, Gabriel Elkaim, Brigitte Sy, Elina Löwensohn, Michelle Moretti, Philippe Laudenbach, Bastien Bouillon | France | Drama | It's been decades since television created a genre that pundits labeled "disease-of-the-week" movies. Cable networks such as Lifetime have kept the form alive, because such stories are natural fodder for relatable drama, while medical TV shows have never gone out of style. Declaration of Wa | |
| The Woman In Black | 2012 | James Watkins | 95 |
As ghost stories go, this one isn't bad, but the filmmakers take an awfully long time getting to the actual plot, content to spend the first half of the movie doling out "boo!" moments... more than I've ever experienced in one motion picture! Most of them are pretty effective, but after the third or fourth I felt I'd had my fill for a while. Daniel Radcliffe acquits himself well as a young lawyer in early 20th century England who is still haunted by the death of his wife, in childbirth, four years ago. With a young boy to raise, he is desperate to prove himself to his employer, and takes on a thankless assignment, traveling to a small village and then to an even more remote old mansion outside of town, to go through a dead woman's voluminous papers. From the reception he gets upon his arrival, it's immediately clear that he should turn around and go home. (Given the vocal nature of the audience with whom I saw this film I'm surprise no one shouted that out loud.) But he perseveres, battling hostility and a raft of local superstitions involving a ghostly woman and an alarming number of dead children. A wealthy couple (Ciarán Hinds and Janet McTeer) are the only welcoming figures during his lonely vigil—and even they have a sad tale to tell. So what's behind all these deaths, and can Radcliffe unlock the mystery in time to avoid even more tragedy in that spooky old house? If you care enough to find out, and are exceedingly patient, you'll learn the answer. Jane Goldman's screenplay (based on a novel by Susan Hill) does tie everything together—finally—in a bittersweet but fitting finale. Director James Watkins wrings every drop out of the endless scare set-ups and payoffs. And Radcliffe, who is called upon to stay tightly coiled for most of the duration, does a thoroughly capable job. After all, he's not just a talented young man: he's spent the last decade learning from some of the finest actors on the planet in those Harry Potter films. This may not be one of the great ghost stories, but it's pretty good. Compared to most early-2012 releases, it's a masterpiece. |
tt1596365 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Shaun Dooley, Roger Allam, Sophie Stuckey, Alisa Khazanova, Liz White, David Burke, Daniel Cerqueira | USA | Drama, Thriller | As ghost stories go, this one isn't bad, but the filmmakers take an awfully long time getting to the actual plot, content to spend the first half of the movie doling out "boo!" moments... more than I've ever experienced in one motion picture! Most of them are pretty effective, but after the th | ||
| Monsieur Lazhar | 2012 | Philippe Falardeau | 94 |
The hype-meisters of moviedom have made it difficult to use words like "heartwarming" and "inspiring" without sounding like a huckster... but when you see a film as moving and well-wrought as Monsieur Lazhar, it's hard to resist. Yet what I admire most about the picture, which was an Oscar nominee this year as Best Foreign Language Film, is its restraint. Writer-director Philippe Falardeau has enough faith in his story, his actors, and most of all his audience, that he doesn't feel the need to underscore or overstate his emotional points. The setting is an elementary school in Montreal where a teacher has died. As her fellow teachers, students, and their parents try to process this disturbing turn of events, a man shows up in the principal's office, offering to pick up the reins. His name is Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant who is looking for work and ready to face an awkward situation head-on. It is Monsieur Lazhar's humanity, and willingness to reach out to his students, that propels this poignant story. Monsieur Lazhar manages to weave humor into its essentially serious story and reveal layers of its characters' personalities step by step. Yet one never sees the wheels turning, a credit to Falardeau and his deft adaptation of Evelyne de la Chenelière's play whichyou may be surprised to realize, after seeing the film—was a monologue by the title character. It's equally startling to discover that the film's leading actor, Fellag, is not an actor at all, but a stand-up comic. Monsieur Lazhar is a richly rewarding film that deserves to find an appreciative audience. We see too few French-Canadian films here in the States, but if this and last year's Oscar nominee Incendies are indicative, we've been missing out. |
tt2011971 | [PG-13] | Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart | Canada | Comedy, Drama | The hype-meisters of moviedom have made it difficult to use words like "heartwarming" and "inspiring" without sounding like a huckster... but when you see a film as moving and well-wrought as Monsieur Lazhar, it's hard to resist. Yet what I admire most about the picture, which was an Osc | ||
| The Grey | 2012 | Joe Carnahan | 117 |
Liam Neeson is one of those actors who validates a film by his mere presence in it. Sure enough, he brings gravitas and credibility to this survival thriller set in the snowy wilderness of Alaska. I wish he'd also brought along a better script. Like today's other mainstream release, Man on a Ledge, The Grey isn't a turkey or an embarrassment. It's a formula-driven movie that takes far too long getting where it's going. The story: a handful of oil-rig workers survive a disastrous plane crash. Neeson has the knowhow and the guts to lead his cohorts in their desperate attempt to stay alive without food, water, or shelter, surrounded by menacing, hungry wolves. There are some good, scary moments involving wolf attacks, and the threat these glowing-eyed predators provide, especially at night. In rare moments of calm, the workers deliver speeches about their loved ones and the lives they may never be able to reclaim. Whenever things get too quiet, or seem to be safe, POW! It's that kind of movie. Perhaps if director and co-writer Joe Carnahan hadn't padded out his film to two hours he could have gotten away with such a familiar narrative. (The source material was a short story, not a novel.) As it stands, the picture delivers the requisite scare moments and scenes of human endurance we associate with survival stories. But it never rises above the routine. Liam Neeson deserves a better movie for his talent, and so do we. |
tt1601913 | [R] | Liam Neeson, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, Nonso Anozie, James Badge Dale, Ben Bray, Anne Openshaw | USA | Action, Adventure | Liam Neeson is one of those actors who validates a film by his mere presence in it. Sure enough, he brings gravitas and credibility to this survival thriller set in the snowy wilderness of Alaska. I wish he'd also brought along a better script.Like today's other mainstream release, | ||
| We Have A Pope | Habemus Papam | 2012 | Nani Moretti | 102 |
Given Nanni Moretti's track record as writer, director, and actor, there is every reason to have high hopes for his latest effort, We Have a Pope. One would presume that a behind-the-scenes look at the process of naming a new Pontiff would provide ample fodder for observational humor. Instead, the film focuses on the chosen man's crisis of confidence. Since that man is played by the great Michel Piccoli, this idea, too, offers great promise. Piccoli has played all kinds of characters in his long career, from the Everyman to King Lear. It's no surprise, then, that he is ideal as a cardinal who is paralyzed with fright when his Vatican colleagues choose him as the new Pope. His efforts to confront his own fears as he wanders around Rome, meeting various people who have no idea who he is, supply the film's wittiest and most satisfying moments. Even at the age of 86, Piccoli remains a master of nuance. Moretti costars as a psychoanalyst who is called in to examine the Pontiff-elect and then forced to remain behind the Vatican walls until the situation is resolved. His first scene is amusing, after which his character becomes aimless and ultimately pointless. Like that figure played by the filmmaker, We Have a Pope starts well, and offers a credible look at life amongst the College of Cardinals. Jerzy Stuhr is excellent as the official Vatican spokesman, whose diplomacy and patience are strained to the breaking point by the awkwardness of a new Pope who refuses to acknowledge his appointment to a waiting world. I could forgive a great deal of a film that allows me to spend quality time with Michel Piccoli, but the resolution of the story is so unsatisfying that I came away frustrated and annoyed. We Have a Pope is a profound disappointment. |
tt1456472 | Unrated | Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti | Italy | Drama | Given Nanni Moretti's track record as writer, director, and actor, there is every reason to have high hopes for his latest effort, We Have a Pope. One would presume that a behind-the-scenes look at the process of naming a new Pontiff would provide ample fodder for observational humor. Instead, th | |
| Man On A Ledge | 2012 | Asger Leth | 102 |
Try this on for size: an ex-cop who wants to prove he was innocent of a crime that sent him "up the river" for 25 years decides that the best way to do so is to step out onto the ledge of a midtown Manhattan hotel—and create a distraction for an even wilder scheme he's trying to cover up. As it happens, the leading actors play their parts with conviction, and director Asger Leth orchestrates the action and visual effects with considerable skill. My problem with Man on a Ledge is that once I understood the real storyline—the one hidden behind the flashy premise—I became impatient to see it resolved. The film isn't long, but I lost interest just the same. And while Sam Worthington, as the title character, Elizabeth Banks, as an ostracized hostage negotiator, and Edward Burns, as a dubious fellow cop, turn in good performances, other key characters are shallow and obvious, wasting the talents of such costars as Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, and Kyra Sedgwick. How many times are we supposed to summon interest in such archetypes as a dirty cop, a ruthless and corrupt business tycoon, and a self-promoting TV reporter? That's a shame, because Pablo F. Fenjves' screenplay has some novel twists here and there, but they're smothered by shopworn ideas that should have been pruned. As for the look of the picture, I'm told that the filmmakers are proud of the fact that they actually shot on a building ledge, and put leading man Worthington in that spot. Too bad such efforts are wasted today, when we assume everything is painted on a photorealistic computer palette and can no longer tell the difference between reality and CGI. Man on a Ledge isn't a bad movie, but it also isn't terribly good. It's the kind of mediocre entertainment I expect to find opening nationwide in January. |
tt1568338 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Génesis Rodríguez, Ed Harris, Ed Burns, Kyra Sedgwick, Pooja Kumar | USA | Thriller | Try this on for size: an ex-cop who wants to prove he was innocent of a crime that sent him "up the river" for 25 years decides that the best way to do so is to step out onto the ledge of a midtown Manhattan hotel—and create a distraction for an even wilder scheme he's trying to cover up | ||
| Albert Nobbs | 2011 | Rodrigo García | 113 |
I'm delighted that Glenn Close and Janet McTeer have earned Oscar nominations for their work in this striking and memorable film, but it would be a shame if all people talked about were their performances, great as they are. Albert Nobbs is a first-rate film in every respect. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the work of director Rodrigo Garcia, one of the most talented—and underrated—filmmakers working today. (I wish more people had seen his last feature, the 2010 release Mother and Child, which like all his films puts the spotlight on interesting women.) Albert Nobbs takes us back in time to the late 19th century, and a shabby-genteel residential hotel in Dublin. The atmosphere is ripe, as the establishment is populated by colorful characters, including the self-important proprietress (Pauline Collins), a well-mannered if alcoholic doctor-in-residence (Brendan Gleeson) and various servants, including the very proper butler Mr. Nobbs. Albert is conscientious but quiet, and keeps to himself: that's because he is, in fact, a woman. Over the course of the film we discover how and why an impoverished girl decided that her best chance of survival was to masquerade as a man. Matthew Mungle's makeup design for Glenn Close is extraordinarily subtle. The actress' performance is perfectly in tune with her character, tightly controlled and completely credible. The supporting cast is perfectly chosen. Mia Wasikowska is just right as the young, flirtatious housemaid who's hoping to be swept off her feet by a dashing, wealthy hotel guest. Instead she falls in with a rough young fellow (Aaron Johnson) who joins the staff and exploits her, as well as Nobbs. But it's the great stage actress Janet McTeer who turns the movie on its ear in a daring and difficult characterization that I choose not to describe, in the hope that you haven't had all of its surprises revealed to you elsewhere. Albert Nobbs was made on a tight budget, but it doesn't show. Patrizia von Brandenstein's pleasing production design focuses on the hotel and its surrounding neighborhood and never calls attention to itself. One can almost smell the odors of working-class Dublin in the Victorian era. Close earned an Obie performance when she first played Albert Nobbs off-Broadway thirty years ago. She has dreamed of bringing it to the screen ever since, and has actively worked for fifteen years to make that a reality. (She is one of the film's producers, shares screenplay credit with John Banville and Gabriella Prekop, and co-wrote the song sung over the closing credits by Sinéad O'Connor.) Too often, the well-meaning artists behind long-gestating "personal projects" lose themselves along the way, but not this time. Glenn Close has every reason to be proud of Albert Nobbs and the work of her inspired collaborators. |
tt1602098 | [R] | Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Mark Williams, Bronagh Gallagher, John Light | USA | Drama | I'm delighted that Glenn Close and Janet McTeer have earned Oscar nominations for their work in this striking and memorable film, but it would be a shame if all people talked about were their performances, great as they are. Albert Nobbs is a first-rate film in every respect. This shoul | ||
| Red Tails | 2012 | Anthony Hemingway | 125 |
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one that every American should know, and deserving of a great film; unfortunately, this isn't it. If one were scoring good intentions it would get an A for effort, simply for bringing a portion of this vast saga to theater screens. But the screenplay resembles an earnest junior high school play; that isn't worthy of the subject or the people behind this endeavor. Red Tails has been a pet project of George Lucas' for many years, and as one would expect it is technically flawless. The aerial action, including multiple dogfights and perilous missions over Italy and Germany, is executed with breathtaking precision—all the more amazing when one learns that virtually everything was created by computer wizards, including the interiors of the cockpits that house the leading actors! The "effects" are invisible, and these scenes give the movie moments of great energy and excitement. Such startling realism wouldn't have been possible even a decade ago. It's a shame that the same effort wasn't lavished on the script, credited to John Ridley and Aaron McGruder. It's actually reminiscent of a corny Hollywood movie made during the era it depicts, the 1940s, and as such, may play best to youthful audiences who might not recognize its many clichés and shopworn characters. (Wait till you see how the Germans are portrayed!) The film is bolstered by extremely likable performances from the actors who play the key pilots, David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Ne-Yo, Tristan Wilds, and Michael B. Jordan. Their lively interaction, on the ground and in the air, keeps the film from becoming just a stale history lesson. In the showiest role, as a cocky flyer who won't listen to ordersand who courts an Italian girl during his off-hours—Oyelowo has the best opportunity to score with moviegoers. The two best-known members of the cast are saddled with cardboard characters. Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays the calm, pipe-smoking major who oversees day-to-day operations at the squadron's Italian air base. Terrence Howard is even more one-dimensional as the colonel who battles for respect and recognition with the top Army brass, some of whom cannot disguise their racist attitudes. His part consists almost exclusively of speeches, rather than dialogue. I would not hesitate to take young people to see this film, if it exposes them to this remarkable piece of American history for the first time. (With a PG-13 rating they will hear an occasional four-letter word.) One could also check out the 1995 HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen, which boasted a top-notch cast led by Laurence Fishburne, Andre Braugher, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Courtney B. Vance, Mekhi Phifer, and the very same Cuba Gooding, Jr. But I can't abandon my critical faculties and recommend Red Tails as a genuinely good movie. |
tt0485985 | [PG-13] | Cuba Gooding/Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Bryan Cranston, Tristan Wilds, Lee Tergesen, Method Man, Andre Royo | USA | Action, Adventure | The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one that every American should know, and deserving of a great film; unfortunately, this isn't it. If one were scoring good intentions it would get an A for effort, simply for bringing a portion of this vast saga to theater screens. But the screenplay resembl | ||
| Haywire | 2011 | Steven Soderbergh | 93 |
In the old days a film like this would have been called a "programmer" and fulfilled its modest ambitions as the second feature on a double bill. Alas, we don't have double features or programmers anymore; every movie carries weight, and expectations, with it. Steven Soderbergh's Haywire has all the trappings of an "A" movie, including a big-name cast and impressive international locations, but it never rises above the level of a "B." The action yarn was built around mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano, who looks great, handles dialogue well, and knows how to kick butt. The fight scenes are potent and well staged; it isn't every day you see a beautiful leading lady being smashed into walls and pieces of furniture by one of her leading men. What makes this tolerable is that she gives as good as she gets. There are some good chase scenes, too, in the streets of Barcelona and on the rooftops of Dublin. But the movie as a whole never takes off, and those action scenes aren't enough to sustain it. Lem Dobbs' screenplay is a fairly standard-issue espionage tale in which everyone is double-crossing everyone else but Carano isn't about to become anyone's victim. I felt the air go out of the film at a specific point, when Carano and Michael Fassbender, who are posing as husband and wife, return from an eventful party and walk down a long corridor to their hotel room. The scene is played in silence, as we wait for what might happen once they get inside that room. But there is no electricity in the air, no buildup of tension. I couldn't help thinking that Hitchcock would have had us on the edge of our seats at a moment like that. Soderbergh is not only a good director, but a savvy student of film; I wish he'd found an appropriate role model for that crucial scene. Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, and Michael Douglas all turn in professional jobs, and Carano shows real promise as an action star-in-the-making. The film is slickly made, and will probably please undemanding audiences. But with all that talent on both sides of the camera, Haywire should have been better. |
tt1506999 | [R] | Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Mathieu Kassovitz, Michael Angarano, Anthony Brandon Wong | USA | Action, Thriller | In the old days a film like this would have been called a "programmer" and fulfilled its modest ambitions as the second feature on a double bill. Alas, we don't have double features or programmers anymore; every movie carries weight, and expectations, with it. Steven Soderbergh's Haywire | ||
| We Need To Talk About Kevin | 2011 | Lynne Ramsay | 112 |
To say that this is not an easy film to watch is putting it mildly. No one would deny Tilda Swinton's superior performance, but people were sharply divided when We Need to Talk About Kevin screened at the Telluride Film Festival last fall. Some folks I spoke to were downright angry. When I finally caught up with the film, I could barely stand to sit through it. Why? This is the story of a "bad seed," a demon child who torments his poor mother from infancy through adolescence, while the father (played by John C. Reilly) remains blissfully unaware of his son's malevolent nature. As a parent, I found the child's hostile treatment of his good-hearted mother almost unbearably upsetting. And it never lets up. It didn't help that I had read a one-line synopsis that told me the outcome of the story. If you don't know where it's leading, you might derive some suspense from the narrative, adapted by Rory Kinnear and director Lynne Ramsay from Lionel Shriver's novel, even though it is told through fragmented flashbacks. For me, knowing the ending—which I won't give away, just in case—made me all the more impatient to get there and get it over with. Trying to remove my personal feelings from the equation is difficult. I'm able to appreciate the quality of Swinton's deeply-felt performance as a woman who feels suffocated by circumstance. Director Ramsay certainly wrings every drop of unease she can from the material. (Why would someone be drawn to this kind of story in the first place? I can't imagine, though I wasn't crazy about Ratcatcher, Ramsay's highly-vaunted debut film, either.) Others have heaped praise on We Need to Talk About Kevin, and they're entitled to their opinions. I can only be honest in describing my reaction: watching this movie was sheer torture. |
tt1242460 | [R] | Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon, Alex Manette, Joseph Melendez | UK, USA | Drama | To say that this is not an easy film to watch is putting it mildly. No one would deny Tilda Swinton's superior performance, but people were sharply divided when We Need to Talk About Kevin screened at the Telluride Film Festival last fall. Some folks I spoke to were downright angry. Whe | ||
| Coriolanus | 2011 | Ralph Fiennes | 122 |
I don't know what Shakespeare purists will make of Coriolanus, but as cinematic storytelling it's awfully impressive: a muscular, contemporary reading of the play, deftly abridged and adapted by the prolific John Logan, who also wrote Hugo and Rango this year. The primary hero, on screen and off, is Ralph Fiennes, who not only makes a formidable directing debut but delivers a ferocious (and commanding) performance in the leading role. Although the wardrobe is modern, and the film was shot in Serbia, the setting is ancient Rome, where a fearsome warrior named Caius Martius returns from battle, having vanquished his sworn enemy Aufidius. He is awarded the name Coriolanus and hailed as a hero, but the rabble in the streets don't share that view—as he denied them sustenance during wartime—and he has wily enemies within the Roman congress who plot his downfall. One need not comprehend every utterance or speech to understand the unfolding plot: the machinations are as clear as vivid, bloody battle scenes. (It may take a little time to understand every turn of the plot, but they all reveal themselves.) Bold performances by Vanessa Redgrave, as Coriolanus' mother, Gerard Butler, as Aufidius, Brian Cox, as a political peacemaker, and James Nesbitt and Paul Jesson, as the schemers out to sabotage Coriolanus, support Fiennes' towering work. Shakespeare's words flow from him like a mountain stream; the words are meaningful but the delivery seems effortless. (Jessica Chastain is also good, as the warrior's wife, but her screen time is relatively brief.) Coriolanus isn't light entertainment, but its relevance, and resonance, may come as a surprise to viewers who don't normally seek out the works of the Bard. The first-time director and his cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, imbue the film with incredible energy and power. Like Coriolanus, Fiennes is a force to be reckoned with. |
tt1372686 | [R] | Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, James Nesbitt, Paul Jesson, Lubna Azabal, Ashraf Barhom, Dragan Mieanovie | USA | Drama, Thriller | I don't know what Shakespeare purists will make of Coriolanus, but as cinematic storytelling it's awfully impressive: a muscular, contemporary reading of the play, deftly abridged and adapted by the prolific John Logan, who also wrote Hugo and Rango this year. The primary hero, | ||
| Contraband | 2012 | Baltasar Kormákur | 110 |
If ever there were a typical January movie, it's Contraband, a film so dreary (and downright distasteful) that no studio would think of releasing it in December, when all eyes are focused on quality. I never saw the 2008 Icelandic film on which it's based, but I presume it must have been better than this, to persuade savvy producers that it was worth remaking in English. Baltasar Kormákur, who starred in the original, directed this adaptation. The setting is New Orleans. Mark Wahlberg plays a former criminal who, like his best pal Ben Foster, has gone straight. Then his wife's kid brother fumbles a drug-smuggling run and winds up owing big bucks to a loose-cannon thug (Giovanni Ribisi) who not only threatens him but his entire family—including Wahlberg's wife and kids. What else can the guy do but suck it up and pull "one last job?" Problems begin when the caper itself becomes cumbersome and, ultimately, preposterous. (Although he's supposed to be a savvy guy, Wahlberg repeatedly fails to predict the many obstacles in his path.) This is exacerbated by a wide array of unappealing and sleazy characters; by the end, I didn't even feel comfortable rooting for the so-called hero. Virtually all the actors go down with the ship, helpless to rise above a ponderous screenplay by Aaron Guzikowski. I wish Wahlberg, Foster, Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, and Diego Luna brighter prospects in 2012. A good caper movie should be light on its feet, but this one bears the weight of a heavy tread. Contraband left a bad taste in my mouth, which is not what I'd call a ringing endorsement. But it is what I've come to expect from major studio releases in January. |
tt1524137 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, Diego Luna | USA | Action, Adventure | If ever there were a typical January movie, it's Contraband, a film so dreary (and downright distasteful) that no studio would think of releasing it in December, when all eyes are focused on quality. I never saw the 2008 Icelandic film on which it's based, but I presume it must have be | ||
| Joyful Noise | 2012 | Todd Graff | 117 |
It takes the combined personalities of Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton to wring entertainment value out of Joyful Noise, which they do to some degree, but it's the lively choral music performances that partially salvage this kettle of corn. As longtime rivals in a small Georgia church choir, Latifah and Parton hurl insults and homilies back and forth with reckless abandon. The word "shameless" comes to mind after the fifth or sixth example sails by. Fortunately, they are not the only characters in the film. Parton's bad-boy grandson (Jeremy Jordan) comes to live with her, and is immediately smitten by Latifah's daughter (Keke Palmer), who sings with the choir—and inspires him to join in. He urges the new choral director Latifah to adopt some modern ideas about her repertoire and performance style, especially since the group repeatedly comes in second in a national competition. Therein lies the crux of the plot. Writer-director Todd Graff, whose mother (we learn in the closing credits) led a Hadassah choir for many years, has concocted a script that's long and needlessly busy. He even incorporates a needless subplot about two choir members having sex that earns the otherwise squeaky-clean movie a PG-13 rating. But musically, there is nothing to complain about: old-timey gospel numbers (including one composed by Parton) are contrasted with new material and compatible pop tunes like Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed." All of this is under the direction of Mervyn Warren, formerly of the a cappella group Take 6. Keke Palmer, who came to my attention as the little girl in Akeelah and the Bee six years ago, is now a beautiful 18-year-old with an equally beautiful singing voice. She and Jordan harmonize well when they're not engaged in puppy love. The best thing I can say about Joyful Noise is that it's a movie you can take your mother to see...although she may object to one line regarding the sexual subplot. (Don't say I didn't warn you.) |
tt1710396 | [PG-13] | Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson, Jesse L. Martin, Courtney B. Vance, Dexter Darden | USA | Comedy, Music | It takes the combined personalities of Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton to wring entertainment value out of Joyful Noise, which they do to some degree, but it's the lively choral music performances that partially salvage this kettle of corn. As longtime rivals in a small Georgia church c | ||
| Pariah | 2011 | Dee Rees | 86 |
Although its title may be off-putting to some people, the main character in Pariah—as played by glowing newcomer Adepero Oduye—is so emotionally open and real that you can't help responding to her. First-time feature filmmaker Dee Rees has crafted a movie that is consistently riveting because it is steeped in truth. She and her cast never once strike a false note. (The film was expanded from a 2007 autobiographical short subject. It played at the Sundance Film Festival and earned her entrée to the prestigious Sundance Institute, where the feature-length script was developed.) Oduye plays Alike—pronounced A-LEE-kay, and nicknamed Lee—a bright high school student in Brooklyn, New York whose writing teacher encourages her to "go deeper" in expressing herself. This is difficult, because Lee, on the verge of sexual awakening, leads a life of deception. The minute she's out of sight of her parents, she redoes her hair and dons sexless clothing. Both her mother and father choose to deny the many signals that their daughter is gay. Her mom actively discourages her friendship with a girl she considers disreputable...yet it's this lone friend who introduces Lee to a realm of new experiences. Given all of that, how is Lee to come to terms with herself, let alone write about her feelings? On the one hand, she yearns for acceptance; when that seems an impossible goal, she strives for independence. Both options are difficult when you're 17 years old and still living at home. Pariah is a modest film that hones in on the specifics of one girl's life so acutely that her dilemma becomes universally relatable. I don't know who could watch this open-hearted girl get the cold shoulder from her mother and not be moved. Much of the credit goes to Oduye, who is touching and honest at every turn. She is ably supported by Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, and Kim Wayans. Pariah marks the arrival of two exciting new talents: its star and its filmmaker. Don't miss this vibrant and touching film. |
tt1233334 | [R] | Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, Kim Wayans, Shamika Cotton, Raymond Anthony Thomas, Stephanie Andujar | USA | Drama | Although its title may be off-putting to some people, the main character in Pariah—as played by glowing newcomer Adepero Oduye—is so emotionally open and real that you can't help responding to her. First-time feature filmmaker Dee Rees has crafted a movie that is consistentl | ||
| The Iron Lady | 2011 | Phyllida Lloyd | 105 |
It goes without saying that Meryl Streep is always worth watching; in the case of The Iron Lady, her uncanny performance as Margaret Thatcher is the best, and possibly only, reason to see this pallid biography. Screenwriter Abi Morgan does provide a primer on Thatcher's remarkable rise from grocer's daughter to Member of Parliament, ultimately achieving the astonishing feat of becoming the first female leader of a Western nation. But, by framing her story in the present day, and depicting a diminished Thatcher in the first stages of dementia, Morgan raises troubling questions. Is this to illustrate that no matter how powerful the individual, no one can escape the ravages of old age? And is that her way of offering satisfaction to the many people who despise Thatcher and everything she stood for? Or is it just the opposite, a means of humanizing the implacable former Prime Minister? Whatever the case, it seems invasive, if not downright cruel—although it does offer Streep the opportunity to play a doddering old woman, clinging to her dignity, with pinpoint precision. Jim Broadbent is a perfect match as Thatcher's husband. Olivia Colman is also quite good as her patient daughter. The other standout in the cast is Welsh actress Alexandra Roach as the younger Maggie Thatcher, who sacrifices almost everything to fulfill her ambitions, and becomes a victim of her own work ethic. It's unwise to use movies as a history lesson, and this one is no exception, although viewers old enough to recall the Thatcher-Reagan years will have some unhappy memories dredged up. Not to worry, though: no subject is explored in great depth. What keeps The Iron Lady afloat is the mesmerizing work of its star. As we already know, Streep goes beyond mimicry to fully inhabit her characters, from The French Lieutenant's Woman to Julia Child. Director Phyllida Lloyd (who also made Mamma Mia!) steers her well, but it's a shame their film isn't truly worthy of this brilliant performance. |
tt1007029 | [PG-13] | Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Colman, Iain Glen, Victoria Bewick, Nicholas Farrell, John Sessions, Anthony Head, David Westhead, Julian Wadham, Richard E. Grant, Angus Wright, Roger Allam, Michael Pennington, Susan Brown, Phoebe Waller-Bridge | UK | Drama | It goes without saying that Meryl Streep is always worth watching; in the case of The Iron Lady, her uncanny performance as Margaret Thatcher is the best, and possibly only, reason to see this pallid biography. Screenwriter Abi Morgan does provide a primer on Thatcher's remarkable rise from gro | ||
| A Separation | Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin | 2011 | Asghar Farhadi | 123 |
What can you say about a film that is so vividly real, and so intense, that it holds you spellbound for two hours, without letup? A Separation, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, would be superior filmmaking under any circumstances. That it also enables Western audiences to relate to its Iranian characters as people—not as political enemies or faceless statistics—is an equally great achievement. There are no heroes or villains in this story: there are only everyday figures who try their best and struggle to survive. The story begins as a modern-thinking woman asks for a divorce and is told, by an unseen magistrate, that she can't take her daughter out of the country if her husband doesn't consent. Here is our first taste of a patriarchal society where men, and men alone, make the decisions. The woman, who has red hair and looks almost Western, isn't without fault: she wants her spouse to abandon his aged father, who has Alzheimer's and can't care for himself. This is just the first chapter of an unfolding story that involves circumstance, coincidence, and choice. The couple's daughter is caught in the midst of an ever-spiraling controversy after her father hires a caregiver for his father and things go wrong. Matters of conscience and ethics come into play, and the stakes get higher at every turn. I am reluctant to divulge any more of the story. Suffice it to say that even though some aspects of the narrative are particular to Iran, there is little that couldn't take place anywhere in the world. That's why A Separation is so relatable, and so significant. The acting is naturalistic, and the camerawork invisible, adding to a feeling that we are simply watching life unfold. And, like real life (as opposed to the contrivances of "reality television") what happens is impossible to predict. A Separation is devastating drama, superbly presented—and not to be missed. |
tt1832382 | [PG-13] | Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi, Ali-Asghar Shahbaz, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Kimia Hosseini, Merila Zarei | Iran | Drama | What can you say about a film that is so vividly real, and so intense, that it holds you spellbound for two hours, without letup? A Separation, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, would be superior filmmaking under any circumstances. That it also enables Western audiences to relate | |
| Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | 2011 | Stephen Daldry | 120 |
I doubt that anyone who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 could remain completely unmoved by the story of how one boy deals with the death of his father, who was trapped in one of the World Trade Center towers that morning. There are many painful, poignant, and highly-fraught moments in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, simply because they remind us of what so many of us experienced that day, even from afar. But this drama, under the skillful direction of Stephen Daldry, aims to do more than merely arouse our latent emotions. The movie asks us to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 by entering the insular world of a verbose 11-year-old boy named Oskar, played by newcomer Thomas Horn. How you respond to the film will depend almost entirely on how you react to Oskar, who could be described as engagingly eccentric or extremely annoying. He and his father (Tom Hanks) had a special relationship—the idealized kind one only encounters in movies—in which the fun-loving, imaginative dad created ambitious New York City adventures for his son. Oskar is super-smart but also wildly phobic: he has trouble talking to people and refuses to use public transportation, just for starters. His accidental discovery of a key, hidden in his father's closet, sends him on the most formidable, and arduous, expedition of his life, to find its possible owner and literally unlock its secret. The boy is desperately trying to understand the irrationality of his father's death—and to deal with an overpowering feeling of guilt over his behavior that fateful morning. But the cure for Oskar's severe case of shell-shock, in Eric Roth's adaptation of the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, seems artificial and contrived to me. It's a metaphoric construct that, in another context, would be viewed as whimsical. I just didn't buy into it. At the same time, I can't deny the effectiveness of some individual scenes. Viola Davis, as the first person Oskar meets on his odyssey, can break your heart with just one look. Max von Sydow creates an appealing, grandfatherly character without speaking a word of dialogue. My feelings about young Thomas Horn veered from empathy—in some of the more emotionally-wrought scenes—to exasperation. And much as I like Tom Hanks, I never believed his character; he's about as real as Ward Cleaver. I'm sure some viewers will connect with this film; I would never begrudge anyone's response to a subject that is so personal. We could all use a movie that offers a cathartic means of processing the unreality we witnessed a decade ago. For me, this isn't it. |
tt0477302 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, James Gandolfini, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, Max von Sydow, Zoe Caldwell, Stephen McKinley Henderson | USA | Drama | I doubt that anyone who lived through the events of September 11, 2001 could remain completely unmoved by the story of how one boy deals with the death of his father, who was trapped in one of the World Trade Center towers that morning. There are many painful, poignant, and highly-fraught mom | ||
| War Horse | 2011 | Steven Spielberg | 146 |
I don't like pigeonholing films, and I've never been fond of the term "chick flick," but I'd be less than candid if I didn't tell you that several women I know and respect (including my wife) were moved to tears by War Horse, while I was lukewarm about it. Normally, I'm a sucker for this kind of picture, which has a great deal of sentiment built into it—but I found its execution too blatant and—if I'm not making a pun—on-the-nose. But then, subtlety has never been Steven Spielberg's strong suit. That tone is established in the movie's earliest scenes, in which an irresponsible and impoverished farmer (played with an uncharacteristic heavy hand by Peter Mullan) purchases a horse he can ill afford at auction. His son (Jeremy Irvine) adopts the animal as his own, names it Joey, and vows to train it, against all odds, to plow their rock-laden land. He and the horse develop a real rapport. That makes it all the harder for him when Joey is conscripted by the British Army to serve his country when war breaks out in 1914. Joey endures more hardship than any horse ought to, but everyone who encounters him over the next four years is immediately impressed with his beauty and indomitable spirit. War Horse started out as a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo in 1982, and that seems to be the way Spielberg and his screenwriters (Lee Hall and Richard Curtis) have approached it. Every turn of the story and each new character we meet is introduced in obvious fashion, as if we might not understand anything that wasn't spelled out and underscored (sometimes literally, in John Williams' music). Because the material itself is absorbing, and inherently emotional, and because it's a handsome production, War Horse is a very watchable. Good actors like Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch, fill the cast. But for the most part, they are called upon to approach their parts in the most transparent way possible. Nothing is left for us to discover on our own. Near the end of the film, Spielberg unveils a Technicolor sky so reminiscent of the "I'll never go hungry again" moment in Gone With The Wind, I let out a cackle. I don't think that was the reaction he intended, but I couldn't help it—just as he apparently couldn't resist taking a moment already suffused with emotion and trying to drive it home with a splash. I wish he had resisted the urge. My opinion may not be popular, as War Horse has all the makings of a crowd-pleaser, and younger viewers may be particularly responsive to it. But as much as I admire Steven Spielberg's enormous skills, I wish someone else had tackled this material. |
tt1568911 | [PG-13] | Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irvine, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell, David Kross, Eddie Marsan, Nicolas Bro, Rainer Bock, Patrick Kennedy, Leonhard Carow, Celine Buckens | USA | Drama | I don't like pigeonholing films, and I've never been fond of the term "chick flick," but I'd be less than candid if I didn't tell you that several women I know and respect (including my wife) were moved to tears by War Horse, while I was lukewarm about it. Normally, I'm a sucker for th | ||
| We Bought A Zoo | 2011 | Cameron Crowe | 124 |
If your favorite descriptive word for a movie is "edgy," you might want to skip this one. If, however, you like heartwarming—not cloying—stories about decent people, and hope to leave the theater feeling better than you did when you walked in, We Bought a Zoo will be a welcome cup of holiday cheer. Rated PG, it is intended to please a family audience, so the timing is perfect. Cynics may call it predictable, but that's only partly true. You can tell from the start that the story will have a happy ending, and that the damaged characters will be made whole. But this film is more about the journey than the destination, and in the hands of director Cameron Crowe (working from a screenplay he wrote with Aline Brosh McKenna, from Benjamin Mee's memoir) it offers considerable pleasure along the way. Matt Damon is well cast as a widower who after six months is still having a hard time dealing with the loss of his wife, which has left him as sole parent of a troubled 14-year-old son and an adorable 7-year-old daughter. Haunted by memories of his wife wherever he goes, he decides that the family needs to start anew, and house-hunting leads him to a beautiful plot of land that's home to an abandoned animal park. To his daughter's delight and his son's dismay, he buys the property and takes on the daunting responsibility of fixing up the zoo and dealing with its many challenges—alongside a small but dedicated staff, led by Scarlett Johansson. The supporting cast includes Thomas Haden Church, as Damon's loving but smart-mouthed brother, Elle Fanning, as a sweet, homeschooled girl who develops a crush on Damon's son, Patrick Fugit (the memorable protagonist of Crowe's Almost Famous) as one of the zookeepers, John Michael Higgins, as an intimidating state inspector, and J.B. Smoove, as a colorful realtor who leads Damon to his new home. Some of these players are archetypes as much as characters, but they serve their purpose. More important, the actors who play Damon's kids, Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones, are completely believable. How often do we get to see a movie in which a loving family, faced with challenges, finds a way to reconnect and grow stronger? This may not be considered cutting-edge storytelling, but I can't think of anything more relevant or worthwhile. |
tt1389137 | [PG] | Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, John Michael Higgins, Angus Macfadyen, Peter Riegert, Stephanie Szostak, J.B. Smoove | USA | Comedy, Drama | If your favorite descriptive word for a movie is "edgy," you might want to skip this one. If, however, you like heartwarming—not cloying—stories about decent people, and hope to leave the theater feeling better than you did when you walked in, We Bought a Zoo will be | ||
| The Adventures Of Tintin | 2011 | Steven Spielberg | 107 |
Being completely unfamiliar with Hergé's popular illustrated stories, I came to this movie as a blank slate, with no expectations. After an imaginative opening title sequence (scored by John Williams in a sprightly mode reminiscent of Catch Me if You Can), I was enveloped in the spirit of a rousing, old-fashioned adventure yarn. I only wish I felt the same way when the movie concluded. Director Steven Spielberg and his producing partner Peter Jackson have said that they wanted to recreate the look and feel of Hergé's work, to the point that one could freeze any frame of the film and find its equivalent in one of the Tintin books. That's a key reason they chose performance-capture technology, in order to transform Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis and other actors into the familiar characters drawn by Hergé, with all their visual oddities intact. I don't know how Tintin aficionados will react, but it took some time for me to acclimate, especially to the oddly-proportioned Captain Haddock, played by Serkis. Still, the ingredients for mystery and adventure are neatly laid out, as Tintin's purchase of a model ship makes him the target of a bad guy who desperately wants a map hidden inside the model. This leads Tintin and his loyal pooch Snowy into one fantastic exploit after another, as our hero is kidnaped. He winds up allying himself with the drunken Captain Haddock, whose seagoing ancestor hid a valuable cache of treasure hundreds of years ago. I was primed for adventure laced with humor, and got just that for a while. It would have been nice to learn a bit about Tintin, who is something of a cipher, as opposed to the instantly-endearing Snowy. But I was utterly unprepared for the second half of the film, which turns into one gigantic action sequence—a propulsive, nonstop videogame-like experience without letup. As a feat of moviemaking it's impressive, but merciless; it overtakes the film and overwhelms the characters, not to mention us in the audience, trapped behind our 3-D glasses. By the end of the picture I was exhausted, not exhilarated. The Adventures of Tintin drained me. Part of the fun in this kind of story is feeling that you—the reader, or the viewer—are partaking in the venture yourself. I never felt that way watching this film, which is especially odd since 3-D is supposed to be an immersive medium. Instead, I felt a curious remove. Some of that feeling may be due to my unfamiliarity with the characters and their world, but that doesn't account for my overall indifference to the picture. Spielberg is a master storyteller, but it seems even he was engulfed in the spectacle of his film. It is, perhaps, not insignificant that Hergé's stories were short, and not meant to sustain the length of a feature film. |
tt0983193 | [PG] | Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Daniel Mays, Gad Elmaleh, Joe Starr, Kim Stengel, Sonja Fortag, Tony Curran | USA | Animation, Adventure | Being completely unfamiliar with Hergé's popular illustrated stories, I came to this movie as a blank slate, with no expectations. After an imaginative opening title sequence (scored by John Williams in a sprightly mode reminiscent of Catch Me if You Can), I was enveloped in the spirit | ||
| The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo | 2011 | David Fincher | 158 |
The American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is well-made, well-cast, tense and exciting. I just wish I hadn't seen it all before. It's hard to fully enjoy a whodunit when you already know the clues, the red herrings, and who done it. If only Americans were willing to read subtitle—or watch movies with unfamiliar actors who are dubbed—there would be no reason for director David Fincher and company to have labored so mightily on this exacting remake of Niels Arden Oplev's 2009 Swedish sensation. But that's show business. If you're unfamiliar with Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, or wonder what all the shouting's about, you are the target audience for this picture. The plot deals with a wealthy industrialist (Christopher Plummer) who hires a skilled reporter (Daniel Craig) to reexamine a forty-year-old, unsolved mystery: the sudden disappearance of his niece. Craig's unlikely ally in researching the case is a strange, antisocial but talented computer hacker—and analyst of information—named Lisbeth Salander, (Rooney Mara). Larsson's story not only deals with investigative journalism (less so in this telling than in the original film) and societal corruption, but a series of horrifying attacks on women which are echoed by Salander's own experiences. The viewer is spared little in a notorious rape scene and its shocking aftermath; these moments were tough to endure in the Swedish movie and they're just as difficult this time around. (It was at this point that I started to wonder why I was subjecting myself to something so repellent—for the second time.) Fincher, of course, has traveled this road before in films like Se7en and Zodiac. He brings all his considerable skill to bear in spinning this serpentine story; the frigid atmosphere of snowy Sweden is palpable from start to finish. His methodical setup of the film's many characters and story threads leaves no stone unturned. On the whole, I admire Steven Zaillian's screenplay, too. He's made a few interesting changes, but I miss the passion that was evident in the journalist's every move and utterance in the original film. Daniel Craig does a good job, and takes a lighter approach than Michael Nyqvist (who can now be seen playing a bad guy in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol), although Robin Wright is wasted in the abbreviated role of his editor and bedmate. Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, and Steven Berkoff are fine in key supporting roles. As for Mara, she's convincing as the inscrutable, androgynous Lisbeth Salander—a character who becomes more understandable in the second and third installments of the trilogy—but it's hard not to come away with the feeling that she's repeating what Noomi Rapace already accomplished. I realize that this version, with a well-known cast, will reach a much wider audience than any foreign-language movie could in the U.S., but it still seems a shame that so much effort and money have been expended on a replica of a perfectly good Swedish movie. |
tt1568346 | [R] | Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter, Ulf Friberg | USA | Drama, Thriller | The American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is well-made, well-cast, tense and exciting. I just wish I hadn't seen it all before.It's hard to fully enjoy a whodunit when you already know the clues, the red herrings, and who done it. If only Americans were willing to read s | ||
| Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol | 2011 | Brad Bird | 133 |
Unlike most movie series, this one has actually improved with each new installment since its debut in 1996; the last one, directed by J.J. Abrams, reinvigorated the concept, while this fourth entry—which the studio seems to want to downplay as a Mission: Impossible film, given the tiny typeface they're using in its ads—is the best yet, a breathtaking, globe-trotting action yarn that pulls out all the stops. Character development is not the movie's strong suit. One simply has to accept that Tom Cruise is the leader of a team of deep-cover agents who've been cut loose from the government and have to survive on their own. Simon Pegg returns, from the last film, to provide welcome comedy relief as the unit's high-tech specialist, while Paula Patton is the requisite female agent. They're joined by Jeremy Renner as a man with a mysterious past who is quickly adopted as one of the team. Why are these agents hopping around the world, from Russia to Dubai to Mumbai? I can't really tell you, but screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec manage to inject the necessary urgency into each twist and turn of the plot, in the interest of keeping the IMF team on the go. The script is more-or-less a clothesline on which to hang a series of large-scale action set-pieces. That it works as well as it does is a tribute to the consistent pace set by director Brad Bird, the exceptional staging of those segments, and the commitment of his actors. Tom Cruise is as watchable as ever, and proves to be nearly as indestructible as the Terminator in the slam-bang action scenes. They're just believable enough to keep us hooked, especially since the film doesn't pretend to be anything more than pure escapism. As an animation buff, I can't pretend I'm not sorry to see the talented Brad Bird—the man who gave us The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille—devoting himself to a live-action film that any number of other people could have piloted. But I have to give him credit for making the most of this opportunity and scoring an absolute bull's-eye. He's brought along at least one of his Pixar colleagues, composer Michael Giacchino, who makes great use of Lalo Schifrin's original Mission: Impossible theme and builds a lively score on top of it. If you crave action and don't demand very much in the way of subtext, I think you'll have a great time with Ghost Protocol. (I sat a little too close to the IMAX screen and was almost overwhelmed by the experience; if it had been in 3-D my head might have exploded.) |
tt1229238 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Ving Rhames, Léa Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Nyqvist, Anil Kapoor | USA | Action, Adventure | Unlike most movie series, this one has actually improved with each new installment since its debut in 1996; the last one, directed by J.J. Abrams, reinvigorated the concept, while this fourth entry—which the studio seems to want to downplay as a Mission: Impossible film, given the tiny type | ||
| Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows | 2011 | Guy Ritchie | 129 |
As one who couldn't stand the first Guy Ritchie-Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie, I didn't mind this one so much. For one thing, I knew what I was in for: more rapid-fire Downey wisecracks and meaningless disguises, more attention-getting, gimmicky action scenes. But at least it doesn't look as if every major background has been painted on a computer screen. Better yet, Holmes is pitted against a worthy foe, the brilliantly sinister Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris, and enlists the aid of his older brother Mycroft, played by Stephen Fry. There are fleeting moments when this actually resembles an Arthur Conan Doyle story. (A Game of Shadows was written by Michele and Kieran Mulroney, who penned the sleeper Paper Man a couple of years back. The first Holmes had a too-many-cooks team of credited writers.) The production is still needlessly overlong and overblown, a far cry from your father's (or even your cousin's) conception of the master detective. But it's certainly lively and has clever moments that involve Holmes' keen powers of observation, and his ability to think his way out of sticky situations. The relationship between Holmes and Dr. Watson (Jude Law), which I found so annoying in the first film, is better delineated here, as one actually senses their mutual affection, even as Watson prepares to leave his adventurous friend behind to embark upon married life. Sweden's Noomi Rapace, who skyrocketed to fame as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has a rather thankless role as a gypsy who plays an unwitting role in Moriarty's evil plans. Rachel McAdams returns, all too briefly, as the duplicitous Irene Adler. As for Ritchie's trademark visual razzle-dazzle, some of it is impressive, and some of it becomes repetitive after a while. But if, like me, you know what you're getting intoor, unlike me, enjoyed the first Holmes outing—I doubt you'll be bored or dissatisfied. An elaborate production in every respect, A Game of Shadows definitely gives you your money's worth. |
tt1515091 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey/Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Eddie Marsan, Rachel McAdams, Kelly Reilly, Geraldine James | USA | Action, Adventure | As one who couldn't stand the first Guy Ritchie-Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie, I didn't mind this one so much. For one thing, I knew what I was in for: more rapid-fire Downey wisecracks and meaningless disguises, more attention-getting, gimmicky action scenes. But at least it | ||
| Carnage | 2011 | Roman Polanski | 79 |
Carnage seems to be a pretty good movie, but I have no way of evaluating it without comparing it to the play on which it's based, God of Carnage, which I saw on Broadway with a perfect cast (James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeff Daniels, and Hope Davis). This isn't fair to the picture—or to viewers who come to it with a clean slate—but I simply couldn't erase the memory of that theatrical experience as I watched the film, which director Roman Polanski adapted for the screen with playwright Yasmina Reza. Polanski has staged the movie so it never feels claustrophobic, even though it takes place in one Brooklyn, New York apartment and its adjacent hallway over the course of a long afternoon. But he has failed to capture the play's ever-so-gradual buildup of tension. The premise is that Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet have come to call on Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly to discuss an upsetting schoolyard incident in which the first couple's son has beat up the other's. Because these four people are intelligent adults, they hope they can resolve their differences through positive means instead of resorting to physical or verbal abuse as their children have done. In the play, the couples' veneer of decorum is slowly stripped away, revealing them as savages in disguise. In the film, Foster's character is prickly and annoying right from the start, while her husband (Reilly) never appears to be threatening or even terribly upset. His change of tone, midway through the film, is incomplete and ineffectual, while hers begins at such a high pitch that she has nowhere to go to add color to her character. The breakdown of the other, more genteel, couple doesn't have nearly the impact it should. Waltz and Winslet are skillful actors, but in spite of the ability of film to show closeups (as theater cannot) their characters remain somewhat remote, so it's difficult to engage with them when the narrative takes its final turn. Carnage isn't dull or uninteresting, and it's never a waste of time to watch four talented performers tackle meaty material such as this. But I have to mark the film a failure because I know that it should have been better. More to the point, it probably should have remained a piece of theater, the medium for which it was created. |
tt1692486 | [R] | Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz, Elvis Polanski | USA | Comedy, Drama | Carnage seems to be a pretty good movie, but I have no way of evaluating it without comparing it to the play on which it's based, God of Carnage, which I saw on Broadway with a perfect cast (James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeff Daniels, and Hope Davis). This isn't fair to the pictu | ||
| Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | 2011 | Tomas Alfredson | 127 |
When a film has so many attributes-including superior performances and a tangible sense of time, place, and atmosphere—it's tempting to overlook its shortcomings. That wouldn't be honest, but at least I can begin on a positive note. From the casting of Gary Oldman as veteran MI6 agent George Smiley to the depiction of life in the espionage community of the 1970s, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy delivers the goods. Fans of spy novels in general, and John Le Carré in particular, should be eminently pleased. What's more, admirers of Swedish director Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In will be happy to see that he and his cinematographer, Hoyte Van Hoytema have brought the same keen eye to this material that made their work on that vampire movie so striking. But in their desire to depict the day-to-day doings of a top-level spy, Alfredson and company have forgotten to maintain the kind of energy that's vital to a film as densely-plotted as this. There's nothing wrong with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy that a well-placed shot of adrenaline couldn't fix. The story is perfectly set up: after a botched mission, the head of MI6, known as Control, is booted out of the agency along with his number-one man, Smiley. Soon after the shakeup, a government official approaches Smiley to take on a uniquely challenging assignment: to find a mole who has worked his way to the highest echelon of the service. Who can it be? Having portrayed so many flamboyant, far-out characters over the years, Oldman might seem an unusual choice for Smiley, but as usual he has transformed himself completely, and his stillness speaks volumes. This is a perfectly-measured performance. (It may not erase many people's memories of Alec Guinness in the role, but that's unavoidable.) He is surrounded by an exceptional and well-chosen ensemble led by John Hurt, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Peter Straughan and the late Bridget O'Connor have managed to incorporate a daunting amount of detail into their screenplay but if your concentration wanes, even for a moment, you may lose your way. The sheer accumulation of incidents makes the film's occasional lethargy all the more noticeable. But the essence of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is found in the big picture, not the specifics. As director Alfredson says in a published note, "I think we've made a film about loyalty and ideals, values that are extremely relevant—perhaps mostly because they are so rare these days?" |
tt1340800 | [R] | Gary Oldman, Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Konstantin Khabensky, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Simon McBurney, Mark Strong | USA | Thriller | When a film has so many attributes-including superior performances and a tangible sense of time, place, and atmosphere—it's tempting to overlook its shortcomings. That wouldn't be honest, but at least I can begin on a positive note. From the casting of Gary Oldman as veteran MI6 agent G | ||
| Young Adult | 2011 | Jason Reitman | 94 |
What are we to make of Young Adult? Clearly, we're meant to applaud Charlize Theron's willingness to use her beauty more as a shield than an asset as she plays a thoroughly unlikable character. A onetime high-school heartthrob, she's fallen into a pitiable state—barely employed as a ghost writer, living an empty existence in the Big City and drowning her self-loathing in alcohol. For a combination of not-entirely-credible reasons she returns to her hick hometown, determined to win back her erstwhile boyfriend (Patrick Wilson), who's now happily married and the father of a baby girl. We're used to seeing movies about men who refuse to grow up. There is admittedly some slight novelty value in a film that trains an unforgiving eye on a female who, at the age of 37, tries to relive the last good period of her life, some twenty years ago when she was the prettiest girl in school. The problem is that Theron's character, devised by Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, is a human train wreck. She's so desperate for company that she develops a relationship with a guy she considers a loser (well played by Patton Oswalt) because he's always available, especially as a drinking companion. He had the locker next to hers in high school, but all she remembers about him is that he was notoriously brutalized by some bullies who thought he was gay. Like a train wreck, Young Adult is surprisingly compelling, and Theron gives a potent performance. But the film offers no real pleasure and has no resonance, other than a bitter aftertaste. We don't come away with any deeper understanding of small-town America, middle-class aspirations, or beautiful women whose looks belie their true nature. Having admired all of Reitman's previous films, and having always known that Theron is a talented actress, I find this film particularly disheartening. |
tt1625346 | [R] | Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Elizabeth Reaser, J.K. Simmons, Emily Meade, Collette Wolfe, Brady Smith, Louisa Krause, Jenny Dare Paulin | USA | Comedy, Drama | What are we to make of Young Adult? Clearly, we're meant to applaud Charlize Theron's willingness to use her beauty more as a shield than an asset as she plays a thoroughly unlikable character. A onetime high-school heartthrob, she's fallen into a pitiable state—barely employed as a gho | ||
| Hugo | 2011 | Martin Scorsese | 126 |
Leave it to Martin Scorsese to use 3-D not as a gimmick, but as a means of drawing us into a unique and magical environment. Other films may boast of flashy special effects, but Scorsese has created a world of wonder—which is much more unusual—in his elaborate adaptation of Brian Selznick's illustrated book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. At first blush, the man who made Taxi Driver and Goodfellas might seem an unlikely choice for this endeavor, but the story of Hugo is tied to the earliest days of cinema, and that brings out the very best in Scorsese. John Logan's screenplay captures the special qualities of his source material and expands upon it by painting a vibrant picture of the Paris train station where much of the action takes place, circa 1930. Asa Butterfield is ideal as young Hugo, who is left to his own devices after his uncle's untimely death; he's right at home in the metallic maze of the train station's catwalks, where he continues to wind the clocks as his uncle did. He has an abiding interest in all things mechanical, especially an automaton that was his uncle's pride and joy. The wily, light-fingered Hugo comes to the attention of an irascible old man (Ben Kingsley) who sells toys in the train station arcade, and the boy becomes friendly with his granddaughter (Chloë Grace Moretz). It turns out that Grandpa Georges has a secret past, which I won't divulge here (although you may have read about it elsewhere). In the unfolding of that story, the boy and the old man find a common bond. The director's approach to 3-D demands use of the overworked word "immersive." Yet that is the only accurate way to describe the way we lose ourselves in this film, with its spinning gears, mechanisms, and pixie dust in the air. One remarkable—and deceptively simple—shot of the imperious station inspector (played with just the right touch of hauteur by Sacha Baron Cohen) elicited gasps of delight at the screening I attended, because it uses 3-D to help define the character in a cunning visual metaphor, and has fun with it to boot. When the time comes to recreate the early days of moviemaking in France, the film rises to Olympian heights. Scorsese has said that he found inspiration in the works of René Clair and Jean Vigo, but the most direct connection for the railroad depot scenes is the work of Jacques Tati, in particular Playtime. Tati built an entire cityscape for that movie and choreographed every detail within the frame. Scorsese has done the same, filling the train station with colorful characters played by such expert performers as Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, and Emily Mortimer. (The imposing Christopher Lee plays a gentlemanly bookseller.) He has even appropriated Tati's use of sound: people who are speaking casually, away from the camera, are heard in the distance, not "miked" like actors in the foreground. As always, Scorsese works with a gifted team of collaborators, led by cinematographer Robert Richardson, visual effects supervisor Rob Legato, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, production designer Dante Ferretti, costume designer Sandy Powell, and composer Howard Shore. With Brian Selznick's illustrations as their guide, they sought to animate and illuminate his story; with a 3-D monitor on the set, they could adjust every shot to make the best use of depth and foreground pieces. I'm not crazy about the advertising for Hugo, but I am hopeful that good reviews and strong word-of-mouth will make it the success it has every right to be. This is a rare family-friendly film that offers sensory pleasures and plenty of food for thought. It might send some young people to Selznick's book; in a perfect world, it would inspire viewers of all ages to seek out the magical films of Georges Méliès. At the very least it will show audiences what a great director can achieve when he is truly inspired by his material. |
tt0970179 | [PG] | Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg | USA | Adventure, Drama | Leave it to Martin Scorsese to use 3-D not as a gimmick, but as a means of drawing us into a unique and magical environment. Other films may boast of flashy special effects, but Scorsese has created a world of wonder—which is much more unusual—in his elaborate adaptation of Brian Selz | ||
| The Muppets | 2011 | James Bobin | 103 |
On my way to see this movie I kept saying to myself, "I hope they didn't louse it up!" The Muppets mean too much to me to let Jason Segel, or anybody, for that matter, diminish them. The minute the picture started, I heaved a sigh of relief and broke out in a smile. This is a joyful movie, the kind the Muppets (and their many fans) deserve. In the tradition of Jim Henson's original Muppet Show, this movie is essentially about putting on a show. Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller have concocted a serviceable storyline about a good-hearted fellow (Segel) and his puppet brother Walter, who (along with Segel's girlfriend, Amy Adams) make a pilgrimage to the Muppet Studio in Hollywood, only to discover that it's deserted and about to be torn down by a greedy developer (Chris Cooper). The only way to save it is to locate Kermit the Frog and persuade him to reassemble the old gang to put on a fund-raising telethon. There is just enough drama and suspense to lay a foundation for the comedy that defines The Muppets. The writers and director James Bobin haven't deviated from the troupe's original modus operandi. And the humor is never mean-spirited. All of our old favorites are here, from Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy to the original grumpy old men, Statler and Waldorf, along with a number of celebrities in amusing cameos, from Selena Gomez to Mickey Rooney (whose son Michael choreographed the picture). Simplicity is the key to the film's success, perfectly expressed in an opening musical number featuring Segel, Walter, Adams, and scores of people from their home town, who sing and dance to Bret McKenzie's "Life's a Happy Song." I like all of McKenzie's bright new compositions, but when Kermit broke into Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher's "The Rainbow Connection," I had to wipe a tear from my eye. It's a tear of nostalgia for the happiness these characters have brought me for so many years. It's great to have them back in a movie that audiences of all ages can enjoy |
tt1204342 | [PG] | Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Alan Arkin, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Emily Blunt | USA | Comedy | On my way to see this movie I kept saying to myself, "I hope they didn't louse it up!" The Muppets mean too much to me to let Jason Segel, or anybody, for that matter, diminish them. The minute the picture started, I heaved a sigh of relief and broke out in a smile. This is a joyful movie, the ki | ||
| Arthur Christmas | 2011 | Sarah Smith | 97 |
It's rare for me to laugh out loud, repeatedly, during a movie these days, but 'Arthur Christmas' gave me that welcome opportunity. It is so ingenious, endearing, and downright funny that it instantly joins the ranks of first-class holiday movies, intended for viewers young and old. I even enjoyed the use of 3-D in this felicitous collaboration between Aardman Animations (the folks who brought us Wallace and Gromit) and Sony Imageworks. I also admire the fact that the film retains a distinctly British personality, and the kind of odd, eccentric character design we've come to expect from Aardman. There is nothing remotely conventional about the look of these figures, including Santa Claus, which reminds us that we're watching a cartoonnot a replica of real life. (Credit goes, at least in part, to Peter De Seve, the gifted artist and illustrator who has done design work for Blue Sky and Pixar as well.) But it's the clever story, by Peter Baynham and director Sarah Smith, that lifts this film above the norm. Santa, it turns out, holds a hereditary position, and the current man filling the post (delightfully voiced by Jim Broadbent) is getting a bit old. His likely heir is his son Stephen (Hugh Laurie), who supervises the ultra-modern, highly efficient operation that enables him to deliver millions of presents around the world in just one night. But it's the jolly man's other son Arthur (James McAvoy) who retains the sincere sweetness to answer children's letters to Santa. And it's he who teams up with the doddering Grand-Santa (Bill Nighy, channeling his inner Spike Milligan) who steps up to the plate when it's discovered that one child hasn't received her toy on Christmas Eve. The voice cast (which also includes Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Claus and Ashley Jensen as a determined elf named Bryony) is so exceptional that simply listening to' Arthur Christmas' is a treat. If there were an award for best animated voice ensemble they would win in an instant. The opening sequence, establishing the methodology of Santa and his army of elves, is a bit frantic, especially in 3-D, but once the story-proper begins the staging and timing are right on the money. If I had my druthers I'd prefer seeing all Aardman films populated with clay figures like Wallace and Gromit, but I can't complain when this movie makes such engaging use of CGI. It doesn't seem possible after such an unexceptional year that we could get three wonderful family films (this 'Hugo', and 'The Muppets') in the same week, but I am not inclined to look this gift horse in the mouth. Let's just say that our holiday presents have arrived early. |
tt1430607 | [PG] | James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Ramona Marquez, Marc Wootton, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Michael Palin, Joan Cusack, Andy Serkis | USA | Animation, Comedy | It's rare for me to laugh out loud, repeatedly, during a movie these days, but 'Arthur Christmas' gave me that welcome opportunity. It is so ingenious, endearing, and downright funny that it instantly joins the ranks of first-class holiday movies, intended for viewers young and old. I even enjoye | ||
| A Dangerous Method | 2011 | David Cronenberg | 99 |
Can a play about personal conflicts in the nascent world of psychiatry at the turn of the 20th century be translated into an effective film? In the hands of playwright/screenwriter Christopher Hampton, director David Cronenberg, and three exceptional actors, the answer is yes. It takes some getting used to, as we don't often see films that are so dependent on dialogue to express relationships. But if you avoid it because you don't like "talky" dramas you will miss some of the finest performances of the year. Michael Fassbender, whose reputation is soaring on the basis of his widely varied work this year alone, is a riveting presence as Carl Jung, the meticulous, impeccably-groomed doctor who adopts Sigmund Freud's daring technique of talking out problems to deal with his latest patient, a Russian Jewess (Keira Knightley) suffering from extreme anxiety. In time, he gets to meet his hero, played with perfectly-judged sangfroid by Viggo Mortensen. Freud welcomes Jung as a friend and protégé, but as the story progresses their relationship becomes strained because of the older man's massive ego. He is unwilling to entertain any serious ideas other than his own. A deeply troubled analyst, played by Vincent Cassel, is sent to Jung for treatment by Freud, and turns out to be a dangerous provocateur who stirs up a hornet's nest of trouble. A Dangerous Methodis exquisitely mounted, but it is also, for all the fire simmering underneath the surface, a placid film—except in Knightley's opening scenes, where she is on the verge of combustion. It may be difficult to fully embrace on an emotional level, but it offers a level of intellectual stimulus we rarely get in English-language cinema. |
tt1571222 | [R] | Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Gadon, Vincent Cassel | USA | Drama, Thriller | Can a play about personal conflicts in the nascent world of psychiatry at the turn of the 20th century be translated into an effective film? In the hands of playwright/screenwriter Christopher Hampton, director David Cronenberg, and three exceptional actors, the answer is yes. It takes some getti | ||
| My Week With Marilyn | 2011 | Simon Curtis | 99 |
This film has a different flavor from the usual biopic- and it's delicious, at least for any diehard movie buff. Imagine stepping into a time machine, traveling back to 1956, and getting to eavesdrop on Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier during the famously troubled production of 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. That's precisely what we do in this enticing film, based on the published diary of Colin Clark (son of the eminent art historian Kenneth Clark), who worked as an assistant to Olivier on that picture. For the conceit to work, we first have to buy into the idea of Michelle Williams as Marilyn. She and the filmmakers pull this off by opening their movie with a musical number. As Williams sings and dances to "Heat Wave," we see the familiar Marilyn figure and body language and hear her whispery singing voice. Director Simon Curtis saves his first closeup till the end of the song, when we're already on the hook, and that seals the deal. If we can believe Williams as the famous sex symbol, we can begin to accept her as the real woman off-camera. What she achieves isn't mimicry but an absorption of the character that is both persuasive and appealing. It's easy to see how she manipulated the people around her, whether deliberately or not, and how a wide-eyed young man like Clark (played with just the right touch of naïveté by Eddie Redmayne) would become smitten with her. Kenneth Branagh, on the other hand, seems to be having a field day inhabiting the larger-than-life persona of Laurence Olivier, and if the fabled actor-director was really this grandiose, it must have been fascinating to be a fly on the wall during this particular endeavor. Screenwriter Adrian Hodges, like the director a veteran of British television, translates Clark's memoir into a straightforward, well-paced narrative, eschewing the current mania for nonlinear storytelling (thank goodness). The physical recreation of the period, especially as it relates to moviemaking at Pinewood Studios, is impeccable. In addition, the costarring ensemble is unusually fine. Judi Dench adds a different color to the palette as the exceedingly kind Sybil Thorndike, who played a supporting role in' The Prince and the Showgirl', while Julia Ormond evokes some of the grace and fragility of Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. Having already played one brassy American agent (Swifty Lazar) in Frost/Nixon, Toby Jones has no trouble embodying another, namely Arthur P. Jacobs. Zoë Wanamaker brings Marilyn's notorious acting coach and protector Paula Strasberg to vivid life, as we've read about her in so many published accounts. Dominic Cooper is Monroe's flustered producing partner, Milton Greene, and Emma Watson plays a hard-working wardrobe mistress who is wooed by Clark, when his time isn't taken up by Marilyn. Only Dougray Scott, as Monroe's husband Arthur Miller, doesn't ring true somehow—beginning with his shaky American accent. 'My Week With Marilyn' isn't revelatory in any way, but its credibility on every level makes it highly entertaining, like reading a juicy show-business book filled with backstage gossip. Michelle Williams deserves all the accolades she's been receiving, because without her there's no movie. She convinces us that she is that ravishing, impossible, heartbreaking figure we've all read so much about and makes us wish we could have spent a week with her as Colin Clark did. |
tt1655420 | [R] | Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, Judi Dench, Zoë Wanamaker, Toby Jones, Derek Jacobi, Dougray Scott | UK, USA | Drama | This film has a different flavor from the usual biopic- and it's delicious, at least for any diehard movie buff. Imagine stepping into a time machine, traveling back to 1956, and getting to eavesdrop on Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier during the famously troubled production of 'The Prince and | ||
| The Artist | 2011 | Michel Hazanavicius | 100 |
If Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist were merely an homage to silent films, it would be easy to dismiss as an amusing stunt. But his hand is so sure, his actors so engaging (and engaged), that the movie plays as well as any other picture made this year—if not better. Leading man Jean Dujardin, who was named Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, has charisma to spare, and his perky leading lady, Bérénice Bejo, is a perfect match. The Artist is an utterly charming film that earns its audience's support the old-fashioned way. Hazanavicius and his star have worked together before, on the James Bond parody OSS 117 and its sequel, OSS 117: Lost in Rio. If you glance at the trailers for those popular French films online you'll see that Dujardin's stock-in-trade is a cocky attitude and a winning smile. In The Artist, he is called upon to delve beneath the surface of that personality, and does so in a way that seems as effortless as his mile-wide grin. Bejo brings warmth and shading to her performance as a girl who works her way up the ladder in Hollywood as Dujardin's star begins to fade with the coming of talkies. (She patterned her performance after flapper-era Joan Crawford, while he studied Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.) The attention paid to finding authentic Los Angeles locations and the casting of supporting roles and bit players who seem to fit the period have all paid off handsomely. Costars John Goodman and James Cromwell hit just the right notes, and never overplay their parts. The highest compliment I can pay Hazanavicius is that there were times when I forgot I was watching a brand-new movie. I have heard some criticism that the movie skims the surface of great 1920s films without offering anything new. I would agree that The Artist can't compare to such milestones as Murnau's Sunrise or Vidor's The Crowd... but I don't think it sets itself up to be a masterwork. It is simply a piece of entertainment, executed with great confidence and style. It's rare that I get a chance to see a new movie twice, but when I screened this for my class at USC I found myself paying attention to the craft of the film, more than its content. I came away with tremendous respect for Hazanavicius (who also edited the film with Anne-Sophie Bion) and his cinematographer, Guillaume Schiffman. Every scene is well thought-out and flawlessly executed: if the camera placement were wrong, or a shot lingered too long, it could dissolve the movie's magic spell. But that never occurs. The Artist is a unique contribution to the movie year...and it's a pleasure to watch. |
tt1655442 | [PG-13] | Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle, Malcolm McDowell | France | Comedy, Romance | If Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist were merely an homage to silent films, it would be easy to dismiss as an amusing stunt. But his hand is so sure, his actors so engaging (and engaged), that the movie plays as well as any other picture made this year—if not better. Leading man Jean Dujar | ||
| Happy Feet Two | 2011 | George Miller | 100 |
I wasn't the world's biggest fan of 'Happy Feet', which had many good qualities but got bogged down by its ecological message (worthy though it was). The sequel still tries to tell too many stories, and winds up being a long string of dramatic climaxes, but it also plays to the first movie's strengths: music, dance, and dramatic staging on an enormous canvas. (It's even more impressive in IMAX 3-D, as I viewed it.) The end result may not win any prizes for narrative but it's consistently entertaining, and a feast for the eyes. While 'Happy Feet' focused on the tap-dancing Emperor Penguin named Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) this one spends more time with his little son Erik (voiced by E.G. Daily) who is simply irresistible. If one agrees that penguins in general are cute, Erik ups the ante considerably. I don't want to give away the nature of Erik's big moment, toward the end of the picture, but it's one of the most surprising musical performances of the year. The rest of the film is something of a smorgasbord, with new characters like Sven (Hank Azaria), a mystical penguin who captivates an entire tribe, and a newly-musical mate for Mumble, spoken and sung by Pink, who uses her real name, Alecia Moore, in the credits. Robin Williams is typically hilarious as both the romantic Ramón and the colorful Lovelace, while two new creatures enact their own adventure in a kind of sidebar to the movie: Will the Krill, enacted by Brad Pitt, and Bill the Krill, voiced by Matt Damon. Grownups in the audience will have fun listening to these two usually-dramatic actors having a field day with their wildly expressive dialogue. I could easily nit-pick 'Happy Feet Two', but it's shorter than the first film, and subtler in expressing its underlying message about the way everything on our planet is interconnected. I think it will entertain kids and keep parents happy, too. The feature is preceded by a brand-new 3-D Looney Tunes short based on the wonderful old Capitol Records single 'I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat', sung by Mel Blanc as Tweety and Sylvester (with a brief new interjection by June Foray as Granny). Matthew O'Callaghan, who directed last year's new Road Runner cartoons, has again brought two beloved characters back to life in three-dimensional CG form without losing an iota of their original personality. It's great to see Tweety and Sylvester back on the big screen. |
tt1402488 | [PG] | Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Pink, Hank Azaria, Sofía Vergara, Common, Carlos Alazraqui, Elizabeth Daily | USA | Animation, Comedy | I wasn't the world's biggest fan of 'Happy Feet', which had many good qualities but got bogged down by its ecological message (worthy though it was). The sequel still tries to tell too many stories, and winds up being a long string of dramatic climaxes, but it also plays to the first movie's | ||
| The Descendants | 2011 | Alexander Payne | 115 |
Watching a film as mature, moving, original and unpredictable as 'The Descendants' renews my faith in American movies, and reaffirms Alexander Payne's status as one of our most gifted storytellers. He has also bestowed the gift of an exceptional role on George Clooney, who gives the best performance of his career. Clooney can be a charmer, but here he embodies a character devoid of that trait. He's a successful lawyer in Hawaii who, as he freely admits, has become so consumed by work that he has neglected his wife and two daughters. Fate intervenes when his wife is injured in a water-skiing accident that puts her in a coma. Overnight, he is forced to become a full-time father to his alienated teenage daughter (Shailene Woodley) and her younger sister, who needs to be sheltered from the dire news about her mom. In the midst of this, Clooney also has to make a momentous decision about a huge parcel of virgin land on the island of Kauai that is owned by his large, diverse family. The challenge in describing the film is that it doesn't neatly fit into any pigeonhole. It's a serious movie that happens to have a sense of humor, because Payne and his collaborators see the absurdity in everyday existence. They know that life can turn tragic in the blink of an eye and an encounter between two characters can play out as high drama or be undercut by humor. That's one of the qualities that distinguishes all of Payne's movies and makes this one so special. (The screenplay was first developed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash from a little-known novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.) Hawaii is more than just a backdrop for the story; it is part and parcel of the characters' lives, which becomes clearer as the story progresses. That's not to say that there aren't breathtaking beauty shots peppered throughout the film; they help us understand what this island paradise means to the people who live there full-time and call it home. Although he's inevitably described as "director Alexander Payne," it is his writing, usually in collaboration with Jim Taylor, which helps define the filmmaker's sensibilities. While he's not above making fun of his characters (think of the hapless schoolteacher played by Matthew Broderick in 'Election', or the often-clueless Jack Nicholson in 'About Schmidt') he never trivializes them. There is an unexpectedly funny moment in 'The Descendants' in which Clooney, fired up with rage, impulsively runs to a friend's house... but because he's wearing flip-flops, the dramatic impetus for the scene is somewhat defused by audience laughter at the sheer incongruity of the moment. That's Payne in a nutshell. Clooney's character isn't a bad person; he's imperfect, like most of us, and in the face of some extraordinary challenges, he tries to summon his better self. That's what I love about 'The Descendants': it makes us reflect about how we conduct our lives, and how we might strive to be better. 'The Descendants' is the best movie I've seen this year. I hope hordes of people go to see it... and that it inspires other filmmakers. |
tt1033575 | [R] | George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, Robert Forster, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel | USA | Comedy, Drama | Watching a film as mature, moving, original and unpredictable as 'The Descendants' renews my faith in American movies, and reaffirms Alexander Payne's status as one of our most gifted storytellers. He has also bestowed the gift of an exceptional role on George Clooney, who gives the bes | ||
| J. Edgar | 2011 | Clint Eastwood | 137 |
Leonardo DiCaprio is not the first name that springs to mind as the embodiment of legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover—unlike, for instance, the title character in the upcoming remake of The Great Gatsby. I give the actor credit for his commitment to this assignment, but he's still not quite right, especially if you've seen any newsreel footage of the bulldog-like Hoover. It's more difficult to excuse screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and director Clint Eastwood for making such a dull, monotonous biography of one of the 20th century's most commanding and controversial figures. Another glaring problem plagues the picture, which spans six decades: while one can (gradually) accept DiCaprio's aging makeup, and even Naomi Watts's, it is impossible to invest in any latter-day scene involving Armie Hammer because his old-age makeup is so astonishingly bad. Even if the film were brilliant, and it's not, this would be a serious stumbling block, for which there is no apparent reason. As for the dramaturgy, Black takes a nonlinear approach to his subject, hopping back and forth in time to no particular effect. When we first see J. Edgar as a young man, he is embarking on his first investigation of Bolshevik terrorists in 1919 after they bomb the home of his boss, the Attorney General, in Washington, D.C. (He never wavered from his belief that our country was threatened by radicals on the home front, up to and including Martin Luther King.) We also see his attempt to court a young woman on the secretarial staff who rebuffs his awkward advances but agrees to be his personal secretary—for the rest of her life. Yet we learn nothing else about Helen Gandy, and the part is a thankless one for the talented Watts. We do learn that Hoover is dominated by his strong-willed mother (played by Judi Dench), that his father is non compos mentis (with no further elaboration or explanation), and that he is emotionally repressed, even before he meets Clyde Tolson (Hammer), his lifelong aide and companion who brings out his latent homosexual feelings, at least to some degree. Anyone looking for greater insight into Hoover's personality or his evolution as a political force will have to look elsewhere. This film is strictly superficial. I recall reading about Hoover's fondness for the trendy Stork Club in Manhattan and his fruitful relationship with the powerful columnist Walter Winchell, but they don't figure in this telling of his life story. There's one brief allusion to him visiting New York and consorting with a movie star, but the only time we see him enjoying nightlife with a celebrity he becomes flustered and leaves abruptly. Loose ends abound: Hoover's mother refers to her two sons, but we never catch sight of (or hear about) J. Edgar's brother beyond that single reference. There's also an early dinner scene with Hoover's young niece, who is never seen or mentioned again. Beyond anything else, J. Edgar commits the cardinal movie sin: it's dull. When there are specific points of comparison the film is especially vulnerable: the FBI chief's showdowns with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy have been dramatized much more effectively in other films and TV shows. Overall, it seems as if much more effort was expended on authentic-looking wardrobe and CGI shots of Washington, D.C. than on character development and narrative. Despite its obviously impressive pedigree, this movie can only be described as a misfire. |
tt1616195 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, Judi Dench, Dermot Mulroney, Lea Thompson, Miles Fisher, Ed Westwick, Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Root | USA | Drama | Leonardo DiCaprio is not the first name that springs to mind as the embodiment of legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover—unlike, for instance, the title character in the upcoming remake of The Great Gatsby. I give the actor credit for his commitment to this assignment, but he's st | ||
| Immortals | 2011 | Tarsem Singh | 110 |
What can you say about a movie that calls itself Immortals and then introduces the concept that the Gods of Mount Olympus could be murdered? Some viewers may have mayhem on their minds, as well, after sitting through this long, draggy film wearing 3-D glasses for no special reason. This is all the more dispiriting because Immortals was directed by Tarsem (aka Tarsem Singh), who built his reputation as a visualist based on innovative music videos, commercials (remember the "We Will Rock You" spot for Pepsi?) and the almost insanely ambitious feature The Fall. Because of a second-rate script, sluggish pacing, and an over-reliance on CGI, he is diminished to the level of his material. Yes, there are some striking moments—generally involving bloody battles in which people are speared, beheaded, or pulverized—but there is no overarching visual concept that is worthy of the director's reputation. We might as well be watching Clash of the Titans. Henry Cavill, who's built a following on the cable TV series The Tudors, has the gravitasand the muscular body—to star as Theseus, an outcast in his own village because he was born a bastard. But Zeus (Luke Evans) has faith in him and fully expects him to lead his countrymen against the violent, power-thirsty King Hyperion, played by Mickey Rourke. Zeus warns his fellow Gods (including Kellan Lutz, who doesn't get much screen time) not to interfere with the mortals below on earth, but it seems they can't resist. Incidentally, the vaunted virgin oracle played by Freida Pinto also manages to redefine herself before the film is over. On the face of it the story has possibilities, but in Charley and Vlas Parlapanides' screenplay it's handled in ponderous fashion. If you like blood and guts, with hand-to-hand (or should I say hand-to-spear) combat in video-game-style, you may like this more than I did. As for Tarsem, he hasn't necessarily lost his touch, but even the most forward-thinking director still has to rely on a script, and in this case that proves to be—if you'll pardon the reference—his Achilles' heel. |
tt1253864 | [R] | Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Luke Evans, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, John Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Kellan Lutz, Robert Maillet, Stephen McHattie | USA | Action, Fantasy | What can you say about a movie that calls itself Immortals and then introduces the concept that the Gods of Mount Olympus could be murdered? Some viewers may have mayhem on their minds, as well, after sitting through this long, draggy film wearing 3-D glasses for no special reason.This | ||
| Anonymous | 2011 | Roland Emmerich | 130 |
There are great moments in Anonymous, from its arresting opening scene (with Derek Jacobi rushing into a Broadway theater and striding directly onstage) to recreations of the first performances ever given of Henry V and Hamlet before a spellbound throng of groundlings. I, too, was captivated during those thrilling scenes, which is why it's so frustrating that Anonymous nearly drowns itself in a sea of confusion. Because no one wants to tell a story in chronological order any more, this saga hopscotches back and forth through three separate time periods (not counting the modern-day framing device with Jacobi). I know this because we see David Thewlis as Queen Elizabeth's advisor William Cecil in three different makeups: as a middle-aged man, then older, then elderly. It's easy to keep track of the Queen because she's played in the two later stages of life by the magnificent Vanessa Redgrave, and as a young woman by Redgrave's real-life daughter Joely Richardson. If only the rest of the film and its dramatis personae were that clear! Rhys Ifans plays Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford, who arranges for his plays to be produced on stage, where they are credited to a somewhat screwloose actor named Will Shakespeare, played with brio by Rafe Spall. This is not the Earl's doing, as his choice for "front man" is struggling playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto), but that's one of the film's many twists. The question of who may have actually written the Great Bard's works would seem to offer enough fodder to fuel a compelling story, but John Orloff places his (apparently well-researched) material within a larger, more labyrinthine historical drama involving complex court intrigues, affairs of the heart, and the fate of illegitimate children so detailed—and ultimately, confounding—that the movie nearly sinks under its own weight. What a shame. Director Roland Emmerich, who's best known for such apocalyptic epics as Independence Day and 2012, has done an excellent job of recreating 17th century England and making us feel as if we're there, whether we're watching men carefully walk on planks to avoid the muddy streets or witnessing the first utterances of the immortal characters from Romeo and Juliet on an open-air stage. (Vast overhead shots of London, especially those showing the Globe Theater, are so realistic that I find them vexinglike watching a magician perform an "impossible" trick and concentrating on how he did it rather than enjoying the illusion.) But vivid atmosphere and fine performances can't salvage this long, ultimately ponderous production. If only the script had been simplified#8212;perhaps I should say clarified—and shortened this could have been a smashing film. Instead, it's a major disappointment. |
tt1521197 | [PG-13] | Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sam Reid | UK | Drama | There are great moments in Anonymous, from its arresting opening scene (with Derek Jacobi rushing into a Broadway theater and striding directly onstage) to recreations of the first performances ever given of Henry V and Hamlet before a spellbound throng of groundlings. I, too, w | ||
| Puss In Boots | 2011 | Chris Miller | 90 |
Just when you were about to give up on 3-D and the inflated price of admission to watch it on a theater screen—along comes a film thats worth the money. In fact, it isnt the story that makes Puss in Boots stand out, but the imaginative staging, especially in 3-D. The moment that Puss made his debut in Shrek 2, dramatically voiced by Antonio Banderas, and all but walked away with the picture, it was clear that DreamWorks Animation had created a resonant character. Now, inevitably, he is starring in his own CG-animated feature and while he essentially remains a one-joke character (a self-styled Don Juan who takes himself, and everything he does, very seriously) I have to admit its a pretty good joke. The challenge for director Chris Miller and his team of writers and artists was to come up with a storyline that would give the stylish cat some room to grow, with colorful costars and inventive situations. Theyve pulled this off pretty well, although the story is much more cluttered than it needs to be. Since Puss is essentially a straight-man, he needs lively, funny characters to bounce off. His leading lady is a tantalizing feline named Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) with whom he dances, both literally and figuratively, throughout the picture. And returning to the Mother Goose/fairy-tale realm of Shrek, the filmmakers introduce Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) as Puss best friend from boyhood. They were once as close as brothers, raised together at an orphanage, until Humpty became jealous of Puss and betrayed him. Now hes back, seeking forgiveness—as well as Puss complicity in a scheme to steal some magic beans that will send them up a famous beanstalk to the home of goose eggs made of gold. Its in the home stretch that the already-busy story bogs down, leading to multiple climaxes and a less-than-triumphant finale. But Banderas forceful performance is consistently amusing, and the film is a visual treat from start to finish. So if Puss in Boots isnt a great animated feature, its still pretty good and thats no small accomplishment. |
tt0448694 | [PG] | Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Sedaris, Billy Bob Thornton | USA | Animation, Adventure | Just when you were about to give up on 3-D and the inflated price of admission to watch it on a theater screen—along comes a film thats worth the money. In fact, it isnt the story that makes Puss in Boots stand out, but the imaginative staging, especially in 3-D.The mom | ||
| In Time | 2011 | Andrew Niccol | 109 |
Writer and sometimes-director Andrew Niccol fixates on the future and doesn't offer a sunny outlook, whether it's in Gattaca, The Truman Show, or S1m0ne. It should come as no surprise, then, that In Time is yet another trip into the dystopian world of tomorrow, where lifespan has replaced money as the commodity of choice, and people stop aging when they reach 25. If they're lucky—or well-off—they can earn or exchange days, weeks, months, and even years, thereby extending their time on earth. Yes, this is a story of haves and have-nots. Justin Timberlake plays one of the latter, who ekes out an existence from day to day until he chances to meet a wealthy man who feels he's lived too long, and transfers more than a century's worth of life to his new acquaintance. This harvest of "time" enables Timberlake to buy his way out of the ghetto and visit the wealthy part of town to see how the other half lives. It's there that he meets time-mogul (and hoarder) Vincent Kartheiser and his beautiful daughter, Amanda Seyfried, who has no idea how difficult life is for poor buggers like Timberlake. The concept is mildly interesting at first—even the cops are called timekeepers—but the novelty wears off pretty fast, and In Time becomes a dreary exercise in which the central metaphor is both obvious and heavy-handed. (Rich people exploit the poor, you see.) The characters are one-dimensional, leaving the actors with no place to go. Future worlds can be fascinating, funny, or thought-provoking. This film is none of the above. |
tt1637688 | [PG-13] | Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, Johnny Galecki, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew Bomer, Yaya DaCosta, Ethan Peck, Toby Hemingway | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | Writer and sometimes-director Andrew Niccol fixates on the future and doesn't offer a sunny outlook, whether it's in Gattaca, The Truman Show, or S1m0ne. It should come as no surprise, then, that In Time is yet another trip into the dystopian world of tomorrow, where lifes | ||
| The Rum Diary | 2011 | Bruce Robinson | 120 |
I was not a fan of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to put it mildly. While I have a mild degree of interest in gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, I have little patience for his drug-addled experiences—even with Johnny Depp as the writer's fictionalized alter ego. Perhaps that's why I responded better to The Rum Diary: based on another autobiographical Thompson novel, about his younger days, it's Fear and Loathing-Lite, fueled more by alcohol than narcotics. The setting is San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1960, where Depp shows up for a job on a local newspaper a day late, getting off on the wrong foot with ill-tempered editor Richard Jenkins. He agrees to room with fellow reporter Michael Rispoli and falls into a drink-sodden mist, occasionally fired up by the actions and musings of crazed ex-reporter Giovanni Ribisi. He also attracts the attention of Aaron Eckhart, a local "fixer" who hires Depp to do p.r. work for a secret hotel development that, like almost everything on the island, will pamper the tourists and exploit the natives. (Passive and amoral, he also falls in love with Eckhart's sexy girlfriend, Amber Heard.) Strange to say, Depp seems a little old for this role; then again, only an actor as skillful as he could play such a dissolute character and make him vaguely likable, or at worst, tolerable. Writer-director Bruce Robinson, the auteur of Withnail & I who hasn't had any screen credits in a while, deftly captures the double-edged atmosphere of Puerto Rico—a vacation paradise for some, an overheated cauldron of trouble for others. This is a film that depends more on tone and atmosphere than narrative strength. It won't be to everybody's taste, but I found it diverting and easy to take. I certainly like this tipsy Depp character better than Capt. Jack Sparrow. |
tt0376136 | [R] | Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi, Amaury Nolasco, Marshall Bell, Bill Smitrovich | USA | Comedy, Drama | I was not a fan of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to put it mildly. While I have a mild degree of interest in gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, I have little patience for his drug-addled experiences—even with Johnny Depp as the writer's fictionalized alter ego. Perhaps that's why I | ||
| Like Crazy | 2011 | Drake Doremus | 90 |
Hollywood has given a black eye to the romantic comedy; romantic dramas are scarce. All the more reason to cheer Drake Doremus' fresh, vibrant film Like Crazy, which is anything but a conventional genre piece. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones win us over as college students who fall deeply in love and then try to sustain that feeling when circumstances separate them. (After graduating from school she's forced to return to her native England, while he's establishing a business in Los Angeles.) There seems to be no artifice in their performances; it's as if we're peeking through a window and observing a guileless, likable young couple, up close, as they experience the first flush of love, then suffer the anguish of physical separation and emotional distance. The actors' work is appealing and beautifully nuanced; no wonder Jones won a Special Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film itself won the Grand Jury Prize. I was impressed with Doremus' last film, the improbably titled Douchebag, which despite a shoestring budget managed to convey a sometimes-startling intimacy and firmly establish its quirky, original characters. (Its costar, Ben York Jones, appears briefly in Like Crazy and also shares screenplay credit with Doremus, although the actors improvised all of their dialogue.) This film is a bit more polished, but retains the naturalness of the earlier picture and the naked honesty of its characters' emotions. The seeming spontaneity of Like Crazy belies the filmmaker's canny editing, careful choice of camera placement, color schemes, and structural underpinnings. All of this perfectly complements the actors' striking and believable characterizations. That applies to the supporting cast, as well, which includes Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Finola Hughes, and Alex Kingston and Oliver Muirhead as Jones's sympathetic parents. The pinpoint precision of their work, in just a handful of scenes, achieves more than most actors can with reams of dialogue. Like Crazy is invigorating entertainment, and Drake Doremus is an exemplar of independent filmmaking. He's already working on his next feature, and I can't wait to see it. |
tt1758692 | [PG-13] | Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead, Finola Hughes, Chris Messina, Ben York Jones, Jamie Thomas King, Keeley Hazell, Natalie Blair, Edurne Ganem | USA | Drama, Romance | Hollywood has given a black eye to the romantic comedy; romantic dramas are scarce. All the more reason to cheer Drake Doremus' fresh, vibrant film Like Crazy, which is anything but a conventional genre piece. Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones win us over as college students who fall de | ||
| Tower Heist | 2011 | Brett Ratner | 104 |
I've seen great caper movies, and this isn't one of them. As mainstream Hollywood studio movies go, Tower Heist isn't bad, and it will probably fulfill most audience's desire for escapist fare. But despite some good laughs here and there and a couple of neat plot twists, it's just not as clever as it seems to think it is. Even a recurring cat-and-mouse exchange about chess between the bad guy (billionaire-investor Alan Alda) and the good guy (Robin Hood-ish thief Ben Stiller) doesn't pay off with a really satisfying punchline. On the plus side, Tower Heist has a well-cast ensemble and makes great use of its mid-Manhattan location, including an incursion into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (I was more absorbed in those scenes—and trying to figure out how they were filmed—than I was in the "thrill" footage set many stories up in the sky. Now that computer imagery has made the impossible possible, it's hard to be invested in those kind of stunts because we know they're not real and no one is at risk.) Ben Stiller is right at home in the role of a hard-working, multi-tasking building manager for the swankiest apartment house in New York City. Alda is his highest-profile tenant who turns out to be a swindler. When it turns out that he's pilfered the pension funds of the building staff, Stiller recruits a handful of allies to break into Alda's apartment and find his hidden safe. His secret ingredient: a thief he knows from his neighborhood in Queens. Eddie Murphy is a natural for this role, which should have been the comic showcase some of us have been waiting for. Instead, he's on cruise control, as if to acknowledge that with material like this it isn't worth breaking a sweat. Director Brett Ratner does capture the atmosphere of a bustling New York building with a multicultural staff. But the script, credited to Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson (from a story by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Griffin), never goes the distance in terms of interesting character development and leaves several story threads loose during the third act. I know, it's just a caper movie. But why shouldn't a big-budget film with A-list talent provide a great entertainment experience? Tower Heist is just good enough to get by. |
tt0471042 | [PG-13] | Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael Peña, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Alan Alda, Judd Hirsch, Nina Arianda | USA | Action, Comedy | I've seen great caper movies, and this isn't one of them. As mainstream Hollywood studio movies go, Tower Heist isn't bad, and it will probably fulfill most audience's desire for escapist fare. But despite some good laughs here and there and a couple of neat plot twists, it's just not | ||
| Le Havre | 2011 | Aki Kaurismaki | 103 |
Le Havre is Finland's official entry for this year's Foreign Language Oscar, as it is the work of celebrated Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki—yet it takes place in France, where it was shot with a nearly all-French cast. Let us agree, then, not to get caught up in details or semantics and simply enjoy this charming fable. Andre Wilms plays a courtly older man who ekes out a living by shining shoes near the train station in the seaside city of Le Havre. He returns to his apartment each night where his—devoted wife has prepared dinner for him. One day he happens to witness the police opening a huge container, just transported by ship, with a group of Africans huddled inside. One of them, an adolescent boy, makes a run for it and manages to get away. After a chance meeting the next day, Wilms' determines to help the boy. If the story outline seems simple, it is; this movie is all about attitude and style. The shabby-genteel hero, who has a keen sense of irony, and the people who help him—neighborhood shopkeepers, the proprietress of the local bar, and even a member of the local police force—are reminiscent of the Damon Runyon characters in Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (and Capra's own remake, Pocketful of Miracles). These colorful, sometimes surprising, good-hearted people may not exist in real life, but we wish they did. In an homage to French cinema, Kaurismäki has cast two seminal figures in minor roles: Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut's unforgettable young hero, as an angry neighbor, and Pierre Étaix, the great clown and filmmaker whose work is being rediscovered this year, as a sympathetic doctor. It's a treat to see them both. The film also introduces us to a performer named Little Bob, who reminds me of a Gallic Roy Orbison. Le Havre is opening theatrically in New York and Los Angeles. I don't know how many other cities it will play, but if you're tired of cynicism and pretentiousness and feel like a cinematic breath of fresh air, I encourage you to see it. |
tt1508675 | Unrated | André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Blondin Miguel, Elina Salo, Evelyne Didi | Finland | Comedy, Drama | Le Havre is Finland's official entry for this year's Foreign Language Oscar, as it is the work of celebrated Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki—yet it takes place in France, where it was shot with a nearly all-French cast. Let us agree, then, not to get caught up in details or semant | ||
| Margin Call | 2011 | J.C. Chandor | 105 |
Margin Call manages to put a human face on the current economic crisis but I wish it was as good as its trailer, which is forceful, well-edited, and dramatically scored. The film itself has many good qualities, and an exceedingly strong cast, but it's a bit dry. The setting is a major investment bank in Manhattan, where the story is set in motion by a series of peremptory firings. As risk-management specialist Stanley Tucci is escorted out of the office he gives some information to his protégé, Zachary Quinto (and, curiously, the security guard doesn't stop him), urging him to follow up on it, but warning him to be careful. What Quinto gleans from this data could implode the entire company, a revelation that leads to a series of all-night meetings and showdowns. Among the key players: thirty-seven year veteran Kevin Spacey, high-living Paul Bettany, self-absorbed Simon Baker, straight-talking Demi Moore, and finally, head honcho Jeremy Irons, who's willing to do whatever is necessary to save the firm. You couldn't ask for a better cast; Spacey and Irons are particular standouts. But when the movie was over I didn't feel satisfied: there's something missing, even though the screenplay (by first-time feature director J.C. Chandor) is completely credible. There is a missing ingredient; perhaps it's an urgent music score, as we hear in the trailer. Maybe it's just that the film is as insular as the people it portrays. |
tt1615147 | [R] | Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Aasif Mandvi | USA | Thriller | Margin Call manages to put a human face on the current economic crisis but I wish it was as good as its trailer, which is forceful, well-edited, and dramatically scored. The film itself has many good qualities, and an exceedingly strong cast, but it's a bit dry.The setting is a major | ||
| Oranges and Sunshine | 2011 | Jim Loach | 105 |
In telling the story of a true-life unsung hero a filmmaker faces many pitfalls. How often have we seen well-intentioned movies become sanctimonious and lose their dramatic edge? No such accusations can be leveled at Jim Loach's Oranges and Sunshine, an impressive film that documents an astonishing but little-known story. The wonderful Emily Watson plays Margaret Humphreys, whose book Empty Cradles documents her efforts, from 1986 onward, to trace the facts behind a mass deportation of "unwanted" children from England to Australia beginning in the 1950s. This governmental program was kept under wraps for decades, and roundly denied when Humphreys began her investigation. Most parents lost track of their children while the kids, as young as three years old, never knew what hit them. Adding salt to the wound, many of these unfortunate children suffered terribly once they arrived in Australia, turned into slaves doing forced labor. There are many ways one could approach this shocking story. Fortunately, director Loach and screenwriter Rona Munro avoid big, emotional moments, and don't paint Watson's character as a saint. In fact, the conflict she faces as she becomes involved in the lives of the now-grown children who want to reconnect with their parents, and the time she spends away from her own family in Nottingham, forms a crucial part of the story. Watson's empathetic performance is matched by her costars, especially David Wenham as a bluff Aussie whose off-putting personality obscures the deep wounds of his childhood, and Hugo Weaving as his polar opposite, a fragile shell of a man who has never recovered from the ordeal, especially the absence of a mother in his life. Oranges and Sunshine never plays like a "message movie." It has a vital story to tell and does so with taste and restraint. By keeping the characters' emotions in check, the film allows us to respond to every turn in the story, and each new revelation, in our own way. The cumulative impact is devastating. I can't say enough about this exceptional film. |
tt1438216 | [R] | Emily Watson, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving, Richard Dillane, Lorraine Ashbourne, Kate Rutter, Greg Stone, Tara Morice, Stuart Wolfenden, Federay Holmes | UK | Drama | In telling the story of a true-life unsung hero a filmmaker faces many pitfalls. How often have we seen well-intentioned movies become sanctimonious and lose their dramatic edge? No such accusations can be leveled at Jim Loach's Oranges and Sunshine, an impressive film that documents a | ||
| The Skin I Live In | La Piel Que Habito | 2011 | Pedro Almodóvar | 117 |
I've taken many unusual cinematic journeys with Pedro Almodóvar and enjoyed most of them, but I just didn't care for The Skin I Live In. The filmmaker's best work has always felt organic, even at its most outrageous; this one is burdened by an inescapable air of contrivance. One scene, in which an older female character unburdens herself and reveals a startling amount of expository information, actually plays like a parody of an Almodóvar movie. The Skin I Live In is a formalistic piece of work, uncharacteristic of the writer-director. (His last picture, Broken Embraces, was meticulous in its puzzle-like structure, but it worked much better.) It's also ice-cold, another anomaly for this warm-blooded filmmaker. The story is a twisted take on Frankenstein with a kinky sex angle. Antonio Banderas plays a plastic surgeon who has been trying to develop artificial skin, since his wife nearly burned to death in a fiery car accident. He has no conscience or ethical scruples and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring his experiments to fruition. Then fate takes a hand when, in a misguided attempt at revenge for a wrongful act, he finds a human guinea pig. That's all you should know going in. The actors, led by Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya, do their best in challenging but highly restrictive roles. Nothing Almodóvar does could be without interest, and this is no exception: his production design and attention to detail are formidable, and he is in perfect harmony with his actors. But the movie left me with an unpleasant aftertaste. In a funny way it's more interesting to read about than it is to watch. |
tt1189073 | [R] | Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suárez, Jan Cornet | Spain | Drama, Thriller | I've taken many unusual cinematic journeys with Pedro Almodóvar and enjoyed most of them, but I just didn't care for The Skin I Live In. The filmmaker's best work has always felt organic, even at its most outrageous; this one is burdened by an inescapable air of contrivance. One scene, | |
| The Big Year | 2011 | David Frankel | 100 |
The Big Year is a star-driven comedy, led by Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, with an unusual premise about three dedicated "birders" and their competitive attempt to track as many species as possible during a calendar year. But the film itself qualifies as a rara avis: a benign, good-hearted movie about three disparate characters' search for happiness. The fact that it's rated PG, and yet is intended for adult audiences, should tell you something about the movie's nature. Howard Franklin's screenplay, inspired by Mark Obmascik's book, dodges stereotypes and cheap gags as it paints a picture of three men who couldn't be more different. Martin is a wealthy, happily married executive on the verge of retirement. His colleagues beg him to stay on and steer their company at a crucial crossroads. Wilson is successful, too, in the construction field, but his wife (Rosamund Pike) is less forgiving than Martin's about his absentee role in their marriage. Black is a divorced working stiff who needs his parents' financial support, and his boss' understanding, in order to take time off to travel to far-flung places during his "big year" of birding. The Big Year is the kind of film that sneaks up on you. I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, and at some point my interest began to wane then the film circled around and got to me. I think it was when the filmmakers tipped their hand that the movie is less about birding than it is about finding contentment, no matter where you are on life's journey. Colorful scenery and an equally colorful supporting cast (including Anjelica Huston as a cantankerous fishing-boat skipper) make this an appealing and attractive experience. The Big Year will probably be a tough sell to those all-important opening weekend moviegoers, but if it sticks around long enough, I suspect word of mouth will keep it aloft for quite some time. |
tt1053810 | [PG] | Jack Black, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Rashida Jones, Joel McHale, Jim Parsons, Rosamund Pike | USA | Comedy | The Big Year is a star-driven comedy, led by Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, with an unusual premise about three dedicated "birders" and their competitive attempt to track as many species as possible during a calendar year. But the film itself qualifies as a rara avis: a ben | ||
| Footloose | 2011 | Craig Brewer | 113 |
Does the world really need a remake of Footloose? I would answer no, but I must also admit that the new movie is innocuous and pleasant-enough to watch. Writer-director Craig Brewer, who made the disarming Hustle & Flow, has taken Dean Pitchford's 1984 screenplay and layered onto it some backstory ingredients that help it make more sense than the original. (There's now a reason why the small town has banned dancing, and a purposefulness to the new kid's outlook on life.) I especially enjoyed watching newcomer Kenny Wormald, who steps into Kevin Bacon's shoes with charisma to burn; he's also a talented dancer. The costarring roles are well-cast, and Miles Teller, another up-and-comer (who made a strong impression in last year's Rabbit Hole) is quite good as Wormald's geeky friend who's featured in "Let's Hear it for the Boy." This is a situation where audiences will go into the theater humming the featured songs, and while the movie they see offers no surprises, it does something relatively few fall releases can claim: it delivers exactly what it promises. |
tt1068242 | [PG-13] | Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Ziah Colon, Ray McKinnon, Miles Teller, Ser'Darius William Blain, Patrick Flueger, Andie MacDowell, Maggie Jones | USA | Drama, Romance | Does the world really need a remake of Footloose? I would answer no, but I must also admit that the new movie is innocuous and pleasant-enough to watch. Writer-director Craig Brewer, who made the disarming Hustle & Flow, has taken Dean Pitchford's 1984 screenplay and layered onto it som | ||
| The Ides Of March | 2011 | George Clooney | 101 |
The world of politics provides all the drama- and satiric fodder- any filmmaker could ask for. And even though the public has shown indifference to such movies in recent years, Hollywood keeps making them. The Ides of March has star-power on its side, with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling in the leads, but even if people are attracted to theaters by their presence they're not likely to leave feeling satisfied. The Ides of March has nothing new to offer in its portrait of the campaign trail, and doesn't seem quite sure what story it really wants to tell. Clooney plays a popular governor who's facing an opponent in the Democratic primary, the final stepping-stone on the way to a presidential run. Philip Seymour Hoffman is his campaign manager, but Ryan Gosling is his number two, a media specialist and political junkie who actually believes in his candidate. The story deals mainly with his education and disillusionment at the hands of smarter, more ruthless professionals—and one character who's a relative innocent. I can't write off a film that offers juicy roles to Clooney, Gosling, and Hoffman, as well as Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, and Evan Rachel Wood. But there are few surprises (let alone shocks) in this back-room tale, although the filmmakers seem to think they're dealing with dramatic dynamite. I heard good things about Beau Willimon's play Farragut North but never got to see it, so I can't compare this adaptation, which I'm told expands on the play considerably. Willimon is credited with the screenplay along with Clooney (who directed the picture) and his longtime producing partner Grant Heslov. It's a shame to see so much talent expended on a film that, while slickly made, is so routine and unmemorable. There have been great political movies over the years, like State of the Union, The Best Man, Primary Colors and Bulworth. The Ides of March simply isn't in their class. |
tt1124035 | [R] | George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Mantell | USA | Drama | The world of politics provides all the drama- and satiric fodder- any filmmaker could ask for. And even though the public has shown indifference to such movies in recent years, Hollywood keeps making them. The Ides of March has star-power on its side, with George Clooney and Ryan Gosli | ||
| Real Steel | 2011 | Shawn Levy | 127 |
From the billboards you might think this is another Transformers movie-heaven help us-when in fact, Real Steel is a cross between Rocky and The Champ. It's formulaic and unashamedly manipulative, but it's played with sincerity and it works. This project has been in development for years, under Steven Spielberg's watchful eye, and bears only superficial resemblance to the Richard Matheson story that inspired it. (You may remember its first adaptation, as a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone called "Steel," with Lee Marvin.) The screenplay is credited to John Gatins, with story credit to Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven. The time is the near-future. Hugh Jackman plays an irresponsible, washed-up prizefighter who ekes out a living as manager for boxing robots. When his ex-wife dies, he's forced to spend a summer looking after his 11-year-old son—a boy he's never really known (played by newcomer Dakota Goyo) who just happens to be a savvy superfan of robot boxers. It's the kid who has faith in a "junk pile" Jackman is ready to write off. With some t.l.c. and Jackman's boxing experience, the discarded machine takes them to the Big Time, and helps cement the damaged relationship between father and son. Under Shawn Levy's direction, the story never misses a beat, with fully-committed performances by Jackman, Evangeline Lilly (as the woman who's always believed in him), and fresh-faced young Goyo, who bears a strong resemblance to Ricky Schroder and has the same ability to win you over at emotional moments, even if you're trying to resist. Technically, the film is one of those modern marvels in which it's impossible to tell where reality ends and CGI takes over. (In fact, the key robot characters were actually constructed as animatronic "puppets" standing eight feet tall. It's only when they walk or box that they're not real.) But this movie lives or dies with the human element, and if you're a sucker for a story involving an underdog—and a father's redemption in the eyes of his son—you'll willingly surrender to Real Steel. If you're looking for something gritty or only interested in high-tech combat between machines, you'll have to look elsewhere. |
tt0433035 | [PG-13] | Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie, Hope Davis, Dakota Goyo, James Rebhorn, Karl Yune, Olga Fonda, Marco Ruggeri | USA | Action, Drama | From the billboards you might think this is another Transformers movie-heaven help us-when in fact, Real Steel is a cross between Rocky and The Champ. It's formulaic and unashamedly manipulative, but it's played with sincerity and it works.This project ha | ||
| The Women On The 6th Floor | Les Femmes Du 6ème étage | 2011 | Philippe Le Guay | 104 |
I like films that reveal themselves gradually, instead of following an instantly predictable pattern. That's one reason I was so taken with Philippe Le Guay's The Women on the 6th Floor. On the surface it's a social comedy, set in Paris during the early 1960s. That deft comedic actor Fabrice Luchini plays a stockbroker who's not only inherited his father's investment business but his apartment, where he has spent his entire life. Things begin to change when his wife hires a young, attractive Spanish maid. Luchini shows more than casual interest in her, and learns that she is part of a thriving community of working women who occupy the floor above him. They have come to France to escape from the Franco regime and now represent a substantial part of the workforce in Paris. With an aloof, image-conscious wife who ignores him (and their children, who go to boarding school), Luchini becomes intrigued—and then involved—with the lives of the women upstairs. He breaks out of his lifelong routine for the first time, which no one around him can begin to understand. Writer-director Le Guay drew on his own experiences, and interviews with women who were part of the temporary migration of the 1960s, to create a humane, charming, and socially relevant comedy that's well worth seeing. It won the Audience Award at this year's City of Lights—City of Angels French film festival in Los Angeles, and with good reason: it's a disarming story that offers substance as well as entertainment. |
tt1805297 | Unrated | Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalia Verbeke, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas | France | Comedy | I like films that reveal themselves gradually, instead of following an instantly predictable pattern. That's one reason I was so taken with Philippe Le Guay's The Women on the 6th Floor. On the surface it's a social comedy, set in Paris during the early 1960s. That deft comedic actor Fa | |
| Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil | 2011 | Eli Craig | 89 |
It isn't often that I designate myself a movie's advocate, but that's how strongly I feel about an underdog release called Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, which begins a limited theatrical engagement on Friday. (It's already available On Demand, so check your local cable provider.) A film that played to cheering crowds at Sundance and South by Southwest over a year ago shouldn't have had to wait this long to reach the public, but that's the bittersweet story I just learned from its co-writer and director, Eli Craig. An alumni of USC's graduate cinema program, Eli brought his movie to my USC class last February, fresh from Sundance. My class, which numbers 360 students from all areas of the university, is the natural demographic for a film like this that pokes fun of splatter movies—but I really liked it, too, and I normally don't like seeing blood onscreen. What I responded to was the cleverness of the parody, which far exceeds a one-joke idea, its expert execution (especially for a first-time feature-film director) and the wonderful performances of its two leading actors, Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine. (They may not be marquee names, but they're awfully talented—and busy. Tudyk has a following from the cult TV show Firefly, and even turned up in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, while Labine has been in several TV series and had a solid supporting role in this summer's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.) But these fine actors are not marquee names, and that's been one handicap in getting distribution for Tucker and Dale. Another was the fact that after its film festival buzz it became one of the most pirated movies on the Internet! People who see "no harm" in illegally downloading films should know that this wholesale piracy—theft, if we want to call it by its actual name—hurt the movie's salability. Then there's the challenge of trying to sell an audience a movie that doesn't neatly fit into a pigeonhole. Is it a comedy? Yes. Does it also have bloody moments that might qualify it as a horror film? Yes. But what about those great audience reactions? Here's the real-life horror story Eli Craig told my class. One prominent distributor was interested in the film, but wary. They told the filmmaker that they would hold a test screening, and if it scored 20% higher than the norm they would take it. It scored MUCH higher—in the 90 percentile, to be precise—to a demographically diverse crowd, including a 62-year-old woman who said she'd recommend it to anybody. The distributor decided that this had to be an anomaly, so they insisted on a second test screening. It went just as well. Now they insisted that Craig prepare a trailer, and IT had to earn a high test score, too. It did. Finally, they said they wouldn't go ahead unless the buyer for one of the nation's largest theater chains agreed to book it. That fellow watched a screener, without an audience, thought the movie was cheesy, and turned it down. And that was that. How a filmmaker like Craig maintains his enthusiasm in the face of such foolishness is beyond me, but I admire him tremendously for not losing faith in his own picture. I watched it for a second time with my class last week and enjoyed it all over again: it's fresh, original, surprising in its use of violence, and genuinely funny. Tudyk and Labine are marvelous. Oh, yes: from another chapter in the film's long slog from script to screen, Craig had two talented, up-and-coming actors set to play the starring roles, but a potential investor didn't think they were famous enough: Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis, before they had their breakthrough in The Hangover. This all-too-familiar show-business cautionary tale can still have a happy ending if enough people spread the word about Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. Incidentally, if you order it on demand, I encourage you to invite some friends over to join you. It's the kind of movie that plays best with a crowd. |
tt1465522 | [R] | Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss, Chelan Simmons, Brandon Jay McLaren, Christie Laing, Alex Arsenault, Travis Nelson, Karen Reigh | USA | Comedy, Horror | It isn't often that I designate myself a movie's advocate, but that's how strongly I feel about an underdog release called Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil, which begins a limited theatrical engagement on Friday. (It's already available On Demand, so check your local cable provider.) A film th | ||
| What's Your Number? | 2011 | Mark Mylod | 106 |
As someone who, swimming against the tide, didn't care for Bridesmaids, imagine my surprise to find another female-driven, female-written R-rated comedy so entertaining. What's Your Number? stars the likable Anna Faris as a woman who discovers that she's slept with more men than anyone in her circle—in fact, far more than the national average, as reported in a magazine survey. Her solution to this self-inflicted crisis is to look up all her exes and see if any of them is worth reconnecting with. And her unlikely partner is the guy in the apartment across the hall, who's even more promiscuous than she is—except that he's actively avoiding a relationship while she's trying to find "the right guy." He's played by Chris Evans, who gives a terrifically savvy comic performance. It's not just the material—he's got real comedic knowhow that makes his interplay with Faris great fun to watch. Their ammunition comes from a screenplay, by TV sitcom veterans Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden, that doesn't turn out to be a one-joke idea. Familiar faces turn up as the ex-boyfriends, from Zachary Quinto to Anthony Mackie, and even Faris' real-life husband Chris Pratt (also seen to good advantage in Moneyball) as a guy she nicknamed Disgusting Donald when he was an overweight slob. Other experienced players like Blythe Danner and Ed Begley, Jr. fill out the supporting cast. As for the raunch factor, I found it surprisingly palatable because it all seemed credible, from Faris' casual conversation with a woman on the subway to a round-robin with a group of girlfriends who have gathered for her sister's bridal shower. Director Mark Mylod even has fun with Evans' wayward character and his penchant for strolling around undressed. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Boston setting, since the film is a virtual advertisement for the glories of living in Beantown. If it offers the promise of meeting an apartment-mate, as the protagonists of this movie do, the city may well benefit from the attractive exposure it receives in What's Your Number? |
tt0770703 | [R] | Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Ed Begley/Jr, Joel McHale, Chris Pratt, Zachary Quinto, Andy Samberg, Thomas Lennon | USA | Comedy | As someone who, swimming against the tide, didn't care for Bridesmaids, imagine my surprise to find another female-driven, female-written R-rated comedy so entertaining. What's Your Number? stars the likable Anna Faris as a woman who discovers that she's slept with more men than | ||
| 50/50 | 2011 | Jonathan Levine | 99 |
How you go create a movie about one young man's battle with cancer that manages to respect its subject and still be funny is a mystery to me—even though the screenwriter, Will Reiser, is essentially telling his own story. Still, it's a pretty neat trick to blend comedy with a story that's moving and relevant; it helps to have a smart screenplay, a strong cast, and an overall good vibe. Those qualities make 50/50 one of the bright spots on the fall movie map. The ever-likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a 27-year-old public radio employee in Seattle who doesn't smoke or drink, or even cross the street when the light is red—but all the same he's diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. How he and the people around him—his girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), his overprotective mother (Anjelica Huston), and most of all his best pal (Seth Rogen)—react to his illness as it progresses is the crux of the film. There's also a green young therapist (it's a teaching hospital, they explain), played by Anna Kendrick, who plays a significant role in Gordon-Levitt's ability to cope with feelings he's never had to confront before. There couldn't be a more serious subject, yet Gordon-Levitt and especially Rogen (who co-produced the movie) make the comedy seem both spontaneous and organic. They do what all guys try to do by masking their emotions and using humor to deflect the real problems that are staring them in the face. Director Jonathan Levine, who did such a good job with The Wackness several years ago, keeps the tone of the movie on-target at every turn, which is no small achievement. 50/50 had me crying by the finale, and gave me more satisfaction than many more ambitious films I've seen lately. If you, or someone close to you, is dealing with a serious illness, you might not be in the mood for it, but I can't imagine anyone doing a better job of turning this material into a piece of uplifting entertainment. |
tt1306980 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Marie Avgeropoulos, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Serge Houde, Andrew Airlie, Matt Frewer, Philip Baker Hall | USA | Drama, Comedy | How you go create a movie about one young man's battle with cancer that manages to respect its subject and still be funny is a mystery to me—even though the screenwriter, Will Reiser, is essentially telling his own story. Still, it's a pretty neat trick to blend comedy with a story that | ||
| Take Shelter | 2011 | Jeff Nichols | 120 |
Take Shelter is a provocative original from writer-director Jeff Nichols, built on the foundation of a searing performance by Michael Shannon. It's a film I respect, even though I found it very tough to sit through. That's because Nichols creates a palpable sense of unease—which is exactly what he sets out to do. Shannon, who's so good playing creepy characters like the wacko in Revolutionary Road (which earned him an Oscar nomination), and the uptight Federal agent in Boardwalk Empire, is completely convincing here as an ordinary construction worker in Ohio. He and his wife (Jessica Chastain) barely make ends meet, and face the challenge of raising a little girl who is deaf. Nothing could prepare Shannon for the storm he encounters at the very beginning of the picture, where dark clouds gather overhead and the downpour that accompanies them leaves his skin wet—not with water, but with drops of oil. This instills in him a sense of foreboding, and with it the urgent desire to protect his family by expanding a long-abandoned storm shelter in their back yard. A series of vivid nightmares (or are they hallucinations?) only intensify his crackpot plan, which he neglects to discuss with his wife. So is Shannon a candidate for the loony bin, or is he prescient? That's what the film explores, with detail and nuance. The world Nichols creates for his characters is real and rock-solid; the relationships all make sense but the filmmaker leaves it to us to form our own opinion of his protagonist. I admire Take Shelter, which unfolds at a deliberately slow pace, but I can't say I enjoyed it. The first-rate cast includes the versatile Chastain, Shea Whigham, and Katy Mixon, but it's Shannon, as the haunted man, who dominates the movie and makes it memorable—and uncomfortable. |
tt1675192 | [R] | Michael Shannon, Katy Mixon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Guy Van Swearingen, Tova Stewart, Natasha Randall, Scott Knisley, Ron Kennard | USA | Drama | Take Shelter is a provocative original from writer-director Jeff Nichols, built on the foundation of a searing performance by Michael Shannon. It's a film I respect, even though I found it very tough to sit through. That's because Nichols creates a palpable sense of unease—which is exac | ||
| Dolphin Tale | 2011 | Charles Martin Smith | 113 |
Not all family films are created equal. This one was inspired by the remarkable real-life story of a dolphin named Winter who washed ashore in Florida, had to have its tail amputated, and taught itself to swim even without the appendage. As it turns out, that wasn't the end of Winter's challenges. Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi have built a screenplay around that true story that draws on familiar Hollywood-movie tropes, but plays well just the same. A likable young actor named Nathan Gamble plays a lonely boy, being raised by single mom Ashley Judd, who helps rescue Winter and develops a special connection with the creature. Even the man (played by Harry Connick, Jr.) who runs a sea rescue facility in Clearwater has to admit that the dolphin responds uniquely well to the boy. It's his determination that fuels many of the events that follow. A parallel story involves the boy's cousin, a kind of big brother who goes overseas to serve in the military and comes home after being injured wearing a leg brace. Winter's need for a prosthetic tail becomes a direct source of inspiration for the young veteran, and many other grownups around him. Morgan Freeman plays a prosthetics specialist at the local V.A. hospital who takes on the challenge of fabricating an artificial tail for a species he's never treated before. Winter's life-threatening crises, the boy's loneliness, and the subplot of a close relative going away to war and being hurt in an explosion are the reason Dolphin Tale is rated PG, and not G. While the film might seem formulaic to adult viewers, it deals with pretty serious issues on its way to a happy ending; parents should know this going in. It deals with these subjects in an admirably straightforward manner and doesn't duck the realities with sugar-coating—but you may have to do some explaining to your kids. Formula or no, by the end of the film I found myself tearing up—which I did a second time during a final sequence with home-video footage that shows how Winter continues to inspire youngsters who are missing arms and legs. They get a chance to spend quality time with the indomitable dolphin at his aquarium home in Clearwater. Interestingly, this film was directed by Charles Martin Smith, who starred some years ago in a memorable movie about man and the animal kingdom called Never Cry Wolf. |
tt1564349 | [PG] | Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Harry Connick Jr., Nathan Gamble, Austin Stowell, Austin Highsmith, Kurt Yaeger, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Ray McKinnon, Frances Sternhagen, Rus Blackwell, Marc Macaulay, Richard Libertini | USA | Drama | Not all family films are created equal. This one was inspired by the remarkable real-life story of a dolphin named Winter who washed ashore in Florida, had to have its tail amputated, and taught itself to swim even without the appendage. As it turns out, that wasn't the end of Winter's challe | ||
| Moneyball | 2011 | Bennett Miller | 133 |
Moneyball is easy to admire, a bit more difficult to love. That's because the film, like its central character (well played by Brad Pitt), keeps its emotions in check so much of the time. It should be no shock that the film is intelligent and well-made, considering the source material (a book by financial writer Michael Lewis, who also authored The Blind Side), the screenwriters (Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin), and the director (stage veteran Bennett Miller, whose first film was Capote). What's somewhat surprising is how engrossing a story about the business side of baseball can be. I don't know anything about the real-life Billy Beane, and if Pitt captures or resembles him at all. He's depicted as a player who never lived up to his potential, and subsequently as a general manager who bucked the tide of conventional wisdom in an effort to win his under-funded Oakland A's a pennant. He's also quixotic and unpredictable; he doesn't watch his own team play and never goes on the road with them. He chooses not to communicate directly with his players in the midst of his great experiment, which causes a certain amount of chaos. When he does finally open up, he's so effective that you have to wonder why he sat on the sidelines so long. Is all of this true? That doesn't always matter if it plays well onscreen. This does, to a point, but it also raises questions as to why a man with so much at stake would behave so curiously. Adding to the elliptical nature of the character is the way the filmmakers present him. We learn his backstory in flashback snippets sprinkled throughout the picture, and never get a firm grasp on his unconventional behavior. He's at his best when he's dealing with his adolescent daughter, and at his most direct when he's talking to his boss, the owner of the A's. As one of the film's producers, Pitt may have influenced the way Beane is painted here. It would have been an easy choice to be more straightforward, but it might have been less interesting to the actor, who clearly relishes a challenge at this point in his career. Jonah Hill backs him up 100% as the introverted statistician who becomes Beane's strategic guru. Hill may not be a trained actor but his instincts are terrific and he commits completely to this interesting, offbeat character. Philip Seymour Hoffman (who starred in director Miller's Capote) doesn't have a lot to do or say as team manager Art Howe, but his look and attitude are so perfect that they convey more than pages of dialogue possibly could. This isn't a warm and fuzzy baseball movie; it has almost nothing to do with the mythic portrayal of the game we've seen in so many films, from Pride of the Yankees to Field of Dreams. It's a hard-headed look at the reality behind the myths, and that's what gives it a contemporary edge. The "hallelujah moments" are few and far between, but they mostly take place in Pitt's office and the clubhouse, and not on the field. Moneyball is a movie an MBA candidate should love. I wanted to love it, too, and while I come away with greater admiration than ever for Brad Pitt, I can only say I liked it very much. I can't love a film that keeps its emotions at arm's length. |
tt1210166 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard, Glenn Morshower, Kathryn Morris | USA | Drama | Moneyball is easy to admire, a bit more difficult to love. That's because the film, like its central character (well played by Brad Pitt), keeps its emotions in check so much of the time. It should be no shock that the film is intelligent and well-made, considering the source material (a book | ||
| Restless | 2011 | Gus Van Sant | 91 |
Restless is likeliest to appeal to young people who relate to the heightened emotions of its leading characters, a teenage girl and boy who share a budding relationship—and a fascination with death. That they are played by the wonderful Mia Wasikowska, looking like a young Mia Farrow or Jean Seberg, and promising newcomer Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper's son, in his film debut) helps a great deal. I found most of Justin Lew's screenplay to be an exercise in forced whimsy. We meet the young protagonists at a series of funerals they attend, in colorful, attention-getting attire. That could torpedo the movie on the spot if it weren't for the natural appeal of its actors, who breathe life into a pair of self-consciously eccentric characters. As it turns out, the gloomy Hopper has never gotten over the death of his parents, while Wasikowska is expressing her disdain for the cancer that is going to end her life sometime soon. Restless has some touching moments as the two loners realize they're falling in love, but it threatens to suffocate in its own quaintness. It's only natural for teenagers to see life in outsized proportions and respond to big issues like death with an intensified degree of drama. But it doesn't always make for a convincing narrative. Director Gus Van Sant shot Restless in his favorite city, Portland, Oregon, which provides compatible locations for the story. He approaches the material in an admirably straightforward fashion, avoiding melodrama, but the coy nature of the material overtakes him from time to time. (Wasikowska is passionate about Charles Darwin, and sketches her favorite specimens of nature in the park.) This might play more persuasively to romantic idealists than it did to me—although I was raised on a diet of Hollywood-style romance. Restless adds to my ever-growing admiration for Mia Wasikowska and provides a pleasant sense of discovery in seeing Dennis Hopper's son acquit himself so well in a part that any actor would find challenging to put across. |
tt1498569 | [PG-13] | Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Jane Adams, Schuyler Fisk, Ryo Kase, Rachel Cotton, Chin Han | USA | Drama | Restless is likeliest to appeal to young people who relate to the heightened emotions of its leading characters, a teenage girl and boy who share a budding relationship—and a fascination with death. That they are played by the wonderful Mia Wasikowska, looking like a young Mia Farrow or | ||
| Drive | 2011 | Nicolas Winding Refn | 100 |
Drive arrives with its credentials of cool all set: a hot star (Ryan Gosling) in the lead, a smart supporting cast, a Best Director prize from the Cannes Film Festival, and a stylish retro-noir look. These assets may hoodwink some audiences who don't stop—or want to stop—to explore the emptiness of the movie or its incoherency. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has chosen style over substance. The screenplay (by Hossein Amini, from a novel by James Sallis) would have you believe that its main character is existential when it seems to me he's just not very bright. In an early, expository scene, Gosling explains to a customer on the phone how he works as a getaway driver and what he requires. After that, for reasons unexplained, he seems incapable of uttering a complete sentence. He is also presented as an innocentafter we see him ferrying a pair of burglars from the scene of their crime. Later, he displays a daunting, and also unexplained, skillset with a variety of deadly weapons. Don't ask for logic when a movie looks good. Even extreme, painfully graphic violence is OK, it would seem, if it's done so operatically that it matches the film's stylized approach. So be it. Where others see artistry, I see pretentiousness: in Gosling's blank stares and the staging of scenes in appropriately seamy L.A. locations. The costarring cast is strong, including Carey Mulligan, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Oscar Isaac, and the always-welcome Albert Brooks as a well-spoken, well-heeled goon. Vintage film noirs didn't have to work so hard to get their points across, visually and verbally. For me, Drive is all attitude, punctuated by unpleasant bursts of violence. If that's what passes for cutting-edge filmmaking, or storytelling, we're in trouble. |
tt0780504 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac | USA | Action, Drama | Drive arrives with its credentials of cool all set: a hot star (Ryan Gosling) in the lead, a smart supporting cast, a Best Director prize from the Cannes Film Festival, and a stylish retro-noir look. These assets may hoodwink some audiences who don't stop—or want to stop—to explore | ||
| Contagion | 2011 | Steven Soderbergh | 105 |
I can't call Contagion as a feel-good movie. In fact, you won't want to be feeling anything—or anyone—after seeing this cautionary tale about the spread of a deadly virus. But you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, who collaborated on last year's underappreciated The Informant! That film was played tongue-in-cheek, while this one couldn't be more serious. I would describe it as a horror moviethe most potent kind, because it's so completely credible. Like other films of this kind (Outbreak, 28 Days) it takes no stretch of imagination to picture how one or two infected people could spread a lethal strain of virus around the world in a matter of days, if not hours. Soderbergh treats the material in docudrama style, despite his all-star cast, and to their credit, the high-profile actors pretty much disappear into their roles, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Jude Law. Aside from the real-life disaster-movie outline of the story (minus special effects), Burns explores the political dynamics of a plague and the public relations challenge it presents. One of his characters (played by Law) is a blogger who positions himself as a truth-teller, but we also see the story unfold from the point of view of a dedicated doctor (Fishburne) with the Centers for Disease Control. If you're looking for some kind of poetry—some exalted dramatic arc that lifts this narrative out of the ordinary—you won't find it here. Contagion is as straightforward as an episode of CSI, but it's gripping from start to finish. Now, excuse me while I wipe down my computer keyboard... |
tt1598778 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | I can't call Contagion as a feel-good movie. In fact, you won't want to be feeling anything—or anyone—after seeing this cautionary tale about the spread of a deadly virus. But you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen.Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by S | ||
| Higher Ground | 2011 | Vera Farmiga | 109 |
How stimulating, and utterly refreshing, it is to see a movie with a distinctly female voice that deals with faith, and how one woman grapples with it, through good times and bad, throughout the course of her life. That Vera Farmiga gives an honest, empathetic performance should come as no surprise; she is one of the most gifted and daring actresses of our time, as she's proved in such films as Down to the Bone, Breaking and Entering, and Up in the Air. This movie allows her to add "director" to her résumé. (After being cast in the film and working for several years with its writers, novelist Carolyn S. Briggs encouraged Farmiga to take on the task of directing as well as starring in Higher Ground, which was inspired by Briggs' experiences. And she did—while she was pregnant!) It's been a while since I've seen a movie that traced a character's life through so many phases and transitions, from childhood to maturity, without allowing one moment to seem false or extraneous. Higher Ground follows Farmiga's journey but is generous in embracing its surrounding characters, with all their imperfections, including her parents (Donna Murphy and John Hawkes), husband (Boyd Holbrook as a young man, Joshua Leonard later on), best friend (Dagmara Dominczyk), and pastor (Norbert Leo Butz). Much of the narrative deals with her life within a tight-knit group of evangelical Christians who become a kind of extended family. I think the reason I responded so strongly to this film is because, while it deals with people who have fully embraced their religion, it isn't about dogma, and doesn't take cheap shots at anyone within, or outside, the world of Christianity. Yet it does have a sense of humor, which mostly involves Farmiga's free-spirited sister and her irreverent best friend. Higher Ground deals with a woman's search for answers in a world that only offers new and challenging questions. At various times in her life she becomes consumed by her religion, then feels abandoned by it. It's all part of her experience—her quest, if you prefer—but there's nothing "new agey" about the film. Quite the contrary. Because Farmiga is so direct and believable, her dilemmas seem concrete; it's the solutions that are hazy or hard to define. As we come to the end of a summer brimming with mindless escapism, it's bracing to encounter a movie that encourages us to feel and think at the same time. |
tt1562568 | [R] | Vera Farmiga, Donna Murphy, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Nina Arianda, Joshua Leonard, Bill Irwin, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Norbert Leo Butz | USA | Drama | How stimulating, and utterly refreshing, it is to see a movie with a distinctly female voice that deals with faith, and how one woman grapples with it, through good times and bad, throughout the course of her life. That Vera Farmiga gives an honest, empathetic performance should come as no s | ||
| The Debt | 2011 | John Madden | 114 |
Sometimes a film seems to have everything going for it and still comes up short; such is the case with The Debt. Its credentials are impeccable: a fine cast headed by Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, and Jessica Chastain, just for starters, directed by John Madden, and written by three talented Brits, Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan. This is a retread of an Israeli film, Ha-Hov, so presumably the English-language team had a solid blueprint to follow. Yet, as we've seen time and time again, the strength of the source material has little bearing on the outcome of a remake. The story has the makings of a first-rate thriller, laced with moral complexity: three Mossad agents (Chastain, Sam Worthington, and Martin Csokas) converge in East Berlin in the late 1960s to capture a Nazi doctor who performed unspeakable experiments on Jewish victims during World War Two. Their mission: abduct him and bring him back to Israel so he can stand trial. It won't be easy. Indeed, what takes place affects their lives for the next thirty years. (The story is told in flashback, with Mirren,Tom Wilkinson, and Ciarán Hinds playing the characters in the late 1990s.) The Debt has occasional moments of suspense, but the human element of the story—including a romantic rivalry—plays out in clunky, heavy-handed fashion. By the time we get to the modern-day climax it's hard to care or even take it seriously, despite a few last-minute surprises. None of this is the fault of the actors, who do excellent work, especially Chastain, who's been impressive in The Tree of Life and The Help this year, and Mirren, who handles a difficult role with skill and aplomb. But, sorry to say, The Debt is a misfire. |
tt1226753 | [R] | Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciarán Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Romi Aboulafia, Melinda Korcsog | USA | Thriller, Drama | Sometimes a film seems to have everything going for it and still comes up short; such is the case with The Debt. Its credentials are impeccable: a fine cast headed by Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, and Jessica Chastain, just for starters, directed by John Madden, and written by three tale | ||
| Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark | 2011 | Troy Nixey | 99 |
As you may already know, that modern master of Grand Guignol, Guillermo del Toro, saw the 1973 TV movie Don't be Afraid of the Dark when he was a boy, and it scared the daylights out of him. He's wanted to remake it ever since, and wrote a script with Matthew Robbins around the time he made his first American feature, Mimic (1997). Years went by, and when the pieces finally fell in place to put it into production he was busy with The Hobbit, so he selected newcomer Troy Nixey to fill his shoes after seeing an impressive short-subject he made. (The picture was finished two years ago but went into distributor limbo, from which it has just emerged, thanks to the newly-formed FilmDistrict.) The results are definitely creepy, but less than perfect, because the story is built on an all-too-familiar foundation that can be summed up in six words: get out of that damned house! Young Bailee Madison, who's neurotic, overmedicated, and feels unloved, is sent to live with her divorced father, Guy Pearce. He's renovating a spooky old mansion with his girlfriend, Katie Holmes. As we (but they don't) learn in a prologue, the house has a terrible history. It doesn't take long for the little girl to hear strange voices, calling to her from a boarded-up basement, behind a furnace vent. The voices belong to monstrous little creatures who mean to overtake her as their latest "friend." The key decision in a film like this is how soon to reveal the monsters, and how clearly to show them. Usually the more you see them the less terrifying they get to be, although these rodent-like creatures remain pretty fearsome. But once the movie shows its hand and we know what we're dealing with, the unexplainable actions of the two adults, who don't respond as they should, and the victimization of the little girl become formulaic and the film loses much of its impetus. Don't be Afraid of the Dark knows it's following a well-worn path and doesn't shirk from it (the great Jack Thompson plays a caretaker who's keeping secrets); that's intended to be part of the fun. As a traditional genre piece, it's not bad, and those creatures are vividly repulsive. If that's enough to satisfy you, you'll get what you came for. |
tt1270761 | [R] | Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison, Alan Dale, Jack Thompson, Julia Blake, Edwina Ritchard, Garry McDonald, Emelia Burns, Guillermo del Toro | USA | Thriller | As you may already know, that modern master of Grand Guignol, Guillermo del Toro, saw the 1973 TV movie Don't be Afraid of the Dark when he was a boy, and it scared the daylights out of him. He's wanted to remake it ever since, and wrote a script with Matthew Robbins around the time he | ||
| Brighton Rock | 2011 | Rowan Joffe | 111 |
Sometimes one can admire a film without truly liking it; that's how I feel about the ambitious British remake of Brighton Rock. Graham Greene's 1938 novel, first filmed in the late 1940s, has been cleverly reworked to take place in 1964, at the time of the "mods and rockers" riots in Brighton, signifying a time of change in England. That is just one of many clever moves by writer-director Rowan Joffe, who is able to explore some of the seamier aspects of the novel that censorship (and matters of taste) made impossible in 1947. One of the new movie's great strengths is its casting. Relative newcomer Sam Riley plays Pinkie, an amoral, ex-Catholic hoodlum who's looking to take over a criminal gang, and Andrea Riseborough is Rose, a wide-eyed, innocent, devotedly Catholic waitress who falls, hopelessly, in love with him. Their behavior is often extreme, so it's vital that you believe the actors in these roles, and you do. But Pinkie is a difficult, quixotic, and unlikable character whose violent, antisocial behavior is difficult to stomach. Andy Serkis appears briefly, but effectively, as a genteel crime lord, and John Hurt is a welcome presence as a bookmaker squeezed by the rival gangs who want his protection money. But the brightest light is shone by Helen Mirren as Rose's employer, a worldly woman who refuses to see an innocent girl sullied without standing up for her. She knows how to use her feminine wiles to their full advantage, and does—and Mirren's performance can best be described in one word: delicious. The period flavor is tangible, and the evocation of a seaside resort that's about to give way to social upheaval suits Graham Greene's story quite well. But make no mistake: these are sordid people in an unsavory atmosphere, so while it's interesting to observe the characters and their actions, it's also highly unpleasant. I revisited the 1947 film, adapted by Greene and Terence Rattigan, and directed by John Boulting, with memorable performances by Richard Attenborough (who originated the part on stage), Hermione Baddeley, and Carol Marsh, to compare. It's a good "Brit noir," hampered by censorship restrictions of the time but still impressively seedy. Joffe has been able to deepen and darken his character portraits; a scene involving Pinkie and Rose's father is devastating and unforgettable. But this is "cold" material, hard to warm up to. That's why I respect Brighton Rock, but I can't quite say I enjoyed it. |
tt1233192 | Unrated | Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Serkis, John Hurt, Helen Mirren, Philip Davis, Nonso Anozie, Sean Harris, Steven Robertson, Maurice Roëves | UK | Drama | Sometimes one can admire a film without truly liking it; that's how I feel about the ambitious British remake of Brighton Rock. Graham Greene's 1938 novel, first filmed in the late 1940s, has been cleverly reworked to take place in 1964, at the time of the "mods and rockers" riots in B | ||
| One Day | 2011 | Lone Scherfig | 108 |
Sometimes, a successful play or a popular book-even a comic book-has qualities that just don't transfer to the screen. One Day is based on a best-selling novel, and the producers hired its author, David Nicholls, to write the screenplay, since he's had plenty of experience making films and television series. I still think something has been lost in the translation. When Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) wind up together the night of their college graduation in 1988, they don't become lovers but do become friends—the kind of friends who confide in and lean on one another. We follow the ups and downs of their lives over the next few decades, always on the same day, July 15. An aspiring writer, Em lacks confidence in pursuing that goal just as she does in every other aspect of her life. Dex just wants to have a good time, and does for a while until things come crashing down on him. The truth is, she's loved him from the start—and he loves her, too, but isn't willing to admit it to himself. Unfortunately, One Day seems to go on for days; it's dreary and repetitious, because we don't get to know these characters enough to care about them and the vicissitudes of their lives. Dex is particularly sketchy and difficult to like, let alone understand. The two stars are attractive but the screenplay doesn't give them much to work with. Danish director Lone Scherfig should be on solid ground here—she did a fine job on An Education two years ago—but this movie sinks under its own weight, I'm sorry to say. What ought to be a touching story of two star-crossed friends and would-be lovers is instead a tough slog. And don't ask me about Hathaway's on-again, off-again British accent. |
tt1563738 | [PG-13] | Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Ken Scott, Romola Garai, Rafe Spall, Tom Mison, Jodie Whittaker, Joséphine de La Baume | USA | Drama, Romance | Sometimes, a successful play or a popular book-even a comic book-has qualities that just don't transfer to the screen. One Day is based on a best-selling novel, and the producers hired its author, David Nicholls, to write the screenplay, since he's had plenty of experience making films | ||
| Amigo | 2010 | John Sayles | 128 |
Amigo ought to be a great film: the subject is fascinating and still resonates today, even though it takes place over a hundred years ago. The Philippine-American war has been pretty much ignored, by textbook authors as well as moviemakers (but for the 1937 Hollywood movie The Real Glory). As a result, writer-director John Sayles has a lot of information to get across in order for us to get the lay of the land, and understand the central characters and their conflicts. The setting is the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century, with naïve American soldiers (many of whom have never left home before, or had a civilized encounter with someone who isn't white) forced to invade and "conquer" peaceful villages, while a rebel army plots against them in the dark of the jungle. The title character is the mayor of one such village whose own sibling is a rebel leader. He refuses to betray his brother, but also feels he must appease the American invaders for the sake of the community. It's a no-win situation. Filmed in the Philippines, with a local crew and a native superstar (Joel Torre) in the leading role, Amigo tries to present all points of view, as Sayles usually does. But there is a self-conscious sense of "history lesson" hanging over the picture that doesn't accrue to its benefit. Great moments are offset by heavy-handed ones. There may have been officers as racist and bull-headed as the one played by Chris Cooper, but that doesn't change the fact that his character comes off as a living cliché. Garret Dillahunt fares better as the American lieutenant who tries to keep an open mind while winning "the hearts and minds" of the villagers. And the always-interesting D.J. Qualls brings welcome color to his portrayal of a communications specialist. I have enormous respect for John Sayles, and look forward to reading his new novel, but Amigo is not one of his stronger films. He has allowed his agenda to overtake his normally astute sense of storytelling. |
tt1562847 | [R] | Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt, Ronnie Lazaro, Rio Locsin, Dane DeHaan, DJ Qualls, Yul Vazquez, Lucas Neff, Bill Tangradi, James Parks, Stephen Taylor | USA | Drama | Amigo ought to be a great film: the subject is fascinating and still resonates today, even though it takes place over a hundred years ago. The Philippine-American war has been pretty much ignored, by textbook authors as well as moviemakers (but for the 1937 Hollywood movie The Real Glory | ||
| Conan The Barbarian | 2011 | Marcus Nispel | 112 |
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies, they're resurrecting concepts and entire films from the 1980s like Footloose (so help me) and Conan the Barbarian, based on Robert E. Howard's pulp magazine hero. Beefy Jason Momoa steps into Arnold Schwarzenegger's sandals to star in the new screen adaptation, which (for once) makes vivid and entertaining use of 3-D. Given that I had no expectations for this picture I thought it wasn't bad: it's elaborate, well-mounted, and never dull. Ron Perlman is well cast as Conan's father, the powerful leader of a tribe known as the Cimmerians. His death at the hands of a cruel rival sends his son on a long-term quest for revenge and satisfaction. He even allows himself to be captured at one point so he can get closer to the man he means to kill, Khalar Zym, played by Stephen Lang—the villain from Avatar—and his daughter, an exotic sorceress played by Rose McGowan. Conan also acquires a traveling companion named Tamara (Rachel Nichols), whose pure blood makes her a target for the evildoers. Together they endure a daunting series of tests and challenges. You don't go to a movie like this expecting to hear Shakespearean dialogue, but the action, under Marcus Nispel's direction, is consistently vigorous and exciting. So are the visual effects, from an epic battle with sand creatures to a struggle with an enormous sea serpent. But it's the bad guys who give the movie weight and solidity. Lang is a truly formidable opponent with a strong physical presence; McGowan stops just this side of camp to become a figure of danger. I try to take each movie I see on its own terms; this isn't my favorite kind of entertainment, and some of its violence is extreme, but on the whole Conan the Barbarian is pretty good, for what it is. The screenplay by Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood may not be inspired, but it does what it sets out to do. I'm not sure if Jason Momoa has what it takes to become an A-list star, but he definitely looks the part of Conan. Incidentally, I've been quoting my favorite line from the film: "I live, I love, I slay, I am content." I think I'm going to adopt it as my new mantra. |
tt0816462 | [R] | Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan, Bob Sapp, Leo Howard, Steve O'Donnell, Nonso Anozie, Raad Rawi, Saïd Taghmaoui, Milton Welsh | USA | Action, Adventure | Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies, they're resurrecting concepts and entire films from the 1980s like Footloose (so help me) and Conan the Barbarian, based on Robert E. Howard's pulp magazine hero. Beefy Jason Momoa steps into Arnold Schwarzenegger's san | ||
| The Help | 2011 | Tate Taylor | 137 |
Any time a book strikes a chord with a vast number of people, as Kathryn Stockett's The Help did, there is a mixture of anticipation and trepidation about its transition to the screen. Overall, I think writer-director Tate Taylor has done a good job bringing the book and its characters to life, in concert with an exceptional cast. And, crucially, he has managed to recreate the look and feel of a Southern town in the 1960s, with its separate but unequal citizenry: the well-to-do white folks and their black servants. If you lived through that time, it is incredible to contemplate how much has changed (and how much hasn't) over the years, not only in race relations but in attitudes toward women. That's part of the fascination of watching The Help, which captures so many telling details of everyday life back then. Some of the white characters (the social queen bee played by Bryce Dallas Howard, the plain-spoken outcast played Jessica Chastain, and Howard's aged but outspoken mother, Sissy Spacek), while rooted in reality, flirt with caricature at times. I don't question that there were, or are, people just like them—or that this is meant to be entertainment, and not a documentary—but when the housemaids played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer seem so rich and palpably genuine, without a single false moment, it casts the broader characters in a different light. Of the white characters, only Emma Stone's portrayal of Skeeter, a college graduate who chafes at the restrictions placed upon her as a young woman in polite society, rings completely true. I also found it difficult to care as much about the problems facing Skeeter and the other white women when their black counterparts are dealing with much more serious issues, often at the risk of their lives. But if The Help is less than perfect, it's still a good movie that covers a lot of ground with an observant eye, and provides great parts for two exceptional actresses, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. It isn't too soon to be talking about Oscar where these women are concerned; their humanity shines through every scene. |
tt1454029 | [PG-13] | Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek | USA | Drama | Any time a book strikes a chord with a vast number of people, as Kathryn Stockett's The Help did, there is a mixture of anticipation and trepidation about its transition to the screen. Overall, I think writer-director Tate Taylor has done a good job bringing the book and its characters | ||
| 30 Minutes Or Less | 2011 | Ruben Fleischer | 83 |
What can I say about a movie that made me want to take a shower and cleanse myself afterward? 30 Minutes or Less is so shallow, self-satisfied, and downright repulsive that I hesitate to discuss it at all. It has none of the qualities of director Ruben Fleischer's debut feature, Zombieland, and it's a long way from Jesse Eisenberg's Oscar-nominated The Social Network. In fact, I'd call this movie antisocial. The premise involves a lowlife, played all too well by Danny McBride, and his naïve friend, Nick Swardson, who concoct a scheme to kill off McBride's wealthy father (Fred Ward). Hiring a hit man requires money, so they need to find a patsy and force him to rob a bank by strapping a time-bomb to his body. The unfortunate victim is a pizza delivery boy played by Eisenberg, who's too smart to be completely convincing as such a loser. Eisenberg turns to his only friend, Aziz Ansari, for help, figuring he can't rob a bank by himself, and the two amateurs give it their best shot. Others who become involved in this escalating farce include a hit man and a stripper. I understand that the film's hedonistic attitude is supposed to give it permission to be offensive, since none of this is meant to be taken seriously. But the frequent ethnic and racial slurs, along with McBride's crude sexual references, grow tiresome pretty fast. What's worse, they aren't funny. (When McBride and Swardson kidnap Eisenberg's girlfriend, who's Indian, they find her—where else?—in a toilet stall and call out, "Hey, Slumdog...") This marks a less-than-auspicious screenwriting debut for Michael Diliberti, based on a story he conceived with Matthew Sullivan. I hope they go on to bigger and better things, possibly in some other field. And yes, I realize that some viewers will find it funny. I just don't want to have dinner with those people or have them judge a screenplay competition. If you find yourself stuck in a summer shower and the only movie playing at the local theater is 30 Minutes or Less, my advice is: stay outside and get wet. |
tt1622547 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria, Michael Peña, Bianca Kajlich, Fred Ward, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro | Germany, Canada | Action, Comedy | What can I say about a movie that made me want to take a shower and cleanse myself afterward? 30 Minutes or Less is so shallow, self-satisfied, and downright repulsive that I hesitate to discuss it at all. It has none of the qualities of director Ruben Fleischer's debut feature, Zom | ||
| The Change-Up | 2011 | David Dobkin | 112 |
No one wants to be the one to raise his hand and be so uncool as to say "I'm offended," but I'm willing to take that risk after seeing The Change-Up. I've tried to make my peace with what I call The New Vulgarity, as Hollywood has jumped on the R-rated comedy bandwagon, but it isn't easy. Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who co-scripted The Hangover, and David Dobkin, who directed Wedding Crashers, clearly took their mandate seriously with this film, updating a time-worn premise about two characters switching bodies and vulgarizing it. Of course, one viewer's idea of smuttiness may be another's sweet spot for belly laughs, especially as civilization is crumbling all around us. I'm not a fan of toilet humor—which in this case actually involves gags about people using the toilet and/or talking about their bodily functions. That's just the tip of the iceberg: this movie seems positively eager to break down supposed barriers and wallow in foul-mouthed, crude behavior and dialogue. But, like Friends With Benefits, it doesn't want to deviate so far from Hollywood's comedic norm that we don't root for the protagonists, so at a certain point the film grows serious in its character development and even becomes sentimental. What saves it from completely going down the drain is the likability of its stars: Ryan Reynolds, who plays a pot-smoking, potty-mouthed screw-up, and Jason Bateman, his lifelong best friend who's a workaholic lawyer and dedicated father, if a bit neglectful of his wife, Leslie Mann. Their humanity softens some of the coarseness of the screenplay. Because the film is enjoyable at times, I have to wonder how much (if anything) would have been lost if it had been toned down a bit. Would audiences have complained that it wasn't edgy enough? Might it have suffered in comparison to other recent hit comedies? Or could it have pleased an even broader audience than its R rating will yield? We'll never know. I do know this: if The Change-Up is successful we'll have to brace ourselves for the next round of vulgarity—and I really don't want to think about that! |
tt1488555 | [R] | Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann, Mircea Monroe, Alan Arkin, Shannon Guess, Jeanine Jackson, Sydney Rouviere | USA | Comedy | No one wants to be the one to raise his hand and be so uncool as to say "I'm offended," but I'm willing to take that risk after seeing The Change-Up. I've tried to make my peace with what I call The New Vulgarity, as Hollywood has jumped on the R-rated comedy bandwagon, but it isn't ea | ||
| The Whistleblower | 2011 | Larysa Kondracki | 112 |
We all know about good intentions and where they can lead. No one could question the serious intent of The Whistleblower or the scandalous behavior it reveals on the part of so-called United Nations peacekeepers in Bosnia during the late 1990s. Nor would anyone dispute the heinousness of human trafficking and exploitation of underage girls. But one can quarrel with the effectiveness of this movie. Rachel Weisz plays a real-life Nebraska policewoman named Kathryn Bolkovac, and does her best to give the character some dimension. But once her backstory is established, it virtually disappears; we understand why she takes the job overseas, but after she gets involved in matters there, her life back home becomes an afterthought. It's clear early on that she doesn't stand a chance when she tries to buck the old-boy network that's running things in Bosnia, with corruption permeating the local police force as well as the independent firm, here called Democra, that's been hired by the U.N. And it's no secret what happens to whistleblowers. Subsidiary female characters, played by actresses of genuine stature, are sketchily drawn. Vanessa Redgrave is a diplomat who becomes Weisz's ally in fighting the good fight, and Monica Bellucci is a seemingly cold embassy official who is bound by protocol. David Strathairn shows up as a rare good-guy who's willing to help Weisz, but he can't do much playing a one-dimensional figure. The Whistleblower is capably made, by director and co-screenwriter Larysa Kondracki, on authentic-looking locations, and is (unfortunately) all too believable. As a cautionary exposé it certainly has merit, but as drama it sadly falls short. |
tt0896872 | [R] | Rachel Weisz, Benedict Cumberbatch, Monica Bellucci, Liam Cunningham, David Strathairn, Vanessa Redgrave, David Hewlett, Luke Treadaway, William Hope | Germany | Drama | We all know about good intentions and where they can lead. No one could question the serious intent of The Whistleblower or the scandalous behavior it reveals on the part of so-called United Nations peacekeepers in Bosnia during the late 1990s. Nor would anyone dispute the heinousness | ||
| Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes | 2011 | Rupert Wyatt | 105 |
A movie that opens as well as this one does—and draws you in so effectively—ought to have a finale that doesn't remind you of cheesy monster movies from years past. On the other hand, the visual effects in Rise of the Planet of the Apes are so astonishing that I have to cut the movie some slack. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver's screenplay starts out on a strong note, as we meet genetic researcher James Franco, who is experimenting with a drug that may help victims of Alzheimer's Disease—like his own father, nicely played by John Lithgow. Ultimately, Franco rescues a baby chimpanzee from the lab and raises it as a member of his family, but veterinarian Freida Pinto warns him that Caesar won't be a playful young chimp very long. This is an eventuality Franco isn't willing to face, but moviegoers will immediately recognize as foreshadowing of dark events to come. As the story continues it veers more and more into B-movie territory, introducing such familiar character types as an unfeeling animal caretaker (played by Brian Cox, who starred in director Rupert Wyatt's little-seen 2008 prison film The Escapist) and his mean-spirited son (played by Tom Felton, known far and wide as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies). With people like that around, and Franco's money-driven boss (David Oyelowo), it's clear where the movie is heading perhaps a bit too clear. Knowing references to the 1968 version of Planet of the Apes abound, some more obvious than others. Fun is fun, but it's easy to forget the impact that movie had back then—especially after it was parodied so memorably by The Simpsons. It was not only a huge hit, it was one of the most talked-about films of its time—with a twist ending that audiences didn't foresee. It was based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, and adapted by two of the most esteemed writers of the time, Michael Wilson and Rod Serling. John Chambers' makeup may seem quaint alongside the performance-capture technique that enables Andy Serkis to bring Caesar to life, but it was unprecedented, and amazing to behold. If this film is remembered, it won't be for its storyline, which reverts to cliché a bit too often as it approaches its climax, but for its eye-popping integration of live-action and movie magic. Just as the geniuses at Peter Jacksons' Weta Digital in New Zealand made us believe that the aliens were real and actually interacting with humans in District 9, they pull off an even more ambitious agenda here using a process they invented for Avatar. The effects are phenomenal, and pretty much invisible. Rise of the Planet of the Apes seems to say that anything is possible, even creating a horde of simian creatures from thin air and having them run riot through San Francisco. That said, I wish I liked the ending better—not just the destruction that leads up to it, but the actual story resolution. Like some other summer movies, the last scene seems to be little more than a set-up for a sequel. Shouldn't a big picture like this have a real, satisfying finish as well as an open door for a followup? |
tt1318514 | [PG-13] | James Franco, Tom Felton, Brian Cox, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tyler Labine, David Hewlett, Leah Gibson | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | A movie that opens as well as this one does—and draws you in so effectively—ought to have a finale that doesn't remind you of cheesy monster movies from years past. On the other hand, the visual effects in Rise of the Planet of the Apes are so astonishing that I have | ||
| The Guard | 2011 | John Michael McDonagh | 96 |
This movie made me smile and even laugh out loud. In fact, it gave me more pleasure than any aliens, robots or superheroes have all summer. That's because it's doggedly offbeat and completely original. It also provides a showcase for two fine actors, Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. Gleeson may be known to a wide audience as Mad Eye Moody in the Harry Potter series, but I think of him as the rock-solid star of such films as The General and In Bruges. He's an actor who can effortlessly command the screen, as he does here playing a true iconoclast, a boorish policeman in the Irish seaside town of Connemara who is an enigma to everyone around him—especially his colleagues. He's not the likeliest asset to an American FBI agent assigned to intercept a big, international drug deal. But, as it turns out, Gleeson is incorruptible. Cheadle mostly plays straight-man to Gleeson in this odd-couple pairing, but his character is far from routine. He's an exceptional American lawman who thinks he's on top of things until he encounters the wary, tight-lipped citizens of Connemara, and the wildly unpredictable cop who may or may not be in a position to help him. Admittedly, writer-director John Michael McDonagh (whose brother Martin wrote and directed In Bruges) goes out of his way to bring quirks to every character and every scene in his film—even in his highly stylized production design—but it's all in the cause of outlandish amusement. The bad guys, for instance, are no ordinary thugs, but an incongruously intellectual trio (played by the formidable actors Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, and David Wilmot) who engage in cerebral conversations. This is my idea of fresh, invigorating entertainment for grownups... and it earns its R rating honestly. |
tt1540133 | [R] | Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene | Ireland | Action, Comedy | This movie made me smile and even laugh out loud. In fact, it gave me more pleasure than any aliens, robots or superheroes have all summer. That's because it's doggedly offbeat and completely original. It also provides a showcase for two fine actors, Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.Gl | ||
| Cowboys & Aliens | 2011 | Jon Favreau | 118 |
As its title indicates, this is a strange cross of movie genres, and lest any viewers get antsy, it doesn't allow much time to pass before we first encounter UFOs in the Old West. The film takes its time unraveling the rest of the story, leading us along a trail with no clear destination in sight, at first. (Could that have something to do with the six A-list writers who worked on the screenplay, which was inspired by Scott Michael Rosenberg's graphic novel?) All we know is that there's been an alien invasion, and neither the cowboys nor Indians know how to deal with it. Director Jon Favreau earns his Western bona fides with a sharp eye for casting and locations. The first characters we see, after Daniel Craig, are a trio of authentic-looking cowboys played by Western veteran Buck Taylor and his two sons; thus, the movie looks and feels right from the very start. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique offers panoramic views of the beautiful and rugged New Mexico settings throughout the picture. Daniel Craig seems right at home in this milieu as a taciturn fellow who's a man of action but can't remember who he is, or how he wound up stranded on the prairie with a strange, futuristic metal contraption strapped to his wrist. Harrison Ford is also well-cast as a bullying cattleman who locks horns with the stranger, but he's forced to scowl through most of the picture, and his role is suffused with Western clichés. (His no-account son, played by Paul Dano, is an embarrassment to him, while his Indian ward, Adam Beach, represents the son he always wished he had.) In many ways, Olivia Wilde has the most interesting part in the film, for reasons I shouldn't reveal. Let's just say she's a non-traditional Western leading lady. Cowboys & Aliens is never boring, and its visual effects are first-rate. Veteran stunt coordinator Terry Leonard has made sure the action and horsemanship are up to par. But much as I wanted to, I never fully embraced the silly premise. I look at it this way: if you removed the science-fiction material, you'd be left with a decent Western that covers pretty familiar territory. If you just focused on the fantastic angle, you'd have a fairly typical alien-invasion yarn. Because neither one of the two ingredients is exceptional in itself, the melding of the genres is uninspired. That said, Cowboys & Aliens is certainly watchable, like its two-fisted leading man... but it makes me long for a full-blooded Western instead of this crossbreed. |
tt0409847 | [PG-13] | Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer, Keith Carradine, Adam Beach, Clancy Brown | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | As its title indicates, this is a strange cross of movie genres, and lest any viewers get antsy, it doesn't allow much time to pass before we first encounter UFOs in the Old West. The film takes its time unraveling the rest of the story, leading us along a trail with no clear destination in s | ||
| Crazy, Stupid, Love. | 2011 | Glenn Ficarra, John Requa | 118 |
When a movie opens with a woman telling her husband that she wants a divorce after twenty-five years of marriage and it isn't played for laughs, you know you're not in for a "typical" Hollywood comedy. Given the current state of comedy, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but what we get instead is an odd, meandering, mood-swinging movie called Crazy, Stupid, Love. (Yes, there's a period at the end of the title, for no apparent reason.) As the central couple, Steve Carell and Julianne Moore play their scenes honestly and believably, so while the characters and incidents around them become farcical at times, the core of the film remains subdued and even melancholy. Both actors are warm and likable, so we want things to work out for them but it isn't going to be easy. When Carell tries to drown his sorrow in drink, lounge lizard Ryan Gosling takes pity and tries to teach him how to be a player on the singles scene. (The one woman Gosling can't seem to conquer is Emma Stone.) Meanwhile, Carell's 13-year-old son, Jonah Bobo, is in love with his 17-year-old babysitter, who in turn has a crush of her own. Kevin Bacon plays Moore's officemate, with whom she slept before deciding on the divorce, and Marisa Tomei is Carell's new lover. There are good scenes, and even some genuine laughs, scattered throughout the movie, written by Dan Fogelman and directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (whose last effort, the underrated I Love You, Phillip Morris, also blended elements of comedy and drama), but they never cohere into a satisfying whole, and the constant shifts in tone don't help. I usually like movies that manage to be both serious and funny, but the transitions ought to be seamless. |
tt1570728 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Joey King, Liza Lapira | USA | Comedy, Romance | When a movie opens with a woman telling her husband that she wants a divorce after twenty-five years of marriage and it isn't played for laughs, you know you're not in for a "typical" Hollywood comedy. Given the current state of comedy, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but what we get inst | ||
| Captain America: The First Avenger | 2011 | Joe Johnston | 125 |
I'm a bit late coming to this film blame Comic-Con but having heard good buzz I went to see it this morning with high hopes. For starters, a comic book story set during World War Two offers a perfect opportunity to banish irony, make use of Nazis as bad guys, and cheer on an all-American hero. Chris Evans is well cast in the leading role, as he not only embodies the physical character but embraces his patriotic attitude with complete conviction. What's more, the cast is full of expert players who (under Joe Johnston's direction) bring color and life to their characters without overacting or resorting to kitsch. Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, and Toby Jones add weight and resonance to every scene they're in. Add to that the imaginative production design by Rick Heinrichs, one of the most talented art directors of our time, and rousing music by Alan Silvestri (not to mention a peppy new theme song written by David Zippel and Alan Menken). Unfortunately, Captain America uses up all these assets during its first hour and still has another full hour to go. At some point, almost imperceptibly, the wind goes out of its sails and the story (by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia films) becomes somewhat mechanical and routine. We're even denied the satisfaction of a big finish—for reasons I shouldn't reveal. It's still pretty good, but I was sorry to feel enthusiasm sapping away. The narrative is simple and straightforward; its hero isn't a tortured soul and its villain isn't a multifaceted character. Why should it take 125 minutes to play out? Comic book creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby didn't write stories that wore out their welcome. As for 3-D: I was happy to be a cash-paying customer at the Cinerama Dome this morning, usually a great place to see a "big" movie. But from the first scene to the last, I felt as if I were looking through a layer of window screens or stockings. The use of 3-D was decent enough, but I haven't seen a film this dark and dim since Clash of the Titans. (I checked with other people who've seen it, at other locations, and they had the same reaction.) Surely someone at Marvel or Paramount could have foreseen this and brightened the prints. Or should I simply be demanding a refund for my $3.00 3-D surcharge? |
tt0458339 | [PG-13] | Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Richard Armitage, Sebastian Stan | USA | Action, Adventure | I'm a bit late coming to this film blame Comic-Con but having heard good buzz I went to see it this morning with high hopes. For starters, a comic book story set during World War Two offers a perfect opportunity to banish irony, make use of Nazis as bad guys, and cheer on an all-American hero | ||
| Sarah's Key | Elle S'appelait Sarah | 2011 | Gilles Paquet-Brenner | 111 |
If there is any justice this summer that's not being meted out by a comic-book superhero, discerning moviegoers will find their way to Sarah's Key, the moving adaptation of Tatiana De Rosnay's international best-seller. It's one of the year's best films. Kristin Scott Thomas plays an American-born journalist who lives in France with her husband and daughter. While researching an article about the fate of French Jews during World War Two, she stumbles onto an incredible story involving a little girl named Sarah (played by newcomer Mélusine Mayance) who is separated from her family. An unexpected connection with Sarah turns Scott Thomas' journalistic enterprise into a personal odyssey. Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner adapted the novel, in collaboration with Serge Joncour, and made a crucial decision not to sentimentalize the material. It's precisely because the parallel stories—modern-day and wartime—unfold in straightforward, even understated, fashion that the movie works so well. It's left to us in the audience to respond in our own way, and I'm sure I'm not the only one whose emotions will be stirred. I don't suppose storytellers will ever run out of source material from World War Two, nor will there come a time when these tales won't be relevant. The filmmakers have apparently made some changes to De Rosnay's book, but the author has gone on record praising their adaptation. Kristen Scott Thomas is always worth watching, and does a fine job portraying a character whose struggles are mostly internal. Young Mélusine Mayance has an expressive face and makes it easy for us to relate to a child who suffers terrible upheavals but finds the courage to endure. Niels Astrup, who was so impressive as a gangster in A Prophet/Un Prophète last year, is excellent as a compassionate farmer who plays a key role in Sarah's survival. And Aidan Quinn turns up in the final portion of the story, bringing his characteristic openness to a small but crucial part. Having spent two years on The New York Times best-seller list, I hope the screen version of Sarah's Key wins the audience it deserves. There should be a place for compelling, adult drama—even in the summertime. |
tt1668200 | [PG-13] | Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frederic Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot, Natasha Mashkevich, Gisèle Casadesus, Aidan Quinn | France | Drama | If there is any justice this summer that's not being meted out by a comic-book superhero, discerning moviegoers will find their way to Sarah's Key, the moving adaptation of Tatiana De Rosnay's international best-seller. It's one of the year's best films. Kristin Scott Thomas plays an A | |
| Friends With Benefits | 2011 | Will Gluck | 109 |
This movie wants you to know that it isn't one of those stupid Hollywood romantic comedies. The characters talk about "those" movies disparagingly and even watch a parody of that kind of film on TV. What's more, in the opening scenes of Friends With Benefits, the actors let forth a barrage of four-letter words and sexual conversation, just to make sure you understand that this isn't some sappy, formulaic studio picture. But guess what? Friends with Benefits really is a Hollywood romantic comedy, protests notwithstanding. It's a little brighter than most, and a lot franker about sex, both visually and verbally, but it still follows a familiar pattern, so why try to deny it? What does set the film apart is the pairing of its stars, neither one of whom has anchored a romantic comedy before. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are thoroughly engaging and make a great-looking couple; their easy rapport smooths out some of the script's rough edges. You already know the story: a couple who click right away tell themselves they're only interested in sex, and not a relationship. Complications ensue; it even gets serious for a while. Having earned enthusiastic reviews for Easy A, director Will Gluck has the star of that film, Emma Stone, make a cameo appearance early on as Timberlake's manic girlfriend, and recasts Patricia Clarkson, who played Stone's mother, as Kunis' flaky mom this time around. Jenna Elfman is a welcome presence as Timberlake's sister and the always-solid Richard Jenkins plays his dad. Woody Harrelson is an asset to any film, although he's stuck with a routine part as Timberlake's wisecracking office-mate. Cinematographer Michael Grady, who photographed Easy A, works overtime to offer fresh vistas of Manhattan and Los Angeles, although the nighttime scenes (shot with Panavision's Genesis camera) are surprisingly grainy. Gluck, who cowrote the screenplay with Keith Merryman and David A. Newman (from a story by Merryman, Newman, and Harley Peyton), loves making movie references, as he did in his previous feature. I'm not sure this is always wise, since it takes a film buff like me out of the scene when I'm distracted by a framed poster for It Happened One Night hanging over Kunis' bed, or Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice playing on television. At least he has good taste in movies. |
tt1632708 | [R] | Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Bryan Greenberg, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson, Andy Samberg, Emma Stone | USA | Comedy, Romance | This movie wants you to know that it isn't one of those stupid Hollywood romantic comedies. The characters talk about "those" movies disparagingly and even watch a parody of that kind of film on TV. What's more, in the opening scenes of Friends With Benefits, the actors let forth a bar | ||
| Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part II | 2011 | David Yates | 130 |
I wouldn't call myself a Potterhead, but I have certainly enjoyed following the odyssey of Harry Potter and company over the past decade. Nothing can compare to the experience of reading J.K. Rowling's books, which have been expertly condensed and interpreted by screenwriter Steve Kloves, but given the need for compromise I think they've done justice to the author's intentions (if not her distinctly British wit). While Part One of The Deathly Hallows played like a place-holder this eagerly-awaited finale, directed by David Yates, offers excitement and resolution, as it should. The subject is Harry's showdown with the malevolent Lord Voldemort, and I won't reveal more than I ought to, but it shouldn't be a great secret that good triumphs and evil is vanquished. It's the journey, as well as the destination, that matters here, and there are definitely surprises along the way. This is perhaps the most densely-plotted and detailed of all the Potter movies, which is really saying something. I won't pretend that I understood every utterance, as a devoted Rowling reader would, but I got the things that matter most in terms of incident and character. The climactic battle between the forces of Voldemort and Harry and his loyal followers is vividly staged, with flourishes that command our attention, even after seven previous movies full of impressive visual effects. Many of the familiar Hogwarts characters get to take a final bow, as it were, with some of the actors relegated to eye-blink cameos (like Emma Thompson) and others given a bit more to do (like Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman). The most notable newcomer to the ensemble is Ciarán Hinds as Professor Dumbledore's brother. But ultimately this is about following Harry, Hermione and Ron to the end of their journey. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint so embody these characters that it's bittersweet to have to say goodbye; the movie gives them a fitting farewell in a scene that older Potter fans will especially appreciate. I don't think 3-D adds very much to the experience. The Harry Potter films are rich enough without any layering of gimmickry. Early in the film I noticed the emphasis on depth in certain set-ups and compositions; then I forgot about it, except when the glasses started to weigh heavily on my nose. I wish Warner Bros. had simply released the film in conventional form like all the others. I don't know if we'll ever see another series quite like this, produced on such a lavish scale over a decade's time. Whatever one's quibbles, the Harry Potter movies have maintained their integrity, and their ability to dazzle us, from start to finish. That is an achievement that will stand for years to come. |
tt1201607 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Robbie Coltrane | USA | Action, Adventure | I wouldn't call myself a Potterhead, but I have certainly enjoyed following the odyssey of Harry Potter and company over the past decade. Nothing can compare to the experience of reading J.K. Rowling's books, which have been expertly condensed and interpreted by screenwriter Steve Kloves, bu | ||
| Winnie The Pooh | 2011 | Stephen J. Anderson, Don Hall | 69 |
In an era of hyperactive, overly verbal 3-D animated entertainment, I hope there is still room for a film as sweet and gentle as Winnie the Pooh. At the screening I attended it seemed like the young adults in the audience were enjoying it even more than the kids, reliving their childhood memories of the "stubby little cubby" and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Cartoon fans will also rejoice in a film that celebrates the art of classical Disney-style animation as this one does. It represents what may be a "last hurrah" for this generation's leading artists, including Dale Baer, Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg, Randy Haycock, Mark Henn, and Bruce W. Smith, who comprise the team of supervising animators on this film. Story supervisor Burny Mattinson's credits go back farther than anyone's on this team. He even directed Mickey Mouse's comeback vehicle Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983. Directors Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall may be younger but they've been steeped in the Disney tradition and steered their film on the right path. Winnie the Pooh generates smiles and chuckles from start to finish with its good-natured, episodic story of Pooh and friends going on a wild-goose chase to find a supposedly missing Christopher Robin. John Cleese provides the voice of the narrator, and taking a cue from Disney's first Pooh movies, the format of the film is that of a storybook in which the characters occasionally interact with the typeface on the pages. Several engaging new songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, along with a featured piece by Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward (sung by Deschanel) complement the Sherman Brothers' title tune and "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers." None of the original voice actors from the first Pooh cartoons are still alive, but their replacements (like Jim Cummings, who inherited the title role from veteran Sterling Holloway many years ago) do a fine job. Craig Ferguson is especially lively as Owl, who's a bit more foolish than I remember the character being in earlier stories. But that's a quibble. Winnie the Pooh, which runs a mere 68 minutes (oh, joy!) is preceded by a delightful short-subject called The Ballad of Nessie, created by the same duo that brought us How to Hook Up Your Home Theater several years ago, Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton. Rendered in a vintage or "retro" graphic style reminiscent of late-1950s Disney cartoons and narrated by the wonderful Billy Connolly, it offers a fanciful fable about the origin of the Loch Ness Monster. What a charmer! Incidentally, if you do take your kids to see Winnie the Pooh, try to stay through the closing credits. Not only are there animated gags throughout featuring the main characters: there is a coda to the film itself that's quite amusing. |
tt1449283 | [G] | Jim Cummings, John Cleese, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Jack Boulter, Wyatt Dean Hall, Tom Kenny, Bud Luckey, Travis Oates | USA | Animation | In an era of hyperactive, overly verbal 3-D animated entertainment, I hope there is still room for a film as sweet and gentle as Winnie the Pooh. At the screening I attended it seemed like the young adults in the audience were enjoying it even more than the kids, reliving their childho | ||
| Life, Above All | 2011 | Oliver Schmitz | 100 |
One of the year's most striking and memorable performances is given by a 12-year-old girl who never set foot in front of a camera before she was chosen to play the leading role in Life, Above All. This moving adaptation of Allan Stratton's award-winning novel Chanda's Secrets was directed by Oliver Shmitz, who was raised by German parents in South Africa, where the story takes place. Using natural locations instead of sets, and professional actors as well as locals, he provides a tangible portrait of a rural village where ignorance, prejudice, and superstition go hand in hand. Chanda (so well played by newcomer Knomotso Manyaka) is an adolescent girl who has to shoulder adult responsibilities following the mysterious death of her baby sister. As we get to know her mother, her drunken stepfather, their bossy neighbor, and the other people in her life we come to understand the real subject of the movie: AIDS, and the enormous stigma it carries. Life, Above All is essentially a character study—of a family, an amazingly strong-willed girl who sees what the grownups around her cannot, and a society that would rather bury its head in the sand than face an admittedly difficult reality. Yet the film is not—to use a popular expression—a downer, because young Chanda provides hope and inspiration. At a time when so many movies are about nothing at all...and others sacrifice dramatic substance for mere good intentions, Life, Above All manages to tell a compelling story and give us food for thought at the same time. Such a film deserves applause, support, and most of all an audience. |
tt1646111 | [PG-13] | Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Lerato Mvelase, Harriet Lenabe, Audrey Poolo, Tinah Mnumzana, Mapaseka Mathebe, Thato Kgaladi, Kgomotso Ditshweni, Rami Chuene | South Africa | Drama | One of the year's most striking and memorable performances is given by a 12-year-old girl who never set foot in front of a camera before she was chosen to play the leading role in Life, Above All. This moving adaptation of Allan Stratton's award-winning novel Chanda's Secrets was directed by O | ||
| Tabloid | 2011 | Errol Morris | 87 |
We live in a tabloid-driven world, whether we like it or not. Although he has tackled many serious subjects (and finally won an Oscar for The Fog of War, his gut-wrenching portrait of former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara), filmmaker Errol Morris has always had a fondness for life's oddballs, having profiled everyone from the owner of a pet cemetery to a retired lion tamer. When he came upon the story of a former beauty queen who became a tabloid sensation in England during the late 1970s and then, improbably, popped up in the news three decades later in an entirely different (and wildly improbable) context, he seized upon it for his latest film. Joyce McKinney is an interviewer's dream come true: outgoing, garrulous, articulate, dramatic, and extremely self-aware. She's also nuts, and part of the game in watching Tabloid is trying to determine how much of what she says is true and how much derives from her imagination. I don't want to reveal too much about the content of this film, because the element of surprise is crucial to its enjoyment. Morris was fortunate enough to find a handful of other interviewees who could provide counterpoint to McKinney, including a couple of veteran British tabloid reporters who seem to delight in recounting their war stories and now-ancient misdeeds. All of this is expertly orchestrated by Morris and his team, using clever graphics to blend interviews with vintage TV news footage, newspaper clippings and headlines. But despite its savvy presentation, the story is seedy and exceedingly silly, and after a while I lost patience with it. It's bad enough that we can't turn on television or glance at a magazine stand without being assaulted by idiocies of all sorts. This story may be innocuous by comparison, but I'm not sure it's worth the investment of an hour and a half. It's not that McKinney isn't interesting; so is a car wreck. I'd rather be watching something (or someone) else. |
tt1704619 | Unrated | Joyce McKinney | USA | Documentary | We live in a tabloid-driven world, whether we like it or not. Although he has tackled many serious subjects (and finally won an Oscar for The Fog of War, his gut-wrenching portrait of former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara), filmmaker Errol Morris has always had a fondness for life's o | ||
| Project Nim | 2011 | James Marsh | 93 |
If movies about talking cars or warlike robots don't interest you, Project Nim is the latest documentary (following Buck) to offer a satisfying, adult alternative. It tells a story that is both stranger and more thought-provoking than most Hollywood fare. The Nim of the title is Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was given the pun-ny name (a play on Noam Chomsky) when he was separated from his mother and placed in the care of Columbia University professor Herbert Terrace in 1973. The mere thought of a mother and child being torn apart is wrenching enough, but that's just the first in a series of dramatic incidents in the life of this unfortunate animal. Terrace spent five years seeing if a primate could be taught to communicate with humans using sign language. Director James Marsh, who won a well-deserved Oscar for Man on Wire, allows the humans who interacted with Nim over the years to tell their own stories, knowing full well that audiences will make their own judgments and need little prompting from him. Terrace comes off as aloof and pompous—a textbook case of someone who doesn't see himself as others do—while the others who helped raise, educate, and rescue Nim over the years reveal their various follies, foibles, and good intentions. As he did in Man on Wire, Marsh seamlessly integrates dramatized shots and scenes with authentic home-movie and news footage of Nim and his human companions. I've never been a fan of recreations in documentaries, but Marsh uses them better than anyone else in the field. I thought all the material was authentic until I read the closing credits, which gave me some pause. Upon reflection, I came to the decision that what matters most is that the story is true; this canny director uses the tools at his disposal to make it work in cinematic terms. Animal lovers will be upset by passages in the movie, even though the story's resolution isn't entirely negative. It's the humans who must be held accountable for putting a wild animal into an unfamiliar environment and then washing their hands of responsibility when he is no longer useful. Project Nim is ostensibly about a chimpanzee, but it has much more to say about our own species. That's what makes it so compelling. |
tt1814836 | [PG-13] | Herbert Terrace, Stephanie LaFarge, Jenny Lee, Laura-Ann Petitto, Joyce Butler, Bill Tynan | UK | Documentary | If movies about talking cars or warlike robots don't interest you, Project Nim is the latest documentary (following Buck) to offer a satisfying, adult alternative. It tells a story that is both stranger and more thought-provoking than most Hollywood fare.The Nim of the t | ||
| Horrible Bosses | 2011 | Seth Gordon | 100 |
It's tempting to label Horrible Bosses a post-Hangover comedy. For all I know it may have been in the works before that box-office smash saw the light of day, but it emits the same vibe, even if it doesn't go to the same extremes. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day work well together as three ordinary guys who share one thing in common: abusive employers. They can't afford to walk away from their jobs, so they fantasize about doing away with their bosses, then actually try to make that far-fetched scheme come true. It's when their fumbling goes into high gear that the movie finds its groove. The bosses are played by Colin Farrell (who has relatively little screen time), Kevin Spacey (who's frighteningly goodbut then, he covered this ground once before in the 1994 indie Swimming with Sharks), and, in a nice gender twist, Jennifer Aniston (as a dentist who is sexually aggressive and demeaning to her assistant, Day). The movie has just enough raunchiness to identify it as a 2011 comedy, just enough cleverness to admire, and just the right camaraderie among its three male stars, which turns out to be the movie's greatest strength. Bateman plays straight-man exceedingly well. Saturday Night Live's Sudeikis is the most daring and reckless of the group, while Day (who is best known for his work on the TV series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which he also co-created) gets the breakout role as the trio's prime patsy. Jamie Foxx is quite funny in a featured role about which the less revealed the better. Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein wrote the screenplay, based on Markowitz's story, and Seth Gordon, who made his name with the sleeper documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, maintains a good balance between believability (when it matters) and farce. Horrible Bosses may not be exceptional but it is diverting, which is all one could ask of a mainstream Hollywood comedy. P.S. I couldn't help but notice, in the scenes set in Sudeikis' apartment, a framed window card from The Son of Kong. I don't know if this is an in-joke or an art director's whim, but it certainly got my attention—even if it did distract me for a moment. All I know is, I want that guy's decorator working for me. |
tt1499658 | [R] | Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Julie Bowen, Donald Sutherland, Lindsay Sloane | USA | Comedy | It's tempting to label Horrible Bosses a post-Hangover comedy. For all I know it may have been in the works before that box-office smash saw the light of day, but it emits the same vibe, even if it doesn't go to the same extremes. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day work well toget | ||
| Zookeeper | 2011 | Frank Coraci | 104 |
Kevin James has developed an irresistible screen persona as a nice-guy/underdog, which has served him well in some pretty mediocre films like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. In that context, Zookeeper is a quantum leap forward, a likable, PG-rated comedy that parents and kids can enjoy together. Is it formulaic? Absolutely. Does it pass muster as entertaining summer family fare? Yes it does, and compared to some of the sludge now polluting multiplexes, it positively shines. James, who co-wrote the script with four collaborators, plays a dedicated zookeeper at Boston's Lincoln Park Zoo. After five years he still hasn't gotten over being dumped by girlfriend Leslie Bibb, who never respected his job (among other things), so when she comes back into his orbit he'll do anything it takes to impress her. Meanwhile, he is blissfully unaware that his true soul-mate is working right alongside him, veterinarian Rosario Dawson. The gimmick in this simple (one might even say simplistic) story is that the zoo animals, who appreciate James' thoughtful treatment, band together to help him in his romantic pursuit—and reveal to him, for the first time, their ability to speak in human voices. This adds another dimension to the film, with such readily identifiable voices as Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, and the film's producer Adam Sandler emanating from the mouths of various wild animals. The humor is broad and basic, but it works. Kids will enjoy the sheer novelty of it, while grownups will get a chuckle hearing a lioness with the voice of Cher. With all of this window dressing, the movie still rests on the shoulders of James and his ability to make us root for him. In spite of various story contrivances we do, on the most elemental level, and that's why Zookeeper clicks. |
tt1222817 | [PG] | Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Judd Apatow, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Maya Rudolph, Don Rickles, Jim Breuer | USA | Comedy, Romance | Kevin James has developed an irresistible screen persona as a nice-guy/underdog, which has served him well in some pretty mediocre films like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. In that context, Zookeeper is a quantum leap forward, a likable, PG-rated comedy that parents and kids can enjoy to | ||
| Terri | 2011 | Azazel Jacobs | 105 |
John C. Reilly's presence in a movie is almost a guarantee that you're going to see something interesting. He has good taste and is willing to challenge himself, even if the films are modest in scale. One could scarcely find a movie more modest than Terri, but it's extremely well-wrought and offers Reilly a plum part. Newcomer Jacob Wysocki plays the title role, an overweight teenaged outcast whose home life is anything but ordinary. When he does have the ambition to go to school he's a loner, mocked by his classmates. Then the principal takes notice of him and schedules a weekly meeting where they can talk. In fact, he becomes Terry's one true friend. Patrick deWitt adapted several short stories into this cohesive, wonderfully sharp-eyed screenplay, which was directed by Azazel Jacobs, who garnered considerable attention with his 2008 feature Momma's Man. Terri has a seamless quality, almost as if it were a documentary and the camera just happened to be present when these incidents took place. Even seemingly incidental characters have pearly moments onscreen, and they are all perfectly cast. Wysocki hits just the right notes as Terri, who is utterly guileless but not stupid. An oddball whose manner and behavior are off-putting at first, he gradually wins us over with his good-hearted nature, just as he brings out the best in his principal. Reilly's part is especially well written, with several speeches that linger in my memory for their earthy wisdom and honesty. (If only we were all lucky enough to meet someone like that principal during our adolescence.) If I have any criticism of Terri, it's that it's slow, molasses-slow. But if you are patient with it, you will be rewarded with one of the most striking and satisfying indie films of the year. |
tt1687281 | [R] | Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Bridger Zadina, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Tim Heidecker, Justin Prentice, Mary Anne McGarry, Tara Karsian | USA | Comedy | John C. Reilly's presence in a movie is almost a guarantee that you're going to see something interesting. He has good taste and is willing to challenge himself, even if the films are modest in scale. One could scarcely find a movie more modest than Terri, but it's extremely well-wroug | ||
| Larry Crowne | 2011 | Tom Hanks | 99 |
If you like, you can think of Larry Crowne as the anti-Transformers. It's the opposite of an Event Movie for the summer season; instead, it's an old-fashioned star vehicle, fashioned for the particular screen personas of Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts by Hanks himself, who directed the film and wrote the screenplay with Nia Vardalos. (You may recall that he produced her breakthrough film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a decade ago.) As such, it's easy to take and lightly enjoyable. One might even call it a "nice" movie, which will surely please one segment of the moviegoing audience and repel another. I just wish the film were a little better. Hanks plays a hard-working store manager who is suddenly downsized; it seems he doesn't qualify for a management position because he never went to college. (He served in the Navy instead.) Forced to take stock of his life, he decides to enroll at a local community college. There he makes new friends, including a sprite played by British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw. She and her friends open Larry Crowne to a whole new world of experiences. He also signs up for a class in informal public speaking taught by a world-weary Julia Roberts. She's actually a very good teacher, but her marriage is imploding and she's been numbing the pain with booze. Then she realizes that her new students aren't a bad lot after all and are worth her time and effort—especially Larry Crowne. There isn't much more to the film. It has a relaxed feeling, and is populated by good actors, even in small roles. (Hanks is nothing if not loyal. Veteran military advisor Dale Dye, with whom he worked on Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, plays the guy who has to fire him. Nia Vardalos' husband Ian Gomez runs the restaurant where Hanks takes a job as short-order cook. Of course, the star's wife, Rita Wilson, has a small role as a bank manager; their son plays a pizza delivery boy.) Whether you find the film too self-consciously cute is a matter of personal taste; there are definitely times that its whimsy seems forced. On the other hand, after several weeks of summer-movie bombast, it's not so bad to sit back and relax with a harmless piece of fluff like this. |
tt1583420 | [PG-13] | Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Nia Vardalos, George Takei, Rob Riggle | USA | Romance, Comedy | If you like, you can think of Larry Crowne as the anti-Transformers. It's the opposite of an Event Movie for the summer season; instead, it's an old-fashioned star vehicle, fashioned for the particular screen personas of Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts by Hanks himself, who directed the fi | ||
| Transformers: Dark Of The Moon | 2011 | Michael Bay | 157 |
I was amused to read an interview with director Michael Bay last week in which he admitted that the second Transformers movie went off-track and assured fans that the third installment in the series was a return to form. Now that I've seen this 157-minute assault on the senses, I'm not sure if I agree: it's like saying that the drilling you endured for your latest root canal wasn't quite as painful as your last one. The original Transformers wasn't a great movie, but at least it started out as fun, with Shia LaBeouf as a high-school student who discovers that his new yellow Camaro is actually an Autobot sent to earth to ward off evil Decepticons from their former planet. In the new film, fun is not really part of the equation. It's all deadly serious, an apocalyptic tale of war involving massive robots and human conspirators. Death and destruction are center stage in yet another Michael Bay call to arms, filled to the brim with military personnel barking orders at each other and going into attack mode. There are a few light moments here and there involving John Turturro's screwy ex-CIA agent, LaBeouf's well-meaning parents, and the series' new babe, spunky, long-legged Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. But whatever fundamental story elements may exist at the core of Ehren Kruger's screenplay, they are smothered by all the tumult and gobbledygook dialogue. I almost never look at my watch during a movie, but I became so bored that I checked in at the two-hour mark, fearing that there was still more to come. Ironically, just around that time there is a massive action set-piece involving a damaged Chicago building that in any other context—in almost any other movie—would be a highpoint. Here it's just another scene, very skillfully executed, in a monotonous parade of nonstop action. I saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon in IMAX 3-D and can report that the visual impact of this presentation is pretty potent. (In fact, the experience is exhausting.) I only wish what was happening onscreen wasn't so dreary. |
tt1399103 | [PG-13] | Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Hugo Weaving | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | I was amused to read an interview with director Michael Bay last week in which he admitted that the second Transformers movie went off-track and assured fans that the third installment in the series was a return to form. Now that I've seen this 157-minute assault on the senses, I'm not | ||
| Buck | 2011 | Cindy Meehl | 88 |
Some years ago, Robert Redford made an excellent movie called The Horse Whisperer, based on Nicholas Evans' novel. It turns out that a horseman named Buck Brannaman helped inspire Evans to create the character that Redford played; he even worked on the movie. This new documentary shows that Buck's real-life story is as compelling as any piece of fiction, and filmmaker Cindy Meehl has brought it to life with enormous skill and good taste. (Even Redford attests to Buck's amazing presence.) Buck is a natural on-camera. We travel with him from one horse-training clinic to another, as he passes on his hard-earned wisdom and demonstrates how to work with the animals in a quiet, humane manner—so different from the way horses were "broken" out West for generations. He believes that if there's a problem along the way it more likely reflects the owner than the horse. In the course of the film we learn first-hand how right he is. Because Meehl reveals Buck's story one layer at a time, I don't want to give much away; everyone should have the experience of learning about this remarkable man who overcame many obstacles to become the tranquil and inspiring figure he is today. Buck is an exceptional movie. |
tt1753549 | [PG] | Buck Brannaman | USA | Documentary | Some years ago, Robert Redford made an excellent movie called The Horse Whisperer, based on Nicholas Evans' novel. It turns out that a horseman named Buck Brannaman helped inspire Evans to create the character that Redford played; he even worked on the movie. This new documentary shows | ||
| A Better Life | 2010 | Chris Weitz | 98 |
A Better Life has more to offer than good intentions: it's sincere and credible, which is more than I can say about an awful lot of movies. Yet something about it kept me at arm's length: I felt the filmmakers' presence instead of losing myself in the story. Is that because, like director Chris Weitz, I am not part of the world he's depicting but an outsider looking in? Or is it because the trajectory of this melancholy film is so predictable? Although Eric Eason wrote the screenplay, from a story by Roger L. Simon, the inspiration seems to be Vittorio De Sica's timeless masterpiece Bicycle Thieves. In that film, a poor man's livelihood—in a sense, his manhood—is taken away when his bicycle is stolen on the streets of Rome. He and his young son set out to find the culprit. In A Better Life, the protagonist (well played by Damián Bichir) is an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles who works as a gardener and does his best to raise an adolescent son on his own. He's learned to keep his head down and remain invisible, in order to work in L.A. without his papers. But when he buys his former boss' truck and gardening equipment he takes a huge gamble, and therein lies the tale. And yes, much of it has to do with the relationship between father and son. The casting is excellent, and so are the locations, but the inevitability of each step in the story is a major disappointment. A Better Life has so many good ingredients it's too bad it doesn't take on a life of its own. |
tt1554091 | [PG-13] | Demián Bichir, José Julián, Dolores Heredia, Joaquín Cosio, Nancy Lenehan, Isabella Rae Thomas, Rolando Molina, Magi Avila, Chelsea Rendon | USA | Drama | A Better Life has more to offer than good intentions: it's sincere and credible, which is more than I can say about an awful lot of movies. Yet something about it kept me at arm's length: I felt the filmmakers' presence instead of losing myself in the story. Is that because, like director Ch | ||
| Bad Teacher | 2010 | Jake Kasdan | 92 |
I've always liked Cameron Diaz, who brings a spark to every part she plays, but she's only as good as her material, and Bad Teacher is bad news for her and her fans. I was wary going in, as I tend to be whenever a Hollywood movie announces through its advertising how "outrageous" it's going to be. The only outrageous thing about Bad Teacher is that director Jake Kasdan and two writers who earned an Emmy nomination for television's The Office (Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg) could turn out such an obvious, heavy-handed, unfunny comedy. To cite an example, I have to spoil one of its jokes—but believe me, it's no loss. In the movie's most excerpted scene, Diaz takes over the school's fund-raising car wash and shows up in short-shorts, looking terrifically sexy. All the fathers on hand stare in wonder and amazement, and so do the local cops. Then we see one of the male students, equally transfixed; the camera pans down to reveal that he has an erection. That's the joke. There's no sight gag, or surprising reveal. It's about as obvious—and lazy—as you can get, and the same can be said for the rest of the picture. From the first scene to the last, we're supposed to find it uproariously funny that all the teachers at the school are clueless square-heads, including the principal. Ha. All of these characters are played broadly, forcing people like Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, Thomas Lennon, and even Justin Timberlake to mug as if this were a bad high-school play. Only Diaz and Jason Segel, as a gym teacher, get to be sly. I realize that wit is no longer valued in mainstream Hollywood comedies, but this film is witless, in every sense of that word, and I find that extremely discouraging. |
tt1284575 | [R] | Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins, Dave Allen, Jillian Armenante, Matthew J. Evans | USA | Comedy | I've always liked Cameron Diaz, who brings a spark to every part she plays, but she's only as good as her material, and Bad Teacher is bad news for her and her fans. I was wary going in, as I tend to be whenever a Hollywood movie announces through its advertising how "outrageous" it's | ||
| Cars 2 | 2010 | Brad Lewis, John Lasseter | 113 |
I have such high regard for Pixar and its creative team, led by John Lasseter, that it actually hurts to knock one of their movies—something I've never done before. But then, I've never gotten a headache watching any of their previous films. Despite having beaten the sequel curse by making Toy Story 2 and 3, I'm afraid the studio has succumbed with its latest offering, Cars 2. Let's begin with what is normally the studio's bedrock of strength, storytelling. Because there is no "leftover" story to tell from the original Cars, this one leaves the town of Radiator Springs and most of its denizens behind, choosing to go globetrotting as Lightning McQueen participates in a series of Grand Prix races overseas. He's goaded into this by his good buddy, Tow Mater the tow truck, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, and therein lies my biggest problem. I'd rather listen to chalk on a blackboard than spend nearly two hours with Tow Mater, who is in fact the leading character in Cars 2. Even that sorry fate might be ameliorated if there were a solid story to hang onto, but there isn't. In fact, the narrative of Cars 2 is so cluttered and confusing it's actually hard to follow, right up to the end. Is it about a bad guy who wants to put gas-powered cars out of business, or a good guy who wants to introduce clean-energy vehicles, or a pair of spies who are trying to catch one or the other, or something else altogether? (I did get the message about friendship and loyalty.) I'd hate to be a parent of a child, trying to answer his or her questions about what's going on every few minutes. On the other hand, if your kid loves watching cars race around tracks really fast, or has a short attention span, Cars 2 may be just the ticket. It never stops moving; you just don't know where it's moving, or why. Cars 2 opens with a sequence that parodies James Bond movies, featuring a slick sports car voiced by Michael Caine. That's good for a smile, but it wears thin as the movie goes on and on; worst of all, it's unclear whether the Caine character and his compatriot, voiced by Emily Mortimer, are good guys or villains. Naturally, the animation is first-rate and the various settings are pleasing to the eye—although it's a bit odd to see the cars outside of their own universe in man-made world capitals. There are punny moments of dialogue and sight-gags to match, but they exist in a vacuum without a story that's clear and characters who matter. The fact that the film takes nearly two hours to unfold doesn't help. At a time when other studios have mastered the art of CG animation, Pixar should play to its strengths, and this movie doesn't. What a shame. Am I being too hard on a movie that's out to entertain kids? If I am, it's only because Pixar itself has set the bar so high in this field. |
tt1216475 | [G] | Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Brent Musburger, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Kretschmann, Peter Jacobson, Bonnie Hunt, Cheech Marin | USA | Animation | I have such high regard for Pixar and its creative team, led by John Lasseter, that it actually hurts to knock one of their movies—something I've never done before. But then, I've never gotten a headache watching any of their previous films. Despite having beaten the sequel curse by mak | ||
| Green Lantern | 2010 | Martin Campbell | 105 |
It isn't innovative, it isn't deep, the characters aren't particularly well-developed, but I still had a good time watching Green Lantern. It's hard to dislike a movie that has shortcomings and still provides an enjoyable viewing experience. I even liked its use of 3-D, although those glasses are getting to be a pain. Like the recent Thor, this comic book adaptation (credited to four writers, with a fifth getting co-story billing) splits its time between a distant planet, which is home to a highly-advanced civilization, and earth, where cocky fighter pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) has enough problems without being selected to join the interstellar Green Lantern Corps. Reynolds' lighthearted persona enables the movie to explore what it's like for a normal, flawed human being to become a superhero overnight and face a level of responsibility he's always ducked. His love interest is fellow pilot—and aviation executive—Carol Ferris, played by Blake Lively, and the two leads make a highly attractive couple. Peter Sarsgaard dives wholeheartedly into the role of a nerdy scientist who is chosen to examine the corpse of the alien that came to earth to find a new Green Lantern. His exposure to the rotting body has grave consequences, however, turning him into a gruesomely misshapen and vengeful monster. (He's still small potatoes compared to the humongous creature named Parallax, who threatens to overtake every planet in his path.) The principal problem with Green Lantern is that it has a surfeit of characters and subplots and not enough time to deal with them properly. Angela Bassett gets costar billing but has little more than a cameo role as a government agent. (There's a brief hint of her former life that teases more than it explains.) Even Sarsgaard's character seems underwritten. It turns out that he's the son of a powerful senator, played by Tim Robbins, and has always been in love with Lively and jealous of Reynolds—which we learn later than we should. But despite those caveats, the film offers a dazzling array of visual effects, a likable hero, a beautiful leading lady, a colorful villain, and a good backstory. It also doesn't take itself too seriously. Green Lantern entertained me, and I can't dismiss that because of its imperfections. |
tt1133985 | [PG-13] | Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Temuera Morrison, Jenna Craig, Jon Tenney, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, Jay O. Sanders | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | It isn't innovative, it isn't deep, the characters aren't particularly well-developed, but I still had a good time watching Green Lantern. It's hard to dislike a movie that has shortcomings and still provides an enjoyable viewing experience. I even liked its use of 3-D, although those | ||
| City Of Life And Death | Nanjing! Nanjing! | 2009 | Chuan Lu | 132 |
Chinese filmmaker Chuan Lu has tackled a vast and ambitious subject in City of Life and Death. I knew very little about the siege on Nanjing (or Nanking, as Westerners have long referred to it) in 1937; I feel as if I understand it now, in all of its grim reality. A documentary might provide facts and figures, but Lu has used the dramatic form to personalize this story and fashion a powerful, multilayered film that shows what ordinary human beings are capable of in extreme circumstances. Using widescreen, black and white imagery and a hand-held camera, he and his colleagues, including cinematographer Yu Cao and production designer Yi Hao, create a reality that seems both real and immediate. The sheer size of the production is daunting, with entire cityscapes and many hundreds of extras bringing the past to vivid life. But Lu's most notable achievement is the way he weaves a variety of personal stories into the larger tapestry of the rape of Nanjing. The vignettes of inhumanity at every level are horrifying and, apparently, true, yet the film never feels exploitive or voyeuristic in its depiction of violence and depravity. I watched in fascination, as one would any tragedy captured on film. Incidentally, the filmmaker courted great controversy in his native China by focusing on one of the Japanese soldiers, to show the tragedy from a point of view most Chinese have never considered before. By turning "the enemy" into an identifiable human being, he elevates the drama (and discourse) significantly. City of Life and Death is a thoroughly remarkable piece of work. |
tt1124052 | [R] | Ye Liu, Yuanyuan Gao, Hideo Nakaizumi, Wei Fan, Yiyan Jiang, Ryu Kohata, Bin Liu, John Paisley, Beverly Peckous, Lan Qin | China | Drama | Chinese filmmaker Chuan Lu has tackled a vast and ambitious subject in City of Life and Death. I knew very little about the siege on Nanjing (or Nanking, as Westerners have long referred to it) in 1937; I feel as if I understand it now, in all of its grim reality. A documentary might p | |
| The Art Of Getting By | 2010 | Gavin Wiesen | 84 |
When a film covers familiar ground, as this coming-of-age story does, it had better offer an original point of view or, at the very least, interesting characters. The Art of Getting By has both, and while it loses its footing now and then, its leading actors help us to connect with it on an emotional level. Freddie Highmore is a highly watchable young actor and, with a flawless American accent, manages to make a somewhat inscrutable character interesting. He recounts, in the film's first scenes, his morbid thoughts about the futility of life, which is supposed to explain his inability to produce any work at school. Everyone knows he's smart and talented, but he simply can't (or won't) accomplish anything, even in art class. Emma Roberts is well cast as a fellow student at their tony Manhattan private school who befriends him and tries to coax him out of his shell. Good casting helps smooth some of the bumps and unfortunate detours in writer-director Gavin Wiesen's debut feature. Rita Wilson plays Highmore's indulgent mother, Sam Robards his aloof stepfather, Blair Underwood his stern principal, who refuses to give up on him, Michael Angarano a recent graduate of Highmore's school who's making his way in the world as an artist, and Elizabeth Reaser is Roberts' free-spirited mother, who is an embarrassment to her daughter. There are moments in The Art of Getting By that made me wince, especially toward the end; they betray the filmmaker's lack of experience. But I found myself rooting for his two key characters, and enjoying Highmore and Roberts' performances. That's enough to make this little indie film worthwhile, warts and all. |
tt1645080 | [PG-13] | Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Rita Wilson, Alicia Silverstone, Blair Underwood, Sasha Spielberg | USA | Romance, Comedy | When a film covers familiar ground, as this coming-of-age story does, it had better offer an original point of view or, at the very least, interesting characters. The Art of Getting By has both, and while it loses its footing now and then, its leading actors help us to connect with it | ||
| Mr. Poppers Penguins | 2010 | Mark Waters | 95 |
As bastardizations of beloved children's books go, this one isn't terrible -certainly not as offensive as The Cat in the Hat, for instance-but it has the potential to be a genuinely good movie and blows it. That's a real shame. In a total reinvention of Richard and Florence Atwater's prize-winning 1938 book, Jim Carrey plays a hotshot New York City real-estate dealmaker (and divorced dad) whose globe-trotting father was a distant presence as he was growing up. When the old man dies he bequeaths to his son a live penguin; then, through a miscommunication, apartment-dweller Carrey acquires five more of the little creatures. Ironically, the arrival of the penguins energizes Carrey's relationship with his son and daughter, not to mention his ex-wife (Carla Gugino). In time, it softens some of his hard edges, even in his pursuit of a wealthy woman (Angela Lansbury) whom he's trying to persuade to sell him a prize property: the venerable Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Jim Carrey is in pretty good form here, and I suppose many people will accept this as innocuous family fare. But taken on its storytelling merits, Mr. Popper's Penguins is half-baked at best. Without divulging too many details, Carrey has a sudden, unexplained change of character at a crucial point in the story that undermines the rest of the picture and evaporates its emotional hold on the audience. I feel bad for parents who will be stuck with trying to explain this away. (I also feel sorry for families who will be inspired to visit Tavern on the Green, which ended its long run as a restaurant in 2009—although it still stands as a visitor center.) The nicest thing about the movie is that it incorporates fleeting footage from several Charlie Chaplin comedies, as Carrey discovers that the penguins are mesmerized by his waddling Little Tramp figure on his television screen. If only one kid who sees this movie comes away curious enough to watch Chaplin, too, Mr. Popper's Penguins will have done a great service. |
tt1396218 | [PG] | Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Madeline Carroll, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, James Tupper, Philip Baker Hall, Dominic Chianese, Kelli Barrett | USA | Comedy | As bastardizations of beloved children's books go, this one isn't terrible -certainly not as offensive as The Cat in the Hat, for instance-but it has the potential to be a genuinely good movie and blows it. That's a real shame. In a total reinvention of Richard and Florence Atwater's p | ||
| Super 8 | 2010 | J.J. Abrams | 112 |
If you're wondering what's missing from so many big-budget, effects-driven Hollywood movies, the answer lies in J.J. Abrams' Super 8: heart and passion. What's happening onscreen really matters to the young people in the story—so it matters to us, too. Moreover, there's no cynicism or aloofness in these characters or the way they're depicted. Just look at the face of newcomer Joel Courtney, who plays the leading role in Super 8, and you see the kind of guileless all-American boy we don't find too often in contemporary films. It isn't coincidental that the story takes place in 1979, before the age of Twitter and texting. That's also the period in which Steven Spielberg captured the imagination of moviegoers around the world with such impassioned films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Abrams is unabashedly emulating Spielberg here, and had the benefit of his input as this movie's hands-on producer, but Super 8 never feels recycled or second-hand.. It does feel "old-school," and whether or not that will play with today's younger audiences remains to be seen...but I had an awfully good time watching the movie and rekindling emotions I haven't felt in a Hollywood movie for quite some time. Super 8 hearkens back to a time when kids embarked on the adventure of making home movies without the benefit of digital cameras or Final Cut Pro. (Here, Abrams is summoning up his own childhood and drawing on first-hand recollections of making movies with his friends.) The setting is a steel-mill town in Ohio, and the protagonist is a boy whose mother has recently died in a tragic accident, leaving him and his father, a deputy sheriff, to fend for themselves without her loving care. Getting involved in his best friend's movie projects is a perfect release for young Joe, all the more so when his pal invites a girl from school (whom he's never had the nerve to talk to) to be their leading lady. She's played by the remarkable Elle Fanning, who manages to fit in perfectly with her less experienced costars. Paralleling this facet of the movie is a monster-on-the-loose plot, complete with military cover-up. It begins with the amateur moviemakers shooting at a train station late one night and bearing witness to a cataclysmic train wreck. (Spielberg has often mentioned his indelible boyhood memory of seeing Cecil B. DeMille's spectacular train wreck in The Greatest Show on Earth, and even used a clip of the scene in his War of the Worlds. Now he and Abrams have actually topped it.) The monster subplot reveals the mindset of someone who grew up on 1950s and 60s science-fiction and understands the precept first voiced by King Kong's creator, Merian C. Cooper, who said the best way to hook an audience was to remember the 3 d's: keep your creature dark, distant, and dangerous. I realize that Super 8 may sound like little more than a patchwork of earlier generations' movies. That's not entirely inaccurate, but it's much too glib, like accusing Quentin Tarantino of merely stitching together riffs from genre movies he loves. Like Tarantino, Abrams has soaked up popular culture like a sponge, and while he naturally calls on tropes from movies and television shows he's seen, he is also a skillful storyteller who knows how to layer action and thrills onto a bedrock of emotional truth. That's what makes Super 8 so satisfying. |
tt1650062 | [PG-13] | Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Jessica Tuck, Joel McKinnon Miller, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Gabriel Basso | USA | Sci-Fi | If you're wondering what's missing from so many big-budget, effects-driven Hollywood movies, the answer lies in J.J. Abrams' Super 8: heart and passion. What's happening onscreen really matters to the young people in the story—so it matters to us, too. Moreover, there's no cynic | ||
| The Trip | 2010 | Michael Winterbottom | 107 |
A bit of background: I became a Steve Coogan fan when I saw his freewheeling performance in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People (2002), unaware that he made his name in the UK with a very funny TV show called I'm Alan Partridge. I wasn't aware of Rob Brydon until I saw Winterbottom's 2005 movie Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, in which he and Coogan carry on a continual game of one-upmanship, mostly about their careers. I didn't need a primer to figure out that this was based, to some degree, on their real-life relationship, and enjoyed their barbed banter. Now Coogan and Brydon have teamed up again, under Winterbottom's direction, for an unusual and highly amusing road movie (adapted from a British TV miniseries) called The Trip. The premise is that Coogan has been asked to write a restaurant column, but his plans for a sojourn through the North of England are thrown asunder when his girlfriend decides that she needs a break from the relationship and travels to America. That's when Coogan reluctantly invites Brydon to be his traveling companion as they tour the country and visit some of its most prestigious restaurants. The resulting film consists of sumptuous meals, a bit of travelogue, and constant conversation, with the friendly rivals trying to outdo each other's mimicry (wait till you hear the dueling Michael Caines) and occasionally comparing notes on their lives (Coogan is a divorced dad, Brydon a happily married new father) and careers. It's hilarious, bittersweet, and thoughtful. How much of it is true I cannot say, though I reckon it's an exaggeration of reality if not a complete fabrication. I went into the film with a residual fondness for its two stars, who improvised most of their dialogue, so I can't predict how someone who's never been exposed to them will respond. But if you're at all an Anglophile, or have a taste for show business chatter, I think you're on the right track. Just one word of warning: don't go hungry. The meals look absolutely incredible. |
tt1740047 | Unrated | Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Margo Stilley, Rebecca Johnson, Dolya Gavanski, Kerry Shale, Paul Popplewell | USA | Comedy | A bit of background: I became a Steve Coogan fan when I saw his freewheeling performance in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People (2002), unaware that he made his name in the UK with a very funny TV show called I'm Alan Partridge. I wasn't aware of Rob Brydon until I saw W | ||
| Rejoice And Shout | 2010 | Don McGlynn | 115 |
What I don't know about gospel music could fill a library, but I'm willing to learn, and the lively documentary called Rejoice and Shout is a perfect tutorial. What's more, it's certain to create a flock of converts to this soulful brand of American song. The film opens with a jaw-dropping performance of "Amazing Grace" by a little girl who sits in church with her family—a vivid illustration of how this tradition has been passed from one generation to another. It's also a perfect way to lead us into the story of gospel music. Several experts and historians help chart our path, as we see rare and fascinating archival footage spanning the 20th century, but the highlights are vintage performances—played out, for the most part, in their entirety—that feature some of the all-time greats of gospel. There is a clip of Mahalia Jackson from The Ed Sullivan Show singing "These Are They" that steadily builds in intensity, from one chorus to the next; when it's over you feel almost overpowered. Others featured in the film include the irrepressible Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Swan Silvertones, and the Staples Singers, to name just a few. The late Ira Tucker, the last surviving member of the Dixie Hummingbirds, is just one of the interview subjects who personalizes the history of gospel, recalling his experiences both in church and in show business, along with such notable performers as Smokey Robinson, Willa Ward of the Ward Singers, and Mavis Staples. Rejoice and Shout is both a historical document and a celebration. Director Don McGlynn and producer Joe Lauro have spent most of their professional lives unearthing rare music footage, and this film has given them a perfect vehicle to express their knowledge and enthusiasm. I will confess that I found the contemporary performers who appear toward the end of the film less compelling than the greats of the past...but that can't dissipate the impact of the film's great stars, or evocative historical footage. One final note: it's well worth making an effort to see this film on a theater screen. (It opens today at Film Forum in Manhattan, with dates in Los Angeles and other cities to follow.) This rousing music was meant to be shared with an audience, whether it be in a church or a movie theater. |
tt1600435 | [PG] | Mahalia Jackson, The Staple Singers, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Clara Ward, The Soul Stirrers, Blind Boys of Alabama, Andraé Crouch, Mavis Staples, Smokey Robinson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rev. James Cleveland, Bill Carpenter, Anthony Heilbut | USA | Documentary | What I don't know about gospel music could fill a library, but I'm willing to learn, and the lively documentary called Rejoice and Shout is a perfect tutorial. What's more, it's certain to create a flock of converts to this soulful brand of American song. The film opens with a jaw-drop | ||
| Cameraman: The Life And Work Of Jack Cardiff | 2010 | Craig McCall | 86 |
After years of DVD special features, even dedicated buffs may be somewhat blasé about a film that takes us behind the scenes to explore one man's career...but this is no ordinary documentary, and its subject is no ordinary filmmaker. Jack Cardiff was a remarkable artist who grew up with the British movie industry and carved a niche for himself through his pioneering use of Technicolor, notably in the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger classics A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus. He was the first cinematographer ever presented with an honorary Academy Award, in 2001. Cameraman is thoroughly absorbing and is obviously a labor of love. Director Craig McCall filmed many conversations with Cardiff, who was still sharp and active in his 90s. (He died in April of 2009 at the age of 94.) He also spoke to colleagues and admirers including Kirk Douglas, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Bacall (who was on location when he shot The African Queen), Richard Fleischer, Freddie Francis, John Mills, Kim Hunter, Charlton Heston, and film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who was married to Michael Powell. McCall makes exceptionally good, and extensive, use of film clips (all of them restored in high definition), so even a novice doesn't have to take anyone's word for what the cinematographer achieved, from his earliest efforts in the 1930s through his "golden age" and beyond: we can see the results for ourselves. We also trace his brief but notable career as a director. Cardiff is impressive not only because of his longevity—he started as a clapper boy in 1929 and photographed Sylvester Stallone as Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan in the 1980s—but because of his unquenchable curiosity and forward thinking. We see him commenting on great artists' work, noting their use of light, and then watch him apply those principles as he stands at an easel creating his own oil paintings. He also reveals, for the first time, a portfolio of photographs he took of beautiful women over the years, including Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, and Audrey Hepburn. (These should be assembled in a coffee table book!) Cameraman has already played at a number of film festivals and had a theatrical engagement in New York. It opens in Los Angeles today, and I recommend seeing it on a theater screen if at all possible. Film aficionados and aspiring filmmakers alike can learn from it, and anyone can find inspiration in the way Jack Cardiff lived his life. |
tt1626811 | Unrated | Jack Cardiff, Martin Scorsese, Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, John Mills, Alan Parker, Thelma Schoonmaker, Moira Shearer, Michael Powell | USA | Documentary | After years of DVD special features, even dedicated buffs may be somewhat blasé about a film that takes us behind the scenes to explore one man's career...but this is no ordinary documentary, and its subject is no ordinary filmmaker. Jack Cardiff was a remarkable artist who grew up with the B | ||
| Submarine | 2010 | Richard Ayoade | 97 |
We've all seen coming-of-age stories-plenty of them-so when a new one comes along that seems fresh and novel, that's reason to cheer. The new British import Submarine is just such a film, based on a prize-winning novel by Joe Dunthorne about a precocious boy growing up in Wales. The two young leads are new to us in the States, but they're joined by top-tier talent from the adult ranks. The result is a disarming comic tale about growing pains. Craig Roberts plays Oliver Tate, a smart, self-aware 15 year old boy who conscientiously documents his life and narrates the story. His parents, played in hilarious deadpan fashion by Noah Taylor and Sally Hawkins, are an extremely uptight couple whose marriage is strained, but they both have real concerns about their oddball son. Oliver, in turn, is concerned about his parents' relationship, especially after an old flame of hers moves in across the street. (He's played, in macho fashion, by another skilled performer, Paddy Considine.) After mooning over her in school, Oliver wins over Jordana (Yasmin Paige), though she's also an iconoclast whose ideas often clash with Oliver's, especially when it comes to the nature of their friendship. Anyone who remembers stumbling through adolescence feeling like an outsider should relate to Submarine, written and directed with simpatico and understated humor by Richard Ayoade, a music-video and television director making his feature debut. (He also adapted the screenplay.) His leading actors hit just the right notes in this likable, low-key comedy that's naturally funny without stressing gags or set-pieces. It has all the earmarks of a sleeper, and I hope it finds the audience it deserves. |
tt1440292 | [R] | Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Gemma Chan | USA, UK | Comedy | We've all seen coming-of-age stories-plenty of them-so when a new one comes along that seems fresh and novel, that's reason to cheer. The new British import Submarine is just such a film, based on a prize-winning novel by Joe Dunthorne about a precocious boy growing up in Wales. The tw | ||
| X-Men: First Class | 2010 | Matthew Vaughn | 132 |
It's risky to reinvent an established series with a new cast and a different setting than fans are accustomed to...but given the fact that the once-solid X-Men films went off-track over the past decade and yielded a couple of disappointing spinoffs, I guess the folks at Marvel felt they had everything to gain by starting all over again with an origin story. Their risk has paid off, because despite its flaws, X-Men: First Class is an effective reboot. Marvel's best decision was casting two solid actors in the crucial leading roles: James McAvoy is the Oxford professor (and mutant) who will eventually be known as Professor X, and Michael Fassbender plays the childhood victim of Nazi torture who is destined to become Magneto. The conviction of their performances, and the growing nature of their relationship, pulls us back on track more than once as we follow this movie's long and winding road. That's because the bloated screenplay, credited to six writers altogether, tries to cover too much ground and introduce a daunting number of new characters to the X-Men universe. Some of them, like Raven (the future Mystique), played by smart, appealing Jennifer Lawrence, are well-drawn, as is her budding love interest, a super-smart scientist (and mutant) played by the likable Nicholas Hoult. Others among the young people with "special skills" who are recruited by McAvoy and Fassbender don't get enough screen time for us to connect with them on an emotional level. As a former Nazi turned world-class evildoer, Kevin Bacon goes through the motions, but seems to be holding himself in check, not wanting to snarl or overact. Bacon is a versatile actor, but I can't help thinking that a more naturally colorful or flamboyant performer would have made the character more fun to watch. January Jones is appropriately sexy as his mutating accomplice. X-Men: First Class is nothing if not ambitious, attempting to weave its fantastic, comic-book characters into the realm of real life, opening in Poland during World War Two and winding up in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. I'm not entirely comfortable with the melding of these two worlds. Director Matthew Vaughn gets the most out of the material he has to work with, but there is something genuinely odd about the integration of historical crises and the fanciful nature of our mutant heroes—and a larger-than-life villain. My taste runs towards a "less is more" philosophy, which obviously isn't in line with the way Marvel makes movies. X-Men: First Class weighs in at two hours and twelve minutes, and I can't help but feel it would have been better had the script been pruned and more tightly focused. But I don't think fans are going to object, because the movie's strengths—unusual characters, eye-opening visual effects, and commanding lead actors—ultimately outweigh its faults. |
tt1270798 | [PG-13] | James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jason Flemyng, Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Bacon, Zoë Kravitz | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | It's risky to reinvent an established series with a new cast and a different setting than fans are accustomed to...but given the fact that the once-solid X-Men films went off-track over the past decade and yielded a couple of disappointing spinoffs, I guess the folks at Marvel felt they | ||
| The Tree Of Life | 2010 | Terrence Malick | 138 |
Far be it for me to contradict the Cannes Film Festival jury, or some critics
who saw The Tree of Life there and sang its praises to the skies,
but I respectfully disagree. I would never dismiss the film out of hand—it
has too many beautiful passages, conveying the conflicting emotions
of childhood—but I think its reach exceeds its grasp. One can applaud
Terrence Malick for attempting something as bold as a picture that ruminates
on the place of mankind in nature and the history of the universe. But
even an ambitious artist has to be judged on results, not intentions.
I couldn't connect the "big bang," or the interaction of dinosaurs,
with the life of a family in 1950s Texas, and frankly, I found the shots
of protozoa, flowing water, and the cosmos itself to be beautiful but
boring. The Tree of Life is truly a film in which the parts are greater than the whole. The depiction of small-town life in the mid-20th century is superb, especially as shot by Emmanuel Lubezki. We witness the emotional journey of a boy from infancy to youth, from being the sole object of his mother's loving attention to sharing her with two brothers, and his subsequent growing pains. This involves boyhood adventures, moments of curiosity, discovery, guilt and pain—all of it vividly conveyed through the intimacy of the camera with our young protagonist (Hunter McCracken). He also has to contend with a stern, loving, often quixotic father (Pitt), who demands a great deal but rarely (if ever) says a word to his wife, played with ethereal grace by relative screen newcomer Jessica Chastain. It is rare to see naked emotions portrayed so vividly, especially in an American film, but the qualities captured in those moments are diluted, not enhanced, by Malick's attempt to relate them to an earthly continuum. If you're a discerning and adventurous filmgoer I would encourage you to see The Tree of Life because the family story is quite moving. But you must know, going in, that you may or may not respond to the movie as a whole. |
tt0478304 | [PG-13] | Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken, Fiona Shaw, Joanna Going, Kari Matchett, Kimberly Whalen, Laramie Eppler, Tye Sheridan | USA | Drama, Sci-Fi | Far be it for me to contradict the Cannes Film Festival jury, or some critics who saw The Tree of Life there and sang its praises to the skies, but I respectfully disagree. I would never dismiss the film out of hand—it has too many beautiful passages, conveying the conflicting emo | ||
| The Hangover Part II | 2010 | Todd Phillips | 102 |
Unless moviegoers themselves are willing to shoulder some of the blame, it's useless to try and figure out why The Hangover Part II is so bad. The film only exists because, after the hilarious 2009 movie broke box-office records for an R-rated comedy, its studio demanded a sequel. And if their instincts were correct, people will flock to see it this weekend. If your only arbiter of success is money earned, then the film will probably be considered a hit. If you factor quality into the equation, forget about it. The Hangover caught lightning in a bottle, which is usually a one-time occurrence. That hasn't stopped director Todd Phillips (who cowrote this script with Craig Mazin and Scot Armstrong) from trying to replicate the setup and payoff of the first picture... but the spark is gone, and so are the laughs. I can't remember laughing harder at a recent film than I did at The Hangover, in spite of my usual aversion to raunchy comedy. Part II offers a great deal of tumult and incident but a notable shortage of laughs, as Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis head off to Thailand for Helms' wedding and find themselves hung over one morning in a seedy Bangkok hotel, unable to recall how they got there. There's no point in my telling you more than that, because the plot doesn't make a lot of sense, and its resolution is even harder to swallow. (By the way, why exactly is this movie set in Bangkok? It can't be to show off the city's scenic wonders, because most of what we see looks awful.) One can't blame the actors, who do their best, but even they aren't as appealing as they were the first time around, because their characters were paper-thin to begin with, and the material they have to work with here is hopeless. What's more, yelling doesn't make a line funnier. In a more perfect world, customers who feel burned by second and third-rate sequels would be wary the next time a number 2, 3, or 4 came to their neighborhood multiplex. But you know what Barnum said... |
tt1411697 | [R] | Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor, Mason Lee, Jamie Chung, Sasha Barrese, Gillian Vigman | USA | Comedy | Unless moviegoers themselves are willing to shoulder some of the blame, it's useless to try and figure out why The Hangover Part II is so bad. The film only exists because, after the hilarious 2009 movie broke box-office records for an R-rated comedy, its studio demanded a sequel. And | ||
| Kung Fu Panda 2 | 2010 | Jennifer Yuh | 90 |
It's tricky to change the thrust and the tone of a story in its second installment, but I think the creators of Kung Fu Panda 2 have pulled it off. The first movie was disarming as it introduced the unlikeliest of action heroes—an eternally hungry, overweight panda named Po, voiced by Jack Black—in a rousing and funny underdog tale. A big part of its appeal was the comic spin it brought to a mentor-student relationship between Po and his diminutive kung fu master Shifu, a mouse voiced in hilarious deadpan style by Dustin Hoffman. There was also the novelty of giving Po the opportunity to fight alongside his heroes, a quintet of martial arts wizards known as the Furious Five. Shifu has little more than a glorified cameo role in this sequel, and Po's friendship with the Furious Five is a given. The emphasis this time is on a power-hungry enemy named Lord Shen, a peacock voiced by Gary Oldman, and a parallel story in which Po searches for inner peace by discovering the true story of his parentage. (If you recall, he was raised by a loving if lightheaded noodle-shop owner named Mr. Ping, who happens to be a goose.) The result is a movie that's much more serious in tone, with fewer surprises in its bag of tricks. I was reminded of The Empire Strikes Back, which not only demanded that you know the first part of that saga, but took its story to a deeper level by involving the hero's search for his true father. The folks at DreamWorks Animation are obviously counting on the audience bringing good feelings about Po and company into the theater with them, so they've taken the risk of lowering the comedy quotient and emphasizing new characters and plot elements. I, for one, was happy to go along for the ride, while some people may come away wishing they'd gotten more laughs out of the experience. Animation veteran Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was head of story and special sequence supervisor on the first Panda, makes a successful feature directing debut here, working with established characters and newcomers alike. Screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have built on what they and their collaborators created in the first film. And the production design, by another returnee, Raymond Zibach, is pleasing to the eye, with unusual color schemes and Asian influences. As sequels go, Kung Fu Panda 2 is quite good, a particular compliment at this point in the movie season... and by the finale we understand that there is at least one more installment to come. |
tt1302011 | [PG] | Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, Victor Garber, James Hong | USA | Animation | It's tricky to change the thrust and the tone of a story in its second installment, but I think the creators of Kung Fu Panda 2 have pulled it off. The first movie was disarming as it introduced the unlikeliest of action heroes—an eternally hungry, overweight panda named Po, voice | ||
| Midnight In Paris | 2010 | Woody Allen | 100 |
I had a smile on my face from the moment Woody Allen's latest film began, with an idyllic series of Parisian street scenes set to the music of jazz great Sidney Bechet...and the film maintained that lovely quality all the way to the finale. Allen may be a fatalist, as he often claims, but this film is whimsical and romantic—a divertissement that recalls one of his most endearing and original comedies, The Purple Rose of Cairo. Owen Wilson is the latest in a long line of Woody surrogates (since the filmmaker has backed away from starring in his own movies) and not only fills the part quite well but manages to make it his own. He and his fiancée (Rachel McAdams) have traveled to Paris where, inspired by the echoes of great writers and artists who gathered there in the 1920s, he hopes to put in some serious time working on a novel. Instead, he is magically transported back to that time and encounters a dizzying array of famous figures. The more involved he becomes in that world, the less he is able to relate to what's going on in his present-day life. It would be a crime to reveal any more; the film should properly unfold as a series of surprises. Midnight in Paris requires the viewer to accept its fantastic premise without question. It also demands that you take the set-up at face value, even though future husband and wife Wilson and McAdams don't seem to be on the same wavelength. In other words, this is not a film that will stand up to intense scrutiny. You must be willing to go along on Wilson's wistful, imaginary journey, or you shouldn't set foot in the theater. Allen's films aren't noted for their beauty, but this one is an exception. Cinematographer Darius Khondji, who worked with the filmmaker once before (on his unfortunate misfire Anything Else), has shot an idealized Paris, especially at night, that makes you want to book airline tickets tomorrow morning. He bathes the time-warp scenes in a warm glow that's equally appealing. The soundtrack is filled with Allen favorites like Bechet (in real life an American ex-pat who was lionized in Paris) playing "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere," along with vintage Cole Porter songs and such evocative tunes as "Parlez-moi D'Amour," played on—what else?—an accordion. Working, as usual, with casting veteran Juliet Taylor (in collaboration with Patricia DiCerto and Stéphanie Foenkinos), Allen has found the ideal actor for each and every role, including Michael Sheen, a luminous Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller, as McAdams' wealthy (and stodgy) parents who have little use for their prospective son-in-law, Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway, Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali, and even the First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, as a sympathetic interpreter. Midnight in Paris isn't just a love letter to the City of Light and its mystique; it's a paean to dreamers and romantics, however illogical they may be. We don't see many films like that nowadays, which makes this one stand out all the more. I loved it. |
tt1605783 | [PG-13] | Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Gad Elmaleh, Kurt Fuller | USA | Romance, Comedy | I had a smile on my face from the moment Woody Allen's latest film began, with an idyllic series of Parisian street scenes set to the music of jazz great Sidney Bechet...and the film maintained that lovely quality all the way to the finale. Allen may be a fatalist, as he often claims, but thi | ||
| Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | 2010 | Rob Marshall | 137 |
Remember how fresh and novel Pirates of the Caribbean seemed in 2003? Remember the fun of seeing Johnny Depp's off-the-wall portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow for the first time? It may be hard to think back that far, because the lumbering, pointless sequels have buried every trace of spontaneity and given us "more of the same" in heavy doses. That hasn't stopped audiences around the world from turning the series into a money machine, but for me, that's what it remains: a machine, or rather, a piece of product. The original film, while distended, at least had a story to tell. The highest compliment I can pay the new, fourth installment is that it isn't as long or as dreary as the third. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have again contrived a convoluted screenplay that attempts to string a handful of big-scale action sequences together. There is no point trying to make sense of it, from the opening scene onward, but there is a lot of tumult. Depp plays his role as an old-fashioned comedy drunk—a once-common archetype we haven't seen in decades. Penélope Cruz has a thankless part as a woman who supposedly has some past history with Jack Sparrow, which is mighty hard to swallow. Another newbie, Ian McShane, snarls and growls as the pirate Blackbeard, but I can't tell you anything else about his character. It pains me to see talented actors like these wasting their time on such drivel. Director Rob Marshall does his best to keep things lively, and, to his credit, has fun staging some in-your-face 3-D shots. But that's a small reward for an investment of two hours and 17 minutes. For me, the new Pirates is a film to be endured, not enjoyed. If that puts me in the minority of moviegoers, so be it. I'd rather walk the plank than have to sit through another of these waterlogged concoctions...but I suppose it's inevitable, since the Jerry Bruckheimer juggernaut makes so much money. In Hollywood these days, that seems to be all that matters. |
tt1298650 | [PG-13] | Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Gemma Ward, Judi Dench, Sam Claflin, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Richard Griffiths, Keith Richards | USA | Action, Adventure | Remember how fresh and novel Pirates of the Caribbean seemed in 2003? Remember the fun of seeing Johnny Depp's off-the-wall portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow for the first time? It may be hard to think back that far, because the lumbering, pointless sequels have buried every trace of s | ||
| Hesher | 2010 | Spencer Susser | 100 |
Some indie films seem to exist as exercises in strangeness, just to see how far they can go—and how long audiences will watch before screaming and running up the aisles. I stuck with Hesher till the bitter end, but I'm not proud of that achievement and wouldn't recommend that anyone follow my lead. I was curious about the film primarily because it features Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an exceptionally talented actor who, since leaving the hit TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun, has made daring and unusual choices. Here he plays a repellent, antisocial character named Hesher who moves in with a grief-stricken family and figuratively gooses them to life. I say "figuratively," but in fact the profane, wildly tattooed Hesher has no self-limitations on behavior or language. He's borderline funny at times, except he inflicts genuine pain and discomfort on everyone around him. An unsubtle music cue accompanies his arrival on the scene, letting us know that he's meant to be an over-the-top figure in this heavy-handed, metaphoric story and we're supposed to be in on the joke. But the film has a split personality, and that's a problem it never surmounts. The characters played by young Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, and Piper Laurie are heartbreakingly real, and desperately trying to come to grips with the loss of Wilson's wife, Brochu's mom. The prolific Natalie Portman is good, as usual, playing a luckless woman who comes into the lives of the vulnerable boy and Hesher, too. She also served as one of the film's producers. Director and co-writer Spencer Susser (who co-wrote the screenplay with Animal Kingdom's David Michôd, and illustrated the scatological closing credits) seems to be saying that one should say f*** you to life's slings and arrows and live like a hellion. At least, I think that's what he's trying to say; I don't intend to spend any further effort pondering the question. I already wasted 100 minutes watching this self-consciously weird, pretentious film. |
tt1403177 | [R] | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, John Carroll Lynch, Audrey Wasilewski, Frank Collison, Paul Bates | USA | Drama | Some indie films seem to exist as exercises in strangeness, just to see how far they can go—and how long audiences will watch before screaming and running up the aisles. I stuck with Hesher till the bitter end, but I'm not proud of that achievement and wouldn't recommend that any | ||
| Everything Must Go | 2010 | Dan Rush | 96 |
Will Ferrell's brand of comedy doesn't appeal to me, by and large. My favorites of his films are not the crowd-pleasers, but Stranger than Fiction, an offbeat comedy-drama, and Elf, a whimsical fable that required a sincere performance as much as comic knowhow. With the release of Everything Must Go, it becomes clearer than ever: Ferrell is a very good actor. While there are light moments, this is a serious film. There's nothing funny about the main character, an alcoholic sales executive who's burned all his bridges. In the film's opening moments he is fired from his longtime job; we then follow him to a Phoenix suburb where he learns that he is also homeless, since his wife has left him, changed the locks on their house, and tossed all his belongings onto the front lawn. Neighbors assume it's a gigantic yard sale—which it isn't, at first. Then Ferrell meets a lonely boy named Kenny (nicely played by Christopher Jordan C.J. Wallace) and puts him to work. Rebecca Hall plays Ferrell's new neighbor, with whom he builds a tentative connection, just as the onetime hotshot finds a true friend in young Kenny. First-time writer-director Dan Rush took his premise from a four-page short story by Raymond Carver, but much of the script is his invention. (Robert Altman also made subtle but significant changes in his Carver-inspired feature Short Cuts. If people admire the man's writing so much, why do they alter his work?) The film runs out of steam far too early and meanders toward its predictable conclusion. A subplot involving a character played by Michael Peña is introduced in haphazard fashion, too late to have the impact it should. Will Ferrell is, in fact, the best thing about the picture, playing a man who's living in denial, a salesman by trade—and by nature—who puts on a good face for the world while problems are eating away at him. This isn't a glib piece of acting but a nuanced portrayal, and while the character repeatedly makes bad decisions we still root for him, because of Ferrell's innate likability. I only wish the movie were as good as his work in it. |
tt1531663 | [R] | Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern, Stephen Root, Michael Peña, Glenn Howerton, Christopher Jordan Wallace | USA | Comedy, Drama | Will Ferrell's brand of comedy doesn't appeal to me, by and large. My favorites of his films are not the crowd-pleasers, but Stranger than Fiction, an offbeat comedy-drama, and Elf, a whimsical fable that required a sincere performance as much as comic knowhow. With the release | ||
| Bridesmaids | 2010 | Paul Feig | 125 |
That sound you hear is me, heaving a sigh over yet another two-hour comedy that's got about an hour of good material spread thin. Some smart, talented people collaborated on the film, including director Paul Feig (who's also a good writer), producer Judd Apatow, and screenwriter and star Kristen Wiig, who created the script with Annie Mumolo. They clearly believe in what they're doing, but judging from the results they can't see the forest for the trees. I'm not even sure they can tell one tree from another; this mishmash of comedy styles and dramatic moments wanders all over the place. (It's easy to see why. Like last year's Get Him to the Greek and other Apatow productions, this one exposed over a million feet of film as Feig encouraged his improv-savvy actors to cut loose and try variations of every scene. The picture was then cut and pasted together in the editing room.) Is it funny? Yes, at times, and its female-centric theme will appeal to many women. I just hope they have the patience to trudge through the slow spots and story detours. Bridesmaids, which might as easily bear the title Women Behaving Badly, wants to be funny, relatable, serious, heartfelt, broad and outrageous all at once. It sets up six women—the bridesmaids of the title—but gives two of them virtually no screen time, while incidental characters are assigned extraneous traits and comedic tics. There's no discipline to a movie like this, so its good points get smothered in the big picture. We must also confront the question of whether audiences want to see women acting as crudely as men often do in gross-out comedies. I tend to vote no, although I didn't despise the last major female raunch-fest, The Sweetest Thing with Cameron Diaz, as some people did. There aren't any rules where comedy is concerned: all that really matters is whether or not it's funny. (OK, being coherent doesn't hurt, either.) If you're ready for fairly graphic vomit and diarrhea jokes, and like the stars of Bridesmaids, you may be more forgiving than I am. |
tt1478338 | [R] | Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Jon Hamm, Jill Clayburgh, Kali Hawk | USA | Comedy | That sound you hear is me, heaving a sigh over yet another two-hour comedy that's got about an hour of good material spread thin. Some smart, talented people collaborated on the film, including director Paul Feig (who's also a good writer), producer Judd Apatow, and screenwriter and star Kris | ||
| The Beaver | 2010 | Jodie Foster | 91 |
I didn't want to read a word about The Beaver before seeing it, and I'm glad I went in "cold." It's a purposefully odd little film about mental illness and a broken family, made with care and obvious passion by Jodie Foster from a screenplay by Kyle Killen. There entire cast is good, but the centerpiece is a potent performance by Mel Gibson. Some people (myself included) were uncomfortable about Gibson's screen return in 2010's Edge of Darkness, following a series of misadventures and offensive outbursts. While he did a good job, this film offers something altogether different. Instead of having to forget the real Gibson and buy into the character he's playing, The Beaver casts him as a depressed husband and father who goes a bit nuts and tries to redeem himself. What can one say to that? It seems like a perfect fit. I know I shouldn't allow my feelings about a performer in "real life" to affect my view of him or her on film, but that's like a judge telling a jury to ignore damning evidence they've already heard. Gibson has always excelled at playing men on the edge—apparently for good reason—and this part takes that to an extreme, a place he's perfectly willing to go. The story, about a man drowning in depression who finds an unlikely path to redemption through the use of a hand puppet, certainly requires a leap of faith on the part of the audience. I was willing to make that leap, and if the story doesn't stay perfectly on track, I'm forgiving of it because it's so intriguing and provocative. Foster gives a fine performance, as always, in an exceedingly difficult role as Gibson's wife, who wants to forgive him but can't deal with the beaver puppet. Anton Yelchin is also quite good as the couple's older son who fears that he's inherited all his father's worst traits. And Jennifer Lawrence is effective as the high school valedictorian who reaches out to Yelchin for help with her graduation speech. The Beaver doesn't pretend to have easy answers about mental health or dysfunctional families, but it has empathy for all of its characters and, in an age of glibness, that's admirable and welcome. |
tt1321860 | [PG-13] | Mel Gibson, Cherry Jones, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Riley Thomas Stewart, Zachary Booth, Jennifer Lawrence, Kelly Coffield, Michael Rivera | USA | Drama | I didn't want to read a word about The Beaver before seeing it, and I'm glad I went in "cold." It's a purposefully odd little film about mental illness and a broken family, made with care and obvious passion by Jodie Foster from a screenplay by Kyle Killen. There entire cast is good, b | ||
| Thor | 2010 | Kenneth Branagh | 114 |
Thor is a comic-book superhero movie with a split personality. There is weighty drama in the Kingdom of Asgard, while the tone of the film becomes flippant and funny when it lands on Earth. The end result is fairly enjoyable but easily forgettable, because neither aspect of the story completely takes hold. Newcomer Chris Hemsworth is well-showcased as the muscular but impetuous Norse god, who vies with his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) for the approval of their father, King Odin (played with ultimate gravitas by Anthony Hopkins). When Thor is cast out, along with his mighty hammer, and comes to our planet in the present day, he runs smack into a scientific researcher (Natalie Portman) whos been exploring strange phenomena in the night sky over New Mexico. Portman takes her work seriously, but in the context of the movie her character provides romantic interest—in a surprisingly old-fashioned way—as well as comedy relief, although its her colleague, played by Kat Dennings, who gets most of the funny lines. (They both work with fatherly scientist Stellan Skarsgård.) Much has been made of Kenneth Branagh directing Thor, and indeed the scenes in Asgard have a Shakespearean feeling, dealing as they do with power, love and betrayal. I appreciated the fact that Hiddleston underplays his role as the villainous brother, but I never felt an emotional connection to this crucial facet of the story. Thor didnt feel real to me—that is to say, real enough for me to care. When hes earthbound in New Mexico hes something of a joke, and that does nothing to enhance his stature. I was also put off by the utter artificiality of Asgard. Its hard to imbue a set of characters with credibility when theyre play-acting on such clearly computer-enhanced sets. 3-D added nothing to the experience, Im sorry to say. On the plus side, Portman is lively and fun to watch, and the other supporting players do yeoman service, even Clark Gregg as a government goon much like the character he portrayed in Transformers 2. So on one hand, the comedic moments in Thor (apparently layered onto the script by longtime Simpsons writer Don Payne) liven it up and add to its entertainment value; on the other hand, they undermine the serious story of a disgraced prince who seeks justice, redemption and forgiveness. Thor isnt bad, but its not as good as it ought to be, given all the talent (and money) involved. |
tt0800369 | [PG-13] | Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo | USA | Action, Adventure | Thor is a comic-book superhero movie with a split personality. There is weighty drama in the Kingdom of Asgard, while the tone of the film becomes flippant and funny when it lands on Earth. The end result is fairly enjoyable but easily forgettable, because neither aspect of the story completel | ||
| Exporting Raymond | 2010 | Philip Rosenthal | 86 |
One might not think one could derive a worthwhile feature-length documentary from writer-producer Phil Rosenthal's experiences trying to recreate his hit TV series Everybody Loves Raymond in Russia but one would be wrong. This highly entertaining film not only explores clashing cultures but provides disarming insights into the art of collaboration and the very nature of comedy. Everybody Loves Raymond has been successful because it mines abundant comedy material out of recognizable situations within the family dynamic. At the outset of this documentary, Rosenthal visits his parents in Westchester county, New York, to give us a glimpse of the people who helped shape his sense of humor (as a survival tool, one gathers). When he arrives in Russia, where Sony executives have paved the way for a Soviet Raymond to be produced, he quickly realizes that he's on a steep learning curve. First and foremost, he finds that his new collaborators believe reality-based comedy is too dull to appeal to the Russian people. It wouldn't be fair to give much more away. Suffice it to say that some aspects of our cultures, including the creation of television shows, are remarkably similar while others couldn't be more different. Rosenthal took two camera crews along so he could preserve the spontaneity of his experiences. Other hilarious moments are built up through clever (but not deceptive) editing and use of music. Aside from being very funny, Exporting Raymond has an important lesson to impart about personal diplomacy. Rosenthal looks as if he could crack at any number of moments during his Russian sojourn, but he holds himself together and never resorts to overt anger or name-calling. He just wants his show to be good—and funny. His new film about the experience certainly is. |
tt1356763 | [PG] | Philip Rosenthal, Max Rosenthal, Helen Rosenthal, Aleksandr Zhigalkin, Eldar Djafarov Arif-Ogli, Elena Stodubtseva, Marina Naumova, Artem Logilov, Sasha Tsyrlin, Jeff Lerner | USA | Documentary, Comedy | One might not think one could derive a worthwhile feature-length documentary from writer-producer Phil Rosenthal's experiences trying to recreate his hit TV series Everybody Loves Raymond in Russia but one would be wrong. This highly entertaining film not only explores clashing culture | ||
| Prom | 2010 | Joe Nussbaum | 103 |
Here's a rare bird: a film made for "tweens" that actually takes young people and their emotions seriously, instead of playing them for cheap laughs. What's more, Prom won't make parents cringe by exposing their children to characters who flaunt inappropriate behavior—or wardrobe. Screenwriter Katie Wech gathered stories from friends about their experiences leading up to that prized senior-year ritual, the prom. Her movie reflects that grounding in reality, as it surveys a broad spectrum of characters, including a Little Miss Perfect who's taken responsibility for planning every detail of the dance, but doesn't have a date yet herself...a star jock who takes it for granted that he and his girlfriend will be crowned King and Queen, even though he's been cheating on her...a gawky boy who's always been too shy to ask a girl out, let alone pursue one to go to the prom...a guy who abandons his best friend when he goes ga-ga for a beautiful girl who shows some interest in him...and a rebellious senior who thinks everything about prom is silly and beneath him, until he's forced to work on decorations as a kind of detention chore. Under Joe Nussbaum's direction, the tone of the movie is one of sweet sincerity: these are real kids, not glammed-up Disney Channel mini-divas or broad comic stereotypes. I suspect almost everyone in the audience (regardless of age) will recognize him or herself in at least one of the characters onscreen. Even the parents are played sympathetically! Are some characters and situations simplified or idealized a bit? Of course; this is a PG-rated Disney movie, after all. But even within that arena I think Prom deserves credit for refusing to trivialize the feelings of high school kids, including issues of self-confidence, peer pressure, and the first flush of sexual attraction. The young actors, some of whom may be familiar to television viewers, are well-chosen and the look of the movie is as believable as the people in the foreground. Well done! |
tt1604171 | [PG] | Aimee Teegarden, Thomas McDonell, DeVaughn Nixon, Danielle Campbell, Yin Chang, Jared Kusnitz, Nolan Sotillo, Cameron Monaghan, Kylie Bunbury | USA | Romance, Comedy | Here's a rare bird: a film made for "tweens" that actually takes young people and their emotions seriously, instead of playing them for cheap laughs. What's more, Prom won't make parents cringe by exposing their children to characters who flaunt inappropriate behavior—or wardrobe | ||
| Meek's Cutoff | 2010 | Kelly Reichardt | 104 |
Identifying filmmaker Kelly Reichardt as a minimalist is like calling the Pacific a body of water. Her spare, barely-there films have steadily built a following in recent years, culminating in critical plaudits for Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy. Her latest film is the first to boast a cast of well-known actors, led by Michelle Williams (who starred in Wendy and Lucy), Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, and Shirley Henderson, but there has been no softening of Reichardt's approach. Meek's Cutoff proceeds at a deliberately slow pace, which could send some viewers weaned on comic-book movies running up the aisles screaming. Even I had a difficult time immersing myself in the picture; I may have been distracted on the night I saw it, and this is a film that demands complete concentration. But after a point I had to marvel at what Reichardt had achieved: a vivid and immediate portrait of three pioneer families making their way across a harsh expanse of Oregon territory in 1845. When water becomes scarce and the women silently walk behind their wagons, to lighten the load for their oxen, while the menfolk make decisions about which route to follow, you sense that this is really the way it was. Indeed, reading background stories about the production is as fascinating as the film itself. The actors participated in a week-long "pioneer camp" to transform themselves from 21st century performers into 19th century settlers of the uncharted West. In the film's press notes, production designer David Doernberg says, "At Pioneer Camp all the actors learned to lead oxen. The animal wranglers, a group of genuine badass cowboys, taught them the proper terminology: 'Haw' (turn left), 'Gee' (turn right) as they prodded them with sticks with the wagons bobbing along behind. They did all of this wearing their long dresses and wool pants in heat that was over one hundred degrees We set up a collection of tools, blankets, pots, and pans, sacks of beans and all of the things the emigrants might need. Each couple 'shopped' in our warehouse and learned how to pack their wagon. Kelly wanted each couple to have a distinct feel to their wagon and campsite." The performances reflect the film's integrity; the actors work as an ensemble and there are no Hollywood moments. I don't think any movie has ever made an audience feel so connected to everyday life, and the stark realities of survival, on the trail before. That said, Meek's Cutoff may not qualify as great drama, at least not in a conventional sense. Reichardt and screenwriter Jonathan Raymond's approach to storytelling is elliptical, to put it mildly. But even if the film is difficult to warm to, or fully embrace, when it's over you feel as if you've had a deep and resonant experience. How many conventional movies can say the same? |
tt1518812 | [PG] | Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Zoe Kazan, Tommy Nelson, Will Patton, Rod Rondeaux, Michelle Williams | USA | Identifying filmmaker Kelly Reichardt as a minimalist is like calling the Pacific a body of water. Her spare, barely-there films have steadily built a following in recent years, culminating in critical plaudits for Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy. Her latest film is the first to boast | |||
| Cave Of Forgotten Dreams | 2010 | Werner Herzog | 90 |
Calling Werner Herzog's latest film a documentary is both a misstatement and an understatement. Like Grizzly Man and Conversations at the End of the World, it filters its raw material through the prism of Herzog's unique worldview, and the experience is heightened (as always) by narration in the filmmaker's distinctive voice, which seems to give even casual statements a feeling of substance. The subject matter is inherently intriguing: an exploration of the Chauvet Cave, which was sealed off from the world until its discovery in 1994, when it was found to contain the world's first examples of cave paintings, perfectly preserved. These priceless expressions of early man—which may be as much as 35,000 years old—are kept off-limits, in order to maintain them in a pristine state, but once a year, the French government allows a small crew of archeologists to enter the hallowed space. Herzog was permitted to accompany them in order to make this often-hypnotic film—in 3-D. Herzog augments the cave material with interviews, talking to articulate experts about how prehistoric man survived, and what the drawings and paintings represent. In a number of cases he tries to "lead the witness" by imposing his views on their answers but they usually resist his interpretations. That's fine; as an artist with a vivid imagination, he can't be expected to remain in the realm of the concrete. As for the 3-D, this is the best argument for the process I've seen in a long time. Cave of Forgotten Dreams is like a scenic Viewmaster slide come to life; it's incredibly sharp and vivid (at least, it was in the Expand system at the screening I attended). This is a credit to director of photography Peter Zeitlinger, who painstakingly designed special camera rigs to shoot inside the caves without leaving the walkways to which his crew was restricted. But even in the open air, he and Herzog seem to enjoy the possibilities of 3-D: when Herzog interviews a historical expert about early man's hunting implements, the agreeable fellow holds various spears at an angle that thrusts them out into the audience as effectively as the paddle-ball man did in House of Wax decades ago. The very title Cave of Forgotten Dreams indicates Herzog's point of view: these are not mere remnants of an early civilization. Whether or not you share his imaginings, his film is certain to interest and entertain you, and give you a 3-D experience that's well worth the price of admission. |
tt1664894 | Unrated | Werner Herzog, Dominique Baffier, Jean Clottes, Jean-Michel Geneste, Carole Fritz, Gilles Tosello, Michel Philippe, Julien Monney, Charles Fathy | Canada, USA | Documentary | Calling Werner Herzog's latest film a documentary is both a misstatement and an understatement. Like Grizzly Man and Conversations at the End of the World, it filters its raw material through the prism of Herzog's unique worldview, and the experience is heightened (as always) by | ||
| Incendies | 2010 | Denis Villeneuve | 130 |
My dictionary offers several definitions for the word "incendiary," including "inflammatory" and "tending to arouse strife." Both of those meanings and their figurative use come into play in the riveting French-Canadian drama Incendies, which was nominated for an Oscar this year as Best Foreign Language film. It has a unique story to tell that deals with such powerful subjects as prejudice, intolerance, extremism, forgiveness, and redemption, stirred in a cauldron fueled by politics and family dynamics. Despite the fact that most of the action takes place in a Middle Eastern country, the film is more personal than political. In adapting Wadji Mouwad's stage play, director Denis Villeneuve decided not to name that country, because he decided it wasn't relevant. The characters' actions and reactions are what matter. It's difficult to discuss Incendies without revealing at least some of the plot, which begins in the present day: a twin brother and sister go to a notary's office to hear the reading of their mother's will. Speaking to them from the grave, as it were, she says she will not rest in peace until they locate their father and brother. Since they never knew they had another sibling, and believed their father to be dead, this comes as quite a shock. Simon wants nothing to do with this, but Jeanne sets off to her ancestral Middle Eastern homeland to learn what she can. This stirs up age-old resentments and puts her in harm's way. Through flashbacks, covering many years' time, we learn the mother's often-heartbreaking story of forbidden love, abandonment, and nearly impossible choices amidst never-ending political turmoil. Jeanne begins to understand what made her mother seem so detached in her later years: what she suffered was almost unimaginable. But only through this journey of discovery can Jeanne and her brother find peace and finally understand what their mother was all about. With chance and coincidence playing key roles in the unfolding story, there is potential for melodrama at every turn, but Villeneuve and his talented actors never cross that line. We often read astonishing stories of human tragedy and triumph in the midst of war; this one is no less credible for being a work of fiction. Incendies is a striking and memorable experience, well worth seeking out in its U.S. theatrical release. |
tt1255953 | [R] | Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha, Baya Belal | France, Canada | Drama | My dictionary offers several definitions for the word "incendiary," including "inflammatory" and "tending to arouse strife." Both of those meanings and their figurative use come into play in the riveting French-Canadian drama Incendies, which was nominated for an Oscar this year as Bes | ||
| Water For Elephants | 2010 | Francis Lawrence | 122 |
When people talk about a book with affection and even passion, the way they have Sara Gruen's best-selling novel Water for Elephants, I always hope (against hope) that a screen adaptation can find some way to replicate those feelings. But let's face it: even good translations of popular books (from The Bridges of Madison County to The Kite Runner) tend to fall short, especially in the eyes of those fervent readers, because films rarely provide the same intensely personal experience that reading a novel does. Water for Elephants isn't bad, not by a longshot. It's intelligent, as you would expect from screenwriter Richard LaGravenese (whose credits include The Fisher King and The Horse Whisperer), beautifully crafted and well-cast, but it lacks emotional depth. Too many times I was told something I should have felt. When it was over, I took nothing away with me, except admiration for an exceptionally gentle, well-trained elephant named Tai who plays the part of Rosie. Robert Pattinson acquits himself quite nicely as the son of Polish immigrants who, in the face of a family tragedy, walks away from final exams at Cornell University, where he's studying to become a veterinarian, and hits the road. It's 1931, and the Depression is taking a bitter toll on America. By sheer chance, the railroad car he hops onto is carrying roustabouts for a traveling circus, and a kind man offers to get him a job the next morning. When Pattison sees the show's beautiful equestrian star (Reese Witherspoon) he is immediately smitten, in spite of warnings that her husband, the struggling circus' autocratic owner (Christoph Waltz), is highly possessive—and cruel. The new vet does his best to fit in, and fight his natural feelings toward the woman he covets. At its best, Water for Elephants evokes both its period and the unique atmosphere of circus life, especially at a time when both its audiences and participants were in desperate need of escape from reality. Jack Fisk's production design, Jacqueline West's costumes, and Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography all contribute to an exceptionally handsome film. It's easy, and inviting, to lose yourself in this world, as I did at first. But as the story is reduced to a series of inevitabilities, the movie weakens. It isn't the fault of the actors, or even director Francis Lawrence, I suspect: it's the peril of having to distill expressive, leisurely writing to a series of story points. Water for Elephants still has much to recommend, including its beautiful production, attractive stars, and romantic outlook (in spite of the harsh realities that intrude). I was swept up in it for quite a while, but a film of this kind ought to leave you with an afterglow. That's what I was wanting, and hoping for, so I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. |
tt1067583 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz, Paul Schneider, Jim Norton, Hal Holbrook, Mark Povinelli, Richard Brake, Stephen Taylor | USA | Romance | When people talk about a book with affection and even passion, the way they have Sara Gruen's best-selling novel Water for Elephants, I always hope (against hope) that a screen adaptation can find some way to replicate those feelings. But let's face it: even good translations of popula | ||
| The Greatest Movie Ever Sold | 2010 | Morgan Spurlock | 90 |
Morgan Spurlock has a gift for creating movies that, like his signature piece SuperSize Me, offer a provocative "hook," entertain an audience, and still manage to address serious subject matter. Like Michael Moore, he plays an integral role in his films, although his everyman persona is more benign than Moore's—and therefore, more deceptive. The bemused smile on his face may fool some people into believing he doesn't have a strong point of view, but he does: like the man from Michigan, Spurlock is a muckraker. All of that serves him—and us—quite well in The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. His goal is to explore the effect of ubiquitous advertising in our lives, and his focal point is the practice of product placement in movies and television shows. By revealing the process, as he goes about trying to recruit corporate "partners" to fund his project, and making that the movie's hook, he manages to put a lighthearted face on a dead-serious issue. Spurlock also allows us to think for ourselves. When he takes us inside a high-level meeting with a potential sponsor he doesn't paint the executives in a negative or positive light: we can decide that on our own. When he inserts actual commercials for participating products, he doesn't comment on them, either. It's up to us to determine if they undermine or underscore his point. To me, the most striking passage in the movie is a visit to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where outdoor advertising has been banned. There are no billboards, no ads on the sides of buildings, nothing on buses or taxis. The mayor refers to such clutter as "visual pollution." (On this point I couldn't agree more, and I live at the epicenter of visual pollution: Los Angeles, where every conceivable open space is up for sale.) Spurlock's philosophy is simple: he believes that if you're laughing, you're receptive to learning. This movie made me laugh out loud. I recommend it wholeheartedly, as entertainment and as food for thought. |
tt1743720 | [PG-13] | Morgan Spurlock, Ben Silverman, Brett Ratner, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Quentin Tarantino, J.J. Abrams, Peter Berg, Antwan Patton | USA | Documentary | Morgan Spurlock has a gift for creating movies that, like his signature piece SuperSize Me, offer a provocative "hook," entertain an audience, and still manage to address serious subject matter. Like Michael Moore, he plays an integral role in his films, although his everyman persona i | ||
| The Princess Of Montpensier | La Princesse De Montpensier | 2010 | Bertrand Tavernier | 139 |
I love movies that transport me to a different time and place. Bertrand Tavernier has said that with this film his goal was to make a tale of 16th century France seem so vivid and immediate that there would be no distance between the viewer and the characters on screen. That's no small feat, but he has accomplished it with style and grace, as you would expect from this humanistic and virtuosic director. From the muddy, bloody opening battle scene—brilliantly shot by cinematographer Bruno de Keyzer—through the exposition of life behind castle walls, where a beautiful girl (the glowing Mélanie Thierry) learns she has no say in her own destiny, everything about this story resonates and rings true. The incredible scene of Thierry's wedding night, which I won't spoil by describing in detail, is unlike anything I've ever seen in a period picture. Passions, both expressed and repressed, run high in this sweeping romantic drama, beautifully scored by Philippe Sarde. This is the second time within a span of months that I have been impressed by Lambert Wilson—first, in the leading role of Of Gods and Men and now in this film, where he plays a warrior who puts down his sword and becomes a tutor and guardian to the unworldly Princess. A commanding actor, he makes the most of a multifaceted role, embodying grace, authority and even vulnerability. There are a few lulls in the telling of the densely-plotted drama, based on a short story by Madame de la Fayette and adapted by Tavernier in collaboration with Jean Cosmos and François-Olivier Rousseau. But we are amply rewarded for our patience with well-drawn characters, spectacular French locations, and a richly entertaining film that manages to be both cerebral and sensual. The Princess of Montpensier will be available on demand from Sundance Selects beginning April 20, but if you have an opportunity to see it on a theater screen, don't miss out. |
tt1599975 | Unrated | Mélanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Gaspard Ulliel, Raphaël Personnaz, Anatole de Bodinat, Eric Rulliat, Samuel Theis, Philippe Magnan | France | Drama | I love movies that transport me to a different time and place. Bertrand Tavernier has said that with this film his goal was to make a tale of 16th century France seem so vivid and immediate that there would be no distance between the viewer and the characters on screen. That's no small feat, | |
| Rio | 2010 | Carlos Saldanha | 96 |
When Blue Sky Studio unveiled its debut feature-film, Ice Age, a decade ago, it became clear that Pixar didn't have a monopoly on clever storytelling or computer imagery. Now, longtime staff director Carlos Saldanha, who was born in Brazil, has returned to his homeland, cinematically speaking, to create a lively, colorful, thoroughly entertaining animated feature. People who applauded Rango merely for being different may find Rio too conventional for their taste, in its plotting and its character design, but if this is comfort food, I'm happy to partake. The sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro inform the film from its opening frame onward, and the natural explosion of color and infectious rhythms make it hard to resist. Perhaps my favorite aspect of Rio is the vocal performance of Jesse Eisenberg, who shows off his comic chops in a way he hasn't had a chance to do yet in a live-action film. He's got the timing and the attitude, and he's great fun to listen to as Blu a macaw who, quite through chance, is whisked away from his homeland as a newborn and raised in frigid Minnesota by a loving human named Linda (a perfectly cast Leslie Mann), who runs a bookstore. Then a Brazilian naturalist turns up and explains that if they don't return Blu to his native turf and mate him with the lone surviving female Blue Macaw, he'll be the last of his species. That's how and where the plot thickens. There's more than a bit of commercial calculation in the multicultural casting of voices (Jamie Foxx, George Lopez) but they all perform with verve, as does the versatile Anne Hathaway as Blu's female counterpart, Jewel. Rio's pace never flags and the movie provides seamless entertainment for the young and the young-at-heart. There were a few dozen young children at the screening I attended and they were spellbound; that's always a good sign. |
tt1436562 | [G] | Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Tracy Morgan, Rodrigo Santoro, George Lopez, Jake T. Austin, Carlos Ponce, Bernardo De Paula, Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, Will i Am | USA | Animation, Adventure | When Blue Sky Studio unveiled its debut feature-film, Ice Age, a decade ago, it became clear that Pixar didn't have a monopoly on clever storytelling or computer imagery. Now, longtime staff director Carlos Saldanha, who was born in Brazil, has returned to his homeland, cinematically sp | ||
| The Conspirator | 2010 | Robert Redford | 123 |
There's nothing more frustrating than wanting a movie to be great and having to admit that it falls short. At one point during The Conspirator I found myself willing it to be more exciting and dynamic, to no avail. It isn't bad, but it never scales the heights of greatness its story promises and demands. If nothing else, it is worth seeing for James McAvoy's persuasive performance as a Union captain who is handed the thankless task of defending a woman (Robin Wright) whose son conspired with John Wilkes Booth. McAvoy's quiet strength and conviction elevate every scene he's in, even when he's sharing the screen with such formidable actors as Kevin Kline and Tom Wilkinson. (What's more, his American accent is flawless.) The screenplay, by James D. Solomon and Gregory Bernstein, reminds us that history always has lessons to impart that have resonance today. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, members of his cabinet were willing to forego basic laws of justice for the "greater good" of the country, which was still suffering the effects of the Civil War. McAvoy plays Frederik Aiken, whose mentor—a distinguished son of the South—insists that he is the only one who can guarantee that Mary Suratt receives a fair trial and isn't condemned without due process. Clearly, it is this conflict that attracted Robert Redford to the project as director, and while his film is well-mounted and well-cast, it lacks urgency and dramatic impact. Robin Wright's character, Mary Suratt, is underwritten, robbing the actress of a chance to present us a multi-dimensional performance. Others in the cast, including Danny Huston, Colm Meaney, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, and Justin Long, do their best, but only McAvoy makes an indelible impression. The Conspirator is the initial release from The American Film Company, which is dedicated to presenting historical subject matter. I don't doubt the founders' good intentions, but I sincerely hope their subsequent movies are more successful than this middling effort. |
tt0968264 | [PG-13] | James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Justin Long, Danny Huston, Norman Reedus, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson | USA | Drama | There's nothing more frustrating than wanting a movie to be great and having to admit that it falls short. At one point during The Conspirator I found myself willing it to be more exciting and dynamic, to no avail. It isn't bad, but it never scales the heights of greatness its s | ||
| Hanna | 2010 | Joe Wright | 111 |
Hanna opens with a bang and sustains both its extraordinary energy and its central enigma for quite a while. If, ultimately, there is a little bit less here than meets the eye, the high-octane action—and a riveting performance by Saoirse Ronan—still make the film worth seeing. Since her breakthrough role in Atonement four years ago (also directed by Joe Wright), this teenager has proven herself to be a world-class talent. She carries much of Hanna on her slender shoulders, bringing the necessary physicality and soulfulness to the story, by Seth Lochhead and David Farr. Hanna has been raised by her father (the always-watchable Eric Bana, here playing a German) in the snowy wilds of Finland, where he has indoctrinated her with fundamental, take-no-prisoners survivalist training. She can kill a deer with a bow and arrow, eviscerate it and prepare it for dinner without batting an eyelash. On the other hand, she has never been exposed to the outside world and her only frame of reference is an aging book of Grimm's Fairy Tales. As she is growing up, Dad decides that it's time for her to leave their cloistered cabin—if she can stay one step ahead of the CIA agents who are going to be on her tail (and her father's), in particular a hard-nosed Langley veteran played, with a broad American accent, by Cate Blanchett. Hanna jolts us out of our familiar world. We share its leading character's emotional and physical odyssey as she runs, leaps, hides, and burrows her way through several countries. Along the way she tries to understand who she is, where she came from, and what her connection is to the dogged Blanchett. Unfortunately, as Hanna comes to a climax its edgy originality diminishes. The physical production, and spare music score by The Chemical Brothers, is impressive from start to finish, but the story wrap-up is somewhat predictable and the movie winds up like a conventional, violent chase-thriller. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it seems a shame the film can't end with the same impact that marks its opening scenes. What doesn't erode in any way is one's admiration for Saoirse Ronan, who can hold her own with Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, or any other talented actor you care to name. If we're rating this strictly as a vehicle for her, Hanna hit's a bull's-eye. |
tt0993842 | [PG-13] | Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng, Jessica Barden, Michelle Dockery, Vicky Krieps | USA | Action, Adventure | Hanna opens with a bang and sustains both its extraordinary energy and its central enigma for quite a while. If, ultimately, there is a little bit less here than meets the eye, the high-octane action—and a riveting performance by Saoirse Ronan—still make the film worth seeing. Sinc | ||
| Arthur | 2010 | Jason Winer | 110 |
How you react to Arthur will largely depend on your expectations. If you've never seen, or heard of, the 1981 movie Arthur you might find the new movie of the same name fairly entertaining. But if you have fond memories of the original, written and directed by Steve Gordon, you'll know the truth: this occasionally amusing film can't compare to the original, which was flat-out hilarious, with plum parts for Dudley Moore, as a childlike billionaire, and John Gielgud, as his long-suffering valet and caretaker. The best part of the new movie is the inspired casting of Russell Brand and Helen Mirren in the leading roles. I also liked Greta Gerwig, who graduated from mumblecore movies to a breakout role in Greenberg, as the sprite who captures Arthur's heart and makes him unwilling to marry his mother's business protégé. Jennifer Garner tackles this unsympathetic and generally thankless part. The new script, by Peter Baynham, has its fair share of funny lines and winning moments, but it starts out on the wrong foot by having Arthur and his chauffeur (Luis Guzmán) driving the Batmobile through the streets of Manhattan. Such an outlandish (and unexplained) scene makes it difficult to believe that the story has any basis in reality, and hampers the film—and our ability to find something relatable in it—for quite a while, until the comedy finds its rhythm and we come to like its three main characters. One more debit cannot go unnoticed, however: Arthur is an exceptionally unattractive movie. It doesn't flatter any of its actors and, like far too many recent releases, makes indiscriminate use of closeups. Perhaps the choice of cinematographer Uta Briesewitz, whose credits include the gritty cable series The Wire, was unwise for a romantic comedy that's meant to play out like a modern-day fairy tale. |
tt1334512 | [PG-13] | Russell Brand, Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren, Nick Nolte, Greta Gerwig, Luis Guzmán, Geraldine James, Leslie Hendrix, Anna Kuchma | USA | Comedy | How you react to Arthur will largely depend on your expectations. If you've never seen, or heard of, the 1981 movie Arthur you might find the new movie of the same name fairly entertaining. But if you have fond memories of the original, written and directed by Steve Gordon, you'll know | ||
| Your Highness | 2010 | David Gordon Green | 102 |
In theory, I suppose it would be funny—and incongruous—if in the middle of a serious costume drama a noble action hero uttered a four-letter word. Hearing Danny McBride do just that, repeatedly, in Your Highness not only isn't funny but grows wearisome as the film plods along, seemingly unaware that it's played all of its cards. McBride has become a familiar face in recent years, contributing amusing moments to such comedies as Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. But the appeal of the movie he starred in and created with writing partner Jody Hill, The Foot Fist Way, eluded me completely, and I thought Hill's debut feature, Observe and Report, was ghastly. (I haven't seen McBride's HBO series, Eastbound & Down, so I can't comment on that.) Still, nothing could have prepared me for the unspeakable mess that is Your Highness, written by McBride and Ben Best. I saw it with an audience of several hundred people, only a few of whom found occasion to laugh now and then. Even they couldn't muster a chuckle for many of the film's most puerile and repetitive jokes. McBride joins an ever-growing roster of childlike men who are putting their most juvenile goof-off ideas on the big screen. Apparently, he and director David Gordon Green cooked up this idea as a lark when they were in film school. In the ranks of movie parody, Mel Brooks and even Jim Abrahams have nothing to fear from these newcomers. The people who cut the trailer have a much better sense of comedy timing than the actual filmmakers, who allow so many of their gags to land with a thud. I feel sorry for people who will be suckered into paying to Your Highness based on that preview. As for moviemaking craft, there is almost none in evidence. McBride's introductory scene is built around a sight-gag that falls completely flat. Later action and chase scenes are shot, staged, and edited so poorly that you can't really see what's going on! You can certainly hear the bombastic music score, however: it's very, very loud. James Franco plays the hero and gives it his best shot, never winking at the audience. Zooey Deschanel is his virginal fiancée, who is kidnaped by an evil wizard. As Franco and McBride take off on their quest to save her, they encounter a fearless female warrior, played completely straight by Natalie Portman. (Note to voyeurs: if you're going to see the movie just to ogle Portman in a thong bikini, you've already seen all you're going to see in the trailers and TV spots.) Perhaps alcohol would make this film seem funnier. I saw it sober and found it almost unendurable. |
tt1240982 | [R] | Danny McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones, Justin Theroux, Charles Dance, Damian Lewis | USA | Comedy, Adventure | In theory, I suppose it would be funny—and incongruous—if in the middle of a serious costume drama a noble action hero uttered a four-letter word. Hearing Danny McBride do just that, repeatedly, in Your Highness not only isn't funny but grows wearisome as the film plo | ||
| In A Better World | Hævnen | 2010 | Susanne Bier | 119 |
In a Better World triumphed against strong competition to win this year's Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. Now that it's opening theatrically in the U.S. you can see why. I became a fan and booster of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier when I saw her breathtaking Brothers (which is far superior to its Hollywood remake). Her films have a rare feeling of intimacy; there is no distance between us and the characters on screen. We almost feel as if we're experiencing the story in their shoes. Bier and her screenwriting partner Anders Thomas Jensen create tapestries with multiple story threads, and In A Better World is no exception. It may take a while to see where the film is headed, but it takes no time at all to become deeply involved. The picture opens at a medical clinic in Africa, where Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) performs life-saving surgery, heals the sick, and tries to steer clear of local politics. When he returns home to Denmark, he is less successful dealing with his resentful wife, from whom he is separated, and his older son, who is repeatedly bullied at school. The son makes a new friend who has just moved to Denmark from London following the death of his mother. This boy has a deep well of anger inside him, which his father (Ulrich Thomsen) cannot overcome. It can only lead to trouble. Who couldn't relate to a boy being pitilessly bullied, or a widowed father who can't seem to get through to his resentful son? How this troubled family intertwines with the doctor and his broken home is the crux of In A Better World. Bier's films aren't preachy or pedantic, but she and Jensen are sending a message all the same about our uncivil world, and the potential for chaos that churns just underneath the surface of everyday life. As always, her actors don't seem to be acting at all. They achieve a level of naturalism that other filmmakers can only aspire to. (At the same time, she has pulled back a bit from the starkness of the Dogma school, to which she subscribed early on.) In A Better World is the kind of film that leaves you with food for thought... and the sincere hope that Susanne Bier will continue making provocative, adult movies for many years to come. |
tt1340107 | [R] | Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Jøhnk Nielsen, Bodil Jørgensen, Elsebeth Steentoft, Anette Støvelbæk, Kim Bodnia, Martin Buch | Denmark | Drama, Thriller | In a Better World triumphed against strong competition to win this year's Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. Now that it's opening theatrically in the U.S. you can see why. I became a fan and booster of Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier when I saw her breathtaking Brothers (which | |
| Source Code | 2010 | Duncan Jones | 93 |
Source Code is perfectly agreeable entertainment, so long as you don't ask too much of it. It has an intriguing science-fiction premise that hints at deeper issues but, in truth, the movie doesn't want to disturb us or make us think too much. Duncan Jones didn't write the screenplay—which is credited to Ben Ripley—but it bears a passing resemblance to his debut feature Moon, in that its protagonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) spends much of the film communicating with an authority figure (Vera Farmiga) over a telecommunication system. As part of an experimental military program he is transported, over and over again, to a Chicago commuter train that's about to be firebombed. That's where he meets Michelle Monaghan and comes to care about her. All of the leading actors acquit themselves well, including Jeffrey Wright as the brains behind the daring experiment in what he calls "time reassignment," rather than time travel. The fact that Ripley's screenplay gives its secondary characters some substance is refreshing. Given that Source Code deals with domestic terrorism, and life-and-death issues, I wish I had felt more invested in its outcome. I also wish the filmmakers had stuck with their first ending, instead of the two others that follow it in rapid succession. They should have had more faith in their audience. |
tt0945513 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden, Cas Anvar, Russell Peters, Brent Skagford, Craig Thomas | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | Source Code is perfectly agreeable entertainment, so long as you don't ask too much of it. It has an intriguing science-fiction premise that hints at deeper issues but, in truth, the movie doesn't want to disturb us or make us think too much.Duncan Jones didn't write the screenplay | ||
| Sucker Punch | 2010 | Zack Snyder | 109 |
Director Zach Snyder recreated the look and feel of ancient Thermopylae, as pictured by visionary artist/writer Frank Miller, in 300 without ever leaving a soundstage, using the palette of CGI. Then he brought the stylized world of Watchmen to life on screen. Now he has directed and co-written a film that takes place in yet another artificial environmentbut these characters are as synthetic as their colorful backdrop. I'll resist all the puns the title invites and simply say that Sucker Punch is one strange movie. The central character (Emily Browning, yet another attractive young Aussie playing American) has been wrongly committed to an insane asylum—a highly corrupt one, at that. Stifled at every turn, she bonds with four other youthful inmates (including her sister Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jamie Chung) and plans to break out. In the meantime, she finds release by escaping into her imagination, where she pictures her and her gal pals kicking butt in a series of high-powered action sequences. These segments are designed and staged like video games. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that—after all, the whole movie is ersatz, from the settings to the outsized performances by a variety of bad guys—but because they are so unreal they offer no catharsis for the viewer. (There's nothing duller, or more uninvolving, than watching someone else play a video game.) Snyder, who wrote the outlandish screenplay with Steve Shibuya, sees everything in broad, comic-book terms, whether it be villainy or heroism, and this has its limits. He is careful not to exploit his female stars, or push the limits of a PG-13 rating, so the sexuality is deliberately tame, while the violence is staged in cartoonish fashion. Throughout this sensory assault I kept asking myself the same question: what's the point? And that's the problem: I'm not sure there is one. Sucker Punch seems to offer a wish-fulfillment brand of empowerment to abused or troubled adolescent girls. Not being one, I can't judge its effectiveness. I can only tell you that I derived nothing from the picture... except when my eye was drawn to a collage of old, tattered Warner Bros. movie posters on the wall of the girls' dressing room. That I was so easily distracted from the drama in the foreground says it all. |
tt0978764 | [PG-13] | Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn | USA | Action, Thriller | Director Zach Snyder recreated the look and feel of ancient Thermopylae, as pictured by visionary artist/writer Frank Miller, in 300 without ever leaving a soundstage, using the palette of CGI. Then he brought the stylized world of Watchmen to life on screen. Now he has directe | ||
| The Lincoln Lawyer | 2010 | Brad Furman | 119 |
The Lincoln Lawyer is a well-crafted, well-cast adaptation of Michael Connelly's best-selling novel, shot on interesting Los Angeles locations. It's a crime thriller with whodunit overtones, and there are twists right to the very end. So why isn't it better? One problem may be its two-hour length. Admittedly, adapting any novel—especially one as carefully constructed as Connelly's, with so many characters to portray—is a challenge, and can't be dealt with as one would an episode of CSI. But after nabbing our attention with its introduction of those characters and setting up the central story points, the movie loses momentum. I was actually conscious of my attention flagging, which bothered me because I was rooting for this movie. Matthew McConaughey does a fine job as Mick Haller, who operates out of a Lincoln Continental—and I do mean "operates." He's one slick attorney who knows all the angles and isn't afraid to play them, whether it's bribing a bailiff to get his client higher on the morning roster or cajoling information out of his ex-wife (Marisa Tomei), who works in the d.a.'s office. He's accustomed to dealing with low-lifes, and the fact that he helps some of them go free doesn't win him any fans in the L.A.P.D. So when he's summoned to represent a wealthy young man (Ryan Phillippe) who's accused of brutally beating a prostitute, he takes full advantage of the situation, until it turns on him. It's a pleasure to watch a film that makes such good use of the city and fills its cast with such solid actors as John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Josh Lucas, Bryan Cranston, William H. Macy, and Shea Whigham. I'm still not entirely sure how a film that makes all the right moves can manage to come up short, but I have to rate it as a near-miss. Perhaps there's a reason so many producers have optioned, then abandoned, Connelly projects before: what works so well in book form doesn't necessarily translate to the big screen. |
tt1189340 | [R] | Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bob Gunton, Frances Fisher, Bryan Cranston | USA | Drama | The Lincoln Lawyer is a well-crafted, well-cast adaptation of Michael Connelly's best-selling novel, shot on interesting Los Angeles locations. It's a crime thriller with whodunit overtones, and there are twists right to the very end. So why isn't it better?One problem may be its two- | ||
| Win Win | 2010 | Thomas McCarthy | 106 |
Tom McCarthy made an impressive filmmaking debut eight years ago as the writer and director of the indie hit The Station Agent, which introduced us to Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale. He followed it with The Visitor, which earned Richard Jenkins an Oscar nomination. Being an actor himself, he writes great parts for performers he admires, and he's hit the bull's-eye once again with Win Win, which stars Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan. Giamatti can play "big" characters or he can be an everyman: here he's completely convincing as a small-town lawyer who's having a tough time making ends meet. He tries to shield his desperation from his wife (Ryan), and their two kids, and works out his anxieties by running with his pal Bobby Cannavale and coaching the local high school wrestling team, along with a colleague played by Jeffrey Tambor. One day, while handling a court proceeding for a local man who's in the first stages of dementia, he seizes on an opportunity to help himself out. It isn't illegal, but it isn't quite kosher, either, and that's what sets the story in motion. It involves Giamatti and his family in the lives of the man's grandson, a troubled teenage boy—and puts his ethics on the line. Win Win isn't a morality play; it's just a really good story. But it does deal with an issue that couldn't be more relevant: Where do we draw the line when it comes to survival if it means clouding our sense of right and wrong? It's this burning issue, presented in everyday terms, that enables us to invest emotionally in Win Win, with the help of a fine acting ensemble, which also includes Melanie Lynskey, Burt Young, Margo Martindale, and newcomer Alex Shaffer. I found it enormously satisfying; in fact, I think it's the best film of the new year, and I hope it has the same kind of success Tom McCarthy's other films have enjoyed. |
tt1606392 | [R] | Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, Melanie Lynskey, Alex Shaffer, Margo Martindale, David W. Thompson | USA | Comedy | Tom McCarthy made an impressive filmmaking debut eight years ago as the writer and director of the indie hit The Station Agent, which introduced us to Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale. He followed it with The Visitor, which earned Richard Jenkins an Oscar nomination. Being an | ||
| Battle Los Angeles | 2010 | Jonathan Liebesman | 116 |
One doesn't approach a movie like this expecting Shakespearean drama. Unlike some films with loftier ambitions, Battle Los Angeles pretty much delivers what it promises: action, suspense, destruction, and the tried-and-true disaster-movie trope of people summoning the courage to pull together at a time of crisis. What sets this film apart is that it isn't propelled by an earthquake or a tidal wave: in fact, it's a mash-up of a disaster movie and an alien invasion yarn, cast in the mold of a war movie. What seems at first like a series of meteor showers turns out to be a full-scale invasion—and the metallic creatures who are landing in frightening numbers on our shores make it abundantly clear that they plan to wipe humankind off the face of the earth. Aaron Eckhart is this movie's rock of Gibraltar, playing a career Marine who's just decided it's time to retire when all units based at Camp Pendleton in Southern California are called up to help evacuate civilians from Los Angeles, which is under siege. (In fact, the film is practically a recruiting poster for the U.S. Marine Corps.) Eckhart's staff sergeant is subordinate to a by-the-book young lieutenant who's had no combat duty, but it's soon evident that this squadron needs a man of experience and courage to deal with the bedlam that surrounds them in the ocean-side city of Santa Monica. Screenwriter Christopher Bertolini weaves personal stories involving individual Marines, as well as the innocent civilians, into his full-throttle narrative, and while some of the dialogue is unabashedly cheesy, it works in this context. Director Jonathan Liebesman keeps things lively from start to finish, capturing the chaotic atmosphere, keeping the aliens threatening at every turn, and never losing sight of the central story or its most important characters. I don't mean to damn Battle Los Angeles with faint praise, but for this kind of genre piece it's not bad. It all has to do with your expectations. |
tt1217613 | [PG-13] | Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Taylor Handley, Cory Hardrict, Bridget Moynahan, Lucas Till, Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Jim Parrack, Ne-Yo | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | One doesn't approach a movie like this expecting Shakespearean drama. Unlike some films with loftier ambitions, Battle Los Angeles pretty much delivers what it promises: action, suspense, destruction, and the tried-and-true disaster-movie trope of people summoning the courage to pull t | ||
| Red Riding Hood | 2010 | Catherine Hardwicke | 100 |
Have you spent years wondering what the whole story was behind the fable of Little Red Riding Hood? Have you had questions about the motivations of the wolf, or suspicions about Grandma? Have you pondered the sexual connotations of this age-old fairy tale? Me neither. Just the same, someone has made a movie about all of that. I'm afraid Red Riding Hood is just one of numerous fairy-tale films we're in for over the next year or so. I hope at least a few of them are better than this turkey. Amanda Seyfried plays the title character, who lives in a village at the edge of a deep, dark forest. The villagers live in constant fear of a wolf who claims a sacrificial victim—usually an animal—whenever the moon rises. But when the wolf kills Riding Hood's sister, someone summons Father Solomon (played by Gary Oldman), who takes charge and conducts a witch-hunt that's almost as vicious as the wolf attacks. Oldman is such a fine actor that I hate to see him wasting his time on an overstated role in such a piece of tripe. (The perils of witch-hunting are driven home with all the subtlety of a pick-axe.) It's Oldman who intuits that the village isn't dealing with a mere animal but a werewolf who is so crafty, he may be living among them undetected. Riding Hood now has cause to suspect everyone around her—including her boyfriend, Shiloh Fernandez, her betrothed, Max Irons (Jeremy's son), and even her grandma, Julie Christie. David Leslie Johnson's script and Catherine Hardwicke's direction are lumbering from the word go. If the producers were hoping for some Twilight type of sizzle from Hardwicke and the two young men who vie for Seyfried's affections, I'd say they came up empty-handed. This is pretty dreary stuff. |
tt1486185 | [PG-13] | Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Shiloh Fernandez, Billy Burke, Lukas Haas, Michael Shanks, Julie Christie, Virginia Madsen, Michael Hogan | USA | Fantasy, Adventure | Have you spent years wondering what the whole story was behind the fable of Little Red Riding Hood? Have you had questions about the motivations of the wolf, or suspicions about Grandma? Have you pondered the sexual connotations of this age-old fairy tale?Me neither.Just the | ||
| Jane Eyre | 2010 | Cary Fukunaga | 115 |
Can a film be true to a classic literary source and still seem fresh? The answer is yes, and the proof is the new adaptation of Jane Eyre. Mia Wasikowska, who made such a strong impression in last year's Alice in Wonderland and The Kids Are All Right, cements her reputation as one of the brightest young talents on the scene with an effective yet understated performance as Jane. She isn't one for histrionics, yet we understand her subtle shifts of emotion at every turn; that's screen acting at its finest. Michael Fassbender's reputation is also growing, film by film, from such indie productions as Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank to Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. He is ideally suited to play the mercurial, tortured, yet magnetic Mr. Rochester, who has a strange way of showing interest in (and affection for) his young governess. Jamie Bell and Judi Dench round out the principal cast, with Dench bringing just the right touch of dithery authority—and humor—to the role of housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax, who welcomes Jane to Thornfield Hall and glides over her employer's many eccentricities. Screenwriter Moira Buffini, who wrote last year's Tamara Drewe, has dared to shuffle the order of events in Charlotte Brontë's novel, enabling us to meet Jane first as a young woman and then flash back to her harrowing childhood. This works quite well without shortchanging the story or minimizing the significance of either period in the heroine's troubled life. Following his impressive feature debut, Sin Nombre, director Cary Fukunaga has brought his keen eye and humanistic sensibilities to this oft-told story. In his second collaboration with cinematographer Adriano Goldman, Fukunaga has used admirable restraint in evoking the dramatic setting and time period of the Brontë classic. The locations have been chosen with great care; the costumes and settings are beautiful but they never overwhelm the characters, or the audience. I suspect that no screen adaptation could ever completely satisfy Brontë purists, but this beautifully wrought film may do the next best thing: it just might inspire people to seek out the novel. |
tt1229822 | [PG-13] | Michael Fassbender, Mia Wasikowska, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Merchant, Holliday Grainger, Freya Wilson, Sophie Ward, Simon McBurney | UK | Drama | Can a film be true to a classic literary source and still seem fresh? The answer is yes, and the proof is the new adaptation of Jane Eyre.Mia Wasikowska, who made such a strong impression in last year's Alice in Wonderland and The Kids Are All Right, cements her re | ||
| Mars Needs Moms | 2010 | Simon Wells | 88 |
Talk all you want about technique: a good animated film depends on story and character, and it's those vital ingredients that make Mars Needs Moms so entertaining. It's also a pleasure to see a movie meant for kids that's clever but not cynical or smart-alecky. I'm still not sold on producer Robert Zemeckis' performance-capture technology, but I am sold on this movie. It deserves to be a hit, and I hope it is. The hero is a typical young boy named Milo who hates doing chores around the house, and rebels at his mother's attempts at discipline while his father is out of town. Then a spaceship from Mars abducts his mother! Milo manages to hang onto the tip of the spacecraft and make the journey with her. It seems that the red planet has evolved to the point where Nanny-bots care for its young female hatchlings, but they need brain input from true-blue earth-moms like Milo's. The adventure continues from there. Mars Needs Moms is brimming with imagination and humor. Its leading characters brought to life by Joan Cusack, Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elizabeth Harnois, and Mindy Sterling. Over the closing credits we get to see them acting out their parts for the motion-capture cameras; this enables us to see first-hand just how much each actor actually "performs" for this ostensibly animated feature. Why one has to go to all this trouble when talented artists have created memorable performances for animated characters over the decades without such help remains a mystery to me. It's especially odd in this case since several characters closely resemble their human models. Isn't the point of a cartoon to exaggerate and caricature, instead of trying to imitate real-life? Director Simon Wells, an animation veteran (An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, The Prince of Egypt) who's dabbled in live-action (the 2002 remake of The Time Machine) collaborated with his wife Wendy on the screenplay, expanded from a children's book by Berkeley Breathed, creator of the comic strips Bloom County and Opus. As with a good live-action movie, it all begins with the script, and this one is solid—well thought-out, briskly paced, funny and sweet. In the end, it's the finished film that matters, not the process. However they got there, Wells and his team have made a delightful movie every member of the family can enjoy. |
tt1305591 | [PG] | Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Joan Cusack, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon, Tom Everett Scott, Jacquie Barnbrook | USA | Animation | Talk all you want about technique: a good animated film depends on story and character, and it's those vital ingredients that make Mars Needs Moms so entertaining. It's also a pleasure to see a movie meant for kids that's clever but not cynical or smart-alecky. I'm still not sold on pr | ||
| The Adjustment Bureau | 2010 | George Nolfi | 105 |
I'm a sucker for movies about fate, destiny, and heavenly intervention—going all the way back to On Borrowed Time and Here Comes Mr. Jordan up through Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais—so I was more than willing to accept the premise of The Adjustment Bureau, based on Philip K. Dick's short story. In this case, the buttoned-down business types played by Anthony Mackie and John Slattery are here on earth to make sure things go "according to plan." So when hotshot politician Matt Damon chances to meet Emily Blunt and falls in love at first sight, they're forced to step in. This wasn't supposed to happen, and they have to set things straight. That such an outlandish idea works against a realistic backdrop—the world of politics and business in New York City, peopled by an impressive number of real-life personalities and pundits—is a credit to director George Nolfi (who also wrote the screenplay) and his stars. Damon and Blunt are both likable and believable; they give us rooting interest, and that's essential in a highly fanciful story. Nolfi and his colleagues make especially good use of New York, filming everywhere from the Brooklyn waterfront to the lobby of the Museum of Modern Art. It's a fresh look at a familiar city. But Nolfi drops the ball in the home stretch, and that's a shame. I can't pinpoint the exact moment I stopped believing the story, but by the climax—and certainly by the underwhelming finale—I was no longer engaged. Damon and Blunt play it for all it's worth, and Mackie, who has a commanding presence, does his best to keep a straight face during the elaborate and increasingly outlandish buildup to the final scene, but it's all for naught. I would still recommend the film to incurable romantics, or fans of the leading actors. The Adjustment Bureau is a stylish, well-crafted film; I just wish it had the dramatic impact it aspires to convey. |
tt1385826 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, Terence Stamp, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Anthony Ruivivar, Christine Lucas, Julie Hays | USA | Thriller | I'm a sucker for movies about fate, destiny, and heavenly intervention—going all the way back to On Borrowed Time and Here Comes Mr. Jordan up through Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais—so I was more than willing to accept the premise of The Adjustment Bureau | ||
| Of Gods And Men | Des Hommes Et Des Dieux | 2010 | Xavier Beauvois | 122 |
One of the best films I've seen this year is also one of the most unusual I've encountered in a long, long time. While it's inspired by a true story, it deals with something far less tangible than facts. It's about faith. Of Gods and Men won the Grand Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and some people thought it would be an Oscar nominee as well. Don't allow that oversight to deter you from seeking it out. Lambert Wilson plays the elected leader of a group of Trappist monks who live in a rural village in war-torn Algeria during the 1990s. Their life is one of prayer, work, tending their vegetable garden and honeycombs, and service: they help the local Muslim people with their problems and paperwork. Their resident physician, played by that wonderful actor, Michael Lonsdale, tends to the sick—although his own health is far from robust. But the monks find themselves threatened both by Islamic terrorists and by the Algerian Army, whose officers reject their neutral attitude. The government wants them to leave—but they have their mission, in both senses of the word. To stay may mean death. But it also means reaffirming their faith. Director Xavier Beauvois (who wrote the screenplay with Etienne Comar) manages to convey his characters' devotion, discipline, and most significantly, their feelings in this deeply moving drama. I wouldn't call myself a religious person, but I was stirred by the emotions expressed in this film—and the wonderful performances of its cast. Filmmaker Beauvois chose great faces, as well as great actors, to bring these characters to life, and they manage to convey an enormous amount with very little dialogue. I daresay you won't soon forget Of Gods and Men. |
tt1588337 | [R] | Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach, Jacques Herlin, Loïc Pichon, Xavier Maly, Jean-Marie Frin, Abdelhafid Metalsi | France | Drama | One of the best films I've seen this year is also one of the most unusual I've encountered in a long, long time. While it's inspired by a true story, it deals with something far less tangible than facts. It's about faith. Of Gods and Men won the Grand Prize at last year's Cannes Film F | |
| Rango | 2010 | Gore Verbinski | 107 |
It would be unfair, and inaccurate, to call Rango a one-joke movie. There may be two or three; I didn't count. The first laugh comes with the appearance of a funny-looking Mariachi bird quartet who open the film and act as a kind of Greek chorus. The central joke—in fact, the film's entire conceit—is the sheer absurdity of its main character, a quirky, delusional pet lizard who sports an Aloha shirt and maintains a never-ending line of chatter. His stream-of-consciousness-style dialogue is filled with puns, non-sequiturs, and off-the-wall references, which are good for a couple of chuckles in the early scenes of Rango. In fact, the film gives every indication of being original and fun, which it is—for a while. After the lizard is separated from his human family and stranded in the desert, he wanders into a desolate town called Dirt and, being a theatrical sort of fellow, improvises a persona for himself as a Western hero. It's the incongruity of Rango in this role that's supposed to propel the rest of the movie. (Incidentally, the creatures of Dirt spout the same kind of random dialogue as Rango; one creature recalls a time when he found "a human spinal column in his fecal matter." Now, that's comedy!) From this point on, there is sufficient story and character development to fill out a 20-minute short. Unfortunately, Rango runs 107 minutes, and as it ambles along you can feel the life draining from it, like air slowly leaking from a helium balloon. Much has been made of the fact that director Gore Verbinski, best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and writer John Logan, whose credits include Gladiator and The Last Samurai, have never worked in animation before. It shows. While master cinematographer Roger Deakins consulted on the staging (as he did on last year's How to Train Your Dragon), to good effect, I wonder if anyone lent a guiding hand to the filmmakers on story development and pacing. As for the look of the characters, the folks at Industrial Light and Magic who designed and animated the picture seem to have gone for realism, making sure we can discern every hair on the furry creatures and every ugly scale on the reptiles and amphibians. Rango actually becomes endearing after a short time, but many of the other characters are just plain gruesome. (Don't ask me about the rattlesnake who turns up toward the end.) Fans of Johnny Depp will enjoy his voice work as the nutty Rango; he is obviously having a good time. Ned Beatty's voice is easily recognizable as the main villain, giving him a one-two punch after working as the nasty Lotso in Toy Story 3. Naturally, he turns in a fine job. The other actors do serviceable work. It would be inappropriate for me to presume too much about motivations behind this film, but it has the air of a vanity project that a high-powered actor and director concocted one day while waiting around on a set. It must have seemed funny at the time; it doesn't now. |
tt1192628 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Stephen Root, Harry Dean Stanton, Timothy Olyphant, Ray Winstone | USA | Animation, Adventure | It would be unfair, and inaccurate, to call Rango a one-joke movie. There may be two or three; I didn't count. The first laugh comes with the appearance of a funny-looking Mariachi bird quartet who open the film and act as a kind of Greek chorus.The central joke—in fact, | ||
| Unknown | 2010 | Jaume Collet-Serra | 113 |
In the French-made, English-language sleeper Taken, Liam Neeson was a former CIA operative who was (outlandishly) able to thwart a sex-trafficking ring. Audiences responded vociferously to his take-charge character. His latest film, Unknown, was also made in Europe—this time, Berlin—by Spanish-born director Jaume Collet-Sera, and it casts the reliable actor in a role that couldn't be more different. In this yarn, he loses control of his life, or to be more specific, his identity. The very Hitchcockian story was taken from a novel by the prolific French author Didier Van Cauwelaert called Out of My Head, adapted by Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell (who is the son of David John Moore Cornwell, better known as spy novelist John le Carré). Neeson plays an American college professor who arrives in Berlin with his wife (January Jones) to attend an international conference on biotechnology. But before he can even check into his hotel, a mishap causes him to take a taxi ride, which ends in a catastrophic accident and robs him of his memory. When he regains his mental equilibrium, no one recognizes himnot even his wife. That's where the plot thickens. Unknown makes all the right moves, and keeps the viewer guessing its secrets at every twist and turn. It features a good supporting cast including Aidan Quinn, Diane Kruger, Bruno Ganz, and Frank Langella. The scenery is fresh (at least, to my American eyes) and there are some terrific chase scenes staged on the streets and rooftops of Berlin. And yet, there's something missing. As curious as I was to watch the story unravel, and learn the answers to its puzzling questions, I never felt emotionally connected. The actors go through their paces, and the director seems to be on top of the story, but I never developed the level of involvement or rooting interest I should have had. (Even in one of Hitchcock's "lesser" films, Saboteur, you care about the fate of innocent Robert Cummings and want to see him vindicated.) As a piece of forgettable escapist entertainment, Unknown isn't bad. But with so many of the right ingredients seemingly in place, I can't help but feel that it should have been better. |
tt1401152 | [PG-13] | Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella, Sebastian Koch, Olivier Schneider, Stipe Erceg | USA | Drama, Thriller | In the French-made, English-language sleeper Taken, Liam Neeson was a former CIA operative who was (outlandishly) able to thwart a sex-trafficking ring. Audiences responded vociferously to his take-charge character. His latest film, Unknown, was also made in Europe—this tim | ||
| Cedar Rapids | 2010 | Miguel Arteta | 86 |
One of the things I admire most about director Miguel Arteta's films (including Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl) is that he shows such compassion for his characters. That's why I was thrown off by Cedar Rapids, at first. The screenplay, by newcomer Phil Johnston, seems to be making fun of its naïve, almost childlike small-town hero, Tim Lippe, a dedicated insurance salesman played by Ed Helms. But as the film goes on the tone subtly changes, and the somewhat buffoon-ish character becomes more genuine and likable, along with the people around him. Helms, who's been an MVP in a number of films and television series, from The Office to The Hangover, shows more colors here than we've seen before in his sincere performance as Wisconsin's Tim Lippe. The story involves Lippe being sent to an insurance agents' convention in Iowa, where he is charged with making a presentation and bringing back an important industry award. Instead, he experiences an accelerated coming-of-age over the course of one party-hearty weekend, as his values—and especially, his integrity—are put to the test. A fine supporting cast is led by Sigourney Weaver, as Helms' lover and former schoolteacher, John C. Reilly, as a bombastic conventioneer, Anne Heche, as a flirtatious colleague, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., as Helms' straight-arrow roommate, Kurtwood Smith, as a sanctimonious industry leader, Stephen Root, as Helms' boss, and Alia Shawkat, as a good-time girl who hangs around the convention hotel picking up tricks. Everyone does good work here, but for Helms this is a breakout role, and he delivers. Cedar Rapids is a modest but disarming comedy that will leave a smile on your face. |
tt1477837 | [R] | Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock/Jr, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Rob Corddry, Sigourney Weaver | USA | Comedy | One of the things I admire most about director Miguel Arteta's films (including Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl) is that he shows such compassion for his characters. That's why I was thrown off by Cedar Rapids, at first. The screenplay, by newcomer Phil Johnston, seems to | ||
| Sanctum | 2010 | Alister Grierson | 109 |
James Cameron is the only box-office name associated with this film, so his name has been promoted more than anyone else's. While he didn't write or direct the picture, he clearly had some input, and the film plays to two of his strengths: underwater photography and 3-D. Alas, it also underscores one of his weaknesses: painting his characters in strokes so broad the result is almost ridiculous at times. Yet, just like Titanic and Avatar, the much smaller-scale Sanctum, filmed in Australia, has great forward momentum. There's never a dull moment, and the action scenes are both convincing and exciting. Ioan Gruffud, sporting an American accent, plays the movie's dumbest and hardiest character, a Yank with lots of money and a king-sized ego to match. He shows up at the site of a massive underground cave expedition in New Guinea with his girlfriend in tow, ready to join fearless, feisty explorer Richard Roxburgh. Also along, only reluctantly, is Roxburgh's young son (Rhys Wakefield), who harbors great resentment toward his macho father. So much for plot and character. As soon as Sanctum goes into the underground caves, and beneath the surface of the water, it draws on the most fundamental aspects of moviemaking to provide a good yarn with plenty of twists and turns, and a great deal of action. Although the movie was inspired by an incident some years ago when writer-producer Andrew Wight was trapped underground, I can't imagine very much else is based on that "true story." It plays too much like a comic book version of reality. Yet I can't deny I was entertained, and never bored. I especially like the use of 3-D, which is shown off at its best in director Alister Grierson's compositions, both on land during the expository scenes and especially underwater. I notice the film is advertising itself as "conceived in 3-D," which is a smart way of conveying to potential moviegoers that this one, unlike some other recent releases, is actually worth paying to see on the big screen. |
tt0881320 | [R] | Richard Roxburgh, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhys Wakefield, Alice Parkinson, Dan Wyllie, Christopher Baker, Nicole Downs, Allison Cratchley, John Garvin | USA | Action, Adventure | James Cameron is the only box-office name associated with this film, so his name has been promoted more than anyone else's. While he didn't write or direct the picture, he clearly had some input, and the film plays to two of his strengths: underwater photography and 3-D. Alas, it also undersc | ||
| Biutiful | 2010 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | 147 |
Can you admire and respect a film without actually liking it? The answer is yes, and Biutiful is a perfect, personal example. I saw it at the Telluride Film Festival last fall, and appreciated director and co-writer Alejandro González Iñárritu's comments before the screening. He explained that he deliberately set out to make a tragedy, and since he relates each of his previous three films (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel) to a musical style he would choose a requiem as the equivalent of this downbeat drama. Javier Bardem is deserving of his Academy Award nomination for his impassioned performance as a man whose life in Barcelona is coming apart at the seams. He struggles to raise his two young children on his own because their mother is bipolar and is in and out of the hospital. He makes a living in various shady ways, including facilitating under-the-table work for illegal Chinese immigrants, who toil in a sweat shop creating bogus designer handbags. Then he learns he has advanced prostate cancer. In fact, things just keep going from bad to worse. The film is a litany of gloom and despair and it is unrelenting. Bardem's character, Uxbal, is not one-dimensional. We see many facets of his hectic life as it veers out of control. He loves his children. He even loves his wife; he just can't live with her or allow her to raise the children in her manic state. A friend of mine found the movie hopeful because the character refuses to surrender to his imminent demise and keeps fighting to make things right...but almost nothing does go right. I understand his interpretation, but I didn't feel it. What I felt was utter despair. Biutiful is quite long, but the length didn't bother me; it was the pervasive air of gloom that pulled me down and wouldn't let go. So I can respect González Iñárritu's intentions, and the skill with which he tells his multi-layered story, but I found the film too oppressive to enjoy on any level. My admiration for Javier Bardem is boundless, but it would be difficult for me to recommend Biutiful to anyone who doesn't have a taste for genuinely challenging drama. |
tt1164999 | [R] | Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Eduard Fernández, Diaryatou Daff, Cheng Tai Shen, Guillermo Estrella, Hanaa Bouchaib, Luo Jin, Cheikh Ndiaye | Mexico, Spain | Drama | Can you admire and respect a film without actually liking it? The answer is yes, and Biutiful is a perfect, personal example. I saw it at the Telluride Film Festival last fall, and appreciated director and co-writer Alejandro González Iñárritu's comments before the screening. He explai | ||
| No Strings Attached | 2010 | Ivan Reitman | 110 |
Given my low expectations for any major-studio release in January, I was pleasantly surprised by No Strings Attached. Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are pleasant to watch, and the supporting cast is peppered with interesting and colorful characters, including Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as one of Kutcher's macho pals, Lake Bell as a socially awkward TV producer who's got eyes for Ashton, and Kevin Kline as his self-absorbed actor father. This being a Hollywood romantic comedy, the outcome of the story—about a man and woman who agree to a sex-only relationship—is obvious from the get-go, so this film is all about the journey, not the destination. That journey is brightened by a lot of attractive people and a surprisingly sassy, sexually forthright screenplay by newcomer Elizabeth Meriwether, from a story she conceived with Mike Samonek. The fact that Portman and the other women (as well as the men) are so vocal about their sexual desires, needs, and preferences is the main reason this otherwise-predictable comedy seems freshly brewed for 2011 audiences. The brewmaster, ironically enough, is not some kid out of film school or a graduate of music videos: it's Ivan Reitman, who directed such comedy hits of decades past as Stripes, Meatballs, Twins, and most notably, Ghostbusters. (He also made Dave, a kinder, gentler comedy that starred Kevin Kline.) To his credit, No Strings Attached flows smoothly and shows no signs of an aging filmmaker striving to be modern. I do wish all these talented people had produced a more original, or memorable, film, but it is January, after all. We shouldn't expect miracles. |
tt1411238 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Cary Elwes, Lake Bell, Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig, Olivia Thirlby, Mindy Kaling, Talia Balsam | USA | Comedy, Romance | Given my low expectations for any major-studio release in January, I was pleasantly surprised by No Strings Attached. Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are pleasant to watch, and the supporting cast is peppered with interesting and colorful characters, including Chris "Ludacris" Bridg | ||
| The Green Hornet | 2010 | Michel Gondry | 119 |
It's difficult to describe The Green Hornet because even it doesn't know what it wants to be. The result is a noisy, overlong attention-deficit jumble of semi-serious story threads undermined by an anarchic sense of humor, with the most pointless (and ineffectual) use of 3-D in recent memory. Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg wanted to have fun with the concept of an action movie, and were handed the old radio and television property The Green Hornet as their vehicle. They've retained the bare bones of the original: a young man named Brit Reid inherits a big-city newspaper from his father and uses it as a vehicle to fight crime, adopting a secret identity. The writers felt, from the start, that both the sidekick Kato and the sleek car called the Black Beauty were much cooler than their hero—an odd twist that suits their irreverent sensibilities. But collaborating with the ingenious and experimental director Michel Gondry has resulted in a movie that goes off in even more directions than they might have envisioned. (I still can't quite figure out what Cameron Diaz is doing in the picture.) I like to make an emotional investment in a movie, even (or perhaps especially) a comic-book-style yarn. Rogen and Goldberg deliberately try to undermine that—except when they periodically decide to inject some plot points. If you can't take the hero seriously, and the villains are painted as recklessly violent buffoons, what's left for an audience to hang onto? The answer, I suppose, is a series of jokes and a lot of high-energy action scenes. But even those ingredients need some context in order to work and there is no reason on earth for this hodgepodge to take up two full hours. |
tt0990407 | [PG-13] | Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, Edward James Olmos, Jamie Harris, Chad Coleman, Edward Furlong | USA | Action, Thriller | It's difficult to describe The Green Hornet because even it doesn't know what it wants to be. The result is a noisy, overlong attention-deficit jumble of semi-serious story threads undermined by an anarchic sense of humor, with the most pointless (and ineffectual) use of 3-D in recent | ||
| Barney's Version | 2010 | Richard J. Lewis | 132 |
Paul Giamatti is one of those actors whose presence in a movie generally validates it, and Barney's Version is no exception. He manages to make a central character with few—if any—admirable traits not only bearable but downright compelling. And if this Barney strays from the way Mordecai Richler painted him in his first-person novel, he still justifies his existence in this entertaining film. No one who is familiar with Richler's writings—or the wonderful 1974 film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which starred Richard Dreyfuss—should be shocked to learn that the protagonist of this tall tale is a Canadian Jew. Barney Panofsky makes a living producing a pedestrian TV series, but his appetite for life away from work is enormous. In his early years he experiences La Vie Bohème in Rome, where he meets and marries his first wife (Rachelle Lefevre). Later on, back home in Montreal, he marries again, but not for love; Minnie Driver plays the unfortunate second Mrs. Panofsky. Then Barney is smitten with the beautiful Miriam (Rosamund Pike), and determines to make her Wife Number Three—no matter what it takes. Along the way we meet some of Barney's friends and at least one of his enemies. The biggest treat is getting to know his father, a retired Montreal cop who is socially embarrassing but a mensch at heart. He is portrayed, with great gusto, by Dustin Hoffman, the second reason this movie is worth seeing. Hoffman seems to be having a great time playing this uninhibited character, and the feeling is infectious. I wish Barney's Version had a little more meat on its bones, as I suspect its source novel does. One can't help but feel that some of its subplots and supporting characters have more to them than they do here, where they are dealt with in casual or hurried fashion. Yet the film remains enjoyable because the actors bring so much to Michael Konyves's screenplay. Fortunately, director Richard J. Lewis, who has worked mostly in television, seems to understand that this endeavor is all about character and story, not stylistics. Finally, there is a series of in-jokes for diehard film buffs: cameo appearances by some of Canada's most notable directors, all of whom have worked for producer Robert Lantos in years past. David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan turn up as directors of Barney's silly TV show. Ted Kotcheff (who made Duddy Kravitz) is a train conductor, and Denys Arcand is a suave maître d' at a restaurant. A nice touch. |
tt1423894 | [R] | Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Minnie Driver, Scott Speedman, Dustin Hoffman, Jake Hoffman, Mark Addy, Saul Rubinek, Rachelle Lefevre, Bruce Greenwood | Canada | Drama, Comedy | Paul Giamatti is one of those actors whose presence in a movie generally validates it, and Barney's Version is no exception. He manages to make a central character with few—if any—admirable traits not only bearable but downright compelling. And if this Barney strays from th | ||
| Blue Valentine | 2010 | Derek Cianfrance | 114 |
Two daring performances make Blue Valentine a standout, even if the film's reach somewhat exceeds its grasp. Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance attempts to explore the beginning and end of an intimate relationship, hopscotching back and forth in time from the couple's first meeting and subsequent wooing through the utter disintegration of their marriage. The film was shot with a six-week break in order to allow Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams to gain weight and subtly alter their appearance to indicate the passage of five years' time. It takes some getting used to, but it's a fascinating conceit. Without question, it's the actors' commitment to this material that makes the film play as well as it does. Gosling plays a free spirit who refuses to conform, and while his change of character seems abrupt at times, all the seeds of his self-destruction are planted in the early scenes of the narrative. Williams' evolution is much subtler, tied to having a baby and taking her life (and career) seriously; that's what puts her on a collision course with her irresponsible husband. The actors achieve a candor and intimacy that's rare onscreen. Leaving aside a candid sex scene, and a heart-stopping sequence at an abortion clinic, Gosling and Williams strip themselves bare—in a non-literal sense—in a way very few actors ever do. We actually feel their emotional pain, in scenes that reminded me of a John Cassavetes film. (The MPAA never said precisely why it initially rated the film NC-17—it could have been any number of ingredients—but I think the R rating is entirely appropriate for such adult content.) Perhaps if Blue Valentine were shorter, or a bit more cohesive, it would be more fully satisfying. The parts are definitely greater than the whole, but those parts are so striking and memorable that they make the movie worth seeing, and embracing, even with its faults. I know I'll remember its star performances for a long time to come. |
tt1120985 | [R] | Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman, Jen Jones, Faith Wladyka, Ben Shenkman, Maryann Plunkett | USA | Drama, Romance | Two daring performances make Blue Valentine a standout, even if the film's reach somewhat exceeds its grasp. Director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance attempts to explore the beginning and end of an intimate relationship, hopscotching back and forth in time from the couple's first meetin | ||
| Another Year | 2010 | Mike Leigh | 129 |
I look forward to a Mike Leigh movie the way some readers anticipate a new novel by their favorite author. But unlike some writers who hew to comfortable formulas, Leigh always cooks up something different; you never know what to expect. The most obvious common thread in his work is the appearance of familiar actors from his informal stock company, many of whom have won honors for their work in his pictures (Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies, Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake, Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky, et al). The deeper through-line is his concern with ordinary people, usually from the working class, in a throwback to England's famous "kitchen sink" dramas of the late 1950s and early 60s. Many of those dramas were famously angry, while Leigh sees the brighter side of life. Leigh's films derive from a lengthy process of improvisation and character study with his actors. Even they don't know what the ultimate storyline will be when they start out, and whether they'll have a leading role or wind up in support. No one has appeared in more Mike Leigh movies than Lesley Manville, but she's never commanded as much attention as she has for her work in Another Year. There is justifiable talk of a possible Oscar nomination for her performance in this wonderful, compassionate film. Yet Manville isn't the whole show; far from it. Another Year wends its leisurely way through four seasons in the life of a middle-aged couple who live a contented life, brimming with good humor. They are played by those endearing Leigh stalwarts Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, who radiate warmth and a sense of well-being. That is more than can be said for Sheen's friend and co-worker Mary (Manville), a bundle of neuroses who only seems to get worse with the passage of time. An old pal of Broadbent's, played by Peter Wight, isn't much better off, having surrendered his life to overeating and drinking. Like so many of Leigh's movies, this one doesn't so much tell a story as offer a slice of life, showing how the characters evolve over the course of twelve months, including the main couple's son, who has clearly inherited his parents' sense of humor but hasn't yet settled down. Leigh doesn't indulge in cheap jokes at his characters' expense. He presents them, warts and all, and allows us respond to them in our own way. In the case of Manville's pathetic Mary, all I could think of was how many people I know who are just like her. How often does one get that feeling from a mainstream movie nowadays? For that matter, how many filmmakers would build a picture around a couple of "a certain age" who are kind to one another and everyone around them? Mike Leigh is a remarkable dramatist because he is fascinated with the commonplace, and finds beauty in simplicity. In film after film he celebrates both individuality and the community of mankind, with the help of his immensely gifted actors. By the closing scene of Another Year my eyes were tearing up; this is a beautiful piece of work. |
tt1431181 | [PG-13] | Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wright, David Bradley, Martin Savage, Karina Fernandez, Michele Austin, Philip Davis, Imelda Staunton | UK | Comedy, Drama | I look forward to a Mike Leigh movie the way some readers anticipate a new novel by their favorite author. But unlike some writers who hew to comfortable formulas, Leigh always cooks up something different; you never know what to expect. The most obvious common thread in his work is the appea | ||
| The Illusionist | L'illusionniste | 2010 | Sylvain Chomet | 90 |
I have nothing but admiration for Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist, a heartfelt homage to the great filmmaker and comedic artist Jacques Tati, based on one of his unproduced screenplays. But I wanted to love the film wholeheartedly, and I didn't. Tati's films like Mon Oncle, Mr. Hulot's Holiday, and Playtime, are marvels of comic invention, but they are not so much hilarious as droll. My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines that word as "having a humorous, whimsical or odd quality." Chomet has captured all three of those qualities in his lovingly-crafted film, but it remains odd and distant, difficult to embrace emotionally even as one appreciates what he has achieved. First and foremost, he has brought Tati's screen character Monsieur Hulot back to life, in animated form. I never would have dreamed it possible. His unique posture and body movements are all here, along with his off-kilter view of everyday life. The Illusionist also has a distinctive look that sets it apart from any other animated film we've seen this year. The production design and color palette are certainly attractive, but the mixture of traditional and computer-generated animation creates a peculiar-looking hybrid that too often calls attention to itself. Taken in bite-sized portions, The Illusionist is charming, quirky, surprising, and funny, but as a whole there are too many lulls in its lumpy narrative. I wanted to be transported into its world and forget that I was watching a movie, but it never happened. To be fair, I should point out that friends of mine whose opinions I respect where animation is concerned love the picture. You may, too. |
tt0775489 | [PG] | Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin, Duncan MacNeil, Raymond Mearns, James T. Muir, Tom Urie, Paul Bandey | UK, France | Animation | I have nothing but admiration for Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist, a heartfelt homage to the great filmmaker and comedic artist Jacques Tati, based on one of his unproduced screenplays. But I wanted to love the film wholeheartedly, and I didn't.Tati's films like Mon Oncle, | |
| True Grit | 2010 | Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | 110 |
The Coen Brothers want to have their cake and eat it, too. They apparently intend some of their adaptation of True Grit to play believably, and some of it to reflect the ironic distance for which they're so well known. That's a tough two-step to pull off, and they almost get away with it. Are we meant to find precocious, 14-year-old Mattie Ross a credible character or a fanciful one? She has a vocabulary that would impress a college professor, including knowledge of legal terms in Latin, and a horse-trading savvy that almost brings a world-weary merchant to his knees, in the film's funniest scene. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld turns in a terrific performance as the indomitable girl who won't rest until her father's death is avenged. Jeff Bridges is rough and rowdy marshal Ruben "Rooster" Cogburn, and manages to put his own stamp on the role made famous in 1969 by John Wayne. It's no surprise that he knows how to bring a wide palette of colors to this character, and he seems to be having a good time doing it. The same can be said of Matt Damon as the cocky Texas Ranger called LaBoeuf, an amusing part he plays with assurance. True Grit is an entertaining movie, not the least because it looks so great. Roger Deakins, who has done consistently fine work for the Coens, tops himself here, fashioning scenes that have weight and resonance. A shootout that takes place at night, seen from the point of view of two characters perched on a hill overlooking the action, has no precedent I'm aware of in the entire history of Westerns. It's a knockout, because of the way it's staged, shot, and illuminated. Deakins isn't a showoff: his images aren't meant to call attention to themselves; their purpose is to serve the story in the best possible way, and they do. One can't help but marvel at the results. So why didn't I feel more emotionally connected to this beautifully-crafted, well-acted film? The Coens' films—good, great, and odd, by turns—are not known for their warmth. This is surely why they were attracted to Charles Portis' picaresque novel, which is narrated by a grownup Mattie Ross. Her voice in the book has been compared to Huckleberry Finn, telling his immortal story with a mixture of innocence and irony. If they have been more faithful to Portis than the 1969 film, which was directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Marguerite Roberts, they have also sacrificed some of the "heart" those Hollywood studio veterans knew how to inject into their work. The climactic scene of the new True Grit ought to be moving, but it isn't; the Coens wouldn't want to be accused of sentimentality. I enjoyed watching their version of True Grit, but I wish I had felt more when it came to a close. |
tt1403865 | [PG-13] | Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Marvel | USA | Adventure, Drama | The Coen Brothers want to have their cake and eat it, too. They apparently intend some of their adaptation of True Grit to play believably, and some of it to reflect the ironic distance for which they're so well known. That's a tough two-step to pull off, and they almost get away with | ||
| Somewhere | 2010 | Sofia Coppola | 97 |
I count Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation as one of my favorite films of the decade, and I have great respect for her other pictures—except for the one at hand. Somewhere, which somehow won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, strikes me as a non-movie, an utter waste of time. Apparently, others see profundities in what strikes me as an obvious, and superficial, examination of an actor's life in Los Angeles, where he lives in pampered luxury at the Chateau Marmont. An absentee dad, he is suddenly saddled with the responsibility of looking after his daughter, which eventually causes him to look inward for the first time and recognize the emptiness of his existence. There: I've just saved you 97 minutes. Coppola does capture the singular atmosphere of the fabled Sunset Strip hotel where so much of her film takes place. The scenes of her leading character attending a press junket, going for a makeup test, and functioning day-to-day all have a feeling of verisimilitude. Both Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning do good work and seem very natural together. But those qualities, laudable as they may be, cannot outweigh an overwhelming air of tedium that infects the film from start to finish. I couldn't wait for Somewhere to be over and take a breath of fresh air. |
tt1421051 | [R] | Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Erin Wasson, Alexandra Williams, Nathalie Fay, Kristina Shannon, Karissa Shannon, Laura Chiatti, Lala Sloatman, Amanda Anka, Michelle Monaghan | USA | Drama | I count Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation as one of my favorite films of the decade, and I have great respect for her other pictures—except for the one at hand. Somewhere, which somehow won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, strikes me as a non-movie, a | ||
| Tron Legacy | 2010 | Joseph Kosinski | 127 |
If you're old enough to remember seeing Tron when it came out in 1982, you may understand why I wasn't chomping at the bit to see this much-hyped sequel. Tron was revolutionary in its use of computer graphics to place Jeff Bridges into a videogame environment—and that was definitely cool. But even cutting-edge technology needs a story to create a satisfying movie experience, and that's where Tron fell short. I'm sorry to say the new movie is an example of history repeating itself. The two films have something else in common: their major asset is Jeff Bridges. In 1982 he already had two Oscar nominations under his belt (for The Last Picture Show and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot), and it was his charismatic presence that saved Tron from being a mere exercise in computer graphics. Today, with a long-deserved Oscar on his mantelpiece and decades of great performances to his credit, Bridges is a past master at bringing offbeat and colorful characters to life. Once again, he gives a special-effects movie its most valuable moments of gravitas and humor, as a hippie-ish father who unwittingly abandoned his young son when he was swallowed by a video game years ago. Bridges also participates in a technological feat that wouldn't have been dreamed of in 1982, playing a clone of himself frozen at the age of 35. "Frozen" is the operative word here. As a friend of mine once observed, while we watched an impressive video effect unfurl, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." The process that enabled the creators of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to de-age Brad Pitt, step by step, has been employed to paste a seemingly calcified Jeff Bridges face onto a body double to create a villainous doppelganger. The result isn't wondrous or awe-inspiring, as it was in Benjamin Button; it's just weird. This is not to say that Tron Legacy doesn't have impressive visuals; the settings, costumes, and overall production design are truly impressive. Hard-core gamers may derive so much enjoyment from the look of the picture, and its action scenes, to overlook its shortcomings. And a goodly portion of the audience may be content to ogle Olivia Wilde in her futuristic, form-fitting outfit. (Garrett Hedlund is also good as the movie's hero, Bridges' son as a grownup.) But at a shade over two hours, Tron Legacy needs more than effects and sensations to keep us engaged, especially on the emotional level it aspires to reach. An uninspired screenplay (credited to four writers) doesn't deliver the goods. The original Tron earned a niche in movie history, more for what it attempted than what it achieved; I don't think the sequel will follow in its footsteps. Too many other movies have put CGI to better use. |
tt1104001 | [PG] | Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen, Anis Cheurfa, Conrad Coates | USA | Action, Adventure | If you're old enough to remember seeing Tron when it came out in 1982, you may understand why I wasn't chomping at the bit to see this much-hyped sequel. Tron was revolutionary in its use of computer graphics to place Jeff Bridges into a videogame environment—and that was | ||
| How Do You Know | 2010 | James L. Brooks | 116 |
If you admire such films as Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment, and As Good as it Gets, as I do, you'll be rooting for James L. Brooks to score another bull's-eye with his latest effort. But it's clear pretty early on that How Do You Know is a muddled misfire: a tiresome, talky romantic comedy about a bright young woman who, at a vulnerable moment in her life, can't decide between two men—neither of whom seems terribly appealing. That these three characters are played by Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd makes it even more disheartening. Worst of all, Jack Nicholson, who has given some of his best performances in Brooks' movies, tries to negotiate an unplayable role as Rudd's unsympathetic, self-absorbed father. I could try to describe the story—as I started to do in a first draft of this review—but it would be a waste of your time and mine. Brooks establishes the traits and quirks of his three main characters and then has them do things that make no sense. The one constant throughout the film is the amount of talk that emanates from their lips; in fact, they don't ever shut up. Witherspoon has never looked more glamorous onscreen, which is the only thing I'm likely to remember about How Do You Know. There is nothing else positive to say about this sorry year-end release. |
tt1341188 | [PG-13] | Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, Dean Norris, Yuki Matsuzaki, Domenick Lombardozzi, Mark Linn-Baker, Shelley Conn | USA | Comedy, Drama | If you admire such films as Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment, and As Good as it Gets, as I do, you'll be rooting for James L. Brooks to score another bull's-eye with his latest effort. But it's clear pretty early on that How Do You Know is a muddled misfire: a tiresome | ||
| Rabbit Hole | 2010 | John Cameron Mitchell | 91 |
A film about a couple trying to get over the loss of their young son is not likely to generate what marketers call a high "want-to-see" factor. But when the story is told with care, honesty, and even moments of humor that reflect the unpredictability—and absurdity—of life, it deserves to be seen. John Lindsay-Abaire won a Pulitzer Prize for his Broadway play of the same name, and Nicole Kidman, who produced this film, hired him to adapt his work for the screen. John Cameron Mitchell, best known as the co-creator, star, and director of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has done a fine job of interpreting the material without an ounce of pretension or preciousness. I think the reason Rabbit Hole works so well is that its characters aren't plaster saints: they're genuine. Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play a successful suburban couple whose marriage has stagnated in the wake of their tragic loss. She has shut down, and resents his attempts to get her to deal with her feelings in group therapy, or even to consider having sex again. Anyone who has suffered an emotional wallop like this will recognize the honesty of Lindsay-Abaire's dialogue and situations, full of well-meaning friends and family (including Kidman's garrulous mother, well played by the wonderful Dianne Wiest) and fellow walking-wounded (like the grieving mom in group therapy portrayed by Sandra Oh). Miles Teller also gives an impressively nuanced performance as the teenaged boy who plays a crucial role in Kidman's evolving emotional journey. Rabbit Hole doesn't wallow in sorrow; instead, it tries to explore the many facets of grief and resolution, and that's what makes it worthwhile. That, and the exceptional work of its cast. |
tt0935075 | [PG-13] | Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller, Tammy Blanchard, Sandra Oh, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney, Stephen Mailer, Mike Doyle | USA | Drama | A film about a couple trying to get over the loss of their young son is not likely to generate what marketers call a high "want-to-see" factor. But when the story is told with care, honesty, and even moments of humor that reflect the unpredictability—and absurdity—of life, it dese | ||
| The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader | 2010 | Michael Apted | 115 |
After a great start with the adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and a somewhat less enthralling (and war-laden) follow-up, Prince Caspian, the big-screen version of The Chronicles of Narnia rebounds with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The film doesn't spend more than a few minutes on exposition, establishing the fact that the two younger Pevensie children are separated from their parents and older siblings during World War II, forced to live with their obnoxious cousin Eustace in London. Then, with barely any warning, the movie propels us into the fantasy world of Narnia in a literally immersive transitional scene. This is indicative of the movie as a whole, which is packed with action and adventure, with relatively little time for introspection or characterization. As a result, I suspect younger moviegoers and audiences unfamiliar with the source material will especially enjoy the sweep and spectacle of this adventure yarn. Versatile director Michael Apted keeps things moving at a rapid clip, working from a screenplay by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, and Michael Petroni. Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes return as Lucy and Edmund. They do a fine job, although the intriguing scenes that confront their adolescent character flaws—Lucy's wish for physical beauty, Edmund's suppressed desire for power and riches—are dealt with rather hastily. Those fleeting moments tease us with the kind of thoughtful content that separates The Chronicles of Narnia from routine fantasy tales. I suppose readers of Lewis' books will be able to fill in those gaps, while movie audiences are treated to a series of outsized adventures, brought to life with some truly breathtaking visual effects. The parade of cinematic spectacles begins when a painting in cousin Eustace's house comes to life, and continues through encounters with a fire-breathing dragon and a particularly predatory sea serpent. My highest praise is reserved for the character of the courageous mouse named Reepicheep. He appeared in the last film, as well, voiced by Eddie Izzard, but this time, with Simon Pegg providing his dialogue, he steals every scene he's in. A courtly and implacable hero, he seems absolutely, utterly genuine, like an actor sharing the screen with his fellow thespians and not a computer-generated creation. To me, that is the ultimate achievement in visual effects—making the impossible seem real. He also serves as a kind of moral guide for Eustace, well-played by Will Poulter, who made a vivid impression several years ago in the British sleeper, Son of Rambow. It may be imperfect, but The Voyage of the Dawn Treader provides lively entertainment that doesn't talk down to its audience, and makes an effort to substitute action for gratuitous violence. For meatier fare, one should turn to the Lewis novels. |
tt0980970 | [PG] | Will Poulter, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Gary Sweet, Terry Norris, Bruce Spence, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Simon Pegg | USA | Fantasy, Adventure | After a great start with the adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and a somewhat less enthralling (and war-laden) follow-up, Prince Caspian, the big-screen version of The Chronicles of Narnia rebounds with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.< | ||
| The Fighter | 2010 | David O. Russell | 114 |
The Fighter doesn't just take place in Lowell, Massachusetts; it reeks with the atmosphere of this working-class New England town, making vivid use of its look, feel, and sounds. Director David O. Russell clearly immersed himself in the community and worked overtime to capture its flavor, going so far as to cast some local non-actors (notably, police officer and fight trainer Mickey O'Keefe as himself). What makes the movie work as well as it does is that Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and especially Melissa Leo blend seamlessly into this setting alongside the real-life residents. Wahlberg, who also produced the film, is completely credible as a small-time boxer whose fate is in the hands of his large, dysfunctional family. Bale completely disappears into the role of Wahlberg's older stepbrother who is still living off his glory days in the ring and now functions as the younger sibling's trainer, when he isn't busy smoking crack. In many ways the most astonishing performance is given by Leo, who is so physically unrecognizable as Wahlberg's feisty, arrogant mother—who acts as his manager and thinks she knows it all—that if you didn't see her name in the credits you'd think the director cast yet another local. With so many fine performances and a dynamic, real-life story to tell, The Fighter should have been an even better movie than it is. (The screenplay is written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, from a story by Tamasy, Johnson and Keith Dorrington) It takes a lot of time to unfold, and loses some of its punch (pun intended) in the final act, where, it must be said, forgiveness and resolution command less attention than the sparks that ignite the drama in its earlier stages. Still, these performances demand to be seen, and Russell's extraordinary depiction of a unique family, in a distinctive community, will stay with me for a long time to come. |
tt0964517 | [R] | Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee, Melissa McMeekin, Bianca Hunter, Erica McDermott, Dendrie Taylor | USA | Drama | The Fighter doesn't just take place in Lowell, Massachusetts; it reeks with the atmosphere of this working-class New England town, making vivid use of its look, feel, and sounds. Director David O. Russell clearly immersed himself in the community and worked overtime to capture its flavor, goi | ||
| Black Swan | 2010 | Darren Aronofsky | 107 |
Evaluating any movie is a matter of personal taste. Filmmakers who deal in the extreme naturally provoke extreme reactions. That's my way of saying that I couldn't stand Black Swan. In fact, I had a violent response to the film, which I saw in its debut screening at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend. Some people in the audience thought it was brilliant. Women I know who have spent time in the world of ballet were particularly impressed by director Darren Aronofsky's depiction of that cloistered life. I can see that, and I certainly wouldn't say anything negative about Natalie Portman's vivid performance as a childlike ballerina who is battling her own womanhood, under the eagle eye of an overprotective mother (Barbara Hershey). She also falls prey to an imperious and manipulative ballet master, well played by Vincent Cassel, who is famous for his sexual conquests—and equally notorious for discarding his former lovers in the troupe. The heightened emotions of ballet make it ripe for melodrama, but that's not what Aronofsky and screenwriters Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin (working from Heinz's story) are out to achieve. This is a psychological horror film built, one might say, on a melodramatic foundation. It teases its audience, deliberately blurring the line between reality and fantasy, which parallels the inner torment of its main character. If you make the mistake of digesting the movie on a literal basis, you're in for a sucker punch. This is a fever dream, punctuated by scenes of hallucination, masturbation and self-mutilation. If one is to judge a film by how well it fulfills its intentions, then Black Swan is a success. It stands out from the crowd by dint of sheer audaciousness, and originality. On an intellectual basis, I thought it was ludicrous; on an emotional level, I found it a complete and utter turn-off. |
tt0947798 | [R] | Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Kristina Anapau, Janet Montgomery, Sebastian Stan | USA | Drama, Thriller | Evaluating any movie is a matter of personal taste. Filmmakers who deal in the extreme naturally provoke extreme reactions. That's my way of saying that I couldn't stand Black Swan. In fact, I had a violent response to the film, which I saw in its debut screening at the Telluride Film | ||
| I Love You, Phillip Morris | 2009 | Glenn Ficarra, John Requa | 102 |
Jim Carrey is a talented man but, like other performers whose gifts are wide-ranging and difficult to pigeonhole, he needs good material and a guiding hand. He has found both in I Love You, Phillip Morris. In fact, I think he gives the best performance of his career in this provocative and unusual film from writer-directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are best remembered for writing Bad Santa. This movie isn't likely to win over too many of Carrey's mainstream-comedy fans, or fundamentalists who don't heed the R rating, but I think it's a first-rate piece of work. Carrey plays a Southerner who marries his churchgoing sweetheart (Leslie Mann), then finally reconciles with the reality that he's gay. In an effort to support a new, extravagant lifestyle he summons his latent gift for larceny and becomes a skilled con artist. Eventually this lands him in prison, where he falls in love with a fellow inmate named Phillip Morris (played by the always-watchable Ewan McGregor). Their destinies merge, but the road of life has many speed bumps and detours in store. I have skimmed over the details of plot because I don't want to give away more than I should. I Love You, Phillip Morris is a film that offers surprises and rewards at every turn—but makes some of those turns, from poignant drama to absurdist comedy, when you least expect them. McGregor underplays the title character, while Carrey goes to town as a man who assumes many identities over the course of the story. Learning that these characters actually exist, and that Ficarra and Requa based their screenplay on Steve McVicker's book about their escapades, only makes the film more impressive. One would never suspect that this marks the writing duo's directing debut. They manage to pull off one of the most difficult tasks in moviemaking: establishing a tone for their picture, then daring to change it, more than once. I don't know if anyone is beating the drums for Jim Carrey to be considered for an Academy Award, but I was mightily impressed with his performance here. While there are glimpses of the wacky, physically agile clown we all know, they are absorbed into the character he's playing, and he handles the serious, heartfelt scenes with equal proficiency. If that isn't great acting, I don't know what is. |
tt1045772 | [R] | Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Antoni Corone, Brennan Brown, Michael Mandel, Annie Golden | USA | Comedy, Drama | Jim Carrey is a talented man but, like other performers whose gifts are wide-ranging and difficult to pigeonhole, he needs good material and a guiding hand. He has found both in I Love You, Phillip Morris. In fact, I think he gives the best performance of his career in this provocative | ||
| The King's Speech | 2010 | Tom Hooper | 118 |
I sometimes recoil when people start spreading Oscar buzz about a movie I haven't seen—or even had a chance to see—yet, but I'm willing to forgive this year's campaign for The King's Speech because it's such a terrific movie. There are times when I look around me and get the feeling that civilization, as I know it, is coming to an end. Then a film like this arrives on the scene and restores my faith, not only in movies but in humankind itself. Even the story behind this movie says something about the sensibilities of its creators. Veteran screenwriter David Seidler stumbled onto the little-known saga of speech therapist Lionel Logue, who worked with King George VI to deal with his debilitating stammer, many years ago. Being British, he wrote to the monarch's widow, the Queen Mother, to ask if she would mind if he dramatized the material. She replied that since the memories of these events were so personal, and painful, to her she hoped he would wait until she died. And he did. (You may recall that the Queen Mum lived to be 101.) It was worth the wait. Colin Firth may not bear a physical resemblance to the King, but he embodies all the qualities that make the character so admirable and empathetic. Most of all, he is endearingly human. Geoffrey Rush gives one of the best performances of his career as the eccentric Australian, a failed actor who found his niche far from home, creating his own approach to speech therapy. The fact that he isn't intimidated by the arrival of royalty on his doorstep is one of the keys to this story, and Seidler's witty treatment of the relationship between king and commoner is elevated to the level of high comedy by Firth and Rush. These superb actors seem to relish every moment they share onscreen. They are aided and abetted by Helena Bonham Carter, who leaves larger-than-life characters behind for the moment to play the kind, nurturing and eminently practical Queen Elizabeth. The supporting cast is fleshed out by Guy Pearce as the abdicating Edward VIII, Derek Jacobi as the Archbishop, Michael Gambon as the imposing King George V, Claire Bloom as his wife, Anthony Andrews as Stanley Baldwin, and an unexpected but delightful Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill. Director Tom Hooper, a veteran of British television films who also piloted the John Adams miniseries, sets just the right tone for this lively tale. He knows how to showcase his actors at their very best, and his collaborators have brought the period of the 1930s to life with skill and an admirable eye for detail. Moviegoers who think of period pieces—even relatively recent ones—as being stuffy or remote ought to park their prejudices and see this exceptional film. It is one of the highlights of the year. |
tt1504320 | [R] | Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Ehle, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Andrews, Eve Best | UK | Drama | I sometimes recoil when people start spreading Oscar buzz about a movie I haven't seen—or even had a chance to see—yet, but I'm willing to forgive this year's campaign for The King's Speech because it's such a terrific movie. There are times when I look around me and get th | ||
| Burlesque | 2010 | Steve Antin | 100 |
The people behind Burlesque did at least a few things right. First, Cher has an amazing screen presence, and a way with dialogue that seems absolutely effortless. (I'll admit, it takes some adjustment to accept her now-frozen face, but one either accepts Cher as it or not at all.) Then they hired Stanley Tucci to play her gay best friend and right-hand man, essentially reprising the role he essayed so well in The Devil Wears Prada. No matter—he brightens every scene he's in, and delivers his lines with the panache of a true master. But these old pros have to swim up-tide against a screenplay that's so hokey and weather-beaten you have to wonder how it got approved by a major studio. Pop music star Christina Aguilera plays the wide-eyed girl from Iowa who comes to Los Angeles hoping to find her dream, and winds up in Cher's Hollywood nightclub, called Burlesque. From the moment she sees the sexy women on stage, strutting their stuff, she knows that's where she belongs. She immediately makes friends with a bartender (Cam Gigandet) who recognizes a fellow hick in the big city, finagles her way into a job as bartender, and finally talks her way into an audition for Cher. One night, quite by accident, she gets her big break, etc, etc. Oh, yes—there's also a handsome billionaire (Eric Dane) who's trying to buy Cher's club, but turns his attention instead to winning over the hot newcomer from the Midwest. I hope I haven't spoiled any of these plot points. Actually, they wouldn't be so bothersome if the film had enough life and energy to overcome them. I found most of the production numbers flashy but routine, and once the film started focusing on solos for Aguilera I started to lose interest. I've never followed her career and would say she makes a good first impression, until the film shifts its emphasis to her almost exclusively and presents one solo showcase after another. Another complaint: the wonderful Alan Cumming is in the cast, but his presumed role is now just a recurring bit part. Perhaps his presence, on top of Cher and Tucci, stole too much of the spotlight from Aguilera. In any case, it's a shame to waste such a talent. There's no reason Burlesque couldn't have been a better movie. Shortening it from two hours would have helped. If you're going to ask us to invest in a tired storyline, at least keep things moving, but that's a lesson that novice writer-director Steven Antin hasn't learned. What starts out as an enjoyable piece of fluff turns tiresome, and that's a shame. |
tt1126591 | [PG-13] | Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Dianna Agron | USA | Drama, Musical | The people behind Burlesque did at least a few things right. First, Cher has an amazing screen presence, and a way with dialogue that seems absolutely effortless. (I'll admit, it takes some adjustment to accept her now-frozen face, but one either accepts Cher as it or not at all.) Then they h | ||
| Tangled | 2010 | Nathan Greno, Byron Howard | 125 |
I approach each new Disney film with a combination of eagerness and apprehension: will it be as good as I want it to be? Can "the new guys" carry the torch lit by Walt and his colleagues so many years ago? Where Tangled is concerned, I knew within minutes that the answer was yes. I could tell from the look and sound of the film that it had the qualities people have always sought in a Disney animated fairy tale. I felt like I was home. Yet Tangled is a completely contemporary film that puts its own spin on the source material, with clever staging, hip humor and spectacular action scenes. Tangled has had a long and unusually rough gestation period. It went through several Disney regimes, changing directors and directions more than once. The final picture went through a rapid production process over the last two years, with Disney animator extraordinaire Glen Keane mentoring two young studio directors, Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, who have come through with flying colors. Dan Fogelman's screenplay is lively and funny but also has heart, especially when it matters most. I love the retro look of Tangled, with its glowing, brightly colored settings, and even its use of 3-D. Best of all, the movie features two delightful supporting characters who continue yet another Disney custom without saying a word of dialogue. Rapunzel has a little chameleon friend named Pascal, who acts as comic Greek chorus, while the hero, Flynn Rider, has an extraordinarily expressive equine adversary named Maximus who earns many of the movie's biggest laughs. Tangled doesn't break any new ground, but it's not mired in the past, either. The filmmakers have taken the best of the Disney tradition and filtered it through a flip, modern sensibility, visually and verbally. As in the live-action movie Enchanted, they know their audience wants to have its cake and eat it, too, acknowledging the familiar fairy tale tropes (with particular echoes of Sleeping Beauty), turning some of them on their ear, but stopping well short of self-mockery, so when, at the climax, we're meant to care about these characters and pull for them, we do. The score by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater may not be memorable, but it serves the movie well enough, and the voice actors give it their best: Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, Broadway veteran Donna Murphy as the old crone who poses as her mother, and Zachary Levi as the dashing, wisecracking (and self-invented) Flynn Rider. I've seen Tangled twice. I've even seen it work its magic on my class of 20-somethings at USC, not the target demographic for this kind of picture. They cheered at the end, and I hope audiences around the world echo that response. |
tt0398286 | [PG] | Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F. Tompkins, Richard Kiel | USA | Comedy, Family | I approach each new Disney film with a combination of eagerness and apprehension: will it be as good as I want it to be? Can "the new guys" carry the torch lit by Walt and his colleagues so many years ago? Where Tangled is concerned, I knew within minutes that the answer was yes. I cou | ||
| Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part I | 2010 | David Yates | 146 |
In the old days of Saturday matinee serials, audiences faced with cliffhanger endings took comfort in knowing that the story would be resumed one week later. The same can't be said for the latest Harry Potter picture, which offers much incident but no resolution: for that, we all have to wait until next year. If you're a dedicated Potter fan, you'll have to take what you can from this one—mainly, the pleasure of spending time with its leading characters and the young actors who play them. Following J.K. Rowling's narrative, there are no scenes at Hogwarts' Academy. This denies us the opportunity to revel in seeing the finest British actors alive in the vast Potter ensemble; we get only token appearances from Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane and a handful of others, while Maggie Smith, as Professor McGonagall, is absent altogether. The movie starts out on the right foot, as Harry—now marked for death by the evil Lord Voldemort—is surrounded by his best friends and allies, who vow to protect him. These scenes capture the sense of magic and wonder that characterize the series at its best, but as the story progresses, our heroes (Harry, Hermione and Ron) are left on their own much of the time, and the energy level drops, along with the rousing emotions we feel at the outset. Deathly Hallows feels more episodic than usual for a Potter film—which is saying a lot. Slow-paced scenes of the protagonists on the lam are punctuated by spurts of action, creating a seesaw effect in terms of pacing. It may be unfair to blame director David Yates, who had to play the cards he was dealt. Unfamiliar character relationships are presented as matter-of-fact, and one notable figure dies off-screen with just a casual line of dialogue to mark his demise. At this point in the series' life its major point of interest to many moviegoers is watching its youthful stars mature. After all, it's been a decade since we first encountered Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, so we've watched them all grow up. It's a testament to the Potter producers who chose them so many years ago that they've all fulfilled their promise and retained their commitment to these endearing characters. I don't know if the decision to cut Rowling's final novel in half was strictly commercial, or if the filmmakers (including longtime series screenwriter Steve Kloves) felt they couldn't squeeze the entire book into one movie. Either way, the result seems less like a full-fledged story than a place-holder, and I can't say I left feeling satisfied. |
tt0926084 | [PG-13] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall | USA | Fantasy, Adventure | In the old days of Saturday matinee serials, audiences faced with cliffhanger endings took comfort in knowing that the story would be resumed one week later. The same can't be said for the latest Harry Potter picture, which offers much incident but no resolution: for that, we all have | ||
| Love And Other Drugs | 2010 | Edward Zwick | 113 |
After far too many inferior romantic comedies it's exhilarating to encounter a bittersweet, romantic drama like Love and Other Drugs. With a fresh, provocative backdrop and an intriguingly vulnerable heroine, this is a sexy, adult piece of entertainment. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway sink their teeth into a pair of meaty, satisfying roles that stretch their abilities. The film is built on an unusual foundation: Jamie Reidy's autobiographical book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, which apparently paints a vivid picture of the high-stakes world of pharmaceutical sales. Longtime filmmaking colleagues Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who tapped into the American zeitgeist years ago on TV's thirtysomething, developed a screenplay, in collaboration with Charles Randolph, that utilizes some of the specifics in Reidy's memoir about the high-stakes world of pharmaceutical sales in the 1990s and fleshes it out with original characters, in particular a woman who's on the receiving end of those drugs. The movie works because both leading characters are interesting and contradictory: he's a superficial guy who's always had a way with women but hasn't ever taken a relationship seriously. She's a woman who enjoys sex but keeps men at arm's length because she wants to protect herself from being hurt. This film could have gone in any number of directions, from reality-inspired farce to teary soap opera, but director and co-writer Zwick keeps dodging its many pitfalls, following a through-line that allows the film to be both funny and serious, as the occasion demands. The actors walk that same tightrope with grace and charisma. They also up the ante for mainstream movies by treating sex (and nudity) with refreshing, grown-up candor. The movie further benefits from a strong supporting cast including such welcome and reliable performers as Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Judy Greer, and in just one scene, George Segal and the late Jill Clayburgh. I'm sure that some cynics will deride the film for its "Hollywood ending," but that's what qualifies this as a romantic movie, as opposed to a gritty slice of life. Surely there is room for both. |
tt0758752 | [R] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Brenna Roth, Hank Azaria, Judy Greer, Jaimie Alexander, George Segal, Gabriel Macht, Jill Clayburgh | USA | Comedy | After far too many inferior romantic comedies it's exhilarating to encounter a bittersweet, romantic drama like Love and Other Drugs. With a fresh, provocative backdrop and an intriguingly vulnerable heroine, this is a sexy, adult piece of entertainment. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaw | ||
| Made In Dagenham | 2010 | Nigel Cole | 113 |
When a film is based on a fascinating true story, and marshals grade-A talent on both sides of the camera, it automatically gets my attention. Made in Dagenham is inspired by a real-life labor struggle—apparently little remembered, even in England—that is both timely and relevant today. There is no reason on earth the results shouldn't have been stronger. The raw material has all the makings of great drama: in 1968, female workers at the vast Ford Motor Co. factory in a suburb of London went on strike after being reclassified as unskilled laborers, with a commensurate reduction in salary. Women weren't taken seriously in the workforce, and their actions have wide, and unexpected, reverberations. Sally Hawkins (who won worldwide recognition for her starring role in Mike Leigh's Happy Go Lucky) does a great job as a wife and mother of two who's never gotten involved with union politics, until circumstance—and her own gumption—transform her into a single-minded leader. A parallel story features the wonderful Miranda Richardson as England's Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity, a feisty woman whose sympathies are entirely with the Ford workers, which causes friction for her government and its relationship with Ford. Dagenham is designed to be a crowd pleaser, and it was directed by Nigel Cole, who knows how to coddle an audience (see Calendar Girls). I fear the fault lies in William Ivory's screenplay, in which every piece fits perfectly and all too predictably into place, without a rough edge or a sign of nuance. Characters are painted in solid colors and their dialogue offers no subtext: seeing this story unfold is like connecting the dots in a children's picture book. Naturally, I enjoyed watching Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike, Geraldine James and the rest of the well-chosen cast. I just wish the film didn't push my buttons so blatantly. It turns out that Hawkins' central character was invented, a composite based on a number of women; perhaps that's part of the problem. She isn't so much a character as a symbol. This film needs more flesh-and-blood. |
tt1371155 | [R] | Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, Daniel Mays, Rupert Graves, Richard Schiff | UK | Drama | When a film is based on a fascinating true story, and marshals grade-A talent on both sides of the camera, it automatically gets my attention. Made in Dagenham is inspired by a real-life labor struggle—apparently little remembered, even in England—that is both timely and rel | ||
| Tiny Furniture | 2010 | Lena Dunham | 98 |
It would be enough to report that I've just seen a smart, funny independent feature, but Tiny Furniture heralds the arrival of a smart, funny new voice to the filmmaking scene—which is even better news. Writer-director Lena Dunham also stars in the film along with her mother and sister, playing, respectively, her mother (an artist who photographs miniatures) and sister (a high school student who's just won a national poetry prize). It would be intimidating for anyone to compete, let alone coexist, with this duo. Dunham, whose main credential prior to this was an online series called The Delusional Downtown Divas, paints a rich, tartly funny portrait of a recent college graduate named Aura who moves back to her mother's apartment in TriBeca. It's supposed to be temporary, but the awkward child-woman is openly torn between independence and wanting to be cradled by her mother in bed. The real marvel of Tiny Furniture is that no one on camera seems self-conscious; the scenes play out with remarkable spontaneity and natural humor as we follow Aura's uneasy return to her home turf in Manhattan and encounter various friends, old and new. Dunham poses no threat to Judd Apatow: her film is modest in the extreme and highly personal, but it has a freshness and comic vigor that's worth applauding. Having won the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Tiny Furniture has already jump-started Dunham's career. HBO has signed her to develop a comedy series, presumably in the same style as her short videos and this feature. I hope she continues to develop worthy projects—in any medium—so we can enjoy her highly individual point of view. |
tt1570989 | Unrated | Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Alex Karpovsky, David Call, Merritt Wever, Amy Seimetz, Garland Hunter | USA | Comedy | It would be enough to report that I've just seen a smart, funny independent feature, but Tiny Furniture heralds the arrival of a smart, funny new voice to the filmmaking scene—which is even better news. Writer-director Lena Dunham also stars in the film along with her mother and s | ||
| Morning Glory | 2010 | Roger Michell | 102 |
What a pleasure it is to watch a well-cast, well-written comedy for grownups. Morning Glory has a smart premise and just the right people to carry it out: Rachel McAdams, as an overeager TV producer who locks horns with her new host, a once-respected news anchor played by Harrison Ford, as well as his co-host, a prima donna played by Diane Keaton. The parts might have been written with these actors in mind; that's how perfectly they inhabit them and play off one another. McAdams is delightful in an all-too-rare comedy role, and works well opposite the men she encounters: her boss, Jeff Goldblum, her colleague and possible lover, Patrick Wilson, and best of all, her recalcitrant star, Harrison Ford. What a pleasure to see him in a role that he can really sink his teeth into. The script, by Aline Brosh McKenna, whose credits include The Devil Wears Prada, is filled with sharp dialogue and is built on a believable foundation. Roger Michell's direction reinforces that credibility, with Mark Friedberg's production design evoking the look and feel of a dilapidated newsroom along with a typical TV control room and stage. The people seem genuine—or only slightly exaggerated—so we're able to invest in the movie. As a result, the laughs come naturally and never seem forced. It's a pleasure to recommend Morning Glory, and root for its success, so Hollywood might be inspired to make more films just like it. |
tt1126618 | [PG-13] | Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson, Arden Myrin, Vanessa Aspillaga, Reed Birney, Carmen M. Herlihy | USA | Comedy | What a pleasure it is to watch a well-cast, well-written comedy for grownups. Morning Glory has a smart premise and just the right people to carry it out: Rachel McAdams, as an overeager TV producer who locks horns with her new host, a once-respected news anchor played by Harrison Ford, | ||
| Fair Game | 2010 | Doug Liman | 108 |
My conversion is now complete: I am a card-carrying Naomi Watts fan. I don't know why I wasn't her biggest booster before; I've liked her work in films as diverse as King Kong and The Painted Veil, but after seeing her this year in Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child, Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger and now Fair Game, I am hooked. She is the real deal, and she gives yet another terrific performance as CIA agent Valerie Plame. The fact that she's working opposite the extraordinary Sean Penn, as Joe Wilson, only ups the ante. What I like best about this film is that it doesn't treat its torn-from-the-headlines pedigree as a shield or a battering ram to win us over. It takes a more matter-of-fact approach, as indicated by an early dinner-party scene in which a group of friends—(including the Plame and Wilson characters) get into a political discussion and Penn's character loses his cool. That seemingly ordinary scene serves as a template for the film as a whole. It treats its protagonists as real people, living their lives—raising two young children, sharing responsibilities around the house, engaging in the sometimes-petty, sometimes-impatient conversations that any married person would recognize. It just happens that Plame is an experienced undercover operative for the U.S. government who takes her job seriously—and has to camouflage what she does for a living from even her closest friends. Her husband is a former diplomat who works as a political consultant. When he sees how the White House is "selling" the war on Iraq based on faulty evidence about Weapons of Mass Destruction, he is inflamed, and writes an op-ed column that unwittingly changes the course of his life—and his family's as well. Even if you think you know all about the Plame-Wilson saga from following the story when it broke in 2003, I think you'll find Fair Game worthwhile, because it portrays the human side of the headline story. Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth based their screenplay on the couple's dual books on the subject, and Doug Liman has directed the film with a sense of intimacy and immediacy. Obviously, this is a partisan project which takes Plame and Wilson's point of view, but I think it does so with credibility—and history on its side. Best of all, it provides solid parts for a well-chosen cast, including such stalwarts as Noah Emmerich, Bruce McGill, Sam Shepard and many others (even in small parts), but its success rests largely on the shoulders of its stars, two of the finest actors working today. |
tt0977855 | [PG-13] | Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell, Sam Shepard, Noah Emmerich, Bruce McGill, Michael Kelly, Brooke Smith, David Andrews | USA | Drama | My conversion is now complete: I am a card-carrying Naomi Watts fan. I don't know why I wasn't her biggest booster before; I've liked her work in films as diverse as King Kong and The Painted Veil, but after seeing her this year in Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child, Woody All | ||
| 127 Hours | 2010 | Danny Boyle | 94 |
Directors like to test themselves, especially when they're riding a wave of success. Having enjoyed worldwide acclaim for the emotional and immersive Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle has chosen an entirely different kind of story for his next project that presents a unique series of filmmaking challenges. I'd say he has met them all in 127 Hours, collaborating with key members of his Oscar-winning Slumdog team, including screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, composer A.R. Rahman, and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (who shared his task with Enrique Chediak). This is the saga of Aron Ralston, a free spirit who loved the thrill of adventure. When he set out on a mountain-biking trip in 2003 he didn't tell anyone where he was going, and foolishly left his Swiss army knife at home. One slip sent him toppling down a rocky crevice in Utah, where a boulder pinned his arm in place. Can a story about a man's struggle to survive on his own for five days be turned into a viable movie? The answer is yes. Ralston took a video camera along with him and documented much of his experience. (He later wrote a book, as well.) Boyle and Beaufoy have used the camera as a storytelling device, enhanced by Ralston's flashback memories and, ultimately, his hallucinations, which take us out of the cave and back to key moments in his life. None of this would work if the actor playing Aron Ralston didn't command the screen, and James Franco does just that. It is a fearless and emotionally engaging performance. What's more, the film doesn't try to turn Ralston into a hero; if anything, it portrays him as something of a hedonist. But, as we have seen in news coverage of various crises around the world, the indomitability of the human spirit is endlessly inspiring. Ralston prevails because he simply can't give up on life. Finally, a word to the squeamish out there from a card-carrying wimp: you may have heard about the self-amputation scene. Let me reassure you, this is a brief moment in a worthwhile movie. I averted my eyes for a few moments, got the message of the scene, and enjoyed the rest of the picture. And if I can take it, anyone can. |
tt1542344 | [R] | James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Lizzy Caplan, Kate Burton, Darin Southam, Norman Lehnert, Clémence Poésy , Fenton Quinn | USA, UK | Drama | Directors like to test themselves, especially when they're riding a wave of success. Having enjoyed worldwide acclaim for the emotional and immersive Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle has chosen an entirely different kind of story for his next project that presents a unique series of fi | ||
| Due Date | 2010 | Todd Phillips | 100 |
Zach Galifianakis is a funny guy. Robert Downey Jr. is a superb actor who can play comedy or drama equally well. They deserve a better vehicle than this broad, shameless (and uncredited) rehash of Planes, Trains and Automobiles in which the actors inherit the roles originated by John Candy and Steve Martin, respectively. I'm not sure where homage ends and rip-off begins, exactly, but this movie has the same story beats and, more important, the same character development as the John Hughes comedy from 1987: Downey is an uptight businessman trying to get home, stuck with clueless and destructive Galifianakis as his traveling partner on a cross-country road trip. Yet every time Downey wants to abandon—or strangle—his companion, he realizes that the guy has a good heart and doesn't mean any harm. Even if you've never seen the earlier movie, I don't think Due Date has many surprises to offer. Director Todd Phillips, who also co-wrote the script, is coming off the sensational success of The Hangover (and is already shooting its sequel) so he treats this material with confidence, but it's unworthy. The movie's only real value is the showcase it provides Galifianakis, who's still a star on the rise. He's never played someone like this sweet, pathetic bozo before and he does a fine job, never breaking character or displaying self-awareness. He couldn't ask for a better straight-man than Downey. I just wish the material wasn't so obvious and shopworn. I'm sure some people will find Due Date funny and satisfying. I didn't. |
tt1231583 | [R] | Robert Downey/Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis, Jamie Foxx, Alan Arkin, RZA, Matt Walsh, James Martin Kelly | USA | Comedy | Zach Galifianakis is a funny guy. Robert Downey Jr. is a superb actor who can play comedy or drama equally well. They deserve a better vehicle than this broad, shameless (and uncredited) rehash of Planes, Trains and Automobiles in which the actors inherit the roles originated by John C | ||
| Boxing Gym | 2010 | Frederick Wiseman | 91 |
The grand old man of cinema vérité-style documentaries, Frederick Wiseman, shows no signs of slowing down, nor has he lost his keen ability to capture the sights, sounds, and overall milieu of his chosen subject. Last year he took us behind the scenes of the Paris Opera's ballet troupe in La Danse; this year he presents a compelling portrait of life at Lord's Gym in Austin, Texas. As usual, there is no narration, and the filmmaker does not insert himself into the proceedings. He's just a fly on the wall as people gather at this busy establishment to work out, sharpen their skills, and dream aloud about their goals, in and out of the ring. Proprietor Richard Lord has seen it all, and displays both patience and encouragement to one and all, from a mother who's still breast-feeding her baby to a teenager who wants to learn the ropes. Kids, businessmen, army vets, and guys who still think they might have a shot at a career in prizefighting come to Lord's Gym. There are no earth-shattering revelations here—just an honest slice of American life, encompassing people of all ages and races. Wiseman, who remains a one-man band (as director, producer, editor, soundman, and even his own distributor), artfully yet seamlessly presents his material as if it just came together as "a day in the life." It most assuredly did not; that's what makes him such a fine filmmaker, still on top of his game. |
tt1653827 | Unrated | Richard Lord | USA | Documentary | The grand old man of cinema vérité-style documentaries, Frederick Wiseman, shows no signs of slowing down, nor has he lost his keen ability to capture the sights, sounds, and overall milieu of his chosen subject. Last year he took us behind the scenes of the Paris Opera's ballet troupe in | ||
| Nora's Will | Cinco Días Sin Nora | 2010 | Mariana Chenillo | 92 |
Indie and foreign films have a tougher time than ever in today's marketplace, which is why I want to call your attention to an import that's truly worth seeing—even though you may not have heard much about it. Nora's Will has won a number of film festival awards, which got my attention. I also put considerable stock in Menemsha Films, the small, dedicated distributor that has taken on its U.S. release. They tell me that business actually increased after its first week at the Paris Theater in Manhattan because of strong word-of-mouth; now it's opening at a number of Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, with other cities to follow in the weeks and months ahead. Quiet, original, irreverent, ironic: these are some of the adjectives that describe Mariana Chenillo's bittersweet comedy about a Jewish family dealing with the death of its matriarch on the eve of Passover. The main character is Nora's ex-husband, played with quiet authority by Fernando Luján, a veteran actor who reminds me of another venerable performer, Fernando Rey—the kind of man who can effortlessly command the screen. His character is pragmatic, unsentimental, and self-possessed, making him a kind of straight man for the colorful parade of people who invade Nora's apartment in the days following her demise—including an Orthodox rabbi, his young and inexperienced disciple, Nora's devoted Catholic housekeeper, a well-meaning cousin, and finally, Nora's son, with his wife and two young daughters, who treat the experience of seeing their grandmother's corpse as an adventure. Why Nora took her own life, and why her ex-husband José refuses to serve the Passover dinner she left behind for her family, is for you to discover in this disarming, pitch-perfect chamber piece. It is a film of modest ambitions, but it's so well realized that it left me with a smile of satisfaction—a reward too few films offer nowadays. I suspect other, flashier foreign films with bigger promotional budgets will capture the lion's share of media attention this movie season, but I doubt any will surpass this one for pure enjoyment. |
tt1143148 | Unrated | Fernando Luján, Ari Brickman, Angelina Peláez, Enrique Arreola, Verónica Langer, Cecilia Suárez | Mexico | Drama, Comedy | Indie and foreign films have a tougher time than ever in today's marketplace, which is why I want to call your attention to an import that's truly worth seeing—even though you may not have heard much about it. Nora's Will has won a number of film festival awards, which got my att | |
| Hereafter | 2010 | Clint Eastwood | 129 |
For a film that is alternately emotional and cerebral, Hereafter grabs your attention with a scene worthy of a high-end disaster movie: an incredible depiction of a Tsunami. Knowing that it's coming, as many people will from the previews and advertisements, won't lessen the impact of this tour de force, which is frighteningly believable in every detail. The balance of the film divides itself among three separate stories: the aftermath of that disaster for a French TV journalist and host (Cecile de France) who dies briefly and is brought back to life, a young boy whose twin is killed in an accident, leaving his brother desperately lonely, and an ordinary fellow in San Francisco (played by Matt Damon) who no longer wants to use his gift of clairvoyance to speak with the dead because he regards it as a curse. The episodic screenplay marks a departure for writer Peter Morgan, whose work up to now has focused on reality based drama (Frost/Nixon, The Queen, et al). It's thoughtful and obviously sincere, which is why I was absorbed at every turn, even though I wasn't sure where it was heading. Director Clint Eastwood tells the story with the sure-handedness we've come to expect My problem with Hereafter is the ending. The characters all find some degree of resolution or catharsis, but I never felt it myself. I can't go into detail without revealing plot elements I shouldn't, so I'll have to leave it at that. But I also can't dismiss the film; I just wish I had come away with something more. The performances are too good, the locations too unusual, and the question of hereafter too inherently interesting for me to write off the picture because it lacks the kind of finale the material demands. If you're willing to take a journey that falls short of reaching its destination, I'd say Hereafter is still worth seeing. |
tt1212419 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Frankie McLaren, George McLaren, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jay Mohr, Marthe Keller, Thierry Neuvic, Mylène Jampanoï | USA | Drama | For a film that is alternately emotional and cerebral, Hereafter grabs your attention with a scene worthy of a high-end disaster movie: an incredible depiction of a Tsunami. Knowing that it's coming, as many people will from the previews and advertisements, won't lessen the impact of t | ||
| Conviction | 2010 | Tony Goldwyn | 107 |
I know, I know: this sounds like TV-movie fodder. But Conviction isn't a formulaic feel-good saga. It is based on a true story that takes many unexpected turns, and I found it quite moving. Hilary Swank plays a working-class Massachusetts woman in the 1980s who vows to go back to school and earn a law degree so she can help her innocent brother beat a murder rap that's put him in prison for life. Sam Rockwell is the brother, a lifelong hellraiser who can't believe his sister has that kind of devotionand determination. Pamela Gray's script steers wide of clichés, and in the hands of such skillful actors, under Tony Goldwyn's sure-footed direction, Conviction spells out its story step by step. Minnie Driver, Juliette Lewis, Melissa Leo, and Peter Gallagher head a solid supporting cast. But the double-meaning of the title is well served by its two leading actors: they are committed to these characters, and it shows in their sincere, well-modulated performances. |
tt1244754 | [R] | Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Melissa Leo, Clea DuVall, Peter Gallagher, Minnie Driver, Juliette Lewis, Bailee Madison, Ari Graynor, Loren Dean | USA | Drama, Thriller | I know, I know: this sounds like TV-movie fodder. But Conviction isn't a formulaic feel-good saga. It is based on a true story that takes many unexpected turns, and I found it quite moving. Hilary Swank plays a working-class Massachusetts woman in the 1980s who vows to go back to schoo | ||
| It's Kind Of A Funny Story | 2010 | Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | 91 |
I've been impressed with the filmmaking team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck since I saw their bold, original debut feature Half-Nelson, with Ryan Gosling, which was adapted from a short subject they made two years earlier. Their followup film, Sugar, about a baseball player from the Dominican Republic, revealed that they weren't one-hit wonders, and didn't intend to fall prey to formulaic storytelling. Their new film seemed equally promising; while I usually try to avoid trailers I happened to see this one, and it whet my appetite to see It's Kind of a Funny Story. Boden and Fleck adapted the popular juvenile novel by Ned Vizzini about a 16-year-old boy who feels so stressed-out that he considers committing suicide, but checks himself into a hospital instead. He soon learns that his problems don't amount to much compared to the deeply troubled people around him. Funny Story has a strong cast, led by Keir Gilchrist (of the TV series The United States of Tara), the likable Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis, the appealing Emma Roberts, Jeremy Davies, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, and Zoë Kravitz. Sorry to say, the filmmakers run aground trying to strike a balance between comedy and drama, and worse, resort to clichés in their storytelling—including a dream music-video sequence that does nothing to enhance the film or illuminate the hero's state of mind. Call it Cuckoo's Nest-lite, if you like, but Funny Story only skims the surface of its serious subject matter, like an earnest After-School Special. Several characters and relationships are woefully underwritten and obvious topics go unexplored. I'm afraid I have to call this a misfire, but it doesn't mean I'm giving up on Boden and Fleck. I hope they chalk this up to experience and find another challenging story to tell, in their own style. |
tt0804497 | [PG-13] | Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Viola Davis, Zoë Kravitz, Aasif Mandvi, Lauren Graham, Jim Gaffigan, Jeremy Davies | USA | Drama, Comedy | I've been impressed with the filmmaking team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck since I saw their bold, original debut feature Half-Nelson, with Ryan Gosling, which was adapted from a short subject they made two years earlier. Their followup film, Sugar, about a baseball player from t | ||
| Nowhere Boy | 2009 | Sam Taylor Wood | 98 |
I saw this film in the best possible way: I didn't know what it was about before I attended an early screening. I found it to be a moving look at a teenage boy's struggles with his splintered family in England during the 1960s. When I realized the protagonist was John Lennon, it made even more sense, as I remembered, in sketchy form, the story of his adolescence. One could easily call this Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, for that's what it offers us: a look at Lennon's youthful ways, including his first forays into music, his cultural influences and ambitions, and most of all his relationship with his loving uncle and stern aunt, who raised him, and his absentee mother, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life. Aaron Johnson, who played the American hero in Kick-Ass, does a fine job here as the teenage Lennon, with all his emotional baggage and contradictions. This isn't one of those sappy Hollywood biographies where important invents are foreshadowed, in heavy-handed terms, but we do get glimpses of the Lennon we all came to know, in his formative years. Johnson shines most of all in his scenes with the two dominant women in his life, and each one is played by a magnificent actress: Kristin Scott-Thomas is his straitlaced aunt, who always tries to keep her emotions in check. Anne-Marie Duff, better known for her award-winning stage work in London than she is on these shores, does a superlative job as Lennon's mother, who essentially abandoned him at the age of five but suddenly wants to be part of his life. Matt Greenhalgh's screenplay (officially based on a book by Lennon's sister Julia Baird) encompasses the emotional touchstones of the young man's life as well as his earliest experiences as a musician, including his first meeting with Paul (last name never spoken) and their earliest gigs. Director Sam Taylor-Wood captures an honesty and immediacy in all of these scenes. Nowhere Boy is moving because its emotions are genuine, and its performances so good. It has additional poignancy because of what we bring to the film, knowing about Lennon's later life. I don't think I'll ever hear The Beatles' ballad "Julia" again without thinking about his mother. |
tt1266029 | [R] | Aaron Johnson, Thomas Sangster, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, David Morrissey, Ophelia Lovibond, Josh Bolt, Sam Bell, Andrew Buchan | UK, Canada | Drama | I saw this film in the best possible way: I didn't know what it was about before I attended an early screening. I found it to be a moving look at a teenage boy's struggles with his splintered family in England during the 1960s. When I realized the protagonist was John Lennon, it made even mor | ||
| Secretariat | 2010 | Randall Wallace | 116 |
The secret of this film's success is that it isn't just the saga of a famous, prize-winning horse; it's also the story of his owner, a suburban housewife and mom who stepped into a man's world and took charge of an animal she believed to be a champion. It documents a time in the late 1960s and early 70s, when social change was in the air, and women's roles in society were changing, if slowly. Mike Rich's screenplay captures the time quite well, as do all the visual details onscreen. Those qualities—plus an exceptionally good cast—lift this above the norm for sports movies and underdog tales. I can't think of a better role for Diane Lane, who's (finally) come into her own in recent years after decades of solid work. She is effortlessly convincing as a woman whose devotion to her father, the owner of a Virginia horse farm, and single-minded determination to succeed gave her strength she'd never tapped before. She's surrounded by equally expert actors, including John Malkovich, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn, Nelsan Ellis, Dylan Baker, and the wonderful Margo Martindale. The racing scenes are exceptional, and reveal how ingenuity and a determination to reinvent the wheel can sometimes pay off. I don't recall seeing a horse race filmed from such a low angle before—or a point-of-view shot that makes you feel as if you're sitting on top of the horse itself. Cinematographer Dean Semler and director Randall Wallace deserve credit for raising the bar, along with their sound team (including the multi-Oscar-nominated Kevin O'Connell), in these sequences. Perhaps the most surprising achievement is that the film creates drama and even suspense although we already know the outcome. The story droops a bit during the second act, but it still works. Because it tells a feel-good story in an easily digestible form, it may strike some people as old-fashioned. I have a feeling it will play especially well to mature moviegoers, but I would hate to see such a good piece of work be dismissed as just a movie for old codgers. It deserves a wider audience. And whatever your feelings about the value of the film, there is no disputing the fact that its raw material is one of the great sports stories of the 20th century. |
tt1028576 | [PG] | Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Dylan Walsh, Fred Dalton Thompson, Kevin Connolly, Nestor Serrano, Amanda Michalka, Carissa Capobianco | USA | Drama | The secret of this film's success is that it isn't just the saga of a famous, prize-winning horse; it's also the story of his owner, a suburban housewife and mom who stepped into a man's world and took charge of an animal she believed to be a champion. It documents a time in the late 1960s an | ||
| Let Me In | 2010 | Matt Reeves | 115 |
Let Me In offers an unusual twist on the usual vampire tale. It's gripping and unusualunless you happen to have seen the Swedish film that inspired it, Let the Right One In, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. If you did catch that striking Swedish import two years ago, there isn't much point to seeing the remake. Writer-director Matt Reeves, who made his reputation with Cloverfield, has wisely followed the original and made only a handful of (mostly inventive) deviations. I admire both his fidelity and his restraint. If you haven't seen Let the Right One In, or don't tend to watch foreign-language films with subtitles, then I wholeheartedly recommend the remake. I usually shy away from bloody films, but this one presents its moments of horror in the context of a provocative story with highly unusual characters. Kodi Smit-McPhee, who made a vivid impression as Viggo Mortensen's son in The Road, scores again in a beautifully modulated performance as a lonely boy, on the verge of puberty, who's living with his mother in an apartment complex in snowy Los Alamos, New Mexico. His parents have separated, and his unhappiness is magnified by the fact that he's been targeted by a school bully. One night, in the courtyard outside his apartment, he meets his new neighbor, a sullen, mysterious 12-year-old girl who tells him she can't be his friend. Before long she goes back on her word because it turns out that she's lonely, too. The big difference is that she's a vampire who needs fresh blood to survive. The "girl" is played, with great feeling, by Chloë Grace Moretz, from Kick-Ass, whose sensitivity and expressive face match her youthful costar's. They are supported by such fine actors as Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas; in fact, every character rings true, down to the most incidental. With an inventive and properly moody score by Michael Giacchino, Let Me In dares to take its time. In a way I wish I hadn't seen the Swedish movie, because it would have been fun to experience this film without knowing all of its dramatic beats and surprises. But I can still appreciate the skill with which it's been madeand applaud that rare Hollywood remake of a foreign film that can stand alongside the original. |
tt1228987 | [R] | Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Cara Buono, Elias Koteas, Sasha Barrese, Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak, Chris Browning, Ritchie Coster | UK, USA | Drama, Fantasy | Let Me In offers an unusual twist on the usual vampire tale. It's gripping and unusualunless you happen to have seen the Swedish film that inspired it, Let the Right One In, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist. If you did catch that striking Swedish import two years ago | ||
| The Social Network | 2010 | David Fincher | 120 |
The most talked-about film of the season turns out to be worthy of all that chatter, whether it be online or in person. The Social Network is a completely absorbing, high-octane drama about the invention of Facebook, as told from several points of view—and its that Rashomon-like approach that makes it especially intriguing. Even diehard auteurists seem to recognize that its foolish to refer to this as a David Fincher film when the screenplay, by Aaron Sorkin, is so dominant. Lets call this a collaboration of top-tier talents, as thats what it is: fans of Sorkins TV shows (The West Wing, Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) should know to expect a talkfest, but when the talk is this intense, and issues of greed, loyalty, deceit, and betrayal come into play, its hardly boring. Fincher captures the immediacy of the drama in every scene; there is no down time here. Jesse Eisenberg has proved himself in film after film, but the role of Mark Zuckerberg may finally make him a household name: he absolutely nails it, bringing to life a socially awkward computer genius whose mouth works almost as fast as his brain so fast that he doesnt have time to weigh some of the big questions that crop up on the road to success. His costars are equally credible, including Andrew Garfield (whos also so good in Never Let Me Go) as Zuckerbergs pal and first partner, Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake, as the Napster genius who puts stars in his eyes, Rooney Mara (the future Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as the girl who dumps him, Rashida Jones, as a sympathetic lawyer, and Armie Hammer, as the twins (yes, he plays both roles, in a neat bit of Fincher sleight-of-hand) who wind up suing him, along with Saverin. The flashback, flash-forward structure of the script works amazingly well, as Zuckerbergs legal adversaries provide depositions and review their versions of how Facebook came to be. But the movie opens on a straightforward note, seeming to indicate that it is presenting the truth, and this is where The Social Network invites debate over what constitutes dramatic license. If you havent read Mark Harris brilliant article in New York magazine about Sorkin and this project, its a must, while Jose Antonio Vargas profile of Mark Zuckerberg offers a contrasting, personal view of the precocious billionaire. Whatever the real story may be, its important to remember that its only a movie. While many people will be content to accept The Social Network as an origin story, and it certainly plays that way, we may never know how factual it is. The filmmakers would probably argue that it doesnt matter; maybe theyre right. Theyve certainly made a solid piece of entertainment, raising questions about ambition and success that arent limited to the story of Facebook. |
tt1285016 | [PG-13] | Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, Brenda Song, Malese Jow, Joseph Mazzello | USA | Drama | The most talked-about film of the season turns out to be worthy of all that chatter, whether it be online or in person. The Social Network is a completely absorbing, high-octane drama about the invention of Facebook, as told from several points of view—and its that Rashomon | ||
| Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | 2010 | Oliver Stone | 133 |
I'm not a fan of sequels, by and large, but I suppose events of the past few years made it inevitable that someone would devise a followup to Oliver Stone's Wall Street, which became a touchstone of its era. The new movie isn't likely to have the same effect, as so many documentaries are covering the financial debacle, with more to come... but it certainly is entertaining. Michael Douglas steps back into the role of onetime Wall Street lion Gordon Gekko as he's released from an eight-year stretch in prison. This time around, he's more of an observer than a player, but ambitious young trader Shia LaBeouf seeks him out to pick his brain—and tell him that he's in love with Gecko's estranged daughter, played by Carey Mulligan. I won't reveal more of the story, credited to two screenwriters (Aaron Loeb and Stephen Schiff), except to remark that even in the wake of the economic bust—and America's unprecedented bail-out of major investment banks—it is fascinating to watch high-level wheelers and dealers in action. Key among them are Josh Brolin, who is completely believable as a cocky financial wizard, and 94-year-old Eli Wallach, who gives an assured and engaging performance as one of the Old Guard of Wall Street. All of this is presented in a handsome, high-energy production, shot by Rodrigo Prieto on location in New York; Manhattan has never looked more stylish. The film isn't perfect: it goes on too long, and the female characters (Mulligan and Susan Sarandon, as LaBeouf's mother) are woefully underwritten. Worst of all is the final scene, which tries to wrap all the story strands together in a hopeless bit of contrivance. But those shortcomings can't, and don't, rob the film of its substantial entertainment value. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps has momentum to burn, clever plotting, and strong performances. It's well worth seeing. |
tt1027718 | [PG-13] | Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton, John Bedford Lloyd | USA | Drama | I'm not a fan of sequels, by and large, but I suppose events of the past few years made it inevitable that someone would devise a followup to Oliver Stone's Wall Street, which became a touchstone of its era. The new movie isn't likely to have the same effect, as so many documentaries a | ||
| You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger | 2010 | Woody Allen | 98 |
I'm partial to Woody Allen, but that doesn't mean I'm a pushover. I have some quibbles with his latest film, You Will Meet a Dark Stranger, but I had a good time watching it, and that's what really matters. As usual, he has assembled an impressive cast and given them interesting roles to play. It's a treat to watch Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, and a fine supporting cast in this mordantly amusing social roundelay set in London. If the whole isn't quite as good as the sum of its parts, I'm not inclined to complain. Leon Redbone's vocal rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" plays under the main titles—printed in Allen's now-traditional typeface—and it doesn't take a genius to realize that the use of the song is mean to be ironic. We quickly learn that Hopkins has left his wife of forty years, which has sent her (Jones) into a tailspin—and led her to consult a psychic. This doesn't sit well with her daughter (Watts) or her son-in-law (Brolin) but if it makes her happy, the daughter is content. Their marriage is not in great shape, either, and it's here that the plot broadens out. Allen's famous fatalism looms over the intertwined stories of thwarted ambition, self-delusion, unrequited love (or lust), and bad timing. But the scenes abound with life, especially in the hands of these skilled actors, and it's a pleasure to see them dig into the material. I wish Allen had chosen a different narrator, or found a way to eschew narration altogether, and as much as I share his love for vintage music, many of his choices seem random and repetitive. (I suppose it's an economic factor that causes him to use old records exclusively, where once upon a time he also drew on the talents of musical director Dick Hyman.) On the other hand, the casting is great. Watts is at her best, and Brolin is just as believable here, playing a schlump, as he is in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps as a lion of the banking industry. Hopkins' restlessness and discomfort are palpable, and Jones is completely convincing as a woman who has become a hopeless flibbertigibbet. The supporting cast is equally well chosen, including Pauline Collins (does anyone out there remember Shirley Valentine?) as the psychic and Christian McKay (of Me and Orson Welles) in a microscopic role as one of Brolin's poker buddies. I can't place this film on the same level as Match Point or Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but I also can't dismiss it as a mere exercise; we should all do so well flexing our creative muscles. All I can say is that it made me smile. If you admire the actors as much as I do, and appreciate Woody Allen's mindset, I think you will feel the same way. |
tt1182350 | [R] | Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, Anna Friel, Gemma Jones, Ewen Bremner, Christian McKay | USA | Comedy | I'm partial to Woody Allen, but that doesn't mean I'm a pushover. I have some quibbles with his latest film, You Will Meet a Dark Stranger, but I had a good time watching it, and that's what really matters. As usual, he has assembled an impressive cast and given them interesting roles | ||
| The Town | 2010 | Ben Affleck | 124 |
This is, quite simply, the best movie I've seen all year. The Town has everything one could ask for: a solid story, a superb cast playing interesting and well-drawn characters, pulse-pounding action, and the element of surprise. It's violent, visceral, and completely captivating. I admired Ben Affleck's debut feature as director, Gone, Baby, Gone, but this surpasses it; what's more, he gives a fine performance in the movie's leading role, as a bold bank robber who finds that loyalty—to his lifelong friends, to his very way of life—has a price. He's returned to familiar turf, as the film is set mostly in Charlestown, a Boston suburb widely known for its criminal element, and again, Affleck captures the look and feel of the place with great skill. You might think that there aren't any new ways to depict bank robberies, city-bound car chases, or cops-and-robbers shootouts, but Affleck, his talented cinematographer Robert Elswit, and film editor Dylan Tichenor prove otherwise. Each set-piece is extraordinarily gripping. But heart-stopping chase scenes wouldn't sustain the film if we weren't drawn in by the characters. There are no "stock types" here: Jon Hamm's FBI agent plays just as tough as the criminals he's stalking. Rebecca Hall's bank teller is intelligent but vulnerable. Jeremy Renner, Affleck's lifelong pal and partner in crime (literally), isn't just a loose cannon: he's an ex-con who figures he has nothing to lose. There's even an homage to The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which in many ways—not the least, its understatement—remains the definitive Boston crime movie. This film ups the ante in terms of energy and excitement, but it takes its place alongside Coyle, The Departed, Mystic River, and Affleck's own Gone, Baby Gone as one of the best films ever made about the city and its zeitgeist. I hope it's the smash hit it deserves to be. |
tt0840361 | [R] | Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Slaine, Owen Burke, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper | USA | Drama, Thriller |
This is, quite simply, the best movie I've seen all year. The Town has everything one could ask for: a solid story, a superb cast playing interesting and well-drawn characters, pulse-pounding action, and the element of surprise. It's violent, visceral, and completely captivating.
| ||
| Never Let Me Go | 2010 | Mark Romanek | 103 |
I came to Never Let Me Go knowing nothing about it, except that it was based on the highly-acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguru. I had no foreknowledge of its story or premise—and I'm glad. The story begins in the present and then segues to a lengthy flashback at a traditional British boarding school, filled with seemingly ordinary boys and girls. We soon learn that these children are not leading "normal" lives at all; they have a particular destiny and are apparently helpless to change it. A new teacher (Sally Hawkins) who tries to warn them is quickly dismissed. At this point we focus on three characters: a girl who shows concern for an acutely sensitive boy, and a friend of hers who makes a move on the boy and wins him. They grow up to be Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield. Mulligan's mature, contemplative face perfectly reflects the cerebral, "interior" nature of this delicate story, expertly written for the screen by Alex Garland. (I was reminded of an earlier adaptation of Ishiguru's work, The Remains of the Day, which deals with repressed emotionsand words unspoken.) Director Mark Romanek establishes, and maintains, a mood of melancholia and never takes a false step. His wonderful cast, cinematographer, and production designer all work toward the same goal, though perhaps his most effective collaborator is composer Rachel Portman, whose haunting score perfectly mirrors the drama onscreen. By the closing scene my eyes were tearing up. In lesser hands this material could have fueled an entirely different film. Science-fiction authors and filmmakers have presented many views of the future, most of them bleak. Ishiguru is interested in the human toll a cold—dare I say inhuman—approach to progress may take in our society. That's what makes his story so heartbreaking. Many people who saw Never Let Me Go as I did, at the Telluride Film Festival, didn't like it. Some found it depressing; I've even heard it described as inert. I had no such feelings: I was swept up by the story and deeply moved by its characters' fates and (mis)fortunes. |
tt1334260 | [R] | Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley, Isobel Meikle-Small, Charlie Rowe, Ella Purnell, Charlotte Rampling, Sally Hawkins, Kate Bowes Renna | USA | Drama | I came to Never Let Me Go knowing nothing about it, except that it was based on the highly-acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguru. I had no foreknowledge of its story or premise—and I'm glad.The story begins in the present and then segues to a lengthy flashback at a traditional | ||
| Catfish | 2010 | Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | 94 |
If nothing else, Catfish may win awards for the most effective advertising and promotional campaign of the year. The buzz on this movie has been exceptionally loud, which is all the more unusual because no one seem to know what it's about. Several people who have seen the trailer (HERE) have told me it's reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, which in fact it isn't. It's a difficult film to review because I don't want to give too much away. Maintaining its central "secret" isn't a gimmick; it's essential to a viewer's ability to enjoy the picture. That said, I watched it for a second time last week with my class at USC and actually liked it better than I did the first time around: I took note of the clever way the filmmakers presented their story (including use of music, graphics, etc.) and appreciated more fully how they dealt with the unexpected events that presented themselves as their spontaneous story unfolded. Catfish is indelibly a product of the modern era of communication and technology. Filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman find that their habit of continually shooting video of each other—and especially Ariel's brother Nev—has resulted in a great story that just might be worthy of a feature film. Nev's obsessive texting and e-mailing to an 8-year-old girl in Michigan, and her family, is just the first step in this high-tech adventure. But as technology gives way to human contact, all three participants realize that the material they've stumbled onto is sensitive and potentially hurtful; it's how they respond that makes Catfish so interesting and worthwhile. I'm sorry that this review is vague, but if you see the film I think you'll understand. Catfish may not be an "important" documentary, but it is an emblematic (and cautionary) story of our times, and well worth seeing. |
tt1584016 | [PG-13] | Nev Schulman, Rel Schulman, Yaniv Schulman, Henry Joost, Angela Pierce, Vince Pierce, Abby Pierce | USA | Thriller | If nothing else, Catfish may win awards for the most effective advertising and promotional campaign of the year. The buzz on this movie has been exceptionally loud, which is all the more unusual because no one seem to know what it's about. Several people who have seen the trailer (HERE | ||
| The American | 2010 | Anton Corbijn | 103 |
My admiration for George Clooney is boundless. He has taken his clout as a box-office star and used it to make films he wants to make, including Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck, fully aware that most of his Oceans 11 fans may not care for that kind of picture. I'm sure he wishes more people would come to see Michael Clayton, or even Up in the Air, but I salute him for not pandering to the lowest common denominator as long as he can. His latest starring vehicle, The American, has only his name to sell it, and that should be enough. But the trailers and TV spots that try to position this as an action-thriller are deliberately deceptive. In fact, it's a slowly-paced, European-style mood piece, short on dialogue and action and long on atmosphere. I liked it a lot. One might not expect Dutch director Anton Corbijn, the man behind so many high-profile music videos for U2, Metallica, and Depeche Mode, to be the ideal person to pilot this contemplative film, but he's done a fine job, working from a thoughtful screenplay by Rowan Joffe (who makes his directorial debut this year with a remake of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock). Clooney plays a specialist in the world of hit-men who finds he has nowhere to hide when he wants some down-time. His stone-faced boss, or liaison, in Rome sends him to a quiet Italian village with instructions to lay low, but as an American he doesn't exactly blend in, and before long has developed relationships with a talkative priest and a beautiful prostitute (played by the stunning, frequently naked Violante Placido). Corbijn periodically cuts to wide shots of the mountainside village or overhead views of Clooney's car silhouetted against a vast landscape, as if to emphasize his isolation. As a man who deals in death he must always be on his guard; if he tries to lead a normal life, even for an afternoon, he is putting himself and the people around him at risk. The American is a thoughtful, intelligent film, a good showcase for Clooney, and an eye-opening introduction to Violante Placido. If the mass moviegoing public prefers something more routine or formulaic, it's their loss. |
tt1440728 | [R] | George Clooney, Violante Placido, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Irina Björklund, Björn Granath, Johan Leysen, Filippo Timi, Anna Foglietta | USA | Drama, Thriller, Action | My admiration for George Clooney is boundless. He has taken his clout as a box-office star and used it to make films he wants to make, including Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck, fully aware that most of his Oceans 11 fans may not care for that kind of picture. I'm su | ||
| The Switch | 2010 | Josh Gordon, Will Speck | 150 |
The Switch is the kind of movie that gives romantic comedies a bad name. I won't dwell on the welcome-to-the-21st century premise, in which a guy substitutes his sperm for that of an official donor as his so-called best friend is about to be inseminated. Nor will I comment on whether or not I ever want to hear the words "sperm" and "romantic comedy" in the same sentence again. I like Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman and don't like to see them wasting their time in a mediocrity like this, not to mention such talented costars as Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis and Jeff Goldblum. Notice I said "mediocrity," not "turkey." I've seen worse films, and so have you. But after watching the picture for a while, I noticed my foot was tapping involuntarily. I realized I was marking time, just waiting for it to be over. A mainstream romantic comedy with attractive stars should be more than just a time-filler, shouldn't it? 'Nuff said. |
tt0889573 | [PG-13] | Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Thomas Robinson, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis, Scott Elrod, Todd Louiso, Caroline Dhavernas, Kelli Barrett | USA | Comedy | The Switch is the kind of movie that gives romantic comedies a bad name. I won't dwell on the welcome-to-the-21st century premise, in which a guy substitutes his sperm for that of an official donor as his so-called best friend is about to be inseminated. Nor will I comment on whether or not I | ||
| Eat Pray Love | 2010 | Ryan Murphy | 133 |
I don't think one should have to read a novel in order to enjoy its screen adaptation, but if you have read a particular book, chances are you're going to get more out of the film than someone who hasn't. You'll remember the experience you had as a reader and fill in some of the details the movie has skipped. Several female friends who've seen Eat Pray Love told me how much they loved Elizabeth Gilbert's book and the movie (adapted by director Ryan Murphy in collaboration with Jennifer Salt). I can't help but feel they had an advantage over me. Eat Pray Love is an ideal vehicle for the Julia Roberts, a sumptuous travelogue, and a great film for foodies. It has an intelligent script, good performances, and beautiful scenery...but I had trouble relating to the main character. I didn't understand why she is unhappy in her marriage (to Billy Crudup) or why she ends it so abruptly. I also don't understand why her rebound relationship with a charming James Franco leaves her feeling empty and dissatisfied. I recognize the central concept of Roberts' character having to discover who she is as an individual, and not just in relationship to a man. But I didn't feel it. I couldn't empathize with her constant restlessness and angst. (Is this simply because I'm a man? I don't think so; I respond to other female protagonists and their problems.) What's more, the movie is ultimately about love—of friends, food, and fellow human beings (like the charismatic Javier Bardem, who's cast as a divorced Brazilian man now living in Bali). I'm not sure if Roberts' problem is that she didn't know how to love because she didn't love herself, or if she just didn't choose the right partners. Either way, there isn't really a feeling of catharsis—for her or for us—as the movie comes to a close. Meanwhile, Eat Love Pray at least offers compensations: an attractive, well-chosen cast, eye-filling locations, and all that great Italian food. There are worse ways to spend your time in a movie theater—much worse. But I didn't find the two hour-plus experience terribly compelling. |
tt0879870 | [PG-13] | Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis, Arlene Tur, Tuva Novotny, Lidia Biondi, Christine Hakim, Elena Arvigo | USA | Drama | I don't think one should have to read a novel in order to enjoy its screen adaptation, but if you have read a particular book, chances are you're going to get more out of the film than someone who hasn't. You'll remember the experience you had as a reader and fill in some of the details the m | ||
| Flipped | 2010 | Rob Reiner | 90 |
Because it shares a time period and sense of nostalgia with the well-remembered Stand By Me (1986), Flipped has been pegged as an official companion piece for director Rob Reiner. There's some validity to this, especially since the soundtrack is filled with familiar oldies, which also added to the earlier film's appeal. But Flipped has a different mindset than Stand by Me, which dealt with boyhood camaraderie. It was adapted (by Reiner and his frequent collaborator Andrew Scheinman) from a popular juvenile novel by Wendelin van Draanen that not only touches on the first stirrings of attraction between a boy and girl, but chronicles their relationship from both points of view. The setting is an idealized suburban town, where we get to meet two families who live across the street from each other. The boy (newcomer Callan McAuliffe), who's not quite sure of himself, lives with his upwardly mobile parents (Rebecca DeMornay and Anthony Edwards) and his grandfather (John Mahoney). The girl (Madeline Carroll, who played Kevin Costner's precocious daughter in Swing Vote), is remarkably poised and self-possessed, and comes from a working-class family that makes up in love what it lacks in material things. Aidan Quinn is her father, Penelope Ann Miller her mother. The dual narration, as we follow the bumpy road of the characters' relationship, touches on familiar truths about girls' tendency to mature early and boys' inability to express their feelings. There aren't any revelations here, but there is relatability, and that's what makes the movie workalong with Reiner's canny casting of every role. (The adult actors do exceptionally fine work.) My favorite scene has nothing to do with the childrenat least, not directlyand it involves Edwards, playing an insensitive man who tends to deal with all of life's problems by pouring himself a drink. Here, briefly but tellingly, the movie pierces through the rosy-hued nostalgia so many people still harbor for the "happy days" of the late 1950s and early 60s and explores what created the conformity that distinguished that period in American life. I wish the movie explored this a bit more, but I won't be greedy. Flipped is a low-key, likable film with more meat on its bones than you might expect and while it wears its heart on its sleeve, I applaud its values. Any film that espouses individuality and integrity gets my vote. And it's nice to see Reiner paying homage to his father's creation, The Dick Van Dyke Show, by having his characters live on Mockingbird, as the Petries did. (It was also the name of the street where the real-life Reiners lived in New Rochelle before moving to Beverly Hillsalthough one was a Lane, one was a Street, and one is an Avenue.) |
tt0817177 | [PG] | Madeline Carroll, Callan McAuliffe, Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards, Aidan Quinn, John Mahoney, Penelope Ann Miller, Kevin Weisman, Morgan Lily, Ryan Ketzner | USA | Comedy, Drama | Because it shares a time period and sense of nostalgia with the well-remembered Stand By Me (1986), Flipped has been pegged as an official companion piece for director Rob Reiner. There's some validity to this, especially since the soundtrack is filled with familiar oldies, whi | ||
| Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World | 2010 | Edgar Wright | 112 |
If the medium is the message, then Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a masterpiece. Director Edgar Wright has tried to incorporate the look and feel of videogames in his adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels. The result is a film that grabs you right away with its lively, irreverent approach to storytelling... although the timing and attitude aren't very different from Wright's British TV series like Spaced, which starred Simon Pegg. The movie not only appropriates videogame imagery but implies that its hero's life is a giant three-dimensional game where points are scored at important junctures. There is even the occasional opportunity to "continue" or engage in a do-over. All of this is fun to watch, but the razzle-dazzle can't camouflage the fact that the story is routine. By the time the movie reaches the home stretch its thinness is all too apparent. What saves it drowning in its own cleverness is the cast. Michael Cera is perfectly cast as the title character, an ordinary guy who plays in a garage band and seems to have trouble maintaining a healthy relationship with a woman. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and learns that she comes with baggage—seven deadly exes, to be exact—he will not be deterred. Cera, Winstead, and such talented costars as Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, and Ellen Wong add life to the proceedings, and adopt a uniformly deadpan approach to the script that pays off with some good laughs. Their lively, colorful performances add the one ingredient that can make or break any film, no matter how ingenious: the human element. |
tt0446029 | [PG-13] | Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Ellen Wong, Mae Whitman, Satya Bhabha | USA | Action, Adventure | If the medium is the message, then Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a masterpiece. Director Edgar Wright has tried to incorporate the look and feel of videogames in his adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels. The result is a film that grabs you right away with its lively, irre | ||
| Step Up 3D | 2010 | Jon Chu | 107 |
As a longtime 3D fan, I've been puzzled and discouraged to hear more than one director refer to "subtle use of 3D" in their films. Excuse me? I may be wrong, but I don't think "subtle" and "3D" belong in the same sentence. The whole point of 3D is to provide an enhanced movie-watching experience. At its best, it can be a lot of funwhether it's Charles Bronson leaping out of the dark to pounce on Phyllis Kirk in House of Wax or a winged creature taking flight in How to Train Your Dragon. Director John Chu decided to have fun with the medium in the new Disney dance movie Step Up 3D, and as a result his movie is great fun to watch. The story is a collection of amiable clichés, but the cast is appealing, the location work in New York City is imaginative, and the musical numbers are bursting with energy and life. (My two favorites are the ones that break with the film's hip-hop sensibilities: an ensemble tango and a saucy Fred Astaire homage that's shot in one long, unbroken take as two teenage dancers make their way down a Manhattan brownstone street.) Because so many of the movie's dance numbers are performance pieces, it isn't jarring to see individuals standing front and centerpopping out of the screenor doing moves that are literally in our face. In short, I had a good time with Step Up 3D, and if the medium is the message, this one justifies its use of 3D better than many more ambitious and expensive productions. |
tt1193631 | [PG-13] | Rick Malambri, Adam G. Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Keith Stallworth, Kendra Andrews, Stephen Boss, Martín Lombard, Facundo Lombard, Joe Slaughter, Ally Maki | USA | Drama, Musical | As a longtime 3D fan, I've been puzzled and discouraged to hear more than one director refer to "subtle use of 3D" in their films. Excuse me? I may be wrong, but I don't think "subtle" and "3D" belong in the same sentence. The whole point of 3D is to provide an enhanced movie-watching experie | ||
| Dinner for Schmucks | 2010 | Jay Roach | 114 |
I'd like to extoll the virtues of a great comedy, but this isn't it. A word of explanation: I come to Dinner for Schmucks at a disadvantage, because I love the French film on which it's based, The Dinner Game (1998). I've also heard its creator, the brilliant writer-director Francis Veber, describe his filmmaking philosophy, and criticize Hollywood colleagues for always wanting to expand and complicate his material. (The Birdcage is the best translation ever made of a Veber property, but I still prefer his original, La Cage aux Folles.) In spite of this, I honestly tried to approach Dinner for Schmucks with an open mind. I like the casting of Paul Rudd and especially Steve Carell, who hits just the right notes as an idiot who has no idea just how stupid or annoying he is. But it all boils down to this: the movie didn't make me laugh. In the original, the Rudd character is the perpetrator of the insult: a dinner in which each cocky participant brings the stupidest guest he can find. Here, Rudd is a nice guy who's been forced into this position by his arrogant and unfeeling boss (Bruce Greenwood). And in this adaptation we actually see the dinner, with its idiots and their sniggering "sponsors." The original was clever enough to focus on just the two principal characters. Veber's farcessome of which, like this one, began their life on stageare honed to perfection and unfold with the precision of a Swiss watch. I could see the wheels turning in Dinner for Schmucks. It isn't terrible, by any means, but it lacks a lightness of touch. I'm sure director Jay Roach and his screenwriters, David Guion and Michael
Handelman, gave this project their best shot; it's been in development
for years. Perhaps people who have no awareness of Veber or French farce
will have a different opinion, but this film did nothing for me. |
tt0427152 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Stephanie Szostak, Lucy Punch, Bruce Greenwood, David Walliams, Ron Livingston | USA | Comedy | I'd like to extoll the virtues of a great comedy, but this isn't it. A word of explanation: I come to Dinner for Schmucks at a disadvantage, because I love the French film on which it's based, The Dinner Game (1998). I've also heard its creator, the brilliant writer-director Fra | ||
| Get Low | 2010 | Aaron Schneider | 100 |
Get Low is one of the treats of the summer movie season, a modest film that offers ample rewards, not the least being the opportunity to watch wonderful actors at work. The setting is Tennessee during the Great Depression. Robert Duvall is well cast as a man who's lived as a hermit for the past forty years. One day he turns up in town and asks the local preacher to hold his funeralwhile he's still alive. Over the course of the film we learn what has brought him to this moment, and what drove him away from his friends and neighbors so many years ago. In less expert hands, this part could have become a caricature. Instead, Duvall actually underplays, making Felix Bush a credible charactertaciturn, wary, but human. (Can he really be coming up to his 80th birthday next January? It's hard to believe.) Bill Murray is equally fine in a wry performance as the owner of the local funeral parlor, who's desperate for business. He, too, is a complex fellow, and Murray paints a wonderful portrait, full of color and nuance. The two stars are surrounded by solid actors like Sissy Spacek, Bill Cobbs, and Lucas Black. The screenplay, by Chris Provenzo and C. Gaby Mitchell, based on a story by Provenzo and Scott Seeke, was inspired by a real-life event, but it's been fleshed out with skill and taste. It's just a vignette, a slice of life, really, but the story doesn't seem protracted or contrived. Much credit has to go to first-time feature director Aaron Schneider, a longtime cinematographer who clearly bonded with this material. This is as sure-footed a job of filmmaking as you're likely to see all year. |
tt1194263 | [PG-13] | Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Scott Cooper, Lori Beth Edgeman, Linds Edwards | USA | Comedy, Drama | Get Low is one of the treats of the summer movie season, a modest film that offers ample rewards, not the least being the opportunity to watch wonderful actors at work. The setting is Tennessee during the Great Depression. Robert Duvall is well cast as a man who's lived as a hermit for the pa | ||
| The Extra Man | 2010 | Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini | 105 |
If you have any fondness for life's oddballs, I think you'll share my affection for the latest film from the writing/directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, who brought us American Splendor. The Extra Man, based on a novel by Jonathan Ames, focuses on two men who exist out of their time: Henry Harrison, a pompous, world-class eccentric who gets by as an escort, or "extra man," for aging Manhattan society women, and Louis Ives, an unworldly academic with a propensity for cross-dressing. Harrison is vividly brought to life by Kevin Kline, who seems to revel in his character's peculiarities. He's proudly, gloriously strange, a creature of his own invention. This is one of the best parts Kline has ever had, a golden opportunity for him to draw on his gift for theatricality, yet somehow he finds the humanity that lurks behind Henry's fearless façade. But it isn't a solo turn: he's matched, step for step, by Paul Dano, as the younger man who becomes Harrison's uneasy protégé. From Little Miss Sunshine to Let There Be Blood, Dano has made his mark playing distinctive, unusual characters; he's a talent worth watching, and treasuring. The movie doesn't judge these two figures: it lets us draw our own conclusions. Kline's Harrison is a scavenger and a bit of a scoundrel, while Dano's Ives is almost childlike and unformed. He develops a crush on office co-worker Katie Holmes and can't explain his contradictory behavior to himself, let alone to her. In a way, The Extra Man is out of its time, just like its protagonists. It's an affectionate look at some of the colorful characters who populate New York City and make it unique. Perhaps it's because I grew up there that I find the film so appealingand credible. Berman and Pulcini make excellent use of the "real" city, avoiding obvious locations and landmarks, and they've done a fine job of casting right down to the smallest roles. I know how tough it has become for independent filmmakers to get their movies made, and released, in a world that's consumed by mainstream Hollywood product but I'm awfully glad there's still room for genuinely original pieces of work like The Extra Man. |
tt1361313 | [R] | Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, John C. Reilly, Katie Holmes, Cathy Moriarty, Alicia Goranson, Patti D'Arbanville, Marian Seldes, Jason Butler Harner, Alex Burns | USA | Comedy | If you have any fondness for life's oddballs, I think you'll share my affection for the latest film from the writing/directing team of Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, who brought us American Splendor. The Extra Man, based on a novel by Jonathan Ames, focuses on two men | ||
| Salt | 2010 | Phillip Noyce | 100 |
Salt moves like a bullet, and almost never stops to take a breath; as a result, neither do we. I can't think of a recent film that's maintained such a breakneck pace or made me so unaware of time flying by. This is beneficial, because the story doesn't always make sense but when a film is this energetic and entertaining, it would be a shame to spoil the fun by demanding too much of it. Angelina Jolie is well cast as a CIA operative who has survived torture and imprisonment in North Korea and wound up at a desk job in Washington, D.C. Then an unexpected turn of events impels her to (literally) run for her life. Jolie's athleticism is put to especially good use here. She's one of the few actresses around who can make me believe she's really leaping from a highway overpass onto a passing truck below or hanging onto an eleventh-floor building ledge. (According to director Phillip Noyce, she did perform most of her stunts, with the aid of invisible movie trickery.) Her commitment to the often-elusive character of Evelyn Salt, as well as her physicality, makes the movie work as well as it does. Liev Schreiber is a bit more transparent as her longtime colleague, and Chiwetel Ejiofor does yeoman service as an FBI agent who doesn't trust anyone. But this is unmistakably a vehicle for Angelina Jolie (even though the role was originally written for a man). Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer, who visited this territory before in The Recruit, has concocted a fairly outlandish story, even though its central idea of sleeper cells is valid and intriguing. I'm afraid I saw his climactic "big reveal" coming almost a mile away, but he and Noyce have filled the movie with enough colorful details of how a well-trained spy operates to maintain a fair degree of suspense. My chief complaint is that I don't believe a key element in the makeup of the central character, which I can't reveal. The result is a movie that's diverting and genuinely exciting to watch. I wish its story were air-tight, but even with its flaws it provides solid entertainment and a great showcase for its star. |
tt0944835 | [PG-13] | Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher, Olek Krupa | USA | Action, Thriller | Salt moves like a bullet, and almost never stops to take a breath; as a result, neither do we. I can't think of a recent film that's maintained such a breakneck pace or made me so unaware of time flying by. This is beneficial, because the story doesn't always make sense but when a fil | ||
| Life During Wartime | 2010 | Todd Solondz | 98 |
I vividly recall the year Todd Solondz's Happiness debuted at the Telluride Film Festival. His deadpan treatment of such sensitive subjects as pederasty and masturbation polarized the assembled moviegoers; some walked out in disgust, others stayed and were full of praise. Only a filmmaker as iconoclastic as Solondz would create a sequel twelve years laterand recast all the leading characters. Many of his films in that intervening period have been disappointing and downright strange, but Life During Wartime is exceptional... just as good as Happiness, and possibly even better. Once again, the movie opens on a note of black comedy, as we meet the mousy character with awful taste in men played by Shirley Henderson (one of cinema's most gifted chameleons, best known to mass audiences as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter series), at dinner with an ex who claims to have shed all of his egregious bad habits. She is one of three sisters who each sport a different brand of dysfunctional behavior. The straight-faced absurdity of the opening scene, along with the introduction of a surreal element (the apparition of Henderson's deceased former boyfriend, played by Paul Reubens) gives one a sense of what's in store. But Solondz isn't out for cheap laughs. We may chuckle at some of the boorish behavior and banal conversation of his characters, and even feel superior to them, as we explore their twisted family tiesbetween husband and wife, father and son, mother and children, and of course the three female siblings. But as the intertwining stories progress, the tone of the film subtly changes and by the end Solondz elicits real empathy for these poor souls. He disarms us as the movie builds to a poignant and moving conclusion. The cast simply couldn't be better, from young Dylan Riley Snyder, as the wide-eyed boy who's nervous about his forthcoming bar mitzvah, to such stalwarts as Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Ciarán Hinds, Charlotte Rampling, Renee Taylor, and Ally Sheedy, as the sister who has fled her family's stomping ground in Florida to make her way in Hollywood. Life During Wartime is a genuine original, a film that manages to be funny, relevant, and emotionally affecting. It's about as far from mainstream moviemaking as one can get; it's also one of the most satisfying and memorable pictures of the year. I hope it finds the audience it deserves. |
tt0808526 | [R] | Shirley Henderson, Michael K. Williams, Allison Janney, Michael Lerner, Dylan Riley Snyder, Ciarán Hinds, Renée Taylor, Paul Reubens, Emma Hinz, Charlotte Rampling, Ally Sheedy, Gaby Hoffmann | USA | I vividly recall the year Todd Solondz's Happiness debuted at the Telluride Film Festival. His deadpan treatment of such sensitive subjects as pederasty and masturbation polarized the assembled moviegoers; some walked out in disgust, others stayed and were full of praise. Only a filmma | |||
| Inception | 2010 | Christopher Nolan | 148 |
Everyone is different. I don't like mazes, puzzles, Rubik's Cube, or most
of Christopher Nolan's films. He delights in creating cinematic puzzles
but I always sense the wheels turning, instead of getting caught up
in the action. Obviously he has the imagination to devise ingenious
premises and the skill to bring them to life, but halfway through
Inception, which runs close to two-and-a-half hours, my mind
started to wander. Instead of being pulled into his world I felt myself
drifting away from it.
The movie starts out promisingly enough. In a kind of companion piece to Shutter Island, Leonardo DiCaprio is cast as a man who is haunted by things he has planted in his own fertile imagination. The subject of the movie is experimental mind control, and as the story progresses we dive deeper and deeper into this world—from one level to another, with one person's living dream hatching in another person's mind. And so on and so forth. Nolan starts the movie with a bang, grabbing us with an action sequence that also makes use of visual effects and mind games, and punctuates the story with more of the same. DiCaprio works alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and tries to resist the temptation of a job offered by businessman Ken Watanabe—but can't, because he holds out a carrot Leo can't walk away from. The best sequence involves Leonardo's recruitment of super-smart Ellen Page as he walks her into this world of imaginary architecture where your mind paints a three-dimensional picture. We can only marvel at what writer-director Nolan has thought up and executed so well. But he doesn't know when to stop. Every level leads to another level, and the expository dialogue becomes ludicrous as characters try to explain the ever-shifting ground rules to one another—and to us in the audience. The result is pure gobbledygook. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but a climactic outdoor action set piece seems completely and utterly contrived, an excuse to hype the movie with more stunt work and explosions. It has no organic connection to the story; it's one more indulgence of a filmmaker who can't, or won't, edit himself. The performances are good. DiCaprio is properly anguished, Marion Cotillard does well as his tormented wife, and Nolan's good-luck charm Michael Caine brings his trademark charisma to a throwaway role. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who's always good, is permitted to contribute a few (very few) lighter moments to an otherwise deadly serious narrative. Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, and Dileep Rao complete DiCaprio's "team," adding life and color to the ensemble. But the result, for me, is a muddle. Even at the early press screening I attended, I heard cries of "Brilliant!", so I know my opinion won't be shared by everyone. I admire Christopher Nolan's ambition and intelligence, but I don't think it's necessary to jump through endless hoops to tell a good story, or to digest one. I'm of the "less is more" school, but Nolan and his followers apparently believe that more is better. |
tt1375666 | [PG-13] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas | USA | Sci-Fi, Thriller | Everyone is different. I don't like mazes, puzzles, Rubik's Cube, or most of Christopher Nolan's films. He delights in creating cinematic puzzles but I always sense the wheels turning, instead of getting caught up in the action. Obviously he has the imagination to devise ingenious premises and t | ||
| The Sorcerer's Apprentice | 2010 | Jon Turteltaub | 0 |
If you know that this film comes from the team that gave you National
Treasure, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect: a larger-than-life
action yarn with special effects and a sense of humor. It isn't my
favorite kind of entertainment, but there's a good reason Jerry Bruckheimer
is successful: he (mostly) makes movies people pay money to see. Director
Jon Turteltaub and a team of writers are clearly in sync with the producer's
m.o.
Jay Baruchel plays the science-nerd hero of the story, who's had an unrequited crush on a cute blond girl since he was 10 (as we learn in a prologue). That's when he first encountered a sorcerer, played by Nicolas Cage. Ten years later, the events foretold in that first encounter come to fruition: Baruchel is a "chosen one" among sorcerers and he must learn his trade, in order to fend off an impending crisis. The most novel aspect of the movie is that it takes place in Manhattan, and makes entertaining and unexpected use of the City, from Wall Street to the ledge of the Chrysler Building. The story follows a somewhat predictable but serviceable formula, the actors do their jobs (including the always-welcome Alfred Molina as Cage's extended-lifelong rival), and the special effects are spectacular. Frankly, the film made me forget about its source—the immortal segment in Walt Disney's Fantasia featuring Mickey Mouse—until a scene specifically alluded to it. I found it unnecessary and uninspired, but kids will get a kick out of it. No one among the Disney fan community need worry that this movie will supersede Fantasia or erase its memory. All in all, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is pretty good. Unlike some mass-audience summer fodder, it delivers exactly what it promises. |
tt0963966 | [PG] | Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell, Omar Benson Miller, Monica Bellucci, Alice Krige, Jake Cherry, James A. Stephens | USA | Action, Sci-Fi | If you know that this film comes from the team that gave you National Treasure, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect: a larger-than-life action yarn with special effects and a sense of humor. It isn't my favorite kind of entertainment, but there's a good reason Jerry Bruckheimer is succ | ||
| The Kids Are All Right | 2010 | Lisa Cholodenko | 104 |
Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are worth the price of admission to The
Kids Are All Right all by themselves, as far as I'm concerned.
That the film is so smart and entertaining is icing on the cake.
I expect savvy storytelling from Lisa Cholodenko, who wrote and directed High Art and Laurel Canyon, which gave juicy, colorful roles to Patricia Clarkson and Frances McDormand, respectively. She's done the same for her newest, high-profile leading ladies, casting them as a longtime married couple who have raised two good kids, now 15 (Josh Hutcherson) and 18 (Mia Wasikowska). It's clear the teens have grown up in a loving environment, but theyre curious to learn the identity of the man who donated the sperm that brought them to life. They pursue this without telling their moms and actually meet the guy, an organic farmer and restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo. That's where the plot thickens. Cholodenko, who wrote the screenplay with Stuart Blumberg, generates a good many laughs through simple, observational humor about the quirks and foibles of family life. Much of this could be set in a more traditional household, and thats the beauty of The Kids Are All Right. It isnt a polemic: it's a piece of entertainment. It doesnt duck the circumstance or the particulars of same-sex marriage, but it's treated as an ingredient of the story, not the story itself. Having actresses who can play every note, every color of these well-defined characters is a treat. Bening is the more serious of the two partners: responsible, career-minded, a perfectionist. Moore is a gentler soul, a woman who's never really settled on a profession. They make a good couple, though the strains of their long-term relationship begin to show during the course of the story. The kids' roles are just as well written and performed. The 15-year-old is still a work in progress, while Wasikowska (whom you may have seen in the leading role of Alice in Wonderland earlier this year) is on the cusp of adulthood, just about to leave the nest for college and resentful that shes still treated like a child. Mark Ruffalo completes the picture as the man who's unattached, yet surprisingly ready to become part of the family. His sudden presence affects each of the other characters in an individual way, prompting a variety of responses, not all of them healthy. The tone of the movie subtly changes as the issues grow more serious, but Cholodenko never missteps, and the results are both poignant and believable. Here is yet another indie movie that puts Hollywoods bloated blockbusters to shame this summer. Go see it. |
tt0842926 | [R] | Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Zosia Mamet, Joaquin Garrido, Rebecca Lawrence | USA | Comedy | Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are worth the price of admission to The Kids Are All Right all by themselves, as far as I'm concerned. That the film is so smart and entertaining is icing on the cake.I expect savvy storytelling from Lisa Cholodenko, who wrote and directed High Art | ||
| Knight and Day | 2010 | James Mangold | 110 |
It irks me that this film has been the subject of so much snarky speculation.
I'm sorry if teenagers don't care about Cameron Diaz and some people
think Tom Cruise's career as a superstar is over. I'm sorrier still
that 20th Century Fox seems to be running scared over a movie
they produced, at great expense. (Why else would you hire two attractive,
world-famous stars and not show their faces on your posters and in your
print ads?)
What bothers me most about the negative buzz is that the movie is actually quite good. It delivers exactly what it promises, which is more than I can say for much of Hollywood's A-level product these days. Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as a spy who's being pursued by take-no-prisoners bad guys. Cameron Diaz winds up on the same flight and becomes innocently involved in the action without understanding what's going on or who she's dealing with. This leads the two on a breathless, round-the-world scramble to elude Cruise's would-be assassins, while Diaz is forced to decide if she's hooked up with a good guy (as he claims to be) or a rogue. There are obvious echoes of Hitchcock's North by Northwest and other films of the past, but just because Patrick O'Neill's screenplay doesn't have their wit or restraint doesn't mean it isn't lively and engaging. It's clear from the start that there is going to be a great deal of action and violence, including some hair-raising chase scenes, but none of it is to be taken seriously. Director James Mangold never lingers on the result of the mayhem that surrounds Cruise wherever he goes because that would defeat the lighthearted tone of the picture. Knight and Day doesn't pretend to be anything more than pure escapism. It's slickly produced, well-paced, and takes place in a variety of colorful settings. Most of all, it serves as a vehicle for its well-matched stars. Cruise gets to poke gentle fun of his coolly confident Mission: Impossible persona as a hero to whom nothing is impossible, while Diaz displays her comedic chops as an ordinary woman caught up in extraordinary goings-on. These are emblematic modern-day Movie Stars, doing what Movie Stars do best, and they're great fun to watch. (This is yet another film, like Prince of Persia—to name just one recent example—that presents its leading actors in almost constant ultra-closeups. Only the most beautiful people on earth could withstand such scrutiny.) I thoroughly enjoyed Knight and Day and hope it finds the wide, appreciative audience it deserves. Teenagers may disagree with me, but this is my idea of perfect summer fare. |
tt1013743 | [PG-13] | Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi Mollà, Viola Davis, Paul Dano, Falk Hentschel, Marc Blucas, Lennie Loftin, Maggie Grace, Dale Dye | USA | Action, Adventure | It irks me that this film has been the subject of so much snarky speculation. I'm sorry if teenagers don't care about Cameron Diaz and some people think Tom Cruise's career as a superstar is over. I'm sorrier still that 20th Century Fox seems to be running scared over a movie they produced, at g | ||
| Toy Story 3 | 2010 | Lee Unkrich | 103 |
Director Lee Unkrich says that when he embarked on this film he watched every
movie he could find with a "3" in its title, hoping to find a good
one he could use as a role model. He came up empty-handed. Perhaps that's
one reason he and his colleagues at Pixar put so much effort into this
sequelto validate its existence. It's that work ethic, along with
creativity and seemingly boundless imagination, that makes Toy Story
3 so good.
The movie's strongest asset is its familiar "stars." It's great to spend quality time, once again, with Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie the cowgirl, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky dog, and all the others who populate this world of toys. These are wonderful, well-defined characters, and the actors who provide their voices do yeoman service here. Every time Mr. Potato Head opens his mouth (courtesy of Don Rickles) he gets a laugh, just as every wisecrack that comes from piggy bank Hamm (John Ratzenberger) and exclamation from T-Rex (Wallace Shawn) scores a direct hit. There are no weak links in this vocal chain, starting at the top with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Framing their new adventure is a situation that many families will relate to: Andy, whose room has been the toys' home for so many years, is heading off to college, and doesn't quite know what to do with his childhood playthings. Quite by accident the toys are bagged and sent to a local day-care center where, Woody reassures them, they will be played with (which is what all toys want, of course). However, things don't go as planned, and therein lies the tale, which I will not spoil. I will say that Toy Story 3 turns unexpectedly dark, which I found somewhat disconcerting—especially the potent villainy of one of the new characters. I know that any good story must involve some adventure, even peril, but this one may be a bit intense for young children—I know it was for me! The salve for this is the expression of true friendship that unites our protagonists at their moment of truth, and the way the movie tugs at our heartstrings in its poignant finale. The geniuses at Pixar understand that for a movie to have resonance it can't be built on a foundation of glib jokes and visual gags: they pepper their film with plenty of laughs (some of which will amuse parents more than children) but more important, they make us care about these animated characters as if they were real. In a sense they are: they live in our imagination. John Lasseter and his team use the storytelling template developed by Walt Disney, which serves them extremely well, but they've also turned to live-action writers to make their screenplays as rich as they can be. In this case, Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine, collaborated with the Pixar folks. Then they flesh out that blueprint with incredible visual detail. Toy Story 3 is not only good-looking but exquisitely designed, from top to bottom, with no shortage of fleeting, even sneaky, throwaway gags and references. (See if you can find the homage to Hayao Miyazaki or Walt Disney's Spin and Marty.) Randy Newman's evocative score provides yet another link to the first and second installment in this series, and I enjoyed the new song ("We Belong Together") he sings over the closing credits. Perhaps the least impressive aspect of this feature is its use of 3-D, which might best be described as subdued. I suspect that the Pixar folks don't care that much about the medium because their films are already so dimensional. And that's fine with me. Lee Unkrich shares screenplay credit with the aforementioned Michael Arndt and Pixar veterans John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. They can be proud of what they've achieved here, and I think audiences of all ages will be grateful. |
tt0435761 | [G] | Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson | USA | Animation, Adventure | Director Lee Unkrich says that when he embarked on this film he watched every movie he could find with a "3" in its title, hoping to find a good one he could use as a role model. He came up empty-handed. Perhaps that's one reason he and his colleagues at Pixar put so much effort into this sequel | ||
| Cyrus | 2010 | Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass | 92 |
Cyrus is a movie destined to catch audiences off-guard. The presence of comedic performers like John C. Reilly and especially Jonah Hill may lead many
viewers to expect a comedy—and laugh (as at least one preview audience
did) at moments that aren't intended to be funny. But filmmakers Jay
and Mark Duplass have a surprise up their sleeve: they use these likable
actors (along with Catherine Keener and Marisa Tomei) to win us over.
Cyrus is actually a serious film with comic undertones
and it's
quite good.
Reilly is an ideal Everyman character—here, a guy who's still reeling from his divorce seven years ago and hasn't gotten his act together. His very patient ex-wife (the wonderful Keener) encourages him to attend a party where, to his amazement, he actually meets an attractive woman (Tomei) who likes him on sight. He can't believe his good fortune. The hitch is that she lives with her grown son Cyrus (Hill). He and his mom are exceptionally close, and although Tomei can't see it, Cyrus is not about to let an outsider disrupt their relationship. At this point, a conventional Hollywood movie would have turned the rivalry between the son and the new lover into a broad comedy showdown. Cyrus goes in a different direction, and that's what makes this such a striking and worthwhile film. Its characters wear their emotions on their sleeves, and the Duplass' hand-held, closeup camerawork puts us literally in their faces. There is no ducking their raw feelings or the discomfort of their confrontations, and that's just what the filmmakers had in mind. Cyrus won't be everybody's cup of tea—especially people who want formulaic storytelling that gives them just what they expect. But if you don't mind being disarmed, especially by talented actors who can make you believe in the characters they're playing, it's a highspot of the summer movie season. |
tt1336617 | [R] | John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener, Matt Walsh, Diane Mizota, Kathy Wittes, Kathryn Aselton, Tim Guinee, Steve Zissis | USA | Comedy | Cyrus is a movie destined to catch audiences off-guard. The presence of comedic performers like John C. Reilly and especially Jonah Hill may lead many viewers to expect a comedy—and laugh (as at least one preview audience did) at moments that aren't intended to be funny. But filmmakers Jay | ||
| The Karate Kid | 2010 | Harald Zwart | 85 |
In today's risk-averse movie business, we're seeing more remakes than
ever, including retreads of films that don't seem that old (to some
of us). After a screening of the new Karate Kid I asked a couple
of ten-year-old boys if they knew the 1984 movie, and they did,
thanks to DVDs and cable TV reruns. Interestingly enough, neither one
wanted to compare one version with the other: they like them both. I
do, too.
The original Karate Kid, written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John Avildsen (in the same mold as his first smash hit, Rocky), was a shamelessly manipulative but well-told story, perfectly cast, with Ralph Macchio as a boy who needs to learn how to defend himself and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita as his unlikely mentor in martial arts, Mr. Miyagi. (In real life, Macchio told me the other night, Morita "couldn't touch his toes.") That premise is the only tangent that connects the 1984 hit and its new incarnation, written by Christopher Murphey and directed by Dutch ex-pat Harald Zwart, whose previous American credits include such undistinguished fare as Agent Cody Banks and The Pink Panther II. This expert, if overlong, piece of entertainment is likely to propel both men to the front ranks of commercial moviemaking. It's a winner. A great deal of credit goes to the film's two stars. Jaden Smith, Will Smith's 11-year-old son, reveals a level of charisma and screen presence that was only hinted at when he appeared with his father in The Pursuit of Happyness. It's often been said that juvenile performances can be cobbled together in the editing room; I don't think that's the case here. This young man has what it takes. Jackie Chan is likable and persuasive as his teacher, an introverted maintenance man at the Beijing apartment building where Smith and his mom (Taraji P. Henson) come to live after leaving Detroit behind. Chan's character undergoes as great a transformation as Smith's in this screenplay, and it's enjoyable to watch because he is such an appealing actorand still supple enough to kick butt when the occasion demands. The new Karate Kid takes its time establishing its story building-blocks, and stretches out its climax, with a kung fu tournament that's much more violent and bone-crunching than the one I remember from the first movie and its two sequels. The underlying messages of courage and honor still come through, although they're a bit muddy at times. What matters most in a film like this is rooting interest, and that is firmly established and well played out, with appropriate doses of villainy and puppy love. The most important new ingredient is the Chinese setting, and Smith's position as a fish out of water dealing with a country, and culture, he doesn't know or understand. I could find nits to pick, but they pale alongside this film's exuberance and entertainment value for a broad audience. The Karate Kid deserves the success it's bound to enjoy. |
tt1155076 | [PG] | Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Rongguang Yu, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, Shijia Lü, Zhenwei Wang | USA | Action, Drama | In today's risk-averse movie business, we're seeing more remakes than ever, including retreads of films that don't seem that old (to some of us). After a screening of the new Karate Kid I asked a couple of ten-year-old boys if they knew the 1984 movie, and they did, thanks to DVDs | ||
| Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time | 2010 | Mike Newell | 116 |
I have nothing against a juvenile action-adventure yarn with a touch of
fantasy thrown in, and while I can't pretend to get inside the head
of a 12-year-old boy, I enjoy summoning my inner child whenever such
a film has great spirit and rousing action scenes. This one, I'm sorry
to say, feels mechanical in its storytelling, and presents us with heroes
and villains that are "types" rather than genuine, fleshed-out characters
one can care about.
Jake Gyllenhaal is likable enough, and the actors who join him play their parts as well as can be expected, including the beautiful Gemma Arterton, as the princess who alone understands the mystic power of a dagger that can alter "the sands of time." It's a good thing Ms. Arterton is beautiful, because this is one of those movies that—in spite of its expansive, Middle Eastern backdrop and enormous sets—chooses to play most of the scenes involving its main characters in ultra-closeups, the kind where after a while you find yourself examining the pores in the actors' skin. I suppose this will play well on an iPhone, but it's pretty distracting on the big screen. Director Mike Newell shoots and stages his action scenes in a way that's even more frustrating: major stunts (and there are a lot of them) never seem to take place in plain view. If, for example, a character is to mount a horse during a frantic escape scene, then slide down to the side so his pursuers can't see him, the action is so fragmented that we never actually see the stunt take place. All we get is the set-up and the result. (This same fragmented approach to action drove me crazy in the last James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.) What's the point of having able-bodied stunt people if their work is obscured through the shooting and editing process? As for visual effects, Prince of Persia does what other Jerry Bruckheimer productions have in the past. Its story builds to a climax that involves a massive scene of chaos and destruction but the elements of this sequence are so huge, and obviously unrealistic, that there is no emotional connection with the characters whose survival is at stake as all hell breaks loose. I don't mean to dissect a movie that is clearly intended as escapist entertainment, and nothing more. But there is good escapism and then there's this. Even the comedy-relief character played by the wonderful Alfred Molina seems shopworn, an amalgam of better-written figures from a dozen other films. Undemanding 12-year-olds who don't squirm at two-hour movies based on video games may not share my criticisms. But if you're male, older than 12, and you have a choice between this and Sex and the City 2, I'd suggest staying home and reading a good book. |
tt0473075 | [PG-13] | Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup, Reece Ritchie, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Claudio Pacifico, Thomas DuPont, Dave Pope | USA | Action, Adventure | I have nothing against a juvenile action-adventure yarn with a touch of fantasy thrown in, and while I can't pretend to get inside the head of a 12-year-old boy, I enjoy summoning my inner child whenever such a film has great spirit and rousing action scenes. This one, I'm sorry to say, feels me | ||
| Sex And The City 2 | 2010 | Michael Patrick King | 146 |
Some films are considered critic-proof: in other words, they're going to
succeed no matter what anyone says. Sex and the City 2 is a prime
example. I presume that the huge, mostly female crowds that rushed to
see the first feature-length adaptation of Darren Star's racy TV series
two years ago will be back in equal force for this followup, even though,
like so many sequels, it isn't as good.
I imagine what matters most to the movie's target audience is simply spending "quality time" with the leading characters, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon, and reveling in their wish-fulfillment world of perfect living spaces, stylish clothes and jewelry, and (in this case) a trip to an eye-popping luxury hotel in the Middle East. If that's all that matters to you, this movie certainly gives you your money's worthfor almost two and a half hours. The women inhabit their characters extremely well, only now (in a story set two years after the last picture) three of them are happily married, and two of them have children. The one "single girl" who remains (Cattrall) is as libidinous as ever, and usually gets what she's after, right up to and including a shot that's as close to pornography as anything I've ever seen in a mainstream movie. Because the others are essentially happy and settled, it's the job of writer-director Michael Patrick King to invent crises for them, and find ways to blow the little ones out of proportion. But because this film is so episodic (and—did I mention?—long) there's plenty of time for subplots and sidetrips, comedy-relief episodes, musical moments (including an appearance by Liza Minnelli), and some serious, even poignant moments that underscore what a movie like this could be if it weren't all over the map. I don't think anyone is meant to take the film too seriously. If one did, one could take offense at any number of ingredients, from the relentless superficiality of its leading ladies to the portrayal of Middle Eastern women. But the film prevails because there are just enough points of identification—with the harried women who are trying to cope with motherhood, and Parker's attempts to keep a little zing in the relationship with her all-too-comfortable husband—to make Sex and the City 2 resonate with its audience. I never watched the HBO series that debuted in 1998, so I can't compare
this movie to its source materialonly the 2008 feature, which I enjoyed.
This one has less structure and momentum, which is true of so many market-driven
movie sequels, but it does keep its central characters alive, and in
the spotlight; that seems to be its primary reason for being. |
tt1261945 | [R] | Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler, Jason Lewis, Mario Cantone, Willie Garson, Liza Minnelli | USA | Comedy, Drama | Some films are considered critic-proof: in other words, they're going to succeed no matter what anyone says. Sex and the City 2 is a prime example. I presume that the huge, mostly female crowds that rushed to see the first feature-length adaptation of Darren Star's racy TV series two year | ||
| Holy Rollers | 2010 | Kevin Asch | 89 |
A good movie starts with an idea. In the case of Holy Rollers,
a news item about a drug bust involving Hassidic Jews from Brooklyn,
New York inspired a novice producer to believe that this could be the
springboard for a film
and he was right. Holy Rollers is a
piece of fiction inspired by that factual incident. It's modest in
its ambitions but realizes them fully, in a deceptively simple, stragithforward
film that's both satisfying and thought-provoking.
Jesse Eisenberg is well cast as Shmuel, or Sam, a young man who's working with his father in the garment business and studying to be a rabbi. Yet he feels restless and dissatisfied, frustrated over his family's chronic lack of money. This makes him susceptible to the advances of his next-door neighbor's older brother, played by Justin Bartha, who mentions the opportunity to make some easy dough by transporting "medicine" into the U.S. Sam is naïve, but he also provides himself with a barrier of insularity by not asking questions, at first. One reason the film works so well is that first-time feature director Kevin Asch manages to capture the look and feel of a traditional Hassidic household and community, as well as the exotic night world of drugs, booze, and women that Sam comes to know—and like. Nothing is stressed or overplayed, and every cast member delivers, including Danny A. Abeckaser (who also produced the film) as an Israeli-born drug dealer) and Ari Graynor as his sexy girlfriend. Hallie Kate Eisenberg, a onetime child actress and Jesse's sister, plays his disapproving sibling. What's more, Antonio Macia's screenplay gives us food for thought. I found myself wondering what was going through the leading character's mind at different stages of the story, and how I might have responded if I had been in his shoes. Holy Rollers ranks as one of the year's top independent films; it's well worth seeing. |
tt1143896 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Q-Tip, Danny A. Abeckaser, Ari Graynor, Jason Fuchs, Bern Cohen, Mark Ivanir, Charlie Hewson, Andrew Levitas | USA | Crime, Drama | A good movie starts with an idea. In the case of Holy Rollers, a news item about a drug bust involving Hassidic Jews from Brooklyn, New York inspired a novice producer to believe that this could be the springboard for a film and he was right. Holy Rollers is a piece of fiction inspired b | ||
| Solitary Man | 2010 | Brian Koppelman, David Levien | 90 |
Michael Douglas has nothing to fear, so he's perfectly willing to play a role
other actors might run away from: a 60-ish New Yorker who's a complete
and utter louse. Once he married his college sweetheart and owned a
string of car dealerships; now all he's got left is his gift of gab,
which can still win over almost any woman, young or old. But without
a moral compass, he makes one bad decision after another, causing his
personal and professional life to crumble
and he has no one to blame
but himself.
Such a character could be completely repellent, if he existed in a glum, two-dimensional movie. But Brian Koppelman's lively screenplay for Solitary Man (which he directed with David Levien) keeps us wondering what's going to happen next, and how his protagonist is going to survive yet another bad move. He is brought to life with believable bravado by Douglas, in one of his richest performances. What's more, the movie is filled with interesting, contradictory characters—people you might actually encounter in real life, if not very often in the movies. I'm reluctant to discuss them in detail because I will spoil your sense of discovery. Let's just say I don't remember another nerdy college student quite like the one played here by Jesse Eisenberg, whom Douglas briefly takes under his wing, or an old buddy like Douglas' pal Danny DeVito, who never left the college town where he still runs a greasy spoon. In a superficial Hollywood movie, Eisenberg would be a stock movie nerd and DeVito would be a sappy, nostalgic friend, but this film doesn't trade in stereotypes. That's what makes it so fresh and satisfying. The cast is well-chosen, right down the line: Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Imogen Poots, Richard Schiff, Ben Shenkman, and Anastaisa Griffith. Kudos to all of them, and to Koppelman and Levien for creating a film that, like the people in it, defies pigeonholing. |
tt1294213 | [R] | Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Richard Schiff, Jake Richard Siciliano, David Costabile, Anastasia Griffith, Arthur J. Nascarella | USA | Comedy, Drama | Michael Douglas has nothing to fear, so he's perfectly willing to play a role other actors might run away from: a 60-ish New Yorker who's a complete and utter louse. Once he married his college sweetheart and owned a string of car dealerships; now all he's got left is his gift of gab, which can | ||
| Robin Hood | 2010 | Ridley Scott | 140 |
I went into this film with a "show me" attitude, but I freely admit
it won me over. In spite of a few quibbles, I came away entertained.
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to director Ridley Scott, screenwriter
Brian Helgeland, and their cast is that I didn't find myself comparing
their work to Robin Hoods past. They have managed to put their stamp
on a familiar tale without completely subverting it.
One reason their movie stands apart is that it endeavors to tell the origin of Robin Hood rather than simply repeating the usual story. The action begins as our hero is fighting for his King, Richard the Lionheart, who is pillaging his way through France on his way back home from the Crusades. One by one we meet the characters who will play crucial roles in the Robin Hood legend-to-come, as well as new figures who matter most in this pre-history. Russell Crowe has all the right ingredients to play this heroic figure—physicality, personal charisma, and sincerity, whether declaiming noble thoughts or sly asides. He's believable as a leader and as a lover. Cate Blanchett is a perfect choice to play his Marian, the kind of woman who can stand toe-to-toe with such a hero, earning both his respect and ours. The large supporting cast is peppered with familiar faces and newcomers alike, from Mark Addy as Friar Tuck to the current cinema's go-to villain, Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, The Young Victoria, Kick-Ass), as the principal bad guy; he certainly commands the screen. But it's a couple of acting veterans who show us what decades of experience can bring to the party: Eileen Atkins, as the proud Elinor of Aquitaine, and Max von Sydow, as Blanchett's father, who plays a fateful role in our hero's evolution. At 81, von Sydow dominates every scene he's in, as his role is designed to do; he offers humor, heart, and authority to a character you won't find (to my knowledge) in any previous Robin Hood. The sets and Welsh locations are impressive, and the action scenes are gritty and forceful. When these arrows find their targets, you can feel the victims' pain. Only the finale, a spectacular battle at water's edge, feels out of place, as if it belonged in some other movie. I'm sure I'm not the only person who will be reminded of Saving Private Ryan (I won't go into details), an unwelcome distraction that isn't helped by the most obvious CGI effects in the film—and a couple of helicopter shots that drive home the incongruity. It's also around this time that the movie starts feeling long. Moviegoers won't be able to complain that they haven't gotten their money's worth: this Robin Hood delivers an abundance of action and story, but its real value is the human element provided by its principal actors. It's that aspect of the legend that has captured our imagination for years, and fortunately, it hasn't been forgotten here. Robin Hood may not be a great film—and it certainly won't displace other versions of the story for all time—but it has much to enjoy, for longtime fans of the story and newcomers alike. |
tt0955308 | [PG-13] | Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes | USA | Action, Drama | I went into this film with a "show me" attitude, but I freely admit it won me over. In spite of a few quibbles, I came away entertained. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay to director Ridley Scott, screenwriter Brian Helgeland, and their cast is that I didn't find myself comparing their work | ||
| Mother and Child | 2010 | Rodrigo García | 125 |
I love the work of writer-director Rodrigo Garcia, and bemoan the fact
that more people haven't seen his female-centric anthology films
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
and Nine Lives. It's evident that actors are familiar with
his efforts, however, because the best and the brightest want to work
with him. For Mother and Child, he has narrowed his focus to
three parallel (and overlapping) stories, and once again he's attracted
great actresses to star: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington.
The theme of the movie is adoption. Bening's character gave up a child in infancy, when she was just a teenager, and it's colored her life ever since. She works as a professional caregiver, while taking care of her elderly mother at home. Watts is a career-driven attorney who refuses to put down roots, personally or professionally, which one might trace to the fact that she never knew her mother. Washington is a young married woman who can't bear a child but does want to adopt—although her husband has reservations about the process. Garcia slowly, carefully weaves these stories into one compelling tapestry, and while the viewer has to be willing to accept a certain degree of contrivance, or calculation, in the storytelling, there are no false notes in the emotions he touches upon. For women—and men, too—there are few topics as sensitive as adoption. But this is neither a message picture nor a superficial TV movie. The reason is Garcia's gift for writing interesting characters and choosing the right performers to play them. Bening captures all the nuances of a character who is desperately needy but so prickly that she drives even well-meaning people away. Watts is completely convincing as a woman who has no use for social niceties or pretension; she wants to be in complete control of every facet of her life. Washington, too, is palpably real as a woman who wants to please her husband and her family, but has to ultimately decide what's best for her. It's a treat to watch these gifted women at work, but the men make a worthy contribution as well, especially Jimmy Smits as a nice guy who tries to break through Bening's shell, and Samuel L. Jackson, in an atypical role as the confident, successful head of an L.A. law firm who becomes involved with Watts. The supporting roles are interesting and unpredictable, as well, and they're filled by an impressive array of actors, many of whom have worked with Garcia before, including Cherry Jones, S. Epatha Merkerson, Eileen Ryan, Elpidia Carrillo, Marc Blucas, David Ramsey, Shareeka Epps, Lisa Gay Hamilton, David Morse, Michael Warren, LaTanya Richardson, Amy Brenneman, Carla Gallo, Tatyana Ali, Elizabeth Peña, and Lawrence Pressman. Because it covers so much ground, and takes its time doing so, Mother and Child isn't as cogent as the short stories in Garcia's other films, but its characters and their emotional lives still resonate with me, weeks after seeing it. If you find character as compelling as story, and cherish great acting, Mother and Child is a must-see. |
tt1121977 | [R] | Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Shareeka Epps, David Morse, Tatyana Ali, Amy Brenneman, Carla Gallo, Marc Blucas, Jimmy Smits, S. Epatha Merkerson, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Eileen Ryan | USA | Drama | I love the work of writer-director Rodrigo Garcia, and bemoan the fact that more people haven't seen his female-centric anthology films Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her and Nine Lives. It's evident that actors are familiar with his efforts, however, because the best and t | ||
| Iron Man 2 | 2010 | Jon Favreau | 124 |
The best thing I can say about Iron Man 2 is also the worst thing
I can say about it: it's a sequel. Kids will probably like it fine;
there's plenty of action and it's easy to follow. But big-league
comic-book movies want to appeal to adults as well as kids these days,
and it's not easy to serve both constituencies.
There's also no reason a sequel can't be good. The Godfather Part II and Toy Story 2 remain the pinnacle of such achievements—the exceptions to the rule. In the comic-book movie realm, X2 built upon the success of X-Men, and Spider-Man 2 improved upon the original in so many ways that it made the disappointment of Spider-Man 3 all the more profound. A big factor in Iron Man's success was bringing a fresh face to the world of superheroes: not only the unusual character of Tony Stark—a celebrity billionaire who makes money manufacturing high-tech weapons—but the offbeat choice of Robert Downey, Jr. to play him. The actor's restless energy and self-deprecating sense of humor gave the movie a unique vibe, along with that great high-tech suit. Given that, the sequel has several strikes against it right from the start: we've seen Downey play this guy before. What's more, Iron Man's identity is no longer a secret, so the always-intriguing plot device of an ordinary man with a superhero alter ego is gone. To make up for those debits, a sequel needs a great screenplay, and that's just what Iron Man 2 lacks. (The first film's writing team was supplanted by Justin Theroux, an actor-turned-writer whose principal credit to date is Tropic Thunder, which he shared with Ben Stiller.) Oh, there are plenty of new characters, played by an array of fine actors including Mickey Rourke (as a Russian bad guy), Scarlett Johansson (as a sexy Stark aide), Sam Rockwell (as an oily rival to Tony Stark), and Samuel L. Jackson as Marvel character Nick Fury. The estimable Don Cheadle steps into Terrence Howard's shoes as Lt. Col. "Rhodey" Rhodes, while the film's director, Jon Favreau, again gives himself an amusing supporting role. The combined appeal of these actors gives Iron Man 2 most of its entertainment value. But the story is just so-so, an excuse for a series of action scenes that lack credibility and the emotional connection that makes a superhero movie soar. One of my complaints about the first Iron Man was that it wasted Gwyneth Paltrow in a clichéd role as the hero's Girl Friday who harbors a secret crush on him. This time around the filmmakers go to the opposite extreme, creating a love story that seems utterly fabricated, though it's not the actors' fault. Iron Man 2 is not a bad movie; far from it. But it is an example of Hollywood "product," made to satisfy a commercial demand and a release-date deadline, as opposed to a movie born out of passion to tell a good story. |
tt1228705 | [PG-13] | Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Leslie Bibb, Garry Shandling | USA | Action, Adventure | The best thing I can say about Iron Man 2 is also the worst thing I can say about it: it's a sequel. Kids will probably like it fine; there's plenty of action and it's easy to follow. But big-league comic-book movies want to appeal to adults as well as kids these days, and it's not easy t | ||
| Please Give | 2010 | Nicole Holofcener | 90 |
Ive enjoyed all of Nicole Holofceners previous films (Walking and
Talking, Lovely & Amazing, Friends With Money) but she has outdone
herself with Please Give. Her characters are real, richly drawn,
and utterly relatable—but Holofcener is generous and tries not to
judge them, leaving that to us. With a light comic touch, and without
a whiff of pretension, she manages to explore some of the follies and
foibles of our time, creating superior entertainment that also holds
up a mirror to modern life.
Her leading lady, as always, is Catherine Keener, and there couldnt be a better Everywoman. Here shes a middle-class Manhattanite, comfortably married to Oliver Platt, trying her best to raise a teenage daughter (Sarah Steele) whos going through that awkward stage when every day brings a new crisis that parents just dont seem to understand. Keener and Platt run a used furniture store, and purchase most of their stock from the estates of the recently deceased. She enjoys the satisfaction of making a good deal but also feels guilty about possibly exploiting people. The couple tries to be friendly, in a neighborly way, to the elderly woman who lives in the apartment next door (Ann Guilbert) but shes a terribly difficult woman. Her own granddaughters have wildly different feelings toward her: Rebecca Hall is devoted while Amanda Peet cant wait for her to kick off. How these peoples lives intersect is the crux of Please Give, a wonderfully observant social comedy with serious undertones. Each character is so well written, and so perfectly played, that we feel both the pain and absurdity of their situations, sometimes at the very same moment. The New York-raised filmmaker also captures nuances of apartment life in Manhattan and a City mindset that any New Yorker will readily recognize. Perhaps her greatest creation is the miserably unhappy old woman, who is vividly brought to life by Ann Guilbert (whom some of us still remember as Millie from The Dick Van Dyke Show, even though shes done an awful lot since then). Not since encountering Tony Sopranos mother (played by Nancy Marchand) in the first seasons of The Sopranos have I seen such a perfect embodiment of misery—or perhaps I should say anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. (I learned the word years ago when I read that Woody Allen originally wanted to use it as the title of Annie Hall.) Yet there isnt an ounce of exaggeration in the character; Ive known people just like her. Shes awful and hilarious all at once. Please Give is the work of a writer-director who earns the highest praise I can give: shes an original. Please dont miss this movie. |
tt0878835 | [R] | Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, Kevin Corrigan, Lois Smith, Rebecca Hall, Elizabeth Keener, Elise Ivy, Josh Pais, Sarah Steele, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Rebecca Budig | USA | Comedy | Ive enjoyed all of Nicole Holofceners previous films (Walking and Talking, Lovely & Amazing, Friends With Money) but she has outdone herself with Please Give. Her characters are real, richly drawn, and utterly relatable—but Holofcener is generous and tries not to judge them, l | ||
| Kick-Ass | 2010 | Matthew Vaughn | 117 |
At the risk of sounding completely un-cool, I must admit I had wildly mixed
feelings about Kick-Ass. I understand the filmmakers' desire
to fulfill fanboys' fantasies and, at the same time, provide shock
value for the rest of the audience—especially anyone who might be
offended by mind-numbing violence or truly crude language from the lips
of an 11-year-old girl. But the two concepts don't easily gel.
What's more, the movie opens on what turns out to be a deceptive note of sincerity. High-school geek Dave Lizewski (well-cast newcomer Aaron Johnson) dreams of becoming a superhero named Kick-Ass, not just to break free from nerd-dom but because he genuinely wants to help people. His fledgling efforts are doomed to failure, but he doesn't give up. In a parallel story, we meet a loving father, played by Nicolas Cage (in a deliciously deranged performance) who is busily training his 11-year-old daughter to become a hit-man. He and she are the real superheroes of the story, a vigilante duo whose paths are destined to cross Dave Lizewski's. The versatile British actor Mark Strong, who's done such fine work in Body of Lies, The Young Victoria, and other recent films, is cast as an iron-willed Italian-American crime boss who's also a family man. (His son, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse--aka McLovin—also plays a role in Kick-Ass's ultimate fate.) So far, so good; at a certain point I would have labeled the film a guilty pleasure, with some potent shock-value moments and flamboyant comic-book mayhem. But the filmmakers—writer-director Matthew Vaughn and his screenwriter-wife Jane Goldman, working from Mark Millar's blueprint and comic book and John Romita, Jr.'s artwork—have no restraint. The film runs nearly two hours, which dilutes rather than strengthens its impact, and the longer it goes, the wilder it gets. On one level, I can appreciate the twisted novelty value of having a pint-sized girl become a foul-mouthed killing machine, but seeing it on a printed page is one thing; having it come to vivid life on the big screen is another matter. I felt queasy, even as some people around me were laughing. Even if you're depicting a so-called comic book world, there comes a point when meanness, torture, and ultra-violence can't easily be written off as "fun." At least, not in my book. Some movies have managed to pull this off, so perhaps it's a matter of tone, or artful writing, or that most subjective of commodities, taste. All I know is, this movie, for all its flashy visuals and occasionally clever ideas, left a bad taste in my mouth. |
tt1250777 | [R] | Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Xander Berkeley, Chloe Moretz, Lyndsy Fonseca, Michael Rispoli, Omari Hardwick, Clark Duke | USA | Action, Comedy | At the risk of sounding completely un-cool, I must admit I had wildly mixed feelings about Kick-Ass. I understand the filmmakers' desire to fulfill fanboys' fantasies and, at the same time, provide shock value for the rest of the audience—especially anyone who might be offended by m | ||
| Date Night | 2010 | Shawn Levy | 88 |
Tina Fey and Steve Carell are talented, likable performers. We already know
how funny they can be, but in Date Night they prove to be capable
actors, as well, utterly believable as a suburban New Jersey couple
caught up in the drone of daily life. A night out on the town in Manhattan
leads to the comic chaos that propels this movie. "Chaos" is the
operative word here, as screenwriter Josh Klausner, who apprenticed
with the Farrelly Brothers, throws our unsuspecting couple into one
extreme situation after another—from dodging gangsters' bullets
to participating in a wild car chase on the city streets at night. The
incongruity of ordinary people in extraordinary situations is the comedic
foundation of the film.
Yet throughout this increasingly frantic movie, it's the "small stuff"—pieces of throwaway dialogue and interaction between Fey and Carell—that caught my fancy and made me laugh. The big, loud action set-pieces could be lifted from any number of other movies, but Carell disguising his voice on an apartment intercom, or Fey acting tough in order to intimidate the gatekeeper at a sex club, are the moments I liked best. I just wish there were more of them. Producer-director Shawn Levy, whose credits include Cheaper by the Dozen (and its lackluster sequel), Night at the Museum (and its unforgivable sequel), and the Steve Martin remake of The Pink Panther, takes an everything-plus-the-kitchen sink approach to comedy. Some of it works, and some of it doesn't. Having familiar faces turn up unexpectedly in supporting roles is good for a smile of recognition in some cases, while other cameos add nothing to the film. But Date Night does not come from the "less-is-more" school of entertainment. I suppose you'd call this a mixed review. Date Night is relatively painless; I enjoyed watching Tina Fey and Steve Carell. I just wish they'd found a better vehicle for their considerable talent. |
tt1279935 | [PG-13] | Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Leighton Meester, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis, Ray Liotta | USA | Comedy | Tina Fey and Steve Carell are talented, likable performers. We already know how funny they can be, but in Date Night they prove to be capable actors, as well, utterly believable as a suburban New Jersey couple caught up in the drone of daily life. A night out on the town in Manhattan lead | ||
| Clash Of The Titans | 2010 | Louis Leterrier | 118 |
For a variety of reasons, I had low expectations for this fantasy-action yarn and even lower expectations for its 3-D presentation, as I learned that the process was layered onto the movie after the fact.
As it turns out, the film was better than I expected, while the 3-D was even worse. The glasses I wore at the official Warner Bros. press screening were heavy and cumbersome, and what I saw onscreen—dimensionally speaking—wasn't worth the bother. This cheapjack approach could kill off audiences' desire to see 3-D movies, and certainly may dampen their willingness to shell out additional money for the privilege. Of the movie, at least it can be said that no one was tampering with a classic. The 1981 original was the last of Ray Harryhausen's big-screen productions, and while his stop-motion work was great, the film itself left a lot to be desired, in spite of a formidable cast, led by Laurence Olivier, no less, as Zeus. (Harryhausen didn't write ordirect his movies, although he was often their guiding spirit.) The new version, directed by Louis Letterier, and written by Travis Beacham, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, introduces some new concepts and characters while essentially following the original screenplay. One of the film's chief virtues is Sam Worthington, who has real screen presence, and the physicality required of an action hero like Perseus. He's a big reason this Clash succeeds as well as it does. The film sets up his central conflict—he's a "demigod" who rejects his Olympian heritage—quite well, and introduces a character named Io who is more-or-less his guardian angel. As she is played by the angelic-looking Gemma Arterton (best-known to Americans as Strawberry Fields in the last James Bond outing) this is another of the movie's major assets, at least in my eyes. Other key roles are filled by an international cast, including Liam Neeson, who (curiously) lacks the towering bravado I associate with the character of Zeus, Ralph Fiennes, who's eerily effective as Hades, King of the Underworld, and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (who made a strong impression as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale) as the brawny Draco. Ruddy-faced Pete Postlethwaite sets the film on course in its prologue as Perseus' human father, a fisherman, and it's nice to see Elizabeth McGovern, even briefly, as his mother. The meat of the picture lies in its action scenes and visual effects, and these are first-rate, for the most part, though I must confess I wish I'd seen them in a good, bright 2-D print instead of the murky version I suffered through. The CGI updates of Harryhausen's crab monsters and the deadly Medusa are very good indeed, and don't need the so-called enhancement of 3-D. Clash of the Titans has a vigorous and spectacular story to tell. The film has its lulls, and cheesy moments, but for the most part it's entertaining. I'd encourage anyone who wants to see it to select 2-D for a better experience than Warner Bros.' "2½-D" has to offer. You'll save a few dollars in the bargain. |
tt0800320 | [PG-13] | Sam Worthington, Alexa Davalos, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston, Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng, Tine Stapelfeldt, Mads Mikkelsen, Luke Evans, Izabella Miko | USA | Action, Adventure, Drama | For a variety of reasons, I had low expectations for this fantasy-action yarn and even lower expectations for its 3-D presentation, as I learned that the process was layered onto the movie after the fact. As it turns out, the film was better than I expected, while the 3-D was even worse. The gla | ||
| How to Train Your Dragon | 2010 | Dean Deblois, Chris Sanders | 98 |
If you want to see truly effective, creative use of 3-D, run to the nearest theater playing this movie. The folks at DreamWorks Animation know what they're doing in this arena, and their films are designed with 3-D in mind from the very start; it isn't an afterthought, and I for one can tell the difference. (Even Monsters vs. Aliens, which I didn't care for, had terrific 3-D visuals.)
What's more, How to Train Your Dragon has a neat premise (taken from a series of children's books by Cressida Cowell) and often-breathtaking execution. Directors and co-writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, best known for their Disney feature Lilo & Stitch, have given the story a highly personal focus. The hero-narrator is a spindly boy named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel, in contemporary vernacular) who is the much-maligned son of a Viking warrior known as Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, with a hearty Scottish brogue). He's never quite fit in amongst the beefy, aggressive men of his village, and to make matters worse, he befriends a fire-breathing dragon that he actually brought down with one of his hand-made devices. The set-piece of Hiccup and Toothless the dragon first meeting and getting to know each other is one of the movie's highlights
but it took me a while to realize that Toothless' face bears a striking resemblance to Stitch of Lilo & Stitch! Hiccup's coming-of-age isn't dramatically different from other stories about wimpy kids, but the way it's told makes all the difference. Both the characters and the settings are well-designed, and the film is brilliantly directed, as if it were a live-action picture. I can't help but think that a screen credit for esteemed cinematographer Roger Deakins (as Visual Consultant) may have something to do with that. I was enthralled with How to Train Your Dragon up until the climax. It's spectacular, but somehow it seemed conventional—and I can't say that about the rest of the film. This is first-rate family entertainment, and 3-D moviemaking worth paying for—and seeing—on a theater screen. |
tt0892769 | [PG] | Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Robin Atkin Downes, David Tennant | USA | Animation, Family, Fantasy | If you want to see truly effective, creative use of 3-D, run to the nearest theater playing this movie. The folks at DreamWorks Animation know what they're doing in this arena, and their films are designed with 3-D in mind from the very start; it isn't an afterthought, and I for one can tell the dif | ||
| Greenberg | 2010 | Noah Baumbach | 107 |
Sometimes a film takes time to sink in. I didn't dislike Greenberg while I was watching it—although its central character did get on my nerves a bit. But in the days that followed, I found myself thinking about the people in the story, and how fully developed they were.
They seemed genuine, as tangible as the carefully-chosen Los Angeles locations in which the story unfolds. One can't help but admire that quality. Thus, the dilemma for me in writing about Greenberg is that it's a very well-written, well-made film about an annoying character. Writer-director Noah Baumbach and his wife Jennifer Jason Leigh conceived the story, which is anything but glib. Its treatment of Los Angeles is striking in that it resists cheap jokes, beauty shots, or recognizable landmarks, yet with Harris Savides' ability to capture its distinctive natural light) is accurate and readily identifiable. The verisimilitude of the setting suits the characters quite well. I recognized these people. Stiller gives a finely-tuned performance as a man most people would call a loser. Visiting L.A. after a nervous breakdown back East, he tries to hook up with an old girlfriend (Leigh) who's long since moved on, and rekindles his interrupted friendship with a one-time bandmate (Rhys Ifans), who seems to be the only person who can tolerate him. The only hope for Greenberg is Florence, a capable but unworldly young woman who has no real direction in her life; she's played with amazing freshness by Greta Gerwig, and her performance, like Stiller's, helps validate the film. How can I reconcile these contradictory feelings? I could take a hint from the film itself and say it's worth **1/2, or I could say that it's all a matter of taste. If you're expecting a Ben Stiller comedy, you're watching the wrong movie. If you like multilayered character portraits, and don't mind a laid-back film that's short on narrative drive, you may enjoy Greenberg. But if you wonder where the story is headed, or find the protagonist not worth bothering about, don't say I didn't warn you. |
tt1234654 | [R] | Ben Stiller, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Juno Temple, Brie Larson, Greta Gerwig, Mark Duplass | USA | Drama, Comedy | Sometimes a film takes time to sink in. I didn't dislike Greenberg while I was watching it—although its central character did get on my nerves a bit. But in the days that followed, I found myself thinking about the people in the story, and how fully developed they were.They seemed genuine, | ||
| The Runaways | 2010 | Floria Sigismondi | 109 |
The Runaways doesn't stray from the path that most making-of-the-band movies follow, yet it remains compelling from start to finish. Whether you know the story of the ground-breaking 1970s all-girl band called The Runaways or not, the opportunity to watch Kristen Stewart as fiercely determined rock and roller Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as unlikely singer-turned-sexpot Cherie Currie makes this film worthwhile. No one will be shocked to learn that the L.A. rock scene in the 70s attracted some sleazy people, like producer/entrepreneur Kim Fowley, played to a fare-thee-well by Michael Shannon (an Oscar nominee last year for his showy performance in Revolutionary Road), or that going on tour with no adult chaperones is an open invitation for naïve, underage girls to overindulge in every possible way. Yet the screenplay, written by photographer and music-video director Floria Sigismondi (based on Cherie Currie's book Neon Angel) never seems hackneyed, and her staging of every scene has an immediacy that makes potentially trite material appear vivid and truthful. Kristen Stewart has been honing her acting chops over the past few years, quite apart from her star turn in the Twilight series, and etches a strong character here: a tough girl from a broken home who just wants to make music. Dakota Fanning, who just turned 16, already has a daunting resume, but this portrait of a girl who spins out of control is remarkable. People said that Fanning's talent belied her years when she was 7 years old in I Am Sam; the statement still holds true today. For a high-school student who's apparently leading a somewhat normal life to embrace the darkness of Cherie Currie's experiences so well is absolutely astonishing. Other members of the real-life Runaways take a back seat to Jett and Currie in this story. For a fuller picture of the band's rise and fall, one must turn to the 2005 documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways. But for a dramatically effective look at the world of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll—and how it affected two teenage girls—this film does quite well. |
tt1017451 | [R] | Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Michael Shannon, Tatum O'Neal, Brett Cullen, Riley Keough, Johnny Lewis, Stella Maeve | USA | Drama | The Runaways doesn't stray from the path that most making-of-the-band movies follow, yet it remains compelling from start to finish. Whether you know the story of the ground-breaking 1970s all-girl band called The Runaways or not, the opportunity to watch Kristen Stewart as fiercely determined rock | ||
| City Island | 2010 | Raymond De Felitta | 100 |
City Island is a treat for movie lovers everywhere- even if you've never heard of the community where it takes place. (Don't feel bad: many New Yorkers don't even know about this quiet fishing village that's linked to the Bronx by a narrow bridge.) One could broadly describe it as a comedy—at times, it even plays like farce—but its humor doesn't come from gags or funny lines of dialogue. It derives, instead, from the real, recognizable emotions of a boisterous Italian-American family. That gives the film a solid emotional underpinning, and makes watching it a rewarding experience.
One doesn't automatically associate Andy Garcia with comedy, which makes his rich, robust performance all the more enjoyable. As Vince Rizzo, a corrections officer with a secret yen to be an actor, he's a likable and wholly empathetic character. Julianna Marguiles hits just the right notes as his wife, a no-nonsense woman who feels betrayed by his seeming distance and frequent absences. It's clear these characters love each other but can't express their feelings. They are ably supported by Emily Mortimer, as Garcia's acting-class partner, Alan Arkin, as his acting teacher, and Steven Strait, as a prisoner who doesn't understand Garcia's interest in him. Garcia's kids harbor secrets of their own; they're played, quite well, by Ezra Miller, as a social-misfit teenage son, and Garcia's real-life daughter Dominik Garcia-Lorido as a college-age daughter. I became a fan of writer-director Raymond De Felitta when I saw Two Family House a decade ago. I like his sensibilities, and his fondness for characters who refuse to give up on their dreams. He was an ideal director for Paul Reiser's likable comedy The Thing About My Folks, and now he's back with a screenplay of his own. (He also made an unusual but first-rate documentary about an elusive jazz singer called 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris.) Andy Garcia calls him "an Italian Woody Allen," and the description is apt. He understands the dynamic of working-class New Yorkers and brings those characters to life with flair, and a refreshing avoidance of cliché. City Island gave me a great deal of pleasure, and I'm sure it's a crowd-pleaser. I hope it wins the kind of audience support it deserves. |
tt1174730 | [PG-13] | Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait, Ezra Miller, Emily Mortimer, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Alan Arkin, Carrie Baker Reynolds, Hope Glendon-Ross, Curtiss Cook | USA | Comedy, Drama | City Island is a treat for movie lovers everywhere- even if you've never heard of the community where it takes place. (Don't feel bad: many New Yorkers don't even know about this quiet fishing village that's linked to the Bronx by a narrow bridge.) One could broadly describe it as a comedy—at | ||
| Green Zone | 2010 | Paul Greengrass | 115 |
Director Paul Greengrass has an amazing gift for simulating documentary-style reality, as he's proven in such notable films as Bloody Sunday and Flight 93. He's also brought his shaky-cam and rapid-fire editing style to the Bourne series, with great success, although not every viewer appreciates his motion-sickness approach to visual storytelling.
Now he has tackled an Iraqi war story set in 2003, at the very outset of America's involvement. Matt Damon stars as a dedicated Army officer searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction and coming up empty-handed. The crux of Brian Helgeland's screenplay (inspired by material in Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran's book Imperial Life in the Emerald City) is a series of supposedly shocking revelations. There's just one problem: the movie's outcome is made plain in the opening scenes. Without the element of surprise, what's left are the particulars, and they are not to be dismissed. Green Zone pulses with excitement at every turn, and as you would expect from this director, you feel as if you're there in war-torn Baghdad alongside Damon and his costars, Greg Kinnear, as a smarmy Pentagon official, Brendan Gleeson, as a bullheaded CIA operative and Amy Ryan, as a Wall Street Journal reporter. The action scenes are potent and the tension is high in each set-piece. Your political persuasion, and feelings about the U.S. invasion of Iraq, will likely determine your willingness to accept the movie's central premise—which I won't summarize here—but politics aside, I came away disappointed. A movie made by so many smart people shouldn't show its hand at the very start and still expect me to respond to its so-called surprises later on. |
tt0947810 | [R] | Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs, Yigal Naor, Antoni Corone, Raad Rawi, Said Faraj | USA | Action, Drama, Thriller | Director Paul Greengrass has an amazing gift for simulating documentary-style reality, as he's proven in such notable films as Bloody Sunday and Flight 93. He's also brought his shaky-cam and rapid-fire editing style to the Bourne series, with great success, although not every viewer appreciates his | ||
| Alice In Wonderland | 2010 | Tim Burton | 108 |
How you react to this film will have a lot to do with your expectations. I didn't expect a work of genius. In fact, I approached it with trepidation, worried that Tim Burton's weird sensibility layered on top of Lewis Carroll's already-surreal material would create a kind of overkill.
I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised. First things first: with no disrespect to Burton, this struck me more as Linda Woolverton's Alice. As the principal screenwriter of the Disney features Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mulan, she has solid experience creating strong female characters. Here, she has reinvented Alice as a willful 19-year-old girl (nicely played by newcomer Mia Wasikowska) who flees from a stifling arranged marriage and falls down a rabbit hole. She has no memory of having visited this magical world once before, as a child. Most of the familiar touchstones of Lewis Carroll are still here, from Alice's initial re-sizing to her encounters with the cool caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat, but the journey—and its underlying purpose—are new, along with various supporting characters. Alice is now in search of herself, more than anything else, and the film calls on her to assert both inner and outer strength to vanquish the forces of evil. (I won't give away more than that.) Some viewers will warm to these fresh ideas, while others may resist. I, for one, delighted in Helena Bonham Carter's performance as the Red Queen; she's wonderfully funny because her narcissism seems real, not a comedy shtick. Crispin Glover follows her lead, lending genuineness and gravitas to his portrayal of the Queen's most loyal subject, Stayne, the Knave of Hearts. As for top-billed Johnny Depp, he brings his own brand of lunacy to the role of the Mad Hatter. A flashback sequence shows us how, when and why he went mad, but the end result is somehow less amusing (and likable) than Hatters past. Depp is always interesting to watch, but this is not his finest hour. In a way, he represents the film's split personality. Taken on its own terms, this Alice in Wonderland has much to recommend it: clever ideas, bright performances (including superior vocal performances by Alan Rickman as the caterpillar, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, and Timothy Spall as a bloodhound named Bayard), impressive visual treatment, and an appealing heroine. Overall, I enjoyed the film. Do I think it will take the place of more traditional treatments of the famous story? No. It all comes back to expectations. My greatest disappointment was the use of 3-D. It's no secret that the film was shot with traditional cameras and later converted to the dimensional format. It shows. I have never been less impressed with 3-D. The imaginative CGI sets would seem to invite an imposition of depth, through the 3-D process, but my eyes became desensitized after a point. What's more, in the wake of Avatar, where James Cameron invited us to immerse ourselves in a rich, dimensional environment, audiences have every right to expect more from the 3-D experience than this movie can offer. |
tt1014759 | [PG] | Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Barbara Windsor | USA | Adventure, Fantasy | How you react to this film will have a lot to do with your expectations. I didn't expect a work of genius. In fact, I approached it with trepidation, worried that Tim Burton's weird sensibility layered on top of Lewis Carroll's already-surreal material would create a kind of overkill.I'm happy t | ||
| A Prophet | Un Prophète | 2009 | Jacques Audiard | 155 |
I like movies that take me on an emotional journey. The central character of A Prophet is Malik, a 19-year-old petty criminal (Tahar Rahim) who's being sent to prison. We don't know what he's done, or very much else about him; he's quiet and keeps to himself. Then he is targeted by one of the prison kingpins, a tough, Corsican mobster named Cesar (played with quiet intensity by Niels Arestrup), who forces him to commit an unthinkable act. This is the turning point in his life, and it leads him to experiences he never could have planned or predicted.
What makes this more than a mere "prison movie" is the way director Jacques Audiard (who wrote the screenplay with Thomas Bidegain) weaves so many different threads into the fabric of his story. Malik is half-Corsican and half-Arab. Without turning the film into a political tract or an ethnographic study, Audiard manages to make wry observations about French society and its underclasses, both inside and outside the walls of prison. He explores the nature of survival in a harsh, modern world where ethics and morals are often trumped for the sake of practical needs. A Prophet is a graphically brutal film; it's a tribute to the power, and credibility, of the story that the most extreme scenes of violence justify themselves. And once again, Audiard elevates the mundane by turning a terrifying incident into a recurring visual metaphor. I haven't seen all five of this year's Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, but this one is certainly deserving of that honor. |
tt1235166 | [R] | Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi, Jean-Philippe Ricci, Gilles Cohen, Antoine Basler, Leïla Bekhti, Pierre Leccia, Foued Nassah, Pascal Henault | France, Italy | Drama, Crime | I like movies that take me on an emotional journey. The central character of A Prophet is Malik, a 19-year-old petty criminal (Tahar Rahim) who's being sent to prison. We don't know what he's done, or very much else about him; he's quiet and keeps to himself. Then he is targeted by one of the prison | |
| Shutter Island | 2010 | Martin Scorsese | 138 |
I approach every Martin Scorsese picture with the hope that it will be worthy of his reputation and extraordinary gifts as a filmmaker. Shutter Island marks the fourth time he has worked with Leonardo DiCaprio, who has matured year by year and benefited from the association.
And, of course, Scorsese has assembled a gold-plated roster of collaborators for the project, including film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, cinematographer Robert Richardson, production designer Dante Ferretti, and costume designer Sandy Powell not to mention a cast including Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Jackie Earle Haley, and Max von Sydow. Any film involving these talents is automatically worth seeing, and cannot be dismissed out of hand but I have to call Shutter Island a major disappointment. Laeta Kalogridis adapted the novel by Dennis Lehane, whose Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone made a successful transition to film. This time around, the Boston-area setting—a remote island off the coast—is so overtly creepy from the start that one wonders how much stranger it can possibly get. As it happens, the unraveling of the mystery surrounding the island, which is home to an asylum for the criminally insane, offers much sturm und drang but little enjoyment—except the pleasure of watching fine craftsmen at work (on both sides of the camera). The acting is uniformly fine, and the look of the film is rich and textured, although the use of CGI seems heavy-handed at times. Shutter Island is difficult to discuss without giving away the "big reveal," a twist so far-reaching it will likely polarize viewers, some of whom may find it fascinating while others will simply be put off. I felt as if I'd been led through a labyrinthine shaggy-dog story only to arrive at a meaningless punchline. Shutter Island deals with nature of insanity. Scorsese has never shied away from characters who indulge in extreme behavior, but in this case it's not so much their actions as it is our point-of-view that takes center stage. Who is to judge what's real and what isn't, or what we can properly call crazy? There's plenty of fodder for discussion on that point once you've digested the movie, but being able to engage in debate doesn't alleviate the oppressive experience of watching the film, or the feeling that there may not have been much of a point. I love watching good actors at work. DiCaprio looks a bit out of his element in the ill-fitting clothes of a civil servant of the 1950s, but he does a good job. Michelle Williams is quite touching, seen in flashbacks as his late wife. Patricia Clarkson has just one scene, but it's great, and Ben Kingsley approaches his character with such pinpoint precision that you can't help but admire him. Everyone gets a chance to shine in this lengthy, layered narrative. But I'd much rather see these talented people in a story that engages me and gives me something to take away other than a feeling of frustration and unfulfilled expectations. |
tt1130884 | [R] | Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Jackie Earle Haley, Elias Koteas, John Carroll Lynch | USA | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | I approach every Martin Scorsese picture with the hope that it will be worthy of his reputation and extraordinary gifts as a filmmaker. Shutter Island marks the fourth time he has worked with Leonardo DiCaprio, who has matured year by year and benefited from the association.And, of course, Scor | ||
| Wolfman, The | 2010 | Joe Johnston | 102 |
The good news is, despite long production delays and rumors of disaster, the new remake of The Wolfman isn't bad... not bad at all. Handsome production design by Rick Heinrichs and great makeup effects by Rick Baker (who also makes a brief appearance on camera) are among its strongest assets. There are some real scares, and a couple of knockout showpiece scenes.
The bad news is, Benicio Del Toro, as the doomed Lawrence Talbot, hasn't got much of a character to play. His backstory has been reduced to a lightning-quick flashback and a couple of lines of (dubious) exposition, so his plight—as an innocent man who's transformed into a werewolf—doesn't carry much emotional weight for us in the audience. (Why does he speak with an American accent when his family is British? We get an answer, but it isn't very satisfying.) This being the 21st century, Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self's update of the 1941 Curt Siodmak screenplay isn't content to have one victim in the Talbot family. Talbot's father, played by Anthony Hopkins, has more than a few loose screws, lives alone in his eerie castle near the moors (but for one strangely loyal servant, a sikh played by Art Malik), and harbors many dark family secrets. Emily Blunt is perfectly fine as the fiancée of Larry Talbot's brother, though this isn't much of a showcase for her talents either. Hugo Weaving is well-cast as a Scotland Yard inspector who's hot on the trail of the wolfman, and Geraldine Chaplin does a good job in the role of the dour gypsy immortalized by Maria Ouspenskaya in the classic Universal monster movie. As directed by Joe Johnston, the new Wolfman (one word instead of two, unlike the original) gets so much right it's a shame it just misses the mark. The scary scenes are well handled, with fleeting glimpses of modern-day gore, but the Big Finale, which I won't give away, is a washout. Without a real character to play, Del Toro can only do so much, and we come away with no real feeling for Larry Talbot. It's here that a direct comparison with Lon Chaney, Jr. is inevitable—and unfortunate, as Chaney's performance remains definitive. I would still encourage anyone, especially horror-movie buffs, to see the film, even with its faults. Trivia note: as a compulsive credit reader I was surprised to see a notation for an "assistant to Mr. Von Sydow" when Max von Sydow doesn't appear in the finished film. Apparently his part was cut; he played the man who gave the distinctive silver-headed cane (an homage to the famous prop from 1941) to Lawrence Talbot. |
tt0780653 | [R] | Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Emily Blunt, Simon Merrells, Gemma Whelan, Cristina Contes, Art Malik, Nicholas Day, Asa Butterfield, Mario Marin-Borquez | USA, UK | Horror, Thriller | The good news is, despite long production delays and rumors of disaster, the new remake of The Wolfman isn't bad... not bad at all. Handsome production design by Rick Heinrichs and great makeup effects by Rick Baker (who also makes a brief appearance on camera) are among its strongest assets. There | ||
| Edge Of Darkness | 2010 | Martin Campbell | 117 |
Let's deal with the elephant in the room right away: I wasn't sure how I would respond to seeing Mel Gibson on screen for the first time since his public embarrassments and utterances. Like many of you, I have felt ever since queasy about the man. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to like his new starring vehicle. But minutes into Edge of Darkness I forgot about all that; I became absorbed in the story and found myself rooting for Gibson's character, a Boston police detective who'll stop at nothing to figure out who murdered his daughter—right in front of his eyes—and, just as important, why.
Based on an award winning BBC miniseries written by the late Troy Kennedy Martin, and adapted by William Monahan, who scripted another Boston-based crime saga, The Departed, Edge of Darkness is a crackling conspiracy thriller crossed with a personal-revenge story. The result is a heady mixture that allows the film to be intelligent, even as it integrates pulse-pounding, violent action sequences into the proceedings. It makes good use of its Boston setting without parroting what other high quality films have done in recent years. This film could never be mistaken for Death Wish, but it does offer a somewhat larger-than-life protagonist who defies the odds to avenge his daughter's brutal slaying. That kind of character requires a muscular, charismatic movie star to be convincing; enter Mel Gibson. He is perfectly cast here, and has lost none of his ability to command the screen. Ray Winstone adds his trademark menace, and a welcome touch of dark humor, to a key supporting role as a high-level hit man. At first I thought the casting of Danny Huston, as a diffident corporate villain, was too obvious, but Huston imbues the character with color and shading I didn't anticipate. Edge of Darkness has the impact of a punch to the gut; it delivers the goods, from start to finish, and adds another success to director Martin Campbell's resume, which includes the terrific Casino Royale (2006) and the miniseries on which this film is based. I may have strong feelings about Mel Gibson in "real life," but I can't deny his effectiveness onscreen in this terrific new action-thriller. |
tt1226273 | [R] | Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, Caterina Scorsone, David Aaron Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Denis O'Hare | UK, USA | Drama, Thriller | Let's deal with the elephant in the room right away: I wasn't sure how I would respond to seeing Mel Gibson on screen for the first time since his public embarrassments and utterances. Like many of you, I have felt ever since queasy about the man. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to like his new starr | ||
| The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus | 2009 | Terry Gilliam | 122 |
Over the years, Terry Gilliam has become something of a brand name, leading moviegoers to expect a generous display of visual razzle-dazzle and an offbeat sensibility; the problem often lies in his story or screenplay. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, written by Gilliam and his frequent collaborator Charles McKeown, is one of his better endeavors: a bit rambling, but enjoyable.
Christopher Plummer plays the title character, who operates a quaint theatrical troupe that travels around London in an old-fashioned caravan and engages audience members in its performance, using a magic mirror. The unsuspecting volunteers have no idea what lies in store for them. What's more, it turns out Doctor Parnassus made a deal with the Devil, aka Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), a long time ago and a deadline is drawing near. Meanwhile, the troupe acquires a mysterious new member whom they rescue from the brink of death; he's played by the late Heath Ledger. There's no point explaining any more of the serpentine story. Suffice it to say that Gilliam leads us through a series of imaginative experiences, mostly on the other side of the looking glass. Computer graphics have opened up a whole new world for Gilliam and he makes the most of those tools. But the film's most unusual "special effect" is a quick-change moment when Ledger's place is taken by Johnny Depp...then Jude Law...then Colin Farrell. You're not sure whether to believe your eyes at first, but the substitution actually works quite well in the context of the film. If you have a taste for the offbeat, and don't mind a story that wanders a bit, I think you'll enjoy what Gilliam has to offer. |
tt1054606 | [PG-13] | Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Christopher Plummer, Jude Law, Colin Farrell, Verne Troyer, Tom Waits, Carrie Genzel, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield | USA | Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy | Over the years, Terry Gilliam has become something of a brand name, leading moviegoers to expect a generous display of visual razzle-dazzle and an offbeat sensibility; the problem often lies in his story or screenplay. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, written by Gilliam and his frequent | ||
| It's Complicated | 2009 | Nancy Meyers | 118 |
If you love watching Meryl Streep, are enjoying the renaissance of Alec Baldwin as a comedic actor, and like Steve Martin playing it straight, you're a candidate to enjoy It's Complicated as much as I did.
With Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday) at the helm as writer and director you know you're going to see appealing characters in spectacularly attractive settings...and you needn't fear there will be any discussion of the economic downturn. In fact, this has little to do with reality; it's a genteel romantic comedy that just happens to feature three supremely talented actors "of a certain age" in the leading roles. (Baldwin actually plays "older," which not many actors would be willing to do; a line of dialogue pegs him as being in his late 50s. In fact, he's a decade younger than his costars.) Meyers specializes in elegant escapism, and sets her stories against elegant backdrops, using beautifully decorated sets and homes; this film is no exception. Santa Barbara is especially picturesque as depicted here. How much you enjoy It's Complicated may have to do with your expectations. I don't mean to damn the film with faint praise, but I wasn't expecting anything edgy or innovative. I anticipated a good-looking film about good-looking people who are caught in a love triangle, and that's just what I got. Not many movies deliver completely on their promise, but this one does. |
tt1230414 | [R] | Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, John Krasinski, Hunter Parrish, Lake Bell, Daryl Sabara, Rita Wilson, Zoe Kazan, Mary Kay Place | USA | Comedy, Romance | If you love watching Meryl Streep, are enjoying the renaissance of Alec Baldwin as a comedic actor, and like Steve Martin playing it straight, you're a candidate to enjoy It's Complicated as much as I did.With Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give, The Holiday) at the h | ||
| Avatar | 2009 | James Cameron | 162 |
Avatar is at once a fascinating and a frustrating movie. I found much of it captivating, and while I resist the hype-driven phrase "immersive experience," I did find myself drawn into its 3-D world, an extraordinarily rich cinematic environment created, in breathtaking detail, by artists and computers.
I didn't think I could care about odd-looking humanoid characters, but I did. I didn't think I would relate to the interaction between humans and aliens, but I did. Writer-director James Cameron has delivered on his promise to take filmmaking to another level by fully realizing his imaginative visual concepts of character and design...and by turning the 3-D process inside out by pulling us through the looking glass instead of sticking things out at us across the proscenium. As for the performance-capture technology that transforms actors into the elongated Na'vi creatures of Avatar, Cameron has left his competitors in the dust. The character design is striking and appealing to the eye; at a certain point you forget you're watching imagined figures, just as you do in a good animated cartoon. The difference here is that the performances were rendered on-camera by live actors whose work was enhanced and extended by animators. By retaining a crucial part of their facial structure—chiefly their nose, mouth, and chin—they retain their most human facial qualities, and their eyes respond naturally (a chief complaint about some other performance-capture films). Both the process and the illusion are revealed early on when we see Sigourney Weaver as her Na'vi avatar and still recognize the actress. I also like his casting choices for this futuristic saga. New to American audiences, Australian actor Sam Worthington (whom we saw earlier this year in Terminator: Salvation) has the intensity and charisma to play a disabled Marine who doesn't have the scientific background—or the emotional discipline—for his new assignment on the planet Pandora, but steps into his late brother's shoes just the same. Zoë Saldana (who was Uhura in this year's Star Trek) is quite captivating as Neytiri, the fearless Na'vi woman who becomes Worthington's savior and guide in a strange new world. And Cameron movie veteran Weaver hits just the right note as a chain-smoking, no-nonsense scientist who has devoted herself completely to studying the flora and fauna of Pandora and befriending its people. Cameron gets so many things right—the technology, the design, the immersive environment, the staging of breathtaking action scenes—that it's a shame the film falters because of weaknesses in his screenplay. It's not a problem at first, but as the story reaches its second and third acts it becomes a real liability, with heavy-handed villainy and amateurish dialogue that might have come from a Saturday matinee serial. Overlength also works against the film: had the story been compressed from its two-and-a-half hour duration one might be more forgiving of its flaws. I was gripped by the first portion of the movie, then found my mind straying past the one-hour mark, only to be caught up once again before the lumbering finale—a spectacular action sequence that clumsily underscores the movie's metaphoric roots (invoking the Iraq war, as well as environmentalism) and turns its principal bad guy, a Marine colonel played by Stephen Lang, into an unstoppable Terminator. Does this render Avatar worthless? Absolutely not. Some of it is positively thrilling, and a lot of it is just plain fun. I don't think it's unfair to complain about its shortcomings after it's been touted as the cinematic equivalent of the Second Coming...but I wouldn't want to lose sight of the extraordinary things it does achieve. It's a remarkable moviegoing experience. |
tt0499549 | [PG-13] | Michelle Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Sam Worthington, Laz Alonso, Joel Moore, CCH Pounder, Stephen Lang, Wes Studi, Peter Mensah | USA | Action, Thriller, Adventure, Sci-Fi | Avatar is at once a fascinating and a frustrating movie. I found much of it captivating, and while I resist the hype-driven phrase "immersive experience," I did find myself drawn into its 3-D world, an extraordinarily rich cinematic environment created, in breathtaking detail, by artists a | ||
| Nine | 2009 | Rob Marshall | 110 |
As someone who had major problems with Rob Marshall's Chicago—which robbed the Broadway show of all its humor and rendered its dance numbers unwatchable through egg-beater editing—I did not expect to like Nine, Marshall's ambitious adaptation of the 1982 stage musical inspired by Federico Fellini's 8½. Imagine my surprise, then, as I tell you I loved it.
I've already heard complaints about the picture from other quarters, which I won't enumerate here, but I bought into it one hundred percent. It begins with accepting—or embracing—Daniel Day-Lewis as 1960s Italian film director Guido Contini. He makes the transformation so effortless that I couldn't resist...and it's a treat to see this great actor portray a character who has light-hearted, even mischievous, moments. John Myhre's spectacular production design, Dion Beebe's sumptuous cinematography, and Colleen Attwood's costumes all contribute to the film's opulent look and feel, a tribute to the world Fellini created on screen and drew from his fertile imagination. (There are even some shots of the entrance to Rome's fabled CineCitta Studio, where some of this was shot.) But that's just a jumping-off point in the late Anthony Minghella and Michael Tolkin's screenplay, based on the Arthur Kopit-Maury Yeston play. The action revolves around the desperate director's relationships with the key women in his life, and the film is tailored to be a showcase for its bountiful female stars: Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, singing star Fergie, and Sophia Loren (as Contini's mother). In fact, three newly-composed Yeston songs were written specifically for the women after they were cast. Each song has a dramatic raison d'être and an individual look to match: Hudson's lively "Cinema Italiano" invokes cool 1960s Italian fashion and the black & white look of 8½, while Dench's "Folies Bergère" celebrates the elegant style of that French show-business institution, and so on. The women are beautiful and sing surprisingly well: Cruz doe a sexy, show-stopping turn, and Cotillard's passionate "Take It All"a lament by the director's long-suffering wife—vividly underscores the dramatic scenes that precede it. Nine is about passion, deception, and the chaotic circus of making a movie with a "genius" who has apparently run out of ideas. I found it exhilarating entertainment. |
tt0875034 | [PG-13] | Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Fergie, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Elio Germano, Kate Hudson, Giuseppe Spitaleri, Martina Stella | USA, Italy | Musical, Romance | As someone who had major problems with Rob Marshall's Chicago—which robbed the Broadway show of all its humor and rendered its dance numbers unwatchable through egg-beater editing—I did not expect to like Nine, Marshall's ambitious adaptation of the 1982 stage musical inspired b | ||
| The Young Victoria | 2009 | Jean-Marc Vallée | 100 |
The challenge of any historical drama is to engage us so that we're not passively observing a pageant of events but actively involved in the characters and their story. Screenwriter Julian Fellowes has drawn on many sources to create a witty, often gripping screenplay that tells a story many people may not know about the teenage girl who was crowned Queen of England in 1837—and how her life was often cruelly manipulated, both before and after her coronation.
Director Jean-Marc Vallée, who made the wonderful French-language Canadian film C.R.A.Z.Y., handles the many characters and their intrigues with grace and skill, so that even someone who knows little or nothing of this period, like me, can follow it all and understand most of it. (My wife, the Anglophile, had no such problems.) The settings are majestic, the costumes quite beautiful, but the icing on this cake is the cast, led by Emily Blunt as the willful young woman who knows her own mind, Rupert Friend as her cousin Albert, of Germany, who transcends the ritual of arranged marriage to become the great love of Victoria's life, the always-wonderful Miranda Richardson as Victoria's much-disparaged mother, the Duchess of Kent, the versatile Mark Strong as her strong-willed advisor Sir John Conroy, Paul Bettany as the young Queen's cunning advisor Lord Melbourne, Thomas Kretschmann as Albert's calculating uncle King Leopold of Belgium, Jim Broadbent in a vibrant cameo as King William, and Harriet Walter as his widow, Queen Adelaide. The Young Victoria brings an interesting chapter of British history to life in fine fashion. And if the conflicts in the early part of the story are more compelling than those that follow, it's a minor quibble for a solid piece of entertainment. |
tt0962736 | [PG] | Jean-Marc Vallee, Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, Jim Broadbent, Emily Blunt, Paul Bettany, Julian Glover, Thomas Kretschmann, Jesper Christensen | USA, Germany | Drama, Romance | The challenge of any historical drama is to engage us so that we're not passively observing a pageant of events but actively involved in the characters and their story. Screenwriter Julian Fellowes has drawn on many sources to create a witty, often gripping screenplay that tells a story many people | ||
| Crazy Heart | 2009 | Scott Cooper | 111 |
Crazy Heart is the movie equivalent of comfort food; reassuring, familiar, and easy to digest. It's Jeff Bridges performance that makes it special...but then, he's reason enough to see almost any movie. (He's the best thing about the season's most disappointing movie, The Men Who Stare At Goats.)
Here, he plays a weather-beaten country singer named Bad Blake who's written and sung a fair number of hits, but is now reduced to appearing at a bowling alley, while his protégé, Tommy Sweet (played, in a neat twist of casting, by Colin Farrell), is riding the gravy train. Blake is a mess; he drinks too much, and is careless in his behavior, but when he's interviewed by a local reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) he takes a genuine liking to her and pursues a relationship with her and her young son. First-time writer-director Scott Cooper (who adapted Thomas Cobb's novel) flirts with cliché at every turn, but manages to keep his story and characters on track. And his actors, including Robert Duvall, who traveled this road in Tender Mercies some years ago, play everything simply and honestly. T Bone Burnett has written a handful of likable, listenable songs (with the late Stephen Bruton) that suit both Bad Blake and Jeff Bridges to a T. Crazy Heart may not be original, or memorable, but it's a pleasure to watch Jeff Bridges inhabit this character and make it his own. |
tt1263670 | [R] | Colin Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall, Beth Grant, Sarah Jane Morris, Tom Bower, Luce Rains, Annie Corley, Alexandria Morrow | USA | Drama | Crazy Heart is the movie equivalent of comfort food; reassuring, familiar, and easy to digest. It's Jeff Bridges performance that makes it special...but then, he's reason enough to see almost any movie. (He's the best thing about the season's most disappointing movie, The Men Who Stare At Goats. | ||
| Invictus | 2009 | Clint Eastwood | 134 |
Invictus doesn't have the element of surprise in its favor, but the story it tells is solid, interesting, and (yes) inspiring. Would that the world had more leaders as wise as Nelson Mandela, who recognized that despite his election to the Presidency of South Africa in 1995, there was still dissension and hostility throughout the land. How he goaded his national rugby team to push itself toward greatness, and how that affected his countrymen, is a remarkable true story.
There could be no better choice to play Mandela than Morgan Freeman; he succeeds in this role not only because he's so well-suited to it, but because he doesn't portray the famous leader as a plaster saint. He's just a man, albeit an exceptional one, with equal parts humility, determination, and understanding of the human psyche. Matt Damon chalks up another victory by convincingly portraying rugby star Francois Pienaar; his mastery of the South African dialect is so complete, and his physicality so seemingly effortless, that we immediately accept him in the part. The South African actors who fill out the supporting roles are equally well chosen. Anthony Peckham's screenplay unfolds with simplicity and clarity, and Clint Eastwood films it in his usual straightforward fashion. The illustrations of how people's attitudes begin to change in South Africa bear the stamp of Hollywood-style storytelling, but they're never overplayed (as they easily could have been)...and they work. Invictus may not achieve greatness, like its central characters, but it's an eminently satisfying movie. |
tt1057500 | [PG-13] | Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Scott Eastwood, Langley Kirkwood, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Julian Lewis Jones, Marguerite Wheatley | USA | Drama | Invictus doesn't have the element of surprise in its favor, but the story it tells is solid, interesting, and (yes) inspiring. Would that the world had more leaders as wise as Nelson Mandela, who recognized that despite his election to the Presidency of South Africa in 1995, there was still dissensi | ||
| Everybody's Fine | 2009 | Kirk Jones | 100 |
Sentiment is a tough sell nowadays, but when I see the success of The Blind Side I know that audiences are just as susceptible as ever to manipulation by a skillful storyteller.
Everybody's Fine isn't nearly as ambitious as The Blind Side, and doesn't have the same broad appeal—there's no sports angle, and it isn't based on a true story—but it's a sweet, likable film with a first-rate cast. Critics, by and large, have been unkind, calling it predictable and cloying. I missed the press screenings, so my wife and I caught up with the film at our local multiplex on Sunday morning. We weren't in the mood for anything heavy, and this admittedly superficial fable suited us fine. Then again, we're the parents of a child in her 20s and, I suppose, openly vulnerable to its story elements: the main character is a retired, recently widowed man who crisscrosses the country to visit his grown children, as they've all canceled plans to join him for a weekend get-together. He decides to surprise them by showing up on their doorsteps, and discovers that each one has been keeping secrets from him—the kind of secrets they used to share with their mother. Robert De Niro is perfectly agreeable in the role originated by Marcello Mastroianni in Guiseppe Tornatore's 1990 Italian film Stanno Tutti Bene; his offspring are well played by Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, and Kate Beckinsale. With actors of this caliber, the fact that the film glides ever-so-lightly over its story points and character development is more forgivable than it might be in lesser hands. What's more, writer-director Kirk Jones, who made his reputation with Waking Ned Devine, punctuates the film with moments of quiet charm, as everyman De Niro talks with ordinary people he encounters during his travels. I suppose I should say it plainly: I'm a sucker for sentimentality, and this movie appealed to me. |
tt0780511 | [PG-13] | Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Katherine Moennig, Melissa Leo, James Frain, Lily Mo Sheen, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Ben Schwartz | USA | Comedy, Drama | Sentiment is a tough sell nowadays, but when I see the success of The Blind Side I know that audiences are just as susceptible as ever to manipulation by a skillful storyteller.Everybody's Fine isn't nearly as ambitious as The Blind Side, and doesn't have the same broa | ||
| Up In The Air | 2009 | Jason Reitman | 109 |
Up in the Air is the best film I've seen all year. Frankly, that isn't much of a compliment, so let me be clearer: this is mainstream moviemaking at its best. It's entertaining, first and foremost, but it's also thoughtful, timely, and provocative. The film has been screened a lot here in Los Angeles and I'm already hearing bounce-back from some of my colleagues who are reluctant to accept a major studio movie with George Clooney as the leading contender for this year's Oscars. (I'm more concerned that moviegoers, inundated with hype, will go to see it with outsized demands or expectations.)
Up in the Air doesn't present itself as an Important Movie; that's part of why it's so engaging. It's an interesting story that travels in unexpected directions. Clooney plays a man who is most at home on the road—in airports and hotel rooms—where he is master of his domain. Living this way also helps him keep friends and family at arm's length, which is just the way he likes it. But change is in the air. This is Jason Reitman's third feature film, and his third bull's-eye, following Thank You For Smoking and Juno. But while he's commonly referred to as a director he is also a skillful and sensitive writer. Smoking was based on a novel he admired, by Christopher Buckley, but he invented the character of the tobacco lobbyist's young son, to help humanize the cold-blooded protagonist and provide someone he (and we) could relate to. Up in the Air is based on a novel by the talented satirist Walter Kirn, but Reitman (and co-writer Sheldon Turner) has introduced another brand-new character—a young, ambitious business school grad, well played by Anna Kendrick—who completely changes the story's dynamics, and he's greatly expanded the role of Clooney's business-travel bed partner, superbly enacted by Vera Farmiga. (In fact, this film features two of the best-written, best-performed female roles of this or any year in recent memory.) Reitman has an aversion to clichés and formulas; that's why this film works on so many levels. Just when you think you've got a character figured out, it turns out you don't—because you're expecting him or her to act like "types" we've come to expect in standard-issue Hollywood movies. Then there's George Clooney, perfectly cast as a cool customer because his innate charm draws us to him in spite of his job (firing large numbers of people) and his aloof attitude toward the concepts of home and family. It's because he makes the performance seem so natural, so effortless, that people may undervalue its precision and skill.
Reitman has spoken about the serendipity of working on a project for six years that captures the zeitgeist of the moment so well. And he was smart enough to recruit real people from the heartland—not actors—to express their feelings about being fired for a series of montages that bookend the picture. I didn't want Up in the Air to end—and I can't wait to see it again. I don't say that very often...but then, I don't often see movies this good. |
tt1193138 | [R] | George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny R. McBride, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Lowell, Zach Galifianakis, Sam Elliott, J.K. Simmons | USA | Drama, Comedy | Up in the Air is the best film I've seen all year. Frankly, that isn't much of a compliment, so let me be clearer: this is mainstream moviemaking at its best. It's entertaining, first and foremost, but it's also thoughtful, timely, and provocative. The film has been screened a lot here in Los Angele | ||
| Red Cliff | Chi Bi | 2009 | John Woo | 148 |
John Woo built his reputation by creating visceral Hong Kong action films that made their Hollywood counterparts seem tame and old-fashioned. In Red Cliff he emulates epic historical dramas like Spartacus and once again reveals his mastery of cinematic storytelling, while raising the bar for large-scale battle scenes. (Or, as he put it, hes replaced bullets with arrows.) True, he couldnt achieve all of his ideas without the help of computer graphics, but with many hundreds of armored extras and huge set pieces its difficult to tell where reality ends and movie magic takes over. Suffice it to say that you've never seen battles quite like these before.
The story is a familiar one in Asia, but may cause some degree of confusion for Western audiences, at first. Simply put, the setting is China in the third century, where a power-mad general obtains the blessing of his emperor to mount an army that will crush two warlords who are intruding on the generals domain. After a huge, bloody confrontation, one of those warlords realizes his only hope for survival is to align himself with his rival. That means convincing a canny war strategist, played by Tony Leung, that this is a good move. Red Cliff moves at a brisk pace, alternating massive military maneuvers with intriguing, intimate scenes of characters forming alliances or playing cat-and-mouse. Yet it never feels like a history lesson; it pulses with life, even more so in the two-and-a-half hour version Woo prepared for Western audiences. (In Asia its a five-hour experience, split into two separate films.) Like any film of size and scope, this one is best experienced on a theater screen. I hope it doesnt get lost amidst all the year-end product being shoved into multiplexes; its too good for that. |
tt0425637 | [R] | Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao, Jun Hu, Shido Nakamura, Chiling Lin, Yong You, Yong Hou | USA | Action, Adventure, Drama | John Woo built his reputation by creating visceral Hong Kong action films that made their Hollywood counterparts seem tame and old-fashioned. In Red Cliff he emulates epic historical dramas like Spartacus and once again reveals his mastery of cinematic storytelling, while raising t | |
| Me And Orson Welles | 2009 | Richard Linklater | 114 |
I am, at once, a complete sucker for this movie and potentially its severest critic. On the one hand, I am fascinated by the career of Orson Welles, and have read a great deal about (and interviewed people involved with) his tumultuous life in New York during the late 1930s. Not yet a household name, he juggled a burgeoning theatrical agenda with his Mercury Players and a busy schedule acting on radio - which paid the bills. But because I'm so familiar with the territory and its principal players, I'm going to be fairly demanding of a film that attempts to dramatize that period and its colorful cast of characters.
I'm happy to say that Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles won me over completely. Yes, I was aware that little of it was shot in Manhattan and that there are no New York actors in its cast but if that requires a certain leap of faith, Linklater and company amply reward us by being so persuasive in their portrayal of Welles himself and the zeitgeist of his eternally harried theatrical troupe (and its frequently exasperated producer, John Houseman, nicely played by the versatile Eddie Marsan). I can't think of many films that capture both the spirit and the detail of putting on a show, under great pressure, as this one does, tracing the fabled Mercury production of Julius Caesar in 1938. This one makes us feel as if we're actually there. Teen heartthrob Zac Efron proves his mettle in the pivotal role of an artistic-minded high school student who stumbles into a job with Welles and gets caught up in the whirlwind of the enterprise-and the mercurial (pun intended) orbit of the Boy Genius. Claire Danes is appealing as the company Girl Friday who wins his heart, and leads him into an experience beyond his youthful understanding. Then there is newcomer Christian McKay, who gives an absolutely astonishing performance as the young Orson Welles. This goes far beyond mere mimicry; it's a full-bodied evocation of the charming, bombastic, grandiloquent, unscrupulous, ego-driven actor-director. As written by Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo, Jr. from Robert Kaplow's novel, Me and Orson Welles provides a vastly entertaining time trip, and a close-up look at one of the most interesting figures in all of show business history. |
tt1175506 | [PG-13] | Ben Chaplin, Claire Danes, Zac Efron, Zoe Kazan, Eddie Marsan, Christian McKay, Kelly Reilly, James Tupper, Imogen Poots, Patrick Kennedy | USA | Drama | I am, at once, a complete sucker for this movie and potentially its severest critic. On the one hand, I am fascinated by the career of Orson Welles, and have read a great deal about (and interviewed people involved with) his tumultuous life in New York during the late 1930s. Not yet a household name | ||
| The Princess And The Frog | 2009 | Ron Clements, John Musker | 97 |
The filmmakers who helped usher in the renaissance of Disney animation twenty years ago with The Little Mermaid have done it again with The Princess and the Frog. Here is a tuneful, entertaining, great-looking, hip, funny animated feature destined to the capture the hearts of young fans and Disney aficionados alike.
All the right ingredients are here: a heroine we can relate to and root for, an unlikely hero who has to prove himself, an oily villain, a colorful array of supporting characters, magnificent production design, and a rousing musical score by Randy Newman. Every musical number is treated in a different style, giving the film a wide variety of visual motifs, from art deco to high-style voodoo. Writer-directors John Musker and Ron Clements have always managed to strike a balance between fidelity to Disney fairy-tale storytelling and wild irreverence. The heroine, Tiana, is played straight, but the hero, Naveen, who spends much of the movie in the form of a frog, is a pampered prince with an outsized ego. His steady stream of wisecracks make him endearing and fun—and the first Disney prince to have a sense of humor. The verbal and visual gags that pepper the film run the gamut from broad slapstick to clever "inside" jokes...and best of all, the film never stops moving. (I suppose one could adapt this as a Broadway musical, but it would be difficult for even the most imaginative stage director to duplicate the kinetic force that propels this movie from its opening scene onward. Even a crucial scene of story exposition between Tiana and Naveen is played as the characters—now frogs—leap and dart through the swamp.) It was John Lasseter—who made computer-generated animation acceptable to a wide audience with Toy Story—who insisted that Disney rehire Musker and Clements and allow them to make a 2-D feature. That meant they had to reassemble a team that was capable of working with pencil and paper (as well as computers) to recapture the look and feel of a traditional Disney cartoon feature, and they've done themselves proud. This film represents the work of some of the finest character animators alive, along with an army of talented artists. The voice work is first-rate, with special kudos to Brazilian-born Bruno Campos, who adds zest to the role of Prince Naveen, and Disney veteran Jim Cummings (the longtime voice of Winnie the Pooh) as the Cajun firefly named Ray. As for the score, it's eclectic and generous; each number seems to flow directly out of the screenplay and fit the occasion, from Tiana's stirring anthem "Almost There" to the Creole, Dixieland, and zydeco numbers that follow. I don't know if Randy Newman's songs will have a life on their own, but they work awfully well in the context of the film. A colleague of mine damned The Princess and the Frog, calling it formulaic. I couldn't argue the point, but for me, it's a formula that works, especially in the hands of such dedicated Disney pros. |
tt0780521 | [G] | Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Bruno Campos, Jennifer Cody | USA | Animation, Family, Fantasy | The filmmakers who helped usher in the renaissance of Disney animation twenty years ago with The Little Mermaid have done it again with The Princess and the Frog. Here is a tuneful, entertaining, great-looking, hip, funny animated feature destined to the capture the hearts of young | ||
| Broken Embraces | Los Abrazos Rotos | 2009 | Pedro Almodóvar | 127 |
I felt a tinge of disappointment when I realized the hero of Pedro Almodóvar's latest film was a director. It struck me as a glib, easy way of concocting a story to express the Spanish filmmaker's love of cinema. I should have had more faith in him. Broken Embraces is a marvelous piece of storytelling that held me in its thrall for more than two hours, almost literally on the edge of my seat.
As an homage to film noir (as well as Audrey Hepburn, Roberto Rossellini, and other iconic figures) it may strike some people as being overly self-conscious, but I ate it up, because Almodóvar is a master storyteller. What's more, he has given Penelope Cruz yet another outstanding showcase for her talent (and beauty). The reason the movie works on two levels is that while Almodóvar emulates the visual style and storytelling tropes of film noir, he also makes a serious dramatic commitment to them. This is no mere exercise. To add a layer of complexity, the story plays out in the present day and in flashbacks to the past. Cruz plays a secretary who becomes involved with a power-hungry industrialist—out of need, not love—and then finds herself cast in a movie, quite by chance. The director is played by a remarkable Spanish actor named Lluis Homar, whom we meet as an older man, now blind. He explains how he adopted a different name to suit his new identity, but we don't understand the full meaning of this until much later in the story. Broken Embraces is presented to us as a series of vignettes that slowly merge into a seamless whole. In some films the intrigue diminishes as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place; here the effect is just the opposite. Much of the movie's power comes from its revelations, but Almodóvar doesn't shortchange us along the way: the buildup is just as interesting as the dénouement. I will leave it to others to catalogue the movie's many specific homages; I was too engaged to keep a running list. Broken Embraces is one of the high-spots of the moviegoing year. |
tt0913425 | [R] | Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez, Rubén Ochandiano, Tamar Novas, Ángela Molina, Chus Lampreave, Kiti Manver, Lola Dueñas, Kira Miro, Rossy de Palma, Alejo Sauras | Spain | Drama, Romance, Thriller | I felt a tinge of disappointment when I realized the hero of Pedro Almodóvar's latest film was a director. It struck me as a glib, easy way of concocting a story to express the Spanish filmmaker's love of cinema. I should have had more faith in him. Broken Embraces is a marvelous piece of s | |
| The Messenger | 2009 | Oren Moverman | 105 |
Simply put, The Messenger is about the soldiers whose job it is to notify next of kin when a member of the armed forces is killed in action. That sounds intriguing enough on the surface, but screenwriters Oren Moverman (who also makes his directing debut here) and Alessandro Camon manage to generate equal amounts of interest in the messengers and their recipients.
The film is a terrific vehicle for Ben Foster, an underappreciated talent who's been doing excellent work since he was a teenager, in films like Barry Levinson's Liberty Heights. He is well cast as a decorated soldier who's come back from Iraq with both physical and emotional problems to deal with. Assigned to the Casualty Notification Office for the last few months of his enlistment, he quickly learns the ropes from his superior officer, another damaged soul well played by Woody Harrelson (who, it must be said, has been going from strength to strength lately, tackling a variety of colorful and interesting characters.) The Messenger is leisurely and episodic; it doesn't build to an emotional crescendo as a mainstream Hollywood movie might, given the same raw material. It has more the feel of a slice of life than a conventional story. We share the men's experiences as they deliver their bad news to a variety of people—grieving wives, mothers, and fathers (including Steve Buscemi in a moving cameo)—and Harrelson repeatedly counsels his younger colleague to keep his emotional distance. He ignores the advice and becomes involved with one particular young widow (Samantha Morton). I don't often have an opportunity to see a movie twice, but I screened this for my class at USC and found myself just as involved the second time as I was the first. The Messenger is a modest but thoroughly satisfying film. |
tt0790712 | [R] | Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Yaya DaCosta, Steve Buscemi, Peter Francis James, Paul Diomede, Lisa Joyce | USA | Drama | Simply put, The Messenger is about the soldiers whose job it is to notify next of kin when a member of the armed forces is killed in action. That sounds intriguing enough on the surface, but screenwriters Oren Moverman (who also makes his directing debut here) and Alessandro Camon manage to generate | ||
| Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans | 2009 | Werner Herzog | 121 |
During a panel discussion at this year's Telluride Film Festival, Nicolas Cage was asked to respond to a description of his performance in this film as over-the-top. He replied, with a smile, that it seemed that casting him in this particular role under Werner Herzog's direction meant "over-the-top" was a given.
But Cage isn't overplaying his part: he's fully inhabiting a character who is seriously out of control. That's why watching Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is such a blast. In the movie's opening scene Cage injures his back, which not only triggers his descent into drug addiction but affects his posture and body language. This is a highly physical performance, and it's fascinating to observe. William Finkelstein's script wasn't originally set in New Orleans, but when the production moved there (for the usual tax incentive reasons) director Herzog realized it perfectly suited a story about moral decay. He went out of his way to find odd, unusual, and extreme locations, and took full advantage of the city's post-Katrina look. Aside from that, and some deliberately outlandish shots of iguanas, it's hard to peg this as a Herzog film, but he certainly gets the most of the outrageous screenplay, which sees Cage devolve from a good cop to a kind of walking monster. The supporting cast is right there with him, including Eva Mendes, Fairuza Balk, Xzibit, Tom Bower, Shawn Hatosy, and Jennifer Coolidge, among others. (Val Kilmer is wasted as one of Cage's fellow cops.) If you're expecting a police procedural, stay home and watch Law & Order. If you're anticipating an indulgent Werner Herzog art film, you may be disappointed. But if you're open to a cops-and-robbers yarn told in extremes, I think you'll enjoy Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. |
tt1095217 | [R] | Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Xzibit, Fairuza Balk, Shawn Hatosy, Jennifer Coolidge, Brad Dourif, Shea Whigham, Denzel Whitaker | USA | Crime, Drama | During a panel discussion at this year's Telluride Film Festival, Nicolas Cage was asked to respond to a description of his performance in this film as over-the-top. He replied, with a smile, that it seemed that casting him in this particular role under Werner Herzog's direction meant "over-the | ||
| Precious | 2009 | Lee Daniels | 110 |
When a film aims for greatness and falls just short of its target, one can dwell on its attributes or nit-pick its failings. In the case of Precious, I'm inclined to take the high road, because of the movie's raw emotionalism and exceptional performances.
Moviegoers are conditioned to expect a story like this to be true; this one isn't, but it's rooted in truth, as the acclaimed writer Sapphire observed it when she worked as a teacher in Harlem in the 1980s. The risk in adapting it for film is blending harsh reality with the melodrama of its leading character's everyday life. What anchors the film is the extraordinary performance of newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as Precious, a sullen, overweight teenage girl whose life experience has closed her off from world. We know she's bright because she gets high marks in school, but even that is used as ammunition against her by her monster of a mother, a layabout played with ferocious intensity by comedienne Mo'Nique. How Precious finally seeks escape from her dead-end existence is the crux of the story, and the reason the film isn't merely an exercise in misery. The character's gradual emergence from her shell is believable, and the characters she encounters are well-drawn, but this is where the film loses its sureness of footing. Is it because everything about Precious' life has been so unrelentingly tough that it's hard to accept her change of fortune, or because we don't see enough of the supporting characters to relate as well to them? I'm not sure. Paula Patton is credible as a dedicated teacher, Lenny Kravitz is quite good as a friendly male nurse, and a deadpan Mariah Carey is surprisingly believable as a city social worker. Perhaps it's the subconscious knowledge that these people are actors playing roles that makes it difficult to accept them at face value, whereas the unknown Sidibe seems to inhabit her character so fully. In any event, writer Geoffrey Fletcher and director Lee Daniels have created a kind of testament I'm sure many viewers will respond to. |
tt0929632 | [R] | MoNique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe, Sherri Shepherd, Nealla Gordon, Stephanie Andujar, Amina Robinson, Xosha Roquemore | USA | Drama | When a film aims for greatness and falls just short of its target, one can dwell on its attributes or nit-pick its failings. In the case of Precious, I'm inclined to take the high road, because of the movie's raw emotionalism and exceptional performances.Moviegoers are conditioned to e | ||
| Fantastic Mr. Fox | 2009 | Wes Anderson | 87 |
Simplicity is not a quality most Hollywood moviemakers aspire to achieve, but for me it's part of the charm of Fantastic Mr. Fox, an amusing, low-key fable that strikes a tone unlike any other animated film this year.
There's nothing simple about the technique of stop-motion animation, which requires such exacting work by so many people, but the end result (in this case) is endearingly childlike and great fun to watch. What's more, the story, adapted from Roald Dahl's book by director Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, is elemental—and disarming. It's all about a fox (voiced by George Clooney) who tries to change his ways for the sake of his wife (Meryl Streep) and family, but reverts to old chicken-stealing habits—because that's his nature. Naturally, Anderson and Baumbach have added distinctively dry, offbeat touches to their narrative and characterizations—there's no way this could be mistaken for a mainstream studio project—but that's all to the good. Ingenious design, great voice work, perfect timing, and an engaging, countrified music score by Alexandre Desplat (of all people) combine to make Fantastic Mr. Fox a thoroughly enjoyable experience. And if the human villains remind you animation buffs of characters from the Will Vinton universe, bear in mind that this film's animation director, Mark Gustafson, worked at the Vinton studio for a number of years. |
tt0432283 | [PG] | George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Eric Anderson, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jarvis Cocker, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston | USA, UK | Adventure, Animation | Simplicity is not a quality most Hollywood moviemakers aspire to achieve, but for me it's part of the charm of Fantastic Mr. Fox, an amusing, low-key fable that strikes a tone unlike any other animated film this year.There's nothing simple about the technique of stop-motion animation, w | ||
| Skin | 2009 | Anthony Fabian | 107 |
Some films arrive with pomp and pedigree, others with hype and hoopla. Skin is opening in just a few theaters with only a handful of film festival honors to recommend it...but it's one of the most powerful and affecting films I've seen all year. Its three stars—Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, and Alice Krige—give Oscar-worthy performances. Now if only people (including Academy members) would go out and see it!
The legend "based on a true story" has been used and abused so often it's difficult to invest in a film that purports to be drawn from real life, but Skin tells a jaw-dropping, and heart-rending, tale that is truly stranger than fiction. In 1960s South Africa, a white, working-class couple raises two children—one of them a daughter who is, by all appearances, black. The wife has never been unfaithful to her husband, but through some anomaly, their child has dark skin. This is not an issue at home, but when they send the girl to school—in an apartheid society, where blacks have no worth—conflict arises on the very first day. The father, a stubborn shopkeeper played by Sam Neill, insists that the government declare his daughter legally white. What he refuses to accept is that even they do, the girl will face enormous hurdles, especially as she grows toward womanhood. Skin is the story of Sandra Laing, played as a young adult by the talented Sophie Okonedo (who already has an Oscar nomination to her credit, for Hotel Rwanda, in which she played Don Cheadle's wife). The story unfolds over thirty years' time, as Sandra's life, and her relationship with her loving mother and bull-headed father, go through many trials. The redoubtable Neill adds another indelible portrayal to his rogues' gallery, never asking the audience for sympathy as a lesser actor might. The film is also a showcase for the brilliant, and underrated, South African actress Alice Krige, as the mother who suffers as much heartbreak as her daughter, while remaining loyal to her husband. Director Anthony Fabian and his screenwriters (Helen Crawley, Jessie Keyt, and Helena Kriel) succeed in dramatizing this difficult story by dealing with particulars, not the big-picture issues they represent, and dodging sentimentality at every turn. In so doing, they allow us to absorb the facts and bring our own emotions to the film. It's a superb piece of work. |
tt0964586 | [PG-13] | Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, Alice Krige, Tony Kgoroge, Ella Ramangwane, Ben Botha, Hannes Brummer, Onida Cowan, Lauren Das Neves, Terri Ann Eckstein | UK, South Africa | Drama, Mystery | Some films arrive with pomp and pedigree, others with hype and hoopla. Skin is opening in just a few theaters with only a handful of film festival honors to recommend it...but it's one of the most powerful and affecting films I've seen all year. Its three stars—Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, and A | ||
| Trucker | 2009 | James Mottern | 90 |
Trucker is an emblematic American indie film. It offers a juicy leading role to an actress who usually works in mainstream Hollywood fare, and completely fulfills its modest ambitions. Writer-director James Mottern has crafted a vivid, credible character study of a young woman whose fierce independent streak has led her to a career that allows her to live life on her own terms as a truck driver, while steering her away from long-term relationships. Saddling her with the sudden responsibility for an 11-year-old son she abandoned in infancy may seem formulaic, at first glance, but the story plays out with such genuinenessand avoidance of cliché—that one cant, and shouldnt, complain.
Michelle Monaghan has established her bona fides in a variety of films and television shows, but shes never had a showcase quite like this before, a starring role that offers her a character with many colors and facets to explore. Shes one tough cookie—and we believe it—but there are many feelings she suppresses. Nathan Fillion displays easygoing charm as her only real friend, whom she keeps at arms length; Benjamin Bratt and Joey Lauren Adams bring solidity to their supporting roles. Jimmy Bennett earns special praise as Monaghans son, a bitter, foul-mouthed kid whose evolution, over the course of the film, is refreshingly believable. Trucker doesnt break new ground, nor does it pretend to... but it does offer a completely satisfying experience, which is more than many slick studio movies can claim this year. |
tt1087527 | [R] | Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Joey Lauren Adams, Jimmy Bennett, Mika Boorem, Brandon Hanson, Dennis Hayden, Bryce Johnson, Franklin Dennis Jones, Matthew Lawrence | USA | Drama | Trucker is an emblematic American indie film. It offers a juicy leading role to an actress who usually works in mainstream Hollywood fare, and completely fulfills its modest ambitions. Writer-director James Mottern has crafted a vivid, credible character study of a young woman whose fierce independe | ||
| Where the Wild Things Are | 2009 | Spike Jonze | 101 |
Where the Wild Things Are puts me in an awkward situation as someone who is supposed to deliver a clear-cut opinion of a film: I didn't love it, yet there are passages in it that are so magical I don't think I'll ever forget them. When a movie has that much heart, and reveals as much care and thought as this one does, the fact that it's imperfect doesn't seem to matter so much. As for its fidelity to Maurice Sendak's wonderfully simple and imaginative book, there's no guarantee that diehard fans will like the movie, but they certainly won't be able to say that it doesn't honor its source material. Where the Wild Things Are is daring because it's all about emotions—an intimate and profound exploration of childhood, with a remarkable child named Max Records in the leading role. (Catherine Keener is also quite moving as his mother.) Where it differs from other such films is in its metaphorical use of monstrous creatures, as originally envisioned by Sendak. These "wild things" aren't so very different from our human hero: like children, they don't talk about their feelings—they act out instead. They can be angry, exuberant, jealous, petulant, hurt, or blindly vindictive, and can change in the blink of an eye. The physical presence of the wild things is another asset. Director Spike Jonze felt it was imperative that Max interact with believable costars, not animated characters. The result is a colorful cast of characters in enormous, shaggy costumes with unusually expressive faces—along with the voices and attitudes of James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Cooper, and Paul Dano. Jonze and novelist Dave Eggers co-wrote the screenplay, with Sendak's blessing, and they've done a good job, framing the fantasy with heartbreakingly realistic scenes of a lonely little boy who wants his mother's constant attention. But because they've focused on atmosphere and emotion instead of a conventional three-act storyline, the film doesn't flow as seamlessly as it might and feels uneven. That's the harshest criticism I can level at this worthy enterprise, but it is a problem, and it may leave some moviegoers wanting—unlike Sendak's perfect little book. Still, Where the Wild Things Are is a feather in Spike Jonze's cap, and an exceptional achievement, even if it isn't flawless. |
tt0386117 | [PG] | Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Max Records, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano, Michael Berry/Jr. | USA | Drama, Family, Adventure, Fantasy | Where the Wild Things Are puts me in an awkward situation as someone who is supposed to deliver a clear-cut opinion of a film: I didn't love it, yet there are passages in it that are so magical I don't think I'll ever forget them. When a movie has that much heart, and reveals as much care and though | ||
| An Education | 2009 | Lone Scherfig | 95 |
It isn't easy being a sleeper nowadays. There's been so much buildup for An Education, which has traveled the film festival circuit since Sundance in January, that it's difficult for ordinary moviegoers to feel as if they're discovering it for themselves. I hope inflated expectations don't harm the film's reception: it really is quite good and deserving of all the buzz it has generated this year.
Newcomer Carey Mulligan plays a precocious 16-year-old girl growing up in a London suburb in the early 1960s—before the arrival of swingers, Carnaby Street fashions, and the Beatles. She feels trapped by her bourgeois parents and conventional classroom assignments; then she chances to meet an elegant older man (Peter Sarsgaard) who introduces her to his sleek friends and sophisticated life. It doesn't take much to turn her head. Nick Hornby adapted the screenplay from a short memoir by British journalist Lynn Barber; apparently his expansion softens the story a bit even as it expands the horizons of the real-life tale. Danish director Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself) captures the nuances of time, place, and best of all, performance, from a can't-miss cast including Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Cara Seymour, and Alfred Molina in a splendid turn as Mulligan's class-conscious father. But it's Mulligan who's been getting all the attention, and understandably so: she is utterly believable, and engaging, as a girl who can't wait to be a woman...or so she thinks. Glib comparisons to Audrey Hepburn are fine for headline or copy-writers but don't really have any substance: Mulligan is a first-rate actress with appealing looks. All evidence points to a long and fruitful career, but for now An Education will serve as her calling card. Every actress should be so lucky. |
tt1174732 | [PG-13] | Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson, Matthew Beard, Sally Hawkins, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes, Ellie Kendrick | USA | Drama | It isn't easy being a sleeper nowadays. There's been so much buildup for An Education, which has traveled the film festival circuit since Sundance in January, that it's difficult for ordinary moviegoers to feel as if they're discovering it for themselves. I hope inflated expectations don't | ||
| A Serious Man | 2009 | Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | 105 |
I wish I could write a thoughtful, penetrating review of the Coen Brothers' latest offering, A Serious Man, but to be perfectly honest, the film threw me off. I appreciate it, and relate to it (especially as a Jewish man who remembers his bar mitzvah—and the 1960s—all too well)—but I don't know quite what to make of it. The Coens have said this is "a schlemiel story," which is as good a description as any: a comedy, in the blackest sense, about an ordinary guy in suburban Minnesota, circa 1967, who teaches at a local college, supports his woebegone brother, and does his best to maintain a marriage while raising two adolescent children. When everything—but everything—starts going wrong in his life he has just one question: why?
Even his rabbi can't provide an answer. If you find that bare-bones description funny in itself, you're a prime candidate to enjoy this film; if you take the main character's plight too seriously, you'll be lost. The film opens with a quotation about receiving the events of life lightly...yet in the body of the picture the Coens seem to be saying, in their own, distinctive way: life's a bitch, then you die. I value their eye for detail, especially in a period piece such as this, and their canny gift for casting just the right faces—be they famous or not—in every role, large and small. One could posit that any film with those qualities that provokes thought and discussion, as this one does, has value. True enough. So why does A Serious Man leave me confused and vaguely dissatisfied? Perhaps I am looking for resolution, like the poor schlemiel onscreen. Seems like I'm out of luck. |
tt1019452 | [R] | Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, Peter Breitmayer, Katherine Borowitz, Adam Arkin, Raye Birk, Sari Wagner | USA | Drama, Comedy | I wish I could write a thoughtful, penetrating review of the Coen Brothers' latest offering, A Serious Man, but to be perfectly honest, the film threw me off. I appreciate it, and relate to it (especially as a Jewish man who remembers his bar mitzvah—and the 1960s—all too well)& | ||
| Zombieland | 2009 | Ruben Fleischer | 80 |
Zombieland, directed with verve by first-time feature filmmaker Ruben Fleischer from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It has no hidden agendas or messages to impart; it's just a goof on zombie movies set in the very-near future when only a handful of survivors remain untouched by the virus that has turned everyone in the U.S.A. into flesh-eating monsters.
The film speaks to a contemporary audience because it has attitude, and a well-chosen cast, led by Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and in a lightly amusing cameo, Bill Murray. I had a good-enough time watching it, but at a certain point my enthusiasm waned; I guess I wanted something more. But as escapism goes these days, it's not bad. |
tt1156398 | [R] | Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Amber Heard, Bill Murray, Robert Hatch, Mike White, Derek Graf | USA | Comedy, Action, Adventure, Horror | Zombieland, directed with verve by first-time feature filmmaker Ruben Fleischer from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It has no hidden agendas or messages to impart; it's just a goof on zombie movies set in the very-near future when only a handful of survivors remain untouched by the virus | ||
| Whip It | 2009 | Drew Barrymore | 111 |
Drew Barrymore has done herself proud. Her first directorial effort, Whip It, is a highly entertaining film that draws on several time-worn ingredients (coming of age, a fish out of water) and blend them with a female-empowerment theme to make something that's fresh and fun.
Barrymore first great choice was casting Ellen Page, fresh from Juno, to play the leading character, a high-school girl who grimly endures her mother's insistence that she enter beauty pageants—until she finds a way to break free. Because the sport of roller derby is as foreign to her as it is to some of us in the audience, we share her gradual indoctrination to this unusual world and its lively denizens. By the time the film is over, we're rooting for her, both on and off the track. Whip It touches on a number of relatable themes, including the often-painful process of leaving old friends behind when you discover a new passion. But what I like most about Shauna Cross' screenplay (adapted from her young-adult novel Derby Girl) is that it has a big heart. There are no real villains, just wrong-headed people who need to be enlightened, including Page's mother (played by the wonderful Marcia Gay Harden) and a tough girl on the opposing team (Juliette Lewis) who's determined to give Page as much grief as possible. Other supporting roles are well written and equally well played, by Alia Shawkat, Kristen Wiig, Andrew Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Daniel Stern, and Barrymore herself, as one of Page's flakier teammates. Unlike some actor-directors, Barrymore seems determined to give herself as little screen time as possible, deliberately cutting away from shots involving her lest anyone think of the film as a vanity project. She needn't have worried: she's delivered the goods. |
tt1172233 | [PG-13] | Ellen Page, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig, Marcia Gay Harden, Drew Barrymore, Alia Shawkat, Zoe Bell, Ari Graynor, Sarah Habel, Juliette Lewis, Eve | USA | Comedy, Drama | Drew Barrymore has done herself proud. Her first directorial effort, Whip It, is a highly entertaining film that draws on several time-worn ingredients (coming of age, a fish out of water) and blend them with a female-empowerment theme to make something that's fresh and fun.Barrymore fi | ||
| Surrogates | 2009 | Jonathan Mostow | 88 |
The way the folks at Disney are treating this film you'd think it was a turkey; it's anything but. It may not be as hard-hitting or provocative as District 9, but it's still science-fiction with some real thought behind it. The setting is the near future; people have grown lazy and now send sophisticated, good-looking robots out into the world to live their lives for them. As a result, crime has been virtually wiped out—until now.
A renegade has gotten hold of a high-tech weapon that's not only killing surrogates but their "controllers" as well. FBI agents Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell—or rather, their surrogates—set out to solve the case, and immediately begin to discover skeletons in various closets. Ving Rhames plays a character called The Prophet, who leads a band of holdouts that reject the idea of surrogates, believing that people are surrendering their very humanity. Meanwhile, Willis has issues of his own at home with a wife (Rosamund Pike) who refuses to participate in their marriage, allowing her surrogate to take over completely. The notion that technology has run ahead of morality is both timely and intriguing; that's one reason Surrogates is so interesting. But the reason the movie works is that it's primarily interested in offering a good story with plenty of action and visual effects; the message follows along. I'm not familiar with the graphic novel (by Robert Venditi and Brett Weldele) that inspired this movie, or how closely the screenplay (by Michael Ferris and John Brancato) adheres to it, but my curiosity has been piqued. There are some aspects of the plot that might have been explored more fully; with a bit more effort this could have been a great film, instead of merely a good one, but on the whole I think Surrogates accomplishes what it sets out to do. Bruce Willis does a fine job in what is essentially a dual role: as the surrogate, sporting a toupee and waxy skin, and as the world-weary man behind the avatar who wants to feel things first-hand again, even if that process causes him pain. A friend recently told me that the trailer made this movie seem like a cross between Westworld and The Matrix. It isn't. In fact, I'd call it an original; that's why I enjoyed it. |
tt0986263 | [PG-13] | Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, Michael Cudlitz, Anya Monzikova, Jack Noseworthy | USA | Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi | The way the folks at Disney are treating this film you'd think it was a turkey; it's anything but. It may not be as hard-hitting or provocative as District 9, but it's still science-fiction with some real thought behind it. The setting is the near future; people have grown lazy and now send sophisti | ||
| Coco Before Chanel | Coco Avant Chanel | 2009 | Anne Fontaine | 110 |
Screen biographies often hew to a formula, but director and co-writer Anne Fontaine has dodged cliché at every turn to create a vivid portrait of the young woman who became a legend in the world of fashion, Coco Chanel. What's more, she found the perfect actress to embody her in Audrey Tautou.
Fontaine (who wrote the screenplay with her sister Camille, based on Edmonde Charles-Roux's book) admits in the film's production notes that she has used dramatic license. Her goal was to give us an impression of the factors that forged Chanel's worldview, as well as her sense of style. A period film like this could drown in production design and detail, but Fontaine doesn't try to show off: the costumes serve a storytelling purpose, as they should, so when the young Coco rejects the current style of ornamentation in hats and suggests simplicity instead, it makes a valid (and visual) point. Benoît Poelvoorde gives a colorful and charismatic performance as Chanel's wealthy benefactor who subsidizes her "independence," and that's one of the story's more intriguing aspects: from childhood on, Coco was stubborn and marched to her own drummer, but she saw no contradiction in using men to achieve her goals, on her own terms. Alessandro Nivola is also quite good as the one true love of her life. But it is Tautou around whom the film revolves, and she effortlessly embodies the character of Chanel in her formative years Coco Before Chanel is intelligent, entertaining, and eye-filling. The drama is perfectly supported by a beautiful score by my favorite contemporary film composer, Alexandre Desplat. Yet like Fontaine's other collaborators, he never intrudes or attempts to steal the show. His music becomes part of a seamless whole. |
tt1035736 | [PG-13] | Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain, Emmanuelle Devos, Régis Royer, Etienne Bartholomeus, Yan Duffas, Fabien Béhar, Roch Leibovici | France | Drama | Screen biographies often hew to a formula, but director and co-writer Anne Fontaine has dodged cliché at every turn to create a vivid portrait of the young woman who became a legend in the world of fashion, Coco Chanel. What's more, she found the perfect actress to embody her in Audrey Tautou.Fo | |
| Capitalism: A Love Story | 2009 | Michael Moore | 120 |
I take each Michael Moore film as it comes—I am not a full-time member of his flock—but I think his latest film is one of his best. As in Sicko, he's taken on a subject that already has Americans fuming, without any help from rabble-rousers: the banking industry. I'm not exactly sure who sides with the fat cats in this case except their own brethren, but Moore provides a pretty solid backstory to help us understand how we got into this mess.
The movie makes ingenious and often knee-jerk-funny use of stock footage, including an opening segment from an Encyclopedia Britannica classroom film about ancient Rome that chronicles its excesses—and inequities—and makes it sound like a perfect description of us, today. From that moment on he's off and running, blaming the deregulation of the 1980s for sewing the seeds of a culture of greed. As always, Moore doesn't provide the whole picture, and doesn't pretend to. He doesn't make "documentary films." I'd call what he does "advocacy cinema," and it's completely subjective. But I think his examples in this case are persuasive and powerful, and a climactic piece of footage featuring President Franklin D. Roosevelt is particularly poignant. Obviously, Moore has become a polarizing figure for many people, and there are those who wouldn't dream of watching this movie even if they might agree with its conclusions. I found it engrossing and extremely upsetting, which I think is an appropriate reaction to the outrageous situation he depicts so well. |
tt1232207 | [R] | Michael Moore | USA | Documentary | I take each Michael Moore film as it comes—I am not a full-time member of his flock—but I think his latest film is one of his best. As in Sicko, he's taken on a subject that already has Americans fuming, without any help from rabble-rousers: the banking industry. I'm not exactly sure who | ||
| The Informant! | 2009 | Steven Soderbergh | 108 |
Matt Damon has matured into one of our most versatile—and daring—screen actors, and he's on top of his game in The Informant!, the wacky new film from ever-unpredictable Steven Soderbergh. It is, at once, an incredible true story of one man's attempt to expose corporate wrongdoing, and a straight-faced parody of whistle-blower stories like The Insider. So how exactly do you tell a (mostly) real-life story and make fun of it at the same time? I don't know, but somehow Soderbergh, screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, and his willing cast pull it off.
In a movie like this, creating and maintaining the proper tone is crucial. The use of an exclamation point in the main title is our first hint; the second is an onscreen explanation of the (somewhat) true story we're about to see. The icing on the cake is a jaunty, overemphatic, retro-style score by Marvin Hamlisch that evokes everything from 60s Hollywood caper yarns to earnest educational films. It's great fun to listen to. The material itself is pretty amazing. Mark Whitacre was a highly-paid scientist-turned-executive at a mighty agricultural corporation in the 1990s who agreed to turn spy for the FBI. In the movie, the Feds (led by a wonderfully sober-faced Scott Bakula) can't believe their good fortune as Whitacre becomes a gung-ho informant... but it turns out there's more to him than meets the eye. I won't reveal any of the film's many surprises by telling more of the plot. Suffice it to say that The Informant! gets better, and loopier, as it goes along and its incredible story unfolds. Soderbergh stocks the supporting cast with familiar faces, and some surprising people turn up in tiny parts. But it's Matt Damon who commands our attention with his finely-tuned, wonderfully wry performance. |
tt1130080 | [R] | Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Thomas F. Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Tony Hale, Joel McHale, Mike O'Malley, Eddie Jemison, Paul F. Tompkins | USA | Drama, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | Matt Damon has matured into one of our most versatile—and daring—screen actors, and he's on top of his game in The Informant!, the wacky new film from ever-unpredictable Steven Soderbergh. It is, at once, an incredible true story of one man's attempt to expose corporate wrongdoi | ||
| Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs | 2009 | Phil Lord, Chris Miller | 90 |
I used to look forward to every new animated feature; now I take them on a case-by-case basis, and to be honest, I dread having to sit through some of them. So it's with a great sense of relief—and delight—that I offer an enthusiastic review of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Based on the 1978 children's book by Judi Barrett (illustrated by Ron Barrett), this lively (some would say hyperactive) contemporized adaptation offers visual and verbal humor to please a fairly wide audience, from young children to grownups.
What won me over from the start was the character design: the film is populated by fancifully exaggerated versions of boys, girls, men and women. That's half the fun. The fact that they speak in sitcom style may be attributed to the résumés of the writer-directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who are TV veterans but new to animation. Yet somehow the peppy dialogue, sprinkled with gags, seems to suit the movie's cheerfully unrealistic milieu: an island community that used to subsist on the sardine industry, now just a fading memory. Enter boy scientist Flint Lockwood, who lives in a world of his own, driven by one shining goal: to become a great inventor. When he devises a contraption that can turn water into food he hovers on the precipice of greatness. Then something goes wrong. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs moves along at a steady clip, only inviting mild criticism when it goes into overdrive during the climax. One young girl sitting behind me got spooked—not only by the frenzied nature of the action but the appearance of a hypodermic needle, to help a character out of anaphylactic shock. (I'm no fan of needles myself, but I got caught up in the chaotic comedy and didn't mind.) With excellent voice work by Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan (very funny as Flint's inexpressive father—depicted as a man with a constantly furrowed and furry brow), and Mr. T, among others, Cloudy offers sunny entertainment with a light but palatable "message" about being true to yourself. More important, the film stays true to its goal of upbeat entertainment. |
tt0844471 | [PG] | Voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Will Forte | USA | Animation, Family | I used to look forward to every new animated feature; now I take them on a case-by-case basis, and to be honest, I dread having to sit through some of them. So it's with a great sense of relief—and delight—that I offer an enthusiastic review of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. | ||
| District 9 | 2009 | Neill Blomkamp | 112 |
District 9 is a terrific, gutsy film that combines superior filmmaking, cutting-edge technology, and the time-tested tradition of dealing with social issues in the guise of science-fiction.
The canny use of motion-capture technology that producer Peter Jackson helped to pioneer for the character of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings brings amazing life to an entire race of robot-like aliens (nicknamed "prawns"), who become the unwanted underclass in Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the course of the film, two of these grotesque-looking creatures acquire subtly expressive human body language and expressions...and as a result, we begin to care about them. This represents a perfect marriage of technology and storytelling that producer Peter Jackson learned from the 1933 King Kong; he obviously transmitted the lesson to his protégé, this film's director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp. District 9 grabs you right away with its reality-TV-style approach, quickly establishing the necessary exposition of how an alien spacecraft came to earth and deposited a race of creatures here. Then it introduces our unlikely protagonist, a nerdy, naïve functionary (Sharlto Copley) who works for a powerful paramilitary corporation in South Africa. As he carries out his assignment of issuing eviction notices to the aliens who have been living in a refugee camp he is sucked into the larger conflict surrounding their existence, becoming a victim as well as a hero.Blomkamp and co-writer Terri Tatchell take us on an amazing, visceral and emotional journey over several days' time. The film works on two levels, issuing a punch to the gut but also giving us food for thought, proving that summer-movie entertainment doesn't have to be brainless to be successful. |
tt1136608 | [R] | Jason Cope, Robert Hobbs, Sharlto Copley, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, William Allen Young, Jed Brophy, John Summer | New Zealand, South Africa | Sci-Fi | District 9 is a terrific, gutsy film that combines superior filmmaking, cutting-edge technology, and the time-tested tradition of dealing with social issues in the guise of science-fiction. The canny use of motion-capture technology that producer Peter Jackson helped to pioneer for the character | ||
| Ponyo | Gake No Ue No Ponyo | 2009 | Hayao Miyazaki | 101 |
The animated films of Hayao Miyazaki are strikingly designed and animated, emotionally engaging, and utterly unpredictable. Ponyo is a children's fable that leaves most American cartoon features at the starting gate: no formula storytelling here, no wisecracking dialogue.
Ponyo is a fish who longs to be human and manages to insinuate herself into the lives of a five-year-old girl and her mother who live near the sea. But that simplification of the story can't begin to describe the wild, wondrous adventure that Miyazaki has in store for viewers, young and old. In many ways, the word that best describes this movie is weird. Although it is superficially inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Miyazaki draws on elements of Japanese culture (including folk tales) that Americans like me aren't familiar with, and that accounts in part for the truly foreign nature of his work...but I suspect it has much more to do with his unique imagination. Time and again, in films like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Porco Rosso, and My Neighbor Totoro, he integrates genuinely bizarre ideas into his storytelling and lures us into the world he creates onscreen. He is an enchanter, and his latest movie is not to be missed. Incidentally, John Lasseter and his colleagues at Pixar are longtime admirers of Miyazaki, and over the past decade they have invested great care in preparing the American versions of his films. Ponyo is voiced by an all-star cast including Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Lily Tomlin, Betty White and in the youthful leading roles, Noah Cyrus (Miley's younger sister) and Frankie Jonas (youngest of the Jonas Brothers). But they are working here strictly as voice actors and not imposing their personalities on the characters: vive la différence! |
tt0876563 | [G] | Voices of Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White | Japan | Animation | The animated films of Hayao Miyazaki are strikingly designed and animated, emotionally engaging, and utterly unpredictable. Ponyo is a children's fable that leaves most American cartoon features at the starting gate: no formula storytelling here, no wisecracking dialogue. Ponyo | |
| Julie & Julia | 2009 | Nora Ephron | 123 |
Meryl Streep is a marvel. It's a joy and a privilege to watch her inhabit the character of Julia Child, who was in fact a joyous person. (She's matched by the wonderful Stanley Tucci, who brings the same level of brio to his performance as Child's loving husband. Let's not forget him at Oscar time, folks.) Amy Adams is also a remarkable actress who has the ability to convey pluck and wide-eyed sincerity without becoming cloying. Her character's story isn't nearly as interesting as Julia Child's, however, and that's the major failing of Julie & Julia. One can easily get lost in the amazing saga of how Child, the wife of a mid-level American diplomat stationed in France after World War II, stumbled into a career as a cookbook author. Why we're supposed to care as much about a stressed-out younger woman who places a strain on her happy marriage in order to execute all of Julia's recipes isn't clear. The movie's finale is especially disappointing but that's a recurring problem in Nora Ephron's films, even good ones like Sleepless in Seattle: she doesn't want to surrender to emotionalism even when the occasion demands it. Instead, Julie & Julia ends on a freeze-frame and cheats the audience out of a rousing finish. Too bad. But I'd gladly watch this film again, just to savor those delicious performances. |
tt1135503 | [PG-13] | Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jane Lynch, Linda Emond, Helen Carey, Joan Juliet Buck, Casey Wilson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jillian Bach, Dave Annable | USA | Drama | Meryl Streep is a marvel. It's a joy and a privilege to watch her inhabit the character of Julia Child, who was in fact a joyous person. (She's matched by the wonderful Stanley Tucci, who brings the same level of brio to his performance as Child's loving husband. Let's not forget him at Oscar time, | ||
| The Answer Man | Arlen Faber | 2009 | John Hindman | 95 |
Most directors admit that if they cast a movie well, at least half of their job is done. The Answer Man marks the directorial debut of screenwriter John Hindman, and I think he scored a bull's-eye when he chose Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, and Lou Taylor Pucci to play the leading roles in this likable comedy. Daniels perfectly embodies the character of Arlen Faber who, twenty years ago, wrote a sensational best-selling book called Me and God relating his conversations with the Creator.
Nowadays, Faber lives as a recluse in his Philadelphia townhouse, shunning contact with people and reverting to sarcasm whenever he's forced to have a conversation—as, for instance, with his letter carrier. A need to rid his house of books inspires a trip to a local used-book store run by Pucciwho's got serious problems of his own— while a severe back problem sends him crawling to storefront chiropractor Graham. The Answer Man was screened this year at Sundance (under the title Arlen Faber) and I can understand why it wasn't well received in that setting: it isn't dark or edgy enough. In fact, serious undertones run throughout the picture but they are masked by sharp, funny dialogue and broad supporting characters. At a time when so many Hollywood comedies struggle to stretch a tiny premise to feature length, this film seems fully realized, even if it is on a modest scale. Most of all, I enjoyed this movie because I like the characters and the people who play them. Daniels can do just about anything—I feel lucky to have seen his great performance on Broadway this season in God of Carnage—while Graham, of Gilmore Girls fame, is one of the most appealing actresses working today, a superb comedienne who never loses touch with reality. Pucci, whom I first noticed in Thumbsucker, is a real talent who strikes a poignant note as a broken young man in need of salvation—yet he never loses sight of the film's overarching comic tone. The Answer Man may not be a great movie, and its small-scale, indie feel almost guarantees that it won't be a box-office smash, but I found it thoroughly satisfying. |
tt1187041 | [R] | Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Taylor Pucci, Kat Dennings, Robert Bizik, Sonny Vellozzi, Max Antisell | USA | Romance, Comedy | Most directors admit that if they cast a movie well, at least half of their job is done. The Answer Man marks the directorial debut of screenwriter John Hindman, and I think he scored a bull's-eye when he chose Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, and Lou Taylor Pucci to play the leading roles in t | |
| In The Loop | 2009 | Armando Iannucci | 106 |
Here's a novelty: a smart, sassy, relevant and multifaceted political satire. Director Armando Ianucci and his writing team, experienced in the world of standup and television comedy in Britain, got their feet wet with a politically-oriented TV series called The Thick of It. This feature is an expansion of ideas and concepts that originated there.
Tom Hollander, a talented actor whom you'll recognize from a variety of films (including—no kidding—Pirates of the Caribbean), plays a bureaucrat who sticks his foot in his mouth every time he opens it in front of a microphone. Before anyone can stop him he's made provocative remarks about going to war, which brings the government's furiously foul-mouthed communications director (Peter Capaldi) to his office for a showdown. Then we're off and running. Before long, Hollander, his new aide, and other Brits are meeting with representatives in Washington, including self-absorbed elected officials (nicely played by Mimi Kennedy and David Rasche), their aides, and an independent-minded General (James Gandolfini). In the Loop is brash, audacious, and maintains an off-the-cuff quality that never spotlights or underscores its jokes. You simply have to pay attention—and be ready for an onslaught of four-letter words. A first-rate cast includes Gina McKee, Anna Chlumsky, Chris Addison, and in an amusing cameo, Steve Coogan, who achieved stardom in a show Ianucci directed and co-wrote, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge. In the Loop is well worth seeing, either in a theater on demand, where it will be available beginning July 29. |
tt1226774 | Unrated | James Gandolfini, Tom Hollander, David Rasche, Anna Chlumsky, Steve Coogan, Peter Capaldi, Enzo Cilenti, Chizzy Akudolu, James Doherty, Paul Higgins | UK | Comedy | Here's a novelty: a smart, sassy, relevant and multifaceted political satire. Director Armando Ianucci and his writing team, experienced in the world of standup and television comedy in Britain, got their feet wet with a politically-oriented TV series called The Thick of It. This feature is | ||
| Harry Potter And Half-Blood Prince | 2009 | David Yates | 153 |
Everyone is buzzing about the dark story that unfolds in the newest Harry Potter movie, but what delighted me was the humor and charm of this episode. Usually these films open on a light note and then get serious; this one opens with a shocker and then settles into a lighter mode, easing us into the serious aspects of the tale. It's disarming and fun to watch.
Little did we dream when we first encountered Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint eight years ago that we would become so attached to these young actors, and enjoy the experience of watching them grow up on camera. In this film they experience puppy love and the swirl of emotions that accompanies that crucial part of adolescence. The Potter series has also been a glorious showcase for the finest actors in Ireland and Great Britain, and this one is no exception. Jim Broadbent is featured as a potions professor who is persuaded to return to Hogwarts because of a past experience he would rather forget. Michael Gambon takes center stage as Dumbledore, with many of his colleagues (Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, et al.) reduced to small supporting roles this time around. The notable exception is Alan Rickman, as Professor Snape, who possesses the greatest sneer known to mankind. My only reservation about the film is, that like so many others in the series, it's long. I suppose this is inevitable, given the size and density of J.K. Rowlings' novels. Some of the film adaptations are annoyingly episodic; this one, by series veteran Steve Kloves, and directed by David Yates, flows much better, but at a certain point its energy level drops dramatically, and I was all too aware that we had reached the two-hour mark, with a half-hour left to go. Still in all, this is a welcome addition to the Harry Potter saga, and another chapter in one of the most ambitious and successful film series of all time. |
tt0417741 | [PG] | Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith | UK, USA | Romance, Mystery, Fantasy | Everyone is buzzing about the dark story that unfolds in the newest Harry Potter movie, but what delighted me was the humor and charm of this episode. Usually these films open on a light note and then get serious; this one opens with a shocker and then settles into a lighter mode, easing us into the | ||
| The Hurt Locker | 2008 | Kathryn Bigelow | 131 |
It takes all kinds of people to fight a war, and The Hurt Locker focuses on a demolitions expert for whom "war is a drug." That's the fascination of The Hurt Locker, which may be the best film to emerge from the current situation in Iraq. Jeremy Renner plays a man who doesn't say much but willingly, even eagerly, puts his life on the line every day trying to decipher the workings of unexploded bombs and their intricate riggings. It's a fascinating character study that also explores the teamwork involved in waging a war that isn't fought on the front lines but in unexpected places—or sometimes right in the middle of a public street.
One extended sequence in which Renner and his squadron mates (played by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) conduct a long-range shooting match with the enemy, relying on each other to help fight fatigue, is galvanizing—one of the best single depictions of men in war I've ever seen. My only criticism of the film is overlength. Mark Boal's screenplay is solid and authentic (he also collaborated with Paul Haggis on the story for In the Valley of Elah) but it makes the same points more than once. I can't help but feel that he and director Kathryn Bigelow would have had an even better film is they'd tightened it up. But what they have created is very special indeed. |
tt0887912 | [R] | Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Christian Camargo, Malcolm Barrett, Justin Campbell, Ryan Tramont | USA | Drama, Thriller, War | It takes all kinds of people to fight a war, and The Hurt Locker focuses on a demolitions expert for whom "war is a drug." That's the fascination of The Hurt Locker, which may be the best film to emerge from the current situation in Iraq. Jeremy Renner plays a man who doesn't say m | ||
| The Stoning Of Soraya M | 2009 | Cyrus Nowrasteh | 116 |
Just because a story is true doesn't mean it's going to translate into an effective movie, but that fact makes all the difference in the case of The Stoning of Soraya M. The movie flirts with melodrama, perhaps too much for some people's taste, but knowing that its foundation is a shocking real-life story keeps it from tipping overboard. That, and the committed performances by Shohreh Aghdashloo and a mostly Iranian-American cast, help create a riveting drama that addresses the shameful treatment of women that still pervades many cultures and religions.
Yet Soraya M. isn't a tract: it's a story that French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam stumbled onto some years ago and eventually chronicled in an explosive book. Director Cyrus Nowrasteh and his wife Betsy Giffen Nowraseth have adapted it into a powerful screenplay, which leads up to the inevitable stoning—a sequence that's almost unbearable to watch yet impossible to turn away from. |
tt1277737 | [R] | Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marnò, Jim Caviezel, Navid Negahban, Ali Pourtash, David Diaan, Vida Ghahremani | USA | Drama | Just because a story is true doesn't mean it's going to translate into an effective movie, but that fact makes all the difference in the case of The Stoning of Soraya M. The movie flirts with melodrama, perhaps too much for some people's taste, but knowing that its foundation is a shocking | ||
| The Proposal | 2009 | Anne Fletcher | 108 |
I don't think I'm overly demanding when I ask that a romantic comedy actually contain elements of romance and humor. I don't know why so many attempts to tackle this genre can't pull it off, but I can tell you that The Proposal made me laugh out loud. That's as welcome as it is rare. Sandra Bullock remains one of the most likable actresses in American film, which is why we'll watch her play a venomous boss in the set-up portion of this film—knowing full well that she's bound to be "humanized" later on.
I've never been a great fan of Ryan Reynolds but he's an ideal partner for Bullock, and thoroughly engaging as her put-upon assistant who's obliged to pose as her fiancé. The challenge for screenwriter Pete Chiarelli and director Anne Fletcher is to fill a formulaic story with enough incidents and character details to amuse us as the film makes its way toward the inevitable clinch-conclusion...and they do. With helpful support from Betty White (God bless her), Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Malin Akerman, Denis O'Hare, and Oscar Nuñez, The Proposal offers attractive people in a first-rate piece of escapist fare. That's more than many other movies can claim. |
tt1041829 | [PG-13] | Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White, Denis O'Hare, Malin Akerman, Oscar Nuñez, Aasif Mandvi, Niecy Nash | USA | Comedy, Drama | I don't think I'm overly demanding when I ask that a romantic comedy actually contain elements of romance and humor. I don't know why so many attempts to tackle this genre can't pull it off, but I can tell you that The Proposal made me laugh out loud. That's as welcome as it is rare. Sandra Bullock | ||
| The Hangover | 2009 | Todd Phillips | 100 |
I am not a fan of raunchy comedies, by and large, but this one won me over completely. The overall premise may not sound fresh—four guys going to Vegas for an anything-goes bachelor party—but screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore keep pulling surprises out of their hat.
Their story is surprisingly dense and well-plotted, and director Todd Phillips never lets the energy wane for a moment. Perhaps the strongest ingredient in this successful mixture is casting. The actors are all experienced, but they aren't playing characters we've seen them do over and over again. Bradley Cooper as the so-called smart one, Ed Helms as the straitlaced member of the group, Zach Galifianakis as the social bull in a china shop, and Justin Bartha as the relatively innocent groom hit just the right notes. The characters they meet during their unexpectedly eventful stay in Sin City are equally colorful and funny, from Heather Graham as a stripper-bride to Mike Tyson as himself. I'm wary of any comedy that sets out to be "outrageous," as it often seems all other considerations are sacrificed in the pursuit of that goal...but The Hangover delivers on its promise. It's clever, original, and very, very funny. |
tt1119646 | [R] | Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha, Rachael Harris, Gillian Vigman, Ian Anthony Dale, Sasha Barrese, Dan Finnerty, Sondra Currie | USA | Comedy | I am not a fan of raunchy comedies, by and large, but this one won me over completely. The overall premise may not sound fresh—four guys going to Vegas for an anything-goes bachelor party—but screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore keep pulling surprises out of their hat.Their story | ||
| Away We Go | 2009 | Sam Mendes | 98 |
Since he launched his film career with American Beauty, stage director Sam Mendes has been drawn to serious and challenging projects, including The Road to Perdition, Jarhead, and Revolutionary Road. Away We Go marks a change of pace, but his skills are very much evident in this likable comedy-drama.
John Krasinski, best known for The Office, and Maya Rudolph, who made her name on Saturday Night Live, are perfectly cast as laid-back 30-somethings who are about to have their first child and feel as if they ought to be setting down roots. This (and the fact that his parents are moving away) inspires a road trip, to visit friends and acquaintances from their past, and see where they might feel comfortable. The episodic format of the story offers rich opportunities to a gallery of terrific actors, including Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara as Krasinski's parents, Maggie Gyllenhaal as a delusional hippie-ish professor, Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan as a pair of misanthropic parents, Carmen Ejogo as Rudolph's sister, and Melanie Lynskey and Chris Messina as parents of a multi-racial brood who've suffered more than their share of heartbreak. Written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, Away We Go is almost as low-key as its central characters, but I enjoyed going along on this trip, which turns out to be a journey of self-discovery. The people they meet are a motley and often bizarre assortment but the actors are magnetic and the episodes brisk, so the story points are made quickly and easily. Then we move on. Away We Go may not be memorable but it's certainly diverting, and if you love any or all of these actors, it's well worth seeing. |
tt1176740 | [R] | John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Cheryl Hines, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Catherine O'Hara | USA, UK | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Since he launched his film career with American Beauty, stage director Sam Mendes has been drawn to serious and challenging projects, including The Road to Perdition, Jarhead, and Revolutionary Road. Away We Go marks a change of pace, but his skills are v |